We’re switching things up here at Kata Rokkar. No more long lists of Bay Area live shows on the Sunday post. It’s gotten tedious and time consuming and frankly I don’t think anyone really reads the whole thing. What will be happening is a separate calender page opening in the next few days. I’ll be posting the best of the Bay Area shows there from now on. This post will be dedicated to highlighting what’s good this week and reviews of any shows I may have attended. If you are sweating right now and wondering where to go to find the best in Bay Area shows until we launch the calender, head over to The Bay Bridged and click on their calender. While you’re there, check out their podcasts, show coverage, and comprehensive interviews.

Okay enough of that. Last Thursday’s theSTART show was full of the band’s greatest songs from their last 8 years as well as a sneak peak at their latest project, Normandie. What I love about theSTART is that they are a band that could have given up 5 years ago and no one would have blamed them. The criminally underrated band pushed on despite changes in line-up and poor record sales. They constantly evolve and mesh styles like shoegaze, glam pop, dance, and goth rock to create a style all their own. With the assistance of lead vocalist Aimee Echo’s signature vocal style, the band still performs beautifully live with their high energy sets. You can still catch the band on tour or at this year’s SXSW.

Electro-pop outfit, have been brewing up tunes for almost 2 years now and still don’t have a record to show for it. What they do have is a live show filled with flashing fluorescent lights, heavy beats, and techno-pop songs buried in static. Thursday’s show at the Rickshaw Stop was a unique and entertaining look into a group that has been molding it’s identity over the past few years. While they do not have any shows lined up right now, according to lead vocalist Eric Victorino, they do have various record labels circling and interested in showcasing their potential. This could be good news for fans of a band that has yet to release anything outside of their myspace (or this website).

As for this week, the Cut Copy show is obviously sold out, so good luck trying to find tickets on craigslist. Today Jim Norton is doing a show at Cobb’s Comedy Club, that should be a good time. Secret Chiefs 3 are playing Masada Book II in full over at Yoshi’s in San Fran on Tuesday. There’s still some tickets left for the Asobi Seksu show at the Independent. And do your best to make it out to the local Amoeba Records at 6pm on Friday to see a solo set by freak-folker Phosphorescent for free before he heads over to Café du Nord that night.

See you out there!

theSTART – The 1234

The Limousines – Dancing At Her Funeral (Demo)

Asobi Seksu – New Years

Phosphorescent – Reasons to Quit

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