Photos: Soccer Mommy & Madeline Kenney @ Soda Bar April 9, 2018

Whoops. Another set of photos I took and uploaded to post and found that they were still sitting in a draft. Life gets busy, what can I say? I first saw Soccer Mommy at Soda Bar in February when she opened for Phoebe Bridgers. I should actually say I heard her, but didn't see her, because the show was so packed. Just a couple months later, she had her own headlining slot. This woman is amazing, and I've been especially happy that she's been added to regular rotation on Sirius XMU which hopefully means big things for her. Madeline Kenney opened the night and she was pretty spectacular as well. It's been a really good year for women in music and it's been really inspiring following artists like Phoebe Bridgers or Angel Olsen or Soccer Mommy all the way up to Tune-Yards and St. Vincent and being able to share with Nova as she is learning music, learning her own tastes, and also constantly listening to the things we're listening to. As long as Cory and Tim keep bringing these types of shows in, I'll keep trying to make as many of them as I possibly can.

Things To Do In San Diego: Tuesday, May 15-Monday, May 21, 2018

Rogue Wave at Belly Up

The amazing thing about being human is that we can carry multiple emotions and ideas that might seemingly contradict and yet don't. Personally, it was a great week, with shows like Rogue Wave at the Belly Up and Erika Wennerstrom at the Casbah on Tuesday or Built To Spill, Afghan Whigs, and Ed Harcourt at the Observatory on Wednesday. But inside I was also a whole messed up ball of emotions, because Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit had gone missing and his brother was sharing impassioned pleas about his distraught state and the urgency of finding him safely. By Thursday night, I was working at home late into the night and got a text from Colin Clyne in Edinburgh telling me the Scottish news was reporting a recovered body. I didn't sleep at all that night, and by Friday morning, memorials and tributes and obituaries were flooding my social media feeds. Meanwhile, I'm at home, baking cupcakes for a birthday party, excited for the weekend, while also feeling emotionally broken and horribly crushed. Luckily I was finally able to catch some sleep and by nighttime found myself shooting Hot Snakes and Le Butcherettes. My mood was still pretty somber however, so it wasn't until I went to the Casbah for Midnight Pine that I kinda felt myself again. On Saturday we had the birthday party and it was great, but zapped me of any energy for the remainder of the weekend, which was just fine...I didn't mind spending Mother's Day mostly catching up on sleep and work. By Monday I was looking forward to Nada Surf at Belly Up and still trying to grapple with the overwhelming sadness of Scott's death. We'd only met a few times, but I was such a fan and the music of Frightened Rabbit, like for many people, hit all the feels. The news cycle has already moved on, but it might be some time before I do. This week's full listings are after the jump.

Photos: Frankie Cosmos, Ian Sweet @ Queen Bee's, 4.10.2018

Seeing Frankie Cosmos and Ian Sweet at Queen Bee's was a particularly fun night. The show had originally been scheduled for Quartyard downtown, but their grand re-opening was pushed back and so this was moved to Queen Bee's in North Park. I love Alma, but she's busy using the venue for swing dances and Salsa Nights, and Bachata and Zumba classes, in between nights she's rented out for Quinceaneras and other big private events, so I have to admit I hadn't seen a live music show there in quite some time. The place looks great, with a high visible stage and great sight lines from anywhere in the room. The sound had a couple tech issues, but for the most part, the kinks were worked out and it was a rad night of female empowering music. And I guess I should clarify that's my word, not expressing the intent of the artists in any way, but on this particular night, because the show was so close to home, Darren and Nova and I walked to the show, so I always try to see music through her eyes and ears when we can catch a show together, and even as we passed her bedtime, she decided she was in it for the long haul and we stayed till almost the end of the show. These are bands definitely worth checking out if you're not already familiar.

Photos: Angel Olsen at Music Box, April 12, 2018

With this post, I'm over a month late with photos and in the meantime I've been to at least couple dozen more shows, so it's time to just post and move on. This particular night with Angel Olsen was incredibly lovely. Because the band had some black and white movie visuals projected behind them, lighting was pretty dark and dismal, but the music spoke for itself, and I'm always amazed when an artist can play deeply moving and heavy music and then have such light and easy banter between songs. I had been on a bit of a streak at Music Box, with LovelyTheBand, then Declan McKenna, and I appreciate that I'd been able to shoot there so much of late. As for Angel, there are few voices like hers in music today, and it was nice that after I shot I was allowed to sit in the owners box for a few songs. Not my personal best work, lighting was challenging, but below are pics of the show nonetheless.

Music Tastes Good 2018 Lineup Announced

Organizers have announced the full lineup of Music Tastes Good for 2018, taking place on September 29 & 30 at Marina Green Park in Long Beach. Tickets are on sale now.


Full lineup includes

SATURDAY:
New Order, Broken Social Scene (performing You Forgot It In People), Joey Bada$$, Santigold, Lil B, Princess Nokia, Blake Mills, Big Thief, Cherry Glazerr, Oliver Tree, Shame, Los Master Plus, Quintron & Miss Pussycat, NO BS! Brass Band, Radiolistener: Tribute to Isaiah "Ikey" Owens, Feels, Forest of Tongue, Neighbor Lady, BLCKNOISE, Haunted Summer and Manuel The Band.

SUNDAY:
James Blalke, The Black Angels, Lizzo, Parquet Courts, The Church (performing Starfish), Sun Kil Moon, Bill Callahan, Hollie Cook, Hailu Mergia, Ezra Furman, Ladama, The Blow, De Lux, Ethio Cali, B.A.G. (Blimes x Gifted Gab), The Fling, Baum, Hana Vu, Asi Fui and NO BS! Brass Band.

Things To Do In San Diego: Tuesday, May 8-Monday, May 14, 2018

It was a pretty insane week around these parts for sure. Nova turned 11 on Tuesday, so we had a little family get together at my parents' house. On Wednesday, I was able to go to the Arctic Monkeys show which had a strict no photo policy, so I wasn't going to take any chances, even though lots of other people did and Alex Turner seems to mug all over the stage intentionally. Dude is probably the sexiest guy in music today. After the show I went to see Lo Moon at the Casbah, who sounded great and had the best lighting the Casbah has seen in some time. On Thursday night, I scored another pair of tickets to Arctic Monkeys and Darren was able to join me for the show. Afterward we hit the Casbah for King Tuffy which was a ton of fun, and then I closed the night at the Ken Club though Darren had to call it. On Friday, I shot photos at the Observatory for The Fratellis and Blood Red Shoes but decided to call it a night after the show.

On Saturday, after Nova's derby and soccer, we attempted going to Old Town but so did everyone else in the world, so we turned the car around, parked at home, and instead went to Viva North Park and dinner at El Comal, before I had to get to the Observatory to shoot Matt Maeson and Bishop Briggs. After that, I headed to Casbah and got there in time for Sveth Ulvang and Wild Child, then closed the night at the Ken Club. On Sunday we rethought our plan to Old Town and this time took the Rapid 215 downtown to the trolley to Old Town. It was actually a pretty lovely day, and I don't really care about all the people who mock Cinco De Mayo as an American excuse to drink, the reality is that in this time and political climate, anything that celebrates Mexico and Mexican Culture--and trust me, the place was packed with us--is fine by me, and it kinda made me beam a little with pride to think of where my grandparents came from and what they went through to get here. Incidentally, the bus and trolley combined take over an hour to get someplace we can drive in less than 12 minutes, but it was a fun part of the adventure for us and we had no real time constraints.

Sunday and Monday were chill nights at home working and binge watching, but I'm looking forward to a ton of shows this week, including Rogue Wave, Frenship, and Nada Surf, and a bunch of shows I'm still holding out for like Built to Spill & Afghan Whigs, Hot Snakes, and Franz Ferdinand, not to mention finally throwing Nova a proper birthday party and maybe checking out the North Park Festival of the Arts, too. Listings for the week are after the jump.

91X Announces X-Fest 2018 with Beck & Death Cab For Cutie- August 11, 2018

X-FEST 2018

Saturday, August 11th

SDCCU Stadium Practice Field

Celebrating 35 years of 91X

10 bands on 2 stages – the true festival experience in the heart of San Diego!

BECK

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE

THE STRUTS

JOYWAVE

TWIN SHADOW

MEG MYERS

MOON TAXI

TEENAGE WRIST

MANSIONAIR

THE REGRETTES

Tickets go on sale at 10am on Friday, May 11th. 

$1 of every ticket sold will be donated to the Inspired By Music fund.

Viva North Park Cinco De Mayo Celebration

More Information Here.

Things To Do In San Diego: Tuesday, May 1-Monday, May 7, 2018

I didn't really shoot at all last week, which feels weird, so I'm using a shot of Japanese Breakfast since they've now been announced as the support act for the upcoming Belle and Sebastian show at the Observatory on June 22. I did go out, and I shot The Distillers on Wednesday, but it was both dark and packed, so I ended up with better phone photos than actual camera ones. The rest of the week was me adjusting to a new sleep schedule and working a ton, so I ended up bailing on pretty much every other show over the weekend. We did spend some time on Friday at Nova's derby for their final hoorah after the City shut them down, and we went to ArtWalk for a few hours on Sunday. It's the beginning of the month so lots of missing calendars this week. I'll update Pour House, Boar Cross'n, El Dorado, and Sycamore Den if I get updates. Tuesday through Monday archives are after the jump.

Green Flash Summer Concerts at Birch Aquarium

Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego announced their 2018 Green Flash Concert Series season line-up a few weeks back...and I'm barely getting around to sharing it, but better late than never. You can get more info and buy tickets here. Their lineup and pitch is below.

Season Lineup:

Wednesday, May 16
Jumping Jack Flash
A Rolling Stones tribute band, Jumping Jack Flash faithfully re-creates the theatrics and power of the "Greatest Rock-n-Roll Band In The World" in its prime.

Wednesday, June 20
Steve Poltz
Playful singer-songwriter and San Diego legend Steve Poltz returns for a clever, creative, and fun-filled evening. Always quirky and unpredictable.

Wednesday, July 18
The FIXX
The FIXX are a rock and new wave band formed in London in 1979. The band's hits include "One Thing Leads to Another", "Saved by Zero", "Are We Ourselves?", and "Secret Separation."

Wednesday, Aug. 15
TBA

Wednesday, Sept. 26
Venice and Pine Mountain Logs
Once again Venice and Pine Mountain logs are closing out the Green Flash Summer Concert Series with their repertoire of high energy classic hits range from Led Zeppelin to the Jackson Five, Tom Petty, TLC, Aerosmith, Outkast and more.

All concerts are held from 5:30 to 9 p.m. and are general admission and standing room only. Savory bites, craft beers and wine are available for purchase. Single tickets are on sale now for $33 for members, $38 for the general public. Walk up tickets are $44.

Season passes are also available for $145 for members, $160 for the general public. For the best view in the house, upstairs VIP Deck tickets are also available for $150 per person per show and include catered food and beverage. Admission includes the concert as well as entrance to all aquarium exhibits and free parking.

Green Flash Concerts are made possible by Rock Bottom, French Gourmet, Bank of America, Jackson Design and Remodeling, Korbel, MIB Transportation, Palomar Water, and Event-A-Vision. Proceeds support exhibits and educational programming at Birch Aquarium at Scripps. Click here for more information or to purchase tickets.

This Saturday: In Your Neighborhood Block Party

Local music luminary Lou Niles has put together another In Your Neighborhood Block Party at the Pour House in Oceanside. It's totally free and all ages and is a great way for local music fans in North County and beyond to enjoy a Saturday of music and vendors. For more, check out the Facebook Event page.

Things To Do In San Diego: Tuesday, April 24-Monday, April 30, 2018

I have tons of photos I'm working my way through, but this one is of Peelander-Z crowdsurfing at the Casbah last week. It was a nutso week, and as memorable for as many shows as I got to attend as for how many I had to miss. Sometimes you can't do it all, and with so many simultaneous shows I had to sit a few out. I did get to go to an awesome EDSD event last Tuesday in South Park, on Wednesday went to see Alvvays and Frankie Rose at Music Box and The Bronx at the Casbah, Haim on Thursday at Observatory, Friday I worked at Japanese Breakfast at the Irenic then went to the Casbah for Brian Karscig and Dead Feather Moon, and then had a chill Saturday with a movie night sleepover with my nieces and a chill Sunday around the house, then watching my niece play soccer and a little hang at the cliffwalk of OB, and then catching Marian Hill at the Observatory on Monday night. All in all a great week, and much more balanced with my family and shows and getting actual sleep at actual human hours, so I'm just in general feeling better than I had been and I cannot complain about that one bit. Full week archives are after the jump.