Last Thursday, San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium was flooded with a barrage of synth-pop crazy. The night started off with the Swedish DJ duo Icona Pop. While they only got to use a corner of the stage, the duo warmed up the crowd with a brief but energetic set, Read More…
Passion Pit seems to be a band of upbeat, dance-worthy songs that get crowds riled up and singing along. While this isn’t incorrect, it’s not entirely the truth either. Read More…
It looks like I’m being proven wrong about lackluster crowds with each new show I go to. Matt & Kim’s ecstatic performance last Friday at the Fox Theater was full of dancing, jumping, and screaming from both the crowd and the duo. Opening with the fat synth grooves of “Block Read More…
Our lead critics recommend the latest and greatest in culture. MUSIC: A wide variety of albums await your ears this week — at least for those who haven’t already started torrenting them. Both the Berkeley-based hip-hop indie rock group Why? and Oakland’s own Zion-I will be releasing albums this Tuesday. Read More…
This Tuesday is full of cracking tunes as a couple of poppy indie bands rematerialize on the scene, inspiring another bout of bouncy hipster syndrome. It’s been a while since we’ve had such enticing tracks to hop around to, but the indie gods have finally delivered the gift we’ve been Read More…
There have been an insane amount of catchy hooks since the inception of “pop music” roughly 50 years ago. But somehow, stones still remain unturned. New songs with new melodies and new choruses keep cropping up. Admittedly, some songs recycle old musical ideas — i.e. the same descending riff has Read More…
There’s a reason that the word “energetic” is constantly used to describe Matt and Kim shows: They embody the definition with a crazed ferocity. It’s mind-boggling how just two people can transform an audience of a thousand from mellow attendees to frenzied fans. With nothing more than a drum-set, keyboard Read More…