The Gathering tour was a long-anticipated family BBQ. Fans of all generations packed the almost sold-out Chase Center Arena. Weezer, the geek-pop-rock band, connects to the fun side of everyone. Frontman Como Rivers mentioned the warnings for listening and “thank you anyway.” Everyone knew every word of every song, vintage or fresh; every word in tune and as loud as possible. No one mentioned this wasn’t a sing-a-long, and a few times during the song “Beverly Hills,” my section of the stadium was louder than the band.
It is still a mystery how fans are selected for the “air-guitar” feature, but Anastasia Gorski from the upper deck was fabulous during ‘Buddy Holly.”
Just after “Pork and Beans,” while Cuomo was on the drums, Patrick Wilson (drummer) picked up a guitar riffed as if it was a 1982 heavy metal concert. Cuomo ran over, reminded Patrick it was 2026, and he returned to his beautiful gold drum kit. What would happen to the Weezer world if Patrick’s metal riff continued? Only smiles from me.
The Shins
The shiny happy side of the Shins came out 30 seconds in on the 1st song, with the audience blissfully swaying with their cell phones in the air. It all ended with an all-out release of madness when they closed the set with REM’s “It’s The End of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine).
Silversun Pickups
The night started with the Silversun Pickups. Despite the many months they were touring their latest record ahead of “The Gathering” tour, their energy could give the local power company shutdown notice. “Lazy Eye,” despite the song title this band energy could put PG&E out of business. Hair flying like the original headbanger days. Everyone should see them play more than once.
You’re reading Day 2 – be sure to check out what you missed on Day 1!
The start of my BottleRock Napa Valley Saturday found me at the Truly stage for OTTTO, a young band with “roots in thrash, funk, and metal.” Bassist Tye Trujillo always draws a big crowd, and while this year I only just learned he had moved on from his former band and joined a new one, I knew better than to miss whatever band he’s currently playing with. I enjoyed OTTTO’s set and even stopped to take a short video of the kids moshing in front of the stage, which was fun just to witness. I’ll be keeping an eye (and both ears) out for more from this band – they were awesome!
Before any more music, I needed to stop for a snack. I picked up a blueberry “smashed lemonade” from the Izzy’s Cheesesteaks truck and then opted for an order of classic poutine from Poutine Brothers. The two together were *chef’s kiss* perfect!
Later, I headed back to the Truly stage for The Happy Fits, a band I know from their 2020 song “Hold Me Down.” They’re an indie pop-rock band with a cello, and I was so excited to check them out. Not only did their energy and sound not disappoint, it was also fun to see them relish a crowd of the “most people we’ve ever played for!” This is a band I’m excited to hear (and see) more from – they were solid, energetic, and over-the-top entertaining.
The Happy Fits’ cellist frontman Calvin LangmanThe Happy Fits’ guitarist Ross MonteithThe Happy Fits’ drummer Luke Davis
Next up was Silversun Pickups at the Verizon stage. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know nearly as much about this band or their music as I probably “should,” so I was excited to finally experience them live. They have a great “vibe” on-stage, and the crowd was eating them up right off the bat. I particularly enjoyed “Doesn’t Matter Why,” which may or may not be about the interesting dynamic of a relationship between fan and band. At any rate, I had a hard time taking my eyes off the fabulous lady bassist Nikki Monninger, who is equal parts fun, badass bass, and firecracker: I took so many pictures of her jumping up and down while jamming! Frontman Brian Aubert’s vocals upped the ante, and I thoroughly enjoyed their set. I often say that a band that’s better live is the cream of the crop, and that absolutely proved true with Silversun Pickups!
Silversun Pickups’ bad ass lady bassist Nikki Monninger was such an entertaining musician to watch!Silversun Pickups frontman Brian Aubert
Silversun Pickups drummer Christopher Guanlao
Not long after, I was over at the JaM Cellars stage for the first time all day getting ready to enjoy The Black Crowes. As soon as they took the stage, I noted the impeccable style of the band members – they were sharply dressed and clearly had brought their A game! Like many bands that play BRNV, the Black Crowes are no spring chickens, but rock like they’re still teenagers, somehow. Highlights from their set included “Twice as Hard” and especially “Hard to Handle.” I was really hoping to hear “She Talks to Angels,” but either they didn’t play it, or they did but it was while we were being escorted from the photo pit back to the media lounge and I missed it. Either way, their set was so much fun, I almost didn’t notice not hearing it anyway.
The Black Crowes frontman Chris RobinsonThe Black Crowes guitarist Isaiah MitchellThe Black Crowes guitarist Rich RobinsonThe Black Crowes bassist Sven Pipien
As the day wore on and the sun sunk closer to the horizon, I was anxiously looking forward to tonight’s headliner: twenty-one pilots. Before this weekend, I’d only ever seen this band once, almost a decade ago. I mention this because I happened to arrive late to that particular show, and neither I nor my editor (who happened to be my +1 that night) knew who was playing before PANIC! but when we got in, we were both instantly impressed with their sound right away. Their set was so fantastic that I knew we’d hear more from them in the future. I’ve never forgotten how sure I was about that.
Twenty-One Pilots Drummer Josh Dun
Fast forward to now – they’ve had tons of success and absolutely exploded, just as predicted. I couldn’t believe that I knew song after song, and most of them were those I’d enjoyed over the years. Some favorites from their set included their breakout hit “Stressed Out,” as well as “Heathens,” “Jumpsuit,” and “heavydirtysoul.”
twenty-one pilots frontman Tyler Joseph
This band may be only two dudes, but what they “lack” in manpower they more than make up for in both energy and talent, and I left the day nearly as impressed as I’d been the first time I saw them long ago. I think I saw both drummer Josh Dun and frontman/pianist Tyler Joseph do flips on-stage at least once in the almost two hours they performed. Also, they did a little medley of some great covers that I have to mention, including “Benny & the Jets,” “I Can See Clearly Now” (with an accordion), and “Kiss from a Rose.” They were so much fun!
I’m so happy to see how successful this band has become, and I think they really deserve all of it and their Grammy award, too. Best of all, they ended right on time and I was able to quickly dart out among the crowd to where I had a ride waiting. I made it home with dinner by 10pm and was so happy to be in bed at a decent hour, since I still have one more day to do it all over again…
In the 2+ years since the world changed forever, I’ve missed live music more than most things. Fortunately, I’ve finally been able to start attending live shows again, and I can’t believe how much good it does for my well-being! I always knew music played a huge role in my life (hell, even my last name is musical!)… but it wasn’t until I had to live without it that I came to realize just how much my mental health needs music, especially when experienced live.
It feels like it’s been eons since I was able to bask in the glory of a perfect-weather weekend right here in Napa with loads of amazing food, drinks, and live music. Thankfully, the wait is almost over – this year’s BottleRock Napa Valley starts two weeks from today!
There are a few things you can learn from going to BFD, Live 105’s annual concert at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View. Among these are that people will wait in huge lines to spin any prize wheel, it can take over an hour to go from the highway exit to a parking space, and there’s no such thing as a “bad lineup” for BFD. It will nearly always sell out, and will always have some surprises. And this year, with the “Surprise Special Guest” appearing on the bill, we knew we were in for at least one. Continue reading “Show Review: Live 105’s BFD at Shoreline Amphitheater, 5/19/2013”
At one point late in the Silversun Pickups set at The Fox Oakland, lead singer Brian Aubert started listing off all of the Bay Area venues they had played: Rickshaw Stop, The Fillmore, Bimbo’s, Cafe Du Nord, Bottom of the Hill (this one got the biggest applause), BFD, Outside Lands. They’ve been here a lot. Because of this, it’s a bit of a surprise that it took them nearly 18 months after the release of their last album, Swoon, to finally play a headlining show in the Bay Area. So, was it worth the wait? Continue reading “Show Review: Silversun Pickups with Against Me! and The Henry Clay People at The Fox Oakland, 8/3/2010”
When I called The Henry Clay People for an interview, lead singer and lyricist Joey Siara was driving the band through Oregon, on their way to another gig with Silversun Pickups and Against Me. I did my day job proud and made sure Joey was wearing a headset before continuing with the interview, making this Joey’s first interview given while driving, dialing up the degree of difficulty a bit. While we later got into detail on the life of an opening band, I started where a lot of interviews start: with the name.
About the name of the band, named after 19th century politician Henry Clay. Of all the obscure 19th century politicians, why him?
Look how much your girlfriend is enjoying herself at The Mountain Winery in Saratoga. So many concerts! So much wine!
As July transitions into August, The Mountain Winery continues to generally kick the ass of every other Bay Area concert venue this week—and it’s actually kind of an off-week for them. Nobody likes a showoff, Mountain Winery! Other highlights this week include Joanna Newsom, a free concert by Rickie Lee Jones, and the final performance by local favorites Make Me before they take an indefinite hiatus. All that and more, after the jump…
Matt Bellamy of Muse shined lasers at the audience. Is this safe?
Do you miss seeing a rock band put on a real show? Do you miss vast arrays of colored lights, moving platforms, spinning drum sets … do you miss lasers? If you do, Muse is the right band to see right now. Yet hidden behind all of the flashiness of their show is also a strong musical core. The two sides of this fight against each other, though, making the whole thing less than the sum of its parts. The question, though, is how big are those parts? Continue reading “Show Review: Muse with Silversun Pickups at Oracle Arena, 4/14/10”
You know how when you have a little cold and you take cold medicine, and when the medicine finally kicks in, your cold breaks? And you get really sweaty? Now what if you were taking cold medicine on a hot day at a sunny music festival? You’d be having my day. So for me, and surely for many others, Friday at Outside Lands was a fun, sweaty time. Continue reading “Outside Lands Festival Diary: Part 2 — Friday, 8/28/09”
reminded Patrick it was 2026, and he returned to his beautiful gold drum kit. What would happen to the Weezer world if Patrick’s metal riff continued? Only smiles from me. 
