In a city where half the live music venues have been swallowed by rising rents and the other half are drowning in permit fees, any album release show in San Francisco deserves a tip of the hat. Electric Ex is doing just that — throwing a proper release concert for their new album Analog Therapy, and it's exactly the kind of scrappy, independent cultural moment this city needs more of.

Let's be real: San Francisco's live music scene has taken hits from every direction over the past decade. Between pandemic shutdowns, byzantine city regulations, and a nightlife economy that bureaucrats seem allergic to supporting, the bands and venues still standing are basically performing an act of defiance. Every album release show is a small protest against the idea that SF's creative energy has permanently migrated to LA or Austin.

Electric Ex's decision to go with Analog Therapy as an album title feels almost too on the nose for a city that could use a little less screen time and a little more humanity. There's something refreshingly straightforward about musicians making music, pressing a record, and throwing a party to celebrate it — no VC funding round, no pivot to AI-generated content, no "disruption." Just art.

We don't do lifestyle puff pieces here, but we do care about the economic ecosystem that keeps San Francisco interesting. Every independent show that draws a crowd is money flowing to local venues, bartenders, sound engineers, and the taco truck parked outside. That's real economic activity — the kind that doesn't require a city grant or a mayoral photo op.

If you're tired of doom-scrolling through stories about what San Francisco has lost, maybe go see what it still has. Electric Ex is putting in the work. The least we can do is show up.