Aug 6 th 2003 - El Rio - San Francisco, CA

"VARIETY PACK!" #6

So this one was really fun for us, cuz we weren't playing, and we just got to hang out, dance and enjoy the hell out of the amazing bands that played that night.

Karen's other band Beautiful Engines were supposed to play that night, but couldn't make it. So she and Rosie scrambled at the zero hour to try and find another band to fill in. Luck would have it that we booked TWO bands in the same slot. So we shifted some stuff around, and hoped it would all work out and that we'd stay on our tight little schedule.

Rosie's such a freekin' rock star booker chick. It went great. Everyone was able to play their proper sets, the crowd loved it, and we all had a grand ol' time.

So we started off with the dreamy, washy, country-infused sound of The Sweethearts. I do believe this was their first official gig. And it was the bassist's first EVER gig. How cool?! They were delicious. A moody way to start a crazy VARIETY PACK, but it worked. I think the audience dug it, cuz it allowed them to calm down and forget the work week for a bit. And they're just all so damn cute, you can't help but lose yourself in your Corona and be mezmirized by Christian's Chevy's sombrero, Allison's eye patch and Owen's soothing vocals.

Continuing on the twang vein, we stepped up the pace a bit with our friends from Santa Cruz DEVIL MAKES THREE. Apparently they were suffering from a bad 'bout of fast-food-poisoining that night, but no one knew it. They do a dueling guitar and stand up bass thing that'll have you tappin' your boots no matter how hard you resist. Plus, I always say this, but a girl on stand up bass just gits me. And Lucia is awesome to watch. Her and the boys sure is mighty special. So check 'em out next time they're up. And by all means, get their cd, cuz I seriously couldn't stop listening to it for weeks.

Duckmandu was next. He was one of our last minute additions, and what a great thing it was to see. Dead Kennedys covers on accordian. Yep, you heard right.. And this guy can PLAY!!!! He took requests, and even caused a bit of a mosh pit at one point. Can't say that about most accordian players. Thanks Duckman!!! You really helped us out and gave us that quirky VP edge we needed.

Each night at the VP, we seem to have a secret weapon band. And the Full Moon Partisans were our ringer. God, I love this band. If you wanna go out and hear great tunes and drink beer and dance, these are your folks. I used to say that Sergey sounds like Beck, but fuck that. No he doesn't. He's much cooler than that. Try a drunken Lou Reed instead. Drunk and swave. And he's Russian, so his songs have that eastern european haufbrau haus vibe to them. You want a huge ceramic stein to hold your beer in. The ones with a big metal lid on a hinge so when you're swaying the thing above your head to the music, you won't spill a drop. Matty and Andrew on drums and bass just laying down simple, heavy, dancy beats, and Lauren saddling up the djembe, slappin' the metal pipe and bud bottle and singin' along in the sex kitten way. Damn.....damn, damn, damn. I finally got their cd, and it's great. Nothing that could do them justice live, cuz you just gotta see it. But if you need your FMP fix, give it a few thousands listens.

And saving our asses at the last minute was the ever-excellent Koolie Cat. This trio is everything you love about rock and rollers. "Sure we'll play in two days." "Sure we'll play last on a wednesday night". "Sure we'll bring lots of people who'll stay to the end". "Sure, sure, sure." They really played well that night. And everyone stuck around to see them. This band is playing some really good shows lately, so you should catch them if you can. A huge thank you to them for filling in for Beautiful Engines.

Hope y'all had fun. See you next month!