Show Review: Baroness, Weedeater at The Lodge Room (Highland Park), 09-20-2025

“We’re having a great time up here!”

Upon pulling up to the Lodge Room and parking my motorcycle on the street for the second show I would be covering that week, I made a discovery that is every photographer’s nightmare. In my rush to pack up and leave my house, I forgot to pack my SD cards. This part of Highland Park is relatively small and while there was a camera shop nearby, it had closed an hour or two ago, which meant I would have to haul ass to the closest target, panic coursing through my veins, mixing with adrenaline, where I would find the only SD card they had in stock. A quick purchase and a semi-reckless speeding jaunt back to the Lodge Room later, I had luckily made it with time to spare and also discovered that a guard rail had been set up —a first for my experience with this venue, rendering my previous panic somewhat unnecessary. After a celebratory beer, I readied my camera for a night of heavy metal.

Continue reading “Show Review: Baroness, Weedeater at The Lodge Room (Highland Park), 09-20-2025”

Film Review: “Eden”

A star-studded affair to relish (then forget)

Frederick (Jude Law) and Dore (Vanessa Kirby) scowl at newcomers.

The “Galapagos Affair” is a fascinating and troubling true story. Multiple eyewitness accounts have been published, as well as a documentary and non-fiction books, about the incident. Director Ron Howard, no stranger to the “based on a true story” aspect of filmmaking (Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, Frost/Nixon, Thirteen Lives, among others), depicts the “Galapagos Affair” in his new film, Eden, a thriller set among paradise-seeking settlers on the island of Floreana in the 1930s. Eden is a star-studden affair, a sexually-charged collision of characters unfolding in a harsh natural environment, but the crucial “why” behind the proceedings is never explored, resulting in the film’s inability to be anything more than a diverting thriller. Continue reading “Film Review: “Eden””

Show Review: Baroness with Youth Code at the Regency Ballroom, 6/2/2016

John Dyer Baizley of Baroness
John Dyer Baizley of Baroness

Near-death experiences have often been labeled as the reason behind sudden shifts in artistic mindsets, philosophy, spiritual beliefs, and overall lifestyle changes. For the men of sludge-psych heroes Baroness, who experienced their own brush with the beyond in a horrific bus crash in Bath in 2012, it almost spelled out the end of the band, with founding member Allan Blickle and new bassist Matt Maggioni leaving the group after their recovery. Their frontman, John Dyer Baizley, thus had the incredible task of healing from his own injuries and also deciding what to do with the thunderous force that he had been helping to craft for half a decade. Miraculously, Baroness have returned, possibly even stronger than before, and their plight has not affected their egos whatsoever — they are genuinely as passionate and ferociously happy to be onstage as ever, and grateful for all who have come to see them.

Continue reading “Show Review: Baroness with Youth Code at the Regency Ballroom, 6/2/2016”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 5/3/12-5/9/12

Opening for The Black Keys this Friday Night!

Another week of rock and roll… Because sleep is totally overrated.

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 5/3/12-5/9/12”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide To Bay Area Concerts: December 2nd-December 8th

 

Grannies at Annies. Nuff Said.
Grannies at Annies. Nuff Said.

Shows, shows, shows… That’s all I ever talk about. In this column at least. Ok: go support some live music venues!!!!!!

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide To Bay Area Concerts: December 2nd-December 8th”

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

The new Dead By Sunrise album
The new Dead By Sunrise album

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”