… Dizzee Rascal and Dirtee Stank in San Francisco, July 25th 2008 …

Haven’t written the concert review yet, but here’s photos of the show in the meantime:

The photos appear larger on my flickr page:

Dizzee Rascal photos by Molli Fire on flickr

Have you seen Dizzee live this year? If so, how was it? If you have pix online, drop a link in the comments, I’d love to see them!

…Loefah + Switch + Matty G – Chinese New Year In SF – February 8th, 2008…

Switch didn’t show, but Matty G (SF’s own dubstep defender) and LOEFAH were dropping bass frequencies like they were trying to make diamonds out of the people on the dancefloor. Serious PRESSURE mate! My mates and I were heading straight up into the mountains afterwards for a full weekend of snowboarding, but we danced til our knees felt like jello anyway.
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…DJ C + Ripley + Kid Kameleon – Surya Dub in San Francisco – May 24, 2008…

DJ C performed an incredible set – full of treats and surprises – at Surya Dub, San Francisco’s BEST dubstep event. The monthly party, held at Club 6 in SF, is hosted by 2 of DJ C’s long-time pals (almost as far back as his Toneburst days in Boston!) – Ripley and Kid Kameleon. Most of the night, I was too busy dancing to remember my duties as a reporter. The string of Top Rankin Selectahs kept the energy high with a mix of dubstep, ragga, jungle and other bass-loaded sounds.
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South Rakkas Crew – San Francisco, CA – June 7, 2008

The South Rakkas show in San Francisco last Saturday night was HOT! It’s been years since I’ve seen so many hot ladies at a show (I think there were close to 10 ladies for every 1 guy in the house), everyone was having a great time and South Rakkas were BLAZING! They truly brought the spirit of Miami with them, especially the energy of the dancehall. It was a beautiful night, and I don’t really have much of a review coz you really just had to be there! But, here are a few photos anyway and I’ll be adding a short video and more photos soon:
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My concert review of the Mad Professor show at Mighty in San Francisco is looooong overdue. Things have been crazy at my “day job” so the reviews were the first thing to get put on the back burner. So, enjoy these photos from the concert on March 15, 2008 and this short review:
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Concert review of Eek-A-Mouse and Pato Banton at the Independent In San Francisco: Sunday January 13th 2008.

What joy to see Eek-A-Mouse and Pato Banton both in one magical night! Pato Banton is a spritely man who seems possessed by the music at times and lights up an entire city when he smiles. Eek-A-Mouse is larger than life with a subtle flair and he fills the stage as he sings and waves to people in the crowd. Both are huge crowd-pleasers – each interacts with the audience and encourages an irie atmosphere. Both singers pulled people out of the crowd to join them on stage – Pato pulled someone from the crowd to perform “King Step” with him, while Eek-A-Mouse pulled lots of people on stage to dance to “Border Patrol.” But that’s where the similarities end. From their backing bands to their backgrounds, these two reggae artists are worlds apart. The overall experience satiated every hope and expectation from a reggae show. ([More →])

It’s been a long time dream of mine to see Pato Banton in concert. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love Pato’s collaborations with Mad Professor (Mad Professor Captures Pato Banton and Mad Professor Recaptures Pato Banton), but it’s a Big Big Love and Respect. So, when I discovered he would be playing in SF in September, I immediately bought tickets. That’s right, I supported the hard-working bands instead of using my press connections to gain free entry. Jammin to Pato Banton backed by Mystic Roots was worth more than the depreciated american dollars that I spent on tix! It’s been over 20 years since he released his first album with Mad Professor at the controls, yet it’s still one of my favorite albums. I had no idea what to expect from the show, I just wanted to see this reggae idol up close and personal. My giddy excitement tripled within 5 minutes of Pato Banton grabbing the mic! ([More →])

Brit’s floor killers, Vex’d, stopped in SF and rocked a ridiculously packed house at Underground SF on Haight Street. It was bliss to hear Vex’d remixing their own music on the fly! This is just a lite review of their appearance in a room filled with old-school music heads from both sides of the Bay. It was a superb warm-up for the weekend of Halloween festivities still to come. ([More →])

All right Cure fans! It’s been a minute since Curefest took place and now the videos and reviews are flowing like rain! I’ve run round cyberspace, gathering links and videos of the three day festival at Trelawny Stadium (Big Ups To Don and Kizzy for the help!). What we have here is only the beginning, there will be more videos uploaded and more reviews published in the next few weeks. I will continue seeking them out and linking to them here. As I publish more roundups like this one, I will link to them at the bottom of this page. They will also show up as fresh posts in the reggae and news sections. So, you might want to bookmark this page or subscribe to the reggae RSS feed to get the updates. Now on with the show! ([More →])

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…Paul Oakenfold and Underworld Played The Warfield in San Francisco on Saturday September 8, 2007…

I was told that Paul Oakenfold had performed all his “mainstream hits” and crowd-pleasers the night before, his second performance featured more experimental pieces and more of his own favorites.

When I walked into the Warfield Theater, there weren’t many people inside and a dj was already playing on stage. He was playing quietly, a nice mix of ravey techno and trance, but it was never announced who he was. Paul Oakenfold silently appeared behind the gear and was talking to a tech for awhile. When he stepped up to the decks at the center of the stage, he was immediately recognized and cheers erupted from the small crowd. I found out early on that this show on Saturday night was added on after the Friday show had already sold most of its tickets, so while Friday night was packed to the gills and somewhat crazy, tonight would be a much smaller crowd with more room to dance and more fresh air to breathe. Excellent! That’s exactly how I like it! I made fast friends with a european raver fella who had been at the previous night’s show and kept me informed about the difference between the two. It sounded like I had inadvertently chosen a night that had more of the elements that would make the show a huge success in my book – room to dance, ventilation, friendly crowd and good music. My new friend also told me that Paul Oakenfold had performed all his “mainstream hits” and crowd-pleasers the night before, his second performance featured more experimental pieces and more of his own favorites.
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I don’t have a full concert review to share just yet, but I wanted to give you a glimpse at what happened last night when Pato Banton came to town. He performed at the Independent, with the Mystic Roots as backup. He had just launched into his biggest hit song – “Gwarn” when he noticed a guy in the audience wearing a GWARN T-shirt. He pulled that guy up on stage and the two of them ended up doing the most ridiculous duet I have ever seen! Pato swears it wasn’t rigged and you could see the genuine surprise on his face when this guy, Frank, busts out. ([More →])

I love music events. I love attending them, I love hosting them, I love hearing other peep’s experiences of them. That’s a huge reason why I write about music for a living. I’ve attended concerts since I was 5 or 6, I’ve been a crew member for various production companies, warehouse events and soundsystems for 14 years, and I’ve experienced countless types of music environments. Therefore, I can say from experience that the Treasure Island Music Festival was unique. ([More →])

This is a concert review of Murcof and .pig at the 2007 San Francisco Music Festival.

Last weekend featured an accidental theme of deep relaxation. Maybe it was cosmic alignment, or reaching an omega point of stress and fatigue, but everyone around me was discussing how to relax and feel creative. On Wednesday I reached a state of zen relaxation while sitting in the Artaud Theater at the San Francisco Electronic Music Festival listening to Murcof play ambient atmospheric music over a wonderfully rich soundsystem. I have a sample for you, so that you can try to create a place of zen for yourself with the beautiful song “Cielo” off of Murcof’s new album Cosmos. But first, a review of the band who started off the evening and the entire Festival: .pig an electronic noise band from Mexico City. ([More →])

San Francisco adores the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. No other town loves this band more except maybe New York City. Witnessing a Yeah Yeah Yeahs concert in SF is almost a religious experience. I can feel how much the music means to each person in the crowd: music that reached them in their darkest hour; lyrics that spoke to them directly; or simply a celebration of life and the sparkle that Karen O brings to the room. Whatever the reason, everyone in the room is affected by the music. Tuesday night, August 21, 2007 at the Fillmore in San Francisco was no exception. The floor bowed deeply under the rhythmic jumping of the devoted congregation, and a sea of arms reached out to catch the melodies mid-air. The YYYs have earned this response from the audience with their relentless delivery of stellar shows. Their music and their stage presence isn’t contained on the stage, it imbibes everyone in the room until it feels like we’re actually dancing on stage with the band. If there is one thing the Yeah Yeah Yeahs do well, it’s connecting with each and everyone of their fans in a personal way. ([More →])