Photos: Local Natives and Tennis @ Observatory, 4.17.17

I've been quite a mess lately. In a matter of weeks, I'd lost my phone, my laptop casing became so cracked it became miserable to use, I lost my keys, and then when it came to load my Local Natives photos, I lost my HD card. I replaced the phone once I acknowledged it was stolen, Darren bought me a new laptop, my keys turned up where Darren had put them (in the car glove compartment), and then while sipping a cocktail at the Casbah, I realized I'd tucked my card in a tight corner in my wallet so I wouldn't lose it. Because of course I did. I can't help it that anxiety has been high lately, but I'm trying to get it together and we're trying our best to deal with the batshit crazy person with whom we can't escape in our life. Sometimes it is just overwhelming.

Originally Nova was to be in St. Louis for her Spring Break, but her trip was canceled last minute and we were happy we'd be able to take her along to several of the Localchella shows, including Local Natives, who she totally fell in love with after their last show at the Observatory. I had some trouble getting my photo pass squared away, so I didn't get to shoot Tennis from the pit, but thanks to the help of Nik Ewing, it was squared away by the time the band took the stage.

The show was amazing and Local Natives plaued a set that included a lot of older stuff to please the San Diego audience. I had called the band "honorary San Diegans" in my SoundDiego piece, and it was cute that the band reiterated that sentiment throughout the night talking about their history in the city, their grandparents who worked here for years, their many times playing over the last several years.  I feel super lucky to have been to just about every San Diego show they've ever played, and I'll keep following as long as I can.

Without further ado, here's some photos from that awesome night. Pictures after the jump.

Wrex The Halls 2016 Tickets On Sale Now!

I'm not gonna lie, last week was crazy busy and I was a little checked out with my birthday and work and everything going on. So Wrex The Halls 2016 announced two dates this year, and tickets went on sale Friday. And I know if you know me and know this site you're not going to believe what I'm about to say, but Band of Horses ACL set on Friday night was pretty amazing and on point. Anyway, details and ticket links are below.

91X Presents

Wrex The Halls

December 10 - 11, 2016

Valley View Casino Center

Tickets now on sale to the public!

NIGHT 1 - December 10:

Beck

Band of Horses

Local Natives  

Glass Animals

Bishop Briggs

TICKETS

NIGHT 2 - December 11:

Blink-182

Pierce the Veil

Jimmy Eat World

Kaleo

TICKETS

**Thanks to the reader who caught my error...this is WREX THE HALLS, not X-Fest. Duh. 

Surprise Show: Local Natives & DJ Claire at the Casbah- Monday, May 16 (SOLD OUT)

Local Natives at The Belly Up, 9/17/2015

Last night, Hyundai and Grammy Amplifier teamed up to spotlight an up and coming artist named Cramer. She was great, though I probably wouldn't do a cover of "Come Together" as my second song if I wanted this audience to convert to fans. Anyway, Grammy Amplifier held a contest and three winners emerged, so then they get opening slots for bigger artists, and three showcases are held- one in Chicago, this one at the Belly Up, and another in November at Fun Fun Fun Fest. The show was free, but you had to enter a lottery, though upon arrival, there was no check-in, so anyone in line got in, and I'm not sure the venue reached capacity. It feels like a million years since Local Natives have played San Diego, since their last time around they were opening for Kings of Leon at Sleep Train Amphitheatre. In fact, I think maybe this was my first time seeing them since Nik joined the band, so it was pretty exciting. Here's a fun fact: before they were known outside of LA, I booked Local Natives for my first San Diego Music Thing showcase which they subsequently canceled for a better offer in San Francisco. I seriously love these guys and it was an incredible show. I decided to record most of the show since Darren was unable to join me, but I thought I'd share the playlist for anyone interested. I shot these with my Samsung camera, but I might have to go back to the Sony because I'm not loving the sound, but here they are anyway.

Where Have You Been?: A Weekend Recap

Over the weekend, I had three people tell me they missed me actually writing. I tweet and update all the time, and I do little headers here and there, but I've maybe gotten more self-conscious about bleeding my whole life on the internet. But today I feel like writing. Some psychotic person is harassing my family and friends on Facebook and some other looney is harassing my friends while some troll feels the need to berate me on Twitter, I guess mostly reminding me that I live out loud and gushing about my life is what I do. To read all about it, click 'keep on reading' at the end of this post.


So I'll say it was a brilliant weekend for me. And by "weekend", I'll start with Thursday. After I went to the zoo for the Galapagos Turtle event, I headed to the Hard Rock Hotel for the San Diego Music & Technology Conference. I mostly sat in the back as I listened with one ear as I tried to get some work done on my laptop, but I found the panels to be interesting and informative. Electronic music and the culture are things I try to understand, because even as the panelists agree, watching someone turn knobs or push buttons is insanely boring, but the discussions about new technology and instruments and the innovation around that world were incredibly fascinating and I was happy to be there. I even won a prize from SoundCloud that I gave to Josh, but apparently it would serve me better as a blogger than he as a musician, so we'll see what it entails and I might look into using it here.

After SDMT&C, I headed up to the San Diego Woman's Club. I was selling merch for Mason Jennings and I got there an hour before I had to be there, but was able to catch Mason soundchecking on the grand piano, which was pretty amazing considering there were only 3 other people in the room. By the time we opened up, Mason played for about 90 minutes, after which he stayed until the very last person got a photo and autograph. I was joking all night that Mason Jennings deserves his own chapter in Stuff White People Like which is not a criticism, but there was a very specific demographic at the show. Coming from an advertising background this fascinates me; it's something I pay attention to regularly.

After the show and the final autographs, I made my way to West Coast Tavern, where Brett from Emersen had finished his set and Republic of Letters were setting up. They played a stripped down set without Nick on drums, and though I love their full sound with the whole band, it was great hearing this iteration of the band as well. After the set we stuck around a while before calling it a night.

On Friday morning it was back to the Hard Rock Hotel for the San Diego Music & Technology conference. They had a great social media panel that went above and beyond the usual obvious twitter and facebook information, and some rad panels on lighting, sound design, and Moldover was just fascinating discussing his homemade instruments. I had to leave before closing remarks to get to the post office before closing, but decided to wander over to Analog for happy hour. Aaron Thompson was there and he shared that he's been asked to play bass on a European tour with Fenix TX, so stay tuned for some guest blog posts as he shares his stories and adventures from the road.

After some tasty food, I went to the Casbah where I was able to see Menomena soundcheck. The show was sold out and all of the bands were fantastic, but I felt a bit claustrophobic and left during Menomena to catch Judgement Day at the Soda Bar. They totally kicked ass per usual. Afterward me and the band headed to Malinda & Jake's where they were staying and hung out for a couple hours until I called one of my favorite cabs and called it a night.

On Saturday I sold merch for the early show at the Casbah with Southern Culture on The Skids. I always forget how great this band is live and they're an absolute pleasure to work for, with all of their merch organized and they have a great wireless credit card machine which allowed for a successful day of sales, even though they were running low on merch at the end of their tour. After the show, I stuck around for some Booty Bassment before heading up the hill to the final House Party Girls party. Apparently cops had already broken up the bands, but the party was in full swing when I arrived so I stayed until the last shot of tequila was consumed before heading home (with wet feet after stepping into a small pond in the backyard). Good luck to Heather and Amanda as they jetset around the world for some awesome travel through Mexico, Thailand and Europe. We'll be here ready to party when you come back to visit.

Finally Sunday was the KPRI harbor cruise on the Hornblower with Dawes. I don't think I've ever watched videos so much in my life...these guys were so great and though in my mind I imagined big burly bearded Portland-ish duded, they're LA boys and adorable as all hell. I look forward to their full band set in November at the Casbah.

From the cruise terminal we crossed downtown to hit up Artwalk By The Bay and to see The Heavy Guilt play. If you haven't seen them perform, they're playing at the Adams Avenue Street Fair this weekend and I suggest you catch them.



After heading home and taking a nap (and realizing that my face was tragically sunburnt, complete with sunglass marks like a raccoon), it was up to the Belly Up for Local Natives. I love those kids and it was an awesome show.

Needless to say, I was completely worthless on Monday, though I went back to the Belly Up for an amazing show with Calexico and a fantastic opening band called Sergio Mendoza y La Orkesta from Tucson. Go see them when you can. I hope to get some videos up soon, but with nearly a dozen people on stage, they don't quite capture the awesome.

Last night I went to SDSU to see Phoenix and Neon Indian, and I'll post those pics soonish, too. The craziness never stops, as tonight I'll be checking out the Gaglione Brothers media party, a Pyles session with In Transit Audio, and The Jim Jones Revue at the Casbah. Tomorrow night while I urge you to go check out Meg & Bryan over at West Coast Tavern for a free show, I'll be selling merch for Dungen at the Casbah, and though I haven't completely mapped out the weekend, I know I'll be at the Adams Avenue Street Fair, at the Beauty Bar on Sunday night for their closing party (and one of a few of my birthday celebrations). Monday I'll be at the Felice Brothers who are awesome on their own, but even better knowing that there's a possibility that Conor Oberst will be there...can't ring in my midnight birthday a better way! There's a lot of other birthday celebrating happening for me next week, but make sure you RSVP for the SoundDiego Live event at West Coast Tavern next Thursday with my boys d/wolves as well as an hour of hosted Karl Strauss beer and apps. That should make for a great pre-party before heading to FLUXX for another FLUXX live show with Transfer, The Silent Comedy, Jared Mees and the Grown Children, and Little Hurricane.

and you wonder why I haven't been writing??

Local Natives @ The Belly Up, 9/19/2010

I'm trying to recap my whole weekend but that's slow coming, so instead, I'll just post my videos from the sold-out Sunday night show with Local Natives. I've loved the band for a long time and have seen every San Diego show they've played, and even went up to LA for one. You may or may not know that I tried to book them at last year's North Park Music Thing, but they had a scheduling conflict, and frankly I knew back then that they were too good for the Radio Room where they had been scheduled to play. It's great to see that good people who make great music succeed, and the band has been all over the world touring with awesome bands and playing the largest festivals in the world. And it's also nice that they come back and play a 600-700 capacity venue like the Belly Up as well as a free show earlier in the day at dog beach. I was still on my harbor cruise with Dawes, so I missed it, but I heard it was a lot of fun and very well attended.

So anyway, the show was awesome, minus the douchebags to my right. I'm all for people enjoying the show, but your fun shouldn't ruin anyone else's fun, and when you're jumping up and down with a full beer and spill it on a photographer, you deserve to get your ass kicked and you don't deserve to be at the show. There are shows where that is the norm and to be expected, like say The Bronx or Pennywise or a gazillion other bands. Local Natives are not that band, and when the singer calls out the crowd for being "the rowdiest Sunday night crowd (they've) ever had" he wasn't complimenting you, which is why he followed with, "and that you're proud of it?!"

So the band played a great set per usual and the crowd sang along per usual and naturally I can't wait to see them all again. Below is the playlist of all the video I took. You can click the left and right arrows on the side to scroll through.

New Music Tuesday: Mumford & Sons and Local Natives

I don't think I've mentioned Tuesday releases since the first year I started this blog, but I just got a little email and it reminded me that two GREAT albums come out today- Mumford & Sons Sigh No More and Local Natives Gorilla Manor. I've seen Local Natives 5 times or so and had the demos for a while and I'm thrilled the record is finally out. I got a chance to see Mumford & Sons last week (and posted a video playlist here) and LOVE this album from the first track to the last.

If you're registered at LaLa, you can listen to them here:

Mumford & Sons

Local Natives

For only $6.99 (today) only, you can buy digital copies at Shockhound:

Mumford & Sons

Local Natives

Local Natives will be at Coachella and Mumford & Sons were just announced for Bonnaroo, so perhaps somewhere between those dates, they can make their way to San Diego.

Local Natives Release Video For Airplanes

This video was sent to me last week, but I still wanted to post it because I love this band. I've now seen Local Natives live about half a dozen times and they're performances are energetic, their multipart harmonies are spot on, and they're just all such sweet guys. You may or may not know that we tried to book them last year at North Park Music Thing, but they had to cancel at the last minute because of a scheduling conflict...now their full length has been released in the UK and will be released in the US on February 16 on Frenchkiss records. I have their EP with several of the songs that became the record, and I highly recommend checking out Gorilla Manor when it is released. You can even preorder the record here.


Airplanes

Local Natives | MySpace Music Videos

A Week In Review: August 31- September 4, 2009

Several months ago I got this crazy idea in my head that I was going to move this site to WordPress. It still might happen just as soon as the thing in my head can be actualized and it becomes worth the time and effort. But as I sought guidance and was convinced it wouldn't take that long to do, I chilled out on updates on the site. Now I find myself still using my original Blogger template with months of photos (dating back to May, to be exact) and a whole bunch of stuff between then and now that I just never posted about. I mean, it's not like I stopped going to shows and taking pics, but I've just been brief about those updates.

Now that it's looking more and more like my move to WordPress is postponed at best, and since I think I'm finally inspired enough out of my writer's rut, I wanna get back to the old days, when I wrote like nobody was reading, if you don't mind. I may never get back to most of those 4 months of photos, but I don't want to keep putting off the present because of the past. I was trying to break my writing into digestible, tagable, and web-searchable nuggets, but fuck it. My brain doesn't work that way and it's been so long since I've really wanted to write, so now you get a deluge.

With that said, last week, once recovered from Street Scene was a pretty good one. Click 'keep on reading' to read all about it.

Bad Veins at The Casbah, 2.1.09




My post-Street Scene adventures started on Sunday when I went to Jimmy's party with Josh Damigo. Jimmy hosts open mic at Lestat's and it was a beautiful day among warm people. I recognized a few faces- photographer Steve Covault was there, with his new bride Sweet Joyce Ann, Sara Petite, and others had gathered to celebrate the birthday. Dat Phan was there and naturally when at a party, one doesn't leave a conversation with a comedian. He had us in stitches until it was time to go. On the ride home I snapped Josh singing along to his music. Next time he better be careful or I'll shoot video.



Monday was eaten up with projects and stuff and just as a break, I walked over to Lestat's to catch Josh for a couple songs during open mic, which is where that video for "Indescribable" that I posted last week came from. I stopped into Lou Jones, too, but Tuesday was another early day for me so I didn't stay long. Let me tell ya, though, if you ever want total extremes, go to Lestat's for Open Mic Mondays, then to Lou Jones to visit Chrystal on Metal Mondays.

Tuesday night was all about the Casbah for me. LoveLikeFire from San Francisco opened the night and sadly my photos are beyond terrible. But they're really great with a highly energetic female guitarist vocalist up front.

I was there for two more bands living on the Dangerbird label that for me, so far at least, can do no wrong (Silversun Pickups, Eulogies, Dappled Cities). On this night, it was Bad Veins and Division Day who are co-headlining the tour. As I mentioned last week, I've been listening to both albums religiously and I was not disappointed by the live performances. Bad Veins, being just a two piece, rely on prerecorded beats that are usually played through a reel to reel, but "she" broke the night before so they were bummed they had to iPod the stuff, but I don't think it made a difference to the crowd.



I'm not gonna lie. The crowd was much thinner than I expected. And much, much smaller than I'd hoped. These are some incredible bands doing really great things and I guess me saying so can't get someone like Daye convinced that it's ok to miss Big Brother. I especially felt bad for Division Day because my city wasn't very courteous to them when they played Bar Pink during NPMT. In fact, apparently there were some not nice words from the drunks at Pink that night when DD said they were from L.A. Maybe Bar Pink should charge a $20 cover to anyone with a True North stamp on their wrist as a filter.

Regardless, the band performed a great set and hopefully will be back soon. I noticed Bad Veins is booked at Soda Bar in October, so perhaps more shows will excite more people about them.



Since I was pretty sure the few photos I took sucked (as evidenced above), somehow I convinced the boys in Bad Veins to pose for me after the show so at least I could get them with some light.



Wednesday I took it easy, going to dinner at Tita's Kitchenette, a filipino place in National City with Jake, but deciding that a night at home wasn't a terrible plan. Plus I had work to do. When I talk about 'work', btw, I'm still not working, but I'm hoping some shit falls into place soon and the 14 or so hours a day I'm online actually turn into the kind of work that pays money. So there that is. Haven't brought that up in a while, have I? Money or not, an email inbox with hundreds of emails crying for attention, to me, is still work.

Naturally Thursday I was ready to hit the nightlife again, so I was back at Casbah for Local Natives and Heartless Bastards. If the show didn't sell out, it was pretty damn close, but I was there to see Kelcey and the band once again. This was my third time seeing the band (this time without the girl), and they're the kinda band where you almost shouldn't check out their music beforehand, because while their EP is good, it really does no justice to their live shows. I especially dig when the band busts into 4 part harmonies. They just got picked up to tour with White Rabbits which makes so much sense because they're so percussion heavy. Maybe Britt Daniel will jump on board when they put out a full length and get them the attention they deserve. Though I should say they're touring their asses off and when they're not, they're playing Spaceland residencies and such, so it's not like they're being ignored.



Heartless Bastards headlined that night and while they sounded great...man, does that chick have a powerful voice, or what?...I was more into chatting with Local Natives and Andy in the back bar. No photos. I don't think I could've gotten through that crowd anyway. I had gone to the show with Jeff and he loves Heartless Bastards and was stoked they played an extra long set. From Casbah, we checked out Expressway To Yr Skull, Mario's Thursday night thing over at Soda bar, and as Soda Bar goes, bands were still playing, though no appearance by Crocodiles as listed.

Friday was tough because as much as I wanted to see The Styletones at X1FM, it's been a couple years since I've seen Pete Yorn and I'm really digging his latest record, Back & Fourth. I also had an afternoon meeting with a label rep who gave me an advance of Break Up, his album with Scarlett Johansson that comes out next week (9/15), so I had even more incentive to go. When I got to the track, we stopped by the 91X booth, and got hooked up with wristbands for the patio and even got a pair of tickets to The Honey Brothers.

We had time to kill and bet on a couple races. (My girl, Kicking Vixen held on to her lead for the first half mile before burning out). 3 races later and we found our spots on the patio to wait for Pete. And wait. And wait. It was about 7:45 before he finally started, but it allowed for more people to see him and he kept gushing about how playing Del Mar is his favorite gig of the summer. Judging by the 21 song, hour and a half set that he played, I would say he was being truthful, and it was worth the wait. And maybe the wait wasn't even that long, but we were surrounded by those loud-talking track drunks who brag about how much money they won or lost in their khakis and polos and it was just nauseating. Unfortunately it is to be expected. What can ya do?

Anyway, I was pleased because Pete played a variety of music from all of his albums, focusing mostly on his new album and then reverting back to his debut, musicforthemorningafter, a lot, but also throwing in some tunes from the in-betweeners. Since we were in this VIP patio, we were above and behind the stage. Here was our view:


After the show I looked for setlists but no luck, but someone who did get one was kind enough to let me take a picture. A couple notes: "Social D" is Social Development Dance from the new record. Bizarre Love Triangle is the New Order song, played more like Frente's version but not quite that slow. Fans should know that "Chain" is "Life on a Chain" and "Crystal" is "Crystal Village". Super great set.



From the track, we stopped by Subtext but had already missed Swim Party's set. It was my first time in the gallery, however, and the building is beautiful, as is the driveway/common area where the band played. We hung out for a bit to chat with friends for a while before noticing it was already past 10:30.

We headed to Bar Pink to check out The Weight and fortunately for late band sets, we arrived before they started with time to spare. I wrote about them last week, too, so I don't need to say much more except that they're "from Brooklyn", which means they're all from all over the place...the singer having lived in Athens and Atlanta, and everyone else from Connecticut, Jersey, PA, wherever. As they said, "Nobody in Brooklyn is from Brooklyn, unless you're Puerto Rican." I guess I expected them to look a little less Brooklyn and a little more countrified like their sound, but what do I know.

Their set was incredible and it was nice to bump into friends who were just at the Bar to hang out gushing about the band by the end of the set. Comparisons to Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, The Band, and The Rolling Stones were thrown around. I have their record "Are Men" (as in "The Weight Are Men") and if any of those musical influences turn you on like they did me or Andrea or Tim, go pick it up or buy it off iTunes.



After their set I introduced myself because it's what I do when a band's publicist takes the time to write me a personal email about a specific show and I couldn't help but adore how Joseph said hi and gave me and awkward hug, then immediately excused himself for sucking at conversation and for not being good at talking with strangers. I asked him about the tour, about their hometowns, and incidentally, he doesn't suck at conversation.

We stayed a bit for Bartender's Bible but the bar got packed quickly, and usually I can tell the A/C is on there, but that night it was out or too crowded to feel a thing, so we decided to bounce. We decided to check out Ruby Kitchen and got burgers, though we were disappointed that the "late night comfort food" menu has been suspended for now.

With that, I'll close out. I want to write about Saturday in a separate post because it was that awesome. And shit. Did I just write until the sun came up again? Dammit. See you tonight at the SDMA's.

Recap: Ben Kweller, Local Natives, Jones Street Station

Tonight I went to House of Blues to see Jones Street Station, Local Natives, and Ben Kweller. The show was supposed to be a mainstage show, however low ticket sales resulted in the show moving into the 5th Avenue Voodoo Stage. I have a lot to say about that and honestly I don't feel it reflects on the artists whatsoever, so I'll save it for another time.

I made it to the show early because I wanted to make sure to catch both opening bands. I think Local Natives were slated to play first, but since they're from LA and had tons of people out to see them, Jones Street Station started off the night. The band is made up of five guys who met in Brooklyn but who come from various locales (Minnesota, Jersey, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois) and it just reminds me how much I love boys from the Midwest. Their rootsy, Americana songwriting is addictive, and their harmonies are stellar. Throw in the various instruments (mandolin, stand up bass, keys, harmonica, accordion, tambourine) and I was sold upon first listen of their sophomore CD, In Verses.



For the rest of the recap, click 'keep on reading'.



Find more music like this on Jones Street Station
I had a photo pass to the show but the lighting just doesn't work for my camera so here are just a couple shots. The rest, sadly, make the band appear like they're possessed. This is definitely a band I will be paying attention to in the future. There's not really a lead vocalist to the group... John belts it out and plays a mean harp, which he pulls out of a hunting belt; Danny's got more hushed vocals while strumming a guitar, banjo, or mandolin, which reminded me a bit of Ian Ball from Gomez. The rest of the guys sing, too, however the sound board they soundchecked with failed just before their set, so they had half the inputs they needed so we didn't quite get the full band harmonies.



Standout songs for me were "Evergreen" which definitely hit an emotional nerve for me and "Tall Buildings", which was the last song of their set. The entire band stood singing without mics while Danny played his acoustic guitar completely unplugged. Aside from the rude assholes that talked throughout the show, it was a pretty specatacular performance. I couldn't shoot video, but here's video of a similar performance in NY a few months back.



Between bands I was in a crowd of kids with their parents sharing that it was their first concert. An older lady got in a conversation with the people around me and she was in her early 80s, there to see her grandson in Local Natives. As the band was about to start, I maneuvered over for pictures only to then get screamed at from the sound guy. Even though I was where I was supposed to be. Dick. Anyway, after the first song he grabbed me and said I could shoot for the next two songs. Not that anything I attempted worked anyway...



I caught Local Natives when they played the loft a couple months ago and they're genuinely entertaining. I guess there's a vibe that some bands have...Local Natives, Port O Brien, Builders and Butchers, Blitzen Trapper and Dusty Rhodes all come to mind, where the band members are all clearly multi-talented, they play every show with the same heart, and they appear to be a happy family onstage, and there's really no way to fake that and it makes for really amazing live shows. These kids are good.

Jake had arrived by that point, so after a few photos I watched the set from the back of the crowd. Jake told some yuppies to shut up which made me laugh. Maybe people don't get out enough? I don't know. How someone can talk non stop for an band's entire set just floors me. And if you have so much to say, can't you just move it outside, or at least lean in to your friend's ear so you don't scream over a a band that is playing- That other people paid to see.

Anyway, I bought the band's EP since I didn't have cash last time around. After the set I introduced myself to 3/5 of Jones Street Station: JB, Danny, and Sam who couldn't have been nicer guys. We chatted a bit about the tour, about the "House of Rules", about the rest of the tour, and some random shit, like how JB wrote the bacon bacon beef jingle for Wendy's and when Sam came down with Poison Oak (he builds stuff, including hiking trails) he was in a clinic for treatment and the Wendy's ad came on. The way they spoke, riffing off each other, finishing sentences, I felt like we should all go sit around a campfire together. While we spoke, Ben Kweller walked up and they introduced me and then I let them be so they could talk about plans to join Ben onstage for his finale.

I also spoke briefly to Kelsey from Local Natives and (fingers crossed) might have them back in town soon, since they're based nearby. I'll let you know how that goes.

I went back into the venue to catch Ben Kweller and was happy to see that the crowd has swelled significantly. He started off the set with Gypsy Rose and naturally I love any song with my name in it. Kweller's songwriting and countrified music is mellow without being boring and he continued on playing a pretty lengthy set.



Again, after some pics, I hung with Jake along the side wall which is where we made our mistake of the evening and left. It isn't that we weren't enjoying the show, it was just that I had planned to catch Ghostbird at the Ruby Room. By the time we walked to his car, got caught up in gnarly post-Padres and regular Saturday night downtown traffic, we got to Hillcrest and searched aimlessly for parking for over half an hour. You can only cruise Essex so long before getting annoyed, both of us realizing we should've just stayed for the full set at House of Blues, especially since there was gonna be a big Ben Kweller/Jones Street Station/Local Natives finale that I'm sure was incredible. Can't win em all. With that, I turned in for the night, catching 120 Minutes on VH1 Classics and bid adieu to another Saturday night.

Tonight: Ben Kweller, Jones Street Station, Local Natives

Honestly, it's not often that I'm excited about a show at the House of Blues, especially on a Saturday night, but it also isn't very often that I'm equally or more excited to see the openers than I am the actual headliner. Tonight is such a case when LA's The Local Natives and Brooklyn's Jones Street Station open for Ben Kweller.

Instead of gushing...take a listen to both for yourself.

Jones Street Station

Local Natives

And if that's not enough goodness, Ben Kweller is pretty damn awesome, too. Tonight will be a good night for some rootsy Americana.

Ben Kweller - Fight


(after the show, there will be plenty of time to catch Ghostbird's CD/Video release at Ruby Room.)

Rosey's Diary: April 14-16, 2009

Remember the good old days when I used to write everyday? The mountains of photos I have are just getting ridiculous at this point, but it's time for another diary entry. I left off my last post on April 11, then spent a couple days chilling out (and probably catching up with February & March), but Transfer was returning from tour and it was time to get out again. That ended up being a huge week with 9 shows in 6 days. In this diary: Transfer, Apes of Wrath, Roxy Jones, Local Natives, Hockey, Lanterns, Jamuel Saxon, Swim Party, The Notice, The Midwinters. I'll save Coachella for the next post. Click keep on reading for my diary.


April 14, 2009

As I said, Transfer was returning from some gigs that they did with Holy Rolling Empire (that had kicked off at the Casbah). While that show was huge, this show felt far more intimate, as Matt kept noting throughout the show, acknowledging this show felt like family. And it did. Which is really why I didn't take any pics. It was crowded up front from the get go. Apes of Wrath kicked off the show and I can really never get enough of those guys. If you haven't been to the Soda Bar yet, get there soon. The shows are great and it is really one of the only places where I don't feel bad sitting the whole time, whether along the bar or in a booth. On this night, we got the booth nearest the door and had a rotating cast of characters coming and going throughout the night.





Roxy Jones played the middle slot and from where we sat, we could see Peter and the band playing on the TV monitor and through the wall. Once the sound was properly equalized, I enjoyed listening as it had been a while.

I always love seeing bands right after a tour and Transfer is no exception. They're happy to be home among friends and family and playing to a crowd where everyone knows every song. I live for shows like this with good friends, good music, and have I mentioned the amazing beer selection at Soda Bar?

I had to take it easy, however, because I worked at my family's daycare all day Wednesday. Me and six kids. All day. Luckily when they nap, I can close my eyes for about 10 minutes but when the day was over, I was outta there.

April 15, 2009
The reason I was covering the daycare was so my mom, sister, and niece could go to Disneyland for the day for my sister's birthday. I hear they had a great time. My niece is at the age where she can appreciate stuff, and with my sister expecting another girl in the fall, it might be some time before they can head back.

After daycare, I stopped home to let my dog out and zipped up to The Loft at UCSD. I know the campus is tricky and a bit out of the way, but I really enjoy shows there. I hear they've sold out a few shows, but the ones I've attended had plenty of space. UCSD students need to wake up and realize they can catch bands on the rise.

A friend of mine told me about Local Natives, and I'd read several blogs that deem them the next breakout band from Silverlake and it was definitely clear why. You can check out their Daytrotter session here. They're layered harmonies are exceptional and I'm always a big fan of lead vocalists playing random percussion...tamborine, a drum, and I never realized I was such a fan of drums being played on the rim instead of the skin.





I cannot wait for them to come back to town and play a grown-up venue because they bring a party. (They're pretty funny on twitter, too @localnatives)

Hockey played the same night and was a totally different style...more of the dance pop that all the kids are into these days. They definitely bring it live and all the college girls were dancing (and cooing, I believe). If I have any complaints about The Loft, I'd say (1) they should promote and encourage more people from off campus to come to shows because it feels a little cold to non-students and (2) to make sure the students running the booth are making use of the killer lights they have. Nothing bums me out more than state of the art lighting that just stays the same for an entire show. The band doesn't stay still for very long either, but I can't really complain about that aspect.



After the show at The Loft, I headed over to Ruby Room to catch Lanterns and Jamuel Saxon. It has been a while since I've seen Lanterns and it's too bad because they're a super fun band. Jamuel Saxon is equal parts awesome, rad, and hilarious. For their set they had an old TV/VCR combo set-up onstage that was playing a really bad 70's workout video that I believe was a workout for older chairbound people. The music and video actually synched at times and the crowd was loving it. Ruby Room = pure blackness, so didn't bother with pics.

April 16, 2009:

Thursday night rolled around and Swim Party was performing at the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art. I believe the event was to court donors, but it made me kinda sad to see the expense of this show, with two complimentary drinks per person as well as amazing food stations, while knowing that TNT is gone for a while. You have to spend money to make money they say, but it kinda bummed me out. I can't remember the last time I'd ever been to the museum and was blown away by the size. It would seem like the space could be used for more events, even non-art events, to compensate for overhead costs. But what do I know, really? I'm not gonna lie, I love me some free food and beverages, in this case beer from Stone and an amazing spread including a mac n cheese bar. This was a first for me, but it's a lot like a mashed potato bar, with a scoop put in a martini glass and an assortment of cheeses, bacon bits, croutons, mushrooms, artichokes and other rad stuff to add. I was glad to have not eaten before the event and dug in. There were also some pulled pork sliders, a food station I skipped entirely, and a churro bar for dessert. In a word, it was awesome.
Oh, and Swim Party was good, too. The event was not very crowded (intentionally, I think) and a lot of our friends were there, which made me wonder who the big donors were, cuz lord knows I know no rich folks (unless you're secretly rich, in which case there's a donate button on this site).



Everyone split after the museum, I think they headed to Bar Pink, but I chose the Ken Club because I wanted to see The Midwinters. Fortunately I arrived in time to also catch The Notice who vocally reminded me a lot of Edwin McCain. This is a band for people like me who love KPRI and still declare that Counting Crows are my all time favorite band, and fuck indie cred. Probably not the best band for the Ken Club and not helped by the fact that Ken Club doesn't usually have Thursday shows but I was happy to be there.

They were well matched with The Midwinters who remind me of Toad The Wet Sprocket, specifically Dulcinea, which I probably listened to about 1000 times in the summer of 1994. It was roadtrip music for my friends and I on our epic trip to Berkeley via Highway 1 and when I hear The Midwinters I get taken back to a time in my life when everything feels ahead of you. Yes, all that from a band that plays once every couple months, has no delusions of grandeur, but who describe their project as their poker night. "Some husbands get together for poker night. We get together and play in a band." "Do your wives ever come?" (laughter) "No way. They're over us." I'm not and look forward to seeing them again.

The next day I was off to Coachella which deserves it's own post. Next diary.