Earlier this spring, I had the pleasure of attending Sunset Sessions, an event that showcases bands in front of radio programmers and music supervisors. While I was unable to attend all of the showcases, I still walked away with their gift bag, which comes with a few dozen CDs from new artists. I listened to every single CD and some were OK, some were forgettable, and a few were outstanding and I've listened to them extensively since then.
One of those outstanding artists was Alternate Routes. Their record is such that I can listen to it when I'm down and find an uplifting tune, and then listen to it again the next day and have a new favorite. To lock them in as rock or folk would be unfair, but their instantly catchy anthems and sing-along tunes are certainly a reason why you should check them out at the Casbah tonight.
Friday, Aug. 5:
- Scattered Trees, Alternate Routes, Gun Runner @ Casbah
- Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects, Rafter, Count Fleet @ Soda Bar
- Meseta, Fille Facile, Boxdox, Shoe Shine Boys @ Che Cafe
- Dazed and Confused, Back 2 Black, Rushed, DJ ManCat @ Belly Up
- The Bravery @ Del Mar Racetrack, Summer Concert Series
- First Friday with DJ Artistic and guests @ Bar Pink
- The Amandas @ Whistle Stop
- Strangely Strange, the Experiments, Far From Frequency @ The Shakedown
- Men Seeking Women, So Many Wizards, World Club, Clockart @ Tin Can
- Bujwah presents Ronni Nogood & the Youngbloods, DJ Junior Metro@ Til Two Club
- Infinitum Obscure, Fatalist, Ritual Torture, Sanguis Imperium, Mutilation @ Ruby Room
- Cedar Fire, Frontsiders, Death on Mars and Cypress Project @ Ken Club
- Manchest & Her @ The Ould Sod
- Barrio Tiger, Dead Engines @ Eleven
- Punk vs. Hip-Hop, featuring Chinese Rocks vs. Stuntdouble & Tenshun, DJ Peril vs Mr. Henshaw vas DJ Cesh @ Tower Bar
- Feel the Noise Electro Dance, with special guest Audrey Napoleon, DJs Gabe Vega & Friends @ U-31
- Unwritten Law @ House of Blues
- The Gregory Page Show @ Lestat's
- Hell on Heels Burlesque Review, with Scarlett Martini (Italy's biggest burlesque star) & Armitage Shanks (Circus Contraption Host) @ Brick By Brick
- So-Cal Vibes, Sunny Rude, Rightjahs Blend @ Winston's
- The Mar Dels @ Belly Up (happy hour, 5:30 p.m.)
- Polynesian Underground presents Kingston 13 and special guests @ 710 Beach Club
- Suffokate, Deceiver, As They Burn Alive, Shores, Life Withheld, Jeremiah Johnson, Head of the Hydra (CD release) @ Epicentre
- Gates, Paper Planet, Arm & a Leg, the Fixtures, New Year @ Soma
- The California Consort, featuring Karen Follingstad on piano, Alyze Dreiling on violin, Susan Ung on viola, Lorie Kirkell on cello and contrabassist Bert Turetzky performing “The Trout Quintet” Opus 87 by Franz Schubert & J.N. Hummel’s piano quintet @ Dizzy's (San Diego Wine & Culinary Center)
- Delta Nove @ Humphreys Backstage Lounge
- Green Jackets @ Hensley's Flying Elephant
- All Star Comedy Event to Benefit Community Construction Charity, featuring Lou Pizarro, Gary Sturgis (host), Amir Rahim, Wacko, DJ Cooch, Jason Collings @ 4th & B
- Steph Johnson, Monette Marino-Keita @ Anthology (7:30 p.m.)
- Big Sam’s Funky Nation @ Anthology (9:30 p.m.)
- Adrianna Marie & the Deep Blue Three @ Marble Room
- Zenbu Fridays with DJ Leif @ Zenbu Cardiff
- 5&a Dime '90s Party Jay Dread, Saul Q, Flo, Kid Wonder @ El Dorado
Rosemary Bystrak writes about the San Diego music scene, events and general musings about life in San Diego on San Diego: Dialed In. She does social media for the Casbah, books at West Coast Tavern and is trying her hand at band management. Follow her updates on Twitter or contact her directly.
