great american music hall – Spinning Platters

Show Review: Cavalera Conspiracy w/Exhumed, Incite, Thrown Into Exile, and SANGRE at The Wiltern, 10/18/2023

Cavalera: The REAL Sepultura

Show Review and Los Angeles Photos by: Oliver Brink
San Francisco Photos by: Alan Ralph @AlanHasPicks

This one was a bit special for me. Sepultura is a band that I fell deeply in love with in high school, and their music and the continued projects of Max Cavalera have been with me constantly as I navigate my way through life. I always find moments where I just need a song like “Refuse/Resist” or “Troops of Doom” to help me get through a moment of angry energy. So, of course, I had to jump at a chance to see Max and Iggor Cavalera, finally, and when that opportunity arrived, I jumped right the hell on it, even if it meant going to one of my least favorite venues to photograph. More on that later; bands first!

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Show Review: Mac Sabbath drives thru the Great American Music Hall!

Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @AlanHasPicks

“More Than Meats the Eye” is what happens when McDonald’s worst nightmare Mac Sabbath books a tour with a bunch of Transformers and they all Drive Thru the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco on a warm Thursday evening.

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Show Review: Overkill Scorched San Francisco

Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @AlanHasPicks

It is fairly common knowledge that thrash metal originated from here in San Francisco starting in the early-mid 1980’s with most of the heavy hitters like Metallica, Death Angel, Testament, Forbidden, Exodus, and Vio-lence, among others. The east coast, however, also had some major thrash metal bands brewing, with Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, and Overkill leading the pack. Cut to today, and most of these bands are still around and still continue to rage, almost as good or better than they did all those years ago!

One of those bands actually travelled 3,000 miles from their east coast home to begin their tour here in San Francisco. Hailing from Old Bridge Township, New Jersey, the seminal 1980’s band Overkill came to town to show-up their Bay Area thrash metal brethren, and in the process, laid waste to the Great American Music Hall, proving that after 43 years and 20 albums, they still thrash as well or better than most of their Bay Area metal counterparts… and everyone else!

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Show Review: Cavalera Conspiracy “Beneath / Arise”, Great American Music Hall, 06/17/2022

Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @ARPhotoSF

It seems like every band these days is doing anniversary and album anniversary tours. Maybe the band has been around 10, 25, 50 years? Maybe their most popular album has been around long enough for their fans (or the music press in general) to consider it a classic record? Most generally wait for a milestone year, 10 at least, before doing it, and it always seems to be on the 5- or 10- year increment.

Max and Iggor Cavalera founded Sepultura in 1984. The 40th anniversary of that band is coming up in 2024, although both have not been in it since 1996 and 2006, respectively (only the bass player is a near-original member). The Cavalera’s may not be able to tour using the name Sepultura, but they can still celebrate the early albums that they took part in writing and recording. Despite the odd number of years since they were released (33 and 31 years), Cavalera Conspiracy decided to go against the grain and tour exclusively on these two albums!

Show Review: Fozzy (Chris Jericho), Great American Music Hall, 05/08/2022

Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @ARPhotoSF

The floor and stage of Great American Music Hall is not really large enough to turn into a wrestling ring and arena, so lucky for those in attendance this Mother’s Day, former WWF and current AEW professional wrestler Chris Jericho was fronting his metal band Fozzy here tonight and not jumping off the top rope!

Sing It Hasselhoff: Chris Jericho’s Band Fozzy

So, we haven’t posted a “Sing It Hasselhoff” in like a decade on this site. However, I’ve finally forced myself to sample legendary wrestler Chris Jericho’s band, Fozzy. Their latest record, Boombox, is out tomorrow, and it’s filled with giant, anthemic metal suitable for, well, kicking off a wrestling match? Check it out for yourself! And on Sunday Night they are bringing the “Save The World” Tour to Great American Music Hall, and, by golly, we really need it right now. Seriously, Mr. Jericho, please save us!

Webstream Review: Death Angel “The Bastard Tracks”, 5/29/2021

“The Bastard Tracks”. B-Sides. The meat of the record. Songs not usually on the live set. Deep cuts. Tracks the diehard fans know.

Death Angel created this web stream to dig “deep into [their] catalog to perform older favorites, newer classics and songs that have never been performed live before” with multiple interview segments containing the stories behind the songs and “a glimpse into the collective minds and souls of Death Angel.”

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Show Review: Dennis Lloyd with Ryan Caraveo at Great American Music Hall, 4/11/19

Lloyd’s hair is shorter than this now. Either way, meeeooowwww.

The first time I heard Dennis Lloyd’s single, “Nevermind,” I was intrigued. I started hearing the song a lot on satellite radio, and on the music channel I turn my TV to when I’m in the kitchen. A month or so ago, Lloyd’s name came up on my radar: he was coming through the Bay on tour. I requested to cover the show and quickly forgot about it. I didn’t find out that I had a ticket until the day before the show. The next day, I realized I only knew that one song, so I spent several hours listening to Spotify’s This is Dennis Lloyd playlist. Unfortunately, I wasn’t into it. I’m a girl of my word, though, so I headed to Great American Music Hall on Thursday in hopes that Lloyd live would change my mind.

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Show Review: Carpenter Brut with Vector Hold at Great American Music Hall, 3/24/2017

This is the new synth party in town — and it’s as aggressive as it is danceable

An intriguing new in heavy electronic music is a genre known as “dark synthwave”, and numerous artists that fall under its umbrella have been snarling their way into existence. It brings along the sounds of retro analog synths, thundering snares, and wildly vibrant guitars, possessed of a vibe reminiscent of action movies and old-school video games; a colleague of mine referred to it as “French musicians playing the best music for driving 100MPH in 80s cars”, and it’s a rather apt description. Players like Perturbator and Gost have made their way into the Bay Area in recent months, and closing out the month of March was Carpenter Brut, the one-man-masterpiece of one Franck Hueso (or “Frank B. Carpenter” as his live moniker) that mashes up the ideas of John Carpenter’s action/horror films with a blast of furious guitars and drums to drive the music at a fevered pace.

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RIP Prince: His Importance To My Life

I woke up in utter disbelief this morning. We’ve had a lot of music legends pass away in the last year, but nothing prepared me for the passing of Prince. The man was simply eternally youthful and filled with boundless energy. Less than six months ago, Prince played a 38-song set at Oracle Arena that got out around midnight, followed by another 18-song set at 3am at the Great American Music Hall — a feat that much younger musicians cannot accomplish.

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