Jonathan Pirro – Page 5 – Spinning Platters

Show Review: Cinquanta: A Special Evening with Puscifer, A Perfect Circle & Failure at the Greek Theatre LA, 5/10/2014

I’m going to be turning 30 later this month, and I’ve already got a grand party planned out. It’s a jovial occasion in recognition of youth and times gone by, as much as it is one of the future to come and a chance to just let loose in the present moment with my closest friends. With the experiences I’ve had and the frequently wonderful, often chaotic, but always memorable memories that come from them, there’s an awful lot that has happened to me in the 3 decades I’ve spent on the planet. I can only begin to imagine when doing something like this will be in decades to come, but I can only hope that it is anything close to the fantastic evening that Maynard James Keenan, world-renowned musician and dedicatedly rustic winemaker, shared with close friends and hardcore fans alike in celebration of his 50th birthday. Continue reading “Show Review: Cinquanta: A Special Evening with Puscifer, A Perfect Circle & Failure at the Greek Theatre LA, 5/10/2014”

Show Review: The Knife at the Fox Oakland, 4/16/2014

The last time that Swedish musician Karin Dreijer Andersson came to the Bay Area, it was almost five years ago, with her tribal-cum-worldtronic project known as Fever Ray shaking the walls of the Regency Ballroom and bathing its spectators in piercing green lasers amidst an incense-choked haze. When she and her brother Olof Dreijer announced the revival of their parent project, The Knife, almost two years later, the response was almost immediately acclaim and a frenzied desire for the pair to start touring again, and bring their infamously bizarre-but-mesmerizing live shows back to the performance circuit. Two years later, a teaser for their new album materialized on YouTube, with a statement from the Knife:

“Music can be so meaningless. We had to find lust. We asked our friends and lovers to help us.”

Thus, the Knife returned to the Bay Area, armed with their arsenal of strange tunes and carnal instruments, and offering a performance that was absolutely defined by the title of their latest record: Shaking The Habitual.

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Interview: Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof of “Much Ado About Nothing”

Alexis Denisof and Amy Acker in Much Ado About Nothing

Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof, well known for their remarkable acting within the many works of storytelling mastermind Joss Whedon, take center stage in the director’s intimate retelling of Shakespeare’s classic tale Much Ado About Nothing. Playing the respective roles of Beatrice and Benedick, the pair move with an electrifying and gorgeous chemistry that helps to shape the world around them. We caught up with the duo after the premiere showing of the film at the San Francisco International Film Festival, and got some delightful insights into the creative process behind this moving, marvelously graceful and wonderfully funny film.

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Film Review: Much Ado About Nothing

Fran Kranz as Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing

While the echoes of Shakespeare and his work can be felt in the backbones of modern storytelling for the past few centuries, there is really nothing like the actual stories themselves, and they make for timeless tales that can be endlessly re-performed and re-interpreted. The mostly-blank canvas of a play allows for a great deal of re-imagination, and in today’s world of film and television, who better to take up such a task than a director who is known for his marvelous creativity and his own original work? Thus was born Joss Whedon’s modern take on the Bard’s well-loved tale, Much Ado About Nothing, a play highly regarded for its delicate balance of tragedy and comedy and much lauded for its look at relationships and roles of gender. The movie itself has been given a rather arduous task — doing justice to a modern interpretation of Shakespearean play is a concept often wrought with tribulation — but it succeeds magnificently, and is spellbinding in its blend of wry and somewhat slapstick humor, deeply-moving dramatic moments, and the ever-intriguing firecracker romance of its lead characters, Beatrice (Amy Acker) and Benedick (Alexis Denisof).

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Fauxchella Review: Sparks: “Two Hands, One Mouth” at The Chapel, 4/9/2013

Ron and Russel Mael of Sparks — Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks

When you possess the musical longevity of a band such as Sparks, the quirky, tongue-in-cheek, orchestral-pop-electronic-smorgasboard sensation that spawned forth from the creative minds of brothers Ron and Russell Mael, it’s best if the question of what to do after 40 years of work is “what next?”, as opposed to “is this over with yet?” The latter has been embraced by many an act of yesteryear, but the Los Angeles duo showed no signs of stopping as they plunged into the new millenium, and over a decade later, they are still going strong. With the first ten years of a new era behind them, it seemed thusly appropriate to try something new and unexpected (something which, of course, has never been something that Sparks has attempted — surely not), and for their 2012/2013 tour, the pair stripped down their act to the core essentials. Absent of a band, of backing vocalists, even of a drumkit, the live version of Sparks became a new animal in the form of the “Two Hands, One Mouth” tour, so named for its simplicity of performance: Ron at the keys, and Russell at the pipes. The result is a show that, on paper, seems simple and almost comical in scope, and in presentation is just as delightful as any of their records.

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Show Review: Tomahawk with Retox at the Great American Music Hall, 2/15/2013

A dark-snarling-rocker, avant-garde-artiste-extraordinaire, maniacally-grinning crooner, possessed of a sinister disposition and an undulating, catlike movement — these are all terms that accurately describe Bay Area native Mike Patton. Outside of the impressive trail that he and his bandmates in alt-metal band Faith No More blazed, through early 90s metal and the foundations of heavier alternative music, Patton has always been dabbling in sonic experiments and new forms of performance, and the extent of his craft is all but belied by Faith No More’s marvelous, but definitely accessible, compositions. Patton, of course, is not the only creative force within his various endeavors, and has spent most of his projects with bassist Trevor Dunn, in bands such as Mr. Bungle and the John Zorn-spearheaded Moonchild Trio. Dunn has now joined the ranks of the indescribable-yet-definitely-dark-and-thrashy Tomahawk, formed by Patton and Jesus Lizard guitarist Duane Denison, and the result is a tough-as-nails blast of energy and mesmerizing chemistry in an onstage performance — all the sensation of the insane chaos of the pair’s less accessible work, coupled with enough familiar songwriting techniques to draw in the more discerning of music fans.

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Photo Gallery: Unknown Mortal Orchestra with Foxygen at the Great American Music Hall, 2/13/2013

Ruban Nielson of Unknown Mortal Orchestra

As of late, the ever-shifting tide of new music that continues to surge its way into existence seems to be drifting more and more into a haze of dreamy, warbly tunes, evoking the warm nostalgia of 60s psychedelia and fuzzy lo-fi rock, while also pulling from newer, contemporary songwriting styles. In addition to the snarling analog tidal wave of garage punk that has been barreling its way into the world, care of surf-cum-garage-rock acts like Ty Segall, FIDLAR, and Wavves, the good-time-loving, hippie-mindset tunes are bringing a gentle glee back into the musical world, happily paired with the shimmering, dissonant production of yesteryear. The intercontinental throwback rockers Unknown Mortal Orchestra bring their own take on the retro rock with their new record, II, and set off on tour with their Jagjaguwar label mates Foxygen, themselves hot on the heels of their sophomore release We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic. Spinning Platters took a little trip with them to the dimly-lit, hazy stage of the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco to document the action!

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Show Review: Two Gallants with Akron/Family and Future Twin at The Fillmore, 2/2/2013

Adam Stephens and Tyson Vogel of Two Gallants

The formula of reverb-drenched-rock, guitar-drum-vocal, two-man band has proven itself, time and again, to be a successful combination. Acts like the Black Keys and the White Stripes proved that it could be done, and tore their way up the charts while they did so. It is, nevertheless, challenging, blending a careful balance of lo-fi and limited composition with gripping vocals, intricately crafted licks, and thundering percussion, maintaining a smart pop sensibility the entire time. To avoid being pigeonholed, however, as another blues-rock soldier on his quest to the top, it’s important to bend the rules of the genre, throw in some curveballs, and introduce some unique elements to one’s sound, such as the close, soulful cousins that are bluegrass and western folk music. San Francisco duo Two Gallants have done just that, constructing a sonic experience that bears this variety of genres, and yet still stands unique and full of raw passion, which they brought to the Fillmore on Saturday night for their end-of-the-tour hometown show.

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Show Review: Walk Off The Earth with Selah Sue and The Mowgli’s at The Regency Ballroom, 11/30/2012

They aren't just somebody that you used to know — They aren’t just somebody that you used to know

English writer Charles Caleb Colton is best known for his often-quoted observation that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”, and in the modern age of parody and extreme ease of video/media creation, imitation sometimes climbs past sheer flattery to become art in its own right and make a new name for itself. Belgian singer-songwriter Gotye’s smash hit “Somebody That I Used To Know” has become the lead target for covers, parodies, and alternate versions, since its rise to fame in late 2011. One of its most infamous recreations, the five-musicians-on-one-guitar performance by Canadian quintet Walk Off The Earth, has become a megastar in its own right, with a smattering of tributes created to honor and poke fun at it, as well. Lest you think that they are around exclusively to cover Billboard chart-toppers, however, do not be quite so quick to judge: the Ontario five-piece have already been around for 6 years, and have a massively eclectic sense of performance and songwriting under their belts that has set them full speed ahead on a course to take over the world.

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Show Review: Minus The Bear with Cursive and Girl In A Coma at The Regency Ballroom, 11/13/2012

Jake Snider and Cory Murchy of Minus The Bear

Right at the beginning of the new millennium, sudden bursts of musical creativity formed a genre-bending confluence as post-rock, alternative, and indie rock collided together, and a wave of bands sprung forth, each carving out its own unique path as the new century was brightly birthed. New terms such as “post-hardcore”, a modern definition of “emo”, and even heavier concoctions such as “metalcore” came clawing their way into existence, each with a collection of bands that took these sounds and made them their own. In the few short years that we transitioned into a new century, groups rose and fell, and new beings were born from their ashes. Ten years later, two of these acts found themselves on the road together, and fans that had their music playing on CD-changer stereos and the first waves of MP3 players flocked to catch their heroes continuing their journey, ten years later: the Omaha indie quartet known as Cursive, and the groovy, funkily-experimental Seattle five-piece called Minus The Bear.

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