Category: Show Reviews

Outside Lands 2023: 22 Instant Set Reviews

Happy 15th Birthday, Outside Lands! I’ve been to 13 out of 15, which are pretty good odds if you ask me! And despite this being the “year of the throwing stuff at bands,” this may have been the kindest, friendliest Outside Lands yet! I don’t think I’ve had more lovely conversations with strangers in three days at any other point in my life. Folks were consistently watching out for each other on the ground, working together to get medical attention for folks quickly, even at the risk of losing their spot, sharing food and water, and all around being grade-A music fans. I had the most amazing Creole Garlic Noodles of my life. I had the worst vegan experiment of my life- a veggie lamb slider (I won’t tag the restaurant here). I had plenty of Rocko’s Ice Cream Tacos because Outside Lands isn’t complete without at least 1 taco a day. 

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Show Review: Buddy Guy and Eric Gales Bring the Blues to Stern Grove

Buddy Guy is a legend!  The last time I saw Buddy Guy perform was a tribute to his late friend Jr. Wells.  Almost a century later, he is better than ever and a little spicy while roasting the Grove audience.  Buddy is known for helping younger artists achieve success.  Opener Eric Gales may be young in comparison; yet, was epic on his own. Continue reading “Show Review: Buddy Guy and Eric Gales Bring the Blues to Stern Grove”

Show Review: Blondshell with Hello Mary at Cafe du Nord, 8/4/23

Every great once in a while, an artist comes along that is impossible to shake. I found Blondshell in the most old school of manners- a late-night TV performance. Since then, her self-titled debut record has been in perpetual rotation. Bright Eyes was first introduced to me as the sound of someone inserting their hand into their chest, ripping out their heart, and handing it to you. Blondshell, on record, essentially does just that. I’ve been aching to experience this live show for months at this point. 

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Show Review: Scorching the Psychotherapy Sessions in Florida

Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @AlanHasPicks

Ten days after attending, photographing, and reviewing Overkill, Exhorder, and Heathen at Great American Music Hall, Spinning Platters’ resident metalhead took a trip to the extremely sunny, hot, and occasionally rainy shores of Florida to ring in his 50 years of existence with a weekend of metal with The Pyschotherapy Sessions at MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre in Tampa and another Overkill show at House of Blues in Orlando! 

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Show Review: Overkill Scorched San Francisco

Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @AlanHasPicks

It is fairly common knowledge that thrash metal originated from here in San Francisco starting in the early-mid 1980’s with most of the heavy hitters like Metallica, Death Angel, Testament, Forbidden, Exodus, and Vio-lence, among others.  The east coast, however, also had some major thrash metal bands brewing, with Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, and Overkill leading the pack.  Cut to today, and most of these bands are still around and still continue to rage, almost as good or better than they did all those years ago!

One of those bands actually travelled 3,000 miles from their east coast home to begin their tour here in San Francisco.  Hailing from Old Bridge Township, New Jersey, the seminal 1980’s band Overkill came to town to show-up their Bay Area thrash metal brethren, and in the process, laid waste to the Great American Music Hall, proving that after 43 years and 20 albums, they still thrash as well or better than most of their Bay Area metal counterparts… and everyone else!

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Show Review: Garbage, Noel Gallagher and the High Flying Birds, and Metric at Concord Pavilion, 6/6/23

This concert was an extremely rare event. Possibly described as a single-night festival hosting only the headliners.  Despite the unique opportunity, the majority of the crowd was late to arrive.   Unfortunately, this is typical for a mid-week show with a start time of 7 pm at a venue as remote as the Concord Pavilion.  Garbage executed an aggressive grunge-punk vibe; Noel Gallagher and High Flying Birds flowing chill melodies.  Metric was the perfect dynamic intro, as their versatile style lent a glimpse of what was yet to come. Continue reading “Show Review: Garbage, Noel Gallagher and the High Flying Birds, and Metric at Concord Pavilion, 6/6/23”

Show Review: KMFDM and Chant at the Belasco 05/17/2023

“KMFDM/Better Than the Best/Megalomaniacal and Harder Than the Rest…”

As is typical of working in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles, my live concert experiences are constantly in flux with my day job. So it was after a seven-week run of live theater work that I finally had my evenings back to cram in some concerts, with KMFDM and Chant at the Belasco to kick off what would become a whirlwind two weeks of live music before jumping right back into more theater work and officially losing my social life for the next six or seven weeks. Self-pitying aside, it was a great night to head into Downtown LA with a friend to finally see the truly legendary and outstandingly prolific KMFDM for the first time!

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BottleRock Napa Valley 2023 Festival Journal, Day 3

(You’re reading Day 3. Be sure to catch up on Day 1 and Day 2!)

Day 3 of BottleRock Napa Valley is always bittersweet because it’s the last day, and I want to see more phenomenal artists, but my feet hurt, and I’m ready to get back to my real life, too. While I’ve been off to the races the past two days, seeing bands right away in the first hour of the day, today I opted for a slower, easier start. I stopped to catch a bit of Half Alive, where I enjoyed the trio’s energy and especially “Still Feel.”

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BottleRock Napa Valley 2023 Festival Journal, Day 2

You’re reading Day 2 – be sure to check out what you missed on Day 1!

Day 2 of this year’s BottleRock started with similar weather to the previous day. By the time I was done watching Paris Jackson‘s set (my first of the day), I was already warm enough to take my jacket off. Despite having heard at least a few of her songs here and there, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Jackson. She has a solid sound with her band, and her set was enjoyable pop-rock. I enjoyed her enough that I’ll be curious to see where her music career will take her. Continue reading “BottleRock Napa Valley 2023 Festival Journal, Day 2”

BottleRock Napa Valley 2023 Festival Journal, Day 1

You might not be able to tell by the weather, at least in Napa today, but it’s almost summer! Memorial Day Weekend marks the unofficial start of summer and the arrival of BottleRock Napa Valley’s 10th festival! The day started out pretty chilly, which had me worried that the weekend might be colder than I’d hoped for a festival weekend, but thankfully it eventually warmed up to a nice breezy, sunny day. 

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