San Diego is abuzz with a big fat Britney hangover. The whole madness yesterday is a reminder that sometimes you can be in the right place at the right time (like CatDirt was to get the first pic of Brit online). I'll just give the rundown of my evening. Skip this post if you're not in the mood for a meandering rambling post with no point.I had planned on leaving work early but realized I'd mixed up my post-work itinerary with today. Still, I'd taken a short lunch, so I decided to bail at 5 and head over to the House of Blues to throw rocks at paparazzi. Or just take pictures, you know, to turn the tables on them. I parked my bike and bumped into Kirsten and Kim, old friends from my media days who now work at "San Diego's Official Hip Hop Station, Blazin' 98.9" I'm not gonna pretend I know my hip hop so breathe easy. Still, when she told me they were having a client party at the House of Blues and would I like to come, how could I say no? "Client Party" is business talk for OPEN BAR. We pre-drank a quickie at the Local then went to the party where nobody from the station objected to me being there, secured a name tag and a wristband. Kirsten joined her coworker to work the desk and told me to head downstairs to get to drinkin. I always do what I'm told.
Downstairs I popped the bar's cherry by getting the first drink served. I sat down and met Cesar and Sara, a couple who run DagoSD , an internet radio station that focuses on San Diego hip hop (DIY, baby) and also promotes shows and events around town. Fan of Keak da Sneak? Yeah, they're the ones promoting his show on May 26 at the Blvd. in San Marcos. I love meeting San Diego natives (like me) who really believe in what's going on here. Same goals, different scene. All about San Diego.
Anyway, the party was getting full swing, I saw some old contacts, made some new ones, and enjoyed the open bar and tray passed appetizers. This is a pic of me and Milton. Milton has been in the radio biz for ever and now pretty much runs ESPN radio all by himself (owned by the same radio group as Blazin 98.9).
Simultaneously, there was a fever in the air upstairs, where the line for Britney was quickly growing. Hey, girls in your high heel shoes...prepare to stand for 5 hours! The media were interviewing any white girl walkin by to get her opinion about the show. Talking to the marketing guy of the House of Blues, a lot of headaches could've been saved if people just asked. The schedule was doors at 7ish, Kid Lightning & Ruggy dj set (1 hour) followed by a 1 hour dj set by the Loius XIV guys, then Brit expected to take the stage at 10. All the stations covering seemed to be complete tards in reporting that Brit made everyone wait. Ask for settimes, douchebags. The best was on the 10 o'clock news (between Damien and the Casbah we detoured) when the reporter says, "Yeah, the crowd is angry as some dj's are still playing."
Inside, and the point of the party, was for the station to introduce the Baka Boyz, 98.9's new morning show hosts (from Bakersfield, thus the name) so they gave their spiel, we clapped, and I had to bail to destination number 2.
I hopped on my bike, got to my car, picked up Andrea, picked up my tickets (thank you Greg), stopped at home to let my dog out, and almost exactly one half hour after leaving the House of Blues, Andrea and I were walking into the Open Air Theatre for Damien Rice.
I love the OAT, by the way:
Security: Do you have a camera in there?
Me: No
Securtiy: OK, have fun.
We probably had pretty good seats, but as we walked in, Damien had stopped his set and told the entire audience to move forward and fill the space in front of them. The venue was less than half full and evidence that they should've just left it at Spreckels. We went up to the pit at first where I knelt in front of a broken seat to get a couple shots of the stage.
Not comfortable, I found Andrea who was near where our actual seats were. We watched the show for about an hour. I love Damien Rice, I really do, but his voice physically pains me and his lyrics emotionally drain me. It's cathartic, sometimes it feels really good to feel really sad, but this is music to listen to alone in a quiet room, not so much in an open air amphitheater. Damien, if you ever wanna come play in my living room, let me know. I probably should've not gone to Damien Rice after a hip-hop party, too. My bad. I did go up toward Seth (4th row) for a couple more pics before I was asked to turn my camera off, so these are the best I've got.
From Damien Rice, we buzzed down to the Casbah for the Roses on Her Grave CD Release Party. And it was a party. The crowds lately at the Casbah have been so fun. This was another of the Rockit girls' events and by the few stray burgers and hot dogs left over, it appears that people came hungry. We were there for only a few songs by A Scribe Amidst The Lions and all of Roses on Her Grave, but from the back bar to the front bar to the patio, we mostly listened to them passively, though I did watch Nate go crazy on the drums for a bit. Even with earplugs, the show was really loud, so I returned to the patio until the end of the show. Sorry, Roses, I'll have to pay better attention next time around. And take better pictures.
All good nights must come to an end. Let's hope I can muster energy today to stick to my plan of seeing Tim Finn in the evening followed by Elf Power in the late night. I did catch more Britney news coverage when I got home. Her lip-synching 5 songs and only playing for 15 minutes would explain why in the downstairs party there was no noise from a soundcheck. I hope the suckas that paid $100, $200, $300 a ticket had their 15 minutes of fun. MWAHAHAHAHA. Stupids.
