Summertime Leaves Santa Cruz Starved for Rock & Roll

The Expendables take time off touring in summer—and come home to play.

At Deer Tick’s sold-out indie rock show at the Crepe Place not long ago, one hipster was heard saying to another, “Man, I’m just glad someone still has shows in the summertime.” The observation, it seems, is rooted in what’s looking like another bone-dry schedule of summer sounds from a few of Santa Cruz’s most famous venues. During the spring and fall, places like the Catalyst, Rio Theatre and Cayuga Vault are well known for bringing huge names in rock, reggae, indie, folk and hip-hop to the local stage. Yet each summer, in a pattern stretching back as far as most care to remember, the hot months mark a cold front in the live music output of all three concert halls.

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