Look how much your girlfriend is enjoying herself at The Mountain Winery in Saratoga. So many concerts! So much wine!
As July transitions into August, The Mountain Winery continues to generally kick the ass of every other Bay Area concert venue this week—and it’s actually kind of an off-week for them. Nobody likes a showoff, Mountain Winery! Other highlights this week include Joanna Newsom, a free concert by Rickie Lee Jones, and the final performance by local favorites Make Me before they take an indefinite hiatus. All that and more, after the jump…
Crowds of people wait for her: Skye Edwards of Morcheeba
Any sort of band that plays music that can be even remotely described as “downtempo” has, in some eyes, a serious disadvantage when it comes to their live performance. The energy and excitement and wildness that comes from a live gig is toned down, and re-formed into the fluid, organic compositions that make up the worlds of dub, trip-hop, and ambient performance. Often, an audience with great patience and love of such swell in a melody becomes the ultimate factor in a successful show, or act, that brings mostly slower, dreamier, and more wistful compositions to the live world of music. Tonight’s crowd at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco fit this bill perfectly, so to speak, so it was little surprise when Skye Edwards and the other Londoners of Morcheeba proclaimed the intimate venue to be one of their favorite places in the world to play. Continue reading “Show Review: Morcheeba with The Mumlers and Mariee Sioux at The Fillmore, 7/28/2010”
“Hip-hope” perhaps? Their music blends genres of rap, electronica, reggae, jazz and other sounds, invoking spiritualism and awareness on social issues. They have risen to the top of their class, working with such greats as De La Soul and Run D.M.C. As Oakland’s MC Zion (aka Zumbi) and DJ/producer Amp Live prepare for a hometown reunion of sorts, opening for the infamous Black Star collaboration at the Fox Theater on Saturday, July 31st before setting out on a nationwide tour, they had a few moments to share with us to discuss their craft. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Zion I”
Robyn and Kelis share a hug during the final encore song.
On a chilly Saturday night, I exited my car, parked on 6th Street and Howard, clad in black stiletto ankle boots and a form-fitting black/white striped dress accented with a scant red cardigan that provided a bit of warmth en route to Mezzanine – located a few blocks away. Normally, I’m a jeans and hoodie kind of gal when it comes to attending live shows. However, since my Spinning Platters colleague, Dakin Hardwick, and I were meeting Dan Black, one of the opening acts on the All Hearts tour, co-headlined by Robyn and Kelis, for an in-person interview, I felt an overwhelming urge to dress up.
I was first exposed to The Gaslight Anthem via a concert at San Jose State with the Alkaline Trio, Rise Against, and Thrice about a year ago. They were the openers and I almost chose taking a trip to the merch booth over listening to their set. Luckily, I didn’t take that trip and now I am a fan of their music. So when I heard that they were playing a free show in San Jose, I was anxious to go. I was geared up and ready to hear their new album played live and possibly some old songs off The ’59 Sound. I got there two hours ahead of time to stake out my spot and didn’t intend on moving. Let’s just say it was well worth the lack of food for six hours.
Seen Here: Toad. Not Pictured: Wet Sprocket. Also Missing: The part of my brain that would tell me not to make that joke
I have a live music bucket list. That is, I have a list of performers and bands that I would like to see before I or they die. This week has been pretty good for me, in terms of knocking things off that list, but I was really excited about the opportunity to see the first band to make that list. I believe I was 12 when I first heard “All I Want.” I was watching VH-1, as I did sometimes at that age, and thought that it was one of the coolest songs that I have ever heard. At that point, I decided that I needed to see them live, yet it somehow became a difficult task. They played often throughout my high school years, but broke up before I was able to see them. When they reunited, they local shows tended to be either very intimate (selling out super fast), at wineries that are unreachable by public transit, or opening for other bands (Counting Crows, Big Head Todd & The Monsters), and it just wasn’t plausible for me. But, with everything working out just right, I’ve finally accomplished this goal, nearly 18 years later.
You can color in your own Bear In Heaven on the way to the Rickshaw Stop on Monday Night!
The last week of July is looking pretty crazy… Tons of amazing shows going on this week, including two very rare 4-band shows that are worth arriving early and staying late. Time to buy some Red Bull!
Jonathan Richman explained the reason for the existence of his ongoing residency at Swedish American Hall this week. He was in Reykjavik playing a show, and the opener was some girl playing guitar and singing, and he was thinking “whatever” but then he started really listening and fell in love with the music, as did his drummer and constant on-stage partner, Tommy Larkins. So when they found out Olof Arnalds was looking to play some shows in San Francisco, they set up these gigs. Thanks to everyone involved for getting them together because it’s always a total treat to see Mr. Richman in action. Continue reading “Show Review: Jonathan Richman with Olof Arnalds at Swedish American Hall, 7/21/10”
Why do I get the feeling that something's missing here?
The Barenaked Ladies are playing just about everywhere they can in the Bay Area this week. On Monday night, they were at the Mountain Winery and tonight they play at The Regency Center (with discount tickets available on Goldstar), but last night they were at the Wente Vineyards in Livermore. With a ticket price hovering in the $200 range, the audience mainly seated at tables for their catered dinner, and a charity auction before the show bringing $3000 for a single autographed bottle of wine, I had concerns that the show might feel an awful lot like dinner theater. And when they played “If I Had a Million Dollars,” and asked folks to sing along, my friend leaned in close to me and said, “I think a lot of people here HAVE a million dollars.” Continue reading “Show Review: Barenaked Ladies at Wente Vineyards, 7/20/10”
