Dakin Hardwick – Page 57 – Spinning Platters

Keep Live Alive: How Alice Bag’s Workout Videos Are Filling The Show Void

Alice Bag is a living legend. Like, not only did she front the pioneering LA punk band The Bags, a band that made a very memorable appearance in the classic film Decline Of Western Civilization, but is also an activist and wrote an amazing diary of her time volunteering in wore-torn Nicaragua in 1986, published under the name Pipe Bomb For The Soul.

She’s also doing a really lovely thing while we are stuck in “Shelter In Place” mode. While every other artist is doing these incredibly melancholy livestreams from their homes, things that I am calling “sad streams,” Bag is working hard to get out energy levels up. She’s been producing these amazing aerobic videos sent to the music of young punk bands. She is giving you proper instructions for all of the workouts, guiding you along the way so you don’t get lost or hurt. She’s also pumping up the choruses, miming moshing, and all around giving the energy of going to a great punk show in your living room. Not only am I hearing some amazing new bands (holy shit that Special Interest song is amazing), but it’s also keeping me sane until I can be in a real mosh pit again. You can watch the videos here, or just dance around in your living room to the Spotify playlist!

Alice Bag’s latest record, Sister Dynamite, is available in all of the usual places right now! Remember that your local record store may not be open for browsing right now, but is doing mail order and needs your help, so give them a (virtual) visit today! Bag is also playing Burger Boogaloo on Halloween Weekend, and you know you’ll be ready for a show by then, so blow your lid off at the best party Oakland has all year.

Single Of The Week: Hasta La Vista by Dream Wife

Dancing is super hard right now. I, personally, have had a hard time moving at all for the last six weeks. I’d never thought I’d be jealous of running errands, but I am. This track, “Hasta La Vista” by Dream Wife popped up in my inbox, and I put it on, and it helped me feel like I can remove myself from all the pain and suffering of the world right now, and just feel a warm, steady groove. This light and bouncy, bass driven groove calls to mind the brightest cuts from Erase Errata, with just enough of a pop sheen to feel like you can put it on for anyone, at anytime.

“Hasta La Vista” is the second single off their forthcoming release So When You Gonna… which is coming out July 3rd. Preordering / Presaving can be done here. Also, since touring is out of the cards for a bit, Dream Wife have launched a podcast centering around amplifying womxn in music. You can stream the first episode of that here!

Singles Of The Week: forever by Charli XCX / Phenom by Thao and The Get Down Stay Down

I wanted to avoid any Singles Of The Week that were connected to the pandemic currently devastating the world. However, two singles dropped this week that bring the quarantine front and center. Those are “forever” by Charli XCX and “Phenom” by Thao and The Get Down Stay Down. Both songs are great, and both relevant for different reasons. Continue reading “Singles Of The Week: forever by Charli XCX / Phenom by Thao and The Get Down Stay Down”

A Letter From The Editor: Let’s Make Sure Live Music Stays Alive

So, as you may have noticed that this site has been quiet for a few weeks. That’s not so much because a lack of content, but, to be totally frank with you, this whole COVID-19 thing has left me feeling, well, really depressed. In a way where I just didn’t want to touch the site at all, because I didn’t want there to be a long stretch of “this is how we are going to handle things in the COVID-19 era” content with livestreams and think pieces and weird, meandering posts about whether or not the live event industry can overcome this without any real knowledge of when this will end. It all became more real when I lost my day job as Venue Success Specialist at Eventbrite, because, well, nobody can put on events pretty much anywhere in the world right now. Continue reading “A Letter From The Editor: Let’s Make Sure Live Music Stays Alive”

Single Of The Week: Get Better by Mates Of State

Forget all your politics for a while
Let the color schemes arrive
Come onboard, it’s a curious sight
Absorbing sound that’s never been right
Never ahead of, never behind it
Occasionally guarded, just keeps us surrounded
It’s luck

Everything’s gonna get lighter, even if it never gets better
Ah

I propose a less serious boat
But don’t mistake it for a party of jokes, who are never ahead of, never behind us
Floating in circles there’s more to remind them of less

Everything’s gonna get lighter, even if it never gets better

Outside Lands Early Bird Tickets On Sale Thursday, March 12th at 10am

The news lately has been anything but great lately, so I have some good news! It looks like Outside Lands 2020 Eager Beaver Tickets are going on sale THIS THURSDAY at 10am. This is the cheapest tickets are going to get, and these tickets go fast, so buy them early! It’s true, there is no line up yet. But, I mean, you are going to go. Might as well buy them now!

Show Review: Habibi, Rudy de Anda, Babewatch at Bottom Of The Hill, 2/29/2020

In the world of garage rock, it’s expected for bands to put out material quickly and furiously. Bands like Thee Oh Sees and Ty Segall have set the bar so high that one record a year comes off as “slow.” When Habibi didn’t follow up their 2014 debut – a delicious blend of garage crunch, 60’s girl group harmonies, and Iranian melodies – right away, people just assumed they called it quits. It wasn’t until 2018, when they put out a short EP, that I thought they were even still a unit. However, it took six long years before we got a proper follow up. It also meant six years without a proper visit to SF. I’m glad that 2020 gave us both. Continue reading “Show Review: Habibi, Rudy de Anda, Babewatch at Bottom Of The Hill, 2/29/2020”

Single Of The Week: The Steps by Haim

Haim’s swift rise to fame was partnered with an even swifter decline in critical favorability. Their second record, Something To Tell You, had the band playing bigger venues than ever, but it wasn’t a far enough progression for the band to keep them as a the critical darlings they deserve to be. I was even ready to shrug them off… Then, I heard “The Steps.” This song is kind of a monster… There is still that signature classic rock riffage, but the song is just plain “bigger” than anything we’ve ever heard from them. This is an anthem for the ages, and may very well be the thing we needed from Haim.

Expectations are firmly set for their third record, Women in Music, Vol III, in stores & streaming April 24th. You can preorder double red vinyl from this link!

Single Of The Week: MIORATA by dodola

Sometimes, the cure for what ails you is simply a massive guttural scream. This week, “MIORATA” by dodola is the exact guttural scream that releases the tension. This track comes off of the dodola’s self-titled debut record recently released on Bandcamp. It’s a 10 track beast of a record that assaults the senses, while occasionally opening up for a breath. However, the peace is always balanced out by increased intensity. This has been a rough week for the world, and what better way to end it than with a dose of pure sonic catharsis.

Spinning Platters Guide To Noise Pop 2020

Noise Pop week. It’s pretty much impossible, isn’t it? It’s the single best programmed week of live music the Bay Area gets all year! And this year marks the return on the Noise Pop Film Series! There is other fun stuff in store, like a photo exhibit at Hotel Biron, and some secret late shows at Cafe du Nord! So, yes, there is plenty do to that ISN’T seeing a band. Which is my life’s blood, and probably your’s, too, since you are reading this preview. Since there is a lot to do, this is not a comprehensive guide to the fest by any means. (That can be found here) This is one show per day that you should go to, plus a movie on some days. And if you don’t want to buy nine sets of tickets, pick up a badge that can get you into EVERYTHING! Continue reading “Spinning Platters Guide To Noise Pop 2020”