Local venue report

Lots of changes happening 'round our town’s live venue circuit, not the least of which is the much lamented loss of Croce's downtown. Look for its newest incarnation in Bankers Hill, Croce's Park West, set to open on January 19.

Have you seen the new Jimi Hendrix/Johnny Cash mural adorning the exterior wall at Winstons in O.B.? We were worried about the status of Jose Sinatra's long-running weekly Sunday night karaoke show at the venue, after he was recently diagnosed with congestive heart failure. We phoned Sinatra (aka one-time movie theater chain manager Bill Richardson), and he assured us that “Despite many years of unhealthy living and abusing my body, I’m making a lot of changes and plan to be keep doing the show for a long time.”

Look for an upcoming Reader feature on Richardson’s colorful memories of running the local Landmark and midnight movie chains, dating back to the early '70s and covering that long-gone era when Jaws made you afraid of the water, Friday the 13th made you fear hockey masks, and Star Trek: The Motion Picture made you afraid of sequels.

If you’re keen to see a rock show in an unusual venue on January 4, head over to Sector 9 Warehouse in Clairemont, where the skate/surf/snowboard shop will present sets by Space Wax, a rock band of San Diego natives, and Chango Rey, a one man band from El Centro. They’ll be playing a free show for a small local skateboard magazine's five-year anniversary.

Cafe Panini in Carlsbad, which opened several months ago, will now be hosting acoustic music shows, such as Bearfoot Beast on January 4 and Alaina Blair on January 25, playing sets from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The place has craft beers, wine, and champagne for pretty much all tastes, and there’s now an Open Mic night every Wednesday open to musicians, comedians, and spoken word artists.

Brick by Brick in Linda Vista has apparently had some mysterious shuffling going on since mid-December regarding their liquor sales. We’re told of a notice on the front door for awhile noting the temporary suspension of liquor sales and, for alcohol, they've apparently been directing people next door to Bull's BBQ. We’ve tried contacting venue reps with no reply, but we’ll check with ABC and will update ASAP.

The Void in City Heights ceased having live bands perform around December 15, and we’ve been unable to get ahold of a schedule indicating any upcoming live shows. No replies to phone or email queries either, so we’ll probably have someone heading over there tonight or tomorrow to see wassup.