wow, i can hardly believe it. the old fox theater in downtown oakland (built in 1928) is finally scheduled to re-open on february 5th for the first time since 1966. am i a little weirded out by the orientalist architectural details("the architecture...has long defied definition, being variously described as indian, moorish, medieval and baghdadian")? yes. unsettled by the gentrification looming around every corner in downtown oakland? yes!!! on the other hand, this is one gigantic beautiful old theater building which is not being converted into a church. hurray for that.
the first concert scheduled at the new old fox is social distortion, february 6th.
aww, punk rock boys with eyeliner ;)
**
and i went down my old neighborhood the faces have all changed there's no one there left to talk to and the pool hall that i loved as a kid is now a 7 eleven
i went downtown to look for a job i had no training, no experience to speak of. i looked at the holes in my jeans and turned and headed back.
...
good times come and good times go, i only wish the good times would last a little longer. i think about the good times we had and why they had to end.
so i sit at the edge of my bed i strum my guitar and i sing an outlaw love song. thinking' 'bout what you're doin' now and when you're comin' back.
i spent this past weekend in chula vista, my beloved hometown. i do like it up here, but certain things from there i really miss when i'm away. like seeing the lights that dot the tijuana hillsides from my family's house at night. like riding through san ysidro during the day, that gigantic flag waving hello to me from the mexico side of the línea the entire time. like eating ice cream from oasis: pepino con chile, sweet rice, piña. oh man, riquísimo.
the little pocket of chula vista where my father grew up, and where countless primos still live, is otay (not to be confused with otay lakes or otay ranch). and right there on 4th & main, around the corner from our lady of guadalupe church and close to the house where my father was raised, is the old palomino bar. formerly a vaquero hangout, it's now a rock en español club.
over the border 3008 main street (@ 4th avenue), otay-chula vista
it's tiny, holds at most 300 people, but panteón rococo, gustavo cerati, andrea echeverri, bersuit, and el gran silencio have all played there. most saturday nights you will find the house band, los ingratoz, playing some of their vast collection of rock en español covers. this weekend there was a lot of taking it back to the old school with songs like déjenos bailar, tren al sur,oye mi amor and el chico de la calle. they are good musicians those guys, and the crowd loves them! especially during the requisite shout-outs to tj, df, and guadalajara. the djs usually do well too, with some of the more innovative mixes i've heard... rancheras + reggaeton, anyone? this weekend there was not quite enough cumbia, and too much techno but i won't hold it against them.
for a straight club on a saturday night, it's pretty cool. the boy-girl ratio is not oppressive, the pick-up action isn't either, and the cocktails are served by boys with poky hair, not girls in miniskirt-uniforms. also, the young woman at the door was wearing heavy eyeliner and a man's suit. chulita.
here's a song the band covered in their first set, excellent for a spin on the rock en español dance floor if you ask me...
Posts
