High on Fire performs at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco on March 29, 2016. Photos: Derek Tobias. BERKELEY — Local heavy metal champions High On Fire returned to The UC Theatre from a year-long limbo Friday night. Following the appropriately gruesome partial amputation of guitarist Matt Pike’s toe, the band was…

Pixies perform at The August Hall in San Francisco on Dec. 5, 2019. Photos: Sean Liming. SAN FRANCISCO — With a surprising burst of fiery energy, indie rock giants the Pixies filled August Hall on Thursday. The capacity crowd of mainly millennials cheered the band and sang along to classic…

Talib Kweli performs at Yoshi’s in Oakland on Dec. 4, 2019. Sean Liming/Staff. OAKLAND — Within the intimate environs of Yoshi’s, Talib Kweli brought his lyrical mastery to the stage at the first of two shows on Wednesday. Amid the holiday decorations and low lighting, the acclaimed hip-hop artist…

Slayer performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland on Nov. 26, 2019. Photos: Joaquin Cabello. OAKLAND — The Bay Area, home to rise of thrash metal in the early ’80s, hosted a luminary of the movement Tuesday as giants Slayer rocked Oakland Arena one last time. The concert was one of…

The Black Keys perform on the “Let’s Rock” tour at Chase Center in San Francisco on Nov. 20, 2019. Photos: Steve Carlson. SAN FRANCISCO — Few rock bands today can fill an arena with the mere promise of riffs and catchy choruses. Yet that’s exactly what the Black Keys did…

Three years after his death, Leonard Cohen remains a touchstone in popular music. Referenced with knowing glances among musicians, his singular style inhabits a gray world rife with disappointment, longing and resignation. A tenured and substantial fixture in folk music and poetry, Cohen speaks from beyond the grave with Thanks For The…

Post Malone performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland on Nov. 14, 2019. Adam Pardee/Staff. OAKLAND — A sellout crowd at Oakland Arena underscored the meteoric success of Post Malone, who performed Thursday with his signature zeal. Boasting hundreds of millions of streams on Spotify and widespread, multi-generational name recognition, Austin…

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Celskiii (@mama_feel_good) on Nov 11, 2019 at 1:07am PST OAKLAND — Forward-thinking speakeasy The New Parish hosted The Midnight Hour Sunday on a detour through soul-jazz terrain. Featuring composer-producer Adrian Younge and A Tribe Called Quest alumnus Ali Shaheed Muhammad, The Midnight…

FKA twigs performs at The Fox Theater in Oakland on Nov. 6, 2019. Photos: Jane Hu. OAKLAND — Encompassing down-beat electronic trance music, contemporary dance and a grandiose sense of visual presentation, British artist FKA twigs stirred an uproar of enthusiastic fandom at the Fox Theater during an immersive performance-art…

OAKLAND — It took some time for Lucinda Williams‘ style to gain widespread recognition. Williams was 45 years old when her breakthrough album, Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, wowed critics and earned her a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. She performed Saturday at the Fox Theater as part…