Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
Howdy, Bay Area live music fans! I’ve got a great week for you! It’s a good time for you to stop sleeping for a while!
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 8/19/2010-8/25/2010”
While waiting in line to see Billy Idol last night at the Fillmore, I was talking to a friend on the phone that was rather disappointed to learn that his show was sold out, and the asking price on the streets was about $160. We were talking about Idol’s history, and I was informed that Idol was once a member of Siouxsie & The Banshees, but left the band because he felt that they weren’t taking music seriously enough. My immediate response was, of course, to chuckle, but I thought about Idol’s place in our society and realized that there is nobody else out there quite like him. He is part of the new wave era, the punk era, and the hair metal era, and managed to escape all of those trends with dignity & credibility. There is a reason that he is still able to sell out The Fillmore on a Tuesday night 30 years after his first record.
Continue reading “Show Review: An Evening With Billy Idol at The Fillmore, 8/17/10”
This is Outside Lands weekend, and a surprising number of excellent non-Outside Lands related gigs are happening concurrently. So, if you don’t feel like watching Kings Of Leon getting pooped on (although who wouldn’t love to see that!), you’ve got some crazy good options. Read On!
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 8/12/2010-8/19/2010”
I’m gonna go see the Old 97’s in 45 minutes… I actually am borrowing David Price‘s computer to do this, just so I get to the show on time! Peace out, yo!
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 8/5/2010-8/11/2010”
Kelli Scarr is a native of Folsom, CA. She has spent many years playing in different bands, before ending up as a collaborator on Moby’s 2009 release Wait For Me, as well as playing in his band on his corresponding world tour. She’s recently released her debut full-length solo record, Piece, which as an absolutely stunning piece of work. Spinning Platters had a chance to speak with her before playing the intimate confines of the Hotel Utah Saloon.
How did you end up hooking up with Moby?
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Kelli Scarr”
I have a live music bucket list. That is, I have a list of performers and bands that I would like to see before I or they die. This week has been pretty good for me, in terms of knocking things off that list, but I was really excited about the opportunity to see the first band to make that list. I believe I was 12 when I first heard “All I Want.” I was watching VH-1, as I did sometimes at that age, and thought that it was one of the coolest songs that I have ever heard. At that point, I decided that I needed to see them live, yet it somehow became a difficult task. They played often throughout my high school years, but broke up before I was able to see them. When they reunited, they local shows tended to be either very intimate (selling out super fast), at wineries that are unreachable by public transit, or opening for other bands (Counting Crows, Big Head Todd & The Monsters), and it just wasn’t plausible for me. But, with everything working out just right, I’ve finally accomplished this goal, nearly 18 years later.
Continue reading “Show Review: Toad The Wet Sprocket, Hey Marseilles at The Fillmore, 7/23/10”
The last week of July is looking pretty crazy… Tons of amazing shows going on this week, including two very rare 4-band shows that are worth arriving early and staying late. Time to buy some Red Bull!
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/22/10-7/28/10”
Pollstar is a magazine that keeps track of concert tours, and around July of every year, they release their mid-year list of highest grossing tours. Usually it’s not a huge surprise. Generally speaking, it’s tried and true dinosaur rock, mixed in with a few “flavors of the year” pop artists. This time, however, the we got a bit of a surprise. Number one was Bon Jovi, which wasn’t actually a surprise. The number two really got me, though: James Taylor & Carole King. Neither of these artists have had any recent output that had much of an effect of the pop charts, and both artists have toured in recent years on their own without much fanfare. I needed to know why, in 2010, are people spending their hard-earned, recession-era dollars on this pairing, instead of on The Eagles or Christina Aguilera. So, I did what any good reporter would do in this scenario. I went to the show. And I brought my Dad, because it wouldn’t be right any other way.
Today is too hot for me to come up with something witty to say… Go see some shows!
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/15/10-7/21/10”