By San Diego Entertainer | July 15, 2009

How to get to Street Scene

Street Scene is finally here San Diego, and it is going to be two days of music, fun, and excitement that any can enjoy. Taking place in San Diego’s historical Gas Lamp District, Street Scene is bursting out in full force. Many large bands from all over the country and the world, will be performing at the prestigious event this Friday and Saturday. Thousands are expected to be in attendance to enjoy the two day event. There will be plenty of fun in the sun, and debauchery in the night, with bars, food, and nightclubs located all around.

Becoming one of San Diego’s largest musical venues, Street Scene always draws a large crowd. Which presents the question, how will traffic be, the parking situation, and what is the best way to get down to the event?

For anyone who knows downtown San Diego you know that on Friday and Saturday nights, parking is all ready an issue. Now, add Street Scene to that equation, and parking issues are multiplied. Well don’t worry my musical compadre, there are a lot of options one has when considering transportation.

The first, and most obvious way to get to the event, would be to drive your own vehicle. Despite its convenience, the issues with self-transportation number in the many. Traffic will undoubtedly be atrocious, parking will be slim to none, and the exit strategy for this plan can rival that of the greatest feats. If you are still not convinced in abandoning your idea of driving , well here are a few suggestions. Rather than driving straight into downtown, park in the outskirts of the city. Areas such as North Park, Golden Hills, Hillcrest, Balboa Park, University Heights, and much more are well within the range of the city.

After you have parked get your local taxi number and give them a ring. Tell them your location and the amount of taxi’s you need to take you to the event. This solution not only alleviates all the said above problems, it also offers a chance encounter with one of San Diego’s awesome cabbies. You guys know what I’m talking about, that cabbie that hollers at all the women, and chats your ear off about the ladies in double D”s.

All in all you’ll probably pay around 22 dollars for transportation there and back, but it is well worth it.

Now, for the people that live close to downtown or want another mode of transportation, the MTS is your knight and shining armor. The MTS offers bus transportation, as well as San Diego’s renowned trolley system, which just won an award for outstanding service. These two routes will guarantee quick and easy access to the event without question.

Both the bus and trolley drop off right into the heart of the Gas Lamp, and are substantially cheaper than self-transport. The trolley cost 2.50 for a single travel or 5 dollars for a round-trip, the bus is around the same price as well. Time, and the obvious money issue make these two options the best in The Entertainers opinion. Besides you can people watch and enjoy the spectacle that is the transport system. Also you can catch all the drunks heading home to get that awesome Cali burrito, and you can bond on the splendors of Mexican food.

Whatever you choose, don’t drive, especially if you are going to drink. Be safe and be smart, because you can’t party when you’re knee deep in the piss ridden county jail. So enjoy your fun, but don’t be that person searching for parking for 2 hours and miss all your bands because you didn’t listen to The Entertainer. If are that person Godspeed my friend, and see you on Monday when you find parking.

The count-down to Street Scene begins!

Street Scene 2009 is almost here! The Entertainer is proud to announce extensive coverage of Street Scene 2009. For those of you that are too busy to make it down to East Village this weekend, stay tuned next week for the digital experience, with photos, videos and more.

Street Scene has brought us the best San Diego music festival year after year, and they are really outdoing themselves for the 25th anniversary show! Last year’s line-up included Beck, Atmosphere, Tegan and Sara, Cold War Kids, and TV on The Radio to name a few. But this year, we’re all in for a treat. Attendees can look forward to headliners Black Eyes Peas, Modest Mouse, Cake, M.I.A., Thievery Corporation and over 40 other great bands appearing on five stages.

The countdown really begins as we’re only three days away! You can still get a two day pass this week for only $95.00 with waived ticket fees through the Street Scene website. This event is an all ages show, starting this Friday, August 28th at 4:00 p.m. to midnight and continuing on Saturday with the same schedule.

To read other Entertainer Street Scene articles and line-up information visit our special events page here.

Celebrating the 25th anniversary! Check out these throw back event fliers from 1984’s Street Scene:

Flying High with Delta Spirit

Delta Spirit is one of the fastest growing bands in the music industry today. Eclectic and unique, they are rapidly becoming one of Southern California’s bands on the must see list.

Set to play at this upcoming Street Scene, and looking to release a new album in 2010 titled, Natalie Portman Says This Album will Change Your Life. Delta Spirit are storming onto the music scene, and making a lasting impact with their passionate and powerful artistry.

Jonathan Jameson(no relation to Jenna Jameson), one of the founders of Delta Spirit gave the Entertainer a little insight on the bands success and ideas on music.

AC: Hey, how’s it going?

Jonathan: Doing good, doing good.

AC: Where are all the other cohorts of Delta Spirit.

Jonathan: I just saw Matt… Matt, Kelly, and I live together at a house in Long Beach now. Kelly’s recording one of our friends right now, and Matt just took off to do some laundry.

AC: Just got a couple of questions for you here, so here it goes. You and Brandon, were in a punk band together before, what made you guys transition from punk-music to the music you play now?

Jonathan: Brandon and I played together for a long time and we always wanted to play with Matt. I guess it’s kind of what we agreed upon. We were trying to find something that felt like we all could honestly be who we wanted to be, without totally pretending to be someone else. We didn’t totally identify with the Southern California vibe. So I think the next thing was, ya know, the fact that we were American, and we identified with folk-music that came out of America, the soul music and all that kind of stuff. At the same point, we didn’t want to be a throw back band so we kind of did whatever we wanted to.

Wanting to embrace all the music that came out of here (meaning America), we didn’t want to lock ourselves into any type of specific thing, so we are open to everything.

AC: What made you decide to record Ode to Sunshine on your own, rather than going with a record label?

Jonathan: There was a couple of offers and none of them really made sense at that point. We wanted the freedom of being able to do it our way, so we went that route, and it went well. However, with this next album we aren’t going to do it the same way we did the last one. We’re taking our time, doing it in an actual studio, it’s different, but I’m really happy we did the first one that way. Recording ourselves, and putting it out ourselves was what made sense, because none of the labels felt right to us.

AC: When your making songs for your albums, how do you guys know a song is going in the direction you want it to?

Jonathan: The beginning of the songs usually start from Matt or Kelly. Matt being the singer and Kelly playing the keys; amongst other things. They are the two that can actually sing really well. So they write the melodies and some chords, then they bring it in and we try it as a whole band.

Trying it as a band we will usually do it a couple different ways. Try it as a quiet song, or try it as a punk song, or a loud rock song, who knows. It’s really just a matter if all five of us are feeling it, and all five of us have pretty strong opinions, so… for all of us to be enjoying a song we know it. If people aren’t enjoying it, it’s pretty obvious, if its not coming together, and doesn’t make sense, it falls pretty flat. When a song does come together, feels right, we are all excited to be playing something we know is there.

AC: What message would you say you are trying to send with the songs you make? What are you trying to tell people?

Jonathan: I don’t really think there is a specific message. The only message that would be cohesive between all our messages would be that life is really a gift, and is important. The time we have, we can’t waste with pointless stuff.

The ironic thing of a band is, a lot of people consider that pointless, but we feel as a band we can’t see the product of what we are doing. We get home from touring and we are like, “what am I doing with my life”. At the same point there is something beautiful about music, and something beautiful in being able to do it as a way of life, travel around and see the people that are affected by it.

I don’t know if there is a specific message, but we are at a stand point on the importance of making music.

AC: Can you explain the diversity of tools you guys use in some of your songs, such as garbage can tops and boards?

Jonathan: It wasn’t really a definitive decision, but in a band with four or five people some of the songs don’t need three guitars and stuff like that. People would get bored and start hitting stuff and bringing other instruments into it, and whatever was around at the moment. It wasn’t intentional production, it kind of was haphazardly added.

AC: Coming from San Diego, how has it inspired your music?

Jonathan: I’m glad that there was a music scene when I was growing up. That I could go to weird little shows at all kinds of places, at warehouses, and churches when I was a kid. Then finding places like The Che Cafe and The Casbah once it finally got going. There’s always good music around….but it’s not like Los Angeles and New York. Its not an epicenter of music, but it still always had interesting things happening. I don’t know culturally if I’m very influenced by San Diego, but I’d say that I am grateful for the fact that it was a place where the arts are appreciated. It also helped in making it easier to meet new people, and expand in the music scene. Allowing us to start playing descent shows and get out there more. It’s been good, I still love San Diego.

AC: How was it being on Conan O’ Brien and Carson Daly?

Jonathan: It was a cool experience, Conan was the most exciting for me because it was the first Television thing we had, and Conan is the best.

AC: Is he really as big as he looks?

Jonathan: Yeah man, he is gigantic. We had a lot of fun, and he really liked us a lot and said of lot of cool things to us, it was great! All the other ones were as fun and exciting too.

AC: Did you guys have a sense of success when you got on the shows?

Jonathan: I don’t know if we felt like we had made it, like this was it, ya know? We were really honored to be on the show, and plus it was really exciting and fun.

AC: Whats new with you guys, and what can your fans look forward too?

Jonathan: We are starting on the next album right now, it’s going to be a slow process, it’s not going to come out until early next year or something…. but its in the works. We built a practice space in the back of our house here, and we’ve been working on our songs. Recorded a few songs up in the studio at Sonoma County, above San Francisco, kind of out in the woods in this little barn. Its a real cool studio, Tom Waits made some records there…another fellow San Diegan. It should be good we are working on it.

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Street Scene waives service charges for tickets (today and tomorrow only)

In case you haven’t seen the ads plastered on every billboard and bus in San Diego, Street Scene is coming to downtown’s East Village and is now only two weeks away (cue excited applause).

This year, promoters have managed to secure another solid lineup, but as in any recession, there are your share of fans reluctant to fork over the cash for tickets — which are running at $65 for a one-day pass and $122 for a two-day pass. When you add in the fees and taxes, it can certainly become a drag on your wallet.

In this recession economy, the summer concert season has taken a hit. Some promoters have been perfectly okay with seeing more empty seats at venues than usual. Others, like LiveNation have taken steps to lower prices via discounts and two-for-one offers.

The folks at Street Scene also have a recession-busting trick up their sleeve. For Thursday, August 13th (today) and Friday, August 14th you can purchase your single and two day tickets without paying any service fees. Yes, you heard right — no additional service fees if you purchase your tickets prior to this weekend!

So if you’ve been lazy like me and failed to pick up a ticket, today should be your day to do it. And if you’re really good at procrastination, you can wait till tomorrow.

Street Scene happens August 28 and 29 in the Tailgate lot near PETCO Park and surrounding streets in the East Village. Headlining bands include the Black Eyed Peas, Modest Mouse, Cake, Conor Oberst, M.I.A., Thievery Corporation, the Dead Weather and the Silversun Pickups.

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Street Scene – Set days announced, single day tickets on sale

As far as San Diego events go, Street Scene is one of the largest. For two nights, some of the biggest names in the music industry will gather in the East Village.

Since the lineup was announced until early this week, tickets were sold in a two-day package. Now, single day tickets are also on sale.

The single day tickets are going for $65, and the two-day passes are $122. The announcement was also coupled with the official schedule of the bands, as far as whether they would be playing Friday or Saturday.

If you want to attend this year’s Street Scene you better jump on the tickets now. If the past is any indication to the future, the tickets will go fast, and also will increase in price as the date creeps up. Buying tickets early will help you avoid the rush of last minute searches on Craigslist for way over priced tickets.

Below is a list of the days that each band will play, take a look and see which day you want to go, because now you can purchase single day tickets (provided by the Street Scene website).

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Beastie Boy Adam Yauch has an Ill Communication

Sad, sad “heavy” news. This morning, via beastieboys.com, MCA [a.k.a. Adam Yauch] made the announcement that he has been diagnosed with cancer in his salivary gland. Fighting back nervous laughter, the band released a statement on YouTube, with Yauch explaining the “pain in the ass” of why their tour will be cancelled and their record release will be pushed back. This form of cancer is treatable with surgery and radiation, so says MCA himself, and there is no threat of any damage to his voice which he remarks is, “Nice… and convenient.” Yauch even goes on further to apologize to the fans for the inconvenience of him having cancer and if anyone’s schedules are going to get messed up. The audacity of these punks!

I don’t think it’s too much to assume their recent addition to Street Scene will be rescinded, but on behalf of everyone: Getter better soon, man, and we’ll catch you on the next one!