Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
A few songs into Beck’s opening night performance at the remodeled SF Masonic, he asked the crowd “How does it sound out there? Does it sound good?” A resounding chorus of yes and yes equivalents was heard back. Yes, the SF Masonic sounds good. It also looks good. Was the first show a promise of many glorious nights to come?
Continue reading “Show Review: Beck at Nob Hill Masonic Auditorium, 9/19/14”
Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @ConcertGoingPro
As it has every summer for the past 6 years, the Rockstar Energy Drink MAYHEM Festival rocked Shoreline Amphitheater on July 6, 2014.
While it was nearly impossible to photograph all 18 bands that performed on 4 stages, and due to not yet being able to be in two places at one time, I missed King 810, Texas Hippie Coalition, Miss May I, Veil of Maya, and all of the bands on the Victory Records stage (Wretched, Islander, Erimha; Emmure started the tour on the next show).
Below are photo galleries from Avenged Sevenfold, KoRn, Asking Alexandria, Trivium, Cannibal Corpse, Body Count w/Ice-T, Suicide Silence, Mushroomhead, Darkest Hour, and Upon a Burning Body.
Continue reading “Photo Gallery: Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival — July 6, 2014”
Okay, I’ll be the first to admit my folly: I was tardy to the Gavin DeGraw party. I mean really tardy. It’s not that I’d never heard of him or didn’t enjoy his music. It’s just that, for some reason, while my friends were all obsessing over him back in 2004 when he first came on the scene, I resisted several opportunities to join them. It wasn’t until I got a chance to fall for his charming personality in 2012 on Dancing with the Stars that I finally saw the error of my ways and drank the Kool-Aid. Since then, though, I’ve been making up for lost time. Now a genuine, bona fide giant Gavin fan in my own right, I recently had my first chance to finally catch him live this past April in Napa, promoting his newest album, Make a Move. You might think that having just seen him two months ago would make me less likely to rush myself to see him again at my alma mater UC Berkeley’s Greek Theatre last Friday night when he co-headlined with the phenomenal local boy Matt Nathanson, but well… you’d be wrong. Dead wrong. Continue reading “Show Review: Matt Nathanson & Gavin DeGraw with Mary Lambert at Berkeley’s Greek Theatre, 6/20/2014”
After full days Friday and Saturday, you might think I’d have been a little worn out by Day three of BottleRock Napa Valley. Not me: I was ready with bells on, and perched directly in front of the Sprint stage early in the day for Noah Gundersen to kick it all off. His set began with Noah on acoustic guitar, a woman playing the violin, and a drummer. The three sang wonderful harmony, and before long were joined by the electrics: initially a bass and a guitar, but there were some keys mixed in for good measure, too. To top it all off, Gundersen played a bit of the harmonica in places as well. “We’re really trying to kick your Sunday off with a bang,” he said, adding that there were “usually a lot more people in the drinking section.” I noted that this was the first band whose entire discography I wanted to download as soon as I got home. (I haven’t yet, but still intend to.) I don’t know how else to describe their sound but “electric folk,” which is to say that it was like nothing I’d ever heard, and I loved it. Continue reading “BottleRock Napa Valley 2014 Festival Journal, Day 3”
Day 2 of BottleRock Napa Valley 2014 got off on the right foot for me with Napa Point Brewing‘s BottleRock IPA and a special, very acoustic treat: local reggae band Pion 2 Zion were playing with absolutely no electricity (unless you count a battery-powered megaphone that died partway through). I’ve known members of this band for years: I was first introduced to them by their former drummer, a then-coworker of mine. In the years since, there have been a few lineup changes, but the current drummer, Gary Paddock, is another former coworker of mine. Moreover, I’ve known the current lead vocalist and saxophonist, Chad Schuler, since elementary school. It’s a small town, it’s bound to happen, right? Anyway, as I said yesterday, I’m admittedly not big into reggae, but these guys have always been an exception. They’re a really great band, they have local fans who truly love them, and I’ve never seen someone not enjoy hearing the band play live. Continue reading “BottleRock Napa Valley 2014 Festival Journal, Day 2”
Ahhh, BottleRock. Last year, it was surreal that my tiny hometown had put together such a terrific festival. And then the bottom fell out. While I won’t go into the specifics of why most of the year was a matter of “will they or won’t they?”, I will say that there were more than a few skeptics about the likelihood of a BottleRock 2014. I never lost hope, and was thrilled when it was finally announced that our festival hadn’t died after its first year. This year’s lineup boasted headliners Eric Church, Outkast, and The Cure! Other acts included Heart, Weezer, The Fray, Smashmouth, Third Eye Blind, Matisyahu, Sublime with Rome, and many, many more. On top of that, what (I think) makes this festival cooler than any other is that it’s situated right smack in the middle of Napa’s lovely climate, and offers an overwhelming array of options from our local food and wine lover’s paradise. Continue reading “BottleRock Napa Valley 2014 Festival Journal, Day 1”
You can’t believe a word Eric Hutchinson says. Don’t believe me? See for yourself: his new album even admits it’s all Pure Fiction. Tall tales or no, I wanted to hear just what Mr. Hutchinson’s been up to since I saw him last, so I rounded up a couple girlfriends last night and headed out to the Fillmore to give him a listen. Shortly after we arrived, the “Tell the World Tour” support act Saints of Valory took the stage to kick the evening off. Continue reading “Show Review: Eric Hutchinson with Saints of Valory at The Fillmore, 5/1/2014”
Moses Sumney was a sentimental surprise as he kicked off the evening. His emotional acoustic and soulful balladry lifted everyone to the smiling, smooth side of R&B. His performance gave an opening emotional dynamic to the show by allowing a vulnerable, emotional connection to what was yet to come.
Just prior to Dr. Dog was Saint Rich. Saint Rich, a New Jersey skateboarding enthusiast, had an eccentric life stage performance. Complimented with the musical harmony but not to duplicate Dr.Dog.
Closing the exciting Noise Pop Festival was – Dr. Dog. When their fans packed the Warfield, Dr. Dog knew exactly how to respond with current favorites “The Truth” and “Lonesome” while blending in a favorites from the past such as “These Days” and “Oh No”.
Dr. Dog certainly has a loyal fan club in the Bay Area. The simple reason is, each of their albums sequentially build on the one before while remaining true to the original unique sound. Each performance enhances an appreciation of their vintage harmonizing sound. Still true to the east coast vibe; yet, unique enough to remain unclassified from the common pop and indie trend. Just one of many reasons Dr. Dog will remain a Bay Area favorite.
Over the past three decades, I’ve called many a band my favorites, but of course over time, preferences change and so have I. For me, the ones that “stick” are those that tend to have qualities I can’t find elsewhere: a voice so unique I recognize it even a new song, a melody I can’t get out of my head, or lyrics that make me feel like I’ve been spied on… No matter what, though, the favorite bands I come back to again and again always share one quality in particular: they sound even better live than they do on their albums. Seriously: imagine that seeing concerts regularly is what you do, and after the zillionth time of getting amped up to see a band you’ve been into, you discover they’re less than stellar live. Trust me, it sucks, and it definitely always sours my love for not-so-amazing-live bands. (At least a little.) So after a year and a half spent devouring every single Imagine Dragons song I can get my ears on (and a little preview at a festival last summer), I was beyond ready to see if these Dragons had what it takes to launch a long-term love affair with me. I don’t subject myself to standing-room-only general admission floor tickets for just any act (I may be getting too old for all of that), but there I was on Thursday night, about six rows back from the stage at SAP Center, waiting for the lights to go down. Continue reading “Show Review: Imagine Dragons with The Naked and Famous and X Ambassadors at SAP Center, 2/13/2014”
One of the best things about the Christmas season is that it, like summer, is a great excuse for radio stations to bring cool bands and artists together for a show that’s a celebration, and always a fun time. This year, the one I chose was Mix 104.9‘s 8th Annual Chris-Mix, last Thursday night in Santa Rosa. Not only did it promise to be a fun, mellow night out with a friend, but I hate to miss a chance to catch San Francisco’s own Matt Nathanson (ok, he’s a Massachusetts native, but he calls the city home these days). The show also boasted Vicci Martinez (familiar to many from her run on the first season of NBC’s The Voice) and Parachute. There’s also always the promise of the occasional Christmas carol on such evenings, but either way I knew it promised to be a good show. Continue reading “Show Review: Matt Nathanson with Vicci Martinez and Parachute (Mix 104.9’s Chris-Mix 2013) at Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, 12/12/2013”
