Reports from the scene

And here we all thought Wally George was dead. No way, Bill O’Reilly’s forefather is still raiding Garth Brooks’ closet, annoying his daughter Rebecca De Mornay and going out to good ol’ American rock shows, like Joey Cape and Jon Snodgrass at The Casbah on Sunday. When he wasn’t yelling at hipsters about the evils of illegal immigration, Wally rocked out to acoustic versions of Lagwagon and Drag the River songs. America. Fuck yeah!

 

Members of pop-metal band A City Serene were involved in a multi-vehicle collision on Sept. 13 on Interstate 5 near Bakersfield as the band was traveling to its next tour stop. They were traveling north in a small converted school bus when, according to descriptions on the band’s MySpace site, a south-bound pickup truck lost control and crossed the divide, crashing into several cars, including the band’s bus. All of the members had to be airlifted to area hospitals. 

As of Sept. 18, two band members (Michael Sherman and Xander Bourgeois) had been released from the hospital, while the other four remain in serious to critical condition, with two in comas, including 19-year-old singer Carly Baker. The band, all in their late teens and early 20s, were days into a 17-stop tour to help promote their new EP, The Art of Deceiving Perception, when the accident occurred. The tour was to be capped with a SOMA show when they returned home. Donations to help pay for medical costs can be made via the band’s MySpace site, www.myspace.com/acityserene.

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Tape Deck Mountain frontman Travis Trevisan is a busy guy these days. In addition to releasing TDM’s debut, Scantrons, he’s also found time to start a new solo project called Windsurfer and play in a new band called Big Machine. The latter project is in its infancy, but Trevisan confirms it’s a local indie super-group of sorts that includes Keith Milgaten (Jamuel Saxon, Vision of a Dying World), Aimee Sanchez (Black Mamba) and Andy Ralph and Jamie Ralph of Writer.

 

In other new-band news, Mañanaland is fronted by Matt Curreri (Ex-Friends) and includes Dave Mead (The Paddle Boat), Andy Erickson (Shaymos) and Drew Snyder (owner of Andrews Gallery in Leucadia). The band’s sound ranges from harmony-based folk to electro-tinged rock, and they’ll play their first show on Wednesday, Sept. 23, at Soda Bar. 

 

Gregory Page, Berkley Hart, The Teeny Tiny Pit Orchestra and others will play a benefit concert on Thursday, Sept. 24, at The Casbah with proceeds being donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s Race for the Cure. Tickets are $15 at www.casbah

music.com. 

 

The weekend kicked off with a cryptic text invite to a promising outlaw punk show in the middle of Morley Field, but before you could say “Hot Topic,” the nice men from the San Diego Police Department popped up and broke the whole thing apart as I observed from the nearby swing set. Unflinchingly determined and ready for a rough-and-tumble adventure, I headed over to Pecs (2046 University Ave.) for head bartender Jasper’s 45th birthday extravaganza.

A community staple for more than 25 years, Pecs caters to the bear set—the cuddly queer subculture known for their love of Levis, beer pudge and appreciation of beards, which, in their view, are not only currently in style but never really went away.

 

The soirée, dubbed WOP Fest 2009, an homage to the celebrated barkeep’s Sicilian roots, the night doubled as a food drive and spaghetti feed to benefit Special Delivery, a San Diego volunteer-driven food bank that helps people with AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses.

 

Red and white checkered tablecloths and a poster of Don Corleone set the mood, as the 1989 classic Road House starting Patrick Swayze (never forget), played on a big-screen TV.

Pecs, too, had a swing, though this one was made out of chains and black-leather strips and hangs above the men’s room, which is marked by a sign that reads “The great American outhouse.” 

 

As for the birthday boy, who asked to be referred to as Mamma Jasperelli for the night, his favorite gift came earlier that day. “My lover made me breakfast in bed,” he told CityBeat, adding with a hearty chuckle, “The real unwrapping came later though, during dessert.”

 

The bears will once again come out of hibernation for a cause on Friday, Sept 25, for a Jell-O shot fundraiser at Pecs benefiting AIDS Walk San Diego.

It wouldn’t be wholly inaccurate to say the majority of the crowd that showed up Saturday night at the Sight & Sound art event were there just to see The Hot Moon’s debut performance. When half of your band consists of members of Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects and your pseudo-leader (John Paul Labno) used to play guitar in Grand Ole Party, chances are you generated a buzz before even playing a note. 

 

“Where is that voice coming from,” asked a woman next to me in the back lot of the Architecture space in North Park. And she wasn’t alone in her wonderment. Singer and keyboardist Sasha Pfau, dressed in some kind of sequined leotard, had a petite frame that seemed incongruous with her mighty pipes. 

 

“How can you ask of men to relinquish their hold? / Never have, never will / It’s time you learned something about power / It isn’t just, it just is / It just is.” So sang Pfau on the forlorn “Lennon Over Ice.” And whether it was the sound guy’s doing or the strength of her voice alone, people all the way in the back seemed amazed.

 

Aside from the last two songs, most of the set resembled a mish-mash of ’60s R&B and, thanks to a horn section, even ska at times. Though none of the songs seemed fluid, there was a sense that once they have them perfected, The Hot Moon will be a local band to watch. 

 

Sébastien Léger @ Envy at Ivy Hotel: Score one for the Ivy for booking one of Paris’ hottest club DJs. It’d be tempting to call it techno for the Eurotrash hipster set if it didn’t sound so cool. Brent Bartel, DJ Cobra and DJ Este open. Thursday, Sept. 24. 

Battle of the Netherlands @ Envy and Voyeur: There’s actually no such event, but that’s what we’re calling Friday night, because both of these Downtown clubs are hosting Dutch DJs. Which should you hit up? If you’re into a more original sound and appreciate more intricate and thoughtful house music, check out Darren Mase at Voyeur. If you like to dance to club hits remixed with a big beat, then Bart B More is more your flavor. Friday, Sept. 25.

Royal Bangs, Tigercity, DJ Morgan Young @ Beauty Bar: If you’re still living in 2004 and jumping around your room to The Rapture and Klaxons, then Royal Bangs are your new favorite band. Catchy, booty-shakin’ indie rock, followed by scenester forefather Young spinning more than just the flavor of the moment. Saturday, Sept. 26.

Miss Derringer @ Bar Pink: This L.A.-based cutie may sound like Gwen Stefani fronting some kind of pop / rockabilly bastardization, but how often are you gonna see tatted greasers and gay men hanging out at the same spot on the same night? Sunday, Sept. 27.