Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
The chill is as palpable as the midwest accents in Dead of Winter, a brisk 90-minute thriller that compensates for some glaring plot holes with an otherwise engrossing story and a stellar, go-for-broke performance by Emma Thompson. Continue reading “Film Review: “Dead of Winter””
Canadian Power Pop is my ultimate comfort food. “Superglue” by Pony is giving me that joy in an aggressively stressful period of history. This song is joyful and catchy and just feels damn good on the ear drums.
Pony is on the road this fall with the great Pool Kids. You can buy/stream “Superglue” here, as well as learn all you can about the joy that is Pony.
Well-crafted films can accomplish two objectives: entertain audiences and support an artist’s viewpoint (the “message” of the film, if you will). Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood; Phantom Thread; Licorice Pizza) has established himself as one of the finest filmmakers working today, capable of rewarding audiences and deep thinkers alike. Even though his films haven’t been box office juggernauts, they are strongly respected within the filmmaking and film-loving communities. Anderson’s tenth feature film, One Battle After Another, is his most mainstream film, a potential box office hit and a crowd pleaser, but also his most politically-minded. One Battle After Another is a wild character-driven thriller with an unassailable comic sensibility. The film also presents a poignant critique on the nation’s current sociopolitical climate. Anderson’s sense of action, hijinks, and thematic storytelling are honed to a sharp, surrealist point in One Battle After Another, thus creating a richly rewarding cinematic triumph. Continue reading “Film Review: “One Battle After Another””
On September 7, 2025, the Greek Theatre in Berkeley hosted a remarkable double bill featuring Modest Mouse and The Flaming Lips -each band delivering at least a 75-minute set, separated by over 20 years from their breakout records. The evening carried the last heat of Indian summer, light winds hinting at fall as music fans filled the amphitheater. It was a night that underscored not only the legacy of both acts but also the profound evolution of their sound over the decades.
The Catalyst in Santa Cruz is one of those venues where history hangs heavy in the rafters. It’s a place that has seen everything from Willie Nelson to punk chaos to indie legends, a club that is both small enough to feel intimate yet big enough to hold a restless crowd pressed shoulder to shoulder. Tucked downtown a few blocks from the ocean, the room itself is a rite of passage for anyone serious about live music in Northern California. On September 10, that stage belonged to Sunny Day Real Estate.
Continue reading “Show Review: Sunny Day Real Estate at The Catalyst, 9/10/25”
There have been a LOT of high-profile comebacks in the last year or so… Oasis, Rilo Kiley, The Prodigy, TV On The Radio, to name a few. Somehow, the return of the literal greatest live band of their generation, The Hives, seems to have crept on the radar. They played a handful of club shows in 2023, plus a handful of dates opening for Foo Fighters in stadiums (and covering for The Sounds at Just Like Heaven at the last moment), but 2025 was the first full-scale tour since 2013.
And if you are sleeping on these shows, you are vastly mistaken. Continue reading “Show Review: The Hives with Snõõper at The Warfield, 9/20/25”
It’s been a really, REALLY stressful week. I mean, I even missed single of the week last week because, well, the rest of the internet can explain that to you. I kept wanting to find some intense, political call-to-arms this week. Be Your Own Pet did give us a good one, and I’ll let you enjoy that here. But I need some comfort food. I need some loud, fuzzy guitar. I need something infinitely relatable. And I need a nice, lighthearted video with just enough drag to remind me that there is a world where radical acceptance happens, and it can just be normal. Here comes Rocket. A band that people have been trying to get me onto for like two years now, and I’m finally in. And “Another Second Chance” is an excellent song, and the video is a pleasure to watch. It warms my cold and scared Gen-X heart, reminding me that the kids are more than alright, they are definitely better than us.
“Another Second Chance” comes from R Is For Rocket, coming to stores and streams on October 3rd. They are also heading out on a Fall Tour, and I think I’m gonna go to this.
I have a handful of show regrets. But one of the biggest was missing Raye when she played Rickshaw Stop in 2023. And everything that has come out from her since then has been exceptionally more and more brilliant. And today she dropped “Where Is My Husband?”, a proper funk banger if I’ve ever heard one.
She’s also hitting the road this Spring, playing Bill Graham Civic Auditorium here in SF, which is just down the street from Rickshaw Stop and literally 25 TIMES BIGGER! Stream “Where Is My Husband” here. Tour dates and presale sign up here! The presale begins on 9/23 at 10 am local time. Miss the sign-up? Try your hand at tickets on 9/25 at 10 am!
It was another night of firsts for me. My first time shooting at the Greek Theater in the hills of East Hollywood, my first time seeing both Chelsea Wolfe and Wardruna, and I sure picked an interesting night for it. Thankfully, the temperature had dropped over the past couple of days so at least we wouldn’t be sweating it out with the sun down. The Greek is a seasoned and slick venue, boasting a damn good sound system. With the weather being nice and the wind nearly nonexistent, which is a rarity in outdoor music venues, it was a great experience.
Continue reading “Show Review: Wardruna at The Greek Theater (Los Angeles), 09-08-2025”
I’ve never been to the Bellwether downtown before, but I gotta say I was digging the vibe. It’s a newer venue, from what I understand. Upon entering the stage floor, I immediately noticed that my hair was glowing. The whole room was bathed in blue theater lights, which had the fun effect of illuminating UV-reactive hair dye. The night before, I stayed up entirely too late at a Black Metal show with a friend, as a guest, so my brain was a little fried, but I was determined to rally forth and enjoy some loud, fuzzy music
Continue reading “Show Review: The Sword at The Bellwether (DTLA), 08-30-2025”
