Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Kinda Recap: The Predicates, Jeremy Enigk, Parties, yeah.

So I've mentioned that I've been working on a huge project at work, so I've not had quite the time to write as I wish, and on the occasions that I have gone out, well, it's been less about this blog and more about the escape from reality, even if just for a couple hours at a time.

And so it was last week. If you care to read about my (mis)adventures, click 'keep on reading'.

I didn't really go into the shows I saw last week. On Tuesday it was the Predicates at the Casbah which was really fun because it was their first time playing the Casbah. The Swim Party kids were there, as were Republic of Letters, Dagart, a couple Modlins and more, so it was nice to see everyone out to show their support and lovely to spend time with friends I hadn't hung with in a while. Their set was good, though there was a HUGE crowd there for Wendy Darlin and they didn't seem to care that a band was on stage while they all hung at the bar. It was hard to gauge that crowd...I was thinking they were (a) a PB crowd or (b) from SDSU, but someone told me they were all South Bay kids? I dunno, but there were a lot of them and they were ONLY there to see Wendy Darlin, which was fine as I was only there to see The Predicates. I did take some pics and video of them but they came out terribly, so I won't even waste the space. Let's just say they are way cuter than my pics would lead you to believe. After their set, the Casbah was packed as I said, and I had other plans, so I hung out on the patio for a bit before meeting friends at the Ken Club.

On Wednesday I hoped to make The Frantic Romantic at U-31, but I wasn't feeling well, and I did not want to be sick going into the big weekend, so I took it easy, made some soup and chilled out.

Thursday I was much better and made sure to catch Jeremy Enigk at The Casbah. I'm sorry that I missed Anya Marina's first hometown set since her UK tour, but I ran into Abraham and Andy and they made sure I met Sean, one of the new owners of the to be renamed San Diego Sports Club. We hung in the back bar until Jeremy's set.

Once Jeremy played, I made my way to the side of the stage and his one voice filled the bar to an eager crowd. He played solo stuff, some old Sunny Day stuff, and he played a pretty lengthy set. It was hot and muggy in the bar, so I took some time on the patio, too, talking to his merch guy about their travels with Damien Jurado and some stuff they're working on. We also talked about Jeremy's hair...to shave his head or not, and later, when the set was done and Abraham and I were at the back bar, Jeremy joined us and was incredibly nice, so much so that I relayed that we decided he should definitely shave his head. Even if he thought we were morons, he was sweet and gracious and we all had a laugh.

Come Friday night, it was a night of party hopping. I had been invited to the Jeff n Jer 20th anniversary party that was taking place at the Hyatt. Nothing makes me RSVP faster than "hosted bar and food". There was a listener party from 7-11, but the VIP party before was where it was at. I went with Sarah (a friend from work) and Dagart, we got close parking just outside the hotel, and helped ourselves to the beer and wine and the incredible spread of food until 7:30, when the VIP closed and moved into the main ballroom.

This is Gary, my AA sponsor. (kidding)




Seriously, there must've been 2000 people there, easily, with a cover band onstage, buffet lines, and people just really excited to be there. We watched a few minutes of the 20 year slideshow, but we had another event and decided to move on.

Our next event was the San Diego Magazine Best of San Diego event at NTC/Liberty Station. Jake was playing with Bushwalla, so we got there around 8:30, met him, got our tickets, and were amazed at the event. I guess we should've done our research because the top restaurants of San Diego were there with food samples and tons of wineries and wine sellers with a few vodkas mixed in. I had loaded up on food at the previous event so I mostly sampled wines until we found the Stone Brewery booth and stuck to beer during Jake's set as we kicked back at a table near the stage. Toward the end of Bushwalla's set, a bunch of people started dancing, including a girl who flashed beaver about 10 times as she showed her best stripper moves on a chair and in the grass. Poor girl, you couldn't help but feel bad that she didn't have a friend to put her in check. The main difference between say, a bunch of drunk 20 somethings at a dive bar and drunk 40 somethings at a fancy schmancy event is that the 40-somethings get WAY. MORE. DRUNK. In fancy clothes, no less.

When Jake finished, the party was winding down, so Dag dropped Sarah off at the Pearl and Jake and I made our way to the Beauty Bar for Under The Influence of Giants, Castledoor, and Elephone. We missed one of the bands but the two we saw were fun and dancey and there were a lot of people there to catch them, which was impressive seeing how many other good shows were going on around town. Of course, third show in a week and my pics suck balls. Maybe I've just been looking at Natalie's photography too much and have suddenly gotten insecure, or maybe it was the 5 hours of free beverages, or maybe it's the weather with all the humidity that makes everything come out fuzzy, but I'll spare the pictures from that night, too. I'll work on my camera settings to see if I can improve that situation.

So, yes, it was a good week even though my life has been a little hectic of late. Thanks to Dag for hanging out, Jake for driving my silly ass around and hooking up the party tickets, Sarah at Beauty Bar and my peeps at the Casbah for always taking care of me, and for those of you who allow me to just me to be completely ridiculous sometimes.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

you should have stayed for Wendy Darling. They're a solid band...

Rosemary Bystrak said...

I did watch them for a short bit and listened from the patio for a bit, too. I agree they're solid, but I wasn't feeling aggressive enough to attempt pics and it was really packed in the venue which I wasn't prepared for on a Tuesday night. I'll have to see them another time when I'm in a better mood and know what to expect.