2015.5 – The best of the year so far: Best Opening Bands

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Winter @ The Echo

We’re halfway through 2015 already, so we’re kicking off a random series of lists detailing the first half of the year…

Starting things off, of course, are the opening bands. Photographing and reviewing shows means that I see A LOT of bands, some of whom I actually meant to see, but even more that I had no intention of seeing, and in some cases had never heard of. Often, this can mean a lot of time standing around bored at best, in agonizing aural pain at worst. But every now and then you catch an opening band that piques your excitement and makes you wanna go home and download buy some of their music. So here are a few of the more interesting opening bands I’ve seen this year, broken down by shows in chronological order: Continue reading →

Neutral Milk Hotel played their final show in Petaluma, CA, hear their last song

Greg Chow1 Comment

phoenix-marquee

Regardless of when you first heard of Neutral Milk Hotel—either during their initial run in the 90s or during their decade and a half of dormancy—and regardless if you loved them or hated them, Petaluma, California is probably not where anyone ever thought they’d see Neutral Milk Hotel for the final time. Continue reading →

Diarrhea Planet played The Independent in San Francisco w/ Left and Right, Sun Valley Gun Club

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diarrheaplanet-indysf-05

The perpetually-on-tour Nashville sextet Diarrhea Planet rolled back into San Francisco on May 27th, with Philly’s Left and Right and NoCal’s Sun Valley Gun Club in tow. Needles to say, it was a heavy, heavy guitar night.  Continue reading →