In Appreciation of From Monument to Masses

It's your last chance to see and hear From Monument to Masses. Don't miss out!

I’m feeling very old this week, as two of my favorite Bay Area bands will be playing break-up shows in two nights. The first is my old band Audrye Sessions who will be saying goodbye on Friday, August 27th at The New Parish in Oakland. The second is From Monument to Masses who are playing final show at Great American Music Hall on Saturday, August 28th.  Since Judgement Day is opening up the Great American show, I thought it might nice for me to share some of my thoughts on the night’s headliners. Continue reading “In Appreciation of From Monument to Masses”

Show Review: They Might Be Giants with Oona at The Napa Uptown, 8/21/2010

This is They Might Be Giants with confetti, but not all that much, really. See inside for details.

If I had to give a title to this review, apart from the boring, SEO-friendly titles we always use here, it would be “They Might Be Giants vs. The Napa Uptown Theatre.” I think that the band started the show really loving the beautifully restored theater, but by the end of the performance, I feel like there may have been some antagonism between the two. Was this an actual fight? Or merely a love-fest in disguise? It was a bit hard to tell. Continue reading “Show Review: They Might Be Giants with Oona at The Napa Uptown, 8/21/2010”

Show Review: An Evening With Brandon Flowers at Slim’s, 8/19/2010

No photos allowed, and it was really dark anyway, so I instead bring you a picture of Michael Pare from Streets of Fire. That's what Brandon looked like.

Not only did Brandon Flowers look like Michael Pare from music-nerd-must-see Streets of Fire (not the leather jacket look but the suspenders look), but the music was reminiscent of that film as well. All tales of rock n’ roll bleeding hearts and people down on their luck, but with occasional rousing singalong moments, the new material from Brandon Flowers is close enough to The Killers’ own tunes to make me wonder why the solo album was necessary. He’s always been the center of attention of that band, so that can’t be the motivation. So it must have been musical in nature. I just didn’t hear enough to know what makes this difference. Perhaps if he had played longer. Continue reading “Show Review: An Evening With Brandon Flowers at Slim’s, 8/19/2010”

Review: Jonathan Richman with “There’s Something About Mary” at Lost Weekend Video, 8/19/2010

Quite life-like.

Jonathan Richman in print and Jonathan Richman in real life.

Words by Mielle Sullivan. Photography and videos by Christopher Rogers.

I’ve been to a lot of Jonathan Richman shows. I see him almost every time I get the chance. I see him yearly at The Great American Music Hall; I’ve seen him at several residencies at The Make-Out Room; and just last month, I saw him at the Swedish American Hall.

So, I was delighted to hear that he was going to be appearing, a few blocks from where I live in The Mission.

Continue reading “Review: Jonathan Richman with “There’s Something About Mary” at Lost Weekend Video, 8/19/2010″

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 8/19/2010-8/25/2010

Pictured: Crowded House, playing The Warfield on August 23rd.

Howdy, Bay Area live music fans! I’ve got a great week for you! It’s a good time for you to stop sleeping for a while!

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 8/19/2010-8/25/2010”

Show Review: An Evening With Billy Idol at The Fillmore, 8/17/10

An example of a "rebel yell"

While waiting in line to see Billy Idol last night at the Fillmore, I was talking to a friend on the phone that was rather disappointed to learn that his show was sold out, and the asking price on the streets was about $160. We were talking about Idol’s history, and I was informed that Idol was once a member of Siouxsie & The Banshees, but left the band because he felt that they weren’t taking music seriously enough. My immediate response was, of course, to chuckle, but I thought about Idol’s place in our society and realized that there is nobody else out there quite like him. He is part of the new wave era, the punk era, and the hair metal era, and managed to escape all of those trends with dignity & credibility. There is a reason that he is still able to sell out The Fillmore on a Tuesday night 30 years after his first record.

Continue reading “Show Review: An Evening With Billy Idol at The Fillmore, 8/17/10”

San Francisco’s Outside Lands Festival 2010: Day 2

The far eastern Twin Peaks stage of Outside Lands (photo by kelp: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kelp/4896077718/)
The far eastern Twin Peaks stage of Outside Lands (photo by kelp: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kelp/4896077718/)

The second day of San Francisco’s Outside Lands Festival was met with both tiredness and anticipation from the thousands of fans who arrived to see the remainder of the odd but interesting festival lineup. While the day began just as overcast and somewhat gloomy as it had when it faded out the night before, blue sky finally broke through the clouds in the early afternoon, treating those who arrived to warm sunlight and renewed energy (especially with those who had been drained of theirs the night before). With a handful of big acts to come in the evening, it was expected that the opening bands would parallel their predecessors of the first day and serve as appetizers to the eventual banquet of concert frenzy; today, however, things got off to a rather slower, smoother start, which caused thankfulness in some and restlessness in others.

Continue reading “San Francisco’s Outside Lands Festival 2010: Day 2”

San Francisco’s Outside Lands Festival 2010: Day 1

This probably looked this empty for about 5 minutes.
This probably looked this empty for about 5 minutes. (photo by Atom Ess: http://www.flickr.com/photos/atom_ess/2791709290/)

The official lineup for San Francisco’s third annual Outside Lands Festival caused some waves of bewilderment when it was first announced. Considering the lineups that had dominated Lollapalooza and Coachella this year, it was surprising that Outside Lands didn’t seem to step up to the same plate, while still remaining within the ballpark. Despite this, and the unusual inclusion of San Francisco regulars Furthur (featuring Phil Lesh and Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead) as headliners opposite acts such as The Strokes and Kings Of Leon, a handful of excellent acts did make their way into the roster, attracting yet another slew of thousands of avid concertgoers to the first day of the festival.

Continue reading “San Francisco’s Outside Lands Festival 2010: Day 1”

Show Review: Porcupine Tree with Karnivool at The Warfield Theater, 8/11/2010

Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree
Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree

When a massive act plans a statewide, or possibly worldwide, tour, one of the factors involved is selecting opening bands for the tour. More often than not, the presence of a more famous and popular headliner will usually be a signal that larger, more well-known opening acts will come along for the ride. In the case of Porcupine Tree, however, their opening slot on Coheed And Cambria’s colossal new tour comes with the hope that at least a good chunk of the audience will be part of the dedicated following that they have carved out themselves within the states. As a nod to those fans, Porcupine Tree kicked off the tour with a special headlining show for one of their favorite cities (as claimed by frontman Steven Wilson on a few occasions): San Francisco, California.

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 8/12/2010-8/19/2010

Pigeons hate beard rock. Love the Outer Richmond. Let's see what happens to Kings Of Leon this time!

This is Outside Lands weekend, and a surprising number of excellent non-Outside Lands related gigs are happening concurrently. So, if you don’t feel like watching Kings Of Leon getting pooped on (although who wouldn’t love to see that!), you’ve got some crazy good options. Read On!

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 8/12/2010-8/19/2010”