The Casbah is throwing a contest that is every local music-lover's dream
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Do you remember that part in Roald Dahl’s classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, when Charlie Bucket -- worn down by poverty and living in one room with, like, 18 nonagenarians -- opened that one Willy Wonka bar and a reflection of shiny gold glistened across his face? Oh, the indescribable joy! But for all the music lovers out there, that contest pales in comparison to the one the Casbah is currently throwing.
You see, January is the legendary rock club’s 25th-anniversary celebratory month (read our article about it here), and as such, they’re giving away a one-year pass -- good for every single show in 2014 -- to one lucky winner. What’s more, it couldn’t be any easier to win: All month long, just go to the venue, snap some photos of the show(s) you see, post them on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter with the hashtag #Casbah25 and you’ll automatically be entered to win. That’s it! No 87th caller, no geo-hunting, no "sign up for this" or that and then defeat all other contestants in a cage death match. Literally, all you need to do is go see a band (you’re going anyway, right?), take a couple pics and share ‘em with that hashtag. Come to think of it, we might even have a couple we’ve already taken this year that we need to post now.
Can you imagine being able to walk in to any show, all year long, like you own the place? We can think of a couple shows that are already sold-out where it’d definitely come in handy. In January alone, Pinback are playing two nights, No Knife are playing two nights and Rocket From the Crypt's show on Jan. 31 sold out in one minute! One winner will be chosen by a Casbah panel at the end of the month, so hashtag some photos and cross those fingers!
And if the contest doesn’t get your blood pumping, maybe this will: World-renowned street artist Shepard Fairey has teamed up with the club and designed limited-edition merchandise that will only be available during January (up until the headliner starts playing). The club will be selling women’s shirts (available in small, medium and large), men’s shirts (medium, large, extra large, XX large) and hoodies (large, extra large, XX large) with the commemorative Fairey design. As of right now, they're not for sale online. The club is only accepting cash -- shirts are $20 and hoodies are $40 -- so come prepared. The Casbah merch has always been top-notch and has almost become an unofficial uniform for San Diego music lovers, but these special Fairey shirts take the game to the next level.
We had a feeling 2014 would be a good year, but we didn’t know it would be this good -- there's a reason the city of San Diego officially named Jan. 14 as Casbah Day. So go help the club celebrate its long-running live music excellence, support some local music, buy a shirt and possibly win a one-year pass to every show at the venue for the rest of the year. It’s a win-win.
