The Vintage & Handmade Market 
View from a stool
If you’ve been following our “Locals Only” column, you’re already familiar with The Nervous Wreckords, former Louis XIV frontman Brian Karscig’s new band. They barely have a half-dozen songs, and yet they’ve already scored a record deal and a spot opening for The Killers on their current tour. So after watching their first-ever live show on Monday night at The Casbah, I’m here to say that there’s good news and bad news.
First, the good news: If you loved Louis XIV, then chances are you’ll love The Nervous Wreckords. Even if you liked Louis but found them just a wee bit posturing and derivative, then Karscig’s new band might be a little easier to swallow. In an eight-song set that served as a warm-up for their Killers show a few nights later, it quickly became clear that while the Wreckords are just as interested in rocking out on songs like “Burn it Up” and “When the Beat Comes Down,” they were at least equally interested in being poppy and melodic. Karscig and sexy rhythm guitarist Lindsay Matheson still lift about every chord Marc Bolan ever played, but the hints of The Cure and even Billy Joel were definitely a nice departure from Louis’ consistently sexed-up sound.
Now the bad news: If you didn’t like Louis XIV and were waiting for Karscig to grow up and make some grand, seen-it-all-and-lived-to-tell-about-it kind of statement, then you’re shit outta luck. There were songs that hinted at profundity, but for the most part, it seems that Karscig still just wants to party even if the “chocolate girls” from Louis’ “Finding Out True Love is Blind” have now been replaced with the Wreckords’ “Classy Girls.”
Sex will always sell, but I would have liked it more if Karscig had tried to make a little love on this project. I realize this is a rough sketch of a work in progress. Karscig even says in the chorus of one song that it’s “similar, but not the same”—but as of now, the similarities outweigh the novel.
Locals Only
Electronic trio Illuminauts showcased a new sound and a new member at Tin Can Ale House on Friday, their second show since the departure of David Peña. The new sound incorporates live bass courtesy of Scott Wheeler (who also plays in Cuckoo Chaos and The Paddle Boat) into the electronic atmospherics and live DJ scratching of original members Santino “Sonny” Romeri and Nicky Castañeda.
“It just kind of worked out that way,” Romeri says. “David was always the one filling up the low-end, harmonic parts, and when Nicky and I were jamming, we noticed that a lot of that was missing. It was missing that low bass, and one day Scott heard us, plugged in his bass and started playing.”
Romeri adds that he’s always felt that the group should remain fluid in its approach to the music and that fans should not be surprised to see new members in the future.
“I want it to eventually have it to where we can do shows, just me and Nicky, or if it’s something special, we’ll have a whole ensemble of different people playing.”
Che Café was burglarized on Aug. 7, and neither the proprietors nor the police have any clues as to who stole a bunch of equipment, including amplifiers, microphones, the soundboard and monitors. But Che coordinator David Barclay says rumors about the UCSD-based club being in jeopardy because of the incident aren’t true. “We don’t have any leads; nor do the police, so we can only wildly speculate. Equipment can be replaced and money can be raised, and this will not be the crippling blow that finally takes down the Che,” Barclay says. “However, what saddens the whole affair for me is that whoever stole the equipment probably did not spy it through the window or happen across the building by chance, but most likely attended a show and devised the plan. Other than losing all hope in humanity, we’re keeping our eyes on pawn shops and craigslist and hoping for the best, or at least an anonymous tip.”
Tips can be sent to che@checafe.ucsd.edu.
Switchfoot have announced the track listing and release date for their new album, Hello Hurricane. The 12-song album, which includes the single “Mess of Me,” will be released Nov. 10. The band is also opening select dates for Dave Matthews Band, including a Sept. 12 stop at Cricket Wireless Amphitheater.
In other record-release news: Ska band Self Made Men have just released a self-titled debut EP. Hard-rockers Thieves & Liars have released their sophomore effort, American Rock ’n’ Roll, on the Dreamt Music label. DJ W. Steele will celebrate the release of a new mixtape called Sleep is the Cousin of Death at Soda Bar on Monday, Sept. 14, with Broken Dreams and Soul Ablaze also performing.
The Enrique Experience
An institution for more than four decades and dubbed “one of the last great neighborhood bars,” Lancers Cocktail Lounge is a breath of not-so-fresh air amongst its University Heights Technicolor-rainbow counterparts, sticking out like a sore thumb with its windowless wood-paneled doors, Vegas-like carpet, and a motif rivaled only by the Escondido Renaissance Faire.
After being carded by Mario, the one-armed security guard—a bar fixture since 1980, or, as he likes to put it, “too damn long”—patrons can sit back, enjoy drinks on the cheap (like bartender Holly’s Seagram’s Sweet Tea concoction) and people-watch. Any given day, regulars out-weird the otherworldly characters in the bar’s Area 51 and Revenge from Mars arcade games—people like a girl named Lilith, whom I met during the long weekend. She’s named after the Syrian Bible’s original Eve, who, my new friend says, “told Adam to ‘fuck off’ and went to the desert to spawn demons.” She told me about the time she broke her collar bone playing hide-and-seek and how she wanted to be a journalist but desisted after her step-father got shot in the head and the cops told her she “couldn’t handle it,” so she became a Deadhead instead.
Another bargoer, Tim, asked me if I could change shirts because after dropping lots of acid in high school, he gets freaked out by vertical lines—to the point that he’s barred mini blinds from his apartment. In the middle of the heart-wrenching convo, Lilith came back and asked if I had an asthma inhaler she could borrow. I told her no but said I always carry around a Costco-sized jug of lube, in case she needed it.
“That’s OK,” she replied. “I’m a lady. I have one of those on top of a doily on my nightstand, right next to a wooden paddle with raised letters that says ‘slut’ so it temporarily brands you when you’re spanked.”
There goes the neighborhood.
Night moves
Nerds have Comic-Con, and the Navy has Fleet Week, but for action-sports bros and babes, nothing beats the twice-yearly ASR conference. Here’s all the best after-parties and other after-dark events on our radar this week:
Smoove Wednesdays @ Vin de Syrah: This has steadily become one of Syrah’s best nights, thanks to a sexy soundtrack courtesy of DJ Craig Smoove and happy-hour prices that include $5 Modelo tall cans (time to ditch the Pabst, boys), infused shots of Maker’s and a house sangria that doesn’t taste like it was made from boxed wine. Wednesday, Sept. 9 and 16.
The Adidas Originals ASR After Party @ Red Circle: A who’s-who of local and national DJs, including Rampage, Makeshift, Smudge and San Diego’s favorite son-turned-Angeleno, Gaslamp Killer, will turn this otherwise stuffy club into a skater mecca. Get on the guest list by e-mailing adidasguestlist@yahoo.com so that you can hit up the hosted bar from 9 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10.
LMFAO @ On Broadway: Pretty much the guiltiest pleasure on the electro scene, the Miami duo behind “Lil’ Hipster Girl,” “Scream My Name” and “I Am Not a Whore” have been panned by critics but are beloved by those looking for the perfect soundtrack to an easy hook-up. Valtrex might as well be a sponsor. Saturday, Sept. 12.
Osiris ASR Party @ House of Blues: A laundry list of bro-friendly local bands will play this closing-out party, including indie-rockers The New Archaic, hip-hoppers afterschoolspecial and pop-punks Los Hollywood. Then, the ubiquitous but always reliable DJ Artistic closes out the night with his clever mixing on club favorites and obscurities. Saturday, Sept. 12.
