San Diego Shows–Thursday, Jan. 7
PLAN A: Abe Vigoda, Best Coast, Zola Jesus @ Soda Bar. The L.A. band named after the dour-faced actor (above) once described their music as “tropical punk,” and it stuck. But as evidenced by last year’s Reviver EP, their music has progressed way beyond just playing guitars so that they resemble steel drums. Darker, denser and decidedly more defined, it’s the sound of a band finding its sound, and it sure sounds great. And peaking of great, I’m absolutely in love with Best Coast’s “Sun Was High (So Was I).” Check out the story we ran on the one-woman lo-fi project here. PLAN B: Crash Encore, Republic of Letters @ The Casbah. Both bands are decent, as far as big-chorus alterna-rock goes, but this show marks the return of O.G. arts collective The Visual Underground, which will fill The Casbah with local artists and screen films, as well. BACKUP PLAN: Sonic Youth, Sic Alps @ House of Blues. I’ve been saying for years that Sonic Youth should just break up already, but I have to admit that their newest release, The Eternal, is pretty solid.
OTHER COOL STUFF:
Symphony Exposed @ Copley Symphony Hall. Ah, the symphony. It’s such a refined pleasure. At times, its grandiose scale can make it seem a little out of touch. But here’s something that brings it back down to our level and actually makes it much more interesting: At 7:30 p.m., the San Diego Symphony will open a new season of Symphony Exposed. The program is much more than just sitting in your seat and listening; Symphony Exposed deconstructs the experience so you can understand it better. Host Nuvi Mehta will guide the audience through Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 with multimedia presentations and by using the symphony to demonstrate exactly what he’s talking about. And when he’s done, you’ll hear a complete performance of the masterpiece. Think of it as symphony for dummies.
Saul Q, All Leather DJs @ Ruby Room.
Al Cooper @ Acoustic Music San Diego.
Delgado Brothers @ Anthology.
Rhythm & The Method, Sistah Speak, Ellamae, DJ Miss Lady D @ Beauty Bar.
Trail By Fire @ Belly Up.
Veep Reekins @ El Dorado.
Roadside Affair, Exit 21, London’s Falling, Prosthetic Arms @ Radio Room.
Abe Vigoda photo by Steven Andrew Garcia
if sonic youth broke up i’d hold you personally responsible seth and kick your ass. ok not really, but I seriously love SY live. If I could have sex with Lee and Thurston’s pedal boards, I would.