We care about the beer. We care about the chips. But do we really care about the game on Sunday? Let’s ask the people: Don’t rely on commercials to save the day. At $3 million per 30 seconds, they promise to be lamer than usual with everyone cutting back on recession advertising (thus, Miller High Life debuting a one-second ad). Did I mention the Cardinals are playing? Wow. Leave it to The Boss to save the show, which normally would… Read More »

My filmmaking buddy Don and I have been having fun bashing the new Springsteen album “Working on a Dream.” Apparently, we’re not the only ones. Others seem to agree. Logging in at an overblown eight minutes, the opener “Outlaw Pete” would make a perfect SNL sketch parodying nearly every Wild West tall tale and folk cliche in one song. His voyeuristic ode to the American checkout girl – “Queen of the Supermarket” – is just plain laughable. Sample lyrics: “With… Read More »

Setting out from foggy bottom hollows and hilltop hammocks all over the country, dueling fiddlers descend upon SoCo this weekend for the 35th annual Cloverdale Old Time Fiddle Fest. It’s always a helluva hoedown as fiddlers of all ages go head to head and bow to bow, competing in everything from the Pee Wee (under 8!) division to the Senior group and the “Anything Stringed” division in between. When they’re not competing, they’re jamming together and playing musical chairs in… Read More »

Seen in bar windows…. yes we can….but can’t we do better than The Silver Bullet? Then again, you’ve gotta go to another country to score the coveted presidential beer.

Saturday night, a sold-out capacity crowd packed into the Phoenix Theater to see Agent M, Mike, Gabe and Matt tear through the last ever Tsunami Bomb show. (All the T-shirts, like the one M’s modeling, sold out, too. All proceeds went to Luckie Strike drummer Liz Beidelman, who is battling brain cancer) Check it out:

I just wrapped up an interview with Sigourney Weaver for a story on “Prayers for Bobby” coming out next week. At one point she refered to herself as “that woman from ‘Alien.’” Now look at that photo from the Golden Globes – does that look like the guerrilla gal who once yelled, “Get away from her, you bitch!”? Since we’re all buzzing with inauguration fever, I asked about her dreams and aspirations for the incoming Obama administration: “I think my… Read More »

Gabe Kahane, the classically-trained pop pianist and son of former SR Symphony director Jeffrey Kahane, fled years ago to New York where he’s made quite a name for himself. He’s performed his best known work Craigslistlieder – a song cycle of anonymous classified ads from craigslist.org – at Carnegie Hall. He’s recorded with Sufjan Stevens and Loudon Wainwright III. The subhead to a gushing New York magazine profile described how he’s “remaking pop music.” Add to that a recent performance… Read More »

I’ve been playing around with a hi-def Flip cam that’s perfect for sketchy concert footage. Here’s a little film inspired by The Melvins at the Great American Music Hall a few weeks ago:

We’ve all heard the death knell of the lit mag before. Who reads anymore? Especially literature? That’s why it’s always comforting to see a magazine like “Zoetrope: All Story,” the vibrant San Francisco arts and literary quarterly, still chugging along. Of course, it helps to have deep pockets and an owner like Francis Ford Coppola. To celebrate the latest issue – guest designed by crusty old rocker Lou Reed (these are photos he took) – and a pair of Coppola’s… Read More »

If you happen to find yourself riding BART on Saturday and everybody on the train just drops their pants, don’t be alarmed. And don’t bother asking questions. All you’ll get is “Gee, I thought it was getting cold” or “Oops, I knew I left something at home this morning.” If you feel the urge to join in (hopefully you’re wearing underwear), go ahead. You’ll be one of thousands unzipping for the 8th annual No Pants Subway Ride taking place all… Read More »