Tonight! Casbah! Be There!

Low Red Land is back in town! Tonight! My boys from San Francisco always bring an amazing show and if you've yet to check them out, now's the time.

Low Red Land have created a sound that is quite unique, yet gratifying and familiar. They merge layers of rock, folk, country, and hardcore to create songs that are intensely dynamic. Their lyrics have been described as “subtly penned protest songs,” but these protests are personal while still being poignant. The band, however, won’t tell you any of this. The guys of Low Red Land prefer to just say, “Come see us play a show. We are awesome.” Their consistently growing and ever loyal fan base seems to agree with them. They have been criss-crossing our nations highways for the past two years with great dedication, collecting numerous rave live reviews and drawing in new fans at every stop.

Rosey's Diary: April 14-16, 2009

Remember the good old days when I used to write everyday? The mountains of photos I have are just getting ridiculous at this point, but it's time for another diary entry. I left off my last post on April 11, then spent a couple days chilling out (and probably catching up with February & March), but Transfer was returning from tour and it was time to get out again. That ended up being a huge week with 9 shows in 6 days. In this diary: Transfer, Apes of Wrath, Roxy Jones, Local Natives, Hockey, Lanterns, Jamuel Saxon, Swim Party, The Notice, The Midwinters. I'll save Coachella for the next post. Click keep on reading for my diary.


April 14, 2009

As I said, Transfer was returning from some gigs that they did with Holy Rolling Empire (that had kicked off at the Casbah). While that show was huge, this show felt far more intimate, as Matt kept noting throughout the show, acknowledging this show felt like family. And it did. Which is really why I didn't take any pics. It was crowded up front from the get go. Apes of Wrath kicked off the show and I can really never get enough of those guys. If you haven't been to the Soda Bar yet, get there soon. The shows are great and it is really one of the only places where I don't feel bad sitting the whole time, whether along the bar or in a booth. On this night, we got the booth nearest the door and had a rotating cast of characters coming and going throughout the night.





Roxy Jones played the middle slot and from where we sat, we could see Peter and the band playing on the TV monitor and through the wall. Once the sound was properly equalized, I enjoyed listening as it had been a while.

I always love seeing bands right after a tour and Transfer is no exception. They're happy to be home among friends and family and playing to a crowd where everyone knows every song. I live for shows like this with good friends, good music, and have I mentioned the amazing beer selection at Soda Bar?

I had to take it easy, however, because I worked at my family's daycare all day Wednesday. Me and six kids. All day. Luckily when they nap, I can close my eyes for about 10 minutes but when the day was over, I was outta there.

April 15, 2009
The reason I was covering the daycare was so my mom, sister, and niece could go to Disneyland for the day for my sister's birthday. I hear they had a great time. My niece is at the age where she can appreciate stuff, and with my sister expecting another girl in the fall, it might be some time before they can head back.

After daycare, I stopped home to let my dog out and zipped up to The Loft at UCSD. I know the campus is tricky and a bit out of the way, but I really enjoy shows there. I hear they've sold out a few shows, but the ones I've attended had plenty of space. UCSD students need to wake up and realize they can catch bands on the rise.

A friend of mine told me about Local Natives, and I'd read several blogs that deem them the next breakout band from Silverlake and it was definitely clear why. You can check out their Daytrotter session here. They're layered harmonies are exceptional and I'm always a big fan of lead vocalists playing random percussion...tamborine, a drum, and I never realized I was such a fan of drums being played on the rim instead of the skin.





I cannot wait for them to come back to town and play a grown-up venue because they bring a party. (They're pretty funny on twitter, too @localnatives)

Hockey played the same night and was a totally different style...more of the dance pop that all the kids are into these days. They definitely bring it live and all the college girls were dancing (and cooing, I believe). If I have any complaints about The Loft, I'd say (1) they should promote and encourage more people from off campus to come to shows because it feels a little cold to non-students and (2) to make sure the students running the booth are making use of the killer lights they have. Nothing bums me out more than state of the art lighting that just stays the same for an entire show. The band doesn't stay still for very long either, but I can't really complain about that aspect.



After the show at The Loft, I headed over to Ruby Room to catch Lanterns and Jamuel Saxon. It has been a while since I've seen Lanterns and it's too bad because they're a super fun band. Jamuel Saxon is equal parts awesome, rad, and hilarious. For their set they had an old TV/VCR combo set-up onstage that was playing a really bad 70's workout video that I believe was a workout for older chairbound people. The music and video actually synched at times and the crowd was loving it. Ruby Room = pure blackness, so didn't bother with pics.

April 16, 2009:

Thursday night rolled around and Swim Party was performing at the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art. I believe the event was to court donors, but it made me kinda sad to see the expense of this show, with two complimentary drinks per person as well as amazing food stations, while knowing that TNT is gone for a while. You have to spend money to make money they say, but it kinda bummed me out. I can't remember the last time I'd ever been to the museum and was blown away by the size. It would seem like the space could be used for more events, even non-art events, to compensate for overhead costs. But what do I know, really? I'm not gonna lie, I love me some free food and beverages, in this case beer from Stone and an amazing spread including a mac n cheese bar. This was a first for me, but it's a lot like a mashed potato bar, with a scoop put in a martini glass and an assortment of cheeses, bacon bits, croutons, mushrooms, artichokes and other rad stuff to add. I was glad to have not eaten before the event and dug in. There were also some pulled pork sliders, a food station I skipped entirely, and a churro bar for dessert. In a word, it was awesome.
Oh, and Swim Party was good, too. The event was not very crowded (intentionally, I think) and a lot of our friends were there, which made me wonder who the big donors were, cuz lord knows I know no rich folks (unless you're secretly rich, in which case there's a donate button on this site).



Everyone split after the museum, I think they headed to Bar Pink, but I chose the Ken Club because I wanted to see The Midwinters. Fortunately I arrived in time to also catch The Notice who vocally reminded me a lot of Edwin McCain. This is a band for people like me who love KPRI and still declare that Counting Crows are my all time favorite band, and fuck indie cred. Probably not the best band for the Ken Club and not helped by the fact that Ken Club doesn't usually have Thursday shows but I was happy to be there.

They were well matched with The Midwinters who remind me of Toad The Wet Sprocket, specifically Dulcinea, which I probably listened to about 1000 times in the summer of 1994. It was roadtrip music for my friends and I on our epic trip to Berkeley via Highway 1 and when I hear The Midwinters I get taken back to a time in my life when everything feels ahead of you. Yes, all that from a band that plays once every couple months, has no delusions of grandeur, but who describe their project as their poker night. "Some husbands get together for poker night. We get together and play in a band." "Do your wives ever come?" (laughter) "No way. They're over us." I'm not and look forward to seeing them again.

The next day I was off to Coachella which deserves it's own post. Next diary.

Halloween in July?

Naw, that would just be silly! The candy corns would get all melty and get your hands all sticky, and you would probably not have any wet naps to clean them, because really, who carries wet naps these days, well maybe if you have individually wrapped hard candies in you purse you might, but I digress. No friends, there will be no Halloween in July, we’re still going to save it for October, but this year, let me tell you, when it comes, it’s going to be extra special for us San Diego folks!

Our friend Peter from the exceptional local band Roxy Jones will be putting together a compilation Cd/zine of local bands and writers with a loose Halloween theme. Last Christmas he put together an exceptional comp, and with the help of Bluefoot Bar released it for free. Yeah, that’s right, it was FREE. Let me tell you something folks, free is something you just can’t buy.

From the man himself:
It's a comp of only local bands/artists/writers. It all has to be loosely themed about Halloween/spooky shit/horror/dark/you get the point. Music can be original or cover songs. Cover songs are first come first serve, so if you know what cover song you want to do, let me know ASAP so no one else will do it. It is preferable that the songs be previously unreleased. The comp will also come with a zine of spooky stories and artwork by locals. If you or anyone you know would like to contribute to that part, it would be awesome.

“Man” you say to yourself, “that sounds so rad, but I don’t play, write or art, but I still soOoo wish I could be part of this…” Well my friend, no worries! Once everything comes together Peter will need some help to manufacture/assemble/print/press/stack somewhere between 500 and 1000 copies.

Once these babies are in the bag there will be a giant party and they will be distributed for, you guessed it, free! I have a sneaky, sneaky feeling, roughly the lower cackle area, that this baby is shaping up to be just as amazing! Please e-mail hoistudios AT gmail DOT com if interested. Also, if you see Peter out and about, please tell him how rad he is for putting in so much hard work to do something so cool for us!

The Kills, Dax Riggs, Roxy Jones- Casbah, 5.19.08

I really thought this weekend I'd spend a lot more time on the computer to catch up with things but I spent most of Memorial Day weekend with my family. You try to write when you're adorable niece and god-sister around. Just try. So I will try and get to some of last weeks photos.

My week started off at The Casbah on Monday for Anti-Monday League. I had no idea the show would be in such demand. It supposedly had been sold out for a couple weeks. I went mostly because I'm just into Anti-Monday League shows and know they're always a good time. Unfortunately, on this night, either 70% of the audience came down from LA or they were just suddenly acting like Angelinos. People were rude and pushy, so I kept my distance, spending most of the night on the patio.

I did arrive in time to catch one song by Roxy Jones, but alas, no pics. I love those guys, though, and I know they'll be playing again soon.

Dax Riggs played second. I saw him last time he was down with his band Deadboy & The Elephantmen, and honestly, I think his sound is made to have a backing band. Still, I like his voice a lot but as I said, after a few songs went out to the patio where I ended up spending some time trying to help a couple friends get into the show. Fortunately Andrew and Tim were able to help a couple people out.



After Dax finished I made my way to the side ledge and was chatting with a couple friends when some dickwad made some comment to me about being in his way. The band was still 25 minutes away from even coming onstage, but pissy-pants irritated the shit out of me, so back to the patio I went. I ended up seeing the same p.o.s. last night at Brick By Brick and I don't think he showered since The Kills show, because his b.o. was rancid, but whatever. Sucks to be a hideous person.

Anyway, time passed and The Kills started their set with U.R.A. Fever, which I thought was pretty strange to start with their radio single, but maybe they were trying to thin the herd, like, "if that's the only song you know, you can go now." I was one of those people. I really didn't feel like fighting the crowd, so I made my way back out to the patio where I was in the presence of Casbah royalty :)

(l-r) Tim Mays, Pall Jenkins, Tim Pyles, Jimmy LaValle, Drew Andrews


I did go inside once or twice to see the show, but I can really only handle a sold out Casbah show for bands that I have more passion for. The Kills won me over to the point where I'd like to investigate their catalog a bit more, but not enough to put up with some of their fans. I never got within good shooting range, but here are a couple blurry pictures just for the hell of it.




After the show, when everyone was clearing out, we chilled out for a bit and had a couple fun photo ops with the band while people inside danced to DJ Edgartronic, then I finally made my way home. It was actually a good night, but that had very little to do with the bands and more to do with the people I was around, but sometimes that's just the way it goes.

Out of Town

We just arrived at our hotel room at Morongo Casino and I'll be getting ready for my friend Nichole's wedding shortly. I won't be posting much this weekend, but you can always follow my twitter. I'll be sending many tweets, I'm sure.

Just a couple things, for anyone who wants to see The Kills on Monday at the Casbah...tickets to the show are $16, but you can get a free ticket if you buy the release from Roxy Jones, who are opening the show, for $10. That's a deal if I ever heard one. Head over to M-Theory in Mission Hills. There are still tickets available.

Also, bill (the band) asked me to mention that they are in search of a new drummer. Check them out on MySpace.

Finally, I'll be updating my pictures from the week and hopefully will find the time to post this weekend. I've got Langhorne Slim, Ferraby Lionheart, The Smart Brothers, Ghostland Observatory, and Lucy's Fur Coat. This was seriously an incredible week of music.

see ya on Twitter...

Get Ready For A Grand (re)Opening: Cafe La Maze

After long night Thursday and a full workday Friday, I was looking forward to just getting home and taking a long nap before heading to see Transfer at the Casbah. Then I got a call from Peter of Roxy Jones. He asked what I was doing for dinner and told me he got a new job as assistant manager of Cafe La Maze and they were doing a run through. He said "wanna come in for some free dinner?" Hell yeah!

We chatted a bit and he told me it was important that they have the restaurant full. I made a reservation for 6 at 7:30 pm. I wasn't completely unfamiliar with Cafe La Maze. It's an old school steakhouse in National City, just south of Plaza on Highland. Think red tufted booths and dim lighting, with a pack of regulars hanging around the bar all hours of the day.

Well, things have changed. The restaurant was bought by the owners of Bluefoot. They gutted the interior and redesigned it beautifully. There's still that old school feel, but it feels like your transported back to the early 40's instead of going into some place that was probably really nice 60 or 70 years ago. Every detail- from the velvet and gold wallpaper, to the lighting, to the bullnosed tile in the bathroom- was done with great care.

Anyway, we checked in for our reservation, but because it was a run-through, all the tables were full of friends and family of the owners, people who work at Bluefoot, people who were regulars of the bar and restaurant before it was bought, and nobody was in any rush to leave their tables. A couple tables opened up, but we were six and not about to squeeze into a four top booth, so we waited until there was a table big enough for us.

We were seated around 8:45, and at that point we were starving. We were given menus and since we were all noobs, had to ask what the deal was. "You can order anything you want. The menu is complimentary, you are responsible for your beverages."

Then the gluttony began. Between the 6 of us, we ordered food that could've fed a small army. For appetizers, we had shrimp cocktails, calamari, zucchini, steamed mushrooms, and chicken strips. Standard bar fare, but it was good. I especially loved the shrimp cocktail because they had the best cocktail sauce I've had in a long time.

We were a little bummed that they'd run out of most of the soups being offered, but we all tried the clam chowder. I liked it; everyone else thought it was just ok.

Then the real treat for the night came. All of us ordered some variation of steak and fish. I went for the rib eye and lobster, Andrea went with the prime rib, a couple others had the Filet. It was at this point in the night that I kinda swore off other steakhouses. I like Bully's and Albie's and the Red Fox, but if I'm ever in the mood for a steakhouse, Cafe La Maze is definitely on my radar.

After dinner, we ordered one of each dessert...a piece of chocolate cake, cheesecake and carrot cake. I think the desserts are from the Incredible Cheesecake Company, because they tasted like the desserts I used to sell at my old coffee shop.

Oh, and speaking of...throughout the night there was live entertainment, and it turns out that the guitarist, Robert, used to perform in the coffee shop I worked at when I was 16. Crazy small world. My old tennis coach was there, too, but I knew he'd be there since he lives around the corner.

By the time all was said and done, it was late. After I got my car back at Larry's house, it was already 12, and I was full and feeling pretty beat, so I decided to skip the Casbah altogether and head home. I can't remember the last time I was in bed by midnight, especially on a weekend, but I that's the way my night went. And I was happy for it.





Anyway, Cafe La Maze officially reopens on Wednesday and I highly recommend everyone check it out.

Saturday Recap: Apes of Wrath, Swim Party, Roxy Jones @ Tower Bar

I don't really think there is anyone quite as skilled at procrastination as I am. I have work to do, so what do I do? Have a late lunch at Ponce's. Still have work to do, so what do I do? A nap sounds pretty good. I was going to try to make myself stay home to do what I needed to do, but instead, convinced myself that going to the show was actaully work, too, because I was still on the hunt for material for my next CityBeat column. I can really justify anything...

When I arrived to the Tower, Apes of Wrath were already playing and had a large crowd up front, so I just kinda hung back and didn't really plan on taking pics, but toward the end of their set I was able to snap a few. I've seen the band a few times before and have an unmixed demo from them, but I was really surprised that even though they were playing really loud, the vocals were crystal clear. Did Mick upgrade the sound at the bar? I was also glad to get up close because the drummer was really entertaining to watch.




Swim Party played second and I don't think there's any band that I've written about on my site more than Swim Party, so I'll spare the lovefest and just post the pics. And to Alex, I'm really sorry, but I just had to post a pic of the sneakers...Maybe Santa will notice you need some new ones. Or maybe he'll just hook you up with more duct tape. Either way, think of it as me trying to help you...





Last up for the night was Roxy Jones. I like their kinda unpolished sound and they're another of the San Diego bands that is better every time I see them. Plus, their latest CD is really good. Keep an eye out for my CityBeat column this week for some more info on Peter.




Again, I headed back to the Ken after the show where Todd and I played "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" on Tarryn's phone. Sadly, the answer to that question is no. I'm happy to report that the Christmas decorations have been up at the Ken for about a week now, and it's always been my favorite time of year to live near this bar. I also wanted to introduce everyone to Kittyhead.



Kittyhead is a cat that hangs around the neighborhood. She sometimes lays in the street, resulting in several people calling the number on her tag only to be told "Leave her alone. She's an outdoor cat." Well, this just isn't the kind of neighborhood where we leave animals alone, so Kittyhead spends her nights in the Ken Club, sometimes on the bar, sometimes sleeping in one of the booths in the back, sometimes hiding out in the band room. She's sweet but cautious, and she will bite if she wants you to leave her alone. Anyway, she follows me home, but with Pascha and my own three cats, I just can't take her in, even just at night, but I do put some food out for her every once in a while. This is probably a bad idea, however, because last night, it wasn't Kittyhead eating the food, but a baby skunk hopping away from me on the sidewalk. Lesson learned there...Anyway, if you're in Kensington, say hi to Kittyhead and give her some love, just please don't take her out of the hood. After all, she does have an owner, even if he is an asshole.

Pink Elephant 8/23/07

Nothing really to say about the Pink Elephant tonight except it was so good to see so many friends (and a couple frienemies). Mostly, it was great to see David before he heads off to Spain on Friday. I thought I'd post all the pics for his pleasure, and a few for mine. I missed both bands, so nothing to report on that aspect but seriously, the Pink Elephant is a great spot.









oh, and there was swag. here's me (BIG DORK) "modeling" the free shirt and hat.



and I promise, Peter, I will listen to Roxy Jones' soon to be released CD. I appreciate the advance copy.



and these are as we were wrangled out of the bar at the end of the night.





ahhhh. such a good night.

Recap...the rest of the weekend

Look, I'm only human. Cullen says I'm unguarded and it's true, but I can only be me. But sometimes that means being sensitive, grumpy, angry, and generally unbearable. It's these times you should hope I'm hiding at home under my covers with Ryan Adams' new CD on repeat (which for at least part of my weekend, I did). The Band of Horses show irked me big time. It's nice to hope being called out is something you can just brush off, but the truth is I probably slept about an hour last night because that and other weekend stuff was on my brain and I tossed and turned all night long. I appreciate all the people who messaged me about my rant and understood my need to vent about it. Fortunately I can predict that my funk was just a weekend thing and by the time I'm watching Jim James tonight at the Belly Up, everything will be all good again.

I did mention that the Band of Horses pre-show was a good time, so I want to still post a couple funny pictures we took out on the patio while the two opening bands did their thing.









Other than that video on the other post, BoH gets no pictures posted. Sorry. Once the incident occurred, we booked it outta there. We headed to the Ken Club and were able to catch most of Fifty on Their Heels and all of Vinyl Radio.







It was good to see friendly faces; for me that means friends and the bartenders, I'm sorry that other people continue to have issues there.



It's not that I measure the bar with a different stick, it's just I've never personally experienced any problems there. Yes, the sound could be better. The band room could use a couple good lights, some a/c, and better sound equipment. Don't even mention the constant suggestion that the bathroom needs more stalls. I know all this. But then it wouldn't exactly be a dive bar, would it? And vodka tonics would cease to be $3 bucks. And when all of you aren't there for a show, us locals are the ones in there essentially keeping the lights on. Just the way it goes. Also, the sound isn't nearly so terrible if you buy some good earplugs. Just a suggestion you might consider.

Saturday was Sophie's birthday at the Beauty Bar and I thought I was in a better mood butI guess I really wasn't, so I did my best to fake it. It was nice to get there early (thanks for the drinks, CatDirt) so one could actually have a conversation before the DJs raised the volume to 11 and all parts of a conversation are prefaced with "what? I can't hear you!"





When the bands started, I watched passively. During the Vultures I was tucked in the back where there was a gap in space and I could breathe. I did take a couple pictures of Fifty, but since I'd just seen them the night before, I was pretty passively watching them, too. I stuck around as long as I could, but while attempting to pass the dancefloor, I got popped in the face...a definite sign I was not supposed to be there one second longer. Learn from my lesson...do NOT attempt to pass by the dancefloor while sipping your drink. A flailing conversive arm came up under my drink and slammed my plastic cup into my bottom lip while drawing a tiny speck of blood from biting my lip. The boy whose enthusiactic gesture knocked my drink was very apologetic and he raced to get me napkins (in case there was more blood) and then promptly replaced my drink, so it definitely wasn't any bad on his part, just wrong place at the wrong time, but when the cosmos speak, I listen and I bid adieu to the birthday party.

When I got to the Ken Club (I didn't say I was totally done for the night), Roxy Jones was playing in the band room. "Don't you dare bring out that camera," Peter joked, but it wasn't coming out anyway. The BoH thing definitely knocked me down a few pegs and I'm gonna be a little shier with the camera, I suspect.

Anyway, nothing particularly exciting on Sunday, unless you wanna hear how easy it is to drop serious cash at Target on kitty litter and toiletries. I watched the very hilarious and ridiculous "Sweet 16: The Movie" after catching pieces of the "Blingest Sweet 16" countdown. The winner: the son of Pebbles whose dad is a record exec...they spent over a half million dollars on his party. It's really disgusting actually, and I hate myself for watching any of it. Feeling shame, I realized that I should make something of my night and finally saw Firethorn play at the Zombie Lounge.

I was happy that when I walked up, the guys were all outside and hadn't played. I missed the opener, but did get to catch the full set of Tigers of Wrath. The singer's voice was a little high on the register for me considering his speaking voice was deeper, and he would pull his head away from the mic as a sound effect, which didn't really work for me. When he did belt it out and directly into the mic, they sounded 10 times better. They're doing a west coast tour, so I hope the experience helps them and I can catch them





Firethorn played next and I liked that they were more melodic than 97% of the bands who play the Zombie. That doesn't make them soft, it just means they actually sing instead of just yell. There were as many girls there to see them as guys, which I think definitely says something positive about the band. Plus, they're three of the nicest guys and completely supportive of other local bands with a near perfect attendance record for Tim Pyle's events, supporting all genres of local music.







I didn't stay for Someday Assassin thinking I was completely tired and then as I mentioned, I slept maybe an hour total waking up at least 30 times. It was pretty awful. Maybe I should've stayed and done a shot to knock me out... next time...