Show Review: alt-j at The Fox Theater, 3/23/23

Ten years got behind alt-j’s seminal record, An Awesome Wave. The still-fresh sound, now topped with nostalgia and ten years of collecting new listeners, filled the Fox in Oakland to the rails. The record flummoxed reviewers when it dropped. Did they love Joe Newman’s creaky tessellating shrill, yet palatable scree? They were confused and transfixed. The romance and journey of each song alt-j spins are solidly complicated layers. It could easily be written off as a neo/hippy/gen x-z Dj tricks. It’s simply an unexpected sound and a labor to hear all the detail packed into such a small scape of one song. The lyrics are not the first thing a listener will hear. A world music or drum and bass mask is removed upon several listens, then the intimacy of Joe’s lyrics are more decipherable. Sigur Ros comes on like a drug in a similar way. An opium lull takes over the body before making sense of what’s being said. The assumed keyboard or effects are often woven tapestries of one note sung over and over by Newman, Unger-Hamilton, and Sonny. It’s incredibly well thought out. Syncopated laser lights beat along to bass lines and drums. Chris Koruda style. Props to the lighting guy they have with them on this limited run. Continue reading “Show Review: alt-j at The Fox Theater, 3/23/23”

Show Preview: Modest Mouse at The Fox Theater, 11.30.22

1997 was the year I graduated high school. It was also the year I started college. I was awfully intimidated by college… I went from being a relatively well-liked and popular kid (Yeah. I know. I’ll stop gloating.) to an awkward kid that didn’t know how to make friends. In fact, I moved between classes, work, my dorm room, the computer lab, and the Taco Bell inside Mary Park Hall at San Francisco State University. 

At the Taco Bell was a lovely human that the good folks of SFSU dubbed “Taco Bell Rob.” He was pretty much the only employee- at least, he was the only one there whenever I was. He lovingly prepared fast faux-Mexican fare for tired and hungry students who missed getting to the dorm cafeteria. I was a little, angry punker that thought music had to be fast. The faster, the better. I’ve never met someone more excited about music than Rob. And whenever I walked in, he made sure to challenge this notion in the most loving and wonderful way. He introduced me to Built To Spill. I think he introduced me to Elliot Smith and The Aislers Set. And he was the first person to play The Lonesome Crowded West by Modest Mouse for me. 

I’ve since lost contact with Rob. The last time I saw him, he gave me a ride home from The Aislers Set reunion show at The Chapel in 2014. I don’t know if he’s going to be at The Fox tomorrow night to see Modest Mouse play The Lonesome Crowded West in its entirety, but for those of you that are, be sure to send a thank you to the person in your life that showed you something new, something that opened your mind and eyes to new sounds. That person is more important than you think. 

BTW- here’s his band from the 00’s. They were fantastic. 

Show Review: Chicano Batman, Khruangbin, The Shacks at The Fox Theater – Oakland, 11/10/17

I have been watching Chicano Batman over the past five years, and I have got to say that I am really impressed on how much they’ve grown. Each time they come back to The Bay, they end up playing bigger and bigger venues. It puts a tear in my eye and makes me feel part of their growth. Not only do they deserve it, the world straight-up needs to hear their soulful, passionate grooves filled with positive messages of love and hope. You felt the love in that crowd starting with the first band in the lineup, The Shacks. Continue reading “Show Review: Chicano Batman, Khruangbin, The Shacks at The Fox Theater — Oakland, 11/10/17”

Show Review: The Magnetic Fields: 50 Song Memoir at the Fox Oakland, 4/30-5/1/2017

Two nights of intimacy and storytelling with the man who plays a hundred instruments

Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields
Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields

The Magnetic Fields are an extremely strange phenomenon: a group that is wildly talented, successful, and fiercely loved by their fans, despite staying relatively far from the radio-friendly limelight. The songwriting of creative leader Stephin Merritt evokes memories of both Sondheim-esque theatrical compositions and shimmering 80s pop ballads; his lyrics range from whimsically poetic to wickedly tongue-in-cheek; and most of their records are complete conceptual pieces, collected in the space of an entire singular work. Despite his dozens of works ranging on anything from 69 songs about love to country-style tunes about the open road, Merritt has seldom penned works that speak specifically about his own life, which is where his new record 50 Song Memoir comes in. Comprised of one song for each of the years in his own life, starting in 1965 and ending in 2015 (when the recording for the album began), the work takes up five discs and two and a half hours of playing time — making it the perfect piece to play across the span of two nights.

Continue reading “Show Review: The Magnetic Fields: 50 Song Memoir at the Fox Oakland, 4/30-5/1/2017″

Show Review: deadmau5 w/Feed Me at the Fox Oakland, 4/25/2017

deadmau5 atop his cube
deadmau5 atop his cube

In a now-relatively-infamous Tumblr post, Canadian electronic wunderkind deadmau5 (aka Joel Zimmerman) called out the DJ world for the lack of ingenuity and overall simplicity of their live shows. Ever since, he’s worked to keep pushing the envelope of his own performances, adding layer after layer of lights and screens that are all triggered by his own available controls, and his popularity continues to ride high even as the EDM scene itself shifts and changes. As a pretty popular act, it’s rare to see the synth mastermind outside of massive festivals or arena tours, so his Lots Of Shows In A Row tour was a treat to see — particularly at Oakland’s Fox Theater, a venue which has lately proven rather popular with the electronic music scene.

Continue reading “Show Review: deadmau5 w/Feed Me at the Fox Oakland, 4/25/2017”

My 2017 Journey with Sigur Rós, Part 1: Fox Theater Oakland/Greek Theatre at UC Berkeley

Two evenings of spellbinding wonder and incredible sound

Sigur Rós at the Fox Theater, Oakland
Sigur Rós at the Fox Theater, Oakland

This is the first of two posts chronicling my journey to see Sigur Rós for five performances in April 2017: two in Northern California, and three in Los Angeles with the LA Philharmonic Orchestra. Be sure to catch them on tour and tune in to Pitchfork on Friday, April 14th for a stream of their second LA Phil performance!

Fifteen years ago, I remember wandering down a dimly-lit suburban lane on a chilly November evening, the street silent as a tomb. I had a copy of ( ), the third record by renowned Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós, put that album in a Discman, and the quiet world around me instantly seemed to shift into some strange new world. I’ve always found that record to be an utterly sublime and immensely powerful expression of music, and was supremely pleased that some of my favorite songs from that album were in the set the first time I saw Sigur Rós play live. The band and their production crew are absolute masterminds at blending sound, light and visuals into an otherworldly experience; that show, in 2006 at the Marin Center in San Rafael, is still probably my favorite concert that I have ever experienced. This past weekend, I had the pleasure of seeing Sigur Rós two times, playing two sets each (!), making these my sixth and seventh time experiencing their live performances — and they are just as astonishing as they have always been.

Continue reading “My 2017 Journey with Sigur Rós, Part 1: Fox Theater Oakland/Greek Theatre at UC Berkeley”

Show Review: John Carpenter: Live Retrospective at the Fox Oakland, 6/17/2016

John Carpenter
John Carpenter

Music in film is an often-celebrated phenomenon, but it seems to exist primarily in the medium it’s made for. Occasionally, composers and songwriters will offer up their works for public or private performance, though they themselves may not be in attendance, and in general the world of film music feels very separate from that of “traditional rock music”, i.e. the bands that release albums and promote them with live tours. The phenomenon of a live tour by acclaimed horror director John Carpenter, therefore, is even more impressive; his musical works not only require an actual band to perform (with synthesizers and guitars driving the melodies, rather than orchestras and choirs), but the tunes are steady, driving, and in small enough bits that they are easy to digest — this isn’t a random night at the symphony, folks! In addition, Carpenter himself wrote the scores to a good chunk of his films, so the live performance of compositions and overtures from his classic works could now be experienced with an ever more present vitality.

Continue reading “Show Review: John Carpenter: Live Retrospective at the Fox Oakland, 6/17/2016”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 2016-04-23 – 2016-04-27

"Anarchy burger! / Hold the government!" - The Vandals
This Saturday in Oakland, plenty of this.

We’re in the final weekend of Coachella 2016, and the consequent Fauxchella 2016 shows are coming our way. What’s Fauxchella? It’s when you can see a band that’s also scheduled at Coachella but without actually having to go to Coachella.

This week in The Bay Area we have old stars, old studio guys, old smoky guys, montage anchorpoints, as much anarchy as you’d like, and a band that just went ahead and named themselves California.

And previews. Preview time. Let’s preview. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 2016-04-23 — 2016-04-27”

Show Review: Generation Axe at the Fox Oakland, 4/8/2016

Steve Vai’s latest excursion is as much a massive thrill ride as it is an endurance test — for band and audience alike

Let's Play Guitar In A Five Guitar Band
Let’s Play Guitar In A Five Guitar Band

It’s been twenty years since guitar mastermind Joe Satriani piloted the first G3 Tour, an endeavour that featured a total of three guitar wizards driving a multi-hour set that showcased some truly intense musicianship. On that tour, and on nearly every one that followed, Satriani was accompanied by his protégé, Steve Vai, who brought his own brand of sorcery to pair with Satch, alongside whichever third player was enlisted each year. In 2016, however, Vai apparently got the notion that three guitarists playing simultaneously was not a big enough challenge to pull off, and kicked off the “Generation Axe” tour which featured no less than five of them — spanning genres, geographical locations, and playing styles. With a titanic set that sprawled out for over 3 hours, it was a testament to the true meaning of “instrumental guitar music” and how such a term is a remarkably small pigeonhole, given the amount of players that work within it and the breadth of their expertise.

Continue reading “Show Review: Generation Axe at the Fox Oakland, 4/8/2016”