Searsucker, the New San Diego Restaurant, SUCKS

     Hey I don't like to spread the negativity, but gods honest truth- I went there last night, got there early to have a drink at the bar-  they seated us 20 minutes late and then tried to put us next to the kitchen, like we would be OK with that after waiting an hour and a half to be seated.  They quite obviously did not give a shit about whether we stayed or left because their attitude sucks, and this my reply:  Don't eat at Searsucker unless you are a douche bag or an idiot.

      Also, if you're looking for an alternative, try JSIX around the corner- that place rocks, and it is in fact where we ate after leaving Searsucker.


   Searsucker- you can eat a d***.  You can go f*** yourself with that attitude of yours.  Believe that.  And like I said on my yelp review- please don't reach out to try to patch this up.  This review stands.

BIG FRIDAYS: CROCODILES///WOVEN BONES\\\HEAVY HAWAII @ CASBAH 8/20

Crocodiles Get Gritty With Vintage Gear (SPINNER)
Woven Bones Discuss the Infection of Surf Rock and Their Awesome Name (SF WEEKLY)
"Plan B"  (SAN DIEGO CITY BEAT)

CROCODILES
WOVEN BONES
HEAVY HAWAII
@ THE CASBAH
12 USD 21+
SAN DIEGO CA.

"WHOOP WHOOP IT'S BIG FRIDAY."

UEFA Champions League is On Fox Soccer Channel

  That's 326 for those of you with Cox Cable in San Diego- set your DVR to kill because this week it's the home and home knockouts before the (boring) group stage.  These qualifiers are home and home sets between regional rivals:  This morning while waiting for the plumber I watched a Slovakian side dismantle Sparta Prague- it was SWEET.  The Slovakians CRUSHED the Czechs and drank their bitter tears of failure.

  Here's my DVR right now:
  BSC Young Boys vs. Tottenham Hotspur FC
FC Dynamo Kiev vs. Ajax
FC Zenit St. Petersburg vs. AJ Auxerre


And the rest of today:
SV Werder Bremen vs. UC Sampdoria
SC Braga vs. SC Sevilla
Salzburg vs. Tel Aviv

And then they all play again next week.  Check it out at Cafe Calabria...

BEST COAST BILLBOARD BLOG BUZZZZZZZZ

(BILLBOARD)

Book Review: Keats by Andrew Motion

BOOK REVIEW

Keats: A Biography
by Andrew Motion
p. 1997

    I make a full confession of ignorance when it comes to the actual output of the German/English romantic poets of the late 18th and 19th centuries. I didn't major in literature in college, and honestly, I don't give a f*** about poetry itself except as it relates to song lyrics, and even then, it's not a big concern of mine.  However, as I've been working on book about the relationship between intellectuals and music, I'm taking another look at the romantic poets.

    First of all, Goethe and Schiller are seminal figures when it comes to the attitudes taken by subsequent intellectuals towards music.  Second of all, the successors/contemporaries of those guys- specifically English romantic poets like Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Shelly and Byron have a huge influence on how contemporary intellectuals- artists and writers both, see the role of the artist of in society.

   I think it's fair to say that even those contemporary artists who are utterly ignorant of English poetry in the 19th century share most, if not all, of the attitudes of those artists when it comes to how they see themselves.  They hate the business world, they don't like capitalism, they despise or ignore their critics, they are less concerned with making a living then making a statement.  The romantic poets of 19th century England are kind of the ur-romantic intellectual/artistic figures, so I felt like I should check out this 500 page plus biography of John Keats- one of the more flamboyant figures in a posse characterized by flamboyance.

    John Keats was called a "cockney" poet during his brief, unsuccessful life.  In Motion's lengthy, lengthy book- one of literally dozens of biographies of this subject- Keats emerges like an 18th century analogue of the 20th century pop musicians who comes up "from the streets."  For example, many 50s rock and rollers couldn't read music.  Keats, who drew almost exclusively on Greek myths for his reference points, couldn't read Greek.  Unlike many of the other romantic poets- Keats did not come from a privileged, wealthy background.  The untimely death of both of his parents left him enough money so that he didn't have to actually work for a living, but he was hardly gallivanting around the globe Byron style.  His one trip abroad- to Italy- resulted in his death (at the age of 25.)

   One of the benefits of writing about Keats is that he wrote during a time when people wrote tons of letters and his work was discussed by contemporary critics.  The superabundance of materials makes it easier to talk Keats in a contemporary context.  One interesting aspect of Keats that emerges in Motion's biography is the relationship between Keats, his critics and his friends.  When Keats was writing poetry, poetry was reviewed in much the same way albums and films are reviewed today.  Critics had sharp opinions about the merit of specific poets and their output.  Keats, as a member of the middle classes espousing an anti-government line, came in for harsh, harsh criticism.  He read that criticism, and it totally bummed him out.  At the same time, Keats also had a circle of friends who loved his work and when he met his untimely death they came out and crushed the haters.

  Today, the contemporary critics of Keats sound like morons and his poetry is read by many an American undergraduate.  You wonder if it would have been the same story if he had lived to 85.  Again, Keats is an archetype of the "live fast die young famous forever" artist that has so much influence on the mind of artists working today.

   In conclusion, I'd like to say that Keats life is wholly irrelevant to the work of artists and critics today, because he seems sorta ridiculous to me.  However, it's impossible to ignore the fact that many of the tropes from this biography continue to repeat themselves down to the present day, and this makes Keats a pretty important dude, whether the artists and critics who unwittingly re-enact the episodes of his life in their own contemporary sparring know about him or not.

Pink Playground - Ten (SOUNDCLOUD)

 Pink Playground- Ten by Carl Clan D

  Hey you know what, soundcloud is the shit.  Check out this Pink Playground track from their Tape on ClanDestine Records.  Pink Playground's Sunny Skies b/w Here Comes the Rain is out November 9th.  You know what else is awesome- ClanDestine Records. Like!

SALEM KING NIGHT (SOUNDCLOUD)

  SOUND CLOUD IS THA GAME CHANGER FOR STREAMING MUSIC.

King Night by iamintern

Show Review: Abe Vigoda/Heavy Hawaii/D Wolves/Ancient Crux @ Soda Bar

    I guess you could nit pick the planning and execution of the North Park Music Thing, but from where I'm sitting it's a triumph.  I'm not going to get all cheerleadery but all credit to Kevin Hellman and the San Diego Music Foundation.  I've had my differences with City Beat and the music hierarchs at the Foundation over the last five years, but if you are going to talk smack about the NPMT in 2010 you are a sad rube.  It's easy to stand on the side lines and throw rocks but Kevin and his buddies are making a positive impact in the local music community which is impossible to ignore.  It's easy to trash an annual awards show or a music conference from a certain artistic perspective but that attitiude is itself anachronistic.

     When you talk about the San Diego Music Foundation, you are not talking about the French Academy in the pre-impressionist period (a panel of professionals who determined the market value of paintings in mid 19th century France).  The San Diego Music Foundation works in a diverse, multi-faceted environment where multiple viewpoints compete in a media rich world.  It's not like the NPMT tells people what to think.  It's just a setting where people who give a shit about music can talk about themselves and hopefully learn from professionals.

    After my poorly attended panel @ 11 AM- the "hang over" panel as I and others called it, I went to the beach with my wives family, then it was back to North Park for the- and I want to get this right so I'm going to copy it off my ticket:

  "INDIGENOUS AND PBR PRESENT HAPPY HOUR NORTH PARK MUSIC THING WITH LESANDS AND DJ SET BY KISSES AT BAR PINK 6-8 PM PRIVATE EVENT WITH FREE PBR MUST PRESENT LAMINATE OR BE ON GUEST LIST TO ATTEND"

    I was able to watch Lesands perform for three songs.  Their myspace top 16 does a great job of summing up the concept: Delorean, Neon Indian, Teen Daze, Class Actress.  They are lead by Austin Taylor Tirado- and it's funny because I am pretty sure Kinslee Morlan gave him a shout out in city beat last week but didn't refer to the band.  Lesands are opening for Abe Vigoda in Los Angeles on September 12th and that's a decent gig!  I had to leave early because I was taking Josh Feingold of SESAC to his showcase at the Soda Bar- otherwise I would have gladly watched the entire set- no disrespect Indigenous Promotions...

      The SESAC/ART FAG RECORDINGS SHOWCASE was at the Soda Bar- originally scheduled for Friday night but changed because Abe Vigoda had to open for No Age in LA on Friday night or something.  The first band to play was San Diego's D/Wolves- I loved City Beat calling out the Joel Williams/Nate Williams connection in their NPMT preview, classy, guys- real classy.  D/Wolves turned out their posse-  Mrs. Williams was in the house- someone should sign her up as a scout.  Tim Pyles and Rosey SDDialedin where there.  D/Wolves, by all accounts, killed it.  Their songs were so strong!  I think probably if you can find a band where me, Rosey and Tim Pyles agree strongly in favor, that you've got something going, regardless of what that something is.  Local music fans should take the opportunity to search them out and formulate your own opinion.

   Ancient Crux is still a work in progress- there were some cool hooks and guitar work, but the vocal mix was super muddy and the lyrics and indeed the singing was indistinct.  I would need to hear the vocals more clearly to give a full opinion.

  Heavy Hawaii was strong but seemed kind of bored by how great they are.  They need to hit the road!

  Abe Vigoda KILLED IT.  SO GOOD! They have a synth element going that really connected with me- strong songs- interesting vocals- great package- watch out world here comes ABE VIGODA.  I think they've got the right idea the right time to make a dent.

  The turn out far exceeded my expectations- Tim Pyles came back, Kevin Hellman himself watched Heavy Hawaii and Abe Vigoda and a whole bunch of folks- including Jackson and Craig from Single Screen showed up to watch Abe Vigoda.  It was hard to ignore that the place was filled with people I never see out at shows with similar line ups, and that many of the people I do see at those shows weren't there.  Hard to say that's a bad thing: 51 weeks a year it's one crowd, one week of the year it's another- that's cool.

  The Disc Jockey sets by Martin Ordontez and the CROCO smiles were very keen and much appreciated.  Don't forget to check out Crocodiles with Woven Bones & Heavy Hawaii this Friday night @ TTHEEEE CASBAHHH.


 

SALEM KING MINSTRELS?

MINSTREL SHOW
SALEM KING NIGHT