Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Rosey's Diary: March/April/May 2013

It has been nearly three months since I've written a diary post. Jeff recently pointed out to me. He says that it is clear my life has changed, and with it my priorities have shifted. And while that may be true to an extent, between trying to keep up with marketing for the Casbah, writing for SoundDiego, booking the North Park Festival of Arts Main Stage, picking up some babysitting, and still working door or merch at the occasional show, nothing has slowed down except for my posts here. And I'm sorry for that, but I'd rather be out enjoying all that San Diego has to offer and I have a partner who has renewed my love of this city- the shows, yes, but also hole in the wall restaurants, bike rides, parks, and tennis and ping pong and archery and hikes and river cleanups and participating in civic activities. The reality was that I lived this critically unhealthy life of going out pretty much nightly, then I laid in bed all day writing about it. This face hadn't seen much sun, the only exercise this body got was the occasional walk to a bar or show, and I took intermittent naps until it was time to go out and do it all over again.

My daily life has had a major overhaul and I honestly couldn't be happier about that, even if it means less frequent posting here and just quick updates on Facebook and Foursquare and Twitter. Fortunately this site has grown with several contributors who keep you abreast of shows and photos. Still, sometimes I hit writing road blocks and the only way to resolve them is to purge all of my shit out into the ether in a long winded diary post. After the jump, if you dare.



March was an interesting month. The Casbah had been keeping me busy as Pyles was off to SXSW and Tim Mays was in Europe. My Inbox was at least three times more haywire than usual. Darren and I stepped up our local involvement in things that matter to us whenever we can, going to town councils and park advisory meetings and bike meetings and river cleanups. Then I had a weird medical thing- a cyst in my lady parts that required a minor procedure and a couple weeks with a catheter if you must know- that kept me immobile and off my bike and made me miss SXSW and days where I had no choice but to just lay in bed and it was pretty horrible. Except it's times like that when you really know if you're with the right person and Darren was nothing short of amazing...taking me to appointments and making dinner and running errands and all of the selfless things he does on a regular basis but even more so. And thank god for Planned Parenthood for taking care of people like me without insurance.

With all of that, I still made an effort to get out when I could. Surfer Blood played a killer show at the Casbah in early March (3/3), then I returned to see Josh Damigo (3/4), and the next night to catch Gold Fields and A Silent Film (3/5). Mark my words...A Silent Film is going to be where Imagine Dragons is today, in probably less time, too. Huge stage presence and the whole package of relatable lyrics, anthemic sing-a-longs, and crowd involvement. There was the CityBeat Local Music Issue Party at the Griffin with a lineup of Palace Ballroom, Schitzophonics, Wild Wild Wets, and Teenage Burritos (3/7) and I spent the next night at the Bootlegger for the Cantore+Woods live podcast party, then to see The View & Said The Whale at Soda Bar (3/8). Darren and I had fun at an afternoon show of Grammatical B at the Tower Bar (3/9) and then I was in heaven as Joshua James and Noah Gunderson played the Soda Bar (3/10). I don't think I ever posted my videos from that night, so I'll get on that. That same night, I made it to the Casbah for The Silent Comedy, The Heavy Guilt, and Strange Vine at the Casbah, then ended up at the Void, so who says I'm a music scene quitter?

After a day of recovering and catching up on work and watching an all day City Council meeting, I went to the Belly Up for Twilight Sad and Frightened Rabbit after an amazing dinner with Jeff at Sbicca in Del Mar (3/12). That's when all the medical stuff hit, and it wasn't until Ivan & Alyosha at Soda Bar (3/18) that I finally made it out to a show, though there were some days of hanging out with family and Darren and Nova and errands and some drives just to get out of the house and see daylight. I was well enough to get back to my bi-weekly babysitting with Zane so we hung out at Balboa Park and I couldn't have been happier to be mobile and enjoying this city once again. Unfortunately I went to Darren's one night, and when I had to call a cab to drive me the quarter mile home, I knew I needed a couple more days of rest before heading to Wavves and Fidlar at the Casbah (3/21).

The Black Lips at Casbah 3/23
Since Darren and I met after I was ranting about the Hard Rock Hotel's Black Lips show, it seemed fitting that I had to see them at one of their Casbah shows (3/23) and then a few more days off my feet before I did merch for Jeff Mangum at Spreckel's (3/26). A couple days later and the stupid medical shit was finally behind me and I went to see Jen Kirkman of Chelsea Lately at American Comedy Co, then a stop at Tin Can before seeing Caveman and Pure Bathing Culture at the Casbah (3/29). It was great to finally be able to ride my bike again, so we celebrated with an awesome ride from Normal Heights to Downtown, around the bay, and a great lunch with my family at Mona Lisa.  That night I did a double header with Airborne Toxic Event at House of Blues and Foxygen at Soda Bar (3/30).

My cousin was in town from NYC, so it was great spending time with her over the weekend and getting extra time with family while Darren worked, but ending early enough for some karaoke at the Void (3/31).  I skipped shows the next few days as I was pretty wiped from long days with my cousin, having lunch, going to J Street Marina (4/1), visiting the tidepools of Point Loma, the lighthouse, and dinner in Coronado with all the family (4/2) and more family time before Connie left and life went back to my usual (4/3). Nova was on spring break, so we took advantage by going up to the Safari Park (4/4) and then it was up to UCSD where I was a judge for a battle of the bands to choose a band to play FM 94/9 SPF and Sun God (4/5). Soda Pants won handily and if you haven't seen them yet, be sure to get up to SPF. That lineup kicks ass and you can't get a better show for that price. After that, I went to Casbah for Blackout Party and lots and lots of rye.

That weekend was particularly awesome. D and I had a great picnic at Morley Field before The Heavy Guilt's album release show at the Irenic with Dead Feather Moon, Little Hurricane, and Trouble In The Wind, and after I walked to Bar Pink for The Creepy Creeps (4/6). That was a super late night so Sunday was finally a day home to catch up on work and TV and totally veg out.
The Heavy Guilt Album Release Party at The Irenic 4/6

On Monday morning, Pyles and I did an interview on KPBS for Midday Edition to talk about all of the Coachella bands that were playing in San Diego. Doing radio is always fun, especially with an expert like Pyles. That was another good day to catch up on work (4/8).  I've mentioned Zane before, but I'm really loving my babysitting days with him. I used to work with his mom, @MediaMelanie, at an ad agency and she got a production job that shoots every other week. Zane is 13 months old and so the world is super exciting to him. He's just as curious about all of the people on the bus as he is about the plants and animals at the zoo and Balboa Park. I made the mistake of catching the bus on Padres Opening Day, so I was struggling trying to fold up his stroller on the bus, but some kind people helped us out and we had a rad day. I followed that with a three park bike ride with Darren and Nova (4/9).

Wednesday was a Casbah meeting and errand running with Pyles, and that night I worked the door at The Evens show at the Irenic(4/10). Meeting Ian MacKaye was pretty awesome and the show kicked ass, though I was really surprised I didn't see my old CVSE friends.

Melanie ended up working production on a national spot, so I got a bonus Thursday with Zane, so we returned to the Zoo and Balboa Park, then I had a NPFoA meeting before hanging with Darren and Nova for dinner and hanging out with Jake Najor at the Void and Ken Club (4/11).

Friday was a lazy day with Darren before we both had to work. I did merch for Kurt Vile who is just an awesome dude, and his tour manager was really cool, too. (4/12)  I try to keep the drinks under control when I'm working, but it was fun getting a little sloppy with them after all the money was counted as the Casbah shut down. They even said they'd hook me up on their Coachella guest list if I so desired, but sadly I just couldn't make it happen.

I did however enjoy a Saturday at home (4/13), watching Louis CK and HBO Boxing and cleaning the house and making dinner for Darren and watching several Coachella performances as they live streamed on YouTube.

On Sunday, Natalie from ItsTooSunnyOutHere.com was in town, so I met her and Susie, Michael, Derek, and Kelly for brunch at Heat Bar & Kitchen on Park Blvd. The kitchen was really backed up and they ran out of gravy, so it turned into this epic four hour brunch and we were comped a few carafes of mimosas and apple tortes a la mode, so no complaints from any of us. Their food is great and relatively inexpensive, so I definitely recommend it. That night Michael's band, The Paper Thins, played at Soda Bar so it was a good day all around (4/14).  I checked out Little Green Cars (who are amazing) and Wild Nothing for Anti-Monday League (4/15), then spent a day with Darren and Nova (4/16). We skipped our weekly Casbah meeting, so I got some work done at home all day before date night where Darren made me an amazing dinner, then we cabbed to the Casbah for King Khan & The BBQ Show and drinks before going to FLUXX for The Faint (4/16). I was a bit overindulgent with the cocktails, but a nice bike ride to Balboa Park cleaned the toxins before I left to Pappy & Harriet's with Jeff for Franz Ferdinand's outdoor show and Grizzly Bear's indoor show (4/17).

I always post Dizzy's shows on this site, but I finally went to the new location on Mission Boulevard to see The Fishtank Ensemble before meeting my sister and her friends at Polite Provisions and then dragging them to the Ken Club when I realized PP charges $11 for Bulleit. Yikes! Cool place, but I have no real reason to go there again. I took a day off from everything which is always nice (4/20), but by Sunday I was itching to get out, so we rode bikes to Earth Fair at Balboa Park and had a great dinner at Flavors of Africa on El Cajon Blvd before Darren left to work. No shows that night, but we did drive out to Alpine at 1am to see the Lyrids meteor shower (4/21).

After spending Monday with Darren & Nova, I caught a ride with Tyler to the Casbah for Big Bad Buffalo, then to Soda Bar for The Wheeler Brothers and Oh Spirit (4/22), then spent Tuesday with Zane at Balboa Park and the Zoo. After dinner with Darren & Nova, I popped into The Void to see Rob Crow doing a practice Optiganally Yours set to an audience of three (4/23).  Chappo was in town at Soda Bar, so that was a fun little date night with Darren (4/24), and then we had our Sounddiego Live show at Bar Pink (4/25), followed by a Casbah night with New Mexico and The Howls (4/26). It was a big weekend with ArtWalk followed by Telekinesis at the Casbah, and pop-ins to Soda Bar and The Void with Jeff (4/27). Sunday was relaxing with a couple hours at the Zoo with Darren (4/28) and Monday we went to Mission Trails for a little hike by the dam before I went to Soda Bar for Bulletins (4/29).
 
Nova's birthday was on May 1, so we did a little birthday dinner for her on Tuesday (4/30). I bought her a radio controlled Scooby Doo Mystery Machine and I've never seen a kid so thrilled with a gift. Not to go too deep into the private stuff, but I've never dated someone who was divorced and has a kid, so there's all kinds of weird emotional stuff that I'm just trying to navigate- like being forbidden from the actual birthday party- and there have been a lot of really long talks and me battling major insecurities and uneasiness, but it was nice to celebrate in our own way and be reassured that things are solid for us even if some things are just out of our control. We celebrated after dinner with cupcakes and a visit to the park to play with the new toy.

Early Wednesday morning, Darren and I joined the San Diego River Foundation A-Team River Blitz, where we hiked through this trail-less part of the river to make note of large trash items like tires and shopping carts while we identified non-native species that will eventually be removed. It's super interesting work if you ever have time and feel inclined to get dirty and see parts of the river that are protected by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Then it was Casbah meeting and errands with Pyles, then a stay-home date night with Darren (5/1). I got to spend the day with Ziggy, my nephew from my brother-from-another-mother Kristian, so we spent the afternoon at Trolley Barn Park before seeing Yellow Red Sparks at the Griffin (5/2). I was pretty sick with this hacking cough and sinus infection, so Jeff and I had to skip the openers, but the whole lineup was really great and I'm sorry I missed it. That means I also wasn't up for much Cinco De Mayo fun, but I did work for Black Mountain and Sleep Sun at the Casbah (5/3), and since I had gone all the way to Brick By Brick only to find out Killing Joke didn't need me to work merch, I ended up at Takahashi, Moon King, and Born Ruffians at Casbah for another night (5/4), and then spent actual Cinco De Mayo mostly home save for some soup at 777 in hopes that I'd kick the sickness.

I was finally feeling better by Monday so we picked Nova up from school and went to Jackson Park in La Mesa, then to Teralta Park in City Heights before I went to the City Heights Planning Committee meeting (5/6). I had some business to handle, so when I watched Zane on Tuesday, I dragged him along as I ran errands and then he got some playtime in with Nova and Darren at Froggy Park (5/7).

Wednesday was routine Casbah/errands/lunch with Pyles until I went with Jeff to Minus The Bear at Price Center at UCSD (5/8). My phone's picture had totally gone out, so I dropped that off to get fixed before another bonus afternoon with Zane at the Zoo, then Darren and Nova met us at Balboa Park. We had a NPFoA meeting, after which I was wiped and just laid low at Darren's house until riding my bike home to crash out (5/8).

Me and Jesse (JBM)
I was so happy to run errands on Friday because my phone was all fixed. If you ever have a phone issue, PCS Connection does a really good job and has fair prices and amazing techs who don't jack you around. We also dropped by San Diego Bike Shop, the Casbah to handle some business, took Melanie's dogs to Morley Field dog park, then I went to Santa Ana with Jeff to see Cloud Cult and JBM at the Constellation Room at the Observatory. That was a funny night because the big room had a sold out Lil B show, so the two crowds intermingling was pretty hilarious. After the drive home, we dropped by the Whistle Stop for last call (5/10).

I feel like I'm gonna save the weekend for another post because the last three days have been epic, and since it is now 5:30 in the morning, I have to get some sleep before a 10am meeting and a big day of fun planned. Thanks for bearing with me for all of this. Now that it's all out of my system I can get on to all of the other posts I have planned this week. Ciao for now!

1 comment:

Melanie Rose said...

I absolutely love that you include Zane in your diary posts. Thanks for taking such good care of him :)