Concert Reviews
Concerts
Sole
The Bunkhouse, March 31
April 5th, 2012
Rocking a sleepy crowd at 2:30 a.m. is not an easy thing to do, but well-read and highly philosophical rapper Sole pulled it off. Grabbing the microphone and ferociously blasting into “Napoleon,” Sole jolted the crowd awake. Read more »
Neon Reverb
Crystal Antlers
Bunkhouse Saloon, March 23
March 29th, 2012
Despite absolutely perfect weather, only about 40 paying customers hit the Bunkhouse for Neon Reverb on Friday night. Read more »
Neon Reverb
VHS or Beta
The Junkyard, March 24
March 29th, 2012
The 7:30 p.m. start to their set in the hard-to-find downtown lot made VHS or Beta’s stellar show the most criminally under-attended of any band I saw that weekend. Read more »
Neon Reverb
White Orange
Beauty Bar, March 21
March 29th, 2012
Neon Reverb kicked off with a barely attended, cross-genre bill involving local blues-punkers The Ku and Ore., psyche-metal quartet White Orange. Read more »
The Pastel Project
STRFKR
The Royal Resort, March 24
March 29th, 2012
Was this the same festival as the night before? It didn’t feel like it. A much bigger crowd, an energetic vibe and an overall good time showed the potential of what The Pastel Project could be. Read more »
The Pastel Project
Chromatics
Royal House, March 24
March 29th, 2012
Low attendance and massive overreach hindered this nascent indie-rock festival. On the plus side, the Royal’s cool carnival setup (including a Ferris wheel), friendly staff, awesome sound and first-rate bands (even if the groups leaned toward the Pacific Northwest synth-pop end of the musical spectrum) suggest that this fest could eventually work. Read more »
The Pastel Project
Tennis
The Royal Resort, March 23
March 29th, 2012
Husband-and-wife team Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore started Tennis after completing a seven-month sailing voyage. Their surf-pop sound is summertime perfect, and their music is a must-have if you’re sailing the high seas. Read more »
Concerts
Blake Shelton
Mandalay Bay, March 17
March 22nd, 2012
Blake Shelton insists he is just a regular, redneck guy. “I like to shoot deer. … I love to go hunting!” Shelton announced to his packed audience. It’s easy to buy the redneck part, but if you want to believe he’s “regular,” you’ll have to ignore the fact that he performed “America the Beautiful” with his wife, Miranda Lambert, at the Super Bowl this year. Read more »
Concerts
Bela Fleck & the Flecktones
The Smith Center, March 12
March 22nd, 2012
“It’s cool being the first to play this place,” laid-back banjo wizard Bela Fleck said during his incredible opening set. While not technically accurate (Randy Travis had already serenaded the facility’s construction workers, followed by a gala of performers ranging from John Fogerty to Jennifer Hudson), Fleck and his band certainly made The Smith Center’s official opening week something special. Read more »
Concerts
SFJazz Collective
Cabaret Jazz room at The Smith Center, March 17
March 22nd, 2012
They began with a gang. Not, unfortunately, with a bang. Selected to symbolically smash a champagne bottle across the bow of Las Vegas’ swanky new swing spot, the eight-piece SFJAZZ Collective provided an evening that was so… polite. Make that flat. True, this is a performing arts center, not a boozy dive. True, the Collective is a collection of fine musicians with an impeccable sound, but a questionable choice to kick open this ballyhooed new jazz headquarters. Read more »
