Dakin Hardwick – Page 98 – Spinning Platters

In Defense Of: The New Lilith Tour

Once upon a time, in the late 90’s, a struggling singer-songwriter was finding it difficult to get her music heard. She was too edgy for Adult Contemporary radio, but too light for Alternative Rock radio. She also noticed that both of these genres were awfully male-centric. So, her solution was to find a group of like-minded female musicians and take them on the road with her. The basic idea is that there is strength in numbers, and with the marketing push of several artists, it could be good for everyone, much like Lollapalooza managed to accomplish in the early 90’s. That artist was Sarah McLachlan, and the tour was called The Lilith Fair, named after Adam’s first wife. Continue reading “In Defense Of: The New Lilith Tour”

Album Review: The Roots – how i got over

The Roots have had an unheard of career trajectory for the hip-hop world. They quietly came onto the scene in 1993 with an organic form of hip hop that was created entirely with live instruments, and were often thrown in with the jazz/rap fusion acts like A Tribe Called Quest and Digable Planets. Although they didn’t reach the same level of success as those two acts, they were definitely one of the most determined acts in hip hop, touring non-stop, which is rare in hip-hop, and eventually became one of the most revered live acts in the country. They managed to build a following the old fashioned way, and have managed to become a little more successful with every passing year.

Fast forward to 2010, and The Roots are practically a household name, with several hit singles under their belt at this point as well as an extremely high profile gig as the house band in Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Their latest record, how i got over, might be the record to finish that process off, and become that household name.

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Show Review: The Backstreet Boys with Christian TV at The Warfield, 6/27/10

3199 — The Boys, mid-step, at SF Pride earlier that afternoon.

There is something to be said about the survivors of a trend. No matter who you are, what trend you come from, it’s hard to disrespect anyone that doesn’t give up. The Backstreet Boys are one of those acts. Much like Sonic Youth, REM, Madonna, and Neil Young, The Backstreet Boys have consistently put out records since their inception. These days, of course, are the days of The Backstreet Boys on the commercial wane. Gone are they days of playing arenas and selling 1.1 million records in a single week. So, how does the sole survivor of the late 90’s boy band movement fare with their move to the small stage? Continue reading “Show Review: The Backstreet Boys with Christian TV at The Warfield, 6/27/10”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 6/24/10-6/30/10

Tonight at Milk! Spinning Platters is taking you on a quick guide to live music in the Bay Area from June 24th to the 30th. ROCK!

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Show Review: Greg Behrendt’s “Bring The Rock”

Spinning Platters is, according to the banner, is a “Community Of Bay Area Music Nerds.” So when I learned of this show at Cobb’s, I got very excited. The premise is comedians telling stories about music, and singing a song relevant to the story with a live band. Of course, this event causes my music nerd soul to glow.
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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 6/17/10-6/23/10

crocodile — Playing with the Dum Dum Girls next Wednesday at The New Parish

This is a really full week. There are multiple nights where I am trying really hard to figure out how to be in two places at once… Has anyone invented an easy way to clone oneself?

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Show Review: Woods, Kurt Vile, The Art Museums at Slim’s, 6/11/10

woodsrev — Let The Power Of Psychedelia Overtake You...

We speak of SXSW a lot on this site, only because it truly is the best musical bargain out there. You travel from venue to venue seeing bands that you know & love in intimate settings, and you also get to uncover greatness. Sometimes, though, you can get so caught up in the magic of the experience overall, that you may find that the band you learned to love so much in Austin under Shiner-induced ear goggles, isn’t so dreamy in the foggy splendor of San Francisco. Woods were that band for me in Austin, and I was kind of worried that they wouldn’t do it for me here. I’ve started accumulating some of their recordings, and although they are good, they just seem so different from what I remember. But, on this hotter than normal June evening, I forced myself out of my apartment, where I was enjoying lemonade under the fan with my cat (she didn’t get any lemonade, but I did put her tuna on fridge for a bit before serving her dinner. She quite liked that), and forced myself over to Slim’s.

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 6/10/10-6/16/10

141foxtails — At Swedish American Hall this Friday!

Summer is starting to kick in to gear, and the shows are starting to push in to high gear… Keep an eye on the space so you can get a better idea as to which shows you should be going to, and which shows will be super-boring loads of crap.

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Spinning Platters Interview: AR Rahman

AR Rahman is a celebrated composer and pop songwriter. He is most famous for composing the Oscar winning score to 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire, but also has more than 50 films to his credit. He is about to embark on his biggest world tour ever, opening June 11th at the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York, and playing at the Oracle Arena in Oakland on June 26th. He took a few minutes out his busy schedule to talk with us about the tour, his feelings about his current wave of success, and how he juggles so many projects at once.

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Show Review: The Buzzcocks with The Dollyrots at The Uptown Nightclub, 6/4/10

The Uptown Nightclub is one of the great hidden treasures of Oakland. They have grown to become the go-to venue for punk rock in the Bay Area, but on this hot & sticky Friday night, they have really outdone themselves. They managed to snag The Buzzcocks, one of the most successful and influential UK bands of the late 70’s, for a rare stateside appearance. The last time they played in the Bay Area, they played the much larger and higher profile Fillmore in San Francisco. This show was special for another reason, because they played their first two records beginning to end.

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