Upcoming Shows

May

I have loved the Roots since I was a wee lad in high school.  They always have a great live show with more than competent musicianship and delivery.  If you have never seen them live then you need to correct that situation.  The Roots have a show at the Regency Ballroom on Monday, May 28th.  Tickets range from $63-91 including service charges.  Grab them here


June

Have you guys heard of Mayer Hawthorne?  Mayer has a headlining show at the Fillmore on, Saturday, June 16th.  Tickets will be $35 after service charges and will be available to purchase right here. (That show is now sold out)  He will also have a show with Foster The People as the headliners on Friday, June 29th at the Greek Theater in Berkeley. Tickets for that will be $37.50 and they are available here.

Action Bronson, who is all over my hip hop mixes and sounds like a long lost member of Wu-Tang is coming to the Bay for a show at the Independent on Wednesday, June 13th.  Tickets are at college level prices, clocking in at $15.  It should be a good show...too bad it's on a Wednesday, and I am old.  Seriously worth checking out though if you aren't lame. Get tickets here.

Lyrics Born and the whole Quannum crew got a lot of playing time in our college rotation.  Though I think he could use some major label influence to rein in his weirdness I am not mad at him for doing his thing.  One time I went to a Lyrics Born concert by myself when I was in Tahoe with my family and randomly saw his name on the marquee.  I was also there at one of his first solo concerts where he was out of breath, kept stalling and after the encore said, "That's it" and quickly left the stage.  So we have history and I will always root for him to succeed.  It's nice to see a local, still on his grind and doing what he loves to do.  The show is at the Independent on Saturday, June 16th and you can get tickets for $25 here.


July

Blind Pilot is back if you missed them the last time they were in town...like me.  I totally didn't go to that last  show...I even had tickets that I didn't end up using because it was raining, the show was in the city and there was a UFC fight available with the click of a button in the comfort of my living room.  The show is on Friday, July 6th.  So, maybe I'll make it to this one, no promises though.  Tickets are $32.50 including service charges and you can get them here.


Al Green will be performing at the Nob Hill Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco on Saturday, July 14th.  Tickets range from $58-$117, that's including the service charges though.  I feel like if you haven't seen Al you should probably get on that.  Admittedly the last time I saw him, it was not good.  The crowd got a bit rowdy, yelling at him, some people even walked out.  It was his last tour stop though so he could have been just coasting through his final show after a long stretch of time on the road.  He barely sang, allowing his back up singers and the crowd to do the heavy lifting, eliciting comments from peeved audience members like, "We paid to hear you sing!!!"  Despite all this...it's Al Green!!! He is so smiley and his stage banter is terrific.  Go see him, he is old, don't live with the regret of not seeing him.  I am still mad I didn't make the drive to Reno to see James Brown in person.  Grab tickets here.

The day after Al Green's show, that would be Sunday July 15th, Aesop Rock will be playing at the Fillmore.  Tickets are $32.50 including service charges.  Aesop is weird.  I have no idea what he raps about, he is the prototypical backpack rapper.  Lofty lyrics that could be genius or complete bullshit.  His studio production lacks structure, try and head nod and your neck will stutter and you may pull a muscle.  With that being said, he puts on a nice live show, the beats are sped up, the rhythm comes through and surprisingly you don't just stand there leafing through your thesaurus trying to figure out what the fuck he is saying.  Support the real!!  Brap Brap!!  Get tickets here.

Waters is the former front man of Oakland band, Port O'brien.  I love me some Port O'brien, I was sad to hear that they had broken up, but they gave us at least two solid albums that I still listen to today.  Now Waters is on his own and will be playing the Brick and Mortar in San Francisco.  The show is on Wednesday, July 18th and the tickets range from $10-12.  I haven't heard a ton from this new project but I am a staunch supporter of his previous endeavors.  Also with tickets priced like that it is probably worth checking out.  Grab tickets here.

Upcoming Shows

Breaking these down by month.  Seems to make the most sense.

October

Uhhh not sure why you would pay $15 for this but if you are bored tonight and happen to be near the Independent why not go watch the Air Sex Championships?  Actually I can think of a lot of reasons why not to go, but I won't judge you if you do.  Tickets are available here.  I expect a full recap and re-enactment of the championship routine if you do in fact venture into that darkened dungeon of pelvic thrusting stage humping madness.

Lyrics Born, Chali 2na, and Rakaa of Dilated Peoples have a show at The Independent on Friday October 22.  Tickets are kind of money but that's a pretty solid trio of underground hip hop.  These guys meant a lot  to me back in the day.  Doors open at 8:30, the show starts at 9:00, and $25 tickets can be purchased here.

Murs, Moe Green, and J. Billion will be at the Shattuck Down Low on Saturday, October 23rd.  The show starts at 9:00 and $17 tickets can be found here.  Huge fan of Murs, one of my top emcees, witty, great delivery, and solid beats.  If you don't know about him you better axe somebody.   

The Best Coast will be at The Great American Music Hall on Tuesday, October 26.  Doors open at 7:00 and the show starts at 8:00.  $15 tickets can be purchased here.


 

DeerHunter will be at The Great American Music Hall on Friday, October 29th.  Doors open at 8:00, the show starts at 9:00.  Tickets are $17 and are available here.  If you can't make that show they will also be at Slim's on Saturday, October 30.  Doors open at 8:00, the show starts at 9:00.  Tickets are $17 and are available here.

November

Stars, who have the first song on this mix.  Have a show at the Fillmore on November 10th, which is a Wednesday.  Doors open at 8:00 and tickets are $39.50 once the extra fees have been slapped on.  Grab them here or save yourself $12 in fees by going to the actual box office.

Zion-I, Locksmith, Hold Up, Bayliens, and DJ Kevvy Kev will have a show at Slim's on Saturday November 20th.  Doors open at 8:00 for the 8:30 showtime and tickets are $20 advanced sales and $23 at the door.  Grab them here.  If you can't attend that one you can catch them the following night with Eligh and Scarub, Bang Data, Hold up, and The Oakland Faders, on Sunday, Nov 21st at the same venue, same showtime, and same price.  Pick your poison.  Tickets for that show can be found here. 

Souls of Mischief, Candlespit Collective, Broken Complex, Uephoric, and DJ Pause have a show at Slim's on Wednesday, November 24th.  Doors open at 8:00, the show starts at 9:00.  $21 tickets can be purchased here.  Local heroes, underground legends, Souls reps the Bay Area underground scene to the fullest.  This will be a real hip hop show that people shouldn't miss out on.

December

People Under The Stairs  or P.U.T.S., will be at Slim's on Friday, December 3rd.  Tickets are $19 and will be available here on Sunday, October 24th.  These dudes are some underground icons.  They have that golden age sound with beats constructed from actually digging for records, what!!!??  Who does that anymore.

The Grouch, Brother Ali, Eligh, and Los Rakas will be at the Independent on Wednesday, December 15th.  Doors will open at 7:30 with a showtime of 8:00.  Advance tickets are $20, $22 at the door.  They will be on sale on Friday here.