Yesterday Jeff chose Dirty Sweet as his "weekly pick" here on sddialedin.com. I thought I'd give a little more info and give away some tickets.
The show is presented by Daydream Nation, the new promotion company run by Eric Howarth of Hi-Speed Soul Records and former owner of M-Theory. He's the reason Tim Pyles and I got a tour of the club before it opened and why we attended the soft opening. The club has now established itself in downtown, but it is ready to experiment and crossover to maximize the amazing sound system and setup the club provides.
The lineup includes Dirty Sweet, Scarlet Symphony, and The Howls. Tim Pyles will be hosting, I'll be there, and other people are involved, too, like party hostess with the mostess, May*Star.
A critical factor for the evening for someone like me is feeling comfortable in a high end nightclub. As such, there's no dress code for the night, so you know I'll be there in my standard jeans and hoodie. There will also be art from Eric Wixon, Andrew Rymer, and Steven Suiter and perhaps most important to those of us on a budget, there will be beer and shot specials all night.
The show takes place this Thursday, June 24, at FLUXX, with doors opening at 9 pm.
Tickets to the event are $10 in advance here, or $12 at the door.
If you'd like a free pair of tickets, email me at sddialedin at gmail with the subject "Dirty Fluxx". Include your first and last name and a phone number. (Must be 21+)
Yes, I am weeks behind in recaps. I will start with oldest first and post as many, with pics, as I can before I get bored of my own writing.
This show was a week before Thanksgiving. I had me Dmitry the night before and since he was in town another day, I decided to take him out again. I had the plan to hit a few spots, but financially, it just made sense for us to stay at Bar Pink for the night.
The first band was Slang Chickens from LA and I liked how they mixed nostalic 60's style rock with hints of modern alt-country including some sweet banjo playing and some catchy as hell guitar licks.
Dmitry was a dancing maniac and at one point tripped and fell onstage and I had to tell him to chill out a bit, but it was fun and I think the girls he was dancing with had fun, too. I will summize from his enthusiasm throughout the night that he enjoyed his time in San Diego.
Scarlet Symphony played to a swarming crowd. I'm a little embarassed to say that despite the number of times I've seen the band perform and just hanging out at various shows, it was only recently that I actually met Gary and Aaron. And even last weekend when I saw Gary at the Ken Club, he either didn't know this site existed or didn't realize I'm the girl behind it, which is a little bit funny to me. Anyway, they kicked ass, probably because the low Bar Pink stage allowed the crowd to feel like part of the show.
Like I said, I'd planned on bar-hopping that night, but we stayed pretty late, I dropped Dmitry at his chick's place, and I think I made it to the Ken for last call before calling it a night.
Incidentally, that was the night I photographed the billboard from Mission Gathering. When I posted that picture the next day, it generated 30,000+ hits for my site in a matter of hours, the most comments I've had since Band of Horses, and made it to the front page of StumbleUpon and Reddit. For some perspective, I get anywhere from 500-700 hits a day on weekdays, which means about 20,000 hits monthly. Because of that photo, I got over 85,000 hits in November. Clearly I am doing the wrong kind of blog.
I just spent the last 4 hours uploading all my photos from the Southern Comfort Music Festival. Normally I take a ton of pics and only put a few on my photobucket site, but I had such amazing access that I wanted to take as many pics as I could and thought I would make them all available for viewing.
I was a little bummed out that I hadn't heard back about my media request, but at 10:30 on Friday night, I got an e-mail letting me know I would have a media pass for the SCMX. Golden ticket. I've mentioned before that my friend was drumming for Z-Trip, too, so it was cool to hang out with him for the first time since December when he was in town with Mike Doughty. He called me around noon from Long Beach but he hit a ton of traffic, so I scrapped my plan to drive downtown, and instead took the bus to meet Pete at his favorite spot here, El Zarape. We drove to the venue and he had band parking right in front of Petco. He took off with the tour manager and I headed to the media table and grabbed my pass, bumping into Andrea as I walked through the gates.
Delta Spirit had already started and I missed the first three song photo op, so I just hung back bumping into plenty of friends. Delta Spirit translated well on the large stage and the sound was perfect. There weren't a lot of people there that early in the day, but it was good to see a lot of the people who are fans of DS there to show their love.
We were told by various people that there might be some VIP passes floating around, so after Delta Spirit and while Stranger played on the other stage, we tried to track some down. I thought I would point out that the program guide for the show listed the band as The Stranger's Six, though the pic and bio was for Stranger, the band that played. The Stranger's Six is a very different band than Stranger. just a note. We hung out at the CityBeat booth for a while, and M-Theory, too, then Galactic came on the big stage so I was off to take some pics.
Boots Riley of the Coup performed a few songs with Galactic and got the crowd riled up.
Mr. Lif also sang a couple tracks with the band and it was pretty great to see the New Orleans sounds of Galactic in the SoCo vibe of the event. (yes, beads everywhere.)
That was probably the hottest point of the day, so it was nice to get reprieve from the heat in shaded areas.
Natalie and I tracked down Marco Collins who was acting as MC for the event to thank him for getting us the media passes.
The Knee Highs played on the local stage and we were behind the stage as the theme from Growing Pains came on and the guys danced around to it in their backstage warmup.
The are hip hop act and they had great flow and onstage.
But we were on a mission, so we wandered around a bit more. I noticed that both gates seemed to have a lot more people pouring in and I heard the process was long and time consuming, but that was really the only complaint I heard about the event.
At that point in the day, the VIP area opened up. I was told that my media pass gave me access, but not the wristband that got three free drinks, so I finally got my hands on a VIP pass and got a wristband. It was a day full of text messaging and hunting people down, taking pictures and actually trying to enjoy the event.
I was running all over the place, but managed to get set up in time to take some pics of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.
Pete messaged me that he was going to his car, so I met him out there and we listened to BRMC with the A/C on and just took some time to slow things down a bit. It was nice to sit still for a moment and be able to absorb the day for a minute.
We went back in through the VIP gate and I met up with Nat and Andrea and he took off to the backstage area. The VIP had catered food- some grilled veggies and chicken skewers, but those went quick, but I was happy with the mashed potato bar. Smart thinking there. Nothing better to soak up the liquor than some potatoes.
Z-Trip came on as the sun was finally setting. We were a little bummed because of the 3 song photo rule because Pete told me he wouldn't be on until the second half of the set. We tried to get special permission for photos when he came on but it "wouldn't be fair", so instead we had to find our way into the crowd, but people were surprisingly cool about letting us merge in with them. Z-Trip's set was amazing, mixing up classic tracks with modern stuff and getting the crowd nuts, particularly when he gave a big middle finger while slamming George Bush and a mosh pit broke out behind us while Z played Rage Against the Machine. Yes, a pit. During a DJ set. Who knew?
We were kinda anxious, wanting a drink in such a bad way but the set was long.
The crowd went nuts when various guests came out with Z-Trip and then finally Pete made his way onto the stage.
He has always been an amazing drummer and in this outlet could really shine with long solos while Z was offstage.
After catching him for a bit, we went back to the VIP, actually exiting through the main gate and reentering through the VIP area to avoid the crowds. Some friends were near the front of the booze line, so I got a couple drinks and chilled out for a bit. We ran into Marco who got us the VVIP wristbands that allowed people on the side platform during the band, but we were just happy to have more drink tickets since the bartenders were demanding them. We ladies love our free bevvies.
That's me and Marco. It was my first time meeting him in person, but definitely not the last. He was so cool and appreciative of our blogging thing and just a happy guy despite how much work he had to do to coordinate his portion of the event.
After having our drinks, Natalie and I made our way back to the photo pit where the Flaming Lips were already onstage getting all their equipment set up, so we missed Scarlet Symphony on the local stage. There was just no way to be everywhere.
I got all giddy getting to be so close to the action for the Lips.
Halloran and Boomer from FM 94/9 finally made their way out to introduce the Flaming Lips. I noticed the deflated plastic bubble on the side of the stage, so I called Natalie over to post up for the grand bubble entrance.
The bubble passed right over my head as Wayne made his way back onstage.
The show was amazing, though typical Flaming lips fare... dancing santas and aliens, the go-go academy girls onstage, confetti and fog machines...
Wayne is such a sexy man, I couldn't stop taking pics. Eventually, though, our three songs were up, so we went out the front gate where another couple hundred people were still trying to get into the event.
We finished up the night in the VIP area, where I felt bad for the bartender who was still busting his ass. They ran out of everything except Jack and SoCo, so I ordered to double Jack n cokes, though actually had to get two singles and two shots and then dump the shots in.
There were a lot of people behind the scenes who made the event possible, so credit to CityBeat, SoCo, the promoters, FM 94/9 and all the other people who made the day happen without a glitch.
I had the pass for the platform, but it was at capacity, so I just hung out as the night wrapped up. Pete had left, but called to find out if I knew of any vegetarian places where he could grab food, so I left before the show ended to meet him and we headed to La Posta for some quesadillas then he drove me home. He got a really cool poster from the show and gave me a smaller version of it that I will proudly hang in my home when I can get it properly framed.
Pete had a flight today out of LA, so after we ate, he took off and I couldn't believe it was still not even 11 o'clock. I met some friends over the Ken Club and closed out the night at the bar, then my neighbors came over again and again stayed up till the sun was coming up. Needless to say I was beat today and have been on this computer for the last 8 hours getting all my pics posted up. Now I'm beat once again and have to spend tomorrow getting serious about my job hunt, so if anyone has any leads, send them my way. My Things to Do list will be posted tomorrow afternoon. Hope everyone had as great a weekend as I did.
After a good nap and getting some tacos, I motivated and walked to the Ken Club. I missed the opening bands, but i have to say for the record that I didn't hear a good thing about the Vaginals. It was of the "you're so lucky you missed that shit" variety, and wouldn't normally post anything about a band that I didn't experience myself, but I was also told that the band took over an hour to set up and as a result, everyone else was onstage late.
Homeless Sexuals came on and played a short quick set of their performance punk rock. Davit was clothed this time (for most of the show) but didn't fail to make full use of the room, jumping on the booths, dipping the mic in someone's beer, knocking into me and -was that a tongue on my face? At one point he pulled down his pants and sat on a guitar stand and I was glad that he didn't take a dump though with him, you never know.
Scarlet Symphony finished up the night. They got on after 1 and played right up until the lights were on in the bar and people were being wrangled out. Many people have complaints about the sound at the Ken Club, but I've noticed certain bands are unaffected. Maybe the more mellow indie stuff suffers from a "mushy" sound, but bands like Scarlet Symphony, along with most of the punk bands that play there actually benefit from the grimy sound. I was surprised how many people were there that late on a Friday night when there was so much going on around town, but people love Scarlet Symphony and their talent demands the attention they get.
After the show, Adam from Homeless Sexuals nominated my place for an after party, but I think that they probably opted to head to the SD House Party girls place instead, so a couple neighbors came over instead and we just hung out till the wee hours of dawn. I know I missed a lot of other stuff going on, but it's so nice to not have to drive anywhere to have a great night.
And for people who've noticed the Ken Club kinda being in shambles lately, Brett has fixed it up a bit. I mean, it's no Pink Elephant, but he did replace the duct taped bar padding and had the floors concrete stamped and painted, and I've heard he plans on making more improvements over time.
Friday night I didn’t quite motivate early enough for the South Park Walkabout, but I did get Natalie and make it in time for Pussy Galore at the Whistle Stop. Kite Flying Society was already playing when we got there with movies running on a screen as a backdrop. It was that backdrop and the fact that the room was packed that I opted to keep my camera in my purse for most of the evening. Kite Flying’s set was of mostly new stuff that will be on their next release, tentatively expected to drop in September will all of it’s picnic-in-the-park style la la and ooh oooh goodness. It seems like Kelly’s backup vocals are more pronounced in the new material, which to me could never be a bad thing.
Kelly Duley and Dennis Tashima
Red Pony Clock also played but by that point, the bar was even more crowded and I was busy talking with friends. It seems a kinda theme at Whistle Stop, that bands play the soundtrack to socializing versus being a “show” where every shuts up and listens intently (or at least should shut up). I like Red Pony Clock’s quirky indie music and hope they were able to get a drummer for their tour.
When the band finished, the dj music cranked up, and though it was Sunset Rubdown (or was that Wolf Parade), I’m not much for yelling over music, so I headed to my next destination. Natalie stuck around with her friends who would give her a ride since she lives close by.
I headed to the Tower Bar for Scarlet Symphony. There was a short line that disappeared while I stood outside talking to Dustin and Andrew. Inside, Mick made me a special somethin’ somethin’ and I made my way toward the front where Abraham let me scoot in front. Scarlet Symphony is engaging but even more than that, their big fans are rabid, singing along with every song and dancing their asses off.
Scarlet Symphony
After a few songs and a few bumps too many, I decided that I didn’t want yet another night of wearing my drink and made my way out of the crowd. After a few more songs, I realized how late it had become and didn’t wanna go overboard with another drink, so I called it a night there, too.
I headed back home, dropped off my car and walked to the Ken, where Sleeping People were playing. I appreciate their talent and all, but was more content sitting at the bar as the night wound down. I met Derek, the bassist for Aleuchatistas who was really, really cool. They were on tour from North Carolina. He asked why I wasn’t in watching the band, I answered that I wasn’t in the mood for what I thought would be proggy mathy cock rock and he said, “then you should be glad you missed us, too.”
Derek (Aleuchatistas) & me
Though, for the record, Devlin, the Ken Club bartender loved them, and he pretty much doesn’t like 90% of the bands that play there. No offense to other bands, it just is what it is. So anyway, a high compliment to the Aleuchatistas (who have also never received less than an 8 on Pitchfork, if that has any standing with you.) Derek introduced me to his bandmates, we hung out for a while longer, until the lights were on and the bartenders were kicking everyone out.
Casey was having an after party and the Aleuchetistas were staying with him, but they were still unloading gear, so the band came to my house for a beer, until Casey and everyone was back home and ready for them to come over.
I went with them to Casey & Danny's and everyone was pretty mellow hanging out, geeking out on vinyl and Rob Crow talking about…wait, I have no idea what he was talking about.
Anyway, I stuck around until I realized 5 am was rapidly approaching and I had to be up relatively early on Saturday, so I said my goodbyes and was on my way...not a bad way to start a Friday.
