As July comes to a close, there is no shortage of quality musical events here in San Diego. A closer look reveals some shows worth attending in the upcoming week.
On Monday, those without a ticket to the sold out Wolfmother show should check out emerging L.A. band Fallen Riviera at Soda Bar...
Tuesday marks the return of those lovable Ralph brothers, aka Writer, headlining Soda Bar...Mrs. Magician opens on what should be a fun night for all...
Jesca Hoop plays the Casbah on Wednesday...she possesses one of the best voices, which is truly a thing of beauty...Gayle Skidmore lends support...highly recommended...
On Thursday watch the sunset at MCASD La Jolla while listening to music from Bulletins...read the preview here...later spend the night with Austin instrumentalists Balmorhea at the Casbah...their music is somewhat genre defying, nevertheless worth checking out...Invisible Children host Wild Cub at Soda Bar...
Jay Farrar brings his alt-country band Son Volt to the Belly Up on Friday...they are touring in support of their recently released album Honky Tonk...Psychedelic rockers Astro play Til-Two Club...
On Saturday Daughn Gibson brings his heavy voice to the Casbah...William Tyler and Jesse LaMonaca open for a night of singer/songwriters...
Head over to Soda Bar on Sunday to check out SEACATS, rock and roll from Washington...
It recently occurred to me that I haven't been doing so much in the way of show reviews and that has certainly got to change because I haven't been going to any fewer shows than before. That said, I'll go all the way back to the beginning of the month, when I posted video from Joshua James' performance at the Casbah.
He had a full band once again, and once again, I was blown away, and for at least the first few songs of the set, I think the rest of the crowd was impressed, too. Then, of course, they hit the bar and got chatty, but it still wasn't enough to suck the life out of the performance. The show was sold out with Greg Laswell as the headliner and Jesca Hoop performing as well. However, since the show was sold out, I was asked to return to sell Casbah merch. I agreed on the condition that I could watch Joshua's set.
The truth is that watching him was a little exhausting. As I said before, I have to remind myself to breathe when I watch because he puts so much into his performances. He played a couple new tunes and the new album will be released in April which I am really looking forward to hearing.
After the set, I spent the remainder of the night in the Atari Lounge (since it rained that night) with Joe, the bassist for Joshua, and Jesca for a bit after her set, where I learned her name is actually pronounced "Hope", and where she was aggressively pursued by some very drunk French guys. Her set was solo and as such I didn't hear much from the back room, but I have her previous album and know she's an incredible performer. Of course, Greg was brilliant as usual and I was able to watch pieces of his set from the smoking patio while Jesca manned the booth. It was a lovely night, my only regret being that I didn't even remember to buy a shirt from Joshua. Next time around, I suppose.
After Burger Lounge I was wiped out. Food coma hit hard. But I had plans for the night, so I fought the sleepiness and headed out to the Casbah.
I had received an advance copy of Jesca Hoop's CD and have listened to it a lot. You might recognize Jesca's song "Money" from the new hit show Dirty Sexy Money. There's a quality and style to her music that kinda reminds me of Suzanne Vega.
The performance was great in spite of Jesca apologizing for being sick. She had a full band with 5 other members on stage and unfortunately still couldn't compete with people at the bar who wouldn't shut up. I don't know what is up with people at shows talking. If you have to yell over the music, perhaps you should get the hell out of the bar. At the end of her set, Jesca thanked people in front of the stage for listening to her music "because you had the choice to stand here(gesturing to the area in front of the stage) or be there (gesturing to the bar area) and talk and you chose to be here. So thanks to you."
I wasn't familiar with Matt Pond PA (for which I've been scolded several times already). He had a really cool stage set up with a couple green spotlights, several fake trees, and a plastic deer head. I was with Brooke and we were up front but getting shit talked by two people who were sitting on barstools behind us. I really, really hate people who sit on those barstools and then complain that they can't see. If you want to see the band, stand up like the rest of us. If you don't need to see everything happening on the stage, then by all means, have a seat, but for a sold out show, you can save your complaints for someone who gives a damn. Another huge issue with the show was that there was a new sound guy. Matt Pond is a very demanding musician and has a very specific way he wants to sound and I don't know if he ever got the sound he wanted. That is aside from the 5 or 6 times there was ear shattering feedback at the start of the set.
I really liked the band a lot but the Casbah just wasn't doing it for me. (Where do all those people come from? The weekend crowd is very different than the Sun-Thurs crowds) So after a few songs I headed to the Beauty Bar to catch Silverbird. That will be the next post...
I'll be at the Casbah checking out Jesca Hoop tonight.
From the bio:
With her unique talents uncovered by Tom Waits while she was working as his nanny and living out of a van in Sonoma County, California, things are on fast-forward for Jesca Hoop. Her eclectic debut album, Kismet, was released in September on 3Entertainment/Red Ink. Here’s a sneak preview…
I really hate the word "eclectic". I really do. I hate the word so much that in my early MySpace days, I'd deny all friend requests by anyone who had described their own music as such, even if I actually liked their music. I still hate the word, but sometimes the description is accurate, and sometimes that is just what I wanna hear. I look forward to checking out this show tonight, at least for a while, then maybe heading to the Beauty Bar for sayvinyl & Silverbird. It's gonna be a good night.
Rockabilly queen Janis Martin dies at 67. Stories here.
An LA Times Review of my neighbor, Gregory Page's "Love Made Me Drunk" here.
My boys in Swim Party have changed plans from recording an EP to a full LP, read the details hereand listen to the Black Box track on their MySpace page here.
I feel bad I didn't mention this last week, but Augustana is back in the studio recording their next album. They're temporarily living in LA as they do so and I've been promised rough cuts of their new material as it's available. But read about it here. Jared told me that they have completely reworked some of the songs they had presented earlier. So the song below is not going to sound anything like it does below, and according to Jared, it works. I'm gonna hold him to sending me rough cuts, you can count on it, but in the meantime, here's the old acoustic version of the song.
Augustana, "I'll Meet You There Someday"
And I told you I was listening to new music all day, as I wallowed in my feeling sick, so let me say that some of the CDs I have are great.
Eulogies, as I mentioned, will have their full length out on September 11. They'll be at the Beauty Bar on November 8 with Film School. Listen here.
Sea Wolf had an amazing EP and now the full length is going to be available on September 25. Listen to a sample track here or watch a live session here. Both Eulogies and Sea Wolf are part of the amazing group of bands that Dangerbird has signed on and there's not a band or artist yet that has disappointed me.
Eenie Meenie Records (Great Northern) is proud to have LA band Division Day on their roster. Their full length, Beartrap Island, will be out on October 2. I listened to the CD today and though I'd been "MySpace friends" with the band for some time, there has been definite growth and I look forward to their unleashing unto the world. Check them out on MySpace here.
I received an album by Jesca Hoop, but read about it before I actually listened. We all know I'm partial to male vocals, but if you like women like Imogen Heap or Kate Havnevik crossed with Sinead Lohan, you'll love Jesca's album "Kismet" out on September 18. Take a listen at her MySpace page here.
And last, Eskimo Joe is yet another band from Australia that has won me over in one listen. I guess I'm also partial to the packaging, which not only includes a 12 track CD but a 4 track bonus DVD. The album is Black Fingernails Red Wine available September 25. They were part of the LiveEarth concert and to these ears sound like Rob Thomas singing lead for a modern day INXS. That is meant in the most positive way it can sound to a bunch of indie music snobs, because both references are some of my favorite musicians of the past and stuff that I still listen to now without any irony. Check out some tracks on their MySpace here.
And I guess the biggest news of the day is how Roses On Her Grave lead singer CJ Gladstone disses the San Diego scene in a big way in this week's Blurt. For shame. A dog never shits where he eats. CJ should not either.
