DIO Presents... Dinner and a Show - a review by Roxane June
Ryan Baesemann
a unique dining experience paired with an intimate house concert...
Sean Fleming performing live for the patrons, Photo - Roxane June
3 a.m. March 31st, 2018: four lasagnas finish baking.
3 a.m. April 1st, 2018: the last bites of lasagna are finished by the few still standing.
In true Do-It-Ourselves fashion, we threw a pretty darn epic party with scarce resources, but an abundance of determination from a few scrappy Doer's.
It started with tales of Shay’s Secret Supper Club inspiring our friend Josh to make a wildy generous offer to host this shindig at his new home in La Mesa, CA. Shayla and I wanted to introduce DIO Fest to this locale in hopes of gathering new doers for the cause. After few stoney brainstorming sessions and several jokes about serving laced lasagna, we set a menu, date, and reached out to local bands. Really all it takes is just doing it.
The Havenauts holding down the top of the bill, Photo - Roxane June
Sean Fleming, our featured DIO artist, began the show with a seriously sexy serenade. Reminiscent of Bon Iver and James Blake, he got everyone stomping and clapping at one point, and swooning the rest of it. Don’t miss him at DIO this year!
The Lulls, fresh off their tour and SXSW appearances, dialed in the energy and started a swirling beach psych dance party. An impressive wall of sound from the duo blew us away – no one wanted them to finish. They left with easily 50 new fans ready to hunt the merch table at their next show.
The Havnauts kicked the party into punk territory with their loud af pink-hued garage anthems. Songs like “I think I Gained Weight, Just a Little..” and the most prolific punk/rock-n-roll cover of Toto’s “Africa” to ever be performed served to fire up the crowd with everyone shouting for more.
BONUS
Some guy who’s name I forget did a surprise stand up comedy set after the music, right when everyone was properly drunk and in the heckling mood. It was equal parts awkward and hilarious. Thanks random man for the cringey laughs, that was a treat.
Le Menu
STARTERS
- Pea and avocado mash crostini garnished with arugula flowers
- Rum fruit punch
- Folks showing up
MAIN
- Psychedelasagna: four types of fresh handmade pasta (beet, red pepper, spinach, egg), meat and vegetarian sauce from scratch, layered with three types of cheeses
- Wild greens salad with strawberries and pickled kumquats
- Serious chow time...
DESSERT
- Butterscotch and chocolate chip cookies with sea salt
- Somehow seamless room change from dinner setup to show setup
Homemade lasagna a la Casa de DIO
Tier 3 tickets are still available, be sure to snag a couple while ya can...
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