Happy Bloody Valentine's Day

Thursday 11
Kick out the jams, brothers and sisters, when Santa Cruz instrumental act Sound Tribe Sector 9 delivers “post-rock dance music” to House of Blues. The electronic quintet shines live with its precision-rhythm-based psychedelic funk and synchronized light show. Like, neo-hippie trippy. DVD Live as Time Changes should show you the ropes. How Long Does It Take to Get to Space? STS9 labelmates Virtual Boy will open the show to let you know.... “It’s not the flu, I’m sick of everything!” Bar Pink books a badass double bill tonight if you’re feeling peckish for some hardcore punk and metal, as emergent locals Rats Eyes (myspace.com/ratseyesratseyes) and Lord Howler (myspace.com/lordhowler) rock the North Park nightspot. Rats Eyes should have some seven-inchers on hand, as their debut “Revenge Quest” is out now on Cave Punk Records.... SanFran pop-rock four-piece ALO (aka the Animal Liberation Orchestra — they used to be a much bigger band) and like-minded locals Stripes and Lines split a bill at Belly Up. ALO on Tuesday dropped their new t’do, Man of the World, via Jack Johnson’s Brushfire label. I’m pretty sure that’s all you need to know right there.... Else: forward-thinking string quartet Brooklyn Rider plays the classics with a twist at the Loft...and acousti-pop she-trio Bitter Sober will play for the piss-drunk at the Flame’s Club Purple.

Friday 12
Philadelphia’s favorite son and another Jack Johnson signee, Garrett Dutton, better known as G. Love, will pour his Special Sauce all over House of Blues. The alt-hop band’s got a new one in Long Way Down, which reads like a best-of collection. I don’t know, I’m not a big Sauce guy. With Vancouver B.C.’s pale rastas Redeye Empire, there’s gonna be some fun dance jams up in the House.... The Yard Dogs Road Show rolls into Casbah Friday night. It’s a traveling rock, roll, and vaudeville revue that offers music, performance art, magic tricks, poetry, and balloon animals (kidding about the balloon animals, just kind of hoping).... Time “passages” when British singer-songer Al Stewart (“Year of the Cat”) takes the stage at Anthology. The ‘70s radio staple is still recording and touring at a clip. His latest is last year’s live catchall called Uncorked.... Uptown, it’ll be acid-jazz cats Pocket at Bar Pink...Santa Fe psych-punks Venus Bogardus at Soda Bar with Pterodacdudes and Lenguas Largas...and indie-rock sets by Lualta and Lights On at Beauty Bar. Catch up with Lualta in this week’s Blurt.

Saturday 13
Belly Up books the Garza brothers, Los Lonely Boys, who are out on their Acoustic Brotherhood Tour. The Tex-Mex trio’s latest is called 1969, and it’s out via Epic Records. Fellow Texan Alejandro Escovedo will set the Solana Beach stage behind his ‘08 career rekindler Real Animal, a real recommendable set for any fan of roots rock.... Casbah digs up Drag the River, Madison Bloodbath, and Cheap Girls. Colorado’s Drag the River is a quintet of former punk players trying on alt-country hats. SoCal crew Madison Bloodbath will bring the barroom rawk. And Cheap Girls are a Superchunky power-pop trio who are totally not girls.... Utter mentionables: the deliciously country-fried skrunks Behind the Wagon pull into Winstons with that Old Devil...and SDSU professor Joe Waters brings the “skate-boarder sax and wild metro-gnome” that is Swarmius to the Loft at UCSD.

Sunday 14
Happy bloody Valentine’s Day. Brick by Brick’s got your death-rock date-night set with L.A. goths Christian Death. CD started in 1979 (!) behind Rozz Williams and Valor Kand. Since the passing of Williams in 1998, it’s been Kand’s band, and he’s calling this their Necro Sexual Tour, which is sort of romantic. For the uninitiated, CD’s 1982 debut Only Theatre of Pain is a goth staple. Order of the Fly and Eternal Unborn will warm up the Bay Park bar with their own stack-shaking bloodlust. Dude, you gotta take her.... The rest of you: one-off local rock-rollers collaboration Listening to Rocks will join carny crew Silent Comedy and Encinitas indie kids Tan Sister Radio at Roger and Sara’s anniversary party at the Casbah. Aw.

Monday 15
It’s President’s Day and time for the big not-called Bob Marley Day Tribute to Reggae Legends at the San Diego Sports Arena. Featured performers Barrington Levy, Don Carlos, and Gregory Isaacs will be joined by a whole bunch more to entertain the Arena’s floor, which will be opened as one big dancehall.... Casbah’s Anti-Monday meet-up stages Foo Fighter Chris Shiflett playing a solo acoustic set. So, the guitarist was once upon a time in cover band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, and he’s got a tat inside his lip that reads “Gimme Gimme.” L.A. folkie Audra Mae goes first.... Buena Park thrashcore crew Ghostlimb headlines the fray at Ché Café with the Separation, Lockstep, Punch, and Satie.... Soda Bar sets up a freebie with L.A. alt-pop performer Vanessa Silberman, better known as Diamonds Under Fire, with local noise-pop faves Feelings Mutual and the Lanterns. Check out the Lanterns’ overlooked EP Apocalypse Youth and mark on your March (26th?) calendar “Lanterns and Surfer Blood at Bar Pink.” Gonna be a good one.

Tuesday 16
Folk-pop hit Suzanne Vega sold out the Loft, so they added a second set at 10p, which, at this typing, tix for it are still available. Now I’m going to have “Luka” in my head all day.... L.A.’s rootsadelic newgrass clan Old Man Markley trips into town Tuesday to take the stage at Casbah behind the like-minded Pete Bernhard and SanFran band the Pine Box Boys.... Radio Room wages punk rawk Drug Wars, with No Idea artists Worn in Red and locals Youth Envy.... Class act jazzman Jessie Davis croons a Tuesday night away at Humphrey’s Backstage.

Wednesday 17
So, Who’s Paranoid? U.K. goth-rock band the Damned check into Casbah for a two-night stint Wednesday and Thursday. These five lads from London have been at it for 35 years, which they just celebrated on tour with metal perennials Motörhead. The Creepy Creeps will open the show on Wednesday.... Real quick with the best of the rest: the ranty Henry Rollins Frequent Flyer Tour lands at Belly Up...experimental jazz trio Medeski Martin & Wood bring their brand-new Evolutionary Set to the House of Blues...while grungy Brooklyn trio Ultra Violent Lights shine on Ruby Room.
— Barnaby Monk