November 11, 2011

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Concert Preview: Sezio’s Four Day Weekend

November 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Sezio's Four Day Weekend will take place Nov. 10-13 at Sunset Temple.

By Liz Allick

Sezio’s Four Day Weekend
Sunset Temple
November 10-13

Here is some great news for San Diego Indie-music lovers – from Nov. 10-13 Sezio will be bringing their four-day evening music festival to North Park. Concertgoers can catch an individual show for only $10.00, but it’s a guarantee that a $30.00 ticket to see all twelve artists (three shows a night) is well worth the money.

Sezio is a non-profit organization that aims to provide “resources, exposure and community support to emerging artists and musicians through a variety of new media, events, retail and community programs.” Working with local San Diego venues, artists, retailers and other companies, Sezio hosts a variety of shows with artists that are all on a definite must-go-see list such as Deer Tick on Oct. 31 and Ra Ra Riot on Nov. 9.

In the past Sezio has put on amazing events like Live @ Luce Loft in San Diego’s East Village in March 2009, a five-night series featuring ten emerging local artists in an intimate living room setting. Due to the epic success of this event, Sezio doubled the size of the living room and last year put on a four-night series of California-based bands headlined by The Dodos, Dominant Legs, The Tree Ring and, a personal favorite, Avi Buffalo.

This year’s Four Day Weekend, featuring even more artists in a new location, North Park’s Sunset Temple, will be a weekend event that cannot be missed. Headlining Thursday evening is Peter Wolf Crier, comprised of the Minneapolis-based duo Peter Pisano and Brian Moen. When The War of 1812 reached its end, Pisano, their front man, took the opportunity to begin forming the foundation of what would later become this amazing pair of musicians. Keeping his day job as a private school teacher, Pisano spent his evening developing and fine-tuning the works that turned into Peter Wolf Crier’s first album Inter-Be. Pisano reached out to Moen for his known accomplishments as a drummer and sound engineer, the duo completed the album that fully carries the amount of thought and soul that went into its creation. Their music is a combination of Indie-folk and pop, but their album is a diverse collection of songs with a beautiful range from more upbeat and light hearted tracks such as “Crutch and Cane” to deeper and more resonant songs like “Hard as Nails” driven by the drumming talent of Moen. Their second album Garden of Arms released this past September was another illustration of the amazing music two people can create together and explored their talents in even more ways adding in another set of unique musical elements. Across the board, Peter Wolf Crier is sure to please the ears of listeners, and grouped with artists such as The Woods and Bon Iver, their show will be a demonstration of musical talent that will be a great kick-start to the weekend.

Friday will feature yet another greater headliner, Dirty Gold. This native San Diego threesome released their first EP only a few months ago in April, but their obvious talent and individualistic sound has gained them deserving popularity, all at a very ripe young age. Music they classify as “Afro-Beat/Experimental/Beach-Pop/Surf pop” couldn’t be classified as anything else. Their music, especially with tracks like “California Sunrise” will have listeners pressing repeat with easy-listening tunes that are resonant of 1960s beach jams, but with a modern personalized feel with accompaniments from an afro-pop guitar and xylophone. With their talent being recognized at such a fast pace, their performance at this year’s Four Day Weekend could be an opportunity to see them before they are selling out shows.

Saturday’s headliner, Lord Huron, is another new name that cannot be missed. His music is definitely something in its own, with a folk feel driven by Ben Schneider’s voice, underlined with Afro-Caribbean percussion and sound elements like subtle seagulls in the background. It’s definitely an experience worth listening to. Lord Huron’s new and irresistible sound landed the group appearances at major festivals like Lollapalooza this summer and his live performance exceeded expectations. The group on stage brings such a range of music and every song is equally great across the board. Another name that is rapidly gaining attention, especially in the Indie-music blogging sphere, makes him a performance that is sure to draw quite a crowd at the Four Day Weekend.

Wrapping up the event is Sunday’s headliner Real Estate. While the name might not evoke an immediate response of excitement, especially for business majors, their music will- especially when USD students find out one of the band’s most popular songs is entitled “Beach Comber.” No, this track is not about Mission Beach residents’ favorite establishment, but the song will still get listeners bobbing their heads along. This Indie-Rock group from New Jersey released their first album self-titled Real Estate in November 2009 and since then, have put out consistently great works, including their new album Days. With a mellow summertime feel to their music, they will carry on this theme of easy, beach listening sure to make this year’s Four Day Weekend quite a show, alongside eight other up and coming artists.

Buy Four Day Weekend All-Access Pass ($30)

 

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Concert Review: Portugal. The Man

October 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Portugal. The Man. Photo courtesy of mxdwn.com

By Sarah Pacitti

Portugal. The Man
House of Blues
September 30, 2011

“Bring It On, Man!” On Friday night, September 30, the House of Blues in downtown San Diego added another win to the list, as Portugal. The Man tore up the stage and hyped up the crowd to such epic proportions. Everyone waited in anticipation, and when “The Man” was ready to go… there was no stopping them. Their sound can be best described as, well,  “indescribable.” But, if one had to put it into words, one might say it is the perfect combination of alternative, psychedelic, electronic, the type of rock that will keep you on your toes, with your hands in the air while your heart is racing, causing your ears to tingle from the unbelievable sense of glory they are witnessing…or something along those lines.

Lead vocals and guitarist, John Gourley, along with all band members, appeared to have sent chills up the spines of many audience members, people in the crowd reacting in very different ways to the music; some staring mindlessly at the stage with their jaws dropped, some lip-syncing the words into a fake microphone in front of them while bopping around back and forth to the beat, while others simply…crowd surfed.

Focusing on performing jams from their most current album, In the Mountain In the Cloud, released in July, the band’s performance of their song,  “Got It All (This Can’t Be Living Now)” really did have it all. The words rang out clearly through Gourley’s mic and really resonated well amongst the crowd. “We’ll shake, shake, shake the night away…” went the lyrics, and indeed that is just how the night played out.

Alas, the dreaded time finally came when all the members of the band sincerely thanked the audience, and filed off the stage. Nope, the crowd was not going to take that. They were not ready to accept this goodbye, as they were much too energetic, rambunctious and far too sweaty to call it quits. After lots of cheering, clapping and yelling from the masses, it was then that their favorite men came back to the stage to sing a few favorites to their adoringly energetic and sweaty fans. The ever-favorite “People Say” off past album, The Satanic Satanist, of July 2009, was one of the final songs performed, leaving the band’s performance off on a really high note with San Diego. Thank you, Portugal. The Man. We all asked you to bring it, and man oh man, did you ever.

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Concert Review: Tiësto

October 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Tiesto's upcoming album and tour theme, Club Life: Vol 1. Las Vegas

 

By Kathryn Zambon

Tiësto
Valley View Casino Center
October 2, 2011 

Late Sunday night, DJ Tiësto blew the minds of fans that traveled from all over the world to join in on the College Invasion tour. Nineteen-year-old Porter Robinson opened for Tiësto and got the crowd ready to party with his insane mixes that didn’t need a lot of flashing lights to make the listeners get excited. His background portrayed current Tweets written by people in the audience and everyone had a chance to get their Twitter on the big screen showing their hype and love for the infamous Tiësto.

The Valley View Casino Center’s main floor was packed so tightly that if you put your hands in the air, they were going to stay there for the next thirty minutes. A friend of mine made his way to the front and had the time of his life! People were definitely enjoying themselves. Tiësto’s heavy bass and transforming melodies made the crowd jump until there were no soles left on the bottoms of their fuzzy boots. The music blasted through the arena and through the chests of the audience making each person’s heart synchronize to the beat. Confetti littered the sky and explosions of intense fog heightened the climaxes of his more popular songs making the experience even more tantalizing. Some fans even brought 3-D glasses to maximize the experience of the insane light show that had everyone dizzy by the end of the night.

Tiësto commanded the stage with few expressions except an occasional smirk and some fist pumping. The theme of the night was definitely living the “Club Life,” Tiësto’s main phrase and theme of his tour! It was guaranteed that no one went home disappointed. This was not a concert you would want to miss. Hopefully DJ Tiësto comes back to visit San Diego again – and soon!

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New Artist: Todo Mundo

September 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Todo Mundo's newest album, Organic Fire

 

By Marisa Marlowe

“The reason we exist is because music doesn’t have any border and it can bring a lot of people together; we want to break borders between people.  It does not matter what you have, what you think, where you are from, we are all the same.  We can be all together, we are one, one world, we are just one,” said Santiago Orozco of Todo Mundo.  Todo Mundo,  an up and coming band with Latin roots in Argentina, has taken on new members in a new location and are quickly becoming big in the local music scene.  The name means “everyone,” which is exactly what the band is about: a world of people connecting through the undeniable beauty of music.

The band has existed in San Diego for about a year and a half starting with the humble origins of playing on the street, they have transformed into what is now known as Todo Mundo.  This band incorporates Latin rhythms and Spanish lyrics into melodic reverberations that get everyone moving.  Their album Organic Fire won the best world music album in the San Diego music awards and their next album is currently in the making but not to be expected for about another six months.

We all go to concerts to have a good time and enjoy ourselves and forget our troubles;  this euphoric atmosphere is made all the more possible when the individuals making the music truly feel every note and share a part of their soul with the audience, creating one of the most beautiful and purest forms of energy.  Todo mundo has a unifying rhythmic element not only between band members but between everyone at the show, there is no way you can listen to them and not begin to smile  Todo Mundo makes to music because they love to play music and this pure quality is heard in every beat that they create.

Check them out at www.todomundomusic.com and download the free song. Keep an eye out for Todo Mundo’s shows here in San Diego within the next few weeks, too, including the Ocean Beach Farmers’ Market!

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Concert Review: Thievery Corporation

September 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Thievery Corporation's newest album, Culture of Fear

By Tom Roth

Thievery Corporation
House of Blues
September 7, 2011

When DC-based Thievery Corporation performs, the resulting experience is something more akin to a visit to the UN than a typical concert.

Such it was for two nights in San Diego’s Land of Lights and Smells known as the Gaslamp District when Thievery Corporation brought their platoon of troubadours to the House of Blues.

For those unacquainted with “The Corporation” as they referred to themselves onstage, the group consists of founding fathers Rob Garza and Eric Hilton, whose 1995 union created a nucleus around which a dizzying roster of accompanists orbits. During their most recent show in San Diego, no fewer than one dozen performers assisted in bringing trip-hop music to the stage.

Playing tracks off their latest release, Culture of Fear, Thievery Corporation swung the crowd from plodding to pounding, the most energetic being the socially-conscious condemnation of the IMF, “Vampires.” Despite the harsh lyrical indictment, the crowd bobbed and waved happily in keeping with the general mood of the show.

When there’s as much diversity onstage, it’s hard to act otherwise. As easily as Rob Myers moved seamlessly from guitar to sitar, guest vocalists trotted on and off stage dressed in everything from traditional African garb to hotel doorman costumes. While steel drum rhythms competed with trumpet blasts, the harmonious groove massed and rose off the stage, past the Star of David, moon and crescent, and crucifix. Before the sounds evaporated into the night, a painted inscription passed above the performers: Unity in Diversity.

Diversely united, indeed.

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Concert Preview: Andre Nickatina

September 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Andre Nickatina's newest album, Khan! The Me Generation

By Colleen Dunn

It’s been more than a year since the latest Andre Nickatina album dropped (and on 4/20 no less. Coincidence? It’s doubtful) but Nickatina is back and better than ever. Khan! The Me Generation is the latest of the 18 albums that have been keeping Nickatina busy since The New Jim Jones dropped in 1993.

Nickatina has long been a favorite rapper and frequent performer on college campuses. A cult classic, he receives more airtime at ragers than on the radio. His Money Shark tour kicks off tomorrow and runs through the end of the year. Seattle will be ringing in the New Year with Andre but in the meantime he’ll be roaming the country from his hometown, San Francisco, to Fargo, North Dakota. You can catch him at House of Blues San Diego with Hopsin on October 5th.

Find more information, and buy tickets here.

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EOTO: A New Kind of Dub-step

March 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

“San Diego is super special for me, we are ready to dive right in for you guys and rage it Friday and Saturday night,” said Jason Hann of EOTO before their two night run at Winston’s in Ocean Beach this past weekend.

EOTO is a 100% live improvisational electronic, dub-step group that is one of the most successful side projects of the popular jam band, The String Cheese Incident. The group was started by percussionists Michael Travis and Jason Hann in 2006 when String Cheese was on hiatus, and they made their first live appearance at the Sonic Bloom festival in Bellvue, Colorado that May. The idea to move electric was born, of course, through jamming. It began as a way for the two to unwind and have fun after String Cheese rehearsals and eventually progressed into the innovative dub-step phenonemnon that we saw taking over the music scene in Ocean Beach this past weekend. Jason, who lives in California explained, “I would usually stay at Travis’ house after practices in Colorado and we would come home, set up some instruments and just jam…eventually we had the most fun playing electronic stuff and looping different parts. Once we realized that String Cheese would be breaking up we decided to take this thing and go for it. We started at the first Sonic Bloom and eventually began booking about 200 shows a year which just allowed us to get better and better.”

EOTO’s live, improvisational style and use of organic instruments stays true to the jam band roots but lets out electronic reverberations that send the crowd into a rave like, whomping motion. With their unique style and incredible energy, they have certainly found their place in the electronic/dubstep movement that has become so prevalent in music today. When asked if he thought EOTO’s music contributed to any sort of cultural revolution, Hann answered, “Our music is about working toward living together, respecting each other and just letting your freak flag fly and not feeling the pressure of the drama that exists on a day to day basis. EOTO is part of a musical revolution. The technologies we use combined with sites like YouTube and Myspace are allowing young kids to learn and produce music, and they look to band like us to help them learn how to make it.” Even other artists have taken tips from EOTO— after opening for them on a west coast tour, popular electronic artist Mimosa asked Hann about the voice box effect that he used during the show and began using it in his own recordings.

EOTO has toured all over, visiting cities around the country both big and small. They stand out in the electronic genre because they are not simply a DJ layering beats, but musicians playing off of one another’s melodic vibrations. As Hann put it, “It separates us from anything else that is going on in that scene, it’s all super connected. The way that we approach it is that you should be able to rage your face off, close your eyes, bend into the moment and get as deep as you want to get. You know it has a different kind of impact on people that care, people that understand it’s not just someone pushing buttons. It’s really weird seeing a band making noises that some producers and artists spend hours in a studio trying to create.”

It is clear that whether or not fans are aware of the innovative methods being used, they like what they hear. EOTO over sold by 40 tickets their first night at Winston’s and had similar success the second night. Crowds of people, of all ages, flooded into the small venue to see the duo and they were not disappointed. It was a great time for both the musicians and the crowds that danced until almost 2am both nights. EOTO is currently on spring tour, cruising through the southwest the month of March and hitting the east coast in the month of April. The group will also be working with renowned visual artist, Zebbler, later on in the tour who will be adding even more entertainment to the act with his construction of the visuals for the show. They are a talent to keep an eye on through the summer months as well with performances scheduled at festivals like Summer Camp, Wakarusa and recently announced Electric Forest.

Eoto live at Winston's in OB

By: Mackenzie Gilchrist and Marisa Marlowe

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