Sunday Times, Northern Towns & Los Sweepers @ the Casbah

There is no reality but consciousness. In the beginning, right before the big bang, all matter was in unity and all living beings yearn to experience that oneness, that unity. We all want that: To be at one with the universe & to surrender our consciousness and live in blissful harmony for eternity.

The photo above is from the last Los Sweepers show I saw: at the "Auto Cinema" in Mexicali, Mexico on May 11th, 2007. Things I can remember from that night: crossing the border on foot, walking into Mexicali. Driving to the auto cinema. The air burning my throat. Temperature of 100 plus. Watching Slab City perform after midnight.

Last night, Los Sweepers sounded alot better then they did in Mexicali circa 2007. Credit the Casbah sound system for sure. I don't know, garage isn't really my thing, but people dig it for sure and my thought is that Los Sweepers should get together with Andrew Sess/Beaters and record. I bet Andrew could do a really good job recording them, and it would be interesting to hear the result.


I mean can we talk for a bit about white bands ripping off So Cal/Mexican border culture? Black Lips recording in Tijuana- rip off. Let me tell you something about Black Lips in Tijuana- those guys are clowns. Why don't you watch that video I linked to?

Tyvek naming it's interstitial tracks after El Centro and Mexicali- rip off. The band Calexico? They're not from Calexico, they're from Tucson. So let's give Los Sweepers a shot: they are an authentic Imperial Valley area Mexican American garage rock band. Also, they play covers which should be good for all the passive listeners out there.

Northern Towns: My second show w/ Northern Towns. This time I learned that the burly, charismatic front man is actually English, which makes his vocals a little more creditable I guess. I again noticed that Northern Towns has what I would call an above average local band draw. That is to say- they drew a noticeable amount of people who were there to see them specifically. Their performance was very muscular, aggressive punk that combined elements of mod/ska (basslines), late 70s punk rock (jam cover) and some songs that def. reminded me of Fugazi. Honestly, it's a well executed blend of unfashionable genres.

I think the thing with bands that work in non-hipster genres is when it works, it works, you know what I mean? You just have to kill it at the box office with your draw, and then what are people going to say? They aren't going to say anything. They want your audience to come to your show- that's a good thing and 95% of bands don't make it that far. Northern Towns has already made it that far. They should try to get some shows in the beach towns since I'm pretty sure all the Sublime and Slightly Stoopid fans would go nuts. I'm not entirely positive that they have the mix exactly right- seems like Sublime fans would want "more ska" but then what do I know? Nothing. To me Northern Towns occupies a similar space that Delta Spirit did (in a different genre/fan space, obv.) I'll be interested to see "what happens" with the recordings and how they are distributed.

The Last Blog on Earth had this to say about Sunday Times yesterday, "If you’re into Apes of Wrath and Soft Pack and desperately miss The Prayers, then Sunday Times are your new favorite local band. Clever post-punk that sounds like a cross between Dead Milkmen and The Jam." That is a quip! I literally can't say it better myself. I think Seth has perfectly encapsulated the appeal of Sunday Times. Also, Junior's new song was a real hit- no title. Clean that baby up and record it.