Show Review: John Mayer with JP Saxe at Chase Center, 11/7/23

Does everyone else have artists they will see over and over forever, or is it just me? Sometimes, this is because I want to see what’s new in the artist’s/band’s set (as is the case with someone like Pink, who will change much of her songlist, set, costumes, etc, every time she hits the road). On the other hand, sometimes this is just because I’m such a fan of the artist’s voice, lyrics, and music that I’ll see them every single time I have an opportunity, regardless of whether or not things have much changed since the last time. Such was the case this week with John Mayer’s Solo tour, which arrived at Chase Center on Tuesday. Continue reading “Show Review: John Mayer with JP Saxe at Chase Center, 11/7/23”

Film Review: Solo: A Star Wars Story

Joonas Suotamo is Chewbacca, Woody Harrelson is Beckett, Emilia Clarke is Qira and Alden Ehrenreich is Han Solo in SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY.

Solo: A Star Wars Story, which opens today in just about every Bay Area theater, is a big-screen comic-book origin story, with an accomplished and sometimes first rate cast in front of the camera, and some seriously seasoned talent behind it. Unfortunately, in the year-and-a-half since principal shooting began, issues real and manufactured have given the internet too much time to speculate, postulate, pontificate, and generally expectorate on any number of meaningless side stories. Thankfully, at the center of this mostly worthless dead zone of internet fodder lies a straightforward, entertaining film that should service, if not delight, Star Wars fans and casual viewers. Continue reading “Film Review: Solo: A Star Wars Story

Album Review: Julian Casablancas – Phrazes for the Young

julian casablancasAlthough there was already a mini review of the new album by The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas, Phrazes for the Young, in our New Release Round Up feature last week, I think it deserves few more words coming from one of those “Strokes fans” mentioned.

Truthfully, after the disappointment of the last Strokes album, First Impressions of Earth, I haven’t been as eagerly awaiting a new Strokes album as I would have been before. And especially after hearing some of the solo material by other members of the band, it was obvious that together or separately, the band had a a lot to offer. Now finally an album has been released by the band’s main songwriter and voice: Julian Casablancas, the last member to venture into a solo project.

Continue reading “Album Review: Julian Casablancas — Phrazes for the Young”