The last time Nathaniel Rateliff played San Diego, I asked him to repeat his name three times before I finally just had him write it down. The club was loud and he was quite soft-spoken. He was opening for Laura Marling, and when he got onstage, the bar came to complete silence. His voice is absolutely magical. Deep and crisp, and while his music is modern, there's a throwback twist that makes you feel like you're seeing him in an old western saloon in Virginia City during the gold rush. Pearly Gate Music opens, which is the solo project by Zack Tillman, brother of J. Tillman. He threw a bit of a tantrum the last time he was in San Diego, but we'll assume he was just having a bad day, because his debut on Barsuk Records is really good, and I'd hate for you to miss good music just because of a little grudge.
Wednesday, July 28:
- Nathaniel Rateliff, Pearly Gate Music @ Bar Pink
- Black Mamba, Aunt Dracula, D/Wolves @ Tin Can
- Swingin' Utters, Cute Lepers, Hard Fall Hearts @ Casbah
- Kelsea, the Smart Brothers @ Lestat's
- Commune Wednesdays, featuring the Kabbs, DJ Tomas Bohan and Ace, art by Eric Wixon, head-crazed trun show @ Whistle Stop
- Normandie Wilson, the Preteens, the Endless Bummer, DJ Mawkus @ Soda Bar
- Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo @ Humphreys Concerts by the Bay
- Skelpin @ U-31
- Rachelle Ferrell @ Anthology
- Level 42, Earful @ Belly Up
- Rock 105.3 and 101 KGB present: Steel Panther @ House of Blues -- part of the SoundDiego LIVE
- Gyptian, Judah Eskender Tafari, Tribe of Kings Soundsystem @ 4th & B
- The Devil Wears Prada, Miss May I, Your Demise @ Soma
- Comadre, Glasses, Maladie, Rogue State, Sleepwalk @ Che Cafe
- The Band Perry @ Dreamcatcher @ Viejas Casino
- Zuhg, the Squirming Coils @ Winston's
- Some Kind of Nightmare, Foreign Film, Audio Out @ O'Connell's
- Metro @ Humphreys Backstage Live
- Lady Dottie and The Diamonds @ Gallaghers
- Open Source Music Night @ Ruby Room
- Throwback Suburbia, Hypnotic Odyssey, Adam Bones @ Beauty Bar
- El Monte Slim @ Riviera Supper Club
- Len Rainey's Midnight Players @ Patrick's ll
- MC Idol @ Dreamstreet Live
- Ice Box, Wendy Bailey and True Stories @ Second Wind Santee
- Jeff Moore and the Witchdoctors @ The Kraken
- Gilbert Castellanos with the New Latin Jazz Quintet @ El Camino
- The Flounders @ Tiki House
- June's Not Faking, Citizen Band @ The Stage Saloon
- Dana Ralston, Shoreline Rootz @ The Saloon (Encinitas)
- Fuzzy @ Croce'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. Follow her updates at twitter.com/sddialedin or submit your music listings.
