MOUNTAIN VIEW — Strong lineups at Bridge School Benefit concerts are often overshadowed by the cause for the annual event; the kids with severe physical and learning impairments at the school started by Bay Area rocker Neil Young and his wife, Pegi. Saturday, at the first of two 25th…

Foster the People, courtesy. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. A single song completely changed the trajectory of Los Angeles indie pop trio Foster the People. In a little under a year singer-instrumentalist Mark Foster, drummer Mark Pontius and bassist Cubbie Fink went from working odd jobs…

Alex Trimble of Two Door Cinema Club performs at the Leeds Festival at Bramhall Park on Aug. 28, 2011 in Leeds, England. Photo by Shirlaine Forrest/WireImage. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. The way singer Alex Trimble sees it, the isolation that came with starting a band…

Teddybears, courtesy. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. Perhaps no recent act has incorporated as many guest vocalists and different genres into its songs as the Swedish hit-making outfit the Teddybears. Instrumentalist-producer-DJ brothers Klas and Joakim Ahlund, along with Patrik Arve, are known in America mostly for…

U2 360 Tour production in progress in June 2011. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. OAKLAND – It’s the largest touring concert stage ever built – but the claw rising above Overstock.com Coliseum this week for the U2 concert Tuesday is just one of three…

Moonalice, courtesy. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. San Francisco psychedelic rock and blues jam band Moonalice can appear as a contradiction. On one hand, its members made their biggest contributions to music in the ‘60s and ’70s. On the other, the band is technologically ahead of…

Sleigh Bells perform at Neumos in Seattle on Nov. 19, 2016. Ian Young/STAFF. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. Noise-rock duo Sleigh Bells’ guitarist-songwriter Derek Miller didn’t intend to take a break from performing when he left his Florida hard-core rock band in 2004. Sleigh Bells, Neon Indian …

A train that will house members of Old Crow Medicine Show, Mumford & Sons and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros sits idle at Middle Harbor Shoreline Park in Oakland during the Railroad Revival Tour on April 22, 2011. Photos: Roman Gokhman/STAFF. This story originally appeared in the Oakland…

Jamaica, courtesy. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. When up-and-coming French electro-rock band Poney Poney changed its name to Jamaica in 2009 after the trio lost its drummer, the name change wasn’t meant to create any controversy. It was a calculated effort to stay hip. Jamaica, Chain Gang…

Duran Duran, courtesy. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. Many musicians who have lasted a decade or more try to reinvent themselves to stay fresh. Not Duran Duran. Duran Duran 9 p.m., April 16 The Fillmore Tickets: $72. The seminal British new wave band, celebrating the 30th…