Showing posts with label the colour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the colour. Show all posts
Monday, February 26, 2007
More Weekend Pics: The Colour
Every time I see The Colour, I like them more and more. I don't know if that is particularly because I like their sound or that their sound has totally grown on me, but in music sometimes, what is the difference? (by the way, the first sunset session was held indoors because it was raining outside, so these were inside the ballroom)
Friday, February 23, 2007
Thursday Night Recap: New Music Showcase & House of Blues Sidestage
I had big ambitions last night to make 4 total stops but only made 2 of the 4. Still, it was a great night and I'm thankful I'd planned ahead and taken today as a vacation day from work.
The afternoon started off by picking up Andrea from Downtown and heading up to the new music showcase which we were told would start at 5:30 sharp. Obviously "sharp" loosely means a half hour late, because the first musician took the stage at 6:05. The "Sunset Sessions" are a music showcase that happen all over the hemisphere, usually in tropical places like the Bahamas. This year, San Diego plays host and for the first time, a station hosts as well. KPRi is unique in the fact that it is one of very few privately owned stations in the county. Bob Hughes is a co-owner and also a PM Drive dj and very involved in the programming of the station. So this showcase is aimed at people like him, responsible for formatting Triple A stations (that's Adult Album Alternative to you) as well as music supervisors of TV shows. Think of the music you hear or used to hear on shows like Dawson's Creek, One Tree Hill, Felicity, and Gray's Anatomy, and you catch the music these people are looking for.
Unfortunately for a zillion good bands I know, the showcase left a lot to be desired. Paige Aufhammer is this young sweet girl with a guitar who sounds pretty much exactly like a cross between Tristan Prettyman and Mindy Smith. She was really cute and was backed by a bassist, a violinist, and a drummer who also contributed back up vocals. Sweet songs about love and hearts and basically you could take any page from my 7th grade journals when I thought I was a poet, and turn it into one of Paige's songs. Perfect for One Tree Hill but nothing that gripped me.
Ten West was the second band. A group from Orange County, I'd listened to their MySpace profile and tried to give them a chance but when the first song started with "Baby" my stomach turned. Not about to spend 8.75 at the bar for a cocktail, Andrea and I split to the nearest liquor store to spike some Sobe drinks. A friend at the showcase joked, "This next song is called Everything's OK, Everything's Great from our new album This Is Totally Awesome!" And that's pretty much Ten West. And might I add that the bassist had a faux hawk and sunglasses on in a hotel ballroom, and the singer and rhythm guitarist were wearing flip flops. On stage. Yay. Can't wait to hear them on the next episode of The Hills. yawn.
Christine Martucci was the third performer. Indigo Girls minus the other girl, she had a guitarist onstage with her and then busted out one of her own, if I've ever heard anyone try harder to sound like Melissa Etheridge my mind is blanking on who it was. Snooze fest.
Last up was the Colour who I have actually gotten into over the course of a couple months. They were a Monarchy Band and opened for Cold War Kids at the Belly Up in January and also played at the Beauty Bar. At their shows they sell their CD for $5 so while they aren't one of my favorite bands, I like them and am ok with that asking price. I actually kinda felt sorry for them on this night, however. All these stiffs who are in positions as tastemakers sitting in a hotel banquet room (where I had my high school Girls League formals, by the way) and this rock band onstage just kinda trying to do their thing with no audience reaction whatsoever. When a meat carving station is getting more attention than the band onstage, to me, that says more about the crowd than the band, at least in this instance. I think when I go to the showcase tonight, crashing of course, I'll bring a resumé and tell these corporate stiffs that they can go order room service in their hotel rooms while I actually pay attention to the performances.
The showcase finally ended around 8:30 and we zipped down to the House of Blues to see my friend AM and Brian Vander Ark of the Verve Pipe perform on the sidestage. He told me doors were at 8 but I knew better. I don't think it was until 9:30 or so that they finally took the stage. There were rows of seats in front of the stage which I'd not seen there before.
AM is really just good music. He should've been in one of the showcases, in fact. But he's already had all his songs on TV shows and now just really needs radio support to get to the next level. I was supposed to be selling merch but this crowd just wasn't ready to spend $20 on a shirt or $15 on a CD. I did get a sheet's worth of people on the mailing list, however, so I at least did that much. While AM played, Brian's wife(?) held their daughter who was tossing her Elmo all over the place... a beautiful little family.
When Brian played, I was kinda sent right back to high school and my Verve Pipe listening days. His voice is so unmistakable and for the limited crowd in attendance, it was a great performance.
I had to miss out on Fifty On Their Heels doing a Pyles Session and also didn't make it to the Beauty Bar, but sometimes I feel a little punk rock and sometimes I just need my singer songwriters. And so it was last night. You will definitely see me tonight at the Ken Club for Fifty on Their Heels, Zerox and the New Motherfuckers, and all I can say is thank god I have my new EarLove Earplugs...
The afternoon started off by picking up Andrea from Downtown and heading up to the new music showcase which we were told would start at 5:30 sharp. Obviously "sharp" loosely means a half hour late, because the first musician took the stage at 6:05. The "Sunset Sessions" are a music showcase that happen all over the hemisphere, usually in tropical places like the Bahamas. This year, San Diego plays host and for the first time, a station hosts as well. KPRi is unique in the fact that it is one of very few privately owned stations in the county. Bob Hughes is a co-owner and also a PM Drive dj and very involved in the programming of the station. So this showcase is aimed at people like him, responsible for formatting Triple A stations (that's Adult Album Alternative to you) as well as music supervisors of TV shows. Think of the music you hear or used to hear on shows like Dawson's Creek, One Tree Hill, Felicity, and Gray's Anatomy, and you catch the music these people are looking for.
Unfortunately for a zillion good bands I know, the showcase left a lot to be desired. Paige Aufhammer is this young sweet girl with a guitar who sounds pretty much exactly like a cross between Tristan Prettyman and Mindy Smith. She was really cute and was backed by a bassist, a violinist, and a drummer who also contributed back up vocals. Sweet songs about love and hearts and basically you could take any page from my 7th grade journals when I thought I was a poet, and turn it into one of Paige's songs. Perfect for One Tree Hill but nothing that gripped me.
Ten West was the second band. A group from Orange County, I'd listened to their MySpace profile and tried to give them a chance but when the first song started with "Baby" my stomach turned. Not about to spend 8.75 at the bar for a cocktail, Andrea and I split to the nearest liquor store to spike some Sobe drinks. A friend at the showcase joked, "This next song is called Everything's OK, Everything's Great from our new album This Is Totally Awesome!" And that's pretty much Ten West. And might I add that the bassist had a faux hawk and sunglasses on in a hotel ballroom, and the singer and rhythm guitarist were wearing flip flops. On stage. Yay. Can't wait to hear them on the next episode of The Hills. yawn.
Christine Martucci was the third performer. Indigo Girls minus the other girl, she had a guitarist onstage with her and then busted out one of her own, if I've ever heard anyone try harder to sound like Melissa Etheridge my mind is blanking on who it was. Snooze fest.
Last up was the Colour who I have actually gotten into over the course of a couple months. They were a Monarchy Band and opened for Cold War Kids at the Belly Up in January and also played at the Beauty Bar. At their shows they sell their CD for $5 so while they aren't one of my favorite bands, I like them and am ok with that asking price. I actually kinda felt sorry for them on this night, however. All these stiffs who are in positions as tastemakers sitting in a hotel banquet room (where I had my high school Girls League formals, by the way) and this rock band onstage just kinda trying to do their thing with no audience reaction whatsoever. When a meat carving station is getting more attention than the band onstage, to me, that says more about the crowd than the band, at least in this instance. I think when I go to the showcase tonight, crashing of course, I'll bring a resumé and tell these corporate stiffs that they can go order room service in their hotel rooms while I actually pay attention to the performances.
The showcase finally ended around 8:30 and we zipped down to the House of Blues to see my friend AM and Brian Vander Ark of the Verve Pipe perform on the sidestage. He told me doors were at 8 but I knew better. I don't think it was until 9:30 or so that they finally took the stage. There were rows of seats in front of the stage which I'd not seen there before.
AM is really just good music. He should've been in one of the showcases, in fact. But he's already had all his songs on TV shows and now just really needs radio support to get to the next level. I was supposed to be selling merch but this crowd just wasn't ready to spend $20 on a shirt or $15 on a CD. I did get a sheet's worth of people on the mailing list, however, so I at least did that much. While AM played, Brian's wife(?) held their daughter who was tossing her Elmo all over the place... a beautiful little family.
When Brian played, I was kinda sent right back to high school and my Verve Pipe listening days. His voice is so unmistakable and for the limited crowd in attendance, it was a great performance.
I had to miss out on Fifty On Their Heels doing a Pyles Session and also didn't make it to the Beauty Bar, but sometimes I feel a little punk rock and sometimes I just need my singer songwriters. And so it was last night. You will definitely see me tonight at the Ken Club for Fifty on Their Heels, Zerox and the New Motherfuckers, and all I can say is thank god I have my new EarLove Earplugs...
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Wednesday Night: Beauty Bar: The New Black
It's nice to see things picking up midweek in San Diego. There were so many good options last night: Kite Flying Society at House of Blues, The Burning of Rome at the Sports Club, and of course, Sparklehorse and Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter. All good, but KFS I'll see next week, SDSC is the last place I wanna be, and the Belly Up show was $17 buckaroos. So naturally I opted for the $6 show at the Beauty Bar with Scissors for Lefty and The Colour's CD release.
Before that, I should mention, I hung out with three friends at the Ken Club until they realized that there was a new episode of Lost starting. Fortunately, Matt called and wanted to go somewhere so we headed to the BB together. I really wish I had responded to the guestlist postings earlier in the week. Lesson learned.
The bar was far less crowded than I expected. Scissors for Lefty was already performing. Immediately I thought they sounded like The Cloud Room who, in turn, are probably compared to New Order and Joy Division. The male singer did some vocal effect that is what I imagine a woman faking pleasure during coitus would sound like, I mean, if i ever faked. (mwahaha.)
It actually sounded cool in the first song, but he kept coming back to it and using it in every song which I thought was overkill. Still, while some of the crowd might have lost interest, most did not, especially the girl who was dancing like she learned her moves from an iPod commercial. At one point, the singer jumped off stage and sang to various girls in the crowd who were digging it for sure. I liked the use of the alternate mic, maybe from a cb radio?
All in all, I thought it was a good set, and if I'd realized the band was from out of town, I might've picked up a CD or two. Again, I have to give props for another band with great merch. Two styles of shirts, both very unique and not like regular merch you see every band around truck around with them.
The Colour came on after a short stage turnover. I thought their show last night was really good and I'm glad I saw them again. Sometimes what happens when I'm out now is that my friends know I'll be blogging about a show, so they tell me how crappy they think a band is or on the opposite token, how good they are. It's cool to hear other peoples opinions but when I start adopting other people's opinions is when I should just stop writing.
That said, the Colour is on Rethink/EMI, but were originally with Monarchy, and their style is very much in the same vein as Delta Spirit and Cold War Kids...Matt thought one of the guys from Delta Spirit was playing with them, but I'm not sure that was him. I say bring it...more bands need to have bells and maracas in their music. In fact, I'll be joining Vinyl Radio* as the official bell and maraca shaker. I might even throw in the requisite cowbell.
So the Colour played a full set and the Red Sparrow Crew apparently opened and the band kept giving them shout outs, and they were selling a mix tape at the merch table. The singer of The Colour looks a little cheesy at times, maybe too pretty, or maybe his cheeks are naturally that defined, but there's something that makes their slower ballads feel a little disingenuous. On the other hand, when they rock, they rock, and it was a nice way to spend a Wednesday night: good friend, good bands, good booze, close to home, and home by midnight.
See you all at the Casbah tonight.
*I forgot to write my disclaimer that I'm not really joining Vinyl Radio. You'll probably see it in CityBeat's Locals Only page next week anyway, but it isn't so. I was joking.
Before that, I should mention, I hung out with three friends at the Ken Club until they realized that there was a new episode of Lost starting. Fortunately, Matt called and wanted to go somewhere so we headed to the BB together. I really wish I had responded to the guestlist postings earlier in the week. Lesson learned.
The bar was far less crowded than I expected. Scissors for Lefty was already performing. Immediately I thought they sounded like The Cloud Room who, in turn, are probably compared to New Order and Joy Division. The male singer did some vocal effect that is what I imagine a woman faking pleasure during coitus would sound like, I mean, if i ever faked. (mwahaha.)
It actually sounded cool in the first song, but he kept coming back to it and using it in every song which I thought was overkill. Still, while some of the crowd might have lost interest, most did not, especially the girl who was dancing like she learned her moves from an iPod commercial. At one point, the singer jumped off stage and sang to various girls in the crowd who were digging it for sure. I liked the use of the alternate mic, maybe from a cb radio?
All in all, I thought it was a good set, and if I'd realized the band was from out of town, I might've picked up a CD or two. Again, I have to give props for another band with great merch. Two styles of shirts, both very unique and not like regular merch you see every band around truck around with them.
The Colour came on after a short stage turnover. I thought their show last night was really good and I'm glad I saw them again. Sometimes what happens when I'm out now is that my friends know I'll be blogging about a show, so they tell me how crappy they think a band is or on the opposite token, how good they are. It's cool to hear other peoples opinions but when I start adopting other people's opinions is when I should just stop writing.
That said, the Colour is on Rethink/EMI, but were originally with Monarchy, and their style is very much in the same vein as Delta Spirit and Cold War Kids...Matt thought one of the guys from Delta Spirit was playing with them, but I'm not sure that was him. I say bring it...more bands need to have bells and maracas in their music. In fact, I'll be joining Vinyl Radio* as the official bell and maraca shaker. I might even throw in the requisite cowbell.
So the Colour played a full set and the Red Sparrow Crew apparently opened and the band kept giving them shout outs, and they were selling a mix tape at the merch table. The singer of The Colour looks a little cheesy at times, maybe too pretty, or maybe his cheeks are naturally that defined, but there's something that makes their slower ballads feel a little disingenuous. On the other hand, when they rock, they rock, and it was a nice way to spend a Wednesday night: good friend, good bands, good booze, close to home, and home by midnight.
See you all at the Casbah tonight.
*I forgot to write my disclaimer that I'm not really joining Vinyl Radio. You'll probably see it in CityBeat's Locals Only page next week anyway, but it isn't so. I was joking.
Monday, January 29, 2007
The Colour: New album & CD Release
The Colour are set to play a CD Release party at the Beauty Bar San Diego next Wednesday night, February 7, 2007. The actual disc hits the shelves on the 6th, but you can stream the entire album on the e-card here. Love them or hate them, they are being promoted right along with pals Cold War Kids and Delta Spirit and they have already getting lots of airplay on Indie 103.1.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Piers Faccini & The Colour: Set-lists
Sorry, these are a little late but I thought I'd post them anyway.
This one is from the Colour, written on the back of a 94/9 drawing registration slip:
This one is Piers Faccini's. This dude standing next to me in the front saw that I wanted it and grabbed it for me after Pier's set down his guitar and said "Thank you" to the crowd, only to come back with another guitar for one more song. He had to check a set list on the side of the stage. Cringe. I felt like an asshole.
This one is from the Colour, written on the back of a 94/9 drawing registration slip:
This one is Piers Faccini's. This dude standing next to me in the front saw that I wanted it and grabbed it for me after Pier's set down his guitar and said "Thank you" to the crowd, only to come back with another guitar for one more song. He had to check a set list on the side of the stage. Cringe. I felt like an asshole.
Cold War Kids, Piers Faccini, The Colour
I had an awesome night last night. I started my evening by filing my taxes which made about 700 pounds come off my shoulders. I heated up some leftovers and headed up to Solana Beach.
My first stop was Surf n Saddle. I'm not a fan of North County (I was raised south of the 54, before the 54 existed), but I LOVE Surf N Saddle. Crystal is the bartender there and she hooks up a fat pour, is queen of mojitos, and is just genuinely cool (like saying she's met me a "million" times when I've only been there thrice). I got myself well lubed and headed to the Belly Up in time to catch the last song of The Colour, a bluesy rock band from LA. I know they will be here again, so I wasn't crushed about missing them. I believe Gabe Vega had them play a night at the Beauty Bar before, so I'll catch them on the next go-round. I got their setlist but left it at home, so here are some pics for now:
The second act was Piers Faccini. When Andrea and I discussed the show and meeting up, she said she didn't care about the openers but that I would like Piers Faccini. In listening to his MySpace songs, I was under the impression that he would rock about as much as Jose Gonzalez, but I was mistaken. Yeah, he's probably more of a solo performer than anything, but his closing Hallelujah's hit an almost yodel and I thought his voice was amazing. It helps that he was hot. That always helps. Some awesome guy up front with me grabbed me Piers' setlist, too, but that's at home with the one from the Colour, so more pics for you...
That is the end of my decent photography (thanks to Sara for letting me borrow the camera). Here are a couple reject-o-pics, when the vodka kicked in and those damn Cold War Kids wouldn't stand still for one second.
Believe me, those are the best of the worst. CWK didn't have a set list or I would've been all over it.
My first stop was Surf n Saddle. I'm not a fan of North County (I was raised south of the 54, before the 54 existed), but I LOVE Surf N Saddle. Crystal is the bartender there and she hooks up a fat pour, is queen of mojitos, and is just genuinely cool (like saying she's met me a "million" times when I've only been there thrice). I got myself well lubed and headed to the Belly Up in time to catch the last song of The Colour, a bluesy rock band from LA. I know they will be here again, so I wasn't crushed about missing them. I believe Gabe Vega had them play a night at the Beauty Bar before, so I'll catch them on the next go-round. I got their setlist but left it at home, so here are some pics for now:
The second act was Piers Faccini. When Andrea and I discussed the show and meeting up, she said she didn't care about the openers but that I would like Piers Faccini. In listening to his MySpace songs, I was under the impression that he would rock about as much as Jose Gonzalez, but I was mistaken. Yeah, he's probably more of a solo performer than anything, but his closing Hallelujah's hit an almost yodel and I thought his voice was amazing. It helps that he was hot. That always helps. Some awesome guy up front with me grabbed me Piers' setlist, too, but that's at home with the one from the Colour, so more pics for you...
Finally it was time for Cold War Kids. As I've mentioned, this was my fourth time seeing them, so I didn't feel the need to elbow anyone in the face to get to the front.
That is the end of my decent photography (thanks to Sara for letting me borrow the camera). Here are a couple reject-o-pics, when the vodka kicked in and those damn Cold War Kids wouldn't stand still for one second.
Believe me, those are the best of the worst. CWK didn't have a set list or I would've been all over it.
Just double checking, but I've mentioned I'm a dork, right? OK, then, I may proceed. After the show, people were trying to snag the silkscreened posters that the Cold War Kids were selling for $15. There was a dude at the merch table, but he wasn't paying attention and was only selling the shit from the Colour or something. So being the dork/champ/socially just person that I am, I jumped behind the merch table and started selling the posters. I think I sold 4 or 5 of them. The dude took all the cash and it turned out it was the CWK drummer, so I'm not sure why he wasn't paying more attention, but he hooked me up with a poster and The Colour's CD for my efforts. Seriously people, if you need merch sold, I am your girl. Ask Angelina from Persephone's Bees, whose merch I sold when I was supposed to be registering voters...And Cold War Kids...make some t-shirts! Holy shit. You are missing out on some SERIOUS cash flow. At least 30 people asked for shirts last night within a matter of 10 minutes. C'mon people, get it together!
Awesome show- not bad for a Monday, I must say...
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