Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
Clare O’Kane used to be one of the funniest women in San Francisco. I say “used to,” because she recently left us to live in Los Angeles. We recently had a chance to talk to her about making the transition from SF comic to LA comic, ahead of her stretch of homecoming shows during Sketchfest. Here’s a link to the many gigs she’s doing, including a session of Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction with the great Laraine Newman!
W Kamau Bell is one of the most brilliant and controversial names in comedy. He recently moved back to the Bay Area, after a stint in New York hosting the dearly departed Totally Biased with W Kamau Bell. To celebrate his return, he did a “secret residency” at Cinecave in Lost Weekend Video. He’s playing Uptown Showdown: Are We Getting Dumber vs Are We Getting Smarter with Maria Bamford, Dave Hill, TJ Miller, Aparna Nancherla, Greg Poops and Jared Logan on January 31st. Tickets are available here!
Every year, the good folks at SF Sketchfest program three weeks of live comedy in the Bay Area. They program it so well that it can get exhausting to determine which shows to go to. Well, here at Spinning Platters, a forum for Bay Area music, film, and comedy nerds, we’ll be helping you determine which shows you should be going to. It wasn’t easy, but I think you’ll get sufficient enough chuckles for handling the post-holiday blues if you follow these guidelines.
Don’t like my suggestions? You can always pick for yourself! You can find the schedule here!
Here’s what’s coming up this week: war, monsters, seasons, and Patti Smith. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 1/16/15-1/21/15”
Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac were overlooked during yesterday’s Oscar nominations, which is a bit disheartening, since they both give tremendous performances in writer/director J.C. Chandor’s newest film, A Most Violent Year (which opened in New York and L.A. in December, making it eligible for this year’s Oscars). Chandor, whose previous pictures include the pulse-quickening, terrific Margin Call and last year’s lost-at-sea thriller All is Lost, is a master at pulling his audience into a visceral time and place, and his skill remains exceptionally sharp, as evidenced here in his latest film.
Blackhat is a film about a good guy hacker team trying to stop an elusive bad guy hacker. It had a lot going for it, considering it’s directed by Michael Mann (Collateral, Heat), stars ultra-manly Chris Hemsworth (Thor), and as we can all attest to, its cybercrime theme is very relevant. So why is Blackhat such a bad movie? It’s bad because it’s messy, miscast, and poorly put together. Not Michael Mann’s trademark digital lensing nor Hemsworth’s chiseled abs can save Blackhat from plodding through grating dialogue, an unrealistic plot and a pointless romantic subplot. Aside from a solid supporting job from Viola Davis and some beautiful night shots of cities around the world, Blackhat basically fails on all fronts.
George Chen is one of the founders of Cinecave, one of San Francisco’s best kept secrets. It’s a comedy club in the basement of Lost Weekend Video. It’s also one of the best rooms for comedy in this town. Cinecave is teaming up with Sketchfest for several shows during the festival, as well as shows every Friday and Saturday night! Chen is also one of the funniest comics in his own right, and you can catch him throughout the festival. His schedule is here.
Spinning Platters had the pleasure of speaking to George ahead of Sketchfest. Just click on the word “more.” Continue reading “Sketchfest Interview: George Chen of Cinecave”
When I ponder my favorite singer-songwriters, I think about musicians that are authentic, honest, and speak from the inside out. Catchy hooks don’t hurt, either. Local musician Briget Boyle (www.brigetboyle.com) exemplifies these characteristics in her debut solo album, The Parts Interior. After many years spent performing in an assortment of music groups within multiple musical genres, Briget has now broken out as an individual songwriter and the result is an album both emotionally resonant and beautifully harmonious! I spoke with Briget about The Parts Interior and her journey to this point…
You’ve been on a long musical journey involving various groups and projects. What made now the right time for your solo debut?
Well, I had carved out a lot of space for myself creatively. Brass Menažeri is no longer together and I left Kitka a few years ago, and that space has given me the time to start writing again and really dig into myself as a songwriter. There was something holding me back for a long time. I wasn’t writing for a while. It’s hard to say exactly what it was, but I’ve been doing a lot of work on myself over the last couple of years and through that work, both emotionally and spiritually, I realized that I needed to let my songwriter shine. I had a lot of support from my partner, Harlow, and my community. I was able to raise money to do this and it all just fell into place really nicely.
Don’t call it a comeback. It’s just worth acknowledging that years have passed since the forecast for upcoming releases has been this bright. Here’s hoping it doesn’t amount to an audio equivalent of the anticipation and subsequent let down one might experience on New Year’s Eve. Giorgio Moroder (who really made Daft Punk’s latest album a worthwhile listen), The Juliana Hatfield Three, and Sleater-Kinney are just a few of the sorely-missed acts making triumphant, long-awaited returns in 2015.
This list may have grown by twenty additional albums compared to last year, but that doesn’t mean every last major release was included. Sorry to inform you, in advance, that you won’t find the likes of Papa Roach, Marilyn Manson, Fall Out Boy, Fergie Ferg, or Canada’s *pride*/current Calvin Klein cover boy, Justin Bieber listed. Even Mumford & Sons will not be mentioned beyond this sentence. That’s just Spinning Platters allowing me and my subjective musical tastes to run amok. However, there is something here for every musical taste imaginable and as I mentioned at the conclusion, if there was something we must all know about that was overlooked, let it be known in the comments.
Read on, discover some new gems, and get an overview of what to expect this coming year. I’ve even included links to lead-off tracks where they’re available and, of course, my own witless banter when absolutely necessary. Happy New Year of listening.
Paul Thomas Anderson has made his name with movies that feel very important, and are chock full of big ideas about life. If you come looking for that in Inherent Vice, you’re going to leave disappointed. This movie is essentially a comedy, full of visual gags and walk-o- length comedic performances by a series of excellent actors. The story isn’t much to hang your hat on, but the cast, the dialog and gorgeous images should keep you entertained, as long as you keep your expectations in check.