Photos: Frankie Cosmos, Ian Sweet @ Queen Bee's, April 10, 2018

Seeing Frankie Cosmos and Ian Sweet at Queen Bee's was a particularly fun night. The show had originally been scheduled for Quartyard downtown, but their grand re-opening was pushed back and so this was moved to Queen Bee's in North Park. I love Alma, but she's busy using the venue for swing dances and Salsa Nights, and Bachata and Zumba classes, in between nights she's rented out for Quinceaneras and other big private events, so I have to admit I hadn't seen a live music show there in quite some time. The place looks great, with a high visible stage and great sight lines from anywhere in the room. The sound had a couple tech issues, but for the most part, the kinks were worked out and it was a rad night of female empowering music. And I guess I should clarify that's my word, not expressing the intent of the artists in any way, but on this particular night, because the show was so close to home, Darren and Nova and I walked to the show, so I always try to see music through her eyes and ears when we can catch a show together, and even as we passed her bedtime, she decided she was in it for the long haul and we stayed till almost the end of the show. These are bands definitely worth checking out if you're not already familiar.

This Weekend: San Diego Music Thing!!

The weekend is nearly upon us and so it's time to talk about the San Diego Music Thing. I've actually been a little bit surprised at how so many of my own friends don't know about or understand what exactly goes on, so here's the basic rundown.

Friday, September 14 and Saturday, September 15, sees the return of the San Diego Music Thing. Think of it less as a "festival" and more of a conference. In the daytime, there are workshops and keynote speakers at the Lafayette Hotel. Topics like Music Industry 101, Marketing, Publishing, and Touring will all be covered. Keynote speakers include Martin Atkins of Public Image Ltd, Wayne Kramer of MC5, and Chuck D of Public Enemy.

By night, the city's music venues open up with showcases featuring local and touring bands. You can see the full schedule here, but I'll also put them after the jump so you can get them on your mobile device easily throughout the weekend.

It seems the biggest point of confusion is the ticketing, so just to clear things up, you can buy tickets here. You can buy a wristband for the full weekend for $55 or for just one day for $35. These wristbands get you into all of the workshops, panels, and keynotes as well as ANY of the nighttime showcases (based on venue capacity, of course). There are also PRESALE tickets for certain showcases available on the same ticketing page. This is recommended if you're not interested or available for the daytime events and you know you just want to go to one venue for the night. For the showcases that don't have presales, they too, will be charging cover at the doors for people without wristbands. The cover charges are usually $10 per venue. If you have a wristband, you do not need to purchase additional venue tickets, but venues will be subject to capacity so plan your nights accordingly. It's gonna be tough hopping around, but I think I'll be hitting up Bar Pink, Casbah, and Sunset Temple on Friday night, with Bar Pink, Claire de Lune, and the Casbah on my Saturday agenda. Of course, that could all change depending on transportation, so we'll see, but you can be sure I'll be Foursquaring/Tweeting all weekend.

Full schedule after the jump.