FM 94/9 Independence Jam: The Final Post

It's pretty pathetic that I never got around to posting the last of my pics from Independence Jam, but things came up. I don't have much more to say about the show, except that it was awesome. I really appreciated the bands a lot, even Flogging Molly, despite them falling just outside of the boundary of what I normally like. In fact, it was pretty fun in that photo pit with bodies flying over me, and one of the guards asking me if I could take a picture with his camera phone since he wasn't allowed to turn around and watch the band at all. The VIP section was cool, the beer gardens were nice, the field was perfect, and the bands kicked ass. I was not only happy to live where I do, but it made me proud to be a San Diegan.

The Silent Comedy



The Hold Steady



Transfer



Flogging Molly








After the show, I caught a ride with Jake to the Casbah where it was loud and crowded. I watched The Sess, but by the time Firewater was playing, I ran into Abraham and heard from a guy I met when MgmT played the Casbah, so we decided to go meet the band at their hotel with the instructions "Bring whiskey and smokes." Done and done. Abraham and I went to their hotel, security drove us on their golf cart to their room, but when we got there, there were just a couple guys they brought on the road. A few minutes later, they showed up with Erika (U-31) and a couple girls so we chilled out and had a couple beers. Really though, everyone was so tired, so we left as Andrew crawled into bed. Super nice guys. When they were on TV the next night...Craig Ferguson, I think, all I could think was, "I've seen him in his chones." Funny.

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Thursday Nite Thing & Annuals

Thursday Night I was ready to get out and take in some bands. My night started at TNT at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. Natalie and I carpooled downtown and got there really early, thinking that with just one band, they would play early, but we found out there was an opener and The Silent Comedy wasn't playing until 9:15.
The alcohol sponsor for the night was a new collection of flavored rums, but I really prefer my drinks to not be flavored. The black cherry cokes were too sweet. We made soaps at one of the display tables then waited for the music. It was
a really beautiful night and unfortunately I forgot the name of the band- I think it was Green Switch? (Correction: band is called Green Pitch) I can't find them online, so if anyone knows, please email me. They're from Denmark and apparently the singer is studying at UCSD and has been here for about a year. She had a sweet voice that reminded me of Frente; Natalie suggested Lisa Loeb? Here's a song performed in Danish(though the rest of the set was in English)





By the time Silent Comedy came onstage, we were kinda stressing about getting to the Beauty Bar ontime, so we compromised and watched most of the set, but left before the last song, which was good because by the time we got to Beauty Bar, both openers were done. The Silent Comedy killed, as they always do, so we made sure to stay for "Bones" and the big "I am alright!" singalong, then we took off.


We completely missed Frantic Romantic and SayVinyl, which was really unfortunate. I'm gonna do a birthday show in Sepetmber and I'm hoping to get both of them to play so we'll see about that...

Anyway, we got there in time to catch all of Annuals set and their stage energy is so great. Actually, I'd say that's true for the whole band except Anna, who really looks like she couldn't be bothered. It wasn't until their last song that I actually saw her smile- but the rest of the band- happy as hell to play. Their set was over by about 11:20 which was a bit of a bummer, because the whole show should've been pushed back a little bit, but it was all good.





After the show there was this green light on the dancefloor that just made my eyes trip out; I couldn't adjust my eyes, so Jeff, Daniel, Abraham and I decided to go to the Ken. Earthless was playing so it was really loud, but we had fun just hanging out at the bar and making fun of the really drunk guy who they kicked out for groping some girl. He had a broken foot and hobbled around telling everyong they're not metal. He was entertaining to say the least and it was a fun way to bring out night to an end.

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The Silent Comedy Tour Video

The Silent Comedy have added another video to their extensive YouTube library. You can check it out below.

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Recap: The Silent Comedy & River City @ The Stage

Tuesday night was really awesome for me. I decided to lay low, and Natalie and I met at the Ken Club for some wi-fi and cocktails. We caught up since we hadn't had the chance to really talk since before she went to Coachella and I wanted to hear all her stories. We hung out there for a few hours before she decided to take off, but Scott and Todd were there, so once she left, they took me to Zombie to catch a couple bands, but mostly the two of them just liquored me up until we called it a night.

On Wednesday, I thought I was going to stay in, but The Silent Comedy were playing a free show and it was at a new venue that I wanted to check out, so it was a win-win. Since I'd changed my headlight, I decided before I left to check my car and my taillight was out, too, so luckily the Auto Zone in City Heights is open until 10, and I stopped by to make sure my car was in good shape. Luckily, the show was later than I'd been told so I had plenty of time before the bands started.

The Stage is next door to the Bitter End in Downtown. Apparently the owner, Eric, used to be in a bunch of original local bands, but he traded in the scene to be a part of The Disco Pimps. He saw the need for a live music venue downtown and decided to open The Stage.



When you enter the bar, you're right in the venue...there are a few tables on the left, the bar on the right, and the stage in the back. There are two upstairs areas. One is directly above the entrance and has a few more tables, the other one is above and behind the stage, and there's another bar there that is open when there's enough people to require it. There is also a small lounge area in the basement where the bathrooms are.

The room is cool, had pretty brick walls and high ceilings, but personally I'm really over the red lighting in every bar, and of course, the stage was lit with red lights as well . I knew going in that a bar downtown probably wasn't gonna have cheap drinks, but when I ordered a vodka tonic and was told that they'd run out of the well, I was annoyed that I paid $7 for a Ketel tonic. It's not my fault they're out of the well and most places will charge the well price if that's the way you order it. I was also annoyed because the bar serves food. The chick bartender said they stopped serving when people stopped ordering, but then Jaime had an appetizer, which was like a spinach artichoke dish of some sort that was damn good, but there were too many chips left over so she wanted to order more of the dip and the guy bartender said the kitchen closed at 10. Not major issues, but small details the bar is gonna have to work out.

River City opened up the show and I particularly like their songs that are heavy on the harp, but sometimes the vocals get a little off key, but all in all I enjoy their sound. The sound in the room was pretty good, though the crowd was pretty chatty. Some really hammered guy came up front to dance and was falling all over himself, so he was a little distracting, especially when he fell into some girl. After the set he was tossed from the bar.



Between bands, I heard a woman calling out $3 wells next door, so I went over to have one. I went into Xavier's where there was really bad karaoke and ordered and my drink was $6. Confused, I asked about the $3 wells and the bartender didn't know what I was talking about. Turns out I went in the wrong bar. Lame. I try not to hate downtown, but it is really hard sometimes.

Back at The Stage, the bar was packed. The Silent Comedy has enough fans who love them, but there were also a significant amount of people who seemed to come into the bar because there was no cover.





They played a set a little different, since they were tired of the same old songs after having just toured. They were pretty crowded on the stage but still put on a raucous show and they played the longest set I've even seen them play which was cool.





I recorded the band performing a new song called Victory and the violin just sounds incredible, so here's the YouTube of that.

The Silent Comedy "Victory"




Toward the end of the set, I went to the bar to get a drink. The bartender said something like, "Let me guess...a glass of water?" I mention this because it tells me that I wasn't the only one unhappy with the prices, and wouldn't it be better to have a room full of drinkers if the drinks are $4 or $5 instead of a room full of people ordering water?

Anyway, the show ended and I bailed and hit up Commune Wednesday at Bar Pink Elephant and it was good being back in the hood. I hope The Stage survives, but I think it will have to work hard to get people who typically support local music to make the trek downtown because for me, I'd rather stick to North Park, Kensington, City Heights, and The Casbah then deal with parking, high drink prices, and downtown peeps.

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Sat Recap II: The Silent Comedy @ Hard Rock Hotel & Blitzen Trapper @ Casbah, 3.1.08

Saturday I felt really lucky to not only have a good game plan for the day leading into night, but I was able to find out set times so I could time things out perfectly. I arrived at the Hard Rock Hotel and after a little run around figuring out which entrance went up to the show, we got in quite breezily. Basically for the show, the entire 2nd floor was closed off for attendees, so people were hanging out all over. I got in touch with my host and he met us in the hall and hooked me up with a stack of drink tickets. Big thanks! While we were talking to him, he got word from downstairs that the show had officially sold out. 400 paid tickets at $15 a pop. Not too shabby for an all local show, I'd say.



I thought it was really cute that all the staff and bartenders were wearing Dirty Sweet shirts. After saying hi to a few friends, we made our way to the front for The Silent Comedy who gave another great performance, and it was nice to finally have real stage lighting so I could limit my camera flashes. They sounded great and I think the room really worked well for this kind of show.










When the band finished, we hung around for a little bit before my cell phone alarm told me it was time to head to the Casbah so as not to miss Blitzen Trapper. Dag stayed to watch Dirty Sweet, and I went off to hail a cab.

I was at the Casbah just a few minutes later and the band was just getting started, sounding just as awesome as they did the last two times I saw them at Cane's and Casbah, respectively, though my pictures are a whole bunch of suck.





It was a good time and I was grateful that Abraham was there and saved me a $30 cab ride home. And that's how my whirlwind Saturday drew to a close, hanging out at my house, rambling to my dear friend until my eyes couldn't stay open any longer. With all the activity, I have to say it was one of the best Saturdays I've had in a while and it makes me all that much more excited for yet another beautiful weekend in San Diego.

I mentioned that I worked the Filter show on Sunday at the Casbah, but to be completely honest, the show felt very, I don't know, disengaging? The band didn't hang around and were quickly ushered onstage and then immediately off when it ended. I was told it was their first sober show ever, and the night really felt absent of energy, though that could be because I was on the patio the whole night. I didn't even bother going into the venue to take pics. I've been mellow the rest of this week, though I'll post the pics from the Vinyl Radio reunion later this week. Till then, I'm shutting down and calling it a night.

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Dirty Sweet Winner Announced

Thanks to everyone who entered to win tickets to Dirty Sweet, The Silent Comedy and The Sess at the Hard Rock Hotel. Congratulations to Tony S for being my winner.

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Hard Rock Hotel Presents: MSTRKRFT 2/28, Dirty Sweet 3/1

Surprise, surprise- I didn't quite get to all the writing I thought I would on Sunday, so I'm now even more behind than usual. I'll post about the shows I went to over the weekend later this evening, along with the full listings for the week, but for now, I wanted to remind everyone that I've got a pair of MSTRKRFT tickets for Thursday night and a pair of Dirty Sweet tickets for Saturday. I will choose my MSTRKRFT winner at random by 5 pm on Wednesday, so it's not too late to enter. (email sddialedin AT gmail DOT com)

I had the opportunity to do a tour of the Hard Rock Hotel this past weekend and I think people will be impressed. I had been to Sweetwater, one of the bars owned by Cindy Crawford's beau, but we know that I'm just not down with NY and LA style clubs in SD, so I probably should've just skipped that whole experience. This time around, we got to check out some of the conference rooms that will be used as concert rooms. There is supposed to be a full fledged music venue, but it wasn't really clear if it's just being held back or if plans somehow changed last minute. Of course, as Hard Rock's go everywhere, there is a good amount of rock memorabilia throughout all of the hallways, including a whole hall of Beatles and Stones stuff.

The first room we saw is called "The Edge". It's the corner of the building, as a music venue will hold about 400, and has beautiful floor to ceiling windows, spaced about 5 feet apart along the two external walls, giving pretty views of the convention center and 5th Avenue below. The room wasn't set up with a stage- but I'm pretty sure Hard Rock knows how to convert a room- so this will be the room used on Saturday for Dirty Sweet, The Silent Comedy, and The Sess.

The second room we looked at was a much larger room that can be divided in up to 6 separate meeting rooms. It's called "Legends" and is the room that MSTRKRFT will be using on Thusday night. There are large white panels on all the walls that look like TV projection screens, but in fact are part of the acoustic setup. We were told that this room can hold about 700 with the full stage. I imagine with all the staging and lighting and the type of music going down on Thursday, if you're even just intrigued by dance music, this is probably an event for you.

After showing us the main rooms, we went up to the Terrace, checked out the bar and pool up there, and the "rock wall" inside the hotel that has some of the most recognizable band logos in rock history, including some surprises like NOFX and OKGo,among RHCP, The Sex Pistols,etc. The wall is very visually stimulating.

I was encouraged by the tour of the Hard Rock Hotel. I was mostly impressed when our host told me that for shows, the bars would be handled differently then the regular bars. He couldn't tell me prices, but assured me drink prices would be reasonable (he read my complaints about $10 vodka tonics at Sweetwater). "We can't expect people to drop $20 for a concert ticket and then another $10 per drink."

The other thing that impressed me is that the venue is circumventing Ticketmaster prices by making their tickets only available at the hotel concierge desk. $20 even gets you into MSTRKRFT, who will be joined by LA Riots, San Diego's own "Shark Attack" DJs, and Walter Meego. There's also a live art show. The whole thing goes down from 8pm-2am on Thursday, with MSTRKRFT hitting the stage at midnight.

For Saturday night, $15 even gets you in the door to see some of San Diego's finest...Dirty Sweet, The Silent Comedy, and The Sess. Or you can e-mail me and hope to win my pair of tickets...

Either way, I hope people take the time to check out the Hard Rock for some of the shows they're booking. I'm a little torn, personally, because I had other plans for Saturday night, but I might try and work it into my plans because I think Silent Comedy will blow up that room.

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Writer, The Ringers & This Holiday Life, Beauty Bar, 2-16-08

So I had quite the weekend and have over a hundred pictures to sort through from Saturday, as well as my weekly "things to do" listings to get to, but I'm not really in the mood. I just feel like writing about the rest of the weekend...pics will come later, as well as video of Swim Party from last Monday, The Prayers from Thursday and Cory Branan from Friday.

Saturday night was a Beauty Bar night for me. The bands are starting a little bit later these days, so I had some time to hang out, grab a bite nearby, and post up for This Holiday Life. It was my first time seeing them and I really enjoyed them. They fell in the vein of Agualung for me...beautiful soaring vocals and very piano heavy. I realized that I'd left my camera battery at home, so Abraham and I snuck off mid-set to pick it up. I clocked it and my apartment is 3 minutes from the Beauty Bar.

By the time we got back, we heard there was some mix-up and the Ringers went onstage second instead of Writer. Perhaps it was a weird booking to put the two together, but I know there was a little anxiety that The Ringers super high energy show would somehow overshadow Writer's more melodic and quiet set, but I'm happy to say that not only did both bands play well, but the crowd stuck around for both bands and I think appreciated them both.

The Ringers of course were all over the stage and did their LA brand of rock n roll and they do not disappoint. Again, another dude-heavy fanbase, but it was ok, I strapped my camera around my wrist and did my best to take some pics.












After they were done, I met them outside. Joe, the singer, has a sister named Rosie, so he was really nice to me and we kinda talked about the lineup change, and it just seemed like a fluke- nobody to blame but they had to get back to LA.

Back inside, Writer took the stage and sounded great. I kept joking that after The Ringers, they'd have to keep up the momentum with a few leg kicks, but they did what they do and nobody seemed to mind that they were much more mellow. I freaking love them and really can't say enough about how much I love their CD as well as what great people they all are "in real life."






After the show, Abe and I hit the Ken Club for last call, then hung out until 6 am sitting on my kitchen counter just shooting the shit, before I eventually went to sleep.

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Drag The River, Cory Branan, & The Silent Comedy @ Casbah, 2-15-08

Friday rolled around and my bosses were kind enough to let us bail early, which was great because after the rainy day Thursday, Friday's weather was a lot nicer. I had to run an errand in Golden Hill, so I picked up my dog and we ran around the Grape Street dog park for a while. Pascha is deathly afraid of having her picture taken, but I tried to sneak a couple in, then she caught on and kept a good thirty feet from me until we were ready to leave, at which point she ran out of the park on her own and sat next to my car door.



After that, a brief nap, then it was time to head back to the Casbah for Drag The River, Cory Branan, and Silent Comedy. People are finally realizing what an amazing band The Silent Comedy are. I decided not to take pictures of them because they had a professional photographer there with a flash set up behind the stage and I didn't wanna ruin his shots, but it allowed me to get into the revival. There's this movie called The Apostle that I love- and their set reminds me of that movie. If you've seen it, perhaps you know what I'm talking about. If not, it's worth adding to your NetFlix queue.

I bumped into Seth at the show and he introduced me to Cory Branan who was such a nice guy. Hailing from Tennessee, I could easily see him tour with Steve Poltz & Bob Schneider with his sometimes quirky and oddball lyrics. Not your typical dude with a guitar, which is probably why he has so many whiskey swilling dude fans. This is music not made for coffee shops, and I loved it.






Between bands, Vena Cava played in the Atari Lounge, but they were so loud that they could be heard throughout the Casbah. I like them a lot, but it was pretty packed at the back bar so I listened from the patio. The punkboarders were out in full force, as well. Oh, and then I was at the back bar for a minute when some dude came up and turned on the sauce flirting with me, but I think he was just hoping I'd be so flattered I'd buy him a drink. Yes, Steve, Mr. Firefighter from Carlsbad, I'm calling you out.

Drag The River took the stage last and they had a set list of about 40 songs on their guitars, though I couldn't really say how much of them they got through, because it seemed they got cut short toward the end of the night. Perhaps I'd lost track of time, but it felt a little premature. I can't really say though, because I was out on the patio or in the back bar for more than half their set. I like the band a lot, but they're also a dude's band and the crowd was a little rowdy for my taste. Not pushing or fighting or anything, but just a lot of alcohol pouring and a lot of raised drink sing-a-longs. Kinda felt like a frat party I wasn't invited to.





After the show, Laura Jane and Jason came over and we stayed up really late. LJ left when it was just about sun up, but Jason and I were up well past sunrise, eventually laying out in my backyard and I even got a sunburn. It was awesome- these legs haven't seen sun in some time. Eventually I had to crash out and sorta lost the day, but it was all worthwhile. Below are some pics from the patio...

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Win Tickets To Drag The River, Cory Branan & The Silent Comedy

This is certainly a Casbah heavy week. In fact, I'll be heading down in support of the House Party girls and the San Diego Burrito Project. Then, of course, there's Grand Ole Party on Thursday night, which San Diego is buzzing about. But there's another great show this week that should be noted, and I've got a pair of tickets up for grabs.

Drag the River, Cory Branan, and Silent Comedy are all performing (with Vena Cava in the Atari Lounge) this Friday night at the Casbah. Drag The River has an interesting history of being an on again/off again band. Their last time around, in fact, Chad had to perform mostly solo because his bandmates ditched him in Colorado (or something like that). The dude is awesome and can put down some serious whiskey.

Cory Branan is an amazing performer who is beyond the singer-songwriter label, as he's not a cry in your beer kinda guy, but rather an inspired troubadour...

And then there's Silent Comedy- one of San Diego's finest bands-

It's going to be a great night at the Casbah, and you can see it all for free. Send an e-mail to me by 5 pm on Wednesday. Include your name & phone number and I'll notify the winner on Thursday. e-mail sddialedin AT gmail DOT com.

Stream Cory Branan here and here

Cory Branan

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Hot!!! The Silent Comedy Video For "Bones"

I am continually amazed by The Silent Comedy...like that giddy feeling that I can't believe they're local and we can see them frequently because one day they'll be touring so much and hitting huge venues that we won't get that intimate Beauty Bar experience. Still, until that time comes, we've got them.

And now, they have a new music video for their song "Bones".

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The Silent Comedy, Beauty Bar, 1/4/08

What a great weekend, huh? Good music, good times, and a Chargers win.

Even though there were only 3 workdays last week, it was a tough workweek, trying to catch up and get some serious projects done, so come Friday night, I was ready to let loose. I knew that wouldn't be a challenge with The Silent Comedy playing at the Beauty Bar. San Diego is full of plenty of talented bands, but there are a handful who just feel like a party when they're onstage. The Swedish Models, Delta Spirit and Society! come to mind, but I think The Silent Comedy top the list. They're constantly switching up instruments, lead vocals are rotated, and their look and sound make you wanna walk into the saloon and order a whiskey up. I was just bummed that the set was so short. The band played some older tunes, and two from their forthcoming EP- Gasoline, which they also played at the last Casbah show (it's on my YouTube) and 49, which they debuted live on Friday.
































The Silent Comedy Setlist, Beauty Bar, 1-4-08

The night was also the final 'Feel The Noise' night for Gabe Vega and Saul before they head off to U-31, so there were a lot of people just there to show their love for what they've been doing at Beauty Bar for the last couple years.



After the band finished, I was on my way back to Kensington. I met up with Adam and we went to the bar in hopes of catching Cabron, but they had already finished, so we just chilled at the bar till closing time, which was nice because it was mellow there. Not a bad way to finish the night.

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Sat Recap: Spell Toronto, Crash Encore, The Silent Comedy, Calico Horse at Casbah

Saturday was a pretty busy day for me so when it was finally time to go out, I was ready to let go. The show at the Casbah was the perfect place to do just that.

I arrived while Calico Horse was already playing, but caught most of their set. They sounded great with Emily behind the keys at times and at other times playing guitar. A couple months ago I got an email from someone in New York who is a publicist and she asked if I'd heard of Calico Horse and said of them "next big thing out of San Diego in my opinion." While I know San Diego is teeming with talent, it's cool that someone across the country is taking note of our music scene and Calico Horse definitely deserves to be noticed.


I was excited to see Crash Encore for the first time as well as Spell Toronto because I love the new album, but the greatest draw for me was seeing The Silent Comedy again. Their apparel makes them look like they should be on HBO's Deadwood while their sound goes perfect with Carnivale, the show that was cancelled a couple seasons back. From the second the band is onstage to the moment they walk off, they are high energy, foot stompin, and crowd pleasing. They switch up instruments frequently, adding keys, mandolin, banjo, trombones, and more.









I had to capture the band live because pics just don't capture enough.

The Silent Comedy "Moonshine"

This song will appear on the band's next EP that they started recording today.


The Silent Comedy "Gasoline"

After their madness, I was there to just hang out. I watched Crash Encore and Spell Toronto for a bit but also spent plenty of time on the patio hanging out with friends. After all, it was a Saturday night and the venue was packed with people.



Spell Toronto sounded great, too. It is definitely noticeable when Jake is doing sound. I only stayed for about half the set as it was getting late.



I decided to head back to Kensington, where I hung out long enough for a couple drinks and a red headed slut, then walked home with Kittyhead, the neigborhood cat following close behind.

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Friday Recap: Silverbird, Silent Comedy @ Beauty Bar

After spending the evening with my parents, my sister and brother in law and my new niece I was actually wiped. All that tequila from the night before probably didn't help, but I fought through being tired and arrived at the Beauty Bar as Silvedbird finished their first song.

Once I was there, I was so happy that I made the effort. Justin's beautiful vocals with the amazing lap steel took me to a happy place and I was having such a good time. I have seen Silverbird at least 3 times now, and this time, I don't know if it's that outdoor patio, but the sound was just really all I needed to hear on this night to take me out of all the shit that I was feeling.

It was cool to see people, who I know indirectly, playing such a great show and captivating so many people in that space. I wasn't really going to try to take pictures...the patio was quite crowded, but there was space in the corner, so I did snap a couple.







I also grabbed the setlist:

Silverbird Setlist, 8/3/07, Beauty Bar

At that point in the night, I ran into Lynn, who told me to stick around for Silent Comedy and goddamn was she right. Dressed in clothes you'd see on HBO's Deadwood, the themes of their songs fit right in with the prohibition era, but don't let the look fool you because the band totally rocked. I ended up buying a CD with the rationalization that it was either $10 to the band or $6 to the bar and what would I have to show for that? I'm so overwhelmed with all this new music I have, so with this month of unemployment, I fully intend to get some of all these amazing local CDs loaded onto the iPod.

Oh, back to the band. The patio was packed and people were dancing along through the whole set. They switched instruments frequently and they were fun to try to capture as they jumped all over the stage. For each OK shot I got, there are 3 or 4 out of focus to go along. It was a nice little challenge formy little sony.














Silent Comedy, Beauty Bar, 8/3/07

I was a little bummed I didn't get a chance to meet "Bubba" after the show, but maybe next time. I don't know what it is about that place but the second the bands finish, I'm hitting the door and am outta there. I finished my night at the Ken Club, hanging out with Sandra and Ernie which was cool because it has been a long time since I've been able to do that. When I got home later, I was internetting til the wee hours until I realized I needed some zzzs and called it a night.

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