Once again local music proves why it is the best buy (and music) going these days. $15 for three amazing acts in one night. No traffic hassle, no annoying bag checks, no overpriced drinks, not a bunch of stodgy rich … Read the rest
Review
Playing Favorites: Is That My Soul Up There?
I recently gave Sting quite the verbal lashing on a recent SoundwavesTV’s Mass Debate. I equated his solo career with dental office waiting room music. Go for the ratings or go home!
But to … Read the rest
PopOff! Venue and Concert Review: Gabe Lee & King Margo at The Back Room/Amando’s
The Short:
It was a great show with a four piece band that juggled various instruments from guitar to piano and mandolin while bringing some serious harmonies to strong country/folk/blues songwriting. It was my first time in the intimate brick … Read the rest
POPOFF! OUTRO: THE AGONY, THE MELANCHOLY, AND THE ECSTASY
If you stumbled upon this article I you should start at the beginning.
So what of this journey? What of 1993 and where I was at musically vs. where I am at now? What of these three albums?
I can … Read the rest
POPOFF! RETRO REVIEWS PART 3: THE ECSTASY
Getting even further left field we arrive in Iceland. Björk was a name I sorta knew being around- oh by the way, it is pronounced yerk like work not york like pork. Anyway, I never took her music in at … Read the rest
POPOFF! RETRO REVIEWS PART 2: THE MELANCHOLY
This is the album that initially started this whole 3 album journey. I had only intended to review this one album but when I end up doing a TMI interview for Soundwaves Melissa Etheridge came up and so I had … Read the rest
POPOFF! RETRO REVIEWS PART 1: THE AGONY
I know the hits, you know the hits. But the album didn’t hit me in any special way at first. It wasn’t until Junior year when I was so deep in depression I ended up in the kitchen with a … Read the rest
POPOFF! INTRO: THE AGONY, THE MELANCHOLY, AND THE ECSTASY
This post was inspired in part by the recent TMI interview I did with the Soundwaves TV crew about the power of music to get us through tough times. You can listen to that right here >>>
When the … Read the rest
POPOFF! CONCERT REVIEW: Gogol Bordello Round 2 (AKA Good Luck With That Beer).
I to see Gogol Bordello again! I don’t see a lot of acts more than once (unless they are local). So that tells you the first round was a good enough show for a second helping. And this time I … Read the rest
POPOFF! RETRO REVIEW: The Human League – Dare
POPOFF! RETRO REVIEW: The Human League – Dare
Bear’s Haiku Retro Album Review:
One hit that won’t die.
Whole album a synthpop classic.
Back to front it’s fire.
Let’s just get this out of the way up front, everyone young … Read the rest
ALT REVIEW: a-ha, Oxbow Stage, Napa
As I fully expected, DJ Bear published a review for the a-ha show last Friday. That motivated me to collect my thoughts about the concert, since my wife and I attended it as well. Having said that, I chose not … Read the rest
PopOff Retro Review: Tori Amos’ “Little Earthquakes” Turns 30
Every finger in the room is pointing at me
I wanna spit in their faces, then I get afraid of what that could bring
Those two lines from the song, “Crucify” open the album Little Earthquakes by Tori Amos, which … Read the rest
Concert Experience Review: Björk – Chase Center February 8th, 2022
This is not just a review of Björk’s Cornucopia but my overall concert experience at the Chase center.
“Performance artist”, is such an odd term because are not all musicians who get up on stage on some level performance artists … Read the rest
PopOff! Retro Review: Black Crowes – The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
20 years on, I am reviewing an album that in 1992 sounded 20 years on. So yeah, the 1992 album The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion sounded VERY 1972 (i.e. Grand Funk Railroad, Steppenwolf, Kansas, Lynard Skynard…) At the time … Read the rest
PopOf! Review: ABBA Delivers The Most ABBA Album Since Every Other ABBA Album
Here we are in an age when artists that railed against the system are now selling their catalogs to that very system. Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon and others have all sold their music rights off for millions. It … Read the rest
POPOFF! RETRO REVIEW: TOM COCHRANE, MAD MAD WORLD
The 90s are hip again- well the TRL era of the 90s are hip again but at any rate I thought this would be a good excuse to review an early 90s rock album that seems lost in the shadow … Read the rest
PopOff! Lockemy – Kingdoms EP Review
Audio Version:
The thing with my relation to music is I am usually captured by sound first and lyrics later. If the surface sound of it all comes together in a way my soul savors I can be easily sold. … Read the rest
The Hot Take on the Hot Takes Debut EP
It is a good sign for a new band when I as a reviewer find myself with one of their songs stuck in my head. Even more promising is when I’ve only heard the song maybe 3 times. And honestly … Read the rest
PopOff! Album Review: Swift and Antonoff’s Folklore
PopOff! Album Review: Taylor Swift’s Folklore Swift and Antonoff’s Folklore
This review is going to require some backstory on my own musical past before we get to the meat of it. Strap yourself in and bring a sweater. I could … Read the rest
POPOFF! CONCERT REVIEW: I Danced with Death and So Should You
Lila Downs, October 12th, 2019 Paramount Theater, Oakland
“I’m not afraid of death; I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” – Woody Allen
I find the United States as a culture is very removed from death outside … Read the rest