What’s better than a three-day weekend thanks to those who have fought to keep America safe? Getting to see a band you love on the Friday night of said three-day weekend, giving me a full weekend after a fun night out, of course! That was my good fortune this Veterans Day weekend as I drove to Sacramento to catch Switchfoot at Ace of Spades. For one reason or another, I have had to miss several Switchfoot tours, and then the next thing I knew, it’s been over a decade since I’ve caught them live. Suffice it to say I couldn’t wait to get to the venue to catch them again, finally! Continue reading “Show Review: Switchfoot with Ben Goldsmith at Ace of Spades, 11/10/23”
Tag: set list
Show Review: John Mayer with JP Saxe at Chase Center, 11/7/23
Does everyone else have artists they will see over and over forever, or is it just me? Sometimes, this is because I want to see what’s new in the artist’s/band’s set (as is the case with someone like Pink, who will change much of her songlist, set, costumes, etc, every time she hits the road). On the other hand, sometimes this is just because I’m such a fan of the artist’s voice, lyrics, and music that I’ll see them every single time I have an opportunity, regardless of whether or not things have much changed since the last time. Such was the case this week with John Mayer’s Solo tour, which arrived at Chase Center on Tuesday. Continue reading “Show Review: John Mayer with JP Saxe at Chase Center, 11/7/23”
Show Review: P!nk with Grouplove and KidCutUp at Chase Center, 10/14/2023
When I was nineteen, my friends and I had been known to crash a Hollywood party or two. At one party in particular, there was a beautiful young woman who looked about our age. She had spiky, cool hair dyed a shocking pink, oozed sexy confidence, and could sing like nobody’s business. I became a fan instantly. In the twenty-five years since, my love for Pink has only grown exponentially, not just because I think she has the best voice in the business, but because who she is as a person is someone I truly admire. Suffice it to say, I do everything I can not to miss her when she comes to town. This past weekend, that meant getting myself to Chase Center on Saturday night to catch her Trustfall tour. Continue reading “Show Review: P!nk with Grouplove and KidCutUp at Chase Center, 10/14/2023”
Show Review: Wet Leg at Bimbo’s 365 Club, 3/29/22
If you’re reading this on Spinning Platters, chances are this isn’t the first time you’re heard of Wet Leg. I’ll spare you the lengthy gushing and simply say that Rhian Teasdale speaks in plain terms about modern life with idiosyncratic idioms with a deceptively blasé elocution. Continue reading “Show Review: Wet Leg at Bimbo’s 365 Club, 3/29/22”
Show Review: John Mayer with Yebba at Chase Center, 3/18/2022
Holy hell, it’s been a while. It’s been more than two years, in fact, since I last saw a show. For a music nerd like me who considers live music vital to her mental health, that’s saying a lot. But as things slowly seem to be moving closer and closer to what we considered “normal” pre-pandemic, I’ve been missing the whole concert experience more and more. Fortunately, the arrival of John Mayer‘s Sob Rock Tour at San Francisco’s Chase Center arrived just in time – last Friday night, to be exact… Continue reading “Show Review: John Mayer with Yebba at Chase Center, 3/18/2022”
Show Review: Dermot Kennedy with SYML at the Masonic, 1/30/2020
I don’t know what it is about Dermot Kennedy. I first discovered his music when I heard “Power Over Me” on a music channel on my TV. It was literally love at first listen. Kennedy’s voice is unlike any other I’ve ever heard: haunting, soulful, and incredibly powerful. Add to that his ability to write lyrically and musically beautiful works of art, and I’m a fan for life. For now, Kennedy is still relatively unknown in the US, but those who know his music flock to his shows, resulting in regularly sold-out shows. Such was the case at last night’s show with SYML at the Masonic.
Continue reading “Show Review: Dermot Kennedy with SYML at the Masonic, 1/30/2020”
Festival Review: LoveLoud 2019 at USANA Amphitheatre, 6/29/19
It’s July, and another successful SF Pride Parade is in the books… or so I hear. I personally missed it, sadly, but I did so for good reason. Obviously, we live in one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world, and while it would have been fun to come out to share the celebration (not to mention the spectacle) that is Pride in the Bay Area, I chose instead to celebrate with the LGBTQ+ youth of Salt Lake City.
Utah is, of course, fairly synonymous with Mormonism. Imagine growing up LGBTQ+ and having to consider whether to stay closeted, or to come out and risk being shunned, rejected, or excommunicated not only from your entire church, but your community and likely your whole family, too. It’s not hard to see why the LGBTQ+ youth in the LDS church have an incredibly high suicide rate. Enter one of the most famous Mormons this side of Donny & Marie: Imagine Dragons’ frontman, Dan Reynolds. Reynolds founded the LoveLoud Foundation, which puts on an annual festival in the Salt Lake City area every June to allow a safe place to celebrate Pride while raising money for local and national LGBTQ+ charities.
Continue reading “Festival Review: LoveLoud 2019 at USANA Amphitheatre, 6/29/19”
Show Review: Dennis Lloyd with Ryan Caraveo at Great American Music Hall, 4/11/19
The first time I heard Dennis Lloyd’s single, “Nevermind,” I was intrigued. I started hearing the song a lot on satellite radio, and on the music channel I turn my TV to when I’m in the kitchen. A month or so ago, Lloyd’s name came up on my radar: he was coming through the Bay on tour. I requested to cover the show and quickly forgot about it. I didn’t find out that I had a ticket until the day before the show. The next day, I realized I only knew that one song, so I spent several hours listening to Spotify’s This is Dennis Lloyd playlist. Unfortunately, I wasn’t into it. I’m a girl of my word, though, so I headed to Great American Music Hall on Thursday in hopes that Lloyd live would change my mind.
Continue reading “Show Review: Dennis Lloyd with Ryan Caraveo at Great American Music Hall, 4/11/19”
Show Review: Dermot Kennedy with Luca Fogale at Fox Theatre Oakland, 4/10/19
You know how sometimes all it takes is the first listen to a great new song by an artist you’ve never heard before, and you’re in? That’s how it was for me the first time I heard Dermot Kennedy’s “Power Over Me.” Not long ago, I was in my kitchen cooking dinner, with a music station playing on my TV. Before the lyrics of the song could even register in my brain, Kennedy’s haunting voice had drawn me in. I remember literally stopping what I was doing and turning around to gape at the screen so I could make a note of the artist. And then the lyrics hit me: “you’ve got that power over me… my, my… everything I hold dear resides in those eyes… you’ve got that power over me…” I’ve been obsessed with the song ever since. As soon as I could, I took a deep dive through Kennedy’s music, and accordingly made a note to catch him live as soon as possible. Last night, my chance came as Kennedy graced the stage at Fox Theatre in Oakland for the very first time. To say it was mildly earth-shattering is: an oxymoron, a little hyperbole, and also still somehow true.
Continue reading “Show Review: Dermot Kennedy with Luca Fogale at Fox Theatre Oakland, 4/10/19”
Show Review: Peter Cetera with Richard Marx at Thunder Valley Casino Amphitheatre, 7/13/18
Like many children of the 80s, I still harbor a strong sentimental attachment to some of the tunes that might make others groan. Before I was old enough to start developing musical tastes of my own, my mom raised me on a steady diet of light rock, less talk. (No, you just sang the KOIT jingle in your head!) I think my personal trifecta from those days is (in no particular order): Billy Joel, Lionel Richie (with The Commodores and solo), and Peter Cetera (with Chicago but especially solo). At least for me, there is something about the music I loved as a kid that can have the power to invoke a true sense of joy that can be hard to find anywhere else.
Last month, my mom won a pair of tickets to see REO Speedwagon and Chicago, and she asked me to go with her. I thought it would be a blast, but I admit I was disappointed at the prospect of seeing Chicago sans Cetera. Between sets, I decided I should look to see if he was touring on his own. Much to my delight, not only was he currently touring, but I found tickets that were a mere two weeks away, in San Jose. Before I could buy them, though, Chicago took the stage, and I put my phone away to enjoy what turned out to be a truly fantastic performance.
The next day, I returned to my ticketing site of choice to buy tickets, and discovered I’d overlooked a second date the night before: this one was a month away, rather than two weeks, and I’d have to schlep out to the Sacramento area in the dead of the summer, but instead of just being Cetera solo, it also boasted Richard Marx on the bill. Though this is an artist my mother enjoys as much as I do, he wasn’t an heirloom: Richard Marx is an artist I learned to love all on my own, from the late 80s on. I bought tickets in a matter of moments and then started counting down the days until I could get myself out to Thunder Valley Casino on Friday the 13th (of July). Continue reading “Show Review: Peter Cetera with Richard Marx at Thunder Valley Casino Amphitheatre, 7/13/18”