Summer is ready when you are! And so is the first proper bay area outdoor music festival!
Thursday, June 4th
#poundsign, Yea-Ming and The Rumours, Arts & Leisure at Hemlock Tavern
There once was a time when # something you did at the end of dialing an extension. It was called an poundsign, and one of the bay area’s finest twee pop bands took their name from this process. Today, poundsigns are now hashtags. Nonetheless, the great #poundsign is playing their first show since the Twitter’s founding. So come sway with me while we party like we still have flip phones.
Palma Violets, Public Access TV at Bottom Of The Hill
Friday, June 5th
Talkies at Cinecave at Lost Weekend Video
Tonight is the 3rd anniversary of Talkies, a brilliant multimedia spectacle that happens monthly at Lost Weekend Video. It’s a combination of stand up comedy, short film, and other weirdness. We have films by the brilliant David Enos and Ivan Hernandez as well as stand up sets by Andrew Holmgren, Thomas Bridgeman, and Michael Waltz!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=les4i0jQkI4
Jonathan Richman, Sonny Smith, Rykarda Parasol at Bottom Of The Hill
Saturday, April 6th
Live 105’s BFD at Shoreline Amphitheater
It’s easy to speak ill of mainstream rock radio. However, they really proved themselves capable of booking a show that’s truly cutting edge. We have sets by The Orwells, Of Monsters and Men, Misterwives, Death From Above 1979, Best Coast, Atlas Genius, and many, many more acts that even three years ago would have been unheard of on the radio! This is about as good as a radio festival can get.
Kinski, Heron Oblivion, Mall Walk at Hemlock Tavern
Sunday, June 7th
D’Angelo and The Vanguard at The Fox Theater – Oakland
D’Angelo’s comeback record, Black Messiah, may be the best record of his career. It was well worth the wait, and his current live band is a ridiculously gifted and powerful beast. This is possibly the most important show of the year.
Hugh Cornwell, Dirty Ghosts, Kelly Stoltz at The Chapel
Monday, June 8th
Surfer Blood, Gothic Tropic, Alex Calder at The Chapel
Surfer Blood are proof that, just because you are from Florida, that doesn’t mean you are awful and tasteless. It’s Surfer Blood, Tom Petty, and that’s about it.
Deicide, Entombed A.D., Hate Eternal, Black Crown Initiate, Lorna Shore, Svart Crown, Anisoptera at Oakland Metro Operahouse
Oh. And Deicide. Surfer Blood, Tom Petty, and Deicide are the only good things to come out of Florida.
Tuesday, June 9th
Cheap Trick, Peter Frampton at Mountain Winery
Cheap Trick- the perfect balance meaty, thick riffs and catchy, poppy hooks. Few bands are as perfect as Cheap Trick. Enough said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th370QmFtk8
Wednesday, June 10th
Snarky Puppy at Miner Auditorium
Snarky Puppy have been floating under the radar for a while, and they were just a name for a while. A really terrible name. Happily, their delicious blend of trip hop, funk, blues, and jazz is way better than that name.
