Submerge Magazine: Issue 148 (October 28 - November 11, 2013) by Submerge Magazine

Dive into Sacramento & its Surrounding Areas

october 28 – November 11, 2013

#148

Meat Puppets Genetic Noise Cove The Tour

Must Go On

Oscar’s Very Mexican Food It Works EVERY Time

MArgaret cho Too Much Funny

Ground Zero & Ace of Spades Team Up for Snowboard

Movie Night The Counselor

A Cinematic Enigma

Crocker’s Art Mix

Goes Comic-Con

free

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Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

November 26

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148

contents

Submerge: an independently owned entertainment/lifestyle publication available for free biweekly throughout the greater Sacramento area.

14 Melissa Welliver melissa@submergemag.com cofounder/ Advertising Director

Jonathan Carabba jonathan@submergemag.com senior editor

James Barone Assistant Editor

Mandy Pearson

Contributing Writers

Zach Ahern, Joe Atkins, Robin Bacior, Andrew Bell, Corey Bloom, Bocephus Chigger, Brooke Dreyer, Josh Fernandez, Anthony Giannotti, Lovelle Harris, Niki Kangas, Nur Kausar, John Phillips, Ryan J. Prado, Andrew Scoggins, Amy Serna, Jacob Sprecher, Jennifer Snyder, Jenn Walker Contributing photographers

Phill Mamula, Liz Simpson, Nicholas Wray

Submergemag.com Follow us on Twitter! @SubmergeMag

Perecption, trip out man

2013

04 06 08 09 10 12 14 18 20 27 28 30

cofounder/ Editor in Chief/Art Director

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2308 J Street, Suite F Sacramento, Calif. 95816

916.441.3803 info@submergemag.com

printed on recycled paper

front Cover Photo of margaret cho by austin young

Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

dive in

october 28 – November 11

Dive in Submerge your senses The Stream The Optimistic Pessimist oscar’s very mexican food margaret cho cove meat puppets CALENDAR live rewind

earthless the grindhouse

The Counselor the shallow end All content is property of Submerge and may not be reproduced without permission. Submerge is both owned and published by Submerge Media. All opinions expressed throughout Submerge are those of the author and do not necessarily mean we all share those opinions. Feel free to take a copy or two for free, but please don’t remove our papers or throw them away. Submerge welcomes letters of all kinds, whether they are full of love or hate. We want to know what is on your mind, so feel free to contact us via snail mail at 2308 J Street, Suite F Sacramento, Calif. 95816. Or you can e-mail us at info@submergemag.com. back Cover Photo of cove originally by Mae Jefferson

Melissa welliver melissa@submergemag.com Perception is a weird thing, when you really think about it. For example, you can have this idea of what some famous person is like and can almost imagine how they would act and what it would be like to hang out with them and have a few beers, but most of the time this perception is based on little-to-no personal experience. The part that always baffles me is when your perception of someone turns out to be the complete opposite of how they really are. Being in the business I’m in—setting up interviews with different sorts of people all the time, from famous rappers and comedians to local/regional talent and everyone in between, I most certainly end up seeing a large number of the subjects we feature in a different light. Most are for the best, for example a heavyhitting local rapper whom I was intimidated by but who turned out to be the nicest person ever; and, unfortunately, some are for the worst, like the time I set up an interview with a really famous skateboarder whom I looked up to for years and who seemed so cool in video parts but treated me like shit and was a total asshole. People are who they are and that’s fine. Heck, if you’ve never met me, but you read this column all the time, I can only imagine what you might think of me. Probably that I’m the sweetest, coolest person ever, and you would totally want to be best friends with me. Right? RIGHT?!? No, but really, we all have opinions and we have to base them off something—maybe an interview we’ve read, a clip on TV, or even just what somebody looks like. And what’s funny about this issue of Submerge is that I totally had this idea of how our Margaret Cho (who is on our front cover) interview would have turned out, and what do you know, it’s completely the opposite of how I thought it would go down. If you know anything about Cho, even by watching a 30-second clip of her comedic performances, you’d know she’s a loud and over-the-top type of gal, and well, that wasn’t what my writer experienced over the phone. Shocking? Kind of, maybe, I guess. Or is she just saving that over-the-top personality for her performance at The Crest on Nov. 2? Read our feature starting on page 12 to get a better idea of what I’m talking about. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, we have our back cover on local band Cove, who are relatively new to the music scene. While they formed about a year ago, the first time I heard of Cove was when one of our contributors reviewed and raved to me about their show at Bows and Arrows this past summer. If you’ve never heard of them before, now is the time to get your first impression by reading about this trio (that is, of course, if you didn’t read the aforementioned review) starting on page 14. In our feature you’ll be able to read briefly about how they came together, the process of playing and writing together, and get a feel for the sounds you can expect to hear on their new EP. Then be sure to attend their release party at Luigi’s on Nov. 7 to see if your perception of them is close to reality. Now, let’s talk about reviews and how, good or bad, they affect your perception of something. Do you like to take the review of something into account, but go out and experience it for yourself? Food reviews and movie reviews come directly to mind here. And we do, for the most part, have both in almost every issue. Regardless of what I read in Submerge, other media outlets, or heck, even on Yelp, I do take reviews into consideration—to a point. But I still love to, and sometimes force myself to, formulate my own opinions. Even when chatting with our editor, Mandy, who hasn’t seen the film reviewed in this issue (The Counselor), after reading about it on page 28 she admitted, “I still wanna see it. Is that weird?” Heck no, not weird at all! It made me think, while I do tend to end up agreeing with our contributors’ opinions almost all of the time, I like to still take the movies in and interpret them for myself. Same goes for our features and reviews on food, drinks, music, etc. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have had my Oscar’s burrito belly this past weekend (see page 10). As always, thanks for reading Submerge! And sure, let our features help you perceive things, but more importantly, let them inspire you to go out and experience the best our region has to offer for yourself. Read, perceive and experience. Enjoy issue #148,

Melissa-Dubs

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

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Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

TASTE

Your Senses

Five Local Beers at Bike Dog Brewing Company’s Grand Opening Party

SEE HEAR TASTE Touch

Nov. 2

SEE

Two of the Year’s Best New Snowboard Movies at Ace of Spades • Nov. 1

It seems like breweries are popping up left and right around Sacramento lately. We’re not complaining at all, we love beer. Especially good beer. New-ish local breweries like Track 7, American River Brewing Co., New Helvetia and a few others are creating some really impressive craft beers right here in our region. One of the next to join the ranks is Bike Dog Brewing Company in West Sacramento, a small batch brewery that is celebrating their grand opening this Saturday, Nov. 2 from 2 to 9:30 p.m. at 2534 Industrial Boulevard. There will be five Bike Dog beers on tap: American Wheat, IPA, Double IPA, Saison and Milk Stout (on both a regular tap and a nitro tap). Drewski’s Hot Rod Kitchen food truck will be there all day to satiate your beer munchies, and if your kids and dogs are friendly, bring them along. As always, Bike Dog is encouraging their patrons to ride their bicycles. Hit up Bikedogbrewing.com or Facebook.com/ bikedogbrewing for more information.

This time of year can be a real tease for skiers and snowboarders alike. With little to no snow on the ground (anywhere near here at least), all of the top film crews and companies are finally starting to reveal last year’s shred-tastic footage to hordes of eager mountain-goers huddled over their laptops and tablets checking weather forecasts and waiting for their favorite resorts to announce what day they’ll be opening. While waiting for winter to show up, it helps to take comfort in numbers and on Friday, Nov. 1, there will be hundreds of like-minded boarders gathered at Ace of Spades (1417 R Street) in downtown Sacramento for Sierra-at-Tahoe and Ground Zero Boardshop’s annual snowboard movie release party. Two of the season’s most highly anticipated films will be aired: Nike’s Never Not and Transworld Snowboarding’s Nation. Submerge has seen parts, if not all, of both of these films and can vouch for how legit they are. Both movies feature some seriously next-level, mind-blowing riding courtesy of a who’swho list of the world’s best snowboarders. Sure to get you stoked for the slopes. Admission is free, doors open at 6 p.m. and DJ Jurts will also be in the building. More info can be found at Groundzeroboardshop.net or Aceofspadessac.com.

Photo by Katy Karns Timothy Green

Eben E.B. Burgoon

Jared Konopitski

TOUCH

Get Your Comic Book Fix at Art Mix/Crocker-Con • Nov. 14

Crocker Art Museum’s creative monthly event Art Mix is going all Comic-Con on Thursday, Nov. 14, where from 5 to 9 p.m. guest artists like John Cottrell (from Dark Horse) and Timothy Green (from Marvel, DC and Dark Horse) will be on-hand along with Eben E.B. Burgoon from Eben07 and B-Squad and local artist Jared Konopitski. The group Arts and Leisure will play superhero theme song covers and tons of comic book stores will have pop-up shops set up like A-1 Comics, Empire’s Comics Vault, River City Comics and Games, Metropolis Comix, and more. Admission to Art Mix is included with your general admission ticket to the museum, which is $10 for adults. Of course, cosplayers get in free. Visit Crockerartmuseum.org for more information. Now, let’s nerd out!

Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

HEAR

Flow: A Night of Jazz, Soul and Hip-Hop at Assembly Nov. 14

Part hip-hop cypher, part jazz lounge, Flow is an exciting new monthly event going down every second Thursday at Assembly (1000 K Street). Hosts Jay Siren and Andru Defeye welcome you to enjoy the sounds of your house band for the evening, Element Brass Band, while new guest MCs take to the mic every month, creating a unique experience where New Orleans Jazz and underground hip-hop are highlighted together. Flow’s next date is Nov. 14. Guest MCs will be Freas (of the Addict Merchants) and Miss Mariana. Also in the house will be Flotivation and Lunaverse (of Project 4 Trees). It’s sure to be a hot one! Flow is 21-and-over, doors open at 8 p.m. and the cover is just $5 before 10 p.m., when it goes to $10. For more information and to see what MCs will be showing up at upcoming Flow nights, visit Facebook.com/flow.sacramento or Assemblysacramento.com. Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

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Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

Audio Express — Sacramento Submerge — 10/28/2013

SHOWS AT SAC STATE

SPONSORED BY UNIQUE PROGRAMS FOR MORE INFO VISIT OUR WEBSITE OR CALL 278–6997

WWW.SACSTATEUNIQUE.COM MOVIE

NOONER

The stream RADIO 94.7 ANNOUNCES LINEUP FOR ELECTRIC CHRISTMAS SHOW ON DEC. 4 WATCH AND LAUGH AS LOCAL MUSIC SCENE MEMBERS COMPETE IN THE SECOND ANNUAL NON DRUMMER DRUM OFF ON NOV. 10 THE COLDEST MUSIC FEST AROUND, SNOWGLOBE, ANNOUNCES THEIR LINEUP FOR THIS YEAR’S SHOWS ON DEC. 29 - 31

Jonathan Carabba

Send regional news tips to info@submergemag.com

THE DIVA KINGS WED • OCT 30 • 12P • UNIVERSITY UNION REDWOOD ROOM

THUR • OCT 31 • 12P • UNIVERSITY UNION BALLROOM

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FREE: film screening of the true story of a Bay Area resident who was shot at the Fruitvale BART station

CONCERT

Winter typically isn’t when you would expect to see big, arenalevel concerts rolling through Sacramento. Larger acts mostly tour in the summer and festivals are almost always in fair weather months. If we’re lucky, each year there will be one or two giant Christmastime shows at Memorial Auditorium or Sleep Train Arena. This year, Radio 94.7 is pulling through with their Electric Christmas show on Wednesday, Dec. 4 at the arena. Headlining will be rock sensations Cage the Elephant, who just released their third album, Melophobia, on Oct. 8. Support will be provided by English indie rock quartet Alt-J, as well as indie/electro band Grouplove. Also on the bill is Capital Cities, The Features and MS MR. Solid lineup, for sure! All of those bands get a ton of airplay on Radio 94.7, so if you want to familiarize yourself with them, just keep the dial locked there and you’ll be jamming in no time. Tickets to Electric Christmas are $39.50 and $79.70 for VIP. Visit Radio947. net or Electricconcert.com for more details and to find a link to purchase tickets.

WATSKY THUR • DEC 5 • 7:30P • UNIVERSITY UNION BALLROOM Hip hop concert. Tickets are $10 for Sac State students and $15 for General. Tickets will be available at Eventbrite.com and the ASI Student Shop at The University Union

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Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

Here’s an event where people willingly go in knowing that what they’re about to hear is going to be bad. Real bad. It’s the second annual Non Drummer Drum Off, presented by ZuhG Life! This year’s Non Drummer Drum Off, a drum off consisting of local music scene members whose primary instrument is not drums (some don’t play any instruments at all, which is even better!) is going down at Harlow’s, located at 2708 J Street, on Sunday, Nov. 10. Last year’s event was held outside the ZuhG Life Store (RIP), in the Downtown Plaza, and it was really fun but mostly just funny. Yours truly even participated. And although my oneminute drum solo was pretty awful, I did not take home the win— which is to say, I was not the worst. That’s the point here, people, to be the worst! The winner (er, loser?) takes home a prize. Just some of this year’s confirmed participants are Hans Eberbach, singer of Joy and Madness; singer/songwriter Autumn Sky; Joe Johnston, owner/engineer at the infamous Pus Cavern Recording Studio; Tyler Campbell, frontman of reggae/rock group Arden Park Roots; Heck, the ZuhG guys even talked peeps like Nick Miller (SN&R co-editor) and Clay Nutting (co-owner of LowBrau) into signing up. There are plenty of other contestants, too, and they will all be judged on their one-minute, unaccompanied solos by actual drummers Christopher Bryan Amaral (Nickel Slots), Zack Kampf (Relic 45) and well-known local percussionist Brian Rogers. Some of the contestants will perform afterward (Lindsey Pavao and Hans), so your $8 cover will also get you some good tunes after the bad drumming wraps up. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the kitchen will be open, so bring your appetite. You might want to grab those earplugs on the way out, too!

A few friends of mine went to Treasure Island Music Festival last weekend. Most of them said something like, “It was awesome, but it was freeeezing!” which reminded me of an even colder music fest in our region, South Lake Tahoe’s SnowGlobe! They just recently announced the lineup for the (freeze) fest, which goes down from Dec. 29 to 31, and it’s full of heavy hitters in the DJ/dance/electronic world like Tiësto and Kaskade along with old school legend Snoop Dogg, who will be performing a “greatest hits set,” hence the reason he’s being billed as Snoop Dogg and not his recently adopted name “Snoop Lion.” There are literally too many awesome DJs and groups to list here, and another major headliner is still to be announced on Nov. 3. Visit Snowglobemusicfestival.com or Facebook.com/ snowglobemusicfestival for more information.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

The Optimistic Pessimist Give Me A Little Sugar Bocephus Chigger bocephus@submergemag.com Halloween can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. For some, it might be dressing up in costumes, be they of the normal, scary, silly, creepy or sexy variety. For others, it’s about trick-or-treating, haunted houses and carving pumpkins. Naturally, each experience is a little different, but they all have one thing in common: that sweet, sweet, candy. Candy is dandy. The candy man can. Candy girl, you are my world. We all know the sayings. It’s like we’ve been indoctrinated to love the sweet stuff and the propaganda appears to be working. In 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau noted in its fun list of Halloween statistics that Americans consume an average of 24.3 pounds of candy per year. Surely, that is plenty of sugar for any mere mortal, but would you expect that to satiate a god? If you weren’t already aware, every god has a bit of a sweet tooth, but none are more hooked on the sugarcane than the God of Halloween himself, the Great Pumpkin. In addition to running the trick-or-treat racket, the Great Pumpkin is also responsible for lost souls. Helping them find their way can be tough work and he finds that part of his lordship to be a bit morose, so he eats candy to forget about it. Now the Great Pumpkin can easily eat over 24 pounds of candy in one sitting, but, until 1967, no one knew how much he could eat in one year. That all changed in October of that year when the world found out exactly how much the Great Pumpkin loved him some candy. It had been a tumultuous year with the country’s ongoing involvement in the Vietnam war and racial strife at home. The hippies had found a way to fuck and smoke away the pain, but neither was an option for the Great Pumpkin. For smoke to emanate from his mouth, the Great Pumpkin would have to be carved, and he was not about to let some foolhardy human jam a knife into his flesh and fill him with fire. While his stump could serve as some sort of rudimentary penis, he derived no pleasure from it and found the idea of someone sitting on his head to be, ironically, beneath him. Sex was out. So he ate. Snickers, Watchamacallits, Baby Ruths, Butterfingers, M&M’s (both plain and peanut), Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Pay Days, Milky Ways, 100 Grands, Abba Zabbas, Twixes (Twixi?) and Kit Kats were all on the menu. He even gorged on the dreaded Necco Wafers. He devoured 50,000 pounds of Sour Patch Kids alone, leaving his pumpkin tongue raw and stained with the multicolored blood of thousands of innocent gummi-children.

SubmergeMag.com

By Halloween Eve of that year, the Great Pumpkin had grown so large that he could no longer get out of bed on his own volition. No one had heard from him in weeks and when they went to investigate they found him alone in his room, oozing pumpkin slime, buried in a sea of candy wrappers. He was nearly the consistency of pumpkin pie, and, being filled with chocolate, twice as delicious. Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny, George Washington and the other National Holiday Gods grew concerned as they watched their fellow deity fall to pieces. An intervention was in order! George Washington started off by showing the Great Pumpkin his gnarly wooden grill and told him how he had lost all of his teeth eating sweets as a boy. The Easter Bunny warned the Great Pumpkin of the dangers of being delectable to humans. But neither Washington’s busted yap nor the pain the Easter Bunny felt for the loss of each one of his chocolate bunny children was enough to sway the Great Pumpkin. Santa knew a different approach was in order. Santa tried to empathize with him. He told the Great Pumpkin about the winter of 1942, when he had eaten too many cookies and found himself trapped in a chimney in Boise, Idaho. It took all nine reindeers, Frosty, Mrs. Claus and six elves to pull him out and he ended up losing his beard and a pair of red pants in the process. The Great Pumpkin thought of Santa stuck in that chimney and realized that he too had trapped himself in his own room by eating all that damn candy. He knew how it felt when Santa lost his beard, because he too felt ashamed of what his candy crush had done to his body. By Halloween 1967, he had eaten almost 4 million tons of candy and it showed. The only candies left in his wake were buttered-popcornflavored Jelly Bellys, black licorice, Twizzlers, candy corn and Almond Joys. No one wanted to eat any of those, so Halloween was cancelled that year due to lack of interest. By the summer 1968, with the help of his friends, the Great Pumpkin had regained his bottom half of an hourglass figure and, working closely with the Mars Chocolate Company, he was able to get them to release their popular candy bars in bite-sized packages. The smaller size still gave the Great Pumpkin the satisfaction of eating candy without all the caloric guilt. He deemed them to be perfect and the small candies gave him great joy. In his eternal wisdom, the Great Pumpkin decreed the new candy “fun size,” and the rest is history.

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12/9 howie Day 12/13 Dead winter Carpenters 12/14 two gallants 12/31 lovefool 2/16 the Duhks 3/18 galactic

Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

Very Mexican! oscar’s very mexican food

1350 Harbor Boulevard • West Sacramento Words Joseph Atkins | photos melissa welliver Amigas, we are lucky to be living here in this land called California. Nowhere else on Earth is it possible to find so much mouthwatering Mexican food. Nowhere. The Midwest doesn’t have it, Texas doesn’t have the same quality, the East Coast doesn’t really try, apparently. And yet, we’ve got a taqueria for every nook and a Mexican eatery for every cranny that our state can provide. Here in Sacramento, things are no different. The offerings are rich and variegated, fast or slow, independent establishments or franchise chains; we’ve got them all. But only one, and now two, can be classified under the tagline “Very Mexican Food.” That’s right, I speak of the longstanding Oscar’s Very Mexican Food, in all its glory. This small hole-in-the-wall, perched quietly across from McKinley High School, is a sort of rite of passage for generations of Land Park youth. Since it opened its doors in 2001, this restaurant has been doling out some of the most consistent and tasty Mexican food in town, at phenomenally

reasonable prices. Though the Freeport Boulevard location has been closed for most of the past year, Oscar’s did move its staff to West Sacramento to open its second location during the hiatus, where it forges on today. Those of us who live in the city limits are unlikely to make the trip over the river unless we need some wood-particle furniture or something, but we need not worry about this separation any longer: Oscar’s OG location is officially back up and running with a significant remodel to both the kitchen and the dining area. Our personal favorite addition: the lavatory sink is outside of the lavatory, in the dining area, allowing patrons to observe who washes and does not wash sus manos after visiting los baños, and judge accordingly. But we digress. There are staples that a very Mexican establishment must have. Oscar’s is the California burrito. It’s a burrito with carne asada, guacamole and French fries inside. It suits nicely on a summer afternoon when one might want

Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

some weight in their belly. However, our personal favorite is a split between two other burritos. First is the egg, bean and cheese breakfast burrito, which is a simple, filling item that pairs well with coffee or cerveza. Sadly, Oscar’s doesn’t sell booze, which means any adult pairings are best done within the privacy of one’s own casa. The second burrito that we regularly crave is a simple one: chicken. This particular item is a sort of post-university staple that sustained us as we worked odd labor jobs after graduating. It’s cheap, roughly $3.00, and simple (shredded chicken in some red sauce), and yet it continues to satisfy as necessary. On this occasion, we ventured over the river to try the wares of the West Sacramento joint. Stationed on Harbor Boulevard, the West Sac offering of very Mexican food is a bit more reminiscent of the original in size. There’s a small sampling of tables and the kitchen is visible from most of the dining area. West Sac does, however, come equipped with television, so we were able to watch the kick-off of Monday Night Football. Which is a thing. The quality of the food was up to the Oscar’s standard. We decided to get out of our comfort zone a bit and tackle a chicken chimichanga, a tortilla that was fried to a crisp exterior, which

came stuffed with shredded chicken. Generous portions of lettuce, cheddar cheese, sour cream and guacamole adorned the sides. This item left us wanting little. And yet we continued. Any Mexican restaurant worth its salt should have a succulent carne asada dish, so we got the combination plate, which came with beans and rice, pico de gallo and guacamole. The meat was seasoned well, cut into tiny bitesize pieces, and when mixed with the sides had the right balance of sweet and savory. This is the sort of entrée that’s great after going to the gym, riding a bicycle or gentrifying a formerly industrial neighborhood. To go along with this, we also branched out into the carnitas, another standard that can make or break a Mexican spot. The carnitas tacos did not disappoint. The pork was flavorful and juicy, not dried out or overly chewy. Each bite had the right texture and seasoning, and compelled us to finish the tacos. These too, like the majority of Oscar’s Very Mexican Food, are moderately priced. The great thing about Oscar’s is that most of what you order, after having consumed it, seems like it should cost more. At those other Mexican spots— which for the record, we like a lot—it’s like the extra dollar here and there pay for fancy soccer jerseys or something; whereas at Oscar’s, there Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

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are no frills, bells, whistles or fancy menus. It’s a proper working-class Mexican spot, and this is why we love it. The beverage offerings are par for the course. There are fountain sodas that come in solid white Styrofoam, just the way mass production intended, containing neither branding nor care for the environment. There are bottled drinks, composed of a few Jarritos, which when the time is right, are nice to have. And if you like your Coke made with actual sugar cane instead of corn syrup, the Mexican Coke bottles are also available. But our drink of choice, when dining on “Very Mexican Food,” is horchata, a Mexican rice milk seasoned with cinnamon. We’re fairly convinced that the large quantities offered at places like Oscar’s must have some sort of mass-produced recipe, but nonetheless, it’s the beverage to have in a large helping when consuming these delicious eats, especially when cold beer is unavailable. In sum, Oscar’s Very Mexican Food is the perfect sort of restaurant. It won’t break the bank, it’s easy to get to, it offers a steady and consistent menu that rarely disappoints. There’s now twice as much Oscar’s to go around for both Sacramentos, East and West. Viva Oscar’s!

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or email info@submergemag.com Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

More Adventurous Margaret Cho Doesn’t Hold Back… Unless It’s Over the Phone Words Jenn Walker Photo missmissyphotography.net

he video currently featured on Margaret Cho’s website is “My Puss.” You have been forewarned—the comedienne’s humor is not for the prudish type. “My pussy so fine that I flaunt it, your pussy so old that it’s haunted,” she raps in an Asian accent, sitting in a bubble bath with a teased fro across from co-rapper Diana Yanez. In other scenes she rocks a sweatsuit, as well as a bad perm and a onesy whilst rubbing her face against a wood floor next to a stripper pole. I wouldn’t expect much else from the longtime outspoken comic, who starred in her own TV shows All American Girl and The Cho Show, continues to co-star in the series Drop Dead Diva, and has made appearances on Sex and the City, Jerry Seinfeld and 30 Rock, not to mention numerous film appearances. My first Cho exposure was sometime in middle school, when I stumbled across one of her stand-up routines on VH1. She was being really loud and raunchy and making ugly faces. Not long after that I found her featured in the back issue of the feminist publication BUST magazine.

Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

My impressions were good. I was excited to finally see a fellow Asian woman in the public eye stirring controversy, breaking away from the dainty “Asian persuasion” mold. And in what better fashion than as an over-the-top comedienne? For some reason I stopped following Cho for a while, so when I read up on the latest Cho news prior to our conversation, it seemed like she had only gotten more adventurous. She had since: tattooed the majority of her body, tried her hand at fashion design, dabbled in burlesque via her live variety show Sensuous Woman, wrote her second book (I Have Chosen to Stay and Fight), produced a musical comedy album and is currently in the process of working on another. So imagine the slight disappointment I felt when, expecting to get a blast of the real Margaret Cho over the phone, I instead heard a very subdued and low-key Cho on the other end of the line. Why did she have such predictable, wellmanicured responses to my questions? It almost seemed I was talking to a pre-packaged Cho, whose answers were stifled by… well, maybe overkill. I get it, the woman is busy. She's sat through dozens of interviews, and likely doesn’t have time to entertain or pal around with every writer she talks to. Check out more than one Cho interview, and you can see how many times she is pried on the same topics. Her sexuality almost always comes up (Cho is bisexual), in addition to her Korean mother, who named her Moran, which sounds an awful lot like “moron.” Speaking of Cho's mother, Cho is currently on her national tour, which she appropriately titled MOTHER. My Q and A session was limited to half-an-hour, because she had

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

another interviewer waiting to talk to her at 1:45. Perhaps our interaction would have also been different if her publicist wasn’t listening on the line the whole time. When we spoke, Cho had just performed in her hometown San Francisco, a show she summed up as “really phenomenal,” and had since moved onward to Los Angeles. After L.A., she was scheduled for shows in Denver, and then Chicago. But she stopped in L.A. first, because as she explained, the next day she would be making a small appearance on the set of Joan Jett’s upcoming film, Undateable John. She was thrilled about it. “Any excuse to see her perform or hang out with her is amazing, I just adore her,” she said. Oddly enough, she wasn’t sure she remembered the name of the film when asked about it. “I don’t know, I think it’s called Undateable John? I think, I don’t know the title as of right now,” she said, her voice trailing. Well, the woman does stay really busy, so perhaps that explains the memory lapse. At some point in her schedule, she finds time to co-host a new online podcast series called Monsters of Talk with comedian Jim Short, most recently interviewing the likes of Joan Rivers, Kurt Sutter (maker of the TV series Sons of Anarchy), and musicians Billy Bragg and Frank Turner. When we spoke she was eagerly anticipating an interview with the long-standing alternative band Wilco. “I’m looking forward to interviewing some of the guys from Wilco, which is a band that I really love,” she said. “We have very different types of people [on the show], but it’s always really fun. “It’s just people that we like and a lot of it is social, too,” she adds. “If you’re a fan of somebody, like I’m a big fan of Frank Turner, who we just had on Monday, who’s a great singer/songwriter, it’s so great to be able to reach out to him and get to know him. He came over and we had a really great conversation.” Earlier this year, Cho also started up her first Web series called In Transition. She stars as Tawny Kim in the dark comedy series about three women just out of prison. Additionally, she just wrapped up her second musical comedy project, which she says will likely result in a double album, accompanied by a book. If the tracks turn out anything like how she described them, then listeners will be in for a wild ride, spanning hip-hop, country and dubstep. This will follow her 2010 release of Cho Dependent, on which she not only sings but plays the guitar, banjo and dulcimer. Cho is insanely well-connected in the independent music world, it seems. On Cho Dependent, for example, she was

joined by guest artists like Ani DiFranco, Tegan and Sara, Andrew Bird, Fiona Apple and Ben Lee. In fact, the most unmeditated response I got from Cho was when I asked her about Amanda Palmer (former frontwoman of the musical duo the Dresden Dolls), who she has been friends with since touring together in 2007. I asked if she had read Palmer’s written response to the well-publicized exchange between Miley Cyrus and Sinead O’ Connor. She hadn’t, but she did say this about Cyrus: “My mother said, after she saw that performance, ‘Oh, she is shaking out all of her luck.’” (Imagine Cho imitating her mother in a deep, Korean accent.) “It’s so typical of her to say,” Cho added, “because you know, with Korean people, they have a thing where, if you shake a part of your body, you’ll shake out all your luck… I was just disturbed because that guy, Robin Thicke, seems so much older than she is.” If you have to peg Cho for a trademark, it is imitating her mom. Watch one of her performances, and you’re bound to hear her voice transition from well-spoken Valley Girl to native Korean, as her face morphs into an expressive old Korean woman. I was sure she must catch herself exaggerating sometimes during her routines, just a little bit, at mom’s expense. But, au contraire, she interrupts me mid-question and says, “No, no, no, that’s the thing. It’s actually a really accurate portrayal of my mom that’s actually really perfect. She has a really, really thick accent, and even though she’s been in America for a long time, she still totally speaks that way.” And, apparently the family loves her impersonation, like most of her material, she says. That wasn’t always the case, however. As she told Arsenio on the Arsenio Hall Show in early October, while she was taking her cues from comics like Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Joan Rivers and Whoopi Goldberg on TV as a kid, her family didn’t get it at the time. “I never really could explain to my family that I did comedy,” she said on the show, “because when I first told my mother I was going to be a comedienne, I was like 14. I said I want to do comedy and she said, ‘Maybe it’s better if you just die.’” To my dismay, she had already told the same story about Cyrus “shaking out all of her luck” on that same night’s broadcast of the Arsenio Hall Show. I guess I can’t blame Cho. She has to save the best for the stage.

Newspaper: publish Date: art Due: CoNteNt: size: art proDuCtioN: Check out Margaret Cho in her element when she plays The Notes: Crest Theatre in Sacramento

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on Nov. 2. Jim Short will be opening. Tickets can be purchased at Tickets.com and range from $49 to $69. For more info, go to Thecrest.com or Margaretcho.com.

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Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

Pr oc es s

Sacramento experimental band Cove readies for first EP and tour Words Nur Kausar • photo Mae Jefferson

t’s two weeks before Scott Ferreter’s band Cove drops its first EP (mostly self-recorded in Ferreter’s mom’s basement), and before the trio goes on its first tour in the freshly purchased “Cove Mobile.” He doesn’t explicitly state it, but Ferreter sounds like he’s floating on nirvana right now. The 24-year-old Sacramento native patiently waited for these pieces to come together since he left his last band, Comfort Twin, in Santa Cruz more than a year ago. “It was a zoo to begin with, an eightpiece band and half lived in the Bay Area and the other half in Santa Cruz,” he recalls. “It was a really fun band. Eight pieces is a real pain in the ass for getting together, but once you got it together, in every sense of the word, it was great.” Ferreter moved back to Sacramento when his dad was diagnosed with cancer, and shortly thereafter Comfort Twin dissolved. The move became an opportunity to create the band he always wanted. “Once I moved back I was really excited to start a more straightforward band,” he says. Through advertising and hanging fliers at Javalounge downtown, Ferreter met drummer Steven Cranston and 27-year-old bassist Charlie Dale. The three fine-tuned their sound and lyrics, and had the EP and tour upcoming when Cranston left the band after getting

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a job. Ferreter became frantic to find a drummer last-minute. “Our musical existence was weighing heavily on finding a drummer. I was worried we would have to settle so it was humorous when Omar pulled up and he was exactly what we wanted,” Ferreter says. “Charlie and I pontificated on finding a drummer, saying we should get someone who is good at even asking for money at the end of the night. The two of us, we’re not tough guys, so when Omar said the other day, ‘two things I really like is dealing with sound guys and dealing with club owners,’ it was meant to be.” Omar Barajas, 23, also from Sacramento, joined Cove after stints in other local bands. “The other bands I played in were completely different,” he says, on break from his day job. “The first was instrumental, then I toured with Sister Crayon and that’s electronically driven with heavy beats. But Cove is really mellow.” It was a welcome change. Barajas, whose major influences are jazz and bands like Silversun Pickups, wanted a slower pace. “I was used to just banging my drums, but now I’m focusing more on my technical skills,” he says. He joined right after Cove recorded its EP. The new trio had their first show in mid-October and Barajas says he’s been able to see the backbone of the songs and

insert his own style. “Scott is a good songwriter, so it’s easy to get lost in the music.” Ferreter says most of the seven songs on this EP came about from jamming together. “When I got to Sacramento I had all these songs that I wanted to put on an album. As we started playing together, it was immediate, we saw this energy together that we couldn’t create on our own,” he says. “Cove is my first experience of actual co-writing. These sounds would not have happened had these exact people not been together at that time. Everyone has differing interests and musical paths but there is enough overlap in the stuff that matters: how to approach music, the process of playing together.” And then there is a good amount of absolute happenstance, Ferreter says. “I’m a Craigslist junkie, mostly in the name of getting a band together, so if a show needs to happen, I’ve got the stuff for that. I found this $30 electric piano and like a week later, we met Charlie and piano was his first instrument,” Ferreter says. “The last band he was in, he was playing drums but he was really excited about playing piano, and it became instrumental to us as a band.” On their self-released album, Dale plays electric piano, synthesizer and bass. A few songs also have horns with help

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from one of Ferreter’s former bandmates, and extra vocals with help from David Lipp, who recorded half the record and, according to Ferreter, “took the project from an absolute zygote to a complete creature ready for the world. “David (Spare Room Studios, San Francisco) did all of the engineering and I just cannot say enough about it,” he says. “He did it out of the love for the music. He took a handful of sand and turned it into a nice tropical beach. I’ve come to a loss of words, I can’t say enough.” Some sounds from the album will obviously not be part of the tour, such as Lipp’s vocals, the horns and a full-sized harp that Dale received as a birthday rental. “Of course in the middle of recording this album, we have a harp so it’s a nobrainer,” Ferreter laughs. The album doesn’t have a theme per se, but the band thinks of it as more a process of selection. “These are the songs over the last year we’ve felt a lot of energy from. We were thinking of timing, of this era of our lives. We have some songs that are some of our favorites, but we didn’t end up including them because certain songs feel like they ripen and will start rotting soon thereafter. We play what’s feeling ripe right now, what’s relevant right now. It was also about what tools we have. We have some grandiose ideas for other songs but don’t have what we would need to record them yet.” For now, the band says, the EP and the tour is the direction they’re moving musically. It’s not a hint of what they’re doing—seven songs could be considered an album—it’s a full piece of pie. “Basically,” Barajas adds, “If you appreciate good songwriting and cohesiveness, you’re gonna dig it. If you like folky writing, you’re gonna dig it.”

The tour and EP release party start at Luigi’s Fun Garden Nov. 7 with tickets on a sliding scale from $5 to $10. The orbit of the tour will be around Seattle, Olympia and Portland and will last two weeks. Check out covetheband. com for more information and to sample two recordings.

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Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

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Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

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Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

The Mystery of Meat

True rock ‘n’ roll survivors, the Meat Puppets are back once again with a new album Words James Barone •

photo Jaime Butler

ack in the early ‘80s, there were probably few who would have given the

Abbey Road in the past. Cris says that Rat Farm’s warm sound is, in part, a function of

Meat Puppets a shot at leaving a lasting mark on the rock ‘n’ roll world. The

Percefull’s experience working at Abbey Road.

Phoenix, Ariz., trio centering around brothers Cris (bass, vocals) and Curt

“He’s way into the sound of Abbey Road Studios, so he engineered the room to

(guitar, vocals) Kirkwood began making off-the-wall, nasty punk rock that became

have similar acoustic qualities as Abbey Road,” he says of the engineer’s influence on

progressively more psychedelic as time went on. The group quickly became a staple of

the album. “That plays a part in the records, definitely.”

the underground scene, but it wasn’t until the mid-’90s, and a guest spot with Nirvana

Rat Farm is a harrowingly spare album, probably the Meat Puppets’ most complete

on their ballyhooed performance on MTV’s Unplugged, that the Meat Puppets entered

effort in years. Simple chord progressions are paired with haunting melodies, resulting

into mainstream consciousness. Through it all, they encountered many of the same

in a mature, cohesive and decidedly rocking collection of songs that fit nicely in the

pitfalls of their peers—drugs, incarceration, breakups—but unlike many others, they

band’s extensive catalog.

managed to endure and are still together, more or less in one piece. In April 2013, the

The band is currently on the road promoting Rat Farm; while traveling between

band released their 14th full-length studio album, Rat Farm, more than 33 years after

Washington D.C. and Philadelphia, Cris Kirkwood took some time to speak to Submerge

they formed.

about where the Meat Puppets are now musically, and how the band has become a

The trio, which now consists of the brothers Kirkwood with Shandon Sahm on

real family enterprise with Curt’s son Elmo Kirkwood joining the Meat Puppets as a

drums, recorded their latest effort in Curt’s hometown of Austin, Texas, at Yellow Dog

touring guitar player. He also attempted to decipher the elusive, mysterious quality of

Studios with engineer Dave Percefull, who’d worked at famed London recording studio

the band’s music.

Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

Is that something you get a big kick out of? Riling up a crowd? Not really. I’m about as quiet as a church mouse on stage. Curt is good at that interaction—the repartee. We don’t play in that big of a room, so it’s a conversational sort of a thing. The band has come such a long way since it’s been around for more than 30 years. Do you ever think, “Wow, I can’t believe where we started and where we ended up”? Oh sure. Where we’re at right now, and how long it’s taken to get here, it’s been a pretty natural progression. We got into a cycle where Curt would be coming up with whole new albums of material. After we’d make a record, we’d go out and play a bunch and sit around and the next thing you knew, we’d have another record’s worth of material to learn and make. That would move along another year or year and a half— some years saw several records come out—and in that, the years just ticked off and took care of themselves like time will do. While you’re doing that, you’re growing, you’re moving through the process. It’s not like you’re going, “OK, now we’re in this place in our careers and soon we’ll be in that place.” The perspective from now is definitely unique enough and it’s informed by how long ago some of that stuff took place. It’s shocking as fuck to me that I could look back on those times and go back to a particular age and go back to who we were as people and artists and players at that point. Each one of them, it’s pretty wild the body of work that we did. When we were younger, it was an intentional thing to not dress up like punk rockers or any other type of thing. It was so much about the music and letting the guitars do the talking for us. In doing that, we set ourselves up to be able to do it longer than one particular fashion trend. We were conscious of skewing the songs so they weren’t so timeperiod specific so they could continue to live as well through the years. In that, we were set up, but we intentionally made the band and the ideas something we could continue to grow. Still, to get to this point, you talk about being old farts and playing together when you’re a kid, but at 20, my mid-50s seemed a hell of a long way off, but here I am, and here we are. Being at that place is unique, it’s novel. The only way to get to this place is by playing together for as long as we have. We certainly have that element to it.

The warm sound of the record is the first thing that jumped out at me about Rat Farm, that it’s just a good, straightforward rock album. The straightforwardness of the thing, Curt’s always doing that as an artist. He’s a minimalist in a way. Part of the dynamic of the band is I’m sort of a noodle-meister. I’m always asking him if I can stick in some complicated, goofball parts where you’re wiggling your fingers around more. But that’s not what he’s on about. It’s not about the actual form, it’s way more the people who are doing it and the mystery behind it all. It’s the question of not presuming to know what’s good or not, and he’ll go for less and less and less… Rather than trying to force the music, it allows the music to be there itself. We’ve always been about more of something you really couldn’t put your finger on. The magic is inherent in it; the mystery is inherent in it— that elusive quality. That’s just what the Meat Puppets implies, the name of the band even. That elusive quality, is it something you know when you hear it? Do you know what you’re striving for, or is it the striving for it that’s more important? I think that particular elusiveness is inherent in and of itself. It’s down to the people who are doing it—it’s me and Curt doing it for this long. It’s going to come out as our music, and it’s going to be imbued with the ideas that we have. There’s just going to be something mysterious about it because life is mysterious. People turn to religion to try to answer the big-dollar questions, and we just go to the art and let the art exist on its own and aren’t judgmental about it beyond the actual making of it. It exists in a realm of mystery—as does fucking everything. Good God! Go outside some night and look up. You tell me. One of the other bitching things about music—live music in particular—is some shows, you just come off the stage like, “That was a goddamn Silver Surfer expedition to the outer reaches of the cosmos…” And why that particular night? What’s it down to? The shows will be fine. We’ll make it through the shows, but sometimes they really fucking sparkle.

For Rat Farm, you said you got the lyrics handwritten without seeing them prior. Did the meaning of them have time to sink in or is that something that occurs to you later? It would be both. I’ve had enough experience of playing songs that I’ve played a lot of fucking times…plenty of fucking times, and suddenly I’ll actually have the lyric come through to me, and that’s novel. I get a kick out of that. I’m Curt’s biggest and oldest fan, and his most devoted, long-lasting supporter. I think he’s fucking great. He’s a really good composer on par with anyone at this point. I mean, he’s my brother. But it’s incredible how often, for my tastes, he manages to write stuff that’s not hard to sing. He doesn’t write stuff that I have to get around, like, “I don’t feel that way,” or, “I don’t want to say that.” “That’s too corny,” or “that’s about your relationship or something.” He gets it out to a level where it’s fairly applicable. He writes from a particular place, and he’s so good at making his lyrics about things but making them evocative enough so that they can be interpreted in your own way. You said it’s been a natural progression for you guys over the years. What’s your sense of where the band is now with Rat Farm? Rat Farm will have to sit a while for me to get a sense of it… I mean, a sense of it is already there. Once the album cover is on the thing and the name is on it, it’s taken its place in the pantheon, but it’s more of a question of where the band is right now. That’s what I’m conscious of at this point. How am I? How is my body holding up? Am I in or out of fucking prison? I’m currently out and have been for a long time [laughs]. It must be really cool to have your nephew touring with you as part of the band. The Meat Puppets are really a family affair. It’s a total fucking mindbender. Elmo has a twin sister Katherine. We all used to live together. The kids were born in 1983, so the band was well along and playing together for a while. We’d been out on the road and made records. It was a pretty loopy-doopy sort of scene, as you could imagine—a bunch of desert rats, stoner, ne’er-do-wells. It was an interesting scene that he was born into. Now all these years later he’s playing with us, which is very cool. Ultimately, he’s a good enough guitar player to play with Curt and I, because we’ve done it for a while. He’s going to be 30 this month… God damn. This band is absolutely a See the Meat Puppets live fucking trip. in Sacramento with openers That’s for The Word Takes (with DJ sure. Bonebreak from the band X) at Harlow’s on Nov. 13. The show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased through Harlows.com.

“One of the other bitching things about music—live music in particular—is some shows, you just come off the stage like, ‘That was a goddamn Silver Surfer expedition to the outer reaches of the cosmos…’ And why that particular night? What’s it down to? The shows will be fine. We’ll make it through the shows, but sometimes they really fucking sparkle.” – Cris Kirkwood, the Meat Puppets SubmergeMag.com

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Do you guys still really enjoy antagonizing the audience? I would have to say yes. What else are they good for? If not directly, verbally, at least with our music, it’s always been one of our goals to make people feel if not flat-out nauseous, at least somewhat dyspeptic.

When you started out, and considering everything that’s happened in your career, did you ever think you’d still be playing when you were 50 as a member of the Meat Puppets? Definitely. There’s never been anything else I really wanted to do. This is what we’ve applied ourselves to… It’s not like you can step outside of the wheel of aging and time. Years ago, I felt old in my mid-20s; the sensation of time passing and the inevitability of our brief existence. It’s not like anything new, that I’m suddenly going, “Hey, I’m older.” I’ve been older for a while.

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Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

Thursday NighTs ! music, comedy & misc. Calendar

T h g i N m a J N e a p B O miKe’s LOsT & FOuNd Nd

Nd Jam sTrumeNT a BriNg yOur iNiTh The BaNd Or ic aLONg w he greaT mus JusT eNJOy T

916 2

1.99 shots

Jack, Jame & Jerry

S t r e e t O l d S ac r a m e n t o

( 9 1 6 ) 4 4 3 - 6 8 5 2 TheRiverCitySaloon.com

oct. 28 – nov. 11

submergemag.com/calendar use a qr scanner on your smart phone to view calendar online

10.28 Monday

The Boxing Donkey Open Mic Variety Night, 8 p.m. Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

oct 30 oct 31 novth15-17 aNNiversary wednesday thursday

live musiC! halloweeN musiCal8pm 8pmparty! No Cover! Charis No Cover! sunday

sunday

nov 3 nov 10 live musiC! live musiC! Blaquelisted tu New 8pm No Cover!

party!

t h r e e d ay

karaoke competition

Live bands on saturday

Food truCks Friday & saturday

Potluck on sunday

driNk speCials & more

8pm No Cover!

29 E St sac (916) 446-3624 Facebook.com/PinecoveTavern • TwiTTer - @PinecoveTavern th &

Harlow’s Antsy McClain, 7 p.m.

Torch Club Dippin Sauce, 5:30 p.m.; Island Of Black and White, 8 p.m. Toby Keith’s Open Mic Night, 7 p.m.

10.30 Wednesday

The Boardwalk The Browning, This or the Apocalypse, Honour Crest, Tear Out The Heart, Myka Relocate, 6:30 p.m.

Old Ironsides Heath Williamson & Friends, 5 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Bar 101 Open Mic, 7:30 p.m.

Sol Collective Microphone Mondays, 8 p.m.

Bows and Arrows The Shondes, Dog Party, Cave Women, 8 p.m.

Toby Keith’s Steve Holy, 7 p.m.

Club Car The Double Shots, 7:30 p.m.

10.29 lAst Cut wAsn’t

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Fox & Goose Northern Soul, 8 p.m.

Tuesday

G Street WunderBar Funk Night w/ DJ Larry, 10 p.m.

so super? Get it fixed At Anthony’s BArBershop

LowBrau Le Twist Halloween Edition w/ Screature (DJ Set), Sam I Jam, Adam J, Taylor Cho, Roger Carpio, 9 p.m.

Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

Shine Jazz Jam w/ Jason Galbraith & Guests, 8 p.m.

Marilyn’s Karaoke, 8 p.m.

Harlow’s Lake Street Dive, Miss Tess & The Talkbacks, 7 p.m.

2408 21 st • Sac • sacramentobarbershop.com (916) 457-1120 • Tues-Fri 9am-6pm • saT 10am-4pm

Press Club FFFreak! w/ DJs CrookOne, Ben Johnson, Boogalicious, 9:30 p.m.

Badlands Trapacana w/ IMF. Dred, TAMEsta, TL Durden, 10 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub College Night w/ DJ Rigatony, DJ Alazzawi, 10:30 p.m.

Luna’s Cafe Nebraska Mondays feat. Chris Schlarb’s Psychic Temple, Hammond, Liebig and Compise Trio, 7:30 p.m.

Center for the Arts: Veterans Memorial Auditorium Buddy Guy, Grease & Grime, 8 p.m.

A truly Artful shAve At Anthony’s BArBershop

Fox & Goose Open Mic Night, 7:30 p.m.

Pine Cove Open Mic Night, 9 p.m.

Laughs Unlimited Karaoke, 8 p.m. Marilyn’s Back Alley Buzzards, 8:30 p.m.

Mix DJ Peeti V, 9 p.m.

Old Ironsides Open Mic w/ Sandra Dolores, 9 p.m. Pine Cove Musical Charis, 8 p.m.

Marilyn’s GSET: Classic Rock and Blues Review, 7:30 p.m.

Torch Club Acoustic Open Mic, 5:30 p.m.; Jonathan Warren and the Billy Goats, 9 p.m.

Old Ironsides Karaoke, 9 p.m.

UC Davis: Jackson Hall AnDa Union, 8 p.m.

University Union Redwood Room, CSUS Nooner w/ The Diva Kings, 12 p.m.

10.31 thursday

Ace of Spades Stick Figure, Thrive, Simple Creation, Alific, 6:30 p.m. Bar 101 Karaoke, 7:30 p.m. The Boardwalk Dose of Adolescence, Without Conclusion, Fuel for Addiction, Lonely Avenue, Bri, Tragic Culture, 8 p.m. Center for the Arts Mount Whateverest, The Soft Bombs, Aaron Ross, 9 p.m. Club Car Songwriters Showcase, 8 p.m. The Coffee Garden Open Mic Night, 8 p.m. Delta of Venus Skunk Funk, Bomba Fried Rice, 6:30 p.m. District 30 Aly & Fila, 9 p.m. Dive Bar Dueling Pianos, 9 p.m. Fox & Goose Halloween Costume Party w/ Whoville (Who tribute), Soft Science, Julia Massey & The Five Finger Discount, 8 p.m. Golden Bear DJs Lisa D, CrookOne, Mike C, 8 p.m. Harlow’s Harloween w/ DJ Oasis, 10 p.m. Haven Underground DJ Shawna, KMLN, Sweet Anomaly, Jake the Rapper, 7:30 p.m. Level Up Lounge Karaoke, 9 p.m. LowBrau The Frail, Shaun Slaughter, Adam J, 9 p.m. Marilyn’s Children of the Grave, Arch Angel (Misfits tribute), Death Party at the Beach, 9 p.m. Mix DJ Peeti V, 9 p.m.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

Old Ironsides Dead Rockstar Halloween Show w/ Rebel Punk, Crazy Ballhead, Tipsy Hustlers, 50-Watt Heavy, Fatso, Lawn, The Other Brittany, Swahili Passion, Ghost Play, All About Rockets and more, 7:30 p.m. The Park Ultra Lounge 4th Annual Crooked Halloween w/ DJ Crooked, DJ Eddie Edul, 9 p.m. Pine Cove Halloween Party, 8 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Chris Gardner, 10 p.m. Press Club Monster Mash w/ Flower Vato, 9 p.m. R15 Z Rokk, 9 p.m. Rock Band University Embodied Torment, Solitary Priapism, Blessed Curse, Witching Hour, Valley of the Thorns, 7 p.m. The Stoney Inn The Brodie Stewart Band, 9 p.m. Toby Keith’s Country Jam, 8:30 p.m. Torch Club X Trio, 5 p.m.; Happy Halloween w/ Joy & Madness, 9 p.m.

UC Davis: Vanderhoef Studio Theatre Ensemble Yarn / Wire, 12 p.m.

11.01 Friday

Ace of Spades Snowboard movie premiere party w/ DJ Jurts, 6 p.m. The Blue Lamp Psychosomatic, Lord Dying, Ghulheim, Valley of the Thorns, 9 p.m. The Boardwalk A Shark Among Us, Servants, Beneath the Moon, Taking Us Alive, Truly Terrifying, 7 p.m. Capitol Garage Dub Culture w/ DJ Wokstar, DJ Jaytwo, 10 p.m.

Golden Bear DJ Crook, 10 p.m.

Red Hawk Casino Night Fever, 9:30 p.m.

Harlow’s Mazzy Star, Mariee Sioux, 6:30 p.m.

Sammy’s Rockin’ Island Bar and Grill Hari Kari Halloween Rock Party, 10 p.m.

Haven Underground Birds of Paradise, Kalya Scintilla, 9 p.m. Jazz & Jokers Dale Head and the Swingomatics All Star Little Big Band, 9 p.m. Level Up Lounge Hot Pants w/ DJ Rock Bottom, 9 p.m. Luigi’s Fungarden Danny Secretion’s Lame Ass Fuck Cancer Birthday Bash Day 1 w/ Lesdystics, Enlows, Harbor, Community, O’Mulligans, 7 p.m. Marilyn’s Jukebox Johnny, 9 p.m. Mix DJ Gabe Xavier, 9 p.m.

Center for the Arts Dave Mason, 8 p.m. (Sold Out)

Old Ironsides William Mylar 5 p.m.; Sicfus, Sexrat, Vague Intentions, 9 p.m.

Club Car Dream and the Dreamer, 8 p.m.

The Park Ultra Lounge DJ Eddie Edul, 9 p.m.

District 30 DJ Peeti V, 9 p.m.

Pine Cove Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Fox & Goose Spirit of St. Louis, Manzanita Falls, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Take Out, 10 p.m. Press Club DJ Rue, 9 p.m.

Shine Derek Thomas, Ben Perry, 8 p.m. Thunder Valley Casino Resort Pablo Cruise, 8:30 p.m. Toby Keith’s Chad Bushnell, 9:30 p.m. Torch Club Pailer & Fratis, 5:30 p.m.; Tracorum, 9 p.m.

10.31

The Frail Shaun Slaughter, Adam J LowBrau 9 p.m.

UC Davis: Jackson Hall Gil Shaham, 8 p.m.

11.02 Saturday

Bar 101 Uncle Junior, 9:30 p.m. The Blue Lamp Warp 11, 9 p.m. The Boardwalk Restrayned, Overwatch, Vanishing Affair, Skin of Saints, Kryptic Memories, 7 p.m.

11.01

DJ Wokstar DJ Jaytwo Capitol Garage 10 p.m.

CroCker- CoN Thursday, November 14 5 — 9 PM It’s Comic-Con with an Art Mix twist, and cosplayers get in Free Superhero theme song covers by Arts & Leisure • Writer Eben E.B. Burgoon from eben 07 & B-Squad • Illustrator John Cottrell from Marvel & DC • Illustrator Timothy Green from Marvel, DC & Dark Horse • Illustrator Chris Wisnia from SLG • Painter/illustrator Jared konopitski • Special appearance by those legendary bad guys who do good, the 501st Legion • Pop-up comic shops from A-1 Comics, empire’s Comics Vault, Big Brother Comics, and Metropolis Comix

#artmix

crockerartmuseum.org SubmergeMag.com

Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

11.02

Haven Underground Opiuo, Mr. Rogers, Dusty Fungus, iNi, 9 p.m. Jazz & Jokers Mercy Me Band, 9 p.m. KBAR Z Rokk, 9 p.m. Level Up Lounge Guest DJs, 9 p.m. Luigi’s Fungarden Danny Secretion’s Lame Ass Fuck Cancer Birthday Bash Day 2 w/ Left Hand, Barfly Effect, Bastards of Young, Brian Hanover, Knockoffs, 7 p.m. Marilyn’s Slippery Slope, Inciters, 9 p.m. Mix DJ Eddie Edul, 9 p.m.

HIATUS KAIYOTE Coyote Tap House 7 p.m.

Old Ironsides Lipstick Weekender w/ Shaun Slaughter, Roger Carpio, 9:30 p.m. Pine Cove Karaoke, 9 p.m.

ed t c e n n Stay hCoSubmerge wit

Bows and Arrows Grand Lake Islands, Pablo, Sherman Baker, 8 p.m.

Faceb @S o o subm k.com ergem / ag

rg ubme

eMag

Cache Creek Casino Piolo Pascual, Angeline Quinto, Marcelito Pomoy, 8 p.m. Capitol Garage Feel Good Saturday’s w/ DJ Epik, 10 p.m. Center for the Arts Solos, A Million Billion Dying Suns, 9 p.m. Club Car Corduroy Jim Band, 9 p.m. Coyote Tap House Hiatus Kaiyote, 7 p.m. Fox & Goose Day of the Dead Celebration w/ Children of the Grave, Peacekillers, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Superbad, 10 p.m. Press Club DJ Larry Rodriguez, 9 p.m. Red Hawk Casino Rebell Yell, 10 p.m. Sammy’s Rockin’ Island Bar and Grill The Mock Ups, 10 p.m. Shine Lords Of Outland, Raw Data, The Bongo Furys, 8 p.m. Thunder Valley Casino Resort Craig Campbell, Aces Up, 7 p.m. Torch Club RJ Mischo, 9 p.m. UC Davis: Vanderhoef Studio Theatre New York Polyphony, 8 p.m.

G Street WunderBar Street Urchinz, 9 p.m. Harlow’s Tempest, 5:30 p.m.; City Council, B Smoove, Cap Biz, 10 p.m.

11.03 11.04 Sunday

Monday

The Boardwalk The Chariot, Glass Cloud, Birds in Row, To the Wind, With Wolves, Defy the Odds, 6:30 p.m.

The Boardwalk He Is Legend, Track Fighter, Blacksheep, Decipher, 6:30 p.m.

Cache Creek Casino Piolo Pascual, Angeline Quinto, Marcelito Pomoy, 4 p.m. Capitol Garage Karaoke w/ Jeff Jenkins, 9 p.m. Davis Central Park New Harmony Jazz Band, 11:30 a.m. Distillery Karaoke, 8 p.m.

The Boxing Donkey Open Mic Variety Night, 8 p.m. Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m. Fox & Goose Open Mic Night, 7:30 p.m. Luna’s Cafe Nebraska Mondays hosted by Ross Hammond, 7:30 p.m. Old Ironsides Heath Williamson & Friends, 5 p.m.

Luigi’s Fungarden Danny Secretion’s Lame Ass Fuck Cancer Birthday Bash Day 3 w/ Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children Macnuggits, City of Vain, Strange Party, Dead Dads, Ramones Karaoke, 6 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Mix DJ Gabe Xavier, 9 p.m.

11.05

On The Y Times Of Desperation, Dax Riggs, 9 p.m. Pine Cove Blaquelisted, 8 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Maxx Cabello Jr.,

Press Club Work Your Soul w/ Andy Garcia, Matt Mora, 9 p.m. Sol Collective Microphone Mondays, 8 p.m.

Tuesday

Ace of Spades Ab-Soul, Joey Badass, and more, 7 p.m. Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m. Old Ironsides Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Press Club Sunday Night Soul Party w/ DJ Larry, 9 p.m.

Pine Cove Open Mic Night, 9 p.m.

Torch Club Blues Jam, 4 p.m.; Freeway Revival, 8 p.m. UC Davis: Vanderhoef Studio Theatre New York Polyphony, 2 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub College Night w/ DJ Rigatony, DJ Alazzawi, 10:30 p.m. Press Club GRIMEY w/ DJ Whores and Guests, 9 p.m. Shine Jazz Jam w/ Jason Galbraith & Guests, 8 p.m. Torch Club Chris Zanardi, 5:30 p.m.; Lew Fratis, 8 p.m.

Harrah’s Lake Tahoe Gov’t Mule, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 1-3

Danny Secretion’s Lame Ass Fuck Cancer Birthday Bash Luigi’s Fungarden 6 p.m.

Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

11.06

Rubblebucket Harlow’s 7 p.m.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

Toby Keith’s Open Mic Night, 7 p.m.

11.06 wednesday

Ace of Spades Soulfly, Havok, Solanum, Krippler, 6:30 p.m. Assembly Mat Zo, 9 p.m. Bar 101 Open Mic, 7:30 p.m. Club Car The Double Shots, 7:30 p.m.

UC Davis: Vanderhoef Studio Theatre Fred Hersch Trio, 8 p.m. University Union Redwood Room, CSUS Nooner w/ Rova Saxophone Quartet, 12 p.m.

11.07 Thursday

Bar 101 Karaoke, 7:30 p.m. The Blue Lamp The Parson Red Heads, 9 p.m.

Harlow’s Rubblebucket, 7 p.m.

The Boardwalk Nutso, Chuck-m Panda, Young Zel, Lyrical Bars, So Real, Young Rich, 7 p.m.

Laughs Unlimited Karaoke, 8 p.m.

Club Car Songwriters Showcase, 8 p.m.

Mix DJ E-Rock, DJ Gabe Xavier, DJ Peeti V, 9 p.m.

The Coffee Garden Open Mic Night, 8 p.m.

Old Ironsides Open Mic, 9 p.m.

Dive Bar Dueling Pianos, 9 p.m.

On The Y Open Mic Series feat. Light Skinned Creole, 8 p.m.

Fox & Goose Jay Shaner, Geoff Baker, 8 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Press Club BattleMe, 8 p.m.

Harlow’s Ruthie Foster, 7 p.m.

Torch Club Acoustic Open Mic, 5:30 p.m.; Steven Proffitt, 9 p.m.

Jazz & Jokers Jose Hernandez, 7 p.m.

Cab ride or DUI. You choose.

Level Up Lounge Karaoke, 9 p.m. Luigi’s Fungarden Cove (EP Release), Pablo, 8 p.m. Mix DJ Eddie Edul, DJ Peeti V, 9 p.m. Old Ironsides Karaoke, 9 p.m. Pine Cove Karaoke, 9 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Michael Beck, 9 p.m. Press Club No Diggity 90’s Night w/ DJ Meek Da Kat, 9 p.m. R15 Z Rokk, 9 p.m.

SubmergeMag.com

FRIDAY

Ace of Spades SAMMIES: ZuhG, Joy & Madness, Tel Cairo, Whiskey & Stitches, Jonah Matranga, 6:30 p.m. The Blue Lamp Soft White Sixties, Ranch Ghost, Red Cloud, 8:30 p.m. The Boardwalk Turf Talk, J Meezy Ba’be, OCM, Simps the 45, Young Me, Graffiti Boys, 7 p.m.

The Stoney Inn The Chad Bushnell Band, 9 p.m.

Bows and Arrows Muscle & Marrow, Mandy Zeboski, (Waning), 8 p.m.

Toby Keith’s Country Jam, 8:30 p.m.; Dead Mans Hand, 9:30 p.m.

Cache Creek Casino Graham Nash, 8 p.m.

Torch Club X Trio, 5 p.m.; Reds Blues, 9 p.m.

Capitol Garage Dub Culture w/ DK Wokstar, DJ Jaytwo, 10 p.m.

UC Davis: Vanderhoef Studio Theatre Fred Hersch Trio, 8 p.m.

Club Car The Mark Sexton Band, 9 p.m. Club Retro Up to 11, Black Sunshine, The Bad Saturday’s, Walking Wreck, Sidetracked, Basket House, 6:30 p.m. District 30 Bring the Noize!, Jason Davis, 9 p.m.

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11.08

Fox & Goose Big Sticky Mess, Chris Kelly, 9 p.m. G Street WunderBar The Nickel Slots, Walking Spanish, 9 p.m.

Torch Club Pailer & Fratis, 5:30 p.m.; Midtown Creepers, 9 p.m. UC Davis: Vanderhoef Studio Theatre Fred Hersch Trio, 8 p.m.

Golden Bear DJ Crook, 10 p.m.

Level Up Lounge Hot Pants w/ DJ Rock Bottom, 9 p.m.

11.09

Mix DJ Gabe Xavier, 9 p.m.

Assembly Andy Allo, 9 p.m.

Old Ironsides William Mylar, 5 p.m.; Cigarette Machine, James Finch Jr., Physical Education, 9 p.m.

The Blue Lamp Radio Radio ‘80s Dance Club, 9 p.m.

Harlow’s The Black Lillies, 6 p.m.; Malcom Bliss, Bi.Polar, Death Valley High, 10 p.m.

Pine Cove Karaoke, 9 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Love Fool, 10 p.m. Press Club DJ Rue, 9 p.m. Red Hawk Casino Fresh, 10 p.m. Sammy’s Rockin’ Island Bar and Grill Lost In Suburbia, 10 p.m. Shine Adrian Bellue, Terrence McManus, 8 p.m. Toby Keith’s Branded, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday

The Boardwalk Rittz, Snow Tha Product, Jarren Benton, Cali Bear Gang, 7 p.m. Capitol Garage Feel Good Saturday’s w/ DJ Epik, 10 p.m. Center for the Arts: Veterans Memorial Auditorium Graham Nash, 9 p.m. Club Car Stonekold, 9 p.m. The Colony Newtdick, Solitary Priapism, Purification by Fire, Logistic Slaughter, Dismembered Carnage, 7 p.m.

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9 1 6 . 4 6 9.93 0 0

tueS-Sat 11am-7pm • Sun 12-6pm Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

904 15th Street 443.2797 Between I & J • Downtown Sacramento

11.09

oct. 29 - nov. 10 tUES

WED

tHURS

31 FRI

Sat

SUn

tUES

WED

tHURS

FRI

Dippin Sauce 5:30pm

iSlanD of Black & White 8pm

acouStic open mic 5:30pm

X trio 5pm

Fox & Goose Cash Prophets, Cole Walker & His Rhythm, 9 p.m.

happy halloWeen

Harlow’s JOEL the Band (Billy Joel tribute), 5:30 p.m.; Latyrx, Destructikonz, 10 p.m.

joy & maDneSS

9pm pailer & fratiS 5:30pm

tracorum 9pm iBc funDraiSer 3-7pm

rj miScho 9pm BlueS jam 4pm

freeWay revival 8pm

chriS ZanarDi 5:30pm

leW fratiS 8pm acouStic open mic 5:30pm

Steven proffitt 9pm

X trio 5pm

reDS BlueS 9pm

pailer & fratiS 5:30pm

miDtoWn creeperS 9pm

canDye 9 kane

Sat

9pm

Nov. 1-3 Ali Wong DC Ervin, Amy Miller Punchline Comedy Club

jonathan Warren

anD the Billy goatS 9pm

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BlueS jam 4pm

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KBAR Z Rokk, 9 p.m. Level Up Lounge Guest DJs, 9 p.m. Mix DJ Eddie Edul, 9 p.m. Old Ironsides California Riot Act, Nyceria, Zen Arcadia, Decipher, 8 p.m. Pine Cove Karaoke, 9 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Color Me Bad, 10 p.m. Press Club DJ Larry Rodriguez, 9 p.m. Red Hawk Casino Fresh, 10 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 8 p.m. District 30 Lil Debbie, 9 p.m. Harlow’s Non Drummer Drum Off, 6 p.m. Mix DJ Gabe Xavier, 9 p.m. Pine Cove Tu New, 8 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Gumbo Stew, 3 p.m. Press Club Sunday Night Soul Party w/ DJ Larry, 9 p.m. Torch Club Blues Jam, 4 p.m.; The Golden Cadillacs, 8 p.m. UC Davis: Vanderhoef Studio Theatre Anush Avetisyan, 2 p.m.

11.11 Monday

Jazz and Jokers Rocky Osborn, Nov. 1 - 3, Fri., 7:30 p.m.; Sat. & Sun., 7 p.m.

Sacramento Comedy Spot Open Mic Scramble, Sunday’s and Monday’s, 7:30 p.m.

Nema Williams, Esther Ku, Ed Blaze, Nov. 8 - 9, Fri. & Sat., 7:30 & 9:30 p.m.

Spot-on Trivia, Tuesday’s, 8 p.m.

Laughs Unlimited Bryan Ricci, Jimmy Earl, Nov. 1 - 3, Fri. & Sat., 8 p.m. & 10:30 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m. Open Mic Showcase, Nov. 5, 8 p.m. Flips & Beaners w/ Dennis Gaxiola, JR DeGuzman, David Lew, Diego Curiel, Hosted by Jimmy Earl, Nov. 7, 8 p.m. Carl Labove, Kul Black, Nov. 8 - 10, Fri. & Sat., 8 p.m. & 10:30 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m.

Sammy’s Rockin’ Island Bar and Grill Rebel Yell, 10 p.m.

Ace of Spades Clutch, The Sword, American Sharks, 6 p.m.

Luna’s Cafe Keith Lowell Jensen’s Comedy Night, Wednesdays, 8 p.m.

Shine FUDI, Red Bullet Rising, 8 p.m.

The Boxing Donkey Open Mic Variety Night, 8 p.m.

Memorial Auditorium Mike Epps, Nov. 2, 7 p.m.

Toby Keith’s Northern Heat, 9:30 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m. Fox & Goose Open Mic Night, 7:30 p.m.

Po’Boyz Bar & Grill (Folsom) Comedy Open Mic, every Monday, 9 p.m.

Luna’s Cafe Nebraska Mondays hosted by Ross Hammond, 7:30 p.m.

Punchline Comedy Club JHP Showcase, Oct. 30, 8 p.m.

Old Ironsides Heath Williamson & Friends, 5 p.m.

Ali Wong, DC Ervin, Amy Miller, Nov. 1 - 3, Fri. & Sat., 8 p.m. & 10 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.

Torch Club Johnny Guitar Knox, 5:30 p.m.; Candye Kane, 9 p.m. UC Davis: Vanderhoef Studio Theatre Fred Hersch Trio, 8 p.m.

11.10 Sunday

Cache Creek Casino Rocio Y Su Sonora, 5 p.m. Capitol Garage Karaoke w/ Jeff Jenkins, 9 p.m. Center for the Arts Patty Larkin, 7:30 p.m. Crest Theatre Asian Performing Arts Festival, 1 p.m.

Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

Powerhouse Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m. Press Club Astrozombies, Riot Radio, Devils Train, Hybrid Creeps, 9 p.m. Sol Collective Microphone Mondays, 8 p.m. Comedy Crest Theatre Margaret Cho’s Mother Tour, Nov. 2, 7 p.m.

Sacramento Comedy Showcase, Nov. 6, 8 p.m. Bryan Callen, Sal Calanni, Jason Love, Nov. 7 - 9, Thurs., 8 p.m.; Fri. & Sat., 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. There Goes the Neighborhood w/ Sarah Tiana, Nov. 10, 7 p.m. Roseville Theater The Real (Funny) Housewives of Rio Linda, Nov. 9, 8 p.m.

Improv Lab, Wednesday’s, 7 p.m. Harold Night, Wednesday’s, 9 p.m. Gag Order, Thursday’s, 8 p.m. Improv Jam, Thursday’s, 9 p.m. Top 10 List Podcast Live!, Saturday’s, 7 p.m. Anti-Cooperation League, Saturday’s, 9 p.m. Dorian Foster’s Birthday Show w/ D.J. Sandhu, Carlos Rodriguez, Laurelle Martin, Robert Berry, Josh Fesler, Stephen Furey, Raj Dutta, Ngaio Bealum, Nov. 1, 8 p.m. Sammy’s Rockin’ Island Bar & Grill Comedy Showcase feat. John Ross and More, Oct. 30, 8:30 p.m. Comedy Showcase feat. Jason Resler and More, Nov. 6, 8:30 p.m. The Stoney Inn Nutty Monday’s Comedy Showcase and Open Mic, Mondays, 9 p.m. Misc. 1001 Del Paso Blvd. The Man Behind the Lense: Art Talk & Reception with Photographer Larry Dalton, Nov. 3, 3 p.m. 2020 J Street Midtown Farmers Market, every Saturday, 8 a.m.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

Ace of Spades Sierraat-Tahoe and Ground Zero’s Snowboard Movie Premiere Party feat. Nike’s Never Not and Transworld Snowboarding’s Nation, Nov. 1, 6 p.m. Assembly FRINGE: A NonStop Night of Comedy and Sideshow hosted by Jay Siren, Nov. 1, 8:30 p.m. Bar 101 Trivia Night, Monday’s, 6:30 p.m. Bike Dog Brewing Company Grand Opening Party, Nov. 2, 2 p.m. Blue Cue Trivia Night, every Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. Bows & Arrows Bites, Beats & Beer w/ Eat Better, New Belgium Brewery, DJ Rock Bottom, Oct. 29, 6 p.m. Nerd Night & Halloween Party, Oct. 31, 7 p.m. Art Opening: Capital Public Radio’s “Print Radio” Party w/ Live Silk Screening by Paul Imagine, Nov. 1, 6 p.m. Polarity Taskmasters (Emily Hay & Motoko Honda), Nov. 5, 8 p.m. Record Club Movie Night: Beware of Mr. Baker, Nov. 6, 7:30 p.m. The Boxing Donkey Trivia Night, every Tuesday, 8 p.m. Community Center Theatre Sacramento Ballet: Ron Cunningham’s Cinderella, Nov. 2 - 3 California Musical Theatre: Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Nov. 5 - 10

Crest Theatre Trash Film Orgy’s Halloween Creepshow, Oct. 31, 8 p.m.

Luigi’s A Slice of Trivia w/ the Bruce Twins, Monday’s, 8 p.m.

Warren Miller’s Ticket to Ride, Nov. 8 - 9, 7:30 p.m.

Luna’s Cafe Poetry Unplugged, Thursday’s, 8 p.m.

Crocker Art Museum United Way’s 12th Annual Women in Philanthropy Luncheon w/ Former The Biggest Loser trainer Dolvett Quince, Nov. 4, 11:30 a.m.

Memorial Auditorium Sacred City Derby Girls Season Finale: Nightmare Before Thanksgiving, Nov. 9, 7 p.m.

Exhibition Live! feat. Live Performance of the African American Folktale “The People Could Fly” by Sons/ Ancestors Players, music by Century Got Bars and more, Nov. 7, 6 p.m. Emancipating the Past: Kara Walker’s Tales of Slavery and Power, through Jan.5

Midtown BarFly Salsa Lessons, every Wednesday, 8 p.m. Old Sacramento Bars Halloween Bar Hop 2013, Oct. 31, 8 p.m. Pine Cove Trivia Night, Wednesday’s, 9 p.m. Press Club Flex Your Head Trivia, Tuesday’s, 8 p.m.

Sky is Falling: Paintings by Julie Heffernan, through Jan. 26

The Rink Sac City Rollers: Block, Rock & Roll Roller Derby Double Header, Nov. 2, 6:15 p.m.

Passion and Virtuosity: Hendrick Goltzius and the Art of Engraving, through Jan. 26

Sacramento Convention Center 16th Annual Sacramento Arts Festival, Nov. 1 - 3, 10 a.m.

Fox & Goose Pub Quiz, Tuesday’s, 7 p.m.

Sunset Lawn Chapel of the Chimes Day of the Dead Festival: Miktlantekuhtli Dance Performance, Sugar Skull Decorating and more, Nov. 1, 5 p.m.

Laughs Unlimited The Sweet Spot Sacramento: Erotic Poetry, Burlesque, Fashion, Body Paint, Oct. 31, 8 p.m. Little Relics Boutique & Galleria Dia de los Muertos: Sugar Skull Art & Paintings by David Lozeau, Nov. 1 - 2

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Toby Keith’s Free Line Dance Lessons, Wednesdays, 8 p.m.

Epic Sacramento Scenes feat. Photographer Jay Spooner and Visual Artist Mike Rodriguez, Nov. 1 - 29

University Union Ballroom, CSUS Free Movie Screening: The Conjuring, Oct. 31, 12 p.m. Cirque Zuma Zuma: African Style Acrobatic Show, Nov. 7, 7:30 p.m.

11.04 Former The Biggest Loser trainer Dolvett Quince United Way’s 12th Annual Women in Philanthropy Luncheon Crocker Art Museum 11:30 A.m.

SubmergeMag.com

Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

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Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

Live<< rewind

Brubaker

If You Like the Guitar, You Should Probably Listen to Earthless Earthless, Brubaker, Joy Harlow’s, Sacramento • Friday, Oct. 18, 2013

Words Andrew Scoggins • Photos Melissa welliver Earthless is the kind of band you feel compelled to talk about with your friends. Earthless is also the kind of band that will likely damage your hearing irrevocably without earplugs. And yet, it’s completely worth it. Last Friday’s psychedelic freak-out at Harlow’s got started on a decidedly loud note when San Diego-based openers Joy took the stage. After the band took a shot with a fan and asked the 20-person crowd to please come closer, the band began to shred. The verb “shredding” doesn’t seem to quite do the band justice. It’s almost as if the band came together in the beginning, listened to some Led Zeppelin and decided all the songs needed to be in double time and they all needed at least five to ten more guitar solos per song. Joy smashed through song after song at a breakneck pace. And although there were a few precious moments, like on their new track “Evil,” where the band slowed down to allow some of their bluesier riffs to breathe, the majority of time the members spent thrashing as quickly as they possibly could. Guitarist Zach Oakley hardly touched the lower end of his fret board, drummer Paul Morrone lost a stick between smashes and kept going, and it’s possible that bassist Justin Hulson took more solos than Oakley did. Sadly much of this wild and reckless jamming was lost on the sparse early crowd, but expect big things from this young band. As people trickled in, Brubaker began setting up. Brubaker is SubmergeMag.com

a band that has deep roots in the Sacramento scene. Singer Gene Smith and drummer Neil Franklin both played in Kai Kln; they even played a few shows with Pearl Jam and Nirvana back in the grunge-y heyday of the ‘90s, and they certainly brought the grunge to Harlow’s. What started as straightforward rock ‘n’ roll with an almost southern-rock tinge quickly shifted into blown out, drop-D, nearly Motörhead territory halfway through their set. Their smattering of fans (most of whom looked like they saw Brubaker playing with Pearl Jam) roared in approval. The most vocal of whom were two larger tattooed middle-aged women. They were spilling out of their skinny jeans, drunkenly swaying and grinding on each other like they were at a Def Leppard show, which was certainly something. Finally, Earthless came on stage and threw down the gauntlet. Strumming a few warbling notes of feedback, guitarist Isaiah Mitchell nodded to drummer Mario Rubalcaba and the band’s jet engine took off. It’s tempting to say that there’s no band in the world that can simply go the way Earthless can; please allow me to explain why: Mitchell began with a face-melting solo. That term’s a shoddy cliché at this point but there is simply no other way to describe the sheer visceral emotion of hearing a man pluck so many perfect notes in quick succession that the skin of your face smashes backward from the distortion until it’s simply too much, and

Earthless

it plops down lifelessly to the floor. There was a small voice whispering in the back of my head saying, “There’s no way, there’s simply no way they can go faster,” and then Mitchell looked over at Rubalacaba and Rubalcaba grit his teeth and his sinewy arms beat the skins even faster. The music spun out of control upward and onward. It looped through breakdowns and crescendos, propelling the crowd far out of the dimly lit room. There were no words. Earthless is for all intents and purposes an instrumental band only and that’s OK, because words would almost be a distraction from the utter sonic insanity. There was a story traipsing across the tongue of every slowly bent guitar lick, the footsteps were beaten into the earth with every stomp of the bass drum and the whole thing was kept alive by that throbbing heartbeat of the bass line. It became so total, that at the close of each 15 or so minute song you almost felt lost, unsure of the next step to take, but then the distortion growled back to life and you were safe again, swept up into the music. Then again, if this is all too much stoner hyperbole, Earthless is just pretty fucking rock ‘n’ roll. If Earthless was the soundtrack to a movie, it’d likely be a pulpy Heavy Metal hyper-violent romp. There would be gunfights, car-chases, half-naked women and more explosions than would really be feasible on any Hollywood budget. And it’d probably be set in space. It’s a shame Harlow’s was only about half full for the majority of Earthless’ set. They’re a band you almost feel obligated to tell your friends, co-workers and grocery-store bag ladies about. Do yourself a favor, listen to Earthless, come to their next show in Sacramento and find me in the pit. I’ll be there, and I’ll probably be sweaty.

Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

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The grindhouse Counselor? Hardly Knew Her… the counselor Rated R

Words Jacob Sprecher If it hasn’t happened already, someday one of your favorite actors or actresses will die. Be it old age, cancer, a tragic drug overdose or a plane crash, it obviously happens, and will happen again. You’ll be watching the Oscars, the Golden Globes or whatever, and there will inevitably be one of those “In Memoriam” segments that runs snippets of a person’s silver screen career. And you’ll recognize all the snippets, except for one, and you’ll say, “Damn, I can’t place what the hell that’s from.” Maybe you saw it and forgot it. Maybe you swore you would and never did. Maybe you picked the box up at All the Best Video 20 different times and carried it around the store for an hour only to put it back on the shelf at the very last second. That’s The Counselor. Allow me to explain. Directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, Prometheus), The Counselor is hard not to at least peek at through the corner of your eye—it rolls out an absolute A-list cast, star-studded to the gold fronts. Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds) plays, well, “the counselor,” a cocky, nameless, quick-witted El Paso, Texas lawyer with a beautiful bride-to-be (Penelope Cruz), whom he enjoys performing oral sex upon. Driven by greed and an implied sense of invincibility, the counselor decides to try his hand at the drug trade, arranging the nuts and bolts of a major coke deal via Juarez and the Cartel. His associates are Reiner (Javier Bardem) and Westray (Brad Pitt), both of whom have deep Cartel connections, and both of whom sardonically advise the counselor not to take this irreversible step. Ominously watching from the sidelines is Malkina (Cameron Diaz), Bardem’s devilishly intelligent and underhanded lover. But the counselor, whom Fassbender cleverly portrays as the type of pretty boy know-it-all you’d love to see fail, fears not what he can’t understand and dives in head first. This plot comes screaming at you like the pulse of a comatose camel. Scott’s attention to cinematography and the film’s general

Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

slickness is not to go unnoticed, but what’s lost in the lavish setting of Bardem’s hillside mansion and Pitt’s custom cowboy suits is an overall sense of pacing. Scott, though, would most likely brush such a criticism aside, and point to the philosophic tone that abounds, a pacemaker by design. Written by renowned author Cormac McCarthy, each character in the film finds their own personal way to wax intellectual on the morality and lifedeath practicality of the various paths they’ve chosen. Mixed up in all this pseudo-intellectual morbidity is a strange and overt interplay of seething sexuality. Diaz—who now looks something akin to an alien from Communion—caps this theme late with a truly bizarre soliloquy on the carnal nature of her prize cheetah killing wild rabbits. Scott eventually heats things up a bit, if only for a minute. The counselor’s drug deal goes horribly wrong from the inside out, leaving both him and his associates $20 million in debt to the Cartel. This spells ultimate doom for all parties involved, giving way to a series of brutal killings that in one instance even comes as a mild surprise, given the natural expectations of a formulaic Hollywood rescue mission. But just as things get interesting, you realize the movie is nearly done. One of those where you say something like, “Is this about to end? I think it’s ending. This is the end. It’s over.” Of course I can’t say The Counselor is a total failure. It wasn’t painful to watch. Individually, there was plenty to grin about. Javier Bardem was brilliant, as always. Brad Pitt was sexy Brad Pitt, as always. There were notable and agreeable cameos (Dean Norris, Bruno Ganz, Rosie Perez, John Leguizamo, Natalie Dormer). Even Cameron Diaz, weird plastic surgery aside, was more than adequate. But none of these actors and actresses will be remembered for what they did in The Counselor. It was forgettable, elegant and profound as the intention may have been. Maybe it’s just that I have trouble relating to the philosophic ponderings of man accepting fate in the face of unfathomable adversity when coming from the perspective of wealthy, fashionable coke peddlers. Perhaps I simply can’t appreciate the plight. I’ve also never seen a leggy blonde achieve an orgasm on the windshield of a Ferrari before. Does that make you want to see The Counselor more, or less? I won’t judge you either way. Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

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Tickets Available @ Dimple Records, The Beat, Armadillo (Davis) Online: AceOfSpadesSac.com By Phone: 1.877.GND.CTRL OR 916.443.9202 Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

moNday Nov. 11

tuesday feb. 4

the shallow end Your (Pay) Day in Court James Barone jb@submergemag.com

ace of SpadeS • 1417 r St. • Sacto all ageS • 8:00pm

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Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

Right now I’m drinking a coffee from McDonald’s. Don’t worry; I know it’s HOT. But it’s not as hot as it used to be. We can thank the late Stella Liebeck for that. You remember Stella. She was a meme before memes were memes. She’s the lady who sued McDonald’s for millions of dollars because she spilled some hot coffee on herself while she was driving one fateful day in February 1992. At the ripe old age of 79, the Albuquerque, N.M., resident caused a worldwide stir with her frivolous lawsuit. A judge awarded her $2.9 million, and we all scoffed. Here was a case of our legal system out of whack. Coffee is hot? Well of course it is! It’s coffee! And here’s this vulture Liebeck suing for making such an idiotic mistake (i.e. driving with molten lava in her lap) and making herself rich. What an asshole, right? Well, not really. According to a “Retro Report” posted to the New York Times’ YouTube page on Oct. 21, 2013, all of us (myself included) who pointed the cruel finger of judgment at Liebeck should have gotten our facts straight. First off, Liebeck wasn’t driving when the coffee was spilled. She was actually sitting in the passenger seat at the time. When she pulled off the lid of the coffee cup, the hot liquid soaked her sweat pants and she received third-degree burns over 16 percent of her body. That’s a pretty serious injury. Skin had to be grafted from her legs to heal the burn on her groin. According to the report, at the time of the incident, McDonald’s served coffee at 180 to 190 degrees (30 degrees warmer than your home coffee maker), which can cause third-degree burns in less than 15 seconds. Liebeck wasn’t alone, either; between 1983 and 1992, 1,700 people received burns from McDonald’s coffee. OK…but how could she ask for $2.7 million for spilling coffee on herself? Well, she didn’t. Originally, she didn’t take the fast food giant to court but simply wrote the corporation a letter asking McDonald’s to reduce the temperature of their coffee and for recompense for her medical bills. In response, the company offered her $800. She even tried to settle out of court, but McDonald’s refused. When the case went to court, the jury unanimously ruled for Liebeck, awarding her $160,000 in damages (reduced because she caused the spill) and set punitive damages on top of that to send McDonald’s a message. In the end, the settlement was reduced, and Liebeck didn’t actually become a millionaire

from spilling hot coffee on herself. She walked away with less than $600,000. Sure, it’s a nice chunk of change, but probably not worth being the butt of a million jokes. What she did accomplish, however, is that McDonald’s now serves their coffee 10 degrees cooler. If you think about it, she may have saved many of us from further injury. Maybe we should thank her… Oh, wait… We can’t because she passed away at the age 91. Sorry, Stella. We’re a bunch of fucking jerks. It’s a sad story because it shows how eager we are to jump into things that really don’t concern us and make them an even bigger mess than they already are. Look at this case with former police lieutenant John Pike, the pepper spray cop. Back in November 2011, he was videotaped dousing a group of UC Davis students (who were by all accounts peacefully protesting tuition hikes) with a deluge of pepper spray. Much like Stella Liebeck, John Pike became reviled worldwide and, since we are now firmly in the digital age, extensively used as meme fodder. I have to admit, “pepper spray cop” probably would be my vote for Meme of the Year 2011 if such an award exists. The three dozen students who were assaulted by Pike received recompense for their injuries to the tune of $1 million. But they weren’t the only ones who felt they were entitled to compensation. Pike himself recently filed for worker’s compensation due to the incident. He claimed mental injuries as a result of the fallout from the attack and was rewarded $38,055 for his hardship. Here’s another case of the legal system gone awry, right? I mean, the balls on this guy, huh? I’d have to agree. This seems like utter bullshit, but does the blame fall on our courts alone? I don’t think so. After he became known to the world as the pepper spray cop, Pike’s home address and phone numbers were posted online. According to the police officers union, he received more than 17,000 threatening emails, 10,000 texts and numerous letters. Even though what he did only really affected a few dozen, thousands of people felt they had to stick their noses in and let the disgraced cop know what kind of asshole he was. While I agree what he did was wrong, in actuality, if you’re one of the people who hounded Pike and called him out for being a neo-fascist henchman for the 1 percent or whatever, really all you did was help him build a case. Maybe we’d all be better off if we just kept our outrage in check. Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

SubmergeMag.com

Issue 148 • October 28 – November 11, 2013

Dive into Sacramento & its Surrounding Areas

october 28 – November 11, 2013

#148

margaret cho Too Much Funny Crocker’s Art Mix

Goes Comic-Con

Meat Puppets Genetic Noise Ground Zero & Ace of Spades Team Up for Snowboard

Movie Night

Oscar’s Very Mexican Food It Works EVERY Time

The Counselor

A Cinematic Enigma

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