Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
I think we can all agree that this is a weird week. Heavy on legends, but plenty of places where you can experiment, sonically. Please, have fun with it!
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 9/27/12-10/04/12”
When The Whole Love was released late last year, I believe that anyone that heard it knew that it was a record that was screaming for a tour. Of course, when it came out, instead of doing a big road show, they opted to play midsize theaters, locking out only the folks with the fastest internet connections or the pockets deep enough to purchase from a scalper. It took almost a year for these guys to finally book a full fledged tour, playing these songs the way they should be played- outdoors, in front of thousands of people. I guess they needed to really get to know these songs before playing them on the big stages. The wait paid off.
Continue reading “Show Review: Wilco with Cibo Matto at The Greek Theater — UC Berkeley, 9/21/12”
Chickfactor turned 20 this year, and several shows in California and London have been set up to commemorate 10 years each as a printed magazine and a webzine. This is the Chickfactor that Belle and Sebastian wrote the song about, so it is only fair that member Stevie Jackson headlined a show at the Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco. Continue reading “Show Review: Stevie Jackson, The Softies, Kim Baxter, Allen Clapp and Kurt Heasley at Rickshaw Stop, 9/22/2012”
End of Watch is unlike any cop movie we’ve seen before. Its distinguishing traits range from its texture — the film is shot and edited to resemble a pulse-poundingly visceral “found footage” documentary — to its thoroughly realized characterizations of LAPD officers Brian (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Mike (Michael Peña), thrill-chasing partners and best friends who have a tendency to run toward the action while others run away from it. The film plays out like a feature-length episode of COPS as written by Aaron Sorkin or David Mamet; its substance comes from the palpable bond between Brian and Mike, which plays out in a series of remarkably authentic-feeling conversations we watch them have as they drive around on patrol, waiting for that next call, never knowing if they’ll be getting a cat out of a tree or walking into gunfire. This naturalistic and wholly believable quality comes both from the direction and script of David Ayer (Harsh Times) and the committed performances of Gyllenhaal and Peña, with whom Ayer rehearsed for several months before shooting the film to get their chemistry just right. Anna Kendrick and Natalie Martinez are heartfelt and dynamic as the officers’ better halves.
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Michael Peña and Natalie Martinez on “End of Watch””
starring: Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman, Matthew Lillard, Robert Patrick
written by: Randy Brown
directed by: Robert Lorenz
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for language, sexual references, some thematic material and smoking
starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Jesse Plemons, Ambyr Childers, Rami Malek, Laura Dern, Patty McCormack
written and directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
MPAA: Rated R for sexual content, graphic nudity and language
Officially, this is the last weekend of Summer. Which means, of course, a lot of weird festivals. Including a 90’s rock festival, a leather fest, and an amazing multiband gig full of wonderful jangle pop!
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 9/20/12-9/26/12”
The biggest rock band in Japan played in San Francisco last night, and you may have missed it. While the band is a household name in the Japanese community, the jingoistic American music fans are likely to be at a loss about them. And that’s too bad, because you missed a killer show by a tight live band, with a surprise in store that made it even more special.
Continue reading “Show Review: The B’z at The Warfield, 9/17/2012”
Tuesday, September 18th. The last record release date of the Summer. This is a special one, too! Two women from the Pacific Northwest have released two highly anticipated sophomore albums. Carly Rae Jepsen is the voice behind the ubiquitous hit “Call Me Maybe.” Corin Tucker is 1/3 of the legendary riot grrl super group Sleater-Kinney. Tonight, I will be listening to both of these records, beginning to end, for the first time. Both records are 12 tracks, so I will be giving my thoughts about 24 different songs as I listen to them. I will alternate between Carly and Corin. For those that wish to follow along at home, I have made a playlist in rdio.com! Keep refreshing, because I will update as I go…
Now, without further adieu, here is “Live Blogging With The Devil: Carly Rae Jepsen vs Corin Tucker”:
starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Bill Paxton, Gloria Stuart, Frances Fisher, Kathy Bates
written and directed by: James Cameron
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for disaster related peril and violence, nudity, sensuality and brief language