I went to a Bandwagon Bros show last weekend in Santa Cruz and it was awesome. The music was great,…read morethe venue was nice and cozy, and the event was well-produced. I'd highly recommend going to one of their shows sometime.

Great vibes, music, delicious food, fun crowd! Definitely worth checking out if you like music and…read moreart..together. The East Bay festival had a little bit of everything and best of all - it's FREE. This year it was held at Jack London Square right on the water. They had food vendors set up for 1-2 blocks and about 3-4 different locations for beer and wine ($5 a pop). Food-wise, I had the chicken shawarma wrap which was soo good. Also had a bite of a pulled pork sandwich..not bad. Other things you could've gotten: hot dogs, paella, ice cream, African food, and Mexican food.

My former roomie & I went to the Best of The East Bay Party 2009 & it was fun. They no longer let…read morepeople in cause it hit max capacity, but my roomie ran to the side of the museum & she suggested that we climb the wall. OMGosh! I've never done such a thing! She lifted me up & I climbed up & some guy was at the top & I was like "oh no! he's going to catch us." but fortunately, he was also climbing the wall and he helped us. So we got in & check things out. My former roomie had a goal of meeting a guy there but he didn't show. But she got a free tank top from the dude's co-workers which was nice of them. Music was pretty cool. Got some food stands. I forgot what we got. But it was pretty good. Danced & walked around. She lost her cellphone. Typical her. Haha always losing something whenever we go out anywhere. :D

I've been coming to POWER TO THE PEACEFUL for a few years now and have heard all the complaints…read more.. Too many people. Not enough parking. SFPD giving tickets to anything that moves. Too many youngsters just drinking and smoking... MUNI was super packed! Yada yada yada... Let me ask you this question? How much did it cost you? Yeah, that's right! So, therefore, you have nothing to gripe about! LOL The music, as usual, was off the hook. The vibe peaceful. The speakers effective and memorable. So, next year, pack a lunch. Bring more water. Wear some comfortable shoes, and just enjoy the show! POWER TO THE PEACEFUL!!!!

My first time going!!! It's completely free and totally…read moreworth it if your looking for a good green time with friends. Get there early if you want to sit close to the stage, and actually hear the music. The only complaint I have is that I saw several people smoking joints right next to there kids, one of them with a kid in his lap.... I understand that the festival is meant to be kid friendly, however people should probably think twice before lighting up a joint in front of an infants face. Alot of the food here is organic, and earth friendly, all the utensils are biodegradable and there are 3 different places to dipose of trash which is really thoughtful. Definitely the place to go if you are a green lover, hippie, etc.

Wow!! Just:wow!! I LOVE this place! [ wink ]. They'll be back I hope and pray! Thank you to all…read morepast attendees and all of the artists over the last 17 our so years, both still with us and not (the incredible Audrey Auld, the amazing Greg Trooper, the inimitable David Olney, the "sui generis ' * Steve Young, there may be others. These come to mind. I love house concerts! * special thx to Mark Humbert for this comment after catching that concert! Tell a friend, Bring a friend. Y'all come back, hear?! (Here!)

Finally made it to the oaktorberfest 2010 in the late afternoon. there was a party going on! the…read moreband was going strong on one stage and the packed crowd was enjoying rock & roll. the other stage seem pretty quiet though i though someone was playing there also. the beer lines were hella long. looked for signs of germanness besides the beer here: -german kuchen (kitchen) which looked empty -root beer garden which had been dismantled -some guy in a german outfit blowing on a horn. -some food stand sold bratwurst. oaktoberfest 2010 must have happened in a blitzkrieg and i missed it. besides this, it just looked like an arts & crafts fair with the usual food and commercial vendors plus namu, senor sisig and local merchants.. flyer notes oaktoberfest as "a non-profit event for commmuntiy development in oakland's dimond district". i just retired to my local drinking hole where i heard it was packed all day. saw they were serving festival attendees a 12 oz version in a plastic cup while "locals" got the 16 oz. glass.

This 3rd year event has gotten hugh! The streets were packed but I got my food, beer and dance in…read moreno problem. German step dancing and turfing half a block apart - I love it! Incredible beers, best price of any festival. Just got an announcement for 2011 -Sat Oct.1 it keeps getting better

I had the pleasure of attending a performance of this fantastic big band at Yoshi's in Jack London…read morelast night. What a treat! They played classic jazz standards, several Christmas songs and the Ellington-Strayhorn "Nutcracker". Apparently they have been playing around the Bay Area since the 1960's. Catch them in February at the new Freight & Salvage in Berkeley.

This is an annual festival, and this year was the first year I actually attended. I have a feeling…read morepast concerts were better. I also have a feeling that I'm probably biased - since most of the people around me seemed to be like 12. And apparently the only acts I caught at this festival were Sugar Ray and Gavin Degraw. But still - I know what great concerts are capable of. I went to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass and this concert was far from it. Not to mention that I had to pay 33 dollars for it. The Now and Zen Fest this year was one of the most painful concerts I have ever attended. I heard Sara Bareilles was good, I'm sure Duffy was good - but listening to over an hour of Sugar Ray not even sing their own stuff (because well they basically only wrote two songs). In fact not even sing. But play cheesy karaoke songs like Living on a Prayer and just mumble along to it, was pure torture. Pure torture. I decided last moment (in fact the day of) to go to this concert with some friends. As I strolled in, it was apparent that this was not the normal concert crowd. Everyone seemed to be wearing pastels, and most seemed unaware of the music. I have to admit that it was well organized: in that the stalls were well planned out and most people were enjoying themselves - soaking up the sun while lounging on hippie hill with their Uggs (I was one such Ugg owner). They even had a sunscreen lounge for all the glaringly pale folks like myself (though everyone should really apply sunscreen). But a couple of minutes into the torturous sets, I realized that I was getting no such Zen from the show. The sound wasn't great. None of the performers were singing with soul, and when I finally went up to the stage to get a better view of Gavin Degraw, I found myself surrounded by people a whole head shorter than me, because they were probably a whole decade younger than me. Not a huge deal, but starting at Gavin Degraw doing his thing (he's actually a pretty good performer) while no one danced. They just stared at the stage with glazed wide eyes - I knew I needed to bounce and fast. As I headed to the exit, the ticket collectors reminded me it was no Ins and Outs. Lame. A 33 dollar fiver hour, concert, in which you have to suffer through Sugar Ray to get to Duffy - and there's no Ins and Outs?! I didn't care at that point though. I took my Uggs to Haight Street, away from Gavin Degraws ballads and enjoyed the rest of my day.

What can be better than drinking beer in Golden Gate Park on a sunny Sunday afternoon???…read more I've attended this concert for 3 years now, and I must say, this year's lineup wasn't quite as good. It started out ok, but fizzled out in the end. Oh well, by the end, I was drunk and didn't care much about the music anyway. Thanks to Nike Club Run SF, my running buddy and I were able to score 10 free tickets to this concert. So we got there early to stake out a good spot, and then headed straight for the beer tent! There was a 2 beer maximum per person, so what do we do??? Bring the nondrinkers to carry more beer! We must've looked like a bunch of Asian lushes double fisting it. So we liked the first few acts...Lanka, Sara Bareilles and Gavin Degraw. Sugar Ray was just eh...definitely getting too old. So after 40 beers(between 6 of us) http://static.px.yelp.com/bphoto/P0IcJnG5f1oQtx5bP17zXg/l , Duffy comes on and we only know her one song that's on the radio. After that, everything else she sang was slooooow and mellow. So lots of beer + hot sun + boring Duffy = NAP TIME! Yup, all 10 of us were knocked the f*ck out! Even though the concert was eh, we still had lots of drunk fun! Good thing the tickets were free! mental note: bring sunscreen and re-apply or you'll turn red like a lobster!

Free concert? Always awesome! Beautiful sunny weather? Even…read morebetter! Freebies? I'm so there! Bubble machines? Me likey lots! Sugar Ray? Oh, the memories! Matt Nathanson? Cracked me up like no other! Hanging out with friends? Always fun! Major sunburns? Still hurting =( Love this concert!

Free concert with Sara Bareilles + Ed Sheeran + Ginny Blackmore? How can you say no?…read more However, with 15,000 people with the same mindset, things can get pretty crazy. Some info and advice for the event: *Plan to get there at least TWO hours early to be safe! Take into account traffic, walking distance, waiting in line. They stopped letting people in after 1pm ish? *Check the weather in advance and dress for it *Sunny weather: sunscreen, sunglasses, towel to sit down, water *Cold/rainy weather: umbrella, sunglasses (block the rain), rain jackets *Free giveaways such as chapsticks, sunscreen, and coconut water *Free massages since you're gonna be standing for a damn long time *Several food trucks and stands when you walk in! *Porta-potties on the left side, make sure you bring hand sanitizer! *Parking ideas: Try parking around Stow Park. It's free and it's just a 20 minute walk. You can also try UCSF or St. Mary's. Mark your car location with your phone because you might forget like I did! *Food/Drinks: If you want to be frugal, bring your own food/drinks. Water costs around $3, and the food trucks are pricey. *If you failed to come in on time, you can see/hear the concert just outside the gate! Just explore around the area. My friends and I arrived around 11:30am, and waited in a half-a-mile line for about 1.5 hours. Yes it's THAT long! It reached the CA Academy of Sciences, so be prepared to wait. Don't even bother trying to be an asshole and cut up in the front because the security will kick you out!!!! They DO a bag check, but all they really do it touch it.... not really check what's inside... We barely ate breakfast, so we decided to try several of the food trucks there, take advantage of the freebies, and tried to empty our bowels as much as possible before we dove into the massive crowd. By this time, it was about 1pm, so it was already really packed. We really wanted to be in the front, so we tried going there from the side. It made it easier to pass the crowds, and eventually, we were able to get a nice small spot towards the front. Before the major headliners were playing, some of my friends had to use the restroom, and we never saw them until the end. So make sure you empty your bowel, bring a bottle to pee in (i'm kidding), or just suck it up and hold it in. Overall, I really enjoyed the concert. The first band, Finish Ticket, was just okay. Ginny Blackmore has such a powerful and amazing voice, and she's the most adorable performer I've ever seen! Sara Bareilles actually sounds better live than in a recording... and I can't say that for a lot of people. Ed Sheeran was 2 hours late due to flight delays, so he did an acoustic version. He didn't talk much and performed a bit faster because of the time constraint, but he was still so good. He even broke a guitar string, and still sounded amazing. Totally worth the wait. One downside to being in the front is that you have to deal with the crazy fan-girls/boys, so brace yourself for that. Expect loud ear-piercing screams, a lot of shoving and pushing, awkward shouts of their love for them and how they want to have their babies. Thank you Alice's Summerthing for a wonderful event!