Monday Recap: Jim James & Dr. Dog

My whole Monday post has disappeared and so much has already happened since then that I will just give you the gist of my Monday night.

It started when Cullen picked me up from the Casbah (where I'd parked my car) and we headed up to Solana Beach. I can't believe he'd never been to the Belly Up before, but it was nice to be ther when he popped his Belly Up cherry. We waited in the line for about half an hour which was fine because we met up with Seth and the two of them amused me as they recounted Steven Segal movies from their youth among other random conversation.

Once in the venue, we opted for some side tables instead of the rows of chairs set in front of the stage which was the smartest move of the evening. It was nice that MGD was hosting "The Craft" because they handed out wristbands with tabs for two comp beers. You know in my resourcefulness that I managed more than just my two beers. A whole bunch of friends were there, so we all hung out during the show. There was a guy from the Rock N Roll hall of fame conducting the interview. The very. long winded. interview. I never thought I'd wish for a Halloran interview so much in my life. At least Hal knows his shit and isn't constantly referring to his "research". Not to say the guy doesn't know music, just that he guided the conversation so much with his pre-planned questions instead of letting each answer lead to the next relevant question. Whatever.

I should say that I am not a My Morning Jacket fan. It's not that I don't like them, I just never got into them enough to invest in their music. To me, they're kinda "meah". So I went to this show because first, I do recognize the cultural significance of Jim James and seeing him intimately is rare, and second because I was hoping that this performance would win me over. While his music was beautiful, it wasn't the environment to pull me in, mostly because the interview was so. long. In almost two hours, Jim James played 5 songs. He kept saying he was a self taught musician yet the guy persisted with technical questions that he wasn't very interested in answering. I guess it will all be edited down though. At least I know what to expect in the future if given the opportunity. Word on the street is that "The Craft" people were happy with the venue and there will be more in the future. (Jack Johnson and Dave Grohl were a couple of the names I heard thrown around)

The clock struck 11 and the interview continued but a couple more songs were promised, but I had paid money for the Dr. Dog show. Andrew and Andrea were cutting out early, but Cullen, the best non-date date ever was a gentleman and left early to get me to my next destination.

When I arrived at the Casbah, the energy in the room was incredible which I supposed was because Delta Spirit brought it and from what I heard, that was accurate. Dr. Dog was already onstage playing, and Natalie was up front and allowed me to take some pics. (YouTube will be up later)











There are some shows that are good, and there are some that are a total party, and when a good show happens to also be an Anti Monday League night, you know it's definitely an event. After bouncing around and being chatty, I was standing at the bar and spotted Chad Price from Drag the River and currently touring in Rocky Votolato's band. He was really friendly and said he thought he'd come by to check things out. "Our hotel is just down the street and I needed a drink so it was either here or the strip club." 9 out of 10 musicians choose the Casbah over titties. Nice. Anyway, Dr. Dog was long done and the bar was clearing out so he asked if there was someplace else nearby. I offered to take him. We found ourselves at the Jewel Box in time for last call. When we were done there somehow I convinced him to let me show him one of my favorite SD spots.

I should've asked if he was afraid of heights. I didn't. He was. Still, I managed to convince him to cross the Spruce Street suspension bridge. We were chatty and realized how late it was, so I dropped him back at his hotel and was on my merry way.

Unfortunately, all that driving around made me realize just how bad my car had become, so Tuesday, instead of working, I had to shop around for an auto shop nearby, took it in, and they spent all day with it. Luckily I was able to ride my bike home while they worked on it, but the time it would've taken to bus to work and back would've been worthless. A day off almost softens the blow of the $350 I had to spend and the additional $500 I'm gonna have to spend if I have them do all the work I really need done. boo.