I love May for many reasons. First off, my birthday is now a national movement, since in honor of Star Wars, May 4 is now Star Wars Day and fans will say to each other "May the Fourth be with you." But the highlight is the start of summer at the end of the month. Well, that and all the great concerts coming to SD from the small venues to the concert halls, so let's take a look. Some are already sold out and I thank you San Diego for making that happen.
May 3 and 4: Prince does a total of four shows over two days at the Hard Rock Hotel downtown. Tix are $250.
May 3 has many choices, so pick one. You have Black Mountain at the Casbah, Maps & Atlases at Soda Bar, Kaskade at Voyeur or Adam Green & Binki Shapiro at the Irenic. That list has everything from indie bands to dance music: something for everybody.
May 4: I'd suggest legendary act Killing Joke at Brick by Brick or Born Ruffians at the Casbah.
May 5 is of course an excuse to act Mexican, but do it responsibly, because you may want to see these shows that night. There’s Beat Connection at Soda Bar or Built to Spill at Casbah (sold out) or Low Volts at the Belly Up.
May 6: Bonobo and El Ten Eleven titillate the Belly Up (sold out), at the Casbah it's Built to Spill again (sold out), or South African's the Parlotones at The Griffin.
May 7: Akron/Family plays Porter's Pub on the campus of UCSD, Richard Thompson at the Belly Up, Sara Watkins of Nickel Creek at the Griffin or Armin Van Buuren at Rimac Field at UCSD.
SoundDiego
Music. Community. Culture.
May 9: Devendra Banhart at the Belly Up (sold out) would be a good pick for this night.
May 10: Husker Du frontman Bob Mould is at the Casbah DJing with his club night the Blowoff (late show), Marina & the Diamonds with Charli XCX at the House of Blues or SD pop punk legends Unwritten Law acoustic at the Casbah (early show).
May 12: Suicidal Tendencies reunite and will destroy the House of Blues, Acid Mother's Temple at the Casbah, the Milk Carton Kids at the Belly Up, Cloud Cult at Porter's Pub (UCSD) or Chrome Sparks at the Soda Bar.
Are you seeing a pattern here? We have a wide variety and choices when it comes to spending your hard money. These shows are considerably less than what the Rolling Stones are charging.
May 13: I booked a local bill at the Casbah: Translation Audio, Black Belt Karate and Elektrik Monk.
May 14: Metal god Yngwie Malmsteen at the House of Blues.
May 15: If you need more metal, maybe the "Decibel Magazine Tour" with Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death and Immolation at the Ramona Mainstage is up your alley.
May 16: Come check out Maryjane's Underground at the Hard Rock Hotel for an evening of free entertainment with 619 Vodka and headliner Amerikan Bear. RSVP here.
May 17: Jimmy Eat World plays the House of Blues, or find a way into the Sun God Festival at UCSD with Kendrick Lamar, Porter Robinson, Andrew McMahon, Youngblood Hawke and more.
May 18: Freakshow Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti at the Casbah or head out to Pala's Starlight Theater and see crooner Tony Bennett.
May 19: Austin, Texas psych-rockers the Black Angels at the Belly Up will take you on a trip.
May 20: I booked an all-local bill at the Casbah. Come hang and check out Quel Bordel, Strange & Wildlife and Foreign Film.
May 21: Flobots at the Casbah or Jjamz at the the Griffin.
May 22 has some nice picks, which include Bloc Party at the House of Blues, Black Pus at the Soda Bar or Twin Shadow at the Belly Up.
May 24: Norwegian death punkers Turbonegro rock the House of Blues, the Business is at the Shakedown Bar or the Damned is at Sycuan Live & Up Close. Those, my friends, are some punk rock picks!
May 25 and 27: The Cold War Kids play the Belly Up, but both shows are sold out.
May 27: Fiction Family at the Casbah.
May 28: Retox at the Che Cafe or Mice Parade at the Casbah.
May 29: Dance punkers !!! play the Casbah or Marilyn Manson at the House of Blues.
May 30: It's SoundDiego LIVE with Okapi Sun and the Western Scene at Club 207 inside the Hard Rock Hotel. I will be your host and it's free if you RSVP here.
May 31: Little Hurricane and the Stone Foxes at the Belly Up or Tame Impala at the House Of Blues or (sold out) or FEAR at the Casbah.
Those are some of the shows I would go to and I will be going to quite a few of them, but I am only one person. That being said, would you mind filling in for me at some of these shows? That would be great, thanks!
Tim Pyles, a longtime local who grew up in La Jolla, is the unofficial mayor of local music who hosts The Local 94/9 via FM94/9 every Sunday from 9 p.m. to 12 a.m. He also books local acts at the Casbah, hosts the weekly Anti-Monday League, books/hosts the monthly Maryjane's Underground at the House Of Blues and is an entertainment writer for Pacific San Diego Magazine. Check out his website thelocalpyle.com and and follow him on Twitter @thelocalpyle. You can reach him directly here pyleste@yahoo.com
