2015: A Year In Concerts
Went to a lot less than usual for one reason or a several. FNM & Local H were tops this year. Giant Squid, Mutoid Man, Failure, The Tubes and Agalloch also brought the highlights. |
| 1 |  | Earthless
From The Ages
Feb. 5 @ Slim’s w/Hot Lunch and Slow Season - First show of the year was muchly needed and super jamtown! Hot Lunch was disappointing but Earthless brought the boogie! My car got broken into even though there was absolutely nothing to steal except sweaty basketball clothes! SoMa! 3.5/5 |
| 2 |  | Gold Minor
Bone Flowers
Feb. 27 @ Viracocha - This was the beginning of a fruitful, frequent collaboration with this band. Filmed them live tonight plus a few other times and shot 2 music videos together this year. 3.5/5 |
| 3 |  | Golden Void
Golden Void
Mar. 12 @ Great American Music Hall w/Cellar Doors and Growwler - Isaiah from Earthless’s other band is a good time live. Atlantis is the jam. 4/5 |
| 4 |  | The Smashing Pumpkins
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Apr. 8 @ Viracocha w/Mark Nelson and friends - This was a tribute show to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of The Pumpkin’s double album. Holy craze, I remember when Moms bought me that for getting good grades on my report card way back when! Hearing mostly acoustic versions of classics was fun if a bit wanting. Also, final Viracocha show for me, RIP. 3/5 |
| 5 |  | The Bad Jones
The Bad Jones EP
Apr. 10 @ Brick & Mortar w/Gold Minor - Put up a thousand GoPros to film Gold Minor’s record release show. Buddy band, The Bad Jones, closed the night appropriately. For good luck before TBJ went on, I threw a (mostly) empty beer can into Tommy’s stall while he was poopin’. 4/5 |
| 6 |  | Faith No More
Sol Invictus
Apr. 19 @ The Warfield - Best band ever. Ever. EVER. 4.5/5 |
| 7 |  | Local H
As Good as Dead
May 12 @ Bottom Of The Hill - It was like gangbusters, especially at the end. “You high-fivin’ motherfucker!!!!!” 4.5/5 |
| 8 |  | Giant Squid
Minoans
May 23 @ Bottom Of The Hill w/Botanist and Cormorant - Cormorant is even better than before which is saying something. Botanist made me giggle. GS played possibly their last live show I’ll ever see after breaking up a few months later, sadface. 4/5 |
| 9 |  | Amaranthe
The Nexus
Jun. 2 @ The Regency w/I Prevail - Quite possibly the worst show I’ve ever been to (and I’ve seen some fucking garbage). Was trying to do a solid for my concert-phobic buddy, Gygz, by taking his insufferable gf to see some band she loves that I knew nothing about. Regret x10… 1/5 |
| 10 |  | Agalloch
Ashes Against the Grain
Jun. 11 @ Great American Music Hall - Fuck yes! Agalloch makes it all better. Almost skipped this but timing worked out after the Versus Them album listening party and I made it just in time. Pit was pretty silly for an Agalloch show. 4/5 |
| 11 | | Gold Minor
Bone Flowers
Jun. 23 @ Boom Boom Room - I originally went to give Adam back some GoPros I borrowed for another shoot but stayed to catch their set. Solid as always. Didn’t stay for other bands, who cares? 3.5/5 |
| 12 |  | Sanctrum
Rot
Aug. 12 @ Pub Anchor - Aaron and I went to Sweden and Norway this Summer and stopped by this rock bar in Stockholm. Some death metal band called Sanctrum was playing to about 15 people but just about everyone was having a ball, especially the dude in the wheelchair who was headbanging with the might of a million mjolnirs. I bought a t-shirt. 3.5/5 |
| 13 |  | The Tubes
The Completion Backward Principle
Aug. 15 @ Sticky Fingers - What the timing?! The Bay Area’s own old fart silly rockers were in Gothenburg the same night as us. Fee Waybill called out the crowd and said Swedes were boring. He’s not wrong. Although we met plenty of people who weren’t, this crowd was. Whatever, The Tubes are the shit regardless. 4/5 |
| 14 |  | Mutoid Man
Bleeder
Aug. 26 @ Bottom Of The Hill w/WIld Throne - Couldn’t wait to see Mutoid Man and they didn’t disappoint. Super fun and completely ridiculous. Wild Throne was ridiculous as well; like a metal Mars Volta. 4/5 |
| 15 |  | Failure
Magnified
Aug. 31 @ Great American Music Hall - Out of context, a night with Failure sounds depressing but is anything but. “Bitch, bitch, bitch they didn’t play this or that personal fave, shut up.” …Ok, fine I would have liked to have heard Moth…and Pillowhead. Aaaaaand Magnified, but who’s complaining? Alan drummed along on the side rail all night. 4/5 |
| 16 |  | Whiskerman
Nomad
Sept. 11 @ Leo’s w/Arc Iris - The homie Graham put on a great show in Oakland this night with his band, Whiskerman. New songs going over real well. I made Nathan come out cuz the venue’s down the street from his house. The opener was some straight up hipster BS, I tell you h’what. 3.5/5 |
| 17 |  | Golden Void
Berkana
Sept. 19 @ Chapel SF w/The Mermen - Record release show! We got there late but ain’t no thang. The Mermen weren’t quite bringing the stick-around feels after GV finished up. 3/5 |
| 18 |  | Black Breath
Slaves Beyond Death
Sept. 22 @ Elbo Room w/Goatsnake and some shitty punk band - Have been wanting to see Black Breath for a hot minute and they were cool live. Goddamn, that TONE, dude! Hadn’t been in a pit in a while and hung on the outskirts until the scrawny skid with the backpack (there’s always one) pushed me into it. Haha, jerk! Good one. 3.5/5 |
| 19 | | Gold Minor
Bone Flowers
Nov. 14 @ The Conservatory - The owner of this “club” (really a sorry excuse for a speakeasy) made the dudes play at like a 6. Laaaaame. Anyway, I was hired to film again and agreed cuz the dudes were gonna show the music video we had just completed the week before…until the moonshine set in. 2.5/5 |
| 20 |  | Peach Kings
Handsome Moves
Dec. 3 @ Rickshaw Stop w/Smoke Season - My girlfriend’s friend’s band was in town so we took to the streets and caught a show. They were super smash brothered so hard lol, although somehow they were able to keep it together while they played each song. Pretty fun live despite the shit show that was between song banter, haha. Smoke Season can come too. 3.5/5 |
| 21 | | Earthless
From The Ages
Dec. 15 @ The Fillmore w/Graveyard - So how ‘bout it, started and ended the year with Earthless. They were rockin’ as usual but Graveyard was not what I was hoping/expecting or whatever. Aaron said it smelled like people had put drano in their weed so we left early and got a milkshake. 3/5 |
| 22 |  | Crooked
Crooked Cuts Vol. 1
This entry got deleted when i first submitted cuz no band was selected. Whoops:
Mar. 28 @ Hopmonk Tavern w/ Mojo Rising, Black Cat Grave, Hundred Seasons and Isaiah Mitchell of Earthless/Golden Void - MONO Bash! A company I do video work for on the side hired me to film their fundraiser concert in Novato. Shot a video with Crooked later in the year. Isaiah played with his amp at like 11.9, fuck. Got to party with my old concert buddy, Koog, and we met Kehoe from MIRV! 3.5/5 |
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