Show Review: Bikini Kill with Frightwig at The Warfield, 8/19/24

We were there for the first Bikini Kill reunion shows in 2019.  They were a profound and moving experience. We didn’t know what COVID was yet, which upended this tour and, well, still upends everything. I’m grateful that they managed to find a way to get back on the road. Everything feels really hard and continues to feel hard, and this band has always been the thing that gives me the strength to persevere and find reasons to be hopeful in the face of hopelessness. Continue reading “Show Review: Bikini Kill with Frightwig at The Warfield, 8/19/24”

Show Review: Flogging Molly, The Bronx at The Warfield

Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @AlanHasPicks

According to Spinning Platters’ crack data analysis research team, Flogging Molly has been to the Bay Area every year since 2000 (except 2010… and 2020, obviously), with eight shows at Fox Theater Oakland, seven at Slim’s (R.I.P.), four at The Fillmore, four Warped Tours at Pier 30/32, four at The Warfield, and one each at Greek Theatre, Bottom of the Hill, Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, and an Oyster Fest at Fort Mason

Before the 3rd song at this, their latest Bay Area appearance, vocalist Dave King mentioned that it has been TEN years since they last performed at The Warfield, so we simply had to fact-check him and determined that it has actually been SEVENTEEN years since they last stood on this stage! (September 28, 2006; March 14, 2005; September 14, 2004 were the only times) Continue reading “Show Review: Flogging Molly, The Bronx at The Warfield”

Show Review: Shinedown, The Warfield, 01/26/2022

Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @ARPhotoSF

Live hard rock music seems difficult to come by within the city limits of San Francisco.  Music fans here seem to mainly gravitate to EDM, thrash metal, or anything that resembles the types of artists that play at Outside Lands (indie / alternative) or Hardly Strictly Bluegrass.  Therefore, it is not impossible to believe that a hard rock band who has sold 10 million albums worldwide (and were recently named #1 on Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Mainstream Rock Artists Chart) has not performed in San Francisco city proper in 10 years (since March 2012).  On January 26, 2022, multi-platinum rock band Shinedown decided to finally visit us once again, this time with the very first show of their 2022 tour cycle at The Warfield in support of their upcoming new album, Planet Zero

Show Review: Ghost, The Warfield, July 2, 2017

Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @ARPhotoSF

Swedish band Ghost has returned to the US and is currently on a 7 week tour as the sole support act for the mighty Iron Maiden!  In addition to those 26 shows, Ghost booked 14 headliner theater shows, including The Warfield in San Francisco.

Continue reading “Show Review: Ghost, The Warfield, July 2, 2017”

Show Review: At The Drive-In with Le Butcherettes at The Warfield, 6/3/2016

It took 15 years to happen, and it was worth every moment.

At The Drive-In
At The Drive-In

Ten were spent wondering, with all involved working on new projects, exploring music and art in numerous forms. Two passed, with excited fervor and mild confusion, as they returned to the fold, thrust into the spotlight on unsteady feet and with only a handful of appearances, most before massive stadiums and festival crowds. The final three were marked with conflict, self-discovery, acceptance, and a renewed discovery of self — plus a new band to bring that unstoppable fire back to the front lines.

Thus, 15 years later, here we are. At The Drive-In has returned — and this time, they are just as ready to celebrate their reunion as we have been for the past decade and a half.

Continue reading “Show Review: At The Drive-In with Le Butcherettes at The Warfield, 6/3/2016”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 2016-04-23 – 2016-04-27

"Anarchy burger! / Hold the government!" - The Vandals
This Saturday in Oakland, plenty of this.

We’re in the final weekend of Coachella 2016, and the consequent Fauxchella 2016 shows are coming our way. What’s Fauxchella? It’s when you can see a band that’s also scheduled at Coachella but without actually having to go to Coachella.

This week in The Bay Area we have old stars, old studio guys, old smoky guys, montage anchorpoints, as much anarchy as you’d like, and a band that just went ahead and named themselves California.

And previews. Preview time. Let’s preview. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 2016-04-23 — 2016-04-27”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 2016-04-15 – 2016-04-20

A Storm will be looming over San Francisco this week, bringing rainbows and songs.
A Storm will be looming over San Francisco this week, bringing rainbows and songs.
Happy Tax Day! One of the two sure things. OK, so let’s turn in the paperwork and then let’s go to a concert.

Preview time, guys. This week in the Bay Area, we have natural events, nouns, piercings, and a tradition that Louis Pasteur likely might not have smiled upon. But you never know.

And so we preview. Preview time. Let’s preview. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 2016-04-15 — 2016-04-20”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 2016-03-17 – 2016-03-23

Conan, by Frazetta
Appearing Monday, March 21 at The Metro in Oakland
St. Patrick’s Day. Irishness! Excellent.

To go with this week in the Bay Area we also have metal, self-described “country-fed punkabilly,” and the Melvins. Also! Bilingual punk rock with horns as well as bilingual Rickenbacker-wielding one-woman guitar rock. And Conan. Conan!

Let’s preview. Faugh A Ballagh! Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 2016-03-17 — 2016-03-23”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 10/9/15-10/14/15

While Leif and his posse may not have actually worn 'em, they are fun to wear.
While Leif and his posse may not have actually worn ’em, they are fun to wear.

Do you know what today is? It is Leif Erickson Day here in the USA. Let us celebrate explorers as well as arbitrarily-horned helmets.

Also, the Litquake festival begins in San Francisco! A solid day for a book about explorers.

After that’s done with, let’s look at the concerts coming up this week in the Bay Area. Skol, let’s preview! Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 10/9/15-10/14/15”

Show Review: Two Nights with Faith No More at The Warfield, 4/19/15-4/20/15

Mike Patton of Faith No More
Mike Patton of Faith No More

In 2010, Faith No More returned to their hometown of San Francisco to play three ferocious, wildly-anticipated concerts that marked their first appearance in the Bay Area since their disbandment in the late 90s. The general reaction, from the most hardcore fans to the relatively casual listeners, was extremely positive, albeit with the lingering curiosity of “…but what’s next?” After a handful of tours, a smattering of festival appearances, and two years of almost total silence — during which the prolific band members worked on some of their other projects, as well — something more official surfaced in the latter half of 2014, in the form of two new songs: the slow-stalking “Motherfucker” and the chugging, anthemic “Superhero”, both of which showed up in their live sets that year. Now, with their seventh album Sol Invictus soon to arrive in record stores, and a mountain of tour dates taking up their schedule this year (paired with everyone from ANTEMASQUE to Refused), it seemed like the perfect time for Faith No More to return to the Warfield — this time with two shows, instead of three — and their transformation in the last five years is not only palpable, but an utter delight to witness.

Continue reading “Show Review: Two Nights with Faith No More at The Warfield, 4/19/15-4/20/15”