GUESS WHAT!?!?! Mosswood Meltdown is THIS WEEKEND! Possibly the best lineup I’ve ever seen for an event, and it’s finally here! There are only a few tickets left for sale, and those can be purchased here. Join us to see legendary, groundbreaking acts Le Tigre, ESG, JJ Fad, and Bratmobile, as well as so many of my favorite bands ever- Mika Miko, Avengers, Snooper, Teddy Bear Orchestra, The Rondelles. Set times are below, and here’s a quick introduction to everyone playing! Continue reading “MOSSWOOD MELTDOWN SET TIMES ARE HERE! JOIN US THIS WEEKEND!!!”
Tag: avengers
Film Review: Avengers Age of Ultron
Not so much a movie as it is an issue of a comic book series drawn by a great artist.
You’ve already decided if you’re seeing Avengers Age of Ultron. You are. Of course you are. Everybody who sees movies on a regular basis is seeing this movie, and you’re not making a bad decision. You’ll see things on screen that can only exist in the world of modern big budget comic book cinema. This means you’ll get the good with the bad. You’ll get some action scenes that are truly fun to look at, displaying true artistry from the stunt team, choreographers, and effects house. What you won’t get are the stakes that will make you truly feel these scenes.
Film Review: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Captain America is in a post-Avengers world.
The surprise 2011 hit, Captain America: The First Avenger, succeeded because the iconic yet campy superhero received a modern injection of cinematic energy and solid storytelling. The main reason for the Captain’s successful re-emergence into mainstream pop culture was the charisma and multi-generational appeal of actor Chris Evans. Evans returns in his third stint as the star-spangled rescuer in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, a film with another solid plot extracted from the Marvel universe, a fantastic grip on character arcs and relationships, and an epic sense of scale that, obviously, takes place in a post-Avengers universe.
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Film Review: Thor: The Dark World
All brawn and little brain, but still…all brawn, glorious BRAWN!
Kenneth Branagh, who directed the first Thor movie, stepped down from the director’s chair and left it to Alan Taylor, who has quite the resume — including credits directing episodes of Game of Thrones, Mad Men, and The Sopranos. Thor: The Dark World is therefore very well directed; the action scenes are easy to follow and filled to the brim with marvelous visuals. There’s nothing technically problematic about Thor: The Dark World, either. All the pieces fall into place to create a very fun superhero tale. But what’s missing is that extra uniqueness that made Thor a surprising success. Chris Hemsworth as Thor was definitely part of that box office attraction, but, in my opinion, Branagh’s handling of Shakespearean themes (familial betrayals and royal tensions) helped Thor really separate itself from the rest of the superhero fare. Thor: The Dark World lacks that maturity. Instead, this film relies on explosive adventure and playful Whedon-esque humor to carry the full load. It succeeds at the blockbuster surface level, but it fails to carry over its predecessor’s dramatic character arcs (except for Loki – -as always… damn, Tom Hiddleston is good.)
Film Review: Iron Man 3
Yes, that’s a somewhat dejected looking Tony Stark. Why the long face when his new movie has a shot at earning one billion dollars at the worldwide box office? Well, there IS something Tony can be sad about — with The Avengers 2, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and likely a few more Marvel films on the horizon, this may be the last Iron Man installment for quite some time, if not ever. When Iron Man 3 takes advantage of that fact and pulls out all the stops, not including an unnecessarily complex plot and superfluous CGI, it’s a whole ton of explosive fun.
Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 5/24/12-5/30/12
The first of 400,000 outdoor music festivals of the Summer start this week, but there is plenty of other rocking for you, so good luck and make some excellent live music decisions.
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 5/24/12-5/30/12”
SpinningPlatters Interview: Penelope Houston of The Avengers
Penelope Houston is a rock legend. She is the lead singer of seminal San Francisco punk rock band The Avengers, and actively performs with both The Avengers, and releases solo albums. She recently released a fine new record called On Market Street, as well as a 2-disc edition of the band’s 1983 debut full length, self titled release, often referred to as “The Pink Album.” The Avengers will be performing at The New Parish on Friday, May 25th. SpinningPlatters had the opportunity to sit down with Penelope to discuss her career and her writing process.
How do you feel about people constantly asking you questions about the Avengers?
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Spinning Platters Podcast: Episode 5 – Digital Delay
Episode 5 of the Spinning Platters podcast features guest Caroline Hernandez of Spinning Platters joining us to discuss the upcoming Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. As always, we go off on our crazy tangents, and we invite you to listen to the crazy digital-delay blooper all the way at the end of the podcast.
We also discuss the following: Continue reading “Spinning Platters Podcast: Episode 5 — Digital Delay”
The Avengers, Pansy Division, Paul Collins Beat at The Uptown Nightclub, 9/17/09
So much notoriety on this bill! Every single act on this bill has been a major part of musical history, yet none of them have experienced much in the lines of commercial success. We have The Paul Collins Beat, featuring Paul Collins of The Nerves. Classic power pop band best unknown for originally recording “Hanging On The Telephone,” later made in to a monster hit by Blondie. (If you ever listen to Sound Opinions, their version is the one they sometimes play before going to the listener feedback portion of the show.) Pansy Division’s claim to fame is being the all-gay pop-punk band with innuendo filled lyrics that Green Day selected as the opening act for the big Dookie tour in 1994. It seems that the parents weren’t very happy with them in the Midwest. The Avengers were the band that opened for the Sex Pistols at Winterland Ballroom in 1978, which of course was the last show the Sex Pistols ever played. (We do not discuss the Sex Pistols reunion.)
Continue reading “The Avengers, Pansy Division, Paul Collins Beat at The Uptown Nightclub, 9/17/09”
Spinning Platters Weekly Guide To Bay Area Concerts: September 15th-21st
Welcome to the next part of the saga… I will tell you what shows you will be going to this week, and then you marry my 2nd cousin, but just so you can stake claim to his portion of the hope diamond.
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide To Bay Area Concerts: September 15th-21st”