Coming of Age Film Festival
Oh, my lord! Is it love that this ol’ Georgia boy is feeling? Does that sweet peach on the right really have an oriole tattoo with “And this bird you cannot change”? But this pic wasn’t taken outside a Skynyrd show; no, it was at Footdown at the Ruby Room where Fatlip from The Pharcyde was spinning the after-party for the fixed-gear enthusiasts in Critical Mass. Makes me want to go out and buy a bike, or at least get a tattoo that says, “What’s your name, little girl?” —Seth Combs
Locals Only
More than 35 acts have been confirmed for the 25th annual Street Scene music festival set for Aug. 28 and 29 along 14th Street in East Village. Some of the bigger names include Black Eyed Peas, M.I.A., Modest Mouse and Silversun Pickups, while homegrown acts Grand Ole Party, Crocodiles and Wavves (more on them below) will also perform. More acts are expected to be announced, and it hasn’t been revealed who the headliners are and what acts will play which days. www.street-scene.com.
Rolling Stone magazine featured the San Diego music scene in the June 11 issue. The story—by assistant editor Kevin O’Donnell and headlined “A Noise Grows in SoCal”—describes San Diego as having become “a source of seedy, dangerous noise” thanks to bands like Crocodiles, Soft Pack, Christmas Island, Wavves and Delta Spirit. It also features venues like The Casbah and Che Café, the store Record City and local DJ and Art Fag Recordings owner Mario Orduno.
Another publication claiming a hot San Diego scene is Hemispheres, United Airlines’ in-flight magazine. While the story was not music-focused, it did feature DJ Claire and the Whistle Stop.
Speaking of Wavves, the two-piece band has cancelled the remainder of its European tour after frontman Nathan Williams appeared to have an onstage meltdown at the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona on Friday night. According to a review on Pitchfork, Williams mocked and berated the crowd while playing rough versions of the band’s songs. Drummer Ryan Ulsh, clearly annoyed, poured a beer over Williams’ head and eventually threw his drumsticks at Williams before storming offstage. Williams apologized in a blog post (which was later removed), saying that “mixing ecstasy, valium and xanax before having to play in front of thousands of people was one of the more poor decisions I’ve made (duh) and I realize my drinking has been a problem now for a good period of time.”
The Donkeys have been tapped to open for roots-rockers Magnolia Electric Co. on a 22-date U.S. tour starting July 10 in Bloomington, Ind. The tour doesn’t include a San Diego stop.
In CD-release news, pop-rockers The Modlins will release their third album, Where Does it End? at a show on Friday, June 5, at the Whistle Stop with Writer and Hot TV supporting. Also that night, psychedelic rockers Astra will release their debut album, The Weirding at The Casbah. Earthless, The Widows, Red Octopus and Fuck Yeah will also perform.
Night Moves
Our semi-regular guide to the after-dark events we’re either crazy about or just really looking forward to.
Classiks @ Syrah Spirits and Wine Parlor: If you haven’t checked out the speakeasy vibe of Syrah yet, this would be a good night to try it. DJ Scooter will be on the ones and twos, and the wine and specialty-cocktail list is awesome (courtesy of master mixologist Adam Stemmler). Wednesday, June 3.
School’s Out With Mr. Belding @ 207 at the Hard Rock Hotel: If we’re to believe the flyer, it’s a end-of-the-school-year blowout hosted by the principal from Saved by the Bell. Whether or not drunken SDSU students have ever actually heard of the early ’90s show is what we’re going to investigate. Like, seriously. Friday, June 5.
Brokenbeat Night @ Kadan: There’s a good reason this monthly night made our Best of San Diego 2008 list. It’s a dance night for the anti-rave set, where a roving cast of actual electronic artists (not some hipster with his iPod) make beats that are good for more than booty bouncing. This night includes trip-hop from The Stove, nasty glitchy-ness from Breakah and video art from Owns One!. Saturday, June 6.
Fashion Whore @ Ruby Room: OK, so just when we were pretty much over this biweekly scenester fest, promoter May Star found a way to drag us back in. There’s a trailer-park-chic theme with a fashion show featuring L.A.’s Sophistafunk Life (who, apparently, is spearheading the tutu as the next hipster fashion trend). DJ Groundfloor is ubiquitous on the club scene for a reason, and $2 well drinks from 9 to 11 p.m. doesn’t hurt, either. Saturday, June 6.
The Enrique Experience
A crowd of people a block long lined the street outside National City’s Skate San Diego last Saturday night, eager to sign a personal-injury waiver and witness the season opener for the San Diego Renegade Rollergirls, a troupe of bad-ass babes that engage in a no-penalties form of roller derby where pigtail tugs, holding, elbowing and kicks to the baby maker are not only legal but rewarded with thunderous applause in a display that would make Miss Manners queef out her strand of pearls in sheer angst.
The home team took on the So Cal Rollergirls from L.A., whose motto is “hitting harder than your first period.” Dressed in pirate garb and armed with nothing but kneepads and whistles, they sported such monikers as Irish U. Harm, Ria Rangerface and Bo Hemia, “the hippie with anger management issues.”
“It’s all about picking a name that’s edgy,” local player Porn Scar told me before the bout. Her number, XIV, she said, “is a play on words, since I’m an ex-heroin addict. I thought it was hilarious. My mom, not so much.”
There was intense mad-dogging, numerous slide attacks on the team’s jammer (scorer) and two full-on fistfights, all within minute one. Think Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling meets lucha libre, with a hint of bare-knuckles Muay Thai—on wheels.
After a halftime break that, keeping with the night’s “scally hag” theme, included a best-dressed-pirate contest, the devious dames delivered a home victory. Moments before the win, however, Porn Scar suffered an elbow injury, at which point all other players stopped and got down on one knee. “It’s a way of chilling out for a second and gauging the situation,” offensive diva La Quete told me, “as well a sign of respect. We’re ladies after all—that’s how we roll.”
Indeed. Anything else would be uncivilized.
