At long last, the wait was over! Friends from all over the country and the world converged on San Diego for a wild weekend of music, beer, burritos, whiskey, and pizza. The eleventh annual installment of the DIY punk and pop punk festival known as Awesome Fest had its official opening on a Friday night in mid February. Headlining the opening night was Fat Wreck Chords’ Dead To Me. As always, the night shows were split between San Diego’s Soda Bar and the newly rechristened Space Bar down the street, under new ownership.