COVID-19: Still Here, Nobody Cares | Lawbreaking Churches Act With Impunity | Seaport Village Developer Wants You To Pay For Their Project | Chicken Collusion |

Alvvays at Observatory (Taken 10.30.22)

I keep thinking that I'm going to quit doing these COVID posts. The CDC has pretty much given up. The County's COVID committee just had their final meeting, and the data that is still provided is almost assuredly unreliable. Without free tests out there ---we were promised they'd cost a couple bucks once the demand died down and yet they're still about $15 a pop at most pharmacies and grocery stores -- people don't even seem to be testing anymore, writing off illness to anything but COVID. I'm not any different. I had a cough last night, assumed it was from overdoing it on Saturday night, took and allergy pill, and was fine today. And you know I'm at the San Diego Zoo nearly every day and the number of kids who are outright sick but still there in their strollers coughing all over everyone is truly alarming. 

So here I am at my second sold out show of the weekend...we attended Alvvays on Sunday and now I'm working for Babe Rainbow...and I'm masked and just doing the best we can, I guess. Nova and Darren both got their flu shots and COVID boosters last week and didn't really feel any obvious side effects, though Darren went to bed super early that night and probably got 12 hours total. That could just be time catching up with him, though. The park has been super busy and he recently got a promotion so that's all very exciting. 

As for me, I'm still trying to hit the Zoo everyday, and I jones for it when I don't. I went on Saturday night but am hoping to get some solid sleep tonight and do a morning sess with the orangs. I'm working a lot, and trying to disconnect from the internet more and more as the election gets closer and closer. Everything is pretty terrible. The campaign ads are fucking ridiculous. But I would NEVER not vote. 

Stay safe out there.  Your mental health is just as critical as your physical health. 

Things To Do In San Diego: Wednesday, October 26 - Tuesday, November 1, 2022: Halloween & Dia de Los Muertos | Pearl & The Oysters | T.S.O.L. | Jacob Turnbloom | Creepy Creeps | Foals | RFTC | Alvvays | Langhorne Slim | Black Lips | Babe Rainbow | Snail Mail | PPC |

Lindsey Jordan, aka Snail Mail (Taken 8.21.2019)

It really is crazy how many tours are rolling through San Diego. It's great for rebuilding what we lost from the emergency of the pandemic, but it also makes for a very cutthroat concert scene in a way, too. All of these artists and venues and service fees and awesome events and fancy drinks and amazing restaurants are fighting for your money while you're trying to live in the fifth most expensive big city in the country and it is still amazing how many shows can sell out on the same night or in the same week. You can make up for it with some free Halloween and Dia De Los Muertos stuff, and then still get out by night to spend that cash money on a show. I don't have insight at all the venues, but I can tell you that The Creepy Creeps at the Casbah is super close to selling out on Saturday, as is Alvvays on Sunday at the Observatory. There were several more tour announcements over the past week...Blink-182 added a second night and Unknown Mortal Orchestra announced a date, and Otoboke Beaver are already planning on coming back with a bigger show, but digging all the info is still a little too much for me if I hope to get any work done or sleep at non-vampire hours. 

Get a booster & flu shot, study your ballot, and stay safe out there. 

COVID-19: Misinformation & Disinformation Like Summer of '20 All Over Again | Getting Boosted | Flu Season Is Upon Us | Gas Wars | Padres Lose NLCS To Phillies

Denny (Taken 8.19.22)

I'm watching the Phillies vs Padres game and it's the top of the 9th and the Phillies just got a two-run homer and why am I even doing this to myself? I have lived most of my adult life, at least the past decade not letting sports take any of my life but here we are. Kind of impossible to fight it when your whole city has been mobilized with a common cause. That doesn't happen often. 

But what I really wanted to talk about was COVID, RSV, and the Flu. I got my bivalent booster last week, and while I was kinda hopeful it would knock me out and I'd get real sleep, in actuality I felt nothing except the tender arm and it felt like all week, related or not, my anxiety and insomnia were through the roof. I also intended to get my flu shot at the same time, but insurance is dumb so now I have to use Sharp to get that on Monday. 

I'm so glad to have finally gotten a booster though. The San Diego Zoo has been especially crowded during the month of October because kids 11 and under are free and they have extended weekend hours for HalGLOWeen and of course this is only anecdotal, but kids are sick. Coughing and sneezing and touching everything and their parents just sip their beers and margaritas while dragging their sick kids all over the place, and it is so frustrating. And it didn't help that a prominent right-wing talking head this week claimed that the vaccines are responsible for more deaths than COVID is kids (not true) but then that message spread and we just have a whole bunch of stupid idiots listening to rich and cunning propagandists and it feels like we're back in summer of 2020. So whatever. You do you. Don't vaccinate your kids and then watch them get the virus over and over and damage their organs and take that chance. Or be like a person in my family who intentionally got her son sick. I'll keep taking my chances on science with my mask on and boosters.    

Stay safe out there.  

(Phillies just won the game. I'm out. Going to see Denny.) 

Things To Do In San Diego: Wednesday, October 19-Tuesday, October 25, 2022: Willie Nelson | Fiji Blue | Walk The Moon | Otoboke Beaver | Flor de Toloache | SIlent Comedy & Little Hurricane | Death Cab For Cutie | Superorganism | Alex G | Belinda Carlisle |

Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie (Taken 9.25.2015)

I ended up staying up late last night to finish the listings, though they still needed a few touches before I could publish. If you've ever needed more evidence that life is back to "normal", look no further than this Saturday night. What a crazy lineup of shows! Our friends Little Hurricane and Silent Comedy are sharing the stage at Belly Up, Death Cab plays the new UCSD Amphitheatre, The Magnificent is back at the Casbah, Alex G plays the Observatory, Superorganism plays Music Box, and throwback to the 90s, Sophie B Hawkins plays the House of Blues Voodoo Room. WHAT? Independently, every single one of those shows is a big deal, but unfortunately they overlap audiences and probably cannibalize each other a bit. 

I'm not really sure where I'll end up this week. I'm working for Fiji Blue at the Casbah on Thursday, might drop in for Otoboke Beaver on Friday on my way to help my dad, and I'm still waiting to hear about DCFC on Saturday. I'm also still enjoying HalGLOWeen at the San Diego Zoo, when they're open until 9 on weekends and the San Diego Zoo Mariachi Trio plays half hour sets at the top of every hour starting at 5pm. Hopefully this heat wave subsides quick because I've already missed one day at the Zoo this week and I go a little stir crazy if I miss any more. 

Have a great week. Stay safe out there. Wear a mask.   

Things To Do In San Diego: Wednesday, October 19, 2022: Willie Nelson | Cardiac Sunset | Aloe Vera | Novo Amor | Still Ill | The Routine | Madball |

I got my bivalent booster on Monday evening. While I thought an added benefit would be an early night of sound sleep, instead I was uncomfortable, should've gotten it on the arm I don't sleep on, and while laying in bed, didn't finally sleep until sometime around 5 or 6am. I'm still feeling pretty beat, so I decided I would just do Wednesday listings and give myself some time and grace to do the rest. 

And whether you're watching the NLCS or not, you should be aware that Wednesday's home game is at 1:35pm at Petco Park, so expect traffic in an around downtown all day long and watch out for crazy drunk drivers right around afternoon drive time. 

Stay safe out there. 

COVID-19: The Fall Comeback We Don't Want | Padres Take Down Dodgers in NLDS | Jan 6 Committee Concludes Hearings | Ballots Have Been Delivered |

Rocky Votolato at Black Horse Coffee Roasters (Taken 10.16.22)

I have been keeping track of COVID Twitter and it is not looking good over there. Just when I thought I'd be winding down talk of COVID, you hear about it sneaking back into our lives. You hear anecdotally about outbreaks, about people missing work, about tours canceling, about friends who are sick with "a really nasty cold" and I gotta say - treat it all like COVID. Whether it's a cold or COVID and just not showing up on a test until the fifth day, or the nasty flu that's going around, the whole point is when you're sick you shouldn't be out in the world getting other people sick. I wasn't able to get my booster last week, but while I was writing this I went to CVS.com and got an appointment for tonight, so I guess I'll go to the Zoo, get my bivalent Pfizer shot and throw in a flu shot with it. 

As for me, I've had a pretty good week. I was bummed to miss The War on Drugs and Florence and the Machine but I need a little more advanced notice than just day of show. I'm old and have responsibilities which kinda kicks spontaneity out the door. Though last minute work is almost always accepted and when Darren took me to the Safari Park for a cart tour I of course said yes because the Zoo was already in my plans.

It was kind of a whacky weekend...I watched the Padres win and spent a few hours, unplanned of course, rescuing a dog in my neighborhood that got out in the rain. That was an ordeal, but he's safe now. This week is pretty chill, much of the same and a couple nights of work ahead. 

Stay safe out there. It's coming back, even if we want to wish it away.

Things To Do In San Diego: Wednesday, October 12-Tuesday, October 18, 2022: Florence + The Machine | Marco Benevento | Bit Brigade | Jenny & The Mexicats | Sparta | Rocky Votolato | John Doe Folk Trio | Willie Nelson | Night Moves |

Rocky Votolato (Taken 8.20.2015)

Every once in a while I'm reminded of an external harddrive that was stolen from my bag while working at the Observatory. With it went at least a couple years of photos. Like, I've been seeing Rocky Votolato perform live for 20 years! and this was the only stash of photos I could easily access. It could also be because I always shot more video than photos, but either way, when I think of the lost archives, my heart breaks a little. 

Still, it's an interesting thing to think about...time and how all of our lives are so vastly different than they were in 2002, or from when this photo was taken in 2015. Like when I heard today that Blink-182 was announcing a new record and world tour, I thought about all those shows I went to back in the day, even before they added the 182 to their name, and their arc of success and then remember they played that streaming concert at the Casbah before streaming was really even a thing and I had to pull major strings to get in and then I end up working there for what...13 years now? Life is so crazy and unexpected all the time. I purchased my tickets to see Rocky Votolato and it happens to be on the same night as the celebration of life for our friend Ian Parker, and then I think about Rocky's latest record and well, you just have to listen. And while it's supposed to be a "house tour", since we all live in postage stamps in San Diego, his is actually at a warehouse so there are still tickets left if you're interested and I included the link in the Sunday listing for the show. 

Again, I'm so exhausted I'm not gonna do a full new concert announcement list, but Casbah & Observatory added a FIDLAR show that is bound to sell out quickly and if you've never seen them live...well, it will make you feel like those old Blink shows at SOMA and 4th & B, only now you'll just be the concerned old person in the room watching the circle pit and thinking to yourself that you hope nobody gets hurt. We aren't the same as we were. And that is just fine. Lots of amazing shows this week, even for us olds. 

Stay safe out there. 

Wednesday, October 12, 2022:

• Florence + The Machine: Dance Fever Tour, Wet Leg @ Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre, SDSU
• Marco Benevento, William Tyler @ Casbah
• Yellow Ostrich, Kate Von Schleicher @ Soda Bar
• Big Wild - The Efferusphere Tour, Biig Piig @ Humphrey's Concerts By The Bay (General Admission. Standing Only, Sold Out)
• J Roddy Walston, The Howls (Acoustic) @ Belly Up
• The Bad Plus @ La Jolla Athenaeum (SOLD OUT)
• Gilbert Castellanos Young Lions Series & Jazz Jam @ Copley Auditorium, Panama 66
• Alexandra Kay, Jessie Lark @ Voodoo Room, House of Blues
• Native Howl Live @ The Holding Company
• Kings of Thrash: David Ellefson & Jeff Young @ Brick by Brick
• Jason Hanna and the Swingin' Bananas @ Riviera Supper Club
• Psydecar @ Humphrey's Backstage Live
• Love Is A Rose (A Linda Ronstadt Tribute) @ Tio Leo's
• Tribute to Pat Metheny's Offramp @ The Jazz Lounge
• Open Mic with Whit @ Pour House
• Accoustic Revolt with Greg Rekus, Matt Caskitt, Run Your Pockets, Fight Against The Sun, Dead Ven, John Giles @ Tower Bar
• Skumbudz @ Winston's 
• Taxilandia @ La Jolla Playhouse 
• Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord @ La Jolla Playhouse 
• Come Fall In Love - The DDLJ Musical @ The Old Globe
• What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank @ The Old Globe
• Karaoke @ Rosie O'Grady's 
• Big Blues Jam @ Navajo Live
• Karaoke @ Bancroft Bar
• Open Mic @ 710 Beach Club

Thursday, October 13, 2022:

• Bit Brigade performs “Mega Man II” + “Castlevania” LIVE, Kirby's Dream Band @ Casbah
• Canceled Due To Illness:

COVID-19: More Variants: Immune Escape & Evasion; Winter Surge Expected | OPEC+ Is Fucking With U.S. | County, City Resolve To Create Affordable Housing |

Emily Haines of Metric, at Observatory 10.3.22

There's this pretty obnoxious and condescending guy on Twitter whose tone almost makes him sound gleeful with respect to COVID. Whenever numbers start ticking up, he's like "SEE!? I TOLD YOU THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN!!" I've even called him out for it. But I still follow him because he's not wrong, he's just an asshole. But sometimes he's kinda funny, too. The other day he tweeted that he can tell COVID is about to surge again by Yankee Candle Reviews on Amazon. "This Yankee Candle has no scent!!" You'd be surprised how many people say the same, though from everything I'm seeing and reading from Europe, the newer variants present more like a cold with a ripping sore throat and not showing on rapid tests for 3-5 days, long enough for you to spread it to everyone you know or test negative on a home test and think you're in the clear when you're really not. 

I had a pretty good week. I met up with my family at Sea World, Darren and I went to the Metric show, I worked for Brass Against, worked for a double header of Champions of Magic, and at the moment I'm working for Ibibio Sound System. I got some Zoo time in this week, we celebrated my niece's birthday, my brother and his family visited from New Mexico, and Darren's cousin visited from Geneva, so we took him to the Safari Park and did the zipline. I'm super exhausted so I'm trying to make the next two hours pass quickly but honestly, it feels all uphill right now. I'm looking forward to the week ahead: it's Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday at the Safari Park so maybe I'll sneak up there if I can find the time. Otherwise, I haven't ruled out going to The War on Drugs on Tuesday and Sunday, my favorite, Rocky Votolato is in town doing a "house show" even though it's actually at a warehouse, plus plenty of Zoo time in between. I'm also hoping to go get my booster and flu shot this week, now that I'm 3 months past my bout with COVID in July, so I'll set some time aside in case they knock me out for a day. 

Stay safe out there. 

Things To Do In San Diego: Wednesday, October 5-Tuesday, October 11, 2022 | Julia Jacklin | Enter Shikari | DEHD | Marcus Mumford | Soft Kill | Girls Against Boys | Matt Nathanson | James McMurtry | The War On Drugs |

Julia Jacklin (Taken 9.25.2018)

I am keeping it short and sweet this week because I'm a little swamped. Between work and having family in town and just trying to manage sleep and life and all of it can be overwhelming. There are so many amazing shows this fall and particularly this week and I don't have the bandwidth I used to. So I never got around to adding show announcements last week and I'm not adding them this week either, but know that Thee Sacred Souls sold out their first show and another one has been added. A Baby Bushka show has been added at Music Box and I suspect that one will sell out pretty fast, too. If I think of any other biggies, I'll let you know. Until then, have a great week. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but anecdotally I'm hearing of a lot of people getting COVID again, so get that booster and wear that mask. 

Stay safe out there. 

COVID-19: Bivalent Booster PR Needs Work. Disease Still Showing Damage After Resolving | Newsom Stands Up To Refineries | Hurricane Ian's Wrath Highlights Consequences For Ignoring Climate Change |

Ajani the Mandrill in an intense yawn. (Taken 10.2.22)

What a week. It was my birthday and I want to thank everyone who took the time to text, call, post, comment or otherwise mention it. Facebook hides so much of the birthday stuff, I almost never actually post on other peoples' walls, so the fact that so many still did for me is truly beyond kind. I thought I could just blow off the workday and have fun, but I paid for it dearly with way too much work lingering on Thursday, making it even worse when I got called in to sell merch at Music Box. Thankfully it was a low-key show there and I did eventually catch up on everything. 

I haven't been daily posting so I don't need to give a full rundown, but a few things happened...I'm not in any way comparing their impact or importance, more just what I took notice of was (1) Hurricane Ian wreaked havoc on a state that has intentionally flouted any efforts to act on climate change, in fact legislating against what they call "woke capitalism" but didn't have any problems putting their hands out even before it hit, with rumors circulating that the Florida governor has asked people to donate directly to a state fund that he's put his wife in charge of. WTF? (2) Coolio died, which brought some interesting discussions about the effects of having even "mild" COVID and not being vaccinated. Was there a connection to his heart attack? We can only speculate since nobody is going to say for sure, but there are interesting threads on it nonetheless. And (3) We have all suffered through crazy gas prices. I didn't react in the spring because the whole country was going through it together. We could all understand that OPEC was intentionally fucking with the supply to get the price of a barrel up over $100, that Russia's attack on Ukraine was going to cause global interruptions, etc, but when the EIA report came out last week that California was paying nearly $2 more than the rest of the country when our "extreme" tax is 53.9 cents, like everyone else, I was pissed, so I was happy to see Newsom speak up about it on Friday and look forward to more being done in the coming weeks. 

So yeah, lots of news, lots of stuff going on locally (like stupid face Bill Walton and his dumb assessment of San Diego's homelessness problem) and short-term rental applications opening this week, but I'm going to put the laptop away and enjoy the rest of my Sunday night. Hope you do, too.   

Stay safe out there.