Thursday, January 5
Acoustically Speaking at Moe’s Alley
The Bay Area and SantaCruz in particular have had a long love affair with Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead—I mean, we’re home to the Grateful Dead Archive—so it’s no surprise that the best touring cover groups always make a stop in town. This week we have Kat and Mik Bondy of The Garcia Project teaming up with The Scott Cooper Duo to bring you a night of acoustic Grateful Dead covers. This ain’t your regular cover band, as they have shared the stage with actual Grateful Dead members Melvin Seals and Tom Constanten and have the stamp of approval from the host of the Grateful Dead XM Satellite Radio Station and Grateful Dead godfather, David Gans.
Show at 8:30. Tickets $7 in advance/$10 at the door
Friday, January 6
The Herms at The Crepe Place
While at first glance The Herms might seem like just another weird pseudo-surf rock indie band from the glittery streets of LA, they are making waves with their newest album and its self-described “sonic journey”: “The Herms new album, “Welcome All Tourists”, begins with ‘Parades’, a surfy ‘House of The Rising Sun’ set in the blood-soaked sands of sunny Los Angeles. Thus the journey begins as The Herms create a new world of weird scenes, characters & environmental altitudes/attitudes that dive into the altered dimensions of Son of Sam’s master demon, General Jack of the Cosmos, with ‘General Jack’ (a choir of dogs barking at one point). From the anthemic ‘Ready/Set 94’, to the bipolar quiet/loud monster breaths in ‘Bezlo’, the bossa nova ‘Sounds Below’ evoking The Kinks & Arctic Monkeys, to the western expansion of ‘Get On (part II)’ conjuring themes of Westworld if it were set on Hollywood Blvd. Finally, the modular comedown of ‘Autopos’ rounds things out just right as the sun sets.”
If that’s not sufficiently intriguing, the band is planning to launch a Herms app for iOS. Players will play five original video games that go along with album tracks and unlock a new song once completed. The future is now.
Show at 9 pm. Tickets $8 at the door
Saturday, January 7
A Thousand Shall Fall at The Catalyst Atrium
ATSF have been doing dark and very, very loud things on stage since they formed in Santa Cruz back in 2011 as an answer to “all cliche genre bands”. The five-piece group artfully blends together elements of black, death and technical metal combined with an ability to still provide complex rhythm changes and unexpected breakdowns. Like any good metal band, they have plenty of lore and backstory woven throughout their songs. The final segment of their three-piece concept album is set to drop this January carries a theme of destruction, desolation, and regrowth. Come experience A Thousand Shall Fall’s “Theater of Chaos” in all its glory.
Show at 7:30. Tickets $10 in advance/$12 at the door
Saturday, January 7
Rock n Roll Showcase at The Blue Lagoon
If you’re looking for a night filled with fast guitars, head banging, long hair and great stage outfits, look no further. White Fuzzy Bloodbath will be starting off the night with their “we like to eat lots of sugar and rock” lightspeed performance, followed by Homebrew’s Rock n Roll blues. The night will finish off with alt-garage-folk rock from Moonbeaux. As if you needed another reason to come down to this one, the bands will be all be a bit scantily clad in honor of local burlesque troupe The Do-Rights.
Show at 9 pm. Tickets $5 at the door
