Neighborhood: North Park 3794 30th St San Diego, CA92104 (619) 255-8778
The Linkery has been in the North Park mix for years now and in their new location for one or two. I couldn’t remember having ever been.
But tonight was the night and what a delicious night it was with my special lady friend. Despite the unbelievably hard-to-read menu I was able to navigate quite a few edible options for my discerning palate. Updated daily online in pdf format (a nice, tech-savvy touch) take your time and read over it two or three times; something is sure to, ahem, pop up. Poached wild Mexican fluke (whys he gotta be mexican. why can’t he just be a fluke??), pesto grilled flatbread, grass-fed burger.
The grilled snow peas were off the hook, er grill. The pak choi not so much according to my friggin HOT date. I went with the single link, roasted garlic chicken sausage picnic plate (potato salad and and a nice un-creamy slaw). The portobello tacos were in effect. Carrot cake and beer bread pudding brought up the rear. A little pricey but a lot tasty.
Yes, They are still together. Yes, They still play live. Yes, they look/are old. Yes, they still fucking rock. A wise man once told me something to the effect that age has no bearing on the ability to rock the fuck out (i.e. Nick Cave, Neil Young). We were shown exactly what he meant by that on this night by the All Powerful Sonic Youth.
Selections were mostly from their brilliant, most recent record The Eternal (Check the setlist below). They also played several selections from Daydream Nation which just happens to be my hands down favorite album of theirs. The Sprawl, Cross the Breeze, Hey Joni. They did not play Teenage Riot so I was not able to die happily on this night.
A wonderful show accompanied by a special old friend and we even ran into another special old friend. Great show, good night.
Setlist:
No Way
Sacred Trickster
Calming the Snake
Hey Joni
Anti-Orgasm
Poison Arrow
Walkin Blue
Stereo Sanctity
Malibu Gas Station
Antenna
Leaky Lifeboat
What We Know
Massage the History
-Encore -
The Sprawl
‘Cross the Breeze
Counterpoint
Neighborhood: Golden Hill
830 25th St
(619) 564-6722
Here we go again with the new spots. And what a delightful new spot it is too. Open until midnight, Counterpoint is a pleasant addition to the Golden Hill Culinary scene. They just opened so stay tuned for website and menu links.
In the meantime cruise in there admire the clean design and start with the artisan grilled cheese sliders. When they say small, they mean small. What they don’t say is delicious, which is what they and their accompanying salad are. Appetizers, sandwiches (our favorite), salads, beer and wine are on deck. We are looking forward to what this joint will bring. Go make it happen.
Admittedly, I do not own any of these guys’ music. However, that’s not of much consequence since this band is all about their energetic live show anyway. And what a show this was. Besides the fact that I was lucky enough to roll with a fun (and attractive) group of friends this annual holiday show had all the stops pulled. Stage guests included Charlie Tuna, Cut Chemist, Martha Gonzalez (Quetzal), Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, et al. Major energy. Expensive-ass drinks.
Welcome back, indeed. Psychedelic hometown heroes, Tristeza made a triumphant return on this Saturday night. Drew Andrews and Kill me Tomorrow opened the gig on this wonderful rainy evening in San Diego. My crew was out in fullest force. What!?!?
The current lineup ran through what seemed like a quick set culled almost exclusively from their new record, Fate Unfolds. To me this record sounded considerably more upbeat than previous works. Heavier latin rhythms combined with the deep, deep bass grooves and the intertwining guitar lines we have come to know so well. If there were any questions whether these guys could get down, rest assured folks these cats stay on it.
Neighborhood: Kensington 4116 Adams Ave San Diego, CA92116
(619) 584-2929
This review breaks our unintended soft opening streak. We just learned about this place on my way to the homies crib. Apparently it’s been open for over a year.
The menu is minimal, just like my personal aesthetic. The venue is small and stylish. Which basically means good luck finding a seat. The burgers are not too big, not too small and very, very tasty. I had the turkey burger. One of the best I’ve ever had at any restaurant in town. ADAMNT had the same and added an order of onion rings. It’s not the most reasonably priced burger in town. But I can say they make up for it with their service which is not unlike the food; not too much, not too little. Catch a show at The Ken, hit these guys up and then come see us at the Ken Club. Add whiskey and stir.
This was the best Cafe Tacuba show I have ever seen. And I’ve seen these guys play a lot. This was also the second show I’ve been to this year where the crowd was as loud or louder than the lead singer. Veinte Años. Twenty years. That’s what these guys were celebrating this time through. They did so by playing deep album cuts from all of their records.
They opened up with their hardest shit. The industrial-ish El Borrego, punk shit, ska shit. Before I knew it I was on the edge of a huge moshpit trying to remember the last time I was on the edge of a huge moshpit. This show was off the fucking hook. So much energy, such a cool vibe. Great band, old songs. New songs too. fast ones, slow ones, hard ones, ambient interludes; It was going down. Gracias y suerte para otros veinte!
The DJ known as Artistic is putting in the work. We should all be enjoying his labors. Dude already brought out Cappadonna and Abstract Rude this year. This time, Art took it to the stratosphere by bringing in the inventor of Hip Hop, Kool Herc!
Kool came on just after midnight to rock an all vinyl set. His ‘Tools’ he called them. “No monitor”, He instructed. “It gives me a false impression of whats going on on the dancefloor.” Though, the guy wasn’t mixing records per se what else can you say? This guy fucking invented Hip Hop.
