It’s important to start off the new year with the right tone, and that means starting off emo. Since the release of their 2018 debut, awakebutstillinbed (aka absib) has been San Jose’s #1 representative in the emo ecosystem, bringing the world their frantic and compelling combination of pained vocals and harrowing guitar licks. This Saturday, they’re joined by Bay hyperska artist Eichlers and Seattle’s Worst Party Ever—originally a solo acoustic songwriting project for vocalist Andy Schueneman, now a Gainesville-based band who recently released a strong album in Dartland. This bill is sure to bang heads at the X Bar.

awakebutstillinbed
Sat, 8pm, $15
The X Bar, Cupertino

Over the course of the pandemic, San Jose emerged as the new capital of hardcore punk, with bands generating buzz for their cult live performances and dropping critically acclaimed records left and right. Sunami is perhaps the most-hyped of these acts, their second-ever live performance this last June in a San Jose parking lot attracting 2,000 punks from around the country. After a stint of sold-out shows all over, the pioneers of “ignorant hardcore” are bringing their proudly stupid, loud and ugly music to the place where it all began, and bringing Oxnard riffmasters Dead Heat along with them.

Sunami
Fri, 7:30pm, $20
X-Bar, Cupertino

The word is officially out—the South Bay is at the center of an exciting moment in hardcore music. People are hungry for the sound, and our bands are out there representing us in moshpits and DIY venues throughout the nation. Hometown heroes Spy are back with a stacked lineup of touring and local acts. They killed it at the X-Bar when they performed in September and now they have a whole new record’s worth of material to bring for this return show. This is sure to be a mosher’s delight, and a great opportunity to see why listeners have lifted San Jose up to the top of the punk rock pedestal.

Spy
Sun, 7pm, $10
X-Bar, Cupertino

Every heavy music fan should know Zulu. On their incredible 2020 EP, My People… Hold On, the LA act mix hardcore with spirituals and performance art, and center the experience of African American women. “As a Black woman, I stand at the intersection of racism and sexism,” Aleisia Miller testifies over hypnotic piano on album opener “Blackcurrant.” A minute later, Zulu explode into an exhileratingly brief hardcore suite spanning blastbeats, beatdowns and breaks that culminates in the album’s title plea. At X-Bar, they’re joined by tourmates Scalp and San Jose’s own Spy, whose 2020 EP Service Weapon is pure dystopia soundtrack.

Zulu
Fri, 7pm, $10
The X-Bar, Cupertino

Music promotion organization Heavy San Jose is putting together bowling, brews and heavy metal in a weekend showcase of over 20 rock bands from across the West Coast. San Jose classics like Infinite Sleep and Dolores will be appearing alongside stoner metal shredders Hippie Death Cult and Holy Grove, both natives of Portland. Other outfits hail from across Northern California, Los Angeles and even Salt Lake City. Hosted at the X-Bar adjacent to Homestead Bowl, there will be libations on deck from Ghost Town Brewing, Laughing Monk and Alvarado Street Brewing.

Bowling and Beers in Hell
Fri-Sun, Various Times, $10+
Homestead Bowl & The X-Bar

Over the past few years, Outer-Space Entertainment has drawn together many of the South Bay’s rock outfits for various live events. The artist management and booking organization returns to Cupertino’s nightlife bastion, The X-Bar, with a showcase of homegrown artists like San Jose alternative rock quintet Living Among Giants and prog-metal rockers Cyborg Octopus. Harnessing the gripping intensity of nine local groups, the event is headlined by Sacramento-based singer Kurt Travis, who is best known for his work with post-hardcore acts like Dance Gavin Dance and A Lot Like Birds.

Outer-Space Fest
Sat, 4pm, $5+
The X-Bar, Cupertino

Munich is far away and plane tickets are expensive. Fortunately for local punk rock fans unable to make it out to Deutchland for the world’s largest beer festival, the X-Bar is throwing an Oktoberfest of its own. Punktoberfest boasts two stages and 10 bands, along with $2 PBRs and $2 slices of pizza. The bill includes In Her Own Words, All is Fair, Grandma’s Cat, Living Among Giants, UP&GO, Can’t Complain, Crosswalkband San Jose, Nalamora, Free Candy and Perfect Score.

Punktoberfest
Sat 4pm, $10
Homestead Bowl & X-Bar, Cupertino

Up and coming local singer-songwriter Zoey Campbell blends resonant vocals with spare but affecting arrangements on her self-released three-song demo—now streaming at soundcloud.com/zoeyalise. It’s a promising collection of mellow, soulful indie-folk, which belies her youth (the San Jose native is just 19) and hints at a strong debut yet to come. On standout track “What Is It, Gotta Be True,” Campbell’s smoky, sultry melody fuses effortlessly with a slow-stomping backing track and a wandering bass. She recently played the SoFA Street Fair and she will perform at the SoFA Market on April 26 before this April 27 show in Cupertino. (NV)

Zoey Campbell
Fri, 9pm, $5
The X Bar, Cupertino

Monkey may very well be San Jose’s longest running, consistently-active band. The band emerged in 1995, but unlike a lot of Monkey’s contemporaries, it never mixed punk rock and ska. Monkey always stuck strictly to the traditional more R&B-based sounds of ska’s first wave.

We caught up with Curtis Meacham (vocals/guitar) to ask him about the side of San Jose he knows best.

What part of Silicon Valley are you from?

Originally, I grew up in Sunnyvale, but I’ve lived in Downtown San Jose a couple of times and it’s always been a blast. There is actually a lot of community feel that can be experienced in San Jose on different levels. In a way, it’s always entertaining.

What’s your favorite place outside of San Jose?

Well, I like Telluride, Colo., for the beauty, Victoria, BC, for the people, and Belgium for the amazing food! Right now, I live in Campbell and it’s pretty cool… only, not as cool as Belgium.

What’s the best show you’ve seen in San Jose?

Easily, Prince at the Shark Tank a couple of years back. He came twice in the summer and I caught both shows—absolutely amazing. Aside from that, there’s the crazy Cactus Club shows, like the Twinkie fight during Big Sissy Brigade’s show, or the on-stage beer enema during the Diesel Queens.

Who’s your favorite local musician or band?

There’s a lot of really cool talent in San Jose. For fun factor, there’s always FTB. For good songwriting, there’s David Brookings. For ass-kickin’ guitars, there’s the Gillbillies.

Where’s your favorite place to get a drink in San Jose?

The Cinebar is always the cheapest, but aside from that, I always visit Rachel and her band of merry men, down at the Caravan.

Where’s a cool spot to get clothes?

Working Man’s Emporium. You can get some cool Dickies, Carhartt and Ben Davis there.

What’s your favorite spot for a cheap meal?

Any Vietnamese restaurant—and I do mean amy! Seriously, how can you make such a rockin’ sandwich for $3? it boggles the mind.

What’s the best thing about living in Silicon Valley?

It’s close to everything: 30 minutes from the beach, 40 minutes from SF and three hours from serious mountains.

Where’s the best place in SJ to go relax?

The back room at Trials pub. It’s low key and there’s a fireplace. How much more relaxing can you get?

Where’s the best place to see a show in San Jose?

Believe it or not, it’s the X Bar at the Homestead Lanes in Cupertino! Hands down. But then you say: “Hey, that’s not in San Jose, proper” …and to that, I say “Suck it Trebek!”

What’s San Jose’s best kept secret?

That damn orange sauce.

San Francesca has undergone a lot of changes lately. First there was that whole name switch—remember when they were called Le Verita? Now they’ve added a drummer to their lineup, which has evolved their sound.

They used to be a synth-pop band with a dark indie rock edge. They couldn’t decide if they were a dance or rock band, just like early New Order. Well, the new San Francesca are not a dance band, not that it makes them any easier to classify.

They bring their new album, We Live In Public, to X Bar this Saturday, showcasing their matured sound. With a drummer, the synth-pop elements have been tempered significantly, exposing some of their less obvious influences like Sigur Rós and other slow burning, experimental post-rock bands. Yet they still mix in some straight-forward pop sounds and heart-felt indie rock influences—bands like the National come to mind.

The production on the new record is fuller than any prior recording. The first few tracks start out darker and heavier with Harrison Russell’s vocals bathed in distortion, giving it an eerie distance. Deeper in, the album mellows out a bit. There’s even a few pretty synth ballads; played with drums, of course.

Headlining the show is East Bay metal-string band Judgment Day, who are truly unlike any other band out there. They play instrumental heavy metal, but without guitars. The trio includes a cellist, a violinist and drummer. The stringed-instruments are run through a distortion pedal and the drums are what you might expect from a metal band.

Riffing out on chamber instruments isn’t as weird as it may sound. In fact, it sounds a lot closer to standard metal than you’d expect. Still the differences are noticeable. The tone and timber of the instruments are just off enough to grab your attention. And when they slide up and down on their fretless stringed instruments, let’s just say that’s outside of Kirk Hammett abilities. The end result lands a little closer to math rock than Metallica.

Also on the bill are two lighter, easier-to-digest bands, both steeped in folk. LA’s “Hello, the Future” is a weird one-woman geeky folk act, while Cartoon Bar Fight are a local upbeat indie-folk outfit. The show will open with a dark short horror film called Green by local filmmaker Jonathan Sontag, about fungus-infected undead insects feeding on people’s blood.

Judgment Day and San Francesca play Saturday, July 7 at X Bar in Cupertino, 8pm; $8.