Show Review: The Knife at the Fox Oakland, 4/16/2014

The many-colored dancers of The Knife
The many-colored dancers of The Knife

 

The last time that Swedish musician Karin Dreijer Andersson came to the Bay Area, it was almost five years ago, with her tribal-cum-worldtronic project known as Fever Ray shaking the walls of the Regency Ballroom and bathing its spectators in piercing green lasers amidst an incense-choked haze. When she and her brother Olof Dreijer announced the revival of their parent project, The Knife, almost two years later, the response was almost immediately acclaim and a frenzied desire for the pair to start touring again, and bring their infamously bizarre-but-mesmerizing live shows back to the performance circuit. Two years later, a teaser for their new album materialized on YouTube, with a statement from the Knife:

“Music can be so meaningless. We had to find lust. We asked our friends and lovers to help us.”

Thus, the Knife returned to the Bay Area, armed with their arsenal of strange tunes and carnal instruments, and offering a performance that was absolutely defined by the title of their latest record: Shaking The Habitual.

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 5/1/14-5/7/14

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Coming to Slim’s this week.

Thursday, May 1st Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 5/1/14-5/7/14”

SFIFF Spotlights #5: The Other One: The Long Strange Trip of Bob Weir/Abuse of Weakness/The Blue Wave/Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon

Spinning Platters brings you more spotlights from the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF), which continues through Thursday, May 8th. Program notes and tickets available here.

The Other One: The Long Strange Trip of Bob Weir
(USA 2014, 90 min)

Which is the greater wonder - Bob Weir or the pyramids?
Which is the greater wonder – Bob Weir or the pyramids?

“Mine has been a long strange trip,” says Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir in Mike Fleiss’s fantastic new documentary about the Dead’s “other one.” Jerry Garcia may have been more famous, but Weir was a stellar musician in his own right, and, with his graciousness, intelligence, and unwavering authenticity, perhaps the band’s true heart. Weir, vital and still just as handsome in his 60s (Weir gets some ribbing for being the band’s best looking member), speaks eloquently and thoughtfully about his life and the cult of personality surrounding Garcia and the Dead. Weir’s meditative reflections, along with Fleiss’s brilliant use of still photos, new interviews and old footage, make this picture a must-see for Dead fans and anyone with even a passing interest in music or Bay Area history. Smart, funny, and poignant, this is a film worthy of Bay Area rock’s elder statesman.

Screenings:

  • Friday, May 2nd, 9:30pm, Kabuki (with Bob Weir reportedly scheduled to appear!)

Tickets available here.

Continue reading “SFIFF Spotlights #5: The Other One: The Long Strange Trip of Bob Weir/Abuse of Weakness/The Blue Wave/Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon”

Festival Preview: BottleRock Napa Valley 2014: 5/30-6/1

Photo Credit: Paige K. Parsons
Photo Credit: Paige K. Parsons

I should start this post off right away by admitting a few things: first of all, if you’ve seen any of my previous work on this site, you’ll already know, but I’m by far the most “mainstream” music listening on the Spinning Platters staff. Many of the bands my cohorts write about are those I’ve never heard of, while I’m running around checking out John Mayer, Coldplay, Imagine Dragons, and Pink. Also, and perhaps more importantly, I’m a huge novice when it comes to music festivals. I’ve been to a good handful of the one-day sort of radio station assembled festivals, and several consecutive years of Warped Tour. But bigger, multi-day festivals? I’ve only been to one so far: BottleRock Napa Valley 2013.

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SFIFF Spotlights #4: All About the Feathers/The Double/Club Sandwich/School of Babel/Select Shorts

Spinning Platters coverage of the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF) continues with four more film spotlights.  Program notes and tickets available at: http://www.sffs.org/festival-home/attend/film-guide

All About the Feathers (“Por Las Plumas”)
(Costa Rica, 85 min, 2013)

Allan Cascante in ALL ABOUT THE FEATHERS
Allan Cascante in ALL ABOUT THE FEATHERS

All About the Feathers is a charming tale of an unlikely friendship between a lonely security guard, Chalo, and a fighting rooster he finally purchases, aptly named “Rocky.”  The quasi-absurdist narrative, delivered calmly and steadily by first time director Neto Villalobos, is steeped in colorful characters and environments.  The film wins our hearts through Charo’s unflinching devotion to his new fowl friend and how such goodnatured care can spark close bonds with others.  Odd and hilarious, yet truly touching at its core, All About the Feathers gives us a quirky example of how it’s in our nature to fight being alone.

Screenings:

  • Tuesday, April 29th, 6:15 pm, Kabuki

Tickets: http://www.sffs.org/festival-home/attend/film-guide/all-about-the-feathers

Continue reading “SFIFF Spotlights #4: All About the Feathers/The Double/Club Sandwich/School of Babel/Select Shorts”

SFIFF Spotlights #3: Young and Beautiful/Tonnere/No No: A Dockumentary/Chinese Puzzle

Coverage of the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF) continues at Spinning Platters with four more film spotlights. Program notes and tickets available here.

Young and Beautiful
(France 2013, 93 min; French with English subtitles)

Isabelle est jeune et jolie.
Isabelle est jeune et belle.

French actress Marine Vacth is riveting in François Ozon’s drama about Isabelle, a 17-year-old high school student who loses her virginity during the summer and is working as a call girl by fall. Isabelle’s story unfolds over the course of four seasons, and we see the effect her choices have on her, her family, and her older male clients. Is Isabelle naively experimenting, working out unresolved father issues, or shrewdly and coldly wielding her newly discovered sexual power almost sociopathically? Is Isabelle even capable of forming real emotional bonds? Ozon’s intense psychological exploration of Isabelle’s choices and motivations isn’t always easy to watch – and Isabelle isn’t always a sympathetic character – but her story is deeply affecting, and you’ll be mulling over the answers to the questions the film raises long after it ends.

Screenings:

  • Monday, April 28th, 9:30pm, Kabuki
  • Thursday, May 1st, 3:45pm, Kabuki
  • Also opens at Landmark’s Opera Plaza and Shattuck Theaters on May 9th

Tickets available here.

Continue reading “SFIFF Spotlights #3: Young and Beautiful/Tonnere/No No: A Dockumentary/Chinese Puzzle”

SFIFF Spotlights #2: Coherence/Heaven Adores You/The Two Faces of January/If You Don’t, I Will

Spinning Platters highlights some films from the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF), which runs from April 24th through May 8th. Program notes and tickets available at: http://www.sffs.org/festival-home/attend/film-guide

Coherence
(USA, 2013, 89 min.)

Emily Baldoni in James Byrkit's COHERENCE
Emily Baldoni in James Byrkit’s COHERENCE

This low budget mind bender focuses on a dinner party of four couples on a night where a comet passes over Earth, causing some strange occurrences. Director James Ward Byrkit utilized an experimental production process by which he provided the actors with notes for each scene but no script, allowing for truly real reactions, spontaneous behavior, and improvised lines.  Perfect editing and stellar performances create a palpable tension that’s both haunting and personal.  The result is a tightly bound science-fiction indie crowd pleaser that delights with its twists and turns, keeping us guessing from the first to last frame…and afterwards.

Screenings:

  • Tuesday, April 29th, 9:45 PM, Kabuki

Tickets: http://www.sffs.org/festival-home/attend/film-guide/coherence#.U1vag-ZdVU1

Continue reading “SFIFF Spotlights #2: Coherence/Heaven Adores You/The Two Faces of January/If You Don’t, I Will”

Film Review: Brick Mansions

Neither Walker’s smile nor Belle’s crazy stunts can save ‘Brick Mansions’ from collapsing in on itself.

Paul Walker (RIP) is a bright spot in his disappointing second-to-last outing.
Paul Walker (RIP) is a bright spot in his disappointing second-to-last outing.

We should get this out of the way: Brick Mansions is not Paul Walker’s final film.  The charismatic 40 year old actor, who died in a car crash on November 30th, 2013, completed a portion of the filming of Fast & Furious 7.  The seventh installment of the lucrative franchise will serve as a much better sendoff than Brick Mansions.  Brick Mansions has its moments, and Paul Walker supplies his trademark icy blue eyes and sly humor, but the film suffers from a shallow plot, laughable dialogue, and dizzying quick cuts that spoil some marvelous stunt work.

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Film Review: Alan Partridge

A witty, efficient, and quirky little tale of an oddball in an odd situation.

Steve Coogan as the odd radio DJ, Alan Partridge
Steve Coogan as the odd radio DJ, Alan Partridge

Alan Partridge is a new film centered around a beloved fictional radio host/DJ character created by Steve Coogan and friends for the BBC series, On The Hour.  An unknown to most American audiences, Partridge is precisely the type of neurotic, awkward, and narcissistic underdog that we love to watch and cheer for (like Ron Burgandy).  The film is a bizarre tale involving an absurd but charming chain of events.  There are moments when the story comes very close to crossing into unfunny territory, but instead it rides the line without sacrificing its tempo.  There’s something quite wonderful about a comedy that knows how to get in and get out whilst fulfilling all the requirements of the genre, and Steve Coogan seems to be the mastermind behind it all.

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