San Diego Unseen: An Urban Portrait
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
PLAN A: White Hills, Magic Triangles @ Bar Pink. With their echoing vocals, churning guitars and intricately smashing drums, New York’s White Hills offer the kind of spaced-out jams that you’re best prepared for after taking a hit from a four-foot bong. Think: Hawkwind meets Mogwai. Openers Magic Triangles bring an ’80s new-age feel to their dreamy pop. BACKUP PLAN: Sara Bareilles, Greg Laswell, Javier Dunn @ House of Blues.
Thursday, Sept. 30
PLAN A: Transfer, The Silent Comedy, Jared Mees & The Grown Children, Little Hurricane, DJ Claire @ Fluxx. You can’t beat this lineup: Transfer, The Silent Comedy and Little Hurricane each took home trophies at this year’s San Diego Music Awards (Best Rock Album, Best Pop Album and Best New Artist, respectively). And Portland’s Jared Mees & The Grown Children have been getting plenty of buzz for their laid-back, convivial folk rock. PLAN B: Eligh, Deep Rooted, DJ Charlie Rock, S.P.A.M. w/ DJ Deprave, Artoo, Blown Speakers, sojourn @ Boar Cross’n (Carlsbad). Sometimes, you have to go to great lengths to find quality underground rap in San Diego. Eligh, a member of Living Legends, has put down beats for some of the California group’s best songs—but he’s also put out a ton of great solo material. Deep Rooted, San Diego’s premier rap group, grabbed the SDMA’s Best Hip Hop trophy. PLAN C: Writer, Cuckoo Chaos @ The Loft. Speaking of SDMA winners, this is one of your last chances to see indie-rockers Cuckoo Chaos before they change their name and leave town to record their new album. BACKUP PLAN: Pete Yo@ Belly Up.
Friday, Oct. 1
PLAN A: Maus Haus, Former Ghosts, Jeans Wilder, Neat Beats @ Tin Can Ale House. Hailing from San Francisco, Maus Haus are far out even by hippie standards: The sextet uses vintage synths, woodwinds and horns to play face-melting electro-rock that brings to mind psych-rock legends Silver Apples. With their icy-cold synths and emo vocals, Former Ghosts give off a sensitive, I-hate-my-life vibe. PLAN B: Matt & Kim, Fang Island @ House of Blues. “Cameras,” the infectious first single from Matt & Kim’s hotly anticipated third album, Sidewalks, is upbeat even by the lovable Brooklyn duo’s standards: Colorful synths, triumphant horns and bouncy beats are topped off with happy-go-lucky vocals. BACKUP PLAN: Spoon, Girls @ SOMA.
Saturday, Oct. 2
PLAN A: Mucca Pazza, The burning of Rome, Martian Horses @ The Casbah. Good luck fitting Mucca Pazza, a marching band from Chicago, on The Casbah stage—the group consists of 30 horn players, percussionists, cheerleaders and self-described “freaks” (who play violin, mandolin, accordion and guitar). No doubt, their wacky costumes, motley formation and punk-infused circus marches would make John Philip Sousa roll over in his grave. PLAN B: Emerson String Quartet @ Conrad Prebys Concert Hall. As graceful as it is fierce, this New York-based string quartet (which bagged its ninth Grammy this year) returns to UCSD’s concert hall to perform works by Felix Mendelssohn, Béla Bartók and Franz Schubert. PLAN C: Brian Warren, Nature’s Kid, George Pritzker, Joel Williams @ Che Café. Meanwhile, over at UCSD’s underground music hub, four dudes will step away from their respective bands (Weatherbox, Da Bears, Japandi and D/Wolves) to play solo sets. BACKUP PLAN: Dom Kennedy @ Epicentre.
Sunday, Oct. 3
PLAN A: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Heavy Young Heathens, The Dabbers @ Belly Up. A series of reissues this year show The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion were at their wildest in the ’90s, infusing their grimy hybrid of punk, funk and electric blues with sexual energy. Reportedly, the New York trio still bring a rock ’n’ roll swagger to their shows. BACKUP PLAN: School of Seven Bells @ The Loft.
Monday, Oct. 4
PLAN A: The Futureheads, Young the Giant, The So So Glos @ The Casbah. With its hard-driving riffs, infectious hooks and unusual elements (a chorus in 5/4 time, those trademark wacky vocal harmonies), The Chaos is the best record U.K. post-punks The Future headshave released since their landmark 2004 debut. I’m exhilarated just thinking about this show. PLAN B: Basia Bulat, Trouble in the Wind @ The Loft. Toronto folkie Basia Bulat’s voice, a rich-yet-tremulous alto that’ll remind you of Tracy Chapman, will likely be one of the most beautiful things you’ll hear all week. BACKUP PLAN: Grammatical B, MC Tracheotomy, Felix @ Soda Bar.Tuesday, Oct. 5
PLAN A: Liz Phair, Guy Sebastian @ Belly Up. With its goofy rap tracks and self-referential jokes, I’m more inclined to believe that Liz Phair’s infamously ridiculous new album, Funstyle, is not a piece of crap (as many reviewers have called it) but, rather, a fun, totally weird listen (as others have said). And I’m really curious to see what she’ll do with it live. BACK- UP PLAN: Hotel St. George, New Mexico, Lights On, Jamuel Saxon @ The Casbah.
