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ABOVE: Nervous Wreckcords Z ACH A N D R E W S
The Howls N IC O R IC O Y
The Great American Showcase WHEN: Sept. 4, 2 to 10 p.m. WHERE: El Dorado Cocktail Lounge (and adjacent parking lot), downtown TICKETS: $20 advance, $25 at the door INFO: greatamericanshowcase.us, keep-a-breast.org
SEPTEMBER MUSIC CALENDAR
Lyon Crowns
Kaskade
THE CURRENT’S RAGE
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lug into an outdoor electronic music experience September 2, when Skullcandy’s IDentity Festival lays serious cable at Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre. Some of the nation’s top electronic DJs and musicians will juice the massive all-day dance jam, which is part of the first touring show of its genre to zap every major outdoor venue in North America. The ultrasensory event on three stages boasts 20 live performances and DJ sets, including Disco Biscuits, Steve Aoki, Aeroplane, Afrojack, The Crystal Method, LA Riots, international house hero Kaskade and the appropriately named Pretty Lights. Clap on/clap off to your heart’s content. —Alyson Baker pacificsandiego.com
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Vista Tickets: $50 and up Info: idfestival.com
R ICH C O O K
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On Auto Pilot Joshua Epstein of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. First Car: 1996 Jeep Cherokee with a cassette player Current Car: 2000 Volkswagen Passat and new Honda Insight (“an affordable lease”) Dream Car: Fully-restored vintage DeLorean
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
To that end, the location will be decked out in a turn-of-the-20th century vaudevillian theme—harking to the variety stage shows that were popular when the first Labor Day was observed in New York City on Tuesday, September 5, 1882. Outdoor Stage: The Soft Pack, Nervous Wreckords, DJ Numark, The Howls, The Creepy Creeps, Old English, Grand Tarantula, Lyon Crowns, Joy, Euphoria Brass, Brand, Adam Salter. Indoor Stage: Kevin Martin, Corey Biggs, Bubble Gum Sci-Fi, Saul Q, Profile, Blancnoir, DJ All Good, The Kabbs. —Christine Pasalo
9/2: Explosions in the Sky w/ Twin Sister @ Soma, somasandiego.com 9/2: Hardwell @ Voyeur, voyeursd.com 9/2-4: Awesome Fest @ multiple North Park venues, awesomefest5.com 9/2: Friday Night Jumpoff (DJ Artistic) @ U31, u31bar.com 9/2: Identity Festival @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre, livenation.com 9/3: DJ Pauly D @ Hard Rock Hotel San Diego, interventionsd.com 9/4: Ben Harper @ Del Mar Racetrack, delmarscene.com 9/4: Intervention Sunday w/ Martin Solveig @ Hard Rock Hotel, interventionsd.com 9/6 & 9: Los Amigos Invisibles @ House of Blues, hob.com 9/7-8: Thievery Corporation @ House of Blues, hob.com 9/9: The Kills @ House of Blues, hob.com 9/10: Ocean Beach Music and Art Festival @ Newport Avenue, obmusicfest.org 9/12: Tears for Fears, @ Humphreys, humphreysconcerts.com 9/12: 91-cent drink Mondays w/ DJs Colourvision and Qenoe @ U-31, u31bar.com 9/13: Ray Laymontagne @ Copley Symphony Hall, sandiegosymphony.org 9/14: The Vaccines w/ Tennis @ The Casbah, casbahmusic.com 9/16-17: Bon Iver @ Spreckels Theatre, spreckels.net 9/17: White Hills @ Soda Bar, sodabarmusic.com 9/17: Caifanes @ Valley View Casino Center, valleyviewcasinocenter.com 9/18: Intervention Sunday w/ DJ Steve Aoki @ Hard Rock Hotel, interventionsd.com 9/18: Rascal Flatts w/ guests @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre, livenation.com 9/18: Ke$ha @ SDSU Open Air Theatre, stubhub.com 9/21: Santana @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre, livenation.com 9/21: Bright Eyes w/ Kurt Vile & The Violators @ Soma, somasandiego.com 9/23: Ladytron @ House of Blues, hob.com 9/24: TV on the Radio w/ Arctic Monkeys @ SDSU Open Air Theatre, stubhub.com 9/21: Buddy Guy @ BellyUp Tavern, bellyup.com 9/22: Marc Anthony @ Viejas Arena, stubhub.com IDentity Festival 9/28: Steve Earl @ House of Blues, hob.com When: Sept. 2, 1 p.m. 9/30: Portugal. The Man @ House of Blues, hob.com Where: Cricket Wireless 9/30: Peter Bjorn & John @ BellyUp Tavern, bellyup.com Amphitheatre, Chula
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What: San Diego Music Thing When: Sept. 9-10 Where: Conference at Lafayette Hotel, 2223 El Cajon Blvd., North Park; music performances at various venues Tickets: $45 to $50 for two-day conference pass, all shows; $25 to $28 for one-day conference and that day’s shows Info: sandiegomusicthing.com
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oss shop-talking musicians, producers and indie enthusiasts together with more than 150 local, regional and national bands, and you’ve got the fourth annual San Diego Music Thing. By day, the September 9-10 conference and festival, based at North Park’s historic Lafayette Hotel, features a trade show, pop-up performances and interactive roundtables with renowned industry pros. (“The Resurgence of Indie Labels,” with legendary Dead Kennedys co-founder and political activist Jello Biafra, is one panel highlight.) After dark, punk’s elder stateswoman Exene Cervenka and the Motor Citybased pop band Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. are among the acts set to do their thing at 14 venues citywide. —Pat Sherman
ardrums will be doing overtime Labor Day Weekend when downtown’s El Dorado Cocktail Lounge rolls out the Great American Showcase on September 4. Billed by organizers as “San Diego’s next big thing in art, charity and music”—with one dollar for every ticket sold going to the youth-focused cancer foundation Keep A Breast— the Sunday gig-athon features top local musical acts including The Soft Pack, Euphoria Brass Band and Nervous Wreckords, plus turntable trickery from Jurassic 5’s DJ Numark and others. Just don’t call the event a music festival. “Every time some bar or club has a few bands, they call it a festival,” says El Dorado’s marketing and entertainment director, Justin Fortier. “The name ‘Great American Showcase’ was chosen because we wanted to celebrate an era when hard work really meant something.”
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Reunited Thingdom
Great American Showcase puts local bands to work for charity
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The Frail
Cause for Applause