San Francisco – Page 12 – Spinning Platters

SF Sketchfest Review: Mara Wilson’s What Are You Afraid Of? with guests John Ross Bowie and Sarah Thyre, 1/8/2016 at Eureka Theatre

What Are YOU Afraid Of? (Photo cred: thanks Greg Garthe!)

So, I follow Mara Wilson on Twitter. It’s not specifically because she was the cutest-ever child star who happens to still be equal parts clever, funny, and brilliant. (See her in Matilda or Mrs. Doubtfire for further evidence on the aforementioned childhood cuteness.) See, I found Mara through a circle of funny ladies on the Twittersphere (@goldengateblond and @ohnoshetwitnt, in particular) who like to create (and retweet) the best of the best. Long story boring, that’s how I found and followed Mara, and how I found myself at The Eureka Theatre last Friday night to listen to Ms. Wilson (and guests John Ross Bowie & Sarah Thyre) wax hilarious about the things that frighten them, and why vulnerability is worth the risk. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Mara Wilson’s What Are You Afraid Of? with guests John Ross Bowie and Sarah Thyre, 1/8/2016 at Eureka Theatre”

SF Sketchfest Review: Put Your Hands Together at Cobb’s, 1/8/16

Put Your Hands Together turned out to be the perfect start to my 2016 Sketchfest experience. It was a room full of friendly people and a lot of great stand up comedy. I had become a fan of the hosts, Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher after seeing them at You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes last year and was excited to get the chance to see them again. Now I am so happy I did. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Put Your Hands Together at Cobb’s, 1/8/16”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 12/18/15-12/24/15

Star Wars! Star Wars! Star Wars! Star Wars! Can you believe it? It’s difficult to believe! But it’s here! This week! B… [cough]… it’s… it’s been… a long time since it was possible to look forward to a Star Wars anything. It’s here! Extraordinary feelings.

Now, let’s talk about what’s coming up this week. Let’s preview. Hyperdrive go! Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 12/18/15-12/24/15”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 12/3/15-12/9/15

This week around the San Francisco Bay Area: Love! Honey! Medicine! Class war! Typos! Beards! And a moonlighting winemaker.

Let’s preview the week’s upcoming shows, shall we?
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 12/3/15-12/9/15”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 10/9/15-10/14/15

While Leif and his posse may not have actually worn 'em, they are fun to wear. — While Leif and his posse may not have actually worn ’em, they are fun to wear.

Do you know what today is? It is Leif Erickson Day here in the USA. Let us celebrate explorers as well as arbitrarily-horned helmets.

Also, the Litquake festival begins in San Francisco! A solid day for a book about explorers.

After that’s done with, let’s look at the concerts coming up this week in the Bay Area. Skol, let’s preview! Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 10/9/15-10/14/15”

Need a discount code for SF MusicTech Summit? We’ve got you covered

We’re less than six weeks away from the Bay Area’s premiere music and tech conference, SF MusicTech Summit. Returning to San Francisco for the seventeenth (!) time, this must-attend gathering attracts top experts, developers, entrepreneurs, investors, and musicians from all around the globe. One year ago, organizers Brian and Shoshana Zisk declared that they would be retiring the event. However, due to popular demand, they’ve brought it back.

Continue reading “Need a discount code for SF MusicTech Summit? We’ve got you covered”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 10/1/15-10/7/15

Emmylou Harris — She put the “Hardly” in the Hardly Strictly.

It’s a packed week with Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in Golden Gate Park and Alternative Press Expo in San Jose.

Coming up we have concerts by old people, young old people, and very old people who don’t much age. Let’s preview! Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 10/1/15-10/7/15”

Show Review: An Evening with Steven Wilson at The Warfield, 6/14/2015

There’s never been any debate over the fact that English new-prog, Pink-Floyd-meets-metal band Porcupine Tree is Steven Wilson, in both part and in whole. While comprised of a core set of musicians that have contributed to the writing, recording, and touring of the many records forged over its career, Porcupine Tree started as a project for Wilson alone to craft music; in fact, at its very beginning, it was a made-up legendary rock band with its own fake history and discography that Wilson had penned with a colleague back in the late 1980s. Twenty years later, Wilson has put his primary project on a shelf (Porcupine Tree has been on hiatus since 2010) and shifted the attention to his own “solo work”. Lest the reader shy away from the often-wary prospect of a frontman deciding to carve out his own path, Wilson’s output has been nothing short of spectacular, now spanning the length of four albums which demonstrate a remarkable leap in creativity, songwriting, and production with each successive release. Hot off the heels of his recently-released Hand. Cannot. Erase., Wilson returned to the Bay Area on Sunday night for a live performance with his new touring band, and the result was a gorgeous, stunning display of musicianship and sonic texture that shook the walls of the Warfield for over two hours.

Continue reading “Show Review: An Evening with Steven Wilson at The Warfield, 6/14/2015”

Show Review: Two Nights with Faith No More at The Warfield, 4/19/15-4/20/15

In 2010, Faith No More returned to their hometown of San Francisco to play three ferocious, wildly-anticipated concerts that marked their first appearance in the Bay Area since their disbandment in the late 90s. The general reaction, from the most hardcore fans to the relatively casual listeners, was extremely positive, albeit with the lingering curiosity of “…but what’s next?” After a handful of tours, a smattering of festival appearances, and two years of almost total silence — during which the prolific band members worked on some of their other projects, as well — something more official surfaced in the latter half of 2014, in the form of two new songs: the slow-stalking “Motherfucker” and the chugging, anthemic “Superhero”, both of which showed up in their live sets that year. Now, with their seventh album Sol Invictus soon to arrive in record stores, and a mountain of tour dates taking up their schedule this year (paired with everyone from ANTEMASQUE to Refused), it seemed like the perfect time for Faith No More to return to the Warfield — this time with two shows, instead of three — and their transformation in the last five years is not only palpable, but an utter delight to witness.

Continue reading “Show Review: Two Nights with Faith No More at The Warfield, 4/19/15-4/20/15”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 4/10/15-4/15/15

The ruins of San Francisco's City Hall after the 1906 earthquake. — Tonight in Oakland, the earth will shake, the sky will burn, and San Francisco will be brought to the ground.

Here’s what’s coming up this week: monsters, bears, and Bruce Hornsby. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 4/10/15-4/15/15”