Bob Mould – Spinning Platters

The 2023 Stern Grove Fest Line Up is Ridiculous!!!!

We are so very lucky in San Francisco. The lineup for the Stern Grove festival was just released, and it feels unfair how good it is. We are already lucky enough to live in the greatest place on Earth, but to see this array of acts FOR FREE?!?!?! In an absolutely stunning outdoor amphitheater? The rest of the world is full of envy for us.

I kinda want to go to everything… I mean, it opens with jazz experimentalists Snarky Puppy on June 18th. Then a bill where NEKO CASE IS THE OPENER?!?! Of course, she’s opening for the legendary Indigo Girls on June 25th for a bill that’s way more than closer to fine. (Sorry!) Avant-Pop icon Santigold on July 2nd. Lyle Lovett with our dear friend Andrew St James on July 9th. Legendary singer Angelique Kidjo is gracing our presence on July 16th. Jammy Funksters Lettuce is playing with the SF Symphony, which is just, um, !!!!!!. On July 20th, we’ve got the house double bill of Bob Moses and Neil Frances. August 6th brings us the FINAL SF PERFORMANCE from Buddy Guy. Competing with Outside Lands on August 13th (Damn right, I’m angry) is Patti Smith, possibly the most captivating live performer I’ve ever seen, paired with former Husker Du and Sugar frontman Bob Mould. And closing the whole thing out? The Flaming Lips on August 20th.

As with the last two years, tickets are free but do require RSVP. RSVP Links are below, along with the day and time they go live. (Which appears to be the same date as the show in the prior month at 2pm) And, as usual, they are selling tables to The Big Picnic with The Flaming Lips on August 20th.

June 18 Snarky Puppy, Isaiah Sharkey (RSVP Opens May 18th at 2pm)

June 25 Indigo Girls (with Full Band), Neko Case (RSVP Opens May 25th at 2pm)

July 2 Santigold, Ogi (RSVP Opens June 2nd at 2pm)

July 9 Lyle Lovett and His Large Band, Andrew St. James (RSVP Opens June 9th at 2pm)

July 16 Angelique Kidjo, Jupiter & Okwess (RSVP Opens June 16th at 2pm)

July 23 SF Symphony with Special Guest Lettuce (RSVP Opens June 23rd at 2pm)

July 30 Bob Moses, Neil Frances (RSVP Opens June 30th at 2pm)

August 6 Buddy Guy Damn Right Farewell Tour, Eric Gales (RSVP Opens July 6th at 2pm)

August 13 Patti Smith, Bob Mould (RSVP Opens July 20th at 2pm)

August 20 The Big Picnic Featuring The Flaming Lips, Alan Palomo (Neon Indian DJ Set) (RSVP Opens July 20th at 2pm)

Festival: DRILL LA – Day 01 @ The Echo (Los Angeles)

Three days of music explodes in Echo Park!

Wire’s DRILL Los Angeles Festival kicked off with a three band night at The Echo (the smaller of the two venues living in the same building) with performances by Alina Bea, Immersion, and Bob Mould. As I’ve said before, I’m somewhat of a fan of The Echo (and its basement counterpart, Echoplex). The sound is almost always on point. The only downside of the upstairs is the lighting and small size of the stage leave a bit to be desired. It’s no surprise that most of the punk rock and smaller indie acts play upstairs while the downstairs houses larger bands and equally larger stage. That said, the intimacy provided by The Echo is its strongest point, and for the evening’s performances, that was a must.

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Festival Preview: DRILL Los Angeles

WIRE brings DRILL back to the West Coast for the first time in 4 years!

When I was seventeen I went to “The Warped Tour” in San Francisco. I had never been to a festival and it was definitely a bit mind blowing. The concept of walking from stage to stage strategically placed in a given area, with an enormous lineup of bands, having to pick and choose which bands to see and which bands to miss, was thrilling to say the least. I continued going to bigger and bigger festivals after that (Coachella, Sasquatch, Treasure Island) until about 2010 when I ultimately began to feel jaded by them and I haven’t been to a single festival since. So here we are in 2017, I am now in my 30s and I’m going to another festival. This one, however, promises to be a whole different experience entirely. Since around 2013, English post-rockers WIRE have been curating a festival called DRILL. The catch with DRILL is that it doesn’t rely on gigantic locations and 100s of bands but, instead, focuses on smaller venues and puts more energy into bringing diverse musical styles and bands, both new and old, together. While, thematically, many of the bands are linked by the post-punk, darkwave, dream pop genre, it is safe to say from past DRILL lineups that it promises to be an exciting and unique experience.

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Show Review: Two Nights with Sleater-Kinney at The Masonic, 5/2/15-5/3/15

The last time Sleater-Kinney played a show in San Francisco, it was a two-night stand at the Great American Music Hall that ran May 2nd and 3rd, 2006. Exactly nine years to the day, they returned to San Francisco, only instead of returning to that intimate, 600-seat club, they played nine blocks away at the newly-restored Masonic Theater. The fact that they put so much care and thought into the tour routing meant that this was going to be a special event; the fact that these shows both sold out in milliseconds proved that San Francisco cared just as much about their return as the band does.

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A Music Nerds Guide To Noise Pop 2013

Every year, for one week, the good people of Noise Pop with their epically refined tastes put together the best week of live music program of the year. And, of course, it could be highly intimidating as well. So, here is a well thought out guide to Noise Pop 2013.

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Noise Pop Show Review: Ben Gibbard at Great American Music Hall, 2/27/11

Ben Gibbard is called out by Bob Mould at Noise Pop

Closing the Noise Pop festival with solo acoustic shows from Ben Gibbard and Zach Rogue was the right choice. People flew in from Europe, skipped the Oscars, even skipped church for an a relaxing evening at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall. The young crowd was a mix of experienced Noise Pop festival attendees and those that made last night’s show their select choice. Continue reading “Noise Pop Show Review: Ben Gibbard at Great American Music Hall, 2/27/11”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 11/18/2010-11/24/2010

Noomi Rapace, err, Carrie Browstein and Janet Weiss with their new supergroup, WILD FLAG, at the Doug Fir Lounge in Portland earlier this week. Photo by Inger Klekacz.

Check out the concerts around the Bay Area this week — after the jump.

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 11/18/2010-11/24/2010”

Treasure Island Festival Diary Part 3: 10/18/09 Sunday

Sunday at Treasure Island Music Festival was my first Sunday at the festival. In previous years, I always had something going on that Sunday, or the weather was bad, or I was too darned tired from being at a Mezzanine afterparty on the previous night. But this year, as a conscientious journalist, I had to come on Sunday and report on the entire day. Well, almost the entire day. I should explain. Continue reading “Treasure Island Festival Diary Part 3: 10/18/09 Sunday”