Author: Amanda

Amanda’s Top 10 Shows of 2011 (Coming Soon)

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Earlier in the week I made mention of wanting to post my “Top 10 Concerts of 2011” and said something along the lines of wanting to post a few per day. Well, I lied. See, here’s the thing….

My concert going year is not quite over. I just spent an enchanted evening in Chicago listening to William Beckett play for an hour or so with wonderful opening acts like Jennifer Hall, Bonaventure and Into It. Over It. Tomorrow night I’ll be seeing The Silent Comedy, Transfer, The Creepy Creeps, Low Volts, and The Heavy Guilt (plus a few more). So you see, my musical year is not complete and as such, I cannot give a list quite yet.

However, you can be sure to find this list in a day or so after New Years. Only then can I give you a complete and through top 10 list 🙂

Amanda’s SD Concert Calendar 12/26-1/1

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It’s a fresh new Monday fresh from Christmas. I hope everyone had a lovely time filled with family, friends, and good times. I also hope you got everything you wanted and nothing you didn’t (but if not, there is always Amazon or Craigslist)!

Can you believe New Years is on Saturday? Where did the year go? Well, I’ll be posting some musical highlights from my year later this week. Speaking of New Years, the only place you should be is at the Lafayette Hotel for the Silent Comedy/Transfer show which features The Creepy Creeps, Low Volts and The Heavy Guilt. It’s going to be a crazy good time!!

Since it’s still a holiday week, shows are rather light but we still got some good stuff!

 

Monday: Relax

Tuesday: Cracker @ Belly Up @8 $20/$22
AND: Thieves of the American Dream @ Soda Bar @830 $5
AND: The Filthy Violets @ Casbah @9 $5
AND: Lillian Lefranc & The Proper Villans @ Ruby Room @9 $2

Wednesday: Shrewd Lucy @ Ruby Room @9 $5

Thursday: The Bruises @ Soda Bar @830 $5
AND: Christian Taylor and Scott Mathiasen @ Ruby Room @9  $5

Friday: Get Back Loretta and The Burning of Rome @ Casbah @930 $10
AND: Wendy Bailey CD Release Show @ Bar Pink @ 9
AND: Josh Damigo B-Day Bash @ Lestats @8

Saturday: The Silent Comedy and Transfer w/The Creepy Creeps, The Heavy Guilt, Low Volts, and more! @ Mississippi Room $25-$40
AND: Euphoria: NYE at The Ivy w/ Hyena @8
AND: River City and The Western Set @ Tin Can Alehouse @930 $5

Sunday: Recover

 

Keep in Mind:

January 6th- The Nervous Wreckords, Blackout Party, Grand Tarantula, and The Heavy Guilt @ Casbah $8/$10
January 7th- A Scribe Amidst the Lions and The Flowerthief @ Casbah $8/$10
January 11th- Milk Carton Kids @ Anthology
January 12th- Zane Carney @ Lestats @8 $10
January 13th- Everest and Midnight Rivals @ Casbah $13/$15
January 22nd- Wilco and With Denim @ House of Blues
February 3rd- Mute Math @ 4th & B
February 10th- Young the Giant @ Soma
February 23rd- Ra Ra Riot @ Belly Up @8 $18

Amanda’s SD Concert Calendar 12/19-12/25

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I just finished making a pasta salad and cheesy mashed potatoes for a family holiday dinner tonight. I wonder how much more food I can get before I really expand….   Can you believe Christmas is on Sunday? That means the new year is right around the corner!

Since it’s the holiday week the show schedule is quite light. I won’t complain since it gives me time to shop and wrap gifts!

 

Monday: Pinkback @ Belly Up @9 $20
AND: Wendy Bailey @ Ruby Room @8 $4

Tuesday: Give some music to a friend

Wednesday: Finish shopping!

Thursday: Skyline Union @ Tin Can Alehouse @9 $5

Friday: Writer @ Soda Bar @9
AND: Cash’d Out @ Belly Up @9 $16/$18

Saturday: Last minute present wrapping!

Sunday: Merry Christmas!

 

Keep in Mind:

December 27th- Cracker @ Belly Up @8 $20/$22
December 30th- Get Back Loretta and The Burning of Rome @ Casbah @930 $10
December 31st- The Silent Comedy and Transfer w/The Creepy Creeps, The Heavy Guilt, Low Volts, and more! @ Mississippi Room $25-$40
January 11th- Milk Carton Kids @ Anthology
January 22nd- Wilco and With Denim @ House of Blues
February 3rd- Mute Math @ 4th & B
February 10th- Young the Giant @ Soma
February 23rd- Ra Ra Riot @ Belly Up @8 $18

Amanda’s SD Concert Calendar 12/12-12/18

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Well the holidays are knocking at our doors and it seems like we were just having some summer fun. I can tell you that the holidays bring wonderful holiday shows to our lovely San Diego area. I myself was part of the media crew for 91X and was at Wrex the Halls both days. When I wasn’t shooting some video or stills, I was watching bands like Cage the Elephant (my personal fav), Florence + The Machine (from the side sage!), Naked and Famous, Mutemath (headstand on a piano just because), Blink 182 (Travis Barker is amazing!!), Pennywise, Switchfoot (super fun), Death Cab for Cutie (watched Ben Gibbard do a drum breakdown from side stage), and soooo many more bands! It was wonderful and magical as always. Never thought I would have the opportunity to do such great things!

But enough about me! What’s this week have in store?

 

Monday: The Boxer Rebellion and The Beautiful View @ Casbah @9 $14
AND: White Wives @ Soda Bar @830 $8
AND: Jingle Ball w/Christina Perri, Parachute, and Scars on 45 @ Anthology $20-$295
AND: Megan Combs @ Ruby Room @830 $4

Tuesday: The Filthy Violets and Italian Japanese @ Casbah @9 $5
AND: Dinosaur Jr. and appearance by Henry Rollins @ Belly Up @9 $26/$28

Wednesday: Deas Vail, Sick of Sarah, and The Midwinters @ Soda Bar @8 $8
AND: Echo Revolution and The Get Down Automatic @ Casbah @9 $5
AND: Stripes and Lines and Manzarek- Rogers Band @ Belly Up @9 $28/$30
AND: The Beautiful View @ Bar Pink @9

Thursday: The White Buffalo, River City and April Ventura and The Magnolias @ Casbah @9 $12/$14
AND: Skyline Union @ Tin Can Alehouse @930 $5
AND: Dead Winter Carpenters @ Lestats @8

Friday: One I Red CD Release Party @ Eleven @9 $6
AND: Unwritten Law @ Belly Up @9 $20/$22
AND: Cuckoo Chaos @ Soda Bar @830 $8/$10
AND: The Styletones @ Bar Pink
AND: Lessons From Zeke @ Griffin @9 $5

Saturday: Endoxi and Gary Hoey @ House of Blues SD @8 $20-$37
AND: Love and A .38 @ Griffin  @9 $5

Sunday: Rest up for some holiday shopping!

 

Keep in Mind:

December 19th- Pinback @ Belly Up
December 30th- Get Back Loretta and The Burning of Rome @ Casbah @930 $10
December 31st- The Silent Comedy and Transfer w/The Creepy Creeps, The Heavy Guilt, Low Volts, and more! @ Mississippi Room $25-$40
January 11th- Milk Carton Kids @ Anthology
January 22nd- Wilco and With Denim @ House of Blues
February 3rd- Mute Math @ 4th & B
February 10th- Young the Giant @ Soma
February 23rd- Ra Ra Riot @ Belly Up @8 $18

Amanda’s San Diego Show Calendar 12/5-12/11

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I hope you folks don’t catch the nasty cold that’s going around. I have it, it’s redoubled it’s efforts and doesn’t seem to want to leave. Doesn’t it know I have shows to attend this week? I wasn’t able to make it out at all last weekend due to my being a spaz and straining my back. I want to get back in it with a vengeance. Thankfully, we have some music to make that happen 🙂

 

Monday: The Mickey Hart Band @ Belly Up @8 $27

Tuesday: Peter Murphy and She Wants Revenge @ Belly Up
AND: Patrick Norton @ El Dorado @9
AND: Buxton @ Soda Bar @830 $5

Wednesday: Find another way to entertain yourself 🙂

Thursday: Tennis and Miniature Tigers @ Casbah @10 $12/$14

Friday: The Builders and The Butchers @ Casbah @930 $12
AND: The Flowerthief @ Tin Can Alehouse @930 $5
AND: The Gaffer @ The Griffin @9 $5

Saturday: Wrex the Halls w/Florence and The Machine, Death Cab for Cutie, Cage the Elephant, The Airborne Toxic Event, and The Naked and Famous @ Valley View Casino Center (formerly Sports Arena) @8
AND: Mattson 2 @ Lestats @8
AND: The Chris Robinson Brotherhood @ Belly Up @9 $21/$23
AND: Assemble the Skyline @ Soma @630 $8/$10

Sunday: Wrex the Halls w/Blink 182, Social Distortion, Pennywise, DMC, Switchfoot, Everlast, and Mutemath @ Valley View Casino Center (formerly Sports Arena) @8

 

Keep in Mind:

December 12th- Jingle Ball w/Christina Perri, Parachute, and Scars on 45 @ Anthology $20-$295
December 14th- Echo Revolution and The Get Down Automatice @ Casbah @9 $5
December 16th- One I Red CD Release Party @ Eleven @9 $6
December 19th- Pinback @ Belly Up
December 30th- Get Back Loretta and The Burning of Rome @ Casbah @930 $10
December 31st- The Silent Comedy and Transfer w/The Creepy Creeps, The Heavy Guilt, Low Volts, and more! @ Mississippi Room $25-$40
January 11th- Milk Carton Kids @ Anthology
January 22nd- Wilco and With Denim @ House of Blues
February 3rd- Mute Math @ 4th & B
February 10th- Young the Giant @ Soma
February 23rd- Ra Ra Riot @ Belly Up @8 $18

Amanda’s SD Concert Calendar 11/28-12/4

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I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving! Kristen came down to my place and we feasted on way too much food. It was a wonderful dinner and we still have tons of leftovers. On another note, can you believe it’s almost December?! I mean, where did the time go? I realize I say that a lot but it must really get away from me. I swear it was just summer.

Speaking of it being almost December, holiday shows start rolling around and the first one is this week! First we have the KPRI Holiday Soiree on Wednesday. Next is the Holiday Hootenany from 94/9. If neither of those tickle your fancy, we have a great week of shows to get out and see!

 

Monday: Skyline Union @ Soda Bar @830 $5
AND: Chad Cavanaugh @ Ruby Room @8 $4
AND: Timothy B. Schmit @ Belly Up @8 $25

Tuesday: Russian Circles @ Casbah @9 $12
AND: Freezepop @ Soda Bar @830 $8/$10

Wednesday: KPRI Holiday Soiree w/Fitz and the Tantrums, The Head and The Heart, and Mayer Hawthorne @ Balboa Theater @8 $40
AND: Lindy Crandall, Scott Allen Knost, and Sterling Witt @ Lestats @8
AND: The Entrance Band @ Soda Bar @830 $8/$10
AND: Low Volts @ Casbah @9 $20

Thursday: Nick Waterhouse and The Tarots @ Soda Bar @830 $8/$10
AND: The Dollyrots @ Bar Pink @9
AND: Italian Japanese @ El Dorado @9
AND: Cass McCombs Band and The Donkeys @ Casbah @9 $12

Friday: The Deep Dark Woods, The Howls and Jesse LaMonaca and The Dime Novels @ Soda Bar @830 $8
AND: The Black Heart Procession @ Casbah @9 $12/$14
AND: Josh Damigo @ The Irenic @8 $10/$15
AND: Kevin Martin @ Museum of Making Music @7 $10
AND: Jane Lui, AJ Rafel, and Jesse Barrera @ Lestats @8

Saturday: Little Hurricane and The Heavy Guilt @ Casbah @9 $14
AND: Holiday Hootenanny w/My Morning Jacket, Two Door Cinema Club, Matt & Kim, Delta Spirit, and The Blackout Party @ USD
AND: Hurricane Bells @ Bar Pink @9
AND: Burning of Rome @ Tin Can Alehouse @9 $5

Sunday: Girl in a Coma and Fences @ Casbah @9 $10

 

Keep in Mind:
December 6th- Peter Murphy and She Wants Revenge @ Belly Up
December 6th- Patrick Norton @ El Dorado @9
December 10th- The Chris Robinson Brotherhood @ Belly Up
December 10th- Mattson 2 @ Lestats
December 10th- Wrex the Halls w/Florence and The Machine, Death Cab for Cutie, Cage the Elephant, The Airborne Toxic Event, and The Naked and Famous @ Valley View Casino Center (formerly Sports Arena) @8
December 11th- Wrex the Halls w/Blink 182, Social Distortion, Pennywise, DMC, Switchfoot, Everlast, and Mutemath @ Valley View Casino Center (formerly Sports Arena) @8
December 12th- Jingle Ball w/Christina Perri, Parachute, and Scars on 45 @ Anthology $20-$295
December 19th- Pinback @ Belly Up
December 31st- The Silent Comedy and Transfer w/The Creepy Creeps, The Heavy Guilt, Low Volts, and more! @ Mississippi Room $25-$40
January 11th- Milk Carton Kids @ Anthology
January 22nd- Wilco and With Denim @ House of Blues
February 3rd- Mute Math @ 4th & B
February 10th- Young the Giant @ Soma
February 23rd- Ra Ra Riot @ Belly Up @8 $18

LMN Band Exam: Vanaprasta

Posted on by Amanda

If you have yet to see LA indie rockers, Vanaprasta, dominate the stage at The Satellite during their November residency, you have two more opportunities (tonight/11.21 and next Monday/11.28). Don’t miss out!  Over the last year or so, I’ve watched this band really come into their own and with the recent release of their album, Healthy Geometry, they have become one of the most buzzed about bands on the local scene.  What amazes me about this band is the depth and energy of their tunes and the visceral impact they can have on an entire audience (we can call it the Vanaprasta effect). Witness for yourself. Monday nights in November. 11pm.

We wanted to get to know the band a bit better, so we had them take our Band Exam. Here are the responses we got from Steven (Vocals/Keys), Collin (Guitar/Vocals/Keys), Taylor (Bass/Vocals/Keys), Cam (Guitar) and Smiley (Drums)

 

Multiple Choice:

Favorite superhero: superman, batman, spiderman

Smiley: Batman for sure.

Favorite subject in school: math, science, history, recess

Steven: SCIENCE

Vacation destination: beach, mountains, moon

Steven: MOON

No-shave November: I’m in!, nooo way, what?

Cam: I’m in!

 

Fill in the Blank:

If I were a character from The Wizard of Oz, I would be__Toto (Taylor)___.

My karaoke song is       The Rolling Stones, “Sympathy for the Devil” (Collin)  .

One weird talent/skill no one would expect from me is    I’m a helluva driver (Steven)   .

Two words to describe Vanaprasta’s November residency at The Satellite   Chick Central (Cam)   . 

 

Essay/Short Answer:

If you weren’t rockin’ out as a musician, what would be your ideal job?

Smiley: I guess if I wasn’t the multi-millionaire mega rock star that I am…I’d want to be Walker Texas Ranger. He’s s real American hero in my book. Not a fan of Chuck Norris but Walker Texas Ranger, now that’s a guy with his priorities straight. I guess I would want to be a (walker) Texas ranger.

What does Vanaprasta mean to you?

Taylor: To me, it means “a moderately sized moat surrounding a cottage or shack.”

Tell us a story about one of the songs off Healthy Geometry

Collin: G- is a special song for me personally because it was a song I wrote on acoustic guitar about 2 or 3 years before VANAPRASTA even existed. When I first got a chance to hang with the guys and we were just kind of jamming songs that we had written I started playing G-.  Cam and I had done very little guitar playing together at the time but as soon as he started jamming to it I was like “shit, that’s it!”.  I must have played that song with a million different people and lots of people had cool takes on the song but for some reason Cam’s parts struck a chord in the song I didn’t really ever see.  This song also helped Steven’s voice develop into more of a rock singer.  Overall I think the song taught us something about our sound and what we were capable of which I try to never forget.

 

 

~ Kristen