As a new San Franciscan, one of the features of the itty bitty city by the water I’m most enjoying is its constant stream of outdoor events. There’s always an event I’m either going to or looking forward to - which pretty much sums up my weekend and is making me giddy for the first half of October. 


This weekend has me spending some quality time at Golden Gate park for Hardly Strictly Bluegrass



with some good ol’ fashion queer debauchery at Hardly Strictly French sandwiched in between.  

Hard French Queerness


But while my weekend with Conor Oberst, Emmylou Harris, Belle Brigade and a bunch of horny queers promises to be …ahem… unforgettable, I think I’ll save that for a recap next week.


Every few days until the festival (October 14) I will be highlighting one of the incredible bands that will be performing at Treasure Island Music Festival 2011. This is my first year attending, and I’m not lying when I say that every artist on the bill is one that I want to see. 


#1 Geographer



Following the deaths of both his father and sister, lead singer Mike Deni ventured from New Jersey to San Francisco in 2005, where he met bandmates Nathan Blaz (cello, electronics) and Brian Ostriecher (drums). Dark, melancholy themes bubble up from below surface of the shimmering pop melodies and the polyrhythmic, danceable synth-pop textures of the band. Reflecting the duality of this album, Deni’s accessable, yet sometimes esoteric lyrics are both haunting and uplifting, bringing to light a level of complexity and introspection not often seen in this genre.


With the successful release of their full-length album Innocent Ghosts in 2008 and the buzz generated by their 7” Kites in the fall of ‘09, Geographer has been a name well-known the the SF pop scene. Animal Shapes, their spring ‘10 release(download it here, listen to it here), lived up to the expectations, showing off 6 beautifully crafted songs that paved the way for tours with artists like Stars, Ladytron, and now to TIMF 2011. 


Animal Shapes was released on Tricycle Records, known for their ability to sniff out the most unrestricted and promising of San Francisco artists (see Silver Swans and the Blacks), 


To see them on this coast, head to TIMF on 10/15. To see them on the other, head to Le Poisson Rouge in NYC on 10/20. You won’t regret it.

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