Austin, Texas, twosome Yellow Fever had little control over the dwindling crowd at Nick’s Night Club in Chico, California this week. The headliner had canceled, and the band was forced to bear the brunt of being a foreign act…in a foreign town…at a foreboding hour of the night.

With a simple setup of a drum kit, a keyboard atop it (manned by drummer/keyboardist Adam Jones) and a guitar and bass leaned lazily on a stand (to be plucked by vocalist/bassist/guitarist Jennifer Moore), the duo persevered and parlayed a slacker-rock Blitzkrieg that included rudimentary single-string plunks and contrasting busy drum work/key work from Jones. Their music is a hybrid of late ’80s indie punk and ’00s garage rock revivalism - awkward and frail, but potent enough melody-wise to hold my attention for the majority of their performance. Highlights include Moore’s simultaneous guitar/drum performance, with Jones on bass in one of their poppier tunes (don’t ask me the name, they never said…)

The band is currently on a US tour. I suggest you give them a look-see…

Formed from ex-members of Sacramento’s Mister Metaphor, Seattle, WA’s, Bridges are a progressive math-pop conglomerate with more syrup-sweet melodies than you can shake an abacus at. The band is currently on tour through mid-July on the West Coast, and last night melted the apathy of a cozy crowd at Chico, CA’s Cafe Coda.

The group played for about 40 minutes, without stopping for anything, fashioning a seemingly endless song, which was actually several seamless segues into different tunes. Think early Velvet Teen or don’t. If you live on the West, check these guys out at these select dates. You won’t be disappointed.

After playing a sub-par show last night with my new act (*cough*clickhere*cough*), I was unloading our gear when I saw Strix Vega setting up for their set. What struck me wasn’t the 2 keyboards, 3 billion fx pedals or the 3 guitars for the trio, it was the giant 3 foot gong suspended upon a bass rig via a keyboard stand. I quickly changed my plans from going to bed to checking out the group.

Defined as soul (on their myspace page), I got a very prog, almost Pink Floyd vibe from them. Each member was proficient on their instruments, and their bassist [Andy Powell] pretty much owned. Cummon, when was the last time you saw a guy rip on a 4 string then play keys/ gong at the same time?  Their set was entertaining from start to finish, which is something I can’t say about most bands I see.  If I wasn’t a dirtbag or poor, I would have picked up their CD for sure.

This is a bit atypical of the bands that we generally choose for Synthesis Band of the Day. No horn-rimmed glasses, waifish broads with ugly indie-rock haircuts, ‘roid-bicep hardcore meatheads, striped sweater wussies or epic Dungeons & Dragons progressive metalheads. No, Phredley brings the funk-rock.

In my fledgling college days, back when tie-dye wasn’t as vomitous and my roommate’s constant Phish-Grateful Dead-Phish musical rotation didn’t drive me completely bonkers, I would have broken my left leg to check out a band like Phredley. Now bad photoshop effects kinda irk me, patchouli oil makes me want to hurl and hippie funk in general just pisses me off. But not Phredley. They’s alright.

Based around a brother-sister duo (Phred Brown on Vocals, Guitar & Horns; Alesha Brown on Keys & Vocals) and a rhythm section (Paul Loos, Drums & Vocals; Samuel Tobias Winn, Bass & Vocals) Phredley lays down funk that is far closer to the heart of nearby Detroit than that of longhair revivalists in Colorado or Vermont. And when they stray toward the pop side of the spectrum, it comes across more as radio-friendly than looking for a parking lot miracle. More importantly (for me at least), their lyrics hold water. With the aforementioned hippie-funk enthusiasts, it’s most often the lyrics that drive me to enraged hysterics; Phredley uses some clever (or nearly clever) turns of phrase. No, Phred’s not Leonard Cohen by any means, but in a sometimes poppy, sometimes rocky funk quartet, it works. Their track “The Truth About Capricorns” also has some pretty, Beatelesque, tonally complex passages. If you’re a big fan of Ben Harper/Jack Johnson/Maroon 5, or your ’70s R&B records don’t have much dust on them, do yourself a favor and look into Phredley.

Long Beach, CA is home to more than just gangsta rap. Take Crystal Antlers for example: These five swell fellas rip the stage with a blend of post-punk, metal and dirty down Stooges soul. I shared a bill with these guys just a couple nights after their van had been stolen—fully loaded with gear—and they still performed with reckless abandon, as if a big “Fuck you” to car thieves abound. Check out their upcoming dates:

So if you’re down in LA or headed to SXSW, be sure to give Crystal Antlers a peep. “Until The Sun Dies” and “Partying Song”s one and two are worth admission alone.

Yeeow! Ow! That’s the type of hollering you’ll be doing if you happen to catch a live performance by Sacramento’s WePrickYou. These fellas throw down with the power trio, embracing super stoney fuzz licks and heavy, driving drum work, while managing a loose but humorously intense stage presence.

Frontman and guitarist Marcus Cortez picks a wild curly afro and spits a vocal delivery with undeniable sass and angst, yet is anything but contrived or cliche. And it’s not just any frontman that can keep an audience genuinely entertained between songs with offbeat banter. Matty Magnus holds down bass and synth with ease, chiming in with dual lead and backing vocals, and drummer Scott Quam simply blows the kit apart, all the while rep-ing a look reminiscent of Big Boss Man meets IRS. Check them out on the Space; I would personally recommend “Two Face Mona Lisa” and “Putting Me On.”