Dean Schaffer

Sunday: Jazz Royal McCoy Tyner Showcases Coltrane at Herbst Theatre

Dean Schaffer​McCoy Tyner Oct. 16, 2011 Herbst Theatre Better than: Listening to a scratched up jazz record from the '60s for the thousandth time. When 72-year-old McCoy Tyner walked onstage, his steps were small and almost fragile. When he spoke, his voice barely rose above a whisper. But ... More >>

Friday: Smashing Pumpkins Press on with New Faces and New Songs at the Fox Theater

Smashing Pumpkins Oct. 7, 2011 Fox Theater Better than: Fasting. Perhaps we shouldn't use Friday night's Jewish holiday for the purposes of a rock concert review, but Billy Corgan has a lot he should probably be atoning for: being a control freak, not asking two of his original band members back f ... More >>

Sunday: Wayne Shorter Pushes the Limits of Jazz, Music at Herbst Theatre

Dean Schaffer​Wayne Shorter Oct. 2, 2011 Herbst Theatre Better than: Listening to songs shorter than 40 minutes long. Stripped of his pen, notebook, and incredibly necessary glasses, the concert reviewer can't help but feel out of his element, totally unprepared to eventually write a proper ... More >>

Gross Profit: Money Given to Clipboard Kids Rarely Makes It to Nonprofits

Friday: Two Door Cinema Club Woos the Teens at the Warfield

Dean SchafferTwo Door Cinema Club at the Warfield​Two Door Cinema Club Sept. 23, 2011 The Warfield Better than: Dancing suggestively. Okay, we know we shouldn't harp on this, so we'll just say it straight out and then leave it be -- Two Door Cinema attracts a young crowd, and that's that. We ... More >>

Sunday: Vinicius Cantuária Fittingly Inhabits a Museum

Dean Schaffer​Vinicius Cantuária Sept. 25, 2011 @ Florence Gould Theater at the Legion of Honor Better than: Admiring paintings by the Dutch and Flemish masters. For the uninitiated, the Florence Gould Theater sits in the basement of the Legion of Honor, an art museum near Land's End that d ... More >>

J-Boogie Gets Down Like an Indian John Travolta in New "Undercover" Video

Yup.​Local DJ and All Shook Down 2011 alumnus J-Boogie has explored many genres, including reggae, Latin, funk, disco, and house. His new video for "Undercover," the single from his upcoming album of the same name, adds one more to the list -- Bollywood disco inferno. Using what can only (we' ... More >>

Sept. 13 Is Officially Jimi Hendrix-Winterland Day in San Francisco

​Need another reason that San Francisco is awesome? The San Francisco Board of Supervisors just proclaimed Sept. 13, 2011, to be Jimi Hendrix Winterland Day in honor of six concerts Hendrix performed at S.F.'s historic (and now long gone) Winterland Ballroom in October 1968. Okay, so Hendrix ... More >>

This IS It: A Letter to the Perfume-Shilling Julian Casablancas

Something stinks, and it's you.​Dear Julian Casablancas, Remember how the Strokes were good that one time in 2001? Yeah, we're ready to forget that ever happened -- but then again, we're pretty sure you already have. Once upon a time, you brought us the bouncy, gritty swagger of "Last Nite" ... More >>

Google's New Magnifier Music Blog Reminds Us That Music Beta Still Exists -- and That's It

​Remember Music Beta? No worries, we didn't either. Presumably to combat this very thing, Google just debuted a new music blog, Magnifier. The oldest posts on Magnifier date back to August 10, but it really got going yesterday with a "Welcome to Magnifier" post.

Long Live the Triptych: Five Great Series of Three Rock Songs

In visual art, it's called a triptych -- a piece divided into three connected sections or panels. The individual panels could, in theory, stand on their own, but each adds meaning and significance to the other two, creating a single work that is more than the sum of its parts. We don't have a name ... More >>

Watch Richie Cunning and Crew Get Wrecked in New "Rec Your Life" Video

Video by Trevor Traynor​Local rapper and All Shook Down Fest veteran Richie Cunning and his Rec League aren't exactly role models, kids -- they like drinking, and they like drinking a lot. "Rec League in the building/ Raise the flag/ Start takin' Beam shots like laser tag/ We gonna black out ... More >>

Black Sabbath Is Maybe (Not!) Getting Back Together, Or Something

​We're not really sure what's going on here, but something stinks. Former Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi reportedly told the British Birmingham Mail that the original Black Sabbath lineup would be back for the first time since 1979 with a new album next year. ''It's all been very hush-hu ... More >>

Missed Outside Lands? People-Watch With Us!

Christopher Victorio​So maybe you missed Outside Lands, or maybe you were there but don't remember any of it. It happens. Those of us who were there (and mostly conscious) know that it was an overwhelming spectacle of sounds, tastes, and, of course, crazy only-in-San-Francisco outfits. If yo ... More >>

Video Game Music Wizard Doctor Octoroc on 8-Bit Music, Zelda, and, Naturally, Antonin Dvorak

​As far as the Internets go, Doctor Octoroc is the real deal -- he's the animator, composer, and wizard behind more or less every good retro video game parody online, like "Jersey Shore: The RPG," "Game of Thrones RPG," "8-Bit Twilight (Interactive Game)," and more. Based in Philadelphia, D ... More >>

Rebecca Black Doesn't Deserve Your Bullying: An Open Letter

Jeff Reed​Dear bullies at Rebecca Black's middle school, The cat's out of the bag -- I know what you did. Rebecca Black won't be coming back to school anymore. And it's all your fault. She tattled on you to ABC, and now the world knows that you're meany-faces and probably have cooties. "Whe ... More >>

Top Five Reasons Spotify Kinda Sucks

​Yes, we know, everyone loves Spotify (even us). Yes, we know, free music is really sweet, and we feel pretty spoiled for even bringing this up. But Spotify has a ways to go before it's our favorite music app. Here are five things about the new-to-America streaming service that are kinda sucky ... More >>

London Warehouse Fire Badly Burns Indie Labels

via yfrog​The London riots began with a fatal police shooting, but the latest casualty may be independent record labels. Protesters burned down a CD and vinyl stock warehouse in North London last night that was owned by Sony DADC and used by the PIAS Group, a marketing and distribution firm t ... More >>

All Shook Down: Battlehooch Tells Us to Do Weird Things, Plus Con Brio and Richie Cunning

Joseph SchellBattlehooch's Pat Smith unleashes the fury at All Shook Down.​SF Weekly's All Shook Down Fest: Battlehooch, Richie Cunning, and Con Brio August 6, 2011 Regency Ballroom [See Part II of our ASD Fest roundup, featuring Crystal Castles, Mistah F.A.B., and more] Better than: A compan ... More >>

All Shook Down: Crystal Castles, Mistah F.A.B., and Maus Haus Rile up the Regency

Joseph SchellCrystal Castles at the All Shook Down Music Fest​ SF Weekly's All Shook Down Fest featuring Crystal Castles, Mistah F.A.B., Maus Haus, and more August 6, 2011 Regency Ballroom [See Part I of our ASD Fest roundup, featuring Battlehooch, Richie Cunning, and Con Brio] Better than: Y ... More >>

Oakland's Bare Wires Sound Economical, Alluring in "Cheap Perfume"

​ Oakland garage-rock trio Bare Wires will release a new album, Cheap Perfume, on Oct. 18. If you don't know them by now -- and frankly, if you read this blog, that's unlikely -- you should: They're easily one of the best straight-ahead, stripped-down rock bands in the Bay right now. We like ' ... More >>

Reminder/OMFG: The All Shook Down Music Fest Is Tomorrow

​Since you've been living under a rock (or maybe you just bought a Pet Rock and think it's really distractingly cool), we wish to remind you that tomorrow night is SF Weekly's All Shook Down Music Fest at the Regency Ballroom. It's not too late to snag a ticket and catch some great entertainme ... More >>

Dubstep Takes Over the Fillmore District This Saturday, Rest of the World Soon After

Irie Cartel is one of the DJ groups performing at the free Fillmore Dub Music Festival on Saturday.​If you're reading this blog, you've probably already heard of it -- it's heavy, it wobbles, and it's not the Bay Bridge. A fast-growing electronica genre with roots in reggae and dub music, du ... More >>

The Bad Plus Melt Faces at Stanford's Dinkelspiel Auditorium

Dean SchafferDavid King (right) blows everyone's mind at Dinkelspiel.​The Bad Plus August 2, 2011 @Dinkelspiel Auditorium, Stanford University Better than: Throwing a piano, bass, and drum set into the eye of a musically inclined tornado. The Bad Plus is a band that likes to challenge its au ... More >>

MTV at 30: The Top 10 Most Controversial Music Videos (NSFW)

via Flickr​As MTV celebrates its 30th birthday, it seems poised for a calm middle-aged life in a nice neighborhood, where it can safely raise Jersey Shore and Teen Mom into even more reliable moneymakers. But it wasn't always that way: Before it gave up on music, MTV swept through American hou ... More >>

Sunday: Bill Frisell's Musical Spaceship Lands at Dinkelspiel Auditorium

Dean SchafferBill Frisell brings his extraterrestrial sound to Stanford.​Bill Frisell July 31, 2011 @Dinkelspiel Auditorium, Stanford University Better than:Picnicking in a lush meadow on Mars. Bill Frisell stood timidly in front of the microphone, telling the crowd how his band tonight, the ... More >>

MTV at 30: A Reflection on the Journey from Beavis and Butt-Head to Jersey Shore

​When I was born, MTV had already passed its eighth birthday. Now that I've dated myself, I'll make another confession: I never had cable television growing up. So I watched MTV take over the planet like someone who lived in a different dimension -- I watched music videos with my friends at th ... More >>

Morrissey Defends Oslo-KFC Comparison, World Gives Him the Finger

via Flickr​List of things you don't want to say onstage: "Hello, New York!" when you're in Boston; "How about them Dodgers?" when you're in San Francisco; and "The tragedy is Norway was way less serious than the way fast food chains operate every day" when you're pretty much anywhere. Alas, ... More >>

T-Pain Goes After Auto-Tune Maker Antares, Company "Quite Surprised" By Lawsuit

via Flickr​So this might sound crazy, but T-Pain's voice doesn't actually sound the way it does in his songs -- he uses this thing called Auto-Tune to make it sound different. Wild, right? And this might sound even crazier, but the R&B singer is suing the company responsible for his signature ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

Seasunz on Hip-Hop Activism, Spirituality, and Speaking Klingon

​Ashel Eldridge has made the rounds. Otherwise known as Seasunz, Eldridge has emerged as a social and environmental activist, working with groups like Amazon Watch and Project Pink and partnering with Will.i.am to open a youth center in Oakland. And, lest we forget, he also makes music. In ju ... More >>

Watch This Now: OK Go Takes Over Your Browser

​It's no secret -- OK Go is really good at making music videos. Ever since these Chicago-via-L.A. rockers hit the gym in the coolest fashion we've ever seen, they've has killed it with bizarre but joyous video concepts, all of them done in a single continuous shot. Well, to borrow the cliche, ... More >>

Wanna Be an Intern for Wu-Tang?

These guys could be your new bosses.​Wu-Tang Clan ain't nothing to fuck with, but they could be an excellent internship opportunity. If today's (very legitimate-looking) Craigslist post is to be trusted, the group's management firm is looking for an office intern. So what does it take to work ... More >>

Is It Time to Let the CD Die?

via Flickr​A few weeks ago, we advocated for the final, much-needed death of the cassette tape. Now, it seems, we're being asked a tough follow-up question. A Ford spokesperson told AM-Online last week that "the in-car CD player -- much like pay telephones -- is destined to fade away in the fa ... More >>

Dead Kennedys: Not Drunk Enough to Promote Heineken

via Flickr​Of all the ways to promote beer, a song called "Too Drunk to Fuck" seems like a pretty dumb way to do it. Earlier this month, complaints forced Heineken to drop a beer ad on Spotify that featured a lounge-ish cover of the Dead Kennedys' classic punk song by Nouvelle Vague, the UK ... More >>

Treasure Island 2011 Lineup: Death Cab, Empire of the Sun to Headline

​This year's Treasure Island music festival will be headlined by Empire of the Sun on October 15 and Death Cab for Cutie on October 16. As the headliners suggest, the first day will lean more heavily toward electronica, while the second will be more indie rock-ish. This year will be the festiv ... More >>

Battlehooch on Visiting Abandoned Amusement Parks, Signing Names in Blood, and Getting Covered in Goo

Lydia White​Don't be fooled by its goofy demeanor and goofier name -- Battlehooch means business. Since signing a pact to form officially in 2007, the group has released an EP and two full-length LPs, toured the country, and even created a video series around its adventures. Band members have ... More >>

Richie Cunning on San Francisco, Stevie Wonder, and the Wonders of Google Image Search

Trevor Traynor​The easiest way to recognize local rapper Richie Cunning in a crowded room is by the Giants hat he's probably wearing. Born and raised in San Francisco, Cunning often raps about the city he calls home, the city he loves. In a few weeks, he'll be spitting rhymes at SF Weekly's A ... More >>

Bela Lugosi's Not Dead: SF's Darkwave Scene Is Still Going Strong (and Weird)

A typical crowd at the Dancing Ghosts darkwave party.​If you like Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, or Kanye West, you probably shouldn't go to the Dancing Ghosts party at the Cat Club tomorrow night. If you normally wear lots of bright colors when you're out on the town, or if you like to spend tim ... More >>

The Blank Tapes on Loving S.F., Writing Too Many Songs, and Getting Busted in Colorado

​Otherwise known as the Blank Tapes, Matt Adams is a bit of a music machine -- since 2003's Country Western Honky Tonk Saloon Blues, he has released over 100 songs and played almost all of the instruments on each one. Adams has toured the country, written music in a van -- well, sort of -- an ... More >>

Jello Biafra vs. "Shitty Indie-Pop Bands," Round 2

Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine​Back in May, we wrote about a new, kind of insane song by former Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra, "Dot Com Monte Carlo." The darkly amusing (but still crazy) lyrics call for drive-by shootings targeting yuppies and rail against "shitty indi ... More >>

Van Halen Reinforces Irrelevance by Playing New Album to Even More Irrelvant Bands

Van Halen -- Partying like it's 1983 (actually).​ Apparently it's the mid-1980s again: Van Halen has finished recording its new album with David Lee Roth back on vocals for the first time since 1984's 1984, according to Metal Insider. Two lucky souls, selected for their enormous contributions ... More >>

Saturday: Phono del Sol Festival Pairs Eclectic Music with Angry Skaters

Dean SchafferAesop Rock (right) raps faster than you can even understand at Phono del Sol.​ The Phono del Sol Music and Food Festival, featuring Aesop Rock, Mirah, Man/Miracle, and more July 16, 2011 @ Potrero del Sol Park Better than: Registering to vote. It's hard to turn down anything fre ... More >>

Con Brio on Playing Soul Music, Needing a Van, and the Serendipity of Craigslist

​After just two years on the San Francisco scene, Con Brio has released a full-length album, performed at Great American Music Hall, and played shows all over the city -- but none of that probably would have happened without a Craigslist ad and some serendipity. Somehow, the members of Con Bri ... More >>

Watch This Now: LaTosha Brown's Voice Will Give You the Chills (In a Good Way)

​ Two days ago, LaTosha Brown probably wouldn't have considered herself famous. But that may change soon -- since YouTube featured her impromptu performance of the spiritual "I Know I've Been Changed" yesterday, the video has racked up almost 500,000 views (and counting). The video is part o ... More >>

Rock Mag Creem Will Be Resurrected -- For the Third Time

​In what sounds like a weak "Bed Intruder" rip-off, the once-extinct Creem magazine has announced its return to the world of the living: "Lock the doors, hide your children, we're back!" This isn't the first time -- or even the second. After publishing its last issue in 1989, it was resurrect ... More >>

5 Reasons Limp Bizkit Sucks Less Than You Remember (No, Seriously)

​Okay, everyone. Calm down. We know, we know. While we can't say we were surprised to hear that Limp Bizkit's new album sucks something terrible, it's also undeniably true that, once upon a time, for a very short time, those nookie-obsessed Floridians were kind of awesome. Yes, there was th ... More >>

Free Concert Alert: Phono del Sol Festival This Saturday

​Free music. Food. Parks. Hipsters. If you like at least two of those things, you should head over to Potrero del Sol Park by Cesar Chavez and 101 on Saturday, July 16, for the Phono del Sol Music and Food Festival. Put on by The Bay Bridged and Tiny Telephone, the event will feature veteran ... More >>

Watch Lilac's Woozy, Barbecue-Tastic Video for "So Young"

​San Francisco indie band Lilac released a pretty decent video for new single "So Young" yesterday. The video's description notes that it was shot on July 4, "with close friends at a Mission District backyard BBQ" -- and that's pretty much all you have to know. Like the song itself, the video ... More >>

Oops! Coheed and Cambria's Michael Todd Goes to Jail Instead of His Gig

The Salt Lake Tribune​Things not to do before your gig: cut off your fingers, get lost backstage, get arrested. The list is short, but Coheed and Cambria bassist Michael Todd allegedly forgot to follow the rules before his band was scheduled to open for Soundgarden last night in Massachusett ... More >>