Rosey's Read and Watch List 3.29.2019

I start these little lists and stockpiles and then it's already two weeks later and the world has already moved on, so I'm posting even though some of it is already barely relevant anymore. Still, catch my read and watch list after the jump. I've got a couple more superbloom posts to get up, but in the meantime, here's a simple pic from just by the MTRP Visitor's Center.

Wonderfront Is Coming To The Port of San Diego!!

Last week, many of us woke up to a surprise when we saw George Varga's U-T announcing a new festival in San Diego. You can read  his full article here but if you're like me and can't get past the paywall, here's the SoundDiego story about the same event with info on organizers, bookers, and venues.



In a nutshell, the event will take place November 22-24th, 2019 across numerous Waterfront venues and locations with aligned after-parties, including South and North Embarcadero Parks, 5th Avenue Landing, Ruocco Park, Broadway Pier, Seaport Village and more. Organizers are also boasting a 'something-for-everyone' lineup with at least 50 acts already booked. Ticket prices will start at $225 for weekend passes, with lineup announcements expected in April and tickets available sometime in May.

Check out their official site and sign-up for their newsletter here: https://wonderfrontfestival.com

The full Wonderfront press release is after the jump:

Tragedy Cancels Sold Out Soda Bar Show With Her's

Tonight's sold out show at Soda Bar with Her's is cancelled.

It is being reported that the band, while travelling toward California from Arizona, were involved in a fatal car collision which left 4 people dead; Her's members Stephen Fitzpatrick and Audun Laading and their tour manager Trevor Engelbrektson, as well as the driver of the Nissan pickup. Information about the collision can be found here. The band had performed at the Rebel Lounge in Phoenix and were driving west through the night for their Wednesday night gig in Santa Ana at the Constellation Room. The collision happened just after 1am. The collision site was about an hour and 45 minutes into what would've been approximately a 5 1/2 hour drive from Phoenix, demonstrating the perils of exhaustion, impairment, and dangers of the road.

The band had just come off a successful run at South By Southwest and were showing great promise on their second US tour. As the news trickles out, no doubt the loss will have a ripple effect among the music community and fans. A statement from their label is below, as well as a performance from SXSW.

More on the story at NME, Billboard, Consequence of Sound and possibly the last photo taken of them here as well as lots of IG tributes and photos here. Even more links: Paste, Pitchfork, Brooklyn Vegan, Stereogum

Update: Besides Her's members Stephen Fitzpatrick and Audun Laading, the Minneapolis music community is reeling from this news. Tour manager Trevor Engelbrektson was a well known soundtech and TM in the Minneapolis area at venues like Icehouse, The Hook and Ladder, and First Avenue, and leaves behind a wife and two young sons. His friends and family have a GoFundMe page here.

Things To Do In San Diego: Tuesday, March 26-Monday, April 1, 2019

Psychedelic Porn Crumpets

Another week and the poppies that haven't yet been trampled aren't gonna be around much longer. Still, it was a great week. I mentioned going to a Gorilla Birthday Party, and that afternoon, we went to the Japanese Friendship Garden for the Cherry Blossom Festival. On Wednesdays I have soccer duty, so I dropped Nova off and enjoyed Fiesta Island Dog Park with Ficus which is having a superbloom of its own.
On Thursday, I went to Psychedelic Porn Crumpets and Frankie and the Witch Fingers at the Casbah which was a super fun show, then went to see Pkew Pkew Pkew at Tower Bar. On Friday, I took Nova and my nieces to the Seals Lacrosse game, (courtesy of the Krimston family), and on Saturday I went to the field shooting portion of my Mission Trails photography class. That night we went to see Mike Doughty at Soda Bar and then I ran around with Jake, but it seemed like a shit show everywhere we went. My Sunday and Monday were pretty much me trying to catch up with work and bingeing on my shows and I didn't get out of the house much, save for lunch at Yak & Yeti and picking up some holds at the library. This week I'm planning on going to Music Box on Thursday, then I'll be working at the Irenic on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We're hoping to get to Anza Borrego but we'll see if we can pull it off. Listings through Monday are after the game.

San Diego Zoo Safari Park: Joanne The Gorilla Turned 5!

Another 'field trip' I treated myself to was at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park last Tuesday. I got an email that Joanne the gorilla had turned 5 years old and they were having a birthday party for her.

Joanne—named in honor of Joanne Warren, the first chairwoman of the Foundation of San Diego Zoo Global—was born March 12, 2014 at the Safari Park’s Paul Harter Veterinary Hospital. Due to complications during mother Imani’s labor, she was born via a rare emergency C-section. Joanne spent 11 days in the hospital before being reunited with her mother and the other members of her gorilla troop. Since then, she’s made a full recovery and can be seen interacting with 2-year-old Leslie and 7-year-old Monroe on a daily basis.
Safari Park animal care staff said now that she is a juvenile, Joanne will have a new job to do. She must learn her new role and how she fits into the troop’s social dynamics.
“Each gorilla’s status in the troop is an important one, for a variety of reasons,” said Peggy Sexton, lead mammal keeper at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. “Whereas infants can get away with anything, juveniles are held to a higher standard.” 

The gorillas were super active as they opened boxes and bags, tore down decorations, hunted for peanut butter treats and other snacks, and played with their ice cake full of fruits and vegetables. We usually do afternoons at Safari Park, but I have to say going in the mroning was pretty fun, even though we had to dodge a thousand strollers and school field trips. There are a ton of babies at the park right now if you haven't been in awhile, and over the weekend, Butterfly Jungle opened and runs through Sunday, May 12, so there are lots of reasons to renew your annual membership and get to the park.

La Jolla Seals Pupping Season In Full Swing

It's really easy for me to fall into habits of being a homebody, so I've been trying extra hard to give myself little field trips during the week or find fun things to do when I take Nova to soccer. Each year, I try to visit the La Jolla Seals at least a few times during pupping season, so I decided to hit the beach last week. The Seal Conservancy has counted over 50 new pups born this season, and their recent newsletter was a reminder that two permits are going to come up before the California Coastal Commission this year, one is to save the winter beach closure during pupping season (permit #6-14-0691 A1) and the other is to keep the viewing guideline rope up (permit #6-15-0223 A20) for the 7 non-pupping season months. Sadly, I also saw a deceased pup on the beach, which is a reminder that they're so fragile and why it is so important that we give these beautiful mammals the space and protection they need. A handful of pics are after the jump.

Jake Najor and the Moment of Truth to drop "In The Cut"

I was super excited to get a press release about super-talent and one of my BFFs, Jake Najor. The full release is after the jump, but the long story short is that "Jake Najor and the Moment of Truth's new LP In The Cut will be released on vinyl, CD, digital and streaming formats on March 29th via The Redwoods Music." You can pre-order it here. Additionally, you can see Jake Najor and the Moment of Truth at the record release party on Saturday, March 30th at Vinyl Junkies Record Shack at 3pm. Of course, that's a free event and all ages. 

KAABOO 2019 Lineup

KAABOO announced their 2019 lineup last Thursday and I'm barely getting around to posting it. What can I say? I've been busy.

KAABOO has sold out for the past couple years and the internet gets flooded with fake tickets, so if you wanna go, you should suck it up and buy your tickets sooner rather than later. KAABOO takes place September 13-15 at Del Mar Fairgrounds.

Tickets are available at KAABOODelMar.com.

Photos: Metric at Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre, March 5, 2019

I'm a little embarrassed to say this, but since I had to recreate passwords for basically every account I have on the internet, I was looking at sddialedin.com and realized I have 189 blog post drafts. That means over 189 posts that I started and never shared. Ugh. So you might notice a lot of posts being published of really old stuff from the archives that I never got around to sharing. After losing an entire drive at some point last year and losing my phone last week, I guess I'm just feeling more inclined to archive some things in a place where they won't be lost...at least for now.

So a few weeks I got to shoot Metric at Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre. It was kind of an ordeal because if you remember, it was raining that night. I had interviewed the band before when they opened for Imagine Dragons at Viejas, and I'd seen them at House of Blues and a couple other times in the past, and I love them so much. Lots of photos after the jump.

Things To Do In San Diego: Tuesday, March 19-Monday, March 25, 2019

I had such a different kinda week last week. After I stupidly lost my phone on Sunday I was in a bit of a funk- feeling like an idiot and being angry and embarrassed at the same time. So when Monday came around, I was happy to have the task of live-tweeting the Music Awards so I could focus my attention elsewhere. By Tuesday, my new phone arrived and I spent most of the day setting up all my apps and stuff. The rest of the week stayed pretty low key. On Wednesday, I took Nova to her school's talent show, on Thursday I took an awesome photography class at Mission Trails and went to Darren's soccer game, and Friday, we went to Flinn Springs County Park to hike around and explore with the dog on the hunt for Painted Ladies, which seem to be everywhere but impossible to photograph. On Saturday I sold merch for Rhett Miller at Soda Bar, and on Sunday, Nova and I ran around, still on our hunt for butterflies, and ended up walking around the pond at Hendrix Park in Scripps Ranch and then Lake Miramar. That night, Darren and I went to the Casbah to see Moon Hooch and had a blast, and on Monday we went to see the seals in La Jolla while Nova was at soccer. This week should be pretty chill, too, though I guess I've taken myself off restriction so you might catch me out and about. Full listings through Monday are after the jump.

Birch Aquarium Announces 2019 Green Flash Season Lineup

Earlier this week, Birch Aquarium announced their summer Green Flash concert lineup. I haven't been to a show there in a few years, but it is undoubtedly one of the most stunning places to see a show. They set up a stage literally on top of the outdoor tipepools as the crowd filters around the space overlooking the Pacific. Pro tip: the parking is not super close, so save your heels for a special occasion and dress like you'll be standing outside at a concert for at least a couple hours, plus hiking up or downhill, depending on how early you arrive. This year's lineup includes Tommy Castro and the Painkillers, Wild Child, Pine Mountain Logs & Venice, The Mother Hips, and Venice. The full press release and ticket details are after the jump.

Photos: Sharon Van Etten at Observatory, 2.28.2019

I wrote about an old Sharon Van Etten experience at Habitat House for SoundDiego and then had the super pleasure of seeing her at the Observatory on February 28th. Life happens, so unfortunately I wasn't able to catch the opener and I really wanted Darren there, but he had a soccer game at the same time. So it was just me, flying solo, loving the show. At the beginning of the year, she dropped her first record since 2014, Remind Me Tomorrow, and mixed up a handful of new cuts with her old favorites. Additionally, she'll return to her role as Rachel on Netflix's The OA when the second season comes back on March 22nd. Lots of photos after the jump.  

San Diego Music Awards 2019: Winners

I had the pleasure of attending the 2019 San Diego Music Awards on Monday night. I also had the pleasure of live-tweeting the whole thing for SoundDiego, which in retrospect, maybe I should've done as a thread? At any rate, I didn't have a chance to post much of anything yesterday, but I promised I'd share this year's winners.

You can also find the list at the official site, but I decided to post them in the order they were announced instead. When you look at it from this perspective, it makes it interesting, because while many of the performers found themselves winning the award announced immediately after their performances, it wasn't the case with everyone. So, for example, Veronica May and Casey Hensley both performed and won their categories, but the rest of the performers did not--but they're still winners in our book!!

I didn't get to schmooze nearly as much as I would've liked as I was confined to my Chromebook the whole night, but the performances were pretty great, starting with Ariel Levine and closing with Planet B, and Veronica May, Shane Hall, Casey Hensley, Vokab Company, and the Redwoods Revue all getting stage time. Of course, the event sold out with the promise of a Jason Mraz performance, which was actually some Java Joe All-Stars who wrote a special tribute to Jave Joe Flammini, with lots of allusions to smoking weed in the parking lot behind Java Joe's and the years the venue was a staple in its various locations. It was definitely a fun night and the after party at the Casbah was raging, too, but this old lady was tuckered and had to call it an early night. Full winners below and list of original nominees are after the jump.


Winners (in order of presentation)


Best Indie/Alternative – Aviator Stash
Best New Artist – The Havnauts
Best Local Recording - The Havnauts- Go For It! 
Best Country or Americana – Blind Mountain Holler
Best Pop Album - Veronica May-Teaser
Best World Music Album – The Amalgamated– Premium Quality 
Best Jazz – Euphoria Brass Band
Best Blues Album - Whitney Shay- A Woman Rules The World
Best Singer/Songwriter – Evan Diamond
Best Rock Album – Electric Mud– Highway Refugees 
Best Country or Americana Album - Berkley Hart- While the Night is Still Young
Best World Music – B-Side Players
Best Blues – Casey Hensley
Best Jazz Album - Mattson 2- A Love Supreme

 Lifetime Achievement Award – “Java” Joe Flammini

Best Rock - Schizophonics
Best Indie/Alternative Album - The Frights- hypochondriac
Best Hip Hop/Rap – Parker Meridien
Best Live Performer - Schizophonics
Best Pop – Mittens
Best Hip Hop or Rap Album - Parker Meridien– Twenty First Street Sessions
Song of the Year - Hot Snakes– Six Wave Hold Down
Artist of the Year – Whitney Shay
Album of the Year –Hot Snakes– Jericho Sirens 

Things To Do In San Diego: Monday, March 11-Monday, March 18, 2019

I feel like a little bit of an overachiever, but over the weekend I realized I'd be spending Sunday between the Casbah for the comedy of Kate Berlant and the Music Box for Better Obliovion Community Center and then all evening on Monday at the San Diego Music Awards, so I spent my Saturday night watching Leaving Neverland and working on this week's listings. So today, you get them on Monday. You're welcome. Truthfully, I'm not really an overachiever...I still have a few shows worth of photos to post and such, but I'll get them up sooner or later. Last week was a good one...I caught Beirut on Monday, Metric on Tuesday, and worked for Mudhoney on Friday. Full listings from Monday to Monday are after the jump.

Rosey's Read & Watch List

Last weekend, we checked out the San Diego Bird Festival, presented by the Audobon. The wild parrots made an appearance and made me envious of the multiple-thousand dollar lenses being showcased just inside the exhibit hall. Here are some of the things I've been watching and reading the past ccouple weeks, after the jump.

Things To Do In San Diego: Tuesday, March 5-Monday, March 11, 2019

We had such a good week. As I mentioned, my favorite uncle was in town so we had a lot of nice family time and dinners out, and convinced him to stretch his stay through Friday, just to get a little more time with him. It was also Darren's birthday which, like most guys, he didn't really want to celebrate but there was still lots of cake. I love cake. I got to check out Sharon Van Etten on Thursday, and Darren and I went to Men I Trust on Friday. On Saturday, Nova and I ran around town, hit up the Audobon's Bird Festival in Marina Village, cruised around Fiesta Island then we were invited to see the San Diego Seals Lacrosse game at Pechanga Arena, which was a blast. Loud AF, but really fun. On Sunday, we took the dog back to Fiesta Island to take advantage of how awesome and green it is right now, then we worked at the Irenic for Waxahatchee which was a another great show to close the weekend, then saw Beirut at the Observatory. This week I'll be catching Metric at OAT, Mudhoney at the Casbah, and the SDMA's at the Casbah. I'll probably sprinkle a couple extra shows to fill out the week. Listings through Monday are after the jump.