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Atomic Mint performs at Light the Night. Oh, Cecilia The New York-based band makes the most of its second tour of the Bay Area By Sarah Quelland AFTER COMPLETING its first run of Bay Area shows in June to huge response, Cecilia returned to the South Bay last week. The New York-based multigenerational family jam band made a special appearance last Wednesday (Sept. 10) at the Gaslighter Theater in Campbell as part of the debut of a live taping for a new cable show called i2i Live (visit www.eye2eye.greatnow.com), which is scheduled to air Mondays at 10:30pm in San Jose and Campbell on channels 15 and 15A on Comcast cable. The band followed up that performance by participating in the Rockstars and Bitches Sept. 11 benefit concert for the Christian Pine Foundation (a foundation for a child who was badly burned by a barbecue accident) at Waves Smokehouse. "I met the little boy tonight," Cecilia's co-lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Laura Veltz told the crowd and pointed out Christian's grandmother. "We're helping their family. I want to say thank you for coming." Despite the serious reason for the benefit, the Sept. 11 show was an upbeat occasion. Sandwiched in the diverse local lineup of Everything Taken, iNQ, SECURITY and Borderwars, Cecilia demonstrated its broad and genuine appeal with a joyful set of warm, folky pop songs filled with great energy, long jams and remarkable three-part vocal harmonies. Cecilia has been touring for about three months now, and at Thursday's show, the band debuted two new songs written on the road. Laura playfully described the new "Be Mine" as a "cheesy little ditty" and a "stupid little love song." In contrast, her sister and co-lead vocalist Allison introduced "Beautiful," an angry-sounding rock song that seemed slightly out of character compared to Cecilia's more familiar catalog. "It's not about looks, it's about being true to yourself," Allison told the crowd. "Someone fucking broke my heart, so I'm a little bitter." So well received was Cecilia that the audience demanded an encore before letting the group exit the stage. The bands that played the Rockstars and Bitches benefit concert raised $1,056 for the Christian Pine Foundation. A check was presented to the family at a similar benefit held Sunday (Sept. 14) at Club Four, where Cecilia and SECURITY performed, along with NME, El Buzzard, Moulder's Lounge, ArnoCorps and other local bands. Proceeds from that show were also slated for the young boy. Visit www.ChristianPine.com. Cecilia ends its run of shows in this area this Saturday (Sept. 20) at Johnny V's. Visit www.ceciliatheband.com. HINT OF MINT: Local rock trio Atomic Mint participates in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's fifth-annual Light the Night Walk, held at Plaza de Cesar Chavez in San Jose, Friday (Sept. 19), by contributing food and entertainment during registration. Free bone marrow typing will also be offered at 4:30pm. Registration begins at 5pm; Atomic Mint is scheduled to perform at 5:30pm; the walk begins at 7pm with survivors carrying white balloons and supporters carrying red balloons. Visit www.lightthenight.org for more information. HOT TOPIC: The Pacific Art Collective's next PAC Session takes place Saturday (Sept. 20), 3-9pm, at Zoe with live painting performances and music provided by live bands and DJs. Tickets are $8 general admission and $5 for seniors and students with ID. Visit www.pacificartcollective.com. CANCELLATION NOTICE: The Strata, Plans for Revenge, Superchannel, Headbreak and Everything Taken show scheduled for Sept. 18 at the Edge in Palo Alto has been canceled. PLAN AHEAD: The Deed and Sapos Muertos, Sept. 18 at the Blank Club; Rx Bandits, Locale AM, Desa and Polysics, Sept. 19 at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco; Long Beach Short Bus (members of Sublime and Long Beach Dub Allstars), Sept. 19 at the Blank Club; the Huxtables, Red Hot Valentines, Dan Potthast and Dexter Danger, Sept. 20 at Mitchell Park Center in Palo Alto; Jennifer Lee, Sept. 21 at the Edge; Slick Shoes, Sept. 21 at Gaslighter's Music Hall in Gilroy; Control Theory, Paint By Numbers and Blister66, Sept. 22 at Waves; Sunshine Blind, Sept. 23 at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco; the Used, Sept. 24 at the Warfield; Hot Hot Heat, Sept. 24 at the Fillmore in San Francisco. Send a letter to the editor about this story to letters@metronews.com. [ Silicon Valley | Metroactive Home | Archives ]