Film Review: CHAPPiE

I hated every character in this movie, including the stupid robot.

Chappie stars as CHAPPiE
Chappie stars as CHAPPiE

Let’s get what’s good about this movie out of the way quickly. It won’t take long. The effects are amazing. It’s incredible to think about how far we’ve come with effects, where you can watch a robot walk, talk and fight, and never for a moment think that it’s just a CGI creation. The visual effects team nailed it, and I would be absolutely OK with them winning whatever awards, or garnering any accolades, because they deserve it. Holy crap. The rest of the movie? I can’t believe I made it to the end.

Continue reading “Film Review: CHAPPiE”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 9/25/14-10/2/14

Playing The Indy on Wednesday
Playing The Indy on Wednesday

This week is a pretty epic week if you are in the mood for some classic rock. Or new music. Or just like being alive. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 9/25/14-10/2/14”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 11/8/12-11/14/12

Appearing at Slim’s on Monday

Here is a whole slew of shows… Because there is absolutely nothing else to do. So, please, everybody enjoy some rock in the Bay this week!

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 11/8/12-11/14/12”

Show Review: San Francisco’s 2012 Outside Lands Festival, Day 1

The iconic Outside Lands windmill greets all attendees at some point in the festival
The iconic Outside Lands windmill greets all attendees at some point in the festival

Additional contributions to this article by Dakin Hardwick. All photos by Jonathan Pirro except where noted.

Summer is always slow and somewhat sporadic to come to the Bay Area, and with it comes a mostly dry spell of live music, with many large groups heading overseas for massive festivals and international tours, while California and the rest of the country relax and find other ways to enjoy themselves in whatever sun decides to creep over the land. The city of San Francisco is even more prone to aberrant weather and happenings, especially since right in the middle of August is the colossal technicolor monstrosity that is the annual Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival. In 2012, the festival enters its fifth year of existence, and a crowd of 65,000 fans plowed into the historic Golden Gate Park each day of the surprisingly chilly and foggy weekend, which was relatively unexpected based on the forecasts from earlier in the week. However, with tickets sold out and a number of huge bands set to take the 4 stages across the three-day weekend, even dreary weather couldn’t dull the enthusiasm of the sprawling, voracious crowd that clambered into the park, and raised voices, fists, and flags in unison for over 10 hours of music each day.

Continue reading “Show Review: San Francisco’s 2012 Outside Lands Festival, Day 1”

Our Guide to the 2012 Outside Lands Music Festival

Poor guys… Gonna have to find someplace else to play Polo next weekend.

Every year, every festival in America claims to have the “best line up ever!” Well, San Francisco’s Outside Lands Music Festival has made to its 5th year, and they really are going to have a seriously difficult time topping this year’s event. Of course, this means that there are conflicts galore! You’ve got six stages of entertainment to try to decide between at any time of day.

The schedule can be awfully intimidating. Which is why I’m here to help guide you through the complex maze that is the Outside Lands schedule. Without further ado, here is SpinningPlatters’ Official Guide to Outside Lands 2012.

Continue reading “Our Guide to the 2012 Outside Lands Music Festival”

Day 1 of Treasure Island Music Festival 2010 – Instant Band Reviews

Nick Offer of !!! wants you to read this now!

Sure, one could write hundreds of words about each band on the bill at the Treasure Island Music Festival, but then the entire comment section would be filled with a lot of “tl;dr” comments, which aren’t much fun. And I could write a “best-of” post, which basically translates to “I took a nap during Jamaica’s set.” Instead, in the tradition of our fan-favorite Instant Album Reviews columns, I instantly review Saturday Treasure Island Music Festival, with the help of some great photos from David Price. Continue reading “Day 1 of Treasure Island Music Festival 2010 — Instant Band Reviews”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 10/14/2010-10/20/2010

Both White Rabbits & Suicidal Tendencies in one week? Of course I need to use a Bunny Suicides comic!

Treasure Island Weekend is upon us… And, if you still have the energy, here’s a few more shows to go to, as well!

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 10/14/2010-10/20/2010”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/15/10-7/21/10

In honor of their stint opening for The New Pornographers, here are naked pictures of The Dodos.

Today is too hot for me to come up with something witty to say… Go see some shows!

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/15/10-7/21/10”