Wordless stories with Khruangbin Brendan Redmond May 5, 2018 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Reviews Walking in to the Fillmore on Tuesday night, I did not know what to expect from Khruangbin’s live performance. The Texas based, groovy instrumental trio packs a lot of punch on their albums. I had doubts thei...
The new face of folk: an interview with Caamp Makaila Heifner May 2, 2018 Interview If black coffee and cigarettes on a Sunday morning had a soundtrack, it would be the music of Caamp. Caamp is comprised of Taylor Meier and Evan Westfall, two childhood friends who have been playing music since...
An interview with Crystal Bowersox (without discussing Simon Cowell or her hair) Makaila Heifner April 23, 2018 Interview Crystal Bowersox is cool. She is honest and vulnerable, you don’t have to worry about any gimmicks with her. In many ways, she reminds me of a contemporary Janis Joplin: a female powerhouse vocalist set on au...
Bringing Berklee to Cal: in conversation with Eric Falci Celia Davalos March 24, 2018 Interview Eric Falci is a professor at UC Berkeley in the English Department, as well as the head of the Irish Studies Program in the Institute of European Studies, and Associate Dean of the Graduate Division. Within the...
Japanese Breakfast puts the punk in indie rock Veronica Irwin February 26, 2018 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Reviews Since the release of her 2017 record Soft Sounds from Another Planet, Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner has risen from the fairy-like starlett listeners were introduced to with catchy single “Everyone Wa...
MAYDAY & Dead Prez @ The Independent: a photo gallery Circe Ament February 13, 2018 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Photos The Independent is a hip and intimate venue nestled between the Lower Haight and Anza Vista. The lineup for the evening was to be MAYDAY and Dead Prez. MAYDAY is a rising hip-hop duo from Miami, consisting of r...
Thom Yorke continues love affair with the Bay Area at the Fox Rebekah Gonzalez December 20, 2017 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Reviews Thom Yorke loves the Bay Area more than he loves Los Angeles, maybe more than he loves any other area of this country. Yes, this is a bold claim, but if you were one of the lucky souls that attended his solo sh...
AJJ @ Bottom of the Hill Circe Ament December 20, 2017 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Reviews AJJ, a folk-punk band from Arizona, is on tour and selling out shows left and right. Upon arriving to Bottom of the Hill, and edgy punish venue in San Francisco, Kitty Kat Fan Club was halfway through their...
The Seshen preview and ticket giveaway Veronica Irwin November 29, 2017 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Previews, Previews, Uncategorized Bay area-based R&B group The Seshen is set to grace the Cornerstone stage in Berkeley this Friday. Opening will be LoCura, Space Captain, and DJ Dream Queen. Characterized by Akiyoshi Ehara’s synthy-di...
Quinn XCII is as real as it gets Annie Nguyen November 10, 2017 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Multimedia, Photos, Reviews There’s pop, there’s electronic, there’s hip-hop, there’s reggae, and then there’s Quinn XCII, who somehow can effortlessly combine all of those four into his own unexpected, exciting, vibrant sound. ...
Meet AJ, the One Shelby Mayes November 7, 2017 Interview A political activist, journalist, revolutionary, visual artist, and rapper, dynamic doesn’t even begin to cover it. The B-side spoke with AJ, the One about her community involvement, her unique perspectives...
Worlds Apart: Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile share the stage at The Fox Jordan Aronson October 25, 2017 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Reviews Lotta Sea Lice (2017) On paper, Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile come off as unlikely collaborators. Hailing from opposite corners of the world – Barnett from Sydney, Australia, Vile from Philadelphia, PA ...
Bay Area Venue Roulette: Rickshaw Stop Adil Siddiqee October 3, 2017 Blog, Columns and Opinions The San Francisco Bay Area, like any metropolitan zone worth its salt, provides its residents with a healthy concentration of nightclubs, jazz bars, and concert venues. In this series, I’ll be sampling the lo...
Small Crush is living the high school indie dream John Lawson September 25, 2017 Interview, Multimedia, Photos Small Crush formed when lead-singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitarist Logan Hammon (age 17, pink hair — now eggshell blue) felt that her band wasn’t giving her enough freedom to write her own songs. She too...
At The Greek, Mac DeMarco does his thing, takes it easy, celebrates Christmas Jordan Aronson September 13, 2017 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Reviews Last Friday night, Canadian-born, LA-based slacker-rock musician Mac DeMarco rolled through Berkeley’s Greek Theater, playing before a sold out crowd to kick off the North American leg of his tour in support ...