Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
The one thing more dangerous than the “supergroup” is the “super star collaboration.” We’ve seen a lot of them lately, and for every great one like Bjork & The Dirty Projectors or Kimya Dawson & Aesop Rock, there are 100 Jay-Z & R. Kelly’s floating out there. On a warm Thursday Night, I ventured to the Tenderloin to see which side of the coin this Thao & Mirah project fell on.
starring: Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Jason Segel, Lucy Punch, Phyllis Smith, John Michael Higgins, Thomas Lennon, Eric Stonestreet, Molly Shannon
written by: Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg
directed by: Jake Kasdan
MPAA: Rated R for sexual content, nudity, language and some drug use.
Keren Ann and opener Chris Garneau put on a dreamily beautiful, strikingly intimate show at Yoshi’s SF last night. Keren Ann is touring behind her latest album, 101, which finds the French chanteuse exploring electronic textures rather than the spare, heartrending acoustics with which she has become associated; the album, with its more aggressive tone and dashes of lyrical violence, inspired the New York Times to stupidly dub it “gangsta folk”. But don’t run for your ghetto blasters just yet, because if last night’s show was any indication, Keren Ann won’t be abandoning her chansons and acoustic guitar any time soon.
Continue reading “Show Review: Keren Ann with Chris Garneau at Yoshi’s SF, 6/21/2011”
Seriously folks…. What’s with all of these unGoogleable band names? Do you really think that’s a good idea? Some really great bands like BOBBY, Parachute, and Comma are all playing this week… And, I’m sorry, but you really need to sell yourselves hard at these shows so people remember you, and don’t end up finding Brady Bunch clips, airplane safety gear, or a book on grammar.
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 6/23/11-6/29/11”
The headliner at the Rickshaw Stop on Tuesday night was supposedly Times New Viking, the Ohio based shoegaze band touring in support of their latest release Dancer Equired, but nobody informed the audience because the majority of them were there to see the denim jacketed, Crass t-shirt wearing King Tuff blaze through his 11 song set of mind altered sixties garage rock without give one fuck about those critical darlings Times New Viking who were there to close out the night.
Continue reading “Show Review: Times New Viking, King Tuff, Spencey Dude and The Doodles at Rickshaw Stop, 6/14/11”
As an electronic musician, you have an unbelievable amount of competition, especially in 2011. With beats, synths and other manipulatibles being so easy to create these days with readily-available software, nearly anyone with a decently-powered computer and speedy fingers can enter the genre; with enough samples, knowledge of audio processing, and exposure, it’s easy to go from being locked in one’s basement to shaking the walls of clubs worldwide. The question is, however, why should all of the hundreds of thousands — perhaps of millions — of electronica fans come to see YOU, and not someone else? For Simon Posford, the cerebrum major behind the London-based psytrance project known as Shpongle, it has usually involved a brilliant mix of jagged synths and sweeping world instruments; this time around, however, he brought the Shpongletron, a stage and light show guaranteed to cement his place as one of the best electronic acts to see today.
starring: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Tim Robbins, Angela Bassett, Jay O. Sanders, Mark Strong
written by: Greg Berlanti, Michael Green, Marc Guggenheim & Michael Goldenberg
directed by: Martin Campbell
MPAA: Rated PG-13 For intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action.
starring: Maria Bello, Michael Sheen, Kyle Gallner, Alan Tudyk, Austin Nichols, Moon Bloodgood, Meat Loaf
written by: Michael Armbruster and Shawn Ku
directed by: Shawn Ku
MPAA: Rated R for some language and a scene of sexuality.
Can’t think of anything funny or witty to say… So here’s some Breeders lyrics:
Saints alive you’re saying
Walk in … squares
The hid are out, out for the year
It’s a lot of face
A lot of crank air
Eroding around here
Summer’s ready
Summer is ready when you are
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 6/16/11-6/22/11”
The 35th annual Frameline LGBT Film Festival kicks off later this week, running from June 16-26 with screenings at the Castro, Roxie, and Victoria theaters. Frameline has once again programmed a globally diverse lineup of sex comedies, coming-of-age dramas, compelling documentaries, and something called Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same. Full info available at the official website. Look after the jump for Spinning Platters’ top 10 picks for the festival (all descriptions courtesy of Frameline).