Our best stories from the worst year
photo illustration by Makaila Heifner I don't think any of us are going to be sad to see that clock flip over to 12:00 tonight. However — despite the unmitigated disaster that was 2020, The Bay Bridged, all things considered, had a pretty damn good year. Thanks to the inventiveness of the artists we share the scene with, we managed to put together some really special content. Join us on a journey down Local Music Memory Lane, won't you? We published what's likely our sweariest interview ever with PSDSP.We introduced you to your new favorite heavy-rock band.We also introduced you to [...]
Derek’s Best of The Bay: 2020
Photo by Eric Molyneaux With the pandemic putting the kibosh on live music, there's unquestionably been a collective sadness within our hearts. That old world — where one could wander into a venue, order a cheap* beer, and get floored by some upstart opening act — seems like an eternity ago. It's been interesting see to how artists and fans scrambled to find new ways connect and fill the void left by the vacant venues. But amid some questionable livestreams, social media meltdowns, or choosing to ignore it completely , artists did what they do best during times of turmoil [...]
Stories from Slim’s, Part 2: Stephan Jenkins, Fat Mike and more share memories of Slim’s
Michael Bingham, Spiritual Cramp (photo: Derek Nielsen) "My fondest memory of Slim's had less to do with my experience at the show and more to do with my partner's. In our many years going to shows, she is usually pretty unimpressed (at the hardcore ones I drag her to) with the macho bullshit that a lot of these bands get their rocks off on — understandably so. A lot of the times we were usually going to drink some beers and catch up with friends on tour. This particular time Basement was on tour with Turnstile and we were cruising [...]
A new favorite: Glass Mountain Rodeo’s “Favorite Dudes”
After 2017’s mellow folk rock album Kerguelen, we’re pleased to see that Glass Mountain Rodeo just released “Favorite Dudes,” the first single off forthcoming Pond King. The album is twinged with Neil Young and Roy Orbison influences but with a gentler touch and the occasional pleasing sound effect. Song “Favorite Dudes” — and its accompanying, hilarious video — is a stand-out tune that has more of a Talking Heads meets Elvis Costello feel than the rest of the collection. Stay tuned for the second single, “Autocorrect,” with touches of country and dreamy sad clarinet touches (thanks, Carly Bond). Pond King [...]
Mark Allen-Piccolo’s stripped-down “Soledad”
Today Oakland-based Mark Allen-Piccolo released single “Soledad” off his forthcoming (and finely-named) sophomore album Word of the Day (BotCave Records). Co-produced by Nate Brenner (Tune-Yards, Naytronix), the album is full of vocal-forward gentleness and serenading finger-picking. Allen-Piccolo connected with The Bay Bridged to share a little about the song. He tells us it’s about two people in a relationship (romantic or otherwise) who “...no longer know how to talk to one another; no longer know how to say what they want from the other. Despite this, there remains a strong desire for one another...I felt almost embarrassed singing the chorus [...]
Best of 2019: Jon Bauer’s favorite show photos from 2019
Beats Antique (photo: Jon Bauer) Editor's note:Jon Bauer is one of our favorite photographers and we have been lucky to have him photograph for us for many years now. Every year his shots never cease to impress us as he photographs a wide variety of shows, from live music to experimental performance art to comedy, and we love all the shots of his that we get to share. 2019 was no exception, and we look forward to another year of many great photos to come from Jon. For now, please enjoy what he has selected as his favorite show photos [...]
Best of 2019: William Wayland’s favorite photos
Angelo Moore (photo: William Wayland) In 2019 I saw the documentary Bad Reputation and decided I better check out Joan Jett. I even got in a fight with her tour manager before the show. He decided there wouldn’t be any photography at the concert and everybody with a camera got kicked out. Except me. I guess he decided that the guy who could give it back as good as he got deserved to stay. A memorable show, and Joan Jett rocked it, but the photos didn’t make my best of 2019. I got to see Burna Boy, whose new album has been nominated for a Grammy. But [...]
Best of 2019: Carolyn McCoy’s favorite show photos from 2019
Queensrÿche (photo: Carolyn McCoy) Words by Carolyn McCoy What can I say? Writing about and phtographic live music I find myself having some amazing experiences, and this year was pretty awesome. One of the perks of being a music photographer and writer is that I get to go to a ton of shows, and having a camera strapped to my body gives me license to do things I never thought I’d get to do. These last 12 months of immersing myself in the Bay Area music scene have been just as wonderful as last year’s experiences. My confidence is growing in [...]
Best Of 2019: Ian Young’s favorite show photos from 2019
Princess Nokia (photo: Ian Young) It was another year of incredible live music, from catching my favorite artists playing at my favorite festivals to discovering new acts playing in new cities and new venues. In total, I photographed 104 shows and 9 festivals, seeing a total of 394 performances. (Thank goodness for earplugs and insoles.) It was also a year where I explored new ways to express myself artistically, expanded my photography comfort zone, met some amazing new photographers, and of course had a helluva time in the pit. It may only last for three songs, but the photo pit [...]
Best Of the 2010s: JD’s decade in one handy playlist
Ketchup packets. I didn’t anticipate such a seemingly innocuous object would become the impetus of change I needed, but there I was in 2012, dodging fast food items hurled at my head at lightning speed by my inebriated (soon-to-be) ex-boyfriend, fully in acknowledgment that something had to change. In a lot of ways, the 2010s held a lot of these utterly perplexing moments of instability. Like many of my millennial peers, I emerged from college in the spring of 2010 at the end of the worst national recession in nearly a century. Newspapers across the country were shuttering, and I [...]