 | The Best Shows for May The Bay Area’s own man-on-the-mic, the Original MC Radioactive, will be flipping the freestyle flows at the Juxtapose Art SF Now party. Club Six has always been one of my favorite venues; this night features hip hop, live performances in the dark room, and Jah-Yzer spinning the reggae vibes in the bassment. MC Radioactive is one of the Bay Area’s true gems -- he has rocked the mic with Spearhead’s Michael Franti (featured on the album [b]Everyone Deserves Music[/b]) and I have seen him on-stage performing alongside everybody from the Greatful Dead’s Bob Weir and Galatic to Ben Harper and countless others.More |
 | The Best Shows for April First off, big-up to Justice and Diplo for throwing down one of the best live shows of the year at the Concourse/Design Center. Who would have thought those two Frenchmen would rock our worlds so hard! Diplo really got the joint jumping with his M.I.A. and hip-hop heavy set -- making one of the week-night shows feel like a Friday night. Then over at The Independent, Mick Jones and his new crew Carbon/Silicon showed that they still got it going on in Badrock City. So here’s a quick look at the genre-bending mad men, sultry chanteuses, crazy party boys and sexy electro girls coming through town to bless up the sound in April.More |
 | The Best Shows for March La revolucíon rock! SF’s breakout punk band on the rise -- La Plebe -- bring their bilingual Mexacali infused punk-ska to the cozy confines of The Elbo Room. Destined to become SF’s answer to the only band that matters, they wear influences of The Clash, Skatelites, Rancid and Operation Ivy on their sleeve. This hard-hitting five-piece really gets joint jumping with their horn section of trumpet and trombone providing upbeat funky accents to their stripped-down Revolution-rockin’ grooves.More |
 | The Best Shows for February Is groove really in the heart? With music becoming much more universal it becomes clear you don’t need to understand the lyrics in order to know when something makes you move. Sometimes the songs will strike you right in the heart, sometimes if you are really lucky they can create that perfect three minute world that you wish you could step into and remain forever. Although while some may claim the city was built on rock and roll, it has been this kind of musical boundary pushing that has given this city its heart and soul.More |
 | The Best Shows for January Welcome to the New Year! With the all the advances of the world wide interweb, it has been said that as our world incrementally increases its rate of information digestion, our ability to appreciate and experience life is gradually diminishing. Well ain’t that a kick in the head or at the very least a Facebook super poke? So where does that leave us? In the end, all we have are our personal songs of freedom, these become our redemption songs. So here are few of the great acts transmitting that live vibe across the city with real music made by real people that allows us to break out of our everyday cage and experience life live.More |
 | The Best Shows for December What a year it has been: the Stern Grove Series, which turned 70, treated us to a truly inspiring summer music line-up showing us a great time in the fog and sun; the solid eclectic lineup at the Treasure Island Music Festival gave Coachella a run for the money; M.I.A. came through more often then a friend with benefits; and we have jazz returning to the Fillmore District to give this district a much needed rebirth of cool. So monthly musical fix, I leave you my eclectic choice of six.More |
 | The Best Shows for November When the lights go off and the stage is lit, anticipation rises in hopes that this will be that magical musical moment that takes you away. Will this be the month when you say thank you for the great night out? Give thanks that to musical mad men and women who become slaves to the rhythm as they toil at the tower of song. Thanks for rocking my world just a little harder. Thank you for busting me out of my everyday cage. Thank you for the miracle at the door. Thanks you for poster nights!! Thank you Mr. DJ for saving my life from a broken heart. Thank you Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again. Just keep on a rockin’ me baby!More |
 | The Best Shows for October To some it’s all about three chords and the truth, to others music is universal. Crossing international borders and boundaries it becomes clear you don’t need to understand the lyrics in order to know when something makes you move. This October, SF hosts a slew of acts from across the bay and around the world that are united in getting bodies in motion by mining that universal groove.More |
 | The Best Shows for September Is there a night more difficult to make it out than a Sunday? By the time it rolls around it feels that just making it through "Entourage"/"Flight of the Concords" is accomplishment enough. Creating that unique balance between the soulful and the experimental Dub Mission has been rockin’ steady every Sunday for the past 11 years at the Elbo Room.More |
 | The Best Shows for August With music evolving faster than we can define it, we are lucky to have a few of the originators who have broadened the sound of music come through SF this month. While some may claim that the city was built on rock-n-roll, it has been the boundary pushers that have given this city its soul. So here’s a quick look at the genre-bending mad men, sultry chanteuses and crazy boys coming through town to bless up the sound.More |
