Live Music This Week: Kendrick Lamar, Yo La Tengo, Hardwell, and More

Live Music This Week: Kendrick Lamar, Yo La Tengo, Hardwell, and More

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Before we get into this week’s music junkie itinerary, do yourself a favor and bookmark gigbloc.com, a site that visualizes every day’s local music offerings and sources each act’s music catalogue for your extreme convenience.


Monday: Collective Soul at The Fillmore

Collective Soul has written hundreds of songs in its two-decade long career, but they’ll forever be defined by one massive single: “Shine.” The song was a staple of alternative radio stations and MTV shows involving actual music videos back in the day, and we can still easily picture the sepia-toned grunge rockers summoning heaven to turn the lights on. The song defined the band, always and forever, and its seeming Christian lyrics made many believe they were a Christian band, but, well, no

Tuesday: Kendrick Lamar at the Fox

We’re getting close to that part of the year where music writers across the world will again wax poetic about Kendrick Lamar’s genius 2015 album, To Pimp a Butterfly. The inspired collection of jazz-funk-rap fusion should grace the top-10 album lists of any self-respecting critic. And anyone who saw Lamar at Outside Lands will attest he was among the top three or so performers at the sprawling festival, an encouraging sign for ticket holders to Tuesday’s show.

Friday-Sunday: SF Symphony at Davies Symphony Hall

SF Symphony conductor Michael Tilson Thomas is worth the price of admission himself. But this weekend’s program includes an unquestioned superstar who even MTT must worship, Gramophone’s 2014 Artist of the Year, violinist Leonidas Kavakos. Kavakos will perform Sibelius’ Violin Concerto, a transformative work that must be seen to be appreciated. Here’s how renowned violinist Joshua Bell interpreted the piece:  

Saturday: Yo La Tengo at the Masonic

It’s been 30 years for Yo La Tengo. Thirty. Years. And the legendary indie slowcore outfit is hardly resting on past laurels and cred, where other bands might choose to fossilize. The band just released its umpteenth record, Stuff Like That There, another beautiful exercise in blissful meandering, with covers of bands old (The Cure) and new (Sun Ra). And, predictably, it’s earning critical kudos across the board.  

Friday-Saturday: Hardwell at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

EDM is everywhere and Hardwell is to blame. The world-class producer somehow only conceives songs that made for Top 40 and Vegas and soundtracks of basically any kind of emotionally charged content. Seriously, try it. But we like Hardwell because he’s smart and starts smart conversations on social media. If you’re not following him on Twitter, you’re missing out on all sorts of meaningful conversations about the modern music biz. 

Follow @ChrisTrenchard for more words like these.

 

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