|
Welcome to San Diego's Street
Scene!
Meeting people is
no problem at San Diego's Street Scene.
• 2008 Street
Scene, Sept. 19-20. New location: East Village next to Petco Park.
By Correspondent Joe del Real
The Street Scene in San Diego may not be as well known as other events
such as Jazz
Fest in New Orleans or the Kentucky
Derby, but it is a fantastic party nonetheless.
In fact, PubClub gives it a huge thumbs up!
There are lots and lots of people there, including some extremely beautiful
women. I just happened to be lucky enough to do a little partying with
some of them.
 Once
a year, usually in the month of September (but late July for '05), the
city of San Diego blocks off several blocks in the happening downtown
area known as the
Gas Lamp District for three days, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
People fill the streets for music, food and drinking.
After moving around the past few years, the event is back downtown between 13th & 14th avenues and J, K & L Streets, with the entrance at J Street. The event runs from 4:30-midnight with bands on three stages. The headliner is the Black Crows on Saturday.
The main focus is on the seemingly endless lineup of live bands. There
are at least six large stages set up with a number of other smaller
stages all spaced out and featuring many different kinds of music (Jazz
Fest fans such as myself can definitely relate!). The stages are set
up in the middle of a street or in large parking lots allowing plenty
of room to move around and mingle.
A few of the better known musical acts of the past include Counting Crows, the
Black Crows, James Brown, 311, Social Distortion, Los Lobos, Berlin,
Cowboy Mouth, the Fix, the Offspring, just to name a few. There are
also stages featuring Reggae, blues, electronica, and more.
Live bands play
at several stages giving the event a Jazz Fest flavor.
People celebrate by dressing up in costumes, some of which are quite
elaborate.
The alcohol policy has changed over the years. In the early days, it was possible to get a drink at a booth and walk around with it, including enjoying a refreshing adult beverage in the stage areas. That changed to designated drinking locations; this year features two beer gardens, a Martini Bar; a MicroBrew Fest area with fourteen different microbrews. There are also 24 food booths.
One of the great features about Street Scene is that it encompasses
many of the Gas Lamp District's bars (see our guide
to the best). There are also plenty of other great bars just
outside of the Street Scene enclosure.
 Elaborate
costumes are part of the scene.
There are plenty of hotels nearby but they do sell out. I highly recommend
booking far in advance since the hotels fill up fast and charge a higher
rate as the date approaches.
I entered Street Scene about an hour before it got dark. I was surprised
at how many people were there. I did not remember it being as crowded
the previous year and knew it was just going to get more crowded as
the night went on.
 After
about an hour I lost everyone I had come in with and would not see them
again the entire evening. No problem, as there were plenty of new friends
to make.
I spent much of the evening with several groups of these new friends,
jumping from stage area to stage area, being sure to enjoy the many
easily accessible refreshments along the way. Before I knew it, Street
Scene was closing up for the evening.
Once again, no problem. Between Street Scene and my hotel three blocks
away were at least a dozen bars which were still open until 2:00 AM.
I had so much fun that the next day, I decided to change my plans and
back to Street Scene for a few hours on Sunday
Joe del Real is a Special Events Correspondent for PubClub.com
 PubClub.com Home Page
|