Here's where I'd be
Snoooooooooop Dogg, a nostalgia tour and a jam band you might like. Plus some other live-music gigs you'll dig
These are bands we especially dig, not
full listings. For those, please see
Concerts and Clubs. For more top shows featuring local acts, please see Nightgeist.
Wednesday, June 25
PLAN A: Ingrid Michaelson, Greg Laswell @ House of Blues. Laswell’s forthcoming Three Flights from Alto Nido may be the best San Diego singer/songwriter album since Laswell released the EP How the Day Sounds three months ago. PLAN B: Ani DiFranco @ Humphrey’s by the Bay. DiFranco hasn’t done much original material lately, but she’s still been busy with a compilation (Canon), a live album (Hamburg 10.18.07) and a concert DVD (Live at Babeville). PLAN C: Kirsten Price, J Minus, The Howls, Fast Computers @ U-31. Kirsten Price has the misfortune of sharing a name with a porn star (she of Put it Wherever 2, Girl Crazy 6 and She Squirts 15). Fortunately, this British alt-soul siren has a voice that’s infinitely sexier than Lewd Lube Jobs. Or so I’m told. BACKUP PLAN: Gary Hoey @ Belly Up.
Thursday, June 26
PLAN A: Grand Archives, Sara Cahoone, War Stories @ The Casbah. Take a trip into the Archives with our feature on this page. PLAN B: B.B. King @ Del Mar Fairgrounds. The thrill isn’t exactly gone, but it isn’t getting any younger, either. So you’d best catch the 82-year-old blues legend coaxing thrills out of Lucille while you (and he) still can. PLAN C: Keali’i Reichel, Na Leo, Willie K. @ Humphrey’s by the Bay. Among other things, Reichel is the kumu hulu of Halau Ke’alaokamaile. While you’re trying to figure out what the hell that means, just know that you’re unlikely to find more Hawaiian musicians at one show outside Honolulu. BACKUP PLANS: U-Roy @ ’Canes and Nikka Costa @ House of Blues.
Friday, June 27
PLAN A: Fleet Foxes, The Duchess & The Duke, Fantastic Magic @ The Casbah. Last time around, Sub Pop labelmates Fleet Foxes and Grand Archives were sharing the bill. This time around, they each have a spotlight all their own. PLAN B: Snoop Dogg, 311, Fiction Plane @ Cricket Wireless. Snnnnoooooooooooooooop. PLAN C: Cyndi Lauper, The B-52s, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts @ Viejas Concerts in the Park. Yeah, it’s a nostalgia tour. Yes, I’ve had “Rock Lobster” as my ringtone for far too long. Sure, we’ve all heard “I Love Rock & Roll” 3.7 billion times. But sometimes girls just wanna have fun. BACKUP PLAN: U.S. Air Guitar Championships Tour @ Viejas Dreamcatcher.
Saturday, June 28
PLAN A: O.B. Street Fair and Chili Cook-off @ Ocean Beach. More than 100 bands performing on and around Newport Avenue over the course of 24 hours. Plus, lots of neo-hippies eating chili. PLAN B: Montecristo @ 4th & B. This multi-instrumental Latino collective claims San Diego as su madre and Mexico as su padre. What results is eclectic Español pop-rock with a subtle political bent. PLAN C: Frank Sinatra Jr. @ Copley Symphony Hall. It’s not exactly Ol’ Blue Eyes, but it’s better than watching a lounge singer waterboard “Luck be a Lady” next to the $9.95 buffet at Viejas. BACKUP PLANS: Dave Dresden @ On Broadway and Iron Maidens @ ’Canes.
Sunday, June 29
PLAN A: Dilated Peoples, Aceyalone, 88 Keys @ Belly Up. Sometimes fresh rhymes aren’t enough to get people to embrace good underground hip-hop. Enter the bright lights and shiny things of the Fresh Rhymes and Videotape Tour multimedia stage show. PLAN B: Sum 41 @ Wave House (early show). I’ll admit to owning Sum 41’s first two albums. I will also admit to liking them. Get over yourself, already. PLAN C: Magic Bullets, Swim Team @ Beauty Bar. In addition to wounding J.F.K. and former Texas Gov. John Connally (three times), Magic Bullets have shared their indie-pop on stage with the likes of Cold War Kids, French Kicks and The Walkmen. BACKUP PLAN: The Casualties, Time Again @ House of Blues.
Monday, June 30
PLAN A: Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet @ Belly Up. Just your run-of-the-mill acoustic quartet (featuring Washburn, Bela Fleck, Ben Sollee and Casey Driessen) that plays old-timey mountain music and sings in English, Chinese and yodel. PLAN B: Gilberto Gil & Broad Band @ 4th & B. In addition to being a renowned world music singer/guitarist, Gil is Brazil’s official minister of culture. The closest U.S. equivalent is NEA chairman Dana Gioia, a poet who helped invent Jell-O Jigglers while working at General Foods. Brazil wins. PLAN C: Weird Al Yankovic @ Del Mar Fairgrounds. I’d love to recommend Robert Plant, Alison Krauss and T-Bone Burnett at Humphrey’s, but that show is sold out. Instead, you get Weird Al. BACKUP PLAN: Metroid, Chain Smoke Posse @ Beauty Bar.
Tuesday, July 1
PLAN A: Modey Lemon, The Muslims, Christmas Island @ The Casbah. Find out what makes a lemon Modey with our feature on this page. PLAN B: Sugarland @ Del Mar Fairgrounds. Sugarland probably wouldn’t make this list on more bountiful musical days, but at least the female half of the country duo is smokin’ hot. PLAN C: Bob Weir & RatDog, Gov’t Mule @ Humphrey’s by the Bay. I don’t particularly care for jam bands. But you might. Enjoy.
Published: 06/24/2008
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