Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
QUINN CHRISTOPHERSON
“Welcome to the Fillmore,” the top-hatted greeter with gentle eyes said as their generous gloved hand-stretched an apple towards me. “Thank You.” Continue reading “Show Review: Thao with Black Belt Eagle Scout and Quinn Christopherson at The Fillmore, 5/7/22”
The beauty of bringing a new body of work out on tour is that it allows the artist to find new ways to connect with their own music, oftentimes giving space for a song or collection of songs to grow and evolve. The performer-audience dynamic allows for both the fan and the songwriter to find new meaning and new layers in a piece of work.
Sadly, many of the best records of 2020 never got that chance to grow with an audience. I’ve spent the better part of a year and a half longing to hear what happens with Diet Cig’s Do You Wonder About Me? once given the chance for a live audience to take it in. Although that has yet to happen, the band has found numerous ways to reconnect with the songs and connect to fans without the opportunity to bring it live. They have done filmed livestreams. They’ve commissioned artists to reinterpret the album as a zine. And now they are blessing us with I Don’t Like Driving Like I Used To, and EP of alternate takes of tracks from Do You Wonder… that were recorded during this ever so lengthy quarantine.
This companion to a genius record is coming your way October 1st. You can presave your copy on your favorite streaming platform immediately.
Also breathing new life into their 2020 release is Thao & The Get Down Stay Down. Temples is probably Thao’s most electric record to date, and like the Diet Cig album, a record that helped ease me through the despair of the last 19 months. On October 29th, she is bringing us Temples – Deluxe Edition, where she strips four Temples standout tracks free of the electronic elements and lays them down on acoustic instruments accompanied by strings, no doubt inspired by her neighbors that she introduced us to during her Tiny Desk Concert.
Preorders of Temples – Deluxe Edition will begin soon!
There are many unique things about SF Sketchfest, but one of the most interesting thing they do is book monthly and weekly shows that happen in other metropolises, and bring them to the Bay Area. Tonight we got to enjoy a special delivery from New York City: Sasheer Zamata Party Time!. This is a variety show hosted by SNL’s Sasheer Zamata. We got to enjoy comedians, musicians, and even “party games” played with the audience. I guess this is what you do at parties in New York? As somebody that loves taking in new cultures, I’m up to experience what they do in New York for fun. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Sasheer Zamata Party Time! at Cobb’s Comedy Club, 1/26/18”
Thao Nguyen is a hometown hero. She’s continuously pushing the boundaries of folk music, and making the acoustic guitar an instrument you can dance to. Her 2013 record We The Common is a beautiful and thought provoking piece of work. She’s headlining the 20th St Block Party this weekend alongside Nick Waterhouse, Dominant Legs and many more. This is a totally free event, so there is no excuse not to come.
Spinning Platters had an opportunity to chat with Thao ahead of this performance. Here’s a bit of what we talked about: Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Thao Nguyen of Thao & The Get Down Stay Down”
The San Francisco International Film Festival has some people on staff with some impeccable taste in music. Since 2000, with their first pairing of Television’s Tom Verlaine with a series of short films from the 1920’s, they’ve chosen some pretty amazing pairings of rock musicians and silent films. At tonight’s event, we got to experience local folk rock heroine Thao Nguyen, accompanied by her long time back up band The Get Down Stay Down and a slew of classic and contemporary films for what amounted to a multimedia variety show that was unlike anything else I’ve seen.
Continue reading “SFIFF Review: Thao & The Get Down Stay Down at The Castro Theater, 4/29/14”
Sunday. The sabbath. And, of course, I believe in the church of rock n roll. And I believe that I kept the day as holy as could be. Of course, since Hall & Oates showed up, it really couldn’t happen any other way.
Continue reading “Outside Lands 2013 Journal, Day 3: Sunday, August 11th”
Radio Silence is a local based magazine that discusses pop culture, music and literature. Imagine if Paste and The New Yorker fused together into one megamagazine. This magazine is so cool that Neko Case even serves on the board of directors! They also occasionally book live events, and as a special treat for Father’s Day, we were treated to an evening in tribute to Buddy Holly. The guests that they invited? Legendary music journalist Greil Marcus, as well as musicians Thao Nguyen, Eleanor Friedberger, and Van Pierszalowski. All to talk about one of the most influential musicians of the last 60 years.
Continue reading “Show Review: A Radio Silence Tribute to Buddy Holly at Public Works, 6/16/13”
Not only do we have a ton of great shows, but if you look on Thursday, we also are giving away tickets to California Academy of Sciences’ Nightlife event this week!
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 6/13/13-6/19/13”
Normally, four band shows are too much to bear. However, the good folks ay Noise Pop managed to piece together a complete package that more than impressed. We got to enjoy for distinct musical projects that both complimented each other, and still remained entirely unique. We ended up enjoying 4 straight hours of great music.
Carrie Brownstein might be the hardest working person in show business. Not only has she, within about a year, assembled one of the most explosive and critically acclaimed new bands in rock music, she is the star of the highest rated program on IFC, the sketch comedy series “Portlandia.” Now she’s managed to squeeze some time out of her busy schedule to piece together a Portlandia stage show, alongside her costar on the program, Saturday Night Live’s Fred Armisen. All of this getting done, of course, before they unleash a new season of Portlandia. And then, her band Wild Flag will be launching a big Spring tour; and then, she will probably write two or three books, make a movie, and cure cancer all before June.
Continue reading “Show Review: Portlandia the Tour with Thao & Mirah at Mezzanine, 12/30/11”
