Watch: The Black Key's Trailer for "MasterCourse" (A Funny Or Die Production)

This weekend was full of bad news and it just keeps going from bad to worse on a national level, so this mockumentary/Master Class parody with The Black Keys made me laugh and it's worth a share. Don't forget The Black Keys will be back in San Diego on November 17th at Pechanga Arena with Modest Mouse and Shannon & the Clams.



And while we're talking Funny or Die, check out the short web series, Under A Rock with Tig Notaro if you haven't already. I know I haven't done a proper read/watch post but it's really because I got sucked into the vapid world of The Hills and did a full 6 season rewatch to get to The Hills: New Beginnings. And I'm reading a book but I'm not in love with it, so I've just been kinda stuck reading a few pages at a time before my eyes fall shut. But I'll get back to it.

You Can Wreck My Home Anytime... You Dirty Little Homewreckers...

Give Em Hell

little hurricane | Myspace Music Videos

Okay, so this post isn't going to win me any awards or probably teach you anything new, but If you're new to San Diego, and didn't know, The San Diego Music Award winning duo, Little Hurricane's new record, "Homewrecker" just dropped on itunes and if it doesn't win something at the SDMA's this year, then I'm going to hand them one of mine. (I'm just a pussy-lipped singer/songwriter with open mic generics anyways...) I've already listened to the album thrice, and my ears won't quit making out with my headphones. @LILHURRY's frontman, Tone, has a voice that is about ready to explode, and if you haven't met CC, then you've possibly missed the hottest drummer San Diego's ever known. (I'm totally gonna research chick drummers in SD and do a post on it... so feel free to nominate the hottest chick drummers in the "comments" section.

The best way to describe their sound is to say that they're a mix of dirty blues and california surf. They're similar to the Black Keys, White Stripes, or Cage the Elephant, but with Jon Foreman's (Switchfoot) voice. The album is wicked consistent with great songs like "Sweet Pea", "Homewrecker" and "Give Em Hell". They are a "MUST SEE" whenever they're in town and they'll be playing at SXSW 3 or 4 times this week. (You can see where on their myspace.) They are having their album release at the Casbah on April 2nd with Get Back Loretta, River City, and Low Volts. (Why it's not a "Featured" concert is beyond me... get with it, Casbah...) (9:00 start time, buy your tickets before it sells out.) (Also... if you guys want me to play a tambourine or sell merch... I will... seriously...)

I only have a small critique on the album. I've seen them play live 3 or 4 times, and I know Tone can go off even bigger on his vocals than he showed on these tracks. I would have loved to sit in the studio with them and have him scream into the mic so that it ruined his voice for a month and a half. I feel like he held a little bit of the dirtiness back, but on the other hand, CC did do a great job on her vocals. (I know that's kind of a critique, but I'm a pitch guy, ask Holslin... and even perfect 10's can miss a note or two...)

If they don't follow this album with a live record, I will go on a hunger strike and camp outside of the San Diego Zoo flinging poo at people. (That one was for you, Rosey... You go to the San Diego Zoo too much... Me and Tim Pyles both agree. I'm also not mad that you didn't invite me to SXSW, but still asked me to write in the blog. Whatever.) I'm gonna go ahead and call it now- when their live record comes out, it better win a SDMA or I'll give them my other one.

This album and band are so good, Seth Combs would probably clap once or twice.

Buy it on itunes now.

*no homes were wrecked during the writing of this blog

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.

Black Keys Vinyl Giveaway

Last week The Black Keys released their record, simply called "Brothers". I'd tell you how great it is except someone with sticky fingers snaked my copy after I'd only given it one solid listen, (I know who it was and he is gonna be sorry), but the Black Keys are awesome, and since my first listen was over the speakers of the Casbah when the bar was empty, I'd say that I'm definitely a fan of this record and will be giving it some heavy rotation, just as soon as I get it back. But my problems are not your problems, and I've got a special giveaway just for sd:dialed in readers.

Of course, there's a spiel, so here it is. Warner Brothers Records, as an umbrella company, has launched an all vinyl online platform called "Because Sound Matters", where you'll be able to find vinyl from artists on Reprise, Sire, Atlantic, Nonesuch, and many other labels. You see that banner at the top of the site? Click it, explore it, love it. They asked me what vinyl my readers would want and I knew Black Keys was the way to go.



Of course, The Black Keys are touring this summer and the Casbah is presenting their September 25th show at Soma. Tickets are available here.

To enter, send me an email (sddialedin at gmail) with the subject "Black Keys" and a photo of your record collection. I don't care if you have one measly 7" that you got as a promo or a million out of print records, or if you dig out your mom's 45s to claim them as your own. Include your name and phone number and one lucky winner will be contacted next week.

Just for the fun of it, here are some of my Black Keys photos from last year's 94/9 Independence Jam- horrific lighting, tragic photography and all. (side note, this year's Indie Jam is gonna kick ass, so tune in to FM 94/9. I don't know when they're gonna reveal the date or bands, but trust me, you're gonna want to get your tickets as soon as they're available)








Finally, if you missed the group on The Late Show with David Letterman last night, you can see the performance here.

Casbah Presents: The Dead Weather 7/19 & The Black Keys 9/25

Today the Casbah announced two huge shows coming to San Diego. First, The Dead Weather will be at the House of Blues on July 19, with tickets going on-sale May 8 via Ticketmaster or the HoB box office. The second show features The Black Keys with guest Nicole Atkins at Soma on September 25, with tickets going on sale Friday, May 7 via Soma's ticketing system, Lunatiks.com.

Both bands are no strangers to San Diego, with The Black Keys last show here at last year's FM 94/9's Indie Jam and The Dead Weather's debut appearance here at 2009's Street Scene.





The Black Keys have a new record, Brothers, dropping on May 18. The Dead Weather's new record drops on May 11, and you can see them perform the entire LP, Sea of Cowards, today via MySpace at 3pm PST.

You can also Tweet-To-Download a free "Hustle and Cuss" MP3. Your tweet automatically enters you to win a VIP package and flyaway to Bonnaroo.

SCMX 2008: Common, The Black Keys, Kinky, Saul Williams, Grand Ole Party & More

I went to some shows last week that I still need to recap, but I had such a blast at the Southern Comfort Music Experience so I wanted to get those pics up first. I thought there was no way this year could compete with last year's festival. I mean, it was headlined by The Flaming Lips, after all, but I truly enjoyed myself, perhaps a little too much. Full post if you 'keep on reading'.



We headed downtown early, arriving just before 4. We decided to park in a garage since Jake had gear in his car and decided that $8 for the whole day wasn't too bad. Right off the bat we ran into Matt and Andrew before going in and making our way to the other entrance so I could retrieve my media passes. By the time we had those secured, we had missed Burning of Rome's set, but their music filled the venue. I noticed right away that there were a lot more people at the show early than there were last year at the same time, so I guess that's a testament to better promotion.

American Cornhole

We wandered around for a bit, got some SoCo and Lemonade, then went to check out Grand Ole Party. Kristin and the kids sounded great as ever and clearly all the performing and touring has made an experience band for large stages and festivals like this one.

After a couple songs, I met up with Jake who was hanging with Halloran in the broadcast area and watched the set from there. I guess it was time to test the waters with the pass and access, so I wandered over to the dressing rooms and made myself a drink. It wasn't until after that I realized they were band specific, so sorry to GOP for scabbing your shit. Of course once I had a drink I was not shy about pilfering and sorry to Chuck and Brandon who kindly put up with me. On the way back to the broadcast platform, a security guard told Jake and I that our passes didn't allow us to be in the broadcast area, but he talked to his boss and would let only Jake and I back there. He was nice about and once we got the warning, I would switch up to a staff pass to get around. At this point we were able to get a pass for Dagart, too, thanks to Sarah for that.



We stayed up in the broadcast area for a while, until Saul Williams took the stage. I had no idea what I was in for, thinking Saul was more about spoken word, but his band started off the set with their crazy outfits and he joined them with an aural blitz. They killed it, big time.










By that time, the VIP area had opened, so I met up with my friends and we hung out there for a while. I don't really understand the drinks policy for the party. You could bring drinks into the VIP but not take them out. This makes sense when there's unlimited booze- you don't want people on the inside taking shit out to their friends, but the VIP wristband only provided 3 free drinks. Making people down their alcohol is not exactly encouraging people to drink responsibly. Oh well, it really ended up not being a big deal.



After a while there, and once Saul was finished, I headed over to the local stage for The Silent Comedy. I really dig the two stage events like this or Independence Jam, because there's really little to do except to watch the bands, and it's great exposure for local music. I had talked with Josh earlier and he was pretty bummed out because the bands rented trailer was stolen. It was empty, but apparently it was not insured. Still, even with such downer news, the band gave no indication that they were anything but happy to be there.



My only other complaint of the day was this stupid obstacle course. These barriers had no purpose whatsoever and made taking pictures at the local stage challenging.
After The Silent Comedy finished, I wandered back to the mainstage and noticed The Ice Cream guy was backstage. Kristin had told me there was a bathroom trailer behind the stage, and man, did it sure beat having to use port-a-potties. Anyway, I shoulda grabbed a popsicle when I had the chance.


Kinky was next up on the mainstage and I should've planned better, because while I was waiting for them to start, I took way too many crowd photos which resulted in me running out of memory for Common.

I loved Kinky's performance, and loved loved loved the bassist. The crowd was going nuts for the band, too. I was about to bail the photo pit but then they busted out an accordion so I stayed up there a little longer. It was nice that the security wasn't enforcing a 3 song photo rule because you could float in and out of the pit at your own leisure.









I ran into my ex and we went to the VIP area to watch the show from the roof of the SoCo bus. I eventually met back up with Dagart and Jake, too, so we kicked it in the VIP area until The Black Keys started. I was kinda glad Shark Attack was doing their thing because it meant there was time to wander around and chill for a bit before photographing the Keys.



The Black Keys sounded amazing and as the sun had set, allowed for some great lighting. It's amazing that a two piece like the Keys or a three piece like Grand Ole Party can still sound so full and not drown in the space of such a huge stage.




I guess the alcohol had well lubricated my senses because I decided to watch the band from onstage for a couple songs. Nobody said anything to me, either, but I didn't wanna push my luck, so I left the area on my own accord.


I watched the remainder of their set from the So Co bus where there was quite the party going on.



Then it was back up front for Common where as I mentioned, I only took a couple pics because I'd run out of memory card space. I guess I'll need to get a backup card before Street Scene rolls around.


Common was awesome and the crowd was huge, but it wasn't quite as momentous as The Flaming Lips, because how can you really compare the acts? The Lips are just made for this kind of thing. Still, Common held his own and was a good way to end the long day.




After the show, we went to SDSC for the first night under new ownership, got some tacos, and then Jake dropped my wasted ass off at home where I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow. I really wish I had some time off from work soon, because the end of summer has been kicking my ass, but alas, looks like I'll have to wait until our major project wraps before I can take a few days off. Sigh. But I guess if you're gonna be tired all the time, it might as well because you're having way too much fun.