Keaton Simons, Mike...

Once upon a time (circa 2004), Ryan Cabrera was a new face, introduced to many (most?) by way of his then-girlfriend, Ashlee Simpson via her MTV reality show, The Ashlee Simpson Show. Despite his Muppet hair and whiny voice, Cabrera’s major-label debut, Take it All Away, peaked at #6 on The Billboard 200 chart, fueled [&hellip

Macy Gray at...

If you ask me, Macy Gray’s career was ahead of its time. Fourteen years ago, On How Life Is came out, and all I’ve known about it in the time since is 1) that while I was beyond tired of hearing radio-saturated “I Try,” it was a great song, 2) Macy has an amazing, interesting, [&hellip

Chris Cornell at...

When an artist requests that no one in a tiny, intimate venue like the Uptown Theatre be allowed to use technology of any kind (cameras, smartphones, etc), it makes sense. It means that everyone will be paying attention to the music they’re sharing with you, and there are no rude distractions. True, it makes my [&hellip

Bryan Abrams &...

Almost exactly a month ago, I was looking forward to reminiscing about high school days gone by. Color Me Badd, a group whose first album was loaded with songs my sister and I adored, was back together and playing near me. Sadly, though, the band had recently begun to fall apart, and what I thought [&hellip

Pink at San...

To sum up P!nk in one word seems at first like an impossible challenge. And then you see her live, and if you’re a word lover like me, the right one might dawn on you, just as it did me when I saw her Tuesday in San Jose at SAP Center on The Truth About [&hellip

Bryan Adams at...

Tonight I was the victim of a crime, and I never saw it coming. Okay, neither of those statements is entirely true. I did lose my socks tonight, but only because the iconic Bryan Adams rocked them right off.* And yes, I should have seen it coming, given that for as long as I can [&hellip

John Fogerty at...

Is it me, or is the music your parents listened to when you were growing up really polarizing? I either love it or I hate it! Thankfully, when it comes to the tunes of Creedence Clearwater Revival, my dad and I never disagree. In fact, the first time he showed me the photo of lead [&hellip

30 Seconds to...

In the years since I became a 30 Seconds to Mars fan, it’s been a bittersweet ride. The first time I ever saw them live was two and a half years ago, at this very same venue. As you can see from that review, I was ready to let Jared Leto himself baptize me into [&hellip

Fiona Apple &...

Fiona Apple isn’t interested in how anyone thinks she looks.  I know because when I found myself back on my alma mater’s campus at Zellerbach Hall earlier this evening, she said she was on “the tip of ‘don’t fuck with people for how they look.’”  Whether this is because she recently asked security to remove [&hellip