For my last night in town, I was hoping for a little dance party send off. There wasn’t much dancing going on, but it was a good show to leave town on nonetheless.

I expected Vera to be chilly inside, so I wore an extra shirt. It wasn’t. I expected that 30 minutes after the doors opened, the bands would start rocking. They didn’t. 60 minutes is now industry standard, apparently. This maymake it sound like I dislike The Vera Project. Far from it. I think it is a good thing. I’m reading a book on 924 Gilman, a club that Vera was somewhat modeled after, and I am impressed by our city’s attempt to do the same thing. I also like that there is plenty of art on the walls at Vera, though it is less risky than pictures of art I’ve seen at Gilman. Yet we were supposed to play Gilman once and when we got there were told we weren’t on the bill, so Vera is clearly better. Oh, wait, we never played there either. I probably liked The Paradox better, for obvious reasons. At any rate…

Police Teeth
Police Teeth was weird at Vera. I like them at house shows and clubs like The Blue Moon and The Funhouse. Their songs aren’t really meant for kids. They played that one song I don’t like about Northern California, but I’m a prude, so you probably enjoy it even if it is serious and not tongue-in-cheek. So, to summarize, go see Police Teeth at The Funhouse on the 30th. They’re nice enough guys and will be a lot of fun. Not change-the-world kind of fun, but man-work-was-tough-this-week-and-I-need-to-forget-it kind of fun. I still propose that the way to enjoy Police Teeth best is through ballroom dancing. A kid and his mom tried it and it looked pretty fun. Somebody get this going at the Funhouse and let me know that I’m right.

Cast Spells
This is the side project from the singer of Maps and Atlases, the drummer from So Many Dynamos and a guy playing cello. It’s another in the line of punk rock retirement plan folky bands. But since Maps and Atlases is very post-punk, their folkiness is a little quirky and less straightforward than the rest of the crowd. Their second song was really amazing and had me hooked. “When you are old and grey I hope someone loves you like I would.” was a particularly poignant line. Some of the vocal melodies were super awesome, as well. I think I have come to appreciate his singing style. This was Cast Spells first show ever and I think you’ll be hearing more from them in the future. I think you’ll like it.

So Many Dynamos
Imagine the most angry you’ve ever been. Then imagine that anger drove you to dance. Like Kevin Bacon in Footloose when he gets all mad and dances like crazy in the old barn. So Many Dynamos is the angry dance scene in the new millennium. And just like hip Seattleites, not a single person was dancing. Lots of toe-tapping and a little swaying and rocking out, but no one dancing crazily around the barn. I expected more from the crowd, to be honest. Isn’t this what the kids like? Their new stuff is super good, the drummer is crazy technical, the tall guitarist is tall, the guitarist with glasses rocked the eff out, and the singer is good at singing and angry keyboards. I don’t get it kids, why was this show not sold out? I hope that next time they come through town you guys don’t half-ass it so much. I guess I shouldn’t either.

Well, I’m about to head to Newark. My goal is to sleep and get in line with London time. I’m psyched to leave San Diego without punching anybody. Maybe in Newark I can!