Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
With the holidays fast approaching most of your favorite venues are getting rented out for holiday parties… But, live music is still happening, and there is plenty going around this week so you can get out of the cold. (Special thanks to Chris Rogers for helping out with some of these this week)
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 12/15/11-12/21/11”
You know what’s great about living on Oakland, CA? You never know when you are going to end up at a Green Day concert. This was the second time that I saw Green Day play without even knowing that they were going to be performing until early evening that day. I highly recommend keeping your ears open fellow bay area folks, because these are their best sets. And, anyone that made it out to Live 105’s Not So Silent Night were treated to the best.
Continue reading “Show Review: Live 105’s Not So Silent Night 2011 at Oracle Arena, Friday, 12/9/11”
Yes, we all know that Metallica are taking over The Fillmore this week, and only very special people will be getting into those shows. Remember that Metallica also totally blow, and everything on this list is better. Or, at least tell yourself that, because you aren’t getting in. Don’t worry, I’m not getting in, either.
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 12/8/11-12/14/11”
I have a live music bucket list. There are about a dozen or so musicians that I’d like to see before they call it quits. The number one band on that list is Melt-Banana. I first uncovered them working at the old Wherehouse Music on Geary in San Francisco. Somebody was selling back used CD’s, and there was a single loose disc left behind. It was Cell Scape by Melt-Banana. I put it on the overhead, and I was blown away. It was like nothing I’ve ever heard before. It was chaotic, weird, and beautiful. I instantly knew that I needed to see this band live. Sadly, it took almost 10 years before I was able to make that work.
Continue reading “Show Review: Melt-Banana, Retox, Peace Creep at Bottom Of The Hill, 11/29/11”
You know what to do. Go out and support your local live music venue. Buy your niece merch for Christmas. Join Boy George in encouraging Adele to quit smoking.
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 12/1/11-12/7/11”
Happy Thanksgiving, loyal SpinningPlatters readers!
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 11/24/11-11/30/11”
Every once in a while, something completely out of left field comes into your vision, often times unexpectedly. Yelle were one of those bands for me. I was at SXSW, and I wasn’t sure what I was in the mood for. Then, I stumbled across a crowded room and got to experience wonderfully high energy performance. The room was far too crowded to enter, but I was able to catch some of it through an open window. I couldn’t tell what language the music was in, and I had to fight a little to find out what I was listening to, but once I did, I made careful note of who it was. I checked out their SXSW schedule, and proceeded to try to get into one of their many sets, in order to actually get to “watch” the band, but to no avail.
Continue reading “Show Review: Yelle at Mezzanine, 11/12/11”
Yes, the great Heavy D passed away yesterday. We here at SpinningPlatters are definitely sad, but the best way to respect the memory of a fallen musician is to go see live music.
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 11/10/11-11/16/11”
The longevity of Weird Al Yankovic’s career will always boggle my mind. He’s been recording for over 30 years, and has consistently remained one of the most easily recognizable faces in America for most of that time. He is currently touring to support his 13th studio album, Alpocalypse, and its companion DVD, The Alpocalypse Tour, and this tour included a very, very rare Bay Area tour stop. (This is only his second time playing here since 1997!)
Continue reading “Show Review: Weird Al Yankovic at The Fox Theater — Oakland, 11/6/11”
Just about two weeks shy of one year ago today, a hotly rumored about Wild Flag embarked on their first tour. Nobody new what to expect. Yes, we knew what the pieces were, and most of the people in this band have played together before. As we know from history, without even a single note on a myspace page, they managed to sell out every venue they played along the west coast, melting faces off in each town. This time the band has done some of the more traditional things, like put out a record. (Mind you, one of the best reviewed records of 2011, the self titled Wild Flag) On this chilly November night, the good people of San Francisco were treated to their second ever dosing of Wild Flag. If you weren’t in attendance, which was a rather silly decision to make, after the jump, I will tell you what you missed.