Concert Review – Page 10 – Spinning Platters

Noise Pop Show Review: The Magnetic Fields with Mark Eitzel at The Fox Oakland, 2/27/10

With all of the bombast and thundering rock acts that have barreled through the Fox Theater over its first year of new business, one would think that the venue is only sticking around for the big, loud shows. Despite having a few concerts last year for softer, calmer acts, such as the folk masters of Bon Iver or the raptly-followed Band Of Horses, the majority of the performances at the Fox have been for big bands that seem to be out to test the limits of the theater’s foundations. Tonight’s show, arguably one of the most anticipated nights of the Noise Pop Festival, was a stark contrast to all previous acts; it was also perhaps the only show in my life that I did not need to wear earplugs for, for any moment of the performances. The Magnetic Fields had returned to the Bay Area, bringing with them their quiet, peaceful brand of beautiful joy and gorgeous melancholy. Continue reading “Noise Pop Show Review: The Magnetic Fields with Mark Eitzel at The Fox Oakland, 2/27/10”

Noise Pop Show Review: Scout Niblett at Café Du Nord, 2/25/10

Scout Niblett making "Serene Face," one of her two stage expressions (the other is "Howling Rage"), at the Hemlock last year.

Some artists just aren’t well-served by the giddy party-vibe atmosphere of Noise Pop. And last night, despite performing in one of the most intimate and mild-mannered venues in San Francisco, British guitar fury Scout Niblett took her place in that group.

Continue reading “Noise Pop Show Review: Scout Niblett at Café Du Nord, 2/25/10”

Show Review: Alice In Chains and Creature with the Atom Brain at The Fox Oakland, 2/11/2010

Alice In Chains from the balcony of the Fox Theater

When last we left Oakland’s gorgeous Fox Theater, it was at the close of Wolfmother’s final screaming shreds. Two Disney concerts, two Norman Buffalo tribute shows, and one Temptations concert later, the Fox Theater needed to start its new year (having been open since February ’09) off with a bang. It therefore comes as little surprise that the grunge monsters of Alice In Chains were selected as just the right band for the task. Continue reading “Show Review: Alice In Chains and Creature with the Atom Brain at The Fox Oakland, 2/11/2010”

Show Review: The Webb Sisters at Café Du Nord, 1/25/10

"And now, our a capella tribute to 2 Live Crew..."

The Webb Sisters performed their first of two partially seated shows at Café Du Nord last night. Not many get two consecutive nights to perform at Du Nord, but who doesn’t love a sister act? However, given how many there are, it can be difficult differentiating The Webb Sisters from such similar acts as The Watson Twins, The Chapin Sisters, or their clearest musical inspirations, t.A.T.u. But in this instance, it’s simple: these are the sisters who scored the once-in-a-lifetime gig of singing harmony for Leonard Cohen on his enthusiastically acclaimed recent tour. And it was very clear that the majority of those in attendance at Du Nord last night were hoping for more of the same. But is that what they got? (Also, just kidding about t.A.T.u.)

Continue reading “Show Review: The Webb Sisters at Café Du Nord, 1/25/10”

Show Review: Wolfmother with Heartless Bastards and thenewno2 at The Fox Oakland, 11/23/2009

then I let go of everything... into another dimension

The year is drawing to a close for everyone, including for Oakland’s historic Fox Theater. It seems only fitting that one of the biggest surprises and best new venues (OK, I’m biased, I work there, but if you’ve been there, you know what I mean) in the Bay Area should have some kind of colossal show to end the concert season. Something to go out with a bang, you know? As it just so happens, the Bay Area was greeted with an excellent one-two-three punch this evening, in the form of London rock troupe thenewno2 and Ohioan blues-rockers Heartless Bastards opening for the Australian arena-rock juggernaut that is Wolfmother.

Continue reading “Show Review: Wolfmother with Heartless Bastards and thenewno2 at The Fox Oakland, 11/23/2009”

Show Review: Them Crooked Vultures with Mini Mansions at The Fox Oakland

There have been a few “supergroups” that came and went in the last few years, many formed from the remnants of the grunge generation looking to try out new sounds, such as Army Of Anyone (the members of Stone Temple Pilots headed by Richard Patrick of Filter), Audioslave (the members of Rage Against The Machine headed by Chris Cornell of Soundgarden), or Velvet Revolver (Scott Weiland of the aforementioned STP fronting the remaining members of Guns N’ Roses). While all of the records are excellent in theory, in execution they don’t always live up to the names of the musicians writing the music on the records. The kind of supergroup that is likely to TRULY break the mold is one spanning multiple generations of music. In the case of Them Crooked Vultures, it’s three generations: the stoner-groove-rock of the 2000’s, the solid, angry blues-grunge of the 90’s, and the arena-level rock-n’-roll of the ’70s. Of course, these three genres would make sense, given that Them Crooked Vultures is composed of Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age / Kyuss), Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters / Nirvana), and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin).

Continue reading “Show Review: Them Crooked Vultures with Mini Mansions at The Fox Oakland”

Show Review: Fuck Buttons with Growing and Chen Santa Maria at Bottom Of The Hill, 11/13/09

A noise-rock show is a different sort of animal than most musical performances that one usually attends: it’s mostly improvisational, there usually isn’t a wild light show, the performers hardly ever (if ever) look at the audience, and it’s about ten times louder than the last Muse concert you went to, even when you stood next to the P.A. and forgot your earplugs. It’s also likely that you will not be able to predict the level of fanaticism that will be inspired by even the slightest change in the steamroller of sound that is the band’s performance; the crowd could just as easily metamorphose into a frenzied circle pit as it could remain stock-still in silent contemplation of the wall of noise barreling through them. For Fuck Buttons, it ran the full gamut: loud, soft, crazed and quiet, and it was beautiful and destructive chaos all at once. Continue reading “Show Review: Fuck Buttons with Growing and Chen Santa Maria at Bottom Of The Hill, 11/13/09”

Show Review: Pixies with Rain Machine at The Fox Oakland, 11/8/2009

Here Comes Your Men (and Woman!) - The Pixies

It’s been quite some time since the Fox Theater in Oakland had a show that generated such interest that it sold out within a month, and also multiplied itself to take place over an additional two nights. At the time of this writing, the first of those two extra nights is also completely sold out, and the second one is getting pretty close. What sort of band would have the magnitude to sell out the Fox Theater for three nights in a row? In May, the Allman Brothers Band did it; in mid-September it was Further, the new Grateful Dead project, and in a week, it will likely be all three nights of Widespread Panic. So, for this case, it must have been another famous jam band with thousands of followers. Right?

Wrong. Tonight, and for the next two nights, the Fox is owned by four Bostonians who helped write the book on modern alternative music: the Pixies, who are going to spend each night playing their landmark album Doolittle, along with its B-sides and an encore of their own devising.

Continue reading “Show Review: Pixies with Rain Machine at The Fox Oakland, 11/8/2009”

Show Review: Dropkick Murphys with Youth Brigade, The Flatliners and The Insurgence at The Fox Oakland, 11/6/2009

Dropkick Murphys and the girls of Oakland, CA

There are 3 prominent bands that exist in the punk rock world today who seek to bend the genres and performance styles of their music by adding instruments or melodies from folk- or worldly-sources to their one-two-three-go raucous sound. One of them is Irish/American collective Flogging Molly, who sings songs of olden times and forgotten friends; another is Gogol Bordello, the Russian/gypsy revivalists infused with New York punk attitude in their songs about revolution, celebration, and wandering the world.

The third band has a simpler message: we were rudely kicked over here, but we brought enough beer and whiskey to keep us entertained, so let’s stir things up a bit! This band, of course, is none other than Massachusetts’ own Dropkick Murphys, who came to stake their claim in this year’s set of magnificent punk rock shows at Oakland’s Fox Theater.
Continue reading “Show Review: Dropkick Murphys with Youth Brigade, The Flatliners and The Insurgence at The Fox Oakland, 11/6/2009”

Show Review: Puscifer with Uncle Scratch’s Gospel Revival at The Fox Oakland, 11/5/2009

Hey! Wait! That title looks awfully familiar. You mean to tell me that those troublemakers in Puscifer, the art/music/performance collective spearheaded by Maynard James Keenan of Tool/A Perfect Circle, were allowed into the Fox Theater for yet another night of mayhem, debauchery and… Wait, what’s that? Country music? No, Puscifer doesn’t play country music, they play industrial-experimental-electronic… What do you mean, the stage is built like the front of a Wild West house, complete with porch armchairs and old-style pop filter microphones?

Yes, Puscifer was back. Yes, they brought Uncle Scratch’s Gospel Revival back with them. But, no, it was not like the first night — as evidenced by the aforementioned set design, Puscifer had come back to play some old-fashioned country westerns. Well, old-fashioned is actually an incorrect term — after all, these were their own songs, although there’s probably some desolate corner of the world where these bastardized country ballads could be considered old-fashioned westerns.

Continue reading “Show Review: Puscifer with Uncle Scratch’s Gospel Revival at The Fox Oakland, 11/5/2009”