10 Bay Area concerts to ring in 2011
MUSIC
December 26, 2010|By Aidin Vaziri, Chronicle Pop Music Critic
Want a rockin' New Year's Eve? We highlight 10 Bay Area concerts to help you find the perfect way to kiss off 2010.
Want a rockin' New Year's Eve? We highlight 10 Bay Area concerts to help you find the perfect way to kiss off 2010.
Chris Isaak
... if you want an evening of brooding rockabilly ballads, prime-time laughs and amazing pompadours. San Francisco local Isaak and his band have it all. Plus, "Wicked Game" still has the ability to make Champagne corks pop on their own.
The Fillmore, 1805 Geary Blvd., S.F. (877) 598-8497. www.livenation.com.
Furthur
... if you want to enter the new year on an astral plane. Bob Weir and Phil Lesh offered a taste of their languid, free-form takes on Grateful Dead classics earlier this year as the headliners for the Outside Lands festival. Here's a chance to take another hit.
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, 99 Grove St., San Francisco. (415) 421-8497, www.livenation.com.
Primus
... if you want to watch Les Claypool celebrate his 20th anniversary of playing New Year's Eve concerts in the Bay Area. His recently reunited prog-funk trio will play a retrospective set and maybe even premiere a few tracks from its forthcoming release, its first collection of new material in 12 years.
Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. (800) 745-3000. www.ticketmaster.com.
Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers
... if you want to spend the evening time-tripping with a San Francisco nightclub goddess who can bebop her way through mid-century blues and jazz classics like no other. The bill also features Casino Royale, JP & the Rhythm Chasers, Mr. Lucky & the Cocktail Party featuring Ralph Carney, Kitty Kitty Bang Bang Burlesque and a special appearance by the girl in the fishbowl.
Bimbo's 365 Club, 1025 Columbus Ave., S.F. (415) 474-0365. www.bimbos365club.com.
The Coup
... if you want to see Oakland's foremost politically minded hip-hop troupe make sense of the crazy year that's just passed. Front man Boots Riley always seems to have the right words (and grooves) to make a party out of the pandemonium.
The New Parish, 579 18th St., Oakland. (510) 444-7474. www.thenewparish.com.
The Dresden Dolls
... if you want to witness firsthand the dark carnival conjured up by painted singer-songwriter-pianist Amanda Palmer and drummer Brian Viglione. Despite its low profile, the Boston duo rarely does things by half-measures, packing its music with cabaret trills and high melodrama.
