Here's where I'd be

These are bands we especially dig, not
full listings. For those, please see
“Concerts" and "Clubs."

For more top shows featuring local acts, please see “Nightgeist."

Wednesday, April 2

PLAN A: Mad Juana @ The Casbah. New York gypsies, tramps and thieves (plus one New York Doll—and part-time Ocean Beach resident—in guitarist Sami Yaffa) celebrate the release of Bruja on the Corner. PLAN B: Paul Thorn, Alex Woodard @ Belly Up. Thorn is the Mississippi son of a preacher, man, and a former boxer who once went glove-to-glove with Roberto Duran. He lost. But it wouldn’t really be the blues (rock) if he had won, now would it? PLAN C: Les Claypool, Tim Fite @ House of Blues. Claypool is perfectly normal—for a movie-directing (Electric Apricot: Quest for Festeroo), novel-writing (South of the Pumphouse), tap-and-slap bass player whose primary band (Primus) is perhaps best known for the South Park theme song and “Wynonna’s Big Brown Beaver.” BACKUP PLAN: Beto Cuevas @ 4th & B.

Thursday, April 3

PLAN A: The May Fire @ Beauty Bar. San Francisco garage rockers who might sound like Shiny Toy Guns if STG was a little less shiny and plastic. Call them Dirty Real Guns. PLAN B: Burning Brides, Earthless, Get Your Death On @ The Casbah. Burning Brides got a promotion to Plan B after the Pigeon John show at ’Canes got postponed. It’s just as well—the Philly hard rockers are infamous for their live shows. PLAN C: Juan Prophet Organization, Red Pony Clock @ Chasers. No, I’m not recommending this show just because I think Juan Prophet Organization has a funny name. The town they hail from (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) has a funny name, too.  BACKUP PLAN: The Unseen, A Wilhelm Scream @ SOMA.

Friday, April 4

PLAN A: The Fest @ The Casbah. Monster local bill featuring The Sess, The Muslims, The Prayers, The Vision of a Dying World, Red Feathers and Fantastic Magic. PLAN B: Big Brother & The Holding Company @ Anthology. Big Bro & Co don’t have Janis anymore—which is sort of like the Pips without Gladys or the Sunshine Band without KC—but they’re still holding it down. BACKUP PLANS: Y&T @ Brick by Brick, MEX @ Bar Pink Elephant and Delta Fiasco, Mursic @ Beauty Bar.

Saturday, April 5

PLAN A: The Little Ones, Ra Ra Riot, The Morning Benders @ The Casbah. The Little Ones are super-cool and all, but the main attraction for me (and you) is Ra Ra Riot. For me, they’re the best thing to happen to Syracuse since Gerry McNamara. For you, they’re a less-pretentious Arcade Fire. PLAN B: Sirhan Sirhan @ Bar Pink Elephant. It’s not often that you can use a word like “catchy” to describe a song about cutting and stabbing (“Chop Chop”) off a debut album called Blood from some San Diego metal punks named after a famous murderer. But the bloodletting sirs in Sirhan Sirhan abide. PLAN C: Sprung Monkey @ 710 Beach Club. Now’s your chance to see what kind of trouble Sprung Monkey has been getting into in the decade since they introduced “sweet home San Diego” to the alt-rock world with “Get ’Em Outta Here.” BACKUP PLAN: Watercolor Paintings, The Paddle Boat, Clitorectomy & The Mutilators @ Che Café.

Sunday, April 6

PLAN A: Le Loup, The Ruby Suns, Long Live Logos @ The Casbah. Look, I don’t want to give The Casbah a Plan A every day. But, damn, those fools put in work. This time it’s buzz-worthy indie rock from The District (Le Loup), New Zealand (Ruby Suns) and ’round the way (Long Live Logos). PLAN B: King Brothers, Shell Shag @ Bar Pink Elephant. King Brothers put a Japanese twist on the garage howl of The Hives and MC5 with a little help from some Brooklyn artful dodgers (Shell Shag). PLAN C: Alesana, Skyeatsairplane, Lovehatehero, The Chariot @ SOMA. I think the lackofpunctuation inthenames of teenhardcorebands playing SOMA is a littlefreakingridiculous. But, then, whoamItojudge? BACKUP PLAN: John Anderson @ Anthology and Minmae @ Tower Bar.

Monday, April 7

PLAN A: Ministry, Meshuggah, Hemlock @ House of Blues. Industrial-metal icons swear this “C-U-La Tour” is their last shebang. Then again, when you start writing theme songs for hockey teams (Chicago Blackhawks) and releasing cover albums (Cover-Up), it’s probably time to pack it in. PLAN B: P.O.D. @ Hard Rock Hotel. See our interview with the whipping boys from Southtown in Nightgeist. PLAN C: Laurie Anderson @ The Museum of Making Music. Similar to Yoko Ono, Laurie Anderson is a performance artist and experimental musician. Unlike Ono, Anderson did not make John Lennon lose his freaking mind. Our minds, on the other hand, are open season. BACKUP PLAN: Dirty Dozen Brass Band @ 710 Beach Club.

Tuesday, April 8

PLAN A: RJD2, Dalek, The Happy Chichester @ The Casbah. The new Dharma Initiative is to check out our RJD2 feature here. PLAN B: We The Kings, Valencia, Charlotte Sometimes @ Porter’s Pub. A group of pop-punkers spend their Spring Break at UCSD before heading out on the endless summer that is the Warped Tour. PLAN C: Freddie Hubbard @ Anthology. Renowned trumpeter plays “Happy Birthday” to himself after surviving 70 years in the jazz trenches with the likes of Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock and John Coltrane.