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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.
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Wallace Baine on January 15, 2020
If you love wine and live in the South Bay, 2020 is shaping up to be a very good year. The San Francisco Wine School is bringing its most popular classes to the wine tavern Enoteca La Storia in downtown San Jose. To kick things off, January’s class is titled “Tasting, Chemistry and Flaws,” and is all about developing blind-tasting techniques, using wine vocabulary properly and learning how to assess balance between sugar, tannins and acid. From there, aspiring wine snobs can expect a new workshop every month on viticulture, wine regions and food pairing. Continue reading »
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Wallace Baine on January 15, 2020
It’s hard to fathom, but the musicians who played alongside the legendary Bob Marley during his creative heyday in the 1970s are still upright and making music. The Wailers, circa 2020, continue to create their rastaman vibrations with bassist Aston “Family Man” Barrett, guitarist Junior Marvin and guitarist Donald Kinsey—all of whom jammed with Marley. The band also features second-generation performers, including singer Shema McGregor, whose mother Judy Mowatt was one of Marley’s famous back-up singers, the I-Threes. Indeed, the Wailers are true reggae royalty. Continue reading »
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Matei Predescu on January 15, 2020
This Los Angeles tribute band—made up of session musicians and veterans of the music industry—draws on its collective experience and deep love of Linkin Park to produce faithful re-creations of the SoCal rap-rock titans’ catalog. Formed in 2017 in the wake of Chester Bennington’s untimely death, In the End takes its responsibility of honoring the band’s music seriously. Their profound dedication to Linkin Park’s legacy is palpable in the energy of their performances and their authentic reinterpretation of the music itself. Continue reading »
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Matei Predescu on January 15, 2020
Melding indie rock and dream-pop influences, LA-based slowcore band Sprain pairs spacey, minimalist arrangements with emotionally compelling narratives. Their sonic subtlety reveals an understated and strikingly nuanced tonal palette, fluidly transitioning between moods and atmospheres with their use of unconventional compositional structure, harmonic color and instrumentation. Still pushing its 2018 self-titled debut, Sprain returns to town for a show at Japantown’s 3F Gallery—a cozy venue that showcases the work of local creatives and is an emerging hotspot on San Jose’s DIY scene. Continue reading »
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Wallace Baine on January 15, 2020
Eddie Vedder gets a lot of the credit for the absolutely sublime soundtrack to Sean Penn’s 2007 film Into the Wild. But the gorgeous and expansive guitar work that made the film transcendent comes by way of Kaki King. Her ringing acoustic guitar is capable of transporting and enchanting listeners, whether they’re in a concert hall or listening through earbuds while trekking across some breathtaking landscape. Originally a drummer, King has mixed a number of flavors, from strings to bagpipes, into her half-dozen recordings. But onstage, it’s usually just her and her fluid, expressive, spellbinding guitar playing. That’s quite enough. Continue reading »
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Metro Staff on January 15, 2020
The Bay Area’s independent music community will remember the life and work of Murray Bowles. A longtime South Bay denizen, Bowles died at his Sacramento home in early December. The late Bowles was known well in the Bay Area, and his photos were celebrated around the world. The musician and photographer played with San Jose psychobilly outfit The Shitkickers (who headline the memorial), and most famously documented the early ’80s and ’90s East Bay punk rock scene. A cartoon version of Bowles appeared on the cover of Green Day’s breakout LP, Dookie. Continue reading »
