After four nights of Luce Loft, you might think I was getting tired of it. Truth be told, I never thought anything would make me willing to circle the blocks of downtown hunting for parking for five nights in a row, but I found a secret stash of loading zone spots, so I was set. It was also hard to imagine that after four nights of incredible shows, that I would still have my mind blown, but such was the case.
The Paddle Boat started off the night and it had been awhile since I'd seen them play, but sprawled out once again on the LoveSac, I was captivated and awestruck by the talent and how much this one-time side project has grown into it's own powerful group.
After some chatting with friends, Joel P West and his band performed. You could hear a pin drop in the room, which is why I completely failed to snap a single photo (though the unfortunate mic blocking Joel's face from my seat didn't help). I didn't expect the performance to get me so emotional, but I guess the older I get and the more music I see, I'm less shy about letting the music wash me away. And clearly, I wasn't the only one with this response, as after one particularly moving song, Zack was on the stairs behind me and said what I think everyone in the room was feeling, "are you fucking kidding me?" Yes, it was that good. When video is available, I'll post the link.
After the show, I caught up with Dagart and Andy and a bunch of others and we made our way to North Park. I had still not been to The Office since it was Scolari's and catching Hotel St. George and Lights On seemed as good a time as any. Inside it is pretty swanky, not a hint of Scolari's former glory. It is certainly nice, but I found it hard to adjust to the black and white that contrast throughout the bar, like when you're in a dark room and go into sunshine, I kept feeling momentarily blind. That is not to say I wouldn't go back, especially because their Sunday night shows have had pretty solid bookings, but it will take me some getting used to.
Hotel St. George gave a good performance to the handful of people assembled, though the lights seemed to be on some sort of automatic rhythm made for a dance floor and not a band. Most of the time the band was playing in total darkness, so no photos attempted.
Lights On played a high energy set and any band with Mike Kamoo on the kit is gonna rock, but seeing Andrew in a band again, Bob on bass, Brooke on keys and Tim commanding the stage as a frontman, they bring their own party every time they play. They seemed to have better luck with the lighting and I had to snap a couple photos near the end of the raucous set when they were joined by Dagart and Andy and a couple others for their finale. (Note: Lights On will be performing at X1FM on May 15...as always, the shows are free, all ages, and BYOB)
After that week, I took a day off, just catching up with writing and probably overdue posts from the previous month...
Come Tuesday, I went to the Casbah. My old friend Berkeley and his band Nautical Disaster were opening the night so I got there early to catch their whole set. I'm continually impressed by their sound because while they don't roll in the scenester set, they stay true to who they are. I dig em and it's obvious they just really enjoy playing live. They also released an EP that night, so grab one next time you catch them. (And a hint, if you're ever at Wine Vault for a wine tasting or one of their chef's dinners, ask for Berkeley. He's the best.)
After catching up with Apes of Wrath and stories from their trip to SXSW (and me haranguing them for not blogging about it), they took the stage. I've always loved Apes, but it's really funny to see how much a band grows and how tight they get after even just a small tour on the road. Writer adding David is an example of before and after SXSW and how a band just gels together, and I think this can be said of Apes of Wrath. I thought I liked them before, but seeing them owning the stage made me really proud of where they are now. Needless to say, I couldn't be more pleased that they're playing Independence Jam.
Closing out the night was White Denim and it's hard to nail down their sound but I guess that doesn't surprise me since it seems Austin bands tend to have more broad influences that come through their music...indie-blues-garage-psych rock, if you will, versus say, bands from the Pacific Northwest that seem to tend to be very nailed down to one sound (respectable, too, and I love it, but also sometimes predictable.) White Denim were also incredible to watch just from how much they put into every song. You can catch some free downloads on Stereogum.
It is so lame that it is almost Mother's Day and I'm finally writing about April, but I didn't do much on April Fools Day except catch up on email and some writing and all that fun personal shit like getting the house in order, errands, laundry and all that good stuff that comes when you throw off sleep and work patterns. But on the 2nd, I made sure to get my ass to the last TNT for a while. The economic downturn has really hurt the arts, but it really bums me out that MCASD is saying there won't be another TNT until November. Yes, funding for the arts has diminished, donors are giving less, membership is perhaps declining, but when you look at the space occupied by MCASD downtown and La Jolla, you wanna kinda go nuts because imagine if, with art and sculpture and photography as a backdrop, people could get married there or use the space for parties. Maybe they can and I just don't know about it, but seems there surely must be creative ways to bring in money to keep one of the only things that brings young people (read: future business owners, philanthropists, and donors) to the museum on a regular basis. And we sure do spend a lot at the bar in the belief that proceeds benefit the museum. If that's not the case, they need to look at new bar vendors. I thought all that liquor was sponsored?
At any rate, I went to TNT on April 2. I was a little bummed because it was my first time seeing The Traditionist and the music was so quiet it was barely audible over the crowd, but I definitely liked what I heard. It would be super to catch at a place like Habitat House or Luce Loft. The Tradionist is on Better Looking Records so keep an eye out for more shows
Lights On sound is better suited for the outdoor stage. I especially loved when an older toothless man, presumably homeless, started dancing to the band because it took him to get the crowd to loosen up a bit, and after the show he was stoked to shake the hands of all the members in the band individually. I don't think he cared that they're local, to him they might as well have been the stones, he was so stoked. See? Another reason to keep TNT going...the place where hipsters and homeless congregate...and then try and tell them apart. (answer: the homeless will dance) I'm kidding, of course, but it's just a cool event that makes San Diego feel a little more urban than it really is.
After TNT, I headed up to Bar Pink for Swim Party and Secret Apollo. It had been a while since I'd seen Secret Apollo but they always make me happy, and not just because I love their red vines that they bring along. Swim Party played too. I catch a lot of shit at times for seeing the same bands repeatedly but know what? That is okay with me. They're a great band, they're all wonderful friends, and when they're playing a place with $3 wells and no cover, why would I go anywhere else? I didn't bother with photos, however. You've seen enough, right?
And last for this entry is Friday, April 3. I made my way to Whistle Stop to check out My Pet Saddle and Hotel St. George. It's always pretty crowded on Fridays and My Pet Saddle arrived pretty late so we were getting a little impatient, but they were really great and one of the guitarists had enough energy to uplift the whole room. They had something that made me imagine what a 1950's malt shop was like...not a generic modern version, but sweet, innocent, but teeming with the hormones of young people who couldn't wait to go make out on some desolate hill. You should check out their MySpace and if you're a San Diego band, I'd say they'd be perfect for playing some LA/SD show trades. (Modlins, I'm looking at you!)
Afterward, Hotel St. George was there, and if you could hear over Daye singing, you know it was a great set. (Totally kidding about Daye singing, btw.) Since my camera is busted on certain settings and I can never get a good shot at Whistle Stop even when it was 100% functional, I decided to play around, and here are the results:
When the bands finished at Whistle Stop, I zoomed over to Soda Bar to catch Fever Sleeves. Man, these guys are so good. I remember Petro telling me they were amazing a while back and I've seen them a bunch and heard their CD, but for some reason this stuck out as a particularly great set. Again with the shitty photos, but here's one.
I'll call it quits now, but I've got a whole lot more to catch up on, including my first time at 710 Beach Club, so stay tuned for my next diary.
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