Under the spell of ayahuasca, it’s not uncommon for people to see apex cat predators. One friend told me that during her session, she kept seeing jaguars. As for me, during my last sitting with …
May 9, 2024
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Stories by Jake Peterson
Gonzo Report: Jesus Gonzalez gets bodies moving at Lou Lou’s Jungle Room
Goldfish events are about musical escapism
Video:Live/electronic duo journeyed from South Africa to Ibiza to San DiegoFormed in Cape Town, South Africa in 2006, live electronic DJ duo Goldfish have since swum into the waters of global popularity. For a seven-year …
April 18, 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: Half Hour Late lives up to their name at the Template
A text message buzzed my pocket as I stood outside of the Template, waiting to see Half Hour Late in Ocean Beach. “You’re in OB,” read the text from my colleague, “and the heart and …
March 21, 2024
Hip-hop artist Don Elway makes movies for his music
Video:BLURT: Hip-hop artist Don Elway makes movies for his musicIn late 2023, hip-hop artist Don Elway dropped his six-song EP Not Ordinary. In order to create autobiographical mini-movie to accompany the EP, he collaborated with …
March 14, 2024
What it takes to score a ticket to see Ween
Video:GONZO: What it takes to score a ticket to see Ween at the Sound in Del MarIt’s true: Ween woke all the creatures that live on the land on a recent Saturday night in Del …
February 29, 2024
Gonzo Report: Drinking in the purple glitter for Prince Again at the Magnolia
It had been decided: we had to steal a car. I was 15 years old, and therefore without a driver’s license. It did not matter. Megadeth was playing in Minneapolis. Two high school homies and …
February 15, 2024
Gonzo Report: Take Offense & Escuela Grind it out at Brick By Brick
Video:GONZO REPORT: Take Offense at Brick By Brick“The last time I was in here, I went completely berserk on this dude who told my grandson to be quiet,” Jeff told me as we dined on …
February 8, 2024
Gonzo Report: A sasscore soiree with SeeYouSpaceCowboy at the Che Café
December 17: I was moving a little slower than usual that Sunday afternoon. Hangover? Nah. More likely lethargy. But after stirring up a quick kratom-and-water cocktail, I perked up like a proud poppy and texted …
January 18, 2024
Gonzo Report: GoldFishMan dances his way into Music Box
2023 warped by in the blink of a tiger’s eye, and now everybody’s sharing their annual Spotify wrapped sheet via social media. I didn’t share mine, but I will let you know that my number …
January 4, 2024
From Arapaho to SONSOFSAVAGE: Brett Savage's musical odyssey
In the mid-’90s, the band Arapaho were the rock darlings of Durban, South Africa. With multiple chart-topping hits — including “Dump Truck,” which stayed at number one for multiple months, and “Butterfly Angel,” written by …
December 28, 2023
Gonzo Report: Coping with Citizen at Observatory North Park
I thought I bought tickets to see Citizen Cope. Instead, my scattered head bought tickets to see a band called Citizen. A blunder of this magnitude told me I needed to meditate and turn away …
November 23, 2023
Gonzo Report: Surviving a secret Destroy Boys show at Lions Den Tattoo
It started with three of us. I was driving, while Matt and Francisco held down the passenger duties of radio selection and wry commentary, respectively. With a Spotify Destroy Boys playlist spilling through the speakers, …
November 16, 2023
Pixies and Modest Mouse weather the storm
My last encounter with Jesse was nine years ago; it began with him standing, barefoot, outside my downtown Seattle apartment, calling my name from six stories below as he clutched a plastic hospital bag containing …
October 26, 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
Gonzo Report: Hunting for Hunter S. Thompson at La Jolla Playhouse
In my youthful and more formidable years, I typed out Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas line for line, chapter by chapter, just as the original gonzo journalist did with The Great …
October 12, 2023
Gonzo Report: Multi-generational mosh pit found at My Town Fest
I should probably have picked up a pack of smokes for this one, because I could hear the echoes of San Diego’s punk past as it enthusiastically got the band back together for My Town …
September 7, 2023
San Diego – mecca of Brazilian jiu-jitsu
There are silent killers walking amongst us. Many of them. Not the kind that have the thirst to kill, mind you, but the kind that could kill, can kill, thanks to the skills they’ve worked …
September 6, 2023
Gonzo Report: Zappy ideas and futuristic visions at Maya Moon Collective
“The moon is in Taurus, a slow, steady, sensual energy, ideal for indulging in senses,” says Neekol, who frequents the Maya Moon Collective. “It is playing closely with Uranus — don’t laugh — which can …
August 3, 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: Strictly psychedelic at Casbah’s San Diego Freak Out
Back in May, a Keanu Reeves sighting at the Casbah during a punk rock show featuring locals Doc Hammer lit up social media. I know this because one of my pals posted an Instagram selfie …
July 6, 2023
Gonzo Report: Red Hot Chili Peppers inspire passion in the pit
On Snapdragon Stadium’s opening day, I recall hearing stories about how the sun melted a college football crowd into a dank mess. This much is true: the new stadium, although modern and affable, fails to …
June 8, 2023
Gonzo Report: Booty Bassment at Whistle Stop - The BootyMan Cometh
It’s finally starting to feel like Southern California again, rather than the soggy Pacific Northwest. The weather tax is finally paying its dividends. Everyone’s spirits are elevated. The sun is chirping and the birds are …
May 11, 2023
Gonzo Report: Hardcore karaoke activates the crowd at the Fraternal Order of Eagles in National City
I belly up to the bar inside the dimly lit barroom of the Fraternal Order of Eagles community center in National City and order a five-buck bottle of Pacifico. Only three other souls share the …
April 13, 2023
Gonzo Report: Shipwrecks sails on at East Village’s Quartyard
I pull up in front of a homeless encampment on G street downtown next to the Arco, scan the meter, and pay for an hour and fourteen minutes of parking. Parking after six o’clock is …
April 6, 2023
Salubrious psychedelics on Mt. Palomar
Once upon a time, if you wanted to take part in a ceremonial psychedelic experience, you had to pay a pretty penny: a flight to Costa Rica or Peru, and then a journey into the …
April 5, 2023
Online ire over viral list of top 100 San Diego music artists
When local hip-hop artist Brandon “B-Turn” Turner created a top 100 list of San Diego music artists to watch in 2023, he had no idea how wild the online ride he was about to take …
February 9, 2023
Gonzo Report: The feats of Festivus at Til-Two
I’ve always imagined the Til-Two Club as the kind of haunt where you might have found the late author Charles Bukowski buzzing around. If he dressed in black leather and lived in San Diego when …
January 11, 2023
Gonzo Report: Hip-hop battle at La Mesa’s Lux Lounge
Nothing like a little sea moss in the system before the battle kicks off. Sixty-three-year-old Miss Sherry Elie, owner and organizer of the CRS (Cut it, Roll it, Smoke it) San Diego Rap Battle League, …
December 21, 2022
Gonzo Report: Ché Café gets to punk paradise by way of Hong Kong
Noose Sweat’s van broke down on their way down from Vancouver. They’re supposed to headline the hardcore punk show on this early autumn night, but due to their shitty circumstances, they won’t be able to …
November 9, 2022
Bret Michaels declares “We love it here in San Diego!” at least a half dozen times
Some call it glam rock. Others, hair metal. My friend Joe calls it butt rock: as in, on August 28 at Petco Park, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Poison, Mötley Crüe, and Def Leppard rocked …
September 21, 2022
Gonzo Report: Lost in the trenches at SDSU’s Open Air Theater
We were pre-gaming at the College-area Eureka! near when Whittney Blue said she was going to steal the table knife. There were four of us gathered around a table at the campus restaurant, trying to …
August 4, 2022
2022 San Diego Reader writing contest winners, part 2
First Place Winner CHANGING OF THE GUARD Unexpected violence at the San Diego Zoo When people found out I worked security at the world famous San Diego Zoo, they asked: “What’s the craziest thing you’ve …