Show Review: Them Crooked Vultures with Mini Mansions at The Fox Oakland

Them Crooked Vultures @ The Fox
Them Crooked Vultures @ The Fox

There have been a few “supergroups” that came and went in the last few years, many formed from the remnants of the grunge generation looking to try out new sounds, such as Army Of Anyone (the members of Stone Temple Pilots headed by  Richard Patrick of Filter), Audioslave (the members of Rage Against The Machine headed by Chris Cornell of Soundgarden), or Velvet Revolver (Scott Weiland of the aforementioned STP fronting the remaining members of Guns N’ Roses). While all of the records are excellent in theory, in execution they don’t always live up to the names of the musicians writing the music on the records. The kind of supergroup that is likely to TRULY break the mold is one spanning multiple generations of music. In the case of Them Crooked Vultures, it’s three generations: the stoner-groove-rock of the 2000’s, the solid, angry blues-grunge of the 90’s, and the arena-level rock-n’-roll of the ’70s. Of course, these three genres would make sense, given that Them Crooked Vultures is composed of Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age / Kyuss), Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters / Nirvana), and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin).

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New Release Round Up, 11/17/09 – 20 Instant Album Reviews

Pouria says, "Listening to this album is like watching Over the Top."
Pouria says, "Listening to this album is like watching Over the Top."

I’ve been in Seoul for the past couple weeks so I’ve had a bit of a break.  Fortunately I could ease in this week since it didn’t really seem like much came out.  One really hilarious album came out this week, so if you get a chance you should listen to Pretty Ricky for some lighthearted fun. Continue reading “New Release Round Up, 11/17/09 — 20 Instant Album Reviews”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide To Bay Area Concerts: November 18th-November 24th

Not playing Cafe du Nord on Monday, but their legacy is...
Not playing Cafe du Nord on Monday, but their legacy is...

So, it looks like the people of the ABC are getting super angry, and are doing some nasty things to our DNA. It also looks like the economy is laying to waste one of San Francisco’s greatest venues at the end of the year. So, please, please help keep live music alive by going to a show or two this week. And next week is Black Friday, a day that you will be shopping early in the morning. I suggest all of our readers power shop, then power nap, and then attend an all ages show somewhere in town, then head to Annie’s Social Club afterwards for some late night punk rock karaoke. But, we won’t have an extensive Black Friday show guide until next Wednesday. Until then, here’s this week:

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide To Bay Area Concerts: November 18th-November 24th”