Spinning Platters – Page 174 – Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds

Show Review: The Darkness with The Headlands at The Regency Ballroom, 10/11/2015

By now — 15 years after their formation — everyone going to see The Darkness in concert should have a pretty good idea about what to expect, which explains how frantically excited your average Darkness fan is to see their heroes onstage. Current-day concert staples, like visuals and projections taking the lead over physical antics, or an attempt to make all of one’s instruments as virtual or digital as possible, are absolutely abandoned in favor of a glorious, visceral display of rock-and-roll shenanigans. There are wild solos, there are hair flips, there are leaps and bounces off of the drumset, and everything about the gig feels absolutely alive. Neither a smallish crowd, nor a Sunday night timeslot (typically less favorable with the work week looming shortly after), could deter the Suffolk quartet from rocking just as hard as they have ever done, and it was delightful to witness.

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Film Review: Steve Jobs

Sorkin, Boyle get the Job(s) done with fast-paced drama

Steve Jobs (Michael Fassbender) argues with his daughter Lisa (Perla Haney-Jardine) just before the iMac launch…

Perhaps no picture has been more anticipated here in the tech capital of the Bay Area than the Aaron Sorkin-penned and Danny Boyle-directed biopic of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, based on Walter Isaacson’s best-selling 2011 biography of the same name. Sorkin and Boyle, with their similar frenetic writing and directing styles (think The Social Network meets Slumdog Millionaire) prove to be the ideal team to dramatize the life of the Peninsula-raised inventor, entrepreneur, original tech titan, and icon. Indeed, their picture lives up to expectations, succeeding as both a fascinating character study, and as a historical dramatization of seminal events that took place here in the Bay Area, but ultimately touched the entire world.

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Film Review: Bridge of Spies

Spielberg + Coens + Hanks = Better than your average storytelling.

The lawyer who became a negotiator. The negotiator who united three empires.

Thomas Newman seems to be doing his best musical imitation of John Williams throughout the former’s original score for Bridge of Spies. The reason I started with this opinionated tidbit is because it’s probably the weakest part of the movie. The score isn’t among Newman’s finest (American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Finding Nemo) and it’s far from capturing the spirit of Williams’ finest (Star Wars, Munich, Lincoln, basically everything…ever). The music in Bridge of Spies is the weakest, though still serviceable, mixed result in a movie production full of interesting mixes. Bridge of Spies represents the first time the Coen brothers have written for Spielberg, the first time Spielberg has employed a composer other than Williams for a feature film in lord knows how long, and judging by the number of production companies listed in the beginning, probably the first time Spielberg has needed the aid of a half dozen independent companies to help a production out. Sure, it’s also the fourth collaboration between Spielberg and Hanks, so there’s that. However, point being that Bridge of Spies had a lot of award-winning talent working together, and the results are infectious, if not odd, but totally worth our while. Embracing the tonal patchwork that comes from great minds working together, Bridge of Spies is a tense, fascinating true story of courage during the Cold War.

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The Insiders’ Guide to the Treasure Island Music Festival (Updated for 2015)

A Treasure Island sunset, courtesy of Kelly Hoffer

This weekend’s Treasure Island Music Festival has quickly become my favorite musical event of the year. There are no conflicting set times, so you can see everyone on the bill. The size of the festival is fairly small, so it’s easy to get around. The setting in the middle of San Francisco Bay is absolutely stunning. And something about all of these combine to keep the people going in a relaxed, pleasant mood that makes being there all the more enjoyable.

Now, you might think going to this festival is as easy as hopping in your car and going to the festival to enjoy some music, but you’d be wrong. Read on, and I’ll teach you how to avoid rookie mistakes. (Updated for 2015 by Dakin Hardwick)

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 10/9/15-10/14/15

While Leif and his posse may not have actually worn 'em, they are fun to wear. — While Leif and his posse may not have actually worn ’em, they are fun to wear.

Do you know what today is? It is Leif Erickson Day here in the USA. Let us celebrate explorers as well as arbitrarily-horned helmets.

Also, the Litquake festival begins in San Francisco! A solid day for a book about explorers.

After that’s done with, let’s look at the concerts coming up this week in the Bay Area. Skol, let’s preview! Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 10/9/15-10/14/15”

MVFF38 Spotlights #1: The Automatic Hate/Second Coming/The Girl in the Book/You’re Ugly Too

The 38^th Mill Valley Film Festival, showcasing over 200 films from more than 50 countries, opens today, October 8th, and runs until next Sunday, October 18th. The Festival is screening some titles already garnering Oscar buzz: Tom Hooper’s The Danish Girl, with Eddie Redmayne in the true story of Lili Elbe; Truth featuring Robert Redford as Dan Rather, and Suffragette, with heavy hitters Carey Mulligan and Meryl Streep. This year, the Festival also hosts special evenings with Mulligan, Sarah Silverman, Brie Larson, and Sir Ian McLellan.

Here at Spinning Platters, though, we thought we’d start the Festival by spotlighting some of the lower profile films that risk being overshadowed by movies already getting their fair share of press. Full schedule, tickets, and more information are available here, and be sure to stay tuned to Spinning Platters for more updates throughout the Fest. Continue reading “MVFF38 Spotlights #1: The Automatic Hate/Second Coming/The Girl in the Book/You’re Ugly Too”

Need a discount code for SF MusicTech Summit? We’ve got you covered

We’re less than six weeks away from the Bay Area’s premiere music and tech conference, SF MusicTech Summit. Returning to San Francisco for the seventeenth (!) time, this must-attend gathering attracts top experts, developers, entrepreneurs, investors, and musicians from all around the globe. One year ago, organizers Brian and Shoshana Zisk declared that they would be retiring the event. However, due to popular demand, they’ve brought it back.

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Film Review: The Martian

Scott captures our imagination with riveting survival story

Abandoned astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) checks out his Martian surroundings.

No movie better exemplifies Kurt Vonnegut’s assertion that “science is magic that works” than Ridley Scott’s engaging new film The Martian. Based on Andy Weir’s novel of the same name, Scott’s picture is less a fantastical science fiction story like his Alien or Blade Runner, and more a pure and utterly gripping survival story, in the vein of pictures like Castaway or even 127 Hours. Only here, our hero isn’t trapped somewhere with the luxury of oxygen like a canyon in Utah or a remote tropical island, but years away from any human help, alone in outer space, on the inhospitable planet Mars.

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 10/1/15-10/7/15

Emmylou Harris — She put the “Hardly” in the Hardly Strictly.

It’s a packed week with Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in Golden Gate Park and Alternative Press Expo in San Jose.

Coming up we have concerts by old people, young old people, and very old people who don’t much age. Let’s preview! Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 10/1/15-10/7/15”

Show Review: Chelsea Wolfe with Wovenhand at The Regency Ballroom, 9/26/15

It’s getting increasingly difficult to find innovation in truly dark music — the sort of sound that disturbs, frightens, and continues to offer intrigue at the same time. A lot of musicians stick to standard scare-tactic fare — blistering static buzzsaws, sampled shrieks, and all manner of cacophonous ear-fuckery — and come off as too abrasive or experimental to be embraced by anything larger than the local noise-rock community. For those less interested in the loud-as-all-hell technique, of course, there’s neo-folk and similarly spooky ilk, but it’s difficult to be taken seriously and/or create the right sort of ambiance — especially when there are so many extremists in the scene that are not ironic in their tales of fantasy and fiction. Every so often, however, someone like Chelsea Wolfe comes along and absolutely lays waste to any detractors or raised eyebrows, likely by virtue of melting said faces off before they’re able to pass judgment. Incredibly dark, massively loud, and chilling in its intensity, Wolfe’s live performance is the kind of shadowy gloom that today’s sonic apocalyptics can only dream to achieve.

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