San Diego Media Spotlight: Clinton and Hipsters

I don't always highlight San Diego mentions in outside media sources, especially because it would have been impossible during the Olympics and such, but yesterday a couple of positive things were said about our city and I thought I'd share in case you missed them.

First, Forbes Magazine rated "America's Best Hipster Neighborhoods" and North Park dropped in at number 13 behind places like Silverlake and Williamsburg. Now, before all the hipsters cross their arms and deny that they're hipsters, the survey was actually focused, not on fixies and thrift stores, but on neighborhood walkability, coffee shops per capita, food trucks, farmers markets, locally owned bars and restaurants and number of people in "artistic occupations", which, hipster or not, I think we should all be proud of.

13. North Park, San Diego, CA
Culturally diverse North Park is home to Craftsman cottages,cafes and diners, coffee shops, several microbreweries, boutiques, and the North Park Farmers Market. The North Park Theater and the Ray Street Arts District are also bastions of creativity in the area.

Of course, we know there's so.much.more. to the entire area, from Kensington and City Heights all the way through Normal Heights, University Heights, Hillcrest, down to South Park and Golden Hill and beyond. A simple look at my listings and a peek outside your front door will remind you just how lucky we are to live here.

 Second, last night Bill Clinton appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and had this to say about San Diego (starts at 22:38, but you should watch the interview for full context):

"Let me give you an example of the places in America that are doing well. Anybody here from San Diego? San Diego is viewed as, you know, one of our great Naval cities and it still is, but it is also the center of human genome research in America. Private sector, Craig Venner, was in a race in effect, with the International Government Consortium, the seeker of the genome, which was done in 2000. Started with a bipartisan commitment to federal research at the end of President Bush's term, then I put $3 Billion Dollars of your money -- and it's already, I was at Saint Jude's children's hospital in Memphis just about three weeks ago, looking at children whose lives have been saved because we now can see how their difference in- their genetic differences- can require different kind of medicines to cure the same kind of cancer. It was unbelievable. 

Okay, so, you've got Venner's Foundation, it's an NGO, then you've got the University of California at San Diego putting out all these scientists,  you have the Republican mayor of San Diego inviting people in, and the biggest computer company, Qualcomm, headed by a Democrat, Irwin Jacobs who's an old friend of mine, and they have spawned 700 more computer companies in San Diego- why?- because you have the government, the non-profit sector, and the business sector working together to do this."

I love you, San Diego.

COLD CAVE // AUSTRA // PRURIENT // CASBAH 7.26.11 //

All photos: Daren Barker Photography.

If you felt an overwhelming sigh come over San Diego Tuesday evening, have no fret it was just about every hipster/goth/alt girl in town fawning over Wesley Eisold of Cold Cave. Having missed the group the last few times they've been through town, I was especially excited for the nights show. The last time I had seen Wes and Dominic Fernow (the only other constant member) was 2009 when they debuted at Soda Bar and Casbah back to back nights. The group has morphed into a completely different beast all together, with a live drummer to round out the three piece. They've gone through female members from Caralee McElroy (Xiu Xiu) and Jennifer Clavin (Mika Miko) to just a backing track for the female parts but, I particularly love the addition of the live drummer.

Champagne being consumed for a pre game, our ride had finally arrived. Myself being the sole male in a car full of girls, you can imagine my eagerness to get there and start the night. We had missed the opening act Prurient, Dom from Cold Cave's noise project. I had really wanted to see them, alas to no such avail. Jeff Graves and Mario Orduno were on the decks spinning some dance tracks while the crowd anxiously awaited Austra. We located our friends who had posted up in a booth in the Atari Lounge while Porter poured up the cold suds and cocktails, a loud rumbling came from the main room. Myself and Donna Chang decided to dart in and get a good viewing spot for Austra. Austra is a fairly new band whose debut album was just released in May, comprised of four females and two males. Their brand of new wave has had hipsters pining for them, myself not so much. There is just too much going on in the band, they remind me of Dirty Projectors in the fact at how many musicians they have and the back up singers. In my mind there is absolutely no need for two back up singers in a "new wave band", in fact my girlfriend had referred to them as Evanescence-esque. LMFAO! They set was fun, the girls danced and their boyfriends stood perplexed. Yes, there was an odd number of "dude bros" in attendance unfortunately; Cold Cave has gotten to that level of stardom. I don't hate on it, I'm proud of what Wes has accomplished with his music considering his past projects never made it past the cult following because how unfriendly it was to peoples ears.

Caught up with Wes, congratulated him on Cold Cave's first headlining tour and the brilliance of the new album. We hung outside on the patio as CC set up, you could feel the anticipation in the room. We waited patiently as they set up and finally took the stage, clamoring for a spot in the middle with some room to dance my friends screamed as they hit the stage. Bursting into Villains of The Moon, my heart fluttered with happiness as we danced and sung to our hearts content. Wes flailing about the stage, giving sneers and the occasional smile. They played all the jams Confetti, Underworld USA, Catacombs, The Laurels of Erotomania, Love Comes Close, Youth and Lust, I.C.D.K., and The Great Pan Is Dead. I seemed to be the only one in my location freaking the fuck out over their set. Dancing and singing along like a crazed fan, I didn't care; this band has meant so much to me for so long and if you know me you know what I'm talking about. Dom occasionally ran across the stage towards the side door commanding people to dance or sing along like a new wave/goth version of Flava Flav. They then went into Burning Sage, one of my personal favorites; Wesley singing almost like he used to with his hardcore call and response. I screamed "Black Lungs" "Black Sun" "Black Tongue" garnering a wink and smile from him, my personal highlight of the night. They finished with two encores one of them being a fan favorite "Life Magazine", as the night came to a close I was completely drenched in sweat. I had left it all on the dance floor and didn't care who scoffed at me or who was annoyed, don't go to a show and expect to stand there with your arms crossed and not get bumped. As I made my way outside to grab a smoke, I stopped to talk to Wes about the set and catch up. He greeted me with a hug and we conversed over Cardboard City, his appreciation of F. Sean Martin (Hatebreed) and Daryl Palumbo (Glassjaw) who had contributed immensely to the making of Cherish The Light Years and his tour with Cult of Youth. All in all, fantastic night! Thanks to Rosemary Bystrak, Casbah, Cold Cave, Wesley Eisold and all of my friends in attendance for making this a truly special night!

Nobody Wants To Be A Hipster

You know how sometimes you see or read something and then invariably keep seeing or reading other things and they all sort of come together with a shared theme?

Hipsters have been on my radar over the past couple weeks. I've been completely obsessed with Hipster Runoff after seeing the links on CatDirt and Stereogum. Then yesterday, I was called "The queen of all things hipster" by Fear and Loathing in Golden Hill and I cringed. Nobody wants to be called a hipster. I own no tights or leggings. I don't wear headbands. My t-shirt and jeans "style" has been the same since 9th grade.

So it was funny in all my thinking about what it means to be a hipster that I found this article, via a Twitter link that went to a blog that linked to another blog that linked to an article in AdBusters. The full article is here and here's a link to an entire issue of Time Out New York, "Why The Hipster Must Die".

“I’ve always found that word [“hipster”] is used with such disdain, like it’s always used by chubby bloggers who aren’t getting laid anymore and are bored, and they’re just so mad at these young kids for going out and getting wasted and having fun and being fashionable,” he says. “I’m dubious of these hypotheses because they always smell of an agenda.”

Maybe I am a hipster, maybe not. But if I am, then Known as Ben, you are too. Let's go blog together at the Moose Lodge while drinking Schlitz/PBR/Old Milwaukee and smoking American Spirits/Parliaments. I'll wear an oversized men's shirt with leggings and you can wear skinny jeans and an American Apparel V-Neck.

Hipster Olympics

Thanks for the link from Hip Hipster himself, Larry.