Insights into Photography
Photo by James Norton
The bearded bears and the men who love them were all out for The Casbah’s first BLOWOFF night on Friday. Oh, wait a minute, this pic is from Beauty Bar on Wednesday, when Transfer and Scanners played? Uh, well, if you haven’t been to the City Heights bar in a while, you sadly miss scenes like this. I’m not sure if three local musicians reenacting the Janet Jackson Rolling Stone cover is my idea of beauty, but it gave hump day a new meaning.
Locals Only
Aside from Ratt, Assassin is probably the most famous San Diego metal band from the hair-metal era, despite never having released their self-titled debut album before their 1986 breakup. The album was recently reissued on Deep Shag Records, and the band will reunite to play a show on Saturday, April 17, at 4th & B, alongside other reunited bands of that era, including Dirty Birdz, 1-90 and Street Liegel.
On Sunday, April 18, the Soda Bar will hold a benefit for the Haitian restaurant Muncheez, which is serving meals to thousands of people affected by the February earthquake. The show, starting at 1 p.m., will feature free food from Lefty’s Chicago Pizzeria and Whole Foods, and there will be live performances from Rafter, Apes of Wrath, Rob Crow and Kenseth Thibideau, among others.
Speaking of Rafter, he’ll celebrate the release of his new record, Animal Feelings, on Saturday, April 17, at Tin Can Ale House. Lion Cut, Smile Now Cry Later and Cuckoo Chaos will open. Also that night, blues-rockers Goodwick will play at Soda Bar with T.S. Brooks and Roxy Jones in celebration of their self-titled debut album. And on Friday, April 16, folk-country mainstay Shawn Rohlf will play with his band, the 7th Day Buskers, at the Whistle Stop to mark the release of their new album.
—Seth Combs
The Enrique Experience
It was a night of caffeinated chuckles last Saturday at Twiggs (4590 Park Blvd. in University Heights) as the coffeehouse hosted the recurring Brew Ha-Ha comedy night.
“I was fed up with clubs and their apparent one-vagina-per-night rule,” executive producer and emcee Diane Jean told me as she greeted attendees and handed out cookies at the door. Towering at almost 6 feet tall, she was the first to take the mic. “If it weren’t for trannies, I wouldn’t have shoes to wear,” Jean joked. She then disclosed her favorite sex toy: a stepladder. Rachel Robinson, another vagina holder, then took the stage and brought out the LOLs with her unique brand of nerd humor. “I have a theory that dolphins speak English,” the petite quipster said. “Except, they don’t use consonants and talk really fast.”
By then, the mix of the semi-claustrophobic setting and caffeinated rush had taken over, and spectators found themselves enveloped in a Volcano Vaporizer of crazy, laughing harder than the Dancing With the Stars hairdressing team during Kate Gosselin’s initial consult. Albert Linton, who’s “headlined everywhere from Canada to the county jail,” followed and shared stories from his childhood, including the time when burglars broke into his humble childhood home. “All they got was practice,” the farceur said. Later, the self-professed boob man gave a chilling, titty-fied rendition of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech.
“And now for the weird portion of the evening,” Jean’s partner, Chris Clobber, announced. A series of hybrid animal mating calls followed, including one for a “ghetto chicken.” Clobber then professed his joy over the U.S. having its first Latina Supreme Court justice. “I’m from California, where ‘supreme’ means extra guac and sour cream, so I’m all for it,” he said.
The night reached its peak with funnyman Kurt Swann. From Overeaters Anonymous to the feminine-needs aisle to the county fair, nothing was safe. “You know what crazy food item they should come up with?” he asked on the latter topic. “Crystal-meth cappuccino. It’s something for both Lakeside and La Jolla.” I’d hit that.
Paging “Chicken” Charlie.
—Enrique Limón
Brew Ha-Ha is set to host its first ever all-gay comedy night on Saturday May 1.
View from a stool
At Radio Room last Wednesday, Boyd Rice wore a black leather cap, black aviators, a well-manicured black beard, a black button-up, a black T-shirt, black leather pants and black combat boots.
Neo-Nazi? Leather-daddy? Maybe a little bit of both. A noise-music pioneer who’s performed under the moniker NON since the mid-’70s, Rice has associated with the likes of Anton LaVey (founder of the Church of Satan) and Tom Metzger (founder of White Aryan Resistance). Reportedly, the Lemon Grove native has also collected Barbie dolls and designed a tiki bar.
Upon closer examination, Rice’s provocative views don’t seem racist so much as fascist, or maybe just misanthropic. In any case, the black-clad rivetheads at Radio Room didn’t seem interested in debate. Rather, like the adoring followers of some charismatic autocrat, they clapped and cheered—one even screamed “Boyd Rice!” over and over—as Rice sipped Miller Lite and thrashed their eardrums.
While Saddam Hussein’s “instrument of yearning” (his ironically named torture program) consisted of electric shocks and acid baths, Rice’s was comparatively more satisfying, albeit in a painful kind of way.
Using a slim black sampler / loop processor, he generated washes of shrieking electronics interspersed with a spurt of high-pitched feedback. “That was an oldie from 1979,” he explained.
As the frontman of opener Cult of Youth strummed his acoustic guitar, Rice read a poem culminating with a list of famous tyrants that included Adolph Hitler. “Come back!” he yelled. “We need you now more than ever!”
Finally, the audience watched eagerly as Rice interrogated a bass, running a drill-mounted paint stripper with long bristles against the fret-board, drawing a hideous grumble from the poor instrument.
After the show, as he stood at the bar in the packed dive, the benevolent misanthrope happily obliged to having his picture taken with some of his adoring fans. Just as any good authoritarian would.
—Peter Holslin
Night Moves
Our semi-regular guide to the Scene Wolf-approved after-dark events we’re either crazy about or just really looking forward to.
Proxy, The Delta Fiasco, Shark Attack, DJ Krassy @ Voyeur: If you go to only one electronic show this week, or even the whole month, make it this one. Any DJ can loop a sample or create a danceable beat, but the Moscow-bred headliner is creating heavy and dark dance music that’s truly innovative. Just check out his 2009 single “Who Are You?” to get an idea of what I’m talking about. Wednesday, April 14.
“Hickies & Dryhumps II” @ El Dorado: Eighties parties are about as ubiquitous as those ironic, neon-rimmed sunglasses all the hipsters are sporting inside the clubs these days. Nineties nights offer so much more variety, and, having grown up in the golden era of Tony! Toni! Tone! and Color Me Badd, DJs like Saul Q and Artistic are all but guaranteed to play cool remixes or something, anything, besides the 12-minute version of Meat Loaf’s “I’d Do Anything For Love.” Friday, April 16.
“Fuck Coachella” @ U-31: Just what it sounds like—a cool dance party with DJs like Mr. Biggs and Schoeny for anyone who didn’t want to shell out $350 to sweat it out in the smelly Gobi Tent. Saturday, April 17.
Android Cartel @ Onyx Room: For anyone who wants a more atmospheric and intimate experience as opposed to the oonce-oonce club bangers prevalent throughout the rest of Downtown should check out this L.A. duo. Their recent Robots with Soul EP lives up to its name with a crafty mix of down-tempo and house music that’ll likely be the soundtrack to a random hookup. Saturday, April 17.
—Seth Combs
