Photos: CHVRCHES and Donna Missal at Observatory North Park, 12.13.21

I'm gonna skip all the parts about my anxiety of being in a crowd of 1200 people during a pandemic and just get to the good stuff. CHVRCHES played their first of two nights at the Observatory North Park on Monday, December 13. 

Darren, Nova and I have been listening to their latest, Screen Violence, incessantly. It has become a staple in the speakeasy for me and D. We jam it in the car. We sing along. It's easy to call CHVRCHES a family favorite that we can all agree on. 

This was my fifth or sixth time catching the band, so it's always fun to see what they'll include on their setlist. We got some favorites, old and new, plus a couple unexpected. We were also curious how she'd perform "How Not To Drown" which has the great collab with Robert Smith, but Lauren sang the whole thing instead of enlisting the bandmates to do so. 

The set had something for all fans. The indie jams, the pop anthems, and even the heavier EDM-leaning songs with the big drops that make the crowd go insane. And Lauren joked about how she thought it would be a great idea to do costume changes which is why the setlist has some funny spacing in it. We got four solid looks that complemented the music being played, from mysterious with a black transparent lacy cloak to angelic feathers to a rocker dark jumpsuit to a playful look of t-shirt (her own Final Girl merch) and shorts.     

I do also have to mention that Nova and Darren got a spot along the back tier railing next to a couple. They eventually made conversation about how cool it was that Nova was a fan and that it was a wholesome activity for us to all do together as a family. She revealed she's a principal at a private high school in Carlsbad, her partner a high school teacher. She then proceeded to get absolutely hammered. She vaped weed the whole show while pounding Modelos and slipped and fell at least twice. I hope she remembers the show and not just from the certain bruises she has on her ass. We're still in a don't-take-your-mask-off-under-any-circumstances mandate among our household, so it's funny being so dead sober around all that pent up energy of people just wanting to get completely sloshed. 

So yes, the show was great. We were also next to a guy who was a Donna Missal superfan, so it was kinda fun getting the lowdown on her before she took the stage to open the show. She was great and faintly brought to mind Kitten for me, who play every show like they're in a stadium for their biggest, baddest show ever. Her pics are at the end of this post. All after the jump. 

Setlist as written:

INTRO/ HE SAID SHE SAID

FOREVER

LEAVE A TRACE

CALIFORNIA

HOW NOT TO DROWN

VIOLENT DELIGHTS

SCIENCE

GOOD GIRLS

BURY IT

MIRACLE

NIGHT SKY

FINAL GIRL

RECOVER

NEVER SAY DIE

ASKING FOR A FRIEND

MOTHER

CLEAREST BLUE 

Photos: Superorganism & Simpson @ Music Box, April 23, 2019

After double weekends at Coachella, Superorganism popped into San Diego to play a show at the Music Box on April 23rd. Darren and I were happy to finally check them out live, though it was a whole lot different live than what my photos could possibly reflect. There were near constant animated videos projected behind the collective, while the stage lighting was mostly dark or monochromatic or flashing or spinning or sparkling or all of these things at the same time. Definitely not my best work, which is unfortunate because after a show like this, I make my own roadblocks and end up not posting photos for weeks or months. Anyway, it was a great show, their music is super quirky and chill and there were a ton of people on stage making the whole show an event. Pics after the jump.

Photos: Peter, Bjorn & John @ The Irenic. May 5, 2019

Peter, Bjorn and John played at the Irenic on Cinco de Mayo this year, but I was happy to be working at their show. Little did we know that mere months later, The Irenic would be shut down by the City, so we maybe should've appreciated what we had a little more. Still, this was an excellent show. I was a little bummed that the room was only about half house...having seen the band before when "Young Folks" was all the rage, their shows were selling out in every city, but so goes the music biz in 2019. The empty space in the room didn't matter, however, when the band jumped into the crowd and played some jams. I'm sorry these didn't get posted sooner. These and dozens of others were held up in drafts and never published.

Photos: Failure @ The Fonda Theatre

Failure reportedly had issues booking their current tour and ended up skipping SD this time around. Luckily our photographer Tim Fears was in Hollywood to capture the space rock legends' incredible performance in this set of photos.

FAILURE

more photos after the jump.

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.

Photos: Aurora, Talos, and Kingsbury at The Observatory, 2.23.2019

With San Diego's music scene constantly thriving, there are hundreds of shows I have to miss every year, but I also get the privilege to go to so many--and as it has it, sometimes more than one on any given night--and sometimes I get to go to shows that weren't necessarily on my radar, but I get nudged or turned on to it by a friend and after the show realizing how bummed I would have been to have missed it. Such was the case on Friday night when I went to the Observatory to see Aurora, Talos, and Kingsbury. It was such a mesmerizing show from start to finish, so much so I couldn't be pulled away when it went past 11pm and I knew I'd be missing King Tuff at the Casbah (though we made it in time for 1-1/2 songs and plenty of after show bevvies.

Friday started with Kingsbury, a "synth-pop princess" from LA, whose powerful voice had me thinking about powerful '80s women like Terri Nunn of Berlin or more currently, the sisters of Haim. She's super rad and made a pretty strong impression for the crowd of people filtering in during her set.

I had listened to Talos' latest record one time through before this show, and I was excited they turned out to be a 5-piece because one could imagine the sound being more synthesized or made with fewer players and more pre-tracked sounds. Instead, we got the fury of a full band, though heavily cloaked in hazers and complete backlight.

Headlining the night was Norway's Aurora. She came out in a layered chiffon dress that bounced around and itself was part of the show as she athletically jumped and twirled and made use of the entire stage given to her, after awhile kicking off her shoes and even later, pulling off her socks so she could be completely free. Her voice is stunning when she sings and super sweet when she's graciously thanking the crowd or explaining the context of a song. You should definitely watch her KEXP session and if she ever comes back this way, make it a priority to catch her live.  I'm a bit out of practice with the Canon, but check out some more pics after the jump.

Photos: Rex Orange County at the Observatory, 11.12&13.2018

On November 12th and 13th, Rex Orange County played two sold out shows the Observatory North Park. As regular listeners of Sirius XMU, we were well aware of the hype from the easy, breezy "Loving Is Easy," but I had no idea how insane and devoted his fans were. There's something deep that they're connecting with, whether it's the self-deprecating lyrics ("I said that I don't mind if you hate me 'Cause baby if I were you I would probably hate me too"), his average-white-guy and therefore accessible appearance, or his aw-shucks demeanor, but on both nights, the crowds lapped it up, sang along to every lyric, and participated with every request, like shining cell phone flashlights overhead and completely losing their shit when the confetti machines blankets the crowd. I left the show feeling like I'd never seen anything like this...but then just days later caught Billie Eilish and she had a similar fan response, which makes me just think kids are just dying for something with which to connect and right now, Rex and Billie bring it. I only had a photo pass the second night, but took some phone ones from the first night, too. They're all after the jump.

Photos: Old Sea Brigade, Frances Cone, Tall Heights at House of Blues Voodoo Room, 11.4.2018

I generally post my photos with the headliner at the top, but on December 4th, I went to the House of Blues Voodoo Room as a guest of Old Sea Brigade, who was opening the show. I decided to stick around for Frances Cone and Tall Heights, and it ended up being an all-around great show. It had also been awhile since I'd been to the Voodoo Room and I totally appreciated the stage renovations. The crowd was small so the fact there wasn't a photo barrier wasn't a problem. There was a group of people up front who seemed more concerned with what flavored vodka was available at the bar than the show, but once they settled down, the rest of the show was pretty awesome.

Full pics from the show are after the jump. I also shot a couple videos of Old Sea Brigade that are after the jump as well.

Photos: Gorgon City at Observatory, November 2, 2018

This month has been insane. That week of Halloween was so busy and I feel like I've been out every night for weeks (although realistically, that's not exactly accurate). Still. When I was asked to shoot Gorgon City, I worked it into my schedule, though I never really know what to do for electronic producers. Hidden behind their synths and keyboards and drum machines and other trigger rigs, there's not a lot of action on stage, so then there's crazy lighting and hazers to compensate and the fans eat it up, but no doubt, I struggle with the limited gear I have. It's super hard for me to shoot, but I did the best I could.

Gorgon City played to a sold out Friday night crowd at the Observatory. The energy was exuberant. The crowd was super hyped. They had a couple guest singers come out right off the bat, and the crowd ate that right up, too. They have a massive San Diego following with all their appearances over the years at various LED and FNGRS CRSSD events, Float pool parties and the like, and there's always this kind of awkward mix of people who stand and watch like a concert mixed with the people who just want to dance, but they are all in either way. More photos after the jump.

Photos: The Fratellis at the Observatory, May 4, 2018

Here's another post that got caught in my drafts but never posted. This was back in May at the Observatory with the Fratellis. I can't remember anything particularly noteworthy of the night. Not to say the band wasn't great---they were and are--but I remember racing to get to the show on time, feeling a little flustered once I actually arrived, and then seeing a show with great lighting all in the shade of a kinda ridiculous fedora/Panama hat kinda bummed me out. I'm no stylist, I'm defnitely no fashionista, but if men never wore hats on stage again, I'd be super okay with it. I guess that and chewing gum are my two big stage peeves. That's neither here nor there. The band is super energetic and it's definitely infectious with their audience. More pictures are after the jump. 

Photos: Nada Surf Celebrating the 15th Anniversary of ‘Let Go’ at Belly Up, May 14, 2018

Another show from back in May. I was on a roll that month and I guess these took me so long to post because they're mostly terrible. The lighting just wasn't working for me, I super suck at shooting through hazers and fog machines, and I'm kinda there welling up with tears as Nada Surf celebrated the 10 year anniversary of Let Go. Every song was amazing, but dudes, gimme something with that lighting!!

 I'd heard that after other shows on the tour, Matthew Caws had been going to the merch booth and playing an acoustic song. So I went back and waited at the end of the show, and then awkwardly got trapped in the corner. The lighting is even more awful than the rest of the concert, but because Matthew and I were literally shoulder to shoulder, the sound was amazing, so I thought it was still worth the share. Anyway, it was another fantastic Nada Surf show and I can't wait to hear them do it again, hopefully sooner rather than later. More photos after the jump.

Photos: Trashcan Sinatras- 1 Night, 2 Albums at Casbah, May 16, 2018

Between getting photo passes and shows that I just shoot at Soda Bar, Casbah, and The Irenic, I have a grip of photos I've never posted. On top of all of that, When I actually had the time to upload photos, I thought I'd published and did not ever pull the trigger (or click the button, in this case) so let's go back to before summer, shall we?

On May 16th, Trash Can Sinatras kicked off their national tour at the Casbah. I fell in love with the band back around 9th or 10th grade and have tried to see them any chance I've gotten since then-- which is not very often. On this particular tour, they were playing Cake and I've Seen Everything in their entirety, though they kicked off with some favorites from outside those records, like one of my favorites, "Got Carried Away".

 
This was a sold out show and partially seated--which as you know doesn't happen very often--but obviously there aren't seats for everybody. This didn't please a lady behind me who got a barstool and wanted me to move from the sidestage area. I think she calmed down when she realized another 25 people would eventually fill in the area from her stool to the stage, or else she just death-stared the back of our heads the rest of the night. I didn't particularly care, just wante dot make sure that I got some video of that first record. It was doubly cool because my sister was able to come to the show with me, something else that doesn't happen often. 

Needless to say, it was an incredible show and though it might be awhile before they return, this night will stay fresh in the brain for awhile. Full video playlist and some photos after the jump.

Photos: Hot Snakes, Le Butcherettes at Observatory, May 11, 2018

The Hot Snakes and Le Butcherettes hit the Observatory North Park on May 11, 2018. It's always hard for me to catch these guys because I usually end up selling their merch, as I did when they played a sold out show at the Casbah on March 7th. I appreciate this band and what they mean to San Diego as a band as a members of other projects through the years, but if you ever want to see grown men turn into full-on fanboys, go to a Hot Snakes show. Their latest record, Jericho Sirens (Sub Pop), got rave reviews, and it seemed anyone in my Facebook feed who posts about music, was posting about this record. Like, a lot. And with good reason, it definitely blisters, and is their first record in 14 years.
Needless to say, San Diegans are already waiting anxiously for their next chance to see the band live, where they shine the most. Le Butcherettes opened the night, and are amazing performers and very fun to shoot, too, so I have more pictures than usual after the jump.

Photos: Wild Child, Stelth Ulvang at Casbah, May 5, 2018

After leaving the Hot Snakes show at the Observatory, I caught an Uber down to the Cabsah for the sold out show with Wild Child and Stelth Ulvang. It was obvious a lot of people were there to catch Stelth, a "touring member of the Lumineers", but unfortunately he was playing his last song when I arrived. I have to be super honest, I'd written off Wild Child. I confused them for the local Doors tribute band and was always astonished they could sell out the rooms they played. When I finally put it together and decided to check them out, I could've kicked myself, because they're everything I love in a band....a big folky ensemble with guitars and violin and mandolin and boy girl harmonies and call and response. They're a lot like The Head and the Heart and you know I'm obsessed with that band. So yeah, totally late to the party, but I will definitely make a point to catch them whenever they come back to town moving forward. The wide shots below are from my Samsung, the rest with my Canon. Pictures after the jump.

Photos: Bishop Briggs, Matt Maeson at The Observatory, May 5, 2018

Two months seems to be my pace of uploading photos these days. I'm sorry for that, but I'm my own worst critic, I guess. These photos are from the sold out Bishop Briggs and Matt Maeson show at the Observatory on Cinco de Mayo. It was a particularly fun day...we walked to the North Park Fiesta (though it was kind of a bust, Nova got to do free pony rides around a parking lot). We had dinner at El Comal who were understandably slammed, so I got about three bites of my dinner before I had to ditch them to get to the show, running the few blocks of University to get there.

It was my first time catching Bishop. I think her other time in town was X-Fest and maybe another I missed, so I didn't have any expectations, but I'd been on a powerful woman kick lately, and she is certainly that. She enters the stage like a boxer, with her single "White Flag," and never lets up. I love an artist who is incredibly intense while singing, or with Bishop, practically running laps from one wing of the stage to the other, then being softspoken, humble, appreciative and consumed in the adoration of her fans. It was also her sister's birthday, so she let the crowd in a singalong, laughed, joked, and performed a perfect show. More photos, including opener Matt Maeson, are 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.

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.

Photos: Flogging Molly, Jon Snodgrass, Scott H Biram @ The Observatory, March 14, 2018

I always mean to post photos the day after a show, but stuff comes up and then I feel like nobody really cares anymore anyway, but real people go out of their way to make it possible for me to be able to shoot, so eventually I acknowledge the photos deserve to see the light of day, even if they're spotty and hazy from my dirty camera. That said, I hadn't intended to go to the Flogging Molly show, and then I realized Jon Snodgrass was opening and though I knew it was sold out, I had to ask anyway, and so I got to be one of the lucky ones in the photo pit. I've been missing the openers at the Observatory a lot lately because they tend to come on at 8 and I always feel bad heading out before Nova's bedtime, but I made an exception for this one.

Scott H Biram opened the show and he's always great to see. He plays the Casbah a few times a year, so I feel like I see him often and I'm fully onboard with the scruffy punk guys doing the twangy outlaw country-tinged singer-songwriter thing. He'll be back at the Casbah on April 7th with JD Wilkes and The Legendary Shack Shakers, where he and Low Volts can have a duel of the best one man band.

Hopefully Jon Snodgrass comes back soon, too He was next onstage and I love his voice so much and he played a few of my favorite Drag The River tunes among his set and made some relatable dad-rock comments throughout the show, too. I've also included an embed (shot with my phone) when O came out to play with him. He has a long history in San Diego and with Cargo Records and gave a nice shout out to Larry Munroe and O and others.

Finally, Flogging Molly hit the stage. It's hard to say anyone is energetic after Gogol Bordello just the week before, but Flogging Molly is certainly up there when it comes to onstage energy. The last time I saw them was at Street Scene what seems like forever ago. I was on the 9th floor of the Clarion watching the street below and a thousand bros in a massive circle pit, and at no fault of the band, having that feeling that Street Scene was over, it had grown too big while downtown open spaces were diminishing. I wasn't wrong, but that's why seeing the band in the contained space of the Observatory felt both nostalgic and hopeful, that all good things come back around. I took hundreds of pictures but have trimmed it down after the jump.

Photos: Typhoon at Music Box, February 10, 2018

I told you how I went to Vegas a few weeks back for The National. On that trip, Jeff and I had 12+ hours in the car for the roundtrip adventure, and as such, we listened to a ton of new records, including Offerings, the latest from Typhoon. The record is amazing, and weird, and intricate, and heartbreaking, and powerful. Listening through the desert, I'd decided that I had to see what they're about live. Because the record is a cohesive story in four parts, I was curious if they'd just play the whole thing front to back. That would've been awesome, but also maybe too intense, so I was actually surprised how uplifting and fun the show was. Despite the seriousness of the record, and the amazing musicianship, the members themselves don't seem to take themselves too seriously, and the energy from the stage to the crowd and back again was easy to get caught up in. I took a zillion photos, and several of them are after the jump.