In Appreciation of From Monument to Masses

It's your last chance to see and hear From Monument to Masses. Don't miss out!

I’m feeling very old this week, as two of my favorite Bay Area bands will be playing break-up shows in two nights. The first is my old band Audrye Sessions who will be saying goodbye on Friday, August 27th at The New Parish in Oakland. The second is From Monument to Masses who are playing final show at Great American Music Hall on Saturday, August 28th.  Since Judgement Day is opening up the Great American show, I thought it might nice for me to share some of my thoughts on the night’s headliners. Continue reading “In Appreciation of From Monument to Masses”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 8/19/2010-8/25/2010

Pictured: Crowded House, playing The Warfield on August 23rd.

Howdy, Bay Area live music fans! I’ve got a great week for you! It’s a good time for you to stop sleeping for a while!

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 8/12/2010-8/19/2010

Pigeons hate beard rock. Love the Outer Richmond. Let's see what happens to Kings Of Leon this time!

This is Outside Lands weekend, and a surprising number of excellent non-Outside Lands related gigs are happening concurrently. So, if you don’t feel like watching Kings Of Leon getting pooped on (although who wouldn’t love to see that!), you’ve got some crazy good options. Read On!

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 8/12/2010-8/19/2010”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/29/10-8/4/10

Look how much your girlfriend is enjoying herself at The Mountain Winery in Saratoga. So many concerts! So much wine!

As July transitions into August, The Mountain Winery continues to generally kick the ass of every other Bay Area concert venue this week—and it’s actually kind of an off-week for them. Nobody likes a showoff, Mountain Winery! Other highlights this week include Joanna Newsom, a free concert by Rickie Lee Jones, and the final performance by local favorites Make Me before they take an indefinite hiatus. All that and more, after the jump…

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/22/10-7/28/10

You can color in your own Bear In Heaven on the way to the Rickshaw Stop on Monday Night!

The last week of July is looking pretty crazy… Tons of amazing shows going on this week, including two very rare 4-band shows that are worth arriving early and staying late. Time to buy some Red Bull!

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/22/10-7/28/10”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/15/10-7/21/10

In honor of their stint opening for The New Pornographers, here are naked pictures of The Dodos.

Today is too hot for me to come up with something witty to say… Go see some shows!

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In Defense Of: The New Lilith Tour

Once upon a time, in the late 90’s, a struggling singer-songwriter was finding it difficult to get her music heard. She was too edgy for Adult Contemporary radio, but too light for Alternative Rock radio. She also noticed that both of these genres were awfully male-centric. So, her solution was to find a group of like-minded female musicians and take them on the road with her. The basic idea is that there is strength in numbers, and with the marketing push of several artists, it could be good for everyone, much like Lollapalooza managed to accomplish in the early 90’s. That artist was Sarah McLachlan, and the tour was called The Lilith Fair, named after Adam’s first wife. Continue reading “In Defense Of: The New Lilith Tour”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/1/10-7/7/10

Mya (who has since been name-usurped by M.I.A.), Bif Naked (clearly nonplussed), Sarah McLachlan, and Martina McBride sitting at a Lilith Fair press panel back in the day. Photo courtesy of Lilith Fair.

Welcome to our first Bay Area concert guide for the lovely (in the East Bay) month of July. After the jump, check out this week’s relatively low-key concert offerings (I guess concert promoters don’t think people enjoy live shows on Independence Day?), but with at least one major event: the long-awaited return of the greatest concert package tour of all time! Or at least of the ’90s. And at least of the concert packages that only featured female singers. Regardless: Lilith Fair is coming to town, y’all!

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The Top 4 Reasons you should attend High Sierra Music Festival

The twentieth Annual High Sierra Music Festival, which takes place in Quincy, CA, is almost upon us and if you’re still seeking out plans for the long weekend of July 4th, then you should consider heading up to the mountainous town located eighty miles North of Reno to experience four days of music, exercise, workshops, parades and much, much, more.

Formed in 1991, the family-oriented, kid-friendly festival attracts between 7,000 – 8,000 attendees as well as a myriad of influential music acts that span across neo-hippie jam band-friendly genres including roots rock, electronica, afrobeat, jazz, bluegrass, and funk. There’s a lot of entertaining options offered up on the Plumas Sierra Fairgrounds to consider so without further ado, here are the top four reasons you should attend High Sierra Music Festival (HSMF)…

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Spinning Platters Picks Six: Reasons You Should Still be Going to Warped Tour

It's time to party!

Summer’s finally officially here, which means it’s time for yet another Warped Tour to begin. Yes, the Warped Tour you went to in your youth, and now make fun of in your adulthood, is still going. If you ever catch yourself saying something like “I’m too old for that crap,” you should resign from the music nerd community immediately. There’s some great reasons to continue to go to Warped Tour, even if you’re no longer in the pit but sitting on the picnic benches in back. I’ll give you six good ones here (specifically for June 26 at Shoreline Amphitheater); feel free to leave more in the comments.

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