Photo: Jay Demetillo This is the second in a three-part series. Read the introduction to learn how I’m scoring my list and find out about my “special consideration” in PART 1. Favorite Shows 2016 | Favorite Shows 2015 | Favorite Shows 2014 Favorite Shows 2013 | Favorite Shows 2012 11 – CATHEDRALS at the Mezzanine – June…

Photos: Dawn Heumann On Sunday night in San Francisco, the smell of smoke floated into my bedroom. A few minutes later, I was glued to the news, learning of the massive firestorm engulfing my beloved childhood stomping ground of Sonoma County. It was 1 a.m. I knew my parents…

Every week there’s a plethora of new music at our fingertips. Artists on platforms like Spotify and Bandcamp are plentiful, and the radio offers a steady deluge of new singles, but who has time to sort through all that? RIFF does! We’ve pooled our resources to find some of…

Cathedrals perform at Mezzanine in San Francisco on June 8, 2017. SAN FRANCISCO — If their first show in two years is any indication, San Francisco electronic R&B and pop duo Cathedrals is shifting closer to the pop spectrum. Vocalist Brodie Jenkins and guitarist Johnny Hwin have spent much of…

POND, courtesy. Cathedrals, “Don’t Act Like A Stranger” — This San Francisco duo has done the unthinkable with their new single. The song works for the lovebirds and the heartbroken. Brodie Jenkins’ lyrics and  their smoky delivery warm your belly, like tingling butterflies. Johnny Hwin’s electric guitar creates a sense of longing and sorrow. This…

“Howling” by Cathedrals. San Francisco’s Cathedrals dropped a new track today as the duo of Johnny Hwin and Brodie Jenkins continues to work on its debut album. “Howling” is a slow-burning cover of the Frank Wiedemann and Ry X song. It was the first song the two arranged with their touring musicians, drummer…

Roman Gokhman’s Favorite Concerts of 2015 Welcome to my annual countdown of the most entertaining music experiences of the year. I only went to 41 concerts. Life commitments and a family took a higher priority. But then again, I enjoy profiling an artist over critiquing the music. I put…

HEARTWATCH San Francisco’s HEARTWATCH (formerly known as The Tropics) is one of many up-and-coming acts in a busy music artist community in the Bay Area. We spoke about the band’s origin a couple of years ago, the direction of its new music, its semi-forced band name change and much more. RIFF: Let’s talk…

Cathedrals perform at the Independent in San Francisco during the Noise Pop Music Festival on Feb. 28, 2015. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. This was my fifth time seeing duo Cathedrals perform. I was at their first show, when they were first on a Noise Pop bill about four years ago, and each…

Cathedrals. Courtesy. Imagine two entities traveling along opposite frequencies. The first sine wave is bouncing frantically, along its axis, hitting different targets along the way, as if in a game of Pong. The second leisurely coasts across the same plane like a rolling wave. Eventually the two meet. If…