Recommended Shows In San Diego September 10-15, 2013

Now that San Diego is relatively free from the annual summer visitors from the north and east, let's see what is looming on the musical horizon. Culminating in the 2 day conference known as the San Diego Music Thing this Friday and Saturday, there are some quality shows in and around the event.

On Tuesday Oklahoma garage rockers Broncho blast off at the Casbah...Gold Fields (Australia) bring their catchy electronica to El Dorado downtown...

Neko Case makes a rare local appearance at the House of Blues on Wednesday...her latest album with the long title might be her best yet...Seattle's Pickwick open for a terrific show....Minus the Bear play the Belly Up...

The Love Language open for On An On at Soda Bar on Thursday...the Raleigh natives recently released Ruby Red...highly recommended...

Rather than choose any particular show(s) for the SDMT, I will only highlight the ticket link here...

If that isn't enough, check out French Canadian singer Beatrice Martin, aka Coeur de Pirate, at the Casbah on Sunday...Gayle Skidmore opens...

One of the best weeks of music is straight ahead for music fans of all ages in San Diego...

Watch a video of Night Still Comes from Neko Case below.



Watch a video of Dark Again from Gold Fields below.

The Bright Side Presents Pool Side Pow Wow

Black Owl and El Dorado are teaming up to bring the Bright Side and they are presenting the Pool Side Pow  Wow tomorrow (Sunday, August 26), at The Lafayette Hotel. The event includes live bands Barbarian, Chase and The Burns (formerly Bully) and DJ's Saul Q, Jeremiah Zimmerman (The Silent Comedy) and Camron Zibaie spinning classic rock, oldies, and rock and roll. The event goes from 1pm to 5:30pm and costs $10.


El Dorado + Dirty Sugar + BLK OWL presents The Dark Side & The Bright Side Video! from mac nguyen on Vimeo.

San Diego Craft Beer & Cocktail Showcase (8.4.2012)

The other night, my friend called me late at night after having a one-on-one date with his six-tap home brewing setup...a drunk-dial if you will. He's pretty involved in the craft beer world, not just here but with national events, and in our conversation when I asked if he was going to one of the beer festivals on Saturday (there was one in Oceanside and one at Liberty Station), he started to rant about the number of beer events and breweries opening up. He thinks the overabundance of events and breweries means the quality is diminishing. His complaints were valid...there are a LOT of beer events in San Diego run by various entities, all hoping to cash in on our lust for hops and sunshine. Somehow binge-drinking 4 ounces at a time, even if we're paying $40 or $50 bucks for it, seems less terrible when it is endorsed by hundreds of other participants, especially when it goes to some sort of charitable foundation. Still, I try and get in on the fun when I can and I think this one is a good one.

His complaint aside, this is an event being held down at El Dorado on August 4 and is super affordable if you buy tickets in advance ($15 for 10 craft cocktail and beer tasters) and benefits the OnLife Suicide Prevention Organization which was founded in San Diego to find at-risk social media users and provide services and intervention for those deemed in need.  Unlike last year's Great American Showcase, which unfortunately had some noise complaints, this year will focus on DJs and some live music by the Euphoria Brass Band. There will be plenty of brewers and bartenders on hand, as well as games, art, food trucks, and local retailers. Click on the flyer for more information and grab your tickets in advance, before they go up to $25.

SD@140bpm recommends....

For those of you who have a minimal understanding of Dubstep and want to know more regarding the origins of the genre need to check out the documentary Bassweight.  The documentary gives great insight to the early days of Dubstep, with its origins in South London, its growth in popularity, and how it became popular in the United States.  One of the main reasons that the sound jumped across the pond is because of American Dubstep artist Joe Nice.  In the early days of Dubstep, Joe Nice hosted a Dubstep night in New York which featured a lot of the original and up and coming DJ/Producers from London and around the world.  Tonight you can catch Joe Nice at Dub Dorado and witness one of the early pioneers of the Dubstep movement in person.  Make sure to be at Dub Dorado tonight at El Dorado $5 free before 10:30 with RSVP.

SD@140bpm Recommends...

SD@140bpm is a new column here at SDDialedin, trying to keep the San Diego community informed when the best producers, bands and DJ's are playing our great city.  Tonight SD@140bpm recommends that you head down to Dub Dorado at El Dorado.   SPL is coming to town from the emerging Portland,Oregon scene and DESTROY YOU with drum and bass.  The entire lineup will have you moving all night with local and national artists.  This event is free before 10:30 if you rsvp here, and $5 after. SPL - Terraform EP (Out Nov 29th) by SPL

Sunday! Don't Miss The Great American Showcase

If you're still looking for plans for Sunday, look no further than the Great American Showcase, presented by El Dorado and LandMarK events.

El Dorado Cocktail Lounge and LandMarK events are partnering up to put together a community fundraiser event this Labor Day Weekend to benefit one of their favorite charities, “Keep A Breast.” The fundraiser will be in the back parking lot at El Dorado Cocktail Lounge at the corner of 11th and Broadway in Downtown San Diego.

Outdoor Stage:

The Soft Pack, The Nervous Wreckords, DJ Numark, The Howls, Creepy Creeps, Old English, Grand Tarantula, Lyon Crowns, Joy, and Special Guests Euphoria Brass Band

Indoor Stage:

Kevin Martin, Mattson 2, Corey Biggs, Bubble Gum Sci Fi, Saul Q, Profile, Blancnoir, DJ All Good

Tickets are $25 at the door with $1 of every ticket benefiting Keep-A-Breast.

Thursday Night: Free Party At El Dorado

From Facebook:
Happy Houred (happyhoured.com) is a new search engine/iPhone app that tracks... well... Happy Hours! They're focused in major markets like NY, SF, LA, Chi, etc. Now, after a bunch of fan requests, San Diego is gettin' theirs!

SD folks can now use the iPhone app/Online features to find the best local happy hour deals as well as other great features like geolocating/google maps, bar type, specific drink and food offers, and easy-to-use cataloging.

To celebrate, Happy Houred is coming to El Dorado and hosting a kick-off soiree, Thursday Dec. 17. Thanks to our friends at Alchemy (http://www.alchemysandiego.com) there will be FOOD! Thanks to DonQ Rum there will be BOOZE (in the form of seasonal cocktails). AND... Like the app, food stuffs and drink are on the Happy Houred crew's tab – OPEN BAR FROM 6-8p – So, bring your crew and catch some truly awesome savings before the xmas spending spree!

Find El Dorado on Facebook for more info/RSVP.

Overdue Recap: November Shows

Catching up. Yes, with November. Looking back, not only have I not been writing a whole lot, but I also gave up on taking pictures. Regardless, I'll go back in time for a quickie recap. I'll save the space and put it all after the jump if you're interested enough to click 'keep on reading'.


Rewinding back to Thanksgiving week, I started the week selling merch for O'Death. Old Devil and Tobyn Clark and the Tender Faeries opened but honestly I was out on the patio and didn't get to escape inside to catch the show, and even Natalie didn't feel she got any good pics. The bands were awesome though the crowd was really disappointing. There just weren't enough people there for how great O'Death is, though I came to a conclusion that their name certainly doesn't invite a crowd for how they actually sound. They're actually more Americana and folk than the name suggests and expected a lot more people to be there. The description on their MySpace page of Gothic/Country/Punk feels inaccurate. They'd work well with Murder By Death, and I think they actually are working on a split vinyl with that band. Neither here nor there, I guess. The band was gracious and at least I sold a handful of records. There was also some weird band business after, perhaps what happens when 5 smelly dudes spend far too much time together. I hope they sorted all that out since they're continuing with some major European touring.

The next night I decided at the last minute to check out Anti-Monday League. I caught a bit of the Subadons from Tijuana but the night was a little dead, so I decided I would check out El Dorado (it was their opening night). It wouldn't be right if I didn't stop at Chee-Chee first, so I hung out with Fred. We could see a line at El Dorado and I was a little shy, but Fred made me do recon, so I checked it out. Relative to downtown prices, I guess the drinks are cheap, but relative to Chee-Chee, not so much. It seems like a great option for a date and all the staff and bartenders are super friendly.


I stopped back at Chee-Chee before returning to Casbah for The Gift/Curse. Lighting sucked so I just hung out rocking out to the band and enjoying the tunes and didn't bother with pictures. There were quite a few more people out by the time I got back and for good reason...The Gift/Curse rock.

The next night I stayed home, regrettably missing Yeasayer which I've come to understand was a mistake, but driving to La Jolla just seemed like a drag and I have to watch the budget these days more than ever.

Thanksgiving Eve has long been one of my favorite nights to go out. It seems like people return home and are ready to party with eating a feast the only major goal the next day. I went out to dinner at Ken Grill with my cousin, who was visiting from LA, and Sara, and that ended up being a great time in and of itself, then we hit the Ken Club. When they called it a night around 11, they dropped me off at The Ruby Room which was a little disappointing only because I got there during Writer's last song. I expected them to play last. My friends that were supposed to be there weren't, but fortunately Petro, Alex, and Kris were, so we hung around for part of Jamuel Saxon's set before they had to go and they agreed to give me a ride back to the hood. They decided to grab some food and we met up at Petro & Kris' and watched DVDs of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia until Alex eventually dropped me off.

Thanksgiving with the family was chill. My sister and her husband took my niece to Arizona, so it was just my cousin, my parents and myself for Thanksgiving. After a whole day with the family, I visited my second family at the Ken Club.

Friday was another family day until nightfall, when my cousin and I went to El Dorado. I could've pretty much ended up anywhere, but I knew Connie would love the feel of the bar, so I guess we have a place to go when she comes to town that is divey enough for me and upscale enough for her. It meets right in the middle for us.

From El Dorado, she dropped me off at the Casbah. I missed the opening bands but was there in time for the headliner, Deerhunter.


The show was sold out and packed. Deerhunter gave a fierce performance though not really evident in my sloppy photos. The crowd was clearly pleased with the performance that was delivered as I heard some people talking about it like their minds were just blown. I hadn't planned very well and assumed I would know someone at the show, so unfortunately I spent half the show trying to find anyone who'd be willing to drive me to Kensington, and I'm ever so grateful that Peter ended up taking me. I owe him big for that.

My November closed out with another family day and a couple more shows. On Saturday I chilled out a bit until the evening when my mom, cousin and I did some shopping downtown, then decided to walk around in Coronado. We discovered a new spot that had opened the night before at the Ferry Landing. It's called Lil' Piggy's BBQ and it was awesome. We didn't eat a full meal, but after meeting the cook and talking to the people working there, my cousin ordered a kids meal ("The best hot dog I've ever had," she said) and it came with our choice of side so we went with the mac n'cheese, which on its own sells for $2 and was delicious. The chef also brought us some pulled pork and BBQ chicken to sample. So convinced, we ended up buying a plate to take home to my dad. My mom thinks the plate should come with Texas toast instead of just regular sliced white bread, but overall the food we sampled was delicious and my dad was happy with the feast we brought him. They have outdoor picnic table seating that has plastic wind guards and I think it will do well in Coronado. Theydo catering and sell full racks of ribs (which I'll try next time around), and they have a fridge with 100 different bottled beers.


After dropping my mom off in Chula Vista, Connie dropped me at home and I made my way to Casbah to see Team Abraham, The Parson Red Heads, and Blitzen Trapper.

I got there just as Team Abraham took the stage and they sounded great. The added female vocals work well for them. But I'm biased, right? (BTW, if you're on Twitter, follow them @TeamAbraham)


I've also written about The Parson Red Heads and Blitzen Trapper in the past. Both bands are excellent and I love seeing them live, so this bill, on a Saturday night, was a real treat. The Red Heads are happy and sweet and conjure up days laying around on a grass field and girls with daisy crowns in their hair. And I still maintain that the one guitarist looks like Buddy Jesus.




Closing out the night was Blitzen Trapper. I just love these guys and every time I see them it reminds me of just how warm they are, both in sound and stage presence. They are a band happy to be who they are and where they are and it shines in their performances. With the crowd singalongs, it's obvious they've gotten some devoted fans over time, too.



The next day they played an in-store at M-Theory and I figured I had time to get there since they don't usually start on time, but this one did, and it was short and I arrived in time for one song. I could kick myself. I was sure someone would post the video on YouTube, but can't seem to find any. I guess I've learned my lesson about taking my sweet time getting somewhere.


So that rounds out my November. I guess I will now attempt to catch up with December so I don't have anything hanging over my head as we roll into Christmas and 2009 and who knows what access I'll have to the web when I'm gone. Last time I got wi-fi but it wasn't cheap...