Keep Live Alive: SF Sketchfest & Noise Pop Open Their Archives

Before the COVID Virus decided to destroy life as we know it in the Bay Area, we were lucky enough to get to enjoy two of the best festivals the Bay has to offer: SF Sketchfest and Noise Pop. Both fests had banner years, and as a thank you to the venues that helped make them happen year after year, both SF Sketchfest and Noise Pop are opening up their rich archives of great shows. This gives you the opportunity to either relive these shows, or if you couldn’t make it, actually get to enjoy shows you missed, and all to raise money for these venues so they can reopen once the pandemic is contained, as well as other local charities!

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Top 10 Outside Lands 2016 Acts From The Bottom Half Of The Poster

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Yes, it’s that time of year again. Outside Lands is about to begin, and with it, a slew of great acts you love — as well as a bunch of bands you may have never heard of before. I know that your instinct is to sleep in and show up just in time to let Third Eye Blind know that you do, in fact, believe in science. However, if you do, you are going to miss some of the best music in the festival. The lower part of the poster is where the good stuff hides, so, who knows — you may just stumble across the next Black Keys or Ellie Goulding, both past lower-poster-graduates.

The schedule is out NOW, so you can start planning your weekend. I do believe it’s in your best interest to include some of these acts:

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Show Review: Rogue Wave with Cellar Doors at Starline Social Club, 5/5/2016

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Oakland’s hometown heroes, indie rockers Rogue Wave released their new album, Delusions of Grand Fur, last week, and to celebrate, they’re playing a weekend of Bay Area shows. Tonight was their first one, at the relatively new venue, The Starline Social Club. It was the band’s first show in three years, and they’re first in Oakland for as long as they can remember.

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Spinning Platters Tells You What Noise Pop 2014 Shows To Go To

Spinning Platters is helping you decide which noisey pop you will be enjoying during Noise Pop!
Spinning Platters is helping you decide which noisey pop you will be enjoying during Noise Pop!

Noise Pop can be intimidating. It’s the best week of live music programming in the Bay Area, and sometimes it’s hard to decide what to go to, because you can’t always be in two places at once. (However, I will be going to two shows on Friday night. I’m a bit insane.) So, if I were deciding what shows you were going to, this is what this shows would be. Disagree? Well, you can decide for yourself by checking the schedule out here. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Tells You What Noise Pop 2014 Shows To Go To”

Magik*Magik Orchestra celebrates five-year anniversary at Fox Theatre Oakland

Minna Choi conducts The Pacific Boychoir at Fox Theatre Oakland
Conductor and creative director Minna Choi conducts The Pacific Boychoir.

This past Friday, Minna Choi gathered with Maestro Michael Morgan, her co-conductor, The Pacific Boychoir, and a local all-star line-up including Geographer, Rogue Wave, John Vanderslice, and Diana Gameros to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Magik*Magik Orchestra, aptly titled “When We Were Young.”

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 1/30/14-2/5/14

Opening for The Hood Internet
Opening for The Hood Internet

I know we are all very busy with Sketchfest. However, check out these amazing music events, too!

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Spinning Platters Interview: Pat Spurgeon of Rogue Wave

 

Pat Spurgeon of Rogue Wave, not at my apartment.
Pat Spurgeon of Rogue Wave, not at my apartment.

Tonight at Bottom of the Hill, Rogue Wave is playing a sold out show for the 2013 Noise Pop Festival. This isn’t particularly newsworthy; they’ve done it before. What’s a big deal about this is that it’s Rogue Wave’s first hometown show in a couple of years, and it comes soon after the completion of their newest album, due sometime later this year. I sat down with Pat Spurgeon, Rogue Wave’s long time drummer to talk about the upcoming album, how musicians talk about their influences, and Gangnam Style, of course. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Pat Spurgeon of Rogue Wave”

Sketchfest Review: Stella at Mezzanine, 1/21/12

Spinning Platters’ writers Christopher Rogers and Dakin Hardwick both got to enjoy a performance by Stella: Michael Ian Black, David Wain, and Michael Showalter‘s nightclub show.

Instead of boring you with a typical “review” of the show, Spinning Platters is opening the fourth wall, and allowing you into the personal lives of these two legendary journalists. This is a transcript of a private chat between the two, discussing the show on Google Chat.

After the jump, you will learn how a writer thinks.

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The 7 Rules of the Best and Worst Cover Songs

What else would I put on an article about cover songs? Jeff Buckley? That's been done.

Someone was tweeting something about cover songs, and I immediately went to work on twittering away the rules of cover songs. I got to rule #3, remembered that I’m the editor of a music blog, and went to work writing the other rules down. And now, I present to you, everything you need to know about cover songs. Is there anything I left out? Let me know below. But first, we’ll start with rule #1: Continue reading “The 7 Rules of the Best and Worst Cover Songs”

Staff Picks from Treasure Island Music Festival – Sunday 10/17/2010

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Monotonix did not get the memo on the San Francisco weather

I sent out an email to everyone from Spinning Platters that went to the Treasure Island Music Festival on Sunday. I asked them to send me back something about their favorite act from the day. From some people, I got nothing, but from nearly everyone who responded, I got the same news. Belle & Sebastian was their favorite act.  So you’re about to read mainly a Belle & Sebastian love-fest, and look at a whole lot of pictures of Monotonix. And other than the rainy, windy, cold conditions and some energetic sets from Surfer Blood, Superchunk and Rogue Wave, that’s my biggest takeaway, too. Continue reading “Staff Picks from Treasure Island Music Festival — Sunday 10/17/2010”