The Specials – Spinning Platters

Show Review: The Specials at The Fox Theater, 5/25/19

It’s been 21 years since 2-Tone veterans The Specials have released any new, original material. Their legacy would have been preserved just fine if they decided to continue touring the classics, and audiences would still keep coming out to the shows even if all they did was keep playing the hits. It would seem that a band best known for their activist roots and songs with shrewd, biting observations about class warfare, racism, economics, and such, would only start writing again if the current world situation were to inspire it. And, sure enough, this year’s Encore is a full length response to the rise of fascism throughout Europe and the Americas. Continue reading “Show Review: The Specials at The Fox Theater, 5/25/19”

SXSW 2013: A Diary Of A “Crafty Veteran”

Some band playing some where in Texas... — Some band playing some where in Texas…

Having been dubbed a “crafty veteran” by one local bystander, there are a few certain truths that I have discovered seven years deep into South By South West culture. 1) Always carry your phone charger because the battery will die; the ABC’s (Always Be Chargin’) as we here at Spinning Platters like to call it. 2) Delicious food is only a food truck away when you need to take a break and refuel in-between day parties and evening showcases. And 3) there will be both bad, and good bands at aforementioned showcases. The payout for waiting through a not-so-awesome band, however, can be an amazing, week-altering experience that leads to months of fan-girl-ing out, post-South By. However, this is all contingent on actually being granted admission to that one thing one wanted to see the most. There are still things to be learned and sometimes learned the hard way.

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SXSW Review: The Best & Worst of SXSW 2013

Now that we’ve all had time to recover from a week’s worth of sun damage, get our voices back, and forget about the hours spent driving through the lonely west Texas desert, it’s time to reflect upon another year of SXSW. While everyone’s experience is different under the Austin sun, these are my recollections as to the best and worst of SXSW 2013.

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 3/21/13-3/28/13

Here is another lovely week to be a bay area resident. Please go to a show or 20!

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Glastonbury Diary, Part Three: The Music

Seeing this on the screen was only a hint of the excitement to come.

What follows is a pretty simple list of every single musical act I saw at Glastonbury 2009 for at least one song. There were others that I walked by, and sometimes it takes a whole song to walk by them, but when I don’t know who’s playing until I’m finished walking by them and have gone back to my tent to look at a list of who was just on stage, I don’t think that counts because I wasn’t paying any attention at all. I’m looking at you, The Script (or was it The View?) I’ll make very brief remarks about some acts, and pretty lengthy ones about others. I probably won’t say too much about the music for some bands, but will assume you know them already instead. Find out which acts had me dancing, which had me skankin’, which ones had me screaming, and which one left me in tears. Buckle up, because this is going to take me a while. Continue reading “Glastonbury Diary, Part Three: The Music”