Xiu Xiu may be getting a little too big for the britches of The Deli Magazine San Francisco, but we'd like to give them a shout anyway. It is important for us to continue to highlight this local music duo because they are an emerging experimental art rock powerhouse who will probably never get the mainstream or even indie media coverage they deserve due to their highly off kilter and at times, grotesque art and music style.

This Friday (May 15th), Xiu Xiu will be supporting the soulful Canadian rock band, Timber Timbre at The Fillmore in San Francisco. Timber Timbre sounds like a nice blend of The Black Angels and The Black Keys. They sound good and they sound cool (like James Dean cool), so experiencing their live show after Xiu Xiu's out of the box performance will allow you to let your hair down and dance and shuffle around a bit. Don't miss this show!

Music is all about the song, and The Dead Bees live by them. Playing genre-blurring, old fashioned rock n’ roll, they would be home on just about any stage. Delicate harmony, laid back rhythm section, stripped down electric guitars and bare-bones melody, they don’t overdo anything because they don’t need to. Somewhere between the Killers and Joel Plaskett is where these Ottawa-dwelling boys live. Their song Cannonball from their second album “2” is the perfect soundtrack to a weekend at the cottage, or skipping work and just hitting the road. Between the folk-lectric guitar lines, and the lovely light chorus line, it’ll get you to forget about your woes and just sing along. With 2 records under their belt, they’re well on their way to finishing a third, to be named and then released, hopefully in that order, at some point in 2015.-Cody Wright

Boston Calling returns for yet another impressive festival this May and of course, the lineup is brilliant. Along with continuing the trend of attracting incredible big-name talent--this spring’s headliners include: Beck, My Morning Jacket, Tenacious D, and Pixies--Boston Calling has also booked two powerful local opening acts in The Ballroom Thieves and Krill. Recently, I had a chance to exchange a few emails with Jonah Furman, lead vocalist and bass player for Krill. Though the group is known as a “Boston band”, Furman and crew are actually all originally from the suburbs of Chicago. Currently, Furman is the only member who resides in Boston (drummer Ian Becker and guitarist Aaron Ratoff moved to NYC in 2014). Despite the distance, Furman says it hasn’t been difficult to keep the band going.  “It's not tough to practice when you play shows every ten days or so!”, writes Furman. “It’s kind of weird doing a LDR [long distance relationship] band, [but] I don't plan to move to NYC anytime soon.” 

Click here to read an abridged version of the conversation. If you're too busy scrolling through pictures of food and cats on Instagram and want a synopsis: highlights include being offered to play Boston Calling, dealing with unexpected success, and the debilitating effects of consumerism on the world.

Main page photo credit: Ethan Long

Earlier this week, Boston Calling announced the expansion of its summer Block Party series. In addition to the weekly Thursday evening events at Dewey Square (across from South Station), a monthly party has been added back in Downtown Crossing, the original site of the gatherings. All events will continue to feature cheap drinks (sponsored by Shock Top and Wicked Wines) and music courtesy of Boston-area musicians. The Downtown Crossing Block Party kicks-off tonight featuring Tigerman WOAH, with all subsequent events held on the first Wednesday of each month. The Dewey Square Party will launch May 14, with a performance by The Almighty Buck.

For more info about the Block Parties (and to see future performance schedules), check out the Block Party Facebook page.
-Dan McMahon (@dmcmhn)

San Francisco based art rock singer/songwriter, Lila Rose will be celebrating the release of her album, WE. ANIMALS. The event will take place tomorrow on May 7th. Apparently, the new live show is comprised of a full multimedia rig including 3D mapping onto a structure that Lila will be singing from...that's exciting news. It's always good to learn that something new and innovative is going to emerge right before your eyes! Lila is a pretty gutsy performance artist, so you should definitely be ready to experience something a bit off the wall!

The downtempo, indie folk musical outfit, LYNX and talented folk artist, Mariee Sioux will be supporting Lila Rose tomorrow night. Support awesome local musicians who bust their tails to create awesome and elaborate shows for your inspiration and entertainment.