The last day of January, I called my friend Ben to see if he wanted to have some drinks, and although he was not inclined, he had a great idea. The next night, a couple of his high school friends were headlining 710 Beach Club in Pacific Beach, with their band Rock Dirty Raw. He proposed we go see them.

Have you ever been to 710 Beach Club? How about Blind Melons? If you answered “Yes” to either, then you’ve been to both. Blind Melons became 710 Beach Club in the Summer of 2006. The ownership changed with the name, but other than that, change is hardly felt. The layout is indistinguishable from before, and the shtick is still “live entertainment.”

This venue has always been friendly to young bands eager to wet their feet. Because of this, the back patio has accumulated a collection of stickers promoting countless bands. While frittering in the back patio, I noticed that a sheet of bamboo had been erected over these historical stickers. This, I thought, was unnecessary.

We paid an eight dollar cover, sat at the bar, and I watched Ben drink a Pabst Blue Ribbon out of a can, because he was broke – I didn’t even know bars served canned beer. Ben grew up in Poway, and despite his classless beer choices, seems to have made connections along the way. His friend Dave is currently a member of Angels and Airways, a band that features the likes of Tom Delonge from Blink-182. Ben always seems to know someone somewhere. Don’t you hate people like that?

A billiards table was kindly available in a nook away from the crowd. We are avid players, so we shot a pick up game with a Tijuana shark and his “associate.” Then, Ben and I settled at a table and relaxed.

The live shows at 710 Beach Club are loud, and the music usually ranges from rock to hard rock, with an occasional reggae night. In its intimate set up, every vantage point is a front row seat. To exchange a word and a laugh without breaking your voice, try the back patio.

The opening band, Heathen Culture Rules, danced and pranced, tripped and fell, played and parlayed – and in the end, ruled. We smoked a cigarette with them in the back patio.

The headliners were scheduled for 11pm, which is when Rock Dirty Raw proceeded to shove its dirty rockstar personas at the audience in a timely and conscientious manner. The audience lapped it up. I was won over when they covered a Tenacious D track, the name of which is taboo.

710 Beach Club has a casual atmosphere where patrons can sometimes join the show. Energy peaked as Rock Dirty Raw gained a new “band member” in the form of an enthusiastic female fan (big surprise, who doesn’t want to be a rockstar?). If she wasn’t climbing onto the stage to bedevil the lead singer, then she was dancing unabashedly. When the set ended, she loitered about watching the band pack, and conversed as though the show had been hers as much as theirs.

Good times kept rolling even when the rocking ended, because Rock Dirty Raw hosted an after-party in Clairemont – a party that is out of the scope of this review.

We made it home and crashed, which was a welcomed end to the tired, poor, and huddled masses of our ears.