Classless Act @ the Brick & Mortar Music Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) Seeing a super talented band on the climb in an intimate environment is such a rush. Classless Act opened every date of the gigantic Stadium Tour all last summer and Wednesday night they brought their arena show energy and talent to a smaller venue gig at San Francisco’s Brick & Mortar Music Hall. Non-stop motion and driving songs at a breakneck pace kept the crowd struggling to catch their breath throughout. Taking the stage after three bands had performed before them on their “West Side Fun Run 23” mini-tour ..read more

Valerie June @ the Mill Valley Music Festival (Photo: Sean Reiter) The temperature was way down and the wind was way up when I interviewed Valerie June on Day 2 of the Mill Valley Music Festival. Where the day before had seen a sunny and still 85 degree Saturday with no breeze, Sunday brought a thick fog and the temperature had dropped to the low 50’s with high winds. In fact, the winds were so high that we were unable to use the tents that had been set up for interviews and instead found shelter in between tour buses backstage. Despite the fact that she had spent the last 90 minutes ..read more

Sammy Hagar & Bobby Weir @ the Fillmore (Photo: Kevin Keating) Raising money for the Pediatric Cancer Program at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital has never been so much fun. Yes, this was the 8th annual 'Acoustic-4-A-Cure' benefit concert put on by Sammy Hagar and Bobby Weir, but after a 3 year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Sammy & Bobby's invited guests to San Francisco's historic Fillmore seemed to relish being back on the stage with each other -- and for one surprise performer, getting to experience it for the very first time! For t ..read more

Mill Valley Music Fest (Photo: Paige K Parsons / Mill Valley Music Festival) Marin County will be the center of the Bay Area music scene this weekend (May 13th and 14th) as the Mill Valley Music Festival returns for its second year – this time as a two-day event – with some much-needed blue skies and clear air forecasted just in time! Michael Franti & Spearhead, Tank and the Bangas, Cake, Valerie June and Marin’s Jerry Harrison (Talking Heads) with Adrien Belew, Matt Jaffe and The Alive will grace the stages and tickets remain available as of this writing. Tank & the Ban ..read more

The Black Crowes @ The Venue at Thunder Valley Casino (Photo: Sean Reiter) The Black Crowes brought their Southern rock and harmonies to The Venue at Thunder Valley Casino outside of Sacramento on Saturday night and put on a fun show that demonstrated the band’s greatness has fully returned with the end of family and band feuds. The concert began with a clear demonstration of how much better the Robinson Brothers – lead singer Chris and lead guitarist Rich – were getting along. Right as he hit the first notes on his guitar, Rich stopped and the band followed suit. “That’s one for Rich ..read more

Johannesburg Eckerstrom of Avatar @ the Fillmore (Photo: Sean Reiter) Avatar brought what I think was best described as “avant-garde” metal to The Fillmore to a packed and enthusiastic audience this past Friday night. The Swedish metal group – formed in 2001 by drummer John Alredsson and guitarist Jonas Jarlsby and joined a year later by dynamic lead vocalist Johannesburg Eckerstrom – does not just perform a concert. This was a spectacle combining hard metal, carnival and circus elements and perhaps a bit of vaudeville. John Alredsson of Avatar @ the Fillmore (Photo: Sean Reiter ..read more

Goose @ the Warfield (Photo: Sean Reiter) The Jam Band world is in for a big shake up this year with Dead & Company entering its last trip and if I were a betting man, I’d put my money on Goose to rise to the top. Thursday night at The Warfield, the band showed the highest-level musicianship while delivering an audience-connecting charm accompanied by a visually stunning performance in the first of two sold out concerts. Peter Anspach of Goose @ the Warfield (Photo: Sean Reiter) Taking the stage, Peter Anspach greeted the crowd with “Wazzup San Francisco?” before the band ..read more

Dawes @ the Fillmore (Photo: Sean Reiter) A Dawes concert always has the vibe of a large college reunion with friends getting back together at a great house party and Wednesday night at the Fillmore saw the band deftly songs from 2023’s Misadventures of Doomscroller with crowd favorites from their first fourteen years. Singer/lead guitarist Taylor Goldsmith acknowledged the situation by starting out the second set with a solo acoustic interpretation of “House Parties” – a fun, self-reflective and sentimental song that has yet to be given official release. “House parties and local band ..read more

VV @ the Fillmore (Photo: Sean Reiter) Well before the doors opened an hour before VV’s show at The Fillmore on Monday night, the line stretched down and around the block – an early-arriving crowd that rivaled some from the historic theater’s good old days. The crowd - featuring a blend of metal, goth and punk with some regular Janes & Joes thrown in for good measure – stood outside buzzing with excitement despite the cold breeze in anticipation of seeing H.I.M.’s lead singer (who recently switched to being referred to by his initials- rather than Ville Valo) live for the first ti ..read more

They Might Be Giants in front of the sold out Fillmore audience (Photo: Kevin Keating) Geek rock pioneers, They Might Be Giants, swung through the Bay Area this weekend with not one, but two sold out shows on either side of the Bay. The first was last night at the Fillmore and saw a line of people that stretched down Geary Street and then onto Steiner who either didn't get the message to get to the show early or were running late after spending too much time over at the Cherry Blossom Festival in Japantown across the street. Luckily, the long line of people outside the Fillmore d ..read more