Exile Nation: The Plastic People of the Tijuana River canal
Filmmaker Charles Shaw addresses the difficult reality behind deportation, homelessness, and drug abuse.
If you’ve ever crossed the pedestrian bridge over the Tijuana River canal, you’ve no doubt seen dozens of people living among its garbage-strewn banks in makeshift ñongos – ramshackle structures built from trash and river detritus. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/feb/26/40773/ Some may have …
The Void: Vampire Slayer, Late Nite Howl, Marcelo Radulovich, and Monsterpussy
An eclectic, transborder lineup fills The Void in City Heights
A few days ago, I posted a blog heralding the return of resurrected Mexicali dance/noise punk icons Maniqui Lazer to San Diego on Wednesday, March 6 at The Office. Core member Valentin Torres aka Vampire Slayer will be in town …
Commune 5-year anniversary with Dead Feather Moon and Adam Salter
Anti-big tobacco monthly, Commune, celebrates at Whistle Stop in South Park
On Wednesday, February 27 at Whistle Stop (2236 Fern Street - South Park), Commune celebrates five years of fighting “tobacco corporations, their practices and their presence in the scene.” Last November, Reader contributor Lara McCaffrey blurted about the monthly affair, …
Mexicali weirdpunk: Maniqui Lazer and Batwings at The Office
Baja dance punks Maniqui Lazer strike in North Park.
On Wednesday, March 6, Club 1979 (first and third Wednesdays) presents perhaps the loudest lineup The Office (3936 30th St. – North Park) has seen since it was the comparatively rough-and-tumble Scolari’s Office. Maniqui Lazer put Mexicali’s then-bustling experimental punk/hardcore …
New Mexico, New World: Alpha Male single
New Mexico gears up for post-punk LP debut
New Mexico (née Apes of Wrath) will be self-releasing their debut LP, Malpais, on Tuesday, April 23. The album deviates from their ornate and melodic Have You Met My Friend? EP (2010) and instead invokes a more mechanical, new wave/post-punk …
Octa#grape blows up garage with Emotional Oil
Featuring members of Soul-Junk, Trumans Water, fluf, and Olivelawn, Octa#grape a breath of fresh air in dusty garage.
Can we all agree that garage rock has reached an impasse? Don't get me wrong. I love fuzzed out guitars, lo-fi drum tracks, and retro vocals as much as the next guy - and San Diego has got its share …
Emerald Rats: Everyday Obstacle EP
Mike Turi of Wild Wild Wets delves into dark, synth-based solo project.
Psychedelic party rockers Wild Wild Wets recently returned from a West Coast tour with local garage coldwavers Barbarian, during which they released their debut Criminal Blue EP via Grizzly Records, who will have a limited run of 300 blue 7" …
Jill Holslin: Tijuana Alley Art photo series in Normal Heights
Street Art and graffiti photos with wheatpastes and paintings from Tijuana artists 1102, Panca, and Spel Uno.
Photographer and SDSU lecturer Jill Holslin will be opening her Tijuana Alley Art series at Visual (3524 Adams Ave. – Normal Heights) on Saturday, March 9 - 6 to 10 p.m. Holslin’s photos provide a glimpse of the ubiquitous graffiti …
Adult Puppet Cabaret and Heather Henson's Handmade Puppet Dreams at MoPA
Local puppet troupe and traveling puppet film festival in Balboa Park with Nice World, Justine Babyteeth, and Trio Gadjo.
On Friday, February 22, the Adult Puppet Cabaret will team up with Handmade Puppet Dreams for a night of live puppetry, short films, and music at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park. Heather Henson’s Handmade Puppet Dreams Vol.4, …
Twin Cabins: With Benefits
Bedroom dream pop chillwaver Nacho Cano posts new track.
“I have this great admiration for girls and in particular my closest (girl) friends,” Nacho Cano of bedroom project Twin Cabins told the Reader last September. “I allow them into my life and I let them get close. Over time, …
Manuok: Count on Us video
Fronted by Scott Mercado (Via Satellite, Mr. Tube, Tristeza), Manuok drops video for Traps single.
Manuok posted a video for their single “Count on Us” from Traps, released in the U.S. last September. The stop motion video was made by Italo-Franco folk-rock group Grimoon, who Manuok frontman Scott Mercado met in 2005 while touring Europe …
Parachute Factory: art and music from the margins
Downtown warehouse will host over 30 local artists including Exist 1981, Joshua Krause, Bujwah Strangers, Eric Wixon, and Tocayo.
On Saturday, February 16, digital creatives Mindgruve are teaming up with Yeller Studio, non-profit Sezio, and musical residents of the Sweat Lodge warehouse to throw a Downtown party (627 8th Ave.) dubbed Parachute Factory. http://vimeo.com/58733886 The bi-level warehouse is the …
Records Collecting Dust: a film about the music that changed our lives
Documentary features members of Black Flag, The Locust, Hot Snakes, Heroin, Sleep, the Jesus Lizard, Drive Like Jehu, and many more.
Local musicians Jason Blackmore (Otro, Rats Eyes, Sirhan Sirhan, Molly McGuire) and David Robles (Wha?, Marsupials) posted a trailer today for their pending documentary Records Collecting Dust - Volume One: the California Edition. Simply described as “a film about the …
Russian hip hop innovator DJ Vadim comes to Kava Lounge
Ninja Tune producer hits Middletown with locals Bency, Mawkus, and Collagey.
Born in Leningrad, USSR (now Saint Petersburg, Russia), producer DJ Vadim has worked with a list of pivotal artists as diverse as Kraftwerk, Prince, The Roots, and Super Furry Animals in his electronic exploration of hip hop, reggae, and soul. …
Baja Prog festival returns to Mexicali
Baja Prog 2013 features prog-rock luminaries including members of King Crimson
Mexicali progressive music conclave Baja Prog is returning to Baja California’s capital this spring following a four year hiatus. Festival director Alfonso Vidales pulled the plug on Prog in 2008 after some of the event’s major sponsors backed out. The …
Author & Punisher sets off on U.S. tour
One-man industrial doom-drone band tours with A Life Once Lost.
“There are a lot of ideas to what heavy is,” says Tristan Shone of one-man industrial doom-drone band Author & Punisher. “You can be really smart about the way you're heavy or really cliché when you're heavy. It's not a …
Tijuana gallery Otras Obras opens installation of short video works
Afterparty next door at Moustache Bar with Maria y Jose, Samo Sound Boy, and Jerome LOL.
Temporary Tijuana art space Otras Obras opened their inaugural exhibition, To Preserve Disorder, during a blowout weekend in November concurrent with international music events Festival Norte Sonoro and All My Friends. This Friday, February 8 (6 to 10 p.m.), Otras …
Ruff Draft 2: Art and music inspired by hip hop legend J Dilla
Andre Power hosts opening at Zion Lounge in College Area
The career of Detroit hip hop producer James ‘J Dilla’ Yancey was tragically cut short in 2006 when the 32-year-old visionary passed away from a rare blood disorder. Dewitt’s legacy (which included work with A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes, …