Things To Do In San Diego: Friday, January 2-Wednesday, January 7, 2026: Starcrawler & Plague Vendor | Java Joes Reunion Show | Swami Sound System | Poncho Sanchez | The Devastators | Duran Duran | Back To The Garden |

So I didn't post listings on Thursday since I'd included it on last week's events. And then I went to the Zoo bright and shiny in the morning on New Year's Day for several hours, then I went home and coerced Darren and Toby to stack in the van to go to Seaworld so we could watch the Holiday Bowl Marching Bands and Cheer Squads in a little band battle. It was the cutest nerdiest thing and we loved it. After it ended, we stayed at the park for a couple more hours and then I was wiped out, so I slept. But I knew I had work to do, so I prioritized my work newsletter before getting to the listings, even though I usually publish these earlier. Whatever. So I'm an hour late. I gotta be honest, I was tempted to make 2026 the year I just throw in the towel and stop listings altogether...there are so many other places to find such things nowadays, but I guess my need-to-know won out and so this week, we carry on. 

For anyone wondering, I've been told that there are two memorials for Tim Lowman being coordinated with his family, so hang tight and give a minute for everyone to take a breath...it was a devastating way to end 2025 and dampened any kind of celebratory yearning for hope going into 2026. So let's all take a breath. We can mourn the losses and hardships of 2025, while also trying to appreciate what we have and find all the reasons to put one foot in front of the other as we move into 2026. 

I love you all. Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. 

Rosey's Diary & Newsy Things: NYE | San Diego 2026: GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER | Zoo Goss | Everyone Is Sick | RIP Tim Lowman |

It's been a few weeks since the last diary post and while I always intend to write some deep and thoughtful wrapup of the year, there's always something...my cat went missing and then after more than 2 months, we found her deceased, almost literally next door, and then the holidays snuck up, and I've been going to the Zoo and Seaworld on the regular, and then I've had this pain in my neck and back whenever I'm online for any stretch of time so I'm trying to work that out, and then it was Christmas, and then I got the news over the weekend that Tim Lowman died, and I've just chosen to be out living, rather than holed up writing or aggregating or generally getting myself worked up about the horrible, egregious, disgusting things happening by the current administration, and it's all just too much. And while I haven't said anything on socials about Tim, the news is absolutely heartbreaking and devastating and I can't stop thinking of beautiful little Marlow growing up without her amazing daddy. We have been friends for many, many years, but over the last few, most of our interactions consisted of running into their little family as they traversed the zoo, and usually I could get Kizzy and Handsome, the African Gray Parrots, to engage in some communications. Of course the passage of time also brings great things...Toby got the care he needed, my God sister had her twin babies, I got to go on an epic California roadtrip, and overall, my family is all doing well, albeit after losing both Ficus and Tikka this year. So yeah, I'm a happy and fulfilled person striving to be better in 2026, but 2025 was just a super fucked up trash year on many levels and not everyone made it out alive, but all the rest of us can do is keep on keeping on and hope (and act when we can) for a better tomorrow. 

I love you. Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.   

Things To Do In San Diego: Friday, December 26, 2025-Thursday, January 1, 2026: Big Sandy | B-Side Players | Mumford & Sons | Funky But Chic | Barefoot Hockey Goalie | Paul Cauthen | Slacker | NYE | Starcrawler & Plague Vendor |

My not-so-little friend, Denny, who turns 11 on 12.26.25

Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, December 18-Thursday, December 25, 2025: Manual Scan | Urethane | Save Ferris | Gary Shuffledust | Emo Nite | Band Argument | El Vez | EXILE ON KETTNER BLVD |

I am completely checked out for the holidays. I still have work...an annoyingly abundance of it, actually, as every agent feels like they need to 'check in' on their shows 2 and 3 and 4 months out, even though they know that nobody is buying tickets for April a week before Christmas. But that's beside the point. I'm feeling the Christmas spirit and just want to be out in sweaters and beanies and scarves and drinking hot cocoa and seeing twinkling lights and hearing annoying Christmas music on repeat. We got a tree after skipping last year...we just kinda ran outta time and didn't get one, but this year I was looking and got a tip on Costco putting all their trees on clearance for $13 and I couldn't resist, even though it's massive and taking up our whole living room. Toby is home for winter break from UCSD, Darren is getting a couple days off, too, and I've just been trying to keep up with all the things. So listings are done, but I'll have to do NYE over the weekend or next week, because I'm beat. 

I love you all. Thanks for helping me survive 2025. Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. 

Things To Do San Diego: Thursday, December 11-Wednesday, December 17, 2025: The Slackers | Har Mar Superstar | Hasan & Ronny | Rose City Band | Electric Guest | & Loads of Holiday Fun!

Once again, I really fucked up my sleep schedule to get my listings done on Tuesday so I could go to the Andy Bell show at Music Box and imbibe in some adult beverages, so I'm just gonna post and say that I did my best to get it all in because obviously I didn't do a separated page for holiday stuff. Maybe next year. 

I'm sure there's plenty of fun to be found for you and your family. Full listings after the jump.

Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. 

Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, December 4-Wednesday, December 10, 2025: Holiday Celebrations + | Shane Hall | Agriculture | Jonathan Richman | Matte Blvck | Aterciopelados | Say Anything | Vienna Teng | Safe Mind | Andy Bell |

I was gonna do a full blown diary post, but I'll just do it here, since everything is connected anyway and I'm sleepy. Today I found out that the San Diego Zoo parking lot is no longer a free lot for December Nights at Balboa Park. Even though I was told that Zoo Members will just have to show membership to park free for the weekend, it still feels like I was kind of blindsided by this news. Parking will be $35 for non-members, complimentary if you're a zoo member OR a zoo guest with prepaid tickets for admission for the day. I highly recommend reading the San Diego Zoo's information page here and be prepared. 

Parking at the San Diego Zoo on Friday, December 5 and Saturday, December 6 will be $35 per vehicle (debit/credit only). Parking for San Diego Zoo ticket holders and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance members visiting the Zoo during this time will be complimentary.

You can also see the City's outline of Paid and Free Parking and shuttle information. It still baffles the mind that the two main Park Boulevard bus lines will NOT be running to the park, the 7 and the RAPID 215, and in fact, part of the bus lane between President's Way and San Diego High has reverted back to a general traffic lane. 

I think this is now the third year that paid parking has been a thing at December Nights, and I get it, the City is broke and there are projections of 300,000+ visitors over this particular weekend, but what really infuriates me is that while the City claims that this was implemented to recover the costs of having the free event, WHY THE FUCK IS THIS OUTSOURCED EXCLUSIVELY TO ACE PARKING?! It feels like "parking and traffic management" should fall under the purview of CITY SERVICES and that this FOR-PROFIT company shouldn't be managing traffic and parking EVER, let alone for this event. I wonder if I can FOIA for the City's contracts with Ace? Because they certainly DO NOT know what the fuck they are doing when they're in charge of Zoo parking management on regular weekends and the clusterfuck I can feel they're going to create when they're operating from 6am-11pm (!!!!) is going to be on the scale of that Big Bay Boom when all the fireworks exploded at once. I'm not worried about me...I've got nothing but time and am a veteran when it comes to navigating the parking around these workers who are functionally undertrained and understaffed for the task they're entrusted to manage, but maybe this can be a test drive and the Zoo can bow out of Ace Parking as managing the parking when it comes to year-round paid parking at Balboa Park and the Zoo. The sad thing is the execs don't even really know or see how bad it is because they use the garage and don't have to experience the green shirts stopping traffic all the way down Zoo Place into Florida Canyon. Pack your patience. Or just go at the end of the night...traffic usually gets back to normal around 9pm, which still gives you a couple hours of December Nights. 

We are so fucked. 

Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. 

Things To Do In San Diego: Sunday, November 30-Wednesday, December 3, 2025: Reggae Brunch Matinee | The Frights | Mdou Moctar | David Benoit | Frank Meyer | Two Runner |

 

I had a couple additions and modifications to this week's listings, so I figured I would repost for ease of access. The photo is my favorite section of lights at Seaworld. Love you. 

Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. 

Rosey's Diary and Newsy Things: City of San Diego Approves & Sets Rates For Balboa Park Parking and lots of other tidbits. | San Diego Zoo To Implement Paid Parking For Non-Members |

I guess I've had this post in the works for several weeks, but never got around to posting because I was busy showing up at City Council meetings to speak against paid parking at the Zoo and Balboa Park, and then running around between the Zoo and Seaworld, working the occasional merch gigs, and spending late nights and early evenings and sometimes early mornings looking for my cat, to no avail. Honestly, besides checking on Pawboost, we'd mostly given up on active searches, but then we saw a post of a sighting that maybe was Tikka, so it reignited me actually walking neighborhoods at night when I was able and motivated. Now we're just past Thanksgiving, and after spending some time with family at San Elijo State Campground and also hanging around the house with Toby, who came home from campus for most of the weekend, and Darren, who got to enjoy the rare extended weekend, I'm at Music Box selling for Flamingosis. It's been nice kinda being a homebody and indulging in the tryptophan coma from the turkey we cooked this year (for the first time with Darren, ever!) and I'm just passing the time until I can pack up this merch and ship it off and get back into my cozy pajamas while finishing off the final two episodes of Murdaugh: Death in the Family, since we took advantage of Black Friday deals on Hulu+ & Disney, as well as the super cheap offer for HBO Max with ads. 

I hope everyone had a nice holiday. I cut out a lot of the usual national and international news links this time around, because it has been so bonkers lately that I just have to assume everyone is watching or reading the news incessantly like I do. There's a great user on Threads called @decodingfoxnews that transcribes quotes from TFG and rereads them in a woman's voice, so you can hear what the lunatic is saying without actually having to see his dastardly face or hear his vulgar voice. 10/10, highly recommend. 

Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. 

Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, November 20, 2025-Wednesday, December 3, 2025: Flamin' Groovies | The Sophs | Dutch Interior | Sure Fire Soul Ensemble | The Stews | Lucius | Beat Farmers | The Frights |

I was feeling extra motivated on Tuesday night and decided I would knock out two weeks of listings, since Thanksgiving week is typically a bit more quiet than other weeks, but it means that I was up until 5:30am on Wednesday to get them done. I have been on the fence about doing a Holiday Page again, as I'd done in the past but have kinda skipped since the pandemmy, but I don't know if I'll motivate enough to do that comprehensive of a roundup. But if you're a sucker for lights and trees and all of those things this time of year, the Dr. Seuss tree is already up at The Old Globe, with the lights on nightly until midnight, Seaworld is looking amazing with their goal of a million lights and the reindeer already being super dupity cute, and the Zoo has put up their lights and things, though they've shortened this year's Jungle Bells to just December 19-January 4. Wild Holidays at Safari Park, on the other hand, kicks off on November 28. "Wild Holidays runs November 28–30; December 19–23; and December 26–January 4, 2026. On Wild Holidays dates, the Safari Park is open until 8 p.m." And while on my way to work the other day, I passed by Queenstown Public House in Little Italy (at Columbia & Cedar) and it is maybe the cutest holiday decor I've seen yet, so be sure to drive by to check it out. In the meantime, lots of stuff. Sorry for the venues that didn't have their December stuff in. Not sure if I'll be updating over the holiday. 

Happy Thanksgiving. Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. 

Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, November 13-Wednesday, November 19, 2025: Author & Punisher | Mating Ritual | SCOTS | Judy Collins | Off With Their Heads | Surf Hat | The Surfrajettes |

Literally two weeks after I decided that I would cancel my ACA (because Sharp kept charging me even though they threatened cancellation for two months), I have another ear infection. I'm gonna just ride it out and hope it passes, but in the meantime, I'm very very tired and don't have much else to say. Good stuff coming up. 

I will say one quick thing...someone commented on a Casbah Instagram post that "$60 for a Casbah show is insane" in reference to the three nights with Pinback. While I'm poor and cheap and $60 for anything is a lot of money, I don't see how someone can pay $47.50 plus service fees for a show at Humphrey's among 2000 people, but then quibble about $60 for a show in a room with only 200+ people. You seriously need to check yourself if you think this way. 

Listings for the week are after the jump. 

Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, November 6-Wednesday, November 12, 2025: Stop Light Observations | Fu Manchu | miniaturized | Neko Case | Moon Panda | Born Ruffians | Tame Impala | Lovejoy | Purity Ring |

I like to get listings done on Tuesdays and spend just a little time on Wednesdays to polish them up, add random events at venues not usually included in the weekly roundup. But I've just not been very motivated. I have a whole lot of theoretical posts in my brain but lose the motivation when it comes to putting my fingers to the keyboard. We never found my cat, and there's this horrible feeling like we didn't do enough to look for her in the first 48 hours. I live across the street from a dive bar, and the women cackling during karaoke always makes me turn down my TV in case I'm hearing a cat's meow. My sleep is all off, even more than usual. I've gone on more 3am walks than I did in my 20s when I was bouncing from after party to after party. I've been going to the zoo every day, but because I'm up late, I sleep late, then get a late jump on work, so by the time I get there, I only have an hour or two to get in my zen mindset. I'm really looking forward to Sea World's Christmas Celebration, because they're open much later than the zoo for a longer period of time starting on November 14. The San Diego Zoo still has Jungle Bells, but this year they've cut it to just a couple weeks in December, from the 19th to January 4th. 

The election was a bright spot this week for sure, so I'm trying to look on the bright side. Maybe I just need to catch up on sleep with a full on pajama day to click me back to normal. With that in mind, I'm going to sleep now. 

Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.