Category: Show Reviews

Show Review: bôa w/Rocket at The Fonda (Hollywood, CA), 09-13-2024

“And you don’t seem to understand. . .”

It’s been a while since I’ve been to The Fonda, but it was the same as I remembered it. A cozy little old movie theater turned music venue near the end of the Hollywood Strip where just about every type of music can be heard in a given night. While I’ve been focused a lot more on heavy music for the past year or two, I couldn’t resist when I heard that bôa would be performing.

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New Festival: United Sounds NYC

The guy who owns Spinning Platters, our first Editor-in-Chief, Gordon Elgart, remains furious that The Dismemberment Plan keeps neglecting to play the Bay Area. He remains furious that they KEEP ANNOUNCING EAST COAST SHOWS!!! Including a brand new (and very reasonably priced) festival in Brooklyn called United Sounds NYC. Joining them on the top line is the great Blonde Redhead. Fleshing out the bill will be Sunflower Bean, Les Savy Fav, Model/Actriz, Man Man, Monobloc, Peel Dream Magazine + more to be announced. And it’s my birthday weekend, so if you aren’t hanging out with me, you should do this. 

Tickets are on sale now!

Bush with Jerry Cantrell, Candlebox: The ’90s nostalgia remains at Cadence Bank Amphitheater, 9/1/24

Photo by Ellen Eldridge

I brag more often than I should that I saw Bush the second time they played in New York City, in 1995 at Roseland Ballroom. My concert companion and I weren’t even old enough to drive.

Around the time of the American Tiger King binge during our nation’s “two weeks to slow the spread,” Bush released The Kingdom.

Whenever I noticed, I bounced along to “Flowers on a Grave,” thinking, ‘They’ve still got it.’ Continue reading “Bush with Jerry Cantrell, Candlebox: The ’90s nostalgia remains at Cadence Bank Amphitheater, 9/1/24”

Show Review: Chaka Khan with Steel Pulse at Stern Grove, 8/25/24

Stern Grove is one of my favorite places, but I have never make it out there enough. It’s a sunny oasis in the middle of the foggiest reaches of San Francisco’s Sunset District, and every year, they commit to a Summer’s worth of amazing free shows. (Donate here to help keep these shows coming) I often feel intimidated by the commute, traveling from Oakland to the city’s furthest reaches across the bay. However, whenever I get here, I remember how magical this place is. And it doesn’t hurt that our show this afternoon features one of my bucket list artists, recently Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Inductee Chaka Khan. 

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Show Review: Bikini Kill with Frightwig at The Warfield, 8/19/24

We were there for the first Bikini Kill reunion shows in 2019.  They were a profound and moving experience. We didn’t know what COVID was yet, which upended this tour and, well, still upends everything. I’m grateful that they managed to find a way to get back on the road. Everything feels really hard and continues to feel hard, and this band has always been the thing that gives me the strength to persevere and find reasons to be hopeful in the face of hopelessness. Continue reading “Show Review: Bikini Kill with Frightwig at The Warfield, 8/19/24”

Show Review: Foo Fighters + L7 at Toyota Pavilion in Concord

Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @AlanHasPicks

Having not been to Toyota Pavilion in Concord at all during this 2024 season, Spinning Platters made the long journey twice in four days (see also Megadeth + Mudvayne)! It really is a trek too… from our satellite penthouse office in San Francisco, there’s a thirty-minute MUNI bus followed by a fifty-minute BART ride followed by a twenty-minute Pavilion shuttle, and traveling back after any show typically takes even longer.  All that said, it certainly is worth it to be able to bring these shows to life to the readers with our photos and words… it just takes longer to travel than some of these bands’ headlining sets are!

Except for Foo Fighters…

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Show Review: King Buzzo and Trevor Dunn w/JD Pinkus and Field at The Lodge Room, 08-06-2024

I’ve been so immersed in the metal world lately that sometimes I forget that I like other music. I especially forget that weird thrill of going mostly blind into a show. Sure, I may not know an opener or two, but it’s pretty rare for me to cover a band I haven’t listened to beforehand. It’s both exciting and nerve-wracking and, let’s face it, no one wants to be disappointed. Luckily for me, I at least knew of the other music projects of the artists on the night’s lineup, but even knowing that, did not prepare me for what I was about to experience.

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Outside Lands 2024: 21 Instant Gig Reviews

I really love Outside Lands. It’s funny because my heart genuinely lies in the world of Punk, and something this big *shouldn’t* be my thing, but I love being able to disconnect from the outside world and just take in music with strangers and friends, and the best part- strangers that became friends that I only see at this event. And, yes, a fellow writer recently referred to Outside Lands attendees as “norms” (I saw what you did there, Alan!), but, man, I had such a wonderful, blissful time, dancing with strangers, eating amazing food, enjoying nearly perfect weather, and taking in some amazing music. I honestly can’t wait for next year, and hope I’m able to keep coming to the park for many years to come. Continue reading “Outside Lands 2024: 21 Instant Gig Reviews”

Show Review: Alex G at Stern Grove, 8/4/24

Last Sunday, August 4th, 2024, Stern Grove was buzzing with excitement as fans gathered for an unforgettable performance by Alex G. The picturesque setting, surrounded by vibrant nasturtiums, towering eucalyptus, majestic redwoods, and winding sandy embankments, provided a perfect backdrop for the afternoon concert. Continue reading “Show Review: Alex G at Stern Grove, 8/4/24”

Show Review: Megadeth + Mudvayne at Toyota Pavilion in Concord

Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @AlanHasPicks

San Francisco Bay Area did a good job on this particular weekend keeping everyone segregated to their respective tribes.  Outside Lands Music Festival catered to the norms and the hipsters in the middle of The City in Golden Gate Park, Vice Prez Kamala Harris had a fundraiser for the wealthy 1% at Fairmont Hotel way up on top of Nob Hill, and Megadeth, Mudvayne, and All That Remains brought the metal and goth and punk kids (and adults) all the way out to Concord at Toyota Pavilion, for their Destroy All Enemies tour.

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