The Blacks

Rock-show faux pas No. 121: Attending with a percussion device and playing it from the seats without the band’s consent. Rock-show awesome trick No. 154: Taking along 100 tambourines and passing them out to your audience. San Francisco’s the Blacks (no relation to the ’90s alt-country band) recently attempted the latter, inciting an enthusiastic crowd to the peak of tambo-shaking ecstasy. But even without audience participation, the tambourine plays a pivotal role in a band that otherwise relies solely on drums and electric guitar. With female yalper Luisa Black at the helm, comparisons to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are inevitable, but we hear just as much Royal Trux and Sleater-Kinney.