Spinning Platters – Page 333 – Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds

SF Sketchfest Review: A Conversation With “Weird Al” Yankovic at Cobb’s Comedy Club 1/23/09

The last time “Weird Al” Yankovic made a public appearance in San Francisco was a performance at The Fillmore in 1996. That’s 13 years of eagerly awaiting a return. He’s toured plenty in that time. In fact, he’s played Santa Cruz and Sacramento on numerous occasions, which I did, indeed make the road trip for on one glorious, rainy day. (There were moments on the trip, especially while driving through the rougher parts, where rain was coming from every direction and visibility was none that I thought only by the grace of God did we make it to the show alive.)

So, this is an appearance that has been greatly anticipated by the Al fans from the Bay. I was excited, at first, to read that “Weird Al” was booked to play Cobb’s Comedy Club! I was saddened when I found out that it was a conversation, not a performance of music. I didn’t quite know what to expect of this. He doesn’t have a reputation for being media shy. In fact, before this afternoon, I thought that I knew everything there was to know about Al. I was wrong. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: A Conversation With “Weird Al” Yankovic at Cobb’s Comedy Club 1/23/09″

Single Review: Elizabeth Fraser – Moses

“Moses” is the first song that iconic Cocteau Twins vocalist Elizabeth Fraser has ever released as a solo act. This either means something profoundly significant to you, or it doesn’t. For an entire generation of music fans, Fraser’s was “the voice of God.” But it has been 12 years since she’s had any real involvement with the music world. Why pop up again now? Then again, disappearing for a decade between releases seems to be working just fine for Sade, so why not Fraser?

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SF Sketchfest Review: The Greg Proops Chat Show with Special Guest Robin Williams at Yoshi’s, 1/20/10

I had heard rumors of the renowned aging sasquatch riding around the damp streets of San Francisco in unforgiving bike shorts, but a confirmed sighting still eluded me… until…

On a dark stormy night, in a tiny Fillmore club, Robin Williams bedazzled a lucky audience with a one-on-one chat with Greg Proops. Well, it wasn’t much of a chat, more like a never-ending barrage of witty banter between the two comics that had no real direction or ending for that matter. Fueled exclusively by H2O, and lots of it, we enjoyed close to two hours of fast-paced ADHD ramblings from Mr. Williams that made the rest of the world seem distant. Good entertainment is rated by how easily you can escape from your own surroundings, and with Robin onstage, I was whisked away to a land of sodomy, various accents, and career revaluations. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: The Greg Proops Chat Show with Special Guest Robin Williams at Yoshi’s, 1/20/10”

Show Review: White Denim at The Independent, 1/20/10

What makes a live show good? Obviously the music is a huge component. It’s almost a stupid question to ask. But when you think about it, music isn’t the only component. You can go to a show where the music is revolutionary but the performance, crowd, maybe even the smell just suck. I pose this question because White Denim, is a hard performing band. As much as you may read that they don’t stick to one genre, you won’t understand until you see them live. Their music was good. What made the show awesome was how hard they performed. Continue reading “Show Review: White Denim at The Independent, 1/20/10”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide To Bay Area Concerts: January 20th-January 26th

gracejones — Grace Jones Picture. Why Not?

Coachella was announced today. Pretty good. Pretty much on the other side of the state. And four months away. Musicians work far more often than that. Why don’t you seen them cold and indoors? Sorry that I don’t have Grace Jones to offer you, but here are other things!

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide To Bay Area Concerts: January 20th-January 26th”

Show Review: Styx at the Regency Ballroom, 1/17/10

Styx gets a bad rap. They’re one of those punch-line bands that people claim to like ironically. This is both unfair and stupid. There’s a subset of great classic rock bands that are being kept out of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for having the gall to be too popular. Along with Journey, Kiss, Rush, Boston and Chicago, it seems that success and longevity have worked against them. No matter, though, because an evening with Styx is what rock n’ roll is really all about. Continue reading “Show Review: Styx at the Regency Ballroom, 1/17/10”

Show Review: Hockey with Asa Ransom and fakeyourowndeath at Bottom of the Hill, 1/15/10

Hockey Vocalists — It's Hockey, but he's not singing Oh Canada.

I like going to see hockey. I’m always telling people that they can’t appreciate hockey unless they see it live. You can’t see the speed, the positioning, or really feel the hits unless you’re in the arena. But what about Hockey, the band? Do you need to see them live to truly appreciate them? Do they bring something to the table live that you just can’t hear on their excellent record, Mind Chaos? Continue reading “Show Review: Hockey with Asa Ransom and fakeyourowndeath at Bottom of the Hill, 1/15/10”

SF Sketchfest Review: The Paul F Tompkins Show w/ Grant Lee Phillips, Dave Foley, Illeana Douglas, Dave Gruber Allen, and Picnicface

grant lee paul thompkins — The soul of Andy Kaufman blurred this photo

I have always considered music and comedy to be kindred spirits. Both art forms require a mastery of rhythm and delivery to pull off well, and much of music and comedy seems to be inspired by the same general subjects: relationships, politics, and religion. This may be why some of the funniest people on earth are musicians, and most of the great comedians are also very talented musicians.

SF Sketchfest has been working at blurring those lines for nine years now, but last night’s Paul F Tompkins performance was the one of the best fusions of the two that I have ever experienced. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: The Paul F Tompkins Show w/ Grant Lee Phillips, Dave Foley, Illeana Douglas, Dave Gruber Allen, and Picnicface”

New Release Round Up 1/12/10 – 42 Instant Album Reviews

Here are 42 reviews that cover three weeks. Lots of stuff has happened in the past three days. Most notably, a couple of musician deaths and the whole mass crisis thing in Haiti. I think Heidi Montag’s album may have brought upon these tragedies, sort of like a precursor to the apocalypse. Continue reading “New Release Round Up 1/12/10 — 42 Instant Album Reviews”

Spinning Platters Podcast Episode 14 – Too Much Jersey Shore

On episode 14 of the Spinning Platters podcast, we welcome Gary Baker of Universal Music Group for a discussion of his work, including an in-depth discussion about the continued place of major labels in today’s music. We also talk about some upcoming music and shows, and we talk way too much about the Jersey Shore.

You’ll also notice that we discuss Jay Reatard as “what Gary’s been listening to,” and you should know we recorded this the day before he passed away. This episode is dedicated to his memory.

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Podcast Episode 14 — Too Much Jersey Shore”