The Rabbits Black Guide to Valentine’s Day 2013

Let me guess.  You’ve been searching for things to do, places to eat, and “cheap valentine’s day gifts” and probably “creative valentine’s day ideas” on Google for the past 3 hours.  Ya, you started planning today and that means you are most likely screwed for Valentine’s Day on Thursday.  It’s OK, we got your covered here at Rabbits Black.  We’ve put together our list of the single best shows in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego on Valentine’s Day night.  Grab your tickets, get acquainted with the bands, and look like you actually planned something awesome for this Thursday.  You’re welcome.

Los Angeles ~ Dead Meadow @ The Troubadour

Dead Meadow are taking over V-Day in LA with their show at The Troubadour.  Not only is The Troubadour one of the best located venues in LA smack dab in the middle of Santa Monica Blvd., but it’s also one of the most intimate.  We love The Loft area upstairs, and the ability to grab a seat on the top deck is always nice.  Even better is the tunes that will be coming from the WeHo music club that night.  Dead Meadow get thrown into the stoner-rock category pretty fast, but there’s a dreamy psychedelic rock aspect to the music that makes it appealing to hipsters and rockers alike.  The music never gets too hard to freak out your significant other, and we can pretty much guarantee that by the end of the night you’ll both be feeling a little groovy love vibe in the air.  Get down with it!

San Diego ~ The Hives @ Solana Beach Belly-Up Tavern

You probably don’t love your Valentine, girlfriend or wife as much as The Hives love themselves.  The Swedish rockers are borderline insane behind their lead singer Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist.  They’ll say the weirdest things into the microphone and talk about themselves way too much, but damn do they throw a good party!  This special one-off small show in Solana Beach is super sold-out, so you are going to have to work some cupid magic to get in.  But if you do, you just got you and your date into possibly the best party in California that night.  This one is going to be fun, and you’ll probably need a hotel close by to shower and get the sweat off of your face after The Hives are done.

San Francisco – Every Time I Die @ Oakland Metro

So technically this show is on Thursday the 15th, the day after Valentine’s Day, but follow me here.  Take your Valentine on a really nice dinner date in San Francisco on Thursday.  Bring the freshest roses you can find (Safeway doesn’t count bro) to his or her door, make dinner reservations at The House of Prime Rib, and after get some fancy cocktails at the Top of the Mark.  Listen to some live music from a string quartet, dance the night away looking above the San Francisco Bay Area in one of the classiest places in the City.  Don’t take a cab back home, get a limo to take you two back one way to your place, and be proud of the Valentine’s Day you just pulled off.   Now that she or he is content beyond belief, ask nicely if they will join you for a concert the next day.  Wake up, go to work, drive across the bridge to Oakland, try not to park your car in a dark alley, pound some PBR tall-boys and a shot o’ whiskey, and try not to get your loved one killed in the pit at Every Time I Die.  On your way to the hospital, don’t forget to remind him or her about the awesome time you two had the night before.
* You may be asking yourself, “Why don’t I just go to the show alone or drive myself and avoid this whole mess?”.  First, why are you going to shows alone?  Second, who is going to drive you to the show?  You’ve been pre-partying since noon and you don’t have enough money for BART after Thursday night.