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Song of the Day: “Mother Mother” by Tracy Bonham

Posted on by Kristen

Since its release, I’ve been listening to a lot of Hugo’s Old Tyme Religion. It’s a great CD and I’ve been enjoying it…but driving into work the other day, my roommate and I made the decision that the general tone of the album was just too positive for our current state. Posing questions like “what in the world were you born to do” was just too much…
I needed to find a song that more accurately reflected my current outlook on life. I flipped through my Ipod until I landed on this song. Tracy Bonham’s “Mother Mother” fit so perfectly I put it on repeat.  Tracy may scream “everything’s fine” but we all know what she really means. Plus, it’s highly cathartic to join in.

I’ve seen The Veronicas do a version of this song live. Jess does a fine job with the screaming…

 

 

~ Kristen

Nico Vega

Posted on by Amanda

So tonight is a really fantastic show at The Casbah and while I can’t go, you should go and enjoy it for me! My other music half is driving down from LA just for the night for this show!! Nico Vega always puts on an impressive show (I remember Kristen telling me that after the show was done, Rich the guitarist threw an amp on his guitar!) and Aja has a beautiful voice to boot. Now, while you think I might just be saying that, let me remind you that I was an extra in the music video shoot for Gravity and we got a free show of sorts and her voice is better live than on the recording. If you have no idea what video I’m talking about go here.
When you fall in love with them like I have you can find them on their official website that has all sorts of goodies and will connect you to their Facebook and Myspace pages (or you can just click the links I gave you). Go and enjoy the show for me and I’ll pretend that I’m not stuck here at school until 10:30 tonight.

Amanda’s SD Concert Calendar 4/8-4/14

Posted on by Amanda

What a gloomy Monday it is in San Diego today. At least it waited until after my weekend of fun. “April showers bring May flowers” as they say, although it’s not really raining here. It’s just gloomy and drizzly which makes me want to nap. Thankfully I have a ticket for the acoustic Silent Comedy show tonight which will kick the gloom and get me out of the house. As for the rest of the week…
 

Monday: The Silent Comedy Acoustic Show @ El Dorado at 9pm
AND: Secondhand Serenade, Juliet Simms, Veronica Ballestrini, Belmont Lights @ Soda Bar at 8pm
AND: Neighbors to the North @ Casbah at 9pm

Tuesday: Lillian LeFranc @ Ruby Room at 9pm
AND: The New Kinetics @ Griffin at 8:30pm

Wednesday: Kip Moore, The Wild Feathers, Courtney Cole @ House of Blues at 8pm
AND: Barbarian, The Lonely Wild, Warships @ Griffin at 8:30pm

Thursday: One I Red, The Tilt @ Casbah at 9pm
AND: Ben Howard @ Belly Up at 9pm

Friday: The Material @ Soda Bar
AND: Mister Loveless, The Dead Ships, The Steelwells, The Stupid Daikini @ Griffin at 8:30pm
AND: The Expendables @ House of Blues at 7pm
AND: Lexington Field @ Tin Can Alehouse at 9:30pm
AND: The Darrows @ The Whistlestop at 8:30pm
AND: Jason Manns @ Lestats at 8:30pm
AND: Coachella

Saturday: The Beautiful View @ Soda Bar at 8:30pm
AND: Coachella

Sunday: Lucero and Langhorne Slim @ Belly Up at 9pm
AND: Gayle Skidmore @ Lestats at 8:30pm
AND: Coachella

 

Keep in Mind:
April 15th- The Neighbourhood @ Porter’s Pub
April 15th- Franz Ferdinand @ Humphrey’s By The Bay
April 16th- Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds @ Balboa Theater
April 16th- Alt- J @ Belly Up
April 17th- Alex Clare @ House of Blues
April 19th-21st- Coachella
April 22nd- The Gaslight Anthem @ Belly Up
April 23rd- Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ House of Blues
April 24th- Chappo @ Soda Bar
April 26th- Transfer, Dead Feather Moon, Grand Tarantula @ Belly Up
April 26th- Alkaline Trio @ House of Blues
May 1st- The Killers @ Honda Center
May 4th- Crash Kings, Chris Wilson and Planet Earth @ Griffin
May 10th/11th- Mayday Parade, You Me At Six @ Soma
May 12th- The Milk Carton Kids @ Belly Up
May 17th- X-Fest feat: 30 Seconds to Mars, Jimmy Eat World, Silversun Pickups, Fitz and the Tantrums, Atlas Genius, Capital Cities, New Politics
May 22nd- Bloc Party @ House of Blues
May 25th- Cold War Kids @ Belly Up
May 27th- Cold War Kids @ Belly Up
May 29th- !!! @ Casbah
June 1st- Imagine Dragons @ SDSU Open Air Theater
June 3rd- Mumford and Sons @ Sleep Train Amphitheater
June 16th- They Might Be Giants @ Belly Up
June 21st- She and Him @ SDSU Open Air Theater
September 6th- Dave Matthews Band @ Cricket Wireless
September 22nd- Depeche Mode @ Sleep Train Amiptheatre
September 22nd- Fall Out Boy @ Valley View Casino Center

Pepper’s Ghost Countdown: 6 Weeks!

Posted on by Kristen

I first heard Pepper’s Ghost when they came to play a show on my college campus. It was love at first note…during the soundcheck even. They were the first local band I “discovered” thus opening the portol to the world of live local music and beyond. Seriously, had I not stumbled upon this band, my life would probably not be what it is today.
This is one of the many reasons why I am so excited to see them play once again January 22nd at The Grape Room.

Pepper’s Ghost also offered me the opportunity to participate in my first concert shoot at The Trocadero the summer of 2006. Here’s one of the songs we recorded that night…

~ Kristen

Let’s go to Camp!

Posted on by Kristen

Last week marked the first Friday of the Camp Freddy December residency at The Roxy. Honestly I didn’t know who Camp Freddy was. I just went because Queen Caveat was opening. I am SO glad I stuck around however, because seeing premiere rock musicians just obliterate such a tiny stage was quite the surreal experience.
For those of you who also don’t know who Camp Freddy is, they are a core group of top notch musicians (Dave Navarro, Billy Morrison, Matt Sorum, Donovan Leitch, Jr., Chris Chaney) who are joined by a series of unannounced guest musicians in playing a set of covers of amazing rock songs. Last week’s guest vocalists included Nikka Costa, Franky Perez, Richard Patrick (Filter), Sully Erna (Godsmack), Angelo Moore (Fishbone), Glen Hughes (Deep Purple), etc. It was such a treat!

I don’t know what this says about me, but I think my favorite moments were Richard Patrick fronting “Hey Man, Nice Shot” (LOVE that song), the guy who played the guitar…with a bow, and anything done by Billy Morrison (he was 5 feet in front of me…I was mesmerized).

Unfortunately, all the residency dates are sold out. BUT there might still be tickets for Camp Freddy’s New Years Eve celebration. Can you imagine who might show up there? If only I had the money…

This video someone took from last week’s Camp Freddy show. I would like to dedicate it to all my students in the class I’m TAing who take their final exam today…

~ Kristen

Hanson’s 12 hour SXSW4Japan Benefit: Album now Available!

Posted on by Kristen

So many things were going on in Austin the week of SXSW that it’s impossible to do/see/even know about it all. One thing I was tangentially aware of was Hanson’s efforts to raise money for those in Japan suffering from the tsunami fallout. Apparently the brothers put together a fundraiser in less than 24 hours that brought in over $100,000 worth of donations for the Red Cross.  The fundraiser was in the form of a telethon that took place on the last Saturday of SXSW and featured so many wonderful artists coming in and giving exclusive performances that were then streamed live.
Sxsw4japan.org is re-streaming the performances RIGHT NOW!: http://sxsw4japan.org/

Even more exciting, ITunes and Amazon.com are now selling a digital album called SXSW4Japan featuring nearly 50 tracks from the artists that participated. All proceeds are going to the Red Cross.

So, what are you waiting for? GO and get it!

http://www.amazon.com/Sxsw4japan/dp/B004UY1TSY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302031272&sr=8-1

Some of my favorite artists featured include: Hanson, The Lonely Forest, Cary Brothers, The Boxer Rebellion, Laura Jansen, Alpha Rev, Jenny O, Keaton Simons, Anna Nalick, The Parlotones, Kina Grannis, Michelle Branch, and Rooney…but there are SOOOOOO many more!

Charlie Mars at the SXSW4Japan benefit:

Hanson covers “Lean on Me”

~ Kristen

Watch live streaming video from sxsw4japan at livestream.com

Tonight! George Stanford at The Hotel Cafe

Posted on by Kristen

After a day like today, I’m really going to need a cathartic sing-along. Fortunately another Philly transplant, George Stanford has a gig at The Hotel Cafe. With songs like “Big Drop” and “Nikole” one can’t help but sing and sway all your troubles away. George’s plesant voice and mellow vibe is sure to relax me before I gear up for another work weekend. If you also need a dose of TGIF, for whatever reason, come join me tonight, Friday October 15th 11pm at The Hotel Cafe!

Come early for a little Sahara Smith (7pm), Laura Martin with Arrica Rose (8pm), Maxim Ludwig and the Santa Fe Seven (9pm), and Parlor Hawk (10pm) and stay for Johnny Moezzi at midnight.

Let’s hear it for a lovely evening of  music at the end of a challenging week!

~ Kristen