Show Review: Woods, Kurt Vile, The Art Museums at Slim’s, 6/11/10

Let The Power Of Psychedelia Overtake You...

We speak of SXSW a lot on this site, only because it truly is the best musical bargain out there. You travel from venue to venue seeing bands that you know & love in intimate settings, and you also get to uncover greatness. Sometimes, though, you can get so caught up in the magic of the experience overall, that you may find that the band you learned to love so much in Austin under Shiner-induced ear goggles, isn’t so dreamy in the foggy splendor of San Francisco. Woods were that band for me in Austin, and I was kind of worried that they wouldn’t do it for me here. I’ve started accumulating some of their recordings, and although they are good, they just seem so different from what I remember. But, on this hotter than normal June evening, I forced myself out of my apartment, where I was enjoying lemonade under the fan with my cat (she didn’t get any lemonade, but I did put her tuna on fridge for a bit before serving her dinner. She quite liked that), and forced myself over to Slim’s.

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 6/10/10-6/16/10

At Swedish American Hall this Friday!

Summer is starting to kick in to gear, and the shows are starting to push in to high gear… Keep an eye on the space so you can get a better idea as to which shows you should be going to, and which shows will be super-boring loads of crap.

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Spinning Platters Interview: AR Rahman

AR Rahman is a celebrated composer and pop songwriter. He is most famous for composing the Oscar winning score to 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire, but also has more than 50 films to his credit. He is about to embark on his biggest world tour ever, opening June 11th at the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York, and playing at the Oracle Arena in Oakland on June 26th.  He took a few minutes out his busy schedule to talk with us about the tour, his feelings about his current wave of success, and how he juggles so many projects at once.

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Show Review: The Buzzcocks with The Dollyrots at The Uptown Nightclub, 6/4/10

Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmam/. Not the Oakland show. This show had much better ventilation than ours.

The Uptown Nightclub is one of the great hidden treasures of Oakland. They have grown to become the go-to venue for punk rock in the Bay Area, but on this hot & sticky Friday night, they have really outdone themselves. They managed to snag The Buzzcocks, one of the most successful and influential UK bands of the late 70’s, for a rare stateside appearance. The last time they played in the Bay Area, they played the much larger and higher profile Fillmore in San Francisco. This show was special for another reason, because they played their first two records beginning to end.

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Show Review: The xx, Phantogram at The Great American Music Hall, 6/1/10

In case you didn't know the name of the band...

Whenever a hot new band bursts on to the scene, there is inevitably a backlash. At some point, all of the critics, bloggers, and tastemakers that once adored a band eventually decide that they no longer have that affection they once did. They start calling the band boring, and then they start following something else. Although many people complain about the backlash, I think it’s time to embrace it. Because seeing a band during the backlash is the best time to see them. The people that are only at the show to brag about being at the show are gone, as well as the hipsters in the back that are only at the show because “they are supposed to be.” Instead, you get to really enjoy the music, and it feels really good to be in a room full of pure fans.

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 5/27/10-6/2/10

Every have one of those days where you can’t think of anything witty? Today is one of those days… Time to go see some live music to get inspired…

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 5/20/10-5/27/10

Counting The Bear isn't coming to town, but Minus The Bear is...

As I look out my window, I see a beautiful spring day, where there’s nothing but business people running home from work in the rain. Hopefully they are hustling home to change clothes & go to a show.

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Spinning Platters Interview: Frederick “Toots” Hibbert of Toots & The Maytals

Toots Hibbert is a sonic pioneer that helped push the boundaries of ska music, coined the word reggae, and helped bring the music of Jamaica to the mainstream. At 64 years old, he is as vital as ever, releasing a new record, Flip N Twist, on May 18th on CD, Vinyl, Digital, and USB Joint, as well as hitting the road on a North American tour that hits The Regency Ballroom on the record’s street date. Spinning Platters spent a few minutes on the phone with him a few days ago, and here’s what we talked about.

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 5/13/10-5/19/10

Hello loyal readers… Lotsa good stuff this week… Not a lot of creative thinking on my part, though… So just enjoy the list!

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Show Review: Fucked Up, Hank IV, Hollerado at The Rickshaw Stop, 5/9/10

Fucked Up

WARNING:

The following review may contain the following:

*Explicit Language

*Violence

*Male Nudity

*Intelligent Discussion

Please proceed with caution. If your boss, or the coworker you have a crush on is looking over your shoulder, please point your browser elsewhere immediately.  Continue reading “Show Review: Fucked Up, Hank IV, Hollerado at The Rickshaw Stop, 5/9/10”