CSS and Getting A Second Chance

There’s a LOT of music out there. I try to take as much of it as possible and be present with whatever is going on right now. BUT- sometimes you miss something. I really loved the dance-punk movement of the ’00s and saw Peaches and Gossip and Lovemakers many times over, like my fellow Xennials did during the Bush years. However, with all my nights logged at Popscene, I never actually sunk into the joys of Brazil’s CSS. And I certainly never got to see them live. Luckily, I can finally live my 20s the way I wish I did and get to see CSS live. North American tour dates begin a week from today in Washington, DC! And, yes, I will see you at The Independent on May 14th—tickets for all dates at cssmusic.club.

Please remember to wear sensible shoes and drink plenty of water. 

OUTSIDE LANDS 2024 LINE UP DROP!!!!

My initial “hot take” on the Outside Lands 2024 lineup? It’s by far and away the most interesting and diverse of the 2024 “big fests.” First, the top line… Not only do we have Tyler, The Creator, one of the most intriguing acts in all of hip hop, as well as modern New Wave hitmakers, The Killers, we’ve got Sturgill Simpson, a leader of the modern Outlaw Country movement, and an all-around unexpected twist. He also hasn’t done a headlining tour since the plague broke out! Below him? Well, an All-Country set from Post Malone, a very rare performance by the legendary Grace Jones, and the folks behind SubPop’s selling record, The Postal Service. What else am I excited about? Well, there’s the Regina George herself, Renee Rapp. Shoegaze innovators Slowdive. Killer Mike. Tyla, of course, will help us remember to hydrate. Punkers Men I Trust will be there despite the fact that there aren’t any. Australian punks Amyl & The Sniffers for a little danger element. SP favorites K. Flay and Corinne Bailey Rae are both hot off the best records of their storied careers. And for those who need some UK Twee with a side of UK goth, there’s The Last Dinner Party. And, most importantly, if you need someone to throw your underwear at, Idris Elba is, indeed, DJ’ing the SOMA Stage, which has been moved outside because, for those who went last year, we really did blow the roof off the sucker. 

Tickets are on sale 4/24 at 10 am for GA, GA+, VIP, and, of course, the super swank Golden Gate Club, which I SWEAR I’ll visit someday. More fest details here, and the lineup is below the jump: Continue reading “OUTSIDE LANDS 2024 LINE UP DROP!!!!”

Single of the Week: “The Kill” by Maggie Rogers

OK. I’m not entirely sure if this is an actual “single,” but she played it on The Late Show, so I will pretend it is one. Anyway, I LOVE the new Maggie Rogers. I am very late to jump on this ship, but everyone to experience something for the first time? I was captivated by her set at Outside Lands last year, but this song is just a warm joy of an earworm. It’s firmly rooted in the Fleetwood Mac school of earnest soft rock, and there is no shame in that. Sometimes, you need something that’s just unapologetically nice and optimistic. 

“The Kill” is a track off Maggie Rogers’s recently released Don’t Forget Me, which is available in all the usual places NOW! She’s also playing ARENAS!! Tour dates are here, and she’s even doing a fancy thing where the first allotment of tickets is being sold ONLY IN PERSON. For my fellow Bay Area folks, the Chase Center date on November 1st will have a special, box office-only sale THIS SATURDAY, April 20th, from 10 am – 1 pm. Yes, that is Record Store Day, so you gotta make some hard choices. Or find a store that opens at 8 am. 

Mosswood Meltdown Daily Lineups!

Our good friends at Mosswood Meltdown have gifted us with their daily lineups for Mosswood Meltdown 2024! Coming to you July 6th & 7th, and featuring a headlining set by The legendary B-52’s, the return of The Mummies (who in the past have made their entrance on the toy motorbikes, riding on top of a vintage ambulance, and even after setting up on the mainstage, tricked everyone by playing in the middle of a grove of trees instead!), a very rare appearance from Pure Hell, an even MORE rare appearance by Go Sailor!, and even more rare appearance from the Bush Tetras, to name a few. 

2 – Day and single-day tickets are available here—daily breakdowns below the jump. 

MOSSWOOD MELTDOWN 2024 DAILY LINEUPS
SATURDAY JULY 6TH
The B-52s
Redd Kross
Hunx & His Punx
Peaches Christ Drag Show
Pansy Division
Go Sailor
Wifey
Trap Girl
Hot Laundry

SUNDAY JULY 7TH
The Mummies
Pure Hell
Big Freedia
Egyptian Lover
Gibby Haynes & the Paul Green Rock Academy
Bush Tetras
Die Spitz
Space Lady
Gumby’s Junk

GOLDEN GATE PARK CONCERT SET FOR WEEKEND AFTER OUTSIDE LANDS

While we patiently await the Outside Lands lineup to be presented to our eager eyeballs, the good folks at Another Planet have treated us to probably the most insane single-day lineup of heavy music I could imagine. We’ve got Australian goth duo VOWWS, Swedish punk troublemakers Viagra Boys, and the legendary The Mars Volta. Coheadlining are Sac’s finest exports, Deftones and System Of A Down, playing one of only two shows in 2024!

Tickets are on sale Friday, April 12th at 10 am RIGHT HERE! Continue reading “GOLDEN GATE PARK CONCERT SET FOR WEEKEND AFTER OUTSIDE LANDS”

HEART WEST COAST TOUR with CHEAP TRICK!!!

This isn’t really a classic rock-heavy blog. BUT- Heart and Cheap Trick are probably my two favorite bands of the “classic rock” era, with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band coming in third. And it’s INSANE that Heart and Cheap Trick are touring together, kicking off their fall tour in San Francisco at Chase Center on September 26th. And it’s being dubbed the “Royal Flush” tour, because Heart + Cheap Trick = Terrible Gambling Experience? 

Tickets are on sale NOW for Citibank Card Holders, and go on sale for the general public Friday, April 5th at 10am local time at https://www.heart-music.com/. Full dates below if you can get past the Barracuda: Continue reading “HEART WEST COAST TOUR with CHEAP TRICK!!!”

OUTSIDE LANDS EAGER BEAVER TICKETS ON SALE TOMORROW!!!!!

It’s funny- it feels like we are waiting longer and longer every year for Outside Lands to kick off… BUT! It’s been about the same time every year. Just everyone else is announcing earlier. That being said, I look forward to this weekend every year. I love being able to sort of fully disconnect from my day-to-day existence (with proper preparation to make sure my responsibilities will be covered.) 

Anyways, Outside Lands is August 9th-11th this year, and Eager Beaver tickets, which is the cheapest way to get in the door, go on sale 4/3/24 at 10am. GA are starting at $425, GA+ (Expedited Entry & Exclusive Bathrooms!) start at $665, VIP starts at $965, and the ultra-swank Golden Gate Club starts at $4,895.  Past Outside Lands coverage can be found here

Show Review: Otoboke Beaver w/Drinking Boys and Girls Choir and Auxilio at The Belasco 03-02-2024

“We Are The Champon!”

Rain in Los Angeles, for a supposed plethora of reasons, is like a mini apocalypse. Angelinos just can’t seem to handle it and, more often than not, will stay in during “weather events” instead of going to the movies or grabbing dinner somewhere. It’s just too much of a hassle to brave the weather because everyone on the road is a goddamn idiot. In the case of Otoboke Beaver’s Sold Out show at the Belasco, however, 1,500 people decided to say, “Fuck the rain.” I can’t blame them; I said the same thing. That said, the weather wasn’t particularly awful, in my opinion, as a NorCal-raised aging punk rock metalhead, and god dammit if we weren’t going to enjoy a night of femme-driven rock and roll from across the Pacific.

Continue reading “Show Review: Otoboke Beaver w/Drinking Boys and Girls Choir and Auxilio at The Belasco 03-02-2024”

MOSSWOOD MELTDOWN 2024 LINE UP IS LIVE

It’s pouring rain here in Oakland, which is perfect for getting your hopes up about Summer! And by that, it’s time for us to start pouring over Summer festival lineups, and this morning, we were blessed with the Mosswood Meltdown artist list! Headlining is probably the biggest band to ever grace the stage at Mosswood Park, The B-52’s!!!! And, somehow, there’s another act with a top 40 hit on the bill- Gibby Haynes will be doing a set of Butthole Surfers songs backed by the Paul Green Rock Academy (!). Oh- if you are looking for acts that haven’t played in forever? We’ve got first-generation PA Punks Pure Hell, New York No Wave legends Bush Tetras (with Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley on drums), twee supergroup (and a part of my own live band bucket list) Go Sailor, and outsider art and synth legend The Space Lady. This whole lineup is bonkers. Hunx & His Punx, Big Freedia, Redd Kross, Egyptian Lover, Die Spitz, Pansy Division, Wifey, Sheastie Boys, Diesel Dudes, Trap Girl, Non Plus Temps, Gumby’s Junk, Baus, Hot Laundry, and more to come! Like every year, John Waters is hosting, and Peaches Christ will be presiding over a Drag Contest! 

Tickets are on sale NOW!! Prices will be going up, so buy fast! 

How Did I Get Here? with Dulce Sloan

We are trying something new with this episode. I am NOT doing any preroll. No theme song. No “warm open.” Let me know what you think.

Dulce Sloan is best known for being a correspondent on The Daily Show and often killing it in that role. We chatted about her move from theater to stand-up, the folks that inspired you along the way, and, of course, The Daily Show and her upcoming book, Hello Friends! Stories Of Dating, Destiny, and Day Jobs coming your way on February 6th (Preorder Here!)

Sloan is in SF this weekend to play a slew of SF Sketchfest events, including a headline set at Brava Theater on Saturday, January 20th at 9:30 pm. Her full schedule can be found here. If you choose not to leave home, she’s also starring in The Great North, which can be seen on Hulu as well as Sunday Nights on Fox!