show reviews – Page 10 – Spinning Platters

Show Review: An Evening With Brandon Flowers at Slim’s, 8/19/2010

Not only did Brandon Flowers look like Michael Pare from music-nerd-must-see Streets of Fire (not the leather jacket look but the suspenders look), but the music was reminiscent of that film as well. All tales of rock n’ roll bleeding hearts and people down on their luck, but with occasional rousing singalong moments, the new material from Brandon Flowers is close enough to The Killers’ own tunes to make me wonder why the solo album was necessary. He’s always been the center of attention of that band, so that can’t be the motivation. So it must have been musical in nature. I just didn’t hear enough to know what makes this difference. Perhaps if he had played longer. Continue reading “Show Review: An Evening With Brandon Flowers at Slim’s, 8/19/2010”

Review: Jonathan Richman with “There’s Something About Mary” at Lost Weekend Video, 8/19/2010

Jonathan Richman in print and Jonathan Richman in real life.

Words by Mielle Sullivan. Photography and videos by Christopher Rogers.

I’ve been to a lot of Jonathan Richman shows. I see him almost every time I get the chance. I see him yearly at The Great American Music Hall; I’ve seen him at several residencies at The Make-Out Room; and just last month, I saw him at the Swedish American Hall.

So, I was delighted to hear that he was going to be appearing, a few blocks from where I live in The Mission.

Continue reading “Review: Jonathan Richman with “There’s Something About Mary” at Lost Weekend Video, 8/19/2010″

Show Review: Porcupine Tree with Karnivool at The Warfield Theater, 8/11/2010

When a massive act plans a statewide, or possibly worldwide, tour, one of the factors involved is selecting opening bands for the tour. More often than not, the presence of a more famous and popular headliner will usually be a signal that larger, more well-known opening acts will come along for the ride. In the case of Porcupine Tree, however, their opening slot on Coheed And Cambria’s colossal new tour comes with the hope that at least a good chunk of the audience will be part of the dedicated following that they have carved out themselves within the states. As a nod to those fans, Porcupine Tree kicked off the tour with a special headlining show for one of their favorite cities (as claimed by frontman Steven Wilson on a few occasions): San Francisco, California.

Show Review: We Are Scientists with Rewards (Aaron Pfenning) at Slim’s 8/7/10

WAS_KeithScream — Keith Murray brings it. Thanks to flickr user Diana Broeders for allowing use of this photo from a previous show.

Ah, a Saturday night show. The one time the audience has no excuse but to bring the energy. At the We Are Scientists show at Slim’s the energy was bursting from the seams. There was great music, a relatively friendly crowd, a lot of laughter, and even more drinking. At least that’s what happened where I was standing… Continue reading “Show Review: We Are Scientists with Rewards (Aaron Pfenning) at Slim’s 8/7/10”

Show Review: Silversun Pickups with Against Me! and The Henry Clay People at The Fox Oakland, 8/3/2010

At one point late in the Silversun Pickups set at The Fox Oakland, lead singer Brian Aubert started listing off all of the Bay Area venues they had played: Rickshaw Stop, The Fillmore, Bimbo’s, Cafe Du Nord, Bottom of the Hill (this one got the biggest applause), BFD, Outside Lands. They’ve been here a lot. Because of this, it’s a bit of a surprise that it took them nearly 18 months after the release of their last album, Swoon, to finally play a headlining show in the Bay Area. So, was it worth the wait? Continue reading “Show Review: Silversun Pickups with Against Me! and The Henry Clay People at The Fox Oakland, 8/3/2010”

Show Review: Scorpions with Cinderella at Concord Pavilion, 8/1/2010

Rudolf Shouts — He's 62, still rocks hard, looks great, why retire, Rudolf? Why?

The Scorpions are too famous for their giant hit song, “Rock You Like a Hurricane,” and not well respected enough for their rest of their catalog. Filled with shiny gems of pop metal, the German legends have a huge list of hard-but-not-too-hard rock songs to choose from as they continue touring for the last time. They’ve said the tour will run through 2012 or 2013, so whether this is their last stop in the Bay Area or not is still a question. If it’s not, though, you’ll see me in the audience for the next one. These guys still have their stingers. Continue reading “Show Review: Scorpions with Cinderella at Concord Pavilion, 8/1/2010”

Show Review: Morcheeba with The Mumlers and Mariee Sioux at The Fillmore, 7/28/2010

Crowds of people wait for her: Skye Edwards of Morcheeba

Any sort of band that plays music that can be even remotely described as “downtempo” has, in some eyes, a serious disadvantage when it comes to their live performance. The energy and excitement and wildness that comes from a live gig is toned down, and re-formed into the fluid, organic compositions that make up the worlds of dub, trip-hop, and ambient performance. Often, an audience with great patience and love of such swell in a melody becomes the ultimate factor in a successful show, or act, that brings mostly slower, dreamier, and more wistful compositions to the live world of music. Tonight’s crowd at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco fit this bill perfectly, so to speak, so it was little surprise when Skye Edwards and the other Londoners of Morcheeba proclaimed the intimate venue to be one of their favorite places in the world to play. Continue reading “Show Review: Morcheeba with The Mumlers and Mariee Sioux at The Fillmore, 7/28/2010”

Show Review: Jonathan Richman with Olof Arnalds at Swedish American Hall, 7/21/10

JRichman — He puts his heart into it for you

Jonathan Richman explained the reason for the existence of his ongoing residency at Swedish American Hall this week. He was in Reykjavik playing a show, and the opener was some girl playing guitar and singing, and he was thinking “whatever” but then he started really listening and fell in love with the music, as did his drummer and constant on-stage partner, Tommy Larkins. So when they found out Olof Arnalds was looking to play some shows in San Francisco, they set up these gigs. Thanks to everyone involved for getting them together because it’s always a total treat to see Mr. Richman in action. Continue reading “Show Review: Jonathan Richman with Olof Arnalds at Swedish American Hall, 7/21/10”

Show Review: Barenaked Ladies at Wente Vineyards, 7/20/10

BNL Four — Why do I get the feeling that something's missing here?

The Barenaked Ladies are playing just about everywhere they can in the Bay Area this week. On Monday night, they were at the Mountain Winery and tonight they play at The Regency Center (with discount tickets available on Goldstar), but last night they were at the Wente Vineyards in Livermore. With a ticket price hovering in the $200 range, the audience mainly seated at tables for their catered dinner, and a charity auction before the show bringing $3000 for a single autographed bottle of wine, I had concerns that the show might feel an awful lot like dinner theater. And when they played “If I Had a Million Dollars,” and asked folks to sing along, my friend leaned in close to me and said, “I think a lot of people here HAVE a million dollars.” Continue reading “Show Review: Barenaked Ladies at Wente Vineyards, 7/20/10”

Show Review: Wakey!Wakey! with Wave Array and Doom Bird at Hotel Utah, 7/14/2010

My favorite Billboard chat was always the Heatseekers Chart. Defined generally as the best selling new artists, it was always the place to go if you wanted to hear someone before everyone else heard them. Blogs such as this one have pretty much destroyed the value of this chart, as now to hear someone first, you need to be the first person to Tweet about them. Well, I still enjoy this chart, and tonight, it led me to Wakey!Wakey!, a Brooklyn band that recently held down the #1 slot with their album, Almost Everything I Wish I’d Said the Last Time I Saw You …, as they played their first ever show in San Francisco. Continue reading “Show Review: Wakey!Wakey! with Wave Array and Doom Bird at Hotel Utah, 7/14/2010”