Music to Fall for This Weekend

CALIFORNIA-CRAFTED: This weekend offers music lovers some great gigs that will showcase California-crafted music and brews in happy harmony. On Saturday, October 21, at Third Window Brewing Co. (406 E. Haley St.), the Lagoon District taproom will host two acts that each encapsulate, in song, a perfect Southern California late afternoon: Parting Lines and Kacey Johansing, both from L.A., at 8 p.m.

Parting Lines is the duo of Trevor Beld Jimenez and Tim Ramsey, the first of whom is known from Ventura bands Franklin for Short and Tall Tales and the Silver Lining. Their single “Climb” sails along like a kite caught contentedly on a relaxing breeze. Composed simply of strummed guitar, escalating harmonies, and ever-reassuring lyrical comfort — “You and I’ll be fine” — it’s a great song to cozy up to, and hints at many more pleasant hits ahead.

Johansing, too, brings to mind the beaches and bluffs near Big Sur — where she recorded much of her recent album, The Hiding, released this year on her own record label, Night Bloom Records — albeit with a sound more wistful and mournful than that of her show mates. Songs such as album opener “Bow and Arrow” set heavy reminiscences — “Yes, it was all my fault / It was all my fault / I had a bow and arrow / Unsteady was my shot” — to a Highway 1 road trip breakaway tune, regrets and sadness in the rearview. With tones that shimmer and Johansing’s enthralling voice, it’s music perfectly suited for fans of contemporary indie pop acts like Beach House, Feist, and Camera Obscura, as well as older greats like Fleetwood Mac.

With all musicians in tow having opened for big indie-folk names like Kings of Convenience, Saturday’s show will be a rare opportunity to enjoy Bowl-sized acts in an intimate taproom. Add Third Window’s beers, with their truly craft-focused and seasonal approach, and it’ll be the kind of delight you can’t get in most places of the world come this time of year. What we may lack in fall colors, we make up for in sunshine and beaches and beers, and Third Window, conveniently, sits at an intersection of all. Elsewhere, the leaves have had their fill of sun, but here in SoCal, we’ll happily soak up some more.

GOAT OF OUR TIMES: But wait, there’s more! If your heart prefers to beat northward or westward that night, the Mercury Lounge (5871 Hollister Ave.) will be welcoming Van Goat down from Oakland at 9 p.m., offering up an incredibly energetic way to spend your Saturday night. A rollicking and wild rush of swing punk, its music is as hot and ready to burst as the sizzling wick of a dynamite stick.

Fire and smoke are, tragically, forces our northerly siblings of California have had to contend with lately, and hopefully that mellow beachside bar may be balsam to any emotional scaldings the band or its affiliates may have suffered of late. By the looks of it, though, like on their adorable album-funding cooking show where they dice up a compact disc, Van Goat can handle most circumstances with a laugh and a grin. Should you prefer a sultrier, swampier style of soundscape, then Van Goat will be your best choice for a Saturday beer-and-concert pairing. The band will be sure to kick up a great time.

EASTER TEETH’S PARTY: Celebrate with Easter Teeth, the duo of brothers Tim and Josh Eymann, on Thursday, October 19, when they host a free show in honor of the release of their new album, Truckstop Fear, at Whiskey Richards (435 State St.) at 9 p.m. Their second full-length finds Easter Teeth continuing their bold sound a-crashing with funky punk and complex rhythms. They will be joined by area acts Pookie and Power Slave. Start your weekend early; just don’t concuss yourself from too much headbanging.