Dakin Hardwick – Page 65 – Spinning Platters

Show Review: Springsteen on Broadway at Walter Kerr Theater, 4/12/18

Several months ago, I first read that Bruce Springsteen was setting out to do a one-man show on Broadway. My immediate thought was, “I would really like to go to that, but I doubt I’m going to make it to New York anytime soon.” There was a period where you could sign up for the “Ticketmaster Verified Fans” program, which, somehow, determined who was an actual fan and who was a reseller (not entirely sure how this works, and not really sure it does, but that’s for another article). I almost signed up for that, but didn’t. I didn’t want to get my hopes up. Continue reading “Show Review: Springsteen on Broadway at Walter Kerr Theater, 4/12/18”

Show Review: Kate Nash and Miya Folick at The Fillmore, 4/9/18

Kate Nash is somebody that too many people have forgotten about. She put out Made Of Bricks, a massive, brilliant record of bright, yet jaded, pop nearly 16 years ago. The kind of album Elvis Costello could have done if he had been a teenage girl. Her follow up, My Best Friend Is You, recast her as a garage punk heroine. She put away the piano, picked up the guitar, and managed to put out an even better record than her first one. It was such a departure from the first album that few fans followed, and with her name tied to the unfairly mocked “pop” genre, few fans of garage rock followed. This is OK, because this gave her the freedom to follow that with the riot grrrl flavored, lo-fi masterpiece, Girl Talk. And, just this last week, she followed up Girl Talk with yet another reinvention. Yesterday Was Forever is another lo-fi treat, with her signature sharp, biting lyric writing, fuzzy guitars, and adding in analog drum machine beats and trap-influenced syncopation, making a very surprising and highly listenable record. Continue reading “Show Review: Kate Nash and Miya Folick at The Fillmore, 4/9/18”

Outside Lands 2018: 48 Hours After The Line Up Dropped

It’s the same story every festival: In the days and weeks leading up to the line up announcement, people try to predict the line up. Then folks get their hopes set super high with some imaginary Beatles / Smiths / Talking Heads / Mozart & Salieri reunion, and then nothing else is ever good enough. Then they complain about how it’s never as good as it was in 2013, or 2009, or 2017, or whenever that time you last complained about how bad the line up was.

As expected, the internet was flooded with complaints about the 2018 line-up, which goes on sale today at 10am. If you want to experience pure frustration, feel free to peruse the Outside Lands’ Reddit page. I, however, believe that this might actually be one of the most exciting and riskiest Outside Lands bill yet.

Here’s why: Continue reading “Outside Lands 2018: 48 Hours After The Line Up Dropped”

In Defense Of: No Jack White, The White Stripes Weren’t “Like A Solo Project”

I’ve been a fan of Jack White for a while now… While working at Wherehouse Music in the early ‘00s, I made sure we were the first chain store to stock The White Stripes in the Bay Area, and I’ve been following White’s career closely ever since. And, yes, he’s a little idiosyncratic. He can be a bit of a jerk. Heck, he took his kids out of a school because his arch rival, Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, also sent his kids there! But, despite these quirks, I’ve always had a bit of respect for him. He always elevated female musicians, especially female side players. Most importantly, he would always defend his original drummer, Meg White.

Well, he always did, until now. Continue reading “In Defense Of: No Jack White, The White Stripes Weren’t “Like A Solo Project””

Spinning Platters’ Guide To Noise Pop 2018

No. Not a “Bro” marathon. More like a hip music marathon?

Noise Pop is upon us again… Also known as that week where Bay Area music fans marathon as many shows as they can in a single week. And, well, not all of us can be in multiple places at once, so let’s try to limit our Noise Pop anxiety a bit!

Full schedule, full fest badges, and individual show tickets can be found here! Continue reading “Spinning Platters’ Guide To Noise Pop 2018”

SF Sketchfest Review: Mourzouksnick, Dopetown 3000 at The Nourse Theater, 1/28/18

One of my favorite things Sketchfest does is that they book many of their shows using the old music format: take a lesser known act and have them do a short set ahead of the headlining set. It’s a great way to learn about some lesser known sketch troops, and often times, it’s very rewarding. Tonight we got to enjoy a set by Dopetown 3000! (Spoiler: They were exceptional) Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Mourzouksnick, Dopetown 3000 at The Nourse Theater, 1/28/18”

SF Sketchfest Review: Sasheer Zamata Party Time! at Cobb’s Comedy Club, 1/26/18

There are many unique things about SF Sketchfest, but one of the most interesting thing they do is book monthly and weekly shows that happen in other metropolises, and bring them to the Bay Area. Tonight we got to enjoy a special delivery from New York City: Sasheer Zamata Party Time!. This is a variety show hosted by SNL’s Sasheer Zamata. We got to enjoy comedians, musicians, and even “party games” played with the audience. I guess this is what you do at parties in New York? As somebody that loves taking in new cultures, I’m up to experience what they do in New York for fun. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Sasheer Zamata Party Time! at Cobb’s Comedy Club, 1/26/18”

SF Sketchfest Review: Hold On with Eugene Mirman at Swedish American Hall, 1/26/18

From Left: Paget Brewster, Eugene Mirman, Paula Pell, Thomas Lennon. Photos by Dan Dion

When I plotted out my Sketchfest schedule this year, I based my show decisions on a number of factors:

Scarcity: How often does this person actually come to town?
Age: How likely is it that I won’t be seeing this performer ever again?
Fandom: The old “does this performer make my heart feel warm” when I think of them?
Past experiences: Have I gone to this show or seen this performer before and enjoyed them?
Podcast I’ve never heard before: Can I experience a live recording of a podcast before ever listening to it or really even understanding the format?

Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Hold On with Eugene Mirman at Swedish American Hall, 1/26/18”

SF Sketchfest Review: Sara Schaefer: Little White Box, Krista Fatka at Punchline, 1/16/18

As we all know, things are kind of nutty right now. There are some terrible people in power, those people are inspiring other terrible people to act and speak out in terrible ways, and it seems that the entire country has been either drowning, burning, or freezing most of this year. The best thing for coping with all of this, at least for me, is satire. But not dark satire. Warm, comforting satire, that helps you laugh at the issues while also feeling comforted that somebody else understands what’s going on. Sara Schaefer is one of the finest writers of this brand of satire. And, despite it being a Tuesday night, I needed to see what she had to say. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Sara Schaefer: Little White Box, Krista Fatka at Punchline, 1/16/18”

SF Sketchfest Review: A Tribute to Dick Cavett: 50th Anniversary of the Dick Cavett Show, 1/12/18

I’m going to make a very bold statement: If Dick Cavett never existed, late night television would be unrecognizable. As a writer and a talent coordinator of the original Tonight Show with Jack Paar, he helped shape the structure of the show, and stayed on for a bit as Johnny Carson took over. He continued to work on The Jerry Lewis Show before getting the opportunity to host his own talk show, The Dick Cavett Show, which lasted in some iteration from 1968 ‘til 1996, then back again from 2006-2007, bouncing between networks and time slots, but still keeping the same basic premise of edgy humor and probing interviews.

Tonight was a little bit different for Cavett. Tonight, Cavett became the subject of the interview, not the conductor. Tonight was special. And the person taking on the role of Cavett for the task in interviewing Cavett? Mr. John Hodgman. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: A Tribute to Dick Cavett: 50th Anniversary of the Dick Cavett Show, 1/12/18”