Category: Show Reviews

Punk Rock show reviews: Summer Circus of Discontent

Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @ConcertGoingPro

Back in the day, Warped Tour was the travelling festival of the summer. It’s back after a six-year absence, but as a destination festival, with one of its three locations being in Southern California.

Historically, the Bay Area always reaps the rewards of destination festivals like Coachella where bands will book other nearby shows or West Coast tours outside of the festival’s radius clause— so much so that Spinning Platters esteemed Editor even coined the phrase Fauxchella (and owns that domain name!) — and each year keeps track of Coachella bands that make their way up here.

So now, one of the advantages of Warped Tour bringing nearly 100 punk rock bands to Long Beach is that some of them will book in the Bay Area… and in the span of four nights following Warped Tour Long Beach, five of the travelling festival veterans and one LBC newbie made the journey up here.

Continue reading “Punk Rock show reviews: Summer Circus of Discontent”

Mosswood Meltdown 2025 – We Love You

Follow Emily Anderson @EmilyPhotoAdventure

Mosswood Meltdown is an annual beacon for all the freaks, geeks, rebels, righteousness, and everything that smells like punk rock.  The East Bay punk scene has continued to thrive, as punkers converge on familiar and unique locations from 925 Gilman Street to the beach with a solar-powered van and even the public transit system. This is a dedicated mob of misfits that continues to expand and connect.  It was no surprise that this year’s Mosswood Meltdown had a significantly larger attendance than years past.  Moving the date to an off-holiday weekend was a plus. Although headlining a legend like Devo and closing the festival with Bratmobile, a new uprising force in the punk world, is a stronger likelihood for a significant increase in attendance.  My main complaint was that this festival ended too soon. I am still hungry and looking forward to next year.   This must have been a shared feeling, as the early bird tickets for 2026 sold out quicker than a sneeze. Continue reading “Mosswood Meltdown 2025 — We Love You”

Show Review: the MFkn’ O.G. Original Gangsta ICE-T at GAMH!

Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @ConcertGoingPro

WHAT!? There’s no way that legendary O.G. Original Gangster rapper Ice-T (and heavy metal singer… and movie star…. and longtime Law and Order: SVU television actor) would be performing at the 470-capacity Great American Music Hall?! Is this for real? Ticket purchased immediately! Yes indeed, on Friday June 27, the I the C the E the T himself rolled into “Frisco” (his words) with his O.G. DJ Evil E and performed a ninety-minute set including shout-outs, NSFW jokes, and he even showed off a few of his special Bay Area friends.

Continue reading “Show Review: the MFkn’ O.G. Original Gangsta ICE-T at GAMH!”

Show Review: Bayside celebrates their 25 years at August Hall!

Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @ConcertGoingPro

25 years ago, Bayside did not have to look very far for the inspiration in choosing their band name. They hail from Bayside, Queens (New York)! 25 years later, they are still actively writing, recording, and touring the world. On this The Errors tour, Bayside put together two setlists containing 44 songs spanning their nine albums and have been performing two nights of shows in every city, including a pair at August Hall.

Continue reading “Show Review: Bayside celebrates their 25 years at August Hall!”

Show Review: Winona Fighter, Tess & The Details, StrateJacket at Brick & Mortar Music Hall, 6/19/25

If someone had told me in 1995 that Pop-Punk would remain a vital genre of music, continuing to strike a chord with young people 30 years later, I wouldn’t have believed them. But my Thursday Night out at Brick & Mortar Music Hall showed me that the younger generation not only really connects to this genre, but might be doing it far better than Gen X did. 

Continue reading “Show Review: Winona Fighter, Tess & The Details, StrateJacket at Brick & Mortar Music Hall, 6/19/25”

Single of the Week: “Jesus and John Wayne” by googly eyes, Joy Oladokun, and Allison Ponthier

Dear God, what an awful, awful newsweek. I’m not going to rehash all the many, many ways the current administration is, well, trying to destroy everything good about being an American. Instead, why don’t we celebrate Trump’s birthday by blasting our single of the week (timed just for him), “Jesus and John Wayne,” coming to you from googly eyes, featuring Joy Oladokun and Allison Ponthier. It’s a beautiful, poignant cut that’s not subtle in its dissection of the Christian Right, revealing it to be neither Christian nor right. 

“Jesus and John Wayne” can be streamed NOW in all the usual places. A portion of this single’s proceeds will be donated to The Ally Coalition. This Fall, the good people at All Things Go will be releasing a compilation that will include this track. 

Show Review: Ministry + My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult at The Warfield, 6/3/25

The industrial ‘90s buzz was still humming through my nervous system as I stepped into The Warfield on June 3rd. I was still lit from the Lords of Acid show at DNA Lounge just days prior, neon sweat, latex steam, and raunchy beats still echoing somewhere deep in my spine. Continue reading “Show Review: Ministry + My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult at The Warfield, 6/3/25”

Show Review: Lords of Acid + Little Miss Nasty at DNA Lounge, 5/27/25

On May 27, the DNA Lounge in San Francisco hosted a delightfully depraved evening where industrial sleaze met burlesque grit in all the best ways. Lords of Acid, those long-reigning Belgian electro-provocateurs, headlined with a full-throttle set of old-school rave filth, and Little Miss Nasty opened the night with a stage show that doubled as a flesh-forward fever dream.

Continue reading “Show Review: Lords of Acid + Little Miss Nasty at DNA Lounge, 5/27/25”

Spinning Platters Interview: Julia Cumming of Sunflower Bean

Sunflower Bean’s sound has been steadily evolving since the release of their debut album, Human Ceremony. Their latest record, Mortal Primetime, is their heaviest and most fully realized record yet! We had the chance to talk to singer/bassist Julia Cumming from their tour van about the record, the tour, and, of course, it wouldn’t be a Spinning Platters interview if I didn’t ask about an early cult project from when they were a teenager. There are only two weeks left of their North American tour, and tickets are available here! Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Julia Cumming of Sunflower Bean”

Levitation 2025 Announces Bonkers Line Up

The Austin, Texas psych festival Levitation has returned to its roots as an outdoor music festival! Two stages at Palmer Event Center over the course of 3 days and 4 nights (Now September 25th-28th), and the lineup is AMAZING. Headlining includes the recently reactivated TV On The Radio, the band that continues to grow in popularity despite doing absolutely nothing, Pavement, and the reconstituted Mastodon. Further down, we see SP favorites Wednesday, La Femme, Frankie & The Witch Fingers, Upchuck, Secret Chiefs 3, and so many more! AND THE NIGHT SHOWS?!?! The Dandy Warhols at Mohawk?!?! Jamila Woods and Sudan Archives at Stubb’s?!?!? Pup with former Bruce Lee Band guitarist Jeff Rosenstock?!?!  

Tickets are available NOW! Current prices are $299.50 for GA / $499.50 for “Deluxe,” making it one of the better deals for an outdoor music festival. And you get to eat in Austin, my favorite food city outside of the bay!