Bikini Kill performs at Mosswood Meltdown in Oakland on July 3, 2022. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. OAKLAND — “It’s like we’re partying at the end of the world,” said Kathleen Hanna, the lead singer of Bikini Kill, too a sea of fans at Mosswood Park, midway through the final set of the…

Kim Gordon performs at Mosswood Meltdown in Oakland on July 2, 2022. Courtesy Meri Brin. OAKLAND — Impeccably dressed in a shiny black and white suit jacket, legendary filmmaker John Waters stood on stage in the gathering dusk amid towering oak trees and plummeting temperatures Saturday night to introduce…

Weezer, “SZNZ: Summer.” Writer Ray Bradbury once advised young authors to “Write a short story every week. It’s not possible to write 52 bad short stories in a row.” Never ones to rest on their laurels, Weezer seems determined to put that axiom to the musical test. SZNS: Summer…

Wilco, “Cruel Country.” Chicago rockers Wilco have always reminded me of a good football team. While the band’s chief songwriter, Jeff Tweedy, is clearly the quarterback, the self-effacing frontman has surrounded himself with a bunch of powerful players, each with his own skillset. During the band’s early years the…

When the houselights went down Saturday night, the Masonic was almost pitch-black in the moments before Bauhaus took the stage. The crowd, mostly in black, disappeared in the oppressive gloom. Stage lights soon illuminated the quartet, also dressed in black but with guitarist Daniel Ash resplendent in a pirate…

Greek composer Vangelis at his apartment in Paris in 1981. Photo by Rob Verhorst/Redferns. Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíou, better known as synthesizer pioneer Vangelis, died Tuesday at the age of 79. The electronic composer won an Oscar in 1981 for his soundtrack for the film “Chariots of Fire.” Vangelis’ haunting…

The Smile (Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood and Tom Skinner), “A Light For Attracting Attention.” The sign of a good chef is the ability to combine a bunch of cold leftovers into a mouthwatering gourmet experience. Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, freed from their familiar Radiohead kitchen and working with…

Ministry performs at The Warfield in San Francisco on April 16, 2022. Nathan McKinley/STAFF. SAN FRANCISCO — Lots of gritty sci-fi movies include a scene set in some futuristic nightclub where loud music and flashing lights serve as a backdrop for scruffy characters exchanging a thumb drive, taking designer…

Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs perform at The Independent in San Francisco on April 15, 2022. Sean Liming/STAFF. SAN FRANCISCO — “I hope you all paid your babysitters. We’re going to be here for a while,” Mike Campbell told a sold-out crowd at The Independent, a couple songs into…

SAN FRANCISCO — It’s a rare concert that makes you rethink everything you thought you knew about the tuba. And yet, English jazz quartet Sons of Kemet did precisely that with a sold-out performance at The Independent on Monday night. This isn’t your father’s marching band. The four-man operation blew minds…