City of San Diego Shuts Down The Irenic & Street Angels Homeless Shelter for Teens

Last week, The Irenic posted a dreary message on their Facebook page:


Full Statement Link (full text here):

After nearly six years of opening the doors of our church to host All-Age events for the North Park Community, The Irenic has been ordered by The City of San Diego to cease operations, effective immediately on September 1, 2019. We believe that this order is a violation of our rights as a faith community to use our property to both bless the community and generate income to support our ministry, and are seeking legal counsel on how to proceed. It is our sincere hope that we will be able to begin hosting events again soon. We encourage you to reach out to Councilman Chris Ward's Office and Mayor Falconers Office to voice your support for The Irenic. Thank you so much for your support. 

Now, obviously I work for the Casbah and as such have worked the door for our events at the Irenic for many years now, but I have no inside information about this news. I will say my own opinion, which is that it sucks, and not just because of the lost income it means for me and our staff. There's been a neighbor hellbent on getting the venue shut down and fuck that guy. He allegedly called the police for EVERY. SINGLE. SHOW. I hear this is from Code Enforcement, but am sure Mara "Fun-killer" Elliott had a hand, as she seems to be chasing everything that makes this city cool, from shutting down Nova's derby facility with just 72 hours notice (and thus ending her derby involvement altogether) to resurrecting issues at the Observatory long thought to have been resolved and now this. It sucks. The Casbah has 10 shows with no home should the issue not be immediately resolved. Looking at Soda Bar's calendar, they also had at least 10 shows booked through the end of the year.

Update:
Casbah is working diligently to move all the previously scheduled shows. The sold-out Phora (10/13) show has been moved to House of Blues and with additional capacity means more tickets are on sale. Benjamin Francis Leftwich (9/18) has been moved to the Merrow, which unfortunately means this is now a 21+ show. Casbah will be making announcements as shows are moved.

Everyone has been covering this story, so here are some links:

GoFundMe: Save The Irenic & Youth Homeless Shelter

Statement from Councilman Chris Ward

MissionGathering Response To Councilman Chris Ward's Statement

City Pulls Plug on Irenic - SoundDiego / NBC

Youth shelter, music venue shut down by City of San Diego (Video) - CBS8

Community rallies around North Park Church that shelters homeless youth - 10News

Church fights to keep its music venue and homeless shelter open - Fox 5 San Diego

Keep The Irenic Open - Change.org Petition

Photos: Peter, Bjorn & John @ The Irenic. May 5, 2019

Peter, Bjorn and John played at the Irenic on Cinco de Mayo this year, but I was happy to be working at their show. Little did we know that mere months later, The Irenic would be shut down by the City, so we maybe should've appreciated what we had a little more. Still, this was an excellent show. I was a little bummed that the room was only about half house...having seen the band before when "Young Folks" was all the rage, their shows were selling out in every city, but so goes the music biz in 2019. The empty space in the room didn't matter, however, when the band jumped into the crowd and played some jams. I'm sorry these didn't get posted sooner. These and dozens of others were held up in drafts and never published.

San Diego Music Venue Shuffle & News

It's been a while since I've posted a "newsy bits" type post around here but it seems like there's so much happening that it's time to tell you what I can share of what I know.

By now, you've surely heard that Tim Mays is now a partial owner of Soda Bar, which he purchased with Cory Stier, Andrew Montoya, and Angie Ollman. Jeff wrote about it for CityBeat and Dustin wrote about it for SoundDiego with the particulars. Obviously I work for Tim so I'll just let their articles do the talking, but I do know that some minor changes have already taken place, like the removal of the pole directly in front of the stage and expect a good interior paint job to spruce it up. As a music fan, this can really only be a good move to continue to bring great up-and-coming acts to San Diego.

Another part of all of this is that the Irenic posted a press release to their site earlier this month (h/t Josh Krimston) announcing they would once again be hosting shows. As you may have heard, the venue had told us back in 2017 that they would cease to have shows. Unfortunately, even if they're back online, that means a setback of booking because I'm sure we'd already have a dozen things booked between now and SXSW, but keep an eye out for more shows produced by Casbah and Soda Bar. For now, Casbah has moved Enter Shikari from Music Box to the Irenic on  February 25. In the meantime, Casbah added a couple shows at places like House of Blues Voodoo Room and Soma Sidestage to make up for what we thought was the loss of a venue. There is another spot Casbah was looking to get on board that might end up being an all ages alternative if needed in the future.

In other news, everyone keeps asking me what I know about the Observatory after they canceled last week's show with Sweet and Tender Hooligans and then again this week with K.Flay. They've gone radio silent on social media and tend to hold all their information close to the chest, but here's the official line from the venue:

We had to reschedule our K. Flay show due to a brief closure for maintenance repairs.It'll all be finished soon and we will be ready to rock on Thurs, Jan 18th for Big Boi & The Cool Kids.

For ticketholders to K. Flay, the show has been rescheduled to May 8. The Sweet & Tender Hooligans show was rescheduled to February 16. 

In downtown news, the Quartyard is almost back. Though I don't know if I'll forgive them for the way they tragically let their potted trees die while they were in storage near the Derby Dollhouse, the stage is back being built out on the corner of Market and 13th, just a block east of their former location on Park and Market. The footprint is much smaller and I'm not sure they'll have all of the amenities as before, but a couple shows have already been booked, including Moose Blood on April 2 and Frankie Cosmos, Ian Sweet, and SOAR on April 10.

Lastly, in case you missed it, George Varga penned an awesome love letter to the San Diego Music Scene in the U-T.  Read the full article here.

Get To Know The Irenic

I recently posted a little FAQ-ish list about The Irenic to my Facebook page, but since I'll be there tonight for Maggie Rogers--a totally sold out show where invariably I'll be asked the same questions over and over again--I thought I would repost it here with some minor tweaks.

The Irenic is a music venue located at 3090 Polk, on the corner of Illinois St. By day, it is the Mission Gathering Church and home to Street Angels, an outreach program and shelter for homeless teens. Mission Gathering Church was the group behind a very memorable billboard in North Park after Prop 8 was overturned.


1. All shows are all ages.
2. Shows start early and end early. Venue curfew is 10pm.
3. It is in a residential neighborhood with no parking lot. You're lucky to find parking within a few block radius. Plan accordingly in both time and apparel.
4. There is no alcohol. Beer and wine sales have been suspended for the time being. Hoping this changes soon, but could be weeks to months.
5. Cash only at the door (when the show isn't sold out).
6. There is no ATM on premises. Nearest one is at Vons.
7. A venue can never sell the tickets of people who don't show up. It's super annoying when you ask.
8. There's no re-entry. It's a liability to the venue and promoter.
9. If it's a Casbah show, the Casbah website is the most reliable source of information. "We were told the headliner didn't go on until 9!" You were told wrong. Headliners can start as early as they want, but very generally speaking are on no later than 8:30.
10. There's no outside food or beverages (even water) allowed.
11. Security may ask to search bags.
12. Cameras are ok. No flash, no tripods. Be respectful of audience. Some artists (very few) ask for no photography/video, in which case we have to honor that request.
13. Most shows are standing room only. Very rarely are shows seated and when they are, it's listed as such.
14. There is a smoking patio, but security might check ID for cigarettes and vapes. If you're not of age, they can be confiscated. (I've only see them do this at one show)
15. Soda Bar also uses the venue quite a bit. Their practices and procedures may be different.
16. You can only purchase presale tickets online. There is no box office to make such purchases.

Upcoming Casbah & Casbah Presents Shows (Updated 9.1.2016)

It has been a few weeks since I updated the Casbah upcoming shows, so this time I tried to fix the formatting a bit so it looks better and is a little easier to keep updated. This month has so many amazing shows, it's hard to feel bad about turning 40 at the end of the month. Everything on the books is after the jump.

Thu 9/01 - Taken by Canadians The Paragraphs, Hiroshima Mockingbirds, Mrs. Henry @ Casbah

Fri 9/02 - Flamin' Groovies, The Pandoras, The Loons, DJs Pat & Lety Beers @ The Casbah

Sat 9/03 - Punk Rock Karaoke, Cruz Radical, Johnny Madcap and The Distractions @ The Casbah

Sun 9/04 - The Creepy Creeps, Schizophonics, Mission Creeps, THE FINK BOMBS @ The Casbah

Sun 9/04 - The Kills, AUTOLUX @ Observatory North Park

Mon 9/05 - Floating Points, Olga Bell @ Belly Up Tavern

Wed 9/07 - The Bones of JR Jones, Creature and the Woods, The Whiskey Circle @ The Casbah

Thu 9/08 - Juliette Lewis, Andy Clockwise @ The Casbah (SOLD OUT)

Thu 9/08 - !!! @ Soda Bar

Thu 9/08 - Bayside, The Menzingers, Sorority Noise @ Observatory North Park

Fri 9/09 - Assemblage 23, DJ Robin Roth, Lance Liquidgrey @ The Casbah

Sat 9/10 - Trouble in the Wind, Red Fox Tails, Sick Balloons, Born Gypsy @ The Casbah

Sat 9/10 - Blondie, Prima Donna @ Observatory North Park (SOLD OUT)

Sun 9/11 - Spotlights, Death Eyes, Deep Sea Thunderbeast @ The Casbah

Mon 9/12 - Sam Outlaw, Cale Tyson, Reverend Baron @ Casbah

Tue 9/13 - Buddha Trixie, Cerulean Veins, The Wild Fires @ The Casbah

Tue 9/13 - Clams Casino, Lil B @ Observatory North Park

Tue 9/13 - Joseph Arthur, Reuben Hollebon @ Music Box

Wed 9/14 - Chuck Ragan & the Camaraderie, Nathan Maxwell (of Flogging Molly), WT Nelson @ Casbah

Thu 9/15 - Wove, No Sympathy, The Anomaly @ The Casbah

Thu 9/15 - Local Natives, Charlotte Day Wilson @ Observatory North Park

Upcoming Casbah & Casbah Presents Shows (Updated 5.23.2016)

The Casbah has been really busy adding a ton of shows over the past week. If you ever want to see the latest stuff, you can click here and if you ever want to find that page, just add a "/latest" after casbahmusic.com. Of the new stuff, I'm particularly excited about the return of Jagwar Ma and Okkervil River. It looks like just after I publish this there are another 5 or so shows announcing, so as I always say, I can never really be caught up on anything.  

Mon May 23 - The Little Richards, The Bassics @The Casbah

Tue May 24 - Son Little, Doe Paoro @ Casbah

Tue May 24 Oddisee @ Soda Bar

Wed May 25 - Ivan & Alyosha, The Whiskey Circle @ The Casbah

Wed May 25 - Mayer Hawthorne, Gabriel Garzon Montano @ Observatory North Park

Thu May 26 Moving Units - Damage with Care Tour 2016, Billy Changer, Visions, Glass Spells @ The Casbah 

Thu May 26 Trails and Ways @ The Hideout

Trails and Ways

Fri May 27 - D.O.A., The Executives, Social Spit, Records with Roger @ The Casbah

Sat May 28 - Dillinger Four, Off With Their Heads, Toys That Kill, Night Birds @ Casbah (SOLD OUT)

Sat May 28 UPSILON ACRUX, Ahleuchatistas, Innerds @ The Hideout

Sun May 29 - Big Black Delta, James Supercave @ Casbah

Upcoming Casbah & Casbah Presents Shows (Updated 5.16.2016)

We had a big week at the Casbah with the Local Natives announcement, but there are awesome shows all the time. Since the last update, we've added shows with Sloan, Ducktails, Tobacco, Honne, Autolux, Boris and more. The full list of shows past Sunday are after the jump.

Mon May 16 - Local Natives, DJ Claire@ The Casbah (SOLD OUT)

Tue May 17 - Taking Back Tuesday @ The Casbah (SOLD OUT)

Tue May 17 - Modern English @ The Hideout

Wed May 18 - Yuna, Bosco @ Casbah

Thu May 19 - 91X Loudspeaker and Magic Flight present Idlehands Amigo, Dime by Dime @ The Casbah

Thu May 19 Wreckless Eric, Davey Tiltwheel @ The Hideout

Fri May 20 - Damien Jurado & The Heavy Light, Ben Abraham @ Casbah

Fri May 20 - The Thermals, Summer Cannibals, Colleen Green @ Soda Bar

Sat May 21 - Frightened Rabbit, Caveman @ Belly Up

Sat May 21 - Fruit Bats, Kyle Craft @ Casbah

Sat May 21 Dreams Made Flesh, Bit Maps, Blood Ponies @ The Hideout

Sun May 22 - Idlewild, The Jaguar Club @ Casbah

Sun May 22 - Nada Surf, Prism Tats @ The Irenic

Nada Surf

Upcoming Casbah and Casbah Presents Shows (Updated 5.5.2016)

It's been a little over two weeks since I updated this list and there have been a ton of announcements. Some of the big deal ones you should pay attention to are Savages, M83, Buck-O-Nine, The ills, Marissa Nadler, Foy Vance, Guided BY Voices, Tegan and Sara, We Are Scientists, Deerhoof, The Budos Band, Federico Aubele and so many more. Everything on the books is listed after the jump.

Thu May 05 - GIVERS, Anna Wise @ Casbah

Fri May 06 - Beach Slang, Potty Mouth, Dyke Drama, California @ Casbah

Fri May 06 - Voodoo Glow Skulls, Pinata Protest, Oceanside Sound System @ Soda Bar

Sat May 07 - Manic Hispanic @ Casbah

Sat May 07 - Torche, Wild Throne @ The Hideout

Torche

Upcoming Casbah & Casbah Presents Shows (Updated 4.1.2016)

Like I said in the Observatory post, I meant to post this earlier in the week but didn't have a chance. New shows include Dreams Made Flesh, Wreckless Eric, Arbor Labor Union, Oddisee, Aesop Rock, Cigarettes After Sex, Wye Oak, White Lung, Holy Fuck, David Bazan, Suuns, Oh Pep!, and Trails and Ways. Everything on the books is listed below. There's a few shows that are super close to selling out, including Dillinger Four, Wild Belle, and Dan Padilla's Last Show on Saturday. (Archive after the jump)

Upcoming Casbah & Casbah Presents Shows (Updated 3.7.2016)

I know, I know, I feel your pain. Over the past couple weeks, I've heard a lot of feedback on the new Casbah website and have had my own headaches with it. I have list of things that our "account specialist" is working on. That said, if you have problems with the functionality of the Casbah web page, please let me know, especially if you have trouble on the mobile version since it seems to be working fine on my Android but I hear there are issues on ios. Shows through mid-month below, the rest are after the jump.

Mon Mar 07 - The Bulbs, Sledding with Tigers, William and the Nephews @ Casbah

Tues Mar 08 - Omega Three, Deep Sea Thunderbeast, Setback City @ Casbah

Tue Mar 08 - St. Lucia with Grace Mitchell @ The Observatory North Park

Wed Mar 09 - Miner @ Casbah

Thu Mar 10 - Kitten, Electric Mudd, Machineheart @ Casbah

Fri Mar 11 - Mystic Braves, The Loons, Los Sweepers, DJ Tony The Tiger @ Casbah

Fri Mar 11 - Astronauts ETC, Harriet Brown, Bakkuda @ The Merrow

Fri Mar 11 - Eleanor Friedberger, Icewater, Nephews @ The Hideout

Upcoming Casbah & Casbah Presents Shows (Updated 1.25.2016)

Since I've just been up all night working, I'm going to go ahead and publish this one now. Obviously any new shows announced today will eventually get incorporated into this list, but there were plenty of new shows added last week that are worth looking over (indicated by the X in front of them.) February shows and beyond are after the jump. If you get the Casbah newsletter, you saw these last week. If you're not subscribed, make sure you have a Ticketfly account, and add Casbah in your email subscriptions. February shows and beyond are after the jump.

Mon Jan 25 - Little Heroine, The Natives, Bad Kids @ Casbah ($6 at the door)

Tue Jan 26 - The Soft Moon, Sextile, Hexa @ Casbah
Tue Jan 26 - Killing Joke, Soft Moon @ The Belly Up (CANCELED)

The Soft Moon (photo credit: Vincent Arbelet)

Upcoming Casbah & Casbah Presents Shows (Updated 11/3)

Okay, so it has been a couple weeks since this running list of Casbah shows has been updated and we now have shows booked into March 2016! I'm particularly excited about the announcement of Martin Courtney of Real Estate coming in January, but there are a ton of shows between now and then to be excited about. Shows from next week and beyond are after the jump.

Tue Nov 03 - The Rocket Summer, Paradise Fears, Plane Without A Pilot @ Casbah

Tue Nov 03 - Antemasque, Eureka The Butcher @ The Observatory North Park

Wed Nov 04 - Spencer Moody, The Fink Bombs, Foreign Bodies @ Casbah

Wed Nov 04 - Botanica Chango, Gary Wilson and the Blind Dates, Bit Maps @ The Irenic

Wed Nov 04 - Dilly Dally @ The Hideout

Thu Nov 05 - Quel Bordel, Sculpins, Lexington Field, Wicked Monk @ Casbah (FREE)

Thu Nov 05 - of Montreal, Diane Coffee @ The Irenic

Of Montreal return to The Irenic on Thursday, November 5

Thu Nov 05 - David Ramirez, Liza Anne @ Soda Bar

Fri Nov 06 - Pimps of Joytime, Con Brio @ Casbah

Fri Nov 06 - Leon Bridges @ The Observatory North Park (SOLD OUT)

Sat Nov 07 - Fall Brewing One Year Anniversary feat Mr. Tube & The Flying Objects, Widows, Victory Mansion @ Casbah (FREE!!)

Sun Nov 08 - Radio Eterno, Marujah, Viri y Los Bandidos @ Casbah ($6 at the door)

Things To Do In San Diego: Saturday, October 31- Sunday, November 1, 2015

I had to update listings because in case you haven't heard, Rocket From The Crypt had to cancel their show tonight at Bar Pink. The Heartaches will still be there for a free show, and if you had a ticket, show it for a free RFTC poster. Meanwhile, the Casbah is sold out with No Knife. I also wanted to share my excitement that San Diego is finally getting a showing of the award winning documentary, The Glamour and the Squalor, about our dear friend and Rock n Roll Hall of Famer Marco Collins. The film will play at The Irenic on December 5 with Octagrape and Big Bad Buffalo playing after (thus the pic of Jordan of BBB from Thursday's "Halloweezer" cover band). The event will be $25 and you can already get your tickets here. Saturday and Sunday archives are after the jump.

Upcoming Casbah and Casbah Presents Shows (Updated 6/11)

it's rough around here when I miss a week of updates. Last week I went through the Casbah calendar, show by show, with George Varga to try and get their Summer Preview as up to date as possible, and still there are a lot of new shows added between the time we spoke and the time they published. So here's the latest and greatest of all the upcoming Casbah shows, including the presale link for Hot Chip (password is "whymakesense") and Mew (password is "waterslides"). Heads up that there are only 8 tickets left to CYHSY tomorrow night (as of 12:35pm 6/11). Archive after the link.

Upcoming Casbah and Casbah Presents Shows (Updated 5/21)

It's has been a couple weeks since I've updated the full Casbah calendar and it is quite the feat when we're adding so many shows all the time. There are a lot of shows going on sale Friday and many more that are already on sale now. Links for every show are provided below for your convenience. June shows and beyond are after the jump.

Upcoming Casbah and Casbah Presents Shows (Updated 5/7)

There are only a couple Casbah updates this week, but I also know there are a few shows announcing tomorrow, so keep an eye out and you can always see the full Casbah calendar at CasbahMusic.com

Upcoming Casbah & Casbah Presents Shows (Updated May 1)

See new update.

Upcoming Casbah & Casbah Presents Shows (Updated 4/29)

When I started updating this list, I figured there would be a few new shows and maybe the addition of some openers on existing shows, but I really had no idea just how many shows we've added the past couple weeks! There are so many good ones and I know you all don't like a lecture, but one of the reasons good shows skip San Diego is because there's not enough advance interest. Sure, you sell out Ms Mr in no time flat, but when we add shows like A.A. Bondy, Christopher Owens, Surfer Blood, Joseph Arthur, Fool's Gold and more, the agents see how fast tickets get scooped up (or don't) and it definitely affects who they send down here to brave our tepid market. Stop waiting for something better to come along and make plans to see some shows. And consider this your warning that The Mowgli's and Two Gallants are almost sold out. Get your tickets while you still can. All listings after the jump.

BUMMERFEST MAY 9th

BUMMERFEST (presented by Clever Void)

WHERE: The Irenic (3090 Polk Ave 92104)

WHEN: May 9th, 2015 /// 2:45pm-10:00pm

ALL AGES (Alcohol w/ ID 21+)

$8 pre-sale// $10 at the door

Bummerfest is a art/music fest based around the 1BlueString and LoveHopeStrength charities.

BUY TICKETS HERE!

Facebook RSVP Link 

Bands:
Rob Crow's Gloomy Place
Pretend
Stage Kids
Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects
Octagrape
Sledding With Tigers
Bit Maps
Inspired and the Sleep
Big Bad Buffalo
Shane D. Moylan as Dawayne Neptune
Helix Bagpipers

Artists:
McHank
Kenseth Thibideau
Jack Habegger Artist
Clever Void Productions
Graśe Reed
John Vaughn
Collin Kachigian
Charlotte Kmak

Danielle Smith
+More!

In association w/ SAGE Club and the Ché Café Collective

SEE YOU THERE!

Upcoming Casbah & Casbah Presents Shows

Dengue Fever perform at the Casbah this Saturday, Mar 14

The Casbah keeps adding shows and it's nuts. It's pretty impossible to keep track of, and I'm sure as soon as I post this, there will be more shows added, but since there's a newsletter going out tomorrow, I had to update this list. Note the recently added shows like The Slashes, The Knocks, Ivan & Alyosha, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, HoneyHoney, Gad Elmaleh (Two Shows!), The Rentals, and a free show at Whistle Stop by Jesse Marchant (aka JBM). And of course, I keep mentioning that we added a second night of Spoon at The Observatory. All upcoming Casbah shows and their ticket links are after the jump. Anything without a link is either sold out as indicated or is just a walk-up, pay at the door show with no advance tickets.