Inside the Live Wire, it was dark and dingy, and the music was cranked to 11, just the way I remembered the place. Only half of the six red vinyl booths were occupied. Five friends …

"When the café doors exploded, I reacted to...reacted to you," sings Ted Leo in his nasal-core croon over James Canty's distorted guitar strum before the drums, a loping bass line, and Leo's triple guitar strum …

The sold-out Belly Up show saw a front-row throng of doe-eyed hippy chicks in tangled hair casting quixotic glances at Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros singer Alex Ebert while eight other performers sing and …

In recent months, the Lemon Grove city council has looked at ways of reducing the deficit. Projected revenues for fiscal year 2010-’11 are $11.8 million, while expenditures are projected to be $12.7 million. On April …

In Pikeville, Tennessee, near the Blue Ridge Mountains, Earl Thomas is money. It is a small town, explains his friend Michael Kinsman, and aside from a bluegrass performer or two, no one has ever made …

“We got evicted from P.B. for having six of us living in a two-bedroom place,” says Chris Jones. “We built bunk beds to fit everybody. Our crazy-old-lady landlord lived in the backyard. She accused us …

Thirty-Five Years AgoLooking for work in San Diego these days is a full-time job in itself, with all the attendant frustrations. Only the paycheck is lacking. With the state, you have a big advantage if …

It’s been five months since the Black Heart Procession returned from their last European tour. Later this month, the dark knights of indie rock are taking off for another 28-date run through Europe to promote …

“Festivals can be real freak shows,” says singer Matt Burke of electro-soul act Vokab Kompany, who just booked Irvine’s Lightning in a Bottle Festival over Memorial Day weekend. “Like, with literal freaks.” He cites as …

“It was a monumental effort and the best time we’ve had recording to date,” says Republic of Letters drummer Nick Venti on their debut album Painted Hour. “We really wanted to push our sound on …

Rock & Roll Rip-Off, the second novel in a San Diego–based rock ’n’ roll mystery trilogy, was released last week. “The first book, Rock & Roll Homicide, introduced Little Italy musician-turned-detective Jason Duffy, investigating the …

Keyboardist Bill Travis is a prog-inclined solo musician from Escondido. His 2009 release Eclectic Collection showcases his trippy and meandering soundcapes, which pulse and drone before exploding into Floydian bombast. Travis’s instrumental track “4 Hands” …

Thursday 22Dark prince pronoun HIM will conjure His Infernal Majesty with metal riffage at House of Blues tonight. The Finnish five-piece just released their seventh studio set for Sire called — set a spell — …

The Tin Can Ale House sits near a tranny bar and a liquor store at Fifth and Fir in Banker’s Hill. Look for the mural of a giant octopus sinking a galleon. Parking isn’t a …

‘Not my responsibility’ is the answer I get wherever I turn. When a government agency incorrectly collects taxes, why will no one accept responsibility?” said Kathy Casey, as she peered through black-rimmed glasses at the …

Spring is finally arriving in upper-elevation San Diego County. At mile-high elevations you can find lingering bursts of wildflower color amid the somber pines and bright-green black oaks. For a wide-ranging introduction to this mountain …

“Relevant teachings by Pastor Ed Turley,” advertised the Cornerstone Church website. “If you can’t use it on Monday, he won’t say it on Sunday!” The banners hanging on the walls at the church on Sunday …

The “ghosts” in Henrik Ibsen’s drama don’t go bump in the night. But they’re just as haunting. Only Mrs. Alving sees them. For 19 years she fought to keep her public image from collapsing. Pressures …

Who’ll be the winner of Szechuan Idol? The two local finalists for the most authentic Szechuan food in San Diego are Ba Ren and Dede’s. After thoroughly enjoying Dede’s (reviewed 10/22/08), I was eager to …

His Class Average Is Still Okay Up to now, Don Bauder has been doing low-A and high-B work in his columns covering the ongoing financial disaster. But in his April 15 column, he flunks the …

Five years after we first met in France, my dear friend Aurelie finally made good last week on her promise to visit me in America. Trotting away from the baggage claim at LAX, suitcases in …

Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal. — Albert Camus I stole a glance at the elderly couple seated to my left and wondered what they were in for. Dementia? …

Dear Matthew Alice: I cook a lot, and when I do I always wonder why fat from animals, like butter or lard, are solid, but fat from plants is liquid, like olive oil or canola …

There may be no free lunches in this world, but free dinners are another matter, at least when the City’s bond underwriters are picking up the tab and the diner is Jay M. Goldstone, top …

The campaign of ex–Safeco Insurance lobbyist and former assemblyman Juan Vargas, now running for state senate, got $1500 on April 5 from ex–city schools superintendent Alan Bersin. The Point Loma resident was recently named head …

Beautiful, the fourteen-hundred-pound round bale of sweet brome the grower and I roll from the back of his truck against the usual tree. The geldings can hardly contain themselves. They smelled and came running across …

In the financial industry, deregulation has been a disaster. So has regulation. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. In the past decade, the big Wall Street banks have concocted one highly complex swindle …

The Academy Award for foreign film is historically a hard one to handicap. That’s because the voters in that category must meet the requirement of actually seeing the nominees, all five of them, in effect …

“The future isn’t what it used to be,” sings Zach Rogue in “Good Morning (The Future)” from Rogue Wave’s new album, Permalight. His voice sounds high and sweet and so much like Ben Gibbard’s that …

If you’re driving north on I-5 and make the left turn onto I-580 heading toward the Bay Area, you may notice, just before you climb the last slight grade into Hayward, a prosperous suburb by …

Despite the fact that crime accosts daily life (we’re rather unaccustomed to guns and cadavers), some tijuanenses bicker about who is to be called a tijuanense and who is not. Is living in Tijuana enough …