Spinning Platters – Page 145 – Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds

Show Review: Indigo Girls at The Fillmore, 2/19/2016

Emily Saliers and Amy Ray of The Indigo Girls

The Indigo Girls were hugely important to me as an adolescent, when I was all “fuck the patriarchy,” looking at my baby boomer parents and teachers and seeing a lot of what I didn’t want, but couldn’t figure out what to do instead. They were queer and progressive and unpretentious and pensive and courageous, yet even they have complained about the dismissive labeling they’ve received from the press – “bleeding heart lesbian folk duo”. They’ve been totally cast off as wholesome and safe, banal music for lesbians. When I told my friends I was going to see them, they kidded with me. “Are you sure you aren’t gay, Becka? You have flannel shirts and you listen to The Indigo Girls and Neko Case and you have very, very aggressive looking glasses.” Long ago, prior to my current Age of Zero Fucks, I felt self conscious about my adoration for them, and then I realized that I, too, was falling for a common sexist musical trap.

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Noise Pop Show Review: Carly Rae Jepsen, Cardiknox, Monika at The Warfield, 2/27/16

2015 was an interesting year for Carly Rae Jepsen. Tasked with the impossible feat of following up “Call Me Maybe” — likely to be remembered as the greatest pop song of the decade — Jepsen managed to do something that very few people in the pop world have done: release a follow-up that became one of the most critically lauded records of the year. Very few performers do well with their sophomore record, but Jepsen’s release hit #3 on The Village Voice‘s Pazz & Jop Poll, sharing space not with fellow popsters, but with folks like Kendrick Lamar and Courtney Barnett. This, plus a slot on the indie-centric Noise Pop Festival, prove that Jepsen has attained something that very few Top 40 artists have: respect from critics, along with acceptance by the very picky indie rock community. In fact, despite the presence of such long defunct acts as Drive Like Jehu, Her Space Holiday, and American Football at this year’s Noise Pop, Jepsen’s was the most anticipated set of the festival. Continue reading “Noise Pop Show Review: Carly Rae Jepsen, Cardiknox, Monika at The Warfield, 2/27/16”

Noise Pop Show Review: Kneedelus and Kamasi Washington: Two Nights of Jazz in San Francisco

San Francisco’s Noise Pop Festival has been well known for packing hordes of genres and artists into their lineup, but rarely have they picked a collection of artists that are so solidly categorized as jazz musicians before anything else. True to the latter half of its name, the festival tends to want to pick acts that have those hooks and rhythms which you want to sing or dance along to with a common familiarity, or even are comfortable with hearing on the radio. There are, of course, certain acts (like seminal hardcore favorites Drive Like Jehu this year, or Yoko Ono a few years back) that defy such conventions, but you can generally bet on finding the bands to be less on the blatantly esoteric side of things. Thus, it was a bit of a risk throwing some jazz artists into the mix; however, it absolutely paid off, as all four shows (spread across two nights, two artists, and two venues) sold out, weeks in advance, and the two performers — elecronic-wizard-plus-jazz-quartet Kneedelus, and newly-Grammy’d tenor sax master Kamasi Washington — definitely did not disappoint.

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Album Review: The Black Queen, Fever Daydream

Over the last 4 years, Greg Puciato of The Dillinger Escape Plan has been a busy, busy bee. Aside from constant touring with his main band, and the incredible release of their 2013 work One of Us is the Killer, he somehow found time to form the supergroup Killer Be Killed with Max Cavalera (Sepultura, Nailbomb, Soulfly), Troy Sanders (Mastodon), and Ben Koller (Converge, Mars Volta), and release THEIR self-titled album to pretty strong critical reception. All the while, however, he was writing and piecing together material for something completely different, absolutely outside of the metal genre. I’m talking, of course, about The Black Queen, whose debut album Fever Daydream was released on January 29th of this year.

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Film Review: Triple 9

Call in a 999 on this picture: Talented cast can’t save derivative crime story

Atlanta cops Chris (Casey Affleck, l.) and Marcus (Anthony Mackie, r.) are ready for action.

If you’re a fan of dark, atmospheric, incomprehensible crime thrillers, then wow, is today ever your lucky day. With Triple 9, Australian director John Hillcoat (The Road; Lawless) and first-time feature film screenwriter Matt Cook have crafted one of the darkest, moodiest, and totally nonsensical crime dramas in recent memory. As an added bonus, the film boasts a terrific cast, although they are mostly wasted as they gamely try to make their way through this puzzling, often dull, inchoate picture.

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Film Review: Eddie the Eagle

Eddie the Eagle soars to near fallible emotional heights.

The beauty of watching athleticism en masse is that, in theory, everyone is brought together. The Olympics are the ultimate testament to this; it seems the whole world turns whatever devices possible to follow the games and share victory or cringe in defeat with fellow fans. I have never been a sports person and have therefore never really followed any athletic event, but I do enjoy physical comedy and a good underdog tale. Eddie the Eagle simultaneously fulfills the need for mass athletic fandom with (seemingly painful) pratfalls and unstoppable optimism.

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Film Feature: Carrie and Chad Pick the 2016 Oscars

Film critics Carrie and Chad on who will – and who should – win the 88th Academy Awards

The 88th Academy Awards air this Sunday, February 28th on ABC at 5:30pm PST (as always, red carpet coverage begins much earlier, if you want to dish on fashion highs and lows). Spinning Platters film critics Carrie Kahn and Chad Liffmann share their predictions – and hopes – for the major categories. Follow along and see how we – and you – do on the big night!
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Show Review: UnderCover Presents A Tribute to Green Day’s Dookie at The Fox Oakland, 2/19/2016

A record like Dookie, the magnum opus from the Bay Area’s arguably-most-popular punk band, Green Day, was not so much another album in the shop as it was a sonic bombshell going off, whose waves were felt in scenes across the Earth. The raw energy and youthful vigor had rarely been presented in so straightforward and familiar a manner, especially in a format and at a time that it was almost universally accessible to everyone looking for something refreshing and powerful in the current world. Dookie, by scene purists, may be remembered as the record that shoved one of the loudest, wildest dimensions of the music world into the spotlight, and while they may revile this fact, Dookie’s influence and impact on all music that came after it is undeniable. It still stands tall as one of the greatest records of its age, and one of the most famous to come from the East Bay of Northern California. It was fitting, therefore, that the Bay Area collective UnderCover culled together a collection of local players, all passionate fans of the effect this record had on them in their younger years, to kick off this year’s UnderCover Presents series with a 15-band tribute to one of the seminal works of 90s punk rock.

With so much to cover, I’ll be doing this in the style of the show: 15 mini-reviews of all of the songs, with photos for each, and a wrap-up at the end. Read on!

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Noise Pop Film Review: Hustler’s Convention

Before the beginning, before ‘The Last Poets’, was a genius toaster whose natural conversation always had rhythm and rhyme. Jalal Mansur Nuriddin was the influence of our influences on rap. He is a storyteller with flare and purpose using intrinsic linguistic connections with a purpose beyond what is considered ‘dope’ today. The documentary is an authentic perspective of Jalal and how his work influenced our current music influences. The film itself has a poetic flow driven to inspire future artists by referencing his work and the revolution that followed.. Jalal’s last album ‘Hustler’s Convention’ was pressed and release 1973 world wide. It was a time when poets were the educators. Jalal, aka Lightn’ Rod, as most influential people, spoke on untouchable topics. Ideas and Events that were known but never to be discussed. It was the use of words as bullets and his mouth as a gun with style and purpose that generated a spark. The spark that created an artist revolution. And even to this day, Jalal remains a timeless influential lyrical inspiration.

Interview with Film Hustler’s Convention Executive Producer – Lathan Hodge: Continue reading “Noise Pop Film Review: Hustler’s Convention”

Spinning Platters Interview: Chad Heimann, Noise Pop Talent Booker

The first Noise Pop Festival was in 1993. It was one show for $5 at The Kennel Club, and it was headlined by The Fastbacks — who are amazing, if you don’t already know them. 26 years later, we have a multitude of bands crossing over dozens of genres, and a festival that spans a week! Spinning Platters recently had a chance to speak to their music booker, Chad Heimann, about this year’s fest.

The fest is about halfway over, but there still are plenty of gigs all over town that you’ll be really sad that you missed. The schedule can be found here! Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Chad Heimann, Noise Pop Talent Booker”