Show Previews – Page 23 – Spinning Platters

Countdown to SXSW: Big Data and/or Joywave

Big Data and Joywave on Late Night with Seth Meyers on NBC, in a video that has sadly been wiped from the internet.

Here’s a tough one. I have no idea if I’m a fan of Big Data or Joywave. Maybe I’m a fan of both. What I do know is that their single, “Dangerous,” has been on heavy rotation for me since the first time I heard it blasting out of my car’s speakers on Live 105. The main riff is just so driving and infectious, the wandering drums that punctuate the beats are addictive, and the vocal melody fits perfectly. So who do I actually like? Big Data or Joywave? Let’s figure that out together. Continue reading “Countdown to SXSW: Big Data and/or Joywave”

Countdown to SXSW: Sorting Out an Eight Band Clash

Taking any excuse to put up an image from Clash of the Titans, the 1981 original. — Our editor will take any excuse to put up an image from Clash of the Titans, the 1981 original.

Watching bands get announced for SXSW is always fun. These giant lists, featuring hundreds of bands each, get released, and if you’ve heard of a handful of them before seeing the list, you deserve a prize. So what I do is start throwing the bands that sound promising into a giant playlist, and weed these thousand-or-so bands into a few dozen. Then I add them to My Schedule on the SXSW site, and as their showcases get announced, the website sorts them by time and date for me. Thanks, website! Continue reading “Countdown to SXSW: Sorting Out an Eight Band Clash”

Countdown to SXSW Music 2015: Will Butler

Today, Will Butler released his debut solo album, Policy. Longtime Arcade Fire fans have vastly differing opinions on the less famous Butler brother. Some think of him as a coattail rider, acting like a spaz on stage with a band with which he has no business being on stage. Others, such as myself, look at him as an important multi-instrumentalist and bringer of manic energy. His behavior in the early days was crazy, even a little scary, and I’ve always enjoyed him. What he’s done with his solo career is a surprise by any estimation. Continue reading “Countdown to SXSW Music 2015: Will Butler”

Countdown to SXSW Music 2015: Spoon and Charles Bradley at Auditorium Shores

In our first countdown to SXSW post, we celebrate the amazing pairing of Spoon and Charles Bradley, who will be playing back-to-back at Auditorium Shores on March 19th. The shows here are free to everyone, although anyone without a SXSW credential needs to pick up a guest pass in advance. Now, on to the music! Continue reading “Countdown to SXSW Music 2015: Spoon and Charles Bradley at Auditorium Shores”

Noise Pop 2015 Has Arrived, and It’s Brought the Best Music Venue in the City With It

Gibbard-6493

What’s the best music venue in San Francisco? Ask this question in a crowd of concert junkies, and everyone will have a different answer. Then mention Swedish American Hall to them, and you’ll probably hear something like “Oh that place was so great!” And it was, it is, and will continue to be, as the fine folks at Noise Pop have taken over events curation there, and will be bringing their taste to what was always the most tasteful place for music in the entire city. This is like a euphoria of tastefulness. And last night’s kickoff event with Ben Gibbard and Zach Rogue was just the beginning. Continue reading “Noise Pop 2015 Has Arrived, and It’s Brought the Best Music Venue in the City With It”

Show Review: “Sticks & Stones” at SoundBox

Rootstock percussion trio in Wenjing Guo’s Parade (Xiang). Photo courtesy of Kristen Loken.

The San Francisco Symphony’s new venue, SoundBox, is located in the back of Davies symphony hall on Franklin Street. Once just a rehearsal space but now a fully transformative experimental music space, SoundBox is basically half club and half concert hall. There’s really only one way to put it — SoundBox is flat-out cool!

Continue reading “Show Review: “Sticks & Stones” at SoundBox”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 1/29/2015 – 2/4/2015

Looking for better things to do than to prepare for the Super Bowl? Well, here’s a week’s worth of rock n roll awesomeness.

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 1/29/2015 – 2/4/2015”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 1/22/2015 – 1/28/2015

The nerds of San Francisco have some incredibly tough choices to make this week when it comes to their live entertainment. They could be comedy nerds, seeing all of what SF Sketchfest has to offer. Perhaps they’re film nerds, and they’ll be spending the week at The Castro Theater for Noir City. But what of the music nerds? Where should they be this week? Read on to find out!

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 1/22/2015 — 1/28/2015”

A Nerd’s Guide to Sketchfest 2015

Every year, the good folks at SF Sketchfest program three weeks of live comedy in the Bay Area. They program it so well that it can get exhausting to determine which shows to go to. Well, here at Spinning Platters, a forum for Bay Area music, film, and comedy nerds, we’ll be helping you determine which shows you should be going to. It wasn’t easy, but I think you’ll get sufficient enough chuckles for handling the post-holiday blues if you follow these guidelines.

Don’t like my suggestions? You can always pick for yourself! You can find the schedule here!

Continue reading “A Nerd’s Guide to Sketchfest 2015”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 1/16/15-1/21/15

cold-war — Appearing at The Mezzanine in S.F. this week.

Here’s what’s coming up this week: war, monsters, seasons, and Patti Smith. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 1/16/15-1/21/15”