Today was the cold day. Which was fine, because there were more than enough excuses to dance! Special thanks to Carl Pocket, Emily Anderson, and Paige Parsons for additional pics!
Outside Lands Journal: Day 2, 8/9/14
Author: Dakin Hardwick
Outside Lands Journal: Day 1, 8/8/14
Thus begins my daunting task of compressing the highlights of 35 hours worth of music, comedy, and food into a mere three posts. It’s not easy, as this was definitely one of my favorite Outside Lands experiences ever, with the most even distribution of wonderful things to do that I’ve ever enjoyed from this shindig. Here’s how it all started:
Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/31/14-8/6/14
This is the week leading up to Outside Lands. Which means, of course, that you should be training. Listening to music at loud volumes, walking 7 miles a day, subsisting on beer and trail mix, etc. Of course you should go see a band a day until it’s time to spend three days in a park with, well, BANDS! So go see a few: Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/31/14-8/6/14”
Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/24/14-7/30/14
Thursday, July 24th
Kitten, Dear Boy, Your Cannons at Bottom Of The Hill
Kitten are, hands down, one of the top 10 live bands I’ve ever seen. Frontwoman Chloe Chaidez is the most fearless woman I’ve ever seen take to the stage. Sometimes I’m amazed that she is still alive, considering the type of torture she puts her body through on stage. This is their first time in the Bay Area since the release of their first full length record (after three excellent EPs). Their eponymous debut is a fun collection of synth pop songs with infectious hooks, and I highly recommend it. Although the live show is really the bread & butter with this band.
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/24/14-7/30/14”
Top 10 Outside Lands 2014 Acts From the Bottom Half of the Poster
There are a lot of great reasons to show up early to Outside Lands. It’s rather beautiful to walk around at noon, seeing the empty festival and taking in the peace before the chaos. It’s also a great time to explore the various different food vendors, especially the much more popular establishments. Instead of waiting 20 minutes in line to enjoy Farmer Brown’s amazing Chicken & Waffles, you’ll get your food in under 5, plus you can pretty much guarantee a seat at a picnic table while you get to enjoy some of the lesser known acts on the bill. This year has plenty of acts that are well worth crawling out of bed early to enjoy. (Also, the N Judah and 5 Fulton at 11am is way nicer than at 2:00, when most people show up.)
The full schedule has been released, but here are my personal Top 10 acts from the lower part of the bill. Trust me, you’ll be happy you came out and had breakfast in the park.
Continue reading “Top 10 Outside Lands 2014 Acts From the Bottom Half of the Poster”
Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/17/14-7/23/14
Show Review: Phono Del Sol 2014
Phono del Sol is the kind of festival that the Bay Area has been sorely missing. As much as we all despise LA, there are low key, inexpensive outdoor indie rock festivals nearly every weekend. Phono del Sol (alongside Oakland’s Burger Boogaloo) have been doing an excellent job filling this void during the dog days of Summer. This year is the 4th year that live music has invaded the Mission, along with delicious food trucks and frosty cold beverages. The weather was nearly perfect, and music was amazing.
Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/10/14-7/16/14
Another weekend in July. Another excuse to hang out in some of the Bay Area’s under-appreciated parks. Last weekend’s Burger Boogaloo was amazing. This weekend brings us Phono del Sol. A one day event that brings the absolute best in indie rock to it’s natural habitat- The Mission. I’ve gone every year, and at $25, it’s a steal! For one price, you get Wye Oak, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, Nick Waterhouse, Tony Molina, Blackbird Blackbird, White Fence, Yalls, A Million Billion Dying Suns, The Tambo Rays, and Bill Baird. It’s going to be an epic time for all. Oh, and we’ve got other shows this week, too: Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/10/14-7/16/14”
Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/3/14-7/9/14
Historically, July has been a dead period for big music festivals. Recently, however, we’ve seen two amazing festivals pop up. Next week is Phono del Sol. This week, however, is the positively epic Burger Boogaloo! There is going to be 50 years worth of the finest garage bands ever in Mosswood Park, near MacArthur Bart in Oakland. However, there is plenty more happening this week in addition to that: Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/3/14-7/9/14”
Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 6/26/14-7/2/14
Thursday, June 26th
Veruca Salt, The Echo Friendly at The Independent
Veruca Salt released two fine pieces of fuzzy guitar pop goodness in the mid 90s. It’s been far too long since Louise Post and Nina Gordon have put collaborated on a project, but the new Veruca Salt record is another classic piece of Alternative Nation era rock goodness. Kennedy would be proud!
Southern Culture On The Skids, Aloha Screwdriver at Great American Music Hall
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 6/26/14-7/2/14”