Rookie Card, the Displaced, Lualta, Rochelle Rochelle
Cane's - Mission Beach, San Diego
February 27th 2003
By
Amber Shaffer,
SDAM Staff Writer
©Copyright
2008
SDAM.com/Amber Shaffer
It was so freakin' cold and windy Thursday night I almost thought I was up
in San Francisco. The only reason I knew I couldn't be was the plethora of
free parking at Cane's. I can't even describe how much I love
Cane's simply because I don't have to cruise for blocks and blocks
looking for a place to park that doesn't have a homeless person standing
there saying for $20 he'll watch my car (because if you don't give
them the money and park there anyway, you'll have a slashed tire when you
return to your car; just a little tip for anyone planning on travelling to the
Bay Area [Editor's note: Or downtown San Diego!]).
Just as I put the heat on Rookie Card via email, letting them know I'd be at Cane's to cover the show (Nas, there was no suckage by the way...oh wait, did I just blow the whole build-up element of my review??), bassist Jason Hee sent me a link to a hilarious article by Lester Bangs, a 70's rock critic he had been telling me about after the show, on how to be a rock critic which I made the mistake of reading prior to banging away on my keyboard (although Bangs did give me his multiple-choice formula for how to write this review, so maybe I'll just do that and be done with it). So now the pressure's on for me to write a review both insightful yet witty, honest AND pompous, and full of whacked-out comparisons that will be so incomprehensible that people will have to agree with them because they're afraid to look stupid by telling me I, the ROCK CRITIC, don't make any sense.
As mentioned, I had emailed the band earlier in the week after having spent hours - alright, I'm exaggerating, after spending the greater part of AN hour reading their Web site. Some entertaining stuff there. Unlike a lot of bands, whichever Rookie is responsible for writing the site's copy (I believe it's singer Adam Gimbel, the man responsible for ruining my fantasy of Interpol's bassist) does a very good job; it's quite engaging and compelled me to fire off an email. Which apparently gave drummer Nasrallah Helewa performance anxiety. Show night I arrived just before the early 8pm start time. And as much as I love Cane's for the free parking, I hate them for the frigid conditions inside the venue. At least they didn't have the fans on tonight. I'm looking forward to Spring and Summer shows there, that's all I have to say. Rookie Card is a jeans and t-shirts kind of alt rock band (that's TOTALLY a genre by the way). In fact, Guitarist Gabe Acock looks like the missing Weezer member. Their "Mr. Rodger's Neighborhood Theme Song" intro music made me laugh while their music made me tap my foot and nod my head, all cool-like, and trying to catch all the pop-culture references in their songs (Faith No More, The Rembrandts, Spin magazine). They had a couple alt-country type songs that the kids thought were neat, inspiring an impromptu little ho-down in front of the stage. Before leaving the stage, RC left us with an enthusiastic, and improved, version of Don Henley's "Boys of Summer". Fun fact - RC has the best free swag I've seen in a while - rookie cards, of course. Not of the band, and not just of Topp's baseball cards, but all kinds of hilarious trading cards (Spinal Tap, Growing Pains, Bill & Ted, NKOTB, etc). Pick 'em up at the next show and start trading with all your friends. The guy's of RC are good stuff - good music, good conversation, funny emails. Two thumbs up I say!
Second to perform were a three-piece garage-rock band called The Displaced, who had the largest fan-following of the night. The kids really dug 'em and were shimmying and shaking with all their teenage energy throughout the set. I have to admit, The Displaced almost lost me with their first couple of songs, but once bassist/vocalist Jennifer Jansen started singing, instead of screaming and yelling, I changed my opinion. Vocals are shared with guitarist Simon Mandel, while 16-year-old Peter Ryan keeps a nice beat in the back (I particularly enjoyed his opening drum solo). The Displaced remind me of The Pixies, although on some songs, particularly the ones Simon sings, they sound a little like Built to Spill. Mostly due to Simon's voice, but also the song composition as well. When they were done, the crowd began chanting "One more song!" Apparently the sound guy was feeling particularly nice that night and allowed The Displaced to extend their set by one.
All in all, a good night. I saw some good rock, met some great peeps, and have a kick ass Rikki Rocket rookie card that I'm certain will be worth something someday. I'll keep it with my Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card that's "maturing" nicely. Rookie Card's "super secret" CD re-release show is on my birthday, Sunday March 23rd at the Casbah. The Displaced play Cherry Bomb March 8th with Waterline Drift. Lualta is currently recording their first full-length album; their next local show is also at The Casbah, Saturday March 15th. Rochelle Rochelle's next show in SD will be at Cane's with Mix Mob on March 13th. Support your local music scene! |
But truthfully, the pressure's on simply because the boys of Rookie Card
are un-jaded enough that they actually can't wait to read a review of their
band. So here goes...
But wait! Don't stop reading yet - there's more! I still have
three more fabulous San Diego rock bands to tell you about.
I'm not sure if the room cleared out a little after The Displaced were done
or if it was just that people, for some reason, would not stand as close to the
stage while Lualta was on. Either way, it felt a little emptier, but somehow
also felt more like a rock show once Lualta hit the stage.
Lualta have what us "rock critics" (and I use that term loosely...very,
very loosely.) call presence (read: enough attitude to make you think singer
Michael Hernandez is a long-lost Gallaghar brother...with better eyebrows.) Thank
goodness they have the substance to back it up. I'm having difficulty
describing their sound - Brit-pop influenced vocals, rockin' music, a
little funky-groovy, a little moody (and that last one's probably due
mostly to the lighting, fog, and Hernandez's cigarette). Just go to their
next show (see end of article). You'll enjoy it and you can pick up a free
copy of their EP. You can check out impassive guitarist Delio Bacalski's
low-slung, kick-ass, "I'm a f*ckin' rock star" playing (the
attitude is available both on and off stage for your viewing pleasure), and
Hernandez's strange form of Turrets Syndrome (I swear he was mouthing all
the dirty words at the audience during the instrumental bridges of Lualta's
songs). And if you have any suggestions on how the bassist can look bored without
being boring, please tell him. Anyway, it's a good show worth checking
out.
Last up were Rochelle, Rochelle who are well known in the local scene. Their
name and appearance would lead you to believe they're some Ocean Beach
hippie-rock band. But you'd be wrong. What you've got is
straight-ahead alt rock music, driven by guitars and good vocals, not effects
and over-playing. Their lead guitarist, Gaylord van Brocklin (don't ask;
I'm not sure if that's real or not), played like he'd been shot
up with speed - he was bouncing all over the stage, playing the hell out of
his guitar and making sure to harass the bassist as often as possible, slapping
him in the forehead instead of hi-fiving him, and generally trying to distract
the boy from playing. The hi-jinx continued post-show and lead singer Eric Berg
confirmed that the two are indeed like that ALL the time. Joined at the hip, as
they say. They closed the night with a mean cover of The Beatle's "I
Want You (She's So Heavy)", off one of my favorite albums of all time,
Abbey Road.