Film Feature: SFFILM 2019 Spotlights #2

Wrap up: 62nd annual San Francisco International Film Festival

The San Francisco Film Festival wrapped up last week, concluding with the announcement of its Golden Gate Awards and its two Audience Awards. Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut comedy feature Booksmart earned the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature. Show Me the Picture: The Story of Jim Marshall, Alfred George Bailey’s study of Bay Area photographer Jim Marshall, took the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature. If you didn’t get a chance to catch as many films as you would have liked, never fear: many of the Fest’s offerings will be widely released in the months to come. Below we take a look at four films that you’ll be able to see very soon at a theater near you (and you can also check out our previous Fest spotlights post here).

Continue reading “Film Feature: SFFILM 2019 Spotlights #2”

Film and Show Review: Murder in the Front Row -and- Metal Allegiance on 4-20

Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @ConcertGoingPro

April 20 in San Francisco is celebrated annually like a national holiday. Commonly known simply as 420, the day consists of 15-20,000 people basically sitting on a hill in Golden Gate Park smoking pot all day. Coincidentally, the 2019 version actually was a national holiday, as Good Friday preceded, Passover started, and Easter Sunday was the next day. This year’s 420 also had one more reason for San Franciscans to celebrate, and that was the world premiere screening of the documentary Murder in the Front Row: The San Francisco Bay Area Thrash Metal Story.

Continue reading “Film and Show Review: Murder in the Front Row -and- Metal Allegiance on 4-20”

Theater Review: Last Weekend to Catch Irma Vep at the Danville Village Theatre

Lady Enid (Dana Lewenthal) passes out from fear as the Vampire (Alicia von Kugelgen) lurks over her planning their next move (photo courtesy of Marian Bliss, 2019).

The Mysteries of Irma Vep is a classic gothic tale filled with ghosts, vampires, werewolves, and suspicious family members. The show centers around Lord Edgar Hillcrest and his new wife, Lady Enid Hillcrest, who has arrived at the estate and struggles to fit in. The ominous presence of Edgar’s late wife Irma Vep hovers over them, in more ways than one. Late night shenanigans lead to the exposure of supernatural elements, and lead both characters on a journey to discover who, what, when, and how.
Continue reading “Theater Review: Last Weekend to Catch Irma Vep at the Danville Village Theatre”

Single Of The Week: Mission by The Midnight Hour

The end of A Tribe Called Quest still hits me really hard. The fact that they never ended up playing a Bay Area show after their twice cancelled Outside Lands set still makes me feel a little bitter. And then I stumbled across Tribe’s beatmaker, Ali Shaheed Muhammad’s new band, The Midnight Hour. They do classic jazz, but retain that specific flavor that is Tribe. They dropped a live record today, complete with a solid single, “Mission.”  It’s the perfect Friday song… It is mellow enough to take the edge off the work week, and energetic enough to motivate you to get through it.

Their record, Live At Linear Labs, is out today and available in all the usual places, including Spotify and Bandcamp!

Spinning Platters Interview: Randy Randall of No Age

 
No Age are one of LA’s finest experimental punk bands, and have been making a great noise for almost 15 years. Guitarist Randy Randall has taken that noise to the next level with his recently released Sound Field Vol 1, a series of sonic experiments inspired by the I-10 freeway. Randall is playing a handful of shows to promote this release, and is dropping by Cafe du Nord in San Francisco for 4/20. Tickets are available here
 
Spinning Platters recently had a chance to chat with Randy. Here’s what we talked about!

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Randy Randall of No Age”

Show Review: Dennis Lloyd with Ryan Caraveo at Great American Music Hall, 4/11/19

Lloyd’s hair is shorter than this now. Either way, meeeooowwww.

The first time I heard Dennis Lloyd’s single, “Nevermind,” I was intrigued. I started hearing the song a lot on satellite radio, and on the music channel I turn my TV to when I’m in the kitchen. A month or so ago, Lloyd’s name came up on my radar: he was coming through the Bay on tour. I requested to cover the show and quickly forgot about it. I didn’t find out that I had a ticket until the day before the show. The next day, I realized I only knew that one song, so I spent several hours listening to Spotify’s This is Dennis Lloyd playlist. Unfortunately, I wasn’t into it. I’m a girl of my word, though, so I headed to Great American Music Hall on Thursday in hopes that Lloyd live would change my mind.

Continue reading “Show Review: Dennis Lloyd with Ryan Caraveo at Great American Music Hall, 4/11/19”

Single Of The Week: Shitty Ballet by Bleached

The last time we heard from Bleached was back in early 2017, when they released their brilliant EP and companion zine, Can You Deal?. Two years isn’t a long time in normal situations, but these last two years have felt like twenty. So, this has been on repeat on my headphones all day, and it will be in going with you, too.

Bleached are on tour right now with The Hives and Refused, but, sadly, do not have any Bay Area dates yet. Tour dates can be found here!

Show Review: Dermot Kennedy with Luca Fogale at Fox Theatre Oakland, 4/10/19

“An Evening I Will Not Forget,” indeed.

You know how sometimes all it takes is the first listen to a great new song by an artist you’ve never heard before, and you’re in? That’s how it was for me the first time I heard Dermot Kennedy’s “Power Over Me.” Not long ago, I was in my kitchen cooking dinner, with a music station playing on my TV. Before the lyrics of the song could even register in my brain, Kennedy’s haunting voice had drawn me in. I remember literally stopping what I was doing and turning around to gape at the screen so I could make a note of the artist. And then the lyrics hit me: “you’ve got that power over me… my, my… everything I hold dear resides in those eyes… you’ve got that power over me…” I’ve been obsessed with the song ever since. As soon as I could, I took a deep dive through Kennedy’s music, and accordingly made a note to catch him live as soon as possible. Last night, my chance came as Kennedy graced the stage at Fox Theatre in Oakland for the very first time. To say it was mildly earth-shattering is: an oxymoron, a little hyperbole, and also still somehow true.

Continue reading “Show Review: Dermot Kennedy with Luca Fogale at Fox Theatre Oakland, 4/10/19”

Show Review: SRSQ, Uniform, and The Black Queen at The Regent 03/28/19

“Maybe we could just…”

After a long work period it’s nice to have an evening to cut loose and check out some damn good music. It was this thought that ran through my head as I navigated through traffic on a Thursday night from Sherman Oaks to downtown Los Angeles to see The Black Queen perform at the Regent. It wasn’t too cold, though that may have been from all the traffic, and something in the air just said that tonight was going to be a good night for some dark and synthy dream pop.

Continue reading “Show Review: SRSQ, Uniform, and The Black Queen at The Regent 03/28/19”

Film Feature: SFFILM 2019 Spotlights #1

62nd annual San Francisco International Film Festival opens today, Wednesday, April 10th

The 62nd annual San Francisco International Film Festival begins today, Wednesday, April 10th, and runs almost two weeks, until Tuesday, April 23rd. This year’s Festival boasts 163 films from over 50 countries in 36 languages, and will include twelve world premieres and five North American premieres. The Festival is proud that this year close to 45% of its films are directed by women. More information, complete program listings, and online tickets can be found here.

With so many offerings, figuring out your Fest schedule can be tricky. But never fear! As always, Spinning Platters has your back. We’ll get you started by sharing five Festival film spotlights (two narrative features and three documentaries). And of course be sure to check back here throughout the Festival for more spotlights and updates. 

Continue reading “Film Feature: SFFILM 2019 Spotlights #1”