by Drew Mackie

ONE CRAZY NIGHT: If the sudden influx of tinsel
and tree flocking into your everyday life doesn’t fill you with the
holiday spirit, you might be interested in the Hanukkah Tour 2006,
which pairs Jews and punk music for a rocking response to the
Christmas season. The Oakland punks of Jewdriver — itself a
response to the skinhead punk band Skrewdriver — advertise
themselves as one of the worst bands in the Bay Area. Jewdriver
will be joined by Yidcore, which is currently on its first-ever
American tour, and its punk covers of Jewish classics like “If I
Were a Rich Man” as well as originals like “Why Won’t Adam Sandler
Let Us Do His Song?” are sure to put you in a Jewish-punk frenzy.
And to close out the show will be New Orleans band The Zydepunks,
which fuse Cajun, Irish, and Jewish sounds like nobody else.
Literally. It all goes down on Sunday, December 17 at Casa de la
Raza at 8 p.m.

SHARP CHEESE: Perhaps most familiar to house
and electronica fans from its broadcasts on XM Radio, Los Angeles’s
Max Cheddar — comprised of Brent Beaudette, Sean Smith, and David
Heil — has climbed up the Southern California club scene. Now, Max
Cheddar is starring at Elevation — Club Couchez’s night of
experimental dance music. Elevation starts on Saturday, December 16
at 9 p.m.

TIMES THREE: S.B. hip-hop artist Damizza has
three reasons to celebrate. Of course, this week’s concert
anticipates the early 2007 release of his new album, Guilty by
Association, which features collaborations with the likes of Mariah
Carey, Nate Dogg, and Fat Joe. Perhaps even timelier than that,
however, is that the show will also celebrate both Damizza’s
birthday and the holiday season. The three-fold party may seem like
a lot to pack into a venue in one night, but it’s actually small
potatoes for a guy who has worked hard enough to publish two albums
on his own personal label, BabyRee Records. Party three times over
on Saturday, December 16 at Velvet Jones.

SEXY STRUCTURES: Buildings Breeding may suggest
a venture into the grotesque, but this Davis-based band delivers a
lighter sound that falls somewhere between the indie and surf
varieties of rock music. The band, which recently released its
debut album, is swinging through Santa Barbara between its L.A. and
San Francisco gigs, which means residents could get a chance to see
Buildings Breeding before they go big. Other acts include the
rockers of SeaHag. Be at Muddy Waters on Monday, December 18 at 8
p.m.

JONESING FOR HER: Acclaimed singer, two-time
Grammy winner, and self-described “lower-middle-class,
hillbilly-hipster” Rickie Lee Jones takes S.B. by storm this Monday
night. Jones may have never become the next Joni Mitchell — as
music critics dubbed her upon her debut in 1978 — but that’s
probably only because her creative energies evolved too quickly to
pigeonhole her in one role. Jones scored a major hit with “Chuck
E.’s in Love” and has continued to write and perform rock, soul,
and jazz all the while, but she has often poured more energy into
political activism than being a rock star. Nonetheless, Jones will
be releasing a new album, The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard, in
early 2007. And in case any of that doesn’t give Jones enough
credibility, know this: She dated Tom Waits. That alone means she
has staying power. See Jones sing new and old songs at SOhO on
Monday, December 18.

Y MAS: If none of the above suits your fancy,
here’s a quick rundown of the rest of the weekly happs. Everything
old is repackaged again with The New Cars performing at the
Majestic Ventura Theatre on Thursday, December 14, with original
members Elliot Easton and Greg Hawkes, plus legend Todd Rundgren.
The best of ’60s and ’70s soul comes to SOhO with the Soul City
Survivors — with singing, dancing, and the whole shebang on Friday,
December 15 at 9:30 p.m. One Silver Astronaut’s Shane Mills treads
the line between indie rocker and singer/songwriter with his
performance at Borders in Goleta on Saturday, December 16 at 8 p.m.
And Elsie’s hosts indie kids Stackis and Julie Mack on Tuesday,
December 19 at 9 p.m.

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