Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
Ani DiFranco played a set of new unreleased songs before a tiny audience of mostly students at Ex’pression College Of Digital Arts in Emeryville.
Opening with an atonal labor song from the 1930s that she’d written new verses for, DiFranco invited the crowd to sing along. Continue reading “Show Review: Ani DiFranco at Ex’pression College For Digital Arts, 6/24/2010”
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”
During OK Go’s show at The Fillmore in San Francisco on Wednesday night, lead singer Damian Kulash tried to explain why the band’s home is San Francisco. “Because we live on YouTube” was his explanation. Yeah, alright, whatever. But it’s clear what they meant was that the Bay Area is made to appreciate a label-leaving, DIY-video-making band of nerds like them. And this video thing is working out for them. One blog recently called them the “shtickiest band ever,” so what sort of shtick did they bring with them? Continue reading “Show Review: OK Go with Earl Greyhound and Grand Lake at The Fillmore, 5/26/10”
Everything you really need to know about Transatlantic’s virtuoso performance on Sunday night at The Palace of Fine Arts can be summed up like so:
Six songs, three-and-a-half hours.
If this doesn’t appeal to you, you’re probably done reading. If the thought of such things makes you grin uncontrollably for hours, then this review is for you. Read on, prog nerd. You’re among friends here.
Continue reading “Show Review: Transatlantic at The Palace of Fine Arts, 4/18/10”
Every so often, something positive will happen.
A puppy may cross your path. Sometimes, a meal will far exceed expectations. Occasionally, a friend will find someone who is a really wonderful match for themselves. These are all simple good things.
This year, my favorite band from when I was much younger decided to get back together. Continue reading “Show Review: Faith No More at The Warfield, 4/12/10”
Wellll, damn. If I wasn’t worshiping at the shrine of Metric already, last night’s show at the Fox Theater easily convinced me: this band is fierce and invincible. Their live set was a tight performance; it seems doubtful that there was more than a moment where they didn’t hold the audience firmly in their grasp. Guitarist James Shaw has mentioned that the band “toured the new songs a lot” and it shows – they move effortlessly through a set, never missing a note, and still look as though they’re having as much fun as the audience. Continue reading “Show Review: Metric, Codeine Velvet Club and Nico Vega at the Fox Oakland, 3/24/10”
While the photos on this post are all by David Price, he’s in Vegas this week, so all the text here is simply an …
Editor’s Note: Our photographer, David Price, dealt with inconsistent lighting, security that weren’t all on the same page, a lack of photo pits, and plenty of cameras in his face to take over 10,000 photos at SXSW. And then I went and boiled them all down here to 30 favorites. There’s other photos in individual posts, and we’ll be drawing from other ones as we continue our coverage as well. Inside, you’ll find several shots of the most photogenic guy at SXSW this year, Pink Eyes of Fucked Up, including one with our managing editor Dakin Hardwick. It’s not the most well-lit shot in the world, and it’s not particularly newsworthy, but we like it. And that’s how I picked these 30 photos. Because we like them. Continue reading “Our 30 Favorite Photos from SXSW 2010”
The New Parish is such a new venue that this is the first time Spinning Platters have reviewed a show here. It shows, in that the paint isn’t all chipped, the upholstery is not ripped and the walls have not absorbed that smokey stench yet. The New Parish’s youth is also evident in their promoting, or lack there of. Tonight’s show has a draw of not more than 50 people. What did those 50 people see? Continue reading “Show Review: Kid Sister with Honor Roll at The New Parish, 2/28/10”
There are some acts that treat their in-stores like a chore, going into a store in some city somewhere, and then mail it in. Tegan and Sara is definitely not one of those acts. In my opinion, they perform better at record stores than they do on stage in front of a couple thousand people (where you can see them tomorrow night). They’re relaxed and personable, do lots of comedy bits, and interact with their fans. It’s a joy to watch. And because the material they’re playing is strong, it’s a pleasure to attend. Continue reading “Tegan and Sara at Amoeba Music, Berkeley, 3/4/10”
“You’re REAL handsome.” This is what the toothless bum, who was propositioning me for a 3-way said, as I made my way to the Herbst Theater for The Magnetic Fields. I was running a real tight schedule and unfortunately I had no time for a toothless-three-way, I had a show to get to.
The Magnetic Fields were first introduced to be in the form of 69 Love Songs. I was amazed that I’d never heard of the band and even felt a little embarrassed. Since then the Merritt-led band have been gracing my iPod playlists, adding some unique perspectives on love and sound. They’re the type of band that most of your friends don’t know about and you feel real proud when you’re the one to pop their Fields cherry. Continue reading “Noise Pop Show Review: Magnetic Fields at the Herbst Theater, 3/1/10”