Ten years got behind alt-j’s seminal record, An Awesome Wave. The still-fresh sound, now topped with nostalgia and ten years of collecting new listeners, filled the Fox in Oakland to the rails. The record flummoxed reviewers when it dropped. Did they love Joe Newman’s creaky tessellating shrill, yet palatable scree? They were confused and transfixed. The romance and journey of each song alt-j spins are solidly complicated layers. It could easily be written off as a neo/hippy/gen x-z Dj tricks. It’s simply an unexpected sound and a labor to hear all the detail packed into such a small scape of one song. The lyrics are not the first thing a listener will hear. A world music or drum and bass mask is removed upon several listens, then the intimacy of Joe’s lyrics are more decipherable. Sigur Ros comes on like a drug in a similar way. An opium lull takes over the body before making sense of what’s being said. The assumed keyboard or effects are often woven tapestries of one note sung over and over by Newman, Unger-Hamilton, and Sonny. It’s incredibly well thought out. Syncopated laser lights beat along to bass lines and drums. Chris Koruda style. Props to the lighting guy they have with them on this limited run. Continue reading “Show Review: alt-j at The Fox Theater, 3/23/23”
Category: Show Reviews
BREAKING: Raphael Saadiq is touring with Tony Toni Toné!
I was walking down Grand Ave to get to my barber, and I looked up and saw a giant billboard with Raphael Saadiq, D’wayne Wiggins, and Timothy Riley and the words “Raphael Saadiq presents Tony Toni Toné” to the left and “Just Me & You Tour 23” to the right. This seems pretty obviously an old-school way to let the world know that 2023 is getting one of Oakland’s most important and influential bands back together. Digging deeper, there are no dates, nothing other than a cryptic “Text Raphael Saadiq at 310-861-2685.”
This is one of the few bands left on my bucket list, and I’ve gotta say, I’m stoked and needed to share. Until we’ve got more info, here’s a sampling of their greatness from 1993:
Show Review: August Burns Red 20th Anniversary in Las Vegas
Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @AlanHasPicks
Every band has an actual start date that they can say is their official beginning. Likewise, every album has an actual official release date. Somewhere along the way, some band somewhere was probably in-between albums and decided that their anniversary would make a great reason to tour… and well, the idea caught on, and is still going strong.
No one appears to like anniversaries more than August Burns Red. They have had quite a few anniversary tours — there was the 10th anniversary of their album Messengers in 2016, the 10th anniversary of their album Constellations in 2019, and the 10th anniversary of their album Leveler in 2021. For each of these tours, the entire album was performed. Now in 2023, there is the current 20th anniversary tour… not of an album, but of the band itself! Continue reading “Show Review: August Burns Red 20th Anniversary in Las Vegas”
Show Review: Amyl and the Sniffers w/Die Spitz at The Vermont Hollywood, 02-06-2023
“Freaks to the Front!”
Amyl and the Sniffers Destroy Hollywood
It’s been a good goddamn while since I’ve had any time to pursue my love for concert photography. Between my day job eating up my weekends and evenings and unresponsive publicists/promoters, it’s been a rather tough time to get the camera out of the bag and catch those thrilling performance moments to share with everyone. So, not only was it a delight to be able to catch Amyl and the Sniffers, a band I’ve been following for a few years, for the first time at The Vermont Hollywood, a venue I’d never been to before, but to have my camera in hand for the evening was downright uplifting.
SF Sketchfest Review: Going Up with Sara Schaefer at Gateway Theater, 1/29/23
The brilliant writer and comedian, filled the theatre Sunday night: a one woman Pyramid Scheme scrambling Tony Robbin’s pitchman energy. Sara started a podcast during COVID. She had saved up a lot of clues from her Twitter trolls, mostly peer comics and fans that they had sicked on her, and information about the so-called the way to make it in comedy. The industry model. Multi Level multi-discipline classes in avoiding misogyny in the comedy business. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Going Up with Sara Schaefer at Gateway Theater, 1/29/23”
Finally. A West Coast Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Leg!
I don’t have a lot to say other than, yes, I WAS annoyed that Bruce didn’t give California any love when he announced tour dates last year. But that has finally changed, and he’s coming out west, including one (or more?) nights at The Chase Center. He’s doing the Verified Fan thing, and I’m expecting after the Taylor Swift debacle, this will be way more honed in. You can register here anytime before Sunday, February 19th at 11:59 pm ET for a shot at a password that gives you a shot at tickets. New dates, as well as his surprisingly intense cover of The Commodores’ “Night Shift” below:
Continue reading “Finally. A West Coast Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Leg!”
SF Sketchfest Review: Janeane Garafalo at Cobb’s Comedy Club, 1/28/23
No, that’s not an unhoused person. It’s Janeane Garafolo! A clan of the cave bear silhouette, Janeane shuffled out from the side stage with self-proclaimed “unsolicited dreads” and control top tights & shorts. Two separate nude concealing undergarments, mind you. She claims that when she got hit by a car, Spanks™ saved her from going to the hospital. Which she just won’t do anyway. She claims to be a “Pedo~file:” she walks everywhere, hates working on her core, and refuses checkups and physicals. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Janeane Garafalo at Cobb’s Comedy Club, 1/28/23”
SF Sketchfest Review: The Crossword Show at the Gateway Theatre, 2/3/23
If you’re reading this, there’s a chance you may already know that those of us who contribute to Spinning Platters are known around here as “music nerds.” While I absolutely identify as such, there’s another term that describes me even better: word nerd. I delight not just in clever wordplay but languages in general, etymology… you name it. So when I heard about Zach Sherwin‘s Crossword Show, which promised a night full of crossword puzzles, trivia, comedy, and fun, I knew I couldn’t miss it!
Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: The Crossword Show at the Gateway Theatre, 2/3/23”
SF Sketchfest Review: Red Room Orchestra does “Repo Man” at Great American Music Hall, 2.3.23
I should confess… I’ve never seen the movie Repo Man. I worked at a corporate music store in the late ’90s, and I recall stocking a CD called Repo Man and putting it in the punk compilations. Because, looking at the track listing, I just assumed that the “movie” was a fake movie for what was an AMAZING compilation of LA Punk. I honestly just assumed it was an early ’80’s version / LA version of the classic Kill Rock Stars compilation in the early ’90s / Pacific Northwest. I probably owned that CD for over a decade before I learned it was a real movie.
SF Sketchfest Review: Comedy For Bass Players, but Everyone is Welcome with Fred Armisen at Great American Music Hall, 1/29/23
Photo By Jakub Mosur
Fred Armisen knows music really well. His knowledge is vast and deep. He understands music theory, understands music’s relationship to pop culture, and knows how people “listen” to music. I can think of few other people outside of Tom Lehrer that could pull off shows such as “Stand Up for Drummers,” “Comedy for Musicians,” “Comedy for Guitarists,” and now, “Comedy for Bass Players,” which he brought to the Great American Music Hall for three packed nights.
Similar to 2020’s “Comedy for Guitarists,” he brought out a different guest each night. Night 1 was Les Claypool of Primus fame. Night 2 was Kathy Valentine from The Go-Gos. I’m sure those shows were great, as I learned to play bass by emulating both of those folks. Well, I *tried* to emulate. Those two are monsters on the 4-string boomstick. (Why wasn’t Mike Watt invited to this?) But on the third night, we were graced by Bay Area rock royalty: Green Day’s Mike Dirnt. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Comedy For Bass Players, but Everyone is Welcome with Fred Armisen at Great American Music Hall, 1/29/23”