The Vintage & Handmade Market 
Hugh Cornwell. Photo by Phoenix.
Wednesday, March 24
PLAN A: Swim Party, Tartufi, Writer @ Che Café. Locals Swim Party are great, and Writer’s new songs sound promising, but it’s pop experimentalists Tartufi who put this show over the top. The San Francisco duo’s ’06 album Us Upon Buildings Upon Us is an understated highlight from that year, and their new EP—one 26-minute song—has been on a loop on my iPod. Fantastic from beginning to end. PLAN B: Tobacco, The Hood Internet, Nice Nice @ The Casbah. Pretty close to a Plan A, if only on the strength of the openers. Sure, Tobacco’s Beck-ish electro-psych and The Hood Internet’s DJ mash-ups are swell, but the advance copy of Nice Nice’s major-label debut has me excited to see them the most. It’s an epic pastiche of electronic layering and heavy post-rock that’ll have them headlining soon enough.
Thursday, March 25
PLAN A: YACHT, Bobby Birdman @ MCASD, Downtown. If Dirty Projectors are Talking Heads circa 1979, then indie-groovers YACHT are almost certainly Byrne and company post-Remain in Light. Thick, funky bass lines and electro-tinged syncopation from some undiscovered African country will get even the stuffiest of art hipsters grooving. PLAN B: Washed Out, Small Black, Pictureplane @ Sushi Performance & Visual Art. One-man glo-fi project Washed Out is the choice make-out music for blogosphere geeks at the moment, but if you want to see the band that everyone will be talking about tomorrow, check out Small Black. Something about them reminds me of Grizzly Bear’s early material with a healthy dash of The Strokes, and I expect them to grow and mature just as gorgeously.
Friday, March 26
PLAN A: Surfer Blood, Turbo Fruits, Lanterns @ Bar Pink. The crazy Miami kids in Surfer Blood have probably made the most joyfully accessible album of the year with Astro Coast and have a live show that’s full of youthful piss and vinegar. PLAN B: Caspian, Arms and Sleepers, Beware of Safety @ Che Café. Got drunk the other night. Stumbled onto Caspian’s MySpace site. Holy crap, that’s some majestic instrumental rocking. They’re still good sober. Volunteering band to score Friday Night Lights 2. BACKUP PLAN: The Morning Benders, Miniature Tigers, We Barbarians @ The Casbah.
Saturday, March 27
PLAN A: San Diego Indiefest @ University Ave. between Ohio and 29th. Metric is headlining the all-day music festival, but there are some locals you should come out and support, as well, including Astra Kelly, Lauren DeRose, Gregory Page and our own columnist Ed Decker, who will be doing some spoken word. Expect expletives. PLAN B: Four Minutes Til Midnight, Fight from Above, Cat Party @ Ruby Room. OK, so, if you’re reading this, I’m assuming you’re not going to Indiefest. In that case, your Plan B is twofold: First, you need to go check out Cat Party, Orange County’s hottest post-punk band ever. Saw them a few weeks ago, and they were well worth it. The two other bands aren’t really worth sticking around for so head over to… PLAN B, Part 2: Air @ 4th & B. The French electro duo will probably never make another album as great as Moon Safari, but they’re still masters of atmospherics and have an equally engrossing live show.
Sunday, March 28
PLAN A: Hugh Cornwell @ Brick by Brick. Part of that first wave of English punk back in the late ’70s, The Stranglers were highly influential then, but sadly underrated nowadays. However, their frontman and guitarist, Cornwell, has never stopped making solid music. Don’t believe me? Well, he’s giving away his new album, Hooverdam, on his website. Pretty kick ass for an old punk! PLAN B: JEFF the Brotherhood, Splinters, The Pant Hoots @ Bar Pink. The headliner is decent, if not by-the-book psychedelic noodling from some Tennessee good ’ol boys. It’s fair enough on record, but I get the sense that these guys are the type of band you need to see live to appreciate.
Monday, March 29
PLAN A: Field Music, Lualta, Metrofique @ The Casbah. The headliners channel the best parts of the Kinks’ later material, along with healthy doses of post-punk rhythms that sound like Peter Hook was whispering in their ear. And show up early for the Beatle-worshipping folk duo Metrofique. You won’t be disappointed. PLAN B: The Coathangers, Sunday Times, Ronnie No Good and The Young Bloods @ Soda Bar. Nasty little grrrl-punk action from the ATL, The Coathangers have family-friendly gems like “Nestle in My Boobies” and “Shut the Fuck Up,” plus a name that’s an abortion reference. C’mon, you know you’re intrigued.
Tuesday, March 30
Red Octopus, Kata, Hing, Schmaltz @ The Casbah. Probably what Nigel had in mind when he uttered the words, “This one goes to 11.” If you love epic psych-metal bands like Earthless and Acid Mothers Temple, then the headliners are gonna make your eardrums hurt in the morning. BACKUP PLAN: The Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt!, The Shakes @ The Loft at UCSD.
