Sound: Experiments in Sound
All Leather Wednesday, Aug. 24
PLAN A: All Leather, DJs Mike Delgado, Bonk Joyner @ U-31. All Leather clearly revel in pissing people off—just read their vulgar song titles or watch the brilliantly ridiculous video for “Mystery Meat.” But they also just rock the fuck out, trading normal electro fare (Auto-Tune, modular synths, etc.) for bone-jarring beats, grating guitar noise and Justin Pearson’s scream-y vocals. BACKUP PLAN: Kill the Noise, Codes @ Voyeur. (Also playing with Alvin Risk on Thursday, Aug. 25.)
Thursday, Aug. 25
PLAN A: Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Keri Hilson, Far East Movement & Lloyd @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre. Lil Wayne hasn’t been puffing blunts or sipping purple drank for months—he’s banned from using drugs as a condition of his probation, stemming from 2008 drug charges. But the singles from his forthcoming album, Tha Carter IV, prove that a sober Weezy is just as bold and eccentric as a high Weezy. PLAN B: Obits, Disappears, Beaters @ The Casbah. Obits frontman Rick Froberg used to play in Drive Like Jehu and Hot Snakes, two of San Diego’s most badass rock bands. Brooklyn’s Obits pretty much pick up where these bands left off—with heaping helpings of indie-rock riffage. (Check out our interview with Froberg here.) BACKUP PLAN: Charles Bradley, DJ Claire @ Belly Up.
Friday, Aug. 26
PLAN A: Butthole Surfers, 400 Blows @ Brick by Brick. After a six-year hiatus, the acid-fried art-punk freaks known as Butthole Surfers are back. Let’s hope they unleash the disorienting strobe lights, smoke machines and burning cymbal of yore. PLAN B: Hyena, Art vs. Science, The Hundred Days, DJ Patrick Heaney @ The Casbah. In the music video for “Magic Fountain,” Art vs. Science’s ultra-catchy electro-rock anthem, an old man wearing a jacket covered with stereo speakers sends passersby into paroxysms of dancing with massive sound waves. The Australian band’s live show isn’t quite as magical, but I bet it’ll still make a damn good dance party. PLAN C: R. Stevie Moore, Alex Miranda, Tropical Ooze, Twin Cabins @ Che Café. Frizzy-haired pop-music eccentric R. Stevie Moore has self-released 400-plus albums (!) since 1968, and he’s still going strong—he’s currently hawking a characteristically quirky new album, Advanced.
Saturday, Aug. 27
PLAN A: El Ten Eleven, Sister Crayon @ The Casbah. El Ten Eleven are often described as “post-rock” on account of their stripped-down guitar vamps and Motorik beats. But they’re just plain rock to me. Sure, traditional rock bands don’t use loop processors, but what’s more rock ’n’ roll than the L.A. duo’s badass-looking doubleneck guitar-bass? PLAN B: Vokab Kompany, Pigeon John, Crush Effect, DJ Man- Cat @ Belly Up tavern. I want to thank Vokab Kompany for offering to buy me a beer and a ticket to this show (see Page 4), but I still think their music is cheesy and stale. However, I’d definitely show up for Pigeon John, an easygoing L.A. rapper who also has an ear for blues and indie-pop.
Sunday, Aug. 28
PLAN A: The Mattson 2, In Motion Trio @ Dizzy’s. You can’t throw a surfboard in San Diego County without impaling another godforsaken surf-rock band, but The Mattson 2 offer a new take on a tired genre with their moody harmonies and improvisational jazz breakdowns. Tonight, they’ll play in support of Feeling Hands, the record that won them a San Diego Music Award for Best Jazz Album. PLAN B: The Carpettes, The Shadow, northern Tigers @ Soda Bar. The Carpettes are one of those old-school punk bands that put out some solid releases and got some buzz but never made it big. That’s a shame, because these British punks— now on their first U.S. tour—penned some seriously catchy songs during their late-’70s heyday. BACKUP PLAN: Man/Miracle, Chairs Missing @ Bar Pink.
Monday, Aug. 29
PLAN A: Neon Cough, Death on Mars, The Very, Scott Mathiasen, SO3 @ The Casbah. Neon Cough and Death on Mars are as different as day and night—the former do jangly indie-pop, the latter dark indie-rock—but they both show up on Staring at the Sun, Vol. 9, the latest installment of a local music compilation series. BACKUP PLAN: White Mystery, Dreamboat, The Old In Out @ Soda Bar.
Tuesday, Aug. 30
PLAN A: Tomcat Courtney @ La Gran Tapa. A veteran bluesman in his early 80s, Tomcat Courtney plucks out languid licks on an electric guitar as he sings, in his raw-yet-sweet voice, about breakfast, women and whatever else strikes his fancy. BACK- UP PLAN: Wyatt, Bully, Patrick Norton @ Tin Can Ale House.
