setlist – Page 10 – Spinning Platters

Show Review: An Evening With Wilson Phillips at Davies Symphony Hall, 11/17/12

In the 22 years since the release of Wilson Phillips’ debut single, the still inescapable “Hold On,” the group has never toured. There was never really a reason to- during the height of their popularity, artists made their money from record sales, and they promoted their releases using radio and television. There was never a real need for them to hit the road. It came as a pretty major surprise to see that they actually decided to start touring so many years later. I hadn’t listened to them much since my middle school days, but the whole idea of seeing Wilson Phillips live piqued my curiosity. Would the show be an utter travesty? Can they still sing? Will I be bored listening to a bunch of songs I loved when I was 12? Will my mind be blown? This could have been in many different ways…

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Show Review: Tame Imapala with The Amazing at The Fillmore, 11/15/12

Tame Impala at The Fillmore — Tame Impala photos by Mark Ricksen.

The impala is a swift and sleek creature that has ultimately found itself endangered, much like rock ‘n’ roll these days. It makes up the latter half of Tame Impala’s name, the former creatively and aptly chosen by this group of mellowed out lads from down under. Hailing from the Western Australian town of Perth, whom you may or may not know is also home to INXS, Tame Impala bring forth sort of a revival of psychedelic rock, packaging it in a fresh, edgy and dance provoking product that has thwarted them to rising acclaim and continues to generate buzz amid the music world while toeing the line between pop and psych rock. Vocally and instrumentally speaking, the band seems to naturally draw off late-Beatles work, with lead singer Kevin Parker’s thin falsetto vocals frequently compared to that of the late John Lennon. Their San Francisco appearance sold out fairly early on and was a highly anticipated date on the calendar of Bay Area music fans. Fittingly performing at the legendary Fillmore, who is no stranger to psychedelia, would Tame Impala deliver a night worth of causing Bill Graham to look down with a nodding grin? Continue reading “Show Review: Tame Imapala with The Amazing at The Fillmore, 11/15/12”

Show Review: Japandroids with Bleached at The Filmore, 11/12/12

I first stumbled across Japandroids while waiting to see No Age at SXSW in 2010. These were a bunch of noisey rock duos playing a venue that was normally set aside for DJ dancing. The sound guy had no idea as to how to deal with a band. As Japandroids were doing their line check, the sound guy yelled into the PA, seemingly frustrated to no end:

“That’s Loud As Shit!”

The singer / guitarist responded, even more upset, “IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE LOUD AS SHIT!!!”

That’s when I knew that this band was going to be great. And they killed it. And, finally, three years later, they are playing the legendary Fillmore Auditorium. Few bands deserve this honor as much as these guys do.

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Show Review: Rush at HP Pavilion San Jose, 11/15/2012

7971967048_93cb543a74 — Rush in Gainesville, VA, earlier on this tour. (Click to see more from this show by Flickr user Sofafort.)

A Rush concert feels like a family reunion made up of people who are meeting for the first time. Everyone dresses in their coolest Rush t-shirt and heads out to the arena, ready to air drum along to classic hits and rarely played deep cuts, and find new favorites among the new material. For unlike other bands approaching 40 years in the business, Rush fans still stay in their seats (or in the case of the floor, stand by their seats) for songs from the new albums. Tonight, Rush was bringing their Clockwork Angels tour to San Jose, and it was full of the familiar, as well as full of surprises. Continue reading “Show Review: Rush at HP Pavilion San Jose, 11/15/2012”

Show Review: …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead with The Technicolors at The Independent, 11/8/2012

Conrad Keely of ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead — Conrad Keely of …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead

In March of 2012, three principal members of the feminist Russian punk rock collective known as Pussy Riot were arrested on charges of “religious hooliganism”. It was an incident that served as a reminder that not every country in the world allows the kind of antics and messages that American bands have fought for and won the right to carry out in their performances. Hundreds of artists, musicians, activists, and even politicians vocally expressed their support of the band and urged the Russian judicial system to release them and support their freedom of speech. The Austin-based rock thunderstorm known as …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead (often shortened to Trail Of Dead) dedicated their eighth album, 2012’s Lost Songs, to the imprisoned trio, and communicated the frenzied, passionate energy of their new release with an explosive live show that was utterly visceral and mindbending to behold.

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Show Review: Switchfoot with Paper Route at Regency Ballroom, 10/23/2012

P1050126 — Left to right: Switchfoot’s Chad Butler (drums), Jon Foreman (guitar & vocals), and Jerome Fontamillas (keys)

There’s something unique about Switchfoot. As a result, their fans have a different vibe than those belonging to your average rock band, and so their shows have a different feel to them than most I find myself attending. Sure, some consider Switchfoot a “Christian band,” but it’s not quite that simple. Yes, the members themselves are Christians. Yes, much of their lyrical content has spiritual undertones, and no they don’t try to hide it. But truth be told, I’m not sure I’d give them much of a second listen if they were the kind of band marketed solely to “Christian rock” radio. That just isn’t my thing. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that…) Because these guys prefer to live their lives as good, salt-of-the-earth people with a great sound and steer far clear of anything that might feel like they’re pimping their beliefs on me, I’ve been hooked for over a decade. But it’s more than that… There’s honestly a kind of “live and let live” mantra between the band and its fans: as long as you respect what I believe, I can do the same for you and we can all get along and enjoy each other. And that’s the sort of breath of fresh air that inspires me at a Switchfoot show, and what keeps me coming back. This week, they played San Francisco’s tiny Regency Ballroom Tuesday night, alongside Nashville indie rock band Paper Route, and before the night began, I was full of anticipation and excitement for a night of music by the band whose music has been something of a soundtrack for the last decade of my life. Continue reading “Show Review: Switchfoot with Paper Route at Regency Ballroom, 10/23/2012”

Show Review: Ultraísta with Astronauts, etc. at The Independent, 10/22/2012

There’s an interesting conundrum that a new band faces when one of its members is a well-known and deeply admired member of the music world, but theirs is not a front-and-center role in said new band. While it is pleasing and exciting to know that the group will gain attention and followers simply by this connection, it’s frustrating or sometimes embarrassing when the enjoyment and appreciation from their fans is entirely directed at the aforementioned member, with the other bandmates struggling to pull the limelight back to themselves. It helps, therefore, to bring a set of people with you who are delightfully talented and demonstrating show-stopping performances in and of themselves. Thus, it was a delightful treat when a small contingent of Radiohead fans, drawn to the Independent to see the new work of their long-time producer Nigel Godrich, were surprisingly dazzled and mesmerized by all three members of English outfit Ultraísta, which Godrich formed with fellow musicians Joey Waronker (drummer for Atoms For Peace, R.E.M. and Beck) and fresh new face Laura Bettinson earlier this year.

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Show Review: Jane’s Addiction with thenewno2 at The Warfield, 10/18/2012

It’s extremely unusual, in the modern live music scene, to see long-time-famous rock acts who are NOT following the popular gimmick of playing one of their classic albums from start to finish. It’s a strange phenomenon to think about, because for many of these bands, such a concept would have seemed bizarre back in their original heyday; part of the intrigue of a live show comes from wondering whether the band onstage will play your favorite song, resurrect an unusual B-side from another time, follow the rhythm of playing popular pieces only, or even take requests from the audience. The unpredictability of the set adds excitement, especially when the show itself is also highly theatrical in nature, with custom-made stages and an ensemble of backing performers who dance, leap, and move in an acrobatic fashion, rather than simply add sonic accompaniment to the musicians before them. The Los Angeles alternative rock masters known as Jane’s Addiction carry these factors into their concerts in spades, bringing a brightly-lit and ever-shifting spectacle to their performance, and with a set that spans all 25 years of the band’s work.

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Show Review: David Byrne & St. Vincent at the Orpheum Theatre, 10/15/2012

David Byrne, St. Vincent, and accompaniment

The term “supergroup” is often used to refer to a set of musicians who are best known in association with their respective bands — musicians who haven’t necessarily operated as solitary acts in their own right, and are culled together to see what their individual untapped energies will create when synthesized. By contrast, when speaking of a pair of artists that write and perform together, each possessing their own prolific solo careers, the relationship is usually defined — accurately, but less overtly bombastically — as a “collaboration” between them. It should be preemptively stated, therefore, that the “collaboration” between David Byrne, former founder and frontman of world-famous new-wave-art-rockers Talking Heads, and Annie Clark, better known as the gorgeously cacophonous St. Vincent, possesses all of the grandeur and might that the term “supergroup” conjures the image of. Backed by a seven-piece horn section, sampling engineer, and percussionist, Byrne and Clark have birthed one of the most unusual but compelling albums of 2012, a 45-minute opus titled Love This Giant, and the Orpheum Theatre, best known as a host of many musicals and plays from all eras and countries, offered its stage to the pair for the San Francisco stop on their tour.

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Show Review: Deftones with Scars On Broadway at The Warfield, 10/10/2012

The late 90s and early 2000s were an interesting time for popular metal music, when an often-bemoaned genre known as “nü-metal” clawed its way into existence, its rap-infused tendrils hot on the heels of bands like Rage Against The Machine and Faith No More, with its core still deeply rooted in groove-filled pop sensibilities that made it edgily acceptable to throw onto the radio. As the scene began dying out with the advent of metalcore and the New Wave of American Heavy Metal, groups that were still passionate about performing fought desperately to stay relevant, deigning their sound by bringing new elements into it that clashed with the original tunes that made them famous. It can be argued forever, of course, which bands did this as an attempt at creativity, and which bands did it as an attempt to appeal to more fans and listeners. The Sacramento quintet known as Deftones, however, have stood the test of time through this transition, and despite the definite traces of nü-metal within their sound, their desire to experiment and push boundaries has always remained constant.

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