Dashboard Confessional at San Diego Observatory North Park

A night so good they did it twice — icons Dashboard Confessional graced San Diego on Tuesday, February 11th for their first of two sold-out shows at The Observatory North Park. Out for their 20 year celebration of the band’s history, they played a near two-hour set of their favorite sing-alongs, all the way to […]

The Melvins sell out Casbah San Diego

There’s something about driving a couple of hours to a show that is just better than going to a local show… more build up, more anticipation and you feel like you’ve accomplished something more, as well. My excitement was running high during the two and a half hour drive on the way down from Pomona to […]

Experiencing Boomshaka 2020

On January 18th, the Boomshaka Music Festival returned to the iconic Pechanga Arena in San Diego after taking a one-year hiatus. The festival was headlined by Iration this time around and hosted by reggae’s sweetheart, Miss HIRIE. Other acts on the bill were Cypress Hill, The Green, Don Carlos, The Movement, KBong, Sensi Trails, while […]

Queensrÿche brings the metal to San Diego’s Music Box

The vibe at the Music Box is always great, especially at a metal show! Opening the night was Eve to Adam, a New York-based band formed in 1997 with five albums. I’m not sure how I missed them before, but definitely will check them out moving forward! I love their sound; it fit great in […]

Capyac packs the funk out of Winston’s OB

If you’ve never witnessed the glory that is Capyac IRL, you have no idea the enigmatic out-of-body energy they bring to the stage. Captivating — emphasis on the root word ‘captive’ — is the closest definition one can muster. For these two brilliant house-meets-funk-meets-a-giant-girating-question-mark musical men combine their talents onstage in a way that metaphysically […]

Aboard MEGACRUISE 2019: Day Four

Bueños dias — Ensenada, Mexico! I actually never even left the boat. I debated going ashore, but there was so much going onboard that I wasn’t about to miss it. Day Four on Megadeth’s MEGACRUISE had a photo experience with Testament, Lamb of God (we all missed the LOG photo experience, we’ll get to that later), […]

HELLYEAH rocks House of Blues, San Diego

It was a packed house at San Diego’s House of Blues, smack dab in the middle of downtown’s Gaslamp District on the night of December 17th. Deepfall opened up for Nonpoint and HELLYEAH, and I expected a little bit heavier sound. Deepfall has a Three Doors Down sound, founded in 2015 by keyboardist Tim King. […]

Tool rocks San Diego after 13-year hiatus

Friday, January 10th at the Viejas Arena was a night to remember. As the stage dimmed to begin the evening, Author & Punisher appeared onstage. The local San Diegan artist, Tristan Shone, shook the entire venue with heavy, industrial sounds blaring from his custom-engineered machines. Distorted and aggressive, the sounds that came from this unique […]

Beartooth & Motionless in White at SOMA San Diego

Beartooth and Motionless in White kicked off the New Year on January 8th at SOMA San Diego as part of their Diseased and Disguised co-headlining tour, named after their most recent album releases. As I rolled up to SOMA, the line waiting for doors to open was wrapped around the building! All ages — from […]

Stick Figure sells out San Diego’s Belly Up Tavern, twice

The week between Christmas and New Year’s is always a time warp, filled with general hibernation from the holidays all-around. Yet, despite the odds of staying in, one reggae-rock-alt band managed to sell out a San Diego venue, not once, but TWICE. That’s right, Stick Figure — a band on top of the music scene […]

Megadeth’s MEGACRUISE 2019: Day Three

There was lots happening Day Three aboard Megadeth’s metal MEGACRUISE, starting with ‘Among the Brewing’ with Charlie Benante of Anthrax… yes — Charlie has coffee, too! ‘Sip and Paint’ with comedian Don Jamieson and Megadeth’s Dirk Verbeuren was also going on, as well as ‘Mega Clinic’ with Megadeth member Kiko Loureiro, Q & A’s, ‘Vic’s Garage’ […]

Thievery Corporation at Belly Up Tavern, San Diego

Seeing your favorite bands at smaller venues is always a treat: intimacy abounds as interaction between players and audience members amplifies immensely. Such a venue is San Diego’s Belly Up Tavern along the coast of Solana Beach. A variety of acts cycle through the Belly Up; most returning as an annual or biannual gig. One […]

Wonderfront 2019: Day Three

Still reeling from the previous two days, I was a child at Christmas impatiently waiting to open my presents or, in this case, the festival gates. I knew the festival grounds like the back of my hand by now; I had my sets lined up and now I just needed a beer. Local breweries were […]

Fortunate Youth at San Diego’s Belly Up Tavern

On November 27th, Fortunate Youth brought their Live Life Fall Tour to the Belly Up Tavern in San Diego, CA. They were supported by Kash’d Out and Mike Love. Walking around the Belly Up before the show, it was great getting to see so many friends and catching up with people I haven’t seen for […]

HIRIE at San Diego’s Observatory North Park

It was a stacked night on November 23rd at San Diego’s Observatory Theater North Park, when friends and fans of reggae rock packed the building to the brim in eager anticipation of not one, not two, but FIVE bands! HIRIE concluded their six-week fall tour that night; a homecoming like none other commenced. SoCal reggae […]