Thursday night I headed down to Lestat’s after derby practice to catch The Assumptions last few songs before Roger’s band, Listening to Rocks hit the stage. This was The Assumptions first live performance as they were created to fulfill Layne Sterling’s need to create. The record is complete waiting on the artwork layout for completion. The band includes Layne, her daughter (Sara), Jon Kanis, Mike Keneally and Brian “Nucci” Cantrell. Nucci ended leaving halfway through the set for another gig, presumably the standard Wednesday night Lady Dottie gig at Henry’s Pub downtown.

Layne’s voice was beautiful as the band’s rhythmic sounds put your mind and soul at ease. Sara’s vocals complemented Layne’s perfectly. You could definitely see the relation. I wish I had made it there earlier, since I know they pretty much have one more performance left… their CD release.

It is weird for me to review Listening to Rocks since I am married to the lead guitarist. I don’t know if that makes me more biased or hypercritical. Either way, I will try to make this brief. The band started as a one-off band for Roger to perform our one year wedding anniversary at the Casbah. The band includes: Roger, Jon Kanis, Dave Rizzuto (from Roger’s work), and Brad Smith (from Blasphemous Guitars). All of the guys in the band were having a great time, so they decided to keep it going. This was the third performance with at least one more on the books (Aug 23 at Jon Kanis’ Birthday party).

Lestat’s is known for great quality sound and this show was no exception. This was the best quality sounding performance for the band to date. It was great to hear how the band should sound. However when the quality is that good when mistakes are made it is more obvious to everyone. Anyhow, it is good for them to get a good quality recording (Lestat’s actually records of the board and sells it back to the artists for $20) so they can use it to improve.

I am glad to see that each of them are having fun with it.

I am finally getting around to updating… Last Wednesday, June 25 Roger and I headed down to House of Blues for Ingrid Michaelson. Our plan was to meet up with friends for dinner then head in for the show. We ended up eating at the House of Blues restaurant for some decent Southern semi-Cajun food. After some good conversations over gumbo, we threw down some cash to pay for the meal (since the wait staff seemed to be taking forever) and headed outside for will call.

Now, Roger and I have always had problems with HOB… and this time was no exception. When we first arrived, the will call list was not even available (yet doors were open) so we went to go eat. When we returned, there was a short line for will call and a line around the block for security. Only one guy was checking bags, while another guy was making sure no one blocked the entrance to the 7-11 next door. My thought… if you had more than one person checking bags, you wouldn’t be blocking the 7-11.

Anyhow, after a half hour in line missing most of Greg Laswell‘s set… we found out that we didn’t need to stand in line since we had dinner at the HOB restaurant. What a waste of time. Already irritated, we headed in to a pretty crowded HOB. The room seemed off. The crowd was loud, even with an acoustic set. Lame people.

Roger and I had the privilege of seeing Ingrid Michaelson before at a small venue at SXSW. Unfortunately, the circumstances were off for that show too. The venue was a tent in a park, with 3 other tents with bands playing at them. The tent directly behind the stage that Ingrid was playing on was the British Indie Rock Fest. She was having trouble keeping time… but her voice was beautiful and I knew I wanted to see her again.

The show itself was good… the crowd, however, was not. The best thing about both Greg and Ingrid is that they connect with people. Even when there is 400 people in the room, you feel like you know her or feel like you could be her best friend. Many artists, famous and not so famous are disconnected with their audience to the point they make you feel small or that they are so much better than you. I love seeing bands and artists that make you feel like they are letting you into their life through music and stories.

At the end of the night, I felt satisfied. Though I still feel like I need to see her again in a proper setting… maybe the rooftop bar at the Hilton Garden Inn at SXSW?? Who knows.

Roger and I headed down to the Casbah for Anti-Monday League to checkout bands that we haven’t seen (or heard of) before. We hadn’t done his in a while so we though, what the hell… and made our way down.

Tim Pyles from FM94/9 hosts and DJs on these nights. Anti-Monday League happens each Monday at the Casbah featuring the opener of Pyles choice and other bands trying to make a name for themselves.

Before the first band came on, Pyles shared with us some music that he was personally into right now. Unfortunately I am really poor with names, and have forgotten most of what he played for us. Damn memory. Some I liked, some I could pass on, but to each their own.

Pyles shared some information on the first band on the bill, the Austin James Band. The band is semi-local with band members split, living in Orange County (Long Beach) and here in San Diego. They used to play around a year or so ago, but took a “break” to play as the back up band for Godspell, a 1970’s off broadway musical. Interesting… Pyles also described them as poppy, yet hard to describe. He explained that they are definitely worth a listen to form my own opinion of their style. And that I did.

The first thing I thought of as they started playing was a carnival, very whimsical. It made me happy inside… I was also excited to enjoy a band that I had no real preconceived notion about. Roger was very excited over the gadgetry on stage. The band used various added percussion toys such as whistles, wooden blocks, crashing cymbals and a crank. Of the two keyboards on stage, one was set to play lie a xylophone. With all of the bells and whistles (literally), it was already easy to be in awe of this foursome.

The lyrics and melodies made me think I was sitting down listening to a children’s story. But there is more… the harmonies, vocal layering, technical skills on their individual instruments and song composition made me think I was listening to something out of the Beatles, Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band or The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds. It is hard for me to put this band up on a pedestal along side the greatest composed albums of all time, but I really think it must be done mainly because there really is nothing else to compare it to.

It was great to see their smiling faces after the show as Roger and I both picked up CDs. So the next time they are around, please go check them out… Aug 28 at the Beauty Bar and tell me what you think.

Since I am not that great of a photographer and the Casbah is notoriously bad for lighting if you are ill-equipped, this is the best shot I could get though I was not trying too hard…

Roger and I stuck around a bit longer to see Frightened Rabbit since Tim Pyles was raving about them earlier. I truthfully was tired and ready to head home but I at least wanted to see a few songs.

The band was definitely engaging. From Ireland, the band told riveting stories between beautiful songs that you could feel the emotion behind. The last time that they were here was during the 2007 fires, playing a show at the Casbah for about 2 people. I don’t remember the Casbah being open, but I think I was in a hole that week.

Maybe it was the Scottish accent or maybe because their songs reminded me of another band (that I still can’t think of), but Roger and I ended up staying until the very end of their set, ducking out after purchasing a CD.