Sounds Like San Diego: November 16

By Rosemary Bystrak

| Tuesday, Nov 16, 2010 | Updated 10:22 AM PDT

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Rosemary Bystrak

Good Old War play to the college crowd tonight at UCSD's Porter's Pub.

Sometimes when I go to a show, I want to know everything I can about a band. I want to hear its music, know where its from, read the bio, and generally feel like I know the band. Other times, like this summer when Good Old War played the side stage at Soma, I went for an opener, Audra Mae, but stayed to see what the other bands had to offer. When Good Old War took the stage, I was floored. I hadn't heard of them before the show, yet here's a room with maybe 150 kids who sang along to every song. The crowd knew every word, and the energy from the band to the crowd and back to the stage was palpable. When the band closed its set by jumping into the crowd and playing unplugged with no microphones as the crowd surrounded them for sing-alongs, I knew I was seeing something special. And it's not just the kids who love the band ... according to some friends, the response was the same when they opened for Dr. Dog at the Belly Up a couple weeks ago. Tonight's show is free to UCSD students, but if you can't catch them tonight, they also open for Joshua Radin tomorrow night at the House of Blues. If you like the communal feeling of campfire songs and sing-alongs, there are few bands doing it better than Good Old War. With Josh Damigo on the bill, it's sure to be a great night.

Tuesday, Nov. 16:

Good Old War, Josh Damigo @ Porter's Pub (free to students, plus one guest)
Le Serpent Rouge, featuring the Indigo Belly Dance with Rachel Brice, Mardi Love and Zoe Jakes, guests @ Casbah
Marc Cohn, Sahara Smith @ Belly Up
Freecreditscore.com presents the Fearless Friends Tour, with Mayday Parade, Go Radio, Breathe Carolina, Every Avenue @ House of Blues
John Mayall @ Anthology
Woodsman, Blackbird Blackbird, Melted Toys @ Soda Bar
Le Ra, Falling Trees, Mundy Nights @ Tin Can
Tiki Two's Day with Mr. Adrian Demain and guest @ Bar Pink
Zapf Dingbats @ El Dorado
Nena Anderson @ Riviera Supper Club
52nd Street (Billy Joel tribute) @ Humphreys Backstage Live
The Stilettos @ Henry's Pub
The Fairmounts @ Eleven
Local Brews Local Grooves: Scott West Band, Summer Mencher, Lenny Morris Music, Joe Rathburn, John Lall @ House of Blues Voodoo Stage
Tomcat Courtney @ La Gran Tapa
Train of Thought @ Queen Bee's
Althea & Co, featuring Danny Dicarlo @ Patrick's ll
Dave Booda Acoustic @ Tiki House
Open Mic with Jefferson Jay @ Gallagher's
Doug Allen, Suzy Bongo @ The Kraken
The Chad Hollister Band with Sean Kelly of the Samples @ Winston's

Rosemary Bystrak writes about the San Diego music scene, events, and sometimes whatever creeps into her head on her music blog San Diego: Dialed In. Check it for even more listings. She also provides social media content for the Casbah. Follow her updates at twitter.com/sddialedin or submit your music listings.