I have to admit that sometimes I get a little bit frustrated when it comes to live music. A band can play to the smallest crowd, and then suddenly they're in some commercial or in some trailer, and all of the sudden everyone loves the band. I've decided that I can't fight trends or technology, so I'll roll with the flow and say that you know that the Silent Comedy -- whose song "Bartholomew" is featured on the "Hatfields & McCoys" on the History Channel -- are going to kill at the Belly Up, Ben Harper is going to draw a massive crowd at the Del Mar track, and Johnny Rad Fest is going to kick butt at the Ken Club.
Saturday, Aug. 18:
- The Silent Comedy, Stripes & Lines, Family Wagon @ Belly Up
- Ben Harper @ Del Mar Thoroughbred Club
- Grand Tarantula, East of Sweden (CD release), Idlehands, One I Red @ Soda Bar
- Johnny Rad Fest 5 King Tuff, Shannon & the Clams, Half Rats, Night Beats, Audacity @ Ken Club
- Hyena, Jamuel Saxon, Hills Like Elephants, Church Hustlers @ Casbah
- iDentity Festival @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
- Lantern Festival @ Hoover High, City Heights
- The Palominos, Decker, Escalator Hill @ Tin Can
- Midnight Rivals, Santos, the Pheasants @ Eleven
- The Girl Can't Help It Vintage Clothing Store Opening, featuring El Vez & Pony Death Ride @ The Girl Can't Help It (3806 Grim, 12-8 p.m., music at 6:30 p.m.)
- DJ TNA Video Debut @ Eleven
- Prima Donna, the Phenomenauts, Pass the Axe, Oddball @ The Shakedown
- '80s vs. '90s, with Gabe Vega & Saul @ Whistle Stop
- Circuit, Garva, Aphter, Ghost M.D., Casper @ Ruby Room
- The Dickies, F.O.A., Jonny Castle @ The Griffin
- The Longshots, the Amalgamated @ Tower Bar
- Breakthru Entertainment Presents @ House of Blues
- Allison Lonsdale, Matthew Santos, Tolan Shaw @ Lestat's
- Clapton Hook, the Morphs, Jim Earp @ Brick By Brick
- Tommy Dubs & the Seismc Levelers, with Ease Up and KNG MKR @ Winston's
- Stranger @ 710 Beach Club
- Skank Agents, Starpool, Bucket of Fish, Grim Luck, Thanks Jack @ Soma
- Small Talk, Cash Crop, Meraki, Realization Orchestra, the Deepsea Goes @ Che Cafe
- Suburban, Boredom @ Epicentre
- Caliber @ Humphreys Backstage Lounge
- The Money Band @ Flying Elephant
- Thunder Road @ Anthology (7:30 p.m.)
- ABBA Fab @ Anthology (9:30 p.m.)
- Diamond Nightz, DJ Chelu @ Gallagher's
- Bayou Brothers @ Marble Room
- Ese & Zain -- adam salter @ El Dorado
- Eric Prydz, Audrey Napoleon @ Voyeur
- DJ Sid Vicious, DJ Cheyenne Giles @ Fluxx
- The Black Cinderella, Sister Carol, Live Wyya, DJ Carlos Culture @ World Beat Center
- The Brian Levy/Rick Hollander Group @ Dizzy’s at 98 Bottles
Rosemary Bystrak writes about the San Diego music scene, events and general musings about life in San Diego on San Diego: Dialed In. Follow her updates on Twitter or contact her directly.