Metallica's Lars Ulrich performs in 2008. The Bay Area thrash metal and hard rock giants will perform Feb. 6 at AT&T Park. The Bay Area is a hotbed of music in the next week leading up to Super Bowl 50. (Courtesy photo/Kreepin Deth)
Even if you don’t have tickets to Super Bowl 50 next weekend in Santa Clara, the festivities leading up to the big game are numerous.
Though the game takes place in Santa Clara, San Francisco – appropriately 49 miles away – will host many of the music-related events.
Things kick off Saturday at the Super Bowl City extravaganza in San Francisco, which is at the east end of Market Street spilling out toward Sue Bierman Park, Justin Herman Plaza and the Embarcadero ferry building. Inside, its City Stage will host a series of free concerts throughout the week, beginning with Northern California rock crooner Chris Isaak at 7:25 p.m. along with a fireworks show and a Bay Lights relighting.
The City Stage also will host San Francisco-based pop singer Matt Nathanson at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nashville country pop sensation The Band Perry at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Los Angeles pop rockers OneRepublic at 8:30 p.m. Feb. 5 and Brooklyn R&B singer Alicia Keys (right) at 7 p.m. Feb. 6.
All of the Super Bowl City shows are free. The acts named are headliners for a full slate of performers.
Given Super Bowl organizers anticipate as many as 1 million people will visit the Super Bowl City gala during the nine days it’s open and several streets are closed to host it, using public transportation to get there is recommended.
For those who can afford to open their wallets a bit wider, perhaps the biggest event takes place when Bay Area thrash metal and hard rock juggernaut Metallica teams up with London-based alternative rockers Cage the Elephant at 7 p.m. Feb. 6 at AT&T Park in a concert dubbed “CBS Radio’s The Night Before.” Tickets were still available as of Thursday. Metallica will bring the pyro, but CTE is worth arriving early to see as the group is known for its fiery live performances.
Other gigs outside of Super Bowl City include a performance by classic rockers Heart at 6 p.m. Sunday at Mission College in Santa Clara. The event is listed as sold out, but the band is scheduled to return to Mountain View’s Shoreline Amphitheater in August.
Project Nightclub at Pier 70 in San Francisco will host Virginia jam and pop rock group Dave Matthews Band (right) as well as pop soul singer and producer Pharrell Williams on back-to-back nights, at 9 p.m. Thursday and 10 p.m. Feb. 5, respectively.
Raiders great Marcus Allen is scheduled to host a “Concert of Champions” featuring NFL Films footage with a live performance by the San Francisco Symphony at 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at Davis Symphony Hall in San Francisco.
Taste of the NFL’s Party With a Purpose takes place at 7 p.m. Feb. 6 at the Cow Palace in Daly City with San Francisco rockers Third Eye Blind topping the bill. Visit tasteofthenfl.com for further information.
Those at the big game Feb. 7 at Levi’s Stadium will see British rockers Coldplay team up with Beyoncé and Bruno Mars for the halftime gig, which typically runs approximately 15 minutes. Even though it hasn’t happened, it won’t top Prince singing “Purple Rain” in the rain at Super Bowl XLI. It just can’t.
This is just a glimpse at the music festivities ahead of the Super Bowl. For more information on all of the Super Bowl 50-related entertainment and cultural events throughout the Bay leading up to the game, visit www.sfbaysuperbowl.com.
Alicia Keys photo by José Goulão
Dave Matthews Band photo by Mike Greener/Daily Republic
Josh Ritter performs "Monster Ballads" Thursday at The Fillmore in San Francisco. (Nick DeCicco/Daily Republic)
SAN FRANCISCO — As Josh Ritter nears 20 years since he recorded his first album, he’s facing a challenge.
The Idaho-born singer and songwriter reached a point in his career where he’s become a known quantity, which isn’t a bad thing when what you’re known for rosy prose lyrics and an indefatigable cheerfulness. But what distinguishes him also has become safe territory.
It showed Thursday when Ritter and his backing group, The Royal City Band, worked out 10 of the 12 songs from October’s “Sermon on the Rocks,” his eighth LP, during a stop at The Fillmore in San Francisco.
Its songs, which capture Ritter returning to playful, rosy prose territory after 2013’s divorce album “The Beast in its Tracks,” are enjoyable yet safe, sitting comfortably in Ritter’s wheelhouse.
That meant that stacking Thursday’s set with so many “Sermon” songs left the show feeling most dangerous when he explored new territory, such as an unironic stab at fusing his own “Birds of the Meadow” with the Kanye West and Jay Z joint “No Church in the Wild.”
Thursday’s show spent its first half serving a healthy ladling of “Sermon” songs, including five in a six-track stretch with mixed results. While the upbeat numbers retained their playfulness, the ballads were a slog.
The back half of the show reinforced the dilemma as Ritter slithered into his back catalog. By touching on most of his albums, he revealed his output to be quite varied, stretching from the quiet folk of “Girl in the War” to the rowdy show closer “To the Dogs or Whoever.”
However, those risks and challenges come within a certain framework. Ritter’s appeal is in his lyrics as much as his instrumentation, which is organic and married to his musical roots – his self-created major at Oberlin College was American history through narrative folk music.
So while Ritter has blossomed from crooning alone with an acoustic guitar to amplified, full-band rocking, it doesn’t seem likely that a hip-hop record is in store next, despite the sly cover of Yeezus and Hova.
While Thursday’s show offered few clues as to what may come after “Sermon on the Rocks,” when it worked, it was the fun ride Ritter is known for delivering, which is a good brand to have.
The opening band, Colorado’s Elephant Revival, played a brisk, warm set of folk and bluegrass, including “Ring Around the Moon.” Given the city and venue, the group chose wisely by covering Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit.”
Josh Ritter setlist 01. Monster Ballads (Ritter solo) 02. Birds of the Meadow / No Church in the Wild (Jay Z/Kanye West cover) 03. Young Moses 04. Right Moves 05. Rumors 06. Henrietta, Indiana 07. A Certain Light 08. Seeing Me ’Round 09. Where the Night Goes 10. Cumberland 11. The Stone 12. Snow Is Gone (Ritter solo) 13. Change of Time (Ritter solo) 14. Engine, Engine #9 (Ritter solo, Roger Miller cover) 15. Bonfire 16. Girl in the War 17. Kathleen 18. Getting Ready to Get Down 19. Homecoming
Encore 20. The Temptation of Adam (Ritter solo) 21. To the Dogs or Whoever
Josh Ritter sings "Young Moses" Thursday at The Fillmore in San Francisco. (Nick DeCicco/Daily Republic)
Elephant Revival's Bonnie Paine sings Thursday at The Fillmore in San Francisco. (Nick DeCicco/Daily Republic)
Lemmy Kilmister, left, and David Bowie, two rock 'n' roll luminaries, died in recent weeks. The pair represented different brands of rock, but both made careers out of honoring their own muses.
If not for the calendar putting Lemmy Kilmister and David Bowie so close together in death, there aren’t many reasons to mention them in the same sentence.
In the one corner is the quintessential rebellious rock star, an outlaw of rock ’n’ roll. Musically, Lemmy (right), the late frontman of Motörhead and former member of Hawkwind, was stable as a table, with an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” attitude to bluesy rock with a metal bite.
In the other corner is the man who will be king of reinvention, who was challenging the norms of gender and identity long before it was accepted. Were he still living, Bowie could change his style before the end of this sentence if he wanted.
Aside from being British and being rock stars, there seems to be little overlap in the careers of the late Motörhead frontman and the Thin White Duke. But despite their glaring differences, what unites them is that Bowie and Lemmy had the courage to be true to themselves.
They were fundamentally different, but both made art in keeping with what seemed to be their personalities.
In the case of sandpaper-voiced Lemmy, who died Dec. 28, 2015, that was a no-frills, unvarnished presentation of himself and his interpretation of rock. For more than 35 years, he steered Motörhead creatively. There was rarely a tip of the hat to modern trends. It’s hard to know the difference between a Motörhead song recorded in 1985 and 2015 without production quality to give a hint.
This was not an artist whose reputation was built on following whims. One Motörhead album was named Everything Louder Than Everything Else, which is an apt description of the group for the uninitiated.
During his funeral, which aired Saturday via YouTube, Lemmy was repeatedly described as a kind, warm, funny man. He also was described as the poster child for the phrase “what you see is what you get.” His son, Paul, said Lemmy had no stage persona because he was Lemmy all the time.
That stands in stark relief to Bowie (left, in 1983), who evolved, grew and changed until his final album, Blackstar, which was released last week on his final birthday. He died Sunday.
Bowie was enough of an intellectual to note that all performance is artifice and not having a persona – Lemmy’s style – is, itself, a persona. For the man who created Major Tom, Ziggy Stardust and Jareth the Goblin King, he played down his role as an ever-changing entertainer, telling Terry Gross of NPR show “Fresh Air” in 2002 that he “stopped creating characters in 1975 for albums, anyway.”
But even if they stopped having names, Bowie and his music was relentlessly reinventive. He drew inspiration from the intersection of challenge and creativity, continuing to evolve late into his career. In 1997, he had his final top 100 hit on the Billboard chart, “I’m Afraid of Americans,” a critique of American consumerism over a song that found a gritty, glitchy fusion between industrial rock and electronic music.
Bowie offered a more cerebral take on music and culture. It’s not that Lemmy couldn’t keep up. It’s that he probably didn’t have the patience for such discussions. Bowie talked of Ziggy Stardust as a calculated creation dripped in irony to shout back at hippies and keeping it real, man.
Tony Visconti, who helped Bowie produce Blackstar, said, "He always did what he wanted to do."
There’s an irony in the idea that, for Bowie, being true to himself is continually changing into someone else, which may be why he told Gross in the same interview that the idea of artistic integrity is something he’s “never bought into.”
In terms of live performance, Bowie told Gross he had lost any taste he had for it. Meanwhile, Lemmy was at home on the road. Even as his health declined in his final months, the buses kept rolling and Motörhead kept playing gigs.
Diametrically opposed though they seem, their public personas both remained true to their artistic visions and themselves, even in their final days. Bowie turned his looming death into art while Lemmy barreled ahead as though the end was never in sight.
For those of us who are left to cope without them, their boldness to be themselves throughout the decades and be honest with us is their legacy. They inspired future generations of musicians to do the same.
And thank goodness for that.
Lemmy photos by Goran Beg and Rama. David Bowie artwork by craniodsgn and photo by Jeffchat1.
Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft) smiles at Benjamin (Dustin Hoffman) in a scene from "The Graduate." As much as it's a window into the 1960s, the film also allows for differing viewpoints on Benjamin and Mrs. Robinson as the picture and its audience ages.
A recent project to back up all of my albums on vinyl took a turn in the S’s.
Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence” brought the iconic final moments of “The Graduate” to mind, pleading with me to revisit the film.
It may be a phenomenon of my 30s, but I find it fascinating how I can revisit albums or movies I’ve consumed before with a fresh take. The best and most enduring works offer insight into themselves as well as ourselves as we both age and, in that way, “The Graduate” continues to be an intriguing watch.
“The Graduate,” which turns 50 in December 2017, serves as a time capsule for the mood of many among a generation of young adults of the 1960s who identified with Benjamin (Dustin Hoffman) as well as Elaine Robinson (Katharine Ross), eager to throw off the shackles of societal and parental expectations.
As someone who first saw the film as a college-bound teen, I identified with Benjamin. We’re supposed to. Yet after my recent revisit, I was left thinking the film’s most interesting character is the film’s famed seductress, Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft).
It’s difficult to condone her behavior, but I understand it better. Benjamin, once the character with whom I most identified, now comes off as a creepy, lost young man who turns into a stalker.
It’s easier to remember some of the film’s enduring moments — Benjamin moving through the airport, that final moment on the bus, Mrs. Robinson dangling her legs off of the hotel bed in the film’s poster — but one scene near the middle of the picture illuminated so much on this viewing:
After the trysts between Benjamin and Mrs. Robinson have become frequent, he tries to force conversation. His choices of subject sour the mood, but in the process, we get key details about how Mrs. Robinson has come to this station in her life: Daughter Elaine was an unexpected pregnancy and she wed Mr. Robinson with the hope of making it work.
There are only a few glances at her malaise, but one can construct the narrative of Mrs. Robinson’s life from the few pieces “The Graduate” gives. Her marriage to Mr. Robinson was a failure, but they stayed together. She sinks into drinking and given the cool and calm she exudes with Benjamin about her affair, it might not be her first.
She and Benjamin bond over a common apathy in their own lives.
“It’s the one thing I have to look forward to,” Benjamin says of their meetings at the hotel. It’s a line that could just as easily be coming out of Mrs. Robinson’s mouth.
A younger version of me judged Mrs. Robinson harshly for her affair, but I understand it now, swimming in something that gives her pleasure against an ocean of unhappiness. She’s the only one in the film who seems to accept the choices she’s made and is willing to confront the consequences.
The back half of the movie makes her too beholden to the institution of marriage, even though it hasn't treated her well. She seems less interested in what’s good for her daughter, guided by her anger at Benjamin for spurning her.
Given Benjamin's relentless pursuit of Elaine, stalking her down on the Berkeley campus and following her from class to class to plead his case, he seems selfish and desperate. When they say they love each other, it’s hard to believe.
The movie is configured to root for Benjamin, but as the realization of what they've done dawns on him and Elaine on that bus ride out of town, their future looks anything but happy. As the voices of Simon and Garfunkel enter, speaking about a troubling dream, I wonder what I might take from this film the next time I revisit it.
“The Graduate” endures as a great window into its time and place, but also because there are different things to take from it as we — and the film itself — age.
FKA twigs sings Oct. 18, 2015, at the Treasure Island Music Festival. (Daily Republic photo/Nick DeCicco)
Despite my doubt that I would never see more live music than I did in 2014, I managed it in 2015.
I saw more than 200 artists, including several I’d longed to see for the first time, such as D’Angelo, Pixies and Nas.
I saw the Dixie Chicks' first show on American soil in four years. I saw Santa Cruz-born Scott Weiland, the former singer of Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, make his final live appearance in the area. I saw the Eagles of Death Metal months ahead of their tragic November performance in Paris, when 89 fans died in a terrorist attack.
And I still feel like I missed so much.
Here are some of the ones that are going to stay with me into 2016 and beyond:
Honorable mention (20)
• Ryan Adams, Oct. 24, at Bridge School Benefit XXIX • Bassnectar, Sept. 27, at Bay Area Vibez • Chvrches, Oct. 18, at Treasure Island Music Festival • D’Angelo, Aug. 7, at Outside Lands Music Festival • Dave Matthews Band, Aug. 28, at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheater • Dixie Chicks, Oct. 24, at Bridge School Benefit XXIX • Drive Like Jehu, Aug. 29, at Riot Fest Denver • Hot Chip, Aug. 9, at Outside Lands Music Festival • Elton John, Aug. 9, at Outside Lands Music Festival • James McMurtry, Oct. 4, at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival XV • No Doubt, May 31, at BottleRock Napa Valley • Panic! At the Disco, June 6, at Live 105 BFD • Pixies, Aug. 29, at Riot Fest Denver • Robert Plant, May 30, at BottleRock Napa Valley • Royal Blood, April 19, at Ace of Spades • Silversun Pickups, Dec. 11, at Not So Silent Night • Smashing Pumpkins, July 7, at Concord Pavilion • Tame Impala, Aug. 8, at Outside Lands Music Festival • Weezer, Dec. 11, at Not So Silent Night • Young the Giant, May 30, at BottleRock Napa Valley
Run the Jewels' Killer Mike puts his hands in the air in the shape of a fist and a gun Oct. 17, 2015, performance at the Treasure Island Music Festival. (Daily Republic photo/Nick DeCicco)
10. Run the Jewels Oct. 17 at Treasure Island Music Festival
For the second straight year, Killer Mike and El-P land in the top 10, following 2014’s diabolical set at San Francisco’s Mezzanine. The duo upstaged everyone at this year’s Treasure Island Music Festival, including headliners deadmau5 and The National. Passionate, fiery and intense, the pair perfected its live performance, effortlessly trading lines and lifting the crowd's spirits despite El-P’s punishing beats. The cherry on top of this performance was Bay Area legend DJ QBert taking a turn as a guest turntablist. [Review]
A rainbow appears June 27 over Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara as the Grateful Dead play their first show billed as such in 20 years. (Courtesy photo/Adrienne Harris)
9. Grateful Dead June 27 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara
Billed as the Grateful Dead for the first time since the death of Jerry Garcia, the legendary Bay Area jam band reconvened for five shows to mark the group’s 50th anniversary. Phish frontman Trey Anastasio stood in for the late Garcia, proving masterful at blending his own guitar stylings and tones with what the group’s music required. While none of the gigs will go down among the band's all-time greats, the occasion won’t be soon forgotten by anyone in attendance, particularly those who witnessed the beautiful rainbow during the first time the Grateful Dead played “Viola Lee Blues” since 1970. [Review]
8. St. Vincent Aug. 7 at Outside Lands Music Festival at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco
The defending champion from the 2014 list was hampered only by time constraints with this dazzling midday appearance at the eighth Outside Lands Music Festival. In 60 minutes, the native Oklahoman unleashed her guitar skills, uncorking a sizzling solo to wrap “Marrow” and bringing “Huey Newton” to a deafeaning stomp. During “Rattlesnake,” Annie Clark walked down to the rail, playing inches away from front-row fans as photographers swarmed around her. She closed with “Bring Me Your Loves,” a throwaway on last year’s St. Vincent album that kicked much harder in its new incarnation. [Review]
7. Capital Cities May 30 at BottleRock Napa Valley at Napa Valley Expo in Napa
The Los Angeles electropop duo Capital Cities made time evaporate during its fun hour on the Jam Cellars Stage at BottleRock. Despite having only one album to its name, the group showed why its earned a reputation as one of the most energetic live acts today. Danceable throughout, the duo packed its setlist with cuts from its lone LP, In a Tidal Wave of Mystery, along with stellar covers of Michael Jackson, Bee Gees, Prince and Madonna. The showstopper, however, was finishing with the Cash Cash remix of “Safe and Sound,” which got a sea of festivalgoers waving clothing overhead by request. [Review]
Damien Rice performs "Cannonball" unamplified and in near darkness to start his April 23, 2015, show at the Fox Theater in Oakland. (Daily Republic photo/Nick DeCicco)
6. Damien Rice April 23 at The Fox Theater in Oakland
Although The Fox Theater holds 2,800, Irish crooner Damien Rice managed to make it feel like a living room in this April appearance supporting his third and long-awaited album My Favourite Faded Fantasy. Working without a backing band, Rice held the crowd in the palm of his hand during delicate moments, such as his duet with audience member Melanie Mardesich on “Cold Water.” But through lighting and effects, he was able to bring the mood up to a roar during the bridge of “9 Crimes.” Upon leaving the venue, it was easy to hope it won’t be another eight years between albums. [Review]
5. Kendrick Lamar Aug. 8 at Outside Lands Music Festival at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco
The talk leading up to Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar’s August appearance at Outside Lands was that his live show had turned the corner from impressive to unforgettable. That proved to be true during this day two-closing appearance, where his 75-minute set turned into a 90-minute declaration. So electric was the performance that festivalgoers crowd surfed a fan in a wheelchair during the song “Alright.” For his part, Lamar fired intense volleys, rapping with authority about race, class, politics, power and his own past. Even though the set skimped on this year’s To Pimp a Butterfly, Lamar showed he has indeed stepped up his live game. [Review]
4. Sleater-Kinney May 2 at The Masonic in San Francisco
Fans were giddy with anticipation in the minutes leading up to the first show of Sleater-Kinney’s two-night stand at The Masonic. One day shy of nine years since its last Bay Area gig, the Portland trio did not disappoint. Carrie Brownstein, who became a television star during the hiatus thanks to IFC comedy “Portlandia,” still packed a wallop, still delivered her trademarks, such as her Pete Towshend-esque windmill and signature kick move. Lead singer Corin Tucker dug deep when she needed to, belting out the likes of “The Fox.” S-K was loud and raucous, only taking its foot off the pedal for the night's final song, “Modern Girl.” Because when you’ve been gone for nearly a decade, you have to come back with authority. [Review]
Courtney Barnett performs May 29, 2015, on the main stage at the BottleRock Napa Valley festival in Napa. (Daily Republic photo/Nick DeCicco)
3. Courtney Barnett May 29 at BottleRock Napa Valley at Napa Valley Expo in Napa
Not only did Courtney Barnett produce the year’s best album with Sometimes I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit, she also delivered one of its best live performances. Early arrivals to BottleRock’s third installment saw the Australian rocker do devilish things with her guitar, ripping through the likes of “Nobody Really Cares if You Don’t Go to the Party” and “Canned Tomatoes (Whole).” She switched into high gear during the final 10 minutes, thundering away with “Avant Gardener,” “History Eraser” and a pulverizing “Pedestrian at Best.” [Review]
2. AC/DC Sept. 25 at AT&T Park in San Francisco
For a band that has seemed in decline during the past few years given the retirement of guitarist Malcolm Young and drummer Phil Rudd’s troubles with the law, there was absolutely nothing lacking about AC/DC’s return to the Bay Area in September. Singer Brian Johnson and guitarist Angus Young pushed this show into the stratosphere, two consummate professionals who could duel for dominance in terms of stage presence, but instead work in tandem. They delivered a litany of hits with precision and power, but they also carved out 15 minutes for Angus to go absolutely berserk on the guitar on “Let There Be Rock.” If they are near the end, this was the way to go out. [Review]
Michael Gira of Swans sings April 17 at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco.
1. Swans April 17 at Regency Ballroom in San Francisco
The greatest shows aren’t just ones that are played well. That has to be taken for granted for a show to be great. Swans did that during its April stop on a cold night at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco. The Michael Gira-led group played just six songs in two-and-a-half hours, stretching their creations out as though they were a rubber band with the fibers beginning to fray. That’s been the conceit of Swans’ material since its 2010 reformation and what has made it into one of the most unlikely yet important groups of the decade. What elevated this night above all the rest was that Swans executed to perfection, but offered an immersive experience, crushing the crowd with throbbing, droning walls of fuzzy sound. Gira’s intense eyes scanned the room as he played, watching the crowd as it absorbed the music. The band released a limited edition live document, The Gate, in October, capturing the tour, but it runs a distant second to being there among the throng of people, sharing the experience of Swans’ droning, ambient, experimental, distinct brand of music. Indie folk singer Angel Olsen contrasted with a delicate, hypnotizing opening set. [Review]
Music, music, music Nick DeCicco writes For Those About to Rock, a music blog for the Daily Republic. After trying and failing to play multiple instruments, Nick realized he should combine his love of words and music and use it to mock those who can play much, much better than him. And he does. He's attended hundreds of concerts, has a CD collection numbering into the thousands, crossed the Atlantic to see shows, and is a two-time record store employee. He lives in Solano County, with his two iPods and two CD players.
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