Live Review: Kings of Leon, Bill Graham Civic

Live Review: Kings of Leon, Bill Graham Civic

Kings of Leon rock San Francisco: Aidin Vaziri | Playing to a capacity crowd at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on Thursday, their biggest San Francisco show to date, Kings of Leon showed that even their recent songs push most of the same sloppy rock 'n' roll buttons as those on their first release, 2003's "Youth and Young Manhood." In concert, the tunes from the new record come unhinged, driven by the kind of bad-tempered lust that comes from the band members spending their formative years traveling the country in the back of a Chrysler with their Pentecostal preacher father. Kings of Leon have adapted remarkably well to their surroundings. Thursday's show got off to a bit of a slow start, but then a high-velocity charge through three of the band's best tunes - "Charmer," "Sex on Fire" and "The Bucket" - inspired a pandemonium that never let up. Continue reading.

Pop Quiz: Jenny Lewis

Pop Quiz: Jenny Lewis

Aidin Vaziri | Jenny Lewis returns to San Francisco this week for two headlining shows at the Fillmore - on Thursday and Friday - playing songs from her most recent album, "Acid Tongue," which sees the Rilo Kiley singer and former child star move away from the country tones of her previous releases and into weird garage rock, subversive soul and gospel punk. The record, which was released in September, also features guest spots by Elvis Costello, M. Ward, Zooey Deschanel, Jonathan Rice and the Black Crowes' Chris Robinson. Sadly, that sequel to "Troop Beverly Hills" will have to wait.


Jenny Lewis
Q: Do you think Gwen Stefani really wants to tour with No Doubt this summer, or does she just feel guilty?
A: I can't speak for Gwen, but she seemed to be having a pretty good time with her solo records, and it seemed like she found her way. But then there's something about having your gang with you. It's like being in a mob.
Q: You're definitely getting back together with Rilo Kiley after this, right?
A: No. I'm not definitely doing anything. I don't know what's going to happen, seriously. We're going to put together a collection of B-sides and rarities.
Q: That's a bad sign.
A: No. It's sentimental for us to go through these songs that brought us together. After that, I'm not sure. I'm 33. There's a biological clock ticking. Continue reading.

Review: Phoenix, 'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix'

Review: Phoenix, 'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix'

Phoenix, 'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix': Aidin Vaziri | Phoenix's fourth album delivers another half hour of lithe, tuneful pop that surges forward on "Miami Vice"-style synthesizer swells and Mars' crisp, vaporous voice. The best and brightest tracks, such as "Lisztomania," "1901" and "Girlfriend," sound as if they could have been lifted from the band's first album, "United," released nearly a decade ago, while the new disc's dreamy two-part centerpiece, "Love Like a Sunset," shows a clear, previously unheard Kraut-rock influence. It's a fine but unnecessary distraction from the fantastic retro rush. Continue reading.

Pop Quiz: Fleetwood Mac

Pop Quiz: Fleetwood Mac

Aidin Vaziri | The mercurial forces behind Fleetwood Mac - John McVie, Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood and Lindsey Buckingham - are back on the road, once again without Christine McVie. And for the first time in a long time, the band doesn't have any new material to promote, so the Unleashed Tour is made up of two hours of fan favorites. We asked the group's 59-year-old guitarist - and a recent father of three - Buckingham how he felt about that.


Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac
Q: There was some talk last year that Sheryl Crow was going to take over Christine McVie's position in the band. Did you block that?
A: No, I didn't block it. One of the things that made this go so smoothly is that I've been really unparticular about my opinions. I did not think that was a good idea. One, she was going to come in for a period of time and it spoke to me like something that had come from the top down, like a marketing idea. The other thing is that it struck me as a bit loungey to have someone else come in and do Christine's songs. She went and shot herself in the foot anyway.
Q: Besides, the last thing you need is another ego in this band.
A: That's right. Stevie and I are still working on our dynamic, which, believe it or not, is still evolving. Continue reading.

Review: Green Day, '21st Century Breakdown'

Review: Green Day, '21st Century Breakdown'

Green Day, '21st Century Breakdown': Aidin Vaziri | It's split into three acts and, like all good concept albums, has an impossible-to-follow plot. That's easy enough to ignore because the music is amazingly radio-friendly, with each tune matching the band's standard over-the-counter rebellion ("I'm not f- around!" sings Billy Joe Armstrong) with full-blown stadium FX. "Viva la Gloria!" sounds like Linkin Park trying its hand at "Candle in the Wind," "Restless Heart Syndrome" makes the argument that Oasis' "Champagne Supernova" would sound better sung in a cracked falsetto with a smidgen of "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy," and the title track is a bit like Meat Loaf getting tossed into a mosh pit. Mostly, though, it just sounds like Green Day plus a billion dollars. Continue reading.

Five for Friday

Five for Friday

Five acts not to be missed: Aidin Vaziri | Need a reason to leave the house? We'll give you five. Some of the best up-and-coming music acts of the year are making their way through the Bay Area in the coming weeks and chances are if you don't catch them now, the next time they come around you'll need binoculars and seat cushions: David Berkeley, Other Lives, The Horrors, Passion Pit and School of Seven Bells. Continue reading.

Pop Quiz: Melody Gardot

Pop Quiz: Melody Gardot

Aidin Vaziri | Melody Gardot has good reason to punctuate everything she does these days with lavish Hollywood strings. Just five years after she was nearly killed by a hit-and-run driver, the 24-year-old Philadelphia jazz vocalist is back with a second album, "My One and Only Thrill," a string-laden affair produced by Larry Klein, famous for his work with Joni Mitchell. It's the follow-up to Gardot's low-key debut, "Worrisome Heart," which became a left-field success last year, topping the Amazon album charts and earning the singer fans in unlikely places.


Melody Gardot
Q: The first album must have done really well.
A: I had a choice to spend a little or spend a lot on this album. I just happen to have expensive taste. I don't know the relative definition of "well." I don't experience that the way someone watching it from the outside would. I didn't know my songs were on the radio until I heard them.
Q: Didn't somebody tell you?
A: I'm oblivious, and it's a little bit by choice. Friends were texting me that they heard me at such-and-such airport or they heard me in Starbucks. I remember I was in the wine aisle at Ralph's this summer and a song came on the radio. I started telling the security guard, "That's me! I better get two wine bottles." I have become supermarket music. Continue reading.

Pop Quiz: Ziggy Marley

Pop Quiz: Ziggy Marley

Aidin Vaziri | Ziggy Marley, the eldest son of the late reggae musician Bob Marley, returns this week with his third solo album, "Family Time." A collection of children's tunes, the disc features guest spots from boldfaced names such as Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Jack Johnson and Jamie Lee Curtis. But Marley says it was his own children - all five - who really inspired him to make it.


Ziggy Marley
Q: Did you bring your kids into the studio while you were making it?
A: I brought all the toys my kids have to decorate the studio and then we invited my daughter and 50 of her friends on the first day to bless us with the kids' spirit. That's why on the first song you hear my wife say, "Judah, you want some pizza?" It was the best recording session ever.
Q: What did it mean to sing "Three Little Birds" on the White House lawn on Easter?
A: I felt it was important to sing "Three Little Birds" and "Love Is My Religion" in that setting. In that political sense, I'm kind of my father's envoy, as well as representing myself. It felt like a good thing to be there. Continue reading.