Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
Episode 5 of the Spinning Platters podcast features guest Caroline Hernandez of Spinning Platters joining us to discuss the upcoming Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. As always, we go off on our crazy tangents, and we invite you to listen to the crazy digital-delay blooper all the way at the end of the podcast.
We also discuss the following: Continue reading “Spinning Platters Podcast: Episode 5 — Digital Delay”
Titus Andronicus is one of the unofficial official bands of Spinning Platters. This is because we saw them four times at SXSW last year, and hatched the idea for this blog upon our return. It got to the point where we were pretty sure they were sick of seeing us, even though we hadn’t tired of seeing them. So when we saw they were playing at Bottom of the Hill on Monday night, we recorded our podcast and headed right over.
Continue reading “Show Review: Titus Andronicus and The So So Glos at Bottom of the Hill, 9/21/09”
A bunch of the Spinning Platters gang went to The Independent last night to see British pop sensation Little Boots perform on her first American tour. Because we enjoyed the No Doubt review, where we all shared our brief remarks, we thought we’d repeat this. Yes Giantess was also on the bill, but four fifths of us worked earlier that night, and got there only in time to see Music Go Music. So what did we think of Little Boots? Were her boots made for walking out the door or for dancing the night away? Continue reading “Show Review: Little Boots and Music Go Music at The Independent, 9/19/09”
Ever since I was introduced to The Gaslight Anthem and their brilliant breakthrough album, The ’59 Sound, I’ve wanted to see them live. I missed a couple of chances due to unsolvable conflicts, but last night I finally got the chance. As a devoted reviewer, I got there plenty early to check out the three opening bands as well. Four bands on one bill can be a bit much, especially for a Sunday night. So how did it all go in the end? Continue reading “Show Review: The Gaslight Anthem, Murder By Death, The Loved Ones and Frank Turner at The Fillmore, 9/20/09”
I arrived at the Warfield tonight for the Porcupine Tree show, and Market Street was already packed with people waiting to get in. Another night, another sold out show at the Warfield, and this time it’s a band with no “hits” to speak of. This time, it’s the masters of modern British prog, Porcupine Tree. I’m a huge fan, so I’m not the best person to judge whether this show was good or bad. But I can tell you, if you’re also a fan, everything you need to know. Continue reading “Show Review: Porcupine Tree at The Warfield Theater, 9/18/09”
Phoenix is something of a rarity these days: they’re a band that can sell out the Warfield. It’s been a pretty slow-selling concert season here in San Francisco, and a lot shows are going undersold in many venues around town. Some venues are offering season passes, some are offering their shows for half price on sites such as Goldstar, and others are simply papering the house. None of that was necessary for Phoenix, who are riding the wave of their extremely well received album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. Continue reading “Show Review: Phoenix & The Soft Pack at The Warfield Theater, 9/17/09”
There’s this fun little website called The Top 13 Albums Project. For the last two years, they’ve invited anyone who’s interested to enter their top 13 albums for the year into the database. They then compile all of these lists into one master top 13 list for the year. Why 13? I have no idea. All I know is it tends to be a pretty good look at what the blogs are loving that year. Fleet Foxes and The Boxer by The National were the top albums in the last two years. Now, they’re doing a Top 13 of the decade, and in order to participate, you need to submit your list by October 2nd. Of course I’m participating. Follow me now as I run through my personal list. Continue reading “Choosing My Top 13 Albums of the Decade”
When we were sent The Big Pink’s debut album to review, I had never heard of them so I was excited to discover someone I didn’t know anything about. It was obvious to me that the band name was a reference to the classic album Music From Big Pink by The Band, a record that brought us “The Weight” and “I Shall Be Released.” So I was expecting a band with heavy Bob Dylan & the Band influences. Boy, was I wrong. Continue reading “Album Review: The Big Pink — A Brief History of Love”
Whatever you think about the new Muse album, The Resistance, you’re right. If you love it, you have nothing to be ashamed of. If you hate it, you’re definitely within your rights to do so. I don’t think this is a polarizing record. I think it’s an affirming record. It’s not going to change anyone’s mind on the band; rather, your opinion of Muse will be rewarded by what you’ll find. So what will you find? Continue reading “Album Review: Muse — The Resistance”
Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle is a lot of things, but mostly it’s a gathering of a community of like minded gamers. These are nerds and geeks who live by a simple credo popularized by Secretary of Geek Affairs, Wil Wheaton. It simply states, “Don’t Be a Dick.” So what does a bunch of gamers getting together in Seattle have to do with a music website? First of all, this is the second year I’ve gone (out of many I will attend; it’s populated by uniformly awesome people). Every year, PAX invites some musicians that are popular in the gamer community to perform at a popular series of concerts. It’s time that these shows got a traditional concert review, so here it is. Continue reading “Show Review: PAX Concerts, Seattle Convention Center, 9/4/2009 & 9/5/2009”