2008 Independance Jam Recap

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With craziness of work and life in general, I am just now getting the chance to write about FM94/9’s Indie Jam. Roger and I drove down ready and prepared for the long haul. Packed in our not too large backpack we had 2 16oz bottles of water, a blanket, toilet paper (yes, portopotties are not always the most stocked), a light jacket, sunscreen, camera, money, cellphones and a couple snacks hidden at the bottom. In the car almost approaching Otay Mesa Road, Roger realized that we had forgotten the most important thing, the tickets. So we drove back to North Park and then back to Southwestern College just in time for Santogold.

Santogold was not at all what I expected, but i was impressed nevertheless. Her voice was strong and bold yet punchy. I was entertained by her dancers/backup singers who mostly stood like security guards on the edges of the stage in white tops and black pants with eighties sunglasses. every now and then they would bust into some crazy choreographed moves and then back into their stiff postures.

Then we headed back upstairs for a local band known as the Wrong Trousers. This was my first time getting to see them. I really thought they were endearing. The girl who is the lead singer plays the harp (which is apparently a difficult thing to mic up) has a beautiful voice with a very childish style. Not by any means immature, just cute. The band consists of a harp, upright bass, mandolin and the occasional melodica. After buying their CD we headed downstairs to see The Ting-Tings.

I must say that after all of the hype about The Ting-Tings, I was very unimpressed. The music was decent and upbeat, but I still have a problem with bands that use backing tracks to play along with. It feels like 50% of the music is fake. I know that many do not agree with me on this one and that I should just appreciate good music, but I have a hard time justifying the sound in my head. If you are using a keyboard backing track, get a keyboard player… if you are using a drum beat track, get a drummer. At least put a DJ on stage… to show where the music is coming from… or give up on live music altogether.

Next up was Blackout Party at the Casbah local stage. I hadn’t seen them play before so it was good to see them. They play in a bit of an alt-country style with a bit of rockabilly flair. Their energy seemed a bit low, but it was still fun. A majority of the guys in this band play in other local bands including the Superunloader, Swedish Models and Greg Laswell.

I wasn’t really in the mood to climb the steps again so we hung out at the top of the stadium listening to The Whigs play. Gary Sheffield and Tim Pyles stopped by to say hi, also taking a peek down to listen to the Whigs.

We watched a bit of Kill Me Tomorrow on the local stage before heading down to the grass for MGMT. At this point the sun was feeling really good and the music was giving off great vibes, I laid down on the grass and sipped out for a minute or two. Children were running about, people were dancing, frisbees and footballs were flying. It felt like the perfect summer music festival.

I was definitely in a chill mood. I can’t recall The Muslims or the Cold War Kids. I stayed on the grass for the Muslims… I had seen them before and had really enjoyed them, but the grass was cozy and the playing children seemed to be entertaining me at the time. I am not much a fan of the Cold War Kids.

But I would hate to miss a Silent Comedy, so we headed upstairs for a energizing set. I have never seen these guys perform without smiles and enthusiasm. they are contagious in every sense of the word. The crowd was dancing, the music hit the heart and made you want to move and sing along. Outdoor venues seem to be their best space, but I really don’t think it matters. if you haven’t seen these guys, please get out and see them. They are opening for the Young Dubliners tonight at the Belly Up if you don’t have plans already.

We stayed near the top of the stadium for the Hold Steady, again not really a huge fan. People watching seemed to be one of the best forms of amusement at this event. Watching the crowd drift between the stage and the beer garden and the growing number of green Flogging Molly shirts in the crowd.

The last act that we stayed for was Transfer on the local stage. They are always a favorite, but we had already noticed the crowd dwindling as the evening progressed. We held out until the last note of the set and then headed out as Flogging Molly was taking the main stage. About 6-10 years ago, they would have held me there, but my long days of drinking are few and far between. As much as I miss my Irish pub days I was ready to hit the road and curl up in bed.

Over all this was a well run event… More bathrooms available than last year. Everything seemed to flow. Sadly, I know that the turnout is not what was expected. As I posted previously, there was a lot of good things happening that weekend. The line up was decent but apparently did not hit home. The local Casbah stage was phenomenal (thanks, Tim Mays and Tim Pyles) but to pay $40 for a great local line up is not worth it. Flogging Molly fans did show, but they are not the same fans as MGMT (who had the highest attendence of the day). I enjoyed the smaller crowd, but I know though who are looking at the bottom line. I don’t have an answer as the fanbase and bands will be in a different state by next year. All i can say is good luck… and I will most likely be there again.

Are derby girls crazy? I think yes…

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This Saturday’s games were incredible. The first bout at 6pm was San Diego’s Hard Corps matched against Montreal’s All-Stars. The second bout at 7pm (which I skated in) was San Diego Derby Doll All-Stars against Sac City Rollers.

From the start, I thought that both of San Diego’s teams were going to take a win. Some of the reasons are as follows:

Montreal was only able to bring out 11 of their players
Both Montreal and Sac City were wearing the brightest colors ever imaginable (neon green and bright orange respectively). Bright colors equals easier to see.
The hype was low. Although there was not much video footage to base a feeling off of, neither of their teams hit the radar as being super hard or one to watch for.

I really didn’t get to watch much of the first game, but from what I did see, Montreal was playing a very tight game. Closing holes if there were any, holding back players with strategic timing and Hard Corps just couldn’t seem to get it together quick enough. By the time they realized what was happening in any given play, it was really too late to react. The score ended up being 101 to 68. Sadly, a blow out.

After watching this happen, I started to rethink the Sac City game. I did not want to underestimate them and have another blowout to recover from. I did not want to go there. I wanted to win.

As we were warming up, I started sizing up their players. Who was skating with a decent stride. Who was working together. What were they doing to warm up – varying speed, stretching, discussing strategy. To each their own, but you can learn a bit about players when you just take a few moments to watch them skate. I noticed that many of the skaters from Sac City were agile on their feet and had a good stride. None of them were particularly large in size, no big walls.

The first couple of jams took me by surprise, we shut them down consistently until the score was about 20 to 0. It felt good. We were holding the front, keeping them where we wanted them. about halfway through the first half, we were starting to tire and it was beginning to show. They started to take over the front of the pack more, but we still were in the lead. At halftime we were leading, but only by 11 points (still within reach).

We took a few breaths, gathered our thoughts and went back in to play. The second half was good. The energy remained high and both teams were scoring evenly. Although at this point, we felt we had control… but Sac City was always close behind. In the end the score was 58 to 42, still pretty close.

Some of my favorite moments of the games were:

When Ruthless knocked out one of the outside pack refs and skated off with him on the floor.
Steely was lead jammer and had lapped the pack and waited til the other jammer was nearing the back of the pack before calling it off to waste some time since we were ahead. Note to other jammers, when you see this happening to you speed the hell up, don’t slow down. You are only wasting time.

The after party at Padre Gold, the American Legion bar down the road was a riot. The night was full of chanting Canadians, shots of Jager or tequila, karaoke fools and an insane arm wrestling derby girls. You really should think about being there next time.

Art Around Adams

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Roger and I decided to head down to Art Around Adams this Saturday to check out a bit of what was going on prior to going to the bout. We arrived around 1pm to grab lunch at the little Greek place next store to the Ould Sod.

It appeared that people were beginning to set up, but it was hard to tell if it was for the event or if this was just a normal Saturday afternoon.

After lunch, Roger and I decided to take a walk down to the Ken Club where the first performers, the Apes of Wrath were scheduled to play starting at 2pm. I have heard a lot of good things about this band from someone who I don’t really trust their opinion when it comes to local music, but I felt that I should at least give them a shot.

Let me start off with the fact that I already hate their name. That alone has been keeping me from seeing this band. it really gives me a bad taste in my mouth for some reason. Again, I felt I needed to put this aside to truly get a sense of the band. Weird side note: the first reference to “Apes of Wrath” is from the title of a Bugs Bunny short from 1959, not from Planet of the Apes (1968).

So my impression of Apes of Wrath is that that are a very tight group. They performed like they have played together for decades. The lead guitarist was able to compliment the songs with his beautiful riffs that seemed to flow effortlessly. my overall impression was that they were a band that had it together and could possibly go somewhere with it if that is what they wanted. Their songs sounded like they could have been from the Killers or the Bravery. I still am stuck on the name. Change the name, and you may have something.

After the set at the Ken Club, we decided to head over to Lestat’s to watch Danyavaad. It was great to see Greg in his pjs playing his electric sitar. The normal line up with the Shimmy Sisters were not there, but the belly dancing was still entertaining enough to draw a crowd including Tan Sister Radio, who were just hanging out before their set later in the day at Ken Club.

As Roger and I were heading out we saw Society playing in front of Smitty’s Services with a decent size crowd around them. We discussed whether the event was a success or how the event could be measured as a success or a failure. Each of the performance venues had a fair number of people at them but just walking around on Adam’s there didn’t seem to be more than the usual Saturday afternoon strollers.

The lack of a crowd could have been because it was early in the event, and I hope so. I watched X1FM pack up and leave at 3:30pm because they had other (better) places to be. Lame. I assume that they will continue to have this event and make it better each year. I hope with the idea of reconsidering headlining the Go Duo.

Bored this weekend? You must be living in a hole.

Sara Leave a comment

If you are not doing something this weekend, you must be sick or very unaware of the world around you. Between the Memorial Day and other sudo-holidays (Mother’s Day and Father’s Day) going on at this time of year, people seem to pack in events all on opposite weekends fearing that people actually like to hang out with family or head out of town during the holidays. Also these planners seem to believe that they are hosting the only event in town. Aghhh. What to do?

Well, sitting on your ass is not an option. With that said, here are the things that you could be doing this weekend if you are finding yourself bored.

Saturday, June 8

Art Around Adams: a mile and a half of galleries, street performance art, movies and music all along Adam’s Avenue between Kensington and Normal Heights. Free shuttles between Kensington and Normal Heights. 2-10pm. Free event
Greek Festival: at St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church on Park Blvd. This is the biggest and best Greek festival in San Diego, with food vendors galore, imported Greek beer, and entertaining local Greeks dancing. Even if you can’t stay all day, drop by and buy some pastries… so good!
San Diego Derby Dolls: double header bout at Skateworld in Linda Vista. First watch local SDDD team, the Hard Corps versus Montreal then stay to watch me play with the San Diego Derby Doll All-Stars versus Sac City. Doors at 5pm, first game at 6pm, second game at 7pm. After party at Padre Gold on Linda Vista Road. $15 at the door or $12 online
Fiesta del Sol: in Solana Beach featuring The Romantics, Elijah Emmanuel and The Revelations, Transfer, Venice, Lady Dottie & The Diamonds, Orquesta Primo, Hoi Polloi, Boys & Girls Club of San Dieguito, The Seventh Child, 11am-9pm, Free

Sunday, June 9

Greek Festival: at St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church on Park Blvd.
Fiesta Del Sol: in Solana Beach featuring The English Beat, Marc Ford (of the Black Crowes), Stripes and Lines, Diego Roots, Sol e Mar, Atomic Groove, The Credentialed, Fiesta del Sol Youth Showcase, Velouria, 11am-9pm, Free
FM 94/9 Independence Jam: at Devore Stadium, Southwestern College featuring Flogging Molly, The Hold Steady, Cold War Kids, MgmT, The Whigs, The Ting Tings, Santogold, Nortec Collective, Transfer, Silent Comedy, Kill Me Tomorrow, The Muslims, Blackout Party, 12-10pm, $40, free parking or a $10 shuttle from PB, OB or South Park.
3rd Annual Derby Doll Birthday party: sadly if you weren’t invited you will be missing out on this private party. From what I have heard, it will be a pool party with a well known cover band and the UT hanging out. I may have stories later.

There is plenty more music besides what I have listed, but for that you want to go to San Diego: Dialed In.

There is also the Temecula Balloon and Wine Festival and the US Open going on both days this weekend if those events are more your style. Personally, I love a good outdoor music festival. I will definitely be at the events listed on my Out and About column, but I may try to make it to more. No guarantees.

City Beat’s Summerbeat, The Lafayette Hotel: 5/30/2008

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I really was not expecting to leave the house Friday night, ready to just curl up in bed to a good movie. But realizing something potentially fun was happening just 8 blocks from where we live, we headed out the door. First stop, Chicken Pie Shop for an incredibly good, inexpensive and quick meal. Then just a few more blocks to the Lafayette Hotel where City Beat was having a summer kickoff party.

We were not really in a party mood, but it was great to see people and hang out. Knowing that the party only lasted until 10 pm was a great incentive for going… not that I am old or anything.

The cover was a $10 suggested donation to cover costs of the event and then to the San Diego Music Foundation, City Beat’s charity of choice. I am assuming that much of the money will go to the upcoming North By North Park music seminars in August for those who need help navigating the music business.

I totally wish that I brought my camera because the decor was incredible with accent lighting and a cat walk in the middle of the pool. The layout of of the event seemed perfect. I was quite impressed.

We arrived a bit late, only catching the tale end of the fashion show that featured North Park’s and Hillcrest’s fashion boutiques and vintage shops including Wear It Again Sam and Mimi in Red.

We really came to watch Transfer play poolside since it had been a long while. The lead singer, Matt Molarius has a voice that reminds me of the late Jeff Buckley. Their melodic songs can put you in a trance and inspire a wild imagination.

There must be something about live music performances that rub the cops the wrong way. The same thing that happened at the North Park Festival of the Arts, happened at the Lafayette. Right before the last song, a cop told the drummer that they had to be done at 9 pm. They told the cop that they had one more… which was more like two songs. Half way through the song, this woman (maybe the hotel owner?) was looking crazed like she was going to pull the plug. Transfer ended at 9:09 pm. Funny thing is that a DJ was playing after this… equally as loud and with equal draw. I will never understand.

I barely got to see the fashion vendors or the artistic display of live art advertised as Field Trip since I spent the rest of the evening dancing and spinning around the pool area with my friend’s four year old daughter, Emma. This seemed like a good ending to a chill night.