Mirah – Spinning Platters

Spinning Platters Interview: Thao Nguyen of Thao & The Get Down Stay Down

Thao Nguyen is a hometown hero. She’s continuously pushing the boundaries of folk music, and making the acoustic guitar an instrument you can dance to. Her 2013 record We The Common is a beautiful and thought provoking piece of work. She’s headlining the 20th St Block Party this weekend alongside Nick Waterhouse, Dominant Legs and many more. This is a totally free event, so there is no excuse not to come.

Spinning Platters had an opportunity to chat with Thao ahead of this performance. Here’s a bit of what we talked about: Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Thao Nguyen of Thao & The Get Down Stay Down”

Show Review: Portlandia the Tour with Thao & Mirah at Mezzanine, 12/30/11

Carrie Brownstein might be the hardest working person in show business. Not only has she, within about a year, assembled one of the most explosive and critically acclaimed new bands in rock music, she is the star of the highest rated program on IFC, the sketch comedy series “Portlandia.” Now she’s managed to squeeze some time out of her busy schedule to piece together a Portlandia stage show, alongside her costar on the program, Saturday Night Live’s Fred Armisen. All of this getting done, of course, before they unleash a new season of Portlandia. And then, her band Wild Flag will be launching a big Spring tour; and then, she will probably write two or three books, make a movie, and cure cancer all before June.

Continue reading “Show Review: Portlandia the Tour with Thao & Mirah at Mezzanine, 12/30/11”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 11/17/11-11/23/11

Limousines — Opening for The Sounds on Saturday night at The Warfield

Dakin’s taking the week off from recommending shows. He’s busy shopping for just the right turkey for his Thanksgiving dinner, I guess. Personally, I recommend getting a bottle of Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau to bring wherever you do end up going for Thanksgiving. It’s the ultimate Thanksgiving wine. But enough booze talk. Let’s go see some shows! (And don’t forget to tip your bartenders.) Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 11/17/11-11/23/11”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/14/11-7/20/11

This weekend we have a brand new festival opening up at Potrero del Sol Park. It’s going to be awesome, but there are many other wonderful things to do. Just like these:

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/14/11-7/20/11”

Show Review: Thao & Mirah, BOBBY, Led To Sea at Great American Music Hall, 6/23/11

The one thing more dangerous than the “supergroup” is the “super star collaboration.” We’ve seen a lot of them lately, and for every great one like Bjork & The Dirty Projectors or Kimya Dawson & Aesop Rock, there are 100 Jay-Z & R. Kelly’s floating out there. On a warm Thursday Night, I ventured to the Tenderloin to see which side of the coin this Thao & Mirah project fell on.

Continue reading “Show Review: Thao & Mirah, BOBBY, Led To Sea at Great American Music Hall, 6/23/11”

Noise Pop Show Review: Mirah and Thao with Horse Feathers at Swedish American Hall, 2/27/10

“We are aiming for sincere energy, not professionalism or fluid transitions.” Those were the words of Thao Nguyen, of Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, halfway through her immensely crowd-pleasing collaborative performance with Mirah last night at Swedish American as part of Noise Pop 2010. And while Ms. Nguyen may have felt the need to defend herself with this disclaimer, there didn’t appear to be a single fan in attendance who wasn’t in complete ecstasy for the duration of the evening.

Continue reading “Noise Pop Show Review: Mirah and Thao with Horse Feathers at Swedish American Hall, 2/27/10”