Tag Archives: indie rock

Redwoods Revue – The Music Box – 4/1/16

Posted on by
4

redwoods

I’m sure there are a lot of great local music scenes spread throughout the country with talented, creative and ambitious musicians playing in bands to crowds large and small. But there seems to be something special going on in San Diego right now as the number of worthwhile bands that can be found across stages throughout our county is truly impressive.  On almost any particular night there is a group worth checking out somewhere: from the Soda Bar in North Park to the Casbah in Little Italy to the Pour House in Oceanside.
This was never more apparent than at the Music Box on April 1st when the Redwoods Revue II took over the swanky downtown venue.  On this night Al Howard and the gang at Redwoods Music put on a show with five acts from their roster: Cardinal Moon, Dani Bell & the Tarantist, Birdy Bardot, The Midnight Pine and Rebecca Jade & the Cold Fact.  I’ve seen a lot of local bands at a bunch of different venues but I’d always wondered what they would look and sound like on a bigger stage with a superior sound system and top-notch lighting.  Now I know.  They look and sound awesome!

Continue reading →

Hiroshima Mockingbirds – Til-Two Club, San Diego – 4/9/16

Image

Reply

OK, so I think I’ve got this figured out now.  Jon Bonser, the drummer for The New Kinetics and Soft Lions (on the right), wanted to play guitar.  And Brian Reilly from the New Kinetics (center) felt left out with only one band. So in order to resolve these issues they obviously needed to form a new band – and call it the Hiroshima Mockingbirds.  Makes sense to me.

This was the third time I’ve seen a debut show in the past month (including Creepseed and Cardinal Moon) and like the other two, if they hadn’t told us it was their first set we never would have guessed.  Everything about the HM’s madhttps://maxsoundsmusic.com/2016/03/17/creepseed-the-casbah-san-diego-mar-14-2016/e it seem like they’ve been around for awhile and will be around for some time.  They fit perfectly into the indie/garage scene that is revitalizing rock n’ roll on a local and national level.

For at least twenty years now I’ve heard and read that rock is dead or dying (fuck you Gene Simmons) but when I see a set by a new band like the Hiroshima Mockingbirds I know that I’ve got nothing at all to worry about.

Here’s a video of “Jonny’s Trees”: Hiroshima Mockingbirds at the Til-Two Club

Creepseed Instagram

Pins – Too Little Too Late

Video

Reply 





When I was a senior at UC Santa Barbara I had a mass media course and along with two friends in the class we put together music and slide show presentation focusing on the still emerging punk rock scene. We explored how the genre was influenced by the society at large and in turn how our culture was being influenced by punk rock.  The final 90 seconds of the presentation had every picture we could find of punk musicians and fans flipping off the camera set to music by the <strong>Germs, Fear, Circle Jerks, X</strong> and others.

This song by UK indie pop/punkers, Pins, shows that 35 years later punk’s influence is still going strong and that middle fingers are still a useful form of communication.





PINS Instagram






					


		
	


				
						

				
					
	

		

						
Big Bloom – Ché Café – March 24, 2016

			
						

				Posted on   by  			

			
						

				Reply			

					


				

			
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
  


Big Bloom closed out a show at the Ché Café Thursday night after sets by San Diego’s Spooky Cigarette and Brooklyn’s Haybaby.  This was the second time I have caught Big Bloom and I still can’t figure out what kind of band they are.  They seem to be pushing and pulling themselves in different directions – from song to song and even within a song.  It is fascinating to hear different genres and influences come to the surface and then morph into something else.  Classic rock, surf, psych, metal and garage all take turns to create interesting songs and a dynamic performance, all with singer Katie Howard’s impassioned vocals laid over the top.  With such a big and varied sound I’d really love to catch this band on a bigger stage and with a much better sound system then the Ché Café has to offer.  But really – catch this group if you can – on any sized stage!


Here are two songs from this performance:  Venus / Step Up to My Face


 
 
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
  

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Haybaby – Che Cafe, San Diego – March 24, 2016

			
						

				Posted on   by  			

			
						

				Reply			

					


				

			
Hay Baby 02


I went to the Che Cafe tonight (for the first time) to see local favorites Big Bloom but was also impressed with the performance of Brooklyn band Haybaby.  This guitar/vox, bass and drums trio would be hard to put into any one genre. Really, they seemed like a noisy/poppy/indie rock band that is willing to go anywhere the song takes them.  The rhythm section of Sam Yieldon bass and Jeremy Duval on drums was locked into a groove on most songs, allowing the singer/guitarist, Leslie Hong, free reign to just go apeshit over and around whatever they were laying down.




Haybaby, who are apparently quite busy in the Brooklyn club scene, have been on tour for a while now, including a stop at SXSW – though according to Yield, they had to miss some shows due to flooding along the way. He also said that though the band has toured before, this was their first trek to the West Coast and from one venue to another they’re never sure what they’ll find or how many fans they’ll play for. He did say that Haybaby gives the audience everything they’ve got whether it’s 100 fans or just 7 people checking them out. I’d like to see this band again, but next time with better lighting and sound than the Che offers.


Links:  Haybaby Instagram


Hay Baby 01

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Spooky Cigarette – Che Cafe, San Diego – March 24, 2016

			
						

				Posted on   by  			

			
						

				Reply			

					


				

			
Spooky Cigarette


San Diego’s Spooky Cigarette opened for Brooklyn band Haybaby at the Ché Café last night.  This band shows an obvious love of late 70′s/early 80′s post-punk/no-wave, combining distorted and often discordant keys, melodic guitar and bass, staccato drumming and almost atonal (and also distorted) vocals in a sound that is a real throw-back to the art-rock of those earlier times.  It would really surprise me if these guys weren’t really into Joy Division and early New Order and it’s fun to watch and listen to younger bands mine those influences.  And while the mostly awful sound system found at the Che was not doing them any favors, Spooky Cigarette still put on a great show and I hope to have a chance to catch them again soon.


Spooky Cigarette instagram page.

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

				
					
	

		

						
The Bad Vibes – Soda Bar, San Diego – 3/17/16

			
						

				Posted on   by  			

			
						

				Reply			

					


				

			
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
  
 
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
  


I didn’t know much about The Bad Vibes before this show but I plan to rectify that soon. This San Diego quintet just killed it on the small Soda Bar stage!  They played a hard rocking bluesy set that covered a lot of ground; fans of psych, doom, heavy metal and even jam bands will find a lot to like here.  There was a gothic darkness just below the surface of their songs, reminding me a lot of the atmosphere created by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds.


Check out this video of  “Vulture Blues” from this show…




The Bad Vibes on bandcamp

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Sheila & the Rainbow Colored Trash Bags

			
						

				Posted on   by  			

			
						

				1			

					


				

			
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
  


Last night was the last show, at least for now, for Matt’s inventively named band of psychedelic garage rockers. He says he’s moving back to England but he hoped to return some day to play more music here in San Diego.  Last night he was joined by the Josh’s, Rudiger and Kmak, who helped Matt go out in a blaze of garage rock glory as he bashed out riffs so hard on the last song that he broke half the strings on his guitar. Bon voyage Matt!


Check out Sheila & the Rainbow Colored Trash Bags here on their bandcamp page