Ready to Wrex the Halls?

It's time for 91x's yearly one-night music festival, Wrex the Halls, which will be invading the Valley View Casino Center on Sunday.

 

This year, the overachieving lineup includes indie-rock juggernauts Queens of the Stone Age, Vampire Weekend, Cage the Elephant and Arctic Monkeys. Generally, any one of those bands would be an instant sellout in San Diego, but lucky for us, 91x pulled some strings and got all of them on the same bill for your concert-going benefit.

 

Last year’s show had a slightly more synth-pop feel, with sets by the Killers, Passion Pit and M83, but 2013's bill is one indie rock stalwart after another. DJ Robin Roth told us, "We try to make the lineups about more than one band you get to see. In other words, you’ll like all the bands if you enjoy QOTSA."

 

And what’s there not to like about Queens of the Stone Age? The headliner returned to action earlier this year with …Like Clockwork. The record has definitely earned a spot of constant rotation on my record player, with its curious mix of hard-charging sludge rock and near-lullaby, Beatles-esque ballads. Its really nothing like their older work -- besides Josh Homme’s patented vocals and guitar solos that sound like he’s trying to strangle the life out of the poor instrument -- but it showcases some of the richest, multilayered songwriting the band has ever laid down.

 

Vampire Weekend are comin' back to town for the holiday bash, after playing SDSU’s Open Air Theatre just two months ago. Check out our gallery of fine photos from that show. Supporting their newest album, Modern Vampires of the City, the band is definitely firing on all cylinders. These guys have obviously never heard of a sophomore slump (or junior slump?); their 2013 album is just as good, if not better, than 2010’s Contra and their 2008 self-titled debut. New songs like “Diane Young” and “Ya Hey” bop along in patented Vampire fashion, with their genre cross-pollinating mix of world beats, thumpy, rollicking bass lines and angular guitar experimentalism. It’s poppy but always edgy.

 

A lot could be written about every band playing this year (even Roth admits she’s particularly excited to see Arctic Monkeys: "Because they're bringing the sexy back!"), but we’ll let the show do the talking. However, if you haven’t procured tickets already, good luck getting them, my friends. According to Roth, the show is 100 percent sold out.

 

"There's always the possibility that on the day of, bands might release some of their holds," Roth said. "But because of the demand for this show, it may not happen. However, you will have chances to win tickets at 91x.com and floor tickets on 91x through Thursday."

 

There you have it, folks – tune your ears to that radio dial and keep those dialing fingers ready.