The Vintage & Handmade Market Shot on Scene by James Norton
Last Thursday’s show at Soda Bar was something tried-and-true San Diego scenesters, like the ones pictured here, couldn’t afford to miss. Why? Crocodiles, Spirit Photography and newcomers The Dabbers played. ’Nuff said.
—Kinsee Morlan
Locals Only
Unwritten Law frontman Scott Russo lost his Rancho Penasquitos home in a fire early last Friday morning. Russo shared the home with his parents and three children, and while no one was injured, the blaze took the entire house, their pets and most of their belongings. Russo did not have fire insurance. “I am at a complete loss for words,” Russo wrote on Unwritten Law’s MySpace page. “My entire family is now homeless, all our pets are dead and all our earthly possessions are gone.” A benefit show was held Tuesday, Feb. 10, at House of Blues, with Unwritten Law, Switchfoot and Jason Mraz performing. Donations can be made on the band’s website.
Blink-182 announced their reunion during Sunday’s Grammy Awards. The trio went onstage together to present the “Best Rock Album” category, and drummer Travis Barker announced, “We used to play music together, and we decided we’re going to play music together again.” A post on the band’s website clarified things: “To put it simply, we’re back. We mean, really back. Picking up where we left off and then some. In the studio writing and recording a new album. Preparing to tour the world yet again. Friendships reformed. [Seventeen] years deep in our legacy. Summer 2009. Thanks and get ready….”
Crocodiles may soon be touring the world, but they’ll have to bypass Canada. “If you have any sort of criminal record, even if it’s stupid stuff or non-violent crime, they won’t let you in,” says frontman Brandon Welchez when asked about being stopped by Canadian border authorities on the way to a show in Vancouver. “That was one aspect of it. The other was that we were trying to sneak in, because to play in Canada you need a work permit, and we didn’t have one. We’ve been denied before so our names were flagged.” Even though the band had left most of its equipment behind, the Canadian authorities still figured it out. Crocodiles say they were detained, their car and possessions were searched and they weren’t allowed to use the restroom. Eventually, they were turned around and told that they could not come back for 10 years.
Songs by Julia was a brief web series at E! Online that featured the comic stylings of former Pacific Beach resident Julia Lillis. These days, Lillis is living in Hollywood and trying to make it in the biz. Lillis’ highpoint musically was when producers of Scrubs booked her to serenade the show’s star, Zach Braff, for his birthday. The title of her ditty was “Why Zach Braff Should Be My Boyfriend,” but she’ll also play tunes like “Nicole Ritchie is My Prom Queen” and “Matthew McConaughey Put On a Shirt” when she makes a homecoming of sorts at The Comedy Store in La Jolla at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, and Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 18 and 19.
—Seth Combs and Will K. Shilling
Counterculture roll call
Art and Intrigue, an event that marks the openings of new exhibitions at The California Center for the Arts, is kind of like the San Diego Museum of Art’s Culture & Cocktails and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego’s Thursday Night Thing. Basically, it’s the Escondido center’s attempt to market to a younger crowd.
But last Saturday, Art and Intrigue was anything but hip—mom-jeans and windbreakers abounded, old men complained of back pain, and there were plenty of wide-eyed children underfoot. Still, the mood was fun and unpretentious. It was, as one attendee not-so-cleverly put it, “fun-pretentious.”
All of the new exhibitions seemed geared, at least in part, toward engaging the suburban community. Nina Waisman’s Be-tween was a crowd pleaser. Her sculptures—including a series of sensors that play different tones as viewers walk past and a hardwood floor that makes a loud crunching noise with each of footstep—invited interaction.
Over in the 20th Century Photography room, attendees got to do more whimsical stuff, like come up with titles for famous images and record memories of historical events.
Out in the lobby, people were encouraged to use colored pencils to write on note cards, answering the question “What is art?” and then hang their answers on the wall.
The $10 ticket price included plenty of free booze and an outdoor buffet, and Mike and Matt provided lo-fi live music and made awkward eye contact with passersby.
So take that, Downtown hipsters. Looks like North County can do the nighttime art-event thing, too.
—Mandy Ripley
The Enrique Experience
Attendees donned every possible hairstyle, from Marge Simpson to Bob Marley, and were greeted with a pink feather-boa at the door last Saturday at the fifth annual Wigfest. Dubbed “a celebration of life and hair,” the event benefited the Breast Cancer Alliance United to Support and Educate (BCAUSE) fund, which provides grants for education and prevention programs targeting the lesbian community.
“I underwent chemo in 2003, had to wear a wig for six months and thought, You know what? As soon as I beat this, I’m throwing a big party and inviting all my friends,” said survivor and organizer Peg Walkush, who was rocking a mullet, plaid shirt and torn jeans.
MC Flow provided the evening’s musical set, which included an air-guitar showdown to AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long,” an electric-slide dance-off to boogie oogie oogie the cancer away and a wig contest that crowned a King of Rock ’n’ Roll-inspired look as the night’s best.
“I got a dinner and movie package,” boasted winner Carmen McKay, who worked as an Elvis Presley impersonator for 10 years. She added, “Now I just have to find a fuckin’ date.”
The event included a silent auction with items such as a portable DIC-20 water de-ionization system for a “guaranteed spotless” car wash, three hours of de-cluttering with a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and an all-access pass to the upcoming Dinah Shore Week. It also provided one of the most interesting men’s room crowds I have ever experienced, with a guy sporting a Bettie Page ’do in the urinal to my left and Tina Turner keeping it nice and easy to my right.
By the night’s end, the coiffure cotillion raised more than $10,000, Walkush said. Lady Elvis found her Priscilla and Marge Simpson was seen canoodeling with Pippi Longstocking.
—Enrique Limón
