Category Archives: o&b

944 Magazine Calls Owl and Bear “Favorite Local Music Blog” Second Year Running!

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We’re a modest bunch here at Owl and Bear. We don’t do what we do for the money, or the fame, or for the hundreds of thousands of beautiful San Diego babes who want to go out with us.

Instead, Owl and Bear is a labor of love: we pride ourselves on our writing, our taste, and our insanely snobby high standards. We don’t do it because anyone tells us to, we do it because it’s in our blood. Our blood. So, rather than spend a lot of time applauding our (admittedly) high-quality work, we like to let the content do the talking.

That said, we fucking rule. This month, Owl and Bear was named one of 944 Magazine‘s “Favorite Local Music Blogs” for the second year in a row! Continue reading…

The Rumble Gives Thanks

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MP3: Raw Moans – “You’ve Got Mail” (Crypt Thing remix)
MP3: Ume – “The Conductor”
MP3: Shapes of Future Frames – “Gallows”

This Saturday at Bar Pink will be the last chance this year for San Diegans to gorge themselves on the Rumble’s smorgasbord of free music.

To mark the occasion, our friends at Future Sounds have cooked up a great lineup for Rumble-goers — including Shapes of Future Frames, Ute, and Raw Moans.

First, San Diego’s own Shapes of Future Frames will tantalize the crowd with their special brand of space rock. Featuring members of Scarlet Symphony and The Old In Out, Shapes of Future Frames fuse elements of prog and glam into something otherworldly and unique. The band released its debut seven-inch last year, and is currently at work on its debut full-length. For more information, check out our February 2010 interview with Shapes of Future Frames.
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Owl and Bear and SoundDiego Present: Miss Erika Davies and the Smart Brothers – 10/28

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San Diego, have we got a treat for you. On October 28th, a day that will live on in both infamy and plain old famy, your friendly neighborhood Owl and Bear will curate its first-ever show/party thing. The hoedown will go down at Analog Bar, the recently-opened, vinyl-themed watering hole at 5th and F downtown.

The night will begin at 7pm with an hour of hosted drinks, free appetizers, and some sweet dee-jaying by the Owl and Bear writers. After that, folk duo The Smart Brothers will wow you with their incredible harmonies. If you’ve never seen The Smart Brothers in person, their performance at Analog will be a great way to acquaint yourself with one of San Diego’s most talented bands.

After some more spinning from our ruggedly handsome writers, it’s on to the main event, and boy will it be a doozy. Local siren Erika Davies will blow you away with her incredible voice and irrepressible charm. Davies has long been one of San Diego’s brightest stars, and lately that star is on the rise. Her golden voice was recently featured in a Subaru commercial and she also just signed with local label Single Screen Records, who in the coming months will release her debut LP.

We’re pleased as punch to bring you two of San Diego’s absolute best acts, and none of it would be possible without SoundDiego, who were kind enough to let us hijack their monthly live event. We do a lot of talking about music on Owl and Bear, but we’re thrilled at the prospect of finally delivering it directly to your grubby little ears. On October 28, come down to Analog Bar and celebrate San Diego with us.

RSVP on Facebook here.

The Rumble Gets Cinematic

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As we mentioned last week, this Saturday’s installment of The Rumble at Bar Pink is Echotone-themed.

Echotone is a documentary about the blossoming Austin, TX music scene, and has been described by the AV Club as “beautifully shot, cleverly edited, and suffused with the dark, tenacious humor of the musicians and artists…a timely valentine with purpose.”

In conjunction with the film, Bar Pink patrons and Rumble regulars will be treated to performances by Sunset and White White Lights — two bands featured in the documentary. There will even be a preview of Echotone itself which, if the (below) trailer is any indication, shall be most excellent.

Saturday will also serve as a nice introduction to local up-and-comers Chairs Missing who just released a new EP and are slated to play Sezio’s epic Four Day Weekend event in November. Chairs Missing are stand up guys.

As always, admission to The Rumble is free and delicious Trumer Pils is a mere $3. DJ Tropical Popsicle will man the turntables between sets; we challenge you to say his name five times fast.

In case you haven’t heard, The Rumble is a monthly showcase of local and international indie talent. This month’s event is sponsored by Future Sounds, Indigenous, San Diego: Dialed In, Bedouin Vintage Collective, BMI, M-Theory Records, Reversal Films, Echotone, Trumer Pils, and your friendly neighborhood Owl and Bear.

The trailer for Echotone, as well as MP3s and photos are below.

Fluxx Live’s Award-Winning Lineup

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This month’s Fluxx Live lineup is its best yet. Sure, this is only the fourth outing in the fledgling monthly event’s history, but that doesn’t make the bands any less formidable.

Fresh off their Best New Artist win at this year’s San Diego Music Awards, local duo Little Hurricane will open the show. They haven’t been around long, but their sweaty, ominous brand of blues has already made quite the splash around town, and they’ve got the award to prove it.

Next, Portland’s Jared Mees and The Grown Children will represent the Pacific Northwest with some sunny, acoustic ditties. Since they’re not from here, they obviously weren’t eligible for any San Diego Music Awards, but we’re sure they would have won a couple if they had been.

Then it’s back to the local acts with a set by homegrown heroes The Silent Comedy. The folky five-piece recently won some SDMA gold of their own — their LP, Common Faults, took away Best Pop Album honors. The nomination was a bit unexpected, considering that The Silent Comedy are about as close to being pop as they are to being polka, but that doesn’t make the recognition any less deserved. Continue reading…