My last Outside Lands was in 2019. I’ve gone nearly every year up until that point, only missing the third year. I had tickets for 2021. Lizzo, The Strokes, and Hinds are all on my “never miss” list, but by October, Delta was rearing its ugly head, and I just couldn’t do it. This year, I was still on the fence until the week beforehand. With BA.5, the virus has become more contagious, and outdoor transmission is more prevalent. However, with wastewater tracking showing a downward trend, toddler vaccines FINALLY seeing the light of day, and studies seem to indicate that N95s and a good breeze are still very effective at thwarting the virus, I decided to give it a go. I packed like ten masks, two packs of antibacterial wipes (which made me the most popular guy at the festival at times. One woman actually proposed marriage when I gave her the end of one of my packs!), an empty water bottle, and several layers of clothing, and decided to make a solid go of it. Continue reading “Outside Lands 2022: 20 Instant Gig Reviews”
Tag: Green Day
OUTSIDE LANDS 2022 LINEUP!! OUTSIDE LANDS 2022 LINEUP!!!
If you are like me, you’ve been refreshing your inbox 2,235 times a day, waiting for ANY Outside Lands 2022 news. We’ve known the dates (August 5th-7th), we’ve purchased our Eager Beaver tickets. And now we have a lineup, and hopefully, I’m telling you first. Or maybe you’ve already read it, but, still! Continue reading “OUTSIDE LANDS 2022 LINEUP!! OUTSIDE LANDS 2022 LINEUP!!!”
Show Review: Green Day + Fall Out Boy + Weezer = Hella Mega @ Oracle Park, San Francisco, 8/27/2021
Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @ARPhotoSF
Oracle Park, home to the San Francisco Giants, historically does not host many concerts outside of the regular baseball season (and certainly not the post-season lately either!). Since 2013, there has been an average of six concerts per year, and a few of them are usually tied to corporations like the annual Genentech Gives Back or convention attendee parties for Salesforce.com’s DreamForce and Oracle’s OpenWorld. In fact, the last concert to be held here was 21 months ago for DreamForce (UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital benefit). Leave it to East Bay’s own Green Day to stage the first Hella Mega sized concert at Oracle Park since the world shut down early last year!
Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” Season 2, Episode 6 with Chris Appelgren
In this episode I got to talk with Bay Area music legend Chris Appelgren. We talked about many of his bands, including Bumblescrump (sadly not getting into exactly what this word means), The Potatomen, and The Peechees. We also discussed his rising through the ranks at Lookout Records, and even talked about its inevitable decline. And, of course, we talked about his time at Noise Pop, Bold Italic, and Ticketfly, as well as his return to the record business by helping Once And Future Band release their 2020 album Deleted Scenes.
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In Defense Of: One Last Postponement
I know, I know, I know… We are all so very sick of COVID lockdowns and masking and social distancing and everything. And with recent news from the CDC saying that vaccinated folks drop the masks and live life like it’s normal should mean that we should stop seeing new postponements, right? Yet, just today, the Hella Mega Tour featuring Green Day, Weezer, Fall Out Boy, and The Interruptors just got pushed out a few more months, starting July 24th, 2021 in Dallas. This, along with recent news of Bikini Kill, Motley Crue, (which, if you don’t immediately scream to yourself “I’m gonna win that Motley Crue mirror if it fucking kills me” when you see those two band names together, then what are you even doing reading this blog?) and Rage Against The Machine pushing their late Summer / early Fall 2021 shows even further down the line, it’s gotta be a little frustrating, right? Continue reading “In Defense Of: One Last Postponement”
Spinning Platters Picks Six: Albums That Were Pulled Before Release
In the year 2001, I was working at a Wherehouse Music in the Financial District of San Francisco, CA. During this time period, we received regular visits from representatives from major record labels who would drop off advance CD’s of the upcoming new releases. Mid-Summer, we got a record called In Search Of… by a band called N*E*R*D. This was a side project of popular producers The Neptunes, with Neptune Pharrell Williams handling all of the lead vocals. Yes, there was a time when people didn’t know who Pharrell Willams was! Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Six: Albums That Were Pulled Before Release”
Show Review: UnderCover Presents A Tribute to Green Day’s Dookie at The Fox Oakland, 2/19/2016
A record like Dookie, the magnum opus from the Bay Area’s arguably-most-popular punk band, Green Day, was not so much another album in the shop as it was a sonic bombshell going off, whose waves were felt in scenes across the Earth. The raw energy and youthful vigor had rarely been presented in so straightforward and familiar a manner, especially in a format and at a time that it was almost universally accessible to everyone looking for something refreshing and powerful in the current world. Dookie, by scene purists, may be remembered as the record that shoved one of the loudest, wildest dimensions of the music world into the spotlight, and while they may revile this fact, Dookie’s influence and impact on all music that came after it is undeniable. It still stands tall as one of the greatest records of its age, and one of the most famous to come from the East Bay of Northern California. It was fitting, therefore, that the Bay Area collective UnderCover culled together a collection of local players, all passionate fans of the effect this record had on them in their younger years, to kick off this year’s UnderCover Presents series with a 15-band tribute to one of the seminal works of 90s punk rock.
With so much to cover, I’ll be doing this in the style of the show: 15 mini-reviews of all of the songs, with photos for each, and a wrap-up at the end. Read on!
Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 11/13/13-11/19/13
Here’s another wonderful 7 days of rock!
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 11/13/13-11/19/13”
Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 4/11/13-4/17/13
Concerts! Shows! Performances! And this week in the Bay Area, they’re extra-beardy!
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 4/11/13-4/17/13”
Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 6/21/12 – 6/27/12
It’s summer time! Officially. Finally. And that means it’s time to see some outdoor shows, some bands from your youth, and maybe even see one of the worst concept tours I can possibly imagine. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 6/21/12 — 6/27/12”