Toothless George, D-Pain and more San Diego concerts

The Smart Brothers

PLAN A: The Downs Family, C.L.A., Behind the Wagon, Thee 90 Proof Pissers @ The Casbah. C.L.A. (aka Carnivorous Lunar Activity) was an amateurish folk-rock band from the ’90s that played goofy songs (“Sperm Bank”) and championed drinking. Since the 1999 murder of guitarist Steve Foth, members have gotten back together every year to pay tribute to their fallen friend. PLAN B: Sludge Butt, Nature’s Kid, Pilots, Kurly Burrito @ Kava Lounge. As Nature’s Kid, Ryan Solomon—former singer / guitarist of local indie-rockers Da Bears—chops up tracks he finds in his iTunes library and weaves them into warped psych-pop soundscapes. He’s probably breaking copyright law, but I don’t care because it sounds rad. BACKUP PLAN: A.J. Croce @ Lestat’s.

Thursday, Dec. 23

PLAN A: D-Pain, Grammatical B, Microphone Mike, MC JRE & The E Team @ The Casbah. Ben Johnson might seem like a cool-headed, professional guy when he’s serving drinks as bar manager at The Casbah, but his hip-hop alter-ego, Grammatical B (whom we feature on this page), is a lunatic who bathes in spaghetti and raps in a freakishly nasally voice. D-Pain seems slightly more serious with his cutting rhymes about iPhone apps and the environment. PLAN B: Halcyonaire, Cascavell, Scruffles @ Tin Can Ale House. This is how local folk-rockers Halcyonaire (who’re reuniting for a special winter-break show) describe their off-kilter music: “If you could hear growing pains and anxiety disorders by putting your ear up to a California Coastal Redwood.” I would’ve said Neil Young or Townes Van Zandt, but that actually works perfectly. BACKUP PLAN: Snuffaluffagus, WITT, Miniature Tree, Bro Zen, Dirty Gold @ Che Café.

Friday, Dec. 24

PLAN A: Toothless George and His One-Man Band @ Eleven. A former pro skater who lost his front teeth in an accident, this Philadelphia-based greaser bangs out punkinfused rockabilly jams with a drum-guitar setup in the tradition of Appalaichan legend Hasil Adkins. If you’re feeling charitable, buy some merch so he can get new teeth for Christmas. Plan B: Exile on Kettner Blvd. @ The Casbah. A local super-group that plays Rolling Stones covers, EKB offers the ideal nightcap to a day spent cracking chestnuts by an open fire and getting hammered on spiked eggnog. BACK- UP PLAN: Pacific Beach Music Fest @ 710 Beach Club.

Saturday, Dec. 25

PLAN A: Jason, EshOne, The P Man, Beingstok, Hm.t Dm.t @ Kava Lounge. The latest edition of “Dead Technology,” the monthly all-vinyl dubstep night, gets Plan A by default—everybody’s hanging out with the family, most clubs are closed and there really isn’t much else going on. But that doesn’t mean this isn’t going to be a good time. Jason has a huge vinyl collection of dubstep and drum ’n’ bass, EshOne’s been cooped up making new tunes (as usual) and The P Man always plays funky stuff on his online radio show on Cyba.FM, so expect some bass-heavy bangers that you haven’t heard before. BACKUP PLAN: Saul Q, Kid Wonder @ U-31.

Sunday, Dec. 26

PLAN B: Eskera, Los Sea Finks, San Diego 2- Tone Collective, Grim Luck, Di Nigunim @ Che Café. With their breakneck punk riffs and upbeat ska breakdowns, Eskera sound like a scrappy, Spanish-language version of NYC ska-punk legends Leftver Crack. As for Los Sea Finks, their plastic monster masks and striped pirate T-shirts come straight from SpongeBob SquarePants. BACKUP PLAN: Lyon Crowns, The Loons, The KABBs, Kera & the Lesbians @ The Casbah.

Monday, Dec. 27

PLAN A: The Styletones @ Bar Pink. Every Monday night for more than a year, The Styletones have put on a booty-shaking dance party replete with a funky drummer, a full horn section and a flamboyant frontman with serious pipes. Alas, all parties must come to an end: This will be the band’s last Monday night at Bar Pink, so it promises to be a blowout. Needless to say, you should bring your dancing shoes for this one. PLAN B: burn Your Life Down, Xibalba, Convulsions @ Che Café. There’s nothing like a massive dose of brutal, uncompromising, I’ll-tear-your-face-offwith-my-screams hardcore to cure a case of the Mondays, eh?

Tuesday, Dec. 28

PLAN A: The Smart Brothers, Gregory Page, Sara Petite, The Wrong Trousers, John Meeks, Joanie Mendenhall, Miss Erika Davies, Suzanne Reed @ The Casbah. In a holiday-time show modeled on The Last Waltz, the famous 1976 concert in which The Band was joined by heavyweights like Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, local folk duo The Smart Brothers will back some of San Diego’s best Americana artists as they take turns playing covers, originals and holiday songs. PLAN B: Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven @ Belly Up. It’s a yearly tradition that the Belly Up plays host to two bands headed by songwriter David Lowery. Let’s hope he mixes in some of the meditative alt-country from his forthcoming debut solo record, The Palace Guards. BACK- UP PLAN: Smash Atoms, Paper Forest, Phen Swan @ Soda Bar.