Rotary Downs in The Bay Area

[torph]

This past weekend Rotary Downs made their debut in The Bay. They played Friday night at Bottom of the Hill in SF, and Saturday at The Sweetwater with The Mother Hips.

Let me just say that I love this band. It would be hard for me to dislike any band that Zack Smith is in, because he's about the nicest dude on the planet. But friendships aside, Rotary is truly a creative and innovative band. Not sure if any of you cats have their latest studio record, 'Chained to the Chariot', but if not, it's a great introduction to what these guys are up to these days.

Friday night was my 1st time checking them out. Bottom of the Hill is a pretty swell club.. They have a great reputation for booking some of the best indie bands around. Saturday, however, was really special. It marked the 1st and last time Rotary will play The Sweetwater. As some of you must know, this was the last show ever at The Sweetwater. They might find a new location, but for anyone that has ever stepped foot in that room, you'll know it will never be the same. Not too many people there had heard Rotary- they were there for The Mother Hips. They made a huge impression on the crowd, and sold a bunch of their CD's..

By the way, The Mother Hips are totally kicking ass right now. There's bunch of new interest in the band.. Their latest record 'Kiss The Crystal Flake' is FANTASTIC. Check out the track 'Grisly Bear' on their homepage:
http://www.motherhips.com

[magpie]

i heard about the sweetwater situation, was wondering if anything had changed... guess not. so sad. that place was so special... i'm sure you were there when smmd played the sweetwater a few falls ago, eh torph? f*cking incredible...

so you're diggin the new hips stuff, huh?
i have a friend who really loved the old stuff, but doesn't like the new stuff at all. interesting. i've never listened to them much at all, but i really respect my friend's music tastes so i'm curious. he's supposed to get me some old stuff he likes (our band might cover some) to see what i think of it...

i'd never heard of rotary downs either... very curious now though (didn't know zack was in a band. though i shoulda figured...). i'll check 'em out!

[Phrazz]

You mean Zack Smith of photography fame? I didn't even know...what does he play? There's a band to check out...but who takes their photos while he's playing?

As for Sweetwater, it'll never be the same, but they should do what they can to at least save the name and memorabilia. Clubs all fade and you can't fight the scourge of condos -- just move across the street to a bigger place and make it nicer. People will still remember...and talk about the old place across the street. This is still OK -- we will get by. We will survive.

-Phrazz

[Guest]

he calls himself a drumtographer, i do believe.

and yeah, rotary downs kicks some major ass.

[bear]

Yeah, drums. The White thighs jammed out for a while with him on drums and Brad playing guitar during our Camp Harry set. i played bass, it was sweet