Friday, October 31, 2008

Things To Do In San Diego: October 31

Friday, October 31, 2008:

  • Halloween with The Night Marchers, Wild Weekend, Black Hondo and super duper special guests tba @ Casbah
  • The Dapper Dans @ The Red Zone (2 sets- 8-9p, 9;30-10:30) No Cover
  • Feel The Noise W/DJ’s Gabe Vega & Saul Q, The Silent Comedy Live, Costume contest $500 first place @ U-31
  • Jason Mraz, Lisa Hannigan @ SDSU Open Air Theatre
  • The Creepy Creeps, The Nightmares, The Mistits @ Bar Pink (Elephant)
  • Kill Me Tomorrow, Doctor Bird, The Pant Hoots @ Whistle Stop
  • His Irate Life, The Strikefits, The Re-mones, The Milli Vanillis @ Radio Room
  • 91X Presents Hammers and Strings Tour Jack's Mannequin, Eric Hutchinson, Treaty of Paris @ House of Blues (4pm)
  • Halloween party! Buddy Akai, Afghan Raiders, Disco Villains @ Beauty Bar
  • Halloween Party with Deadbolt, The Postals, Braaiins!!! @ The Ken Club
  • Halloween with Franki Chan @ The Loft, UCSD
  • Halloween Party with Fishnet Follies Burlesque: Sick & Twisted Carnival and Masquerage Ball @ The Ruby Room (former San Diego Sports Club)
  • Victory Nightlife Presents Halloween Massive @ House of Blues (9pm)
  • Halloween Party feat. The Loaded, CC and the Bondage Boys @ Lestat's
  • Halloween Heat with 80's Heat and Metro @ Belly Up
  • Halloween Party feat. Stalker Dan Band @ 710 Beach Club
  • Costume Party with Unset (CD Release), Aizen, Wickhead, Authentic Sellout @ Brick By Brick
  • All Time Low, Mayday Parade, The Maine, Everyday Avenue @ soma
  • Halloween Party feat. Vegitation @ Winston's
  • Cattle Decapitation, Bumbklaat, Ritual Torture, Crime Desire and Shoot em in the head @ Che Cafe
  • The Tubes Halloween Party @ Anthology (Early Show, 7:30 pm, Late Show, 9:30 pm)
  • The Steely Damned @ Humphrey's Backstage Lounge
  • Horror Movie Series - "Rocky Horror Picture Show " @ Birch North Park Theatre
  • Haunted Hamlisch: A Winter Pops Concert @ Symphony Hall

Things To Do In San Diego: Art Gallery Opening & HAT Awards

I don't post too many art events on this site, mostly because there are plenty of people who do so and do a much better job than I ever could, but there's one opening happening this Saturday that is close to my heart (and home) and if you're around this weekend, I highly recommend swinging by Kensington to the new Edgeware Gallery.

Just east of the Kensington sign, at the corner of Edgeware and Adams, there's an Autism Research Center. The new gallery is attached and the opening will feature paintings by Mark Rimland, an artist who also happens to be autistic. The opening will be from 3-8pm on Saturday and 2-6pm on Sunday. Saturday's guests will be entertained by another Kensington neighbor, Gregory Page, and have their bellies filled with food from Chik-Fil-A.

Also this Saturday, and just across the bridge in Normal Heights, San Diego's amazing acoustic music scene comes together once again to give out this years HAT Awards (Honoring Acoustic Talent). Performers will include: Veronica May, Brandon Rice, Jeffrey Joe Morin, Happy Ron, Matt Haeck, Josh Damigo, Allegra Barley and Chad Cavanaugh.

This event is open to the public with a suggested $5 donation. If you don't have $5, come early and they'll put you to work selling cookies, tuning guitars or drying the MC's sweaty brow.

There are free stickers and guitar picks for everyone who attends and a brand-new crop of 2008 HAT Awards t-shirts - this year we even got ourselves some girly t's for the ladies.

2008 H.A.T. Awards
Normal Heights Community Center
4649 Hawley Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92116

Doors open at 7:00 PM sharp and festivities start right away so it is not fashionable in this case to be late.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

"Bonjour!" from Killerland



It's been hardly a month, since I left San Diego, and already it feels like much longer. It's cold outside, scarf and coat weather, and my hair's getting too long like it was in the summer. Not that it's a bad thing or anything.

First of all, I've regained possession of a camera so I'll be able to do what a proper blogger does and show, in images, what I've been so incapable and/or lazy to do in words. Unfortunately, no words or images can describe properly my sheer disdain for the city of Las Vegas, where I spent the first two weeks of October. Every day unbearably dry and every strip mall on every corner exactly the same as the one before it with no diversions anywhere to alleviate the boredom instilled by the constant neon and indoor smoking.

Actually, I guess I like the indoor smoking part. (Click 'keep on reading' for the full post.)

I didn't have a camera for the Killers' first trip to NYC, when we filmed Saturday Night Live, so there's no real proof I was ever there, except for the video footage which was on Youtube for a little while before NBC Universal swiftly and predictably removed it. In any case, I've heard it's re-airing on November 22nd so superfans and ego strokers alike should be able to get their fill. To recap, I loved being in New York in the fall, witnessing the real and wild energy of a live SNL taping, shaking Amy Poehler's very pregnant, very talented hands, seeing Anne Hathaway's astonishing beauty in person, and playing in front of my sister who was in the audience. The one thing I'm still kicking myself about, besides not having a camera, is not introducing myself rather, slobbering all over, Tina Fey while I was at 30 Rock. Not only would I have slept better that night, but maybe some of her superstar status would have rubbed off on me in the process, catapulting me to non-Las Vegas-centric success!

Who knows, right?

Anyway, in case you missed it, I can't believe I was actually there when they did this. What was great, was actually seeing it reverberate across CNN for the next week and realizing, "I was there!"



I found myself watching Sex and the City, late night on TBS, after returning to Vegas, feeling equal parts appalled and wistful that I was stuck in Vegas for another two weeks and, therefore, not in New York City in the fall. A few things come to mind after re-reading that sentence. Yes, I'm a little embarrassed, but moreover, do women actually like that show? Sitting through an hour of it was like staring at the facade of the New York, New York casino for a week through my window, both overdrawn and glaringly unreal. Especially that freaky Samantha chick.

Kim Cattrall


Skip, skip, skip. I don't even like writing about being in Vegas, two weeks of my life I'll never get back. Rehearsed productively, played two shows, spent a lot of time away from the Strip in downtown Las Vegas, played blackjack, went up a little, down a lot, then back up to even. There is a damn good sandwich at Capriotti's though... I'll need to take a picture of their Capastrami next time I'm there. Holla at me if you know what I'm saying.

At the Wynn Hotel, Andre Agassi Benefit


After Vegas, we returned to New York to play at the Hammerstein Ballroom. I made new habits out of going to the lower east side, going to the Library across the street from Katz's on nights off, getting lost in Harlem at the most dangerous hours of the night, and finally getting some duck in Chinatown. But, yes, yes, the Hammerstein where, as Rolling Stone puts it, "the set design was Miami hotel chic: white tiger backdrop, light-up palm trees and orchids laced into amplifiers."

In case you're curious


What an event it was, eagerly attended by superfans, yuppies on their nights off, coked up models, and celebrities like Jon Bon Jovi and Chris Martin. The sets are starting to feel like, "The Killers' Play Their Greatest Hitz!" with songs from their upcoming album "Day & Age" sprinkled in. The crowd response has been uniformly nutty and I guess it's no secret the Killers' live show is truly a sight to behold.

We've not played much since then. A few TV appearances here and there, for example Taratata in Paris, where I giddily introduced myself to Chris and Chris, the rhythm section of Vampire Weekend and confessed that I still have not been able to get their CD out of my car. It remains there even now, embalmed in my car parked in Vegas while I'm abroad.

With Vampire Weekend in Paris. Yes, it is blurry. No, I can't fix it.


Taratata Set


Luckier still, me and Tommy, the newest addition to the Killers touring gang and saxophonist/writer/spelunking extraordinaire, were able to finagle a few free bicycles and rode all over Paris during our stay. Of course, I have the requisite photos of the Eiffel Tower and Champ d'Elysses, but I won't bore you with them. Among the weirder things I saw were roving, costumed rollerblading gangs, a Tom Sachs Hello Kitty exhibit at the Eiffel Tower (which I think is also going on in Manhattan), a Flaming Lips inspired teenaged brass band playing on the steps of the Opera House, and Claude Debussy's grave. Surprisingly, Paris a very bike-friendly city as well as a very American-curious city. No fewer than three Parisians asked who I was voting for in the presidential election. One of them was ready to jump all over me if I mentioned McCain. Fortunately, good times were had all around when I proved myself to be no friend of George Bush or the GOP. This against the backdrop of thousands of "W." posters all over the city. One regret I have is not being able to see Oliver Stone's movie in Paris where I'm sure audience reactions would have been priceless. Gobama.

The Inimitable Tommy "Max" Marth (also pictured, crepes-tacular spectacular)


Seriously, this is just to prove that I had a bike, the tower is incidental


Escargot-larious


Holy Baguettes


Brandon @ Paris Show


Ronnie @ Paris Show


Dave @ Paris Show


I'm currently in London where I still have not done a single lick of work. I plan on finding some to do, I swear, if I can ever get to sleep. Instead I've been sight seeing, finding time to blog, and watching a bit of television. The American elections are all over the news here too but the English people I've spoken to seem considerably less curious about my views than their French counterparts. Also in the news, when I woke up yesterday morning, was that Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross were under fire for lewd comments made on Brand's BBC Radio 2 show about Fawlty Towers' Andrew Sachs. Now, I'll be surprised if anyone back home knows who these people are. Russell Brand I discovered on Conan a few months ago plugging Forgetting Sarah Marshall and whom you may know better as the host of this year's edition of the VMAs. Andrew Sachs played Manuel in the show John Cleese did after Monty Python, something I got plenty of on the bus of the last Killers run. I don't know why I know Jonathan Ross, I just do, from Youtube, he's like Letterman over here. Why this is at all relevant and not just gossip is that The Killers were scheduled to play the Jonathan Ross show later that evening. And, just as the crew was removing last case from the truck, the word came down that Ross was being suspended indefinitely and we had no show to do. It's been strangely satisfying to be involved in some small way with this huge drama unfolding across countless newspapers in the tube. Also cancelled, Miley Cyrus.

I've been a state of limbo ever since, filling my time with finding out just how big this city is, riding the tube for seemingly hours, shopping in Kensington, visiting Abbey Road studios, and finally finding out what all the fuss about Wagamama is about. Oh, and the women are impossibly beautiful here and they're all immaculately dressed. Come to think of it, so are some of the men. Some of the coats and boots I've seen since being here, sheesh.

Bacon Sandwiches @ BBC


The Green Room at the Jonathan Ross Studio


Anyhow, I'm done, I need to sleep, I guess I'm not as caught up as I thought.

Recap: Greg Laswell @ Casbah 10.29.08

Last night, Greg Laswell performed the second of two shows at the Casbah. Matt Curreri and The Ex-Friends opened the night. Unfortunately, I arrived after they had finished, but if you read this site, you know I love them, and unlike the people who were there but were supposedly loud and chatty near the bar, I would've been up front and center, most likely making faces at Kevin.

Greg Laswell has been on tour for quite some time now. He said the longest he was home in 6 months was 9 days. Unfortunately for us, "home" is now Los Angeles, so we don't even get the good fortune of seeing him around the neighborhood anymore, but his tour has come through a few times, so he always makes sure to give San Diego his love.

He's touring with a full band, so even his saddest songs sound a bit more upbeat, though at times they take a break and he graces the crowd with the most beautifully sad songs you have ever heard, taking the time between the songs to tell little stories about the origins of his music. He plays music from both his full length albums and his EP, and though I didn't keep track or get a setlist, I'm having trouble even trying to think of any songs he didn't play.

Without dissing the crowd, I have to say it was a very non-Casbah crowd. As Greg played, there was a 4 foot gap between he and the crowd. A couple people were sitting on the floor. Girls giggled at his every word while their boyfriends talked at the bar. It reminded me of being 17 at Java Joe's and swooning over Steve Poltz.

Anyway, it was a great show and even though all the lights at the Casbah are now functional, my pics are terrible, so you only get video .

"Sing, Theresa Says"


The show was done by midnight, so Jake and I checked out the Tower Bar where Miggs (from Taang! Records) was spinning records and we geeked out on Shazam on Jake's iPhone. It was great seeing Mick again; I hadn't been to the Tower since they've stopped hosting live music, and it's one of my favorite dives so hopefully I can work it into my rotation more frequently.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Things To Do In San Diego: October 30, 2008

Thursday October 30, 2008:
  • CANCELLED: Ted Leo @ Casbah
  • The Morning Benders @ The Loft, UCSD
  • RE: amp Music Networking feat Fever Sleeves @ Beauty Bar
  • Sight & Sound feat. The Burning of Rome, G-Rex and more, art, giveaways @ Planet Rooth Gallery
  • Rise Against, Alkaline Trio, Thrice, Gaslight Anthem @ Cox Arena, SDSU
  • Skelpin @ Hensley's Flying Elephant
  • Rock Obama Tour - The Rising Sound, Gram Rabbit, The Minor Keys & Maldroid @ Canes
  • Bad Credit @ The Blarney Stone
  • Adam Gimbel's Pop Music Trivia Night @ Whistle Stop
  • Karaoke @ O'Connell's
  • 13th Hole (France/Italy), Pleasure Device @ Bar Pink (Elephant)
  • One Big Lie, Aces and Eights, Prosthetic Arms @ Radio Room
  • Sycuan Presents Apocalyptica with DJ LV @ House of Blues
  • Halloween Show @ Epicentre
  • Boombox Thursdays feat DJ Edgartronic @ Air Conditioned Lounge
  • Tragic Tantrum Cabaret’s Devils Night Ball @ U-31
  • Damion Wolfe, Joni Bishop @ Lestat's
  • Cowboy Mouth, Ingram Hill @ Belly Up
  • Jack Left Town, Revolution '89 @ 710 Beach Club
  • Full Blown Stone, Picus Maximus, The Bred Dogs @ Brick By Brick
  • Chris Murray Combo, Social Green @ Winston's
  • Black Seven, The Lost @ Bitter End Backstage
  • Amel Larrieux @ Anthology (Early Show, 7:30 pm, Late Show, 9:30 pm)
  • Buick Wilson Band @ Humphrey's Backstage Lounge
  • The ESP Quintet feat. Mitch Manker trumpet, Bob Campbell saxophone, Lynn Willard keyboards, Dave Curtis bass, & Gary Nieves drums. @ Dizzy's (San Diego Wine & Culinary Center)

Things To Do In San Diego: October 29, 2008

Wednesday, October 29, 2008:

  • Greg Laswell, Matt Curreri and Ex Friends @ Casbah
  • Neil Young, Death Cab For Cutie, Everest @ Cox Arena, SDSU
  • Commune Wednesday! feat The Modlins, DJ set by Buddy Akai @ Bar Pink (Elephant)
  • Agua Dulce, The Israel Maldonado Band @ U-31
  • Club 80’s New Romantic & Underground w/ DJs Bryan Pollard, Sickboy, Stem @ Beauty Bar
  • Shaolin Punk, Pleasurestick, Squirrelly Arts @ The Ruby Room (former San Diego Sports Club)
  • Lady Vain, Chango Rey and His Reymen, Knives! @ Radio Room
  • Sycuan Presents Umphrey's McGee @ House of Blues
  • Manatee, The Old In Out, DJs mikeyface, Solomea, Aunt Angie @ Whistle Stop
  • The Buddy Wuddy Blues Show @ Lestat's
  • Everlast, THE LORDZ @ Belly Up
  • Joe Wood @ Hensley's Flying Elephant
  • John Doe, The Concrete Project @ 710 Beach Club
  • The Jon Garner Trio, Billy & The Roosters @ Winston's
  • Sharif, Katie Leigh & the Infantry, G String Daddies @ Bitter End Backstage
  • Never Say Die Presents - Kennedy's Curse, Edub Poet & Unified Division @ Canes
  • Amel Larrieux @ Anthology (Early Show, 7:30 pm)
  • John Nemeth @ Humphrey's Backstage Lounge
  • The Larry Ochs Sax & Drumming Core featuring Larry Ochs saxophones, Scott Amendola drums, Don Robinson drums, Satoko Fujii synth & piano, & Natsuki Tamura trumpet @Dizzy's (San Diego Wine & Culinary Center)
  • Horror Movie Series - "The Silence of the Lambs" @ Birch North Park Theatre

Vote No On Prop 8

Somebody asked me if I was going to do political endorsements. I've made my presidential choice very clear, and I added some links on the side that are important issues to me. As far as local candidates and props, I haven't decided on everything, but one issue that is very important to me is that all people are treated equally and with dignity under our state's constitution. Prop 8, and the hateful, lying, and deceptive campaign of fear is NOT what we as Californians stand for and the fact that the margin is so close makes me just really, really sad.





Remember back to this shining moment from our mayor??


Frankly, I cannot wait until next week to come because the hate and fear and xenophobia and racism that have been kicked up in political races from the local level all the way to the national level are frankly embarrassing. My wish is that truth and hope prevail, yet even with all the polling, I have to say I'm scared.

Overdue Recap: My Last Couple Weeks In Music

I have decided that I'm going to cover a lot of the past week and a half in one post. No disrespect to any of the bands who should all get their own posts, but honestly, I don't know how I'm ever going to catch up if I don't just write it all out. I've gotten a little bored with my own writing because it feels redundant and uninspired. Maybe I've had too much time to be alone and am sick of my own voice. Not to mention my pics have just been crappier than usual, perhaps I can blame that on my diversifying of venues (i.e. Radio Room, Ruby Room, and Beauty Bar, none of which are friendly to my camera.)

Maybe I save all my bursts of emotion for my Twitter feed and by the time I get to recaps, they're just snoozer posts. Maybe it's that so much of my attention is now devoted to (1)finding a job and (b)paying attention to the election. Or maybe that's all a lie and it's really because with HBO on Demand, Hulu.com, MTV.com and ABC.com I've been able to catch up on entire seasons of shows: Grey's Anatomy, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, The Hills (and the Aftershow), True Blood, Entourage and on and on. Either way, I have still been hitting the town per usual. Click 'keep on reading' to find out where I've been in an exhaustingly long post.



Thursday, October 16:
Cream: Sezio vs. Adapta
Dream Tiger, Pacific UV, Evervess @ Beauty Bar

This night started at Cream mostly because I was bored of being at home. The art show was 5 paintings vs. 6, so after looking at all the pieces, it was mostly just social time at Cream. Anyone who frequents there knows two things: they sell beer and wine super cheap and it gets really, really hot in the room. I think it's a trick to make you dole out another $2.75 for more Tsingtao. Either way, it was good to see friends there, many of whom made their way to the Beauty Bar afterward. I also recruited Lucas to be a contributor to this site, so keep an eye out for his posts.

Evervess is a great shoegaze band, but they don't play all that much. Eric keeps busy with Swim Party and I think they were saying that one of them had gnarly back surgery so he was out of commission for a while. Hopefully he's all healed up and they can get back to at least some semi-regular shows around town.



I wanted to see PacificUV based on Dagart's recommendation and I'll admit, partially because I'd mixed them up with a band I'd recently got a promo for (called Pacific Ocean Drive.) Oops. Either way, Dagart introduced me to a couple of the guys before the show and they were as nice as he'd said they were, and when they performed, they gave a great performance like he said they would.


By the time Dreamtiger played, besides these couple pics, I spent most of the remainder of the show at the bar with Sarah and Evan and talking to the guys of PacificUV. Sometimes that happens.



Friday, October 17:
Grand Ole Party, Rafter @ The Ruby Room

Jake and I headed to the Ruby Room for their official opening. I think we went a little late because I made him watch Real Time, but by the time we got there around 9:30, the bar was full and there was a line and they weren't letting more people in. I was on the list, but it felt a little silly. My feeling was that a lot of the people there might not have been there for the bands, but more for the 'grand opening' in the hopes it was another trendy upscale bar in the vein of Universal. So for me, to walk by all the silk shirts and dresses and heels and clouds of cologne when I was in my jeans and hoodie just seemed funny. And mind you, at that point there were only about 20 people waiting in line, but later the line grew.

We went in to catch The Widows and then I had a total panic. My camera was not in my purse, which meant it was at home, in my car, or at the Beauty Bar from the night before. I couldn't not take pics of opening night, right?, so Jake and I went back to my house where I found my camera and headed back, missing The Widows entirely, but in plenty of time to see Rafter and Grand Ole Party.

The bar was packed, but we got up close to make faces at Andy Robillard who is now playing with Rafter. The thing I love about Rafter, whether he's playing alone, with just a drummer, or with a band of 10 people onstage is that you're always guaranteed to hear new material. On this night, it was a bit funkier, a bit more of a dance party, and it was awesome.




Between bands, DJ Edgartronic spun records that had plenty of people shaking their asses.


I made the mistake of waiting to long to get up close for Grand Ole Party, but better that people who maybe haven't had the chance to see them before got their chance to see them for a mere $5. I'm already a fan, so I let the hyper-enthusiastic crowd take over and dropped back after a few pictures.




It was really good to see so many people at the Ruby Room. It hasn't changed drastically from SDSC though a lot of the sports stuff and horse-racing memorabilia was gone, replaced by local art on the walls, but it's clear the new management has a clear vision to make the spot a viable and competitive venue for San Diego.

Saturday, October 18:
The Howls, Longstay, River City @ Radio Room

I was a bit lazy on Saturday night, but I felt bad about all the times I've shown up to a show where The Howls were appearing but missed them. I went to the show alone but ran into Bubba who is now playing with River City. I met John from The Howls and he was a little bummed that basically the rest of his band wasn't gonna make the show but it made for a really cool rare show.
First River City played and I was definitely on board with their performance. Last time I saw them was at Stage Saloon, so maybe I was a little tarnished from that venue, but the band sounded cohesive and the perfect amount of alt-country to give me my fix. Incidentally I saw them again last night and was again impressed. They played with John Meeks last night, and perhaps because everyone involved in San Diego music was saddened by the news of Terrin Durfey's passing, the music seemed even more poignant. Plus, give me any band with lap steel or pedal steel and I'm already a big mess of weepiness.





John ended up playing second as um, The Howl? He played half his set solo and then was joined by Longstay. This especially impressed me about the night. Longstay was not familiar with The Howls music, but they came onstage and performed and were able to join onstage, taking cues from John. For someone like me who sees bands play live but not really the process of creating and jamming, I was impressed and it was fun to see their take on his music. After a couple songs, John finished with a couple more solo songs.


Longstay went back to the stage and played their set and I think the Radio Room was messing with me by dimming the lights super low. Ug. Still it was a good time and I had fun. Oh, and thanks to Jeff K. for the shots. That was lovely. Something about alt-country turns me into a Makers and Budweiser drinker.



Sunday, October 19, 2008:

I think my unemployment has my parents a bit freaked out. Namely in an, "oh, God, we hope things don't get so bad she has to move back with us" kind of way. Considering I haven't lived with them since about 1996 when I was in junior college, I understand their concern. On Sunday, they picked me up and we headed to Pacific Beach where my brother-in-law had made us dinner and the jokes of all of us moving in to their townhouse kept us laughing through the night. I also caught them up on all the internet videos they haven't seen. So it was a good night with my family. But honestly, it's always all about my niece Johanna who basically runs circles around all of us 100 times over. Comparing her to the Energizer bunny is a huge understatement.




After dinner and hanging out for a while, I was dropped off at the Casbah for
Polysics, io echo, and Black Gold.

Black Gold started the night and although I'm already biased because I know Thaan (the drummer) through Petro and I'd already received their demo in the mail and loved it, I'm not exagerrating when I say the performance was incredibly impressive. A two piece on the album, they recruited a couple great musicians to join them on stage, and Eric's dramatic playing on his old electric piano was so compelling at one point I realized I forgot to take pictures. At that point I decided to take video.





io Echo was up and the crowd loved them. I hung near the bar with Halloran who said he liked how the singer reminded him of PJ Harvey in one song, Bjork in another, and something altogether in the next. I thought she was a trip the way her body convulsed around the stage as she let her music take her over.



Closing out the night was the crazy phrenetic Japanese rock n roll of Polysics. Once again the crowd went crazy for this band, with fists in the air for the majority of the set.


Need I say it was an awesome night?

After Sunday, I opted to skip a couple nights, though I did spend some time writing using the free Ken Club wi-fi and hung out with friends and shit. But no shows. At least not until Wednesday, October 22, when I went to U-31 to see The Moviegoers and Desert Diamonds.

I got there too early and was feeling bad about missing the benefit for Terrin at the Casbah, but the room filled out a bit and I'm a big fan of The Moviegoers, so they at least brought up my mood. A few friends were there, so it ended up being a good night, even if I spent the night with that feeling that I was at the wrong place.



I sat at the bar for the second band and didn't feel inclined to take pictures. Not to knock anyone, but if you're a band playing a room like U-31, be grateful people are even in the room, whether they acknowledge you playing or not. Bands aren't born with a following.

The Desert Diamonds closed out the night and it had been a while since I'd seen them, but they definitely have their own crowd and have an engaging frontman. Enough dirty in their rock n roll to please but not overkill that you wanna kick them up to LA. There were plenty of people dancing that made for a fun end to the night.



While I had been going out at night relatively consistently, I spend most days at home on the internet so it was nice to have had lunch with Matt at Cream on Wednesday, and then on Thursday, I decided to make a full adventure of the day. I was meeting a friend at House of Blues for happy hour, so instead of driving, I opted to take the bus downtown, with my computer in tow. Of course, as usual, I didn't really ever get around to writing, but I did use it at the House of Blues briefly so it wasn't a total waste for me to have it with me. Regardless, I hung out with Jack and got an education about music and jazz and music promotion and all kinds of things that I find fascinating and appreciate finding someone retired who has a million stories to share. As happy hour came to a close, I made a run to Kinko's to make flyers for my anniversary show, but then hung around the House of Blues a bit longer so I could listen to Modern Day Moonshine. They play there every week and they're really good; I find it kinda sad that the House of Blues does little to promote their bar, happy hour, and bands to anyone more than tourists, considering their location doesn't lend itself to tourist foot traffic.




After leaving the Casbah, I took the trolley to midtown and walked to the Casbah for The Tighten-Ups, Team Abraham, & Runhoney despite my plan of going back to Kensington for Hotel St. George. The show was fun (maybe a little too fun?), but I decided not to take more pictures with the lights all jacked, and I was just lucky to have friends there who agreed to drive me home since by the time we left, the bus would've not been running. I might've had to fight that one guy for the electrical box near the Casbah.

Friday I decided to take it easy, working on the job search for a while, then had lunch with Jonathan at Burger Lounge. It was a nice day out so we chilled on the patio for a while, and then he came over to teach me stuff on the computer, while also updating some programs for me, cleaning up my hard drive a bit, all the while listening to music. By the time we realized, it was time for dinner, so we decided to try out Ponce's. Of course, at 7 on a Friday, it was packed and they said it would be a 45 minute wait. Yes, it's true I know the manager and most of the staff, but the restaurant is so neighborhood friendly, EVERYONE can say the same thing, so instead of privileges, we ordered food to go and instead ate it at the Ken Club. That was instant food coma so we walked back to my place and he left. I intended to go back to the bar, but it didn't happen. Watching HBO on demand in my pajamas won.

On Saturday, October 25, I enjoyed a lazy Saturday watching Hallmark movies until around 7 when Jake picked me up for Late Night Live at Anthology feat. A Silent Comedy, Crash Encore, and The Blackout Party. Because Jake was playing, we got there early and went in through the back to load in his gear. And to drink beer. And Beam. I guess I thought I was a rock star for the night. The Blackout Party started the night and owned the stage. The venue, having only had its doors open for half an hour, wasn't quite crowded yet, but there were still plenty of people that didn't make the venue feel empty.







I ended up staying in the backstage area for all of Crash Encore, or most of it, except for when Abraham and I made an escape for a few minutes to make a beer run for after the show, because it felt like it was gonna be one of those nights.

We got back and returned to the backstage area until The Silent Comedy went onstage. The crowd was packed in up to the front of the stage and because I knew they were videotaping I wasn't too aggressive with my pictures...so the handful I took came out looking like everyone was in a horror film with their faces streaked. But I did take some video and their performance killed and the crowd ate the whole show up.

Gasoline


Daisy


After the show (and a lot of whiskey and beer) a bunch of us went to the Turf Club to end the night. San Diego certainly delivered a glorious Saturday night.

Surprisingly, when Sunday came around I opted to go watch The Chargers game at the Ken Club, with the promise of free pizza and a couple bloody marys. After the game, I hung out there talking politics with my friend's dad which was pretty interesting, specifically because he is a full on McCain supporter. While I disagreed with most everything he said, at least he had beliefs about his candidate that made sense and weren't some crazy talking points.

Later, Jake picked me up and we went to see Bunky at the Casbah who were great, but then we left because Jake was playing with The Tighten-Ups at Bar Pink.

The opening band was called Gunplay Maxwell and they gave a great performance.


And then Laura Jane, that crazy lady, closed up the night with the Tighten-Ups.


My very long weekend meant a Monday at home trying to get back on the jobhunt horse. And total blog avoidance. Sorry I didn't do listings, but sometimes the thought of editing html makes me just wanna chuck my computer across the room. Fortunately I was over that mood by Tuesday and did my listings as well as my phone interview from EDD, which SUCKED by the way. It put me in such a bad mood, but the kind of mood where I wanted to be around people I adore, so Jake and I went to The Beauty Bar for
John Meeks and River City. I decided against pictures once again, since I knew I had pics of both from just the last few weeks. The performances were beautiful and it took everything in me not to get choked up a couple times as the bands played. Not in a bad way but in a cathartic way, like everyone there had this sadness about the news of Terrin passing, and on a personal level sort of taking that self critical look that no matter how shitty the day seemed personally, there are so many more important things going on and I was lucky to be where I was surrounded by so many great people.

That said, that is exactly why I'm going to finally wrap up this post that has taken me all day to write, and I'm going to go see my friend Greg Laswell. And maybe he'll make me weepy, too. If I'm lucky.