fun. – Spinning Platters

Show Review: fun., Andrew McMahon at The Fox Theater – Oakland, 2/7/13

This would be my fourth time seeing fun. within the last twelve months. The first time was in the parking lot of a record store in Austin, TX. That show only featured the core of the band: vocalist Nate Reuss, keyboardist Andrew Dost and guitar player Jack Antonoff. It was 2 o clock in the afternoon in the baking hot sun, and the crowd was simply mad for them. I knew from that moment that this band had the right balance of sincerity and showmanship to make it big. It was a rare moment when I wanted to get to see a band play the big rooms. Shortly after this show, “We Are Young” became a monsterous hit, and their full band, electric club tour that was booked at tiny clubs turned into the hottest ticket in town. Tonight, a short 11 months after that first time in the record store parking lot, I got to see this band do the “full big room” show. And, by golly, the succeeded at it.

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 2/7/13-2/13/13

We’ve got a pretty excellent week of shows coming up. However, you really shouldn’t miss our first ever Spinning Platters film night at The New Parkway in Oakland this Friday and Saturday night at 11:55 PM. We will be screening the Stop Making Sense, which is simply the greatest rock n roll film ever. Head over to our Facebook page to win tickets! Or you can buy tickets here, because it may sell out.

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Spinning Platters Presents The Official List of the Top 20 Albums of 2012

By The Spinning Platters Staff

Every website has a Top XX albums of the year list. This one is ours, and there is nothing by The xx on it. I mean, I really like The xx’s Coexist. There were just 20 records that came out this year that were better. Maybe you’ll find something that you missed?

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Show Review: San Francisco’s 2012 Outside Lands Festival, Day 3

The one banana that didn't come in a burrito this weekend — The one banana that didn’t come in a burrito this weekend

San Francisco’s annual Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival is always tasked with the enormous duty of being the “other” huge festival of California, and the designation is both a blessing and a curse. On the low end, it has to try and come up with acts that Coachella somehow didn’t have the foresight to book ages earlier, or at leasts acts that will stand up as decent competition, and with tickets to the Indio festival now going onsale a year in advance, they’ve got to get their contenders up and available as soon as possible — usually right before Coachella kicks off. On the high end, the climate is, on the whole, much more pleasant, the acts tend to stick to more large crowd-pleasers and new discoveries, and the fine folks putting on Outside Lands spend many months listening to the irritations and complaints about Coachella to use as a salvo against their festival’s possible shortcomings. The result is that by Sunday afternoon, most of the 65,000+ fans that came out to Golden Gate Park got their fairer shares of mindblowing performances and raucous partying behind them, and were ready for the big finish that would wind down the end of the chilly August weekend.

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Our Guide to the 2012 Outside Lands Music Festival

segwaypolo — Poor guys… Gonna have to find someplace else to play Polo next weekend.

Every year, every festival in America claims to have the “best line up ever!” Well, San Francisco’s Outside Lands Music Festival has made to its 5th year, and they really are going to have a seriously difficult time topping this year’s event. Of course, this means that there are conflicts galore! You’ve got six stages of entertainment to try to decide between at any time of day.

The schedule can be awfully intimidating. Which is why I’m here to help guide you through the complex maze that is the Outside Lands schedule. Without further ado, here is SpinningPlatters’ Official Guide to Outside Lands 2012.

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Show Review: fun. at Bottom of the Hill, 3/29/2012

Sometimes when a band has a giant hit song, they cancel their long-ago-booked club gig to move into a bigger venue at a higher price. This has happened recently with Gotye, and it’s kind of a bummer for early adopters who were excited about seeing a beloved band in a small club. And other times, the band keeps those dates and plays a fantastic show to a small, ecstatic group of their biggest fans. This week, San Francisco won because the band with the current number one single in America, the ubiquitous “We Are Young,” played at both The Independent and Bottom of the Hill, and in doing so, proved that they are definitely not going to be one hit wonders. They’ll play the big rooms next time around. Continue reading “Show Review: fun. at Bottom of the Hill, 3/29/2012”

Spinning Platters SXSW Report: 25 Instant SXSW Gig Reviews

Approximately .0003% of the attendees at SXSW 2012

This is my fifth year straight where I descended to the great city of Austin, Texas to enjoy the most insane week of live music you will ever enjoy. I took a little easier than most years, but I still had a very fulfilling week of music. I get to enjoy a wide array of great stuff, and, without further adieu, here are my thoughts on that time:

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