Har Mar Superstar & The Tighten Ups @ Casbah, 10.6.09

On Tuesday night, part of me didn't want to leave home. The other less rational part, was remembering how much I love seeing Har Mar Superstar and knowing that it wasn't a show I wanted to miss. From past HMS shows, I thought there'd be more people there, but it didn't affect the outcome of the night which was a whole bunch of people dancing and having a great time. Har Mar's new record actually just came out today (10.13.09), and it might be worth checking out if you like party music. I have all of his other records and while they don't come out of the archives frequently, they're a necessary part of my music collection.

I will let the videos and photos speak for themselves:














.



After the show there was an afterparty and these are a few of those photos. Funny that earlier in the night I was grumbling about leaving my house. I'm glad I did.

Nada Surf @ House of Blues 3.18.08

My week so far: Sunday night I went to the Tower Bar where my ears bled to some prog rock band, then Beatless from NY played and I would've liked them a lot more if I had earplugs and if I'd known the show was gonna be crazy loud. They reminded me a lot of Tool, but at the same sound levels if Tool was playing Cox Arena. I had imagined a mellow night of sweet Rafter lullabies. Not so much. Rafter finally played and played fully plugged in, but I was happy to get my Asthmatic Kitty fix for the month.

Monday night I went to the Casbah for Anti-Monday League and was quite surprised how thin the crowd was, at least for the first part of the night. I caught the Tighten-Ups last show before Andy headed out on tour with Enon, then MEX, who never disappoint, specifically when they play my favorite, Whiskeytown's "Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart". There were some people swing dancing and whatnot, which gave the impression of a larger crowd. By the time The Downs Family played, there was a larger crowd and they kicked ass as they do. Dave played a few songs wearing a black ski mask with only eye and mouth cutouts, which is a pretty intimidating look, but the rest of the set he played maskless and played some of my favorite old Downs tunes.

Tuesday was definitely a nap day. I got home from work and slept, only to get a call from Abraham that he couldn't make the show after all, so I called Natalie and we agreed to go together and I called Dagart to give him my spare ticket. We arrived at the House of Blues at 8:30 and Sea Wolf was finishing their set. I later found out that The Little Ones were not on the San Diego bill, so sorry for my incorrect listing. Still, I wish I'd known that the show was half all-ages and I might've made a better effort to get there on time because I really wanted to see Sea Wolf since I was sick the last time they played in SD. boo.

Anyhow, we got our photo passes and entered the venue only to discover there was no photo pit, so we merged into the crowd, meeting up with Chickrawker Lyn and loyal blog reader Jeff.

I was really happy to be there despite my former HoB issues. I, of course, refuse to drink there, and the line to get into the venue is a little lame and probably could benefit from a more efficient ID checking system, but overall, it was a good experience and there was no cavity search, which meant despite the "no camera" policy written on the ticket, loads of people were taking pics. It seemed more relaxed than before so I was content. Additionally, the crowd, at least where we were, seemed to be true fans and there was never any pushing or crowding and everyone seemed happy to be there, singing along to most, if not all of the band's set. I kept a set list, but since Lyn took care of that, I'll just skip that part.



No matter how many bands I see or meet, I'll never get over that little girl swoon I get over a great front man. Matthew was outside when we were getting our passes and I said "Matthew!" and he turned around and was so nice because he was like "Oh, hi!" like we were old friends, and even pulled a "what was your name again?" which was just thoughtful becuase the only time I met him was a few years back when he borrowed my Sharpie at M-Theory.

When they started, my knees definitely weakened and every song was perfect, especially the audience participation moments, with everyone side stepping and clapping in unison and singing along, usually things that I find utterly cheesy at most shows, but felt right at this one. Matthew also has this way of making eye contact that is so disarming...he stares right in your eyes and its a pause longer than comfortable but so completely enticing at the same time. I know it wasn't just me because people were screaming "i love you" and "will you have my babies?" (he responded to the latter, "shouldn't we go on a date first?") and anyone who walked in without a crush walked out with one. He's the kind of singer where couples show up together, then the girl is telling her boyfriend to give her space by the end.



My personal favorites of the set were "80 Windows", "Blizzard of 77", and "I Like What You Say". It was impressive to me, too, that Fruit Fly, a song about flies buzzing around rotted food, could sound so sad. As the room sang the intro, there was that giant "I'm sorry you've got nowhere to go" and I guess it made me realize what a softy I can be. Later, I saw a girl wiping the tears streaming from her face, so I wasn't the only one who was affected by the music.

For the final song, "Blankest Year", Matthew gave this chick a look to come onstage and she was confused, but other people caught it and I went for it. Not gracefully, I might add, and I'm sure I flashed ass cleavage to the whole room, but I got up there and made my way to the side to say hi to Daye and McHank, who had been backstage the whole show, then busted out my camera to try and capture the moment. It was a really incredible night and my only regret is that I missed my chance to buy a shirt.



But alas, the night wasn't over. Natalie and I made a couple stops along the way, and I got my car, then went to the Beauty Bar for the after party. I expected a bigger crowd but was happy there wasn't one. Heather was spinning 80's and some other friends were there and we had a good time. Matthew was in and out, talking on the phone and whatnot, but eventually he hung out, and before we knew it, Heather & Eric, Natalie, Louie (the keyboardist), Matthew and I were dancing. So yes, not only did I dance! at the Beauty Bar! but can say I danced with Mr. Caws. Well, until drunky groupie girl swooped in.



After the show, the band needed a cab, but Dan offered up a ride, so Matthew and Ira went in the cab with their merch girl (and then drunky groupie climbed in the front seat) and Dan and I took Louie and the guitar tech down to their bus that was parked at Petco. When we arrived, the cab was taking off with drunky groupie still in it. Hope her $30 roundtrip cabride was everything she hoped it would be.

Needless to say, I'm pretty exhausted today, but I'll power through because there's still some great stuff happening this week. I'll get to that later...

Overdue Recap: Hotel St. George, Desert Diamonds, The Tighten-Ups, Team Abraham, Casbah, 1-27-08

It feels really lame writing these recaps so long after they happened, but a lot of great nights out deserve to be noted.

On Sunday, January 28, Andrea met me at my house and we caught a ride with Petro and Kris down to the Casbah. We got there a little later than planned and we were afraid we wouldn't get some of the great grub from Beti's, but this time they brought a ton of food and extra stuff for the Casbah staff so it was plenty to go around. We ate, caught up with friends and it there was a great vibe in the air.

I missed the first Team Abraham performance at the Tower Bar in December so I was really looking forward to it. Abraham is one of my best friends and I had no idea how great they would be. They had some sound issues on the first couple songs, namely that Abraham's mic was a little soft, but once it was turned up, it was great and the band quickly found their rhythm for their roots/alt-country sound. I particularly love the accompanying harmonica Abraham played during a few of the songs. We were so impressed, it lead to a lot of "our little Abraham's all growed up" type comments.





It was nice that the show was early, because the crowd was really mixed with a lot of Casbah regulars, but also a lot of family members of all the bands, and it was nice to finally meet Abraham's mom.

The Tighten-Ups were up second and Laura Jane absolutely owns that stage. Her voice is incredible and her backing band is so talented. Andrew Bernhart joined the band for this show and added his skills on guitar and keys, as he does with all his projects. Hopefully they'll get a handful of shows in before Andy heads off on tour with Enon. I especially loved that LJ made me my own set list. I'll add that later when I have my camera handy.





Again, so many friends were there, it was fun just hanging out. The music almost became an afterthought, but it was so stellar it made the night really thoroughly enjoyable.

I was glad to also finally catch Desert Diamonds again, since it had been a while. The singer's got some killer pipes and great stage presence. I made sure I picked up a couple of their free CDs.



Last up was Hotel St. George. All the bands played long full sets, so despite the 8pm start, it was kinda late for a Sunday night, so I think a lot of people left prematurely. Matt's stage swagger always impresses and the band is getting tighter with every performance.


It was a great night of great music and it was representative of all that's good in San Diego.

On a side note, Ken Leighton was there plugging his north county bar on air. I always thought I'd give him an earful if I ever saw him, but to be honest, I really couldn't be bothered, but here's a pic for those of you on the lookout.

Huge Casbah Weekend

I wasn't expecting to hit the Casbah last night, but after overdosing on the Gaslamp I just needed a REAL drink poured by a REAL bartender with REAL alcohol in it. That's the thing about downtown that I hate; it wasn't the d-bag factor that everyone talks about- I mean, everyone has the right to like what they like- but if I'm paying $6, $8 or even $10 for a drink, I expect more than a two count pour. That's not the point of this post, however, and I'll have to get to all my recapping some other time when my computer is functional again and I can piece together all the pictures that go with the posts (The Long and Short of It, Shaky Hands, Lonely H, Rafter, ASR, Iglu & Hartly, A Scribe Amidst the Lions).

Anyway, it appears that I'll be at the Casbah for the next three nights straight.

I already posted about MGMT, who are performing with Yeasayer and Calico Horse (both awesome in their own right). The show is tonight and is a show I've been anticipating for a while.

Saturday night is the CD release party for Gram Rabbit. Time to pull out your bunny ears and your cottontails and get ready for the mayhem that always ensues at their shows. Last time there was wrestling, near nudity, and a crazy as hell after party. I think I'm still recovering from that one...I got an advance of the CD and it's just as awesome as their live shows, so bring some cash to pick up merch when you're at the show.





I would also be remiss if I didn't mention The Frantic Romantic's big CD release show at the Ken Club. If the Casbah lets out early, I'll be heading over for sure. (Their CD is definitely worth picking up, too. Pyles has been playing a lot of it because it's so damn good.


Sunday night is the big FM 94/9 Local Pyle show. It's free, it's early, and has not only some of my favorite local bands, but some of my best friends performing. Hotel St. George, Team Abraham, Desert Diamonds, and the Tighten-Ups.

This weekend is gonna be a doozy, which means please refrain from calling me anytime before noon :)

The Tighten-Ups @ Tower Bar 12/15/07

We arrived at the Tower Bar pretty late. We went to see Tell Mama, a new band that I'd written about it one of my recent CityBeat columns. However, since the show, the band realized there's another band called Tell Mama in San Diego, so to prevent confusion, I'm writing about them with their new name, The Tighten Ups, which I like a whole lot better anyway.

If you know Laura Jane, you know the chick has a huge personality and makes everyone around her have a good time. This comes in handy for her since she performs on Hornblower Cruises and hosts karaoke nights around town. She also performs in a couple shows at Martini's on 4th. At long last, she is fronting a band and playing some classic rock n roll tunes that are guaranteed to get asses shaking.











The show kicked ass and they'll be playing on Jan 27 at the Casbah.

After that portion of the evening, I felt bad that I was in full party mode and Adam had been stuck with DD duties, so when we made it back to Kensington we went to the Ken for last call. After that, a group of my friends came over and we watched Reality Bites and Love Actually while we shivered in my cold ass apartment. The sun was up before we finally called it a night, but no complaints. When it comes down to it, nights like these are what the holidays are all about.