Time for another round of “if you were me” and some select picks from the musical calendar. On a side note, I will be participating in the Demolition Derby at the San Diego County Fair on July 3 at 1 p.m. inside the Del Mar Fairgrounds Arena. Come show some support! My life is spent checking out live music, so let's take a look at July and see what's good. And is it just me, or does July look a little light on big shows?
Friday, July 6, husband-and-wife team Mates of State hold it down at the House of Blues with the Stepkids opening. Check out their new record, Crushes.
Sunday, July 8, a bill of epic proportions for the greaser and rockabilly set with the Reverend Horton Heat, Dave Alvin and the Supersuckers, all on one bill! This show goes down at the House of Blues.
Right around here, Comic-Con takes over my life for five days. I know I RSVP'd for a free show with Dethklok from the Adult Swim show Metalocolypse aboard the USS Midway. I understand the list is full...
Three Nights of the Con at the Casbah starting on Thursday, June 12. Tim Heidecker from the Tim & Eric Show, JP Inc, Optiganally Yours (Rob Crow) and a special screening of Matt Hoyt and Jason Sherry's comedic saga Antarctic...Huh? Presented by Impose and Casbah and curated by Matt Hoyt. Friday, June 13 has Vivian Girls, Grass Widow, the Babies and Dunes. Presented by Impose and Casbah, curated by Art Fag. Saturday, June 14 features John Maus, Tropic of Cancer, Divers, DJ Mario Orduno plus Wes Eisold of Cold Cave. Presented by Impose and Casbah, curated by Dream.
July 17 at the Belly Up Tavern, the original surf-rock band the Surfaris will be celebrating the 50th Anniversary of "Wipeout!" I think it's one of the first songs I ever tried to emulate on drums.
Sunday, July 22, Ray Davies of the Kinks comes to town with the 88 and plays the House of Blues. Rock & roll legend he is, damn straight Mr. Ray Davies!
Thursday, July 26, Face to Face will perform acoustically, playing songs from "Ignorance Is Bliss," which has been a rare occurrence since its release.
Friday, July 27, retro-rocker Dan Sartain plays the Soda Bar. Our very own Swami Records put out one of his releases.
Saturday, July 28, Crystal Stilts play the Casbah with locals Heavy Hawaii, Sunwheel and music impresario Mario Orduno of Art Fag Records spinning vinyl.
There are a couple nice options at the end of the month, when the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club starts up their summer concert series: Waaves roll in on July 20 and Dashboard Confessional appear the following week, on July 27.
I've gone over the calendar and picked what I thought was the cream of the crop and not already sold-out. The options are truly endless in San Diego at this point. Let me see if I can run down all the places you should always keep an eye on, starting with the Casbah, House Of Blues, Belly Up Tavern, the Griffin, Til-Two Club, the Shakedown, Ruby Room, Soda Bar, Bar Eleven, Bar Pink, Whistle Stop, Hard Rock Hotel, Che Cafe, Winston's, 710 Beach Club, Tower Bar, Tin Can Ale House, the Propagandist, Voyeur, Fluxx, Spin, the Irenic and tell me what I forgot...
Thank you for your time and come find me at the Casbah any Monday for Anti-Monday League, sometimes booked by me, sometimes by club owner Tim Mays. Either way, you will always find me at the Casbah on Mondays, sometimes spinning records. Cheers!
Tim Pyles hosts The Local 94/9, FTP show and the Coup d'Eat on FM94/9 on Sundays from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. He also books local acts at the Casbah and hosts the weekly Anti-Monday League. Check out his website and follow him on Twitter @thelocalpyle. You can reach him directly here: pyleste@yahoo.com
