[Locals Only is a weekly feature where the Stranger Dance staff focus on the best and brightest of the San Francisco Bay Area music scene. Feel free to hit us up with any information on local bands, musicians, shows, and other music-related events and projects.]

It is not uncommon to see Meric Long of the Dodos walking around the 16th & Mission corridor in San Francisco (amongst crackheads and some truly delicious Mexican food) when the band isn’t busy touring the world. It is also not uncommon to see the Dodos making as many appearances as possible at the Bay Area’s major music festivals (see: Noise Pop 2008, Treasure Island 2008, Outside Lands 2009), and selling out any and all homecoming shows (see: last summer’s blast at the Independent). 2008’s Visiter created beloved status for the Dodos at local, national, and international levels; come September 15th, Time to Die will likely remind us why we fell for the band in the first place.

The Dodos’ music is a lesson in minimalism. Meric Long and Logan Kroeber pick strings and bang drums (respectively) with incredible precision, creating a huge, intricate sound that overflows with energy. The freak-folk classification of the Dodos would seem all too primitive and spastic if the band’s music wasn’t also quite graceful, rich, and melodic.

Turning the former duo into a trio, Keaton Snyder has offered up his vibraphone chops and officially joined Long and Kroeber as they gear up for the release of Time to Die (the band’s newest album and third overall):

1. Small Deaths
2. Longform
3. Fables
4. The Strums
5. This Is A Business
6. Two Medicines
7. Troll Nacht
8. Acorn Factory
9. Time To Die

This interview on Pitchfork offers a solid look at Time to Die as we lay in wait for September 15th. And also on P4K front, check out the Dodos performing “Fables” in all its excellence:

Lastly, here are the dates of the Dodos’ summer/fall tour. (Will they still have time to sell beer? Fingers crossed . . .)

07/01 Landmark – Bergen, Norway
07/02 Revolver – Oslo, Norway
07/03 Tavastia – Helsinki, Finland
07/04 Roskilde Festival – Roskilde
07/09 Phoenix Theater – Toronto, Ontario
07/10 Ottawa Blues Festival – Ottawa, Ontario
07/11 Metropolis Theatre – Montreal, Quebec
07/16 Plage de Rock Festival – St Tropez, France
07/17 Melt Festival – Berlin, Germany
07/18 Dour Festival – Dour, Belgium
07/19 Valkhof Affaire – Nijmegen, NL
08/08 Getty Museum – Los Angeles, California
08/14 KEXP Mural Amphitheater Summer Series – Seattle, Washington
08/29 Outside Lands Festival – San Francisco, California
09/01 Glee Club – Birmingham, UK
09/02 Thekla – Bristol, UK
09/03 Bush Hall – London, UK
09/04 King tut’s – Glasgow, UK
09/05 Ruby Lounge – Manchester, UK
09/07 Maroquinerie – Paris, France
09/08 Botanique Rotunda – Brussels, Belgium
09/10 Molotow – Hamburg, Germany
09/11 Magnet – Berlin, Germany
09/12 Melkweg – Amsterdam, NL
09/13 End of Road Festival – Dorset, UK
09/26 – Henry Miller Library – Big Sur, CA
09/27 – El Rey Theatre – Los Angeles, CA
09/28 – Casbah – San Diego, CA
09/29 – Club Congress – Tucson, AZ
09/30 – Modified – Phoenix, AZ
10/02 – House of Blues, Pontiac Garage – Dallas, TX
10/03 – The Orange Show – Houston, TX
10/04 – Austin City Limits Festival – Austin, TX
10/06 – Club Downunder – Tallahassee, FL
10/07 – The Earl – Atlanta, GA
10/08 – Grey Eagle – Asheville, NC
10/09 – Rock and Roll Hotel – Washington DC
10/10 – Talking Head – Baltimore, MD
10/12 – First Unitarian Church – Philadelphia, PA
10/13 – Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY
10/14 – Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY
10/15 – Middle East Downstairs – Cambridge, MA
10/16 – La Sala Rossa – Montreal, QC
10/17 – Lee’s Palace – Toronto, ON
10/19 – Bottom Lounge – Chicago, IL
10/20 – Turf Club – St. Paul, MN
10/22 – Bluebird Theater – Denver, CO
10/24 – Neurolux – Boise, ID
10/25 – Aladdin Theatre – Portland, OR
10/26 – The Biltmore Cabaret – Vancouver, BC

MP3s (from 2008’s Visiter):