Thursday, May 22nd Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 5/22/14-5/28/14”
Show Review: Nickel Creek, The Secret Sisters at The Fox Theater – Oakland, 5/19/14
To paraphrase Laura Rogers, lead vocalist for The Secret Sisters: “When Nickel Creek come on, you are going to smile, and stay smiling the whole time they are on stage.” It’s been nearly seven years since the great Southern California trio have last toured as a unit. Despite all three members making many trips to the Bay Area throughout the hiatus, it’s remained a very lonesome and sad seven years. During this period, we had to weather a folk revival with a slew of lesser bands become bigger than Nickel Creek ever were. Simply put, the world needs Nickel Creek.
Show Review: An Evening with Failure at the Great American Music Hall, 5/14/2014
Back in March of 2014, the massive art-metal juggernaut known as Tool rumbled through the Bay Area, gracing its residents with a set of shows once again at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. Those who were wise enough to arrive early for the show might have had a chance to watch the real surprise of the night: the recently-reformed Los Angeles trio of Failure, bringing their expert musicianship and crushing brand of alt-space-rock back into the fold for a set of short but powerful sets. Continuing the connection, Failure made a reappearance for Tool singer Maynard James Keenan’s 50th birthday celebration, with all three members offering both their own songs and contributions to the sprawling evening of music that took place each night. With a healthy amount of new exposure under their belt, Failure is coming back on the road for their own headlining tour, this time with zero accompaniment — an Evening With, two sets, and a furious chunk of tunes across their three records to throw into the mix. If their show at the Great American Music Hall was any indication, this is one reunion that isn’t fading any time soon: Failure are back and as sonically potent as ever before.
Continue reading “Show Review: An Evening with Failure at the Great American Music Hall, 5/14/2014”
Concert Review: Ben Folds and the San Francisco Symphony, 5/19/2014
There was a moment during “Steven’s Last Night in Town” when Ben Folds, letting the San Francisco Symphony do its thing, turned toward the audience, put his hands on his knees and flashed a huge smile. It was the happiest I’ve ever seen him, and who can blame him? Here he was, on stage with a world class orchestra, hearing them play the horn breakdown of a humorous song he wrote during a time when he was just another struggling Nashville musician. Now he’s on top of the musical world, playing songs that belong in the Great American Songbook with 100 great musicians and singers. I’d smile, too. And I did. Continue reading “Concert Review: Ben Folds and the San Francisco Symphony, 5/19/2014”
Show Review: Big Scary, HIPS at Bottom Of The Hill, 5/16/14
HIPS is a new project from Drew Denny of Big Whup, Natalia Rogovin of Social Studies, and Christina Gaillard of Crown Plaza. A few minutes on HIPS’ Soundcloud page and one can pretty easily discern that this project has very little to do with any of these bands. They advertise themselves as doing “DANCE JAMS // GRINDING // LATE NIGHT DRIVES // MAKING OUT.” I’ve never heard music that immediately conjures up the image of making out on the back of a van late at night while driving through a forest before I heard HIPS, but these ladies have managed to do just that. Continue reading “Show Review: Big Scary, HIPS at Bottom Of The Hill, 5/16/14”
Film Review: Godzilla
Roaring (and lumbering) back into action!
In comparison to 1998’s embarrassing excuse for a blockbuster, Godzilla (directed by Roland Emmerich), most popcorn flicks look Oscar worthy. What’s refreshing about 2014’s Godzilla, directed by Gareth Edwards (Monsters), is that it shows off some remarkably cool modern sequences while embracing the traditional look and feel of the classic Godzilla films and the summer movies of the late 70’s that established the blockbuster sub-genre. After the overload of monsters and CG destruction we see in movies these days, it’s a relief to know that there’s still room for a film to embrace the origins of both and still surprise us. Welcome back, Godzilla.
Also in Theaters — 5/16/2014 — Chef / God’s Pocket / The Double
Film Review: Chef
Review by Gordon Elgart
Jon Favreau writes, directs and stars in Chef, which is clearly a passion project about the passions of others. HIs main character, Chef Carl Casper, is a genius chef who’s been working for ten years in the restaurant of a man who does not appreciate genius chefs. One big night, a reviewer is coming to the restaurant to see what Chef Carl is making these days, and writes a scathing review which starts the events of the movie in motion. Chef Carl needs to put his life back together while balancing the relationship he has with his son, a child of his divorce.
Continue reading “Also in Theaters — 5/16/2014 — Chef / God’s Pocket / The Double”
Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 5/15/14-5/21/14
Thursday, May 15th Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 5/15/14-5/21/14”
Show Review: Cinquanta: A Special Evening with Puscifer, A Perfect Circle & Failure at the Greek Theatre LA, 5/10/2014
I’m going to be turning 30 later this month, and I’ve already got a grand party planned out. It’s a jovial occasion in recognition of youth and times gone by, as much as it is one of the future to come and a chance to just let loose in the present moment with my closest friends. With the experiences I’ve had and the frequently wonderful, often chaotic, but always memorable memories that come from them, there’s an awful lot that has happened to me in the 3 decades I’ve spent on the planet. I can only begin to imagine when doing something like this will be in decades to come, but I can only hope that it is anything close to the fantastic evening that Maynard James Keenan, world-renowned musician and dedicatedly rustic winemaker, shared with close friends and hardcore fans alike in celebration of his 50th birthday. Continue reading “Show Review: Cinquanta: A Special Evening with Puscifer, A Perfect Circle & Failure at the Greek Theatre LA, 5/10/2014”
Final SFIFF Spotlights: Alex of Venice/Begin Again
Spinning Platters brings you two final spotlights from the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF), which closed on Thursday with Chris Messina’s film Alex of Venice at the Castro, with many of the cast there for a fun Q&A. You can check out the Festival award winners here, and be sure to keep your eye out for many of these films as they are released throughout the year.
Alex of Venice
(USA 2014, 87 min)
The Mindy Project’s Chris Messina makes his directorial debut with this emotionally rich drama about the dissolution of a marriage. In the Q&A following the film, Messina cited Kramer vs. Kramer, Hannah and Her Sisters, and All the Real Girls as influencing his picture, and, indeed, all the best tonal elements of those films can be felt here. Strong performances from Mary Elizabeth Winstead as workaholic environmental attorney Alex, Katie Nehra as her more free-spirited sister, and Don Johnson as their actor father on the verge of a health crisis solidly anchor the film. Messina, as Alex’s unhappy husband George, and young Skylar Gaertner as Alex and George’s son Dakota round out the cast nicely, with Gaertner’s portrayal just as nuanced and sensitive as Justin Henry’s in Kramer vs. Kramer. A side story about Alex’s father appearing in The Cherry Orchard is a bit of a heavy-handed metaphor, but that’s just one small quibble with an otherwise excellent first feature. Continue reading “Final SFIFF Spotlights: Alex of Venice/Begin Again”