Overdue Recap: FM 94/9 Local Showcase @ Casbah, 7.27.08

On Sunday, my parents picked me up and we met up with the girls, who were shopping on Garnet. We swapped out, they picked up Claudia and her friend, and the rest of us walked back to my sister's where we pretty much sat around catching up with family time. After most of the afternoon there, I was dropped off at the Casbah around 6:30, well in time to hang out, catch up with Pyles and Porter, grab some of the food from Lucha Libre, and see all the bands. Well, let's be honest, I didn't see all the bands, but I'll explain that in a minute.

I watched all of The Moviegoers set. I've been a huge fan of their EP for a few months now and was happy to see the positive response from people I talked to about the band and their first San Diego show. Since everyone was asking if they're local or not, I'll clarify and say they all met in college on the east coast and used to play parties and whatnot but were mostly a studio project. After everyone graduated, they moved around and all ended up on the west coast. You can read the full story on their MySpace page. they played around and decided to record songs. Most of the band is now San Diego based, except for the bassist, Jordan, who lives in LA. I thought they really impressed, especially for their first show here, and hope they plant their roots here for good because they definitely have something to contribute to the local music scene. (By the way, they're playing NXNP on Saturday with a showcase at The Whistle Stop)





The Moviegoers


I don't know what got in to me, but I started on beers that night, I guess vodka didn't seem right with the sun still out, but then I decided to move on to Jameson shots. Weird. Anyway, of course between bands I hung out with friends and watched Tim broadcasting live (and giving me huge shout-outs).

Everyone has told me about Fever Sleeves for some time, and I know I've seen them before but I decided to make sure I checked them out. For about 2 minutes. The thing was, I think I'd really like their music. But I have no idea for sure because they were so. freaking. loud. Seriously, I had ear plugs in, and couldn't hear shit except for a mish mash of over amplified instruments completely drowning out vocals. Now I remember why I've not reviewed them before. But hey, they sounded good from outside.



I got all chatty and was hanging out on the patio for most of their set, which carried into Syndicate's set so I ended up missing them save for hearing a bit of their dancey music from the patio.

Japanese Sunday closed up the night and so I was back in for most of their set, though the lights had been turned down so my pics didn't come out. I did take video, however, and I really dig this band a lot.

Japanese Sunday


Big thanks to Dagart for the safe ride home. Rosey + Jameson + Makers = pure silliness. Lesson learned.

Monday Night Recap Part 2: Tim Pyles' Anti-Monday League w/ The Appleseed Cast, The Life and Times, Japanese Sunday

After Augustana, I went to the Casbah for another of Tim Pyles' Anti-Monday League. It was a night of shoegazey melancholy and the genre never ceases to amaze me because bands you would think of as "mellow" in their vibe are still really fucking loud and usually accompanied by musicians that totally rock. That's really all I can say about the show...all three bands were good, I was happy to be there, but I was equally as happy when I was back home and my head was hitting my pillow.

Japanese Sunday:









The Life and Times (They had this super bright white spotlights on them that not only created weird shadows, but also made it really freakin hot, so I didn't stay up front for long):







The Appleseed Cast (Really, really good. The drummer was insane. The singer is sexy in the way that Wayne Coyne of Flaming Lips is sexy. Clearly I am quite the music journalist.):







sorry to the 4th guy that was on the other side of the stage; I wasn't feeling ambitious enough to take your picture.

I would really like to see The Twilight Sad tonight, but I don't know if I can do my third night in a row at the Casbah. I've got some thinkin to do, for sure.

Thursday Night: Japanese Sunday, Swim Party, Roxy Jones

For a last minute show, Thursday night was a damn good bill, the show was free, and while it wasn't a packed house, a lot of people showed up, so it was a really fun night.

Roxy Jones were originally set to start at 9, but at that time the bar was empty so they stalled until some more people showed up. This was the best I've ever seen Roxy Jones. They sound more full and have bridged the loud screams and softer singing to a good level in the middle. Plus, who can complain about the sound at the Casbah?







Next up was Swim Party, and if I gush about them anymore I might seem like a stalker, so for fuck's sake, get their EP and go catch them live at the Casbah on the 24th.









Last up was Japanese Sunday, and I had only heard them once on The Local Pyle and thought I wouldn't be a fan, but last night I was really impressed with their show. Good solid indie shoegaze.





When I uploaded my pics today, I realized I'd taken a million pics of the bassist. Sometimes I just turn into a groupie, I swear.



I recorded their final song but it ran over 100 megs on my camera and YouTube has a limit, so if anyone can tell me some free shareware I can download to edit the video or condense it, I'm all ears.

I finished my evening at the Ken Club where I bumped into some friends and seemed to let all responsibility fly right out the window. Sometimes that can be a really good thing. I can't believe I'm home at 10:22 on a Friday night. I gotta get the heck outta here. See ya out.

News For THURSDAY: Autolux @ The Casbah is Canceled

Last night I got the sad news that Autolux has cancelled their San Diego show. ( They also cancelled their other scheduled show for Pomona's Glasshouse). Let this be a lesson that all local bands who want a shot to play the Casbah should attend Tim Pyles Anti-Monday League. Roxy Jones and Swim Party were present and Tim and I rallied them to agree to fill in on Thursday on the spot. The show lineup for Thursday will be Japanese Sunday, Roxy Jones, and Swim Party. No word on cost. I would suggest that people hold on to pre-purchased Autolux tickets because the show is expected to be rescheduled soon. If that changes, I will post info here.