Recommended Shows in San Diego April 15-21, 2013

April 15 is officially Tax Day and unofficially the start of the week in between Coachella weekends...this also means a plethora of quality shows featuring bands playing in a variety of venues here in cooler San Diego...such as:

On Monday Wild Nothing and Little Green Cars (Dublin) hit the Casbah for a can't miss show...Franz Ferdinand and frenetic opening band Palma Violets play this season's inaugural show at Humphrey's...

Tuesday the one and only Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds play the beautiful Balboa Theatre downtown...afterwards catch Brooklyn upstarts DIIV for an intimate show at Soda Bar...

Canadian twin sisters Tegan and Sara will be at Humphrey's on Wednesday playing songs from their new album...fellow Canucks Stars open...Casbah welcomes The Faint to downtown party club Fluxx...

R&B flavored indie rockers Polica (Minneapolis) make their San Diego debut at the Casbah on Thursday joined by Night Moves, also from MN....definitely worth checking out...

Friday brings Cloud Nothings back to SD, this time at the Casbah...their music is both wild (in a good way) and infectious...

Soda Bar has a great show at the all ages venue The Irenic on Saturday with Brooklynites Beach Fossils...Mrs. Magician opens...

Sunday finds Australian rocker Paul Kelly playing the 5th Avenue Stage at the House of Blues...

What  promises to be a memorable week of music awaits live music lovers in America's Finest City...

Watch a video of  Closer from Tegan and Sara below...

Thursday: Daydream Nation presents Transfer @ FLUXX LIVE

Tomorrow night there are a grip of great shows to choose from in San Diego, but one at the top of your list should be FLUXX Live. The events have been awesome and this will be the last one presented by Daydream Nation, so grab your tickets and come on out. As usual, there will be drink specials and a relaxed dress code, so I'll be in my "work uniform" of a hoodie and jeans, per usual.

What: FLUXX Live
Who: Transfer, Rafter, Republic of Letters, Ikah Love on the decks, hosted by Tim Pyles
Where: FLUXX, 500 4th Avenue
When: Thursday, April 21, 2011
Click for more Info

Set times:
11:30-12:30 Transfer
10:40-11:15 Rafter
9:50-10:25 Republic of Letters
DJ Ikah Love spins from 9-9:50, in between, and after.

Things To Do In San Diego: FLUXX LIVE, 3.10.2011

There are SO. MANY. SHOWS. this week and it's actually a bummer that there is so much overlap, so I'm going to highlight a few of the fliers throughout the next couple days, because as a sponsor, booker, partner, or manager, I'm happy to say I've got my fingers in a lot of them, even if just slightly.

Thursday Night:

Along with my regular booking at West Coast Tavern (the week is The Free Radicals which features Melly Frances), we have an NBCSanDiego party (which I'll also post).

Also on Thursday night, Daydream Nation has their 1 year Anniversary show at FLUXX, featuring a special reunion show of Louis XIV who will be joined by Lesands, Hot Moon, DJ Ikah Love, and hosted by Tim Pyles. There are always drink specials (ask your bartenders!!) and the dress code is relaxed so you can get away with being your cool rocker self. Tickts are under $20, so click the flyer below and grab your tickets.

Tonight: Daydream Nation presents Mixmaster Mike at FLUXX Live

I know we were all just going "Crazy" for Cee-lo Green, but Daydream Nation is already back with another great FLUXX live event for you tonight. On the bill, the legendary Mixmaster Mike who'll be supported by San Diego favorites Hyena and Jamuel Saxon (so prepare to wear your neon body paint). The event is once again hosted by Mr. Tim Pyles and should be a fun way to kick into the weekend. Tickets are only $10 in advance and you can buy them by clicking on the flyer. I hear there's an unlimited guestlist before 10:30 if you hit up Jamuel Saxon on Facebook, but you'll have to investigate that one on your own.

Remember, the Daydream Nation events are made for those of us who might not hang out in downtown's bourgie clubs, so there's a relaxed dress code. Yes, they even let me in with my hoodies. Don't be afraid to ask the bartenders if there are drink specials...usually there's a $5 beer and $6 well on the menu...if you don't want the sticker shock of paying double that for other bevvies.

Daydream Nation/FLUXX Live: Cee Lo Green "F*@k You", 2.10.11

Same old story. Last night was awesome, I hit two shows, got home at 2 am, and have been up working ever since. It is now 9am, and I'm going to attempt three hours of sleep before heading to SDRL to film Jesse LaMonaca and the Dime Novels recording a Pyles Session that will air on Sunday. While I worked, I uploaded a bunch of videos from the week, but I still have to add titles and such, so in the meantime, here's the one you want the most. I'll upload more pics here, but check out SoundDiego.com for a bunch of my shots from all of my recent adventures.

Cee Lo Green "Fuck You"



Huge thanks to everyone involved in such a fun night- Eric Howarth of Daydream Nation, T Loper of Owl and Bear for letting me squeeze up front (and for defending me from that creeper), Tim Mays for being an awesome DJ, Tim Pyles for being a great host, Jeff from FLUXX for allowing me to rock my hoodie and jeans in your club, Kurtis from Nighttime VIP for being awesome in every way, Jeff for the early show at Anthology, and Mike B & Craig for the ride home.

Cee-Lo Contest Winners Announced

Over the weekend, I had a lot of fun with my contest for Cee-Lo tickets. I did get criticism that only the people I hung out with had the opportunity to win, but that actually wasn't true at all. I hit about 10 different places over the weekend, mostly on my own, from the zoo, to the Indigo Hotel, to URBN, The Station, Casbah, Anthology, House of Blues and more. The point was to give tickets to people who actually GO OUT and for people who follow me on Twitter and Foursquare to pay attention. Some of you did. Most did not.

That being said, thanks to all of you who straight-faced told me the name of Cee-Lo's big summer hit. to my face. I've never had so much fun being cursed at. Congratulations to Jenny P. and Victor S. You both won a pair of tickets and I'll be calling you to get them in your hot little hands.

If you didn't win tickets, here's more info about the Cee-Lo show this Thursday at FLUXX, and you can still buy tickets here. Prices go up the day of show, so don't wait!

FLUXX Live Featuring Cee Lo Green!! February 10- Info & Contest

I am happy once again to partner with Daydream Nation for another FLUXX Live event. This time around it's with Cee-Lo Green of the chart-topping single, "Fuck You" which subsequently became "F You" and "Forget You" on radio, but we're all grown-ups around here, so check out the official video. There was also that text only video that went viral in a matter of hours and check out Cee Lo's hilarious appearance on The Colbert Report.

Click the flier to go straight to event ticketing.

Keep reading below for your chance to win tix.

The lineup for the night is Cee-Lo Green, The Nervous Wreckords, and Vokab Company, with DJs Claire, Mr Mazee (Tim Mays of the Casbah), and Mac Luv. Tickets are $30 if you buy now, but will be going up, so don't wait.

Daydream Nation and FLUXX present Grammy Nominated artist: Cee Lo Green! From his days of Gnarls Barkley and #1 hit "Crazy" to his recent chart-topping song, "F$!% You," Cee Lo is the talk of the nation! Get ready for a night full of live music and hot performances. It's a relaxed dress code with drink specials all night long!

I have TWO pairs of tickets to give away, and since the goal of my site is to get people out and participating in the music scene, I've decided to do a hunt. I will be all over town this weekend. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, etc. If you see me out on the town (I'll wear my Casbah hoodies to be identifiable), approach me and to my face, say "Fuck You." I'll have an email list for you to sign and at the end of the weekend I'll randomly select two winners from the bunch. What could be more fun than friends and strangers cussing in my face?

Thursday Night Kills!

Tonight is 30th on 30th, a bunch of killer shows, and two events that I'm sponsoring. I know where I'll be. Do you?

Where Have You Been?: A Weekend Recap

Over the weekend, I had three people tell me they missed me actually writing. I tweet and update all the time, and I do little headers here and there, but I've maybe gotten more self-conscious about bleeding my whole life on the internet. But today I feel like writing. Some psychotic person is harassing my family and friends on Facebook and some other looney is harassing my friends while some troll feels the need to berate me on Twitter, I guess mostly reminding me that I live out loud and gushing about my life is what I do. To read all about it, click 'keep on reading' at the end of this post.


So I'll say it was a brilliant weekend for me. And by "weekend", I'll start with Thursday. After I went to the zoo for the Galapagos Turtle event, I headed to the Hard Rock Hotel for the San Diego Music & Technology Conference. I mostly sat in the back as I listened with one ear as I tried to get some work done on my laptop, but I found the panels to be interesting and informative. Electronic music and the culture are things I try to understand, because even as the panelists agree, watching someone turn knobs or push buttons is insanely boring, but the discussions about new technology and instruments and the innovation around that world were incredibly fascinating and I was happy to be there. I even won a prize from SoundCloud that I gave to Josh, but apparently it would serve me better as a blogger than he as a musician, so we'll see what it entails and I might look into using it here.

After SDMT&C, I headed up to the San Diego Woman's Club. I was selling merch for Mason Jennings and I got there an hour before I had to be there, but was able to catch Mason soundchecking on the grand piano, which was pretty amazing considering there were only 3 other people in the room. By the time we opened up, Mason played for about 90 minutes, after which he stayed until the very last person got a photo and autograph. I was joking all night that Mason Jennings deserves his own chapter in Stuff White People Like which is not a criticism, but there was a very specific demographic at the show. Coming from an advertising background this fascinates me; it's something I pay attention to regularly.

After the show and the final autographs, I made my way to West Coast Tavern, where Brett from Emersen had finished his set and Republic of Letters were setting up. They played a stripped down set without Nick on drums, and though I love their full sound with the whole band, it was great hearing this iteration of the band as well. After the set we stuck around a while before calling it a night.

On Friday morning it was back to the Hard Rock Hotel for the San Diego Music & Technology conference. They had a great social media panel that went above and beyond the usual obvious twitter and facebook information, and some rad panels on lighting, sound design, and Moldover was just fascinating discussing his homemade instruments. I had to leave before closing remarks to get to the post office before closing, but decided to wander over to Analog for happy hour. Aaron Thompson was there and he shared that he's been asked to play bass on a European tour with Fenix TX, so stay tuned for some guest blog posts as he shares his stories and adventures from the road.

After some tasty food, I went to the Casbah where I was able to see Menomena soundcheck. The show was sold out and all of the bands were fantastic, but I felt a bit claustrophobic and left during Menomena to catch Judgement Day at the Soda Bar. They totally kicked ass per usual. Afterward me and the band headed to Malinda & Jake's where they were staying and hung out for a couple hours until I called one of my favorite cabs and called it a night.

On Saturday I sold merch for the early show at the Casbah with Southern Culture on The Skids. I always forget how great this band is live and they're an absolute pleasure to work for, with all of their merch organized and they have a great wireless credit card machine which allowed for a successful day of sales, even though they were running low on merch at the end of their tour. After the show, I stuck around for some Booty Bassment before heading up the hill to the final House Party Girls party. Apparently cops had already broken up the bands, but the party was in full swing when I arrived so I stayed until the last shot of tequila was consumed before heading home (with wet feet after stepping into a small pond in the backyard). Good luck to Heather and Amanda as they jetset around the world for some awesome travel through Mexico, Thailand and Europe. We'll be here ready to party when you come back to visit.

Finally Sunday was the KPRI harbor cruise on the Hornblower with Dawes. I don't think I've ever watched videos so much in my life...these guys were so great and though in my mind I imagined big burly bearded Portland-ish duded, they're LA boys and adorable as all hell. I look forward to their full band set in November at the Casbah.

From the cruise terminal we crossed downtown to hit up Artwalk By The Bay and to see The Heavy Guilt play. If you haven't seen them perform, they're playing at the Adams Avenue Street Fair this weekend and I suggest you catch them.



After heading home and taking a nap (and realizing that my face was tragically sunburnt, complete with sunglass marks like a raccoon), it was up to the Belly Up for Local Natives. I love those kids and it was an awesome show.

Needless to say, I was completely worthless on Monday, though I went back to the Belly Up for an amazing show with Calexico and a fantastic opening band called Sergio Mendoza y La Orkesta from Tucson. Go see them when you can. I hope to get some videos up soon, but with nearly a dozen people on stage, they don't quite capture the awesome.

Last night I went to SDSU to see Phoenix and Neon Indian, and I'll post those pics soonish, too. The craziness never stops, as tonight I'll be checking out the Gaglione Brothers media party, a Pyles session with In Transit Audio, and The Jim Jones Revue at the Casbah. Tomorrow night while I urge you to go check out Meg & Bryan over at West Coast Tavern for a free show, I'll be selling merch for Dungen at the Casbah, and though I haven't completely mapped out the weekend, I know I'll be at the Adams Avenue Street Fair, at the Beauty Bar on Sunday night for their closing party (and one of a few of my birthday celebrations). Monday I'll be at the Felice Brothers who are awesome on their own, but even better knowing that there's a possibility that Conor Oberst will be there...can't ring in my midnight birthday a better way! There's a lot of other birthday celebrating happening for me next week, but make sure you RSVP for the SoundDiego Live event at West Coast Tavern next Thursday with my boys d/wolves as well as an hour of hosted Karl Strauss beer and apps. That should make for a great pre-party before heading to FLUXX for another FLUXX live show with Transfer, The Silent Comedy, Jared Mees and the Grown Children, and Little Hurricane.

and you wonder why I haven't been writing??

Upcoming San Diego Events: The Rumble, FLUXX Live, NPMT

I'm involved with a few things in the upcoming months and want to spread the word.

The July edition of The Rumble is back this week with a killer lineup. Harlem, Sunday Times, and What Laura Says will all be at Bar Pink this Saturday night. As always, it's a free show, and there will be Trumer Pils drink specials. It's been a while since Zonies What Laura Says have passed through San Diego, so don't miss them. They're fantastic live and super nice guys.


After the success of Daydream Nation's FLUXX live event, they've already got another one cooking for July and it's happening during this year's Comic-con. Mark your calendars for July 22 (Thursday night) for a night with Mixmaster Mike, Hyena, and the Shark Attack DJs. Once again, Tim Pyles will be hosting. Because of the madness downtown for the Con, it is highly recommended that you purchase tickets in advance. Click the flyer for tickets.


Last but not least, this year's North Park Music Thing is back and this year I was invited to host a showcase of my own. It will be at 11, the bar currently known as Radio Room (and formerly the Zombie Lounge). The owners of Hamilton's and Small Bar are taking over which guarantees to bring some stellar craft brews and a warm environment to chill out with friends. For NPMT registration, click here. Single day all access badges are $20, or $35 for 2-day all access. The full band schedules have been released, too. Here's mine:

8:00-8:40 The Moviegoers
9:00-9:40 D/Wolves
10:00-10:40 Your Cannons
11:00-11:40 Swim Party
12:00-12:40 Holy Rolling Empire
1:00-1:40 Boyscout

Daydream Nation Presents Dirty Sweet and more at FLUXX (Ticket Giveaway)

Yesterday Jeff chose Dirty Sweet as his "weekly pick" here on sddialedin.com. I thought I'd give a little more info and give away some tickets.

The show is presented by Daydream Nation, the new promotion company run by Eric Howarth of Hi-Speed Soul Records and former owner of M-Theory. He's the reason Tim Pyles and I got a tour of the club before it opened and why we attended the soft opening. The club has now established itself in downtown, but it is ready to experiment and crossover to maximize the amazing sound system and setup the club provides.

The lineup includes Dirty Sweet, Scarlet Symphony, and The Howls. Tim Pyles will be hosting, I'll be there, and other people are involved, too, like party hostess with the mostess, May*Star.

A critical factor for the evening for someone like me is feeling comfortable in a high end nightclub. As such, there's no dress code for the night, so you know I'll be there in my standard jeans and hoodie. There will also be art from Eric Wixon, Andrew Rymer, and Steven Suiter and perhaps most important to those of us on a budget, there will be beer and shot specials all night.

The show takes place this Thursday, June 24, at FLUXX, with doors opening at 9 pm.

Tickets to the event are $10 in advance here, or $12 at the door.

If you'd like a free pair of tickets, email me at sddialedin at gmail with the subject "Dirty Fluxx". Include your first and last name and a phone number. (Must be 21+)

Jeff's Weekly Pick: Dirty Sweet @ Fluxx Thursday June 24, 2010

San Diego Music Award winners Dirty Sweet will make their next live appearance this Thursday at the recently opened downtown nightclub Fluxx. Having never been there personally, it will be interesting to see how the band sounds in what the club notes is a "state -of-the -art lighting and sound system" via their website. The show is the first endeavor of Daydream Nation, started by Eric Howarth (former owner of M-Theory).

Dirty Sweet is carving its own niche in the rock and roll woodwork with the the release of their latest album American Spiritual. This is a record that truly reinforces the hard driving sound the band is known for. There is more variety within the LP and shows a band that is both maturing and ready to take their sound to a larger audience. Known for their frenetic live show, this a must-see event, so make the trek downtown to see one of San Diego's best live bands in a new venue. It should be good times indeed for those in attendance.
As a side note, there is no dress code for this show.

Scarlet Symphony and The Howls set the stage.

Watch a video of Marionette below.

San Diego Is In FLUXX

(Photo from FluxxSD/Facebook)

Tonight is the grand opening of San Diego's newest nightclub, FLUXX. While it's not generally something I'd cover here...the downtown nightclub scene is for the most part foreign to me...I had the opportunity to tour the club by day as well as experience a beverage or two on Wednesday night when they invited investors, friends, and everyone who worked on the project over the past year. The owner, Jeff Fink, took over the property that was once home to Aubergine over a year ago and completely gutted and meticulously designed the spacious club that is said to have a capacity of about 900.

I didn't take any photos of the spot as it's definitely a spectacle to behold in person. There are probably 50 different materials used throughout the space that give an earthy feel on one hand- like the foam "moss rocks" that adorn the top of the main bar, or the dark wood natural cut bar that acts as the counter of one of the two rear bars- to the almost Alice In Wonderland feel on the other hand, with pink and magenta broken glass behind the main bar, cloth flowers affixed in framed sections of the walls, and the giant light orbs that encase the DJ booth and infinity mirrors.

We kept hearing that the bar will rival anything in New York, Paris, London or Las Vegas, but the question will be if San Diegans are really looking for another high end nightclub with bottle service (in acrylic glassware). The sound system is incredible (and from what we were told, incredibly expensive) and really every detail of the club is well thought out...from the rising vantage points throughout the bar to the sound dampening ceiling, to the placement of speakers and subwoofers so that the sound is consistent no matter where you're standing in the room. The dancefloor in front of the DJ doubles as a stage area for live music acts, which in time might make it a dual purpose club.

Personally, I was just stunned by the materials. Everywhere you look there's something different...a wood shingle wall by the rear bar, bubblegum colored lamps behind the same bar, brick wall around the open circle dancefloor, white vinyl seating that can store the cushions if people choose to dance on the seats, and the giant seaworthy ropes that tie the whole thing together. Pyles kept saying it was like Disneyland for adults, and while visually and thematically that might be true, a club is only as good as its patrons. Will they come? I guess we'll find out.