Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
The first of 400,000 outdoor music festivals of the Summer start this week, but there is plenty of other rocking for you, so good luck and make some excellent live music decisions.
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 5/24/12-5/30/12”
Penelope Houston is a rock legend. She is the lead singer of seminal San Francisco punk rock band The Avengers, and actively performs with both The Avengers, and releases solo albums. She recently released a fine new record called On Market Street, as well as a 2-disc edition of the band’s 1983 debut full length, self titled release, often referred to as “The Pink Album.” The Avengers will be performing at The New Parish on Friday, May 25th. SpinningPlatters had the opportunity to sit down with Penelope to discuss her career and her writing process.
How do you feel about people constantly asking you questions about the Avengers?
Continue reading “SpinningPlatters Interview: Penelope Houston of The Avengers”
What’s a girl to do with a Friday night off in San Francisco? When Rachel Platten is in town with her first headlining gig (supporting her album Be Here), the choice is easy. When she brings the lovely Madi Diaz with her and sets up her keyboard on the Hotel Utah’s tiny stage, I’ll even grab a girlfriend and be there with bells on, as was the case last Friday night. Continue reading “Show Review: Rachel Platten with Madi Diaz at Hotel Utah, 5/18/2012”
starring: Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Anna Kendrick, Matthew Morrison, Rodrigo Santoro, Ben Falcone, Chace Crawford, Dennis Quaid, Brooklyn Decker, Rebel Wilson, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Chris Rock
written by: Shauna Cross and Heather Hach
directed by: Kirk Jones
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, thematic elements and language
Continue reading “Film Review: “What to Expect When You’re Expecting””
starring: Taylor Kitsch, Brooklyn Decker, Rihanna, Alexander Skarsgard, Liam Neeson
written by: Erich Hoeber and Jon Hoeber
directed by: Peter Berg
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, action and destruction, and for language
This list simply goes to show you that there is no such thing as a slow week in the bay area for shows…. We have two legendary punk bands playing in SF, plus a slew of other odds and ends that insure that nobody’s musical taste will go unaccounted for. So, do yourself a favor and go to a few shows this week. You’ve worked hard and deserve it!
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 5/17/12-5/23/12”
starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley
written by: Sacha Baron Cohen, Alec Berg, David Mandel, Jeff Schaffer
directed by: Larry Charles
MPAA: Rated R for strong crude and sexual content, brief male nudity, language and some violent images
Ever since leisurely ambling onto the cinematic scene with his generation-defining 1991 classic Slacker, Richard Linklater has remained one of the most influential and innovative figures in American independent film. A restless creative force frequently driven to push himself into personally uncharted territory, Linklater’s filmography is remarkably diverse: ensembles pieces beloved (Dazed and Confused) and overlooked (Fast Food Nation); dialogue-driven character studies romantic (Before Sunset/Before Sunrise) and claustrophobic (Tape); animated films adored (Waking Life) and alienating (A Scanner Darkly); and big-studio comedies iconic (The School of Rock) and ignored (The Bad News Bears). And now, for his 15th feature film, Linklater has returned to his native Texas to explore yet another genre: darkly comedic true crime.
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Richard Linklater on “Bernie””
When a band comes to a local record shop to do an in-store appearance, it’s a really unique type of event. Songs are generally stripped down to a more acoustic and delicate format, conversations are had between the band and the crowd with greater regularity and openness, and it’s a guaranteed opportunity for a meet-and-greet that often costs nothing more than the price of the group’s new record — which, in all likelihood, you’re there to buy so that they can sign it. However, not all artists can comfortably fit the first item on the agenda — a quiet show, an intimate arrangement of instruments — into their setup, and when their output’s main focus is blisteringly-fast, unflinchingly-loud, viciously-penned hardcore punk music, it’s not even in the same galaxy. Thus, the four-piece supergroup known as OFF! unleashed their set in Berkeley’s own Amoeba Records very much like they had the previous night at Slim’s in San Francisco: amps piled about, drummer Mario Rubalcaba sandwiched in between the gear on the miniscule stage, and every single object capable of emitting sound cranked into the stratosphere for 30 solid minutes.
Continue reading “Show Review: OFF! at Amoeba Records Berkeley, 5/12/2012”
Don’t you hate it when you’ve totally been looking forward to an event and then when it actually rolls around, something comes up that completely hinders your ability to enjoy it as much as you’d planned to? Sadly, that was my experience Friday night last. The thing I look forward to is, of course, seeing great live music. In this particular case, it was Jay Nash I’d been anticipating seeing again, at the Red Devil Lounge. Jay’s newest EP, Of the Woods, was just released last week, so of course I was also excited to hear the new material.
Continue reading “Show Review: Jay Nash at Red Devil Lounge, 5/11/2012”