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Metro Staff on January 22, 2020
One of the strangest pop stars of the 2010s, Riff Raff has cut a jagged neon line through rap, country and reality TV and has even dabbled in professional wrestling. Though the Houston performer began honing his outlandish persona in the late 2000s—appearing on MTV’s From G’s to Gents with the network’s logo tattooed on his neck—he attained mainstream success around 2014 after signing to Diplo’s Mad Decent label and releasing his debut LP, Neon Icon. Known for his over-the-top boasts and wacky wordplay, Riff is currently touring behind his third and fourth full-length albums, Pink Python and Cranberry Vampire, both released in 2019. Continue reading »
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Metro Staff on January 22, 2020
After reuniting in 2014, South Bay alt-rock veterans Strata are poised to release their first proper full-length of new material since 2007’s commercially successful Strata Presents the End of the World. So far, the band has only released a pair of teaser trailers on YouTube, featuring a clip of a new song and shots of the band recording in the studio. Topping the bill: Los Stellarians—a band featuring Doug “SA” Martinez of 311 and Ryan Siegel from Exes of Evil, whose funk-infused SoCal vibes at times recall Chicano Batman. Continue reading »
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Nick Veronin on January 22, 2020
While its shiftless younger cousins, rock and hip-hop, rely on the impulsive tendencies of youth, blues is a genre that rewards mastery. From B.B. to John Lee, the best bluesmen only improve with age. Case in point: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Elvin Bishop. His 1976 single “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” recently found younger audiences on the first Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack, and he proves he’s still got it on his 2018 LP, Something Smells Funky ‘Round Here. He comes to Club Fox with his Big Fun Trio, featuring Redwood City resident Bob Welsh and Willy Jordan. Continue reading »
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Metro Staff on January 22, 2020
DJ and producer Erick Orrosquieta, better known by his stage name Deorro, has been spinning up progressive house and trap bangers for well over a decade. Currently signed to Ultra, the recording and production company behind Florida’s annual EDM party, the Ultra Music Festival, he is in good company: He counts Steve Aoki, Sofi Tukker, Calvin Harris and Deadmau5 as labelmates. He hasn’t dropped a proper full-length since his 2017 album, Good Evening, but his string of singles—30 since 2013—are proof of his work ethic. He comes to Sunnyvale on the heels of his latest loosie, “All This Time.” Continue reading »
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Bill Kopp on January 22, 2020
The name might be a trifle misleading: this Utah-based classical crossover group features a pianist (Jon Schmidt) but he’s just one-fourth of the lineup. The Piano Guys also include Steven Sharp Nelson on cello and two producers, Paul Anderson and Al van der Beek. Like Postmodern Jukebox (another act operating on the fringes of the pop world), the Piano Guys are a YouTube sensation, with cumulative viewership of their inventive music videos approaching the 2 billion mark. They’re a consistent hit on both the classical and New Age charts, and their pop mashups bridge the gap between pop and more serious forms. Continue reading »
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Anne Gelhaus on January 22, 2020
At the ripe old age of 25, Taylor Tomlinson has just started her second decade on the stand-up circuit. And like any good millennial, she’s embracing all the media available to help her along her career path. Besides being featured in shows on Netflix and making it to the Top 10 on NBC’s Last Comic Standing, Tomlinson co-hosts the Self-Helpless podcast with fellow Type A comedians Delanie Fischer and Kelsey Cook. With a sense of humor that’s at once self-deprecating and self-possessed, Tomlinson comes across as wisely funny beyond her years. She’s doing three nights at The Improv. Continue reading »
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Nick Veronin on January 22, 2020
Though their moniker was likely adopted with tongue planted firmly in cheek, Conrad Keely and Jason Reece—the core duo behind …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead—have secured a permanent seat in the indie rock pantheon. Their 2003 album, Source, Tags & Codes, was as sweeping and orchestral as it was visceral and biting. String arrangements swelled into squalls of knob-twisting feedback and delay. Tidal waves of warm major chords carried ominous lamentations of “death and decay.” Like Radiohead’s Kid A, it changed the way an entire generation of musicians thought about rock & roll. Continue reading »
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Metro Staff on January 22, 2020
The genius of Mystery Science Theater lies in its simplicity. Essentially, it’s a well-rehearsed trash-talking sesh—the kind of riff-fest that good friends have been enjoying over cold beers and bad movie reruns for decades. The brainchild of actor and comedian Joel Hodgson, Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) follows a janitor trapped by mad scientists and forced to watch ridiculous B-movies as a part of a harebrained plot to take over the world. To stay sane, the janitor enlists some robot friends to join him in mocking various (and preposterous) sci-fi titles. Continue reading »
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Anne Gelhaus on January 22, 2020
In all of its nightclub iterations over the last few decades, the space that is now The Ritz has always made room for the Reverend Horton Heat, and with good reason. Considered by many to be the godfather of modern rockabilly and psychobilly, the right reverend and his band have been heating up venues around the world since 1985. The band may have slowed its tempos for its 2018 album, “Whole New Life,” but they still ratchet up the intensity for their live shows. This time out at The Ritz, they’re supported by the Buttertones, the Paladins and Deke Dickerson. Continue reading »
I saw you. That is, I saw the grainy cell phone camera video of you and your heroic deed. Every year, you and your pals are the butt of many mean jokes and derisive comments. I suppose it’s because you like to attach colorful, fluffy tails to the backside of your jeans or else don elaborate, head-to-toe anthropomorphic animal suits. Well, we should all remember that you are human, after all. You demonstrated great bravery and honor when you pulled that domestic abuser away from his victim—prying him out of his car, subduing and detaining him until the police could arrive and take him into custody. Kudos to you, karate kitty and dauntless dino!
I Saw You is an anonymous “man on the street” column. Email your rants and raves about co-workers or any badly behaving citizens to [email protected], or send to 380 S. First St, San Jose, 95113. Submissions should stick to about 100 words.
