Squeeze @ House of Blues San Diego

Wow, it has been since 2012 that I saw Squeeze.  Wow, that long ago?  I know it wasn’t last year so I thought it might have been 2 years ago...

Yup, they are wearing Pajamas...

Difford and Tilbrook had an acoustic performance, mixing songs from deep in their catalog.  They had a 2 set evening with a 30 break between sets.  Great songs, excellent acoustics.

After Wardrobe Change

HOB had this as a seated show up front.  I had a seat third row with 4 seats on my left to the center aisle.  The seats were empty until a guy showed up in the third song.  I guess his 3 friends had better things to do.

Upcoming Concerts

My sister Tracy arrives on the left coast in 1-2 weeks for an extended stay.  I already told Tracy I would be going to some concerts and it is her decision if she wants to partake.  She is excited about them and suggested to include Robert Cray on the list.

Culture is down the street from Belly Up

These are at the Belly Up.  I will look into getting tix for Robert Palmer (of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer fame) tonight.

Mattson 2 & Tommy Guerrero @ The Federal

The opportunity of seeing both Mattson 2 and Tommy G. made the drive to Long Beach worthwhile.  And Ray Barbee would be playing with both.

The venue was The Federal, which used to be a bank located in downtown Long Beach.  Parking was surprisingly easy to find ($6).  Walking in, the conversion from bank to restaurant/bar was well done.  However, the concert was held downstairs in a plain room, painted concrete floor, with a raised band floor (good).  The huge walk-in vault had been converted to the swag room with CDs and T-shirts available.

I walked into the vault to review swag and ran into Tommy G, and thanked him in advance for the concert.  Tommy was genuinely appreciative.  Cool dude.

Another venue negative:  while the main floor had a respectable on-tap selection that did not appear to be the same downstairs.  My Tanqueray and Tonic as reasonably priced ($8) but as with all drinks except canned beer, it was served in a plastic cup.

Mattson 2 with Ray Barbee

Mattson 2 took the stage with Ray Barbee.  Great show with plenty of back and forth between the 2 guitars.

During the band changeover, I surveyed the crowd.  I guess you could say I am an outlier on the band demographics.  Plenty of flannel and T-shirts.  Beanies.  Mostly 20-somethings.  Yeah, I blend.

Tommy and the band took the stage.  Band members were the same as were at the Lafayette a few months ago with the addition of a conga player.  Tommy has a coolness stage presence that makes it hard to believe this is a side gig from skateboarding and that business.  He is now my favorite west coast musician.

I had a conference call at 1am so I left mid-performance.  I spent all of 10 minutes on that call once connected.  The Eindhoven co-workers were disappointed I had to leave a concert for the CC and were interested in what ‘Surf Jazz’ sounds like.  I emailed videos links of M2 and Tommy G to a few of the co-workers.

New Toy – Part 2

And I could not resist the smaller size of the GoPro Hero 4 Session.  Here is a comparison pic with it and the Hero 3 Black I bought a year ago.  The Session is designed for surfers: no extra watertight housing needed, and the microphone isn’t muffled due to housing.  The session has been used a few times and I am pleased with the results.

The Hero 3 Black should be eBay'ed.

New Toy – Part 1

The old android cannot hold a charge a full day, will not upgrade, and the screen is cracked.  Now replaced by an iPhone 6S+ 64GB.  I hope to get 5 years out of it.  Dazzling display.

Jewel at Sherwood La Jolla

Jewel had a book promotion/concert in La Jolla.

Just when you forget how difficult it is to get to La Jolla, you find yourself stopped on I5.  Looking ahead, I do not see any cars moving.  Painful.

But I did make it to La Jolla and found street parking a few blocks away.  La Jolla parking is always a challenge.

Two entrance lines - I was told to go to the left since I bought the ticket at Warwick’s bookstore.  So apparently I get a copy of Jewel’s new book as well as a bookmark with the number "6" on it.  Turns out the bookmark indicates which group that will get to have Jewel sign the book.  Then I scored a third-row center seat with a 9-year-old girl sitting in front of me.  Unobstructed view!  

Several people were working their way through the seated people, asking their name and writing it on a post-it note.  The post-it was to go on the book page to be signed and we were instructed to put the bookmark further back in the book.  This was not their first book signing.

Jewel came out on stage and spoke about her life.  I was surprised at how well the spoken part of the evening was.  She played about 4-5 songs throughout the talk.  Jewel wrapped up with a question/answer time, taking about 10 questions.  The last question ended with Jewel being asked if she would yodel.  And of course, she did.

I waited about 20 minutes for group 6 to walk by Jewel.  A handler would take your picture w/ your camera, another would take your book from you and hand it to Jewel, and the last would point you to keep moving on.  Little time for a talk but did exchange pleasantries.

Gaelic Storm @ Belly Up

I entered the Belly Up at 8:10 and the band was already playing.  Unusually for a band to start anywhere near the expected start time.

The night's beginning - no one at stage edge

The Belly Up was light on a crowd.  My guess is that it was half capacity.  No one was brave enough to be at the stage edge – I joined the front line about 10-15 feet away from the stage.  A few guys center-stage would take a step forward with each song until finally, everyone was at the stage.

It was a good show.  The lead singer would share stories: they flew from North Carolina that morning, 4 of 5 went for a run (Chicago marathon training), and he punched Russell Crowe 20 years ago.

The violinist was a replacement since the last time I have seen them.

Marc Cohn @ Belly Up

Marc Cohn scheduled a seated show.  These Belly Up seated shows work out well for me - an unobstructed view from the bar area.

As usual, I skipped the opening act and showed up at intermission.  The bartender said it was a sold out show.

It was a good show.  Marc took time to explain song meanings and timeframe.

Vonda Shepard @ Belly Up

My typical Thursday evening started surfing at Rockpile with the Cymer crew then socializing at Pizza Port.

I stopped at the Belly Up on the way home to pick up a ticket for an upcoming concert.  And while purchasing the ticket, I got gifted a ticket for the evening’s performer, Vonda Shepard, and caught about half the show.

Vonda was popular as an actor/musician on the Allie McBeal TV show.  She hasn’t changed and still has the chops.  The encore was "Chain of Fools" and showed her vocal depth and emotion.

Excellent 1/2 a show.  Thanks for the gifted ticket Belly Up!

Luau and legends Invitational

I was notified several weeks ago that I was selected to be on the 4-person Cymer team for the Luau and Legends Invitational.  An honor AND a responsibility.  I obviously was honored due to attending the majority of Thursday night surf and pizza port sessions.  The responsibility is Cymer has streak of making it to the final (of 2) rounds for 3 years now.  But my surfing ability would be the weakest of all 4 selected.

Matt and I planned to meet at the surf site on Saturday, the day before the competition.  Our expectations were that conditions would not change by competition day except for the tide.  We found perfect temperature water and air but waves were in the 1-2 foot range and closing out.  Somewhat expected for La Jolla Shores.  Unexpected was the high amount of seaweed on shore and in the water.  I resorted to paddling out with the leash unattached just so I could get through.  Matt discovered how to minimize leash fouling while surfing, by reaching down, grabbing the leash and holding it out of the water.  Our legend would be John Peck.

I arrived about 6:15 for a 7:30 start.  Arriving early gave a chance for street parking as the event parking was a shuttle ride away.  Both James and John showed up at 7:20 so the rest of us were panicking.  Conditions were the same.  However, more teams would be in the water than previous competitions.  Rules were: 30 minute heats, legend surfs the full 30 minutes, 2 team members in the water maximum, and try to stay within the cones marking the contest area.  The Cymer team agreed on 15 minutes each.  I thought if I caught 2 nice waves I would ride the second into shore regardless of the time.

Matt, James, Dan and Me

Matt and I would start with Dan and James finishing strong.  It was a water start so we only had to get through the kelp in the water.  I struggled to find any wave that wasn’t already taken, managing to catch 2 small waves and was frustrated when I got to the beach.

1 of 5 teams in our heat moved on.  Cymer did not.

Surf Team is wearing the Leis

Next up was the buffet and auction.  During the auction, several stories of cancer survivorship were shown on video, with one video ending with the survivor taking the stage.

That put the sucky surfing in perspective.

Tommy Guerrero at The Lafayette

I have heard of Tommy from listening to Mattson 2 - somewhat the same surf jazzy rock and roll style.

The Lafayette is always challenging for parking.  After driving around I finally found parking in a residential area.  El Cajon Blvd area can be described as ‘working class’ and eclectic.  I don’t know if I could live there and work in North County but the older small homes were kept up and stylish in a 50’s/60’s way.  Impressed.

The Lafayette banquet room had a folding table collecting $10 at the door.  Maybe 100 people there?

The opening act, El Diablitos, were on stage and ripping through songs.  El Diablitos is a duo of Tommy’s brother Tony and vocalist Pamela Flores.  Backing bass and drums were from Tommy’s band.  They played tight music – just leave the vocalist off the stage.  Then I would see them again.

El Diablitos set list.  Oddball (thumbs up).

I headed to a bar and procured a drink.  I looked over my shoulder as I stepped away to allow the next person to step up.  That next person was Tommy!  We talked a minute as I told him I was a fan and looking forward to his set.  He was very gracious.

I got to talk to the opening band during change over.  All were (again) very gracious.

Then Tommy and band took the stage.  Excellent tight set with only drums, bass, and guitar.  The attempt at a light show meant most of time was spent in the dark.

Tommy's set list

Todd Rundgren @ Belly Up

I saw Todd some 5 years ago in Little Italy.  Great show, easy to forget what a songwriting talent Todd has been over the years but then he takes the stage and you remember.

Great lighting show

The Belly Up show was quite different.  Seems Todd has been spending too much time in Euro Trash Discos.  On stage were:  2 attractive backup singer/dancers, 10 foot tall light boards forming a third of a circle, a DJ/sound mixer, and a guitar.

Rock on Todd

If you were not familiar with Todd’s work then you would not have recognized any of the songs.  All of the songs I wanted to hear were delivered with a 70’s disco feel.

I don’t think I will be travelling to Saturday’s Todd show at the Coach House.

Tracy & Scott Visit

Tracy had flown to Phoenix on Thursday then she and Scott drove to Casa De Randy on Friday.  Tracy needed her beach fix.

Enjoying the view from Del Mar dog beach

I worked that Friday so we agreed to meet at Del Mar 15th street.  I would surf some while T&S walked the beach.  The waves were mishmash with a strong southern current.  By the time I got out past the waves I was swept several hundred yards to the south.  That was 1 ride session.

So off to Pizza Port - hey it WAS Friday.  The usual PP Friday night crowd was there.  We found a spot and enjoyed a pint and a pizza.

Saturday after breakfast T&S took off for a beach walk while I cleaned up Bert’s board.  I picked up T&S again at 15th street Del Mar and we dropped off the board at Roper's.  Having missed lunch, we wanted something light since we provisioned for grilling that evening.  Somehow we ended up again at Pizza Port for a pint and wings.  We did plan on the veggie platter but it came so late that we had it to go.  2.5 hours later Tracy assumed the alpha role with the grill.  Scott was alpha on the clams.  I basically set the table and opened the wine.  Jon joined us and we feasted.

We dine very, very well

Sunday T&S covered Cedros Avenue while I checked out the surf (decided against it).  We met up at the Solana Beach Farmers Market for lunch.  Then they took off back to Phoenix.

My Zonies

Red, White and Bordeaux Leah Party

While having a telephone conversation with Leah, she asked when my next bay area visit is scheduled.  I responded, "for your next house party".  A few days later a Red, White, and Bordeaux evite party showed up in my inbox.

Leah, Damon, and Finley met me at Oakland airport.  We traveled home for wine, dinner, and great conversation.

Saturday was preparation day for 2 events.  Some of Leah’s relatives were stopping by for lunch as well as the evening party.  Damon and I were in charge of cleaning up the backyard and traveling to get an additional outdoor heater.  The weather was forecast to be rainy and windy but it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day. 

Karen showed up early to assist with food preparation.  I shifted to also food preparation and the obligatory wine opening.  We did have a fun time trying to understand a French salad recipe.

  

We guessed about 50 people showed up.  And we successfully kept the party in the backyard with 2 outdoor heaters and a fire pit providing heat in the 50F evening.  Patricia showed up and we have another great conversation.  I see Patricia every 1.5 - 2 years and we have the most intense deep conversations.  Our plan is to have dinner at Leah’s on my next bay area visit.

Leah and Patricia.  Do we have enough wine?

I faded out before the end of the party so Sunday morning was a continuation of party cleanup.  Our weekend joke was that Leah shipped in the party help (me).

Brunch was Dim Sum on the bay, then to the airport.  Another Leah party/visit and I feel exhausted and refreshed at the same time.

Another Rusty for the Quiver

Rusty Moby Fish #2

The upside of storing the Rusty Moby Fish in Nosara is (1) no travel fees of $150-200 ONE-WAY and (2) the anxiety of will it arrive unbroken?  The downside is going without the board while back in SoCal.

Solution:  get a clone.  So I ordered a clone on 28 November 2014 and (finally) it arrived on 20 February 2015.  This has the plain logo (guess I needed to specify a logo with blue) and slightly different fins.  At first, the fins bothered me then I realized I will never rise above intermediate level so I will not feel the difference.

Over The Rhine @ Belly Up

Must bring camera NEXT TIME.

Over The Rhine played a seated show for $22.  $22!  Seated shows seem to have different configurations.  Stanley Clarke show had tables/seats, and the Andy McKee and OTR shows have rows of chairs.  I wonder what drives the configuration.

Karin and Linford were joined by one other performer who switched between several stringed instruments.  Linford alternated between keyboards and guitar.

The minimalist performance let Karin’s voice and Linford’s keyboard shine.  The three selections from “Drunkard’s Prayer” were beautiful.

Gin Blossoms at The Coach House

Gin Blossoms were playing at the Coach House.  I’ve always liked the first album (yes, that long ago) but thought they would not sound like that since the lead singer is no longer with the band.  But for the sum of $30 then I would know.

I had ponied up an additional $10 for better seats and the $10 goes to whatever is on the dinner menu.  You don’t go to the Coach House for the fine food.

Coach House said ‘need to get there no later than 6pm for the dinner menu’.  Unsaid was, ‘and since you are there almost 3 hours before the main act, you might as well spend $$ at the bar’.  W-a-y took early.

But my seat was a good location with my back to the walking aisle.  More on this later.  Paul, a transplanted Londoner took the seat next to me and 2 women and a man sat across.  Time to kill so we talked about Gin Blossoms, music in general, work and soccer.

Gin Blossoms took the stage about 9pm.  The lead singer worked the crowd, and passed out 2 tambourines to audience members so they can participate.  They played almost 2 hours.  The lead singer wanted everyone to stand for the last 3 songs of the main set.  The Coach House is a table-seated area but when everyone stands, people will move forward and fill the aisles.  Not really a problem for me since the aisle was behind me but I suddenly had arms holding IPhones reaching over my shoulders.  Too close to me.  I pushed a few away from me.

The band was good but I did have the feeling I was watching a tribute band.  Lead singer’s voice was different just enough to give me that feeling.

Nosara Surf Vacation

I spent the past 4 weeks on a surf vacation in Nosara.

The Holden loves Nosara waves

Earlier in 2014, I noticed the Cymer corporate calendar showed the company would not consume ‘mandatory’ vacation days as much as in the past end of year holidays.  And while investigating flights I discovered I had enough for an economy delta flight.  So, the usual blackout fly dates made the 4 weeks a reality.

The pack list included the new Rusty and the oldest Holden.  I cannot see going to the best waves I would see this year and not having a good board.

I stayed at Kaya Sol this year in suite 3.  It had minimal requirements: walk to surf, internet, and air conditioning.  This was an upgrade from Harbor Reef in that it also had a table/chairs.  Suite 3 had an extra futon and I also got a mattress.  Suite 3 had iguanas living in the roof.  You could hear them scratching around in the morning, going to sunning spots to warm up.  And a coconut tree would overhang and drop coconuts in high winds.  Very loud and would dent the metal roof.

Notice the smaller Iguana and another Iguana's tail

Jasmine joined me for the first week.  We both had some wave adjustments that hampered first-day wave count.  She had to leave earlier than expected for family reasons.

It was Great to have Jasmine there

I got my surf funk on after Jasmine departed.  Most days were waist to chest high and off-shores until 11am.  Then the wind shifted to onshore and surfing was done for the day.  Concerning tides, only low tide was to be avoided.  I tried to be in the water no later than 6:30am to get a session in, head back to mi casa and follow up with another session before the onshore started.

Bill Whalen and Rick Soliway joined for the last week.  They were brave enough to rent a car at LIR and drive to Nosara.  At night.  Bill was OK with white-water surfing whatever board I wasn’t using and did venture out past the white-water a few times.  Rick took a surf lesson from Juan @Juan Surfo’s Surf Shop and realized a decades-old hip breakage does not work well with surfing.  They also tried their snorkeling gear with mixed results.

Delta changed my return time to 9am from 2pm so I booked a reserved taxi for a 4:30am departure.  Worked well.

Observations:

I am glad I sweated bringing the Rusty and Holden after seeing the available board rentals.  They were left at Juan Surfo’s in a travel bag.  Guess I committed myself to more Nosara trips.

Suite 3 a/c is only in the bedroom.  The main room would be 7 degrees warmer.

Surfing the north end of Guinoes beach had less crowd and good waves.  I tried the south end 1 day and found the surf classes always in the way.  The north end did have (smaller) classes but not as numerous.

The best dining was at Beach Dog and Harbor Reef.  Harbor Reef had an incredible blackened fish sandwich.  Bill tried the blackened fish and had a lesser experience.  Taco Tuesdays is quite a scene.  A reserved table for 5 young ladies did not have any chairs at reservation time, leaving the ladies to troll the crowd to find chairs.

Thumbs down for the Gilded Iguana.  I ate there twice and felt the quality was blah and overpriced.
And it seems most places are now into live music for dinner.