The Temper Trap w/ Crocodiles @ House Of Blues- 06.13.12

A week ago, the House of Blues was host to a sold out show with Aussie headliners, The Temper Trap, and locally originated band, The Crocodiles, who were openers for the entire tour. This was my third or fourth time seeing The Temper Trap and I don't know what to say about them. Seeing them is like a soft-serve ice cream cone- not the most amazing or epic thing you've ever had in your life, your life isn't going to change because of it, but it's pleasurable and enjoyable while you have it. The sold out venue of screaming girls and head bobbing bros probably feel otherwise. The show felt way oversold (which seems to happen when the capacity of the Delta Room is included in the ticket count), so I spent most of the show in the Delta Room on a couch. My friend Scott wrote a pretty on-point review on his site, though I disagree that The Temper Trap is the "Australian Snow Patrol" but that's just because I'm defensive about Snow Patrol. I had a photo pass that night, but my photos are just horrendous, so instead, here are Nate VanDerMeulen's, though I will post one of my photos of the setlist just so you can see what they played (albeit blurry, too). I will say that "Need Your Love", the lead single of their self-titled sophomore album, is a pretty great song and being in the photo pit, I really got to appreciate how amazing the guitarist and bassist are in the big picture. The video is at the bottom of this post. The rest of Nate's photos after the jump.

Wednesday Night: Crocodiles at House of Blues

Photo credit: Marco Rapisarda

A few months ago, Crocodiles performed at the Casbah. I was supposed to do an on-camera interview for SoundDiego TV, but since their latest release, Endless Summer, wasn't released until June 5, their publicist thought it would be a better idea to wait until the album was out. About a week after the show, I was at the back bar at the Casbah, over-enjoying an evening with Bulleit Rye and ginger ale, and Charles Rowell and Brandon Welchez were hanging around. I somehow convinced Chuck to do an interview that night on my handheld camera, but mostly it ended up just some saucy rambling and the two of them kinda jabbing at me, answering questions with questions, and frankly it just isn't worth sharing. Truth be told, it's probably about 10 minutes long and I can't get past watching the first three, so I can only imagine it got worse.

That said, I think they're cool guys and I dig their new record (or at least until it gets to the fuzzy noise loops at the end), and they're on tour with Temper Trap with a stop set at the House of Blues tonight.

"If only Endless Flowers were as infinite as its sound is blissful."

- FILTER

"...Crocodiles have lightened up, embracing everything from grrrl-group alt-pop ("My Surfing Lucifer") to deliciously spacey new wave ("Bubblegum Trash"). Talk about letting the sun shine in the most brilliant of ways."

- Alternative Press

Crocodiles' third LP Endless Flowers arrived in stores (June 5) via Frenchkiss Records. Recorded in Berlin last summer, it is the first album to feature the band's full five-piece line up, which has evolved from their 2008 genesis as the core duo of singer/guitarist Brandon Welchez and guitarist Charles Rowell to now include keyboardist Robin Eisenberg, bassist Marco Gonzalez, and drummer Anna Schulte. Endless Flowers has been earning Crocodiles great coverage from the media, including Alternative Press, BlackBook, Filter, This Is Fake DIY ("The album contains a perfect mix of pop immediacy, punky sneer and shoegaze whimsy"), and Under The Radar, among others.

FM 94/9 Holiday Hootenanny 12.11.2010

Earlier this week, my photos from the Holiday Hootenanny were put up on SoundDiego, but I've got some more and haven't had the chance to write about the whole show. It was definitely a fun night. I took my friend Steve to the show, mostly because he's really easygoing and since I knew I'd be taking photos, he would be on his own for a lot of the night. What I didn't know is that he'd eaten a giant pot brownie, so within an hour of our arrival, he was telling me that we'd have to cab home. So much for my designated driver...at that point I pretty much left him to watch the show as I bounced back and forth between the photo pit and the VIP lounge. There was a little taco spread and they were serving complimentary wine and Guiness Black Lager, which is apparently test marketing in San Diego. It was good, but I'd gone big on Friday and wasn't really into drinking too heavily, so I took it easy and mostly just caught up with friends between bands.

Tokyo Police Club kicked off the night and sounded awesome on the big stage. It was fun shooting with awesome lighting so I just went with it.


Sleigh Bells was next onstage and though I was looking forward to seeing them since they were the only band on the bill that I hadn't seen before but I just wasn't feeling it. Their backing tracks were far more complex than their actual live performance. The lighting was mainly red lights and strobe so my photos really aren't worth posting. I spend most of the three songs in the pit trying to assess what part of the performance was actually live. To be honest, it didn't feel like much of it was live. Maybe that's fine for a club, but at a show like this, I want live music. I went back upstairs until The Temper Trap were on.

I've seen them twice before and this was better than the other two for me, maybe because of the energy of the crowd, but it also might be because this performance felt a little more diverse...it wasn't that alto vox the whole way through the set.


I was really happy to see Against Me! again. The last time I saw the band was a few years back at Warped Tour, and since they played back to back with Rise Against, my brain had confused the two, but I really loved Against Me's latest record, White Crosses, and to be honest and slightly sexist, I really wanted some manly rock. I definitely got that with their performance and found myself forgetting to take pictures because I was so into the band's performance and Tom Gabel just really does it for me. He's super sexy and owns the stage when he's on it.


Between bands I went back upstairs. The VIP area traditionally shuts down before the headlining band, so I had a couple quick beers. While standing around with friends, a guy started talking to me. He was hilarious and told me that he has snuck into the VIP area (twice) and the second time his friends were too afraid to follow. He had a fun energy, but the band was about to start to I had to bail and get downstairs and slipped into the elevator as it was closing. The Black Keys are always fantastic and you just get the feeling that they love San Diego and that they love FM 94/9. They had also got their Grammy nominations just a few days before so there was this infectious energy in the arena.

After the three songs, I was wandering and bumped back into Patrick, the sneaky kid in the VIP area, and he convinced me that we had to SEE the show. I cannot tell you the last time I was at a big show and actually maneuvered through a crowd, but within 10 minutes, that's exactly what we were doing. We're on the floor surrounded mostly by kids and worked out way all the way back up to the front. It was hot and stinky and sweaty and I had crowdsurfers passing over my head and it was awesome. Patrick turned to be quite sheisty and was telling people all kinds of shit...that I was some reporter and needed to get "my story" and whatever and whispering to me, "just go with it." I did and the crowd was spastic and we got carried around as it shifted and though I felt like I'd been hit by a bus the next day, I felt like a kid when I was in it.



Things worked out in the end, thankfully Natalie offered to drive Steve and I back home and I closed my night out at the Ken Club.

I took almost 400 pictures but nobody wants to see that many photos, so here's a little slideshow of some of the rest of my shots. Huge thanks to FM 94/9 for another great show and I look forward to whatever is around the corner for 2011.

FM 94/9 Announces Holiday Hootenanny

I posted about some upcoming holiday shows, but today is super special because FM 94/9 has announced their Holiday Hootenanny.

Event: Holiday Hootenanny
Station: FM 94/9
Date: December 11, 2010
Location: RIMAC Arena, UCSD
Lineup: The Black Keys, Against Me!, The Temper Trap, Sleigh Bells, Tokyo Police Club
Onsale: November 16, 12noon via FM949sd.com, Price Center Ballroom, Ticketmaster
More Info: FM949sd.com

I have one thing to say about this: KICK ASS.

Contest: Win Tickets To The Temper Trap at House of Blues

After an incredible sold out show at the Belly Up just a few months ago, the Temper Trap return to San Diego for a headlining show at the House of Blues. The show is this Wednesday night, August 4th. If you'd like to see the show for FREE, shoot me an email at sddialedin at gmail. Include your FULL NAME and PHONE NUMBER and "Temper Trap" in the subject. I will choose a winner on Tuesday.

Brazzabelle opens the show.