All posts by chris maroulakos

San Diego Street Scene Lookin’ Awfully Pretty


For the scant few who haven’t heard yet, San Diego’s annual Street Scene festival will once again be rearing its enormous head on September 19th and 20th.

The colossal all-ages event brings a whopping forty bands on four stages to downtown San Diego, including Beck, Spoon, TV On The Radio, MGMT, The New Pornographers, The National, Cold War Kids, Justice, X, and longtime Owl&Bear favorites/interviewees Man Man. And for anybody who feels overwhelmed by the sheer number of great bands performing and would like to introduce a little suckiness into their diet—and would like that suckiness to sound like Paul Simon vomiting—have no fear, because Vampire Weekend will also be performing.

Continue reading

Review: Devo; August 30, 2008 at Del Mar Race Track; San Diego


A beer- and sweat-soaked crowd of thousands gathered at the Del Mar Race Track on Saturday to watch iconic New Wave oddballs Devo preach their theory of de-evolution. Scheduled to play at seven, the group didn’t actually start until eight, but the annoyed grumbling that had begun to crescendo amongst the tightly packed sardines in the crowd immediately subsided once the band took to the stage.

Though their yellow jumpsuits might have been a size or two larger than the ones they wore in the eighties, the band’s gleeful enthusiasm showed no signs of old age. Their energy proved contagious as the sweaty young whippersnappers in the crowd repeatedly danced, moshed, and crashed into indignant baby boomers.

Continue reading

Weekend Concert Lineup: August 22 – 24, 2008


^^ Broken Social Scene ^^

FRIDAY:

Toronto rock throng Broken Social Scene will be bringing their amiable brand of baroque pop to the House of Blues this Friday. Those following the antics of the prolific Canucks over the past year know that there have been two “Broken Social Scene Presents” solo albums so far, Kevin Drew’s Spirit If… and Brendan Canning’s Something For All Of Us.

Continue reading

SoCo Music Experience Schedule Released


^^ The Black Keys ^^

The folks behind the annual Southern Comfort Music Experience, to be held in the Ace Parking Lot at the corner of Imperial and Park this Saturday, have finally seen fit to declassify its set times. A five dollar “donation” grants you access to the event and its eleven musical acts.

Continue reading

The Powerchords – …Think I’m Gonna

The Powerchords - ...Think I'm Gonna
2008, Single Screen Records

The debut record from power-pop band The Powerchords has been a long time coming.

The band released their demo back in 2005, a seven song EP of finely crafted songs that immediately brought them to the forefront of San Diego’s music scene. But despite a rabid following and a reputation for excellent, charming live performances, the subsequent years saw only one Powerchords release—the Unattached Strings/Dream Girl 7-inch. Now, at long last, we have …Think I’m Gonna, a proper fourteen song collection of propellant punk and pop that will satisfy old fans and recruit new ones.

Continue reading