Friday, June 29, 2007

San Diego Things to Do: June 29-July 1, 2007

Friday, June 29, 2007:

  • The Vision of A Dying World (CD Release), Bunky, Red Feathers @ Tower Bar
  • Republic of Letters, The Fascination, The Airlines, Black Patterns From Saturn @ Ken Club If you're at the Ken Club at last call, find me. After party at my house.
  • Battles, Ponytail, DJ Paparazzi @ Beauty Bar
  • Mex @ Whistle Stop
  • Deadline Friday, White Buffalo @ Belly Up
  • Modern Life Is War, Maylene, Sons of Disaster, He Is Legend @ Soma
  • Steve Poltz, Anya Marina, AM Vibe @ Casbah
  • Basura, 26 Beers, One Big Lie, Lost Boys @ Zombie
  • The Robin Henkel Band @ Lestat’s
  • Red Pony Clock, Loyal Sons and Daughters, Foot Font, Bruning of Rome @ Scolari’s
  • Grand Ole Party, Power-Chords, Atoms @ Ché Café
  • Upside, Vocoder, Shea Stratton, Lands On Fire @ Brick By Brick
  • One In The Chamber, No Sign of Weakness, Crime In America @ Chaser’s
  • Brian Howerden, Chip Conrad @ Vinbladh’s
  • Roxy Monoxide, Nautical Disaster, The Infants @ San Diego Sports Club
  • DPI, Caustic Uproar, Pig Champion @ O’Connell’s
  • Liquid Image, OPM @ 710 Beach Club
  • Gadfly, Mike Pinot and the Mashers (Last show ever), Junior P @ Winston’s

Saturday, June 30, 2007:

  • Beehive and the Barracudas, Hostile Combover @ Tower Bar
  • Dynamite Walls, Get Back Loretta @ Beauty Bar
  • Fly!Fly!Fly!Fly!Fly!, Seesaw Ensemble @ Smog Shop (1509 1/2 National City Blvd, National City)
  • Secret Fun Club, Spirit Photography, Riververb @ Scolari’s
  • Freeman Huxley, Dropjoy, Manny Loc Indigenous Radio @ Voz Alta
  • Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers @ Belly Up
  • Mex, Kevin K Band, Bartenders Bible @ Ken Club
  • Behind The Wagon, Madison Bloodbath, The Mice @ Alibi
  • The Cathedrals, Wasting June, Four Minutes Til Midnight, The Opportune Time @ Brick By Brick
  • The Filthy Fucks, Social Anxiety, Teenage Corpses @ Chaser’s
  • One Nation Under A Groove @ Whistle Stop
  • The Bowen Family @ Vinbladh’s
  • Two Word Name @ O’Connelll’s
  • Patrick Pike, Tefflon, The Hideaways @ 710 Beach Club
  • Kush and the Blood Fiyah Angels @ Winston’s
  • Crash Encore, Spell Toronto, Goodbye Blue Monday, Sub Rosa @ Casbah
  • Barfer, Get Some, Drunken Boat, Cabron @ Zombie
  • Lisa Sanders and Friends (CD Release) @ Lestat’s
  • Kleeman and Mike Animated Comic Screening @ Cream, 8pm

Sunday, July 1, 2007:

  • As Tall As Lions @ Epicentre
  • The Cave Singers, Lightning Dust, Vanja James and friends @ Casbah
  • Mad Martigan, Kings Only, The Fad, Die Sister Die, Shockbox @ Zombie
  • Wendy Bailey, Melissa Vaughn, Jasmine and Matt Commerce @ Lestat’s
  • Colin Clyne, Chelsea Flor, Brenda Penneton @ O’Connell’s

Thursday Recap: Dusty Rhodes, The Gift/Curse

Dear House of Blues,
I would like to make a couple of small suggestions to you. I'm doing this for free because there are bands that I care about who play your venue. I'm sure you could pay some fancy consultant, or if I wore a suit and told you I was a consultant and billed you $120 an hour for my opinion, maybe you'd be more inclined to listen, but I'm still gonna put it out there because you just. don't. get. it. I heard somewhere that the San Diego House of Blues is the least profitable in the chain. There are very good reasons for that.

Booking a show doesn't mean shit if you don't tell anybody about it. Last night, Dusty Rhodes and the River band started a residency on the 5th Avenue Sidestage and The Gift/Curse played a free show in the Delta Room and you didn't tell anyone about either show. That is your job. The bands did their share of promoting, but the thing about a venue like yours is that you can draw the uppity snobs who like music but would scoff at going to a venue, say, like Scolari's or the Ken Club or the Tower Bar and introduce them to new music. But do you? Not at all. Not only was neither show on the marquee, but you didn't even bother to put it on the board in Salvation Alley or on the chalkboard on the street. Your website is so pathetic it barely even deserves a mention.

On top of all that, it would be REALLY FREAKIN NICE if you would at least let your staff know who is playing, where they're playing and when. I know a few of your security guys and in general I know security couldn't be bothered with knowing who is playing, but at a venue like yours with foot traffic on two major streets (5th and 6th) that could actually pull people of the street, it should be their business to know and a requirement. You give the bar a flyer with goings on, how about an 1/8 of a piece of paper that the guards could pull out of their pocket when asked. They are the first line of staff people see. If they don't like being greeters, they should go be doorguys at some downtown club where they are paid to be assholes.

It would also be nice if you actually planned shows and release the information. Knowing when a band is playing makes a difference to a lot of people. Telling Dusty Rhodes they're playing at 8 when nobody ever starts on the sidestage before 10 is just really rude. You clearly don't think their time is worth more than the six pack or so each was able to consume in the 4 hours they had to wait to play their show.

And I know last night was a fluke, but the 30 Minutes With Friends anniversary party could've easily integrated Dusty Rhodes into their party had they known there were overlapping events. It's a little ridiculous to have a couple local bands downstairs drawing 100 people while upstairs there are 10 for a band that freaking opened for Los Lobos ffs.

All of that said, I appreciate your attempts to bring quality artists to town and your new attempt to integrate local music into your regular operations. Please don't make us feel like you're just suckering us in to buy your insanely overpriced and underpoured drinks. We still want to believe you actually care about music.

Sincerely,
Rosemary Bystrak

PS- Since Dusty Rhodes and the River Band is an amazing band, I hope that even the people who hate House of Blues and everything it stands for will come out on July 12 for another chance to see this amazing band from Orange County. Their original music is high energy and Dusty's got a voice that one wouldn't think would come out of just a white boy in his 20s. Their cover of The Band's "The Weight" gave me chills and the hilarious take on Boys to Men's "End of the Road" to close the show was excellent. And House of Blues, thanks for making it a free show even though the one place it was mentioned said it was 10 bucks. All of your sidestage shows should be free or create a late night happy hour. Most people who support bands aren't exactly loaded, but they like to get loaded. Let them.

PSS- After their residency, Dusty Rhodes and the River Band are going on tour with Johnny Lang. That ain't no small deal.

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Before and after Dusty Rhodes, Andrea and I checked out the 30 Minutes with Friends party. We got to see a bit of Mal Hall's comedy and at the end of the night, about half of The Gift/Curse's set. Molly took really great pictures of the whole event which you should check out.

Molly's Flickr Photoset

My band pics were so lazy and bad that I'm not even posting them. But we had some fun downstairs so here's a couple that I like.


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The crowd of the "30 Seconds with friends 1 year anniversary" party in the Delta Room

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Jamal- DJ Kid Lightning

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Andrea's "Stop the paparazzi" pose

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Ruggy's mid high five

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Molly taking pictures

Oh yeah, and after all that, I dropped Andrea at home and finished the night at the Ken Club where a bunch of the locals were hanging out, which to me is the best way to end any night. Oh, um, 2nd best way...

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Things To Do: June 28, 2007

Thursday, June 28, 2007:

  • The Gift/Curse, Comedy by John Hull, Mal Hall @ House of Blues Delta Stage (free)
  • Dusty Rhodes and the River Band @ House of Blues Sidestage
  • Music Trivia with Adam Gimbel @ Whistle Stop
  • Marie Haddad, Jesse Bowen, Mary Leary @ Vinbladh’s
  • All American Rejects @ Del Mar Fair
  • The Upstarts @ Beauty Bar
  • Visual Underground featuring Truckee Brothers, Rob Crow @ Casbah
  • Lady Dottie and the Diamonds @ Winston’s
  • Jalopy, Terrence Brian, Katie Christine @ Lestat’s
  • Zombie Surf Camp, Secret Samarai, Superwave @ Scolari’s
  • Acoustic Alchemy featuring Strunz and Farah @ House of Blues
  • Canvas The Human @ San Diego Sports Club
  • Speculum, Gortuary, Deformity, Rituals In Pain, Man Destroys Himself @ Chaser’s
  • Lexington, Steady Echo @ 710 Beach Club

LMAOROTFL! OMG OMG

Just kidding with the title, but please check out the new Radio Sophie blog for laughs. And maybe my "voice" came across like a valley girl from a couple extracted quotes in the U-T (i.e. "If I don't go out one night in a week, I'll feel like, 'Oh my God I'm missing something,' ") but I would hope my readers would let me know if I sounded that way all the time. Please?

If you don't feel like clicking over, here's a quote I love:



"Ok, so remember Jared Leto from that show back in the day on MTV, “My So-Called Life”? Well he has a band, they’re called 30 Seconds to Mars… and they’re really good."

All the posts so far basically exude love and adoration for bands, which is fine, but coming from a radio station, there's insincerity to it, too.

I'm also really enjoying the whole debate happening in the comments section over at CatDirt's site. I'd love to create a debate like that over here but since I don't allow anonymous commenting, it might not be quite as effective. Here's his original post with the comments. I figured DJs were competitive, but I had no idea how they hate each other. I just think it's funny as someone who doesn't really care about who is DJing so long as I can hear myself think, how much they think people care. Is it just me? Do people actually care other than the DJs themselves? Just wondering.

Avenue Q: Get Your Half Priced Tickets

I wish I posted this when more tickets were available, but alas, if you have not done so already from my past urging, you should really sign up for GoldStar Events. They have lots of discounted activities in San Diego, regularly having discounted Padres games, discounted GoCar tours, and this week, discounted theatre tickets.

The Tony Award winning
Avenue Q is playing at Spreckels from June 30th to August 5th. What more can you ask for than a puppet show with wildly inappropriate sexual content? Sesame Street for grown-ups. Anyway, I got seats in the terrace for 12 bucks! If you were gonna see it, you might as well get the discount. Dates and seats are limited so get on it.

Wednesday Night Recap: Swedish Models, The Photo Atlas, The Mooney Suzuki, The Long and Short of It

After experiencing a Wednesday that felt like a Monday, I wasn't really in the mood to go out. I was happy in bed and completely unmotivated when Andrea called and twisted my arm with four words that are music to my ears: "I have drink tickets."

We arrived at the Casbah with a few minutes to spare before Swedish Models started. I already know this band is full of talent and love watching them play, but it is great to see them developing their own crowd, this being just their fourth show. It was great standing in the patio after they played and hearing strangers commenting on them positively. SD bloggers were out in full force, so you'll be seeing some great pics of the show on other blogs, so I'm just gonna post a couple with some captured video. Unfortunately, my favorite song from Swedish Models is one that Dusty sings while playing keys called "Victoria Prescott", and he was kinda tucked in the corner without any light really hitting him, but you can just hit play and listen.

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The Photo Atlas was second, but I was engaged in a conversation about Arcade Fire on the patio, so I didn't watch much of their set. They seemed to lean a little more pop punk and thus oddly paired with The Mooney Suzuki, but they were alright. They're playing Warped Tour this summer. Like I said, I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention. I think I was a little turned off by the comb-your-hair-forward-over-your-face emo boy haircuts. Seriously, when is that hairstyle going to GO AWAY ?? You can't really tell here cuz he's sweaty but

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The Mooney Suzuki started around 11 and brought their infectious rock n roll and hand claps to the Casbah with a whole bunch of getting the crowd to repeat "Have Mercy" between songs like a southern church. I'm sure bands love the big stage (and the great sound) at Belly Up, but this band seems so much more connected to the audience on a stage like the Casbah's, jumping all over the stage, on amps, and into the crowd. And by the way, for anyone who saw me cleaning up the broken glass, it wasn't mine, the singer broke it by accidentally kicking it off the stage and I just didn't want anyone cut on it. I saw you guys looking at me like I was the culprit, and just wanted to clear the air that I don't need a plastic cup.

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So while The Mooney Suzuki played, I was hanging over near the bar when we notice the singer yelling at some guy in the crowd. Apparently the douchebag made a comment about the band lacking originality ? or something? Anyway, I took a couple snapshots and realized "what am I doing?" These are the moments video capture are made for.

So I'm not really sure how late the Mooney Suzuki played, because I was ready for something a little more hardcore and wanted to go see The Long and Short of It at Chaser's. Andrea and I headed over and got there just as they started. Timing is EVERYTHING.

I'd only been to Chaser's once, and that was just to use the bathroom on a night that the co-ed ones at the Zombie were particularly scuzzy. I wanted to like Chaser's, I really did. I was all ready to talk about how clean the facilities are:

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and how you could pretty much have your own party there because it's big and empty:

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The Long and Short of It seriously rock.

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Unfortunately, some cops apparently stopped by, the door girl overreacted and told them to turn down, and they stopped playing. With a stage like that, the band tried to explain, the instruments have to be up or the drums would be the only thing you hear. The band was pissed and called the show. Then the chick comes back and tells them the cops are gone so they can start playing again. They were not having it.

I know them having bands is a relatively new thing, and maybe it's not disturbing to the hookers of El Cajon Blvd when the music is loud on weekends, but I was really disappointed with the way the venue reacted. Here's an idea, Chaser's: how about closing the freakin front door? Oh, on top of it, Ben told us that the Taste of Silver canceled because they broke up and hour before the show. Nice. Anyway, here's what Brian from The Long and Short of It had to say about it:

So. We're sorry that THE TASTE OF SILVER (ARLINGTON, MASS.) and NAME (BAY AREA, CA.) couldn't get their shit together enough to play the show that our singer, Ben, jumped through hoops to get for them. Good work, guys. If you're going to break up, play the show first, and at least TRY to make some money to get back home, dudes.

Guess what...it wouldn't have mattered anyway. The MAN (cops) would've shut those touring bands down just like WE got shut down last night at CHASERS on El Cajon Blvd.. Good stuff!!!

Thank you SO much to the 15 or 20 people that showed up to see us play 3
songs on a Wednesday night at Chasers. Sorry. I guess we were TOO FUCKING
LOUD!!!, "Way too fucking loud" (cool door girl at chasers thoughts on the
matter) Right .. the front door. It's only 25 minutes.

We decided to stop by the Zombie with a couple of the guys from Demasiado but the Goldfish races were over. We didn't stay long but just said hi to a couple friends. I will mention that Peter was there. If you don't know him, he works at the Ken Club and I think sometimes the California Club. Anyway, next week is his birthday, so they're having a killer show on Monday night, July 2 at the Ken Club. They don't usually have bands on weeknights save for special occasions, so if you're not going to the Sunn O))) & Earth show at the Casbah, check it out. I believe Rat City Riot,The Postals and The Dissimilars will be playing and the Hell On Heels burlesque girls are gonna be there. Lineup could've changed since I last checked, but for sure The Postals and Dissimilars will be there. Maybe you should just bring your sleeping bag since Transfer is playing on Tuesday on the eve of Independence Day.

Anyway, it was a good night, albeit a couple of weird incidents. It definitely got me out of the funk that I had been in earlier in the day. Tonight, I'll be at the House of Blues, so come say hi. Dusty Rhodes and the River Band is upstairs on the 5th Avenue Stage, and The Gift/Curse and a couple comedians will be performing a free show downstairs in the Delta Room. Suh-weet.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Exclusive!!! San Diego Pride 2007 Headliners: Erasure

As I mentioned before, San Diego Pride is July 21 and 22nd.

Finally, the headlining act has been revealed. This year's headliner is Erasure.

The festival will have over 70 acts, including Vinyl Radio, Vocoder, Pete Stewart and the Plastic Saviors, Dirty Sanchez, Rhythm and the Method, Married By Elvis, The Shambles, Blasphemous Guitarsm and Qu'est-ce Que C'est? among many others.

Pre-sale tickets are now available at the Pride office, Babette Schwartz, The Crypt, S.A.G.E and online www.sdpride.org.

Tickets are $15 for one day $21 for two days.
$10 for students and retired
Free admission for active military
Free admission for volunteers

Things To Do: June 28, 2007

Wednesday, June 27, 2007:
  • The Long and Short Of It, The Taste of Silver, Name, The Vaginals @ Chaser’s
  • The Mooney Suzuki, The Photo Atlas, The Swedish Models @ Casbah
  • True Colors/Human Rights Campaign Concert: Cyndi Lauper, Erasure, Debbie Harry, The Dresden Dolls, The Misshapes, Host Margaret Cho @ Open Air Theatre
  • LaTaunya Lockett @ Ken Club
  • Sex Mannequin, Rubber Rose Burlesque Show @ Beauty Bar
  • Pruitt Igoe, Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects @ Winston’s
  • Breakdown in Stereo, Wendy Darling, Slow Roll, Da Vurm @ O’Connell’s
  • Lonely Mattress Salesman, Roosevelt, A Conscious Few, Finback @ Cane’s
  • Snoop Dogg @ 4th and B
  • The Band Pacific, Citizen Band @ Lestat’s
  • The Drowning Men, James Drive, Stripes and Lines @ Belly Up
  • Thee Corsairs @ Del Mar Fair, 5:30 PM, Plaza Stage
  • Mighty Vibe, Johnny Different, Straight Trippin, J Downs, Shea Stratton @ 710 Beach Club
  • Steve Winwood @ Humphrey's Concerts By The Bay

Wednesday Newsy Bits: Skull Kontrol, May*Star, 91X, Cops out of Control

I'm a little behind the curve today, but some stuff I thought I'd still mention, even at the risk of duplicating other blogs:
*****
Check out your favorite Skull Kontrol/Art Fag boys in Street this Thursday, or check the Street blog
here. Don't forget about the Skull Kontrol/Cat Dirt Sez event on July 7. CatSkull DirtKontrol. I like it.



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*****
According to the
Reader's Blurt section this week, 91X is slowly moving to a hard rock format. If that is true, I hope the on-air staff has got their resumés together. I'm not wishing ill on any of them, but format changes and new pd's usually eventually like to rebuild a station with a tabula rasa. Try Radio Sophie... the format is a little soft, but in my opinion more progressive than just shadowing KROQ.

Also, check out May in this week's Reader music feature.

*****

A very good friend of mine just had an incident with police harassment and I wasn't going to write about it because it's not my business to evaluate a situation based on one side of the story. But over and over again this blatant abuse of power and authority is broadcast in the YouTube world we live in. Is this cop out of control? He was antagonized and I'm not in his position, but I perceive this as excessive. I guess mostly I just feel people need to lead by example, starting with our Commander In Chief all the way down to Public Servants, clergy, and all the way down to moms and dads. A culture of violence promotes more violence, not less, and "absolute power corrupts absolutely." That said, I got this on MySpace today:

If you'd like to comment on this video, here is the contact information:


Hot Springs Arkansas Police Department
Phone: (501) 321-6789
Fax: (501) 321-6708
Chief of Police, Bobby Southard
Email: bsouthard@cityhs.net
641 Malvern Avenue Hot Springs, Arkansas 71901

(Arresting officer is Officer Joey Williams)

*****

Tuesday Recap: Once, The Movie

Back in May, I posted this about the movie Once and have been meaning to see it ever since. The desire to see the film only increased after getting the soundtrack. Last night, I finally saw the movie and it lived up to and exceeded my expectations. It's a film about a troubadour in Ireland who meets a Czech woman and how they help each other out of the kinda funk that both their lives have fallen into, primarily due to lost loves in each of their pasts. The film is described as a musical, but it's not a musical in the traditional sense of the word. The lyrics of the title character's (played by Glen Hansard of The Frames) music pull the story along, and instead of a traditional soundtrack where pieces of music are inserted, this film does play every song on the soundtrack in its entirety. I laughed, and I sniffled a little, but no major tears. Most of all, though, I grew an even deeper appreciation for the amazing soundtrack.

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“Falling Slowly” audio
WM:
QT

“If You Want Me” audio
WM
QT

“When Your Mind's Made Up” audio
WM
QT

I will say for the record, that I really don't imagine myself going to the movie theatre EVER AGAIN, or at least not for a long time. I went to a 10 pm showing, the theater was empty except for two girls sitting toward the back. I sat more in the middle. 3 of us in the theatre, watching the previews, when a group of three people sits in the row in front of me, chomping their food like cattle on cud, talking, laughing, and text messaging throughout the movie. Moving wouldn't have been an option because they were audible throughout the theatre. Would you tell them to stfu? I didn't. They even got up and left halfway through only to return about 10 minutes later. I'll stick to my noisy bars and shows, thanks. The assholes with their snack buffet and chatter and cellphones can have the theatres. Even at Landmark.

Action Jackson Promotions: And then there were two

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In creating the Things to Do list this week, I came across the listings for O'Connell's. "Action Jackson Promotions Presents...PIMP N HO BALL Featuring TWO WORD NAME." Now, for the record, I like Two Word Name and while their approach to the music scene might be a little different than most San Diego bands, they bust their asses. And Dag is a regular at Anti-Monday League. Sadly, the same cannot be said for other local bands, even ones who've been billed on the increasingly popular night.

As far as O'Connell's goes, I've been once, and the ambience isn't exactly appealing to me, but I can see it fills a niche and I was also informed this week that in the past month the venue has grown and they've upgraded their sound system as they took over the adjacent property and expanded, so I have been meaning to check it out.

And last, when I hear Action Jackson Promotions, I think of Jackson of The Vision of A Dying World and the guy behind so many of those great bills at Ché Café, Scolari's, and the Tower Bar.

But I have to be honest... a freaking Pimp n Ho ball? Really???

I'm relieved to say that Jackson saw it, too, and his response was a big WTF? I dug around a little to find out that another guy is using the moniker Action Jackson Promotions...his last name is apparently Jackson, though nobody could remember his first name. Skip? Eric? Not sure. As far as anyone I talked to knew, this second "Action Jackson" is new in the promotions game, having promoted that local show on the Soma mainstage on June 2.

Now legally, I doubt either has a dba or trademark or anything like that, but I'm just putting it out there that Jackson has made a name for himself with his promoting, his own band The Vision of a Dying World, and for supporting the local scene as much as anyone (and he's got the MySpace page which counts for something). Jackson considers himself a feminist and was offended by the Pimp N Ho theme, as well as having specifically declined any promotional activity at O'Connell's. I would like to see Mr. Jackson step back and find a new name for his promotions, as this could definitely create confusion in the marketplace.

Support the REAL Action Jackson Promotions this Friday at the Tower Bar for The Vision of a Dying World's CD Release Party. Joining The Vision of A Dying World will be Bunky and Red Feathers. Additionally, the band is reviewed in this week's CityBeat here.

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Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Things To Do: June 26, 2007

Tuesday, June 26, 2007:
  • Earth Wind and Fire @ Del Mar Fair (thanks, T)
  • Les Claypool, Two Gallants @ 4th and B
  • Alice and the Cooper Gang @ House of Blues Sidestage
  • Burning Brides @ Lou’s Records 6pm
  • Burning Brides, Earthless @ Casbah
  • Rat City Riot, The First Wave, Larry and His Flask, Zombie Co-Pilot @ Zombie
  • Xavier Rudd @ House of Blues
  • Venice @ KPRI Private Listener Concert
  • The Itals, Sugar Minott, Fire Pashon, Reggae Angels, Lloyd Hemmings @ Belly Up
  • Brenda Xu, Lindsay Yung, Ivan Cheong @ Vinbladh’s
  • Bullet and Michaelane @ O’Connell’s
  • 3rd Alley, Sex Rat, Window @ Winston’s
  • Competitive Eating Contest @ Tower Bar
  • Ken Club Karaoke
  • Guitar Hero @ Kadan

Arcade Fire @ Hollywood Bowl 9/20/07

Hollywood Bowl Pre-Sale Tickets Tomorrow (6/27) @ 10am PST
Tuesday, 26 June 2007
http://www.arcadefire.tickets.musictoday.com/ArcadeFire/calendar.aspx

Hollywood Bowl
Los Angeles, CA
Thu 9/20/07
Doors: 7:00 PM

Ticket Price:
Garden - $50.50
Terrace - $50.50
Super Seats - $41.00
Bench - 41.00

All Ages / Reserved Seating


For those of you asking, I got two tickets mid-terrace. If Arcade Fire has a change of heart and plays Street Scene, I will probably sell, but till that day comes, I'm looking forward to making that my first Hollywood Bowl show.

Monday Fun at The Moose Lodge

Because The National show was canceled, I decided it was a good night to take a breather. I met with Sophie (known as CDW on CatDirtSez) and we headed to Moose Lodge No. 508 in Golden Hill. Sophie and Scott are members and last year had a few shows at the lodge. Unable to make those shows, this was my first time there, as you have to be a member or a guest of a member. It's an average building with a family atmosphere. It was burger night so there were a couple full tables of people sitting around shooting the shit, playing cards or pool, and enjoying the "fraternel setting". We sat in the bar where there was a kid there running amuck as his mother enjoyed her cocktails in the smoking patio. The bartender kept trying the kid to get out of the room by telling him "the ABC says you can't be in here." Obviously the kid had no idea why he kept mentioning the ABCs. We were enjoying the "Moose Lodge Pale Ale" which sells for $4.50 for a 48 oz. pitcher. Did you read that correct? Yes. Four Dollars and fifty cents for three pints of beer. We shot the shit, met a couple other members, watched the Padres game and as the night got later, the crowd dwindled to nothing. The little kid, maybe 4, finished off his Dr. Pepper in his bottle and he left with his mother. A man was next to us for a while enjoying white zin in a pint glass which he sucked through a straw. I still am not sure what the whole point is, supposedly they do community service projects and whatnot, but it is definitely an inviting environment to chill and not be bothered. As 10:45 rolled around, Cece complained about having been there all day and "asked" us to wrap it up, so we finished our beers and were on our way. I left satisfied and mellow and knowing that it won't be long before I become a Moose.

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Newsy Bits: American Idol, Radio Sophie, Street Scene Lineup, Delta Spirit

Last week, I mentioned that FM 103.7 was dropping their Free Radio format for a "K-Surf 60s and 70s format." While Free FM did drop the talk format, the new format is um... not sure what we can call it...I guess it's not quite alternative, not quite triple A, not really top 40. It's called Radio Sophie and it appears to fall somewhere between FM 94/9 and KPRi. Bands like The Kooks, Death Cab, Lifehouse, Rob Thomas, Arcade Fire, and Kelly Clarkson are all featured in their top 100. I might have to drop one of my Rock En Español presets and check her out. FYI, Sophie, wife of CatDirt, is NOT happy about the station name.
*****
According to CityBeat's Blog (Last Blog On Earth), more Street Scene Bands have been announced. Sean Na Na (Har Mar Superstar's Mellower Indie Band), Kinky, Mika, Biff Clyro have all been added. As I commented on that site, I'd like to see más rock en Español. If ticket sales are sluggish, you can always count on enthusiastic Mexicanos to make up for it with just a couple solid bands...los Jaguares, perhaps? Tijuana local Julieta Venegas, maybe? And you've already got the Sweet and Tender Hooligans to bring out their crowd of "tacobilly" kids, right? LiveNation, I'm trying to help ya out here... Also, I think it would be a good time to remind Zach de la Rocha where he comes from. Rage Against the Machine would be a hell of a headliner and they seem to keep adding dates. Of course, pretty white Republican Del Mar might object and be the biggest obstacle.
*****
American Idol hopefuls, get ready. For the first time ever, San Diego will be the first audition stop for the next season of AI. The open cattle call audition will be at Qualcomm Stadium on July 30. This the only west coast audition scheduled thus far. Get out your cameras because it's gonna be quite a scene. Last year's Rose Bowl audition drew over 20,000 people. Fortunately for America, I don't make the cut-off age of 28.
*****
So-cal band Delta Spirit are working on a new album and are featured on KEXP. According to their MySpace blog:


We are back in the studio finishing up the last bit of recording for our record. Derek (the man) and Spot (the dog) are letting us crash here at the cabin again in the beautiful mountains of Julian (San Diego.)
You can read what KEXP has to say about them
here.


Monday, June 25, 2007

San Diegan Needs Your Help

Straight from MySpace:

As you may or may not be aware, Terrin Durfey (Vocals, Bassist of Boilermaker, but you knew this) has been battling cancer for the greater part of ten years and this past month he discovered that the cancer has returned once again. He will be starting an aggressive treatment and will be out of commission for the coming months. In an effort to alleviate some of the emotional and financial stress that the Durfey family will be facing, please join us in kicking off The Terrin Durfey Fundraiser.

They have set up a special
DONATION CENTER on their myspace page. Please take a minute to throw a couple of bucks at the Durfeys. Your contributions will help them through this tough time.

If you are reading this, Boilermaker's music means something to you. Please return the favor and do something meaningful for Terrin and his family. wimpy turds rock has always been about support, so please show your support and give back to something that's miles above music.

Thanks to everyone! And stay tuned for future fundraising events!

http://www.myspace.com/terrindurfeyfoundation

The National: Canceled

If you were planning on going to the sold-out Anti-Monday League featuring the National, it's time to make other plans for tonight. The show has been cnceled/postponed due to a family emergency for someone in the band. The Casbah is working on rescheduling the show. There will be NO Anti-Monday League tonight.

Your Monday Night backup plans:

  • Woman's Worth, Seesaw Ensemble, 4th Head of Cerberus, Census @ Scolari's
  • Lady Dottie and the Diamonds @ Tower Bar
  • Acoustic Music showcase: John Dorman, Sweet Joyce Ann, Ben Ripani, Derek Evans, Astra Kelly @ Dublin Square
  • Guitar Hero night @ San Diego Sports Club
  • Open Mic @ Lestat's
  • Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars, ¡Society! @ Belly Up
  • All-night happy hour @ House of Blues
  • Blues Jam @ O'Connell's

Here's the Official E-mail from Tim Mays:

Hello - It is my unfortunate responsibility to inform you that the National have had to cancel tonight's show at the Casbah. There has been a family emergency with one of the band members which precludes him being in San Diego today.

We are working with band's management and booking agent to try and find a new date for this show sometime in the next week - we should know by end of day or first thing tomorrow when the show can be rescheduled.

If you would be unable to attend a rescheduled show you will be able to obtain a refund of your ticket purchase. We will have details on this as soon as we know about rescheduled date.

I apologize for any inconvenience and will keep you posted on the situation regarding a new show date.
Tim Mays
The Casbah

Weekend Recap: House Party & House Party

Saturday involved three very different house parties for me. My cousin drove down from LA, we picked up some carnitas (Gabriel's market on University. ¡Bien sabroso!), and headed to my mom's house for my sister's baby shower. I'm going to be an aunt in 5 weeks and I couldn't be more excited about it. I know you all think I'm just a partying boozer, but I've got a giant soft spot for kids, being that my mom has had an inhome day care all my life. It was a great party, not one of those "take a picture of every present" kinda showers. It was co-ed and in total Mexican fashion we had way too much food and way too much beer so my fridge is now full of leftovers of both. Johanna is gonna be one decked out baby...she already got her first Ramones shirt.



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After helping my mom clean and whatnot, my cousin Connie and I headed to Sara's new downtown apartment to hang out with she and Stef. It had been a long time since the four of us just hung out, so it was not just fun, but kind of a necessity. We're like the Sex and the City girls when we're together so it was a good time. As it got late, Stef was heading out and dropped me off for my third gathering of the day, the San Diego House Party.


The SD House Party girls know how to throw a party. Personally, I'd be afraid to just open up my house to strangers but hopefully they find it worth their while. The theme was the Circus, so there were lion tamers and bearded ladies, and a lot of leotards (acrobats?) I missed the Swedish Models but did catch Mr. Tube. Mostly it was just about hanging out. That basement is really cool, but for someone like me that is somewhat claustrophobic, it can be extremely scary, too. People smoke inside and all I could think was, "holy shit. this is a death trap." I lasted 3 songs from Mr. Tube than I had to get out while my mind tumbled into as many worst case scenarios as it could. Once I was outside, I was back to good. Since it was a BYOB situation, I was glad to have one of those soft coolers instead of carrying around a 6 pack or a twelver like so many other people were. Best $4 I've spent at Ikea in a long time. It holds 9 cans of beer and I was set for the night for myself and for sharing. Amanda asked me to take pictures of the crowd, but at times it was so crowded, it would've just been a sea of heads, so these were just a few of the pictures I captured.





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It was a fun party, but I really wanted to try to catch The North Atlantic at the Ken Club. I called a cab at 12:40 or so and I was extremely pissed that an hour later, my cab had still not arrived. Luckily some people were getting dropped off at the party, so I jumped in their cab and he took me home. It's been a long time since I've taken a cab, but there's such little incentive to do so when the dispatchers are such asses, the drivers hit on their passengers, and a 10 minute ride costs $30.

I obviously completely missed last call at the Ken Club...there wasn't a car in sight, so it was just home and some late night tv watching for me. I heard that people were at the party pretty late and I might've just stayed had I known yellow cab was gonna suck so bad. Either way, it was an excellent day, so other than that little blip, I can't complain.

Sunday Recap: Brunch & Casbah Free Show

Sunday morning came along and my cousin picked me up and we had brunch at my mom and dad's in Chula Vista with all the party leftovers. Machaca and carnitas...mmmm. My sister and her husband came, and our friend Nickie, so it was nice just sitting in the breezy backyard with family, sipping on mimosas and eating some good grub. It was also an "event" because of the U-T story coming out. I got chided with comments like "glad to see the drinking paying off," but it was all in good fun. Here's a picture of the girls...my cousin in the back, then me, my mom, my sister, and my god-sister up front. This is what Sundays are for.



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After brunch, everyone went off their separate ways and I was back home to clean and whatnot. My dog and cat were playing in the backyard, so I brought out my camera. My dog is deathly afraid of the camera, so it's hard to get a picture, but I have been trying to capture a picture of my cat and my dog together, because unless you've seen the way that a cat and dog can get along, you might not believe it. Instead, I just got one goofy picture before Pascha ran in the house and hid under the bed.



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Anyway, back to the music content of this site. Sunday night was a free Casbah night, with food from Tino's on Adams Avenue. (Really good carnitas) Unfortunately, by the time Andrea and I got there, the food had been devoured. We didn't even get there late, it was just gone really fast.

I was still glad to be there because I finally got to see The Burning of Rome. Various people made comments: Sounds like Mike Patton crossed with Jack Black, Arcade Fire "stuff" going on, and at some points I was thinking Wall Of Voodoo, but whatever comparisons, they were so fun to watch. The band had the singer on a keyboard, two girls on smaller keyboards and xylophone?, guitarist and bassist and drums. Mostly they mix styles that you wouldn't think should be mixed, but they end up getting this dancey circus carnival rock sound. Remember when Pinnochio sneaks out and ends up at the scary fair? That's sorta how I envision the music videos to The Burning of Rome's music but not in the way you're scared of it when your 5, in the way that it looks kind of appealing as an adult. I was familiar with some of their music because they have their entire album available for free download. The original bill for this show included Nurses before they bolted to Chicago and it is obvious why the two would play together. Hopefully they can play when Nurses tour and make their way back to San Diego.

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Blackout Party was second and the truth is that was kinda hopping around the bar at that point. It was just really hot inside and since I hadn't been to the Casbah since Menomena, there was stuff to catch up on and people to catch up with. Maybe they need a livelier stage show to capture me. I don't know what it is, but I've now been at least 5 shows that they've played, and I just can't sit still and give them my full attention. The thing is, I like them, I think they're good, but maybe I need more than that sometimes, or just not so much other stimuli around.

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Demasiado was up next, and as usual, Eric was all over the stage. He was up on speakers, then crouched down hiding behind them. The energy in the room was great, people were having a good time all around, and I think the band was definitely feeding off that. I did hear one person complain that it was too loud, but earplugs prevented me from having any issues with that. They're just a really good band. I think if Alice In Chains had been punk, they'd have sounded like Demasiado.

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After Demasiado, a lot of people took off. I watched Book of Martyrs for about half a song, took a couple pictures, rested my drink on the stage, and the singer kicked it off on accident, so I decided to take it as a sign to hit the patio and just chill there till the night was over.

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The best part about the free Sunday shows is that the start early and end early, so one can still get ample sleep. That is, if one doesn't decide to go hang out at a friend's house till 3 am. But that is neither here nor there. The most important thing was that it was a nice end of the weekend as well as a great kickoff to a new week.

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This is my stalker Lynn:

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Daniel gets blogged again. All I'm supposed to say is, "It's made of bear."

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The Castanets Gear Stolen

It feels like every week some poor indie band gets their gear stolen. I swear, if you're an indie band and you're touring and you play in San Diego, you can unload your shit at my house so it won't get stolen while you sleep. Anyway, this time it's especially lame because it seems SD faves The Castanets and Jana Hunter are the latest victims. This is from Ray Raposa of the Castanets:
So, the story is, last night we played in tucson at solar culture. afterward, we loaded our stuff up, went downtown, had a drink, and went to a house to crash on the floor. en route, we damaged a door, making it such that the door won't close and such that eventually, before we return the vehicle to the rental company, we'll have to pay on the order of 2 grand to replace the door.

seeing as how we had an unsecured vehicle, ray (castanets) slept in the van. sometime during the night, some brave fuck(s) very quietly opened the back door and took what they could carry. we assume their were more than one of them given all the shit they managed to walk away with. we're gathering what serial numbers we can, but in the meantime, here's a rudimentary list:
JH gear-
fender classical guitar (ser.#9505151116)
new boss 20xl loopstation
boss reverb/delay pedal
original digitech whammy pedal
original b k butler tubedriver overdrive pedal
peavey 6 mixer (ser.#k0344300)
shure beta 98/s
custom flashlight circuit-bended thing

Castanets gear-
late 60's blue fender music master guitar
line 6 delay pedal
boss tremolo
mutron volume/wah pedal
boss tuner pedal
digitech metal master
ebow
slides/cables

Weekend Recap: Friday Night

I hope every one had a good weekend. I could've gone another 2 or 3 days non-stop myself if it weren't for Monday creepin up so quickly.

My weekend started off with a party at Larry's (the original hip hipster) house. Larry lives in a cute little house in Uni Heights and instead of a BBQ, he busted out the outdoor deep fryer and made tons of snacks...taquitos, egg rolls, battered veggies. Gotta love the non-traditional fiesta. The weather, as you well know, was perfect this weekend in San Diego, so it was a great summer kick-off.

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From the party, I headed to the Beauty Bar to catch the Shys and Dynamite Walls. I missed Lismore but I got there right before the Shys and per usual, the bar was packed. I'm not really sure why people judge the crowd as a "hipster" crowd. To me it seems like a ton of SDSU Hot Topic/Urban Outfitters clones who only go to the Beauty Bar. Sorry, but sometimes you all look the same. I was really happy to see that the Beauty Bar has marked summer by pulling back the tarp on the patio, so while the stage is still covered, the patio opens to the fresh air, and best of all, all the smokers' smoke doesn't get trapped.

So anyway, the Shys got to playing and were really energetic and had an enthusiastic crowd dancing up front with everyone else sardined into the patio to watch them. At one point, one of the Delta Spirit guys joined them onstage to bang around on the drums while the drummer played which I suppose was apropos because I can see the Shys getting on well with Delta Spirit or The Colour. Their sound is similar though The Shys have more brit-pop tied into their bluesy rock sound.

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Later in the evening, Dynamite Walls played. They had their projections going again and it appears their residency has paid off, because they had a good portion of the Beauty Bar crowd crammed on the patio, even those who were probably just there for the post-band dancing. Seeing as I've seen them a ton lately, I'll just say that they're more seasoned every time they play, and Tom becomes a more charismatic frontman with each performance. I'm going to assume that Dynamite Walls will be playing at Street Scene this year and I think they'd be a great addition since they are one of the few bands that really plays a ton of shows for both 21+ and the underage set, so they'd have a good crowd of people from both.

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During their set I had to use the restroom but someone clearly had consumed too much and made a fresh mess all over the floor. That was my cue that my time at the BB was over for the evening...rookie drinkers getting overserved is not my scene.

Instead, I headed back to Kensington and finished off my night at home base, the Ken Club. Screamin Yeehaws were wrapping up when I got there, so I just chilled with some friends on the bar side until it was time to call it a night. Not a bad start to a weekend.