Yeah, so normally I put a funny pic that makes fun of the name of some band playing this week. But, instead, we are giving away a pair of tickets to see the Metalliance Tour at Mezzanine on Sunday, April 3rd. It will be an amazing night of non-stop metal madness, capped off by the great HELMET! Simply email promo@spinningplatters.com by Friday at 3 PM, and one lucky winner will be picked at random. Just give me your name, email, and phone number and in the subject, put METALLIANCE CONTEST. Winner will be informed by email. And if you don’t win, tickets are for sale here!
Thursday, March 31st
My Chemical Romance, Neon Trees, The Architects at The Fox Theater – Oakland
There are a handful of mainstream radio rock bands that seem to have quite a bit of “indie cred” for reasons that I just plain don’t understand… Bands like Foo Fighters, Muse, and My Chemical Romance. Maybe it’s the big choruses, the huge arrangements, and the well produced records. But, I digress… I lot of my colleagues on this site love this band. And maybe my opinion shouldn’t really count, because in the battle between My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy, I always picked Fall Out Boy. Which is reason alone for my opinion to not matter to you, and for you to go dance with the kids at The Fox on a Thursday night.
Travie McCoy, Donnis, Black Cards (w/ Pete Wentz), XV, Bad Rabbits at Slim’s
Which brings me to this show. Travie McCoy is the charismatic frontman for pop/rap/emo fusion group Gym Class Heroes, who mad a monster hit last summer with his song “Billionaire,” an infectious pop tune that will ring in your head for weeks. He’s also signed to Decaydance Records, owned by recently divorced mogul Pete Wentz. Which is, of course, how Wentz got to tag along for this gig, introducing his new band Black Cards, who are rumored to be a dark, electronic project. Sadly, the least talented member of Fall Out Boy is the first to come to the bay to show of his new material. At least we’ve got Patrick Stump coming around to tear up Hotel Utah (!) later this month! So here’s McCoy and Daryl Hall doing something neat:
Friday, April 1st
De La Soul at Yoshi’s – SF
De La Soul are one of the few live acts in hop hop that are known for consistently putting on a fun show. They sound great, and they know how to put on an amazing time. And, they are playing four shows in two days, so you don’t have any excuses about missing Damon Albarn’s favorite collaborators!
Lenka, Greg Laswell at Rickshaw Stop
httpv://www.youtube.com/user/LenkaVEVO#p/u/2/DW8rg6XeP3U
Saturday, April 2nd
Hunx & His Punx, Shannon & The Clams, Grass Widow at Bottom Of The Hill
This is the ultimate bay area bill! Hunx & His Punx are the glam rock project that rose from the ashes of the dearly departed Gravy Train!, while Shannon & The Clams are an awesome rockabilly throwback band, and Grass Widow are the best pop punk band to come from the bay since Green Day. Only an idiot would stay home tonight!
An Evening With The Baseball Project, The Minus 5, and Steve Wynn at Slim’s
Sunday, April 3rd
The Metalliance Tour: HELMET, Saint Virus, Crowbar, Kylesa, Red Fang, Howl, Atlas Moth at Mezzanine
Forget all of those terrible package metal tours that play the sheds all throught the summer… You know, the ones that are all a hodgepodge of awful 90’s rap metal has-beens. This is the best metal show of the year! And, it’s indoors at a great venue. It will be intimate, therefore much more threatening than some terrible place where people played $50 to watch the show from the lawn.
Switchboard Music Festival: Birds And Batteries, Causing A Tiger, Erik Jekabson And The Bay Area Composers’ Big Band, Dan Becker, Jonathan Russell, Wiener Kids, Loren Chasse, The Genie, Telepathy, William Brittelle, Ryan Brown With Revolution Quartet, Gojogo at Brava Theater
Monday, April 4th
Salif Keita at Yoshi’s – San Francisco
This is a very special event at Yoshi’s… Salfi Keita is a huge star in his native Mali, and he rarely visits the United States, let alone in an intimate venue like Yoshi’s. So, go get some culture, and see a living legend!
Tuesday, April 5th
Talib Kweli, FASHAWN at The Fillmore
One of the finest MC’s in America, playing one of the most legendary venues in America. Enough said.
British Sea Power, A Classic Education, Sporting Life at The Independent
Wednesday, April 6th
Ani Difranco, Animal Prufrock at The Fillmore
People that don’t like Ani Difranco have never actually heard Ani Difranco. She has a reputation for being an inaccessible musician that feels that she needs to alienate the masses. This maybe because of her look, or possibly her rabid fans, but in reality, she’s one of the finest songwriters out there. She also is an amazing live performer that knows how to make a crowd feel warm and invited.
