New Bar News: Eleven, The Shakedown, Til Two

Ownership changes in the bar industy are nothing new, but they seem to come in waves. It feels like it wasn't long ago that I was writing about Scolari's changing to The Office, or the Zombie Lounge becoming the Radio Room or Soda Bar taking over Chaser's. It seems that this will be a constant...some bars find a formula for success and endure tough economic times, other brave entrepreneurs have to get out while they still can recover their investments, and still other owners just decide their bar owning days are behind them and retire out of the biz.

This summer, there are three bars that are finding new life. I've already talked about Eleven, the bar that was formerly the Radio Room (and The Zombie Lounge not long before that). Scott Blair, the owner of Hamilton's and Small Bar has taken over the spot with partner Dennis Borlek to turn the spot into another great beer destination for San Diego. Louis Mello, former Liar's Club owner, is manning the ship and has already proven that the spot will be a destination. We had a very successful showcase there during the North Park Music Thing, and on Thursday night, the bar was at capacity for their "official" opening party with The Donkeys and The Silent Comedy. The bar will generally host music on Fridays and Saturdays, limiting their lineups to two bands a night. With these guys, the focus is on good beer and a kick ass jukebox. Nothing more. Nothing less. (oh, and peanuts, though I'll never feel right throwing shit on the ground). Visit Eleven at 3519 El Cajon Blvd.

Another bar will be finding new life as The Shakedown(With a great SD logo to match). What was once known as The Rhythm Lounge, the bar located in the Midway district near the Sports Arena has long struggled with being lost among titty bars and XXX superstores. (Remnant signs still inside the bar warn about people who bring in their own booze or have sex in the bathroom). The bar is currently being remodeled and renovated. Ted, the new owner, has been living in LA for the past 7 years learning the ins and outs of bars, entertainment, and marketing and thinks that with his partners, he can offer a spot for true rock n roll and punk rock in San Diego. Think old cars, choppers, punk rock and tattoos and you have some idea what they're shooting for. Dave from The Queers is one of those partners and on a recent afternoon, all hands were on deck painting and starting the process of renovating the stage for better live performances. I can't say I ever went to The Rhythm Lounge, but after talking with the guys and realizing that I knew Ted before he moved, when we both frequented places like the Ken Club, The Tower Bar, Scolari's, etc., I'm sure that The Shake Down will have no problem finding their niche crowd, with rock n roll DJs most nights and shows only when there's a bill worthy of hosting. Find the bar at 3048 Midway Drive. They expect to be open on September 1st, with at least one show already scheduled for September 10 with Social Spit, Neverland Ranch Hands, The Last Years and more. (The bar wasn't quite photo ready, but I expect to be back before the opening) (Update: there is also a show on 9/4, the opening weekend, feat. The Experiments, Strangely Strange and Punk Rock DJs)


And finally, what started as a not-for-blogging scoop earlier this week was confirmed last night while I was at the Beauty Bar. The bar has been sold to "Ron Ro Enterprises", which is a partnership with Mick (Tower Bar) and Thaddeus Robles (bartender extraordinaire at Livewire, Casbah, etc.).

Mick confirmed that the bar will take the name of the bar that once stood in the same location, Til Two. "We made a Facebook page today, so I guess it's public knowledge now!," Mick said in his mischievous accent. "Ron Ro" will take over the bar officially on October 1st. I asked if the bar will have a new look, and Mick was a bit coy. He likes it as it is, he says, but he'll probably add some booths in the front bar area, and of course change some of the Beauty Bar signature silhouette signage. He likes the outdoor stage and thinks that changes will be gradual instead of a shut-down/full bar makeover. Judging by classic photos of Til Two, it appears that the aesthetic will feel old school and laid back, and knowing Mick for a few years now, I know that the bar is in good hands. He's never had a shortage of bands that want to play at the Tower Bar (even when an entertainment license was in question) and his kind demeanor has always been appreciated. He makes you feel like you're a prized customer whether you see him daily or just twice a year. It will be sad to say goodbye to the Beauty Bar in San Diego, but I look forward to the next chapter forward, which appears to be a nod to the bar's past. Check out Til Two when it opens on or around October 1 at 4746 El Cajon Blvd.

News Regarding Tower Bar & other stomping grounds

This is not an "official" announcement, but more of a 'keep it in mind' warning. Apparently the Tower Bar received a letter to cease all shows. The bar (supposedly) does not have a cabaret license and after complaints from a neighbor, the SDPD has issued the letter. Mick is in Europe right now, so I haven't personally confirmed anything with him, but just an FYI in case you were planning on checking out the shows this weekend that you might want to have a Plan B just in case the bands are forced to cancel. SDPD, as we all know, has been cracking down on venues regularly over the past year, and as far as I know, has put a cap on new cabaret licenses as well as making it a complete pain in the ass for venues who have a lapse in the license.

In other news, Street reported today that Bar Pink Elephant got a C&D from a chain of clubs based out of New York, Pink Elephant Club, for use of the name, so our North Park bar will simply be known as "The Pink". whatevs. New York swankster clubs can suck it.

Bar Pink Elephant was also in the news this week when Dang was interviewed about a growing graffiti problem in North Park. According to the report, we're not just talking people tagging the bathroom walls, but Dang said vandals got the bar on a busy night and actually spray painted the floor of the stage area. If anyone witnessed this or any other acts of vandalism, the police want to hear from you and are giving rewards for tips that lead to the arrests of these assholes.

Last, rumor has it that a certain Hillcrest club is in escrow. That's all I can say about that right now, but I think this is one sale many bands will surely benefit from if it goes through.

Man, so many changes, huh? "The Office" (formerly Scolari's) is open, the Zombie Lounge is in it's transition to become "The Radio Room", Avalon is part of North By Northpark and hopefully will become the all-ages venue it set out to be. Add Toronado to North Park hotspots getting hipster buzz and you can see the rapid change in our area. For better or for worse...

Off The Grid/Newsy Bits

I know my posting has been really limited this week and honestly, readers might not even care, but I hate not writing because then all that stuff just sticks in my brain in the form of self-dialog chatter and then everything I do or say becomes diluted. But, it hasn't been for nothing- I've been busy.

I mentioned the shows I did last weekend. This week started with Anti-Monday League at the Casbah (with one of my favorite performances by a band this year), babysat for the guitarist of Boris on Tuesday, went to a private performance by Ingrid Michaelson at the House of Blues, celebrating the one year anniversary of Radio Sophie (103.7) before seeing the full concert with opener Greg Laswell, and closing the night out at the Ken Club. Then last night I worked for The Album Leaf at the Belly Up, peddling goods to the crowd, breaking my personal record for amount of merch sold in one night and dampening the pain of all the money I lost/spent in Vegas last week. It has been a great week but I'm really looking forward to resting, reading, writing, and cleaning my house which has been completely neglected since I've been home.

I do have a couple newsy things that I wanted to mention and will hopefully be able to go into some depth about at a later time, but for inquiring minds:

• Rumor round town is that Sunday is the last official night for the Zombie Lounge. I mentioned the bar was sold to Chris, owner of Kadan, a few weeks ago. The sale is complete, Zombie will be no more. There will be a private party on Monday for Zombie regulars, then the bar will close for about 3 weeks for renovations and a makeover. All signs point to the new Radio Room continuing as a music venue and Chris has been around a long time (Brick By Brick, Kadan) so I trust he won't let us down.
• Drew Andrews (musician, artist, writer, doorguy) has been signed! He's going to be on Minty Fresh and is really excited about what the future holds for him with this relationship. He's performing with Rocky Votolato and Owen at the Casbah on July 23. I think I might buy all of his hand-sewn EPs then resell them on eBay. kidding. But pick one up while you still can.
• Last, I keep talking about a BBQ at my house on Saturday. Team Abraham, Hotel St. George and The Stereotypes are all playing at the Ken Club on Saturday night, so the boys of Team Abraham designated my backyard as the pre-party spot (and probably expect a post-party, too.) It's a DIY thing- we'll have the grill going, Abraham will make some of his amazing smoked pepper salsa, and I'll buy a kilo or two of tortillas, but if you wanna come, bring food for grilling and booze/beer for sharing. I live 2 blocks from the Ken, and about a mile in either direction of Beauty Bar and Zombie Lounge, so even if you're not doing the Ken Club, it would be nice to see everyone for a bit. E-mail if you need my address. We'll get the Q going around 5 pm.

Happy Friday and I'll be catching up soon. xoxo. (Happy Birthday, Ryan!)

News Flash: Zombie Lounge- SOLD!!

Ah, how punk nite reveals so much. The Zombie Lounge was sold and will be closed for at least two weeks. The last night open as it exists? I'm not sure, but they're trying to move current shows to other bars...Chasers, The Ken...so pretty immediate. If I can get anything more out of all the drunk punk-rockers, I will post here. Hey Reader...steal this story, you owe me $25, Bitches.

Sunday Recap: The Henry Clay People, Swim Party, Writer @ Zombie Lounge

After uploading my pictures from Saturday, I suspended myself from taking pictures (and from drinking) when I headed to the Zombie Lounge on Sunday night. This is a move I regret now, but I just couldn't bring myself to take pictures and ruin a whole other crowd's night with my flash. Still, I can't not write about the amazing bill that played at the Zombie.

Unfortunately I missed Mia Valentine. I still have this stupid obsession with the show "Cold Case" and once I started watching, I had to be there to find out that it was the cousin who shot the Elvis wannabe. So I watched and then headed to the bar and for a minute wished I had arrived either 5 minutes earlier or 5 minutes later because I was almost caught in the middle of a hooker fight.

I parked on the northwest corner of 35th and El Cajon, got out of my car and walked to the crosswalk. Me and two hookers on the corner, just as the "walk" sign turned green. We began to cross as three other ladies of the night came our way and suddenly some shit talking went down. "You the bitch fucking my baby's daddy? You fucking my man? You fucking whore!" Then the response, "Nah, Bitch, you got the wrong Ho, I don't know your shit. I ain't fuckin yo man!" There's stupid me just walking across the street as they're about to fight in the middle of the street, just minding my own business but kinda laughing inside about the almost fight happening as I cross 35th relatively early on a Sunday night. It will never cease to amaze me that this kind of shit is happening less than a mile from my neighborhood; less than a mile from the home of Mayor Jerry Sanders and Mr. 91X, Chris Cantore.

I quickly found sanctuary in the Zombie Lounge, as The Henry Clay People were mid set. People had told me about the band but holy shit, they are so good. I was thinking of Dusty Rhodes and the Little River Band in their presentation (though the music is very different)- the way you feel like the band is preaching to you, enlightening you of some secret they've learned with the hand gestures and emphatic expressions but in the meantime you're listening to the music and wondering how these young guys have it all figured out...and why they're playing the Zombie Lounge on a Sunday night?? They closed their set with a song dedicated to everyone who is "broke and poor but continue the rock 'n' roll". Then there was the acknowledgement that being broke and poor is redundant, but rock and roll anyway! And as Joey jumped in the crowd and knocked my shoulder and the crowd rocked along with them, you knew that everyone was right there with them. (This is a pic from their MySpace since I didn't take any.)

After The Henry Clay People, Swim Party took the stage and what else can I say about these guys. If I had a label, Swim Party would be the first band I'd sign. I took some heat because Petro shaved his beard after I posted a pic of him with his gigantic beard here but it was all in good fun. Anyway, the boys did their thing and seriously, if Swim Party hasn't been on your radar then you are sleeping.

The last band of the evening was Writer. They're a San Diego band I'd never heard of but who came highly recommended, and the second the singer, Andy, opened his mouth, I got a little pissed that this band isn't playing every other week in San Diego. In their live performance, there's this natural thing to connect them with The Smiths crossed with Wilco, and I would never take either comparison lightly. Is it too late to book them to open for Rocky Votolato at the Casbah next week? Can we make this happen? They were amazing onstage, and later, offstage, they were so nice, even after two of the three were bitten by a couple dogs running loose on El Cajon Blvd (unless it's edited, see my CityBeat column on Wednesday for more info on that). Anyway, Writer is playing some benefit show at a gallery or boutique or something in November, but I'm working on getting them seen around town sooner than that only because I don't think I can wait that long.

I couldn't be happier that the Zombie Lounge is diversifying and allowing more bands to take their stage. There was a time when you could only see rockabilly or punk bands but the shift definitely works for me.

Wed Recap: Bloody Hollies, The Modlins, Beta Lion

I got my first job at a coffee shop in Chula Vista when I was 15 and a half. Don't ask what the place was called because I guarantee you never had coffee there unless you were a 30 something Navy guy or you were one of my high school friends who came by to sing karaoke. But it was a funny thing...my boss was a 37 year old Filipina who told me repeatedly to "dress more sexy". The funny thing is that even at 15 I might've looked older, yet all our clients were really there for my hot boss who was in her mid 30s. On weekends we had cheesy jazz bands and after we'd close, my boss' friends would come by with beer and would sing karaoke that we had linked up on a big screen TV via a lazerdisc player. Some of the time the songs were in English, and sometimes in Tagalog. Sometimes, they'd convince me to sing in Tagalog for everyone's amusement. There is a reason why I haven't sung karaoke since that job.

The one thing that always surprised me, and I'm making very broad sweeping generalizations here, it seemed like every Filipino could sing. Even people who spoke with a thick accent could sound just like Elvis.

This really has no relevance to Wednesday night at the Zombie Lounge, except that when Beta Lion took the stage, it made me wonder why Asians, and specifically Filipino-Americans, are so underrepresented in the local music community when they are the 3rd largest ethnic group in San Diego. Beta Lion is out to change that. Or maybe they're just trying to play great music, and I'm charging them with waving the pinoy flag? Either way...

The band plays at times sweet indie pop and other times soaring pop rock. Being used to so many really loud bands at the Zombie, I was impressed that everyone was loud enough to enjoy but quiet enough that all parts could be heard. When Mark's mic cut out, the equally strong vocals of Op (Opie?) on guitar or Dean on drums were there to pick up until the mic worked properly and were also there in multi part harmonies throughout the set. I really enjoyed watching this band and they were such a nice group of guys to talk to after the set. At least one of them is living in LA now, so their gigs are probably a little infrequent, but if you like to sing "oooohs" and "ahhhs" along with a sweet band, Beta Lion are definitely worth checking out. I'd like to get them on a bill with The Infants...think they'd be great together.







As I mentioned to the band, if music doesn't work out with Op, he really should get into stand up comedy. The kid had great stage banter and after was cracking everyone up. He's pictured below on the left. He's actually Vietnamese and they lovingly call him "the Veit" because of some chick referring to him as such once upon a time.



This is just a random pic of my friends, Adrian and Jamie, who came out to the show.


And my friend Fermin who I know from my former life as a collegiate athlete.


And the kids from Secret Apollo.



For anyone who doesn't regularly visit the Zombie, it's worth noting that they have various drink specials depending on the night. On Wednesdays, a domestic beer and a shot are $5 until 11pm. Bud & Jameson go down nicely when it's a bargain like that.

The Modlins were second to hit the stage and had a good crowd of people there to check them out. They played a healthy set list chock full of songs from "Here's to Being Happy" and if I could discern properly, some new stuff as well. There are some album titles that just really don't tell you anything about the music, but The Modlins are pure pop bliss that remind me of listening to Oldies stations with my parents and them talking about their collections of 45s and when a certain song would come on saying something like, "this is when songs had meaning." And I like it. Sometimes I wanna hear "the-end-is-near, we're-all-gonna-die, my-life-is-so-tragic" music. And sometimes, I wanna hear The Modlins, who remind you that it's ok to get over yourself and really escape from reality with happy, quirky, pop music.








I thought it was a strange bill...to have the Bloody Hollies close up the night for two bands who sound nothing like the Bloodies, but it had been a long time since I'd seen them, and they were fresh from their 2nd Music Award win and I was just happy to be catching great local bands just a short hop away from home. The first time I ever saw the band, they were so turned up that nothing was coherent and I was glad to see that either they turned down to match the night or that they've grown enough to know that it's quite possible to rock hard without shattering eardrums. They seem to have become tighter and "cleaner" in the sense that they let the music speak for itself. They rocked out and in turn, the crowd did, too.








It was such a good night at the Zombie, good crowd but not too crowded, good music, good sound, and great friends all around. I wish I'd had the energy to write this after the set, but with a full Thursday planned for LA, I knew I had to rest up, so sorry for the Thursday blog hiatus. I'll make it up to you.

Tonight's Picks: Cary Brothers and/or Pen & Ink

If you were a fan of the movie Garden State, Cary Brothers (one guy, last name is "Brothers") is already familiar. His track "Blue Eyes" was featured prominently in the film soundtrack. Cary comes from the "Hotel Cafe" breed of musicians...along with Schuyler Fisk, Joshua Radin, Rachael Yamagata, Imogen Heap among others, they've criss-crossed the country on the Hotel Cafe tour and now Cary is finishing up his tour in support of his debut album "Who Are You". Cary will be at the Belly Up tonight. Stars of Track and Field are opening.

“Heartfelt vocals, beautiful melodies and astute lyrics…” – Contact Music

“Who You Are stands as an album of solid song-writing and enchanting melodies.” - PopMatters

I'll get to my review of Anti-Monday League in a few. If you're into music on the harder edge of things, I highly recommend checking out the show at the Zombie Lounge. Pen & Ink and Kingdom of Magic will be joined by Loom and Prize Country, both who impressed the hell outta me last night at the Casbah. And Loom had rad merch. I'll try to zip there after the Belly Up but I think it might get there too late.

Recap...the rest of the weekend

Look, I'm only human. Cullen says I'm unguarded and it's true, but I can only be me. But sometimes that means being sensitive, grumpy, angry, and generally unbearable. It's these times you should hope I'm hiding at home under my covers with Ryan Adams' new CD on repeat (which for at least part of my weekend, I did). The Band of Horses show irked me big time. It's nice to hope being called out is something you can just brush off, but the truth is I probably slept about an hour last night because that and other weekend stuff was on my brain and I tossed and turned all night long. I appreciate all the people who messaged me about my rant and understood my need to vent about it. Fortunately I can predict that my funk was just a weekend thing and by the time I'm watching Jim James tonight at the Belly Up, everything will be all good again.

I did mention that the Band of Horses pre-show was a good time, so I want to still post a couple funny pictures we took out on the patio while the two opening bands did their thing.









Other than that video on the other post, BoH gets no pictures posted. Sorry. Once the incident occurred, we booked it outta there. We headed to the Ken Club and were able to catch most of Fifty on Their Heels and all of Vinyl Radio.







It was good to see friendly faces; for me that means friends and the bartenders, I'm sorry that other people continue to have issues there.



It's not that I measure the bar with a different stick, it's just I've never personally experienced any problems there. Yes, the sound could be better. The band room could use a couple good lights, some a/c, and better sound equipment. Don't even mention the constant suggestion that the bathroom needs more stalls. I know all this. But then it wouldn't exactly be a dive bar, would it? And vodka tonics would cease to be $3 bucks. And when all of you aren't there for a show, us locals are the ones in there essentially keeping the lights on. Just the way it goes. Also, the sound isn't nearly so terrible if you buy some good earplugs. Just a suggestion you might consider.

Saturday was Sophie's birthday at the Beauty Bar and I thought I was in a better mood butI guess I really wasn't, so I did my best to fake it. It was nice to get there early (thanks for the drinks, CatDirt) so one could actually have a conversation before the DJs raised the volume to 11 and all parts of a conversation are prefaced with "what? I can't hear you!"





When the bands started, I watched passively. During the Vultures I was tucked in the back where there was a gap in space and I could breathe. I did take a couple pictures of Fifty, but since I'd just seen them the night before, I was pretty passively watching them, too. I stuck around as long as I could, but while attempting to pass the dancefloor, I got popped in the face...a definite sign I was not supposed to be there one second longer. Learn from my lesson...do NOT attempt to pass by the dancefloor while sipping your drink. A flailing conversive arm came up under my drink and slammed my plastic cup into my bottom lip while drawing a tiny speck of blood from biting my lip. The boy whose enthusiactic gesture knocked my drink was very apologetic and he raced to get me napkins (in case there was more blood) and then promptly replaced my drink, so it definitely wasn't any bad on his part, just wrong place at the wrong time, but when the cosmos speak, I listen and I bid adieu to the birthday party.

When I got to the Ken Club (I didn't say I was totally done for the night), Roxy Jones was playing in the band room. "Don't you dare bring out that camera," Peter joked, but it wasn't coming out anyway. The BoH thing definitely knocked me down a few pegs and I'm gonna be a little shier with the camera, I suspect.

Anyway, nothing particularly exciting on Sunday, unless you wanna hear how easy it is to drop serious cash at Target on kitty litter and toiletries. I watched the very hilarious and ridiculous "Sweet 16: The Movie" after catching pieces of the "Blingest Sweet 16" countdown. The winner: the son of Pebbles whose dad is a record exec...they spent over a half million dollars on his party. It's really disgusting actually, and I hate myself for watching any of it. Feeling shame, I realized that I should make something of my night and finally saw Firethorn play at the Zombie Lounge.

I was happy that when I walked up, the guys were all outside and hadn't played. I missed the opener, but did get to catch the full set of Tigers of Wrath. The singer's voice was a little high on the register for me considering his speaking voice was deeper, and he would pull his head away from the mic as a sound effect, which didn't really work for me. When he did belt it out and directly into the mic, they sounded 10 times better. They're doing a west coast tour, so I hope the experience helps them and I can catch them





Firethorn played next and I liked that they were more melodic than 97% of the bands who play the Zombie. That doesn't make them soft, it just means they actually sing instead of just yell. There were as many girls there to see them as guys, which I think definitely says something positive about the band. Plus, they're three of the nicest guys and completely supportive of other local bands with a near perfect attendance record for Tim Pyle's events, supporting all genres of local music.







I didn't stay for Someday Assassin thinking I was completely tired and then as I mentioned, I slept maybe an hour total waking up at least 30 times. It was pretty awful. Maybe I should've stayed and done a shot to knock me out... next time...

Memorial Day weekend...the rest of the story

Another reason why I'd taken it easy on Saturday was because I had to get up on Sunday for the 1:00 Padres game. I'm glad I woke up relatively early, because my friend Sara, who had the tickets, was sick and canceled on me, so I had to find someone else to take with me. Matt said he could go, so we got the tickets from Sara, parked downtown, had the $6 burger and beer special at Maloney's (all game days) and trekked across downtown to the game. It was my first game since last season. Our seats were pretty cool, on Toyota Terrace between the 3 giant corporate suites at the field level and the radio and tv broadcast suites above them. There is only one row of seats where we were, mostly designated for people with disabilities, so it was pretty quiet, but we had a good time.



We were sitting right in front of Bob Uecker.



It was a beautiful sunny day, the perfect day to take in a game. Especially good because Trevor Hoffman got the save to clinch the sweep for the Pads.



After the game, I met some friends over at the Tower Bar for John Johnson's awesome BBQ, hung at home for a while, then met some friends out for a couple drinks. We met at the Turf Club but it was unreasonably packed, so we instead went to Bluefoot. When my friends decided to take off, I stayed behind and hung out with Peter (Roxy Jones) and my friend Little P for a bit. From there P and I went to the Zombie to finish off the night since he and I live close by. Happy to have Monday off, when I got home, I made it a late night, watching HBO OnDemand and some free music on Concert.tv. If you have OnDemand, I highly recommend watching the Jools Holland show with Stereophonics, Calexico and The Black Crowes. Toward the end, Kelly Jones of Sterophonics sings an awesome version of "Twice As Hard" with the Black Crowes. That was enough to knock me out and end my quasi all nighter.

I spent Monday with my family at my parents' house in Chula Vista. My sister and I busted into some of the old packrat boxes and I found some old flyers and stuff from concerts from back in the day that I'll post sporadically in the near future just for kicks. All in all, it was a pretty good weekend, I have to say. I hope everyone else can say the same. Now, onto a short work week...

The Infants, Zombie Lounge, 2/10/07

Weekend Recap: Saturday/Sunday

Damn. 4 hours of sleep and no break in all the fun this week. First, I have to say Grammy's? LAME. The Police. Boo. I can't stand Roxanne. By the time I heard crap ass Rascal Flatts doing that nightmare of a song, Hotel California, I had to get out of the house. Ugh. I will say congratulations to local San Diegan, Billy Ray, who played drums on several tracks of the award winning album by Ike Turner. (Best Traditional Blues album) Not really sure how other locals fared, but I've got other shit to talk about.

And oh my god. Is this country just full of stupids or what? Norbit made $31M this weekend. Come on. Really? This is so depressing to me I can't even express myself.

So it was a pretty crazy weekend for me. I started feeling sick on Saturday but you gotta power through it, and that I did. I spent the day at my sister's house in PB. Have you been to the Trader Joe's there? It kicks ass compared to the one in Hillcrest. My sister said that the reason is that the Hillcrest is the southermost store and therefore serves not only the immediate area, but all of south county and people who come across the border to shop. A new store is slated to open in Eastlake which will hopefully alleviate some of the traffic in the store, but still does nothing to expand the floor space and the product selection.

Anyway, hanging out with my family is always good. Eventually I headed to The Liar's Club (after circling Mission Blvd and finally parking at Santa Clara Rec Center) and I heard the food was taking forever so though I wasn't hungry yet, I put in my order for a "pussy melt"; the fuego melt with less peppers. My friend Sandra was working the door and Scooter had a table on the patio, so I bought an anniversary hoodie and sat outside.

AM Vibe was really good. They played an acoustic set. Lisah has her surgery for her broken back this week, so send good thoughts her way. If you're a fan of the Sundays or the vocals of Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star, this is your thing. The bar was crowded but we could hear just fine from where we were which was cool. Porter said they kept messing up, but I couldn't tell. I can't imagine playing guitar and singing with a neck brace on, but Lisah did it, and did it well.

They played for about 45 minutes and it was still a while before my food arrived. This is not a complaint, it's just something that should be expected and planned for if you wanna eat at a bar with an extensive menu and just one cook in about a 6 square foot area in which to cook. Deal with it or go to In N Out.

After eating and closing out my tab, I headed down to my neck of the woods. My first stop was the Zombie around 10:30, but Action Andy had just finished and I found out the Infants would be on last, so I bailed and headed to the Tower Bar to see The Downs Family.

If you have never seen the Downs Family, do it. This band is kinda the reason I started drinking Guinness. Crazy Irish tinged rock with both an electric and an acoustic guitar, bass, banjo, accordian, drums, and occasional mandolin. If you're a fan of The Pogues or Flogging Molly, check out The Downs Family. I used to make every effort in high school to catch their all ages shows and while the lineup has changed a lot over the years, as long as Dave Dick is up front, you know they're gonna bring it. Dave Dick, by the way, can drink an entire Guinness faster than most people can take a shot. Not kidding. He just pours it down his throat. Quite the sight to see. They played all the oldies and some stuff I didn't recognize which I hope means they are still writing new stuff. I'm sure they're playing some St. Patrick's Day event near you, so check em out.

They were the only band at the Tower Bar that night and I've seen them go on forever. Also, there was an obnoxious drunk girl doing the leprechaun-y jig and came close to knocking me out too many times, so after about an hour, I went back to the Zombie. Good timing, too. The second band finished and the Infants were setting up.

The crowd was thin but fun. The three piece band has a retro 50's/60's rock thing going, like Buddy Holly or Jerry Lee Lewis, but appropriately updated with a garage tinge to give a good performance at a place like the Zombie. I had a good time watching them and was especially impressed as Scott played a slow song and the final song, a cover of Helter Skelter, with a broken guitar string. I said my goodbyes to Luis and Rene and headed to home base and made last call at the Ken Club.

While I'd spent Saturday in PB, my kitchen and bathroom were painted, so Sunday was a fun day of cleaning up all the paint splashes and general house cleaning and laundry and whatnot. The soundtrack of 6 hours of cleaning: Swim Party (twice), A Week's Worth, Arcade Fire, Chris Garneau, The Decemberists, The Long Winters, and Piers Faccini.

I really wanted to check out the show at the Habitat House, but my laundry wasn't done and I got sucked into watching the red carpet coverage. As the awards officially started, I watched the first hour and a half but if I had to hear Mary J ramble anymore I was gonna shoot myself. The tipping point was the announcement, "Coming up, Red Hot Chili Peppers." barf. I jumped in the shower and headed down to the Casbah.

The Affair had finished, and I found out that they only played 2 songs because the singer blew out her voice at a show on Saturday. She had a shot injected in her neck at a hospital to try to get through the show, but it didn't happen.

Bedroom Walls took to the stage around 10:20. The singer reminded me a lot of John Castro from the Rugburns. He had a little body like Prince and was a good frontman. Before every song they'd make a pronouncement: "This is the happiest song in the world." "This is the saddest song in the world." "This is our dance song, so you better shake your asses." I enjoyed the set a lot. Apparently the band has been a 3 piece but added a rhythm section which made their sound full. They record with Rafter and he joined them for a couple songs to play glockenspiel.

Castanets is another Asthmatic Kitty act. Ray started with a backing band, but he performed mostly alone, using his pedals to record sounds and play them back, create an echo effect on his voice and other tricks. He left the stage and sang in front of it for his closing song and people were eating it up. I couldn't even begin to describe the sound of his music, but it's good and I was just glad that I was out and not watching Christina Aguilera on my tv.

Finally Rafter played. 9 people onstage and after midnight, and the crowd was really into the show, dancing and groovin. Yeah, Troy, I saw you shakin your white boy ass. Aside from them not playing Fuck The Sky, it was one of my favorite Rafter performances yet. Rafter kept pointing out that he was having fun and happy the crowd was having fun with him, which only accelerated the performance. It was a fun night but man, is it hard to go out on a Sunday night. I didn't get to sleep until 2 am. But I'll keep on going...

If anyone would like to join me at 6:30 for Rocco DeLuca downtown, I have space for 1 guest. Just email me before 5.

Wednesday Newsy Bits: CatDirtSez, SD Reader, Vinyl Radio, 91X hires new PD, Band of Horses local connection

*****
Grab this week's Reader. Page 98 features Scott Pactor of CatDirtSez talking about music, the local scene, radio, and music in general and give a shout out to me, ChickRawker, and BlogSanDiego as the best local music blogs. And you'll never believe it, but Fifty on Their Heels isn't even mentioned once.
*****
CityBeat and the Reader listings missed it, and only the Casbah in the Reader shows it, but Vinyl Radio is definitely playing on Saturday for the Bloody Hollies CD Release show, along with The PowerChords and Ari Shine.

In other Vinyl Radio news, the search for a drummer has ended as they have recruited Nelson Cooper on the kit. The band is stoked and feels like he's a solid match.
*****
CityBeat's "local only" has the follow up to the car crashing into the Zombie Lounge last Thursday.
Here's the blurb:

Head Zombie dodges death

“We were doing a lot of the work on the place—moving out a bunch of walls,
putting in a new floor. Me and the guy who was painting went out to lunch, and
that’s when it happened,” said “Denver” Joe Hicks, owner of the Zombie Lounge in City Heights, about the Infinity luxury car that slammed through the wall on
Jan. 19. “We were painting right where she came through. One of us would’ve been nailed. There’s another one of my lives gone, dammit. I’m runnin’ out.”

The luxury-car missile crisis happened at about 4 p.m. “We went to Lowe’s, boarded
it up, and we were open that night,” Hicks said, noting that the crash also
inspired the landlord to give the go-ahead on major renovations to the Zombie
Lounge. “So it may be a blessing in disguise.”

Nobody was hurt. I've seen two near misses directly across the street from The Ken, then there was the Jewel Box, and now the Zombie. Watch out Casbah, you're on a dangerous corner...
*****
Local photographer Christopher Wilson will once again shooting the art for an upcoming Band Of Horses release.

*****
91X has hired a new PD. He will start next Monday. You can read about it on Chickrawker's site here.
*****
Battle of the Bands: Are they worth it??
Last week CatDirt had a lot to say about Battle of the Bands competitions, and while I agree, I still chose to publish the listings for the Emergenza festival at Dreamstreet because two bands I support played: Two Word Name and Hostile Combover. Two Word Name won their night and will continue on at the next round at Brick By Brick. I asked Hostile Combover how they did and this was the response:

it was lame. a total pyramid scam. boo-hoo.

xxoo,
ho-co

Let their lesson be your lesson and don't let your local band get sucked into these competitions.

*****
I had jury duty all day so while I catch up with the news, I thought I would mention that I've volunteered myself to be a field rep/street teamer for Filter Magazine...so keep an eye out for me distributing flyers and schwag all for free mags, music, and tickets. And expect to see me using this little blog here for promotional purposes as well. I don't mind whoring myself out for the music, Man.

Review: Wednesday Night, Dec 6

It's been quite a random week for music for me which had left me pretty damn exhausted. That said, I got home from work and took an hour long nap which was plenty. I actually spazzed when I woke up thinking it was morning and I was late for work...

When I did get up and got ready, I swung by and picked up Andrea and we headed to 4th and B for the Faint and Ratatat. We did a "drive-by" and there was a line wrapping around the building and a 4x8 area for smoking. (Get that shit together, 4th & B) Granted, maybe planning our arrival for 9:45 was a bit foolish, but still...LAME. We parked the car and got a drink at the Local, which was having some fundraising karaoke night to raise money for Christmas gifts for foster kids. I contacted Catdirt who said he saw the line and took off. We left the Local and the line was still just as long so we ditched that plan altogether.

We decided on Landlord Jims, hoping that Mitch would be working, but he was not. One drink, then back on our way. Knowing today would be a long day (TNT, House Of Bluse for the Little Ones), Andrea decided to call it a night.

I was gonna do the same but got a text message from Miggs so I headed to the Zombie Lounge. I really need to go there more. I guess I don't because the unisex bathrooms are a turnoff, but it really is fun. Cheap drinks, good small area for bands, and if you get there early enough you can grab yummy tamales across the street. (Or Church's Chicken, if that's your thing.)

As I arrived, 12 Cent was playing. I think the guitarist told me they are from PB, but it was a punk rock night so I don't really know what he was talking about. The band was good and they had a small crowd of friends up front screaming along with every song. One guy had a Rancid beanie on and I definitely heard that influence but there was also that whole sound mainstreamed by Flogging Molly. People there for Murphy's Law seemed to appreciate the opener almost as much as the cheap drinks, which is a compliment in that place...

Murphy's Law played a short time after and I guess with them, I expected more of Flogging Molly sound but really they were pretty much a standard straight forward punk band on the verge of hardcore. The bar was pretty packed and the crowd seemed pleased with what they were seeing...I on the other hand was pleased that Peter from the Ken Club was slinging drinks at the Zombie cuz he knows how I like em...

I've gotten the feeling over time that shows at the Zombie are defintely more for a social scene. You check out the band for one or two songs till you can't take the heat and then hang out by the bar or out front for a smoke. Not to say the bands aren't worth watching, but it's like being at a house party more than a more formal "show". The funny thing about that was that unlike the Belly Up, House of Blues, or almost any other venue, this crowd is punk and the crowd your mama warned you about, yet EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. someone passed me or bumped me, there was an "oh, excuse me" attached. Those fake blonde bitches at the Belly Up could take some schoolin'. All in all, I'm kinda glad the Faint didn't work out because I needed a night of wild, near my home, among friends and music that really lets you let it out. Not bad for a Wednesday night in San Diego.

Public Enemy, X-Clan, The Banned @ HoB 12/5/06

As I said the other night, I won tickets to the Public Enemy show at the House of Blues. I was willing to give up the tickets, or at least one of them, but had no takers (except Ben who didn't call me to remind me!). I was pretty exhausted yesterday, not only from all the past week's activities, but thinking about all the shows I'll be going to the remainder of the week...I feel a sick day coming on. I knew I wouldn't make the M-Theory instore (which I heard was just a Chuck D appearance, after all) after work, so I was curious about the show, but felt it would be more of a novelty thing, seeing the side-stage that is Flava Flav in all his post "Flava of Love" glory(?).

I'll get to the review in a second, but let me take you through the activities that lead up to the show.

At 7, I went to a MoveOn.org meeting. The meeting was to discuss the progressive agenda of MoveOn and to discuss the grass roots actions planned in the coming months. The four main focus issues that were decided on by the members of MoveOn nationally are 1. Restoring Democracy, 2. Clean Energy, 3. Universal Healthcare, and 4. Getting out of Iraq. There was a huge turnout which was amazing...usually political participation drops off sharply after an election, especially if you consider your side "winners". This group was convened to let our representatives know that we're not just content with a Democratic majority in the house and senate, but that we are looking for progressive leadership and a sharp pull from the right. A representative from Susan Davis' office was present and made everyone feel pretty good to be there. We are starting on a project called a photo-petition that I will be bugging all of my friends about in the near future, so consider yourself warned. I'm talking all this political mumbo jumbo because it really did something to my state of mind for the rest of the night.

By 9 pm, I'd arrived at the show, bumped into a couple friends and headed into the show. The Banned opened the show. Nothing really stood out to me lyrically, but they were a good opening band. The bassist/singer made some political and religious comments in between songs that kinda got the small crowd fired up, but the room was still too empty for any real energy from the crowd. The funk guitar riffs mixed with the bass, drums, and turntablist's samples did make for an overall good sound. I'd probably be much more into hip-hop if more artists were backed by a full band and played real instruments. Well, and if today's hip-hop didn't just generally suck.

Between bands I ran into Mr. Pyles who was flying solo, too, so we hung out during the next group, X-Clan. This, in typical hip-hop fashion was one main rapper and a dj, and two backup dudes, one who mostly just danced around the stage with the Pan African Red, Black and Green flag. (from wiki: This flag was adopted by the members of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League(UNIA) at their convention held in Madison Square Garden on August 13,1920) Their lyrics were predominantly about brotherhood, educating the incarcerated, black leaders like Marcus Garvey, taking hip-hop back to 'true hip-hop', and general social justice. The new X-Clan album called "Return From Mecca" drops in January. Sounded pretty good to me, but I was fired up from my MoveOn meeting so any political banter and lyrics got me more inspired.

The break between bands was unusually long, it seemed, for House of Blues, but I guess to be expected. I had heard that Flava Flav was too late to the in-store and then really late for sound check, so why would they actually be ready to perform on time? It probably worked to everyone's benefit because suddenly the concert hall was packed. I was actually surprised because I've been to rap and hip-hop shows in San Diego before and the 9% of the African American population usually seem underrepresented, but not this show, which made me happy because the diversity offset the white boys with their sideways ball caps and saggin pants.

When Public Enemy finally hit the stage, the crowd was amply lubed from drinks and pumped from the energy. At times the lights reminded me of TJ, but other than that, the energy in the room couldn't be contained. At several points throughout the night I could feel the wind against my face from the bass. I was actually thinking about how I was going to write this posting today while at the show, and I have to be me so you won't read any "off the hook"s from me, but I was into it. I'm generally against the group hand clap that happens at rock shows and so I have an equal aversion to waving my hands in the air like I just don't care or throwing up a peace sign if I'm a true souljah, but when Chuck D hit the second or third song called "Son of a Bad Man" and got the crowd to raise their middle fingers while chanting "Fuck George Bush" and "Fuck Dick Cheney", how am I to resist?

I had separated from Pyles and Owen and somehow I found myself at the very front of the stage with only one person back from the railing. I actually felt bad when Flava Flav came to our corner to high five and grab hands and knock knuckles and I didn't throw up my hands. PE played all the hits they were expected to (Fight the Power, Shut Em Down, Power to the People, etc.) and mixed in current issue focused songs. In between, Chuck D preached about the unlawful war in Iraq (instigating a chant "Make Love, Fuck War"), clarifying that he doesn't blame the soldiers but their ignorant leader. He also read a "missing person" ad handed to him from the crowd, saying that we need to watch out for our brothers and sisters.

And then I got mad. It suddenly occurred to me that while most artists shy away from political limelight, Public Enemy has thrived off of it, and as I looked around I wondered how many of all these people screaming "fuck Bush" and "fuck war" actually voted. The "revolution" ain't happening just because you buy a fucking CD or get all fist pumping one night of the year at a hip-hop show. This overwhelming feeling came to me and then Flava Flav started deviating from the set asking if the crowd remembers his show "Flava of Love" and if we love "Flava of Love" and if we watch "the number one show in America: Flava of Love" and then he pulled up from the crowd some chick who was on the show and interrupted as Chuck D tried to introduce his band and crew onstage. Chuck D appeared visibly annoyed by the grandstanding and as the introduction got longer and longer, I decided it was time to call it a night. I don't know how much longer they played, but I was home by 11:45.

I owed it to my dog to let her out for a few and then headed to the Ken Club for the first ever Tuesday Night Karaoke. I had no idea what to expect but it was actually kinda cool...the machine was set in the corner where the front pool table used to be before it was destroyed by the A/C, and they were backed by one of those red foil shredded curtains like a bad 70s prom and people were singing...a lot of them. It has been a long time since I've seen the bar like that on a Tuesday, so seeing as my support wasn't needed, I walked home and crashed out.

Here's the rest of my plans for the week:

• Tonight: The Faint & Ratatat
• Thursday: TNT & The Little Ones & Small Sins @ HoB
• Friday: (half day of work!) La Pastorela @ The Old Globe LD Festical Theatre. Depending on when that ends, I could pretty much go anywhere...the Whistle Stop for Old Man Hands, the Casbah for Fifty on Their Heels/¡Society!/Que'st Que C'est, the Zombie fo the Infants, or the Ken Club for ADHD and the Widows because it's close to home...
• Saturday: 94/9 Holiday Hootenanny! Preparty added! 5-6 (or 5:30- 6:30?) on Rimac field featuring Beer! For Sale! and a performance by Delta Spirit.

Fight at the Zombie Lounge

So I know I'm gonna fuck this story up which makes me part of the problem, but fuck it. I wasn't there, I'm not claiming to have been, but Miggs filled me in.

Supposedly there was quite a brawl this weekend at the Zombie Lounge. Davit Buck of the Homeless Sexuals went to the Zombie. A band called 3 bad jacks was playing and charging an $8 cover. Davit objected to the cost, and kinda went back and forth with them...I'm here all the time, this is my spot, I'll pay $5 but $8 is too steep, etc. etc.

The guy just will not let him in. So he bails and goes to the Tower and gets shitfaced and goes back to the Zombie and starts a ruckus. Apparently there was blood everywhere (though Miggs tends to exaggerate) and one of the 3 Bad Jacks dudes ended up needing stitches...27? 32? I don't know. For all I know, maybe it was Davit that got the stitches. Whatever, I don't know. But the first time I went to the Zombie there was a gnarly chick fight that everyone encouraged that I helped break up without thinking that I could've gotten hurt. Fights- not cool...but gossip...sometimes fun. Sorry. It's the culture we live in.

Here's a rant from Peter about the whole thing:

First off if I offend
anyone..........................FUCK OFF!!!!!!!!!! There. I feel a little bit
better. Second off I think this whole 3 Bad Jacks shit is fucking funny. I saw
those guys a few years ago and “Elvis” was actually a nice guy. Then a little
while back they played at the Zombie Lounge and I heard from people that worked
there about the bands demands. I thought that was kind of funny for a band I had
never heard of before. No matter whether you like the Zombie or don't it is like
a second home to me. I have never had a problem with anyone that works there. I
think it is a great bar to go hang out with your friends and just have a good
time. There are a lot of people that talk shit about this bar and its patrons,
but I know if I ever was in trouble physically or mentally I know who I can
count on. Yeah douche bags come here, but most of them aren't regulars. So what
is the point of all this? I don't really know yet. But I do have to say FUCK
SHITTY BANDS DEMANDING SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FUCK YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS. I AM
CALLING YOU OUT. I hate when people call people out on the computer (unless it
is me haha). I was not there on Friday night. I had to work. But I still have to
get my two cents in. The asshole who got his ass handed to him according to
Three Big Jacks is a good friend of mine. Whether you like him or don't he is a
guy I can always count on. Sure he is an asshole. Thats why we love him. Does he
open his mouth and talk shit? Don't we all? Anyways he told me what happened and
I read the other shit and I know for a fact he didn't get his ass handed to him.
I want to meet the person that said that. Cause that is some funny shit. This
bar has had much bigger acts the 3 Bad Jacks play here. Last Thanksgiving
Lawrence Arms played here. I was bartending that night and they didn't ask for
shit. We charged $5 at the door and they were so happy. They were polite to all
the staff and even wanted to buy us drinks. They gave everyone that was working
a shirt and a CD which they didn't have to do. They were a class act. So before
I go on, to the other members of the 3 Bad Jacks I don't know you. I have never
talked to you so I will leave you out of this. Its not fair for me to say
anything about you. I haven't heard of seen anything bad from you two. But I
think it is funny that the people that are talking shit about the Zombie Lounge
are the ones that just go to bars to be seen. Yes I said it. You just go out to
be seen by the “cool” people. You are the ones that sip your drink all night so
you don't get drunk and act like your true self. We don't need you. I have been
working in bars for a long time and we cant stand you. If you want to sip on
your PBR then go somewhere else. You never tip and your just douche bags. If you
guys are too big to play clubs like the Zombie Lounge then don't. Just go away.
We don't want you. I work at a much larger bar and I guarantee if you tried to
pull that shit with our door guy it would be more then one guy with stitches. So
don't play here again. Stop the threats. Go play at Tio Leos. And to say that
“we” sip on our drinks? HAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Guess you have never met a NORTH PARK
BOOZEHOUND.