The greatest shows are often put on by those bands that most of your friends have never heard of playing in small dives. Jason Webley started busking on the streets of Seattle with his distinctive brand of accordion music. He now tours venues around the world on his own and as part of his Monsters of Accordion tour, which showcases a number of other talented accordion musicians. He recently headlined a show with Sxip Shirey of the gypsy-folk-punk band Luminescent Orchestrii at the Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco.
A few weeks later and across town at the Hemlock Tavern, Schaffer the Darklord put on his own show. At the back end of a long, narrow room at the back of an otherwise average bar, a small group of fans gathered to listen to a curious flavor of live nerdcore rap performances. In this intimate setting, the New York-based Schaffer covered a range of topics including clones, social networking and zombies.