2010

April 19, 2010May 6, 2010Sara Leave a comment

I realized after I got the press release for this week’s upcoming Samuel Stewart show at Lestat’s on Friday, April 23, that I never actually finished my show review from his last visit at the Casbah on February 22, 2010. I was expecting alot after hearing the gourgous EP, The Beginner ahead of time. Although Samuel is all grown up, he has an air of childishness about him. The professional musician shines through as he launches into Devil Music. His incredible vocals took me on a rollercoaster ride… swelling highs and lows caused my insides to flit about like the youngish crowd who were there actually dancing without inhibitions.

I do plan to go to Friday’s show with the little one, hoping to see more dancing in the aisles. I hope you are able to join.

This Friday’s show claims that doors open at 8:30pm. Lestat’s is not known in my circle of friends for adhearing to these times. So be prepared to wait a little outside or be rushing in to finding a seat (since they often mix up the door time with the show time).

Rafter: Animal Feelings

April 16, 2010April 20, 2010Sara 1 Comment

Ok, I’m addicted. I was introduced to Rafter a while back through Emily who works behind the bar at The Casbah. She sings and plays drums in a quirky, fun little band called Bunky, while he supplements by playing guitar. Well he isn’t simply playing guitar. It is hard for me to find my words today. There are pedals and maneuvers that produce lots of cool sounds that go along with the beat. How’s that for knowing what I am talking about?

Anyhow, I then fell more deeply in love with them when I found out that both Bunky and Rafter’s solo material were release through Asthmatic Kitty Records (Sufjan Stevens‘ label). Rafter’s solo albums prior to this newest venture include Sweaty Magic, Sex Death Cassette, Music for Total Chickens and aptly named 10 Songs.

I always viewed Rafter as an experimentalist. His childish, fun loving attitude emanates from every note and beat coming from his direction. Animal Feelings bottles that all up to give you a dose of goodness every time you listen to it. Since the album’s pre-release at MBV, I have not been able to tear my ears away.

Listen to Animal Feelings for yourself at MBV and then go buy it tomorrow, National Record Store Day, at M-Theory Records or head over to Tin Can Alehouse for his CD release party and purchase it straight from the source.

Free Music San Diego, not forgotten

April 6, 2010Sara Leave a comment

In the middle of the night I realized I omitted a pretty major opportunity for free music in the last post: In Store Preformances. Several record stores in town host a variety of musicians both local and those that pass through San Diego to promote their records. Here are the places that I know that have performances on a semi-regular basis. Be sure to check their websites/schedules for upcoming acts.

M-Theory Music
Lou’s Records
Borders Books and Music

Saturday April 17, 2010 is National Record Store Day (always on the thrid Saturday in April)! So make sure you take the time to visit and support your local record stores.
Oh and as a bonus, these places are all-ages. I realized that my last post highlighted bars but no all ages venues (except the fairs, festivals, and summer concert series). I tried to find coffeehouses with regular free music, but found most charge some sort of cover or don’t offer much in terms of live music aside from an open mic night.

Free Music San Diego

April 6, 2010Sara 2 Comments

Money is tight, but music remains a huge part of our lives. Paying for shows has gotten expensive even the cheaper ones at $8-10 per ticket. If you go to shows all the time you may know there are plenty of options to see music for free. But if you don’t leave the house very often, you might be thinking, “Free? Where? I wanna go.” So I have compiled a fairly comprehensive list of regular events, shows and venues that will leave your wallet un-touched, as long as you avoid purchasing drinks, food or other fun stuff.

Street Fairs, Festivals and Events
Seaport Village Busker’s Festival: April 10-11, 2010
Adam’s Avenue Roots Festival: April 24-25, 2010
ArtWalk: April 24-25, 2010
North Park Festival of the Arts: May 16, 2010
Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon: June 6, 2010
OB Street Fair: June 26, 2010
Fiesta del Sol: July 30-August 1, 2010
Adam’s Avenue Street Fair: Sept 25-26, 2010

Free Summer Concert Series
The Union-Tribune usually will release a full schedule of all of these concert series once all of the line ups have been confirmed. Perfect for putting up on your fridge.
Alpine Summer Concert Series: TBA
Balboa Park – Twilight in the Park: June 15-August 26, 2010
Carlsbad TGIF Jazz in the Parks: TBA
Chula Vista Music in the Park: June 8-August 17, 2010
Coronado Summer Concerts-in-the-Park: TBA
Del Mar Twilight Concert Series: TBA
El Cajon Concerts on the Green: June 25-September 3, 2010
Encinitas Sunday Summer Concerts by the Sea: TBA
Escondido – Summer Pops in the Park: TBA
La Jolla Concerts By The Sea: TBA
La Mesa Sundays at Six: June 13-July 25, 2010
Lemon Grove Concerts in the Park: TBA
Mission Hills Concerts in the Park: TBA
North Park Bird Park Summer Concerts: TBA
Pacific Beach Concerts on the Green: TBA
Point Loma Summer Concert Series: July 16-August 13, 2010
Poway Target Summer Concerts in the Park Series: June 20-August 15, 2010
Santee Summer Concert Series: June 10-August 19, 2010
Standley Park Concerts in the Park: TBA
Trolley Barn Park Summer in the Park: TBA

Regular Performances and Showcases
Every last Sunday of the month, The Local 94.9 broadcasts live at from the Atari Lounge at The Casbah. The regular event usually showcases local bands that you may or may not have heard of. It is a great opportunity to see what this town has to offer in terms of local music. Includes free food from Luche Libre. Free food AND music?! How can you go wrong? Doors usually at 7pm, show at 8pm.

Every second Saturday of the month 6-9pm, North Park galleries and businesses open their doors and share their space with the public at Ray at Night. There is usually some decent bands showcased, but sometimes it is more about the visual arts.

Every Wednesday night at 10pm, Lady Dottie and the Diamonds play at Gallagher’s Irish Pub in Ocean Beach. On occasion this venue has decent bands on the weekends for free, check their schedule for details. Lady Dottie and the Diamonds also play every Sunday 1-5pm poolside at the Handlery Hotel in Mission Valley during the summer months (2010 date TBA).

Every Sunday, 9am-2pm the 7th Day Buskers play the Hillcrest Farmer’s Market, while the OB Farmer’s Market on Wednesdays 4-7pm hosts a variety of live acts.

Daily the Seaport Village East Gazebo hosts a variety of entertainment including live music usually in the afternoon.

Bars Offering Free Music
Make sure you check their schedules or call before you go.
The Tiki House
Stage Bar & Grill
Club Kadan
Ruby Room
Bar Pink
The Radio Room
O’Connells Bar

Don’t be a cheap skate: If you can afford it, please consider donating to the organizations who put on these events or patronizing the businesses by purchasing food or drinks so that these events can continue to be free for all.

SoundDiego Launch Party, Bar Basic: 3/4/2010

March 13, 2010April 20, 2010Sara 3 Comments

A week ago Thursday, a gathering of postive energy in celebration of the San Diego music community occured at Bar Basic with the launch of SoundDiego, NBC San Diego’s new platform for showcasing music in San Diego. Two of San Diego’s most beloved music acts, Gregory Page and The Silent Comedy hit the stage in support.

Brain child of Cantore Creative, Chris Cantore’s “full service social media agency, specializing in networking / interaction, content management, and events (”tweet-ups.”),” the SoundDiego blog connects the San Diego music scene on a whole new level. The site brings together San Diego’s most involved music bloggers Rosemary Bystrak from SD Dialed In as well as T. Loper and Chris Maroulakos from Owl and Bear. SoundDiego’s posts include music news, weekly listings, music features through videos, interviews and show reviews.

The SoundDiego blog’s vision is to serve as a platform for connecting people to music and (eventually) people to other people. Engaging the listener will take on a new level as people share the music experience online and then meet in real life through shared live music experiences. Individuals from Legit Radio community (another Cantore Creative Project) represented in this same capacity. Many individuals were meeting for the first time in real life as opposed to on Twitter and in the Legit Radio chatroom, expanding social circles in the light of a common interest: the San Diego music community.

Here are a few of my favorite photos of the night:

Gregory Page

Steve Poltz and Gregory Page

Joshua Zimmerman from The Silent Comedy

Ian Kesterson and Andy Ridley from The Silent Comedy

Joshua Zimmerman, Ian Kesterson and Jeremiah Zimmerman from The Silent Comedy

The tweet-wall was in full effect giving shoutouts to Chris Cantore and the whole SoundDiego crew using the #sounddiego hashtag. Photos of individuals and fashion wares were dispayed through TwitPics taken throughout the night. Even people who were missing out due to needing to stay home with family or had other obligations seemed to be following the trend.