Iration’s live performance on Thursday was nothing short of spectacular. With good vibes seemingly in limited supply these days, these Hawaiian natives (detoured through Santa Barbara) brought their unique reggae energy down the coast to Orange County and killed it at a special drive-in performance. Iration’s set was just what the doctor ordered and a […]
It’s been over 8 months since I’ve seen a live show and Ziggy Marley’s performance at City National Grove was just what the doctor ordered on a crisp Saturday afternoon in Southern California. In the 35 years I have been attending / covering live shows, I have never attended a drive-in performance. However, I was […]
It was the first proper concert in London in more than six months, and likely one of the only live music events held in a proper club across the world. The last time I saw a gig was on March 14th as Wembley Arena. Morrissey had been known to cancel gigs at the last minute, […]
“Hello London, thank you for coming… cough, cough,” Morrissey joked as he played what is the last show for a while at the legendary Wembley Arena and likely one of the final live music performances in all of London for the time being. The Coronavirus has quickly stomped out every major tour, and now it’s […]
For a few years there, the Pogues coming through DC around St. Patrick’s Day was as common as The Dubliner being at max capacity on the day when everyone wears green. DC got to celebrate a little early this year when Pogues tin whistle player Spider Stacy and bassist Cáit O’Riordan, backed by the Grammy-winning Cajun […]
Back in 2007, I was working at Sony Music and living in Austin, Texas. Sony was signing UK bands left and right looking to cash in on the continued Britpop movement riding high in the US. The problem was that many of the A&R folks at Sony thought that just because a band was huge […]
Last Wednesday evening, DC’s Anthem hosted Irish songwriter Dermot Kennedy for an exciting night of music that showcased both his talent for song craft and his skill as a live performer. Dermot Kennedy was in command of every aspect of his performance. His melodic acoustic riffs were perfectly complimented by the gargantuan sound of his […]
Seeing Opeth live for the very first time was a dream come true—and catching them at Hollywood’s legendary Palladium kicked it up to a whole new level. Mikael Åkerfeldt and company came out on fire and left nothing but scorched earth in their wake after an incredible 2 ½ hour set for the masses. The […]
It was 2005 at SXSW in Austin, Texas. I was living there and working for Sony Music at the time. Each year there is one band that everyone is talking about, and it ends up being the must-see band of that year. In 2004 it was Franz Ferdinand, and rightfully so. In 2005 it was […]
The Struts hitched up with Harley-Davidson for a California mini-run, aptly dubbed the “Tour de California 2020.” Along with openers Starcrawler, Super Tuesday found them at San Francisco’s Warfield for a welcome reprieve from the relentless barrage of politics. Opener Starcrawler kicked things off in front of a crowd that was clearly hip to what […]
It’s been a while since Black Label Society passed through the Bay Area, so when they hit San Francisco’s Regency Ballroom on a Sunday night, the fans packed the joint to the rafters for what would prove to be an epic evening of metal. Portland, Oregon’s Lord Dying kicked things off early (7:30 PM!) to […]
SAN DIEGO, CA | I’ve never been a huge fan of Zakk Wylde or Black Label Society, but that all changed last week in downtown San Diego. The band’s incredible 15-song set flipped the script on what I assumed would be another rock and roll show and instantly converted me to a full-fledged Doom Crew member […]
After twenty plus years of American Celtic punk rock, the Dropkick Murphys are more prominent than ever. Somehow I’ve managed to miss their live show during these two decades but all of that changed last week in London. The Boston punk icons took to the glorious stage at London’s famed Alexandra Palace (aka Ally Pally) […]
Local pop punk quartet Beach Bunny dropped their first full-length album, Honeymoon, on Valentine’s Day. A week later, they played an album release show at the Metro, a solid kickoff for their North American tour (which is completely sold out, I might add). They’ve been quite the sensation around these parts for some time now, […]
When I first moved to the UK several years ago, I had a friend visiting from the States, and we wanted to see some live music. He was staying in SoHo, so the first thing that popped into my head was the legendary 100 Club. Let’s just show up, buy a ticket, and see what […]
