Coming of Age Film Festival
Feb 09, 2012
By Alex Zaragoza
Growing up partly in Tijuana means many things to me, but for the purpose of this column, it means this especially: Bars and I are very old friends.
By Alex Zaragoza
Growing up partly in Tijuana means many things to me, but for the purpose of this column, it means this especially: Bars and I are very old friends.
By Alex Zaragoza
Last Friday night, I found myself hanging in one off Calle Sexta and Avenida Revolución, but it was nothing to fear. Unless you fear awesomeness.
By Alex Zaragoza
Weeks ago, when I told a friend I’d be writing about Tijuana nightlife, he looked at me with the eyes of a fat child at Hometown Buffet.
By Alex Zaragoza
“TJ is a shitty town where you can get really fucked up.” So slurred a friend on Saturday night as we smoked a cigarette outside Moustache, a teeny, two-story bar between Calle Sexta and Calle Septima on Madero that takes the ironic-facial-hair thing to the next level by making it the theme of the entire place.
By Todd Kroviak
As I stood among the crowd of 40 or so patrons gathered to watch the Canadian band Women at The Casbah the other night, I began nodding my head and ever-so-slightly moving my feet to their intricate guitar patterns.
By Todd Kroviak
As I stood among the crowd of 40 or so patrons gathered to watch the Canadian band Women at The Casbah the other night, I began nodding my head and ever-so-slightly moving my feet to their intricate guitar patterns.
By Todd Kroviak
For those of you unfamiliar with the work and public persona of Electrical Audio studio owner / operator Steve Albini, here’s a quick primer:
By Todd Kroviak
Playwright and author George Bernard Shaw was once quoted as saying, “Youth is wasted on the young.” What he meant, of course, is that the naïve and inexperienced aren’t able to properly cherish the time in their lives when everything is new and exciting and the world is seemingly at their fingertips.
By Todd Kroviak
When people use “rock ’n’ roll” as an adjective, it often seems as though they’re expressing their own desire to act like complete assholes and get away with it.
By Todd Kroviak
Once upon a time, before Facebook took a firm grip over the hearts, minds and egos of the world’s social networkers, there was a little thing called MySpace.
By Todd Kroviak
Purging possessions is one of my favorite activities. I don’t own much—mostly clothes, books, music and movies—but if it’s not getting use, it has to go. The process rejuvenates me and serves as a reminder that I don’t really need any of this stuff.
By Todd Kroviak
By Todd Kroviak
I found myself at a multimedia art show at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego’s La Jolla location about a month ago, spending much of my time wondering how I ended up there in the first place. Let’s just say my reaction to the sort of social hobnobbing I tend to observe at these kinds of things is not very positive, to say the least. I guess it’s just not my crowd.
By Todd Kroviak
People consume cultural products for pleasure. Music, films, television, literature, visual art, video games— these things wouldn’t exist if their goal weren’t to provide us with a heightened sense of joy or a greater appreciation for life. That said, I find the concept of the “guilty pleasure” to be one the most trite, annoying and unforgivable clichés in our cultural lexicon.
By Todd Kroviak
Listening to an interview with Devo’s Gerald Casale on American Public Media’s Marketplace radio show the other day, I couldn’t help but be reminded of how prophetic a vision the band once had—that humans had passed the point of any real progression and are in a constant state of “de-evolution,” despite any technological, social or scientific advancements that may seem like evidence to the contrary.
By Peter Holslin
Thee Silver Mt. Zion’s scathingly political chamber rock gives the indie-music world a much-needed kick in the balls
By Peter Holslin
Thee Silver Mt. Zion’s scathingly political chamber rock gives the indie-music world a much-needed kick in the balls
By Peter Holslin
Even if you can’t stand all that ’80s-tinged indie-pop that’s been flooding the blogosphere in recent years, you’re bound to find Twin Sister irresistible.
By Peter Holslin
After taking a long break from playing live shows—too long, if you ask me—local indie-rockers New Mexico have honed a new sound, giving their infectious riffs a Cure-style sheen with glossy reverb and hypnotic synths.
By Peter Holslin
Jamuel Saxon has been popping up in CityBeat a lot lately, and I think it’s making my editor a little crazy.
By Peter Holslin
One of the greatest hip-hop groups of all time, Public Enemy are still resilient three decades into their career, with a new album, Most of Our Heroes Don’t Appear on a Stamp, set to come out later this year.
By Peter Holslin
Recent Matador Records signees The Young harness the volatile power of The Stooges in bursts of scorching psychedelic-punk.
By Peter Holslin
A fixture of Chicago’s underground hip-hop scene, Qwazaar is more likely to cite Charlie Parker than Rakim as the inspiration behind his heartfelt, double-time rhymes.
By Peter Holslin
I’m always excited to see Writer, a great local duo that’s crafted a weird, enthralling type of urban folk. This is one of their last live shows before they shove off for New York City in January
By Peter Holslin
When it comes to forward-thinking indie music, Tijuana’s been giving San Diego a run for its money.
By Peter Holslin
In October, Noel Gallagher took a break from his constant feuding with brother Liam to put out his self-titled debut as Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.
By Jeff Terich
There are plenty of detailed personal accounts of problematic relationships on Hello Sadness. There’s also a song about the agony and ecstasy of football (that is, soccer).
By Jeff Terich
There are plenty of detailed personal accounts of problematic relationships on Hello Sadness. There’s also a song about the agony and ecstasy of football (that is, soccer).
By Alex Zaragoza
Though it’s been a slow climb, the band’s built up a loyal fan base thanks to constant touring and a steady stream of new material— six albums since 2002, including their latest, Be the Void, which hits shelves on Feb. 7.
By Reyan Ali
Their songs are meticulously arranged, driven by slinky, clear percussion and guitars that sound like they’re rearing up to knock you in the skull (but never do). Their piano lines twist and twirl with economical movements.
By Quan Vu
This month, Crowel will drop Welcome to the City, a self-released digital EP that finds him collaborating with a young, untested local producer named AbJo.
By Peter Holslin
The world of The Body is a dark one, indeed. The duo’s captivating hybrid of metal, experimental noise and choral music has won accolades from Pitchfork, NPR and The New York Times. But while plenty of bands don’t practice the darkness they preach, these two avid gun collectors— King and drummer Lee Buford—share a doom-centric frame of mind.
By Peter Holslin
Scraping by on a shoestring budget, the Ché Café Collective, the all-volunteer group that runs the venue, is struggling to raise $12,000 for insurance fees.
By Seth Combs, Jeff Terich, Quan Vu, Sammi Skolmoski, Peter Holslin
We music writers at CityBeat have diverse, sometimes wildly divergent tastes. So, it’s hard for us to say what album deserves to be called the best in 2011.
By Quan Vu
An Emerald Hills Blood from San Diego, League weaves tales of crime and poverty with sharp insight, vivid detail and empathy for those who’ve been cast farthest away.
By Peter Holslin
Sam Goody is not going to be around for much longer. The building the store sits in is slated for demolition as part of a City Council-approved project to expand the adjoining park at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Broadway.
By Robert Bush
It’s no wonder why White is quickly becoming the most talked-about jazz musician in San Diego. Ask any of his cohorts and they’ll agree that he has incredible technical facility, a commitment to exploratory principles and the ability to hear and respond on the deepest possible level.
By Kinsee Morlan
When Beatnick steps to the stage, don’t be surprised if you hear an old Hall & Oates track thrown in with something newer by Mayer Hawthorne.
By Kinsee Morlan
When Beatnick steps to the stage, don’t be surprised if you hear an old Hall & Oates track thrown in with something newer by Mayer Hawthorne.
By Kinsee Morlan
So far, Wang’s North Park has kept as low a profile as a big new restaurant and bar with a somewhat amusing sexual innuendo for a theme could possibly manage.
By Alex Zaragoza
By Kinsee Morlan
You know you’ve officially made it when you come up with a new musical genre and it sticks.
By Alex Zaragoza
New Year’s Eve is often called the biggest amateur night of the year by those hardened, longtime partiers who roundhouse-kick Friday into Saturday just as hard as they rage 2011 into 2012.
By Kinsee Morlan
Our “Short List” features four of our favorite New Year’s Eve parties, but we couldn’t stop there, so below are five more
By Alex Zaragoza
I sipped on what would end up being an entire bottle of white wine and did shots of honey-flavored Jack Daniels. There weren’t enough pigs in a blanket to save me from a date with the porcelain gods.
By Kinsee Morlan
DJ Mark E Quark recently broke his hand, but that isn’t stopping him from spinning a one-handed set at the upcoming three-year anniversary of Moonshake,
By Alex Zaragoza
Walking into the Whistle Stop on this night is like entering the secret party barn from Dirty Dancing, only you don’t have to carry a water melon to get in.
By Kinsee Morlan
Social Cycle is just another way for you to look kinda ridiculous while safely engaging in night-timey events like these:
By Scott McDonald
Obits frontman Rick Froberg spent 20 years playing guitar and singing in legendary San Diego indie-rock bands Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu and Hot Snakes.
By Scott McDonald
Obits frontman Rick Froberg spent 20 years playing guitar and singing in legendary San Diego indie-rock bands Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu and Hot Snakes.
By Seth Combs
Is U-31 turning into a Pacific Beach-style bro bar? Is Quality Social the next Downtown hipster destination? The booker for U-31 jumped ship for QS, while U-31’s Saturday night was a UFC fight. T
By Seth Combs
Is U-31 turning into a Pacific Beach-style bro bar? Is Quality Social the next Downtown hipster destination? The booker for U-31 jumped ship for QS, while U-31’s Saturday night was a UFC fight. T
By Seth Combs
Let’s just put aside the fact that the name sounds like a kids cartoon that may cause epileptic seizures. The funniest part about The Dragon Ball at Club M at the Grand Del Mar on Saturday
By Seth Combs
And here I thought nothing would rival the Great Potato Famine, Bennigan's restaurants and Lucky Charms when it came to terrible events in Irish history.
By Seth Combs
Really?! ’Cause I heart dubstep about as much I heart the whole circa-2002 trucker-hat trend.
By Seth Combs
There’s a huge difference between being the most interesting man in the world and being, well, just the old dude in the club. But when it comes to this guy, I can’t hate, just congratulate.
By Seth Combs
Oh my God, Becky. No, it’s not a Sir Mix-A-Lot video shoot for “Baby Got (Even More) Back”; it’s just one of the many scenes from the Gaslamp Quarter on New Year’s Eve. Let%u2
By Seth Combs
It’s Christmas night, and the bar just realized that Santa drank all the milk the night before. So, what do you do, hot shot? Grab the nearest guy with man boobs, a pair of scissors and get those
By Seth Combs
Since when do the holidays mean getting eggnogged drunk while looking like Ralphie unwrapping a BB gun? Yes, the onesie pajama parties were everywhere last weekend. Whether it was El-D’s Pajama J
By Seth Combs
The folks at El Camino spent the entire weekend celebrating the club's second anniversary with local celebutantes coming out en masse to dance to DJs like Hoff and Mike Delgado. But as evidenced by t
By Seth Combs
There aren’t that many cool dives left in San Diego that haven’t been taken over by a bunch of fist-pumpers or hipsters (been around 30th and University lately?), but Tower Bar in City Heigh
By Seth Combs
One thing that Endoxi does have going for them is the production, which is crisp for a self-released affair.
By Seth Combs
One thing that Endoxi does have going for them is the production, which is crisp for a self-released affair.
By Quan Vu
With all this lush instrumentation, his soundscapes bubble over with joy and serenity.
By Seth Combs
In many ways, Gonjasufi’s 2010 album A Sufi and a Killer was the most underrated and overrated release of that year.
By Peter Holslin
Well, spank that mechanical bull and call me Sally—San Diego is crawling with Americana bands!
By Peter Holslin
With his undeniable talents, B.Slade has earned the right to be a little pompous.
By Seth Combs
It’s been a while since we last heard from Christmas Island. Back in mid-2009, the indie-rock quartet was often mentioned in the same articles as Crocodiles and Wavves as the next band to emerge from what Rolling Stone dubbed San Diego’s “seedy” lo-fi underground.
By Seth Combs
What’s immediately evident is how much Milgaten has grown, both personally and musically.
By Seth Combs
Beaters Fishage (Volar) I could argue that the long-awaited debut LP from Beaters has arrived too late for anyone outside of San Diego to care much and that it’s the closest thing I%u201
By Quan Vu
Pedalay The Boss’ latest album, Issue #1, sounds so refreshing. Pedalay, a Southeast San Diego rapper, is nerdy enough to spit abstract imagery and title his album like it’s a comic-book series.
By Peter Holslin
Subsurfer We Are Stars (self-released) When I was a teenager, I regularly sifted through the discount CDs at Music Trader in search of long-forgotten gems. As it turned out, the CDs I boug
By Peter Holslin
At the Sept. 21 kickoff of Bajaton, a new moombahton night at U-31, the bar was only about half full, but something about the music—perhaps it was the combination of manic synths and massive, syncopated bass drums—was driving people crazy.
By Peter Holslin
At the Sept. 21 kickoff of Bajaton, a new moombahton night at U-31, the bar was only about half full, but something about the music—perhaps it was the combination of manic synths and massive, syncopated bass drums—was driving people crazy.
By Melissa Martin
Kelsea Little named her bundle of joy after the three great Neils—Diamond, Young and Innes, the comic songwriter of Monty Python fame. But her Neil isn’t a baby; it’s a 7-foot-tall harp.
By Seth Combs
Back when I first reported on Beaters in early 2009, I had a good feeling that their skuzzy, drug-punk anthems would soon make every indie hipster from here to Williamsburg cream in his jeggings.
By Seth Combs
Once LaValle took the stage a little before midnight, joined by a cast of new and old bandmates, the crowd seemed a little restless. Luckily, they stuck around for LaValle’s 13-song set.
By Seth Combs
Once LaValle took the stage a little before midnight, joined by a cast of new and old bandmates, the crowd seemed a little restless. Luckily, they stuck around for LaValle’s 13-song set.
By Peter Holslin
Coda Reactor wants to bring hardcore back, one mosh pit at a time. At Eleven in City Heights last week, the local punk band threw down a 30-minute set of supercharged, three-chord rock.
By Peter Holslin
Last Saturday, I headed to Tijuana to check out All My Friends Music Festival, a daylong event held at a tacky, rundown mansion on the edge of a cliff.
By Peter Holslin
During the past year, Los Macuanos have been garnering quite a bit of buzz: The Tijuana electro band has played in San Francisco and New York City and at South by Southwest, and they’ve been praised by NPR and MTV for their forward-thinking brand of ruidosón music.
