Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, September 25-Wednesday, October 8, 2025: Rev Horton Heat | Lucinda Williams | Band of Horses | Stereophonics | Ice Cube | Big Thief | The Head & The Heart | PUP |

San Diego Skyline Taken From Admiral Hornblower

Oh, boy. It is not easy to try to compile two weeks of listings without some well-programmed scrapers like other sites have, especially as September ends and October is still a week out. But I've got things to do and places to go. I'm going on a trip and I'll talk all about it when I'm back, but I don't know what my internet access will be like for the next couple weeks and I would prefer not to touch my laptop at all, so I just want to let you know that I don't have first week of October listings for Aquarius, Black Cat, Til-Two, Panama 66, Blind Lady, Seven Grand, Sycuan Live & Local and a couple others. If I get a chance to update, I will, but if not, know that those venues typically have live music on weekends and you can use my venue page to check them if you're so inclined. I will try to cut the listings and break them out by week, but again, we'll see if I find a library or a place to do such things. Plus, I have so much other stuff to talk about...I got to go on the renovated Admiral Hornblower last week, checked out Samia at Music Box, and loved getting to see Suzzallo at Soda Bar on Tuesday. And going into my birthday weekend, HazPaca is open for four days!, I think I get to see and shoot Stereophonics on Saturday, and my birthday will start with Seaworld Yoga, this time in Turtle Reef, and close with Big Thief at the Shell, with a whole bunch of other stuff in between. So yay. I'm old. Happy birthday to me. Feels like a good time for a vacay. 

I'm beat. Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. 

Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, September 18-Wednesday, September 24, 2025: TOPS | Kyle Mooney Birdtalker | Jon Batiste | Adams Avenue Street Fair | Howard Jones | The Hives | Suzzallo | Reverend Horton Heat |

I decided to do most of my listings on Monday this week, but then it made me stay up all night so Tuesday was kind of a shitshow, but I hung out with my mom at the zoo and went to Darren's softball practice on Tuesday and hope to get it all back together because I have a thing to go to on Wednesday. I realized that if I'm hoping to do my full travel itinerary, I might actually try to get next week's listings also done this week and my birthday week done next week, so then I really don't have to worry about laptop time (or finding power) while I'm running around. 

Now, I know I haven't done any sort of show previews in a very, very long time, but there are a ton of rad shows this week -- too many all at once if you ask me--slamming against the Adams Avenue Street Fair, my mom's birthday, Toby's "family day" at UCSD and then moving him in to his dorm...it's all a lot. But I wanted to draw your attention (those of you who still read, anyway) to the Suzzallo show on Tuesday at Soda Bar. Suzzallo is fronted by Rocky Votolato and harkens back to his early days in Waxwing and let's him completely scream it all out in a much different way than his self-titled records. Rocky has been very public about the tragic loss of his 22-year-old, Kienan, in a horrific automobile collision a few years back, and it seems working through the grief of losing them brought this project together. (If you'd like to read more, few people write as rawly and beautifully as Rocky himself.) They're playing at Soda Bar on Tuesday, and while I love a show in an empty room with lots of elbow room and having the band all to myself, I know it would mean a lot to show support to an artist who's been coming to San Diego reliably for over 20 years. You can listen to the whole Suzzallo album on YouTube here and see their entire KEXP performance here. 

Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, September 11-Wednesday, September 17, 2025: Goon | Andrew Duhon | Grandaddy | Mavis Staples | Cursive | Kyle Dion | Anamanaguchi | Molotov | Nitzer Ebb | Ani DiFranco | Pile | KUMO 99 | Samia |

I've got a lot going on this week, so I'm just gonna post listings without any commentary. If you have a sec, check out this article in the San Diego Business Journal about the Casbah, Soda Bar, and other local music venues. Then go buy tickets to keep this scene going. 

Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. 

Rosey's Diary and Newsy Things: Okapi Born at San Diego Zoo | Meter Hours & Rates Change In San Diego | SDZWA Contemplates Paid Parking | ICE Still Sucks |

Baby Okapi at less than 16 hours old

Baby Okapi at 3 days old

Even though it was Labor Day weekend, it still managed to be a pretty great week. Don't get me wrong, I love a three-day weekend, but man, it is hell when every marketing person uses Labor Day as the marker for being in the "home-stretch" for "backend marketing" for their shows, whether they're a week away or three months away. It's a nightmare. But it was a great week anyway, because I got to see the beginning of the labor of Subira, the Okapi, at the San Diego Zoo on Tuesday. I was allowed to linger long enough to see the hoof poking out, but eventually had to leave since the zoo closes at 6 again, and she gave birth about 2 hours after I left. 

I'm also pretty excited because we are planning a trip! It's not great, because it's for a memorial for Darren's trans niece, Evelyn, who died by suicide this summer, but I felt like it was kind of important to make something beautiful out of it. We haven't been to the Bay Area since 2017 and so much has changed since then. So since Toby will just be starting at UCSD and Darren is limited in his days off, I'm gonna do a solo roadtrip up the California coast and then they'll fly up and we'll all meet up for the weekend, and then I'll solo roadtrip back home after. It will be my birthday week, so it feels like a fun way to celebrate the last year in my 40s. 

It was also a fun week because I got to see Jesse LaMonaca play at the Casbah on Wednesday, I played on Darren's softball team on Thursday, and today I got a few afternoon hours in at the zoo with the gorilla brothers and the okapi before coming to Music Box to work at the Veggi show. It's been slow, but I got to listen to most of my murder trial until I got an email spoiler on the verdict, I got to see a few friends, and I brought adequate snackies to get me through the late night. I might be working again for Kevin Morby tomorrow, but that seems to still be TBD. 

I hope everyone has had a good week, and if anyone wants to join me on Monday at City Council, they'll be hearing the lease amendment proposal for the San Diego Zoo...details below. 

Stay safe out there. COVID is spiking. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. 

Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, September 4-Wednesday, September 10, 2025: W.I.T.C.H. | Circle Jerks | Fat Dog | Kevin Morby | Jackson Browne | Sutton James | Staring At The Sun Release | Lucy Dacus | Cass McCombs | Billie Marten |

I did these listings on Tuesday and lots of venues didn't have their calendars updated. I thought I'd have a chance on Wednesday to go through again, but honestly, you snooze you lose. I don't have the time and frankly didn't feel I should have to double back for these venues. So, you get what you get and you don't get upset. 

Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.