“As it so happens, this one goes out to all the ladies!” A song intro by Alex Turner, front man for Arctic Monkeys, one of the coolest and most charismatic bands on the planet. Dispensing with too much in-between song chit chat, the band kept building upon the frenzy within the audience throughout their hour and a half set. The fans in attendance, who started lining up a 6 am in morning to ultimately bask in the stunning lights of pure and unfiltered cool glowing from the stage, made the first of two back-to-back Arctic Monkeys shows at the Fox Theater in Oakland a tough one to best. The band is in the midst of their world tour in support of their fifth studio album, AM, which was released earlier this month. Showing confidence in the future, the band closed out the show with an encored that ended with their new hit single, “R U Mine?”, which might just be their best song yet.
Little Boots with MNDR at The Independent | San Francisco, California | 9/24/2013 (Concert Review)
“Are you up for a rave? Do you have raves in San Francisco on a Tuesday?” Victoria Christina Hesketh, AKA Little Boots, leading into “Broken Record”, the thumping lead single from her highly acclaimed second studio album Nocturnes, which was released in May. A natural performer, Little Boots certainly brought a special mix of charisma and energy to the stage to power her amazing music, building on Amanda Warner of MDNR’s blazing opening set within the intimate setting of The Independent. Definitely a great night of contemporary electronic synthpop as Little Boots kicks off her world tour running through the end of the year.
Thunder Valley Casino Hotel Plays Host To Hip Hop Halloween House Party with Whodini, Kurtis Blow, and Rob Base on October 25th
WorldOne Presents, Sacramento’s V101.1 & Maita Honda have put together the Hip Hop Halloween House Party at Thunder Valley Casino Hotel on October 25, 2013. The special concert will feature Whodini, Kurtis Blow, and Rob Base. [Read more…]
Savages Play “Silence Yourself” With Concert Tour Around The World Through The End Of 2013
London’s post punk band Savages will be touring the world through the end of 2013, supporting this year’s debut album, Silence Yourself. [Read more…]
Little Boots Kicks Off World Tour For New Album “Nocturnes”
Victoria Christina Hesketh, AKA Little Boots, tonight embarked on her world tour supporting the highly acclaimed Nocturnes, which was released in May. [Read more…]
Monophonics with AM & Shawn Lee Playing The Independent in San Francisco on Saturday, September 28th
San Francisco-based Monophonics will be bringing their “Psychedelic Soul & Heavy Funk” style of music to The Independent in San Francisco on Saturday, September 28th. Joining them on the bill are AM & Shawn Lee, who had an album release party in June that I reviewed, following the release of their second collaborative album this year, La Musique Numberique. Also performing will be DJ Bcause. [Read more…]
Arctic Monkeys World Tour Supporting New Studio Album “AM”
British indie band Arctic Monkeys are currently in the midst of their world tour supporting their fifth studio album, AM, which was released earlier this month. [Read more…]
Blondie with X “No Principals Tour” at Nob Hill Masonic Auditorium | San Francisco, California | 9/19/2013 (Concert Review)
Blondie’s spectacular show at the Nob Hill Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco Thursday night was a reminder of how seemingly effortlessly Debbie Harry and the band crossed into and innovated within so many different styles and genres of music in the late 70s and early 80s. Punk, post-punk, disco, pop, New Wave, even some rap, reggae, and infusions of some world music, they were quite the innovators, really serving as a pioneering force in music, and they continue to record new and relevant music today. The Debbie Harry-fronted East Coast post punk/pop/disco group Blondie share the bill on the “No Principals Tour” with Exene Cervenka and John Doe fronting on vocals for the West Coast, L.A. punk pioneers X, which features its original line-up. Both artists brought amazing energy to the stage, which created a frenzy within the crowd at the Masonic unlike anything I’d seen at the usually mellow venue, with fans of both bands flooding the area between the all-seated venue and the low stage. It was definitely a different sort of concert (in a great way) and celebration of music that really served as a pivotal transition from the 70s to the 80s, paving a pathway into what turned out to be fresh and new world.
GROUPLOVE “Seesaw Tour” (Night 1 “Heavy”) at The Independent & (Night 2 “Light”) at The Chapel | San Francisco, California | 9/14/2013 & 9/15/2013 (Concert Review)
“We do it for love, sweet love…” Fittingly, the final words sung on stage both Saturday and Sunday night in San Francisco by GROUPLOVE, from their hit song, “Colours”. Playing back-to-back shows as part of their special run of their “Seesaw Tour”, performing at two small venues in select cities, doing one traditional show and one acoustic-style show, each night featured a different kind of show, almost as if seen, heard, and felt through a kaleidoscope that shifted not just night to night, but within each show. GROUPLOVE is a band with probably the best energy of anyone playing today – such joy and positivity beaming not just from the speakers at the venues, but from the artists themselves – their expressions and jumping around, and interactions with the audience. The funny thing is that the audiences and shows kind of played counter to expectations, with the “heavy” night at The Independent skewing older and more mellow and the “light” night at The Chapel being much more youthful and boundless, which seemed to fuel the band into rocking their acoustic instruments on the tiny stage, which could barely contain them. Two incredible shows that delivered well beyond expectations.
Pixies at El Rey Theatre | Los Angeles, California | 9/9/2013 & 9/10/2013 (Concert Review)
2013 is maybe the best year since the early 90s to be a Pixies fan. Interestingly, having been in attendance now at the first two of three consecutive shows this week at El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles (and a fourth coming right after at the Mayan Theatre), the crowd overall skewed very young, which really underscores my long held belief that the Pixies were way, way, way ahead of their time, and also had bad timing (maybe in an alternate universe they could have had Nirvana-sized mainstream success). In any event, as I’ve often referenced in countless articles here on the Rock Subculture Journal, the Pixies are solid in my Top Three favorite artists of all time. Before going into recent and ancient history, the big question those reading this are probably wondering is, ‘how were these shows?‘ The short answer is, absolutely phenomenal. Everything one could hope for in a Pixies concert has been present in Night 1 and Night 2. With their new touring efforts and new music (music that is on par with their classic material), it is an awesome time to be into the Pixies, whether you were around back in the day or not. A time to celebrate, and the band and the fans all brought the party to El Rey Theatre this week.
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 37
- 38
- 39
- 40
- 41
- …
- 64
- Next Page »