Everyone's a Critic
Sufjan Stevens made a rare appearance in San Diego in support of his seventh studio album, Carrie & Lowell. Playing the Copley Symphony Hall, a gothic-revival-style theater downtown, Stevens captivated the audience during his generous …
Most artists 38 years into their career have long slipped into something more comfortable — classic album tours. Not Paul Weller, since 2008’s 22 Dreams he’s shown he doesn’t know what laurels are, never mind …
Django Django’s Born Under Saturn revels in the beauty of tranquil harmonies as it envelops new art-pop territory for the British quartet. The collection lands mostly in the realm of synthy dance music, but the …
On the first date of a two-night stand at the Observatory North Park, Spoon delivered their trademark indie art-rock, complemented by a spellbinding light show that was one of the coolest this reporter’s seen at …
Just for fun, try singing this set’s “Send in the Clowns” along with Paul Simon’s “Late in the Evening,” or versa vice. Pretty much the same song, yeah? Gets me each time around. Ferry, of …
In the hours leading up to Sunday's opening night of the Rolling Stones 2015 Zip Code Tour at Petco Park, the atmosphere in the Gaslamp Quarter was on fire. Every bar, every restaurant was at …
The hall was about half full for the Spanish Rhapsody. Previously the hall had been 95% full for Carmina Burana. To my mind and heart, the Spanish concert had the greater merit musically and artistically …
The second solo record by the Killers frontman Brandon Flowers is a revival of the sounds and sentiments behind the 1980s dance-pop genre. Inspired by the music of his adolescence, Flowers’s The Desired Effect bounces …
The Waterboys stormed the stage at Humphreys by the Bay and delivered a high-energy set that encompassed their career. Mike Scott and the band delivered a tight set with highlights throughout the evening. The six-piece …
The San Diego Symphony concert on Saturday, May 9, was as hot as Seville in August — maybe hotter. (I’m not sure, since I’ve never been to Seville, but I can imagine.) Violinist Ray Chen …
Rocketed to the top of the charts by the Bruno Mars–piloted hit “Uptown Funk” — with its Princely synths, Towering horns, and sly James Brown-isms (“gotta kiss myself so pretty”) — Mark Ronson’s latest is …
It was about halfway through New Kids on the Block’s two-hour set at Viejas Arena that a female fan ran past security guards and onto the stage, only to be corralled and removed seconds later. …
Solana Beach got a treat with two full sets and a double-dose of encores from popular alt-rockers They Might Be Giants. The band had no problem filling the extended time by taking a heaping helping …
I first saw Boz Scaggs in 1966 at the Matrix in San Francisco. He was playing in a jazz-rock combo with some cat named Steve Miller. Fast-forward 50 years and they are both award-winning senior-citizen …
Conrad Tao stole the show twice on Saturday, May 2, at Symphony Hall. He tore the place apart with the Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 1 and then upstaged that monster with the conclusion of Prokofiev’s …
“How could something so fair be so cruel?” Ben Gibbard asks on the lead single of Death Cab for Cutie's first studio release in nearly four years. With that question, “Black Sun” sets the tone …