Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
Steven Wilson is certainly no stranger to epics. Whether his work in the band Porcupine Tree with songs like the sprawling “Anesthetize,” or his solo effort about serial killer Denis Rader “Raider II,” he has proven quite the knack for epic songs, cycles, and albums over the years. It should prove no surprise that his recent single for the upcoming The Future Bites, “Personal Shopper,” shares this epic quality.
Continue reading “Single of the Week: Personal Shopper by Steven Wilson”
Show date: January 19/20, 2018, 7:00 pm
Venue: The Fillmore
City: San Francisco
Where had the time gone? Somehow it was already Sunday, and Day 1 and Day 2 were already behind us!
Sunday promised to have the best weather of all, as well as some acts I’d been really looking forward to. Because I’d missed The Helmets last year – but heard them from my house and was impressed enough to text a friend who was already there, asking who they were – I knew in advance that I had to make it there early this year to see them in action. Continue reading “BottleRock Napa Valley 2017 Festival Journal, Day 3”
This year’s Saturday at BottleRock Napa Valley promised to be a beautiful warm and breezy 75 degrees, the perfect weather for a festival full of good music, great food and all the beer, wine, and cocktails you can handle! Once again, there were more acts scheduled than was possible to see all at once, so I had to pick and choose pieces of sets from the bands I most wanted to see to make it all work. (For example, who wants to decide between House of Pain and Bishop Briggs? I wanted to “jump around” and jam out with Ms. Briggs… Continue reading “BottleRock Napa Valley 2017 Festival Journal, Day 2”
Last weekend marked the return of my hometown’s beloved music, food and drink festival, BottleRock Napa Valley, which turned five this Memorial Day weekend. In addition to boasting phenomenal music lineups year after year, BRNV offers a wine garden, a “beer bend,” a silent disco, a beer and bourbon garden, displays of art throughout the festival grounds, and of course, the culinary delights that have come to be associated with this valley that is so much more than wine. Continue reading “BottleRock Napa Valley 2017 Festival Journal, Day 1”
It’s not possible to overstate the influence that the Mississippi Delta Blues has had on contemporary music. Every popular artist you can think of, from Beyonce, to Garth Brooks, and even Skrillex owes their due to the music which has some its origins in the West African music brought over by people kidnapped by the Dutch to become slaves in the American south. Blues forms the basis of rock and roll’s rhythms and instrumentation, and the blue notes as well – the flat 3rd, 5th, or 7th note that gives a more melancholy sound to the melody- is derived from blues. It was Muddy Waters, an early blues musician, who first started bending guitar strings while playing, in a departure from the classical style of guitar. Even jazz has its origins in the twelve-bar blues structure that grew out, at least in part, from southern work songs, chants, call and response, and spirituals sung by slaves, former slaves, or sharecroppers. Some researchers have made the case that blues emerged as a genre after the Emancipation Act, influenced strongly by the teachings of Booker T. Washington, and coinciding with the emergence of a Southern free black secular community.
Continue reading “Black History Month Series: Delta Blues to Rock and Roll and Beyond”
You’re reading Day 3. Have you checked out Day 1 and Day 2 as well?
I don’t know why, but Day 3 always seems to be the day all my friends attend BottleRock. This year was no exception. Two friends came up from the South Bay, not wanting to miss a moment. While I waited for my bestie and her boyfriend to arrive, I heard the festival begin through my bedroom window. Before we left the house, I realized that the band on the main stage (the one I can hear) was killing a cover of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” so I texted one of my friends to find out who they were. She didn’t know, except to say that they were kids, and they were crushing it. I made a mental note to find out who they were and check them out. It turned out they were The Helmets, a band that includes Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo’s son Tye and three other kids, all currently aged 12 or under. I’m disappointed to have missed them, because from what I heard (literally from afar, as well as from those who were already present), they are an excellent band, kids or not! Continue reading “BottleRock Napa Valley 2016 Festival Journal, Day 3”
You’re reading this year’s Day 2. Don’t forget to check out Day 1 too!
Day 2 got a bit of a late start, but once inside, I wasted no time at all stopping by Lagunitas for a cold Aunt Sally, which is easily my favorite beer they make, since it’s the least hop-driven! I went directly to the JaM Cellars stage to catch Walk the Moon who were due to begin momentarily. I admit, I only know the band from a friend who loves them and their gigantic smash “Shut Up and Dance” that’s so popular even my two-year-old niece asks for it by name. As I expected, they put on a fun, energetic set, particularly with “Different Colors” (which frontman Nicholas Petricca said was about the “beauty of being different), “Tiger Teeth,” “I Can Lift a Car,” and past single “Anna Sun.” As many had taken to doing over the festival, Petricca reminded the crowd to take time to vote: “Figure it out, and then go vote. Go fucking vote! It’s up to us to figure out the future!” He went on to say that the performance marked the very last one of the band’s tour in support of their Talking is Hard record. As expected, “Shut Up and Dance” was a fun, wild ride with the entire crowd dancing and singing along. Continue reading “BottleRock Napa Valley 2016 Festival Journal, Day 2”
Before I get into all the details of the gloriousness that was this year’s BottleRock Napa Valley, please allow me a moment, not just to digress but to explain why this festival is so important to me. I was born in Napa. As many Napa kids do, I moved away in my early 20s seeking something more exciting (hard to imagine now, but at the time Napa was still a relatively small town without a lot to do). I had some oats to sow, and was gone for 5-6 years, but returned about a decade ago to go back to school. Since then, I often say that “this town and I grew up together,” as we’ve both evolved into something more worth enjoying. While once I was a kid from a small town most had never heard of (and because of which I often claimed SF or the Bay Area to those unfamiliar), I have since become a “townie,” and that’s okay with me. This place is something special, and I can’t imagine ever leaving. True, it was once far quieter (and okay, far more dull), but these days it’s really something to behold, and has earned its reputation as a world-famous, world-class destination on bucket lists the world over. So, add to that a phenomenal music festival that showcases not just the mind-blowing wines and taste-bud-tantalizing food for which we’re known, but consistently impressive musical lineups that offer something for everyone, year after year? How could I not love BottleRock? I’m happy to say that I’ve been BottleRocking since the very beginning, and I can’t imagine what it might take to keep me away. As you can imagine, I’m already looking forward to next year’s festival!
Okay, onward…this year, BottleRock was scheduled to fall on Memorial Day weekend. While I personally heard the frustration of local business owners (for many of whom the beloved festival pulls away business all weekend long), I didn’t have any reason to lament spending a long, beautiful-weathered weekend wandering the Napa Valley Expo grounds last weekend more or less than any other.
Continue reading “BottleRock Napa Valley 2016 Festival Journal, Day 1”
I should start this post off right away by admitting a few things: first of all, if you’ve seen any of my previous work on this site, you’ll already know, but I’m by far the most “mainstream” music listening on the Spinning Platters staff. Many of the bands my cohorts write about are those I’ve never heard of, while I’m running around checking out John Mayer, Coldplay, Imagine Dragons, and Pink. Also, and perhaps more importantly, I’m a huge novice when it comes to music festivals. I’ve been to a good handful of the one-day sort of radio station assembled festivals, and several consecutive years of Warped Tour. But bigger, multi-day festivals? I’ve only been to one so far: BottleRock Napa Valley 2013.
Continue reading “Festival Preview: BottleRock Napa Valley 2014: 5/30-6/1”