Today is too hot for me to come up with something witty to say… Go see some shows!
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/15/10-7/21/10”
Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/15/10-7/21/10
Show Review: Tool with Jello Biafra And The Guantanamo School Of Medicine at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, 7/12/2010
I will preface this review by stating a fact which, while well known to my friends and colleagues, is not widely expressed within my concert reviews, given their number and the scale of the bands that I go to see. This fact is a simple one: I loathe arena shows. I’m more specifically referring to any venue that seats over 10,000 people, although 7,000 — the capacity of the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium — is pushing my limit to a mild degree. The fact of the matter is, however, that there will always be certain bands that are far, far too big to play in small clubs, large theaters, or even modest amphitheaters, and these bands will be reason enough for me to go, no matter the size of the venue. These bands will be the driving force behind the show that they put on; this is no festival with twenty acts, nor a set of competing giants wrestling for the title of “biggest rock god ever”. This is a band that has been around for nigh-on twenty years; in fact, the singer was heard tonight saying, “Pop quiz: how many of you are under 21? Really? Well, you weren’t even alive when this song was written.”
Who would this be? Tool, of course.
Show Review: Marina & The Diamonds at Popscene, 330 Ritch, 7/8/10
Four songs into the set, Marina Diamandis, the songstress that is Marina & the Diamonds (the Diamonds being you, the fans, duh!) announces boldly that this is “the last chance you’ll get to see me like this.” Whether or not this is true, at this moment in time, Marina & the Diamonds is bigger than the packed dance floor of Popscene at 330 Ritch. Of course, Popscene is notorious for giving you the opportunity to say “I saw them when” but could Marina really back up her claim that she will be one of the greats, or will she just fade out once popular culture is done with her? Continue reading “Show Review: Marina & The Diamonds at Popscene, 330 Ritch, 7/8/10”
Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/8/10-7/14/10
Well, I’m sitting in my apartment in downtown Oakland, looking outside, waiting for all hell to break loose. And, if the entire city doesn’t burn to a crisp tonight, I’m going to check out some of these shows!
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/8/10-7/14/10”
Show Review: Lilith at Shoreline Amphitheater, 7/5/10
There has been a lot of controversy over the resurrected Lilith tour, including complaints of mis-marketing, poor ticket sales, and a general lack of consistency in the line ups. When it comes down to it, though, none of this matters when it comes to the actual event. I was there to account these events first hand, and I honestly felt that the show I went to was quite successful. It was actually refreshing to attend a festival that was so well organized, as well as such a well behaved audience.
Continue reading “Show Review: Lilith at Shoreline Amphitheater, 7/5/10”
Show Review: Mates of State with Free Energy and Nick Thune at Great American Music Hall, 7/1/2010
Co-written with Dakin Hardwick
Mates of State brought their “Summer Crushes” tour to Great American Music Hall last week to promote their newest project, a covers album called Crushes. But rather than just show up and play, they brought along a traveling variety show. At the end of the night, though, it was the joyful music of Mates of State that I’m going to remember. So what else was there? Continue reading “Show Review: Mates of State with Free Energy and Nick Thune at Great American Music Hall, 7/1/2010”
Show Review: CocoRosie and Cibelle at The Regency, 6/29/10
The Regency is not one of my favorite venues. Tuesday night is not a night I like to stay out late. Therefore, I was not looking forward to seeing this show. I can be an unappreciative asshole at times, but I sucked it up anyways and took one for the team. The only album of CocoRosie that I was familiar with was La maison de mon reve which was beautifully creepy. So I was expecting a dark, mellow show, as I had never seen them perform live before. I could handle that. Continue reading “Show Review: CocoRosie and Cibelle at The Regency, 6/29/10”
Spinning Platters Picks Six: Rock Poster Artists Coming to Flatstock 25
Flatstock is coming to the Bay Area for the first time in years, thanks to a new team-up with the San Francisco-based TRPS. I’m pretty darn excited, let me tell you. On July 10, at the Hall of Flowers in Golden Gate Park, nearly 50 great poster artists, both local and national, classic and brand new, will be showing and selling their posters. It starts at 10AM, but I promise you there will be folks lined up for hours to get first shot at some of the hotter artists at the show.
About a year ago, I posted a list of six of my favorite artists. I’ve mentioned and interviewed two of them that are coming to the show: Kevin Tong and Gregg Gordon. And now, I present six additional artists that you’ll be able to see on July 10th in Golden Gate Park. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Six: Rock Poster Artists Coming to Flatstock 25”
Show Review: Goldfrapp at The Fox Oakland 6/26/10
With everything that’s been going on lately on the job interview and contracting front, it’s almost a miracle that I found the time to get this review posted. I’m thrilled with the photos I took for the Goldfrapp show at Fox Theater this past Saturday evening and I’m hoping the words in the post can do the incendiary performance some justice.
Continue reading “Show Review: Goldfrapp at The Fox Oakland 6/26/10”
In Defense Of: The New Lilith Tour
Once upon a time, in the late 90’s, a struggling singer-songwriter was finding it difficult to get her music heard. She was too edgy for Adult Contemporary radio, but too light for Alternative Rock radio. She also noticed that both of these genres were awfully male-centric. So, her solution was to find a group of like-minded female musicians and take them on the road with her. The basic idea is that there is strength in numbers, and with the marketing push of several artists, it could be good for everyone, much like Lollapalooza managed to accomplish in the early 90’s. That artist was Sarah McLachlan, and the tour was called The Lilith Fair, named after Adam’s first wife. Continue reading “In Defense Of: The New Lilith Tour”