Back before music was labeled "alternative," we had "college radio." It wasn't a requirement that the stations belonged to colleges, but more of a vibe ... different from mainstream music, what you might call indie today. Locally, 91x blasted out their "cutting edge of rock," and it was impossible to listen to the station without hearing a little band called the Smithereens. Fast-forward several decades and the band is still around, and on Saturday, they're performing The Who's "Tommy" at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts. No doubt this is going to be one heck of a unique show, and thus it gets top billing around here. Of course, the younger generation is like, "Who is Tommy?" For those younsters, there are still some awesome shows elsewhere, like All Them Witches at the Casbah, Shigeto at Soda Bar, and JD McPherson with the always awesome HoneyHoney at the Belly Up.
Saturday, Jan. 23:
- The Smithereens perform "Tommy" @ Poway Center for the Performing Arts
- All Them Witches, L.A. Witch, Dani Bell and the Tarantist @ Casbah
- Garrison Keillor & Chris Thile: A Prarie Home Companion @ San Diego Civic Theatre
- Dave Stamey @ AMSD
- Stafford Brothers @ Fluxx
- Shigeto, Groundislava, Dreamrepeat @ Soda Bar
- JD McPherson, HoneyHoney @ Belly Up
- Daniel Jackson Tribute @ Dizzy's
- Boombox, Ryan Bauer @ Music Box
- Paper Days @ SOMA
- Steel Panther @ House of Blues
- Darlington @ The Bancroft
- The Plow, Houston Jones @ San Dieguito United Methodist Church
- Rayner, Parade of Horribles, Ash Williams, Let's Face It @ Tower Bar
- Jetwash @ Winston's (5 p.m.)
- Kung Fu, Z3 & the Sure Fire Soul Ensemble @ Winston's (9:30 p.m.)
- Sleepwalking: Lowrider Oldies/Funk Party @ Til-Two Club
- Nite Lapse, Minor Gems, Boychick @ The Black Cat
- Venom Inc, Necrophagia, Seraphic Disgust, Mythraeum, Festering Grave @ Brick By Brick
- Jim Kweskin, Meredith Axelrod, Suzy Thompson @ Lestat's
- Nathan Welden, Ricky Ruis @ Java Joe's
- DJ Irie @ Omnia
- Empyrean Throne, Morbid Eclipse, Sergulath, Misanthrophi @ The Merrow
- Holla Point @ Tio Leo's
- Peter Hall @ Croce's Park West (noon)
- Eve Selis & Friends @ Croce's Park West (7 p.m.)
- Pete Tong @ Bang Bang
- Silver Gate Fundraiser @ Humphrey's Backstage Live (5 p.m.)
- Rising Star @ Humphrey's Backstage Live (9 p.m.)
- Darryl Walker, Keith Andrew @ 98 Bottles
- Dusty Poon Saloon @ Kava Lounge
- The Smash Ups @ Gallagher's Irish Pub
- Justin James @ Spin
- Inhale, So Cals Shocks of Mighty & Kng Mkr @ 710 Beach Club
Rosemary Bystrak is the publicist for the Casbah, the content manager for DoSD, and writes about the San Diego music scene, events and general musings about life in San Diego on San Diego: Dialed In. Follow her updates on Twitter or contact her directly.
