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, 4/11/13-4/17/13
Tag: Regency Ballroom
Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 3/28/13-4/3/13
Hello there, Bay Area live music lover. As we reach April, we know that the next 30 days will be quite busy. We haven’t even started with the Coachella bands coming to town, and, well, I’m already exhausted just looking at this thing!
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 3/28/13-4/3/13”
Show Review: Minus The Bear with Cursive and Girl In A Coma at The Regency Ballroom, 11/13/2012
Right at the beginning of the new millennium, sudden bursts of musical creativity formed a genre-bending confluence as post-rock, alternative, and indie rock collided together, and a wave of bands sprung forth, each carving out its own unique path as the new century was brightly birthed. New terms such as “post-hardcore”, a modern definition of “emo”, and even heavier concoctions such as “metalcore” came clawing their way into existence, each with a collection of bands that took these sounds and made them their own. In the few short years that we transitioned into a new century, groups rose and fell, and new beings were born from their ashes. Ten years later, two of these acts found themselves on the road together, and fans that had their music playing on CD-changer stereos and the first waves of MP3 players flocked to catch their heroes continuing their journey, ten years later: the Omaha indie quartet known as Cursive, and the groovy, funkily-experimental Seattle five-piece called Minus The Bear.
Show Review: Switchfoot with Paper Route at Regency Ballroom, 10/23/2012
There’s something unique about Switchfoot. As a result, their fans have a different vibe than those belonging to your average rock band, and so their shows have a different feel to them than most I find myself attending. Sure, some consider Switchfoot a “Christian band,” but it’s not quite that simple. Yes, the members themselves are Christians. Yes, much of their lyrical content has spiritual undertones, and no they don’t try to hide it. But truth be told, I’m not sure I’d give them much of a second listen if they were the kind of band marketed solely to “Christian rock” radio. That just isn’t my thing. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that…) Because these guys prefer to live their lives as good, salt-of-the-earth people with a great sound and steer far clear of anything that might feel like they’re pimping their beliefs on me, I’ve been hooked for over a decade. But it’s more than that… There’s honestly a kind of “live and let live” mantra between the band and its fans: as long as you respect what I believe, I can do the same for you and we can all get along and enjoy each other. And that’s the sort of breath of fresh air that inspires me at a Switchfoot show, and what keeps me coming back. This week, they played San Francisco’s tiny Regency Ballroom Tuesday night, alongside Nashville indie rock band Paper Route, and before the night began, I was full of anticipation and excitement for a night of music by the band whose music has been something of a soundtrack for the last decade of my life. Continue reading “Show Review: Switchfoot with Paper Route at Regency Ballroom, 10/23/2012”
Show Review:Thrice’s Farewell Tour at the Regency Ballroom, 6/12/12
Thrice’s Farewell Tour was the last chance for all the devoted and die-hard fans to see the melodic hardcore outfit before their indefinite hiatus. I consider myself a newly minted Thrice fan, despite being introduced to them four years ago thanks to their tour with Rise Against. With the release of their new album Major/Minor, I found myself scrambling to buy a physical copy of the album and played it in heavy rotation for weeks afterwards. Although I am a newer Thrice fan, I was throughly elated to learn I had the honor of attending this concert.
Continue reading “Show Review:Thrice’s Farewell Tour at the Regency Ballroom, 6/12/12”
Show Review: Ladytron with SONOIO and Polaris At Noon at the Regency Ballroom, 9/25/2011
I have often said that electronic music concerts are the best example of an experience that can go one of two ways: either the dull setting of a single DJ with a mild array of lights and unreasonably loud walls of bass that do more to rattle your teeth than to provide enjoyable percussion, or a full-on experience — from either one man with a table covered in expensive gear, or an entire band centered around synths, drum machines, or other instruments of the digital age — with a dazzling visual accompaniment. It also helps, of course, if you have more to bring to the table than simple a throbbing house beat and a simple-yet-evolving methodology to your melody and rhythm; adding traditional or untraditional rock instruments, as well as an aesthetic that blends them with the sweeping pulses that make up the backbone of your sound, is a sure-fire way to something refreshing and undoubtedly successful. Such is the case with the Liverpool music collective known as Ladytron, who also up the scale every time they play by bringing an eclectic set of opening acts — guaranteeing an exciting show every time.
Show Review: Hanson with Meiko at Regency Ballroom, 9/8/2011
To most of the world, Hanson were three little boys who sang ridiculously catchy songs like “I Will Come to You,” “Weird,” and “Where’s the Love,” had millions of little girls screaming and crying, but “in an mmmbop” were gone. What most don’t know is that the brothers Hanson have never stopped making music. Since that first album that created hysteria among pre-pubescent girls, Middle of Nowhere, Hanson has released four more studio albums (2000’s This Time Around, Underneath in 2004, The Walk in 2007, and last year’s Shout it Out), the three most recent three of which have been under their own label, 3CG Records. Because Hanson made their debut in a moment of bubble gum pop insanity alongside the Backstreet Boys, ‘NSync, and countless other fluffy prefab acts, they were too easily written off with the rest as having had little to no talent. What many didn’t (or still don’t) know was that the boys had been writing their own lyrics and music all along, and now almost fifteen years later, continue to do so, rewarding loyal fans with some great pop rock tunes. Last night their “Musical Ride Tour” stopped at the Regency Ballroom, and I was lucky enough to be there to spend another memorable evening with a band I love to change people’s minds about. Continue reading “Show Review: Hanson with Meiko at Regency Ballroom, 9/8/2011”
Show Review: Reel Big Fish with Streetlight Manifesto, The Maxies and Rodeo Ruby Love at the Regency Ballroom, 7/15/2011
There’s a commonly-held mindset that says you cannot take ska music seriously. From a simple outside perspective, this makes sense; it’s generally very bouncy, positive-sounding music, and the horns just accentuate the level of joy, or perhaps the level of unseriousness. For what is entailed in a ska song, however, it’s remarkably rude to call it simple or childish; with 3 or 4 additional players that accompany a full band, one that’s usually churning out rapid-fire punk riffs, and with all of the members running around onstage, it’s definitely not a simple feat. The energy of the music, for those who do listen and follow it, is infectious and riotous in its intensity, and whether the lyrics are heartfelt and yearning, or slovenly and self-deprecating, wildly energetic audiences will still fill large auditoriums to see the spectacle, and chant and stamp to every word. Such was the case on Friday night, when the Regency Ballroom of San Francisco played host to two titans of the genre: the New Jersey septet Streetlight Manifesto, and the Huntington Beach veterans known as Reel Big Fish.
Show Review: Cut Copy with Holy Ghost! at the Regency Ballroom, 4/16 and 4/17/2011
I’ve been waiting to see this band for a long, long time. They’re one of my absolute favorites, so when I got my little fan club email about tickets going on sale, I was ALL over it. Like woke up at the crack of dawn over it. Their newest album Zonoscope was just starting to have little early “leaks” that were streamed over the internet. I’ve been beside myself for months… I was going to see Cut Copy on this US tour no matter what. Continue reading “Show Review: Cut Copy with Holy Ghost! at the Regency Ballroom, 4/16 and 4/17/2011”
Noise Pop Show Review: Best Coast, Wavves, Hunx and His Punx, Royal Baths at the Regency Ballroom, 2/26/2011
Best Coast and Wavves played the final night of their Summer is Forever tour as part of Noise Pop on Saturday night. It was a sold-out affair that proved to be one of the biggest draws of the festival. Some might say it was oversold. Others might agree, but are presumably still too high to form complete thoughts.