Bay Area – Page 3 – Spinning Platters

Show Review: Macy Gray at Yoshi’s Oakland, 10/25/2013

If you ask me, Macy Gray’s career was ahead of its time. Fourteen years ago, On How Life Is came out, and all I’ve known about it in the time since is 1) that while I was beyond tired of hearing radio-saturated “I Try,” it was a great song, 2) Macy has an amazing, interesting, soulful voice, and 3) that the critics loved her. When I saw that she had a show scheduled in the Bay Area, at a favorite tiny venue (Yoshi’s Oakland, last Friday night), I decided it was high time I gave her my full attention. Continue reading “Show Review: Macy Gray at Yoshi’s Oakland, 10/25/2013”

Show Review: Bryan Abrams with Kevon Edmonds at Bal Theatre, 10/19/2013

Almost exactly a month ago, I was looking forward to reminiscing about high school days gone by. Color Me Badd, a group whose first album was loaded with songs my sister and I adored, was back together and playing near me. Sadly, though, the band had recently begun to fall apart, and what I thought would be a super fun evening of nostalgia was missing something. The day of the show, I realized that two former members were no longer with the group, one of them being its former lead singer, Bryan Abrams. While I understand that things are bound to happen over the course of two decades, my disappointment was undeniable. Rather than reviving the songs I most wanted to hear, they had replaced Abrams with singer/songwriter Corey Cross. To be fair, he’s a great singer; it just wasn’t the same. Thankfully, last night at the Historic Bal Theatre in San Leandro, I got to see what had been missing: Bryan Abrams.

Continue reading “Show Review: Bryan Abrams with Kevon Edmonds at Bal Theatre, 10/19/2013”

Show Review: Depeche Mode at Shoreline Amphitheatre, 9/26/2013

Best I could do without photo creds... — Best I could do without photo creds…

In 1993, I was introduced to the music of Depeche Mode by a girl who lived across the hall from me at boarding school. Of course I was already familiar with hits “People are People,” “Strangelove,” “Enjoy the Silence,” and the phenomenal “Personal Jesus.” It was this friend’s influence, however, that led me to fall for what’s still my favorite Depeche Mode song today: “Somebody.” Sure, it’s easy for a 14-year-old girl to love a wistful song, but twenty years later I still adore it (almost thirty years after it was released). And I know, it might be such an obscure favorite that I wouldn’t hear it live, but I didn’t really care: I knew better than to pass up a ticket to see such an iconic band when given the chance. And so I made the trek down to Shoreline Amphitheatre last night to catch their Delta Machine tour (named for the recent album of the same name) – a journey which turned out to take me four hours from home. (Twice what it should be, thanks to an insane parking situation at the venue that will likely keep me from going there any time I can avoid it!)

Continue reading “Show Review: Depeche Mode at Shoreline Amphitheatre, 9/26/2013”

Show Review: Javelin and Jamaican Queens at The New Parish, 5/5/2013

Lazy Sunday haze seeped through circumvallate pane. Showtime seemed everything but. Javelin and Jamaican Queens were scheduled to perform at eight. New Parish’s hallowed walls ached, hollered for bodies to enter its hollow hall. As the magic hour eclipsed, the static domain was a far cry from the neighboring Fox Theater, teeming with tacky teens. By 8:26, the promise of a show remained questionable as sparkling funsters trickled into the openness.

Nine — in a resounding, defiant, Deutschy “no” — finally bore revelry en masse.
Continue reading “Show Review: Javelin and Jamaican Queens at The New Parish, 5/5/2013”

Sketchfest Review: Will Franken/Drennon Davis (2/4/2012)

Will Franken and Drennon Davis — by Jakub Mosur/Leslie Winchester

San Francisco has a cloudy yet storied history of nurturing eclectic, eccentric geniuses. The tradition spans from Irwin Corey to Ron Lynch to Brent Weinbach and every sideways side-splitter in between. Many are unsung, underexposed and uncompromised: the inspiration for peers with wider appeal and fans with sharp hearts and heads. Festivals, artistic hodepodge, are optimal for such comedians, an extended focus for latest convolutions and tinkerings in front of fertile or familiar audiences. Will Franken and Drennon Davis, two locally brewed humorists of the aforementioned ilk, evoked the spirit of a sentient armchair: alarmingly absurd, wonderfully witty, warm and comfortable. Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: Will Franken/Drennon Davis (2/4/2012)”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide To Bay Area Concerts: October 13th-October 19th

Sadness be that it is merely an island of treasure, not a planet

As we all know, this weekend is the Treasure Island Music Festival. It’s always a really good weekend, and the night shows are pretty awesome this year, too! I will be there, and you should, too! But, just in case you have a deep phobia of pirates and buried treasure, we’ve got a few more ideas for you:

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide To Bay Area Concerts: October 13th-October 19th”

Spinning Platters Weekly Tip Sheet July 14th-20th

Flipper at Cafe du Nord Friday Night! Bring swim trunks!

Let us continue to guide you to high quality live musical performances in your greater civic area. Provided that your area is the same as my area. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Tip Sheet July 14th-20th”