Zodiac Heads/Circle of Animals: Gold 
Locals Only
More bad news for local bands with a punk bent: On the heels of Scolari’s Office’s recent transformation, fellow North Park rock club Chaser’s closed its doors last week and has cancelled all upcoming shows. It’s been confirmed that Bluefoot Bar & Lounge owners Cuong Nguyen and Adam Cook have purchased the property with plans to renovate and reopen by December. While he didn’t give specifics on the renovation or say whether the name would be changed, Cook said the plans for the place aren’t extreme. “We’re just gonna give it the facelift that it’s been needing for awhile and turn it into an even better music venue than it’s been,” he said. Posts on Punkboardnews.com and Yelp.com weren’t so optimistic, with many locals lamenting the fact that yet another North Park dive is going to be renovated. Wrote one poster: “First it was Scolaris, Zombie [Lounge], Chasers…… if they touch Live Wire or Tower I’m burning this fucken [sic] city down!”
Sadder news came last Wednesday, when San Diego’s jazz community lost singer Barbara Jamerson, who’d been a steady performer at the Hotel Del Coronado for years, also making consistent appearances at clubs around San Diego with her trio, Two Deep. She’s been nominated for a 2008 San Diego Music Award for her most recent album, I Wish You Love. After a performance at Pala Casino on Sunday, Aug. 17, the vocalist complained of loss of feeling in her legs, and was taken to the hospital to undergo a series of tests which revealed a tumor in her midsection, according to an e-mail from her friend Chris Klich. Shortly afterward, she went into cardiac arrest, and passed away after several days on life support. A musical celebration of Jamerson’s life will happen from 1 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 27, at Humphrey’s Backstage Lounge in Point Loma. For more information on Jamerson’s music and passing, see Barbarajamer son.pbwiki.com or Myspace.com/ barbarajamerson.
Not so sad is that The Displaced seem to be back—for real. The core duo of guitarist Simon Mandel and bassist Jen Jansen have finally gotten over their drummerphobia and have played three excellent shows, culminating last Monday with a Casbah performance.
Says the always-witty Mandel, “Maybe it’s this new generation’s influences. Throw together Hannah Montana, Soldier Boy and Adderall, and you’ve got their typical club night. Us old farts have to break through that to make an impact.” He added, “It does seem like there’s a lack of real good rock bands coming out to play in San Diego these days, so why not [reunite]?” While no more local shows are scheduled, expect to see more of The Displaced once they return from New York, where they’re scheduled to play Sept. 9.
Local cabaret rockers The Silent Comedy may be on the fast track to the buzz bin, but they’ll be doing it without founding drummer Joseph Nelson (aka J. Benedict). The split seems amicable, and both parties have confirmed there’s no ill will. “Joey has been a dear friend for years,” wrote frontman J. John on the band’s MySpace page, “and this decision does not reflect any change in our friendship.” He later confirmed to CityBeat that the band and Nelson “were moving in two directions” and that “the vision we had for the group and what he had wasn’t the same thing.”
Andy Ridley (of local gloss-rockers Fono) played with the band at Saturday’s SoCo Music Experience, but John is reluctant to say whether Ridley will be the band’s permanent drummer, especially with plans to head into the studio to record a full-length LP with Louis XIV’s Brian Karscig producing and Mark Maigaard performing drum parts.
—Seth Combs, Will Shilling and Todd Kroviak
Locals below the line
And for those who consider Tijuana part of the San Diego megalopolis, Pepe Mogt—who’s one half of Fussible + Bostich and one fourth of Nortec Collective—will celebrate the release of 110, the second album from Latinsizer, Mogt’s solo side project, at 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 29, at The Lobby, on Constitucion between Sixth and Seventh streets in downtown Tijuana. Mogt describes the album as “a combination of the melodic work of early synth-pop classics and the grit of urban Tijuana.”
At 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30, Tijuana power-pop band Lhabia will celebrate the release of their debut, self-titled album at Rio Rita, on Revolucion between Fourth and Fifth streets in downtown Tijuana, with special guests Transfer. www.myspace.com/latinzizer, www.myspace.com/lhabiatijuana.
—Kinsee Morlan
Hip-hop loses a venue, too
A fight broke out on Friday, Aug. 8, in front of Static Lounge, a Downtown 18-and-up club and live-music venue, according to a police report. A Static Lounge security guard who tried to stop the fight was shot in the neck, the report said. No arrests yet, but the San Diego Police Department’s Gang Unit is handling the case.
The guard survived the shooting, but live music didn’t. Static owner Travis Skadberg has pulled the plug on all scheduled live-music acts, and the decision sounds pretty definite. “We no longer have live shows here,” Skadberg wrote in a terse e-mail.
To this point, most of Static’s live music has been hip-hop, both local and touring, so the loss of a venue is a major hit to local hip-hop acts that already have a hard time booking gigs.
“It’s especially tough for hip-hop,” said Ferchil Ramos, aka just chill, an MC in the hip-hop collective Pac 10, which had a live show booked for Aug. 31 at the club. “There’s the whole negative stigma that comes with hip-hop, and now, because of the shooting at Static, it’s going to be even harder to get a show.”
With some last-minute shuffling, Mag Flux, a local indie hip-hop record label, was able to book a replacement show for Pac 10. You can catch the crew, plus hip-hoppers Blu and Miki Vale, at 9 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 31, at Kava Lounge. www.myspace.com/magflux.
—Kinsee Morlan
The Enrique Experience
“Well, don’t ever come to my daughter’s house if you’re fuckin’ tweaking! Hold on—what can I get you?”
Without a doubt, this is the best greeting I’ve ever gotten from a bartender. As far as first impressions go, the Chula Vista haunt Lion’s Den (725 Broadway) looks and feels more like your crazy uncle’s living room and less like a business. A place where popcorn ceiling and fake plants go to die, it sits sandwiched between a fabric super-store and a strip mall. In keeping with its name, the décor is jungle-like and has lions depicted in etched glass, tapestries and door knockers, as well as the most extensive collection of plush felines this side of a traveling carnival. Sylvester, Simba, Garfield and, of course, Tony the Tiger all call the Den home.
One particular plush big cat guards an artificial Christmas tree that stands in a corner of the bar year-round.
Here at Lion’s Den, you can play Lotto, watch old movies inside an under-the-sea themed patio, play free pool on Wednesdays and, of course, wet your whistle on the cheap—small pitchers of draft beer are just $3.75, making this dive the cat’s meow. And if you left home feeling less than fresh, no need to worry—there’s an array of toiletries for rent behind the Formica bar. Tame your mane with some White Rain hairspray, or freshen up that mustiness with some communal deodorant so you can be ready for the prowl.
“You ready to get your ass kicked in pool?” bar maiden Lisa asked. And kick my ass she did.
Come to Lion’s Den for the bargain-basement-priced hooch and stay for the dysfunctional-family-like feel. Lions, tequila and beer? Oh my!
—Enrique Limón
View from a stool
On Friday night, as the dozen-member Broken Social Scene played the main room at House of Blues, two solo artists, Sylvie Lewis and Sondre Lerche, shared the stage in the venue’s alternate, 250-capacity Delta Room. It was the first of six West Coast dates the pair will play together before Lerche, along with Death Cab For Cutie, Superchunk and Minus the Bear, close Seattle’s Bumbershoot Festival on the Sept. 1.
The intimacy of The Delta Room provided an adequate setting for the packed house of extremely polite and seated fans, only faltering when it allowed the occasional sonic burst to seep through its walls from the show next door.
The British-born Lewis, trained at Berklee College of Music, opened the show with a short set of songs from her two studio albums. Armed only with an acoustic guitar, she transcended the typical coffeehouse fare with her intimate, lovelorn, pop ballads. Her between-song banter was charming, aided by her English brogue.
When Norwegian prodigy Sondre Lerche took the stage, the mood changed considerably. Signed to Virgin/EMI before he was 16 and recording his first album by age 18, Lerche feels more than comfortable in his role—and it shows.
Switching between acoustic and electric guitars, Lerche ran through a blistering set from his diverse catalogue and manhandled his guitars in such a way that listeners felt as though, perhaps, we were matching the intensity of the show next door. Lerche’s off-kilter humor punctuated the space between his songs, but his most effective communication was when he got lost in his own performance. Lerche turns 26 in two weeks and shows absolutely no signs of slowing down in his old age.
—Scott McDonald
