Here's something you might be interested in.
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
If I'm Any Judge
I judged a battle of the bands last Tuesday night at the Hard Rock Café, home to Mojo’s leathers and Madonna’s bulletproof bra. The event was the San Diego leg of the Ambassadors of Rock competition, of which the final winning band gets a trip to London to open shows for Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen. I know: That’s a prize? Nothing against them mega men, but who’d want to play before 40,000 piss-drunk soccer fans clamoring for “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”? Oi, get off the fookin’ stage!
Sobutanyway, 91X did the selection legwork, and the Hard Rock downtown hosted the four SD finalists — Fuzz-Huzzi, New Archaic, Bitter Sober, Long Live Logos — who would be judged by Sonny Sandoval from P.O.D., 91X muckity-muck Josh Hammond, and me. We scored it like this: points for overall musicianship (up to 30), points for vocals (up to 20), points for stage presence (up to 20), originality of two songs performed (up to 20 points), audience reaction (up to 10). Easy.
The club was crowded and staff eager to please with a steady flow of greasy eats and complimentary quaffs for the judges’ table, which was a little far from the stage. We were tucked under the flying Harley at the back of the packed dance floor with little-to-no view of the performers. But the sound was good and loud.
Over the course of the show, Sandoval spilled a couple of Red Bulls on us. Yes, twice. He might deny it, but I have a picture with the rock star, and you can clearly see the stains on my shirt. Do you know what it’s like trying to get gabardine cleaned? Anyway, forget it, he’s a sweet (if a bit clumsy) kid.
All four bands were solid, entertaining, difficult to dismiss. By audience reaction, and there were at least 300 head at the back of the bar for the event, it was a helluva show. And in the end, the best band won because musically they had the most range, braving away from staid song structures and taking chances vocally without a hint of posturing.
“Each band was the best in their genre,” explained Hammond about the selections. I’m not sure what genre New Archaic falls into (arena pop?), but they bested the field and took one step closer to London that night.
Here's something you might be interested in.
If I'm Any Judge
If I'm Any Judge
I judged a battle of the bands last Tuesday night at the Hard Rock Café, home to Mojo’s leathers and Madonna’s bulletproof bra. The event was the San Diego leg of the Ambassadors of Rock competition, of which the final winning band gets a trip to London to open shows for Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen. I know: That’s a prize? Nothing against them mega men, but who’d want to play before 40,000 piss-drunk soccer fans clamoring for “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”? Oi, get off the fookin’ stage!
Sobutanyway, 91X did the selection legwork, and the Hard Rock downtown hosted the four SD finalists — Fuzz-Huzzi, New Archaic, Bitter Sober, Long Live Logos — who would be judged by Sonny Sandoval from P.O.D., 91X muckity-muck Josh Hammond, and me. We scored it like this: points for overall musicianship (up to 30), points for vocals (up to 20), points for stage presence (up to 20), originality of two songs performed (up to 20 points), audience reaction (up to 10). Easy.
The club was crowded and staff eager to please with a steady flow of greasy eats and complimentary quaffs for the judges’ table, which was a little far from the stage. We were tucked under the flying Harley at the back of the packed dance floor with little-to-no view of the performers. But the sound was good and loud.
Over the course of the show, Sandoval spilled a couple of Red Bulls on us. Yes, twice. He might deny it, but I have a picture with the rock star, and you can clearly see the stains on my shirt. Do you know what it’s like trying to get gabardine cleaned? Anyway, forget it, he’s a sweet (if a bit clumsy) kid.
All four bands were solid, entertaining, difficult to dismiss. By audience reaction, and there were at least 300 head at the back of the bar for the event, it was a helluva show. And in the end, the best band won because musically they had the most range, braving away from staid song structures and taking chances vocally without a hint of posturing.
“Each band was the best in their genre,” explained Hammond about the selections. I’m not sure what genre New Archaic falls into (arena pop?), but they bested the field and took one step closer to London that night.
Comments