From September 27-29, Mariner’s Point Park hosted Mission Bayfest, put on by the same production team that created the San Diego Bayfest. Joe Rinaldi, partner and general manager at the Music Box in Little Italy …
October 31, 2024
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Stories by Gabriel Garcia
Gonzo Report: Three nights of Mission Bayfest bring bliss
Clikatat Ikatowi returns to the Casbah for October 8 show
Post-hardcore/emo math rockers Clikatat Ikatowi formed in 1993; its lineup featured drummer Mario Rubalcaba (also known from the Black Heart Procession, Hot Snakes, and the Sultans) alongside Scott Bartoloni (Heroin, End of the Line, Mannekin …
October 4, 2024
Peaceful, eaze-y feeling
It’s hard to believe there was a time when cannabis was hard to find. (“Cannabis” — how formal. In my late teens, the references used were “weed,” “herb,” “marijuana,” and “pot.” But that’s what happens …
October 3, 2024
San Diego Reader Best of 2024
Thanks for noticingLost Abbey finds a new wayAnderson’s apogeesAntique modernHeavenly hall undergroundMounting MadraParent-friendly playgroundThe van man canPeaceful, eaze-y feeling
October 2, 2024
Gonzo Report: Love and Rockets blasts fan into past
It was 6:45 in the evening, overcast. A couple of sprinkles nicked me while I was on the ferry from Coronado to the Convention Center, but it wasn’t a bad way to travel, and just …
September 5, 2024
Bill Walton was the biggest Deadhead in the world
Basketball great and San Diego icon Bill Walton died on May 27. The next day, sports commentator John Canzano posted an interview clip on TikTok in which he asked Walton how many Grateful Dead concerts …
July 10, 2024
Gonzo Report: Feeling my roots at Soap Factory’s Chicano Music Festival
From age six to age eight, I lived in National City. I admired the cholo style: creased T-shirts, khaki pants, black corduroy slip-on shoes, perfectly slicked back hair, and low riders cruising the boulevard — …
June 6, 2024
DJ Symphony hangs up his headphones in San Diego
DJ Symphony, official DJ for GZA of Wu-Tang Clan, was born in New Jersey and raised in New York City, but now calls San Diego home. He became a DJ at nine, “many years ago, …
May 30, 2024
Gonzo Report: Wu-Tang DJ backs ONYX at Pacific Beach’s Break Point
Faded, not fadingONYX pays a visit to Pacific Beach’s Break PointPacific Beach on a Friday night is not usually my cup of tea. Tad youthful on those streets. However, it’s not often that ONYX performs …
April 11, 2024
Reader Music Issue short takes
Island civilizationWithin the Coronado Ferry Landing, you will find Coronado Tasting Room. Purveyors of Craft Spirits, Extra Virgin Olive Oils, Balsamic Vinegars, Spices and Gourmet Foods. Every other Wednesday evening, Michael Gonzales (aka Gonzo) and …
March 27, 2024
San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue
Some musicians see forming a tribute group as a way to get into the music industry. Copping someone else’s successful act may seem their only chance at earning a bit of applause, adulation, and — …
March 27, 2024
Gonzo Report: B-Side Players celebrate 30 years at the Music Box
February 2 was a cold Friday night in Little Italy. But the B-Side Players turned on the heat at the Music Box for their 30th anniversary celebration. I can remember three good things that happened …
March 7, 2024
Gonzo Report: King Yellowman brings reggae to Winstons
December 16, 2001, was my thirtieth birthday. That night saw my first attempt to visit Winstons in Ocean Beach. The bouncer didn’t let me in, possibly because I may have already been drunk due to …
February 22, 2024
Gonzo Report: That Beatles Cover Band rocks the Black Cat
The last Friday night of 2023 saw a fab event at Black Cat Bar, because That Beatles Cover Band provided the entertainment. Black Cat Bar is located at 4246 University Avenue. It was established in …
January 25, 2024
Gonzo Report: Beer and Benny in Balboa Park
It was the day of my company’s holiday luncheon at Eddie V’s in La Jolla. That meant happily filling up on filet mignon and beers on the company’s dime. Afterwards, a couple of my supervisors …
January 11, 2024
Gonzo Report: Drumming up a date with Irving Flores and Joe
I booked 6:30 reservations for two at Madison on Park Boulevard. I had decided to ask a date out for the evening, and to my amazement, she had accepted. Our Lyft dropped us off under …
December 21, 2023
Jim MacDonald’s cellphone captures over 2,000 local performances
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/@jimmacd3rd/">Just a Fan Recording Local Music</a> is the name of Jim MacDonald’s YouTube channel; it boasts over 2000 cell phone videos of live performances by local artists, 586 subscribers, and around 191,000 views. MacDonald …
November 30, 2023
Reader writers try music not to their taste
All this jazz at Tio Leo’s“I see a lot of familiar faces here, and I see three or four new ones. I want to let you know that, when the music is playing, we are …
October 18, 2023
Best cannibis concentrate discovered at Adams Avenue Street Fair
Michael “Ras Mike” Johns is a radio, TV, and festival host who has been reporting for the cannabis and reggae community since 2011. He is also the owner of Nug Radio, an online radio station …
October 5, 2023
Gonzo Report: “Soul Train to Coltrane” jazz night at Eddie V’s
On a whim, I decided to check out some Jazz at Eddie V’s in Seaport Village. I’m not talking about 98.1-style Kenny G-sounding Smooth Jazz. As great a musician as Kenny G is, he’s not …
September 14, 2023
Best San Diego music prospects: Lead Pony, King Whisker, Sandollar, David Orozco
Lead Pony can already spot the VulturesPsychedelic blues rock has never really gone out of style — not locally, anyway. And now, San Diego is rapidly becoming a hotbed of related “concept albums,” from the space …
August 2, 2023
Gonzo Report: Dead Heads gather all over town
Jerry Garcia died on Wednesday, August 9, 1995. At the time, I was working at a restaurant in the Imperial Bank Tower on B Street downtown. When I came to work that day, I was …
June 29, 2023
Gonzo Report: EDM meets May Gray at Belmont Park Beach House
It’s Sunday morning: the sun is out and the sky is blue — perfect weather for a visit to the Beach House at Belmont Park in Mission Beach. But by the time I arrive at …
June 1, 2023
Gonzo Report: Puente covers Rodrigo’s “Tuyo” at The Garten food and drink collective
Bay Park — a cloudy Sunday in April. Still jacket weather in San Diego. My destination for the day was The Garten. I turned on Sherman off Morena, turned left on Banks, and found my …
May 4, 2023
Blue Largo guitarist takes it slow
Blue Largo bandleader Eric Lieberman, who describes the group as Americana Soul, first met singer Alicia Aragon in 1982, while he was in the King Biscuit Blues Band and his future wife was a cocktail …
March 23, 2023
Gonzo Report: Finding the spirituality of the setting - HR (Bad Brains) plays The Holding Company
January 15, a rainy Sunday. It’s 1 pm; my friends Ted Winter, Sandra McBride and I are pregaming by drinking Heinekens and doing White Runtz bong hits. At 1:45, I get a text from my …
January 25, 2023
Heartbreaking and healing: Eve Selis supports niece Lauren Leigh’s solo album Ghost in the Picture
Lauren Leigh began singing around the age of five, accompanying the songs in The Little Mermaid until she knew them all by heart. Her aunt, local singer-songwriter Eve Selis, told her that she was already …
December 22, 2022
Gonzo Report: Black Flag keeps waving nearly 50 years later
On October 28, there was a punk rock revival at the San Diego House of Blues, with Total Chaos opening for Black Flag. This article about that show may not be for the faint of …
November 24, 2022
Gonzo Report: Navajo Live’s open mic night - eclectic covers from Warren Zevon to Living Colour
Navajo Live is nestled in a remote corner of the Navajo Shopping Center on Lake Murray Boulevard. The place has been on my radar for a while now, because every Thursday night is Open Mic …
October 12, 2022
Castle’s Labs has cannabis plants like trees
Kurt Castle, founder and creator of Castle’s Labs, creates products that help with all sorts of flora and fauna management. His Plant Magic is “an organic probiotic spray that promotes bigger, healthier, chemical and pesticide …
October 6, 2022
Gonzo Report: Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, and Los Straitjackets use music for memory at the Shell
MTV originated in 1981 and became available on the west coast a year later. For me, the acts that come to mind from those days are Billy Idol, Adam Ant, The Cars, Peter Gabriel, Duran …
September 28, 2022
Gonzo Report: Sharing the Shell show - from Sheryl Crow to The Beach Boys
Sharing in the shell show “You don’t need tickets to enjoy the concert.” Downtown San Diego – After the Padres game on August 2nd, I cut through the Convention Center to catch my ferry home …
September 7, 2022
Gonzo Report: The cloud of smoke over Burning Spear
July 23, 2022, Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre: Burning Spear, aka Winston Rodney, has come out of a six-year retirement for a reunion with his fans and to spread the word of Jah …
September 1, 2022
Gonzo Report: Sippin’ & spinnin’ with Jerry Garcia jammers at Del Mar Social
Jerry Garcia was born on August 1, 1942 and died on August 9, 1995. He was best known for being a founding member The Grateful Dead, a band born in the days of ‘60s counterculture …
August 24, 2022
Gonzo Report: Chasing Capo Kelley, Mark Fisher, Wise Monkey Orchestra, Electric Waste Band & others at OB Street Fair
Following a two-year hiatus due to Covid-19, the OB Street Fair and Chili Cookoff returned on June 25 for the 42nd time. Fair food, street vendors, a chili cook-off, the OB Dirty Bird Wing Eating …
August 18, 2022
Gonzo Report: Santana soothes an anxious audience
Santana and Earth Wind & Fire shared the bill on Friday, June 17 at North Island Credit Union Amphitheater in Chula Vista, Ca. Anticipation was high: the concert had been rescheduled from both June 19, …
July 7, 2022
Gonzo Report: Steely Dan still going strong — but no dancing!
Steely Dan came to town on May 28, 2022, to play the North Island Credit Union Amphitheater. The cloudy weather did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the many upwardly mobile individuals attending the concert. …
June 16, 2022
Gonzo Report: Dance Space of the Grateful Dead
Electric Waste Band was ringing in the new year with sweet, rocking Grateful Dead sounds. I saw some friends of mine at a table, and headed over to say hello. But soon after starting into …
June 2, 2022