Fender Stratocaster

Help S.F. Band Dominant Legs Recover Their Stolen Gear (and Lucky Giants Sweatshirt)

One of our favorite local guitar-pop bands, Dominant Legs, is on tour now with Eleanor Friedberger. Unfortunately, on Wednesday, while the band was in Portland, a large amount of musical instruments, computer equipment, and clothes -- including frontman Ryan Lynch's lucky '87 S.F. Giants sweatshirt ... More >>

A Roving Rock Band Called the Violators Came to Terrorize Haight Street Last Night

It happened on Haight Street last night.​ The Violators (?) Haight Street between Fillmore and Steiner Oct. 24, 2011 Better than: A Frasier rerun. Last night I was sitting at home, finishing my dessert of fresh raspberries soaked in the blood of overzealous Phish fans, when I heard the sound ... More >>

Eddie Vedder Plays the Soulful Surfer Boy at the Paramount Theatre (Photos Setlist)

Christopher VictorioEddie Vedder at the Paramount Theatre last night.​ Eddie Vedder Glen Hansard July 11, 2011 @ Paramount Theatre, Oakland Way better than: Eddie Vedder's all-ukulele record (Ukulele Songs, it's called). Nothing against the four-stringed instrument that resulted when Portugu ... More >>

Billie Joe Armstrong's New Signature Guitar Is an Attempt to Rewrite Green Day History

The offending axe.​Billie Joe, say it ain't so!​Other than the Les Paul -- an iconic six-string now far more famous than its namesake -- signature model guitars are generally an exercise in cynical maneuvering and kitschy accessories, put out by instrument companies aiming to capitalize on the l ... More >>

Watch an Amazing Video of Nirvana Playing at the Cow Palace and Destroying Shit from 1991

Breaking shit since 1987​This will remind you '90s-swiping teenyboppers of the high-as-fuck standards you have to live up to: A heretofore "rare" video of Nirvana playing the Cow Palace in Daly City (right next to S.F.) from 1991. Shot from the side of the stage, the clip shows the band screa ... More >>

Easy Fame in the Pitchfork Era: Be Young, Find a Trend, Get a Drum Machine

Dirty Beaches: This could be you!​Did you want to play at SXSW, but perhaps felt you weren't ready? Are you comfortable with stylish gloss instead of creative substance? Do you know how to work a drum machine?Well, good news kids: You don't need to work much at making music anymore -- at ... More >>

Tame Impala Can Bend Soundwaves and Brainwaves Better Than You

Tame Impala and the oscilloscope wriggles. Pics by Ian, more after the jump.​Tame ImpalaSeventeen EvergreenDecember 13, 2010@ The IndependentBetter than: Conventional uses of an oscilloscope.Tame Impala will not make you feel like you can be in a band.If you are of modest musical experience and co ... More >>

Green Day's Tour Homecoming Hits Shoreline Amphitheatre

Christopher Victorio​Green Day AFI Shoreline Amphitheatre September 4, 2010 (Far) better than: A skeptical old Green Day fan would expect. "HOME! HOME! I'M FUCKING HOME!" erupted Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong at Shoreline Amphitheatre on Saturday, his first words after ... More >>

Bob Dylan Rocks the Blues, Plays the Classics at the Fox Theater

​Bob DylanThe Dough Rollers @ The Fox Theater, Oakland August 24, 2010 Better than: Anyone had a right to expect. You never really know what you might get into with a Bob Dylan show. The "Poet Laureate of Rock 'n' Roll," as he was introduced at the Fox Theater last night, often ... More >>

Friday Night: Willie Nelson at the Fillmore

Willie Nelson/Lukas Nelson & The Promise of the Real The Fillmore Review by Jonathan Kiefer January, 16, 2009 Better Than: The last eight years?It happened maybe three-quarters of the way through the evening, during that one loose-vamping instrumental interlude, when the red and the blue light ... More >>

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

Sometimes it's so damn hard to be a Slint fan

BFD Rewards SF indie rock quartet Overview with Spotlight

Carved in Rock: Short Stories by Musicians

Rock 'n' roll may make you famous, but it doesn't make you a good writer

Down on the Corner

26's Corner

Redemption Song

Twenty-seven years ago, Shuggie Otis released one amazing record. Maybe now it'll get its due.

Scene Not Heard

Could there be a silver lining to the mass eviction of musicians from Downtown Rehearsal?

Rock Star or Celebrity Chef: That Is the Question

Perhaps you are considering a career as a rock star or a celebrity chef. Or perhaps you encounter one or the other in daily life but have difficulty telling which is which. Here are a few quick pointers for distinguishing the two.

Hear This

The One ... the Only ... Circus Redickuless

Chicken John takes chaos, dysfunction, and the Stupidest Show on Earth from San Francisco to Boise

Suburban Renewal

Pavement vs. Poison in the burbs

Blah Blah Blah

Samples

Silent Scene

The instrumental rock revival with Man or Astro-Man?, the Mermen, Pell Mell, and more

White-boy blues

The life and times of Preacher Boy and the Natural Blues