Weekend Fun Recap

I'm just gonna bundle the last few days into one post since it's past my bedtime and I didn't go quite as camera crazy as I sometimes do.

My Thursday started with some old friends at happy hour at Acapulco's in Old Town where we ate, drank, and caught up with each other's lives since we haven't all been together at the same time and place since we worked together 5 years ago. Imagine one of those Sex and The City moments with the four girls in their regular diner and you've got some idea how it went. We even got silly laughing about the phallic tequila bottles.



From Happy Hour, I stopped home to check on my dog, then headed out to Bar Pink Elephant to see Douglas Lee, but I only caught the end of his set. I'm glad he got a few gigs in while he was in town because I think people were blown away by his craft.



After that, I decided to take my laptop to the Ken Club and hang out with my neighborhood friends until it was sleepy time. It was a good night.

Friday, I got back into my Friday night napping and somehow slept much longer than I'd planned. By the time I got ready and had some dinner, stopped for gas, and made it to the Casbah, it was almost midnight. Fortunately, Greg Laswell played a very long set and I was happy he saved some of the 'hits' for later in the set which I thoroughly enjoyed. Unfortunately for me, the Casbah was sold out and packed to the gills, so I didn't attempt any photos, but I got to see Greg a little in the back bar when his set was done.

From the Casbah, Abraham and I went to Saul's birthday at U-31. I actually liked the place a lot, and the DJs(Kid Lightning and others) played a great mix of new stuff, dance club stuff, some oldies, and some 80s and 90s stuff. Gabe told me the bar would be working on building a stage this weekend so I know I'll be going back for shows. The space is huge and allows for a spacious dancefloor and the drinks prices are reasonable. The room felt like a dance club...hot and moist and sweaty, but it made a kinda cool effect with the couple of pics I took.



After U-31, Abraham and I went to Saul's house. His brother told us there would be an after party and told us how to let ourselves in. There wasn't, in fact, an after party, but it was nice having a beer on the stairs looking at the palm trees against the dark night sky, until we called it a night.

Saturday was a lazy day of internetting and laundry and taking down my tree, organizing my shed, and finally getting rid of the TV that was taking up so much space, all the while watching football. By nightfall, I snoozed a bit then headed to the Casbah for Black Heart Procession. I missed Calico Horse, and the bar filled up a ton, so I spent most of the time with friends in the back bar, catching a bit of Fantastic Magic, but mostly catching up with people I hadn't seen in a while.





I had originally planned to just stay local and go to the Ken Club, and when I got a text from Matt, I couldn't not go..."Ken Club without Rosey is like smokes without a lighter." Black Heart sounded amazing, but I had to get back to the hood. Fortunately I made it in time to catch most of Hotel St George's set, and get some good drinks in before we were ushered out of the bar at the end of the night.



By that point, more friends from the Casbah had arrived at the Ken, so we had another little after party at my house. A great night indeed.

Of course, getting up early enough for the Chargers game was challenging, but my parents called and picked me up at halftime and we watched the game at my sister's house. Or, really, they watched the game, I watched pieces of it while I played with my niece. We spent most of the day there, and when I came home, I lost any motivation to go out or to do my things to do listings, so I guess I'll get to them tomorrow. Hope everyone else had a fun weekend and I hope everyone turns out for The Roman Spring at Monday's Anti-Monday League at the Casbah. Till then, sleep tight...

ASR is coming back

ASR is coming back to San Diego the weekend of January 24-26, so certainly there will be plenty of hosted parties and shows. I'll be attending the Action Sports Retailers show for the first time in close to a decade so I hope to have plenty to post here when the time comes. In the meantime, there is an online preview of some of the retailers and features of this year's spring show. You can check it out here.(Be sure to look at pages 14 & 15 for a feature on some local skate shops.) Anyone interested in posting information about public ASR related events can e-mail me using my address in the About Me section.

YouTubin

Posting this just for the hell of it.

Comanche Moon Blows!

This show is bloody painful to watch. Oooh...you used the "n" word in the first 10 minutes, you have every cliche...the brothel, the natives speaking in third person, the cowboy who only thinks about killing Indians and the one who only thinks about love. With such an all star cast, this show shouldn't suck. But it does. Horribly. Is there anything else to watch tonight??

The Punk Board is on their game

Bearpaw wrote that two bars on 30th have recently been sold. I've checked with a couple sources and while nobody could verify dates, it appears that Bearpaw is correct. Scolari's is in the process of selling to the owners of PB Bar and Grill and Shooterz is selling to Bar Dynamite. Or vice versa. I don't remember because I was half asleep while on the phone.

Anyway, I'll save any commentary until I know more about the situation at both, but so far, I don't have any problem with the recent growth in North Park and while it's true that you might get a certain amount of PB bros and downtown hos, I really don't think there's going to be some mass exodus from those scenes trying to take over the North Park area that we know and love. AC Lounge didn't ruin the between heights area like people predicted it would, the Pink Elephant proved that you can have a cool spot, with cool ambience and good people and still have cheap drinks, and my experience at U-31 showed that while I'll never be a dance club girl, there are a lot of people who just want to shake their asses without pretense. U-31 is gonna build a stage so they can host bands a couple nights a week ($4 wells ain't too bad), and if Scolari's gets a facelift or a total change, well, I still always prefer the Ken Club anyway, so maybe bands who would play Scolari's will make the shift over.

The same thread mentions the Chee Chee making some changes, but I've been sworn to secrecy on that one. Others mentioned the Zombie's lease running out though I haven't looked into that rumor as yet. And the suggestion that there's always Chaser's? Well, until I'm convinced I would be safe there, I won't be going back anytime soon (which is the reason their listings are never included in my Things To Do lists.)

Anyway, lots of changes a' comin' in the San Diego bar scene, it appears. For now, I'm ok with that.


(Bar Dynamite bought Scolari's)

An update from BearPaw:

:Donny, Tbone, Toni, Chandra and Amee will have jobs if they want. In two months, the bar is closing for renovations for 3-6 weeks. The new owners want to keep the bar the same ... same bartenders, same drinks, same bands, same crowd, ...

Hot!!! The Silent Comedy Video For "Bones"

I am continually amazed by The Silent Comedy...like that giddy feeling that I can't believe they're local and we can see them frequently because one day they'll be touring so much and hitting huge venues that we won't get that intimate Beauty Bar experience. Still, until that time comes, we've got them.

And now, they have a new music video for their song "Bones".

Things To Do In San Diego: January 12-13, 2008

Saturday, January 12, 2007:

• The Black Heart Procession, Manuok, Calico Horse, Fantastic Magic (Atari Lounge) @ Casbah
• Hotel St. George, Fing, A Scribe Amidst The Lions,The Mojave @ Ken Club
• Midnight Movie: This Is Spinal Tap, live performance by Under The Influence of Us @ Ken Cinema
• Warehouse Party @ Gage's Warehouse (2191 Main St., Corner of Sampson, Logan Heights, 92113) 10 pm, Free.
• The Bloody Hollies, Get Back Loretta, Fono & Demasiado @ Cane's
• Hostile Combover, Operator X @ Tower Bar
• The Wrong Trousers, The Smart Brothers @ Mueller College, Uni Heights
• Remember To Forget (feat. members of Pocket Utopia & Zindu) @ Triple Crown
• Roxy Monoxide @ Humphrey's Backstage Lounge 6-8pm
• Buddy Akai @ Airport (free with RSVP to vip@discoversd.com)
• Operation Human Shield, Dead City Outbreak, Misc. Ailments Foundation @ Alibi
• Agua Dulce @ Winston's
• The Grass Gypsys, The Compass Rose @ Handlery Hotel (Hotel Circle, Free, 8-11p)
• Mommy's Little Monster, Bitchfits, Noisegod, Cabron @ Brick By Brick
• NIVES, Meho Plaza, Oso, The Beatles @ Scolari's
• Brett Bixby, Jackson Price, Chris Velan, Slater Sisters @ Lestat's
• It Prevails, For The Fallen Dreams, Recon, Every Bridge Burned, American Me, The Aurora Complex (reunion show) @ Soma
• Dead on the DanceFloor, Connelly, The Dajjal Persona, Endure the Fall @ Epicentre
• Modern Day Moonshine (CD Release) @ House of Blues (Salvation Alley)
• The Wastrels, Fourth Year Freshman, Battle Flask, The Bleeding Irish @ Zombie Lounge
• Chris Hillman, Herb Pederson, Amy Loftus @ Anthology
• A NIGHT OF STEVIE WONDER MUSIC played through the sonic filter of jazz musicians Peter Sprague guitar, Leonard Patton & Rebbeca Jade vocals, Geoffrey Keezer piano, Gunnar Biggs bass, David Anderson drums, & Tripp Sprague harmonica/woodwinds @ Dizzy's (San Diego Wine & Culinary Center)

Sunday, January 13, 2007:

• Tiltwheel, China Loca, Rich White Males, White Wizzard, Wick @ Zombie Lounge
• Eddie Spaghetti(Supersuckers), Jordan Shapiro @ Casbah
• New Acoustic Generation w/ Michael Tiernan featuring Veronica May, Trevor Davis and Allied Gardens @ Belly Up
• Swami Record Swap @ Bar Pink Elephant
• Jamie Michaels, Formerly Bros., Miles Joseph @ Lestat's
• Jose Sinatra's OB-o-ke@ Winston's
• Open Mic @ O'Connell's
• Charlie Romo (CD Release) @ Anthology

Random Notes: The Liars Club, The Night Marchers, Sue Palmer, The Kings of Rhythm and more...

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Things To Do In San Diego: January 11, 2008

Friday, January 11, 2007:

• Greg Laswell, Emery Byrd @ Casbah
• Birds & Batteries, Swim Party @ Surf n Saddle
• Dynamite Walls, Futurists @ Beauty Bar
• The Verso, Gladstone Bags, A Beautiful Noise,The Predicates @ Ken Club
• Pussy Galore 'Stripped' (Mollytron's Birthday) feat. The Gift/Curse, Anna Troy Band @ Whistle Stop
• Benefit for Riki Watkins feat Merkaba Bandits, Boothill Gang @ Hensley's Flying Elephant
• Saul's Birthday @ U-31
• Common Sense, Iglu & Harly @ Belly Up
• Club Fashion Whore @ The Brass Rail (Theme: Summer of Love)
• The Strikers, Flexx Bronco, The Spares @ Zombie Lounge
• Annie Rettic, Kurt Vatland, Guitar Jones, JAC, Justice Finger @ Mission Bay Boat & Ski Club
• Batman vs Predator, The Vulgar Herd, Full Frontal Assault @ Scolari's
• Miggs, Thomas Ian Nichols @ Lestat's
• Shoot the Pilot and guests @ Brick By Brick
• So Long Davey, The Material, Arm The Angels, Children Of Nova, The Cathedrals @ Soma
• Career Soldiers, Evacuate, Sayaka, All Out Attak @ Che Cafe
• Xavier Rudd, Mishka @ House of Blues
• Monday's Alibi, Lost Ocean, Chase Pagan, Witt, Five More Days @ Epicentre
• Psydecar, Israel Maldonado @ Winston's
• Audible Mainframe @ 710 Beach Club
• Yelp Party feat. Honey Honey @ Cane's
• Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers @ Anthology
• Soul jazz with the ever funky Brett Sanders providing the beat & featuring his compositions & his quintet - Doug Walker bass, Joshua White piano, Tom Catanzaro tenor saxopnone, & Jason Hunter trumpet @ Dizzy's (San Diego Wine & Culinary Center)

Juanes is Coming To San Diego

You probably had no idea that I'm a HUGE fan of rock en espanol, huh? Pretty much all I listened to in college was Shakira's Pies Descalzos along with some Nek, who sings in Spanish and Italian, thrown in. That was actually when I liked Nelly Furtado and her English/Spanish/Portuguese music, but then she just turned into another pop ho. Anyway, I LOOOOOVE Juanes; was one of the lucky ones who saw him at 4th & B on his Bud Light tour- then we attempted to see him at the Del Mar Fair but there were so many people cramming into the grandstand we were sure the building was going to collapse. Anyway, got this little e-mail I thought I'd share.


JUANES
La Vida World Tour
Saturday, May 3
San Diego Sports Arena
On sale Friday, January 18 at 10am

Anybody out there gonna hook up tickets, maybe a photo pass, maybe a makeout sess with Mr. Hotness himself? Please let me know.


Juanes
Fotographia

Things To Do In San Diego: January 10, 2007

Thursday, January 10, 2007:

• Douglas Lee @ Bar Pink Elephant (He's the one who played at the Ken last Saturday and blew everyone away; check him out here)
• KPRi Live Tracks CD Release Party feat War Stories, Jeff Berkeley and the Citizen Band, The Candice Graham Project @ Valley View Casino Events Center (Free Show, Doors at 7, Show at 7:30)
• Hello Operator, Red Feathers @ Beauty Bar
• The Midwinters, The Ex-Friends, Mayweather @ Belly Up
• The Dwarves, Cell Block 5 @ Casbah
• Solid Gold Oldies with Skull Kontrol @ Tower Bar
• Evan Bethany, Liela Lopez, Delancey @ Lestat's
• Skid Row, Pretty Boy Floyd, LA Guns @ House of Blues
• Society!, Sweet Tooth@ Winston's
• Canobliss, Twelve Twenty, Mniyic, Tainted Society & Discord @ Cane's
• Full Frontal Assault, Black Ambulance, Despite the Wolves @ Zombie Lounge
• Dizzy's "12 X 12" annual PIANO SUMMIT, featuring 12 of the region's premier pianists each performing solo for 12 minutes - including Mikan Zlatkovich, Sue Palmer, Danny Green, Rick Helzer, John Opferkuch, Richard Thompson, Bryan Verhoye, Irving Flores, Lynn Willard, Ramón Araiza, Joshua White, & Daniel Jackson @ Dizzy's (San Diego Wine & Culinary Center)

The Morning Benders & SayVinyl, Beauty Bar, 1/9/08

My plans changed a little today, and instead of a pre-show nap after work, I hung out at Bully's with a client and my coworkers. By the time I got home, it was time to head back out but I knew I couldn't do it without at least a lite nap, so when I got up and headed out, SayVinyl was already mid-set at the Beauty Bar.

They sounded great, but it was pretty cold on the patio, so I listened from inside while chatting with Erika and Gabe. For anyone wondering about the future of the Beauty Bar, Gabe still has some shows coming up at the Beauty Bar, and will also be booking shows at U-31. The Beauty Bar hired a new manager who starts on Tuesday. I got her name, but for the sake of those lurkers who take shit I write here then publish it like it was information they gathered, I'll keep it to myself. I'm a little tired of the methods of some of the writers in this town who don't go out, then write about shit and don't source information when all they do is lurk the blogs and punkboard. I bust my ass to go out, to get information, and aside from my column, I do it all without pay. It grates me especially because it is their job to be reporters and writers. Do the freaking work.

Anyway, enough of the rant. SayVinyl sounded rad, at some points even making me think of Postal Service, but mostly reminding me how many times I've listened to their 3 song EP in the short time I've had it. I need more! I didn't take pics, but I think Natalie might have, so check It's Too Sunny for pics. In fact, when she's around, I get pretty lazy about taking pics, because I know they are so amateur, but here are some of The Morning Benders.







Matt Binder's doppleganger?



Another shoe pic...

The band sounded great, though they might've benefitted more from a larger crowd. The patio was sparse, though the people there were quite enthusiastic. The singer's range made me think of Vampire Weekend which was great, and at times, I thought he sounded like Paolo Nutini without the accent. They even move their mouths the same when emphasizing words. I almost bought their two EPs online but after asking the band if I should, they wrote back that they'd have them at the show for $5 a pop, so I gladly purchased both.

The show ended later than I planned, so I didn't make it to the Casbah, and I was tempted to hit the Pink Elephant or something, but I thought it better to get home, clean the house a bit, catch up on this blog, and get some sleep since I have happy hour and a show afterward tomorrow night.

I've got some pretty good things in the works for the blog, by the way...I've got some cool ticket giveaways and stuff coming up, so check back. I appreciate all the people sending me their band listings, but the inbox is overloaded, so try not to send me your stuff too far in advance or it just gets buried. I do listings on a week by week basis, anything more and I'd have to quit my dayjob and hold a sign up: "Will Blog For Food." It just can't happen.

Benefit For Riki Featuring Thee Corsairs, 1/9/08

As I mentioned, I went to the benefit for Riki Watkins at Kadan on Monday night. Many of her friends were there, so the mood was both somber and festive, including the entire bar singing happy birthday, since it would've been her 26th birthday. I didn't know Riki, but I do know many of her friends, so I felt it appropriate that I should show my support, buy some raffle tickets, and also finally see Thee Corsairs. I don't know if I got there after The Embalmers played or if they didn't play at all, and really I didn't think to ask.

Thee Corsairs play a kind of surf punk that goes well with The Creepy Creeps and the like. Greaser is just awesome; if you don't know him, you should go say hi when he's working at Lou's one of these days. I didn't take too many pics; mostly because it was really loud up close and like and idiot, I forgot my earplugs at home. Ringing ears just don't have the same charm they had when I was a kid. The band played a relatively long set, including "Rocket 88" which was pretty damn cool.






This is Heather, who was cool enough to let me interview her for my story about Riki.



I finally got my Vinyl from Greaser for finding the bottle in their scavenger hunt at Livewire. There are still bottles out there, check the blog for clues. As you can see, the vinyl is absolutely beautiful, even if you don't have a record player.

Tales of Rum And Whiskey, Thee Corsairs



Anyway, it's hard to say it was a fun night because of the reason we were there, but it was a good night, even if I didn't win a tattoo in the raffle. Being ink-free, that might've been a good reason to stain my skin. Maybe next time.

Kallao Is On KROQ

If you're up in the wee hours, Kallao, who was one of 91X's "Merry Christmas, You're fired!" casualties, is on KROQ at the moment- it's graveyard but for a radio DJ, it's HUGE.

Congrats to Kallao- just make sure you come back to us in SD because we heart you.

He'll be on-air until 5 a.m. and you can stream it live here.

As one door closes, a better one ALWAYS opens.

Things To Do In San Diego: January 9, 2008

Wednesday, January 9, 2007:

• The Morning Benders, SayVinyl @ Beauty Bar
• Republic of Letters, Autotonic, Soundescape and guests @ Casbah
• Batwings, The Fascination, The Drowning Men @ U-31
• Architect Sketch, La Fin Du, Deaf Zero @ Zombie Lounge
• David Lindley, Jack Tempchin @ Belly Up
• Paratrooper, Compass Rose @ Dublin Square
• Callie Lipton, Darren Raser @ Lestat's
• The Pheromones, Wendy Darling @ Winston's
• General Lee, Every Thirteen Days, Handsome Devils @ 710 Beach Club
• Soundbone, After the Crash @ O'Connell's
• Bill Frissell & Joey Baron @ Anthology

Notes from the Smoking Patio

I love time off from work- the time off between Christmas and New Years was great- but sometimes the hardest part is that first full week back- when you've been jamming at work and realize- its only Tuesday?

So the week has gone. I went to the benefit for Riki Watkins at Kadan on Monday and watched Thee Corsairs, though I didn't win one of the tattoo certificates. I did, however, finally get my Thee Corsairs LP which is absolutely beautiful. If you want one, I hear there are still a couple bottles out there from their treasure hunt. Read their blog for clues. I'll post a couple pics of the show and the vinyl later. If you're in North County, there's one final benefit on Friday at Hensley's Flying Elephant.

Today, I met my sister and my niece for dinner at Ponce's and on my walk home, Emily from Bunky drove by and asked if I'd be at the Casbah. "What time are you on?," I asked. "10." "I'll be there," I told her. Then I came home and was instantly taken over by food coma and passed out and just couldn't get up to get down there. My bad. Sometimes this girl just needs to sleep. I have a lot of shows on my radar for the rest of the week, so I'll have more pics later on in the week, I hope.

My "Notes From The Smoking Patio" is back after a one week hiatus in CityBeat. Just one correction- we all know the Ken Club doesn't have wood floors. Still, the red concrete beats that old carpet. If you've got information for my column for next week, be sure to send it my way for consideration.

On to the rest of the week- refreshed and ready to get out and get down.

One last thing- the FM 94/9 About the Music series continues this month at the Belly Up with Rogue Wave. Tickets are sold out, and I've been told all comps are gone, too. If anyone bought tickets they can't use, please let me know. I'm looking to buy a pair (at face) if anyone's got 'em.

Best Happy Hour In San Diego?

Where's your favorite Happy Hour spot in San Diego? I've got a few in mind but want to know if I'm missing something. I'm specifically in search of Happy Hours that go until 7 pm and that offer both food and drink specials. The ones that end at 5:30 or 6 are pretty pathetic, if you ask me.

Anyway, leave a comment, or send me an e-mail. I'll repost if I get any responses. Give me deets, too...what makes it so good?

Things To Do In San Diego: January 8, 2007

Tuesday, January 8, 2007:

• Kill Me Tomorrow, Heartaches, Widows, Bunky, Nightmares, DJ Dmitri of Booty Basement @ Casbah (Benefit for Amber Everson of the Glossines for vox surgery)
• The Modlins, Love Pentagon, Secret Apollo, Pan de Sal @ Zombie Lounge
• Mike Watt & The Missing Men, Calvin Weston @ Winston's
• The Followers, Hexlove, The Iditarod, Everybody @ Scolari's
• Mental Health Systems presents "Laugh for Recovery" w/ Dat Phan, Kenny Kane and special guest comedians @ Belly Up
• Comedy Night @ Lestat's
• Batman vs Predator, The Royalty, The Lusitania @ O'Connell's
• Bill Frissell & Joey Baron @ Anthology

Feets...

So I got to thinking about all the pictures I've amassed over the year, and I thought I'd do a little fun post. I swear, I do not have a foot fetish, but sometimes things are camera worthy. Below, a collection of some of the best, worst, and most interesting footwear I encountered while taking pictures at a year's worth of shows.








From Left to Right, Top to Bottom:
Apostle of Hustle, Bob Wayne, The Go Go Academy, Dinosaur Jr, Silverbird, Electric Soft Parade, Fing, Foreign Born, Flaming Lips Dancing Santas, Meat Puppets, Polysics, Joss Stone, Ra Ra Riot, Rob Crow, House Arrestee snuck out for Sessions Fest, Smoosh, Swim Party, The Muslims (twice), The Veils, Two Gallants, Vinyl Radio, Transfer

YouTube Indie Music Goodness

Do you get all sorts of random invites to subscribe to people's YouTube videos? Well, I finally got on that I'm stoked about. Subscribe to LeaheyHoo here.

Two Gallants, "Prodigal Son"


The Shout Out Louds, "Tonight I Have To Leave It"