Stones Throw Records really doesn’t get the credit it deserves. They started out as a hip-hop/funk label, but lately have been pumping out some of the best “under the radar” bangers that seem to defy genre in almost every way. The latest is “Feelin’ Wee” by Japan’s Kiko Mizuhara. This spacey psychedelic pop jam harkens back to the days of Grand Royal Records, and it shares a spiritual home with the likes of Cibo Matto, Bran Van 3000, Luscious Jackson, and, yes, even The Beastie Boys at their most lounge.
“Feelin’ Wee” is Kiko’s first EVER single. It’s one hell of a debut, and I can’t wait to hear what else is coming from her. Follow her on Instagram and Bandcamp!
HOLY MATRIARCHAL TRINITY, BATMAN! Labor Day week is bringing us to the Bay Area, the ultimate week of Riot Grrl legends coming to town. Arguably, the three most significant bands of the classic PNW / Olympia, WA scene are all playing in the same week.
First, on Tuesday, September 8th, we have Bikini Kill at The Warfield playing with what is being touted as the last EVER Bay Area appearance by THE ALICE BAG BAND. Yes, that’s Bikini Kill and Alice Bag on at the historic Warfield in downtown SF. Tickets are available here.
The next night at the gorgeous Greek Theater in Berkeley, we have Sleater-Kinney. Arguably the greatest American live band, under the stars on a lovely early Fall evening. I’m so unbelievably excited about this show. To make matters all the more enticing, indie rock legend Liz Phair and soon-to-be legendary Soccer Mommy are both on the bill, too! Tickets here.
Closing out the week will be two nights at Bottom Of The Hill with the great Bratmobile! These are their first proper headlining gigs since reforming, and, sadly, both are sold out. So you’ve gotta hope for a miracle to land tix to these shows on Friday, September 11th, and Saturday, September 12th.
And, if that’s still not enough for you, just over a month later, Heavens To Betsy are playing their first SF shows in like 30-some odd years on October 17th and 18th, but sadly, they are also sold out. There are still a few more tickets left for Team Dresch’s pair of November shows! Tickets for Wednesday, November 4th are here. And Thursday, November 5th are here.
The road taken goes awry in repetitive but thoughtful debut
Friends James (Phinehas Yoo, l.), Day (Akira Jackson), and Fisher (Noah Toth) take a break.
“I took the road less traveled by,” poet Robert Frost famously wrote, “And that has made all the difference.” While most people interpret the speaker’s choice here as a positive decision, the text is actually ambiguous. We’d like to think the choice made has bettered the speaker’s life, but we don’t know for certain. After watching the new thriller It Ends, you may come away with a whole new perspective on Frost’s poem and the plusses and minuses of taking an unknown back road. Writer/director Alexander Ullom’s debut feature, which earned the then 27-year-old a Grand Jury Award nomination at last year’s SXSW, is less of a traditional jump-scare horror picture and more of an extended metaphor about existential dread. As such, it can be both mildly intriguing and also frustratingly repetitive. Continue reading “Film Review: “It Ends””
“Cahokia” is a brilliant track that hearkens back to the classic era of 90’s britpop… Greg Freeman has definitely studied Supergrass, Super Furry Animals, and the greatest britpop band to come from Portland, OR, The Dandy Warhols. Great melodies and hooks, psychedelic flourishes, all compressed into a brilliant 4 1/2 minute pop song.
“Cahokia” is the latest single off his upcoming full length, All Set The Bone, coming your way October 2nd! Tour dates below!
Tour Dates:
08/27 – Paris, FR @ Supersonic
08/28 – Eindhoven, NL @ Hit the City Festival
08/29 – Vlieland, NL @ Into The Great Wide Open
10/20 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair *
10/22 – Toronto, ON @ The Mod Club *
10/23 – Lakewood, OH @ Mahall’s *
10/24 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall *
10/25 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon *
10/27 – St. Paul, MN @ Amsterdam Bar & Hall `
10/28 – Omaha, NE @ Reverb Lounge `
10/30 – Denver, CO @ Marquis $
10/31 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court $
11/02 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern $
11/03 – Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater $
11/05 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent $
11/06 – South Pasadena, CA @ Sid The Cat Auditorium $
11/07 – San Diego, CA @ Voodoo Room at House of Blues San Diego $
11/10 – Austin, TX @ Antone’s Nightclub #
11/11 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada #
11/13 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade – Purgatory Stage #
11/14 – Asheville, NC @ Eulogy ^
11/15 – Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall ^
11/16 – Washington, DC @ The Atlantis ^
11/18 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church ^
11/20 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall ^
11/21 – South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground Ballroom ^
Dafoe delivers award-worthy turn in contemplative look at youth, art, and aging
Former poet Ed Saxberger (Willem Dafoe, on sofa, r.) holds court with a group of admirers.
Based purely on its trailer, you’d be forgiven for thinking Late Fame is some sort of smug takedown of pretentious Gen Z and young millennials, something along the lines of Noah Baumbach’s While We’re Young. To be sure, the film does satirize a certain type of intellectual wannabe, but its ribbing is much more gentle and empathetic than you might imagine from the trailer, which includes some of the more overt bits of skewering. Unlike Baumbach’s picture, Late Fame has a fondness and a forgiveness for all its characters, despite—or maybe because of—their flaws. It also features a career-best performance from Willem Dafoe, which is reason enough to see this beautifully rendered, evocative meditation on the enthusiasm of youth, the drive of the artistic temperament, the melancholy of growing older, and the intersection of all three.Continue reading “Film Review: “Late Fame””
Liz Nistico, AKA Revenge Wife, released one of the most captivating collections of songs and accompanying music videos back in 2020 called Background Songs For Your Boring Life, Vol 1. Apropos, since 2020 and 2021 were both the most stressful and boring years in human history. Six years later, and she’s still adding to the story of those videos with a pop-punk banger of a track called “What If It *Is* Me?!” This is the first single off her upcoming debut full-length, Alien Witch, out September 30th. Sign up for her mailing list here to keep up with preorder details, and follow her on Instagram here.
WOO HOO!!! The biggest surprise of 2026 is the groundbreaking riot grrl duo Heavens To Betsy getting back together and playing shows again. I did not expect to also get a new album. And by a new album, actually an album of demos recorded by Bratmobile legend Molly Neuman back in 1992.
baby’s gone is coming to you from legendary punk label Kill Rock Stars on October 16th. Preorders, along with new merch, are available starting now! And, of course, don’t forget the tour! So many shows are already sold out, so don’t delay in locking in. I have waited my entire teenage AND adult life for this to happen.
Each summer for the past 89 years, Stern Grove Festival presents ten weeks of free concerts every Sunday on the stage at Sigmund Stern Recreation Grove. Beginning in 2024, Stern Grove began to have a two-show final weekend called The Big Picnic Weekend… and the penultimate show of the 2026 season featured none other than Chuck D. and Flavor Flav and Public Enemy!
The Castro Theatre is seated in the most prominent gay position in the city. I have stood in front of it in the late ’90s and on Halloweens past and have enjoyed many a sparkly, fabulous night in and around it. But in 2024, a large budget and a reconfiguration began to change this venue into something almost unrecognizable, which is a big shock for a Bay native. Continue reading “Show Review: Kim Gordon with SASAMI at The Castro, 7/29/26”
Sometimes you just need some loud guitars that start out anxious and then explode. And by sometimes, I mean all the time. It helps you stay sane. Girl Tones are the right kinda driving rock n roll that I need to keep going, and “Pretty Face” is big enough to really do it.
“Pretty Face” is the first single off Precious, their debut album out November 6th.
