Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
Rhea Butler is an amazing, outspoken comic. She released not one, but TWO records last year on Kill Rock Stars: Butcher and her collaborative record with her wife, Cameron Esposito, called Back To Back. Butler has three shows this weekend at SF Sketchfest presented by Audible, and we had the chance to talk to her ahead of those shows. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Rhea Butcher”
Dave Hill is one of the most prolific performers you’ve probably never heard of. He plays guitar for the bands Valley Lodge (who do the theme to Last Week Tonight with John Oliver), Diamondsnake (a metal band with Moby), and his black metal band Witch Taint, which he’s bringing to Sketchfest this year as part of a larger schedule. He also hosts “The Goddamn Dave Hill Show” on WFMU radio, and a podcast called “Dave Hill’s Podcasting Incident.” Not good enough? He’s also an accomplished writer and stand-up comic. Spinning Platters pulled Hill away from his busy schedule to speak to us. Here’s how it went!
It’s that time of year when the best possible three weeks of comedy programing take over Bay Area theaters, art spaces, and nightclubs: SF Sketchfest! There is so much good stuff happening that it’s impossible to make heads or tails of where to go when. Well, I’ve been studying the schedule in great detail for the last several weeks, and since I am of impeccable taste, I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt what the best things are to do each day of the event. Continue reading “A Nerd’s Guide To Sketchfest 2018”
By The Spinning Platters Staff
2017 may go down as one of the worst years in recorded history. In fact, I’m almost 100% certain of that. However, the best art is created out of strife, and 2017 yielded an especially passionate crop of records. So, without further adieu, here is Spinning Platters’ Top 10 records of 2017, as selected and voted on by our entire team:
John Dwyer & Ty Segall have been doing their holiday benefit for the SF Coalition on Homelessness for quite a few years now. They have been doing it for so many years that it’s become an established Bay Area Holiday Tradition. However, Thee Oh Sees and Ty both have played the Bay Area twice already this year, which, at first, made me question whether or not this was going to happen this year. Happily, the gigs still happened. And, instead of playing it straight, we got two very, very surprising sets by two of the most prolific acts in modern music. Continue reading “Show Review: OCS aka Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, Shannon Lay at The Chapel, 12/18/17”
Patty Schemel is probably best known as the drummer for legendary rock band Hole. More recently, she’s had a documentary about her life called Hit So Hard released, as well as started a band with Ali Koehler of Vivian Girls called Upset. She’s also written an autobiography, also titled Hit So Hard. The book is in stores on October 31st. (Yes, on Halloween!) Spinning Platters had the honor of getting to speak with Schemel recently about her career, writing a book, and what it’s like to play in a band with musicians from a different generation.
Hit So Hard:A Memoir can be preordered here!
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Patty Schemel of Upset and Hole”
You have 15 minutes in a room with two of your idols to ask them whatever you want. Here’s how that goes…
R.E.M. changed my life. If it weren’t for them, I probably wouldn’t have found rock ‘n’ roll. At least they were my gateway band, the band that introduced me to punk, folk, power pop, and even hip hop. Sleater-Kinney are a band I found in high school, and they quickly became my favorite band. Little did I expect that cofounder Corin Tucker would form a band with R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck many years later. That band is Filthy Friends, and they recently released a fantastic record. We had the opportunity to chat with them just before they played the Independent. I tried not to geek out too much. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Corin Tucker & Peter Buck of Filthy Friends”
It may not be winter, but Sleigh Bells are always lovely
The music festival night show: a time honored tradition, when nightclubs around town host a band playing said festival to also play a smaller show after curfew is over at the main event. There is good and bad with these; the good side is that you get your band playing a full length set, in a crowd of just fans in a smaller venue than you’d normally see them at; the bad side is that these shows start really late, you have to get to them from the festival (which is never an easy affair), and it also means that you’ll be working on very little sleep the next day. This might, however, just be because I insist on showing up at doors, and leaving when the last note has played; I guess not everyone else is crazy like me.
Continue reading “Outside Lands Night Show Review: Sleigh Bells, Jel at The Independent, 8/11/17”
Karl The Fog even showed up to see Lee Fields
We arrived at Day Three of Outside Lands, commonly known as “Sunday” to the real world. There was definitely a different energy in the air within the park, as much of the crowd was unaware of the extent of the activity happening in Charlottesville, VA the day before, and you could kind of see that a lot of people were trying to muster up the motivation to be there. There was really only one person on this Earth capable of taking that feeling when humanity has let you down, and it seems like there is nothing left to look forward to — so we were damn lucky that he was booked to play at 12:15 on the Lands End stage. Continue reading “Outside Lands Journal: Day 3, 8/13/17”
METALLICA! And nothing else matters…
Day 2 of any festival is a little rough. Your energy is a little bit zapped from the day before. You can’t seem to drink enough water or coffee. Your legs are sore. So when you finally get there, you need something to kick yourself into gear. And I managed to stumble across that band at 12:00 on the dot. Continue reading “Outside Lands Journal: Day 2, 8/12/17”