Saturday Recap: Cat Dirt Sez Presents Vultures, Wild Weekend, Endless Bummer

I spend Saturday at my sister's house with my niece, sister, brother in law, and my parent's to celebrate my dad's 59th birthday. As I mentioned before, it was a little bittersweet after finding out my brother, who is in the Navy, is going to be sent to Iraq with the Marines (for what reason, I do not know), but we made the best of it, hanging out and ordering a great meal from Phil's BBQ, and spending some good time with Johanna who grows bigger by the day and is noticeably smiling now.

They dropped me at home after dinner and I headed off to the Casbah. Cat Dirt Sez was presenting his first Casbah show so I was there to show support to my fellow blogger. CDW was supposed to be on the turntables, but apparently one of the tables was busted, so she made due by throwing on a record and we just hung out. There weren't a ton of people by the time Endless Bummer came onstage. They were quiet, a four piece with a vocalist on keys, a single drum, and a couple girls lending backup vocals and percussive instruments. There was some kinda spoken stuff, some songs that were simple in narrative, and they're probably better in a place like Habitat House than at the Casbah.





They did have a political song that struck a chord with me after the news of my bro getting shipped off in this pointless war but mostly I was just hoping more people would show up to make this night a success.

In between bands, Nick got on the turntable and made due with what he had, busting out "The Humpty Hump" and other 90's gems. His jacket was perfect for his set.



Wild Weekend played second. They're an all girl Zeros tribute band and they're playing at Sessions Fest next weekend, so it was a good preview of what they'll deliver, and for sure Sessions Fest is going to be a not-to-miss event.





The night ended with the Vultures, and the room filled out a bit more. I took it easy on the photos since they had the lights pretty much dropped all the way save for a couple lights back by the drum kit and two other photographers who had their flashes going throughout the entire set. I just didn't wanna be one of those, ya know?



The Vultures played a solid set and the night ended relatively early, so I said quick goodbyes as soon as they were done and headed back to finish my night at the Ken Club.

Weekend Recap: David's Going Away & Tower Bar

There were plenty of choices to make for a good Saturday night, but I wouldn't have missed David's party for the world. Do you have any idea how sad it is when you realize what a cool person and great friend someone is one week before they move to Spain? David is leaving to teach English in Barcelona, so this was his last hurrah.

I got there a little before 10, and it makes such a huge difference when the host of a party takes the time to introdue their friends to one another. David was that kind of host, and right off the bat, his friend brought some Johnny Walker Blue Label and allowed me to sip on it with them. There was a keg of ballast point and though not too crowded, it was a lot of fun.



As parties go, the crowd picked up throughout the night. Republic of Letters showed up so we hung out catching up.



The DJ played rad music all night and when I spied his iPod I thought we definitely needed to hook up and file share...



Early on, the party was tame, there was plenty of booze to go around and people were just hanging out.







Throughout the house, David had various items he was selling, silent auction style, which was fun. A group had gathered in the kitchen for some old fashioned spin the bottle.



David decided to let people sign his shirt, so here's the first official SD:Dialed In shirt.









The later it got and the more the booze was flowing, the bigger the party got. I think as parties go, at first it's friends of the host. Then friends call friends. But soon, flocks of people just show up, too many of them not knowing the host and unfortunately feeling no respect for the home that has so graciously been opened up to them. Not everyone, but there were definitely some rowdies there, and mobs of people milling around in the middle of Robinson. I decided at that point to leave and head over to the Tower Bar.

I missed Fifty on Their Heels, but made it as The Scare finished up their set.



I didn't really hear enough of their set to make a judgment on their music, but I give credit to anyone brave enough to roll around on this floor.



I hung out with Scott and Sophie and Edgar for a while, then the Vultures started their set and did their thing. I think bands have fun at the Tower because they're never confined to a stage. If the crowd is thin, the band can take up half the floor space and make it feel a little more crowded, and the crowd can become part of the show.







Outside, it was necessary for me to photograph the coolest watch ever.



Anyway, after the show, I headed back to the party and holy. shit. It was packed. Apparently there was some huge bike ride and they declared David's house their after party. That and pretty much every person from every bar in a 5 mile radius showed up at the party after 2. It was packed. I mean, I know it was late and crowded and people were being drunk partiers, but it was especially funny watching some guy, not much older than most of the people at the party, yelling at random people they had to leave the party, that he lived next door, and the noise was too much and the cops were on their way and going to arrest everyone who didn't leave and he knows, because he's a lawyer. He kept saying that. "I'm a fucking lawyer!" The group he was yelling at pretty much laughed in his face. I walked to my car and on my way back, ran into my friend Daniel from high school that I haven't seen in several years.





Obviously, though, the cops would be arriving shortly. They were never let into the house, though I don't really think they tried. They mostly just hung outside dispersing the crowd. I'm not sure if anyone was arrested or ticketed, but one of David's roommates called the party and told everyone to go home.





A lot of people stayed in the house, then after the cops left, it pretty much cleared out. Some of us hung around to help clean up a bit and then headed on our way, too. It was a great party hosted by a great guy and as the sun came up I reflected on yet another great night in my little town.

Tuesday Night Recap: The Muslims, The Vultures, Swedish Models

What a night last night. Not only was last night the perfect representation of the great talent that is coming up in San Diego, but the community that is supporting the music was impressive, too. I was happy to hang out with fellow bloggers Natalie of "It's Too Sunny Out Here" and Mario of "SanDiegoish" (thanks for the beers), Troy Johnson of CityBeat, and even Kyle from SignOnSanDiego's Street was there. I saw the Loud Is Relative guys, too, but didn't have a chance to say hi. And of course, since it was their show, the Skull Kontrol guys were there. This doesn't even cover all the other local musicians that were there for support (Grand Ole Party, The Modlins, Vinyl Radio, etc.) and other people help driving the success of the music scene, like the San Diego House Party Girls and Owen from FM 94/9. And oh yeah, did I mention the three bands that kicked our little rock n' rollin asses? It is a good time to be in San Diego, for sure.

Since there were so many bloggers there, you'll get plenty of accounts of the show last night and tons of pictures were taken (bloggers are the new papparazzi) but here's what I got...

Swedish Models kicked off the evening and I think for only their second show, really impressed the crowd. They hop around the stage a lot...McNally on drums while Dustin's on keys, then Dustin on Guitar while Bern is on keys, then Dustin on drums when McNally is on keys. After their set, there were grumblings about the sound mix but to me, any issues were noticeable to the ear of musicians only and I thought they were great. I did notice the bass was a little louder, but I loved it because Mark is a strong bassist and is the backbone that drives the music.









The Vultures were second onstage and I realized I'd seen them at the Tower bar before. I like their gritty sound and the singer was funny, telling the crowd after the second song, "That was probably the best song of our set, so if you needed to go outside and smoke, you can go ahead now." Self-deprication is sexy. What isn't sexy, however, is worrying that you're going to get spit on. The vocalist was launching spit all over the stage, never aiming at the crowd but after X-Fest, I didn't trust it so I hung back. Kinda gross, but rock n roll ain't always pretty.




The drummer had a broken foot, but it didn't stop him from going all out durin the set.




All in all, The Vultures get a thumbs up from me. And did anyone notice Adrien Grenier sporting a Vultures t-shirt on the last episode of Entourage? You can't really tell in this picture, but go back OnDemand and check it out. Maybe I'll go home and take a picture of my tv.



Anyway, the night closed out with local buzz band The Muslims. The lights in the Casbah have new blue and orange covers and the band was really low lit in just blue, so being the brat I am, I asked Dusty to man the lights and turn them up a notch. He also got the disco lights going when appropriate so I was having fun paying attention to his light coordination. The band rocked as they always do and I have nothing new to contribute to that conversation...and at this point if I hear another "Velvet Underground" comparison, I'm gonna have to hit someone.








After the show, people were allowed to linger in the smoking patio for a bit longer than usual, so I hung with my pals until after one and it was time to really leave. We were the last stragglers out of the bar and it was time to put the seal on another great night in San Diego.

Recap, kinda: The Muslims, The Vultures, Grand Ole Party

The Tower Bar was the place to be last night, as the line of 30 people outside waiting to get in would demonstrate. $3 cover and a bar beyond capacity and still quick and friendly service by John, Dawn, Matt, and Mick behind the bar. I love that place. I will punch the next person who says "Oh, you mean Tower 22?" NO. THE Tower Bar. Get it right. As far as I'm concerned, Tower 22 doesn't even exist on my radar. There was an idiot chick at the W (for the Progressive Radio am 1360 party) who insisted that the W is owned by Will Smith and that Tower 22 is owned by Michael Jordan. People like her= why I don't go to Tower 22.

Anyway, the show was fun. I really felt for the first time in a while like I was out as a fan and not as a blogger. I took a couple pics but felt ridiculous snapping pictures of someone whose nose is a mere 18 inches from my own, so I stopped.

I have seen the Muslims already and the buzz around a band on only their 5th show is crazy. I thought it was the best performance I've seen yet.

The Vultures were on next and not really my thing. I thought the singer was pretty hilarious, yelling out "Can I get a new band?" and being very punk rock by being hilariously rude, but to me there was just not anything unique about their style.

I didn't think I was gonna stay for Grand Ole Party because I've seen them so many times and I kinda felt bad because Kristin said a lot of people outside were her coworkers, but when they started, the sound was so surprisingly good that I couldn't leave. Kirstin's voice was right on and the crowd was singing right along, which Troy noted is pretty cool for a band who've only given out a 3 song demo. Hey major label reps...where were you last night? San Diego was bringing it last night and you were trying to find the next big thing where? Brooklyn?

Anyway, I still haven't had a chance to upload pics because I don't have the USB cable, but they'll come soon enough. I'm off to the Liar's Club to see a.m. vibe. The vocalist is getting some pretty intense surgery so they could be taking a long break. Fuego melt, here I come...

love you all, my pretties...