The musical journey continues as I continue to reminisce about endeavors of good old 2011. There was so much good music packed into one year but choices must be made (or so I’ve been informed).
8. Cage the Elephant– I remember when this band caught some buzz in 2010 and for one reason or another, I was never able to attend a show to see if they lived up to the hype. Thankfully for me, Cage the Elephant played Wrex the Halls this year in San Diego and I happened to be lucky enough to work the show. I was shooting video from the mixer in the middle of the floor and despite my distance, I could feel their energy. The highlight of their set was singer Matthew Shultz’s crowd surfing. He came off the stage into the crowd not once, not twice, but three times! The last time was after the band finished playing and had walked off stage. He looked out into the crowed, shrugged his shoulders as if to say ‘why not?’ and crowd surfed his way off stage.
7. Milk Carton Kids and Joe Purdy– At barely a year old, The Milk Carton kids have really started to make a name for themselves. I first saw one half of The Milk Carton Kids when Joey Ryan opened for Carney a few years ago. I was enchanted with him then and soon he was making music with his musical soul mate (or so it seems), Kenneth Pattengale. In 2011, they came through San Diego a few times, one of which was supporting Joe Purdy at The Belly Up. I remember this show specifically because a few friends joined me for the show and one of them was so taken with The Milk Carton Kids and the childhood memories they brought back to her, she started to cry. Joe Purdy was new to me and he did not disappoint! It was a lovely night all around and I’ll hold it fondly in my mind for quite some time.
6. North Park Music Thing– Now known as the San Diego Music Thing. I think. It might change it’s name again. All you really need to know is that it is 2 days full of speakers and music. In the morning/afternoon you can find workshops with top dog speakers about anything from touring to selling your music for tv. There is a whole other slew of workshops from basic music industry 101 to the state of radio. The evening is chock full of local acts at local venues. To give you an idea, this year included music from; Nico Vega, Kevin Martin, The Silent Comedy, Andy Clockwise, Endoxi, Youngblood Hawke, White Apple Tree, Grand Tarantula, The New Kinetics, Queen Caveat, Republic of Letters, Saint Motel, Purple Melon, Little Hurricane, Mattson 2, Miss Erika Davies, Jesse LaMonaca and the Dime Novels, The Heavy Guilt, Cuckoo Chaos, The Nervous Wreckords, Writer, Gregory Page, Steve Poltz, Maren Parusel, and Dynamite Walls. And that was in two days!
While Nico Vega isn’t a San Diego band, they were just a few of the guests we had in from LA!