How do you fit all these great hits on just one CD?!

Yeah, there are some pretty cool perks to this job sometimes.

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The House of Blues in Anaheim plays host to a cadre of vaunted national acts each week--Yes and Asia on Sunday, for instance, with Rx Bandits, Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Pete Yorn coming there soon--but they also have been known to give local bands a chance to play the 1,000-person capacity venue (something that local bands are usually pretty stoked about).
 
Bill Bennett of Sweet Relief Musicians Fund has helped put together one such OC-centric event on July 24, with some of our faves: The Jakes, The Union Line, Venus Infers, Great Glass Elevator (pictuerd), The New Limb and Rye Douglas Band. It's exciting to see Great Glass Elevator book another gig following their reunion show at Detroit last month, and it's the first time a bunch of those bands have played the HOB before, so they must be psyched (not to mention the inevitable pre-party at the LEGO store). Tickets are $10 and on sale now.

We told you yesterday about beloved local fixture eVocal closing the doors of its westside Costa Mesa gallery/clothing store/all-ages venue, and here are some more details from their press release sent out a few minutes ago, though it's basically the same story we told you yesterday--the place is closing, but eVocal itself will still exist in some forms (clothing line, supporting artists, possibly putting on shows around town). Read it after the jump.

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When Delta Spirit played Detroit Bar back in March, the Costa Mesa venue was as packed as it's ever been. Like, "I have the sweat of 200 strangers intermingling on my skin" packed. So it stands to reason that post- the San Diego band's national tour with the Shins and their spot at Bonnaroo (with a gig at August's Lollapalooza looming on the horizon), lead singer Matt Vasquez's solo show at Detroit on July 18 will probably also be pretty packed, even if it's not the whole band.

That's a Saturday, too, so yeah, interested parties should think about getting their tickets--which are $10 and on-sale now--soon.

It's the end of the month. The last day of the month, even! Other than meaning that it's almost time to pay rent (though you shouldn't feel afraid to make your landlord/apartment manager sweat it out a little--keep them on their toes, y'know?), it also means another June residency is ending. Tonight, it's Handsome G's (formerly Handsome Grandpa) Tuesday night residency at La Cave in Costa Mesa.

Also playing the "all-acoustic" evening: Parker Macy Blues (who just recently released his second album, Hope for the Revolution) and a band apparently called "Evening Hatch." I haven't heard of them, and can't find them online, but that's what La Cave and Handsome G both have down. I guess they're new. Or...shy. Or in hiding, a la Salman Rushdie-style. Which makes performing at publicized events that are open to the public a curious choice. We'll find out for sure tonight! I'll be there, so tweet me @OCWeeklyMusic and say "sup."

Long Beach's Chapter 11's new record, Premium Blend, is available now. Click here to buy that shit, yo.

Founded in 1998, Chapter 11 has played a blend of reggae and hip-hop at probably every local venue you could think of (and probably some you can't). They've got a show July 18 in San Bernadino with Eek-A-Mouse.

Last Night: Cursive, Mt. St. Helen's Vietnam Band and Box Elders at the Glass House.

Better Than: Spending one more night sulking about Michael Jackson

Download: Cursive's latest album, Mama I'm Swollen (released March 10, 2009 on Saddle Creek Records)

In the life of a mildly experienced music writer, Monday night concerts tend to fall into one of two categories. "A", you get to watch a band try to curb their disappointment as they emerge to an apathetic crowd of 50 in a room that holds 500 in an effort that proves ultimately frustrating for everyone involved. Or "B", you show up barely on time to find you are surrounded by legions of die hards who are hell bent on getting the most out of their favorite band, weekend be damned. Last night proved to be a sound victory for option "B" as I walked in half-way through a set by Box Elders, the first band opening for the emotionally tortured indie rock legends of Cursive.


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I honestly didn't know that Reel Big Fish was still together until I moved here last year. That's not a slam against them; Turn The Radio Off was one of my favorite albums as a young lad (seriously, how great is "Beer"? Both the song and the beverage). I just hadn't really heard much (OK, anything) about them since that record's disappointing follow-up, Why Do They Rock So Hard?.

Happily, the Huntington Beach ska band is still making music, and are in fact are set to release a new live DVD on July 21, titled Live! In Concert! (not the most original of names, but good use of exclamation points). The DVD was filmed this past January at the Grove of Anaheim, where they'll be playing on August 2.

Keith May

As we wrote about earlier in the day, eVocal, a least in its current form, looks not to be long for the world of westside Costa Mesa. Truly disappointing to be sure, but also a good opportunity to support the few shows the venue has left.

One such show took place Saturday night, the CD release gig for local Parker Macy (pictured). Operating under his Parker Macy Blues name, the singer (pictured) celebrated his new, second album, Hope for the Revolution. Keith May was there, his pictures are here.

I've already discussed my Warped Tour experience (such as it is) here, but let's move on from that unfortunate incident and just focus on the great images Robert Fayette captured from the Pomona Fairplex on Friday here.

Also on Friday: Ida Maria got a little festive on stage, covered the Jackson 5 and played hits like "Oh My God," Andrew Youssef did his best to avoid getting soaked in Jager and took some pictures, they are here.

Robert Fayette

My biggest media hero is Howard Stern. There are many valuable lessons one can take from him, but probably the biggest is simply how honest he is with his audience. In the old days of radio, the rule of thumb was that even if the building was on fire while you were on air, you would never let anyone listening know--you would just plow forward and keep acting like everything is fine. Stern, of course, changed all that. If something fell down in the studio and made a weird noise on-air, he would acknowledge it and explain what was going on and why it happened, often leading to hilarious digressions. Which is why I'm not ashamed to share this story, although by rights I probably should be.

They don't publish the Warped Tour set times in advance. You have to find out who's playing when where by checking out this inflatable, pictured, when you get there. I guess I sort of understand why: they want people there when the doors open, and they want to give the bands playing earlier in the day a fair shot. That's fine.

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