Spinning Platters – Page 288 – Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds

Show Review: Robyn, Kelis, and Dan Black at Mezzanine, 7/24/10

Robyn and Kelis share a hug during the final encore song.

On a chilly Saturday night, I exited my car, parked on 6th Street and Howard, clad in black stiletto ankle boots and a form-fitting black/white striped dress accented with a scant red cardigan that provided a bit of warmth en route to Mezzanine – located a few blocks away. Normally, I’m a jeans and hoodie kind of gal when it comes to attending live shows. However, since my Spinning Platters colleague, Dakin Hardwick, and I were meeting Dan Black, one of the opening acts on the All Hearts tour, co-headlined by Robyn and Kelis, for an in-person interview, I felt an overwhelming urge to dress up.

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Show Review: Admiral Radley at The Bottom Of The Hill, 7/23/2010

Aaron Espinoza and Jason Lytle of Admiral Radley, plying their craft.

Jason Lytle and Aaron Burtch of Grandaddy plus Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray of Earlimart equals Admiral Radley.

These two midtempo guitar-and-keyboard indie rock crews plugged in their effects pedals together and now the Admiral has come to town. Continue reading “Show Review: Admiral Radley at The Bottom Of The Hill, 7/23/2010”

Show Review: The Gaslight Anthem with New Politics Play at San Jose’s Music in the Park, 7/22/10

I was first exposed to The Gaslight Anthem via a concert at San Jose State with the Alkaline Trio, Rise Against, and Thrice about a year ago. They were the openers and I almost chose taking a trip to the merch booth over listening to their set. Luckily, I didn’t take that trip and now I am a fan of their music. So when I heard that they were playing a free show in San Jose, I was anxious to go. I was geared up and ready to hear their new album played live and possibly some old songs off The ’59 Sound. I got there two hours ahead of time to stake out my spot and didn’t intend on moving. Let’s just say it was well worth the lack of food for six hours.

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Show Review: Toad The Wet Sprocket, Hey Marseilles at The Fillmore, 7/23/10

toad1 — Seen Here: Toad. Not Pictured: Wet Sprocket. Also Missing: The part of my brain that would tell me not to make that joke

I have a live music bucket list. That is, I have a list of performers and bands that I would like to see before I or they die. This week has been pretty good for me, in terms of knocking things off that list, but I was really excited about the opportunity to see the first band to make that list. I believe I was 12 when I first heard “All I Want.” I was watching VH-1, as I did sometimes at that age, and thought that it was one of the coolest songs that I have ever heard. At that point, I decided that I needed to see them live, yet it somehow became a difficult task. They played often throughout my high school years, but broke up before I was able to see them. When they reunited, they local shows tended to be either very intimate (selling out super fast), at wineries that are unreachable by public transit, or opening for other bands (Counting Crows, Big Head Todd & The Monsters), and it just wasn’t plausible for me. But, with everything working out just right, I’ve finally accomplished this goal, nearly 18 years later.

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/22/10-7/28/10

care-bear-with-a-heart-source_2zb — You can color in your own Bear In Heaven on the way to the Rickshaw Stop on Monday Night!

The last week of July is looking pretty crazy… Tons of amazing shows going on this week, including two very rare 4-band shows that are worth arriving early and staying late. Time to buy some Red Bull!

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Show Review: Jonathan Richman with Olof Arnalds at Swedish American Hall, 7/21/10

JRichman — He puts his heart into it for you

Jonathan Richman explained the reason for the existence of his ongoing residency at Swedish American Hall this week. He was in Reykjavik playing a show, and the opener was some girl playing guitar and singing, and he was thinking “whatever” but then he started really listening and fell in love with the music, as did his drummer and constant on-stage partner, Tommy Larkins. So when they found out Olof Arnalds was looking to play some shows in San Francisco, they set up these gigs. Thanks to everyone involved for getting them together because it’s always a total treat to see Mr. Richman in action. Continue reading “Show Review: Jonathan Richman with Olof Arnalds at Swedish American Hall, 7/21/10”

Show Review: Barenaked Ladies at Wente Vineyards, 7/20/10

BNL Four — Why do I get the feeling that something's missing here?

The Barenaked Ladies are playing just about everywhere they can in the Bay Area this week. On Monday night, they were at the Mountain Winery and tonight they play at The Regency Center (with discount tickets available on Goldstar), but last night they were at the Wente Vineyards in Livermore. With a ticket price hovering in the $200 range, the audience mainly seated at tables for their catered dinner, and a charity auction before the show bringing $3000 for a single autographed bottle of wine, I had concerns that the show might feel an awful lot like dinner theater. And when they played “If I Had a Million Dollars,” and asked folks to sing along, my friend leaned in close to me and said, “I think a lot of people here HAVE a million dollars.” Continue reading “Show Review: Barenaked Ladies at Wente Vineyards, 7/20/10”

Artist Interview – Crystal Monee Hall

With Broadway experience as well as session work along side musical greats such as Elton John already on her resume, the soulful Crystal Monee Hall arrives the Bay Area with a lot on her mind, a lot to sing about, and a readiness to achieve her musical independence…

How much of a role does your musical and cultural background growing up play in your new album?

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Show Review: An Evening with Primus at the Great American Music Hall, 7/18/2010

those damn blue-collar tweekers. (photo by Sassy Monkey Media)

In today’s concerting world, most shows are focused more firmly on spectacle than on musicianship. We expect the bands to be at the top of their game, of course, but in case they aren’t, we’ve got pretty lights, soaring lasers, mystifying fog, and, sometimes, hurricanes of confetti to wow us and give us something to rave to our friends about. While the spectacle can be rather fantastic from time to time, it’s always refreshing to see the band pack up their light show, deflate the floating spacemen, and dismantle the fog machines, in favor of a rock-solid performance that focuses on what a concert is, truly, about: the music. The bands that are able to take all of these steps, cast off the grandeur, pack themselves — and several hundred feral fans — into a club, and rock the foundations as hard as they would in an arena, are truly wonderful to behold, and tonight’s performance by Bay Area native titans Primus was certainly no exception.

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