Author: Dakin Hardwick

Show Review: An Evening With Ana Tijoux at La Peña Cultural Center, 11/21/12

As a human being, expanded your horizons is vital to ones’ own well being. Sometimes you need to jump into something completely blind. Sometimes, you just need to experience music that’s outside of your comfort zone. These experiences are vital to human life. That need is what brought me to La Peña Cultural Center on this drizzly November Thanksgiving Eve. I went into this show knowing one thing: Ana Tijoux is a Chilean born rapper that had a song in an episode of Breaking Bad. And that’s all I needed to know.

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 11/22/12-11/28/12

Henry Rollins opted to spend Thanksgiving at a much better restaurant this year.

Did you really think I’d live you hanging on Thanksgiving day? Of course not… If Henry Rollins is working on Thanksgiving, then I am, too!

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Show Review: An Evening With Wilson Phillips at Davies Symphony Hall, 11/17/12

In the 22 years since the release of Wilson Phillips’ debut single, the still inescapable “Hold On,” the group has never toured. There was never really a reason to- during the height of their popularity, artists made their money from record sales, and they promoted their releases using radio and television. There was never a real need for them to hit the road. It came as a pretty major surprise to see that they actually decided to start touring so many years later. I hadn’t listened to them much since my middle school days, but the whole idea of seeing Wilson Phillips live piqued my curiosity. Would the show be an utter travesty? Can they still sing? Will I be bored listening to a bunch of songs I loved when I was 12? Will my mind be blown? This could have been in many different ways…

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Show Review: Japandroids with Bleached at The Filmore, 11/12/12

All Photos by Jonathan Pirro

I first stumbled across Japandroids while waiting to see No Age at SXSW in 2010. These were a bunch of noisey rock duos playing a venue that was normally set aside for DJ dancing. The sound guy had no idea as to how to deal with a band. As Japandroids were doing their line check, the sound guy yelled into the PA, seemingly frustrated to no end:

“That’s Loud As Shit!”

The singer / guitarist responded, even more upset, “IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE LOUD AS SHIT!!!”

That’s when I knew that this band was going to be great. And they killed it. And, finally, three years later, they are playing the legendary Fillmore Auditorium. Few bands deserve this honor as much as these guys do.

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 11/15/12-11/21/12

Yes, my daughters are playing Davies Symphony Hall on Saturday.

Need to work up a good appetite for Thanksgiving? Here’s your guide:

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SF Funk Fest Review: Fred Wesley & The New JB’s, Lyrics Born Band at Mezzanine, 11.3.12

Fred Wesley, John “Jabo” Starks and Fred Thomas sharing a laugh between moments of funk. All Photos by Jonathan Pirro.

Have you ever felt like you were in on a big secret? And nobody believed you when you told them this secret? Like the one where one of the most influential bands of the last 40 years staged a reunion in a 1,000 person night club that, somehow, didn’t sell out in 30 seconds? Because on this unseasonably warm November night, the good people of San Francisco got to experience something that we haven’t seen in 13 years. Fred Wesley was James Brown’s trombonist and band leader during the classic 70’s funk era. Although he’s been recording and touring with a band called “Fred Wesley & The New JB’s,” this was the first time in many, many years that he’s played with any of the players that recorded those classic songs with James Brown.

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 11/8/12-11/14/12

Appearing at Slim’s on Monday

Here is a whole slew of shows… Because there is absolutely nothing else to do. So, please, everybody enjoy some rock in the Bay this week!

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Treasure Island Festival Diary: Day 2

An awfully bubbly Sunday at Treasure Island

Treasure Island, Day Two: It was sunnier, and the music was, well, more guitar driven. It was also the first time in the six years of the festival that I was here for every note of music. I made it to the festival at 11:55, and walked in for the opening note of Imperial Teen. I was on the final shuttle leaving the island. It was a beautiful day.

Thanks again to Kelly Hoffer for taking all of these amazing photos!

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Treasure Island Music Festival 2012 Diary: Day 1

A festival patron is enjoying use of the trampoline.

Normally the Treasure Island Festival likes to separate Saturday and Sunday by genre: Saturday is the electronic day and Sunday is the rock day. However, as the lines blur between the two worlds, so did the festival. As Sunday will have a fair amount on laptops, Saturday seemed to have a healthy dose of live drums and guitar. And, well, for me, a lot of new music to tap into. This may be the first year where I was largely unfamiliar with the bulk of the acts playing on Saturday, which made my day even more exciting. I had a nice adventure, and I hope you enjoyed yourself, too. And if you didn’t, well, I feel bad.

(All Photos are by the fantastic Kelly Hoffer)

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 10/25/12-10/31/12

R Kelly, showing off his Halloween costume.

Another exhausting Rocktober has finally come to an end. Of course, who better to close it out than R Kelly?

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