Saturday Recap: Ex-Friends, Buckfast Superbee, Fluf 2.23.08

I got up much earlier than I normally do for a Saturday and I was glad I had, because Dagart and I had a fun day which I mentioned the other day- that involved lunch, some friends from the hood stopped by, we took the tour of Hard Rock, then caught 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days at the Ken, which was a great film, albeit quite heavy. After, I dropped Dag off, then headed to the Casbah.

I got there when Matt & The Ex-Friends were already playing and immediately found my way up front. Their music is such happy sing-along music, it was a nice pick me up after seeing kind of a downer flick. Plus, who doesn't love seeing Ray Suen in his Elvis glasses?

Matt Curreri & The Ex Friends






I only caught Buckfast Superbee very briefly because the crowd up front was so packed in, and frankly, I had some friends to catch up with on the patio. Still, I thought they sounded great and their high energy got me pumped up for fluf.

Buckfast Superbee


When I first ran into O earlier in the night, he said he didn't know why I kept pumping up the show like it was a reunion show; he said they'd never quit, but just haven't played as much because of Reeve Oliver, but still for me, it's been at least 6 or 7 years since I'd seen them play, and I was really excited to see them again. They played a long set, so I was inside for part of it and out on the patio then back again, and O gave me a shout out on stage which is the easiest way to get me to blush. They've got some more shows lined up, so make sure you catch them if you can.

Fluf




When I got home, I did my ritual of watching the week's episodes of In Treatment until I realized it was morning and I should go to sleep, so Sunday was for the most part a lazy day until it was time to get ready for the Casbah early show. I'll post those pics next.

fluf Playing This Saturday

There's been some excitement lately over some of the local band reunion shows that have happened over the past few months. Perhaps we get all excited about musicians resurrecting because they pretty much dropped off the planet. Bands like Creedle reuniting in December, or John Reis forming the Night Marchers seems to get everyone a little hopeful...like when are we gonna see Lucy's Fur Coat? Then there were other bands that came and went, but the musicians stayed active, so maybe there's a little less buzz about the whole thing. But that's not really fair and they deserve an equal amount of attention.

So I told you to lock in Sunday for Marco's night, but lock in Saturday night at the Casbah, too- cuz Fluf is playing and O rocks. Mmmm- Mangravy. They'll be joined by Buckfast Superbee, and Matt Curreri & The Ex-Friends.

Friday Recap: Emery Byrd, The Roman Spring, Joanie + Secretaries @ Tower Bar

Could I have had a lazier weekend? Probably not. While I probably should've been doing work, instead I was lounging and eating leftovers and napping and wearing pajamas like they're a uniform. It has been really great. I did, however, motivate and head out by nightfall each night.

Friday night found me at the Tower Bar for Joanie + Secretaries, The Roman Spring, and Emery Byrd. Do I even need to say that it was a fun night? Joanie and the Secretaries started off the night and it was nice to see that a band whose vocals are somewhat gentle can still pull in a full crowd at the Tower Bar, traditionally known for hosting louder more aggressive music. The same was true for Saturday night, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

So Joanie played. She has Ray Suen on guitar and violin, and shares the same drummer from the Ex-Friends, while she rotates on bass, guitar, and keys with someone I didn't know. They sounded really, really great. Joanie's voice can easily go up against any of those indie chicks touted by indie blogger nation.





The Roman Spring were up next. Poor Alex had to wait outside in the cold until it was time for them to play. Every time I see him, there's very clear growth vocally. The band had Ray play with them for a bit, too, which really upped the energy in the room.







Last up was Emery Byrd. I'm really glad these guys are playing around town more frequently because they never disappoint. They're not only polished, but Matt's stage presence, even in the Tower Bar where the band is level with the crowd, would make you believe they're used to playing much larger stages. Or at least that they should be.





After the show ended, I headed back to the Ken Club, but the bands were already done, so I hung out with Todd and Kittyhead until the bar closed, then came home and set up my snowman holiday/winter/christmas menagerie. I still have yet to buy my tree, but at least I've got my snowmen.

Bonus Material: Ex-Friends Performing Carrie's Freckles

Saturday Recap, Pt.2: Bus Montana, Ex-Friends, The Vision of a Dying World

On my way home, I decided to stop at the park near the Adams Rec Center for the free weekly "summerfest" concert. I'm not really sure who is behind these shows, but seeing as I live on Adams and only heard about it through a band's MySpace bulletin, I feel bad that the promotion for the event was so weak. There weren't many people there, mostly just a few rockeros lingering in the park. I got there at the end of the set by Bus Montana, who were a young rock en espanol band.



They sounded good, but there was a little too much time in the breakdown so I didn't stay for the next band, who I think were Castillo. The event has Pennysaver sponsorship and should be better promoted than it was because a day in the park with free music could be a bigger neighborhood draw.



From there, it was home for a good nap before I headed off to the Casbah. It's so funny, as much as I love the Casbah, I'm averse to going there on the weekends because there's always the competition for parking with the downtown-y people going to Airport. Still, I love the bands and decided to go.

Jake was doing sound and I've never heard The Vision of A Dying World sound better. It was obvious that a lot of people have gotten their hands on the new CD because there was lots of singing along and all.







After The Vision, Matt Curreri and the Ex-friends were up. Again, a good amount of people were up front singing along. Ray Suen impressed as always whether he was on guitar, violin, or plucking the banjo.







The night was put together for the CD Release Party of Billy Midnight but by that point of the night, I was getting antsy and having to drive I had to head to home base, so I'll have to catch Billy Midnight another time because from what I heard, they are a band I'd like and they fit well with the two openers.

I got to the Ken Club shortly after 1 and Tiltwheel had most of the bar side cleared out and watching their show. It was totally different than the rest of my day, but the fast driving punk was actually a good way to end the night and accompanied my washington apple well.





As nights do, it came to last call and Todd and Jason came over and hung out for a while before it was time for me to crash. Come today I had to decide that I needed a day of decompression and skipped Pride and the Zombie Lounge in favor of tending to my barfing cat, my poopy dog, and my new laptop...a good weekend for sure...

Sunday Recap (pt.1): ArtWalk & The Ex-Friends

Sunday was family day for me as I headed to ArtWalk with my mom, sisters, and brother in law. After getting some food at Mona Lisa, we walked the festival a little, most taking in the outdoor art exhibitors and people watching. Eventually I made my way to the little fountain/amphitheater area where Matt Curreri and the Ex-Friends were gonna play. The gloom burned off and the sun was out and I met up with Andrea and we bumped into Adam, Trisha, Dylan, and Laura Jane. It was cool, too, because Kevin of the Ex-Friends is a teacher so a bunch of his students were there.

The band had enough material to cover all of their hour and fifteen minute set and a lot of festival goers came and went throughout their set.





One elderly man in the crowd kept yelling for them to "keep going", even in between songs, also shouting out various songs by Zeppelin among others, like "'Gateway' to Heaven". I freaking love festival people.





Of course, the heckling pales to the freak with missing teeth walking around with a "free hugs" sign, but it was worth mentioning. ArtWalk seemed better planned this year, though admittedly I avoided confined art spaces. The Little Italy improvements, like the fountains and benches, really do a lot to make the event more pedestrian friendly. After a few hours it was time to go on our merry ways and I prepped myself for a Sunday evening concert.

Friday Recap: Matt Curreri & The Ex-friends, The Modlins, Punk Rock Karaoke

As I mentioned, my plans are always subject to change, so I skipped out on Kensington Vine on Friday night so I could chill and recharge after a long work week and start the weekend off right. That led me to the Whistle Stop. I got there a little after 10 and the bands hadn’t started, so I said my hellos to some friends until it was time for Matt Curreri and the Ex-Friends to play. I think Matt is one of the better songwriters in San Diego and reminds me a lot of Steve Poltz circa 1996, minus the drunk rolling on the floor stage antics. It had been a while since I’d seen the full band…the last time they played, it was stripped down to open for Rhett Miller, so it was cool to see them all together again. A couple drunk assholes came in at the beginning of their set and harassed them (later I found out it was Derek and Josh Mosh who went into the Whistle with the intent to get kicked out) but after Matt pushed them and the sound guy corralled them outta the show, the door guy wouldn't let them back in and the band carried on and had a fun set. Here are some pics, and the setlist:

The Modlins were up after and they started their set in Jason hockey masks because it was Friday the 13th…pretty funny. I was glad the show wasn’t as crowded at their CD Release because I probably wouldn’t have stuck around. Their 50s/60s inspired pop is always sweet to the ears and they seemed looser on this night, which is always great. A band should feel comfortable in front of a crowd, especially when half the bar (at least) is filled with friends. Here are some pics and their setlist:

After the Modlins finished up, Jason and I took off to the Tower Bar for Punk Rock Karaoke. A lot of my friends were there that I haven’t seen in a while so it was a good time. Rip Griswald was there (from Orion Frequency) and at one point he was pushed outta the bar by some of my other friends. Not cool. I didn’t really see what happened but when I asked a couple of my friends later, they said “he was being a douchebag”. Apparently they didn’t like him trying to sing into the mic and pushing up front, but as I pointed out to my friends…it’s a goddamn punk rock show and other people enjoy punk that are outside their circle of friends and they need to get over it. Eventually Rip was let back into the bar and we did a celebratory shot and nobody bothered him again. A really cool part of the night was seeing Rob Crow do a song. I tried to record it but it’s too damn dark in the bar, so if I can get an MP3 created from the vid, I’ll post it later.

Everyone was there in Sandra's honor.

Of course, her brother Miggs was on fire.

Rip got tossed for a while but was let in later.

Rob Crow does punk rock.

After the Tower, a few friends came over and before we knew it, the sun started to rise, and we finally called it a night. Quite a way to start a weekend…