Foster The People performs at Fox Theater in Oakland on Jan. 31, 2025. Matt Pang/STAFF. OAKLAND — Supporting fourth album Paradise State of Mind, alt-pop band Foster the People kicked off a two-night stand at Fox Theater on Friday. Foster the People Good Neighbours 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 1…

Choose your dystopia. I’ve mentioned it before, but for the past couple years I’ve waited until the last minute to write these columns because the news moves too fast. Every time I write ahead, something catastrophic happens before they run and I look like a complete jerk for ignoring…

Ricky Martin, pictured here Livin’ La Vida Loca. I’m taking a risk and pre-writing all my October columns. Why is that a risk? Because it’s 2020. The last time I wrote a column early a civil rights movement broke out between the time I filed it and when it…

Gotye in his birthday suit We’re getting distressingly close to now, which is making it much harder to pick songs. Time is a fantastic filter. With every year that passes a bunch of mediocre songs are forgotten, so as we get closer to now I’m worried I’m going to…

Photos: Chloe Catajan and Mike DeWald MOUNTAIN VIEW — No artist turns personal hardships into danceable and empowering anthems quite like Paramore. Mixing rock, pop and occasionally even ‘80s glam, the Tennessee band brought its “Tour 5” to Shoreline Amphitheatre Saturday. The group went straight into “Grudges,” a catchy tune…

The Killers. Photos: Alessio Neri (all but The Killers, which are courtesy of Rob Loud) OAKLAND — Do you think that the Killers‘ frontman Brandon Flowers stood in front of the mirror while his band was writing its new album, Wonderful Wonderful, and asked himself how he could be…

Foster The People, “Sacred Hearts Club.” Indie darlings Foster the People are back and hoping to shake off the sophomore slump with their third studio album, Sacred Hearts Club. Sacred Hearts Club Foster the People July 21 Led by self-released single “Pumped Up Kicks,” Foster the People stormed into the indie scene back…

Foster the People perform during Live 105’s BFD festival at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California on June 4, 2014. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. Check out images from the 2014 Live 105 BFD festival at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California. The highlights included Foster the People and Bleachers. There are…

M83 performs at the Fox Theater in Oakland on April 17, 2016. I probably went to more shows this year than ever before. This year, artists such as Florence and the Machine, Coldplay, the Black Keys, Of Monsters and Men and the reunited Garbage didn’t even crack the ranks…

Foster the People perform at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley on June 29, 2012. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. BERKELEY — About two-thirds of the way through the sold-out  Foster the People show at the Greek Theatre on Friday evening, frontman-keyboardist Mark Foster noted his band is just a handful of shows away…