The Temper Trap w/ Crocodiles @ House Of Blues- 06.13.12

A week ago, the House of Blues was host to a sold out show with Aussie headliners, The Temper Trap, and locally originated band, The Crocodiles, who were openers for the entire tour. This was my third or fourth time seeing The Temper Trap and I don't know what to say about them. Seeing them is like a soft-serve ice cream cone- not the most amazing or epic thing you've ever had in your life, your life isn't going to change because of it, but it's pleasurable and enjoyable while you have it. The sold out venue of screaming girls and head bobbing bros probably feel otherwise. The show felt way oversold (which seems to happen when the capacity of the Delta Room is included in the ticket count), so I spent most of the show in the Delta Room on a couch. My friend Scott wrote a pretty on-point review on his site, though I disagree that The Temper Trap is the "Australian Snow Patrol" but that's just because I'm defensive about Snow Patrol. I had a photo pass that night, but my photos are just horrendous, so instead, here are Nate VanDerMeulen's, though I will post one of my photos of the setlist just so you can see what they played (albeit blurry, too). I will say that "Need Your Love", the lead single of their self-titled sophomore album, is a pretty great song and being in the photo pit, I really got to appreciate how amazing the guitarist and bassist are in the big picture. The video is at the bottom of this post. The rest of Nate's photos after the jump.

Wednesday Night: Crocodiles at House of Blues

Photo credit: Marco Rapisarda

A few months ago, Crocodiles performed at the Casbah. I was supposed to do an on-camera interview for SoundDiego TV, but since their latest release, Endless Summer, wasn't released until June 5, their publicist thought it would be a better idea to wait until the album was out. About a week after the show, I was at the back bar at the Casbah, over-enjoying an evening with Bulleit Rye and ginger ale, and Charles Rowell and Brandon Welchez were hanging around. I somehow convinced Chuck to do an interview that night on my handheld camera, but mostly it ended up just some saucy rambling and the two of them kinda jabbing at me, answering questions with questions, and frankly it just isn't worth sharing. Truth be told, it's probably about 10 minutes long and I can't get past watching the first three, so I can only imagine it got worse.

That said, I think they're cool guys and I dig their new record (or at least until it gets to the fuzzy noise loops at the end), and they're on tour with Temper Trap with a stop set at the House of Blues tonight.

"If only Endless Flowers were as infinite as its sound is blissful."

- FILTER

"...Crocodiles have lightened up, embracing everything from grrrl-group alt-pop ("My Surfing Lucifer") to deliciously spacey new wave ("Bubblegum Trash"). Talk about letting the sun shine in the most brilliant of ways."

- Alternative Press

Crocodiles' third LP Endless Flowers arrived in stores (June 5) via Frenchkiss Records. Recorded in Berlin last summer, it is the first album to feature the band's full five-piece line up, which has evolved from their 2008 genesis as the core duo of singer/guitarist Brandon Welchez and guitarist Charles Rowell to now include keyboardist Robin Eisenberg, bassist Marco Gonzalez, and drummer Anna Schulte. Endless Flowers has been earning Crocodiles great coverage from the media, including Alternative Press, BlackBook, Filter, This Is Fake DIY ("The album contains a perfect mix of pop immediacy, punky sneer and shoegaze whimsy"), and Under The Radar, among others.

Raw Moans/ Colleen Green/ Tamaryn/ Crocodiles @ Casbah- 01.30.11

Last Saturday night The Casbah provided the assembled masses with four four hours of music and one helluva show. San Diego's Raw Moans started things off, followed by Ms. Colleen Green from LA, Tamaryn via San Francisco, and the return of local boys (and girls) Crocodiles. More after the jump...



Having four acts on the bill makes for a long night, so it was understandable that the crowd had yet to trickle in for Raw Moans' opening set. Joseph Vorachack and Jeff Graves started things off with four or five songs of their low key 'Chinese Pop' off their newly released album. By the time they had packed up, Colleen Green and her one-woman show was ready to go. Backed only by a drum machine, she sang and strummed her way through an enjoyable set of Lo-Fi, Best Coast-y tunes to an appreciative crowd that was rapidly filling in. Four-piece Tamaryn took the stage next and provided a showcase of their psychgaze (I just made that up) chops. Playing in benefit of their recently released debut LP 'The Waves' Tamaryn's effortlessly captivating vocals paired with guitarist/ producer Rex John Shelverton's multi-layered guitar into an abstract blend of sonic ambience that was entirely captivating.

By the time Crocodiles set up, it was about 1230 and completely packed. Given the extra hour or so to booze before the headliners started, there were a few people up front that probably would have been better off at the bars in PB or curled up somewhere comfortable in the fetal position (more on this later), but such distractions did not seem to affect any of the performers. Shunning the perpetually dim house lighting in favor of a few red bulbs located here and there, front man and lead vocalist Brandon Welchez took the stage joined by guitarist and collaborator Charles Rowell, Marco Gonzalez on bass, Robin Eisenberg on keys and backing vocals and Anna Schulte on drums. Incorporating a mix of tracks from both 'Summer of Hate' and 'Sleep Forever', the band tore through their hour+ long set, willing people to dance with a combo of post-punk and noise pop/ krautrock jams. The evening was topped of by a special appearance from Brandon's wife and Dum Dum Girls frontwoman Dee Dee Penny, who joined in for the encore to a very appreciative crowd.

Raw Moans:

Colleen Green:

Tamaryn:

Crocodiles:

For more pix from the evening click here, and for the rest of my concert photography click here.

Small editorial to finish things up: I've been to a few shows at The Casbah and have experienced most crowd types from full-on mosh pit at High On Fire, to enthusiastic rocking out at Foals, to stand there and stare at your shoes at The Album Leaf. One thing remains a constant- everyone in attendance is there to have a good time, which usually means respecting the people around you and their space. If you are too fucked up to stand on your own- I'm not your pillow. Go fall asleep in the Atari Lounge. If you're drunk enough that you're jumping around like someone who lost inner ear control and think that throwing beer at the band is a good idea- at best I'm going to stick my pointy elbows into your gut until you move away from me and at worst, you'll get ripped out of there by your neck by much-bigger-than-you security (just ask the jackass up front on Saturday). Chill out, enjoy yourself and don't interfere with other people's fun.
_______________________
All Images copyright © Nate Vandermeulen, All Rights Reserved.
Please ask for permission before downloading or linking to them.

Crocodiles Record Insound Studio Session

Crocodiles were busy last month in New York before having to call off the rest of their dates due to a family health emergency. The Dum Dum Girls also canceled and my thoughts are with Kristin and Brandon. While in NYC, Crocodiles recorded an Insound Session.
From Insound:

Crocodiles came in to record a session while they were in town for a couple of shows this month. The band laid into three new tracks from their latest album Sleep Forever and one classic cut from Summer of Hate and all four songs came out absolutely fantastic. Get a link to download the other three tracks from the session free with the purchase of Sleep Forever.

I was trying to embed the video, but the code isn't working. You can check it all out here, including the free download of "Mirrors".

San Diego Music Roundup

This week some of our San Diego friends have been making waves, so I thought I'd do a little local roundup.

The Drowning Men are kicking off a west coast tour Saturday night at Hensley's Flying Elephant. I don't get to Encinitas very often, but that place is super cool and I throughly enjoyed myself when I checked it out for the first time a couple weeks ago, not to mention my hamburger kicked ass. The band is heading north, with shows at Hotel Utah in San Francisco on 7/20, The Blue Lamp in Sacramento on 7/21, Rotture in Portland on 7/22, Lucky's in Eugene on 7/23, and a huge show on the Neumo's stage at the Capitol Hill Block Party in Seattle on 7/24. (The Nightmarchers are also performing.)

Crocodiles have a new video that made its exclusive debut this week at Spin.com. The video is for "Sleep Forever" which you can download here frm Fat Possum. (right-click, save as) The video is super fuzzed out with several layers of visuals, but the live performance appears to be shot at the band's recent Casbah show, or more likely during the soundcheck,since that show was insanely crowded and the lights were barely on.

Tim and I were driving today saying how it's strange how we never see Andrew Bernhardt like we used to. He used to be everywhere. I did see him a couple weeks ago and he's all in love and shit, but he's also been really busy with Lights On, who recently celebrated their CD release and are currently in New York playing some shows with New Mexico (formerly Apes of Wrath). I hope they kill it in Brooklyn, just don't get too comfy because we want you back home. They were featured on Brooklyn Vegan and Insomnia Radio (though the latter has the CD release info incorrect. The CD release was July 3rd at Tin Can).

D/Wolves released their first self-titled CD. It is available FREE on Bandcamp, or you can (and should) buy a physical copy for $5. I seriously love these kids and am so happy they're playing my showcase at NPMT, though I had to fight someone else off who was trying to steal them to another showcase. I feel like mama bear with this band and will do what I can to both help and protect these guys.

The Reader asked me to mention that they are constantly working to make their music database the most comprehensive in San Diego. You can check it out here, where they added a "This Just In" section that has a ton of updates from local bands.

San Diego's Canobliss was High Times Unsigned Band of the Week.

Lastly, I mentioned that West Coast Tavern is hosting music on Thursday nights. I'll be booking these nights, so if you're interested in playing, please feel free to reach out. These are one band shows for about an hour to a crowd as the restaurant winds down restaurant service around 9 or 10 pm.

This Friday: Art Fag Fest + Win FREE Tickets

Art Fag Fest with No Age, Crocodiles, Dum Dum Girls, Best Coast, Ganglians, Grass Widow, Ty Segall @ San Diego Woman's Club, 3rd & Maple in Hillcrest, 5pm, All Ages $15

This Friday, Art Fag Records in conjunction with the Casbah, brings together some of the most buzzed about bands on the interwebs for our San Diego enjoyment. This is an all ages show at the San Diego Woman's Club and I have TWO PAIRS of tickets to giveaway. Just shoot me an e-mail with subject NO AGE. Include your full name and a phone number and I'll pick a winner sometime after Thanksgiving dinner.

Street Scene 2009, Day 2

What a week/weekend. I never got around to posting about day two of Street Scene for a couple reasons. One, the week just kinda got away from me with shows, some small projects, and family in town, sometimes that just happens. The greater reason was that perhaps I was a little bitter. I went back to Street Scene on Saturday ready for another action packed day, and instead found out that because of complaints, point and shoot cameras were not allowed in the photo pits. I honestly don't know how the situation could've been handled better because it is true that WAY too many people had photo passes, but I was irritated nonetheless. Then I realized I was kinda off the hook. Where Friday I was running around from stage to stage to stage and not really spending any real time watching any one band or hanging out with friends, on Saturday I was free to do whatever I wanted. That meant seeing fewer bands but for longer portions of their sets, bumping into and hanging out with a bunch of friends, and enjoying the way the beer garden was split right down the middle of the parking lot for the two main stages, Felana and Felano. So all in all, that worked out to be a pretty fun day.




Sidenote- since I was only allowed to take photos from the crowd for the most part (despite a media wristband and photo pass), Natalie sent over some of her leftover photos. I realize by juxtaposing her photos with mine, the harshness of my pictures is even more apparent, but you get the idea. If you want to see more of Natalie's photos, check them out on Spin.com or on her blog when she posts them. As for the other 100 photographers? No idea where you can find their photos so they can all bite me.

As I said, I had a fun day regardless. Read about it if you 'keep on reading'.

The day kicked off on the main stage with Black Joe Louis. Call me politically correct, but this name bothers me. In spite of that, I checked them out and they got the party started. Unfortunately this was also when an Elite security came and let me know my point and shoot wasn't good enough and I'd have to get out of the pit. Boo. It was particularly annoying because unlike the majority of the media, there were only about 10 of us there who actually got to Street Scene on time for ALL the bands, not just headliners. Whatever. It was an excuse to go find a beer.

Black Joe Louis



It wasn't long before Crocodiles were gonna start of the Casbah stage. Despite a couple WTF moments on this blog, I really like Chuck and Brandon and I think they're talented musicians, and on top of that, to me they have to be just about the savviest guys around, always just that much ahead of the curve as far as being on the cusp of what's next. They had a good amount of people at there show, dancing and singing along to the familiar songs, and I'm sure there were people just there to see them fail, too, but fail they did not. In fact, of all the shows I've seen these guys play, the sound was probably the cleanest.
Crocodiles






After Crocodiles, I mostly stayed in the beer garden between the two main stages. For one, the sun had begun to drop behind Petco Park, so this was the shadiest area, and honestly, I was stoked about the bands coming up between the stages. Ra Ra Riot is one of those bands that I always forget how much I love. I've seen them a couple times in small venues as well as opening for Death Cab at Rimac and there's such a distinct vocal softness that I love about this band...at the violin and cello and the intrumental flourishes yank on my soul. This band just makes me happy, and I was surprised how many people were there watching and singing along to the music. Where are these people at small venue shows??

Ra Ra Riot



After Ra Ra Riot, I was waiting for Josh to text and let me know he was there so I could give him his ticket, but I was hoping I wouldn't miss Public Enemy when I had to go deliver. He called about 2 minutes before PE was supposed to start, so I raced to the gates, found him, and kinda rushed him back over with me to the stage. And then we waited. And waited. I saw PE at House of Blues a while back...maybe last year sometimes...and the same shit happened. I go to enough shows to know that most bands stick to set times, whether by choice or the venue is just on top of it, and I think it's really disrespectful to other bands because now you've gone and changed the entire lineup for the night. There was some behind the scenes drama going on too, and rumors about bands not playing, but I don't need to go into what I heard other than I was just hoping everyone would play as scheduled.

20 minutes after they were supposed to start, PE's hype man came out on the decks for 10-15 minutes before they finally performed. OPP? Really? I guess the better thing for me was I ran into a friend I hadn't seen in a really long time so we had plenty of time to catch up. As for Public Enemy? Flava Flav? Fun set playing everything you'd want them to play to feel like 1996 all over again.

Public Enemy




Back to the drama, Of Montreal was tweeting about nearly getting kicked out of their trailer, about consuming mass amounts of alcohol while waiting for their 30 minute late set to begin, but they finally performed. It was my first time seeing them since I'd missed their Soma Sidestage show when they played, and it was every bit as ridiculous and over the top and theatrical as I expected and I couldn't be more pleased. As we wandered back to the beer line, they played Heimdelsgate Like A Promethean Curse and I was a happy camper.

Of Montreal


After Of Montreal's set, I was convinced things would get back on track time-wise and perhaps they did, perhaps they didn't. I didn't really care. I stopped looking at the clock and just let the night play out and enjoyed myself with good friends. It's no secret I love Silversun Pickups and they delivered a set that made a superfan like me happy, even if my photos were reduced to just taking pictures of the LED screens.

SSPU

We had amassed a group of friends somewhere between Of Montreal and SSPU. Incidentally, this is when I bumped into Seth Combs and he told me that while backstage, he mentioned me to Brian Aubert of SSPU and Brian asked if Seth worked for sd:dialedin. That made me laugh a little. Seth wasn't going to stay much longer and gave me his working badge, but it was a bit late in the night to really test access to anyone. Plus, I was with friends and didn't wanna leave them.



More beers were purchased as we watched Dead Weather but I wasn't really that into their set so much. It got much more crowded in the beer garden and Josh left, so I decided it was time to wander to other stages for a bit.
Dead Weather


And with that, I ended up over at Zarabunda waiting for Sharon Jones to play. I did go backstage over there, but it was mostly just crew and stagehands setting stuff up, so I found a chair and rested my achy tootsies while they set up. I have the Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings record and I've read blogs and articles about the band being amazing, and it's true, they certainly are, but I kinda feel like San Diego has our own Sharon Jones in Lady Dottie and The Diamonds, so where Sharon is perhaps an anomaly in the greater world of contemporary music, San Diegans know what to expect. I'm not saying this woman and her band don't totally bring it, it's just not all that unique a sound for us here.

Sharon Jones


To close out the night I wandered back over to catch MIA for a bit. Every time I see her I'm a bit visually overstimulated, mostly just by her outfits alone. There were mixed reviews on the performance, but I was pretty content with this being the end of my Street Scene 2009 experience. I'm just gonna throw this out there to Rob Hagey, but I've got plenty of input if they need help next year. I don't want to see Street Scene end, ever, and while overall they've had their successes and failures, I think it can once again be the climax of San Diego's summers.

MIA

Sub-Pop Signs Dum Dum Girls

I'm a little hurt that I didn't get any direct word about Grand Ole Party's are-they-breaking-up-or-staying-together-or-changing-lineup news but I suppose when you have a full record to be released in the fall, there are certain contractual obligations to quell rumors even if they're true. Or not true. Or whatever. I get it.

I also get why there might be a conflict of interest were a new project (or two) to pop up, so I understand why, if such a project existed, the hypothetical project would exist online as a mystery and claim to be from a generic city. And even if the hypothetical project got signed to SubPop, you probably wouldn't want bloggers and media to know about it. And definitely no photos. It's cool. I won't spill the beans.

Crocodiles Are Spin's "Band To Watch" & Wavves Speaks

Crocodiles are Spin's "band to watch". Read the article here. Or don't.

"If you live there, then you slowly die." That's how Brandon Welchez,
frontman and beat programmer for drone-pop duo Crocodiles, describes his band's
hometown of San Diego. "A lot of the nastiness in our music comes from reacting
to the boring culture there, and the sunshine," adds guitarist Charles Rowell.
"The sunshine can be oppressive."

Obviously I disagree.

In other 'get over yourself' news, Wavves finally spoke about the meltdown in Barcelona on Pitchfork.

Even before Barcelona, there were shows just like that, where it was just a mess and it fucking sucked. But it was to like 25 people in Little Rock, Arkansas or something. I don't really know what to say, but the fact of the matter is that I'm not really that good. I wouldn't say that I'm really like a guitar guy or anything like that. I can get by on the stuff that I play. I like writing and playing the songs. If people think that I'm not going to fuck up, then they're wrong. And if they think this is like the last time I'm going to fuck up, they're wrong too. Because I'm young. I'm kinda stupid. I'm human.

Overdue Recap: Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra, Casbah, 7/30/08

A few weeks ago I went to the Casbah for my first encounter with the Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra. I missed 300% Dynamite, but was there for The Crocodiles. I had enjoyed the Crocodiles in the past, but this set was too loud, a bit self-indulgent with too many solos, and watching someone spit onstage grosses me out, so I spent about half their set on the patio. I like their 90's Manchester influence though, so hopefully they go more in that direction, because Brandon really does have a great front-man voice.

Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra was pretty awesome. Professor B has set up witty robot banter with his robot and the visuals on SPO-20's robot chest make the whole show visually exciting. At one point, Prof. B handed out cardboard hand-drawn keytars and made the audience "play along" so the pic below is of Peter rocking out.



Here's a snippet of 'Robots Can't Cry'.



Your next chance to see SPO is at the Casbah for Anti-Monday League on August 25, or catch SPO-20 hosting Musical Pursuit trivia at The Whistle Stop on August 28.

Foals, Maps + Atlases, Crocodiles - Brick By Brick- 5.25.08

It ended up being a really chill weekend for me. I spent most of Saturday in Chula Vista with my family. We grilled and tried to keep up with the kids...Johanna is 9 months and trying to walk, Claudia is 9 and constantly entertains, and Jasmyne is 5 and responds to "what are you doing?" with a little sass. "Nunya!" "What's nunya?" "None ya business!", then she cracks up. I was there all day and when I got home I was wiped out. It was 9:30 and I thought I'd rest a little, but an hour later, I realized there was nowhere I'd rather be than in my bed. And it was nice. My first Saturday home in ages.



Sunday was more of the same, only we went to my sister's house in PB. I really get bothered when people talk incessantly about the weather and we cracked up because here we were in PB where it was blue skies and sunny, with a cool breeze, and the news crawl said that "dismal" weather had "ruined" Memorial Day weekend. What a bunch of pussies San Diegans can be. Wear a hoodie and stfu. Seriously. May Gray. Get over it. We went up to Kate Sessions Park for a while, too, to let the kids run around, and it was beautiful. The park was packed and we realized that since the beach booze ban, people have taken it to the parks, where it is legal to drink until 8pm (most city parks). A bunch of 20 somethings were playing kickball while a huge gathering celebrated a kid's birthday party. The view from Kate Sessions was beautiful, we could see the mountains out east, the ocean out west, the downtown skyline to the south and even further south, Mexico.



I left PB well in time to arrive at the Casbah for the FM 94/9 end of the month show. I saw some friends, had a michelada, and had some of the free Mexican grub. I caught Jamuel Saxon who opened the show, but had to split because I was told Crocodiles were starting at 9pm at Brick By Brick. I was a little bummed when I got there that they weren't actually going on until 9:30 but no big deal.

I don't know what everyone's deal is with Brick By Brick...maybe I still just have a soft spot from when a friend and I used to hang out there in college, but I've always liked it, although there were some years under different ownership where all the shows were hard rock...so there's that reputation, but really, I like the venue.

Crocodiles started the show and it was their first real San Diego show, though they played a house party on Friday. It's just Chuck and Brandon, iPod beats, some guitar, and a keyboard that was set up atop a trash can. They played in near darkness, with just a red and teal light on the floor behind them so I decided to not bust out my camera. Next time, boys... I think these guys are immensely talented and they've got such great stage presence, can't wait to see them with some actual lights on them.

I was pleased when I arrived to discover that Maps + Atlases was playing. I fell in love with the band when they played the Casbah a while back with Nurses, before Nurses bailed San Diego to move to Chicago to be with Maps + Atlases. The band is incredible, as much to listen to as to watch because of their unconventional ways of playing their instruments and the funky time signatures. I was bummed that Brick By Brick has 7 great stage lights and only used 3 of them...one green and two red, but here are a couple of pics regardless.




I was happy to see the venue filling up because I've heard of some disappointing shows there of late. Foals came out rockin and never stopped. They play fast dancey music, a la The Rapture, and I have to agree with Seth that they're guitar style is also a bit mathy. Regardless of how they're labeled, I was enthralled.








I was also impressed because one of the guitarist was shoeless on one foot and kept hopping around...whether sprained or broken, his energy never wavered and he danced all over the stage. My guess is that his foot probably felt like shit the next day.

I hung up front as long as I could but I was overwhelmed by the saucy girls, particularly the one who kept trying to have a conversation with the band between each song. "Um, excuse me. Wait, I just wanna tell you something. You guys are AWESOME!" Oh, then she tried to bust a move on Seth. Ha! So we ended up listening to the last few songs of the set on the patio.

When the band finished, I made my way back to the Casbah for Jivewire and people were shitfaced. Some nights I can't take it, but this night was just fine and everyone was cracking me up.

Tim was on the turntables...


I also found out it was Mikey's last night at the Casbah. So sad, but he's off to bigger and better things, heading off to Paris to follow his heart. So sweet and best of luck to him.


After Jivewire a bunch of friends came back to my house and we had a good time getting ridiculous until the wee hours of the morning. Wait, 7 am isn't really wee hours anymore, is it? Eventually most everyone went home until it was just a handful of us and we all ended up crashing in my bed, which suddenly wasn't as roomy.

Later Monday I thought I'd head to a couple BBQs but the sad realization that the weekend was over bummed me out and I thought I should get a clear head and avoid social drinking situations. I did head to the Casbah last night, however, so I'll get to posting those pics soon enough. Now, time to do this week's listings.