Get Ready for Royal Jelly Jive

Get Ready for Royal Jelly Jive

PHOTO BY TOM DELLINGER

The infectiously danceable SF-formed band comes to Yoshi’s.

Royal Jelly Jive is at once old-timey — the live act smacks of a 1920s boardwalk act and the music sounds like it would be best heard via stuttering phonograph — and thoroughly modern. It’s hard to imagine the music of any actual old-timey jug band being quite this infectiously danceable.

The band formed in San Francisco’s Boom Boom Room in summer 2013 and released its debut album a year later but quickly became one of the Bay Area’s most anticipated acts for its high-energy shows and unique sound. From the creaky klezmer of “Stand Up” to the smooth, smoky lounge jazz of “Dear Mr. Waits,” the band uses horns, keyboards, and accordions to paint unforgettable rough-edged compositions, all odd angles and loose noises. These devilish little concoctions sting on the way down but always leave you wanting more. Husky-voiced Lauren Bjelde’s lugubrious hip-hop delivery straddles the line between burlesque and carny patter, making every performance a feast for the ears.

Wed., Aug. 29, 8 p.m., $19-$27, Yoshi’s, 510 Embarcadero, Oakland, Yoshis.com.