ZZ Top

A Media Lobbyist's Shameless Love Note to Ousted Political Pal

Do the campaign contributions from Big Media to various pro-Big Media congressional representatives amount to a de facto quid pro quo? Without direct proof (such as a tape recording of a lobbyist saying, "Here's a bunch of money, now support my legislation"), it can't often be proven definitively. ... More >>

Live Review, 8/17/12: Phish Pleases the Loyalists at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

Phish Aug.17, 2012 Bill Graham Civic Auditorium Better than: The record, as always. As comedians Harris Wittels and Scott Aukerman concluded in their hilarious and thoughtful Analyze Phish podcast, Phish is an objectively silly musical phenomenon with an undeniably infectious appeal, mostly owing ... More >>

Bouncer Discovers Border Town Delights at Rio Grande

The EndUp Keeps The Party Going Late

Beretta Music Showcase July 8th, 2012 The EndUp Better than: Clubs built after 1974. The righteous guitar tone of ZZ Top's "Got Me Under Pressure" was just barely audible as our taxi made its way towards Interstate 80. Our driver had the windows down, one arm hanging out the side, sparks occasiona ... More >>

Neck Beards, Yea or Nae?

Live Review, 2/24/12: Bob Mould Blasts Through Copper Blue at Bottom of the Hill

Iann IvyBob Mould at Bottom of the Hill on Friday​ Bob Mould Fake Your Own Death Distortion Vir Friday, Feb. 24, 2012 Bottom of the Hill Better than: Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the best-selling album of 1992, Billy Ray Cyrus' Some Gave All. On a night that was all about reliving me ... More >>

10 Actually Good Songs on Metallica's Despised Load and Reload Albums

It's not that bad. Really.​ As we celebrate Metallica's 30th Anniversary, it's time to reexamine a popular mindset among critics and fans of the most enduringly popular band in metal history: Many believe that that all four of Metallica's 1980s albums were unimpeachable classics, and that afte ... More >>

Mormons: A Shallow Yet Helpful Guide to See If You Should Hate Them or Not

R.I.P. Warrant's Jani Lane: Top Five Sexist Rock Videos He'd Have Enjoyed

R.I.P. Jani Lane​Like us, you are probably still reeling from the news that Warrant frontman Jani Lane, died last week. Okay, so maybe it's not a "probably" situation -- maybe it's more of a "maybe" kind of thing. Come to think of it, maybe, if you were born after 1990, you've never even heard of ... More >>

Mountain Winery 2011: Huey Lewis! Grace Potter! Neko Case! Yacht Rock!

The Mountain Winery​Sorry for all the exclamations, but there's a lot of shows here we're going to make our parents take us to. The Mountain Winery recently announced its schedule for 2011, and there are some most notable artists coming. Among them, a five-day period this September in which b ... More >>

On the Hunt for the Best Jukebox in S.F.'s Richmond District

The jukebox at the Bitter End.​The heyday of authentic jukeboxes is long over. With many bars installing those nasty touchscreen digital Internet boxes, the old school record-flipping kind of jukebox is a dying breed. And this is in the town that originated the concept of jukeboxes back in 1889. S ... More >>

Marnie Stern's finger-tapping guitar wins hearts and minds

Texas Vs. San Francisco: the World Series of Music

The World Series is about much more than baseball. It's a clash of two cities, two regional cultures, two rabid groups of fans, two color schemes, two outlooks on drug policy, and much more. (We ain't even gonna go into politics.)Starting right now, we're also making the World Series about music. To ... More >>

Last Night: RJD2 and Busdriver at the Independent

​RJD2, Busdriver Wednesday, April 7, 2010 The IndependentBetter than: Karaoke night with R2D2 and a bus driver.

Indie-rapper Busdriver called last night's bill at the Independent a "weird rap night." The music was eclectic, to be sure, but the vibe was strange too. It was ... More >>

Seen in S.F.: This Tree's Got Legs

But does this tree, like the heroine of the ZZ Top song, know how to use them? Spotted on York and 24th Streets, these paper-mached mannequin legs are further proof that the neighborhood is full of: A. Trash on the street and B. Drunk people who think it's funny to do shit like this. (Ahem, Pop's pa ... More >>

Aerosmith Announces Bay Area Date

Steven Tyler Though "Boston's Bad Boys"--technically they're Grandpas by now--jumped the shark several years ago, probably around the time "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" was featured in the God-awful movie "Armageddon," they're no denying Aerosmith have more stamina and staying power than the Energize ... More >>

Chris Isaak plays Amoeba In-Store

Feeling Lucky: Chris IsaakIf you've been wondering where local-boy-gone-pop-star Chris Isaak  has been, the answer is, just about everywhere. In a career that's had more legs than ZZ Top in '83, Isaak's gone from an up-and-coming Rockabilly crooner/Elvis impersonator, to Big Time hitmaker ("Wic ... More >>

A Long, Strange Trip

An originator of acid rock in the '60s, Tommy Hall used LSD to expand his consciousness. He’s still psychedelic.

Saturday Night: Dengue Fever at the Rickshaw Stop

Dengue Fever The Rickshaw Stop Jan. 3, 2008 Review by Ezra Gale Good bands are like recipes. A dash of this, a dash of that, and all of a sudden you've got yourself a winning formula that has critics drooling and your public lining up to taste the sensations at your French Laundry-like haunt in the ... More >>

The Top 10 Reissues of 2008

By Chris Gray It's time to rank the best of what went around and came around again. BILLY JOEL The Stranger (Columbia/Legacy) As punk and disco exploded, the Piano Man's deeply unhip 1978 breakthrough proved that top-shelf Broadway/Brill Building songwriting could still sell - and, occasionally, ... More >>

Smashing Pumpkins, ZZ Top, Death Cab For Cutie to Headline Bridge School Benefit 2008

Camper Van Beethoven at 25: from warm beer to funny ideas

Enon

Grass Geysers ... Carbon Clouds (Touch & Go)

Citay Houses Ezra Feinberg's Little Kingdom of Chamber Metal

ZZ Top Returns for Your "Tush"

Who's Next

The Makes Nice thrusts mod-rock into the 21st century

Cold as Ice

NHL 2K7 looks pretty, but fails to light the lamp.

Pearls and Brass

The Indian Tower

Razed by Wolves

How Michigan noise machine Wolf Eyes grew to become the leader of the "New Weirdness"

Drunk Horse

In Tongues

Paddled Senseless

This sendup of Deliverance comes without a brain, too

Ferociously Stoned

Remember when psych rock thrived in S.F.? Of course you don't. You were high. But Comets on Fire will jar more than your memory.

Boogie for a New Millennium

Zakiya Hooker preserves the legacy of her father, blues legend John Lee Hooker, plans her own musical career -- and tries to keep tradition from suffocating both

Ecstasy Is an Art Car

Philo Northrup and his wacky automotive tribe take a road trip to places in California you can't even imagine

Punch-Drunk Love

The Run For Cover Lovers walk the thin line between love and hate

So long, merry new year

The winter of our erector sets

Feel His Pain

Billy Bob has a simple plan: to sing about life and lovin' his wife

Boys' Band

Pansy Division's all-gay punk was a shocking first. Will fans let the group escape its pioneering role and just make music?

Drunk Horse

Tanning Salon/Biblical Proportions (Man's Ruin)

Enter the Drag

Shanghai Noon

Best Sushi, Pool, and Keno

Peko Sushi

A Maki Among Maki

The House of Tudor

Night + Day

Recordings

Recordings

Freedom Rock

San Francisco's Mensclub leads the sexual devolution

Night+Day

Samples

Slap Shots