My City's a Sucker: Canes

I tried to get back into Canes after the Hold Steady show to try to talk to the rest of the band — I stepped out barely and briefly to find my friends – but the security guard said no dice. I offered to show my ID, reminded him that the show was over and there was no danger of the club hitting even half-capacity. He responded by pointing to the "NO RE-ENTRY" sign above the door with a choice digit that wasn't his index finger.

I thought that was an unnecessary move, but the rules are the rules, the sign was clearly posted, so I was letting it slide. But then two of my friends who watched what happened decided they would try to get back in. One by one, they succeeded.

So if you're ever at Canes and there's a skinny, squirrely guy working the door who looks like DJ Qualls from "Hustle and Flow," just point at someone behind the merch table and say you're with that guy from the band. That gets you back in.

Also, if you confront him about it afterward, he'll move away from the door and then your friends can sneak in behind him.

And it's a rock club; it doesn't need a men's room attendant.

My City's NOT a Sucker: Peter, Bjorn & John

Indie sensation turned alt-radio sensation Peter, Bjorn & John hadn't stopped in San Diego in the six months since their latest album started getting all its buzz. The band was not touring extensively, but they had played L.A. and Coachella without popping in to say hi.



No more, as the Young Folks'ers will play the House of Blues on Aug. 1 (they may not tour a ton, but, when they do, they plan ahead), a day after playing in L.A.

Peter, Bjorn & John — Young Folks (MP3)
Peter, Bjorn & John — Amsterdam (MP3)

My City's NOT a Sucker: The Airlines

The Airlines are one of San Diego's most promising and most elusive bands. CityBeat gave them a big bump when they played the magazine's Local Music Issue party, but they haven't exactly been playing every weekend since then. Their next gig isn't until the end of NEXT month. Considering the strength of their Cars/Britpop-influenced songs, which easily get stuck in your head in that good kind of way, the lack of shows must be by choice.

The band's EP is now for sale on their Myspace page, and it's a highly recommended pickup.

The Airlines MySpace page

My City's a Sucker: Girl Talk

It's been almost a year since mash-up king Girl Talk (Real name: Greg Gillis, which somehow makes him even cooler) absolutely blew up, and he still hasn't brought his reportedly phenomenal freak out dance party of a live show to San Diego. And no, of course Coachella doesn't count.

The guy gets cut a little slack because he was still working a day job, getting shows in on vacations and weekends. But he's announced he's quitting to focus on Girl Talk, so that's no longer and excuse.

But his S.D. streak could be safe well into fall, with Girl Talk announcing overseas and U.S. dates through the end of September. But there's big gaps in the schedule that provide some hope: Almost 10 days between the Capitol Hill Block Party in Seattle (a city he's already played) and the Virgin Festival in Baltimore, then 20 days between a show with Clipse (!) in Portland (another city he's already played) in early September and a show with Dan Deacon in L.A. on Sept. 28.

If Street Scene actually happens Sept. 22-23, which still appears to be anyone's guess, the timing wouldn't be perfect, but certainly doable. Although, how amazing would it be to get him into the Casbah (or the Beauty Bar, because beggars can't be choosers)?

Vinyl Radio @ Tower Bar, 5-12-07

After the Modlins show we sped over to the Tower Bar, where the Oly is $2 a can and your change comes back damp, to catch Vinyl Radio.

One reason I started this blog was to motivate myself to get out and see more local bands. In San Diego people have to hunt for bands more than people have do in PDX. Once you start looking, you find them easy enough, especially with Myspace, but there's still no substitution for seeing a local band live. Unless they have a lot of money or exceptional studio skills to turn out a polished album right away, the live shows are where bands show what they're really made of, what they've got for guts.

Vinyl Radio put on a clinic on that point Saturday night. I had been reading about them, seen them in the Myspace friends of a lot of other S.D. bands, but I wasn't blown away by the songs on their Myspace page. Not bad, but nothing that made me say "hot damn."

But from the first notes of their set, they grabbed my and my friends' attention. They were loose without being sloppy, loud without creating one undefinable ball of noise, and generally rocked the stage (well, the floor; no stage). They got the whole crowd into it early and kept them there, bobbing and dancing to the entire set.



While they're pretty different musically, and there were 20 blocks or so separating them, the Modlins and Vinyl Radio show made for one of the most fun double-bills in a while.



Vinyl Radio on Myspace

I still don't get why more S.D. bands don't get more notice. We've got a good alt-weekly and good blogs, and Saturday night the Modlins and Vinyl Radio reaffirmed that we've got good bands. I just don't get it, although I'm sure there's more than one reason.

Apologies to the Airlines, who opened for Vinyl Radio. We got there from the Modlins show just after they finished. They're now at the top of my must-see S.D. band list.

My City's a Sucker (to NaS)

The San Diego Reader, with its 16-page, rambling-prose stories and bevy of botox ads, is a pretty easy target (See! I did it right there!) but I read it when I'm stuck somewhere waiting, as I was the other day, and read something I didn't know about, although that's mostly because I don't listen to Jamin' Z90 as much as I did before the iPod became a car-ride staple. Anyway, the Reader's blurt section reports what NaS told Z90 abut why he canceled his show last week:



Nas Treated Nastily? "We were treated like terrorists," rapper Nas says of why he canceled his May 2 date at downtown's House of Blues.

"We came to the club, all excited," he told Z90.3 FM last week. "Couldn't wait to get here. ... Every time I come to San Diego, the energy's crazy. [We] go to the venue, and they ain't let me in. I was outside with my wife, and they treated us like terrorists. It was a little racist and we just don't tolerate that. ... We had a whole bunch of security guys rush outside to me and my wife like we were terrorists. It's not like I came with 50 guys or nothing; it was just me, my wife, my DJ, and my staff. ... They came at us like we was Osama Bin Laden or somebody.

"It was just a real nasty racist situation. ... We deal with racists in a way that they are supposed to get dealt with. We dealt with it in a manner of respect, when they should have been disrespected. We just left it alone, you know?"

Nas left the venue without performing. "It must be new management or something. I said 'Do you treat Bon Jovi like this?' They said, 'No.' ... Anybody that tolerates [racism] is a sucker in my book."
...................

AllHipHop ran a story, too, and added a fuller NaS quote: "That's a good club. I've played that club twice. I love that club. It must be new management or something," he said. "I said, 'Do you treat Bon Jovi like this?' They said, 'No.'"

AllHipHop reports that NaS also said he'd come back and make up the show at a bigger venue.

....................

No response yet from HoB, and there's certainly no reason that NaS would lie, but I'm personally reserving judgment until I see if/how HoB can explain itself. I just know how quickly things can escalate.

NaS — Life's a Bitch (MP3)

My City's NOT a Sucker: The FM 94.9 Indie Jam

I'm a little behind in writing about this — the Indie Jam lineup was announced earlier this week — but I've only found a few minutes here and there to post over the past couple of days.

The main lineup itself isn't overwhelming. Two of the main bands, Interpol and Spoon, toured like hell last year, stopping in San Diego multiple times (and kudos to them for doing so), but both bands will likely play stuff from their upcoming albums, so that's a draw. The other bands are Kings of Leon, Living Things, the Aggrolites and Test Your Reflex. The gold standard is still the fest's first year, with Secret Machines, a just-about-to-break Death Cab, the first S.D. Franz Ferdinand set, Muse and a Yeah Yeah Yeahs show so bonkers that half the crowd left (we stayed).

The good news is this year there will be a sidestage for local bands (bands TBA). It's co-sponsored by the Casbah, which is also selling the tickets, so no Ticketmaster fees.
At past indie jams, everyone just stands around between sets. At this one, fans of the big bands are absolutely going to wander over and check out the S.D. stage BECAUSE IT'S THERE. San Diego's music scene is great for the City Beat/blog/music junkie set who are actively seeking out local bands. But there are so many other people who don't have the time, energy or interest to go looking for new bands, even though they would like to. This is a perfect way to bridge that gap. We need more tie-ins like these.

So big ups to everyone involved in putting this show together.

My city's a sucker: San Diego thinks San Diego is DA BOMB for that indie rock all the kids are into

I'm going to try to write this whole thing without using the term "the man."

The San Diego Visitors' Bureau has launched a campaign called "San Diego Soundscape" to promote the city as an "indie rock" destination on par with Austin, NYC, PDX or Seattle. Or Memphis. Or Detroit. Or Chicago. Or Milwaukee.

San Diego Soundscape promotional page

They've put together a two-disc promo CD of "up and coming San Diego bands" (Rookie Card is the big name on it, to give you an idea of what we're dealing with) and are offering a sweepstakes for the San Diego rock and roll experience!


That's plane tickets, a stay at the Manchester Hyatt, a show, dinner, and the Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues, one of the most generic musical experiences the city has to offer. Oh, also a Hula Hut Honeymoon Holiday at Spa Tiki.

This all seems right up the alley of the businessman who saw a great house band at a Gaslamp bar last night. All that's missing from this ad campaign is a reference to "The O.C."

There's even a San Diego music history section on the Web page, with the requisite Tom Waits and Blink 182 references.

There are some great local bands here, and there's definitely some kind of disconnect that is keeping them from getting bigger exposure inside and out of the city that other cities' music scenes don't have. But this is like when you were a teenager and your mom declared that she was cool. Part of becoming an indie destination, by definition, is that it can't be forced or promoted.

Read today's Union-Tribune business section story for more details about the absurdity. "Gen-X" shows up a few times.

I'm not slamming the bands for being a part of this; it's a great way to get more people to hear your music. But if you're going to do a promotional gig, go all out:

My City's a Sucker: Third Eye Blind

Making fun of the House of Blues is like kicking a one-eyed puppy ... easy to do (I once called its lineup a never-ending state fair) but you shouldn't feel good about it afterward.

This was too good to pass up, though: Yesterday I was getting caught up on the last of my post-sickness e-mail. The House of Blues concert alert titled "Coming to HOB: Third Eye Blind!" had moved to the bottom of the list.

I opened it just to see if there was any other band info (there wasn't) and was greeted with this awesome intro:

Get through this "Semi-charmed kind of life" when Third Eye Blind comes to the House of Blues!

I love it. They're not even trying. It's like saying, "Hey, remember Third Eye Blind? No, well, try this..."

Meanwhile, Hootie and the Blowfish "only wanna be with you" at Humphrey's this summer. Cheapest tickets, I'm not making this up, are $70 before fees.

Modlins concert preview/Q&A

You might think a band that dresses in suits and sounds more suited for a malt shop than the Ken Club would be nothing more than a gimmick.

Think again. The Modlins are a San Diego band with a tight, 60-influenced pop sound to back up the look. The band's debut album, "Here's to Being Happy," has been a Baby Heisman favorite since it came out earlier this year.

Before playing a Friday the 13th show at the Whistlestop tomorrow, songwriters Eric Killian and Matt Sheridan discussed being mistaken for a Beatles cover band, selling hats, and what's missing in the San Diego music scene (Hint: It's big and red).

Baby Heisman: Which came first, the sound of your band or the look of your band?

Matt: The sound has evolved more than the look has. The look was pretty much two phases: it was ties and then suits. So we kind of always had that in mind but obviously we didn’t really have any opportunity to do that until we played a show. For a long, long time, he (Eric) and I were playing just acoustically ... and then it was like, let’s add a drummer and electric guitars, and then, let’s get a bassist. So there were more steps in the evolution of the sound in fine-tuning and arrangements. I don’t know which came first, but I would say the sound was more gradual.

Eric: I would say that due to the fact that we got the suits after we had played shows ...

M: But we had ties in our acoustic shows, which is not our current sound. So the look came first.

BH: There are so many facets to your sound. How would you describe the sound of your band?

M: There’s always a four-word description with two hyphens in it: Oldies-influenced indie-pop. (Laughs) Whatever that means.

E: It’s indie because nobody knows who we are. And pop would definitely apply. We always liked, obviously, the harmonies and stuff; especially Matt’s big focus was doing the harmonies.

M: Yeah, I’m definitely a Beatle-maniac, so I kind of gauge an embarrassing amount of what we do off that. So that’s part of the oldies. And then, just generally anything from that era, the early 60s ... up to, like, ‘65. I like stuff after, too, but I’m really into almost anything before that. The kitschy factor, you know. So that’s where the oldies thing comes from.

E: And I just like ripping people off, so anything that sounds like other bands works for me.

BH: Between the suits and the photos on your Myspace page and your show fliers, there’s definitely a creative, fun element to the band. How much of that is intentional, and how much of it is just your guys’ personality?

E: To play the music and to play that part of entertaining and setting a little scene, that’s definitely something we like to do. I mean, we don’t sit at home in our suits or anything like that. But Matt does wear ties all the time.

M: Yeah, I probably do that more than anybody.

E: As far as the fun-loving and the creative, we are writing songs all the time. ... All of our artwork, our friend Patrick did. He’s the one who did all of our posters and stuff like that.

M: I feel like it’s equal parts intentional and equal parts natural because I think the intention comes in in being aware of it, being aware that we love bands that have that quality. But I think the reason we love bands that have that quality is because we’re kind of like that. So it’s sort of both at the same time.

BH: Do you worry about it becoming too kitschy?

M: I guess I’m aware that can be an interpretation, but I don’t really worry about it because I don’t feel it is gimmicky. I just feel like it’s just the style that I like. But I’m definitely aware that people could dismiss it as that.

E: Even now, I think some of it gets perceived as pretty gimmicky. I know that a lot of people are, like, “Oh, because you guys are poppy and you wear suits, therefore you must be the Beatles or a Beatles cover band.”

M: Yeah, we get asked that a lot, if we’re a Beatles cover band.

E: But a lot of bands of that era wore suits, too.

M: Yeah, it’s more an era to represent then just them (the Beatles).

BH: How do you guys stay motivated to keep writing songs? You guys are roommates now, right? Has that helped you write?


E: Actually, oddly enough, we’ve written less songs since we’ve lived together (for the past two years). ... When we first met it was right at the end of college and so, during that time, before he (Matt) moved up to L.A. we were starting to write a bunch of songs; he moved for a year, and then I was coming up and he was coming down all the time and we were just writing, writing, writing.

M: It’s very much like a relationship in the sense that when it’s long distance you’re going to make the time that you spend together really count. So when we would get together on weekends we would just crank out. Every weekend we’d write three songs. Usually what we’d do is he’d bring something he started, I’d bring something I’d started and then we’d finish those and then, on the last day, we’d start something from scratch. So we were doing that every time we got together. And then, it’s almost like, once we lived together and we can do it more often, I don’t know if it seems like we did it less because less percentage of our time has been taken up with that, or also the fact that, that was before there was a band and we were getting together on weekends and now it has to be filtered through ... a four-piece arrangement.

E: I think definitely living together has helped in that, like, now that we interact so much together we know each other’s situations and stuff. When we start to embark on writing another song, it’s like “Oh, I’m going to go at it from this perspective,” and it’s like, I’ve seen you go through that perspective, so it really helps for like, “OK, what metaphor do we want to use for this horrible situation?”

BH: How far back does the music on the album date?

M: A couple of those (songs) date back to before we were writing together. But I never really was one to finish songs, which is part of why it was important to meet him (Eric). I had basic elements of “It’s All Your Fault” probably like...

E: That was probably the first or second weekend we were writing together.

M: It seems like every time we do a release, we do about half of it with stuff we just wrote and half stuff that’s been sitting around that we feel like we should be getting out.

E: I’m usually one to quickly go, “Oh, we just wrote a new song; bump this old guy.” And then he’s like, actually, let’s get all the old ones first. ...

M: I’m like “let’s save them all. Let’s get them all out.”

E: We have this ridiculous backlog of songs that half of them probably won’t get released ever. A new song will pop up and I’ll be, like, “Oh this better than anything I’ve written before, let’s do this — three albums from now.”

M: It’s funny. We’ve had more than one conversation about “album three” already and we haven’t even started recording “album two” yet. ... It’s strange, though, because it feels like a lot of modern bands, they’ll release an album every couple of years maybe, and it’s like, if you do one every 18 months, that’s so quick. But, and that’s another thing I personally take from the oldies era: they had albums out every six months. So we’re kind of the middle ground between the two.

BH: Are you guys working on a second album at all yet?

E: We definitely plan to start doing a second one. We have a big group of songs. We were thinking about doing an EP just after this because we have this group of seven or so songs we wanted to get out, and then we were just, like, why put only seven on the recording when we can put a lot more on?

BH: Is the band a full-time job for anybody in the band, or does everybody have a day job?

M: We all work full-time now. I was the only guy working part-time before just because I was lazy and irresponsible, and now I started working full-time about two months ago.

BH: What kind of jobs do you guys do?

E: Computer programmer.

M: I work at the Village Hat Shop. And then Stoph (the drummer) does finance and Al (the bassist) does computer stuff, too.

E: Web design

M: So I’m the only schmuck with a nonprofessional job; I only make, like $8 an hour. ... It’s kind of a surreal day for me, actually, because we started off this morning — for some reason, there must be no actual news going on in San Diego — because some of the employees had to do a TV spot at KUSI for the hat shop today. And we did one on Monday for Fox news where we had to model hats and they had someone talk about the hats while we stood there. So I started the day at a TV studio, which I’ve never been to in my life, at 7 in the morning, and then I worked a full day and then came right here. So it’s like, TV, work, interview, like, what is it?

BH: What do you think is the strongest part of the music scene in San Diego, and where do you think it can improve?

E: It could love us.

M: With me, I don’t really see a scene in the classic sense. I don’t see any one clear genre. But you (Eric) were kind of saying the other night that some of the bands that were playing the show (Last Friday at the Ken Club)...

E: Yeah, before it would seem like, at least going through college and seeing a lot of punk bands ...

M: Beach-ey kind of stuff.

E: Yeah, Beach-ey kind of stuff. And at least as far as what I’ve been tuned to now it seems like the direction has gone a lot more to songwriting, and not necessarily as much pop as we are harmony-wise, but, like, bands ... the Muslims and the Sundels, and seeing them, and, like, The Prayers, I really like them. And I was like, oh, there’s a lot of these bands that are doing this kind of throwback to the 60s and the Kinks and stuff like that. ... Not that I’m saying the music before was trying to be abrasive, but it was just naturally a more abrasive style.

M: A little less light, maybe. ... Shorter songwriting.

E: Yeah, shorter songwriting, more danceable songs, stuff like that.

M: I guess maybe a pop scene is emerging to some extent. For me, I know a lot of the bands I have liked up to now, they don’t have a lot in common. It’s like Swim Party, Secret Apollo, Donkeys, I don’t know what you’d call that. It’s like not a genre, but maybe one’s emerging, I hope.

E: And what can improve? I guess, and it’s just in the nature of a big city that’s more spread out — it’s like, a city like New York, everything so packed in and so easy to get to — where as here, apathy sets in and no one wants to get up from “Must See TV” to go check out a show. And even like last night I almost didn’t go to the Ken Club show because I was just sitting on my couch watching “Invader Zim,” and it was kind of like, “oh, man, the Ken Club, that’s like a 10 minute drive away.”

M: It is weird. If it were a matter of getting on a subway, it would seem like nothing. It’s that thing about opening the car door and sitting down. I hate that feeling.

E: And it’s not even any fault of the music scene; it’s just the fault of the city’s construction. So really I’d say the way to improve the city’s music scene is to improve the Trolley system.

BH: Because you guys do have a retro vibe, if you could bring back one thing, what would it be?

E: I think I know what yours would be.

M: Oh yeah?

E: I think you’d want people to dress nicer.

M: Yeah, I think that’s a good one; like the formality of everybody wearing ties. I mean, I try to do it and, like, today, this is my casual day with jeans and a tie, but usually I have the slacks-ey tie look but, like, I don’t like just doing it myself; I kind of wish it was everywhere, because any time you see a period piece film, it just looks so great. I don’t know if things really look that great or if it’s just the cinematography and filmmaking, but I don’t know. I would feel better about the world if that were the case. And it would sell hats.

E: Well, I think if I could bring back the nonexistence of computers, that would be nice because then I wouldn’t have to be working my job anymore. So oddly enough, between us two, I would work less and you would work more.

M: That’s true, actually. Well, I wear ties and have a typewriter, so I’m living the dream right now.


The Modlins — Dragging My Feet (MP3)
The Modlins — I Wouldn't Know What To Do (MP3)
The Modlins band page
The Modlins on Myspace

My City's a sucker: These two guys

These guys were spotted during the opening act at the Thermals show Thursday night, although spotted is not the right word. They were impossible to miss. I know the genus of annoying concertgoer exists across the world. Here are two of the San Diego species.


Guy in the ant T-shirt: Stop doing the robot. Stop doing your herky-jerky little shadowboxing dance routine. If you want to be the center of attention so bad, form your own band and get on stage.


And to his friend standing to the right of him there: Be a friend; shut him down.

My City's a Sucker: David Vandervelde

Fuzz-rocker David Vandervelde has, sadly, stayed under the radar since his debut album came out earlier this year. In-studio performances on tastemaking radio shows like WOXY and KEXP are likely to help, but his weekend plans certainly won't raise his profile around these parts. Vandervelde is playing L.A. and then ... Costa Mesa?

Go figure. He's the last opener, if you desire to drive up.


David Vandervelde — Jacket (MP3)
Stream David Vandervelde tracks on Myspace

A great weekend for music (and I'm going to miss it!)

Two of my favorite San Diego bands (a lot of San Diegans' favorite bands, actually) are playing this weekend. Sadly, I'm going to be back home in Portland and will miss both. But if you're around, they're absolutely worth checking out.

On Friday night. Grand Ole Party return from their SXSW trip for a hometown show at the Casbah. If there can be such a thing as hype or buzz in the San Diego music scene, GoP certainly has it. But their music — sounding vaguely like something you'd hear coming out of CBGB circa 1978 but not like a rip-off — is tight enough to warrant the attention.

(I do say lose the mustache and get a permanent drummer so Kristen can command the stage as a frontwoman, but that's just me.)

Grand Ole Party on MySpace

On Sunday, one of San Diego's great indie pop bands, Swim Party, plays an opening set at the Casbah. I've actually only seen Swim Party once. Every time they play, something seems to happen or come up to keep me from going. Good to see the streak will continue. Seriously guys, I'll get out to your next show. I'd promise, but, well, you know. In the meantime, go and fill in for me.

Swim Party on MySpace

Bloc Party coming to San Diego

Kudos to Rosey over at S.D. Dialed In for posting this:



Bloc Party is playing Viejas Concerts in the Park (the outdoor venue at Viejas' Alpine casino, not the no-rock outdoor venue on the S.D. Bay) on July 16, a Saturday night.

The $35 (before fees, of course) tix go on pre-sale Thursday and general sale this Friday.

About time Bloc Party came around and played a headlining set of their own instead of smaller sets like their San Diego debut at a 94.9 jam (with Interpol and the Bravery) that came after they had toured just about everywhere else twice.

Bloc Party on MySpace

Modest Mouse coming to San Diego

A photo from rougher days, for nostalgia's sake.


Modest Mouse has been real solid when it comes to playing San Diego, and they're keeping it up with a stop toward the end of their spring tour.

They'll be at Cox Arena on May 14, a Monday, which is happy news at Heisman HQ (OK, my apartment's spare bedroom, but Heisman HQ sounds cool). The last time I saw Modest Mouse was right before "Good News..." came out and they went from indie-level veterans to the face of indie. It was a sold out (seemingly oversold) show at the all-ages hell hole that is SOMA.

A floor that feels longer than it is wide, killing sight lines. A steady stream of 14-year-olds trying to push to the front when there wasn't a millimeter to give, as though they had a right to do it. Issac Brock fighting a losing battle with the lighting operator to turn down the spotlights so he could see the crowd -- then fighting a losing battle with the crowd in a rant about voting. It was a perfectly SOMA-rific night.

No disrespect to the underage music fans. I pulled out my hair over all the bands I couldn't see when I was in high school. I'm just saying, I don't see that many 30-year-olds trying to push to the front.

The new Modest Mouse album is out tomorrow, or you can go to the Whistlestop listening party in South Park tonight and buy it at M Theory behind the bad at midnight.


Modest Mouse -- Florida (MP3) (From the forthcoming "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank")

My City's NOT a Sucker: A nice moment on the radio

Popped out on a quick errand earlier tonight and left the iPod at home. On the way back, 94.9 played "North American Scum" off the new LCD Soundsystem album and "Rehab" by bourbon-throated British singer Amy Winehouse back to back.

I'm not even a fan of that LCD Soundsystem track, but it was so nice to hear two songs in a row that hardly get played on the radio, even if it was just part of their new-music programing.

LCD Soundsystem — North American Scum (MP3)
Amy Winehouse — Rehab (MP3)


We might be hearing Amy Winehouse's name a lot this year. She's already big in the U.K., was recently on Letterman and is down at SXSW, too.

Happy birthday, Casbah

I was going to post this last night when I got home at 12:30, as it was past midnight and officially Thursday, but I was too tired and crashed (that's the kind of journalistic dedication you can expect from Baby Heisman)...

Happy 18th birthday to the Casbah — hands-down the best music venue I've ever seen. Anywhere.


My big frustration about being a music fan in San Diego is the number of bands that skip over our town. But the Casbah is a salvation. I've been up close in the 200+-person club for numerous bands that played venues twice as big in other West Coast cities. They're the kind of intimate shows that make us music fans to begin with.

To the out-of-towners, I can't stress enough how you DON'T have a club in your town just like the Casbah (unless you live in NYC, then you might have us beat). The cans of PBR, the planes flying just feet overhead on approach to the airport, the apartments above the venue, the Atari Lounge in the back (where I played my best game of Ms. Pac Man ever — photo evidence below) — there's nothing like it.


Good show tonight — Japanese Sunday, Swim Party and Roxy Jones (Autolux canceled) — but nothing too sexy going down. Owner Tim Mays says the club usually celebrates in January.

My city's a sucker: Fox Rox is dead

Sad news from Citybeat that Fox Rox, a local/indie music TV show co-hosted by music editor Troy Johnson, has gone off the air. No word as to why exactly in the story Troy wrote on Citybeat's Web site.

Fox Rox was one of the coolest things about the San Diego music scene, exposing local musicians and showing national acts that weren't being showed anywhere else.

R.I.P.

Morrissey, apparently, is not hard rock

A couple of months back, I wrote about how "hard rock" concerts at San Diego's Bayside outdoor concert venue were banned after residents across the bay in tony Coronado complained about the noise.

With the new rules, I've been interested to see who will be booked this summer for the large, beautiful stage. Everyone from Radiohead to Death Cab to Spoon played there last summer, so what counts as rock?

Apparently, Morrissey doesn't — and in this case, thank God (which, I know for some of you IS Morrissey). He has announced tour dates, including June 3 at Bayside. A warm dusk night seems like a perfect backdrop. He's kicking off the tour in ... Stockton? ... which certainly will mark the coolest day Stockton has ever had.

Link to newspaper story about limits put on Bayside concerts.

My City's a Sucker: Gene Simmons loves the troops; will the troops love Gene Simmons?

According to a Camp Pendleton press release:

GENE SIMMONS WILL PERFORM AT THE BASE FRIDAY (TOMORROW!!!)

According to the release, he will play a two-hour performance that will be recorded for his reality show, "The Osbournes," er, I mean, "Gene Simmons' Family Jewels." The release also says Simmons "will be performing a song he recently wrote as a sign of appreciation for service members of all branches of service."

No word on whether the song will involve rocking, partying or the Coast Guard.

Bob Hope was rolling in his grave and couldn't be reached for comment.



There's a million great jokes to be made from this. Leave your best one in the comments.