I should definitely be sleeping right now but I have way too much swirling in my brain, so I might as well enjoy the sound of the rain outside (and the bonus, no construction or salon noise when it rains!) and get to posting this long promised recap of December. I'm gonna put it all after a jump so you if you're the kind of person that doesn't like the rehash of the past, you can just skip this post entirely.
December started out a bit weird for me. My grandma had just died and I had family rolling in from Pennsylvania, Alaska, Indiana and more. While we'd do family stuff in the day, I was still able to get out at night, so I kicked off the month at the Casbah for the J Tillman, Pearly Gates Music, and Joel P West show. It was unfortunate that it wasn't conveyed to the touring musicians just how much of a draw Joel brings because his crowd wasn't very interested in Pearly Gates Music, which was J Tillman's brother's solo project, which made him express extreme displeasure in the crowd. "Welcome to the young people's networking hour. Maybe you can find your next job tonight." He lost me there. I left to the patio and missed him ending his set with "Fuck you, San Diego." Still, Joel was awesome, as was J Tillman, so check out the videos.
The next night I went back to the Casbah for Tropical Depression, but I was hanging with Josh and he wasn't feeling like being out, so I'll have to catch Joey and Jordan another time on my own.
On Thursday we had my grandma's wake and it actually was really cool...I don't think that many of my relatives have been together in almost 15 years. It was still emotional no doubt, but nice to see everyone. That night I went to the Casbah to see Little Dragon but once I was there realized I was emotionally drained and should've stayed home.
Friday we had her funeral, and since everyone thinks I hate religion, I will say that the church where the service was held was absolutely beautiful. It's called St. Anthony de Padua and it's in National City, and the priest was phenomenal, giving the service in English and Spanish, singing with a gorgeous voice, and reaching out to the Catholics in my family and even offering a blessing to the people of other denominations. I only wish I had recorded the ceremony for my brother who is in Iraq and couldn't be with us. The funeral was emotional, the reception at Mangia Italiano in Chula Vista was delicious and the owner of the restaurant was very accommodating, and my family was pleased with everything. Unfortunately a stomach flu had been passed among my family all week, which I avoided, but it prevented any major gatherings beyond the funeral. I did get to take my little cousin out that night, and we hopped around Triple Crown and Bar Pink with Josh and Kitty, so it was nice to bond with him since I hadn't seen him since he was a teenager.
The next day I hung with family and that night didn't feel up for much but I got some tweets that "KT" was at the Ken Club playing pool, so I decided I would venture out and have a go with him. It ended up being a really fun night. I played pool against Kevin Towers and won two out of three games, though what was really hilarious was when he'd scold me for not taking my time with my shots. "You're really good. Why are you throwing this away? Why don't you take your time?" Kinda hilarious being coached by the former GM of the Padres. Later he and I teamed up but we cracked under pressure (and by "we" I mean "he") and lost.
On Sunday, Jake and I barely made it in time for the Casbah Christmas card photo, then hung out with my parents and my uncle for the afternoon, before heading back to the Casbah that night for Transfer. I decided against photos and videos that night and just enjoyed the show.
Anti-Monday League on December 7 brought Paul Simon's son, Harper Simon, along with The Chapin Sisters, and it was a small crowd but a really good show.
On Tuesday, Jeff and I drove to LA to hang out for the afternoon and see AM, Sara Lov, and Hannah Georgas at Hotel Cafe. What was really cool about that was we considered going anyway, but then saw a contest for tickets via Twitter and I ended up winning. We made the mandatory trip to Amoeba, then had dinner at Cheebo, and then headed to Hotel Cafe for my first time. Cute place, but no videos allowed, so you'll just have to take my word for it that all the performances were great, and we were lucky enough to snatch a front table for the duration of the show. Sara had a full band, which was really cool, and AM treated us to some lovely holiday tunes. Last time we saw Sara Lov, her "band" was prerecorded on record, so it was nice to see her with a full setup onstage.
Wednesday was a catch up day of work and errands and unfun stuff, so I'll jump right ahead to Thursday, when Sezio.org presented The Paddle Boat's record release party at Sushi Art with Miss Erika Davies. It was a fantastic show and Sezio knows how to make unusual spaces function to make for some great shows.
December started out a bit weird for me. My grandma had just died and I had family rolling in from Pennsylvania, Alaska, Indiana and more. While we'd do family stuff in the day, I was still able to get out at night, so I kicked off the month at the Casbah for the J Tillman, Pearly Gates Music, and Joel P West show. It was unfortunate that it wasn't conveyed to the touring musicians just how much of a draw Joel brings because his crowd wasn't very interested in Pearly Gates Music, which was J Tillman's brother's solo project, which made him express extreme displeasure in the crowd. "Welcome to the young people's networking hour. Maybe you can find your next job tonight." He lost me there. I left to the patio and missed him ending his set with "Fuck you, San Diego." Still, Joel was awesome, as was J Tillman, so check out the videos.
The next night I went back to the Casbah for Tropical Depression, but I was hanging with Josh and he wasn't feeling like being out, so I'll have to catch Joey and Jordan another time on my own.
On Thursday we had my grandma's wake and it actually was really cool...I don't think that many of my relatives have been together in almost 15 years. It was still emotional no doubt, but nice to see everyone. That night I went to the Casbah to see Little Dragon but once I was there realized I was emotionally drained and should've stayed home.
Friday we had her funeral, and since everyone thinks I hate religion, I will say that the church where the service was held was absolutely beautiful. It's called St. Anthony de Padua and it's in National City, and the priest was phenomenal, giving the service in English and Spanish, singing with a gorgeous voice, and reaching out to the Catholics in my family and even offering a blessing to the people of other denominations. I only wish I had recorded the ceremony for my brother who is in Iraq and couldn't be with us. The funeral was emotional, the reception at Mangia Italiano in Chula Vista was delicious and the owner of the restaurant was very accommodating, and my family was pleased with everything. Unfortunately a stomach flu had been passed among my family all week, which I avoided, but it prevented any major gatherings beyond the funeral. I did get to take my little cousin out that night, and we hopped around Triple Crown and Bar Pink with Josh and Kitty, so it was nice to bond with him since I hadn't seen him since he was a teenager.
The next day I hung with family and that night didn't feel up for much but I got some tweets that "KT" was at the Ken Club playing pool, so I decided I would venture out and have a go with him. It ended up being a really fun night. I played pool against Kevin Towers and won two out of three games, though what was really hilarious was when he'd scold me for not taking my time with my shots. "You're really good. Why are you throwing this away? Why don't you take your time?" Kinda hilarious being coached by the former GM of the Padres. Later he and I teamed up but we cracked under pressure (and by "we" I mean "he") and lost.
On Sunday, Jake and I barely made it in time for the Casbah Christmas card photo, then hung out with my parents and my uncle for the afternoon, before heading back to the Casbah that night for Transfer. I decided against photos and videos that night and just enjoyed the show.
Anti-Monday League on December 7 brought Paul Simon's son, Harper Simon, along with The Chapin Sisters, and it was a small crowd but a really good show.
On Tuesday, Jeff and I drove to LA to hang out for the afternoon and see AM, Sara Lov, and Hannah Georgas at Hotel Cafe. What was really cool about that was we considered going anyway, but then saw a contest for tickets via Twitter and I ended up winning. We made the mandatory trip to Amoeba, then had dinner at Cheebo, and then headed to Hotel Cafe for my first time. Cute place, but no videos allowed, so you'll just have to take my word for it that all the performances were great, and we were lucky enough to snatch a front table for the duration of the show. Sara had a full band, which was really cool, and AM treated us to some lovely holiday tunes. Last time we saw Sara Lov, her "band" was prerecorded on record, so it was nice to see her with a full setup onstage.
Wednesday was a catch up day of work and errands and unfun stuff, so I'll jump right ahead to Thursday, when Sezio.org presented The Paddle Boat's record release party at Sushi Art with Miss Erika Davies. It was a fantastic show and Sezio knows how to make unusual spaces function to make for some great shows.
Friday night was a rockin night at the Casbah with Orgone and Fitz & The Tantrums but apparently I lost my mojo and this is where the post ends after sitting in drafts for 9 years. (finally published 4.27.2019)
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