Show Reviews – Page 2 – Spinning Platters

SF Sketchfest Review: Wife Material with Sydney Kane at Eclectic Box, 1/25/26

Eclectic Box SF is the kind of small Mission venue where nothing is hidden, and everything lands a little harder, making it an ideal setting for Wife Material. The show arrived wrapped in an I Love Lucy-adjacent aesthetic, all bubblegum pink and tongue-in-cheek humor, but quickly revealed something far more anxious and intimate underneath. Kane entered in full Britney pink, with a headset mic, sorority curls pulled into a half-wedding updo, and towering six-inch square platform heels, immediately establishing both control and exposure. From the start, she blurred the line between performer and audience, pulling a small cluster of front-row participants into a scripted interaction that cracked the fourth wall and set the tone for the vulnerability to come. Behind her sat two nonchalant, middle-aged indie rock types on drums and keys, steady and almost indifferent, which only heightened the emotional contrast onstage.
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SF Sketchfest Review: Smoke Show with Sweetin at BATS Improv Theater, 1/24/26

Photo by Tommy Lau

Dave Coulier is forever marked as the guy who enjoyed his time in the theater a little too much. Lori Loughlin is permanently associated with the worst college admissions scandal of all time. Candace Cameron is an outspoken Trump supporter. John Stamos has never heard Papa Roach. Being a Full House alumnus is a hard job.

But you know who has stayed under the radar as the coolest from the show? Jodie Fucking Sweetin. We interviewed her a few years ago, and it was really fun. In the last decade, she’s managed to endear herself to the LA stand-up and improv scene and done something that few people have succeeded at- she’s progressed from child stardom to a truly respected and admired artist. It takes a lot to get me out to a 10:30 PM show. But, yeah. I need to see Sweetin do her thing.

Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Smoke Show with Sweetin at BATS Improv Theater, 1/24/26”

SF Sketchfest Review: Chaos: Natasha Leggero + Chelsea Peretti + Sabrina Jalees at Marines’ Memorial Theater, 1/25/26

Photo by Tommy Lau

Saturday was a weird day for me. Weird, because my day job had me working at an art festival in the city, and it was a really busy workday with only enough downtime to drink water and use the bathroom occasionally. I was oblivious to any news that came down the pipeline. As soon as we were done, I chugged a Red Bull and ran as fast as I could to the theater so I didn’t miss the show. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Chaos: Natasha Leggero + Chelsea Peretti + Sabrina Jalees at Marines’ Memorial Theater, 1/25/26”

Show Review: Cattle Decapitation, Aborted, Frozen Soul, Tribal Gaze at The Belasco, 12-20-2025

“Every Body a Host, Every Body Infected”

If there is one Death Metal band that seems to consistently captivate me and grab my attention, it is Cattle Decapitation. Having grown up in a rural area with a progressive background, I couldn’t help but develop a strong sense of respect for environmental ecology. I went to clear cut protests in high school, I’ve been a supporter of indigenous tribal water rights and the movement to remove the Klamath Dam (which thankfully came through a few years ago and has already seen a healthy increase in Klamath Salmon numbers now that their run has been restored), and I’ve been staggeringly aware of man’s effects on our home. So when I wandered by the local record store one day and saw the promotional art for Cattle’s death grind album Humanure, let’s just say I knew I was going to be on board with their mission statement: Earth First, Humans Last.

Continue reading “Show Review: Cattle Decapitation, Aborted, Frozen Soul, Tribal Gaze at The Belasco, 12-20-2025”

Show Review: Boris, Lack of Interest at The Belasco, 11-22-2025

Boris obliterates a sold out Belasco

I first saw Boris performing Pink in San Francisco before the pandemic forever changed life as we know it. To say that it was incredible is an understatement, as I became not only a fan, but utterly obsessed with the band, having covered them numerous times for this publication as evidence. Of course, when this tour was announced, I had to jump at the chance to cover them again.

Continue reading “Show Review: Boris, Lack of Interest at The Belasco, 11-22-2025”

Show Review: Not For Radio presents Winter In The Garden at The Fox Theater – Oakland, 1/7/26

I’ll be very straight with you- I had no idea what to expect out of the Not For Radio performance at The Fox this night. I knew very little about this project, other than this was only their third show EVER, and it was the third of three sold-out weekday nights at The Fox. I really enjoy the lead singer Maria Zardoya’s other band, The Marias, but the opportunity to attend this show came up so unexpectedly last minute that I barely had a chance to listen to the record. Continue reading “Show Review: Not For Radio presents Winter In The Garden at The Fox Theater — Oakland, 1/7/26”

Spinning Platters Interview: J. Willigoose, Esq. of Public Service Broadcasting

This month sees the stateside return of one of the 21st century’s great independent bands, Public Service Broadcasting. Over the last dozen-or-so years, they’ve been releasing these brilliant storytelling albums, mixing historical audio with music that can be beautiful, exciting, sad, uplifting, and even fit for the dance floor. Their most recent album, The Last Flight debuted at #3 on the UK album chart and its remixed counterpart Night Flight has recently dropped. And here in San Francisco we’re being honored with a rare live performace by the band in the United States, and I couldn’t have been more thrilled that J. Willigoose, Esq, guitarist and founder of the band, got on a call to chat with me about Amelia Earhart, the secretive future of album concepts, writing on commission, the challenges of touring, and so much more.

Spinning Platters: I’m just going to start going to start with Amelia Earhart. So I don’t know if you saw that the US has started declassifying all the Amelia Earhart documents. Have you heard about this? Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: J. Willigoose, Esq. of Public Service Broadcasting”

Show Review: Cavalera, Fear Factory, Prong, Genocide Pact, and Thrown Into Exile at The House of Blues Anaheim, 10-07-2025

CHAOS A.D.

This was another trek from work directly to the venue, House of Blues Anaheim, where I had gone the previous year to see Hanabie on their co-headline tour with Kim Dracula. While I was incredibly excited for the evening, I was also a bit anxious because the sound mix of the aforementioned concert had left a lot to be desired. Fortunately, the FOH mixers of this evening would prove that anxiety baseless. Let’s get on with it, shall we?

Continue reading “Show Review: Cavalera, Fear Factory, Prong, Genocide Pact, and Thrown Into Exile at The House of Blues Anaheim, 10-07-2025”

Show Review: KNOWER with Sam Wilkes at The Neptune Theater, 11/11/25

I have only been familiar with the electronic jazz duo KNOWER for a couple of years. I stumbled upon the video for their May 2023 single “I’m the President” and, directly afterwards, listened to it on repeat for weeks before becoming obsessed with their entire catalog. Last year, when singer, KNOWER drummer, and multi-instrumentalist Louis Cole announced he would be playing a show at Seattle’s Neptune Theater with his band’s other vocalist & multi-instrumentalist, Genevieve Artadi, I bought two tickets without batting an eye. The chance that maybe I’d get to see them play a few KNOWER songs (which they did) was the primary purpose, despite the fact that in my quest to hear as much of them as possible, I also had spent lots of time with each member’s solo back catalogue. I’ve spent a lot of time proselytizing the scripture of KNOWER, and on Nov 11th, I finally got to attend my first sermon. Continue reading “Show Review: KNOWER with Sam Wilkes at The Neptune Theater, 11/11/25”

Show Review: Alex G at The Fox Theater – Oakland, 9/23 & 24

I was planning on taking my 15-year-old daughter to see Alex G. She’s the reason I got into him six years ago. She discovered him on YouTube, and over time she grew increasingly irritated by the hordes on TikTok who butchered his lyrics and turned his shows into screaming matches over mis heard refrains. Continue reading “Show Review: Alex G at The Fox Theater — Oakland, 9/23 & 24”