Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
It’s summer time! Officially. Finally. And that means it’s time to see some outdoor shows, some bands from your youth, and maybe even see one of the worst concept tours I can possibly imagine. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 6/21/12 — 6/27/12”
It’s been a few years since Jenny Lewis last graced our presence. In the two years since the release of I’m Having Fun Now, her Rilo Kiley bandmate Blake Sennett declared the band broken up, and her first ever acoustic tour (which would have included her first appearance at Neil Young’s annual Bridge School Benefit) ended up getting derailed due to a family emergency. When she finally returned to San Francisco, so booked the incredibly intimate and historic Swedish American Hall, and it sold out in moments. Since this show was initially announced in late Summer of 2011, people have been waiting almost a year for this show. This show was a big deal.
Continue reading “Show Review: Jenny Lewis with Nik Freitas at Swedish American Hall, 6/16/12”
In the dystopian romantic comedy Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Steve Carell and Keira Knightley star as Dodge and Penny, two strangers in the same apartment building who unexpectedly find themselves becoming close companions for the final few weeks of Earth’s existence. As the film begins, we learn that the final effort to stop a massive asteroid hurtling toward Earth has failed, meaning that the apocalypse is imminent. While everyone around him chooses to celebrate with drug-fueled orgies and looting, Dodge would rather mope in private. But then he meets the exuberant Penny, who lives just below him and has been getting his mail for years. When a dangerous riot imperils their building, Dodge and Penny embark on a road trip across a bizarro end-of-days landscape, searching for one last connection with whatever had been meaningful to them in their lives. This delightfully imaginative film comes to us from writer/director Lorene Scafaria.
My editor in chief and I had an interesting conversation by text specifically about my musical tastes. I confessed that it seems that the older I get, the more I like louder, faster, more aggressive music, and this seems to be counter the normal musical evolution. He made note that loud, fast music isn’t really fashionable right now, and that the main reason I relate to it is because I feel the need to counter mainstream musical taste. There’s a chance that he’s right. There is a better chance that the rest of the world is simply missing the glory of a dynamic performance by a ferocious rock band. And, on a beautiful Summer’s night in Potrero Hill, we were treated to an amazing evening of all that is loud and fast.
Continue reading “Show Review: Ume with Kitten at Bottom Of The Hill, 6/13/12”
Thrice’s Farewell Tour was the last chance for all the devoted and die-hard fans to see the melodic hardcore outfit before their indefinite hiatus. I consider myself a newly minted Thrice fan, despite being introduced to them four years ago thanks to their tour with Rise Against. With the release of their new album Major/Minor, I found myself scrambling to buy a physical copy of the album and played it in heavy rotation for weeks afterwards. Although I am a newer Thrice fan, I was throughly elated to learn I had the honor of attending this concert.
Continue reading “Show Review:Thrice’s Farewell Tour at the Regency Ballroom, 6/12/12”
starring: Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Malin Akerman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Mary J. Blige, Paul Giamatti, Bryan Cranston
written by: Justin Theroux, Chris D’Arienzo, Allan Loeb
directed by: Adam Shankman
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for sexual content, suggestive dancing, some heavy drinking, and language
There is absolutely no reason for you to ever stay in on any night of the week. Well, except for the night that Nickelback are playing. You can stay in that night.
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 6/14/12-6/20/12”
There are so many artists that have been given the role of “New Dylan,” that it’s practically a genre unto itself. Kurt Vile is one of the many who have fallen victim to such a label. He has put out four great solo records, and countless EP’s of great singer/songwriter music, and although there is a bit if a Dylan influence, his sound is much more than that. SpinningPlatters had the pleasure to witness his recent performance at The Fillmore, alongside is fantastic backing band, The Violators.
starring: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green, Guy Pearce
written by: Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof
directed by: Ridley Scott
MPAA: Rated R for sci-fi violence including some intense images, and brief language
It’s fairly easy to forget that one of the most important factors of a live performance that distinguishes it from a record is the sheer loudness of the music being played. Concertgoers far and wide are usually pretty good about remembering earplugs, as a result of this fact, and those that don’t can usually protect themselves with handy booths located within the walls of whatever theater they’re ready to get sonically disintegrated within. Generally, though, one can take a blast of churning riffs and thundering beats to the face for a few hours over the course of one evening, and come out relatively unscathed, albeit with their ears possibly ringing for a day or two afterwards. Thus, there lies an entire world of experimentation in the form of performing music at tremendously high levels of volume — although the songs can become almost painful in their intensity. Channel that sound into baleful, fearsome riffs, add a rhythm section that seeks to destroy bricks with its ferocity, and back it up with ludicrously powerful bass and howling, hellish vocals, and you’ll begin to glimpse what a set by the San Jose doom metal trio known as Sleep is like.