Tag: San Francisco

Show Review: An Intimate Evening with Mika at Great American Music Hall, 3/25/2013

Just Mika, some white lights, and those darned camera phones.
Just Mika, lit only by a single white globe that appeared to be floating in air, and those darned camera phones.

Mika burst on to the scene a few years ago with a sugary pop masterpiece, Life in Cartoon Motion, and his joyful and colorful live shows, chock full of balloons, confetti, streamers and a giant pop band behind him. Now, he’s on tour supporting his newest album, The Origin of Love, and he’s taking a markedly different approach. This show, billed as “An intimate evening with” saw him behind a piano for the lion’s share of the evening, joined only by Max Taylor and Curtis Stansfield on a variety of instruments. It was stripped down, and it was wonderful. Continue reading “Show Review: An Intimate Evening with Mika at Great American Music Hall, 3/25/2013”

Noise Pop Show Review: The Thermals with Dirty Ghosts and The She’s at the Rickshaw Stop, 3/1/2013

Hutch Harris rocks out
Hutch Harris rocks out

It’s about halfway through Goddamn the Light that I realize something is off about the song. Up to this point, the Thermals set has been impeccable, but now there’s something clearly missing. The rhythm is all off, and as I scan the stage for an explanation, it dawns on me: The Thermals don’t have their drummer anymore. We have their drummer. Westin Glass has abandoned his kit to crowd surf, and he’s loving every minute of it.

Continue reading “Noise Pop Show Review: The Thermals with Dirty Ghosts and The She’s at the Rickshaw Stop, 3/1/2013”

Show Review: Tomahawk with Retox at the Great American Music Hall, 2/15/2013

Mike Patton of Tomahawk
Mike Patton of Tomahawk

A dark-snarling-rocker, avant-garde-artiste-extraordinaire, maniacally-grinning crooner, possessed of a sinister disposition and an undulating, catlike movement — these are all terms that accurately describe Bay Area native Mike Patton. Outside of the impressive trail that he and his bandmates in alt-metal band Faith No More blazed, through early 90s metal and the foundations of heavier alternative music, Patton has always been dabbling in sonic experiments and new forms of performance, and the extent of his craft is all but belied by Faith No More’s marvelous, but definitely accessible, compositions. Patton, of course, is not the only creative force within his various endeavors, and has spent most of his projects with bassist Trevor Dunn, in bands such as Mr. Bungle and the John Zorn-spearheaded Moonchild Trio. Dunn has now joined the ranks of the indescribable-yet-definitely-dark-and-thrashy Tomahawk, formed by Patton and Jesus Lizard guitarist Duane Denison, and the result is a tough-as-nails blast of energy and mesmerizing chemistry in an onstage performance — all the sensation of the insane chaos of the pair’s less accessible work, coupled with enough familiar songwriting techniques to draw in the more discerning of music fans.

Continue reading “Show Review: Tomahawk with Retox at the Great American Music Hall, 2/15/2013”

Show Review: Petty Fest at the Fillmore, 02/27/2013

PETTYFEST
Oh, what a night!

If you’ve never experienced The Cabin Down Below Band, you quite literally don’t know what you’re missing. My advice? Remedy this error as soon as is possible! This week I got my chance to do just that with a night to remember: Petty Fest’s first ever stop in San Francisco! The evening was hosted by the aforementioned brilliant band, sponsored by the generous Jameson, and boasted a line-up well worth dragging one’s self out on a “school night” for: Boz Scaggs, Nick Valensi of the Strokes, Tom Johnston of the Doobie Brothers, Lucinda Williams, Jon Heder, Aimee Mann, and Matt Sorum, to highlight just a few… Continue reading “Show Review: Petty Fest at the Fillmore, 02/27/2013”

Show Review: The Revivalists, Great White Buffalo, Solwave at The Independent, 2/23/13

The Revivalists

Saturday night, San Francisco. An unexceptionally brisk evening stood to be made swampy from down home revelry. The Independent, Alamo Square’s intimate, inky chamber, stood to facilitate the subdued, sweet swelter. Everything happened so fast. One stride past the evening’s threshold and…

“How we doing?”

Boom! A swell of supersonic rock-and-roll erupted inside the belly of The Independent; the backdraft of bowling bass and erratic electricity swooped through the venue’s history-laced entranceway. Continue reading “Show Review: The Revivalists, Great White Buffalo, Solwave at The Independent, 2/23/13”

Photo Gallery: Unknown Mortal Orchestra with Foxygen at the Great American Music Hall, 2/13/2013

Ruban Nielson of Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Ruban Nielson of Unknown Mortal Orchestra

As of late, the ever-shifting tide of new music that continues to surge its way into existence seems to be drifting more and more into a haze of dreamy, warbly tunes, evoking the warm nostalgia of 60s psychedelia and fuzzy lo-fi rock, while also pulling from newer, contemporary songwriting styles. In addition to the snarling analog tidal wave of garage punk that has been barreling its way into the world, care of surf-cum-garage-rock acts like Ty Segall, FIDLAR, and Wavves, the good-time-loving, hippie-mindset tunes are bringing a gentle glee back into the musical world, happily paired with the shimmering, dissonant production of yesteryear. The intercontinental throwback rockers Unknown Mortal Orchestra bring their own take on the retro rock with their new record, II, and set off on tour with their Jagjaguwar label mates Foxygen, themselves hot on the heels of their sophomore release We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic. Spinning Platters took a little trip with them to the dimly-lit, hazy stage of the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco to document the action!

Continue reading “Photo Gallery: Unknown Mortal Orchestra with Foxygen at the Great American Music Hall, 2/13/2013”

Sketchfest Review: The Doug Benson Movie Interruptions: Twilight at the Castro Theatre, 2/9/2013

Best. Saturday afternoon. EVER.
Best. Saturday afternoon. EVER.

Can you think of any way to spend a Saturday afternoon that’s more fun than in a crowded Castro Theatre with everyone’s favorite stoner and funny man Doug Benson making snide and silly comments over some of pop culture’s most fun (and fun to trash) films? I couldn’t either. Announce that, among films like Anaconda, Catwoman, and The Notebook, he planned to also poke fun at the hilariously and fabulously terrible Twilight, and I was putting my shoes on. Throw in that he was bringing in big comedy guns Greg Behrendt, Patton Oswalt, Michael Ian Black, and Zach Galifianakis, and I’m the first one to arrive. (Well, not really…it’s really hard to find parking in the Castro. I actually missed the introduction and had to sit on the floor. But I digress.) Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: The Doug Benson Movie Interruptions: Twilight at the Castro Theatre, 2/9/2013”

Show Review: Two Gallants with Akron/Family and Future Twin at The Fillmore, 2/2/2013

Adam Stephens and Tyson Vogel of Two Gallants
Adam Stephens and Tyson Vogel of Two Gallants

The formula of reverb-drenched-rock, guitar-drum-vocal, two-man band has proven itself, time and again, to be a successful combination. Acts like the Black Keys and the White Stripes proved that it could be done, and tore their way up the charts while they did so. It is, nevertheless, challenging, blending a careful balance of lo-fi and limited composition with gripping vocals, intricately crafted licks, and thundering percussion, maintaining a smart pop sensibility the entire time. To avoid being pigeonholed, however, as another blues-rock soldier on his quest to the top, it’s important to bend the rules of the genre, throw in some curveballs, and introduce some unique elements to one’s sound, such as the close, soulful cousins that are bluegrass and western folk music. San Francisco duo Two Gallants have done just that, constructing a sonic experience that bears this variety of genres, and yet still stands unique and full of raw passion, which they brought to the Fillmore on Saturday night for their end-of-the-tour hometown show.

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SF Sketchfest Review: Billy Eichner and Friends at Cobb’s, 2/2/2013

billy_eichner

Confrontation comic Billy Eichner, the screamingest queen to ever brandish a microphone in a bewildered stranger’s face, curated a comedy showcase called Billy Eichner and Friends at Cobb’s on Saturday night as part of SF Sketchfest 2013.  Eichner has been a rising star on the New York comedy scene for several years, building his uniquely abrasive brand through popular YouTube clips that gradually led to getting his own show, the Funny or Die production Billy on the Street, currently airing its second season on Fuse. The vast majority of the show’s content features Eichner and a cameraman running up to strangers on the streets of New York and screaming at them; sometimes it’s pop culture opinion/trivia, and occasionally it’s something absurdly basic that somehow proves challenging given the intense nature of the situation (he once famously stymied Rachel Dratch by asking her to name 20 white people; a clip he showed on Saturday showed a young woman failing to meet Eichner’s command to “name any woman”). He has become a talk show staple, and is turning into a regular on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live, on which his gay-leaning cultural obsessions seem to find the most receptive audience. So given all this, what kind of performance did Eichner have in mind for Sketchfest?

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