My Favorite Shows of 2016 in Photos

I can't really muster a reflective post on the year. I feel like if you thought 2016 was bad, just hold on for 2017. I can't even. What I can do is remind you that we are an amazing city for music. I have the privilege of seeing hundreds of bands every year (though admittedly, I probably went to about half as many shows this year than last), and because of my various jobs, this year I was a lot better at having my camera in tow. I thought I'd share some of my favorite shows of this year, with honorable mention to Kero Kero Bonito, where some mixup left me without a photo pass, and Rocky Votolato, whom I've shot more times than I can count and left my camera at home so I could just enjoy the 10 year anniversary of Makers. The following are in no particular order. 

Blind Pilot at the Belly Up, 10.28.16

Car Seat Headrest at Casbah 1.18.2016 (and again in Nov at the Irenic) 

Frightened Rabbit at Belly Up, 5.21.16

Glen Hansard at The Observatory, 9.28.16

Joshua James at Moniker Warehouse, 8.17.16

Lucius at Belly Up, 11.19.16

Lucy Dacus at Casbah, 8.12.16

Silversun Pickups at The Observatory, 4.19.16

Bad Religion at Ye Scallywag at Waterfront Park, 10.22.16

Hey Marseilles at Soda Bar, 3.26.16

Things To Do In San Diego (NYE Edition): Friday, December 30, 2016-Sunday, January 1, 2017

Back when we became full time parents earlier this spring, I dreaded the idea of Nova having to leave three times a year, but with this being her third visit of the year, we now know to take advantage of the time. We've been organizing our studio, purging old clothes and things, going out to restaurants the kid would snub her nose at, going out, and of course, catching up on sleep. While we miss her terribly, I can't say it isn't also awesome to sort of wrap up the year ready for a fresh 2017. This week we checked out False Idol, went to Blonde on the Kings of Leon tribute night, saw Henry Rollins, saw the Melvins, have been having evening walks, and we've been communing with the opossums my cat used to look after when they were babies, with three separate visits this week alone. Of course, it's NYE weekend so there are a gazillion things to do tonight and tomorrow, so I thought I'd repost the listings to make it easier to navigate. Saturday and Sunday archives are after the jump. If you don't hear from me tomorrow, Happy New Year to all. May we stand in solidarity against the impending havoc and doom about to be unleashed upon our country. 

A blurry shot of Grayson through the filter of our Christmas lights
(and no flash so as not to freeze him). 

ROI and the Music Industry: A Guest Post by Josh Damigo

Josh Damigo is playing at Lestat's TONIGHT (Friday, December 30) at 9pm for his 10th annual Birfday show. We had a conversation the other day that lead to me inviting him to post. Sorry to get this up so late, but you still have time to make plans for Lestat's. (Happy birthday, Josh!! I love you, Bestie!!)

Whattap? It’s Josh Damigo. I took over SDDIALEDIN to teach you all a quick lesson on Return of Investment and it’s role in the life of a musician. It’ll be quick, and it’ll help with your business skills. Ready…. READ!!!

Let’s start with the basics. I’ve been a singer/songwriter in Southern California since 2006. I have a bachelor’s degree in Communications from San Diego Christian College and my Master’s Degree in Organizational Management from Ashford University. I’m a member of SESAC for my PRO (Performing Rights Organization) and have opened for Jason Mraz, Matt Nathanson, Zac Brown, Eric Hutchinson, Andy Grammar, name drop, name drop, name drop… When you put all of that together, it means that I’ve studied the music industry pretty extensively over the last ten years. I’ve had my ups and downs, like the $28,000 royalty check from live shows to losing all of my money and then some on a 30 city - US tour. (It’s give and take in a musician’s life, so buckle up!)

I’m playing at Lestat’s West tonight for my 10th annual “Birfday” Show. Unfortunately, this will be my last show, at the venue, because they are increasing the cut that the venue will take, starting on January 1st from $3 a head (when I started) to $5 a head. (That’s going to cut into my profits by 40%!) And as you know, profits for a musician are already pretty minimal. That got me to thinking – When is a gig TRULY worth it? Let’s talk about what an ROI is and what it means to your music business life. (Read the rest after the jump)

Things To Do In San Diego: Monday, December 26, 2016-Thursday, December 29, 2016

Today Nova leaves to visit her mom for 11 days and while I know it will fly by, it doesn't get any easier when she leaves. I only hope with each trip she is embraced for who she is and doesn't feel like she has to pretend she's someone she's not, but I know she struggles with other people's expectations. The past week was pretty great...Darren's mom and nephews visited and despite the rainy weather, we were able to pull off a trip to Safari Park, to the Zoo, to Cabrillo Monument, and plenty of hang time around the house. After they left, Nova got in one final slumber party with my nieces and Darren and I enjoyed Friday at the Casbah for Pony Death Ride and El Vez. On Saturday we saw a picture of Laguna and though we didn't get on the road until after 2, we had enough time to pack up the van, drive to the Sunrise Highway, get our chains on, and had about 40 minutes of intense and cold snow time. Of course Christmas was spent at my mom and dad's and there was plenty of food, gifts and napping all around. This week Darren and I have some household projects we'll reluctantly dive into and hopefully you'll see us out and about on our first childless week since summer. Monday through Thursday archives are after the jump, including a massive list of NYE events. If you plan on going anywhere, get your tickets ASAP because just about everything is selling out.

Things To Do In San Diego: Monday, December 19-Sunday, December 25, 2016

Last week we tried to keep it mellow. Darren was pretty sick, so we mostly laid low, which means I didn't do much in the way of shows or photos. I worked the X shows on Thursday and Sunday, I worked at the Irenic on Friday, and we went to Magic Mountain on Saturday. It's possible I'm regretting making those passes my Cyber Monday purchase because I am too old for those terrifying and nausea inducing mechanical terrors. It was still fun and seeing Nova's eyes was, in the end, worth it. Darren doesn't really know it, or maybe he does, that I just like an excuse for a road trip. We have the best talks on the road. I'm gonna be as offline as I can be this week because D's mom will be here, then the holidays, then our little Nova leaves to St. Louis for her maternal visit. No idea how we're gonna get through that again. But happy holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and all that biz. Hold the ones you love.
Monday through Sunday archives are after the jump.

Things To Do In San Diego: Monday, December 12-Sunday, December 18, 2016

I don't know about you, but I am really struggling. Life is good with my family, we're all good on the homefront, and work is just fine, too. But I thought after the election I would start to get used to the idea of a Trump presidency. But I'm not. And every outburst, every cabinet selection, every word out of his mouth, all of it, and it's like a depression I just can't shake, an anger I can't contain, and a heartbreak I can't resolve. I'm still living life...this weekend I worked at the Album Leaf show, caught the Spits at Whistle Stop, hung out at the Ken Club, went on an evening hike at Mission Trails, hung out with some old friends at the Casbah, got lots of work done. But man, it's hard. Watching the news and having a 9-year-old ask questions, it's so daunting. I look for glimmers of hope. It's not easy.
There are some great nights of music this week, the Zoo's Jungle Bells kicked off, and maybe the holidays will bring some warmth to such depressing times. Monday through Sunday archives are after the jump.

Things To Do In San Diego: Friday, December 9-Sunday, December 11, 2016

It's been a pretty good week around here but I'm not gonna lie, I am definitely looking forward to the weekend. On Monday, Darren and I took Nova to see one of her favorites, Miike Snow at the Observatory which was a pretty great show because it was more band than synthy dance as I'd expected. On Tuesday we went to The NAT for Free Tuesday in hopes of catching the Animals in Motion exhibit, but didn't realize it was $18 on top of entry ($28 on a regular day!!). We love science but couldn't justify dropping $50 for it. So we explored the regular parts of the museum before going to the Zoo for a couple hours. After Nova's dance class on Wednesday my whole family met up and my parents house to celebrate December birthdays of my uncle and two nephews. Afterward I went to the Casbah to catch CRX who were awesome, albeit a pretty short set. On Thursday Nova had a school field trip at The Living Coast Discovery Center in Chula Vista. Darren and I both chaperoned as the kids walked the trails, pet the rays, and planted native species in a restoration area. We were able to check Nova out and lingered for some extra time so we could see all the raptors and turtles at feeding time. Incidentally, if you're ever interested in going, you can check out a family pass from various libraries (Chula Vista Library has a few, for example) which gives complimentary admission for two adults and two children. After that, we picked up our Christmas Winter Solstice Tree. This weekend is going to be a good one...I'll be working at the Album Leaf show tonight at the Irenic, and we're considering a trip to Magic Mountain sometime this weekend or next unless I can get my grubby hands on Saturday X-Fest tickets. Speaking of, Kaleo cancelled on Sunday and have been replaced with AFI, who also announced two upcoming shows at the Observatory. Have a great weekend! Friday through Sunday archives are after the jump.

Things To Do In San Diego: Monday, December 5-Thursday, December 8, 2016

It was pretty much an all soccer weekend for us and though Nova's team was basically crushed in their tournament, I think she was really lucky to have a great team experience, an awesome coach who clearly loves the game, and two weeks of intense soccer skills training that really challenged her and made her really enjoy the game. Mostly I think she was excited she got to play with my niece after all. My uncle is in town, so we went to the dinner on Saturday night, and the kids all had a big sleepover, so Darren and I went to the Ken Club where there was a show with Amenity and Forced Down with Tony Savala filling in on vox for Amenity. I'm looking forward to some fun times this week and some great shows. Monday through Thursday archives are after the jump.

Things To Do In San Diego: Saturday, December 3-Sunday, December 4, 2016

An old friend posted a link to my site and it kinda nudged me to update. I thought when I, uh, uncluttered my life of extraneous jobs I'd suddenly have a whole world of time open up, but the reality is that I'm still just as busy, just not so tethered to my Note quite as much. With Nova having daily soccer practices for All-Stars and the Thanksgiving holiday, and dealing with some bullshit family business to help my mom and dad, I've been pretty much a homebody at night. We did go to the Safari Park on Monday in the drizzle which was awesome, and I made it out to the Office on Wednesday for Metallica Under Cover and that was pretty rad despite me never being a fan of that band. Nova's tournament is under way this weekend and if they win 4 games, they'll be in another tournament next week. Yikes. We'll just see how it goes. I've got family in town this weekend so get out and enjoy all the shows, events, and beer fests that I'm gonna miss, okay? By the way, Bar Pink wanted me to let all of you know that Head Wound City is playing there on December 15, and tickets go on sale today at 10am here and you should buy tickets because it's a benefit for The San Diego LGBT Community Center and after this bullshit election, we need to give our money to worthy causes when we can afford to. Saturday and Sunday archives are after the jump.