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Festival Review: Punk Rock Bowling – Day 2 (Las Vegas, NV)

“Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction!”

Choking Victim-8

Despite, or maybe in spite, of the heat I woke up for day two feeling refreshed and ready to go. The usual first day kinks had been worked out and entrance into the venue was faster, although I heard some rumor about ISIS threatening to bomb Las Vegas was flying around, which may have accounted for the somewhat increased security at the venue. Punks don’t take too well to the authoritarian attitude of aggressive security guards, so you can probably imagine a lot of grumbling and arguments were to be heard from the lines. Regardless I made it inside with plenty of time to grab a water bottle and head to the stage for the opening act of the day.

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Festival Preview: Punk Rock Bowling (Las Vegas)

Punk’s Not Dead Yet!

If you grew up in local punk rock scenes, it is impossible to not have heard about Punk Rock Bowling. The three-day festival has been bringing together a menagerie of fantastic punk bands in downtown Las Vegas for 19 years strong – that’s over half my lifetime – and this year’s line-up may be one of the best to date.

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Bumbershoot 2013 Journal

I love music festivals. And, living in the Bay Area, we get plenty of them. In fact, I think I’ve spent more weekends at music festivals than not this Summer, without having to travel anywhere. However, sometimes you’ve got to see how it’s done elsewhere. So I ventured up north to Seattle to enjoy some surprisingly sunny and warm weather and the 42nd edition of the Bumbershoot Festival.

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 8/29/13-9/4/13

It’s Labor Day weekend, and half the editorial staff a Spinning Platters is heading up north to Bumbershoot. Because sometimes you just don’t get tired of music festivals, and word on the street is that this one is one of the best. (Sadly, both Charlie XCX and Icona Pop canceled on their sets at Bumbershoot and the Bay Area this week) We’ve got a lot of Bumbershoot bands playing the bay this week, so you won’t be missing out too much. Heck, you probably won’t need an umbrella for any of these show!

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SXSW 2013: A Diary Of A “Crafty Veteran”

Some band playing some where in Texas... — Some band playing some where in Texas…

Having been dubbed a “crafty veteran” by one local bystander, there are a few certain truths that I have discovered seven years deep into South By South West culture. 1) Always carry your phone charger because the battery will die; the ABC’s (Always Be Chargin’) as we here at Spinning Platters like to call it. 2) Delicious food is only a food truck away when you need to take a break and refuel in-between day parties and evening showcases. And 3) there will be both bad, and good bands at aforementioned showcases. The payout for waiting through a not-so-awesome band, however, can be an amazing, week-altering experience that leads to months of fan-girl-ing out, post-South By. However, this is all contingent on actually being granted admission to that one thing one wanted to see the most. There are still things to be learned and sometimes learned the hard way.

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/5/12 – 7/11/12

dwarf-themepark3 — Coming to the Uptown in Oakland!

Happy Fifth of July, loyal readers!

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 5/10/12-5/16/12

Milkman — Although I'm not certain that this milkman is dead, it's pretty likely.

So, this week is a great week if you wanna see old people sing youthful songs… We get The Dead Milkmen, Keith Morris (Circle Jerks) and Roger Waters all coming very soon. There are also a few shows happening if you like it slightly more youthful. Also this week: CREED!

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