Sessions Fest Summarized in One Photo

tags: golden hill. fifty on their heels, sessions fest, mc flow, society, jezebel, the boyish charms, cat dirt, cat dirt records, san diego, music

Show Review: MIKA MIKO, ATOMS, THE SESS @ CHOB

Is there any question that the CHOB is the beating heart of the San Diego underground? My understanding is that the Power Chords were the first band to book shows there. Although the CHOB has been plagued by some "technical" issues(i.e. cops) you just can't take away the great energy during shows.



Atoms were first- they were great. A crowd favorite- are the Atoms kings and queens of the underage scene in San Diego? I'll probably have to check out the Plot @ the Che before I can make that call- but it FEELS right. There were fifty plus kids there already for Atoms @ nine. And they brought it. Like always.

Between Atoms and Mika Miko I had a chance to sit and talk with Michelle Suarez from MIKA MIKO- she plays guitar and keyboards. She expressed enthusiasm for the San Diego scene; I expressed enthusiasm for the LA scene(Part Time Punks, Hear Gallery, Little Pedro's, etc). She saw the Sess and the Prayers @ Part Time Punks- said she loved Atoms and the Power Chords. She probably hasn't heard Fifty on Their Heels- so- I think I know who's getting a Fifty on Their Heels CD in the mail!


Mika Miko- that's Michelle in the center. Jennifer Clavin is the singer in that picture- they have two. The CHOB was packed for Mika Miko. Local scene luminaries from iSociety!(the rythym section) & Art Fag- Mario Orduno & Andrew from the Prayers packed it in with the sweaty, arguably intoxiciated underagers to dance to the crazy beats! Mika Miko uses two singers- they take turn shouting/screaming the lyrics into home made microphones- like the one from last night- visible here- it's an old phone receiver!


Red phone = microphone! Michelle told me after the show that they have a blow dryer too, but were to scared to use it in the tiny confines of CHOB.


Then after the totally, fucking, awesome Mika Miko set all these people showed up on bikes- like a gang or something.

What's up with that?

Bike Gang @ CHOB!

It's a good time right now for the san diego underground- but how underground will it stay? and for how long? enjoy it while it lasts!

Kate Sessions Fest is on SATURDAY

it should be good...

Show Review: Chicken! w/ Qu'est-ce Que C'est & UV Tigers KICK OUT THE JAMS @ the Moose Lodge

This is not an actual picture of Aaron from the UV Tigers playing guitar behind his head, but is rather meant to crudely approximate an actual occurence from last nights Chicken!

So we've had three shows and here is a list of the bands that have played:

Fifty on Their Heels
UV Tigers
The Power Chords
Atoms
The Glossines
Qu'est-ce Que C'est
Vanja James

That's a three show line up that we're pretty proud of. Last night was a fitting end to our Chicken! trial run. The UV Tigers gave an intriguing glimpse of an alternate universe where they are a psychedelic 70s jam band instead of being the fairly tight, polished alt rock heroes that they are now.

All of the UV Tigers were really nice! I had a great time talking to Aaron Swanton, the guitarist(ex-Scarlett Symphony). We talked a little about the music industry & other stuff. Qu'est-ce Que C'est put on yet another excellent set- their synthy sounds were well suited (oddly enough) for the humble environs of the moose lodge. Since we determined at about 8:15 that this was going to be our last show for a while, I thought it was important to try to see how late we could go without attracting the cops. So the UV Tigers humbly agreed to play "kick out the jams" style. And did they kick out the jams! Their first song was about, oh, ten minutes long? They were so loud you could hear perfectely from across the street, and they managed to play almost until 11 PM! That beats our previous late finish of 10 PM by an hour!

Aaron, like Clark Kent, played the guitar behind his head and brought like, eighteen different pedals. When I angrily confronted him after the show (accusing him of being a peter frampton style show boater) he assured me that he usually only brought a single pedal, but he wanted to bring it all because he knew the show would be pretty laid back (i.e. nearly empty).

But again, maybe that was what's cool about it- that's a refrain that I've used before- most notably at the near empty Fifty on Their Heels/Grand Ole Party show @ 'Canes; or the near empty record release CHOB show in april with the Power Chords & Fifty on Their Heels. It's a chance to really see the bands in a relaxed, collegial environment. I'm not sure it's worth the $300 I flush down the toilet everytime we do a show there, but it's something of value - a good environment for the bands to hang out, too.

Travis from Qu'est-ce Que C'est & Aaron were both enthusiastic about the "potential" (i.e. unrealized) of the venue. Everyone seemed to think that the bar should be emphasized- I mean, $2 beers? Come on, that's a draw. Of course, that wasn't really the point- the point was do an all-ages thing. Actually, it's quite possible to do both, but the underlying reality is that the number of under 21's who are interested in this project is less than 10. I have more hope in getting an over-21 crowd, but that isn't really the problem here - there are plenty of bars and clubs to play - although I note that the Moose Lodge is closer to central Golden Hill than the Whislte Stop.

So Chicken! won't happen for september (adams avenue steet fair), october (golden hill block party), or november. Maybe in December. Maybe.