Everyone's a Critic
Bright Eyes’ fourth album starts and ends with the voice of Randy Brewer, an old country singer who frontman Connor Oberst met while on his travels. Brewer's commanding tone opens the album discussing physics, Hitler, …
Weezer brought load of people (and traffic woes) to the Del Mar Summer Concert Series in 2010 and this year, the band kept it's streak alive. With an estimated 40,000 people attending, Rivers Cuomo and …
The son of Ingrid and the late Jim Croce took the stage at Anthology for a rare local appearance and, with a little help from his friends, proved once again he is one of San …
Note to the warm, dear, swing-dancing friend of mine who lamented, "Charlie Parker killed everything I love": you probably won't listen to this alto-sax/two-upright-basses/one-cello session, but I thought of you. I thought of you since …
It takes a strong set of binoculars to see past North County privilege and beautiful women in stupid hats to catch the new Seaside Stage at Del Mar. Only those with focus could ignore the …
Just in time to thwart the summertime blues comes the auditory salve of Rubblebucket's sophomore full-length, a collection of prog-pop glory that often sounds like an indulgence-free Yes. Kalmia Traver provides captivating, ethereal vocals for …
Given the lyrical content of his songs on Eleven Eleven, you'd expect to find Dave Alvin in a joint that reeks of cheap beer, second-hand smoke, and maybe the coppery scent of freshly spilled blood. …
By the time the soundman got the mix right, which was about four songs into the set, a near-capacity crowd had climbed over numerous spilled drinks and filled every nook and cranny of the Belly …
Despite the standard '70s instrumentation, tricky rhythm burps manifest right out of the gate. It's not quite "math rock" but counterpoint enough to bring King Crimson and Polvo into the conversation. Chris Kosnik's soaring, echo-layered …
Phil Spector is credited for developing the recording technique known as the "wall of sound." After witnessing Canadian progressive-rock trio Rush, I would call what they unleashed in Chula Vista the "tsunami of sound." Three …
How badly do we need Jonathan Richman now? After Election 2008, I was ready to say, "Not as much as before," given that the government (at least) no longer promulgated that eight-year Dominant Paradigm of …
If there were a roof over the Heineken grandstand stage at the San Diego County Fair, Neon Trees would have blown it off. Starting the show with fan favorite "Sins Of My Youth," singer Tyler …
When I lived in San Francisco, one of my favorite outings was walking down to Amoeba Records on Haight Street for the free artist-promo concerts. The most memorable was an extended set by blues-rock act …
Opening with 1972's “Living in the Past,” Jethro Tull front man Ian Anderson set the tone for the evening by working the stage, giving equal attention to both sides of the theater. And the crowd …
Check, check one...two... Three? Four? Five? Six? Arriving at the Casbah, I watched Cole Alexander and Joe Bradley of Atlanta band the Black Lips work out their set list, which was mostly material off their …
The first track off of Nothing is Wrong, the second album from Dawes, defines the record. Front man Taylor Goldsmith knows how to reel you in with his voice and lyric in "Time Spent in …