As we wrap up 2019 and look forward to 2020, this is your December show calendar. Now, I know tastes are different -- more than ever before -- so this is just a guide, and I don't claim to be your personal tastemaker, because tastes are different. In the days of monoculture, we shared many interests, but today, it's getting harder and harder to have a shared experience, as we aren't the same as we were. So drink up buttercup, this is December 2019!
As noted below, I booked some of these shows, and don't forget I am at the Merrow hosting every Tuesday, so local bands should show up.
Dec. 1: The Old Firm Casuals and Charger at Brick by Brick. Lars Frederiksen of Rancid is in the Old Firm Casuals, and Matt Freeman of Rancid is in Charger.
Dec. 2: X and Los Straitjackets at the Casbah. The secret is out!
Dec. 3: The Make Up at the Casbah. They broke up in the year 2000 but have played since then, and here is your chance for some "Gospel Yeh-Yeh" in person!
Dec. 4: From Indian Lakes and Queen of Jeans at Soda Bar. Great double bill! Get into it! Introspective indie rock and denimcore -- that's what it says....
Dec. 5: 91x Holiday Show with the 1975, Catfish & the Bottlemen, Idkhow and locals Fashion Jackson. Ho ho ho from 91x....
SoundDiego
Music. Community. Culture.
Dec. 6: Me First & the Gimme Gimmes at House Of Blues. I hate cover bands, but this is one I can get into!
Dec. 7: Authority Zero at Brick by Brick. Melodic punk, ska and reggae. These guys are all over the place, but cohesive.
Dec. 8: Christopher Cross at the Magnolia. "Ride Like the Wind" is my jam -- such easy listening, but so good! He was all over the charts circa early '80s, but then MTV came along and things changed.
Dec. 9: Nicely, Bit Maps and New Me at Casbah. This is your chance to support locally sourced music.
Dec. 10: The Charlie Daniels Band at the California Center for the Arts. I am not a huge country fan, but I've always loved "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." There is much more to Charlie than that, so go see for yourself.
Dec. 11: Son Little at Soda Bar. Retro soul and urban blues.
Dec. 12: La Dispute, Empath and Touche Amore at House of Blues. A night of noise and experimental sounds -- it's gonna get weird.
Dec. 13: Allah-Las at the Observatory North Park. It's garage rock at its finest.
Dec. 15: Two cool Casbah events, first up Gary Heffern's Last Waltz at 3 p.m. and later that night, round two with the Sleepwalkers, Cowpoke and Chloe Lou & the Liddels. Gary Heffern fronted the Penetrators: SD legends! The rest of the night is roots rock!
Dec. 16: Midnight Monuments, Doom Bloom and Runs Deep at the Casbah. Full disclosure, I booked this show and I have decent taste....
Dec. 17: Body Salt, Shane Hall and Junipero at the Casbah. Full disclosure number two: I booked this show also....
Dec. 18: Brokeback, Tara Jean O'Neil and L.A. Takedown at Soda Bar. Brokeback is Doug McCombs of Tortoise and Eleventh Dream Day.
Dec. 19: The Tubes featuring Fee Waybill at Belly Up. "White Punks on Dope" is a great song and one of my favorites to this day, plus Fee is a legend!
Dec. 20: Matt Embree and AJ Froman at the Soda Bar. Matt is also the frontman of RX Bandits.
Dec. 21: Phantom Planet at House of Blues Voodoo Lounge. I love the song "California," regardless of it being the theme song to "The O.C."
Dec. 22: Cattle Decapitation at Brick by Brick. These guys keep getting bigger and growing their audience -- very proud of this local band.
Dec. 23: Glass Spells, MRCH and Famblood at the Casbah. Full disclosure number three, I booked this show, too (sorry if this is getting annoying)....
Dec. 24: Exile on Kettner Boulevard at the Casbah. An annual tradition started by the Dragons, and it continues to this day.
Dec. 25: Merry Christmahanukwanzakah!
Dec. 26: El Vez Screamers Tribute at the Casbah. El Vez loves Screamers, a band that influenced the beginning of the punk rock scene, inspiring the Dead Kennedys, the Germs and El Vez.
Dec. 27: The Major Minus, Stints and Pucky Willis at the Soda Bar. The Major Minus is a local band -- support locally sourced music.
Dec. 28: Big Sandy & His Fly Rite Boys, plus Deke Dickerson & the Whippersnappers at the Casbah. Big Sandy and Deke are together again, so the dance floor will be packed.
Dec. 29: The Cavemen and Slab City at Soda Bar. Garage rock from New Zealand....
Dec. 30: Ten Bulls, the Bassics and Frau Eva at the Casbah. Final full disclosure, I booked this one, too!
Dec. 31: Happy New Year's to you and yours! Be safe and remember surge pricing on your Uber or Lyft....
Thanks for your support over the year, and I am looking forward to seeing you in 2020! That's my spiel, and the rest is up to you, so I'll see you at a show!
Tim Pyles, a longtime local who grew up in La Jolla, is the unofficial mayor of local music and hosts Loudspeaker via 91x every Sunday from 7-10 p.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
