M. Ward – Spinning Platters

SXSW 2017: 32 Instant Band Reviews

32 bands in five days. My feet still hurt.

For those who aren’t in the know, SXSW is a conference in Austin, TX. It’s a place where folks in the technology, film, comedy, and music worlds come together and share ideas. The music portion is the primary reason why I come down, because it gives you an opportunity to see a large amount of music, often crossing dozens of genres, all in intimate venues all across town. This year, I feel like I “took it easy” and managed to see 32 different bands during the week (I saw Lizzo and Bleached both perform twice. You’d want to, too, if given the chance).

Without further ado, here are my thoughts on all 32 bands that I saw, in venues ranging from a donut shop to a lakeside amphitheater.

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 2016-07-04 – 2016-07-10

Carl Brutananadilewski of Aqua Teen Hunger Force demonstrating the abilities of The Foreigner Belt. (Got burned a bit by his tanning bed earlier.)

July Fourth, 2016! Wooooo! Yeah! Our country is still here! Let’s celebrate!

If you’d like to add to your celebrations this week in The Bay Area with a concert, I’ll tell you what we’ve got coming up: caricatures, drugs, dogs, and culture that you don’t have to pay for.

So, let’s preview. Time to preview. It’s time to preview now and now here are the previews.

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 2016-07-04 – 2016-07-10”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 10/1/15-10/7/15

Emmylou Harris — She put the “Hardly” in the Hardly Strictly.

It’s a packed week with Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in Golden Gate Park and Alternative Press Expo in San Jose.

Coming up we have concerts by old people, young old people, and very old people who don’t much age. Let’s preview! Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 10/1/15-10/7/15”

Show Review: She & Him, Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell, Tilly & The Wall at The Greek Theater, 6/22/13

There were more reasons to visit The Greek Theater last Saturday night than a mere love of ampersands. It was a rare night at The Greek where the weather was absolutely perfect- not too warm, not too cold. The early signs of the upcoming “Super Moon” were in the the sky. The crowd, a bit older than expected, and happily ironic mustache-free, arrived early enough to make sure they enjoyed every act on the bill.

Continue reading “Show Review: She & Him, Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell, Tilly & The Wall at The Greek Theater, 6/22/13”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 1/31/13-2/6/13

Playing at The Fillmore this Saturday, and in the Super Bowl on Sunday.

We’re smack dab in the middle of SF Sketchfest, which we’re happy to call the Greatest Comedy Festival in America, and Dakin’s running around laughing himself silly, so I’m taking over the task of recommending shows for those of you who love music but hate laughing. That can only mean one thing, though … more sports references! Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 1/31/13-2/6/13”

Show Review: Alison Krauss + Union Station, M Ward at The Greek Theater – UC Berkeley, 6/25/11

In 2007, Alison Krauss recorded a record with classic rock crooner Robert Plant. That record led to several years of touring, appearing on every critics’ best of list, and eventually helped solidify Krauss’ reputation as the queen of the Grammy’s. It also led to a 4 year hiatus from her regular band, Union Station. Everyone dabbled in solo stuff here & there, but rumors of a follow up to Raising Sand (the hit record that Krauss & Plantr recorded together) led some fans to worry that Alison Krauss + Union Station was a distant memory. This year, they quietly released a follow up to 2004’s excellent Lonely Runs Both Ways, the subdued Paper Airplanes. This led to their first stretch of shows since 2005, and SpinningPlatters caught them in the middle of their summer tour.

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 6/23/11-6/29/11

Seriously folks…. What’s with all of these unGoogleable band names? Do you really think that’s a good idea? Some really great bands like BOBBY, Parachute, and Comma are all playing this week… And, I’m sorry, but you really need to sell yourselves hard at these shows so people remember you, and don’t end up finding Brady Bunch clips, airplane safety gear, or a book on grammar.

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 6/23/11-6/29/11”

Show Review: She & Him with The Chapin Sisters at The Fox Oakland, 5/29/10

When Zooey Deschanel walked on stage in a sparkly dress you would have thought it was the next messiah walking out to greet her followers. In a weird way I guess she is the messiah of sweet indie-ness. Between her movie career and the success of She & Him, Zooey Deschanel is the It girl of indie rock. She certainly looked the part at The Fox: bouncy perfect hair, cute make-up, black tights and kitten heels, but what really sold the show was her voice. From the first note it was strong, clear and emotive, and for the next hour and a half it was glorious. Continue reading “Show Review: She & Him with The Chapin Sisters at The Fox Oakland, 5/29/10”

Defending Zooey: A Review of She & Him Volume Two

Truth time. This review is two weeks late and way beyond the relevant date for any She & Him fan. So I’m not going to write it for a fan, I’m going to write it for all you people who say Zooey Deschanel can’t sing or that She & Him is boring dreck. Because I think you’re wrong and if you are actually willing to have an open mind about it, you might change your mind.

When I first started listening to Volume Two and pondering the angle for my review I did my usual pre-writing ritual: hours of procrastinating on the internet. I ended up in one of my favourite places: ONTD (Oh No They Didn’t on livejournal.com for those not in the know). I was surprised by the amount of hate being spewed in She & Him’s direction, and started to wonder why. So I’ll take the negative comments posted to this entry, and do my best to prove them wrong. Continue reading “Defending Zooey: A Review of She & Him Volume Two”

Album Review: Monsters of Folk – Monsters of Folk

Monsters_of_Folk_Album_Cover

I’m not sure what I was expecting from this “supergroup” of modern indie/folk but it is not what I got. The album opens with a drum machine, some sort of harp imitation, and Jim James’ ethereal falsetto. My carpool-mate responded to this by saying, “What is this? The slow jam from a Backstreet Boys album!?!” Not what is expected from a group called Monsters of Folk. I don’t know about the folk part, but the members of the band: Jim James (My Morning Jacket), M. Ward, Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes) are monsters of the indie scene. The question remains: when they come together, do you get something better than the sum of its parts? Continue reading “Album Review: Monsters of Folk — Monsters of Folk”