Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
The day is finally here for the Treasure Island Music Festival! This morning, I woke up with an extra bounce in my step which disappeared quickly as I started packing my backpack. Camera? Check. Laptop? Check. Sunscreen? Check. Now off to take the long public transit adventure to Treasure Island for a day of music and fun in the sun in the middle of San Francisco Bay. Continue reading “Treasure Island Festival Diary, Part 1: 10/17/09 Daylight”
I was standing by the door into the floor last night when someone walked by, looked inside the floor section of the Fox Theater, and said, “Oh good, it’s a small venue.” I had the opposite reaction when I heard Gogol Bordello was playing the Fox, as it’s a big venue for them, and specifically for our time together. Though I missed the Bottom of the Hill days, I did spend a few evenings with them at Slim’s, throwing back vodka shots and carrying Eugene Hutz around over my head. How would the insanity of a Gogol Bordello show translate to this classic theater? Continue reading “Show Review: Gogol Bordello at The Fox Oakland, 10/15/09”
This weekend’s Treasure Island Music Festival has quickly become my favorite musical event of the year. There are no conflicting set times, so you can see everyone on the bill. The size of the festival is fairly small, so it’s easy to get around. The setting in the middle of San Francisco Bay is absolutely stunning. And something about all of these combine to keep the people going in a relaxed, pleasant mood that makes being there all the more enjoyable.
Now, you might think going to this festival is as easy as hopping in your car and going to the festival to enjoy some music, but you’d be wrong. Read on, and I’ll teach you how to avoid rookie mistakes. Continue reading “The Insiders’ Guide to the Treasure Island Music Festival”
Episode 6 of the Spinning Platters podcast features guest Laura Hamilton discussing the pros and cons of ticket scalping, and sharing some of our favorite ticket scalping stories. We also do a final preview of the Treasure Island Music Festival. As always, we go off on our crazy tangents, including a socialist rant from a surprising source.
We also discuss the following: Continue reading “Spinning Platters Podcast: Episode Six — I Can See This Podcast From My House”
Today I went to Target to buy some stuff, and as I do when I go to Target, I went to the CD section just to have a look around. I thought perhaps I would buy the new album by The Temper Trap, for Target was sure to have that. Well, they didn’t. As you might already know, these big department stores carry a tiny selection of the available CDs on the market, so unless you’re an established name, it’s hard to get in there. Then I noticed something odd. There were a bunch of featured artists that I had never heard of. How do they get into Target? I jotted down the names of six of these artists, and decided to see if I’ve been missing the boat on them. Enjoy six artists that I had never heard of until lunch today. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Six: Bands I’d Never Heard Of Until Lunch Today”
This week saw a lot more competition to be in our Top 5 Most Viewed New Posts of the Week. Without the killer buzz-saw of Kylie Minogue reviews, all manner of posts had a shot at the top. Keep coming back this weekend for some rare weekend updates including some show reviews and our weekly New Release Round Up. And now, on to our top posts. Can you guess what #1 might be? Continue reading “Week in Review: Top 5 Posts For Oct 2 — Oct 8”
The Swedish American Hall was host tonight to an experiment in both performance and audience, as Andrew W.K. brought Calder Quartet with him on a small tour to promote an album of piano improvisations called Cadillac 55. Standing outside the hall waiting on some friends, I watched the crowd go in. First, I saw some former meatheads who made up much of Andrew W.K.’s audience during his major label days. Then I saw a large group of senior citizens go in, having come to see the Calder Quartet, who are a reknowned classical group. And of course, there was a large music nerd contingent. So how would all of this mix? Continue reading “Show Review: Andrew W.K. & Calder Quartet at Swedish American Hall, 10/7/09”
I had only a passing familiarity with School of Seven Bells before it was suggested I would like them. I believe I was told, “If you like Murder By Death, you should check out School of Seven Bells.” That’s a poor “RIYL,” but it turned out fine in the end. Still, this is a band that needs my help to take their show to the next level. I hope they’re listening. Continue reading “Show Review: School of Seven Bells, Warpaint and Phantogram at Slim’s 10/6/09”
Gary Houston of Voodoo Catbox has been doing great rock posters for many years now. The first two rock posters I ever bought were from Voodoo Catbox: a diamond-shaped Foo Fighters than you can see on my wall when you come visit, and a Bad Religion poster made to look like an E.C. Comics cover. Gary designed the TRPS poster that you may have seen in our sidebar for the last couple of weeks, and I caught up with him this week for an email interview.
Spinning Platters: What was the first work of art you did for money? Continue reading “10 Quick Questions with Gary Houston of Voodoo Catbox”
This weekend brings the TRPS Festival of Rock Posters in Golden Gate Park. To celebrate, I’ll be going as both a journalist and a customer, bringing back interviews with artists, photos of the proceedings, and more posters to add to my flat file. To kick off our coverage, I caught up with local artist Gregg Gordon who goes professionally by GIGART. I first met him at the Ledson Winery when he was walking around with his portfolio, showing off some of his earlier work, and I’ve been following his career ever since. Thanks to Gregg for answering our questions.
Spinning Platters: What was the first work of art you did for money? Continue reading “10 Quick Questions with Gregg Gordon of GIGART”