Show Reviews – Page 3 – Spinning Platters

Show Review: Baroness, Weedeater at The Lodge Room (Highland Park), 09-20-2025

“We’re having a great time up here!”

Upon pulling up to the Lodge Room and parking my motorcycle on the street for the second show I would be covering that week, I made a discovery that is every photographer’s nightmare. In my rush to pack up and leave my house, I forgot to pack my SD cards. This part of Highland Park is relatively small and while there was a camera shop nearby, it had closed an hour or two ago, which meant I would have to haul ass to the closest target, panic coursing through my veins, mixing with adrenaline, where I would find the only SD card they had in stock. A quick purchase and a semi-reckless speeding jaunt back to the Lodge Room later, I had luckily made it with time to spare and also discovered that a guard rail had been set up —a first for my experience with this venue, rendering my previous panic somewhat unnecessary. After a celebratory beer, I readied my camera for a night of heavy metal.

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Show Review: Swans, Little Annie and Paul Walfisch at The Lodge Room (Highland Park), 09-15-2025

“You guys brought earplugs, right?”

Although I gravitate towards, and certainly cover, a lot of heavy and angry music, my tastes are more eclectic than I let on. It’s a bit of a mood thing for me, as I’m sure it is for many, and believe it or not, but my moods fluctuate rather wildly. I may not be the picture of poly-jamorous, but I’m just as comfortable listening to avant-jazz as I am death metal. So, it might be surprising to learn that I have never seen Swans before. I’ve listened to them on and off for years and even been ridiculed by my more obsessive peers for never having made it to one of their performances, so when the opportunity finally lined up, I pressed that go button.

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Show Review: The Flaming Lips & Modest Mouse at The Greek Theater, UC Berkeley, 9/7/25

On September 7, 2025, the Greek Theatre in Berkeley hosted a remarkable double bill featuring Modest Mouse and The Flaming Lips -each band delivering at least a 75-minute set, separated by over 20 years from their breakout records. The evening carried the last heat of Indian summer, light winds hinting at fall as music fans filled the amphitheater. It was a night that underscored not only the legacy of both acts but also the profound evolution of their sound over the decades.

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Show Review: Sunny Day Real Estate at The Catalyst, 9/10/25

The Catalyst in Santa Cruz is one of those venues where history hangs heavy in the rafters. It’s a place that has seen everything from Willie Nelson to punk chaos to indie legends, a club that is both small enough to feel intimate yet big enough to hold a restless crowd pressed shoulder to shoulder. Tucked downtown a few blocks from the ocean, the room itself is a rite of passage for anyone serious about live music in Northern California. On September 10, that stage belonged to Sunny Day Real Estate.

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Show Review: The Hives with Snõõper at The Warfield, 9/20/25

There have been a LOT of high-profile comebacks in the last year or so… Oasis, Rilo Kiley, The Prodigy, TV On The Radio, to name a few. Somehow, the return of the literal greatest live band of their generation, The Hives, seems to have crept on the radar. They played a handful of club shows in 2023, plus a handful of dates opening for Foo Fighters in stadiums (and covering for The Sounds at Just Like Heaven at the last moment), but 2025 was the first full-scale tour since 2013.

And if you are sleeping on these shows, you are vastly mistaken. Continue reading “Show Review: The Hives with Snõõper at The Warfield, 9/20/25”

Show Review: Wardruna at The Greek Theater (Los Angeles), 09-08-2025

“Music Is Culture.”

It was another night of firsts for me. My first time shooting at the Greek Theater in the hills of East Hollywood, my first time seeing both Chelsea Wolfe and Wardruna, and I sure picked an interesting night for it. Thankfully, the temperature had dropped over the past couple of days so at least we wouldn’t be sweating it out with the sun down. The Greek is a seasoned and slick venue, boasting a damn good sound system. With the weather being nice and the wind nearly nonexistent, which is a rarity in outdoor music venues, it was a great experience.

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Show Review: The Sword at The Bellwether (DTLA), 08-30-2025

Big Fuzz Doom Rock Overtakes Los Angeles

I’ve never been to the Bellwether downtown before, but I gotta say I was digging the vibe. It’s a newer venue, from what I understand. Upon entering the stage floor, I immediately noticed that my hair was glowing. The whole room was bathed in blue theater lights, which had the fun effect of illuminating UV-reactive hair dye. The night before, I stayed up entirely too late at a Black Metal show with a friend, as a guest, so my brain was a little fried, but I was determined to rally forth and enjoy some loud, fuzzy music

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Show Review: Reba Meyers at The Moroccan Lounge, 08-24-2025

Eclectic Music Abounds At The Moroccan Lounge

It’s been too long since I’ve covered a show. Legitimately over half a year. That’s not to say that I didn’t get out of the house and into the dancehalls, but my camera stayed home, and the gigs were few. I’m not really sure WHAT to chalk this all up to, but I certainly hope that this drought is ending. Notably, the first show I’ll be heading to is at the Moroccan Lounge, where I last covered TsuShiMaMiRe.

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Show Review: Japanese Breakfast with Ginger Root at Woodland Park Zoo, 9/3/25

I first became familiar with Japanese Breakfast when they were the musical guest on the season premiere of Saturday Night Live hosted by Natasha Lyonne back in 2022. At the time, they were in the middle of the Jubilee album cycle, and they played the singles “Be Sweet” and “Paprika”. I was impressed enough by their SNL performances that I searched out and listened to Jubilee a few times, and I enjoyed it well enough. However, it fell out of favor for other listening, and I never came back to it. Not because I didn’t like it, but because sometimes a piece of art gets listened to at a time when other things are going on, and maybe you’re just not ready for it. Continue reading “Show Review: Japanese Breakfast with Ginger Root at Woodland Park Zoo, 9/3/25”

Show Review: Wet Leg with Mary in the Junkyard at Paramount Seattle, 9/1/25

At first glance, it appears as if the duo consisting of Hester Chambers and Rhian Teasdale, also commonly known as Wet Leg, is having a moment. However, if you look past the surface, you’ll see that it’s more than just a moment. Their video for the single “Chaise Lounge” in 2021 was everywhere. This is where I, like many, first became familiar with them. The next three years were incredibly busy for the two, as they toured the world, won Grammys and Brit Awards for their debut record, which also produced five more singles. They also became a proper 5-piece band, writing and collaborating, and had their aforementioned debut album go gold. After taking a year off, they released “Catch These Fists” in April and began playing shows in May with new songs in their repertoire, before releasing their sophomore album, Moisturizer, in July. Since then, they have been hitting this album cycle hard. Moisturizer has already produced three singles with videos for each one of them, and this English indie band hailing from the Isle of Wight had already played 50 + shows around the world before landing in Seattle for their first time to kick off the American leg of their world tour. Continue reading “Show Review: Wet Leg with Mary in the Junkyard at Paramount Seattle, 9/1/25”