Posts Tagged ‘Casbah’

Tortoise – 6.13.2010

Monday, July 5th, 2010

Tortoise
6.13.2010
Casbah

Its been a while since these guys came around. Unlike most bands/artists they make it a point to always make it through when they tour. Their latest album, Beacons of Ancestorship, has not made its oblique meaning clear to me yet but it makes good noise. Known for their hard-to-categorize blend of progressive rock, jazz and electronic influences the new record offers more of the conceptual richness fans stick around for.

Arriving during Das Boton’s opening set, the scene at the casbah was not the hot, crowded affair which is inevitable at a sold-out show.
Tortoise showed up with their usual stage set up; guitar, two drum kits, bass, synths, midi marimba and vibraphone. They all switch instruments as they ran through their catalog in the usual impressive, precise fashion. This is about the fourth time I have seen them and they are always so fun to watch!

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Tristeza – 12.12.09

Sunday, December 20th, 2009

Tristeza
12.12.09
Casbah

Welcome back, indeed. Psychedelic hometown heroes, Tristeza made a triumphant return on this Saturday night. Drew Andrews and Kill me Tomorrow opened the gig on this wonderful rainy evening in San Diego. My crew was out in fullest force. What!?!?

The current lineup ran through what seemed like a quick set culled almost exclusively from their new record, Fate Unfolds. To me this record sounded considerably more upbeat than previous works. Heavier latin rhythms combined with the deep, deep bass grooves and the intertwining guitar lines we have come to know so well. If there were any questions whether these guys could get down, rest assured folks these cats stay on it.

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Swim Party, Lights On – 11.09.09

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

SD Dialed In 3-year anniversary
Lights On
Swim Party
The Moviegoers
Casbah
11.09.09

We’re letting the cat out of the bag with this one. but with good reason. This show was actually a three year anniversary for the renowned local blog, San Diego dialed in. If you don’t know its because we didn’t tell you. It was our little secret. Our backdoor to getting hip to what’s on the scene. In addition to listing most all of the shows worth their cover in SD, they also throw some good ones as well.

We showed up in time to catch most of Swim Party’s set. Nice tone, well rehearsed. Lights On were next. The first thing that came to mind was Echo and the bunnymen meets Interpol and they wasted no time toughing it up. Anyways, these are real bands that play songs that sound good and make you want to move a little bit. I know San Diego, I know what a fucking crazy idea that is; moving at a music show. Somebody get me out of this cultural shit-hole. And if you can’t, well we have SD dialed in to let us know where a little respite should be. Nice work and good luck.

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Joe Lally – 05.02.09

Monday, May 4th, 2009

Joe Lally 
Casbah
05.02.09

Who you ask? Joe Lally AKA The Bassist from Fugazi. Yeah, that dude.  Mr Tube & The Flying Objects opened up. Heavy grooves. Mr. Lally rolled up with a drummer and guitarist. Younger kids. He mentioned the guitarist was from Sicily, I believe. She(!) had an interesting guitar style. Multiple fuzz and distortions and some synthy effects. The Drummer was tight in a jazzy bag. lots of cool syncopation. JL did his thing on the bass. Deep, DEEP grooves. He sang on most tunes. By bantering between songs without using the mic, I thought, he did a great job connecting with the audience and accentuating the intimate and loose feel of the performance. If that wasn’t enough for you he ended the set with an acapella vocal piece in the middle of the audience. He thanked us for ‘coming out and bringing our attention’. Cool dude. Great sound.

I am not sure if he has recorded any of the stuff he played at this gig. If you are unfamiliar with his sound start with the Fugazi catalog and throw in the Ataxia album Automatic Writing that he did with John Frusciante. 

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