Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
This week, you are treated to two youtube clips that I make brief appearances in… I think the loyal reader will be happy about that. Are you? Anyways, it’s a pretty good week for shows. Read on:
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 6/9/11-6/15/11”
starring: Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning, Ron Eldard, Noah Emmerich, Joel Courtney, Ryan Lee, Zach Mills, Ryan Griffiths, Gabriel Basso, AJ Michalka
written and directed by: J.J. Abrams
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, language and some drug use.
This is the first time I can remember Club BFD being better than original BFD. First off, there’s the lineup which has more melody in four bands than there’d be in 11 hours on Sunday. Then there’s the Mezzanine, which welcomes its visitors with a high-res screen featuring sharp animations about tonight’s show and future events. At “real BFD,” there’s a static monitor. And in a club that holds somewhere in the 1000-person range, there’s a multi-camera shoot being projected on walls throughout the venue; at big BFD, there were no screens inside the amphitheater at all. I’m not even going to discuss the drink price competition. So the Mezzanine is all class, we know that. But how were the bands? Continue reading “Show Review: Club BFD with Surfer Blood, Innerpartysystem, The Vaccines and Geographer at Mezzanine, 6/4/2011”
The Wombats’ new album This Modern Glitchhas quickly become my favorite of the year, overtaking all the others on my iPod until it spent two weeks as the only thing I listen to. So on a Friday night after a long week I had high hopes that this would be the perfect night. Continue reading “Show Review: The Wombats with The Tender Box and Wild Party at The Rickshaw, 6/3/11”
Architecture in Helsinki is an unfortunately named band. Whenever I tell people about them, the response I hear has something to do with traveling in Europe. I have to explain that, no, they’re a fun, synth heavy band from Australia. Or more recently, since I’m going to Finland this summer, they’ll think I’m mentioning the architecture in Helsinki, for real. I can’t imagine what they go through. Apart from answering questions about their band name (which they’ve had for years — get over it already), they also come to San Francisco to play shows, including this week at Great American Music Hall.
starring: Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain, Sean Penn, Hunter McCracken, Laramie Eppler, Tye Sheridan, Fiona Shaw
written and directed by: Terrence Malick
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for some thematic material.
starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, January Jones, Kevin Bacon, Lucas Till, Caleb Landry Jones, Zoe Kravitz, Oliver Platt, Jason Flemyng, Alex Gonzalez
written by: Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz, Jane Goldman, and Matthew Vaughn
directed by: Matthew Vaughn
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, some sexual content including brief partial nudity, and language.
Big shows, little shows, in between shows, there’s a little bit of everything for everyone this week. It’s a great week to go to shows in the bay!
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 6/2/11-6/8/11”
Memorial Day kicked off the first of a 3 night residency for Sleigh Bells, the much discussed and divisive band signed to MIA’s N.E.E.T. Records and featuring the bassist for the sadly overlooked teen pop groups RubyBlue, Alexis Krauss on vocals and Derek E Miller on guitar, formerly of Florida hardcore band Poison The Well. The hype behind these shows, where the first two sold out months ago, while a 3rd, smaller gig at Rickshaw Stop sold out moments after it went on sale last week, is amazing. The question is, does this band with only a single album under their belt, live up to the hype?
Continue reading “Show Review: Sleigh Bells, Neon Indian and Oberhofer at The Independent, 5/30/11”
starring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Michael Sheen, Kathy Bates, Carla Bruni, Adrien Brody, Tom Hiddleston, Alison Pill
written and directed by: Woody Allen
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for some sexual references and smoking.