La Escalera Fest 7 - Day 3 - Western Settings, Pity Party, Four Lights, & More in San Diego, CA • Bad Copy

It was Saturday and we were supposed to get some mother fucking family brunch. But those buttholes in Four Lights were being buttholes. So instead of eating delicious pancakes, breakfast burritos, maple bacon, or drinking mimosas, on the way to the morning shows at Red Brontosaurus Records, Kendra and I stopped at Sonic to get some tots and a chicken sandwich to hold us over in the meantime. We made it to Red Brontosaurus and I headed into the sandwich shop next door to get a water when I notice my fucking wallet was missing. FUCK! In a panic Kendra and I hopped back on our scooters and raced back to Sonic to frantically search the booth we were sitting at only minute prior. “Looking for a wallet?” some random slightly older gentleman asked. “I turned it into the lady.” Good people do exist! I got my wallet back, paid for the nice man’s breakfast, and rushed back to Red Bronto just in time to catch Heck Yes’ set. I needed a god damn nap.

We went back to the hotel to get that nap, but were interrupted almost immediately when Skyler and Oliver burst into the room saying they were going to Ranchos Cocina to eat and then were heading over to the actual day shows. Fine. We scooted to the sit down Mexican food joint where we pounded three bowls of chips and salsa and I had one of the best Michelada I’ve ever had (which is not saying much since I’ve only had the canned Modelo Micheladas or the kind where you buy a cup and pour a beer into it). We forgot that Ranchos takes fucking forever, so by the time we were paid up and ready to go Boss’ Daughter was already part way through their set at Bar Pink. We stayed as long as we could before heading over to The Office to see the buds in Four Lights. I decided to stay put for Regan Ashton’s set; he was joined and backed by Tom House, Adam Kissell, and Ricky Schmidt of Western Settings. It was by far the best set of the weekend. Regan and Tom looked like they were having the best time. Ricky looked like he was in a constant state of confusion. And Adam was the cool cucumber he always is. It was a shit show in the best possible way.

Burn Burn Burn was next back over at Bar Pink. After their set, Trick Coleman and Erica Smith took a handful of us over to The Eagle to get jello shots from “Mr. Leather 2018.” We made it back in time to see Squarecrow play. I also was able to grab one of the four test pressings of their new album, Before the Sun Catches Us All, which they were selling. We headed back to The Office for Pity Party, and were put in the mood for some glitter mimosas we had heard North Park Brewery had, but apparently they were only serving that shit during brunch. Fascists.

Seeing Horror Squad with Marty Ploy dancing around brought back some great VLHS memories. The bartender at The Office tried her darndest to make Kendra a blue drink. She tried her best to remember the color wheel, but what she ended up getting was less blue and more alcohol-induced-diarrhea-brown. It tasted amazing though and was super cheap! Western Settings took the stage and had the whole room singing along. Will Castro eventually just turned his microphone around to the crowd, making everyone in attendance the unofficial fifth member of the band. We hustled back to Bar Pink for the last time to check out Las Vegas’s Mercy Music before going back once again to try and watch Success and close our tabs at The Office. The tiny venue was packed to the brim and we couldn’t get anywhere near the front so we opted to hop on the scooters back to the hotel, stopping off at Alberto’s for a burrito.

The day shows were finally over, but the party wasn’t over. We took a Lyft to the Tower Bar for the karaoke after party. A ton of people showed up. The Ash Williams gang killed it. Pat did Kanye West. Uriel sang literally everything and anything. And Michael Kelly ranted about 9/11 for three minutes. Regan Ashton rocked some Queen. Trick Coleman did an arthouse performance of “Torn.” And I even got to do my best Chuck Ragan-doing-Fiona Apple version of “Criminal.” All the while, Squarecrow’s Kevin White was having the most fun I’ve ever seen anyone have watching people sing. It was a hell of a sight to behold.

That put a fork in the longest fucking day in Fest history. Or at least it felt like it. I passed out as soon as my head hit the fucking pillow in the hotel. One more day to go! Tomorrow we go to Mexico!