“They’re not the best at what they do. They’re the only ones that do what they do.”

Bill Graham’s famous observation in the 1970s about The Grateful Dead was certainly true at the time. In hindsight today, roughly fifty years after Graham’s renowned declaration (it’s difficult to pin down exactly when he said it), both the insinuation of the Dead’s supremacy and the certainty of their exclusivity are debatable.

Friko, man. Fucking brilliant.

Friko’s 2024 album Where We've Been, Where We Go From Here is one of the most interesting, emotional, and exciting albums of 2024. It’s everything rock is supposed to be. Anthemic, loud guitars? Check. John Lennon-ish angst and introspection? Check. Earwormy, Paul McCartney-ish melodies? Check. Youthful passion, poetry, and poignancy? Check.

Portland indie darlings The Decemberists brought their road show to Oakland’s Fox Theater on Saturday night. The Decemberists are touring in support of their latest release, "As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again."

This February 2024, the Fox Theater – Oakland celebrates 15 years since reopening as a world-class live entertainment venue under the direction of Another Planet Entertainment. Oakland’s architectural masterpiece made its debut in 1928 as a movie palace, eventually closing in 1966 and remaining shuttered for over 40 years. After undergoing an expansive $75 million renovation of the space and taking careful steps to restore its jaw-dropping original details, the Fox Theater made its glorious return in February 2009.

The String Cheese Incident has announced their 2023 New Year’s Eve run with three shows at The Fox Theater in Oakland, CA.  The newly announced run will also mark the official 30th anniversary of the band which is sure to celebrate the band’s multi-decade career. 

Grandeur and a star-filled cast, along with soulful ballads, New Orleans-style funk, and plenty of raucous blues and rock abounded in the ornate, 2,800-capacity Fox Theater in Oakland, Calif., as a 29-song, three-plus-hour production of The Last Waltz Tour 2022 wrapped up its two-night residency on December 3.

Over the course of two memorable evenings in June 2018, legendary soul-funk-R&B outfit Tower of Power returned to Oakland, the city that started it all, to celebrate its landmark 50th anniversary with a few thousand friends, family and fans. The window-rattling grooves and raucous party spirit of ToP has been a balm for the soul throughout the band’s half-century existence, but the release of 50 Years of Funk & Soul: Live at the Fox Theater – Oakland, CA – June 2018 couldn’t have come at a better time.

In the midst of their 25th anniversary year, The String Cheese Incident took a wise approach at arranging a hefty year of touring. Playing mini runs and hitting some of their storied spots without the strains of a nineteen-city summer or fall tour. For Cheese, the last few years have clarified to the band and fans something collectively; there’s nothing better than building momentum together. The era of sporadic SCI shows augmented by side projects of the member’s different directions is over.

Few iconic bands who have been a group for fifty years truly play with the vigor and focus of their heyday. Not that there’s anything erroneous regarding nostalgia, but for the seminal group King Crimson there’s historically been little looking back. Denying the moniker of progressive rock (reasonably so, as they predate the subgenre) the group’s core founding member Robert Fripp (guitars, keyboards, mellotron) generally led a charge towards new material every tour and an evolving methodology on arrangements.

On the last Tuesday night in May, Little Feat continued their triumphant 50th anniversary tour in Oakland at the storied Fox Theater. Time-honored members Bill Payne (piano, keys, synth), Paul Barrere (guitars), Kenny Gradney (bass), Sam Clayton (percussion), and Fred Tackett (guitars, mandolin, trumpet) were joined by Gabe Ford (drums) and very special guests Midnight Ramble Horns (Steve Bernstein, Erik Lawrence, Jay Collins,) for a night of career-spanning classics.