Slim’s – Page 2 – Spinning Platters

Show Review: The Julie Ruin with La Sera at Slim’s, 9/18/13

All photos by Kara Murphy. Check out the full gallery here!

The last time Kathleen Hanna performed music in San Francisco was over 8 years ago, opening for Beck at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. It was the first time I had gotten a chance to see her, after being consistently sold out of gigs for most of my life. Their 45 minute set was excellent, but I kept wanting more. I wanted a crowd that cared. Alas, I had to wait nearly a decade to see the woman that coined the phrases “Riot Grrl,” “Girl Power,” and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” play a full set of music. Sure, I really wanted a Bikini Kill reunion, but getting her to dig up her old Julie Ruin moniker with fellow Bikini Killer Kathi Wilcox on board was a suitable replacement.

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Show Review: Palms, Crypts at Slim’s, 7/13/13

Supergroups are a hard thing to review fairly. It’s difficult to be a “brand new” band without the prejudice of their prior bands. Palms is a new project featuring 3/5’s Boston based “post metal” band ISIS and Deftones’ vocalist Chino Moreno. Two bands with an established legacy that, by a twist of fate, are two of the few bands that I am not familiar with at all. So my experience with Palms was entirely fresh.

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Show Review: Sara Bareilles at Slim’s, 05/13/2013

Sara Bareilles wants to see you be brave.

It’s been two and a half years since Sara Bareilles released her last fantastic record, Kaleidoscope Heart. Now she’s got a great new single, “Brave,” and is challenging herself to be just that by touring solo. The “Brave Enough Tour” challenges Sara to play not only alone on stage, but without the support of an opening act. This week it was San Francisco’s turn to get up close and personal with Miss Bareilles at a sold-out, standing-room-only show at Slim’s on Monday night. And what a treat it was, as usual… Continue reading “Show Review: Sara Bareilles at Slim’s, 05/13/2013”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 4/11/13-4/17/13

FEAR THE BEARD — Where have you gone, (baseball’s) Brian Wilson? You weren’t there for the San Francisco Giants’ 2012 ring ceremony.

Concerts! Shows! Performances! And this week in the Bay Area, they’re extra-beardy!

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Show Review: The Dead Milkmen with Terry Malts at Slim’s, 5/10/2012

Rodney "Anonymous" Linderman of The Dead Milkmen

Nearly 30 years ago, in the state of Pennsylvania, a troupe of four young upstarts formed a band that was anything but what had been perceived to be the general standard for quality punk rock. With their thick Philadelphian accents, songs about defecating lizards and maintaining a healthy diet, and the general appearance of a collection of angry rednecks that had gotten themselves slightly cleaned up, the quartet added the finishing touch in the form of a fictional backstory for their band, which was called The Dead Milkmen. Nine albums, three decades, many unexpectedly big hits, and several generations’ worth of fans later, the balls-out-fun-and-plenty-of-cleverly-funny-bullshit approach that the Dead Milkmen burst into the Philadelphia punk scene with has carved out a unique but deeply passionate cult following for the four — now with new bassist Dan Stevens, after the passing of Dave “Blood” Schulthise in 2004. On Thursday night, for the first time in nearly 22 years, the Dead Milkmen returned to San Francisco, took over the small SoMA establishment known as Slim’s, and proceeded to let loose with a stunning performance, with a ferocious energy equivalent to a truckload of dynamite erupting off the edge of a canyon wall.

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Show Review: GIVERS with White Arrows at Slim’s, 4/15/12

April’s live musical options in the bay area are huge. Due to the sheer numbers of acts coming to town, mostly due to bands coming through because of Coachella. It means that you can be in twenty places at once in any given night this month. On the evening that I opted to see GIVERS, I decided based on putting five different gigs in a hat, and picking one at random. This brought me to Slim’s on a spring Sunday evening, and it very well could have been my best decision.

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Show Review: Buck 65, Busdriver, Kristoff Krane at Slim’s, 2/19/2012

6917580719_13d993dbbb_b — The is how we dance in Canada. (All photos by Kara Murphy)

Canada has had a very difficult relationship with hip hop in the US. It seems that very few acts can break through, despite all the talent that is brewing in our great white north. Aside from Drake, there has yet to be a true superstar to come from the great white north. Which means that such great acts like k-os, K’Naan, and Buck 65 are stuck cris-crossing America, playing small clubs on weekday nights to have full rooms. Which is a shame, because there is so much serious talent coming from our “America’s hat.” On a a cold Sunday night, San Francisco was treated to a performance from Nova Scotia’s Buck 65.

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Show Review: Anamanaguchi with Starscream, Knife City and Crash Faster at Slim’s, 10/30/2011

Returning to San Francisco to shake the OTHER venue on 11th Street

With access to thousands upon thousands of songs of every solidly-defined or unclassified musical archetype that exists on this great planet of ours, rock music has entered a new world of sonic exploration that was only experimented with in years past. The concept of “fusion” and the blending of genres has been a staple of pushing the envelope in music, but for many years it was still almost taboo to mix certain instruments, compositional methods, or even the fans that followed these musical movements. Today, with ancient horn sections bellowing their way into foggy punk rock and string sections going toe-to-toe with electronica, it isn’t hard to understand why the Brooklyn chiptune-punk quartet Anamanaguchi is successful enough to come to the Bay Area twice in one year and sell out two of the most popular clubs in the SoMa district of San Francisco.

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Show Review: Lisa Hannigan, John Smith at Slim’s, 10/2/2011

After looking up Lisa Hannigan’s past show archive, I have definitely missed her more times than I remember. Twice I’ve seen Damien Rice while she hadn’t been on the tour with him. (She was the better half of Damien Rice in my opinion). Then I systematically missed her only U.S. solo tour, her Apple Store in-store and her opening for both Jason Mraz, and David Grey on separate occasions. I only had to wait eight years right? Well I think it paid off, because I not only got to see her live, I had the chance to interview her as well! (See related article =) )

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Show Review: Monsters of Accordion Featuring Jason Webley at Slim’s, 12/18/2010

JW_Pear — Jason Webley holds a pear over his head. If you're a fan, this makes sense.

At Slim’s Saturday night was the San Francisco stop of the 5th Annual Monsters of Accordion tour. For me, it was my first annual. For although I’ve never been to one of these shows before, I am absolutely sure to go again. This was a fun night with a lively crowd, and something I intend to repeat soon. Very soon, in fact, for there is a secret additional Monsters of Accordion show this Tuesday night in Oakland. Want to know where? Better read on … Continue reading “Show Review: Monsters of Accordion Featuring Jason Webley at Slim’s, 12/18/2010”