Kite Flying Society Seeks Bassist

Hello Folks -

KFS is seeking a bassist in the SoCal area interested in touring with us across this great nation and recording parts for our sophomore album which we have recently begun working on.

Some prereqs for the new bassist (male or female, we don't care):

1. Someone who understands and really loves the music we're making -- do you have similar influences? Can you add somethin' pretty to this folk pop sound?

2. Someone who can SING. This is a must! We have tons of soaring harmonies, ooohs and aaahs, etc and we want to emulate our recorded sound as much as possible in our live show.

3. If you can play other instruments (keys, tambourine, glockenspiel, guitar, recorder, what have you) it would be a huge plus. Again, there are tons of sounds and parts that need playing on any given song -- we're looking for a bassist that can do lots of other things.

4. Must be willing to travel! We will be embarking on at least 2 large tours in '07 and several smaller, weekend trips up the coast. If you feel that this won't be a problem in any way, and are dedicated to the lifestyle, we'd love to meet you.

These are the main things we are looking for in a new member. If you're interested, please shoot us a myspace msg -- auditions and such will begin in early January in Balboa Park. Also, Orange County and LA peeps are of course welcome if they are willing to travel to bi-weekly-ish practices in beautiful San Diego.

Hope to hear from you,
dustin/kfs

Random things

I'm feeling sick today which should explain my lack of postings. Sorry. I just have some random stuff today:

1. Rob Crow's third solo album will be out soon. You can pre-order it at Insound. Just don't order it quite yet, because I have a coupon code for you in my e-mail inbox at home that I'll post later.

2. It came to my attention that somebody was unhappy about certain postings on this site, like I'm blowing some big secrets or something. First of all, all of the information I get for posts are through MySpace, local rags like CityBeat and The Reader, and a ton of e-mail newsletters from various artists, radio stations, etc. I read through all the stuff and try to post things that specifically interest me in a more concise manner. I am almost never privy to "secret" information and everyone I know now knows that if they tell me something they don't want published, a disclaimer of "don't write this on your blog" works just fine. Secondly, if you're unhappy about something I've posted, I have all my contact information on this site. You can ask me to take something down and I probably will. Just ask me directly. That is all.

3. Troy Johnson and I met because on my old blog, I had referred to him as a tool, and he sent me a self-depracating e-mail that made me adore him. We've been friends ever since. It taught me something about judging someone before you know them, which we all do a lot of the time. People like Troy and the crew at Fox Rox and Tim Pyles and Scott Riggs and Anya Marina and Halloran and CatDirt and dorky bloggers like me ultimately do what they/we do because we love music. No toes need to be stepped on, there's room for everyone, and "the scene" is a whole lot more fun when you check your attitude at the door and try being nice every once in a while. This is as much for my readers as it is a reminder to myself.

4. If you haven't checked out my new food blog, check out the event I posted for tomorrow. A $12 Sake tasting accompanied with a $10 Sushi platter at Wine Vault. Yum. Me and Andrea are going, are you coming with??

That's really all I've got today. Maybe I need some Airborne or Zicam or something to get this brain ticking again...

I'll say goodbye with another Christmas Song link for you! This one comes from my good friend Adam of Rookie Card. Click on the song called "The Sun Always Shines On Christmas."

Apologies

So my bowling plan was a bust. I apparently saw what I wanted to see on their website, and not what was actually written. The bowling alley dudes informed Andrea, Sara and I that there was a private party all night. Bummer. I will not try to organize any future events. Seriously. And if I do, I'll call the damn place first.

Anyway, we decided to stick with gaming fun, so we headed to the one place we love for playing games-you-can-play-while-holding-a-drink: Triple Crown Pub. We mostly played darts and amused ourselves with our jukebox picks- some Ryan Adams and Replacements mixed with some Bowie, Lionel Richie, The Band, and of course we played Free Bird.

That's really all I have to report on at the moment.

Things To Do: Monday/Tuesday

Sorry I didn't list anything before for tonight and tomorrow.

Monday:

Bowling Night! I feel the need to bowl, it's free, and what else are you gonna do? Be at Kearny Mesa Bowl by 8:30. Meet in the bar. There could be 2 of us or 20 of us, I don't know, nor do I care. Try and make it out.

Rafter, Mr Tube and His Flying Objects @ Honey Bee Hive

Gary Shuffler's B-day @ The Casbah as Ziggy Shuffledust with Spiders From Mars.

Lady Dottie and The Diamonds @ The Tower Bar.

Tuesday:

Art Fag Holiday dance party @ Casbah $5, with Delta Spirit, The Prayers, Jeremy Jay with DJ sets by the Skull Kontrol djs.

The Mints @ San Diego Sports Club

Rafter, Bunky, Shapes and Sizes @ Ché Café (early show: 8pm)

Free: Wonder Woman Seminar @ W Hotel, 6-7pm. I think this one is about financial planning for women.

Weekend Recap: Sunday, December 17, 2006 - DeVotchka & Eric Bachmann

Lazy laundry Sunday was a perfect day for football as the Chargers beat the Chiefs. I headed up to the Belly Up when there were 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter, realizing that I might hit stadium traffic if I waited. I listened to the end of the broadcast while I drove to Solana Beach. At the Belly Up, I got my tickets at will call (leaving one for Jason since Joanna Newsom cancelled at the Casbah) and then made sure to buy my tickets (no service charges!) inside for the upcoming Greg Laswell, Rhett Miller, and Cold War Kids shows. Since Eric Bachmann had not started, I ordered a Stella and went to the back patio. When he did finally play, the crowd stayed their usual 8 feet from the stage and I wandered from one side of the stage to the other then toward the front, trying to take pictures as respectfully as I could without using the flash. I’ll try to get those pictures up later.

Eric was onstage with 2 women who played a multitude of instruments: cello, drums, keys, violin, guitar and also lended their beautiful voices as backing vocals. Troy Johnson described the music as “backwoods folk” and I guess that’s as good a description as any. All I know is that I loved the performance and could definitely picture myself listening to the CDs while I work or hang out at home. The funny thing that occurred to me while I was watching them play was that I’ve actually seen Crooked Fingers before, and liked them enough to buy the CD and have it signed, I just have no idea when or where it was that I’d seen them. Somehow it was one of those CDs that you buy when you have so much other new music that you never get around to giving it the attention it deserves. I’m glad this show reminded me to take a listen to the old stuff and look into getting the newer folkie stuff.

Also, I should mention, I am a blogger because I am a fan of live music, but in no way consider myself a journalist or music analyst, which is why you’ll see a beer in my hand before you see a pen and paper. Still, I felt the urgency to write down a lyric that caught my attention and made my heart sink a little remembering lovers past: “I would change for you, but Baby, doesn’t mean I’ll be a better man.” That sentiment probably could’ve saved me a lot of heartbreak through my twenties.

The Belly Up crowd had grown and in typical fashion, everyone rushed the stage as Eric left the stage, posting up for DeVotchka without realizing how fucking rude that is to the opening artist. Jason and Bianca were finally there, and Billy and his friend Katie were there, so we hung out a while and then I kinda hopped around the venue getting different vantage points for listening and taking photos.

The first time I ever heard DeVotchka, I heard one song and didn’t like it at all. I guess there was no context within which to place the sound for me. After a friend at work told me about the amazing show they’d played at the Casbah, I knew that I would have to check them out. I am glad I did. I don’t even know how to describe their set. The singer’s vocals sound classically trained, the girl with the lit up tuba was amazing in her talent but also what other tuba player have you ever seen carry that monstrosity of an instrument while dancing in 3 inch pumps? Tom on violin was amazing and added a beautiful layer to the music while the drummer was just insane. They played a long set of their own version of both fast and slow gypsy music, which really to me sounds like the mariachi music I’d listen to in my grandpa’s house as a kid and the Polish polka music my dad would torture us with on road trips that we eventually grew to love.

I don’t know if DeVotchka is the kind of music I would listen to at home or in my car or while I’m working, and their catalog of CDs at the merch table was intimidating, because really, where do you start? Still, I know that I won’t ever miss them when they roll through San Diego again.

Weekend update: Saturday, December 17, 2006

The day started with lunch at Ponce’s with my sister and Sara. I’ll review that later on the food site (link to the right), so keep your eyes peeled. After walked down to a new day spa in Kensington called I.C.E. that was having a “Holiday Glitz Blitz.” Most of the vendors were packing up due to low attendance, but we scored some giftbags with some girt certificates, makeup samples, hangover juice and a couple other small trinkets. The spa’s rates seem reasonable and the house that the spa uses is a historical building on Vista, about 4 blocks east of Kensington Coffee. If you’re looking for massages, wraps, etc., it seemed like a great place to get those kinds of services.

Much later, after an afternoon slummin’ and couchin’, it was time to motivate and head out. I decided to go to the Alibi because I finally wanted to see Orion Frequency.

Unfortunately, I missed Firethorn. Two Word Name started as I arrived. Their MySpace page describes them as a cross between Incubus and Metallica. While I’ll agree with the Incubus part, I was thinking more MCR or maybe Blue October, with their brooding lyrics that the singer belted out, kinda making me feel like I was watching someone sing in the shower. That’s not an insult at all- I thought he was a good frontman. The drummer was really on it, and I guess the guitar and bass were good, too, though I paid more attention to the bassist’s leather g-string thong with the silver lame pouch for his package. The guitarist was in a red evening gown, which looked strapping with his broken foot bootie. The singer was sporting black from head to toe with red makeup around his eyes and a red teardrop on each cheek. If you’re emo, shouldn’t you just say so and not list your music as rock/thrash/metal? Just wondering.

Next up was a band called bill. I’ve heard this band’s name around town and know that they are really good at promotion. Still, when they started, their version of alternative rock/funk didn’t really do it for me. I don’t know if they are a Christian band, but some of the lyrics struck me as so. Granted, I was at the show alone and it was raining out and I was nursing the same cocktail I’d ordered during Two Word Name, so I wasn’t really feeling the vibe anyway, but bill didn’t do it for me. Even more frustrating is their MySpace page’s white text on seafoam background that you can’t freaking read.

As much as I wanted to see Orion Frequency, I lasted through about 3 songs of bill and decided it was time to go. I headed east down University to the other side of the world to the Tower Bar just in time to catch the Sess. I love these guys and have seen them before, I only wish I’d bought the earplugs I’ve been eyeing on Insound. The Sess are straightforward rock that reminds me in some off way of Uncle Joe’s Big Ol Driver back in the day, but I’m sure better comparisons could be made. I was just happy to be in a familiar place with a familiar band and familiar faces as my Saturday night came to a close.

Weekend update: Friday, December 16, 2006

As I had mentioned in a previous post, on Thursday, at approximately 1 a.m., my dog Pascha went face-to-face with a skunk. After working my half day Friday and shopping for the pre-party goods to consume before the Vinyl Radio show at the Ken Club later that night, I walked into my toxic apartment. Despite all the windows open, the smell was not fading. 6 hours of cleaning including 6 loads of laundry, vacuuming, and 3 baths for the dog made the smell more or less dissipate, though it was still there on my poor dog’s snout.

I tried to distinguish that I wasn’t having a party as in the noun, but we could party at my house, as in the verb. At 9, it was pretty much Sara, Andrea and I doing a few red headed slut shots. Matt and Skip came by and had a beer and we all headed to the bar.

Unfortunately, I have no review of the show, because (a) when Sara goes to the Ken Club we rarely check out the bands and (b) because I went to the bar with $12 and came home with $10 and yet somehow was never without a cocktail in my hand. A bunch of people came over after the bar, too, but I was a mess and don’t remember exactly how the night ended. Sounds bad, I know, but YOU clean your house for 6 hours after 4 hours of sleep and then go out on the town and see how you do.

Things To Do: Dec 15, 16, 17

No show to report on last night as I spent the evening at the CityBeat Holiday Party. (I love you all, CityBeat peeps!) Super D and a couple other bands played at the Sports Club during the party, but the one song I heard while waiting for the bathroom doesn't qualify me to review them. My lovely dog did have a face to face with a skunk in my backyard which was über fun dealing with at 1 in the morning. Beat that for a story.

Friday, December 15, 2006:

• Roses on Their Graves, Vinyl Radio, True Crime Authors, and Blackout Party @ Ken Club. This is the final show for Vinyl Radio with Bobby as their drummer. If you're going to this show, come preparty at my house around 8-ish. Contact me for more info.
• The Sess, Powerchords, Epsilons @ CHOB (Coffee House On Broadway)
• Hialeah, Say No To The Microchip, Grave for the Fireflies @ Zombie Lounge
• Low Red Lane, Birds and Batteries, Bull and Train (formerly John Meeks One)@ Scolari's
• Emery Byrd & Dynamite Walls(acoustic) @ Whistle Stop
• Supernova, Satisfaction, Sin Sin 77, Atoms @ Casbah ($10)
• The Beautiful and Damned & Buddy Akai @ Tentaculo Bar (Tijuana, in Pueblo Amigo)
• Benefit for Mama's Kitchen: Several bands will be playing Christmas songs at the Mission Bay Boat and Ski Club. Please visit this link for all the details on donations, bands, etc. Inigo, Roxy Monoxide, Marie Haddad, and Sven-Erik Seaholm are some of the artists performing. The Boat Club has cheap drinks!
• Big Brown Sound featuring Matt Hensley of Flogging Molly @ Tower Bar (dj sets)
• Jane Lui, Jay Nash, and Manuok @ Lestat's
• New listing: Asspects of Physics, Follower, Gremlin Master @ San Diego Sports Club. According to Andrea, Follower is our friend Kasey of Goblin Cock with Kennseth and Brandon from Sleeping People, Isaiah (from Earthless I think) and some others...it's their first show and they're onstage second.
• New listing: Qu'est-ce Que C'est

Saturday, December 16, 2006

• Fifty on Their Heels, The Sess, Ima Fucking Gymnist @ The Tower $3!!!
• Kill Me Tomorrow, Mr. Tube and his Flying Objects, Sirhan Sirhan, Max Field Pup @ Casbah
• Greg Laswell, Get Back Loretta, Renata Youngblood @ Lestat's $10
• Stranger (CD Release), Agua Dulce, The Devastators, Tribe of Kings Soundsystem @ 4th & B ($10)
• Orion Frequency, bill, Two Word Name, Firethorn @ Alibi
• The Inebriated & Resident Saints @ Zombie Lounge
• The Beautiful and Damned and Buddy Akai @ Beauty Bar
• Sus Hijos with Valdez @ Ken Club
• Down With Leo & Static Halo @ Triple Crown (It is the Triple Crown Holiday Party with drink discounts, free food, and raffled prizes. Party starts at 5)
• Agua Dulce @ Croce's

Sunday, December 17, 2006:

• Devotchka, Eric Bachman @ Belly Up (Grammy nominated Devotchka, that is)
• The Vandals "Winter Formal" with Reeve Oliver, Longmont Potion @ House Of Blues
• Joanna Newsom @ Casbah (sold out)
• Vision of a Dying World, Asleep in the Sea, MC Flow, The Clockwork Army @ Zombie Lounge
• Daphne Loves Derby, Mia & Dia, Ronnie Day, the House of Fools, and Long Live Logos @ Epicentre
• Rapsodie Music Studio Winter Recital (see blog post below)

Non Music (free) events:

• Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs (5:15-ish) - Triple Crown, anyone? Sorry Tony G. Your team is going down.

• Tower Bar BBQ
• Wine Cabana in Old Town: Holiday Sale. Wine $3 per glass and up. Bottles of wine up to 50% off. Free appetizers.
• San Diego Bay Parade of Lights. Fireworks at 5:30, parade after. Route is Shelter Island to Coronado

GnR Canceled

Guns N’ Roses regrets to announce that the following concert tour dates have been cancelled:
January 10th Sacramento
January 11th Bakersfield
January 13th Reno
January 16th San Diego

Due to the schedule of these particular shows valuable time needed by the band and record company for the proper setup and release of the album Chinese Democracy would be lost. Rather than delay the album yet again all involved have decided to remove these shows from GNR’s schedule. We sincerely hope our fans understand and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused anyone. Tickets may be refunded at local point of purchase. read the rest of Axl's announcement here.

Indie Blog Nation Loves Kite Flying Society!

KFS has made another Blog top 10 of 2006 list. I'm still debating whether a list is something I'll do for this little site o' mine, but I'm leaning toward no. But if I did, KFS and Band of Horses would be on my list, too, so I'm trusting the solid choices on this list.

This just in, here's another one!

While I'm on the subject, if you're available this Sunday, Kelly Duley's Rapsodie (or, "Rap City") Piano Studio is putting on it's annual Winter Recital. This year is extra cute and heart-warming as many of her littlest students (4-6 year olds) will be performing for the first time. And, where else can you go to hear kids playing Lucy In The Sky w/ Diamonds?

You are cordially invited.
Date: Sunday, December 17th
Time: 3:30 PM (start time, come earlier for seats)

Place: Schulman Auditorium at the Dove Library in Carlsbad.

Directions: 5 North to La Costa Ave. Go east. Take Left onto El Camino Real. Pass Aviara Prkway. Take Left onto Dove Ave. Library is straight ahead.Reception to follow.

Kelly would like to see lots of people come out for support. Just think, give these kids 10 years and they'll be the next local music scene.

a learning curve

As I've mentioned before, this blog thing is new to me. I have posted online for 3 years, but never for an audience, so my other blog was very plain. Thanks to Catdirt, I now have the capability to post (some)music for you LEGALLY. (Hoorah!)

So just to test this out, here's some Sunset Rubdown for my pretties... (I don't need to tell you that this is the other band that Spencer Krugman of Wolf Parade is a part of, do I?

Download "Stadiums And Shrines II" (mp3)
from "Shut Up I Am Dreaming"
by Sunset Rubdown
Absolutely Kosher

• Buy at iTunes Music Store
• Buy at eMusic
• Stream from RealNetworks / Rhapsody

More Christmas Tunes

These aren't local, but I love this time of year. I can't help it. Here are more artists that Christmas-ish Tunes I've come across on the myspace:

The Long Winters
Ron Sexsmith
Agent Sparks
As Tall As Lions
The Vandals (4 Christmas songs, including "Oi To The World!")

Neighborhood/Cream Grand Opening & CityBeat "Seen" Art Show

Last night was the official opening of Neighborhood Boutique. The party was held among two spaces- Cream (a café, mostly) and the store. I arrived shortly after 8 pm. There was a bouncer at both the store and the café handing out wristbands to keep it legit, since the bar was serving complimentary wine and beer. It was already really crowded. Saul was spinning records while everyone seemed to be running into friends and acquaintances with whom they have lost touch. After a (3 oz) cup of beer and a (3 oz.) pour of Two-Buck Chuck Shiraz, the crowd had swelled beyond my comfort zone. There was actual condensation on the windows that line the front of the café. Imagine taking the Beauty Bar on a Friday and adding all the patrons to a full Casbah crowd and putting them all in the same room. I'll get flak if I say it was scenester night but really, what else can you call it?

Kara and Dennis and I moved outside while Andrea and Matt and Andrew chilled inside. The fashion show had started inside and the bouncers stopped letting people in unless someone came out first. As more friends joined us on the outside, Allison and Kelly and I decided that it just wasn't worth it to stick around. We didn't know when Grand Ole Party would play and we didn't expect the crowd to get any smaller as it got later, so we decided it was a fine time to check out Lancers. It appeared we weren't the only ones with that idea, but it was a good time as we were joined by Zabrina, Dave, Isaac, Amy, Kevin and a couple others.

So really, all this was to tell you I have no review of GOP today, but I've seen them at least half a dozen times and everytime I do I like them more and more and you should definitely catch them around town before they get some mega-record deal and leave us behind.

Get On It!- The Cat Empire

My little ears perked right up this morning when I realized that Indie 103.1 has added The Cat Empire's "Sly" to regular rotation. If you haven't listened yet, what are you waiting for? They are really good. They have 4 albums and have been around a while but we're finally hearing about them. They played with Ozomatli in Oz, and have been nominated for several awards Down Under. So why am I bringing this up to you? Well, because The Cat Empire is coming to the Belly Up for the 94/9 "About the music" series. Here's what Owen had to say about TCE:

...on Saturday, February 3, 2007, we’ve got a great
show scheduled with the band, The Cat Empire. This is an amazing band from
Australia that you might not know about right now, but by the time February rolls around, you’re not going to be able to escape them.

I'm guessing (and hoping) 94/9 might throw it in rotation come January as a 'recommended artist'. I'm just saying, $10 ain't bad for what promises to be a great show. This band really will get you to do some serious ass shaking. Have you ever looked at the cost of travel from Down Under to our hemisphere? Really, $10 is CHEAP. (Doesn't mean I won't take a free pair if any lovely wants to hook me up)

Things To Do: Wed Dec 13- Sun Dec 17 (a couple updates)

Sorry, I have no shows to report on last night. You can read my food blog here if you wanna see where I ended up last night. I will probably have updates to these listings later today, so check back.

On with the week( and where I plan on going in bold):

Wednesday, December 13:

• Cream & Neighborhood Boutique Opening (4496 Park Boulevard, University Heights): Fashion show with DJ sounds by Beatnik starts at 8:30 p.m. San Diego CityBEAT presents: Seen Local, featuring works by Joshua Krause,Pamela Jaeger, Mike Maxwell, Harry the Hat, Neko, Chandu Reading, Kelsey Brookes, Thatkidpeep and Bryan Ray. Grand Ole Party will be performing (Flow cancelled) followed by a lineup of DJs. Complimentary Beer and Wine (and hopefully some snackage)
• Bunky, Carina Round, and Maystar @ The Casbah. Maystar plays @ 9pm.
• The Grams, The Citizen Band, Sara Petite, Christopher Cash & Marie Haddad @ O'Connell's.
• Lady Dottie & The Diamonds @ Henry's Pub
• Under the Influence of Giants and Long Live Logos @ Soma Sidestage

Thursday, December 14, 2006:

• Starcrossed and The Estellas @ The Ken Club (no cover)
• Qui w/David Yow (Jesus Lizard), Sirhan Sirhan, The Long and Short of It @ Casbah
• See this post for Christmas Sweater parties.

Friday, December 15, 2006:

• Roses on Their Graves, Vinyl Radio, True Crime Authors, and Blackout Party @ Ken Club. This is the final show for Vinyl Radio with Bobby as their drummer. If you're going to this show, come preparty at my house around 8-ish. Contact me for more info.
• The Sess, Powerchords, Epsilons @ CHOB (Coffee House On Broadway)
• Hialeah, Say No To The Microchip, Grave for the Fireflies @ Zombie Lounge
• Low Red Lane, Birds and Batteries, Bull and Train (formerly John Meeks One)@ Scolari's
• Emery Byrd (acoustic) @ Whistle Stop
• Supernova, Satisfaction, Sin Sin 77, Atoms @ Casbah ($10)
• The Beautiful and Damned & Buddy Akai @ Tentaculo Bar (Tijuana, in Pueblo Amigo)
• Benefit for Mama's Kitchen: Several bands will be playing Christmas songs at the Mission Bay Boat and Ski Club. Please visit this link for all the details on donations, bands, etc. Inigo, Roxy Monoxide, Marie Haddad, and Sven-Erik Seaholm are some of the artists performing. The Boat Club has cheap drinks!
• Big Brown Sound featuring Matt Hensley of Flogging Molly @ Tower Bar (dj sets)
• Jane Lui, Jay Nash, and Manuok @ Lestat's

Saturday, December 16, 2006

• Fifty on Their Heels, The Sess, Ima Fucking Gimnist @ The Tower $3!!!
• Kill Me Tomorrow, Mr. Tube and his Flying Objects, Sirhan Sirhan, Max Field Pup @ Casbah
• Greg Laswell, Get Back Loretta, Renata Youngblood @ Lestat's $10
• Stranger (CD Release), Agua Dulce, The Devastators, Tribe of Kings Soundsystem @ 4th & B ($10)
• Orion Frequency, bill, Two Word Name, Firethorn @ Alibi
• The Inebriated & Resident Saints @ Zombie Lounge
• The Beautiful and Damned and Buddy Akai @ Beauty Bar
• Sus Hijos @ Ken Club
• Down With Leo & Static Halo @ Triple Crown (It is the Triple Crown Holiday Party with drink discounts, free food, and raffled prizes)
• Agua Dulce @ Croce's

Sunday, December 17, 2006:

• Devotchka, Eric Bachman @ Belly Up (Grammy nominated Devotchka, that is)
• The Vandals "Winter Formal" with Reeve Oliver, Longmont Potion @ House Of Blues
• Joanna Newsom @ Casbah
• Vision of a Dying World, Asleep in the Sea, MC Flow, The Clockwork Army @ Zombie Lounge
• Daphne Loves Derby, Mia & Dia, Ronnie Day, the House of Fools, and Long Live Logos @ Epicentre

Non Music (free) events:

• Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs (5:15-ish) - Triple Crown, anyone? Sorry Tony G. Your team is going down.

• Tower Bar BBQ
• Wine Cabana in Old Town: Holiday Sale. Wine $3 per glass and up. Bottles of wine up to 50% off. Free appetizers.
• San Diego Bay Parade of Lights. Fireworks at 5:30, parade after. Route is Shelter Island to Coronado

MayDay

CatDirt is really excited about the idea of reviving Mayday in San Diego and if anyone is someone to make things happen, it is Catdirt.

Based on his idea that there has to be a top billing act, I just thought I would list out some of my band ideas, since I know he and I would really vary in our ideas for the billing. The last MayDay fest had 35 bands.

Headliners: Pinback & Louis XIV
everyone else I would want (in ABC order):

A Scribe Amidst The Lions
Agua Dulce
B-Side Players
Buddy Akai
Bull and Train
Bunky
Earthless
Emery Byrd
Fifty on Their Heels
Fono
Get Back Loretta
GOP
Greg Laswell
Jezebel
Juan Peso
Kite Flying Society
Lady Dottie and The Diamonds
Loam (reunion!)
Matt Curreri and the Ex Friends
Old Man Hands
Orion Frequency
Plural
Rafter
Republic of Letters
Rookie Card
Silverbird
Sirhan Sirhan
Swandive
Swim Party
The Dragons (reunion!)
The Infants
The Long and Short Of It
The North Atlantic
The Powerchords
The Roman Spring
The Sess
Transfer
UV Tigers
Via Satellite
Vinyl Radio

who I would snub: POD, Switchfoot

god, no way is that list complete.

Neighborhood Opening

MC Flow has cancelled her appearance at the Neighborhood opening tonight, but everything else is to go on as scheduled.

Hi All,
The bad news is I'm too sick to perform tonight.
I have the flu from hell, it won't seem to go away, and I can barely breathe,
let alone rap. So...I won't be at Neighbourhood's Grand Opening -- instead, I'll
be home moping on the couch for yet another night.
Please go anyway and support Christine and
Neighbourhood, the most bomb-ass shop in town! I AMSUPER BUMMED. :-( Hope to be well by Sunday's gig!
Cough,
The Flow

Things To Do: Tuesday, December 12

I'll get to the rest of the week tomorrow, but for now, here's the good shizzle for tonight in San Diego:

Tuesday, December 12:

• Secret Apollo, Merch, and The Mints @ Scolari's
• The Strays & The Slackers @ Casbah
• Me First and the Gimme Gimmes @ House of Blues.
• Karaoke Night @ The Ken Club
• Competitive Eating Contest @ The Tower Bar. Free to enter, winner gets a $30 bar tab. Tonight's contest: Nacho eating.
• Free Shit: Opening of Firefly (a clothing store carrying lounge/yoga gear). 928 Fort Stockton, Mission Hills. There will be free hors d'Ouevres and cocktails from 5-9pm. Unlike other more private openings, no RSVP required and quarter page ads were in both CityBeat and the Reader, so this is a come one, come all opening.
• Update: More Free Shit: Tonight at the W Hotel there is complimentary sake tasting from 6-7pm in Magnet for an event called "Palate". I've been there for a tequila tasting and I was the.only.person.there. Seriously. So don't be shy or think it's some classy joint. It ain't. They really aren't very good at getting the word out about these things.

Just one reminder for tomorrow night, Dec 13:

Neighborhood Boutique grand opening:

To mark the occassion, Christine McLaughlin (neighbourhood's adept youngowner) is putting together a fashion show featuring the boutique'sholiday gear. It's just in time for all those holiday parties you'll beattending in December! The fashion show, complete with live projectionsand beats provided by DJ Beatnick, starts at 8:30 p.m.

And as if all that isn't enough to get you to go out on a Wednesday night,San Diego CityBEAT will be at the opening with their first ever art show. It's called Seen Local, and it will feature new works by Joshua Krause,Pamela Jaeger, Mike Maxwell, Harry the Hat, Neko, Chandu Reading, Kelsey Brookes, Thatkidpeep and Bryan Ray.

If you're still on the fence about attending, here's the real kicker: Grand Ole Party and MC Flow will be performing followed by a lineup of DJs. We've got a beer sponsor and there'll be plenty of wine to go around. See you there!

Pictures!

Here are some Holiday Hootenanny pictures from the beergarden, courtesy of Tim Pyles.



That's Chickrawker on the far left.

And here's me and Andrea with Delta Spirit behind us:


This one is obviously me and Pete Yorn.



You can kinda tell his panties were in a wad. Sorry to have disturbed you, Dude.

Review: Roxy Jones & Sarah Hanson @ Beauty Bar, 12/11/06

Last night was the final Poprocks! at the Beauty Bar. Tim Pyles will be heading to the Casbah come January and doing (mostly) Monday nights there. It was a good run, some nights more busy than some, but always fun. Tim was always good about giving bands a fair shake at playing there, even if they didn't necessarily appeal to him personally, which to me is huge for any promoter.

I almost cheesed out and skipped it altogether, but since I had to get catfood at the store anyway, I decided it was worth getting my ass outta the house for a free show first.

As I arrived, Sara Hanson was already on the stage. Alternating between an acoustic guitar and an electric one and accompanied by a drummer, what stood out most right off the bat was Sara's beatiful voice. I would've kinda liked to hear her do a Mindy Smith cover, just for comparison, because I believe her range would allow her to come close if not hit a match. Her songs were mostly originals and the small crowd that was there was attentive. She also played slowed down chill versions of "Stayin Alive" and "Folsom Prison" that were unique takes on both songs. I think as Sara develops, fronting a full band would serve her better than being the (almost) solo chick with the guitar so as to support her rich voice (maybe some mandolin in there) while avoiding the Jewel stigma left on pretty much any chick with a guitar hailing from San Diego.

Roxy Jones was up next. I reviewed them here a while back. Peter had read that blog and e-mailed me, thanking me for the constructive criticism. I've said I'm not here to slam anybody because I know everyone has their own range of what they like and what they don't, so maybe something that isn't for me might be the music that you relate to the most. That's all I'm sayin. I'm just one person.

That said, I enjoyed Roxy Jones this time around much more than last time. There are still the quiet moments that transition to some screaming, but the vocals felt slightly more controlled this time. Since Darren was the drummer for both performances, they seemed more comfortable onstage and engaged in some funny banter with Rodney (on sound) and Tim Pyles. When they went past 11pm, Peter assured us that he had several more "stellar" songs to play and played a few more. The vocals can still use some tightening up, they feel loose at times and he loses pitch, but it seems to me that if they've improved since the last time I saw them, they can only continue to get better. Most important, they appear to be having a good time onstage never taking themselves too seriously. At one point Peter asked the crowd, "are there people in there?" referring to the people sitting at the bar missing the show, to which he followed up by raising his voice in the mic, "I hope those drinks are good!" in the most sarcastic voice one can imagine.

I introduced myself after the set and Peter gave me a CD which I've not had the chance to sample yet but will when I catch a free second at home. I will definitely miss Poprocks...it was a guaranteed free thing to do on Mondays, and the only night I could count on going to the Beauty Bar for bands without getting tackled on the way to the bar, since the only other nights they really host bands are on Fridays and Saturdays. I expect my visits to the bar will drastically reduce without this night...in direct proportion to the increase in my visits to the Casbah. Such is the scene changing. I believe it can only get better.