Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Vinyl Radio: In the Reader this week

Vinyl Radio is in Blurt this week, kinda. The article is more about recording, but at least they're in there.

"We recorded the whole thing straight to tape," says
Vinyl Radio front man Matt Binder. "This is how the Beatles and the Stones did
it."

Go see them Tuesday at the Casbah for more of this:

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Things To Do: February 28, 2007

Wednesday, February 28, 2007:

  • Kite Flying Society, Princeton @ House of Blues Sidestage (9pm. 21+ - this show is no longer an all ages show!)
  • Republic of Letters, The Infants @ San Diego Sports Club (Pussy Galore)
  • Jezebel, Punk Bunny @ Beauty Bar
  • JD Twitch & Optimo @ Modus for Dos Tres
  • Staring at the Sun CD showcase: Berkley Hart, Scott Wilson Band, Blizzard, The Grams, Anna Troy @ Belly Up
  • Ghostland Observatory, Boomstyler @ Casbah
  • Texas Songwriters, feat. Lyle Lovett, Joe Ely, John Hiatt, Guy Clark @ Viejas
  • Appleseed, Longstay, James Drive @ Dream Street

Thursday, March 1, 2007:

  • Midlake, Ester Drang, Minipop @ Casbah (If you're going, I will sell you my ticket at cost for $8)
  • Firethorn @ San Diego Sports Club
  • Los Abandoned @ Beauty Bar (1st anniversary party, hosted bar 9:30-10:30)
  • Brennan Green @ Modus for Dos Tres
  • Pato Banton, The Mystic Roots Band @ Belly Up
  • Jac, Dropjoy, The Rhythm and The Method @ Brass Rail
  • The Who, The Tragically Hip @ iPayOne
  • The Barbwires, Monsters From Mars @ Tower Bar
  • Free! TNT @ Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego:
    Taking its cue from the exhibition Morris Louis Now: An American Master Revisited, TNT gets kitschy with a showcase of all things post-war American chic.
    Dress up in vintage attire and lounge at a swingin' '60s party. TNT, in collaboration with Orange Kiss Productions (Merge Events), presents DJs Gage and Sergio; mod Orange Kiss a Go Go Girls; fashion styling by Grammatique; and retro visuals. Wax nostalgic with "Avant Garde and Kitsch" paint-by-number activities in the galleries. Plus, tap your feet to live jazz music by Todd Davidson's Club 33, tap dancing by Groove on Tap, and psychedelic electro breaks by Frik & Frak.

I Love My Ken Club Friends

This is from Fred of the Postals and also bartendar extraordinaire at the Ken Club:

To all of those who received bulletins from the
Atoms saying that Friday's show was cancelled IT IS NOT!!! They may have
cancelled the show but they are not the end all be all of this particular
bill. So just cause the mystifying Atoms will not be there you can still
come on down to the Kensington cluband see a great show.

It will be the Postals, Dissimillars, and the Rich White Males and possibly another band for fun. So don't be discouraged, the show is still happening. See you Friday in all of your glory. And this will be the second of 57 bulletins I will be sending during the course of the week.


I think we know where I will be on Friday night.

The Last To Know: Heavy Vegetable back together!

OK, so maybe not Heavy Vegetable, but the members of Heavy Vegetable now called Other Men. Story here on Stereogum.com.

...Only, Other Men has roots deeper than any of
Crow's other acts; the trio was once Heavy Vegetable, a band prone to "hyper
spastic mood-swings" that released two records before their breakup in '95.


The resulting story's a good one: Drummer
Manolo Turner became a gardener; bassist Travis Nelson took up residence in a
monastery in Thailand with silent monks, disappearing for years (you can't make
this shit up); and Rob went on to become our hero. Eleven years later, they got
the band back together for Wake Up Swimming, the first release on Rob's label
Robcore Records -- and yes, we absolutely adore it.



Ooh, I can feel it now. Other Men Headline MayDay, San Diego. fingers crossed.

A couple more things: Kite Flying Society, Albert Hammond, Jr.

Tonight's Kite Flying Society Show has been changed to 21+. I heard that instead of playing the sidestage (where they have to wait for the restaurant to clear out), that tonight will be downstairs in that fancy lounge with all the comfy couches, so the show will really start when its supposed to...9pm for Princeton and 10pm for Kite Flying Society. Might still make it to Sports Club for Republic of Letters!

Also, if you plan on going to the Albert Hammond, Jr. show on Monday but don't yet have a ticket, a friend of mine told me that if you pre-order his album from Lou's Records, you get a free ticket to the show. Sweet deal...

Newsy Bits for Wednesday

Last night was another night of extended sleep for me as I refuse to succumb to the flu, and I feel a thousand times better today, so I will be at the House of Blues sidestage tonight for sure for KFS and Princeton, then heading over to the Sports Club in hopes of maybe catching a piece of Republic of Letters. Both late shows, though, dammit. Anyway, not a whole lotta news but here's a couple things of interest I found:

If you were planning on seeing Sick of It All at the Dropkick Murphys' show on Monday, you are shit outta luck. They have had to cancel their west coast dates. This from Sick of It All:



We have some bad news to announce. Our singer Lou has had very bad back problems for the last week, and yesterday he had to be taken to the hospital because he couldn’t move without being in a lot of pain. He was released a few hours later, but isn’t in the kind of shape that would allow him to perform on stage. We’re really sorry, but we can’t make the trip out to California to start the tour with Dropkick Murphys.

Our friends in Dropkick have been very cool and
understanding, and although we’re leaving them in a bind without the main
support act they planned the tour with, they aren’t canceling our spot just yet.
We’re going to take this day by day and see if we’ll be able to meet up with the
tour at some point, but it looks like we’ll definitely miss the Western part of
the Dropkick tour. If we can join the tour, the place and date will both depend
on Lou’s recovery time.

We were all really looking forward to this tour,
especially after having such a great time touring with AFI. It's always an
awesome show with Dropkick, so each night that we miss will be a difficult pill
to swallow. If all goes well, we’ll be back on the road soon.

Once again, our deepest apologies to our Western US fans who were excited to see us and the great Dropkick Murphys together.
*****
Another story of another band getting robbed. Eastern Conference Champions were robbed in LA. I'm posting this because it's another warning to bands to take the time to unload your gear and also if you're ever buying equipment on Craig's List, chances are it belonged to someone else.


We just played the last night of our February
residency on Monday to a packed house at the Silverlake Lounge, and then all of
our gear gets stolen. The van was parked overnight on Sycamore, just east of
LaBrea, between 4th and 6th streets. The next morning, our buddy, the green
sherrod aka '94 Ford Econoline, was discovered with the passenger side window
smashed and all the equipment gone. Everything. Guitars, Drums, Amps, Computers.
Everything. The fuckers wiped us out.
*****
I never really went into why I was so pissed about the House of Blues Pete Yorn show last week, and since I've been asked about it, I will make a brief point. I have always had issues with the sound, both in the concert hall and the sidestage, the overpriced 1.5 oz measured pour drinks, and the crowds that I've experienced more often than not who talk through the entire $20-$40 shows, but on this particular night, I was treated like shit when I was supposed to have been on the list...no, I'm not lying or trying to cheat you in some way, I was told my name would appear on a list. If it's not there, I'll deal with that, but you don't have to be a dick behind that window. Also, on this particular night (Monday) there was supposed to be all night happy hour in the bar in Salvation Alley. Andrea actually chewed out the restaurant manager who told her they weren't doing that tonight since the concert downstairs was sold out (what one has to do with the other, I do not know). If you advertise all night happy hour Mondays and publish it in your monthly calendar that you have sitting on every table in the restaurant, you better damn well honor it (just like if you have sidestage shows advertised as "free with college ID" you need to honor that, too.) It is no surprise to me that HoB is having a hard time with business, and even less surprising that they are owned by Live Nation which is a spin-off company of ClearChannel. It is, to me, unfortunate that local venues can't compete with the booking that the HoB might can get. As long as bands I like will play there, I will begrudgingly fork over my money. Sometimes it be that way.
*****
Have I mentioned how excited I am, shitty seats and all, about the Arcade Fire show at Spreckels? You can still stream the album at NME.com, catch the listening party at the Whistle Stop next Monday, and if you work where I work, you can get excited when you get to work every day because you get to see this:

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Indie 103 has been leaking info about "shows in the vicinity" of Coachella, so keep your eyes peeled for a couple shows at the Greek Theatre in LA as well as a "secret" show in Palm Springs on Friday before Coachella.
*****
Oh, and one last thing. I get a lot of shit from my local radio peeps that I am not kind to local radio. So let me say here that local radio is like dating. There are things about a guy that make you love him, but then those very same quirks or habits start to get on your nerves, but you have to remember that he's loyal and faithful and deep down you will always love him. So 91X, I grew up with you. We have history and definitely had our ups and downs, but you will always have a place in my heart. KPRi, you're like the sugar daddy I always wanted, if only I were ready to settle down. I'm not quite ready for the mini van, but you're like the one who treats me to a nice dinner every once in a while and gives me a glimpse of me in 5 or 10 years. And 94/9. You're like the hot foreign guy that shows up to high school during senior year. Mysterious and new, but when you get to know him the edge is dampened but not gone, and he only has to say something in that cute accent to get you all turned on again. While I'm always comparing the three to one another and putting Indie 103 on a pedastal as the guy that is way outta my league, let me say congratulations to 94/9. We all know Big Sonic Chill is one of the best specialty shows on radio, and now Indie has incorporated it into their schedule, known as "Big Sonic Heaven". So San Diego radio, I heart you all. We may fight a lot, but you're here for me and I am here for you, constructive criticism and all.
*****

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Things To Do: February 27, 2007

Tuesday, February 27, 2007:

  • State Radio, The New Amsterdams, Street To Nowhere @ Epicentre ($10)
  • The Blackout Party @ House of Blues sidestage
  • Pen and Ink, Autotonic, Low vs. Diamond, Cloak @ Casbah
  • Zech's Marquise, Red Pony Clock, Randall Gatz, Bologna Ponies @ Scolari's
  • Competitive Eating Contest @ Tower Bar
  • Deadly Sins @ Zombie Lounge

Arcade Fire! Stream The Whole Album!

Sorry for my overuse of exclamation points lately, but you can stream the entire new Arcade Fire album, "Neon Bible", at NME.com. You have to register first, but I think it's worth it.

Also, Insound has a pre-order sale price right now of $9.99. Use my coupon "SXSW_Insound" for an additional 10% off and we are talking bargain. Click the Insound logo in the column to the right.

Newsy Bits for Tuesday

I am fighting a cold so I decided I had to stay in last night with just me and my nyquil. Not much in the way of news today, not even good new releases...if anything comes up I will update later...
*****
James Cameron found Jesus! And Mary! And his WIFE Mary Magdelene! And their son! Wow. All the mysteries of the world have been solved by a movie director. Who knew? OK, he didn't really FIND it himself, but there will be a documentary about it. Obviously the Catholics are pissed.
*****

Here's a pic of my old Mayday shirt from the 1994 event. I actually met an ex-boyfriend in the pit while we were against the railing getting kicked in the head by people stagediving during Lucy's Fur Coat. What a rad event that was.

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Monday, February 26, 2007

MayDay Returns to San Diego

If you take a look back a few months at my post here about The Starlight Bowl and here about how cool it would be if MayDay was to return, then you will be as happy as I am that it's happening! I can't believe I forgot to post about this earlier. Anyway, in an effort to let San Diegans know that the Starlight Bowl is back, the venue/facilities fees are being waived, and apparently equipment rentals have already been secured. The two-day festival hopes to book many San Diego bands. There will be a per ticket charge that will cover expenses like security, etc, but it will be well worth it. I don't think this information was "NFB" (not for blogging), but Bart will let me know if it is. (I tried to call you, Bart...)

Click on that second link up there for some of the bands I would like to see considered for the two day festival (though many more would be included now, just 3 months later)...and you can bet I'm gonna find some way to get involved in this. Also an awesome precursor to the music awards, if you ask me. I believe the scheduled dates are May 5th and 6th. I'm gonna work on a vendor license for some Cinco De Mayo yummies!

Things To Do: February 26, 2007

Monday, February 26, 2007:

  • Tim Pyles presents Anti Monday League with Sebadoh, The Bent Moustache @ Casbah
  • Cash Kings, Hot Rod Lincoln, Big Rig Deluxe @ Belly Up
  • Ted Washington (Spoken Word) @ Winston's for Drunk Poet's Society
  • Lady Dottie and The Diamonds @ Tower Bar

The Altar Boyz

It's been a bit rough here in my *very* *important* *the world will fall apart without you* day job, so when I got an e-mail from Andrea about The Altar Boyz, I decided to go check them out because as someone pretty much kicked out of Catholic Church, there is nothing I like mocking more than Christianity. But to my surprise, I'm not the only one making fun of Christianity...

The Altar Boys is a show playing at the Civic Theater March 6-11. The show is "a spoof about a fictitious Christian boy band on the last night of their national 'Raise the Praise' tour." The boys: Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan, and Abraham sing songs like with lyrics like "Jesus Called Me On My Cellphone" and the back handed "Girl, You Make Me Wanna Wait" which continues "At least until our wedding date...until then, I'll just have to master--... my own fate."

It was actually pretty funny (though very Broadway if you can handle that.)



They arrived on the Amtrak and they even had women with signs to greet them. Here are a couple more shots.

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In typical Rosey fashion, I won a pair of tickets to the show on March 7th by answering a trivia question. (What boy band was Justin Timberlake originally a part of? It was such an obvious question, I actually knew they'd ask it.) Anyway, if you're into shows, hit me up.

In Anticipation of Snow Patrol, Silversun Pickups, and OK, Go

This Saturday is the Snow Patrol, Silversun Pickups, and OK, Go, show at the Open Air Theatre. I bought two tickets in pre-sale in hopes that I'd have a boyfriend by now.

HAHAHA. Ok, I'm totally kidding, but I did buy a pair assuming someone I know would want to go. Anyway, if you wanna go with me to the show, the ticket is $42.

The show is Saturday, doors at 7. I'll post the actual seat location when I have my tickets in front of me. E-mail me if you're interested.

Final Sunset Sessions Pics: Joss Stone is Gorgeous

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and what an inopportune time to run out of film, but at least I got a pic of her signature bare feet:

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More Weekend Pics: The Colour

Every time I see The Colour, I like them more and more. I don't know if that is particularly because I like their sound or that their sound has totally grown on me, but in music sometimes, what is the difference? (by the way, the first sunset session was held indoors because it was raining outside, so these were inside the ballroom)

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More Weekend Pics: AM, Brian Vander Ark

These pics were from the Sidestage Show at the House of Blues on Thursday night.

AM:
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Brian Vander Ark:

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Picture Post: The Local Pyle/ FM 94/9 presents

This will be almost a pure picture post because I am lazy. The show at the Casbah was fun last night and the food was yummy. Way to go, Tim Pyles! And thanks for the drink tickets, Bart! Everyone in attendance last night to the FREE show also received a FREE Staring At The Sun Compiliation, so if you were home watching the snoozefest that was the Oscars (at least according to every report I've heard), I'm very sorry for you.

I have to admit, for Tim Pyles events, they're as much fun for the bands as they are for seeing friends old and new, so I caught a little bit of each band's sets but also spent time catching up with friends in the patio and the Atari lounge.

Anna Troy's bluesy rock started off the evening:

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The Shambles were up next and had a ton of support in the room. The Shambles have been a part of San Diego music for many years and it was cool to see them. I especially liked the song in Spanish.

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Buzzkills were next, but alas, no pics.

Finally Vinyl Radio played. This was their first local show with their new drummer and I was able to sneak through the maniacal dancing up front to snap a couple photographs. They played some stuff off the forthcoming 8 track disc and people seemed to be loving it. While it was in the patio, Matt thanked the crowd for staying late and this man near me excitedly said, "It was worth it!"

Matt is such a rock star:

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I thought I got pics of the new drummer and Keith but these are the best of what I've got. Sorry. More pics from the weekend to come.

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Things To Do: Sunday, Feb 25, 2007

Sunday, February 25, 2007:

  • FREE! Tim Pyles/94.9 Presents Staring At The Sun CD Release show: Vinyl Radio, Buzzkill Romantics, The Shambles, Anna Troy @ Casbah, 7pm
  • Dinosaur Party, The Paper Life, Goodbye Tomorrow, Brannigan, Modern Rifles, Miscellaneous Ailments Foundation @ Soma, 5:30, $8
  • Socket Seven, Miscellaneous Ailments Foundation, Fkenal @ Zombie
  • The Resentments, Dirtbag, Tim Raldo, Filthy Fucks, Vietnam HC, Waco Fucks @ Chaser's
  • Free!- Chinese New Year celebration, 3rd & J, downtown, 11a-4p
  • Rockstar Supernova @ Pala ($65!!! WTF?)

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Recap: Sunset Sessions & The Ken Club

I have a splitting headache right now which I why I'm home at 10 pm on a Saturday night. If the aspirin kicks in, I might venture out, but it's not looking good. As I've mentioned, it's been a busy music weekend for me.

Friday's Sunset Session started off with a band called No More Kings. I was expecting a very vanilla band, but I was really actually impressed. After a million songs about love, it was fun to hear about other stuff in a band's lyrics. They have a song called "Michael", written from the perspective of Kit from Knight Rider. They also have a song called "Sweep The Leg" which is an apology to Danielson from Johnny in Karate Kid.



I thought they were kinda fun and original, and yeah they're a little cheesy but they don't really take themselves too seriously. At moments I could hear influences like Living Colour or twinges of Maroon 5, but that's what a AAA showcase will bring you.

Tyrone Wells was second and played a set shorter than most of the artists for whatever reason. As far as singer songwriters go, I either love the voice or don't, and I'm not crazy about his sound, but a lot of people are, so I'm not saying I'm right, he just didn't do it for me.

Josh Kelly was third and we were right back to vanilla. In the first song he introduced each band member by letting them jam out solos which to me was over doing it and should've been something to close with, not do in the first song. I couldn't place what his voice sounded like and then a Michael McDonald song popped in my head and after I barfed in my own mouth a little, I decided Josh Kelly is not for me...

Thankfully there was more to look forward to. Joss Stone finally came onstage to close the session. She is absolutely amazing. First of all, she's gorgeous, her hair is dark with reddish pink streaks in it and curly and bouncy as she dances all over the stage. Her voice is amazing and I'm not really even into her music. She's really flirty onstage, making eye contact with the audience and even jumping into the crowd to serenade people in their seats. Her new single is called "I love how you love me" and could've segued right into "Midnight Train to Georgia." She played her hits amongst other new tracks and closed with "Got A Right to Be Wrong" and the crowd was totally into it. She performs with a full backing band as well as 3 backup singers who only increased the power of her performance.

After the set, I was on my way to home base and walked over to the Ken Club for Zerox, The New Motherfuckers, and Fifty on Their Heels. Zerox is a sloppy punky band from Chula Vista that reminded me of the bands my friends used to play in back in the day. I could see them being the kids that hang out at Just Java like we once did, and occasionally venturing up to Café Chabalaba or the Ché. People complained that they were too loud but I had my earlove earplugs and was just fine. Seriously, they are awesome and only $10 on Insound. Buy them! (You can still save 10% by typing in "SXSW_Insound")

The New Motherfuckers were second and I loved them. I was feeling a David Byrne crossed with Devo sound when CatDirt tells me "they sound like the Talking Heads". Since everyone is being compared to the Talking Heads these days, I wish I could be more specific, but nobody suggested I have any depth in these recaps. All I know is I loved them and hope they come down again for Sessions Fest.

Fifty on Their Heels closed the show and played some new tracks. They have controlled their sound a lot which is excellent because I've seen them before where my ears felt blasted. Punk is cool, but if you can sing, you should let people hear the vocals, and Junior did just that. He jumped into the crowd several times and climbed chairs and whatnot. I had kinda taken a break from their shows because I had seen them so many times, but they are evolving which is great for them.

I closed the bar down and managed to get up this morning to buy my Arcade Fire tickets, which I was disappointed about but now I'm just thankful I got a pair at all. And to all you ASSHOLE scalpers who were already posting on Craig's List today, FUCK. YOU. ALL. I sometimes wish ticket sales were like the old days when you'd line up and the only place you could buy tickets was at the venue because a show in San Diego should be for San Diegans, not for the hordes of people flocking to our region for Coachella. Bitter much? Yes, and so what?

Today's Sunset Session was a fun one. Since I didn't wanna piss anyone off by disclosing the location, I will now since the thing is over. It was held at Paradise Point resort. The first night was inside a hotel ballroom because of the weather, but last night and tonight were on a lawn with probably about 150-200 attendees, maybe less.

I was sitting up front when Joshua Radin played. Here's what I'm talking about with singer-songwriters...some bore me to tears, and some, like him, I just love. The first time I heard "Star Mile" I probably played it 15 times in a row. That's why I was so happy that it was the first song he played (and that his album was included in the swag bags). His band consisted of a second guitarist, a standup bass, a violin, a cello, and a percussionist with just a single drum and cymbal, and a wood box seat that doubled as an instrument. He played Star Mile, The Fear You Won't, These Photographs, Closer, and Only You which is the new single and a cover. Schuyler Fisk was singing backup for Joshua and the two together sounded beautiful. If you're a sucker for all things Zach Braff, i.e. Garden State, you already know Joshua Radin.

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Malea McGuinness was second and I was happy that I bumped into my friend David because for me it was a snoozefest despite a full band. There are some musicians that I like who will probably never make it big, some that I'm not surprised when they do, and some you just wanna tell to get a gig in a bar in a casino in Vegas. Every song the band played to me sounded like another song and when one seemed like a total rip of "Don't Cry Out Loud" I was over it. Soccer moms would probably go apeshit over this stuff. Not me.

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Willy Mason was the next singer. Another guy with just a guitar, but I was really impressed. His first couple songs were sung in a deep monotone so it took me a while to get into him, but his voice is very unique. I don't wanna piss off Johnny Cash fans by making the comparison, but how about if I say his voice is like Joaquin Phoenix doing Johnny Cash? He's from Massachusetts but you'd think he was from Missouri and could fit right in singing old coal miner songs. His lyrics were really smart, too, and more thoughtful than the standard ripping your heart out stuff. In Save Myself, for example, his lyrics are thought provoking and touch a nerve like "when the old religion becomes the new greed- save myself, gotta save myself". He is playing the Belly Up next month and I highly recommend checking him out.

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Last to hit the stage was Ozomatli. Having 9 people in a band makes it impossible not to feel like they are always a party. Imagine them showing up in your living room, your first impulse would be to grab a bottle of PatrĂłn. Seeing them here was no exception, and they got pretty much the entire crowd on their feet. They played City of Angels, Can't Stop, America, Magnolia Soul, When I Close My Eyes, After Party, La Segundo Mano, and Saturday Night. They are a fun party band and the perfect band to end that part of the evening.

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Afterward, David and I had dinner at the Barefoot Bar and his favorite band, The John Butler Trio, was seated nearby. My headache prevented me from staying for their 11pm performance, but I'll get the full report later.

By the way, I have been using so many different cameras this week, but I finally bought one today, so I will get to posting all the pics tomorrow when I have a little more energy.
nighty night...

Arcade Fire, Spreckels, April 26

"Third of 3 Balconies, Row D, Seats 14-16." This. totally. sucks. I'm going back to sleep.

Preview of a Recap: No More Kings, Joss Stone, Zerox, The New Motherfuckers, Fifty On Their Heels

This is not really a recap post, but more of a pre-recap post. I had an amazing day of music, most notably seeing Joss Stone and her seducative set down on the harbor. I will write about all of it soon ( just not tonight after uncounted vodka tonics). I am so looking forward to the last Sunset Session with Joshua Radin and Ozomatli and trying to map out my morning to buy my Arcade Fire tix. Whoever says San Diego is boring should seriously just move to Phoenix.

It's been a really fucking great day...

and I'm sorry for being without digital camera this weekend, but I will be developing my film tomorrow and hope to have photos of the Sessions up soon...maybe even an illegal post of Josh Radin's new single until I get a C& D letter....

Friday, February 23, 2007

Things To Do: February 23-24, 2007

Friday, February 23, 2007:

  • Fifty On Their Heels, The New Motherfuckers, Zerox @ Ken Club
  • The Prayers, Emery Byrd, The Muslims, Skull Kontrol @ Casbah
  • Beati Paoli, Mean Streaks USA @ Scolari's
  • Stripped Acoustic Showcase featuring Gregory Page, Woody Hayes, The Low Standards, SABA @ House of Blues Sidestage
  • The Wildbirds, Red Monroe @ Beauty Bar
  • X-Clan @ World Beat Center
  • Rat City Riot, Hollowpoints, Dreadful Children, Dead and Broken @ Zombie Lounge
  • Elijah Emmanuel @ Winston's
  • Burning of Rome, The Leperkhanz @ Dreamstreet
  • Michael Franti & Spearhead @ 4th & B
  • The Aggrolites, the Hi-Lites, Creepy Creeps @ Belly Up
  • LA Guns, Bullet Boys @ Brick By Brick
  • US Drag, Royal Campaign, Roxy Monoxide @ O'Connell's
  • New Music Showcase: No More Kings, Tyrone Wells, Josh Kelley, Joss Stone @ 5:30, private show.
  • Sir Splendid, VV Morgue @ Honeybee Hive
  • Mursic, Daredevil Jane, Transfer, Flux Theory, The Absens @ Soma
  • Goodbye Tomorrow, Longstay @ House Party! 915 Buena Place, Carlsbad, CA. Bands start at 8:30. $3, BYOB.

Saturday, February 24, 2007:

  • Tom Brosseau @ M-Theory, 3pm
  • OM (former Sleep), Earthless, Hostile Combover @ Casbah ($10)
  • The Stranger's Six, The Strays, The New Addiction, The Drowning Man @ Zombie Lounge
  • B-Side Players, Casa de Calacas @ Belly Up
  • The Roman Spring, Someday Assassin, Chris Cordero @ Alibi
  • Makeshift, Fkenal, CabrĂłn @ Voz Alta
  • Guttermouth, Dogmatic, Non Prophet @ Cane's
  • Matt Wertz, Stephen Kellogg @ Epicentre
  • Run Run Run, Buddy Akai, The Acceptance @ Brick By Brick
  • Get Your Death On!, Who Rides The Tiger, Juan Peso @ Ken Club
  • John Butler Trio- private show, 11am
  • Joshua Radin, Malea McGuinness, Willy Mason, Ozomatli- Private show, 5:30 pm
  • Free!- Chinese New Year celebration, 3rd & J, downtown, 11a-4p

Thursday Night Recap: New Music Showcase & House of Blues Sidestage

I had big ambitions last night to make 4 total stops but only made 2 of the 4. Still, it was a great night and I'm thankful I'd planned ahead and taken today as a vacation day from work.

The afternoon started off by picking up Andrea from Downtown and heading up to the new music showcase which we were told would start at 5:30 sharp. Obviously "sharp" loosely means a half hour late, because the first musician took the stage at 6:05. The "Sunset Sessions" are a music showcase that happen all over the hemisphere, usually in tropical places like the Bahamas. This year, San Diego plays host and for the first time, a station hosts as well. KPRi is unique in the fact that it is one of very few privately owned stations in the county. Bob Hughes is a co-owner and also a PM Drive dj and very involved in the programming of the station. So this showcase is aimed at people like him, responsible for formatting Triple A stations (that's Adult Album Alternative to you) as well as music supervisors of TV shows. Think of the music you hear or used to hear on shows like Dawson's Creek, One Tree Hill, Felicity, and Gray's Anatomy, and you catch the music these people are looking for.

Unfortunately for a zillion good bands I know, the showcase left a lot to be desired. Paige Aufhammer is this young sweet girl with a guitar who sounds pretty much exactly like a cross between Tristan Prettyman and Mindy Smith. She was really cute and was backed by a bassist, a violinist, and a drummer who also contributed back up vocals. Sweet songs about love and hearts and basically you could take any page from my 7th grade journals when I thought I was a poet, and turn it into one of Paige's songs. Perfect for One Tree Hill but nothing that gripped me.

Ten West was the second band. A group from Orange County, I'd listened to their MySpace profile and tried to give them a chance but when the first song started with "Baby" my stomach turned. Not about to spend 8.75 at the bar for a cocktail, Andrea and I split to the nearest liquor store to spike some Sobe drinks. A friend at the showcase joked, "This next song is called Everything's OK, Everything's Great from our new album This Is Totally Awesome!" And that's pretty much Ten West. And might I add that the bassist had a faux hawk and sunglasses on in a hotel ballroom, and the singer and rhythm guitarist were wearing flip flops. On stage. Yay. Can't wait to hear them on the next episode of The Hills. yawn.

Christine Martucci was the third performer. Indigo Girls minus the other girl, she had a guitarist onstage with her and then busted out one of her own, if I've ever heard anyone try harder to sound like Melissa Etheridge my mind is blanking on who it was. Snooze fest.

Last up was the Colour who I have actually gotten into over the course of a couple months. They were a Monarchy Band and opened for Cold War Kids at the Belly Up in January and also played at the Beauty Bar. At their shows they sell their CD for $5 so while they aren't one of my favorite bands, I like them and am ok with that asking price. I actually kinda felt sorry for them on this night, however. All these stiffs who are in positions as tastemakers sitting in a hotel banquet room (where I had my high school Girls League formals, by the way) and this rock band onstage just kinda trying to do their thing with no audience reaction whatsoever. When a meat carving station is getting more attention than the band onstage, to me, that says more about the crowd than the band, at least in this instance. I think when I go to the showcase tonight, crashing of course, I'll bring a resumé and tell these corporate stiffs that they can go order room service in their hotel rooms while I actually pay attention to the performances.

The showcase finally ended around 8:30 and we zipped down to the House of Blues to see my friend AM and Brian Vander Ark of the Verve Pipe perform on the sidestage. He told me doors were at 8 but I knew better. I don't think it was until 9:30 or so that they finally took the stage. There were rows of seats in front of the stage which I'd not seen there before.

AM is really just good music. He should've been in one of the showcases, in fact. But he's already had all his songs on TV shows and now just really needs radio support to get to the next level. I was supposed to be selling merch but this crowd just wasn't ready to spend $20 on a shirt or $15 on a CD. I did get a sheet's worth of people on the mailing list, however, so I at least did that much. While AM played, Brian's wife(?) held their daughter who was tossing her Elmo all over the place... a beautiful little family.

When Brian played, I was kinda sent right back to high school and my Verve Pipe listening days. His voice is so unmistakable and for the limited crowd in attendance, it was a great performance.

I had to miss out on Fifty On Their Heels doing a Pyles Session and also didn't make it to the Beauty Bar, but sometimes I feel a little punk rock and sometimes I just need my singer songwriters. And so it was last night. You will definitely see me tonight at the Ken Club for Fifty on Their Heels, Zerox and the New Motherfuckers, and all I can say is thank god I have my new EarLove Earplugs...

Unbelievable Record Sale, This Sunday

My sweet friend Mitch Wilson (of No Knife) is selling part of his record collection this Sunday. Here's his MySpace bulletin (re-posted with permission, of course):

from noon til 5pm i will be selling my record collection. i am selling roughly 700-800 records of many genres. i have alot of underground 80s stuff, alot of indie rock, goth, country, reggae, jazz, etc.
bands like
AC/DC
ADAM & THE ANTS
ALICE DONUT
BAD BRAINS
BAUHAUS
BOWIE
CAPTAIN BEEFHEART
CONTORTIONS
CHROME
COCTEAU TWINS
CHRISTIAN DEATH
DURUTTI COLUMN
DIE KREUZEN
DIE HAUT WITH NICK CAVE
ECHO AND THE BUNNYFARTS
ELO
EMINEM
THE FALL
FELT
FAD GADGET
GANG OF FOUR
GET UP KIDS
THE GRAVEDIGGER V
NINA HAGEN
HALL & OATES
HIS NAME IS ALIVE
INK AND DAGGER
IAMSPOONBENDER
INNOCENCE MISSION
JAPAN
JESUS LIZARD
JUNE OF 44
KILLING JOKE
KRAFTWERK
KOMMUNITY FK
LIARS
LOVE AND ROCKETS
LYDIA LUNCH
MARS VOLTA
MOVING UNITS
MUM
GARY NUMAN
THE NOTWIST
NINENINENINE
OZZYOKO ONO
OUTKAST
THE POLICE
PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED
PRINCE
ROBERT QUINE AND FRED MAHER
QUEEN
Q AND NOT U
ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT
ROXY MUSIC
ROLLING STONES
SCREAM
SOFT CELL
SCRAPING FOETUS OFF THE WHEEL
SIOUXSIE
SISTERS O' MERCY!
DAVID SYLVIAN
TELEVISION
TORTOISE
TUXEDO MOON
ULTRAVOX
URGE OVERKILL
VICTIM'S FAMILY
ALAN VEGA
VISAGE
TOM WAITS
JAMES WHITE AND THE BLACKS
WIRE
X
XTC
XANADU SOUNDTRACK
YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA
YAZ
NEIL YOUNG
FRANK ZAPPA

There are many more records to choose from...
the address is 3340 bancroft street
one block east of 32nd st between upas st. and thorn st.

see you there

PS- i'm not on crack; i'd like to buy some pro audio gear- preamps, compressors, mics, etc. for the recording studio that will be opening up soon in university heights that i will be working in. also, i'm not selling ALL my records, just 700-800 of them to finance this gear lust. i'm selling music to make more music- maybe with you and your band someday... but thanks to everyone that wrote to voice their concern!

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Arcade Fire: San Diego, April 26, Spreckels

Just hoping that by sharing this info, a little good karma will come my way and I'll end up with good seats for Arcade Fire, but just wanted to share that tickets go onsale on Saturday at 10 am. I was going to go to the box office, however it is not open until NOON. Save the gas and suck up the service charges and buy them online. I have not been able to find out the per ticket cost, so if you have info, cough it up.

Things To Do: February 22, 2007

Thursday, February 22, 2007:

  • Brian Vander Ark, AM @ House of Blues Sidestage
  • Isis, Jesu, Oxbow @ Casbah
  • Cheap Trick, Trash Daddy @ 4th and B
  • Truckee Brothers @ Tower Bar
  • Elefante @ House of Blues
  • Life on Mars, Pete Stewart (of the Accident Experiment), Mike Flynn @ San Diego Sports Club
  • Run Barbara Run, 12 Cent, Nothington, New Tomorrow @ Zombie Lounge
  • Dave Mason, John Mayall @ Belly Up
  • Cash Only (Johnny Cash Tribute Night) @ Winston's, 8pm, $10. Featuring Cash'd Out, Chuck Schiele, Four Eyes, Coyote Problem, Palominos, Sara Petite, Podunk Nowhere, Phil Harmonic, Nisha Rose, Seventh Day Buskers, Cowboy Jack, Big Rig Deluxe
  • New Music Showcase: Paige Aufheimmer, Ten West, Christine Martucci, The Colour @ 5:30, private show.
  • Tim Sweeney @ Modus for Dos Tres

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Recap: Ben Kweller, Gomez, Cold War Kids

Well, I pulled it off. I managed to get to see both shows that I wanted to see.

I started Tuesday night with a shirt nap so I would be ready for the night ahead. I arrived at the House of Blues at 8pm on the dot, Ben Kweller came on moments later. I didn't think I'd like him but I really did, in the same way that I like Ben Lee. Quirky simple lyrics, nice harmonies with his drummer and bassist, and just having a good time onstage. Because they were co-headliners, they played close to an hour. Good for fans, bad for someone hoping to get to the Casbah. The sound guy gave me a copy of the setlist.

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After close to 30 minutes of stage breakdown and setup, Gomez took to the stage around 9:40. I was kinda surprised how into it the crowd was because it didn't seem like they were the last time Gomez played at the House of Blues. I'm a huge fan of How We Operate, but this show definitely covered a broader spectrum of their material, going back to a lot of their older stuff. I love that vocal responsibilities are split by the 3 guys because it makes every song sound fresh. After an hour, the band went into the slowed down version of We Haven't Turned Around, and I thought that was a good song to end my night being that it was the first song I'd ever heard by Gomez and it's the one that made me a fan in the first place.

It was about 10:45 and I jogged to my car and raced to the Casbah, parked in my secret spot, and Cold War Kids were already onstage into their 4th song, according to Ben the door guy. I grabbed a drink and squeezed my way up toward the front side of the stage and hung out with Porter. Here are some photos...

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Being that this was my fifth time seeing the band, I didn't feel the need to be up front and part of the craziness. Instead I hung out with Troy, Scott, Porter and Jason. We were having fun shooting the shit when the show ended and everyone began to clear out. It was only 11:55. wtf? There should've been a third band as far as I was concerned. We decided the night wasn't ready to be over and ventured to the Sports Club for a bit. My friends are bad, bad influences.

Wednesday turned out to be a day of letting my body rest, so I'm sorry to say that I missed Kite Flying Society and Oh No! Oh My! Today I'll be heading to the new music showcase at 5:30 then catching AM and Brian Vander Ark at the House of Blues sidestage and then the last Powder Room at the Beauty Bar. I surrendered my ski trip tomorrow because I had no takers for driving to LA at 4 am. boo hoo. It's gonna be another full weekend, though, so I'm not that concerned about it. See you all on the town...

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Things To Do: February 20-21, 2007

Tuesday, February 20, 2007:

  • Gomez, Ben Kweller @ House of Blues
  • Cold War Kids, Delta Spirit @ Casbah
  • Ralph Stanley and The Clinch Mountain Boys, The Monroe Avenue String Band @ Belly Up
  • Robert Earl Keen, Cross Canadian Ragweed @ 4th & B
  • Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras Celebrations: Mardi Gras in the Gaslamp- $15- $20, Hillcrest Mardi Gras- $15
  • The Perils of Being, My Laughing Face @ O'Connell's

Wednesday, February 21, 2007:

  • Oh No Oh My, Kite Flying Society @ House of Blues Sidestage
  • Joe Walsh, Jack Tempchin and Rocket Science @ Belly Up
  • Cartel, Cobra Starship, Boys Like Girls @ House of Blues
  • Willie Nelson @ Pala Casino
  • Rockstar/Taste of Chaos: The Used, 30 Seconds to Mars, Senses Fail, Saosin, Aiden, Chiodos, Evaline @ iPayOne
  • Gladiators, Ooklah the Moc @ World Beat Center
  • Eleni Mandell, Swandive, Anya Marina @ Casbah $8
  • Down Low @ Winston's
  • The Atoms, Squiddo @ San Diego Sports Club
  • Duane Pitre + J Emery Blatchley, Shooting Parks, Black Patterns From Saturn @ Habitat House 8pm 1008 21st Street
  • Not Your Mom, Astra Kelly, Stereo Suite @ 710 Beach Club
  • The Headcat (feat. Lemmy of Motorhead & Slim Jim Phantom of Stray Cats), The Dukes of Haggard, The Whisky Dicks, The Dirty Angels @ Brick By Brick

Monday Recap: Pete Yorn, Aqualung @ HoB, Anti Monday League

I'll skip the drama part of my evening for now, and just talk about the show last night at the House of Blues. There was an opening band that I missed but it sounded like they were a cover band from where I was, though distinguishing a band from the music in the bar/restaurant from 6th avenue is sometimes not that easy.

When I finally got in (!) Charlotte Martin was finishing her set and my cranky, not yet ready to relax self saw her as another Tori Amos wannabe who is humping her piano/keyboard/synthesizer bench while tossing her mermaid like blond mane around. Had I not been in angry bitch mode, I probably would've liked her.

I got some fresh air between sets and decided I wasn't gonna allow my night to be ruined, so by the time Aqualumg started, I'd made my way up front. From my count he played 4 new songs from his upcoming release and around 7 from his first release, with a couple of them changed up a little for good measure. This was my 3rd time seeing them and I know there are very obvious Radiohead and Coldplay influences, but that is ok with me. The new stuff is less melancholy and at times felt like ballads that Bono might cover in the future and then all of the sudden Matt Hayes would get the attention he deserves. Or maybe I'm just a sap. Either way, I'd snapped out of my mood the moment he hit the stage.

Between sets Matt signed posters and talked to fans, where I verified my count of new songs. He said, "Yeah, four, I lost count of the old ones though. What you think?" I told him that it is obvious he is happy and in a good place. I guess not all my music requires a side of razor blades.

When he finished I bumped into Daye and his friend who had a bar hookup, so she got me a couple beers throughout Pete Yorn's set. I was actually not looking forward in any way to seeing PY again, partly because his set at the 94/9 wasn't that impressive to me and partially because he was kinda a dick to me when we last met (though he'd been cool in the past). But those boys with guitars win my right back over. I'm so damn easy. He was backed by a band of 5 other guys and the heavy strings sounded great, way better than when they try to play electric guitars. Pete seemed happy and played for a long time, the crowd was in it, and Pete has even thrown in some hand claps in songs. I also think because the set was heavy on early stuff, it was more enjoyable since for me, that is the stuff I really liked the best anyway. I like his later albums, too, but Music for the Morning After was one of those albums I played constantly and had attached meaning to every song, so they're just a little more special. The set lists are always posted on MySpace, so here it is:

house of blues, san diego, ca, february 19, 2007

vampyre
pass me by
for us
just another
when you see the light
undercover
don't mean nothing
for nancy
the man
long way down
policies
lions
the good advice
murray

encore:

strange condition
dead flowers (the rolling stones)
crystal village
closet
life on a chain


After the show I had to pass out cards and stickers for a bit, but everyone clears out relatively quickly at the House of Blues, so when I was done, I headed to the Casbah for Anti-Monday League. It was more to support Tim and what he's doing than anything else...plus I have a perfect record for AML, so I couldn't just miss it.

Four Kings was the band. They are a four piece (shocking) from OB. At 16 I would've loved this band. They have a bit of the funk rock thing that Red Hot Chili Peppers was so good at (through Blood Sugar Sex Magic) and then obviously overdid and killed for former fans like me. The bass is really heavy, Primus style, which I liked, but there were less than 10 people in the room, so I don't think there was any reason for them to be as loud as they were. They also tried a slower tempo song which felt out of character. Still, I have a bias when I hear that a band is from OB, and I'd say they exceeded my expectations and then came right back to meet them when they sang about smoking pot.

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I was home by 1 am and am rearing to go tonight. I am not even gonna let the House of Blues get to me. Or at least I'll try...

Monday, February 19, 2007

Newsy Bits for Tuesday

This message came from KLSD, the progressive talk radio station at 1360 AM in San Diego.



HEY BANDS!! We can use your help......
We're thinking about playing more UNDERGROUND/LOCAL POLITICALLY CHARGED type of music as rejoiners for the show.If you have any songs somewhere dealing with the war, President Bush or something in between, direct us your way. We'll throw out some mentions here and there for your band!


ALSO,We thought it would be fun to have bands
record quick "jingle" type rejoiers to the show for us at The Stacy Taylor
Morning Show. For example, a quick 30 second or so guitar riff/drumbeat
and a chorus singing, "Now back to the Stacy Taylor Show on KLSD". Have fun with
it! Again, free mentions for you all around!Keep the dream alive!


-Jorge E.Tech DirectorStacy Taylor Showklsdam1360@hotmail.com


******
In case you haven't heard, XM and Sirius Satellite Radio have agreed to merge. It's still gotta get approval by the FCC and whatnot but we all know how tough the FCC is on conglomerates. (not very.) People I know who have either service swear by satellite, but I don't have any use for it. I commute about 8 minutes each way to work and listen to CDs or digital cable radio when I'm home. Me thinks the biggest winner in all of this is Howard Stern who made millions and never brought over the subscribers his ego told him he would.
******
Britney is back in rehab.

really? is that all the news I've got??

laissez les bons temps rouler! See you all tonight at either Gomez or Cold War Kids (or both)

Things To Do: February 19, 2007

Monday, February 19, 2007:

  • Tribute to Reggae Legends @ iPayOne Center featuring: Bunny Wailer, Eeek A Mouse, Junior Reid, Midnite Morgan Heritage, Culture Profetica, Yami Bolo, The Gladiators, Johnny Osbourne, Ooklah The Moc. Noon.
  • Anti-Monday League: The Black Fuzz, Electrocrypt @ Casbah
  • Ours @ House of Blues Sidestage
  • Pete Yorn, Aqualung, Charlotte Martin @ House of Blues. Sold out. I have a FREE plus one if anyone wants to go, but you have to help me work the show. E-mail me if you're interested.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Weekend Recap: Swim Party, The Modlins, Alta Voz

It’s Sunday night and I should be motivating to go check out The Hatchet Brothers at 10:30, but unlike most of you, I have to work this President’s Day and it is going to be a long week for me with tons of shows to see.

This weekend proved full as any. Friday night started with another great dinner at Ponce’s then I headed out to the Whistle Stop. Swim Party was amazing, per usual. Eric has such great vocal control and it’s fun to see him kinda start out shy and then really get into a groove around the 3rd song and just let go. The bar was crowded while they played, but not unbearably so.


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By the time the Modlins started, however, it was packed beyond anything I’d ever seen there. I carefully maneuvered back to my seat but the space in front of my table had filled up, so here are some pics, but sorry they’re of the camera-held-over-my-head variety. The Modlins are a good band with a retro pop feel, with many layered harmonies. I was kinda feeling Bill Haley and the Comets and enjoyed the wholesome pop. It made me feel like I should be in a fuzzy sweater with a pink ribbon in my ponytail. Thanks to the Modlins for the CD, I look forward to listening to it.

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I did start to get a little claustrophobic, so I moved to the other side of the bar for the remainder of the band’s set and slipped out right as they finished. I was tempted to head down to Stingaree with CatDirt, but opted instead to head back to home base at the Ken Club. The bands were done so I hung out with friends until closing and a few friends came over after and watched a movie until pass out time.

Saturday was pretty mellow. I met my sister and brother in law and a couple friends in Little Italy for Carnivale, but it really only involved a couple jesters on stilts and bands playing on selected corners. You can really only hear “Volare” so many times in your life, I think, so we bailed and had dinner at the Waterfront.

After dinner it was back to home base and I spent my evening at the Ken Club. 2 of the four bands cancelled, so I only got to see Alta Voz who were releasing their CD. They are a four piece band, the singer alternating between keyboards and a synthesizer. I didn’t love them but I didn’t hate them. They were just pretty straight forward rock. I imagine if I had the disc I’d get a stronger feel for their sound, but there was nothing incredible or distinguishing for me. I will say that when the guitarist sang, as he did for a couple songs, I actually liked his voice better than the lead man. Also, I would note that I’d probably put Alta Voz on Sassy’s cute band alert. I thought the drummer looked like DeeJay from Roseanne, and my friends were in agreement.

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Sunday morning, Andrea and I trekked up to Escondido for a KPRI promotion. They had tickets to some artist showcases and I was really interested in a couple of them. Unfortunately we got there late and ended up with tickets to a less desirable show, but The Colour is on the bill so I will check it out anyway. I’m trying to maneuver for the other ones, which you will hear about later this week.

After hanging out and listening for a bit to Len Rainey play some blues, I talked Andrea into margaritas at a place I’d been once before called Hacienda De Vega. It was just as amazing as I remember, you can read about it on my food blog later.

That, my friends, was the extent of my weekend. This is a big week ahead, with Pete Yorn and Aqualung, Gomez and Ben Kweller then the Cold War Kids, Kite Flying Society with Oh No, Oh My, a music showcase with The Colour, then AM and Brian Vander Ark. And that’s all before the weekend. I might as well just take a sleeping bag to the House of Blues, it seems.

See you all out on the town.

Friday, February 16, 2007

Things To Do: February 16-18, 2007

Friday, February 16, 2007:

  • The Modlins (CD Release), Swim Party @ Whistle Stop
  • The Prayers, The Sess, The Powerchords, The Muslims @ ChĂ© CafĂ© ($5 Benefit for new sound system)
  • Bob Schneider Band, Eliot Morris @ Belly Up
  • The Screamin YeeHaws, The Bloody Hollies, The High Rollers, The Honkys @ The Zombie Lounge
  • The Roman Spring, Southwest Nomadic, Divebomber @ O'Connell's
  • Japanese Sunday, Archways, Pussywhipped @ The Ken Club
  • Red Sparowes, Earthless, Silver Sunshine (ASTRA?) @ Casbah
  • Agua Dulce, Adopted Prophets @ Winston's
  • IMA Robot, Low vs. Diamond @ Beauty Bar
  • Sound Tribe Sector 9 @ House of Blues
  • Ithaca @ San Diego Sports Club
  • 15 North, Ovals of Cassini, Entice, The Roadapples, Dopamine Chamber @ Epicentre
  • Steel Pulse @ 4th & B

Saturday, February 17, 2007:

  • The Vision of A Dying World, The Silent Comedy, Gayle Skidmore, Eskimo Friend @ Scolari's
  • Steve Poltz, Old Man Hands @ Casbah
  • Billy Midnight, Gully @ The Alibi
  • The Hacienda Brothers, Bartenders Bible @ Belly Up
  • Los Amigos Invisibles, Si*Se @ House of Blues
  • The Exies, Fono, Daredevil Jane, Scott & Aimee @ Cane's
  • Alta Voz (CD Release Party), The Fascination, Get Down to Brass Tacks, The Nurses @ Ken Club
  • Cash'd Out @ Winston's
  • Mr Tube and the Flying Objects, Tender Buttons @ Beauty Bar
  • Brazilian Carnavale @ 4th & B
  • Greg Friedman, Jane Lui, Chad Farran @ Lestat's
  • My friend Adam has started a night at Kava Lounge called "Trans-Europe Express" It is described as a journey in european electronic music. From Kraftwerk to Depeche Mode, Primal Scream to Snap, Daft Punk to Basement Jaxx, Miss Kittin to Swayzak. Rare remixes. 100% European electro. Shake yo ass.
  • FREE! Little Italy Carnevale 5-9p- food, vendors, entertainment
  • People, Blues From A Gun @ O'Connell's

Sunday, February 18, 2007:

  • Neko Case, Eric Bachmann @ Belly Up
  • Writer, The Henry Clay People, Enter Telescope, Austin James Band @ Zombie
  • Defiance Ohio, Punk Razors, Jehovah's Fitness, Tiltwheel, This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb @ ChĂ© CafĂ©
  • Gabriel Sundy Jazz Quartet @ Dizzy's (Sunday, February 18th, 2007. 6pm $10 Cover ($8 for Students w/ ID)
  • "Digital vs Analog" w/ perf. by The Upstarts @ Beauty Bar
  • Manny Cepeda @ Sogno di Vino 7-10p
  • Steve Poltz, Lisa Sanders @ Lestat's
  • Ould Sod Benefit for Amnesty International, $10, 4-11pm. Bands include: The Hatchet Brothers, Greg Laswell, Gully, Cindy Lee Berryhill, Brax, Saba, Harmon Tipton

Friday Newsy Bits

I haven't done "newsy bits" in a while, but I'll give it a go today.

This only means anything to a handful of people, but Mike, the proprietor of Happy Hour Bar, aka Hobo Bar, confirmed to me the other night (albeit drunk off his ass) that he is selling the bar. The first time I met him, I was curious about his bar and his story. He's owned the place for 13 years and owns a mobile home in Rosarito and plans on retiring down there. Finally he apparently has a buyer. I heard rumors that it was Tim Mays, someone even said it was Dennis Toshima. I don't know who it is, but doesn't matter, I'd pretty much say enjoy it in its current state and then you can pretty much forget about it. Mike said, "gimme 2-3 months and I am outta here." It was also clarified to me that the reason he is able to allow smoking in the joint is because he is the sole proprietor and has no employees.
*****
James, one of my favorite bands of the early and mid nineties is back together. They are playing random shows in London and plan on playing shows and putting out new material, though they are not sure in which order that will occur. You all can get off on Rage Against The Machine reuniting. I'd rather get psyched about the possible opportunity to see James live again.
*****
Local boys Republic of Letters are busy working on their EP and now you can sample a couple of their new tracks on their MySpace page here. The new tracks from their Spirit or Ghost ep are "Bridge" and "Falling Back".
*****
Indie Blogger Nation is going apeshit over SubPop band Loney, Dear which I've avoided because of the stupid name. However, I came across their video on YouTube and love it, so I'll hop on the bandwagon. Here's a video for your pleasure:


*****
In other regurgitated news, Chris Cornell has quit Audioslave. It's about time.

His statement : “Due to irresolvable personality conflicts as well as musical differences, I am permanently leaving the band Audioslave. I wish the other three members nothing but the best in all of their future endeavors."
*****
AM is an LA based singer songwriter originally from New Orleans. He carries the rare if not unique distinction of having every song from his album used in a tv or movie all before the album was ever released. He was praised as having the album of the year on iTunes in the singer/songwriter category. This is more for my KPRI readers than my music snobby friends, but AM is coming to the House of Blues sidestage next week supporting Brian Vander Ark. (February 22) Brian is the singer of The Verve Pipe, remember? Don't act like you don't know. I have the CD at home and can even picture the exact spot in which it has been in my CD rack for the last decade? Has it been that long?
Here's a video of Brian Vander Ark doing Freshman to jog your memory:


Anyhow, AM is awesome and all about meeting his fans, so go check it out. I think it's like $10 and I have a very strong suspicion that the House of Blues issues I complained about for bands do not hold true for solo acoustic artists. Isolation of their voices is what you hope for, in fact. Also, click here for a Billboard.com interview with AM. In my blogging experience, I haven't quite built up the courage to interview anybody because most interviews ask the lamest questions, but somehow, some way, this dumb broad got a job at Billboard interviewing people. Don't blame AM that she is a douche. It's so horrible its actually funny. Anyway, catch AM on his way to SXSW. I will be there and you should be too. Robert and Madison of KPRI, I should be seeing you there.
*****
That's all I've got today, really, except for this piece of advice: Don't try to cut a Hass avocado with a plastic knife. The skin doesn't break through and the reaction time to realize you're sawing off your own finger is a bit delayed...

It is going to be a GREAT weekend in San Diego.

Thursday Recap: Wine Cabana & Acid Girls @ Beauty Bar

Last night was another great night in San Diego. Granted, since I was a passenger I might've been overindulgent, but otherwise it wouldn't be worth talking about, now would it?

I started that food blog, but I'm gonna post this here, because I have found my hands down new favorite wine spot in San Diego. Bacchus was cool but pretty empty, Wine Steals is just too crowded all the time, but for me, Wine Cabana was just right. Technically last night was a singles event, but the cabanas aren't really condusive to mingling, so it's better to just go with friends, as I did. Wine Cabana is located at 2539 Congress street, right next to the cul-de-sac where you turn for Rockin Baja Lobster and just around the corner from Harney Sushi.

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Last night they featured four $3 glasses of wine in addition to their regular menu which has all wines priced by the taste (a 2 1/2 oz pour), the glass (a 5 oz. pour) or the bottle. They also have wine for sale in the front of the place that you can purchase by the bottle/case and if you'd like to consume on the property you pay an $8 corkage fee. They have a small menu of standard wine bar fare, i.e. assorted cheeses, salami, paté, olives, antipasto and desserts. Some of the wine was good. Some of it resulted in this face:


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All in all, it was a good time. We opted for a cabana inside, though the space appears to be a converted garage, so it can get a little cold...there are also plenty of seats at the cozy bar or in the patio couches and cabanas. I know where I'll be spending some warm summer nights, when I switch from my love of spicy reds with bite to chilled pinot grigios. And honestly, the guys there obviously love what they're doing and are super cool and without any pretense. In an "I know you from somewhere" moment, turns out the owner Keith (in picture, middle) was a bartender at Qualcomm stadium, so I knew him from the club level bars through Damien (old Jewel Box bartender), Billy (from The Waterfront) and Devlin (from the Ken Club). Sometimes I love that San Diego is so small.


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After some wine, Andrea, Marie and I headed to Beauty Bar. Marie (Haddad) sang a little since some creep stole her stereo. We arrived at BB while the regular Powder Room guys were still spinning. Eventually the DJ duo, dubbed Acid Girls, played? spun? clicked? Sorry, I still really don't understand the big deal with DJs. Especially when they are using $2500 computers to play shit I was dancing to in Tijuana when I was 16. Really. It was a fun night, but I suspect that was more because of the wine flights + vodka tonics (Bryant was bartending) than the dancing/dj mix. Also spending an evening with Andrea, Marie, Ryan Orion, CatDirt and CatDirtWife is guaranteed good times. There were plenty of pictures taken, but since NOBODY ever looks good dancing, I'll just post these few.

Before I was tanked:
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Acid Girls:
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Apparently this chick thinks she owns the dance floor:
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I would love to be at the Ché Café benefit tonight, but I hate driving north of the 8 and frankly, my Fridays require adult beverages. After dinner at Ponce's, I will be checking out the Modlins CD release party with Swim Party. I hear all the guys in Swim Party will be wearing speedos. Just kidding. After that, I'll head back to home base and close my night at the Ken Club. There really is so much going on tonight that the only person to kick if you miss it all is yourself. Loves you all, and don't forget to buy your blogger a cocktail :)