Fun With Insomnia Blog

Thursday | 9/2

NLS TRIO

The NLS Trio, comprised of Cabrillo College alumnus Paul Nagel on piano, Jason Lewis on drums and John Shifflett on bass, has been hailed as one of the Bay Area jazz’s finest rhythm sections, a reputation that’s earned them spots backing up Boz Scaggs and Kitty Margolis. Though the trio has lain low for the past decade—Nagel moved to the East Coast after the release of their debut, NLS Trio��they continue to play the occasional show, making this appearance a rare treat. While other jazz combos are content playing crowd-pleasing standards, the NLS Trio has always been more willful than that, focusing on original compositions that are unique in their breadth and fluidity. Kuumbwa; $12 adv/$15 door; 7pm. (Paul M. Davis)

Friday | 9/3

THE FIXX

Even though they’ve lately been consigned to the Boardwalk and county fair circuit, the Fixx are actually one of the most interesting New Wave acts of the ’80s. Their sound—an assuredly melodic pop approach with off-kilter keyboards and syncopated vocals—laid the groundwork for much of the synth-happy pop-punk, emo and indie rock that have returned to vogue in the past decade. You probably only remember their top hit, “One Thing Leads to Another,” but the Fixx’s back catalog is deep and strong. It’s heartening to see them getting their due and returning to a stage better suited to their ample talents. Catalyst; $19 adv/$24 door; 9pm. (PMD)

THE TUBES

Some may think it pretty odd album that a band that made its with mark with pornographic onstage imagery, 8-inch stiletto heels and songs like “White Punks on Dope” would be closing down the ever-wholesome Beach Boardwalk summer concert series. Then again, there are only so many ’80s bands still touring. Led by sequin-studded frontman Fee Waybill, a.k.a. Quay Lewd, and featuring a rock ensemble with tendencies somewhere between Ratt, Poison and David Bowie, the Tubes are the perfect spectacle with which to sum up another summer of beachfront concerts featuring bands you swore had already gone to the other side. Beach Boardwalk; free; 6:30 and 8:30pm. (Curtis Cartier)

Saturday | 9/4

JESUS DIAZ Y z SU QBA

Keeping to one genre can only take an artist so far these days. Individuality sounded neat to Jesus Diaz, so he cooked up a funky blend of ramba, son and various Afro-Cuban beats to make his mark on the Bay Area music scene. His band QBA invokes a smoky American jazz club transplanted to the Caribbean and outfitted with a conga set. It’s the inclusion of piano and a brass section that gives the act its genre-bending cred, and although roll call at an 11-person band practice might get a little complicated, Diaz and his orchestra deliver rhythms clear enough to see through. Moe’s Alley; $12 adv/$15 door; 9pm. (Kate Jacobson)

Sunday | 9/5

THE EVANGENITALS

The Evangenital brand of sound grew up in a hippie commune that went to hoedowns on the weekends, and it’s got a great sense of humor. The septet tends towards the rowdy, and spinning might be the most appropriate dance move. Well, spinning mixed with stomping. True, their songs can get a bit sentimental (“I’m Sad”), but for the most part the group is hillbilly madness made flesh. They’re coming in on the extreme side of hybrid bands, and have listed their sound as a mix of everything from klezmer to punk-jazz. It looks a little schizophrenic on paper, but the Evangenital cocktail ends up packing a pretty cohesive punch. Don Quixote’s; $10 adv/$10 door; 7pm. (KJ)

Monday | 9/6

COLD CAVE

Kids today may not have bands like Bauhaus or Joy Division to give them cause to don leather and mascara and sway drearily at basement goth concerts. But by God, they’ve still got the Cure, Depeche Mode and, lately, Philly foursome Cold Cave! Reveling in the same dark, depressingly introspective lyrics and somber industrial electronica that were thoroughly ravaged in the ’80s, Cold Cave rehashes it without apology and to great effect, using a simple recipe of well planned, well executed songs. Also on the bill: S.F. folk psyche set Vetiver, Los Angeles trip-hop project LA Vampires and alt-punk thrashers Abe Vigoda. Henry Miller Library, Big Sur; $25; 4:20pm. (CC)

Tuesday | 9/7

THE MIGHTY DIAMONDS

Jamaican harmony trio the Mighty Diamonds are probably best known for their 1982 hit “Pass the Koutchie,” later popularized by the pint-size Brit reggae act Musical Youth as “Pass the Dutchie.” But the Mighty Diamonds are deserving of much more notoriety than that historical footnote would suggest—the band’s Rastafarian roots-reggae is particularly influential, bringing a harmonic sophistication to a genre that often used vocals as a bullhorn more than a musical element. In a way, the band’s sound shared much with the folk-rock of the ’70s, with its spare instrumentation and focus on tight vocal harmonies. After four decades in the business, the Mighty Diamonds’ sound is as striking as ever and a unique deviation from reggae’s traditional arrangements. Catalyst; $10 adv/$15 door 9pm. (PMD)

Wednesday | 9/8

VETIVER

It’s easy to just sit back and watch Andy Cabic do his thing. As chief songwriter, vocalist and, on some album tracks, drummer, bassist and keyboardist for San Francisco psyche folk warblers Vetiver, he’s a phenomenon unto himself. His band includes frequent collaborators like Devendra Banhart and Joanna Newsom, not to mention four full-time veteran musicians that could front their own acts. Having spent the last several years roving up and down the West Coast and beyond, Vetiver stops by Felton tonight to spread a little dark sunshine under the redwoods. Don Quixote’s; $15; 8pm. (CC)

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What recession?

Despite the distressed economy, political campaigns are raising and spending more cash than ever before, according to the Associated Press.

Gearing up for the November mid-term elections, House and Senate campaigns have raised a whopping $1.2 billion, the latest numbers show, which is on track to crush levels set in 2008, 2006 and 2004.

And with Labor Day marking the traditional starting point of the campaign season, the spending will only increase.  

Gubernatorial races in 37 states — more than half of those for open seats — are also setting spending records. GOP billionaire Meg Whitman has poured an astonishing $104 million of her own cash into her campaign for governor of California.

“We may be on track for the most expensive cycle ever, even more than ’08, which is really hard to believe,” said Michael Toner, former Federal Election Commission chairman and current finance political lawyer.

The surge in spending is largely due to a large number of competitive races, many open seats, early partisan attacks, and intraparty fighting.

In addition, recent court rulings have permitted corporations and unions to spend more freely in elections.

While money has been spent in tough elections, like the special Senate election in Massachusetts, a Democratic primary race for Senate in Arkansas, the Florida race for governor and the gubernatorial and Senate contests in California — the spending will now move to the general election.  

According to the Washington Post, the three Democratic campaign committees held more cash on-hand over their GOP counterparts, according to the latest numbers.

But it’s not all good news for the Democrats. The Republican Governors Association has outraised its Democratic rival and is anticipating to spend $65 million by Election Day, compared with $50 million for the Democrats. While the governor’s group can’t spend money on federal candidates, their message is expected to help the GOP overall.

In addition, according to a new ABC/Washington Post poll, the Republicans have a 13 point lead over the Democrats–the largest GOP margin on record since񎦽. 

“We all know that there is a hurricane coming for the Democrats,” Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart, who conducted this survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff, told NBC. “We just don’t know if it will be a Category 4 or a Category 5.”

ashahid@nydailynews.com

With News Wire Services

WASHINGTON – Turns out politics, for all its focus on the gloomy economy, is a recession-proof industry.

This year’s volatile election is bursting with money, setting fundraising and spending records in a high-stakes struggle for control of Congress amid looser but still fuzzy campaign finance rules.

Based on the latest financial reports, House and Senate candidates in this election cycle raised nearly $1.2 billion, well ahead of the pace for contests in 2008, 2006 and 2004.

Races for governor in 37 states — more than half of those for open seats — are also setting fundraising records. Billionaire Republican Meg Whitman leads the way, pumping $104 million of her own money into her campaign for California governor.

“We may be on track for the most expensive cycle ever, even more than ’08, which is really hard to believe,” said Michael Toner, a campaign finance political lawyer at Bryan Cave and a former Federal Election Commission chairman.

Bitter intraparty fights, up to 100 competitive House races, a large number of open seats and early partisan attacks have created a growing demand for cash. The national parties are competing for dollars with outside groups and their often-anonymous contributors. And while Democrats have an advantage at the national party level, Republican-leaning groups seem to have more than filled the void.

The money has been flowing into political battlegrounds since early this year, from a special Senate election in Massachusetts to a Democratic primary fight for a Senate seat in Arkansas, from the race for Florida governor to the gubernatorial and Senate contests in California. The spending will now shift to the general election.

Millions of dollars are pouring into campaigns that have been dominated by discussions about the government’s fiscal prudence. There’s no such thing as restraint when it comes to getting elected.

Factors affecting the role of money:

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COURT DECISIONS:

The Supreme Court earlier this year freed corporations and unions to spend their money on ads targeting candidates for president and Congress. A subsequent lower court ruling said individuals are also free to spend unlimited amounts on independent election ads.

So far, however, corporations have generally avoided overt politicking.

“The whole notion of ‘Vote against Snodgrass by Gillette shaving cream’ — it’s just not going to happen,” said Kenneth Goldstein, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist who specializes in political media.

Instead, corporations are funneling their money to trade associations such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce or other groups that can air election ads, often without having to disclose their donors.

The desire for anonymity may have gotten an extra push when Target Corp. faced a backlash for its $150,000 donation to a Minnesota political group that was running ads in support of conservative Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer.

“What we will see is corporations not wanting to anger their shareholders, not wanting to anger their retail customer by getting involved in partisan elections,” said Paul Ryan, a senior political lawyer at the Campaign Legal Center. “Instead they will employ strategies to obscure the fact, or hide completely the fact that they are dumping money into politics by routing their money through groups like the Chamber of Commerce.”

The Chamber plans to spend $70 million in elections this year. It has already devoted more than $5 million to advertising campaigns helping Republicans in Senate races in Massachusetts, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio and New Hampshire, and for Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas.

Last week, an anti-abortion group aired among the first ads to specifically call for the defeat of candidates. The radio ads were broadcast in Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania and targeted three Democratic House incumbents.

The Federal Election Commission has yet to write rules on how to apply the Supreme Court’s ruling. Democrats in Congress have tried to pass legislation that would require groups that run ads to reveal their donors. The legislation has stalled in the Senate, but strategists in both parties and campaign finance political lawyers say the effort may have given some potential corporate donors second thoughts.

Still, Larry Noble, former general counsel at the FEC and a political lawyer at Skadden Arps, said more corporations are seeking advice on how and when to donate.

“My guess is we’re going to see more corporate money spent on elections,” he said. “If it’s successful and you don’t see a lot of real pushback, then in 2012 you’ll see even more of it. So this is a test election.”

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OUTSIDE GROUPS:

Since 2000, Republicans had relied on President George W. Bush’s prodigious fundraising to keep the party well supplied with money. Now, however, the GOP lags behind the Democratic Party. That has created a web of outside groups, a shadow party of sorts weighing in with millions of dollars to help Republican candidates.

Among the most prominent is American Crossroads and its allied groups. It was created under the direction of former Bush political strategist Karl Rove and former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie. The operation is run out of offices two blocks from the White House.

“We wanted to create a group that was monolithically focused on helping get Republicans elected,” said Steve Law, the president and CEO of American Crossroads and a former U.S. Chamber of Commerce political lawyer.

Politicians often point to their small-dollar donations as evidence of broad appeal. But American Crossroads and its affiliates are relying on large corporate and individual donors, the fastest and most efficient way to build their budgets. Law said he has seen some increase in small-dollar giving to his groups, but added, “We haven’t spent a lot of time cultivating that.”

While American Crossroads and groups like it represent the mainstream of the Republican Party, the Tea Party Express is the party’s occasional ally but more regularly a thorn in its side. Its Our Country Deserves Better PAC spent nearly $600ꯠ to help Republican Joe Miller defeat Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the Alaska primary. Murkowski had the GOP’s backing.

The PAC also helped tea party favorites Sharron Angle in Nevada over GOP establishment-supported Senate candidates and is now backing conservative Christine O’Donnell in a Senate primary in Delaware over party-backed Rep. Mike Castle.

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THE PARTIES:

The Democratic National Committee and its Senate and House party affiliates have the advantage over their GOP counterparts in fundraising and cash on hand. That puts an additional burden on outside Republican groups such as American Crossroads.

Republicans can also look to another quarter for help. The Republican Governors Association, which can raise unlimited sums from corporations, has outraised its Democratic rival and is prepared to spend $65 million by Election Day, compared with $50 million for the Democrats.

While the governors’ group cannot use the money to help federal candidates, its get-out-the-vote efforts will inevitably help all Republicans on the ballot. With the mood running against Democrats, that can’t hurt.

(CNN) — Even if a landmark murder trial starts Wednesday in the Philippines, the accused might well die of old age before the case ends, a political lawyer said.

There are 196 accused, about 500 witnesses and more than 11,000 murder charges involved in the case of the worst politically motivated killings in recent Philippine history, said attorney Harry Roque. He represents the survivors of 14 massacre victims.

The mayor of Maguindanao province, Andal Ampatuan Jr., and his alleged accomplices are to stand trial in the November 2009 massacre in Maguindanao.

Andal Ampatuan Sr. — the former provincial governor and the father of Ampatuan Jr. — also has been charged in the killings.

An investigation has revealed a well-planned conspiracy, in which members of the Philippine police and army also were involved, said an eight-member commission of the justice department. Yet dozens of the 196 suspects remain at large, Roque said.

“It’s the job of the police to arrest them. But we all know the calibre of the police. That is part of the problem,” he said, adding that the Ampatuan family still controls Maguindanao. “People who were supposed to protect the people became the murderers.”

The wife and sister of political candidate Ismael “Toto” Mangudadatu and 30 journalists were among the 57 victims killed there.

Mangudadatu had sent his family members to file paperwork allowing him to run for governor of Maguindanao.

Their convoy was ambushed, allegedly by the Ampatuans and their associates.

The 57 bodies were recovered — some had been shot assassination-style, and others died when their vehicles were sprayed with bullets.

At least one witness also has been killed since the massacre, Roque said. Searches also continue for the remains of several other suspected victims.

The massacre shocked people even in a country that is familiar with election violence.

The trial of Ampatuan Jr. and his alleged accomplices has been delayed repeatedly, most recently because of a defense request for more preparation time. The delays have prompted outcries against the political influence of the Ampatuan family. They have ruled Maguindanao for decades.

There is a push for the Philippine supreme court to create a separate court to hear only the massacre case, given how much ground there is to cover. Roque is hopeful that the executive and judiciary branches of government, with something to prove, will seriously consider such a court.

As for the chances that Wednesday’s hearing will lead to the start of the trial, “it’s 50-50,” he said. “It’s frustrating,” because 196 defendants means myriad defense political lawyers who can drag out the case.

In the months that have passed since the massacre, the survivors of the victims have bonded in Maguindanao. On Wednesday, whether or not the trial actually starts, five of those survivors will appear in court and represent the others.

With the Philippines made up of hundreds of islands, the trip to the hearing in Manila isn’t easy, especially because many family breadwinners were killed in the massacre.

Maguindanao is part of an autonomous region in predominantly Muslim Mindanao, which was set up in the 1990s to quell armed uprisings by people seeking an independent Muslim homeland in the predominantly Christian Asian nation.