ROCK TALK : Ventura’s Beach Party a Very Safe Bet : The ninth annual event, which will feature the Bombers and the Convertibles, takes no chances.

The city of Ventura’s ninth annual California Beach Party, slated for Saturday and Sunday at the Promenade, promises once again to be safer than a glass of warm milk at Barney’s house. And it’ll cost you a cool $5.50 to party with the city.

Once again, the Bombers, the Convertibles, plus a bunch of out-of-area cover bands will provide the soundtrack. Notice that none of the top-drawing local bands such as Raging Arb & the Redheads, Lion I’s, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, the Ska Daddyz or Spencer the Gardener are playing. Once again, safety at the expense of fun is the underlying premise for this annual swap meet by the sea.

Saturday evening in the Poinsettia City, the real party begins with those ubiquitous Ska Daddyz at the Bombay Bar & Grill and Raging Arb & the Redheads a few blocks away at Metro Bay Club.

In the Viable Alternative Department, there will be an Earth Day celebration at Oxnard College on Saturday beginning at noon. No one’s grandmother booked this gig, either. Lion I’s, the Ska Daddyz, Trouser Trouts and an L.A. band called Brutal Deluxe will provide the soundtrack. It’s free. Kowabunga.

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The Midnight Hour, not quite a year old, won’t live to celebrate its birthday. The last “Larrypalooza,” wherein a bunch of bands start whenever and play until who knows when, will be Saturday about 4 p.m. But call first; there’s a reason the clock on the wall doesn’t have any hands. The local blues community will meet for a musical memorial for the late blues guitarist Buddy Smith, who died last weekend.

“This farewell to Buddy show is a good reason to stay open one last weekend,” said owner Larry Burdorf. “Basically, the lease expired with an option to purchase, and we weren’t able to purchase the place. There were too many deferred maintenance expenses here--a leaky roof, inadequate electrical system and bad plumbing. Right now, we’re looking for other properties in Ventura, something that’s been remodeled since 1962. I was crazy before I started this, so nothing can drive me crazy.”

While the other venues in Ventura have had a limited list of performing bands, the Midnight had over 50 bands per month--and once had a dozen bands in the same night--and over 600 acts since the venue opened last May. The Midnight Hour may’ve been the last venue to get pool tables, but they were always been the first with putting local band CDs on the jukebox. They also offered ear plugs.

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The recently concluded Battle of the Bands at the Metro Bay Club in Ventura went on so long that Dick Clark was probably a teen-ager when it began. Or maybe it just seemed to be endless, mindless, senseless, but also, a lot of fun. After four looooong months of four bands (more or less) every Wednesday night, it’s all over, and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is the winner of the $3,000 cash prize.

The finals in late March featured a pretty heavy duty lineup of Ventura County bands including the Ska Daddyz, Aerial, J.D.’s Last Ride and Shellfish. Every band was excellent the night of the finals, but it would’ve taken the three remaining Beatles having a damn good night to have topped BBVD, who were positively on fire doing their swing, retro dance rock set.

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Blue Monday, the weekly event showcasing the blues and other types of American roots music, has been on the road longer than some of those old blues guys. The event went from Blue Monday to Boo Monday to BooHoo Monday, but now it’s back, hoping to teach music fans a new destination with a better beat than Monday Night Football. Nicholby’s Upstairs Pool Hall & Night Club in downtown Ventura is the new venue.

Blue Monday began April 16, 1990, at Glen Tavern in Santa Paula and lasted a whole two Mondays. Next stop was Bombay Bar & Grill in Ventura for a month of Mondays. Then it was off to Alexander’s in Ventura for 135 consecutive weeks until new ownership opted out. Next stop for Blue Monday for most of 1993 was the Holiday Inn in Ventura. That didn’t really work, either. The Holiday Inn, crowd, for most part, either came disguised as empty seats or simply stayed away in droves.

Nicholby’s, once Xenon West then Mogz then an antiques store, may finally be the place that won’t give Blue Monday those blues. For one, the place is huge. There’s a large dance floor and an even larger selection of micro brewery beers. There are a number of regulation-size pool tables that don’t take quarters and in no way interfere with the music.

“People seem to generally like the room and we’re excited,” said Mike Kauffer, who promotes Blue Monday as well as the annual Ojai Bowlful of Blues. Next up is John Marx & the Blues Patrol on Monday.