Category: Show Previews

Outside Lands 15th Anniversary Eager Beaver Tickets On Sale 3.1.23 at 10am

I’m looking outside, watching the rain drench my block as my thermometer shows temperatures at depths that the Bay Area has never seen in my life. I’m eagerly awaiting Summer. To leave the house in a short sleeve shirt. To feel the sun on my skin outdoors (sunscreened, of course!), melting into the lawn while enjoying some live music. 

Our good friends at Outside Lands are well aware of our desperation, and they are giving us an opportunity to get excited about the sunny months by unleashing Eager Beager tickets for the 15th Anniversary of Outside Lands, Aug 11-13th. We’ve got GA tickets starting at $409+fees, the new GA+ ticket type complete with expedited entry, an exclusive GA+ lounge with access to flushable bathrooms, complimentary water & soft drinks, and a full-service bar and food for purchase. Those tickets are running $634 + Fees. You’ve also got the classic VIP for $929+fees and the Golden Gate Club for $4,669 + fees. OH! I forgot the best part- ALL EARLY BIRDERS GET FIRST ACCESS TO NIGHT SHOWS!!! Remember how pissed you were that you didn’t get to see Phoebe Bridgers solo acoustic at The Indy? Well, here’s your chance to correct that in 2023. 

Tickets go on sale at 10am on Wednesday, March 1st. Tickets are available ONLY here. (Don’t get swindled by unauthorized sellers!) And for the most up-to-the-minute news that I don’t share, follow Outside Lands on TikTok and Discord! 

2023 Mill Valley Music Festival Single Day Lineups Are Here!

There’s nothing we love more than a new music festival except for an independent music festival, and there’s nothing more we love more than an independent music festival than an expanding music festival. That makes Mill Valley at least three things that we love! Because for its second year, the Mill Valley Music Festival has doubled in size. At this rate, it will be over a month-long in just five years! Let’s do it!

This year’s lineup is a near-perfect two days of music outdoors in the beautiful Bay Area. After our first real winter in several years, we’re all going to need the bright sunshine of a Michael Franti & Spearhead set on a Saturday night under the stars. And then on Sunday night, the 14th, we finish with dessert as Cake play their first announced Bay Area show since 2019!

Add to that the New Orleans rock/funk/rap/spoken word genius mashup of Tank and the Bangas, the horn-driven pop-soul of The Dip, the buttery smooth Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, the ecstatically joyous Remain in Light project from Adrian Belew and Jerry Harrison paying tribute to the classic Talking Heads album of the same name, the southern soul solo debut of Durand Jones, and much much more, and I don’t know even know how you could skip it. 

The second day of this is Mother’s Day. Your mother will love this. Bring your mother.

The day-by-day lineups: Continue reading “2023 Mill Valley Music Festival Single Day Lineups Are Here!”

Mosswood Meltdown 2023: Full Line Up Announce (It’s kind of insane!)

(Poster by “The Real” Janelle Blarg)

The year is 2001. I’m broke, sharing an illegal inlaw in the Sunset with a friend. My job at the record store is distracting me from school, and I’m not sure I can focus on school, anyways. The soundtrack that gave me the motivation to get through it all? Well, it was mostly Bratmobile and Sleater-Kinney. Fast forward 20 years, and I’ve got a good job, a great partner and kiddo, a moderately successful music blog, and the joy of getting to introduce my kid to the greatness that is Bratmobile live! THEY ARE PLAYING THEIR FIRST PUBLIC SHOW SINCE 2003 AT MOSSWOOD MELTDOWN!!! Amazingly, several other bands that brought me joy in the darkness of my 20s are also playing! Le Tigre, GRAVY TRAIN!!! and Quintron & Miss Pussycat were already announced from my Electroclash era, but joining them include Disco Punk groundbreakers ESG, Hip-Hop Pioneers (and the group whose success funded the first NWA record) JJ Fad, SF Punk Icons The Avengers, LA Punks Mika Miko (playing their first show in a decade themselves), and way too much more. Full lineup below the jump, and tickets are on sale now. Get them quickly, as they are gonna sell out in a supersonic boom! 

Mosswood Meltdown Full 2023 Lineup Continue reading “Mosswood Meltdown 2023: Full Line Up Announce (It’s kind of insane!)”

New Festival Alert: Re:SET Concert Series

Has it really been five whole years since the last Treasure Island Music Festival? It was probably my favorite music festival in the world during it’s decade-long run. I never once missed it, even if life only let me drop in for a few short hours some years. I don’t think we will ever get a festival again that covered such a perfect cross-section of dance music and indie rock, especially in such a beautiful space. Although I continue to long for a return of this event, a new event was just announced. It’s actually a touring concert series that seems to honor the spirit and energy of the late TIMF: Re:SET Concert Series. 

Headlined by past TIMF headliner LCD Soundsystem, alongside indie-rock supergroup boygenius and psych-soul icon Steve Lacy, we’ve got three days of eclectic and interesting music outside in Palo Alto, CA at the Frost Amphitheater. Supporting these folks include bedroom pop hitmaker Clairo, political punks IDLES, local hero Toro y Moi, and many more.  The event runs June 2nd to 4th. Tickets on sale Friday, February 10th at 10am. And if you here, you can register for presale tickets, which open up Tuesday the 7th at 10am. 

SF Sketchfest Interview: Marc Capelle of Red Room Orchestra

Red Room Orchestra has become a bit of an SF Sketchfest staple. They first graced our presence with a tribute to the music from Twin Peaks, and have, in the years since, brought to life the songs and scores from Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Big Lebowski, and Boogie Nights. This year they are returning with Twin Peaks in homage to its late composer Angelo Badalamenti and late vocalist Julee Cruise, playing Great American Music Hall on Thursday, February 2nd. The next night they are doing the music from Repo Man, and those tickets can be purchased here. 

We had the opportunity to talk to Red Room Orchestra’s founder and band leader Marc Capelle about his career, the inception of Red Room Orchestra, and a lot about how they function. 

Spinning Platters: What was the musical experience that made you decide that this was your career? Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Interview: Marc Capelle of Red Room Orchestra”

A Nerd’s Guide to SF Sketchfest 2023

JESUS CHRIST! I first wrote this article in 2020. When I was just getting ready to push it live, BAM! Cases started spiking hard, and the 2021 SF Sketchfest was moved to 2022. In late 2021, I revised this AGAIN; luckily, most of the events stayed the same.  And right as I was about to post this for 2022… I got an email from SF Sketchfest’s publicist saying the whole thing was moved again… To 2023! 

I’m overjoyed that they managed to keep much of the same line-up and in approximately the same order! It saved me a lot of time and effort. They’ve even added a few new events to the mix that I’m pretty excited about, even though it meant I had to actually write more. Even better- they are live-streaming select events, which is great for folks that don’t like going places! So, without further ado, I present to you the 2021, I mean 2023, Nerd’s Guide To SF Sketchfest! Which is the 20th SF Sketchfest, I might add!  Continue reading “A Nerd’s Guide to SF Sketchfest 2023”

BOTTLEROCK 2023 LINE UP IS HERE!

BOTTLEROCK LINEUP HAS DROPPED!!!! And it’s looking like it might be the most fun year yet! Not only do they have 3 of our top ten of 2022 (Lizzo, Carly Rae Jepsen, Ashe), but the top line also features the classic lineup of Red Hot Chili Peppers finally making up their lost 2020 set, hitmaker Post Malone, New Romantic heartthrobs Duran Duran, groundbreaking genius Lil Nas X, and 90’s Lollapalooza veterans The Smashing Pumpkins (still minus D’Arcy, however. :grumpyface:)

Other Spinning Platters favorites at this shindig include The National, Sheryl Crow, Tove Lo, Nile Ridgers & Chic, Phantogram, Japanese Breakfast, and, hiding at the very bottom, Paris Jackson (!). Full lineup after the jump. And then the “About Damn Time” video because that song never gets old.

Tickets on sale January 10th at noon PST. 

Continue reading “BOTTLEROCK 2023 LINE UP IS HERE!”

Show Preview: Modest Mouse at The Fox Theater, 11.30.22

1997 was the year I graduated high school. It was also the year I started college. I was awfully intimidated by college… I went from being a relatively well-liked and popular kid (Yeah. I know. I’ll stop gloating.) to an awkward kid that didn’t know how to make friends. In fact, I moved between classes, work, my dorm room, the computer lab, and the Taco Bell inside Mary Park Hall at San Francisco State University. 

At the Taco Bell was a lovely human that the good folks of SFSU dubbed “Taco Bell Rob.” He was pretty much the only employee- at least, he was the only one there whenever I was. He lovingly prepared fast faux-Mexican fare for tired and hungry students who missed getting to the dorm cafeteria. I was a little, angry punker that thought music had to be fast. The faster, the better. I’ve never met someone more excited about music than Rob. And whenever I walked in, he made sure to challenge this notion in the most loving and wonderful way. He introduced me to Built To Spill. I think he introduced me to Elliot Smith and The Aislers Set. And he was the first person to play The Lonesome Crowded West by Modest Mouse for me. 

I’ve since lost contact with Rob. The last time I saw him, he gave me a ride home from The Aislers Set reunion show at The Chapel in 2014. I don’t know if he’s going to be at The Fox tomorrow night to see Modest Mouse play The Lonesome Crowded West in its entirety, but for those of you that are, be sure to send a thank you to the person in your life that showed you something new, something that opened your mind and eyes to new sounds. That person is more important than you think. 

BTW- here’s his band from the 00’s. They were fantastic. 

SF Sketchfest 2023: Line Up Additions!

Oh, man! Remember how excited we were about Sketchfest 2021? And then Sketchfest 2022? And remember how upset we all were when BOTH of them were sidelined due to that plague that still ravages our world? And then Jean Grae and I tried to develop a machine that would suck all the virus out of the air? Well, the good news is (provided BQ 1.1 doesn’t screw everything up), everything is a go for Sketchfest 2023, and they decided to add a few more shows to the lineup that go on sale Wednesday, 11/15 at 10 am PST: Continue reading “SF Sketchfest 2023: Line Up Additions!”