Rosey's Diary: March 18-25, 2009

My last diary post left off at St. Patrick's Day and all I can say is that waking up the next day wasn't nearly as awful as I expected. So let me catch you up with the week after St. Patty's Day. Click 'keep on reading' for all the Pho King goods.



3.18.09: Gavin Newsom Townhall; Jamuel Saxon, The One AM Radio, Tapedeck Mountain @ Soda Bar

After St. Patrick's day, I had another experience that made me glad to be a Twitter user. The Burger Lounge (@Burger_Lounge), which happens to be across the street, had another special for their Twitter followers, this time free frings. Nothing better than a grass-fed burger with fries and onion rings to soak up the rest of the booze from the night before. Later that afternoon, I made my way to a school in City Heights were Gavin Newsom, the mayor of San Francisco wooed a crowd of mostly progressive supporters. I was going to do a full write up about the talk, but I realize I was so receptive to everything that he said that I didn't consider that perhaps he's just talking like a politician. I was definitely in my "hope and change" ra-ra-ra mode. Instead, here's a link of Dave Rolland's response to the evening. I will mention that there were representatives from The Nation of Islam who have some big issues with Newsom in San Francisco and made for a few tense moments. Mostly though, I liked what Gavin had to say and I'll be watching as he likely will run for Governor in 2010.





After the townhall, I made my way to Soda Bar excited to see Dangerbird Records artist The One AM Radio along with locals Tape Deck Mountain and Jamuel Saxon. I thought it was a strange lineup because the album I have from The One AM Radio is slow and quiet and always reminded me a bit of Elliott Smith, which was confirmed last time I saw him perform at Che Cafe. So Tape Deck Mountain played and sounded great as usual then The One AM Radio came on and were so different than I expected. They were upbeat, happy, and more than anything, no longer a one piece, now a full band. I liked the change and thought the band was great, it just took me a little by surprise. I only snapped a couple photos of the night because of prohibitive lighting, but here's The One AM Radio in their latest incarnation.

Jamuel Saxon finished off the night including a pretty sweet Michael Jackson cover. I also have to say I'm really a fan of the vibe at Soda Bar. I love getting a booth and being able to hang out and watch good bands, drink any of the great beers on draft, and just chill out. It helps it's so close to home for me.

3.19.09: 91X @ The Field, I Love You, Man @ Reading Gaslamp 15, Dinner at The Field, Tiltwheel @ Beauty Bar

I had planned on going to a couple events that were media type schmoozefests but fortunately I was saved when I saw Mat Diablo from 91X tweet that they were at The Field in Downtown giving away movie passes to "I Love You, Man". I don't see movies often, but I heart Paul Rudd in a big way and the movie came highly recommended by Daye, who had been to an early screening of the film a month before it's release. It lived up to my comedic expectations. Before the movie I got the chance to talk to Josh and Mat from 91X who hooked us up with scrip for The Field, so after the movie we returned to get some bar food before moving on to the next destination.

We got to Tiltwheel at the Beauty Bar as they'd just started but everyone there was well, um, lubricated?, and it made for a fun show, including Josh Mosh taking the stage for a song so Davey could smoke and drink his beer. It made me realize it had been a long time since I'd been to show with the fast crowd and it was a really good time. And I certainly never thought it would be at the Beauty Bar. I was especially happy that night because a friend of mine gave me a Blind Lady Alehouse hoodie. Score!

After Tiltwheel, the bulk of the crowd moved on to the Ken Club and it turned out that Miggs was DJ-ing and my old upstairs neighbor was in town. Needless to say they came over for an after party that got pretty ridiculous because Miggs' volume is always at 11. My current upstairs neighbor didn't get much sleep that night and I feel shitty for it, but there's no turning Miggs volume down.

3.20.09: Grand Ole Party, Ale Mania, Dirty Legs @ Soda Bar

Come Friday I was pretty excited to finally see Grand Ole Party as it had been some time since I last saw them play. Peter had asked me to help get the word out about ticketing because it was the biggest show Soda Bar had planned and they didn't want to overwhelm the space. The show sold out within about an hour of going on sale at 6 pm. In retrospect, they probably could've allowed another 50 people in the bar for the show, but we got there early, got a booth, enjoyed the Mission IPA on draft and just enjoyed the show and the fact that people weren't shoved into the bar like sardines. The Dirty Legs was an all chick band that played bratty punk, wearing their influences on their sleeves. Ale Mania appeared to be a new project of some of the guys from The Sess, but to be honest, I stayed in our booth and couldn't really see over the crowd. And even with earplugs, I couldn't really make out the band all that well. Grand Ole Party played late in the night and played entirely new material for the whole set. At this point in the night we sat up on the back of the booth to be able to see Kristin but I knew photos would be a disaster, so I just kicked back. The band left a couple days later to go record in Atlanta, so expect their new album later this year.

3.21.09: Album Release Party for The Long and Short of It, Kill Me Tomorrow, Fing @ Casbah

Saturday was one of those San Diego days with absolutely perfect weather. I had lunch with a my sister, b-i-l and niece at Lefty's and then met up with Todd and some friends for some beers at Blind Lady. Inevitably, a couple beers and a walk home and I took a brief nap before heading down to the Casbah to see Fing, Kill Me Tomorrow, and The Long And Short of It. You can see photos from Natalie or Michael. My camera just couldn't take that lighting. Also, I was kicking it over near the bar because Joe from The Roman Spring came out for the first time since his accident and it was just really good to see my friend getting better. All three bands delivered aggressive and powerful sets. The Long And The Short of It played their entire album from front to back- "if you wanna know the setlist, you can go buy the record." The band is always loud, but it was mixed so well, Ben's vocals were clear and his lyrics particularly powerful. It was a great night to be certain. I love nights when nearly the entire Casbah staff comes out to support one of their own.

3.22-25.09: The next couple days for me were catch-up days. I caught up on e-mail, posting, listings, watching shows I'd missed, seeing movies I'd not seen. I planned on seeing These Arms Are Snakes at Casbah on Tuesday, but I had a birthday dinner at Ponce's with my friends, some cake and ice cream at my house afterward, then made my way to the Ken Club where I got sucked in to karaoke night and never left. No complaints though, my neighborhood friends were there and even though I don't participate in karaoke, I still like being a witness. Abraham and I tried to connect but since it didn't happen Tuesday night, he showed up at my place on Wednesday afternoon with a 6 pack and we caught up before he, Todd and I decided to grab lunch. We tried to hit Minh Ky in City Heights (Menlo & El Cajon, just east of Hoover High), but were surprised to see it was closed on Wednesdays. So we crossed the street and went to Pho King. Let's just say we couldn't stop laughing. "Give me a Pho King menu." "Where is the Pho King waitress." Can I have some Pho King water?" Sometimes it's okay to act like an adolescent. I would love Pho King to sponsor this website. The food kicked ass, too. And that leaves me with Wednesday night, the first night of the Luce Loft. That will be another diary post.

Sunday Recap: The One AM Radio, Lymbyc System, The Race @ Che Cafe

It's not very often that I make the trek to the Che Cafe. Mostly that's because my car is falling apart, but also has to do with preferring 21+ venues and anything with the words "co-op" or collective means I have to smell the b.o. of someone who thinks they're gonna save the world by skipping showers. Sorry to sound crass or judgmental, but I had to move at least three times because I thought I was gonna gag. Still I was happy to be there on this night. I arrived as the first band started. The Race is a three piece from Chicago that play accompanied by prerecorded drum beats and loops coming from an iPod.

I actually liked their sound though I would have preferred a live drummer. The singer has a pretty deep voice, reminiscent of Joy Division or Interpol and they were easy to like.

The second band of the night were Lymbyc System. I got a little nervous while they set up because there were no vocal mics and I tend to avoid all instrumental music. They had me from the very beginning, however, with pretty compositions that weaved and layered with their moog and korg and other keyboard trickery, and lead by the drums and xylophones. There were a couple songs where they were joined onstage with the one am radio, and the added guitar and horns made the songs even richer. Still, being all instrumental, I listened mostly from the Che patio.

There are certain record labels I just trust...Secretly Canadian, Saddle Creek, Barsuk...that have a strong roster of artists that you can trust are gonna be worth your time. Dangerbird Records is one of those labels for me. Dappled Cities, All Smiles, and Silversun Pickups all have great releases and have played great shows here this year. the one a.m. radio is another on that roster. Though I do have to retract my Elliott Smith comparison. While it might come off that way recorded, live was a different story.

Hrishikesh Hirway is the man behind the one am radio. He was backed up by the Lymbyc System and the arrangements were beautiful. He was kind enough to put me on the list and I captured some of the show, though there are definite lighting issues, which seems to be my eternal curse. This is "Lest I Forget" and I also captured "The Echoing Airports" that you can watch here. If you missed the show, I highly recommend adding the CD to your collection.

Daedalus finished the show, but it was more of a mixing/dj thing with a laptop more than a band thing, and in the first song, when I heard New Order, I decided to call it a night. Though not really because I swung by Bluefoot then met up with friends at the Pink Elephant, then Bryan and I wandered Kensington Park trying to see the meteor shower to no avail. Let's just say I was happy that I had no obligations today. Another great night in San Diego.

Tonight: The One AM Radio @ Che Cafe

My Sunday is going to involve some family and friend time in my home town of Chula Vista for the lemon festival, some hanging around the house later, and an amazing show tonight. If you're out and about tonight, I would highly recommend checking out The One AM Radio at the Che Cafe. Signed to Dangerbird Records, The One AM Radio's release 'this too will pass' is one of my favorites of the year, with melancholic beauty reminiscent of Elliott Smith, with layers of strings and harmonies and even some horns thrown in, in my book this is a can't miss show (even if it means missing The Avett Brothers and Langhorne Slim at the Belly Up). Hope to see some of you there.