Vinyl Radio! Bring it!

"oh, it's already been broughten"

Last night was a successful night at the Beauty Bar for Poprocks and Tim Pyles. Granted, last Monday was a Supersuckers/New York Dolls show on the same night, and I think there was something at HoB, too...but it was nice to see a lot of people come out and support local music on a Monday night, compared to the 13 of us who were there last week. Again, it was nice to see other bands coming out, too...The Roman Spring and Republic of Letters were both represented. Anyone I didn't see?

The opening act was a guy named Jon Wesley from Chico. He played guitar and harp which I have a weakness for (i.e. Rocky Votolato). His music had a little more twang in it but he was really good. Toward the end of his set, he got all excited and asked if we wanted to hear a song by The Band. "I've just discovered them!" Isn't it cool when you get turned on to classics? Not everyone grew up with parents listening to Zep or even the Beatles, sometimes you discover these things later and it opens up a whole new world for you, so good for you, Jon Wesley. I bought a $5 cd and look forward to listening since it's recorded with a full band, not just him.

Next up were The Mints. I felt their set was really strong to start but some of the latter songs of the set lost my interest. When you're completely unfamiliar with a band, it's easy to feel like every song sounds the same after a while if you don't really pay attention...and after a couple cocktails, I admit I was distracted. This is true with any band. A friend of mine felt that way at the Silversun Pickups show at HoB whereas I was familiar with their album and thought they were rad. So, sorry Mints, I'll pay better attention next time. I do think the frontman is strong and can lead the band to good places. There were a couple songs that the vocals reminded me of Farside, but Joe told me that was a sacriligious comparison...nobody can touch Farside. I'm standing by it. All in all, I recommend seeing this band for yourself. On a separate note, if you do go see them, check out the guns on the drummer. Holy shit is all I'm saying.

Finally, Vinyl Radio. My friendship with these guys may suggest a bias, but if I didn't truly enjoy them I would be staying home on Thursday to watch Gray's Anatomy instead of going to their show at SDSC. When a band is having fun, there is no way not to vibe off of it which works cyclically back at the band who then feels the energy of the crowd. There was some booty shaking in the crowd and the telltale sign is that people stayed watching them from start to finish. Here's a bit of info: Vinyl Radio had a demo that they used to hand out at shows. They recorded another disc of new material but due to human error, the wrong tracks were sent to the CD press. So, the new stuff is on hold until the band can get replacement CDs and then handstuff each jewel box with the new disc. Let's hope that happens soon.

After the show, a bunch of us headed to the Tower Bar for Lady Dottie and The Diamonds. If you are one of the 5 people who have not been to see them at the Tower Bar, get on it! Seeing the band at Henry's or House of Blues just is not the same. The set doesn't change much, but it doesn't need to. Matt even got me to dance, and I do not dance. Go! And take some friends that you can be completely silly in front of. You will look like an asshole if you're too cool to let loose. And nobody likes and asshole.