shows

DNA Lounge San Francisco, CA October 24, 2025 This four band bill turned out to be one of the DNA Lounge’s early shows, there was some club night happening afterwards going late. When I showed up around 7:30 I had missed the opener Mæntra  without realizing their bass player was Paul Ryan of Origin  (and DNA Lounge bartending) fame. Bummer. Early bird gets all the death metal. Cretin, DNA Lounge, San Francisco, CA, October 24, 2025. Photo by r31nh4rd I managed to just catch t

The Knockout San Francisco, CA October 17, 2025 The final show in a week full of shows brought me to a place in SF I don’t frequent very often, The Knockout. Why do I not frequent this place? Bad experiences and worse sound.  In the past it almost seemed like The Knockout prided itself on having the biggest asshole bartenders in The Mission. The last time I DJ’d there (which was a Blind Illusion  show oddly enough) I almost came to blows with the dickhead behind the bar. Add

UC Theatre Berkeley, CA October 15, 2025 Mega Metal show at The UC Theatre with 6 fucking bands. I’m sorry but that’s 3 bands too many for this old Metalhead. The three bands I missed were Interceptor , Midnight  and Hirax . I actually really wanted to catch Interceptor . I’ve never seen them but checked out their music online and liked what I heard. But they went on at 5 pm and there’s no way in hell I’m spending 7 hours at The UC Theatre. So let’s talk about the bands I did

Shoreline Amphitheatre Mountain View, CA October 14, 2025 I can’t believe I saw The Priest and The Coop together at The Shoreline Amphitheatre for the second time in 34 years. The first time was in ‘91 for the Operation Rock And Roll tour. A tour that was promoting the support of our troops in Iraq during The Gulf War, Operation Desert Storm specifically.  The full lineup was phenomenal from start to finish. Opening was Metal Church  touring in support of their seriously unde

DNA Lounge San Francisco, CA October 12, 2025 Death Metal blowout at The DNA Lounge on a Sunday night. The following day was a holiday (for some) being Indigenous Peoples Day or Columbus Day (for some) so that certainly helped with the turnout. And the turnout was pretty good. They kept the upstairs open which is always a good sign. First up was Skeletal Remains . This was the second time in a row seeing them (both times at the DNA) without a live bassist. Instead they had a

The Ritz San Jose, CA September 30, 2025 San Jose ain’t where I normally spend my Tuesday nights but when High On Fire  are in town I’ll...

Pussy Palace Oakland, CA September 28, 2025 The Richmond BART line was shut down for creating chaos, there was a light rain, and I was...

Kilowatt San Francisco, CA September 25, 2025 Thursday night at the Kilowatt down on 16th street in the Mission, and a good turnout for 3...

Plaza de Cesar Chavez San Jose, CA September 19, 2025 You know how The Grateful Dead have “Deadheads”? Well, I guess I could be...

Neck of the Woods San Francisco, CA September 20, 2025 My second time out to Neck of the Woods in just over a month, after not seeing a...

Thee Stork Club Oakland, CA September 11, 2025 I don’t think I’d seen a show at Thee Stork Club  in Oakland since the 1990s. Though it...

DNA Lounge San Francisco, CA September 10, 2025 POWER METAL!!! That’s what was on the menu at The DNA Lounge Wednesday night. But to say...

Stanyan Stage Haight Street Fair September 7, 2025 It was a hot Sunday in San Francisco, by which I mean it was in the 70s, instead of...

Memorial Park Amphitheater Hayward, CA September 6, 2025 I gotta tell ya, the amount of Saturday afternoons I’ve spent in Hayward are far...

Editor’s note: Special tribute in German to San Francisco Bay Area Heavy Metal this week, from our very own German San Franciscan...

Green Music Center @ Sonoma State Rohnert Park, CA August 27, 2025 Ok, I know this is a Metal site but my feeling is…if you’re too Metal...

August 17, 2025 Pussy Palace Oakland, CA This was my first visit to the Pussy Palace, a punk house on 34th Street in West Oakland, just a...

August 6, 2025 Regency Ballroom San Francisco, CA Hey all! I’ve been pretty silent here since returning from tour but I’ve washed the...

August 2, 2025 Neck of the Woods San Francisco, CA Saturday night metal showcase at the Neck of the Woods, out at 5th avenue and Clement...

The funny thing is, when I first started going to the DNA Lounge, I thought it was too big and corporate. Not my speed at all. (Some)...