Once upon a time, there was a little lost girl wandering the Forest of Mundane.  She yawned from boredom seeing the same thing time after time.  Suddenly a little mouse jumped down from a nearby tree and startled the girl.  “Beyond this tree is a world of amazing adventure,” said the mouse.  “I see nothing beyond the tree,” said the girl.  “Oh but you shall.”  The mouse held out both hands each with a different color pill.  “Take the purple one and you shall hear wonderful music.  Take the green one and you will experience something new and mesmerizing.”  The girl made her choice and walked beyond the tree.

            Ask most people outside San Diego what the music scene is here.  Most will undoubtedly say, “Surf rock and stoner ska.”  To quote one visitor I bumped into, “Too many Jack Johnson rip-offs and Sublime wannabes!”  Ouch, I guess truth can hurt a little.  He proceeded to tell me how he came from LA to see The Stove.  On cue, two players emerge on stage.  Armed with just a keyboard, Kristen Muirhead and the DJ Eduard Glukhov start with a slow melodic beat.  Reminiscent of Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Portishead, and Delerium, Kristen’s light voice is juxtaposed next to harsh bass line.  What?  Trip-hop in San Diego?!  Hell yeah.  I was blown away.  The swagger beats made me bounce my head to the groove while this soothing voice enveloped me.  It was hard and sweet at the same time and it completely took me by surprise.  But it wasn’t just electronica, they added elements of jazz, hip hop, rock, and rap.  There have been many faces of San Diego music but none of them resemble the fresh sounds I heard from The Stove.

So which pill did the little girl take?  That’s easy, if you can’t tell by now, I took both.

PS.  By the way, the story was a metaphor.  No, it’s not a drug reference. . .unless you want it to be.