Bruce Springsteen, Max Weinberg & Nils Lofgren @ the Chase Center (Photo: Kevin Keating) After over two decades of anticipation, the night of reckoning finally arrived in the City by the Bay. As the sold-out crowd packed into San Francisco's Chase Center, a palpable electricity coursed through the air, crackling with the promise of a long-awaited reunion with rock royalty. And when Bruce Springsteen and his legendary E Street Band took the stage, it was a sonic homecoming that sent shockwaves through the very core of music itself. Bruce Springsteen @ the Chase Center (Photo ..read more

The Lone Bellow @ the Independent (Photo: Sean Reiter) The Lone Bellow - Zach Williams, Kanene Donehey Pipkin and Brian Elmquist - took the stage armed only with acoustic guitars, a mandolin and their terrific harmonies to take on a rowdy, spirited Saturday night crowd at The Independent. The opener, Jonny Fritz had been created by an already full club with initial indifference – ignored and nearly drowned out by conversation before he eventually won much of the crowd over with a combination of confrontation and charm. But, despite their Brooklyn-origin and current Nashville residence ..read more

The Kills @ the Fox Theater (Photo: Sean Reiter) The Kills finished out their North American Tour with an incredibly energetic performance by Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince Saturday night at Oakland’s Fox Theater. The duo’s 90-minute set was light on banter and heavy on brilliant musicality. Combined with a brilliant opening set from Heartworms, it made for one of the most exciting evenings of music in recent times. Jamie Hince of The Kills @ the Fox Theater (Photo: Sean Reiter) Taking the stage with beverages in hand and getting quickly down to business, both Hince and Moss ..read more

Alessandro Cortini @ Gray Area (Photo: Kevin Keating) Far from a household name, Alessandro Cortini, an Italian-born electronic maestro and multi-instrumentalist, steps into the limelight, perhaps most notably recognized as a key figure in the industrial rock ensemble Nine Inch Nails during their tours. Yet, when the curtains fall on NIN's performances, Alessandro's creative energy surges into his own domain. Previously, he wove sonic tales as half of the duo modwheelmood, and more recently, he's embraced solo ventures under various aliases—blindoldfreak, SONOIO, or simply his birth n ..read more

Al Jourgensen of Ministry @ the Warfield (Photo: Kevin Keating) At long last, the end of the road is coming into sight for the genre defining legendary industrial powerhouse, Ministry. Affectionately known as Uncle Al (Jourgensen), the frontman and founder of the band has gone on record as saying that there are two last Ministry albums left after the release of HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES on March 1st -- there's an 'industrialized' re-recording of Ministry's first album from 1983, With Sympathy, and then one last album that will see the return of Al's longstanding original bassist, Paul B ..read more

Madonna (Photo: Kevin Mazur / Getty Images) Madonna may have rolled into San Francisco’s Chase Center for “The Celebration Tour” burdened with a lot of tour questions and baggage, but she left town after two triumphant nights of spectacular retrospective performances. Initially plagued with Madonna’s health scares, controversial photos that contributed to concerns for her well-being and a lawsuit in New York state for starting the concert well after the posted start time, what should have been characterized as a victory lap seemed to be more of a mine field. But the icon who shouted o ..read more

Lukas Nelson @ the Luther Burbank Center (Photo: Sean Reiter) Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real topped an eventful week with an out of the box superior performance at Santa Rosa’s Luther Burbank Center on Saturday night. The band’s equipment truck had been stolen from their Seattle hotel on Tuesday and a plea went out over social media. Luckily, it appears the hijackers were not adept at driving in February Washington weather as they got the van stuck in the mud – resulting in the thieves making off with only their soundboard and some pedals. Saturday night, the band was still us ..read more

Sting w/ the SF Symphony @ Davies Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) Sting delivered a sweet treat to San Francisco on Valentine’s Day with a deeply personal and memorable 18-song performance with the San Francisco Symphony at Louise M. Davies Hall. Dressed in a black turtleneck, leather pants and cowboy boots with the fit look of someone in his late 20’s, he thanked the audience from his stool for coming out on “St. Valentine’s Night” and shared that his valentine for the last 40 years – wife Trudie Styler was in the crowd. For a moment, I was transported back to the first time I saw Sting li ..read more

Dave Stewart & Vanessa Amorosi @ the SAP Center (Photo: Kevin Keating) Last Friday evening, the SAP Center in San Jose eagerly embraced the arrival of the 'So Happy it Hurts' tour headlined by Bryan Adams, with the charismatic Dave Stewart gracing the stage as the opening act. And let's be clear, we're not referring to the Oakland A's All-Star pitcher Dave Stewart from the Bay Area, but rather the legendary Dave Stewart of Eurythmics — a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer responsible for timeless hits like "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" and "Here Comes the Rain Again." Having missed ..read more

Dave Stewart Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and Songwriter Hall of Famer — DAVE STEWART — is bringing his “Eurythmics Songbook” tour to the SAP Center in San Jose this Friday night, January 26th, as the special guest on Bryan Adams’ “So Happy It Hurts” tour, while also celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) album. Limited tickets are still available here. With a career spanning four decades and over 100M album sales worldwide, award-winning singer, songwriter, musician, producer and Eurythmics co-founder Dave Stewart is among the most respected and acco ..read more