The Riviera Supper Club & Turquoise Lounge

When do you celebrate the first anniversary of an event that happened on a Feb. 29? Che Underground: The Blog is jumping the gun with its birthday salute to “A Che Underground Leap Night Showcase,” which transpired Feb. 29, 2020, and featured performances by The Wrecktangle; Jerry Cornelius & The Cooler Heads; and P-Touch All Stars.

On offer today: JC & TCHs’ cover of The Answers classic “Electric Flowers,” along with some liner notes by Mr. Cornelius himself!

“Memories, they have no place/They take up precious time and space.”

When I first saw David Fleminger and The Answers in their form with Tony Suarez and Dave Anderson at the Adams Avenue Theater, I was struck by the force and musicality of what they were playing.

Over the 37 years since then, several of these songs — especially “Color Notes” and “Electric Flowers” — have never been far from my mind.

Most rock-‘n’-roll historians know San Diego’s Che Underground scene as a mad scientist’s lab for musical experiments at the top of the ’80s.

Named for notable shows they staged at UC San Diego’s Che Café — but active across the region — the bands of the Che Underground brought together artists steeped in punk, psychedelia, garage and more. Throwing their influences into a high-speed blender, bands like The Answers, Hair Theatre, Noise 292, The Rockin’ Dogs, The Tell-Tale Hearts and the original SD Wallflowers provided a soundtrack for Southern California youth culture.

Four decades later, those musicians and artists continue to kick out the collective jams — and on Feb. 29, some of the best minds of that generation will stage a family reunion at the Riviera Supper Club & Turquoise Lounge for “A Che Underground Leap Night Showcase.” The night’s lineup of Che Underground supergroups will feature two stars of the scene who haven’t performed in San Diego for more than three decades: Jeremiah Cornelius and Tom Clarke.

The Riviera Supper Club & Turquoise Lounge

Jerry Cornelius & The Cooler Heads: ‘Electric Flowers’

Ready for ‘A Che Underground Leap Night Showcase’?