Ohana Festival rolls into 2023 with The Killers, HAIM, Eddie Vedder, The Chicks, Foo Fighters & Pretenders lined up for seventh year

Ohana Festival - 2023 lineup

Ohana Festival //
Doheny State Beach – Dana Point, CA
September 29th-October 1st, 2023 //

It’s that time again, Ohana fam.

The three-day festival founded by Eddie Vedder returns to Doheny State Beach for its seventh edition after making a splash last year with Stevie Nicks, Eddie Vedder, Jack White and P!nk headlining, and unlike previous installments, 2023 will boast a pair of headliners each day for the very first time as the calendar shifts from September to October.

Riding into Day 1 will be The Killers and HAIM, who were booked for the fest’s 2022 “Encore” session until it was canceled, plus a stellar undercard featuring Father John Misty, Japanese Breakfast, Franc Moody, Glen Hansard, Hermanos Gutiérrez and Amos Lee on Friday.

Saturday once again sees Vedder leadding the way, but this time he will have some solid help from The Chicks as the country stars make their debut appearance at Ohana Festival. And for those who want to rock out beforehand, you definitely won’t want to miss noteworthy sets by Grammy winners The War on Drugs and jam-band favorites Goose.

Putting a bow on the weekend, meanwhile, will be Foo Fighters and Pretenders at the top of Sunday’s bill following performances by Rainbow Kitten Surprise, The Backseat Lovers, Suki Waterhouse, Thee Sacred Souls and more earlier in the day. See the poster above for the rest of the artists scheduled to take the stage in Dana Point.

Tickets can be purchased starting this Thursday, April 13th at 10 a.m. PT during the festival’s presale, but you must sign up here to receive a presale code if you want to reserve your spot! Both three-day and single-day GA passes will go for $479 and $169, respectively, with three-day and single-day VIP admission available for $1,499 and $549. Of course, there’s also the three-day Ultimate VIP option if you and a friend (it’s a two-person package) have a cool $9,950 in your festival budget to shell out.

Ohana Festival - updated 2023 lineup

UPDATE (May 23rd): Ohana has announced that Rainbow Kitten Surprise will no longer be performing in 2023 and have been replaced on Sunday by Deaf Charlie featuring Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament and former Fitz and the Tantrums drummer John Wicks. Peep the updated poster above for the latest lineup.

The Bam Team’s 5 Favorite Shows, Albums & Songs of 2022

Best of 2022After seeing what the live music industry endured the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2022 was certainly a step in the right direction. For many artists and bands, this year marked the first since 2019 that they had the opportunity to step onstage — and that was a victory in and of itself.

While we aren’t completely out of the woods yet considering the coronavirus is still very much a part of our lives, there’s no signs of us returning to those dark and dire days of 2020. The shows simply must go on, and we are all better for it whether you’re a musician or just a fan.

Now as we turn to 2023 with cautious optimism, it’s time for us to share our annual “Best of” lists as we have done since this blog first began (see our 2021 picks here). We’ll be quick to admit we didn’t catch every show or hear all of the albums released in the past 12 months, but looking back on the year that was can not only be fun but also challenging with so much great music to consider.

So, without further ado, Showbams presents The Bam Team’s five favorite shows, albums and songs from 2022.

Listen to The Bam Team’s favorite songs of 2022:

Tool - Viejas Arena


Tool at Viejas Arena // Photo by Josh Herwitt

Josh Herwitt // Los Angeles

Top 5 Shows of 2022
1. My Morning Jacket at Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO – August 26th-27th
2022 will go down as easily one of my favorite years for live music. So many of the artists and bands I love toured after being forced to sit on the sidelines for at least two years, and as I look back on all of the shows I was fortunate enough to witness, it would be a shame to not mention the ones that aren’t already included here, whether it was Eddie Vedder, Baroness, Royal Blood, Interpol and The Shins at Just Like Heaven, Jack White (two nights), The Kills, Puscifer on my big day, Fleet Foxes, Big Gigantic Telefon Tel Aviv, Moderat, Khruangbin and Arctic Monkeys — plus Lorde — at the debut of Primavera Sound LA, The Mars Volta, Bonobo, Foals, Modest Mouse performing The Lonesome Crowded West from start to finish to celebrate the LP’s 25th anniversary or The Smile closing out their North America tour. But this year’s No. 1 spot once again goes to My Morning Jacket, which have become my top live band over the last decade among some very stiff competition (see the rest of the bands listed below to get a better idea). With back-to-back dates in SoCal at the Santa Barbara Bowl and Hollywood Forever (read our review here) serving as a preview for what would come the following week, the Louisville-bred rockers left no stone unturned in their return to Red Rocks. If there was ever an act to catch — not once but twice — at the legendary amphitheater after visiting it more than a dozen times in my life so far, this was the one for me and MMJ proved it over two sold-out gigs with no repeats as always.

2. The War on Drugs at Shrine Auditorium – Los Angeles, CA – February 26th
3. Pearl Jam at The Forum – Inglewood, CA – May 6th
4. Tool at Viejas Arena – San Diego, CA – January 19th
5. Nine Inch Nails at Santa Barbara Bowl – Santa Barbara, CA – September 13th

Top 5 Albums of 2022
1. The Smile – A Light for Attracting Attention
It wasn’t until last year during a surprise performance for the concert video “Live at Worthy Farm” when we first learned of the latest side project from Radiohead members Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood with Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner. But after putting out six singles off their debut LP that came out back in May, it was clear the three-piece wasn’t messing around. Across all 13 tracks on A Light for Attracting Attention, it’s safe to say there isn’t one worth skipping, reaffirming why Yorke remains one of the best songwriters out there in the last 30 years. And with him and Greenwood switching off between guitar, bass and synthesizer among a bevy of other instrumentation including vocoder, piano and harp, their talents are as palpable as they have ever been before. After all, hearing Yorke croon “Don’t mess with me” toward the beginning of “The Smoke” is an edict — literal or not — many would have a tough time disputing at this point.

2. Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
3. Jack White – Fear of the Dawn
4. My Morning Jacket – MMJ Live Vol. 2: Chicago 2021
5. Bonobo – Fragments

Top 5 Songs of 2022
1. The Mars Volta – “Graveyard Love”
For fans of The Mars Volta, it has been a long wait since Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala hit the studio to record new material. Even with the project’s two constant members on good terms these days, it took more than a decade before anything would enter our earholes. But despite many of the prog-rock tendencies it demonstrated on earlier albums dating all the way back to 2003’s seminal De-Loused in the Comatorium, the duo’s seventh studio effort delves unexpectedly into new sonic territory. With a pop aesthetic running through it that surprisingly sees no song surpass the five-minute mark, The Mars Volta will undoubtedly be looked at as a departure from the days of “Cygnus…Vismund Cygnus” and “Cassandra Gemini” when Rodríguez-López and Bixler-Zavala were captivating At the Drive-In fans as well as new listeners. Nevertheless, its second single “Graveyard Love” stands tall as some of their best work to date and reminds us that these guys haven’t lost what made them so uniquely special.

2. The Smile – “Thin Thing”
3. Jack White – “Eosophobia”
4. Interpol – “Toni”
5. Moderat – “EASY PREY”


Pilot to Gunner - Hail Hallucinator

Andrew Pohl // San Francisco

Top 5 Shows of 2022
1. Yard Act at Rickshaw Stop – San Francisco, CA – April 21st
Funny story about this show … I had been hearing a lot of buzz about Yard Act, and I had only listened to one song played a few times on KEXP, which I really dug. I had been on the Rickshaw Stop’s email list, and the venue ran a contest for free tickets. I happened to win so I took a chance and opted to see Yard Act’s show that same week. Wanting to familiarize myself with their material more, I immediately dove head first into their album and was totally hooked, so I felt really good about this turn of events. I hadn’t been to a gig at Rickshaw Stop in many years and was eager to visit again, so it felt great to be back in a packed room again for an intimate evening of punk rock. The opening act Buzzed Light Beer fell a bit flat in my humble opinion, but once Yard Act took the stage, the room started buzzing with life. Lead singer James Smith’s command of the crowd is very nonchalant, but he also knows he has you hanging on every word. The set was fun and well-executed, and the UK quartet was clearly on its “A” game after a lengthy run of shows and in between weekend performances at Coachella. Much to the chagrin of those in attendance, Smith kept referring to the audience as “San Diego” (LOL), though he did tell us that he had some mushrooms the night before, so … you know. To round things out, Smith offered to do a magic trick during the last song of Yard Act’s set before their encore and coaxed fans to hand over any loose bills they had, which he pocketed and took backstage. As it turns out, he actually gifted the money to the bar staff, which I felt was a nice touch and very much on-brand.

2. THE FEST 20 – Gainesville, FL – October 28th–30th
3. Coheed & Cambria at Greek Theatre Berkeley – Berkeley, CA – August 14th
4. Bauhaus at The Masonic – San Francisco, CA – May 22nd
5. The Velvet Teen at Arlene Francis Center – Santa Rosa, CA – June 17th

Top 5 Albums of 2022
1. Pilot to Gunner – Hail Hallucinator
Brooklyn indie rockers Pilot to Gunner hadn’t put out an album for a decade, and to be honest, I hadn’t really paid much attention to them prior to Hail Hallucinator. The name was always out there and I had friends who were really into them, but I never got around to checking out their music for one reason or another. And not unlike many other bands that came before them (i.e. Seaweed, Far, The Murder City Devils), I am bummed that I was so late to the party. They are absolutely fantastic, and this record was easily my most listened-to during 2022. From start to finish, the 10-track LP hit all the marks for me in terms of stellar songwriting, original-sounding guitar work that still feels familiar and vocals carrying the torch of the early 2000’s indie/emo revival sound ala Hey Mercedes and Jimmy Eat World all while not completely aping either group. “Drop the Sun”, “We’re Blasting to Masses”, “Total Rager” and “Escape Season” are among its best tracks, but I simply love all of them from beginning to end.

2. Thee Sacred Souls – Thee Sacred Souls
3. Yard Act – The Overload
4. Soul Glo – Diaspora Problems
5. High Vis – Blending

Top 5 Songs of 2022
1. 3rd Secret – “I Choose Me”
The supergroup 3rd Secret surprised the music world when their debut self-titled LP arrived in mid-April. Comprised of members from Nirvana, Soundgarden, Hater and Giants in the Trees, the album is a tour de force brought to you by grunge and alt-rock royalty. Its lead single “I Choose Me” turns things up and right out of the gate you can’t help but feel a little washed over with nostalgia from guitarist Kim Thayil’s signature riffage in addition to the thundering cadence courtesy of bassist Krist Novoselic and drummer Matt Cameron. What makes the song — and the album — stand out to me, however, is the work of co-vocalists Jillian Raye and Jennifer Johnson. The pair deliver gorgeous singing atop the otherwise gritty instrumentation, harkening back to what made so many 90’s albums awesome with a beautiful balance of dark and light. I kept coming back to this song a lot throughout the year, and it made me really reflect on just how incredible the music that came out of the Pacific Northwest was when I was growing up. To hear this collection of musicians conjuring up those aural ghosts through a contemporary filter was not only refreshing, but also something that I was really looking for in 2022.

2. Yard Act – “The Overload”
3. Thee Sacred Souls – “Can I Call You Rose?”
4. Cave In – “New Reality”
5. High Vis – “0151”


Animal Collective - Greek Theatre


Animal Collective at Greek Theatre // Photo by Rochelle Shipman

Rochelle Shipman // Los Angeles

Top 5 Shows of 2022
1. PUP at The Fonda Theatre – Los Angeles, CA – April 21st
Two years and one full length after this show was originally supposed to occur, LA finally got to see PUP perform on their “Thank Fucking God” tour. Worth the wait would be a major understatement here as the Canadian punks transported us back to pre-pandemic times like nothing had ever happened — we were touching, we were screaming, we were moshing again! The night had such an innocent air to it. Despite the delay, 2019’s Morbid Stuff felt fresher than ever (and it still does).

2. Yaya Bey at Cafe Erzulie – Brooklyn, NY – June 16th
3. Animal Collective at Greek Theatre – Los Angeles, CA – May 20th
4. Vince Staples at The Fonda Theatre – Los Angeles, CA – August 23rd
5. Bright Eyes at Greek Theatre – Los Angeles, CA – June 23rd

Top 5 Albums of 2022
1. Lando Chill – if im being honest
The multi-hyphenate who’s based out of LA quietly dropped this mixtape early in the year, and it stood strong in my top spot from the start. With a sharp wit and silky delivery, Chill tears through pages of his diary without cutting a single corner. Thank God for vulnerability.

2. Smino – Luv 4 Rent
3. Pusha T – It’s Almost Dry
4. Yaya Bey – Remember Your North Star
5. Open Mike Eagle – Component System with the Auto Reverse

Top 5 Songs of 2022
1. Steve Lacy – “Bad Habit”
An earworm for the ages! This impossibly catchy tune took over TikTok and catapulted Mr. Lacy into the spotlight that he was born to occupy, whether he was ready for it or not. The cherry on top of his banner year was the singer-songwriter’s old iPhone (aka his instrument) landing on display in the Smithsonian.

2. Lando Chill – “guess”
3. Leggy – “Lipstick on the Mic”
4. Pusha T – “Brambleton”
5. Channel Tres – “Acid in My Blood”

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Ohana Festival brings back ‘Encore’ weekend for 2022 as Eddie Vedder, Alanis Morissette, The Black Keys & HAIM lead lineup

Ohana Encore - 2022 lineup

Ohana Encore //
Doheny State Beach – Dana Point, CA
October 8th-9th, 2022 //

Hey, Ohana fam! If you thought that an “Encore” session would only be in 2021, well … think again.

After making its debut last year with none other than Pearl Jam headlining both nights, the second act of Eddie Vedder’s music festival returns this October.

We already knew that the sixth edition of Ohana Festival has Stevie Nicks, Vedder, Jack White and P!nk receiving top billing the weekend prior, but that will be just half of the fun down in Dana Point now.

This time it will be Vedder, Alanis Morissette, The Black Keys and HAIM sharing co-headlining duties over two more days at Doheny State Beach, with an undercard featuring The Roots, Band of Horses, Julieta Venegas and Rainbow Kitten Surprise. Others artists scheduled to perform include The Front Bottoms, The Afghan Whigs, Amos Lee, Amyl and the Sniffers, Marcus King, Iceage, Painted Shield, Hamilton Leithauser and more.

While the fest’s focus remains rock ‘n’ roll as you can see from the poster above, there’s also some hip-hop, soul, indie folk and punk sprinkled in to complement must-see sets by Khruangbin, Billy Strings, St. Vincent, Brittany Howard and Broken Social Scene over the event’s first three days.

Weekend and single-day tickets for Ohana Encore will go on sale this Thursday, June 16th at 10 a.m. PT during the festival’s presale, but you must sign up here to receive a presale code if you want to go!

UPDATE (July 23rd): Ugh! Despite debuting just a year ago, Ohana Encore won’t be back this October after all. The two-day event has been reportedly canceled after ticket holders received an email from the fest’s ticket service Front Gate Tickets stating it would no longer happen “due to circumstances beyond our control” and refunds will be issued automatically. As you can see from Ohana Fest’s website as well as their social media accounts (except for a profile photo we found on Facebook here), there’s no trace of Ohana Encore anywhere, so that’s always a strong indicator of some unfortunate news. However, at least some fans will always have the 2021 installment to remember.

Jack White makes the case with two career-spanning shows at LA’s YouTube Theater why he’s more than rock ‘n’ roll’s last great savior

Jack WhitePhotos courtesy of Jack White // Written by Josh Herwitt //

Jack White //
YouTube Theater – Inglewood, CA
May 31st-June 1st, 2022 //

Well, look who’s back …

When Jack White unloaded the lead single “Taking Me Back” from what would be his fourth album Fear of the Dawn in October, it was a signal to both his fans and the music industry that the 12-time Grammy winner was officially back (pun intended) with new solo material for the first time in three-plus years.

Sure, 2019 saw White put out The Raconteurs’ third studio effort — though just their first in more than a decade — on his own label Third Man Records and embark on a world tour alongside the band, but with the COVID-19 pandemic beginning only three months later and locking us down for the next couple of years, it’s fair to say the world has changed quite a bit since Boarding House Reach dropped in 2018.

That’s the last time White brought his solo act out to California (read our show review here), and it was around then that he started partnering with Yondr to lock fans’ cell phones during his concerts using the San Francisco-based company’s mobile pouches and having designated areas inside the venue where you can unlock them (think of it like a smoking section at any bar or club).

Of course the whole notion drew the ire of some who claimed White crossed a line and had gone too far to control his fans’ behavior. After all, you can’t please everyone, right? But while a phone-free show is a better experience for us all as I have previously argued, let’s be honest about what really matters at the end of the day: it hasn’t hurt his ticket sales at all. And for those of us who enjoy going to shows and not viewing them through a sea of six-inch screens, it’s a breath of fresh air to not catch even one raised in the crowd.

White has never been one for mobile technology. He still doesn’t own a cell phone — not even what the kids would call a “dumb phone” — and in 2022, that can sometimes make it a little harder if he suddenly needs a lift home from the airport or has to wait longer than expected for his doctor’s appointment.

Jack White

But White has survived without one for this long and so can we every few years he decides to tour. Because whenever he takes the stage, you never know what you’re going to get. Just ask his fellow Detroiters, who got to witness White’s engagement and subsequent wedding onstage to kick off the “Supply Chain Issues Tour” that stretches 62 dates all the way until late August — two of which took place this week at the 6,000-person YouTube Theater, the newest music venue to call Los Angeles home after breaking ground in August.

I must admit that this is not the only time I have pulled double duty when Jack has come to town. Nearly 10 years ago when White launched his first solo tour in support of Blunderbluss, he booked two gigs at LA’s historic Shrine Auditorium. After being completely transfixed by his all-male group the Buzzards the first night but eager to hear more, I returned on a whim the ensuing evening to see him perform with the all-female Peacocks and I’m glad that I did considering I got to hear him bust out Danger Mouse’s “Two Against One” and The Dead Weather’s “Blue Blood Blues” before delivering his best knockout punch in the encore with Stripes hits “My Doorbell” and “Seven Nation Army” as the final blow to the head.

Looking back at those shows in 2012, White’s solo career has taken some twists and turns in that time. He has made three more albums, produced numerous artists and even wrote a song for Beyoncé. But despite upgrading on this tour to more modern rooms — and it’s reflected in the ticket prices — like the state-of-the-art YouTube Theater that’s attached to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood and stripping down to a four-piece that includes Dominic Davis (bass, backing vocals), Daru Jones (drums) and Quincy McCrary (keyboards, samples, synthesizer, organ, backing vocals), the 46-year-old multi-instrumentalist has told us with his words and actions that he not only has the ability but also the purpose to continually surprise those of us willing to buy a ticket and take the ride.

“Every time I go in (to make an album), I’m trying to do something I haven’t done before,” White shared not long ago during an exclusive interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music that sees them visit his first art studio in Detroit when he made a living as a furniture upholsterer. “It’s not like something that other people haven’t ever done before. It’s just something I have never done before. … Whatever it is to get me to a different zone so that I’m not repeating myself.”

In many ways, the same philosophy applies to his live performances. There’s no doubt that White has his crowd-pleasers — particularly from The White Stripes’ catalog — that he still leans on, but you also won’t find him operating with only one setlist as he travels from city to city. Even if his live shows often begin and end in a similar fashion that creates a format for them and a brand for White as a performer, they nevertheless carry a dose of uncertainty and spontaneity.

“That’s what’s kind of cool about playing shows,” he tells Lowe later in their interview as they observe the empty lot that used to be the Gold Dollar where the Stripes performed for the very first time. “You don’t really know what’s going to happen. You shouldn’t know what’s going to happen I should say.”

Jack White

And with four separate projects to pull from now, Jack has no trouble filling out a setlist. He easily could play longer than the hour and 45 minutes that he gifts us, extending well past the two-hour mark, but at what cost? If it means preserving his health and longevity for many more years to come, I’m all for that. White, in fact, will be unleashing his second 2022 record Entering Heaven Alive this July, and given the early, yet strong reviews from critics who have gotten their hands (and ears) on it, future live audiences should eventually expect to hear more than just the three offerings — “A Tip from You to Me”, “Love Is Selfish” and “If I Die Tomorrow” — that we got in LA.

With the way rock ‘n’ roll has been holding on by a thread and White serving as one of the genre’s last great saviors, it’s easy to understand why he should consider playing the long game. Maybe that’s why certain non-Fear of the Dawn tracks — “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground”, “Love Interruption”, “Ball and Biscuit”, and “Icky Thump” — were even repeated, which was certainly a surprise to us. That said, there was still plenty of diversity between the two shows, with The Raconteurs’ “You Don’t Understand Me” and The Dead Weather’s “Gasoline” bolstering Tuesday’s affair and covers of both The Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog” as well as Jimi Hendrix’s “Hear My Train a Comin'” standing out on Wednesday. It was even refreshing to hear him unleash Fear deep cut “Eosophobia” and the LP’s latest single “What’s the Trick?” on separate nights, while the genre-less “Hi-De-Ho” featuring Q-Tip — with his lyrics played from tape, something White rarely does when performing live — received two rounds of applause.

Some might ask, “What’s left for Jack White to do that he hasn’t already done?” That’s a good question, and one worth pondering as we have more time to reflect on the impact of his work and legacy. But as I watched White like the modern-day guitar hero that he is rip into one hair-raising solo after another while he was in LA, I couldn’t help but think of the small empire he has built for the past 25 years not only with his own style and sound but also culturally with Third Man Records leading the DIY movement for music. What makes Jack so special to his fans is that he represents what it truly means to be an artist in every sense of the word no matter what he’s doing. Whether he’s working on a song, couch or business idea, there’s always a greater vision to his madness and an inherent need to continue pushing boundaries.

“If you want to do something new to turn people on and get people’s imaginations going, you have to blend different things together and attempt to break new ground,” the blue-haired singer-songwriter explains at the end of his hour-long conversation with Lowe. “That’s the place that I try to live in.”

For more than a quarter century, White has been living in that space as he has let his own imaginations run wild. And yet, at no point did he expect things would turn out the way they have, rising to a level of international stardom that he never dreamed of when he almost decided to become a priest as a young teenager before changing his mind to attend public school — and the rest is history.

“There’s never been a moment where I’ve been like, ‘Yeah, that’s a good song. People should like that,'” he admits to Lowe. “I have never felt that. It’s always, ‘Well, that felt good to me. We’ll see.'”

That can be hard to believe from someone who’s as accomplished as Jack White, but for those of you who somehow aren’t familiar with the man after all these years … well, where the hell have you been?

MAY 31

Setlist:
Taking Me Back
Fear of the Dawn
The White Raven
Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (The White Stripes song)
Hi-De-Ho
You Don’t Understand Me (The Raconteurs song)
Love Is Selfish
Temporary Ground
A Tip from You to Me
Hotel Yorba (The White Stripes song)
Cannon (The White Stripes song)
Eosophobia (followed by a reprise of “Cannon”)
Fell in Love With a Girl (The White Stripes song)
Lazaretto
Over and Over and Over
I’m Shakin’ (Little Willie John cover)
Gasoline (The Dead Weather song)
A Martyr for My Love for You (The White Stripes song)
Love Interruption
Ball and Biscuit (The White Stripes song)

Encore:
Icky Thump (The White Stripes song)
Steady, as She Goes (The Raconteurs song)

JUNE 1

Setlist:
Taking Me Back
Fear of the Dawn
I Wanna Be Your Dog (The Stooges cover)
Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (The White Stripes song)
The White Raven
If I Die Tomorrow
Love Is Selfish
I Think I Smell a Rat (The White Stripes song)
Black Math (The White Stripes song)
Freedom at 21
Hi-De-Ho
Apple Blossom (The White Stripes song)
We’re Going to Be Friends (The White Stripes song)
Love Interruption
I Cut Like a Buffalo (The Dead Weather song)
Hear My Train a Comin’ (Jimi Hendrix cover)
Ball and Biscuit (The White Stripes song)

Encore:
Icky Thump (The White Stripes song)
What’s the Trick?
Suzy Lee (The White Stripes song)
Catch Hell Blues (The White Stripes song)
Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes song)

Ohana Festival looks to make another splash in 2022 with Stevie Nicks, Eddie Vedder, Jack White & P!nk headlining sixth edition

Ohana Festival - 2022 lineup

Ohana Festival //
Doheny State Beach – Dana Point, CA
September 30th-October 2nd, 2022 //

Are you ready to do it again, Ohana fam?

The three-day festival founded by Eddie Vedder is heading back to Doheny State Beach after hosting a two-weekend affair last year that featured a two-day “Encore” with Pearl Jam, but with the Hall of Fame rock band relaunching its postponed 2020 tour this spring and summer, it will be a different cast leading Ohana Fest’s sixth year as the calendar flips from September to October.

Stevie Nicks will kick things off on Friday with an impressive undercard of Khruangbin, Brittany Howard, The Revivalists, Gangs of Youth and St. Paul & The Broken Bones highlighting Day 1.

Meanwhile, Saturday’s main entrée of Vedder and Jack White, who put out Fear of the Dawn last week as the first of two new albums he will release this year, should have everyone rockin’ (in the free world) before the lights go out, but don’t sleep on Grammy-winning bluegrass guitarist Billy Strings listed right below the two co-headliners alongside Manchester Orchestra.

Closing things down on Sunday will be three-time Grammy winner P!nk, who will have plenty of support thanks to some highly anticipated performances from St. Vincent and Broken Social Scene that will see the latter play their 2002 album You Forgot It in People in its entirety. Other notable names on the 2022 bill include Kolohe Kai, Inhaler, Bomba Estéreo, Cautious Clay, Joy Oladokun and Kevin Morby. Check out the poster above for the rest of the artists scheduled to perform in Dana Point.

Tickets can be purchased starting this Wednesday, April 13th at 10 a.m. PT during the festival’s presale, but you must sign up here to receive a presale code if you want to join the party!

The Raconteurs show all at the Santa Barbara Bowl why we need them after 11 years between albums

The RaconteursPhotos courtesy of The Raconteurs & David James Swanson // Written by Josh Herwitt //

The Raconteurs with Melvins //
Santa Barbara Bowl – Santa Barbara, CA
July 27th, 2019 //

“Rock is dead.”

It’s one of those overused catch phrases we have clung to at a time when clickbait headlines, Twitter beefs and heartbreaking stories now dominate our news feeds and timelines.

Vice’s music channel Noisey made the case only a year ago in fact, explaining that “the genre has been eclipsed in all measures of popularity and profitability by pop, hip-hop, and EDM.”

But whatever the metrics say, this isn’t the first time that argument has been advanced before.

The Raconteurs

In Cameron Crowe’s 2000 film “Almost Famous” for those who remember it, renowned music journalist and rock critic Lester Bangs tells a 15-year-old William Miller, “It’s just a shame you missed out on rock and roll.” That didn’t stop Miller from chasing his dream, though. After all, his character is based off of Crowe’s real-life experience covering rock bands like Led Zeppelin as a teenager in the early 70’s, and if anything, Miller proves over the course of the movie that the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll is alive and well, that it hadn’t died by the end of the 60’s like a lot of the counterculture had after Altamont.

Much like then, there are plenty of examples today that make us question the current zeitgeist surrounding rock music and The Raconteurs have the distinct honor of being some of the best in the business right now to dispel this notion after landing at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

With the release of its third studio effort Help Us Stranger in late June after more than 11 years between albums, the four-piece consisting of Jack White (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Brendan Benson (vocals, guitar), Jack Lawrence (bass) and Patrick Keeler (drums) is finally back in the spotlight where it belongs — and for good reason.

While there are still a few months to go, we can say with confidence at this point that Help Us Stranger will most likely be one of our five favorite LPs from 2019 (see our 2018 picks here). At 41 minutes, it’s another gem from The Raconteurs and especially for White, who continues to put out music at a prolific rate — he just dropped his third solo LP Boarding House Reach last year on his own Third Man Records — that rarely seems to fall flat or short.

The Raconteurs

Led by “Sunday Driver” and “Now That You’re Gone” as its first two singles, Help Us Stranger is one of those albums you can pop on and listen to from start to finish. Its most abrasive cut “Don’t Bother Me” struggles at the onset but recovers midway through thanks in large part to White’s virtuosic guitar work. There are plenty of other standouts, though, including “Bored and Razed”, “Help Me Stranger”, “Somedays (I Don’t Feel Like Trying)” and “What’s Yours Is Mine” across the record, and it’s impressive how tight The Racs sound despite the long layoff.

On a Saturday night at the picturesque Santa Barbara Bowl — which we’ll argue is the best music venue in Southern California and where we caught White’s first-ever show there last year — The Raconteurs brought those songs to life as they stormed onstage and unleashed total sonic bliss on our ears with a 90-minute performance highlighted by Consolers of the Lonely tracks “You Don’t Understand Me” and “Carolina Drama”, the latter of which came during an extended encore that was capped off by the quartet’s biggest hit “Steady, as She Goes” and what ultimately inspired White and Benson to form the group back in 2005 as a couple of longtime friends from Detroit. All of this, of course, without having access to our mobile phones after locking them in a Yondr pouch and Dean Fertita (Queens of the Stone Age, The Dead Weather) assisting on keyboards and guitar as a touring member.

So hey, maybe this will be the year rock rebounds. For this music writer, it’s starting to feel that way with the return of new Raconteurs material after more than a decade and another one of our favorite rock bands releasing its first album in 13 years later this month (we’ll let you take a guess). Plus, we didn’t even mention that garage-rock duo The Black Keys issued their first record in five years this summer.

Yet, even if rock ‘n’ roll doesn’t attain the same commercial success it once had, those of us who are still giving it our time and ears at least have The Raconteurs (or “The Saboteurs” if you live Down Under). And that, my friends, should be a blessing in and of itself.

Setlist:
Bored and Razed
Level
You Don’t Understand Me
Old Enough
Broken Boy Soldier
Only Child
Together
Now That You’re Gone
Live a Lie
Don’t Bother Me
Sunday Driver

Encore:
Consoler of the Lonely
Help Me Stranger
Somedays (I Don’t Feel Like Trying)
Hey Gyp (Dig the Slowness) (Donovan cover)
Carolina Drama
Steady, as She Goes

Our favorite performances from 2018

Best live shows of 2018 - Foo Fighters, NxWorries, Pusha T & Courtney Barnett

Holy smokes, 2018 … you were a blur. Maybe it’s just us, but this year really did fly right by.

Before we officially say hello to 2019 though, it’s time for us to revisit the past 12 months at Showbams. Every year we have the great privilege of witnessing some amazing moments in live music, and this year was no different. While we can’t touch upon every performance we covered in looking back at the year that was, we still managed to see a wide variety of talent over the course of 2018.

Whittling down our list is never easy. Those who didn’t make the cut but still deserve to be mentioned here include the following artists, DJs and bands (in alphabetical order), all of whom we either covered at their own show and/or at a music festival this year:

Aaron Neville, A.CHAL, Alanis Morissette, Alina Baraz, Allen Stone, Amen Dunes, Aminé, A Perfect Circle, Ari Lennox, A$AP Rocky, Aquilo, BADBADNOTGOOD, The Bangles, Belle & Sebastian, The Beta Machine, Billie Eilish, BØRNS, Carly Rae Jepsen, Cashmere Cat, Childish Major, Chromeo, CHVRCHES, Cigarettes After Sex, Cloud Nothings, Cuco, Cut Snake, CyHi the Prynce, Daniel Caesar, Deap Vally, Destroyer, Diet Cig, Drab Majesty, DRAM, The Dustbowl Revival, Erykah Badu, Fantastic Negrito, Future, Garbage, George Fitzgerald, Gomez, Gov’t Mule, Great Grandpa, Griz, The Growlers, Gucci Mane, HAERTS, H.E.R., Hot Flash Heat Wave, Ibeyi, Iggy Pop, Irma Thomas, Isaiah Rashad, Jaira Burns, Jamie xx, Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, Jhené Aiko, John Maus, Josh Ritter & The Royal City Band, Joywave, JPEGMAFIA, Jungle, Kailee Morgue, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Kamasi Washington, Kauf, Kelela, Kikagaku Moyo, Kings of Leon, Kopps, Laff Trax, Lion Babe, Lizzo, Lophile, Lord Huron, Los Lobos, Lucy Dacus, Margo Price, Miguel, Mija, Milk Carton Kids, ModPods, Moses Sumney, The Mother Hips, Mura Masa, Neil Young, N.E.R.D, North Mississippi Allstars, ODESZA, Pale Waves, Paula Frazer and Tarnation, Phantogram, Pharoah Sanders, Pixies, Polo & Pan, POND, Portugal. The Man, The Pretenders, Quicksand, Ravyn Lenae, Rivers Cuomo, The Revolution, Robert Plant, Rory Phillips, RÜFÜS DU SOL, Sabrina Claudio, Salt-N-Pepa, Santigold, Sasha Sloan, Seu Jorge, Shakey Graves, Shame, Shana Falana, Sharon Van Etten, Silk City, Sleigh Bells, Snoh Aalegra, Soccer Mommy, The Specials, The Spook School, Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, Tame Impala, Tenacious D, Third Eye Blind, Tinashe, together PANGEA, TV on the Radio, Tycho, Typhoon, Uniform, Wafia, Waxahatchee, The Weeknd, Wet, William Tyler, Will Varley, Yen Yen, Zedd

Now, it’s time for The Bam Team to present our favorite performances from 2018.

The Bam Team’s 5 Favorite Shows, Albums & Songs of 2018

Listen to The Bam Team’s favorite songs of 2018:


Best of 2018 - Cut Copy

Cut Copy

Date: March 3rd
Location: Exposition Park – Los Angeles

For those in LA who missed Cut Copy 10 months ago when they visited the Shrine Expo Hall with De Lux, Palmbomen II and Cooper Saver also on the bill, their headlining performance last Friday at The Wiltern was another chance to dance the night away upon hearing several classics such as “Need You Now”, “Free Your Mind”, “Future”, “Hearts on Fire” and to close, “Lights & Music”. In fact, the last time that we caught them back in March, a mini downpour erupted at Shaun White’s Air + Style (read our festival review here), but it didn’t phase them. Who said playing — and dancing — in the rain isn’t fun anyway? -Josh Herwitt, photo courtesy of Air + Style


Best of 2018 - Washed Out

Washed Out

Date: March 4th
Location: Exposition Park – Los Angeles

In what was easily the most visually stimulating (and pleasing) show we witnessed at Expo Park, Ernest Greene, who performs under the moniker Washed Out, entranced a completely packed crowd at the smaller Summer Stage with a slew of trippy visuals and his chilled-out tunes. We had been wanting to see Washed Out in SoCal for several months now, ever since Greene released the project’s third LP Mister Mellow last year, and after missing his gig with Nick Murphy at the Shrine Expo Hall in October, we were glad to finally hear him play “Hard to Say Goodbye” (one of our favorite songs of 2017) and “Feel It All Around” live as any loyal “Portlandia” fan would be. With Toro y Moi venturing away from the chillwave movement he helped pioneer, it’s up to Greene to lead the charge, and so far, he has done one hell of a job. -Josh Herwitt, photo courtesy of Air + Style


Best of 2018 - Phoenix

Phoenix

Date: March 4th
Location: Exposition Park – Los Angeles

After what we thought was an underwhelming way to wrap up Day 1, Air + Style closed with a bang thanks to Phoenix’s energizing, 16-song set. The French indie-pop outfit have headlined Coachella before, and it was more than worthy of that billing for this occasion. Kicking things off with the opening track “J-Boy” from their sixth studio album Ti Amo that dropped back in June, Thomas Mars and company gave us exactly what we wanted to hear: a hit-ladden show featuring singles like “Lisztomania”, “Trying to Be Cool”, “Too Young” and “1901”. No, there wasn’t a Daft Punk or R. Kelly appearance — not that we expected one — but Phoenix put an exclamation point on an otherwise successful weekend. We may not have known the quartet could rock that hard after the last time we saw them, but we definitely do now. -Josh Herwitt, photo courtesy of Air + Style


Best of 2018 - Moby

Moby

Date: March 26th
Location: Apogee Studio – Santa Monica, CA

His guitar playing, meanwhile, may be just as impressive, if not surprising to some. Less than two weeks before Moby stepped into Bob Clearmountain’s diminutive recording studio, I was fortunate enough to catch him the final of his three shows at The Echo, and it was there as he performed a variety of songs from Everything Was Beautiful, and Nothing Hurt, Play and a few other albums, that I fully realized just how talented he is with a black Gibson SG in his hands. He may be an electronic musician, but unlike a lot of them today, Moby is a musician in every sense of the word. While his vocals at times sound more like spoken word than actual singing, he has found more than capable sidekicks in Julie Mintz (keyboards, vocals) and Mindy Jones (vocals) to assist him in that department. Jones’ ranging voice, in particular, is one that suits his music well, and when you hear her sing, her pipes elevate the song to a whole new level. -Josh Herwitt, photo by Brian Feinzimer


Best of 2018 - The War on Drugs

The War on Drugs

Date: April 13th
Location: Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Weekend 1 – Indio, CA

Weeks before The War on Drugs released their fourth LP A Deeper Understanding last year, we were fortunate enough to hear Adam Granduciel and company perform a handful of cuts from the new album in an intimate setting for KCRW. It was then and there that we knew the follow-up to 2014’s Lost in a Dream was another masterpiece, and that impression was only validated when A Deeper Understanding won the Grammy for “Best Rock Album” just a few months ago. On Day 1 of Coachella, the Philadelphia band brought some of those same songs we witnessed at Apogee Studio to life, though sadly, this time “Holding On” wasn’t part of the setlist. But we did get to experience “An Ocean in Between the Waves” in all of its glory, and we still have yet to come across another piece of music in more recent years that will make you want to play air guitar as much as the seven-minute track from Lost in a Dream does. Who said rock was dead? -Josh Herwitt, photo courtesy of Goldenvoice


Best of 2018 - Jamiroquai

Jamiroquai

Date: April 13th
Location: Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Weekend 1 – Indio, CA

Thirteen years. That’s how long it has been since Jamiroquai last performed in the U.S. With that in mind, there was no way we were going to miss Jay Kay and the rest of his sidekicks in favor of The Weeknd’s headlining performance (sorry, Abel), and after what ended up being close to a 90-minute set from the London nu-funk/acid jazz group, we had no regrets about our decision. The only regret we have is that they ran out of time and didn’t get to play their smash hit “Virtual Insanity” in its entirety, and you could tell Jay Kay felt bad about it as he jumped down from the stage to greet some overjoyed fans after wrapping the show up with “Love Foolosophy” from 2001’s A Funk Odyssey. But while Weekend 2 attendees got the full version of the Travelling Without Moving single, we were treated to a massive surprise when Snoop Dogg came out to rap on “Dr. Buzz” with a huge blunt in his hand. It was the kind of collaboration you never expect to see, except at Coachella of all places. -Josh Herwitt, photo courtesy of Coachella


Best of 2018 - Eminem

Eminem

Date: April 15th
Location: Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Weekend 1 – Indio, CA

While we can’t say that we were completely thrilled with Goldenvoice’s choices for this year’s headliners, we were excited to see Eminem finally play Coachella (he had never performed in an official capacity before) and close out the festival on Sunday night. Sure, his newest album Revival didn’t exactly receive rave reviews from critics when it dropped at the end of 2017, but watching one of hip-hop’s most talented emcees run through his hits all while bringing out 50 Cent and Dr. Dre was undoubtedly THE highlight from Day 3. For this “stan,” just crossing Em off my concert bucket list would have been enough to send me home with a smile. Fortunately for those of us who were there though, the real Slim Shady lived up to the hype and more. -Josh Herwitt, photo courtesy of Coachella


Best of 2018 - Big K.R.I.T.

Big K.R.I.T.

Date: April 19th
Location: Echoplex – Los Angeles

At Echoplex, we were treated to the “rapper” and the man himself as bass-heavy party starters like the title-track opener and “Confetti” from 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time got everyone hyped, while Atlanta’s T.I. came out to perform his verse on “Big Bank”. After singling out one excited fan, who was wearing a shirt with a giant picture of his face, during the easygoing “1999” and paying homage to Southern rap pioneers UGK, Big K.R.I.T. took the latter half of his hour-long set to connect with the crowd. -Joseph Gray, photo by Joseph Gray


Best of 2018 - Soulwax

Soulwax

Date: April 19th
Location: The Fonda Theatre – Los Angeles

While Soulwax’s recorded music has always been perfectly enjoyable, in person it becomes something else entirely. Their new, three-drummer lineup was the ideal format to hear new tracks like “Is It Always Binary” while giving older tracks such as “KracK” a newly textured and complex sound. Sitting stage right, drummer Victoria Smith, for one, offered the group some serious personality thanks to her animated facial expressions. -Zach Bourque, photo by Zach Bourque


Best of 2018 - NxWorries

NxWorries

Date: June 16th
Location: The Queen Mary – Long Beach, CA

I fall somewhere in the middle between those two age groups, so it was fitting that the uber-talented rapper/singer/drummer Anderson .Paak had just walked onto the “Free Your Mind” main stage when I showed up. .Paak, 32, wore a smile as expressive as his music, packaged with a bright nautical-themed ensemble. He effortlessly impressed with standouts “Suede”, “Another Time” and “What More Can I Say” off Yes Lawd!, his 2016 LP with Los Angeles hip-hop producer Knxwledge as part of their collaborative project NxWorries (pronounced “No Worries”). The duo’s set would eventually culminate in a playful dance-off between women, which fans showed their appreciation for before .Paak and Knxwledge said their goodbyes. -Joseph Gray, photo by Joseph Gray


Best of 2018 - The Roots

The Roots

Date: June 16th
Location: The Queen Mary – Long Beach, CA

However, anticipation for The Roots kept me at the main stage. It proved to be a wise decision, as their nearly hour-long performance reminded me why the Grammy-winning band is still so revered after more than three decades. Black Thought got the crowd riled up with a 10-minute barrage of lyrical proficiency that so many have come to know as his “Hot 97 Freestyle” after it hit the internet in December and quickly went viral, while his bandmates exuberantly jumped with sousaphones and guitars during “You Got Me” and a number of other hits. But providing a jolt like he only can, the one and only Busta Rhymes showed up for a quick-but-memorable performance of “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” and “Pass the Courvoisier, Part II”. -Joseph Gray, photo by Joseph Gray


Best of 2018 - Melvins

Melvins

Date: July 16th
Location: Great American Music Hall – San Francisco

I’m far from an expert on this kind of thing (because I’m not), but I didn’t expect to see the Melvins perform with the amount of energy that they showcased. For a band that has been touring and putting out new material for the past 35 years, they performed as if everything depended on it. You weren’t going to catch “King Buzzo” standing in one place for too long, with his signature fro whipping in the wind from the fans that were on the stage, McDonald and Pinkus holding it down on their own instruments, and Crover beating the living hell out of his drums. Fans were ready to receive the band and responded to the various sonic blasts coming from the amplifiers. During the thrashy songs, they formed a brutal pit, and during the sludgier songs, they lit up joints and bobbed their heads to the music. -Andrew Pohl, photo by Mike Rosati


Best of 2018 - Glassjaw

Glassjaw

Date: July 20th
Location: Observatory OC – Santa Ana, CA

Glassjaw’s show covered their entire discography, and very few fan favorites were left off the setlist. While it was to be expected that newer tunes like “Shira” and “New White Extremity” would rock, it was staggering how well their older songs held up in a live setting. Palumbo’s voice, though slightly less manic than it once was, is still unmatched in its vocal range and shear intensity. -Zach Bourque, photo by Zach Bourque


Best of 2018 - Weezer

Weezer

Date: August 8th
Location: The Forum – Inglewood, CA

That’s not to say that Cuomo isn’t a talented musician. In fact, quite the opposite is true. The Harvard grad shreds without question, something I never really realized until he uncorked a number of guitar solos, whether it was during “Buddy Holly” to open Weezer’s performance or “Say It Ain’t So” (with a snippet of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid”) to put a bow on the show. And while there aren’t many lead singers who can do both, Cuomo certainly remains among some elite company, with Jack White, Trey Anastasio (Phish), Jim James (My Morning Jacket) and Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) also immediately coming to mind. -Josh Herwitt, photo by Josh Herwitt


Best of 2018 - Florence + the Machine

Florence + the Machine

Date: August 11th
Location: Golden Gate Park – San Francisco

There was a bit of controversy surrounding Saturday’s main slot as Florence + the Machine officially made the move to full-blown festival headliner. Some festivalgoers had their own doubts after FYF Fest 2018 was canceled with a near-identical top billing, but Florence and her bandmates proved, many times over, that she is more than capable of commanding any stage as her energy is unlike many others. She debuted a brand-new show, which featured “June” in the opening slot and was book-ended by “Big God” and “Shake It Out” for a two-song encore. -Kevin Quandt, photo by Norm de Veyra


Best of 2018 - Janelle Monáe

Janelle Monáe

Date: August 12th
Location: Golden Gate Park – San Francisco

The incomparable Janelle Monáe was a tad late to take the stage, as she was fighting off a stomach bug, but when she did, she captivated the masses with a suite of tracks from her most recent release Dirty Computer and tossed in a fair amount of costume changes over a nearly hour-long set. Monáe proved that she’s easily one of the best in the business at the moment and will only continue to climb upwards. -Kevin Quandt, photo by Norm de Veyra


Best of 2018 - Deafheaven

Deafheaven

Date: August 18th
Location: The Wiltern – Los Angeles

Fortunately, Deafheaven haven’t bowed to convention or criticism. Their fourth studio album Ordinary Corrupt Human Love, which ANTI‐ released last month, is their arguably their most experimental to date, spanning more than an hour over seven songs. There’s a sense of angst and nostalgia in the music that leans far more positive and hopeful than their previous work. There are still echoes of black metal at times, but you can feel this is a band that’s embracing its differences instead of defending them. -Zach Bourque, photo by Zach Bourque


Best of 2018 - Jack White

Jack White

Date: August 19th
Location: Santa Barbara Bowl – Santa Barbara, CA

Yet, for as eclectic and wide-ranging as White’s output has been over two decades, it’s the unpredictable nature of his live shows that makes them so intriguing to see. This time, we were treated to a rare cover of The Stooges’ “T.V. Eye” from their 1970 album Fun House, as well as a number of fan favorites, from set closer “Ball and Biscuit” to an eight-song encore that featured “Icky Thump” (with some amusing “Icky Trump” messaging), “Steady, as She Goes” (with a snippet of Richard Berry’s 1955 song “Louie Louie”), and of course, what has easily become the biggest stadium anthem in the world, “Seven Nation Army”. And though the show didn’t conclude without a few hiccups during some of White’s improvised playing between songs, he hasn’t lost his unique ability to surprise an audience — whether it means bringing out his mother in Detroit to perform “Hotel Yorba” with him or covering Pearl Jam’s “Daughter” in Seattle — at any given moment, especially when we all aren’t staring down at our phones. -Josh Herwitt, photo courtesy of Jack White


Best of 2018 - David Byrne

David Byrne

Date: August 22nd
Location: Bill Graham Civic Auditorium – San Francisco

As the show progressed into his songs “Here” and “Lazy”, Byrne’s band joined him onstage. The light changed and filled in the stage, giving the audience a happier tone and providing a seamless transition into a Talking Heads interlude. Then, later on during “Blind”, one of the more stunning visual elements was made possible by a simple lamp that was placed in front of the band, casting whirling shadows on the strands of beads hanging behind them. -Tim O’Shea, photo by Tim O’Shea


Best of 2018 - The National

The National

Date: September 20th
Location: Hollywood Palladium – Los Angeles

Right before that final aforementioned single, they brought out Phoebe Bridgers to help them perform “Sorrow” from 2010’s High Violet, as Berninger and the 24-year-old singer-songwriter, who said during her brief opening set that The National were her favorite band, traded vocals on the tune they once played 105 times in a row, with the performance at an art installation in New York lasting all of six hours. We weren’t quite as fortunate to get that kind of show in LA, as The National opted for one of their more traditional, two-hour events. But whether you’ve been a fan from the start or one like myself who arrived rather late to the party, The National continue to make some of the most compelling music in rock, expanding their fan base with each and every album they release. That’s the sign of any good band these days, and though there’s only a handful of others that could even say the same right now, The National should take comfort in knowing they’re one of those select few. -Josh Herwitt, photo by Josh Herwitt


Best of 2018 - Grizzly Bear

Grizzly Bear

Date: September 23rd
Location: Hollywood Bowl – Los Angeles

Similarly, the gig also marked one of Grizzly Bear’s last performances in support of their fifth LP Painted Ruins, which they released last year on RCA Records, and having already played a two-night run at The Wiltern back in December, this was more of a victory lap than a coming-out party. Unfortunately for us, the five-piece had to cut things short due to the venue’s strict Sunday night curfew, ending on a rather sudden note. That’s just part of the deal at the Bowl, though. For those of us who have to work on Monday morning, it’s actually more of a blessing in disguise than a disservice to the overall concert experience as we’ve come to realize. -Josh Herwitt, photo by Josh Herwitt


Best of 2018 - Courtney Barnett

Courtney Barnett

Date: October 5th
Location: Greek Theatre – Los Angeles

When she wasn’t sharing the spotlight with Waxahatchee, Barnett was sharing it equally with the rest of her stellar backing band, but it was mostly just difficult to take your eyes off of her. Everything she does feels casual, from her outfit to her guitar playing, slinging her instrument around like it was an extension of herself. Even her delivery of the wrenching reality that the 30-year-old Australian singer-songwriter articulates so well is casual, singing like the end of the world isn’t a mere 22 years away. -Rochelle Shipman, photo by Rochelle Shipman


Best of 2018 - Greta Van Fleet

Greta Van Fleet

Date: October 6th
Location: Glen Helen Regional Park & Festival Grounds – San Bernardino, CA

By the time we got through security and stepped inside the gates, Manchester Orchestra had just finished their 45-minute set on the main stage, which essentially was the 65,000-person Glen Helen Amphitheater that was constructed back in 1982 for the first US Festival. Next up was Greta Van Fleet, and boy, do these kids know how to rock. Zeppelin clearly runs deep in these four Michiganders’ veins, as they showcased songs off their forthcoming debut album Anthem of the Peaceful Army with frontman Josh Kiszka commanding the stage and offering his best Robert Plant impression. He even dresses the part, sporting some tight, white jeans with a water-colored blouse and necklace of feathers while his brothers Jake and Sam wore vests or shirts that looked like what you would find at a vintage clothing store. -Josh Herwitt, photo by Josh Herwitt


Best of 2018 - Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters

Date: October 6th
Location: Glen Helen Regional Park & Festival Grounds – San Bernardino, CA

As the Foos left the stage for their encore break, we waited patiently for them to return. The crowd, by now, had been taken for a two-hour ride with Grohl firmly at the wheel, pumping adrenaline into our veins with every minute that passed as the Foo Fighters know how to do so well during their usual two-and-a-half-hour jaunts. The video screens on each side of the stage were black until suddenly some backstage footage appeared showing Grohl with Krist Novoselic and what looked like Joan Jett. All of that would end up coming true in the last 30 minutes of Cal Jam 18, but it was a six-song encore with Grohl on drums, Novoselic on bass, the Foo Fighters’ Pat Smear on guitar and Deer Tick frontman John McAuley on both vocals and guitar as Kurt Cobain’s fill-in who got us hyped. Nirvana fans have waited 25 years for a reunion since Cobain’s sudden passing, and when you put it in perspective, it will probably go down as one of the year’s biggest surprises, even at a time in music when many industry experts say that rock now stands in the shadows of hip-hop and EDM. -Josh Herwitt, photo by Josh Herwitt


Best of 2018 - Pusha T

Pusha T

Date: October 13th
Location: Middle Harbor Shoreline Park – Oakland

But U.S. Girls were the highlight of the weekend for us. A nine-piece experimental pop act, they put on a stunning 45-minute set that culminated in an entrancing rendition of “Time”, the closing track on their critically acclaimed studio effort In a Poem Unlimited, that lasted more than 10 minutes. The energy, instrumentation and vocal capabilities were absolutely stunning. Easily one of this year’s most exciting new acts, and we can’t wait to catch them again soon. -Brett Ruffenach, photo by Brendan Mansfield


Best of 2018 - U.S. Girls

U.S. Girls

Date: October 14th
Location: Middle Harbor Shoreline Park – Oakland

But U.S. Girls were the highlight of the weekend for us. A nine-piece experimental pop act, they put on a stunning 45-minute set that culminated in an entrancing rendition of “Time”, the closing track on their critically acclaimed studio effort In a Poem Unlimited, that lasted more than 10 minutes. The energy, instrumentation and vocal capabilities were absolutely stunning. Easily one of this year’s most exciting new acts, and we can’t wait to catch them again soon. -Brett Ruffenach, photo by Josh Withers


Best of 2018 - Daniel Caesar

Showbams_Sticker_Rectangle2

Jack White proves at the Santa Barbara Bowl that a phone-free show is a better experience for us all

Jack WhitePhotos courtesy of Jack White // Written by Josh Herwitt //

Jack White with William Tyler //
Santa Barbara Bowl – Santa Barbara, CA
August 19th, 2018 //

In case you haven’t heard, Jack White isn’t the biggest fan of technology. Well, at least when it comes to some modern technological advancements.

Sure, White has been a self-proclaimed fan of Tesla for quite a while now. He was one of the first Model S owners in Nashville, which the Detroit native has called home since 2006, and just a couple weeks ago visited the company’s factory in Fremont, Calif., where he played a private show for its employees.

But the former White Stripes leader, whose old-timey passions for vinyl records, baseball and furniture upholstery are well-documented, doesn’t view mobile technology in nearly the same way. In fact, he never really has.

White first started to make his disdain for cell phones publicly known in 2014. At the time, he didn’t even own one himself (and he still doesn’t from what he told Rolling Stone in March for the magazine’s cover story). That same year, on the day he gave us his sophomore solo album Lazaretto, I caught White’s show at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles. It was there that one of his stagehands stepped to the mic minutes before the performance and politely requested that we refrain from using our cell phones, and while most of the sold-out crowd seemed to oblige, there were some who still couldn’t help themselves.

Jack White

Pics or it didn’t happen, right?

Since then, our lives have only become more centered around our Instagram feeds, and for as cynical as it sounds, it’s probably only going to get worse from here on out.

It’s why White announced before kicking off a world tour this year in support of his third LP Boarding House Reach that all of his non-festival dates would be phone-free. But what does that actually mean?

Adopting the same methods that stand-up comedians Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle have employed for their own gigs, White partnered with Yondr, a San Francisco-based company that creates mobile phone pouches with a proprietary lock. Upon entering the venue, your phone is placed in one of their pouches and then locked. If you need to use your phone for any reason during the show, the pouch can be unlocked at one of several designated areas inside the venue. Think of them as smoking sections but for phones. That’s how powerful, and simultaneously obnoxious, smartphones have become for fans and musicians such as White, who has said that he relies on human connection and fan interaction to help guide him through his always-unplanned setlists. For the 12-time Grammy winner, the myriad of distractions that an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy offers is not only disruptive, but it’s also a major obstacle in trying to hold a person’s attention for any extended period of time. And, quite honestly, I can’t blame White for implementing the ban. If we could control our own impulses, then he simply wouldn’t have to do it for us.

Jack White

It hasn’t exactly hurt him either. You can say what you want about his cell-phone policy, but White has sold out the majority of his U.S. dates over the past four months while headlining many of the country’s most popular music festivals, including Shaky Knees, Boston Calling, Governors Ball, Lollapalooza and Arroyo Seco Weekend (read our review here) this summer.

So, on a warm, mid-August night in Southern California, White paid his first official visit to Santa Barbara. The White Stripes, somewhat surprisingly, didn’t make it to the coastal city during their 15 years together, so White’s show at the always-stunning Santa Barbara Bowl seemed well overdue for one of rock’s last remaining guitar heroes. The amphitheater at a capacity of 4,562 stacks up as one of our favorite places in all of California to see live music (read our First Times review here), even with the shows running on a tight schedule due to some strict curfew laws until 10 p.m. That’s not necessarily a bad thing for those of us who live in LA, considering that the drive back is often no more than 90 minutes at that time of night. But with White’s sold-out show in Santa Barbara falling on a Sunday evening, those who showed up made it clear that they weren’t ready for the weekend to end.

Boarding House Reach has drawn its fair share of critics, and I couldn’t necessarily disagree with many of the album reviews that I read when it was released in March. It’s undoubtedly White’s weakest studio effort to date — and I admit that as a big fan — but that’s not to say I don’t commend him for trying something new or different. Plus, I’ve come to realize that the more experimental songs like “Corporation”, “Respect Commander” and “Ice Station Zebra” play much better live than they do on the record.

Yet, for as eclectic and wide-ranging as White’s output has been over two decades, it’s the unpredictable nature of his live shows that makes them so intriguing to see. This time, we were treated to a rare cover of The Stooges’ “T.V. Eye” from their 1970 album Fun House, as well as a number of fan favorites, from set closer “Ball and Biscuit” to an eight-song encore that featured “Icky Thump” (with some amusing “Icky Trump” messaging), “Steady, as She Goes” (with a snippet of Richard Berry’s 1955 song “Louie Louie”), and of course, what has easily become the biggest stadium anthem in the world, “Seven Nation Army”. And though the show didn’t conclude without a few hiccups during some of White’s improvised playing between songs, he hasn’t lost his unique ability to surprise an audience — whether it means bringing out his mother in Detroit to perform “Hotel Yorba” with him or covering Pearl Jam’s “Daughter” in Seattle — at any given moment, especially when we all aren’t staring down at our phones.

Setlist:
Over and Over and Over
Corporation
Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (The White Stripes song)
Missing Pieces
Lazaretto
Hotel Yorba (The White Stripes song)
Why Walk a Dog?
Cannon (The White Stripes song)
Broken Boy Soldier (The Raconteurs song)
Respect Commander
Do (The White Stripes song)
T.V. Eye (The Stooges cover)
Just One Drink
Ball and Biscuit (The White Stripes song)

Encore:
Icky Thump (The White Stripes song)
My Doorbell (The White Stripes song)
Connected by Love
Freedom at 21
We’re Going to Be Friends (The White Stripes song)
Ice Station Zebra
Steady, as She Goes (The Raconteurs song) (with “Louie, Louie” snippet)
Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes song)

Weezer show a sold-out crowd in their hometown that they can still be wildly entertaining

WeezerBy Josh Herwitt //

Weezer & Pixies with Sleigh Bells //
The Forum – Inglewood, CA
August 8th, 2018 //

It has always been hard for me to take Weezer completely seriously. Of course, when one of your oldest and biggest hits is called “Undone – The Sweater Song” while others like “Pork and Beans” and “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You to) I Want You to” have cultivated their own commercial success, it’s easy to think that the Los Angeles foursome must have shared the stage with Green Jellÿ, Tenacious D or “Weird Al” Yankovic at one point in time over the last 26 years.

Well, one of those whimsical pairings actually became a reality last Wednesday. With a sold-out audience at The Forum welcoming them home during their 30-date, North American co-headlining tour with the Pixies, frontman Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards) and his cohorts — Patrick Wilson (drums), Brian Bell (guitar, backing vocals, keyboards) and Scott Shriner (bass, backing vocals) — gave many of us exactly what we wanted to hear near the end of a 20-song set: their now-viral cover of Toto’s single “Africa” from the group’s 1982 album Toto IV.

But what we didn’t expect to see midway through the tune was Cuomo introducing “Weird Al” Yankovic, who stepped onstage in one of his patented Hawaiian shirts and accordion in hand to perform the last half of it with the band. The crowd erupted upon the announcement, with many shocked by what they were witnessing. For me though, the surprise cameo only further validated some of those preconceptions I had about Weezer being one of rock’s goofiest acts.

Pixies


Pixies

That’s not to say that Cuomo isn’t a talented musician. In fact, quite the opposite is true. The Harvard grad shreds without question, something I never really realized until he uncorked a number of guitar solos, whether it was during “Buddy Holly” to open Weezer’s performance or “Say It Ain’t So” (with a snippet of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid”) to put a bow on the show. And while there aren’t many lead singers who can do both, Cuomo certainly remains among some elite company, with Jack White, Trey Anastasio (Phish), Jim James (My Morning Jacket) and Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) also immediately coming to mind.

Cuomo, however, might have all of them beat in one category: costumes. Appearing first in his preppy sweater-and-tie look, he eventually changed into a soccer jersey before later wearing a classic Nirvana T-shirt with the sleeves cut off. If anything, it was even more proof that Weezer don’t take themselves too seriously, considering that the only rock star who I’ve seen live with more costume changes than Cuomo is Axl Rose (and that shouldn’t be very surprising). It’s all part of the band’s playful attitude at the end of the day, and despite the political state that we currently find ourselves in, many of us could use a good laugh or at least a chuckle from time to time (I know I could).

After watching Cuomo and company do their thing for a little more than an hour, there’s no doubt that I have newfound respect for Weezer now. Selling out a 17,505-person arena in the middle of the week is no easy feat, even if the Pixies, who ripped through their own 22-song set in the same amount of time, were on the bill. But there’s a reason why Weezer have been performing second on this tour, and it’s simply because they’re still one of rock’s most wildy entertaining bands out there today — with or without Mr. Yankovic by their side.

WEEZER

Setlist:
Buddy Holly
Beverly Hills
Pork and Beans
Undone – The Sweater Song
Hash Pipe
Perfect Situation
My Name Is Jonas
El Scorcho
In the Garage
The Good Life
Happy Together (The Turtles cover) (with a snippet of “Longview” by Green Day)
Keep Fishin’ (Brian Bell on vocals)
Island in the Sun (Rivers Cuomo solo acoustic)
Take on Me (a‐ha cover) (Rivers Cuomo solo acoustic)
Burndt Jamb (Brian Bell on vocals; with lyrics from “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana)
(If You’re Wondering If I Want You to) I Want You to
Feels Like Summer
Africa (Toto cover) (with “Weird Al” Yankovic)

Encore:
Susanne
Say It Ain’t So (with a snippet of “Paranoid” by Black Sabbath)

PIXIES

Setlist:
Gouge Away
Wave of Mutilation
U-Mass
Um Chagga Lagga
Isla de Encanta
Caribou
All the Saints
Cactus
Nimrod’s Son
Mr. Grieves
All I Think About Now
Debaser
Classic Masher
Monkey Gone to Heaven
I’ve Been Tired
Head On (The Jesus and Mary Chain cover)
Tame
Hey
Gigantic
Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf)
Where Is My Mind?
Vamos

Arroyo Seco Weekend 2018: Ringing in summer at Goldenvoice’s chilled-out Coachella for grown-ups

Arroyo Seco Weekend 2018Photos courtesy of Arroyo Seco Weekend // Written by Josh Herwitt //

Arroyo Seco Weekend //
Brookside at the Rose Bowl – Pasadena, CA
June 23rd-24th, 2018 //

No matter how old you are, going to a music festival can be a taxing and tiring affair. There’s a lot of walking, a lot of standing, a good amount of dancing and/or rocking out (depending, of course, on your energy level), and more walking and standing. If “festival shape” isn’t a catch phrase yet, it certainly should be. Because for some of us aging live music fans, being on your feet 8-10 hours and in the sun for two, three or four straight days isn’t as easy as it used to be.

Music festivals, in that regard, are designed primarily for the young and youthful, or at least for those who remain young at heart. So, when famed Southern California concert promoter Goldenvoice, best known for founding and organizing the world-renowned Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival every April, announced last year that it would be launching a brand-new, two-day event in Pasadena focused on various forms of rock, funk, folk and country, it served as an opportunity for a different generation of live music fans to experience the same platform that has dominated the industry for the past decade (and for some who are parents, possibly understand why their kids like going to Coachella so much).

Arroyo Seco Weekend 2018 - Neil Young + Promise of the Real


Neil Young + Promise of the Real

With its second installment now in the books, Arroyo Seco Weekend has already carved out a solid niche in Los Angeles’ massive live music scene with a winning combination: great music and high-quality, top-notch local food and drink. It’s the same formula that has made Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco a huge success for longer than 10 years, but it’s still one that had also been largely absent from Southern California music festivals until four years ago when Goldenvoice started making a concerted effort to partner with top-notch LA eateries and restaurants for both weekends of Coachella. That’s where the comparisons end, though.

Arroyo Seco is really its own thing. There’s no denying, even after only a couple of years on the calendar, that it fosters a much different vibe than Coachella or Goldenvoice’s other LA area music festival, FYF Fest, which was surprisingly canceled five weeks after dropping its 2018 lineup due to reportedly poor ticket sales. But with a clear identity from the start, ASW stands more than a fighting chance at a time when music festivals are sadly a dime a dozen (except for the ticket price).

Arroyo Seco Weekend 2018 - Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters


Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters

Goldenvoice CEO Paul Tollett and his team, for one, came out of the gate swinging for ASW’s inaugural edition with a roster led by the late Tom Petty, which unfortunately ended up to be one of his final performances before his unexpected death, and British folk rockers Mumford and Sons, plus Alabama Shakes, Weezer, The Meters, The Shins, Dawes, Fitz & the Tantrums, Live, Andrew Bird, Broken Social Scene, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Charles Bradley & The Extraordinaires, Galactic and many more all making appearances. That didn’t mean, of course, it was void of suffering a letdown in Year 2, but such a thought was quickly put to rest when the fest’s 2018 bill came out and proved to be equally good, if not better than what 2017 offered. With rock legends like Neil Young and Robert Plant sharing the top of the poster with modern-day rock stars such as Jack White and Kings of Leon, ASW made sure to cater to more than four generations of live music fans, much like the longtime New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival — which White, Lukas Nelson + Promise of the Real (who also often serve as Young’s backing band), Irma Thomas and Aaron Neville, fittingly enough, all played this year — does each spring in The Big Easy. Throw in some nicer weather and some California-cool flavoring, and you’ve essentially got ASW. So, call it “#Dadchella” if you want, but that won’t stop those of us who are currently in our 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and 60’s from going again.

If rock is supposedly “dead” like so many say it is these days, you wouldn’t know it from the size of the crowd that descended upon the Brookside Golf Course adjacent to the Rose Bowl Stadium on a couple of hot summer days. ASW, rather, proved just the opposite, with even a few throwbacks, the Pretenders and Alanis Morrisette most notably, drawing large numbers over at the main stage. Then there were singer-songwriters Seu Jorge, Shakey Graves, Margo Price and Dwight Twilley, as well as blues savior Gary Clark Jr., pouring out their hearts and souls in what felt like a family-friendly environment (maybe the baby strollers helped). And how about Inglewood-bred jazz virtuoso Kamasi Washington mesmerizing with a powerful, mid-afternoon set? There were plenty of memories to be made at ASW in 2018, and we were just grateful to be there to bear witness to them.