Unbroken Chain
Rosemary Bystrak
Chula Vista band Unbroken is reuniting to raise money for a friend with cancer.
People say that everything goes in cycles. In backlash to digital music files and CDs, many bands are now opting to release their music on older formats like vinyl and cassettes.
I guess I'm finally old enough that the bands of my youth only had cassettes as an option. One of the mainstays of the garage shows I was lucky enough to hear about as a teenager was Unbroken. At the time, the band sang straight-edge anthems, and I remember one specific show where I found a spot on top of a freezer and, even then, had a camera in my hand, hoping to preserve the memories of those shows. There was always this communal feeling, even if you weren't straight-edge, and it makes me happy that all of these years later, after many iterations of the band, that they still believe in community and have reunited to try to raise money for an uninsured friend undergoing cancer treatment. They'll be at the FYF fest in Los Angeles on Saturday, but they're doing it old-school style tonight at the Che Cafe. As they should.
If old-school hardcore isn't your scene, there are so many other great shows going on tonight, including Ted Leo at the Casbah, Stage Kids at the Ruby Room, and a whole slew of punk shows taking place for the sold-out Awesome Fest. Look hard through this list tonight, however, because there are gems for every genre all over San Diego.
Friday, Sept. 3:
- Unbroken, Foundation, the Mistake, XUnrestrainedX, Northern Towns, All Leather @ Che Cafe
- Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Fever Sleeves @ Casbah (read OwlandBear's preview)
- Sight & Sound Concert on the Bay, featuring Republic of Letters, Vinyl Film and Gregory Page @ Hilton Hotel By the Bay (free, all ages, 7-10 p.m.) -- come back to SoundDiego this weekend to check out a Screen Grabs gallery
- Stage Kids, Bagdad, Satellite Run, Pilots @ Ruby Room
- Lower Dens, Blessure Grave, Black Mamba, Ghost Shores @ Tin Can
- Brian Holwerda @ El Zarape (Adams Avenue location, 6-9 p.m.)
- Awesome Fest, featuring Tiltwheel, Turkish Techno, Stymie, Lenguas Largas, Stoned at Heart, Stab City, Handski @ Soda Bar
- Shawn Rohlf and the Buskers (CD release, two sets -- acoustic and rock) @ Whistle Stop
- Plane Without a Pilot, Lessons From Zeke, Jesse Nova @ Beauty Bar
- Cheeta and the Radio Flyers, DJ Josh Barnes @ The Shakedown
- '80s Night: Dust n' Bones, Monsters of Rock, Socially Distorted and DJ Man Cat @ Belly Up ('80s costume contest)
- MEX @ Riviera Supper Club
- Four Letter Words, Bastards of Young, Unfun, Wide Angles, VBS, Pop Atak, GDDWB @ Eleven
- Melissa Etheridge @ Copley Symphony Hall
- Race Against Space, Tim and the 23's, He Is the Painter @ O'Connell's
- Under a Blood Red Sky (U2 tribute) @ House of Blues
- B-Side Players @ Sound Wave
- Craig of Suede, Lovers Drugs @ Lestat's
- Nipsey Hussle, Big Rich, Turf talk, I-Rocc, Smigg Dirtee, Adonis the Hottest @ Brick By Brick
- Superunloader @ Winston's
- Pensive, Save Amos, Stormy California, the Napoleon Complex, Stereo Summer, Audrina @ Epicentre
- Bound By Honor, Fury Never Fades, Darkest Before Dawn, Lorraine, Eden @ Soma
- RIP Tonite and the Threat, Knights of Apollo, Brentalfloss, Bobby Fantasy @ Dreamstreet
- John Lee Hooker, Jr. @ Humphreys Backstage Lounge
- Sene Africa @ World Beat Center
- The Dickies, D.I., Drunkin Punkin Idiots @ 4th & B
- Septeto Nacional @ Anthology (early show 7:30 p.m.; late show, 9:30 p.m.)
- Starkillers, DJ Pashaiko @ Voyeur
- Raven Like a Writing Desk, Patrick Lanzetta, off the Wagon, French Vampires, Cardiac Kids, Joe Tran, Vendetta Fish and guests @ Ramona Mainstage
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. Follow her updates at twitter.com/sddialedin or submit your music listings.
