Wassup 805? Bill Locey here, neither in Studio 805 nor in Camarillo, but still gainfully employed by the Ventura County Star, at least for the next hour or two, kicking at my house, multi-tasking, writing about rock 'n' roll, watching "River Monsters" on Animal Planet with the sound off and petting my cat, Nope, who is on my lap and as usual, in the way and doing his fair share as part of the worldwide feline anti-literacy campaign.
OK, enough exposition - if I had a faster car, a richer girlfriend or even one with a job, here's where I'll be lurking in the back this week:
Friday night, over in farmland-hating Oxnard, it's pure power pop from the Corsican Brothers
at the Whale's Tail, while it's the same menu/different venue from the Pop-O-Matics at O'Leary's Side Bar in Ventura. And Samson - the quarterback no more, but cool dude forever - he'll do his music thing at Zoey's in Ventura while up the coast to Santa Barbara, it's this week's awesome indie band, the Features - they'll be at the Velvet Jones on State Street and a few blocks north, it's Americana heavyweights Wilco ably assisted by White Denim at the Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara. And finally, Friday night, it's the rootless but rockin' Paul Thorn at UCSB - he never plays the same place often enough to build a sizable following, despite being the coolest white guy from Mississippi since Elvis - which is why he should be at Zoey's - thus, few Gauchos and Gauchoettes will likely go to this one - too bad - Thorn is as good as anybody - sad, funny and rockin' all at once.
On Saturday, it's corporate pop rock from the Fray at the legendary Troubadour in Hell-A, while - whatdaya want from life? How 'bout those Tubes at Canyon Club in Agoura Hills? While up here in the 805 where we like it, Betty Pattengale and Mike Harris probably won't do any Tubes' covers at Camarillo Library and Inna Rude Mood will channel Stevie Ray at a fundraiser for the Cape School, also in Camarillo. And those Mighty Cash Cats will channel the Man in Black at Logsdon's in Santa Paula.
Guitar shredder Alastair Greene will be up the stairs at the Watermark in Ventura also on Saturday and the Tom Corbett Band will play some bluegrass at the Live Oak Univeralist Church in Santa Barbara, also on Saturday.
On Sunday, welcome back John Sebastian - he of Lovin' Spoonful and cool round specs fame - he'll be at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, while back up here in the 805 where we still like it, check out the Bomb, exponentially more incendiary with the addition of Alastair Greene - that one's happening at the Bombay in Ventura and up the coast to S.B., Los Lonely Boys will do a benefit for the very lucky La Cumbre Junior High.
On Tuesday, she's perkier than a ferret in the Twinkie factory - it's Colbie Caillat at the Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks, while up in Ventura, it's the Emy Reynolds Band at Zoey's.
On Wednesday, playing some laid back rock but also some Robert Johnson blues, it's Big Head Todd & the Monsters at the cavernous Canyon Club, while up here in the 805, it's guitar pyrotechnics with Bruce Kimmel & Mark Masson at the Good Bar in Ventura and that All-Star Blues Jam thing will be happening at the Bombay and Frank Barajas will do his one-man-band thing at the Big Buddha Lounge in Oak View.
And finally on a Thursday, the sometime psychedelic Lenny Kravitz will be cool at phonehead nirvana which is Club Nokia in Los Angeles, and one more time - it's Frank Barajas at Tutti's in Ventura and Jonathan McEuen will be at Big Buddha Lounge, also Thursday. The end. Of that.
