Get SF Weekly Newsletters
Loading...
25 results
    Music, Reviewed Sigur Rós

    Sigur Rós

    In its first year, Von — the 1997 debut disc from Sigur Rós — moved a whopping 313 copies. A decade and nearly a half-dozen releases later, the ethereal Icelandic quartet has sold considerably more albums, and has become mightily…
    Tags: , , ,
    Music, Reviewed Sebastian Bach

    Sebastian Bach

    Say what you will about his hair-metal pedigree. Talk dismissively about his being firmly ensconced in the reality TV wasteland (Supergroup, Celebrity Rap Superstar, I Married ... Sebastian Bach, etc.). The truth is Sebastian Bach has a great fucking voice,…
    Tags: , , , , ,
    Music, Hear This Legendary Oddballs Ween Paint the Town Brown

    Legendary Oddballs Ween Paint the Town Brown

    A case could be made for San Francisco's American Music Club being a truly American counterpart to Britain's Joy Division. Although they're sonically different, the two groups share common ground in journeying through various ventricles of the Heart of Darkness,…
    Tags: , , , , ,
    Music, BeatBox Beat Box

    Beat Box

    There are few DJ-related DVDs worth plunking down that hard-earned cash for, but the new History of DJ Krush is a compelling compendium. It chronicles in audio and documentary form the highlights of Krush's 16-year career. Japan's most famous waxmaster…
    Tags: , , , , ,
    News, Feature Blaze of Glory

    Blaze of Glory

    The Bay Area boasts a metal history virtually unrivaled by any other region in the U.S. You know the names: Exodus, Death Angel, Testament, Possessed, and, of course, Metallica, just to scratch the surface. Almost without fail, each of these…
    Tags: , , , , ,
    Music, Blonde Redhead, Sunset Rubdown and More SF Show Previews

    Blonde Redhead, Sunset Rubdown and More SF Show Previews

    Given their respective noise-rock and industrial pedigrees, guitarist Duane Denison (Jesus Lizard, Hank III, Tomahawk) and bassist/programmer Paul Barker (Ministry and related side projects the Revolting Cocks, Lard, and 1000 Homo DJs) could have indulged in all manner of experimental…
    Tags: , , , , ,
    Music, BeatBox DJ Vadim Ditches Breakbeat for Dub on 'The Soundcatcher'

    DJ Vadim Ditches Breakbeat for Dub on 'The Soundcatcher'

    German techno duo Modeselektor (Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary) has one hell of a Rolodex. On their latest release, Happy Birthday, they schizophrenically cobble together collaborations featuring Francophone rappers TTC and rasta crooner Paul St. Hilaire, dropping in tracks with…
    Tags: , , , , ,
    Music, Reviewed Editors

    Editors

    Surely, the pressing philosophical quandary of our time is whether it's OK for a modern rock singer to sound like Ian Curtis. Editors frontman Tom Smith performs his answer in the affirmative, using that sooty, shuddering, we're-all-fooked-now tenor of his.…
    Tags: , , , , ,
    Music, Reviewed High on Fire

    High on Fire

    Already regarded as one of modern metal's most face-meltingly fantastic bands, High on Fire further solidifies its reputation with Death is This Communion, the Oakland trio's fourth, most commanding album. For this outing, the band swapped one rock superproducer (Steve…
    Tags: , , , , ,
    Music, Reviewed Kinski

    Kinski

    Kinski is a wet dream for space-rock and psych-garage aficionados. When it comes to its namesake, the primarily instrumental Seattle quartet is about 75 percent Klaus and 25 percent Nastassja. Intense, explosive, and menacing when the rough-and-tumble guitar tempests strike,…
    Tags: , , ,
    Music, Reviewed Tiny Vipers

    Tiny Vipers

    Tiny Vipers is the nom de indie-folk of Seattle songstress Jesy Fortino, and the seven austere numbers on her debut full-length live up to the moniker. Fashioned mostly from her vocals and her rudimentary, minor-chord acoustic strumming, the tracks seem…
    Tags: , , , ,
    Music, Hear This Hear This

    Hear This

    Ballyhooed British quartet the Magic Numbers — comprising two brother-sister sets — has devised a winning musical formula by adding together the sounds of yacht rock, twee-indie, and the killer B's of '60s pop (Burt Bacharach, the Beach Boys, the…
    Tags: , , , , ,
    Music, Blue-Ballin' Blues

    Blue-Ballin' Blues

    Over his 30-year career, first as a member of the Birthday Party and then as a solo artist abetted by the Bad Seeds, Nick Cave has donned many musical styles. He's been a snarling gothic-punker, a noirish murder-balladeer, a cultivated…
    Tags: , , , , ,
    Music, The Last Time We Reunite (Except for That Next Time)

    The Last Time We Reunite (Except for That Next Time)

    A little more than two years ago, I was thinking about placing a bid on a beat-up Fender Stratocaster listed on eBay for around $800. This wasn't just any Strat — it belonged to David Pajo, guitarist for the legendary…
    Tags: , , , , ,
    Music, Black Hole Son

    Black Hole Son

    Not since Sir Laurence Olivier slummed his way through Clash of the Titans has such pure talent been so egregiously wasted. We're talking about you, Chris Cornell — smoldering-eyed rock god, owner of the most distinctive and potent alterna-howl of…
    Tags: , , , , ,
    Music, Reviewed Two Gallants

    Two Gallants

    Best known for playing boozy Southern blues shot through with punk ethos — and for getting tasered by Houston police after a nightclub fracas last fall — San Francisco duo Two Gallants steer clear of all things electric on this…
    Tags: , , , , ,
    Music, Regional Rhyme Scheme

    Regional Rhyme Scheme

    Seattle is known for a lot of things, but hip hop ain't one of them. There's no dearth of inventive beats and rhymes in the Emerald City, but most folks associate the Pacific Northwest with some variant of rock music,…
    Tags: , , , , ,
    Music, Scavenged Audio

    Scavenged Audio

    In the movie-making world, Foley artists are the folks who record natural noises to create sound effects. Their job is to, say, shake aluminum sheets to simulate thunder, or to snap bamboo stalks to mimic breaking bones. For his latest…
    Tags: , , , , ,
    Music, Hear This Indie rock rules the roost: Modest Mouse and Meat Puppets

    Indie rock rules the roost: Modest Mouse and Meat Puppets

    A wealth of great talent has emerged from New Orleans over the years, but few artists from the last half century can match Allen Toussaint 's contributions. Toussaint quickly rose from teenage session work on Fats Domino recordings to become…
    Tags: , , , , ,
    Music, Going Off

    Going Off

    For a while there, if you wanted to bathe your ears in some truly orgasmic instrumental post-rock, you couldn't do much better than Scotland's Mogwai. Take its epic, 16-minute "Mogwai Fear Satan," for example. The opening guitar line repeats portentously,…
    Tags: , , , , ,
    Music, Reviewed Lifesavas

    Lifesavas

    Expectations for Portland's Lifesavas ran high from the start. MCs Vursatyl and Jumbo the Garbageman and DJ Shines comprised the first act to ink with Quannum Projects outside the local label's original Solesides crew (DJ Shadow, Blackalicious, Lyrics Born, et…
    Tags: , , , , ,
    Music, Something Like a Menomena

    Something Like a Menomena

    "So ... do I get permission to act like a really moody, temperamental artist now?" asks Menomena's Brent Knopf with one of many happy-go-lucky laughs. The amiable singer/guitarist/keyboardist isn't sure how to respond to the fact his Portland, Ore., trio…
    Tags: , , , , ,
    Music, Noise Pop Tip Sheet

    Noise Pop Tip Sheet

    If it seems that indie kids' wallets are slimmer than usual this week, it's because the annual Noise Pop fest is upon us. Now in its 15th year, the event — which includes art openings and film screenings along with…
    Tags: , , , , ,
    Music, Hear This Sonic Boom burrows into the inner E.A.R.

    Sonic Boom burrows into the inner E.A.R.

    It's fitting that Helmet recently completed a string of dates opening for Guns N' Roses: Frontman Page Hamilton might be post-hardcore's version of Axl Rose, having reconstituted his long-running, highly influential band with a bunch of hired guns after a…
    Tags: , , , , ,
    Music, The Tao of Twosomes

    The Tao of Twosomes

    "Kim and I shared a twin bed for three years, but we figured it was time to grow up, so we bought the double bed." As keyboardist Matt Johnson relays this tidbit over the phone, I can hear his other…
    Tags: , , , , ,

Concert Calendar

Find Any Show in Town

Slideshows

  • clipping at Brava Theater Sept. 11
    Sub Pop recording artists 'clipping.' brought their brand of noise-driven experimental hip hop to the closing night of 2016's San Francisco Electronic Music Fest this past Sunday. The packed Brava Theater hosted an initially seated crowd that ended the night jumping and dancing against the front of the stage. The trio performed a set focused on their recently released Sci-Fi Horror concept album, 'Splendor & Misery', then delved into their dancier and more aggressive back catalogue, and recent single 'Wriggle'. Opening performances included local experimental electronic duo 'Tujurikkuja' and computer music artist 'Madalyn Merkey.'"

Like us on Facebook

Popular Stories

  1. Most Popular Stories
  2. Stories You Missed