Category Archives: TVD San Francisco

With Halloween and Daylight Savings Time behind us and fall in full swing, amphitheater season is typically over. Not quite though, as Danny Elfman brought his dead man’s party for the second of two very special career-spanning shows to the Shoreline Amphitheater.

While Elfman has been celebrating his movie and television soundtracks live for the last few years, the idea to expand the setlist to include Oingo Boingo and solo material really only emerged as part of an oddly placed mainstage performance back in April at Sick New World Festival in Las Vegas where he shared the stage amongst headliners Slipknot and other heavy acts. Improbably, the reception was phenomenal.

Following up Sick New World with two headlining shows was no small feat; the Shoreline stage crammed with at least 50 people including a choir, an orchestra, and the “Elf-Band” which included Robin Finck (Guns N’ Roses, Nine Inch Nails) on guitar, Stu Brooks on bass, Nili Brosh on guitar, and Ilan Rubin (Nine Inch Nails) on drums.

The nearly two hour set ran the gamut of Elfman’s diverse career, including soundtrack work from The Simpsons, Batman, Beetlejuice, Mars Attacks, Edward Scissorhands, and of course The Nightmare Before Christmas during which Danny channeled Jack Skellington the “Pumpkin King.” During the instrumentals, Elfman stood in the shadows and the crowd largely stayed seated.

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The Psychedelic Furs and The Jesus and Mary Chain are on the road for a proper co-headlining tour, hitting San Francisco’s Masonic Auditorium on a Saturday night with opener Frankie Rose.

The Masonic was absolutely packed by the time The Jesus and Mary Chain took the stage for their 1 hour and 10 minute set, setting a dramatic mood as frontman Jim Reid tried his best to hide behind the mic stand as he belted classic after classic. A man of few words, Reid apologized in advance for any f***ups but otherwise let the music do the talking, inviting Frankie Rose to join the band on stage for “Sometimes Always” and fan favorite “Just Like Honey.”

The house lights came on after TJAMC’s set revealing a celebratory atmosphere although clearly some folks had over-imbibed in the lead-up to The Psychedelic Furs, at one point some friends carrying a totally limp but still conscious pal into the lobby. Yes, it was going to be one of those nights where the folks that don’t get out much take advantage of leaving the kids alone with the babysitter to let loose.

For those fans, the journey down memory lane continued with The Psychedelic Furs closing set that spanned their 40+ years of music. Original members Richard Butler (vocals) and Tim Butler (bass) ruled the stage as the crowd sang along, fueled by what seemed like a constant flow of alcohol.

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Bay Area metal legends ended their 33-date “Klash Of The Titans Tour” with co-headliner Kreator and opener Possessed with a hometown set at the epicenter of the thrash movement at The Warfield in San Francisco.

Local death metal progenitors Possessed kicked things off early and got the crowd hopping as frontman Jeff Becerra belted out the classics, unencumbered by the wheelchair he’s been confined to since 1989.

Kreator kept the energy high, blasting Iron Maiden’s “The Trooper” for a massive singalong as the crew busied themselves behind a giant curtain that concealed the stage. The curtain finally dropped and the band launched into “Hate Über Alles” off of their most recent release.

Kreator’s crew had obviously been busy in the 30 or so minutes since Possessed wrapped their set. Inflatable demons loomed over the band from the back of the stage and shrouded corpses hung from the rafters, others impaled on pikes on each side of the stage. But the band paid no attention to the gore as they blasted through a career spanning hour and ten minute set.

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Having reemerged in 2023 after a 20-plus year hiatus, Dogstar has hit the road on their “Summer Vacation Tour,” bringing their latest release, Somewhere Between the Power Lines and Palm Trees, to fans across North America including a Sunday night stop at The Catalyst in Santa Cruz, a relatively modest-sized venue compared to their other tour dates with a capacity of around 800. So to say that Santa Cruz turned up for Dogstar would be an understatement—the line to get into the sold out show stretched down the block and around the corner when the doors opened at 7PM.

The evening kicked off with a 30-minute set by Sons of Silver out of Los Angeles. Singer/guitarist Peter Argyropoulos was all smiles as the band crammed in front of Dogstar’s equipment on the tiny Catalyst stage, clearly happy to back in a “proper rock ‘n’ roll club.” The packed general admission floor was another reason for the band to celebrate as they used their opening slot to showcase material off of their upcoming release, Runaway Emotions, clearly gaining some new fans in the process.

The energy in the room ran high, necks craning for any view of the band as Dogstar’s set time approached. To someone unfamiliar with the band, a scan around the room may have been a bit confounding; no doubt there were plenty of Keanu Reeves super fans and curiosity seekers, but the vast majority of the room was stacked with die-hard Dogstar-ers, there for the music. So, when the band took the stage just past 9PM and launched into “Blonde” without fanfare, the place went nuts.

The band appeared deliberate in not riding Reeves’ (who didn’t even have mic) fame, rather letting the music speak for itself. Bret Domrose did double-duty on guitar and vocals with aplomb as drummer Rob Mailhouse held down the beat with Reeves on bass as the set covered a broad swathe of new material punctuated by “How the Story Ends,” “Glimmer,” and “Breach.”

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Def Leppard and Journey have teamed up once again as tourmates for the The Summer Stadium Tour 2024 along with the Steve Miller Band, creating a proper triple-header that no doubt had the San Francisco Bay Area fans scrambling to get off work in time to catch an unapologetic evening full of rock and roll classics. 

The Steve Miller Band took the stage a few minutes before 6PM with the sun still high over the outfield with the Wednesday after-work crowd still busting through the gates. Those that made it in time were treated to a 60-minute set that charted the San Francisco band’s hit-making rise to stardom in the ’70s and had most of the fans on the field level on their feet and singing along from opener “Swingtown” to closer, “Jet Airliner.”

After a quick set change, Journey took the stage ready to celebrate their 50th anniversary in front of their hometown. The 90-minute set focused on the hits from the late ’70s and early ’80s and highlighted the band’s ability to remain relevant amidst numerous lineup changes. “Only the Young” kicked off the set on an energetic note with lead vocalist Arnel Pineda working every inch of the stage extension, high-fiving anyone within reach as he belted out the lyrics with precision that left no doubt why he was handed the mic back in 2007.

In a nod to their local history, keyboardist Jonathan Cain donned a Giants jersey while drummer Deen Castronovo did double-duty on vocals for “Lights” which Neil Schon dedicated to their legendary singer Steve Perry as the fans lit up the stadium with their cell phones. “Any Way You Want It” wrapped the set with an explosion of streamers. No doubt a hard act to follow, especially in front of their hometown crowd!

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Frank Turner is touring North America in support of his tenth album, Undefeated, along with a killer lineup of musicians featuring Amigo the Devil, Bridge City Sinners, and Micah Schnabel & Vanessa Jean Speckman.

One might question the wisdom of hosting a 4-band show starting at 6:30PM on a Monday night, but when Frank Turner is personally curating the lineup you make it a point to get there early. Indeed, by the time opener Micah Schabel took the stage there were a surprising number of folks already filling the general admission floor and they kept arriving in a steady flow in as Vanessa Jean Speckman joined him.

While oriented around singer/songwriters, the lineup was admittedly eclectic. How so? Look no further than satanic folk punkers Bridge City Sinners. No stranger to San Francisco’s Regency Ballroom, the Portland quintet got the crowd moving and singing along to their entire set including a few tunes from their upcoming release as well as an unnamed and unreleased song before which Libby Lux implored the crowd not to film.

With the crew making quick work of the stage, Amigo the Devil was already on the stage by 8PM and launched right into “Small Stone.” It was clear from the get-go that San Francisco loves AtD and that the feeling was mutual. The entire set turned into a massive sing-along with the crowd hanging on every word, from new tunes “My Body Is a Dive Bar” and “Crying at The Orgy,” the latter of which appeared to have been slipped into the set at the last minute as his time ran out. For a while there it was easy to forget that Amigo was not the headliner!

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Summer amphitheater season officially kicked off at the Toyota Amphitheater in Wheatland with the Red Hot Chili Peppers on a perfectly balmy Sunday night. And in spite of warnings of heavy traffic from the event organizers, the traffic along the single lane road into the parking lot backed up for miles amongst the farmland, the fans still managed to pack into the sold-out venue in time for the band’s 8:45 set.

Rapper Ken Carson kicked things off for the still-gathering crowd with a gaggle of hardcore fans moshing in the general admission section in front of the stage, but it was clear that the vast majority of the crowd was there for the Chili Peppers. So, when the lights finally dropped and Flea entered the stage, flipping over to walk on his hands, the Wheatland crowd went crazy.

Along with a keyboardist, Flea (bass), Chad Smith (drums), and John Frusciante (guitar) kicked the evening off with a funky jam before being joined by Anthony Kiedis as they went straight into fan favorite “Dani California” with the massive LED screen at the back of the stage lit up in psychedelia.

A brace on his right knee and a cast boot on his left foot didn’t seem to slow Kiedis who bounced around the stage as RHCP leaned heavily on the hits with only two songs from their 2022 release, Return of the Dream Canteen. No complaints from the crowd and “Under the Bridge” and “Give It Away” from Blood Sugar Sex Magik wrapped the encore perfectly, hopefully leaving folks in a pleasant mood for more time sitting in traffic.

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Unable to contain herself to the BottleRock stage, St. Vincent augmented her festival appearance with a few additional Bay Area dates including a Saturday night ripper at the historic Masonic. With her latest release All Born Screaming hot off the presses, there was plenty of reason for the fans to show up, and show up they did.

Los Angeles-based indie rock band Momma kicked things off to the gathering crowd with a moody set that that stood in stark contrast to the onslaught that would follow—a bit of calm before the proverbial storm. Indeed, as the crew made quick work of the stage, the anticipation in the room was palpable as the fans continued to stream in, stretching the general admission floor to an uncomfortable capacity.

Taking the stage without her signature guitar, Annie was a commanding presence backlit in an archway as the band launched into “Reckless” from the new release. Despite its newness, All Born Screaming seems to have already made its mark on the fans who crammed up against the barricade to support their hero with not only vocals but her crowd surfing needs.

Picking up her guitar, it was back to more familiar territory with “Fear the Future” and “Los Angeless” off of Masseduction before veering back into ABS with “Big Time Nothing.” The heaping dose of 7 new songs melded perfectly with the old favorites, showcasing her evolution as an artist while still paying homage to her roots. Delivered with precision and fury along with dramatic lighting and an evolving stage with its moving arches and creative use of a videographer, the performance kept the audience rapt until the lights finally faded out on the new album’s title track, Annie’s arms crossed across her chest.

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Static-X and Sevendust and continue to crush North America on the third leg of their “Machine Killer” tour, hitting San Francisco’s The Midway on a Tuesday night that had the fans lining up down the street and around the corners in order to get those primo spots up front.

Dope dropped a compact 30-minute set that effectively warmed up the gathering crowd. And despite frontman Edsel Dope’s out loud pondering about ticket sales, the not-so-sold-out room was actually looking pretty full as the band closed with a cover of Dead or Alive’s ’80s one-hit wonder “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record).”

Sevendust took the stage like the pros they are, with plenty and swagger heaped on top of a stage full of talent. San Francisco has not always been the friendliest city for this band, and it’s rare that they even play here, so you can imagine the shock on the band members faces’ when literally the whole room was singing along to each and ever song.

Vocalist Lajon Witherspoon was extra generous, tossing out dozens of Clint Lowery and John Connolly’s guitar pics to the VIP ticketholders up front and ordered the lighting director to lay hard on the smoke machine as they closed the set with “Face to Face.” Let’s just say that Sevendust left the stage reconsidering their relationship with SF.

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Bruce Springsteen made his long-awaited return to San Francisco after health issues caused the cancelation of a number of 2023 tour dates. Easter Sunday found the Chase Center packed to the rafters for the second of two Bay Area shows and when the lights suddenly dropped promptly at 7:45 PM, the crowd chanted “Bruce, Bruce…” as the 17-piece E-Street Band silently took the stage in the blackness.

As the lights came on, Springsteen greeted the fans with a “Happy Easter, it’s a religious crowd here tonight, I can tell.” By all appearances, it was indeed a spiritual experience for those life-long Springsteen fans as the band kicked into rarity “Light of Day,” an extra song from the Born in the USA recording sessions.

The nearly 3-hour set did as much justice to the Springsteen catalog as humanly possible, pleasing the die-hards with those rarities while ensuring that the hits weren’t missed. With 21 studio albums released, what that meant is that less than half of those albums were represented with Nebraska and 2022’s Only the Strong Survive notably absent. But no matter, it’s hard to complain too much when the 74-year-old frontman leaves it all on the stage.

Even for the casual fan, it was hard not to be impressed by Bruce and the E-Street band. Clearly showing no sign of his previous ailment, Bruce showed San Francisco why he is The Boss.

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Alkaline Trio just dropped their tenth studio album, Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs and have taken to the road with Drug Church and Worriers to share the new tunes live. A dreary Wednesday night found the Trio returning to a bustling Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco for what would prove to be a welcome return for the fans.

The show inexplicably kicked off early with Worriers taking the stage at 7:25 PM and charging through their 30-minute set. A quick turnover meant Drug Church was already rolling by 10 past 8. Clearly embracing their role of warming up the crowd, frontman Patrick Kindlon—aka the calmest singer in hardcore—proceeded to instruct the crowd and security in detail how everything was going to go down, perfectly whipping the San Francisco crowd into a frenzy that no doubt left some wondering how Alkaline Trio could possibly follow that act.

Clearly Alkaline Trio thought they were up to the task when they invited Drug Church along, and when they casually strode onto the stage their faces didn’t bely a sense of worry that they weren’t up to the challenge. In a brilliant move, Alkaline Trio propelled off of the momentum of the previous set and launched into the heaviest tune off of Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs, “Hot for Preacher” as the crowd went sideways.

One of the most dynamic drummers in punk rock, the addition of Atom Willard brought a tremendous amount of energy to the set as vocalists Matt and Dan tended not to stray too far from their respective mic stands. But oh how the crowd ate it up, the general admission floor surging against the barricade while fueling a massive singalong and the occasional crowd surfer as they blasted through a fan-favorite selection of much of their catalog which included a surprise inclusion of lyrics from The Smiths’ “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out.”

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SACRAMENTO, CA | Not content to solely support Ministry on their 5-week run of North America, Gary Numan has filled the gaps in his touring schedule with a handful of headlining shows including a sold-out show at Ace of Spades in Sacramento.

Apparently also up to the task, Front Line Assembly which kicked off the night in front of an already packed house with a 45-minute set that got Sacramento perfectly primed ahead of a quick 20-minute changeover that had Gary and his band taking the stage just past 9PM, pausing to soak in the hubbub as the room roared.

For those that caught the previous night’s tour opener in San Francisco, the set kicked of similarly with “Everything Comes Down to This” off Splinter before eventually moving into the fertile ground of Numan’s catalog; only a handful of songs in and it was already clear that this would not be a repeat of his standard supporting set.

The Sacramento crowd, now packing every inch of the general admission floor, ate up every thump from Richard Beasley’s kick and blinding flash of the strobes that lit up the haze-filled room. Clearly on the same vibe, Gary and his band reciprocated in kind with Numan’s gyrations demonstrating shocking spryness for someone who has been at this since 1977. Steve Harris (guitar) and Tim Slade (bass), both bald and dressed for a dystopian world, were each the foil for the other’s onstage antics.

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Brian Setzer is out on the road bringing his “Rockabilly Riot” to North America, hitting Oakland California on a Sunday evening along with Grammy award winner and blues phenom Yates McKendree as support.

Taking the stage promptly at 8:30PM, Setzer introduced themselves as the “best rockabilly band on the block” before tearing into “Rock Boys Rock” off of his 2023 release, The Devil Always Collects. Flanked by JC Larios on drums and Chris D’Rozario on the standup bass, it was clear that Brian hasn’t missed a beat over the years, making that Gretsch guitar sing as the rest of the band held down the rhythm section.

In true Setzer fashion, the setlist covered his solo material as well as a raft of covers including a handful of Stray Cats tunes that he simply wasn’t going to get away with skipping. Mid-set Setzer gave Larios and D’Rozario a much-needed break as he proceeded to blast through a solo set of instrumentals beginning with Hoagy Carmichael’s “Georgia (on My Mind),” first explaining to the audience that the trick to an effective cover song is not to change yourself, but to change the song. No doubt he owned those tunes.

A bit of heckling from the back of the theater from folks who apparently didn’t feel that a show with “riot” in its name should involve seats went unnoticed by Setzer as he brought the band back to finish out the set with a trio of Stray Cats tunes that got the crowd on its feet and singing along.

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A quiet Friday night on Telegraph Blvd. in Oakland belied the sonic assault that was about to go down inside the historic Fox Theater in Oakland as folks steadily made their way inside for the dynamic duo known as Royal Blood.

HotWax, a fitting choice for the opening act, wasted no time in revving up the crowd even as they worked around Royal Blood’s drum riser which occupied the middle third of the massive stage. Blending grunge and punk influences that reverberated through the historic theater, the band’s raw energy and tight musicianship set the stage perfectly for the sonic onslaught that was to come while no doubt winning over some new fans.

As the anticipation reached its peak, the lights dimmed, and Royal Blood emerged from the shadows to a thunderous roar from the crowd. The British duo, consisting of Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher, immediately launched into “Hole” off their debut EP much to the crowd’s delight. In true form, the duo (with some help hidden in the shadows at the corner of the stage) delivered a relentless set that showcased their unique brand of heavy rock. The absence of a traditional guitarist was hardly noticeable as Kerr’s bass guitar, cleverly manipulated using a host of pedals and gizmos to emulate both bass and guitar tones simultaneously, filled the venue with a wall of sound.

The stage design was minimalistic, with the focus was undeniably on the music, and Royal Blood did not disappoint. With Back to the Water Below fresh out of the hopper, the setlist understandably included a handful of new tracks which seamlessly mixed with fan favorites from their earlier releases.

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The legendary DEVO kicked off their “50 Years of De-Evolution” Tour at Santa Cruz’s Civic Auditorium for a night of classics in front of a packed house of DEVOted fans that lined up well-before doors and quickly beelined it to one of two places: the merch table or the barricade.

In true fan fashion, many in the crowd dressed for the occasion with plenty of Energy Domes peeking above the crowd and many fully decked out in yellow jumpsuits. For those unwilling to pull out their wallets, stacked red solo cups served as a humorous poor man’s version of the classic hat.

With no opener, DEVO took the stage promptly at 8:15, and while the Auditorium was packed, the vibe was incredibly intimate, feeling like the band was playing in a high school gym despite the huge LED screen that synchronized video to the setlist.

The set kicked off with “Don’t Shoot (I’m a Man)” from the band’s excellent 2010 release Something for Everybody but quickly DEVOlved into a non-stop peppering of hit after hit, with all of the remaining songs dating back to 1982 or earlier. Focusing on the music, the band only stopped briefly for Gerald Casale to ask, “do you believe in devolution now?!?” to be met with a resounding “huzzah” from the Santa Cruz crowd.

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