Punktastic

Chris Cresswell, Brian Wahlstrom, Zach Quinn @ Soda Bar, San Diego

Paul Silver — Sun, 22 Sep 2019 16:21:43 +0000

The One Week Records tour came through San Diego again, but this time, instead of label boss Joey Cape, Flatliners’ front man Chris Cresswell joined in the fun, along with Brian Wahlstrom (Scorpios, Gods of Mount Olympus) and Zach Quinn (Pears). Wahlstrom and Quinn have been working together a lot, lately, forming the new project, Band-Aid Brigade, so the tour saw them playing two sets together, rather than separate solo sets. Cresswell performed an acoustic set of gorgeous songs, too. And all three played together on a few songs, aided by a saxophone-playing friend. The night was relaxed and laid-back, but loaded with humor and fun.

Bad Cop/Bad Cop, Dog Party, Pity Party @ Soda Bar, San Diego

Paul Silver — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 07:32:52 +0000

It was party night at San Diego’s Soda Bar! Reaching the penultimate stop of a tour that saw these three bands go from the Rocky Mountains, through the American Midwest, to the Southwestern deserts, and back to California over a two week period, Bad Cop/Bad Cop were in top form, belting out hits from their two Fat Wreck Chords LPs. The two “party” bands did their part to keep things lively, too. Sacramento, California’s Dog Party played their brand of two-piece pop punk, and the Bay Area’s Pity Party played an amazing set of what they call “bummer punk.”

La Escalera Fest 7 – Thursday Night @ Soda Bar, San Diego

Paul Silver — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 08:40:35 +0000

“Without each other, we have nothing!” That simple statement provides the mission statement for La Escalera Records, and has guided it for the past seven years. La Escalera began as a collection of like-minded punk bands up and down the West Coast of the United States, bands that helped each other book tours, providing places to play and places to stay. San Diego’s Will Castro and Ziggy Pelayo took the next step and started the record label to put out music from these bands, and a year later invited a few of the bands to San Diego for the first La Escalera Fest. Since that first year, the fest has grown.

The First night of La Escalera Fest 7 focused primarily on bands with a harder edge, with New Orleans’ Pears headlining a show that included their hometown friends High, Fat By The Gallon from Dallas, and a raft of Southern California locals.

Awesome Fest 11 Sunday @ The Office, Bar Pink, Soda Bar, & Space Bar, San Diego

Paul Silver — Fri, 23 Mar 2018 10:17:38 +0000

The final day of Awesome Fest 11 arrived with afternoon shows, once again. Iron Chic filled The Office to capacity, so there was no getting in after seeing Tiltwheel’s set over at Bar Pink.

The Sunday night shows at Awesome Fest are always bittersweet. Some of the best sets happen Sunday night, but also it’s time to say good-bye to many friends for yet another year. Often people who have flown in for the weekend have early flights home and start disappearing throughout the evening. But those who made it through to the end were rewarded with an amazing set from veterans Samiam.

Awesome Fest 11 Saturday @ The Office, Bar Pink, Soda Bar, & Space Bar, San Diego

Paul Silver — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 09:03:05 +0000

The Awesome Fest daytime shows don’t start until mid-afternoon, but you still encounter many a bleary-eyed or hung-over punk wandering in after the first few bands have already played. The daytime shows were held at The Office, as usual, and Bar Pink, a new venue for this fest. Bar Pink is closer to The Office than previous venue U31, and is partly owned by John Reis of Rocket From The Crypt, Drive Like Jehu, Hot Snakes, and others. Anchoring the Saturday afternoon shows was Bad Cop/Bad Cop.

After an afternoon spent partying with bands and booze, many attendees took a power nap in order to re-energize for the night’s festivities, while others simply grabbed a quick dinner and headed back to Soda Bar and Space Bar. As always, the night started out lightly attended and ended packed. Tonight’s closers were Toys That Kill, but other highlights included Chicago’s Canadian Rifle and Los Angeles’ Dimber.

Awesome Fest 11 Friday Night @ Soda Bar & Space Bar, San Diego

Paul Silver — Mon, 19 Mar 2018 10:31:38 +0000

At long last, the wait was over! Friends from all over the country and the world converged on San Diego for a wild weekend of music, beer, burritos, whiskey, and pizza. The eleventh annual installment of the DIY punk and pop punk festival known as Awesome Fest had its official opening on a Friday night in mid February. Headlining the opening night was Fat Wreck Chords’ Dead To Me. As always, the night shows were split between San Diego’s Soda Bar and the newly rechristened Space Bar down the street, under new ownership.

Awesome Fest 11 Thursday Night Pre-Fest @ Soda Bar, San Diego

Paul Silver — Mon, 19 Mar 2018 09:38:52 +0000

It was a long year and a half wait since Awesome Fest 10, as the organizers wisely decided to move the DIY punk and pop punk extravaganza from its early September date to mid February. The more diverse line-up plus scheduling at a time when most of the country is blanketed in snow and suffering the cold meant more people were excited at the prospect of a long weekend in sunny warm San Diego. Because of this the festival sold out for the first time since Awesome Fest 7. As is tradition, a pre-Fest show happened the night before the official opening, with some of the touring acts getting in extra sets and providing an opportunity to showcase some local San Diego bands. This year’s pre-Fest included sets from Chicago’s Typesetter, San Antonio, Texas’ Signalman, and locals Maniac!, Slaughter Boys, Ninja Night Race, and Santa Ana Knights. Rounding out the evening was “super group” Shallow Cuts, whose members reside in San Diego and Minneapolis, so live sets from them are infrequent.

Joey Cape, Zach Quinn, Brian Wahlstrom, Donald Spence @ Soda Bar, San Diego

Paul Silver — Mon, 12 Feb 2018 09:13:47 +0000

One Week Records brought the acoustic circus to San Diego, featuring four of their heavy hitters. But rather than being four distinct performances, as each musician began his set, one or more of the others would join in for some of the songs. As Zach Quinn (of the band Pears) put it, that way it’s more like they’re just hanging out. Lagwagon’s Joey Cape, the guiding force behind One Week Records, headlined the evening, and was joined by Quinn, Brian Wahlstrom (Scorpios, Gods of Mount Olympus), and Donald Spence (Versus the World).

Svetlanas, Bossfight, Authentic Sellout, The Mandoshanks @ Soda Bar, San Diego

Paul Silver — Mon, 24 Apr 2017 20:56:12 +0000

The punks came out of the woodwork in San Diego on a Saturday night to congregate at the Soda Bar. The occasion was the appearance of Russian exiles Svetlanas. For their anti-Putin rhetoric, the bad has been declared enemies of the state and told they will be arrested if they return home. So they have been living in various European countries and are spending the month of April doing a Monday night residency at Los Angeles’ Whiskey-a-Go-Go, filling in their days between with shows along the West Coast of the USA. Joining Svetlanas this night were local punk bands Bossfight, Authentic Sellout, and The Mandoshanks, all offering up honest raw punk music.

Teenage Bottlerocket, The Mr. T Experience, Nobodys @ Soda Bar, San Diego

Paul Silver — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 09:35:56 +0000

Pop punk came to San Diego in full force on a recent Friday night, when three bands invaded the Soda Bar. Teenage Bottle Rocket came for their first local show since the untimely death of drummer Brandon Carlisle a year and a half ago. The Mr. T Experience is continuing their pattern of short localised tours since the release of their first new album in over a decade. And the same was true for Colorado’s Nobodys, a band active in the latter half of the 1990s that’s back with new material and a new record.