Spinning Platters – Page 294 – Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds

Show Review: Broken Bells with The Morning Benders at The Regency Ballroom, 5/21/10

brokenbells3 — Broken Bells are to be taken seriously

Long live the super group. Established producer Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse) and his musical pal, James Mercer of The Shins, made their way to the Grand Ballroom in San Francisco Friday night to showcase their new experiment, Broken Bells. After what seems to have been the season of all star groups such as Them Crooked Vultures and Atoms for Peace, did this long anticipated show live up to all its hype? Continue reading “Show Review: Broken Bells with The Morning Benders at The Regency Ballroom, 5/21/10”

Show Review: Evelyn Evelyn with Amanda Palmer, Jason Webley and Sxip Shirey at Great American Music Hall, 5/22/10

P1150281 — Evelyn Evelyn answer life's important questions

When Amanda Palmer and Jason Webley decided to join together to do a musical project, they decided to literally join together. They created Evelyn Evelyn, conjoined twin musicians, built a story and characters, recorded and released an album, and they’re now on tour together. This show was billed as Evelyn Evelyn with Amanda Palmer, Jason Webley and Sxip Shirey “also appearing.” There’s a point in this absolute pleasure of a three-hour show when Amanda Palmer thanks people for coming to such an odd show, and practically begs the audience to tell their friends in whatever way they can that they should come see the show. I’m game for this; read on to be convinced. Continue reading “Show Review: Evelyn Evelyn with Amanda Palmer, Jason Webley and Sxip Shirey at Great American Music Hall, 5/22/10”

Review of Music Hackday in San Francisco, 5/15/10 – 5/16/10

This past weekend, over 110 hackers and music enthusiasts from San Francisco and various locations around the world gathered at Automattic’s office space, located at Pier 38, to help create the next generation of music applications. Continue reading “Review of Music Hackday in San Francisco, 5/15/10 — 5/16/10”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 5/20/10-5/27/10

math_bear1 — Counting The Bear isn't coming to town, but Minus The Bear is...

As I look out my window, I see a beautiful spring day, where there’s nothing but business people running home from work in the rain. Hopefully they are hustling home to change clothes & go to a show.

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 5/20/10-5/27/10”

Show Review: Gil Mantera’s Party Dream with Triple Cobra and Go Going Gone Girls at Bottom of the Hill, 5/15/10

GilDonny — It's not just a dream. It's a party.

So-called novelty bands tend to have a short shelf life. The progression tends to go something like this: you see the band open for someone else and you immediately tell your friends, then you see them again with your friends and have a great time, and then you keep going but your friends are over them. Meanwhile you’re telling the friends who have stopped going that the band is special; it’s not just a shtick. Sometimes you’re wrong, but sometimes you’re right. So am I right about Gil Mantera’s Party Dream? Continue reading “Show Review: Gil Mantera’s Party Dream with Triple Cobra and Go Going Gone Girls at Bottom of the Hill, 5/15/10”

SFIFF Film Review: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea with Stephin Merritt at Castro Theater, 5/4/10

20000_Leagues_Under_the_Sea_01 — Oh Captain Nemo, you know how to bring the crazy!

Although I knew nothing about the silent film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, I had high expectations for this evening, all of which were piled on Stephin Merritt’s shoulders. His amazing ability to craft the perfect quirky pop song seemed well suited to the project: creating a live score to a silent film. This is a mainstay of the San Francisco International Film Festival, after last year’s The Lost World with Dengue Fever, and I’m very happy it is. It is a great opportunity for a songwriter/composer to showcase his song-craft and experiment, but composing almost 2 hours of music that will enhance someone else’s work? It’s a tall order for even the most talented and interesting songwriter. Continue reading “SFIFF Film Review: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea with Stephin Merritt at Castro Theater, 5/4/10”

Spinning Platters Interview: Frederick “Toots” Hibbert of Toots & The Maytals

Toots Hibbert is a sonic pioneer that helped push the boundaries of ska music, coined the word reggae, and helped bring the music of Jamaica to the mainstream. At 64 years old, he is as vital as ever, releasing a new record, Flip N Twist, on May 18th on CD, Vinyl, Digital, and USB Joint, as well as hitting the road on a North American tour that hits The Regency Ballroom on the record’s street date. Spinning Platters spent a few minutes on the phone with him a few days ago, and here’s what we talked about.

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Frederick “Toots” Hibbert of Toots & The Maytals”

Show Review: Jakob Dylan featuring Neko Case and Kelly Hogan with The Felice Brothers at the Regency Ballroom, 5/12/10

Jakob Dylan: still dreamy after all these years. Photos by Christopher Rogers.

Could it be possible that Jakob Dylan actually prefers to exist in the shadows of others? I mean, seriously. First he makes the questionable decision to get into the exact same line of work as his father. And if that line of work was, like, plumbing or something, then fine. But if Bob Dylan is your father and you decide you’re also a folk-rock singer-songwriter? That’s like Janis Joplin’s (rhetorical) daughter choosing to become a boozy bluesy hippie, or Moses and Apple Paltrow-Martin deciding to start insufferable lifestyle blogs and rip off U2 for a living — your parents pretty much pioneered the concept, so why bother?

Continue reading “Show Review: Jakob Dylan featuring Neko Case and Kelly Hogan with The Felice Brothers at the Regency Ballroom, 5/12/10”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 5/13/10-5/19/10

Hello loyal readers… Lotsa good stuff this week… Not a lot of creative thinking on my part, though… So just enjoy the list!

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 5/13/10-5/19/10”

Show Review: Fucked Up, Hank IV, Hollerado at The Rickshaw Stop, 5/9/10

WARNING:

The following review may contain the following:

*Explicit Language

*Violence

*Male Nudity

*Intelligent Discussion

Please proceed with caution. If your boss, or the coworker you have a crush on is looking over your shoulder, please point your browser elsewhere immediately. Continue reading “Show Review: Fucked Up, Hank IV, Hollerado at The Rickshaw Stop, 5/9/10”