Dakin Hardwick – Page 18 – Spinning Platters

SF Sketchfest Review: Red Room Orchestra does “Repo Man” at Great American Music Hall, 2.3.23

I should confess… I’ve never seen the movie Repo Man. I worked at a corporate music store in the late ’90s, and I recall stocking a CD called Repo Man and putting it in the punk compilations. Because, looking at the track listing, I just assumed that the “movie” was a fake movie for what was an AMAZING compilation of LA Punk. I honestly just assumed it was an early ’80’s version / LA version of the classic Kill Rock Stars compilation in the early ’90s / Pacific Northwest. I probably owned that CD for over a decade before I learned it was a real movie.

Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Red Room Orchestra does “Repo Man” at Great American Music Hall, 2.3.23″

SF Sketchfest Review: Comedy For Bass Players, but Everyone is Welcome with Fred Armisen at Great American Music Hall, 1/29/23

Photo By Jakub Mosur

Fred Armisen knows music really well. His knowledge is vast and deep. He understands music theory, understands music’s relationship to pop culture, and knows how people “listen” to music. I can think of few other people outside of Tom Lehrer that could pull off shows such as “Stand Up for Drummers,” “Comedy for Musicians,” “Comedy for Guitarists,” and now, “Comedy for Bass Players,” which he brought to the Great American Music Hall for three packed nights.

Similar to 2020’s “Comedy for Guitarists,” he brought out a different guest each night. Night 1 was Les Claypool of Primus fame. Night 2 was Kathy Valentine from The Go-Gos. I’m sure those shows were great, as I learned to play bass by emulating both of those folks. Well, I *tried* to emulate. Those two are monsters on the 4-string boomstick. (Why wasn’t Mike Watt invited to this?) But on the third night, we were graced by Bay Area rock royalty: Green Day’s Mike Dirnt. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Comedy For Bass Players, but Everyone is Welcome with Fred Armisen at Great American Music Hall, 1/29/23”

Single of the Week: “My Witch” by Jen Cloher

I love it when an artist surprises me. I’ve enjoyed Jen Cloher for a few years now… She’s put out some good folk-rock records. Those records couldn’t prepare me for “My Witch.” This song is smoldering… It’s an intensely sexy song, which is not necessarily how I’d describe her prior work. It’s fun, it’s provacative, and the video? A group of female presenting and non-binary people of color having the best time ever. And, yeah, there are a few moments that make it *slightly* NSFW. And no part of the video would be Tucker Carslon approved.

“My Witch” is the latest single off Cloher’s upcoming full length, I Am The River, The River Is Me, due in stores and at you favorite local streaming service on March 3rd. All preperations for this release can be made here.

New Festival Alert: Re:SET Concert Series

Has it really been five whole years since the last Treasure Island Music Festival? It was probably my favorite music festival in the world during it’s decade-long run. I never once missed it, even if life only let me drop in for a few short hours some years. I don’t think we will ever get a festival again that covered such a perfect cross-section of dance music and indie rock, especially in such a beautiful space. Although I continue to long for a return of this event, a new event was just announced. It’s actually a touring concert series that seems to honor the spirit and energy of the late TIMF: Re:SET Concert Series.

Headlined by past TIMF headliner LCD Soundsystem, alongside indie-rock supergroup boygenius and psych-soul icon Steve Lacy, we’ve got three days of eclectic and interesting music outside in Palo Alto, CA at the Frost Amphitheater. Supporting these folks include bedroom pop hitmaker Clairo, political punks IDLES, local hero Toro y Moi, and many more. The event runs June 2nd to 4th. Tickets on sale Friday, February 10th at 10am. And if you here, you can register for presale tickets, which open up Tuesday the 7th at 10am.

SF Sketchfest Interview: Marc Capelle of Red Room Orchestra

Red Room Orchestra has become a bit of an SF Sketchfest staple. They first graced our presence with a tribute to the music from Twin Peaks, and have, in the years since, brought to life the songs and scores from Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Big Lebowski, and Boogie Nights. This year they are returning with Twin Peaks in homage to its late composer Angelo Badalamenti and late vocalist Julee Cruise, playing Great American Music Hall on Thursday, February 2nd. The next night they are doing the music from Repo Man, and those tickets can be purchased here.

We had the opportunity to talk to Red Room Orchestra’s founder and band leader Marc Capelle about his career, the inception of Red Room Orchestra, and a lot about how they function.

Spinning Platters: What was the musical experience that made you decide that this was your career? Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Interview: Marc Capelle of Red Room Orchestra”

SF Sketchfest Review: Femmes The Rules at Brava Cabaret, 1/21/23

One of the games I like to play is “SF Sketchfest Roulette.” This is when I pick a random show with nobody I’ve heard of on the bill and hope for the best! The lucky winner this night was Femmes The Rules. A show that was advertised as a show where female-identifying comics interrupt male-identifying comics while they do a bit. GENIUS PREMISE! I’m on board. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Femmes The Rules at Brava Cabaret, 1/21/23”

SF Sketchfest Review: “Viva Variety” 25th Anniversary Tribute: A Very Special Evening at The Great Star Theater, 1/21/23

All Photos by Jakub Mosur

The last three years have been awful. Like, pure misery. SF Sketchfest, alongside Noise Pop, was kind of the “last” festival before things went to hell. In late 2020, when SF Sketchfest graced us with their calendar, I was excited, not just about the shows, but because it meant to me that there might have been a path out of this madness. But, instead of enjoying an early 2021 reprieve from the darkness, cases got worse. Vaccines were starting to make their way into our arms, but not anywhere nearly fast enough to change the trajectory of the pandemic. So the whole thing was moved to 2022. The same January 2022 gifted us with Omicron, decimating the Bay Area and locking down several counties. So, yeah, it got pushed again to 2023. And based on November 2022, I wasn’t expecting 2023 to be any better, and I was expecting to lose another year. BUT- something strange happened… People were actually careful this Christmas and NYE. We didn’t get a January surge like we had the last two years. Regular readers will know that I am EXTREMELY COVID pessimistic, and I was expecting, even if the festival happened, that I wouldn’t take part. But luckily, much of California is doing very well with COVID. (Lord help us that we finally get to the point where we don’t have any more increases in case rates!) Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: “Viva Variety” 25th Anniversary Tribute: A Very Special Evening at The Great Star Theater, 1/21/23″

Spinning Platters Interview: Lane Moore

Lane Moore can do pretty much anything. Comedian, journalist, writer, musician, and, although it didn’t come up, I’m pretty sure she can perform open heart surgery, too. Moore is coming to town for SF Sketchfest for two shows: She’s doing a stand-up set as part of Studio Sets at Brava Studio on January 27th at 7 pm, and later that night, she’s headed to Cobb’s for a performance of Tinder Live. Tickets are available here.

Lane Moore’s latest book, You Will Find Your People: How To Make Meaningful Friendships As An Adult is coming out on April 25th and can be preordered here. You can find her on Instagram, and her band, It Was Romance is on Bandcamp! (Interview has been lightly edited for clarity. Very lightly.)

Spinning Platters: I made a terrible mistake while researching questions. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Lane Moore”

Single Of The Week: “She” by Avataria

Philly’s Avataria is back with a heavy Heart meets St Vincent track called “She.” The nearly industrial, cinematic build-up takes you into a vocal performance that’s simultaneously fragile, confident, angry, and exasperated. How is that possible? Just give it a listen.

“She” is the first video off Avataria’s first full-length album, Let Go, which has entered our sphere of consciousness TODAY! Streaming info here, but if you are like me and prefer the physical world to the digital, you can purchase the record on wax here! Oh- and she makes custom guitar pedals!