All weekend long, starting at noon on Friday, there’s the GEM FAIR at the Del Mar Fairground. Over 35 years it’s been running. Crystals, gemstones, fossils, beads, and much more. The $7 admission covers you for all three days.
But if your definition of “rock” is music and not gemstones, let us “show you the way.” In ESCONDIDO at The Grand Ritz Theater on Friday night, a couple tribute acts. One is for ROD STEWART. I’m sure you’ll hear a few tunes from his rock era, his disco era, and maybe even a tune from the standards he does from the great American songbook. We just saw PETER FRAMPTON get inducted into the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame. His impersonator will bring his talk box, and I’m guessing he won’t be looking like the bald version of Peter we’ve seen for the last 10 years, but the long locks we remember from the cover of “Frampton Comes Alive.” If you’re lucky, you might hear a “Humble Pie” song. You’ll have to wait a few days for the Elton John tribute act that will be there on Monday.
A good local band, WEST OF 5, will be at Humphrey’s Backstage Lounge. Love seeing shows there. It’s an intimate venue, and the windows give you a view of the boats in the harbor on SHELTER ISLAND. They play a variety of hits from the ‘70s and up to current stuff. And you can’t beat a $5 cover charge.
The SAN DIEGO RODEO is happening at Petco Park, all weekend long.
If you like your athletes on ice instead of horses and bulls, the SAN DIEGO GULLS have a game at Pechanga Arena against the Tucson Roadrunners.
A local band I’ve loved has gotten back together for some shows. They used to be called “Convoy” back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, but their members became LOUIS XIV, and scored a national hit with “Finding Out True Love is Blind.” They’ll be at the Casbah on Friday and Saturday.
Because I’m a huge Doors fan, I’ve seen this tribute band over 50 times, starting in 1989, after their singer was cast by Jim Morrison’s sister (who went to Coronado High and still lives on the island). He also played Morrison in “Death Becomes Her” and was almost cast in The Doors film. The band is WILD CHILD and they’ll be at the House of (roadhouse) Blues DOWNTOWN. They’ve been having some 2 for 1 ticket sales, too.
A comedian that was huge in the ‘90s, and even had a show with his name in the title, will be at the MIC DROP COMEDY CLUB in Clairemont – it’s CHRISTOPHER TITUS. He’s also there on Saturday.
Another talented local, who first made waves with The Rugburns and writes very clever lyrics – GREGORY PAGE – will be at Templar’s Hall in OLD POWAY PARK.
And Ted Garcia…it seemed like only yesterday this Yacht Rock artist was in town, and he’s back. ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK at Pechanga.
SATURDAY…in the park…well, the DEL MAR FAIRGROUNDS…it’s the ODDITIES & CURIOSITIES EXPO. And you think some of the food they sell at the Fair is funky. They have artists and vendors from all over, selling weird stuff. Taxidermy, preserved specimens, horror art, antiques, bizarre medical devices, and much more. Perfect for taking that Goth teen that never seems to want to do any of the normal family weekend trips.
The Southdown Throwdown benefit for the “Youth of the Nation Foundation” will be happening at Emo Brown Headquarters in CHULA VISTA. On the bill are Dogwood, No Innocent Victim, and the biggest band that’s come out of Chula Vista – the Christian metal group P.O.D.
If you like metal, you probably like monster trucks. They’ll be at the MONSTER JAM at Snapdragon Stadium. That’ll be Saturday and Sunday.
A former San Diegan, JIMMY O. YANG, who became a huge comedian and comic actor (he was the craziest in “Crazy Rich Asians”), and wrote a funny book called “How to American: An Immigrant’s Guide to Disappointing Your Parents” – will be at the Civic Theater DOWNTOWN.
The B-SIDE PLAYERS and Tulengua will be at the Music Box.
TOMMY CASTRO will be bringing his bluesy rock to the Belly Up Tavern.
And for those that are hardcore – BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY you can observe at the Observatory in NORTH PARK.
In the movie world, I was disappointed that the CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS that I was going to attend in L.A. on Sunday has been pushed back a few weeks. There are a handful of movies coming out this weekend.
THE ROOM NEXT DOOR is the latest from Pedro Almodovar, and it’s the Spanish director’s first film in English. It stars Julianne Moore as a successful author who finds out an old friend (Tilda Swinton) is dying of cancer. Both had a previous relationship with the same man (John Turturro), but that’s not where the drama lies. It’s the fact that instead of painful cancer treatments that aren’t working, Martha wants to kill herself and has asked Ingrid to be by her side. As is usually the case with Almodovar, the film is shot beautifully, with a great use of color. The cast is excellent (as always). But my wife and I were both underwhelmed. We also felt that the dialogue read like actors reading a script, not talking the way real people talk. 2 stars out of 5.
BETTER MAN. Each year we get a music biopic. We’ve gotten two in the last few months – one on Bob Dylan and now one about Robbie Williams, the former boy band singer who struck it big as a solo artist (he was a lot bigger in the U.K.). For whatever reason, Williams only agreed to be involved with this film if his face could be covered with that of an ape (he produced and narrated). So it’s like you’re watching a biopic from a cast member of Planet of the Apes. Yet once I got past that, it worked for me. His story is rather interesting, and since I didn’t know a lot about it (for example, him getting into a relationship with a woman from a popular girl group), it’s interesting to watch things unfold. The segments with his father, who yearned to be a famous singer/entertainer are both funny and heartbreaking. If you thought it was bizarre watching the cocaine bear snort, it’s even more so when it’s a famous rock star as a monkey. It may seem a bit long to some (it’s two hours and 15 minutes), but I was never bored. I enjoyed it, but my wife just couldn’t get over the CGI ape. 3 stars out of 5.
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