San Diego CityBeat • Jan 2, 2013

19 places to keep an eye on in 2013 · Page 18

INMATES P.6 DATA P.11 OSAMA P.20 CLERK P.23

2 · San Diego CityBeat · January 2, 2013

Say yes to gun control, City Council A month ago, when discussing a proposed resolution calling for a legislative fix to the problems caused by the landmark Citizens United case, San Diego City Council members Kevin Faulconer and Scott Sherman remarked that it’s not a city council’s job to weigh in on matters over which it has no control.

We disagree. The capacity of lower legislatures to run opinions on matters of vital nationwide importance up the chain of command is a component of a healthy democracy. Besides, as Council President Todd Gloria said that day, the Citizens United case has had, and will continue to have, huge impacts on elections in San Diego.

In the wake of the murders of 20 firstgraders and seven adults in Newtown, Conn., there’s a new national issue for the City Council to officially weigh in on: common-sense gun law. We urge the City Council to send letters to California’s two U.S. senators—Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein—and San Diego County’s five members of the U.S. House of Representatives in support of a bill that Feinstein has said she’ll introduce on Thursday, Jan. 3, the first day of the 113th Congress this month.

Feinstein says her bill would ban the manufacture, sale and importation of more than 120 types of semiautomatic and other weapons that are compatible with high-capacity clips. It also would ban clips that can feed more than 10 rounds into a weapon. Importantly, it would include several provisions meant to close loopholes that freed certain assault-type weapons from the ban that was in place from 1994 to 2004. It would require all currently owned weapons of the type that would be banned—which would be legal through a grandfather clause—to be registered into a national database that would include a background check of the owner.

The City Council’s resolution should also urge support of any additional law that proposes to close loopholes in background-check regulations. It’s been widely reported that 40 percent of all gun sales are made without the buyer having to undergo an examination of his or her criminal or adjudicated mental-health history. The resolution could also express support for any proposal to increase penalties for “straw” buyers—those found to have

purchased guns on behalf of people who would fail a background check.

The Lemon Grove City Council has already passed a resolution supporting a new assault-weapons ban.

The San Diego City Council—and all other city councils in San Diego County, for that matter, as well as the San Diego County Board of Supervisors—should follow suit. It’s a great way to keep the public pressure on Congress to do something about gun violence.

•••

Since we’re on the subject of things the San Diego City Council should do: As soon as possible, it should amend current law so that a certain former member can work for Mayor Bob Filner.

Filner wants Donna Frye to lead his effort to make government more open to the public, but he’s not allowed to hire her because of a city law that prohibits the hiring of retired employees who are receiving pension benefits. The point, as we understand it, is to bar folks from double-dipping the benefits.

City Attorney Jan Goldsmith has opined that Filner may hire Frye— should she be deemed someone who possesses a special skill—for 90 days of a calendar year.

That won’t do. If it would pass legal muster, we urge the City Council to amend that law so that retirees can be hired as fulltime staff members without earning any new benefits, and perhaps have existing benefits suspended while employed, if necessary.

So far, it’s been nearly impossible for reporters to get information from Filner’s office. His tenure is only a month old, so we’ll give him some time to get things sorted out, and the reported arrival of a new communications director this week should help.

We understand that Frye’s role would not necessarily be to grease the relationship between the Mayor’s office and the local press, but with her fantastic history of always being available for reporters, having her around wouldn’t hurt in that regard.

We hope the City Council will make it happen.

What do you think? Write to editor@sdcitybeat.

This issue of CityBeat is dedicated to Kinsee Morlan, Jeff Hammett and their baby boy, Harper Purl Hammett, born on Dec. 26, 2012.

Volume 11 • Issue 22 EDITOR David Rolland ASSOCIATE EDITOR Kelly Davis STAFF WRITER Dave Maass ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Amy T. Granite MUSIC EDITOR Peter Holslin EVENTS EDITOR Alex Zaragoza FILM EDITOR Anders Wright WEB EDITOR Ryan Bradford ART DIRECTOR Adam Vieyra

COLUMNISTS Edwin Decker, John R. Lamb CONTRIBUTORS Ian Cheesman, Derrik Chinn, David L. Coddon, Jeff “Turbo” Corrigan, Scott McDonald, Jenny Montgomery, Kinsee Morlan, Sasha Orman, Jim Ruland, Marie Tran-McCaslin, Jeff Terich, Quan Vu PRODUCTION MANAGER Efraim Manuel SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Jason Noble

Cover design by Adam Vieyra ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Sean Eshelman, Paulina Porter-Tapia DIRECTOR OF MARKETING Chad Boyer CIRCULATION / OFFICE ASSISTANT Shea Kopp VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE Michael Nagami BUSINESS MANAGER Angela Wang HUMAN RESOURCES Andrea Baker ACCOUNTING Tracy Lowe, Alysia Chavez VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS David Comden PUBLISHER Kevin Hellman

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EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISING OFFICE 3047 University Ave., Suite 202 San Diego, CA 92104 Phone: 619-281-7526 Fax: 619-281-5273 www.sdcitybeat.com

San Diego CityBeat is published and distributed every Wednesday by Southland Publishing Inc., free of charge but limited to one per reader. Reproduction of any material in this or any other issue is prohibited without written permission from the publisher and the author. Contents copyright 2013.

January 2, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 3

4 · San Diego CityBeat · January 2, 2013

kelly davis

Under Sheriff Bill Gore, transgender inmates get access to bras.

Transgender specific

Sheriff’s forming a posse to reexamine jail policies for LGBT inmates

Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB), the civilian body sanctioned by the county to investigate civil-rights-abuse allegations against deputies and probation officers.

The transgender inmates claimed that guards made crude, sexual remarks to them, such as: “I’m going to miss watching you two shower,” “Look, it’s the ugliest girls in George Bailey,” “I’ve got a delivery of summer sausage. Can I park it in your rear?” and “Oh God, fucking faggots. We’re surrounded by six, nasty, disgusting faggots.”

One guard was accused of trading his cell phone number to an inmate in exchange for a look at the inmate’s breasts. The inmates also said they were denied access to religious and education programs and, in one case, AIDS medication.

CLERB failed to determine whether there was truth to the claims and threw out the case when it couldn’t complete the investigation within a year, as required by state law.

CityBeat has been unable to obtain further information about the allegations, since state law also protects the confidentiality of peace-officer personnel records and investigations. The federal Prison Rape Elimination Act requires local detention authorities to report publicly the number of sexual-harassment complaints, but the sheriff reported no allegations on the forms filed for 2011. The Sheriff’s Department did not provide CityBeat an explanation for the apparent omission and did not respond to a request for the basic, anonymous data that it should have reported to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

However, leaders in San Diego’s LGBT

Gore not only agreed to form an advisory board but also to grant unsupervised interviews with transgender inmates.

According to Murray-Ramirez, the inmates said the lead complainant (who’s currently serving time in a state prison in Tehachapi) had a tendency to exaggerate.

The inmates told him that 95 percent of the guards treated them respectfully, even using female pronouns to address them.

“That made me almost fall out of my chair,” Murray-Ramirez says.

But many of the complaints were reaffirmed, including lack of access to religious services and private substance-abuse counseling, Murray-Ramirez says. One inmate reiterated a complaint that HIV medication was not provided for at least four days.

All transgender inmates are held in protective custody, which means they’re housed near the unit reserved for sexually violent predators. Several lamented the impression of some sort of similarity between transgender people and child molesters.

“What they wanted, number one, was to be allowed to go into the general population,” Murray-Ramirez says. “That’s not going to happen, and I told them that.”

The 2007 bulletin, which, apparently, was redistributed in some form in 2009, addresses a range of transgender issues, including access to hormone therapies and bras. Guards are supposed to exercise sensitivity, especially when it comes to strip searches, since the penal code requires male guards to conduct searches on male inmates, regardless of the inmate’s stated gender.

“For these individuals the process can be frightening,” the bulletin states. “You should be able to understand that the level of stress and fear will be even higher for an individual who has been living as a woman for the past ten years and now finds they are being booked into a male facility. You are encouraged to take a few moments to explain the process and answer questions to relieve some of their anxiety.”

Gloria and Murray-Ramirez say Gore inspired confidence with his responsiveness.

“Little things go a long way to make an environment less hostile than it needs to be,” Gloria says.

transgender detainee. According to a Gay & Lesbian Times article, the Sheriff’s Department agreed to institute sensitivity training. However, in the years since, the sheriff never developed formal policies.

This year, the department will once again reconsider how it treats this class

by Dave Maass of inmates in the wake of new complaints The only document resembling guidelines lodged by transgender detainees at the for handling transgender inmates in local George Bailey Detention Facility. Sheriff jails was issued by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department more than five years ago. Created under the previous sheriff, Bill “What they wanted, number one, was to be allowed to go Kolender, the two-page training bulletin into the general population. That’s not going to happen, uses Webster’s dictionary to define “transand I told them that.” —Nicole Murray-Ramirez gender” and, in notably sensitive terms, urges deputies to embrace their innate human kindness to preserve an inmate’s dignity.

“It is believed that transgender individ- Bill Gore committed to forming an LGBT community were able to get some answers. uals have always existed in our societies,” advisory board in a meeting two weeks After CityBeat’s report, Gore received calls the bulletin says. “These individuals are ago with San Diego City Council President from Gloria’s office, representatives from often viewed by their friends and families Todd Gloria and other gay advocates in the San Diego LGBT Community Center as the sex they are representing and their response to a Nov. 19 CityBeat article that and longtime gay activist and former chairexpectation is that society views them in brought the allegations to light. person of the city’s Human Relations Comthe same manner.”

In 2011, several transgender inmates mission, Nicole Murray-Ramirez, who’d That was issued in March 2007 in the housed in a segregated unit at the Otay also been involved in the 2007 reforms, as months after local gay activists raised Mesa jail filed complaints against 11 depu- well as being involved in advocacy on behalf Write to davem@sdcitybeat.com concerns over the death of a 35-year-old ties and medical staff with the Citizens’ of abused transgender inmates in the 1980s. and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

6 · San Diego CityBeat · January 2, 2013

adam vieyra

john r.

spin cycle

schtick. But I see crossover here and there, some unanimity on occasion.

Where, you ask? Hey, I’m a crystal ball, not a miracle worker. But, you know, shaky budget times call for shaky alliances, no? You figure it out. But Young’s replacement?

That’s tricky. Seems there’s one candidate who lives in the new District 4 but not the old District 4. Question of which boundary lines apply, since Young departs two years early from a term bequeathed within the old lines. Perhaps a challenge emerges.

lamb Guessed of 2013 “Hasty resolutions are of the nature of vows, and to be equally avoided.”

—William Penn Yes, with the new year, Spin would like to think that: warring sides worldwide will put down arms, group hug and live in peace and harmony; armchair pundits will up their game and call out fools of any political stripe; and, dare I dream, Twinkies will make a roaring comeback.

But under the tinselly faux Christmas tree at Brain Trust Central, Spin found something magical: a sparkling new crystal ball!

At least the box looks new. “Acme Glass Ball Co., 123 Main St….” Oh, cool, American made, too!

Let’s take it for a test drive, see if it’s got any legs for 2013:

Oh, crystal ball, what fate awaits the City Hall greats, say in January?

Crystal ball: First off, the filling of two vacancies on the prestigious Port Commission. And by “prestigious,” I mean good gig, nice perks, awesome airport parking. But, anyway, two at once. Big deal. So, you heard of this guy, Steve Cushman?

Yeah, Mr. Old Timey Port Commish Three Timer. Well, looks here like he very much fancies one of those seats. I know, not such a ringing kick-start to the new mayor’s “new faces” pledge, but, hey, ol’ Bobby Filner seems to be taking a back seat on this one. The City Council picks ’em ultimately, but you’re goofy if you think ol’ Jerry Sanders didn’t hold some sway.

Ha ha, yeah, I read your thoughts.

“Not again!” you screamed to your-

You’re starting to tick me According to the crystal ball, Carl DeMaio is not a very good shot. off with your vagueness. self about Cushman. No, really!

Well, you know they had to extend the nominating period a week because City Council members had forwarded a total of zero names for consideration. Yep, zippo!

Other than that, I’m just seeing quick snapshots of Filner at: parades, funerals, campaign-office openings, bat mitzvahs, supermarket ribbon cuttings, baby showers, yacht christenings—yeesh! Here’s

one of him doin’ the caterpillar at CB: Hey, hey! No need for outa nightclub premiere. Yeah, pretty bursts. Did you see my packaging? much still on the victory tour.

“Acme Glass Ball Co.” You were hoping Aladdin’s Gem Shop, perOh, crystal ball, what sayeth the haps? Sorry to disappoint. law about Plaza de Panama?

It’s the thought, I guess. So, oh CB: Hmmmm, getting static. Like crystal ball, don’t fudge it, the city there’s some sort of wireless in- budget. terference weirding out the future waves. Oh, wait, it’s clearing. I see CB: Accck! Such ringing! Make Irwin Jacobs smiling. And a judge it stop! Arrrrgh! Flashing lights cranking up mileage in a spiffy blinding, alarm bells deafening. new sports car! Oh, wait, no that’s Quick, ask another question!

Court TV. OK, here we go. Jacobs smiling, waving to a throng of ad- Um, OK, how will the Padres do mirers. Looks like early February. this year?

Oh, there’s Bruce Coons, head of the local preservationist group CB: Uggggh! More alarms, more SOHO that filed suit over the mas- flashing! Something else! Ask sive Balboa Park remodeling plan something else! backed by Jacobs. He’s smiling, too! Hmm, that’s weird. How can Wow, that doesn’t sound good. they both be happy?

OK, what will Carl DeMaio deAh, they’re both saying they cide to do? remain undaunted. Looks like this battle continues. Oooh, more CB: Awww, that’s better. Tranquil static! waters, burbling brooks, chirping birds—.

Well, that was rather anticlimactic.

He’s going off to the wilderness to CB: Hey, I just read ’em. What, you rethink his life and find a way to think legal stuff is all Law & Order embrace reality? all the time? Come on.

CB: Ohh, haaahahaha, good gawd Oh, crystal ball, from your tongue, no, son! I was just looking at one who will replace Tony Young? wing of his house. Nice place, by the way. You ever been?

CB: No need to force the rhyming thing, ya know. It’s not required.

No. Sorry.

CB: Ah, too bad. No, he’s still around, trumpeting his government-reform CB: OK, Tony Young. That was ideas like they’d won a prize or something, wasn’t it? Just when something. Don’t know why his progressives get full control of the dart board has a picture of Scott city steering wheel, he’s all, “Oh, Peters tacked to it, though. look, Red Cross! Pull over and let me out, driver.” So, it’s looking like Start the New Year with a tip! five, six months of this 4-4 council Send it to johnl@sdcitybeat.com.

January 2, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 7

BY AMY T. GRANITE amy t. granite

want a bite to eat. This will be the year of good posture—make it happen, kids!

Pass the red sauce: Housemade ketchup needs a new name. It doesn’t and never will taste like Heinz. Suck it up, chefs: Your recipe may taste good, but it’s no substitute for the smooth red stuff out of a glass bottle.

Beer bacon popsicles: San Diego is arguably the craftbeer capital of the U.S., but that doesn’t mean we have to shove it down people’s throats. If the addition of craft beer in a recipe truly tastes good, then by all means, pour away. Most of the time, I can’t even taste the stuff.

Most of these burger toppings must go, but the ketchup can stay. And another thing: Bacon flavor in items like ketchup, mayo, cookies and chocolate needs to get out. A big part of bacon’s appeal is its crunch; adding it to something wet kills it. Put down the bacon-flavored Kool-Aid in 2013.

Depressing outfits: Brown, weathered pants, a button-down shirt and suspenders were Leave these eat-drink trends in 2012 the official bartending uniform of 2012. I know it’s ironic to shake and stir exotic drinks clad in In lieu of new beginnings, here are seven drinkDepression-era duds, but it’s about as original ing ’n’ dining trends to recycle along with 2012’s as the term “craft cocktail” by now. I’ll tip big if Christmas tree: 2013 sees the resurgence of Hawaiian shirts and Oh, burger, where art thou?: Once upon a low-cut tops. time, onion rings were an avant-garde addition Doggy style: I know it’s cool to tote your to a burger. Fast-forward to 2012 and fried vegrescued pit bull around—I do it, too—but please gies atop the once working-class staple is tame keep the pups out of food- and beverage-serving compared with the likes of fried cheese curds, businesses. Dog-friendly patios are one thing, runny eggs and even all the components of but it’s just not fair for those who are afraid—or Thanksgiving dinner. Oh, yes, that last one really allergic—to confront Fighto in a place where he happened. When I’m craving a burger, nothing doesn’t belong. Dog owners have some entitleis more satisfying than a juicy beef patty, melted ment issues to work through in 2013, and busicheese and a toasted bun, but I don’t expect evness owners should resolve to stop being accomeryone to echo my purist sentiments—just keep modating beyond reason. that duck egg away from my sandwich.

Pop-ups: Would the pop-up bubble burst, alSquatting servers: Feet are for standing, and ready? I can’t believe diners are willing to eat in butts are for sitting—so why is a server squatting non-restaurants—sometimes, outside in the cold— next to the table taking my order? Besides cozyfor upwards of $100. Ever wonder why so many pop-up chefs don’t work in a restaurant? I do. ing up in a booth alongside restaurant guests, one of the cheesiest service tactics is for wait staff to Write to amyg@sdcitybeat.com pop a squat next to diners’ tables. Diners don’t and editor@sdcitybeat.com. want to see inside their server’s nostrils; they

grubby

bitch

8 · San Diego CityBeat · January 2, 2013

BY IAN CHEESMAN

beer &

chees New Beer’s resolutions

New Year’s resolutions may be a bit of a cliché, but I contend that they’re still important. They can be remarkable tools for self-improvement.

Even when they’re ultimately colossal failures, they can still be a great way to flesh out a To Do list for the first week of January. Feeling productive is on the continuum to being productive, right? That’s why I’m using this forum to expose the steps I’m taking to improve your CityBeat reading experience (shy of quitting and allowing someone capable to write here, of course).

New Beer’s Resolution No. 1: Master the sour—or banish it forever. Sour beers have long been a source of inner conflict for me. On one hand, I care dearly about the world of beer and wish to have a palate educated on all aspects of it. On the other hand, ew. You seriously expect me to drink that glorified vinegar?

Sours, I’m giving you one last chance to make a convert of me. I will sample you diligently this year, and if my fandom is not secured, we must

go our separate ways.

New Beer’s Resolution No. 2: Try new breweries monthly. I was enjoying a run-ofthe-mill family dinner when an in-law shared a recent experience at Indian Joe’s Brewery. Because I’d never visited Indian Joe’s, I just had to sit there and let a beer anecdote unfold that somehow didn’t prominently feature me. It was sickening. Never again. I’ll be more aggressive in exploring San Diego’s vast brewing outlets so that no other dinner parties need suffer this indignity.

New Beer’s Resolution No. 3: Make beer special again.

During the last few months, I’ve been on a quest to drop some excess weight. Unfortunately for me, it wasn’t one of the many diet plans that required copious beer consumption, so adjustments were made. I managed to meet my goal, which arrived with an interesting side effect: Absence rekindled my love of the brew. It just goes to show that if you love something, set it free (especially if that thing is a beer, because it’s pretty sedentary and drinking it later won’t be a problem).

It’s always fun to swill, but don’t forget to savor the amazing beers we have at our fingertips.

Write to ianc@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

January 2, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 9

by marie tran-McCaslin marie tran-mccaslin

tion to try the vermouth; I particularly liked the Corpse Reviver with sweet vermouth, cognac and brandy-braised apple.

I found the slice of mushroom pizza and the lupini beans to be unremarkable, but the beet gnocchi, octopus and roasted potatoes were winners. I was a little brokenhearted to find out that the gnocchi were not featured as a full-sized dish on the menu.

Although the menu has an extensive pizza selection, the slice in the aperitivo didn’t generate confidence in a full pie, so we turned our attention elsewhere.

Bread is made in-house, but it’s best had in the panzerotti. Basically a mini-calzone, the bread is stuffed with tomatoes, basil and Monello’s isola galleggiante and frittelle di mele cheese and then fried. Crisp, but with a delicate crust unlike any calzone I’ve had, it’s perfect with booze.

While big sibling Bencotto has a bigger pasta menu, Monello’s spaghetti carbonara is not to be missed. It’s creamy with addictive bits of pancetta and al dente pasta. Since we seemed to be following a theme of dishes to soak up the delicious Overachieving little brother cocktails, we headed to the polenta with spicy tomato pork ribs. While the polenta was slightly I’ve always been leery of rushing to a restaurant undercooked, I was slurping the ribs off the bone. when it opens. I’d rather wait until the growing Can’t say they were especially spicy, but the ribs pains are over, but I broke this personal rule with were tender, and the sauce was terrific.

Monello when it opened in November in Little If the drinks are good and the meal delicious, Italy. Billed as the “naughty younger brother” of then hopes are high for dessert. Monello didn’t nearby Bencotto (the name translates to “rascal” disappoint with the isola galleggiante, the “floatin Italian), I thought Monello was more like a ing island” dessert that had soft meringues served younger brother working to break out of an older on top of custard. Custard can be hopelessly ordisibling’s shadow. The restaurant’s strong start nary, but I nearly licked the plate this time. Same could be a fluke, but I hope it’s a sign of many with the cinnamon gelato served with the fritmore great meals. telle di mele (fried apple rings). Like with the meMonello (750 W. Fir St., lovemonello.com) fearingue, the apple rings were good, but completely tures an aperitivo from 4 to 7 p.m., meaning small outdone by the accompaniment. bites served with drinks. The bites are at the whim In the weeks since I was there, lunch and of the chef, and range from a slice of pizza to ocbreakfast have been added, along with a weekend topus tossed in a simple marinade with peppers. brunch featuring produce from Little Italy’s MerWith a generous handful of small plates brought cato. I’m looking forward to seeing if little brother out, the dishes easily soak up the cocktails. Citycontinues to hog the spotlight in the new year.

Beat’s Kelly Davis covered the in-house vermouth Write to marietm@sdcitybeat.com in her Nov. 30 “Cocktail Tales” column. If I were and editor@sdcitybeat.com. you, I’d take very seriously Davis’ recommenda-

the wandering

appetite

10 · San Diego CityBeat · January 2, 2013

no life

offline

by dave maass

Big book of Big Data

Perhaps you’re sitting there with a gift card in troduction that we’re creating a nervous system hand, or an e-card in your inbox. This hypothetifor the planet, or, in fact, we already have. In the cal voucher is somewhere between $30 and $50, beginning, the position comes across as technoand you’re at a loss for how to spend it. All the logical-singularity fantasy, but by the time you’re media you consume these days—the books, the halfway through the 220-pager, you realize we’re movies, the music—you already obtain digitally much further along than you assumed. via a cloud service or perhaps through, let’s not The book focuses on innovation, though that’s say illegal, but Swedish means. You’re the giftee an awfully gentle word for it—from the La Jolla for whom it’s impossible to shop but who struggenomics pioneer who’s synthesizing algae and gles to pick out his or her own presents. bacteria (posed in a portrait photo before balFor the sake of propping up the premise of this loon-tubes of green miracle goo) to Google’s selfcolumn, let’s also assume that you have remarkdriving cars, which are now allowed on roads ably similar interests and tastes as me: a fasciin California. The gamut is covered: healthcare, nation (bordering on paranoid obsession) with family life, journalism, law enforcement, maremerging technology and immense information keting, agriculture, third-world development, systems. Succinctly put, you’re a data nerd with a history. It features essays from the likes of angel weakness for photo-journalism and infographics. investor Esther Dyson, New York Times bestseller Where you’re unlike me is that you didn’t score a and FitBit addict A.J. Jacobs (The Year of Living free review copy of The Human Face of Big Data Biblically) and Future Crimes Institute founder (humanfaceofbigdata.com), a coffeeMarc Goodman. The message overMichael Cogliantry 2012 / The Human Face of Big Data table book edited by Rick Smolan all is that privacy is a concept on the and Jennifer Erwitt that, with the asway out and before long, we’ll know sistance of a couple of cinder blocks, everything about everything. itself could serve as a coffee table.

It’s also filled with fun facts, Those who say dead-tree books “fun” being another awfully gentle are dead have not considered the word: The average “digital birth” of longevity of the coffee-table book. an American child (when they develCoffee, as a beverage, is in no danger op an online presence) is six months. of obsolescence, and a virtual coffee After three years at the Internet Artable is totally useless in supportchive, employees get a waist-high, ing the weight of the new novelty terracotta soldier designed in their mug you also received for Christmas likenesses. According to 16 years’ (“What do we want? Coffee! When worth of data collected by wedding do we want it? I’ll fucking cut you!”). site The Knot.com, couples who ask And we’re a long way away from the for charity donations instead of gifts day when the average electronics are more likely to receive more expensive presents. consumer can afford to purchase a The book’s greatest success is in 14-by-11-inch tablet for the sole purturning abstract concepts and cold pose of setting it out to entertain guests while slipping into something Data nerd A.J. Jacobs numbers into striking images and photography. You get a glimpse of more comfortable (such as the UCSD WikiLeaks’ underground bunker, a map tracing sweatpants you also scored for Christmas). And the inefficient routing of household recyclables, just as sweatpants would be impossible to digitally the two-story-tall monitors at New York City’s synthesize, coffee-table books will be relevant for “Real Time Crime Center.” The major social-meyears to come because of their size and aesthetic. dia sites are broken down into sprawling graphAn important warning: The book diverges ics, with Google, for example, illustrated as an from traditional publishing in that it’s subsidized octo-elephant, a tentacled beast with a suction by businesses, chiefly EMC Corporation, which cup for every element of existence and a memory trades in so-called Big Data. FedEx and Cisco were that never forgets. also major sponsors. As a result, the content presThe Human Face of Big Data, which is also ents a peachy vision of the future and commercial available for iPad for $3 if you don’t have a gift possibilities, though it is not entirely without its cacard, is the first coffee-table book I’ve read from veats. But the bias, IMHO, is worth overlooking. start to finish. Partly that’s because I decided to What is Big Data? It’s not the late Andrew review it, but mostly because it’s the book I’ve Breitbart’s sensational blog on mathematics. The hoped someone would compile for a long time term describes the massive amounts of informaand I hope someone will compile again in about tion we’re generating—five exabytes (a million five or 10 years, when all of it seems as ancient as gigabytes) every two days, as Google chairperson 3.5-inch floppy disks and Netscape.

Eric Schmidt is quoted in the book. Inherent in the concept is the prediction that humankind Write to davem@sdcitybeat.com will undergo a total societal evolution in the scarand editor@sdcitybeat.com. ily near future. Smolan flat-out argues in the in-

January 2, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 11

the

shortlist

1

Where the boys are

2

The heat is on

COORDINATED BY ALEX ZARAGOZA

Anybody following San Diego’s art scene in these pages or anywhere else in 2012 probably saw a few names pop up repeatedly throughout the year—names like Christopher Konecki, Dave Persue, Joshua Krause and Spenser Little. These guys, along with Neko Burke, Paul Drohan, Tocayo, Michael Boshart, Jordan Josafat, Matthew Davis, Jack Stricker and Brian Hebets, are coming to celebrate a successful year of artistic breakthroughs at End of the Beginning.

The group exhibition opens at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 5, at ArtLab Studios (3536 Adams Ave. in Normal Heights, artlabsd.com). Organizer Jeff Black says the main purpose is to kick off 2013 with a show that includes many of his favorite artists.

“They’re the front line,” Black says.

“Those guys are coming up. It’s almost like they’re a band. I figured this was a great way to get them all here and maybe get them to do solo shows later.”

Black is making this show more “Stay Up” by Christopher Konecki than “just a bunch of stuff hanging on the walls,” though there definitely will be plenty directly on the walls. of that, as well as music by DJ Persue. He plans to Each artist has been given a 6-foot-wide section take over the space by allowing the artists to paint of wall space, floor to ceiling. Black’s encouraging collaboration between artists to turn the walls into a huge indoor mural, which shouldn’t be hard since they’re all friends and frequent collaborators.

“There’s so much rad stuff already in there,” he Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing was a says. “They’re planning their attack.” seminal cinematic commentary on race Black’s hoping that allowing such freedom of relations when it came out in 1989, and in 1999 it was expression will not only grab people’s attention but called “culturally significant” by the U.S. Library of also spark their creative side, too.

Congress. The movie centers on an Italian-owned “People feel it when you let the artists do what pizzeria in a predominantly black neighborhood in they want to do,” he explains. “It creates great enerBrooklyn during a heat wave. It’s often funny, ulti- gy. People can feel it and get inspired. I want to take mately tragic and packed with great performances that idea even further in the future.” by the likes of Danny Aiello, Giancarlo Esposito, John Turturro and Lee himself—and it’ll be screened at the next installment of the San Diego Museum of Art’s First Friday Films on Friday, Jan. 4, at the For the first three weeks of 2013, Space museum in Balboa Park. The movie starts at 8 p.m., 4 Art will exhibit its Tenant Series, in but you should arrive at 7 p.m. for a reading by poet which 10 artist-residents of the East Village creJerico Brown. Admission is $10. sdmart.org ative compound will take part in three group shows. The first show, Beast Mode, featuring sculpture and paintings by Joshua Jon Miller and Chris Warr, opens Wednesday, Jan. 2, and closes with a reception from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 5, at the venue (325 15th St.). Miller’s “Woodhead” by past work is abstract and arChris Warr chitectural, with mixed-media structures that combine odd materials like lemons, marble and faux fur. Warr’s style is more on the surreal side, and funny, with past work dealing mostly with giving found objects a second chance. For details on Spike Lee in Do the Right Thing the other Tenant Series shows, see sdspace4art.org.

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12 · San Diego CityBeat · January 2, 2013

Beastly beauty

Art

Comedy

HGetting to Know You at Brokers Building, 402 Market St., Downtown. A closing reception for this exhibition featuring works

by San Diego artists including Tim Hardy, Jason Feather, Kate Ashton and Brian Dombrowsky. From 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, Jan. 4. facebook.com/ItinerantArtsCollaborative

Brandon T. Jackson at American Comedy Co., 818 Sixth Ave., Downtown. The stand-up comedian, rapper and actor takes the stage Thursday through Saturday, Jan. 3-5. See website for show times. americancomedyco.com

Not the Only Dreamer at Undiscovered Gallery, 1330 Orange Ave., Coronado.

Check out this exhibition that explores holding on to crazy dreams and passions.

From 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 4. facebook. com/events/504492596248724 HSlug & Tug at Visual Art Supply, 3524 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Meet the folks behind Snail Trail Media’s documentary, Blue Balls in Mexicali, watch a screening and check out art and music by San Diego, Tijuana and Mexicali artists. At 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 5, facebook.com/ events/444438085605234 Connie McCoy and Rebecca Bauer at L Street Fine Art, 628 L St., Downtown.

McCoy displays her bold, nature-inspired paintings while Bauer shows multi-media works that focus on contrasting materials and colors. From 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 5. lstreetfineart.com HExhibition Tour and Live Demonstration with Neville Page at Oceanside Museum of Art, 704 Pier View Way, Oceanside. Tour the exhibition The Beauty in the Beast, a collection of movie creature sculptures by Neville Page, and see a live demonstration of creature development with the artist. RSVP required: 760-4353721. $15 museum members, $20 nonmembers. From 2 to 4 p.m. with a closing reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 5. oma-online.org HBeast Mode at Space 4 Art, 325 15th St., Downtown. This two-man show featuring brutal sculptures and formal paintings by Josh Miller and Chris Warr is part of Space 4 Art’s Tenant Series. On view through Jan. 19, it opens with a reception from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 5. sdspace4art.org HEnd of the Beginning at ArtLab Studios, 3536 Adams Ave., Normal Heights.

Local artists, including Dave Persue, Joshua Krause, Spenser Little, Christopher Konecki, Paul Drohan and Neko Burke, gather together for a group art show. From 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 5. 619-283-1199, facebook.com/events/523098164381503 Joyce Cutler-Shaw: What Comes To Mind: Nature-Human Nature and Visual Translation at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. View Cutler-Shaw’s haunting collages of brain scans and images, on view through Feb. 9. See website for museum hours and admission info. Opens Tuesday, Jan. 8.

858-454-5872, ljathenaeum.org Birds of a Feather at Basic Urban Kitchen, 410 10th Ave., Downtown. Thumbpring Gallery presents this art show featuring work by 20 artists, live art, music and a jewelry trunk show. From 7 p.m. to midnight Tuesday, Jan. 8. facebook.com/ events/276516295805249

Books Weekend with Locals: Katherine Whitley at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. Whitley shares from her book, Camels to Caviar. At noon Sunday, Jan. 6.

858-454-0347, warwicks.indiebound.com Earlene Fowler at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. Fowler signs her novel, The Road to Cardinal Valley. At 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 6. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com

Free Candy at Space 4 Art, 325 15th St., East Village. This sketch-comedy show includes music, audience participation and improvisation. At 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 4. $5. sdspace4art.org

Dance San Diego Dance Theater at California Center for the Arts, 340 North Escondido Blvd., Escondido. Jean Isaacs’ dance company performs a free show featuring hits from their Trolley Dances, Library Dances and The Water Lilies, which is inspired by Claude Monet’s art. From 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 2. 760-839-4190, sandiegodancetheater.org

Food & Drink Meet the Brewer at Stone Brewing Co., 1999 Citracado Pkwy., Escondido. Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens hosts Ritual Brewing Co. brewers, who will talk about their beers and provide samples.

From 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 9.

760-471-4999, stonebrewing.com

Music A Duo of Duos at New Village Arts Theatre, 2787 B State St., Carlsbad. The evening will feature sets by duos Berkley Hart and Eve Selis and Mark Twang and will culminate in a third set with all four artists performing together. At 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 4-5. $25-$35. newvillagearts.org HTribal Baroque at ArtLab, 3536 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Using countertenor and coloratura soprano vocals, S.K. Thoth and Lila’Angelique create miniature operas based on love and devotion, accompanied by ritual theater, dance, footpercussion and violins. From 7 to 10 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 4. artlabsd.com School of Rock Presents: History of Punk at AVO Playhouse, 303 Main St., Vista. School of Rock Vista tips their hat to punk gods like the Stooges, The Ramones and Minor Threat. At noon Saturday, Jan. 5. 760-734-1529, facebook.com/ events/110053425830805 School of Rock Presents: Best of the 2000s at AVO Playhouse, 303 Main St., Vista. School of Rock Vista presents a tribute to some of the greatest bands of the 2000s, including Modest Mouse, The Flaming Lips, Radiohead, Queens of the Stone Age and more. At 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 5. 760-734-1529, facebook.com/ events/444348895626641 School of Rock Presents: Women Who Rock at AVO Playhouse, 303 Main St., Vista. School of Rock Vista pays tribute to Women Who Rock, featuring the music of Aretha Franklin, Heart, The Breeders, St. Vincent and more. At 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 5. 760-734-1529, facebook.com/ events/272820929506459 Intimate Classics at California Center for the Arts, 340 North Escondido Blvd., Escondido. Spanish guitarist Pablo Sainz Villegas performs at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 6. $35-$47. 760-839-4190, artcenter.org Just Jazz at Encinitas Library, 540 Cornish Drive, Encinitas. Peter Sprague performs old and new jazz classics with Camarada. At 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 6, en-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 15 January 2, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 13

theater Here comes the Rain, Beatles fans Joey Curatolo may dress like Paul McCartney and wear a mop-top, but he doesn’t do it all like Paul. For example, he doesn’t play the bass guitar left-handed.

“No,” admits Curatolo, one of the creators and stars of Rain, the onstage musical tribute to The Beatles, “but I sing left-handed.”

Yes, the Brooklyn-born (as opposed to Liverpool-born) musician has a sense of humor, and that’s part of what makes him well-suited to portray one of the Fab Four in Rain, which opens a three-day engagement at Downtown’s Civic Theatre on Friday, Jan. 4. The Beatles knew how to have fun. They also knew how to make music, and that’s the thrust of Rain, which has played nearly 800 shows worldwide, including a 10-month Broadway engagement in 2010 and 2011.

“We’re true to the music,” Curatolo says. “Four minutes into the show you’re not going to worry if I’m right-handed or left-handed.”

Curatolo’s current cohorts on this tour (there are multiple Beatles, including two other Pauls) are Steve Landes (as John Lennon), Joe Birthorn (as George Harrison) and Ralph Castelli (as Ringo Starr). The two-act show presented by Broadway San Diego features the guys performing Beat-

14 · San Diego CityBeat · January 2, 2013

les songs from the early days, circa 1963, through the pre-breakup, 1970 period.

“We try to cram 10 years into two-anda-half hours,” Curatolo says. “Our show is a synopsis with five costume changes and a lot of video that tells the story, chronologically, of their career.”

The first act includes The Beatles appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show and in the films A Hard Day’s Night and Help!, as well as their famous concert at Shea Stadium in New York. It culminates with Sgt. Pepper and the full throes of ’60s psychedelia. Act 2 begins with the Magical Mystery Tour experience and travels through time up to and including Abbey Road.

“Basically,” Curatolo says, “it’s just a great re-creation of what it must have been like to see The Beatles live.”

One treat for fans, he says, is to hear live renditions of songs the band never performed in concert. That would be anything after 1966, of course.

“We’re not The Beatles,” Curatolo says, making a monumental understatement, “but about 20 minutes into the show, people are on their feet. For the people who lived The Beatles, it’s a religious experience. It’s very emotional.”

The Beatles’ songs are performed note

Cylla von Tiedemann

us how to play our instruments, but he has a certain quality. He was the charmer, with the looks and the melody and the lyric. Ever since I saw him back in the day, I gravitated toward his style and his voice.”

Curatolo spends most of his time in McCartney mode. The Rain show tours 25 to 35 weeks a year. He’s spent more than 20 years with the show. Now in his late 40s, he’ll probably still be playing Paul when he’s 64, and singing about it.

Rain runs Jan. 4 through 6 at the Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., Downtown. $19.50-$125. broadwaysd.com

—David L. Coddon

Joey Curatolo Write to davidc@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcitybeat.com. for note, with no embellishment or improvisation, the better to re-create the actual band. Curatolo is comfortable playing songs Opening: from either Beatles period—early or late.

An American Story: In this musical, playwright, ac“It’s like saying, ‘Do you like early Mo- tor, composer and producer Hershey Felder plays zart, middle Mozart or the later years of Charles Leale, the 23-year-old doctor who tended Mozart?’ When you say ‘Mozart,’ it’s the to Abraham Lincoln after the president was shot at Ford’s Theatre. Opens Jan. 4 at the Birch North Park Bible. To take a song like ‘I Want to Hold Theatre. birchnorthparktheatre.net Your Hand’ and compare it to ‘(I Want Rain: Four dudes do their damnedest to re-create You) She’s So Heavy’ is an awful thing to The Beatles in concert, playing iconic tunes from do. They’re both great in their realms.”

1963 to 1969. Presented by Broadway San Diego, That’s one of the reasons Curatolo took it runs Jan. 4 through 6 at the Civic Theatre, Downon and relishes the role of McCartney. “He town. broadwaysd.com can go from ‘Michelle’ to ‘I’ve Got a Feeling’ in one show and blow your mind. I speak For full listings, please visit for thousands of musicians in that he taught “T heater ” at sdcit yb eat.com

“Bone” by Guy Lombardo currently hangs at Gallery 57 (1735 Hancock St. in Middletown) as part of the apocalyptic group art show Time’s Up, on view until the end of February. cinitaslibfriends.org Danny Green Trio at Lyceum Theatre, 79 Horton Plaza, Downtown. The Athenaeum Jacobs Mini-Concerts series presents the trio at noon Monday, Jan. 7. Free. ljathenaeum.org/miniconcerts.html Viviane and Nicole Hagner at Neurosciences Institute, 10640 John Jay Hopkins Drive, La Jolla. Celebrated violinist Viviane Hagner is joined by pianist Nicole Hagner with members of the San Diego Symphony for an evening of chamber music classics, including pieces by Barts and Schubert. At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 8. $30. 619-2350804, sandiegosymphony.org

Politics & Community Catfish Club at San Diego Hall of Champions, 2131 Pan American Plaza, Balboa Park. The public forum welcomes Fox5 news anchor Loren Nancarrow to discuss global warming facts and causes. Lunch will be served at 11:45 a.m. From 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 4. $20. 619234-2544, catfishclub.net Civilized Conversation Club at Coco’s Restaurant, 2644 El Cajon Blvd., North Park.

This week’s roundtable discussion topic: What If We Legalized Marijuana? From 7 to 9 p.m. Monday, Jan. 7. 858-231-6209, civilizedconversation.wordpress.com

Special Events HThe Kazoo: More than Just an Annoying Party Favor at Geisel Library, UCSD campus, La Jolla. The exhibit will relay the kazoo’s African and AfricanAmerican roots and celebrate the role it played in the early jazz age. On view during library hours through Jan. 30. Opens Wednesday Jan. 2. scottpaulson.info Friday Night Liberty at NTC Promenade in Liberty Station, 2640 Historic Decatur Road, Point Loma. The free monthly art and culture event features open artist studios, galleries and performances. From 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 4. 619-573-9260, ntclibertystation.org Death at the Doo-Wop: Mystery Dinner

at San Diego Hall of Champions, Balboa Park. The Murder Mystery Company travels to 1957 to solve a murder at a sock-hop for this interactive show. From 7 to 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 5. $60 admission includes three-course meal. Mention CityBeat and pay $45. 888-643-2583, grimprov.com

Talks & Discussions HThe Sky Tonight: Wonders of the Winter Sky at Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, Balboa Park. What kind of constellations, galaxies and nebulae can you view during winter. Find out at this live planetarium show followed, if weather permits, by the chance to peer through the telescopes of the San Diego Astronomy Association. At 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 2. $10-$12. rhfleet.org HMatt Yglesias at Luce Loft, 1037 J St., Downtown. Voice of San Diego presents Yglesias, who’ll be discussing his latest book The Rent is Too Damn High. Reception at 6:30 p.m., talk starts at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 3. $5 donation. facebook. com/events/381269701962072 Einstein’s Legacy: Science, Humanism, and Judaism at Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla. Diana Kormos-Buchwald, general editor and director of the Einstein Papers Project, leads this talk presented by the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture. At 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 7. $12-$15.

858-457-3030, sdcjc.org

Workshops Greenroom Writing Workshop: Freaks at Space 4 Art, 325 15th St., Downtown.

Freaks. Who are they? Where do they come from? Are you one of them? And how do we write about them? Nathan Young leads this workshop. From 7 to 9 p.m. Monday, Jan. 7. $5 suggested donation. facebook. com/events/320060041443220

F o r m o r e l i s t i n g s, v i s i t “E v ent s ” a t s dci t y b eat.co m

January 2, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 15

Paul Drohan

with the last one, so that’ll be a surprise.

So, what has it been like for Drohan to work through hours and hours of an activity that goes against his personality traits?

“I hate repetition,” he says, “but the last year or so with my woodworking, and experimenting more with structural pieces, the process has made me hunker down and focus…. I thought the thing that would really help me grow is to give in to the flow that I haven’t been able to with my other stuff. It’s this sort of Zen-like flow—I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s true.”

Creating art is a labor of love for Drohan, who’s a fulltime graphic artist in the advertizing business. He says he tries to Paul Drohan working on “Memory Serves” participate in two to three shows a year.

He’s been studying art and the creation of massive pieces, saying that it’s the attention to detail and the commitment it takes to reach the finish that he appreciates.

“It’s really interesting: You go through different phases of your life, and, of course, art is a direct reflection of that,” he says. “And I would say the comThe beauty of repetition mitment to the process and the colors are much difWhere do artists get their ideas? In past Seen Lo- ferent than what I’ve done. cal columns, some have credited their vivid dreams, “My old work is extremely distressed, with dark while others said it’s just a matter of sitting down colors—reds, blacks and blues,” he adds. “And a lot of and following where their mood or gut leads them. the colors on these pieces are really calm. I wanted But what about pieces that demand tedium? Surely to create something that was very calming, because I it takes an imperturbable personality to carry out the guess the name of the show sounds dismal. The End painstaking details from start to finish. of the Beginning. What does that mean?”

For Paul Drohan and his art—a series of 1,152 wooden dowels, individually cut, sanded, painted and pegged onto 4-by-2-foot wooden panels—the Visual trickery Some art demands attention to the point of involunimpetus came from a place of weakness.

You wouldn’t guess it by looking at Drohan’s re- tary quadruple-takes, so the show Troublesome— cent work, “Memory Serves,” but the guy’s got at- opening at Quint Contemporary Art (7547 Girard tention-span issues. The piece has one wooden peg Ave., La Jolla) from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 12—just jutting out for every inch of space, with several tall- might leave viewers with sore necks.

Lee Materazzi’s self-photograph, called “Sitting er ones that, when their shadows are cast onto the smaller ones, create the shape of a wave. If you’ve Under My Grandfather’s Chair” (pictured), is a real ever played with Pin Art, an imprinting toy into head-scratcher. How did the artist suspend herself which kids commonly smash their faces, hands and under the furniture?

Through a weird mix of materials, ranging from objects to see shapes coming through on the other side, it’s kind of like that. Except, Drohan (d5ive. velvet to mirrors to bubblegum, the artists’ tricky com) achieves that surface-pattern effect the hard arrangements will make the gallery feel more like a way—not by pushing the pegs through, but by build- carnival funhouse.

The group show runs through Feb. 23 and feaing them up individually.

“The peg piece came from the feeling that I want- tures sculpture, painting and photography by Mated to create very subtle, organic shapes and forms erazzi, Robert Barry, Mel Bochner, Matthew out of a non-traditional material,” he explains. “I Brandt, Johnannes Girardoni, Thomas Glassford, spent a good few weeks just sketching out and think- Katrin Korfmann, João Lauro, Finnbogi Petursson ing through how I was going to construct the pieces; and Marcos Ramírez ERRE. I had to think about creating some kind of backdrop.

—Amy T. Granite I ended up doing this through visual frames, so each Write to amyg@sdcitybeat.com piece stands alone, but they flow together.”

Three of Drohan’s works will be on display at End and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

Courtesy: Quint Contemporary Art of the Beginning, a group show featuring Joshua Krause, Christopher Konecki, Spenser Little and others, happening from 6 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 5, at ArtLab Studios (3536 Adams Ave. in Normal Heights, artlabsd.com).

“The main thing I knew I wanted to do was something self-reflecting, and very dimensional,” Drohan says of the concept, which departs from his most prevalent medium—drawing. “A lot of my previous work has a lot of gut feeling to it; I jam through it, and it’s more about the finished piece. But this is more about the process, and the relationship with the process instead of the relationship with the end piece.”

Besides “Memory Serves,” which looks like an aer“Sitting Under My Grandfather’s Chair” ial shot of an ocean wave about to break, there’s one

by Lee Materazzi depicting a mountain range. Drohan is still wrestling

seen local

16 · San Diego CityBeat · January 2, 2013

January 2, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 17

courtesy: Jacobs school of engineering

WATCH THIS SPACE

1

Bread & Salt: The building at 1955 Julian Ave. in Logan Heights is bar-none the space for art to watch in the coming year. Public Architecture and Planning bought the 40,000square-foot former Weber Bakery 10 months ago with plans to turn it into a community-focused center for the arts, says Public’s James Brown. He says they’re keeping the original structure intact—parts of which were built in the early 1900s—for the art center that former Ice Gallery tenants will call their new home. Their first show is happening sometime in February; check Bread & Salt on Facebook for updates. In two years, the empty lot on the property will house 19 live-work units for artists and craftsmen, Brown says. —Amy T. Granite

2

City Heights skate park: Like many parts of town, the Cherokee Point neighborhood suffers from a park-space deficit.

With the ridiculous catchphrase “Skate se puede!” (“Skate we can!”), newly elected Mayor Bob Filner promised kids at the Mid-City CAN Youth Council that he would deliver a skate park to help fill City Heights’ 100-acre shortfall, despite the city’s overall budget crunch.

Speak City Heights reported three potential locations: a mini-park on Central Avenue, a dirt lot in Park De La Cruz and the Copley Family YMCA. A concrete skate park costs between $24 and $35 per square foot, according to the Skate Park Association of the United States of America. —Dave Maass

19 places to keep an eye on in 2013

5

Queensland Public House: From the Kiwi-leaning minds of Bare Back Grill and Raglan Public House comes this New Zealand-inspired neighborhood restaurant in Little Italy.

Quirky designer Michael Soriano, who’s behind the restaurant group’s Ocean Beach pub, Raglan, is at it again with this renovation of a historic home on Columbia Street. Owner Matt Baker says that Soriano is keeping the bells and whistles of the place under wraps, but we do know it’ll be a laid-back spot with front and wrap-around patios, a vegetable and herb garden out back and a bar inside where the home’s staircase once was. The menu will be locally sourced but inspired

by New Zealand fare with meat pies and rack of lamb, along with Structural and Materials vegetarian and vegan items, local Engineering Building at beers and regional wines. —Amy UCSD: Opened last Septem- T. Granite

Greenwood St.); the massive warehouse seems like an excellent destination and alternative to the North Park / Uptown-centric tasting rooms that are popping up all over. But what really excites us is how owner / founder Jacob McKean has applied the best aspects of social-media and Internet ethos to the world of craft beer. Over at Modern Times’ blog (modern timesbeer.com), McKean is chronicling every aspect of starting a brewery, from raising the $1.25million start-up budget to finding the location; he even promises to make the beer ingredients public once he settles on them. Journalists are drunks anyway, but this kind of transparency makes us foam at the mouth, in a good way.

—Ryan Bradford

4

ber, this new academic facility’s name is as plain as it is deceptive.

Yes, cutting-edge engineering will occur within SME’s walls— aerospace engineering, robotics engineering, nano-engineering, engineering in medicine—but the building is better described as 183,000 square feet of pure, multidisciplinary-genius space.

It’s no accident that visual-arts and cultural think shops are also housed on site, including the Center for Design and Geopolitics, the Center for Urban Ecologies and the new Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination.

The theory is that when scientists work in close proximity to other creative disciplines, the resulting intellectual osmosis will lead to new reality-quaking discoveries.

—Dave Maass

3

Modern Times Brewery: We’re happy that Modern Times has found a home out in the Sports Arena area (3725

18 · San Diego CityBeat · January 2, 2013

The SME Building at UCSD

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City Hall: If you’re worried that our local leaders will build a new municipal Taj Mahal, fear not. In 2010, a proposal to build a new city headquarters was removed from the November ballot out of fear that it would doom a sales-tax-increase measure, which ended up failing anyway. Well, now there’s an infrastructure bond measure in the works, and city officials will make that the top priority (it won’t include funding for a new City Hall).

What’s more, this year, the city will begin renegotiating scads of leases on properties where various departments are housed, and if it can forge better deals, they’ll damage the argument than building a new City Hall makes long-term financial sense. In the meantime, taxpayers will continue to pour money into the current building’s failing systems. —David Rolland

to rethink the whole concept of urban planning. The new division could go on the fourth floor, but at the very least, Filner says city employees currently in offsite rented space should move in to the empty desks. —Dave Maass

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Mike Hess Brewing: For years, a Christian bookstore sat next to the parking lot behind CityBeat, exuding a certain aura of righteousness. This spring, we’re hoping for the sweet smell of craft ale as Mike Hess Brewing moves into the vacated 12,500square-foot space. We’ve been closely admiring the construction of Hess’s oversized, 30-barrel brewhouse and 3,000-squarefoot tasting room (made possible through legislation pushed last year by Assemblymember Nathan Fletcher). Slated to open in February or March, the brewery will put out a maximum 15,000 barrels a Fourth Floor of 202 C year. Its success is also a political St.: Speaking of City Hall, concern, since Hess is benefitting not long ago, the building’s from $250,000 in microloans from fourth floor was bustling with the city. —Dave Maass land-use nerds. Now, as Voice Petco Park outfield: From of San Diego and U-T San Di2006 to 2009, the San Diego ego reported, what was the city’s Padres ranked last in the mastandalone Planning Department is a cubicle ghost town. Under jors in runs scored at home. But diMayor Jerry Sanders, planning rect your eyes toward Petco Park’s was merged with the Develop- outfield in 2013. The new owners ment Services Department, but have decided to more closely align his replacement, Bob Filner, plans Petco with average national ball-

7

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sergio salgado

Modern Times Brewery’s Jacob McKean

The proposed and shelved City Hall project

David Rolland

Buona Forchetta at 30th and Beech park dimensions by moving in the fences, in some spots by as much as 12 feet. More home runs mean more excitement. It’s like when U.S. soccer leagues sought to make their sport more appealing to North Americans by moving it indoors. We don’t like games that end in a score of 1-0. And baseball’s slow pace doesn’t move 21stcentury Americans, with their shorter attention spans, the way football and basketball do. Whether higher-scoring games will help increase attendance remains to be seen. —D.A. Kolodenko

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You Are Here: In 2011, former CityBeat arts editor Kinsee Morlan bet her firstborn child that Foundation for Form’s Mike Burnett and Craig Abenilla would have more awards in their future—the duo’s mxd 830 project, in Golden Hill, won a San Diego Architectural Foundation Orchid in 2009 and, in 2011, the Urban Land Institute’s mixeduse award. Their current project, slated for completion next month and located on 25th Street across from mxd 830, includes 22 apartment units and incorporates the Texaco station that once occupied the site—the station’s service bays will be turned into arts and retail spaces. Like with mxd 830’s Counterpoint, a bar and restaurant will anchor the project. As for Morlan,

ArcLight La Jolla

she had her first kid, Harper, on licity, more protests and more Dec. 26. The bet’s on. —Kelly Davis documents full of highly technical safety details. —Dave Maass Space 4 Art: The megaBNS Brewing and Disgallery / studios / living tilling: After everybody spaces known as Space 4 hopped aboard the craftArt was home to some of the most innovative exhibits and perfor- cocktail train in 2012, it seems immances we saw last year, but what’s possible that mixologists can come most impressive is the space’s nim- up with anything new. That’s why ble ability to do a lot with a little. In BNS in Santee might shake things 2012, volunteers built classrooms up with its plan to distill moonon the site’s massive lot to accom- shine. Owner Wes Richey submitmodate arts-outreach programs ted his license for distilling and is that serve needy communities like awaiting approval from the state to homeless youth from St. Vincent start making beers and spirits. The de Paul. The space also raised more moonshine, however, has the pothan $8,000 via Kickstarter to pay tential to change the cocktail landexhibited and visiting artists (other scape. He’ll make two different San Diego museums should take styles: clear, 80- to 90-proof moonshine and liqueur-style moonnote). —Ryan Bradford shines in flavors like apple pie and San Onofre Nuclear coconut. BNS hopes to begin disGenerating Station: The tilling in February and later open a nuclear power station at tasting room. —Alex Zaragoza the very top of North County has Corner of 30th and been offline for nearly a year due Beech: South Park has to safety concerns with the plant’s recently become one of steam generators. Anti-nuke activists would like to see the facility the hippest ’hoods in San Diego, decommissioned, while Southern and while much of the attention California Edison has launched a is focused around Juniper Street, propaganda campaign to win over the intersection of Beech and 30th public support. The U.S. Nuclear streets, anchored by Alchemy resRegulation Commission says the taurant, is quietly surging. In the decision to allow San Onofre to past couple of months, Ginseng restart could come within a few Yoga Studio opened the G Fit fitmonths. In the meantime, nuke- ness center on the northwest corwatchers can expect more pub- ner and Goldline Salon moved in to

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court battle, the San Diego Housing Commission took possession of the building, with the goal of rehabbing its 94 units to rent to folks who’d been homeless or are at risk of becoming homeless.

Last September, the commission rejected proposals from three developers, all of whom said that making the 100-year-old building habitable would cost more than the $19 million commission staff had estimated. The Housing Commission is “continuing to consider all of its options for the property,” a spokesperson said. —Kelly Davis

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ArcLight Cinemas: The recent opening of ArcLight at UTC is a big deal. It raises the bar for all the movie theaters in San Diego by providing decent food (paninis!), reserved seating (Euro!) and even cocktails (civilized!), and tickets are priced significantly less than Corner of 30th and at Cinepolis, Del Mar’s luxury Upas: When word got theater. It also has the potential out that the northeast to cut into the box-office receipts corner of this bustling North Park of La Jolla Village Cinemas and intersection (housing Pat’s Cor- AMC La Jolla, the latter of which ner and Ice Gallery) would be de- is installing stadium seating and molished to make room for a 27- power recliners. —Anders Wright apartment-unit mixed-use comBalboa Park’s Plaza plex, folks flipped. On Facebook, de Panama: The fate of some of Pat’s Corner’s customers a billionaire’s napkinslammed the inevitable next wave of gentrification to wash the neigh- sketched dream makeover will borhood of its old charm. But look head to court in 2013. Yes, it seems on the bright side: Award-winning certain that Balboa Park will conarchitect Jonathan Segal is behind tinue to garner headlines this the project, and his recent track year, much as it did last year when record includes The Q building in decades of talk turned to action Little Italy. It’s home to four killer with the San Diego City Council’s haunts: Underbelly, Bencotto, Mo- blessing of the controversial $45.3nello and Influx. —Amy T. Granite million Plaza de Panama project in July. The local preservationist Churchill Hotel: Since group Save Our Heritage Organi2005, CityBeat’s been sation sued the city over that decifollowing the story of sion, and a Feb. 1 Superior Court the Churchill, a dilapidated for- showdown awaits. —John R. Lamb mer residential hotel located 4th & B: For mid-level Downtown. That year, the owner touring acts that are ousted tenants, violating a city too big for The Casbah law designed to protect vulnerable people. Six years later, after a and not big enough to fill Cricket kelly davis Wireless Amphitheatre, Downtown venue 4th & B has long been an ideal spot: Located in a former bank building, it fits 1,500 bodies and even has a VIP section.

Unfortunately for these types of bands, 4th & B’s owners recently canceled all upcoming shows and shut its doors due to a court battle with the building’s landlord, and it’s unclear when (or if ) the venue will reopen. The results probably won’t be catastrophic—House of Blues often books similar midsized acts—but with fewer places for them to play, some acts this size might skip San Diego on the Churchill Hotel next tour. —Peter Holslin

the space that used to be Halcyon Tea just off the southeast corner.

And now, next door to Goldline, comes Buona Forchetta, a new Italian restaurant with a huge, mosaiccovered, freestanding pizza oven and a craft-beer bar. And the hipsters rejoiced. —David Rolland

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January 2, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 19

10 long years Kathryn Bigelow’s take on the search for Osama bin Laden is a masterwork

by Anders Wright It seems you can’t discuss Kathryn Bigelow’s new film, the Best Picture contender Zero Dark Thirty, without discussing the torture scenes. I think that’s fair, but not because the movie’s been condemned by people like CIA Director Michael Morell and crusty old John McCain. In my mind, you can’t—or you shouldn’t—gloss over that unsavory aspect of the decade-long search for Osama bin Laden.

Jessica Chastain and her Jimmy Choos get dirty.

What’s at issue here isn’t whether there was torture—we know there was; rather, it’s whether torture Chastain, who’s been a busy actor during the last was key in finding the al-Qaeda leader. I don’t believe two years, offers up one of the Oscar year’s best perthat the film makes the case that it was, but it’s easy formances, creating a character whose competence to understand why some viewers think otherwise. and effectiveness makes her almost impossible to Torture is where Zero Dark Thirty begins, as we like. But that’s the thing: You don’t have to like her see scruffy CIA man Dan (Jason Clarke) terrorizing to appreciate what she’s able to do and how good she a prisoner. This is where we’re introduced to Maya is at her job. She is a pit bull—aggressive, angry and (Jessica Chastain), a young CIA agent whose Jimmy completely determined, unafraid to stand up to auChoos are fresh to Pakistan’s soil. Dan’s the cunning thority if she believes she’s right. We get to know alveteran, and though Maya’s seeing things that dis- most nothing about her personal life, but that’s probgust her, she quickly recognizes the need to be the ably because she doesn’t have one. good cop to Dan’s bad.

The other person who’s immensely good at her It’s shortly after 9/11 job is Bigelow, who hasn’t and the U.S. invasion of wasted a second despite her Zero Dark Thirty Afghanistan, and Maya and film’s lengthy running time.

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow her comrades are desperate People are likely going to to track down Osama bin Starring Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, be talking about Zero Dark Laden, by any means necesThirty a lot in the coming Kyle Chandler and James Gandolfini sary. Zero Dark Thirty is a months, and it’s worth notRated R marathon, not a sprint, and ing that folks seem to have a it takes almost three hours to hard time separating a film cover the 10 years of Maya’s hunt. During that span, based on historical events with the events themthe spotlight on bin Laden faded, as the U.S. got it- selves. At the end of the day, this is just a movie, like self mired in two wars. We watch as the years go by, Argo and Lincoln, two other recent films based on and resources once dedicated to finding bin Laden real-life events. It’s not a historical document, and are deployed elsewhere. Even Dan decides to return no matter how close it does or doesn’t stick to reality, to the states, citing burnout and an understandable Zero Dark Thirty is an incredibly well-crafted film. feeling of self-loathing.

Though we can’t seem to get away from the torture The characters in Zero Dark Thirty may be compos- question, in my mind, Bigelow and her screenwriting ites (or they may be based on actual people), but the partner Mark Boal—who’ve been accused of sourcing timeline is real, and Bigelow presents many of the ter- their film from classified material—offer up a thorrorist attacks that occurred during this stretch in very oughly nuanced take on what’s a thoroughly complireal, very disturbing ways. The constant throughout all cated subject, professing torture to be evil but letting of this is Maya, whose single-minded determination to the viewer decide whether it’s a necessary one. find bin Laden—despite threats to her own life and waning political interest in the matter—is what even- Write to anders@sdcitybeat.com tually leads the Navy SEALs to bin Laden’s hidey hole. and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

2013 starts animatedly

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

20 · San Diego CityBeat · January 2, 2013

It’s safe to say that 2012 wasn’t a banner year for animated movies.

Sure, lots of people liked Brave, but Pixar’s best films were reissues of Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo. Rise of the Guardians and Wreck-It Ralph had their moments, but there was nothing that felt groundbreaking, from either a technological or storytelling point of view.

The good news is that the new year kicks off with a slew of terrific animated films, as the Studio Ghibli Collection rolls through La Jolla Village Cinemas starting Friday, Jan. 4, and then plays a week at the Ken Cinema starting Friday, Jan. 11.

You might not be familiar with Studio Ghibli, but it’s likely you know of a number of the films that came out of the Japanese company. This is where Hayao Miyazaki practices his craft,

where he made wonderful animated films like Princess Mononoke in 1997, My Neighbor Totoro in 1988, Spirited Away in 2002, Howl’s Moving Castle in 2005 and Ponyo in 2009. All of these films, and more, will screen during the two-week stretch, and all will be shown on new 35mm prints—a format whose popularity is waning, sadly, in this digital era.

Swing by landmarktheatres.com for the schedule, since different films play on different days. But do yourself a favor and catch Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, which screens in La Jolla on Saturday, Jan. 5, and several times at the Ken on Friday, Jan. 11. This 1984 film marked Miyazaki’s debut and has a special place in my experience. As a teenager, I watched an old VHS copy of Nausicaa dozens of times—it’s epic and sweeping and emotional, and it taught me that you can make an animated film that’s action-packed and futuristic, but also emotionally compelling.

No, last year might not have been the best for animated pictures; sometimes you have to look further back to see the future.

—Anders Wright

Opening Generation P: Hallucinogenic Russian film about a poet who finds himself much more suited to writing advertising copy.

The Impossible: Biopic about a family, led by Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor, who are vacationing in Thailand during the 2004 tsunami.

Texas Chainsaw 3D: Because the best kind of chainsaw is the kind that comes right at you.

Zero Dark Thirty: Kathryn Bigelow’s movie, about the 10-year hunt for Osama bin Laden, is a masterwork of filmmaking, and the fact that it’s inspiring debate about torture should be more tangential than anything else. See our review on Page 20.

The Impossible fun again. Jamie Foxx is Django, a slave freed by German bounty hunter Christoph Waltz, off to rescue wife Kerry Washington from plantation owner Leonardo DiCaprio.

Les Miserables: Fans of the legendary musical will get their fix from this big-screen adaptation by King’s Speech director Tom Hooper, who relies heavily on close-ups and, sadly, Russell Crowe, who isn’t a trained singer. Anne Hathaway, on the other hand, dreams a nice dream as Fantine.

Not Fade Away: The first film from Sopranos godfather David Chase is about a group of New Jersey teens trying to make it as a rock band in the 1960s. Steven Van Zandt served the film as a musical advisor.

Promised Land: Matt Damon and John Krasinski cowrote the screenplay for Gus Van Sant’s new movie, an impressively nuanced look at the world of fracking from the point of view of Damon’s corporate cog, who believes that he’s doing something good for the world. Unfortunately, a twist at the end undermines that whole idea.

Dabangg 2: Action! Comedy! Singing! Yep, it’s from Bollywood, and it’s screening at AMC Mission Valley.

North Sea Texas: Belgian film about a teenage boy whose search for love leads him next door—to the other boy who lives there.

One Time Only

Parental Guidance: Billy Crystal and Bette Midler agree to look after their grandchildren. Hilarity for a certain demographic ensues.

Arbitrage: Richard Gere is a 1-percenter who gets caught up in lies and murder, trying to keep his fortune from the other 99 percent. Screens at 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 2, at the Central Library, Downtown.

Any Day Now: Alan Cumming and Garrett Dillahunt play a gay couple trying to adopt a teenager with Down Syndrome in the 1970s.

Mel Brooks’ History of the World: Part I: Sea Rocket Bistro in North Park kicks off a month of Mel with this look at human history, which spawned the phrase, “It’s good to be the king.” Starts at around 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 2.

Weekend at Bernie’s: Ring in the new year with two clowns and their dead boss at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 2, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma.

Do the Right Thing: The San Diego Museum of Art screens Spike Lee’s breakthrough film in conjunction with its Behold, America! exhibit. Find details on Page 12. Screens at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 4, at the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park.

Pitch Perfect: Anna Kendrick is the new girl at college, and she finds her place by joining a bad-ass allgirl vocal group. Screens at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 6, at the Central Library, Downtown.

Zero Focus: Classy 1961 Japanese mystery about a newlywed who goes in search of her missing husband. Screens at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 7, at the Central Library, Downtown.

Napoleon Dynamite: Bespectacled, goofy-looking social misfit convinces his dismissive classmates to vote for Pedro. Screens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 9, at the Pearl Hotel in Point Loma.

Now Playing Django Unchained: Tarantino takes on yet another genre—the western—and blows it up and makes it

Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away: Those Canadian clowns enter a new dimension. As in, 3-D filmmaking.

The Guilt Trip: Seth Rogen takes an unexpected road trip with his mom, played by Barbra Streisand.

Jack Reacher: Tom Cruise takes on the title role in a movie based on the best-selling series of books, obviously looking for another Mission: Impossible sort of franchise.

Monsters, Inc. 3D: Sulley, Mike and Boo are coming at you, literally.

Rust and Bone: Marion Cotillard plays an orca trainer whose relationship with young Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts from last year’s Oscar-nominated Bullhead) takes on a new dimension when she suffers a serious accident at work.

This is 40: Judd Apatow returns to Knocked Up territory, though this sort-of sequel focuses on Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann), who were supporting players in the earlier film.

Hyde Park on Hudson: Bill Murray plays FDR in the days leading up to WWII, and Laura Linney is the distant cousin with whom he enjoys a special relationship.

For a complete listing

of movies pla ying locally, please see “F ilm S creenings” at sdcit y-

b eat.com under the “E vents” tab.

January 2, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 21

alex

there she goz

zaragoza I was asking for it at SantaCon On Thanksgiving Day, my family honored our usual Though SantaCon went from noon to 8 p.m., I tradition of going around the table to share what wasn’t sure my liver or my dignity could handle we’re thankful for through mouthfuls of delicious the shenanigans for that many hours. And lumps turkey and mashed potatoes. When it came to my of coal always know when the bad stuff is going turn, I had a flash of dark-meat-induced insight and to happen. heart and said that 2012 had taught me the imporWe walked to U-31 Cocktail Lounge. We weren’t tance of good people in our lives. That’s what the even 10 feet from the door when a slurring, sweaty holidays do to you. Wine also helps. A few weeks Mrs. Claus yelled out, “Hey, Present, can I un-wrap later, I learned another valuable lesson that I’ll caryou?” Five minutes later, an even more drunken ry with me for the rest of my life: If you dress up as a Santa asked the same thing, but used his hands a giant Christmas gift, you will be sexually harassed. whole lot more. And then it happened again.

This harsh lesson was taught at SantaCon, an “Not to sound all rape-trial, but you’re kind of annual worldwide event for which hundreds of asking for it,” Michelle said. people—thousands in some cities—dress up in “Yeah,” I said, “I’m not sure how my case would Christmas-themed costumes and go out on a pub hold up in a court of law. Shit.” crawl. For years I’ve seen photos depicting seas of Entering the bar was like going into a hot, sweaty piss-stained Santas holding hands with snowmen, version of what I imagine a Hedonism resort in the using their carrots as phalluses, while naughty RuNorth Pole would be like. A group of SantaConners dolphs with very shiny nipples instead of noses lead on the stage were screaming out carols, elves were them through the fog of drunkenness to the next grinding on each other, and I continued to receive bar. It is, as many have put it, complete Santarchy. enthusiastic unwrapping offers. You’d think watchWhen I saw that San Diego would host its own ing someone in an unwieldy get-up—me—unsucSantaCon in North Park, I figured it was time for me cessfully attempt to lift a drink to her mouth would to experience this hell storm of yuletide insanity for be off-putting to these people, but no. It made me myself. What can I say? Anyfeel for anyone in a genuinely time an opportunity to put revealing costume. on a stupid costume presents I also got a ton of high-fives Michelle and I double-fisted itself, I feel like I should take and requests to be in photos, whiskey diets in an advantage. Plus, they were and I obliged with a smile. It’s accepting food donations for Christmas after all, and most attempt to get on everyone Mama’s Kitchen, which propeople were very sweet and else’s level, but we were vides meals for people with gracious. But when I made a HIV or AIDS. horrified face in a photo after way too far behind.

Just like with Fight Club an elf decided to pose with and debutante balls, there are his hands ripping at my chest, many rules to follow at Sanonly thinly protected by my taCon. A certain decorum must be followed, and, sweater and a bit of cardboard, and he asked me to for this event, behavioral expectations are broken do it again, but this time look “less rapey,” Michelle down as “The Four Fucks”: 1. Don’t fuck with kids. and I decided we were in over our heads. In her Children love Santa, and their impeccable image of words: “What a shit show.” the jolly fat man is not to be tainted. 2. Don’t fuck We walked to the next location, Bar Pink, stopwith cops. 3. Don’t fuck with security. 4. Don’t fuck ping to watch a tiny sexy Santa get picked up off the with Santa. I have no idea what that last one’s supground and carried away. Once there, things got more posed to mean, but the threat lingered like the scent insane. Michelle and I double-fisted whiskey diets of freshly baked cookies that may or may not be in an attempt to get on everyone else’s level, but we laced with ex-lax. were way too far behind. A Santa in flip-flops and a You’re also expected to address people as their Hawaiian shirt was asleep at the bar and the makeout characters. If you’re talking to a snowman, you’re to sessions were getting more intense. call him or her “Snowman.” Don’t even think about Sometimes I make stupid jokes that are taken too calling Santa “Todd” or “Shelly.” Santa is “Santa.” literally, and things blow up in my face. I never learn.

Call that rose by any other name and a group of When I jokingly said “threesome?” to a couple going hardened, wise-guy elves just might whack you at it right next to us, I was immediately pounced on. with a stocking full of roasted chestnuts.

The dreadlocked lady Santa grabbed on to my neck I managed to convince Michelle, my good friend and, like a drunken Dementor going in for the kill, and constant co-captain in weird exploration, to she proceeded to give me a hickey. I definitely asked for that one. We made our exit after I managed to join me. I spent about an hour putting together my escape her clutch with a silent “Expecto Patronum.” huge Christmas-present costume, which consisted I walked out wiping off saliva. But there’s no wiping of two large packing boxes, half a roll of wrapping the shame from my memory. paper, tons of masking tape and glittery green ribbon. Michelle showed up to my apartment dressed Write to alexz@sdcitybeat.com as a lump of coal. It looked like both the naughty and and editor@sdcitybeat.com. nice boys and girls on Santa’s list would be covered.

22 · San Diego CityBeat · January 2, 2013

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was raised by record stores. They took custody when I was 13. I stumbled into a spot called In Your Ear in Harvard Square, Mass. Black Sabbath’s “Hand of Doom” was playing at crushing volume, and with youthful marvel, I asked the clerk what it was. I was a young black kid from the inner city asking about a ’70s metal band I had no business being aware of. The clerk answered with classic tones of record-store snobbery and hints of “How dare you not know Sabbath!”

I was hooked. I wanted to wield such condescension, cradled by a blistering soundtrack.

By the time the torture of high school reached its bitter end, I’d been accepted to about five universities. My decision to attend Boston College was based on the caliber of the city’s record stores. When I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and my mother asked what would come next for

me, I responded, “I’m going to move to California and get a job at a record shop.”

After a pregnant pause, she exhaled the most half-hearted “Oh” that’s ever been sighed.

Following the advice of a man dubbed “Tricky Dan,” I wound up in San Diego. It was 1999, and I got a job at Music Trader in Pacific Beach. Then I moved to the Downtown location, and later to one in Sports Arena. Dull moments were scarce at the Sports Arena shop, thanks to the high concentration of meth in the area. Fiends would steal DVD box sets from Target and walk into the store, setting off our alarm.

“Yeah, man, I got three Godfather DVD box sets for Christmas,” one guy said.

“I have a metal plate in my knee—it always sets off alarms,” someone else explained.

These were folks who could easily have passed for extras in The Walking Dead. They probably hadn’t received Christmas gifts

The way we take in songs has so much to do with the memories they create: mix cassettes mingling with my first cigarettes in borrowed cars of youth, my mom’s records playing through the house when I was first feeling the Braille of my surroundings. One day at the store, a little girl came in with her pops and asked what a cassette was.

“Honey, that’s how we used to listen to music,” he replied.

She held it up to her ear and said, “Daddy, it’s broken.”

We’ve come to expect our music in an instant, but so often, music is served best with patience. I’ve listened to The 13th Floor Elevators on Spotify, but the true gratification came when I’d searched high and low for their debut record on vinyl and finally found it, after many years, in a dollar bin.

This wasn’t quite a Mordor-like quest, but it was close. So, in the better moments at the shop, I am a purveyor of memories to come.

In the more entertaining moments, I behold the kooks and quirks of Ocean Beach.

I’ve seen an elderly man build a fort of VHS tapes in the corner of the shop. I’ve seen a sun-ruined lady slowly apply ChapStick to her entire body while blocking the doorway.

I had a crazed-looking girl play the most frantic air drum solo to a song on Hole’s Live Through This; she propositioned me for both sex and a job, but received neither.

A young man once asked me if we had any good White Power music. As a black man, I didn’t really know how to field that question. However, it’s worth noting that we do carry some powerful white music—try The Zombies’ Odyssey and Oracle.

Within the Cow’s dusty stacks, magic dwells. I get nostalgic because, after 20-plus years, the store’s going to move to a new location across the street. The space where we are now will become a sports bar—basically, the antithesis of all that we were. As Ocean Beach’s streets get a little drunker, with irate fists punctuating last call, some of the neighborhood color fades. But as we brave our new home early in the New Year, I know we’ll survive. The neighborhood needs its musical narration—the sounds in the background that pull us forward.

since Mötley Crüe’s heyday. Oh, and metal plates don’t set off magnetic alarms.

Eventually, I graduated to my favorite record store in San Diego, the Ocean Beach Cow (5029 Newport Ave.), where I currently work.

The Cow is a special place. Where the sidewalk of America ends, the neighborhood regulars congregate to gaze at the vast blue expanse of the Pacific. Nearby stands a museum of sorts—4,000 cassettes on the wall, 8-tracks in the back and vinyl for days.

We even have Waterworld on LaserDisc (so help me, God, I will sell that thing). Indeed, there are a few dusty items that I’ve vowed to sell during my tenure. So far, my successes include a Charles in Charge Season 1 DVD, two Insane Clown Posse dolls, a Robert Downey Jr. CD (yeah, he sings; he shouldn’t) and a Julio Iglesias picture disc. In addition to working in a record store, AlI feel a weight of importance behind fred Howard plays in The Heavy Guilt, The my position—I’m a kind of preservationist. Black Sands and The Midnight Pine.

January 2, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 23

notes from the SMOKING PATIO Hot stuff As we head into 2013, here’s a list of local bands and beatmakers that are making things happen.

Boy King: The San Diego Music Awards don’t happen until August, but I’m betting now that this up-and-coming trio already has Best New Artist in the bag. With their dirty licks and feral vocals, they offer a slightly different spin on the bluesy, stripped-down rock we’ve heard from local bands (and SDMA favorites) Little Hurricane and Low Volts.

Room E: While some electronic artists push their beats into the furthest depths of glitch abstraction, producer Dan Harumi, aka Room E, takes a lighthearted approach that would appeal to beat-heads and beatnoobs alike. His songs are whimsical, his dry humor is infectious and his recent album with Parker & The Numberman, SM57, is marvelously laid-back.

Tar Halos: Citing as influences stuff like “modular synth molestation,” “guitar rape” and “old drum machines over young drummers,” Tar Halos let their creep flags fly with harsh, twisted electro-rock dirges that leave me feeling dirty all over. While they’d probably scare off the average listener, anybody who’s plied the city’s noise-rock underbelly won’t be

24 · San Diego CityBeat · January 2, 2013

Samaria Daniel

Boy Kings able to turn away.

Psicomagia: Every time Psicomagia throws down another sweat-soaked psych jam, an angel gets his mind blown. Featuring an inventive organist, an unstoppable rhythm section and two MCs who recite poetry in Spanish, this band would appeal to anybody who likes weed, surrealism and/or the brilliant Latin American author Roberto Bolaño.

Sledding with Tigers: In the vein of Andrew Jackson Jihad and Paul Baribeau, Sledding with

Tigers strum out ramshackle folk-punk with a positive attitude and quirky, incisive humor.

And when they’re not on the stage, frontman Dan Faughnder and his buddies hold it down for the all-ages crowd, volunteering at The Ché Café and keeping the do-it-yourself spirit alive.

Fresh Starts I asked some musicians, label heads and club owners what their resolutions are for 2013. Here’s what they said: Rafael Reyes, VAMPIRE / Nite Ritual: “To be more forgiving and loving of myself, surrendering to what the future holds, ’cause I know it’s full of love.”

Sean Cute, The Ruby Room: “To keep smoking and to buy more jungle records on vinyl.”

Lety Beers, Schitzophonics: “To invest some band funds into finishing up our new record in the spring, making schwag and exploring outside of town. We’ve been talking about this damn new record for too long. No more talk, just action!”

Lety McKenzie, Ship Records: “To be a better person.

I’m content with myself, but that doesn’t mean I’m a good/bad person. I’m not exactly selfish but not completely giving. If I can make one person smile on a daily basis, that’s enough to make me feel like a better human being.”

Michael Klayman

Lety McKenzie Scott Wilson: “To get a couple of albums finished that I’ve been recording this year by 2013. I’m closer on one than the other, but they’re both pretty close. And I’m hoping that neither of them come true, either.”

Josh Damigo: “More alcohol, less coffee.”

—Peter Holslin Write to peterh@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

January 2, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 25

if i were u

BY peter holslin

Wednesday, Jan. 2 PLAN A: The Short Eyes, The Dull Drums, Treemotel @ The Griffin. The Short Eyes describe themselves as “dirt pop,” but they’re pretty much just another goofy garage band. Far dirtier are The Dull Drums, a trio from Oklahoma whose earsplitting, reverb-caked riffs have a fuzzedout, Sabbath-y lurch.

sual (3524 Adams Ave., 6 p.m.). Local production duo Snail Trail Media recently made a documentary about art and music in Tijuana, and they’ve put together a diverse bill to celebrate its premiere. While Batwings’ spazzy hardcore punk harks back to early Antioch Arrow, Madame Ur’s sultry indie-jazz is fit for a smoke-filled lounge. PLAN B: Ruines ov Abaddon, Eukaryst, Imbalanced, Ashen Earth @ Thursday, Jan. 3 Eleven. Ruines ov Abaddon always get nice PLAN A: Schitzophonics, Gone Baby and evil with their theatrical black-metal, Gone, The Touchies, Hocus @ The Casbah. but I’m just as eager to check out Eukaryst, What Schitzophonics lack in hit songs they a band of head-banging longhairs who love more than make up for with high-endurance to shred. BACKUP PLAN: The Farmers, zaniness. While his bandmates hold it down Dave Alvin, Steve Berlin, Mojo Nixon, with straight-ahead rock rhythms, guitarist Joey Harris and The Mentals, NancarPat Beers flips out like Jimi Hendrix on a six row @ Belly Up Tavern. pack of Four Loko, pulling off soulful solos in a fit of wild thrashing. PLAN B: Interrobang, Love & The Skull, Ryan Andrew Sunday, Jan. 6 Fox @ The Ruby Room. Local outfit Inter- PLAN A: Aeges, Sleep Lady, The Tall robang take their name from a punctuation Ships @ Soda Bar. L.A. metalers Aeges are way more radio-friendly mark that combines a questhan, say, Converge, but tion with an exclamation (‽ their heavy riffs and polor ?!), and their music is just ished melodies hew more as kooky as that would sugtoward Deftones than gest. They often hop from Linkin Park. Don’t miss logenre to genre and mood cals Sleep Lady, who cross to mood, and their songs dreamy shoegaze with are packed with everything crushing doom-metal. from proggy synth lines to spy-movie-style guitar licks.

BACKUP PLAN: The FixMonday, Jan. 7 tures, Michael McGraw PLAN A: Barbarian, Dirty and The Butchers, The Sirens, Buddy Banter @ Midwinters @ Soda Bar. Soda Bar. I’ve been meaning to check out Barbarian— Sum 41 Friday, Jan. 4 their trippy new surf-punk PLAN A: Homeless Sexuals, The Mice, tune “Daze of Youth” is pretty catchy. But I The Red Devil Squadron, New Rome won’t be too bummed if I can’t make it toQuartet, Moosejaw @ Soda Bar. Thrifty night: They’re doing a month-long residency punk rockers would be wise to scope out at Soda Bar, playing every Monday in Januthe latest installment of “Dave Buck’s Dollar ary. PLAN B: Hyena, Family Wagon, Boy Show,” a showcase organized by Homeless King @ The Casbah. Speaking of monthSexuals frontman Davit Buck. The cover is $1, long Monday residencies, classic-rockers and the bar will have $1 special drink shots, Family Wagon will hold it down at The Caswhich all but guarantees that everyone will bah in January. Still, I’d be more interested in be plastered by the time Buck’s band starts getting freaky on the dance floor to Hyena’s cranking out their frenetic, tongue-in-cheek smooth, sexy electro-pop. BACKUP PLAN: tunes. PLAN B: Uncle Joe’s Big Ol’ Driver, David Frances @ Tin Can Ale House.

Fluf, Black Hondo, Ghetto Blaster @ The Casbah. Uncle Joe’s Big Ol’ Driver and Fluf were both bands you likely would’ve seen Tuesday, Jan. 8 at The Casbah in the mid-’90s. Now, as part PLAN A: Sum 41, iamdynamite, Hunter of a month-long series of shows celebrating Valentine @ House of Blues. Rememthe club’s 24th anniversary, they’re back to ber Sum 41? In 2001, they were a band of lay down some beefy, old-school indie-rock. spikey-haired misfits who played hookBACKUP PLAN: Pato Banton, Shoreline laden pop-punk that you couldn’t help but have fun listening to. Alas, they’ve gotten Rootz @ Belly Up Tavern. more serious in the years since, making for some buzz-kill tunes. Here’s hoping they’ll Saturday, Jan. 5 let loose with classic hits like “Fat Lip” and PLAN A: DJ Monsterpussy, DJ Freak “In Too Deep.” BACKUP PLAN: VAMSauce, Madame Ur y Sus Hombres, PL PIRE, Collision Creation, AAIMON @ DVNA, Vampire Slayer, Batwings @ Vi- The Casbah.

26 · San Diego CityBeat · January 2, 2013

HOT! NEW! FRESH!

Sunday, Jan. 13 Keane at House of Blues. Steve Earle at Belly Up Tavern.

XBXRX, Signals (Ché Café, 1/24), FIDLAR, Meat Market, Pangea (Ché Café, 1/25), Dead Meadow, Dahga Bloom (Casbah, 1/26), Jayo Felony (Porter’s Pub, 2/3), Merauder, Murder Death Kill (Ché Café, 2/11), Bend Sinister (Soda Bar, 3/11), Pennywise (HOB, 3/22-23).

Social Distortion at House of Blues. Tycho at Belly Up Tavern.

January

Social Distortion at House of Blues.

Cannibal Ox, Keith Masters, Double A.B., Kenyattah Black, I Realz at Soda Bar.

Thursday, Jan. 3 Social Distortion at House of Blues (sold out)

Friday, Jan. 4 Social Distortion at House of Blues (sold out). Pato Banton at Belly Up Tavern.

Saturday, Jan. 5 Social Distortion at House of Blues.

Sunday, Jan. 6 Aeges at Soda Bar.

Tuesday, Jan. 8 Sum 41 at House of Blues.

Wednesday, Jan. 9 Starfucker at The Casbah. Lucinda Williams and Doug Pettibone at Belly Up Tavern. Gregg Allman at Balboa Theatre.

Mister Lies, Matthewdavid at Soda Bar.

Saturday, Jan. 12 Slightly Stoopid, P.O.D. at House of Blues.

Tuesday, Jan. 15

Wednesday, Jan. 16

Thursday, Jan. 17 Femi Kuti and The Positive Force at Belly Up Tavern. He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister at The Casbah.

Saturday, Jan. 19 Tower of Power at Belly Up Tavern. Cadillac Tramps at The Casbah.

Sunday, Jan. 20 Gemini Club at The Griffin.

Monday, Jan. 21 Muse at Valley View Casino Center.

Thursday, Jan. 24 XBXRX, Signals at Ché Café.

Friday, Jan. 25 Ozomatli at Belly Up Tavern. Quicksand, Title Fight at House of Blues. FIDLAR, Meat Market, Pangea at Ché Café.

Saturday, Jan. 26 Ozomatli at Belly Up Tavern. Jackson

Browne at Copley Symphony Hall. Infest at Che Cafe. Wax Tailor at Soda Bar. Dead Meadow, Dahga Bloom at The Casbah.

Sunday, Jan. 27 Ben Folds Five at House of Blues. Ken Stringfellow at Soda Bar. Cody Chesnutt at The Casbah.

Monday, Jan. 28 Nada Surf, The Soft Pack at The Casbah.

Tuesday, Jan. 29 Niki and The Dove at The Casbah.

Wednesday, Jan. 30 Geographer, On an On at The Casbah.

Thursday, Jan 31 Nashville Pussy at The Casbah. The Wood Brothers at Belly Up Tavern. Detective at Soda Bar. The Parlotones at The Griffin.

February Friday, Feb. 1 Pinback at House of Blues.

Monday, Feb. 4 T.V. Mike and The Scarecrowes at Soda Bar. ZZ Ward, Delta Rae, Martin Harley at Belly Up Tavern.

Tuesday, Feb. 5 Onuinu at Soda Bar. The Who: Quadrophenia and More at Valley View Casino Center.

Thursday, Feb. 7 OFF!, Negative Approach, Bad Antics at Epicentre.

Friday, Feb. 8 Simon Shaheen at The Loft @ UCSD. Seapony, Rose Melberg at Soda Bar.

Saturday, Feb. 9 The Wailers at Belly Up Tavern.

Sunday, Feb. 10 Big Freedia at The Casbah.

Monday, Feb. 11 Merauder, Murder Death Kill at Ché Café.

Tuesday, Feb. 12 Ed Sheeran at Spreckels Theatre.

Saturday, Feb. 2 ALO at House of Blues. Smile at The Casbah. Kris Allen at Soda Bar.

Sunday, Feb. 3 Benjamin Francis Leftwich at Soda Bar. Augustana at The Griffin. Jayo Felony at Porter’s Pub.

Wednesday, Feb. 13 In Flames at House of Blues.

Thursday, Feb. 14 Wallpaper at The Casbah.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

January 2, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 27

the hit list Nathan Lomas

Jazz it up The last few weeks have been pretty stressful.

Christmas, the Mayan apocalypse and then New Year’s Eve were all major events. (OK, so the apocalypse turned out to be not so major.) Now that it’s 2013 and there aren’t any major holidays or Armageddons in the horizon, you may want to sit down, listen to some good music and chill out with a cocktail. Grab your favorite hep cats and hit up these jazz nights: On Thursday, Jan. 3, stop by Voz Alta (1754 National Ave. in Barrio Logan) for its weekly Latin Jazz Jam with Bill Caballero. The master trumpeter takes the stage at the art gallery with a few of his friends to play cool, Latin world music from 7 to 10 p.m. Get up and dance or just enjoy the grooves. Either way, the scene and the sounds will ease you into the weekend.

Gloria Estefan once said that “the rhythm is gonna get you,” and it’s entirely possible that the rhythm did indeed grab hold of you at Voz Alta. If you want to keep the Latin-jazz train a-rollin’, head to 98 Bottles (2400 Kettner Blvd. in Little Italy) on Saturday, Jan. 5, for a concert by The Afrojazziacs. The darkly lit back room will be filled with the band’s contemporary Afro-Cuban sounds starting at 8 p.m. Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 at the door.

Come early and knock back few of the bar’s awesome craft cocktails.

Friday, Feb. 15 Mouse on Mars at Soda Bar. Ra Ra Riot at Belly Up Tavern.

Saturday, Feb. 16 OM at The Casbah. The Salvator Santana Band at The Griffin.

Wednesday, Feb. 20 B.B. King at Belly Up Tavern. Meklit Hadero at The Loft @ UCSD.

Thursday, Feb. 21 Meklit Hadero at The Loft @ UCSD.

Friday, Feb. 22 Ramon Ayala at House of Blues.

Sunday, Feb. 24 Psychic Ills, Follakzoid at Soda Bar.

Monday, Feb. 25 Coheed and Cambria at House of Blues.

Tuesday, Feb. 26 The Residents at Belly Up Tavern.

Wednesday, Feb. 27 The Used at House of Blues.

Thursday, Feb. 28 Electric Six at The Casbah. G. Love & Special Sauce at House of Blues.

March Saturday, March 2 Kishi Bashi, Shugo Tokumaru at The Casbah.

28 · San Diego CityBeat · January 2, 2013

The Afrojazziacs bring the jazzy funk.

Saturday will also see a show at one of San Diego’s favorite jazz spots. Tenor saxophonist Brian Levy will blow some tunes with piano dynamo Milan Zlatkovich, bassist Hamilton Price and drummer Duncan Moore at Dizzy’s (4275 Mission Bay Drive in Pacific Beach). This is a great night for some cool, classic jazz and maybe a bit of improvised jamming.

The cover is $15, or $10 of you’re a student.

—Alex Zaragoza Write to alexz@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

Sunday, March 3 David Lindley at Belly Up Tavern. Starfucker, Blackbird Blackbird at Porter’s Pub.

Monday, March 4 Marcus Foster at The Casbah.

Wednesday, March 6 Maserati at Soda Bar.

rCLUBSr

98 Bottles, 2400 Kettner Blvd. Ste. 110, Little Italy. 98bottlessd.com. Fri: The Jack Stiteler Jazztet. Sat: The Afrojazziacs.

American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave, Downtown. americancomedyco.com. Wed: The ACC Showcase Showdown. Thu-Sat: Brandon T. Jackson. Sun: Full Throttle Comedy. Tue: Open mic.

Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave, Solana Beach. bellyup.com. Thu: Rhythm and the Method. Fri: Betamaxx (5:30 p.m.); Pato Banton, Shoreline Rootz (9 p.m.). Sat: Farmers Hootenany w/ The Farmers, Dave Alvin, Steve Berlin, Mojo Nixon, Joey Harris and the Mentals, Nancarrow, The Farmers. Sun: American Red Cross Benefit w/ The PettyBreakers, Ron Blair, Keith Scott, Jesse Valenzuela. Tue: The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training 2013 Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon preview party.

Bourbon Street, 4612 Park Blvd, University Heights. bourbonstreetsd.com. Wed: ‘Live and Direct.’ Thu: ‘Wet.’ Fri: ‘M.A.N.’ Sat: Dreamgirls. Tue: ‘Fresh Tuesdays’; open mic.

Brass Rail, 3796 Fifth Ave, Hillcrest. thebrassrailsd.com. Wed: Golden Chicks.

Thu: DJ XP. Sun: ‘Noche Romantica’ w/ Daisy Salinas. Mon: Junior the Discopunk.

Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave, Bay Park. brickbybrick.com. Sat: The Cured, Really Idol, The S’Cars.

Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd, Midtown. casbahmusic.com. Thu: Schitzophonics, Gone Baby Gone, The Touchies, Hocus.

Fri: Uncle Joe’s Big Ol’ Driver, Fluf, Black Hondo, Ghetto Blaster. Sat: Shiva Trash, The Red Fox Tails, Pleasure Fix. Sun: Mrs. Henry, Spero, Badabing. Mon: Family Wagon, Hyena, Boy King. Tue: VAMPIRE, Collision Creation, Aimon.

Che Cafe, UCSD campus, La Jolla. thechecafe.blogspot.com. Fri: Motherboys, The Coltranes, Griever, My Iron Lung. Sat: Tan Sister Radio, Meraki, Big Bad Buffalo, Requiem For The Rockets, Sledding With Tigers. Mon: Barbarian.

Croce’s, 802 Fifth Ave, Downtown. croces.com. Wed: Sue Palmer. Sun: The Archtones. Mon: Dave Scott and Monsoon Jazz.

Dizzy’s, 4275 Mission Bay Dr, Mission Bay. dizzyssandiego.com. Sat: Brian Levy w/ Mikan Zlatkovich, Hamilton Price, Duncan Moore.

Eleven, 3519 El Cajon Blvd, North Park. elevensandiego.com. Wed: Iamdustinblackwell. Thu: Amigo. Fri: Love and the Skulls, Black Cassette, Super Luminaries.

Sat: Ruines ov Abaddon, Eukaryst, Imbalanced, Ashen Earth.

Epicentre, 8450 Mira Mesa Blvd, Mira Mesa. epicentreconcerts.org. Fri: Oliver Trolley, I Am The Conqueror (CD release), At the Premier, Aqua Rhythm, Saphead.

Sat: Kingdom of Giants, Mureau, Cherish Your Blessings, Drop The Gloves, A New Challenger Approaches, Achelios.

F6ix, 526 F St., Downtown, Downtown. f6ixsd.com. Fri: DJ Fingaz. Sat: DJ Beatnick. Sun: Fit. Fluxx, 500 Fourth Ave, Downtown. fluxxsd.

com. Fri: DJ Brett Bodley, Slowhand. Sat: Sid Vicious, DJ Craig Smoove.

Griffin, 1310 Moreno Blvd, Bay Park. thegriffinsd.com. Wed: The Short Eyes, The Dull Drums, Treemotel. Thu: Boxdox. Fri: Sandollar, KNG MKR. Sat: Jamar Rogers, Western Scene, The Young Romans. Sun: Ed Ghost Tucker, Brolly, Fine Minds. Tue: Nightmare Air. Hard Rock Hotel, 207 Fifth town. hardrockhotelsd.com.

Kennedy, DJ Flesch (207); Techn1que (Float). Sun: Sid Kurch (207).

Ave, DownSat: Chris DJ G-Roy, Vicious, DJ

Henry’s Pub, 618 Fifth Ave, Downtown. henryspub.com. Wed: The Groove Shifterz, Mixmaster Yodah. Fri: ‘Good Times’.

Sat: DJ E, Yodah. Sun: Karaoke. Mon: Joey Jimenez, DJ E. House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave, Downtown. houseofblues.com/sandiego. Thu: Social Distortion (sold out). Fri: Social Distortion (sold out). Sat: Social Distortion (sold out). Tue: Sum 41, iamdynamite, Hunter Valentine; Daniel Newheiser, On-Key, Bart Mendoza and True Stories, Downpour.

Inn at the Park, 3167 Fifth Ave, Bankers Hill. innattheparkdining.com. Wed: Andy Anderson, Nathan Fry. Thu: Roman Palacios, Tommy Gannon. Fri: Janice Edwards, Nathan Fry. Sat: Debora Galan. Sun: Ria Carey, Don LeMaster. Tue: Carol Curtis.

Ivy @ Andaz, 600 F St, Downtown. ivyentertainmentsandiego.com. Thu: Loczi, Mr. Dee Jay. Fri-Sat: Lipstik Inc. Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd, Midtown. kavalounge.com. Thu: ‘Critical Beatdown.’ Sat: ‘Ascension.’

La Gran Tapa, 611 B St, Downtown. lagrantapa.com. Wed: Carlos and Freddie, Agave Guys. Thu & Sun: Carlos Velasco. Fri: Juan Moro, flamenco. Sat: Pan Am. Tue: Tomcat Courtney.

Lestat’s Coffee House, 3343 Adams Ave, Normal Heights. lestats.com. Wed: Chris Avetta, Kevin Blaine. Thu: Boondock Bros., Tolan Shaw, West of I-5. Fri: Aaron and Jane, John and the Time Traveling Bicycle, Sarah Maisel. Sat: Daniel From The Elevator, idyllwild, Kyle Mcneill. Sun: Alex Rather Taylor, Miles Wick. Mon: Open mic w/ Chad Taggart. Tue: Comedy.

Numbers, 3811 Park Blvd, Hillcrest. http:// numberssd.com/. Fri: ‘Azucar’ w/ DJ Sebastian Mandrid. Sat: ‘Ladies - Femme Fatale’.

Office, 3936 30th St, North Park. officebarinc.com. Sat: EdRoc, Kanye Asada.

Sun: Tribe of Kings.

Queen Bee’s, 3925 Ohio St, North Park. queenbeessd.com. Wed: Firehouse Swing Night. Sun: Salsa. Tue: ‘Train of Thought’ w/ Gil Sotu, DJ Red Light.

Rich’s , 1051 University Ave, Hillcrest. richssandiego.com. Wed: ‘Mischief’ w/ Bianca. Thu: ‘Repent - Ladies Night.’ Fri: ‘Dirty Pop!’ Sat: ‘Voltage’ w/ DJ Nikno.

Sun: ‘Back 2 Basics.’

Riviera Supper Club, 7777 University Ave, La Mesa. rivierasupperclub.com. Wed: Kice Simko and Friends. Tue: Supertasty.

Ruby Room, 1271 University Ave, Hillcrest. rubyroomsd.com. Thu: Interrobang, Love and the Skull, Ryan Andrew Fox. Fri: Blood Dancer, Thirty/30, The Suicide Chords, Chanauk, Raise the Guns. Sat: Badklaat, Coffi, Sublmnl Sound System, Eshone, Larrywolf. Sun: BJ Jezbera (CD release), Township Rebellion, Cotton the Machine. Mon: Industry Night Kick Off Party. Tue: The Krimson Blues, Groove Ride, Soul Ablaze.

Side Bar, 536 Market St, Downtown. side-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 30 January 2, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 29

barsd.com. Wed: DJ Brett Bodley. Fri: Kurch. Sat: Fresh One. Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd, City Heights. sodabarmusic.com. Wed: The Blooming Rye, Princess Die, Skinny Bones Bad Times Band, Elephant Project.

Thu: The Fixtures, Michael McGraw and The Butchers, Midwinters. Fri: Homeless Sexuals, The Mice, The Red Devil Squadron, New Rome Quartet, Moosejaw. Sat: Royal Teeth, Gentleman Hall. Sun: Aeges, Sleep Lady, The Tall Ships. Mon: Barbarian, Dirty Sirens, Buddy Banter. Tue: Castle, Revenge Death Ball, Deep Sea Thunder Beast.

SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd, Midway. somasandiego.com. Fri: Impending Doom, The Browning, Hearts and Hands, This Or The Apocalypse, Thick As Blood,

Fit for a King. Sat: Oceans, Death of California, Bravecoast, CHON, Cardio Kazan, When We Withstand.

Thrusters Lounge, 4633 Mission Blvd, Pacific Beach. thrusterslounge.com. Sun: DJ FishFonics.

Spin, 2028 Hancock St, Midtown. spinnightclub.com. Fri: Fresh2Def, Hektik, Growboy, Lucky. Sun: Shotta Crew, Wreckin Krew, Fayah Heart.

Til-Two Club, 4746 El Cajon Blvd, City Heights. tiltwoclub.com. Wed: ‘A Brief History of Rhyme’ w/ Heather Hardcore, Disorder and Tuffer. Thu: DJ Heather Hardcore, Diana Death, Miss Kylee. Fri: ‘Taboo’ w/ Miki Vale, niomiesoulfly. Sat: Graig Salerno. Mon: Karaoke. Tue: Kim Gordon Comedy Night.

Stage Bar & Grill, 762 Fifth Ave, Downtown. stagesaloon.com. Wed: Bl3ndr, Mark Fisher, Gaslamp Guitars. Thu: Dubstep, Van Roth. Fri: Lethal Rejection, The Disco Pimps. Sat: Fingerbang, DJ Miss Dust. Mon: Reggae, Trish Tacon, Gian Caballero. Tue: DJ Von Kiss, Kahn Artest, Peaches and Hugo.

The Flame, 3780 Park Blvd, Hillcrest. flamesandiego.com. Thu: ‘Club ‘80s’; ‘Rockabilly Psychois’; ‘RnR Debauchery.’

Fri: ‘Therapy’; ‘Darkwave Garden.’

Tin Can Ale House, 1863 Fifth Ave, Bankers Hill. thetincan1.wordpress.com.

Wed: Sloat Dixon, Mose, Brother Nature.

Thu: Suture, The Stircrazies, Roger!, The Woebots. Fri: Hot Mustard, Breakhouse (EP release), Schmaltz. Sat: Mittens, Cartoon Bar Fight, Down UFO. Mon: David Frances. Tue: ‘Notes’ w/ Jenna Bogorad (art), Thomas Giglio, DJs Patrick Heaney, Asha Fantasy.

Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave, City Heights. thetowerbar.com. Fri: ‘Hip Hop vs. Punk.’

Turquoise, 873 Turquoise St, Pacific Beach. theturquoise.com/wordpress.

Wed: Talia Ceravolo, Tomcat Courtney.

Thu: Latin Jazz Crew w/ Lynn Willard. Fri: Afro Jazziacs, Tomcat Courtney. Sat: Tomcat Courtney. Sun: Viva Brazil, Sounds Like Four. Mon: Shedburners. Tue: Afro Jazziacs.

U-31, 3112 University Ave, North Park. u31bar.com. Thu: DJ Slynkee. Fri: DJ Ayla Simone. Sun: Rasta Nation Reggae Night. Mon: ‘Taking Back Monday’.

Voyeur, 755 Fifth Ave, Downtown. voyeursd.com. Sat: Doorly.

Winstons, 1921 Bacon St, Ocean Beach. winstonsob.com. Wed: Open mic w/ Jefferson Jay. Sun: ‘O.B.-o-ke’ w/ Jose Sinatra. Mon: Electric Waste Band.

30 · San Diego CityBeat · January 2, 2013

January 2, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 31