Friday Night: The White Buffalo at The North Park Theatre

BUY TICKETS HERE. 

Things To Do In San Diego: July 23-27, 2014

In about an hour my good friend Tim Pyles will be picking me up and I suspect the first thing out of his mouth will be, "Guess what day it is?!!" We have made Comic-Con our annual routine and I can't wait to get down and explore all the off-site displays and events, secure my badge, and find all the fun stuff we can stumble into. There are still plenty of shows if the Con isn't your thing, too, but there's so much to see and do, I hope you allow your inner child the chance to explore. Thursday through Sunday listings are after the jump.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014 (Comic-Con Preview Night):

• Birds of Chicago, The Lovebirds @ Soda Bar
• Matt Pryor (The Get Up Kids /The New Amsterdams), What's Eating Gilbert (featuring Chad Gilbert of New Found Glory), The Josh Berwanger Band (The Anniversary/The Only Children) @ Casbah
• Lyle Lovett and His Large Band @ Humphreys Concerts By The Bay
• Jimmy Cliff, DJ Carlos Culture @ Belly Up
• Erika Davies, Midnight Pine @ Whistle Stop
• Comic-Con Meets North Park feat. Hocus, Shady Franco, Glass Spells, Dj Pocket @ U-31
• Acid Varsity Presents: Vangelis Acid Feat: Vytear, Engineeer, MaxBetta/gEars, 60's Residue @ The Merrow
• H.A.M. featuring DJ L @ Bar Pink
• Hello Penelope, Ranger, Creature & The Woods @ Tin Can
• On Fifth, Caitlin Ashley, Darius Degher, Jerry Giddens @ Lestat's
• Bon Affair presents Rachel Ann Weiss @ Whole Foods (Del Mar)
• #SDCC: Wired Cafe Lounge @ Omni Hotel Pool Terrace (11am-5pm. Invite Only) 
• #SDCC: Doug Benson- Doug Loves Movies Comic-Con Special @ House of Blues
• #SDCC: Comic-Con Kickoff Party @ Hotel Solamar (9pm-12am, RSVP required)
• #SDCC: GodzillaCon @ Hilton Bayfront/Convention Center Lawn (8am-8pm, Free)
• #SDCC: Craft/Art feat. Jen Vaughn (Avery Fatbottom), Eric Johnson (Rex Mundi), Rafael Navarro (Sonambulo), Jeremy Cox (Vampyrates) @ Stone Brewing Tap Room (795 J St., 7-10pm, continues till midnight next door at Rare Form)
• #SDCC: Dim Mak Comic-Con Party with Yolanda Be Cool, Klever, All Gold and Special Guests @ Stingaree Guest House 
• #SDCC: Gabe Eltaeb's Comic Kickoff Fundraiser @ Bar Basic (9pm)
• #SDCC: Hop-Con 2.0: The w00tstout Launch Festival with w/guests: Drew Curtis, Wil Wheaton, Greg Koch (Stone Brewing CEO) @ Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens – Liberty Station (7:00 – 10:00 PM)
• #SDCC: 2nd Annual Enchantment Under the SDCC @ Henry's Pub (8pm)
• Moonpool and guests @ The Shakedown
• Young Lion Series feat. Nathan Collins @ Croce's Park West 
• Gilbert Castellanos Jazz Jam feat. Bruin @ Seven Grand
• Maztek @ Kava Lounge
• The Tighten Up! @ El Dorado
• Records with Roger @ Bluefoot
• Open Mic with Jefferson Jay @ Winston's (6-9pm)
• Sully Band @ Humphrey's Backstage Live
• Trunk Slammers @ Gallagher's Irish Pub
• Future Wednesdays @ Kava Lounge
• Open Mic @ The Merrow
• Open Mic/Open Jam @ 710 Beach Club
• Johnny Tarr @ Henry's Pub (7:30-9:30)
• DJ Christopher London @ Henry's Pub (9:30-close)
• Rock Out Karaoke @ Tin Roof (9pm)

Things To Do In San Diego: July 22, 2014

It's really funny paying attention to media and blogs this week, because there's this buzz and excitement in the air, yet you see words like "overwhelmed" or "frenzy" and reports that San Diego hotels will be 100% full throughout the county (or at least the City), various numbers about the amount of people attending the Con (130,000 attendees, not including staff, volunteers, and people without badges just experiencing all of the free off-site activities), and of course, the overuse of the words "nerds" and "geeks" which have really just been beaten to the ground. I added my Comic-Con Page for this year, with links to survival guides, event guides, news, etc. It's in the top menu, accessible via your mobile, too. Before we get ahead of ourselves, however, tonight is Cayucas at the Casbah and it's going to be awesome! Hope to see you there. Tuesday archives are after the jump.

Tonight: Nightmare and The Cat, Kristeen Young @ Casbah- CANCELED!!

Woke up to this message on the Casbah website, so I thought I'd share in case you were planning on heading down:

Sorry, but tonite's show has been cancelled due to illness of one of the band members from Nightmare and the Cat. Refunds will be issued. Hope to reschedule sometime soon. Sorry for any inconvenience.

The Casbah will be open again tomorrow for Cayucas. Here's what's on deck for the week:

Tue Jul 22 - Cayucas, Hands, Idyll Wild
Wed Jul 23 - Matt Pryor (The Get Up Kids /The New Amsterdams), What's Eating Gilbert (featuring Chad Gilbert of New Found Glory), The Josh Berwanger Band (The Anniversary/The Only Children)
Thu Jul 24 - Boris, Mustard Gas and Roses
Fri Jul 25 - Flying Lotus, Peaking Lights, Maria Minerva, M Geddes, Mirage
Sat Jul 26 - The Muffs, The Loons, Aquadolls, The Touchies
Sun Jul 27 - Municipal Waste, To The Point, WitchHaven, Eukaryst

Tickets for Boris and Flying Lotus are selling fast this week, so don't wait or they could be gone!!

Things To Do In San Diego: July 21, 2014

We're just barely recovering from #Pride and then BAM! here comes #Comic-Con. I'm super excited to enjoy all the fun once again, but this year will be different for me since we have two events at The North Park Theatre (Steam Powered Giraffe on Thursday and The White Buffalo on Friday), so maybe I won't spend 3 days straight boozing at the Wired party as I have been known to do. I spent an entire day putting these listings together, but check back often because I'll be adding Comic-Con events as I hear of them. As usual, I've included invite only and RSVP parties because at least you'll know what's going on where and where you might have some celebrity sightings. Or maybe you know someone who knows someone. Either way, they're all here. Monday archives after the jump.

Things to Do In San Diego: July 19-20, 2014

What a week this has been. We went to "Your Song, Your Story" at Summer Pops and it was awesome- and only 45 minutes- which was exactly the amount of time the girls could handle, and then I went to Robert Francis at the Casbah and was super impressed by Vikesh Kapoor. Check him out when you have a chance. We took a big family field trip to Safari Park on Thursday and stayed until close. There are several baby giraffe and a baby black rhino who was born a week ago and it just might be the cutest thing I've ever seen. Last night with Pinback at the Casbah was super great, and tonight I'll be at The North Park Theatre for Rita Rudner. I was having a rough start to the week, but it definitely got better, and with Comic-Con just around the corner, there's a lot to look forward to. Saturday and Sunday archives are after the jump.

Tonight at The North Park Theatre: Rita Rudner- Tickets available at Box Office

Things To Do In San Diego: July 15-18, 2014

Oops. Almost forgot to repost these. I added a couple events, namely Your Song, Your Story, and I added the RSVP to Third Thursday at the Hard Rock Hotel on Thursday night. I don't know about you, but this month is so crazy between work and events and family and the new apartment and travel. I'm trying not to lose my mind but forgive me if you bump into me out on the town and I don't feel present. I'm trying. Tuesday through Friday archives are after the jump.

Things To Do In San Diego: July 14, 2014

I spent half of my Sunday having lunch, and watching the World Cup at World Cup North Park and hanging at Froggy Park and having a nice afternoon bike ride. Then I spent 6 hours putting together these listings. So I hope they're right and complete because I don't want to deal with this again. Next week is going to be even crazier because of Comic-Con, but this week you have Pride, Hess Fest, and all kinds of shows all over the place. Monday archives after the jump.

Things To Do In San Diego: July 11-13, 2014

Some weeks are just harder than others, and I really felt worn down this week. But it was also great- we spent some time at the Waterfront Park, I loved the Magic Man show, we went squat-swimming at a local hotel, went to nighttime zoo with a gaggle of family, and got more settled to make this apartment a home. I'm hoping to do a lot more organizing this weekend so the home office becomes functional. Tonight I'll be at the Growlers and will try to get over to Cloud Nothings, and definitely World Cup North Park on Sunday, but I'm leaving Saturday wide open because I just need to do that more often. Friday through Sunday archives are after the jump.

Casbah Presents: Wye Oak at the Belly Up tonight

Wye Oak (Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack) Photo courtesy of Grandstand Media

I remember a musician tweeting a withering assessment of the Arcade Fire some years ago.  They charged that having 10 people on stage doing the work of four musicians is the opposite of a magic trick.  This 140-character piece of snark stuck with me longer than I would have thought, only because of Wye Oak's opposite effect.  Despite consisting only of Jenn Wassner on guitars (electric and bass) and Andy Stack on the drums and keys, Wye Oak has never failed to leave their audience viscerally-aware of their presence on stage.  Shriek is such a confident and wonderfully composed album that found both musicians not only drifting far from eachother geographically, but musically as well with Wasner teaching herself bass for this album and Stack's evolving use of keys.  What they produced is an album that dives into jagged rhythms and winding bass-led grooves before stitching together lush tapestries out of gnarled musical threads.  Their 2011 album, Civilian, is a masterpiece (and in near constant rotation in my car) that finds Wasner and Stack deploying volume in a way that engrosses listeners the same way footage of avalanches or tidals waves do: we are simultaneously terrified and awed by the immense power and beauty being witnessed.

Pattern is Movement opens, tickets are $18, and doors are at 9pm.  Check out one of the stand out tracks from their newest album Shriek, "Glory", after the jump.

Preview: The Night Terrors of 1927 at the Casbah tonight

The Night Terrors of 1927 (Blake Sennett and Jarrod Gorbel) photo courtesy of Atlantic Records

Despite the ominous name that would make metal bands kick themselves for not thinking of first, The Night Terrors of 1927 is Jarrod Gorbel's (The Honorary Title) and Blake Sennett's (Rilo Kiley/The Elected) newest musical project.  However, fans of both artists raw, emotive style will be surprised to hear the quiet acoustic performances featured in both artist's oeuvre has been replaced by rousing grandiose arrangements courtesy of producer Andrew Dawson, who co-produced Kanye West's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy".  I've been a huge fan of Gorbel's and Sennett's for a long time now and I was stunned to hear the change in style for these two musicians.  Some of their debut EP, Guilty Pleas, tracks hearken back to the crowd-pleasing songs on The Honorary Title's last album Scream and Light Up the Sky, yet stand out tracks like the single "Dust and Bones" demonstrate a much more confident foray into a poppier sound.  This is a band on the rise and, if there is any justice in this world, you'll be hearing greats things coming from Gorbel and Sennett in the near future.  The Night Terrors of 1927 are playing with Magic Man and Prides tonight at the Casbah, tickets are $12 and can be purchased here and at 9 p.m. at the door.  Check out their first single, "Dust and Bones", after the jump.

Things To Do In San Diego: July 8-10, 2014

It's a beautiful day and I'm happy to be working and tackling all these tasks, but I have to admit that I am feeling just a tad bit overwhelmed. We haven't fully set up wifi in the new spot, so maybe when that's settled I'll be a little less frantic, but for some reason if feels like every Comic-Con publicist decided that TODAY was the day they would start flooding media inboxes with every panel and product and must see thing and OH MY GOD Comic-Con is in two weeks and between all my Casbah stuff this week, and The Growlers at The North Park Theatre on Friday, and then scouring for all those parties and events for Pride and Comic-Con on top of the regular listings, well, I'm going slightly out of my mind. And we have a trip to plan, too. Anyone want to cat-sit? Well, one thing at a time...I've added a couple things to the weekend. See you tonight at the Casbah. Tuesday through Thursday archives are after the jump.

FM 94/9 Announces Independence Jam 2014- Date & Lineup

In case you missed this awesome lineup announcement...

FM 94/9 Independence Jam returns to the Oceanside Pier Amphitheater on Sunday, September 7th! Presented by Miller Lite.

Playing on the FM 94/9 Main Stage & Red Bull Tour Bus Stage:

Phantogram
MS MR
Bad Suns
Joywave
J Roddy Walston & The Business
Wild Cub
and Little Hurricane

Tickets are only $17 and are on sale at - www.IndependenceJam.com

A promo code for $12 tickets is available for Tribe 94/9 Members. Sign up at - http://www.fm949sd.com/Join.aspx

*$12 tickets are limited

#IndieJam2014 #IndependeceJam #IndieJam @fm949sd

Things To Do In San Diego: July 7, 2014

I wish I had some epic weekend tale, but going into it I knew that all I wanted was some quiet time to more fully move into the new place. While everyone was out partying for the 4th, Darren was out driving drunk people all over town while I blared Rocky Votolato via Spotify and cleaned and organized. It was glorious. Saturday was much of the same, though Darren burnt out on work around 11, so we got some time in at the Ken Club. Sunday was awesome because he volunteered to help clean up the Velodrome while I compiled all the week's listings, and we went on a great 21 mile bike ride. We went from home to City Heights for 777 Noodle House, then took Fairmont down to the River Trail, and went all the way to Pizza Port in OB. Stupid MTS sucks so bad, but we made it in time to catch a trolley from Old Town to Downtown, where my intertube blew, ran up C Street with our bikes to catch the final 7 bus home. Fortunately the driver let us have our bikes in the bus since the rack was occupied, but seriously I hope that the BRT is up and running soon and that the 15 offers longer service on Sundays, because stopping all transportation at 11 is a freaking joke. Monday archive after the jump.