Last Saturday night, I was moments away from calling a Lyft to take myself to the Chase Center after one of the most exhausting Saturdays I’ve had in years. Literally right before I was going to “Select Lyft” button, I got a text from a friends letting me know that the show had been postponed. Someone appears to have gotten sick in the touring party. OH NO! The worst part about it was that I was kind of relieved… I ended up introducing my four year old to Oliver & Company instead that night, and it was an excellent decision. The SF Show was moved to August 7th, as well as Seattle moving to the 9th, Portland to the 10th, and the 2023 tour is now closing up in Seattle on the 13th. This is sad news for most people, but excellent news for folks that were sold out of these shows, as the postponed shows are allowing for refunds for a week. You can snag those tickets as they become available here!
The Linda Lindas are too good for how young they are. We have been trumpeting the brilliance of this formerly tween, now mostly teen rock band since 2019. Their debut record, 2022’s Growing Up, is possibly the most exciting and diverse debut of the pop-punk canon. However, my first listen to “Too Many Things” still surprised me. The pulsating, anxious bassline. The lyrics? A deep, introspective look at the feeling of being overwhelmed that wouldn’t have been out of place on a Sleater-Kinney or Go-Go’s record. (The two bands that, IMHO, have best conveyed “anxiety” on record)
“Too Many Things” is out now in all the usual places. They are spending the Summer opening for Paramore everywhere (except the SF SHOW!!!!), and the press release teases that more is to come this year from The Linda Lindas, so keep an eye out!
I will also note that this has been the hardest week for Single of the Week, and there are a TON of great new releases this week to give your ears a nice little treat! Veruca Salt’s Louise Post graces us with her debut solo single, “Guilty.” The triumphant return of Speedy Ortiz, “Scabs.” NYC’s soul group 79.5 has a genuine Summer anthem ready for you with “B.D.F.Q.” Pinkshift returns with a burner of a track, “to me.” And if you are looking for evidence of how blessed and lucky you are, the first Natalie Merchant album in nearly 10 years, Keep Your Courage,is out today!
It’s been about five years since Paramore has graced our eardrums. Normally arena-level acts get bypassed in this column, but holy fucking Gang Of 4 groove punk shit?!?! In a time when MySpace-era emo is having a bit of a resurgence, the third part of the My Chemical Romance / Fall Out Boy holy trinity of this scene came back with a post-punk gem that would’ve been perfectly at home on 4AD in the late 80’s. Like, I almost used the word “angular” here and not in a 00’s disco punk way.
“This Is Why” is the title track of their forthcoming record due out February 10th, 2023. You can get reserve this perfect Valentine’s Day gift here!
“I think people still are crazy. I think definitely older. I’d say we’ve kept fans from the first record and they’ve grown up with us.”
Over a decade ago, British garage-rockers The Subways burst onto the US music scene with their 2005 hit “Rock & Roll Queen”, and followed it with a set of tours across the States, along with television appearances and an appearance at Lollapalooza. Despite the continued force with which the band kept moving in the years that followed, it took another 10 years before The Subways would come to the US again for another tour, hot on the heels of their self-titled fourth record that was released in 2015. We caught up with singer/bassist Charlotte Cooper to see what’s been happening with the band in the long time that they’ve spent away from this continent.
Yes. Lionel Richie. Everyone needs to see Lionel Richie before they day. I saw him in Austin a last year, and he killed with a high energy, two hour set that started at 11:30 at night. Every song is a classic, and he’s one of the finest performers out there. There is nothing more fun you could do this night than dance all night long. (all night)
Paramore’s “brand new eyes” was a one of the best albums of 2009. It was a glorious peace of emotionally dynamic guitar rock. However, I didn’t know how deep those emotions ran until learning that half the band left during the tour for the record. It required Paramore to take stock if itself, and managed to take four years to produce a follow up. What we got was one of their most aggressive and ferocious record to date.
Braids, Hundred Waters, Kodak To Graph at Rickshaw Stop
There is never any reason to do anything other than Treasure Island Music Festival if you are in town the weekend of said festival. It is the best music festival in America. Of course, you should read this for maximum enjoyment! The best part is that there is no overlap. So you don’t need to decide between Animal Collective and Sleigh Bells or Tricky and Atoms For Peace. It’s the best value for your festival dollar.
I bet you forgot about The Sounds. They’ve put out several wonderful records filled with Blondie-inspired dance rock, and they aren’t showing any signs of stopping. Just because radio station programmers have decided to stop getting behind these wonderful Swedes doesn’t mean you should. I think you should be shaking your booty at The Fillmore tonight, because Mondays are hard, so your Monday night should be pure bliss.
It’s official. There are now more original Beach Boys touring with Brian Wilson than touring in the actual Beach Boys. This show is, essentially, an extension of last year’s epic Beach Boys reunion tour, only instead of Mike Love, we’ve got guitar legend Jeff Beck. Which means that this show might actually be better than last year’s tour.
Fact: Au Revoir Simone took their name from Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. If that’s not enough of a selling point, then just listen to their super fun brand of synth pop:
It’s been a rough three years for Paramore. In that time, they’ve gone through almost as many drummers as Spinal Tap, and had to deal with one of the most public and bitter band break ups in recent memory. However, they have returned with a self titled album that is a collection of tracks that bring to mind their early forays into emo and hardcore, as well as some of the most positive songs they’ve released in years. Since it’s been a while, they are warming themselves up with small venue tour. However, since they like a challenge, they brought Kitten along for the ride- a live experience so dizzying that only the most confident band should try to play afterwards.
Kitten at Bottom Of The Hill last June. Photo by Marie Carney
Kitten are a beast of a band. They play a furious blend of punk and new wave, while their lead singer, Chloe Chaidez, is at the tender age of 17, one of the most dynamic and aggressive front people in rock. We recently took the time out to speak Chaidez about their recently released EP, Cut It Out, the evolution of their sound and the logistics behind being in a teenage rock band. Kitten will be playing a Noise Pop Happy Hour show on Thursday, February 28th at Bender’s Bar & Grill as well as opening for Paramore at The Warfield on May 4th, and their debut full length is due to drop later this year. You’d be foolish to miss their live show.
The night I got notified that I was getting the opportunity to see the Honda Civic Tour, I was ecstatic. The lineup looked extremely star-studded: Paramore, Tegan & Sara, and New Found Glory. I haven’t seen any of these bands perform with the slight exception of New Found Glory, whom I watched from afar a year or two ago when they were traveling with the Warped Tour. With the way my night started, I was afraid that the rest of the night would go horribly. Luckily for me, these bands did not let me or the rest of the packed stadium see a dull moment.
She's clearly got the best album cover on our list, but where did her album end up?
by The Spinning Platters Staff
The past month at the Spinning Platters offices (everyone telecommutes) was spent passing albums around to try to determine a staff list of the Top 15 Albums of 2009. We chose 15 because we had 15 voters, so maybe everyone would get one of their pet favorites on the list. There was a nomination step, a finalist selection step, a final voting step, some senior staff picks, and then we had a list. No list is perfect (and we recognize that albums are still coming out this year), but ours is not only pretty darned good, it also manages to represent the wide variety of musical tastes among our team here (i.e. some of us hate some of these albums). Now, read and enjoy The Official List of the Top 15 of 2009. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Presents the Official List of the Top 15 Albums of 2009”
Part of Strawberryluna's letter series. Click on the picture to buy it.
There was a lot more competition for the top posts of the week this week. Bands that start with the letter P have positively proven to be particularly popular posts at Spinning Platters. I don’t know why that is, but because of this, we’re hoping you’ll come back to read our reviews of Pountain Goats, Pem Crooked Vultures, and the Piery Purances. But now for this week’s top 5. Continue reading “Week in Review: Top 5 Posts from Nov 6 — Nov 12”
