Show Review: An Evening With Wilson Phillips at Davies Symphony Hall, 11/17/12

In the 22 years since the release of Wilson Phillips’ debut single, the still inescapable “Hold On,” the group has never toured. There was never really a reason to- during the height of their popularity, artists made their money from record sales, and they promoted their releases using radio and television. There was never a real need for them to hit the road. It came as a pretty major surprise to see that they actually decided to start touring so many years later. I hadn’t listened to them much since my middle school days, but the whole idea of seeing Wilson Phillips live piqued my curiosity. Would the show be an utter travesty? Can they still sing? Will I be bored listening to a bunch of songs I loved when I was 12? Will my mind be blown? This could have been in many different ways…

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Spinning Platters Interview: Joe Wright on “Anna Karenina”

Joe Wright and Keira Knightley on the set of ANNA KARENINA

“I cannot believe that I am less important than Tyra Banks!” Joe Wright exclaims with mock-indignation. He has every reason to be nonplussed. Through a bizarre chain of last-minute developments, I have found myself with a direct conflict to our scheduled interview time: the opportunity to ask Tyra Banks a question over the phone for a rare pre-taped episode of Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live. The call had originally been scheduled over an hour prior to my interview with Wright, but TyTy took her sweet-ass time arriving to the taping; so now here I am, sitting at the Ritz-Carlton with my iPhone flattened against my ear, waiting anxiously for my Tyra cue while Wright, the British director of such Oscar-nominated dramas as Pride and Prejudice and Atonement, paces in front of me with an unlit cigarette. I am fully aware that I am showing questionable judgment and hope that Wright’s next interviewer will show up so that we might reshuffle our schedule, but the next interviewer is nowhere to be found, and I am now personally responsible for keeping Joe Wright waiting.

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Show Review: Tame Imapala with The Amazing at The Fillmore, 11/15/12

Tame Impala at The Fillmore
Tame Impala photos by Mark Ricksen.

The impala is a swift and sleek creature that has ultimately found itself endangered, much like rock ‘n’ roll these days.  It makes up the latter half of Tame Impala’s name, the former creatively and aptly chosen by this group of mellowed out lads from down under.  Hailing from the Western Australian town of Perth, whom you may or may not know is also home to INXS, Tame Impala bring forth sort of a revival of psychedelic rock, packaging it in a fresh, edgy and dance provoking product that has thwarted them to rising acclaim and continues to generate buzz amid the music world while toeing the line between pop and psych rock.  Vocally and instrumentally speaking, the band seems to naturally draw off late-Beatles work, with lead singer Kevin Parker’s thin falsetto vocals frequently compared to that of the late John Lennon.  Their San Francisco appearance sold out fairly early on and was a highly anticipated date on the calendar of Bay Area music fans.  Fittingly performing at the legendary Fillmore, who is no stranger to psychedelia, would Tame Impala deliver a night worth of causing Bill Graham to look down with a nodding grin? Continue reading “Show Review: Tame Imapala with The Amazing at The Fillmore, 11/15/12”

Spinning Platters Interview: Robert Zemeckis on “Flight”

Robert Zemeckis and Denzel Washington on the set of FLIGHT

François Truffaut once said that a great movie is the perfect blend of truth and spectacle. This is one of Robert Zemeckis’ favorite quotes, and as evidenced by his staggering filmography, a guiding principle in his work. From his 1984 action-comedy Romancing the Stone onward, he has displayed an virtuosic ability to craft culture-defining megahits that use cutting-edge technology to tell unforgettable stories. Comedic VFX-driven comedies like the Back to the Future films, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Death Becomes Her led to such powerfully soul-searching dramas as Forrest Gump (which won him the Oscar for Best Director), Contact, and Cast Away (which came out a few months after his deliciously sinister suspense flick, What Lies Beneath). Zemeckis’ interest in new filmmaking technology then led him on a decade-long detour into animation, and for a time, it seemed like we may have lost the visionary who so radically broadened the horizons of live-action film. But now, twelve years after his last non-animated movie, he is back with Flight.

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Show Review: Japandroids with Bleached at The Filmore, 11/12/12

All Photos by Jonathan Pirro

I first stumbled across Japandroids while waiting to see No Age at SXSW in 2010. These were a bunch of noisey rock duos playing a venue that was normally set aside for DJ dancing. The sound guy had no idea as to how to deal with a band. As Japandroids were doing their line check, the sound guy yelled into the PA, seemingly frustrated to no end:

“That’s Loud As Shit!”

The singer / guitarist responded, even more upset, “IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE LOUD AS SHIT!!!”

That’s when I knew that this band was going to be great. And they killed it. And, finally, three years later, they are playing the legendary Fillmore Auditorium. Few bands deserve this honor as much as these guys do.

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Show Review: Rush at HP Pavilion San Jose, 11/15/2012

Rush in Gainesville, VA, earlier on this tour. (Click to see more from this show by Flickr user Sofafort.)

A Rush concert feels like a family reunion made up of people who are meeting for the first time. Everyone dresses in their coolest Rush t-shirt and heads out to the arena, ready to air drum along to classic hits and rarely played deep cuts, and find new favorites among the new material. For unlike other bands approaching 40 years in the business, Rush fans still stay in their seats (or in the case of the floor, stand by their seats) for songs from the new albums. Tonight, Rush was bringing their Clockwork Angels tour to San Jose, and it was full of the familiar, as well as full of surprises. Continue reading “Show Review: Rush at HP Pavilion San Jose, 11/15/2012”

Film Review: “Silver Linings Playbook”

Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper in SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jackie Weaver, Chris Tucker, John Ortiz, Julia Stiles

written by: David O. Russell (screenplay), Matthew Quick (novel)

directed by: David O. Russell

MPAA: Rated R for language and some sexual content/nudity

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 11/15/12-11/21/12

Yes, my daughters are playing Davies Symphony Hall on Saturday.

Need to work up a good appetite for Thanksgiving? Here’s your guide:

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Spinning Platters Interview: Jackson Rathbone on “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2”

Jackson Rathbone in THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN – PART TWO

How will civilization sustain itself without a Twilight movie to look forward to every fall? I for one will miss my annual trip to the theater each November to watch a Morrissey-looking vampire and shirtless werewolf fight for the love of an unhappy lesbian. One person with an even more personal take on the conclusion of the series is X-Men enthusiast, Civil War buff, and Twilight actor Jackson Rathbone (he plays Jasper Hale, neither the Morrissey-looking vampire nor the shirtless werewolf ), whom I spoke to during a recent press junket.  Looking less pale and significantly less blond than he does in the films (Rathbone had to dye his naturally dark hair blond to match the character description in the books) the charming Texan talked about his illustrious ancestry, his action figures and what might be next now that Breaking Dawn has broken.

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Show Review: …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead with The Technicolors at The Independent, 11/8/2012

Conrad Keely of ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
Conrad Keely of …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead

In March of 2012, three principal members of the feminist Russian punk rock collective known as Pussy Riot were arrested on charges of “religious hooliganism”. It was an incident that served as a reminder that not every country in the world allows the kind of antics and messages that American bands have fought for and won the right to carry out in their performances. Hundreds of artists, musicians, activists, and even politicians vocally expressed their support of the band and urged the Russian judicial system to release them and support their freedom of speech. The Austin-based rock thunderstorm known as …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead (often shortened to Trail Of Dead) dedicated their eighth album, 2012’s Lost Songs, to the imprisoned trio, and communicated the frenzied, passionate energy of their new release with an explosive live show that was utterly visceral and mindbending to behold.

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