After that show, Andrea and I headed to the Casbah, where the show was already in progress. We arrived shortly before demasiado took the stage. It was a great night there; the bar was packed and we caught up with all our friends who were there. It was my understanding that demasiado was breaking up because Jon has a new project called Dr Popsicle and The Hair Painted Opera (which is AWESOME, by the way), but when they hit the stage and got a little rowdy, kicking mics and knocking over mic stands, Jon screamed into the mic, "this is not our fucking last show." The tension was broken and they proceeded to play another one of their stellar sets.
Closing up the night was The Long and Short of It. I love this band, and I especially love when people only know Ben Johnson as the quiet bartender at the Casbah and then see him onstage for the first time, either in TLaSoI or as the drummer for Hostile Combover. I was actually surprised how many of my friends were seeing the band for the first time that night, but it made for this feeling of discovery, as if I, too, was seeing them for the first time. Ben's gestures onstage are so convincing, were he to start a church, consider me converted. 
After the show, some friends met at my house and we were up till the wee hours of the morning. It was great then, that I had no obligations for Sunday. I didn't even watch the Chargers game. Sacrilege, I know. It was just a good day to laze around, watching movies and whatnot. I love those days. The next day I had to work really late, so it was good to have had a full day of rest.
By Tuesday, I was ready for a great show at the Casbah. Andrea and I lagged a little and missed Fing, but we were right on time for Rafter, who unveiled their latest lineup of three. I love the party when the band is has 10 or 11 players, but I also really enjoyed the 3 piece. With most of Rafter's songs coming in right about 2 minutes (makes sense that he writes radio and tv jingles for a living), all of them are catchy and I was singing along to the ones I know. I bought the latest release Sex, Death, Cassette and love the mood it puts me in when I hear it.
I didn't know anything about The Lonely H or Shaky Hands going into the show, but I genuinely enjoyed both bands. Unfortunately, a week later all I can remember is that I was dancing a lot, that the singer for The Lonely H was really, really tall, that all but one of the guys in The Lonely H are under 21, and that I liked both bands. I'm gonna have to delve into their recorded stuff. We did hang out with Shaky Hands for a little bit, taking pics on the patio, but we didn't stay for too long after the bands ended.
The Lonely H
Shaky Hands
From there, Andrea and I went to Scolari's on a hunt for T-Bone, that found us at Chaser's to chat with Chris Henry and Donny for a bit before we realized how late it was and I dropped her off at home and closed down for the night.
Wednesday night was cold and rainy but I motivated enough to head to U-31 and I arrived in time to catch Republic of Letters and The Midwinters. The day before, U-31 had built their stage for bands, and I look forward to watching the bar grow into a great venue for music as they upgrade their sound system and board. Also of note...since I'd skipped dinner, between bands I went to grab a bite and tried out the taco shop across the street, Hurradurra, which was pretty damn good and is open till midnight. Noted for the future, for sure. I didn't take any pictures that night but we all know I love Republic of Letters, and I'll agree that The Midwinters has a bit of a Ben Folds vibe to them as Natalie noted a couple weeks ago, but what I loved was the lead acoustic guitar and the vocals that were a bit reminiscent of Glen Phillips of Toad The Wet Sprocket, circa Dulcinea. I was glad that the show ended by midnight and considered finding T-Bone again at Chasers, but there was no parking and it was cold and I opted to call it a night since I knew I had a big weekend ahead.
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