San Diego Gots Stuffs

I recently got an e-mail from a guy in England who wants to move to San Diego next summer because he heard our music scene is where it's at, and he was looking for advice on breaking into the scene as a promoter or with a job at a club, booking, scouting, anything to be part of it.

That's the funny thing about media buzz, isn't it? What is 'out there' may or may not reflect what is really going on here. I've tried pretty hard to promote the thing I love most about this town because I know we do have an amazing music scene and community. There are a lot of other people who work hard to convert the masses, some successfully and others, not so much. It may not be all kumbaya- there's certainly competition- and bands have entirely different goals and strategies to achieve those goals, but when it comes down to it, the success of one band usually benefits the music scene as a whole. To me, it would be nice if it came together a bit more...if North Park Music Thing and Awesome Fast could coexist in harmony instead of one being the angry response to the other, but that's just the nature of the game, I guess. I'm just happy to be part of all of it.

There's not really any real point to all of this except that I chatted with CatDirt yesterday. It is because of him that this site exists, so it was nice kinda catching up and recounting how things have changed in the last few years with so many new venues (is Airport gonna be the next new music venue in town??), promoters, bloggers, and bands that have come and gone. Always an interesting conversation. Anyhow, he pointed me toward Vice Magazine that featured Beaters, who are playing a free show tonight at Whistle Stop. I miss talking to him about music because the guy knows everything. It's nice touching base with someone with his ear to the ground.

Incidentally, afterward I hung out with Miggs at Taang! records. I swear if you ever, hypothetically, need to find "that one band with that one guy that was in that other band before he died of a heroin overdose after their critically acclaimed punk album was released", Miggs has it or knows where to get it. There are a lot of people in town like that...Bart Mendoza, Larry Munroe, Tim Pyles, Daye Salani...every conversation is educational to say the least. San Diego may or may not live up to the hype, but I love this town either way.

p.s. I know the listings are getting a little ridiculous (there's SO MUCH STUFF), but hopefully we'll be moving the site soon and can remedy the situation.

Roybot & Gamma Gamma @ Habitat, The Sess & Red Feathers @ Casbah, 5.10.08

After a full day at Gator By The Bay, I was pretty grubby, but I didn't want to miss the show at the Habitat House, so I had my mom drop me off there instead of back at home, stopping first at the liquor store up the street. I chatted briefly with Drew Andrews (who will be doing his own Habitat show soon)then made my way into the house.

Roybot's performance was hilarious, with 3 videos interacting with one another and with Roy. I don't know where one person finds the time. CatDirt took care of reviewing the show (and the Casbah, for that matter), so I have little to add to his commentary. Read his full review here.

After Roybot, Gamma Gamma played and it was the loudest show I've been to at the house, so I hung out on the porch chatting with some people there. Gamma Gamma were pretty cool and I'm with CatDirt that I'd like to see them again, but I think that a SD House Party show would be sweet.

Here are just a couple random pics I took.





After the show at Habitat House, I caught a ride with CD and CDW to the Casbah, and clearly ignored my previous night's misadventures and proceeded to ignore the #1 rule of drinking: Liquor before beer, in the clear; Beer before liquor, get drunk quicker. (Or get more sicker...but I wasn't that bad).

I watched the bands and took a couple pics, but spent most of the night in the back bar and on the patio. Here's a few of my favorite Casbah pics from the night:








After the Casbah, Dan and Abe took me home and I was grateful for a fun day and a safe ride home.

San Diego Fires: Legal Advice

I love my married couple/lawyer friends, CatDirt and CDW (CatDirtWife). To people who do not regularly read my site, CatDirt is a defense lawyer (represented Peregrine official with jury deadlocked favoring acquittal) and CDW is a corporate lawyer(?) represents a water district or something? Anyway, CatDirt has a blog called CatDirtSez where he is known for his tell-it-like-it-is commentary about, well, pretty much everything: music, radio, books, capitalism, law, and now, the fires. He's been covering the fires all week and chances are if you landed here, it might've been through his site because he's getting some mad traffic over on his site.

But now, people seem to be less concerned about the actual fires, since many areas have been allowed to 'repopulate' and most of the fires have moved away from most homes (not necessarily true for Palomar Mountain, Jamul, Rancho San Diego and more) and are now more concerned with the questions of "where do we go from here?"

Well, CatDirt is your man. I'm sure he just considers it a posting, but I'm telling you, he's dispensing free legal advice to people who lost their homes in his posts about insurance companies. Do not be fooled. State Farm is not like a good neighbor. You are not in good hands with Allstate. Insurance companies are there to make money and to stiff policy holders. If you've ever been in a car accident, you know that is true with auto insurance as well.
I highly recommend following his posts, if you haven't been already, because he will surely be going through all the hoops as he and CDW assist her parents in getting dinero for their lost home in Escondido.

San Diego Fires: Escondido Fire Damage

My good friends and fellow bloggers Sophie and Scott just returned from Escondido at the site of her parents' lost home. My condolences go to all of them and everyone who lost their home in all of this. You can read about it here or see pictures here.

Saturday Recap: Sessions Fest

I have no recap for Friday night. I was sure I had bought a ticket to Wolf Parade when I apparently hadn't. I would've loved to see the band again, but really, truth be told, I'm not in any rush to catch another show at Cane's, so instead, I stayed home and rested up for what ended up being a big Saturday.

I got to Sessions Fest a little later than I planned after realizing I'd left the house without my phone. Co-dependency at its finest. The crowd slowly gathered at the park and I didn't hesitate to hit the Karl Strauss Stargazer IPA in the beer garden. I came stocked with my two-seater beach chair and a blanket and was happy to set up my post in the beer garden, where I pretty much stayed throughout the entire day.

We couldn't have asked for a nicer day, the cops and security were really cool and supportive of the event, and the music at the festival was also great, but the real highlight for me were the people who showed up. So many people came throughout the day, and though I had nothing to do with the event's preparation, to have so many people say such nice things throughout the day both about the event and about this blog was really nice. I ended up helping on the kegs for some of the afternoon, so thanks to anyone who bought beer and was patient with us as we tried to get the kegs right and allowed my cup to cup pours, it was my pleasure to serve you. The whole day made me really feel part of an amazing and supportive community.

When I take pictures, I usually only upload a few, but just this once, I've uploaded all of them, viewable here.

Most important, I can't stress enough that this event was put on by Sophie. Throughout the day, people asked me questions about the event and people seemed to be under the impression that "the city" had something to do with it. Not so. Sophie got the sponsors (Karl Strauss & SESAC), booked the bands, went through all the city's hoops for permitting (which, incidentally, make it easier to just not do an event because there are A LOT of hoops), hired the security, rented the port-a-potties, paid the insurance, paid the keg deposit, and paid for those cops to be there all day. On top of that, there's the stage, the soundboard, the sound engineers, the lighting, the amps, etc. While I'm sad Sophie has made the decision not to have Sessions Fest again, she really deserves some massive credit for the amazing event, and hopefully the community steps up and takes the reins on similar events in the future. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And to Scott, Josh, and everyone else involved, it was a pleasure.


God, the Emmy Awards are making this post sound like a goddamn acceptance speech. Enough of all that, here are the pictures.


The Corvinas

Free SESAC nuts

Wild Weekend

Nick, Fifty On Their Heels

The Punkboard was represented, too

Red Pony Clock

Al Guerra, 91X Loudspeaker Host

May*Star

Andrew, Swedish Models

Some punk rock poseur (Just kidding. Happy Birthday, Adam!)

MC Flow

Flow's "Incredible" Fans

The Atoms

Fifty on Their Heels

Sadly, when Habitat Sound System and Pizza! (formerly the New Motherfuckers) played, we were busiest in the garden, so I didn't get the chance to take pics of them but they sounded great from behind the taps.

The night ended right around 10 pm and the cops and security were kind to allow us to give out the remainder of the beers and go a little past 10. I stayed a bit but headed off to my next destination- to see The Vision of A Dying World at the Beauty Bar.

Incidentally, I lost my ring. It's silver with tiny little sapphires in it. It was a birthday present from my dad and means more to me sentimentally than it could to anyone else monetarily, so if anyone happened to find it, please let me know.

Saturday! Sessions Fest! Free! All Ages!

Here are some things you may not know about Sessions Fest. The event is put on by Sophie (known as CDW on Cat Dirt Sez) solely for the purpose of putting on a free community event in their neighborhood of Golden Hill. There is no goal for glory, but you should know that it is not an easy feat to put on an event like this. The event is fully permitted, licensed, and Scott, Sophie and I had to sit through a 3 hour class to get a card that allows us to pour the beer at the event. There are a few sponsors, but the majority of the event is paid for out of their pockets. I think it is important information for you to know and I think it's even more important for you to show up and buy lots and lots of beer. Because of the work and the cost, this very well could be the last Sessions Fest, and I think that would be a loss for all of us.

Free Music, $3 Karl Strauss Beer, $1 popcorn, BBQ by Ponderosa Grill, Luigi's Pizza, SESAC nuts. If you support any local music and the DIY ethic, you have no excuse not to show up for the event. Bring your friends, your family, your lawn chairs, your blankets, and hang out in beautiful Golden Hill for an afternoon.

The Corvinas
Wild Weekend
Red Pony Clock
Habitat Sound System
Pizza! (formerly The New Motherfuckers)
MC Flow
Atoms
Fifty on their Heels
The Prayers

Certified Alcohol Server!

I'm sitting in Downtown Johnny Brown's (Free Wi-Fi! Happy Hour! Monday Night Football!) with CDW and CatDirt and we just attended and completed the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control's Licensee education on alcohol and drugs. So your servers know the law! Don't try to bring your fake IDs. We will know. Don't get drunk. We will know. Don't ask us for any "mary jane", we will know.

not to scare you. Sessions Fest is gonna rule. Be there or be L7.

Saturday Recap: Cat Dirt Sez Presents Vultures, Wild Weekend, Endless Bummer

I spend Saturday at my sister's house with my niece, sister, brother in law, and my parent's to celebrate my dad's 59th birthday. As I mentioned before, it was a little bittersweet after finding out my brother, who is in the Navy, is going to be sent to Iraq with the Marines (for what reason, I do not know), but we made the best of it, hanging out and ordering a great meal from Phil's BBQ, and spending some good time with Johanna who grows bigger by the day and is noticeably smiling now.

They dropped me at home after dinner and I headed off to the Casbah. Cat Dirt Sez was presenting his first Casbah show so I was there to show support to my fellow blogger. CDW was supposed to be on the turntables, but apparently one of the tables was busted, so she made due by throwing on a record and we just hung out. There weren't a ton of people by the time Endless Bummer came onstage. They were quiet, a four piece with a vocalist on keys, a single drum, and a couple girls lending backup vocals and percussive instruments. There was some kinda spoken stuff, some songs that were simple in narrative, and they're probably better in a place like Habitat House than at the Casbah.





They did have a political song that struck a chord with me after the news of my bro getting shipped off in this pointless war but mostly I was just hoping more people would show up to make this night a success.

In between bands, Nick got on the turntable and made due with what he had, busting out "The Humpty Hump" and other 90's gems. His jacket was perfect for his set.



Wild Weekend played second. They're an all girl Zeros tribute band and they're playing at Sessions Fest next weekend, so it was a good preview of what they'll deliver, and for sure Sessions Fest is going to be a not-to-miss event.





The night ended with the Vultures, and the room filled out a bit more. I took it easy on the photos since they had the lights pretty much dropped all the way save for a couple lights back by the drum kit and two other photographers who had their flashes going throughout the entire set. I just didn't wanna be one of those, ya know?



The Vultures played a solid set and the night ended relatively early, so I said quick goodbyes as soon as they were done and headed back to finish my night at the Ken Club.

San Diego Music Matters Covers San Diego Bloggers: CatDirt, ChickRawker, SD: Dialed In

I would feel compelled to give full disclosure here, however, Cullen Hendrix, who interviewed myself, Lyn, and Scott, was a stranger to me before we met for the interview for the article featured in this month's San Diego Music Matters. Now, a few months after that interview, I consider Cullen a close and dear friend and I'm glad that I can call him an ally. Still, we were strangers the day he came to talk to me about my blog so it was even with some nervousness that I read the article when I saw the new issue sitting at the Casbah tonight. So here it is in all it's honesty, and since Music Matters does not have their issues online, I'm gonna type out the full article in its entirety, because I have the time, and because I'm looking for a job and can prove that I can type 70 wpm. Yeah!

And by the way, since this interview, other bloggers have come on to the scene. All the links are on the right, including Chickrawker and Cat Dirt Sez, featured in the article, but also It's Too Sunny Out Here by Natalie, Skull Kontrol, Sound Sound Sound, Baby Heisman, and even blogs by our major publications like Last Blog On Earth done by the CityBeat crew and Street, now a blog but formerly the "cool" section of the U-T's Night and Day. Also, one of my favorite San Diego blogs, created by none other than the author of this article, Dirtbag's Delight. I read them all every day, and if you wanna know what's happening in this town, I recommend checking all of them out.

Blog Culture
San Diego's Blog Culture Grows Up
words: Cullen Hendrix

Unless you still think that Rolling Stone provides cutting edge music journalism, you're already hip to blogging, the pseudo-journalistic/online personal journal phenomena that's changing how people find out about and keep up with music. The music industry loves and fears its capacity to break and break up bands. Music journalists love it because it allows an army of amateurs to do most of their legwork for them. And music fans tend to love them for their access to new music and the perceived distance from the music industry which facilitates shoot-from-the-hip band reviews that range from gushing to snarky and often savage.

Blogs probably won't replace print music media entirely. Despite advancing technology, blogs are notoriously hard to read while on the john, or in between bands at SOMA, or riding the subway. Given the primacy of the computer as a means of storing, accessing and exploring music, however, the development of blogs has undoubtedly changed the landscape. They are already a part of the the fabric of the New York and Los Angeles music scenes, with the popularity of blogs like Sterogum and losanjealous allowing their creators to turn opining about YouTube footage, new Tapes n' Tapes songs and next year's Coachella lineup into a fulltime (and largely clothing optional) job. San Diego's music blogs aren't quite to that point yet, but they are an increasingly influential and vibrant part of our musical culture. Over three conversations at various locales, the authors of Cat Dirt Sez, Chickrawker, and SD Dialed In shared their thoughts about blogging as media, their relationships to one another, and what they hope to accomplish with their activities.

THE CRITIC

Scott Pactor is an inscrutable man. Online, he's an opinionated, anti- Live Nation tastemaker, whose blog generates thousands of hits a day. Offline, he's a quiet, measured speaker, knowledgeable on a broad range of subjects and harboring a palpable distaste for print music media- including this magazine. "I think they're a publicity organ for agents that arose in the period of mass media culture, i.e. the major labels and their successors. I see the same people pulling the strings. The bearers of the message may change, may not be changing at all. I just see a lot of co-option." In addition to co-option, he laments the lack of editorial voice. "A good writer should be able to make almost anything interesting, and have a voice. That's what's so incredible to me about the people at Union-Tribune. They're so co-opted. They wouldn't know an interesting story if it came and bit them on the ass. Forget favoring one thing or another: they've got this tremendous engine over there and for a long time didn't even post interesting stuff."

Cat Dirt Sez cheerleads unabashedly for Fifty on Their Heels, Pactor's good friends and the first band on Pactor's Cat Dirt Records, and generally has the best readership of all San Diego blogs, which affords Pactor a pulpit from which to use his bloog as meta-criticism of the music industry. "I view part of my project- and maybe this is where I'm different- is the demystification of the music journalism, demystifying what goes on in the culture of the music industry," he says, saying that his position owes intellectual debt to critical theorists like Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer. "The Frankfurt school isn't cool and it's a little bit geeky, but that's where I got it from."

"The culture industry- popular music in this country- is almost like false consciousness in the sense that fake identity gets expressed. The music industry has been very successful with that. When I talk to guys at 91X and they say that people do call in all the time to hear the Red Hot Chili Peppers. There's not vast conspiracy to keep independent music from the ears of the alt rock audience in San Diego. That's honestly what the people who listen to 91X want to hear."

The flip side, of course, it that as blogs become more influential forums for their creator's opinions, they become a greater target for the music marketing industiral complex, the collection of publicists, advertisers, labels, and music magazines (Filter, I'm looking straight at you) dedicated to generating- and I am loathe to use this word- buzz about new bands. "I would hope that the whole blogging project would deal with (the music industry hype machine), but I kind of despair of that when I read things like Stereogum where the trend has been to become more integrated."

The added attention (and competition for advertising dollars) may threaten the unique charm that makes blogs different, in the same way that college students and Gaslamp denizens invading your favorite watering hole (the Turf Club and Nunu's come to mind) may send you scurrying for lower profile environs. Cat Dirt Sez may focus on San Diego music and feature book reviews about 19th century Native American culture, but it's rise to prominence has been fueled by a) clever reportage and breaking music stories (the Jesus and Mary Chain performing with Scarlett Johansson at Coachella 2007) and b) a willingness to wade into the murky, panty-sniffing waters of Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton-related gossip. "My biggest draw by far is a picture of Lindsay Lohan in a bikini," he concedes, acknowledging that dabbling in this sort of tabloid journalism helps drive people to the site.

Pactor's perspective on blogging as a new media revolves arount the medium's flattening of production costs, allowing bloggers to get their stuff out there without incurring the massive costs associated with print media. "In the past, with print media, you really had to put yourself on the line- in terms of capital outlay, worrying about subscribers- there's real money involved. My blog costs zero dollars, my MySpace costs zero dollars. It costs zero time- just the 15 minutes to write my post. I don't need to be co-opted to keep doing this for 20 years. I don't need success in the capitalist sense."

THE OBSERVER

I meet Lyn Pags for happy hour in midtown. Though friendly, Pags is quite shy. It may account for the detached tone of Chickrawker, which addresses even local bands with the same distance with which she treats the national acts whose fortunes on corporate radio she tracks. According to Pags, distance helps maintain the objectivity, and hence the honesty, of her blog. "I'm not trying to be part of the scene," she admits. "I exist as a part of what's going on, but I want to go out there and write about things as an observer. I think a difference between me and other people who blog, and I'm not saying it's a bad thing, is that I don't want to be part of the cool club, make friends with people who are musicians. I want to be able to write freely about what I think. What I try to do is be honest about what I like and to write about it."

Managing programmers for a day job, Pags splits her time between San Diego and Dallas, covering both scenes in more or less equal fashion. "One of the things that I've always done when I travel is see what the music scene is like. I spend a lot of time in Dallas- one to two weeks every month- and I consciously went out to the independent record stores, got a feel for where the good venues were. I'm definitely grounded in both areas." That grounding has led to her forming a perspective on the city of JR Ewing and Terrell Owens that's counter to a lot of expectations. "Dallas, you'd think, is a cow town, but there's a good rock scene there. It's interesting to see bands that I know from California out of context in Dallas. I've seen the Delta Spirit a couple times there, and it's interesting to see the different reactions."

Chickrawker reads the most like the musings of an industry pundit or radio programmer. There's lots of talk about music, but there's also lots of talk about chart movement, national spins, and predictions about which national singles are about to start picking up steam. Pags, an avowed Panic! at the Disco fan, is something of an anomaly among bloggers. Her page may be read by indie-conscious music journalists, but it's not particularly directed at the indie scene. "I definitely lean toward a lot of mainstream music because I write about the radio a lot," she says. "There are definitely some blogs out there that are indie, indie, indie, and won't even talk about the new Linkin Park- which I hate, but I'll talk about," she says, distancing herself from the perceived role of tastemaker with which many bloggers are saddled. "There are those blogs that are like, 'I'm going to break this indie band,' and that's just not for me. I'm interested in music from this sort of broad perspective. I listen to some crappy music, I'll admit it, but there's this pop sensibility to me that I just can't ignore. I really liked the new Fall Out Boy record and I got a lot of crap for that, but I don't care."

THE (NOT SO) GONZO JOURNALIST

Rosey greets me at her home with a friendly dog and a couple of Budweisers in tow. Of the three, Rosey is the least personally guarded. The photos on her blog echo that particular fact, with her face (usually along with those of several others in varying levels of sobriety) appearing on her blog often in her blow-by-blow weekend recap.

More than Cat Dirt Sez and Chickrawker, SD Dialed In seems like a personal journal. If that's the case, it may have something to do with its origins as a personal blog, intended for a limited audience of friends. "Cat Dirt linked to it because of my music stuff, and I thought, 'No thank you, I don't need all my personal stuff out there in the open,'" she says. Her friend Pactor liked her posts and cajoled her into restarting her blog as a for-consumption enterprise. "Being the lawyer that he is, he said, 'If you're writing stuff, don't you want people to read it?' I still feel like it's my personal blog, but it's the part of me that I'm willing to share with whoever wants to read it."

That part of her reaches an active audience, but not a particularly large one. San Diego may be experiencing a renaissance of house parties and new venues, but the list of people attending these ever-multiplying shows is one of usual suspects. "People who are finding my blog at this point are people who are seeking out music," she says. "I'm really happy that there are more music bloggers, and I'm really happy that there are more places to play. But even though there are more choices, you're still pulling from the same crowd. Instead of three shows with a good crowd, now there are twelve shows with ten people at them."

In the interest of helping to develop more interest in local music, Rosey's been integrating more content not specifically aimed at music culture. "I would actually like to write more general San Diego stuff, so that if people fall into my blog because I'm writing about general San Diego, they might find out about a lot of stuff that's happening when they'd rather be at home watching American Idol. I feel like there's an audience of people who care what they see on MTV still." Getting that audience off their couches and out on the town is vital to the continued growth of the music scene, a project on which all three agree. By painting an unflinching portrait, cheerleading for the best and brightest or merely helping keep track of its myriad comings and goings, San Diego bloggers may help remake the very scene they cover.

Saturday Recap Pt. 1: John Vanderslice, Bleu Boheme

Saturday I opted to not head with my parents to PB for a day with Johanna because there was no telling how long we'd be there and I didn't really wanna sit at my sister's watching baseball all day. Or fighting over who gets to hold the baby. Instead, I chilled around the house and went to John Vanderslice's in-store performance at m-Theory. I find the weekend in-stores to be 2-3 times more crowded than weeknights, and since this was his only performance in SD (though he'll be at the Casbah in September), there were a lot of people there. I wasn't even sure if I was a fan, but after reading Northwest Blog I am glad I went. He is not only a great vocalist, kinda reminding me of the Decemberists, but he was funny and cordial throughout the set. He saw how packed the place was and kept inviting people forward, asking that people come sit up front and whatnot. In between songs, he had some DVDs that Erik had given him to give away to the crowd. It was funny hearing him sell "Border Cop", starring Telly Savalas, all the while reading the copy on the back of the DVD with false enthusiasm that had the room cracking up.





He played a full set. He forgot the words of a song and at one point asked for a teleprompter. "No really, can someone head to Best Buy and get me one? I don't know how many YouTube videos are out there of me forgetting my own lyrics, but I know its...a lot" Nobody in the crowd seemed to mind.





After the show he invited people to come talk to him and to have him sign stuff. I was outside hanging with Daye and Larry then decided I would find whoever got the setlist and see if I could take a picture, and surprisingly, it was still sitting there on the floor, and he was happy to sign it for me.


John Vanderslice Setlist, M-Theory, 8/4/07

After, I was gonna head home, but was waiting for Scott and Sophie to get out of their movie, so instead I hung out with Larry and Daye for a beer and some chips and salsa at Jimmy Carter's. Their salsa is excellent, if you haven't been, I highly recommend it. They finally called, so I headed back to Kensington. They had stalled at a bookstore and bought a lot of used books so they got to my house through the front gate at the same time I got there through the back.

They wanted to treat me to a celebratory unemployment dinner and since Sophie is French and spent many summers there growing up, and since we're always down to try new restaurants, it worked out well.

We got there at 4:45 and were told the restaurant opens at 5, so we sat at a table on the patio until it hit 5 and finally they came and offered us beverages. It was a little weird to me...yeah, they had to get stuff ready, but seems like 15 minutes wouldn't have killed them to get us drinks. Oh well. It was nice to sit on the patio for dinner, as Sophie mentioned, it seems San Diego should have a lot more patio seating than we do. Plus, it faces east, so there was no harsh light from the sun setting in the west.

When we did get to ordering, I was more than happy with all courses of my food. We had a charcouterie plate with some prociutto, pate, salami, etc., they both had salads while I opted for the french onion soup (so good!), and I took some dinner pictures...


Sophie had chicken roasted in a clay bowl, Scott had the Salmon over potatoes and ratatouille cooked in parchment, and I had the black mussels in a saffron broth. My mussels were delicious and they gave me so many of them. Yum. For dessert, Scott and I each ordered the Mousse au chocolat (which was simultaneously light and rich) and Sophie had the apple tart with creme fraiche. All in all, I would recommend Bleu Boheme as any kinks in service
will likely be worked out in time.

I'm more of a late night dinner person, but it was nice to have it all early and still have time to pre-nap before going out on Saturday night. Big thanks again to Scott and Sophie for the great dinner. It had been too long since we'd hung out outside of a bar.

Supplemental Post: Rilo Kiley

Since CatDirt has posted his prediction that Grand Ole Party will be touring with Rilo Kiley this summer, I thought I'd post some of the new Rilo Kiley for you. (Myspace here, Website here.)



And your PR blurb:

Much anticipated since 2004's More Adventurous, Rilo Kiley will be releasing their fourth album, Under the Blacklight, on August 21st via Warner Bros. Records. For their major label debut, the band took on production duties themselves aloung with Jason Lader (Vietnam, The Like, Jay-Z) and Mike Elizondo (Dr. Dre, Fiona Apple), and showing an eclectic new side of Rilo Kiley. Take a listen to the lead single below!

And most important, the single:

Quicktime
Windows Media

Under The Blacklight tracklisting:
01. Silver Lining
02. Close Call
03. The Moneymaker
04. Breakin' Up
05. Under the Blacklight
06. Dreamworld
07. Dejalo
08. 15
09. Smoke Detector
10. The Angels Hung Around
11. Give a Little Love

For you non-Spanish speakers, the translation of track 7 means "leave it alone" or "leave him alone" depending on context.

Rilo Kiley is also featured on the latest cover of Filter Magazine, available now.

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...