Sat Pt 1: Johanna/ Reeve Oliver @ M-Theory/ Tecolote Guitar Works/ Silverbird & Joshua Emery Blatchley @ Habitat 3.1.08

My Saturday started with my answering machine talking to me. "Tia Rose, your niece wants to see you and your sister is hungry. Pick up the phone." And I did. "OK, I'll get ready." But then I got out of the shower and was told I had to wait, because my brother in law wanted to come, too, and he needed to get ready. That was fine, though, because I needed to straighten up my neglected house.

They finally arrived and we had lunch at Ponce's which was delicious as always. Mostly, though, I was happy to spend some time with my little Monchichi.

Johanna, 8 months


After lunch, I convinced them to check out Reeve Oliver at the in-store at M-Theory, thinking it would be a little quiet affair. Not so much. Billy had to stop in his office, so he dropped us off, but we ended up watching the show mostly from outside to protect her small eardrums. It was nice to see a lot of people there mid-afternoon, and McHank was recording so I'll throw up a link when I get it.

Reeve Oliver



I was supposed to meet Dag afterward, but my sis and bro decided they wanted to go check out the rock photography at Tecolote Guitar Works, so I called Dagart to meet us at M-Theory. Since he was still in Normal Heights, we went to Tombstone Park for a little bit and he met us there instead. There was some sort of scavenger hunt going on which was cool because we briefly got to join in the fun.

From there, we caravanned to Tecolote Guitar Works, where a lot of friends had turned out to see some of MollyMoll's photos(link in my Photos section). Johanna was sleeping, so my sis and bro took off, we stuck around for a while, hanging with friends and sipping on wine until is about time to move to the next step of the night.

Tecolote Guitar Works- Emma & Daye




We picked up a bottle of wine at 7-11, then headed to Habitat House. We were the first ones there, in fact, we didn't think anyone was home, but Roy let us in and was so hospitable. If you haven't been to a show at Habitat, you are really missing out. It's a gorgeous house and you just have to experience the warmth on your own to get it. Eventually Silverbird showed up but we spent some time on the stoop just hanging out, listening to Justin strum his guitar, and even going into a sweet little version of Rocky Raccoon. Dag ran up the street to grab another bottle of wine and we went in to catch Joshua Emery Blatchley who played these amazing turn of the century instrumentals, each with an accompanying story to go with it. I'm gonna do what I can to help him play the Roots Festival this spring because though his set was short, I was truly impressed. Silverbird quickly took to playing, but we only got to stay for a few songs because our cab arrived a few minutes earlier than we expected. Good thing is they've been added to the Transfer bill this Friday at the Ken Club.

Habitat House



I've got to get ready for the Casbah now, so you'll have to wait for the rest of the night's photos of The Silent Comedy at the Hard Rock and Blitzen Trapper at the Casbah. I'll also get to my listings for the week tomorrow; there's just not enough time in the day sometimes. I thought I'd have this all taken care of when I was working the Casbah on Sunday, but the wi-fi kept going out, and last night's nap turned into a full night of undisturbed sleep, so I'm sorry. Also, happy birthday to Laura Jane, I'm sorry I missed the fish party.

More Grand Ole Party Goodness

It appears that people liked my shaky/sketchy Grand Ole Party video from the other day. Here's the only other one I captured, but keep an eye out on YouTube because there were plenty of people around with cameras, including the dude who not only pushed me, O, McHank and others to get to the front and take video 2 inches from Kristin's bass drum (thereby blocking everyone's view), but who also pushed me on his way out of the store.



Actually, in the other video, you can see O in the lower left hand corner of my frame snapping some shots. He is not only a talented musician (Olivelawn, Fluf, Reeve Oliver, etc...)but he's a pro photographer. He's travelled all over the world taking photos for bands and skateboarding magazines. Anyhow, he sent me one of his photos for posting. Someday, when I grow up, I want a cool camera and the skills to go with it :)

Thursday: Bleu Boheme, Bluefoot, Casbah, Pink Elephant

Thursday night when I got home after the casino, and after finishing off the day at work, my car died. Not completely, but it was overheating, so I had to deal with it. By the time that was taken care of, Adam was on his way since we'd made plans to go to dinner at Bleu Bohome before going out.

Dinner was perfect; I'm really liking that place a lot. Matt, from Emery Byrd, is a bartender there and made some killer drinks. One was like a mojito but with vodka instead of rum, and the other was like a capirinha but the sweetness was offset with fresh lime juice. They were delicious. Dinner was excellent as well.

From there, we went to Bluefoot to get our Christmas compilation CDs. If anyone didn't get a copy, let me know. It's so good and I'm so impressed how Peter worked to pull it all together. Hopefully they can pull it off again next year and get even more contributors. I like the traditional Christmas covers, but am especially into the originals by Drew Andrews, The Soft Places, Dr Robert Kent and Microphone Mike are all definitely making it on my Christmas mixes in the future.

After that we went to the Casbah and caught about half of Reeve Oliver's set though I didn't pull out the camera at all. Then when they finished, we were off to Pink Elephant. A long night, for sure, but a nice way to ease into the weekend...Friday was a half day at work, so I had my projects to focus on but when there were done, it was into the weekend, kicking off with a glass of champagne with my coworkers.

FM 94/9 2007 Holiday Hootenanny

You might recall that I was looking for a "plus one" to go with me to the Hootenanny. I had VIP passes and was looking for someone who'd be willing to drive to UCSD. I was glad that my friend Adam responded, had I known he wanted to go I would've just asked him. We made sure to arrive early because we didn't want to miss out on the grub like I always seem to do for events. We got there as the gates opened walked right in. We made our way to the outdoor tent area and grabbed a couple beers while we chatted with the bartender and some random people who were confused about some things. FM 94/9 had a promotion during the last week before the show that anyone who bought a ticket at designated spots got a free lift ticket but a few people seemed to think they got one just for going to the show. Once we straightened that out, it was time to chill out, have a burger, and enjoy the show.

Adam used to work for 94/9, so he was chatting with friends when I went to watch Reeve Oliver, and O asked over the mic if I'd found a date. Thank god I don't embarass easily.






The field was set up like last year, with a full beer garden and plasma screens all over, so we ended up watching Rogue Wave from outside, though I'm hoping to catch the show at the Belly Up in January. We went into the venue for Mute Math and they were so entertaining, jumping all over the stage. Like an idiot, my battery for my camera was running low, so I was pretty conservative taking pictures, but I was able to snap a few throughout the night.





At one point the drummer dove into the crowd, then had his drum passed into the crowd, which somehow he managed to play as he and his drum were passed over the crowd. Pretty great showmanship, if you ask me, and it made their performance stand out above the others of the night.



Between bands we went outside once again, hanging with friends for a short while until it was time to catch The Kooks. I thought they sounded great, though they seemed to be pretty pissed, talking shit to the sound guys, but clarifying that they loved the crowd despite the technical difficulties.





After having seen Louis XIV and Pinback more than a few times this year, we opted to hang out in the VIP area which was packed with people for the remainder of the night. We went in for a little at the end of Pinback's set and somehow I managed to get a band pass, so I was in the dressing room area for a little while and then helped Rob Crow carry some gear to their van. Would you believe the guys are still unloading their own gear?



I'd never seen Queens of The Stone Age, and never really considered myself a fan, but I was really blown away by their energy onstage, and I guess I didn't realize that I am familiar with most of their material, so that was kinda cool. I managed to grab a couple setlists, too.


Queens of the Stone Age setlist, 12/15/07

After they finished we said our quick goodbyes and found our way to the parking garage and managed to get out with relative ease, though we did have to bust a u-turn to get out via Gennessee. The Hootenanny was a great night, and not just because of the bands playing, but to see so many old friends and to meet new ones, made for a nice holiday party. FM 94/9 took plenty of pictures of the night, too, which you can see here. For us, it was off to the Tower Bar.

Does Your San Diego Band Need a Van?

ATTN: Bands! Reeve Oliver selling its van

are any of you bands looking to buy a van? we are selling our ...

2003 Chevy Express 15 passenger van
77,000 miles
excellent condition
$11,500

email jumbosound@gmail if intersesed or if you have any questions