Max Pasion-Gonzales

November 7, 2018

Toro Y Moi Is Blissed Out at SOhO

By Max Pasion-Gonzales

Toro Y Moi is a total icon, not only in image and cultural positioning but also in diverse musicianship, intimate performative value and sheer, raw talent.

September 27, 2018

Miguel Closes Out Summer at SB Bowl

By Max Pasion-Gonzales

The stage presence of Miguel is articulate and precise, alarmingly reminiscent of the way Michael Jackson used to move about the stage and command his audience’s attention.

September 20, 2018

Miguel to Elevate the SB Bowl

By Max Pasion-Gonzales

After a year of touring off of his recent success, and with special guest DVSN along the way for this stretch, the SB Bowl stage is set for a wavy end to the summer.

May 25, 2018

Ariel Pink and DIIV Were Indie As Fuck at SOhO

By Max Pasion-Gonzales

His live presence was everything we could have expected and more. It was enigmatic, it was borderline insane and it was, for lack of a better term, Ariel Pink as fuck.

May 1, 2018

I Saw The Drums at SOhO and it was Aggressively Gorgeous

By Max Pasion-Gonzales

The Drums gave downtown Santa Barbara a brilliantly wild escape from home, as I hope they continue to give people for many years to come.

March 7, 2018

Donald Glover’s Surreal World of Atlanta

By Max Pasion-Gonzales

“Atlanta” is nothing like any TV show the world has ever seen before. It takes risks, it immerses the audience and it speaks huge volumes in brief moments.

February 28, 2018

Real Estate Brings Summer to February in Santa Barbara

By Max Pasion-Gonzales

Their performance is genuinely reflective of the band’s success, and it elevated the record’s feelings of happiness to newer heights.

October 12, 2017

Netflix Anime ‘Neo Yokio’ Is Weird Yet Worthwhile

By Max Pasion-Gonzales

"Neo Yokio," or the Japanese form of "New York," blends anime, uptown socialites and hip-hop culture into a single unique, and often overwhelming, force.

May 19, 2017

The Friday Review: This Old Dog by Mac Demarco

By Max Pasion-Gonzales

Mac’s attitude toward love has evolved as well. Rather than his past approach of charming the listener into a false fantasy of love, here he has been through enough of it to have a better understanding.

May 1, 2017

Tracks of the Month: April 2017

By William Emmons, Max Pasion-Gonzales, Zoe Jones

Following a controversial Fox News sample invalidating his lyrical effectiveness, Kendrick's "DNA." is a fierce declaration of war that rattles the musical and political world to its very core.

April 20, 2017

Travis Scott’s Birds Eye View Soars Over SB Bowl

By Max Pasion-Gonzales

Scott, as a performer, was up to his usual standard, as he screamed every lyric with ease and moved quickly around the stage with high energy.

April 13, 2017

RL Grime Soundtracks A Sunny Deltopia Weekend

By Max Pasion-Gonzales

Last Saturday’s hosting of heavy trap DJ RL Grime was a clear attempt to keep kids off the streets of I.V. during Deltopia; the students responded with immense praise.

April 3, 2017

Travis Scott to Light Up SB Bowl

By Max Pasion-Gonzales

At a Travis Scott show, the rapper and his dedicated audience are wild in every sense of the word.

March 3, 2017

The Friday Review: Drunk by Thundercat

By Max Pasion-Gonzales

On Thundercat’s whimsical cacophonic trek through the land of Drunk, he has had a little too much liquid courage and finally lets out the thoughts that a sober self pushes to the back confines of the mind.

March 1, 2017

Tracks of the Month: February 2017

By Jasmine Benafghoul, Max Pasion-Gonzales, William Emmons

Grown up Fairy Tales dates back to Acid Rap, originally for big brother Chance the Rapper himself, but Taylor Bennett takes it and features his brother as well as Jeremih.