Grand Ole Party At The Ken Club Tonight

For anyone planning on seeing Grand Ole Party, Wild Weekend and Thin Man tonight at the Ken Club, this is a public service announcement, since for many people I'm sure it will be your first time there.



The Ken Club is a cash only bar. Bring cash (or your ATM card for the WAMU across the street).

There will be a cover. I was told it will be $10-$15 so be prepared for that. No free or $5 show tonight. C'mon, it's GRAND OLE PARTY.

This show will sell out. On nights when bands play, you can just hang on the bar side without going into the band room, but on occassion, when they deem a show "sold out", unless you're a regular, they will not let you into the bar at all without a stamp. Get there before 11 and you should be fine.

Be prepared to stay late. Most bands play right up until last call. It's just the way it is. If you have to call it an early night, check out Frantic Romantic and Red Pony Clock at the Whistle Stop instead.

If you're under 21, stay home. Seriously, these guys know what they're doing and just because you think you're cute doesn't mean you're getting in, not even if you're wearing a Kristin-esque headband.

Tip your bartenders. They remember faces and how much you tip. A good tip=good service. If you holler out to them, call them by name, flag them down, or the worst, snap your fingers, they will ignore you until you realize you're being an asshole. Stand at the bar, hold your money in your hand, and when they ask you what you want, don't ask the 6 people behind you what they're having. Order your drink and move along.

Don't ask the doorguy for a cigarette. If anything, you should be offering him one. Clem's across the street is open till 10 and the gas station varies, but it's supposed to be open 24/7, so buy your own fags, dude.

It funny to me as I type this that I even have to say any of this shit, but the Ken Club is my home away from home and if you piss off the bartenders, you're messing with my family. And nobody fucks with my family.

Oh, and for my after party regulars...bring booze. You guys cleaned me out...no vodka, no jack, no beer. If you wanna hang out, you betta bring it.

Wild Weekend Needs A New Bass Player!

Here's a repost for Wild Weekend:

Our bass player had to quit Wild Weekend due to her busy schedule, so we’re looking for a new female or male bass player who is dedicated, reliable and excited about playing music. If you have experience playing bass, similar taste in music (punk, garage, powerpop, 60s pop/rock, etc) and a good sense of humor, then you might be a good match for us. We usually practice on Sunday nights. When we have a show we’ll have an extra practice during the week after 6pm. Of course we’re totally willing to accommodate your schedule if Sundays don’t work for you. We plan on playing in LA frequently (mostly on weekends) and are considering going on mini tours in the future. Please write us back and tell us a little about yourself and we’ll get back to you. myspace.com/wildweekend07 or email Kelly at thekellyaffair (at) aol (dot) com. NO flakes or junkies. THANK YOU!

Saturday Recap: Sessions Fest

I have no recap for Friday night. I was sure I had bought a ticket to Wolf Parade when I apparently hadn't. I would've loved to see the band again, but really, truth be told, I'm not in any rush to catch another show at Cane's, so instead, I stayed home and rested up for what ended up being a big Saturday.

I got to Sessions Fest a little later than I planned after realizing I'd left the house without my phone. Co-dependency at its finest. The crowd slowly gathered at the park and I didn't hesitate to hit the Karl Strauss Stargazer IPA in the beer garden. I came stocked with my two-seater beach chair and a blanket and was happy to set up my post in the beer garden, where I pretty much stayed throughout the entire day.

We couldn't have asked for a nicer day, the cops and security were really cool and supportive of the event, and the music at the festival was also great, but the real highlight for me were the people who showed up. So many people came throughout the day, and though I had nothing to do with the event's preparation, to have so many people say such nice things throughout the day both about the event and about this blog was really nice. I ended up helping on the kegs for some of the afternoon, so thanks to anyone who bought beer and was patient with us as we tried to get the kegs right and allowed my cup to cup pours, it was my pleasure to serve you. The whole day made me really feel part of an amazing and supportive community.

When I take pictures, I usually only upload a few, but just this once, I've uploaded all of them, viewable here.

Most important, I can't stress enough that this event was put on by Sophie. Throughout the day, people asked me questions about the event and people seemed to be under the impression that "the city" had something to do with it. Not so. Sophie got the sponsors (Karl Strauss & SESAC), booked the bands, went through all the city's hoops for permitting (which, incidentally, make it easier to just not do an event because there are A LOT of hoops), hired the security, rented the port-a-potties, paid the insurance, paid the keg deposit, and paid for those cops to be there all day. On top of that, there's the stage, the soundboard, the sound engineers, the lighting, the amps, etc. While I'm sad Sophie has made the decision not to have Sessions Fest again, she really deserves some massive credit for the amazing event, and hopefully the community steps up and takes the reins on similar events in the future. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And to Scott, Josh, and everyone else involved, it was a pleasure.


God, the Emmy Awards are making this post sound like a goddamn acceptance speech. Enough of all that, here are the pictures.


The Corvinas

Free SESAC nuts

Wild Weekend

Nick, Fifty On Their Heels

The Punkboard was represented, too

Red Pony Clock

Al Guerra, 91X Loudspeaker Host

May*Star

Andrew, Swedish Models

Some punk rock poseur (Just kidding. Happy Birthday, Adam!)

MC Flow

Flow's "Incredible" Fans

The Atoms

Fifty on Their Heels

Sadly, when Habitat Sound System and Pizza! (formerly the New Motherfuckers) played, we were busiest in the garden, so I didn't get the chance to take pics of them but they sounded great from behind the taps.

The night ended right around 10 pm and the cops and security were kind to allow us to give out the remainder of the beers and go a little past 10. I stayed a bit but headed off to my next destination- to see The Vision of A Dying World at the Beauty Bar.

Incidentally, I lost my ring. It's silver with tiny little sapphires in it. It was a birthday present from my dad and means more to me sentimentally than it could to anyone else monetarily, so if anyone happened to find it, please let me know.

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.