Film Review: “A Quiet Place Part II”

Outstanding sequel worth the wait

Evelyn (Emily Blunt) implores her injured son Marcus (Noah Jupe) to be quiet in the face of imminent danger.

Last March, I was all set to go to the advance reviewer screening of A Quiet Place II when the Bay Area began to shelter-in-place. The screening was cancelled and the movie’s release postponed. But this week I finally made it to that reviewer screening, marking my return to the cinema, some 14 months later. And it was worth the wait. Because not only is Part II terrific, but releasing it earlier via streaming wouldn’t have done it justice. This picture is meant for the big screen.

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Single Of The Week: “High In The Grass” by Sleater-Kinney

2019’s The Center Won’t Hold was a brilliant departure for one of the greatest bands in American rock n roll history. Sleater-Kinney was due to embark on a massive co-headlining trek with Wilco to support the record, allowing them to play the largest venues of their career. However, we all lived through the hell that was 2020. Instead of resting on their laurels, Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein decided to “bubble” together and, for the first time in their 25+ years playing together, write, record, and produce an album as a duo. Their 10th full-length, Paths Of Wellness, is out June 11th. The first single was the bluesy, Brownstein-led “Worry With You.” The second single and our single of the week is the Tucker-led “High In The Grass,” a psychedelic rock number reminiscent of Tucker’s other band, Filthy Friends. It’s a great song and further evidence that Sleater-Kinney will continue to move forward, sonically. 

You can enjoy “High In The Grass” in all the usual places. Paths Of Wellness can be preordered/presaved in all the usual places, too! And that co-headlining tour with Wilco? It’s been rescheduled for 2022. Sadly, no California dates at this time, so Bay Area folks will need to book a plane ticket to catch this amazing double bill. 

Show Review: Foreigner at Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, FL, 5/22/2021

Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @ConcertGoingPro

WAIT, WHAT… A SHOW REVIEW!!  Yes!

With all of the venues in San Francisco having been shuttered since March 2020, and without knowing just how much longer Covid-19 is going to keep them closed, Spinning Platters grew tired of the waiting and decided to look far and wide to other places in pursuit of a Real. Live. Show. 

Granted, many of these other places are less safe than the cautious San Francisco (recall that SF was the first city in America to institute a lockdown), but Spinning Platters is vaccinated and willing to risk it all for you! Where did we find such an amazing live event? Well, since our rock/metal photographer has been riding out the latter part of this pandemic in Florida, we found that shows actually happen there.

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Film Review: “Dream Horse”

Collette shines in horse racing charmer 

Jan (Toni Collette) develops a special bond with her new racehorse, Dream Alliance.

With theaters slowly reopening, film lovers may be waiting for the perfect film to get them up off the couch and back into the multiplex. Dream Horse may be just that film: it’s an old fashioned, feel-good movie that should motivate the whole family to undertake a cinematic outing.

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Single Of The Week: “Barbara” by TEKE::TEKE

Holy psychedelic shit! This monster of a track is a 70’s spy movie blended with the very concept of joy and boiled down to 3:50 of horn and flute-driven rock n roll. I am pretty sure that Quentin Tarantino and Wes Anderson are battling to see who can write the film version of “Barbara” first. Canada’s TEKE::TEKE blend traditional Japanese instruments with horns, flutes, guitar, bass, and drums and a lovely and imaginative way. This track is AMAZING. 

“Barbara” is the lead single off TEKE::TEKE’s debut full-length, Shirushi, out now on Kill Rock Stars. You can purchase or stream this record in all of the usual places!

In Defense Of: One Last Postponement

I know, I know, I know… We are all so very sick of COVID lockdowns and masking and social distancing and everything. And with recent news from the CDC saying that vaccinated folks drop the masks and live life like it’s normal should mean that we should stop seeing new postponements, right? Yet, just today, the Hella Mega Tour featuring Green Day, Weezer, Fall Out Boy, and The Interruptors just got pushed out a few more months, starting July 24th, 2021 in Dallas. This, along with recent news of Bikini Kill, Motley Crue, (which, if you don’t immediately scream to yourself “I’m gonna win that Motley Crue mirror if it fucking kills me” when you see those two band names together, then what are you even doing reading this blog?) and Rage Against The Machine pushing their late Summer / early Fall 2021 shows even further down the line, it’s gotta be a little frustrating, right? Continue reading “In Defense Of: One Last Postponement”

BottleRock Napa Valley 2021 Preview

It’s been nearly a year since the original lineup announcement for BottleRock Napa Valley 2020. It was only January, and we hardly knew anything yet about what would become of the world as we know it, especially for us live music lovers.

Fast forward to mid-May 2021, and most of us are starved for live events we might have once taken for granted. Fortunately, there’s finally a light appearing at the end of a very long and difficult tunnel.

I haven’t seen a show since January 2020. If you know me at all, you know that festivals are my favorite – especially one I can walk to from home. And finally, finally, finally, it seems like it’s about that time again. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you…

Bottle Rock Napa Valley 2021’s lineup! I’m happy to see that quite a few of those originally slated for last year’s BRNV will be playing this Labor Day when vaccinated music-lovers can convene to enjoy! This includes original headliner Stevie Nicks, plus Guns N’ Roses (!!) and returning headliners Foo Fighters. In addition to those three, I’m also looking forward to several smaller acts! Personally, I can’t wait to catch Finneas, the freaking Village People (!!), Absofacto, Atlas Genius, Miley Cyrus, Megan Thee Stallion, Brandi Carlile, Cage the Elephant, Portugal. The Man, Young the Giant, Maren Morris, Black Pumas, Jon Batiste, Digable Planets, Matt Nathanson, Mondo Cozmo, Meg Myers, among many others. Who are you most excited to see this year?

Here’s my preview playlist featuring some of my faves. Enjoy, get vaccinated, and I’ll see you in my hometown this Labor Day weekend at BottleRock Napa Valley!

BottleRock ticket info: On sale 5/20 at 10 am PST. Get yours here!

Book Review: Lily’s Grooves

Full Disclosure: I write about music and sometimes comedy. I am not an expert on literature, and, specifically, I’m not an expert on Children’s Literature. I am also married to an expert on Children’s Literature, and I really should have asked her to write this review, but I didn’t. However, currently, I am living life as a stay-at-home Dad to an amazing toddler that demands that I read to her several times a day. This kid also loves music, records, and cats. So, when I opened up my mailbox and found a copy of Lily’s Grooves, the story of a record store cat, I decided that it wasn’t really my opinion or even my partner with a master’s in Children’s Literature opinion that mattered. Just the kid. 

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Single Of The Week: “Ladies and Gentlemen” by DVNCT

DVNCT is a modern R&B duo from New York. Or maybe New Jersey? It wasn’t clear from their bio. What is clear is that their latest single “Ladies and Gentlemen” is a dark masterpiece that’s closer to TV On The Radio or Algiers than most anything you’ll hear on mainstream radio today. It’s a classic soul heartbreak song only your heart isn’t merely broken. It’s pulverized. 

“Ladies and Gentlemen” can be heard in all the usual places. There is more to come in the near future from these folks, so be sure to follow them around on all of the socials!

Film Review: “Here Today”

Crystal, Haddish can’t save strained so-called ‘comedy’ 

Emma (Tiffany Haddish) and Charlie (Billy Crystal) become good friends.

Back in 1989, Nora Ephron, in her film When Harry Met Sally, posed the age-old question: Can men and women ever really be friends? Now, thirty-two years later, Billy Crystal, who played the titular Harry, returns in Here Today to tell us that not only can men and women be friends, but that their friendship can yield an uninteresting, unfunny movie. Call this one When Charlie Met Snooze

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