This concert was an extremely rare event. Possibly described as a single-night festival hosting only the headliners. Despite the unique opportunity, the majority of the crowd was late to arrive. Unfortunately, this is typical for a mid-week show with a start time of 7 pm at a venue as remote as the Concord Pavilion. Garbage executed an aggressive grunge-punk vibe; Noel Gallagher and High Flying Birds flowing chill melodies. Metric was the perfect dynamic intro, as their versatile style lent a glimpse of what was yet to come. Continue reading “Show Review: Garbage, Noel Gallagher and the High Flying Birds, and Metric at Concord Pavilion, 6/6/23”
Tag: Emily Haines
Single of the Week: “Auld Anxi” by Metric
I’ve had one frightening thought that has repeated in my head throughout most of the last four years, but has been amplified greatly over the course of the last 8 months: “Many Americans are so against the notion of caring about each other that when faced with the prospect of doing ANYTHING that will help improve the lives of one another, the request itself won’t just be shrugged off, but will be treated with such utter scepticism that the request itself would be viewed as purely evil and certainly will destroy our way of life.” The reality of life isn’t quite as dire as that, but the anxiety lives on. Emily Haines has always had a great gift for writing about anxiety in a clear, empathic manner. “Auld Anxi” is a rewrite of the classic “Auld Lang Syne” that might be one of the more optimistic songs ever written about anxiety. It’s like getting the warm hug from a dear friend that understands you and listens without judgement that we so badly need right now, but aren’t likely to get for another several months.
Today is the first day of 2021. This means we made it through that hellscape of 2020. I hate how few of us made it through, and it sucks that things are going to keep getting worse for a bit. BUT- the light is at the end of the tunnel. We have less than three weeks of the Trump administration left. The first two vaccines have been approved in the US, and there’s likely to be one more in the next week or two. For now, stay safe- mask up if you MUST leave your home, if you still are working, give money to causes that will help people stay home that otherwise are forced to put themselves in dangerous situations for survival. I love you, dear reader, and I want you to be there when we can finally get back to shows next year.
Fauxchella Review: Metric with Mona at The Fox Theater – Oakland, 4/18/13
Fauxchella is a brutal time for music fans. The night Metric played at The Fox, we also had to contend with like minded bands How To Destroy Angels and Savages playing across the bridge. It was a tough night of you enjoy powerful women fronting danceable rock bands. And, as much as I truly love this band, I was thinking hard about what I was missing. I didn’t want to feel buyers remorse. Deep down inside, I knew this was the right place to be. And the sold out crowd at The Fox tonight knew it, too.
Continue reading “Fauxchella Review: Metric with Mona at The Fox Theater — Oakland, 4/18/13”
Show Review: Live 105’s Not So Silent Night at Oracle Arena, 12/7/12
Live 105 has managed to put together, once again, a fantastic line up for their annual holiday spectacular. So much so, that they had to split it into two days. One day was a bit more “new wave” oriented, and another day was purely guitar driven. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to check out the first night, the “guitar” night. It was, surprisingly, one of the most interesting and diverse arena rock shows I’ve ever been to, filed with a wide array of guitar music, from acoustic folk to earnest, working class punk, all the way to classic blues rock. I don’t know how they are going to one up this one:
Continue reading “Show Review: Live 105’s Not So Silent Night at Oracle Arena, 12/7/12”
Show Review: Metric, Codeine Velvet Club and Nico Vega at the Fox Oakland, 3/24/10
Wellll, damn. If I wasn’t worshiping at the shrine of Metric already, last night’s show at the Fox Theater easily convinced me: this band is fierce and invincible. Their live set was a tight performance; it seems doubtful that there was more than a moment where they didn’t hold the audience firmly in their grasp. Guitarist James Shaw has mentioned that the band “toured the new songs a lot” and it shows – they move effortlessly through a set, never missing a note, and still look as though they’re having as much fun as the audience. Continue reading “Show Review: Metric, Codeine Velvet Club and Nico Vega at the Fox Oakland, 3/24/10”
Our 30 Favorite Photos from SXSW 2010
While the photos on this post are all by David Price, he’s in Vegas this week, so all the text here is simply an …
Editor’s Note: Our photographer, David Price, dealt with inconsistent lighting, security that weren’t all on the same page, a lack of photo pits, and plenty of cameras in his face to take over 10,000 photos at SXSW. And then I went and boiled them all down here to 30 favorites. There’s other photos in individual posts, and we’ll be drawing from other ones as we continue our coverage as well. Inside, you’ll find several shots of the most photogenic guy at SXSW this year, Pink Eyes of Fucked Up, including one with our managing editor Dakin Hardwick. It’s not the most well-lit shot in the world, and it’s not particularly newsworthy, but we like it. And that’s how I picked these 30 photos. Because we like them. Continue reading “Our 30 Favorite Photos from SXSW 2010”