It takes a lot to work the crowd at the Casbah into a frenzy. Most nights, crowd members can’t be bothered to unfold their arms—let alone dance—regardless of their affinity for the band that’s playing. Whether you chalk it up to the laid back Southern California vibe, or to scenesters who care most about how apathetic they seem, San Diego’s hipsters aren’t exactly known for cutting loose. But maybe that’s just because they had never seen The Builders and the Butchers before.
Check out the above video for “What I Have Left”. It’s from the excellent new Mike Bones album A Fool For Everyone and you need it in your life. You can check out CityBeat’s spot-on review for a little more information on the singer-songwriter. But mostly you should just crank up your speakers and enjoy the song.
2009, Single Screen Records
As a live band, San Diego’s The Paddle Boat have built a reputation not only as excellent performers, but as a rare alternative in an oftentimes homogenized music scene. Drawing from, among other things, early 20th century folk and jazz, the eccentric trio can’t help but stand out in a sea of rock and rollers. Now the group is bestowing their first release upon the public—a 7-inch single aptly titled The Paddle Boat—but does the record capture the many facets that make the band a diamond in the San Diego rough?
The crowd at the Casbah gazed skeptically at the short, spritely Swedish woman in their midst. Scheduled as the opening act for Tapes ‘N Tapes and Wild Light—two fast, all-male rock bands—the woman quietly ascended to a stage littered with unmanned instruments. When she introduced the inanimate objects as her band, and people realized that she would be playing all of them by herself, the venue’s early arrivals began to nervously eye the exits. But all that changed when Theresa Andersson took off her shoes.
Sure, everybody who has heard Neko Case knows she’s talented, and everybody who has seen her knows she’s beautiful. But did you know she’s also a good person? Turns out Ms. Case is unveiling the first single off her forthcoming Middle Cyclone album in a very classy way: by making a $5 donation to charity every time a blog reposts the song.
The donations will benefit the Best Friends Animal Society, which is kind of like PETA, except not scary. Middle Cyclone, the follow-up to Case’s incredible Fox Confessor Brings The Flood, is due out March 3rd and the smart money says it’ll be more fun than a poke in the eye.
So help us help Neko help animals by clicking here and downloading her song.