Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
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”
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”
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!
(You’re reading Day 3. Be sure to check out Day 1 and Day 2!)
The third and final day of a festival is always bittersweet: you know you’ll miss the free-spirited, listen-to-music-all-day-instead-of-the-rest-of-your-life vibes, but on the other hand, you’re tired and your feet hurt. It’s your last chance to catch some great set or discover a new artist. Continue reading “BottleRock Napa Valley 2025 Festival Journal, Day 3”
(You’re reading Day 2. Be sure to check out Day 1!)
Saturday started off warm and bright at BottleRock. I started my day at the Verizon stage for Kate Hudson‘s set. Continue reading “BottleRock Napa Valley 2025 Festival Journal, Day 2”
Friday was a beautiful day in Napa, and a great day to kick off BottleRock 2025. 72 and sunny with a nice breeze is exactly what I want, and this weekend shows up for us every single year. My day started with Ultra Q on the JaM Cellars stage. Continue reading “BottleRock Napa Valley 2025 Festival Journal, Day 1”
On a breezy spring night in Concord, the Toyota Amphitheatre filled with time travelers, goths of all generations, synth-pop disciples, and lifelong fans ready to worship at the altar of eyeliner, analog synth, and big, cinematic choruses. The lineup? A dream bill that might’ve once been scribbled in a Trapper Keeper or posted in a record store window: Modern English, Soft Cell, and Simple Minds. For anyone who ever slow-danced in combat boots or found transcendence in a John Hughes soundtrack, this was a pilgrimage. Continue reading “Show Review: Simple Minds + Soft Cell @ Toyota Amphitheatre, Concord CA, 5/20/25”
Walking into The Fillmore on a sold-out night is a special kind of thrill. You know you’re about to take part in a San Francisco tradition, trying your luck at what your free Fillmore poster will be and who designed it. It turned out pretty cool in fact: folk art tulips and foppish block lettering in delicate Easter pastels. It fit the mood in that uncanny Fillmore way, soft on the surface, full of intention underneath. Continue reading “Show Review: Perfume Genius with Urika’s Bedroom at The Fillmore, 5/13/25”
Walking into the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium always brings a pulse of memory with it. Named for the fearless impresario who gave the Bay its psychedelic sprawl, the space has a reverent hum. But the crowd outside this time wasn’t so much buzzing as bracing. A black mass of required patience, funneled in slowly, tension rising as the early hour ticked on. This wasn’t just another show; it was the final stop of the U.S. leg of the Wild God tour. Continue reading “Show Review: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, 5/14/25”
Dead & Company – Live in Golden Gate Park
August 1, 2, & 3, 2025 – San Francisco, CA
This summer, the music plays the band — and it plays right back where it all began.
Dead & Company return to Golden Gate Park for three unforgettable nights, August 1–3, bringing the spirit of the Grateful Dead home to San Francisco. Fresh off a second high-tech, mind-bending run at the Las Vegas Sphere, the band is trading LED immersion for redwoods and the warm soul of the Bay.
Each night features a 75-minute set from a different heavyweight opener, and the curation is no less than cosmic:
That’s three nights, three musical worlds, all orbiting around the gravitational pull of Dead & Company.
San Francisco and the Dead are inseparable. From Tupac’s collaboration with Bruce Hornsby, Robin Williams emceeing Jerry Day in Golden Gate Park, and the unerasable, painted imprint of Haight-Ashbury and the Panhandle, this city is part of the Dead’s DNA.
Though the lineup continues to evolve, the mission remains the same. As Jerry Garcia said, “The goal is for the music to outlive us all.” Dead & Company embodies that legacy, not just recreating it but evolving it in real time.
These are players in the band, yes — but the spirit of the Dead is bigger than any one of them. It’s in the songs. It’s in the sky above the park. It’s in the people.
Come early. Stay late. Pack water, snacks, and your weirdest shirt. This is history — one that only San Francisco could host.
