Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
This song… It’s honey-soaked, mildly rockabilly, and so hot that I want to jump in the pool that’s in the background of this video. “After The Fact” is one of those perfect Summer jams. Syd’s voice is timeless, and that guitar is perfection. Aside from the F-bombs in the chorus, this could’ve come out any time in the last 80 years and fit in perfectly.
“After The Fact” comes from Syd’s upcoming record, ALSO called After The Fact, available June 25th!
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”
Gun fu is back! After 2023’s spectacular finale (for now), John Wick: Chapter 4, and a disappointing television series, The Continental, the John Wick universe is once again aiming to expand with Ballerina, marketed as From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, in case you didn’t know. If you also weren’t aware, Keanu Reeves reprises his role in Ballerina, a seemingly desperate inclusion by the producers to feed the fan base and add extra gravitas. Reeves is slightly overused in Ballerina. His initial cameo adds emotional weight to the titular ballerina’s plight, but the film could’ve stood solidly on its own without his reappearance in the third act, which isn’t much of a spoiler if you’ve seen any of the trailers. Ballerina is the first promising piece of John Wick universe expansion, and though the film contains plenty of flaws in its narrative logic, Ballerina is still a slick, exhilarating actioner with a bright future of potential sequel chapters. Continue reading “Film Review: “Ballerina””
HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!!! Outside Lands is continuing its mission of supporting and advocating for the local LGBTQ+ culture by letting locals curate the DOLORES stage, placed in a prime spot – at the end of the Polo Field, right in the middle of the festival. Friday is brought to you by Fake and Gay, Saturday is brought to you by the legendary Oasis Arts, and Sunday is brought to you by Polyglamorous. Limited tickets are still available to Outside Lands here.
DOLORES’ LINEUP
FAKE and GAY @ Dolores’ – Friday
Fcukers (DJ Set)
Chase Icon (Live)
Memphy
Dangerous Rose
Adam Kraft
Beverly Chills
Just Another Bitch
Mama San
Hosted by Nicole Paige Brooks
OASIS ARTS @ Dolores’ – Saturday
PRINCESS feat. Tito Soto & Snaxx
with DJ Bella Spreads
REPARATIONS feat. Nicki Jizz
with Miss Toto
BALONEY & FRIENDS feat. D’Arcy Drollinger, Michael Phillis, and Rory Davis
with DJ Subeaux
AND MORE !
Polyglamorous @ Dolores’ – Sunday
Rebecca Black (DJ Set)
Father Figure
David Harness
Jen DM
Chelsea Starr
Mouthfeel
BEYA b2b Mark O’Brien
Drag by Vivvy and her cast of 1,000
Fans of the Netflix series Nobody Wants This will love Bad Shabbos, a new film that similarly deals with an interfaith relationship, this time between the Jewish David (John Bass) and the Catholic-raised Meg (Meghan Leathers). Director Daniel Robbins’s film is more farcical than the Adam Brody/Kristen Bell series, but shares some of its sweetness, as well as some of its more cliched stereotypes. That the movie won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival is no surprise. Lightweight but amusing, the picture is a definite crowd pleaser.
Continue reading “Film Review: “Bad Shabbos””
“Alive” is a jangle garage confection that is making me feel all sorts of bubbly and good. And “good” is really hard to reach these days, so it’s great to face something that can push the serotonin up the right amount of notches- not aggressively happy, not sad, just kinda content. Think Black Rebel Motorcycle Club or The Raveonettes or something that would fit in during your favorite 90’s britpop dance night.
“Alive” is the first single off GHOSTWOMAN’s latest record, Welcome To The Civilized World, hitting your eardrums on September 5th. Prepare accordingly.
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!
I’ve secretly loved The Beaches for a while now. “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Paranoid” is already on my shortlist for best song of the 2020s. It’s DEFINITELY the most 2020s song of the 2020s. Two nights ago, in a fit of anxiety, I preordered the Canadian power-pop group’s upcoming record, no hard feelings, (out August 29th), and I don’t regret that investment. This morning, I lamented the fact that they haven’t announced tour dates. WELL!!!!!!!!!!!
They’ve got a full tour underway this fall! Plus a few select Summer dates and DJ Night Free Parties?!!?! Full dates below the jump, and the amazing Annie DiRuisso is joining for many of these shows!
Last Girls at the Party DJ Set Dates:
June 7 – NYC
June 11 – Toronto
August 2 – Montréal
THE BEACHES LIVE DATES
June 6 – The Governors Ball Music Festival – New York, NY
June 14 – Buffalo AKG Art Museum – Buffalo, NY
July 20 – Minnesota Yacht Club – Saint Paul, MN
July 29 – Churchill Park Music Festival – St. John’s, NL
July 31 – Kee to Bala – Muskoka, ON
August 3 – Osheaga Festival, Montreal, QC
August 7 – Sziget Festival – Budapest, Hungary
August 8 – About You Pangea Festival – Ribnitz-Damgarten, Germany
August 9 – Schanze Open Air – Hamburg, Germany
August 15 – 17th – Lowlands Festival – Biddinghuizen, Netherlands
August 17 – Pukkelpop Festival – Hasselt, Belgium
August 29 – Rolling Stone Presents Gather No Moss @ The Salt Shed – Chicago, IL
Sept 17 – KEMBA Live! – Columbus, OH
Sept 18 – Brooklyn Bowl – Nashville, TN
Sept 20 – Shaky Knees Festival – Atlanta, GA
Sept 21 – The Ritz – Raleigh, NC
Sept 24 – Roadrunner – Boston, MA
Sept 25 – 9:30 Club – Washington, DC
Sept 26 – All Things Go Festival – Columbia, MD
Sept 27 – Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA
Sept 29 – Webster Hall – New York, NY
Sept 30 – Webster Hall – New York, NY
Oct 2 – Royal Oak Music Theatre – Detroit, MI
Oct 4 – Egyptian Room at Old National Centre – Indianapolis, IN
Oct 5 – The Rave – Milwaukee, WI
Oct 8 – Cain’s Ballroom – Tulsa, OK
Oct 10 – Fillmore Auditorium – Denver, CO
Oct 11 – Rockwell at The Complex – Salt Lake City, UT
Oct 14 – The Van Buren – Phoenix, AZ
Oct 15 – The Sound – San Diego, CA
Oct 17 – Fox Theater – Pomona, CA
Oct 18 – The Wiltern – Los Angeles, CA
Oct 19 – The Warfield – San Francisco, CA
Oct 22 – Showbox SoDo – Seattle, WA
Oct 24 – Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre – Victoria, BC
Oct 25 – Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre – Vancouver, BC
Oct 27 – Edmonton Expo Centre Arena – Edmonton, AB
Oct 29 – Grey Eagle Resort & Casino – Calgary, AB
Oct 30 – Grey Eagle Resort & Casino – Calgary, AB
Nov 1 – Burton Cummings Theatre – Winnipeg, MB
Nov 2 – Burton Cummings Theatre – Winnipeg, MB
Nov 5 – The Arena @ TD Place – Ottawa, ON
Nov 6 – Scotiabank Arena – Toronto, ON
Nov 9 – Centennial Hall – London, ON
Nov 10 – Centennial Hall – London, ON
Nov 13 – Scotiabank Centre – Halifax, NS
Nov 15 – Casino New Brunswick – Moncton, NB
(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”
Yes. I love Wet Leg. And, since I run a music blog, I’m allowed to fanboy out whenever they do anything. So I wanted to tell you that they have another guitar-crunchy gem of a single, “CPR,” ahead of their upcoming release, moisturizer. It’s so good.
The usual preorder/presave/range of fancy versions can be preordered here. They are also doing listening parties all around the world, complete with prizes, giveaways, and all sorts of fun stuff. You can find those stores here, but a special shout-out to our friends at 1234 Go! in Oakland! You can RSVP to their event here, which will be on 7/10 at 5 pm. I will be there! I’ll be the long haired, bearded fellow with glasses. So the guy that looks like he’s in the band.
Oh- and don’t forgot to buy tickets to moisTOURizer ASAP since most shows are sold out: Continue reading “NEW WET LEG SINGLE! LISTENING PARTIES IN THE USA! YAY!”
