Spinning Platters – Page 354 – Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds

Show Review: W00tstock: 3 Hours of Geeks & Music, Swedish American Hall, 10/19/09

Guess which are the geeks and which are the music!

The Swedish American Hall was the host to a brand new event last night. This was called W00tStock, and was advertised as “3 Hours of Geeks & Music.” It turned out to be part concert, part convention, and part comedy show. I can say without a doubt that it focused on the geeks more than the music, and that what music there was also fell onto the left side of the ampersand. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Continue reading “Show Review: W00tstock: 3 Hours of Geeks & Music, Swedish American Hall, 10/19/09”

Treasure Island Festival Diary Part 3: 10/18/09 Sunday

Sunday at Treasure Island Music Festival was my first Sunday at the festival. In previous years, I always had something going on that Sunday, or the weather was bad, or I was too darned tired from being at a Mezzanine afterparty on the previous night. But this year, as a conscientious journalist, I had to come on Sunday and report on the entire day. Well, almost the entire day. I should explain. Continue reading “Treasure Island Festival Diary Part 3: 10/18/09 Sunday”

10 Quick Questions with Paul and Storm

After their epic performance at this year’s Penny Arcade Expo, the world was breathlessly awaiting Paul and Storm’s next move. Fortunately, they had already announced this move a couple of days earlier. What brings them to San Francisco this week is an absolute geek fest called w00tstock, that also features Wil Wheaton, Adam Savage, and “other surprise guests,” most of whom have been announced and are listed at the bottom of this post. I’ll be there, and I strongly recommend picking up a ticket for Tuesday night while you still can. I spoke with Greg “Storm” DiCostanzo and asked him if he would do an email interview with Spinning Platters when the show got closer, and he graciously agreed to do so.

Spinning Platters: Your most well known song, featured in Rock Band, is “Opening Band.” What happens to that song when you headline? Continue reading “10 Quick Questions with Paul and Storm”

Show Review (Treasure Island Music Festival 10/18/09): The Flaming Lips, A Letter of Appreciation

Flaming Lips

Dear Kliph, Stephen, Michael, and Wayne,

This letter has been over a decade in the making. I can pinpoint the moment that started my love affair with your band to a precise moment in time. The date was October 28th, 1997, exactly one day after my 18th birthday. I was entering in to adulthood, and learned of a band that I only had a fleeting familiarity from adolescence via the video tapes of Alternative Nation that I cherished so dearly. This band that I had forgotten about had released the most amazing records I have ever read about. 4 cds, all designed to be played simultaneously. This record is called Zaireeka, and it was an experience that I have only enjoyed on a handful of occasions, primarily because of the difficulty in staging a listening. From this point on, I knew you were a band that I needed to know, and as I learned how to be a grown-up, you were there for me the entirety of the journey thus far, and I have no intention of losing you.

Continue reading “Show Review (Treasure Island Music Festival 10/18/09): The Flaming Lips, A Letter of Appreciation”

Treasure Island Festival Diary, Part 2: 10/17/09 Nighttime

The sky was lit by balloons and fireworks.

When the darkness finally arrived on Treasure Island on Saturday night, I decided it was time to put the camera and notebook down, and just dance. So nighttime at Treasure Island, as seen through my eyes, is a lot of disconnected sweaty memories. That is, of course, until I tried to leave the island, which turned out to be a lot tougher than I thought. Continue reading “Treasure Island Festival Diary, Part 2: 10/17/09 Nighttime”

Treasure Island Festival Diary, Part 1: 10/17/09 Daylight

We're about to wave them like we just don't care

The day is finally here for the Treasure Island Music Festival! This morning, I woke up with an extra bounce in my step which disappeared quickly as I started packing my backpack. Camera? Check. Laptop? Check. Sunscreen? Check. Now off to take the long public transit adventure to Treasure Island for a day of music and fun in the sun in the middle of San Francisco Bay. Continue reading “Treasure Island Festival Diary, Part 1: 10/17/09 Daylight”

Show Review: Moby and Kelli Scarr at The Warfield, 10/15/09

Oh no, I'm shredding again! Out of the doorway, like bullets on tin!

I first listened to Moby’s most recent record back in July. It’s an album called Wait For Me, and it’s a very calm album. I listened to it once straight through, and I was very disappointed. I thought it was kind of boring, and determined that I would probably never listen to it again. I didn’t think much about this fact until he announced tour dates, which was a surprise, since he didn’t play live to promote Last Night, which was a good, high energy dance record. I listened to it again, and concluded that I didn’t think that this was going to be a particularly good show if this was the material he was going to be focused on. Then, he pulled a fine rock star move. Continue reading “Show Review: Moby and Kelli Scarr at The Warfield, 10/15/09”

Show Review: Eisley at Slim’s, 10/15/09

eisley

So often there are those bands that fall between the cracks of your musical world. They fight and claw their way in, trying to have a place in your collection. They try to pop up on your Pandora station, or while you’re trying to decide if you should buy this eighty dollar shirt at a trendy clothing shop, just so they might have a chance of sticking in your head. And just when they get through (in my case it was the song “Marvelous Things”), they book a concert on the same night of another show you already have tickets for! It’s beyond me how many times I’ve missed Eisley just because I was at a different show on the same night. This show was somewhere around six years in waiting. Continue reading “Show Review: Eisley at Slim’s, 10/15/09”

Treasure Island Night Show Review: MGMT at the Independent, 10/16/09

The next prog superpower? It's not out of the realm of possibility.

My double clicking ability is expert! That’s how I got tickets to MGMT at the Independent. I picked up two tickets to see MGMT thinking that of course someone would like to join me on this outing. Apparently, no one I know likes then enough to cancel their Friday night plans, so I went alone and gave my ticket to a guy so his wife could get in. You can never have too much good karma, and tonight I didn’t need the money.

The last time I saw MGMT was at Live 105’s BFD in 2008. I don’t remember much about the band, I just remember the girls from Oakland girl rap group Hot Tub getting on stage and grinding around. (Hot Tub by the way is amazing.) So, needless to say, seeing MGMT at the Independent is a big change of venue from the parking lot at Shoreline. Continue reading “Treasure Island Night Show Review: MGMT at the Independent, 10/16/09”

New Release Round Up, 10/13/09 – 37 Instant Album Reviews

This week was stricken with lost reviews due to non-saving and some pretty good albums. My favorite of the week would have to be Carried Away by People Under The Stairs. Continue reading “New Release Round Up, 10/13/09 — 37 Instant Album Reviews”