Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
A double EP is always a little indulgent, but in this case we might forgive Bill Callahan a little indulgence. He’s been preoccupied these last six years, getting married and raising a son. Settling down. Continue reading “Show Review: Bill Callahan, Meg Baird at Castro Theater, 6/18/19 & Gundlach Bundschu Winery, 6/19/19”
The San Francisco International Film Festival has some people on staff with some impeccable taste in music. Since 2000, with their first pairing of Television’s Tom Verlaine with a series of short films from the 1920’s, they’ve chosen some pretty amazing pairings of rock musicians and silent films. At tonight’s event, we got to experience local folk rock heroine Thao Nguyen, accompanied by her long time back up band The Get Down Stay Down and a slew of classic and contemporary films for what amounted to a multimedia variety show that was unlike anything else I’ve seen.
Continue reading “SFIFF Review: Thao & The Get Down Stay Down at The Castro Theater, 4/29/14”
Okay, truth: almost exactly a year ago, I saw Doug Benson and a bunch of other funny dudes trash talk their way through the first Twilight movie, and haven’t stopped snickering about it since. While Sketchfest is one of our favorite times of year at Spinning Platters, regardless of which specific shows pop up on the yearly schedules, I secretly hoped all year long that the success of last year’s Benson Movie Interruption might become a yearly thing that would carry me through all five terrible films in the the Twilight “saga.” So imagine the joy I felt when this year’s Sketchfest schedule was released, and there it was: The Benson Movie Interruption: Twilight: New Moon! I sent my request in immediately, along with a note to my managing editor that basically said it was the one event I had to cover, even if it meant skipping new events I really wanted to check out. Thankfully, not only did I get access to see Doug and other funnies again this year, but I didn’t have to sacrifice lots of other chances to giggle! And for those that don’t know: whether you love Twilight or hate it, as long as you have a sense of humor, this is something you should plan on attending in the years that follow (there are still three films left in Doug’s series). There is no better way to spend an afternoon, especially a rainy Saturday as was the case this year, than in a room full of people watching a truly awful movie, with many a funny man talking shit over it all. Trust me, it’s wonderful. And I already can’t wait to do it again next year…
After scoring a parking spot on the street directly across from the Castro Theatre, waiting in an insanely long (but mercifully quick-moving) line for the ladies’ room, and finally settling into a comfy seat in the back, next to a sweet lady named Val and her hubby, I was ready for the fun to begin. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: The Benson Movie Interruption: “Twilight: New Moon” on 2/8/2014″