Weekend Recap (rewind) (7.11-12.08)

This is more of a diary post than a show review post, so read if you feel inclined, after the jump.

Thursday was not a good day. At all. Don't really wanna go into it, but after working late, I felt no motivation to do anything. So I didn't. By Friday, however, I was good to go. Only problem was that after a brain blip, I realized I was gonna have to stretch the little cash I had to last me through the weekend. This resulted in me being really, really stupid. I knew I was going to the Ken Club, so I had a beer and a shot before I walked. Then I arrived and my friend Todd took care of my first round at the bar. And another. The night seemed to keep going the same way.

Writer started off the night and sounded perfect. Seriously, with Justin on sound and Andy's gorgeous voice and lyrics, and Ely and Jaime hitting every note, the band was phenomenal. I didn't take pictures since I've captured them frequently lately, but don't sleep on this band. They'll be playing with Swim Party at the Whistle Stop this Friday for Swim Party's CD release.

The way my night was going, I didn't see The Howls or Lisa The Lush, and instead spent the rest of the night hanging out with my friends who were at the bar. Thanks to the generosity of friends, I got sufficiently inebriated and walked home at the end of the night.

Saturday was a lazy day, hung out with friends in the day, napped, cleaned, then decided to spend that night at home watching movies and writing.

Sunday I was up early for Claudia's birthday at Kate Sessions park. It was family day there, so there was a bounce house and an inflatable slip and slide (that I decided I was way too big to attempt). There was a band playing reggae- songs that are supposed to be reggae, and then covers of songs converted to reggae. I'm not really a fan of reggae. Still, it was fun and it was a day all about the kids. Claudia will be going home soon, so it was alittle bittersweet, but we tried to keep spirits up and enjoyed a day in the park.

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YouTube: Writer "Try And Stop Me"

I have a ton of video to upload on uber-slow and ever-crashing YouTube. I'll continue to do them one by one when I can.

Here's Writer from the Casbah on 6.30.08

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Swim Party, Henry Clay People, Writer @ Casbah 6.30.08

A couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure of seeing some of my favorite bands all in one place at the same time. Not only were locals Writer and Swim Party playing, but it was a little reunion with a bunch of other bands all at the Casbah to show their support. Not to mention, the ever awesome Henry Clay People from LA. That was such a good night and I had a grin from ear to ear. It was especially cool coming off the weekend that we had the party at my house.

The boys of Writer started off the night and blew our socks off. I'm really looking forward to their next album release. (I've subsequently seen them two more times since this particular show)


It was funny while watching the Henry Clay People that Matt Binder came up to me and pointed out that they deliver their music much like The Hold Steady because I had been thinking the same thing- telling stories through their music with preacher-like conviction- and they've become an out of town band that I always look forward to seeing.





For their final song, a cover of "Rockin in the Free World", Joey handed his guitar to Alex (from Swim Party) and Matt (Hotel St. George) took the mic and it was a full on party.




Finally, Swim Party took the stage and sounded amazing as always. I didn't really take many pictures, instead opting to take in the whole set, though I did record some video.



It was a perfect night, one that I didn't want to end, but it was really just a testament to the amazing things happening in our supposedly sleepy little city. And, as this whole summer has demonstrated, there's a ton of local stuff to continue to look forward to.

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Things To Do In San Diego: Monday, June 30, 2008

I'm working on my full listings for the week, but all you need to know about tonight:

Anti-Monday League at the Casbah featuring three of my favorite bands: Swim Party, The Henry Clay People, and Writer. It's only $6 and it is going to be amazing.

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Wed Recap: This Holiday Life & Writer @ U-31, 2.27.08

Show by show, I'll get my pictures posted. Last Wednesday, I headed down to U-31 to catch Writer, as they were told they'd be on at 9. There was some confusion, however, so they actually played third in the lineup. For me to take pictures, there's a certain comfort I have to feel in a venue, and at that early point in the night, I wasn't feeling it, so I found the Swim Party guys who were hanging out in the back, and we all found a booth and shot the shit during the first two acts, though while hanging outside with Andy, he pointed out that Red Letter Agent sounded a lot like Travis. So for every song, we would name the Travis equivalent, until it was time to load their stuff on stage.

I wanna mention quickly that I was told there were over 100 paid people through the door, which to me, was pretty remarkable for a fairly new venue, and bands that aren't necessarily in the Casbah loop just yet. However, it also should be noted that it would be nice if the DJ matched the bands. To go from a sounds-like Travis band to dancey nightclub stuff was odd, and even more weird was the dude who was playing drums along to the dance music. WTF with that?

At that point I was over my camera shyness, and stepped right up with Alex, Petro and Eric to watch them and take some pictures. I was happy for once to take pictures with a colored background- note to Natalie that I think your photography would be amazing here.





After Writer, it was already kinda late, so I knew I'd missed the Muslims at the Ken Club, so I stayed for the first half of This Holiday Life's set. This was more rocking than I remembered from the Beauty Bar, but that was also the night I left after a couple songs because I'd forgotten my camera battery at home, so maybe this was just the half of the set I missed. I like them, though perhaps I should've picked up a CD because I can't really put my finger on their sound. I should also note that the singer's wife/girlfriend/partner brought their baby to the show, so it was adorable to see this tiny baby with giant air traffic controller ear protection on.



I had been playing phone tag with a friend, so when I got the call that the Ken Club was still going off, I headed back home. There I talked to the Muslims and was told that for the kick off of "Commune", there were over 130 through the door. To me, that was pretty damn good evidence that for the right events, people will come out to play on school nights, so good work to the girls behind Commune and to Erika and Peggy at U-31 for building a really strong and usually ignored weeknight. I'll be back to U-31 on Wednesdays for sure and look forward to seeing where the next Commune is held.

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Writer, The Ringers & This Holiday Life, Beauty Bar, 2-16-08

So I had quite the weekend and have over a hundred pictures to sort through from Saturday, as well as my weekly "things to do" listings to get to, but I'm not really in the mood. I just feel like writing about the rest of the weekend...pics will come later, as well as video of Swim Party from last Monday, The Prayers from Thursday and Cory Branan from Friday.

Saturday night was a Beauty Bar night for me. The bands are starting a little bit later these days, so I had some time to hang out, grab a bite nearby, and post up for This Holiday Life. It was my first time seeing them and I really enjoyed them. They fell in the vein of Agualung for me...beautiful soaring vocals and very piano heavy. I realized that I'd left my camera battery at home, so Abraham and I snuck off mid-set to pick it up. I clocked it and my apartment is 3 minutes from the Beauty Bar.

By the time we got back, we heard there was some mix-up and the Ringers went onstage second instead of Writer. Perhaps it was a weird booking to put the two together, but I know there was a little anxiety that The Ringers super high energy show would somehow overshadow Writer's more melodic and quiet set, but I'm happy to say that not only did both bands play well, but the crowd stuck around for both bands and I think appreciated them both.

The Ringers of course were all over the stage and did their LA brand of rock n roll and they do not disappoint. Again, another dude-heavy fanbase, but it was ok, I strapped my camera around my wrist and did my best to take some pics.












After they were done, I met them outside. Joe, the singer, has a sister named Rosie, so he was really nice to me and we kinda talked about the lineup change, and it just seemed like a fluke- nobody to blame but they had to get back to LA.

Back inside, Writer took the stage and sounded great. I kept joking that after The Ringers, they'd have to keep up the momentum with a few leg kicks, but they did what they do and nobody seemed to mind that they were much more mellow. I freaking love them and really can't say enough about how much I love their CD as well as what great people they all are "in real life."






After the show, Abe and I hit the Ken Club for last call, then hung out until 6 am sitting on my kitchen counter just shooting the shit, before I eventually went to sleep.

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Thursday Recap: SD:Dialed In One Year Anniversary with Swim Party, Writer, and Pocket Utopia

After a late Wednesday and all day at work, I was happy that I was able to get home, get a little overtime work in (gotta love Excel spreadsheets!), and still get a disco nap in before my big show. I grabbed a bite from Ponce's and took it to the bar and a lot of my friends came early to hang out, which I appreciate because for my sister and brother in law to allow Johanna to spend the night with my parents to come out had to be a hard choice. Thursday can be slow at the Ken Club, and even competing against great shows at Cane's, the Beauty Bar, The Casbah, and the Tower, we had a really, really good turnout, though I think that speaks more to the bands than anything.

I've of course talked about Pocket Utopia, Writer and Swim Party extensively here before and they all gave impressive performances, even with a couple sound issues that I really think were only noticeable to the bands, because from where I was they sounded great. It wasn't my intention to snub other bands that I love when I booked the show; instead I wanted to mix it up a little with a couple bands that I don't think get the opportunity to play as much as they should. With the success of the night, I think I'll try to get another show together for next month, so if anyone is interested in getting on the second Thursday of December, please let me know and we'll go from there.

I appreciated Swim Party's attempt to get me on stage for a speech, but really, why do they think I write in the first place?? So thanks to everyone who came to the show, to my friends who faithfully read this blog, and especially to the strangers who read this blog and came out to the show but for one reason or another haven't introduced themselves yet. It has been a great year, probably the best of my life thus far, and it ain't over. I feel like '08 is gonna be even better- and the 2nd anniversary falls on election night so hopefully we'll have double the reasons to celebrate.

I chose to not take too many pics of the night, but here are a few, as well as Lynn's drawings of the evening.

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One Year "Blog-iversary" is Coming Up!

I'm sorry my posting has dwindled. My first two days of work were really good but really busy. So much so that Friday night I was wiped out and fighting a cold, so I stayed in. Makes me wish I hadn't squandered those three months off...maybe I didn't really need all that sleep. And maybe all those nights of watching TV until the sun rose could've been more productive.

Oh well.

But let me say, the job is rad. I actually get to use my brain! And Excel (I am an Excel geek)! And Math! And people in the office actually Smile! And when there are meetings, stuff actually gets done and decisions get made! It is very satisfying at the end of the day, let me tell ya. And I literally have no time...from the time I walk in the door until it's time to go home, I have projects to do so there's no surfing or daydreaming or even emailing, which is a great thing because time zooms right by. I am happy.

Lest you think I'm ignoring my local music, I've been home almost all afternoon loading every single local album that I can find so that I can have a good mix of local stuff on the iPod for the show at the Ken Club on Thursday. If I don't have your CD, sorry. I've got what I've got. And extra special thanks to the bands who do whatever it is they have to do so that iTunes can get the album info without me having to input band names manually. All those demos without track listings are really bumming me out. But I do have a good collection of San Diego music from the past and present. It was fun to dust off the old Macananys album, and stuff from the Rugburns and Rust and Den of Thieves and Blacksmith Union and Three Mile Pilot to mix along with new stuff from Grand Ole Party and The Stereotypes and Emery Byrd and The Silent Comedy and The Drowning Men and Republic of Letters and on and on and on. I've only loaded 31 cds/demos and am not even a quarter through my collection. I have my work cut out for me. I intend to just do a major random shuffle of all this stuff that will play on the bar side the night of the one year anniversary of this blog. Yay.

I know there are some other things going on this Thursday night (The Hold Steady for one), but I would really love to see some of the faces of people that have been reading here and all the people who've commented, e-mailed, showed support for what I'm doing here, and especially those that have bought me drinks over time :) Plus, it's gonna be a great lineup of music, and we won't keep you out too late. And it's free. Did I mention that?



I'll try to post my pics from Wednesday night soon, but I'm cleaning (everyone else's house still all ashy?) and uploading and downloading and all kinds of stuff and my BFF is in town this week from England for the Neuroscience conference so there might be a deviation in my usual routine.

Some things worth noting:

1. It's not too late to send me your band news for next week's CityBeat column. I'll be finalizing the draft tomorrow. Get on it!

2. I am helping to present the Great Northen/Robbers On High Street show at the Casbah on Wednesday. I should have a couple pairs of tickets for the show, and I have an autographed CD and a t-shirt from Robbers on High Street that I'll be giving away next week. Check back for that.

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Save The Date: SD:Dialed In One Year Anniversary

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Sunday Recap: The Henry Clay People, Swim Party, Writer @ Zombie Lounge

After uploading my pictures from Saturday, I suspended myself from taking pictures (and from drinking) when I headed to the Zombie Lounge on Sunday night. This is a move I regret now, but I just couldn't bring myself to take pictures and ruin a whole other crowd's night with my flash. Still, I can't not write about the amazing bill that played at the Zombie.

Unfortunately I missed Mia Valentine. I still have this stupid obsession with the show "Cold Case" and once I started watching, I had to be there to find out that it was the cousin who shot the Elvis wannabe. So I watched and then headed to the bar and for a minute wished I had arrived either 5 minutes earlier or 5 minutes later because I was almost caught in the middle of a hooker fight.

I parked on the northwest corner of 35th and El Cajon, got out of my car and walked to the crosswalk. Me and two hookers on the corner, just as the "walk" sign turned green. We began to cross as three other ladies of the night came our way and suddenly some shit talking went down. "You the bitch fucking my baby's daddy? You fucking my man? You fucking whore!" Then the response, "Nah, Bitch, you got the wrong Ho, I don't know your shit. I ain't fuckin yo man!" There's stupid me just walking across the street as they're about to fight in the middle of the street, just minding my own business but kinda laughing inside about the almost fight happening as I cross 35th relatively early on a Sunday night. It will never cease to amaze me that this kind of shit is happening less than a mile from my neighborhood; less than a mile from the home of Mayor Jerry Sanders and Mr. 91X, Chris Cantore.

I quickly found sanctuary in the Zombie Lounge, as The Henry Clay People were mid set. People had told me about the band but holy shit, they are so good. I was thinking of Dusty Rhodes and the Little River Band in their presentation (though the music is very different)- the way you feel like the band is preaching to you, enlightening you of some secret they've learned with the hand gestures and emphatic expressions but in the meantime you're listening to the music and wondering how these young guys have it all figured out...and why they're playing the Zombie Lounge on a Sunday night?? They closed their set with a song dedicated to everyone who is "broke and poor but continue the rock 'n' roll". Then there was the acknowledgement that being broke and poor is redundant, but rock and roll anyway! And as Joey jumped in the crowd and knocked my shoulder and the crowd rocked along with them, you knew that everyone was right there with them. (This is a pic from their MySpace since I didn't take any.)

After The Henry Clay People, Swim Party took the stage and what else can I say about these guys. If I had a label, Swim Party would be the first band I'd sign. I took some heat because Petro shaved his beard after I posted a pic of him with his gigantic beard here but it was all in good fun. Anyway, the boys did their thing and seriously, if Swim Party hasn't been on your radar then you are sleeping.

The last band of the evening was Writer. They're a San Diego band I'd never heard of but who came highly recommended, and the second the singer, Andy, opened his mouth, I got a little pissed that this band isn't playing every other week in San Diego. In their live performance, there's this natural thing to connect them with The Smiths crossed with Wilco, and I would never take either comparison lightly. Is it too late to book them to open for Rocky Votolato at the Casbah next week? Can we make this happen? They were amazing onstage, and later, offstage, they were so nice, even after two of the three were bitten by a couple dogs running loose on El Cajon Blvd (unless it's edited, see my CityBeat column on Wednesday for more info on that). Anyway, Writer is playing some benefit show at a gallery or boutique or something in November, but I'm working on getting them seen around town sooner than that only because I don't think I can wait that long.

I couldn't be happier that the Zombie Lounge is diversifying and allowing more bands to take their stage. There was a time when you could only see rockabilly or punk bands but the shift definitely works for me.

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