By Lilan Kane

A capella, beatbox, theater, vaudeville, live band, and everything in between -- that's Felonious (playing tonite, Thu/10, at the Independent). Originally an a cappella hip-hop duo, Felonious has morphed into a hip-hop theater production receiving rave reviews in The Source magazine, Chronicle and Examiner, and have produced sold-out shows in SF, New York, Germany and Oakland. They have shared the stage with The Roots, De La Soul, Big Daddy Kane, DJ Premier, Black Eyed Peas, Zion I, Living Legends, Radioactive, and Crown City Rockers. Their shows capture different elements of entertainment creating something old school in principal but very innovative and contemporary.

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I've been to plenty of concerts in my life, and I've seen some pretty wild shows in various states of consciousness. That being said, nothing could have prepared me for this year’s Air Guitar Regional Championships at the Fillmore.Read more »

My auntie Yam is the ultimate SF activist, along with my mom, a.k.a. Snorkel Mom. The two of them are always out together, advocating for single-payer health care, participating in anti-war rallies, sharing new organic gardening techniques with each other, and attending all day lectures on Earth Day. I've learned so much from both of them, and I'm always awed by their commitment to change and their strong visions for a better world. So when auntie Yam invited me to go see her Labor Chorus perform at City College, I knew I was in for an uplifting and exciting show.

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Part haunted house, half honky-tonk and a lot of freak funk, the sounds emitted via San Francisco band Birds & Batteries-- playing Fri/28 at Rickshaw Stop-- is a mixed bag of awesome that seems to come from a questionable place. Drug trade, mental instability and disturbing sadness inhabited the streets below band member Mike Sempert's former apartment in the Tenderloin and crept into his songwriting with dark undertones. Now that he's officially transplanted to greener grass in Oakland, the only thing creepin' into the band's new tunes is a little sunshine. 

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By Lilan Kane

After 41 years together, local blues-funk outfit Cold Blood still sounds exactly like I imagine they would have when they were fresh to the scene back in the Bill Graham days. I never had the chance to see them before, so the evening I finally caught them, on April 23, was a particular treat for me, an avid Lydia lover. Of course I'm talking about lead singer Lydia Pense. It is near unbelievable how such a big a voice comes out of her pint-sized frame. Time has not faded her soulfulness by any means -- she still holds it down like a female James Brown. Read more »

By Lilan Kane

Brass, Bows & Beats, a local 45-piece orchestra that bridges genres and generations, is back. After a sold out performance last year at the Palace of Fine Arts, composer and band leader Adam Theis (of Jazz Mafia) is ready to take this show on the road (coming to Yoshi's SF on Sun/25). 

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Digital music files are the Snuggie of the music industry; so comfy, so easy, but it's fleece is cheap and one dimensional. Vinyl is a thick quilt, a layered labor of love Grandma crafted just for you-- a product that brings about a whole new quality of life when you're wrapped beneath it. Strange analogy, but if you're unfamiliar with the loveliness and depth of vinyl's sound possibilities, Record Store Day-- this Sat/17 at locations across the Bay-- is your day to give 'em a spin. Read more »

JL Stiles would like it if we all just appreciated what we’ve got a little more. 

“If you look at the new artists that have come out of San Francisco recently, we’re got some really innovative people. But in the belly of the beast, traction is not easy to come by. The great artists, someone discovers them and cashes out on their genius, and then they’re touring all over and just come back every once in awhile,” says the mathematician/musician/creator of the new neo folk concert series San Folk Disco, which kicks off Thur/15 at Café Du Nord. Read more »