jamuel saxon, fans of jimmy century, oughtnot show review 7.23.08

[play] deedle deedle -knob tweak- -knob tweak- deedle deedle [stop] was the fashion of this particular night. Starting with oughtnot track after track of relatively "safe" electronic music proceeded to blast through the beauty bar at raucous decibels. Fans of Jimmy Century (SF) played what seemed to be the same disco laden song over and over again. However, what I loathed from their music is what is probably much celebrated in euro clubs and gay bars.

Wolf Parade in San Diego: Enough scensters to fill a Wayfarer factory.

Here's the deal: Wolf Parade is fucking sick. That is all.

OK, that's not all, but god damn those guys put on one hell of a show. Over one hour of pure sweat, driving chords, weird keyboard sections (and and equally weird second keyboardist, Hadji Baraka), and a serious punk rock sense of urgency. You might ask yourself "how do they top Apologies?" Well, that's up for debate, but what I can say is that the new album they are touring behind, Mount Zoomer, is incredible and live they are tighter than a pair of black Levi's that some hipster dude will without a doubt be adorning at any of their US remaining shows. The show seems to be about 50/50 split on the Dan Boeckner and Spencer Krug songs and they play most of the favorites from Apologies--Grounds for Divorce, This Hearts on Fire, You Are a Runner, Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts, Shine a Light, and of course, encore ender, I'll Believe in Anything, along with the new songs, which are loud, heavy rockers as well.

Wolf Parade brought the intensity and Today's Pig brought the sweat. Here's a few photos from the evenings events. Check our steez, fake out backstage perspective bitches!

This is The Listening Party the band they are touring with on their entire tour and the latest indie band to jump on the "two piece" arrangement trend. I must admit that they were pretty interesting however, with great vocals and vocal arrangements, and the singer was a nice enough guy and spoke with us for a minute after their set.

Notice the Rubbermaid 20 gallon trashcan for the bass drum and the generic white painters bucket for the snare. Kitchy? Maybe, who am I to judge, but I will say that after a discussion with my associate, we decided that these guys would do well with a big stand up bass and another somethin' somethin'. A little sparse, but worth a listen.

How many punk rock cliches can The Sess embrace in a minute?

Yeah, they snarl. Yeah, they're pissed. Yeah, they've got that "we don't give a shit" swag. Yeah, the energy at their shows ebb and flow like a human swell before it crashes at shore. Yeah, they write short, assaulting songs like Fuck the Navy and Don't Look Back. Yeah, they'll fuck your little sister and she'll probably like it. But my question is this: doesn't the punk rock mentality give the finger to all things conventional? And if so, doesn't the idea of a punk rock cliche seem so very....not punk?

Today's Pig is planning a "30 shows in 30 nights" tour of San Diego venues in hopes of exposing as many local bands as possible to kick things off. We decided that given the amount of buzz The Sess has been receiving lately, we thought, "holy shit, perfect!" We sent out a photographer, we sent out a correspondent, and the rest was history. Oh the disappointment we felt when word came back to headquarters: The Sess were a no show. A fucking no show! Gimmie a break.

Here's the deal, we all understand that shit happens and sometimes shows are cancelled last minute, but here's the back story.

Action Jackson Presents put together the show at The Beauty Bar billed to feature The Sess as the headliner and backed by opener Christmas Island and San Diego vets The Vision of a Dying World, and at 5 bucks a head? Deal. The show went on as planned without a hitch; Christmas Island ripped through their 30 minute set, Vision cruised through their set playing a couple new songs and a few stalwarts, and the crowd began to claim their spots to witness one of The Sess's pre-legendary performances. Much time passed, and nobody was setting anything up. There was just a lonely bass drum in a heavy black case with "The Sess" written in silver paint pen across the face of it. 45 minutes later and just past midnight, the natives were getting restless. What the fuck was this shit? A cruel joke? Some new antics to add to the growing legend? Nope, just a god damned crap out.

Word quickly spread through the bar that The Sess had simply not shown up for the gig. Oh, how fucking punk rock of you. All we have to say is this: be punk rock, no problem--it's interesting and edgy and dangerous--but at the same time, be a fucking professional. People came out to see you and you just don't show up without warning? Wow; punk rock, or just alienation? After speaking with promoter Action Jackson later that evening, we found out that not one person from The Sess even graced him with a phone call.

But wait! Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse, rumor was spread, and later confirmed by an anonymous source that The Sess played, minus their bass player (who was the reason for The Beauty Bar no show in the first place), at a house party in South Park. OK, despite our nasty little rant, that's actually kind of cool and a perfect ending to a now truly punk rock story.

P.S. The Vision of a Dying World fucking killed it, per usual. Here are a few pics. Enjoy