Spinning Platters – Page 311 – Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds

Show Review: Karen Elson at Café Du Nord, 6/8

Karen Elson and Jackson Smith — Photo by David Emery

Last night, supermodel/singer/rock-n-roll wife Karen Elson kicked off the opening night of her very first tour with a sold-out concert at Café Du Nord. When I learned that the show was sold out, I was intrigued. Why was the interest in Ms. Elson already so piqued? After all, she has but a single album to her name, The Ghost Who Walks (Third Man), which was produced by Elson’s husband, Jack White, and just came out on May 25. The buzz has been modestly positive, if not hyperbolic.

So who were all these fans and looky-loos? Were they committed White Stripes fans whose enthusiasm for the group extends even to its spouses? Or was it a decidedly stranger subculture of model-turned-singer fetishists resentful that Tyra Banks’ “Shake Your Body” and Naomi Campbell’s Baby Woman never took off stateside? Or maybe, like me, they were just your garden variety redheaded-girl-singer fans.

Continue reading “Show Review: Karen Elson at Café Du Nord, 6/8”

Spinning Platters Interview: AR Rahman

AR Rahman is a celebrated composer and pop songwriter. He is most famous for composing the Oscar winning score to 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire, but also has more than 50 films to his credit. He is about to embark on his biggest world tour ever, opening June 11th at the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York, and playing at the Oracle Arena in Oakland on June 26th. He took a few minutes out his busy schedule to talk with us about the tour, his feelings about his current wave of success, and how he juggles so many projects at once.

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: AR Rahman”

Show Review: LCD Soundsystem at The Fillmore, 6/3/10

It’s truly a pity that James Murphy, the man behind LCD Soundsystem and the legendary DFA record label, which has released all of the band’s material including their 2002 hit breakthrough single, “Losing My Edge,” has decided to pull the plug on what is inarguably one of the coolest, most transcendent musical outfits to emerge in the past decade.

Just as Jerry Seinfeld and the cast bowed out at their peak after a nine-year run with their hit television show, Seinfeld, Murphy has decided to call it quits after the same amount of time when fan interest is at its most fervent, dedicated level. Continue reading “Show Review: LCD Soundsystem at The Fillmore, 6/3/10”

Show Review: The Buzzcocks with The Dollyrots at The Uptown Nightclub, 6/4/10

The Uptown Nightclub is one of the great hidden treasures of Oakland. They have grown to become the go-to venue for punk rock in the Bay Area, but on this hot & sticky Friday night, they have really outdone themselves. They managed to snag The Buzzcocks, one of the most successful and influential UK bands of the late 70’s, for a rare stateside appearance. The last time they played in the Bay Area, they played the much larger and higher profile Fillmore in San Francisco. This show was special for another reason, because they played their first two records beginning to end.

Continue reading “Show Review: The Buzzcocks with The Dollyrots at The Uptown Nightclub, 6/4/10”

Show Review: Matt & Kim with Golden Filter and The Soft Pack at The Mezzanine, 6/5/10

All Smiles — Matt & Kim are all smiles. Thanks to Paige K Parsons for sharing her photo.

Blown away. That is how the night ended for me. Unfortunately the night didn’t start out that way. I was tired from partying too much on Friday and then taking an epically long hike on Saturday. I wanted to sleep and wasn’t sure if a show was the best thing to be attending in my sleepy daze. Fortunately The Soft Pack came on and gave me a bit of an energy boost. Continue reading “Show Review: Matt & Kim with Golden Filter and The Soft Pack at The Mezzanine, 6/5/10”

Show Review: Local Natives with Suckers at Bottom of the Hill, 6/3/2010

localnatives3-1ax — Not local, possibly native. All fashionable.

Somewhere during this show, this genre became dead to me. I don’t even know what you call the genre (besides “typical” indie rock), but I’ll try to describe it. A bunch of dudes wearing clothes they bought at thrift stores (or are meant to look like they bought them at thrift stores in Brooklyn) play mid-tempo numbers, and then occasionally the songs build to a giant crescendo where they all scream into their microphones together to let you know that this song is intense, man. It now feels a bit fake to me. Continue reading “Show Review: Local Natives with Suckers at Bottom of the Hill, 6/3/2010”

Show Review: The xx, Phantogram at The Great American Music Hall, 6/1/10

In case you didn't know the name of the band...

Whenever a hot new band bursts on to the scene, there is inevitably a backlash. At some point, all of the critics, bloggers, and tastemakers that once adored a band eventually decide that they no longer have that affection they once did. They start calling the band boring, and then they start following something else. Although many people complain about the backlash, I think it’s time to embrace it. Because seeing a band during the backlash is the best time to see them. The people that are only at the show to brag about being at the show are gone, as well as the hipsters in the back that are only at the show because “they are supposed to be.” Instead, you get to really enjoy the music, and it feels really good to be in a room full of pure fans.

Continue reading “Show Review: The xx, Phantogram at The Great American Music Hall, 6/1/10”

Show Review: The National at Fox Oakland, 5/26/10

High Violet, the fifth full-length album from Cincinnati-bred, Brooklyn-based band The National, has defied the Law of Diminishing Returns for me: each and every subsequent listen of an individual track increases my level of aural pleasure not to mention obsession with dissecting every lyric, note, and hidden meaning behind the combination of both.

Lead singer Mike Berninger has flat out admitted to the fact that he’s incapable of scribing a song that isn’t melancholy in nature. Yet, there’s something beautifully uplifting in the tortured tales interwoven into the band’s signature blend of Americana, Britpop, and slight twinge of country-rock. Continue reading “Show Review: The National at Fox Oakland, 5/26/10”

Show Review: She & Him with The Chapin Sisters at The Fox Oakland, 5/29/10

When Zooey Deschanel walked on stage in a sparkly dress you would have thought it was the next messiah walking out to greet her followers. In a weird way I guess she is the messiah of sweet indie-ness. Between her movie career and the success of She & Him, Zooey Deschanel is the It girl of indie rock. She certainly looked the part at The Fox: bouncy perfect hair, cute make-up, black tights and kitten heels, but what really sold the show was her voice. From the first note it was strong, clear and emotive, and for the next hour and a half it was glorious. Continue reading “Show Review: She & Him with The Chapin Sisters at The Fox Oakland, 5/29/10”

Show Review: OK Go with Earl Greyhound and Grand Lake at The Fillmore, 5/26/10

Tim Nordwind, Damian Kulash and Andy Ross of Ok Go — A rare moment without confetti

During OK Go’s show at The Fillmore in San Francisco on Wednesday night, lead singer Damian Kulash tried to explain why the band’s home is San Francisco. “Because we live on YouTube” was his explanation. Yeah, alright, whatever. But it’s clear what they meant was that the Bay Area is made to appreciate a label-leaving, DIY-video-making band of nerds like them. And this video thing is working out for them. One blog recently called them the “shtickiest band ever,” so what sort of shtick did they bring with them? Continue reading “Show Review: OK Go with Earl Greyhound and Grand Lake at The Fillmore, 5/26/10”