Tennis time travels in San Francisco
If Tennis’s music is good at one thing, it’s traveling back in time to the warm, breezy summers of the early 70’s. Their retro sound features balmy keyboards, pronounced bass lines, and soothing harmonies...
Quinn XCII is as real as it gets
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. ...
Going hard at the Jay Som show: Melina and friends return to the Bay with unbridled fun
“People are going hard at the Jay Som show!” someone in the crowd exclaimed.
Jay Som, AKA Oakland-based musician Melina Duterte, looked up and beamed.
“People are going hard at the Jay Som show!”...
Moses Sumney starts tour off with a bang after dropping Aromanticism
Moses Sumney is talented, majorly talented. If the first minute of his show couldn’t tell you that, his features on tracks of big name artists like Flume (“Weekend”) and Solange (“Mad”) should. With...
At The Greek, Mac DeMarco does his thing, takes it easy, celebrates Christmas
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 ...
Lo Moon keeps The Masonic grounded as Air heads for stars
Lo Moon
There’s a strange phenomenon in the Bay Area where concert-goers, more often than not, skip the opening act. As a Los Angeles native, I’m accustom to seeing most of a crowd line up before the do...
Phoenix absolutely dominates BFD stage
LIVE 105’s Big Fucking Day is the South Bay’s one-day music festival. It’s that one festival that’s kind of like a knock-off version of Coachella, but surprisingly not so hard on your wallet. That last ...
Girlpool’s Harmony and Cleo grow up on new sophisticated album Powerplant
“1, 2, 3 will you list it off to me? How you’re sorry you feel weird in a jubilation dream” is what the Girlpool girls whisper at the top of their third full-length -- and, of course, still wonderfully wr...
Robin Pecknold left the nest and returned with a new Fleet Foxes album
For the first time in almost six years, Fleet Foxes' Robin Pecknold’s distinctive voice has brought life to new lyrics with the release of their new single, “Third of May / Ōdaigahara.” The track was jo...
Hippo Campus debuts fresh, new album at Slim’s
Slim’s in San Francisco was absolutely packed on Tuesday night for the sold-out Hippo Campus concert. The four-person indie rock band, made up of high school friends from Twin Cities, Minnesota, just released...
Interview with pop soul’s Valentine, Kevin Garrett
Kevin Garrett is an authentic young/old soul, incredibly talented, and a little bit of a dork. His music (just two EPs so far) is a modern iteration of Sam Cooke, Robert Johnson-era soul beats and vocal dexte...
Teen Daze awakens from utopic dreams on ‘Themes,’ to play NP25 at Hemlock Tavern
Sometime in the last couple of years, British Columbia’s Teen Daze (Jamison) disclosed his last name (Isaak) and relocated to Abbotsford, a quieter part of the Fraser Valley he’s called home the entire time...
Austra to bring political subtleties to MEZZANINE SF
“I love you more than you love yourself,” croons Katie Stelmanis on a lead single of the same title from Austra’s recent album, Future Politics, out January 20 via Domino.
https://www.youtube.com/watc...
LANY Romances at The Regency Ballroom
On the evening of November 17th at The Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, front man Paul Klein of indie-pop band LANY opened the show in an unusual manner. Without any explanation, he sat down cross-legged on t...
Dissecting band history and sound with Creature Comfort
Don’t be turned away by the 48,000 plays on their top song. Creature Comfort’s talent and originality are not reflected in their current popularity (or lack thereof). I had a chance to Skype with two member...