OUTSIDE LANDS 2023 LINE UP ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!

Christmas came really early this year! We’ve got the full lineup for Outside Lands 2023 six whole weeks earlier than last year!!!! And they did very well, as usual. Topping the bill is Kendrick Lamar, making his first trip to the bay since the amazing Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers came out, as well as the first Foo Fighters set since the passing of Taylor Hawkins and ODESZA, making them the first electronic act to close out Lands End. Other Spinning Platters favorites include Megan Thee Stallion (Yes. This is the act I’m most excited to see), Janelle Monae, The 1975, Maggie Rogers, Lil Yachty, Interpol, Father John Misty, Orville Peck, ALVVAYS, beabadoobee, Soccer Mommy, Shaquille O’Neal (!), and my favorite current Bay Area band, Fake Fruit! 

I’ve already started studying for our annual “Top 10 from the bottom half” of the poster, but don’t miss your shot to buy tickets! 3 DAY GA, GA+, VIP, and Golden Gate Club tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10am

Outside Lands 2023 Lineup Continue reading “OUTSIDE LANDS 2023 LINE UP ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!”

Single of the Week: “rabits” by madge (featuring ZAND)

A lot of people are going to listen to this song and make it 30 seconds and run away in digust. It’s bluntly vulgar, sonically as subtle as a hand grenade, and switches itself up so often that it’s highly uncomfortable. This song is not comfort food. And it’s not uncomfortable in that way where people who claim to like “uncomfortable” music like it- this isn’t Mr Bungle and it isn’t Peaches. Yet, somehow it’s both at the same time and it sounds like it has major label production, which somehow makes it even harder to listen to. 

But, for those that are willing to open their ears to this track, it’s pretty spectacular. It’s got a sense of humor and really doesn’t care if you like it or not. Madge has struck gold with this track, and I think you should give it a whirl or 70. “rabits” can be enjoyed in all the usual places, and I can’t wait for more, and I hope you can’t either. 

Outside Lands 15th Anniversary Eager Beaver Tickets On Sale 3.1.23 at 10am

I’m looking outside, watching the rain drench my block as my thermometer shows temperatures at depths that the Bay Area has never seen in my life. I’m eagerly awaiting Summer. To leave the house in a short sleeve shirt. To feel the sun on my skin outdoors (sunscreened, of course!), melting into the lawn while enjoying some live music. 

Our good friends at Outside Lands are well aware of our desperation, and they are giving us an opportunity to get excited about the sunny months by unleashing Eager Beager tickets for the 15th Anniversary of Outside Lands, Aug 11-13th. We’ve got GA tickets starting at $409+fees, the new GA+ ticket type complete with expedited entry, an exclusive GA+ lounge with access to flushable bathrooms, complimentary water & soft drinks, and a full-service bar and food for purchase. Those tickets are running $634 + Fees. You’ve also got the classic VIP for $929+fees and the Golden Gate Club for $4,669 + fees. OH! I forgot the best part- ALL EARLY BIRDERS GET FIRST ACCESS TO NIGHT SHOWS!!! Remember how pissed you were that you didn’t get to see Phoebe Bridgers solo acoustic at The Indy? Well, here’s your chance to correct that in 2023. 

Tickets go on sale at 10am on Wednesday, March 1st. Tickets are available ONLY here. (Don’t get swindled by unauthorized sellers!) And for the most up-to-the-minute news that I don’t share, follow Outside Lands on TikTok and Discord

Single Of The Week: “Letter” by Morgan and the Organ Donors

SUPERGROUP ALERT!!! Morgan and the Organ Donors consists of Bikini Kill’s Tobi Vail, C.O.C.O’s Olivia Ness along with James Maeda and Sara Peté. “Letter” is their second single, and it’s reverb-heavy, power-pop meets country piece of hooky goodness. Maybe it’s the name of the song that forced me to think of Alex Chilton, but this track definitely is somewhere between Big Star and Best Coast, with just enough Southern Culture On The Skids to feel like you can smell the PBR and hairspray. Anyways, it’s a solid song and I’m excited to hear more from them.

…which you can if you preorder their debut album, M.O.D.scoming your way on March 31st from the legendary K Records. And you can see them IN PERSON if you come out to Mosswood Meltdown July 1st & 2nd for the single most apeshit festival line up of you life. (Seriously- Bratmobile, Le Tigre, ESG, JJ Fad, Mika Miko, Avengers, GRAVY TRAIN!!!! and so much more!)

Mosswood Meltdown 2023: Full Line Up Announce (It’s kind of insane!)

(Poster by “The Real” Janelle Blarg)

The year is 2001. I’m broke, sharing an illegal inlaw in the Sunset with a friend. My job at the record store is distracting me from school, and I’m not sure I can focus on school, anyways. The soundtrack that gave me the motivation to get through it all? Well, it was mostly Bratmobile and Sleater-Kinney. Fast forward 20 years, and I’ve got a good job, a great partner and kiddo, a moderately successful music blog, and the joy of getting to introduce my kid to the greatness that is Bratmobile live! THEY ARE PLAYING THEIR FIRST PUBLIC SHOW SINCE 2003 AT MOSSWOOD MELTDOWN!!! Amazingly, several other bands that brought me joy in the darkness of my 20s are also playing! Le Tigre, GRAVY TRAIN!!! and Quintron & Miss Pussycat were already announced from my Electroclash era, but joining them include Disco Punk groundbreakers ESG, Hip-Hop Pioneers (and the group whose success funded the first NWA record) JJ Fad, SF Punk Icons The Avengers, LA Punks Mika Miko (playing their first show in a decade themselves), and way too much more. Full lineup below the jump, and tickets are on sale now. Get them quickly, as they are gonna sell out in a supersonic boom! 

Mosswood Meltdown Full 2023 Lineup Continue reading “Mosswood Meltdown 2023: Full Line Up Announce (It’s kind of insane!)”

Single Of The Week: “Buy You A New Attitude” by Tianna Esperanza

Tianna Esperanza keeps blowing everyone out of the water. In just about a year we are on our third single from her that simply blew my mind. This one is a jazzy throwback number with a sense of humor. The video is fun, too. Her widly eclectic debut record is *finally* out today! Terror, Esperanza’s debut record is out TODAY. You can enjoy it both phyiscally and virtually in all the usual places

Finally. A West Coast Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Leg!

I don’t have a lot to say other than, yes, I WAS annoyed that Bruce didn’t give California any love when he announced tour dates last year. But that has finally changed, and he’s coming out west, including one (or more?) nights at The Chase Center. He’s doing the Verified Fan thing, and I’m expecting after the Taylor Swift debacle, this will be way more honed in. You can register here anytime before Sunday, February 19th at 11:59 pm ET for a shot at a password that gives you a shot at tickets. New dates, as well as his surprisingly intense cover of The Commodores’ “Night Shift” below: 

Continue reading “Finally. A West Coast Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Leg!”

Single Of The Week: “Hot (Don’t Date A Musician)” by Dream Wife

I try to avoid picking multiple singles off the same album for “Single Of The Week,” but I damn, Dream Wife are fantastic. “Leech,” the first single from Social Lubrication (due out June 9th!was a pretty passionate and angry song that hit all the right feels for me at that moment. “Hot (Don’t Date A Musician)” is a driving rock number that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Something that’s VITAL. It’s hard to find the fun in life sometimes, and this song doesn’t it nicely. 

Don’t forget to do all the “pre-” things to ensure proper listening enjoyment when Social Lubrication comes your way in June! 

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”