Culture, Clothing, Curios and, soon . . . Coffee!

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Rudy and Jackie Cordova were busy setting up paintings by local artists for a Valentine's Amor Eterno exhibit when I visited Calacas in Santa Ana early Saturday morning. The married couple behind the "culture, clothing and curios" store on Fourth and Birch Street took time from their busy work to give me a sneak peak of their expanded vision for the future: Café Calacas. More >>

Gabriel San Roman

The Theater Marquee on the Night of The Yost's Revival

​A rare documentary about the history of the Yost Theater in Santa Ana has reemerged online as current management of the renovated venue looks to an April 2011 grand opening with food and bar services. The 20-minute short El Yost en la Ciudad de Oro (The Yost in the City of Gold) was put together by an ambitious group of young, educated, college-aged Santaneros and screened at the historic theater on April 12, 2008, as part of a grand reopening "Barrio Night" event organized and sponsored by El Centro Cultural de Mexico, Calacas and The Fiesta Marketplace, where the Yost stands. "At the time, we were very passionate about the Yost," recalls Saidy Valdez, one of the film's producers. "We didn't know its history."More >>

www.perrozompopo.com

​On Thursday, Grammy-nominated Nicaraguan singer Perrozompopo is scheduled to headline a show at Club Ember in Anaheim. The up-and-coming musician, who may very well be awarded "Best Alternative Album of the Year" for his latest release CDC, will be joined on the bill by the talented band Velorio who appeared on the same SiTV cable channel's reality competition show Jammin' that helped launch the career of Girl in a Coma. More >>

From the official flyer

​​Originally posted Oct. 5 at 6:49 p.m. Updated Oct. 7 at 11:20 a.m. with the sweet official poster. See bottom of post. 

Richard Johnson, owner of the 14-old gallery/performance venue AAA Electra 99 now based in Anaheim, understands the ridiculousness of the idea that he'd host a debate between two button-up Republican candidates for elected office. 

"It is unbelievable, but true," he wrote on Facebook. "The next Mayor of Anaheim at the punkest place in the O.C.--on the same stage as you saw Punk as a Doornail and Sarcastic Bitch and home to the Spinning Head of Big Prizes... What a world. Maybe world has gone mad or Anaheim is getting cooler?"

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Attention local and touring bands and DJs: Costa Mesa's Avalon Bar wants you. If you are interested in getting a gig (that's industry talk, man), email theavalonbar@gmail.com. Rumor has it the only requirements are one, you have to be a band or DJ (duh); two, the Avalon staff has to like your stuff and three, you have to be able to bring a small crowd. The good news is: Avalon is a bar, which means you really don't need to be able to bring a small crowd. You just need a handful of friends who can drink the same amount of booze as a small crowd. Every band I used to be in, we made sure to make friends with drunks. That way, the bars would loving having us because they knew we'd make them money, but they wouldn't have to hire security because they didn't expect massive crowds to show up. A win-win for everyone! 

​When you think of the small bar scene clustered in the corner of Fullerton's "SoCo District" (south of Commonwealth) most can agree that it's the only section of downtown where live music truly exists. You've heard plenty about the stages at the Continental Room, Slidebar, Steamers, Stubriks and Santa Fe Cafe. But until now, Commonwealth Lounge hasn't fully committed to opening itself up to the idea of hosting local bands--even though they do host a kick ass jazz ensemble that few people really pay attention to as they chill on trendy furniture sipping Mojitos. Luckily, that's about to change. Tonight, the upscale watering hole is getting a taste of local soul on the opening night of live music Wednesdays. It's about time.

Fostering a vibe strikingly similar to Continental (Latin, soul, funk, hip hop, etc.) the club ushers in a performance by East L.A. three piece Stedapole C.C. Watt, whom you've heard us talking about lately (look forward to more in next week's print edition of the Weekly). Armed with a gut-fueled hybrid of stripped down, eclectic funk and soul, band mates Rodney Gardiner (vocals), Rob Brill (drums) and Jonny Brill (bass) deliver a punchy sense of purpose to their jams that makes it impossible (or at least really hard) to stand still. The music continues this month with Soul Hustlers w/ Solrak (B-Side Players) on Oct. 21, and the Chuck Boogie Trio on Oct. 28. It also features DJ sets by J-Luv, Bobby Soul and DJ Lito. But live acts aren't the only thing Wednesdays at Commonwealth have to offer--check out their specials after the jump.

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Teehee, "Train tickets."

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At the end of the month, October 27 to be exact, Train--you know, "Drops of Jupiter," "Meet Virginia" Train--will release their first new studio album in nearly four years, Save Me San Francisco (named after their city of origin).

Just two days before that, Train will play the House of Blues in Anaheim, and that's just one of several shows that Live Nation, in their latest "buy concert tickets! please!" promotion, is offering for 2-for-1 this Wednesday. (We joke about the frequency of these deals, but they're clearly working if they're continuing each week, and there is some real money to be saved here, always a plus.) Also in the offering: our sister paper LA Weekly's LA 101 show with Silversun Pickups, the Dandy Warhols and Matt and Kim at Gibson Amphitheater on November 3; Aimee Mann at the Wiltern on Friday; Our Lady Peace at the HOB Anaheim on October 20.

Full list of OC-eligible shows after the jump.

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Deep Sea Diver, that always-enjoyable Long Beach band headed up by the multi-talented Jessica Dobson, were originally scheduled to play Detroit Bar tonight as part of the Fling's residency--they're still on the flier on Detroit's website, even--but that's no longer happening, per no less a source than the Fling themselves.
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​Apparently, last week's initial Big Audio at Long Beach's Basement Lounge didn't involve any sex acts (not in the club, anyway...afterwards, that's a different story) and the folks running the joint is letting the promoters do it again. Promoter Markus D. Manley was kind enough to give us the scoop on what's going down this week, which includes Thursday and Saturday night events.

So instead of boring you with our words, let's let him do the talking. Take it away, Markus.

(Oh, and by the way, the Basement Lounge is an ultra-killer underground club beneath the Broadlind. And better yet, there's no dress code.)

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Chris Ziegler told you all about Kid Congo Powers (center) in last week's Weekly; what with his past in the Cramps and the Bad Seeds and his new album Dracula Boots with his band the Pink Monkey Birds and their experience recording in Kansas and their show tomorrow at Alex's Bar in Long Beach and all of that.