Wednesday, February 28, 2007

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:

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

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.
*****

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