Everyone's a Critic
I heard it on NPR: "The ’90s are back...or whatever." The ’90s meaning "the birth of grunge, the commercial rise of hip-hop, a batch of ballsy female songwriters, and a few goofy one-hit wonders we'd …
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Beach Boys. To commemorate this milestone, the group is touring with all five surviving members (Mike Love, Bruce Johnston, Brian Wilson, Al Jardine, and David Marks). They …
Whoa...a new Beachwood Sparks album in 2012? Where in the world did this come from? Perhaps it’s from a universe in which every band owes a substantial debt to the Eagles, the Grateful Dead, Gram …
The June 28 show at Brick by Brick by new supergroup the International Swingers, featuring bassist Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols), drummer Clem Burke (Blondie, the Romantics), lead guitarist James Stevenson (Generation X, Gene Loves Jezebel), …
On “Quasar,” the first song off of the new Smashing Pumpkins album, the band comes out of the gate with teeth bare. There is ferocity in the drums and a fire in the guitars that …
Kicking off the first day of summer with melodic-metal band the Scorpions was a head-banging flashback to the ’80s. Having seen them perform more than 20 times, I can say the adage “rode hard and …
I am scared to death of moshing. If you were a scrawny five-foot, four-inch girl you'd understand. However, the boys in the pit during Fidlar's set at the Ché Café did not seem to understand …
So, he's recutting almost everything here even though he didn't lose the rights to his songs to himself — just because he can. That's an Ant man for you. Opener "Losing You Makes Crucifixion Easy" …
When I look at the cover of the new Glenn Frey album of out-of-focus retro lights, it brings back memories of my own "after hours" in the nightclubs of my past. That is exactly the …
In its third year of existence, the annual FM 94/9 concert took place at the Oceanside Pier for what was titled the FM 94/9 SPF (Sandy Parts Festival). Headlined by producer-turned-artist Santigold, the lineup included …
The thing about Beach House is that you know what you are getting. You know styles won’t strain, and that is the beauty of the dream-pop duo’s fourth album, Bloom. Sure, it is more polished …
The Beach Boys reunited for a 50th Anniversary Tour that stopped on a brisk and breezy May evening at Cricket Amphitheatre in Chula Vista. But the chill wind could not take away from the "good …
Hailed as the hottest unsigned act in 2005, the Brooklyn-via Philly Clap Your Hands Say Yeah kicked off their current North American tour with a first-rate performance in front of a sold-out crowd at the …
Doseone has played many parts over his 25-year career. He's been an avante-garde philosopher for Deep Puddle Dynamics, memento mori muser with Germany-Oakland hybrid 13 & God, psych-spellbinder through Subtle, and something entirely new and …
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros deliver their second album, Here, with a gentle treatment of spiritual and festive cult-folk. Their debut, Up From Below, struck gold from the deep-blue nowhere. It was an unexpected …
When the Dandy Warhols played the Belly Up in December of 2010, local reviewers dissed the band for their “aloof” attitude. The foursome from Portland seemed, then, to hide in the shadows of the stage …