For Whom the Festival Rolls HR Huber-Rodriguez October 31, 2016 Columns and Opinions, Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews I stood in a crowd of about 20,000, waiting for the man who might very well go down as the best rapper of all time. Earlier that day, I had previously been harangued into seeing The Chainsmokers, and their bran...
Young the Giant light up the Fox Theater Oakland, remind us they’re “just getting started” Jacob Elsanadi October 30, 2016 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Reviews Young the Giant seem to represent the best of the all-too pervasive “indie rock” branding. For a band playing within a genre that in recent years has been taken over by overtly corporate efforts at making a...
Drain – the waves aren’t the only thing slamming Sam Jameson October 30, 2016 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Multimedia, Photos, Reviews This weekend I had the pleasure of going back to Santa Cruz to catch the rockers in Drain playing their hometown date of their west coast run with Momentum (LA Crossover) and No Right (SF Hardcore). This show ...
The Growlers sell out and the sky cries: Beach Goth 2016 Ally Mason October 30, 2016 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Photos 1 Comment Music festivals are crowded. They curate grandeur and spectacle at the expense of intimacy and sometimes, safety. In the rush to obtain the best vantage point possible, many fans will crack a few eggs to make a...
Opeth: A spiritual experience Rebekah Gonzalez October 26, 2016 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Photos On October 22, Opeth stopped by the Warfield in San Francisco. The Swedish band opened with the titular track from their new album Sorceress and went straight into a face melting performance of "Ghosts of Perdi...
Run the Jewels burst back onto the scene with “Talk to Me” Jordan Aronson October 25, 2016 News, Reviews There’s a rumble in the distance. It builds on itself, getting louder and louder until a voice emerges with a boom: We return from the depths of the badland With a gun and a knife in our waistband. W...
NxWorries make sweet, safe love on Yes Lawd! Adil Siddiqee October 25, 2016 Album Review, Reviews 2 Comments If you and yours are tired of studying/chilling/euphemism-ing to Top 40 R&B, try some neo-soul. It's a good time to get into it, considering artists like Solange, Xenia Rubinos, and Frank Ocean have release...
Recounting Treasure-less Island, 2016 Conner Smith and Nathaniel Wartzman October 21, 2016 Columns and Opinions, Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Reviews Saturday: The little bit of sun between the rain There’s a lot to be said about Treasure Island 2016. But to be concise, it wasn’t great. Having been to many different festivals including Coachella a...
Grouplove is a Big Mess – in the best way possible Michelle Cho October 20, 2016 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Multimedia, Photos, Reviews Thursday night in Oakland on the evening of October 6th was a little more vibrant than usual, thanks to the presence of indie-pop band Grouplove. The five members performed at the Fox Theater on a stage of brig...
Ween reunites at Bill Graham Rebekah Gonzalez October 20, 2016 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Photos This past weekend, October 14 and 15, Ween stopped by the Bill Graham Civic Center Auditorium in San Francisco, on the first tour since their disheartening breakup in 2012. With over two decades under their b...
Tears were shed at The Tallest Man on Earth Brendan Redmond October 17, 2016 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Reviews The most difficult aspect of being an opening band is drawing in the crowd. In my experience, openers are usually perceived as background music before the headliner. With intriguing arpeggiated acoustic rif...
Cash Money’s J-Soul is Up Next Matt Sater October 16, 2016 Album Review, Reviews It’s an instantly recognizable two-note sequence. It ascends from the song’s dominant key to the song’s minor third, every time, without variation. It's less of an announcement and more of an affirmation,...
Danny Brown blesses the mic at Regency Ballroom Eda Yu October 15, 2016 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews The lights dimmed as Danny Brown’s DJ took the stage, quietly setting up his deck in the faint hue of red-blue light. Everyone cheered loudly as he looked out and acknowledged the plethora of excited faces lo...
The Head & The Heart make Berkeley family Kavitha George October 15, 2016 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Reviews West coast Americana at its finest, The Head & The Heart finally made their return to Berkeley on Saturday, a whirlwind of infectious energy and familial love. Debuting their 2016 album Signs of Light to a...
Joyce Manor (the band you will never get out of your head) rocks Great American Music Hall Sam Jameson October 6, 2016 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Multimedia, Photos, Reviews Joyce Manor kicked off their Fall 2016 tour on October 5th at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. After roughly a 3 month break since their last full US tour with Modern Baseball, the band returne...