Category: Show Previews

Outside Lands 2018: 48 Hours After The Line Up Dropped

It’s the same story every festival: In the days and weeks leading up to the line up announcement, people try to predict the line up. Then folks get their hopes set super high with some imaginary Beatles / Smiths / Talking Heads / Mozart & Salieri reunion, and then nothing else is ever good enough. Then they complain about how it’s never as good as it was in 2013, or 2009, or 2017, or whenever that time you last complained about how bad the line up was.

As expected, the internet was flooded with complaints about the 2018 line-up, which goes on sale today at 10am. If you want to experience pure frustration, feel free to peruse the Outside Lands’ Reddit page. I, however, believe that this might actually be one of the most exciting and riskiest Outside Lands bill yet.

Here’s why: Continue reading “Outside Lands 2018: 48 Hours After The Line Up Dropped”

The Substance of Peter Hook

Peter Hook and the Light hit the North American stages once again!

No language, just sound, that's all we need know.
Photo by Jonathan Pirro at The Mezzanine (SF) in 2011.

Peter Hook’s saga of rock and roll history is not one to be trifled with. His indelible mark as a bass player and musical progenitor has been left in the forms of both Joy Division and New Order, two bands who influenced incredible waves over their tenures. What probably sets him apart from most musicians involved in such influential and groundbreaking groups is his unabashed and pure honesty in recollection. Anyone could just accept the moniker of “groundbreaking creator,” but how many will tell you that their entire style evolved over the fact that their equipment was shit and they just couldn’t hear themself during band practice?

Continue reading “The Substance of Peter Hook”

Spinning Platters’ Guide To Noise Pop 2018

No. Not a “Bro” marathon. More like a hip music marathon?

Noise Pop is upon us again… Also known as that week where Bay Area music fans marathon as many shows as they can in a single week. And, well, not all of us can be in multiple places at once, so let’s try to limit our Noise Pop anxiety a bit!

Full schedule, full fest badges, and individual show tickets can be found here! Continue reading “Spinning Platters’ Guide To Noise Pop 2018”

A Nerd’s Guide To Sketchfest 2018

It’s that time of year when the best possible three weeks of comedy programing take over Bay Area theaters, art spaces, and nightclubs: SF Sketchfest! There is so much good stuff happening that it’s impossible to make heads or tails of where to go when. Well, I’ve been studying the schedule in great detail for the last several weeks, and since I am of impeccable taste, I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt what the best things are to do each day of the event. Continue reading “A Nerd’s Guide To Sketchfest 2018”

Spinning Platters Recommends: Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band, January 19/20 at the Fillmore

Show date: January 19/20, 2018, 7:00 pm

Venue: The Fillmore

City: San Francisco

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Recommends: Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band, January 19/20 at the Fillmore”

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2017: Friday Recs and Rundown

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is here again, bringing a host of bands both new and familiar. The best music is not necessarily the most well known, and the greatest festival experiences are the surprises. Here’s the first of three posts to help guide your HSB journey, with recommendations, links, and descriptions.

On Fridays, the crowds are relatively light until the late afternoon, so you can wander more easily than on the other days. Those dastardly organizers, though — they always pit similarly great bands against each other at the same time slots, so there will be hard choices to make. Continue reading “Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2017: Friday Recs and Rundown”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 2017-08-11 – 2017-08-13


Do you know what today is? It’s been a long time, and I’ll tell you why: it’s August 11.

The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar began on August 11 in 3114 BC. Been a long time. And it feels like it’s been that long that we’ve been waiting for the Bay Area’s own Jawbreaker to get back together.

Jawbreaker made achingly smart punch-yourself-in-the-face and brush-your-teeth-until-your-gums-bleed rock music in the 1990s. Their music and words and actions touched a lot of people who have enough inside them to feel things, and then, after one major-label release, the band burned out like a candle.

And now they’re back. By my count it’s been a long time, and we are lucky enough to be alive to see it happening.

Speaking of waiting for things, let’s talk about this week’s concerts. Here’s what we’ve got coming up this week in the Bay Area: genius-level skills, classically-styled skills, and sports skills.

So now, yes, let’s preview this week’s concerts now. Start the preview and the preview is starting. Let’s start this preview now and here we go. Preview time goooo.

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 2017-08-11 – 2017-08-13”

Outside Lands 2017: Top 10 Acts from The Bottom Half of The Poster

The best thing about a festival is tripping over your new favorite band, not hearing The Who do “My Generation” for the 4,000th time. So, I present to you here are your ten new favorite acts… all pulled from the bottom half of the Outside Lands poster. Still haven’t bought tickets? Well, there’s still time. Just click here!
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10 Years of Outside Lands: A Look Back

Photo by Tom Tomkinson

This year marks the 10th year of the Outside Lands Music Festival. It feels like the first one was just yesterday, and it also feels like it’s been happening since the beginning of time. It’s been a fantastic August tradition that I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy nearly every year. (I did miss the one that Kings Of Leon headlined. I’m sure other people wish they missed that one.) I think it’s time to look back on this recent San Francisco tradition. Continue reading “10 Years of Outside Lands: A Look Back”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 2017-07-12 – 2017-07-16

Superchunk as The Misfits
Some of the very best band photos of Superchunk are the ones where they are dressed up as The Misfits. That’s the birthday guy on the far right with the devilock.

Do you know what today is? You do. It’s July 12. That means that over in North Carolina, it’s Mac McCaughan’s birthday. Who? Yes. Mac McCaughan of the long-running pogo-producing indie-rocker band Superchunk, as well as his own semi-solo project Portastatic, as well as one of the founders of the stalwart Merge Records. Cheers to Mac.

Speaking of pogo-inducing rock and roll, let’s talk about this week’s concerts. Here’s what we’ve got coming up this week in the Bay Area: things with animals, things from the past, and things near to college.

So, let’s get this preview started. Previewing now. Pre. View. Preview is starting and let’s go preview now.

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 2017-07-12 – 2017-07-16”