San Diego City Beat 071719

2 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JULY 17, 2019

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UP FRONT | FROM THE EDITOR

A letter from the past

L

etter from Cleetus P. O’Malley, dated March 13, 1908, and sent to the San Diego Union newspaper in response to road developments in the San Diego area.

Now I ain’t no hoople-headed alarmist who do not like progress when it comes to our roads and thoroughfares, but these cars are bestial, unruly contraptions that, begging your forgiveness for my crassness, are not worth the bird in the bush.

And while I may be a simple prospector who came west to make his fortune, I am of an age where I can remember the days when life was simpler. We needn’t not have to worry about things such as automobiles hithering and tithering all over our fine streets and scaring the hors-

es. Why, just a fortnight ago, I was almost struck in the street by one of these cursed contraptions.

The driver, who I was later told is some highfalutin fella name of Clyde Adair, seems to think our roads were built for his smoke-billowing, rasp-inducing machine that, as far as I can tell, only serves to make pedestrians, riders and bicyclists feel as if they’re in imminent danger.

Now comes the news, printed in your fine periodical, that the city will be issuing a bond to not only pave our thoroughfares in order to accommodate these automobiles, but to henceforth remove horse posts and stables in order to accommodate for something called “parking spaces.”

Cripes, I say! Phooey, to that, I say! Who are these city councilmembers to make decisions for us common-folk in service to the automobile-operating elite. I dare say, what’s next? Allotted portions of public land where they can station their motorized contraptions for free? Special lanes simply so they can go forth unhindered? The complete removal, heaven forbid, of horse-based transportation

altogether?

Again, I understand the concerns of the citizenry in relation to the need for safe and affordable transportation. For a simple prospector such as myself, a simple steed, and a post to which to tether him to, is all I need.

But I see the value in contraptions such as the bicycle. They are thoroughly functional and do not hinder my passage into the canyons to prospect, nor do they need some sort of cityordained lot for which to store them.

But it’s enough for me to exclaim “tarnation” when I see these reprobates (again, please forgive my crassness) in their fancy automobiles getting special treatment at the expense of bicyclists, straphangers and riders such as myself. Many taxes have been levied so that we may enjoy this fine township (I do declare, probably one of the finest), only to watch these elected officials bend over sideways to accommodate automobiles.

I declare, I will not stand for it, good sirs! Henceforth, I will start a campaign to make sure our roads remain what they have always been built for: horses, bicycles and streetcars. And even while the streetcars (I’ve also heard some of the more uneducated populace refer to them as trolleys) are also burdensome at times, I see how, unlike the automobile, they function as a means to transport quantities of people en masse. What’s more, they came in quite handy when I once had to hire some men to work my gold claim and guard it from marauders.

I do not fancy myself a Luddite, good sirs, nor do I portend to encumber the natural order of progress, but we must save our streets and thoroughfares. Progress will not come at the expense of others. Furthermore, the passages we now use to tie our horses, or so that others may use to ride their bicycles, will not be refashioned so that some pecunious fop may leave his idle automobile for hours at a time and in an area that was built for a sole purpose: for the public to congregate without fear or having been struck by one of these cursed machines.

With respect and all sincerity,

Cleetus P. O’Malley

This issue of CityBeat gets all its political opinions from Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo.

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JULY 17, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 3

UP FRONT | LETTERS

ON THE

COVER San Diego Comic-Con is filled with stories of celeb sightings and awkward geek interactions. For this year’s cover, we put the call out on social media for readers to chime in with their most memorable moments of awkward celebrity meetings. Some are funny (thinking Shaq was a pole?) while some are just cringe-worthy (What would Jesus do in a Starbucks? Probably not what Jim Caviezel did). One even came from our editor, who had an awkward interaction with the rather shy singer of Panic! at the Disco. In the end, we think our awesome art director Carolyn Ramos did a great job at illustrating them.

So I had this kinda awkward interaction with Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco while covering a Comic-Con party for Spin magazine. It was some kind of party for that Megan Fox movie, Jennifer’s Body. This was right after Transformers and Megan Fox was like the hottest thing in the universe and every hetero dude’s thirst trap at the time. So Urie was probably feeling a little vulnerable because Panic! had just broken up and this was his first time performing without the band. I interviewed him before the set and he was a really nice guy, but then he got a little tense at the end and asked me if I was going to be interviewing Megan Fox later. I told him maybe and he said something like, “Dude, can you tell her I said ‘what’s up?’” I just kind of muttered something like “sure, I guess.” I briefly spoke with her later and told her “Brendon Urie says what’s up” and she didn’t even know who he was and acted like she was so above it all. These days, Panic! is still touring arenas and Urie just appeared on a track with Taylor Swift. Megan Fox is married to the white rapper guy from 90210 (original cast) and slumming on an alien show on the Travel Channel. Go figure.

—Seth Combs

4 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JULY 17, 2019

TABLE OF CONTENTS UP FRONT From the Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Letters to the Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Spin Cycle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Backwards and In High Heels. . . . 6 Well, That Was Awkward . . . . . . . 7

FOOD & DRINK World Fare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Anatomy of a Cocktail Scene . . . . 9 Final Draught. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

THINGS TO DO The Short List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Calendar of Events. . . . . . . . . . 10-12

ARTS & CULTURE Theater. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Feature: San Diego Comic-Con. . . 19 Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-24

MUSIC Feature: Low Volts. . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 The Spotlight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Black Gold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 If I Were U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Concerts & Clubs . . . . . . . . . . . 28-30

IN THE BACK Astrologically Unsound . . . . . . . . 29 CannaBitch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

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UP FRONT | OPINION

SPIN

CYCLE

JOHN R. LAMB

Pinhead and the (City) Auditor You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.

F

—Winston Churchill

rom the cheap seats, it appeared San Diego City Councilmember Scott Sherman had saved some Fourth of July fireworks for last week’s Audit Committee meeting.

On the day of the Big Bay Boom, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Mayor Kevin Faulconer had finally settled on his nominee to replace City Auditor Eduardo Luna, who had resigned in frustration last summer to take a similar job with the city of Beverly Hills.

The staff report from the mayor’s office on the proposed appointment oddly mentioned no name, but did mention a monthly salary range of $5,297 to $19,997.

However, the U-T confirmed that Faulconer had selected DeeDee Alari for the 10-year post. Alari

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was a deputy director in the City Treasurer’s Office and who had last worked as an auditor in 2010.

“Alari is highly qualified with experience in auditing and management,” a mayoral spokeswoman told the U-T about the pick.

She had also had served a stint as a fraud investigator for the city’s Ethics Commission. “She also has extensive experience working within this organization and is universally respected.”

While critique of the time lapse between auditing gigs was minimal, Sherman—a frequent Faulconer team player and chairman of the Audit Committee—did express his frustration to the U-T with the nominating process.

“Councilmember Sherman was dissatisfied by the structural process laid out in the City Charter,” was the statement his office released to the U-T, without providing details.

Perhaps Sherman hadn’t fully

formulated his disdain for the process when he spoke to the newspaper, but by last Tuesday—the day before the Audit Committee meeting—he had made his objections clear to at least one person: former Councilmember Donna Frye.

Frye said she reached out to Sherman recently to thank him for his vote to preserve a portion of Fiesta Island as a cherished leashfree dog haven. She didn’t expect a call back but got one last week.

In the phone message, he apologized for missing her call, referred to the raucous Fiesta Island hearing as a “fun time,” and then noted that he had read about Frye’s longtime objections to the “non-independence of the process of selecting an independent auditor.”

And then came the second big boom: “I’m thinking about proposing something tomorrow at committee to change the process” because “the mayor has selected somebody who is just lockstep with the mayor, and that’s what’s concerning.”

When Frye returned the call, Sherman asked her if she could attend the committee meeting the next day to back him up. Frye said she couldn’t.

At the start of the Audit Committee meeting, Sherman moved without explanation to continue the city auditor selection item to a future meeting. The five-member

JOHN R. LAMB

Mayor Kevin Faulconer recently nominated a new independent city auditor. Councilmember Scott Sherman, typically a mayoral ally, is questioning just how “independent” that nominee can be. committee voted unanimously to do so without a single question raised.

When asked later about the unexpected delay, a Sherman spokesman explained, “Because of the short notice, the recent holiday, and the longevity of the term the City Auditor serves, Councilmember Sherman felt that committee members need more time to evaluate the nominee and gather more information.”

No mention of the Republican councilmember’s concerns about the process. But when Spin learned later of his conversation with Frye that included a suggestion that maybe the city should consider that the independent auditor should be elected, the spokesman conceded, “It is one of the many ideas that are being looked into.”

Frye said other options discussed included asking retired judges to appoint the city auditor, similar to what the city does when convening a redistricting commission every 10 years in order to redraw City Council districts.

Describing the current process (mayoral nominee, council approval) as “horrible,” Frye said, “I don’t think it’s appropriate for the person who is being audited to get to participate in the selection of an auditor. It’s like the fox guarding the henhouse.”

That was the theme of the unsuccessful campaign Frye ran back in 2008 opposing Proposition C, a ballot measure that was included in a package of labor-backed strongmayor reforms. It was this proposition that established the city auditor position and Audit Committee following the city’s “Enron by the Sea” nadir of fiscal mismanagement. Supporters of Prop. C, which put the mayor in charge of choosing the supposed independent auditor, included then-mayor Jerry Sanders and then-Audit Committee chairman Faulconer.

Gary Blackmar, a retired Oregon state auditor and respected authority on the value of the position, agreed with Frye.

“If the mayor is a strong mayor,” he told Spin, “then the mayor needs to be held accountable for day-today operations, which would mean the council should make the determination, not the mayor, from beginning to end.”

Even then, however, the public and even city leaders may not always receive “the unvarnished truth.”

“A lot of auditors who answer to the executive or to council have to tread carefully in terms of the topics they take on, whereas an elected auditor has that independence,” Blackmar said, explaining that his thinking was, “Hey, if I’ve got a question about something, I can audit it and there’s nothing to stop me.”

Jenny Wong, the newly elected auditor for the city of Berkeley, also agreed. “I’m not here to make best friends,” she told Spin. “For me, it’s all about who an independent auditor reports to. That is the lens through which independence can be evaluated.”

Spin asked the current frontrunning mayoral candidates for comment. Current Councilmember Barbara Bry noted, “It seems strange to me that the mayor nominates the individual who will audit him or her. So I would like to see a different process.”

Todd Gloria had a different take.

In a statement, he noted the votercreated position “has worked well in the interests of taxpayers. The process could always be improved upon based on actual experience.”

He did agree that, “San Diego needs a watchdog at City Hall” to ensure that money is spent “as directed.” He added that, “It does not make sense to delay consideration of a nominee.”

In the end, Frye will encourage Sherman to continue to raise hell, adding, “I think what he’s doing is a really good thing. I’m glad he called me and I hope we can get this changed.”

Spin Cycle appears every other week.

Write to johnl@sdcitybeat.com.

JULY 17, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 5

UP FRONT | OPINION

AARYN BELFER

BACKWARDS & IN

HIGH HEELS

Never again is right now

“And we will not rest! I’ll say it again, we will not rest until all of the people who are employed by ICE and border patrol and who daily commit brutality and violations of human rights are accountable.”

—Birdie Gutierrez of Bridge of Love Across the Border, speaking to the crowd at the Close the Concentration Camps march and vigil on July 12, 2019

T

he crowd parted so the Kumeyaay Bird singers and dancers could cut across Larsen Field and position themselves to lead the march.

Any families with children followed them, per the instructions of the emcee. Most of those children—age baby to teen—were wrapped in silver mylar blankets.

Several people were playing a traditional Mexican song on ukuleles.

It was the golden hour and the scene was magnificent as the sun began to set on the roughly 2,000 protestors who gathered in San Ysidro last Friday night. We were there in opposition to the Trump regime’s concentration camps. We marched east along Camino De La Plaza, past the Las Americas Premium Outlet and over a bridge to the pedestrian crossing at the international border. Along the route, people came out to their balconies to watch. Traffic was stopped and many people honked their horns, gave thumbs’ up and filmed out their windows. We were there because of the horridness that’s taking place in our names and under our noses.

Everything was beautiful in the glowing pink haze of the endof-day summer light, and this march was the most profound experience I’ve ever had in my 20 years of taking to the streets. There was so much pain and passion and grief and struggle and solidarity and ancestors there. I could feel it in my bones.

When a little boy, no more than three years of age, toddled past me in his silver foil blanket wrapped around his shoulders like a cape, I literally stopped breathing. His mother was a few steps behind him but I could, in that instant, picture him not with her and not in this park. Instead, I could see him crammed into a detention center with hundreds of other children starved of the things every child on the planet deserves: Parents, nutritious food, clean water, warmth, safety, touch, love.

I could imagine this vulnerable little guy being denied a shower, a toothbrush, a mattress; I could imagine him living day after day in his own filth; I could imagine him feeling sick and feverish with nobody to comfort him; I could imagine him trying to sleep on a too-crowded concrete floor beneath fluorescent lights that are never shut off. I could imagine him being the victim of predators dressed in CBP uniforms.

I woke up the next morning and, still feeling deeply unsettled from the moving experience from the night

before, I pulled out a T-shirt that says “ANTI-TRUMP AF” on the front. I grabbed a Sharpie and modified the back so people behind me during my dog walk around Lake Murray would have to think about it for as long as it took them to read. The bare miniumum.

“THERE ARE BABIES IN CAGES IN SAN DIEGO RIGHT THIS MINUTE!!!” I wrote.

I slipped the shirt on and headed out the door, thinking a lot about the children in the silver blankets. I just couldn’t let them go. I walked my six miles around the lake thinking of the mothers and fathers who have lost their babies to this regime; of the children and parents who have lost their lives to it; of the families and futures destroyed. I was thinking of the Kumeyaay dancers and of the land I live on that is their stolen land; of the children that had been stolen from them; of the genocide perpetrated against them.

I was thinking of the earthy scent of their sage sticks that filled the air as we lit our candles, a smell that swirled like magic and surrounded a holocaust survivor, 82-year-old Phil Pressel, who spoke to the crowd from the pedestrian bridge.

He’s still traumatized, he said of his time in a concentration camp when he was seven. These children will be traumatized forever, too, he said.

I was deep in thought when my dog pulled against the leash in an effort to greet a dog that was approaching with his owner, a white man close to 60. As I passed the man, he spoke to me without any emotion.

“I wonder if the vulgarity is really necessary,” he said.

I turned and followed him long enough to find out what vulgarity he was talking about. Was it the “AF” on my shirt? Or was it the vulgarity of our government jailing, neglecting, starving, abusing and torturing children? He’s lucky he wasn’t walking behind me or he’d have really been triggered.

“Your moral compass is broken,” I shouted to his back. He just kept walking and pretended he didn’t hear anything.

For all the people like this man who can’t handle a little contemporary initialism, but who are fine to go about life as if our government isn’t building new concentration camps for the imprisonment and torture of Black and Brown migrants, I am going to keep shouting in every way possible. I’m wearing the words on my body. I’m speaking them with my mouth. I’m pulling the goddamned fire alarm. I encourage everyone to join me or be complicit. Never again is right now.

I could imagine him trying to sleep on a toocrowded concrete floor beneath fluorescent lights that are never shut off. I could imagine him being the victim of predators dressed in CBP uniforms.

6 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JULY 17, 2019

Backwards & In High Heels appears every other week.

Write to aarynb@sdcitybeat.com.

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UP FRONT | VOICES

RYAN BRADFORD

WELL THAT WAS

AWKWARD

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JULY 17, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 7

UP FRONT | FOOD & DRINK

BY MICHAEL A. GARDINER

THE WORLD

FARE

Opulence and restraint

I

n the run-up to Michelin’s California Guide, there was a lot of local speculation about whether Addison Restaurant (5200 Grand Del Mar Way, addisondelmar.com) would be awarded one of Michelin’s coveted stars. Some skeptics thought it (and San Diego) would be shut out altogether. Others predicted Michelin would hand out stars like candy.

In the end, Addison chef William Bradley left the Huntington Beach awards ceremony with a single star (and a prestigious new chef coat). But that only served to kickstart the next round of debates: Was Addison robbed of additional stars or did it get as many as it deserved?

As I’ve written in these pages before, I staged at Addison for a few days back in 2012 doing prep, as well as getting a taste of the upper reaches of a professional kitchen. It’s part of why I’m on the course I am now.

Back then, Michelin was not sending reviewers to San Diego and there was little prospect it would do so. Addison, though, was—and still is—perceived to be the county’s top restaurant and a Michelin star has done little to change that.

Some things at Addison are constants. Take for example, the fruits de la terre and olive oil crème glacé. It’s been on Addison’s menu, in different incarnations, for years. The jewel-like tomatoes haven’t changed and the broth is still there, but olive oil ice cream gives the dish new meaning. It’s delicious, yes, but in a way that’s more interesting than seductive.

The white sturgeon confit with caviar, sauce vermouth and a circular tuile, on the other hand, was downright sexy. Saucing the plate tableside added a touch of drama. But it was the slight acidity of the sauce that took the dish over the top, tying together the clean flavors of the fish and the brininess of the caviar.

I’m a total sucker for sweetbreads; the ris de veau glaçage is veal thymus glands with a rich, mild

8 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JULY 17, 2019

flavor that’s unlikely to scare off the offal-phobic.

Bradley’s were glazed and served with a caramelized cornbread and generous rounds of black truffles, all showered at the table with aged comté cheese. It was, in many ways, the most classically French haute cuisine dish on our tasting menu. It was also luxuriously excellent.

And Bradley does, indeed, hew closely to the contours of French cuisine. Within those contours, however, he finds plenty of space within which to create. Japanese elements make appearances and even hints of Thai occasionally join the party.

If Michelin stars were simply about the food, there’s no doubt Addison has more than earned its star. Despite his deployment of luxury ingredients and rich flavors, Bradley’s food is characterized by restraint. There’s a simplicity and directness on nearly every plate. Frankly, Addison’s dishes deserve more than one star.

MICHAEL A. GARDINER

Ris de veau glaçage If there’s an explanation as to why it didn’t get more than one, it would likely have to do with the dissonance between Bradley’s food and Addison’s space. Yes, that space is grand, but it lacks even a semblance of restraint. The space borders on gaudy, excessive and opulent, even as the food—luxurious as it is—manages to avoid doing these characteristics.

There should be no doubt Addison deserved a star. Its food, in my view, deserves more than that.

The World Fare appears weekly.

Write to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com.

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UP FRONT | FOOD & DRINK

ANATOMY OF A COCKTAIL SCENE

BY IAN WARD

#61: Wasting not at Charles + Dinorah

in regards to socially conscious imbibing, I am going to focus some of these verbose bi-monthly installments on individuwrite this column every other week als and establishments making efforts to and have no real restrictions when it contribute to the overall good.

This time around, the establishment of comes to topics and language that I’m allowed to use in discussing those topics. focus is Charles + Dinorah at The Pearl Hotel (1410 Rosecrans St., thepearlsd.

Don’t believe me? Watch this. com). The bar, under the leadership of TJ Fuck.

See what I did there? However, the one Majeske, has taken considerable steps to guideline that is imposed upon me is that contribute to the “zero-waste” movement I must keep whatever I choose to write happening in saloons, cocktail parlors and restaurants around the under 500 words. On the surIAN WARD world. face, this wouldn’t sound like For those unaware of much of a restriction, but I zero-waste, it is the guiding have a tendency to ramble. philosophy of reducing and/ I am often criticized by the or reusing produce in the editor of this fine paper about kitchen in an effort to avoid my propensity to be longsending more trash to landwinded, to which I usually fills, incinerators or being respond with, “Sorry, I know” dumped into the ocean. For and adjust what I had written those more interested in zeto accommodate word count. ro-waste, read Bread is Gold This never truly bothers me

by Massimo Bottura and folfor several reasons: First, I Funk Soul Pineapple low Trash Tiki on Instagram am a somewhat easygoing human being. Second, a lot of the articles (@trashtiki). When it comes to The Pearl, I write truly are the ramblings of a buf- and for Majeske, they extend the zerofoon. They’re mostly rooted in nostalgia, waste logic to the cocktail menu as well.

“I wanted to start zero waste with the or about how much I like junk food or some other trivial thing that isn’t worth the 500 bar program,” says Majeske. “And for my first item, I felt we under utilized the pinewords I’m allotted.

So, for the sake of self-improvement apple. We throw so much of it away so I and in an effort to promote those who are started using the skins for gomme, the tops attempting to push the envelope forward for a garnish on another cocktail, and I was already using the flesh to infuse a coconut fat-washed rum. I would just toss the flesh FUNK SOUL after the infusion was complete so I dehyPINEAPPLE drated the flesh and ground it up into salt As prepared at Charles and Dinorah form.” at The Pearl Hotel The Funk Soul Pineapple cocktail at The Pearl is one of the results of Majeske’s ef2 oz. Kō Hana Agricole Rum forts. It’s soft and elegant with tropical as1 oz. Pineapple gomme tringency and highly addictive salinity. It 3/4 oz. Lime juice makes drinking for a better future as lovely 1 Egg white and pleasant as one could hope for.

I

Combine all ingredients in a mixing tin (without ice) and shake vigorously. Add ice and shake again. Strain into a chilled Coupe glass. Garnish with dehydrated pineapple salt if available.

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Anatomy of a Cocktail Scene appears every other week. Write to ianw@sdcitybeat.com.

BY BETH DEMMON

FINAL DRAUGHT Crafty Con

COURTESY OF DUCK FOOT BREWING

I

love Comic-Con, but I love not actually going to Comic-Con even more.

I’ve attended, I’ve cosplayed, I’ve done it—I’m done. Now that I’m in my mid-30s, the thought of going again, only to wait in line for hours to maybe catch a glimpse of the new Star Wars cast (or whatever big movie is coming out), just isn’t that appealing especially when there are tons of off-site events that serve beer.

My personal favorite beer-centric event this year is for hardcore beer dorks only. Hazebros who love beer memes and irreverent takes on the latest trends won’t want to miss the live taping of the Malt Couture podcast at The Casbah on Thursday, July 18. Alex Kidd (a.k.a. @ dontdrinkbeers on Instagram), along with co-hosts Stephen Loh and Michael Gabriel, have put together a San Diego-specific show with some, according to Kidd, “fun Malty surprises” in store. He also promises that the pre-show VIP bottle share will be drenched in the rarest of whales, with an absurdly stacked bottle list from Three Floyds, Hill Farmstead, J. Wakefield, Tired Hands and more. Kegs from Three Chiefs Brewing Company in El Segundo and Sante Adairius in Capitola will be on hand for the main event. (The Sante keg is a members-only barrel-aged saison, so beer geeks in attendance should ready their social media check-ins. How else would everyone know how cool they are?)

Tickets are $25 ($75 for VIP) at casbahmusic.com and doors open at 8:30 p.m.

Thorn Brewing is following up their Strange Thiings double IPA with Strange Thiiings, which, predictably, will be a triple IPA and hazy to boot. Coupled with Brews Wayne, a West Coast IPA, and it looks as though Thorn is geared up to make the most of Con-friendly pop culture references this year. Their third and newest tasting room in Mission Hills (4026 Hawk St., thorn.beer) also happens to have its grand opening on Friday, July 19 from 5 to

Kevin Eastman 10 p.m., and it’s is a quick rideshare away from the heart of Comic-Con. The fifth annual Chicano-Con at Border X Brewing (2181 Logan Ave., borderxbrewing.com) will be celebrating Latinx and Chicano comic culture in their Barrio Logan tasting room throughout the weekend. The schedule includes comic book giveaways, a cape and mask workshop, live music and much more. The space is also kid friendly.

Duck Foot Brewing Company East Village (550 Park Blvd., Ste. 2104, duckfootbeer.com) is an easy walk from the Convention Center and boasts one of the cooler off-site happy hours of the Con. Kevin Eastman, co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and publisher of Heavy Metal magazine, will be hosting two happy hour events on Saturday, July 20. Tickets for either hour-long session are $50 and are limited to 50 people per session. It also includes one autographed can of Drawing Blood, a 5.5 percent ABV Belgian witbier named after Eastman’s new graphic novel and brewed with blood oranges, hibiscus, bitter orange peel and coriander.

Write to bethd@sdcitybeat.com or check her out on Instagram at @thedelightedbite.

JULY 17, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 9

EVENTS

SHORTlist

ART

the

THREE YOU HAVE TO SEE

COORDINATED BY

SETH COMBS

SAN DIEGO AND SAN YSIDRO

ART OUTSIDE THE CON

might seem like the two cultures don’t have much in common, but Prudencio wanted to explore the There’s no shortage of San Diego Comic- “resiliency” and the “colonial influences” that the Con-themed or Con-friendly art shows two cultures have in common, as well as how San this weekend, but what about the shows that have Diego has helped shape this.

“San Diego County has the second largest Filinothing to do with caped crusaders and obscure anpino population in the U.S.,” ime characters?

COURTESY OF THE ARTIST says Prudencio. “But we really Quint Gallery in Bay Ho haven’t had a chance to dive (5171-H Santa Fe St.) has three deeper into what our journeys shows opening this weekend, all are or looking at our identities… from some of the best local artI was thinking about all the Filiists on the scene. First, there’s pino artists that I interact with Crossroads, which features and how I’ve never seen them all Alanna Airitam’s startling porin one place. I believe this might trait photographic works. Next, be the biggest Filipino group art there’s Sasha Koozel Reibstein’s shows I’ve ever seen in San Diintricately constructed and ego.” highly abstractive sculptural Overseas features works from works in Antivenom. Finally, over a dozen local artists workthere’s the immersive paintings ing in a variety of mediums and of Patricia Patterson, whose includes names such as Michelle Observed Narratives showcases Mateo, Rizzhel Mae Javier, Manworks that stem from dinner ny Orozco and more (full disconversations. All three open closure: CityBeat’s Art Director, Saturday, July 20 from 11 a.m.

“Filipino through Chinese Carolyn Ramos, is also one of the to 1 p.m. footprint” by Mary Jhun participating artists, but that’s That same evening sees the opening of Overseas, a new group show curated all the more reason people should go). It happens

by Carmela Prudencio that explores the intersec- from 6 to 8 p.m at The Front Arte Cultura (147 W. tion of Philippine culture and the diasporic expe- San Ysidro Blvd., thefront.casafamiliar.org) in San riences along the Mexico-U.S. Border. For many, it Ysidro.

CITY HEIGHTS

ENCINITAS

LOOK OF LOVE

BUGGING OUT

The San Diego Fringe Festival annual experimental theatre showcase is great because there’s always that chance we’ll witness something we may never have the chance to see again. Luckily, there’s a second chance to see To Fall in Love, one of the highlights from the 2017 fest and winner of the “Outstanding Drama” and “Outstanding Writing” awards that year. Local playwright Jennifer Lane’s raw and sometimes humorous two-person show centers on the idea that some scientists believe that two people can fall in love by asking each other 36 specific questions along with four minutes of uninterrupted eye contact. But can it save two people who are already unhappily married? Show up to the art space You Belong Here (3619 El Cajon Blvd.) to find out. The intimate matinee performance happens at 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 20. Tickets are $20 at bit.ly.tofallinlovetix.

MICHAEL FOSTER

Black widows and tarantula hawks are one thing, but insects and arachnids are part of a thriving ecosystem and there’s no reason we should be afraid of them. Like, you’re not a kid anymore; time to get over it. Amateur entomologists will converge on Encinitas this weekend for the San Diego Botanic Garden’s (230 Quail Gardens Drive) annual Insect Festival. Patrons can get up close and personal with creatures ranging from ladybugs to Madagascar hissing cockroaches. Reptiles and arachnids will also be present, and insect experts will be on hand to share their knowledge. There will also be food and beverages and adventurous attendees might be tempted to sample the fest’s signature delicacy: spicy fried mealworm. It happens from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 20 and Sunday, July 21 and is free with admission (Free-$18 for non-members). sdbgarden.org RACHEL COBB

HTo Do · A Mending Project at MCASD Downtown, 1001 Kettner Blvd., Downtown. A new workshop-based exhibition conceived of by artists Michelle Montjoy, Anna O’Cain, and Siobhán Arnold, and which is in response to the escalation of political, social, and economic tensions in the United States. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Through Sunday, Sept. 22. Free-$10.

858-454-3541, mcasd.org HSongs That Never Die at MCASD Downtown, 1001 Kettner Blvd., Downtown.

Artist Marnie Weber’s 2015 filmic installation about the Spirit Girls, a fictitious allfemale rock band whose members died tragically in the 1970s. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Through Sunday, Oct. 27. Free-$10.

858-454-3541, mcasd.org HMore like a Forest: Paintings and Sculptures by Richard Allen Morris at MCASD Downtown, 1001 Kettner Blvd., Downtown. A reprisal installation of the local artist’s 1988 show, which featured Morris’ evocative sculptural work. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Through Sunday, Oct. 27.

Free-$10. 858-454-3541, mcasd.org HDowntown at Sundown at MCASD Downtown, 1100 Kettner Blvd., Downtown.

After-hours monthly museum opening with scheduled tours of exhibits, music from DJs, drink specials, food truck fare and more. From 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, July 18. Free. mcasd.org HBreaking Borders at Tularosa House of Art, 2602 Imperial Ave., Grant Hill. An exhibition of protest art from Latinx artists working on both sides of the San Diego/ Tijuana border. Featured artists include Lalo Alcaraz, Claudia Dominguez, Joaquin Junco and more. Opening from 7 to 11 p.m. Friday, July 19. Free. facebook. com/events/492573828179097 Athenaeum’s Juried Exhibition at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. Thirty-three local artists will participate in the 28th annual exhibition. First, second, and third-place honors will be awarded. Opening from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Friday, July 19. Free. ljathenaeum.org Edgar Degas: The Private Impressionist–Works on Paper by the Artist and his Circle at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido Museum, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido. The exhibit will include works by Edgar Degas as well as Mary Cassatt, Paul Cézanne, Édouard���� ����������� Manet, and others. Opening from 6 to 8 p.m.

Friday, July 19. $15. artcenter.org HAntivenom at Quint Gallery, 5171-H Santa Fe St., Bay Ho. A solo exhibition of new works from local artist Sasha Koozel Reibstein, who explores transformation, ambiguity and the sublime through ceramics and mixed media. Opening from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, July 20. Free. quintgallery.com HCrossroads at Quint Gallery, 5171-H Santa Fe St., Bay Ho. A solo exhibition of new works from local photographer Alanna Airitam, whose portraits deal in themese of injustice and oppression.

Opening from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, July 20. Free. quintgallery.com HObserved Narratives at Quint Gallery, 5171-H Santa Fe St., Bay Ho. A selection of new paintings from Patricia Patterson, who created works based on casual dinner conversations. Opening from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, July 20. Free. quintgallery.com HBizarre Love Triangle at Swish Projects, 2903 El Cajon Blvd., North Park. A solo show from artist and designer Bill McMullen, who will showcase new subversive sculptural works. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, July 20. Free. instagram.com/swishprojects

To Fall In Love 10 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JULY 17, 2019

Insect Festival

H = CityBeat picks

HRegularly Scheduled Program at Backfence Society, 110 S. Citrus Ave., Ste. F, Vista. A solo show by artist Jesse Owens, whose works are inspired by television and popular culture. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, July 20. Free. backfencesociety.com HOVERSEAS at The Front Arte Cultura, 147 W. San Ysidro Blvd., San Ysidro.

Artworks examining the intersection of diasporic experiences along the MexicoU.S. Border and Philippine culture. Artists include Caitlyn Gaurano, Goldie Lamoar, Matt Manalo and more. Opening from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, July 20. Free. 619-7936038, thefront.casafamiliar.org

BOOKS Tory Bilski at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The writer will discuss and sign her new memoir about Iceland, Wild Horses of the Summer Sun. At 7:30 p.m. Monday, July 22. Free. warwicks.com Chuck Wendig and Adam Christopher at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. The two authors will be promoting their respective new releases, Wanderers (Wendig) and Darkness on the Edge of Town (Christopher). At 7 p.m. Monday, July 22. Free. mystgalaxy.com Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke at Ignite Bistro, 6996 El Camino Real, Carlsbad. Best friends and authors Fenton and Steinke will be celebrating the launch of their new book, The Two Lila Bennetts. At 6:30 p.m. Monday, July 22. $35. adventuresbythebook.com HGary Weitzman at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The author and San Diego Humane Society president will sign and discuss his new book, National Geographic Complete Guide to Pet Health, Behavior, and Happiness: The Veterinarian’s Approach to At-Home Animal Care. At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 23.

Free. warwicks.com Daniel Silva at the David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla. The New York Times bestselling author will sign and discuss his new book, The New Girl. Ticket price includes a copy of the book. At 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 23. $35-$38. sdcjc.org Ann and Jeff Vandermeer at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. The two authors will be signing and discussing their new book, The Big Book of Classic Fantasy. At 7 p.m.

Wednesday, July 24. Free. mystgalaxy. com

COMEDY HMiddleditch & Schwartz at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Downtown. The memorable actors from Silicon Valley and Parks and Recreation perform their longform improvisation comedy show. From 9:30 to 11 p.m. Friday, July 19. $36-$46.

858-570-1100, sandiegotheatres.org Tuesday Night Comics at North Coast Repertory Theatre, 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Solana Beach. The monthly show is comprised of talent from all over the country and is hosted by local funnyman Mark Christopher Lawrence. At 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, July 23. $27. 858-481-1055, northcoastrep.org

FOOD & DRINK HTaste of the Pacific at Bali Hai Restaurant, 2230 Shelter Island Drive, Shelter Island. Presented by the Pacific Islander Festival, this annual event brings together 18 restaurants specializing in everything

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JULY 17, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 11

EVENTS EVENTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 from barbecue to sushi, with proceeds supporting scholarships for Pacific Islander students. At 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 18. $35-$40. pifasandiego.com HBurgers & Brews at Del Mar Racetrack, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. A craft beer and burger tasting event that includes unlimited food samples and five tasters of beer. Price includes admission to the racetrack. From 1:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Saturday, July 20. $46. 858-755-1141, burgersandbrews.com Margaritas, Mojitos, Tacos and Tamales at Waterfront Park, 1600 Pacific Hwy., Downtown. This festival combines artisan cocktails, Mexican cuisine, and a canine costume competition. From 2 to 7 p.m.

Saturday, July 20. $45-$80. luckydogsproduction.com

FILM The Day We Walked on the Moon at the San Diego Air & Space Museum, 2001 Pan American Plaza, San Diego. The documentary will be shown in honor of the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s moon landing.

Galleries, including new exhibitions, will be open to visitors. At 6 p.m. Saturday, July 20. Free-$19.95. sandiegoairandspace.org

MUSIC All-American Rejects at Del Mar Racetrack, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. The well-known rock group will kick off the summer concert series, following a full day of horse racing on the tracks. At 4 p.m. Friday, July 19. $5-$87.50. 858-755-1141, dmtc.com HSDMA+The San Diego Opera at the

San Diego Museum of Art, 1450 El Prado, San Diego. The San Diego Opera will perform selections inspired by the SDMA’s exhibition Art and Empire: The Golden Age of Spain. From 5:30 to 8 p.m. Friday, July 19. Free-$5. sdmart.org Reggae Fest at Del Mar Racetrack, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. Enjoy unlimited burgers and craft beers before reggae performances from Tribal Theory, Ras Michael and Ziggy Marley, son of reggae legend Bob Marley. From 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, July 20. $6-$30. 858-755-1141, dmtc.com The Young Lions Jazz Conservatory at Bird Park, Upas St. and 28th St., North Park.

A performance by a youth swing quartet trained by jazz trumpetist Gilbert Castellanos. From 5 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 20. Free. younglionsjazzconservatory.org Mariachi Estrellas de Chula Vista at Spreckels Organ Pavilion, 2125 Pan American Road, Balboa Park. The award-winning mariachi band, directed by mariachi educator Mark Fogelquist, will perform an evening concert. From 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, July 24. Free. balboapark. org/twilight-concerts

PERFORMANCE Animaniacs In Concert at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Downtown. Voices from the original voice cast will perform hits from the beloved Warner Bros. ‘90s cartoon series live. From 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Thursday, July 18. $29-$99. 858-5701100, sandiegotheatres.org The Adventure Zone Graphic Novel Live at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Downtown. The creative team behind the graphic novel will host a conversation and live reading of an excerpt from the new comic, with special guests playing popular

12 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JULY 17, 2019

NPCs. At 7 p.m. Friday, July 19. $39.50.

858-570-1100, sandiegotheatres.org HThe Last Podcast on the Left at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave, Downtown.

Live show where three comedians investigate eerie events in history, from demons and aliens to cults and serial killers, using humor and detailed research. From 10 to 11:30 p.m. Saturday, July 20. $21.50$150. 858-570-1100, sandiegotheatres.org

POETRY & SPOKEN WORD HNon-Standard Lit: Rodrigo Toscano and Omar Pimienta at Verbatim Books, 3793 30th St., North Park. Both poets will read from their most recent books of poetry, which address themes of labor, identity and trans-nationality. From 8 to 10 p.m. Friday, July 19. Free. verbatim-books.com

SPECIAL EVENTS HDel Mar Thoroughbred Club Opening Day at the Del Mar Racetrack, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. The first races of the Del Mar race season will include a hat contest with cash prizes, elegant fashion worn by attendees, celebrity sightseeing and, of course, horse racing. From 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 17. $15-$30. 858755-1141, dmtc.com Hats, Heels & Hooves at the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe, 5951 Linea Del Cielo, Rancho Santa Fe. Opening day after-party with food and cocktails, fashionable hats, a champagne aerialist and music from Ryan Hiller and DJ Pros. From 5 to 10 p.m.

Wednesday, July 17. $125. hhh2019. eventbrite.com JRDN Summer Wine Series at Tower 23, 723 Felspar St., Pacific Beach. Bobby

Stuckey from Scarpetta Winery in Italy will offer tastes as well as information about the vineyard’s unique craft. From 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 17. $25-$30. 858270-2323, t23hotel.com HNat at Night at San Diego Natural History Museum, 1788 El Prado, Balboa Park.

The Nat’s adult-friendly after-hours event that includes food, beer and wine on the rooftop, in addition to half-off admission and access to all of the museum’s exhibitions. From 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday, July 18 and Friday, July 19. $10. sdnhm.org Day of Play 2019 at Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center, 2525 N Ave., National City. Community event for families featuring hands-on cooking, gardening activities, take-home crafts, physical activities, nutrition games and contests and more. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, July 20. Free. olivewoodgardens.org HSun, Earth, Universe Exhibition at Fleet Science Center, 1875 El Prado, Balboa Park. The newest permanent addition to the center is an interactive exhibit that explores astronomy and current NASA research. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, July 20. $18.95-$21.95. fleetscience.org/ exhibitions Summer of Love & Art at Spanish Village Art Center, 1770 Village Place, Balboa Park.

Celebrate the ’60s with live music, make your mark on the Cherry Art Car, participate in a rock painting contest and enjoy photo opps, food and more. From 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, July 20. Free. 619-2339050, spanishvillageart.com Hillcrest Classic Car Show at Normal Street between University Avenue and Harvey Milk Street, Hillcrest. This monthly event showcases at least 20 classic car collectors; past shows have featured DeLoreans, Mustangs, and early Ford V8s.

From 1 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, July 20.

Free. 619-861-7800. fabuloushillcrest.com HInsect Festival at San Diego Botanic Garden, 230 Quail Gardens Drive, Encinitas. The event is crawling with thousands of bugs, reptiles and Madagascar hissing cockroaches. Plus, bug collecting, barbequed mealworm and local experts.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 20 and Sunday, July 21. Free-$14. 760-4363036, sdbgarden.org Rides4ALZ at Alzheimer’s San Diego, 6632 Convoy Court, Clairemont. Hundredmile community motorcycle ride to raise awareness and funds for local families impacted by Alzheimer’s disease and help advance research for a cure. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, July 21. $20-$50. 858966-3310, alzsd.org San Diego Reggae Vegan Fest at NTC Park, 2455 Cushing Road, Liberty Station.

Third World will headline alongside featured artists Yami Bolo, Lakopo and more, at this vegan-centered festival with speakers, authors, chefs, food and drinks. From noon to 9 p.m. Sunday, July 21. Free$77. reggaeveganfest.com

WORKSHOPS HGraze and Gather at You Belong Here, 3619 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. A class on preparing a plant-based and aesthetically pleasing food spread, snacks and drinks provided. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, July 20. $49-$155. youbelongsd.com Art Book Club at Linksoul Lab, 530 South Coast Hwy., Oceanside. Teaching artist Alofa Gould presents a workshop on making vision boards in response to bell hooks’s book, All About Love. From 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 24. Free. facebook.com/events/811950082520097

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THEATER JIM COX

Mouse in the house

hands.” (Readers will have to see the show to get that reference.)

Rock of Ages runs through Aug. 25 at Cygnet Theatre in Old Town. $35$65; cygnettheatre.com

P

igpen Theatre Co.’s The Tale of Despereaux is an enchanting adaptation of the 2003 fantasy novel by Kate DiCamillo and the animated film that followed five years later. While the story itself, about a courageous little mouse rescuing a beautiful kidnapped princess, is simple enough for children to understand and enjoy, it’s adults who will������������ most appre� ciate this world-premiere musical at the Old Globe Theatre.

This is the seven-member Pigpen troupe’s second go-round at the Globe following 2017’s The Old Man and the Old Moon. While that production had its charms, The Tale of Despereaux is much more entertaining, possibly owing to the clever alternating of puppets and actors as the chief rodent characters, Despereaux and Roscuro the rat (who’s really the more compelling of the two). But in addition to the enthusiasm and versatile musicianship of the Pigpen players, Despereaux delights with its ingenious props, inventive visual effects and a grand fairytale set by Jason Sherwood. Another fine addition is Pig� pen’s decision to employ actors as collabo� rators, among them the crystalline-voiced Taylor Iman Jones and Betsy Morgan, as well as the spunky Bianca Norwood as Despereaux.

The Tale of Despereaux runs through

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—David L. Coddon

Theater reviews run weekly.

Write to davidc@sdcitybeat.com.

OPENING: Les Misérables: The musical story of an ex-convict trying to outrun his past against the backdrop of 19th Century France. Presented by the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, it happens July 21 at the Garfield Theatre in La Jolla. sdcjc.org

The Tale of Despereaux Aug. 11 at the Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park. $30 and up; theoldglobe.org ••• o doubt about it, the ’80s produced some cutting-edge music. None of that music, however, is in Rock of Ages, the 2005 jukebox musical by Chris D’Arienzo. Instead, the production is populated by thumping power-rock songs and dubious resurrections of Journey, For� eigner and Twisted Sister. The good news is that Rock of Ages is a fun show anyway.

Its storyline—loosely concerning a would-

N

be rocker (Rory Gilbert), a wannabe actress (Megan Carmitchel) and a Sunset Strip club threatened by a corporate wrecking ball—feels like it was written over a bong and a bag of Oreos.

As such, no one onstage takes it too seriously, so silliness is as preordained as guitar solos. Cygnet Theatre’s production offers up a skilled band conducted by Pat� rick Marion and winning turns from many in the large cast, including Bryan Banville, Zackary Scot Wolfe, Anise Ritchie and Victor E. Chan as the narrator with “jazz

Ideation: A staged reading of Aaron Loeb’s psychological thriller about a group of corporate consultants who are trying to unravel a mystery. It happens July 22 at the North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach. northcoastrep.org The Book of Mormon: In this Broadway smash, two Mormon missionaries are sent to Africa to convert the locals, but the locals aren’t the slightest bit interested in being converted. Written by the creators of South Park, it opens July 23 at the Civic Theatre in the Gaslamp. broadwaysd.com

For complete theater listings, visit sdcitybeat.com

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COURTESY BLACK MASK OF XXXXXXXX STUDIOS

“

hen I show people they are like, ‘This is so horrible,’” says Claudia Dominguez, referring to the subject matter of her debut graphic novel More Than Money. “Yes, it was horrible, but it healed me tremendously.”

In 2013, Dominguez’s father was kidnapped in Mexico City. He was held for four days until the family collected enough money to pay the ransom. In More Than Money, Dominguez documents, via watercolorpainted panels, how the kidnapping affected everyone in her family and how such crimes affect Mexican society as a whole.

More Than Money—a publication of Amatl Comix, an imprint of SDSU Press—gives readers an inside look at the corruption and lawlessness that plague Mexico. It also addresses the stereotypes that often surround individuals who fall victim to organized crime organizations.

“The whole title of More Than Money is that they take more than money from you,” says Dominguez. “They don’t just take this person from you, but they take your security, they take your safety and the trust you have in Mexico.”

When Dominguez began working on the graphic novel, she thought of it as an avenue to overcome what had happened to her family. She was looking to heal and that healing went beyond the actual crime.

What’s more, as a result of the kidnapping, Dominguez no longer felt at home in her own county. The food, language, music, candy and people of Mexico all sparked fear in her. She lays that out with brutal honesty in the first chapter, where she painted herself crouched down on the floor: “I am not COURTESY OF SDSU PRESS

More Than Money @SDCITYBEAT

ANDREA LOPEZ-VILLAFAÑA

Claudia Dominguez even sure Mexico is my home anymore. How can I return to Mexico City now when I feel so afraid and ashamed of being Mexican myself?”

Dominguez was born in Mexico and lived in Mexico City until the age of 19 when she moved to the U.S. for college. The memories of growing up in the country she once treasured became painful reminders of her father’s kidnapping. She says that in a way, the novel was an effort to come to terms with everything that happened; to reclaim her culture.

“People always catalog me as this Mexican maker so it was really hard to defend it, to love it and to feel proud of it when there was so much that was wrong,” says Dominguez.

Dominguez also found the repetitive process of drawing and painting the frames allowed her to face her emotions head on. The healing that Dominguez gained from working on More Than Money also extended to her family, who saw themselves in the pages of the novel. Dominguez’s father was especially appreciative that she shared his story.

Dominguez also wanted to address stereotypes associated with the country and the crimes that impact innocent people. She says it’s easy to make assumptions about victims who are kidnapped. People often

assume that people who fall victim to organized crime are rich or involved in a criminal organization themselves, but that’s not always the case.

Aside from documenting how the kidnapping affected her family, Dominguez wanted to highlight how the corruption in Mexico feeds these crimes. No one was ever held responsible for her father’s kidnapping.

Dominguez points to a frame in More Than Money that shows Lady Justice lying down in a drug-induced coma.

“It’s a level of impunity and corruption that is really high and has nothing to do with how much you have or how involved you are—it’s the state of the [country],” says Dominguez.

Sitting in a coffee shop just a few blocks from the Athenaeum Art Center, Dominguez has a big smile across her face. This is her first graphic novel and although she has been creating art for many years, she says it finally feels like she’s found her home in the medium.

Dominguez’s watercolor pages from the novel will be on display at the Athenaeum Art Center in Logan Heights (1955 Julian Ave., ljathenaeum.org) for the exhibit, The Making of a Graphic Novel–More Than Mon-

ey, which runs through through Aug. 29.

She will also participate in Breaking Borders, a Comic-Con panel that celebrates Chicano popular arts and comics, on Friday, July 19. The event is from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Room 8 at the San Diego Convention Center. After the panel, her work will be on display at Tularosa Gallery (2602 Imperial Ave.) alongside cartoonists Joaquin Junco, Lalo Alcaraz and artists Mario Torero and Jose Hugo Sanchez Jimenez.

Dominguez is currently working on her second graphic novel, A Little Bit Dangerous, which explores how young women can embrace confidence and not succumb to the roles society wants them to play. She says the story is fictional but is inspired by the obstacles “badass women” have overcome to get to where they are today. And while she admits she had reservations about whether the comics community would accept her since she wasn’t making comics about superheroes, she’s found that people have been very welcoming.

“You have to fight for a place to be published and be heard as a Mexican woman,” says Dominguez. “But the comics [creators] themselves, they are open to a lot of different things so that’s been really wonderful.”

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JULY 17, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 17

he 50th anniversary of Comic-Con is indeed something to be celebrated, and while the Balboa Park museum devoted to the history of the event isn’t scheduled to open until 2021, this week will offer interested parties a nice preview of what’s to come. Starting Wednesday evening and throughout the weekend, the former Hall of Champions in Balboa Park (2131 Pan American Plaza) will host a pop-up version of the Comic-Con Museum that includes three exhibitions, a fashion show, daily panels and even Bob Ross-themed art classes.

We spoke with Comic-Con Museum Executive Director Adam Smith about the popup preview, the Batman exhibition and what he hopes the museum will represent even for people who’ve never even been to the Con. CityBeat: What has the process of working on the museum been like so far?

Adam Smith: Everyone’s expectations are really high. I want to deliver to the fans of Comic-Con and to the community of San Diego—the people of this world, really—something that really delivers on the opportunity and the promise that we have at Comic-Con. I feel like we’ve got a vision of what we want to do at the museum. I can see a path to do it.

18 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JULY 17, 2019

CB: Can you tell us how the pop-up exhibitions coming up will work as a preview of things to come?

AS: What we’re doing next week is essentially creating the entire building as a popup museum to test some of the concepts that we think will work in the final ComicCOURTESY OF COMIC-CON MUSEUM

The Comic-Con Museum Con Museum. The Batman exhibition [The Batman Experience and Mondo Gallery: 80 Years of Batman] that we’ll have in the building next week is one of the largest, if not the largest, display of Batman movie props, Batmobiles and memorabilia. It’s a really exciting, experiential Instagrammable exhibit.

We’ve also got our own art show, a curated exhibit that draws on 50 years of ComicCon [Cover Story: The Art of Comic-Con 50] and all of the amazing comic art that has been the produced over the years. So having that component is really important.

CB: Was it an easy decision to make the exhibitions open to the public? That people wouldn’t need a badge to get in?

AS: We wanted to invite everyone down.

One anecdote I can tell you is that I give quite a lot of public presentations where I talk about the project to different community groups in the city. I usually begin by saying, ‘Who’s ever been to Comic-Con?’ and if there are 100 people in the room, usually two hands will go up. Then I say, ‘Who’s interested in going to the Comic-Con museum?’ And then usually pretty much every hand in the room will go up. A big reason I think the organization wants to do this project was to expand the accessibility of ComicCon to the community of San Diego.

CB: And this idea of accessibility is something you’ll continue? That even if someone doesn’t have a badge, they can still be part of the experience?

AS: Absolutely. A little phrase we coined

COURTESY OF COMIC-CON MUSEUM

Adam Smith for the museum project, overall, is that we’re trying to capture the magic of Comic-Con all-year-round… We’re designing the museum to be very flexible so a lot of rotating exhibit space, a lot of program space—so if you came to the museum, it’s never the same twice and people are eager to come back. I think giving people that taste of Comic-Con, that taste of the principles of Comic-Con, is really important.

The Comic-Con Museum Pop-Up exhibitions will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Thursday, July 20 through Saturday, July 22, and 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, July 23.

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hen it comes to San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), I always look forward to five nerd-filled days surrounded by geek culture and fandoms. My feet… not so much.

Every year, I roam the Exhibit Hall of the convention center with one goal: to find Black artists and writers. In years past, I discovered the utterly charming Sebastian A. Jones, President of Stranger Comics (Booth 5531) and co-creator of Niobe, a soon-to-be HBO series. I also discovered the eminently talented James F. Wright (AA: Q-04) co-creator of Contact, a queer, sci-fi/action love story that’s now been nominated for a coveted Eisner Award.

That’s truly one of the greatest things about SDCC: There’s no telling what future “big deal” I’ll run into.

However, as I plan this year’s list of panels to hit up, I’m reminded of how hard it is to find discussions centering on Black creatives. Far too frequently, panels run by people of color or spotlighting Black creatives in the industry conflict with each other (that is, they’re all scheduled around the same day/time), or they’re offsite and difficult to attend.

I’m pleased to note the return of the Black Heroes Matter Flash Mob on Friday, July 19, now in its fourth year. Plus, the annual NOCxWinC (Nerds of Color and Women in Comics, for those not familiar with the acronyms) meetup is set for Saturday, July 20 at the Hilton Bayfront.

Still, it’s all-too-rare a treat for SDCC’s non-white attendees to find panels and programing centered on Black and other non-white creatives as an official part of the big show.

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RHONDA “RO” MOORE

Black Heroes Matter In 2018, Qamar Allen Bradford—along with Dr. LaWana Richmond, Keithan Jones, and Jason Reeves—launched the Afrofuturism Lounge during SDCC to showcase talented creators of color. It was a badge-optional, after-hours event that invited Black comic artists and writers (indie and industry) to mix and mingle with fans. The artist showcase and party offered an opportunity to discover (and buy) Black comics in a relaxed environment. In a previous interview with Bleeding Cool, co-organizer Richmond said SDCC was the best opportunity to “find our tribe within and amongst the thousands of people drawn to this neighborhood by all things Comic-Con,” and she was correct.

This year, its organizers look to take another step into

the SDCC programming gap with Afrofuturism Lounge 2.0, a “celebration of Black Comics, Sci-Fi, Afrofuturism, and Astral Blackness.” In order to accommodate more people, the event will be held at the NewSchool of Architecture & Design (1249 F St.). Happening from 5 to 11 p.m. on July 19 and 20, Afrofuturism Lounge 2.0 includes workshops, panels, an artist showcase, a cosplay competition, a Hero/Villain Lair Design contest and VIP mixers. The workshops/panels will touch on a range of topics and include “Afrofuturism in Cinema,” “Fantasy Makeup” and “Body Paint for Cosplay.”

Calls for inclusion and diversity, particularly in geek culture, still spark controversy and conflict. Some folks see it as an attempt to undermine what they consider to be the unifying nature of fandoms. Others are ready to admit that nerd/geek spaces should do more work to better showcase the demographics that actually exist.

To be fair, SDCC has done an admirable (if uneven) job over the years. This year’s Con includes panels on body image in nerd culture and on how to combat bullying, racism, misogyny and other forms of injustice within geek culture conversation. But as one of the largest gatherings of geek/comic/ gamer communities, SDCC should be the last place still falling short when it comes to affirmatively showcasing the various facets of geek culture evolving out of the Black community.

San Diego Comic-Con should be an event where Black creatives and fans gather to highlight what already exists within the culture and discuss what they want to see in the future. I mean, all the fandoms are here, so where better?

JULY 17, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 19

t’s cute that movies are trying to exist after Avengers: Endgame, which was the cinematic equivalent of a superhero bukkake. That flick shattered so many box office records and exploded so many brains that many of us no longer have the ability to accept the existence of other movies. I’ve already seen the effects: Feral groups of adults in Captain America shirts now roam the streets, mindlessly whispering, “No spoilers, no spoilers,” under their breath.

But alas, filmmakers are still vying for pop-culture blood, and a couple of upcoming films will attempt to stimulate, terrify or tickle the summer blockbuster crowd. Good luck, I say. Regardless, I’m here with a guide for nerds looking to catch a cinematic thrill in the a post-Endgame world.

Bradford analysis: Kids from a bygone, nostalgia-inducing era team up to face an ancient evil... hmm... [checks notes, cues sarcasm] nope, never been done before! I was as big of a fan of the book as anyone (i.e., it scarred me), and it looks like producer Guillermo del Toro and director André Øvredal translate the book’s fucked-up illustrations fairly well. But I can’t shake the feeling that it’s simply going to be a slightly scarier version of the Goosebumps movies.

Should you spend money on it: IF YOU DARE... I mean, yeah, sure.

IT: Chapter 2

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

Observed plot summary: Car chases. Car crashes. Motorcycles. Explosions. The Rock and that other action guy. That’s it. In fact, I think I just wrote the entire script of this movie.

Bradford analysis: I’ve only seen one of the Fast & Furious movies, and it was the controversial The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. I have no idea what the franchise is about, but a lot of smart people have told me these movies are pretty good, so who am I to judge? We can’t intellectually justify everything we like—hell, I like post-Danzig Misfits. Sometimes we just like stupid shit.

Should you spend money on it: No shame in seeing this. OK, maybe a little bit of shame.

Observed plot summary: This one is based on the insanely traumatic “children’s” book of the same name (whoever greenlit Stephen Gammell’s hairy, drippy and super cool illustrations for kid consumption is a sadist). Rather than a vingette-style film based on the indivisual stories, however, the plot is centered on a gang of kids who band together after accidentally unleashing a shitload of ghouls and ghosts from an ancient book of scary stories. There’s a walking spooky scarecrow, a woman in search of her missing toe and the spider-infested zit that we all hoped would never make it to the big screen.

20 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JULY 17, 2019

Observed plot summary: Three tweens navigate the world of growing up, stealing drugs and crashing parties.

They also say “fuck” a lot.

Bradford analysis: I watched this trailer and felt nothing. It’s like an episode of Kids Say the Darndest Things but drawn out to the length of an R-rated feature film. Who is this movie even for? Like, the worst experience in the world is sitting next to a bunch of tweens at a movie theater—why would I subject myself to an entire film of that?

Should you spend money on it: Fuck no.

weirder as Bev realizes that the old lady is not what she seems.

Bradford analysis: Kids from a bygone, nostalgia-inducing era team up to face an ancient evil… OK, so it’s been done before. But this very effective trailer stands alone as a short film, and also as a masterclass on how to promote a film. I’ve watched this trailer nearly 50 times and my heart still gets jumpy when the old lady freezes after she says, “No one who dies here ever really dies.” Honestly, the rest of the movie could suck and I’d still pay money to see this scene on the big screen.

Should you spend money on it: Everything floats down here... especially the money out of your wallet when you’re buying the ticket.

Rambo: Last Blood

Good Boys

Observed plot summary: The grown-up Losers Club returns to Derry to battle the ancient evil that manifests into the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown and other scary things. In the first trailer, Bev Marsh returns to the home in which her dad abused her, only to find out that it now belongs to a sweet old lady. Things get darker and

Observed plot summary: Rambo, that rascally Green Beret is at it again! Not even his advanced age will keep a new batch of baddies from trying to kill the poor Vietnam vet. Good thing he kept all his guns, bows and arrows and his blade-sharpening stone, though. Seriously, the dude is sharpening blades for at least 10 percent of this trailer.

Bradford analysis: I mean, why? It’s not that this movie looks bad per se, but it seems like the cinematic equivalent of dragging a dead horse back home to give it a proper burial. Let’s not forget that despite all the Rambo parodies out there, First Blood is actually a pretty good and emotionally complicated film. I can see why someone would want to tackle this material again, but the trailer just looks like violent Bad Grandpa.

Should you spend money on it: More like Ram-NO, amirite?

@SDCITYBEAT

ver the years, San Diego Comic-Con has morphed from a Convention Center-focused event to a citywide celebration. For those who didn’t get a badge, there are still a ton of local breweries, art galleries, theaters, music venues and even libraries that have put together events for nerds of all stripes. For more, check the CityBeat events calendar, the SDCC Unofficial Blog (sdccblog.com) and the Outside Comic-Con (outsidecomiccon.com) website.

But here are a few of our favorites.

STONE BREWING

Comic-Con International 2019 Art Show at Grand Hall, Manchester Grand Hyatt, 1 Market Place, Downtown. View a wide array of multimedia work by both amateur and professional artists. Also features books and comics nominated for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Award. At various times. Thursday, July 18 through Sunday, July 21. Free. comic-con. org/cci/art-show

Comickaze Presents Artists Alley III at Comickaze, 2750 Historic Decatur Road Ste. 101, Liberty Station, Point Loma. Talented artists unable to secure space at SDCC will showcase their work. Various times.

Wednesday, July 17 through Sunday, July 21.

Free. comickaze.com

Chicano-Con at Border X Brewing, 2181 Logan Ave., Barrio Logan. The Latino comic book and music festival combines artists’ workshops, comic book giveaways, a superhero piñata breaking, and a panel featuring artist Lalo Alcaraz. From 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, July 19, 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Saturday, July 20 and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday, July 21. Free. 619-5010503. borderxbrewing.com

Ready Party One at Fluxx Nightclub, 500 Fourth Ave., Gaslamp. This all-inclusive kick-off party includes live entertainment, celebrity guests and immersive experiences. From 8 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, July 17. $35-$225. facebook.com/NerdsLikeUs Universal Monsters Boodega Monstore at Super7, 701 Eighth Ave., Downtown. Dracula, Frankenstien, the Invisible Man and more. Shop exclusives at this Universal Monsters pop-up shop (only a 10-minute walk from the convention site). From 9 p.m. to midnight Wednesday, July 17 and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Thursday, July 18. super7.com/blogs Comic Conference for Educators and Librarians at San Diego Central Library, 330 Park Blvd., East Village. The library will offer a variety of comic-themed panels for publishers, educators and librarians.

Various times. Wednesday, July 17 through Sunday, July 21. Free with RSVP. sandiego.gov/ccel

Afrofuturism Lounge 2.0 at NewSchool of Architecture and Design, 1249 F St., East Village.

Celebrate Black comics, Sci-Fi, and Afrofuturism with a variety of exhibits, panels, workshops and an after party. From 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, July 19 and Saturday, July 20. $10-$20. afrofuturismlouge. eventbrite.com

Hop-Con 7.0 Step Into The Twilight Zone Experience at Petco Park Lexus Premier Lot, 58 11th Ave., East Village.

Traverse the dimensions of your mind in an interactive experience based on the hit TV show. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, July 18 through Saturday, July 20, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday July 21. Free. sdccblog.com

Hop-Con 7.0 at Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens, 2816 Historic Decatur Road, Point Loma.

This convention for “beer geeks” includes 15 tasters, a silent disco, costume contest and giant jenga.

From 7 to 11 p.m. Thursday, July 18. $35-$75. stonebrewing.com/events/hop-con-70

THE UPSIDE DOWN! SDCC Party at Fluxx Nightclub, 500 Fourth Ave., Gaslamp Quarter. The Nerdist and Experience Level Entertainment presents a quintessential Hawkins, Indiana party featuring immersive social media experiences and live performances. From 8 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Thursday, July 18. $275. nerdist.com

The Batman Experience at The Federal Building, 2131 Pan American Plaza, Balboa Park. The ComicCon Museum presents an immersive pop-up exhibition that celebrates the 80th anniversary of the Dark Knight and features the largest-ever collection of props, costumes and vehicles. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Thursday, July 18 through Sunday, July 21. Free. balboapark.org/museums/comic-con-museum

Conservation + Comics: Understanding Science through Art at San Diego Central Library, Union Bank Homework Center, 330 Park Blvd., East Village.

A series of free and innovative science education workshops that connect people to conservation science through the medium of comic books. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, July 18 through Saturday, July 20. Free with RSVP. sandiego.librarymarket.com

Her Universe Fashion Show at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, 1 Market Place, Downtown. Her Universe presents a “geek couture” fashion show.

Designers will compete for the chance to design a fashion collection for Hot Topic. At 6 p.m. Thursday, July 18. Free. blog.heruniverse.com

Rave of Thrones at OMNIA Nightclub, 454 Sixth Ave., Gaslamp. Kristian Nairn (better known as Hodor from Game of Thrones) is returning to OMNIA to DJ at this annual after-party. From 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

Thursday, July 18. Free with RSVP. omniaclubs.com

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Peanuts Pop-Up Shop: Snoopy Soars with NASA at Bubbles Boutique, 226 Fifth Ave., Gaslamp. View a collection of Charles Schulz’s space-themed comic strips curated by the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa. From 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, July 18 through Sunday, July 21. Free. schulzmuseum. org

Comic-Con Bar Crawl in San Diego. A Comic-Conthemed bar crawl throughout San Diego. Wristbands include free cover to venues and discounts on drinks. From 7:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday, July 19 and 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday, July 20. $15-$30. sandiegobarcrawls.com Mickey Mouse’s Disco Night at House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., Downtown. Celebrate Mickey Mouse Disco album’s 40th anniversary and dance to funk, disco, and motown with DJ Questlove. From 8 p.m. to midnight. Friday, July 19. $50. tickets.d23.com The Adventure Zone: Graphic Novel Live at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Gaslamp Quarter.

The Adventure Zone creative team hosts a Q&A and live reading. Tickets include a copy of the newest graphic novel, The Adventure Zone: Murder on the Rockport Limited. At 7 p.m. Friday, July 19. $43. sandiegotheatres.org Breaking Borders at Tularosa House of Art, 2602 Imperial Ave., Grant Hill. The annual Chicano art and comics panel at Comic-Con will include Lalo Alcaraz, Joaquin Junco, and Claudia Dominquez. A coinciding exhibition of their works will be shown at the Tularosa Gallery. At 6:30 p.m. Friday, July 19. Free. instagram. com/tularosa.art Lightsaber Battle: Return of the ULF at Bea Evenson Fountain, 1549 El Prado, Balboa Park. Join the Underground Lightsaber Fighters in various forms of lightsaber combat that the whole family can enjoy.

From 8 to 11 p.m. Friday, July 19. Free. ulfsandiego. com Black Heroes Matter Flash Mob in front of the Grand Staircase at San Diego Convention Center, 111 W. Harbor Drive, Downtown. The annual flash mob demonstrates solidarity with Black Heroes Matter’s mission to promote diverse representation in popular culture. From 5:45 to 6:15 p.m. Friday, July 19. Free. blackheroesmatter.biz Ghostbusters Party at Werewolf, 627 Fourth Ave., Gaslamp Quarter. This Ghostbusters cosplay party will feature karaoke and live music by DJ Jason G. From 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday, July 20. Free. facebook.com/events/460764924717316/ Comic Book Art Show at La Bodega Gallery, 2196 Logan Ave., Barrio Logan. Cosplay is encouraged for

Rave of Thrones visitors to this exhibition honoring the artistic impact of comic books. From 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday, July 20.

Free. labodegagallery.com/next-show Club Sabbat Comic-Con Weekend at The Merrow, 1271 University Ave., Hillcrest. A Gothic industrial dance party with a Con twist. Music by DJs Vaughn Avakian and Liquid Grey. From 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Saturday, July 20. $6. themerrow.com Comic Pop Up Market + Art Show at the WorldBeat Cultural Center, 2100 Park Blvd., Balboa Park. Explore handmade goods, vegan food vendors, kombucha on tap, face painting, raffles and a cosplay contest.

From noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, July 20. Free-$10. sdccblog.com National Geographic’s Nerd Nite: Brain Games at Solamar Terrace & Pool, 435 Sixth Ave., Gaslamp.

Nat Geo celebrates the return of Brain Games with interactive exhibitions, scientific experiments and a sneak peek at other shows including Sharkfest and Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted. From 8 to 11 p.m.

Saturday, July 20. Free with RSVP. nerdnite.com Back to the Future at Joan and Irwin Jacobs Music Center, Seventh Ave., Downtown. The San Diego Symphony performs the musical score to the classic fantasy/sci-fi film. Go early to join composer Alan Silvestri and conductor David Newman for an onstage discussion. At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 20. $26-$84. sandiegosymphony.org

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22 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JULY 17, 2019

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CULTURE | FILM COURTESY OF A24

Secrets and lies

The Farewell

Director Lulu Wang talks genres, representation and identity in The Farewell

by Glenn Heath Jr.

G

enres provide audiences with a comforting exploration of failure, specifically as it relates to the expectation of tone and narrative. Hollywood pressures placed upon immigrant children, and more perpetuates these assumptions by churning specifically their need to show a return on investment out cookie-cutter content meant to appease filmgoers for their parents’ struggles. Billi comes to embody this who’ve only known unadventurous theatrical experi- tension within the generational hierarchy of her family.

“For her to have to go back and face her dying ences. What’s more, our collective standards suffer over grandmother with nothing to show for it was a really time if these reductive trends aren’t actively checked.

Lulu Wang’s The Farewell, a passion project based poignant part of the story for me,” Wang explains. on her own life experiences, stands out against the “Having the courage to let yourself fail is so imporbackdrop of this particularly insufferable blockbuster tant to an artist. But as immigrant children, we have season because it serves as one of these checks. It all this pressure to succeed.”

Awkwafina delivers a performance worthy of follows a struggling artist named Billi (Awkwafina) who travels back to China when her dynamic grand- Wang’s ambitious subtext. Caught between the demother Nai Nai (Zhao Shuzhen) is stricken with late sire for emotional closure (a very western construct) and a rigid loyalty to familial stage lung cancer. Believing tradition, Billi’s physical manthat such news would hasten nerisms begin to reflect her inthe dire prognosis, Billi’s exTHE FAREWELL ternal struggle. Speaking about tended family decides to keep Directed by Lulu Wang the film’s lead performance, the diagnosis a secret from Nai Starring Awkwafina, Zhao Shuzhen, Wang says, “I often found Nai so that they can say their myself wanting to correct her goodbyes under the auspices Tzi Ma and Diana Lin hunched body posture so she of an elaborate fake wedding.

Rated R should sit up straight. But then Melding comedy and meloI realized that it was her interdrama to explore how aspects pretation of the character beof familial identity are complicated in times of crisis, the film brilliantly challenges cause she feels so small in China.”

That freedom to improvise was crucial to both acmainstream cinema’s myriad preconceptions about tor and director. immigrant experiences.

“We talked a lot about how she should bring as “I first started pitching the film in 2015, and really wanted to do this story authentically by casting much of herself to this character. It gave her a lot of people who are the way they are in real life,” Wang freedom to figure out who this character was as opexplains during a sit down with CityBeat. “They are posed to playing a version of me.”

Still, The Farewell (opening Friday, July 19) is so Chinese-American. Some have accents and don’t speak English, so we’d need subtitles. Nobody wanted moving precisely because Wang manages to capture the prickly gray areas of her perspective on classic to make that film.”

Instead of capitulating, Wang held fast: “I decided themes, or as she puts it, “the close proximity beto wait until the right situation came along where I tween grief and humor.”

Entertaining and socially relevant, Wang’s film could make the movie my way. Saying no to opportunities like that was the biggest challenge.” In 2017, never panders to a perceived audience that might not producers from National Public Radio’s This American connect with the material. Her endgame has always Life approached her about turning the story into an been about inclusivity.

“I want to tell stories that show how we can be more episode. Wang finally felt like she had the momentum graceful as human beings, without judgment,” Wang to move forward.

“Doing the show allowed me to create a full story says. “It’s also about representation and allowing people with mood and tone. It wasn’t just a pitch anymore.” to tell their own stories, those who make up the melting The Farewell premiered to great acclaim at the 2019 pot of this country. Doing that gives me hope.”

Sundance Film Festival with many critics praising how sensitively Wang handles themes of identity and cul- Film reviews run weekly. tural alienation. But the film is an equally intimate Write to glennh@sdcitybeat.com

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JULY 17, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 23

CULTURE | FILM COURTESY OF BLEECKER STREET

The Art of Self-Defense

Kick first

J

esse Eisenberg never met a meek character he couldn’t play. Ever since starring as the confused, sex-crazed teenager opposite Campbell Scott’s smooth lothario in 2002’s Roger Dodger, Eisenberg has become the poster boy for quivering male insecurity.

But somehow his manic lead turn in The Art of Self-Defense puts many of those other sad sacks to shame. Writer/director Riley Stearns’ deadpan satire takes place in an unnamed city that’s seemingly been drained of all originality and happiness. Working as a lowly corporate accountant, Casey (Eisenberg) lives simply and alone with his tender dachshund, the only creature below him on the food chain.

One night while out buying food for said pup, Casey is violently mugged by a gang of motorcyclists who’ve been terrorizing the neighborhood for weeks. Fed up with feeling physically helpless, he begins taking classes at a local karate studio where lead instructor Sensei (Alessandro Nivola) rules with an iron foot.

Casey instantly feels at home amid the flying back kicks and striking chest punches. There’s a strict structure based entirely around fear mongering that Sensei provides his nearly all-male disciples. Anna (Imogen Poots), the one female student, is locked in a classic struggle of proving herself in combat and holding back her talents so as not to rock the patriarchal boat.

Stearns’ film lulls the viewer into submission with a relentless onslaught of lifeless dialogue, not unlike the debilitating chokehold utilized by Anna on an unsuspecting kiddo during one savage demonstration for the children’s class.

When brutal violence does break the monotony, the characters aren’t at all shocked.

It’s unclear exactly what The Art of Self-Defense (opening Friday,

24 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JULY 17, 2019

July 19) is trying to say about the hierarchies of toxic masculinity other than they are bad and cyclical. But the film’s bungled social politics don’t limit the enjoyment of watching Eisenberg reach the apex of his embattled man-child persona.

—Glenn Heath Jr.

OPENING Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché: Narrated by Jodie Foster, this documentary examines Alice Guy-Blaché, a pioneer of the silent film business.

Opens Friday, July 19, at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

In the Aisles: A reclusive man begins working the night shift at a store and falls in love with his mysterious co-worker in this German drama. Opens Friday, July 19, at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

Ken Cinema Repertory Week: A week of classic and cult cinema screenings of The Wicker Man, Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times, Akira Kurosawa’s samurai film Sanjuro, and Douglas Sirk’s haunting melodrama Imitation of Life. Screenings run from Friday, July 19 through Thursday, July 25, at the Landmark Ken Cinema.

The Art of Self-Defense: This dark satire follows a meek corporate accountant who becomes increasingly obsessed with learning karate after joining a new dojo.

Opens Friday, July 19, at Angelika Film Centers - Carmel Mountain.

The Farewell: An artist struggles with her family’s decision not to tell their beloved matriarch that she’s been diagnosed with late stage lung cancer. Opens Friday, July 19, at Landmark Hillcrest Cinemas and Angelika Film Centers Carmel Mountain.

The Lion King: A young lion (voiced by Donald Glover) fights to take his rightful place on the throne of the animal kingdom in the latest classic Disney live action remake. Opens on Friday, July 19, in wide release.

For complete movie listings, visit Film at sdcitybeat.com.

@SDCITYBEAT

CHRISTIAN TAYLOR

MUSIC

Tim Lowman f Tim Lowman gets to talking about his great-grandfather, the listener better settle in and buckle up.

The San Diego-based musician— who records and performs under the name Low Volts—loves to tell the story of J. Warren “Doc” Lowman, who rustled cattle and traveled around the American Midwest singing gospel songs in the early 20th century.

“As a child, I saw him when I was, like, knee high to an armadillo,” Tim says. “I remember going with my folks to family reunions and people would gather around to play music and if you couldn’t play anything, he’d hand you a kazoo or something and just go into song. I remember him being a giant.”

Even with these vivid recollections, Tim doesn’t remember hearing his greatgrandfather sing. And while there’s evidence

@SDCITYBEAT

that J. Warren Lowman recorded songs on a handful of phonograph records, Tim has never heard any of them.

Still, Tim feels connected to his greatgrandfather, especially in a musical way.

“It’s this weird thing where I’m coming across this wild-ass history of myself almost too late to get the real dirt,” Tim says.

Low Volts’ fuzzed-out blues-rock roar sounds like the work of a three- or fourpiece band, so much so that some people are shocked when they show up to a gig and see only Tim Lowman on the stage. Armed with just a guitar and a kick drum, he can conjure up quite a racket, kind of like The Black Keys if they were making music for Satan’s tattoo parlor instead of car commercials. There’s a vintage blues sound, but it still feels timeless.

The band’s name also has roots that run deep into the past, all the way back to

“Doc” Lowman, who was apparently framed for murder and sentenced to die by electrocution, according to his book Up from the Depths: The Miracle that Saved Me From the Electric Chair.

The story is very old and a bit fuzzy, but Tim has read the book, and he tells it like this: A guy owed his great-grandfather money, but he couldn’t pay so he gave “Doc” a car. He then used this car to drive around the country and perform. In Texas, he was pulled over, and cops discovered the car was stolen and the owner had been burned alive. Suspecting Lowman was the murderer, they put him on death row until a witness came along at the last minute and provided him with an alibi that allowed him to escape the electric chair.

And that’s where Tim Lowman got the inspiration to name his band Low Volts.

“If he had fried,” he says, “I definitely would not be here, that’s for sure.”

Over the past decade, Low Volts has released three albums and won three San Diego Music Awards. Tim has placed music on soundtracks and TV shows and he has built a loyal following. Yet he looks back on his life and sees nothing but evidence that every time he tried to outrun music, music eventually caught back up to him. It’s easy to speculate that, perhaps, “Doc” was somewhere out there, always nudging his greatgrandson back toward the musical path.

“There was no reason for me to get into music. No one around me was musical,” Tim says. “But it kind of just kept getting forced upon me in the very best ways.”

Several months ago, Lowman decided it was time to expand his efforts to find his great-grandfather’s old phonograph records.

“I put a post up [on social media], just to put it out there,” Tim says. “I have lots of friends who collect records, so I just said, ‘When you’re out and about, keep an eye out for these records by J. Warren Lowman.’”

Turns out the help he needed was closer than he thought. Last spring, Lowman’s girlfriend, Dani Bell, searched Lowman’s name on a lark, and on the third page of Google results, she spotted something: A copy of a “Doc” Lowman record with “The Preacher’s Vacation” on one side, and “I’ll Never Let the Devil Win” on the other. Mrs. Lowman (wife Maybelle Scott) is listed as his accompanist on both.

“It was on Etsy. Some guy had it in Pennsylvania,” Tim says.

“This was actually a super lucky find,” Bell adds with a laugh. “I’ve got the magic touch.”

Lowman ordered it, of course, and when

the record arrived in San Diego, it was wrapped up tightly in cardboard and bubble wrap. In a “dream state,” Tim says, He removed it from its original brown paper sleeve and took a close look at the record itself.

“It’s pristine. It looks great, like someone played it back in the day and then just stashed it in an attic or whatever,” he said.

“The roots of my vocal cords are on this record. It’s incredible. And to just look at it not be able to play it is driving me crazy.”

TIM LOWMAN

“I’ll Never Let the Devil Win”

by J. Warren Lowman But Lowman is committed to hearing it in the right way. He researched how to play vintage 78 RPM phonograph records without damaging them. Now, he’s trying to find someone who will document his first listen and his reaction.

Ask him to predict how he thinks that will feel and, just like that, Tim Lowman is at a loss for words.

“I don’t know man,” he says after a long pause. “I’ve built it up so much in my mind.

It’s like one of those unlocked mysteries.

I guess it’ll be one of those take-it-as-itcomes kind of things. All I know is I’m freaking out.”

JULY 17, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 25

MUSIC

BLACK

ALFRED HOWARD

GOLD

Instant karma and the art of the steal

I

desperately wanted to call this column “Negrotiations,” but I couldn’t find a race angle to tilt the title toward such juvenile cleverness.

Nonetheless, there are negotiations to be had and deals to be made at the swap meet. Discounts abound if you know how to ask. I never thought I’d be much of a haggler. I was the teenager cringing with embarrassment when my mother tried to bargain. What’s more, I have zero desire to add length to any conversation with strangers.

In my nascent forays into swap meet culture, I always paid full price. Nowadays, I can tell who the freshmen are out there digging; they’ll buy three $2 records and pay $6, instead of asking if they can have three-for-$5. One dollar is a simple save, but when someone buys as many records as I do, it adds up.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not one to beat someone up over the price of a rare record. I’ve seen folks out there who will find a record they know is worth $100 and when the seller wants $10 for it, they’ll still haggle and say “could you do it for $5.” There’s a difference between frugality and insultingly cheap haggling for sport. I try to live somewhere between, a place where I can sleep at night. I believe that “Karma Police” is more than a catchy dystopian Radiohead melody. I believe one day Mitch McConnel will need a kidney and Barack Obama will donate his and Mitch’s body will reject it and he’ll explode in severe discomfort. I believe what goes around comes around, so I try to be fair when I’m out in the shopping wilderness.

A few weeks ago, I bought a Pure Release 45 record at the Coronado swap

meet for $1. I got home and found out it was worth a lot more. I drove back and gave the guy $20. He was confused by the act, but it was the right thing to do.

A lot of the stuff that finds its way to swap meet tables comes from storage auctions. As I delve a little deeper into this world, I get glances behind the

“Relatively Clean Rivers” curtain. So when a merchant purchases a storage lot, it’s possible they know the value of the jewelry and the clothes, but not the records. A lot of folks selling at the swap meet may price the records high just to hedge their bets. They don’t want to sell a gem for nothing, so prices early in the morning are astronomical. Other folks selling want to blow it all out. As long as they get above that number they paid for the storage locker, and have nothing to haul at the end, that’s a win for them.

So here is the game we play: Last week, I watched a friend of mine find some military items he knew were rare.

26 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JULY 17, 2019

The seller knew by his excitement it was something rare and she wasn’t willing to let it go without some research. She ended up inviting two experts to come bid over them at her table and the contents of one small WWII bag from a storage unit fetched her $1,300. She had paid $1 for the lot.

Shortly after witnessing this excitement, I also found myself in an odd position. I was looking through records that had just come from a storage unit. I asked how much as I thumbed through the collection.

“Three dollars, unless you find a $1,000 record,” the seller said. Naturally, the second he said the word thousand I pulled out a record called Relatively Clean Rivers. I didn’t know it, but it looked interesting. I looked it up on discogs and the cheapest one for sale was $990.

A number of things raced through my mind in this moment: “$990 is legally not $1000,” I thought. “If I owed Tony Soprano $1000 and I gave him $990, he’d break my thumbs and utter a racial slur, there is a distinct difference.”

But then all the lessons from childhood surfaced; the Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street shit I’ve been trying to unlearn to cope with Trump America. I looked at the seller and said, “it’s funny you say that, this record is worth about that.”

I told him I’d give him $100, sell it and split whatever I got with him. Shocked by my honesty, he said he’d call me anytime he got records and I could take first crack at them. It was a win-win. I left floating on a helium high.

I got home and listened to the album, praying it didn’t have a massive warp I hadn’t noticed before. I fell asleep to the serene psychedelia of “Hello Sunshine.”

It had a soulful drum beat, with almost a hip-hop feel as it’s introduced. Swirling flutes and simple acoustic guitars placed me in an open field somewhere in ’70s summertime California. It sounded like a thousand bucks.

Black Gold appears every other week.

Alfred Howard is always looking for vinyl and stories, and can be contacted at blackgoldsandiego@gmail.com.

THE

SPOTLIGHT

T

Natalia Lafourcade

here’s a passage in Dana Czapnik’s recently released novel, The Falconer, where the protagonist—a teenage Jewish girl living in ’90s New York City—wants her Latinx friend to speak to her in Spanish.

“Say it in Spanish,” I go.

“No, ‘rainbow’ is the only word that’s prettier in English than Spanish. And when you speak both languages, you get to choose.”

“Is that why corazón is in every Spanish song?”

“Yes, if the word for ‘heart’ in English was corazón, it would be in every song too.”

Man, that passage hit me hard. It’s a true statement, of course, and one that almost instantly made me think of songs by Mexican singers such as Vicente Fernández, Julieta Venegas and my beloved Juan Gabriel, all of whom have bellowed the word “corazón” more than once.

But of all the songs with the word “corazón” (and there are a lot), the one that instinctively came to my mind was Natalia Lafourcade’s “Tú Sí Sabes Quererme.”

I was admittedly late to discovering the music of the Veracruz-based Lafourcade, but my life has been infinitely enriched since then. In “Tú Sí Sabes Quererme,” the multiple Grammy-winning singer/songwriter beseeches a lover (who she refers to as simply, “corazón”) to love her in the way that they know, deep down, they know how to. Put more simply, if they’re brave enough to see her worth, then she will be brave enough to reciprocate their feelings.

“Corazón, tú sí sabes quererme como a mí me gusta / Soy la flor encendida que da color al jardín de tu vida / Corazón, tú sí sabes quererme como a mí me gusta / Por favor no me dejes que soy valiente en corresponderte.”

Perhaps some readers would like me to fully translate this chorus. Too bad. When it sounds this beautiful, you get too choose.

—Seth Combs

Natalia Lafourcade plays Thursday, July 18 the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.

@SDCITYBEAT

MUSIC

BY CITYBEAT STAFF

IF I WERE U Our picks for the week’s top shows

KERRIA GREY

WEDNESDAY, JULY 17

PLAN A: Necking, SpiritedAway, Contact, Giveaway @ Whistle Stop. Bikini Kill and Sleater-Kinney reunions sure are exciting but Vancouver, Canada’s Necking are proof that the spirit of women-empowering punk lives on. Their debut album, Cut Your Teeth, is filled with teeth-gnashing anthems that punch the patriarchy in the face. BACKUP PLAN: Dylan LeBlanc, Erin Rae @ The Casbah.

SATURDAY, JULY 20

THURSDAY, JULY 18

PLAN A: Natalia Lafourcade @ California Center for the Arts, Escondido. Mexico City’s Natalia Lafourcade has a haunting voice which she uses to serenade listeners on tracks that combine pop, bossa nova, rock and Latin rhythms. See this week’s Spotlight section for more. PLAN B: Elizabeth Colour Wheel, Drowse, Hexa @ SPACE. It’s hard to completely nail down the sound of Boston’s Elizabeth Colour Wheel. Is it shoegaze? Is it doom metal? Noise rock? Whatever it is, it’s intense and filled with equal parts dread and elation. BACKUP PLAN: 21

@SDCITYBEAT

gaze and post-punk. And show up early for locals The Colour Monday and Latin-rock quintet Diluvio AZ. PLAN B: Black Pistol Fire, Thunderpussy @ Belly Up Tavern.

Look, we’re not going to lie… Black Pistol Fire is pretty bad. They specialize in that derivative blues-rock made famous by The Black Keys. Thunderpussy, however, is bad ass. Visceral classic-rock hooks and a singer (Molly Sides) who hits some epic notes. They should be headlining this show.

BACKUP PLAN: Why Not, Heart to Gold @ Che Café Collective.

Necking Savage, Young Nudy @ Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre.

FRIDAY, JULY 19

PLAN A: Le 1991, Heavy Petting Zoo, The Colour Monday, Diluvio AZ @ Manhattan Bar. Hailing from Aguascalientes, Mexico, Le 1991 plays a beautiful, somnolent brand of rock that has hints of shoe-

PLAN A: Mrs. Henry, Ten Bulls, The Ripening, The Anodynes @ The Casbah. For nearly a decade, rockers Mrs. Henry have morphed into what is arguably the best local live band. They’re shows are lively and filled with raw emotion. They just released a three-LP set where they covered The Band’s famous Last Waltz concert, so expect some choice cuts from that. BACKUP PLAN: Beck, Cage the Elephant, Spoon, Starcrawler @ North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre.

SUNDAY, JULY 21

PLAN A: Don’t Stop or We’ll Die, The Sloppy Boys @ Soda Bar. Don’t Stop or We’ll Die is a band made up of professional comedy writers and they play songs about fucking frogs and getting perms. Still, their piano-based pop is filled with soaring choruses and catchy hooks so it’s easy to get over

the silly lyrics. BACKUP PLAN: Kind of a slow night. Stay home and catch up on Pose.

MONDAY, JULY 22

PLAN A: We Were Promised Jetpacks, Catholic Action @ The Casbah. Is We Were Promised Jetpacks’ 2009 album, These Four Walls, an underrated emo masterpiece? Yes, we think it is. We defy you not to get all the feels while listening to singalong anthems like “Quiet Little Voices” and “It’s Thunder and It’s Lightning.” PLAN B: Ringo Deathstarr, BLUSHING @ Whistle Stop. Despite the silly name, Austin’s Ringo Deathstarr have been making some sweet shoegaze pop for nearly a decade. They haven’t put out a new record in a while so we’re hoping to hear some new jams at this show. BACKUP PLAN: Kim Gray, Sweet Tooth @ Soda Bar.

TUESDAY, JULY 23

PLAN A: PRXZM, Party Nails, Maiah Manser @ The Casbah. This is a cool lineup all around. San Francisco’s PRXZM plays some groovy electro-pop that resemble a more peppy Chromatics, while Party Nails and Maiah Manser both seem ready to break out with a viral hit any day now. PLAN B: The Beths, Girl Friday, Ariel View @ Soda Bar. New Zealand’s The Beths play that middle ground style of rock that’s both aggressive, but loving; poppy, but still punky. Their 2008 album, Future Me Hates Me, was a fantastic debut and is filled with sentimental lyrics and hooks galore. BACKUP PLAN: Pouya, Ramirez, Boobie Lootaveli @ House of Blues.

JULY 17, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 27

MUSIC

CONCERTS HOT! NEW! FRESH!

Mega Ran (The Merrow, 7/19), Disco Under the Sea (Music Box, 7/26), Pete Case (Whistle Stop, 8/1), Vinyl Junkies Record Swap (Casbah, 8/3), Border Angels Benefit (Casbah, 8/4), Doc Hammer (Casbah, 8/6), The Soft White Sixties (The Merrow, 8/9), Rorre (Casbah, 8/12), Inure (Casbah, 8/13), Ringworm (Soda Bar, 8/16), SD City Soul Club (The Merrow, 8/17), Blackfoot Gypsies (Casbah, 8/21), The Surrealistics (Casbah, 8/22), Alesana (Brick by Brick, 8/22), Joe Wood (Casbah, 8/28), T.S.O.L. (Soda Bar, 9/5), Mariachi El Bronx (BUT, 9/7), The Tim Bluhm Band (Casbah, 9/11), Whitney Shay (BUT, 9/17), Bob Wier & Wolf Bros (Humphrey’s, 9/18), The Brother Brothers (SPACE, 9/19), Guttermouth (Soda Bar, 9/21), Grieves (Soda Bar, 10/2), Hayes Carll (BUT, 10/3), Starcrawler (The Irenic, 10/4), The Japanese House (Observatory, 10/11), Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes (Casbah, 10/15), Joseph (BUT, 10/18), Neon Indian (Music Box, 10/18), Al Jardine (BUT, 10/24), The Weeks (The Irenic, 10/25), (Sandy) Alex G (The Irenic, 10/26), Todd Snider (BUT, 10/29), Captured! By Robots (Brick by Brick, 11/1), Omar Apollo (Observatory, 11/7), Cave In (Soda Bar, 11/13), Max Bemis (The Irenic, 11/15), Twin Peaks (BUT, 11/16), The Babe Rainbow (Casbah, 11/15), Cherry Poppin’ Daddies (BUT, 11/22), Lee Fields & the Expressions (Music Box, 12/6), Kolars (Casbah, 12/11), David Lindley (BUT, 1/8).

ALL SOLD OUT Jeff Bridges (BUT, 8/6), The Psychedelic Furs (Observatory, 8/6), Death Cab For Cutie (Observatory, 8/9-10), Touché Amoré (Ché Café Collective, 8/13), Orville Peck (Casbah, 8/15), David Grisman (BUT, 8/29), Queen Nation (BUT, 8/30), The Marshall Tucker Band (BUT, 9/12), Oliver Tree (Observatory, 9/18), Girl in Red (HOB, 9/27), MXMTOON (HOB, 10/2), Jonas Brothers (Pechanga Arena, 10/7), Morcheeba (BUT, 10/13), Tyler Childers (Observatory, 10/15), Mike Watt & The Missingmen (Casbah, 11/2), Two Door Cinema Club (Observatory, 11/8), Built To Spill (Casbah, 11/14).

CANCELLED Jagwar Twin (Casbah, 7/21), Ozzy Osbourne (North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, 7/23).

GET YER TICKETS Porter Robinson (OMNIA, 7/19), Pouya (HOB, 7/23), Lil Jon (OMNIA, 7/26), Blink-182, Lil Wayne (North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, 8/7), Kacey Musgraves (Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre, 8/27), Andy Grammer (HOB, 9/2), Carrie Underwood (Pechanga Arena, 9/10), Tony Bennett (San Diego Civic Theatre, 9/14), Yungblud (Observatory, 9/19), Cigarettes After Sex (Observatory, 10/5), The Japanese House (Observatory, 10/11), The Who (Viejas Arena, 10/16), Judah & The Lion (Observatory, 10/17), Senses Fail (HOB, 10/19), Hozier (Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre, 10/26), Helmet (BUT, 11/7).

28 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JULY 17, 2019

JULY WEDNESDAY, JULY 17 Dylan LeBlanc at The Casbah. August Burns Red at House of Blues. The Appleseed Cast at Soda Bar. Atomic Groove at Belly Up Tavern.

THURSDAY, JULY 18 Dressy Bessy at Soda Bar. Lunar Vacation at House Of Blues. Elizabeth Colour Wheel at SPACE. Paragraphs at Belly Up Tavern. Vince DiCola at Brick by Brick.

Malt Couture at The Casbah.

FRIDAY, JULY 19 Why Don’t We at Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre. Rick Braun at Humphreys. Thunderpussy at Belly Up Tavern. The Claypool Lennon Delirium at Music Box. Birdy Bardot at Soda Bar. Porter Robinson at OMNIA. Confide at Brick by Brick. Emo Nite at The Casbah.

Mega Ran at The Merrow.

SATURDAY, JULY 20 Beck at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre. Monsieur Perine at House of Blues. SuicideGirls at Music Box. Cigar at Soda Bar. Betamaxx at Belly Up Tavern. Chantel Jeffries at OMNIA. Mrs. Henry at The Casbah.

SUNDAY, JULY 21 Infinite Floyd at Brick by Brick. Don’t Stop Or We’ll Die at Soda Bar.

MONDAY, JULY 22 We Were Promised Jetpacks at The Casbah. Ringo Deathstarr at Whistle Stop. Kim Gray at Soda Bar.

TUESDAY, JULY 23 Pinky Pinky at Ché Café Collective.

Pouya at House Of Blues. Party Nails at The Casbah.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 24 Jonathon McReynolds at House of Blues. Cracker at Belly Up Tavern. Drab Majesty at Music Box.

THURSDAY, JULY 25 Bob Log III at The Casbah. Andy McKee’s Guitar Masters at Music Box. Golden Vessel at Soda Bar. The Alarm at House of Blues.

FRIDAY, JULY 26 Stef Chura at Soda Bar. Thrice at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre. Reel Big Fish at House of Blues. The Highwayman Show at Belly Up Tavern. AJ Froman at The Casbah. Lil Jon at OMNIA. Disco Under the Sea at Music Box.

SATURDAY, JULY 27 $UICIDEBOY$ at SOMA. Wayward Sons at Music Box. X at Belly Up Tavern.

Black Sabbitch at Soda Bar. A Midsummer Masquerade Ball: French Follies at Observatory North Park. ‘80s Metal Jam Night at Brick by Brick. The Loons at The Casbah.

SUNDAY, JULY 28 The Raconteurs at Cal Coast Credit Union Air Theatre at SDSU. Matt Costa at Music Box. Decrepit Birth at Brick by Brick. Wayward Sons at Music Box. X at Belly Up Tavern. Ric Scales at The Casbah.

MONDAY, JULY 29 Ninet Tayeb at Soda Bar. Le Saboteur at The Casbah.

TUESDAY, JULY 30 The Drums at Observatory North Park.

Full Blast Fun Boy at Soda Bar. DJ Artistic’s Hip Hop Battle Bot at The Casbah.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 31 Everything Is Terrible! at The Casbah.

Stranger at Belly Up Tavern. Psychic Graveyard at Soda Bar.

AUGUST THURSDAY, AUGUST 1 Easy Wind at Belly Up Tavern. Alison Sudol at Soda Bar. Born of Osiris at House of Blues. Talib Kweli at Music Box. William Clark Green at The Casbah.

Pete Case at Whistle Stop,

FRIDAY, AUGUST 2 Rascal Flatts at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre. Mystic Braves at The Casbah. These Handsome Devils at Music Box. Lil Duval at House of Blues.

Bad Cop/Bad Cop at Soda Bar. Billy Bio at Brick by Brick.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 Dead Horses at Soda Bar. A.A. Bondy at The Casbah. Holy Grail at Brick by Brick. The Molly Ringwalds at House of Blues. The PettyBreakers at Belly Up Tavern. Vinyl Junkies Record Swap at The Casbah.

MUSIC CONTINUED ON PAGE 29

@SDCITYBEAT

BY CHRISTIN BAILEY

MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 28 SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 Bars of Gold at Soda Bar. Chrome Waves at Brick by Brick. Border Angels Benefit at The Casbah.

MONDAY, AUGUST 5 The Bacon Brothers at Belly Up Tavern.

Lord Huron at Humphrey’s.

rCLUBSr

710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave., Pacific Beach. Fri: Ital Vibes, Kapu System, African Postman. Sat: Imagery Machine, North by North, Oak Palace. Sun: Karaoke. Tue: Drivin the Bus, Resonance.

Air Conditioned Lounge, 4673 30th St., Normal Heights. Wed: ‘#HipHopWeds’.

Thu: Nicholas Wetzler. Fri: ‘House Music Fridays’. Sat: DJ Jirafa. Sun: Bernie Fishman. Mon: ‘Organized Grime’. Tue: Xander Vera, Alberto Sosa.

American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., Downtown. Wed: Doug Loves Movies. Thu: Mark Ellis. Fri: Trump vs Bernie.

Sat: Jonah Ray. Tue: Open Mic. The Bancroft, 9143 Campo Road, Spring Valley. Wed: Karaoke. Thu: Sideshow, Hyperactive Slackers. Fri: Mentors, Speculum, Gutter. Sat: The Rambling Souls, Deathboys. Sun: Ubiquity, Osmium, DiVad, Fisted, Monarch. Mon: Trivia. Tue: Karaoke.

Bang Bang, 526 Market St., Downtown.

Thu: Taryn Manning. Fri: X-Coast.

Bar Pink, 3829 30th St., North Park. Sun: ‘Rat Sabbath’.

@SDCITYBEAT

Beaumont’s, 5665 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla. Thu: Whiskey Ridge Duo. Fri: Scratch.

Sat: Slower.

Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. Thu: The Paragraphs, Drug Hunt, Belladon. Fri: Black Pistol Fire, Thunderpussy. Sat: Betamaxx, Rockgarden. Sun: Infinite Floyd, The Wall. Tue: Mango Melody, Jonny Tarr, Courtney Preis.

Black Cat Bar, 4246 University Ave., City Heights. Sat: Kitty Plague, Weanus Underground, Plundrbund.

Blonde, 1808 W. Washington St., Mission Hills. Wed: ‘Dance Klassique’. Thu: ‘Chocolate: Afro House & Forward Thinking House Music’. Fri: ‘Comic-Con Tron Theme Dance Party’. Sun: ‘Spectrum: Diverse Dance Party’. Mon: Tennis System, Braggers, Language of Flowers. Tue: ‘Techit Easy’.

Boar Cross’n, 390 Grand Ave., Carlsbad.

Sat: Big Dude.

Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave., Bay Park. Thu: Vince DiCola. Fri: Confide.

The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd., Midtown. Wed: Dylan Leblanc, Erin Rae. Thu: Malt Couture. Fri: Emo Nite. Sat: Mrs. Henry, Ten Bulls, The Ripening, The Anodynes. Mon: We Were Promised Jetpacks. Tue: PRXZM, Party Nails, Maiah Manser.

Che Cafe, 1000 Scholars Drive S, La Jolla. Wed: Spirit Ghost, BluNites, Sasha & the Vals, Shame Face. Fri: Heart to Gold, Why Not. Sat: JINX, Oatmeal, Former.

Sun: Union Front, Risk, Grosero, Exile, Buriedbutstillbreathing.

MUSIC CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

ASTROLOGICALLY UNSOUND Weekly forecasts from the so-called universe ARIES (March 21 - April 19): You probably won’t feel the consequences of your bad actions this week for another couple months, so try to enjoy life until then.

LIBRA (September 23 - October 22): Like a bat, this week you will get any place you need to get to by screaming over and over again into the darkened void that surrounds you.

TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): Following your worst idea to its logical conclusion is better than sitting around for an indefinite amount of time and waiting around for a better idea to show up.

SCORPIO (October 23 - November 21): Never miss an opportunity to tell the people in your life that you care. Also, if you find a duffle bag full of money, don’t report it to the police. Are you stupid or something?

GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): Selfdiscovery is a long process, and it can only begin once you see yourself in the selfcheckout camera monitor and think, “Oh my god, is that really what I look like?”

CANCER (June 21 - July 22): Sometimes you are being hunted in open water by a man-eating shark. Other times, like today, you’re walking around with no idea that a shark is going to eat you tomorrow.

LEO (July 23 - August 22): It is advisable to publicly and graciously accept constructive criticism. Then go home and write the critic’s name in a secret journal with “ENEMIES” embossed on the cover.

VIRGO (August 23 - September 22): The world is not black and white. There is, in fact, a lot of space for moral ambiguities.

This is, it’s fine to sabotage certain people.

Use your best judgment.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 December 21): It’s true that in order to succeed, you have to suffer a few failures. However, failing constantly in spectacularly different ways in and of itself is not a sign of progress.

CAPRICORN (December 22 January 19): Following a recipe perfectly and to the finest detail will not necessarily yield good results if the recipe itself is bad to begin with.

AQUARIUS (January 20 - February 18): Do not organize your bookshelf by color. It’s not a real method of organization, and I see you thinking it.

Don’t do it!

PISCES (February 19 - March 20): If you feel like causing a little chaos today, there is really no better way to act out than to leave someone a minute-long voicemail.

Astrologically Unsound appears every week. Follow Christin Bailey on Twitter at @hexprax.

JULY 17, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 29

MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29 Dizzy’s, 4275 Mission Bay Drive, Bay Park. Fri: Victor Baker Trio. Sat: Edward Gabrielyan’s Fushion Quartet. Sun: Alison Tucker & Danny Green.

F6ix, 526 F St., Downtown. Thu: ‘TakeOver Thursdays’. Fri: ‘Dynamic Duos’.

Sat: DJ Brees. Sun: ‘Reggae Sundays’.

Fluxx, 500 Fourth Ave., Downtown. Fri: Jae Murphy. Sat: Wellman.

The Holding Company, 5046 Newport Ave., Ocean Beach. Wed: DJ Binx, Rafa’s One Man Band. Thu: Cassie B Project.

Fri: The Routine, OFIER, The Pikeys.

Sat: QUEL BORDEL!, OREN. Sun: Jam Packed, Madi Sipes & The Painted Blue, Animals in the Attic, Cugino. Tue: ‘Reggae Tuesdaze’.

House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., Downtown. Wed: August Burns Red. Thu: Exodus. Fri: Jerry “Hot Rod” DeMink.

Sat: Monsieur Perine. Sun: Graham Gillot Band. Tue: Pouya.

Humphreys Backstage, 2241 Shelter Island Drive, Shelter Island. Wed: The Surf Birdz. Thu: Barbwire. Fri: Full Strength Funk. Sat: Detroit Underground. Sun: About Face. Mon: January Berry Band.

Tue: Chris Fast Band.

Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd., Midtown. Thu: ‘Acid Varsity’. Fri: ‘Mixtape’.

Sun: J Paul Getto, Jimmy Kennedy.

Kensington Club, 4079 Adams Ave., Kensington. Thu: The Steady 45’s, Bite Me Bambi, Beta 7, Mochileros, City Soul Club DJ’s.

Lestat’s Coffee House, 3343 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Mon: Open Mic. Tue: Comedy Night.

30 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JULY 17, 2019

Mc P’s Irish Pub, 1107 Orange Ave., Coronado. Wed: Jerry Gontang. Thu: Jackson & Billy. Fri: Ron’s Garage. Sat: Stilettos. Sun: JG & Fish. Mon: JG. Tue: 3 Guys Will Move U. Martinis Above Fourth, 3940 Fourth Ave., Hillcrest. Thu: Mark MacKillop. Mon: Luke Monday. Tue: Ben Vereen.

The Merrow, 1271 University Ave., Hillcrest. Wed: Maximus of Woof Galaxy, AbJo. Thu: Diamond Dogs Boylesque Show: Post Pride Celebration. Fri: Mega Ran, OrchidxMantis, Francis Roberts, Digital Lizards of Doom. Sat: ‘Club Sabbat’.

Mon: ‘Playground Monday Night Dance Party’. Tue: DAB, Lost Dakota, Bummer Dreams.

Mother’s Saloon, 2228 Bacon St., Ocean Beach. Tue: Trivia.

Mr. Peabody’s, 136 Encinitas Blvd., Encinitas. Thu: Jonathon Lee Band. Fri: Black Cherry Lightnin’. Sat: Wonderdogs.

Sun: Jazz Jam. Mon: Open Mic. Tue: Karaoke.

Music Box, 1337 India St., Little Italy. Fri: The Claypool Lennon Delirium, Particle Kid. Sat: SuicideGirls: Blackheart Burlesque. Sun: Larry Dunn’s Anthology of Earth Wind & Fire.

The Office, 3936 30th St., North Park.

Wed: Emo DJ Sets. Thu: ‘Dig Deeper’.

Sat: ‘Strictly Business’. Mon: ‘Motown on Mondays’. Tue: ‘Night Shift’.

OMNIA Nightclub, 454 Sixth Ave., Downtown. Thu: Kristian Nairn. Fri: Porter Robinson. Sat: Chantel Jeffries.

Panama 66, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park.

Wed: ‘The Wednesday Jam Session’.

Thu: Erika Davies. Fri: Besos Jazz Trio.

Sat: Mad Hat Hucksters. Sun: Uptown Rhythm Makers.

Parq, 615 Broadway, Downtown. Fri: Blueface. Sat: Joe Maz.

Beat’. Sun: ‘Supra Sunday’. Tue: LOOM, Red Wizard, Smokey Mirror.

Pour House, 1903 S. Coast Highway, Oceanside. Wed: Open Mic. Thu: Daytrip.

Fri: Custard Pie. Sat: Hellflowers. Sun: Shane Shipley. Mon: Trivia. Tue: DJ Lexicon Devil.

Spin, 2028 Hancock St., Midtown. Fri: Mob Tactics, Ben Soundscape, Colle. Sat: ‘Pile-Con’.

Proud Mary’s, 5550 Kearny Mesa Road, Kearny Mesa. Wed: Billy Watson. Thu: Tomcat Courtney. Fri: Cadillac Wreckers.

Sat: Sharifah Muhammad.

Riviera Supper Club, 7777 University Ave., La Mesa. Wed: ‘Boss Jazz’. Thu: DLOD. Fri: Chicken Slim & the Biscuits.

Sat: The Spiritual Motels. Tue: ‘The Works Jam. Rosie O’Gradys, 3402 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Wed: Israel Maldonado. Thu: DJ Ratty. Fri: Modern Day Moonshine. Sat: Acoustic Revolt. Mon: Rosie’s Jazz Jam. Tue: ‘Adams Gone Funky’.

Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Wed: The Appleseed Cast, Young Jesus. Thu: Dressy Bessy, Potty Mouth, Colleen Green. Fri: Birdy Bardot, Taken by Canadians, Veronica May. Sat: Cigar, Eken is Dead, Skipjack, Somatic.

Sun: Don’t Stop or We’ll Die, The Sloppy Boys. Mon: Kim Gray, Sweet Tooth. Tue: The Beths, Girl Friday, Ariel View.

SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd., Midway.

Thu: Distinguisher, Ghost Key, Shawshank Redeemed, Emerald Bay. Sat: Twiztid, Blaze Ya Dead Homie, Alla Xul Elu, G-Mo Skee, Sevidemic, Oh! The Horror, Legion X, Freakshow.

SPACE, 3519 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights.

Wed: Cruciamentum, Infernal Conjuration, Concilio Cadaverico, Disslate, Monochromacy. Thu: Elizabeth Colour Wheel.

Fri: ‘Rollin’ Wit Tha Funk’. Sat: ‘Broken

Sycamore Den, 3391 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Wed: Paul Gregg. Tue: Trivia.

Til-Two Club, 4746 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Sun: ‘Pants Karaoke!’.

Tin Roof, 401 G St., Downtown. Thu: Team Coco House. Fri: Team Coco House. Sat: Team Coco House. Sun: Karaoke. Mon: Lucky Devils Band. Tue: Megan Katarina.

Tio Leo’s, 5302 Napa St., Bay Park. Wed: Jazz Pocket Swing. Thu: Mercedes Moore Band. Fri: Funks Most Wanted. Sat: Johnny Main, Forty Fours, Blue Largo. Sun: Cuband4ever. Mon: ‘Sexy Salsa & Sensual Bachata’. Tue: Theo & Zydeco Patrol.

Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave., City Heights. Thu: Gazm, Heat, LEAD, Via Reality. Fri: Lightweight, Sad Girlz Club, Midnight Track, Delma. Sat: The Atom Age, Nobody’s Baby, Idiot Bombs. Sun: The Petty Saints, North by North, DR3AmBrO5.

Tue: The Ghoulies, Space Force, Good Time Girl, Delma.

U-31, 3112 University Ave., North Park.

Thu: ‘BoomBox Thursdays’. Fri: DJ Freeman. Sat: ‘Dance Party’. Sun: ‘Live Reggae’. Mon: ‘#31 Flavors’.

Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St., South Park.

Mon: Ringo Deathstarr, Blushing.

Winstons, 1921 Bacon St., Ocean Beach.

Wed: ‘Club Kingston’. Thu: Band of Gringos, The Happys. Fri: Pimps of Joytime, Joel Martin Band. Sat: Psydecar, Sun Hop Fat. Sun: Karaoke. Mon: Electric Waste Band. Tue: Space Bus.

@SDCITYBEAT

BY JACKIE BRYANT

IN THE BACK

CANNABITCH Skin deep

I

n recent years, I’ve become a bit addicted to tattoos. I consistently add to my collection, which means there is a lot of healing going on at any given time.

Ask anyone who tattoos or who has tattoos what their healing regimen is and there are bound to be just as many answers as people. Some people swear by certain creams, salves or oils while others opt to dry heal, never putting anything on top of their ink.

Others, such as myself, have taken a trial-and-error approach borne out of equal parts laziness and curiosity. A recent visit to my tattooist found me getting the largest piece yet, which then led me to take precautionary measures. I knew I’d be under the needle for longer than I ever had been before, so I made sure to eat some edibles ahead of time.

Right as things were starting to get spicy (my tattoo artist Connie had started drilling on my wrist bone), I could feel the edible kick in. I was giggly and distracted and glad for some relief. But my mind also started wandering. Did I bring that new combination THC/CBD salve in my bag?

The one I brought back from Alaska?

Why, yes, I did.

@SDCITYBEAT

JACKIE BRYANT

purported effects, like the possibility that Benavides says. “You need to know where you’re getting it from and in what dose.”

THC helps to heal skin lesions.

He goes on to say that he thinks using I decided that if it’s good enough for that, it’s likely ideal for healing the skin CBD and THC products for healing tattrauma that occurs during the tattooing toos works because “we have cannabinoid process. I have been using it and, so far, my receptors all over our bodies—so localized piece has healed beautifully. Dixie Elixirs application is really effective.”

“CBD has anti-inflammatory (dixieelixirs.com), which is available properties and THC works well in California, makes a 50 milfor pain. Those are two key ligram each THC/CBD salve things for healing any kind of called Synergy Relief that skin trauma,” he says, addwill do the trick. ing, “but it needs to have a Rob Benavides, master high concentration of THC tattoo artist, cannabis acand/or CBD.” tivist and owner of Flying But is it worth the extra Panther Tattoo & Gallery in price tag, beyond, say, AquaGolden Hill, agrees with my phor or cocoa butter lotion? assessment. He started using Benavides thinks that, without Hustle Butter’s (hustlebutter.com) Hustle Butter more rigorous scientific studies CBD Luxe salve, which is marketRob Benavides ed as being specifically formulated for tat- that address issues of cell regeneration and toos. It’s non-comedogenic, fragrance-free turnover, then it really just comes down to The Baked Alaska salve—which is not and contains a number of moisturizing personality type. available in California though there are ingredients such as shea butter, aloe, sun“You can use a bar of soap on your hair many similar products available in Cali- flower seed oil, green tea leaf extract and or you can use a fancy conditioner,” Benafornia stores—has 100 milligrams each of CBD isolate. vides explains. “I love it, I think it works, THC and CBD in addition to cocoa butter, “One of the key things is getting a prod- but I’m a pampered man.” shea butter, emu oil, bee’s wax and coconut uct that’s potent because there are a lot of oil. I was told it’s ideal for cancer patients products out there that have, like, 10-milli- CannaBitch appears every week. Follow for pain management. There are also other grams of CBD in it and that does nothing,” Jackie Bryant on Twitter at @jacqbryant.

JULY 17, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 31