San Antonio Current — December 28, 2022

in this issue

Editor-in-Chief: Sanford Nowlin

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Editorial

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24 Feature

Anarchy in SA

Day-long event celebrates the Sex Pistols’ infamous show at Randy’s Rodeo

17 Arts

Lasting Impressions

San Antonio’s arts community weighs in on the highlights of 2022

24 Music

Year’s Best Spins

San Antonio artists dominated the Current’s favorite releases of the year

Critics’ Picks

Copyright: The entire contents of the San Antonio

Top Stories of 2022

San Antonio’s biggest news stories reflect tough choices, political divisions

CityScrapes

San Antonio’s public giveaways haven’t lived up to their promise of a thriving downtown

Bad Takes

In a ‘Tale of Two Documents,’ the one on the health of Texas women should draw the real outrage

21 Screens

Best of 2022

The year’s best movies include a trio of films set in Ireland, a culinary thriller and an animated shell

23 Food Annual Report

National food trends, good and bad, affected San Antonio diners and restaurants

On the Cover: The Sex Pistols’ show in San Antonio stirred controversy but ushered in a new creative era. Photograph copyright 1978 Lindell “Tiger” Tate. Design: Samantha Serna.

Northfoto / Shutterstock.com

Getting tested is the only way to find out if you have HIV. If you are living with HIV, starting treatment early means you can live a full, healthy and productive life. Free and confidential HIV tests are available. To get tested call 210-207-8830.

That Rocks/That Sucks

HOf all U.S. states, Texas had the most anti-LGBTQ+ demonstrations at drag shows this year, an analysis by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation found. Of the 141 such demonstrations and targeted threats staged across the nation, 20 took place at shows in Texas.

HMaria’s Cafe received a glowing writeup in the New York Times. The small cafe’s breakfast tacos were named one of the 25 dishes that the Times’ food writers couldn’t stop thinking about in 2022. Priya Krishna praised “any filling wrapped in the restaurant’s bu ery flour tortillas” and specifically recommended “the Minion, which comes with smoky shreds of brisket and creamy-crunchy migas.”

HA long-anticipated report from Texas’ Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Commi ee found that the state is still struggling with major racial disparities and other issues in maternal health. Incidences of severe complications in pregnancy and childbirth increased significantly between 2018 and 2020, moving from 58.2 to 72.7 cases per 10,000 deliveries in Texas. Black women are still significantly more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white or Hispanic women.

With COVID-19 cases rising again during the holiday season, the federal government is again offering to send Americans free at-home tests. The government stopped filling requests for masks on Sept. 2 due to a lack of funding, but President Joe Biden announced earlier this month the White House has refunded the program. Each residential address can get four rapid antigen tests. — Abe Asher

Assclown of the Year

2022: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz

Assclown Alert is a column of opinion, analysis and snark.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz started the year on a low note.

After a backlash from the far right for calling the Jan. 6 insurrection a “violent terrorist a ack,” the Texas Republican groveled on Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson’s show in January 2022, saying he’d chosen his words carelessly. (Never mind that the senator called the Capitol riot a terrorist a ack or referred to participants as terrorists at least 17 times prior to the Fox appearance, according to a CNN fact check.)

“The way I phrased things yesterday, it was sloppy and it was frankly dumb,” Cruz told an incredulous Carlson. The senator said he’d only intended to use the T-word on those who violently a acked the cops when ransacking the Capitol.

The pathetic move drew ridicule from both the right and the left. And it’s only been downhill from there for Texas’ junior senator.

This spring, staff at a ticket counter in the Bozeman, Montana airport called the police for help after Cruz threw a temper tantrum over his missed flight.

During a speech at a July gathering of conservative college students, Cruz relentlessly mocked gender identity and LGBTQ+ people, declaring that his pronoun is “kiss my ass.”

ing people on the left. He urged a endees of the conservative CPAC conference to “grab a ba le axe” and “go fight the barbarians.”

In September, Cruz appeared on a Lubbock TV station to praise a federal highway project that he voted against funding. Then, the following month, he invaded the privacy of a transgender preschool teacher by exposing his personal details during an anti-LGBTQ+ screed on social media.

In between all that, Cruz also found time to have a pants-shi ing social media meltdown over the Sesame Street character Elmo receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. Cruz, of course, is vaccinated but plays the role of an anti-vaxxer to appeal to the furthest-right fringes of his base.

And we could go on.

While good ol’ Ted certainly had plenty of competition from liars and hucksters like Texas Gov. Greg Abbo and A orney General Ken Paxton during 2022, his u erances and actions were absurd enough to make him assclown of the year. — Sanford Nowlin YOU SAID IT!

— U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pennsylvania, to U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, after he blamed incidents such as the Uvalde school shooting on schools’inabilityto offer a moral education.

Weeks later, the senator drew rebukes for using violent rhetoric to describe how concerned citizens should deal with those annoy-

The U.S. Supreme Court last week paused the scheduled lifting of Title 42, the emergency health order the federal government has used since the onset of the pandemic to bar migrants — including many asylum seekers — from entering the country. The Biden administration wants to lift the emergency order, but a group of 19 states, including Texas, has sued to stop the order from being lifted. Gov. Greg Abbo celebrated the court’s intervention.

San Antonio-based radio conglomerate iHeartMedia has agreed to a $65,000 se lement with the Texas A orney General’s Office over advertisements it aired promoting the Google Pixel 4 smartphone. Both the state of Texas and the federal government alleged that the ads were deceptive since radio hosts recorded testimonials about the phone without ever having used it. iHeartMedia reached a separate $400,000 se lement to resolve Federal Trade Commission allegations about the spots.

The former San Antonio police officer who gave a homeless man a feces-filled sandwich has now been fired from Floresville’s police department, where he worked as a part-time reserve officer. The town’s city manager said he’s now reviewing the hiring practices that allowed Ma hew Luckhurst to obtain the job and hopes to have his investigation completed by Jan. 1. — Abe Asher

“We had testimony of a headless child. We’re going to talk about how paddles and prayers are going to solve this problem? Where is our humanity?”

Wikimedia Commons / Gage Skidmore

James Dobbins

Top Stories of 2022

San Antonio’s biggest news stories reflect tough choices, political divisions

BY SANFORD NOWLIN

Anational election, a Supreme Court decision and a flood of border crossings affected the lives of San Antonians this year. But so did issues rooted closer to home — affordable housing, police brutality and the city’s willingness to deal with climate issues. Let’s unpack 10 of the year’s biggest news stories and trends.

1. Immigration and how we perceive it. We all agree that crossings at the U.S.-Mexico hit record numbers this year. Republicans like Gov. Greg Abbo have seized on that as a political weapon, using racist terms like “invasion” to describe the influx of asylum seekers. Others see the wave of migrants with more compassion and consider it a humanitarian crisis. Yet another issue that shows how divided we are.

2. The landslide that wasn’t. President Joe Biden isn’t popular and the economy isn’t great, so many pundits predicted Republicans would win sweeping victories and retake both houses of Congress. Instead, voters rebuked Trump-supported candidates, and the GOP turned in a historically anemic midterm performance, barely retaking the House and leaving the Senate under Democrats’ control.

3. The war on Texas teachers. It’s been a terrible time to be a teacher in Texas. Many have already left the profession, overworked, underpaid and saddled with the stress of doing a tough job during a pandemic. This year, conservative Texas politicians piled on, telling them what they can say in the classroom and

a empting to censor what books are available in schools.

4. Council behaving badly. While their actions don’t rise to the level of city council’s bribery scandal of the early 2000s, two members of the deliberative body found themselves in hot water this year. District 1’s Mario Bravo was stripped of commi ee assignments after lobbing personal a acks at another member. Meanwhile, District 10’s Clayton Perry is on leave of absence after being charged with leaving the scene of an accident police say he was involved in while intoxicated.

5. Uvalde and the gun debate. The mass shooting at Uvalde’s Robb Elementary School shocked and sickened a nation, se ing off another debate about gun control. This time, Congress acted and imposed the first meaningful reforms to firearms laws in decades. However, to many, it’s clear that those changes don’t go far enough if we really want to end the nation’s epidemic of gun violence.

6. The Texas GOP’s continued anti-LGBTQ+ crusade. After years of pushing legislation designed to punish transgender Texans, Lone Star State Republicans have now stepped up their a acks on new fronts. Gov. Greg Abbo weaponized the state’s child welfare system to investigate parents of trans kids, and conservative groups are protesting and issuing threats against drag shows in a bid to shut down one of the LGBTQ+ community’s safe spaces.

7. SA’s affordable housing crisis. Rising rents and home prices continue to plague the Alamo City. In December, council approved $44 million in affordable housing funding — the first batch of money from a $150 million bond approved by voters. That funding will build or rehabilitate an estimated 2,532 units over the next five years. The jury’s still out on whether that will make a meaningful impact.

8. The future of CPS Energy and SA’s climate efforts. San Antonio’s city-owned utility appears to have weathered the crisis of public trust brought on by free spending by top officials and a floundering performance during Winter Storm Uri. Now, it’s time to see how serious the utility and the city are about ge ing rid of coal and replacing it with renewable sources rather than taking the half-step of increasing reliance on natural gas.

9. The death of Roe v. Wade. Few things sent bigger shockwaves through the nation this year than the conservative-dominated U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to roll back five decades of protection for women’s right to choose. As expected, Texas effectively banned abortion in the wake of the ruling, and we’re still seeing what effect that will have on women’s health and the wellbeing of families.

10. San Antonians demand police accountability. Last year’s public referendum seeking to strip the San Antonio Police Department’s powerful union of its collective bargaining power narrowly missed. Even so, the city prioritized discipline in negotiations for a new contract and reined in some of the most egregious protections for problem officers. Citizens also expressed their outrage about high-profile police shootings such as the one that critically injured unarmed teen Erik Cantu.

Jaime Monzon

San Antonio’s public giveaways haven’t lived up to their promise of a thriving downtown

BY HEYWOOD SANDERS

Editor’s Note: CityScrapes is a column of opinion and analysis.

The masks have largely disappeared. Shoppers have returned to the malls and stores in significant numbers. The restaurants at the Pearl are booming, at least on weekends. Air travel is up. And we’ve seen a substantial return of visitors to downtown hotels.

Yet it’s also clear that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic aren’t fully behind us. Economic impacts such as inflation, uncertain supply chains and shifts in the nature and location of work continue to create turmoil for cities including San Antonio.

The New York Times recently pondered “The Fate of the Emptiest Downtown in America,” ruminating on the current state of San Francisco’s urban core. Boosted by the success and promise of the tech industry, San Francisco’s downtown office market boomed over the past 10 years. But with the pandemic, office occupancy slumped. The cause? A host of tech firms shifted to fully remote work or some form of hybrid requiring limited time in the office.

Beyond the formal occupancy numbers, even space classified as “leased” is used by fewer employees. For San Francisco, that means office workers and their spending have largely disappeared from downtown’s streets — and from the shops and services that depend on the office economy.

Those shifts in the downtown office economy extend well beyond San Francisco and the tech sector. And the Alamo City has been far from insulated from the change.

In 2017, San Antonio-based USAA announced plans to move a significant number of employees to a pair of downtown office buildings. Aided by city and county tax abatements, as well as a city loan to expand parking, the promise was that the insurance and financial services firm would shift some 2,000 workers to the One Riverwalk and 300 Convent St. buildings in what local politicos called a “game changer” for downtown.

But, in a recently announced development, USAA will terminate its leases at the end of this year and repay the city and county governments for their financial assistance.

USAA’s original embrace of downtown was always a question mark. While the expansion held the promise of more activity in the center city, it also pointed up the limited appeal of our tourist-oriented urban core. We had to rely on a local firm — and one aided by public subsidies at that — to fill empty high rises because we weren’t a racting the office and tech jobs that supported downtowns in other cities.

The loss of USAA’s presence wasn’t the only jolt to our urban center this year. Following the move of Zachry Construction’s headquarters to an office park by Wurzbach Parkway, the Zachry family announced the sale of the distinctive Tower Life Building to a group of local developers including the Red McCombs family and Ed Cross. The new owners, in turn, revealed plans to convert the structure into mixed-income housing, paired with the county Public Facility Corp.

So once again, office jobs and space have evaporated from downtown, and local development interests have asked for public assistance to make their plans succeed.

Downtown boosters regularly spin the prospect of new housing and new development as heralding a grand new era of vitality and success for our city center. There’s the promise of Hemisfair Park, the wonder of the new San Pedro Creek “culture park” and adjacent development, the potential development around the new Frost Tower and perhaps even a new minor league ballpark somewhere.

Yet the reality of downtown San Antonio is that we succeeded in creating a place for tourists to wander that holds li le appeal to San Antonians beyond the twinkling lights of the River Walk. That, of course, follows massive public investment in things including the expansion of the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention

Even a few years after the culmination of former Mayor Julián Castro’s “Decade of Downtown,” having spent millions in subsidies for new housing in the center city, we still don’t have a lively, vibrant, authentic downtown that reflects and builds on our own history and culture.

Still, county commissioners recently managed to demonstrate the one thing our local officials excel at — giving away tax money. The county politicos approved a tax abatement for the new headquarters of the Bill Miller Bar-B-Q chain, which moves it away from downtown to a site on Highway 151, promising a total of 24 new jobs. Yes, as in two dozen.

Local officials capped that giveaway for a business already headquartered in San Antonio with yet another tax abatement deal. This one was for the supposedly resurrected — but seriously open-to-question — DeLorean Motor Co. and its pledge of a new building and hundreds of jobs at Port San Antonio.

For decades, city and county officials have managed to avoid dealing in the unpleasant market realities our downtown faced. Instead, they constantly promoted new deals, development announcements and the latest in public subsidies and giveaways. My earnest wish for the coming year is that our community can realize that development promises and tax giveaways don’t mean things will get be er. They just mean someone is savvy enough to seek public help as they look to make more money.

Heywood Sanders is a professor of public policy at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

sacurrent.com | December 28, 2022 –January 10, 2023

Center, the Shops at Rivercenter, the Grand Hya San Antonio River Walk hotel, the Alamodome, St. Paul Square and years of deals done in the name of job creation and public-private partnership.

Google Street View

In a ‘Tale of Two Documents,’ the one on the health of Texas women should draw the real outrage

BY KEVIN SANCHEZ

Editor’s Note: Bad Takes is a column of opinion and analysis.

Consider two documents. The first is an ostensibly censored tabloid story headlined “Smoking-gun email reveals how Hunter Biden introduced Ukrainian businessman to VP dad.” The second is a curiously delayed government report: “Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Commi ee and Department of State Health Services Joint Biennial Report 2022.”

For a period of less than 48 hours in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election, Twi er blocked the sharing of a link to a New York Post article about Hunter Biden, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden’s troubled son. Content moderators at the social media giant, who had been primed since 2016 to remain on guard against foreign disinformation, were at first unable to corroborate the story’s details, and suspected it violated the company’s policy against so-called “hacked materials.”

Reportedly Donald Trump a orney Rudy Giuliani — always a bastion of credibility and probity — had acquired Hunter’s laptop by way of a computer repair shop in Delaware. So the story goes, Giuliani held onto the allegedly incriminating emails and photos from the machine until October to surprise the Biden campaign before Election Day. Even Fox News passed on running the dubious-sounding story, and the New York Post reporters who wrote it up initially refused to a ach their bylines.

So, Twi er erred on the side of censorship, then quickly reversed that bad decision and admi ed the mistake. Ironically, this flip-flop only served to amplify the story’s reach out of any proportion to its significance. The rabid right has been screaming about it ever since.

The controversy was reignited this month when Twi er’s new smirking (and perhaps soon-to-be former) CEO, Elon Musk, allowed celebrity journalists to peruse internal emails between former executives and employees. Ted Cruz decried the “weaponizing of Big Tech” as GOP politicians and supporters called for everything from investigations and impeachments to

arrests and revolution. But despite a lot of hype, the supposed revelations of the “Twi er files” have sort of been a nothingburger.

If your eyes glaze over when you hear the phrase “Hunter Biden’s laptop,” strap in. The incoming Republican-majority House is about to Benghazi the stuffing out of it for a full two years. That’s not to say there aren’t weighty concerns regarding nepotism and free speech based on what we already knew. And fostering a culture of transparency and open exchange is about more than the technicalities of First Amendment jurisprudence.

What we on the left persistently emphasize, over the objections of liberals and conservatives alike, is that the rule of corporations can be just as repressive and potentially tyrannical as that of governments. If recovering Reaganites now concur with commonsensical market skepticism, we ought to count our holiday blessings.

Contrast this hyperventilation that’s spread from the Twi erverse to Congress to a report from the Texas government about a real world tragedy: the hundreds of mothers in this state who have died during or after childbirth over the past decade.

By law, Texas’ Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Commi ee is required to submit a report on maternal deaths “not later than September 1st” in even-numbered years. It’s been “the agency’s practice to release findings even before a full analysis is completed, in an effort to speed up public health interventions,” the Houston Chronicle reported earlier this month.

Yet “state health officials had completed a long-awaited report on maternal deaths and were preparing talking points about the findings just days before it was shelved until after the November midterms, according to emails obtained by Hearst Newspapers.”

Naturally, that ensured the substance of the report wouldn’t become an election issue.

So Texas voters didn’t learn that “severe medical

complications from pregnancy and childbirth increased significantly between 2018 and 2020, surging from 58.2 to 72.7 cases per 10,000 deliveries in Texas,” as the Texas Tribune could finally report once the report was finally made available on Dec. 15. And now we also know that more than 180 kids lost their mothers in childbirth in 2019.

“This is not just data,” community advocate Nakeenya Wilson told her fellow commi ee members on Dec. 9. “Suppressing and withholding data ... is dishonorably burying those women. In my opinion and in the opinion of many of my colleagues, there was no need for a delay.”

Policy analyst Uduak Nkanga said during public commentary before the commi ee that missing the report deadline “silences the voices of those dead women and contributes to the detrimental outcomes for women, more specifically Black women.”

“Texas officials played political games with our lives by hiding this data from voters throughout the midterms,” tweeted the Afiya Center, a reproductive justice group for which Nkanga works.

To their point, Black women are two to four times more likely to die during pregnancy than women of other races, and the report tied 12% of those deaths to racial discrimination. It also concluded that 90% of all pregnancy-related deaths were preventable. And, according to the Commonwealth Fund, the United States already has the highest overall maternal mortality rate among rich nations, by far.

A president’s wayward son trading on his father’s name as a lucrative side-hustle is indeed embarrassing and corrupt, and suppressing such a story, even for a day, was a bad move for Twi er. The public had a right to know.

But if that amounts to “rigging” the 2020 election for Biden, what are we prepared to call Texas Gov. Greg Abbo ’s heartless suppression of vital information that was required by statute to release to Texans in 2022? And how vastly more shameful is “dishonorably burying” the mothers who died on Abbo ’s watch?

sacurrent.com | December 28, 2022 –January 10, 2023

Unsplash / Nathana Rebouças

LIGHTSCAPE

Returning for its second year, Lightscape turns the San Antonio Botanical Garden into an alluring holiday wonderland via more than a million colorful lights. The exhibition, which sold out in the UK and Chicago as well as multiple nights last year in the Alamo City, spans a one-mile trail through the greenspace, with lights winding their way up trees, illuminating paths and adorning sculptures. Fan favorites from last year such as the Winter Cathedral and Field of Bluebonnets will return, featured alongside new additions by local and international artists. Tickets and parking must be reserved online in advance. Visitors are encouraged to arrive approximately 15 minutes before their entry time to allow for parking and check-in. Outside food and drink are prohibited, but festive concessions, including s’mores, will be available for purchase at the venue. $16-$60, entry times every 15 minutes from 5:30-9 p.m. Dec. 28-Jan. 1 and Jan. 6-8, San Antonio Botanical Garden, 555 Funston Place, (210) 536-1400, sabot.org/light-scape. — Caroline Wolff

the graceful and unbalanced can fight inflation with Cheap Skate Night Tuesdays or discounted Military Mondays, dine al fresco on Food Truck Fridays or enjoy live jazz during Date Night Wednesdays. Other themed nights are listed on the rink’s website. As in prior years, the Rotary Club of San Antonio is asking all visitors to purchase admission online. $14 (includes skate rental), 5-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 5-11 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.11 p.m. Saturday, noon-8 p.m. Sunday, Travis Park, 301 E. Travis St., (210) 222-8242, rotaryicerink.com. — Karly Williams

Dec. 28-Dec. 31, Lighthouse Artspace, 221 Burleson St., immersive-nutcracker. com/san-antonio. — Ashley Allen

As San Antonio hunkers down for the arrival of real winter cold, this annual downtown ice rink continues to offer a wintery diversion. Both

ART

THE IMMERSIVE NUTCRACKER: A WINTER MIRACLE

The Immersive Nutcracker: A Winter Miracle offers an experience that allows children of all ages to fulfill their childhood desires to become a dancer or one of the fanciful characters in the classic holiday ballet. This floor-to-ceiling projection follows the similar Immersive Van Gogh and will take the stage before Immersive Disney premieres in January. Visitors to The Immersive Nutcracker can dance through 500,000 cubic feet of projections divided into five fantastical worlds, mingling with animated characters and dancers Denis Rodkin and Eleonora Sevenard. The ballet itself is an adaptation of E.T.A Hoffman’s 1816 fairy tale “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” and incorporates music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. This immersive take on the classic is produced by Corey Ross, Svetlana Dvoretsky and Slava Zheleznyakov in partnership with Storywall Entertainment. $26.99-$44.99, various times and days,

THU | 12.29

DANCE

NUTCRACKER! MAGICAL CHRISTMAS BALLET!

Christmas has passed, but the holidays needn’t end just yet. Nutcracker! Magical Christmas Ballet! offers a final chance this year to experience the world’s most beloved yuletide ballet. In a dazzling display of dance, acrobatics and costuming, audiences come to know and love young Clara as she’s enveloped in her Christmas Eve dreams and travels to fantastic worlds with a handsome and fearless nutcracker doll prince. This touring production, which features dancers from Ukraine and other countries, celebrates its 30th anniversary this season. $54.75 and

Courtesy Photo / San Antonio Botanical Garden

Michael Cirlos, Centro

Patrick Hodgson

Courtesy Photo / Majestic Theatre

up, noon, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., Majestic Theatre, 224 E. Houston St., (210) 226-3333, majesticempire.com. — CW

SAT | 12.31

SPORTS SPURS VS. MAVERICKS

Southwest Division rivals face off on Saturday night when league darling Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks take on the Spurs. After guard Jalen Brunson’s departure to the New York Knicks over the summer via free agency, the Mavericks have struggled to find a consistent secondary scorer to compliment Doncic, who’s pu ing up MVP numbers. Following last season’s unlikely Western Conference Finals appearance, Doncic has carried the load for Dallas, and his league usage rate only ranks behind that of Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo. Injuries continue to play a factor for the Spurs, who sat out five players, including three starters, in a staggering loss to the Phoenix Suns earlier this month. Mavericks Coach Jason Kidd has described his squad as “a team that lives or dies by three,” suggesting the Spurs have a chance in this New Year’s Eve showdown against their longtime foes, provided they can keep their starters healthy. $24 and up, 6 p.m., AT&T Center, One AT&T Center Parkway, (210) 444-5000, a center.com, Bally Sports SW-SA. — M. Solis

SAT | 12.31

SPECIAL EVENT CELEBRATE SA

”Dancing in the Streets” is the theme for this year’s installment of San Antonio’s o cial New Year’s Eve party — an unsurprising choice after pandemic lockdowns and restrictions. Live performers helping ring in 2023 include West Side soul group Eddie & The Valiants, indie rockers John Charlie’s Heavy Love and DJ Isaiahfromtexas. Food, adult beverages and art vendors will provide needed refreshments — and culture — before fireworks begin to pop o above Hemisfair. All benefits from the extravaganza fund city and county parks. Don’t want to deal with the crowds? That’s fine too. News4’s live TV coverage of the event starts at 10:30 p.m. Free, 6 p.m.-midnight, Hemisfair, 434 S. Alamo St., and La Villita, 418 Villita St., (210) 212-8423, saparksfoundation.org. — KW

SPORTS SPURS VS. CELTICS

Former Spur Derrick White will make his San Antonio debut in a Celtics uniform when Boston brings its high-octane offense to the AT&T Center. White was traded to Boston back in February for veteran Josh Richardson and swingman Romeo Langford. Since then, he’s quickly become a key cog for the Celtics on the team’s remarkable run to the NBA Finals. This season, Boston leads the league in offensive rating, 3-point field goal percentage and true shooting percentage, and it’s limited the turnovers that plagued the team during the playoffs. White’s hot shooting and ability to

run the point in the absence of Marcus Smart and Malcolm Brogdon has helped propel a Celtics team that’s been running opponents off the court and looks determined to return to the finals. Coming up on the schedule for the Spurs are back-to-back games against Ja Morant and the Grizzlies in Memphis, followed by a nationally televised tilt with the defending champion Warriors in the Alamodome. $29 and up, 5 p.m., AT&T Center, One AT&T Center Parkway, (210) 4445000, a center.com, KENS. — M. Solis

possibly at the expense of the empire he’s built. Meanwhile, Vivian struggles to balance her free spirit with her desire to make a name for herself. The unlikely couple tests each other’s limits in a fight to find out whether their love is real and if the sacrifices they’ve made will prove worthwhile. This production is recommended for ages 12 and up due to mature language, sexual content and brief drug use. $45 and up, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Majestic Theatre, 224 E. Houston St., (210) 226-3333, majesticempire.com.— CW

THEATER

PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL

Based on the 1990 film of the same name, Pre y Woman: The Musical explores what happens when an encounter of chance turns into life-changing romance. When cold and calculating CEO Edward Lewis hires fiercely independent sex worker Vivian Ward, he’s expecting nothing but a quick thrill. Instead, she leads him on a week full of intensive soul searching. Softened by Vivian’s passion for the li le things, Edward begins to reconsider his brutal business strategies,

Reminder:

Although live events have returned, the COVID-19 pandemic is still with us. Check with venues to make sure scheduled events are still happening, and please follow all health and safety guidelines.

Courtesy Photo / SA Parks Foundation

Spurs/Reginald Thomas II

Spurs/Reginald Thomas II Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade

Bad Bunny Gets Lucky

Lasting Impressions

San Antonio’s arts community weighs in on the highlights of 2022

BY BRYAN RINDFUSS

With the end of the year swiftly approaching, we reached out to San Antonio art scene movers and shakers to ask them which exhibitions or events made the biggest impressions on them in 2022.

In addition to focusing on the local landscape, we asked each to avoid their own programming and highlight others in the community. While that parameter produced repeat nods to crowd pleasers, it also resulted in shout-outs to lesser-known gems — not to mention inevitable omissions of important shows the Current covered this year.

Artpace Director Riley Robinson

Seeing Elyse Gonzalez, a native Houstonian and Ruby City Executive Director interview fellow Houstonian Rick Lowe, artist and founder of Project Row Houses at the Carver Community Cultural Center was a treat. Hearing Gonzales ask all the right questions of such an important and influential artist and seeing images of the process and projects gave deep background and understanding of how Ruby City came to place Lowe’s painting, Untitled, 2021 in their collection. I value San Antonio’s arts organizations especially after a very tenuous two-year pandemic. The Carver Community Cultural Center and Cassandra Parker-Nowicki hosted a wonderful event that gathered people together to have an amazing experience and allowed them to feel normal again.

Contemporary Art Month Executive Director Roberta “Nina” Hassele

I saw so many beautiful and amazing exhibitions in 2022.  I absolutely loved every piece of work in Red Dot at the Contemporary at Blue Star Arts Complex.  My favorite exhibition this year was “What Lasts” featuring Hilary Rochow and Alyssa Richards at FL! GHT Gallery. Alyssa’s work evoked childhood memories from within, taking me back home to Brooklyn. Her wonderfully installed wall of teardrops held pieces of wallpaper from family members’ gone but not forgo en. Maybe it’s the reality that my grandmother’s mind is now hostage to dementia and no longer remembers me, her first grandchild, or the emotional anxiety-ridden almost three years that Alyssa captured within me as I took in the exhibition.

Contemporary at Blue Star Executive Director Mary Heathcott

One of my highlights for 2022 would have to be the “Status of Women in San Antonio” exhibition at the Plaza de Armas. I thought it showcased the critical findings outlined in the 2019 Status of Women in San Antonio Report in a successful, thought-provoking and important way. Not typically do serious, data-laden studies get an opportunity to be interpreted in newly commissioned work for a gallery presentation, and the 15 women artists who were included in the show are some of our city’s best.

Creative Eye Gallery Director Karina Garanzuay

[I] found the exhibition back in April held in the former Terminal 136 space at Blue Star Arts Complex, “Chavez & Danna & Datchuk & Fox & Gilmore & Morros & Perez & Rowe” (showcasing work that was originally intended for the “8 Create [SATX]” show at the McNay), left the biggest impression on me. Sarah Fox’s Bad Bunny Gets Lucky stood out to me and was enticing, colorful, entertaining, edgy and bold. I feel that not only the work was impactful but also how things played out with the McNay a empting to censor the work and Blue Star Arts Complex offering a platform to showcase said work. Very reminiscent of how the space we now know as Contemporary at Blue Star came to be.

FL! GHT Gallery Owner Justin Parr

The exhibition that made the biggest impression on me this last year was a pop-up called “DNA” by Verena Gaudy and Martín C. Rodríguez in the empty space at Blue Star that is next door to Slab Cinema. Not expecting to see any more art, I stumbled into it accidentally on my way home from the gallery one night and was so glad I did. I felt it was a highly original use of space and materials (I’ll never look at a laser level in the same way again), and it felt transcendental to walk through it even after a long night of gallery-si ing. Pop-up experiences like that in our local spaces have always been part of what makes San Antonio’s art-making community special.

Luminaria Executive Director Yadhira Lozano

[If] I have to choose one, I’d say visiting The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art, Culture

Sarah Fox

“Wendy Red Star: A Scratch on the Earth”

Gallery-goers at ‘The Status of San Antonio Women’

& Industry in Riverside, California. To recall when this was just an idea, follow the journey and see it come to life is a moment for the books in art history. Walking the galleries and recognizing artwork by friends, colleagues, artists who are no longer with us — from Los Angeles and so many from San Antonio — solidified the fact that art can be criticized, censored or deemed unworthy at one point in history but can and will be recognized and celebrated at another time. My takeaway for all artists is that their time is yet to come, so keep going.

McNay Art Museum Director and CEO Rich Aste

In a year of many proud moments to call San Antonio home, “Wendy Red Star: A Scratch on the Earth” at SAMA was a hands-down highlight. Through 40 show-stopping works created over 12 years and across various mediums, the artist reframed for me, again and again, the possibilities of identity-making through American art. But it’s Wendy Red Star’s newest work — an immersive video screened inside her own, recently constructed sweat lodge — that anchored the overall experience that stays with me today. I left that exhibition changed, and I’m so grateful to SAMA for bringing her vision to San Antonio.

Motherling Co-Curators Crisa Valadez and Sealia Montalvo Sealia’s pick was “Mould” at Rojo Gallery. A print group show, this was one of my highlights of 2022. This is

where I got to see Abby Billingsley and Walden Booker make their curatorial debut. “Mould” showcased a refreshing medley of San Antonio artists and was hosted at one of my favorite galleries, Rojo Gallery. I’ve always been such a fan of group shows; this exhibition was precise and well done! Crisa’s pick was the “Status of Women in San Antonio” exhibition at Plaza de Armas. This was such a powerful show that I think was so extremely necessary for the city of San Antonio to have. Viewers got to engage in the experiences and perspectives of a diverse group of women who made art based on the findings of a 2019 report about the status of women in our city. I was lucky enough to a end the artist panel for this one, and it was extremely moving, and some of what the artists said will stick with me forever.

Ruby City Director Elyse A. Gonzales

“Wendy Red Star: A Scratch on the Earth” at SAMA was a show I really enjoyed (along with the current exhibit “Traitor, Survivor, Icon: The Legacy of La Malinche”). I so appreciated being able to see so much of her work that I had only ever seen in reproduction, except for a few of the photographs. It was terrific to be able to see such a wealth of her work in one place, and to understand the deep, multi-layered connections embedded in the work that tied to her indigenous background and culture, but also to understand the ... historical, and even historiographical, connections she’s referencing. I was so happy that show

came to San Antonio ....

Ruiz-Healy Art Director Patricia RuizHealy

I have to say that it was “Traitor, Survivor, Icon: The Legacy of La Malinche” exhibit at the San Antonio Museum of Art. I love the curators’ focus on tackling such a controversial major feminine icon like La Malinche. The public is able to get a more informed opinion of who La Malinche was and how she has been portrayed for centuries. I love how the narrative changes around the mid-20th century and the most refreshing aspect is seeing the works of Latino/a/x artists like Delilah Montoya and Santa Barraza that brought a feminist perspective and a more complete visual exploration of the way she has been depicted and by whom.

Sala Diaz Consulting Director Heyd Fontenot

The SAMA acquisitions of local artists. Particularly the Joe Harjo piece that is a collection of Pendleton blankets folded (military funerary style) and framed in the form of a crucifix. Ethel Shipton’s solo show in Laredo! Jad Fair (one half of Half Japanese) at SpaceC7. What an incredible network of artists that Jeff Wheeler is always bringing to Sam Antonio! And super excited to get back to town to see the new installation of works at Ruby City!

San Antonio Museum of Art Director Emily Ballew Neff

When I was still a new San Antonian

(I’m now coming up on my one-year anniversary), I visited Centro de Artes’ winter show on the NYFA Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program, Round 2. I was wowed: the program pairs emerging foreign-born or first-generation artists with 34 different San Antonio artists for mentorship and development. The quality of the work was high; the community spirit and support that registered throughout the space was palpable; and it gave me great insight into the beating heart of San Antonio’s arts community. Not least, the space is incredible and beautifully accommodates big and bold work as well as offerings that are small in scale. It was a great welcome to my new city.

SpaceC7 Director and Curator Jeff F. Wheeler

The local show that made the biggest impression on me in 2022 was the McNay Art Museum’s presentation of “Wayne Thiebaud 100: Paintings, Prints, and Drawings.” This timely exhibition was an unprecedented look into his complete and masterful oeuvre. It proved his mastery of many techniques while perhaps teaching the casual art observer that he was much more than just the pie artist. And then, when he left us on Christmas Day [2021] while the show was up, it became the only place in the world where one could go to pay their respects surrounded by such a beautiful and impactful body of work. It was inspiring, and I will always be glad to have had the chance to say goodbye to one of my all-time favorite artists in such a spectacular way.

sacurrent.com | December 28, 2022 –January 10, 2023

City of San Antonio’s Department of Arts & Culture

Wendy Red Star

Best of 2022

The year’s best movies include a trio of films set in Ireland, a culinary thriller and an animated shell

BY KIKO MARTINEZ

Another year has come and gone, and slowly but surely, movie box office numbers are starting to creep back up closer to what they were before the pandemic shu ered cineplexes in 2020.

Even so, plenty of moviegoers realized during that span that unless they’re watching a blockbuster like Top Gun: Maverick or Avatar: The Way of Water, streaming a new release at home can be a fine cinematic experience on its own.

No ma er how you chose to watch your movies, 2022 brought notable films everyone should seek out. Here are our favorites of the year.

1. The Banshees of Inisherin Wri en and directed by Oscar winner Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), this tragicomedy reunites In Bruges co-stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as two best friends living a simple life off the coast of Ireland. The story begins the morning one of the pair decides to abruptly end the friendship. Desperation and frustration overwhelm the men as one tries to grasp his loss, while the other embraces his newfound freedom. McDonagh’s reflection on mortality and human connection is equal parts humorous, heartbreaking and strange.

2. The Fabelmans

Oscar-winner Steven Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan) helms a coming-of-age narrative loosely based on his own childhood growing up in Phoenix and his aspirations to become a filmmaker. In a lesser director’s hands, this kind of cinematic endeavor could be vulnerable to navel-gazing. However, Spielberg’s gift of intimate storytelling — especially when the subject is as delicate and meaningful to its creator as this semi-biopic — captures all the emotion and magic of making movies.

3. WomenTalking

Director and Oscar-nominated screenwriter

Sarah Polley (Away from Her) compiled an impressive ensemble cast to tell an emotionally resonant story that speaks to the empowering spirit and the unwillingness to relinquish one’s autonomy. Inspired by real events, the dialogue-heavy drama is set in an isolated, religious commune where a group of Mennonite women must decide whether

they stay or leave after years of rape by the men of their ministry.

4. She Said

Based on the landmark Harvey Weinstein investigation by New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, the biographical drama directed by Maria Schrader (Unorthodox) is a multilayered and intense feature that demands an audience. The film underscores the work of meticulous journalists and the courage it takes for them to reveal both pervasive sexual abuse and the apathy displayed by those closest to the crimes. As Kantor and Twohey, Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan complement one another admirably.

5. The Wonder

Set in 1862, this psychological drama tells the story of “Lib” Wright (Florence Pugh), an English nurse sent to a rural village in Ireland to watch a young girl who has apparently not eaten in four months but appears to remain in good health. While some believe the situation to be divine in nature, Lib is certain it’s not and goes to great lengths to reveal the truth. Haunting and atmospheric, director Sebastián Lelio’s (A Fantastic Woman) film operates between faith and evidence.

6.

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

The stop-motion animation starring a oneeyed shell named Marcel (Jenny Slate) is imaginative, charming and beyond adorable. There’s a fluency and depth to director and co-writer Dean Fleischer-Camp’s (Fraud) heartwarming tale about the importance of family and community, and it’s delivered in a quietly beautiful way. There is more emotion in Marcel’s one-inch frame than most movies have in an entire reel.

7. The Quiet Girl

When the neglectful parents of 9-yearold Cáit (Catherine Clinch) send her away from her home in rural Ireland to stay with distant relatives, the girl experiences love and affection she’s never known. First-time feature filmmaker Colm Bairéad has created a touching drama filled with gentle moments and deep-seated poignancy.

8. Till

Anchored by a powerful, Oscar-worthy performance by Danielle Deadwyler, the historical drama from director and co-writer Chinonye Chukwu tells the harrowing true story of Mamie Till-Mobley, the mother of Emme Till, and the civil rights advocacy she undertook after her 14-year-old son was murdered in Mississippi in 1955. Deadwyler’s pain is palpable, and the film’s insightful message on social justice rings true today.

9.

The Menu

Director Mark Mylod (Succession) lays on the dark comedy as thick as a creamy garlic aioli in this tasty thriller. Things turn deadly when a group of people travels to a restaurant on a remote island where an enigmatic chef (Ralph Fiennes) has planned an interactive multi-course meal for them. With a diverse and talented cast sharing the screen time, it’s devilishly entertaining.

10. Pearl

Director Ti West’s disturbing horror film begins and ends with the unhinged and genuinely scary performance of Mia Goth as the title character, a country girl in 1918 Texas who dreams of becoming a star and moving away from her controlling mother. Near the end of the movie, Goth delivers a terrifying eight-minute monologue that deserves praise. If The Wizard of Oz and The Shining had a devil baby, this would be it.

screens

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Searchlight Pictures

Annual Report

National food trends, good and bad, affected San Antonio diners and restaurants

BY NINA RANGEL

For San Antonio’s food scene, 2022 didn’t bring nearly as many headaches and heartaches as the two previous years. But that’s not to say it didn’t present its own challenges.

Some of those, from rising prices to streamlined menus, promise to hold on through the new year. But the trends weren’t all negative. San Antonio diners also saw an upswing in plant-based dining and online ordering options. Let’s look at some of the changes that defined 2022 for local foodies.

Online ordering

As pandemic-era restrictions lifted, many restaurateurs took what they learned during that time and made certain changes a permanent aspect of their businesses. That included online ordering and more user-friendly menus accessible based around QR codes.

From new-ish Jewish delicatessen The Hayden to longtime sushi staple Godai, San Antonio eateries embraced online ordering, whether with the help of third-party delivery services such as Grubhub and DoorDash or with dedicated staff members. Before the pandemic ushered them back into our everyday lives, QR codes were considered red flags and a total inconvenience. Once declared dead, today’s restaurant QR codes also link to fun experiences such as restaurant playlists and DIY cocktail recipes.

Charcuterie and grazing boards

As in-person partying ramped up, charcuterie and grazing boards became a nationwide craze, capitalizing on the trend of party and event organizers laying out boards filled with bite-sized eats perfect for group events. Aside from allowing guests to snack to their heart’s content, grazing boards make gorgeous centerpieces. Loaded with perfectly positioned meats, cheeses, nuts, breads and spreads, and the occasional pop of color from fresh fruit, veggies or herbs, they can make a strong visual statement. From Oklahoma-based chain Graze Craze — which opened an SA outpost just last month — to San Antonio’s “original and best charcuterie company,” The Board Couple, the Alamo City now has a slew of options focused on this trend.

Streamlined menus

Soaring costs, supply-chain complications and labor issues led food businesses to

streamline their menus in 2021 — a trend that continued through this year. San Antonio favorite The Broadway 5050 is a prime example. Now operated as a partnership of owner PJ Go sacker and local cocktailer Jeret Peña, the Broadway fixture debuted a leaner, more-focused food menu to accompany its extensive drink offerings. Brewery and restaurant Southerleigh shut down for two months to upgrade the infrastructure at its 128-year-old building at the Pearl, but the changes didn’t stop there. Chef-owner Jeff Balfour pared down his lunch offerings, which he said allowed him to eliminate heavy fare that didn’t make sense to offer daytime diners.

Plant-based priorities

Nationwide consumer trends suggest that plant-based eating has gone mainstream. VegNews magazine reports that the global plant-based food market in 2022 was valued at just over $23 billion, and is predicted to hit more than $61 billion by 2028. In San Antonio, vegan- and vegetarian-focused businesses including Cake Thieves, Southern Roots Vegan Bakery and Project Pollo all

experienced growth this year. Cake Thieves’ long-awaited brick-and-mortar restaurant, Southern Roots Vegan Bakery’s expansion to nationwide shipping and Project Pollo’s breakneck growth across the Lone Star State are testaments that San Antonio is no longer just a meat-and-potatoes town.

Rising Costs

If dining out seemed like more of splurge this year, you’re not imagining things. Restaurants are feeling the same squeeze on food prices as consumers. Material and labor shortages are leftovers from the pandemic, the la er of which forced the industry to raise wages. Over the course of the year, Alamo City restaurateurs consistently told the Current they had li le choice but to raise prices to make up for soaring costs for ingredients, labor, energy and more. There is some good news on the horizon, however. USDA economists predict that food-away-from-home prices will grow more slowly in 2023. Even so, that may be a small consolation to foodies, since those rates will still be above historical averages.

Board Couple

Anarchy in SA

Day-long event celebrates the Sex Pistols’ infamous show at Randy’s Rodeo

BY BILL BAIRD

An absurd spectacle of projectile beer cans, blasphemy and unbridled rage, the Sex Pistols’ Jan. 8, 1978, performance at Randy’s Rodeo became Texas punk’s big-bang moment. It also may stand as the most infamous rock show in San Antonio history.

Fronted by provocateur Johnny Ro en and abe ed by casualty Sid Vicious, the British band were the Beatles of punk rock: a galvanizing game-changer that inspired a legion of imitators. Thanks to a perfect storm of propulsive rock, nihilist fashion, youthful rage and media manipulation, the band’s brief visit to the U.S. unleashed a punk underground here.

And, for many, the band’s San Antonio gig — one of just eight on that sole U.S. tour — remains its most legendary.

“The show changed my life, literally,” said Austin-based photographer Ken Hoge in a 2003 Austin Chronicle story on the performance. “My musical tastes and a itude about performance art were never the same. I do not think they would have ma ered at all, though, if the music had not been so real or if Johnny Ro en had not been such an amazingly gross performer or if Sid Vicious had not been such a suicidal maniac. It was an impossible combination that somehow clicked, like winning the cultural lo ery.”

In honor of the show’s 45th anniversary, San Antonio label Saustex Records and South Texas pop-culture museum TexPop San Antonio are presenting “The Filth and The Flautas (Redux)” at Paper Tiger on Saturday, Jan. 7.

The all-day event will feature a film screening, an oral history project, a panel discussion and photo exhibition including unreleased shots from the show. Capping off the night will be a seven-band concert featuring cowpunk band Hickoids playing an approximation of the Pistols’ original setlist and garage punk revivalists Sons of Hercules, whose singer Frank Pugliese, performed at the original show.

Decades later, the Pistol’s chaotic Alamo City show remains a pivotal moment in Texas culture. While confounding to mainstream music fans and the local media, it unleashed a raw and fervent rock underground that continues through this day.

“The Sex Pistols left no unfinished business,” the late music journalist and historian Margaret Moser wrote in the aforementioned 2003 piece. “Those of us in a endance were handed marching orders, effective Jan. 9, 1978, to rage against mediocrity. It was a lesson not always followed, but never forgo en.”

Anarchy in the UK

By the mid-1970s, the record industry had largely squeezed rebellion out of rock culture. Labels prior-

itized manicured soft-rock acts such as the Eagles, who looked the part of counterculture heroes but whose music dealt in inoffensive mediocrity. Cutand-paste disco and pompous prog rock also soaked the airwaves.

Into this stale atmosphere arrived punk rock, which revived the rancorous spirit of ’50s rock by playing loud, fast and in a manner fit to piss off the old guard. While pioneering U.S. punk acts, from the Ramones to Television, had made inroads with critics, it was the UK variety, led by the Sex Pistols, that ultimately lit the flame stateside.

“American punk had already almost failed by the time the Pistols came,” said Hickoids frontman Jeff Smith, who also heads Filth and Flautas organizer Saustex. “The important difference between UK and U.S. punk was that there was a legitimate political pretext for UK punk.”

That political element, fueled by Britain’s late-’70s economic despair, gave the music an added intensity.

“The UK economy was in shambles, the kids were unemployed and had no future,” Smith added. “So, rather than being the sideshow of the Ramones — the animal act, if you will — or the romanticized urban decay and dense urban poetry of Pa i Smith, it was very in your face, and for a reason. The Ramones looked like a bunch of glue sniffers, but the Sex Pistols actually had a threatening appearance. Their name implied both sex and violence. And the music had a legitimate element of violence as well.”

Maximum controversy

That threat of violence, combined with the band’s headline-grabbing provocation and its now-legendary album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols, sparked a media frenzy.

The chaos culminated in the band’s 1978 U.S. tour, engineered by its manager, Malcolm McLaren. The trek consisted of a mere eight dates in unusual locations, mostly across the South — a locale designed to stir up maximum controversy and conflict.

McLaren picked Randy’s Rodeo in a bid to provoke a clash between punks and cowboys — and there were few more adept at provocation than the Pistols’ manager. It was McLaren, who first spied Johnny Ro en, then John Lydon, wearing an “I HATE PINK FLOYD” T-shirt in Sex — the London boutique he ran with his partner Vivienne Westwood — and put him at the helm of the Sex Pistols.

Leading up to the show at Randy’s, a media frenzy swirled around the band. Both of the city’s daily newspapers, the Light and the Express-News, devoted breathless coverage to the upcoming concert.

“With the Pistols, you had a very salacious package,

and the two daily newspapers were all over it,” Smith said. “The reporting was different back then — ‘If it bleeds, it leads.’ The coverage they got in San Antonio is unbelievable. Maybe today, if Kanye West died or murdered somebody, he’d be on the front page. But they were on the front page several times leading up to the show.”

The media firestorm made the show a can’t-miss event. It quickly sold out. Among the 2,200 people in a endance were iconic Rolling Stone photographer Annie Leibovitz and future Americana superstar Steve Earle. “It was awful,” Earle later said.

Music promoter and one-time owner of San Antonio’s Texas Trash rock ’n’ roll boutique Dee Dee Williams was also there.

“There was hardly anybody in San Antonio at the time that was into punk rock,” she said. “I was 14 years old when I went to the Pistols show. My dad dropped me off. I went by myself! But I have a lot of balls.”

Provocative pick of venues

Cavernous dance hall Randy’s Rodeo, now a bingo parlor, has seen its share of musical greats over the

years, eventually hosting Rush, the Ramones, Selena, Slipknot and U2, among others. It even briefly morphed into Whiskey River, a bar owned by country legend Johnny Bush. But at the time, it was a head-scratching venue choice.

“As the day got closer, people heard about what was happening in New Orleans, what was happening in Memphis,” said Joe Pugliese, who helped promote the San Antonio show for Stone City A ractions. “And we got concerned for security because there were a lot of cowboys that came, and they caused the trouble and heckled the band.”

Pugliese’s brother Frank — now the frontman for the Sons of Hercules — was in the Vamps, one of the opening acts for the Sex Pistols show. A performer known for channeling the outrageous antics of the New York Dolls and the Stooges, he performed with a string of hot dogs around his waist which he flung into the crowd.

Ultra, led by Galen Niles, a guitar hero from 1960s San Antonio garage bands the Out-

casts and Homer, also appeared on the bill. Unlike Puglise, Niles felt no connection to the nascent punk movement.

“We thought, ‘This is a bunch of bullshit,’” he said.

After being kept away from the Pistols by bodyguards and rushed onstage without a sound check, Ultra began performing with Niles playing his pricy Hamer guitar — the first one in Texas.

“We’re up there playing our brand of take-no-prisoners hard rock, and this li le guy with a fake army helmet and a safety pin in his nose takes a mouthful of beer, jumps up on the stage, and sprays it all over my new guitar,” Niles said. “One of our equipment guys was a part-time linebacker for the San Antonio Toros, the football team. He got that guy and, well, the safety pin in his nose might’ve been fake, but the blood coming out of it — that was real.”

Bass hit

music

By the time the Pistols hit the stage, the crowd was primed. The opening chords unleashed a blizzard of beer cans and spit, and the band fired back with blasts of scorching guitar and pounding drums. A shirtless, sneering Sid Vicious stared down the audience, and Johnny Ro en, dressed in an obnoxious red plaid suit, relentlessly talked shit between songs.

“They were half rock ’n’ roll messiahs, half sideshow freaks,” remembered Jesse Suble of Texas punk band the Violators told the Austin Chronicle. “The storm of beer, spit and other debris raining down was the punk baptism of Texas.”

Watching from just offstage, Niles was in shock.

“Johnny Ro en had the yellowest teeth I’ve ever seen,” he said. “The crowd went from throwing empty beer cans to smashing them down and throwing these one-inch frisbees at the Pistols. Like kung fu stars!”

When one of the missiles hit Vicious particularly hard, he swung his bass, landing a

Reminder: Although live events have returned, the COVID-19 pandemic is still with us. Check with venues to make sure scheduled events are still happening, and please follow all health and safety guidelines.

Photograph copyright 1978 Lindell “Tiger” Tate

solid blow on Brian Faltin, an audience member who’d repeatedly flipped him off. With that physical contact, the gig became rock ’n’ roll legend. Accounts range from that single incident of violence to the whole show devolving into a riot and mass chaos.

“Sid went ballistic, mowing his bass recklessly through the audience like a scythe,” journalist Moser wrote in her Austin Chronicle piece.

Longtime Austin writer and eventual LA Weekly music editor Bill Bentley concurred. He was covering the show for seminal alt-newspaper the Austin Sun

“It was at this point that rock ’n’ murder barely got missed, and I’ll never forget how close it all came,” he wrote in 2003. “Johnny Ro en started screaming at the band’s a ackers: ‘All you cowboys are faggots.’ Of course, there really weren’t any cowboys at Randy’s that night. If Ro en had said, ‘All you Mexicans are faggots,’ I have no doubt he would have been killed.”

Texas Trash’s Williams remembers things differently.

“It wasn’t complete mayhem. Well, it kind of was when Sid hit that guy with the bass,” she said. “I don’t think he actually hit him that hard though. I was standing close and ... I don’t remember blood spurting. It wasn’t a riot. [Both the audience and the band] wanted it to be.”

Punk rock aftermath

The crowd dispersed slowly after the show ended. The Austin Sun’s Bentley saw a 16-year old carving a swastika onto the forehead of a photo of Ray Price hanging by the front door.

Niles commiserated with a cop.

“This San Antonio deputy sheriff came to me. I said, ‘I can’t believe this bullshit.’ And he said, ‘I can’t either. You see that guy over there?’ He pointed at a punk guy. ‘I’m gonna harass that motherfucker,’” the guitarist recalled. Even though the fan had commi ed no offense, the deputy jerked him out of the crowd and hurled him against a wall, Niles said. The promised harassment commenced.

Williams got a chance to rub shoulders with the band.

“[Guitarist] Steve Jones came up after the show and said, ‘Oi, you,’” she said. “I walked with him out the back door, met Sid out there. He walked up and said, ‘You want a fag?’ And I said, ‘What? I’m not gay. I’m a girl.’ And he

said, ‘No, no, a fag is a cigare e. You want a cigare e?’”

Williams was ge ing on the Pistols’ bus when her dad pulled up.

“He’s honking the horn as loud as he could, yelling, ‘Come on, get in the goddamn car! It’s one in the morning! You can talk to these limeys some other time!’ It was horrid. I almost started crying. But it’s funny as shit now.”

Despite the chaos the show left in its wake, Joe Pugliese said it raised San Antonio’s profile as a music city.

“San Antonio was the heavy metal capital of the U.S., but because of this show, folks said, ‘Oh yeah, other types of music go over here too,’” he said. “Before that, no interesting artists played here. That changed after that show.”

Indeed, Pugliese even credits the show for lighting a creative fire that helped spark punk scenes outside of San Antonio.

“It changed everybody heads, that’s true,” he said. “All those people who came to the show from Austin, they all started a band.”

For Filth and Flautas organizer Smith, whose junior-high punk band the Dwarves played mostly Sex Pistols covers, the Randy’s show is more than history — it’s personal.

“Johnny Ro en was my absolute idol when I was 13, 14 years old,” he said. “My brother and I had been reading about the Sex Pistols for two years in Melody Maker and New Music Express, hanging out in the Record Hole at North Star Mall — what have they done this week? When they announced the tour, it was like I found a gold mine. I was that ecstatic.”

Smith bought $3.50 tickets for himself and his brother. However, his brother shined him and took a girl he’d been dating instead.

Unpacking the gig

For the Filth and the Flautas, Smith is teaming up with TexPop — originally founded by show a endee Moser and Michael Ann Coker — which is known for its ambitious work bringing local music history to life. UTSA library scientist Steph Noell will be on hand to speak to people who a ended the Randy’s show for an oral history project that will be available both for future researchers and presented in an upcoming zine.

Filmmaker Jim Mendiola will screen

his 1996 film Pre y Vacant, a San Antonio-centric reimagining of the events leading up to the show. A photo exhibition featuring unpublished photos from Hoge, Lindell “Tiger” Tate and Danny Grace is also scheduled.

Lee College professor and punk historian and archivist David Ensminger will moderate a panel discussion featuring Jack Orbin, owner of Stone City A ractions, which presented the original show, along with a endees of the Pistols’ San Antonio and Dallas performances.

Proceeds from the Filth and the Flautas will go to fund TexPop and High Voltage, a nonprofit that offers free music lessons to high school students in underserved San Antonio communities. For Smith, giving back to young musicians brings the Randy’s gig full circle.

“I did miss a true once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he said. “So, there is a personal mythology to the whole thing as well. This event is reversion therapy or something. But, really, it’s just about having fun and raising money for TexPop and High Voltage.”

SCHEDULE:

4 p.m. Pre y Vacant film screening, followed by 15-minute Q&A with Jim Mendiola

5 p.m. Speaker Panel

6 p.m. Z-Pocalypse

6:50 p.m. Cuntry Killers

7 p.m.  Ty Gavin

8:50 p.m. Jefferson Trout

9:50 p.m. Sons of Hercules

10:50 p.m. Hickoids

11:45 p.m. The Babylonznullaceatis

sacurrent.com | December 28, 2022 –January 10, 2023

Photograph copyright 1978 Lindell “Tiger” Tate

Year’s Best Spins

San Antonio artists dominated the Current’s favorite releases of the year

BY SAN ANTONIO CURRENT STAFF

There’s no shortage of great music coming out of San Antonio these days, so we were thrilled when we realized that seven of our music writers’ 10 favorite albums of the year were by Alamo City artists. From spacerock-infused country and spooky synthwave to shoegaze and jazzy sonic experiments, this town continues to produce amazing and diverse sounds. We’d sure love to see more of SA’s homegrown acts hit the road and acquaint the rest of the world with their greatness.

Garrett T. Capps & NASA Country: People Are Beautiful (Spaceflight Records)

While San Antonio alt-country singer Garre T. Capps draws a lot of praise for his frequent tips of the 1o-gallon hat to forebears including Doug Sahm and Augie Meyers, People Are Beautiful earns its spot on this list by standing Texas-fried conventions on their heads. Sure, there’s plenty of twang in these eight tunes, but it’s all underpinned by elements of spacerock and ambient music, as if Capps has taken his “cosmic cowboy” mantel literally. “Time Will Tell” may be the great country song Hawkwind never got around to writing. — Sanford Nowlin

Brandon Guerra and Nick Mery: Deathbloom (Self-released)

San Antonio musicians Brandon Guerra and Nick Mery’s Deathbloom is a jazz-infused soundtrack to the unprecedented Texas snowstorm that left more than 5 million residents without power in 2021. Released on the anniversary of the traumatic event, the collection features haunting melodies, personal anecdotes and clips of news reports, all atop lo-fi beats and jazz instrumentation. The album is named for the flower agave plants produce before they freeze, offering a nod to the beauty, fragility and temporal nature of our everyday lives. — Marco Aquino

Haunter: Discarnate Ails (Profound Lore Records)

There’s no need to travel to Scandinavia to experience the metallic distillation of bleakness and atmospheric despair. Haunter is creating that right here in San Antonio. Discarnate Ails’ beautifully disconcerting sounds draw from two main ingredients: black and death metal, both delivered in a variety of configurations. Eerie melodies, tremolo-picked riffs and low throbs of bass guitar combine with infernal growls that seem to rise from the bowels of a darkened cave. Although this three-song LP lasts a mere 32 minutes, it packs so much variation on its dark theme that the listener never grows bored. — Brianna Espinoza

Las Cruces: Cosmic Tears (Ripple Music)

Twelve-years in the offing, this lumbering slab

confirms what Las Cruces’ cult of diehard fans have long known: few bands are be er at producing doom metal that respects originators like Sabbath and Trouble while forging ahead into new sonic territory. The eight-minute title track showcases the band’s dynamics and ability to craft molten riffs. The powerful tenor of new vocalist Jason Kane also brings accessibility and emotion to Cosmic Tears, adding yet another powerful weapon to Las Cruces’ arsenal. They shouldn’t wait another 12 years to fire the next salvo. — SN

Marillion: An Hour Before It’s Dark (Racket Records)

Although Marillion’s been around since the ’80s, it’s never been a band to rest on its laurels. The Brit progsters’ outstanding An Hour Before It’s Dark continues their recent approach of arranging soaring, emotional song pieces into a unified whole. It’s an approach that’s simultaneously prog and not prog. Imagine if the second side of Abbey Road was re-imagined by Radiohead and addressed issues from COVID-19 to contemporary understandings of gender. An Hour is a densely layered masterpiece, though the band missed an opening by not making the release exactly 60 minutes. — Mike McMahan

Nespithe: Nightlife Ecstasis (Self-released)

Instrumental music has been steadily gaining in popularity in the last decade or two. It may be that we’re all worded out, awash in them from social media to podcasts. Given that the synthwave genre emerged from movie scores, it’s no surprise that Nightlife Ecstasis from San Antonio’s Nespithe makes the listener feel like Terrifier’s Art the Clown or a similar slasher movie baddie may lurk just around the corner. Nespithe manages to bring the menace that defines its musical genre while rolling in memorable synth hooks. Recommended for people who prefer to retreat into the nightmares inside their heads instead of in the world around them. — MM

Jessie Reyez: Yessie (FMLY/Island Records)

On her sophomore album Yessie, R&B singer Jessie Reyez sings about love, betrayal and life’s many struggles. “Waist ge in’ slimmer, but I don’t think my ass is,” she reveals on the opening track “Mood.” An ode to her Colombian roots, the track samples the classic “Los Caminos de la Vida” by Los Diablitos, allowing Reyez to embark on a multi-cultural, multi-genre mashup. Concise, with few bells and whistles, Yessie highlights Reyez’ unique voice and songwriting skills, placing her as a generational talent whose abilities

can’t be denied. — MA

Sinking: Some Piqued Interest (Self-released)

San Antonio shoegaze trio Sinking released Some Piqued Interest in August, a fuzzy homage to influences such as Failure and the Lemonheads with hints of ’80s new wave included for good measure. Gauzy lyrics give way to moments of determined musicality in songs such as “Christmas Mass” and “Car Crash.” The swirling guitar of frontman David Cortez leads, while his brother Patrick’s syncopated percussion propels the group and the bass of Bobby Aguilar lends steadiness. After a decade of grinding, Sinking appears to be on the rise. — Danny Cervantes

Sudan Archives: Natural Brown Prom Queen (Stones Throw Records)

The sophomore effort of self-taught violinist Brittney Parks, who performs as Sudan Archives, Natural Brown Prom Queen is a genre-breaking revelation. The album shapeshifts from song to song, effortlessly flowing between R&B, hip-hop and loopy electronica. “NBPQ (Topless)” pulses at a frenetic pace punctuated with manic tempo changes. Later in the album “Ciara” projects soulful sensuality without being vulgar — a rare feat these days. Throughout the refrain of the title track, Parks declares, “I’m not average.” NBPQ certainly backs up the swagger. — DC

X.I.L.: Rip & Tear (Confused Records)

Rip & Tear, San Antonio band X.I.L.’s debut LP, transports listeners to the ragged and raw days of thrash metal’s infancy. Frantic guitar speeds and equally propulsive drumming are at the forefront. However, the trio offers more than just fast tempos. A rock ’n’ roll approach pervades the album — think Motörhead with the edge of your favorite pioneering black metal band and a sprinkle of ’80s Metallica shred. If you listen closely, you may even catch a few satisfyingly doomy breaks as well. — BE

Courtesy Image Spaceflight Records

critics’ picks

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Wednesday, Dec. 28

Toadies, Flickerstick

In what has become a signature move for musical acts of a certain vintage, Fort Worth’s Toadies are blowing into town to perform Rubberneck more than 25 years after the album’s breakthrough. The trend of performing full albums live has swept from the Gin Blossoms’ New Miserable Experience to U2’s The Joshua Tree and next year’s much anticipated Postal Service reunion for Give Up. While 1994’s Rubberneck floundered when label Interscope initially tried to push the Toadies as a metal band, the single “Possum Kingdom” erupted into the mainstream via a creepy MTV video. The song became inescapable that summer and drove Rubberneck to sell more than a million copies. The song’s guitar ri and the refrain “Do you wanna die?” endure today as staples of the grunge era. $27.50-$80, 8 p.m., Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 812-4355, theaztectheatre.com. — Danny Cervantes

Friday, Dec. 30

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Anyone who predicted years ago that a mix of Christmas stories and prog-metal would make Trans-Siberian Orchestra a top-grossing act would likely have been accused of drinking too much spiked eggnog. But here we are. Sure, TSO is making its annual Alamo City stop a few days after the actual holiday, but ’tis always the season for guitar shredding, fireworks and spectacle. If you grew up here in the ’80s loving arena rock, we’d say this is the show for you. But chances are, you already know. $49.50 and up, 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., AT&T Center, 1 AT&T Center Parkway, (210) 440-5000, attcenter.com. — Mike McMahan

Ghostland Observatory

Aside from opening for the band Jurassic 5 in 2014 and performing a few shows at Austin’s SXSW in 2016, electro-rock duo Ghostland Observatory spent roughly a decade and a half on extended hiatus. Then, in 2018, Ghostland returned with its fourth studio album, See You Later Simulator, and has been touring regularly ever since. In recent years, the Austin-based act has gained recognition for its inventive use of lasers and mirrors during live performances. Its latest release is 2021’s Vultures. $40, 8 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx. com. — Marco Aquino

Saturday, Dec. 31

TOZ, James Rivera’s Metal Asylum

Instead of jamming out to a local cover band on New Year’s Eve, SA rockers this year have the option of jamming out to a cover band from Minnesota that includes former members of Megadeth. Although headliner TOZ’s origins date to the 1980s, the act regrouped earlier this year featuring original members David Ellefson and Greg Handevidt, both Megadeth alumni. Their focus? Covering familiar hard rock and metal tunes. James Rivera’s Metal Asylum — fronted by the singer for local favorites Helstar — along with several other Texas ensembles will serve up covers for those craving hard and heavy classics. $25, 7 p.m., Fitzgerald’s Bar & Live Music Venue, 437 McCarty Road #101, (210) 607-7007, fitzrockssa.com. — Brianna Espinoza

Wednesday, Jan. 4

The Trad Police

High-energy performances are what to expect from the Trad Police and frontman Trevin Roming. The group performs jazz from the early 1900s with a setlist long on Fats Waller, Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong. The group, which includes current

and former members of the Dirty River Jazz Band, builds on the tradition of the Jim Cullum Jazz Band, which was known for carrying the torch for classic jazz in San Antonio. $15-$20, 7:30 p.m., Jazz, TX, 312 Pearl Parkway, Building 6, (210) 332-9386, jazz tx.com. — MA

Thursday, Jan. 5

Moxie,

The Irons and Floats

Indie-rock outfit Moxie shouldn’t be confused with KISS-FM faves Moxy, who last visited SA in September. Instead of ri y proto-metal, this Vermont-based quartet o ers a vibrant throwback groove adorned with the soulful vocals of Rei Kimura. Lead guitarist Leander Holzapfel’s bright and dynamic ri s are complemented by the rhythm section of Daniel Snyder on drums and David Cohen on bass. To get a feel for the band, check out the feel-good track “Honey” from its 2020 release Flow of Color. It’s hard to imagine a more hopeful way to start o 2023. $15$20, 7 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx. com. — DC

Friday, Jan. 6

I Am Human

Uvalde-based I Am Human frequently rounds out bills at San Antonio’s Vibes Underground. If you’ve missed one of those opening slots, here’s a chance to see these metallic sluggers headline a show. Staccato and palm-muted ri s fill its songs, and harsh vocals sometimes come into play. Those looking for a mix of old Bullet for My Valentine and Hatebreed will find plenty to latch onto in I Am Human’s breakdowns. Local fan favorites Desolate A.D., Closed Casket and Mortal Desecration round out the bill. $10, 6 p.m., Vibes Underground, 1223 E. Houston St., (210) 255-3833, vibeseventcenter.com. — BE

sacurrent.com | December 28, 2022 –January 10, 2023

Bob Carey