Concert Preview: Sezio’s Four Day Weekend

By Liz Allick

Sezio’s Four Day Weekend
Sunset Temple
November 10-13

Here is some great news for San Diego Indie-music lovers – from Nov. 10-13 Sezio will be bringing their four-day evening music festival to North Park. Concertgoers can catch an individual show for only $10.00, but it’s a guarantee that a $30.00 ticket to see all twelve artists (three shows a night) is well worth the money.

Sezio is a non-profit organization that aims to provide “resources, exposure and community support to emerging artists and musicians through a variety of new media, events, retail and community programs.” Working with local San Diego venues, artists, retailers and other companies, Sezio hosts a variety of shows with artists that are all on a definite must-go-see list such as Deer Tick on Oct. 31 and Ra Ra Riot on Nov. 9.

In the past Sezio has put on amazing events like Live @ Luce Loft in San Diego’s East Village in March 2009, a five-night series featuring ten emerging local artists in an intimate living room setting. Due to the epic success of this event, Sezio doubled the size of the living room and last year put on a four-night series of California-based bands headlined by The Dodos, Dominant Legs, The Tree Ring and, a personal favorite, Avi Buffalo.

This year’s Four Day Weekend, featuring even more artists in a new location, North Park’s Sunset Temple, will be a weekend event that cannot be missed. Headlining Thursday evening is Peter Wolf Crier, comprised of the Minneapolis-based duo Peter Pisano and Brian Moen. When The War of 1812 reached its end, Pisano, their front man, took the opportunity to begin forming the foundation of what would later become this amazing pair of musicians. Keeping his day job as a private school teacher, Pisano spent his evening developing and fine-tuning the works that turned into Peter Wolf Crier’s first album Inter-Be. Pisano reached out to Moen for his known accomplishments as a drummer and sound engineer, the duo completed the album that fully carries the amount of thought and soul that went into its creation. Their music is a combination of Indie-folk and pop, but their album is a diverse collection of songs with a beautiful range from more upbeat and light hearted tracks such as “Crutch and Cane” to deeper and more resonant songs like “Hard as Nails” driven by the drumming talent of Moen. Their second album Garden of Arms released this past September was another illustration of the amazing music two people can create together and explored their talents in even more ways adding in another set of unique musical elements. Across the board, Peter Wolf Crier is sure to please the ears of listeners, and grouped with artists such as The Woods and Bon Iver, their show will be a demonstration of musical talent that will be a great kick-start to the weekend.

Friday will feature yet another greater headliner, Dirty Gold. This native San Diego threesome released their first EP only a few months ago in April, but their obvious talent and individualistic sound has gained them deserving popularity, all at a very ripe young age. Music they classify as “Afro-Beat/Experimental/Beach-Pop/Surf pop” couldn’t be classified as anything else. Their music, especially with tracks like “California Sunrise” will have listeners pressing repeat with easy-listening tunes that are resonant of 1960s beach jams, but with a modern personalized feel with accompaniments from an afro-pop guitar and xylophone. With their talent being recognized at such a fast pace, their performance at this year’s Four Day Weekend could be an opportunity to see them before they are selling out shows.

Saturday’s headliner, Lord Huron, is another new name that cannot be missed. His music is definitely something in its own, with a folk feel driven by Ben Schneider’s voice, underlined with Afro-Caribbean percussion and sound elements like subtle seagulls in the background. It’s definitely an experience worth listening to. Lord Huron’s new and irresistible sound landed the group appearances at major festivals like Lollapalooza this summer and his live performance exceeded expectations. The group on stage brings such a range of music and every song is equally great across the board. Another name that is rapidly gaining attention, especially in the Indie-music blogging sphere, makes him a performance that is sure to draw quite a crowd at the Four Day Weekend.

Wrapping up the event is Sunday’s headliner Real Estate. While the name might not evoke an immediate response of excitement, especially for business majors, their music will- especially when USD students find out one of the band’s most popular songs is entitled “Beach Comber.” No, this track is not about Mission Beach residents’ favorite establishment, but the song will still get listeners bobbing their heads along. This Indie-Rock group from New Jersey released their first album self-titled Real Estate in November 2009 and since then, have put out consistently great works, including their new album Days. With a mellow summertime feel to their music, they will carry on this theme of easy, beach listening sure to make this year’s Four Day Weekend quite a show, alongside eight other up and coming artists.

Buy Four Day Weekend All-Access Pass ($30)