Standing inside the Knockout in San Francisco’s Mission district late on a Wednesday night, August 27, 2008, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of déjà vu. I know I’ve been in some club in the city before that had its walls decorated with vintage album covers… but was it this one? And had I been there that time for live music or just to hang? The sad part of the story is, if I had been in the place before, it would not have been longer than four years ago. Score one for aging.

But no matter, this night will surely keep its place in the ol’ memory banks much, much longer – from the warm, excited hug I received from the Happy Hollows’ lead singer/guitarist Sarah Negahdari before I even walked through the door, to the drunkenly enthusiastic girl in the audience who intimated she could be doing exactly what I’m doing right now (and in truth, her first impressions of the Happy Hollows matched mine almost exactly, so if she could get the essence of what she was saying translated to the screen/page, she could very well be a new voice in the ever-crowded blogosphere), and the striking contrast of the three bands on the bill, there was plenty more to associate with the venue this time than just a bunch of LP sleeves on the wall (and 45s too).

I first encountered the Happy Hollows, an energized Pixies-esque punk-ish trio from that hip section of L.A. known as Silver Lake, during San Francisco’s annual Mission Creek festival back in July. What made them stand out that Friday night in July was still very much on display more than a month later, and it was still working to their advantage. But more on that in a bit. (more…)