Upcoming Shows at The Observatory North Park (Updated 3/21)

Here's the update for all The Observatory shows coming up. As I've mentioned, some of the age restrictions and door times have changed slightly, so always check the website day of show to make sure you get there on time. All shows and ticket links listed below.

Bankers Hill Art & Craft Beer Festival - TODAY Friday March 20th

The magical time is upon us again when we get to hangout in the historic Abbey on 5th Avenue and get really silly. But the ante has been raised folks! That's right, this year the festival still boasts unlimited BEER and FOOD tastes (no one else does this by the way and on the off chance they do you're paying $65+), but they aimed for the stars and recruited some of BH's finest establishments: Cucina Urbana, Barrio Star, Bankers Hill Bar & Restaurant and Pizzicato will all be slinging delicious tastes.

Oh and did I mention the 14 breweries you will be sampling from?

• AleSmith Brewing Company
• Stone Brewing Co.
• Green Flash
• Groundswell Brewing Company
• Helm's Brewing Company 
• The Lost Abbey
• Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant
• Aztec Brewing Company
• Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits
• Rock Bottom Brewery La Jolla
• Legacy Brewing Co.
• Mother Earth Brew Co.
• Lightning Brewery
• Hillcrest Brewing Company

So, here's everything you need to know...

When: Tomorrow Friday March 20th from 5-9pm
Where: The Historic Abbey - 2825 5th Avenue 92103
Tickets: $30 ($35 at the door) http://bhbeerfest15.brownpapertickets.com/

Exclusive SDDialedIn Discount code - $5 off only $25!: SDDIALEDIN2015

Don't. Miss. Out. There is no better option for fun in the city this Friday night, at least between the hours of 5-9pm. Tickets go up $5 on Friday so get them while you can.

Things To Do In San Diego: March 18-19, 2015

I try to keep this a positive space and try not to vent too often, but I am finding that I have a very low tolerance for stupidity. I'm in the middle of booking the festival and I have 12-14 slots to fill, depending on how long of set times I want to dole out, and I had to send out rejection emails to about 60 bands this week. It pains me, because many of them are friends and many of them are bands I enjoy seeing live, but I have to put on the festival goggles and look through the lens of a daytime, family friendly event, with people from newborn to great grandparents strolling through North Park on a hot day. So everyone is mostly cool when I send my generic rejection. No hard feelings. Except for one stupid band who didn't even fill out the form correctly with a link to their music (one very simple requirement on the form), and this shithead sends me a nasty entitled email about how we must not have listened to them because if we had then they wouldn't be rejected. Well, sorry Carlos, but if you're too stupid to fill out my form correctly, then I can only assume you're too stupid to show up on time, line check on time, and get off stage on time to keep my festival moving. And now that I know what an entitled dick you are, I will be happy to pass along my insight to every booker in town.

Wednesday and Thursday archives are after the jump.

Things To Do In San Diego: March 15-17, 2015

I didn't make it down to CRSSD FEST yesterday because I wasn't planning on going until 5 or 6, but by the time I was actually ready to leave the house, I got a call to do merch at The Observatory. It was okay, though, because my Friday night was awesome with The Twilight Sad and Port St. Willow at the Merrow, and then Darren met up with me to catch a little bit of the show and then we closed the night with Marjy and Robin at Livewire and some late night grub at Tam's. Knowing this festival was this weekend lit a bit of a fire under me, so I went ahead and did the whole week's listings a little early. I know these will get updated at least a few times this week, but here's the bare bones to get you through your week. See you at CRSSD! Sunday through Tuesday archives after the jump.

CRSSD FESTIVAL SET TIMES

Things To Do In San Diego: March 12-14, 2015

Today we bitch about first world problems. Last week, my Samsung S4 bit the dust. It wouldn't turn on, even though the whole thing is intact and it was super frustrating. So I have to call Costco to find out who they use for insurance (because I bought insurance, though I have no record of it) and fortunately when I called Squaretrade, my name is unique enough that they can find me without my receipt and serial numbers or my expired Costco membership number. So in the meantime, I'm using one of the Nokias that my rad friend Jen gave me, but it is a Windows phone. This means it has amazing resolution, probably the best camera available on a mobile device, but it hates Google. And for someone who has SEVEN Google accounts, this is no bueno. So yesterday I got my new S4 replacement (without a battery!) and once it was all charged, I have to attempt to restore all my accounts: 7 Gmails, 6 Twitter accounts, 4 Instagram accounts, etc. etc. and suddenly I believe in "The Cloud" and why for everything moving forward, I need to accept all those pop-up offers to back my shit up. Because even with all these accounts, I lost a ton of stuff on my old device itself and have no way of knowing if it is worth the $100 or so repair just to get it back. It's funny, I think the last time this happened, I was about to set off to SXSW. So that week is nearly upon us again, and even though I'm not going, I'm sure as hell going to know about every single party because apparently they all warrant press releases to one or all of my seven Google accounts. If you need to reach me for anything, try me on Facebook, because even though we all hate it, it is probably the most reliable platform available. Everything else is going to take me a few days.  Thursday through Saturday archives are after the jump.

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.

Upcoming Shows at the Observatory North Park

The Observatory has been crazy busy since it opened, and there's always a learning curve as new owners come into an established entertainment district. New shows are constantly being added and kinks are worked out along the way. Apparently one of those issues was the all ages shows. So, if you've purchased a ticket to an all ages show, you'll want to check the website as many of those shows have bumper forward with a 6pm door time to accommodate a 10pm curfew. There are new shows by Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Action Bronson, and a second Spoon show was added, too. All current shows and links are listed below.

Things To Do In San Diego: March 10-11, 2015

I wanted to update listings today because I wanted to make sure Che Fest 2015 made it into the listings for the weekend, and in case you didn't see yesterday, we added another SPOON show at The Observatory North Park. This one is on June 2. It is on sale now. I'm interviewing Cary Brothers tonight at the Belly Up for SoundDiego and it's just non-stop busy over here. Also, thanks to everyone who submitted to the North Park Festival of Arts. You'll be receiving emails this week whether you're invited to play or not. This is my gentle way of saying "don't call us, we'll call you." Tuesday and Wednesday archives are after the jump.

Things To Do In San Diego: March 9, 2015

The last two years I went back and forth on trying to go to SXSW, but this year has been so busy here that I didn't even consider the journey this year. Just like with Coachella, San Diego benefits from a lot of the bands working their ways to Austin and this weekend is super loaded with great shows all over. But even on just a nightly basis, there is some really great stuff happening this week. Monday archives are after the jump.

Things To Do In San Diego: March 7-8, 2015

This week was definitely a good one, and last night was a ton of fun as Darren and I went to Reader on Tap, then to Eleanor Friedberger at the Whistle Stop,  then a drink at the Ken Club, and capped off with late night tacos at Rolberto's with Robin & Marjy. It's a lovely lazy day today and I'm looking forward to hanging at the Quartyard later today. Saturday and Sunday archives are after the jump.

Upcoming Shows At The Observatory North Park

See full list of shows after the jump.

Things To Do In San Diego: March 4-6, 2015

This week feels like it has been crazy, but maybe that's because besides my regular work and my regular life and all the shows, I'm trying harder to keep on top of my email because even though I'm not going to SXSW, I'm still getting 200 press releases a day about it. It's easy to say I should just delete, but even that takes time, and eventually these artists come back around, you know? I'm also trying to get through all the submissions for The Festival of Arts in North Park, and while it sounds like a fun project, it's my least favorite part of the festival, because all those awesome bands get to be told there's only room for a dozen. Tonight Darren and I are tag teaming the Irenic. I'm working the door and he'll be slinging merch, and then we're heading to the Casbah, WHICH I CAN'T BELIEVE IS NOT SOLD OUT! Are you kidding me? SWERVEDRIVER?! Adam Franklin is a gem of a human, too, so I'm excited about catching them. This weekend is going to be nuts with the return of TNT on Thursday, Reader on Tap on Friday, the opening of Quartyard on Saturday, plus a ton of other fun stuff. Listings are below and I appreciate all the people who reached out to give me updates. I promise I'll add some more music venues to that page when I can, namely The Balboa, Quartyard, Seven Grand and Kava Lounge. It just takes time and tiny 175x60 logos which nobody seems to want to send me. Wednesday through Friday archives are after the jump.

Things To Do In San Diego: March 2-3, 2015

What a super great weekend it was. Friday I had to work at Brick By Brick but also caught Metalachi at the Casbah. It was a great lazy Saturday and date night with Darren. We caught The Church at the Casbah and Craft Spells at The Hideout, and on Sunday checked out Empires at Soda Bar. I'm looking forward to some cool events this week. Monday and Tuesday archives are after the jump.

Upcoming Shows at The Observatory San Diego

See full list of shows after the jump.

Things To Do In San Diego: February 27-March 1, 2015

This week just zipped by for me. In a way, I guess this whole month has. Like I said earlier this week, I've been pretty busy which is a good thing, and we had a lot of fun forcing Darren to celebrate his birthday. Tonight I'm off to work at Brick By Brick for the Zepperella show. Casbah is sold out tonight and tomorrow, but there's a lot of other cool stuff going on. Friday through Sunday archives are after the jump.

Upcoming Casbah/Casbah Presents Shows

See full list of shows after the jump.

Things To Do In San Diego: February 25-26, 2015

It kinda feels like the week is zipping by and I'm happy for that feeling, because I've been working a ton. This week Casbah announced show at the Observatory with Passion Pit and Best Coast, and Tennis is coming back to the Irenic, Will Butler at the Casbah, Pinback at the Belly Up and a bunch more. That is always pretty exciting. I sold merch for Brett Dennen last night and it turned out to be a great show and a great night after. Today my nieces' school celebrated Lunar New Year so Darren and I went to dim sum at Emerald to really celebrate, and I'm looking forward to catching Cold War Kids tonight. Thursday through Friday archives are after the jump.

Festival Alert: KAABOO Del Mar Lineup Announced September 18-20, 2015

So this was announced today. Details on tickets and lineup can be found here. 

Things To Do In San Diego: February 23-24, 2015

What. A. Weekend. I had my uncle and cousin in town, saw a bunch of shows, worked a ton, took as many naps as I could, and I still wish the weekend was four days longer. I made such a big deal about not having listings posted last week that I'm up beyond when I should be to make sure this week's listings are available first thing in the morning. So here they are. Monday and Tuesday archives are after the jump.