Gram Rabbit, Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects, Bartenders Bible @ Casbah 2.20.09.

For the third night in a row I went to the Casbah. It was a bit of a last minute decision, as Todd and I had started drinking a bit early. That said, we called Taxi Rob and had him drive us to the Casbah and let's just say that the stash of drink tickets I'd saved up in January were gone by the time we left. For full post, click 'keep on reading'.



We missed Black Hondo but were there in time to catch Bartender's Bible in the Atari
Lounge who set the tone for the night. As much as I'm not a fan of weekend warriors, this was at least the right kind of bill for a rowdy crowd looking to let loose, and I won't speak for Todd, but on this night, I was definitely one of them.





I was glad to see Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects again, mostly because though I worked at the Casbah for all of Pall's 5 different shows (1 with Mr. Tube, 1 with Blackheart Procession, and 3 Three Mile Pilot), I was on the patio selling merch for all of them, so I was happy to be able to watch the show without reservation or responsibility.






Gram Rabbit Setlist:


There's really only one word to describe any Gram Rabbit show: insanity. Jessica Rabbit took the stage in a one piece spandex bodysuit with a colorful jacket over and it's impossible to take your eyes off of her. And she knows it. And the fact that she knows it guarantees that the crowd is going to go apeshit right along with the band. I'm just glad that now I've learned my lesson and if invited to any form of Gram Rabbit after party, the answer is a polite, "no, thank you." Unless you're insane.

Overdue Recap: The Frantic Romantic CD Release, Ken Club, 1-26-08

I was certain for a while that I'd go to Gram Rabbit's CD release show at the Casbah on January 26. However, when the day came, I was feeling pretty unmotivated. It had been a late night with friends over, it was raining almost all day, and I knew there was going to be a great show in my own hood. I was glad that I opted for the Ken Club. Unfortunately, I missed Long Live Logos, and while watching The Fascination, I realized I'd forgotten my camera so I went home to grab it. By the time I got back and was well lubed with some cocktails and the Ken Club was packed.

I love these guys, and I've been enjoying their CD a lot, but I hadn't seen them live before and they brought it in a big way. Their show is very energetic, and Ryan's voice kinda reminded me of a band I used to love called Sonichrome.





The crowd was loving the set for sure, and there was a whole bunch of dancing going on up front. When the band finished, they urged everyone to pick up a CD. They started to pack up when one of their friends jumped onstage and whispered in Ryan's ear. Ryan said they were done, but the dude started the crowd chanting. Apparently at one show once upon a time, the band played a Journey cover and they've been stuck playing it ever since. I was pretty happy about it, I have to say, but I can imagine how on a CD release show, a band might wanna avoid covers. Still, they gave the crowd what they wanted.



Since I did feel bad about missing Gram Rabbit, I asked Greg to write a review of the show. Below is an excerpt:

The show last night started off quite ominously when the laptop that the band uses for sound effects on some songs died, which forced the band to scrap about 4 songs from the set; mostly from their new record, Radioangel and The Robotbeat. That is one reason I'm not a big fan of having sounds computer generated on-stage during a show. Maybe it was the frustration of having their computer crash, the rain, their upcoming tour of the South and East Coast, or the fact that the Casbah is one of their favorite places to play, but the band regrouped and delivered their wildest, loosest, and most unpredictable show I have seen from them yet. Starting with the space rock of "Waiting In The Kountry" from their second album "Cultivation", the band played songs ranging from crowd favorites like the disco beats of "Cowboy Up", the country-folk sing-along "Dirty Horse"; the high desert rap tune "Cowboys And Aliens", and the rocker "Land Of Jail" from "Music To Start A Cult To"; to songs from their excellent new album "RadioAngel and The Robotbeat."

While they we're limited to some songs they could play from it because of the computer crash, they did play some stand-outs from it like "American Hookers", "The Rest Of Us Sleep", and "Something Fuzzy"; and the gorgeous "The Places We Go" sung by the balladeer of the group Todd Rutherford. The show included alot of band talk between songs; which was almost non-exsistent in the past shows I've seen; and alot of crowd interaction as well including Jesika crowd surfing a few times and actually throwing herself in my arms one time during the show. Thankfully she is a very petite lady, not to mention quite beautiful, so I was very honored. By the time the last song ended the stage looked like Godzilla had stomped a mud-hole in it. It has been a very long time since I have seen a band literally destroy their stage set-up like that; and defintiely the first time I had seen them do it. The snare drum almost landed in my arms. After a short break the band came back out amongst the post-apocalytic mess strewn about the stage and preformed the encore, which consisted of very loose, shambolic version of "Devils Playground" which was quite surreal with the instrument carcasses laying everywhere. It seemed to fit the moment beautifully. And finally, after cleaning up the mess a little and getting some semblace of a stage set-up organized again the band closed with one of their signature songs and defintie crowd favorite, "Bloddy Bunnies" which quite appropo as well and was the perfect end to the show.

Incidentally, what Greg called "loose" others told me was just a total mess. Another friend of mine who was at the show said the band seems more concerned with their pre-party and post-party than they are about delivering a good set and said the band's performances have gotten progressively worse every time he's seen them. With that opinion, I was glad I kept my ass in the 'hood.

Huge Casbah Weekend

I wasn't expecting to hit the Casbah last night, but after overdosing on the Gaslamp I just needed a REAL drink poured by a REAL bartender with REAL alcohol in it. That's the thing about downtown that I hate; it wasn't the d-bag factor that everyone talks about- I mean, everyone has the right to like what they like- but if I'm paying $6, $8 or even $10 for a drink, I expect more than a two count pour. That's not the point of this post, however, and I'll have to get to all my recapping some other time when my computer is functional again and I can piece together all the pictures that go with the posts (The Long and Short of It, Shaky Hands, Lonely H, Rafter, ASR, Iglu & Hartly, A Scribe Amidst the Lions).

Anyway, it appears that I'll be at the Casbah for the next three nights straight.

I already posted about MGMT, who are performing with Yeasayer and Calico Horse (both awesome in their own right). The show is tonight and is a show I've been anticipating for a while.

Saturday night is the CD release party for Gram Rabbit. Time to pull out your bunny ears and your cottontails and get ready for the mayhem that always ensues at their shows. Last time there was wrestling, near nudity, and a crazy as hell after party. I think I'm still recovering from that one...I got an advance of the CD and it's just as awesome as their live shows, so bring some cash to pick up merch when you're at the show.





I would also be remiss if I didn't mention The Frantic Romantic's big CD release show at the Ken Club. If the Casbah lets out early, I'll be heading over for sure. (Their CD is definitely worth picking up, too. Pyles has been playing a lot of it because it's so damn good.


Sunday night is the big FM 94/9 Local Pyle show. It's free, it's early, and has not only some of my favorite local bands, but some of my best friends performing. Hotel St. George, Team Abraham, Desert Diamonds, and the Tighten-Ups.

This weekend is gonna be a doozy, which means please refrain from calling me anytime before noon :)

Sunday Recap: Gram Rabbit, The Roman Spring

I was writing so long that I lost track of time and all of the sudden realized it was 10:30 so I headed to the Casbah, hoping to catch The Roman Spring. I missed the first band, Sabrosa Purr, but heard the were good (albeit "really loud"). Fortunately I walked in toward the beginning of The Roman Spring's set. This was the best I've ever heard them. The band is always tight, but Alex, the singer, seems to really be coming into his own and owning the songs he sings.


The band hasn't played all that often lately because Jake was doing sound for Louis XIV but he's back now.


Tim is all healed from having his jaw wired shut and could get back to his backup vocals.


I saw Gram Rabbit once last year when they played one of Tim Pyles' Sunday Casbah BBQs and I thought they had great energy. This time, they were just off the charts. From what I remembered from last time, I don't remember such an electronic element to their music, but it totally works for their catchy tunes. Maybe most of San Diego was at Cane's watching two dj's behind turntables, but there was a full on dance party at the Casbah, too, and with a full band, it was much more my speed than Justice ever would've been.



Jesika Von Rabbit has so much appeal on stage, though she's so serious, it's hard to tell if she's enjoying herself. She's really sexy and isn't afraid to be sexy onstage, and it never takes away from her talent. I thought her outfit was something very Shakira, Abraham said maybe more Cher, but her voice kinda falls somewhere between Gwen Stefani and "Groove Is In The Heart" Dee-Lite. For this music it works.











The band played a cover of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" and this rabbit came onstage to join the band. The production was fun throughout the show and it seems it could very easily translate to a much larger stage.



Jesika took off her jacket and suddenly all the guys who were at the bar or out smoking came back in to check things out.



Then this girl came onstage, dancing like GiGi from MC Flow, with sparkly dumbells and whatnot.


I don't think it was planned that she would tackle Jesika, but she did, knocking down her keyboard, both of them ending up on the floor, Jesika kicking her off then kicking down several pieces of the drumkit.

The show ended relatively early and Abraham suggested we head to the Cherry Bomb. I hadn't been in a while, but we talked to other people and that was the consensus plan. We got there and assumed everyone else bailed but just before last call, in walks Porter, both Casbah Bens, Monique, Tim, Jake, Melinda, and then all of Gram Rabbit and a couple of their friends. It was a good time for sure, albeit short. When the bar closed, everyone was going to an after party at this girl's house in Golden Hill, so we were on our way. It was definitely an interesting night. I saw stuff that I really shouldn't write about here...kinda like 'what happens in vegas...' and I don't want to violate code but it was a fun time for sure.


This was the neighbor who was kind enough to let me use his bathroom when the one at the party was occupied by multiple people for an extended period of time.


Todd from Gram Rabbit was really cool and we hung outside most of the time with a few other people.


I'm not really sure what time it was, but I took Abraham home then returned to the party and apparently I missed something, but people started acting a little nutso...yelling, crying, shit talking, etc. I didn't stay too much longer after that, but the sun was rising when I finally made it home relishing the night I had. I very much look forward Gram Rabbit coming back to town for more good times. Needless to say, Monday was a chill day at home behind the computer and now it's time to catch some zzz's. Things to Do list will be posted on Tuesday.