Theater – Spinning Platters

Show Review: Pixies and Modest Mouse with Cat Power at Oxbow River Stage, 9/15/23

This is my favorite time of the year: the hottest days of the summer are in the rearview, and fall is just around the corner. Before the warmth of the season fades completely, if we’re lucky, we might get one last chance to catch a spectacular show outdoors before it gets cold. This past weekend presented me with one such chance, in this case, to see the Pixies and Modest Mouse with Cat Power at Napa’s Oxbow River Stage. Continue reading “Show Review: Pixies and Modest Mouse with Cat Power at Oxbow River Stage, 9/15/23”

Show Review: Weezer with Spoon and White Reaper at the Greek Theatre, 8/24/23

Back in 1994, when Weezer released “Undone – The Sweater Song” and “Buddy Holly,” I was 15. Despite being into grunge bands like Nirvana and Stone Temple Pilots, I was also hiding a pop music-loving heart. Weezer was neither really pop or grunge, but I didn’t care: I loved them. Having said that, I must admit that I was the kind of casual fan who didn’t own a single album but knew all the words to every one of their radio hits. And that’s how it went for twenty years. Then, in 2014, I finally caught Weezer’s act live (at BottleRock Napa Valley). I was absolutely floored, and that was the day that my Weezer fandom finally became real. So almost ten years later, when they embarked on an epic “Indie Rock Road Trip” tour with White Reaper and Spoon that was coming to an amazing small venue near me? You better believe I wasn’t going to miss it. Continue reading “Show Review: Weezer with Spoon and White Reaper at the Greek Theatre, 8/24/23”

Show Review: Aaron Lewis with Kyle Phelan at Uptown Theatre Napa, 12/8/18

It’s been awhile since I last saw Aaron Lewis.

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been nearly six years since last I saw Aaron Lewis at the Uptown Theatre in Napa. I promise I’ll never say this again, but I’m shocked to look back and realize that I can say yes, in fact, it’s been awhile. What never occurred to me, however, was how those several years could make such a difference. Last time, Lewis toured with his first full-length country album, The Road. This time, he’s back with Sinner, and he’s fully embraced his country side with no apologies. The evolution of Lewis’ music from rock-tinged to full-blown country is not the only important shift, however – last time I saw him, the world was a different place. When I turned up with a girlfriend to see him earlier this month (December 8, to be exact), I would soon discover that some things were very, very different… Continue reading “Show Review: Aaron Lewis with Kyle Phelan at Uptown Theatre Napa, 12/8/18”

Show Review: Matt Nathanson & Gavin DeGraw with Mary Lambert at Berkeley’s Greek Theatre, 6/20/2014

Gavin in Napa this past April — Gavin DeGraw in Napa this past April

Okay, I’ll be the first to admit my folly: I was tardy to the Gavin DeGraw party. I mean really tardy. It’s not that I’d never heard of him or didn’t enjoy his music. It’s just that, for some reason, while my friends were all obsessing over him back in 2004 when he first came on the scene, I resisted several opportunities to join them. It wasn’t until I got a chance to fall for his charming personality in 2012 on Dancing with the Stars that I finally saw the error of my ways and drank the Kool-Aid. Since then, though, I’ve been making up for lost time. Now a genuine, bona fide giant Gavin fan in my own right, I recently had my first chance to finally catch him live this past April in Napa, promoting his newest album, Make a Move. You might think that having just seen him two months ago would make me less likely to rush myself to see him again at my alma mater UC Berkeley’s Greek Theatre last Friday night when he co-headlined with the phenomenal local boy Matt Nathanson, but well… you’d be wrong. Dead wrong. Continue reading “Show Review: Matt Nathanson & Gavin DeGraw with Mary Lambert at Berkeley’s Greek Theatre, 6/20/2014”

Show Review: John Fogerty at Berkeley’s Greek Theatre, 10/12/2013

Is it me, or is the music your parents listened to when you were growing up really polarizing? I either love it or I hate it! Thankfully, when it comes to the tunes of Creedence Clearwater Revival, my dad and I never disagree. In fact, the first time he showed me the photo of lead singer John Fogerty and the crowd from inside his vinyl copy of CCR’s Pendulum album, it took me less than thirty seconds to find his face near the front of the crowd. Naturally, when I heard that Fogerty was playing all his best at UC Berkeley’s Greek Theatre, I could think of no one I’d enjoy the evening with more than my dad. And tonight, that’s exactly what we did. Continue reading “Show Review: John Fogerty at Berkeley’s Greek Theatre, 10/12/2013”

Sketchfest Review: Beverly Winwood’s “The Actors Showcase” 1/22/2012

Jen Coolidge by Jakub Mosur — "Mrs. Fern Magnin" by Jakub Mosur

Dripping late from a brisk sprint through San Francisco’s saturated cloudiness, I stepped into an alternate reality. Everything looked copasetic: the expansive and brimming Eureka Theater with Phil LaMarr and Jordan Black beginning a scene. Not quite, the truth: the expansive and brimming Eureka Theater with Lewis J. Poole and Danger beginning a scene.

Polle and Danger are two African American actors separated by age but bonded by prior convictions and thespian rehabilitation. They were bad, objectively horrible, nightmarishly stiff and unflinchingly unaware. It was brilliant. Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: Beverly Winwood’s “The Actors Showcase” 1/22/2012″

TV On The Radio w/The Dirty Projectors at The Fox Oakland, 5/22/09

news-tv_on_the_radio — Not everyone finds the same thing funny...

The old story is that whenever The Velvet Underground came to town, everyone at the show started a band. On the contrary, whenever TV On The Radio come to town, everyone gives up. Few bands seem to set the bar as high as these gentlemen from New York.

Continue reading “TV On The Radio w/The Dirty Projectors at The Fox Oakland, 5/22/09”