Friday, February 28, 2014

Things To Do In San Diego: Febraury 28-March 2, 2014

Darren and I are having a disagreement. He thinks that nobody will go out tonight, he says, "No, it's good for people to stay home on a rainy night. It's the opposite of cabin fever in San Diego." On the other hand, I think people will stay home and that just makes me want to yell "SUCK IT UP! Don't be pussies!" Yes, it's raining, so you probably have to wear more than just your dirty ass flip-flops, and the roads are dangerous so maybe you're better off calling Darren's Van 619.990.5064 , but you gotta get out tonight. San Diego Bicycle Film Fest, SoundDiego Live, CityBeat's Local Music issue party, Creepy Creeps at Whistle Stop, Deadphones at Soda Bar, Metalachi at Casbah and the grand opening of The Hideout. There's too much good stuff to skip out on tonight. I'm gonna declare myself the winner of this little disagreement. Don't be pussies. Friday through Sunday archives are after the jump.

Don't Miss March 6 at the Casbah: Pigpen Theatre Co.

Remember when you fell in love with a band, only to realize you just missed them at the Casbah or Soda Bar or the Troubadour or some other tiny venue? Well, it's happened to me more than once and part of creating this site was because I didn't want it to ever happen again. In this case, I'm really excited to tell you all about Pigpen Theatre Co., who are actually a theatre company, but who are embarking on a national tour as an indie-folk band, with critical accolades already showered upon them. The bummer is you probably haven't heard enough about them to be super excited, but the reality is that the group is kicking off their massive U.S. tour on Saturday, and they're playing the Casbah so early during the tour (next Thursday, to be exact) that if you don't take a chance, you might hear the buzz long after they've already played San Diego. That happened to me for Postal Service and it happened for Arcade Fire, and I'm not letting it happen for these guys. You shouldn't either. Check out their full press release after the jump, or just trust me and grab your tickets here





Photo Credit: Thom Kaine

Thursday, February 27, 2014

This Weekend! San Diego Bicycle Film Festival

This weekend, the Bicycle Film Festival rolls through town. This is all the info from their Facebook event page. Spread the word!



Bicycle Film Festival San Diego
February Friday 28-March 1
Presented by KIND Healthy Snacks

FRIDAY
5:00pm AutomaticBrewingCo BFF CPA release: Tiger!Tiger!
6:00pm Photo Exhibit
Breakless: Photos by Matt Lingo: Coffee & Tea Collective
People on Bikes by Gym Standard
7:00pm Ride with Leader Bikes
8:00pm After Party: Live Wire

SATURDAY
12:00pm-3:00pm Party at Tiger!Tiger! Enjoy Automatic BFF CPA!

BFF SCREENINGS at Museum of Photographic Art
PROGRAM 1: THE WAY I ROLL 4:00PM
PROGRAM 2: CINEMATIC SHORTS 6:00PM
PROGRAM 3: URBAN BIKE SHORTS 8:00PM
Bike valet by San Diego County Bicycle Coalition
Free Fairdale bike raffle

After Party: Bar Pink w/DJ Mike Delgado (Moving Units)

Thanks to everyone above, as well as our other partners:
Urbanist, ABUS, Dudek Law Firm APC, Adams Avenue Bicycles, theawarewolfs.com, Blind Stokers Club

Things To Do In San Diego: February 27, 2014

It is incredibly difficult to post today without writing a gushy, sappy, lengthy post about Darren, but since I don't need to exploit him more than I already do, and since he was a good sport as Nova and I made a big to-do yesterday with cupcakes and dinner, I'll just leave it at the fact that he is the perfect man to me and for me (even the Birthday Book agrees, if you pay attention to such things) and there aren't enough words for the myriad ways my life has been made better for having him in it. I feel like I've totally failed because we really wanted to go to DEJJ tonight, but turns out the sitter we were counting on shares the same birthday! What are the chances!?! (I know, 1/365) So unless some miracle comes through, we'll be watching Ruby Gloom or Strawberry Shortcake, reading Misty of Chincoteague, and pigging out on candy-sprinkle-covered chocolate cupcakes, which frankly isn't so bad either. Happy birthday, Darren. Saying I love you is completely inadequate.  This weekend is INSANE...Thursday archives are after the jump.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Things To Do In San Diego: February 24-26, 2014

What a weekend! Noah Gunderson was amazing on Saturday night at Soda Bar, and on Sunday, Darren and I decided to bike from home in City Heights to Cesar Chavez Park in Barrio Logan where David Alvarez was having a picnic to thank volunteers and supporters. We then decided to try the Bayshore Bikeway. We were just going to do part of it, but we had so many stops due to a flattening tire in National City, that we just kept riding once we bought a pump. Past the salt flats, into the Otay River Park, to Big 5 in Imperial Beach to grab lights, to dinner at Jalisco's, then all the way through IB, up the strand, and caught the ferry back to downtown, then rode to City College to catch the 15 bus back home. Map my ride said we rode 28 miles, but since we didn't start it until  Plaza Boulevard in National City, I think it was closer to 35. Whew. What a way to kick off his birthday week. Monday through Wednesday listings are after the jump.

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Preview: Noah Gundersen plays Soda Bar tonight with Armon Jay

Noah Gundersen

Noah Gundersen, after building strong body of work with songs featured in episodes of Sons of Anarchy, Vampire Diaries, and One Tree Hill, returns to San Diego to the play the Soda Bar tonight.  The surprise is that it is in support of his debut full length album, the spare but achingly lovely, Ledges.  While many musicians lean towards bombast and spectacle when embracing the neo-folk sound, Gundersen's bluesy approach is just as arresting in its quietest melodies.  Opening for Noah Gunderson tonight is Armon Jay, who is also touring in support of a Kickstarter-backed debut album of his own, Edge of the Dark.  Soda Bar is a 21+ venue, tickets are $12, and doors are at 8:30p. Be sure to watch a live performance of "Dying Now", one of my favorite tracks on Ledges, after the jump.

Friday, February 21, 2014

Things To Do In San Diego: February 21-23,2014

OMG. I'm at Sunset Sessions and it is totally amazing, and I'm being summoned back to the bar/patio/pool. The reality is that I spent the night at the Belly Up, and instead of industry shmoozing, I met a woman who works for the City and talked about janitorial services and bathrooms for the homeless and the safety of walking downtown at night. So I know I'm supposed to wish you well into the weekend, but there's a creepy band manager I was talking to and I'd like to set him straight before the night is through. I promise I won't physically break his nose, but damn, the sexism is rampant...

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Things To Do In San Diego: February 19-20, 2014

Life is moving along beautifully. Monday at Sea World was great, my new job is official, and Tuesday we witnessed a seal pup birth at Children's Pool. Ruby Gloom is back on Netflix, and Mother Falcon had another killer show at Soda Bar. Today is #24hourDateNight which is pretty exciting, and once again we'll kick off the night with a bike infrastructure meeting. This one is the most important one for us, as SANDAG reveals the three east-west corridors through North Park and Mid-City. You can get info about the meeting on Facebook or just take my word for it and show up Franklin Elementary School (4481 Copeland Avenue), with the presentation from 5:30-6pm and an open house from 6-8pm. As for music, there are three sold out shows tonight which is exciting for the scene in this City. Wednesday and Thursday archives are after the jump.

Some Thoughts About Children's Pool


If my political posts haven't won me any friends in the past, I'm certainly not expecting to make any new friends now. This year I decided to buy Sea World Fun Passes for me and Darren and Nova. My sister alerted me to a "Blue Friday" special after Thanksgiving that made them $25 off the regular price per pass. We already have passes to the San Diego Zoo and bought Balboa Park passes, too, and use them quite frequently, but the Sea World passes came with some moral quibbling...we are well aware of "Blackfish" and any civilized person can feel bad that Orcas and dolphins and Pilots and Balugas and Walruses are completely out of place and made to live against their migratory nature in such small enclosures, trained to perform for humans, that the horror of The Cove really happens annually. You can weigh all of that and even still, you decide, if I was 6, I'd want to go to Sea World to learn about the animals, to see things up close I might never otherwise see in my lifetime, to hang out with other kids my age (in this case, my nieces) and to ride rollercoasters. And we have. We usually park at the Fishing Boat lot next to Sea World, ride our bikes in, ride Manta until we're ready to vomit, ride Atlantis until our clothes are soaked, check out a couple animal habitats, and call it a day.

But with all of this, we decided it's really important that Nova does learn something about the animals and nature, and the most important thing, to make up her own mind. So after spending all of Presidents' Day at Sea World, on Tuesday we decided it was time to take her to the seal rookery at Children's Pool in La Jolla. We explained that she was going to see something pretty cool and pretty rare...that there are seals on the beach and people aren't allowed close to bother them so they can have their babies, and that there are people who think they should be chased away from the beach and that it belongs to people to swim.


We try to use open language, to present both sides so Nova can make up her own mind, but the truth is, it is really hard. Growing up in San Diego, you understand many longstanding controversies in the City. You know about immigration, border fences, and Friendship Park. You know about the cross on Mount Soledad. You know about "the trust" vs people who want to let the seals have a beach. The first two are things- while I have strong opinions for my side- I can see the opposition's point of view. As for the seals, you have to be a heartless bastard or just a sicko yuppie elitist (which is worse?) to think that of all the beaches available to us in San Diego, you need this particular one free of these beautiful marine mammals. So I'm sorry if you believe that we can coexist, or that divers should get this particular beach, or that some wealthy person trusted this beach "to the children", I just can't see your side on this one.



So this was one of the many things I loved about Mayor Bob Filner. There was no question about what side he was on about this, and besides working out the seal cam and putting up the rope, this issue came back to council. Then the mayor was embroiled in scandal, the council found a way to postpone the issue, and nothing has been resolved- which is fine since the animals are currently somewhat protected. In doing a couple searches, however, I found that our timing was quite remarkable, because the issue is actually coming back to council this month! On FEBRUARY 24 at 1pm, San Diego City Council "will finally be voting on the May 17, 2010 resolution to prohibit public access to Casa Beach during the harbor seal pupping season, from December 15 to May 15 annually." Email your councilperson and let them know that you want to protect the seals.


So now let me get off my soap box and tell you what happened. We approached the seawall and found a new mom protecting her pup on the beach. She didn't like the people getting too close for photos, but she relaxed once everyone got off the beach. Then we saw more seals on rocks. And in the water. And bobbing in the waves. And it was beautiful. And we took pictures of the seals, and selfies, and pictures of the waves. We continued onto the wall, fascinated by some very pregnant seals on a rock near the wall. We smiled at the animals stretching and hobbling into the water and babies trying to get attention. And then we saw a mass of seagulls go in and realized a birth had just happened! The sand was bloodied and the seagulls were squawking and fighting and we realized they were wrestling for the placenta. We looked at the new mom, barking at others to give her space, nudging her pup, and then we watched in wonder for the next half hour...as she fought off a seal in their way, how she swatted the seagulls, and how, eventually, her pup started hobbling along the sand and into the water...waves carrying it back to shore, and eventually getting it into the pool and it rode its mom's back and it was this really incredible moment. Of all my years in San Diego, I've never seen this before. It was exciting and beautiful and amazing.





I'm sorry La Jollans, this does not belong to you.  Find a list of City Council members by district with phone number and email after the jump and let them know where you stand on this issue. To learn more about protecting the seals, click here.

Monday, February 17, 2014

Things To Do In San Diego: February 17-18, 2014

What a weekend. Valentine's Day was perfect, Saturday was ridiculous, and seeing the Amazing Acrocats on Sunday was pretty awesome. Today should be pretty awesome with Nova out of school, though I definitely see a day of rollercoaster riding in my future. I start my new job this week which is pretty exciting and I can't wait to talk all about it. For anyone interested, on Wednesday SANDAG will be revealing the preliminary drafts of the three North Park-Mid City bikeways at Franklin Elementary School from 5:30-8. This has been a lengthy community process where various paths were proposed and it's finally been narrowed to just three. You can see more info here. Monday and Tuesday archives are after the jump.

Friday, February 14, 2014

Things To Do In San Diego: February 14-16, 2014

I am so ready for this weekend. For one, it's Valentine's Day and though it looks like Darren and I will be working through most of the weekend, we had an incredible dinner earlier this week at the TJ Oyster Bar on Bonita Road, and my apartment smells lovely from the flowers he surprised me with. Still, I hope we at least get out on the bikes or hit some tasting rooms or something to take the edge off. I mean, we were super disappointed about the election- the turnout is really more depressing than the result-and we just had a lot going on this week, including a new job, which I'll tell you all about soon. This weekend has a lot of great stuff going on, so give Darren's Van a holler if you need to get around town safely. Friday through Sunday archives are after the jump.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Tuesday is Election Day! Vote David Alvarez for Mayor!

This came in from David Alvarez's campaign over the weekend:

...President Barack Obama endorsed David Alvarez to be the next Mayor of San Diego, applauding his focus on creating jobs and ensuring every child has access to a high-quality education.

President Obama said, “As a native San Diegan, David Alvarez has been a fierce advocate for his city, and on the Council, has led efforts to build a strong middle class, put neighborhoods first and expand opportunities for kids in and out of school. Today, with the city’s economy and neighborhoods poised to make progress there is no question that David is the right choice to be San Diego’s next mayor and I am excited to support him.”

Why does a presidential endorsement matter? Because the president understands that civic engagement and cultural and political momentum starts on the community level. As the 8th largest city in the United States, what happens here matters. And perhaps you don't follow local politics beyond news headlines and scandals, skewed polls and news stations with biased information, but I happen to spend a lot of time watching City Council meetings. It was so exciting to see the Council move forward on issues that have stalled over decades in this city, and it was always fascinating to see Faulconer and Sherman talk out of both sides of their mouth...they're with the majority except for some caveat and so they vote against the council- on minimum wage, on prevailing wages, on bonds, on issue after issue. I'm proud to support David Alvarez, who would be the first Latino mayor for San Diego, and I'm proud that The Casbah, our Interim Mayor Todd Gloria, and now the president of our country, Barack Obama, all endorse David Alvarez.

If you are registered to vote, we need to see you at the polls on Tuesday, February 11, 2014.

Things To Do In San Diego: February 10-13, 2014

I don't know about you, but I had a pretty great weekend. I spent Friday night catching up on email and just laying low (as I so desperately needed), and on Saturday I had a fun session of day drinking while working at the Vinyl Junkies Record Swap. I ended up not having to work for Young The Giant, and instead went on a nice bike ride with Darren on Sunday. We attempted to catch up with a Blind Lady bike ride, but instead rode from North Park to Downtown, checked out the Chinese New Year Festival and got Museum Month passes from Macy's. Horton Plaza was a ghost town. I wonder if charging for their parking backfired, even though they reversed their validation policy. Then I worked for White Denim who are phenomenal and won't be playing little venues like the Casbah much longer (though they should've taken my advice that $20 was the most people will pay for a t-shirt). This is going to be another packed week, with Nova off school on Monday, working for St Lucia, helping with the election on Tuesday, interviewing CHAPPO for SoundDiego TV, and then pre-V-Day date night. I hope everyone has a great week! Monday through Thursday archives are after the jump.

Friday, February 07, 2014

Things To Do In San Diego: February 7-9, 2014

I really believed that since the Casbah's anniversary month was over, this week would be a nice lazy week. The universe laughed in my face and I think I'm going to have to spend all day Friday in pajamas to just take a breather. I worked at Switchfoot on Monday night, and Tuesday spent the afternoon at Sea World (I know, I know) where Nova finally met the height requirement for Manta, which we rode 7 times. Wednesday was Casbah meeting day, lunch with Pyles, house cleaning, then me and Darren went to the Coastal Rail Trail open house, made a nice dinner at home, then caught Lucius at the Casbah, and then Thursday we were all over the city, with an appointment and picking up Nadia in Chula Vista, then getting Johanna from school in PB, then getting Nova in La Mesa. We had sundaes at Mariposa before going to the Uptown Bike Corridor update meeting at Roosevelt Middle. This weekend isn't about to slow down as I'll be selling the last of the Shepard Fairey Casbah Anniversary merch at the Vinyl Junkies Record Swap, and then all day Sunday I'm working for Young The Giant. Whew. Life is crazy busy, but never been so crazy good. Friday through Sunday archives are after the jump.

Monday, February 03, 2014

Preview: Soda Bar presents Into It. Over It. at the Che Cafe Tonight

Photo courtesy of Big Hassle Records

When I first heard that “Emo was coming back,” I laughed. From where I was standing, the mainstream, bright neon emo of the late 00s barely had a chance to go away. But when I heard the first few chords of “New North Side Air”, the opening track to Into It. Over It.’s fantastic 2013 release (and in my personal top 10 for the year), “Intersections”, I stopped laughing. This isn’t the major-label manufactured pop-emo that you would hear piped in the speakers of your local Zumiez, it’s the sort that hearkens back to American Football, Mineral, and Cap’n Jazz.
While their sound is reminiscent of those early days when the genre was wrestling with identity outside of its punk and hardcore roots, Into It. Over It.’s confidence in their style sounds like they’ve been around since the 90s. Joining them on this tour is a murderer’s row of bands from the emo revival, such as The World is a Beautiful Place & I am No Longer Afraid to Die (yes, that’s their name), A Great Big Pile of Leaves, and Big Bad Buffalo. All of these bands have proved that emo is not some flimsy flash-in-the-pan genre of the Bush years, but a style that deserves to continue for a long time.

All of these bands are playing tonight at the Che Cafe at UCSD.  This is an all ages show, tickets are $10 here ($12 at the door) and doors open at 6:30p. Check out "The Shaking of the Leaves" from Into It. Over It. after the jump.

Things To Do In San Diego: February 3-6, 2014

The Big Game is over so we can get on with our lives, right? I mean, until the next overhyped sporting event, anyway. There are some great shows this week, so hopefully you get out and enjoy some music. I was driving downtown and noticed Marble Room became an arcade, and so I guess I should mention The Hideout is coming along with a new bar built, and looks like it should be opening up soon in the location formerly known as the Void. And, as the Reader reported last week, Brick By Brick will be closing or selling or something soon with their last show this Saturday night. Monday through Thursday archives are after the jump.