Inner Wave & Huron John ignite Nashville’s Exit/In

It was painfully cold Friday night as I made my way into the heart of the downtown Nashville music scene. No, I am not talking about the dumpster fire known as Broadway; I am referring to the historic music staple known as Exit/In. Since 1971, Nashville’s Exit/In has earned a reputation for hosting some of […]

The divine concert experience of Tool in Anaheim

The incomparable Los Angeles metal band Tool performed on Tuesday, January 18th at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Tool’s newest album, Fear Inoculum, was released through Volcano Entertainment and RCA Records in August 2019, after 13 years of musical silence. I can affirm that this concert further substantiated Tool’s newest album as remaining loyalist to […]

Jamestown Revival riles up Sacramento’s Ace of Spades

Music flowed through a packed crowd on January 22nd at the Ace of Spades music venue in Sacramento, California. Opening the show was a quartet, based out of North Carolina named Mipso. The band was composed of Jacob Sharp (mandolin/vocals), Libby Rodenbough (fiddle/vocals), Wood Robinson (bass/vocals) and Joseph Terrell (guitar/vocals). Their incredible twist of traditional […]

I Don’t Know How But They Found Me at House of Blues, San Diego

I Don’t Know How But They Found Me (IDK How for short) stopped in San Diego on January 19th for the second show on their Thought Reform Tour. Though they had a U.S tour before this one, this was their first time hitting San Diego since before the pandemic! They were joined by Superet, who […]

A night with the masked men of Magic Sword

It was a cold and frigid night in Nashville this past Tuesday as I made my way to one of the hottest venues in the city, Brooklyn Bowl. It would be a new experience for me, as this is the one place in the city I had yet to see a show. One part bowling […]

How Tool overtook Sacramento

It was the first Sacramento show for Top Shelf in 2022! Tool and Blonde Redhead were a hit — let’s get after it! Fans were very excited and eager to enter the arena. There were many fans walking around wearing Tool merchandise, even concerts shirts from 2012. Some fans had mohawks and others wore all […]

Donavon Frankenreiter rings in 2022 at The Venice West

After two fantastic hometown New Year’s shows, Donavon Frankenreiter and his band put on a unique and intimate show in Venice on January 2nd at The Venice West. I had the chance to chat briefly with Donavon, who expressed what a special and emotional night this was for them: this was to be drummer Jara […]

Dave Navarro & Billy Morrison present Above Ground 3 all-star benefit show

Guitar gods Dave Navarro (of Jane’s Addiction) and Billy Morrison (of Billy Idol) have done it again! On December 20th, they brought together another star-studded group of unparalleled musicians and artists for the 3rd Annual Above Ground benefit concert and art auction at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles, CA. Continuing their support of MusiCares, […]

A wild night with Waterparks at SOMA San Diego

Pop rock fans rejoiced on Saturday, December 4th at SOMA San Diego, as Waterparks brought their Night Out on Earth Tour to southern California for their second-to-last stop (last being up in Los Angeles). Not only did Waterparks bring incredible vibes and our favorite songs off their newest album, Greatest Hits, they also brought LA-based […]

How The Dead South conquered Lake Tahoe

On December 18th, in snow-capped Lake Tahoe, The Dead South packed the auditorium at Bally’s Lake Tahoe Casino Resort. The opening act for the night was artist Willy Tea Taylor. His deep voice and intricate picking on his 1920s Martin 4-string guitar was reminiscent of the old cowboy songwriting days. His mix of folk music […]

Angels & Airwaves homecoming show at SOMA San Diego

Angels & Airwaves packed the house at SOMA San Diego on November 7th, marking an epic conclusion to the Lifeforms 2021 Tour. Some could consider this a full-circle moment for frontman and guitarist Tom DeLonge, after debuting his new band “Blink” at 18-years-old at SOMA San Diego in 1993. (Soon, the band changed their name […]

Ice Nine Kills & SiriusXM celebrate 40 Years of ‘Evil Dead’

Spencer Charnas of Ice Nine Kills (INK) and Jose Mangin — the “Metal Ambassador” and always entertaining host of SiriusXM’s Liquid Metal and Octane channels — came together for a food drive on December 10th! The opportunity to meet Spencer and Jose, and to see cool props from INK’s videos… WOW, that was a mouthful […]

The night I reached for Starset, but got a tornado

Lightning cracked across the sky as crowds gathered at Delmar Hall to see American rock band Starset on a balmy 70-degree day in December in St. Louis. The ominous weather painted the perfect backdrop for the absolute otherworldly experience that was about to unfold. The small venue felt packed almost immediately, which is uncommon for […]

CHVRCHES lights up The Pageant, St. Louis

CHVRCHES, a Scottish synth-pop trio (consisting of Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook and Martin Doherty) from Glasgow, rocked The Pageant on a cold December night in St. Louis. The band has come a long way since the first times I saw them at Bonnaroo in 2014 and 2016; the addition of a fourth member, a drummer […]

HIRIE at San Diego’s Observatory North Park

On December 3rd, HIRIE headlined a show at the iconic Observatory North Park in San Diego, CA. They were further supported by two of the greatest local bands, Boostive and Tribal Theory, with live painting being done during each set by another amazing San Diegan, Jimmy Ovadia. Boostive was first… I got in a bit late […]