Show Previews – Page 2 – Spinning Platters

LA ONDA FESTIVAL IN NAPA IS LOOKING MIGHTY LOVELY!

Back in 1998, I was waiting for my girlfriend in front of The Warfield. This was pre-cellphone. Los Fabulosos Cadillacs were playing. The band finished their set, and THEN she showed. Very apologetic. I forgave her, and security let me buy a shirt. Sadly, it’s taken them 28 YEARS TO COME BACK TO THE BAY AREA!!!! They are the only playing three US shows (LA, San Diego, Napa), so it’s time for me to FINALLY head up to check out La Onda Festival, May 30th – 31st.

Who else is playing? Well, the kings of Rock en Español, Mana. Reggaeton master J Balvin, the funk metal band that is WAY better than RHCP: Molotov, the politically potent Ozomatli, the great Kinky, and a WHOLE LOT MORE. Tickets are on sale Friday, 2/13 at noon PST.

How Did Sydney Kane Get Here?

How Did I Get Here? is back for its first episode of 2026. And my chat was with the amazing musical comedian Sydney Kane ahead of her bringing her one-woman show, Wife Material, on a West Coast tour! We talked about, well, a bunch of the usual tangential silliness, all while learning about how she found her voice and her way into comedy.

Sydney Kane is bringing Wife Material to SF for SF Sketchfest at Eclectic Box on Sunday, January 25th (Tix Here) and to LA at Hudson Backstage Theater on February 16th (Tix Here). Follow her on Instagram for more everything. And, if you really want to learn about all things Bay Area Burrito, h ere is such a bonkers and well-researched guide that I will still argue is wrong at times.

Side Note: We discuss how amazing Jenny Slate is, and I realized she is ALSO playing SF Sketchfest. Catch her with Max Silvestri and Gabe Liederman at the Sydney Goldstein Theater on February 1st (Tix Here)!

MOSSWOOD MELTDOWN 2026 LINEUP IS BONKERS!!!!!

My partner and I named our kid after Corin Tucker. Once the doctors and nurses cleared the room, on the day they were born, we decided we needed to sing them a song. After being awake for like 36 hours, there was only one song we could remember the words to. That song? “The KKK Took My Baby Away.” That hospital? Kaiser in Oakland. It was magic. Today, Mosswood Meltdown released a lineup that brings this all full circle. Because The Return Of Jackie & Judy is a Ramones cover band comprising of Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney, plus Toko Yasuda of St Vincent on bass, and Fred Armisen of Trenchmouth on drums, playing directly across the street from the very hospital I first sang a Ramones song to my Corin.

Oh yeah, and there’s like Iggy Pop, Bikini Kill, Otoboke Beaver, The Dead Milkmen, Scowl, and SO MANY MORE AMAZING BANDS. And of course, it’s being hosted by the legendary John Waters. Tickets on sale NOW!

A Nerd’s Guide to SF Sketchfest 2026

Hi. Have you read the news today?

I’m sorry.

You know what 2026 is desperate for? Some bloody joy while we can still get it. I’ve had a really tough time doing the nerd’s guide this year because the onslaught of life under Trump 2.0 has been brutal. Which is also a good reason to get out and enjoy some laughs in a space where you can really be yourself as yourself, while it’s still kinda legal. So be your own kinda nerd. We’ve got three weeks of fun coming your way. Here’s a small sampling of events. The full schedule is here! Continue reading “A Nerd’s Guide to SF Sketchfest 2026”

Festival Preview: BottleRock Napa Valley 2026

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s that time again! BottleRock Napa Valley has announced the lineup for this year’s festival, taking place May 22-24, 2026 at Napa Expo.

Prior to today’s announcement, BRNV took to the socials to drop some hints about the artists coming our way this year. I sure didn’t guess any correctly, but I’m looking forward to catching quite a few, as usual. It’ll be fun to see the return of Foo Fighters as headliners once more, and I’m really going to enjoy both Teddy Swims and Sombr as well. Other headliners include Backstreet Boys, Lorde, LCD Soundsystem, Lil Wayne, and Zedd. Continue reading “Festival Preview: BottleRock Napa Valley 2026”

LOGISTICS FANS REJOICE! SF SKETCHFEST ARE DOING A SHOW ON A BART TRAIN!!

HOLY SHIT!!!! I’ve been dreaming of this my entire life! Our dear friends at SF Sketchfest are doing the most logistically bonkers thing I can imagine a festival doing- A STAND UP COMEDY SET ON A MOVING COMMUTER TRAIN!

Here’s how it will work: ticket purchasers will meet at 12th St/Oakland City Center at 2 pm on Saturday, January 24th. Ticketholder will then be given a headset to listen to the set on (because, um, trains make noise, so this makes sense) as well as instructions on how to make sure you are on the right train and car. Brent Weinbach, Brittany Carney, Natasha Vinik, and Hunaid Shakoor will then each do 15-minute sets while you ride. They won’t be selling tickets at the door, so make sure you buy your ticket in advance from BART at this link!

Honestly, SF Sketchfest has done a LOT of cool things. But this is probably the coolest.

MOSSWOOD MELTDOWN PREPARTY! PAVEMENT, WEDNESDAY, VIVIAN GIRLS TAKE OVER MOSSWOOD PARK

We are waiting patiently for our good friends to unveil the Mosswood Meltdown 2026 line-up. In the meantime, they tossed a fun little surprise our way! The night before Mosswood, they are bringing us a pretty impressive, stacked indie rock line-up: the delicious Sonic Youth meets classic country of Wednesday, the return of power pop legends Vivian Girls, and headlining is the pride of Stockton, PAVEMENT! All hosted by John Waters.

Tickets are on sale NOW! $99 for GA, $165 for VIP (with special viewing area and ins & outs), and those prices are fee-inclusive!

I CAN’T WAIT FOR JULY!!!

SF Sketchfest 2026 Initial Line Up HAS DROPPED!!!!!

Our dear friends at SF Sketchfest have, once again, given us reason to look forward to the January doldrums. They’ve put out a bonkers lineup that I’ve barely scratched the surface of. (As an esteemed member of the press, I did get this a day early, which might not have been enough time to digest this.)

As usual, you’ll get my full “Nerd’s Guide.” My early nerd view reveals a few amazing bits. Like, are you a fan of both The State and melodramatic singers from the 80’s? GOOD NEWS! You have your choice of Ken Marino & David Wain & Friends doing the music of Billy Joel, OR Thomas Lennon & Friends doing the music of Morrissey & The Smiths. Like your music legends more subversive? Devo legend Mark Mothersbaugh is taking us on a tour of his film score work with the excellent Red Room Orchestra.

A few other surprises include “The Women of SNL,” which, in addition to Sketchfest regular, Laraine Newman, we have rare appearances by Ellen Cleghorne (!), Julia Sweeney (!), Robin Duke (!), Cheri Oteri (!), Rachel Dratch (!), and Ana Gasteyer (!) sharing a stage which, really, is just warming my Gen-X, TV addicted heart. Panels with the creators of Doug and Futurama, as well as Smoke Show with Jodie Sweetin (A beauty pagent for comedians?), will do that, too.

Anyways… I can go on forever. However, I digress – take a few hours to review the schedule here. Tickets go on sale for EVERYTHING this Sunday, November 16th, at 10:00 a.m. PST.

NEW RAYE SINGLE! TOUR DATES! WOO HOO!!

I have a handful of show regrets. But one of the biggest was missing Raye when she played Rickshaw Stop in 2023. And everything that has come out from her since then has been exceptionally more and more brilliant. And today she dropped “Where Is My Husband?”, a proper funk banger if I’ve ever heard one.

She’s also hitting the road this Spring, playing Bill Graham Civic Auditorium here in SF, which is just down the street from Rickshaw Stop and literally 25 TIMES BIGGER! Stream “Where Is My Husband” here. Tour dates and presale sign up here! The presale begins on 9/23 at 10 am local time. Miss the sign-up? Try your hand at tickets on 9/25 at 10 am!