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2 · San Diego CityBeat · January 7, 2015

Eyes on these guys Two things about the headline of this editorial: to run for mayor, not being saddled with the extra “Guys” is meant not as “men” but, rather, in the “Hey, burden of council leadership will give him more you guys!” gender-non-specific sense, OK? Perhaps breathing room to campaign. His other possibility more importantly, “guys” rhymes with “eyes.” “Men is to assume the position of his former employer, and women” doesn’t. Neither does “guys and gals.”

Congressmember Susan Davis.

You’ll see when you read further that it must be Susan Davis: For years, politics observers in gender-non-specific. The following list of people to San Diego wondered when Davis would retire from watch in San Diego politics in 2015 is loaded with Congress and open the door for Gloria to take over. women—more than half of the powerful people That was always assumed to be Gloria’s move; that here carry two X chromosomes. Fantastic! is, before Bob Filner unwittingly boosted Gloria onto Anyhoo, you’ll also see that much of what’s disa perch of prominence. Will 2015 be the year when cussed below is about 2016, but a lot of the preparaDavis announces that she won’t seek another term? tion for that big election year—the jockeying and the Toni Atkins: She’s someone to watch simply by fur-flying—will occur in 2015. Here’s our rundown: virtue of being the speaker of the state Assembly— Kevin Faulconer: On a broad scale, 2015 is the she’s among the most powerful people in California. year when the mayor of San Diego will have to But she’s termed out of office after 2016, and there’s choose his path to reelection in 2016. He’s already no clear path to another post. Talk of Atkins runforsaken the social-justice left with his stances on ning for San Diego mayor in 2016 seems to be dying issues such as the minimum wage and Barrio Lodown, and her route to the state Senate is currently gan’s community plan. To a large degree, his specifBlocked (by Marty Block, you see). Congress (see David Rolland ic path will depend on his opponent, “Susan Davis” above)? Some statewide and that will be determined this year. office? Atkins’ next move should be No matter who that turns out to be, clearer by mid-year.

Faulconer has the massive advantages Sherri Lightner: Democratic City of incumbency, an air of moderation, Councilmember Lightner said yes a cautious (to a fault) public approach when asked by Republicans late last and a calm demeanor, which San Diego year if she’d like to be council presivoters seem to like. He’s not one who’s dent. Gloria’s shoes are large; how vulnerable to sudden gaffes or cripwill she go about filling them? Is she pling political miscalculations. Former a defacto Republican now? Gloria and City Council President Todd Gloria is Councilmember David Alvarez cast likely the only person who could consymbolic votes against her even when ceivably beat him, fueling speculation Shelley Zimmerman she was assured of victory. Do they that Faulconer helped engineer Globecome thorns in her side? Lightner ria’s ouster as council president. Faulconer’s already is nothing if not enigmatic. Her leadership in 2015 given Gloria a path: increasing the minimum wage, will be interesting to watch. which is currently on track for the June 2016 ballot, Chris Cate: Cate’s the only new member of the along with the mayoral primary election.

City Council, so he’s the only blank slate to keep Neighborhood by neighborhood, Faulconer will an eye on. So far, his public statements have been have to grapple with how the city grows. Does he go about three things: families, families and families. bold for denser urban cores around transit corridors What does that mean in terms of policy? The most and provoke the wrath of the NIMBYs? That would intriguing thing about Cate is that he has brains. be inconsistent with his risk-averse tendencies.

Dim politicians can usually be expected to walk in Todd Gloria: When last we checked, Gloria, lockstep with their parties. But smart ones often who’s termed out of office after 2016, hadn’t dedo, too. Will Cate find ways to break from the party cided his next move. A run for mayor would be very line? Does he want to? tough against the incumbent Faulconer. Gloria’s Barbara Bry, Joe LaCava and Ray Ellis: not easily angered and likes to be friends with evThese are the three leading potential candidates eryone, but his ouster as president pissed him off; for Lightner’s council seat, which is up for grabs in if anything pushes him to run for mayor, it would 2016. They can start raising money this June. Ellis, be that. The first few months of 2015 is when he’ll have to decide. The silver lining is that if he decides Editorial CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 This issue of CityBeat saved the almanac from Biff Tannen all those years ago. You’re welcome.

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Volume 13 • Issue 22

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January 7, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 3

Correction In our Dec. 30 Art & Culture section, we published a photo along with a write-up on artist Zac Monday, but we credited the wrong photographer. It should have been credited to Susan Myrland. We’re sorry for the mistake.

Uncomfortable issues Whether people like it or not, your paper does a heck of a job bringing uncomfortable issues to light. The piece titled “Nigga” [“Art & Culture, Dec. 10] forces examination of a word linked to a shameful part of our history. It strikes a chord, reminding me of when I got slammed with angry letters for using the word “boob” in an email campaign about breast-cancer awareness. The ones who bothered to engage with me confirmed my hunch that they were of an older generation when “boob” meant “idiot,” so they angrily contended that using that word to mean “breast” perpetuates social oppression of women, even when we as women use the word lightheartedly among ourselves—just as black kids do with “nigga.”

So, do we cling to a word’s negative meaning of the past or embrace the positive evolution of language? Speaking of evolution, thank you for your piece on Bryan Pease and veganism [“News,” Dec. 3], another uncomfortable issue for people who purchase meat neatly wrapped in cellophane, closing their eyes to the cruelty and filth that animals endure before they end up on a plate. It’s important we keep these kinds of dialogue alive.

Elyssa Mercado, Ocean Beach

4 · San Diego CityBeat · January 7, 2015

Editorial CONTINUED from PAGE 3 a no-frills Republican, ran a strong but unsuccessful campaign against Lightner in 2012, so he’s wellknown in the district. Bry and LaCava are Democrats who’ve been heavily involved in civic affairs, Bry a deep-pockets venture capitalist and LaCava a policy and planning wonk.

Shelley Zimmerman: Eyes will be on the San Diego Police chief, interested in how she runs the department in the wake of incidents in Ferguson and New York and race-related scrutiny of law-enforcement agencies across the country. San Diego is not immune to criticism—plenty of people in the black community don’t believe the police department here is colorblind. Zimmerman will also be watched for how she handles information collected by police body cameras.

Amelia Brazell: Even if you’re a diehard local politics junkie, it’s likely that you’ve never heard of Amelia Brazell. She’s the director of the city of San Diego’s revamped communications apparatus. We already have a former public-relations man as mayor; now we have a marketing professional heading up communications with the public and the press.

That leads us to believe that the “good news” will be spread thick.

Some folks in San Diego get bent out of shape when too much public money is spent on marketing, or “propaganda,” depending on your level of cynicism. Mostly, we just want our questions answered in a timely manner.

What do you think? Write to editor@sdcitybeat.com.

January 7, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 5

Lindsey Voltoline

Sources: San Diego Police Department, county Sheriff’s department, PERT

Learning patients As mental-health emergencies mount, help is finally on the way

by Joshua Emerson Smith It was the third time in three days that a middle-aged man living in Lakeside called the Sheriff’s Department out to his home.

The neighbors, he explained, had let poisonous spiders loose in his apartment.

During the prior two nights, deputies left the scene after realizing the pernicious critters only existed in the man’s imagination. However, this night, Kim Bozart was on duty. A licensed social worker, Bozart is a clinician with the Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT), a county-funded program pairing trained mental-health professionals with law enforcement.

“He actually had contraptions set up all over his house,” she said. “He wanted to show us ‘Here’s where the poisonous spiders are,’ and, of course, he lifts up a glass vase and there’s nothing there. But in his mind, he was visually seeing these things.”

Though Deputies previously determined the man posed no danger, Bozart recommended taking him to Sharp Grossmont Hospital for an emergency psychiatric evaluation. It turned out he was being evicted for his bizarre behavior and could have ended up homeless within weeks. If he’d run into law enforcement in that situation, he may have found himself in jail and with a criminal record. Instead, during the last few

6 · San Diego CityBeat · January 7, 2015

months, he’s received intensive psychiatric care. With the proper treatment, he can likely manage his psychosis, Bozart said.

“He was living independently. He has had a lot of success,” she said. “This is just one major setback for him.”

In recent years, this type of mentalhealth-emergency call has increasingly inundated local law-enforcement agencies.

The cause isn’t precisely known, although experts speculate that it’s related to the economic downturn and an influx of veterans traumatized by war.

Since 2008, the number of these kinds of calls dispatched to the San Diego Police Department and Sheriff’s Department, such as suicide threats, nearly doubled to 21,125, up from 12,097. That doesn’t account for incidents identified as mentalhealth emergencies after an officer has arrived at a scene.

At the same time, the number of mental-health-emergency calls to which PERT clinicians responded also bumped up, but not nearly fast enough to meet demand.

Last year, clinicians missed out on 10,413 mental-health emergency calls, up from 7,360 in 2008.

In order to keep pace, PERT needs more clinicians, said Jim Fix, the program’s executive director. For the last five years, the department has employed 23 clinicians, 15 of whom are dedicated to the San Diego Police and Sheriff’s departments.

“We’ve kind of plateaued,” he said.

“We’re maxed out.”

While evidence of the PERT program’s success is hard to quantify, county offi-

cials, at the behest of law enforcement, have recently recommended the program expand—a budget decision that ultimately rests with the county Board of Supervisors.

“I see an increase happening; to what extent is the question,” said Alfredo Aguirre, the county’s director of behavioral health. “But the chance of more teams coming on board is pretty high.”

Having started as a pilot project in the mid-1990s at the San Diego Police Department, the PERT program also trains law enforcement to deal with mental-health emergencies. Police cadets receive seven hours of training on mental illness. However, officers must choose to attend a three-day course if they want to be paired with a PERT clinician.

During the last five years, only 227 of the city’s police officers have attended the training, according to the department. The police force is more than 1,800 officers strong, and Lt. Debra Farrar, who oversees the training program, would like to see participation increase.

“In my opinion, it should be mandatory, because it’s just so much of what we do on a daily basis,” the 27-year veteran said. “Part of being able to do your job is being able to effectively deal with these calls that we get.

“The average officer needs to be better educated,” she added. “I think most police officers come into the department thinking, I’m going to be catching bad guys. I don’t think they realize how much of these mental-health calls we’re responding to.”

In large part, the PERT program started in response to a string of incidents in the early ’90s involving deadly force by law enforcement, Farrar said. However, while clinicians can help deescalate volatile situations, the program’s impact is usually more subtle.

Retired 32-year veteran John Reese, one of the department’s first PERT-trained officers, remembers what it was like before the program: “If they were involved in a crime and they were being arrested, it was kind of disregarded that they were mentally ill,” he said.

“We wanted to bridge this gap and reach out and help these people, you know, not incarcerate them,” he added. “If they needed help, we would take them to a hospital, not to jail.”

While paired with an officer in the field, a PERT clinician not only identifies mentally ill individuals but also makes sure a person is transported to a psychiatric facility that takes his or her insurance, giving preference to facilities where individuals have a history of care. The clinician can also recommend out-patient care if the situation is determined to be less severe.

“The PERT teams and all law enforcement now are really looking at all the different variables and trying to get people to the right place at the right time,” Fix said.

Many systems around the country simply ignore or incarcerate the mentally ill, said John Snook, deputy executive director at the Treatment Advocacy Center in Washington, D.C. “It should be considered a failure for you to have to treat someone when they’ve deteriorated to the point where they’re dangerous,” he said. “And right now, that’s sort of the standard.”

However, San Diego still incarcerates a substantial number of mentally ill people.

Roughly 20 percent of inmates in jails nationwide have serious mental illness, according to a study by the Treatment Advocacy Center. Similarly, 22 percent of inmates in San Diego’s jail system in 2013 reported having stayed overnight in a mental-health facility, according to the San Diego Association of Governments.

“I and all my colleagues that work in the jail like I do see a lot of mental illness in the jail,” said Dr. James Dunford, the city of San Diego’s medical director and a UCSD doctor. “So much of it is a failure of primary mental healthcare to move people to the treatment that they need.”

Identifying those in need of treatment works only if the region provides a wide range of mental-health services, Snook said. “What we’re finding is that San Diego, much like the rest of the county, has really eliminated far too many hospital beds. An individual is getting sick and they need an inpatient facility for some period of time. It just isn’t available.”

In recent years, mental-health services in the region have become more robust, Aguirre said, adding the main challenge today is getting people to those services using programs such as PERT. “It really is being able to help someone navigate through the system, getting them from a place that’s maybe more restrictive, whether it’s jail or an inpatient facility or a street corner, to the right service,” he said.

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

john r.

spin cycle

lamb Back to basics “Opposition brings concord. Out of discord comes the fairest harmony.”

—Heraclitus of Ephesus It’s been 20 years since the San Diego County Democratic Party faced a contested battle for the party chairpersonship. But in 1995, that post was an open seat.

Come Jan. 20, however, current party Chair Francine Busby will face a vote of confidence, in essence, following a couple of years in which Democrats—despite an edge in registered voters over Republicans countywide—came up short in several marquee races.

Her challenger, Steve Rivera, told Spin Cycle that Democrats need to have a conversation about what ails the party when it comes to big-ticket local campaigns.

“Republicans consistently get their base out to vote,” said Rivera, for 10 years a regional director for the California Democratic Party. “That’s one of the biggest issues: The Democratic Party, at a minimum, should be able to turn out the base, and that was something that was really lacking this election cycle.”

Rivera, a Golden Hill resident and event coordinator for the Interfaith Center for Worker Justice, pointed specifically at the San Diego City Council District 2 race as a battle Democrats had no business losing. “We have a majority on the ground there,” Rivera said. “To me, that shows a serious disconnect with how the party operates and promotes itself.”

One of the problems, he argued, is that the Democratic Party holds its Central Committee elections during non-presidential election cycles, when Democratic-voter attention—for whatever reason— seems to wane. “I think it’s a big opportunity that’s lost,” Rivera said, “if we don’t have a way to bring in new people to the party at that point in time, when the interest is highest: during a presidential election.”

Rivera said Busby, a four-time unsuccessful congressional candidate from North County who was elected party chair in 2013, should be given some credit for her attention to grooming the party’s candidate farm system. But in terms

of engaging voters, “I haven’t seen much of that,” he said. “Our social-media presence is almost nonexistent. We don’t trumpet the achievements of our electeds.

I just don’t see that sense of trying to bring everybody together.”

About 75 Central Committee delegates—including elected officials—will determine the fate of Busby during the Jan. 20 vote, and Rivera acknowledges his quest is an “uphill battle.” While some delegates privately root for Rivera, no one Spin Cycle contacted would speak openly about the contest.

As one delegate put it, “No one wants to look bad if Steve loses.

You don’t want to draw the wrath of Francine.”

In a statement, Busby expressed confidence she would be reelected: “Based on 10 years of successful results in building the Democratic Party, I was elected as Chair. I’m running for reelection on my record.”

Busby, in a previous interview, acknowledged that the party’s social-media outreach could be better and vowed to improve that.

The complaints, however, have not subsided. “I am the first to admit that I could do better with communicating the party’s mission,” she said.

In an interview this week, Busby kept repeating, “What has Steve done?” when told of his concerns about her leadership. She called the attempt to unseat her a “hostile takeover” by a small core of dissidents “in a year when we should be planning for a big presidential year.

“I’d like to see us just get through 2016, and then we can talk about making a change,” she added.

Busby also lamented the public airing of divisions within the local Democratic Party, including a proposal by the newly formed Democratic Woman’s Club of San Diego County to hold a debate the night before the Jan. 20 vote. Busby said she would not attend because “the organizers of that group are campaigning against me.”

Those divisions—particularly with the party’s labor allies—have bubbled up from time to time. The most recent scuffle came when San Diego City Councilmember Sherri

Lightner, a Democrat, took to the shoulders of council Republicans to wrest the council presidency away from Todd Gloria.

Mickey Kasparian, president of the Labor Council of San Diego and Imperial Counties— which declined to endorse Lightner in 2012—went to Twitter after the vote to bash the party: “I hate to say I told u so. But I told u so.

Just can’t endorse ANY Dem!!”

When former party Chair Jess Durfee responded with “that’s a good sound-bite” but questioned how Lightner losing in 2012 to give Republicans a council majority would have been better, Kasparian snapped back, “A Democrat just aligned herself with 4 Reps. I’d say there are few things that are worse.”

When Durfee suggested that a Republican majority would have meant no Council President Gloria and no minimum wage / sick leave ordinance, Kasparian tweeted back: “Heres [sic] the disconnect…Youre [sic] justifying weak Dems. Thats [sic] why workers get screwed.”

On Facebook, Busby congratulated Lightner on her victory. But when asked about how she earned that seat, Busby would only say, “Sherri is not active in the party. I have to trust that she stands with us on important issues.”

Patrick Schultheis

Steve Rivera, speaking in July to the Point Loma Democratic Club Kasparian, a Central Committee member, declined to talk about the upcoming chair vote, noting only, “The success we’ve had in politics has come from labor. I’m continuing to focus my energy in that direction.”

In a letter sent to delegates this week, Rivera wrote, “Under the current leadership, the San Diego Democratic Party simply does not LEAD or even show up to advance progressive causes, policies or candidates” and “has failed to take active leadership on increasing the minimum wage, protecting civil rights, or voter rights. Instead,

we wait for our natural allies or elected officials to take the lead on these issues.”

Rivera wrote that the key to that effort is “working with our allies to energize our grassroots during the off years.” He also pledged to create a “standing audit committee” to “provide a full accounting” of party expenses to Central Committee members twice a year.

“I think it’s time for the party to take it up a notch or two and start winning again,” he said.

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

January 7, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 7

aaryn

backwards & in high heels

belfer Sandwiched: the glory of being a grown-up The Sunday before Christmas, while on my way to Like when the aging parent goes from being an a holiday gathering with my husband and another urban-dwelling, no-car-having, single-and-lovingcouple, I received an email from my mother with an it, mover and shaker reaching for some Christmas explosive subject line. “Emergency Room,” it read. decorations to a hobbled eccentric shut-in with a I didn’t panic because it wasn’t all in caps and 15-year-old blind and deaf Chihuahua with hip probit didn’t have the 17 exclamation marks my mother lems and periodic seizures. I don’t think Pew acfrequently employs for dramatic flare. “ADORcounts for the parallel need to care for pets, which, in ABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” she might type in a typical remy case, meant constantly chasing down a neurotic sponse to a photo of her granddaughter, the letters in four-legged manipulative asshole dog before he peed bold green or purple, usually with several emoticon and pooped in the house. The little fucker tried to lip marks tacked on for extra extra emphasis. Still, debite me the first time I attempted to pick him up, so I spite the lack of excessive punctuation in her subject left the dog-care thing to my husband. line, I held my breath and opened the email, my head Speaking of which, the impact of sandwiching turned away, one eye squinting at the damage. falls on spouses, too, and mine rose to the occasion The body of the email included a photo of my in a manner so glorious that, by year’s end, he will mother’s right leg, with her foot—clad in one of her surely be crowned as the Sexual Favors Recipient trademark white jika-tabi slippers—resting on a chair King of 2015. I highly doubt he had any idea when with a bag of ice tied around the ankle just below the we said our “I Do”s 13 years ago that he’d one day hem of her adorable red Capri pants. Whatever she’d find himself cradling my mother’s beloved but disdone, she’d done it with characteristic style. oriented dog at 2:30 a.m., contemplating putting it “Ugh!” she wrote. “Step ladder slipped out from out of its misery (he didn’t). Or that he’d be spendunder me while I was digging out decorations. :>( ing hours on the phone patiently negotiating with Stay tuned.” low-level medical staff. Or hikI did stay tuned, which is to ing the hilly neighborhoods of Nobody warns you say I called her immediately to Seattle, hand-delivering paperfind out that a) The Gaydi Project work from urgent care to a surgiabout this stuff when exploded her calcaneus and discal center. Or visiting banks and you’re getting married. located something or other in the pharmacies and attending doctor ankular vicinity, b) that she was appointments.

I’m just putting that high on painkillers and weed and Nobody warns you about this out there. c) that Christmas was cancelled. stuff when you’re getting married.

“You know what your probI’m just putting that out there. lem is,” my friend Brian said to Admittedly, I’m far from exme at the party as I complained about receiving periencing the full breadth of what it means to be an email instead of a phone call. “It’s not that your a sandwicher. In the six days that my outstanding mother sent the email. It’s that you checked your husband and I spent waiting on my largely bedemail on your way to a party.” Let us all learn a lesbound parent, making home repairs, having difson from Brian and make a collective resolution to ficult conversations about shower chairs and facunplug more, yes? ing off with the American healthcare bureaucracy While his pointed assessment was correct (there on her behalf (in the spirit of The Gaydi Project, was no reason the info about the fall couldn’t have WHAT A CLUSTERFUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), while also waited until the next morning), Brian’s bedside attending to the many calls of “Mama…!” from the manner is one I tried to leave behind as my little child spending too much time on Minecraft in the family and I ignored The Gaydi Project’s Scroogy next room, I got just a tiny flavor of what it means. admonition and headed for Seattle to tend to our My mother is going to have her foot screwed and wounded bird. After all, the last thing my mother bolted and plated back together, and she’s going to needed was me invading her lair to prove just how get well. Maybe with a limp, but well with a limp wrong her ways are, and just how much better my is better than so many alternatives. I know things ways are. Even if it’s true, sometimes it’s better to could be so much worse. shut up than to be right. Brian.

Nevertheless, it was stunning (and humbling Anyhoodle, with this trek—that would test the and difficult) to find myself in the position of caring for my fiercely independent mother for one week. I bounds of my patience, the limits of my compassion think I can safely speak for The Gaydi Project that and my ability to do things in my mother’s quirky and the experience of being cared for was just as stunover-complicated way—I became fully cognizant of ning (and humbling and difficult) for her. OK, so it my status as a member of the Sandwich Generation. was definitely worse for her. Lo, are there tales to be According to the Pew Research Center, there written about this. But a little time and distance is are millions of us middle-agers happily skipping needed before I dish. along through our life’s journey with a parent age And dish I WILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Stay tuned.

65 or older on one side and a dependent child on the other.

Write to aaryn@sdcitybeat.com And this is a totally fine and doable and invisible and editor@sdcitybeat.com. gig most of the time. Until it isn’t.

8 · San Diego CityBeat · January 7, 2015

by michael a. gardiner Michael A. Gardiner

est. The beet salad was a well-balanced study in red. Bits of red beets with red onions, wine and vinegar combine to show a connection between color and flavor, the beets providing sweetness with a savory underpinning, the vinegar offering sour notes and the wine tying it all together. The vesna—cabbage, carrots, red onions and fruit—was ordinary, but the eggplant salad was not. The The beet and eggplant salads depth of flavor of the eggplant, its marriage with chopped tomato and hints of garlic, vinegar and herbs, gave the salad an exuberant, exotic flavor.

And there’s something that’s just fun about a dumpling. Kalina’s pork- and chicken-filled Siberian-style version—pelmeni—were delicious.

Featuring a thick, egg-enriched wrapping—more Shifting borders like potstickers than ravioli—these hearty dumplings were simple and delicious: juicy meat in a As Vladimir Putin could testify, Eastern Eurodoughy delivery system. Kalina’s Ukrainian-style pean international borders aren’t indelible. My vareniki-pirogy were slightly less hearty. The pofamily might have said the same. My grandmothtato-and-onion versions were particularly enjoyer swore we were Polish. My great aunt said we able with bits of caramelized onions doing double were Russian. And it’s not as if the international duty as both garnish and little flavor bombs. border ran down the middle of a street between The other main courses were not quite as their houses. It’s the same when it comes to food. good. Kalina’s stroganoff was a serviceable verThe vareniki-pirogy at La Mesa’s The Village sion of the classic Russian dish featuring mushHouse Kalina (8302 Parkway Drive, kalinavilrooms and a sour cream-based sauce but was lagehouse.com), which bills itself as a Ukrainianhardly extraordinary in either originality or Russian restaurant, are nearly indistinguishable execution. The beegos, a beef and sour cabbage from the pirogi my wife and I make for the Wihunter’s stew, was better. It was a warming dish, gilia, her Polish family’s traditional Christmas hearty in weight with a flavor profile that was at Eve celebration. once exotic and strangely comforting, the savory For another example, take Kalina’s Ukrainibits of meat spiking the sour flavors of the slightly an borscht. While one might be tempted to say fermented cabbage. borscht is borscht—you either like beets or you For me, a trip to Kalina is like a trip home. don’t—Kalina’s was subtly different from my And it’s not just the look of the place; it’s also family’s Ashkenazi Jewish version of the classic. the homey flavors. Indeed, they helped me settle, The beef-stock base in ours is a bit more proonce and for all, the great Russian-vs.-Polish denounced where Kalina’s was more beet-forward. bate between my grandmother and great aunt: Shchi (in Russian, kapusniak in Polish), a cabbage We’re Ashkenazi Jewish. And, as Kalina shows, it all tastes the same. soup, played as a cabbage-heavy vegetable soup that hinted at a flavor profile along the lines of Write to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com the familiar Italian minestrone. and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

Some of the best bites at Kalina are the small-

the world

fare

January 7, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 9

BY KELLY DAVIS

cocktail

In May, I wrote about Nate Howell’s fantastic new menu at JSix, inspired by regional spirits and flavors. A few months later, he left to rep craft spirits for Young’s Market Co. and was replaced by Chris Burkett, who’d previously Cheers to 2014 been doing great things at Cusp in La Jolla.

Burkett was the guy behind my favorite drink The cover of the January / February issue of at CityBeat’s Chefs & Shakers Mash-Up in June.

Imbibe magazine promises to introduce the 75 His Fear & Loathing involved trapping cassia“People, places and flavors that will shape the bark smoke under each glass before adding the way you drink in 2015.” San Diego gets three rich combo of fortified wine, Oloroso sherry, hickory-smoked cola syrup and bitters. mentions. Yay! Two are beer-related and one is a Speaking of rich, well-rounded cocktails, in write-up about a juice bar. Boo! Nothing against late September, Starlite rolled out a new menu, Bagby Beer, South Park Brewing and Juice Saves, Kelly Davis created by bar manager Dmibut I was hoping to see some tri Dziensuwski and longlove for San Diego cocktails. time bartender Jack Reyn(Yes, I know Imbibe named olds, that included the excelPolite Provisions its 2014 lent The First Third. Made Cocktail Bar of the Year and, with Buffalo Trace bourbon, yes, I know that Juice Saves Cynar, sherry, lemon and proprietor Lindsay Nader garnished with a Castelvewas a craft-cocktail all-star trano olive, it’s boozy and before moving over to the balanced and tops my 2014 healthier stuff.) Regardless, favorites list. If bourbon ain’t let this 2014 retrospective your thing, try the smoky, bitserve as a glimpse of how far tersweet Pola Negri, made San Diego’s cocktail scene’s with mezcal, Cherry Herring, come in just a few years. sweet vermouth, sour orange Cocktail Tales’ year startand thyme syrup, or the preted with a visit to North Park’s ty Strawberry Fjords (gin, Coin-Op, then open just three Aquavit, elderflower liqueur months, to see what head barand strawberry purée). tender Ryan Andrews was And a visit to Zymology up to. Filled with ’80s-era 21, the new restaurant by video games—which can get Café 21’s Alex and Leyla Jaa little loud when played en masse—it seemed an unlikeZymology 21’s Louis Chavez vadov, introduced me to my favorite new spirit: Grand ly spot to enjoy a great craft Poppy Organic Liqueur, a citrusy aperitif by cocktail. But, as Andrews explained, the goal Green Bar distillery that Zymology 21 bar manwas to create a menu that would appeal to soager Louis Chavez uses in a tasty drink called phisticated drinkers and introduce less-experiThe Resurrectionist (gin, house-made Pimms, enced palates to new flavors. He kind of turned a cardamom-strawberry shrub, champagne that theory on its head later in the year when he and an absinthe spray). In keeping with the accepted a challenge to work some magic with restaurant’s chemistry theme, Chavez is doJägermeister. His tiki-cocktail-inspired Mick ing interesting things with shrubs—fermented Jäger is still on Coin-Op’s menu. fruit syrups—and creating cocktails that are Andrews recently left Coin-Op for Heat Supclean and delicious. per Club in Hillcrest. His new menu there focuses on good, simple drinks, many made with Write to kellyd@sdcitybeat.com locally produced spirits (Henebery, Old Harbor, and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

Malahat) and bitters (Rx, Boy Drinks World).

tales

10 · San Diego CityBeat · January 7, 2015

by jenny montgomery Jenny montgomery

north

fork Lick the bowl

A tongue once traumatized me. Let me explain. The first time I ever ate tongue as part of a meal, I was a college student spending my junior year studying in Spain. I’m still not entirely convinced the steaming pot of tongue stew, bubbling incongruously on a blistering August Castilian day, wasn’t an attempt on the part of the dormitory kitchen staff to haze their loud American customers. I smiled and ate it with open-minded, study-abroad gusto, but I couldn’t move beyond feeling repulsed by the texture and the clearly visible this-was-just-in-amouth taste buds on each chunk of tongue.

But I’ve turned the corner. My mind has been reopened and my palate impressed by The Land & Water Company.

Fear not, squeamish eaters. This splashy new Carlsbad restaurant (2978 Carlsbad Blvd., land andwaterco.com) has an incredibly fun menu to explore, with fresh offerings that manage to be comforting as well as creative.

However, I encourage you to try the crispy lengua, because when you translate tongue into another language, all of a sudden it’s not so weird

to try. The Land & Water Bowl, currently available on the lunch menu, is one of my favorite dishes I’ve dug into in awhile.

Sticky rice anchors the bowl with incredibly tender and crispy chunks of lengua, brightpink pickled radish and a caramelized ginger soy sauce that makes the whole combination incredibly addictive.

For something far more simple yet no less satisfying, introduce your own tongue to the Butter Butter Salad. Usually, I find eating (and making) salad to be a bore. It says something about the kitchen skills at Land & Water that I ate this salad months ago and I’m still thinking about it. Elegant leaves of butter lettuce walk the line between delicate and toothsome. Crunchy bites of fried prosciutto give the salad just a touch of heft and a creamy buttermilk chive dressing brings it all together beautifully.

Lately, a lot of kitchens assume that if something is good, it can only be made better by putting an egg on top of it. It’s a trend that’s gone past the point of being overdone. However, when done well, the oozing of an egg yolk makes all the sense in the world. The egg might be nature’s perfect food, with its magical ability to become a cloud-like meringue or a rib-sticking breakfast burrito. Fry it or poach it and suddenly you have a delectable topping for anything you want to put it on. One of these perfect eggs tops both the Butter Butter Salad and the Land & Water Bowl.

I’ve waxed on about the “Land” element (I could keep going—don’t miss out on the wonderfully salty fried Jidori chicken karaage with lemon and mayo), but the “Water” portion not only allows the menu’s delicious Japanese influence to shine; it also highlights the restaurant’s mission to serve only 100-percent sustainable seafood. Nigiri and sashimi options abound, as well as hearty rolls like the Papa Bear, featuring spicy tuna, prawns and Steelhead.

So, your conscience, and your tongues, will go home happy.

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

January 7, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 11

the

SHORTlist

ART

COORDINATED BY KINSEE MORLAN

Fairy Tale Redux at Hammond’s Gourmet Ice Cream, 3077 University Ave., North Park. A group exhibition by local artists paying tribute to their favorite fairytales.

Includes works from Carrie Anne Hudson, Paul Ednacot Ecdao and more. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7. 619220-0231, thumbprintgallerysd.com Wood: A Furniture Show VI at Escondido Municipal Gallery, 262 E. Grand Ave. Curated by Brian Murphy of Murphy’s Fine Woodworking, this exhibition will feature over a dozen of SoCal’s best furniture makers, wood turning and marquetry artisans showcasing everything from furniture to outdoor accessories. Opening from 5:30 to 11 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9. 760480-4101, escondidoarts.org Amanda Farber and Michelle Montjoy at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. Farber debuts paintings derived from imaginary forms, personal memories, photographs, textile patterns and more. Montjoy will be debuting whimsical sculptures made from T-shirts. Opening from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9.

858454-5872, ljathenaeum.org

Jar art by Saul Cano (the two on the left), Jeanne Dunn and Yassel Jimenez (right)

1

JAM IT IN A JAR

When artist and educator Terri HughesOelrich was a kid, she was enchanted by the sight of dozens of jars filled with various colors and textures of food and ingredients lined up in her grandpa’s cupboards.

“It was so visually beautiful,” Hughes-Oelrich says.

The image stuck with her, and she’s done installations and other artwork incorporating various types of jars. The upcoming Jars exhibition and fundraiser at Art Produce Gallery (3139 University Ave., North Park), though, is her largest undertaking yet featuring the unassuming vessels.

Hughes-Oelrich invited local artists to submit artwork in a jar, with a jar or using a jar of any size or shape. She also solicited local vendors to donate jars

2

A PAEAN TO PLATTERS

That he had no training in film production didn’t stop San Diego musician Jason Blackmore; he went ahead and made a documentary anyway. Records Collecting Dust is a tribute to vinyl records and how they impacted the people who owned and played them, and it’s packed with dozens of interviews with notable musicians from San Diego and beyond, such as Jello Biafra of Dead Kennedys, Mike Watt of Minutemen and John Reis of Rocket from the Crypt. The film will have its world-premiere engagement in two showings: at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9, and 4 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10, at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park (2921 El Cajon Blvd.). Doors open at 6:45 p.m. for a pre-screening party, with pizza, beer and coffee included with an $11 movie ticket. digitalgym.org/records-collecting-dust

Jello Biafra

12 · San Diego CityBeat · January 7, 2015

of food—jams, pickles and such. Both the food and art will be displayed side-by-side in the gallery and sold for anywhere from $5 to roughly $100.

“It’ll be like a storefront with all these jars, and art is being sold just as food is being sold, so they’re on this equal level,” she says. “I don’t know exactly what that means or says…. But we’re just sort of playing with the idea of art as a commodity…. And it’s basically this idea of preserving art or preserving food or anything beautiful in a jar.”

Jars, which includes artists such as Bhavna Mehta, Jeanne Dunn and Lee Puffer, opens from 6 to 9 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 10, and will be on view through Feb. 20. There’ll also be a chocolate, wine and beer tasting from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14.

All sales from the show benefit the artists, the gallery and the Sugar Museum, a nonprofit founded

by Hughes-Oelrich more than a decade ago. The Sugar Museum aims to raise awareness of sugar and sweeteners by providing local schools with creative educational activities that involve things like a “Mini Mobile Museum of Sweeteners” cart and a cute cast of handmade, sweetener-inspired puppets. sugarmuseum.org

3

MODERN TIMES

“Modern” and “classical” are terms that contradict each other—or so it would seem. But the SoundON Festival, taking place at the Athenaeum Music and Arts Library (1008 Wall St. in La Jolla), challenges the notions of LAUREN SHARON modern composition outside of popular music. The fourday festival will feature ensemble-in-residence NOISE, as well as performances of a number of avant-garde and contemporary compositions

by Alvin Lucier, Elliott Carter, Christopher Adler and Nathan Hubbard. The festival will also include educational workshops and a community Christopher Adler workshop concert. SoundON runs from Thursday, Jan. 8, through Sunday, Jan. 11. Festival passes cost $70, or $25 for individual concerts. All ages are welcome. ljathenaeum.org

Chobolits Paintings at Brokers Building, 402 Market St., Downtown. The local painter debuts new abstract work. There will also be a string quartet, wine and an introductory word by M. Hancova. Opening from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9. 619-313-3373, chobolits.com HPhilipp Scholz Rittermann at Ice Gallery, 1955 Julian Ave., Barrio Logan. The Escondido based photographer debuts a site-specific, three-dimensional photographic installation. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9. icegallerysd.com HArt-A-Thon at Distinction Gallery and Artist Studios, 317 E. Grand Ave., Escondido. A marathon of artistic creation to benefit the nonprofit art center’s program for teens. Artists include Victor Roman, Travis Sevilla, Ciara White and dozens more. Opening from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10. 760-781-5779, arthatch.org HI Eat People at Mission Valley Library, 2123 Fenton Pkwy., Mission Valley. The second annual children’s monster art exhibit featuring drawings, paintings, video, music and more. Opening from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10. 619-818-6419, staystrange.com Centered For Art at The Center, 3909 Centre St., Hillcrest. Curated by artists Sean Brannan and Allen Dean Sidwell, this fine-art group exhibit will benefit The Center’s LGBT Youth Services Outreach, with half of all art sales going to the program. From noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10. 619-692-2077. facebook.com/ events/1756553164569692 HJARS at Art Produce Gallery, 3139 University Ave., North Park. A crowd-sourced installation of hundreds of jars by local artists and jars of food donated by local vendors. All the work will be for sale and benefits the community educational programs of the Sugar Museum and Art Produce Gallery. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10. 619-584-4448, artproduce.org HSolar Plexus at Quint Contemporary Art, 7547 Girard Ave., La Jolla. An exhibition of new sculpture and works on paper focussing on nature’s radial patterns by artist Thomas Glassford. Opening from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10. 858-4543409, quintgallery.com HCoded Representations of Power at Lyceum Theatre, 79 Horton Plaza, Downtown. San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild members explore mid-20th century artistic themes: protest, high modernist abstraction, the return to figuration and

the seeds of postmodernism. Opening from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10. 619-203-8434, sdmaag.org HWhat We Choose to Believe at Thumbprint Gallery, 920 Kline St., #104, La Jolla. Local artist Jonny Alexander will show paintings, drawings and screenprints that tackle the subject of perception and how it helps shape our reality. Opening from 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10.

ThumbprintGallerySD.com The Art of Mark Rimland at Sophie’s Kensington Gallery, 4186 Adams Ave. A retrospective of the artwork of Rimland, an award-winning autistic artist and illustrator.

Singer-songwriter Gregory Page will also perform. Opening from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10. 619-534-8120, stmsc.org HComing to the Edge at R.B. Stevenson Gallery, 7661 Girard Ave., Ste. 201, La Jolla. New oil on wood paintings of nature scenes from Astrid Preston. Opening from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10. 858-4593917, rbstevensongallery.com HLiving Arrangements at Joseph Bellows Gallery, 7661 Girard Ave., La Jolla.

A group exhibition that includes the work of eight photographers surveying the domestic landscape. Opening from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10. 858-456-5620, josephbellows.com Transduction at Canvas Gallery, 1150 Seventh Ave., Downtown. A sound art group show featuring Chris Warren, Cooper Baker, Curt Miller, and Nichole Speciale. Musical performances and refreshments will accompany opening night. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10.

Let It Be: An Artistic Tribute to the Beatles at Basic, 410 10th Ave., Downtown. A group show featuring works inspired by the Fab Four. Artists include Enrique Plazola, Jack Roybal, Paul Naylor and more. From 7 p.m. to midnight. Tuesday, Jan. 13. ThumbprintGallerySD.com Raw Artists Visionary at House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., Downtown. Multifaceted artistic showcase that features a film screening, musical performance, fashion show, art gallery, performance art and a featured hairstylist and makeup artist. From 6 to 10 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14. $15-$20. 619-299-BLUE, rawartists. org/sandiego/visionary

BOOKS Thomas and Jo Perry at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave. Ste. 100, Clairemont. The crime fiction couple stops by to discuss and promote their newest books, A String of Beads and Dead is Better. At 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com HMargaret Harmon at Taylor Branch Library, 4275 Cass St., Pacific Beach. The local author will read from her short story collection, The Genie Who Had Wishes of His Own: 21st Century Fables. At 11:15 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 10. 858-581-9934, pblibraryfriends.org Alan Russell at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave. Suite 100, Clairemont. The former basketball player and award-winning mystery author will sign and discuss his 10th novel, Guardians of the Night, about Detective Michael Gideon and his K-9 partner Sirius. At 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com Celebrity Readings at the Dr. Seuss Exhibition at San Diego History Center, Balboa Park. Jerry Navarra, chairman and owner of Jerome’s Furniture, reads his favorite Seuss books in conjunction with the History Center’s Ingenious! The World of Dr. Seuss exhibition. At 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10. $6-$10. sandiegohistory.org

HSue Ann Jaffarian at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Suite 100, Clairemont. The author will discuss and sign her two new mystery titles, Ghost in the Guacamole and Hell on Wheels. At 2 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 11. 858-2684747, mystgalaxy.com

sic. At 4 and 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7. 800-988-4253, artcenter.org HJulian Lage at The Loft @ UCSD, Price Center East, La Jolla. Hailed by JazzTimes as the “Best Jazz Guitarist,” the guitar prodigy was the subject of an Academy Award-nominated documentary, Jules at Eight. At 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7. $12-$18. artpwr.com

Pierce Brown at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave. Suite 100, Clairemont.

The New York Times bestselling author will sign and discuss his latest, Golden Son: Book II of the Red Rising Trilogy. At 4 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 11. 858-2684747, mystgalaxy.com HSalina Yoon at Central Library, 330 Park Blvd., East Village. Yoon will read and sign her latest release, Stormy Night. She will also lead children in an activity based on the book. At 11 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 13. 619-236-5802, libraryshopsd.org

“Non-Linear” by Jonny Alexander is on view in a solo exhibition opening from 5 to 10 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 10, at Thumbprint Gallery (920 Kline St., La Jolla).

Michael P. Rich at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. Rich will present his new historic book, Images of America: San Diego Harbor Police, which was culled from the archives of early harbor police officers and the San Diego Unified Port District. At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14.

858-454-0347, warwicks.indiebound.com

COMEDY Feraz Ozel, Jon Rudnitsky and Brenton Biddlecombe at Mad House Comedy Club, 502 Horton Plaza, Downtown.

The three up-and-coming comics perform as part of Mad House’s “Comedy Juice” showcase. At 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7. $15. madhousecomedyclub.com HFinesse Mitchell at American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., Downtown. The former SNL cast member also appears on VH1’s hit show Single Ladies and is currently penning his second book, this one geared towards children. At 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8, and 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9, and Saturday, Jan. 10. $18.

619-795-3858, americancomedyco.com Moshe Kasher at Comedy Store, 916 Pearl St., La Jolla. The rising comic is a writer on NBC’s The New Normal, the cohost of The Champs podcast and the author of the memoir Kasher in the Rye. At 7 and 9:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9, and Saturday, Jan. 10. $20. 858-454-9176, lajolla. thecomedystore.com Adam Hunter at Comedy Palace, 8878 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. He was a finalist on season six of Last Comic Standing. At 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9, and Saturday, Jan. 10. $20. 858573-9067, thecomedypalace.com

reographers will be showcased in Diversionary Cabaret’s dance series. Yes, there are guys, and yes, they are hot and yes, they will be dancing. At 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 9-10, and 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11. $20-$39. 619-220-0097, diversionary.org

FOOD & DRINK HCentennial Beer Tasting at San Diego Museum of Man, Balboa Park. The museum celebrates the 100-year anniversary of the Panama-California Exposition with beer tastings from multiple craft breweries and food from local eateries.

From 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8. $20$30. 619-239-2001, museumofman.org Farmers’ Market Cooking Demo at North Park Branch Library, 3795 31st St., North Park. Holistic Nutrition Coach Kristen Williams will provide a cooking demonstration and discuss how to get the most out of your experience at a Farmers’ Market. At 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8. 619533-3792, sandiego.gov/public-library

MUSIC WOW First Wednesdays: Jimmy and Enrique at California Center for the Arts, 340 North Escondido Blvd., Escondido.

Guitarist Jimmy Patton and percussionist Enrique Platas incorporate flamenco, Middle Eastern, salsa, calypso, Brazilian and other world rhythms into their mu-

HsoundOn Festival of Modern Music at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. An international roster of composers and performers are featured in this four-day exploration of contemporary chamber music. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8, 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9, noon and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11. $10-$70. 858-454-5274, ljathenaeum.org

The Long Memory at Old Poway Park, Midland & Temple, Poway. San Diego Folk Heritage presents a special concert featuring Duncan Phillips and Erin Inglish celebrating legendary folk singer Utah Phillips. At 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9. $15-$18. sdfolkheritage.org Bon Temps Social Club at War Memorial Building, 3325 Zoo Drive, Balboa Park. Enjoy live Zydeco/Cajun bands and dance lessons every second Saturday of the month. From 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10. $5-$10. icajunzydeco.com San Diego Baroque Soloists at Encinitas Library, 540 Cornish Drive, Encinitas. The early music ensemble performs their debut concert featuring music from the rock stars of 18th century England, including Purcell, Boyce, Eccles and Handel. At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10. $10-$20. sdbaroque.com Pacifica Quartet at Conrad Prebys Music Center, UCSD campus, La Jolla. The chamber ensemble has gained international stature as one of the finest chamber ensembles performing today. They will be performing pieces by Haydn, Shostakovich and Beethoven. At 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10. $12-$54. artpwr.com

Intimate Classics: Keyboard Conversations with Jeffrey Siegel at California Center for the Arts, 340 North Escondido Blvd., Escondido. The concertwith-commentary format includes brief remarks introducing performances of piano masterpieces, and concludes with a fast-paced Q&A. At 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

Nick Thune at American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., Downtown. The comedian and actor has an absurdist view and deadpan wit. He also performs with a guitar and often sings his jokes. At 8 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 11. $18. 619-795-3858, americancomedyco.com Adam Hunter at Mad House Comedy Club, 502 Horton Plaza, Downtown. You’ve seen him on NBC’s Last Comic Standing, The Tonight Show and MMA Roasted. At 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14. $15. 619-7026666, madhousecomedyclub.com

DANCE HHot Guys Dancing at Diversionary Theatre, 4545 Park Blvd., University Heights.

Five of the southland’s most dynamic cho-

January 7, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 13

RICH SOUBLET

THEATER

HTapestry at St. James by-the-Sea, 743 Prospect St., La Jolla. The Boston-based female ensemble performs. At 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 11. $28-$35. 858-459-3421, sdems.org

Theater troupe circling the community Start with its name: Circle Circle Dot Dot. “A lot of people think it means boobs,” said Katherine Harroff, artistic director of the Circle Circle Dot Dot theater company.

“Actually, Circle Circle Dot Dot is a silly children’s rhyme about getting your shot against cooties.” It’s also the title of a single by rap artists Jamie Kennedy and Stu Stone.

Harroff laughs and shrugs. “Whatever it takes to get our name out there.”

In San Diego theater circles, the name is out there, due in large part to Circle Circle Dot Dot’s two productions of the site-specific San Diego, I Love You, which took intrepid audiences on journeys first through Hillcrest and then University Heights. A third production, starting next month, San Diego I Love You 3.0, will use the UCSD campus as a locale. The nonprofit company is also highly regarded for its inaugural season’s Deconstruction of a Drag Queen, its San Diego Derby Dolls production DerbyWise and its current residency at La Jolla Playhouse, which included a staging last year of Harroff ’s sci-fi vehicle Red Planet Respite.

In the spring, Circle Circle Dot Dot will cap its Playhouse residency with Wild California, a work based on the research of biologists and conservationists.

The company was founded in December 2010 and presented its first production, The

14 · San Diego CityBeat · January 7, 2015

Break-Up Break-Down, the following summer. That show was based on true stories from the original eight Circle Circle Dot Dot members.

“All of our work is inspired by community voices, by true stories,” said Harroff, who’s not only Circle Circle Dot Dot’s artistic director but also a playwright, actor, singer and director.

Red Planet Respite and the upcoming Wild California suggest that the company is expanding beyond its community-voices foundation, but Harroff still has an eye on what she believes to be important neighborhood stories to tell.

At the same time, Circle Circle Dot Dot is in search of a long-term performance venue, but Harroff’s principal focus is creative. “My ultimate dream,” she said, “is to eventually turn into a festival where, for five months of the year, we’re doing shows in repertory and doing different residencies where people have the opportunity to see community-based theater. If we put it together, there will be even more opportunities for conversation.”

—David L. Coddon Write to davidc@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

11. $26-$35. 800-988-4253, artcenter.org

Soroya Rowley (left) and Caitlin Ross in Red Planet Respite

OPENING Annie Jr.: California Youth Conservatory Theatre presents the young-folks version of the musical about the orphan girl who, amid her desperate search for her parents, melts the heart of a stuffy rich guy. Opens Jan. 10 at the Lyceum Theatre at Horton Plaza, Downtown. lyceumevents.org C.S. Lewis On Stage: Tom Key, executive artistic director of Atlanta’s Theatrical Outfit, embodies the writer of The Chronicles of Narnia in a one-man show. Opens Jan. 9 at Lamb’s Players Theatre in Coronado. lambs players.org ’night Mother: Last November, Ion Theatre produced a staged reading of this play about a divorced, epileptic woman whose life is a mess and she wants to end it.

Now it’s back as a full production. Opens in previews on Jan. 8 at BLKBOX Theatre in Hillcrest. iontheatre.com Wrong Window: In a madcap send-up of Alfred Hitchcock, a man finds his neighbor’s dead body in his closet. Opens Jan. 9 at PowPAC in Poway. powpac.org

For full listings,

please visit “T heater ” at sdcit ybeat.com

Primal Mates at Rancho San Diego Library, 11555 Via Rancho San Diego, El Cajon. The musical duo presents a unique combination of jazz and poetry from Shakespeare to Kerouac. At 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 13. 619-660-5370, sdcl.org The Benedetti Trio at Taylor Branch Library, 4275 Cass St., Pacific Beach. The PB Friends of the Library concert series continues with noted guitarist Fred Benedetti and his daughters. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14. 858-581-9934, pblibraryfriends.org Orvieto Piano Trio at Encinitas Library, 540 Cornish Dr., Encinitas. The trio will perform works for piano, violin and cello.

At noon. Wednesday, Jan. 14. encin itasca.gov/wednoon

PERFORMANCE StoryBox Theatre at North Park Branch Library, 3795 31st St., North Park. Stories told by Walter Ritter using Japanese Kamishibai storybox theatre. At 10 a.m.

Thursday, Jan. 8. 619-533-3927, sandi ego.gov/public-library HRudie Can’t Fail: Jamaica and the Sound of Popular Protest at MCASD Downtown, 1001 Kettner Blvd. L.A.-based artists Meg Cranston and Chris Wilder host a discussion about Jamaican music and its influence on other genres. German artist Magdalena Kita will also perform her five-minute choreographed piece, “Californication.” At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8.

Free-$10. 858-454-3541, mcasd.org

Masters of Illusion at Harrah’s Resort Southern California, 777 Harrah’s Resort Southern California Way, Valley Center.

The largest magical touring show in the world, they’ll be performing grand illusions including levitating women, appearances and vanishes, escapes, comedy magic and more. At 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9. $32-$72. 7607513100, harrahsresort southerncalifornia.com HPoetry & Art Series at San Diego Art Institute-Museum of the Living Artist, Balboa Park. San Diego performance artists Chris Mosher, Shannon Perkins and musician Nathan Hubbard will present spoken word and music at this quarterly performance series. People’s Choice Poem Awards follow the performances. At 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9. $5. sandiego-art.org HPeking Acrobats at California Center for the Arts, 340 North Escondido Blvd., Escondido. Accompanied by live musicians and high-tech special effects, the acrobats perform awe-inspiring gymnastic displays of contortion, flexibility and control. At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10. $21-$50. 800-988-4253, artcenter.org

St., South Park. Join members of Storytellers of San Diego for the juiciest reflections of bygone years, and tales of hopes and dreams for the New Year. From 7 to 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7. 619-2843663, storytellersofsandiego.org Jewish Poets, Jewish Voices at Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla. Featured poets Michael Mark, Lauren Ponder and Elana Horvitz will read for 30 minutes followed by an open mic where anyone is welcome to read. At 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 13. 858-457-3030, sdcjc.org

SPECIAL EVENTS Poway Winter Festival at Poway Community Park, 13094 Civic Center Drive, Poway. This annual fest brings to life all of the charm and entertainment of a cold-mountain town, and features snow, sledding, marshmallow roasting and skating around a synthetic ice rink. From 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9, and 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10. 858-668-4671, poway.org

Lola Demure’s Burlesque & Variety Show at House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., Downtown. Join the “Prima Ballerina of Burlesque,” who’ll present her newest show of burlesque, circus and variety arts. Special guest host is the godmother of L.A. burlesque, Lili VonSchtupp. At 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10. $25-$30. 619299-BLUE, houseofblues.com/sandiego

HSan Diego Exposition Road Race Centennial Car Show at San Diego Automotive Museum, 2080 Pan American Plaza, Balboa Park. View horseless carriages and road race cars from around the period of the 1915 San Diego Exposition. Takes place in the Automotive Museum parking lot. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 10. 619-231-2886, sandi egoexporr2015.wordpress.com

POETRY & SPOKEN WORD

Coastal Sage Native Plant Sale at Coastal Sage Gardening, 3685 Voltaire St., Ocean Beach. Join John Noble and Brijette Ronstadt for a talk about native plants and seeds. There’ll also be music with John Tafolla and Dave Millard, plus

HStorytelling: Ring in the New Year at Rebecca’s Coffee House, 3015 Juniper

botanical crafts for kids and families.

Bring and exchange garden goods if you want. From 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11.

619-223-5229, coastalsage.com

TALKS & DISCUSSIONS HHistory Alive: Crime in The Big Lemon at H. Lee House, 3205 Olive St., Lemon Grove. An insightful presentation

by Ivy Westmoreland of the Public Safety Focus Group on crime in Lemon Grove.

At 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8. 619-4604353, lemongrovehistoricalsociety.com HSuds & Science at Callahan’s Pub & Brewery, 8111 Mira Mesa Blvd., Mira Mesa.

As part of the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center’s ongoing series, “Two Scientists Walk Into a Bar,” join Lisa T. Eyler as she discusses the components of happiness, what MRI scans of the brain reveal about happy people and why it’s important to study people with positive psychological traits. From 6:30 to 8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 12. 619-238-1233, rhfleet.org It’s Deli-cious! A Historical Exploration of American Jews and Delicatessen at Carlsbad City Library, 1775 Dove Lane, Carlsbad. Joellyn Zollman discusses the relationship between American Jews and American delis, how Jews became associated with delis, and how delis have changed over time. At 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 12. 760-602-2049, sdcjc.org

For full listings,

please visit “E vents” at sdcit yb eat.com

January 7, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 15

16 · San Diego CityBeat · January 7, 2015

January 7, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 17

A

KINSEE MORLAN

n event held on New Year’s Eve in Balboa Park was meant to set an optimistic tone for the park’s beleaguered 2015 centennial celebration: A procession of city leaders and community members made their way from the eastern fountain, down the El Prado walkway to the Spreckels Organ Pavilion for a free concert that featured organist Carol Williams playing a world-premiere composition below a recently refurbished organ-pipe backdrop. New lighting on the arches of the Cabrillo Bridge was also unveiled, and fireworks colored the sky. On New Year’s Day, the public was finally allowed to climb the Museum of Man’s renovated California Tower, which has been closed for 80 years, and enjoy its breathtaking views.

The yearlong centennial celebration will mark the significance of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, for which much of Balboa Park was created. When the centennial idea was in its nascent stages, then-mayor Bob Filner described his vision for 2015 as a “once-in-a-lifetime celebration the entire world will remember” and pledged millions of dollars.

Yet, after the announcement last March that Balboa Park Celebration Inc. (BPCI), the nonprofit group charged with organizing the centennial, was disbanding and handing the reins to the city after burning through millions of dollars without producing tangible results, Mayor Kevin Faulconer and City Councilmember Todd Gloria introduced plans for a scaled-down event.

Immediately, most folks assumed that meant the whole thing was a bust. That’s not entirely true. Some of the most notable happenings are the exhibitions, events and improvement projects that organizations within Balboa Park have planned largely on their own. And the city continues to work on filling in the gaps, in part by calling on the community to help organize centennial events.

The last-minute undertaking, however, isn’t without critics who say the city’s making it too difficult to contribute to the celebration.

The city’s financial investment in the centennial has mostly been directed

?

A saved

centennial

The vision for celebrating Balboa Park 100 years after the Panama-California Exposition is still evolving

by Kinsee Morlan 18 · San Diego CityBeat · January 7, 2015

Michael Ruiz

toward infrastructure projects—to date, the that’s kind of an indication to me that it’s difficult,” says Anamaria Labao Cabato, Mayor’s office says, the city’s spent executive director of the Philip$6.3 million on improvements like “All we pine Performing Arts Comnew LED lighting, Americans with Disabilities Act upgrades, want are some pany, one of the organizaelevator improvements, im- dates set so we tions behind the PhilippineCentennial Celpending Plaza de Panama encan go forward American ebration. “But we managed hancements and art restoraand overcame a number of tion. But Michael Ruiz of the and actually do hurdles in the process.” city’s Park and Recreation something terrific David Lundin, one of Department, whose been for the park.” the volunteers behind the tapped as the point person for newly formed Balboa Park the celebration, is organizing Heritage Association and a special spring and fall events —David vocal critic of the city’s hanthat rely largely on the participaLundin dling of the centennial, says his tion of local volunteers. group has faced huge barriers while “The community has really come together for the centennial,” Ruiz says. “Balboa trying to reserve a date in Balboa Park for a Park is really the city’s park. People truly love two-day, park-wide historical event featurit…. And they just want to do something to ing period costumes, music and dance.

Lundin says Ruiz was introduced to contribute; they want to be a part of this.”

On May 9, the city and its partners will him as the “savior of the centennial celhost a “Garden Party for the Century,” focus- ebration.” But after meeting with Ruiz a ing on the horticultural history of the park few times, Lundin says he’s since been and featuring tours and talks with experts, working with other city staffers whom he a floral show, a floral wagon parade with the describes as unhelpful.

Lundin says he was originally quoted a Fern Street Circus and other elements. The fall event is still being conceptualized as Ruiz permitting fee of nearly $90,000 (which has since been lowered), told his group couldn’t looks for groups that want to participate.

Ruiz has also been tasked with help- use the Plaza de Panama and informed that ing nonprofits and community groups that he needed to secure an insurance policy have their own centennial event proposals naming the city as additionally insured, even though he had yet to set the event date or fill navigate the city’s permit process.

So far, only a handful of community-or- out any permitting forms.

“All we want are some dates set so we ganized events have been set, including the San Diego Road Race Centennial Car Show can go forward and actually do something on Jan. 10, a Philippine-American Centen- terrific for the park,” Lundin says. “They’re nial Celebration in June, a San Diego Mak- basically making it impossible for us.”

Whether or not Lundin’s group is ultiers Faire event tentatively set for October and a festival sponsored by the Greater mately successful at securing permits, he Golden Hill Community Planning Group says there’ll “very likely” be a flash-mobtype event on April 11. that’s awaiting reviews before a date is set.

The Mayor’s office maintains that Lun“So, these are new events just for the centennial, and there will be more,” Ruiz din’s group has been asked to follow the says. “People have come forward and con- same process as anyone wanting to hold a tinue coming forward, and they just want special event.

Ruiz says he’s hopeful that Lundin will to create something unique to literally be a be able to work through the issues and part of history.”

Yet, that’s where the criticism stage an official centennial event. He decomes in. Several people scribes the celebration as fluid and evolving CityBeat spoke with and says he looks forward to adding events say that stepping up to the lineup as more ideas come through to contribute to the his office (follow the city’s centennial upcity’s centennial cel- dates at celebratebalboapark.org). ebration has been However, he stresses that events are just anything but easy. one element of the centennial. The park “We’re less than improvements and other wide-reaching a handful of people promotional campaigns are important, too. who have been able “It’s really the infrastructure improveto go through the ments that are going to last and really truly be process so far, so our legacy as we move forward,” he says. “Although, we’re really excited about the events coming up, not only what’s happening in the park, but in the community as a whole.”

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

Kinsee Morlan

Seen Local Bread & Salt is blowin’ up The raw and gritty warehouse space inside Logan Heights’ sprawling Bread & Salt building (1955 Julian Ave.) is the perfect setting for avant-garde artistic experimentation. If the uptick in activity inside the building in early January is any indication, 2015 will perhaps be the year the creative space goes from being an underground stronghold mostly for those already embedded in the local art scene to a more mainstream gallery that showcases some of the region’s most innovative art.

James Brown of Public Architecture and Planning owns the building and recently asked artist and designer David Fobes to step up and take over as interim curator of Not An Exit, a tiny, 80-square-foot gallery inside Bread & Salt, formerly run by longtime San Diego artist Bob Matheny. Fobes, who’s curated a few shows in the space already, says he’s been approaching local artists and asking them to think of ways to engage the space through installation work rather than simply hanging objects on the walls.

“It’s not a commercial space, so there’s no pressure to sell,” Fobes says. “I just want artists to come in here who have a good understanding of the space and want to deal with the entire room and not just hang art up…. So, everyone I talked to, I’ve said, ‘Think of it as an experiment.’ I’m kind of saying, ‘Do whatever you want.’ The one big constraint is the size of the space.”

From 5 to 9 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 10, Fobes will open the next show, an installation by architecturally trained artist Patrick Shields. The Woodbury University professor and MFA student at UCSD is constructing an intricate cardboard, plastic and carbon-composite installation that connects the three windows in the room at the center of the space.

“One thing I’m personally interested in is the bridge between art and design,” Fobes says of Shields’

David Fobes inside Not An Exit and an installation

by May-ling Martinez piece. “He’s that guy.”

Shields’ installation will be on view through Feb. 7. Other artists Fobes has lined up for Not An Exit include Armando de la Torre, Lael Corbin and Neil Kendricks. Shows will change monthly, and openings will mostly coincide with the Barrio Art Crawls that happen every second Saturday of the month.

Around the corner from Not An Exit, in the main Bread & Salt gallery, Fobes will open his own exhibition on Jan. 10: Fresh Cuttings, a collection of his newest large-scale collage work made from wallpaper.

And from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 9, artist and curator Michael James Armstrong’s Ice Gallery, also inside Bread & Salt, will feature a three-dimensional, site-specific photographic installation by famed local photographer Philipp Scholz Rittermann. Armstrong says that at Ice, he’s focusing on exhibiting the work of artists he respects and asking them to push themselves to do work they’ve never done before.

“Philipp is used to making flat work,” Armstrong writes in an email. “However, I had a feeling that he was itching to take his work off the wall and into a more three-dimensional realm. I had no idea what to expect… but I trusted that he could come up with something interesting.”

—Kinsee Morlan Kinsee Morlan

Meet our cover artist Sarah Stieber is unapologetically Southern Californian. The young artist looks and sounds like she’s from SoCal, and she’s been told many times that her paintings capture the particular air and feel of the region, too: bright, colorful, optimistic and a little wild and wacky.

She’s precise in describing her body of work, calling it “whimsical ‘electric realism’ figurative paintings that aim to shine a brilliant light on daily life.”

While “Lost and Found,” the art featured on the cover of CityBeat this week, fits that description perfectly, it actually depicts the New York City skyline rather than a scene from Southern California. The piece is a result of a recent trip to the city. Stieber scheduled the vacation after a visit to Israel—paid for by a client who commissioned a painting—fell through.

The saying “Go with the flow” kept popping into Stieber’s head. She was bummed about missing out on Israel but decided to make her time in New York even better.

“I wanted to go way past going with the flow and make it wonderful,” she says. “My mantra became ‘Glow with the flow.’”

While on the East Coast, Stieber (sarahstieber. com) created several new acrylic paintings that de-

Sarah Steibler pict life through an especially sanguine and amplified lens. Her recent paintings and prints will be on view in an upcoming solo show at OBR Gallery (3817 Ray St. in North Park), opening during Ray at Night, which runs from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10.

—Kinsee Morlan Write to kinseem@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

January 7, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 19

Up in smoke Paul Thomas Anderson’s sandy, sunny California noir

by Glenn Heath Jr. Distinct qualities of your average Southern California doper include dirty feet, rotten teeth and matted hair. Their sullied living conditions vary in size, ranging from the small bungalows in windswept Gordita Beach to the cavernous mansions in Topanga Canyon. When encountering said dopDisheveled Joaquin Phoenix (left) and Benicio del Toro ers, expect rampant drug use, astrologically inclined conversation and the occasional sexual ren- in the dense narrative. Within this context, Anderson dezvous with strangers. Considering the threat these examines the clash between gonzo lifestyles and pardeviants pose to our honest and hardworking society, anoid sensibilities. Plot, in the traditional sense, matthey must be stopped, by any means necessary. ters less than the feeling of details and how they add The above paragraph could have been written by up within personal relationships mired in conflict. any number of conservative outfits operating subverPynchon’s cyclical prose meshes perfectly with sively throughout Thomas Pynchon’s sandy 1970s noir, Anderson’s formidable camera movement and playInherent Vice. Such institutions (the FBI, the LAPD, ful visual sensibilities. Occasional bits of slapstick the Department of Justice, the Nixon administration comedy erupt, but Inherent Vice resonates most and an anti-communist group called Vigilant Califor- during its more tender moments. Each of the internia) seek to undermine all areas of American counter- locking stories, whether it’s Doc’s pursuit of Shasta culture. Each plays a dastardly role in Paul Thomas or one involving a melancholic saxophone player Anderson’s brilliant film adap(Owen Wilson), follows unique tation, an airy, rhythmic and characters “gliding away into raspy mystery comedy encased different fates,” as expressed by Inherent Vice in a bubble of pot smoke. The Joanna Newsom’s raspy narraDirected by Paul Thomas Anderson film sides with spaced-out hiption. Her words give the film its Starring Joaquin Phoenix, pies and militant minorities mystical heart, commenting on Katherine Waterston, Josh Brolin who live (and occasionally die) the fateful folly with love and and Benicio del Toro on the fringes of society, some admiration for the surreal.

Rated R desperate to change the world, Through what may seem others hoping to bring their like an irreverent path, Inherent own lives back into alignment.

Vice, which opens Friday, Jan. Larry “Doc” Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix), a di- 9, captures many of the pertinent ideas and contrasheveled and tenacious private investigator, repre- dictions that connect its time period with our own. sents the kind of dazed outlier who threatens ev- The blatant disregard for civil rights perpetrated in erything capitalist America stands for. Anderson’s comedic fashion by Josh Brolin’s bullish cop would dreamlike opening sequence finds Doc’s ex-flame, be outrageous if they weren’t rooted in a disturbing Shasta Fay Hepworth (a beguiling Katherine Water- insecurity and doubt of the male warrior ego that still son), dropping back into his life, spinning a serpen- rears its ugly head to this day. Taking a cue from Alttine yarn about a powerful real-estate mogul (Eric man’s The Long Goodbye and Polanski’s Chinatown, Roberts) and his conniving wife, who hopes to steal the film exposes the extent to which white politicians his fortune. It’s the first breadcrumb in a long and wield power in order to control the lower classes. meandering story of vipers and swindlers, musiYet Inherent Vice doesn’t condone revenge or recians-turned-informants and cops-turned-actors, all bellion. It suggests, rather bravely, that redemption of whom populate a vision of Los Angeles with one and friendship hold more weight than money and foot in the past and another in an uncertain future. influence. Anderson’s whimsical, offbeat detective Inherent Vice follows Doc’s ensuing investiga- yarn stands up to the system by blowing a gigantic tion, a pitfall-laden cruise through the alleyways and plume of smoky positive energy right back in its face, side streets of a city being ripped open by seedy land hoping the contact high will make a difference. deals and a corrupt police force. Charles Manson, the Black Panthers, the Vietnam War, blacklisted actors, Write to glennh@sdcitybeat.com governmental collusion and folk music all play roles and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

History repeating

Selma

20 · San Diego CityBeat · January 7, 2015

Of all the films vying for Oscars next month, Ava DuVernay’s Selma remains the most important, and not simply because its subject matter reflects many of the incendiary debates about race still raging today. Formally, the film accomplishes something remarkable within the biopic genre: It respects moviegoers

enough to drop them right into the action of a historical event unfolding without context.

Martin Luther King’s (David Oyelowo) pursuit of voter reform for black citizens escalates in Selma, Alabama, as a calculated effort, one with complicated repercussions on both sides of the racial divide. Interactions involving familiar figures of American history hold the exact same weight

as those involving regular citizens.

Compromise dominates each discussion, allowing the towering real-life events to take on a more human and complex demeanor.

Much of DuVernay’s smart film consists of characters talking strategy, considering the consequences that their actions will have on both the country and the citizens of Selma. Then, the film reenacts images of unrest and brutality that carry staggering implications for our own current dialogue about the definition of community. Recent events in Ferguson and New York City suggest that fear and intimidation of this kind are systemic to a society that denies the racial fault lines of its own making.

While grappling with these bigpicture issues, Selma also provides Oyelowo the proper platform for his amazing talents as an actor.

His steady, resolved demeanor hides an ocean of responsibility and stress, which stems from an understanding that his public persona will dictate the direction of the civil-rights movement.

Aside from a misguided end credit sequence that feels constructed entirely by Oprah Winfrey, Selma, which opens Friday, Jan. 9, is a smartly crafted political procedural with a beating heart that also happens to be incredibly socially relevant today, tomorrow and probably for a long time to come.

—Glenn Heath Jr.

Opening Inherent Vice: Paul Thomas Anderson adapts Thomas Pynchon’s detective yarn about a real-estate tycoon who disappears, inciting a number of pot-fueled stories in early-1970s Southern California.

See our review on Page 20.

Selma: Martin Luther King (David Oyelowo) attempts to create voter reform in Selma, Alabama, a hotbed of racism and disenfranchisement. See our review on Page 20.

Taken 3: Liam Neeson reprises his role as the badass who keeps losing family members to kidnappings. Maybe third time’s a charm?

The Search for General Tso: Using America’s most popular takeout meal— General Tso’s Chicken—as a starting point, this documentary traces the origins of Chinese American cuisine. Screens through Jan. 15 at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

One Time Only The Interview: The Seth Rogan movie that became an international incident has a couple more screenings this week: 2, 4:30 and 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7, and 3, 5:30 and 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8, at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

Sunset Boulevard: Billy Wilder’s classic satire of Hollywood and stardom contains an insane performance by Gloria Swanson as a fading starlet hell-bent on

retaining her legitimacy in show business.

Screens at 2, 4:30, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9, at the Ken Cinema.

Records Collecting Dust: San Diego musician and filmmaker Jason Blackmore interviewed more than 30 musicians about their vinyl collections. Screens at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9, and 4 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10, at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

Blade Runner: The Final Cut: A gruff 21st-century detective hunts down cyborgs in a dystopic near-future. Ridley Scott’s sci-fi noir will be screened in the definitive 2007 final cut. Screens at 2, 4:30, 7, 9:30 and 11:59 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10, at the Ken Cinema.

Once Upon a Time in the West: In Sergio Leone’s sprawling western masterpiece, a harmonica-playing drifter (Charles Bronson) seeks revenge for the death of his family. Screens at 12:30, 4 and 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 11, at the Ken Cinema.

in North Park.

Viva La Liberta: Toni Servillo stars as identical twin brothers who decide to switch identities in this funny look at modern-day Italian politics. Screens at the Ken Cinema.

Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death: Dark spirits are awakened in the Eel Marsh House when children evacuated from World War II London arrive looking for shelter.

Big Eyes: Tim Burton’s film tells the story of Margaret Keane (Amy Adams), a 1960s housewife who allows her conman of a husband to take credit for her exceptionally popular paintings.

Into the Woods: Beware the Wolf, Sondheim. Beware the Wolf.

The Imitation Game: Benedict Cumberbatch stars as real-life code breaker Alan Turing, who led a squad of British mathematicians in breaking the Enigma code during World War II. Unbroken: Angelina Jolie’s sophomore effort examines the life of Olympic athlete and World War II prisoner of war Louis Zamperini (Jack O’Connell) who overcame extreme odds to survive a Japanese internment camp.

mance exists within this silly universe of an inexpressive Ben Stiller, an expressive monkey and artifacts brought to life.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies: The final chapter in Peter Jackson’s bloated three-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s famous novel ends in a massive battle between elves, dwarves, men and the nefarious orcs.

Annie: Hollywood’s latest reboot of the famous musical about an orphan adopted by a wealthy tycoon features Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz and Quvenzhané Wallis as the titular melodist.

For a complete listing

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb: Sadly, Robin Williams’ last perfor-

the “E vents” tab.

of movies, please see “F ilm S creenings” at sdcit yb eat.com under

Capital: Costa Gravas’ latest political thriller takes on Western capitalism in a tale of power struggles, greed, deception and erotic distractions. Screens at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11, at the Point Loma / Hervey Branch Library.

It Happened One Night: Frank Capra’s delightful screwball comedy stars Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert as a team of mismatched lovers on the road. Screens at 2, 4:30, 7 and 9:15 p.m. Monday, Jan. 12, at the Ken Cinema.

Pride: Set in England in the 1980s, a gayrights group develops a relationship with a mining community on strike in protest against the Thatcher government. Screens at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 12, at the San Diego Central Library in East Village.

Yojimbo: The samurai Sanjuro (Toshiro Mifune) arrives in a small town, where two evil clans war for supremacy, and turns the tables in his favor. Screens at 2, 4:30, 7 and 9:15 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 13, at the Ken Cinema.

Calvary: An Irish priest is mysteriously threatened with death by one of his parishioners and spends the next week trying to find out the person’s identity. Screens at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 13, at the Point Loma / Hervey Branch Library.

The Gang’s All Here: Alice Faye stars in this massively popular Busby Berkley musical about a nightclub singer who falls in love with a soldier. Screens at 2, 4:30, 7 and 9:15 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14, at the Ken Cinema.

The Hangover: Four friends have a night to misremember in Las Vegas, waking up the next morning in a world of hurt and trouble. Screens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma.

Now Playing Born to be Wild: Narrated by Morgan Freeman, this documentary examines the amazing bond between humans and animals, including elephants and orangutans. Screens at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park.

El Verano de los Peces Voladores: When Manena goes on vacation with her father, she quickly realizes he’s obsessed with killing all the carp in his artificial lagoon. Ends Jan. 8 at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

Remote Area Medical: This riveting documentary follows a nonprofit organization that establishes three-day clinics around the United States in areas of the country desperately in need of healthcare. Ends Jan. 7 at Digital Gym Cinema

January 7, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 21

Eric Church provides an alternative to bro-country

by Jeff Terich

T

urn on pretty much any commercial country radio station and it won’t be long before you begin to see a distinct pattern: Every song has three or four chords, a Southern twang and a kind of carefree earnestness. But this isn’t necessarily new for country music—in fact, its simple, earthy sound is part of its appeal.

Take a closer look at the top 30 songs on KSON right now, however, and you’ll get a clearer picture of contemporary country music. The top song is “Burnin’ it Down” by Jason Aldean, which is about drinking Jack Daniels, listening to Alabama and fucking— not necessarily in that order and with no actual profanity. A little lower down is Blake Shelton’s “Neon Light,” about heartbreak, drinking and some rebound fucking. There’s Brad Paisley’s “Perfect Storm,” about a turbulent, smokin’ hot woman, “the way God made her.” And then there’s Brantley Gilbert’s “Bottoms Up,” which concerns kegs, pickup trucks and a “pretty little mama.”

If all of this sounds maybe a little too much like a Nashville translation of the Jimmy Buffett catalog, well, that’s not too far from the truth. It just turns out that most of the time, these weekend warriors don’t sound as much like traditional country, or even Buffett himself, as Nickelback.

In 2013, Vulture’s Jody Rosen dubbed this modern subset of watered-down twang “bro-country,” and it has more than its share of critics. Grammy and CMT Award winner Zac Brown called Luke Bryan’s “That’s My Kind of Night” one of the worst songs he’s ever heard. And in 2013, rock ’n’ roll icon Tom Petty dismissed most modern country as “bad rock with a fiddle.”

In a sense, the fact that mediocre country is what rises to the top isn’t unique to the genre. There’s plenty of bad rock music without fiddles that sells out amphitheatres, too, but considering how far country has come in the last 50 years—and how strong it often still is—it’s especially dispir-

22 · San Diego CityBeat · January 7, 2015

in classic outlaw country, but he dresses up the influence of Willie and Waylon in tones of Sabbath, AC/DC and Springsteen. In fact, one of Church’s best-known songs is called “Springsteen”—his tribute to a “soundtrack to a July Saturday night”—which only goes to show that his roots run just as deep in rock ’n’ roll as they do in more conventional Nashville sounds.

Church can certainly hold his own when it comes to more conventional western music; his newest single, “Talladega,” is a gentle and pretty four-chord paean to weekends at the racetrack. But he’s even more impressive as a songwriter when he steps outside of the expected. The title track on The Outsiders brings heavy doses of thunder through some burly classicrock riffs and the backing of a choir. And the eight-minute “Devil, Devil,” while certainly indulgent, owes more to the conceptual sprawl of ’70s prog rock than the Grand Ole Opry, though his monologue is littered with references to George Jones and Hank Williams.

Church isn’t without his flaws as a songwriter. He’s got a way with a melody and a riff, but one of the glaring weak spots on his new album is “Dark Side,” a fairly shallow character study that goes no further than angry-white-guy-with-a-gun red-state clichés. Though it would be flawed on my part to assume it’s autobiographical, just as iting to see what amounts to a pack of PG- it would be wrong to assume that the narratives in gangsta-rap songs are to be taken rated Kid Rocks dominate the landscape.

There are plenty of great alternatives to literally. As Ghostface Killah once put it, the big country bro-down, however. Mad- amazingly, “I ain’t shoot nobody in like… die and Tae’s “Girl in the Country Song” since the early ’90s, man.”

Still, though Church certainly has room is a cheeky riposte to the sexism so prevalent in country, but even lower down the for growth ahead of him, he’s already left a charts there’s an embarrassment of pedal- heavy impact by offering an ambitious alternative to mainstream counsteel riches. There’s the outlaw try while, ostensibly, continuing revivalism of Sturgill Simpto operate inside of it. Country son. There’s the wit and charm Jan. 18 hasn’t been a place where artists of Kacey Musgraves. There’s take many risks, at least since the lush, old-school Nashville Valley View Garth Brooks’ Chris Gaines alsound of Ashley Monroe. And, Casino Center ter ego became a punch line. most notable of all, there’s the ericchurch.com Church is helping to change that ambitious, hard-rocking punch by reclaiming the ’70s-era amof Eric Church.

It’s telling that Church’s new album is bition of progressive country while updatcalled The Outsiders. While he’s enjoyed a ing its sound for a contemporary audience. similar level of success as some of his bro- And, bro, that’s my kind of country. ier contemporaries, and considerably more critical acclaim, he’s cut from a decidedly Write to jefft@sdcitybeat.com different swath of denim. He has one spur and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

notes from the smoking patio Nicole Espina

Locals Only

Wild Wild Wets are getting ready to release their debut album. After playing together for roughly three years and releasing a series of singles, the psychedelicrock group has finally wrapped up work on a full-length, which will be released this month.

The new record is called 14th Floor— the title a nod to Austin psych-rock heroes The 13th Floor Elevators—and the group will play a record-release show on Jan. 16 at The Casbah, as part of their quarterly San Diego Freak Out live series. The album was actually recorded back in spring 2014, singer Mike Turi tells CityBeat, and when the band went on a Southwest tour last year, they sold unmastered cassette copies of it on the road.

“We released a small batch of tapes for our tour,” Turi says. “It felt stupid to From left: Taejon Romanik, Mike Turi and Marco Piro go out on the road without a record we had just finished.”

“It takes so much time to get vinyl pressed that by The album, which will be available on CD and cas- the time we’re over the hump, we’re already focused sette, was recorded in three locations in San Diego on our next record,” Turi says. “We’re hoping that and Los Angeles. Despite being recorded in pieces, when we release the next record, someone will want Turi says the album “sounds great as a whole cohe- to repress 14th Floor.” sive piece” and features elements of blues, R&B and The band’s already begun working on a second krautrock in addition to their signature psychedelic album, and though they’ve undergone several lineup garage sound. changes in the last two years, Turi says they’re more Ultimately, the band would like to release 14th focused than ever.

Floor on vinyl, but they’ve held off for now, due to “I feel like we’re all kind of working toward the same budget and time constraints—increased demand for thing,” he says. “We’re getting more from ourselves.” vinyl pressing means it would take several months —Jeff Terich before the pressing would be finished.

Music review Ed Ghost Tucker Channels (self-released) In the few short years that Ed Ghost Tucker have been playing music together, they’ve progressed a lot.

They’ve gone from acoustic-heavy folk-rock to a more jazz-influenced sound and then to an indie-rock sound that incorporates elements of Latin and calypso music. Ed Ghost Tucker seem more about change and evolution than about any particular sound.

The band’s tendency toward diverse and eclectic approaches to pop music is on full display on their debut EP, Channels. The six songs that appear on the EP each has a different character and aesthetic, but are all unmistakably the work of the same band.

Though it’s not always easy to sum up Ed Ghost Tucker’s music in one simple phrase or label, the style they present on their first proper release is uniquely their own.

That said, it’s hard not to be reminded of Vampire Weekend on the mesmerizing, atmospheric opener “Kids on the Block.” Part of that is due to a vocal per-

formance by Cameron Wilson that sounds a bit like Ezra Koenig’s, but the similarity comes as more of a parallel than a direct comparison—Ed Ghost Tucker incorporate Caribbean sounds in much the same way that Vampire Weekend does with African influences.

No one rule about Ed Ghost Tucker holds true for every song, however; on “I Do,” the best song on the EP, Michaela Wilson takes over on vocals—treated gorgeously with a heavy, ghostly dose of reverb— while the band nimbly shifts from an intricate, polyrhythmic arrangement to a solid groove.

It shows everything the band is capable of in just a few short minutes, and it’s impressive, to say the least.

For being a brief release, Channels has its share of highlights, including the dreamy “Mom Got Fat” and the upbeat island-pop of “Likes of You.” Ed Ghost Tucker more than make good on the promise of their early demos; I only wish I’d given this EP a thorough listen before compiling my Best San Diego Albums of 2014 list.

—Jeff Terich Write to jefft@sdcitybeat.com or editor@sdcitybeat.com.

January 7, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 23

if i were u Wednesday, Jan. 7 PLAN A: Lieutenant, Lady Low @ The Casbah. Nate Mendel is best known as the bass player for Foo Fighters, but he’s also a founding member of Sunny Day Real Estate and has had his hand in a number of outstanding indie-rock albums. He’s launched a new project called Lieutenant, and though I don’t know much about it, I’m going to go ahead and say it’s worth checking out.

BY Jeff Terich produced my favorite local record of 2014.

BACKUP PLAN: Jucifer, Author & Punisher, Lazy Cobra @ Brick by Brick.

Sunday, Jan. 11

PLAN A: The Flesh Eaters, Skating Polly @ The Casbah. To old-school punks, The Flesh Eaters should be a household name.

They formed in the late ’70s, and have featured members of X, Plugz, The Blasters and Los Lobos in their lineup at various Thursday, Jan. 8 times. They also kick ass, so if you want PLAN A: Aesop Rock, Rob Sonic, DJ Abil- to get your year off the ground with some ities @ The Irenic. Aesop Rock has enough O.G. power-chord punch, this is the way dynamite singles in his back catalog to make to do it. PLAN B: The Jayhawks, Trapone hell of a best-of collection. But it just per Schoepp @ Belly Up Tavern. If punk so happens he’s working isn’t part of your Sunday with producer Blueprint on routine, then opt for some something new. I expect big classic alt-country instead. things, but in the meantime, The Jayhawks’ Hollywood I’d be down to hear some Town Hall and Tomorrow hip-hop jams like “Daythe Green Grass are both exlight” and “None Shall Pass.” cellent slices of ’90s fuzzPLAN B: Cumbia Machin, and-twang, so you can’t go La Diabla, DJ Viejo Lowbo wrong here. @ Soda Bar. A couple of weeks ago, I profiled local Monday, Jan. 12 electro-cumbia artist CumPLAN A: California X, bia Machin, better known to friends and family as Joaquin Aesop Rock Happy Diving, Causers @ The Hideout. California X Hernandez. If you missed his New Year’s Eve show, make sure to get in on were one of my favorite discoveries of 2013. the danceable grooves at this one. BACKUP They have a sound that’s somewhere between Dinosaur Jr. and Smashing Pumpkins’ PLAN: Too Short @ Porter’s Pub. Siamese Dream, so suffice it to say, they rock pretty damn hard. They’ve got a new album Friday, Jan. 9 on the way this week, so get an early listen in PLAN A: Whitey Morgan and the 78’s, before it’s out. PLAN B: Swim Team, Evan Jake Loban, Joe Fletcher @ The Casbah. Voytas, Joyce @ Soda Bar. If you missed Whitey Morgan plays outlaw country with Swim Team’s first week of residency at Soda a dose of rock music that bears shades of Bar, there are more chances just around the Waylon Jennings in his prime or, more re- corner—like this one. Their dreamy, melodic cently, Hank Williams III. It’s not like much sound is just what a Monday night calls for. you’ll hear in the mainstream, so if you like And, once again, it’s totally free. BACKUP your country music good and rowdy, you PLAN: Digital Lizards of Doom, Bakkuda, won’t be disappointed.

Bang Pow, DJ Man Cat @ The Casbah.

24 · San Diego CityBeat · January 7, 2015

Saturday, Jan. 10

Tuesday, Jan. 13

PLAN A: Olivelawn, Deadbolt, White Murder, Uncle Joe’s Big Ol’ Driver @ The Casbah. Olivelawn have been rocking on and off in San Diego for a few decades, with a sound that falls somewhere between grunge and post-hardcore, and this show has high potential for melting faces. They’ll be joined by a long list of local vets, so make a night of it and bone up on some San Diego classics. PLAN B: David J, The Midnight Pine, Camron Zibaie @ The Hideout.

David J has played in legendary bands like Bauhaus and Love and Rockets, as well as having released a series of solo records.

He’s got a deep catalog, and he’s still making interesting music after all these years.

Get there early for The Midnight Pine, who

PLAN A: Midge Ure, Creature and the Woods @ The Casbah. Not many bands can successfully pull off changing a frontman, but when John Foxx left Ultravox, the band arguably hit its stride after replacing him with Midge Ure. Ure helmed the classic album Vienna and then forged a successful solo path of his own. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear a synth-pop legend in an intimate setting. PLAN B: Hibou, Dark Waves, Bruin, Grassynoll @ Soda Bar. Hibou is an artist whose sound crosses over into any number of recent trends: beach indie, chillwave and surf- / garage-rock revival. Yet, that he doesn’t fit so neatly into any of them is what makes his sunny jangle so appealing.

That and the catchy tunes, of course.

January 7, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 25

HOT! NEW! FRESH! Big Sean (Fluxx, 1/22), S (Bar Pink, 2/5), Aziz Ansari (Valley View Casino Center, 2/6), Migos (North Park Theatre, 2/10), Cro-Mags (Soda Bar, 2/12), Juicy J (North Park Theatre, 2/13), Enabler (Tower Bar, 2/15), Mac Sabbath (The Hideout, 2/21), Griever (Soda Bar, 2/27), Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience (BUT, 3/3, 3/5), The Twilight Sad (The Merrow, 3/13), Saviours (Soda Bar, 3/19), Al Di Meola (Balboa Theatre, 4/23).

CANCELED Marc Cohn (Belly Up Tavern, 1/14), Little Hurricane (North Park Theatre, 1/17).

GET YER TICKETS Tower of Power (BUT, 1/17), Eric Church (Valley View Casino Center, 1/18), G. Love and Special Sauce (HOB, 1/18), Guster (HOB, 1/21), The Coup (Casbah, 1/25), Russian Circles (Soda Bar, 1/25), The Wailers (BUT, 1/27), Wale (North Park Theatre, 1/31), Patti Smith (Balboa Theatre, 1/31), Juan Gabriel (Viejas Arena, 2/6), Motion City Soundtrack (HOB, 2/11), Hundred Waters (Casbah, 2/11), The Dodos (Casbah, 2/14), Ozomatli (BUT, 2/14-15), Alan Jackson (Valley View Casino Center, 2/20), Kina Grannis (Porter’s Pub, 2/20), Steve Aoki (Soma, 2/20), Gregory Alan Isakov (The Irenic, 2/22), Cursive (Casbah, 2/22), David Cook (BUT, 2/23), In Flames (HOB, 2/23), Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band (Viejas Arena, 2/25), Cold War Kids (North Park Theatre, 2/25), Taking Back Sunday

(HOB, 2/26), The Church (Casbah, 2/28), Theophilus London (BUT, 3/1), Swervedriver (Casbah, 3/4), Enslaved, YOB (Brick by Brick, 3/5), Viet Cong (Soda Bar, 3/7), A Place to Bury Strangers (Casbah, 3/11), Hurray for the Riff Raff (BUT, 3/11), Bleachers (HOB, 3/12), Twin Shadow (BUT, 3/13), Ani DiFranco (HOB, 3/16), George Benson (Balboa Theatre, 3/26), Blue October (HOB, 4/9), Andrew Jackson Jihad (The Irenic, 4/10), Buddy Guy (Balboa Theatre, 4/11), Bruce Hornsby (Balboa Theatre, 4/16), Iggy Azalea (Valley View Casino Center, 4/23), OK Go (HOB, 5/1), They Might Be Giants (BUT, 5/3), Lana Del Rey (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 5/16), Nickelback (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 6/27), One Direction (Qualcomm Stadium, 7/9), Idina Menzel (Open Air Theatre, 8/8), Foo Fighters (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 9/24).

January Thursday, Jan. 8 The Dictators at Brick by Brick.

Friday, Jan. 9 Katchafire at Belly Up Tavern.

Saturday, Jan. 10

Tuesday, Jan. 13

Friday, Jan. 23

Midge Ure at The Casbah. Hibou at Soda Bar.

Thursday, Jan. 15 Dead Kennedys at Belly Up Tavern.

Friday, Jan. 16 Wild Child at Belly Up Tavern. ‘San Diego Freakout’ w/ Wild Wild Wets, Burning Palms, Max Pain and the Groovies at The Casbah.

Saturday, Jan. 17 Powerman 5000 at Brick by Brick. Tower of Power at Belly Up Tavern. Little Hurricane at The North Park Theatre.

The Dickies at Soda Bar.

Sunday, Jan. 18

Sunday, Jan. 25 The Coup at The Casbah. Russian Circles at Soda Bar.

Monday, Jan. 26 Weyes Blood at The Hideout.

The Wailers at Belly Up Tavern. Cult of Youth at Soda Bar.

Wednesday, Jan. 28 Dead Feather Moon at Belly Up Tavern.

February Monday, Feb. 2 Todd Snider at Belly Up Tavern. Jukebox the Ghost at Soda Bar.

Wednesday, Feb. 4 Vonda Shepard at Belly Up Tavern.

Thursday, Feb. 5 Kenny Wayne Shepherd at Belly Up Tavern. You Blew It! at House of Blues Voodoo Room. S at Bar Pink.

Friday, Feb. 6 Generationals at The Casbah. Juan Gabriel at Viejas Arena. Aziz Ansari at Valley View Casino Center.

Saturday, Feb. 7 People on Vacation at Porter’s Pub. Earthless at The Casbah. Excel at Soda Bar.

Tuesday, Feb. 10 Migos at North Park Theatre.

Wednesday, Jan. 21

Thursday, Jan. 29

Guster at House of Blues.

Keller Williams at Belly Up Tavern.

Friday, Jan. 30 Dave and Phil Alvin at Belly Up Tavern.

Brooke Fraser at The Irenic. Paul Wall at Porter’s Pub. Nothing at Soda Bar. We Are Scientists at The Casbah.

Sunday, Jan. 11 Flesh Eaters at The Casbah. The Darlings at Soda Bar.

California X at The Hideout.

Saturday, Jan. 24 Big Head Todd and the Monsters at Belly Up Tavern. Helms Alee at The Hideout. Cadillac Tramps at The Casbah. Paul Collins Beat at Til-Two Club.

Tuesday, Jan. 27

Eric Church at Valley View Casino Center. G. Love and Special Sauce at House of Blues. White Arrows at The Casbah. Six String Society at Belly Up Tavern. Ice Cube at Fluxx.

Cody Lovaas at Carlsbad Village Theatre. Olivelawn at The Casbah. Jucifer at Brick by Brick. David J at The Hideout.

Monday, Jan. 12

Ras Kass at Porter’s Pub. Big Head Todd and the Monsters at Belly Up Tavern. The Donkeys at The Casbah.

Big Sean Thursday, Jan. 22 The Mast at Soda Bar. Big Sean at Fluxx.

Saturday, Jan. 31 Patti Smith at Balboa Theatre. Wale at North Park Theatre. Silverstein at House of Blues.

Wednesday, Feb. 11 Motion City Soundtrack at House of Blues. Hundred Waters at The Casbah.

Lily and Madeleine at The Loft.

Thursday, Feb. 12 Cro-Mags at Soda Bar. Pharmakon at The Hideout.

Friday, Feb. 13 Juicy J at North Park Theatre.

Saturday, Feb. 14 The Dodos at The Casbah. LOGIC at North Park Theatre. Ozomatli at Belly Up Tavern.

Sunday, Feb. 15 Enabler at Tower Bar. Ozomatli at Belly Up Tavern. Swami John Reis and the Blind Shake at The Casbah.

rCLUBSr

710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave, Pacific Beach. 710bc.com. Wed: Open mic. Thu: Live band karaoke. Fri: The Tilt, Indiana Jonesin. Sat: 40 Oz. to Freedom, Fayuca.

Sun: Karaoke.

98 Bottles, 2400 Kettner Blvd. Ste. 110, Little Italy. 98bottlessd.com. Fri: Joe Garrison and Night People.

Air Conditioned Lounge, 4673 30th St, Normal Heights. airconditionedbar.com.

Wed: DJs Adia Break, Josh Taylor, Volz, Jus Sven, Giana, Viking. Thu: DJs Ivan Gregory, Matthew Brian. Fri: DJ Junior the DiscoPunk. Sat: Mike Czech. Sun: DJs John Reynolds, Karma, Tripsy.

American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave, Downtown. americancomedyco.com.

Wed: Open mic. Thu: Finesse Mitchell.

Thu-Sat: Finesse Mitchell. Sun: Nick Thune.

Bang Bang, 526 Market St, Downtown. facebook.com/BangBangSanDiego. Sat: Gorgon City, Kidnap Kid, Redlight.

Bar Pink, 3829 30th St, North Park. barpink.com. Wed: DJ Grand Masta Rats.

Sat: The Milkcrates DJs. Sun: DJ Ratty.

Mon: ‘Wreckordmania’ w/ DJ @Large.

Bassmnt, 919 Fourth Ave, Downtown. bassmntsd.com. Thu: All Gold. Fri: Vice.

Sat: DVBBS. Beaumont’s, 5662 La Jolla Blvd, La Jolla.

26 · San Diego CityBeat · January 7, 2015

brocktonvilla.com/beaumonts.html. Thu: JX2. Fri: Aquile Band. Sun: Joe Cardillo.

on Grove. dirksniteclub.com. Fri: Nemesis. Sat: DJ Dizzy D.

Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave, Solana Beach. bellyup.com. Wed: Second Cousins, Oliver Trolley, Justin Froese, Tyson Motsenbocker. Fri: Katchafire, Iba MaHr. Sat: Wayward Sons, Wag Halen.

Sun: The Jayhawks, Trapper Schoepp.

Tue: The Wood Brothers, Mandolin Orange.

Dizzy’s, 4275 Mission Bay Drive, Mission Bay. dizzyssandiego.com. Fri: John Mills Times Ten. Fri: Sinne Eeg. Sat: Brian Lynch.

Boar Cross’n, 390 Grand Ave, Carlsbad. boarcrossn.net. Thu: The Dirty Work. Fri: ‘Club Musae’. Sat: Shoreline Rootz.

Brass Rail, 3796 Fifth Ave, Hillcrest. thebrassrailsd.com. Fri: ‘Hip Hop Fridayz’.

Sat: ‘Sabado En Fuego’ w/ DJs XP, KA. Sun: ‘Noche Romantica’ w/ Daisy Salinas, DJ Sebastian La Madrid. Mon: ‘Manic Monday’ w/ DJs Junior the DiscoPunk, XP. Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave, Bay Park. brickbybrick.com. Thu: The Dictators NYC, MOTOR666, Authentic Sellout, Sculpins. Fri: Squirrelly Arts, The Shaolin Signal, Mursic. Sat: Jucifer, Author and Punisher, Lazy Cobra. Mon: ‘Metal Monday’. Tue: Neon Knights, Children of the Grave.

Comedy Palace, 8878 Clairemont Mesa Blvd, Clairemont. thecomedypalace.com.

Fri-Sat: Adam Hunter.

Comedy Store, 916 Pearl St, La Jolla. lajolla.thecomedystore.com.

Fri-Sat: Moshe Kasher.

Croce’s Park West, 2760 Fifth Ave., #100, Bankers Hill. crocesparkwest.com.

Wed: Nathan Collins. Thu: Bruce Forman and Mike Wofford. Fri: Christopher Hollyday. Sat: Gilbert Castellanos and the Park West Ensemble. Sun: Besos de Coco.

Mon: Gregory Page. Tue: Ruby Duo. Dirk’s Nightclub, 7662 Broadway, Lem-

Hard Rock Hotel, 207 Fifth Ave, Downtown. hardrockhotelsd.com. Thu: ‘Concert for a Cause for Caley’ w/ Desolace, Alien Monster, Marujah.

Henry’s Pub, 618 Fifth Ave, Downtown. henryspub.com. Wed: The Fooks. Thu: DJ Antonio Aguilera. Sat: DJs E, Yodah.

Sun: Karaoke. Mon: Dream Brother. Tue: Big City Dawgs.

House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave, Downtown. houseofblues.com/sandiego. Fri: This Wild Life.

Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd, Midtown. kavalounge.com. Wed: ‘Fully Patched’. Thu: ‘Acid Varsity’. Sat: ‘Subdvsn’. Sun: ‘Connectivity’. Mon: ‘Loaded’.

Tue: ‘High Tech Tuesday’.

Mc P’s Irish Pub, 1107 Orange Ave, Coronado. mcpspub.com. Wed: Goodal Boys. Thu: 4-Way Street. Fri: Pat Ellis and Blue Frog Band. Sat: Tone Cookin’.

Tue: 3 Guys Will Move U. Patricks Gaslamp, 428 F St, Downtown. patricksii.com. Thu: Christina. Fri: The Bill Magee Blues Band. Sat: Mystique Element of Soul. Sun: Johnny Vernazza.

Mon: The Groove Squad. Tue: Paddys Chicken Jam. Porter’s Pub, 9500 Gilman Dr., UCSD campus, La Jolla. porterspub.net. Thu: Too Short. Fri: Planet Asia and Durag Dynasty. Sat: ‘Something Nasty’.

Rich’s, 1051 University Ave, Hillcrest. richssandiego.com. Wed: ‘Mischief with Bianca’. Thu: Von Kiss. Fri: DJs Dirty Kurty,

Will Z. Sat: DJ Taj. Sun: Mike Bryant.

Riviera Supper Club, 7777 University Ave, La Mesa. rivierasupperclub.com.

Wed: Westside Inflection. Thu: Comedy night. Fri: Velvet Cafe. Sat: Sleepwalkers.

Tue: Karaoke.

Seven Grand, 3054 University Ave, North Park. sevengrandbars.com/sd.

Wed: Gilbert Castellanos jazz jam. Fri: Bangladesh, Marqay. Sat: Stevie and the Hi-Staxx. Mon: ‘Makossa Mondays’ w/ DJ Tah Rei. Side Bar, 536 Market St, Downtown. sidebarsd.com. Thu: DJ XP. Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd, City Heights. sodabarmusic.com. Wed: Plastik Deer, Flakes, Artmonk. Thu: Cumbia Machin, La Diabla, DJ Viejo Lowbo. Fri: Hooded Fang, Flaggs, Splavender. Sat: Ignite, Common War, True Rivals, Bender.

Sun: The Darlings, Dime Runner, Punchcard, Model Talk. Mon: Swim Team, Evan Voytas, Joyce. Tue: Hibou, Dark Waves, Bruin, Grassy Noll.

SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd, Midway. somasandiego.com. Fri: Sacred Cow, Johns Last Ghost, Guidelines, Mudbone, Run 2 Cover. Sat: The Frights, Pilgrims, The Makos, The Snykes, Neveready, Sandy Cheeks.

Somewhere Loud, 3489 Noell St, Midtown. somewhereloud.com. Sat: Von Kiss.

Stage Bar & Grill, 762 Fifth Ave, Downtown. stagesaloon.com. Thu: Superbad.

Fri: Disco Pimps, DJ Slynkee. Sat: Hott Mess, DJ Miss Dust.

Sycamore Den, 3391 Adams Ave., San Diego, Normal Heights. sycamoreden. com. Thu: Daniel Crawford, Ashley Pond.

The Bancroft, 9143 Campo Rd, Spring Valley. 619-469-2337. Thu: ‘Club 80s’.

Sat: Corima, Trash Axis, Vaginals, Mass Delete.

The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd, Midtown. casbahmusic.com. Wed: Lieutenant. Thu: Sean Watkins, Lauren Shera.

Fri: Whitey Morgan and The 78s, Jake Loban, Joe Fletcher. Sat: Olivelawn, Deadbolt, White Murder, Uncle Joe’s Big Ol’ Driver. Sun: Flesh Eaters, Skating Polly. Mon: Digital Lizards of Doom, Bakkuda, Bang Pow, DJ Mancat. Tue: Midge Ure, Creature and the Woods.

The Hideout, 3519 El Cajon Blvd, City Heights. thehideoutsd.com. Fri: Amerikan Bear, Loom, The Burdens. Sat: David J, The Midnight Pine, Cameron Zibaie. Mon: California X, Happy Diving, Causers.

The Loft @ UCSD, Price Center East, La Jolla. theloft.ucsd.edu. Wed: Julian Lage.

Thu: Taiko.

The Merrow, 1271 University Ave, Hillcrest. theMerrow.com. Wed: Mark Broach. Thu: Hot Mustard, Badabing.

Fri: Unsteady, Oceanside Sound System.

Sat: The Lifted, Ryan Troughton Effect.

Mon: Open mic.

The Office, 3936 30th St, North Park. officebarinc.com. Wed: ‘Friends Chill’ w/ DJs Eddie Turbo, DubChops. Thu: DJ Myson King. Fri: DJs Kid Wonder, Saul Q. Sat: DJs Kanye Asada, Gabe Vega.

Sun: ‘Uptown Top Ranking’ w/ DJs Tribe of Kings. Mon: Lauren Scheff’s All-Star Jam. Tue: DJ Ramsey.

The Tin Roof, 401 G Street, Gaslamp. tinroofbars.com/Home/SanDiego. Wed: Pat Hilton. Thu: Freeze Frame. Fri: Groove Factory, Shane Hall Duo. Sat: Chris Weaver Band, The Soulside Players, The Village Squares. Sun: Rhythm

and The Method, The Klay. Mon: Vinnassi. Tue: Sankoh “africanpostman”, The Rockaway Kings.

Til-Two Club, 4746 El Cajon Blvd, City Heights. tiltwoclub.com. Thu: Rvivr, Western Settings, DFMK. Sat: Chango Rey, Cedar Fire, Telling Lies. Sun: Open mic comedy. Mon: Karaoke.

Tio Leo’s, 5302 Napa St, Bay Park. tioleos.com. Thu: Mercedes Moore.

Fri: Joseph Luna Jump Band. Sat: The Roy K Trio. Sun: BLUSD Jam. Tue: Sue Palmer.

Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave, City Heights. thetowerbar.com. Wed: ‘The Ratt’s Revenge’ w/ DJs Mikey Ratt, Tiki Thomas. Sat: Great Apes, Sic Waiting, Divided Heaven.

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

Wed: Tomcat Courtney. Thu: The Jade Visions Jazz Trio. Fri: Gabriela Aparicio (5 p.m.); Afro Jazziacs (9 p.m.). Sat: Vera Cruz Blues (5 p.m.); Son Pa Ti (9 p.m.).

Sun: Sounds Like Four (5 p.m.); Blue 44 (7 p.m.). Mon: Open mic. Tue: Grupo Global.

Ux31, 3112 University Ave, North Park. u31bar.com. Thu: DJ Junior the DiscoPunk. Fri: Bacon Bits. Sat: Saul Q. Sun: Jah Army Soundsystem. Mon: Lee Churchill. Tue: Karaoke.

West Coast Tavern, 2895 University Ave, North Park. westcoatstavern.com.

Thu: DJ Slowhand. Fri: Billy the Kid. Sat: Mr. Deejay. Sun: DJ Clean Cut. Winstons, 1921 Bacon St, Ocean Beach. winstonsob.com. Wed: Layne Tadesse and 7 Seal Dub Band, DJ Carlos Culture.

Thu: Slower. Fri: Groovesession, Sister Speak. Sat: Cubensis. Sun: Karaoke.

Mon: Electric Waste Band.

Janaury 7, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 27

Brendan Emmett Quigley

No funny stuff Across 1. “America’s Got Talent” entrant 4. Ignored the alarm 9. ___ male (one who always gets his way) 14. Fighting chance?

15. Kim Deal was one, once 16. Kinda risky 17. Put away everything from the lunch box 18. “You ___ kidding!”

19. Person doing a smear campaign, for short?

20. Start of some advice for some circus-goers 23. Give to the church 24. Chewed out but good 27. Eyelid problem 28. Classic rock selection 32. “___ world ...” (clichéd movie trailer line) 33. Worn at the edges 35. Halloween loot 37. Middle of some advice 40. Eric B.’s partner in rhyme 41. Post the URL again 42. Feminist hero/computer programmer Lovelace 43. Curving shot in billiards 44. Touch, e.g.

48. Psychedelic buttons 51. Video game blogger Sarkeesian 52. End of the advice 57. TV actress Dushku 59. Wipe clean 60. Helsinki deer 61. Role words Last week’s answers

28 · San Diego CityBeat · January 7, 2015

62. Freshen (up) 63. Santiago Bernabéu Stadium cheer 64. ___ and blood 65. Drum god Neil 66. Neither’s partner

Down 1. Stays on hold, say 2. Conniption 3. Agreement after a 14-Across 4. Sudden flood 5. Turkish cabbage 6. Golden parachute recipient 7. Like rare meat 8. French bean?

9. InDesign maker 10. African nation that is over 90% desert 11. Screenplay activity?

12. “Over here!”

13. Actress Ruymen (c’mon, we can’t always use author Rand) 21. Their motto is “Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity” 22. Beats Audio cofounder, for short 25. Good weed 26. Time for light work?

28. One known for dropping things 29. DuPont material 30. Strikes from the script 31. Fan letter recipients 34. ___-com 35. Lemon’s home 36. “Yours for the ___” 37. Created 38. “You convinced me!”

39. Creamer rival 40. Any Kendrick Lamar tune 43. Collided (with) 45. Keep adding 46. Verdi opera based on Shakespeare 47. More ominous 49. Seeps out 50. Roadside collection 51. Artist’s rep 53. “I’m stumped!”

54. Gannon University city 55. Morning fix provider 56. One doing beta testing, e.g.

57. Noted toymaker 58. Tiny, for short

January 7, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 29

30 · San Diego CityBeat · January 7, 2015

January 7, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 31