San Diego Music Thing Preview: NO

There are so many great bands performing this weekend at the San Diego Music Thing. We can hope that venues/stage managers/sound techs/bands all cooperate to keep to the schedule that was given so that you can realistically plan your own adventure. There are several out of town bands performing, so I thought I'd at least share a few of those with you.

The first band is NO. The band is from Los Angeles, though lead vocalist Bradley is originally from New Zealand. When you hear the band, it is hard not to instantly associate them with bands like the National, but without sounding like a rip-off of the band. I first saw the band perform at the Invisible Children benefit at the Troubadour in December, and later booked them to play a night at the Casbah in January. They're so polished on stage that my instant response was that this band is going to be big (which was also my instinct the first time I saw Imagine Dragons, Gardens and Villa, Foster The People, and Races).

They've been back since, but if you still haven't seen them, you can see them on Friday night at the Casbah at 9:20 pm as part of the San Diego Music Thing. Read an interview in Buzzbands here, and check out their site for a free EP download here.

These are some videos I shot from their LA and San Diego performances.

Tuesday Night at the Casbah!

I've been so fortunate over the past year or so to get the opportunity to book some great music lineups at the Casbah. I mean, back before I was working for the venue and even before I started this site, new music discovery was one of my favorite things about the club. I would look at the upcoming calendar and then listen to the bands on MySpace (we're talking six years ago after all!) and pick and choose the nights I would head down to Kettner for a night of great new music.

Nowadays, the way I discover music is a little different, but when I get the chance to book some of San Diego's latest talents or even get some out of towners to play down here, I jump at the opportunity to bring some new blood into the mix. On Tuesday night, I'm proud to partner with Invisible Children for a lineup of three bands, all popping their Casbah cherries. Locals Finding Francis recorded with Aaron Swanton over at White Horse Recorders, Los Angelenos NO have only played a handful of shows but are already being touted as a band to watch in 2012, and Tyson Motsenbocker and I have been talking about a show for a long time but he was on the road for so long that now I finally get the chance to bring him to the Casbah's stage. The show is only five bucks and I hope that you'll agree that sometimes the best shows are the ones where you unexpectedly discover your next favorite band.  I promise an early night with the first act kicking off at 9pm, so you'll get home just after midnight and get in those needed zzz's. 

Don't Worry, You'll Be Here Forever by NO.