(Charisse Sciuva and Dave Rinck describe hot times at Lestat’s Coffee House. The featured act: a warm-up for the Che Underground Rock-‘n’-Roll Weekend July 30-31 and a Che Underground supergroup that will feature San Diego music legends Dave Doyle, Dave Fleminger, Dave Klowden and Dave Rinck.)
On July 19, the DaveFest Four (actually two, Dave Rinck and Dave Fleminger, plus an “honorary Dave” — Lou Damian on harmonica), shut down a packed house at Lestat’s Coffee House on San Diego’s Adams Ave. after just two acts. The occasion was the second weekly night of the Monday night warm-ups at Lestat’s, the venue for Night One of the upcoming Che Underground Rock-‘n’-Roll Weekend on July 30 and 31. Due to an unplanned event that could be called a “mishap” by some, their performance set the standard for what is certainly going to be the event of the year!
Why “DaveFest Four”? Read Patrick Works’ history of Dave Fest!
After an intro by the master of ceremonies, the DaveFest combo took the stage in what was truly a Che Underground moment. Upon pulling in, a painfully loud intermittent reverb-laced blast was heard!
A blaring honk, like a bass beat, that inspired Lou to ask, “Are there any rappers in the house?” Dave Rinck took control with adroit punk-rock humor, asking if the café allowed slam dancing, and reflecting on “the last time this happened … ”
Briefly inspired by nostalgia, Dave Rinck reminisced to the youngsters present about the days of the Adams Avenue Theater, a few doors down from the site of Lestat’s on Adams Ave., now a fabric store, noting the first time he had seen bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Iggy Pop and the Cramps. “Yep, Iggy sang ‘Raw Power’ right where they keep the nylon drapes nowadays. … ”
Read more about the history and fate of the Adams Avenue Theater!
As the soundman frantically struggled to correct the situation, the boys took advantage of the chaos by talking up the Che Underground gang getting back together after “going our separate ways” 25 years ago. “We didn’t go anywhere,” Rinck retorted, “we just ran out of things to say to each other. But now we’ve thought of a whole load of new stuff that was left unsaid.”
Dave Doyle, Sean McMullen: Concert photography at Lestat’s!
Suddenly, a glowing red light could be seen from inside the five-foot PA amp, and several in the front row noted the faint smell of burning wire. The band was told that the power was going to be shut off and they were going to have to go ahead unplugged — they had to perform acoustic. Without hesitation, Dave Rinck jumped off the stage into the audience, a group of quiet aspiring musicians seated at quaint round tables covered in brown cloth, waiting patiently with their dreams in their hands, and started strumming what he announced was a “traditional New Wave ballad,” Blondie’s “Dreamin’.” Rinck delivered Debbie Harry’s haunting lyrics of love and desire (“I’d build a road in gold, just to have some dreamin’ “) with all of the quiet tenderness it deserves, while Fleminger demonstrated his finesse strumming a haunting melodic lead through his portable battery-powered amp and Lou embellished the tune with a soft stream of blusey cries from his harp.
Watch the Comeuppance at Lestat’s!
The second tune inspired audience foot stomping participation as the band delivered a powerful up-tempo rendition of Lou Reed’s “I’m So Free” from his quintessential Transformer album. Fleminger’s guitar rocked out a powerful backbeat that highlighted the commanding quality of Rinck’s vocals. The number reached a crescendo with a Lou Damian harp solo that required no power boost at all.
Right after the set, before the next act could take the stage, the soundman announced the end of the open mic event due to the sound problem. So DaveFest Four was close to the first and the last act of a memorable evening.
A stunned audience was left obviously wanting more. The bands will continue to warm up the venue July 26 at Lestat’s (if they fix the PA), and the Che Underground will deliver the full goods at the end of the month when the full DaveFest Four is joined by the Comeuppance, Thomas E Ward, Wendy Bailey and True Stories, and Jeffrey Luck Lucas in his first San Diego appearance. On Saturday, July 31, the Che Underground Rock-‘n’-Roll Weekend reaches its climax at Bar Pink with Wendy Bailey and True Stories, the Answers and Bombast.
— Charisse Sciuva and David Rinck
nice write up you two! can’t wait to hear the dave +1 magic.
This will be a reunion of epic proportions! All the best guys! Have a great show! Document, document, document!
I’m gonna be DJing at the Bar Pink show.
Or maybe I’m not, I’m not on the schedule at the Bar Pink website either, http://www.barpink.com/schedule.html
>>I’m not on the schedule at the Bar Pink website either
Paul: I am merely a witness to history, but the organizers assure me this is a simple oversight by the club that they will assay to rectify with all due haste.
>>>we just ran out of things to say to each other. But now we’ve thought of a whole load of new stuff that was left unsaid.
I think what happened is that we all just forgot what we’d said and now we can just say the same things all over again and it sound new. Or something.
what did you just say…?????
I forgot.
“I Forgot More Than You’ll Ever Know”
>>Matt, is it spelled “flier,” or “flyer?”
Tom: Either spelling is acceptable, per Webster’s New World College Dictionary (the go-to for our house style, based on the Associated Press). However, Google retrieves 34 million instances of “flyer” and only 8 million of “flier,” so for search-engine purposes, I’ve with the more popular variant on the blog.
… And that, friends, is the kind of stuff I obsess over. 🙂
Paul H: Well, it wouldn’t really be a DJ takeover if you were invited, right?
Good point Matt !!! Thanks for the perspective.
Photos of the DaveFest Four from Katy Addy Lopez: