The White Stripes Announce Break Up

From Encore:

The groundbreaking rock duo announced Wednesday they are splitting up and "will make no further new recordings or perform live."

Jack White and Meg White say there are a "myriad of reasons" for the breakup, but the main reason is to "preserve what is beautiful and special about the band."
year.

Over the years, Jack White has focused attention on other projects, including the bands the Dead Weather and the Raconteurs, as well as his Nashville, Tenn.-based Third Man Records.

Street Muscians Worth Mentioning

I heard this band at the OB Farmer's Market busking (the indie term for street performing). It was a two peice band and really good, just a drum guitar and great vocals. Like a cross between The Muslims (now The Soft Pack) and Bright Eyes? I dunno I only heard one song before I was dragged by a hungry friend...

Check em out on their website!

Vice Party Tonite Marks ASR's Return!

If a Vice Party hits town and you hear the rumble of more skateboards than usual around town it can only mean one thing. ASR is back!!! ASR stands for action sports retail which mean the conference center downtown is showcasing all the latest gear in skating, snowboarding, body boarding and other extreme sports. It means hot skater boys and girls are all over the place and I personally am about to go work from a coffee shop downtown so I can spy all the hotties on wheels! This years Vice Party has Abe Vigoda on stage with local band Christmas Islands. It is set in a warehouse setting in Barrio Logan so it's sure to go off. And get this, free beer and tequila all night! RSVP HERE!!!

The Muslims (The Soft Pack) Doing Letterman!!!!!

Instead of watching my beloved LOST I went to see The Soft Pack play at the Tower Bar. I do not regret my decision, no where near it! They were insane. Local band, Beaters, opened for them, whom I really really liked, well done punk music. The Tower Bar was packed, I love it when it's sweaty and hard to move around! The only sad part was the $2 tall cans have inflated to $5 now!! OUCH. But fuck it, I somehow found the other few people who's body commanded them to dance as The Soft Pack opened up their set. They played old favorites and new songs off their self titled new album released on Feb. 2, you may have their bad ass single "Answer to Yourself" on the radio? They ended the set with my new favorite Parasite. So intense. So intense that me and some crazy girl waving her hair had to start a psuedo mosh pit. Sorry, I do what my body tells me to when it's responding to rhythm. The show was awesome, I just wish I saw it in a city where people weren't STILL concerned with looking unshaken and unaffected in the presence of truly great music!!!

AND GUESS WHAT?? The Soft Pack plays on The Letterman Show on February 12th!!

If you haven't seen The Soft Pack in a small venue you may have missed your oppourtunity folks. They have a show in Philly, NYC and then have a long ass tour through Europe. LONG LIVE THE MUSLIMS (THE SOFT PACK)!!!!!!!!!!

HACER, VICE, and ASR Weekend

ASR Weekend is upon us. Say what you will, I NEVER get tired of seeing tall hot skaters roam around our downtown for 3 Days twice a year for the Action, Sports, Retail Convention Downtown. There are shows, new people, parties and drink specials all over town from lame nights at smoozy places downtown to Anti-ASR Parties at Tower Bar in City Heights. Here are two events I will be hitting up, they are in walking distance (Only Seven Blocks Apart!) from each other and one right after the other. It will be fun to have a reason other than Lotus Thai and Pokez hankerings to be anywhere near the Gaslamp Area. If you've been talking shit about Gaslamp for years and plan on shunning ASR like you do every year try something new and make it out to these sure-to-be-fun/hot-skater-laden-events!! They aren't in the heart of Downtown they are off the beaten path in East Village so calm down, It's going to be interesting either way!

Luce Loft (1037 J Street in East Village) is beautiful and this is a great way to start your night off with food and pre party drinks! Proceeds go to charity and word on the street is there will be round the clock pinata beatings!! More info on the Sezio Website


Right after Hacer head over (walk off some of that alcohol, these events are seven blocks apart!) to new downtown haunt El Dorado (Sticks and Stones Feature) for the Vice Party. This will most likely be a huge hipster/skater smooze fest but could be fun as they usually throw a crazy party! Also our own Ikah Love is DJing and he has never let me down on the dance floor! I'm going to people watch and I haven't checked out El Dorado yet, this will be perfect timing. Make sure and e-mail the address on the flier to reserve your spot at this one! Live performances by Saviours and Annihilation Time (1030 Broadway&11th Ave)

David Bowie Tribute Tonite at The Casbah

Best one in the city!! Only happens once a year on the birthday of David Bowie impersonator himself, Ziggy Shuffledust. One of my coworkers is a back up singer so we'll probably be out there throwing em back, join us!

No West Coast Stops on Moz Tour 2009!!!!!!!

The recent addition to the Lost Highway label ( think Ryan Adams, Lucinda Williams, Johnny Cash, and Willie Nelson) will be touring 2009 to promote his new album "Years of Refusal."

What ups with Morrissey only going as far as New Mexico?? WTF?!?! AND no Mexico, Central or South America shows?????

02-28 Boca Raton, FL - Mizner Park
03-01 Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live
03-03 Jacksonville, FL - Florida Theater
03-04 St Petersburg, FL - Jannus Landing
03-06 Myrtle Beach SC - House of Blues
03-07 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
03-09 Asheville, NC - Orange Peel
03-11 Durham, NC - Durham Performing Arts Center
03-13 Richmond, VA - The National
03-14 Washington, DC - Warner Theater
03-16 Montclair, NJ - Wellmont Theater
03-17 Pittsburgh, PA - Carnegie Music Hall
03-19 Buffalo, NY - University of Buffalo Center for the Arts
03-21 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
03-22 Philadelphia, PA - Academy of Music
03-25 New York, NY - Webster Hall
03-26 New York, NY - Carnegie Hall
03-28 Mashantucket, CT - Foxwoods
03-29 Boston, MA - House of Blues
03-31 Ann Arbor, MI - Michigan Theater
04-01 Columbus, OH - Palace Theater
04-03 Milwaukee, WI - Eagles Ballroom
04-04 Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
04-06 Minneapolis, MN - State Theater
04-07 Kansas City, MO - Midland Theater
04-08 St Louis, MO - Pageant Theater
04-10 Dallas, TX - Palladium Ballroom
04-11 Houston, TX - Jesse H Jones Hall
04-12 Austin, TX - Bass Concert Hall
04-14 El Paso, TX - Chavez Theater
04-15 Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater
04-28 Killarney, Ireland - INEC
04-29 Galway, Ireland - Leisureland
05-01 Omagh, Northern Ireland - Leisure Centre
05-02 Belfast, Northern Ireland - Waterfront
05-04 Stirling, Scotland - Albert Hall *
05-05 Dundee, Scotland - Caird Hall *
05-07 Glasgow, Scotland - Barrowlands *
05-08 Glasgow, Scotland - Barrowlands *
05-10 Liverpool, England - Empire *
05-11 London, England - Royal Albert Hall *
05-13 Great Yarmouth, England - Brittania Pier *
05-16 Cambridge, England - Corn Exchange *
05-19 Hull, England - Hull Arena *
05-20 Hartlepool, England - Borough Hall *
05-22 Manchester, England - Apollo *
05-23 Manchester, England - Apollo *
05-25 Salisbury, England - City Hall *
05-26 London, England - Troxy Ballroom *
05-28 London, England - Brixton Academy *
05-29 London, England - Brixton Academy *
05-30 London, England - Brixton Academy *
06-02 Paris, France - Grand Rex
06-03 Lille, France - Aeronef
06-05 Luxembourg - Rockhal Club
06-06 Rotterdam, Holland - Watt
06-08 Antwerp, Belgium - Elizabeth Hall
06-09 Offenbach, Germany - Capitol
06-11 Cologne, Germany - Palladium
06-12 Berlin, Germany - Columbiahalle
06-14 Bremen, Germany - Pier 2
06-20 Oslo, Norway - Senstrumscene
06-24 Stockholm, Sweden - Hovet
06-30 St. Petersburg, Russia - Maneshe
07-01 Moscow, Russia - B1 Club

Sezio vs. Adapta Tonite at Cream, last one!!

In my opinion tonight is the most stacked of the three. I must admit, I haven't seen Wes's work but he is both hilarious and top notch. Jorge does gorgeous whimsical work, I checked out some of his stuff at the Reinventing The Wheel Art Show in Barrio Logan. And then you got Joel P West , great catchy pop folk songs with good lyrics. Check out Sezio

Tonite: TNT at The MCASD-Dowtown, 7 PM

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND: AN ECO-CHIC FASHION SHOW

Inspired by the exhibition Human/Nature: Artists Respond to a Changing Planet, TNT goes green with a fashion show featuring the best in eco-friendly style from up-and-coming local designers. Grab a front-row seat to view innovative clothing designs created from sustainable, organic, and repurposed materials. Models' hair and makeup by FRESH: An Urban Hair Salon and runway music provided by Mark E. Quark. Plus, enjoy live live performances by Monsters from Mars and Doves & Desperados.

Note- TNT is:
FIRST THURSDAY OF EVERY MONTH
7 PM @ MCASD DOWNTOWN
FREE ($3 DONATION WELCOME)
Very Fun!

EVEN more UPDATEs: Beloved San Diego Band, The Muslims, Changes Their Name

To The Soft Pack. I'm going to be honest right off the bat. I'm also going to be as politically incorrect as some might have thought their band name was (and maybe the reason they changed it?). I think the name name is gay. And the word gay has tons of different meanings so don't go all Hillary Duff on me and tell me it's derogatory. The name totally blows. Which stinks because The Muslims make some of the BEST music out right now. Their name emobodied the "We don't give a fuck attitude" that comes from the era of the type of music they make (and the best way to explain that cool post punk distant stare thing lead singer Matt Lamkin has when he performs). I don't know about you but when I said the name The Muslims I wasn't think of Qur’an text or anything.


They are one of my favorite bands of all time. Their new songs are insane, they are catching on like wildfire, everyone who hears them is instantly a fan, the dudes in the band are top notch. But damn. That band name just....reeks of lamenicity. I dunno for some reason I think of old balls....or some unattractive hick with a huge beer belly and a soft pack of cheap cigarettes in the pocket of his yellow tee.....Geez, Ill try to be more positive. It's Thanksgiving Day and I'm thankful The Soft Pack (I tried, sounds lame, can't do it) are making music. Oooo on the flip side now I can be all pretentious when they make it big and continue to call them The Muslims because I knew them whence....Haha I need to go to bed. Im like a young child giddy on Christmas Day for presents. Except i'm thinking of turkey and cranberry sauce.....and my aunts "cider" (hot whiskey in a bowl Aunty, really?)

Statement in a bulletin and on The Muslims Myspace Page:

WE HAVE CHANGED THE NAME OF OUR GROUP TO "THE SOFT PACK". Working on new material and firing on all four cylinders, we feel strongly about this one. It's a new chapter in our lives and hopefully yours. Stay tuned to The Soft Pack page (www.myspace.com/thesoftpack), as we will be posting new videos, music, and junk in the coming weeks. We are pumped. Have a great Thanksgiving and keep it loose. Your buddies, The Soft Pack

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE
Looks like Spin Magazine caught the comment I left on The Muslims page:

NEWS
Muslims Fan Deserves Tattoo Refund
The San Diego, CA, quartet changes its name to the Soft Pack -- and fan Heather Ace isn't happy.
BY MELISSA GOLDSTEIN 12.01.08 8:00 AM

Don't you hate it when you fall in love and have your darling's name tattooed on your shoulder, only to have him cheat on you.... Laser tattoo removal treatment hurts!
Consider the similar plight of longtime Muslims fan Heather Ace: The San Diego quartet just announced they were changing their name from the Muslims to the Soft Pack. They explained the move, kind of, not really, on their MySpace page: "Working on new material and firing on all four cylinders, we feel strongly about this one. It's a new chapter in our lives and hopefully yours."
Which brings us to Heather, who responded to the news by posting: "Fuck. I just got 'The Muslims' tattooed across my back in old English."
We feel for Heather, even though we don't quite understand the "Old English" part. Then again, if we were the Soft Pack, we'd opt to run on six -- or maybe even eight -- cylinders, instead of "four." We didn't get into rock'n'roll to improve our gas mileage.

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE 2
The Guardian UK Music Blog has added their two cents on the issue too:


The Muslims' name shame
When you're a band blessed with a brilliant name, why on earth would you voluntarily change it to the Soft Pack?
UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE 3
Had a great time at Riviera Supper Club and Turquoise Room (review to come) continued to after party and got a an idea, found a sharpie and well, Martinez does amazing calligraphy is all I can say! I can't believe people believed I really got this!! I thought it would be funny. I've said my piece/peace. I don't like the name change at all but I love the music so I will probably continue to call them The Muslims and will DEFinitely go to the shows. Check out the video below.


Parasite

Bringing the Party Thursday Back to Livewire

Ever since Skull Kontrol and Terrodome stopped trading off Thursdays to DJ at The Livewire it's been much less of a party there. I've been a few times, to be honest, I actually like it. There is still a small crowd, I can actually "play" pool, I can get a booth and I can get my drinks without the painful elbow wars or long wait. I just miss knowing that if I went to Livewire on Thursdays I was going to see 50-100 of my closest bar acquaintances. And dance on a bar stool. And get in a petty fight in the girls bathroom. And take someone home after 2-3 cigarettes as the bouncer screams at us to shut up and leave. But now there is hope, one of SD's fave djs is taking over the 1st and 3rd Thursday nights at Livewire and showing great music videos (accompanied by their respective music) all night long. It's called Club Vid and I went a couple weeks ago and had a blast. The music is all across the board and you can sit and hang out and laugh and discuss the videos or just kick back. Cool people turned out. I danced on a stool, got in a petty fight in the girls bathroom and took home my date after a cigarette. Check it out for yourself. Thursday Nights at Livewire might be wild again.....

ShockHound's Free Snow Patrol Tickets Available Friday 11/21

Fresh from playing four shows in Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh and London in only two days to celebrate the release of their new album, A Hundred Million Suns, multi-platinum Scottish/Irish rock heroes Snow Patrol are packing up their gear and heading to the US to play a handful of pre-Christmas shows. The band will be playing three of their west coast dates as part of our special Shock Sessions series — and admission to these shows will be absolutely FREE.
Yep, you read it correctly. Tickets for Snow Patrol's December 9 show at Tempe, AZ's Clubhouse, December 10 show at the Hard Rock Las Vegas, and December 13 gig at the San Diego House of Blues are all priced at the recession-friendly cost of zero dollars and zero cents. Tickets for all three Shock Session shows (Tempe and San Diego are All Ages; Vegas is 21+ only) go up for grabs on Friday, November 21 at 10 AM PST, and YOU CAN GET YOUR FREE PAIR RIGHT HERE, y'all! Don't sleep on this one, because these babies are gonna go quick..

"Ooh Girl"--An Honest R&B Song

This is HILARIOUS. Pay attention to the sultry voiced comments of the background guy.

Pitchfork: Smashing Pumpkins' Anniversary Tour Is a Shitshow

Poor setlist choices, awful-sounding music, and confounding sartorial decisions mixed with heavy doses of audience mockery: These are the reports we've been getting about the Smashing Pumpkins' "20th Anniversary Tour", and guesses at Billy Corgan's motivations can only confuse and infuriate.
Corgan lashed out at his band's fans once again at a recent Chicago gig, and this outburst comes with a YouTube video [via Stereogum].
mean, we get it, guy! You released a mediocre album and were disappointed when people thought it was mediocre.

But Billy, let's be clear: You say in that video, "Last I checked we were in an alternative band. 'Alternative' means 'different than what everyone else is doing,' including those reunion bands that go out and just play the old songs."
Incorrect! "Alternative" means nothing in 2008, and the fact that you don't seem to realize that probably has a lot to do with your confusion over people's disappointment when you don't just play your good songs instead of meandering off into formless noise jams. You can do your own thing all you want, but it's rude, to say the least, to begrudge people their expectations when they pay hundreds of dollars to see you. And you can mock "those reunion bands" all you want, but your insistence on ruining people's nostalgic fondness for your band instead of playing to it doesn't change the fact that you're cashing in, just like they are.

Personally, I don't buy that this intentional audience befuddling is some kind of pure pursuit of an artistic muse. It seems like the flailing around of an artist who has declined and is unwilling to face that truth even when his own fans proclaim it so by their reactions to his art.

While Stereogum's hypothesis that Corgan's antics could be "some Tony Clifton crowd-antagonizing performance art BS" is certainly interesting, I don't buy that either. The man has been too sincerely whiny and self-indulgent in the past for all of this to be one big joke.

So what do we take from this: Billy Corgan is crazy? We knew that. This "20th Anniversary Tour" might not live up to the expectations of longtime Pumpkins fans? We could have guessed that. Do we "give [them] another chance," as Corgan requested in a disingenuous apology to "those of you we've disappointed"?
It seems to me that Corgan himself suggested the best thing to do when he said, "It doesn't go anywhere from here. You might as well head to your cars."

Smashing Pumpkins:

11-21 Chicago, IL - Auditorium Theatre ("Black Sunshine")
11-22 Chicago, IL - Auditorium Theatre ("White Crosses")
11-24 Kansas City, MO - Midland Theater
11-25 Kansas City, MO - Midland Theater
11-26 St. Louis, MO - Fox Theatre
11-29 Las Vegas, NV - The Pearl
11-30 San Diego, CA - RIMAC Arena
12-02 Los Angeles, CA - Gibson Amphitheatre ("Black Sunshine")
12-03 Los Angeles, CA - Gibson Amphitheatre ("White Crosses")

Sadly, might be time to sell those tickets on Craigslist....

JIMMY EAT WORLD: CLARITY x 10 TOUR

10 SHOWS CELEBRATING 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF 1999 CLASSIC

Jimmy Eat World will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its classic Clarity by playing the album in its entirety for 10 one-time-only shows beginning February 23 in New York City and concluding March 7 in the band's native Arizona.

Tickets go onsale to the public Saturday @ 10am except where indicated otherwise

All times reflect local venue time


Feb 23 Terminal 5 New York NY
Public Onsale (Saturday @ Noon)

Feb 24 930 Club Washington DC
Public Onsale

Feb 25 Trocadero Theater Philadelphia PA
Public Onsale

Feb 26 House of Blues Boston MA
Ticketing Details Coming Soon

Feb 28 Metro Chicago IL
Public Onsale

Mar 2 Ogden Theatre Denver CO
Public Onsale

Mar 4 The Fillmore San Francisco CA
Public Onsale (Sunday @ 10am)

Mar 5 Club Nokia Los Angeles CA
Public Onsale

Mar 6 House of Blues San Diego CA
Public Onsale

Mar 7 Marquee Theatre Tempe AZ
Public Onsale

Reuben's Accomplice will support Feb. 23-Mar. 4. No Knife will support Mar. 5-7.

Tonight at The Casbah

Hotel St. George and Tape Deck Mountain free at The Whistlestop Tonight

Read this blogs past review of Tape Deck Mountain and Check Em Out Tonight!

Sezio vs. Adapta Tonite at Cream

Support Those Who Support Our Local Music Scene

I'm definitely on SD Dialed in every day checking out all the event and music listings. Creator Rosey Bystrak will be holding the 2nd Anniversary of her local music/event page tonight at The Casbah. It also happens to be Tim Pyles produced and always fun, Anti Monday League night. Join the rest of us tonite for all the action, it's only $6 bucks!!

Go See Glasser at The Casbah Tonight!!!

Glasser sounds like an LA style Bjork with back up singers, interesting Icelandic style dream pop with American vocals and harmonies. Word?? Word. Oh and she performs with experimental dance troupe Body City. They blew us away at one of the San Diego House Parties and we can't wait for more. They open for fellow Matador Records roster folks Bright Black Morning Light for Tim Pyles weekly Anti Monday League Casbah show.

Pictures from The House Party: