Show Review: Southern Culture On The Skids at Great American Music Hall, 9/11/10

There are some bands that words cannot adequately describe. If I were to try and sum up the feeling one would get from listening to Southern Culture On The Skids it would include images of driving down a coastal highway in a pick-up truck while wearing a truckers hat. This quartet from Chapel Hill, North Carolina has been at it for well over 20 years, playing a playful blend of rockabilly, surf, punk rock and just a hint of traditional country & western music. I had the opportunity to check them out live for the first time at the Great American Music Hall. Hunkering down in the crowd with a beer in hand, I was about to learn exactly how much fun a woman with a bucket of fried chicken could have.

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Film Review: “The Agony and the Ecstasy of Phil Spector”

Phil Spector as he appears during his lengthy interview in "The Agony and the Ecstasy of Phil Spector." Photo courtesy of BBC Arena/Vixpix Films.

How do you solve a problem like Phil Spector? In The Agony and the Ecstasy of Phil Spector (opening today at the Roxie Theater), filmmaker Vikram Jayanti — who co-produced the Oscar-winning documentary When We Were Kings — creates a compelling but fundamentally flawed portrait of this culture-shaking musical genius and convicted murderer.

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 9/9/2010-9/15/2010

Opening for Helmet.

Here’s another fun week of fun stuff to fill with funness. Happy funny funtimes!!

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Channel Surf the Blogosphere for the latest tracks with Shuffler.fm

Go ahead. Don't be shy. Select a genre and get going.

It seems like every other week, a new music service is launched with the intention of being the ultimate, one-stop “music discovery tool.” Truth be told, any savvy music aficionado will own up to the fact that they use at least two or more tools to find, stream, and download new and classic music alike.

Since there’s always the promise of “the next big thing” looming, whether it’s the rather failed impact Ping (the social extension of iTunes 10) had on consumers or Google’s forthcoming music service that’s reportedly making a grand debut on Christmas day, I decided to spend some time with Shuffler.fm, which I discovered through a feature on Mashable, to see if it’s something I’d actually use on a consistent basis. The answer, quite surprisingly, is “yes” and “daily.”

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Show Review: Stereo Total at Slim’s, 9/2/10

Thursday night usually isn’t a night people stay in, but by the sparse attendence at Slim’s for the Stereo Total show you would have thought it was Monday night.  Maybe it was the $20 ticket price, or the fact that Jenny and Johnny stole the indie kids for the evening, but either way I can’t say I was disappointed.  Those who were there brought their A game (including a gentlemen with flowers wrapped in leopard print tissue paper for Francoise!).  And most importantly, there was plenty of room to dance. Continue reading “Show Review: Stereo Total at Slim’s, 9/2/10”

Show Review: Jenny and Johnny with Sonny & the Sunsets and Farmer Dave Scher at Great American Music Hall, 9/2/10

I’m Having Fun Now, the “debut” album by Jenny and Johnny (Jenny Lewis and Johnathan Rice), is being marketed as the first collaboration between indie lovebirds Lewis and Rice. This isn’t strictly the case, though; Lewis and Rice have been all over each other’s material (what the kids are calling it these days) for the last five years. Rice has been playing in Lewis’ touring band since 2006, and had a very strong presence on her underrated 2008 LP, Acid Tongue. In turn, Lewis co-wrote and sang on several tracks from Rice’s 2007 album, Further North. But now these kids have made it official and released a full-length duets album. Last night, they played the first of two nights at Great American Music Hall. How did it go?

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 9/2/2010-9/8/2010

Labor Day weekend is filled with musical adventures in the Bay Area… Including two of the very, very few worthwhile summer shed shows that seem to be timed out perfectly for the weather getting good. Here are the highlights:

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Show Review: Rondo Brothers with Oona, King Midas in Reverse and Matthew Hansen at Slim’s, 8/26/2010

On Thursday night, Slim’s hosted a dynamic range of Bay Area music.  Opening with R&B, eased into alternative rock, Pop with soul, then jumped into Hip Hop and ended with fans twirling to Electric Trance. Contrary to logic, the various of styles had a smooth transition from one band’s music flavor to another, which was appreciated by a tight crowd as loyal as family. Continue reading “Show Review: Rondo Brothers with Oona, King Midas in Reverse and Matthew Hansen at Slim’s, 8/26/2010”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 8/26/2010-9/1/2010

This is a busy, busy week for SF show goers… Lotsa stuff to go to! Enjoy your last week of summer vacation! Here’s how:

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Show Review: Crowded House with Lawrence Arabia at The Warfield, 8/23/2010

Neil Finn, hundreds of amazing songs into his career.

Crowded House is a band with only two real American “hits.” But don’t be fooled by that. If you go see Crowded House live, you’d better be ready to sing. And although your less astute friends will assume the loudest singing will be for “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” the band’s biggest U.S. hit, those same friends will wonder what the heck this “You always take the weather with you” song is about. Congratulations, singer! You’re the smart one. Continue reading “Show Review: Crowded House with Lawrence Arabia at The Warfield, 8/23/2010”