San Diego CityBeat • Jan 3, 2018

2 · San Diego CityBeat · January 3, 2018

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january 3, 2018 · San Diego CityBeat · 3

UP FRONT | FROM THE EDITOR

Preparing myself for 2018 disappointments

I

t’s not a huge secret that my background is in arts and music journalism so I spent the majority of 2017 trying to play catch-up when it comes to local politics. Still, neither myself or the rest of the CityBeat staff were truly prepared for the amount of futile sighing and cursing coming from the inside of my office this past year.

And while I’d love to believe that the Virginia and Alabama elections are a sign of things to come, I don’t share the same enthusiasm when it comes to local races and elections. For example, I believe…

One of the gas tax repeal initiatives will make it on the November ballot, and it will pass. According to many economic forecasts, gas prices are going to climb this year, which, come November, will only make the sound of tax repeal sound all the more enticing. There are two different repeals in the signature gathering process (one of them comes courtesy of failed mayoral candidate Carl DeMaio) and, according to a recent column in The Sacramento Bee, 52 percent of likely voters already approve of a repeal. The 2016 passage of the Proposition H bond will help locally with infrastructure projects, but not enough. It’s also likely that such a gas tax repeal initiative will serve to bring out a lot of Republican voters in November, which will only help with…

Rep. Duncan Hunter being reelected. I mean, I’m not sure how it is that a guy with multiple ethics investigations is even considered a safe bet to be reelected in the 50th district, but here we are. Putting aside the fact that Hunter has become a local punchline for his vaping enthusiasm and for flying a pet rabbit cross-country using campaign cash, he’s still running in a district where Republicans outnumber Democrats 2-to-1. There are currently five Dems lined up to challenge Hunter in November, and while we love the progressiveness of candidates such as Ammar Campa-Najjar and Pierre “Pete” Beauregard, it’s Jamul businessman and former Navy SEAL Josh Butner who probably stands the best chance to beat Hunter. Of course, he’ll likely be weeded out in the primaries and Hunter will narrowly retain his seat.

Unfortunately, that will also likely be the case with…

Both Board of Supervisors seats remaining Republican. Ron Roberts (District 4) and Bill Horn (Dis-

trict 5) are termed out. It’s likely that another white, Republican male will replace Horn in his largely GOP district, which includes places like Oceanside and Escondido. This is what makes the District 4 election all the more compelling. This district encompasses most of the city of San Diego and La Jolla. There, we have Democratic names such as Lori Saldaña, Nathan Fletcher, Omar Passons and Ken Malbrough, but the GOP already has its candidate in former District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis. Fletcher has received a lot of early endorsements, but Passons is making things interesting. The sad fact is that the more time there’s not a clear-cut Democratic candidate, the more time Dumanis will have to tout her qualifications. What’s more, she could likely win on name recognition alone given that most of the electorate: a.) Probably doesn’t know what the Board of Supervisors even does; b.)

Will vote on the technically nonpartisan office based solely on Dumanis’ name recognition, and; c.) Is oblivious to the fact that Dumanis pretty much retired from the D.A.’s office under a cloud of scandal. Yes, this is the race that keeps me up at night. Well, that and…

Darrell Issa being relected.

Yes, I fully expect that the House’s wealthiest representative will bankroll another narrow victory.

He safely voted against the GOP tax cuts knowing full well the cuts would pass without his support and that said cuts would financially benefit him immensely. The three major Democratic contenders for the seat are either too progressive (Mike Levin) or too run-of-the-mill (Doug Applegate), and the one who could pull in some major dollars, Sara Jacobs (the granddaughter of Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs), is only 28 years old. Expect whoever comes out of the primaries victorious to be bombarded with negative ads that they just won’t be able to match.

I’d love to be wrong about all of these. Of course, I’m also one of the few progressives that predicted that Trump would win. I don’t point this or any of these things so that I can say “I told you so” later. I point it out solely to offer readers a vision of the worst-case scenario, in hopes that they will keep fighting throughout the year.

—Seth Combs

Write to seth.combs@sdcitybeat.com

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4 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JANUARY 3, 2018

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UP FRONT | LETTERS

WAR ON THE WARRIOR For the most part, I have appreciated CityBeat for the fact that much of what is found in its pages is not likely to be found elsewhere.

That said, my greatest disappointment from CityBeat came from Editor Seth Combs in his column of November 15th, titled “Swallow your pride,” and dedicated to mocking those of us who support San Diego State University’s historic choice to honor Aztec culture, particularly its representation of an Aztec Warrior by a student dressed as the same.

In taking aim at the Aztec Warrior (and by extension those who support same), you wrote “The school has a guy running around dressed like the villain from Temple of Doom blowing on a conch shell for no apparent reason (the Aztec Empire’s capital was near what is now Mexico City, so there’s no historical reason to think Montezuma I or II got to the beach much).”

To paraphrase Dan Aykroyd, “Seth, you ignorant slut!” Your ignorance of Aztec history combined with your lazy and utter failure to be cleverly funny are not worthy of the responsibility that is necessary of a publication’s editor when writing an opinion piece— and I have no problem with your opinion— although we differ. What I do have a problem with is that you supported it with your own fake facts which become a disservice to readers who might believe you actually know what you are talking about, and repeat them.

The fact is that the conch shell was extremely important in Aztec culture. The

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ON THE

shell itself was called the Quiquiztl and those who played notes or calls on it were known as the “quiquizoani.” If you were not so ignorant of Aztec culture nor too lazy to consult Google before writing your column, you would know just how important the conch shell was to the Aztecs. It was a conch shell that Quetzalcoatl blew in order to dispatch Mictlantecuhtli (the Lord of the Dead) in order to retrieve and save the bones of humanity.

Were it not for SDSU’s choice to identify with Aztec culture, it is unlikely that I would have made the choice to try to learn more about the Aztecs, as well as this region’s indigenous people. Like you Seth, I am a graduate of SDSU, but also a former part-time SDSU professor and for a period of time served as the City of San Diego’s liaison to the Native American community, and I would not approve of mocking representations of the Aztecs. Were it up to me, all SDSU students would be required to take a multidisciplinary course devoted to a greater understanding of Aztec culture as well as local indigenous people.

Jim Brown Tierrasanta [Editor’s response: Yes, Mr. Brown is correct in that I assumed that the conch shell did not play a significant role in Aztec culture. While I still believe the Aztec mascot should be retired, I do apologize for the error.]

COVER

UP FRONT From the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Spin Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Backwards & In High Heels. . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Well, That Was Awkward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Local photographer Alfonso de Alba has shot our cover subject Veronica May on many occasions. He would often take pictures when May would play live with her previous band The Loverbirds, but when it came to doing the shoots for her new album, Awakened, he says May wanted something that captured the essence of the album’s subject matter, much of which had to do with her struggles with Bipolar 1 Disorder. “We met at her house and she drove us to an alley behind a small taco shop in North Park,” says de Alba. “She wanted to recapture the way she was found after she stopped taking her medication and wandered off.” He also ended up shooting some more intimate portraits inside May’s apartment, which is the one that graces our cover this week. “This picture was last minute and we didn’t really have any ideas for it,” recalls de Alba. Readers can check out more of his work on Instagram at instagram.com/_snappedbyiamlost_.

FOOD & DRINK World Fare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Anatomy of a Cocktail Scene . . . . . . . . . . 11 Final Draught . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

THINGS TO DO The Short List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Calendar of Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-14

ARTS & CULTURE Thank You For Staring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Film. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-19

MUSIC FEATURE: Veronica May. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Notes from the Smoking Patio . . . . . . . . . 22 About Last Night. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 If I Were U. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Concerts & Clubs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-26

LAST WORDS Advice Goddess. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

JANUARY 3, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 5

UP FRONT | OPINION

SPIN

CYCLE

JOHN R. LAMB

Let ‘er rip, Kevin Speeches that are measured by the hour will die with the hour.

—Thomas Jefferson

C

ongrats, fellow survivors!

We’ve shed the weathered epidermis of 2017 and emerged baby fresh in a New Year of uncharted recreational-weed usage. Consider it a reward for enduring the last 12 months!

Here in blue-sky San Diego, the New Year traditionally comes wrapped in the gauzy film of overexpectant hype topped with a dash of political gridlock. Oh sure, there will be a whole lot of talk—in San Diego, only sunshine seems more prevalent—culminating in next week’s annual State of the City address from San Diego’s own Suzie Sunshine, Mayor Kevin Faulconer.

As years go, 2017 could have been Faulconer’s opportunity to

lead on many fronts. In most instances, however, he chose to grin, spin and dog paddle. The earlyyear breakup with the Chargers— announced just before last year’s State of the City—clearly rattled the mayor and his political-future planners. But that national embarrassment would later pale in scale to the city’s exploding homeless population, which ultimately led to an ongoing Hepatitis A emergency.

As is customary, the mayor’s office has kept a tight lid on what this year’s Big Speech will include, but the unofficial betting line is that the Chargers won’t make the cut. With Faulconer’s penchant for keeping it positive, it’s even conceivable that the outbreak will garner scant mention.

But the way Spin sees it, this is no time for word games. As

6 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JANUARY 3, 2018

our kooky Commander in Chief has so deftly demonstrated, any screw-up is a potential gold mine of delusional nuggets. Any scrap of good news can be crafted into a moment of self-congratulatory chutzpah.

No commercial plane crashes in 2017? Take credit! The sun rose this morning? High-five yourself— you deserve it!

So Mayor Faulconer, take whatever draft of that speech you’re likely already practicing and Trumpify it! Your long-awaited dream of expanding the downtown Convention Center? Do the opposite and act like you don’t give a fig. “Tourism? I can take it or leave it,” would be an eyecatching line that would shock friend and foe alike. Couple that with recent reports that you will take charge of the floundering City Council debate over regulating home-vacation rentals, and problem solved! Not sure how, but, you know, fake it.

Paying more to help retain and recruit police officers will likely dominate at least a portion of the mayor’s speech, but why stop there? If Trump has taught us anything, wrapping oneself in the mantle of law enforcement is second only to surrounding oneself

JOHN R. LAMB

For next week’s State of the City speech, Mayor Kevin Faulconer should go full-Trump and be blunt. with gilded furniture. So mayor, open up and share who sits on your gold-plated search committee for a new police chief.

Look, we know it’s tough having to replace your San Diego Yacht Club buddy, Shelley Zimmerman, who retires in March. But residents should be assured that you aren’t scanning the membership roster at your proverbial Mar-A-Lago for a replacement.

And since paying more for law enforcement will have to come from somewhere, let’s not beat around the bush on those coming budget cuts. Tell us what’s likely to get slashed, and do so proudly.

Reading hours at libraries? Trump wouldn’t bother, so why should anyone else? Look where illiteracy has gotten him, for cripes sake!

Recreation centers? Who needs them? That’s what owning private golf courses are for!

Improved sidewalks? Only necessary if there’s a need to use them, which can be greatly reduced by more frequent trips by limousine or helicopter—preferably paid for by taxpayers.

Maybe take a tip from your former chief of staff, Republican campaign wizard Stephen Puetz, and go the hell-in-a-handbasket route.

On New Year’s Eve, Puetz took to Twitter to lament the open use of marijuana in Denver during a CNN telecast.

“CNN showing people getting high on national ‘news.’ Embarrassing,” he wrote, adding breathlessly later, “It’s crazy. I’m [sic] mean are people shooting heroin on MSNBC?!??”

In fact, no one appeared to be doing so, at least when Spin tuned in, but Puetz has a point and as grandma used to say, “If you part

your hair differently, no one will know the difference.”

Or, do the opposite, Mr. Mayor, and fire up a blunt right there on stage. Talk about welcoming a new revenue stream to a city whose financial tributaries are drying up.

Demonstrate that you’re officially San Diego’s Green Mayor!

Would this shock some members of your loyal fan base? Absolutely, but what have you got to lose? In fact, Spin is willing to bet that many of your supporters would root you on, although privately from their underground weed caves. “We’ve got **puff** the coolest **puff puff** mayor, yo,” the downtown dank echo chamber would giggle to itself.

Once the contact high travels from the stage to your political compatriots in the first few rows, the murmurs will be inevitable.

“Maybe he’s on to something here.”

“We too can be this bold!” “Is the theater’s snack bar open?”

By then, the Trumpian promises will be flowing like gold velour.

A Comic-Con for every council district! A cozy home for every human, squirrel, muskrat, parakeet and homeless veteran! Craft beer on tap at city water fountains!

The potential is mind-boggling.

SANDAG, get it together or I’ll attack you with robots! Voters, raise the hotel tax my way or I’ll invite Kim Jong-un to visit!

So Kevin, embrace your imperial party leader! Go off script. Spin off into tangential metaphors of nonsensical proportions, because, so far, these speeches have done nothing for you politically. Embrace your inner Trump. Go nuts.

Spin Cycle appears every other week.

Write to johnl@sdcitybeat.com.

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january 3, 2018 · San Diego CityBeat · 7

UP FRONT | OPINION

AARYN BELFER

BACKWARDS & IN

HIGH HEELS

Manifesting our destiny

A

nyone else down with manifesting a new reality for 2018?

According to “How to Manifest Your Reality” published at themindunleashed.com, our thoughts are powerful enough to create the world around us.

I know this crystal-huggy info isn’t new and that thoughts are powerful, but powerful enough to change reality?

Historically, I’ve been so cynical as to roll my eyes at that notion and slump along beneath the little rain cloud above my head, unaware (or not) of how my low-level thoughts negatively impact my life. Meanwhile, vision-boarders and Pinterest-quote gatherers leap and twirl through their lives holding a ribbon stick in one hand and shooting rainbows from the other. Maybe they aren’t constantly refreshing their Twitter feeds for the latest Seth Abramson thread or reading Washington Post articles about septuagenarians working full time at minimum wage jobs because McDonnell Douglas dicked them out of their retirement.

Had I made a 2017 vision board, it would look like the video for “Hold Up” from Beyonce’s Lemonade: It would be beating the living shit out of everything in its path with a baseball bat, its décolletage spilling out of a Roberto Cavalli ruffle plisse gown.

I want this year to be different.

I’ve had enough of waking up everyday to a headache induced by teeth grinding; of having “motherfucker” and “Trump” be the first words that pop into my head. I am going to embrace the power of positive thinking and change the future. What follows is my vision board in writing for what I want 2018 to look like one year from now. And yes, I admit it’s ambitious. But like I said: Positive thoughts.

San Diegans are going to get off our couches, make calls, knock doors and get to the polls in June in unprecedented numbers because we are going to elect a new District Attorney. Genevieve Jones-Wright will upend the nepotistic monarchy established by Bonnie Dumanis and usher in an era of reason at the DA’s office.

Those same folks are going to continue to make life difficult for Darrell Issa, as weekly protests continue at his Vista office. Indivisible has hundreds of boots on the ground there every Tuesday from 10 to 11 a.m., and those boots will march right into the polling place come November and be part of the blue wave that takes Issa down.

In fact, there is a blue tsunami coming, one that will wipe out Republicans holding local offices around the country, as well as Republican leads in both houses of congress. The GOP will be devastated, their house wrecked beyond recognition; they’ll be without electricity long after Puerto Rico is back on the grid.

Fuck all y’all, right wingers. Maybe we can find some paper towels to throw at you. The BT is going to be so damned blue that any Democrats who dare to fall for

the coming faux bipartisanship will be pulled under and deservedly drowned. We. Will. Not. Forget. Americans don’t need any more invertebrates on the left.

We need strong leftists on the left. Joe Manchin? Boy, bye. And, too, some good ‘uns have got to go. Dianne Feinstein, we are grateful. Now please take a deep bow and exit stage right.

The MonsterPOTUS will make his exit à la Little Finger, metaphorically speaking. Mueller as Arya Stark will expertly pull Needle across Trump’s neck and he’ll barely see it coming because he’s a narcissist and a sociopath. Despite all the signs, he will be caught off guard when the moment arrives. And we, the people, will bear witness and toast and cheer with the schadenfreude to end all schadenfreudes. Watch for a baby boom nine months later.

Going down with the ship will be Prissy Pence, Javanka, the embodiment of alternative facts Kellyanne Conway, Nitwit Betsy DeVos, Nazi Stephen Miller, Jeffrey Beauregard “Definitely Attended Lynchings In My Lifetime” Sessions and every last one of the butt-licking hangers on. Off to prison they will go. Who knows? Some may even save us taxpayers money by offing themselves.

We’re going to need to manifest some dollars up in here, seeing as how the GOP just stole trillions from the commoners. Where could we possibly get the greenbacks…?

Oh, yes! I know. Churches. Any religious organization that shelters pedophiles or preaches voting recommendations from the pulpit or otherwise meanders into politics will be taxed. California legislators will work to close the loophole in Prop 13 that allows corporations (like Disneyland) to pay decadesold tax rates. This money, plus dollars from the legalized weed industry will be used to finance single payer healthcare, job training for those recently-releasedfrom-prison (including folks formerly incarcerated on marijuana charges), investment in underserved communities and the public school system.

Across the nation, poor-performing (i.e., most) charter schools will be shuttered, and those that are doing well will be officially designated as the private schools that they are and will be kicked off the public funding teat.

Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security—or what is left of them after Paul Ryan’s swan song—will be revisited, protected and bolstered by the influx of new legislators who listen to citizens and reject the tyranny of those who wish to drown government in the bathtub. And when Orrin Hatch is defeated in the fall, the fight to re-protect Bears Ears and The Grand Staircase will start again.

We, the people, have to make this happen, or die trying.

The GOP will be devastated, their house wrecked beyond recognition; they’ll be without electricity long after Puerto Rico is back on the grid.

8 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JANUARY 3, 2018

Backwards & In High Heels appears every other week.

Write to aarynb@sdcitybeat.com.

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UP FRONT | VOICES

RYAN BRADFORD

WELL THAT WAS

AWKWARD

Reliving six awkward moments from 2017

W

elcome to 2018, and all the newness that comes with it. To a person with anxiety, however, there’s no new clean slate—I’m still dwelling on the shit that happened last year. And the year before that. Hell, I’m still trying to think of comebacks for Chad Rinderknecht, who called my shirt “too blousy” in seventh grade.

So, before you get too cozy with your fresh new outlook in the year 2018, join me on the downward spiral by revisiting some of the tiny awkward moments of the previous year.

Making sure people know the cat rules: I had a lot of family and friends stay with me this year, and one would think that someone without any kids would be a super chill host. Wrong.

Here’s me: Hey, you know that totally normal, totally common plastic bag you brought with you? It better not be out, because the cat will eat it. Are you going to put the bag away? Hey, it looks like the bag is still out. Here, let me just throw it away for you.

Here’s me, too: And, yes, I’m aware our toilet paper isn’t on the holder. Please don’t replace it, or the cat will go at it like a rabid boxer attacking a punching bag. It might appear that I have sophistication of a freshman college bro, but it’s better than cleaning up a mountain of cat confetti later.

I’ve reached the stage of annoying cat-dadding (or toxoplasmosis affliction) where I obsessively police my guests’ behavior in favor of our felines.

Super chill urgent care: This year, I broke my elbow on Halloween night. Considering I don’t get hurt a lot, you better believe I milked the sympathy from that accident for all it was worth.

What I don’t tell people is that I didn’t have my insurance card on me that night at urgent care. In the pocket where it should’ve been was my expired weed card instead.

Apparently, medical professionals don’t take expired weed cards as proof of insurance. Nothing dank about paying $400 out of pocket.

“Fu-fu-ucking?”: It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody, but CityBeat’s weekly editorial meetings are fertile grounds for intelligent discourse and capitol ideas. For example, during one meeting, I was expressing my love for the “P Zone” pick-up area at the airport because it shared a name with one of my favorite foods: Pizza Hut’s P’zones. Music editor Jeff Terich then said, “But what about the F zone?”

“What’s that? Like, fucking?” I mean, that’s what I wanted to say, but I stumbled and stuttered like a little latchkey kid who was bribed to swear with the promise of a shilling. Fu-fu-ucking? My coworkers will never let me forget that one.

Being a jerk about smooth motion: While watching football at my friend Steve’s house with a bunch of his friends, I noticed that he hadn’t turned off the smooth motion on his TV. Smooth motion is the default factory setting on new TVs that attempts to boost the quality but actually makes everything look like a soap opera.

I don’t know if it was an attempt to bro-down with the guys, or just my way of overcompensating in a setting where I was supremely out of my element, but I said Steve’s name loud enough for everyone else to stop talking. “When are you going to fix the smooth motion on this TV?” I looked around to the other guys, like amiright?

Nobody high-fived me or even cared that I knew about factory settings.

Pants issues: I’ve been going through a fashion crisis since I turned 30—I’m too old and oddly-shaped to wear the millennial shit, but not quite ready to go full Costco Dad. What kind of clothes do grown-up men wear?

I got a hot tip that Old Navy pants ordered from the online store were affordable and fashionable. So I ordered a pair and ran into my friend Julia on the first day out wearing them.

“What do you think?” I asked.

“They’re a little baggy,” she said—an innocent, throwaway comment that festered in my mind to the point that I might as well have bought JNCOs. I took the pants in to have them tailored, and the guy fixed the bagginess, but went just a little too short on the cuffs.

Now, whenever I wear them, it looks like I’m awaiting a flood.

Grown-up look achieved!

Inquiring about the pepperoni at Domino’s: You know those occasions where you step out of a bar and you see an open late-night eatery, and it’s so beautiful that you briefly believe in the existence of God? Well, that was/is/always will be me with this particular Domino’s, located across the street from Til-Two Club in City Heights.

I emerged from a long night of karaoke and saw the beckoning logo. Upon entering, the warmth and rich aromas lulled me into a baby-state so pure that I almost forgot my order.

“Do you have…” I trailed off, searching for the correct words. “Pepperoni?”

And to my supreme gratitude, they did, indeed, have the most common pizza topping! Sometimes God works in mysterious ways.

I’ve reached the stage of annoying cat-dadding (or toxoplasmosis affliction) where I obsessively police my guests’ behavior in favor of our felines.

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Well, That Was Awkward appears every other week.

Write to ryanb@sdcitybeat.com

JANUARY 3, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 9

UP FRONT | FOOD

BY MICHAEL A. GARDINER MICHAEL A. GARDINER

correctly credited to the Sichuan province (just north of Chongqing), as it is extremely popular in Sichuan’s capitol, Chengdu.

The essence of the style is the numbing and spicy flavors of the broth, defined by the use of Sichuan peppercorns (actually, the flowering husk of prickly ash) that numbs the taste buds, opening them to more heat from the chilies.

The Chonqing broth at Red Cate has an almost angry look and has a spicy flavor (even if you order the medium strength). Red Cate also offers a bone soup broth that’s mild and even delicate with floating strips of tomato and cucumber as well as green onion and spices. A good approach—at least for the first visit—is to order Red Cate ingredients and broth the Half & Half pot and use the bone soup to adjust the spiciness of the Chongqing in your own soup cup.

The dipping ingredients at Red Cate are of a high quality. They offer two main traditional proteins—lamb shoulder and beef belly—both of which are good. On one visit, I was feeling adventurous and went for the pork kidneys (beef and pork tripe, The hot pot spot (emphasis on “hot”) beef aorta and pork brains are also available), which s the calendar turns, there’s a hint of cold were excellent. Red Cate also offers a dizzying array in the air (or at least the 619’s rather lame of seafood, sausages, dumplings and meatballs, as concept of cold). That’s when soups begin well as vegetables (the Chinese cabbage and winter to sound like a good idea (even if the weather isn’t melon are quite good), noodles, mushrooms and all that cold in the first place). Red Cate (3860 bean curd products. Of those products, the bean Convoy St.), the Convoy’s newest hot pot destinacurd sticks take to the broth particularly well. tion, provides “warming” services in more ways Another thing that sets Red Cate apart is the than one. sauce and condiment bar. There are plenty of preHot pot is said to have derived from the nomadpared sauces (some spicy, some not) as well as inic Mongol warrior tradition of skewering strips of gredients (soy sauce, Chongqing vinegar, chili and meat on spears and cooking them in liquid-filled sesame oils, chopped green onions, garlic, etc.) helmets. The Chinese did what they could to keep from which to mix your own. the Mongols out, but even the Great Wall didn’t The real pleasure of hot pot and Red Cate is the hold them back. And when that wall was breached, participatory eating. Diners can choose what they the hot pot-style of eating entered Chinese culture want to dip in the broth, drop it in and then fish it along with the Mongols. Ultimately, it evolved into out. As it cooks, there’s soup to enjoy. It’s an expetoday’s system in which simple pots—sometimes rience beyond the passivity of the usual restaurant divided into sections containing differently flaouting, and if the temperature of the broth doesn’t vored broths—are boiled over gas, electric or inwarm patrons, the spiciness surely will. duction heating elements.

The signature broth at Red Cate is mala, an The World Fare appears weekly. incendiary Chongqing-style broth that’s often inWrite to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com.

THE WORLD

FARE A

10 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JANUARY 3, 2018

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UP FRONT | DRINK

ANATOMY OF A COCKTAIL SCENE #22: Personal growth at Counterpoint

as New Year’s Day is the crowned holiday of brunch, these two cocktails are always the standby indulgences of what is one of the most ambiguous of meals. However, if ell, here we are. Feet planted there are people out there seeking change firmly in the threshold of a in this New Year, I highly recommend they brand new spanking New Year. start with a new brunch cocktail.

Oh, what wonders and horrors is 2018 goThat being said, I’d like to direct ing to hold? people’s attention to the One More Stop Still, the beginning of a new year is a cocktail at Counterpoint (830 25th St.) in very special time. It is a time for reflection Golden Hill. Created by bar manager Ben and resolutions. A time for self-evaluaMarquart, the One More Stop is a refreshtion, personal growth, spiritual growth... ing, eye-opening blend of mezcal, lime, all that crap. And, in the pursuit of one orange juice, falernum and Galliano, all of or all of these things, we cast off, if only which results in a perfectly IAN WARD briefly, our tired old routines pleasant way to get a Sunday and comfortable stand-by started. indulgences and trade them Galliano, a vanilla-forin for something new. ward Italian liqueur (with I’m fairly certain that trace notes of lavender and for most readers, the holicinnamon) is certainly no day season was filled with a stranger to brunch cocktails. bunch of brunch revelries.

It’s perhaps most famous for New Year’s Day is probably being in the Harvey Wallthe busiest day for “brunchbanger cocktail. For anyone ing” of the year. It is the who is unaware, the Harundisputed champion of vey Walllbanger is a cockbrunch. Which means galtail that contains Galliano, One More Stop lons and gallons of prosecco vodka and orange juice. It’s and champagne was poured lovingly into basically a beefed up Screwdriver. And for dainty glasses and floats. Some was mixed anyone unaware of a screwdriver, well, I with orange juice, some with grapefruit, don’t know what to tell those people. and others with more exotic juices such as The One More Stop takes all the simhoneydew and prickly pear. As well, tons ple joys of the Harvey Wallbanger and exof tomato juice was combined with spices, pands upon them. The substation of mezsauces and vodka, shaken and put into cal brings both smokiness and mild salinglass with celery stalks, bacon and all the ity. Most mezcal lovers already appreciate other crazy nonsense that adorns the top the combination of their beloved spirit of Bloody Marys these days. and orange, and the One More Stop showBloody Marys and mimosas. As much cases the union of those flavors, while the addition of the falernum ONE MORE STOP gifts the cocktail with tones of baking spice. Essentially, the One More as prepared at Counterpoint Stop is a Harvey Wallbanger that has undergone some much needed 1 oz. El Silencio mezcal Combine all ingredients spiritual growth.

3/4 oz. Galliano into a shaker with ice.

W

1/2 oz. Falernum 1/2 oz. lime juice 1/2 oz. orange juice

@SDCITYBEAT

Shake, and strain into a chilled coup glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

BY BETH DEMMON

BY IAN WARD

Anatomy of a Cocktail Scene appears every other week.

Write to ianw@sdcitybeat.com

FINAL DRAUGHT Chronicles of the craft

I

used to think that Anthony Bourdain had the best job in the world. Eating, drinking and smoking your way through the world’s greatest cultures and cuisines?

Sign me up!

But in the slightly more realistic realm of potential job opportunities, beer historian sounds like a pretty cush career track. There aren’t many beer historians in the country, but California State University San Marcos’ Judith Downie is one of them.

COURTESY OF CSUSM

Brewchive archive materials “My official position title is Special Collections & History Librarian,” explains Downie. She’s responsible for the Brewchive, a special collection whose main goal is “collecting, preserving and presenting San Diego brewing history with an emphasis on activity from the 1980s on.” According to Downie, this includes “all manner of things” from brewers both amateur and professional.

The Brewchive launched in summer 2017 and is part of the “EngiBeering” program, a certification track slated to commence in spring 2018. The curriculum will examine both the science and business sides of craft brewing; it joins the roster of existing local beer education programs like the Professional Certificate in the Business of Craft Beer at San Diego State University. However, the Brewchive archives are one of the only beer-centric special collections in the country, and the only one of its kind in San Diego.

Preservation efforts include digitizing records like decades-old homebrewing

logs, archiving ephemera such as tap handles from now-defunct breweries (like Terrific Pacific Brewery) and collecting oral histories from local beer insiders.

Although many records have already been lost over the years, Downie insists no item is too small for the catalog.

“What seems unimportant to one researcher may be just the answer to another research question or spark a new line of inquiry, so our collection goals are large-scale.”

Throughout her research, Downie has uncovered some tidbits of beer history that she thinks predict the future of the brewing scene. For instance, collaboration between San Diego breweries is nothing new; it’s been a mainstay in the local brewing scene since pre-Prohibition. With that data, she hypothesizes that collaborations beyond breweries—for instance, between food trucks and tasting rooms like Border X Brewing and San Diego Taco Company in Barrio Logan—will continue.

When she’s not meeting with students, teaching classes or attending meetings for the Pink Boots Society or Society of Barley Engineers, Downie is also working on expanding her beer palate to catch up with her research expertise. She lists fruitforward sours for summertime drinking and stouts in winter as her go-to beer styles.

In the future, the Brewchive plans to release their first large collection of photos and other historical artifacts from Stone Brewing Company’s history with items spanning over 20 years. In the meantime, Downie hopes more breweries and beer enthusiasts continue to add their stories to the Brewchive’s website (archives. csusm.edu/brewchive/)—especially from underrepresented voices in the craft beer community.

“I encourage women in the beer industry and home brewing to contact me, as I want to make sure everyone is represented.”

Write to bethd@sdcitybeat.com. Follow her on Twitter at @delightedbite.

JANUARY 3, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 11

EVENTS

SHORTlist

ART

the

THREE YOU HAVE TO SEE

COORDINATED BY

SETH COMBS

SAN DIEGO

NEW YEAR, NEW ARTS

If we know CityBeat readers, the New Year begins with a resolution to get out more and to get more culture in our lives. So why not kick off 2018 right? This week is especially great in that it provides a variety of events to choose from.

First up is the four-day soundON Festival of Modern Music at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library (1008 Wall St.) in La Jolla. The 11th annual event includes concerts, workshops and lectures, all of which revolve around the theme of “Voyages.” It kicks off Thursday, Jan. 4 at 7:30 p.m. with an experimental classical concert titled “Exotic Images from an Inner Journey.” Prices for the fest range from $10 to $70 and the full schedule can be seen at ljathenaeum.org.

Speaking of music, San Diego’s newest resident, Raúl Prieto Ramírez, will make his debut as the newest San Diego Civic Organist on Sunday, Jan. 7 at 2 p.m. As always, concerts at Balboa Park’s Spreckels Organ Pavilion are free, and Ramírez will be sticking around after the concert for a meet-andgreet and to offer patrons a peek inside the organ.

For theater (and beer) lovers, the Final Draft New Play Festival is an idea whose time has come.

The four-day event (from Thursday, Jan. 4) combines craft beer from Bagby Beer Company with three new productions from local playwrights. Our pick? The Velocity of Celebration from writer and comedian Dallas McLaughlin sounds like it will be

LOGAN HEIGHTS

SAM ZAUSCHER

Sometimes, it’s important to return to the basics. That’s what Horace Silver did for jazz in the 1950s, straying from trends in exchange for traditional techniques. Local jazzist Gilbert Castellanos highlights Silver’s hard-bop movement in the latest rendition of Art Meets Jazz. On Saturday, Jan. 6, Castellanos and fellow musicians Dean Hulett, Robert Dove, Ryan Shaw and Sam Hirsh will pay tribute to the legend.

This all-ages event also features a pop-up exhibit with more than 13 artists whose work captures the San Diego jazz scene. Participants include photographer Raymond Elstad, painter Khalid Alkaaby and illustrator Brent Trembath, among others. It all happens at Bread & Salt (1955 Julian Ave.) from 6 to 10 p.m. Tickets are $20 online at brownpapertickets.com/event/3199808 and $25 at the door.

Recent Acquisitions at Joseph Bellows Gallery, 7661 Girard Ave., La Jolla.

A showcase of photographs from a variety of artists including William Clift, Charles Swedlund, Harry Callahan and more. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 5. Free. 858-456-5620, josephbellows.com Friday Night Liberty at NTC at Liberty Station, 2640 Historic Decatur Road, Point Loma. This monthly gallery and studio walk features open artist studios, galleries, live performances, shopping and entertainment throughout NTC’s Arts and Culture District. From 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 5. Free. 619-5739300, ntclibertystation.com

soundON Festival of Modern Music both hilarious and poignant. Times vary and all performances take place at the New Village Arts Theatre (2787 State St.) in Carlsbad. Prices range from $5 to $20 at newvillagearts.org.

Finally, the Art-A-Thon kicks off this week at ArtHatch and Distinction Gallery (317 E Grand Ave.) in Escondido. The seventh annual event takes 25 artists from all around San Diego and has them create actively for 24 hours straight (from noon on Saturday, Jan. 6 until noon the next day) and the public is welcome to come watch. If readers miss it, they can view the results of the Art-A-Thon at a reception for the artists on Saturday, Jan. 13 from 6 to 10 p.m. arthatch.org

MIDDLETOWN

TOM TOM CLUB

JAZZED UP

True Colors at Mike Hess Brewing Company North Park, 3812 Grim Ave., North Park. A 30-day exhibition featuring local artists celebrating their use of and relationship with color. Opening from 6 to 10 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 3. 619-255-7136, facebook.com/ events/1940667309483291

Of everything we lost in 2017, losing Tom Petty was certainly one that hurt. But members of the local music community are coming together to celebrate the rock legend’s music and legacy with Petty: A Tribute to Benefit MusiCares at The Casbah (2501 Kettner Blvd.).

And though we recently ran a piece lamenting the ubiquity of tribute bands in our music pages, this is an exception worth making, partially because of the talent involved. Members of The Schizophonics, Rocket from the Crypt, Black Heart Procession and more will be covering Petty to benefit MusiCares, which provides services for musicians in need. It happens at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 6 at The Casbah. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at door. 21 and up. casbahmusic.com WIKI COMMONS

COURTESY OF ART MEETS JAZZ

The State of Art at San Diego Watercolor Society, NTC Promenade, 2825 Dewey Road, Ste. 105, Point Loma. The San Diego Watercolor Society presents a new show featuring local watermedia artists and juried by Sean Barrett. Opening from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 5. Free.

619-876-4550, sdws.org HArt-A-Thon at ArtHatch, 317 E. Grande Ave., Escondido. Local artists gather to create art for 24 straight hours.

Participating artists include Kelly Vivanco, Victor Roman, Olga Tenyakova and dozens more. Resulting works will be auctioned off to benefit Art Hatch’s education programs. From noon Saturday, Jan. 6 to noon Sunday, Jan. 7. Free.

760-781-5779, arthatch.org HWick Alexander: On the Money at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. The local artist will present a recent series of drawings depicting images from currency around the world. Opening from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6 through Saturday, Feb. 10. Free. 858-454-5872, ljathenaeum.org HAnna Stump: Piñata/Drone/Bust at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. The local artist, who founded the San Diego Feminist Image Group, will showcase new works that incorporate paint and piñatas. Opening from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6 through Saturday, Feb. 10.

Free. 858-454-5872, ljathenaeum.org HMemories from a Blackout at SDAI Project Space, 141 Horton Plaza, Gaslamp. A new solo show from painter and installation artist Sheena Rae Dowling, who takes an intimate look at alcoholism and recovery via her own personal journey. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6. Free. sandiego-art.org HSeeing is Believing at Sparks Gallery, 530 Sixth Ave., Gaslamp. Twentyone Southern California artists transform the everyday mundane into explorations of the body, relationships, emotions, inanimate objects and more in the form of photography, sculpture, painting and more. RSVP required. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6. Free. 619-6961416, sparksgallery.com Garden Tapestries from Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Center in Giza, Egypt at San Diego Botanic Garden, Ecke Building. 230 Quail Gardens Drive, Encinitas.

Garden-themed tapestries that vividly celebrate the flowers of the

Gilbert Castellanos 12 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JANUARY 3, 2018

Tom Petty

H = CityBeat picks

desert, villages and Nile River. Tapestries are available for purchase with most of the proceeds going to support the artists. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 8. Free-$14. 760-436-3036, sdbgarden.org

BOOKS Robert Crais at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The acclaimed mystery writer will be promoting the latest installment in his Elvis Cole and Joe Pike series, The Wanted. At 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 5. Free. 858-4540347, warwicks.com HMatthew J. Pallamary at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. The local writer will sign and discuss his new self-help book, The Center Of The Universe Is Right Between Your Eyes, But Home Is Where the Heart Is. At 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6.

Free. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com Georgia Hunter at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The author will sign and discuss her new novel, We Were the Lucky Ones, about a Polish family dealing with the horrors of the Holocaust. At 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 8.

Free. 858-454-0347, warwicks.com Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner and Marie Lu at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. The three young adult authors will be promoting their respective new titles, Unearthed (Kaufman and Spooner) and Batman: Nightwalker (Lu).

At 2 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 9. Free. 858268-4747, mystgalaxy.com

COMEDY Drew Michael at American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., Downtown. The New York-based comedian has written for Saturday Night Live, guest starred in The Carmichael Show, and recorded a stand-up special for Comedy Central’s The Half Hour. At 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 4 and Friday, Jan. 5, and 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6. $18. 619-7953858, americancomedyco.com HThe New One at La Jolla Playhouse, 2910 La Jolla Village Drive, La Jolla. A new play written and performed by the award-winning comedian Mike Birbiglia, who created Sleepwalk With Me, My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend and Thank God For Jokes. At various times Tuesday, Jan. 9 through Sunday, Jan. 14. $45-$55. 858550-1010, lajollaplayhouse.org

DANCE HA Culture Shock Nutcracker at Spreckels Theatre, 121 Broadway, Downtown. Culture Shock Dance’s modern reinterpretation of the Tchaikovsky classic, which is set in the present amidst a fusion of contemporary music, dance and fashion. At 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 5, 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6 and 1 and 6 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 7. $15-$45. 619235-9500, cultureshockdance.org

HOLIDAY EVENTS HRady Children’s Ice Rink at Arts District Liberty Station, 2640 Historic Decatur Road, Point Loma. Skate on this outdoor, seasonal ice rink with proceeds benefiting Rady Children’s Hospital’s Peckham Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Through Sunday, Jan. 7. $10-$50. libertystation.com

EVENTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 13 @SDCITYBEAT

EVENTS EVENTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

MUSIC HsoundON Festival of Modern Music at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. A four-day long series of concerts, performances, workshops, lectures and art. Now in its 11th year, the performances and workshops center on the theme of “Voyages.” At various times Thursday, Jan. 4 through Sunday, Jan. 7. $5-$70. 858-454-5872, ljathenaeum.org HArt Meets Jazz at Bread & Salt, 1955 Julian Ave., Logan Heights. Local trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos and fellow musicians will pay tribute to Horace Silver and his hard-bop style of jazz.

There will also be jazz-inspired artwork by more than 14 participating visual artists. From 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6. $20-$25. 619-851-4083, facebook.com/ events/1606902469376917 Willie Nelson and Family at Harrah’s Resort Southern California, 777 Harrah’s Rincon Way, Valley Center. The iconic American singer-songwriter, author, poet, actor and activist, whose career spans six decades, will perform with his family, including his son Lukas Nelson.

At 8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 6. harrahssocal. com

“Polymorph #4” by S ​ ilviu Nica will be on view at Seeing is Believing, a group show at Sparks Gallery opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6, at Sparks Gallery (530 Sixth Ave.) in Downtown.

HPetty at The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd., Middletown. This Tom Petty tribute show features solo and ensemble performances by 18 local musicians, including Andrew McKeag, The Schizophonics and more. All proceeds benefit MusiCares. At 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6. $10-$12.

619-232-4355, casbahmusic.com HRaúl Prieto Ramírez at Spreckels Or-

@SDCITYBEAT

gan Society, 1549 El Prado Ste 10, Balboa Park. San Diego’s newly hired civic organist plays his first Sunday concert.

Includes a meet-and-greet with Ramirez after the concert and a peek inside the organ. From 2 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 7.

619-702-8138, spreckelsorgan.org Igor Levit Piano Recital at La Jolla Music Society, 7946 Ivanhoe Ave. Ste 309, La Jolla. This young pianist is revered as one of the top young artists of this generation by the New York Times and more.

His diverse program includes works by Bach, Wagner and Shostakovich. From 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 7. $30-$80. 858459-3728, ljms.org Boris Allakhverdyan at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. The acclaimed clarinetist will be joined by pianist Anton Smirnoff and soprano Shoushik Barsoumian. The repertoire will include the rarely heard and difficult “The Shepherd on the Rock.”

From 7:30 to 10 p.m. Monday, Jan. 8. $40-$45. 858-454-5872, ljathenaeum.org TJ Borden, Paul Hembree and James Bean at Conrad Prebys Music Center, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. The group of three local instrumentalists perform a cello concert that incorporates real-time electronics. At 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 9.

Free. 858-534-3448, musicweb.ucsd.edu Opera Wednesdays at La Jolla Community Center, 6811 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla. Southern California’s top performing operatic artists sing in this series of special concerts. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 10. $10 suggested donation. 858459-0831, ljcommunitycenter.org WEDS@7: Eric Huebner performs Roger Reynolds’ Piano Etudes at Conrad Prebys Music Center, UCSD

campus, La Jolla. This recital by guest pianist Eric Huebner will feature the entire collection of piano Etudes by György Ligeti, as well as Book I of Roger Reynolds’ Piano Etudes. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 10. Free-$15.50. 858-5343448, music.ucsd.edu/concerts

PERFORMANCE Into the Wild Live! at California Center for the Arts, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido. Animal expert Jack Hanna brings the fun of his two television shows, Into the Wild and Jack Hanna’s Wild Countdown, to the stage with storytelling, footage and exotic animals. At 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6. $25-$60.

800-988-4253, artcenter.org Markiplier at Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St., Downtown. The YouTube personality stops by on his “You’re Welcome” tour for a night of improv games, sketches and on-stage adventures. At 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 10. $32-$108.

619-235-0804, sandiegosymphony.org

POETRY & SPOKEN WORD Unseen Forces at Eclipse Chocolate Bar & Bistro, 2145 Fern St., South Park. At this inaugural reading night, members of Storytellers of San Diego such as Mindy Donner, Marilyn McPhie and Eric Tauber will read traditional folktales, literary works and original stories. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 3. $5 suggested donation. 619850-2130, storytellersofsandiego.org

EVENTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

JANUARY 3, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 13

EVENTS EVENTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13 HSan Diego PoetrySLAM at Queen Bee’s Art & Cultural Center, 3925 Ohio St., North Park. A spoken-word event and fourth qualifier to go to the Grand Slam Finals. At 8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 8. $5. 619-255-5147, sandiegopoetryslam. com HThe Narrators: Big Shot at Tiger!Tiger! Tavern, 3025 El Cajon Blvd., North Park. The Narrators’ monthly reading night will feature writers telling true personal stories of hitting the big time. At 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 9. Free. thenarrators.org

SPECIAL EVENTS Enero Zapatista Opening at WorldBeat Cultural Center, 2100 Park Blvd., Balboa Park. The fourteenth anniversary of the uprising of the Zapatistas is a month-long commemoration. The opening event includes a panel discussion under the theme “Decolonize! Towards Local and Global Autonomy.” At 5:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 5. Free. enerozapatista.wordpress.com

“Conspicuous Nocturnal Consumption” by Sheena Rae Dowling will be on view at Memories from a Blackout, a solo exhibition opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6, at the San Diego Art Institute Project Space at Horton Plaza (324 Horton Plaza) in the Gaslamp.

14 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JANUARY 3, 2018

HSan Diego Vintage Flea Market at Observatory North Park, 2891 University Avenue, North Park. Hundreds of vendors show off interesting vintage or vintage-inspired treasures including home furnishings, bric-a-brac, clothing and accessories, tiki-infused items and much more. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sun-

day, Jan. 7. Free. 619-239-8836, sdvintagefleamarket.com Climate Mobilization Rally at Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building, 880 Front St., Downtown. On the door of the Federal Building, the San Diego Climate Mobilization Coalition will post a call for national mobilization to quit fossil fuels and move to 100 percent renewable energy. From 1 to 3 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 7. Free. facebook.com/ events/845320522317070 Winter Wonder-Lantern Festival at SDCCU Stadium, 9449 Friars Road, Mission Valley. A winter-themed carnival hosts the largest lantern festival outside of China. Plus light displays, live entertainment, rides, a holiday market and more. From 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 7. $36-$144. facebook.com/ events/1655045007892717 Suds and Science at Fleet Science Center, 1875 El Prado, Balboa Park. As part of Fleet After Dark activities, Dr. Don Lincoln gives a lecture under the theme “The Modern Search for Theory of Everything,” on the progress science has made in such a theory and where it’s headed. From 6:30 to 8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 7. $5. 619-238-1233, rhfleet.org

THEATRE HFinal Draft New Play Festival at New Village Arts Theatre, 2787 State St., Carlsbad. The four-day event com-

bines craft beer from Bagby Beer Company with three new productions from local playwrights. Various times. From Thursday, Jan. 4 through Sunday, Jan. 7. $5-$20. newvillagearts.org

WORKSHOPS The Writers Coffeehouse at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. Author Jonathan Maberry hosts this informal group to discuss all things writing over coffee.

No previous publishing experience necessary. From noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 7. Free. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy. com HInnovators Lab: Jason Hackenwerth at New Children’s Museum, 200 W. Island Ave., Downtown. Families can stop by to view the museum’s current artist in residence as he builds his new Crystal Cortex, a biomorphic sculpture made from over 14,000 latex balloons.

Various times from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 7 through Monday, Jan. 15. $Free-$14. thinkplaycreate.org Self Publishing with Maggie Espinosa at San Diego Writers Ink, 2730 Historic Decatur Road, Barracks 16, Suite 202 and 204, Point Loma. The local travel writer will teach patrons how to get their work published, as well as what it takes to publish their own work and market it. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 7. $45-$54. sandiegowriters.org

@SDCITYBEAT

@SDCityBeat

january 3, 2018 · San Diego CityBeat · 15

CULTURE | VOICES

RACHEL MICHELLE FERNANDES

THANK YOU FOR

STARING

Art-topia, Part 3: Everyone’s Business

I

f I were to start a cult, it would be The Cult of Talking to Strangers. Nothing compares to the things one can glean from total strangers and their off-the-cuff tales of trial and triumph. I’ve found that the most genuine of connections can be formed when sitting on a park bench or train seat.

While sipping coffee with my dog at my side at an outdoor cafe, or even meandering through a public park. These connections are made all the sweeter by their spontaneity.

In short, being up in everyone’s business is dope (as long as it’s consensual of course).

Perhaps this is why I’m being so readily sucked into the cult of urbanism and placemaking. It’s a pretty sexy idea that my big mouth and nosy personality could somehow become welcomed assets for cultivating hubs of interaction in this sea of isolating sprawl.

The mother of modern urbanism and champion of placemaking, Jane Jacobs (who I mentioned in more detail in Arttopia, Part 1), once said: “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.”

This is a philosophy clearly shared by Beryl Forman of the El Cajon Boulevard Business Improvement Association. CityBeat has covered Forman’s efforts over the last few years and I finally got to meet her at the Bread & Salt talk on vanishing art spaces where she was a panelist. What stood out to me about her is her confidence when it comes to the notion of making small but swift changes to neighborhoods—turning them into cultural, creative hot spots by involving local businesses.

“In San Diego in the last 5 to 15 years, the overall change has been around the local business economy,” notes Forman. “The real transformation is that these networks of neighborhoods are being connected by more small business activity.”

Accompanied by a thriving local economy, this interconnection of neighborhoods can also lend a sense of living in a real city, rather than a collection of suburbs and shopping malls linked by freeways.

It’s also how a thriving arts community can continue to grow.

“Say 20, 30 years ago on El Cajon Blvd, there was no public seating, there weren’t so many businesses that were even getting anyone from a few blocks away to come here,” adds Forman. “With the help of small business in placemaking and them wanting to nurture and create more public spaces, you have more people thinking about it to the point that action happens.”

The action she speaks of may seem humble—such

as the parklet outside of Mama’s Bakery & Lebanese Deli, the addition of murals and DIY planters made of used tires in the alley behind Tiger!Tiger!, or the painting of a corner parking lot and stringing up of lights to make space for a monthly outdoor market— but the effect is tangibly important. When walking around these areas there’s not only a feeling of beautification, but it also gives the space a sense of welcoming. A permissive environment to gather and not feel obligated to spend a lot of money in order to do so.

It all harkens back to the idea of “third spaces”— that is, the spaces one occupies when not at home, at work or trapped in a car—or, as I like to call them, safe talking-to-stranger-zones. Inexpensive third spaces such as barbershops, pool/beer halls and cafes have historically been enablers of social change.

Places where people can freely talk, exchange ideas and make plans to share resources. This is also called social capital.

When it comes to the arts, social capital is everything.

Small businesses willing to share and transform their spaces for the purpose of exhibition is a huge piece of the puzzle.

Take The Rose Wine Bar in South Park, for example. By opening up its adjacent event space as an art gallery, the small business is turning a private space into a public one and making a difference for emerging artists at the same time.

“It’s a great way to show work,” says artist, musician and longtime San Diego resident Chris Wassel, who is about to have his first solo show at The Rose, opening on Jan. 12th. “These kinds of venues are really great for artists. Galleries can drive the price of your work up, but they take a lot too. In these smaller venues, it’s nice because oftentimes they don’t even want any money. It draws more people into their business and it feels like a natural way to progress as an artist.”

This kind of symbiotic, win-win type of relationship is what it’s all about in my book. If we as a city could couple these relationships with rent stabilization efforts and/or make it easier for low income folks (like artists) to obtain property, who knows, we could even have a real world class art-topia on our hands. This prospect is what reinforces my talkingto-strangers obsession. If you see me in the streets, come say hello. We can talk about how to help Beryl Forman in her next pursuit: fast tracking city permits to make placemaking easier throughout San Diego.

When it comes to the arts, social capital is everything.

16 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JANUARY 3, 2018

Thank You For Staring appears every other week.

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january 3, 2018 · San Diego CityBeat · 17

CULTURE | FILM

Looking ahead

The Commuter

Anticipating 11 new films heading into the New Year

by Glenn Heath Jr.

I

t’s been a long year. In Game of Thrones terms, winter has most certainly come, leaving many important moral and political questions to consider. Can Trump sink any lower? Is our American democracy in danger of being compromised? Will the Kardashians ever go away? Hopefully, the worst is behind us and 2017 will not become the proverbial frying pan to 2018’s fire.

In the meantime, nothing squashes rational fear of nuclear annihilation and fiscal uncertainty like some exciting cinema-related anticipation. Looking ahead through April, there are more than a few upcoming film releases worthy of your attention and consideration (Phantom Thread, The Post and Paddington 2 have been purposefully omitted because each will garner reviews from yours truly in the following weeks).

The Commuter (Jan. 12): Director Jaume ColletSerra (last seen terrorizing Blake Lively with a shark in The Shallows) returns with another revisionist Hitchcockian sprint starring favorite leading man Liam Neeson. Their latest slippery genre tale looks like a stylish exercise in emotional volatility and vehicular mayhem (à la Non-Stop), this time set almost entirely on a moving New York City light rail train. The close confines and temporal anxiety should provide a perfect breeding ground for narrative misdirection.

Proud Mary (Jan. 12): Taraji P. Henson deserves the acclaim for spitting venom in Empire and dropping wisdom in Hidden Figures. But those who remember her back from the Hustle & Flow days know she’s capable of being a bona fide complex badass. Hopefully, this throwback exploitation action joint about a rogue assassin looking for revenge gives Henson the starring role she deserves. The bad news is director Babak Najafi’s previous work (London Has Fallen, Easy Money) leaves much to be desired in the coherence department.

Black Panther (Feb. 16): For the most part, Marvel superhero films are tedium incarnate, not to mention heavily Caucasian. Director Ryan Coogler, who breathed new life into the Rocky franchise with Creed, looks to buck that trend with this ambitious origin story about the agile Wakandan prince (Chadwick Boseman) who must protect his technologically advanced African nation from terrorists led by a dangerous subversive (Michael B. Jordan).

18 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JANUARY 3, 2018

Annihilation (Feb. 28): Natalie Portman and Tessa Thompson star as scientists leading an expedition into an area where the laws of nature are turned upside down. From the trailers, Alex Garland’s sci-fi opus looks like a visually stunning and unapologetically intellectual follow-up to his Ex Machina. Early test screenings apparently left audiences dumbfounded and one unthinking executive scrambling to approve plot altering reshoots. Thankfully, forward producer Scott Rudin fought to keep the film’s creative integrity intact.

A Wrinkle in Time (March 9): All hail Ava DuVernay! The brilliant activist filmmaker of Selma and 13th adapts Madeleine L’Engle’s beloved fantasy novel for the big screen. Lush imagery, empowering themes and diverse casting make this coming-of-age story about a young girl traversing the cosmos in search of her scientist father one of this year’s most exciting big-budget entries. Side note: check out the beautiful Time magazine cover promoting the film.

Isle of Dogs (March 23): Wes Anderson returns to the magical world of stop motion animation after his 2007 masterpiece Fantastic Mr. Fox. Here, the animal kingdom is once again his focus with this whimsical story of a young boy in search of his missing canine off the coast of Japan. Endless ironic/cute/earnest possibilities exist with this one, and a veritable who’s who of talent has been lined up to voice the pups: Bryan Cranston, Tilda Swinton, Greta Gerwig, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Jeff Goldblum and Harvey Keitel to name a few.

Unsane (March 23): It’s been nearly eight years since director Steven Soderbergh went full experimental with The Girlfriend Experience. His next effort looks to be just that as well, as it’s a low budget horror film shot entirely with an iPhone. Claire Foy (Netflix’s The Queen) stars as a disturbed woman involuntarily committed to an asylum where she begins to question whether her surroundings are real.

Rounding out the cast are Juno Temple and Amy Irving in what looks to be an idiosyncratic riff on the classic psychodrama.

FILM CONTINUED ON PAGE 19 @SDCITYBEAT

CULTURE | FILM

Isle of Dogs

FILM CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18 Ready Player One (March 30): Steven Spielberg has never met a big idea he couldn’t make bigger.

Here, the director of Jaws and Raiders of the Lost Ark goes for broke in this gigantic adaption of Ernest Cline’s novel about a virtual reality world in creative upheaval. Tye Sheridan, the excellent young actor who previously starred in The Tree of Life and Joe, leads the interactive charge as the gamer that could end up saving the world. Look for plenty of meta-Easter eggs referencing icons of ‘80s nostalgia.

turns to the American heartland where a stubborn young cowboy must come to grips with his masculine identity after a near fatal head injury. It will be fascinating to see how this talented filmmaker expands her interest in the cycles of western manhood.

Film reviews run weekly.

Write to glennh@sdcitybeat.com

OPENING

Lean on Pete (March 30): Garnering glowing reviews after its premiere at the 2017 Venice Film Festival, this tender character study revolves around the experiences of a teenager (Travis Fimmel) who spends his summer training and befriending a horse.

But this won’t be your typical tearjerker; director Andrew Haigh has skillfully and frankly subverted melodrama tropes in his previous films Weekend and 45 Years. This one also co-stars Steve Buscemi and Chloë Sevigny.

I, Tonya: Margot Robbie plays disgraced Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding in this nasty biopic that explores her brutally dysfunctional relationship with mother LaVona Golden (Allison Janney). Opens Friday, Jan. 5, at Angelika Carmel Mountain Film Center.

You Were Never Really Here (April 6): Directing only her fourth feature in nearly two decades, Scottish auteur Lynne Ramsay conducts a symphony of art film mayhem with this dream-like descent into the New York City underworld. Joaquin Phoenix’s bearded killer-for-hire does his worst to rescue a politician’s daughter from becoming another victim of sex trafficking. Early word out of Cannes suggests that this elliptical, dreamy and brutally violent film will be highly divisive.

The Hangover: Four friends experience a series of wild experiences while visiting Las Vegas for a bachelor party. Screens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 3, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma.

The Rider (April 13): Chloé Zhao’s Songs My Brothers Taught Me, a sobering social drama set on a Native American reservation, was one of 2015’s best debuts. The Chinese director’s sophomore effort re-

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Insidious: The Last Key: Determined to beat this horror franchise to death, filmmaker Adam Robitel unleashes the third installment about a deadly paranormal force that just can’t stop haunting people.

ONE TIME ONLY

Monty Python and the Holy Grail: John Cleese, Terry Jones and the Flying Circus gang skewer the King Arthur legend with this hilarious, low-budget satire. Screens at 11:55 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6, and 11 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 7, at the Ken Cinema.

This is the End: Meta goes biblical in this comedy where Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel play themselves trying to survive the apocalypse, as well as James Franco’s ego. Screens at 8 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 10, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma.

For complete movie listings,

visit Film at sdcitybeat.com.

JANUARY 3, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 19

ALFONSO DE ALBA

MUSIC

Veronica May shares her experiences with mental illness in hopes of helping others

By JEFF TERICH

A

month after Veronica May began the process of making her new album Awakened, she was hit with a setback. The singer/songwriter experienced a manic episode, one of the products of living with bipolar 1 disorder. She was taken to the hospital, and while she says the recuperation time wasn’t as bad as what she had experienced when she was younger, it still took her two months to fully return to being, as she puts it, “totally steady.”

Bipolar 1—which is characterized by more intense manic episodes than bipolar 2—has been a major part of most of Veronica May’s adult life. She says the first episode in her mid-twenties was a life-changing event, and has spent much of her time after that not only learning more about mental illness in order to persist, but also as a means of helping others. It’s an intimate topic to discuss, and for years mental illness has been treated SHARISSE COULTER

Jan. 10 • Soda Bar veronicamay.com

as taboo. May, however, has made it a key part of her own identity as a musician and advocate, having written songs about her own experiences as well as blogging about mental health on her website. So anyone

who listens to her music is getting to know Veronica May, unfiltered.

“I share it,” she says over a late breakfast in North Park. “I share it because I’m a mental health advocate too. I talk about it in schools. People will ask, ‘Bipolar 1—what’s the difference?’ People don’t really know the difference. I didn’t. I learned about it in school, and still didn’t really know. People have started dialoguing with me, and people have gotten diagnoses because of me.

Why are we avoiding talking about it? I talk about it at every show. And someone at every show will come up to me and talk about depression or something like that.”

Helping others is a major part of what drives Veronica May. She’s been a performer since college, having recorded her solo debut 10 years ago, as well as having performed as half of the duo The Lovebirds. Yet much of her career has been in music therapy. She’s seen rhythm and melody become effective means of helping people afflicted with everything from suffering a stroke to addiction. She’s also worked at Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls, where she helped empower young girls through music. And though she’s recently had to step away from doing music therapy full time, that doesn’t mean she’s not still helping people.

Living with and overcoming the difficulties of mental illness is central to May’s new album, Awakened. In songs such as the stormy opening track “Flow,” the meditative “Tides” and nine-minute closer “How Far I’ve Come,” May offers an autobiographical perspective that shines a light on her experience from different angles. And the album’s cover photo even tells a story: It was shot where May had her first manic episode in her twenties.

“The front cover is the alley where they found me the first time,” she says. “I really wanted this album to showcase the idea of what mental illness is. I don’t know what the next album is going to be about, but this album has been a massive opportunity for me to talk to people about mental illness. That’s the whole point as a musician for me, to move and inspire in that way. That’s my mission and my purpose that I create for myself.”

Though the songs on Awakened tell May’s story, it’s not a concept album in the traditional sense. There’s not a sequential narrative, nor were all the songs written in the same time period—some even date back

20 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JANUARY 3, 2018

Veronica May as far as a decade ago. Yet it is a uniquely structured album, half composed of fullband blues-rock arrangements—featuring guitarist Jeff Berkley, bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer Josh Hermsmeier—and half composed of stripped-down, mostly solo acoustic performances. Within these extremes, May draws parallels to living with bipolar 1, though it’s about more than that.

“The main thread on this album is that I’ve finally gotten to the place in my life where I have some ownership,” she says. “And it’s about hope and about pushing through, and about love. I do touch upon the fact that yeah, this is what depression felt like to me.

But all those things go back to knowing that it’ll be OK. And there are also those songs about falling in love with a girl. The muse— those things happen too.”

Veronica May may no longer be working full-time in a music therapy capacity, but the demands of performing have kept her busy. Earlier this year, she took part in a triple-release party with collaborator Jeff Berkley and fellow singer/songwriter Shawn

Rohlf. And on Jan. 26, she’s having another release party for two videos for the songs “Rise” and “Tides,” on the rooftop deck of the Alexan ALX apartment building in Downtown. Whatever she can do to be an advocate for mental health and bring about a change for the better in others’ lives, however, she’s doing it.

“There was a minute where I wasn’t doing therapy and lessons, and it felt like a piece was missing,” she says. “When I can give back, that piece comes back to me. I like knowing that I can give something to someone in a way other than just me performing. I don’t think I can separate the two.

Even if I was just touring, I’d be trying to fill that piece that needs to be filled. It feels good. It’s good to feel like you’re making a difference, or to get an email that’s like ‘I sent this song to my brother, he’s been in denial about this, I feel like it’s creating a dialogue’. That’s huge.”

Write to jefft@sdcitybeat.com and follow him on Twitter at @1000TimesJeff.

@SDCITYBEAT

@SDCityBeat

january 3, 2018 · San Diego CityBeat · 21

AFTER HOURS: ABOUT LAST NIGHT

MUSIC

NOTES FROM THE SMOKING PATIO LOCALS ONLY

charge of operational and maintenance duties. Mays, who has been running The Casbah for decades, won’t ity Heights venue Soda Bar is now in the hands be involved in the day-to-day operations of Soda Bar, of new ownership. Adam Cook and Cuong Nguy- but because both venues have already been working en, who have owned the bar since it opened together on presenting shows, Mays says that partnerin 2008, have sold it to a partnership ship will only grow closer going forward.

ERIN STEVENSON O’CONNOR called Big Soda LLC, which includes tal“Looking back through the past four ent buyer Cory Stier, Casbah owner Tim years, we had done 30 to 40 shows a year Mays, Soda Bar bar manager Angie Olltogether,” Mays says. “It just seemed man and musician/recording engineer like a natural thing to join forces.”

Andrew Montoya. The transfer of ownBy and large, the venue will remain ership came about when the previous the same as it has been, with no major owners had negotiated an early end of changes to the look or the layout of the their lease, which opened up an opporbar. Yet Stier and Mays say that there tunity for the new buyers. will be some minor tweaks going for“They said they wanted to sell the ward, whenever they have an opportuSoda Bar nity to do it. place and that they had worked out a deal with the landlord,” says Stier. “And they “We’re going to remove the pole” in ended up giving me first right of refusal within a reason- front of the stage, says Mays. “We’re gonna paint. Just able amount of time. Angie and I decided to buy it, but some cosmetic stuff.” the first person we approached to partner with was Tim.” “There will be some slight changes,” Stier adds.

The new team will mostly be handling the same “We’re doing a show every night for most of the year. So duties they did before the transfer of ownership. Sti- it’s not like there’s a lot of time to do any construction.” er will retain his role as talent buyer and Ollman will

—Jeff Terich continue to manage the bar, while Montoya will be in

C

MUSIC RESOLUTIONS FOR 2018

L

ast year I made a set of New Year’s resolutions for the local music scene, some of which never really came to pass (see: cover bands). I also realize that it’s just as much my own responsibility to improve my own habits or outlook for the coming year, so with that in mind, I have set my own goals for the coming year as a critic and consumer of local music.

Step Outside My Comfort Zone: San Diego’s music scene caters first and foremost to indie rock bands, and that’s fine. And while that’s not where my interests end (or necessarily begin), I recognize that I don’t always get around to hearing artists from as many genres as I’d like to. So my goal for the coming year is to check out some sounds I might be overlooking. It has come to my attention I missed a lot of funk this year.

Listen Beyond the Border: San Diego is a unique city in that it borders an even bigger international

22 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JANUARY 3, 2018

hub with a character of its own. Tijuana (and by extension most of northern Baja) has seen a lot of incredible cultural growth over the past decade or so, and that includes a hell of a lot of great music. I’ve recently discovered some new favorites such as psychedelic hardcore group xHendrix, sludge metal duo Owain and the politically-charged post-punk group HUGO OLVERA Miscegenation and More (which includes members from both sides of the border), and I’m looking forward to digging deeper.

Give More Bands a Second Chance: Sometimes I see a band and it seems like they don’t quite have their sound figured out yet or, for that matter, their live show. It takes time. And I xHendrix get impatient. But in 2018 I resolve to give more artists a second chance to impress me. I’ve been caught by surprise before.

See More Shows in 2018: I saw a lot of live music in 2017, but I can always see more.

—Jeff Terich

Like a virgin “As a bartender, I had always thought the nonalcoholic [cocktail] thing was lame,” says Leigh Lacap, who has worked at Sycamore Den, Ironside and Coin-Op. His opinion shifted last year, however, when he became bar manager at Campfire (2725 State St.) where both the general manager and chef de cuisine refrain from drinking alcohol.

“Hearing their stories and what they decided to change about their lives was really, really heavy,” he says. “I realized that just because I’m a bartender doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t try to include everybody.”

As a result, Lacap debuted a “mocktail” menu at Campfire, and he isn’t alone in this move away from alcohol. Polite Provisions has always offered virgin cocktails on its menu. The Lion’s Share has a few as well, and Jesse Ross of Sycamore Den says their menu may be next. In November, Thrillist went so far as to dub 2018 the year of virgin craft cocktails. Lacap believes the trend originates from an overall prioritization of health within the industry.

“At all the seminars, events and the industry happenings that go on in the country, there’s been a lot more attention to well-being,” he says of the past few years. “There’s a lot of bartender yoga and working out. Even some of the meetings in San Diego are followed by some TORREY BAILEY sort of physical activity.”

There’s also an increase in consumer demand for virgin cocktails.

“It’s kind of a social thing to have a drink in your hand,” says Jacob Fisher, bar manager at The Bar at Moniker General (2860 Sims Road), which also recently revealed a mocktail menu.

Jacob Fisher, Bar Manager at “We have a drink that’s The Bar at Moniker General going to look just like a cocktail, and your friends are never going to know that it’s not if you don’t want them to.”

He enjoys offering drinks with syrups and ingredients made inhouse, instead of suggesting a soda water with lime or a coke. Both Fisher and Lacap are finding the mocktails popular among women who are pregnant, as well as with people who are sober or don’t want one more drink.

“There’s still the idea of sober shaming where you make fun of somebody for not drinking. That really shouldn’t be our attitude toward sobriety or not wanting to have alcohol at the moment,” says Lacap. “If having a nonalcoholic section of the menu can help provide somebody a little more safety to say ‘I’m good’... that’s a huge win for us.”

While mocktails might do well in craft cocktail bars, Fisher doesn’t predict virgin drinks to catch on in clubs.

“I don’t think everyone is going to jump on board, but for anyone who is trying to reach more than one audience, it’s a no brainer.”

—Torrey Bailey

@SDCITYBEAT

MUSIC

JEFF TERICH

IF I WERE U A music insider’s weekly agenda WEDNESDAY, JAN. 3

PLAN A: Monarch, Color, Age, Operation Mindblow Lightshow, DJ Lexicon Devil @ The Casbah. Now that 2018 is here and everyone’s gotten a good night’s sleep, it’s time to go see some metal. Monarch have been laying down the riffs in San Diego for 10 years and they kick ass. PLAN B: Gone Baby Gone, Shades McCool, Strange Ages @ Soda Bar. For a somewhat less heavy though still hard-rocking option for a local-band lineup, check out this lineup of guitar slingers, including longtime CityBeat favorites Shades McCool. No burritos will be defaced for the sake of this show. BACKUP PLAN: AJ Croce, Lisa Sanders @ Belly Up Tavern.

THURSDAY, JAN. 4

For some homegrown originals, catch indie rock outfit Mrs. Magician, who always come prepared with a set list full of catchy, upbeat tunes.

SUNDAY, JAN. 7

PLAN A: WENS, Shydoll, Somme @ Soda Bar. WENS is a Los Angeles-based singer with a rich, pop-R&B sound. But I’m even more interested in the return of Shydoll, formerly known as Bakkuda. She has an atmospheric, beat-driven sound that reminds me a little of FKA twigs. PLAN B: The Paladins, Nick Estrin and the Nightcats @ Belly Up Tavern. Rockabilly old-schoolers The Paladins have been at it for longer than most.

Catch up on a band with one of the longest streaks in town.

GL ASKEW II

PLAN A: T.S.O.L., Love Canal, Authentic Sellout, Audio Addiction @ The Casbah.

One of my highlights of last year was hearing CityBeat web editor Ryan Bradford sing T.S.O.L.’s “Code Blue” (the one about necrophilia) at karaoke, so I’m looking forward to an encore performance when these old school punks are in town. PLAN B: Collapsing Scenery, Ese & Zain, Mystery Cave, DJs Brandy Bell, Carrie Gillespie Feller @ Blonde. For those looking to hear some good dance music early on in the year, Collapsing Scenery have the beats and atmospheric sounds to get that going. The L.A. group has a weird, sort of dark, yet catchy synth-pop thing going on and I dig it.

FRIDAY, JAN. 5

PLAN A: DJ Quik, Warren G @ House of Blues. It’s taken a few decades for people to recognize that DJ Quik has one of the strongest discographies in hip-hop, but at least word finally got around. He’s basically the King of G-funk. No foolin’. PLAN B: Deadbolt, The Little Richards, The Bassics @ The Casbah. Alternately, a trio of garagey local bands might be a good way to infuse some energy into 2018. Just make sure to get there early enough for The Bassics, who are always super fun. BACKUP PLAN: ‘Hip Hop vs. Punk Rock’ w/ Make Out Boys, 18 Scales, Stuntdouble & Tenshun, Remain in Vain @ Tower Bar.

SATURDAY, JAN. 6

PLAN A: Petty—A Tribute to Benefit Musicares @ The Casbah. I’ve said my piece about the growth of cover and tribute bands in San Diego, but there are always exceptions. Like this show, which features countless members of the local music community playing Tom Petty covers to raise money for MusiCares. Everybody wins. PLAN B: Mrs. Magician, Crutch, Teach Me @ Soda Bar.

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DJ Quik

MONDAY, JAN. 8

PLAN A: Pumphouse, Pocket Hole, Deep Yogurt @ Soda Bar. Make a New Year’s resolution to seek out some new local bands every week—it’s fun and you’ll discover some new favorites like, perhaps, Pumphouse, a punk band with a saxophonist. It’s an underrated combination.

TUESDAY, JAN. 9

PLAN A: Suzanne Santo, Mapache @ The Casbah. Suzanne Santo is a singer/songwriter best known for being a member of the country-rock band Honeyhoney, though her solo material is more compelling to me. It’s artful, haunting folk with lush arrangements and wonderful melodies. BACKUP PLAN: Naivete @ Soda Bar.

JANUARY 3, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 23

MUSIC

CONCERTS HOT! NEW! FRESH!

Birdy Bardot (Soda Bar, 2/2), Kristin Chenoweth (Music Box, 2/2), Dua Lipa (HOB, 2/10), Keys N Krates (HOB, 2/22), Dengue Fever (Music Box, 2/28), New Politics (HOB, 3/8), A$AP Ferg (HOB, 3/15), Missio (HOB, 3/29), Ty Dolla$ign (HOB, 4/5), Big K.R.I.T. (Music Box, 4/20), Bunbury (HOB, 4/29).

CANCELED Coco Columbia (Soda Bar, 1/3).

GET YER TICKETS K. Flay (Observatory, 1/13), Luna (Casbah, 1/14), Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (HOB, 1/15), Kris Kristofferson (BUT, 1/15), Josh Ritter (BUT, 1/16), Burt Bacharach (BUT, 1/17), Big Boi (Observatory, 1/18), Beat Farmers Hootenanny (BUT, 1/20), Wolf Parade (Observatory, 1/23), Ty Segall (BUT, 1/24), DVSN (Observatory, 1/29), Passion Pit (Observatory, 2/1), Fetty Wap (HOB, 2/3), Phoebe Bridgers (Soda Bar, 2/5), Allah-Las (BUT, 2/8), Ja Rule and Ashanti (Observatory, 2/9), Miranda Lambert (Viejas Arena, 2/15), Mary Timony plays Helium (Casbah, 2/15), Dan Auerbach (Observatory, 2/19), Superchunk (Casbah, 2/21), Missing Persons (Casbah, 2/23), Demi Lovato, DJ Khaled (Viejas Arena, 2/26), Margo

Price (BUT, 3/2), Gogol Bordello (Observatory, 3/3), 311 (HOB, 3/5), Antibalas (BUT, 3/8), American Nightmare (Brick by Brick, 3/9), Talib Kweli (Music Box, 3/9), Wolves in the Throne Room (Brick by Brick, 3/11), Flogging Molly (Observatory, 3/14), Lucy Dacus (Casbah, 3/21), George Clinton (HOB, 3/28), Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (HOB, 3/31), The Soft Moon (Casbah, 4/14), Dashboard Confessional (HOB 4/18), Los Lonely Boys (BUT, 4/22), ‘Welcome to Night Vale’ (Observatory, 4/25), Art Garfunkel (Balboa Theatre, 4/27), Baths (BUT, 5/3), Keb’ Mo’ (BUT, 5/6-7), Weird Al Yankovic (Humphreys, 5/12), Franz Ferdinand (Observatory, 5/13), Nada Surf (BUT, 5/14), Earth, Wind and Fire (Harrah’s SoCal, 5/18), Madeleine Peyroux (BUT, 5/28), Kesha, Macklemore (Mattress Firm, 6/12), Weezer, The Pixies (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 8/11), Charlie Puth (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 8/20).

JANUARY WEDNESDAY, JAN. 3 Monarch at The Casbah. A.J. Croce at Belly Up Tavern. Gone Baby Gone at Soda Bar.

THURSDAY, JAN. 4 T.S.O.L. at The Casbah. Alika at Belly Up Tavern. Major Threat at Soda Bar.

FRIDAY, JAN. 5 DJ Quik, Warren G at House of Blues.

Alice Unchained at Music Box. Black Sabbitch at Soda Bar. Deadbolt at The Casbah.

24 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JANUARY 3, 2018

SATURDAY, JAN. 6 Willie Nelson at Harrah’s Resort. Sweet and Tender Hooligans at Observatory North Park. Petty – A Tribute to Tom Petty at The Casbah. The Winehouse Experience at Music Box. The Stranger at Belly Up Tavern. Damage Inc. at House of Blues. Mrs. Magician at Soda Bar.

SUNDAY, JAN. 7 The Paladins at Belly Up Tavern. WENS at Soda Bar. AJ Froman at The Casbah.

MONDAY, JAN. 8 Milky Chance at House of Blues. Pumphouse at Soda Bar.

TUESDAY, JAN. 9 Suzanne Santo at The Casbah. David Lindley at Belly Up Tavern. Naivete at Soda Bar.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 10 Veronica May at Soda Bar. The Oxen at The Casbah.

THURSDAY, JAN. 11 Capitol Steps at Spreckels Theatre.

TV Girl at Soda Bar. Black Marble at SPACE. White Wizzard at Brick by Brick.

Egyptian Acid Rock at The Casbah.

Steel Panther at House of Blues.

FRIDAY, JAN. 12 Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe at Belly Up Tavern. Dirty Sweet at The Casbah.

Sights and Sages at Soda Bar.

SATURDAY, JAN. 13 K. Flay at Observatory North Park. Red Aunts at The Casbah. The Generators at Soda Bar. Glass Spells at SPACE. Tommy Castro and the Painkillers at Belly Up Tavern. Fates Warning at Brick

by Brick.

SUNDAY, JAN. 14 Luna at The Casbah. Pkew Pkew Pkew at Soda Bar. Demun Jones at Brick by Brick.

MONDAY, JAN. 15 Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at House of Blues. Kris Kristofferson at Belly Up Tavern (sold out).

TUESDAY, JAN. 16 Josh Ritter at Belly Up Tavern. Buck-ONine at The Casbah. Naivete at Soda Bar.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 17 Yung Lean at Observatory North Park.

The Flesh Eaters at The Casbah. Burt Bacharach at Belly Up Tavern.

THURSDAY, JAN. 18 Big Boi at Observatory North Park. Surfer Blood at The Casbah. Cold Showers at SPACE. Al Stewart at Belly Up Tavern (sold out). Slow Hollows at House of Blues.

FRIDAY, JAN. 19 The White Buffalo at Observatory North Park. The Magnificent at The Casbah.

Monte Pittman at Brick by Brick. Eukaryst at Soda Bar.

SATURDAY, JAN. 20 Pulley at Soda Bar. Beat Farmers Hootenanny at Belly Up Tavern. G3: Joe Satriani, John Petrucci, Phil Collen at Balboa Theatre. Ill Nicky at Music Box. Esham at Brick by Brick. Gods of Thunder at House of Blues.

SUNDAY, JAN. 21 Judas Priestess at Soda Bar. Body/ Head at The Casbah. Jo Koy at Copley Symphony Hall. Glaare at Blonde.

MONDAY, JAN. 22 Willy Tea Taylor at Soda Bar. Quel Bordel at The Casbah.

TUESDAY, JAN. 23 Wolf Parade, Charly Bliss at Observatory North Park. The Toasters at Soda Bar. Pond at The Casbah. John Hiatt and the Goners at Belly Up Tavern (sold out).

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 24 Ty Segall at Belly Up Tavern. Jessica Lea Mayfield at The Casbah. August Burns Red at House of Blues. Spirit Award at Soda Bar.

THURSDAY, JAN. 25 Grace Mitchell at Soda Bar. The Deep Dark Woods at The Casbah. Skinlab at Brick by Brick. Part Time at Blonde. Hippo Campus at House of Blues.

FRIDAY, JAN. 26 Hammerfall at Brick by Brick. Demetri

MUSIC CONTINUED ON PAGE 25

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MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 24 Martin at Balboa Theatre. Rob Bell at Observatory North Park. Taken by Canadians at The Casbah. Zeros at Soda Bar.

SATURDAY, JAN. 27 Eric Johnson at House of Blues. Converge at Brick by Brick (sold out). St. Vincent at Observatory North Park (sold out).

Dariush at Balboa Theatre. Twin Ritual at Soda Bar.

SUNDAY, JAN. 28 Reverend Horton Heat at Observatory North Park. Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry at Music Box. Flamingosis at The Casbah. Piebald at Soda Bar.

MONDAY, JAN. 29 John Maus at Belly Up Tavern. DVSN at Observatory North Park. Pinback at The Casbah. The Lillingtons at Soda Bar.

TUESDAY, JAN. 30 Anti-Flag at SOMA. Pinback at The Casbah. The Killers at Valley View Casino Center.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 31 Tower of Power at Belly Up Tavern. Gilberto Santa Rosa at Music Box. Pinback at The Casbah. Prawn at Soda Bar.

FEBRUARY THURSDAY, FEB. 1 Steven Wright at Balboa Theatre. Passion Pit at Observatory North Park. La-

@SDCITYBEAT

dysmith Black Mambazo at Belly Up Tavern. The Stone Foxes at The Casbah.

Bad History Month at Soda Bar.

FRIDAY, FEB. 2 STRFKR at Observatory North Park. Wild Child at Belly Up Tavern. Exmag at The Casbah. Birdy Bardot at Soda Bar. Kristin Chenoweth at Music Box.

SATURDAY, FEB. 3 Fetty Wap at House of Blues. Lewis Black at Balboa Theatre. ALO at Belly Up Tavern. Belle Game at Soda Bar.

MONDAY, FEB. 5 Howard Jones at Belly Up Tavern. Phoebe Bridgers at Soda Bar.

TUESDAY, FEB. 6 Majid Jordan at Observatory North Park.

Kathryn Cloward at Belly Up Tavern.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 7 Lights at Observatory North Park. The Wind and the Wave at The Casbah.

Joey Cape at Soda Bar.

THURSDAY, FEB. 8 tobyMAC at Viejas Arena. Walk the Moon at House of Blues. Allah-Las at Belly Up Tavern.

FRIDAY, FEB. 9 Ja Rule and Ashanti at Observatory North Park.

SATURDAY, FEB. 10 Dua Lipa at House of Blues. Fu Manchu

at The Casbah. Stelouse at Soda Bar. Typhoon at Music Box.

SUNDAY, FEB. 11 Caifanes at Observatory (sold out). David Dondero at Soda Bar. Andres Lopez at House of Blues. The Phenomenauts at The Casbah.

TUESDAY, FEB. 13 Killswitch Engage, Anthrax at House of Blues.

rCLUBSr

710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave., Pacific Beach. Fri: Johnny Love, Tape Heads. Sat: Pyromania, Copy Cat Killers.

Air Conditioned Lounge, 4673 30th St., Normal Heights. Wed: ‘Hip Hop Wednesday’ w/ MC Kahlee. Thu: ‘Centerpiece’ w/ DJ Eliasar Gordillo. Sat: ‘Juicy’ w/ Mike Czech. Sun: ‘Chvrch’ w/ DJs Karma, Alice.

American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., Downtown. Thu: Drew Michael.

Fri: Drew Michael. Sat: Drew Michael.

The Bancroft, 9143 Campo Road, Spring Valley. Sat: Namazu, Beira, Fantasy Arcade. Sun: Blues Kitchen. Mon: Scenic Byway.

Bar Pink, 3829 30th St., North Park.

Thu: The Kabbs, Sixes, Hurricane Kate.

Fri: ‘First Friday’ w/ DJ Artistic. Sat: Slaughter Boys, Santa Ana Knights, Dead on the Wire, DJ Miggs.

Bang Bang, 526 Market St., Downtown.

Fri: Ardalan, Worthy. Sat: Late Night Jackin’.

Beaumont’s, 5665 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla. Thu: Mike Myrdal. Fri: dB Jukebox. Sat: Slower.

Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. Wed: AJ Croce, Lisa Sanders. Thu: Alika & Quinto Sol, SM Familia, DJ Stepwise. Fri: Ki, Los Beautiful Beast, Aviator Stash. Sat: The Stranger, Graceband. Sun: The Paladins, Nick Estrin and the Night Cats. Tue: David Lindley, Gregory Page.

Blonde, 1808 W. Washington St., Mission Hills. Wed: ‘Dance Klassique’ w/ DJs Joe Pea, Ryan Bauer, Gomez. Thu: Collapsing Scenery, Ese & Zain, Mystery Cave, DJs Brandy Bell, Carrie Gillespie Feller. Fri: ‘Dance From Above’. Sat: DJ Marko Darko. Sun: Caifanes Tribute.

Mon: Spanish Love Songs. Tue: ‘T is 4 Techno’.

Boar Cross’n, 390 Grand Ave., Carlsbad. Fri: ‘Club Musae’.

Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave., Bay Park. Sat: The Iron Maidens, Murder of Five, Rattz, Nightshadow, The Shield of Faith.

The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd., Middletown. Wed: Monarch, Color, Age, Operation Mindblow Lightshow, DJ Lexicon Devil. Thu: TSOL, Love Canal, Authentic Sellout, Audio Addiction. Fri: Deadbolt, The Little Richards, The Bassics. Sat: ‘Petty – A Tribute for MusiCares’. Sun: AJ Froman, Boychick, Color Til Monday. Mon: ‘David Bowie Birthday Bash’ w/ DJs Claire, Mr Mazee, Vaughn Avakian, Pat & Lety Beers.

Tue: Suzanne Santo, Mapache.

MUSIC CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

JANUARY 3, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 25

MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25

Lestat’s Coffee House, 3343 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Fri: Tommy Dahill, Tim Moran, Tom W.

Dirk’s Nightclub, 7662 Broadway, Lemon Grove. Fri: Pleazure Band. Sat: TNT.

Mc P’s Irish Pub, 1107 Orange Ave., Coronado. Wed: Goodall Boys. Thu: North Star. Fri: Ron’s Garage. Sat: Stilettos. Sun: Stilettos. Tue: Steve Brewer.

Dizzy’s, 4275 Mission Bay Drive, Downtown. Sat: The Matt Smith Neu Jazz Trio.

The Field Irish Pub, 544 Fifth Ave., Downtown. Wed: Fiore. Thu: Miss Demeanor. Fri: Chrome Domes. Sat: The Upshots. Sun: Todd Goodnough. Mon: Clint Westwood. Tue: Eric French.

Henry’s Pub, 618 Fifth Ave., Downtown.

Wed: Ride the Mule. Thu: DJ Yodah. Fri: ‘Good Times’. Sat: ‘Rock Star Saturday’.

Tue: Taco-Billy.

House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., Downtown. Fri: DJ Quik, Warren G. Sat: Damage Inc., Noise Pollution. Mon: Milky Chance, Lewis Capaldi. Tue: Robin Henkel.

Humphreys Backstage, 2241 Shelter Island Drive, Shelter Island. Wed: It’s Never 2L8. Thu: The Groove Squad. Fri: Liquid Blue, Sue Palmer. Sat: Viva Santana, Tradewinds. Sun: The Terribles, Jason Brown. Mon: Mercedes Moore.

Tue: Backwater Blues Band.

Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd., Middletown. Wed: Waiver Gang. Thu: Low Points, Vaginals, Body Worship, Chris Coroner. Fri: ‘Memories’. Sat: ‘Ascension’ w/ DJs Robin Roth, Ladynoir, Kaerie. Sun: ‘Bustin’ Over Percussion’.

Kensington Club, 4079 Adams Ave., Kensington. Fri: Punchcard, T.S. Leone, Broken Record, Hardly Human.

26 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JANUARY 3, 2018

Martinis Above Fourth, 3940 Fourth Ave., Hillcrest. Wed: Andy Anderson.

Fri: The Jesse Cantlay Band. Sat: Tori Roze and the Hot Mess. Sun: Ria Carey and Don L. Tue: ‘Miscast Revue 2018’.

The Merrow, 1271 University Ave., Hillcrest. Wed: The Serotonin Experiment, Kairoots, Heir Gloom. Thu: Winslow Ridge. Sat: ‘Bear Night’ w/ DJ Jon Williams. Sun: ‘The Playground’ w/ DJ Heather Hardcore. Tue: Noble War, Slum Summer.

Mr. Peabody’s, 136 Encinitas Blvd., Encinitas. Thu: Grand Canyon Sundown. Fri: The Night Howls. Sat: Miss Demeanor. Sun: Tony Ortega jazz jam.

Music Box, 1337 India St., Little Italy.

Fri: Oceans, A Perfect Tool, Smack This, Township Rebellion. Sat: The Winehouse Experience.

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

Sun: ‘Uptown Top Ranking’ w/ Tribe of Kings.

OMNIA Nightclub, 454 Sixth Ave., Downtown. Fri: Jack Novak. Sat: Coast Club.

Panama 66, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park. Wed: Gilbert Castellanos. Thu: Robert Dove. Sat: Sahara Grim Quartet.

Sun: Sue Palmer.

Parq, 615 Broadway, Downtown. Sat: Ikon.

Proud Mary’s, 5550 Kearny Mesa Road, Kearny Mesa. Wed: Lafayette.

Thu: Tomcat Courtney. Fri: Give Me Back My Wig. Sat: Blue Largo.

Til-Two Club, 4746 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Sat: Sameland, Midnight Track, Making Incredible Time. Sun: Pants Karaoke.

The Rail, 3796 Fifth Ave., Hillcrest. Fri: ‘Hip Hop Fridayz’. Sat: ‘Sabados en Fuego’ w/ DJs XP, KA, K-Swift. Mon: ‘Manic Monday’ w/ DJ Junior the Disco Punk.

Tin Roof, 401 G St., Downtown. Wed: Kenny and Deez. Thu: Evan Diamond Goldberg. Fri: Cassie B Band, Chad & Rosie. Sat: Coriander, Chad & Rosie.

Sun: Keep Your Soul.

Rich’s, 1051 University Ave., Hillcrest.

Wed: DJs Kiki, Kinky Loops. Thu: DJs Moniq, Mxyzliplix. Fri: DJs John Joseph, Moody Rudy. Sat: DJs K-Swift, Taj. Sun: Eureka O-Hara, DJ Drew G.

Tio Leo’s, 5302 Napa St., Bay Park.

Thu: The Stilettos. Fri: Nightshift. Sat: Full Strength Funk Band. Tue: Big Time Operator.

Riviera Supper Club, 7777 University Ave., La Mesa. Wed: ‘Boss Jazz’ w/ Jason Hanna. Thu: Swing Thing. Fri: Dom Katz. Sat: The Sleepwalkers.

Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Wed: Gone Baby Gone, Shades McCool, Strange Ages. Thu: Major Threat, Generator, Punk in Drublic. Fri: Black Sabbitch, Nebula Drag, Hot Mustard. Sat: Mrs. Magician, Crutch, Teach Me. Sun: WENS, Shydoll, Somme. Mon: Pumphouse, Pocket Hole, Deep Yogurt.

Tue: Naivete, 9 Theory, Love Glow, PK Boy. SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd., Midway. Sat: The Grinns, The Abstracts, Cardboard Boxer, Atomic 99, Be All End All, Blunites.

SPACE, 3519 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Sun: ‘Star Trek Trivia Tournament’.

Sycamore Den, 3391 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Wed: ‘Dreams’ w/ DJs Gabe Vega, Ikah Love. Sun: ‘Too Sad To Be Mad’ w/ Jason Stanley.

Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave., City Heights. Fri: ‘Hip Hop vs. Punk Rock’ w/ Make Out Boys, 18 Scales, Stuntdouble and Tenshun, Remain in Vain. Sat: Mochilero All Stars, Oceanside Sound System, Day Labor, The Skunkadelics, Privileged the Band. Mon: Infinite Crisis, Shred Bundy, Corpsemaker, King Battle.

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

Thu: ‘Boom Boxx Thursday’. Fri: DJ Kid Wonder. Sat: DJ Qenoe. Mon: ‘All That’ w/ DJ Joemama. Tue: Andrew Santino.

Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St., South Park. Thu: ‘Kiss and Make Up’ w/ DJs Jon Blaj, Kyle Badour. Fri: The Amandas, DJ Claire. Sat: ‘80s vs. 90s’ w/ DJs Gabe Vega, Saul Q. Mon: ‘Electric Relaxation’. Tue: ‘Videodrome’.

Winstons, 1921 Bacon St., Ocean Beach. Wed: Better Chemistry, DJ Carlos Culture. Thu: Jah Mel, SD All Star Massive, Tito Minott. Fri: DJ Williams’ Shots Fired. Sat: Ghost Party, Manganista, Action Andy and the Hi-Tones. Mon: Electric Waste Band. Tue: Shakedown String Band, Feathers and Lead.

@SDCITYBEAT

LAST WORDS | ADVICE

AMY ALKON

ADVICE

GODDESS

Alice In Wanderland

I follow you on Twitter, and I was disgusted to see your tweet about marriage, “No, humans aren’t naturally monogamous—which is why people say relationships ‘take work,’ while you never hear anybody talking about what a coal mine an affair can be.” If a person finds fidelity so challenging, they should stay single.

—Ethical Married Person

Reality has this bad habit of being kind of a bummer. So, sure, that person you married all those years ago still has the capacity to surprise you with crazy new positions in bed—but typically they’re yogi-like contortions they use to pick dead skin off the bottoms of their feet.

That line you quote, “relationships ‘take work,’ while you never hear… what a coal mine an affair can be,” is actually from one of my old columns. I tweeted it along with this advice: “Don’t just assume you & romantic partner (will) stay monogamous. Maybe discuss how, exactly, you’ll go about that.”

From where I sit—opening lots of letters and email from cheaters and the cheated upon— this is simply good, practical marriage- (and relationship-) preserving advice. But from some of the responses on Twitter, you’d think I’d suggested braising the family dog and serving him on a bed of greens with a “tennis ball” of candied yams.

Though some men and women on Twitter merely questioned my take, interestingly, the enraged responses (ranging from impersonally rabid to denigratingly hateful) came entirely from men. Granted, this may just have been due to chance (who was shirking work on Twitter just then), or it may reflect research on sex differences that suggests men tend to be more comfortable engaging in direct conflict.

However, though evolutionary psychologist David Buss, among others, finds that both men and women are deeply upset by infidelity—or the mere prospect of it—there seems to be a sex difference in who is more likely to go absolutely berserko over it. Buss, looking out over the anthropological literature, observes: “In cultures the world over, men find the thought of their partner having sexual intercourse with other men intolerable. Suspicion or detection of infidelity causes many men to lash out in furious anger rarely seen in other contexts.”

Evolutionary psychologists have speculated that the fierceness of male sexual jealousy may be an evolved adaptation to combat the uniquely male problem of “paternity uncertainty”—basically the

“who actually is your daddy?” question. A woman, of course, knows that the tiny human who’s spent a good part of nine months sucker-punching her in the gut is hers. However, our male ancestors lacked access to 23andMe mail-in DNA tests. So male emotions seem to have evolved to act as an alarm system, goading men to protect themselves (like with a scary expression of anger to forewarn their partner), lest they be snookered into raising another man’s child.

The problem with the enraged response is that it kicks our brain into energy conservation mode—shunting blood flow away from our higher-reasoning department and toward our arms and legs and organs needed for “fight or flight.” So the mere mention of cheating—even coupled with suggestions for how to prevent it—kills any possibility of reasoned thinking. In our dumbed-down enraged state, all we’ve got is the kneejerk response: “I am so totally moral, and so is my wife, and anyone who needs to discuss how they’ll stay monogamous is the Whore of Babylon!”

Unfortunately, aggressive denial of reality is particularly unhelpful for infidelity prevention. It’s especially unhelpful when it’s coupled with feelings of moral superiority. Organizational behaviorist Dolly Chugh and her colleagues find that people’s view of themselves as “moral, competent, and deserving… obstructs their ability” to make ethical decisions under pressure.

So, as the late infidelity researcher Peggy Vaughan advised, “a couple’s best hope for monogamy lies in rejecting the idea that they can assume monogamy without discussing the issue.” They should instead admit that “attractions to others are likely… no matter how much they love each other” and “engage in ongoing honest communication about the reality of the temptations and how to avoid the consequences of acting on those temptations.”

For example: What’s the plan if, say, marital sex gets a little sparse? If the marriage hits a rough patch?

If that hot co-worker starts hitting on you when you’re drunk and a little unhappy while on a business trip?

Maybe it seems depressing to discuss this stuff. However, a wedding ring is not an electrified fence. Accepting that is probably your best bet for avoiding emotional devastation and divorce when, 25 years in, a “jug of wine, a loaf of bread, and thou” still keeps the old spark alive in bed—but only when supplemented with a well-charged cordless cattle prod.

The mere mention of cheating—even coupled with suggestions for how to prevent it—kills any possibility of reasoned thinking.

@SDCITYBEAT

(c)2017, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved. Got a problem?

Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405, or e-mail AdviceAmy@aol.com (advicegoddess.com).

JANUARY 3, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 27