FRIDAY –
The San Diego County Fair is gone, so what’s left to do? Well, a lot.
The PADRES are playing the Phillies, who are in first place in the National League East. The Pads are sitting at third in the National League West. It’s also going to be the “Party in the Park” with a CervezaFest and Theme Game: Catholic Night.
There’s an animated “Cat in the Hat” movie coming out next year, but if you’re itching for some Dr. Seuss sooner – SEUSSICAL THE MUSICAL is happening at the Sunshine Brooks Theatre in OCEANSIDE Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Fun for the whole family.
THE SPAZMATICS are playing at the Belly Up Tavern in SOLANA BEACH. They’re a “chain band” meaning…a number of cities have the same band but with different members. They dress up like the nerds from “Revenge of the Nerds” and play songs from the ‘80s. A B-52s cover band, HOT LAVA, is also on the bill.
For Ted Garcia and other fans of yacht rock, YACHTLEY CREW is playing at the Epstein Family Amphitheater in LA JOLLA.
SATURDAY –
The PADRES play the Phillies again. It’s going to be “Irish Heritage Celebration” day, for the 4:35 game.
And another baseball event with beer…OVER THE LINE at FIESTA ISLAND PARK. This is the 72nd year that OMBAC has been putting on this fun fundraiser.
SEA WORLD has a concert going on. SOULJA BOY and BOW WOW, both rap artists have had hits on the charts, and unlike a lot of the shows at the San Diego County Fair – this is free with admission.
Prog rocker, and some would say yacht rocker, ALAN PARSONS and his eye in the sky, is at the Open Air Theatre at SDSU, along with a Pink Floyd tribute called Brit Floyd. See the songs, and games people will play that night.
If bluegrass/county is more your jam than the prog rock, ALISON KRAUSS & UNION STATION are at the Rady Shell DOWNTOWN.
And if MOTOWN more your vibe…the Magic of Motown Tribute Concert is going on at the Balboa Theatre DOWNTOWN. You’ll hear tunes by the Four Tops, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, the Jackson Five, Smokey Robinson, and others.
Here’s another variety of music for the folks that like oldies. Now, when the Cowsills sing “Hair” I’m guessing most of the guys in the crowd will regret not having any left (As a bald man, I’m allowed to say that). They’re playing with the Turtles, Jay & The Americans, Little Anthony, The Vogues (I think their “5 O’Clock World” is one of the best songs in rock history), and the guy who started his first band while going to college in San Diego – Gary Puckett & The Union Gap. They’re all part of the “Happy Together Tour” taking place at Pechanga Resort and Casino in TEMECULA.
SUNDAY –
Over the Line is continuing at FIESTA ISLAND, and while it’s the 72nd year of that, this will be the first year they have a CORNHOLE TOURNAMENT. It’s $25 a player, or $50 for a team, and that includes some tokens you can use at the bar.
The PADRES wrap up their series with Philadelphia. Remember, Sunday home games are the KidFest, and they’ll also have a Girl Scout game. Instead of peanuts and Cracker Jack…I’m getting some Thin Mints.
Since it’s perfect beach weather, you can head to CORONADO, to see local musician CASSIE B, who does covers (including Taylor Swift) and originals. This is all part of the Coronado Summer Concert Series at Spreckels Park.
I know where Elvira is going to be…The OAK RIDGE BOYS are playing Pechanga Casino.
On the opposite end of the music spectrum, THE ORIGINAL WAILERS are at the Music Box DOWNTOWN.
AT THE MOVIES –
SUPERMAN: I’m one of the few people that wasn’t looking forward to this. I’m just so burned out on superhero films. Now, a few things to get out of the way. I’m not going to get into the tweets director James Gunn did years ago that nearly derailed his career. And for all the talk about how Gunn made this movie “woke” and all the talk about a message about “Superman is an immigrant” and blah blah blah – you never once think of that while watching this. Nothing is preachy, and you don’t feel like any political message is being delivered. Now, did they deliver a good film? Uh, no. I’ll start first with the things I liked. David Corenswet (who was in the cute rom-com “The Greatest Hits” last year), was good as Superman. Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)) is outstanding as Lois Lane. It was like I was seeing Margot Kidder again. Oh, and I liked hearing Iggy Pop closing the movie (there’s a scene where Lois claims she’s a punk rocker and Clark Kent is into bubblegum rock). Nicholas Hoult is a great actor, but he is a bit too young and good looking to pull off Lex Luthor. And this Lex was all anger. None of the fun and cheeky humor Gene Hackman had in the role. Oh, and it was nice to see one of Hollywood’s underused talents, Wendell Pierce, always chompin’ a cigar as editor Perry White. My problem is there was too much going on and the stories were idiotic. At times it felt like it was trying to be “Guardians of the Galaxy” and was just a parody. And at over two hours, this was all tough to take. There was a scene I enjoyed where Clark was making dinner for Lois, and he decided to do an interview as Superman with her. I wanted more moments like that. And since this movie already has Lois aware that Clark is Superman, we don’t get the fun of wondering if she’ll figure it out. A bigger problem is the movie is a big downer. It starts with Superman being beaten to a pulp and nearly dying. And through three-quarters of the movie, he continues getting beat up. A complaint I made about the last Batman movie (with Robert Pattinson), there weren’t enough scenes of him fighting crime. In this, I have the same complaint. Let me see Superman stop a mugger or carjacker. Instead, it’s all fighting Luthor. Another complaint I’ve had about superhero movies…I’ve gotten tired of strong creatures (or superheroes), just taking cars (or people), and throwing them through buildings, and watching as the skyscraper crumbles to the ground. I brought a talented local filmmaker named Rich Varville with me to the screening. He thought it was a fun popcorn flick, and said “I’d give it a B. It had a few good laughs.” I agreed with him about the few laughs, but I wish it had more. 2 stars out of 5 from me.
HEADS OF STATE: You can see this on Amazon, and after a few friends raved about it, my wife and I gave it a watch. John Cena and Idris Elba have good chemistry and a few funny lines, but it was so utterly ridiculous, we ended up hating it. The CGI stuff was poorly done, and it just got so preposterous. The story is about the U.S. President (Cena), who was a former action star. The UK Prime Minister (Elba) doesn’t respect him, and they’re thrown together. Air Force One is shot to the ground and they have to make it back. They escape numerous, unrealistic scenarios that just strains credulity. And to my friend who thought Jack Quaid killed it in his one scene at a safe house – that may be the stupidest scene of the bunch. But fans of silly action pictures will like this…just as fans of superhero movies will like the rebooting they did of Superman. 1 ½ stars out of 5.