Spinning Platters – Page 371 – Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds

Queensryche at The Fillmore, 6/4/09

One more time around is all he asks for now.

In Queensryche’s heyday, they were an awesome force of a band. Geoff Tate was an absolute beast, a singer with an incredible voice and an incredible range. The twin lead guitars of Michael Wilton and Chris Degarmo alternated heavy riffs and bright solos with the greatest of ease. And the solid, spectacular rhythm section of Eddie Jackson and Scott Rockenfield carried the whole thing forward with fierce momentum. That was 1990 or so. This is 2009. What are they like now? Continue reading “Queensryche at The Fillmore, 6/4/09”

Jens Lekman at Bottom of the Hill, 6/2/09

Was Jens Lekman as serious as I expected?

For some reason, I thought Jens Lekman would be very serious. I’m not sure why I thought this, but I assumed he’d stand up at his microphone, quietly singing his songs by himself. So I was more than pleasantly surprised to see him dancing happily along with his 5-piece band right from the very beginning of the show. He had a smile pasted on his face the whole time, and so did I. Continue reading “Jens Lekman at Bottom of the Hill, 6/2/09”

Festival Preview: Wanderlust Festival in Squaw Valley, 7/24/09-7/26/09

Girl Talk should be featured in the Wanderlust marketing

This summer, a new festival comes to the Lake Tahoe area called the Wanderlust Festival. I’m extremely excited about this festival, and have already reserved a hotel room and picked up tickets. Now, I’m simply holding my breath and hoping they sell enough tickets for it to happen. Their marketing is poor. They’re selling the festival like this: Continue reading “Festival Preview: Wanderlust Festival in Squaw Valley, 7/24/09-7/26/09”

Better Things To Do This Week Than Cleaning The Bathroom

dawnoftheblackhearts Continue reading “Better Things To Do This Week Than Cleaning The Bathroom”

Spinning Platters Picks Six: Rock Poster Artists

If you come to my apartment, you’d see walls coated with rock posters, boxes full of poster tubes, and a giant flat file under the bed with even more posters. So to kick off this feature, where Spinning Platters writers will pick six of something in music that they really like, I’m going to share a quick list of some of my favorite poster artists.

I’m not trying to make a “Best Of” list here, just sharing some of my personal favorites. I’d love to see comments about your favorites, so leave them in the comment section. That way I’ll know of more artists on which to spend my money! Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Six: Rock Poster Artists”

Animal Collective at The Fox Oakland, 5/26/09

The Animal Collective stage was colorful all night long

Animal Collective are one of those bands that people either love or hate. There doesn’t seem to be a middle ground with them. Yet I found myself smack dab in the middle before seeing them live. Admittedly, I don’t know their material all that well. I love some of their songs; I hate some of their songs. My favorites of their songs are ones that sound an awful lot like Conspiracy, the ridiculously obscure Yes side project that featured tons of vocal interplay. The songs I can’t stand are the ones that meander endlessly, seemingly without purpose.

So what was the live experience like? A little from column A, a little from column B. Continue reading “Animal Collective at The Fox Oakland, 5/26/09”

This Week In Shows That We Think You Will Enjoy

Animal Collective Will Be Playing At The Fox Theater In Oakland

Continue reading “This Week In Shows That We Think You Will Enjoy”

Album Review: Jarvis Cocker – Further Complications

Further Complications sounds more like a midlife crisis than a record. There are a couple of great classic Jarvis songs, some really good lyrics, and some really awful hard rock music. I was nervous to hear that Jarvis Cocker was working with producer Steve Albini and my nervousness was founded. There is some Jarvis left in there somewhere, but on some songs the vocals are mixed so low you can barely make out the lyrics; and what is the point of that when you are listening to a record from one of the world’s greatest lyricists!?!

Further Complications indeed. Continue reading “Album Review: Jarvis Cocker — Further Complications”

TV On The Radio w/The Dirty Projectors at The Fox Oakland, 5/22/09

news-tv_on_the_radio — Not everyone finds the same thing funny...

The old story is that whenever The Velvet Underground came to town, everyone at the show started a band. On the contrary, whenever TV On The Radio come to town, everyone gives up. Few bands seem to set the bar as high as these gentlemen from New York.

Continue reading “TV On The Radio w/The Dirty Projectors at The Fox Oakland, 5/22/09”

The Leaky Faucet: Mika – Songs For Sorrow

Retail Release Date: June 8th, 2009 (only available on mikasounds.com)

Leaky Faucet Acquisition Date: May 15h, 2009

Mika is a singer-songwriter from Lebanon via England. He released a record in 2007 called Life In Cartoon Motion, a glorious pop record that was equal parts Donna Summer, Queen, Rufus Wainwright, and Erasure. He also writes songs that tell stories so vividly that one could call him the Bruce Springsteen of disco.

On May 15th, he’s releasing an EP of acoustic songs to tide people over until his next full length record, due out next year. He also enlisted some of his favorite artists to make original works to help tell the stories on this EP. Continue reading “The Leaky Faucet: Mika — Songs For Sorrow”