Blind Boys of Alabama to Play Belly Up Tavern on Sunday
Photo credit: Getty Images
“I can see as well as you,” says Blind Boys of Alabama leader Clarence Fountain. “There’s somebody up there watching over me.”
When the Blind Boys play the Belly Up Tavern this Sunday, March 7, you should be watching too. (more…)
Photos: St. Vincent; February 10, 2010; Belly Up Tavern, San Diego
Photos of St. Vincent at the Belly Up Tavern on February 10, 2010. (more…)
Thao with the Get Down Stay Down Get Sacked
The first thing Thao with the Get Down Stay Down ever saw in San Diego was a pair of dangling balls.
Last November, the band came to town to play a show and, upon entering the city’s limits, were treated to a memorable sight. The pair in question was hanging off the back of a pickup truck—I’m just going to go ahead and assume it was a Ford F150—and the image of the swinging Bumper Nuts™ quickly burned itself into the unsuspecting band’s retinas. San Diego may be known worldwide for its beaches and burritos, but it is our balls that Thao with the Get Down Stay Down will forever remember us for. (more…)
Review: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros; November 3, 2009; Belly Up Tavern, San Diego
Alex Ebert sure does like to reinvent himself. First a rapper, then the flamboyant front man for the goofy post-glam Ima Robot, Ebert has reformed himself once again—this time as the messianic mastermind behind Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. In the persona of Edward Sharpe, he presides over a dedicated troupe of musicians/followers who create alternately sentimental and moody rock reminiscent of 60s hippie-folk and Ennio Morricone film scores. (more…)
Review: The Avett Brothers; May 10, 2009 at The Belly Up Tavern; Solana Beach
No one likes a gushy reviewer. People want evenhanded critiques that take a band’s flaws as well as their strengths into account. Reviews that seem overly positive wreak of bias and/or ignorance, smack of unchecked fandom, and can diminish the credibility of the reviewer. But, like it or not, this is going to be one of those reviews, because when The Avett Brothers performed to a packed house at The Belly Up on Sunday, it truly was a flawless show.
Backed by Bob Crawford on standup bass and—because no country/folk/bluegrass band is complete without a long-haired, head-banging Asian guy—Joe Kwon on cello, brothers Seth and Scott Avett took to the stage with understated confidence. Their aw-shucks Southern humility dropped no hints as to the stellar performance they were about to deliver but, from the moment they began to play, The Avett Brothers nailed each note with baffling ease and agility. (more…)
High Fiving Hipsters or: San Diego Loves the Avett Brothers
The last time I was at the Belly Up I high fived a hipster. The results were fascinating and hilarious; I came out after the show to see my “victim” sitting on a ledge outside being consoled by his girlfriend.
“It was a good show though, right baby?” she said with a hopeful and worried tone.
He responded with his head hung low, “Yeah it was okay…I just can’t believe that guy high fived me.”
I had apparently ruined the guy’s life. I spent the car ride home making obnoxious phone calls at 1am telling my friends the story of the wounded hipster. Why the hell did I high five him anyways? The moment had come right after Built to Spill finished an extended version of “Randy Described Eternity” and I was in heaven. It was one of those concert moments that I live for; it felt like there was no way anybody in the audience could have been on any level other than the one I was on: pure stupid bliss. (more…)
Avett Brothers Answer Our Prayers
The Avett Brothers are obviously readers of Owl&Bear. Just last week I lamented the fact that the band would not be stopping in San Diego on their upcoming tour and, lo, it turns out that the band will be playing at Solana Beach’s Belly Up Tavern on May 10th.
We’d like to thank the Avett Brothers: not just for reading our blog—as they surely do every day—but, more importantly, for doing whatever we ask of them. Of course, there is the slim possibility that this show has been lined up for a while now, and that I just forgot to thoroughly research the matter before writing a half-cocked story about it and grossly misinforming the public.
But no, I don’t like that version of reality, so I’ll stick to the one I made up. Head out to the Belly Up on May 10th and help us thank the Avett Brothers in person. And finally, just in case I do have special powers of influence over musicians: I sure would like it if Tom Waits played a show at my house.
Mogwai to Punish San Diego May 15
This video—for “Hunted By A Freak”, from their 2003 album Happy Songs For Happy People—should help to get you excited for Mogwai’s tour of the ‘States in April and May, which includes a stop at San Diego’s Belly Up Tavern on May 15.
The Glasgow instrumentalists will play in Greece, Australia, and Ireland prior to their trip across the pond.
Full list of dates after the jump.
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Photos: Beach House and The Walkmen; January 19, 2009; Belly Up Tavern, San Diego
Beach House:
More photos after the jump.
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Interview: Alex Scally of Beach House
“There are no barriers anywhere you look.” – Alex Scally
Beach House is a duo from Baltimore, Maryland. They’ve been blessed with impeccable skills, a unique musical relationship, dual 8.0+ ratings from the not easily impressed staff at Pitchfork, and, for their lovely Devotion, a well-earned spot on Owl and Bear’s Top 20 Albums of 2008.
This week, in anticipation of their January 19 show at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, we conversed with Alex Scally, the non-singing but equally important half of the acclaimed duo.
