Heartless Bastards-Easter show in Sac

The Heartless Bastards are truly a merciless musical bunch. "I'm gonna see what tomorrow brings/ I'm gonna take it to the world outside" invokes vocalist Erika Wennerstrom in "Be so happy." The Bastards have done just that in the last year. In a time when folk rock is coming on strong, the Bastards stand apart with their raw blues-based rock that naturally spills over to the folk genre. The band have relentlessly toured and taken strong it to the people with each live opportunity. 
The mega-talented Wennerstrom fronts the band, writes most of the music and sings with ample soul, power and conviction. Her songwriting keeps getting better with each album and the band's most recent release "Arrow" is a fine example of this.
The thunderous backline of drummer Dave Colvin and bassist Jesse Ebaugh form the rhythm core of the band.. Many of the groups' songs begin as these wonderful, sometimes dark and bluesy explorations that expand, reshape and take on grander meaning as the band, which also includes guitarist Mark Nathan, who adds excellent leads and rhythm, help her work things out with a healthy dose of cymbal crashes, abrupt changes and driving force .I only say all of this since this will be the fourth time I've seen this band in the last 10 months and I gladly keep coming back for more. Go see this band!
Heartless Bastards w/Jonny Fritz
Tonight at Harlow's Nightclub 8p..
$15

Review:  Black Star @ The Fox, Oakland, Ca. 3/23/13

Telegraph Ave. in Oakland is a scene full of hustle and bustle on a warm Saturday night. The crowd is young, urban and eager for some hip-hop. We wind our way through a variety of bars, bbq joints and people on the street. All around there is a buzz in the air about Black Star, the superstar hip-hop act featuring Talib Kweli and Mos Def (who now calls himself Yasmin Bey), that rarely tours.
Upon entering the beautiful Fox Theater, I am reminded how the landmark venue's $75 million facelift five years ago made it the most stunning music venue in the Bay Area. With a lush, spacious bowl and rich hues and visceral textures enhancing the building's architectural splendor, it's easy on the eyes.And more importantly, the acoustics are designed for ear candy.

Starting things off were First Light, featuring Pep Love and Opio, a pair of MC's from the Souls of Mischief and Hieroglyphics crews. The duo's battery of stream of consciousness lyrics enthralled many in  the crowd for a while, but as their set wore on, it was clear to them and everyone else, that they were losing steam as the amped crowd anticipated what was coming. It would be nice to see the group stray from the pattern of oft-repeated phrases that have already been done to death from the book of abstract. 

Black Star doesn't tour that much. Talib Kweli is all over the world, all year long with his solo work and occassionally his great group with singer Res called Idle Warship. Bey, the former Mos Def is completely booked with a film career that leaves little time for music.
Thus, it's difficult to get the two together. They only play a handful of shows every year, yet are still considered one of the most talented and creative duo's in hip-hop.

After hitting the stage 40 minutes late, Yasmin began the night  with an apology because he was not feeling very well. He did sound a bit froggy, his usual rich tenor, was audibly scratchy and irritable. But like any real pro, he promised to give it his all. True to his word, that is what he proceeded to do.
Meanwhile, Kweli came out at his usual 120% and floored the audience, who could really care less about anything other than the fact that they were lucky enough to have these legends in their presence.
 Like an overloaded freight train heading downhill, the duo steamed through hit after hit after hit from the Black Star lexicon, Bey, only pausing briefly between songs to take sips of tea. Bey(it's hard not to say Mos Def!) croaked out a staccato stream of lyrics and would occasionally loosen up his voice enough to keep up with Kweli's mad pace. Wisely, at times, he just danced, with an unrehearsed smoothness that only comes from being in the spotlight since his teen years.
The duo kept it up, song after song, until the end when each played a hit of his own. Bey (Def!) going with a nice medley of "Umi Says" and the "Boogie Man" songs. Naturally Kweli could only follow this with a thunderous version of "Get By" that sent the crowd happily back out the door to Telegraph, where food vendors happily fed the hungry bellies since the soul had already been fed.

Black Star Live on The Colbert Report