U2, “How To Re-Assemble An Atomic Bomb.” Rock and roll is dead? Please. Every year, the “Kids Don’t Care About Guitars Anymore” narrative drives clicks—or, in the ancient times, sold magazines. Inevitably, Newton’s Third Law kicks in, and guitar bands, both new and old, push back with equal force.…

U2 performs during the opening night of its U2:UV Live at Sphere residency in Las Vegas on Sept. 29, 2023. Photo: Rich Fury. Others by Kevin Mazur. Sept. 30 photos: Roman Gokhman/STAFF. LAS VEGAS — Sphere at the Venetian is truly a visual and sonic marvel. The bubble-like theater…

U2, “Songs of Surrender.” U2 has released alternate takes of its songs on collections before, but they’ve always been either as bonus material on re-releases (Kindergarten Achtung Baby) or as fan-club-only releases (Medium, Rare & Remastered, Artificial Horizon). Their latest, Songs of Surrender, is their first attempt at mass-market…

Bono performs on the opening night of ‘Stories of Surrender’ at Beacon Theatre in New York on Nov. 2, 2022. Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images). SAN FRANCISCO — It might at first not be apparent why Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti factors so much in “Stories of Surrender,” the stage…

U2 performs during The Joshua Tree Tour 2017 at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, on May 14, 2017. Photo: Tim Durkan. Oct. 3 Update: The rest of Bono’s book tour has now been announced. The 14-city tour included San Francisco, as previously announced. It begins in New York on Nov.…

A bold and bittersweet closing chapter for one of the greatest rappers of all time, the long-awaited album from DMX, Exodus, comes a little over a month and a half after his death. His first release in nine years (following 2012’s Undisputed) and his first on Def Jam since Grand Champ, Exodus is…

Twenty years to the day that U2 released its landmark album All That You Can’t Leave Behind, Roman Gokhman and I jumped on Zoom to talk about what the album means to us as fans, its cultural impact and legacy, and how it changed the course of U2’s music–for better or worse–in…

U2 frontman Bono, who turned 60 on May 10, shared a playlist of 60 songs that have impacted his life. “These are some of the songs that save my life, the ones I couldn’t have lived without, the ones that got me from there to here, zero to 60…

Blossoms perform at the Independent in San Francisco on Nov. 13, 2019. Gary Chancer/Staff. SAN FRANCISCO — English indie pop band Blossoms headlined a three-act lineup at the Independent that also included the California debut of Dublin quintet Inhaler—fronted by Bono’s son Elijah Hewson. The headliners, making just their…

Bruno Mars performs at BottleRock Napa on May 27, 2018. This is the final in a three-part series. Read how I’m scoring my list and find out about my “special consideration” acts in PART 1 and 10 through 6 in PART 2. Favorite Shows 2017 | Favorite Shows 2016 | Favorite Shows 2015 Favorite Shows 2014 |…