Having seen Future Islands about five times over the past decade, their show at the Fox Theater in Oakland on Sept. 17, 2024, felt like a departure from the raw, emotional intensity that once defined their live performances. While it was still a robust and engaging show, this one leaned more into polished production and theatrical flair than the emotional spontaneity I remember from past gigs. Continue reading “Show Review: Future Islands at The Fox Theater — Oakland, 9/17/24”
Show Review: Perfume Genius with Julianna Barwick at Great American Music Hall, 9/24/24
Perfume Genius’ 10th-anniversary performance of Too Bright at The Great American Music Hall was an intimate and unforgettable night. With its classic San Francisco charm, the venue offered the perfect setting for a devoted crowd, huddling close around the stage like a protective cocoon for Michael Hadreas and his band. Everyone in the room seemed eager and reverent, excited to see Too Bright brought to life in full.
Opening the night, Julianna Barwick cast the room in waves of indigo light. Her set, ethereal and expansive, felt like an homage to artists like Julee Cruise, Donna Summer, and Enya, with a modern twist of binaural beats and the haunting echoes of ancient voices. It was as if she channeled something otherworldly, conjuring a space where time and genre folded in on themselves. You could almost feel the presence of ancestral female spirits, grounding the room in calm energy and preparing it for what was to come.
When Perfume Genius finally took the stage, Michael Hadreas was radiant—relaxed, proud, and fully present. I’ve seen him perform before, sometimes on edge with the demands of obsessive fans, but tonight was different. There was a jovial trust between him and the crowd, a mutual respect that allowed him to flourish. His band, tightly synced and full of emotional charge, mirrored this sense of cohesion. Each note felt connected, like a shared breath between them. His partner on keys added an extra layer of intimacy, deepening the emotional resonance of the performance.
Hadreas himself was a sight to behold. Part Elvis, part Morrissey, his body was a slithering, back-bending expression of the music. Dressed in a slick olive sateen button-down, the shirt clung to his skin, wet with the raw energy of his performance, wrinkled and sexy. The microphone cord draped along his fingers like an extension of himself as he writhed upward, completely lost in emotion.
The highlight, of course, was “Queen,” which he played not once but twice—because really, who wouldn’t want to be slayed by that iconic strut all over again? The first time, the crowd was electrified; by the second, it felt like we were all ascending to another level of sonic bliss. Hadreas delivered the anthem with all the sashay and defiance it demanded, leaving no one untouched.
It was a night where the connection between artist and audience felt palpable as if we were all part of the same heartbeat. You could feel the trust, the love, and the shared history in every moment, making this anniversary a night to remember.
Film Feature: Preview #3 of the 47th Mill Valley Film Festival
We’ve already shared two previews for you (here and here), but at last the day is almost upon us: the 47th Mill Valley Film Festival opens tomorrow, Thursday, October 3rd, and runs until Sunday, October 13, 2024. Screenings take place in Marin County theaters and at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA). For a complete listing of all films and special programming, check out the full Festival program.
Below is our third and final preview of the Festival, highlighting two documentaries and one feature. See you at the Fest!
Continue reading “Film Feature: Preview #3 of the 47th Mill Valley Film Festival”
Film Review: “A Different Man”
Identities, social stigmas, and performance art make for bizarrely fun bedfellows in A Different Man
By pure coincidence, two surrealist films about physical appearance are opening in theaters one week apart, The Substance and A Different Man. The two films are vastly different but share overarching thematic similarities. The latter is a dark dreamlike comedy from Aaron Schimberg (Chained for Life). It’s also a performative showcase for its three stars, who are able to fully explore the depths of their characters. A Different Man’s story is small-scale and bizarre, but through the performances and direction, it remains grounded in an off-kilter reality that makes it highly humorous, shocking, and entertaining. Continue reading “Film Review: “A Different Man””
Theater Review: “The Flute”
Does verse have a place in modern theater?
Greetings from the UK! Land of the likes of Shakespeare and Marlowe and their iconic plays written in iambic pentameter, a form of verse consisting of ten syllables, alternating between stress and unstressed, like a heartbeat. Since the Elizabethan era it’s fallen off a bit, in favor of more colloquial matters of speech. Naturalism gained momentum at the turn of the last century and it’s still a strong force across various artistic mediums, especially held in high esteem in theatre and film, where both writers and actors are encouraged to create the illusion of reality. In reality, we don’t go around speaking in verse. And the language can prove to be difficult to understand without study. But surely with the ongoing popularity of Shakespeare, there could be a place for verse in the modern theatre? Could verse be done in a way that is accessible to all audiences?
Film Feature: Preview #2 of the 47th Mill Valley Film Festival
The 47th Mill Valley Film Festival will take place Oct 3 – Oct 13, 2024, with screenings at theaters across the North and East Bay.
For a full view of special awards, spotlights, and centerpiece films, check out the complete festival guide. Tickets can be purchased here.
Below is a second preview of the festival (read our first preview of six films), featuring brief looks at an additional four films:
Continue reading “Film Feature: Preview #2 of the 47th Mill Valley Film Festival”
Single of the Week: “All The People” by Daisy The Great
Honestly, the only reason I put on this track was because it was produced by Tony Visconti, best known as the man behind the majority of David Bowie’s esteemed catalog, as well as the person who helped Marc Bolan tap into his inner swagger. “All The People” is a track in the same family as T Rex- blissful orchestral pop with Daisy the Great’s signature head-swimmy harmonies and just enough of an edge kicking in to hit home the supervision of joy.
I’m really excited to hear the rest of this record, which is great because Spectacle: Daisy the Great vs. Tony Visconti is out TODAY!
Film Review: “In the Summers”
Contemplative film captures joy, pain of growing up
That In the Summers is being widely released today, just at the start of fall, as long summer days become distant memories, is appropriate. The film is a quietly moving, often profound meditation on the passage of time and the peculiar way it seems to move in slow motion for children, whose awakening to the imperfections of their parents can take years. Colombian-American filmmaker Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio’s remarkable first feature-length film earned her both the Grand Jury Prize and the dramatic directing award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. More awards are sure to come for this affecting, unforgettable film, which is one of the year’s best.
Festival Review: Bumbershoot 2024
Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival has existed in Seattle since 1971 and has happened every Labor Day weekend with the exception of 2020-2022 due to Covid restrictions. I’ve been a Seattleite my entire life. I was born the weekend before the festival’s 8th anniversary, also its final year of being a free festival. I grew up attending Bumbershoot with friends and family many times over the years up until September 2, 2001, when I saw David Lee Roth perform at Memorial Stadium. Since then, Bumbershoot has changed hands management a few times, and based on my experience this past weekend, the new changes have been a net positive. Back in 2001, Bumbershoot was a four days long, often oversold, crowded, difficult-to-navigate, bloated event that involved wristbands one needed to collect at the beginning of each day to allow you access to the stadium to see each evening’s headliner in the stadium, which served as the Main Stage. I skipped many a year and many an act due to this ridiculous first come, first serve approach to seeing a headliner at a festival. To me, it defeated the entire purpose of what seeing a fest should be. After all, if buying a ticket didn’t allow you access to the main event, then why would anyone humor that flawed system? Continue reading “Festival Review: Bumbershoot 2024”
Show Review: Wand at The Chapel, 9/14/24: A Vertigo-Induced Spell
As someone who prides themselves on devouring the fringes of music—everything from experimental jazz to art-house drone— Wand’s performance at The Chapel on Sept. 14, 2024, felt like falling into a chasm of sound I didn’t know I needed. Wand, a band that had always flown under my radar, shattered my expectations in a way that only those once-in-a-lifetime musical experiences can. My gateway into their world was Vertigo, their stunning 2024 album. I dove deep into that record, immersing myself in it for weeks before the show. Given the intensity and cohesion of Vertigo, I was excited to hear the band tour the album in its entirety, expecting the live performance to reflect the hypnotic, seamless flow of the record.
Continue reading “Show Review: Wand at The Chapel, 9/14/24: A Vertigo-Induced Spell”