Street Scene found new life in 2008, and even though the music festival will never attain its former eclectic musical glory, it seems viable again - if not artistically, then at least as a viable event. At least to the more youthful, indie crowd.
Street Scene 2009 celebrates its 25th anniversary on Aug. 28 and 29 with headliners the Black Eyed Peas and Modest Mouse (28th) and M.I.A. and the Thievery Corporation (29th). The music fest takes place in downtown's East Village neighborhood next to Petco Park.
Whether admittedly or not, the failure of 2007 (it switched venues from the Del Mar Ractrack to Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre) after two mediocre years at the hot and blistering Qualcomm Stadium parking lot. And the once-mighty music fest was losing its significance amid the shadow of better run fests like Coachella.
Decidedly, Street Scene was on life support - Live Nation returned the promotion rights back to founder Rob Hagey, who several years ago made the calculated move away from Street Scene's original eclectic musical lineups that became a favorite of music lovers of all types, and towards the 20-something alternative/indie/hip-hop crowd, which he deemed more lucrative. Whoops. Big mistake.
Hagey's grab for the filthy lucre alienated so many of the boomer Scene fans, and the change in venues from the streets of the Gaslamp to Qualcomm's parking lot, that Street Scene became just a ho-hum event.
So, Hagey ate crow, teamed up with local music scene meister Tim Mays, and decided in 2008 to "return to Street Scene's roots" and try one more time to find the magic that was once Street Scene. Well, kinda - musically, it doesn't look beyond the alternative/indie genres. Oh, well, at least it's back in the streets. Well, sorta.
The 2009 venue site will include Tailgate Park (adjacent to Petco Park) in the heart of East Village incorporating 14th Street as the main thoroughfare and bordered by Imperial Avenue to J Street. So, it's still centered in a parking lot, but at least some of the four stages have to be reached by traversing actual streets.
Besides the Black Eyed Peas and Modest Mouse, the 2009 musical lineup skews towards the Alternative Rock/College radio format:
Friday, August 28th
Black Eyed Peas
Modest Mouse
Cake
Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band
Band of Horses
Girl Talk
Devendra Banhart
Chromeo
Donald Glaude
Mastodon
Shooter Jennings
Calexico
Nortec Collective Bostich + Fussible
Cage the Elephant
Deerhunter
Matt and Kim
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
Dungen
Wavves
Holy Fuck
Anya Marina
Extra Golden
Carney
Dirty Sweet
Saturday, August 29th
M.I.A.
Thievery Corporation
The Dead Weather
Silversun Pickups
Public Enemy
Of Montreal
The Faint
Bassnectar
Busta Rhymes
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
Ozomatli
Delta Spirit
West Indian Girl
The Knux
No Age
Ra Ra Riot
Gram Rabbit
Los Campesinos!
LA Riots
Blue Scholars
Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
Crocodiles
Zee Avi
Street Scene may never regain its original appeal and uniqueness: it has become erratic and things have changed too much for it to become a true "street scene." Street Scene might regain some lost fans with the return downtown, but with the less-than-compelling lineups, it appears Hagey and Mays want to focus on a younger fan base. And that's a shame.
The Original Scene
Yep, I was in college when this little event began in a desolate parking lot in an even more desolate part of town...the Gaslamp Quarter (actually there were two events in 1984. See, back then, no one ventured much downtown back then. There was no Horton Plaza and nary a bar, nightclub or Italian restaurant that you would take your mother to. Back then, Street Scene was a trailblazer. Among the bands to play at this first event: Los Lobos, The Blasters, X, Robert Cray, and the Neville Brothers.
Over the years, Street Scene has flourished and grown and its reputation for introducing new musical styles to a wide-range of audience tastes was stellar. And the street setting in the Gaslamp Quarter made it even more of a unique event to San Diego.
What began in 1984 with two stages on a small section of San Diego’s 5th avenue had transformed into one of the best-known festivals in the country. But the recent changes in the musical direction (more alternative and hip hop, no more roots rock, blues, zydeco and classic rock), make the past Street Scenes only a memory. With a musical lineup skewing more to the younger, backward baseball cap demographic. It's a move I've questioned ever since Rob Hagey Productions decided to move away from the eclectic music, and frankly, Street Scene has lessened its appeal to me personally. But you chase where the money takes you, I guess. Oh, well.
Street Scene Facts:
Where: Downtown, East Village (near Petco Park
When: Aug. 28-29.
Price: Two-day tickets (limited number) are priced at $122 each (plus service charges). Single-day tickets are $74 each.
