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Southern Exposure Los Bastardos ignited the Cactus at first South by South First benefit By Sarah Quelland IT SEEMS you can always count on the Cactus Club to offer some alternative to traditional family holidays. Last Sunday (May 14), Mother's Day, the Cactus hosted the first South by South First music festival, featuring Monkey, Los Bastardos de Amor, Ten in the Swear Jar, Stunt Monkey, the Flames, Anti-45, Spinning Jennies and Manic Notions. The day was casual, with people coming and going, staying to catch a few bands before heading off to various family engagements. I caught the debut of Los Bastardos de Amor, a new local band featuring Jimmy Arceneaux, Steve Milligan, Chris Knight and Eric Liljenwall. Los Bastardos performed songs from their five-song EP along with some of Arceneaux's old Swerver material that received a special Bastardos touch. The Flames, featuring LIVE-105's DJ With No Name, took over next, setting the fog machine on overdrive before stepping onstage for an outlandish set full of costumes and fire. Similar to Simon Woodstock's outrageous Party Casket (formerly Sketch), the Flames are as much a spectacle as they are a band. They delivered hair-scorching fire-spitting, flaming drum sets and a paper anarchy sign set ablaze; the music, an amalgam of punk and metal, was almost irrelevant. While the show was entertaining, after about three songs, most people inside the club stumbled out into the rain gasping for fresh, uncharred air. Stunt Monkey, which helped organize the event, took the stage next and delivered its usual irreverent, high-energy show, kicking off with "Cartoon" and throwing out snack cakes to all the moms in the crowd. The event appeared to be a success, despite falling on Mother's Day. If this becomes an annual event, planners should schedule a different weekend in May. Smash Mouth will headline Mix 106.5's Concert for the Homeless, which will benefit the Emergency Housing Consortium. The event will be held July 3 and takes place at Discovery Meadow. Other participants scheduled include Dana, Los Cochinos and Fuse. Tickets are $10 and available through BASS with no service charge, or at the gates the day of the show. The San Jose Gay Pride Silver Celebration and Parade will be held June 10-11 at Discovery Meadow. Eighties pop icon Cyndi Lauper and funk diva Jody Watley are scheduled to headline the second day on the Sun Microsystems Pride Stage. Other participants that day will be Pansy Division, Patsy Cline and the G Spots, the Cheeseballs and the Silicon Valley's Gay Men's Chorus. Entertainment throughout the weekend includes the Foxtail Drag Show, Diamond John's Revue, live bands, DJ dancing and Leather Alley, along with more than 200 vendors and international food booths. Saturday's noon-6pm celebration is free; Sunday's 10am-7:30pm event is $7 and tickets are available without service charge through BASS. More news on LIVE 105's BFD lineup this year (June 16 at Shoreline Amphitheatre). It appears Cypress Hill, Everclear, Godsmack, Limp Bizkit, Moby, Third Eye Blind, Stone Temple Pilots and the Offspring have confirmed for the main stage. Slipknot, Papa Roach, Staind, Powerman 5000, P.O.D. and Incubus will grace the second stage. No Use for a Name and AFI are two of several bands tentatively scheduled for the local stage. Still, nothing is official yet. P.O.D. is also scheduled to perform at a big Christian concert this Saturday (May 20) at Paramount's Great America. Other performers include Steven Curtis Chapman, FFH, Insyderz, Burlap to Cashmere and Squad Five-O. True to Form is planning another party bus trip to Hollywood for its performance at the Whisky a Go Go on June 21 with Crowbar. Call Kevin at 408.206.7334 or email [email protected] to reserve a seat. The band's last trip filled two buses. ... Krenshaw debuts its new, heavier sound tonight (May 18) at the Usual with Operator: Generator (bring your earplugs) and Lonely Kings. PLAN AHEAD: L7, May 18 at Slim's in San Francisco; Spike 1000 and Systematic, May 19 at Slim's; Secret Chiefs 3 (A Mr. Bungle side project), May 19 at Palookaville in Santa Cruz; True to Form, Stitch and others, May 20 at Gaslighter's Music Hall in Gilroy; Odd Numbers, Boy Kicks Girl, Moodfrye and others, May 20 at the Cactus Club; Bloodhound Gang with Drist, May 24 at the Fillmore in San Francisco; Nashville Pussy and Fu Manchu, May 25 at Maritime Hall in San Francisco; Kittie, May 25 at Slim's. [ San Jose | Metroactive Central | Archives ]