Show Review: Two Nights with Faith No More at The Warfield, 4/19/15-4/20/15

Mike Patton of Faith No More
Mike Patton of Faith No More

In 2010, Faith No More returned to their hometown of San Francisco to play three ferocious, wildly-anticipated concerts that marked their first appearance in the Bay Area since their disbandment in the late 90s. The general reaction, from the most hardcore fans to the relatively casual listeners, was extremely positive, albeit with the lingering curiosity of “…but what’s next?” After a handful of tours, a smattering of festival appearances, and two years of almost total silence — during which the prolific band members worked on some of their other projects, as well — something more official surfaced in the latter half of 2014, in the form of two new songs: the slow-stalking “Motherfucker” and the chugging, anthemic “Superhero”, both of which showed up in their live sets that year. Now, with their seventh album Sol Invictus soon to arrive in record stores, and a mountain of tour dates taking up their schedule this year (paired with everyone from ANTEMASQUE to Refused), it seemed like the perfect time for Faith No More to return to the Warfield — this time with two shows, instead of three — and their transformation in the last five years is not only palpable, but an utter delight to witness.

Continue reading “Show Review: Two Nights with Faith No More at The Warfield, 4/19/15-4/20/15”

Show Review: They Might Be Giants with Moon Hooch at the Warfield, 6/14/2013

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They Might Be Giants have been playing together, in some shape, since 1982. Please, take a moment to let that sink in; this Brooklyn-based nerd-pop outfit has been churning out music for more than thirty years. This is a band that’s spanned five different presidents. A band that has witnessed countless similar acts form and breakup, reform and rebreakup. A band that has been making music for twice as long as Jaden Smith has been alive. A band with a legacy this long has two choices: They can become their own cover band, playing the hits that their audience crave, never growing, never changing. Or they can keep producing new music, evolving their sound, keeping their live-show fresh.

Fortunately for both the band and the fans, They Might Be Giants opted to take option B, and their set at the Warfield last Friday was all the better for it.

Continue reading “Show Review: They Might Be Giants with Moon Hooch at the Warfield, 6/14/2013”

Show Review: Echo & the Bunnymen with Kelley Stoltz at The Warfield, 5/19/2011

The pictures on my wall // Are about to swing and fall
The pictures on my wall // Are about to swing and fall

Roughly a year and a half ago, British post-punk dreamers Echo & the Bunnymen came to American shores for just a few stops to host a darkly gorgeous, orchestra-accompanied performance of their classic album Ocean Rain. No doubt inspired by the success of their tour and the continuing trend of artists who perform full-album sets at their shows, the Liverpool-based quintet was back in town with a similar formula, although taken to a much greater length. This time around, frontman Ian McCulloch and the rest of the crew were performing TWO of their older records — their debut Crocodiles and sophomore effort Heaven Up Here — with a 3-song encore after each. Lest the smallish crowd and the lower capacity of the venue place doubts in the mind of those who passed by the Warfield Theater on Thursday night, the excitement and enthusiasm from the fans was even more fervent than for the band’s Ocean Rain performance, and the group themselves performed with even greater intensity than before.

Continue reading “Show Review: Echo & the Bunnymen with Kelley Stoltz at The Warfield, 5/19/2011”

Show Review: The Dresden Dolls with Pomplamoose at The Warfield, 12/31/2010

Amanda Palmer surveys the crowd
Amanda Palmer surveys the crowd

Forget what you thought you knew about how to celebrate for the beginning of a new year. Forget what you thought could happen with two Bostonians, a collective of YouTube musicians, a pile of balloons, two cannons of confetti, and two thousand lovers of punk cabaret. If you were not one of the aforementioned fans that filled San Francisco’s Warfield Theater to nigh-overflowing to see the triumphant Bay Area return of the Dresden Dolls, you missed one of the greatest shows in the band’s career, and one of the best shows of 2010, and, quite likely, 2011 as well.

Continue reading “Show Review: The Dresden Dolls with Pomplamoose at The Warfield, 12/31/2010”

Show Review: Crowded House with Lawrence Arabia at The Warfield, 8/23/2010

Neil Finn, hundreds of amazing songs into his career.

Crowded House is a band with only two real American “hits.” But don’t be fooled by that. If you go see Crowded House live, you’d better be ready to sing. And although your less astute friends will assume the loudest singing will be for “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” the band’s biggest U.S. hit, those same friends will wonder what the heck this “You always take the weather with you” song is about. Congratulations, singer! You’re the smart one. Continue reading “Show Review: Crowded House with Lawrence Arabia at The Warfield, 8/23/2010”

Show Review: Porcupine Tree with Karnivool at The Warfield Theater, 8/11/2010

Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree
Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree

When a massive act plans a statewide, or possibly worldwide, tour, one of the factors involved is selecting opening bands for the tour. More often than not, the presence of a more famous and popular headliner will usually be a signal that larger, more well-known opening acts will come along for the ride. In the case of Porcupine Tree, however, their opening slot on Coheed And Cambria’s colossal new tour comes with the hope that at least a good chunk of the audience will be part of the dedicated following that they have carved out themselves within the states. As a nod to those fans, Porcupine Tree kicked off the tour with a special headlining show for one of their favorite cities (as claimed by frontman Steven Wilson on a few occasions): San Francisco, California.

Show Review: Faith No More with White Trash Debutantes and the El Camino High School Cheerleaders at The Warfield, 4/14/2010

Mike and Mike of Faith No More
Mike and Mike of Faith No More

Well now, that’s one mouthful of a title. Out on the marquee it just says “special guests!” On the other hand, it also lists “special guests” being present at all three nights — Monday, Tuesday, and tonight’s final show of Faith No More’s 3-night residency at the Warfield Theater. With the warped minds of Faith No More vocalist Mike Patton, and anti-comedian Neil Hamburger, each show has promised to be one hell of a treat. Along with an infamous punk-rock act from the San Francisco area, each night also has a second opening slot reserved for some form of bizarre entertainment — with a great emphasis on the bizarre. Continue reading “Show Review: Faith No More with White Trash Debutantes and the El Camino High School Cheerleaders at The Warfield, 4/14/2010”

Show Review: Faith No More with Jello Biafra and the Barbary Coast Cloggers at The Warfield, 4/13/10

Perhaps he's disgusted by a restaurant suggestion? Suggest a better one below!

If you went to the Warfield on Tuesday night to see Faith No More, you got to see a legend who hasn’t lost a step and a San Francisco institution blow the crowd away.

You also got to see Faith No More. Continue reading “Show Review: Faith No More with Jello Biafra and the Barbary Coast Cloggers at The Warfield, 4/13/10”

Show Review: Brian Setzer Orchestra with Lavay Smith at The Warfield, 12/20/09

This cat brings his "vixens" out to play.

I emailed a friend talking about how I was about to see Brian Setzer, and she responded, “is he still around?” Well, thank goodness he is, because last week he collapsed on stage, making me wonder if the tour would go on. It got me looking him up on Wikipedia to see that he’s 50 years old, and that it was 15 years ago that he put out the first Brian Setzer Orchestra CD. He’s had a long and varied career, and he’s definitely still around. So how’s he holding up? Continue reading “Show Review: Brian Setzer Orchestra with Lavay Smith at The Warfield, 12/20/09”

Show Review: The Used with The Almost at The Warfield 11/11/09

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The Used’s set began with an intro video of footage from past tours mixed with stock footage of planes taking off, cars passing by, and scenery changing as if shot from a window of a car. I am not sure most of the fans knew what to think of this semi-heartfelt intro. Backed by a piano and some strings, it seemed like it, as well as most everything with this set could have been better. When the video ended, the entire band just walked on stage.  It was kind of anticlimactic for such a drawn out intro. Continue reading “Show Review: The Used with The Almost at The Warfield 11/11/09”