In Photos: Nation of Language at the Fillmore

Sleek New York synthpop trio Nation of Language brought their 80s-inflected brand of music to the Fillmore on October 13. Touring behind their stirring fourth album, “A Dance Called Memory,” the group—composed of singer Ian Richard Devaney, keyboard player Aidan Noell, and bassist Alex MacKay—wowed the sold out crowd at the legendary venue.

Broken Dreams Club photographer Aaron Levy-Wolins’ collection of photos from the show is below, all credited to him.

In Photos: LaRussell

LaRussell, the Vallejo rapper who’s a mainstay of the Bay Area hip-hop scene, has made a name for himself in large part by hosting intimate shows in his own backyard. Earlier this month, he took that experience to a new level, offering fans a $1,000 ticket for the full VIP treatment, replete with red carpet arrivals, meet-and-great moments, dinner, drinks and a curated personal concert from the hip-hop star, among other features. Hundreds of attendees turned out for two separate performances on October 5.

Broken Dreams Club photographer Aaron Levy-Wolins was there to capture the magic from the experience. A gallery of photos is below, all credited to Levy-Wolins.

Live Review: The Decemberists with the SF Symphony

It’s almost painfully cliché that it took an indie rock band for me to see the San Francisco Symphony for the first time.

And that it was the Decemberists—the cerebral folk-rock troupe from Portland who often cosplay as benighted raconteurs (and who, incidentally, I absolutely love)—that inspired the visit only adds to the cliché-ness of it all. But who cares about how ridiculously obvious the entire scene was—I had an absolute blast.

Sharing the platform with the San Francisco Symphony, led by conductor Edwin Outwater, the Decemberists were at their most baroque and theatrical—a high bar for a band famous for the song “I Was Meant for the Stage,” which they fittingly closed their show with on Friday night.

Colin Meloy, chief songwriter for the band, has always embraced sweeping, emotion-laden narratives, full of doomed romances, tragicomic characters and whimsical, Dickensian scenes. With that ambit in mind, few bands call for the kind of ambitious, majestic backing of a string symphony more than the Decemberists, and on Friday that picture perfect match was more than evident.

For the setlist, the group leaned on their more grand offerings, rising to the occasion of the setting by playing epic songs like “The Crane Wife 1 & 2,” “The Hazards of Love 4 (the Drowned),” and “The Infanta,” which opened the performance. 

Selecting pieces from throughout their lengthy discography, the band trotted out selections both old and new, performing tracks like “The Reapers” and "Rusalka, Rusalka / Wild Rushes" from their two most recent albums, while also playing "California One / Youth and Beauty Brigade" from their 2002 debut album, “Castaways and Cutouts.”

The 15 songs were split over two different sets, with the band playing two songs—"Down by the Water” and  “The Soldiering Life” without the symphony backing. Always unabashedly melodramatic, the band probably had little choice but to close out the night with “I Was Meant for the Stage,” their classic cut from 2003’s “Her Majesty, the Decemberists.” 

It all made perfect sense, proving again that sometimes the most obvious choice is the right one.

In Photos: Destroyer at August Hall

Destroyer, the long running art-rock band fronted by Canadian musician Dan Bejar, stopped by San Francisco last week. Touring behind the group’s 14th album, the appropriately titled, “Dan’s Boogie,” Destroyer entertained the crowds at August Hall on September 24.

 Broken Dreams Club photographer Aaron Levy-Wolins snapped up images of the indie-rock showcase. A gallery of photos is below, all credited to Levy-Wolins.

In Photos: “Weird Al” Yankovic at the Shoreline Amphitheater

“Weird Al” Yankovic, the ageless prankster whose song parodies still sound fresh and funny some 40 years into his career, is back out on the road this summer for his “Bigger and Weirder” tour.

Yankovic stopped by the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View on August 22 for a typically over-the-top performance. Deploying his normal assortment of outrageous costumes—each skewering pop culture touchstones from the past four decades—Yankovic proved once again that there is staying power in cheeky pun and dad hokes.

Broken Dreams Club photographer Aaron Levy-Wolins was on hand to document the zaniness that is the “Weird Al” spectacle. A gallery of photos is below, all credited to Levy-Wolins. 

In Photos: Keshi at the Chase Center

Keshi, the talented multi-instrumentalist who infuses a unique blend of lo-fi sensibilities to his arena rock level sounds, stopped by the Chase Center last week for a headlining performance in front of thousands of fans.

 Fresh off his first Coachella performance and a triumphant two-month jaunt through Asia, the Houston-based artist (born Casey Thai Luong), has been touring nearly nonstop since the release of his 2024 album, “Requiem.”

 Broken Dreams Club photographer Aaron Levy-Wolins captured the exciting energy of the August 12 show. A gallery of photos is below, all credited to Levy-Wolins.

In Photos: Gogol Bordello at the Mountain Winery

Gogol Bordello, the enduring cabaret-punk collective led by frontman Eugene Hutz, stopped by the Mountain Winery in Saratoga on July 30 for a typically raucous and memorable performance.

 Broken Dreams Club photographer Aaron Levy-Wolins was there to document the uproarious show. A gallery of photos is below, all credited to Levy-Wolins.

In Photos: Legendary Hip-Hop Trio Deltron 3030 Take Over the Regency Ballroom

Deltron 3030, the longtime hip-hop trio composed of producer Dan the Automator (Dan Nakamura), rapper Del the Funky Homosapien (Teren Delvon Jones) and DJ Kid Koala (Eric Yick Keung San) stopped by the Regency Ballroom on July 24  to play their legendary self-titled debut album in full. Lealani kicked off the night with an opening set accompanied by DJ Kid Koala.

A space-opera set in the dystopian future year of 3030, the album imagines the title character (Deltron Zero) rebelling against an oppressive society controlled by rich corporate interests and machine learning overlords (okay, so maybe these guys were just 1000 years early on their predictions.) As Nakamura grew up in San Francisco and Jones in Oakland, this was a hometown show of sorts for the group.

Broken Dreams Club photographer Aaron Levy-Wolins was on hand to chronicle the spectacle. A gallery of photos is below, all credited to Levy-Wolins.

Broken Dreams Club Video Premiere: “Bastard” from Galore

Photo credit: Marisa Bazan

Anyone who dares sneak a peek at the news these days can understand why a rage room would be a nice place of refuge.

These oases of destruction are designed for people to take out their frustrations by smashing inanimate objects—glass bottles, air conditioners, old computers, you name it—to little bits and pieces. It’s a wonderful way of shoehorning catharsis into anti-social behavior, because, c’mon, everyone deserves to completely fuck something up at some point.

Galore, the great indie rock quartet out of San Francisco, fittingly stopped by a local such establishment recently to film the music video for their terrific new single, “Bastard,” the second release off their upcoming album, “Dirt.” That video is premiering now on Broken Dreams Club.

Like all Galore songs, “Bastard” defies easy convention. It’s lean and unadorned, full of crisp guitar lines and steady rhythm movements, recalling sleek and slender acts like The Feelies or The Clean. But guitarist and singer Griffin Jones’ clear, ringing vocals belie the slacker insouciance of those bands and her earnest delivery adds depth and poignancy to the song’s lyrics of self-loathing. 

Because as one could expect from a song called “Bastard,” the track isn’t exactly an ode to the human spirit. Jones catalogs her various shortcoming in a haltingly reflective manner, highlighted by her declaration that she’s “the bastard of almost everything.”

In their press materials for “Bastard,” the band astutely notes that the song is about, “in so many words, being a fuck up.”

“We’ve all messed up. I try to grow and learn from my mistakes,” Jones said in the release. “Getting older is crazy. You learn that life isn’t a joke. It feels more like a casino, fun but full of calculated risks.”

Those are heavy words of self-realization, but this song isn’t a morose dirge about disappointment. In fact, it’s fun as hell at times, no more so when the whole Galore gang—Griffin, bassist Ava Rosen, guitarist Ainsley Wagoner, and drummer Hannah Smith—jump in together for some inspired group vocals. 

Chanting, “Oh no, not me/What’s that I see/Smoky doorways/Lit windows/Who’s there,” the band sounds defiant and cheeky, evoking New Wave bands of the 80s or the kiss-off anthems of outfits such as The Breeders and Grass Widow (a beloved local act cited by Galore as an inspiration.) 

As evidenced by their highlight reel of smashery, Galore clearly had a great time making the video for “Bastard,” which was directed and edited by Taylor Giffin with camerawork from Juan Urrea. Rosen and Wagoner handled the titles for the video.  

An absolutely dynamic single, “Bastard” will only heighten the anticipation for “Dirt,” Galore’s long-awaited second LP. That effort will be released on July 25 through Speakeasy Studios SF, a San Francisco label managed by longtime musician and local mainstay Alicia Vanden Heuvel.

The late-July date can’t come soon enough, and for those who think that 3 ½ weeks is too long to wait for the new record, we might advise a visit to a rage room for some anxiety relief.