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Photo by Kara Murphy, who also assisted with this interview

Shortly before he wowed the crowds at Mezzanine, we had the honor to sit and talk to Dan Black at a creepy dive bar on 6th St. We enjoyed club soda with lime, and talked about touring, musical genres, and what happens when your band spontaneously combusts on stage.  Here’s a transcription of that conversation:
Who are you, and what do you do?

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Look how much your girlfriend is enjoying herself at The Mountain Winery in Saratoga. So many concerts! So much wine!

As July transitions into August, The Mountain Winery continues to generally kick the ass of every other Bay Area concert venue this week—and it’s actually kind of an off-week for them. Nobody likes a showoff, Mountain Winery! Other highlights this week include Joanna Newsom, a free concert by Rickie Lee Jones, and the final performance by local favorites Make Me before they take an indefinite hiatus. All that and more, after the jump…

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Crowds of people wait for her: Skye Edwards of Morcheeba

Crowds of people wait for her: Skye Edwards of Morcheeba

Any sort of band that plays music that can be even remotely described as “downtempo” has, in some eyes, a serious disadvantage when it comes to their live performance. The energy and excitement and wildness that comes from a live gig is toned down, and re-formed into the fluid, organic compositions that make up the worlds of dub, trip-hop, and ambient performance. Often, an audience with great patience and love of such swell in a melody becomes the ultimate factor in a successful show, or act, that brings mostly slower, dreamier, and more wistful compositions to the  live world of music. Tonight’s crowd at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco fit this bill perfectly, so to speak, so it was little surprise when Skye Edwards and the other Londoners of Morcheeba proclaimed the intimate venue to be one of their favorite places in the world to play. [read the whole post]

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“Hip-hope” perhaps?  Their music blends genres of rap, electronica, reggae, jazz and other sounds, invoking spiritualism and awareness on social issues.  They have risen to the top of their class, working with such greats as De La Soul and Run D.M.C.  As Oakland’s MC Zion (aka Zumbi) and DJ/producer Amp Live prepare for a hometown reunion of sorts, opening for the infamous Black Star collaboration at the Fox Theater on Saturday, July 31st before setting out on a nationwide tour, they had a few moments to share with us to discuss their craft. [read the whole post]

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Robyn and Kelis share a hug during the final encore song.

On a chilly Saturday night, I exited my car, parked on 6th Street and Howard clad in black stiletto ankle boots and a form-fitting black/white striped dress accented with a scant red cardigan that provided a bit of warmth en route to Mezzanine – located a few blocks away. Normally, I’m a jeans and hoodie kind of gal when it comes to attending live shows. However, since my Spinning Platters colleague, Dakin Hardwick, and I were meeting Dan Black, one of the opening acts on the All Hearts tour, co-headlined by Robyn and Kelis, for an in-person interview, I felt an overwhelming urge to dress up.

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Aaron Espinoza and Jason Lytle of Admiral Radley, plying their craft.

Jason Lytle and Aaron Burtch of Grandaddy plus Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray of Earlimart equals Admiral Radley.

These two midtempo guitar-and-keyboard indie rock crews plugged in their effects pedals together and now the Admiral has come to town. [read the whole post]

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Show Review: The Gaslight Anthem with New Politics Play at San Jose’s Music in the Park, 7/22/10

July 24, 2010

I was first exposed to The Gaslight Anthem via a concert at San Jose State with the Alkaline Trio, Rise Against, and Thrice about a year ago. They were the openers and I almost chose taking a trip to the merch booth over listening to their set. Luckily, I didn’t take that trip and now [...]

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Show Review: Toad The Wet Sprocket, Hey Marseilles at The Fillmore, 7/23/10

July 24, 2010

I have a live music bucket list. That is, I have a list of performers and bands that I would like to see before I or they die. This week has been pretty good for me, in terms of knocking things off that list, but I was really excited about the opportunity to see the [...]

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/22/10-7/28/10

July 22, 2010

The last week of July is looking pretty crazy… Tons of amazing shows going on this week, including two very rare 4-band shows that are worth arriving early and staying late. Time to buy some Red Bull!

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Show Review: Jonathan Richman with Olof Arnalds at Swedish American Hall, 7/21/10

July 22, 2010

Jonathan Richman explained the reason for the existence of his ongoing residency at Swedish American Hall this week. He was in Reykjavik playing a show, and the opener was some girl playing guitar and singing, and he was thinking “whatever” but then he started really listening and fell in love with the music, as did [...]

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