My Musical Adventures

This show was supposed to happen right before Halloween last year, with NAILS opening, but it was postponed. I was really bummed out, because Godflesh...

“I was thinking of coming out here with powdered sugar all over my face”, Alice Cooper, star of the documentary Super Duper Alice Cooper, proclaimed...

Read about the show on GRAMMY.com here, and see my Black Carpet interviews, where I asked tons of artists about music eduction, below!

My GRAMMY.com coverage for Record Store Day!

It’s felt like Groundhog Day as I walked into The Roxy for the 3rd time in 4 days. I walked in just as the curtain...

“Dawn of creation blessed in devotion Love, lust, spaces in time bringing colours to life Spectrums defy us left to remind us Love, lust, spaces...

“Where are you going?” “What is The Roxy?” “Would you like a piece of gum?” “Would you like to hear some music?” “Would you like...

Ugh, that dreaded sound… 8 years into this, and I made a rookie mistake of showing up to the gig for a “hometown” show for...

Once again, I got to bring an extreme metal piece to the masses on GRAMMY.com! A side note: The night before I watched The Conjuring....

It was a night that could only exist in LA. The infamous stage at the Whisky-A-Go-Go played host to a night of musical collaborations from...

Check out my piece for the GRAMMY setlist!

I am constantly on the search for the right vibe. Once upon a time, when I was in elementary school, a parent-teacher conference revealed that...

I was sitting at my computer on Valentine’s Day when I got an alert that Joan Jett & The Blackhearts would be playing The Roxy,...

I knew I needed 2 things: 1) to get out of town 2) to immerse myself in a metal show Pomona may have not been...

My closet is organized like a record store. The metal section is vast: black, spiky, leathered ensembles which, upon close inspection, could probably tell stories...

The velvet rope, sniffling doorman with a clipboard club scene has never been my thing; that said, I have randomly ended up at the Sayer’s...

I spend a lot of time thinking about what it means to be a fan. Between Deadheading it around the country for bands at times,...

“I followed all the paths Righteous in my heart Slept without the dreams Got lost within myself” ~”Death in the Eyes of Dawn”, Enslaved The classic...

There comes certain junctures in life where parts of your past becomes a stranger, sometimes a welcome one; at other times, unwanted.  As I stepped...

It is a strong testament to the power of music that I summoned enough energy to attend this show; not only was it a Monday...

I’ve said “this is a once in a lifetime opportunity” to myself an uncountable number of times in my life over the past decade; as...

My music education growing up was nearly non-existent.  A little Willie, a little Waylon, and a whole lot of western soundtracks broke the silence of...

LA on a quiet night can seem oddly discordant, like the dull underbelly of a bright bug.  As I drove the dark, empty streets to...

It was a cold December day, and I was standing on a step at the corner of the El Rey’s stage. As the sand in...

Well, I finally got to write about my favorite band for GRAMMY.com! I left the unedited article before, as a lot of words had to...

Well… this feels weird. It was 3:30am on a drizzly Tuesday morning in San Antonio, TX, and I was standing at the checkout counter in...

You can read my post on GRAMMY.com. …and the next morning I flew home on Southwest and Duff and his wife were on my flight!

If only all shows could be this easy. Exit plane. Take cab to hotel. Thrown bags in room. Take cab to venue. Get handed a...

“Sometimes I feel very sad Sometimes I feel very sad (Can’t find nothin’ I can put my heart and soul into) Sometimes I feel very...

You can read my piece on GRAMMY.com!

You can read my piece on GRAMMY.com!

It was Monday night, at that time of year where hot and cold battle each other in the air, and the sun going down earlier...

“3 shades of black We all like metal and Whiskey! Livin’ Hard and chasin’ down Hell. We’ll never give up on what we have because...

“She wears a halo of ashes Specter on the wind Waits on me so patiently I no longer can pretend Tomorrow my thousand miles behind...

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!” This is what I wanted to yell at people through about 67.75% of this show; reminding me why I generally like...

“Sensual awakening Numbing feeling’s dead Conception’s romanticised Synthesized broken hearts to bled” ~”No Love Lost”, Carcass I was holding tickets to see Depeche Mode the...

You can read the edited version of my piece on GRAMMY.com, or the unedited version below! I have always been a dancer. From ballet classes...

My piece for GRAMMY.com can be found here. A few more things: -This was ‘musical adventure’ number 666 for me…on Friday the 13th. -3 hours...

It had been a while since I had made the voyage eastward to the dingy but somewhat charming Vex. As the giant face that adorns...

Sometimes you wake up in LA and the city suffocates you. Beyond the smog, we’re a city of passionate people, folks trying to make it...

Check out my piece on GRAMMY.com. I will also never return to this venue if I can help it.

This year has been an educational one, as I have expanded my music horizons beyond my already diverse and unpredictable tastes. So when my original...

I had spent the last week in the crystal blue waters and vibrant green rainforests of Hawaii, and less than 24 hours after returning to...

Sometimes there’s just something in the air, something with the moon, something with us that makes a show….weird. That would be what happened in the...

Check out my piece on GRAMMY.com!

The Power of the Riff shows have become something I look forward to every year; it is my taste of the festivals I bypass all...

After near email, outdoor advertising, and social media harassment from multiple angles advertising this festival, I decided to go. It was within walking distance, and...

I wrote about this show for GRAMMY.com…but a few points in addition: A paragraph deleted in editing: At one point, guitarist Billy Gibbons addressed the...

The scent of fried food. The whirr of machinery intermingling with screams of elation. The sight of eye-bulging over-saturation and over-stimulation. I’m at the fair....

The venue is like a supporting cast member that makes or breaks a show for me, and when I walk into the sexily lit El...

Since I’ve scaled back to going to about one show a week, I’ve recaptured some of the magic of entering a venue and feeling the...

I ripped off whatever band shirt I had slept in the night before and slunk into some black jeans. As I looked in the mirror...

You can read my piece on Mayhem Fest on the GRAMMY site (with awesome photos), or see the unedited version below. This would be my...

“It’s been a long time since I rock and rolled It’s been a long time since I did the stroll Ooh, let me get it...

I have spent my entire life as a wanderer without a map. Born with a restless hum to tirelessly search for something, I have stood...

“Without music, life would be a mistake.” ~Friedrich Nietzsche I was still on a desert high as I walked into The Wiltern. There had been...

It had been six long years since I last saw Iggy and The Stooges. While his headlining slot was what got me out to Ink-N-Iron,...

“When your eyes Pause on the ball That hangs on the third branch from a star, You remember why it got dark And why it...

You can read my post about the show on GRAMMY.com. This was probably my first exposure to Tom Petty haha:

I am living amidst a state of emotional discontent. This is mostly derived from a self-induced goth summer, where I spend my days and nights...

This was my third year covering this event for GRAMMY.com. You can see my piece about the event here. And here are my red carpet...

It took me two fuckin’ hours to get from Hollywood to The Grove, but I was still early. The days where I get really excited...

It was perhaps the most anticipated show of the year for many people I know. I ended up eating my ticket to see Opeth and...

I will never forget the sinking feeling in my stomach as I approached the black carpet for the Golden Gods Awards. About an hour before,...

There’s nothing like 5pm LA traffic to prepare you for a Dillinger Escape Plan show. There’s nothing like running into an old flame while walking...

I always wonder about, when I’m older, what bands I’ll look back on and know that I was there for the full trajectory of their...

When I first saw the lineup for The Decibel Tour, after thinking “must go” I also knew it was going to be a long night....

Check out my post on GRAMMY.com!

“If i could stick my pen in my heart And spill it all over the stage Would it satisfy ya, would it slide on by...

The rare metal show at The Roxy is always an exciting thing, and as I walked up to buy a ticket that night at the...

“It’s been so lonely without u here Like a bird without a song Nothing can stop this lonely rage Tell me baby where did I...

Check out my review of the show on GRAMMY.com And here’s from the last time I saw Killing Joke.

I was lucky enough to be there for metal’s biggest night again this year. Check out my piece for GRAMMY.com, an my black carpet interviews...

Never did I think that it would become routine for me to drive deep into East LA and look for a giant face on the...

“Virgin cells to penetrate Too premature to permeate They can’t elucidate Never thought I was the enemy I am the plague” ~”Plague”, Crystal Castles This...

A definite benefit to living in Hollywood! Walked out my door and over to this, watched them play 5 songs, for free!

I spent the day talking to music fans at Vacation Vinyl on Record Store Day for a vlog for GRAMMY.com!

“The thought of killing entered my mind some time ago What possesses an individual to kill I have often pondered the thought Time and time...

$3 margaritas. That is not how I expected to start this piece…but after valeting, standing in a line in the cold wind for a few...

I would say that a close runner up in the number of band shirts I see at the shows I go to, behind Metallica and...

As I maneuvered traffic on the way to Pomona, my head was still abuzz with Black Sabbath riffs, and it didn’t hit me I was...

“Is your life real, or is it just pretend?” ~”End of The Beginning”, Black Sabbath As I walked along the stars on Vine Street under...

After spending 6 hours in the hair salon that morning beginning the transition from black to blonde hair, I was ready for this show. This...

I am very fortunate that, without the guidance of an older sibling or my parents, I stumbled upon several things between the formative ages of...

Every time I walk up to LA Live I get confused. It reeks of the bright, clean flashiness of Las Vegas, a stark contrast to...

I have a piece up about this show on GRAMMY.com GO SEE THIS TOUR!!

“Bile drapes the towers Light begins to cease Watch the towers fall Onto peasants’ feet He is the one with the branded mark Watch for...

“Didn’t I meet you last time? But you were dressed as a skeleton…” It was a very Spring Saturday, and while my friends went to...

Perhaps it is somehow poetically appropriate that I have practically been living at the House of Blues this past week. It would be another sold...

I was about to make my first adult decision in a long time. I was contacted about providing some very exclusive coverage of the Mayhem...

I don’t even want to know how many hours of my life are spent thinking about concerts. Finding new ones to go to…calendaring them….buying tickets….obtaining...

I was sitting on my couch feeling a sad, lonely Friday night coming on when I got a text to come to the House of...

I’ve always said that when I’ve encountered a difficult time seeing one of my favorite bands…when I finally catch them, it makes up for it....

Write up on GRAMMY.com!!

In 8th grade, I slipped into a deep depression that would haunt me on and off for my entire life. It was the year that...

I’ve been a huge fan of Brendon Small since the beginning of HardRockChick in 2007. Proof: ->I first learned of Metalocalypse because I vetted the...

“Strive, strive, surmount the obstacles Become the essence of your goals Hereditary dream Pray that you may attain that destiny Fall into the coveted line...

I wrote about this show for GRAMMY.com. My focus for the year in terms of live music is new stuff and bucket list bands. Morrissey...

A Friday night on the Sunset Strip has morphed many times throughout the years. Sometimes thinking about this depresses me, and this is exactly what...

My piece about the show for GRAMMY.com I went to 5 shows in a row this week- something that I rarely do anymore- and they...

“I’m crazy, crazy for feelin’ so lonely And I’m crazy, crazy for feelin’ so blue Oh I knew, you’d love me as long as you...

I’m so over the cold. Downtown LA is the perfect backdrop for a cold, rainy night. Shivering, I walked up to the Mayan theater, and...

The city seemed a ghost town as I drove through unfamiliar territory to the East LA neighborhood of Eagle Rock. As I walked up to...

” Music is my boyfriend…music is my hot hot sex.” ~”Music is my hot hot sex”, CSS I hate Valentine’s Day. I’ve hated it since...

This year marked my fourth year covering GRAMMY week as part of the Recording Academy’s Community Blogger program. With last year’s GRAMMYs being the most...

I recently started watching Girls. Even though I’m almost 10 years older than the characters in the show, I can commiserate in my delayed adulthood....

I don’t really know what I’m doing at NAMM, but it’s pretty cool to walk through those convention doors and now know a ton of...

Read about it in my post on GRAMMY.com here and watch my red carpet interviews below!

Burning Rain & S.U.N. I was mostly here to hang with friends and this was my first night out after being down almost 2 weeks...

The night before this show, I fainted and split my head open and ended up in Cedars Sinai Emergency room with a staple gun to...

I always say the first show of the year sets the tone for what’s to come. This year, I started off with a band I’d...

“Running without aim Through the razor weeds That only reach my knees And when I’m lying in the grey sleep I don’t know how to...

Well, we survived Doomsday. I pulled into valet at The Rainbow, taking the last spot available. After dropping by the Key Club to catch Bonded...

“You’re dyin’ alone, you should’ve known It be cold yeah, cold yeah, cold yeah Now you know you’re alone, you’re a screaming gun, yeah Gun...

“People usually complain that music is so ambiguous; that it is so doubtful what they ought to think when they hear it; whereas everyone understands...

I took a wrong turn and am flying around the hills in an unfamiliar part of LA blasting “Over the Mountain”. I’m on my way...

I had fun on the boat, but, boy, did it feel good to be seeing a show on solid ground again. After interviewing 3 Inches...

I have this thing where I’m really attracted to stuff that both excites me and freaks me out. So when, this summer, my friends and...

I braved the rain for my first GRAMMY event of the season….Bon Jovi at the Paramount Backlot. You can read about it here.

As I worked on preparing all of my coworkers for me to be incommunicado for a full week, vacation brain started to lay itself on...

I have a piece up on GRAMMY.com about the Alice Cooper show. I am forever challenged to keep my writing about bands to their small...

First I had Henry Rollins tickets, and then Dethklok/Machine Head was announced. Got those, and then Soundgarden was announced. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to a...

“Our minds bend And our fingers fall Entwined, we dream I know Time shifting We discover the entry To other planes Stay with me As...

“As I lay to die the things I think Did I waste my time? I think I did I worked for life” ~Agenda Suicide, The...

I’m at the tail end of a long list of metal shows I threw on my calendar when I arrived in LA to immerse myself...

At this point, there really isn’t much more I can write about A Place to Bury Strangers, except that, even though I’ve seen them many...

“I bite my lip. I buy what I’m told: From the latest hit, To the wisdom of old. But I’m always alone. And my heart...

It was Halloween, and I was Lydia Deetz: I’ve already written about this Lamb of God set for the GRAMMY site, but here are a...

“I Am The Night, A Silent As Shadow Bound By The Crave Of Human Flesh Blood Crazed, With Vicious Abandon Ripping Limbs From Bodies, Crushing...

Emerging from a grim locale in the…Hollywood Hills, two girls in corpse paint crawled into a menacing….camaro and drove in the bleak…..broad daylight to the...

I gotta say, there’s nothing like leaving the house looking like this: …and getting picked up by two chicks that look like this: I love...

I wrote about The Darkness for the GRAMMY site…you can see the edited version of what’s below here. Haha. I’m standing at the front of...

I’m walking from my place down Argyle, past the douchiest of douchey clubs. Hordes of women teetering on heels that they can’t walk in, wearing...

I zipped into the Whisky and around the crowd to the corner of the stage just in time for Threat Signal to come on. It...

In the dark, cavernous space that is the Viper Room, I listened to the amazing guitar tones coming from Pelle Hillstrom, guitarist for Teleskopes. I’m...

I think I had maybe been living in LA for two days when this event popped up. There’s no better validation for moving to LA...

“Where’s the rest of your troublemakers?” OK, you know you go to The Rainbow too much when The Bouncer recognizes your car and wonders where...

You will never understand what Madonna meant to a little girl unless you were born around 1980. What’s above is an admittedly embarrassing picture of...

“Where am I?” As I navigated a new part of LA, I asked myself this question….but I already knew the answer: I’m in denial. Kids...

“This is your chance… Revolt, Resist! Open you chest, look down, reach in. Shedding your skin, showing your texture. Time to let everything inside show....

“This is the end, Though I saw it coming before we went to bed, No I never could be the one for you. This is...

That morning I woke up feeling like something was just different. As I walked down the Sunset Strip to the Viper Room, I had an...

“I been up, ‘n’ I been down I been messed up ‘n’ turned around I been a fool, ‘n’ I been wise I’ve seen shit...

It is rare that a day passes where I don’t question my entire existence. I had always driven by the Silent Theater and pondered going....

“I have seen people bleed And I thought I’d seen it all But my own two eyes were proven wrong that day There are things...

“Decree of my darkest dreams. Memories of my future. Welcome to my church. I am your savior. Shapeless to your perception. For I am you,...

As I got dressed for this show, I discovered that Decrepit Birth had to drop off the tour due to their van being broken into...

“Look into my eyes Do you see any love? The only thing is agony Now I can’t wait to give you the good pain Die...

“Impure is the secret that all men speak Impurity is the secret……” ~The Catechism of Depression, Mournful Congregation It was one of those days where...

Down & Out in downtown Los Angeles. I’m loving living in LA. And I’m reminded of this tonight, as I drive from the sunshiny sprawling...

“Why isn’t anyone here?” 10 minutes later and a trek down a homeless person addled stairway to the other entrance and back. “How did so...

We’re crawling down the 101, giggling furiously because a Four Runner full of frat boys are pointing at us, one going to the extreme of...

I’ve had the same conversation many times lately, some with fellow writers, some with the makers of the music itself: “I’m kinda burned out on...

A couple of times a year for the past few years I’ve found myself amidst the multi-instrumental, festive, communal experience that is Folk Metal. It...

“Broken Heads Brainwashed Hatred Pulls Me Through In Your Mind Instinct For Survival Censored Views Trick And Confuse It Began Just As I Knew It...

“On an overdose of drugs, overdose of sin I’m gonna live it to the fullest like I’m on ten and I love gettin’ high –...

“To vertical depths Above the stars For when I die, The universe will die with me and all will be lost, forever gone Where am...

“Dear mother, I love you I’m sorry, I wasn’t good enough Dear Father, forgive me Cause in your eyes, I just never added up In...

It began as one of those days where I couldn’t bear to hear another piece of bad news; every ding of a text, ring of...

The evening began early, as I finally got to meet the Backstage Bear and then interviewed Wayne and Tera Static on the bus hours before...

A Texas thunderstorm had ceased the elevators in my building from working, and as I pulled on a hoodie in the 85 degree weather to...

The steamy Club 606 reflects the hot, post-rain summer night. The occasion; One-Eyed Doll‘s record release for Dirty. A glance around the room shows the...

Friday the 13th. This one was particularly special, as I spent the afternoon headbanging for about 5 hours straight to the same song over and...

You can find my show review on the GRAMMY site. On top of that, I’d like to crown Dallas, Texas with the award for scariest...

“Drifting beyond all time Out of a churning sky Drawn to the beckoning light Of the dark eternal night Trapped in a hellish dream Spinning...

I think that I’ve known Willie Nelson and his music since I was so young that I’ve looked at him like an extended member of...

You know how sometimes you just need a show to get completely lost in because the week has so totally fucked your mind that you...

As I approached the sprawling metropolis of the place of my birth, I began to feel weird. Partially because I’d been going nonstop, partially because...

Hi. I’ve already got a piece up on GRAMMY.com about this…but it had to be edited down and there was just too much to say...

I wasn’t going to write about this, but I had a lot to say… I never thought I’d say I saw Ralph Stanley play Emo’s…and...

It was ROT Rally weekend in Austin, and as the loud roar of bikes could be heard across downtown…none of those sounds could compare to...

I can remember my friends in Gypsyhawk asking me if I knew Scorpion Child last summer when they found out I was from Austin. They’ve...

I thought it was going to be a quiet week, but as I was preparing for a vegan metalhead potluck to close out Chaos in...

24 hours prior to starting Chaos in Tejas weekend I was on the red carpet in LA. Now we were surrounded by crust punkers, smelling...

Read my post on GRAMMY.com here.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen a show that blew me away, and indulged in the whole ‘drop everything and follow them to the...

“Hey you! Do you remember me? I used to sit next to you at school We indulged in all the extra-curricular activities We weren’t particularly...

Read my piece about the show on GRAMMY.com here.

About a month and a half ago my heart sank as I hung up the phone after agreeing to go on a project in New...

Read about the show on GRAMMY.com here.

I’ve never had to park this far away from Emo’s in the 502 times I’ve been here in the past month! I’ve never seen so...

In metal, there have always been subgenres that end up being….picked on. Glam metal….grunge….and in particular, nu metal. When nu metal started becoming popular in...

“wish I was ocean size they cannot move you no one tries no one pulls you out from your hole like a tooth aching a...

I walk into Emo’s to SuidAkrA on stage and an oddly civil and organized audience, standing in self-appointed rows. I’ll have to admit I was...

If a full moon makes people crazy, a supermoon makes people completely mental. I could sense this on my walk from home to venue, the...

“You’ve been here as much as me this week!” the security at the door of Emo’s tells me. Yeah…. It’s been a while since I’ve...

4 nights earlier I had seen this tour in LA. I’ve followed many tours over the past few years, and this proved to be the...

Last year’s Austin Psych Fest was, as one would expect, a trippy adventure amidst the weird energy of the now defunct Seaholm Power Plant. To...

“Take your heart into your hand Always Take your heart into your hand Always I’m on my way back home I’m on my way back...

Sometimes things just magically fall into place. Two of what I’m sure to be my favorite tours of the year on back to back nights...

There’s something special about the hometown show. On Saturday night, Emo’s was filled with Texas metalheads- some who had driven many hours- there to support...

Every year, as the sun starts shining more, there comes the long awaited part of the year that live music fans lust for: concert season....

Once upon a time, about an hour and a half away from here, there was a 13 year old girl who had a bedroom decorated...

It had been two years since I last went to the Revolver Golden Gods Awards. This time around, I would be there as the rock...

I left the formal affair that was Experience Hendrix to walk down the street to the grittier side….my side…for a show I had only been...

When I was a preteen, I became the biggest fan of the 27 Club. I didn’t realize that at the time, of course, and Kurt...

My previous two years of SXSW coverage have taken you on my journey show by show…but this year was a little atypical for me. Instead...

Ah, the beginning of SXSW. As I walked around during the day, I saw the noticeable changeover in people as the Interactive portion of the...

“What the hell am I doing here? I don’t belong here.” The summer of 1993 is what I often think of as the first branching...

All work and no play makes HardRockChick a dull girl. 2012 has been the busiest year so far for me professionally and personally; I’ve been...

I recently watched the Metal Evolution series. I’m a huge fan of Sam Dunn’s anthropological lens that he brings to music, which is in line...

“Echoes and specters and ghosts of none the wiser Apparitions each, bad decisions brush on by Envious in the ever after Electric fuzzy haze of...

“I’m falling away from this artificial life Omit treason cast upon thee My revelations Beginning a new life” ~”A New Beginning”, Threat Signal I’m standing...

Every day should start with someone knocking on your door to do hair and makeup. I’d never really had this kind of treatment done for...

The Clive Davis party is one of the most exclusive nights in music….so me being there feels weird all on its own. But nothing….NOTHING…will ever...

Even though I was running on fumes reporting on everything rock-related for the GRAMMYs, I made time to ‘keep it real’ by swinging by the...

Being on the red carpet of an event as exclusive as the MusiCares Person of the Year benefit is beyond surreal. When someone you’ve known...

This being my third year covering GRAMMY week, one of my favorite events is the Social Media Rock Star Summit. It feels very contemporary, and...

I knew this was going to be one of the most action-packed, geeky, and start-studded days of my life…and the energy was pulsing through me...

There’s been one thing that has remained completely consistent on this blog since it started five years ago, and that’s my focus on the live...

My GRAMMY week was kicked off in style- with a dress up event celebrating beauty and music. I started the evening at a metal show,...

My new year’s resolution was to learn to say “no” to things. So far I am failing miserably. No, I’m not talking about drugs…unless you...

“Tonight we’re summoned for a divine cause” I can distinctly remember the first time I listened to Ghost‘s Opus Eponymous. It was after months of...

Early that morning I was launched out of bed by thunder and lightning shaking everything around me. The flickering luminescence caused by the lightning cracking...

It was to be my second year at NAMM; and this year I was prepared. A room at the Hilton, comfortable shoes, and an expectation...

“Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind. Withering my intuition, missing opportunities and I must Feed my will to feel my moment...

I loathe New Year’s. But when in good company of both bands and friends, I discovered that it can be alright. Dinner ran late, and...

It’s the day before the last day of the year. It’s when reflection overload causes you to vow to make changes in your life, which...

Well, the two month sabbatical is over. With the exception of writing a couple GRAMMY blogs from Cambodia and New Zealand, I kept off the...

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it...

“I have a feeling that in 72 hours, I’m going to wake up and be like, ‘WTF happened?!'” It turns out that was kind of...

Remember that Halloween where we dressed up as vikings and named ourselves Hellga, Amartha, and Thorhalla and went to this studio in Silverlake and drank...

It would be my last show on The Strip for a while. I was already getting sentimental as I drove there, speeding as my car...

Once upon a time, I was a very politically-minded individual. Throughout school I was heavily into activism, whether it be letter writing for anti animal...

Somehow I inherited my mother’s Catholic guilt. The question I most often ask myself is, “am I doing the right thing”. Sure, a lot of...

This was one of those nights where there were just too many options for shows to go to…Judas Priest in San Bernadino…Anthrax in downtown LA…Primus...

I will be the first to admit that a) I am not an audiophile as people expect me to be and b) I don’t have...

Apparently last week was LA Fashion Week. I literally lead a one note life; all of my cultural activities are music related; art and fashion...

“Caught in a spiral of need Act without the choice Choose not to act Caught in a spiral of need Desperate and alone in a...

I wasn’t supposed to be here. My summer in LA was supposed to end in August; but I was having so much fun pretending to...

I entered The Whisky in a daze, having already seen four bands down the road, knowing that I was about to enter the heavy curtain...

I stood in LACMA staring at Andy Warhol’s Rorschach. What do I see? A guitar! It made no sense for me to drive home and...

I can remember hearing about Rob Zombie’s curated Halloween scares for a long time, and finally I was able to go to Universal Studios to...

It’s 3pm on a Sunday. I imagine that most of America is doing something religious or family or sports-centric. We are dressed in black, jetting...

As I made my way to pick up my copilot to venture to the outskirts of LA, I passed something very fitting: “Exhale”…oh green pharmacies...

It’s a time of intense personal reflection for me. There are times in life when you are busy just ‘doing’. You’ve got things to do,...

“Descending! Into madness Sanity falling away Nothing remains from the world you have known Enter the realms beyond the gate” For as long as I...

It would be the beginning of Rocktober and the night that marked the start of my last month in LA. While I haven’t been here...

Today was the first day of the rest of my life. It was the day I left behind the corporate world to fully actualize my...

This was just “one of those nights”. Sometimes that’s a good thing; tonight that was not the case. In fact, it kind of became a...

I was born ‘the good girl’. I got really good grades. Some may have even called me ‘teacher’s pet’. I was terribly shy and never...

There was one week back in June when you couldn’t NOT talk to a metalhead and have them bitch about the new Morbid Angel album....

As the one year anniversary of my mother’s death approached, I knew I needed to do something to distract me. When a trip to go...

I had seen the show 48 hours before, but it couldn’t have been more different. The bands were the same. The setlists were the same....

“Under a sky, no one sees Waiting, watching it happening Don’t hurry, give it time Things are the way they have to be. Slow down,...

I’m the eternal third wheel to my friend and her boyfriend these days. After an adventurous meal at an Oaxacan restaurant where I was the...

As I gathered my things to make the trek to Long Beach, I read the news about a widespread blackout in Southern California. Long Beach...

“I don’t wanna touch you too much baby ‘Cos making love to you might drive me crazy I know you think that love is the...

We were lost in downtown LA’s Chinatown. That is, until we saw the white van and trailer and long-haired men amidst the pseudo-foreign land backdrop....

That morning I woke up crying. I’d had the most intense dream yet about my mom. She recently started appearing in them…however, she’s still sick....

It’s Labor Day weekend. That time of year when you start to notice that it’s getting darker a little sooner, a little cooler at night,...

“Keyed up, all tore up Free from thought, walking backwards Tranquil anxiety Refraining from walking backwards Reverse and rewind Contemplate moving forward Regrets indicate, moving...

On Tuesday morning, I was working away and took a quick Facebook break when something popped up in my feed regarding Marilyn Manson. It was...

“Standing on the ocean side We can hear the waves Calling us out with tide To sail into our fate” ~”The Pursuit of Vikings”, Amon...

Even though I’m just a small town girl, I love the city. I love having everything at my fingertips, the anonymity in a sea of...

I’ve got two words for you: Sunset Strip. What comes to mind? Somewhere in the plethora of imagery that these two words evoke for me...

People often ask me what HardRockChick is. It’s not exactly a music blog- I don’t do record reviews….my live show reviews aren’t even really reviews....

Many of us had to make the decision between two shows on this hot, summer evening: Exhumed at the Key Club….or Torche at the Troubadour?...

This may go down as my most bizarre show of the year. Barely recovered from being crushed by thousands at The Gorge, I somehow found...

By the end of it I decided that I will never do rail at a big show again. After years in the front lines of...

Everything always has to happen at the same time. We were all set to spend a weekend in Seattle when it was announced that Black...

I didn’t think it could get any better than the three November Avalon shows. After hearing each album in it’s entirety, I went into this...

You never have a relationship with an album like you do when you’re young. As you get older, everything you encounter is compared to what...

“I’m on the list.” “That’ll be $5 per person” “No, you don’t understand…I’m on The List”. “But you’re not on That List” There’s nothing like...

Somewhere deep in LA pop culture history will lie the memories of the weekend of what was deemed ‘Carmaggedon‘. I started hearing about it as...

“When you’re high, you never ever wanna come down…” I will perhaps spend my whole life seeing pieces of the bands I love the most,...

“How did you get into metal music?” This is a frequently asked question, and my usual answer is that I always have been. But I...

“The shadow’s creepin’, only one way left to go You hit the bottom where the silence only grows It’s never alone…” I remember adding this...

When I saw the documentary Heavy Metal In Baghdad a couple years ago, mouth agape, I never thought I would actually see them in person....

I had what most might deem an unusual childhood. In a world of Disneyland vacations, Girl Scout troops, and summer camp as normal childhood touchstones,...

He struts in place, the goth lord amongst a small contingency of his followers. The Troubadour has housed many icons past, present, and future; I...

They say that smell triggers memories….but since my nose doesn’t work very well, for me it is sound. I get mail occasionally about some of...

“Don’t cause any trouble now, Texas”. Two and a half weeks in and I already have haunts….this was my second time this week to Three...

I paid someone to walk all over me. It was much better than the kind that you don’t pay someone to do to you. Living...

My first memory of Rush went something like this: I was spending the night at one of my best friends’ houses in elementary school. I...

I’ve spent the majority of the last 4 and a half years going to metal shows by myself. And while danger can find you anywhere,...

“She never leaves her home but she’s real sweet Got her own style, leaves the windows real wide Crosses her fingers after so many years...

This would be my first of hopefully many ‘this only happens in LA’ shows; the type of thing you can generally only see if you...

There are some bands I will always associate with the early days of HardRockChick, and She Wants Revenge is one of them. Their music continues...

It was a night where I could indulge in wearing my Lip Service gear and more eye makeup than usual. I have to stop myself...

It would be my first solo show outing in LA. There’s something about going to a show by myself to see a band I barely...

“To the edge Till we all get off I will take You away with me Once and for all.” ~Diamond Eyes You have no idea...

In a space behind the retro, hipster-infested Beauty Bar lies a stage. Beyond that stage is a chain link fence. Behind that chain link fence...

Last summer was the “summer of my discontent“. This summer, I am intent on making it my own. To do that, I am relocating to...

“I killed you in me, I’m willing to live to start over, No sign of love, it’s obsolete, I still feel lust in power, I’m...

I was really excited when shortly after easily procuring pit tickets to see Rammstein, a System of a Down show was announced for the following...

photography and video by capital_m Five months earlier, I sat down in my seat at Madison Square Garden after seeing Rammstein for the first time,...

I hate the feeling of sickness creeping in. And since I always have a million things to do, I always choose to ignore it. I...

When your hobby begins to take more and more time and you don’t get paid for it but you treat it like a job, the...

For the last 9 months, my life has been in transition. I’ve had no real home, and have been far away from my friends and...

As I went to leave to drive back to Austin I stepped outside and was immediately confused. It was nearly 40 degrees colder than the...

As I walked into the power plant on day 2 of Austin Psych Fest, I pondered the whole festival thing. My infatuation with the idea...

As I walked up to the festival and joined the line, I could sense that the next few days were going to be weird. Three...

The words “they put on a great show” will get me out to see a band in any genre. From Dillinger Escape Plan, to Tom...

Two weeks ago I went to the land of the Vikings; and now the Vikings came to me. What is it about travel that can...

The first thing I did when I woke up on the 20th of April needs no explanation whatsoever: Stonehenge: so iconic within the metal world....

“I search among the layers Reaching beyond what lives out there These trials I have to take I tread the wild lands awake I’ve been...

When I stepped off the plane, English seemed like a foreign language. Two and a half weeks navigating foreign lands….it doesn’t sound like much, but...

As a child, I had an unhealthy obsession with horror films. From epic thrillers like The Shining, classics like Psycho, cult favorites like Evil Dead,...

It is very cliché of me to say that as a freshman in college, I went from being a kid to an adult. But perhaps...

Somewhere between getting out of paying 100 Euro in baggage overages to Ryan Air for the second time, and spying my first Viking-looking Norwegian plane...

Less than 24 hours in Berlin. I tacked on a night in Berlin to my Germany excursion because I wanted to see the city of...

After a day of very unique hiking all around Stuttgart, we hopped on a train for an hour plus journey to Frankfurt. After settling into...

How does one find themselves banging their head to a band they barely know speaking in a language they don’t know at all in one...

“The magick is in the feeling I can make you do what I want you to” I am the queen of overcommitting myself. It would...

My final show at SXSW would end at the same place it began. A perfect circle. I walked over to the Scoot Inn, my calves...

Rival Sons know how to harness the power of Twitter. They read my love tweets about their Jackalope set, informed me about another show they...

I had to speed walk back to the main part of Sixth Street once my friends reminded me that APTBS were playing a free show...

Chapel Club were another must see band for me. I’d had one unsuccessful attempt already….a BADGE ONLY show….but this time they were playing their final...

I’d been receiving press releases for Rival Sons for a couple months, and was really digging their classic rock ‘n roll sound. I was very...

It was a very frustrating evening that had me completely rethinking my no badge/no wristband/no problem policy. I had intended on seeing the Metalliance tour...

I’ll be damned if I was going to miss this show….so I made a point to go look at the schedule posted outside the venue...

Day 3. The fatigue showed itself in the following manner: I did my now usual park my car at a garage at 10:30am and work...

Agalloch was my #2 must see at SXSW, and honestly, I thought that due to the hype surrounding their last album I would have a...

The day started off with an interview and much glaring at the additional people in green descending upon downtown Austin to celebrate St. Patrick’s day....

It’s always fun when two of ‘my’ bands end up playing together…and while last year’s SXSW had She Wants Revenge with Street Sweeper Social Club...

I had seen The Click Clack Boom at last year’s SXSW and taken a liking to their lighter than what I’m usually into rock and...

As I parked my car and reached the 6th street masses to begin this year’s SXSW adventure, I felt a pain. Last year, my mom...

“Don’t say that you’re nice to me alright You’re lying Don’t say that you’ll be with me tonight You’re lying Don’t think I forgot what...

It had been a bizarre weekend. Friday night, I went to a Spur’s game. I rarely do anything besides go to concerts, and I don’t...

“Hear the music coming, loud as you can stand You’ll never be the same again Let the beat into you, let it turn you ’round...

I woke up one day last week and decided that today was the day that I stop letting people walk all over me. As I...

Every time I look down I’m going 85. I’ve really been trying to slow down….but it’s so hard. I just want to get to the...

We had approximately 30 minutes between the Pre-Tel and the Telecast to run to the Social Media suite and recharge our phones/iPads and ourselves. This...

Last year’s GRAMMY Pre-Tel was one of the surprise highlights of my GRAMMY adventure. On paper, it looks really boring: 100 some odd categories including...

The Clive Davis Pre-GRAMMY Gala is one of the hottest tickets of the year. Beyond the star-studded guest list, the party is know for its...

My first event to cover as the Rock community blogger for the GRAMMYs- my second year in this role- was the highly anticipated Social Media...

Everything old is new again. As I removed the gum from my purse in preparation for the Regency Ballroom security guidelines, I laughed at how...

“Now you’re lying on the floor Yeah, you can’t take anymore The devil’s laughing in your face Give me another taste, yeah” ~House of 1000...

My darling Jamie, I want you to know how much I love you. From the moment you took your first breath till I take my...

The valets at my hotel bid me farewell as I leave to relocate to my friend’s in Huntington Beach. They think I’m quite a character,...

After the excitement of being at NAMM all day, and finally hunting down passes to the afterparty for the evening, my energy meter fell to...

I’m driving down I5 when The Beach Boy’s ‘California Girls’ comes on the radio. I pass a Californication billboard. It’s 80 degrees outside, but I’m...

When my alarm went off at 4:30am, I would have never imagined what the next 24 hours would hold for me. Soon I found myself...

There have been many times in this space where I have lamented the fact that my life is a rollercoaster; a series of highs and...

“And the meaning of words When they cease to function When there’s nothing to say When will it start worrying you? Death – requiem” The...

A bit more than a month after my last trip to LA, I found myself driving The Challenger up to the Sunset Marquis again. I...

I’ve been a student of the teaches of Peaches for almost a decade. So when my Yankee friend saw she was playing the Music Hall...

Seeing Rammstein live has existed as a myth in my mind for over 10 years. Saturday night that myth became reality, but it blew my...

As soon as we walked into Red 7, I thought something was…a little wrong. Come to find out, the Austin School of Rock was performing...

“Ohh…..shitttt….” The red and blue lights are the only kind of lights you don’t want to see this time of year. I pull over. The...

Making a pilgrimage to Jerome has been on my to do list since my first Caduceus purchases, and especially since seeing Blood Into Wine. It...

Sometimes you do things and don’t realize their full purpose until after the decision is made. A mere six months ago, my life- and the...

I’ve always been a little obsessed with death. Be it horror films, serial killers, metal, or reality; the subject has always been a part of...

There really is no better story than real life. While a great piece of fiction can take you on a journey through things that defy...

Well, you come in baby, you will get burned. Because I am just what I am, I’ve learned. I slowly become some “why” that you...

Perception vs. reality. It’s a topic that is on my mind more often than not. The way other people see you versus how you see...

Weak and powerless, I pull up to valet the Challenger in front of the venue. One too many champagne cocktails the night before, a meltdown...

When A Perfect Circle‘s Mer de Noms released, I was at one of the lowest points in my life. It was a time when nu-metal...

I’m tired. I’ve been going nonstop for a month. While I’m trying my hardest to enjoy every minute, I can tell that I’m starting to...

It was opening day of hunting season.  On the drive to Austin, my car was dwarved by truck upon truck towing an assortment of ATV...

Attending a festival alone is a weird experience. Actually, attending a festival at all is a weird experience for me. I spend too much time...

I was driving back to Austin for the third time this week, replaying a conversation in my head. Today was the day I realized that...

“Drinking, drugged up, completely shot to hell Left behind, ain’t nothing left to sell Oh, ain’t nothing left to sell The hatred of your blood...

I wasn’t very excited to go to this show. 6 days before, I’d seen it in Corpus Christi, and it was just…ok. Not bad, just...

It was with much antici…..pation that I looked forward to my first trip back to California after moving away in July. It is too soon...

“Are you guys going to Rob Zombie?” they shout from the car. Is it that obvious? I look down at my snakeskin boots and answer...

“Drivin’ faster in my car…” My friend comments on how quickly we made it to Corpus…and I let her know we were going about 90...

“You can’t talk I’m anxious I’m off the walls I’m right here just Come outside And see in But pack your heart You might need...

I have little faith in anything except that life always balances itself out. In fact, I’m kind of obsessive about it: the minute something bad...

My friend and I are finishing up a chocolate souffle and a glass of champagne all the while enjoying few live dealer casino online games on...

I’ve often joked that if I were to write a memoir of my rock ‘n roll adventures, it would be entitled ‘I’m Not With The...

I was driving down 7th street, thinking how oddly quiet it seemed out tonight, full on tacos from Guero’s. I turned the corner onto Red...

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but we can’t seem to locate you. It appears you are in the middle of nowhere. Can you call back when you’re...

On September 18th at 4:30pm, I was reading Kurt Cobain’s Journals in bed next to my mother as she took her last breath. She’d really...

I’ve always been fascinated with the concept of time. Not in a mathematical, scientific sense. Oh no, that would be far too cerebral for me....

Once upon a time, back in 2006, I was in the midst of a live music binge that would end up being the precipitating factor...

The first time I had even heard of Porcupine Tree was almost exactly one year ago. It was the final Nine Inch Nails show, and...

15 years ago, at age 15, I went to my first rock show sans parental supervision at Sunken Garden in San Antonio. It was to...

It didn’t dawn on me that it was Friday the 13th until it was too late. With the way things in my life are going,...

While this is technically my second show to write about after moving back to Texas, it was my first metal show in what will become...

I woke up with the sun on Monday morning. It trickles in my windows as it rises over the hills that surround my new home....

schism (skzm, sz-) n. 1. A separation or division into factions. As I watched my couch- the last piece of furniture to go on Craigslist-...

Dear 18 year old me, I’m writing you from 12 years in the future, where everything and nothing is the same, and your life is...

When I made the decision to move home on account of my mom’s illness, I wanted to have one last crazy weekend in LA as...

You could easily separate those leaving Pride from those going to Danzig as I walked along Van Ness. Once in line, I robotically told security...

What follows will not be my best effort writing about APTBS. For that, try this one. My mind keeps going “I’m ok I’m ok I’m...

A last minute invite had me happily returning to The Fillmore for the second night in a row. As I entered the building, nodding at...

I guess you could say that it’s somewhat poetic that the week of my return to San Francisco for the last time would be populated...

I was chatting with a friend of mine at a show on Monday, asking him what he had coming up this week. When he mentioned...

6:05pm: “Come to the back door.” 6:10pm: “Where is it?” 6:15pm: “It’s around the back, in an alley.” 6:16pm: “Off Folsom?” Ring ring. “Jamie- how...

I sped through the rain-soaked, foggy Santa Cruz mountains watching the sun disappear. With the stereo cranked high, I tried to drown out the sound...

With 5 minutes to spare, I walked into the much more sparsely crowded, heavier atmosphere of the DNA Lounge to see Hypocrisy. I was supposed...

The dreaded Regency Ballroom security. I remembered to remove the pack of gum and the pen from my bag, but I forgot my meal replacement...

The walk from Slim’s to Thee Parkside was cold and windy, yet eerily quiet. To your average concert-goer, this would be seen as going from...

It was a pretty metal day. First, I semi-fainted having blood drawn at a clinic. Then I watched something with pretty graphic beheadings in it....

“I haven’t seen you here in awhile” says the guy at the door. I’ve been neglecting shows at my neighborhood dive bar over the past...

8 bands. 8 hours. Mastodon. Bison. Black Cobra. At the Fox Theater. Baroness. Priestess. Thor(r). Fire. And one other thing that didn’t fit. These are...

No matter how many times I go to Great American Music Hall, I am always taken aback by the stark contrast between the beauty within...

“Mercury, the planet of communication, turns retrograde in Taurus on April 18, 2010. Usually Mercury retrograde means communication delays and mishaps. We need to prepare...

“The shelf in the room has been so true I can hide in the shelf in the room” I remember hearing this song on the...

Once upon a time, there was a teenage girl who was into rock music. Her room’s centerpiece was a stereo system, otherwise decorated with Rolling...

“There is a correlation between hotter weather and more murders in nearly every US city.” It was the warmest day San Francisco had seen in...

I started watching MTV when I was 8 or 9 years old, when it was in it’s prime. While I played instruments, I always kinda...

It was the kind of day where the music addict in me took over, tried to do multiple crazy things, and failed to get it’s...

It was love at first sound. Last time I saw The Dead Weather, on the chilly third day of last summer’s Outside Lands, I went...

I went to this show afraid. Very, very afraid. I’ve always heard people talk about Faith No More, and Mike Patton in particular, with a...

Running on fumes after last night’s whirlwind Golden Gods trip, it’s a wonder that in the 10 minutes I had at home between work and...

I’m high in the sky above California. On the JetBlue TV in front of me, a Behind the Music: Judas Priest, which leads into One...

I walked into DNA Lounge to the growls of Through the Eyes of the Dead. Past the busy pit action, I made my way to...

On Friday night, I was supposed to be in Oakland seeing Air, a French duo who makes electronic pop/rock music. Instead, I sat at home...

“I think I can, I think I can…” I stood in front of the bathroom mirror giving myself a pep talk before departing for DNA....

I took my last stroll down Sixth Street, taking in the spectacle of people around me. I arrived at my final destination, Encore, a bit...

I trotted down 6th street in a cold stupor, quickly sobering up from my Irish coffees. I walked in just in time to see Minipop...

Before going back out again, my mom took me to a nice dinner since I had been so busy that I hadn’t eaten much more...

What the hell, Texas. You give me sunshine and 70 degree weather for two days and you decide to make my final day terrible by...

It was about 6pm when we got out of the Spin Party, and next up we had a mission. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club was playing...

The Spin Party at SXSW is generally one of the most coveted events to get into. When I heard that Hole would be playing the...

I’m speedwalking down the street, gingerly stepping around the intoxicated mix of musicians, attendees, and industry folks meandering around the street trying to decide if...

I had about 10 minutes to spare as I hustled to Rusty Spurs, which is normally a gay bar, to see She Wants Revenge for...

Through an acquaintance I made while following around the NIN/JA tour, I was invited to a party where some very interesting bands would be playing....

Luckily I had heard rumors about this weeks ago, so it sat on my schedule as the crown jewel of Thursday’s wishlist. Dillinger Escape Plan...

After the death metal day show, Umlaut and I ate a Tex Mex snack and split off, him going to Emo’s and me going to...

It would be my first time back for SXSW since I moved away from Austin 5 years ago. After a month of planning and schedule...

Somehow I was invited to this VIP event where Groove Armada would be DJing. Now, this is not something I would normally cover, but my...

I caught myself peeking out the window to see if it was dark yet. I spent all weekend in a self-imposed solitary confinement- on a...

Time won’t save our souls Time won’t save our souls Time won’t save my soul…no I’m walking down the street towards Slim’s, fully aware that...

I pulled up close to the Great American Music Hall and parked. I turned the car off and sat there for a second. I’ve already...

We weren’t planning on going, but Mel’s flight was delayed two and a half hours. So it just made perfect sense for us to run...

I inadvertently added 3 hours to one of my least favorite days of the year by flying home from the NYC Alice in Chains show...

In early December, I sat at my desk at work voraciously clicking refresh. I had just discovered about 2 hours before that I would have...

$8. 5 bands. 4.5 hours. That’s $1.60 per band. Or $1.78 per hour. Thee Parkside might be SF’s premier dive venue that generally makes me...

I parked my car in front of a grocery store down the street from the venue. As I walked by, I saw a bunch of...

On what would have been Johnny Cash’s 78th birthday, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club kicked off their tour in Sacramento, sharing new songs from their upcoming...

When I had my serendipitous run-in with the filmmakers of Blood Into Wine, they mentioned that I should stay after that screening to check out...

I’m a huge Maynard fan. Unfortunately, while my fandom for Reznor, Cantrell, and Cornell have taken me all over the place for shows….Maynard has been...

Echotone means ‘tension in ecologies’, when there’s an overlap. Specifically to this film, it means the development of downtown Austin and it’s longstanding position as...

Diary of a madman Walk the line again today Entries of confusion Dear diary I’m here to stay ~Diary of a Madman When I entered...

I arrived early for my interview with Threat Signal, and enter an empty Slim’s. I’ve never been in this venue when it’s empty…it seems much...

There are moments in life that you don’t fully understand and appreciate until after they occur, when you gain perspective. And then there are moments...

I was pretty excited when the first ASHES dIVIDE show in over a year was announced on a date that nicely coincided with my Alice...

The blinking marquee of the Fox Theater beckoned me from the moment I turned onto Telegraph. I know what awaits me inside- the first of...

You know you’re a live music junkie when a large factor that played into choosing your apartment was it’s proximity to the venues you often...

It wasn’t my favorite day. First, I received an email from a certain relative suggesting that I use part of my trust fund to get...

The story on Anvil has been inspiring music lovers for a year now. We’ve seen this Cinderella play out in front of our very eyes….from...

Some people go out for drinks after work on Friday. I prefer to go see one of SF’s loudest bands for free at one of...

After leaving the Pre-Tel, I had about a 30 minute window before the climax of the weekend, the real deal live TV awards show, was...

I didn’t know what dress I was going to wear until the last minute. I brought options…none expensive, none extravagant, just cute simple dresses with...

As my cab pulled up to the Wilshire Ebell theater again, I saw a long line wrapped around the building, and the sidewalk was actually...

After leaving the Social Media Rock Star summit, I stopped by the Staples Center to see what watching rehearsals would be like. I caught about...

Being the geek that I am, I was actually most excited to attend this event of everything on my agenda for the weekend. Social media...

It would be the beginning of my GRAMMY adventure. I had jumped off the plane, checked into my hotel, and had a production meeting at...

I was ‘on call’ for this show. I have read so many love letters from my fellow bloggers about these three bands that I knew...

I’m driving back to SF from LA on about 5 hours of sleep, which is actually pretty normal for me, but nonetheless it led me...

I’m flying down the 5 at 90 mph, alternating between listening to the bands I would later see that evening and the Juliet, Naked audiobook,...

I live approximately 8 blocks from Thee Parkside, towards the top of Potrero Hill. It’s a weird neighborhood, man…I love it, everything is right there,...

It would be my first show of the year, and if this set the tone for the rest of 2010, I’m buckling up now because...

It was my 115th and probably final show of the year. After a year where I’ve been to shows big and small and traveled all...

I was enjoying a rare evening out at a really nice restaurant in Woodside with friends and made it back into the city a bit...

I could describe my final metal show of the year at DNA Lounge as one giant blur that sounded like a tape being eaten by...

It was at about 2pm when I got the call. As soon as the caller ID popped up that it was my mom, I knew....

It may be five days later, but we’re essentially picking up right where we left off. Cold. Rain. Slightly incapacitated HRC. DNA Lounge. Metal show....

The story really began Sunday afternoon when I purchased a drink at the airport and got back $6.66 in change: I’m flying back from Las...

It was through the kindness of someone who I met through my NIN pieces that allowed me to follow one more tour before the year...

Let me begin with a quote from a recent thought/anger provoking article written by Stewart Voegtlin of the Village Voice: “A bizarre triangulation of that...

“Tribute bands often reflect what I like about rock ‘n’ roll more than the authentic bands they replicate” -‘Dude Rocks Like A Lady’, Chuck Klosterman...

It was one of those nights that happens about once a month where I wanted to clone myself and attend multiple shows: Cannibal Corpse at...

‘Twas the night before Thanksgiving… I had anxiously been waiting for Vader- the other Polish metal band- to come to town after becoming obsessed with...

Back in 2006, when I was still new to SF, I went to see GWAR at The Warfield. I had always wanted to see them....

Over the years, Dir En Grey has come up as a band I should check out. I had tried listening to them several times, and...

KISS may have very well been my first concert shirt. I have a vague memory of being a little kid, back before my family’s business...

It was my fourth and final show of what was nicknamed the Mastoklok tour. From the first show of the tour in Portland, to two...

My night, like this tour, didn’t start off well. While immigration issues forced Hypocrisy and Ex Deo off this tour, list issues almost had me...

Friday the 13th. Normally, I like this day- but this day was far from normal. My reason for being in Texas was mostly for family....

As I’m walking to the Verizon Wireless Theater from my hotel, where I’ve just left my mom who frets like I’m still 16, I get...

I walked into The Independent to find it slightly transformed for the evening. The Afro-Punk logo- the organization spearheading the tour- is projected on the...

At first, I wasn’t really in the mood for this show. I had one of those days where every second was filled with second thoughts....

It was to be my twelfth show in fifteen days, and it was definitely the ‘wildcard’ show. I’ll admit it, I know very little about...

2 years and 8 months ago, a fledgling HRC wrote about her first Mickey Avalon show at Popscene. Since then, I’ve seen him three other...

Maynard James Keenan brought his side show to Oakland for the first of two nights of high brow/low brow entertainment. It proved to be a...

I always wanted to be a scream queen. And, for one night in San Jose, my wish was fulfilled. Only the director was singing on...

This was the perfect ending to Halloween weekend. What started with black metal in a dive bar, and climaxed with Rob Zombie on Halloween, was...

It would be the perfect Halloween: a Saturday night, daylight savings time ended and gave us an extra hour, a full moon, and Rob Zombie....

It was going to be a quick in/out. Germany’s best kept secret, black metalers Secrets of the Moon, would open the night at my local...

The smell of unwashed boys is thick in the air as I enter Annie’s Social Club. Nihilist is on stage, and the sparse yet meaningful...

After probably five failed attempts at seeing local metal duo Black Cobra, I finally made it to a show. Man, had I been missing out....

I couldn’t go to see Zombichrist and not dress like a zombie. So I threw on some makeup and scared some neighbors on my way...

Last night really couldn’t have been more different from Friday even though it was in the same genre. To get to Varnish, an art gallery...

There’s something exciting about rushing out of work right at 5 on a Friday, transforming into my metal attire, and hitting the road for the...

For some reason, Stone Temple Pilots never make it on the list of ‘my bands’. Why is that? I pretty much know every word to...

I know three things about the bands playing tonight going into this show: 1. Lacuna Coil are from Italy 2. They are fronted by an...

On the 20th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake, those of us at The Independent experienced earth-shaking sound. Let me start by saying that, every...

“Are you the Hard Rock Chick?” I hear as I’m being searched by security. I say yes, and he tells me that I wrote a...

Last night, metal lovers from Taiwan, Portland, Norway, and San Francisco joined forces. My path into this show was bumpy….I was supposed to get in...

Let’s start this review with a case study example of why bands should use twitter. I follow Skeletonwitch. I’m planning on going to the show...

There was something about going to a Motörhead show that inspired me to dress up a bit. So, I dusted off my skull-n-bones flashy cowboy...

I spent the day roaming around Portland after last night’s show: Powell’s Books, record stores, Voodoo Doughnuts, a Dr. Marten store….and then I hopped on...

Most of the metal community let out a collective hurray- or threw horns, or whatever- when this tour was announced. I knew immediately that I...

It’s my second night at DNA Lounge this week, and my second of three nights with a four band line up. That’s a lot of...

“You’re not on the list”. Not the way I like to start a show. Someone at Metropolis dropped the ball, but….it happens. So I bought...

If Nine Inch Nails has been the soundtrack to my life, Alice in Chains has tried to be the soundtrack to my death on multiple...

The ‘Shock and Raw‘ tour got off to an interesting start. After tour headliners Five Finger Death Punch’s record release party in Las Vegas last...

It felt a bit odd as I walked down 11th Street past the Repulsion show at DNA Lounge, where a sea of metalheads in black...

I honestly had no business being at this show. It was initially supposed to be part of my ‘getting me through my post-NIN depression’ schedule....

Let’s just say that Nine Inch Nails has been like my lover…perhaps my best friend….for a long time. NIN has been there with me through...

It was one of the craziest decisions I’ve ever made. I had decided to not go to the rescheduled NIN show at the Henry Fonda...

With the amount of shows I travel to, it was bound to happen at some point. Canceled. The C word. The final Nine Inch Nails...

The last day of Outside Lands was a cold one. It went from 85 degrees the day before to around 60. Brrrr…… I thought I...

I said I wouldn’t go. I absolutely hated last year’s festival. I didn’t care for any of the headliners this year, but they kept adding...

The last time I saw Manson at The Warfield, it was epic affair. In the past 2 months, I’ve somehow managed to see Manson 4...

I rolled out of the apartment at 10:30p…that should be enough time to catch half of the middle act and headliner of a 3 band...

Last night, the unthinkable happened. When Trent Reznor told us that there would be special guests and surprises on this final mini-tour, I don’t think...

I decided to approach this show like I was going to see any other band. I went to dinner, and went to the show shortly...

When I say I’m a live music addict, I’m not fucking around. So when my friend asked me if I wanted to go check out...

The Rickshaw is an out of sight, out of mind venue for me. I’ve seen some phenomenal shows here: M.I.A., Goblin Cock….but it’s generally the...

Bottom of the Hill. The venue oozes with offbeat charm, which is promptly eaten up by it’s hipster frequenters. Tonight, the hooded, skinny-jeaned, purposefully unkempt...

I couldn’t resist. I was going back home to Texas for a wedding, and I *happened* to see that Mayhem would be in San Antonio...

Today was a weird fucking day. One major show canceled; another major one confirmed. And my new hairstylist called me the ‘G’ word. Luckily Umlaut...

It’s my second night in a row at The Independent. It would be wildly different than the night before. It still took me only 15...

It was ‘Recession Proof Party’ night at The Independent- a free show with local bands. First, I have to share my excitement for spending only...

Two things drove me to a rare trip ‘overseas’ to Oakland tonight: 1. I’ve been wanting to see The Fox Theater, a beautifully renovated, newly...

Last week, I was given the opportunity to attend Crue Fest and interview one of the opening bands. While I’m not the biggest Crue fan,...

It never fails- I go over a week without a show, twiddling my thumbs, and then there are two I want to see on the...

It’s Definitive Jux night at GAMH- one of the only hip hop labels that I can call myself a fan of anymore. Home to El-P,...

As I sit here in my new bachelorette pad, sore from moving and scared for what the future holds, I somehow have a smile on...

Walking into DNA, I could tell it would be a bit of an atypical night. A curtain lined the back of the room, and when...

Whore for Satan put together a killer metal show last night at DNA. When I walked in, Orchid’s set was already underway. I had mixed...

It was a warm Monday evening in SF. I walked into The Grand, which was surprisingly empty. I thought this show might fit well as...

It was my first Warped Tour. My dislike for festivals reaches far back into my youth, when I was the target demographic for this event...

As I get deeper and deeper into making HardRockChick a legitimate website, building up my own credibility as a writer that bestows music insights upon...

I’m driving through the Tenderloin, dodging crazy people who wander into the streets, looking for parking. I have two spots stolen from me, and am...

HRC special note: I NEVER take three days to produce a review….I’ve had a fever something awful. I’m also pissed because Twitterific failed the entire...

Last time I saw Alessandro Cortini, he was throwing a keyboard over my head at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, at the last NIN LITS...

Last night, IAMX brought dark and dangerous pop music to Slim’s. It soothed my soul. It was a circus pants and heels kind of evening-...

I forgot this was a Nylon sponsored show. This means: up and coming music, young kids, fashion that must be so bad it’s good to...

There had to be nine of these. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined everything that would happen to me over the course...

It was to be the final show. I slept like a baby in Philly, woke up late, and it was at this point we realized...

I took a red eye flight to Atlanta, and then to Philly for the Camden show. I wasn’t able to sleep, but it really wouldn’t...

I debated about whether or not I wanted to go to this show up until the last minute. It’s not the kind of music I...

When I was getting over grunge, I spent about a year engrossed in the club kid scene in Austin in the mid nineties. Prodigy’s Fat...

I’m very happy to share with you all one of the most exciting experiences of my life. My friend and I made the $1000 donation...

TR quote: “Welcome to Brunch with Nine Inch Nails” NIN/JA Tour Diary 4- Santa Barbara- Broken from hardrockchick on Vimeo. As you can see below,...

What the fuck was I thinking sandwiching this show into my NIN/JA week! Seriously, though, I was stoked to be seeing The Horrors, and had...

So…no before and after commentary video for me this time. Why? I was too tired to string together sentences. The last 4 days have been...

It’s kinda long….but here are some before and afters videos of me talking, with SSSC, NIN, and JA footage in the middle. Photos are below....

8pm is just too early for a metal show. By the time the security line allows me inside, I have to make a mad dash...

It wasn’t my typical show. The stage at GAMH looked like a display in an exhibit of instruments. There are 10 people in Khi Darag,...

Anvil: The Story of Anvil I’d heard nothing but amazing things about this film. And documentaries are my second favorite genre after horror films- especially...

I said I wouldn’t do it. I was going to pass up seeing Chris Cornell this time around because my experience with last year’s Fillmore...

It was the first night of The Faint and Ladytron’s two night mini residency at The Fillmore. As co-headliners, each band would take a turn...

My ears are still ringing. Last time I saw Autolux was a Noise Pop show in 2007 at The Independent. Their set was cut short...

The show sold out almost immediately. Anyone who calls themselves an industrial fan has at least heard of Throbbing Gristle. But they’ve been so dormant...

I had a shitty week. I wrecked my car. I lost all of my concert footage from the last three years. I’ve had several interviews...

I was supposed to see Turbonegro last year, but the tour was canceled when Euroboy, the guitarist, got sick. He was diagnosed with Hodgkins Disease,...

When Dookie came out, I was 14 years old, giggling at this ‘masturbation song’ (“Longview”) on MTV with my friends. In 1998, I graduated high...

Tonight I was literally blown away. Yeah, I was standing in front of a fan the whole time. But for $15 dollars, donated to Project...

Tonight made twice in one week that I tested out new venues in SF. And let me tell you, Hotel Utah is an odd one....

Somehow I’ve avoided going to the Hemlock for a show. Perhaps it has something to do with my experiences at the bar there- a smug...

I decided to go early tonight. I was viewing this show as a co-headliner affair: I love Brian Jonestown Massacre, and I really like Primal...

It’s cock rock night at The Fillmore. That’s about the only way I can describe the two bands that shouldn’t really be sharing the bill....

First, it was Fucked Up. Then, Goblin Cock. Now, SHAT. I’m on a downward spiral of perverse band names. And, seriously, SHAT is scraping the...

Ah….Noise Pop. I generally can find one non-uber indie rock snob show to attend per festival. The Rickshaw is a place I only sporadically attend...

After taking two wrong turns, skidding my car around on water, and traipsing through the rain, I made it to this Blake’s place. Now, I...

In a hurry to get inside, I forgot to look up at the marquee to see if Fucked Up was really spelled out up there...

I was worried when I heard that Weiland tickets were reduced to $10 last week. I know the economy is bad. I know that he’s...

I’m standing in line outside Slim’s, hearing the low roar of The Faceless inside, and I’m getting frisked hard. The will call line and the...

In learning a little bit about DeVotchKa before going to this show, I came across their long list of instruments (some which I had to...

Meow. Tonight was my night- one of those shows that makes me wish I had a rewind button so I could do it all again...

Beyond the fact that I’ve burned out almost every person I know on accompanying me to see live music, offering up a band called ‘Cattle...

Isis from Thunderheist to the doorman: “Hi, I’m the performer. Can you let me in?” Doorman: “ID.” Isis: “But I’m the performer.” Doorman: “No.” Shakes...

It is fitting that my first live show of the year was Willie Nelson, the man that I’ve seen more throughout my life than some...

I’ve had my eye on Tool/A Perfect Circle/Puscifer’s Maynard James Keenan’s wine endeavor for awhile. So when I saw that he would be coming to...

Best Shows: These 10 immediately come to mind as shows that really wowed me in 2008. 1. Nine Inch Nails, Deerhunter @ The Forum, 9/6/08...

Now I know why I have been walking around in a fog over the holidays- I went to 83 shows this year! I beat last...

In 1992, when I was 12 years old, I asked my parents if I could go see the Metallica and Guns ‘n Roses show (which...

I think I bought the tickets for this show six months ago. Many tickets have arrived and gone since then, but these had safely stayed...

It is with great pleasure that I spent some of my final concert experiences of the year with NIN. Though the 48 hour period following...

Last night I realized that I can divide all of the shows I go to into three groups: 1. Classic acts that influenced all the...

“You’d better hurry, they just went on stage!” It’s 9pm, which seems early to me, but apparently The Decemberists don’t run on rock ‘n roll...

The manfriend is more of an indie rock dude, so occasionally I find myself at these types of shows. And on this particular night, we...

Walking into Slim’s last night was like entering a black mass. A largely homogenous audience of goths and cyberpunks all staring in eerily silent stillness...

It seems like yesterday- when myspace was in its heyday- that I got a friend request from Mickey Avalon. A skim of his page, a...

It’s good to step out of my musical comfort zone every once and a while to see what else is out there. Oftentimes, it reaffirms...

Here I am, at Faint show #4 for the year. I missed seeing Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head a couple months ago at Bottom of the...

So, I’m not usually compelled to write about the occasional non-music event I go to, but tonight, I just can’t help myself. It’s official, HRC...

Until Trent Reznor makes a country album, this may be the toughest review I’ll ever write on a personal level. Don’t say I should have...

It’s that special time in October where we’re relatively close to Halloween. The time when you look at people’s outfits and go, “Is that an...

When I was 13, I saw Rocky Horror for the first time. Understanding that Tim Curry, the actor I liked from Clue the movie, was...

I was finishing the last few pages of Pamela Des Barres’ Take Another Little Piece of My Heart, when I came across a paragraph discussing...

I walked into Slim’s just in time to see The Sword come on stage, wriggling my way through the very dude-heavy, black clad, beard wearing...

Last time The Presets were in town, I had to bail last minute because I was sikamikanico. Pissed me right off. Luckily they came back,...

I’m running on rock ‘n roll time tonight, and when I arrive at The Warfield I know that the empty hall means that the band...

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is a gift bestowed upon San Franciscans every October. Thank you, Warren Hellman, for one of my best SF moments, seeing Robert...

It was supposed to be the show of the year. After a 16 year hiatus, My Bloody Valentine was coming to make many a San...

You know you’re at a good show when you see members of other good local bands milling around the club. I was pretty early to...

This is my first time going to a show where an album is being performed in its entirety. This has been a popular trend lately,...

Last night I was an outcast. I didn’t grow up with this music. Unlike 99% of the people there, I didn’t know every word, where...

It’s the last night of Spoon’s 3 day Fillmore residency. Spoon immediately evokes memories of Austin for me, and I feel I should be entering...

Last night, at the newly reopened Warfield, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds brought their black magic post punk rock to a willing and ready...

It was the name that drew me in. The word ‘offend’, posed as a question, Austin Powers style….I had to check it out. And I...

Sneaker Pimp’s ‘Spin Spin Sugar’ was a standout song of my teen years. So when I read that Chris Corner’s solo act was coming to...

Last year’s Guitar Hero Championship was lots of fun, so I was looking forward to this year’s. It’s an interesting event to compare to the...

As much as I enjoyed last night’s intimate acoustic show, this is how BRMC is supposed to be seen. In fact, they far exceeded my...

BRMC’s 2 night stint at the Great American Music Hall could unofficially serve as a 10 year anniversary for the duo. Formed after Peter Hayes...

It’s been 2 days of extreme highs and extreme lows. I am fully convinced that the Oakland show was just a warm up for what...

The men of NIN invaded SF yesterday, posting not-so-cryptic photos of their down to earth meals and strolling around the streets of our beautiful city....

Bimbo’s is truly a great venue. Walking though the doors is like being transported back in time, where the interiors are plush, the staff is...

I am constantly searching for a good, local industrial hard rock band. It’s been a long search. Most things border too much on dancey/techno or...

Things I love about festivals: 1. The need for a mission: Save the Environment! Eat organic! Save energy! Register to vote! Safe sex! Things I...

I’m sitting in the car of the parking lot at SOMA in San Diego, downing a minibar bottle of Malibu and a can of Dole...

It’s 8/8/08, and while many around the world gathered to watch the historic Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, about 1200 slightly insane people gathered to watch...

I walk into the cavernous 12 Galaxies a little saddened, since it was announced that day that it would close at the end of the...

It’s night 2 of 3 for following The Faint this week. Does it get any better than The Fillmore show? The opening band, Jaguar Love,...

It’s night 1 of 3 this week for seeing The Faint. The Fillmore is teeming with in-the-know music junkies. Shy Child, a New York duo,...

It amazes me that, while I write about NIN on a regular basis, this will be my first official HRC review of them. It was...

My professional grade earplugs couldn’t save me from the wailing and screaming of last night’s bands at The Rickshaw. The first band, SF’s The New...

It’s my first, and apparently last, Pop Roxx. Pop Roxx was a 3 years running monthly party playing a mix of ‘electro-rock-indie-new wave-goth-mod-bastard pop’ music,...

A free metal festival could not take place in the majority of cities in the world. Total chaos would erupt, as metal heads would converge...

It’s the most packed I’ve ever seen The Fillmore. Or, perhaps I usually arrive much earlier and am in the front row, unaware of what...

As I stand in front of the stage at The Independent, I ponder why I am here to watch people play air guitar. Is it...

There’s something highly comical about seeing Dethklok, Ted Nugent, and now She Wants Revenge at The Fillmore in the span of two weeks. Different vibes,...

Ted Nugent is about as polarizing a figure as they come. Crazy/genius…those are the words often used to describe him. Both sides were felt as...

It’s 11:30p on a Tuesday, and I’m in the basement of a remote hipster bar far removed from mainstream SF. I’ve just been served a...

If you are really a fan of a band, then you take the time to learn more about the musicians. If you’re really really a...

Homemade 'Explode Me!' shirt, Pickles, and Brendon Small, oh my.

John 5 shredded San Francisco's Guitar Center to pieces.

The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire.

I think I may have been listening to Bloody Kisses when I had my first sip of Jagermeister. While I loved the album, I thought...

It’s June 2nd and it’s 50 degrees outside. As I walk into the venue with the too long name, the wind slaps me in the...

The ’90s were pretty freakin’ cool. Culture coughed up some of the last seedy, dirty things before the regime change came and turned it all...

It was the beginning of a 3 day weekend, and Bottom of the Hill was percolating with the local hip crowd ready to kick it...

Cafe du Nord has to be one of the most intimate venues in SF. The whole narrow room in the basement vibe makes it feel...

The Oysterfest in San Francisco is not the place I would expect to catch a kick ass set. But apparently, Oysterfest is light on oysters,...

When I first discovered Atmosphere 5 or so years ago, I remember thinking that perhaps it was like the grunge movement for hip hop. It’s...

Occasionally, between screaming guitars and brutal mosh pits, I like to go dancing. I figured that this one off Coachella show would be a fun...

I resisted the idea of Jack White as my generation’s rock star for a long time. After last night’s show, I have come to my...

When it’s 4/20, and Cypress Hill is playing at The Fillmore, you kinda know what you’re gonna get. We walk in to a hazy room...

Hot Challenge really couldn’t have picked a better day to headline a show at one of my favorite SF venues, the Great American Music Hall....

I’ve been reading about The Dillinger Escape Plan’s live shows for awhile. With every word, a gaping hole grew larger in my missed experiences file,...

Dressed in black, goths of all ages congregated at The Fillmore last night. It was to be Ministry’s last tour, a nostalgic send off with...

The thought of a tribute band makes many people cringe. Are they ever really any good? Why can’t they play their own music? At one...

Fucking awesome. The end. Kidding. I will remain surprised as to how many people are unfamiliar with Saul Williams. And some of those who are,...

In a rare occasion of perfect timing for me, I take my spot at The Warfield just as Serj Tankian takes the stage. I am...

“Welcome to The Fillmore”. I love hearing that line delivered from Tim. I walk in to a sparsely filled Fillmore, and am surprised. You should...

About a month and a half ago, my bands did the ol’ switcheroo. Twiggy, no longer in NIN, went back to Manson. Weiland went back...

It’s been a long time since I had been this excited about seeing a small show of up and coming acts. I’ve been listening to...

It’s night one of my Noise Pop adventure, and I figured that there’s no better way to start it off than with some good ol’...

My near perfect show last time I saw VR was the only thing that saved me from a mental meltdown caused by my latest VR...

HRC’s year started rather imperfectly. I went out to the Rock-It Room an this particular evening to see Astra Heights, a band which my schedule...

Bay Area! Going to see Too Short after a week of shock rock is a bit of a hard transition. Granted, Too Short is known...

Last year, I finally was able to see Manson for the first time. It was something I had been waiting to do for 10 years....

It was a rainy Tuesday evening at Thee Parkside, making the punky dive venue seem grungier than ever. It’s a night of 2 bands comprised...

Any loyal reader of this blog will know that the beginning of 2008 has been lacking my usual show or two a week review. While...

The Cool Kids are the current it boys of the indie hip hop circuit, and rightfully so. Their stripped down, throwback beats and rhymes manage...

I’ll begin by saying that I think I started off my shows this year with an appropriate choice. There’s just something about seeing psychedelic rock...

As a child of the Eighties, my first experiences drooling over rock stars was the hair metal bands. And I say hair metal bands because...

Tool has been on my list of bands to see for 15 years. The timing was just never right. Finally, the stars had alligned- making...

Goon Moon and Sun Trash brought desert rock to the city by the bay this Sunday. The southern fried psychedelic stoner rock warmed up the...

This particular Friday evening was one of those SF nights that occurs every few months, where there are 10 different great things going on and...

Ghostland Observatory, from HRC’s hometown of Austin, TX, have succeeded in carving out their own little distinct space in today’s current music landscape. The duo’s...

So last night I was sitting second row at the Zombie/Ozzy show (let’s see how many times I can rub that in). I caught the...

It’s psychedelic rock night at Bottom of the Hill. The Otherside kicked off the evening. As their long and admirable list of influences shows, they...

Let me preface this review by saying that, while I have heard great things about Of Montreal’s live performances, I have a hard time with...

M.I.A. is coming back to town. One night at The Fillmore and one night at Mezzanine. Hmmmm…an early night with a better view and a...

I can’t remember when I first discovered Henry Rollins, but I was pretty young. He was one of the handful of artists that taught me...

It’s a foggy, cold night- perfect Halloween weather. While many are craving candy, I’m craving some good rock ‘n roll. I rarely travel to the...

Last year’s Bridge School Benefit may very well be the best concert I ever attend. Beyond stellar all-around performances by Devendra Banhart, Gillian Welch, Death...

It is only appropriate that we see the Fool’s Gold Tour during a trip to LA- the city of many fake things that somehow seem...

Bam Margera of Jackass fame pulled together a fantastic showcase of bands for the tour Viva La Bands: First of all, I have never seen...

I like to play Guitar Hero. So when I saw the Guitar Hero Championship listed on the Great American Music Hall’s calendar, I thought it...

Mezzanine should just change its name to Midnight. Because no matter what day of the week it is, the show will not get started until...

Having just dished out mega bucks (for the third time this month) for tickets to see Ozzy and Zombie up close and personal, I reflected...

The Download Festival’s line up this year was near stellar. The Cure, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, She Wants Revenge, The Black Angels, all in one...

I kicked off October on a high note, dancing nostalgically with Perry Farrell. I’m not sure of the circumstances which caused this show to be...

I can distinctly the remember the first time I heard of Alice Cooper. I was a young kid, and I was driving by the Astrodome...

Girl Talk’s Night Ripper has been my go to album for when I want to hear something upbeat but can’t decide on something specific. It’s...

You know what? Chicks dig Star Trek. They especially dig Star Trek rock bands. I am now ashamed to admit that I have never seen...

Immigrant is living the band dream life. They just released their debut album, yet they’ve already opened for Muse and The Killers. I caught a...

Honestly, I don’t know where to begin. How about here- I’d heard of BJM but had never much listened until I saw DiG!. I’ve been...

It was only fitting to celebrate CBGB and Hilly Kristal this past weekend by going to a punk show in a small, smoky club filled...

If you weren’t convinced already, Mickey Avalon will definitely confirm that rap stars are the new rock stars. In the late sixties/early seventies, Pamela Des...

The pairing of Manson and Slayer: love them both, but together? Hmmmm…mostly a different audience, definitely a different outfit. After an arduous journey, we finally...

Sadly, I was unable to attend this show due to the death of my Meema. But, here are some good clips that made me feel...

A bit of a non-traditional live music review for me, but here’s a short recap of the 4th anniversary party for Bootie. Bootie is a...

Ah…popscene. It’s a 10p on Thursday night tradition for some. As we wait in line, we, for the second night in a row, are behind...

It’s the last night of an 11 night residency at The Fillmore. In our master ticket plan, we decided to try for the last night,...

M.I.A. at the Rickshaw? Really? Did I read that wrong?? Could I possible score another hot ticket, making that two super exclusive shows in one...

Daft Punk is playing at my house, my house… Whew, I am tired. Last night was a dance off of gigantic proportions. After the long,...

You know it’s going to be a rough night when you lose your charm before the night even begins. I don’t literally mean my charm–...

I’ll admit that the first time I heard The Nightwatchman album, it took a bit of reaching for me to reposition Tom Morello’s space in...

This might (hopefully) be the shortest and least detailed live show review that you get from the HardRockChick. Due to a combo of factors: being...

The Warfield lived up to its name down in the GA area last night, as the ’90’s moshers, solo career supporters, and those dangling somewhere...

My introduction to Battles is one of those rare instances where the manfriend bought tickets to the show and told me about them rather than...

Before hardrockchick.com was born, when my live music reviews were still integrated into my personal blog, I used to bitch about how these San Francisco...

Dear Live 105, My, how I look forward to BFD each year. It’s one day of seeing bands that make my heart go pitter-pat. This...

I’ve seen 2 Austin bands in a row at The Independent. I’m in full blown homesick mode. The opener was Jenny Owen Youngs, a young...

It was psychedelic rock night at The Independent, and this was proved not only by the music at hand, but also the earthy smell of...

So I’m ramping up to relaunch my old blog, jamiesbrain.com. I’m going back and looking at my old show reviews, and I’ll have to say,...

OK, so I can check all three of these of my list now- I’ve seen each of them up close over the past 6 months....

Meow. This is the stuff that rock ‘n roll dreams are made of. Knowing that we are all starved for real rock music, scalpers really...

LCD Soundsystem has received a lot of buzz for being one of the best live acts today. You could tell they were riding high off...

It bewilders me that I go to 1 or 2 shows a week, and this was my first time to Bimbo’s. Unlike any venue I’ve...

The old, the young, the rebellious. All here to see the inventor of the stage dive; the sinewy, writhing man that can’t really sing, that...

Before going to this show, I tried to count the number of times I’ve seen Willie. It must be close to 20. I’ve been to...

Music and rodeos go together like…barbecue and baked beans. My earliest experiences with live music occurred at rodeos: Willie Nelson, George Strait, singing on rotating...

Travis Barker: missed. Thanks, Friday night focus groups! After one hour and a shot, too many blondes and boobs and attitudes (go back to where...

We have entered the period where our world has been sufficiently messed up for a long enough period of time that it has seeped into...

It’s my birthday, and I’m going to see Bright Eyes for the third time. What better place to see him than the Great American Music...

Yay, the Mezzanine. It is becoming my second home. And it is girl’s night out. We walk in mid way through a set from Land...

I have been waiting to see Autolux ever since they opened for Nine Inch Nails for part of the With Teeth tour that I didn’t...

When faced with the term ‘supergroup’, the level of expectation for a band skyrockets. So when I was emailed by Ticketbastard to let me know...

Here comes the first of what I suspect will be many posts that are not technically hard rock music. I warned you in the first...

“Are you guys here for the Camel event?” Oh no, not again! Another favorite band has been humped by the Camel? The first time I...