Jason DeBord's Rock Subculture Journal

K.Flay’s “Bad Vibes” Out Everywhere; Intimate Shows in San Francisco and Seattle

One of my favorite emerging artists, K.Flay, has put out a new song, “Bad Vibes” produced by Tommy English (Ariana Grande, Kacey Musgraves).  With Night Street/Interscope Records, the two-time Grammy® Award-nominated artist also put out a music video for the new song which was directed by Lorraine Nicholson and co-stars actress Kathryn Gallagher (“Annika” from the Netflix series You).  In conjunction with these releases, K.Flay has announced a handful of shows for fans in intimate venues. This includes shows on April 15th in San Francisco at Bottom of the Hill and on April 17th in Seattle at Columbia City Center. K.Flay will also appear at this year’s Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee as well as Dan Reynolds’ (of Imagine Dragons) LOVELOUD Festival in Salt Lake City, UT.

You can keep up with all the latest with K.Flay on her official website at:

Upcoming Dates

  • 04/15 – San Francisco, CA – Bottom Of The Hill
  • 04/17 – Seattle, WA – Columbia City Center
  • 06/14 – Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
  • 06/29 – West Valley City, UT – LOVELOUD Festival

For ticket info and additional the latest tour dates visit: www.kflay.com/tour

You can check out my concert review of K.Flay at The Fillmore in San Francisco from last year here: LINK

Click on the image below for the latest and up to date full Rock Subculture Journal schedule of pop and rock music concerts/tours coming up for review (2019 Rock Subculture Schedule):

Jason DeBord

Thievery Corporation at Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort & Casino | Reno, Nevada | 9/4/2018 (Concert Review + Photos)

Music from the future.  I’m not sure how else to describe Thievery Corporation and their live show at the Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort & Casino this week.  I’ve followed them casually for many years now, but never made a concerted effort to dig into their many releases put out on their own label going back a few decades now… but their live concert sure inspired me to do so.  Their music is so rich with influences, at once it feels like it is from everywhere and no where familiar all at once.  It doesn’t feel “American”, it feels more like it is from the planet Earth.  It is what I imagine popular music might sound like many, many decades from today.  But it is here and now.  In any event, whatever it is and wherever it came from Rob Garza and the many artist who work with him and tour with him put on one of the best shows I’ve seen this year, and turned me into a fan.  I have a lot of catching up to do, which is a good thing.

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K.Flay at The Fillmore | San Francisco, California | 1/17/2018 (Concert Review + Photos)

“San Francisco, the great and unexpected joy in my adult life is that I make music and I get to play it every night people with that I care about…” K.Flay taking a moment to express gratitude to the sold out crowd at The Fillmore in San Francisco on Wednesday night.  In the midst of a North American headlining tour prior to supporting Imagine Dragons in a massive world tour, it was a rare chance to see the rising artist before she starts moving on to much larger venues (which she will soon likely be headlining herself), as the masses continue to catch up to her unique sound and amazing album, Every Where Is Some Where.  No stranger to the San Francisco bay area, K.Flay was a transplant to Oakland while she was attending Stanford and beginning to craft her sound and style in music.  This was my first show of 2018, and she absolutely set the bar high for everything that follows, as I will be surprised if anyone can top this concert event. [Read more…]

Darryl “DMC” McDaniels (Run-D.M.C.): “Rock Talk” Podcast Audio Interview

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This article features the latest in an ongoing series of “Rock Talk” podcast audio interviews for the Rock Subculture Journal.  Today’s guest is Darryl McDaniels, best known as DMC with Run-D.M.C. (he prefers to be called “D”).  D was a featured guest at Sac-Con in Sacramento this past weekend, promoting his authentic foray into the comic book publishing world with his new independent publishing company DMC (Darryl Makes Comic) Comics and its first series, DMC, with his collaborator Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez.  I met up with D at his hotel following the concert to sit down to talk about his latest work, his past, accomplishments, and his thoughts on a variety of topics related to his life, work, and influence on pop culture.

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Luscious Jackson at The Independent | San Francisco, California | 5/31/2014 (Concert Review + Photos)

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“We’re female chauvinist pigs…”  Jill Cunniff, one of the three members of Luscious Jackson, prefacing her invitation of a handful of men in the audience to join them on the stage to shake their booties during their song, “#1 Bum”.  It was an informal kind of show for the band, who haven’t been in San Francisco for a very long time, having recently reunited for their first studio album since 1999.  One of just three headlining shows for this tour (having played Los Angeles the night prior and with Boston still to come next Saturday, as well as two festival appearances), The Independent appeared sold out (or close to it) last night.  They put on an electric show with material spanning their original 90s songs as well as the new album, all sounding fresh and original.  They definitely still have “it”, and hopefully their efforts to reinvent themselves with their PledgeMusic campaign and new independent streak will lead to a resurgence of their special brand of rock/pop/hip hop.

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Rock Subculture’s Top 101 List of Alternative Christmas Songs (The Best Rock, Pop, Indie, Punk, R&B, New Wave, Modern Rock from the 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s and Beyond)

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Everyone knows all of the classic Christmas songs, but what about those that have emerged from the Pop and Rock music world and various subgenres (New Wave, Modern Rock, Punk, Indie, R&B, Hip Hop) from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and today?  Original songs and creative covers…  I think many great songs are lost to time, in that the window in which they might be heard is too small, and then many fall off of the collective pop culture radar.  So this is my attempt to put together a list of some of my favorites, though I’m sure there are many others out there that I’d love that I’m not even aware of, or have forgotten about myself.  So if you have any recommendations, please post a reader comment below. [Read more…]

Whodini, Kurtis Blow, and Rob Base (V101’s Hip Hop Halloween House Party 2013) at Thunder Valley Casino Resort | Lincoln, California | 10/25/2013 (Concert Review)

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Last night was all about old school hip hop legends, with Whodini, Kurtis Blow, and Rob Base each taking the stage during V101’s Hip Hop Halloween House Party at Pano Hall inside Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln.  Pioneers in what has since become a wildly popular genre of music, it was a celebration of the artists who built the foundation of hip hop, with respect paid to many of their peers who were not part of the concert, by way of mention and covers.  It made for an interesting and unpredictable night of music, with legend Kurtis Blow doing his own music, like “The Breaks” (the first gold certified rap song back in 1980) as well as some unexpected works from others that followed many years later, like House of Pain’s “Jump Around”.  Hip Hop has obviously changed tremendously in the past three decades, but those in attendance last night, I think, appreciate that it was probably at its best in those early years, and it is gratifying to have seen these artists do their thing on stage last night in a relatively intimate atmosphere with a great crowd, some of whom also took to the stage throughout the show.

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AM & Shawn Lee Close Out “Sounds of Summer Tour” With Their New Album ‘La Musique Numerique’ and “All The Love”

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AM & Shawn Lee are touring their second studio album, La Musique Numerique, with release party concerts in Chicago, IL, Rochester, NY and tour dates spanning California with shows in San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, and San Diego.  With AM hailing from Los Angeles and Shawn Lee from London, the duo have collaborated to create a fresh sound influenced by disco, soul, R&B, funk, electronic, and other genres, with a bit of a late 70s/early 80s vibe.  The track “All The Love” has earned significant acclaim. [Read more…]