Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
Dakin’s off this week, and he left me in charge, which means I totally mentioned sports. It’s championship week in the NFL, and for those of you not as sports minded as the rest of us (aka those of you make jokes like “what’s happening in sports ball this week?”), I’m also recommending some “music concerts” for you. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 1/17/13-1/23/13”
Have you ever seen something advertising a band playing in your city, and thought, “I’d really like to see them, even though I only know one or two of their songs”? That was the extent of my relationship with Keane until recently. I’ve certainly heard several of their songs on the radio over the years, and especially love their biggest hit, “Somewhere Only We Know,” but until I found out I had access to check them out with opener Youngblood Hawke this weekend at San Francisco’s Warfield, I hadn’t actually sat down to give their tunes a thorough listen. Continue reading “Show Review: Keane with Youngblood Hawke at the Warfield, 1/11/2013”
starring: Josh Brolin, Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Nick Nolte, Anthony Mackie, Robert Patrick, Michael Peña, Mireille Enos, Giovanni Ribisi
screenplay: Will Beall
directed by: Ruben Fleischer
MPAA: Rated R for strong violence and language
Happy New Year from SpinningPlatters.com. Remember, it’s always warmer inside a music venue…
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 1/10/13-1/16/13”
It’s list time! 2012 marked my second full year serving as Spinning Platters’ movie editor, and I once again had the kinda-privilege of seeing nearly every theatrical release. But I have to say, and maybe it’s just because I’m already jaded and embittered after only two years of full-fledged film criticism: I was rather disappointed by the 2012 crop. Last year I had a bitch of a time narrowing my favorites down to just ten, while this year I had to talk myself into believing a few of them were even worthy of top-ten canonization. And unlike 2011, this year left me without a clear favorite. I still use a ranked list below, but my top four are fairly interchangeable. Still, some things have remained the same: as with last year, there is at least one optimistic critical favorite I’ve aligned myself squarely against (last year it was The Artist, this year it’s Silver Linings Playbook), as well as one blockbuster comedy that somehow made it into my top five. So without any further ado, let’s dive into my begrudging top ten, some honorable mentions, my bitchiest moments of the year, and the movie I’m most embarrassed about praising.
Continue reading “The Spinning Platters Guide to the Best Films of 2012”
By The Spinning Platters Staff
Every website has a Top XX albums of the year list. This one is ours, and there is nothing by The xx on it. I mean, I really like The xx’s Coexist. There were just 20 records that came out this year that were better. Maybe you’ll find something that you missed?
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Presents The Official List of the Top 20 Albums of 2012”
Happy New Year from SpinningPlatters. Please go support a local live music venue or seven… Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 12/27/12-1/2/13”
starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson
written and directed by: Quentin Tarantino
MPAA: Rated R for strong graphic violence throughout, a vicious fight, language and some nudity
starring: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks, Amanda Seyfried, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter, Aaron Tveit
screenplay by: William Nicholson
directed by: Tom Hooper
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for suggestive and sexual material, violence and thematic elements
The Bay Area has an amazing history of legendary musicians, although people tend to focus primarily on our 60’s hippy days when it comes to the history books. People often forget about our rich R&B history. Oakland was the birthplace of Sly & The Family Stone, Tower of Power, En Vogue, Sheila E, and many, many more. Tony! Toni! Toné! have been an Bay Area institution for nearly 25 years, and in recent years, they’ve started a tradition of playing the iconic Yoshi’s in Jack London Square right before Christmas. I had the honor of seeing this band for the first time at the last set of that six show residency last night.
Continue reading “Show Review: An Evening With Tony! Toni! Toné! at Yoshi’s — Oakland, 12/23/12”