Casbah Presents: BOY and Jeremy Messersmith at UCSD's Porters Pub tonight!

San Diegans are in for a treat tonight with the buoyant melodies of BOY and the graveyard ballads of Jeremy Messersmith.  BOY, a female pop duo who hail from Switzerland and Germany, has been building a potent American fan-base as their delightful debut album "Mutual Friends" finally was released stateside.  Infectious hooks are bountiful in such songs like "This is the Beginning" and their hit "Little Numbers".  I sadly missed their first show in San Diego at the Loft, but that is a mistake I won't be making twice.  Jeremy Messersmith is an artist that has come to San Diego many times over the years, mostly playing at Lestats.  In fact, I first became acquainted with this website's founder, Rosemary, at his show.  Messersmith's music, despite containing graveyard imagery deeply informed by death, is never staid or boring.  His stage presence is warm and songs move between soulful acoustic guitar like "A Girl, a Boy, A Graveyard" and raucous chamber pop in his new single "Tourniquet".  If you're interested in seeing two groups come and confidently blow a crowd away, don't miss tonights show.  Tickets are on sale here for $15 and doors are at 8p.  Check out BOY's "Little Numbers" and Jeremy Messersmith's "Tatooine" below.

Recommended Shows In San Diego October 21-27, 2013

As October rolls on so do the great musical events in San Diego. The upcoming week offers some great reasons for music fans to get off the couch and out of the house.

Tim Kasher, noted Cursive front man, brings his solo work (recently released Adult Film) to the Casbah on Monday...Laura Stevenson and Jake Bellows open for a great night of music...

Phantogram make their long awaited return to San Diego at the House of Blues on Tuesday...the upstate New York electronic duo are set to release their sophomore full length Voices...

On Wednesday garage rocker Hanni El Khatib headlines the Casbah with Bass Drum of Death offering support...

Chrome Sparks headline Soda Bar on Thursday...he plays music classified as chillwave (see video below)...London artist James Blake makes his San Diego debut at the House of Blues...

Spain's Crystal Fighters return to the Casbah for the show of the night on Friday...this one is sure to sell out so don't delay...

Josh Damigo plays his monthly show at Lestat's on Saturday...Kim Richey will sing an acoustic set or two at AMSD Concerts...

Sunday is loaded with some great options: Keep Shelley in Athens at the Casbah, Deer Tick at the Belly Up, and Boy and Jeremy Messersmith make a tour stop at Porter's Pub...

Another great week of music awaits those wishing to enrich their lives...be sure to support live music whatever your choice(s) might be...consult the listings for all the shows...

Watch a video of Don't Move by Phantogram below.



Watch a video of Send The Pain On by Chrome Sparks below.

"Localchella" Shows Coming to San Diego in April

While the folks at Goldenvoice celebrate the second consecutive year of both Coachella weekends having sold out in the desert, there is plenty to get excited about here in San Diego. Playing back to back weekends has afforded those bands playing Coachella to book shows during their time off in between (weekends). Since most of the shows booked here will likely sell out, I thought a brief rundown would help those who are undecided purchase tickets while they are still available.

In order (by date) here are the shows...all shows are all ages unless otherwise noted...

April 11...Ben Howard @ Belly Up (21+)...tickets can be purchased here...

April 12...Kurt Vile @ the Casbah (21+)...tickets can be purchased here...

April 15...Foals @ Porter's Pub...tickets can be purchased here...

April 15...Wild Nothing, Little Green Cars @ Casbah (21+)...tickets can be purchased here...

April 16...Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds @ Balboa Theatre...tickets can be purchased here...

April 16...Youth Lagoon @ The Irenic...tickets can be purchased here...

April 16...Alt-J @ Belly Up (21+)...sold out...

April 17...Aesop Rock @ Belly Up (21+)...tickets can be purchased here...

April 17...Tegan and Sara with Stars @ Humphrey's Concerts by the bay...tickets can be purchased here...

April 17...The Faint @ Fluxx (21+)...tickets can be purchased here...

April 18...Polica @ the Casbah (21+)...tickets can be purchased here...

April 19...Cloud Nothings @ the Casbah (21+,,,tickets can be purchased here...

April 22...Gaslight Anthem @ Belly Up (21+)...sold out...

April will be an epic month, to say the least...see you at the show(s)!

Tonight at Anthology: Good Old War

Good Old War are back in town tonight! I love this band. They're such sweet guys, great songwriters, and excellent performers. This ain't no hipster shit, just good solid music that makes you feel good to see and makes you want to sing along. If you don't have other plans, I suggest you call Anthology and make a reservation now. This is a playlist of a show they played at Porter's Pub last year. There are 10 videos in this playlist. Make sure to check out the last song, "Loud Love", which I believe is still unreleased but is pretty much a perfect song to me. Enjoy.

10 Reasons To Love Good Old War

When I saw Good Old War perform at the Soma sidestage earlier this summer, I was absolutely blown away. Okay, I also felt really old as the band jumped offstage and had the audience join them in a singalong, but mostly I felt that there was some great power to their music. When I read that music critic Bob Lefsetz had experienced the same thing in seeing the band in LA, I was shocked, mostly because he seems to hate just about everything.

When the opportunity came up again, and since I'd missed the band opening for Dr. Dog at the Belly Up, I had to see them again. This time was an all ages show at Porter's Pub, and though it was a show for students only, Josh Damigo opened and got me my in. Per usual, Josh opened the show with a great set, and it was my first time seeing him with his new full five-piece band, so I was super impressed. As it was, the show was sparsely attended, but those that were there acknowledged that they were seeing something special.

By the time Good Old War took the stage, the crowd was thicker and those that were of age were more lubricated from the awesome beer selection. The boys in Good Old War got the crowd moving quickly.




They didn't stay on stage for long, however, and like the Soma show, they jumped into the crowd to perform, only unlike last time when it was only for the encore, this show was played almost entirely among the crowd.


I captured most of it on video, and so here, I present to you, 10 reasons to love Good Old War. To see through all of the playlist, click the right or left arrows.


For what it's worth, I saw Good Old War again the next night, when they opened for Joshua Radin, but the House of Blues isn't the same place, and playing amongst the crowd wasn't an option. They were fantastic yet again, but it wasn't the same...the chatty crowd, the people trickling in who had no idea what they were even there for...I even interviewed Keith, the main vocalist of Good Old War, but instead of showing that, just enjoy this band for what they are and the show they give. And next time they come around, make sure you know all the words or you'll be cheating yourself of a really great show experience.