I’ve been so immersed in the metal world lately that sometimes I forget that I like other music. I especially forget that weird thrill of going mostly blind into a show. Sure, I may not know an opener or two, but it’s pretty rare for me to cover a band I haven’t listened to beforehand. It’s both exciting and nerve-wracking and, let’s face it, no one wants to be disappointed. Luckily for me, I at least knew of the other music projects of the artists on the night’s lineup, but even knowing that, did not prepare me for what I was about to experience.
It’s been quite the year in live music so far, and it seems like every band on the planet is touring right now, but when two heavyweights like Melvins and Boris announce a tour together, and not only that, but they announce that they’re going to tour a full album each, it’s a no brainer for me. So I rode off to Downtown Los Angeles for an evening of loud as fuck music from two titans of the genre.
It’s been a good bit of time since I’ve made it out to a show at one of my favorite venues in Los Angeles: Echoplex. While the lightning has never been the greatest for photography, the atmosphere and sound mixes have always made up for it and I’ve consistently had the most fun at pretty much every show I’ve seen behind their doors. Though, I’ll definitely admit that it’s sometimes hard to decipher their door times from show starting times and in this case I misread and ended up arriving FAR earlier than I ever have, but that’s just me griping. Even being in line about an hour and a half before opening couldn’t wreck my spirits. I was about to thrust myself into the noisiest room in Los Angeles. I was about to see Boris and the Melvins.
Do you know what today is? You do. It’s July 5. That means that here in the Bay Area, it’s Huey Lewis’s birthday.
Speaking of the heart of rock and roll, let’s talk about this week’s concerts. Here’s what we’ve got coming up this week in the Bay Area: symphonies, troopers, and remembrances.
So, we’ll preview this now. Previewing now. Let’s preview and go ahead and preview. Preview go!
The garage-doom record you always wanted, but were too afraid to ask for
Album cover for Crystal Fairy’s self-titled debut
If 2015 and 2016 were any indication, 2017 has certainly shows that supergroups are coming back to the forefront in a big way. While this is nothing new in the music scene, it has become more apparent, recently, that supergroups pose a necessity for most musicians, to escape redundancy and to experiment with new sounds. In the early 2000s, many big collaborative albums were produced, but were always under the guise of guest vocalist and musicians. It left a manufactured tone about the record, one that felt as though the labels were just trying to squeeze dime after dime out of shifting paradigms in musical taste. A true supergroup combines all the best attributes and skills of the players to create something fresh and exciting, for fans and musicians alike. It doesn’t always work, of course; Giraffe Tongue Orchestra is an excellent example of an extremely talented group of musicians whose full length album left far too much to be desired. The Dead Weather, on the other hand (featuring Jack White, Allison Mossheart [The Kills], Dan Fertita [Queens of the Stone Age], and Jack Lawrence [City and Colour, The Raconteurs]) have made a number of albums that continue to grab people in one direction or another. So when it was announced that King Buzzo and Dale Crover (Melvins), Teri Gender Bender (Le Butcherettes), and Omar Rodríguez-López (Mars Volta, At The Drive-In) were joining forces to create Crystal Fairy, the prospect was definitely a positive attention grabber.
Most likely not the Spurs that will be appearing with Daniel Martin Moore this Wednesday at the Hemlock.
This week in The Bay Area we have music from across the Pacific Ocean, from across the Atlantic Ocean, and more. International travel is neat these days.
Appearing Monday, March 21 at The Metro in OaklandSt. Patrick’s Day. Irishness! Excellent.
To go with this week in the Bay Area we also have metal, self-described “country-fed punkabilly,” and the Melvins. Also! Bilingual punk rock with horns as well as bilingual Rickenbacker-wielding one-woman guitar rock. And Conan. Conan!
No, the F-Line isn’t supposed to be this close to the MUNI bus.
Post-Election Day we have a panoply of excellent concerts coming to The Bay Area this week. Shows of all kinds. We have shows that are avenging! And dance-y! Secretive! And lemony! Metal! And even including the magic of public transportation.
It’s wonderful that there are so many kinds of shows ’round here and so many buses to take you to them.
Reading my Weekly Guide to Bay Area contest can be very beneficial… You always know what great shows are coming to town, and every great once in a while, we get you into one of those shows. This week, we will get one loyal reader into see Montreal-born DJ & producer A-Trak playing with one of the finest MC’s to come out of Chicago, Kid Sister rocking the Mezzanine stage this Monday Night, May 16th! All you need to do is email us at promo@spinningplatters.com before Monday, May 16th at noon! Just leave your full name and phone number so we can let you know you won, and remember that this show is 21+, so we can’t get you in if you are under age. And if you don’t like taking risks, you can always buy tickets here.
