Here's where I'd be

These are bands we especially dig,
not full listings. For those, please see
Concerts and Clubs.

Wednesday, Jan. 9

PLAN A: The Morning Benders @ Beauty Bar. It’s possible that The Morning Benders have spent a little too much time lying in bed, just like Brian Wilson did. But it seems to help the Berkeley band blend The Beach Boys and The Thrills into the foggy euphoria of a sunny California morning. PLAN B: Republic of Letters, Autotonic, Soundescape @ The Casbah. Republic of Letters is coming to grips with the sordid realities—long drives, van breakdowns, smelly feet—of a viable touring act. But, judging by their 2007 EP Spirit or a Ghost, it sounds like they’ll get used to it. PLAN C: David Lindley @ Belly Up. Lindley takes the title of “multi-instrumentalist” seriously. Aside from plain ol’ guitar (which has earned him jobs with Jackson Browne, James Taylor and Bob Dylan), Lindley dabbles in banjo, lap-steel guitar, violin and several instruments you can’t pronounce (oud, bouzouki, cümbüs), let alone play.

Thursday, Jan. 10

PLAN A: The Exfriends, The Midwinters @ Belly Up. You know that “Hey Delilah” song from the Plain White Ts? Yeah, well, The Exfriends’ “Hey Maria” isn’t like that. It’s a peppy alt-country romp that cribs lines from “Faith” (by George Michael and, uh, Limp Bizkit). It’s also a lot better than that sounds. PLAN B: Hello Operator @ Beauty Bar. If you’ve been looking for a band that bridges the yawning new wave divide between The Cars and The Killers, you can call off the search. Turns out, Hello Operator was just hiding in Toronto. Oh, Canada. You’re always the last place we look. PLAN C: The Dwarves @ The Casbah. These Chicago punk progenitors have brawled on stage, performed naked, faked the murder of lead guitarist He Who Cannot Be Named and released albums like Free Cocaine, Lucifer’s Crank and Blood Guts & Pussy, the latter featuring naked people (two women and a dwarf, who happens to be sodomizing a rabbit) drenched in blood on the album cover. Otherwise, they’re completely normal.

Friday, Jan. 11

PLAN A: Birds & Batteries, Swim Party @ Surf & Saddle. It’s a rare, glorious occasion when I get to use the word “onomatopoeia” in this column. But, in fact, Birds & Batteries accurately describes the whimsical electricity generated by this San Francisco band. Swim Party sounds kinda like a swim party, albeit one where the skinny indie kids are too shy to take their shirts off and jump in the pool. PLAN B: Xavier Rudd @ House of Blues. Rudd is the Dave Matthews of Australia. Or the Jack Johnson of Canada. Or another Paul Simon in South Africa circa Graceland. Otherwise, he’s just some Aussie named Xavier Rudd using a guitar and didgeridoo to play songs about aborigines at the House of Blues. PLAN C: Thomas Ian Nicholas, Miggs @ Lestat’s. You know Thomas Ian Nicholas as Kevin Myers from the American Pie series. These days the actor/musician is touting his debut album (Without Warning) and trying to stay as far away from Tara Reid as humanly possible.

Saturday, Jan. 12

PLAN A: The Black Heart Procession @ The Casbah. See our feature about plaque-encrusted aortas on parade on this page. PLAN B: The Bloody Hollies, Get Back Loretta, Fono, Demasiado @ ’Canes. If you’re going to revive garage rock, you might as well shock the sumbitch back to life. The Bloody Hollies do, with frantic garage blues earnest enough to convince you that the band picks album titles like Who to Trust, Who to Kill, Who to Love because they’re seriously considering all three. PLAN C: It Prevails, The Aurora Complex, Recon, American Me @ SOMA. It Prevails puts the “hardcore” in, well, hardcore. Why else would the Portland punks kick off 2008 with 54 shows in 23 states in 66 days? Lucky for us, the band hits San Diego well before gangrene sets in.

Sunday, Jan. 13

PLAN A: Charlie Romo @ Anthology. I’ll admit my Spanish is rusty, but what I glean from Romo’s official bio (en Español) is that he was born in San Diego. He is a versatile artist. His musical influences are diverse. His music has landed him on radio and Univision. And his favorite soft drink may or may not be Fresca. Luckily, the appeal of his Latin jazz/pop—and new album Como Olvidar—translates far better than I can. PLAN B: Eddie Spaghetti, Jordan Shapiro @ The Casbah. Mr. Spaghetti apparently enjoyed San Diego so much during his Dec. 28 show with The Supersuckers that he decided to hang around for a solo run.

Monday, Jan. 14

PLAN A: The Weather Underground, The Roman Spring @ The Casbah. You might expect a band named after a radical student organization to be a little more, um, radical with its music. Instead, The Weather Underground—named after a pseudo-revolutionary/anarchy group from the Vietnam era—delivers indie rock about social injustices that have nothing (or at least less) to do with the fact that you haven’t gotten laid in a long, long time.  

Tuesday, Jan. 15

PLAN A: Lupe Fiasco @ Belly Up. Kick, push and claw your way to our Fiasco feature on this page. PLAN B: Ya Ya Boom @ Scolari’s Office. In a parallel universe, Grand Ole Party moved to New Mexico, added a fourth member, recorded an album in somebody’s basement and called themselves Ya Ya Boom.