Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
Happy Thanksgiving from Spinning Platters. I’ve got a lot of things for you to do other than shop this week. Maybe buy some merch for your little cousin? And, seriously, Black Friday may be the best show day in ages. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide To Bay Area Concerts: November 25th-December 1st”
The Fiery Furnaces have been in the press quite a bit lately. Not because they put out a record of Fiery Furnace covers, but because of their mythical feud with Radiohead & Beck. My relationship with this band is a little strange. I saw them open for The Shins many years ago, and they blew me away. I ran out to purchase their current record at the time, Rehearsing My Choir, and was taken aback even more. They reminded me of everything the band Caroliner was trying to accomplish, only without the distraction on the costumes. I was hooked for months to this record, but never went further. I kept missing out on new releases, for one reason or another, and whenever they came around, I couldn’t make it. So, this cold November night, I decided to finally see them again. Continue reading “Show Review: Fiery Furnaces with Cryptacize at Slim’s, 11/20/09”
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”
More things to do in the Bay Area. All of them good. The greatest band ever is playing the Warfield on Friday, but here are better things to do.
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide To Bay Area Concerts: November 11th-November 17th”
Last month, I posted a review of the band Heart at The Warfield. In the review, I mention the band Paramore in a very positive light. In the comments, somebody posted this question:
Question: What is the importance of a band like Paramore? (Serious question — I’m 38 years old.
)
When I wrote this review, it was expected I would have already written quite a fair amount about this band, and the kind reader would not have been confused. But, this show was moved from the beginning of the tour to the end of the tour, and I had yet to write a review of the new record, brand new eyes. Well, since this show has finally happened, I think it’s fair of me to, within discussion of this performance, to help describe why the band Paramore is truly important, and additionally, why a 38 year old Heart fan should know what his/her niece already understands.
Continue reading “Show Review: Paramore, Paper Route, The Swellers at The Warfield 11/10/09”
I have returned from Florida, and I am back to control your life… Here are a few suggestions:
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide To Bay Area Concerts: November 4th-November 10th”
Why review Heart? Why now? They haven’t been relevant in quite a long time, and the last round of hits were arguably pretty hokey power ballads.
Well, there are a number of reasons to revere Heart. Primarily, they were the first rock band where women called all of the shots. They had complete creative control over songwriting, as well as marketing. Even if Heart were terrible, they still deserve a place in Rock n’ Roll history. (Seriously, Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. I love the punk rock, but how aren’t Heart inducted yet?)
Continue reading “Show Review: Heart at The Warfield, 10/22/09”
We’re changing things around a bit, and I’m gonna start posting this on Wednesdays now. Which means: we missed Tuesday. The good news is, the best show of last night is getting repeated tonight, and the show that you were going to go to wasn’t so good, so we I think we did you a favor by not posting. So, on with the shows!
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide To Bay Area Concerts: October 21st-October 27th”
I have difficulty, sometimes, when it comes to getting out to do certain things that are common. I rarely see movies or plays because the numerous showings mean that I don’t have to pinpoint a particular time and day to do it, which inevitably means it doesn’t happen. The same often happens with touring musicians that come around a lot. Brandi Carlile is one of those artists. San Francisco has rarely gone more than a year without her coming to town, and more often than not, it’s closer to every six months. So, of course, I look at my schedule and decide it’s inconvenient for me to see her this time around, so I’ll just catch her next time. I’ve put her off for about for years, and tonight I finally decided to stop stalling and check her out. Continue reading “Show Review: Brandi Carlile and Katie Herzig at The Fillmore, 10/20/09”
Dear Kliph, Stephen, Michael, and Wayne,
This letter has been over a decade in the making. I can pinpoint the moment that started my love affair with your band to a precise moment in time. The date was October 28th, 1997, exactly one day after my 18th birthday. I was entering in to adulthood, and learned of a band that I only had a fleeting familiarity from adolescence via the video tapes of Alternative Nation that I cherished so dearly. This band that I had forgotten about had released the most amazing records I have ever read about. 4 cds, all designed to be played simultaneously. This record is called Zaireeka, and it was an experience that I have only enjoyed on a handful of occasions, primarily because of the difficulty in staging a listening. From this point on, I knew you were a band that I needed to know, and as I learned how to be a grown-up, you were there for me the entirety of the journey thus far, and I have no intention of losing you.