Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Because We Love You Fest fertilizes TJ’s subterranean scene

Friends from both Californias get together for 18 hours

The yeti makes a guest appearance for Rancho Shampoo’s set at La Caja Fuerte.
The yeti makes a guest appearance for Rancho Shampoo’s set at La Caja Fuerte.

Experimental music rarely goes as planned. Often, that’s the point. Sometimes, nothing happens at all. Just ask John Cage. One thing’s for sure: it’s a gamble. It’s downright audacious first-date material. Most people find it offensive, or at the least, boring. But, as Cage once suggested: “If something is boring after 2 minutes, try it for 4. If still boring, then 8. Then 16. Then 32. Eventually one discovers that it is not boring at all.”

Video:

Because We Love You Fest

A similar appreciation for prolongation seems to have inspired TJ collective Borderland Noise to curate over 35 exploratory musicians and artists from Tijuana, Mexicali, San Diego, Los Angeles, Oakland, and beyond for their third annual, 18-hour Because We Love You Fest.

Oracle Plus from Oakland goes feral at Nett Nett.

Saturday, February 11. 3:30 p.m. Pasaje Rodríguez. Borderland Noise organizer Haydeé Jiménez (who coordinated the event with La Caja Fuerte venue owner Luis Montijo, Static Discos labelhead Ejival, and Coyote art collective) and I met at the UrbanRadioMx studio as host Ejival wrapped up a DJ set. We arranged our gear — a maze of pedals, wire, a theramin, knobs, an iPad, a mixer — to play atmospheric noise as Dagmar Midcap. Just like our eponymous meteorologist, we generally speak about our material in terms of weather. We had practiced something like Partly Sunny with a Chance of Mongolian Throat Singing, but the winds turned and we ended up with Mostly Cloudy/Tornado Warning.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Hundreds attended the third annual Because We Love You Fest in Pasaje Rodríguez.

For continuity’s sake, I’d like to say this set the tone for the rest of the all-night affair, but for the most part, everything was a breeze. At least from where I was standing, which was admittedly quite often in Southern home-cooking joint Voodoo Stu’s, where they served a cocktail of peanut-infused cola and whiskey with floating goobers. When I finally made it upstairs to Haydeé’s office, called Nett Nett, Oakland musicians and video/performance art duo Oracle Plus were dressed up like puppies and rolling around on a giant inflatable globe. I think it was political commentary. Whatever it was, it was entirely indicative of what Because We Love You Fest is all about: friends from both Californias getting together in a do-it-yourself space to share their funky-punk performance art with each other.

Video:

Cerro de la Panocha Sangrada

Around 11, techno-shaman Rancho Shampoo took the Caja Fuerte stage and dispensed hypnotic tribal beats and soaring flutes while the yeti swung machetes at the sky. A few years ago, Rancho Shampoo released a documentary about himself living on a hilltop overlooking Tecate. It was so convincing that, until a friend clued me in, I actually believed that the musician subsisted on flowers in the wilds of a holy mountain called Cerro de la Panocha Sangrada. Which is ridiculous. But again, it prods right at the heart of the thing. Provocative, mischievous, mystic. That’s Because We Love You Fest.

Daby MCs at La Caja Fuerte. His set as Some Pepper was cancelled after cops crashed the afterparty, so he made up for it few days later with a live broadcast from UrbanRadioMx.

The well-attended event is indicative of the fertile subterranean art scene in Tijuana, where a handful of friends with a shared vision can scrape together a few hundred bucks, renovate a dusty office space, and throw all sorts of wild parties without the prohibitive rigamarole of permits and crippling rent. DIY is alive and well in Tijuana.

Mexicali co-conspirators Error Humano make harsh noise at Nett Nett.

The next morning, I met up with Haydeé at Nett Nett.

“The gate schedule got messed up and the cops shut down the afterparty,” she said, appearing less distressed than the statement would suggest. She looked as though she had just summited a great mountain: immortal and aloof to the mundane irritations of life. Maybe she was riding a similar wavelength to Cage when he posited, “A ‘mistake’ is beside the point, for once anything happens, it authentically is.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Second largest yellowfin tuna caught by rod and reel

Excel does it again
Next Article

Live Five: Sitting On Stacy, Matte Blvck, Think X, Hendrix Celebration, Coriander

Alt-ska, dark electro-pop, tributes, and coastal rock in Solana Beach, Little Italy, Pacific Beach
The yeti makes a guest appearance for Rancho Shampoo’s set at La Caja Fuerte.
The yeti makes a guest appearance for Rancho Shampoo’s set at La Caja Fuerte.

Experimental music rarely goes as planned. Often, that’s the point. Sometimes, nothing happens at all. Just ask John Cage. One thing’s for sure: it’s a gamble. It’s downright audacious first-date material. Most people find it offensive, or at the least, boring. But, as Cage once suggested: “If something is boring after 2 minutes, try it for 4. If still boring, then 8. Then 16. Then 32. Eventually one discovers that it is not boring at all.”

Video:

Because We Love You Fest

A similar appreciation for prolongation seems to have inspired TJ collective Borderland Noise to curate over 35 exploratory musicians and artists from Tijuana, Mexicali, San Diego, Los Angeles, Oakland, and beyond for their third annual, 18-hour Because We Love You Fest.

Oracle Plus from Oakland goes feral at Nett Nett.

Saturday, February 11. 3:30 p.m. Pasaje Rodríguez. Borderland Noise organizer Haydeé Jiménez (who coordinated the event with La Caja Fuerte venue owner Luis Montijo, Static Discos labelhead Ejival, and Coyote art collective) and I met at the UrbanRadioMx studio as host Ejival wrapped up a DJ set. We arranged our gear — a maze of pedals, wire, a theramin, knobs, an iPad, a mixer — to play atmospheric noise as Dagmar Midcap. Just like our eponymous meteorologist, we generally speak about our material in terms of weather. We had practiced something like Partly Sunny with a Chance of Mongolian Throat Singing, but the winds turned and we ended up with Mostly Cloudy/Tornado Warning.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Hundreds attended the third annual Because We Love You Fest in Pasaje Rodríguez.

For continuity’s sake, I’d like to say this set the tone for the rest of the all-night affair, but for the most part, everything was a breeze. At least from where I was standing, which was admittedly quite often in Southern home-cooking joint Voodoo Stu’s, where they served a cocktail of peanut-infused cola and whiskey with floating goobers. When I finally made it upstairs to Haydeé’s office, called Nett Nett, Oakland musicians and video/performance art duo Oracle Plus were dressed up like puppies and rolling around on a giant inflatable globe. I think it was political commentary. Whatever it was, it was entirely indicative of what Because We Love You Fest is all about: friends from both Californias getting together in a do-it-yourself space to share their funky-punk performance art with each other.

Video:

Cerro de la Panocha Sangrada

Around 11, techno-shaman Rancho Shampoo took the Caja Fuerte stage and dispensed hypnotic tribal beats and soaring flutes while the yeti swung machetes at the sky. A few years ago, Rancho Shampoo released a documentary about himself living on a hilltop overlooking Tecate. It was so convincing that, until a friend clued me in, I actually believed that the musician subsisted on flowers in the wilds of a holy mountain called Cerro de la Panocha Sangrada. Which is ridiculous. But again, it prods right at the heart of the thing. Provocative, mischievous, mystic. That’s Because We Love You Fest.

Daby MCs at La Caja Fuerte. His set as Some Pepper was cancelled after cops crashed the afterparty, so he made up for it few days later with a live broadcast from UrbanRadioMx.

The well-attended event is indicative of the fertile subterranean art scene in Tijuana, where a handful of friends with a shared vision can scrape together a few hundred bucks, renovate a dusty office space, and throw all sorts of wild parties without the prohibitive rigamarole of permits and crippling rent. DIY is alive and well in Tijuana.

Mexicali co-conspirators Error Humano make harsh noise at Nett Nett.

The next morning, I met up with Haydeé at Nett Nett.

“The gate schedule got messed up and the cops shut down the afterparty,” she said, appearing less distressed than the statement would suggest. She looked as though she had just summited a great mountain: immortal and aloof to the mundane irritations of life. Maybe she was riding a similar wavelength to Cage when he posited, “A ‘mistake’ is beside the point, for once anything happens, it authentically is.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Escondido planners nix office building switch to apartments

Not enough open space, not enough closets for Hickory Street plans
Next Article

Woodpeckers are stocking away acorns, Amorous tarantulas

Stunning sycamores, Mars rising
Comments
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
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader