Agreeable with the Belly

For the first time in its 31-year history, Solana Beach's Belly Up Tavern will host a headliner brought in by an outside promoter. Casbah talent buyer/co-owner Tim Mays will host his first Belly Up show tomorrow with the Wedding Present, a British band.

"We tried before, but it didn't seem like anything was possible," says Mays, who has in the past rented out the Spreckels Theatre, 4th & B, Soma, 'Canes, the Epicentre, and Brick by Brick to host Casbah artists that have outgrown his 200-capacity nightspot.

"Jeff is going after different things," says Mays about new Belly Up talent buyer Jeff Gaulton. (Gaulton has in the past booked 4th & B and the now-defunct Bacchanal.) Another big change brought by Gaulton to the Belly Up: on Saturday, April 30, local band Holiday and the Adventure Pop Collective rented the Belly Up to celebrate the release of their new Sony CD.

"We made a nice profit," says Holiday front man Derric Oliver. "I guess they didn't believe we'd bring the numbers that we said we would. But we did. We presold 200 tickets at $13 out of our living room, and the box office presold another 50. Then 200 more were bought at the door. We kept the entire door. We decided if that's what we have to do to get noticed in this town, then that's what we would do."

The Wedding Present, the Organ, and Buckfast Superbee appear at 9:00 p.m. tomorrow at the Belly Up; must be 21, $15 admission.