not so newsy news bits...

I haven't posted newsy bits in a while...I figure you're all up to date via Twitter and Facebook, right? Well, just in case you're not, have your head in the sand, or your work has blocked every social media site, Google, and blog except for sd:dialedin, here are some things you might've missed in the past few weeks. Too bad the really good juicy stuff I have to keep to myself. I hate secrets.

1. Del Mar Racetrack released their concert schedule for the summer. You can always refer to the Del Mar Scene website

7/23: Pinback
7/30: Common Sense
8/6: The B-52s
8/13: The Soft Pack
8/14: Jimmy Cliff & Matisyahu *
8/20: Ozomatli
8/21: Weezer *
8/27: Super Diamond
8/28: Craft Microbrew Festival & Local Music Showcase **
9/3: The English Beat
9/4: ZZ Top *

-This year the Four O'Clock Friday Concerts will be held at the Seaside Stage next to the Seaside Terrace Cabana.
* Saturday Concerts are held at the Infield Stage.
** Local Music Showcase is held in the Infield Pavilion Stage.

The concert is free with track admission. Following the last race, concert prices are $20. Make sure you get there before the last post to save yourself some cash. Concert starts after the races.

2. It's already old news, but the 91X Morning Show got the axe. You can read Mat's blog about it here. Best of luck to him in any future endeavors. At least now I'll probably get to see him at more shows since he doesn't have to wake up at 4 am.

3. There will be no Street Scene this year. Really?? Didn't we all know this last year? Regardless, several news outlets felt obligated to resurrect the issue that kinda feels like kicking a dead horse. So just to reiterate, no Street Scene in 2010.

4. If you missed it, the U-T/SignOnSanDiego put together a great list of free summer concerts. Save it to your bookmarks. Sara also has a list that includes summer festivals.

5. A few weeks ago I wrote about Seth Combs leaving CityBeat. I didn't follow up, but Peter Holslin was named the new music editor and I believe this week's issue is his first at the helm. The online version was being a little wonky, but they reported on the juicy tidbit that Radio Room is being sold to Scot Blair, owner of Small Bar and Hamilton's. All the info is here, but that should certainly make for a helluva beer crawl between Hamilton's, Bluefoot, Toronado, Ritual, Small Bar, Soda Bar, Blind Lady, and now whatever the Radio Room is to become.

6. Finally, 944 Magazine's music issue is coming out and guess what site was named the number one music blog in San Diego? Kinda cool. Check it out here.

Things have certainly been chaotic lately, so if you're missing any features, or there's specific content you'd like to see, please feel free to comment. I have a backlog of photos and videos that I haven't and probably won't post, but if there's something you know I caught that you want to see, just ask. I'll try and get Hockey and Alpha Rev videos up soon, as well as photos from OK Go, Shout Out Louds, et. al.

Remember you can always follow me on twitter @sddialedin, fan or friend me at Facebook, or check out my contributions at SoundDiego. If you're interested in advertising on this site or hiring me for work (open to just about anything these days), shoot me an email at sddialedin at gmail.

Street Scene 2009, Day 2

What a week/weekend. I never got around to posting about day two of Street Scene for a couple reasons. One, the week just kinda got away from me with shows, some small projects, and family in town, sometimes that just happens. The greater reason was that perhaps I was a little bitter. I went back to Street Scene on Saturday ready for another action packed day, and instead found out that because of complaints, point and shoot cameras were not allowed in the photo pits. I honestly don't know how the situation could've been handled better because it is true that WAY too many people had photo passes, but I was irritated nonetheless. Then I realized I was kinda off the hook. Where Friday I was running around from stage to stage to stage and not really spending any real time watching any one band or hanging out with friends, on Saturday I was free to do whatever I wanted. That meant seeing fewer bands but for longer portions of their sets, bumping into and hanging out with a bunch of friends, and enjoying the way the beer garden was split right down the middle of the parking lot for the two main stages, Felana and Felano. So all in all, that worked out to be a pretty fun day.




Sidenote- since I was only allowed to take photos from the crowd for the most part (despite a media wristband and photo pass), Natalie sent over some of her leftover photos. I realize by juxtaposing her photos with mine, the harshness of my pictures is even more apparent, but you get the idea. If you want to see more of Natalie's photos, check them out on Spin.com or on her blog when she posts them. As for the other 100 photographers? No idea where you can find their photos so they can all bite me.

As I said, I had a fun day regardless. Read about it if you 'keep on reading'.

The day kicked off on the main stage with Black Joe Louis. Call me politically correct, but this name bothers me. In spite of that, I checked them out and they got the party started. Unfortunately this was also when an Elite security came and let me know my point and shoot wasn't good enough and I'd have to get out of the pit. Boo. It was particularly annoying because unlike the majority of the media, there were only about 10 of us there who actually got to Street Scene on time for ALL the bands, not just headliners. Whatever. It was an excuse to go find a beer.

Black Joe Louis



It wasn't long before Crocodiles were gonna start of the Casbah stage. Despite a couple WTF moments on this blog, I really like Chuck and Brandon and I think they're talented musicians, and on top of that, to me they have to be just about the savviest guys around, always just that much ahead of the curve as far as being on the cusp of what's next. They had a good amount of people at there show, dancing and singing along to the familiar songs, and I'm sure there were people just there to see them fail, too, but fail they did not. In fact, of all the shows I've seen these guys play, the sound was probably the cleanest.
Crocodiles






After Crocodiles, I mostly stayed in the beer garden between the two main stages. For one, the sun had begun to drop behind Petco Park, so this was the shadiest area, and honestly, I was stoked about the bands coming up between the stages. Ra Ra Riot is one of those bands that I always forget how much I love. I've seen them a couple times in small venues as well as opening for Death Cab at Rimac and there's such a distinct vocal softness that I love about this band...at the violin and cello and the intrumental flourishes yank on my soul. This band just makes me happy, and I was surprised how many people were there watching and singing along to the music. Where are these people at small venue shows??

Ra Ra Riot



After Ra Ra Riot, I was waiting for Josh to text and let me know he was there so I could give him his ticket, but I was hoping I wouldn't miss Public Enemy when I had to go deliver. He called about 2 minutes before PE was supposed to start, so I raced to the gates, found him, and kinda rushed him back over with me to the stage. And then we waited. And waited. I saw PE at House of Blues a while back...maybe last year sometimes...and the same shit happened. I go to enough shows to know that most bands stick to set times, whether by choice or the venue is just on top of it, and I think it's really disrespectful to other bands because now you've gone and changed the entire lineup for the night. There was some behind the scenes drama going on too, and rumors about bands not playing, but I don't need to go into what I heard other than I was just hoping everyone would play as scheduled.

20 minutes after they were supposed to start, PE's hype man came out on the decks for 10-15 minutes before they finally performed. OPP? Really? I guess the better thing for me was I ran into a friend I hadn't seen in a really long time so we had plenty of time to catch up. As for Public Enemy? Flava Flav? Fun set playing everything you'd want them to play to feel like 1996 all over again.

Public Enemy




Back to the drama, Of Montreal was tweeting about nearly getting kicked out of their trailer, about consuming mass amounts of alcohol while waiting for their 30 minute late set to begin, but they finally performed. It was my first time seeing them since I'd missed their Soma Sidestage show when they played, and it was every bit as ridiculous and over the top and theatrical as I expected and I couldn't be more pleased. As we wandered back to the beer line, they played Heimdelsgate Like A Promethean Curse and I was a happy camper.

Of Montreal


After Of Montreal's set, I was convinced things would get back on track time-wise and perhaps they did, perhaps they didn't. I didn't really care. I stopped looking at the clock and just let the night play out and enjoyed myself with good friends. It's no secret I love Silversun Pickups and they delivered a set that made a superfan like me happy, even if my photos were reduced to just taking pictures of the LED screens.

SSPU

We had amassed a group of friends somewhere between Of Montreal and SSPU. Incidentally, this is when I bumped into Seth Combs and he told me that while backstage, he mentioned me to Brian Aubert of SSPU and Brian asked if Seth worked for sd:dialedin. That made me laugh a little. Seth wasn't going to stay much longer and gave me his working badge, but it was a bit late in the night to really test access to anyone. Plus, I was with friends and didn't wanna leave them.



More beers were purchased as we watched Dead Weather but I wasn't really that into their set so much. It got much more crowded in the beer garden and Josh left, so I decided it was time to wander to other stages for a bit.
Dead Weather


And with that, I ended up over at Zarabunda waiting for Sharon Jones to play. I did go backstage over there, but it was mostly just crew and stagehands setting stuff up, so I found a chair and rested my achy tootsies while they set up. I have the Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings record and I've read blogs and articles about the band being amazing, and it's true, they certainly are, but I kinda feel like San Diego has our own Sharon Jones in Lady Dottie and The Diamonds, so where Sharon is perhaps an anomaly in the greater world of contemporary music, San Diegans know what to expect. I'm not saying this woman and her band don't totally bring it, it's just not all that unique a sound for us here.

Sharon Jones


To close out the night I wandered back over to catch MIA for a bit. Every time I see her I'm a bit visually overstimulated, mostly just by her outfits alone. There were mixed reviews on the performance, but I was pretty content with this being the end of my Street Scene 2009 experience. I'm just gonna throw this out there to Rob Hagey, but I've got plenty of input if they need help next year. I don't want to see Street Scene end, ever, and while overall they've had their successes and failures, I think it can once again be the climax of San Diego's summers.

MIA

Street Scene 2009, Day 1

Street Scene 2009 kicked off this weekend, feeling a lot more like Coachella Day 3. San Diego's summer heat decided to turn up and man, it was brutal. Looks like there won't be much of a reprieve today, either, with noon time temps already in the mid to high 80's. Still, it's all about the music, and despite some sound issues on just about every stage and walking around all night feeling like a sweaty monkey, I definitely got my fill of some stellar performances. Packed with my usual festival goods (hat, sunscreen, anti-bacterial hand sanitizer, water bottle, camera, etc.), I joined thousands on the streets of San Diego.
Mastodon, face-melting...

I got to Street Scene before the gates opened, stopping by Lolita's to grab a California burrito and ready to hit the pavement. The festival grounds were buzzing as all the vendors waited for the onslaught of concert goers to enter. It was a little anti-climactic, however, because it seemed a lot of people waited for sundown before braving the festival. That said, there were still plenty of people there enjoying the early sets.

Local boys Dirty Sweet kicked off the day with a rousing set of music. I was happy to hear some of the tracks from their new record, which I don't think is released as yet, but it's REALLY good, so keep an eye out for it.

Here's a track off the new record- Marionette.

Dirty Sweet - Marionette from Dirty Sweet on Vimeo.

From Dirty Sweet I wandered over to enjoy the stylings of Extra Golden who were so good. "We're from America and Kenya." Throw some rock along with some African beats and I was a happy girl. The singer had these really cute dance moves while the band jammed out.


From Extra Golden, it was on to the Zarabanda stage which was pushed back another half block and felt much less claustrophobic than last year. There was even a beer garden on the side of the stage. Good move, Street Scene! Dungen was getting started. I'd heard great things about Dungen, but the guitarist (left) was cranky as hell about his sound. Here's the thing about festivals...I would guess that less than 10% of the crowd for any one band are hard-core fans. The rest are passive listeners just going to check you out. Complaining repeatedly over sound issues, specifically ones that probably aren't going to be resolved throughout your entire set (or the whole day for that matter), is a waste of time. I know it's your job and you are a professional musician, so it drives you crazy, but roll with it. I stayed for precisely 2 songs, and went on to find some non-cranky musicians that despite the heat and the sound problems, were genuinely happy to be there.


I wandered back to one of the main stages...Fulana or Fulano...whatever...to see Devendra Banhart. He was looking less wooly than I've seen him before and revealed that he is one sexy dude. He played his entire set seated because he broke a rib at their show in Anaheim the previous night. And was he complaining? No. Though he did comment on the heat. "Next year, can we get some fucking astroturf up in here?" I'd have to agree. Coachella is hot as hell, but at least there's grass, tents, water misting stations. Our usually temperate climate is always unpredictable in August and September. Planning for heat would've made the day slightly less uncomfortable. From Devendra I walked to the Casbah stage for Wavves. Full of crazy overexagerrated reverb and one song sounded like the next. They had a handful of enthusiastic fans up front but I didn't stick around long, knowing I'll likely end up at the Casbah after party tonight.

From there it was on to Band of Horses. If you don't know my history with Band of Horses, you can read all about it here and here. That thing I said about wasting my time on cranky bands...well, let's just say I never thought I'd see BoH again. But of course, among my friends, there was just something really satisfying about being in that photo pit. At one point, security tried to kick everyone out saying there were no photos allowed, which made me just think, "of course!"...but that issue resolved and we got to stay. And that was it. Ben came out in the ultimate white trash t-shirt, played his music, I took a couple photos, making sure I was the closest photographer in his line of sight, and then I left.

This brings up another thing. While waiting for Band of Horses, some chick with a camera was bitching about the photo pit being so crowded. She dissed bloggers and said they're "not media" and went on to say, "there wouldn't be a problem in the pit if they didn't give every fucking blogger who applied a goddamn photo badge." Naturally I wanted to claw her eyes out. On the other hand, the photo pits were insanely full, and I know of at least a couple low traffic or inactive sites that were granted multiple passes for their "crew", or photographers who get photo passes for their girlfriends to just hang out. I appreciate that I have a pass, but should they perhaps be a little more restrictive? Probably. But then I probably wouldn't have a pass.

That said, this year I'm taking it easy in the pits...acknowledging that I am not a photographer but merely need a few snapshots of each act, most of the time leaving before the first song is even done. I'm over taking 1000 pictures and sorting through them all, so sorry my shots are fuzzed out. You want real photos, go check out Natalie from It's Too Sunny Out Here or Andrew at Amateur Chemist, who I'm sure are both editing photos as I write this.



From Band of Horses, I moved on to the Green stage to catch Holy Fuck. I am bummed I missed them last time around at the Casbah because of Independence Jam, in fact, I was supposed to do merch but had Abraham cover for me instead, but I did see them at 4th & B, I think they opened for M.I.A., and I forgot how exhilarating their live act can be. Lots of pedals and knobs and their signature moviola and I stayed in the pit a little longer just for their energy. Makes me kinda wish they were playing tonight's after party.


From there, it was back to Zarabanda, where Mastodon was performing their face melting music. I got there a little late so only got in a quick few shots, but their crowd was going nuts and with good reason- they definitely know how to bring it.

I left Mastodon to catch Matt & Kim and like others, I was surprised how huge their crowd was. They stood out to me as the band most happy to be there, talking to the crowd and telling stories and being truly engaging. At one point, Kim told the crowd, "I can see every one of your faces and I'm sorry if I stare awkwardly at you, but I am just so glad you're all here." It was one of the few times I actually paid attention to the crowd and saw people throughout the crowd singing along.

After some Matt & Kim, it was on to Bright Eyes. Sporting a Jimi Hendrix tie dye and surprisingly no hat, the band played an engaging set for fans while I dodged the elbow of some rookie asshole who kept getting in front of everyone else's shots. Photographers aren't exactly known for being courteous. But more on that later. I stayed for a song or two, then wandered off to finish my California burrito and listen to the tunes from a distance.


I moved on to Deerhunter at the Casbah stage and after some excrutiating feedback, they got to playing and though I'd seen the band before, I realized I'm just not that into them. I don't know if it's because half their songs are spent creating loops or what, but they really just don't do it for me, but I finished that burrito listening to them all the while.


From there, I went to see Cake for about 3 seconds before remembering that I really cannot stand that band. And talk about whiners, the dude talked shit about the sound, the lights, and the set props the entire time. Waaah...Why this city keeps bringing this shit band back is beyond me.

It was back to the Green Stage for me, to catch Nortec Collective's Bostitch + Fussible, who were joined onstage by an accordion, trumpet and tuba. I used to live upstairs from a family of 8, all living in a two bedroom apartment, so every dinner seemed like a party. They would blare norteno and mariachi music and while I like the music, when you can only feel the tuba through the floor, it can get a little grating. In this case, I was hoping that the tuba was bleeding over to the mainstage just to give Cake one more thing to whine about. I missed the group when they opened Indie Jam last year, so it was my first live experience. The photo pit had perhaps 10 photographers and about 75 friends and family just there to dance, and in this case, that was fine by me. I don't know which is which, but the guy on the right looked like Gabe Vega. Secret life, Gabe??


I stayed for a while, then wandered back over to Modest Mouse. The crowd was the largest I'd seen for any one band and I tried to maneuver to the photo pit, but they weren't letting anyone else in because it was too crowded, being told I could go in when people came out. So I waited, and was pushed, mauled, and squashed, and when about 8 people did leave the pit, a group of entitled photographers pushed past me. Why do you have a 5 foot tall 19 year old girl doing security at one of the biggest performances of the night? She had no control whatsoever and I was quickly getting claustrophobic, so I pushed my way out. I heard Modest Mouse from the distance but really can't tell you anything about their performance. With that outta the way, I went to Girl Talk back on the Zarabanda stage. I took some photos of the many dancing bodies on stage, but it was crazy and chaotic and the pictures are shit. So there. I will say this about Girl Talk. Yes, it is a total dance party. Yes, people go totally nuts. Yes, there is an incredible art to mixing and sampling all that music. But for people who say it was the best performance of the night, I say this. Girl Talk basically mixes the top hits of all time into something new. It's like an A.D.D. DJ set of all the best music of all time. You have a crowd of party people and throw on Michael Jackson, shit is gonna get crazy. But is it fair to compare a DJ to bands performing live, original music? I don't think so. Then again, that's just me, apparently, because it seems that set was all anybody was talking about.

As for me, I was ready to wind down my night. The temperature was finally tolerable (at 10:30 pm) and I was ready to let the sweet tunes of Calexico carry me off into the night. I enjoyed the set, especially when they brought out a full horn section and a Mexican singer. It reminded me of the love songs my grandma always had playing on her AM radio when we'd go to her house for tamales. The music feels like it belongs in the warm night air and hangs over like a blanket. Natalie and I sat off to the side, recapping our night, watching the crowd do any variation of dancing to Calexico including the white boy bro jump, the Burning Man hippie dances, and one girl doing her best pole dance on her boyfriend's groin. And with that we ended our night.

And now, we shall do it all over again. See you at Street Scene!!

Street Scene is Finally Here (Almost)

So Street Scene 2009 is finally here (almost). You bought your pre-sale tickets. You waited to see if someone good was playing before you bought your tickets. You waited to see if you could win tickets. You found out ticket prices dropped. Whatever your scenario, the weekend (and this stupid heat wave) is here and it's time to get excited. Call me lame, but most of the bands I'm excited for I've already seen, some numerous times, but my plan is to not have a plan, which should allow me to run around and catch some of the bands I've never seen before. That said, there are plenty of guides out there that you should check out before you hit the pavement this weekend.

Here's a shortlist of Street-Scene resources:

Official Street Scene Website

Street-Scene Lineup/Stage Times

CityBeat's "Under The Radar" Picks

SignOnSanDiego's Comprehensive Guide

Chickrawker's Schedule & Band Info

Too Sunny Out Here's Band Recommendations

I woke up last night dreaming that my tickets weren't available and I was running all over town trying to get the right people so I could get in. Not fun, but hopefully not true, either.

Anyway, it's gonna be a scorcher, even still, I stand by my anti-flip flop stance for festivals. Make sure you read all the lists of allowed items vs restricted items so you don't get stuck with an extra trip back to your car.

Oh, and for everyone on Twitter: I'm @sddialedin, but you should follow @Street-Scene, @Chickrawker, @TooSunnyOutHere, @CasbahSanDiego, @PylesTE, @FM949, and a slew of others for updates. Also, don't forget to mark your Street Scene tweets #SS09.

Street Scene Set Times

UPDATE: Just saw this posted on the UT Street page. And apparently some updates have already been made to the app so I will do my best to make those changes as they come on the app.

"According to Street Scene organizers, this is a preliminary schedule and does not reflect the final performance times and durations, which should be finalized by late Thursday or early Friday. Keep checking Street for the complete and accurate list of performance times once they're good to go."

I have made the adjusts for times, though their still seems to be some issues.

Was randomly browsing my Twitter (http://twitter.com/andrewwp) and came across a @street_scene posting about how their new iPhone application is now up and live. So I wanted to check it out. They got a company called Useful Creativity to design in and boy does it look good. It has pretty much everything you need for Street Scene:

• Info : History, General Info, Restrictions, and what you can feel free to bring
• Event Map : Once it gets closer to the show the map will become interactive, but as of right now you can view pretty much where everything will be. It is pretty much the same set up as last year.
• Lineup : This is, in my opinion, the coolest part about the app. You can scroll through every Street Scene artist and go to their website, iTunes page, or even their Wikipedia page just by clicking on a built in link. The best part is that when you click the wiki and website links, it stays in the app so there is no having to switch back and forth.
• Directions : Included in the directions portion of the app is a lot as well. Whether you are taking the trolley or driving it can help you. Trolley users can click the trolley button and see the two stops you can use to get in or just click on the trolley map or schedule button and arrange your own plan. If you click on the Parking button it will take you to a page where you can click on a parking structure no further than half a mile away from the festival, get directions to that structure, and then get directions directly back to your car (so you can show your DD where your car is).
• They have a help w/app button for non iPhone friendly people, a twitter update page that automatically #hashtags Street Scene, a Photo Wall that you can take and upload pictures to in the app, and to finish it off, a nice Notifications page.
• Plus, the real reason I am writing this, the schedule. Click keep on reading to see all the set times for Street Scene 2009

Friday August 28th Schedule

Green Stage
Dungen : 5:30 - 6:15
Holy Fuck : 6:45 - 7:30
Anya Marina : 8:00 - 8:45
Nortec Collective: Bosstich & Fussible : 9:15 - 10:00
Cage the Elephant : 10:30 - 11:15

Casbah Stage
Extra Golden : 5:00 - 5:40
Wavves : 6:10 - 6:50
Matt and Kim : 7:15 - 7:55
Deerhunter : 8:15 - 9:00
Donald Glaude : 9:20 - 10:00
Calexico : 10:30 - 11:45

Zarabanda Stage
Carney : 4:40 - 5:20
Shooter Jennings : 5:45 - 6:30
Mastodon : 7:00 - 8:00
Chromeo : 8:30 - 9:30
Girl Talk : 10:00 - 11:15

Fulana Stage
Dirty Sweet : 4:20 - 5:00
Devandra Banhart : 5:50 - 6:35
Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band : 7:45 - 8:30
Modest Mouse : 9:40 - 10:40

Fulano Stage
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue : 5:05 - 5:45
Band of Horses : 6:40 - 7:40
Cake : 8:35 - 9:45
Black Eyed Peas : 10:45 - 12:00


Saturday August 29th Schedule

Green Stage
Zee Avi : 5:30 - 6:15
Gram Rabbit : 6:45 - 7:30
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists : 8:00 - 8:45
The Knux : 9:15 - 10:00
Delta Spirit : 10:30 - 11:15

Casbah Stage
Crocodiles : 4:30 - 5:15
Los Campesinos : 5:40 - 6:20
West Indian Girl : 6:45 - 7:25
LA Riots : 7:50 - 8:35
No Age : 9:15 - 10:00
Bassnectar : 10:30 - 11:45

Zarabanda Stage
Blue Scholars : 4:40 - 5:50
Busta Rhymes : 6:15 - 7:00
The Faint : 7:30 - 8:30
Ozomatli : 9:00 - 10:00
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings : 10:30 - 12:00

Fulana Stage
Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears : 4:30 - 5:05
Public Enemy : 5:50 - 6:35
Silversun Pickups : 7:30 - 8:30
The Dead Weather : 8:35 - 9:35
Thievery Corporation : 9:40 - 10:40

Fulano Stage
Ra Ra Riot : 5:10 - 5:45
of Montreal : 6:40 - 7:25
M.I.A. : 10:45 - 11:45


As of this point there still looks like some time conflicts. Especially with the Fulana Stage on Saturday from 7:30 to 10:40 unless that5 stage has the best stage crew ever known to man. Keep checking back for new updates.

Seems like Street Scene really dug deep for this in depth app so download it and use the heck out of it.

Street Scene Daily Lineup

Street Scene is just around the corner and the daily lineups have been announced in conjunction with the sale of single day tickets. Most of this is not new to you, however, because I already had most of the schedule broken down here back in June. With respect to Beastie Boys being added then canceled because of MCA's cancer diagnosis, there is no word yet on if there will be a replacement headliner. Yeah Yeah Yeah's replaced them for Lollapalooza and Jay-Z is filling in for All Points West.

Friday:

Anya Marina
Band Of Horses
Black Eyed Peas
Cage The Elephant
Cake
Calexico
Carney
Chromeo
Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band
Deerhunter
Devendra Banhart
Dirty Sweet
Donald Glaude
Dungen
Extra Golden
Girl Talk
Holy Fuck
Mastodon
Matt and Kim
Modest Mouse
Nortec Collective's Bostich + Fussible
Shooter Jennings
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
Wavves

Saturday:


Bassnectar
Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
Blue Scholars
Busta Rhymes
Crocodiles
Delta Spirit
Gram Rabbit
LA Riots
Los Campesinos
M.I.A.
No Age
of Montreal
Ozomatli
Ra Ra Riot
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
Silversun Pickups
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists
The Dead Weather
The Faint
The Knux
Thievery Corporation
West Indian Girl
Zee Avi

Once again, click here for the official site of Street-Scene.

If you're on twitter, follow @Street_Scene for announcements and giveaways. Use hashtag #SS09 for aggregating information.

Street Scene Update: Beastie Boys Cancel

Beastie Boys, who were supposed to headline Street Scene 2009, have cancelled their tour dates and postponed the release of their new album.

Beastie Boys have today (July 20) issued the following statement:

‘Adam "MCA" Yauch of Beastie Boys was diagnosed last week as having a cancerous tumor in his left parotid (salivary) gland. Luckily it was caught early and is localized in one area, and as such is considered very treatable. It will however require surgery and several weeks of additional treatment. Fortunately the cancer is not in a location that will affect Yauch's vocal chords. Beastie Boys have canceled all upcoming concert appearances to allow time for Yauch's surgery and recovery. The release of the band's forthcoming album Hot Sauce Committee Part 1 will also be pushed back. More if you 'keep on reading'.


‘Paraphrasing from a video statement on www.Beastieboys.com, Yauch said, "I just need to take a little time to get this in check, and then we'll release the record and play some shows. It's a pain in the neck (sorry had to say it) because I was really looking forward to playing these shows, but the doctors have made it clear that this is not the kind of thing that can be put aside to deal with later."’

A statement from EMI reads: ‘Our thoughts, love and prayers are with Adam Yauch, his family and the Beastie Boys. The most important thing is to allow Adam to focus on staying healthy. We wish him all the best and a speedy recovery.’

Street Scene 2009 Lineup Update & Partial Daily Schedule

Just a reminder that Street Scene is coming back to the streets of downtown San Diego on August 28-29, 2009. There've been some additions (and the cancellation of MSTRKRFT since the original announcement), so here are the updates.

of Montreal, Delta Spirit, Busta Rhymes, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, and Cage The Elephant were all added in the last two weeks. Also, if Street is correct and Grand Ole Party actually broke up (no confirmation from Kristin yet), then I suppose we can scratch them off the lineup.

As your diligent blogger, I've visited Pollstar, compared to Outside Lands, and checked the personal pages of many of the bands in order to break down much of the lineup. May not be 100% accurate, but here's the gist (alphabetically because I'm a spreadsheet geek):

Friday:

Anya Marina
Band Of Horses
Black Eyed Peas
Cake
Calexico
Carney
Chromeo
Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band
Deerhunter
Donald Glaude
Girl Talk
Grand Ole Party*
Holy Fuck
Mastodon
Matt and Kim
Modest Mouse
Shooter Jennings
Wavves

Saturday:

Bassnectar
Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
Blue Scholars
Crocodiles
Los Campesinos
No Age
Ozomatli
Ra Ra Riot
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
Silversun Pickups
The Dead Weather
Thievery Corporation
West Indian Girl
Zee Avi


Unconfirmed Date:

Busta Rhymes
Cage The Elephant
Delta Spirit
Devendra Banhart
Extra Golden
LA Riots
M.I.A.
of Montreal
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists

Once again, click here for the official site of Street-Scene.

If you're on twitter, follow @Street_Scene for announcements and giveaways. Use hashtag #SS09 for aggregating information.

Another Street Scene Addition

Busta Rhymes is the latest to be added to the Street Scene 2009 lineup.

For more information, go to www.street-scene.com

Street Scene Adds More Bands To Lineup

Last week, Street Scene added Delta Spirit and of Montreal to the 2009 lineup. This week, they're teasing via twitter (tweasing?) that 3 more will be announced. The first of those just spilled and it's Ted Leo & The Pharmacists.

Follow @Street_Scene on twitter for more announcements and the chance to win tickets throughout the summer.

Sneak Peeks: 4 o'clock Friday/ Street Scene

My friend Xavie sent over some recon he did on Pollstar.com

First 2 acts of 4'o clock Fridays:

July 24 - G Love & Special Sauce
July 31 - The Wailers

Also, here is Street Scene info:

FRIDAY
Anya Marina
Band of Horses
Chromeo
Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band
Deerhunter
Girl Talk
Grand Ole Party
Wavves

SATURDAY
Bassnectar
The Dead Weather
No Age
Ozomatli
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
Silversun Pickups

Silversun Pickups Hit #1

A couple weeks ago, I postedabout Silversun Pickups and their huge accomplishment in cracking the top 10 for Panic Switch, but I'm happy to say they went even further and have now hit #1. Click 'keep on reading' for the full announcement from Dangerbird Records. I cannot say enough how amazing they're going to be at Street Scene.





Silversun Pickups Hit #1 With Lead Single "Panic Switch"
Monday June 15, 2009

It’s been 11 years since an independent artist ranked #1 on Billboard’s Hot Modern Rock Songs chart (Everlast’s “What It’s Like” hit #1 in December 1998) and today, Silversun Pickups are the proud title-holders. Lead single “Panic Switch,” from Swoon, has impressively jumped over tracks from Linkin Park and Green Day, which were also in the running. This is truly a triumphant day for Dangerbird and the band, as only three songs by artists on independently distributed labels have reached this position: The Offspring’s “Come Out And Play (Keep ‘Em Separated)” [#1, July 1994], the aforementioned Everlast, and now Silversun Pickups this week.

As co-founder of Dangerbird Records, Jeff Castelaz appreciates the significance of infiltrating a predominantly major label-ruled chart. “’Panic Switch’ hitting number one proves that the moving parts of the rock and roll experience are still in good working order: great band, great song, great listener response,” he says.

The quartet is currently making their way across Europe and will return in August for festival appearances, as well as a string of newly announced tour dates.

San Diego Has A Music Scene?

I was just going to kinda let the whole Rolling Stone article about San Diego pass by without a mention, however a few things happened and I guess I would tie them all together. I'll start off by saying if you haven't heard about the article, you can find a scan of it on the CityBeat blog here, along with Seth Combs' take on the article.

I heard about the article being written via a publicist who asked me if I knew bands in San Diego "that sound like Wavves and Crocodiles". I told her some bands and she responded by saying she forwarded my list to her friend at Rolling Stone who was writing an article about San Diego. To be honest, I kinda cringed. To put our entire music scene in this little pigeonhole seemed pretty lame to me. This entire site exists because of the vibrant music scene that exists in San Diego and one little article could never cover what is going on in this town.

That said, I decided to mention it because while in San Francisco I was being entertained by @PitchforkMedia and their coverage of Wavves at the Primavera Festival in Spain and because the Street Scene lineup was announced today, including performances by Crocodiles and Wavves and Grand Ole Party. If you haven't been paying attention, Wavves is the project of Nathan Williams that blew up in the blogosphere thanks to an 8.1 rating on the coveted/despised Pitchfork site. Subsequently Wavves have been all over the place, including a full US tour, SXSW, and were starting a behemoth tour of Europe when there was a total breakdown.

Here's the Twitter feed from @PitchforkMedia at the Primavera Festival:

5:42 PM May 28th: Wavves' Nathan giving ultra pissy performance, drummer Ryan pours a beer on his head. And someone throws a shoe. Well deserved.

5:57 PM May 28th: Holy shit, Wavves! Ryan runs off stage, throws drumstick at Nathan who shouts, "No! Come back here MF we're not done yet!" He doesn't.

6:00 PM May 28th: Crew comes up and breaks down drumset. Nathan tells them to stop, they don't. He tries to continue on... They cut his mic. Disaster city.

6:01 PM May 28th: Bottles thrown. Verdict: Spain hates Wavves. Spectacular.

The thing about the whole fiasco is that Pitchfork curated the stage, so they kinda have to do damage control. I don't personally know Nathan and I've not seen Wavves perform live, so I can't speak to his behavior, but it just sounds like he was launched into a world that he wasn't mature enough or mentally prepared to handle. The internet will shoot you down just as quickly as it can launch you into (relative) stardom.

Anyway, if you wanna follow along, here's the complete story of the breakdown, the subsequent cancellation of their next show, some coverage and comments on Stereogum, and a cached apology from Nathan's blog which has been removed. I hope that if Nathan is having drug/alcohol issues that he deals with them and I hope that his story isn't over because he does some interesting music, but I'm here to say that the San Diego music scene is alive and kicking with or without Wavves, and we don't need Pitchfork, Fader, Spin, or Rolling Stone telling us so.

Street Scene 2009 Lineup Announced

This year's Street Scene lineup was announced today while I was recovering from my trip to SF.
The festival will once again be in the East Village on August 28 & 29, 2009. For full info, go to www.street-scene.com They're also very active on twitter with announcements and giveaways: @street_scene

Anywho...here it is:

Black Eyed Peas
M.I.A.
Thievery Corporation
The Dead Weather
Modest Mouse
Silversun Pickups
Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band
Girl Talk
Chromeo
Cake
Band Of Horses
MSTRKRFT
Bassnectar
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
Chromeo
Donald Glaude
Mastodon
Ozomatli
Devendra Banhart
Shooter Jennings
Calexico
West Indian Girl
No Age
Ra Ra Riot
Grand Ole Party
Deerhunter
Matt and Kim
Los Campesinos
LA Riots
Blue Scholars
Crocodiles
Anya Marina
Black Joe Louis & The Teddybears
Wavves
Holy Fuck
Carney
Zee Avi
Extra Golden
Blue Scholars

Street Scene Leak

I wasn't online much today so sorry for the "we already know" information, but if you are one of two people who haven't heard, Dead Weather, a "supergroup" consisting of Jack White, Allison Mosshart of The Kills, Jack Lawrence from The Raconteurs, and QOTSA's Dean Fertita have announced tour dates. Street Scene is included in those listings. So there ya go, already a reason to buy the presale tickets when you can. Sign up for the email newsletter here and you'll be notified when the presale takes place. Remember, the presale happens before the lineup is announced, so take your chances, but also remember, that the ticket prices increase significantly after the lineup is announced.

Street Scene is taking place August 28 & 29, 2009.

Concert News: Street Scene 2009, Green Day, Slightly Stoopid

A friend sent me some info to share with my blog readers.

Street Scene will be August 28 & 29 this year

Green Day is coming somewhere in San Diego on August 20.

Slightly Stoopid/Snoop Dogg/Stephen Marley are coming July 25 to Cricket.

Man, I really need a camera.

Mi Vida Loca: September, Pt. 1

I keep saying how busy things have been and it's getting pretty old, but between my day job keeping me busy and this town offering so many great things to do every night of the week. So, for the first night that I recall in a very long time, I stayed home tonight. I'm looking through pictures and realized that while I updated here and there, I have a lot of pictures that I haven't posted. So I'll do my best to catch up on photos and where my time was spent, after the jump.

I should really just start this entry with "Dear Diary".

In looking back, I spent quite a lot of time at the Ken Club. One, because I can do my listings and attempt to at least keep the basic stuff updated on my site, but also because it's so damn close, so it's been fun hanging with Todd, Scotty, and my other bar buddies. They've been having more weeknight shows, too, which makes it pretty convenient. On September 11, I walked over to see the show, but missed Tape Deck Mountain. I saw just a little bit of Crescendo but finally caught The Feelings Mutual and I enjoyed seeing them after having listened to their CD a few times. We know my pics suck there, but here are a couple anyway.

The Feelings Mutual


Come Friday, I decided pretty late that I was going to go out at all, so again, walked over and it was packed. It was a Secret Scooter Society Club night and both sides of the bar were packed, which was great because it was the debut of Kerrie's band, Heavy Love, who play a great mix of 50's classics. Kerrie is a classically trained vocalist, so her covers of the Supremes and others were spot on, backed by a full band with a horn section. They were really, really good.

http://s189.photobucket.com/albums/z160/divebarchick/?action=view¤t=DSC07647.jpg

Saturday night I was supposed to see The Counting Crows, Maroon 5 and Augustana at Cricket, but Counting Crows cancelled and since I was supposed to take photos of them, it freed up my night to chill out and go to Kristian's housewarming party. If I haven't said so before, Kristian is one of my best friends, all the way back to when he was a freshman and I was a senior in high school. He contributes to this blog as "KZ" (though not enough), and he recently moved back to San Diego after living in LA for a while. He lives in a killer house in South Park and was having a housewarming party. There was an ice luge and a keg and it was like all the college parties I never really went to. What a great time.





Sunday was a chill day, I checked out Ponce's that night for the final night of "Behind Your Daddy's Back" which was pretty fun. They have a DJ playing lounge music, they have a limited menu of TJ tacos and drink specials. I think they're gonna bring it back around next year. Then I chilled at the Ken to wrap up the weekend.

Monday night was The Juan Maclean at the Casbah, and since it was a late show, I started the night at The Chee Chee. The Juan Maclean were really fun, and Kristian and Beau came and partook in the dance fest at the Casbah.



The next night, I ended up seeing a couple of the people from The Juan Maclean at 4th and B when I sold merch for Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds. That night was crazy. I have never sold so much merch in my life and the line for people buying t-shirts was about 30 deep from the time the doors opened at 8 until Nick Cave took the stage at 10, and was consistent even while the band played. I wish I could say that I saw the show, but really I only had a few moments when I could actually pay attention and listen to them, but they sounded phenomenal and the crowd was really enthusiastic for the whole show. I worked through the manager and no, I didn't get to meet or even see the band.

The last catch up I'll get to for now was the San Diego Music Awards. I already posted the winners but I did take a few pictures that night that I wanted to post.
I drove out with Matt, Elizabeth and Andrew, we had a couple beers in the parking lot and actually got there in time before the show started. To me, the San Diego Music Awards is not about the performances, and not even really about the awards, but a chance for people from the entire music community...musicians and fans alike...to hang out and celebrate the progress the music community has made here. Think back, even just a year, to the number of music venues and opportunities for bands to play and mix and network and play together compared to now and it's easy to see that this city has it going on.

Writer (left-Best New Artist Nominees) SayVinyl (right-Best Local Recording)


As I Lay Dying closed the show, and I couldn't resist taking pictures because there was a full blown (planned?) mosh pit in front of the stage.


As I mentioned, after the show, Lady Dottie & The Diamonds played the V Lounge, where people mingled, danced, drank, and if you were me, found a video poker machine to spend the money I'd earned selling Nick Cave's merch. But eventually we had to go, same 4 of us and Dagart. And I had to post these pictures. There are a lot of things I don't understand about guys, but one is why guys sucker punch one another in the nuts. It's weird though mildly entertaining for bystanders. I love these pics, after Dagart messed up Andrew, trying to make peace and then looking at me like "What?". I think Andrew is still seeking the right moment for revenge.



So that was the early part of my month. I already posted all my Street Scene stuff, so I'll pick up after that when I give myself the opportunity to upload and write some more, hopefully this weekend. There's always my twitter feed, I guess.