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Day two. Very tired. Big day yesterday. Giddy day. My vocabulary isn’t wide enough to express my joy. Seriously, it starts with Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, and gets better as the day went on.
Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
Day two. Very tired. Big day yesterday. Giddy day. My vocabulary isn’t wide enough to express my joy. Seriously, it starts with Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, and gets better as the day went on.
Well, as you know, we are currently in the thick of all things SXSW related. It was a bit shocking to find out that the lead singer of one of the acts that I was excited to see had passed away on the first day of the festival. Alex Chilton, of Big Star was a highly influential musician that has played a very big role in my musical growth through the years. Continue reading “RIP Alex Chilton: His Importance To My Life”
I’m sitting in a hotel room as my colleagues are getting ready for the day. As for yesterday, well, I saw a lot of great music, and a few bits of really boring music. I won’t talk about the boring stuff much, because I don’t remember it. Here was a few words about the great things I enjoyed yesterday, not including the wonderful BBQ chicken from the amazingly polite people at the Canadian Blast BBQ. (Seriously need to give respect to those folks: not only do they book a great bill and are insanely polite, just like the stereotype)
The Stranglers were one of the most influential punk bands from the UK, and although they never had the crossover success that peers like The Clash and The Sex Pistols had, they remain one of the most important acts in the history of rock n roll. While while a version of the band is playing Glastonbury this year, they didn’t invite original vocalist Hugh Cornwell along with them. Instead, he opted to record an excellent new solo album that you can download for free from his site, where you can also purchase the record on one of three different packages, a la NIN’s The Slip. He is also playing a Yele Haiti benefit at The Red Devil Lounge on March 31st, part of a three week North American tour.
Spinning Platters had an opportunity to e-mail Mr Cornwell a few questions concerning his legacy, his thoughts on the current version of The Stranglers, and here’s what he had to say:
Continue reading “10 Quick Questions With Hugh Cornwell, formerly of The Stranglers”
The amazing Gogol Bordello are gearing up for a very active 2010. They have a new record coming out on April 27th, called Trans-Contiental Hustle, which will probably be excellent. Around this time, they will be kicking off a world tour, which gives Europe and Northeastern America quite a bit of love, but very little affection toward the rest of the world. (As of yet, of course…) Well, I know all of that can be a long way off, and with all of the Gogol news, it’s hard to be patient for something new. That is, of course, only if you missed the late winter release Live From Axis Mundi.
Continue reading “Album Review: Live From Axis Mundi — Gogol Bordello”
My first experience with the New York combo Liars is an interesting one. I went on a date with a girl to go see the band Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. The opening acts were two New York bands, one band that was already getting a fair amount of press called The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and the other was Liars. They blew my mind! They played brilliant layered noise that was chaotic and danceable. I was overjoyed to learn about this new band. My date thought that they were absolutely wretched. By the end of the night, I had a new favorite band, and she started making out with some guy that resembled Kim Thayil of Soundgarden. I think I won.
The years have been very kind to Liars, gradually improving upon their sound, while also building a fan base. I was always going to be excited about a new release by these guys, but nothing prepared me for Sisterworld.
Hey Kids! It’s time for your early/mid-March guide to music in the bay. It’s going to be good! Lotsa bands visiting on their way to Texas, lotsa people starting tours that end at Coachella… Spring is a good time for living in Northern California!
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 3/10/10-3/16/10”
Kind of exciting… SXSW Music starts in only two weeks, which means that a whole lot of great bands are starting to tour. Expected hippest of the uber-hyped to be coming around these parts. Here’s the very beginning of it: Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 3/3/10-3/9/10”
This show was, to some degree, the after party for the big YOKO ONO PLASTIC ONO BAND on Tuesday night. It was just quite a bit later, but every member of the Plastic Ono Band was onstage, aside from the very famous lead singer. In fact, only one person appeared on stage tonight that didn’t appear at the previous evening’s show. It also consisted almost entirely of music that isn’t yet available in recorded form, which helped even out the familiarity playing field, but based on the turnout, it had little effect on ticket sales. It was a rare show that all in attendance came based on the reputations of the performers. Of course, when you have the son of a Beatle, leaders of two of the most innovative and influential acts ever to come out of japan, and the go-to girl for session violin of the alternative rock era, you’ve got a pretty set to work from.
There’s more to life than Noise Pop. Not much more, so these week’s list is going to be a bit shorter than usual, but there is still plenty to do that isn’t with the masses.
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 2/24/10-3/2/10”