SAN DIEGO, CA- On Saturday April 20th, The San Diego Freak Out threw a party at the Casbah to celebrate the official stoner holiday. The celebration had a solid lineup, starting off with San Diego legends the Wild Wild Wets and followed by Los Angeles dance rockers Cosmonauts. Closing out the party was the psychedelic cowboys Night Beats, who were everything I hoped for and more.
Since releasing their latest LP, Prisom, San Diego’s Wild Wild Wets have been opening for acts like Frankie and the Witch Fingers and performing at the Desert Daze Music Festival, making a heavy mark in the psych rock scene. They are known for throwing epic parties with the coolest bands around, and put together tonight’s epic line up of Cosmonauts and Night Beats.
The Wild Wild Wets opened up the night in the back room of the Casbah, making their uproarious set more intimate but still full of energy. In addition to their classic psychedelic sound, the percussionist made their set super dancey and groovy, and I was honestly disappointed in the crowd for not getting more into it. Never-the-less, the Wild Wild Wets put on a stellar performance as usual and I look forward to seeing them grow further this year.
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I’ve shot Cosmonauts a few times already, once in San Diego and another time at the Desert Daze Music Festival. What I realized is that this third time was not only a charm, but also a necessity. Everyone should see Cosmonauts three times … minimum.
This 4/20 show at the Casbah was the first night of their North American tour with Night Beats and legends Dandy Warhols. They are promoting the completion of their new album, STAR 69, and their fans came out to celebrate in full force .
Cosmonauts brought out tracks from their 2016 album A-OK! as well as new songs off of STAR 69 and I honestly loved every moment. Their set even garnered new fans. After the show, one attendee told me that she never really heard of them before tonight, and after seeing them she was pleasantly surprised of how good they were. Hopefully a fourth time shooting them is in the near future.
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Night Beats are one of the bands that I’ve been a fan of for a long time but never got to see live, let alone shoot, until now. Their 2016 album Who Sold My Generation was the soundtrack to my life in New York City at the time, with songs like ‘No Cops’ and ‘Sunday Mourning’ constantly in my ear buds during my train commute.
Now on the West Coast, I was really looking forward to their stop in San Diego, especially on 4/20, and their performance did not disappoint. First, the different and expanded line up of members came on stage, followed by lead singer Danny Lee Blackwell. In photographs, I’ve always thought that lead singer Danny Lee Backwell was truly the epitome of cool. Seeing him in person, meandering on stage with ease in his psychedelic cowboy style, confirmed his real-life coolness.
Although the line-up was new, their set was rockin’ and tight, like they have been together the for years. Along with their tour buddies Cosmonauts, Nights Beats are taking over North America to promote their fourth studio album, Myth of Man on Heavenly Recordings. I do enjoy the different route they are taking on this new album and enjoyed seeing the songs played live. However, their classics from 2016’s Who Sold My Generation got the crowd, and myself, really moving. Those songs took me back to when I lived in Brooklyn, being broke with just my camera in a fantastic city and music like the Night Beats to keep me going.
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