Show Review: Javier Colon with Reed Waddle at The Uptown Theatre Napa, 3/4/2012

The stage before the show, and before the "no photos" policy was announced (and enforced)

Let’s talk for a minute about NBC’s The Voice. Last April, when it premiered after much hype, I was really excited to check it out. For anyone who isn’t familiar, the premise of the show is that undiscovered musical talents audition for four current musicians, in hopes that their vocals alone will convince one (or more) of them to coach them through the rest of the competition. They call it a “blind” audition because all four coaches (Adam Levine of Maroon 5, Cee-Lo Green, Christina Aguilera, and Blake Shelton) sit with their backs to the stage, unable to see the performer at all. It sounds like a great concept, right? True, I always point out that there’s a little bit of a fallacy here, since it is a TV show, and someone’s doing the casting, so while it’s true that the coaches don’t see who the voice is coming out of before signing on to work with them, it’s not entirely true that how a performer looks isn’t taken into consideration at all.

Anyway, last year it was really fun to watch, because after you get past the fact that almost all of the performers look commercial enough to make it in the industry, you start to get sucked into the untapped talent – in my case, I was especially rooting for Team Adam, as Mr. Levine has a knack for picking the artists I liked the best. In the end, my favorite guy won. His name is Javier Colon, and truth be told, I haven’t heard much about him since he won. So believe me, I was excited to see him when I saw that he was playing the Uptown Theatre in Napa last night. Continue reading “Show Review: Javier Colon with Reed Waddle at The Uptown Theatre Napa, 3/4/2012”

Rachael Yamagata, Dan Wilson, and Madi Diaz at The Independent 3.2.12

I know it’s the biggest cliché you can think of, but somehow, I keep falling into it.  Sure I’ve liked Rachael Yamagata, that’s been “Known For Years” now.  She’s a great song writer, great husky emotive voice, the piano, you know, the whole nine.  But at times, I get bored.  She gets the mood going, this dark depressing mood, and…actually, I think she explains it very well.  On stage, she mentioned how she’s always surprised that people ask her to play their weddings.  In her opinion she’s better suited to play their divorce proceedings.  I thought she just might be a little stale and boring live. “The Reason Why” these clichés have apparently “Worn Me Down,” I really can’t say. But what I can say is that I was entirely wrong.   There’s a reason you go see an artist play live.  Sure they can always disappoint and sound exactly like they do on record, but the gamble is worth it when it pays off. Continue reading “Rachael Yamagata, Dan Wilson, and Madi Diaz at The Independent 3.2.12”

Show Review: Ty Segall with White Fence, Mikal Cronin and The Feeling Of Love at the Great American Music Hall, 3/2/2012

Ty Segall captured mid-thrash
Ty Segall captured mid-thrash

Put down your spiked hair. Pull those safety pins out of your pierced ears. Trade in the leather jacket, the studded belt, the plaid pants, the violently political message, the inability to enjoy anyone within your immediate proximity unless you’re physically engaged in violence towards them. But don’t stop enjoying yourself. This is not the place for the energy to drop, for the volume to descend, or for the spirit of radical thought to become extinguished. This is the place for two-minute songs and stagedivers and snarling fuzz and harrowing reverb, all compacted together into a stick of dynamite that keeps burning for almost five solid hours. This is the first stop on the tour for Ty Segall, a veteran to the Bay Area garage-folk-psych-rock scene, which, tonight, has taken up residence in the Great American Music Hall, and is here to demolish the foundations — both figuratively and a significant bit literally.

Continue reading “Show Review: Ty Segall with White Fence, Mikal Cronin and The Feeling Of Love at the Great American Music Hall, 3/2/2012”

Noise Pop Show Review: The Flaming Lips perform The Soft Bulletin at Bimbo’s 365 Club, 2/21/2012

Everything's explodin'! (photo by Paige K. Parsons)
Everything's explodin'! (photo by Paige K. Parsons)

Twenty years. For many fans in the live music scene, this is an impossible amount of time to fathom. The concert demographic, wide as it might be, generally seems to fall between teens and people in their 50s, and if you go twenty years back, you’ve got a whole group of people who weren’t even born yet, to those who were solidifying their first solid years of adulthood. The amount of music, live or otherwise, that has been recorded, performed, and otherwise created in that timespan is magnificent in its breadth and depth. For twenty years, the Noise Pop Festival has helped to bring acts of all leagues and backgrounds to the San Francisco music scene, peppering venues with marvelously-clashing lineups and intimate gatherings that blow the minds of even the most seasoned veterans of the club-hopping world. After twenty years, it’s good to know that the Bay Area can still be stunned, which happened when the Noise Pop folks pulled out their trump card of the 2012 lineup — The Flaming Lips were making an appearance at the barely-700-person-capacity Bimbo’s 365 Club, and were performing their magnum opus The Soft Bulletin from start to finish.

Continue reading “Noise Pop Show Review: The Flaming Lips perform The Soft Bulletin at Bimbo’s 365 Club, 2/21/2012″

Show Review: The Fray with Scars on 45 at The Fox Theater, 2/20/2012

The Fray's Ben (drums) and Isaac (atop the piano, singing his ass off)

The Fox Theater. Scars on 45. The Fray, live. A crowd that actually applauds with their hands more than with their voices. These are things that, until Monday night, I’d never before experienced. And all were, as it turned out, the beginning of a wonderful cure for a stereotypical “case of the Mondays.” Though I’ve been listening to The Fray for several years, this was my first chance to catch a show, and until last week, I’d never even heard of English opening band Scars on 45. They did, however, come highly recommended by a friend, and so I couldn’t wait for the show to start. Lucky for me, the lights went down promptly at 8:01 pm. Continue reading “Show Review: The Fray with Scars on 45 at The Fox Theater, 2/20/2012”

Show Review: Nikka Costa with Terraplane Sun at Red Devil Lounge, 2/12/2012

The incomparable Nikka Costa

Why the world still has yet to catch on to what they’ve been missing all these years in Nikka Costa is a mystery to me, and frankly has been for more than a decade now.  That said, though I wish her all the success in the world, I don’t really mind that she has a small-but-dedicated cult following rather than fans to fill arenas, because it allows me opportunities to see her in small venues like the Roxy in LA, the Independent here in SF, and this past weekend, the absolutely tiny Red Devil Lounge.  Better still, I’m finally learning that if Ms. Costa is going to have an opening act, it’ll likely be a musician or band she’s chosen herself, as was the case with last night’s opener, Terraplane Sun. Continue reading “Show Review: Nikka Costa with Terraplane Sun at Red Devil Lounge, 2/12/2012”

Show Review: The Spinners at Yoshi’s – Jack London Square, 2/3/12

Photos By Emily Anderson

When we started Spinning Platters back in 2009, we really weren’t thinking about the fact that our name could remind people of two ground breaking, classic R&B groups. We were really trying to get at a pun on records, CD’s, and hard drives. I’m not sure where the trigger came from reminding us of The Platters and The Spinners, but I decided that we needed to be there the next time either act played. Due to legal reasons, it seems that the likelihood of a Platters show is slim, but when Yoshi’s announced a three night stint with The Spinners, well, I had to seize this moment.

Continue reading “Show Review: The Spinners at Yoshi’s — Jack London Square, 2/3/12”

Sketchfest Review: Reggie Watts, Garfunkel & Oates at Mezzanine, 2/1/12

Singin' and Dancin' (All Photos by Marie Carney)

Some of the most talented people on earth hail from right here in the San Francisco Bay Area. In fact, we have so many uber-talented musicians, writers, comics, speakers, artists, chefs, and so on, that it’s easy to take them for granted. Reggie Watts is one of those performers. He seems to be performing all the time, and everyone in the bay area seems to swoon over him. Yet, I have yet to see him. It could be due to the fact that every show sells out, no matter what the venue. Which is also how Sketchfest was able to book him four nights in a row, also giving him the ability to indulge in whatever he pleases.

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Show Review: Wilco, White Denim at The Fox Theater – Oakland, 1/31/12

The success of Chicago experimental-alt.country-indie rock combo Wilco really defies the conventions of a successful rock band. Where most bands become as big as they will get within about 5 years of performing, these guys seem to get bigger and bigger every year. At nearly 20 years into their career, they are doing a “small venue” tour of 3,000 seat theaters, and each date on this tour seemingly sold out in minutes. SpinningPlatters were lucky enough to check them out on the third night of a mini Bay Area tour, where the hit San Jose and San Francisco on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

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Sketchfest Review: An Evening With Ann Magnuson at Yoshi’s – Oakland, 1/24/12

Photo By John Bertram

Sketchfest brought made it’s way to Oakland for the first time. The performer that brought the fest across the incredibly long bridge was legendary performance artist Ann Magnuson, debuting her new show,  A Salon des Beaux Arts for the Fin du Monde 2012. SpinningPlatters were lucky to be able to enjoy this intimate show at Oakland’s legendary jazz club/Japanese restaurant Yoshi’s.

Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: An Evening With Ann Magnuson at Yoshi’s — Oakland, 1/24/12”