Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
Lukas Nelson Charms a Packed Orpheum with Raw Talent and New Songs
On his second of three stops in the Grand Canyon State, he emerged from the dark wings with only his guitar. He opened, with a near-acapella rendition of You Were It, the first song he ever wrote, a confident yet vulnerable ballad from his upcoming release, American Romance (due out June 20th). Continue reading “Show Review: Lukas Nelson at Orpheum Theater — Flagstaff, 5/10/25”
If you’re anything like me, you can’t think of anything better on a warm spring Friday night than catching a great show, especially at a cozy little venue. Case in point: I had a recent opportunity to do just that when AWOLNATION stopped at San Francisco’s Regency Ballroom for the penultimate show of their Phantom Five Tour. Continue reading “Show Review: AWOLNATION with Makua and Bryce Fox at Regency Ballroom, 5/9/25”
We, the music nerds of Spinning Platters, love K.Flay (aka Kristine Flaherty). So much so that after I submitted Mono as one of my top 3 albums of 2023, she not only made the final top ten (as voted by all of us), but she won the whole damn thing! Despite all of this, I had only seen her perform twice: once opening for Imagine Dragons and once at a LoveLoud festival in Salt Lake City. So when I saw that she was going to be playing back-to-back shows at a tiny SF venue, I jumped at the chance to finally see K. Flay headline a show! Continue reading “Show Review: K.Flay with Cam Kahin at The Independent, 3/27/24”
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”
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”
Ever since the first time I heard Måneskin’s “I Wanna Be Your Slave” (and their excellent cover of The Four Seasons’ “Beggin’”), I was hooked. There’s something about the sounds of Damiano David’s voice that just captivates me, and the entire band just has a tight, catchy, fantastic sound that I can’t seem to get enough of. I didn’t get to catch them when they played the Masonic last November, so believe me when I say that I was not going to miss the Italian band’s first US arena tour. The Rush! World Tour came to Oakland Arena this past weekend (on Friday the 13th, no less), and I couldn’t have been more excited to hear them live. Continue reading “Show Review: Maneskin at Oakland Arena, 10/13/2023”
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”
This is my favorite time of the year: the hottest days of the summer are in the rearview, and fall is just around the corner. Before the warmth of the season fades completely, if we’re lucky, we might get one last chance to catch a spectacular show outdoors before it gets cold. This past weekend presented me with one such chance, in this case, to see the Pixies and Modest Mouse with Cat Power at Napa’s Oxbow River Stage. Continue reading “Show Review: Pixies and Modest Mouse with Cat Power at Oxbow River Stage, 9/15/23”
Back in 1994, when Weezer released “Undone – The Sweater Song” and “Buddy Holly,” I was 15. Despite being into grunge bands like Nirvana and Stone Temple Pilots, I was also hiding a pop music-loving heart. Weezer was neither really pop or grunge, but I didn’t care: I loved them. Having said that, I must admit that I was the kind of casual fan who didn’t own a single album but knew all the words to every one of their radio hits. And that’s how it went for twenty years. Then, in 2014, I finally caught Weezer’s act live (at BottleRock Napa Valley). I was absolutely floored, and that was the day that my Weezer fandom finally became real. So almost ten years later, when they embarked on an epic “Indie Rock Road Trip” tour with White Reaper and Spoon that was coming to an amazing small venue near me? You better believe I wasn’t going to miss it. Continue reading “Show Review: Weezer with Spoon and White Reaper at the Greek Theatre, 8/24/23”
If you’re reading this, there’s a chance you may already know that those of us who contribute to Spinning Platters are known around here as “music nerds.” While I absolutely identify as such, there’s another term that describes me even better: word nerd. I delight not just in clever wordplay but languages in general, etymology… you name it. So when I heard about Zach Sherwin‘s Crossword Show, which promised a night full of crossword puzzles, trivia, comedy, and fun, I knew I couldn’t miss it!
Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: The Crossword Show at the Gateway Theatre, 2/3/23”
