Latest news with #DaviesSymphonyHall
San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
A fan paid Paul Simon $20 to play this song — and it worked
Paul Simon may not take requests, but for $20, he'll make an exception. During the final night of his five-show run at Walt Disney Concert Hall on Wednesday, July 16, the legendary singer-songwriter paused his acoustic set when a fan shouted out a request for 'Kodachrome,' the beloved 1973 track he hadn't performed live since 2019. 'I don't take requests,' Simon quipped from the stage. 'But I'll do some of it for 20 bucks.' The fan, unfettered, produced a $20 bill and offered it up. Simon, 83, walked over, took the cash, and delivered on his promise — strumming through the first verse and chorus of the nostalgic tune to cheers and laughter from the audience. The spontaneous moment was captured by concertgoers and quickly spread across social media. One fan posted, 'Holy smokes I can't believe that just happened,' alongside video of the interaction. The performance marked a lighthearted interlude in a series of otherwise intimate and contemplative shows. Simon's current tour — his first major outing in seven years — follows recent surgery for severe back pain and comes amid ongoing struggles with hearing loss. According to a Los Angeles Times review, his voice, guitar work and lyrical precision remain striking, particularly in performances of material from his 2023 album 'Seven Psalms.' Simon is scheduled to bring his 'A Quiet Celebration' tour to San Francisco's Davies Symphony Hall on July 19 and 21-22, before wrapping the tour in Vancouver and Seattle. The singer rose to fame in the 1960s as co-founder of the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, with hits such as 'Mrs. Robinson' and 'The Sound of Silence,' before launching his solo career in the '70s. Simon's recent tour came as a surprise to many, after the musician indicated in 2018 that he was retiring from touring due to hearing loss. A year later, however, he performed a headlining set at San Francisco's Outside Lands festival. To assist with live performances, Simon has worked with his production team and Stanford Initiative to Cure Hearing Loss to adapt his stage setup with moving monitors to ensure optimal acoustics. For those hoping to hear a favorite deep cut, it seems a $20 bill might help. July 16, 2025 Set 1 'The Lord' 'Love Is Like a Braid' 'My Professional Opinion' 'Your Forgiveness' 'Trail of Volcanoes' 'The Sacred Harp' (with Edie Brickell) 'Wait' (with Edie Brickell) Set 2 'Graceland' 'Slip Slidin' Away' 'Train in the Distance' 'Homeward Bound' (Simon & Garfunkel) 'The Late Great Johnny Ace' 'St. Judy's Comet' 'Under African Skies' (with Edie Brickell) 'Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War' 'Rewrite' 'Spirit Voices' 'The Cool, Cool River' 'Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard' (with Edie Brickell) Encore 'Kodachrome' (abridged) 'Father and Daughter' '50 Ways to Leave Your Lover' 'The Boxer' (Simon & Garfunkel)
San Francisco Chronicle
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Yeah Yeah Yeahs ditch the chaos for a quiet, powerful night in San Francisco
Longtime fans of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are accustomed to seeing Karen O thrash across the stage and spray beer into the air. The frontwoman's statuesque presence and glam fashion solidified her rep as one of most enigmatic performers of this millennium. Yet on Monday, July 14, for the first of two back-to-back San Francisco concerts at Davies Symphony Hall, a centerstage stool for O hinted at what was to come: 90 minutes of lead singer O, guitarist Nick Zinner and drummer Brian Chase purposefully shaving off serrated edges and slowing down tempos, revealing the beauty at each song's core. 'We've been working on this very different Yeah Yeah Yeahs show. It's very vulnerable,' O explained, early on. 'Nothing's more 'punk rock' than being vulnerable.' After 25 years of creating catharsis from chaos, the New York art-punk trio was reimagining their catalog with fresh arrangements and textures. The intent was to counter the outside world's current doom spiral with an expression of clarity and community through their music. To meet the moment, they were joined by guitarist and longtime collaborator Imaad Wasif, a string quartet and a conductor who doubled as stand up bassist. The setting was the tony home of the San Francisco Symphony, part of the band's 18-date Hidden in Piece tour, designed for smaller — and in the case of Davies, more ornate — acoustically pure theaters. Shannon Shaw of Oakland indie faves Shannon and the Clams opened the evening with a set of torchy roots-rock that bridged vintage Americana, Motown pop and DIY punk. Shaw was joined by fiddler Sivan Lioncub and keyboardist Joel Robinow, all sounding great in the classy environment (Shaw's click-clack footsteps were audible in the upper tier). As for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, 'Cheated Hearts' and ' Skeletons ' benefited the most from this reconfiguration, the string section sawing away with verve, and drummer Brian Chase using timpani mallets to build 'Skeletons' to a triumphant close. 'Y Control' and 'Gold Lion' were similarly reconstructed but retained their lean sinew, while 'Despair' was a rousing halftime speech to elevate the masses. 'We're all on the edge, there's nothing to fear inside,' sang O. 'Through the darkness and the light, some sun has got to shine.' Still, there were moments of dissonance. Casual fans expecting to hear Zinner's epic guitar breakdown on the band's biggest hit, 2003's 'Maps,' had to settle for an unplugged take that whispered with gentle intimacy. This more subdued version begs to be used during opening credits on 'The Bear.' A cover of Björk's 'Hyper-Ballad' — a song Zinner and O noodled with when the band first formed in 2000 — was cooked down to its acoustic guitar-vocal essence. For YYY stans this might have been epic, but for YYY fans who know and/or revere Björk's original, the contrast was too much to process. Dressed in a red Christian Joy jumpsuit, Karen O was typically commanding, mostly ignoring the stool. During 'Spitting Off the Edge of the World,' she jumped up and down and two-stepped like an excited auntie at a wedding reception. Occasionally she brought out her old tricks, whipping the mic cord while posing and preening. But despite her approval of the audience standing up and dancing in their rows, many chose to enjoy the show seated. With early YYY fans who roughed it in the pit now reaching their 40s and 50s, this was an understandable compromise. As extra treats for its day-ones, the group dusted off a couple rarities: 'Our Time' from the band's self-titled 2001 EP, and a resplendent 'Warrior,' which was introduced with a bit of 'Isis.' A great Yeah Yeah Yeahs song has the power to propel you to the top of the world. These new versions make you feel like you're floating in an alternate universe, a zoom-out that allows for even deeper examination and introspection. Blacktop Our Time Gold Lion Hyper-Ballad (Bjork cover) Cheated Hearts Isis/Warrior Despair Skeletons Spitting Off the Edge of the World Maps Turn Into Y Control Zero Todd Inoue is a freelance writer.
San Francisco Chronicle
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Raphael Saadiq adds S.F. date to extended run of solo shows
Just a month after finishing his sold-out tour with back-to-back hometown performances in Oakland, Raphael Saadiq is ready to hit the road again — this time with 22 more cities on the itinerary. The East Bay R&B legend brought his 'No Bandwidth: One Man, One Night, Three Decades of Hits' to only four cities this spring. A departure from his full-band concerts, the shows were story-driven affairs that took audiences back to his days as a boy at Elmhurst Middle School as well as behind-the-scenes as a hitmaker for award-winning artists like Kendrick Lamar and Beyoncé — all between performances of fan favorites like the Toni! Tony! Toné! classic 'Anniversary' and Lucy Pearls' 'Dance Tonight.' Saadiq's newly announced set of shows is expected to maintain that same conversational tone. Beginning on Sept. 7 at Sacramento's Channel 24, with a concert at San Francisco's Davies Symphony Hall to follow on Sept. 8, the tour concludes on Oct. 14 at the Laura Turner Concert Hall in the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville. Ticket presales begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 9, while the general sale starts at 10 a.m. Friday, July 11. His upcoming performance in San Francisco will mark Saadiq's third Bay Area appearance this year. He was also a special musical guest at the 2025 NBA All-Star Game at Chase Center in February. 'My sound has been shaped by the Bay from day one,' Saadiq told the Chronicle ahead of his televised performance at the game. 'Growing up in East Oakland, when I walked outside, there was always somebody in their garage playing. It just informed me to perform at levels of excellence.' A landmark year for the artist, Saadiq received his third Grammy Award that same month for his contributions to Beyoncé's ' Cowboy Carter,' which won album of the year. He also helped to pen the track 'I Lied To You,' featured in fellow Oakland native Ryan Coogler 's hit film ' Sinners,' which hit streaming service Max last week.
San Francisco Chronicle
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Paul Simon cancels concerts to undergo emergency surgery ahead of S.F. shows
Paul Simon canceled two concerts over the weekend due to health complications, and is scheduled to undergo surgery ahead of his San Francisco shows. 'Paul has been struggling with chronic and intense back pain,' a statement shared to his Instagram account on Saturday, June 28 reads. 'Today it became unmanageable and demands immediate attention.' Due to the pain, the 83-year-old scrapped appearances at Philadelphia's Academy of Music on Saturday and Sunday, June 28-29. He had already completed one of the three scheduled shows at the venue on Thursday, June 27. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee will now undergo a 'minor surgical procedure' in the coming days before proceeding with his A Quiet Celebration Tour, according to the statement. Simon's next show is set for Long Beach on July 7. He is also scheduled for a three-night stint at San Francisco's Davies Symphony Hall on July 19 and 21-22. Though he is unable to reschedule his missed Philadelphia dates immediately, he says he will look into making up the concerts in the future, according to the statement. Full refunds are being offered to ticket holders. The singer rose to fame in the 1960s as co-founder of the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, with hits such as 'Mrs. Robinson' and 'The Sounds of Silence,' before launching his solo career in the '70s. Simon's recent tour came as a surprise to many, after the musician indicated in 2018 that he was retiring from touring due to hearing loss. A year later, however, he performed a headlining set at San Francisco's Outside Lands festival. To assist with live performances, Simon has worked with his production team and Stanford Initiative to Cure Hearing Loss to adapt his stage setup with moving monitors to ensure optimal acoustics. 'I don't think creativity stops with disability,' Simon said in a November interview on 'CBS Mornings.' 'So far, I haven't experienced that. And I hope not to.' Simon's A Quiet Celebration tour launched in New Orleans in early April and is scheduled to wrap up in August in Seattle.
San Francisco Chronicle
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Queens of the Stone Age to perform reworked hits in S.F.
Queens of the Stone Age is bringing newly reimagined versions of its hit songs to San Francisco this fall. The rock band is scheduled to take over Davies Symphony Hall on Nov. 10, as part of its limited-run Catacombs Tour. The trek draws on the band's recent concert film, 'Alive in the Catacombs,' which was shot in the Catacombs of Paris and released earlier this month. The Josh Homme-fronted group known for tracks like 'No One Knows' and 'Go With The Flow,' plans to 'draw upon the spirit of those sublime subterranean renditions' and enhance them with 'assembled ensembles,' according to the band's tour announcement released Monday, June 23. Ticket presales begin at 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 24, with general sales starting at 10 a.m. Friday, June 27. Fellow alt-rockers the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, which rose to prominence around the same time as Queens of the Stone Age in the aughts, is also scheduled to perform at Davies on July 14-15 as part of its Hidden in Pieces 25th anniversary tour. Queens of the Stone Age's series of intimate shows, all of which are set in historic theaters, kicks off on Oct. 2 in Chicago and wraps up in New Orleans on Nov. 21. European dates are expected to be announced soon. 'You'll want to look as good as the music is going to sound on this very special evening at the theater,' the tour announcement states, encouraging fans to dress up for the occasion. Queens of the Stone Age have only recently returned to live performances, following a string of cancellations last year prompted by Homme's health issues, including an undisclosed emergency surgery. While the band did not share details, Homme revealed in 2023 that he had undergone successful cancer treatment. The group's most recent album, 'In Time New Roman…,' was released in July 2024.
