Babymetal and Dethklok Masonic Auditorium April 24, 2024 Photos by Raymond Ahner On the surface, the pairing of Japanese pop-metal band Babymetal and the fictional/real band Dethklok might seem crazy, but in reality, it was pure brilliance. Deathklok Last year’s Babyklok tour was a smashing success, with both bands playing to massive crowds, though the trek did not stop in the Bay Area at all, until two recent evenings. Fans were treated to two sold-out nights at the Masonic in San Francisco as a scheduling quirk allowed Babymetal to join Dethklok on these two dates as the live-action band was ..read more

WinterWonderGrass Tahoe Palisades, Tahoe April 5 – 7, 2024 Photos by Paul Piazza The 8th WinterWonderGrass Tahoe music festival took place in Palisades, Tahoe recently. It had all the elements one would desire at an early spring outdoor music festival in the mountains. Lively crowds, amazing music, and some beautiful fresh snow. It snowed for two out of three days at this year’s event and that extra mountain ambience tied in with the winter motif of the entire affair, while also causing the need to plan for warmer evening wear. The Devil Makes Three This annual festival is part of a family of ..read more

Rosegarden Funeral Party Bottom Of The Hill, San Francisco April 4, 2024 Photos by Vera “Velma” Hernandez What happens when the support band is the entire reason why you go to a show? That’s what the situation was when I saw Rosegarden Funeral Party playing at Bottom Of The Hill last week. The band has almost always toured as a headliner, with their Bay Area shows taking place in larger and larger venues since they first started touring in early 2018. Their last headlining show in San Francisco saw them playing The Kilowatt last November to a packed house, and their show at Bottom Of The Hill ..read more

Chelsea Wolfe The Fillmore, San Francisco March 29, 2024 Photos by Raymond Ahner Throughout her musical career, Chelsea Wolfe has released new material at a fairly frequent pace. Fans of hers usually only had to wait a couple of years to hear any new music that she was ready to put out. But lo and behold, it had been almost five years since her last album, 2019’s Birth Of Violence, when Chelsea announced a new album and tour in October of last year. Titled She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She, one of the last dates in support of the album was to be at The Fillmore in San Francisco. Chelse ..read more

KMFDM The Fillmore Auditorium March 25, 2024 Photos by Raymond Ahner Industrial pioneers KMFDM announced their Let Go Tour earlier this year, which includes a string of twenty US dates across the country supporting their 23rd studio album Let Go, which was released on February 2nd. The band pulled up to the historic Fillmore Auditorium recently, tearing through a twenty two song setlist before a packed room. Judging from the reaction of the fans, KMFDM still knows how to put on a show. KMFDM Kicking off their set with “All 4 1” from their Hyena record, the band were firing on all cylinders rig ..read more

Bay Area icons Green Day have just announced a last-minute show at San Francisco’s historic Fillmore Auditorium on Tuesday April 2, in the hopes of raising awareness of the impacts of climate change. The band has teamed up with the United Nations, and proceeds will benefit the MusiCares climate fund that assists people affected by climate change. “As world renowned artists and activists, Green Day continues to leverage its major influence and platform to bring awareness to the impact of climate change on the people and the environment,” Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Hum ..read more

Buzzcocks Great American Music Hall March 14, 2024 Photos by Raymond Ahner Returning to the San Francisco Bay Area for the first time since the passing of vocalist and founding member Pete Shelley in 2018, legendary UK Punks the Buzzcocks hit the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco last week,with a new lease on life. And with a sold-out, packed to the rafters crowd who were singing along to every word, it’s safe to say that their fans would agree. Buzzcocks Taking the stage with tambourine in hand to the long since worn out “San Francisco” (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair ..read more

Featured photo by Ivan Berenyi For fans of 1990s shoegaze and dream pop, Miki Berenyi needs no introduction. For the uninitiated, she was one half of the main creative force behind the band Lush, who released three full-length albums and multiple EPs while signed to the legendary 4AD record label throughout the early-to-mid-90s. Following the band’s breakup in 1998 and a short reunion in 2016, she helped form the band Piroshka in 2018. Her memoir Fingers Crossed: How Music Saved Me From Success was published in 2022, and she began receiving offers to do book readings paired with short sets of ..read more

The Kills Fox Theater, Oakland March 16, 2024 Photos by Raymond Ahner The Kills are a band that I’ve been interested in ever since hearing the song “Cheap And Cheerful” from their 2008 album Midnight Boom around the time of its release. Unfortunately I’ve always missed the band every time that they’ve come through the Bay Area since, so I knew I had to break this streak and see them at The Fox Theater, the show being their last on their North American tour in support of last year’s God Games. The Kills Once the lights went down in the venue, Jamie Hince and Alison Mosshart came onstage to play ..read more

Glasgow Eyes Jesus and Mary Chain Fuzz Club Records Brothers Jim and William Reid, the founders of alternative rock pioneers The Jesus and Mary Chain, have returned to the spotlight with the release of Glasgow Eyes (on Fuzz Club), their first recording since 2017 (Damage and Joy). The new album celebrates their 40th year in existence with a fresh perspective of The Jesus and Mary Chain, showcasing their post-punk roots with plenty of flashes of feedback-drenched melodies and driving back beats while injecting new elements of free-form exploration into their songwriting styl ..read more