Mr. Bungle Fox Theater, Oakland May 24, 2023 Photos by Raymond Ahner Recently on their first full tour in over 20 years, and after the success of their 2019 shows, Mr. Bungle hit the road for just over two weeks before closing out the tour with two sold out nights at the Fox Theater in Oakland recently. Not only did the band mix up the setlist, but show number two included a surprise at the end. Mr. Bungle Walking out onto the stage and opening the set with “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” frontman Mike Patton wasted no time in upping the tempo of the band’s performance. From “Anarchy Up Your Anus ..read more

Joshua Tree Music Festival Joshua Tree May 18-21, 2023 Photos by Tom Dellinger As the rains of winter give way to spring time here in California, sunny days beckon and like the rhythms of the universe, festival season is upon us once again as they flourish like a super bloom up and down the state. A personal favorite is Joshua Tree Music Festival (JTMF) which is held twice annually, in May and again in October. JTMF is a small independent festival that has in the past twenty years, planted its unique flag in the world of music festivals. While music is a large component, this fest is about muc ..read more

The Damned Regency Ballroom May 20, 2023 Photos by Raymond Ahner Celebrating the release of their twelfth studio record Darkadelic, The Damned made a triumphant return to San Francisco recently, playing to a near sold out crowd at The Regency Ballroom. The Damned always seem to enjoy playing to a Bay Area crowd, and this night was certainly no exception. The setlist for the evening was a nice balance of older and newer material while still focusing on the new record. The Damned Opening their set with “Street of Dreams,” off their Phantasmagoria record, the band were full of energy ri ..read more

Gary Numan The Mystic Theater May 18, 2022 Photos by Raymond Ahner Gary Numan is no stranger to playing in Northern California over the last year in support of his 2022 album Intruder. Playing in San Francisco at the beginning and end of 2022, this year he decided to make a stop at the Mystic Theater in Petaluma, a venue that I had never been to before. Much to my surprise, it was one of the most intimate venues I’ve seen him at (this show was my twelfth time seeing Numan), and it served as a perfect venue for his brand of industrial music. Gary Numan Taking the stage as his band blasted throu ..read more

Obituary UC Theatre, Berkeley May 18, 2023 Photos by Raymond Ahner Florida Death metal legends Obituary recently announced a spring tour in support of their latest release Dying of Everything, and last week they pulled up to the UC Theatre in Berkeley for an evening of metal that proved to be one of the heaviest shows to hit the Bay Area in recent memory. Obituary The beyond stacked tour also includes New York death metal heroes Immolation, Blood Incantation, and Ingrown. Obituary After the Pat Travers classic “Snortin’ Whiskey” blared over the PA, Obituary hit the stage with “Redneck Sto ..read more

Golden Road Gathering El Dorado County Fairgrounds, Placerville May 12-14 2023 Photos by Paul Piazza The very first Golden Road Gathering made its debut at the El Dorado County Fairgrounds in Placerville recently. With comfortably warm weather, tons of great bands, and a happy crowd who felt feverishly ready to get the west coast festival season revved up, the event turned out to be a fantastic and well-run event that exceeded all expectations. California Honeydrops Part of that may have been that the music hungry crowds were treated to amazing sets of sounds all weekend long. Friday night’s h ..read more

The Sisters of Mercy Flatline the Masonic The Masonic Theater May 17, 2023 Photos by Raymond Ahner Those who lived through San Francisco’s underground music scene in the mid-late 80s, will vividly (or maybe hazily) recall late nights and early mornings spent carousing the dark basement club at the legendary Lipps’ Underground at 9th & Howard. It was the spot where outcast gutter punks and misfit death rockers congregated far after the witching hour to perch in the shadowy corners, drink cheap keg beer, smoke cigarettes and cloves, and await the perfect song to play so they could swoop onto ..read more

Clutch The Regency Ballroom May 4, 2023 Photos by Paul Piazza It’s hard to imagine many bands that bring it live as strong as Clutch. More than 30 years into the music business, the quartet sounded amazingly recharged and blew the roof off of the Regency Ballroom recently. The band was one of the many who made the most of their time during the lock down time to regroup, write excellent new material and master the livestream. And in Clutch’s case, they did it all with their usual high measure of integrity and their own particular brand of brawny intellect. Dan Maines of Clutch While ringleader ..read more

Modest Mouse Ace of Spades, Sacramento May 6, 2023 Photos by Tyler King A lot of music fans have a first band that they fell in love with on their own; their parents didn’t make you listen to them, or they weren’t played on the radio when you became a fan. To me, that band is Modest Mouse. I became a fan shortly after the release of their third album, The Moon & Antarctica, in 2003, but didn’t see them until 2007. The last time that I saw them was a decade ago, so you can imagine my desire to see them at the ultra-intimate Ace Of Spades in Sacramento, a venue that only holds 1,000 people ..read more