Bowerbirds on SoundDiego TV

Last night I worked at the Casbah, selling merch for ...And You Will Know Us From The Trail of Dead, so I didn't get a chance to see my interview with Bowerbirds air on NBC. I was hanging out with my editor and we were talking about my interview. I have not watched the clip yet, in fact I probably wouldn't embed it if I watch it first, so in case you missed it, here's the clip. I think I will have to drink a couple bottles of wine before I can actually press play and watch myself. I did get some pointers...like I should've had a mic on my hoodie so The Bowerbirds could share the stick mic, and that I should've used my arm closest to them so as not to turn my shoulder to the camera. I also felt super rushed toward the end because Strand of Oaks started soundchecking in the other room as we wrapped it up. Still, I felt okay about my first time.

I also wanted to repost my Facebook status from last night, because as Darren pointed out, it is something that is normally posted in my Diary posts and not so much on Facebook, but it was an amazing night so I thought I'd share again to anyone outside of the 10% of my friends who can actually see my facebook entries.

I couldn't have asked for a better night of work at Casbah San Diego. The tour manager, Arne, was awesome and even tipped me out at settlement (which doesn't happen often), ...And You Will Know Me From The Trail of Dead gave a stellar performance, singer Conrad was so kind and had great stories about his art and even gave me a super cool print that he drew when he was 17, I got to hang out with friends that I don't see often, I may have been offered a new writing gig with a prominent local mag, I got great feedback on my SoundDiego interview, and I got a safe ride home from my superhero boyfriend Darren Whittaker and am now just waiting for him to come over after work as I listen to the new Joshua James record.

We learned the simplest fact in one of our earliest taught nursery rhymes...."Life is but a dream."

merrily, merrily, merrily living and loving it.

View more videos at: http://nbcsandiego.com.

Bowerbirds this Friday at the Casbah

 Bowerbirds: Phil Moore and Beth Tacular

San Diego will be treated to another great male and female fronted band this week as the Bowerbirds perform this Friday night at the Casbah. I was able to enjoy their rich, orchestral, folk music last time they performed at the Casbah and while their most recent release, “The Clearing”, has them drifting to louder regions than they have explored before, their performances never drift from feeling intimate. The harmony between Phil Moore and Beth Tacular is hard-earned, their relationship goes well beyond being bandmates and they have had their fair-share of troubles and conflict. Despite that, the Casbah will showcase such poignant songs as “In the Yard” and a personal favorite, “Tuck the Darkness In”, which can be listened to below.  Opening for the Bowerbirds is the dark folk band Strand of Oaks.  Tickets can be purchased in advance here.

Jeff's Upcoming Show Recommendation

While it is so easy to become jaded with all the shows, hype, buzz, overkill or whatever one prefers to call it, there are always bands and shows which I believe are of the can't miss variety. One such show features only two bands; one from North Carolina and the other from London. The connection is a simple one: heartfelt indie folk music. The former is Bowerbirds, basically a duo featuring Beth Tacular and Phil Moore. The latter is the British quintet fronted by Peter Liddle, Dry The River. The date to remember is also quite easy, being this upcoming Easter, April 8. The Casbah is the place to be when the two bands gather to present songs from their recently released albums. Without going into detail I thought it would be easier to preview the show with a video from each band's album. This is Bowerbirds third release while Dry The River, though formed in 2009, just released their initial full length today. The Clearing (Bowerbirds)is being released on Dead Oceans tomorrow.

This is a show I believe should fill The Casbah, holiday notwithstanding.

Enjoy the videos, mark the date, and purchase tickets here.

Watch a video about The Clearing.



Watch a video of The Chambers & The Valves below.