Last night, Jeff and I went up to The Observatory to catch Silversun Pickups. The band, whose new record Neck Of The Woods will be released on Tuesday with Dangerbird, have been busy making this record and with their only announced San Diego performance being at UCSD's Sun God Festival, this was a show I couldn't miss. You can hear the record in it's entirety below, and I shot video of the whole show, so that playlist is below, too. If you have the chance to check out the Observatory, it was an awesome venue with great sightlines everywhere, a liberal photo policy, and very chill security.
In honor of summer finally deciding to show up in San Diego (to the dismay of my poor dog), let's give away some tickets for the Hot Hot Heat! I was fortunate enough to see these guys when they played a 91X show at the Ken Club but haven't seen them since. Their latest effort, Future Breeds, is out on one of my favorite labels, Dangerbird, and Alternative Press gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Download "Goddess of The Prairie" (right click/save as) and then enter to win a pair of tickets by sending an email to sddialedin at gmail with the subject Hot Hot San Diego. Include your full name and a phone number. 21+. I'll choose a winner for a pair of tickets on Friday. The show is at the Belly Up on Saturday night. The 22-20s are opening.
You're thinking, "Hey Rosey! Your title would indicate this is a post about music, so why a picture of your niece?" The reason is simple. There was light. I have been having increasing problems with the lighting at Casbah and it's just not fun taking pictures there sometimes. So before the Black Mamba, Eulogies, and Land of Talk show, I spent the day with my family, with my uncle Willie who was visiting from Indiana, and frankly it's just cuter than anything I could've posted from the show.
It was actually pretty funny because I asked the sound guy if he could turn up the lights and he said that Aimee had requested them dim. Dim, not closet dark, I imagine. If you haven't yet seen Black Mambe, you should really remedy that soon. Aimee has a beautiful sweet voice and her onstage shyness is completely endearing, especially because it contrasts with her belting out her sweet melodies.
I encountered similar difficulties with Eulogies, who have the stage totally dark except for their retro photo slides that are projected onto the bass drum. I really love this band and I know I'm always talking about Dangerbird Records, but seriously, show me a single band on their roster that isn't great. Since photos and videos were a waste of time(and since I figured Natalie was standing right next to me shooting) I just enjoyed the band. They were showcasing music from their latest release, Here Anonymous, and since last time they were here, Peter wasn't feeling well, they could really get into the show a whole lot more. As did I.
Land of Talk was headlining the night and I was only slighly familiar with some random tracks, but knew of the Broken Social Scene connection and was looking forward to the show. Lead vocalist, Lizzie was quirky and quite funny in her comments between songs. Their Facebook bio says "Land of Talk is a female-fronted guitar rock juggernaut . They have been described as a destructive Stevie Nicks/Blonde Redhead mutant, Will Oldham meets Sonic Youth, and as a PJ Harvey-meets-Crazy Horse type creature," and I'm comfortable with that comparison. I didn't take photos of this band either, but I did shoot a couple videos, only because you could ALMOST see them onstage. Man, I have got to talk to Tim about those lights. Anyhow, enjoy the videos, at least the sound is decent. Here's one, the other two if you click 'keep on reading'.
Several months ago I got this crazy idea in my head that I was going to move this site to WordPress. It still might happen just as soon as the thing in my head can be actualized and it becomes worth the time and effort. But as I sought guidance and was convinced it wouldn't take that long to do, I chilled out on updates on the site. Now I find myself still using my original Blogger template with months of photos (dating back to May, to be exact) and a whole bunch of stuff between then and now that I just never posted about. I mean, it's not like I stopped going to shows and taking pics, but I've just been brief about those updates.
Now that it's looking more and more like my move to WordPress is postponed at best, and since I think I'm finally inspired enough out of my writer's rut, I wanna get back to the old days, when I wrote like nobody was reading, if you don't mind. I may never get back to most of those 4 months of photos, but I don't want to keep putting off the present because of the past. I was trying to break my writing into digestible, tagable, and web-searchable nuggets, but fuck it. My brain doesn't work that way and it's been so long since I've really wanted to write, so now you get a deluge.
With that said, last week, once recovered from Street Scene was a pretty good one. Click 'keep on reading' to read all about it.
Bad Veins at The Casbah, 2.1.09
My post-Street Scene adventures started on Sunday when I went to Jimmy's party with Josh Damigo. Jimmy hosts open mic at Lestat's and it was a beautiful day among warm people. I recognized a few faces- photographer Steve Covault was there, with his new bride Sweet Joyce Ann, Sara Petite, and others had gathered to celebrate the birthday. Dat Phan was there and naturally when at a party, one doesn't leave a conversation with a comedian. He had us in stitches until it was time to go. On the ride home I snapped Josh singing along to his music. Next time he better be careful or I'll shoot video.
Monday was eaten up with projects and stuff and just as a break, I walked over to Lestat's to catch Josh for a couple songs during open mic, which is where that video for "Indescribable" that I posted last week came from. I stopped into Lou Jones, too, but Tuesday was another early day for me so I didn't stay long. Let me tell ya, though, if you ever want total extremes, go to Lestat's for Open Mic Mondays, then to Lou Jones to visit Chrystal on Metal Mondays.
Tuesday night was all about the Casbah for me. LoveLikeFire from San Francisco opened the night and sadly my photos are beyond terrible. But they're really great with a highly energetic female guitarist vocalist up front.
I was there for two more bands living on the Dangerbird label that for me, so far at least, can do no wrong (Silversun Pickups, Eulogies, Dappled Cities). On this night, it was Bad Veins and Division Day who are co-headlining the tour. As I mentioned last week, I've been listening to both albums religiously and I was not disappointed by the live performances. Bad Veins, being just a two piece, rely on prerecorded beats that are usually played through a reel to reel, but "she" broke the night before so they were bummed they had to iPod the stuff, but I don't think it made a difference to the crowd.
I'm not gonna lie. The crowd was much thinner than I expected. And much, much smaller than I'd hoped. These are some incredible bands doing really great things and I guess me saying so can't get someone like Daye convinced that it's ok to miss Big Brother. I especially felt bad for Division Day because my city wasn't very courteous to them when they played Bar Pink during NPMT. In fact, apparently there were some not nice words from the drunks at Pink that night when DD said they were from L.A. Maybe Bar Pink should charge a $20 cover to anyone with a True North stamp on their wrist as a filter.
Regardless, the band performed a great set and hopefully will be back soon. I noticed Bad Veins is booked at Soda Bar in October, so perhaps more shows will excite more people about them.
Since I was pretty sure the few photos I took sucked (as evidenced above), somehow I convinced the boys in Bad Veins to pose for me after the show so at least I could get them with some light.
Wednesday I took it easy, going to dinner at Tita's Kitchenette, a filipino place in National City with Jake, but deciding that a night at home wasn't a terrible plan. Plus I had work to do. When I talk about 'work', btw, I'm still not working, but I'm hoping some shit falls into place soon and the 14 or so hours a day I'm online actually turn into the kind of work that pays money. So there that is. Haven't brought that up in a while, have I? Money or not, an email inbox with hundreds of emails crying for attention, to me, is still work.
Naturally Thursday I was ready to hit the nightlife again, so I was back at Casbah for Local Natives and Heartless Bastards. If the show didn't sell out, it was pretty damn close, but I was there to see Kelcey and the band once again. This was my third time seeing the band (this time without the girl), and they're the kinda band where you almost shouldn't check out their music beforehand, because while their EP is good, it really does no justice to their live shows. I especially dig when the band busts into 4 part harmonies. They just got picked up to tour with White Rabbits which makes so much sense because they're so percussion heavy. Maybe Britt Daniel will jump on board when they put out a full length and get them the attention they deserve. Though I should say they're touring their asses off and when they're not, they're playing Spaceland residencies and such, so it's not like they're being ignored.
Heartless Bastards headlined that night and while they sounded great...man, does that chick have a powerful voice, or what?...I was more into chatting with Local Natives and Andy in the back bar. No photos. I don't think I could've gotten through that crowd anyway. I had gone to the show with Jeff and he loves Heartless Bastards and was stoked they played an extra long set. From Casbah, we checked out Expressway To Yr Skull, Mario's Thursday night thing over at Soda bar, and as Soda Bar goes, bands were still playing, though no appearance by Crocodiles as listed.
Friday was tough because as much as I wanted to see The Styletones at X1FM, it's been a couple years since I've seen Pete Yorn and I'm really digging his latest record, Back & Fourth. I also had an afternoon meeting with a label rep who gave me an advance of Break Up, his album with Scarlett Johansson that comes out next week (9/15), so I had even more incentive to go. When I got to the track, we stopped by the 91X booth, and got hooked up with wristbands for the patio and even got a pair of tickets to The Honey Brothers.
We had time to kill and bet on a couple races. (My girl, Kicking Vixen held on to her lead for the first half mile before burning out). 3 races later and we found our spots on the patio to wait for Pete. And wait. And wait. It was about 7:45 before he finally started, but it allowed for more people to see him and he kept gushing about how playing Del Mar is his favorite gig of the summer. Judging by the 21 song, hour and a half set that he played, I would say he was being truthful, and it was worth the wait. And maybe the wait wasn't even that long, but we were surrounded by those loud-talking track drunks who brag about how much money they won or lost in their khakis and polos and it was just nauseating. Unfortunately it is to be expected. What can ya do?
Anyway, I was pleased because Pete played a variety of music from all of his albums, focusing mostly on his new album and then reverting back to his debut, musicforthemorningafter, a lot, but also throwing in some tunes from the in-betweeners. Since we were in this VIP patio, we were above and behind the stage. Here was our view:
After the show I looked for setlists but no luck, but someone who did get one was kind enough to let me take a picture. A couple notes: "Social D" is Social Development Dance from the new record. Bizarre Love Triangle is the New Order song, played more like Frente's version but not quite that slow. Fans should know that "Chain" is "Life on a Chain" and "Crystal" is "Crystal Village". Super great set.
From the track, we stopped by Subtext but had already missed Swim Party's set. It was my first time in the gallery, however, and the building is beautiful, as is the driveway/common area where the band played. We hung out for a bit to chat with friends for a while before noticing it was already past 10:30.
We headed to Bar Pink to check out The Weight and fortunately for late band sets, we arrived before they started with time to spare. I wrote about them last week, too, so I don't need to say much more except that they're "from Brooklyn", which means they're all from all over the place...the singer having lived in Athens and Atlanta, and everyone else from Connecticut, Jersey, PA, wherever. As they said, "Nobody in Brooklyn is from Brooklyn, unless you're Puerto Rican." I guess I expected them to look a little less Brooklyn and a little more countrified like their sound, but what do I know.
Their set was incredible and it was nice to bump into friends who were just at the Bar to hang out gushing about the band by the end of the set. Comparisons to Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, The Band, and The Rolling Stones were thrown around. I have their record "Are Men" (as in "The Weight Are Men") and if any of those musical influences turn you on like they did me or Andrea or Tim, go pick it up or buy it off iTunes.
After their set I introduced myself because it's what I do when a band's publicist takes the time to write me a personal email about a specific show and I couldn't help but adore how Joseph said hi and gave me and awkward hug, then immediately excused himself for sucking at conversation and for not being good at talking with strangers. I asked him about the tour, about their hometowns, and incidentally, he doesn't suck at conversation.
We stayed a bit for Bartender's Bible but the bar got packed quickly, and usually I can tell the A/C is on there, but that night it was out or too crowded to feel a thing, so we decided to bounce. We decided to check out Ruby Kitchen and got burgers, though we were disappointed that the "late night comfort food" menu has been suspended for now.
With that, I'll close out. I want to write about Saturday in a separate post because it was that awesome. And shit. Did I just write until the sun came up again? Dammit. See you tonight at the SDMA's.
You'd think that after spending an entire day listening to Bad Veins and Division Day CDs, I would have more to say than just, "I Love These Bands" but I really don't. I mean, I listen to Bad Veins and there's a little bit of me that thinks of Will Sheff of Okkervil River and then the very next song makes me wonder how I ever made that connection in the first place. Then I listen to Division Day and think, "this is how Great Northern would sound if the vocals were all male," and all these things are good and dandy but don't do any justice to describing the amazing music and how great I expect their show at the Casbah to be on 9/1...next Tuesday...
And it's not enough to say they're both Dangerbird bands, though for me that carries enough weight with artists like Silversun Pickups and Eulogies coming from the same L.A. indie label. All I can say is that I hope San Diego represents at this show because it is gonna be great. Poor Division Day got to play NPMT, and from what I heard, playing Bar Pink in the last slot was a blessing and a curse because while the room was full, at that time of night nobody gave them proper respect...so here's our chance to redeem ourselves and show up and support the amazing bands.
Bad Veins is a Cincinnati based duo and cute as hell. Not that it matters, but sometimes it helps.
Here's a video from Division Day:
Because I love Dangerbird so much and harass the shit out of them, they've agreed to give away a pair of tickets to the show. E-mail me with "Dangerbird" as the subject, include your phone number, and I'll pick a winner over the weekend. I wish I was joking that I spent the entire day switching these two albums back and forth in my CD player (I still prefer a stereo over iPod for listening to albums) but it's true...which I think means I listened to each about 5 times. Do not miss this show.
Eulogies stopped by KEXP a few weeks back to record a session and it is making me nothing but happy today. Believe me, I am making it my personal mission to get these guys back to San Diego.
Eulogies have a very special show coming up on July 1st in Los Angeles at The Echo with Bad Veins
Tune into hear Eulogies LIVE on KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic on July 1st
A couple weeks ago, I postedabout Silversun Pickups and their huge accomplishment in cracking the top 10 for Panic Switch, but I'm happy to say they went even further and have now hit #1. Click 'keep on reading' for the full announcement from Dangerbird Records. I cannot say enough how amazing they're going to be at Street Scene.
Silversun Pickups Hit #1 With Lead Single "Panic Switch" Monday June 15, 2009
It’s been 11 years since an independent artist ranked #1 on Billboard’s Hot Modern Rock Songs chart (Everlast’s “What It’s Like” hit #1 in December 1998) and today, Silversun Pickups are the proud title-holders. Lead single “Panic Switch,” from Swoon, has impressively jumped over tracks from Linkin Park and Green Day, which were also in the running. This is truly a triumphant day for Dangerbird and the band, as only three songs by artists on independently distributed labels have reached this position: The Offspring’s “Come Out And Play (Keep ‘Em Separated)” [#1, July 1994], the aforementioned Everlast, and now Silversun Pickups this week.
As co-founder of Dangerbird Records, Jeff Castelaz appreciates the significance of infiltrating a predominantly major label-ruled chart. “’Panic Switch’ hitting number one proves that the moving parts of the rock and roll experience are still in good working order: great band, great song, great listener response,” he says.
The quartet is currently making their way across Europe and will return in August for festival appearances, as well as a string of newly announced tour dates.
I absolutely love Eulogies, their label Dangerbird, and their recent performance at Casbah with The Dears and Great Northern was great (not to mention they gave me their drink tickets before they left back to LA). This is "Bad Connection" off their most recent release Here Anonymous. The session was recorded in downtown Chicago at Shirk Music on May 13th.
It's no secret that I'm a huge Silversun Pickups fan. I think I've been to every show they've ever played in San Diego, including their first one at House of Blues sidestage to about 25 people. Unfortunately I didn't catch their private 94/9 or 91X shows, but I'm pretty sure I've been to all the others, and was ecstatic to see them at Coachella this year. Well, the little engine that could is blowing up with their sophomore album Swoon, which is not only great for the band, but also for Dangerbird Records, which has an impressive roster of LA bands in their own right. (Eulogies, The One AM Radio, etc.) Their radio single "Panic Switch" has made it to #2 on the Billboard's Hot Modern Rock Songs chart. It is the first time an independent band has done that since 1998. Congrats to them. Make sure to catch them at Street Scene this year!
Full Press Release after the jump.
SILVERSUN PICKUPS’ LEAD SINGLE “PANIC SWITCH”
ACCELERATES INTO #2 SPOT, BEHIND GREEN DAY
LOS ANGELES, June 2, 2009 — It’s not often a truly independent artist reaches the #2 spot on Billboard’s Hot Modern Rock Songs chart and Silversun Pickups have done just that with lead single, “Panic Switch.” Culled from their Dangerbird Records’ release Swoon, this song is the highest ranked by an artist on an independently distributed label since Everlast’s “What It’s Like” hit #1 in December 1998. The Pickups have set their sights on the #1 position, currently occupied by rock giants, Green Day. Since 1994, only three songs by artists on independently distributed labels have reached the chart’s top two: The Offspring’s “Come Out And Play (Keep ‘Em Separated)” [#1, July 1994], the aforementioned Everlast,and now Silversun Pickups this week. “Panic Switch” has continually ascended the chart since its release at thisradio format 12 weeks ago.
Swoon made a most impressive debut at #7 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart in April and remains in the Top 100 for the sixth week. Previously, the band’s first LP, Carnavas, spawned two Top 10 radio hits, “Lazy Eye” (#5)and “Well Thought Out Twinkles” (#9), and surpassed the 350,000 sales mark.
Silversun Pickups will continue to make appearances at festivals this summer, interspersed with touring overseas. This Thursday, June 4, they will perform live on KCRW’s “Morning Becomes Eclectic.”
SILVERSUN PICKUPS LIVE SHOWS
August 2 Jersey City, N.J. All Points West
August 9 Chicago, Ill. Lollapalooza August 28 San Francisco, Calif.
Outside Lands Festival August 29 San Diego, Calif. San Diego Street Scene
Eulogies is playing with The Dears and Great Northern on 5/22 and I've got this awesome prize pack to give away. Shoot me an email with Dangerbird in the subject line. Include a phone number so I can contact the winner. Must be 21 to enter. Winner will be chosen at random on Wednesday, May 20.
Prize pack will include:
-(2) tickets to San Diego show (guest list at venue’s will call) -(1) Eulogies “tempted to do nothing” vinyldisc -(1) Eulogies “here anonymous” on vinyl -(1) The Dears “Missiles” on vinyl -(1) Eulogies shirt -(1) Dangerbird hoodie
Runner up will get a pair of tickets, courtesy of Great Northern & Filter.
Despite it being December, a time when many bands opt to stay home and take a break from touring, there are several really great shows this week in San Diego and I really hope that even though times are tough all around and money tightens around the holidays, that you still take the time to support good music and give yourself a break while you're doing it.
I'm particularly excited about Tuesday night's show at the Casbah. I became a fan of Longwave when they released their first album, The Strangest Things, in 2001. I never got the chance to see the band back then and lost track of them as their subsequent releases were issued. Now signed with Original Signal Recordings, the band will be gracing the Casbah's stage to promote their latest release, Secrets Are Sinister, which has been on heavy rotation in my CD player, and dare I say, one of my favorite releases of the year.
Longwave "Shining Hours"
As if that isn't enough, Eulogies will be opening the show. A band from LA that has recently released their 2nd full length, you might recall that they were scheduled to play Beauty Bar last year, but the show was canceled and ended up being rescheduled for the same night as my 1st Anniversary Show, so this will be my first time seeing them, and frankly it's about time.
One of the bands on the strong roster of Dangerbird Records, I can't think of a better band to open the show tomorrow night. After two full length albums, they're touring in support of their latest VinylDisc EP, "Tempted To Do Nothing".
Download “Two Can Play” Mp3 (Featuring Nikki Monninger of Silversun Pickups) and make it a point to spend your Tuesday night at the Casbah.
So yeah, I went out tonight and accomplished my goal of making 3 great shows. Thank God for rock n roll and the inevitable late start for bands, because I got to see Red Feathers who were amazing, Old Man Hands who seriously make me cry the good cry on the inside, then Ghost Buffalo and the North Atlantic at Black Box Studios (which thankfully I remembered the whole 'enter through the alley' thing), then Swedish Models and The Muslims at the Ken Club.
But before I went out, I found the time to upload video from the Dappled Cities show. And I admit, I was such a dork to wear the shirt out tonight, but I guess it was good advertising because I got so many comments from people who had gone to the show and agreed that the show was amazing beyond expectation and also a number of people asking about it and regretful that they missed it all. The bottom line is Dappled Cities has to come back to San Diego soon.
Anyway, I'm sorry for the crap lighting but the sound ain't half bad and I thought it good enough to post this video of Dappled Cities performing "Vision Bell". If you can't handle the lighting, just turn it on and troll the web while listening...
I'd like to dedicate this post to Natalie because at the end of the song he's doing the little birdie noises that were getting us all hot and bothered. Yeah. Fan? Blogger? Or Groupie?
