BottleRock 2013 Review: Napa’s Inaugural Music, Wine, and Food Festival

A brand new festival just outside my front door.
A brand new festival just outside my front door.

When rumors about the first ever BottleRock Napa festival began to circulate, they were impressive: early flyers listed Dave Matthews Band and Pearl Jam as headliners (neither was ever confirmed). Still, the festival had the attention of the Napa Valley and surrounding music lovers long ago.

Once the final lineup had been released and tickets purchased, however, it was time to finally see what all the hype had been about. Because my home is in such a central location within “Napa proper,” as we all call the city of Napa (so as not to confuse it with the rest of “the Valley”), I didn’t actually experience the crazy traffic so many locals worried about. And while I did hear on one of the first few days (Weds or Thurs, though I’m not 100% certain which) that it took someone approximately 90 minutes to reach the Napa Expo from Fairfield (normally a 25-30 minute drive), I know for sure that the traffic relaxed and was relatively comparable to any other holiday weekend. (Which is to say, not insane as predicted.) The parking situation was the same as it usually is, I know for sure. The first three days, I arrived well before noon. As such, I beat the crowds and was able to find nearby parking with such ease that I chalked that up to my knowledge of the neighborhood, vs. all those who were coming in from out of area who didn’t know where to look (and as a result, were paying $25-40 to park much farther away). Continue reading “BottleRock 2013 Review: Napa’s Inaugural Music, Wine, and Food Festival”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 5/9/13-5/15/13

Opening for Kate Nash on Saturday!
Opening for Kate Nash on Saturday!

While the majority of the bands playing in the Bay Area this week are up at Bottle Rock in Napa, which, yes, in an amazing looking festival, it isn’t quite the Bay Area. The following shows (with one exception) are all easily accessible via BART. So enjoy your rock n roll, and remember not to drink & drive!

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 5/9/13-5/15/13”

Spinning Platters Guide To New Year’s Eve 2011 In The San Francisco Bay Area

It’s scary how quickly New Year’s Eve is approaching. It’s almost 2011, and if you are like me, you haven’t figured out what you are going to do. Well, here are a few tips shows that you can still decide to head out to!

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Guide To New Year’s Eve 2011 In The San Francisco Bay Area”

Show Review: An Evening with Primus at the Great American Music Hall, 7/18/2010

those damn blue-collar tweekers.
those damn blue-collar tweekers. (photo by Sassy Monkey Media)

In today’s concerting world, most shows are focused more firmly on spectacle than on musicianship. We expect the bands to be at the top of their game, of course, but in case they aren’t, we’ve got pretty lights, soaring lasers, mystifying fog, and, sometimes, hurricanes of confetti to wow us and give us something to rave to our friends about. While the spectacle can be rather fantastic from time to time, it’s always refreshing to see the band pack up their light show, deflate the floating spacemen, and dismantle the fog machines, in favor of a rock-solid performance that focuses on what a concert is, truly, about: the music. The bands that are able to take all of these steps, cast off the grandeur, pack themselves — and several hundred feral fans — into a club, and rock the foundations as hard as they would in an arena, are truly wonderful to behold, and tonight’s performance by Bay Area native titans Primus was certainly no exception.

Continue reading “Show Review: An Evening with Primus at the Great American Music Hall, 7/18/2010”

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”