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Café du Nord in San Francisco hosts the JamWow! Festival on Friday evening, May 29. Showtime is 8 pm.

The concert features jam band Garaj Mahal (Fareed Haque, guitar and sitar; Kai Eckhart, bass; Eric Levy, keyboards; and Sean Rickman, drums), guitarist extraordinaire Alex Machacek (with bassist Eckhart and poly-rhythmic drummer Marco Minneman), and jazz-rock juggernaut Heavy Rubber (guitarist Ray Sayre, bassist Jason Muscat, and drummer Jimmy Sage) with special guest guitarist Lindsey Boullt.

Garaj Mahal's sound is a convergence of jazz-style improvisation, mystical Middle-Eastern atmospheres, and danceable American funk… what the band calls "shut-up-and-listen" grooves. Vienna-born guitarist Alex Machacek (who now lives in L.A.) took a left turn in music after hearing the likes of guitar gods Allan Holdsworth and Frank Zappa, and works extensively with former FZ drummer Terry Bozzio. And Heavy Rubber is, well, "not your average cover band" (says manager Greg Rocha), drawing on past musical influences as diverse as Jeff Beck, Steve Morse, Joe Satriani, and the Dixie Dregs. For the JamWow! Festival, Heavy Rubber and Boullt will be featuring tunes from the Mahavishnu Orchestra songbook, along with a few Boullt originals.

The show promises to be a sold-out affair, so visit www.cafedunord.com or call 415.861.5016 for tickets or more info. Café du Nord is located at 2170 Market Street in San Francisco.

Oh, and bring your favorite Tweeter…