This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. You’re bummed. You had tickets to tonight’s (June 16) U2 concert at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, and then Bono had to go and injure his back. So now you’re sitting in front of the television and wondering how you’re going to spend…

M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel (She & Him), courtesy. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. A 2008 San Francisco gig demonstrated how far She & Him, the musical collaboration between alt-rocker M. Ward and indie actress Zooey Deschanel, has moved up in the world. She & Him…

Florence and the Machine, courtesy. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. She did not yet have a band or any paying gigs, but Florence Welch — whose musical experience at that point included open mic nights and tinkering with a piano in a friend’s bedroom studio —…

Metric performs at The Masonic in San Francisco on March 13, 2019. Joaquin Cabello/STAFF. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. When Metric was a new band trying to break onto the music scene in the early 2000s, the Toronto troupe needed the kind of exposure that a…

This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. SAN FRANCISCO —SoCal soul and indie-pop band Cold War Kids’ signature sound is lead singer Nathan Willet’s voice: a strained tenor vibrato always leaning toward desperation. But what makes the band successful is the interaction of all CWK’s musicians on stage…

Emily Haines of Metric performs at The Masonic in San Francisco on Feb. 23, 2013. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. Success has made even an urbane landscape exciting for Metric frontwoman Emily Haines. Cheerfully chatting from Metric’s bus at a “beautiful” parking lot in…

White Rabbits, courtesy. SAN FRANCISCO — White Rabbits released their second album, “It’s Frightening,” last month just around the time when I was getting bored of bands coming out with sensational first albums and then disappearing. Their first, “Fort Nightly,” came out in 2007 and introduced haunting yet extremely catchy…

MuteMath, courtesy. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. New Orleans alt-rockers MuteMath have toured through the Bay Area several times, but their most vivid memory here is of an animal shelter near Slim’s in San Francisco. Live 105’s BFD, featuring 311, The Offspring, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, MuteMath,…

Amadou and Mariam, courtesy. Amadou, the son of a soldier, grew up in the village of Douenza in Mali, in western Africa. That is is 500 miles from the capital city of Bamako; Mariam’s home. He lost his eyesight at a young age due to a congenital cataract. Mariam,…

U2 performs during a “Good Morning America” concert at Fordham University in the Bronx, New York on March 6, 2009. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. NEW YORK — I’ve been excited about the March 3 release of U2’s No Line on the Horizon since last spring,…