Everyone's a Critic

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Chris Isaak a-crooning, ladies a-swooning

The “Chris Isaak Christmas Show” rolled into town for two nights at the Belly Up in Solana Beach. The Stockton, California, native and swoon-worthy crooner charmed a sold-out crowd with an energetic set that ranged ...

Scott Walker's Bish Bosch

Seventeen years ago I put on Scott Walker’s album Tilt for the first time; the real-life Phantom of the Opera began to sing as I watched a storm overtake a city center, from my picture ...

Delta Spirit rocks the vote at House of Blues

Matt Vasquez for president! That’s what I was thinking as Delta Spirit rocked House of Blues on election night, giving fans of the band a much needed break from politics. Delta Spirit delivered a full-throttle ...

The Complete Columbia Albums Collection of Sarah Vaughan

I purchased After Hours, one of the four freshly minted CDs in the Complete Columbia Albums box, many years ago, on vinyl. Shouldn’t having the original — the cover of which is minutely replicated, as ...

An evening with Rush has few equals

Bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee struggled to hit the high notes on the opener, keyboard-centric “Subdivisions,” which was no surprise considering the studio versions helium-high voice. However, Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer Neil Peart were so ...

The Only Place, by Best Coast

Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast donned herself “Bratty B” in her rowdy yet sweet debut Crazy for You. She wrote catchy teen love songs that included her cat Snacks and a bunch of weed. But ...

Mike Watt and the return of Hyphenated-Man

Mike Watt and his loyal Missingmen landed in San Diego for a second time this year to deliver an encore performance of the band's rock opera Hyphenated-Man. The trio tore into the piece with a ...

Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!, by Godspeed You! Black Emporer

Since 1997, Godspeed has sounded like a prodigious teen's imagination: splaying the guts of the world with youthful abandon. The band had painted the sounds of life with a better view. Godspeed explored great heights ...

Japandroids yell like hell to the heavens

Like a juvenile Neil Young, guitarist/vocalist Brian King cast electrified chords to the night sky over UCSD’s (partially open-air) Porter’s Pub. As the last blast drifted on the wind, the ample crowd applauded. King beamed, ...

Tucson, by Giant Giant Sand

Rarely has a format seemed as fitting as “country rock opera” does for Giant Giant Sand’s meshing of folk/jazz/rock/blues/country with offhand theatricality. Based on the group’s most dependable obsession/location — the Southwest — Tucson is ...

Diamond Rings glitters at Soda Bar

John O’Regan, who has sanctioned the stage name Diamond Rings, brought his ’80s pop show to Soda Bar. In support of his sophomore release, Free Dimensional, the Canadian had been opening for the band Stars ...

Not your grandaddy's Jason Lytle

Ex-Grandaddy mastermind and current Montana mainstay Jason Lytle played an intimate show at the Casbah for a modest crowd on a late October night. Though there were probably 30 or so heads at the club, ...

Born to Sing/No Plan B, by Van Morrison

Way back in ancient history — the ’60s — I was living in San Francisco, and one of my favorite ways to spend a sunny day was driving the winding road to Stinson Beach. I ...

Gary Clark Jr.'s Blak and Blu

Blak and Blu, the debut full-length from Gary Clark Jr., has an aggravated hive of buzz about it. With premier slots at music festivals and a well-received EP, Clark has the weight on his shoulders ...

Mod-father Paul Weller — supersonik at the Greek

Most artists 35 years into their career have long since slipped into something more comfortable, like complacency. Not so for Paul Weller, as his latest, Sonik Kicks, proves he continues to push his own musical ...

Divine Fits fits our Monday night way of life

As part of an on-going concert series sponsored by Filter magazine, Divine Fits rolled into San Diego for the first time with a free set for anyone willing to brave a late Monday night. Though ...