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.

Drag The River at the Casbah, 11.26.2010

Friday night was a good night. I started the night early and caught Steve Poltz and Tim Flannery at Anthology. Our seats were in the bar so I didn't bother taking photos but suffice it to say, Steve was Steve and played a great set and had a bunch of notables join him for the show. From Anthology, we bolted to the Casbah and got there just before Drag The River started. The show had been sold out for a while and it was packed. My friend noted how at one point, Lucero had opened for Drag The River and how it was a little odd that now the opposite was true, but I was happy for it because it meant I had some room to breathe up front. It was just Jon and Chad and they always sound incredible, and despite the stupid drunk bitch next to me who was yelling at the band throughout their set (and at one point, hilariously put her leg up on the monitor while her other leg slipped out from under her, landing her on her fat ass), they were fantastic. My only complaint was that they didn't play Medicine.

This is a playlist of most of their set (though I missed a few while at the bar). Click the right or left arrows to see more. There are 10 videos in total.


I have to admit that while I really like Lucero (and had a close encounter when Ben Nichols walked right into me on the smoking patio), the bar was so incredibly packed during their set that I enjoyed it from afar. They had a horn section which I don't think they had last time I saw them, and it sounded so good but I just couldn't deal up front.

As the show was winding down, we joined a bunch of friends, including Jon and Chad, and headed to the Tower Bar for Vena Cava. I'm uploading those videos now and will add them to this post when they're done.

Overdue Recap: Drag The River, Joey Cape, Chris Shifflet @ Casbah, 2.15.09

I've really jumped around on my posts and in the meantime it seems a lot of the shows I went to in February got lost in the fray. In the first week of February, I saw the Fruit Bats show, Devotchka, worked at Bird and The Bee and Obi Best, worked at Greg Laswell and Joshua James, then even hit Blind Lady and the Ken Club for Swim Party, Le Switch and Gray Ghosts. I've written about most of those already though Bird & The Bee doesn't get a review since I was stuck in the Atari Lounge (it was raining) and The Ken Club show followed a day at Blind Lady Alehouse which, er, turned me into a blind lady. But now I'm up and since my content has been a little on the light side lately, I'll at least catch up with some photos from February.

So let's rewind to February 15, 2009.
Drag The River, Joey Cape of Lagwagon, Chris Shifflet of Foo Fighters at the Casbah.

The full post if you click 'keep on reading'.


On this particular Sunday, there were two shows scheduled at the Casbah. Drag The River, Joey Cape, and Chris Shiffelt played a 7 pm show and they were followed by a hip hop show featuring Yo Majesty and MC Flow. A bit of a culture clash I'll say, but I'll get back to that in a bit.

By the time I actually arrived at the show, Chris was finishing up his set and while the show was sold out, it appeared that few people knew who he was but it didn't matter, he seemed happy to have a full crowd, even if they were chatty and just working on their heavy drinking credentials at the bar. Personally, I was really into what I caught though I was a little shy with my camera so this was the best I could do.


Joey Cape of Lagwagon was up next. I hung up front with O and it was kinda funny when Joey said hi to me, mistaking me for O's wife, who was actually off to the side of the stage. He was really cute about it, albeit a little embarrassed, then was sure he knew me from somewhere either way. The girls next to me gushed a little. "Oh my god, he totally said hi to you!" Funny.

Anyway, I have to say I loved his set, and the crowd was in full on singalong mode the entire time. I do have to say that I'm always a little surprised that "singer-songwriters" get relegated to coffee shops, but a few, I don't know if it's because there are more lyrics about whiskey and cheating or what it is that makes some music in, what is to me the same genre, garner such love from punks, but it's a bit funny. I'm not complaining, however, because it's a lot more fun hearing the music while downing shots of Jameson or Makers than shots of espresso for sure.

So Joey played and indulged the audience with their requests, though he had to refuse a few because he didn't remember how to play them, but it made for a very kinda communal and awesome set. I would also be remiss if I didn't point out Joey's rad "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" t-shirt that I made sure to capture in the photos.



And then of course, Drag The River closed out the night. By this point of the night I'd left to the smoking patio and back bar and was pleased that the Bradys and Josh Mosh and crew were kind enough to let me back up front but the lights were so low I had to get a little experimental with my photography and while I couldn't exactly maneuver to take pics of the full band, the show was incredibly engaging and left me hoping that DTR keeps coming back to San Diego every 6 months or so to give us our fix.







Back to that culture clash I mentioned earlier. And clash is really a misnomer because there was no clash, but because the first show had sold out and the later show had not, the bar staff was pretty casual and didn't clear everyone out as they might on other nights when two shows are booked, so people hung out continuing on their PBR tall cans and shots of whatever whisky they could afford and it made for a fun night when all the crew rolled in for MC Flow and Yo Majesty.

I hung out on the patio for a while and then attempted photos of the second show but it's probably when I became aware that my camera's life has come to an end and I just couldn't take anything worth posting. I stayed for all of MC Flow and part of Yo Majesty but I decided to call it a night before the tops apparently came off. And that was fine with me. And in my head, I drove home with "Medicine" in my head.

Writer, The Ringers & This Holiday Life, Beauty Bar, 2-16-08

So I had quite the weekend and have over a hundred pictures to sort through from Saturday, as well as my weekly "things to do" listings to get to, but I'm not really in the mood. I just feel like writing about the rest of the weekend...pics will come later, as well as video of Swim Party from last Monday, The Prayers from Thursday and Cory Branan from Friday.

Saturday night was a Beauty Bar night for me. The bands are starting a little bit later these days, so I had some time to hang out, grab a bite nearby, and post up for This Holiday Life. It was my first time seeing them and I really enjoyed them. They fell in the vein of Agualung for me...beautiful soaring vocals and very piano heavy. I realized that I'd left my camera battery at home, so Abraham and I snuck off mid-set to pick it up. I clocked it and my apartment is 3 minutes from the Beauty Bar.

By the time we got back, we heard there was some mix-up and the Ringers went onstage second instead of Writer. Perhaps it was a weird booking to put the two together, but I know there was a little anxiety that The Ringers super high energy show would somehow overshadow Writer's more melodic and quiet set, but I'm happy to say that not only did both bands play well, but the crowd stuck around for both bands and I think appreciated them both.

The Ringers of course were all over the stage and did their LA brand of rock n roll and they do not disappoint. Again, another dude-heavy fanbase, but it was ok, I strapped my camera around my wrist and did my best to take some pics.












After they were done, I met them outside. Joe, the singer, has a sister named Rosie, so he was really nice to me and we kinda talked about the lineup change, and it just seemed like a fluke- nobody to blame but they had to get back to LA.

Back inside, Writer took the stage and sounded great. I kept joking that after The Ringers, they'd have to keep up the momentum with a few leg kicks, but they did what they do and nobody seemed to mind that they were much more mellow. I freaking love them and really can't say enough about how much I love their CD as well as what great people they all are "in real life."






After the show, Abe and I hit the Ken Club for last call, then hung out until 6 am sitting on my kitchen counter just shooting the shit, before I eventually went to sleep.

Drag The River, Cory Branan, & The Silent Comedy @ Casbah, 2-15-08

Friday rolled around and my bosses were kind enough to let us bail early, which was great because after the rainy day Thursday, Friday's weather was a lot nicer. I had to run an errand in Golden Hill, so I picked up my dog and we ran around the Grape Street dog park for a while. Pascha is deathly afraid of having her picture taken, but I tried to sneak a couple in, then she caught on and kept a good thirty feet from me until we were ready to leave, at which point she ran out of the park on her own and sat next to my car door.



After that, a brief nap, then it was time to head back to the Casbah for Drag The River, Cory Branan, and Silent Comedy. People are finally realizing what an amazing band The Silent Comedy are. I decided not to take pictures of them because they had a professional photographer there with a flash set up behind the stage and I didn't wanna ruin his shots, but it allowed me to get into the revival. There's this movie called The Apostle that I love- and their set reminds me of that movie. If you've seen it, perhaps you know what I'm talking about. If not, it's worth adding to your NetFlix queue.

I bumped into Seth at the show and he introduced me to Cory Branan who was such a nice guy. Hailing from Tennessee, I could easily see him tour with Steve Poltz & Bob Schneider with his sometimes quirky and oddball lyrics. Not your typical dude with a guitar, which is probably why he has so many whiskey swilling dude fans. This is music not made for coffee shops, and I loved it.






Between bands, Vena Cava played in the Atari Lounge, but they were so loud that they could be heard throughout the Casbah. I like them a lot, but it was pretty packed at the back bar so I listened from the patio. The punkboarders were out in full force, as well. Oh, and then I was at the back bar for a minute when some dude came up and turned on the sauce flirting with me, but I think he was just hoping I'd be so flattered I'd buy him a drink. Yes, Steve, Mr. Firefighter from Carlsbad, I'm calling you out.

Drag The River took the stage last and they had a set list of about 40 songs on their guitars, though I couldn't really say how much of them they got through, because it seemed they got cut short toward the end of the night. Perhaps I'd lost track of time, but it felt a little premature. I can't really say though, because I was out on the patio or in the back bar for more than half their set. I like the band a lot, but they're also a dude's band and the crowd was a little rowdy for my taste. Not pushing or fighting or anything, but just a lot of alcohol pouring and a lot of raised drink sing-a-longs. Kinda felt like a frat party I wasn't invited to.





After the show, Laura Jane and Jason came over and we stayed up really late. LJ left when it was just about sun up, but Jason and I were up well past sunrise, eventually laying out in my backyard and I even got a sunburn. It was awesome- these legs haven't seen sun in some time. Eventually I had to crash out and sorta lost the day, but it was all worthwhile. Below are some pics from the patio...

Win Tickets To Drag The River, Cory Branan & The Silent Comedy

This is certainly a Casbah heavy week. In fact, I'll be heading down in support of the House Party girls and the San Diego Burrito Project. Then, of course, there's Grand Ole Party on Thursday night, which San Diego is buzzing about. But there's another great show this week that should be noted, and I've got a pair of tickets up for grabs.

Drag the River, Cory Branan, and Silent Comedy are all performing (with Vena Cava in the Atari Lounge) this Friday night at the Casbah. Drag The River has an interesting history of being an on again/off again band. Their last time around, in fact, Chad had to perform mostly solo because his bandmates ditched him in Colorado (or something like that). The dude is awesome and can put down some serious whiskey.

Cory Branan is an amazing performer who is beyond the singer-songwriter label, as he's not a cry in your beer kinda guy, but rather an inspired troubadour...

And then there's Silent Comedy- one of San Diego's finest bands-

It's going to be a great night at the Casbah, and you can see it all for free. Send an e-mail to me by 5 pm on Wednesday. Include your name & phone number and I'll notify the winner on Thursday. e-mail sddialedin AT gmail DOT com.

Stream Cory Branan here and here

Cory Branan

Sunday Night Recap: Rocky Votolato, Drag The River, Street To Nowhere

Sunday was a good day to kick around the house…I missed the Tower Bar BBQ and also Wine Cabana’s dog day, but sometimes a gray day outside calls for pajamas and chores and hanging out with mis animales. Somehow I even forgot to watch Entourage and the Sopranos, so I guess I’ll have to catch up later this week.

Instead, it was an evening of my single most favorite musician, Rocky Votolato. I was surprised by how crowded the Casbah was on a Sunday night, but he’s developed quite an audience, as has Drag the River. It was nice to see that many people out nonetheless.

The show was opened by Street to Nowhere, a four piece band outta Oakland. I liked them a lot and there was a quality about them that brougth to mind Bright Eyes crossed with Two Gallants minus the country elements to those artists, but I’m not sure if it was just the quiet to loud moments in the music or something else that brought those bands to my mind. They seemed pretty yound and I’m sure they’ll be back around soon as headliners.









Drag the River was next, but in reality was just Chad, the singer, and his acoustic guitar. “Let’s be honest,” he said, “some things happened on the road and some people flew home, so I’m all you get tonight.” The drummer was there but didn’t back him up as he sang beautiful songs about love and loss and being drunk while loving and losing. People will probably throw rocks at me, but his reminded me of John Mellencamp, and I liked it.



Finally Rocky played and the number of people singing along to every song (I’m guilty, of course) was amazing. He was backed by Chad and the drummer of Drag The River for most of the songs.



Though I’ve seen him switch to an acoustic guitar in the past, he stuck exclusively to his electric guitar, even when the guys left the stage for him to play alone. When he played Suicide Medicine, he asked the crowd to help out and it seemed everyone knew every single word. I was up front and trying not to be obnoxious with my camera, but sometimes I get carried away, so hopefully he wasn’t too annoyed with it.







It was cool to see he had his wife and sister there with him, but I was too shy to introduce myself. I did ask Rocky for the setlist, and he said he was mostly playing off the list from Phoenix, so here that is.



When the show ended I bolted and I can’t believe Monday is already upon us. This should be a great week for music so no staying in. The Appleseed Cast is playing Anti Monday league, Aerogramme and The Twilight Sad will be at the Casbah on Tuesday, The Sky Drops will be at SDSC on Wednesday and Mad Juana will be at Kava Lounge the same night… You can sleep when you’re dead, get out an support the music…