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South First Fest Monkey heads list of local faves at South by South First benefit Sunday By Sarah Quelland ORCHESTRATED BY MEMBERS OF STUNT MONKEY, the first South by South First benefit concert will be held this Sunday (May 14) at the Cactus Club. The all-day event runs from 1 to 9pm and includes performances by Monkey, Ten in the Swear Jar (featuring former members of IBOPA), Spinning Jennies, Stunt Monkey, the Flames (LIVE 105's DJ With No Name's band), Anti-45 and Manic Notions, and marks the exciting debut of Los Bastardos de Amor. Led by former Swerver frontman Jimmy Arceneaux (a.k.a. Jimmy Amor), Los Bastardos de Amor delivers all the punchy power rock of Swerver with an added hard-pop bite along the lines of Lit. This project has been a much-talked-about endeavor, and the band's first EP really delivers with five incredibly hook-heavy songs. It's a combination of the irresistible guitars and Arceneaux's distinctive voice that defines this band of locals, which includes Steve Bastardo (a.k.a. Steve Milligan), Chris Bastardo (a.k.a. Chris Knight) and Eric Bastardo (a.k.a. Eric Liljenwall). Energetic songs like "When She Comes Around" and "Impossible" absolutely sizzle, while "She's Still My Best Friend" dances through adolescence with a summery rock approach. The melodic "Everybody's Here" takes a slower pace as Arceneaux waxes introspective with the personal lyrics "Public smile, now what to say/ Nervous eyes that look away/ Drunk man stumble, fallin' down/ Can't find laughter in this crowd" and the lonely repeating chorus "Everybody's here/Everybody's here/Everybody's here but me." Overall, Los Bastardos de Amor make the kind of music that demands to be cranked loud. The debut EP was well worth the wait, and I suspect the band's live debut will go over just as well. The show is all-ages, the cover is $5 and all proceeds go to the Metro Foundation, which benefits local charities. LIVE 105 tries to keep a tight lid on its lineup for its annual BFD music festival (June 16 at Shoreline Amphitheatre), but rumors often leak out. It looks like Deftones won't be participating after all. Stone Temple Pilots could be the surprise act this year. There's also talk of Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach, Cypress Hill and Incubus, along with more hesitant mentions of P.O.D. and Slipknot. The Pilots are currently touring with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Fishbone and were slated to come through Shoreline in September. The hot new ticket in all-day music festivals this year is the inaugural Tattoo the Earth tour (the Rock and Ink Festival). The event will incorporate tattoo artists and live music and offers some of the heavier bands on the circuit. Among those confirmed are Slipknot, Soulfly, Sevendust and Coal Chamber. The festival is scheduled to start touring the U.S. in August. With the Summer Sanitarium tour (July 14 at 3Com Park) starring Metallica, Korn, Kid Rock, Powerman 5000 and System of a Down; the Napster-sponsored free Limp Bizkit/Cypress Hill tour (which should swing by the SJSU Event Center sometime this summer); OzzFest 2000 (Aug. 26 at Shoreline Amphitheatre) featuring Ozzy Osbourne, Pantera, Godsmack, Static-X, Incubus, Methods of Mayhem, P.O.D., Queens of the Stone Age, Ministry, Kittie, Disturbed and others; the Vans Warped Tour (July 1 at Pier 30/32) with Green Day, Papa Roach, NOFX, MxPx, the Donnas, Mighty Mighty Bosstones and others; and the tentative lineup at BFD, the summer tours are very incestuous. Not only that, the day after its last stop on the Warped Tour (July 20), Papa Roach jumps on a tour with Korn and Powerman 5000 that runs July 21-Aug. 26. No word yet on a local date. LIVE 105 presents a free performance by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones this Friday (May 12) at Slim's. Pearl Jam and Supergrass have a Halloween performance (Oct. 31) at Shoreline and Pink Floyd's Roger Waters will perform at the venue on June 25. Tickets are on sale now. PLAN AHEAD: Vim, May 11 at the Usual; Del tha Funky Homosapien, May 12 at Maritime Hall; the Red Elvises, May 13 at the Cactus Club; Danzig, SFU and Disturbed, May 13 at the Warfield; The The, May 16 at the Fillmore in San Francisco; Orchestra Morphine, May 17 at the Fillmore; Krenshaw, Operator: Generator and Lonely Kings, May 18 at the Usual; Bloodhound Gang with Drist, May 24 at the Fillmore; Nine Inch Nails and A Perfect Circle, June 7 at the Cow Palace in San Francisco; Creed and Sevendust, June 15 at the SJSU Event Center. [ San Jose | Metroactive Central | Archives ]