Tegan and Sara – Spinning Platters

BottleRock Napa Valley 2020 Preview

It’s January, and that means: festival announcement time, ladies and gents! This year, Napa Valley’s favorite festival (that’s Bottle Rock Napa Valley, if you didn’t already know) welcomes back headliners Red Hot Chili Peppers (yessss!), as well as BRNV-first-timers Stevie Nicks and Dave Matthews Band. In addition to those three huge acts, I’ll be trying to squeeze every drop of live music fun as possible into my weekend; I have so many other sets I want to try to catch! Personally, I’m most looking forward to seeing Maggie Rogers, Of Monsters and Men, Foals, Local Natives, Finneas, Caamp, The Band CAMINO, the freaking Village People (!!), Absofacto, Atlas Genius, Eliza & the Delusionals, and always brilliant and fantastically talented The Alive, among still many others. Who are you most excited to see this year?

Here’s my preview playlist featuring aforementioned faves. Enjoy and I’ll see you in my hometown this Memorial Day weekend at BottleRock Napa Valley!

Listen to BRNV2020 Playlist!

BottleRock ticket info: 3-Day Tickets are sold out, but single day passes go on sale tomorrow (1/9/20) at 10am PST).

Festival Review: LoveLoud 2019 at USANA Amphitheatre, 6/29/19

It’s July, and another successful SF Pride Parade is in the books… or so I hear. I personally missed it, sadly, but I did so for good reason. Obviously, we live in one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world, and while it would have been fun to come out to share the celebration (not to mention the spectacle) that is Pride in the Bay Area, I chose instead to celebrate with the LGBTQ+ youth of Salt Lake City.

The only photo I took of Kesha’s LoveLoud set: her fabulous rainbow confetti all over the ground.

Utah is, of course, fairly synonymous with Mormonism. Imagine growing up LGBTQ+ and having to consider whether to stay closeted, or to come out and risk being shunned, rejected, or excommunicated not only from your entire church, but your community and likely your whole family, too. It’s not hard to see why the LGBTQ+ youth in the LDS church have an incredibly high suicide rate. Enter one of the most famous Mormons this side of Donny & Marie: Imagine Dragons’ frontman, Dan Reynolds. Reynolds founded the LoveLoud Foundation, which puts on an annual festival in the Salt Lake City area every June to allow a safe place to celebrate Pride while raising money for local and national LGBTQ+ charities.

Continue reading “Festival Review: LoveLoud 2019 at USANA Amphitheatre, 6/29/19”

Show Review: Tegan and Sara with Holly Miranda at The Fox Theater, 3/5/10

A Tegan and Sara show is pretty much a sure thing. The Canadian pop-punk-folk duo’s songs are so tightly and energetically structured, so immediately accessible and entertaining, that a good time is basically guaranteed. Tegan Quin + Sara Quin + fans = party time. And at last night’s sold-out show in Oakland, that was certainly true. The Quins’ formula is so airtight that even if the girls seem bored (which they did), or if belligerent fans nearly bring the show to a halt with their bullshit (which they did), everyone will still hop and dance themselves crazy.

Continue reading “Show Review: Tegan and Sara with Holly Miranda at The Fox Theater, 3/5/10”

Tegan and Sara at Amoeba Music, Berkeley, 3/4/10

There are some acts that treat their in-stores like a chore, going into a store in some city somewhere, and then mail it in. Tegan and Sara is definitely not one of those acts. In my opinion, they perform better at record stores than they do on stage in front of a couple thousand people (where you can see them tomorrow night). They’re relaxed and personable, do lots of comedy bits, and interact with their fans. It’s a joy to watch. And because the material they’re playing is strong, it’s a pleasure to attend. Continue reading “Tegan and Sara at Amoeba Music, Berkeley, 3/4/10”