Show Review: Electric Six, The Gay Blades & Millions of Brazilians at The Independent, 11/12/09

You must obey him.
You must obey him.

The Electric Six burst onto the scene in 2003 with my personal favorite album of the year, Fire. I wrote back then:

Here it is, the greatest walking album ever created, and it is a concept album. The concept is dancing while on fire. It equates dancing with war, nuclear war in fact. The orders are given by a dance commander in the song of the same title that contains the lyric “It would be awesome if we could dance-uh.” Every song on here is incredibly fun and silly and danceable and singable and just downright brilliant. This is just quality disco rock and roll, and well … it is without precedent. I have never heard an album quite like this, and hope I don’t ever hear another like it. I don’t want this band to try and do this concept again. It would be like The Who doing Tommy 2.

Six years later, without anything remotely resembling follow-up success (even though their album I Shall Exterminate Everything Around Me That Restricts Me From Being the Master has one of the all-time great titles), the band is still filling up the Independent on a Thursday night with their brand of cocky dance rock. Continue reading “Show Review: Electric Six, The Gay Blades & Millions of Brazilians at The Independent, 11/12/09”

Show Review: The Used with The Almost at The Warfield 11/11/09

photo

The Used’s set began with an intro video of footage from past tours mixed with stock footage of planes taking off, cars passing by, and scenery changing as if shot from a window of a car. I am not sure most of the fans knew what to think of this semi-heartfelt intro. Backed by a piano and some strings, it seemed like it, as well as most everything with this set could have been better. When the video ended, the entire band just walked on stage.  It was kind of anticlimactic for such a drawn out intro. Continue reading “Show Review: The Used with The Almost at The Warfield 11/11/09”

Spinning Platters Podcast Episode 8 – Leaving Early

Did he quit? Did he not quit?
Did he quit? Did he not quit?

Leaving early is both what I did, and what the subjects of our conversation did. Join us as we discuss what happens when a lead singer leaves a band. Do they get better?  Worse?  Stay the same? As always, you can subscribe by pressing the giant button with headphones on it, or you can listen below. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Podcast Episode 8 — Leaving Early”

New Release Round Up, 11/10/09 – 31 Instant Album Reviews

This is a Christmas album, a live album, and a greatest hits album. It was probably re-released this week.
This is a Christmas album, a live album, and a greatest hits album. It was probably re-released this week.

I’m back, the weekly search for original and pithy comments continues.  The holidays are coming and it’s time to drag myself away from my new Droid phone (where’s the LaLa app guys ?) and toil through the mass of holiday music to find the true gems of the week.  There was really no huge standout for me this week.  I loved the first track on the Switchfoot album and was quite pleasantly surprised by the late day discoveries of  Dead To Me and For Against.  If I am forced to choose then I will pick The Fountain by Echo and The Bunnymen with them getting the nod based on their historical relevance to me personally. Continue reading “New Release Round Up, 11/10/09 — 31 Instant Album Reviews”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide To Bay Area Concerts: November 11th-November 17th

Opening for Electric Six!!!!
Opening for Electric Six!!!!

More things to do in the Bay Area. All of them good. The greatest band ever is playing the Warfield on Friday, but here are better things to do.

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide To Bay Area Concerts: November 11th-November 17th”

Photo Gallery: Paramore, Paper Route, The Swellers at The Warfield, 11/10/09

paramore

I usually never drink at shows. On occasion I might be up for a whiskey on the rocks, but rarely do I ever booze it up a show that I’m really into. I can’t tell you exactly why I decided to drink at this particular show; it could be because I was one of the handful of people over 21, or because I have the day off tomorrow (today) or whatever. The $7 it cost for a Red Stripe didn’t even deter me. It just felt like the right night to indulge, so I did. 2 beers, a whiskey on the rocks, and a shared Sex on the Beach with my companion later, I was thoroughly rocking out at the Paramore show.

Continue reading “Photo Gallery: Paramore, Paper Route, The Swellers at The Warfield, 11/10/09”

Show Review: Paramore, Paper Route, The Swellers at The Warfield 11/10/09

This is what Paramore looked like a couple of days ago
This is what Paramore looked like a couple of days ago

Last month, I posted a review of the band Heart at The Warfield. In the review, I mention the band Paramore in a very positive light. In the comments, somebody posted this question:

Question: What is the importance of a band like Paramore? (Serious question — I’m 38 years old. :) )

When I wrote this review, it was expected I would have already written quite a fair amount about this band, and the kind reader would not have been confused. But, this show was moved from the beginning of the tour to the end of the tour, and I had yet to write a review of the new record, brand new eyes. Well, since this show has finally happened, I think it’s fair of me to, within discussion of this performance, to help describe why the band Paramore is truly important, and additionally, why a 38 year old Heart fan should know what his/her niece already understands.

Continue reading “Show Review: Paramore, Paper Route, The Swellers at The Warfield 11/10/09”

Show Review: Over the Rhine with Katie Herzig at Great American Music Hall, 11/10/09

rhine

San Francisco’s Midwestern transplants flocked to the Great American Music Hall on Tuesday night to bask in the soothing siren song of Ohio-based indie stalwarts Over the Rhine. The band, consisting primarily of smug marrieds Linford Detweiler (bass/piano/vocals) and Karin Bergquist (vocals/piano) and currently celebrating its twentieth year, treated its Bay Area fans to a nearly two-hour set spanning a vast array of fan favorites.

Continue reading “Show Review: Over the Rhine with Katie Herzig at Great American Music Hall, 11/10/09”

Album Review: Julian Casablancas – Phrazes for the Young

julian casablancasAlthough there was already a mini review of the new album by The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas, Phrazes for the Young, in our New Release Round Up feature last week, I think it deserves few more words coming from one of those “Strokes fans” mentioned.

Truthfully, after the disappointment of the last Strokes album, First Impressions of Earth, I haven’t been as eagerly awaiting a new Strokes album as I would have been before. And especially after hearing some of the solo material by other members of the band, it was obvious that together or separately, the band had a a lot to offer. Now finally an album has been released by the band’s main songwriter and voice: Julian Casablancas, the last member to venture into a solo project.

Continue reading “Album Review: Julian Casablancas — Phrazes for the Young”

Photo Gallery and Video: Pixies at The Fox Oakland, 11/8/2009

Photographic evidence of the first triumphant Pixies concert at the Fox Theater in Oakland.

With a bonus video snippet of one of the most wonderful moments in music ever, performed live that very evening.

Continue reading “Photo Gallery and Video: Pixies at The Fox Oakland, 11/8/2009”