Thursday Recap: SD:Dialed In One Year Anniversary with Swim Party, Writer, and Pocket Utopia

After a late Wednesday and all day at work, I was happy that I was able to get home, get a little overtime work in (gotta love Excel spreadsheets!), and still get a disco nap in before my big show. I grabbed a bite from Ponce's and took it to the bar and a lot of my friends came early to hang out, which I appreciate because for my sister and brother in law to allow Johanna to spend the night with my parents to come out had to be a hard choice. Thursday can be slow at the Ken Club, and even competing against great shows at Cane's, the Beauty Bar, The Casbah, and the Tower, we had a really, really good turnout, though I think that speaks more to the bands than anything.

I've of course talked about Pocket Utopia, Writer and Swim Party extensively here before and they all gave impressive performances, even with a couple sound issues that I really think were only noticeable to the bands, because from where I was they sounded great. It wasn't my intention to snub other bands that I love when I booked the show; instead I wanted to mix it up a little with a couple bands that I don't think get the opportunity to play as much as they should. With the success of the night, I think I'll try to get another show together for next month, so if anyone is interested in getting on the second Thursday of December, please let me know and we'll go from there.

I appreciated Swim Party's attempt to get me on stage for a speech, but really, why do they think I write in the first place?? So thanks to everyone who came to the show, to my friends who faithfully read this blog, and especially to the strangers who read this blog and came out to the show but for one reason or another haven't introduced themselves yet. It has been a great year, probably the best of my life thus far, and it ain't over. I feel like '08 is gonna be even better- and the 2nd anniversary falls on election night so hopefully we'll have double the reasons to celebrate.

I chose to not take too many pics of the night, but here are a few, as well as Lynn's drawings of the evening.

One Year "Blog-iversary" is Coming Up!

I'm sorry my posting has dwindled. My first two days of work were really good but really busy. So much so that Friday night I was wiped out and fighting a cold, so I stayed in. Makes me wish I hadn't squandered those three months off...maybe I didn't really need all that sleep. And maybe all those nights of watching TV until the sun rose could've been more productive.

Oh well.

But let me say, the job is rad. I actually get to use my brain! And Excel (I am an Excel geek)! And Math! And people in the office actually Smile! And when there are meetings, stuff actually gets done and decisions get made! It is very satisfying at the end of the day, let me tell ya. And I literally have no time...from the time I walk in the door until it's time to go home, I have projects to do so there's no surfing or daydreaming or even emailing, which is a great thing because time zooms right by. I am happy.

Lest you think I'm ignoring my local music, I've been home almost all afternoon loading every single local album that I can find so that I can have a good mix of local stuff on the iPod for the show at the Ken Club on Thursday. If I don't have your CD, sorry. I've got what I've got. And extra special thanks to the bands who do whatever it is they have to do so that iTunes can get the album info without me having to input band names manually. All those demos without track listings are really bumming me out. But I do have a good collection of San Diego music from the past and present. It was fun to dust off the old Macananys album, and stuff from the Rugburns and Rust and Den of Thieves and Blacksmith Union and Three Mile Pilot to mix along with new stuff from Grand Ole Party and The Stereotypes and Emery Byrd and The Silent Comedy and The Drowning Men and Republic of Letters and on and on and on. I've only loaded 31 cds/demos and am not even a quarter through my collection. I have my work cut out for me. I intend to just do a major random shuffle of all this stuff that will play on the bar side the night of the one year anniversary of this blog. Yay.

I know there are some other things going on this Thursday night (The Hold Steady for one), but I would really love to see some of the faces of people that have been reading here and all the people who've commented, e-mailed, showed support for what I'm doing here, and especially those that have bought me drinks over time :) Plus, it's gonna be a great lineup of music, and we won't keep you out too late. And it's free. Did I mention that?



I'll try to post my pics from Wednesday night soon, but I'm cleaning (everyone else's house still all ashy?) and uploading and downloading and all kinds of stuff and my BFF is in town this week from England for the Neuroscience conference so there might be a deviation in my usual routine.

Some things worth noting:

1. It's not too late to send me your band news for next week's CityBeat column. I'll be finalizing the draft tomorrow. Get on it!

2. I am helping to present the Great Northen/Robbers On High Street show at the Casbah on Wednesday. I should have a couple pairs of tickets for the show, and I have an autographed CD and a t-shirt from Robbers on High Street that I'll be giving away next week. Check back for that.

Save The Date: SD:Dialed In One Year Anniversary

Friday/Saturday Recap: Pocket Utopia, Circa Now!

I'll get to indie jam in a minute, but since it wasn't my whole weekend, I'll start with the first part of my weekend.

My friend Mikey recently told me he's in a band. This made me very nervous, because it's one thing to see a band and become friends with them, it's another entirely to be good friends with someone and then get this kind of information sprung on you. I have to say, I was a little worried because I love my friend and one day would see his band, and what if I thought they sucked? Would I be honest about it, avoid the subject entirely, or just lie?

Fortunately, I saw my friend Mikey's band, Pocket Utopia, on Friday, and not only do they not suck, but they're really fucking good. Like in the way that makes you feel special to even know the person who's voice is singing those smart lyrics and playing that guitar and making your soul leap a little. Mikey sounds a little like Bright Eyes and I like the mix of an acoustic guitar with the electric guitar, bass and drums supporting. The show was at the Triple Crown Pub and for a bar that only serves wine and beer, I couldn't believe how packed wall to wall it was. Circa Now! also played, and I liked them, too, but my pictures came out crappy so all you get is a couple pictures of my dear friend Mikey. I should also mention Joey plays the electric guitar, adds backing vocals, and even sings a few songs on his own. Pocket Utopia has a song called "Rosie" that Mikey dedicated to me, although its really about the Normal Heights bar, Rosie O'Grady's. If you wanna make me gush, just write a song called Rosie. Or Rosey. Or Rosemary. I'm flexible that way.







When Saturday rolled around, my friend Sara, my sisters and I observed our tradition of lunch at Ponce's, where Mikey tends bar. Then Saturday night came around, I drove to the Casbah only to find my name was not on the list as it was supposed to have been, and decided a night in my local spot would be better anyway. Pocket Utopia and Circa Now! were playing at the Ken Club, so I got to see both for a second time and reinforce my enjoyment. We also after-partied at a friend's house behind Ponce's so it was overall a great night, despite my original plans not really working out. Sometimes the back-up plan ends up just being the better plan.