show review – Page 9 – Spinning Platters

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

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.

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

Show Review: Pentatonix with SPEAK at The Warfield, 1/27/2013

"PTX" takes the stage — “PTX” takes the stage (L to R: Kirstie, Avi, Kevin, Scott & Mitch)

Never heard of Pentatonix? That’s okay, you’re not alone: neither had our editor-in-chief until I mentioned my excitement at covering their sold-out show at the Warfield this past Sunday. While he feared he may be losing his touch (“getting old I am,” said his text), I reassured him that if a cappella groups aren’t his thing and/or he’s never seen a recent episode of NBC’s The Sing-Off, it makes sense that season 3 winners Pentatonix haven’t yet crossed his radar…until now.

Continue reading “Show Review: Pentatonix with SPEAK at The Warfield, 1/27/2013”

Show Review: Keane with Youngblood Hawke at the Warfield, 1/11/2013

Thanks to Jason Miller for this awesome pic of Tom Chaplin killin' it! — Thanks to Jason Miller for this awesome pic of Tom Chaplin killin’ it!

Have you ever seen something advertising a band playing in your city, and thought, “I’d really like to see them, even though I only know one or two of their songs”? That was the extent of my relationship with Keane until recently. I’ve certainly heard several of their songs on the radio over the years, and especially love their biggest hit, “Somewhere Only We Know,” but until I found out I had access to check them out with opener Youngblood Hawke this weekend at San Francisco’s Warfield, I hadn’t actually sat down to give their tunes a thorough listen. Continue reading “Show Review: Keane with Youngblood Hawke at the Warfield, 1/11/2013”

Show Review: Walk Off The Earth with Selah Sue and The Mowgli’s at The Regency Ballroom, 11/30/2012

They aren't just somebody that you used to know — They aren’t just somebody that you used to know

English writer Charles Caleb Colton is best known for his often-quoted observation that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”, and in the modern age of parody and extreme ease of video/media creation, imitation sometimes climbs past sheer flattery to become art in its own right and make a new name for itself. Belgian singer-songwriter Gotye’s smash hit “Somebody That I Used To Know” has become the lead target for covers, parodies, and alternate versions, since its rise to fame in late 2011. One of its most infamous recreations, the five-musicians-on-one-guitar performance by Canadian quintet Walk Off The Earth, has become a megastar in its own right, with a smattering of tributes created to honor and poke fun at it, as well. Lest you think that they are around exclusively to cover Billboard chart-toppers, however, do not be quite so quick to judge: the Ontario five-piece have already been around for 6 years, and have a massively eclectic sense of performance and songwriting under their belts that has set them full speed ahead on a course to take over the world.

Continue reading “Show Review: Walk Off The Earth with Selah Sue and The Mowgli’s at The Regency Ballroom, 11/30/2012”

Show Review: Minus The Bear with Cursive and Girl In A Coma at The Regency Ballroom, 11/13/2012

Jake Snider and Cory Murchy of Minus The Bear

Right at the beginning of the new millennium, sudden bursts of musical creativity formed a genre-bending confluence as post-rock, alternative, and indie rock collided together, and a wave of bands sprung forth, each carving out its own unique path as the new century was brightly birthed. New terms such as “post-hardcore”, a modern definition of “emo”, and even heavier concoctions such as “metalcore” came clawing their way into existence, each with a collection of bands that took these sounds and made them their own. In the few short years that we transitioned into a new century, groups rose and fell, and new beings were born from their ashes. Ten years later, two of these acts found themselves on the road together, and fans that had their music playing on CD-changer stereos and the first waves of MP3 players flocked to catch their heroes continuing their journey, ten years later: the Omaha indie quartet known as Cursive, and the groovy, funkily-experimental Seattle five-piece called Minus The Bear.

Continue reading “Show Review: Minus The Bear with Cursive and Girl In A Coma at The Regency Ballroom, 11/13/2012”

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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