San Diego venues these days are like boom -- in the good way, you know what I mean? They’re explosive, poppin’ up all over. It’s great. We dig it the most. And now the underage crowd is getting some love too. This weekend marks the first ticketed show at Lamppost Warehouse, the Linda Vista space that you may not know yet but will certainly party at soon -- because the dude doing the booking over there is Cory Stier, whose buying talents you may be familiar with if you’ve ever been to a show at Soda Bar or the Irenic.
Actually, that’s how this all came about: After seeing a show at the Irenic, the owners of Lamppost reached out to Stier. He did a walk-through of the space and found, as the name suggests, a warehouse feel -- easy layout, big room and good acoustics.
“Lamppost is a very similar case to the Irenic in that it’s a church and an alternative church space,” Stier told SoundDiego. “But they were just doing church events, and then they were like, ‘Well, if we get a better sound sytem in here, we can do shows too.’”
The space is well suited to play host to heavier sounds (no carpet to scuff up) without sacrificing intimacy (capacity is about 600), the sort of place that might be good if, say, the Murder City Devils ever come back.
“It was just mayhem,” said Stier, fondly recalling MCD’s last show at the Irenic. When he tried to book the same show this year, the venue declined. But with Lamppost, that sort of experience -- the big and loud and wild -- it’s more realistic. And though there’s no word on what’s coming up next (Lamppost doesn’t yet have a calendar online, but shows are listed on Soda Bar’s website), Stier told us what he’s looking at.
“I’ll be doing the bigger, national, planned tours that come through,” Stier told SoundDiego. “Local events [Lamppost] will handle in house.”
All that being said, Modern Baseball are first up to bat (HA HA!), an appropriate sound for the venue’s debut Saturday, Nov. 14. The Philadelphia band have the whole rad, indie-rock thing down, boosted with a punk bounce and lyrical material that resonates with younger crowds. The band itself is growing up, even if they’re not grown up just yet. In a move that surprised critics and fans alike, Modern Baseball released an EP last month, and co-frontman Brendan Lukens recently opened up about his struggle with anxiety and depression and how that finds its way into the music he writes -- all the more to identify with. It’s a good start for Lamppost, and indicative of what direction the venue is going. Here's to bringing more great shows to San Diego for everyone to enjoy.
Modern Baseball play Lamppost Warehouse on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m., $19, all ages. Pup, Jeff Rosenstock, Tiny Moving Parts open. Tickets are available here.
Hannah Lott-Schwartz, a San Diego native, moved back to the area after working the magazine-publishing scene in Boston. Now she’s straight trolling SD for all the music she missed while away. Want to help? Hit her up with just about anything at all over on Twitter, where -- though not always work-appropriate -- she means well.
