Leonard Cohen performs at Paramount Theatre in Oakland on March 3, 2013. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. At the beginning of his show at Oakland’s Paramount Theatre on March 3, the second of two sold-out nights, legendary septuagenarian crooner Leonard Cohen offered no promises of the distant future. Leonard Cohen performs at…

A Silent Film performs at Slim’s in San Francisco on Feb. 27, 2013. Romann Gokhman/STAFF. This year I’m trying to keep a thorough list of all the shows I see, so that at the end I can have an accurate list of my favorites. This put the Wednesday performance…

On “Underdog,” a track off Imagine Dragons‘ debut album, Night Visions, vocalist Dan Reynolds sings that he loves to be the underdog. Unfortunately for him and the Las Vegas quintet, those times appear to be over. As evidenced by their sold-out, highly energized and often emotional set at the…

Florence and The Machine performs at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, Calif., on Oct. 5, 2012. MOUNTAIN VIEW — Since 2010, Florence and the Machine have gone from selling out the Mezzanine, to the 2,800-seat Fox Theater to nearly selling out the 22,000-capacity Shoreline Amphitheatre Friday. Now with two…

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros perform at he Greek Theatre in Berkeley on Sept. 7, 2012. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. The magical quality of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros is that the SoCal folk pop band always seems to be making it up as it goes along. Whether it’s…

Mountain Goats perform at Front Porch Music Festival at Wente Vineyards in Livermore, Calif., on Sept. 1, 2012. Photos: Eric O’Donnell. Livermore’s Wente Vineyards, venerable for hosting big-name artists like John Fogerty, Sheryl Crow and Dianna Krall, went indie Saturday with a double-bill of The Mountain Goats and The…

Fang Island performs at Great American Music Hall in San Francisco on Aug. 7, 2012. Many Bay Area music fans may not yet be familiar with Brooklyn prog-rockers Fang Island, being that the trio made just its second San Francisco stopover, Tuesday at the Great American Music Hall, since…

It’s been six years since Minneapolis alt-rockers Soul Asylum last released an album, their last with bassist Karl Mueller, who passed away from cancer in 2005. Now on tour supporting their 10th release, July’s Delayed Reaction, the band that reached its heyday with 1992’s Grave Dancer’s Union and 1995’s…

Brian Fallon of The Gaslight Anthem performs at the Independent in San Francisco on July 5, 2012. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. SAN FRANCISCO — Brian Fallon, frontman of The Gaslight Anthem, made a point of self-deprecatingly mocking his lack of education, the New Jersey punk-rock band’s appearances and their home state Thursday…

Young The Giant performs during San Francisco Oysterfest in Golden Gate Park on June 30, 2012. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. The sun peeked out from among the clouds several times Saturday during the 13th annual San Francisco Oysterfest in Golden Gate Park, but by 4 p.m., as headliner Young the Giant…