Ticketfly Hacked & Down For Service- New Temporary Casbah Links

Following recent site issues, we determined that Ticketfly has been the target of a cyber incident. To protect our clients and fans, and to secure the website and related data, we have temporarily taken all Ticketfly systems offline. We’ll keep you updated.

— Ticketfly (@ticketfly) May 31, 2018

While working on listings this week, I noticed the Casbah site being wonky. I could see the backend Casbah stuff, but our site and all ticket links were down. Then the site was back up for a heartbeat and then back down, and now nothing is accessible. This morning (around 4am), Ticketfly issued a statement that they believe they've been cyber attacked, so all Ticketly and related site are down. For us here in San Diego, that included Casbah, Soda Bar, and Brick By Brick, and if you go to comedy clubs, Mad House Comedy and maybe a few others that I can't recall off the the top of my head.

The Casbah is working with an alternate ticketing site to temporarily restore your ability to purchase advance tickets. For now you should know that the remainder of the shows currently booked through Monday will all have tickets available at the door for purchase. I believe the same to be true for Soda Bar, but I don't speak for them.

Those shows are:
Thursday:
WAND, C57Black6, Sumatraban @ Casbah

Friday:
The Paladins, The Bedbreakers, The Tighten Ups @ Casbah (Tickets)

Saturday:
Vinyl Junkies Record Swap @ Casbah (11am-5pm)
Curtis Harding, Algiers @ Casbah (Tickets)
Alex Lahey, Whiskey Circle, Mittens @ Soda Bar

Sunday:
Josh Rouse, True Stories @ Casbah (Tickets)

Monday:
The Lexicons, Nothing Special, Krook Tone Classics @ Casbah

What this could mean, and sadly we do not know the extent of the cyber attack or data breach, is that you might want to start to change passwords if, for example, your Ticketfly password was your 'universal password' and it links to any sensitive credit info, and keep an eye on your credit accounts for any suspicious use. It's extreme and hopefully doesn't come to that, but right now, we only know what TIcketfly is sharing publicly and to clients.

This Saturday- Vinyl Junkies Record Swap at the Casbah

This Saturday is another Vinyl Junkies Record Swap at the Casbah!

The DJ Lineup is extra-special and ALL FEMALE!!
Shop early for the best inventory!

11am-5pm

$5

21+

All Female DJ Line-Up!

1am-Noon: Special Guest

Noon-1pm:  Brandy Bell (Strangers in A Fire)

1pm-2pm:  Carrie Gillespie Feller (Hexa)

2pm-3pm:  Chulita Vinyl Club

3pm-4pm:  Chulita Vinyl Club

4pm-5pm  Betty Bangs

Photos: King Tuff at the Casbah, May 3, 2018

This is just a quick little post. There's certainly nothing exceptional about these shots of King Tuff...I took them with my Samsung S7 mobile device, but the show was definitely exceptional, as is his latest record, The Other. We were at the second night of the Arctic Monkeys at the Observatory (of which I have no photographic evidence whatsoever because of the strict no photo policy) and we cut out at the encore to see Tuffy and get some Casbah cocktails running through our blood. It was a super fun night and you should definitely make a point to catch King Tuff whenever he returns.

Del Mar Racing Announces Summer Concert Series

When I was growing up, one of my favorite things to do was to go to the racetrack. My grandpa had trained and raced horses at Caliente long before I was born, and though he'd eventually lose all his horses, he never lost the love of the track. He was a farmer, always in his tan long-sleeve button down work shirt and work pants with a scruffy face of stubble and his hole-ridden straw work hat. That is, unless it was a day at the races, in which case he'd shave, slather on his Old Spice, a long sleeve button down dress shirt and dress pants, and his fancy boots and hat. It was joyful. Sometimes it would be the whole family at the races, sometimes just Tata, my dad, and me. I'd race with him to the paddock, because he always had to see the horses before they'd race, and he and my dad would teach me how to handicap.

Memories are sweet and I'll cherish them forever, but it's 2018, and I have to say that I'm only halfheartedly sharing this year's Del Mar Summer Concert Series. I'd be an asshole if I didn't share shows that are so popular to San Diegans, but I feel like horse-racing will go the way of bullfighting in the next generation. And I'm not a vegan by any stretch, so perhaps that makes me a big fat hypocrite, but I feel like if I'm going to post a link to the concerts, I should also post a couple links to the very real and ugly side to horse racing.

If you do choose to attend the summer concerts, they're free with the cost of track admission ($6) so long as you arrive before the final race. Shows are standing room only and 18+.

2018 Del Mar Summer Concert Series:  

7/20- Psychedelic Furs 
7/21- Iration
7/27- Steel Pulse
8/3-Matisyahu
8/10- Aloe Blacc
8/11- Reggae Fest with Ziggy Marley
8/17- Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
8/24- Tribal Seeds
8/31- Café Tacvba
9/2- Ice Cube

Things To Do In San Diego: Wednesday, May 30-Friday, June 1, 2018

Let's start with the bummer. Ticketfly was down and it's the end of the month so I'm missing a ton of listings from Brick By Brick, Black Cat, Casbah, Soda Bar, El Dorado, FLUXX, Ken Club, and Sycamore Den. Other than that, you've got the SD Fair starting this weekend, Art Around Adams, and I even included the Temecula Balloon and Wine Festival in case you want to check out our neighbors to the north this weekend.
As for catching up with me, I already told you I have been uploading pictures to my site like crazy, but I still have to go through and take out the duds and write them up, even minimally. Our week was pretty sweet, Nova had a couple sleepovers during the week and I got to shoot The Head and the Heart,  went to the Blondie tribute at Blonde, a fundraiser for Nova's derby, and caught the Posies. And I slept a ton, which I'm not upset about at all. Listings are back through Monday after the jump. I'll try to update anything missing, but you have to tell me in the comments.

Photos: Cigarettes After Sex at Observatory, April 30, 2018

Let's talk Cigarettes After Sex. This was another one that I was begging to shoot. I had seen them at The Hideout when there were fifty-something tickets sold, then I worked when they played The Irenic and I remember being so tired that I didn't stay for the whole show and certainly didn't try to bust out my camera. Then some strings were pulled to let me shoot at the Observatory and I realized the whole show was going to be shrouded with massive hazers and I'm thinking, "please, just let me get something, anything". Darren was able to come and we'd been listening to them so much it was a super nice date night and their music is certainly sexy-time music. But my biggest regret of the show was that after I was done shooting, I ran to West Coast to use the bathroom and grab more drinks, and completely missed their cover of REO Speedwagon "Keep On Loving You". Damnit. Fortunately, two days after the show, singer Greg Gonzalez had performed a session for SiriusXMU that included the song and it's such an amazing take on the song (which, I should admit, was a favorite when I'd listen to KyXy with my mom as a little girl). Anyway, the show was incredible, though I have to say was better that it was not on a weekend because the crowd was cool to be chill and quiet instead of the weekend warriors who might have ruined the whole thing had it been on a Friday or Saturday. They're also a band that I would love to see get enormous, but I'm also selfishly hoping a venue like the Observatory is as big as they'd play because they're not an arena or stadium type band. But I love them, and I did my best shooting, but with the whole band shrouded in darkness, it's a whole lotta Greg. More pics after the jump.

Photos: The War On Drugs at the Observatory, April 15, 2018

Nova was away for a lot of the weekend, so I spent several hours trying to catch up and upload photos from the past few weeks. Then I about had a full meltdown when I realized there were shows as far back as February that I never uploaded. So bear with me as there will be a ton of photo posts this week. By my count, there are about 35 shows I never posted.

So let's start here with The War On Drugs. The band played both weekends of Coachella and we stayed close to home for the most part that first weekend because we love watching the YouTube stream of the major stages. As we watched the band on our TV that Friday night, I was still trying every avenue available to me to get a photo pass but up to that point it was still a hard no. I don't know what strings were pulled but more than a few awesome people worked to my benefit, so that by Sunday evening, I got an approval and was one of just two photographers to shoot the show. Of course, that makes me all the bigger loser that I never posted these, but I'm trying not to be so insecure about my photography, because there are few things I love more than being behind a camera.

So here are some of the shots. I tried to whittle it down to a couple dozen but when you shoot upwards of 300 shots a band, I find I have lots of favorites. This show was amazing. I don't think I'd seen The War on Drugs since their Casbah show a few years back, and while sometimes I can get bored when a band just breaks into heavy noodling, there's so much going on on the stage and in the music that once I was done shooting, I found myself just kinda closing my eyes and getting lost in the music. More photos after the jump.

Photos: MGMT at San Diego Civic Theatre, May 19, 2018

I did my best is all I can say. MGMT played at Symphony Hall on May 19, 2018 and I didn't ever post the pics because they just weren't that great. But the show was! And I got to interview them for SoundDiego! And Darren was able to come and sneak down from the upper balcony to come sit with me, so it wasn't a total wash. Just that my pics aren't the best. That's okay. I'm always learning.

Things To Do In San Diego: Tuesday, May 22-Tuesday, May 29, 2018

It has been a helluva week. I got to have some big nostalgic moments, catching Nada Surf's 10 year Anniversary of Let Go, seeing Trashcan Sinatras perform Cake (from 1991!), Pedro the Lion, and getting to interview and see MGMT. We also went to Disneyland on Sunday...our first time as a family and my first time in maybe two decades. So it was quite a whirlwind and now I've got 1000+ new photos to sift through and share. But it's also been crazy because I have a 20 year old cat. She's doing mostly well, her mom lived to 22, and she still gets around on her own, but we've been having litter box issues. I suggested a visit to the vet and thankfully they confirmed an ear infection and a bacterial infection in her bladder. The good news is both are treatable, but until both clear, we are single-handedly keeping Nature's Miracle in business. We love her and all of our pets, but there are few things more frustrating then cleaning up pet messes. So there's some real life for ya. I did listings through Tuesday for this week only so that I don't lose my entire Memorial Day staring at my laptop. All listings are after the jump.

ALT94/9 Announces Indie Jam: September 8, 2018 at Oceanside Pier

ALT 949’S INDIE JAM 

Saturday, September 8th at Junior Seau Amphitheatre at Oceanside Pier

Presented by Subaru and Mission Fed

ALL AGES

Featuring: 

Dirty Heads

Bishop Briggs

lovelytheband

Superorganism

Two Feet

Tickets: $30 GA | $55 VIP Admission
On sale now at www.alt949radio.com

Sponsors: Subaru, Mission Fed, KAABOO Del Mar, Tea of a Kind, Mira Costa College and ZICO Coconut Water.
$2 of every ticket goes to Pearl Jam’s Vitalogy Foundation - Benefiting Surfrider San Diego Chapter.
Pearl Jam's Vitalogy Foundation, supporting the efforts of non-profit organizations doing commendable work in the fields of community health, the environment, arts & education and social change.

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, April 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.

Photos: Built To Spill, Afghan Whigs, Ed Harcourt at Observatory, May 9, 2018

Built To Spill, Afghan Whigs, Ed Harcourt at Observatory, May 9, 2018

More photos after the jump.

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.