The sophomore slump is a tough thing to get over. Whenever you come out of the box with a huge album, the public is always skeptical of whatever you do next. The Ting Tings are one of those bands. They essentially took over the world with their debut record, full of amp’d up bubblegum pop with the right dose of punk energy. With such an explosive beginning, they would need to put out the audio equivalent of the Sistine Chapel in order to be respected. This tour is their moment of truth.
Two years ago, New England musical mastermind Stephin Merritt graced us with two Magnetic Fields shows during the Bay Area’s 18th annual Noise Pop Festival. Spinning Platters was on hand for bothperformances, and two years later, Merritt and his quintet have returned, with a new opus in tow, to the Fox Theater in Oakland for a new round of orchestral whimsy and symphonic folk-pop playfulness. As the musical tide has turned for the mood and feel of the band’s newest release, Love At The Bottom Of The Sea, so too, apparently, has their attitude to live performances. Rather than occupy the resonant wooden floors and still-somewhat-fresh carpet of the theater with chairs for a quiet, introspective performance, the audience was given free reign in a regular general-admission get-as-close-as-you-like setting. There was a loud and upbeat performer opening the show. The band even responded to whoops, cheers, and catcalls. What a change is here! For even the most stoic Magnetic Fields fan, however, the change of mood was a rather uplifting one, and a general camaraderie was established between both the boisterous and the simply bemused for this acoustic exploration of the band’s charming new work.
Elizabeth Banks and Jennifer Lawrence in THE HUNGER GAMES
starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, Wes Bentley, Donald Sutherland, Alexander Ludwig, Toby Jones, Isabelle Fuhrman
written by: Gary Ross, Suzanne Collins, and Billy Ray
directed by: Gary Ross
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for intense violent thematic material and disturbing images – all involving teens
In tribute to fun. playing The Indy this week, I googled the word "fun," and this looked like the best example of the word that I could find.
Well, I have returned from Texas ten pounds heavier, with several new calluses on my feet, and a slew of new bands for you to go see, and several old favorites. So, do yourself a favor and come see a few amazing bands this week.
Bob Odenkirk: a cult legend credited with championing and evolving a subversive, acclaimed comedy sentiment. Birthday Boys: a hyped collection of vastly witty, silly sods. Together they formed a rousing precession of jubilant, sophisticated sketches, closing Sketchfest with a bang — bang, scream, yell, “He’s got a gun!”, “My baby!”. You know, comedy. Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: 7-Man Sweater (2/5/2012)”
Approximately .0003% of the attendees at SXSW 2012
This is my fifth year straight where I descended to the great city of Austin, Texas to enjoy the most insane week of live music you will ever enjoy. I took a little easier than most years, but I still had a very fulfilling week of music. I get to enjoy a wide array of great stuff, and, without further adieu, here are my thoughts on that time:
San Francisco has a cloudy yet storied history of nurturing eclectic, eccentric geniuses. The tradition spans from Irwin Corey to Ron Lynch to Brent Weinbach and every sideways side-splitter in between. Many are unsung, underexposed and uncompromised: the inspiration for peers with wider appeal and fans with sharp hearts and heads. Festivals, artistic hodepodge, are optimal for such comedians, an extended focus for latest convolutions and tinkerings in front of fertile or familiar audiences. Will Franken and Drennon Davis, two locally brewed humorists of the aforementioned ilk, evoked the spirit of a sentient armchair: alarmingly absurd, wonderfully witty, warm and comfortable. Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: Will Franken/Drennon Davis (2/4/2012)”
The guys who baked these rolls are at the Fillmore on Tuesday night.
Just because half of the music blog world, including many Spinning Platterers (Spinning Platypuses?), are off in Austin at SXSW doesn’t mean that the music stops up here in the Bay Area. We’ve even got a unique and fantastic event this coming weekend that will blow the lid off of anything being offered down South this weekend. And no, that’s not just me being envious of those partying in Austin, although I am. So those of us left behind, we so-called SXSF folks, where will we be? Read on! Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 3/15/12-3/21/12”
A rather frustrating phenomenon that exists for enthusiastic concertgoers who follow up-and-coming artists is the long, long wait that precedes a band’s “official” rise to stardom. This term is placed in quotes, because the true mark of becoming a major player in the live music scene is being the headlining act of the tour you’ve embarked upon. The last two times that the Welsh trio known as The Joy Formidable have made their way to the Bay Area, they’ve taken residence on the smaller Sutro stage of the Outside Lands Festival, and opened for The Naked And Famous at a special pre-party concert that preceded Live 105’s Not So Silent Night. Despite bringing along some heavy hitters whose reputation and following would allow them to take the reigns and lead the way, the trio of Ritzy Bryan, Rhydian Dafydd and Matt Thomas have finally claimed their spot as the main event, and they’ve taken their newfound thrones with all the explosive fury and unrelenting power that was present at their last few appearances — with absolutely no sign of slowing down as they stunned the packed-in audience at the Independent on Monday night.
