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January 6, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 1
2 · San Diego CityBeat · January 20, 2016
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January 20, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 3
Up Front | From the editor
Homeless vets get mayoral pledge
I
nside a near-packed Balboa Theatre tioned in the equation there is a different reaction. last week, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer “There’s more compassion, it captures your attenaimed a hearty 750 words at homelessness tion,” he says. “Focusing on veterans is a logical enduring his annual State of the City address. He try point so that success can breed success.” said the city is on a new (“housing first”) course to Faulconer said in the State of the City: “For vetaddress the roots of the issue. And he announced erans who are already on the streets, I am working a $12.5 million Housing Our Heroes initiative that with San Diego landlords to open their doors.” would put roofs over the heads of 1,000 currently Unfortunately, in the past, landlords have been slow to rent to homeless veterans, even ones who unsheltered veterans who are living in the streets have housing vouchers in hand. Apartments that by the end of 2016. Some believe the mayor is late to the game, and rent for about $1,000 a month in this tight market compared to mayors stepping to the fore in other citget snapped up quickly on craigslist.com from appliies, he is. Others point to previous five-year and threecants with good credit ratings and no past evictions. year plans in San Diego for eradicating homelessness— Landlords are afraid of veterans with mental illness as well as federal programs problems doing damage to ron donoho and/or challenges—where obunits or causing disturbancjectives were not met. es. There’s also sometimes But could we be turning a a two-week lag in voucher corner here? payments kicking in. During Faulconer’s an“We have already benual address I sat near a volgun a partnership with San Diego [Regional] Chamber unteer homeless advocate [of Commerce] CEO Jerry who whispered a restrained Sanders and local apartment exclamation of joy at the associations to identify hunmention of the veterans’ inidreds of housing units for tiative. The homelessness adveterans,” said Faulconer. vocacy community has been The Chamber’s commupraying for the mayor to take a leadership role. It remains nications director acknowlto be seen if he will stand at The mayor voiced backing for homeless vets. edged this but declined to the bow of the ship for the discuss specifics. An ongoing series of meeting hosted by 25 Citvoyage. But his comments do represent a public ies San Diego (the local arm of a federal initiative acknowledgement and commitment to a goal that can and should be benchmarked by the San Diego focused on homelessness) is being scheduled with Housing Commission throughout the coming year. the aim of bringing landlords together to hear their A spokesperson for the mayor says more deconcerns about allocating apartments for hometails will be forthcoming in a press conference next less veterans. That feedback will be valuable. Those month. landlords may need to be incentivized or at least San Diego needs to play some serious catch-up. convinced this is a serious venture that bears teeth Our city ranks fourth in the nation in homeless popand is backed by political will. “It’s several factors, but in other cities where ulation, with 8,742 counted in January of last year. San Diego City Councilmember Todd Gloria is conthis is succeeding, the landlords are stepping up,” said Michael McConnell, local team leader of 25 cerned that number may increase this year when Cities. “They’re stepping up because they’re being the annual count-in-place results come in. asked by the right people.” “This is a frustrating issue for the homeless as well By all accounts, if the mayor of a city is publicly as the folks who see it,” said Gloria, who also chairs the Regional Continuum of Care Council, a coalition and vocally behind such a push it has a substantially of homelessness stakeholders. “We have to show that greater chance of getting homeless people—veterthis is a solvable situation. When my constituents see ans, children, families, all human beings—off our people defecating in the streets their first reaction is streets. —Ron Donoho not always what’s best for humanity.” However, Gloria says when veterans are menWrite to rond@sdcitybeat.com This issue of CityBeat says “Take It Easy,” oh Grim Reaper of Rock Icons.
Volume 14 • Issue 24 Editor Ron Donoho Music Editor Jeff Terich Arts Editor Seth Combs Web Editor Ryan Bradford Art director Carolyn Ramos editorial assistant Torrey Bailey Columnists Aaryn Belfer, Edwin Decker John R. Lamb, Alex Zaragoza
Contributors David L. Coddon, Beth Demmon, Andrew Dyer, Tiffany Fox, Michael A. Gardiner, Glenn Heath Jr., Peter Holslin, Jessica Johnson, Scott McDonald, Jenny Montgomery, Susan Myrland, Chad Peace, Jim Ruland, Ben Salmon, Tom Siebert, Jen Van Tieghem, Amy Wallen
Senior account executive Jason Noble Account Executives Beau Odom, Kimberly Wallace, Isaac Aycox Accounting Kacie Cobian, Sharon Huie, Linda Lam Human Resources Andrea Baker
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4 · San Diego CityBeat · January 20, 2016
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Up Front | Letters
INVOKING PEE-WEE HERMAN Well said [“A Chargers-less, Powerball-type payday,” Jan. 13]! The city still owes $60 to $70 million for the stadium improvements (Still paying for Petco, too?) The city versus pro teams has been like a cage match between Pee-Wee Herman (the city) and Vladimir Putin (the pros). The city should have insisted on a percent of the team in exchange for improvements and financing. Dean Spanos has seen the team’s value increase from $500 million to $1 billion thanks to chump politicians and media pimps. If I was younger and had more energy I would launch a recall effort for Mayor Kevin Faulconer... Keep up the good work. David Bainbridge, Mira Mesa
SECOND THING: CORN HOLE Two things. 1. This Editor’s Letter [“Resolutions for San Diego public figures,” Dec. 30] has been my favorite thus far. I’ve recently been starting to get more in tune with what is happening in my city, starting with publications such as this one. This summarization of what our public figures have been up to has given me incentive to blur out the information being given through the more commercial media outlets (who, by the time the crucial information from these issues gets to them, will have inflated, conflated, revised, readjusted and, essentially, recreated in order to fit the narrative that suits the views of the company. Also, opening the pages of this week’s CityBeat brought me back briefly to the letter you wrote reflecting on your time working there thus far [“What doesn’t kill you…,” Dec. 22]. It persuaded me to think
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about time itself, and how our sense of time is broken down based on seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and so on, and how holidays act as checkpoints in our lives and mark new beginnings in our mind. It’s funny how we are psychologically prone to making any major event in broader society our own personal start and/or finish line. These patterns and structure that we arrange our existence around are quite interesting when you take time to recognize how closely related they are to our fixation on power, material goods and the (somewhat) still relevant denial that we are one day going to die, and that all of this hostility and consolidation in various forms will have been for nothing but satisfaction of our own self-fulfilling prophecy. But, I digress for now, as there are others who would like to be heard. 2. Great use of “corn holing” to finish out the latest piece. Quintin Cummins, Clairemont
On the
Cover
The cover illustration by no means endorses the use of family decal stickers on the back windows of family trucksters. The concept arose in a staff editorial meeting and was implemented by art director Carolyn Ramos. But yes, we do see the prototypical alt-family including one kid, a mom and a bearded dad who has 14 cats and likes his craft beer.
January 20, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 5
photos by ken stone
Up Front | news
Off and running for San Diego City Attorney A mixed cast of four Dems and one GOP candidate vie for the office by Ken Stone
W
hich of the five candidates for San Diego City Attorney is an unabashed ’80s postpunk music fan whose last concert was Echo & the Bunnymen at Humphreys? Unexpected answer: Robert “Bob” Hickey, the lone Republican in the field. He also surfs. Ranging in age from 37 to 47, the Fab Five aren’t what you would expect of bidders for a button-down nonpartisan job—the top legal adviser in City Hall and prosecutor of misdemeanors. And note: A sex-harassment case is spicing things up in the race to replace termed-out Jan Goldsmith. One candidate calls himself “the second coming of Mike Aguirre” and a longtime friend of Mark Fabiani, the despised Chargers special counsel. The lone woman—who’d be the first female city attorney—missed her Olympic calling. She high-jumped an amazing 5-foot-7 in junior high but didn’t stay in the sport. And the campaign cash leader was a Nevada gold miner out of high school. Gang-busting deputy district attorney Hickey, recruited by his longtime friend Kevin Faulconer and getting the GOP vote in the June 7 primary, is expected to make it to the general election against the top Democrat. So what kind of liberals are rivals Gil Cabrera, Rafael Castellanos, Mara Elliott and latebloomer Bryan Pease (he entered the race Jan. 8)? Private attorney Cabrera (who got $500 from Fabiani) posted a video challenging other candidates to support common-sense gun laws. He says he’d be as “creative as possible” to keep seized guns from being returned to people convicted of crime. Cabrera, 43, leans toward Hillary Clinton and vows to ramp up transparency, saying his “default” is to publicly disclose his legal-advice memos to the mayor and council. “Rarely does it undermine negotiations or litigation positions,” he said. A marijuana smoker in college, the former city Ethics
6 · San Diego CityBeat · January 20, 2016
Clockwise from Far left: Gil Cabrera , Rafael Castellanos, Robert Hickey, Bryan Pease, Mara Elliott Commission chairman says the city doesn’t have enough legal dispensaries. He doesn’t like what he calls the current whack-a-mole response to illegal pot shops. With more legal ones, he said, neighborhoods would get used to their presence. Castellanos, 41, is a son of Mexican immigrants who took law classes from Barack Obama in Chicago. A landuse lawyer, he was recruited for the Port Commission by Councilman David Alvarez. He backs Clinton (“tough as nails”) and wore steel-toed shoes in his hardscrabble youth. With second half of 2015 disclosures coming at the end of January, Castellanos led the money race in July with $161,000. He says he’ll “really prioritize going after slumlords” and push for community advisory panels, especially in Southeast San Diego, to advise police and his office on neighborhood issues. “We need to build trust,” he says. He’d send community reps into the field as well. Chief Deputy City Attorney Elliott, 47, likes Clinton and would prioritize prosecution of domestic violence, child abuse and elder abuse. She favors “restorative justice,” giving people a chance to rehabilitate with the help of community courts. Elliott hopes to appeal to Republicans as an Audit Committee lawyer, looking for ways to save the city money. And she’d hold Town Halls, perhaps quarterly, to take the public’s pulse. She trails Cabrera ($134,000) with under $22,000 in donations. But she expects a bump after being endorsed by the Deputy City Attorneys Association, and she hopes the Republican Goldsmith will back her too. Private attorney Pease, 37, is a Bernie Sanders fan who founded a thrift shop benefiting animals. He hopes to corral enough fellow animal-rights and environmental friends to make a run. He hopes at least 100 will stump for him. He vows to eliminate bail for the nonviolent poor, “a
tax on the poor... funding city coffers with these excessive fees and fines.” A one-time District 1 City Council candidate (winning 7 percent in a primary challenge of Sherry Lightner), he sued the city to protect the La Jolla seals. But Pease could have an albatross in Aguirre, the combative one-term city attorney who sparked an exodus of City Hall deputies. Pease shares Aguirre’s “I represent the people first” stance, and says: “I’m probably the only candidate that does. So you can say I’d be the second coming of Mike Aguirre, but not a jerk to work for.” The jerk issue has been raised about Castellanos, however. He settled a sex-harassment suit against Kate McSpadden, a former law-firm subordinate of his. He admitted no wrongdoing but has trashed her as money-grubbing. Hickey (who favors Marco Rubio for president but also likes John Kasich and Carly Fiorina) says “it’s not my style” to exploit the McSpadden issue. “I’m a positive message person.” Pease demurs, saying: “The voters can look at that.” And Cabrera told me: “To say you’re 100 percent vindicated—I don’t believe that’s a correct statement.” But Elliott, who says she left one job amid harassment issues, wasn’t shy: “We just went through a lot as a city with Mayor Filner, and we’re still dealing with the fallout from that. I think the public has a right to ask questions. The city attorney is in a position of trust. And that was, in my opinion, a bad judgment call as a superior to have a relationship of some sort.” Castellanos plays the professional-ethics card. “Any candidate for city attorney who is willing to perpetuate falsehoods is not fit to be city attorney,” he told me. “They should at a minimum repudiate what the surrogates are doing. (They should know) what is a meritless lawsuit. If they truly want to be the city’s attorney, then they need to show that they are not reckless. That they have a good temperament. Not engage in reckless attacks against someone for political and personal gain.” Considered by some to be the Democratic front-runner, Castellenos added: “Willing to win at all costs to have prosecutorial power over people, ability to sue—be careful what you wish for.”
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Up Front | opinion
spin
cycle
john r. lamb
Mayor Moonshot adds to his to-do list An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promises. —Mae West
S
an Diego City Councilmember David Alvarez quietly chuckled when asked about The Tempest in a Tweetstorm. Was the District 8 rep prepping for a rematch with the Blonde Lozenge, aka incumbent Mayor Kevin Faulconer? Could the local Democratic Party finally breathe easy that it would have a balancing voice in the June primary race? Would Alvarez make Faulconer campaign guru Jason Roe’s tweetdream come true? “No,” Alvarez said in a brief phone interview Friday, “the message is pretty clear. When you make statements, you have to follow through with them, especially at the State of the City.” Ah yes, the much-anticipated
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State of the City address. That yearly ritual when the chieftain gathers together his subjects (pals, lobbyists, media, starryeyed poli-wogs and the like) to regale them with telepromptered tales of conquests past and conundrums present, but most importantly visions of caviardreams future! Think beauty pageant meets What’s My Line? ’50s-game-show episode. The evening event—an actual meeting of the City Council, even though its members spend most of the time in the shadows—could be renamed PolitiCon, given the eye-rolling promises traditionally invoked and the wonky, nerdy nature of the crowd drawn to such an affair. Alvarez attends, obviously, because that’s his job. But he added it’s also his job to call out the chieftain when words and actions fail to converge. “If you’re making
public pledges, and you’re saying you’re going to accomplish some things and you don’t do them,” he explained, “it’s our role to hold the executive branch accountable. That’s what the legislative branch of government does.” That’s what his social-media effort that shadowed Faulconer’s big speech was about, not declaring a 2016 challenge. “That’s what it was and will continue to be,” Alvarez said. But that’s not how they felt over at Faulconer Defense Department HQ, at least judging by the reaction. “Please run. Please, please, please run for mayor,” taunted Faulconer campaign strategist Roe, who recently adopted the Oakland Raiders logo as his Twitter avatar in an apparent protest to the cool reception afforded his political mealticket from the San Diego Chargers, while the NFL team—denied its Carson dream—continues to contemplate its future-home options. And what exactly had Alvarez done to deserve Roe’s wrath? In a series of tweets, the councilmember simply provided video snippets from Faulconer’s 2015 State of the City address, essentially holding up a mirror to the Republican incumbent’s own words and promises of a year ago.
Under the tagline “We can do better,” Alvarez pointed to Faulconer’s words about the Chargers from last year when he declared, “My goal is that when the season ends, we won’t be talking about whether the Chargers are moving,” followed by a series of contradictory recent headlines. “An entire year wasted…let’s not make the same mistake this year,” Alvarez tweeted. On San Diego’s crumbling roads and infrastructure, Alvarez countered the mayor’s 2015 promise—“Tonight, I’m very proud to announce that I am making street repair the city’s highest infrastructure priority. Period.”—with “Mayor Faulconer is short $1.7 billion in funding…” Alvarez also pointed to the mayor’s promised “year of action” on the convention center expansion in which “almost no progress has been made.” The councilmember also noted little progress on the homeless front and even less toward promised “major investments” in Balboa Park, where the “list of needed repairs is up to $500 million and growing,” Alvarez said. “There were a lot of things that were said last year, and hardly any of them reached a level that you would call ‘mission accomplished,’” Alvarez told Spin Cycle. Some, like the proposed “Innovate San Diego Challenge”—a prize-winning competition among citizens to address workforce, transportation and entrepreneurial issues—still appears in the pre-registration phase, according to an associated website. In voicing his opposition to a proposed citywide minimumwage hike last year (a topic avoided in this year’s speech despite its pending appearance on the June ballot), Faulconer said he preferred raising workers’ skill sets to prepare people for better jobs and proposed a task force to come up with a plan. “That never happened,” Alvarez said. So when Faulconer last Thursday began adding more to his To-Do List—enlisting landlords to help get 1,000 homeless veterans off the streets, building or upgrading 50 city parks in five years and convincing 100 businesses to offer 1,000 jobs to high-school and college students from low-income communities— forgive Alvarez for questioning Faulconer’s commitment to action. Even the mayor’s pronouncement that San Diego
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Jason Roe, the mayor’s campaign Svengali, is quite the mascot—for the Raiders. will cure Alzheimer’s—just a statement, no timeline, nothing— puzzled the councilmember. When suggested that it might be Faulconer’s version of President John F. Kennedy’s stirring moon-landing prediction, Alvarez laughed. “He didn’t even say 10 years!” he said. “Like what do you mean? Showing up at a press conference for whatever accomplishment that’s reached?” Asked if he’s disappointed a Democratic mayoral challenger hasn’t emerged, Alvarez said he’s more disheartened in the “lack of accountability to what Kevin does or doesn’t do. There’s been a lot of lip service paid to communities and not a lot of real, on-theground significant impacts. “We have a couple steps forward, but we’re not taking giant leaps here. And I know as a city we could be. Our infrastructure problem in no way gets solved by any of the things he’s talked about. And on our housingaffordability issue, he’s also not done anything.” What Faulconer does do well, Alvarez agreed, is public relations. “It’s an incredible PR machine that’s been put together on the 11th floor—and the fourth floor, by the way, which is now called the Communications Department,” he said. “So when you have an entire department devoted to PR work, it’s very difficult to have a different narrative.” Not that Democrats have made such great efforts of late. “If you want to give any critique of our side,” Alvarez said, “it’s that we’re not able in a substantive way to provide an alternative. That’s on everybody, not one person or group. It’s on everybody who calls themselves a progressive in San Diego.” Spin Cycle appears every week. Write to johnl@sdcitybeat.com.
January 20, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 7
UP FRONT | FOOD
BY MICHAEL A. GARDINER
THE WORLD
MICHAEL A. GARDINER
FARE
Trace the Southwestern Silk Road
T
he Silk Road was the world’s first darknet; a cyber black market featuring drugs, weapons and other illicit “products.” The Silk Road was also the historic network of trade routes from which that cryptomarket took its name. That system of routes was best known for connecting Europe to China based on trade in spices, silk and other exotics, but it also resulted in profound cultural exchange and connected China to India. Himalayan Cuisine (7918 El Cajon Blvd., Suite B) in La Mesa offers a rare taste of the latter. The entire course of the Southwestern route of the Silk Road can be found on a plate of Himalayan Cuisine’s momo. The historic route traveled from central China down through Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, across the Himalayas and out the Ganges/Brahmaputra Delta. At first glance, those momo look just like Chinese bao (or Korean mandu). But the fillings are different, meatier. Three are on offer at Himalayan Cuisine: minced lamb, minced chicken and vegetable. The minced chicken was the tastiest, featuring hints of onion, garlic and ginger. The turmeric-laden dipping sauce reflects the Indian subcontinent at the other end of that Southwestern route. The restaurant’s most interesting dishes are the ones that highlight the diverse cultural influences on Nepalese cuisine. Take, for example, the malai kofta (meatballs featured heavily in various Arab and Muslim cuisines). As they hit India, however, they turned vegetarian and got up close and personal with curry. Himalayan Cuisine’s malai kofta are paneer cheese, potatoes, cashews and spices mashed together into balls and cooked in a creamy curry of tomatoes, onions, herbs and spices. It is a vegetarian dish, yes, but the kind a carnivore can love. One staple of Nepalese cuisine is dal bhat
8 · San Diego CityBeat · January 20, 2016
Lamb momo tarkari. It is a spiced lentil soup served over rice and accompanied by a curry and achaar, an intensely flavored pickle that hits all the notes: spicy, acidic, salty with just a hint of sweetness. In truth, there is little need for more in a meal than dal bhat tarkari has to offer. Many of the usual suspects from the Indian Top 40 are on the menu: MICHAEL A. GARDINER chicken tikka masala, tandoori chicken, lamb vindaloo, saag aloo and the like. For the most part, though, they’re not extraordinary. One exception is the chicken makhani—butter chicken—a classic Punjabi dish and an Indian restaurant staple the world over. Often the butter (and yogurt marinade) overwhelms the dish, yielding a flavor profile that is rich but dull. Chicken Makhani Himalayan Cuisine’s version was different, brighter with a hint of acid. Even the color of the dish shows the difference: more red, less orange. But that Indian Top 40 is, generally, not what to order at Himalayan Cuisine. Those options may be no worse than you’d expect but neither do they tend to be better. The things to order at the restaurant are the Nepalese dishes, the ones that show the cross-cultural nature of the cuisine, the ones that show the imprint of the Southwestern route of the Silk Road. And you don’t need a darknet black market to get it. You just need to go to La Mesa. The World Fare appears weekly. Write to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com.
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UP FRONT | DRINK
FINAL
BY BETH DEMMON
DRAUGHT Cuckoo for Coco Rasa
Coco’s smooth pour and malty aroma starts off strong and carries through the entire perfectly carbonated draught. Forgive me if I wax poetic, espite a beer menu numbering in the sinbut to achieve this level of balance and flavor in gle digits, five-month-old Second Chance a beer still in its infancy is a revelation. It’s lasBeer Company (15378 Avenue of Science, civious but not crass, cloying but not crude. Even #222) in Rancho Bernardo has already claimed a casual drinkers who aren’t blessed with an adhighly sought after—and well-deserved—spot in vanced palate will recognize this as an ambrosial the upper ranks of the San Diego craft-brewing triumph. scene. As it slowly inches its way down, Coco (we’re Part of its success is on a first name basis now) BETH DEMMON thanks to brewmaster and clings ever so slightly to the co-founder Marty Menglass like a silken robe slithdiola’s excellent reputation, ering southward during an dedication to the industry, erotic striptease. Its mouthdecades of brewing experiwateringly authentic decaence and numerous industry dence comes solely from the awards. But most of it can coconut, cocoa and vanilla be credited to its already infusions in the original Tastellar output of beers that bula Rasa porter, keeping it range from 4.7 to 8.8 percent at the original ABV without ABV. With instantly revered tipping the sugar scales into sessionable creations like a higher alcohol content. the front-running favorites This polyamorous union of Tabula Rasa toasted porter chocolate, vanilla and coco(6.2 percent ABV) and Seize nut harmonizes beautifully the IPA (6.5 percent ABV), with roasted malts and light it’s no surprise that Second hops. Chance’s first impression is For now, Second Chance nothing short of stupendous. brews are only available However, it’s Second on draft at places such as Chance’s Small Batch beers Beer flight at Second Chance Bottlecraft in Little Italy, that tip the scales from Brewing Company Urge Gastropub in Rancho skilled foreplay into orgiBernardo and URBN Street astic ecstasies. Each one of Brewing Company in El Cajon. But with a mobile them provides hedonistic pleasure to a variety canning line on the way, locals can count on four of beer enthusiasts, but of the three Small Batch 16-ounce canned selections (including the origicreations, it’s the coconut-forward variation of nal Tabula Rasa) to hit bottle shops soon. Plus, Tabula Rasa known as Coco Rasa that has been with a gigantic space to grow into and an eye for voted Most Likely to Drop Your Panties by a surexpansion, a barrel-aging program can’t be too far vey of one—me. behind. Coco Rasa’s biting, back-of-tongue sweetness You don’t have to be a self-indulgent beer provides bigger washes of cocoa and vanilla than geek to appreciate the art coming out of Second coconut right off the bat. Its luxuriously thick Chance. You just have to be willing to close your mouthfeel is reminiscent of espresso-laced dark eyes and swallow. chocolate rather than syrupy stickiness, and while its opaque color doesn’t quite make it to a Write to bethd@sdcitybeat.com or follow midnight black, we’ll call it an even 11:30 p.m. her on Instagram at @thedelightedbite.
D
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January 20, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 9
the family issue
In A Family Way
Y
ou fell in love and started a family. This means accepting responsibility for a small human who acts unreasonable, can’t drive
and didn’t grow up listening to David Bowie. But you can still teach your children well. Our Alt-Family Guide delves into what it means to accept the artistic drive in your progeny, rather than push them into a career as a corporate suit. We present ways to help kids find their own inner Bowie. You may not be a professional chef, but we talked to some in town about what they feed their own kids. From the world of tech, check out five apps aimed at boosting your parental skills. And on a very personal level, hear about how love conquers all in a family blessed by transracial adoption.
10 · San Diego CityBeat · January 20, 2016
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the family issue // art
courtesy of the artist
The benefits of encouraging kids to embrace artistic skills
courtesy of the artist
raising an artist
Anna Zappoli and Pall Jenkins
by Seth Combs
B
ack in December, clothing chain Old Navy found itself in hot water after releasing a toddler-sized line of shirts that read “Young Aspiring Artist.” A nice sentiment for sure, but the problem was that the word “artist” was blatantly crossed out and underneath was written in professions like “astronaut” and “president.” Old Navy eventually discontinued the shirts after public outcry, but the message of the shirts was clear: A child aspiring to be a professional artist is still considered, well, undesirable and unrealistic. For local artist Anna Zappoli, this attitude that children’s artistic inclinations should be tempered in lieu of more reputable (read: profitable) professions is a bit foreign to her. The daughter of a marble worker, she grew up in Catania on the island of Sicily, off the coast of Italy. There, she says, if a child showed artistic promise, it was something that would be embraced and nurtured. “You’re very respected when you’re an artist in Italy,” says Zappoli, in her art-covered home in Bay Park. “One of my teachers when I was in middle school requested to talk to my mother. I told my mother and she went to see my teacher. It was a private meeting so I was left outside. I didn’t think it was anything bad, but I didn’t know what it was. My mom came out and I asked her what it was about and she said the teacher told her that I should continue to do art. She thought that I was very talented and that I should continue with it.” Zapolli was the first in her family to attend art school at the Instituto D’Arte di Catania where she graduated with a degree in painting. During her studies, she met
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a young American Navy pilot in the summer of 1965 and fell in love. After moving to the United States, the couple started a family while bouncing around the U.S. and eventually settling in San Diego. Having an artist mother and a military father made “Save the Arctic” for an interesting dynamic for the couple’s children. For one of those children, middle and occasional sculptor who has showson Pall (who was born Paul) Jenkins, the cased her work in galleries all over the city. desire to pursue a path in the arts was evi- Jenkins is one of the more prolific musident early on. cians in the San Diego music scene, leading “Mom would always give me art sup- bands like Three Mile Pilot, Black Heart plies and pencils. I drew a lot when I was a Procession and Mr. Tube & the Flying Obkid. I wasn’t very good, but I was definitely jects. But it wasn’t always this way. Zappoli creative,” says Jenacknowledges that pall jenkins kins. “I had this seshe didn’t really try ries where I drew to become a prohundreds of fish. fessional artist unSome had teeth til Pall was almost and some were regrown. ally big, but I was “We grew toobsessed. I just gether in a lot of thought that was ways,” Zappoli says. the most amazing “I loved my life and thing.” my children, but as “I still have they got older, I rethose,” adds Zapalized I wanted to poli, who went do my art every day. back to using her When I saw that maiden name affirst poem that Pall ter splitting with wrote, it touched Pall’s father in the my heart. I was so mid ’80s. “I kept emotional about Albums by Three Mile Pilot them.” and Black Heart Procession it. I was taking art One could look classes at the time at Zappoli and Jenkins as one of the more to get back into art and I was struggling, prominent local examples of what happens but then I saw what Pall wrote, I said, ‘Pall, when a parent encourages their children to do this! Do this!’ I saw his gift. And it’s a embrace their artistic skills rather than ig- beautiful gift to be able to express yourself nore them. Zappoli is a successful painter in that way.”
“When Ice Melts” “Me and my mom were always a team,” Jenkins says. “We always shared music and art. Any art she did, she shared with me. Whenever I had a band or a show, she would come to see it.” This mutually beneficial encouragement has helped both Zappoli and Jenkins become better at their respective crafts over the years. Zappoli is clearly proud of her son and has his album covers and band clippings hung on the wall all over the house. She realizes that it might be harder for non-artist parents to be fully encouraging of their kids’ talents, but says they should never dissuade them. “She never said not to do music and not to do art,” says Jenkins about his mother. “She would always give me other options, but she never said not to do something. Not to do art or music or all the things I wanted do.” “I encouraged my son and all of my children to follow their own paths,” says Zappoli. “From the beginning, when I would see him play music or writing, it was complete freedom to express himself and take away that fear. For me to see that, it’s a great feeling.”
January 20, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 11
the family issue // music
the kids are alright
Charlie Homo
San Diego’s young musical hearts run free in variety of ways by Scott McDonald
I
t’s the music-loving parents’ dream—your children decide they prefer the piano to PlayStation and Fenders to Facebook. But what’s next? If self-teaching or YouTube how-to videos don’t fan the creative flames, there are a surprising (and diverse) number of local music instruction options available. From toddlers to teens, and turntables to trumpets, here are a few programs for the budding bandleader in your house:
School of Rock—San Diego When the busy schedule of original music director/local legend Mike Keneally (Zappa, Dethklok) forced him to step down, the program was left in good hands. For eight years, multi-instrumentalist Tyler Ward has overseen shows, the SOR house band, and taught lessons for the nearly 20-year-old national company. And that’s in addition to playing in local bands Oh, Spirit and The Kabbs. Starting at $99 and offering programs for preschoolers to adults, most students attend twice a week. Once for a lesson with their rock instrument of choice, and once for “band practice”—all in preparation for an end-of-term concert with other school of rockers.
Upcoming student shows include “Nirvana vs. Foo Fighters” and “The Music Of The Beatles,” but Ward is taking it one step further with his “Best of San Diego” show on Feb. 5 at the Irenic. To help them “get stoked on their own scene,” he’s challenged his students to pick music from local artists who have released an album in the last year. “I want them to know they don’t have to reach back to the ’60s for cool, guitar bands,” says Ward. “There just might be one that lives on their exit.” Fundamentals DJ Academy Founded in 2011, the Fundamentals DJ Academy was acquired by California-based event production company SOS Entertainment in 2013. First expanding on the existing program by using instructors and facilities for internal company training, Fundamentals now operates under the mission of making “the fundamental concepts of DJing and electronic music production accessible to anyone wanting to learn.” Starting at $35 per hour and open to all ages, the FDJA offers DJ basecamps, private instruction and after-school enrichment programs. The academy is also introducing their first online classes and course content
12 · San Diego CityBeat · January 20, 2016
Former SOR student getting the most out of his final exam this year. SOS Entertainment owner/CEO (and longtime DJ) Derek Sage oversees the program with Fundamentals director Greg Murphy. “Music has always been ageless,” says Sage. “But it’s only recently that DJing has become mainstream. Grandma knows about it and your kids know about it. And technology has totally decreased the barrier of entry. This is something a lot of kids are interested in doing, and now they can.” San Diego Performance Academy Piano teacher Jerrie Dean first started
the SDPA from her living room six years ago. It wasn’t long before the need to expand found her partnering with CEO and co-founder Dean Bruce, and the current version of the East County music school was born. Its Santee facility provides private and group lessons in guitar, piano, bass, drums, acting and vocals starting at $99 per month. “It’s important that our teachers are as connected as the new generation of people we’re teaching,” says Dean. “We not only have to teach the craft, but be familiar with how people are producing and broadcasting it in the current landscape.” Nightingale Music School Now in its 14th year, La Jolla’s Nightingale Music School specializes in music classes for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and elementary-age students. Expansion to a secondary South Park campus came in 2010, and the school is looking to do it again in Carmel Valley very soon. While it specializes in early childhood music, the NMS also offers group guitar, keyboard and drum lessons. Plus, it hosts birthday parties and enrichment programs like science, art and movement classes. “Music is such a wonderful conduit for learning,” says founder Jennifer Tandy, “especially in young children. Early childhood music and movement classes have many cognitive benefits and positively impact all areas of development.”
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the family issue // FOOD
feed thine own Chefs’ kids eat differently than your kids by Michael A. Gardiner
I
t is a borderline bitter irony of the life of with his kids, too: “Sophia (8) who loves a chef that they feed anyone and every- vegetables picks out just that and Isabella one every night except their loved ones. (10), my little carnivore, selects the beast It’s a part of the profession’s dark side that for the feast.” isn’t depicted on the Food Network or Top For the children of many chefs, there’s Chef. Long work weeks and brutal daily little chance to become the sort of picky eatschedules represent ers parents so often a domestic challenge describe. Anthony to which different Sinsay (Duke’s La chefs respond in difJolla) and his wife, ferent ways. former chef Elyse Several themes Sinsay, made it “a emerge, though. point to make no Many chefs apspecial provisions proach the probfor what is normally lem by making time deemed ‘kid food.’” to cook with their The kids eat what kids. For chef James their parents eat. Montejano (La VaWhile it was OK lencia Hotel) it’s an for them to say they The Sinsays in their dining room important part of didn’t like somenourishing his daughter Valerie: “Teaching thing it wasn’t OK to do so without trying her to cook helps get her away from pizza it first. This way they developed their own and other BS food.” She makes “omelettes, palates; palates that reflect the Filipino, Coscrambled eggs, quesadillas; she wants to lombian and Mexican heritage of the parcook for me, she likes to get involved.” ents and include flavors ranging from ocChad White (La Justina, Tijuana, Na- topus to offal and spicy foods to vegetables tive Post & Provisions, Spokane) cooks (even the oft-dreaded broccoli).
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Felicity Sinsay cooking with dad The menu at Javier Plascencia’s house is as cross-cultural as at his restaurants (Bracero Cocina de Raiz, Romesco Mexiterranean Bistro, Mision 19). The story was similar for Accursio Lota’s (Solare Ristorante) son, who eats “what we are eating everyday” to make sure his “taste buds are receiving different categories of food.” Says Lota: “I’m not training him…yet!” Add White’s kids to that group: “You must try everything once; this has been in place since day one.” White credits that rule with his “little ones” never really developing a negative opinion on vegetables or things like sea urchin or beef tongue. “They’ve been eating them since in diapers.” Many chefs have one advantage their non-chef counterparts lack: their restau-
rants. Montejano’s daughter favors the bento boxes he prepares at the hotel. Jeff Rossman (Terra American Bistro, Bunz) says his kids “eat anything on the menu” (though they were quirkily picky growing up). Plascencia loves cooking for his kids at the restaurants, particularly Finca Altozano in the Valle de Guadalupe. Because of their schedules, though, most chefs put an emphasis on breakfast and, to a somewhat lesser extent, lunch. Bo Bendana Sein (Mi Casa Supper Club, Rosarito Beach) cooks breakfast for her children every morning. Sometimes, however, it’s different from the usual bacon and eggs (though bacon sometimes becomes an effective bribe), featuring Moroccan barley soup with milk, cumin and thyme. Sometimes it will be scrambled eggs with a combination of spices (cumin, turmeric, salt and pepper) or French toast with Nutella. Fresh berries, fruit juices and Yakult (a probiotic dairy product) are always involved. The family breakfast Plascencia prepares on weekends—often, late breakfasts—involves a variety of egg dishes or chilaquiles. Each of these chefs had given significant thought to how to go about sharing meals with their children. Perhaps because of the limitations their careers place on time and lifestyle, chefs seem to pay a lot more attention to having meals with family, even while they have fewer opportunities to do so.
January 20, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 13
the family issue // tech
appy days
Technology comes to the aid of parents by Torrey Bailey
P
arenting skills are by no means exempt from the app pool overflowing from the iTunes database. There are plenty out there that let expectant women track their weight and advise them to stop smoking, but here are some apps yo momma didn’t even know she needed.
Baby Pool - The Pregnancy Guessing Game ($0.99) When there’s a bun is in the oven, a pregnant woman needs to ease up, but maybe also create a little friendly competition. Baby Pool lets women stir the pot among friends and family by having them guess the baby’s gender, weight and due date, among other things. The app doesn’t service monetary bets but there are in-app prizes to incentivize competition. When the baby is born, notifications can immediately be sent out saying who’s a winner or loser, and, of course, that the baby’s all fine and dandy. Pimp My Ultrasound ($0.99) Everyone will say it’s cute, but we all know ultrasounds more resemble balloon art than a human being. So why not spice it up? Let the baby stand out Charmin’s SitOrSquat from the crowd before it’s even out of the womb. Pimp My Ultrasound lets soon-to-be parentals deck their fetus out in anything from football gear to mohawks to beanies. Dads can dub their kiddos rockin’ Lynyrd Skynyrd fans before the little suckers are out of the gate. Add some personal text and then post the creation to Facebook or Twitter.
14 · San Diego CityBeat · January 20, 2016
Cry Translator ($4.99) Babies’ cries can all sound the same—ear shattering. An app called CryTranslator listens to sobs for 10 seconds and breaks down the baby’s needs into one of five categories: boredom, sleep, stress, hunger or discomfort. Once the cause is identified, tips are provided to soothe the baby. More than 200,000 cries from 100 babies were studied in the making of this product, which claims to have a 96 percent effective rate. It’s won innovation awards, but its reviews on iTunes wail a different tune, where the app received a disappointing two-star rating. One user said the app was flat-out “crap.” Another said those who can’t work the app merely aren’t tech-savvy enough. Charmin’s SitOrSquat: Restroom Finder (Free) Nine out of 10 times, “Mommy, I need to go potty” is voiced at the most inconvenient moment. If you’re on a road trip or in unfamiliar territory, these six words could be synonymous with a major mess. The app not only locates the closest throne, it also allows users to rate their bathroom break, as well as share its location and bookmark it. Filters Giggle narrow the search for changing tables, customers-only, tampon vending machines and pay-per-use toilets. For reverse-parenting bonus points, download it onto mom or dad’s phone once they’ve hit their senior discount days. Giggle (Free) If Instagram and Pinterest had a love child, the offspring would be Giggle. This app compiles photos featuring hundreds of accessorized, chubby-cheeked kids from Instagram and arranges them into one image-heavy feed. Click an image, and it zooms in to the photo, hashtags and all. Below the photo is a menu of for-sale items (like the ones in the photo). At another touch, users can add the items to their cart and can immediately purchase them through the app. It’s one-stop shopping for a trendy (and potentially spoiled) tyke. This app earned a full five-star rating. Shopaholics: Beware.
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January 20, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 15
the family issue // opinion
Aaryn Belfer
Backwards & in
high heels
Scenes from a multiracial family
I
’m at a cocktail party, having a conversation with a stranger who has taken a polite interest in my child. She is asking the typical questions: Where does your daughter attend school? Does she play sports? Does she play an instrument? It’s a fine discussion because my kid is my favorite person. Like any parent, I have to consciously stop talking about her so as not to be annoying. Like any parent, I can’t help but exude pride when talking about my little roommate who, at 10and-a-half, has mastered the art of using my own logic to argue me into capitulation on just about any issue. As it happens and as it should be, she is way smarter than I am and that is why bedtime is a firm “Aw, hell, stay up as late as you want.” I explain this—and my child’s successful negotiation for extra Minecraft time—to my new friend, who laughs. Then she asks if I have a picture of Ruby, and now I have a decision to make. Do I say, as I hold my phone with hundreds of stored images of The Christ Child, that I don’t have any pictures? Or do I step from the ledge into the Inappropriate Comments and Invasive Questions vortex by showing her a picture? These are the choices I contemplate in a matter of seconds because I know when she sees the image of my black daughter, the conversation will veer sharply once the shock wears off. I, of course, want to share a picture because I love my child. But I don’t want to share a picture because I’m exhausted from educating the unschooled. I don’t say this to be rude, but more as a fact. I’m tired of explaining that nobody makes an adoption plan for their child because things are swell. People may mean well, but the intent of most inquisitions do not align with their impact. I’m weary of explaining that my daughter isn’t lucky, her father and I are; that we aren’t “amazing” and “selfless”; that we didn’t rescue our child from a life that “would have been so much worse”; that love is not enough to compensate for racial difference and loss of first parents, grandparents, siblings, community, heritage, lineage. I’m tired of explaining that our child will not be “just fine” because she has us (the implication being that she wouldn’t have been just fine with her first parents); that adoption isn’t a win-win for everyone, a solution to an unfortunate set of circumstances. And what were those circumstances, you ask? “That,” I have told uncountable numbers of people over the years, “is private information that we do not share.”
This is not to say I haven’t made missteps and at times shared more of my child’s personal information than I should have. In the first years, especially, it felt rude to tell inquiring minds that her story was not their business. I know better now that I don’t owe the lady at Home Depot politeness when she asks if I like the color of my child’s skin. I know I don’t have to remain kindly silent when a teacher says my child doesn’t need to worry about math because “she’s such a great athlete.” But even this many miles down the adoptive parenting road, I have screwed up. While sitting around the pool at Ruby’s auntie’s house this past summer, I shared a story that a friend of mine, who is also a transracial adoptee, had told me about her childhood. It’s a story she shares openly but there I was, yammering on as if it were perfectly legit for me to tell it. Before I could get very far—thankfully— my kid interrupted. “Mama, I don’t think Melanie would like you telling her story.” And then she added, “You know, sometimes you just say too much.” Like I said, the child is way smarter than I am. (For the record, I praised my daughter for calling me on my shit, apologized to her and later, to Melanie.) To be a family formed by transracial adoption means you become public property, a commodity, an exotic zoo animal any time you leave the safety of your home. Just going to Target or the grocery store or back-toschool shopping or to the dentist or—my favorite—to a tennis tournament (Ruby likes us to drop her off so she can go incognito). The confusion on the faces of folks is priceless, requires mental gymnastics and constant response calibration. As uncomfortable and exhausting as all of this can be for me, I chose this. My husband chose this. Our introvert daughter, on the other hand, had no say in the matter whatsoever and landed through no fault of her own in a family in which she stands out. There’s not a damn thing she can do about it. In some very profound ways—as an adoptee, as a black girl—she walks through the world in varying states of discomfort. This is something I keep in mind as I make my photo-sharing calculation at that cocktail party. My angst is nothing—nothing—compared to my child’s. So I smile. Do I have a picture? “Only about a thousand.” And I take a step from that ledge.
“
Do I step from the ledge into the Inappropriate Comments and Invasive Questions vortex...?
“
16 · San Diego CityBeat · January 20, 2016
Backwards & In High Heels appears every other week. Write to aaryn@sdcitybeat.com.
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January 20, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 17
EVENTS
SHORTlist
ART
the
THREE YOU HAVE TO SEE
COORDINATED BY
SETH COMBS
BALBOA PARK
COURTESY OF STEPHEN SHAMES
1 OH, THE HUMANITY!
If there’s an underlying takeaway to the success of a show like Making a Murderer or a podcast like Serial, it’s that audiences are interested in docudramas that deal in the subjects of human rights and justice when it’s presented in a riveting and engaging manner. Lucky for San Diego audiences, there’ll be no shortage of this kind of content when the Human Rights Watch Film Festival opens on Thursday, Jan. 21, at 7 p.m. at the Museum of Photographic Arts (1649 El Prado). Curated by international NGO Human Rights Watch, the sixth annual festival has been committed to screening films and documentaries that bring to life human rights abuses that leave viewers wanting to get out there and make a difference. “It was started in New York in 1988 as a public education and outreach tool,” says Andrea Holley, the film fest’s strategic director. “Often times, the themes and the characters of these films could be from anywhere. Whatever your background is, there are paradigms about family and social pressures that almost any person can relate to.” Highlights from this year’s fest include an opening night screening of I Am Sun Mu, a documentary on North Korean defector Sun Mu, who once worked as a propaganda artist in the insulated communist country. Sunday features a screening of the stop-motion animated feature The
2 FURRY FRIENDS
Anyone who doesn’t like dogs and wine should just stop reading this now. For those who do have a soul, The Wine Pub (2907 Shelter Island Drive #108) is gearing up for its first Woofer Wednesday of 2016. If diners bring their dog(s) between 6 and 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 10 percent of their tab will be donated to Canine Companions for Independence, a nonprofit that pairs service dogs with people with disabilities. The Wine Pub will continue serving this deal along with wines, cheeses and gourmet sliders every Wednesday throughout 2016. Over the past six years, Woofer Wednesday has raised more than $2,400 for organizations like The Rescued Dog and Furry Foster. No reservations or tickets are needed. thewinepub.com COURTESY OF THE WINE PUB
The Wine Pub
18 · San Diego CityBeat · January 20, 2016
HCuts and Links: Bhavna and Friends at James Alan Rose Art Gallery, 6501 Linda Vista Road, Linda Vista. Bhavna Mehta specializes in art made from intricately cut paper. This exhibition features a selection of Mehta’s body of work, a collaboration in bookmaking with Diane Gage, and a collection of works from her students and friends. Opening from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21. Free. 858-569-7900, francisparker.org HDowntown at Sundown at MCASD - Downtown, 1001 Kettner Blvd., Downtown. MCASD’s after-hours event offers free admission and guided tours of exhibitions at MCASD and the SDSU Downtown Gallery, as well as specials at local businesses, a book club and live music. From 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21. Free. 858454-3541, mcasd.org
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution Wanted 18, which is an account of the bizarre true story of the Israeli army’s pursuit of 18 Palestinian milk cows. Holley is particularly excited about A Right to the Image, an interactive presentation that attempts to examine how the victims of human rights abuses are presented in the media and in pictures. “It deals with issues of distance and us-andthem,” says Holley, who will moderate a talk with Central Valley photographer Matt Black on a variety of issues dealing with victim depiction. “Issues of why we choose to show certain images of certain people and other images of other people.” What’s best, ticket prices are affordable with single screenings priced between $4 and $8, and festival passes between $15 and $35. mopa.org.
3
SILVER SPELLS
We’ve made it no secret we love Ben Johnson. The bartender and coowner of The Casbah—as well as the frontman for local band The Long & Short of It—manages to find time to be quite the prolific fantasy writer as well. His newest offering, Blood Silver, is the second book in his Webworld trilogy, which is set in and around Golden Hill. The first book, A Shadow Cast in Dust, mostly centered on a young boy attempting to flee from an ancient order of “web spinners” Blood Silver and combined elements of fantasy, sci-fi and dystopian fiction. Johnson describes the new novel as “a twofisted magical tale of the musical underground and cops and the web that unites all things.” Readers can pick up both books at the Blood Silver release party at Station Tavern (2204 Fern St.) on Thursday, Jan. 21, from 4 to 7 p.m. grandmalpress.com
HUnder the Lead Blanket at UCSD Visual Arts Facility Gallery, Russell Dr. and Lyman Ave., La Jolla. A new installation from UCSD Visual Arts MFA second year student, Audrey Hope, who specializes in large-scale sculptural work often made from found materials. Opening from 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21. Free. visarts.ucsd.edu HLittle Dame Pop Up Gallery #2 at Little Dame Shop, 2942 Adams Ave., University Heights. A pop-up fashion and art event featuring jewelry designs from Georgina Trevino and photography and t-shirts from Stevie Ortega. From 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22. Free. 925-4571020, littledameshop.com Dynamics and Confluence at Madison Gallery, 1055 Wall St., La Jolla. New sculptural and abstract work from Lori Cozen-Geller and Jeff Kahm that explores the inherent duality that exists between the artist and the viewer. Opening from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23. Free. madisongalleries.com HThe Frequency of Something Happening at Space 4 Art, 325 15th St., East Village. New works from San Diego artists Spencer Rabin and Joshua Moreno, both of whom use materials such as graphite, charcoal and video imagery to produce abstract works. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23. Free. 619-269-7230, sdspace4art.org HVeteran Art Symposium at Glashaus, 1815-B Main St., Barrio Logan. View an exhibition of art created by post-9/11 combat veterans and be a participant in Combat Arts’ first Combat Veteran Panel Discussion. The evening will begin with a spoken word performance by a veteran writer from So Say We All. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23. Free-$10. combatartssd.org
BOOKS HBen Johnson at Station Tavern, 2204 Fern St., South Park. The local musician and writer will be signing his newest fantasy novel, Blood Silver, the second book in his Webworld trilogy. From 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21. Free. grandmalpress.com Stuart Grauer at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The founding head teacher at the Grauer School and president of the Grauer Foundation for Education will sign and discuss his story collection, Fearless Teaching. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21. Free. 858-454-0347, warwicks.com HJanice Y.K. Lee at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The New York Times bestselling author will discuss and sign her new novel, The Expatriates, about two struggling women whose lives collide unexpectedly. At 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan.
H = CityBeat picks
23. Free. 858-454-0347, warwicks.com Ryan Dalton and Andrew S. Chilton at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. The two young adult authors will sign their new books, The Year of Lightning (Dalton) and The Goblin’s Puzzle (Chilton). At 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23. Free. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com Arwen Elys Dayton at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. The fantasy novelist will sign and discuss Traveler, the second installment in her Seeker trilogy. At 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24. Free. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com Lynn Schooler at Carlsbad City Library, 1775 Dove Lane, Carlsbad. The Alaskan wilderness guide will discuss and sign his epic adventure of a man in the Alaskan wilderness, Walking Home. At 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24. Free. 760-602-2049, adventuresbythebook.com Rosemary Wood at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. As part of Warwick’s ongoing Weekend with Locals Program, Wood will stop by the store to promote her new children’s book, Samurai: A Feral Kitten’s Journey to Find a Home. At noon. Sunday, Jan. 24. Free. 858-454-0347, warwicks.com Ian Rankin at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. The bestselling crime novelist will sign and discuss his latest John Rebus book, Even Dogs in the Wild. At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 27. Free. 858-2684747, mystgalaxy.com Laura Lynne Jackson at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The high school English teacher and psychic medium will present her first book, The Light Between Us. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 27. Free. 858-454-0347, warwicks.com
COMEDY HTabled Presents: Terminator 2 at Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St, South Park. A new series featuring local and regional comic talent staging live readings of the original versions of iconic screenplays. This month features a reading of Terminator 2: Judgment Day. From 8 to 10 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 20. Free. 619-2846784, amodernprofession.com Oh, Hello at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Downtown. Nick Kroll and John Mulaney’s comedy act about two middleaged NYC men who are best known for their turtlenecks, deluded beliefs, and for saying “Oh, hello” in unison. At 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21. $56.50. 619-5701100, sandiegotheatres.org HSan Diego Comedy Festival at Comedy Palace, 8878 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. The third annual festival will feature comedians and national touring headliners from all over the United States, as well as contests, open mics, seminars and more. Takes place every day from Thursday, Jan. 25 through Sunday, Jan. 31. Various times. Free-$150. 858-5739067, sandiegocomedyfest.com
DANCE HthesisWorks: Near Lifetimes at Theodore and Adele Shank Theater, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. The UCSD Department of Theatre & Dance’s annual presentation of original choreography of MFA Dance Theatre candidates. Dina Apple will present an original production where the audience is also invited to be dancers in the piece. At 7:30 and 8:45 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21, Friday, Jan. 22 and Saturday, Jan. 23. $10-$20. 858-534-4574, theatre.ucsd.edu
EVENTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 #SDCityBeat
EVENTS HMalashock SIGNATURES at Malashock Dance Studio, 2650 Truxton Rd. Suite 202, Point Loma. This performance highlights two of John Malashock’s signature works and also includes two world premieres. Audiences should be prepared to be seated only a few feet away from the dancers. At 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22 through Sunday, Jan. 24 and Thursday, Jan. 28 through Sunday, Jan. 31. $15-$25. malashockdance.org
FILM HHuman Rights Watch Film Festival at Museum of Photographic Arts, 1649 El Prado, Balboa Park. This annual festival will showcase six films that focus on the power of an individual’s perseverance in the face glaring human-rights violations. Thursday, Jan. 21 through Sunday, Jan. 24. Various times. $8-$35. 619-2388777, mopa.org
poser, conductor, producer and sound designer who aims to extend the musical experience beyond listening through the incorporation of language, lighting, movement, video and theatrics. From 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21. Free. ideas. ucsd.edu Zukerman Conducts The Royal Philharmonic at Jacobs Music Center, 750 B St, Downtown. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, along with conductor Pinchas Zukerman and pianist Vadym Kholodenko, will perform pieces including Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 by and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4. From 8 to 10 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22. $20-$75. 619 235 0804, sandiegosymphony.org HCalder Quartet at UCSD Conrad Prebys Concert Hall, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla. This chamber music foursome—with
players on violin, viola and cello—has been called “outstanding” and “superb” by the New York Times. At 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23. $12-$54. artpower.ucsd.edu HJazz Piano Masters: A Tribute to Thelonious Monk, Art Tatum and Bud Powell at Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St., Downtown. Pianists Joshua White, Helen Sung and Eric Reed will pay tribute to jazz masters Monk, Tatum and Powell. From 8 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23. $20-$65. 619-235-0804, sandiegosymphony.com Ji at The Auditorium at TSRI, 10640 John Jay Hopkins Dr., La Jolla. Part of the La Jolla Music Society’s Discovery Series, the award-winning pianist performs a varied program of works by Bach, Busoni, Mendelssohn and Messiaen. At 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24. $5-$30. 858-784-2666, ljms.org
HVictor Goines Jazz Quartet at Salk Institute, 10010 N. Torrey Pines Rd., La Jolla. Part of the Salk Science and Music Series, the acclaimed saxophonist-clarinetist Goines performs a concert which includes a presentation from Molecular Biology professor Sreekanth Chalasani. At 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24. $45. music.salk.edu
OUTDOORS
North Torrey Pines Road, Torrey Pines. Volunteer to pick up trash washing up on Torrey Pines State Beach from the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami. From 10 a.m. to noon. Saturday, Jan. 23. Free. 858-755-2063, cleansd.org
PERFORMANCE
Glow In The Dark Golf at The Loma Club, 2960 Truxtun Rd., Point Loma. Play a round of golf on a lit up course or challenge each other to a board game, ping pong or Tiger Woods Golf Tournament on Xbox while enjoying drink specials. From 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23. $30. 619222-4653, thelomaclub.com
A Prairie Home Companion at San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., Downtown. A live broadcast of the popular public radio show that features comedy sketches, music, and host Garrison Keillor’s signature monologue, “The News from Lake Wobegon.” At 2:45 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23. $35-$90. broadwaysd.com
Tsunami Sweepers Cleanup at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, 11255
EVENTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 21
Body as Phenomenon at 57 Degrees Wine Bar, 1735 Hancock St., Middletown, Midtown. The Artist Odyssey premieres its latest documentary short about choreographer Peter G. Kalivas. Includes a performance from PGK Dance Project and an audience Q&A. From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26. Free. 619-2345757, theartistodyssey.com
FOOD & DRINK HCaffeine Crawl San Diego at various locations. Sample beverages from up to 25 different bistros, coffeehouses and cafes around San Diego at this third annual event. See website for start locations and routes. At 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22, Saturday, Jan. 23 and 11 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 24. $25-$33. caffeinecrawl.com HWoofer Wednesday at The Wine Pub , 2907 Shelter Island Dr., Shelter Island. Patrons can bring their dog(s) and 10 percent of the tab will be donated to Canine Companions for Independence, a nonprofit that pairs service dogs with people with disabilities. From 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 27. thewinepubsd.com
HEALTH & WELLNESS Encinitas Wellness Week at Encinitas Library, 540 Cornish Dr., Encinitas. A week-long program of events with dozens of exhibitors, offering everything from free health screenings and acupuncture treatments to cooking demonstrations and kids’ activities. From Saturday, Jan. 23 to Saturday, Jan. 30. Various times. Free. encinitas101.com
MUSIC Itzhak Perlman and Emanuel Ax at Jacobs Music Center, 750 B St., Downtown. The great violin virtuoso Perlman teams up with pianist Emanuel Ax for a performance featuring works by Mozart, Fauré and Richard Strauss. At 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 20. $30-$105. 619 235 0804, ljms.org HAren Skalman and Naveen Basavanhally at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. The sound artist and percussionist team up for a concert that features Skalman’s custom instruments as featured in his exhibition, Singing Machines. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21. Free. 858-454-5872, ljathenaeum.org HStilhouette at UCSD Calit2 Atkinson Hall Auditorium, Voigt Dr. and Equality Ln., La Jolla. A performance from Ryan Welsh, a San Diego-based com-
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January 20, 2016· San Diego CityBeat · 19
THEATER NORTH COAST REPERTORY THEATRE
Jason Maddy (left) and Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper in Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Great Nome Gold Rush
Sherlock Holmes meets Wyatt Earp
S
herlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Great Nome Gold Rush sounds better than it actually is. Not only does the title of this world premiere at the North Coast Rep suggest excitement and intrigue, but its characters include the most famous consulting detective of all time, the faithful Dr. Watson and that legend of the Old West Wyatt Earp. But Joseph Vass’ story, in which Holmes and Watson journey to Alaska to prove the innocence of a client back in London—an incongruous premise right from the start—is overly complex and sluggishly presented. The decision to interject music (piano, violin and a couple of live performances) during all the banter and exposition is a wise one, for it facilitates an emotional connection to the audience missing in the production as a whole. Jason Maddy and Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper are capable in Holmes’ and Watson’s shoes, though they are saddled with all the usual Sherlockian tropes. Richard Baird is a terse, occasionally wry Earp, but a historical figure as large as life as Earp was needs more to do in this tale. Still, it’s the overstuffed storytelling that hamstrings this production. Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Great Nome Gold Rush runs through Feb. 14 at North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach. $43-$50. northcoastrep.org * * *
I
magine having Jerry Lewis at his most outrageous running wild in your living room. Your eardrums, your most precious possessions and your patience all take a beating. On top of that, he looks like a dropout from computer fix-it school. That’s Rick Steadman, the guest who comes to dinner and assumes he’s never leaving in Larry Shue’s unchained comedy The Nerd, the inaugural show in Lamb’s Players Theatre’s 45th season.
20 · San Diego CityBeat · January 20, 2016
The trouble is the eponymous nerd’s antics wear thin very quickly. His Act One game of “Shoes and Socks,” with all of the attendees at dull-as-dishwater Willum Cubbert’s (Mike Buckley) birthday party forced to wear grocery bags over their heads, is hysterical. But by Act 2 the silliness has extended to everyone on stage, and you’ll yearn for the tragic relief of a dark Jacobean drama. Star David Heath, as “the nerd,” must be commended, however, for inspiring such infuriation. The Nerd runs through Feb. 21 at Lamb’s Players Theatre in Coronado. $24-$78; lambsplayers.org —David L. Coddon Theater reviews run weekly. Write to davidc@sdcitybeat.com.
OPENING: Outside Mullingar: Written by award-winning playwright John Patrick Shanley, this acclaimed romcom set in rural Ireland tells the story of two 40-something neighbors falling in love despite their families feuding. Presented by San Diego Repertory Theatre, it opens Jan. 21 at the Lyceum Space in the Gaslamp. sdrep.org The Last Five Years: This romantic musical tells the story of a writer and an actress by working backward through their entire relationship through song. Written by Jason Robert Brown, it opens Jan. 22 at PowPAC Community Theatre in Poway. powpac.org McGuire: Cotter Smith stars in this one-man play about iconic Marquette basketball coach Al McGuire. Written by legendary play-by-play announcer Dick Enberg, it opens Jan. 25 for two performances at North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach. northcoastrep.org
For full theater listings, please visit “T heater ” at sdcitybeat.com
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EVENTS SPECIAL EVENTS Sunroad Boat Show at Sunroad Marina, 955 Harbor Island Dr., Downtown. See the latest boat models while enjoying free boat rides, food, music and more. From noon to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Jan. 21 and 22, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 23 and 24. Free-$12. bigbayboatshow.com
Sticks of the Sun, Ashes of the Night featuring photographers Rebecca Webb and Jesse Burke is now on view through Sunday, Feb. 7. at the San Diego Art Institute (1439 El Prado) in Balboa Park.
EVENTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19 Magic Men Live at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Downtown. For fans of the Magic Mike movies, this show will feature half-naked men with ripped bodies strutting their stuff for your viewing pleasure. At 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23. $25-$50. 619-570-1100, sandiegotheatres.org Shen Yun at California Center for the Arts, 340 North Escondido Blvd., Escondido. Performances of traditional Chinese dance accompanied by animated backdrops, hand-made costumes, acrobatics, and live orchestra music. At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 27, and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 28. $60-$100. 760-839-4190, artcenter.org
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HSuper Cells: The Power of Stem Cells at Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, 1875 El Prado, Balboa Park. The new exhibition examines the awesomeness of stem cells and immerses viewers in this world through four high-tech, interactive zones and activities. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23. $16.95-$19.95. 619-238-1233, rhfleet.org The San Diego Food & Water Bowl XXIV Cat Show at Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. This cat show features 450 cats from 43 different breeds that will compete in front of eight judges in categories such as education, agility and more. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23 and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24. Free-$9. 858-7551161, sandiegocat.org HTijuana Market Hop at Turista Libre Meeting Spot, 727 E. San Ysidro Blvd, Tijuana. Tour the city’s longest-running flea market and Mercado Miguel Hidalgo, the city’s oldest open-air farmers market in Zona Rio. Tickets include roundtrip border transport and complimentary pan dulce and coffee. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24. $25. 858-754-9406, turistalibre.com
TALKS & DISCUSSIONS Substance Abuse Disorder in My
Family: What Is Happening? What Can I Do? at Congregation Beth Israel, 9001 Towne Centre Dr., La Jolla. An enlightening and empowering panel discussion to separate myth from reality about substance abuse disorder. Speakers will show how science, family involvement, and compassionate support can combine for treatment strategies that work. From 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21. Free. jfssd.org HVanessa Beecroft: Lecture by the Artist at SDSU Storm Hall, 5500 Campanile Dr., College Area. Italian artist Vanessa Beecroft will discuss her projects including “VB53,” a video documentation of herself and 21 other women who spent hours naked on a dirt mound as part of an exhibit in Florence. Takes place in Storm Hall West 011. From 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23. Free. 619-594-5200, art. sdsu.edu The Future of the Humanities in a Digital Age at SDSU Aztec Center Theater, 5500 Campanile Dr., College Area. Google Vice President Dr. Vinton Cerf and Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center Dr. Bruce Cole discuss how the internet is shaping history through today’s art and culture. From 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26. Free. classicsandhumanities.sdsu.edu
WORKSHOPS Book Publishing 1-2-3 at La Jolla Community Center, 6811 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla. Learn about traditional, electronic, selfpublishing and other tips from editor Laurie Gibson. Photojournalist Kris Lyseggen will also be doing a signing of her book, The Boy Who Was Not a Lesbian. From 2 to 3:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 25. $20. 858459-0831, ljcommunitycenter.org
January 20, 2016· San Diego CityBeat · 21
Culture | Art seth combs
Seen LocaL sign of the times
G
raphic designer Andrew Gallagher wasn’t inspired to create Yes, We’re Open Minded (yeswereopenminded.org)—his own brand of custom business signs—because he saw a feel-good, fluffy story. Instead he found a way to channel his energy into a cause he cared deeply about because he was inspired by the hatred of others. “I was inspired when I heard about the Washington florist court case and then a pizza shop in Indiana where businesses were discriminating against gay couples,” Gallagher says. “I became very passionate about doing something about it. I was joking around with a friend saying it’d be nice to know which stores were run by, well, bigots, so I didn’t have to go in there. But I wanted it to be positive; to know which stores were welcoming.” Lemon constructed a custom “Yes, we’re open” sign to instead read, “Yes, we’re open minded.” Thinking he might be onto something, he got the phrase trademarked, set up a Kickstarter page and immediately began contacting artists he admired from all over the country to see if they’d be interested in making their own custom business signs. He says he contacted more than 100 artists. More often than not, inspiration breeds inspiration. “Once I started putting stuff on the Internet, artists started contacting me,” Gallagher says. “Four of the pieces came from me just by opening my Instagram and seeing artists saying that they really liked what we were doing and asking if they could be a part of it. It was really exciting.” While many of the signs have been sold online, Gallagher says he’s been going door-to-door to ask business owners in person if they’d like to buy one.
Andrew Gallagher Locally, the signs can be seen at places like the Daily Scoop ice cream shop in South Park and Dark Horse Coffee in Normal Heights. Gallagher says his ultimate goal is to partner with an organization or nonprofit with proceeds going to a charity. Highlights from the series include Thailandbased artist Cragio Hopson’s painting of a stacked head-within-a-head (think of a surrealist version of a wooden nesting toy). Portland artist Molly Mendoza created a custom party scene with people dancing, and Porous Walker sent Gallagher a custom crayon drawing of a uniformed soldier saluting a gay pride flag. As potentially controversial as that one might seem, Lemon says he knows Walker’s heart was in the right place; that sign got a great response on Instagram. Gallagher says Walker also did an additional sign that didn’t make the cut for obvious reasons. “He also sent a drawing of a parakeet having sex with a goldfish,” says Lemon, laughing. “I didn’t use that one, but that’s about as open-minded as it gets.”
—Seth Combs
to see or not to see
I spoke with her after the show she said simply of the new sculptures: “I’m working with the natural physIn this semi-regular department, arts editor Seth ical characteristics of my glass, and subjecting it to Combs reviews a notable new art show or exhibition. the natural physical forces of our world. I hope that seeing these forces within the structure of my sculpo down an alley in Barrio Logan and you ture, viewers are led to personal philosophical remight encounter any number of adventures: flections applicable to their daily lives. The strength a barking dog, some inspired graffiti or—if to survive stress. The reality of what is invisible. The you turn right down the complexity of simplicGary Conaughton Photography alley on Evans Street just ity. The active nature of before Logan Avenue— what appears quiescent. you’ll hopefully notice Things like that.” HB Punto ExperimenYes, things like that. tal (facebook.com/HBInvisible Geometry is PuntoExperimental). the type of exhibition The gallery space curwhere the viewer leaves rently houses a new exand isn’t able to see the hibition from local sculpworld in quite the same tor Beth King. Invisible way again. I realize that Geometry includes an might sound hyperbolic, emphasis on minimalso let me be more clear: ism when it comes to the Invisible Geometry It’s the type of exhibition pieces themselves, but that doesn’t blatantly that doesn’t prevent them from seeming like they’re inspire catharsis (although it’s quite inspired), but too big for the quaint space. rather, by reintroducing a familiar material in such a It’s clear King is inspired by geometric form. distinct way it reinvigorates and reignites the viewLines are intersected to create illusory effects, but er’s sense of symmetry. The whole world is made up without coming across as novelty. Rather, King’s of lines and angles and I’d like to think that viewers work attempts to make clear statements on the mate- of this show will leave with a newfound appreciation rials’ functionality and purpose. A lot of patience and with what happens between point A and point B. persistence went into the design and making of the works, as well as into the installation process. When —Seth Combs
G
22 · San Diego CityBeat · January 20, 2016
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Culture | Voices
ryan bradford
well that was
awkward
Cool Star Wars party, bro
I
t’s the night of Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ premier, and I don’t see how this night can end well for me. I’m going to fuck up, and the nerds are going to have a field day. I’ll get my droids wrong, and they’ll crucify me. I’ll accidentally question whether Han shot first, and they’ll “actually” me to death. I eye the crowd at Reuben H. Fleet Science Center’s pre-party for the exclusive private screening. I’m here as press, a title that allows me to attend the party, but not the movie. At $100 a ticket, one can only assume that either this event is “a trap!” or, more likely, this is solely for superfans. And that is what I’m worried about. They don’t look like a violent bunch, but then again it’s always the quiet ones, right? An older couple and their adult son stand next to me and wonder if the booze is free. It is. The matriarch—really, there is no other word—wears Leia hair buns that cause the “woe is me” variety of discomfort; her son wears a tunic and a cape. She commands him to inquire at the bar. When he returns with their options, she predictably opts for chardonnay. I poke at a bowl of pretzel balls covered in melted nacho cheese: “Padme Pretzel Balls,” according to the label underneath the cauldron from which they came. I push a Padme Ball into my mouth and let it sit there. It’s not the grossest thing I’ve eaten, but that’s not saying much. I sit on a bench with all my other Stars Wars-themed foods around me, which, honestly, aren’t thematically or logically linked with the characters they’re named after. There’s Rebel ramen, Obi Wan kale salad, Han Solo Caesar salad and Death Star balls. And I’m binge eating all of it as a coping mechanism to deal with the terror of being found out as a nonfan. I listen to two adults seriously discuss the real-life implications of light sabers. They keep making vroom and bwwow sounds. I shake my head, man. I shake my damn head. It’s not that I’m anti-Star Wars, but I’ve been on the Internet enough to gain a healthy disgust with fanboy culture. Social media has streamlined all our interests so nothing feels special or niche. We give weight to fan theories, produced by those who believe their vision is superior to those of the producers, writers and directors. Adults turn into babies at the mere mention of a spoiler. And by the time you’ve read this, you’ve probably become numb to onslaught of thinkpieces justifying The Force Awakens’ pros and cons, thusly reinforcing our lowball expectations that cinema should merely satisfy us rather than entertain us. So, Star Wars is all right,
it’s just the fans I can’t stand. I finish a second Death Star ball and slide into the booze line. It’s, by far, the least crowded free booze line I’ve ever been in. I don’t know if it’s Star Wars fans’ devotion to keeping a clear head for the anticipated premier, or if they—in socially awkward fashion—are afraid to ask. At the front of the line, I order a cocktail created especially for the event: “Yub Nub and Chill.” It’s made with gin and something else that makes it green. The bartender asks how it tastes and I lie and say, “It’s amazing.” I ask for another one. I meet up with my friend (and Reuben H. Fleet’s public relations and promotions manager) Nathan Young. He’s part of a crowd surrounding a replica R2-D2. It rolls around, beeping at people. Everybody wants a picture with it. The inventor appears slightly annoyed about his inability to move anywhere without a mob. “C’mon, R2,” he keeps saying. “I spent all day with that thing,” Nathan says. I can’t tell if he’s boasting or if I’m just jealous that he got to have one-onone time with the little droid. It’s a sweet droid. We walk by another droid that looks like a box with an accordion neck. The inventor gives me a phone number and tells me to text it. As soon as I do, his robot locks onto my phone and takes three photos of Nathan and me. According to the inventor, it picks the best photo to text back to me. The text comes back and we look ravishing. A robot just texted me, I think, trying to reconcile my fear of the Singularity with my approval of everything badass. I ask the inventor if it’s all right if I drunk dial the robot after I have a few more of these Yub Nubs, or will it come and hunt me down, Westworld-style? The inventor gives me a pity laugh and turns away. “If you think about it, all of these people have probably been influenced by Star Wars in one way or another,” Nathan says, referring to all the scientists, tech professionals and inventors who are demonstrating their expertise at this pre-party. He’s right. I often forget that these movies inspire much more than hateful flame wars on the Internet. Suddenly, I feel very bad for being so judgmental. While I wouldn’t spend $100 to see an exclusive screening, I now kind of understand the people who would. And after my third Yub Nub, my initial trepidation is replaced with a sadness that comes with feeling left out, knowing that I won’t be able to step up onto the buses that take this crowd to their private screening. Those buses are for fans only.
“
I’ll get my
droids wrong and they’ll
“
crucify me.
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Well That Was Awkward appears every other week. Write to ryanb@sdcitybeat.com.
January 20, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 23
Culture | Film
Fools and gold
The Treasure
Deadpan comedy searches for stability in post-Communist Romania by Glenn Heath Jr.
A
grizzly, blue-collar type who survived Com- between Adrian and Cornel increase as technical munism by understanding the virtues of both problems with the metal detector complicate their hard work and corruption, Cornel (Corneliu dig. Day turns to night, and Adrian’s impatience and Cozmei) operates a metal detector with the kind of judgmental attitude nearly drives Cornel to violence. plodding efficiency that would drive a patient man Costi seems amazingly indifferent to their potential crazy. That his services have been acquired to find fisticuffs, focused instead on shoveling dirt out of an the buried family fortune of a desperate and bank- increasingly large hole in the ground. rupt bourgeoisie-type named Adrian (Adrian PurThe Treasure walks the razor’s edge between carescu) is an irony not lost on The Treasure. This is, tones, but never veers into the realm of dark comedy. after all, a deadpan comedy about the serious micro- Porumboiu values the playfulness of words over the implications of economic collapse. visceral, the political and social subtext of contradicThe film’s scenario underscores both characters’ tory statements and scenarios. A conversation involvfundamentally different definitions of work ethic. If ing the best way to expunge a nesting flock of crows Cornel and Adrian fittingly represent Romania’s on- best articulates how these stylistic interests cohere going class division, the film’s lead character Costi within a narrative about many different showdowns. (Toma Cuzin) resides somewhere in between. While “A man makes his own problems,” grumbles Cornel, certainly perceived as a hardhis words rather astutely skewering working man attempting to solidAdrian’s pattern of unjustifiable exify a future for his family, he’s also cuses and perceived injustice. Still, the not immune to a “get-rich-quick” The Treasure also examines the treasure scheme involving loot supposedly argument’s counterpoint. A man Directed by Corneliu Porumboiu buried immediately before the can make his own luck too, like the Communists took power decades character of Robin Hood, who has Starring Toma Cuzin , before. become a bedtime favorite of CosAdrian Purcarescu As he did to similar effect in ti’s young son. and Corneliu Cozmei 2009’s Police, Adjective and 2013’s Porumboiu remains the most Not Rated When Evening Falls on Bucharest accessible of filmmakers to have or Metabolism, director Cornegained international acclaim during liu Porumboiu uses the power of the Romanian New Wave that began language and sound design to establish a comedy of in the mid-2000s. Maybe its because he so expertly inincreasing tension. The hilariously pitchy squealing fuses conventional genres with complicated character from Cornel’s metal detector may come to represent motivations that speak to greater institutional develthe absurdity of the trio’s pursuit, but it also reveals opments at large. The system may be broken, but that an ideological chasm that has presumably lingered in doesn’t mean we can’t laugh a little at the slow-motion Romania for decades. breakdown. Uncertainty and resentment reside at nearly the The Treasure, which opens Friday, Jan. 22, at the center of every conversation. Early in the film Costi Digital Gym Cinema in North Park, feels like an even and his wife discuss their son’s troubles with a bully clearer distillation of this style, a move away from at school. The conversation unveils his fear of hostil- the academic pretentions inherent to previous work ity and her growing frustration with male weakness. and toward a more effortless and classic subversion Porumboiu’s camera refuses to cut away as Costi of Romania’s societal façade. Still, Porumboiu has squirms in his seat, her dialogue cornering his threat- managed to retain the cutting sense of humor that ened masculinity one word at a time. Later, Costi makes his work so enjoyable and identifiable. As a finds the time to lecture his son on the best way to parting gift, he gives us modern poet laureates Laiavoid a fight—grab your attacker’s hands and scream! bach screaming over the final credits, “Life is life!” This idea of inevitable confrontation splinters out Indeed. to the narrative at large. The aggressive exchanges
24 · San Diego CityBeat · January 20, 2016
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Culture | Film
A Perfect Day
Scorched earth
W
ar is hell. The innocent always suffer. Good people can’t solve bad situations. Heavy-handed clichés are part and parcel to Fernando León de Aranoa’s A Perfect Day, even when they are masked by the film’s satirical leanings. A team of weary aid workers traverse the battle scarred Balkans at the end of the Bosnian War trying to make a difference despite U.N. red tape and threatening militias. Benicio del Toro’s Mambrú stoically leads and grimaces while Tim Robbins’ character, B, makes zany comments from the sidelines. Both men have been hardened by the realities
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of war yet still believe they’re making a difference. A Perfect Day revolves around their attempts to retrieve a massive dead body from a well, a seemingly straightforward goal that gets complicated by multiple different circumstances. A side trip to retrieve fresh rope leads Mambrú, B and the rest of their cohorts into a bombedout village. The only sign of life is a rabid dog tied up with (you guessed it) the necessary rope. Irony runs thick here, but it’s irony perceived and experienced by outsiders. Locals are relegated to mentors, victims or pragmatic observers. Offsetting the masculinity are thorny women; they range in personality from an ax-grind-
ingly cold bureaucrat (Olga Kurylenko) to a naïve emotional do-gooder (Mélanie Thierry). Neither has much to do beyond complain about their decreasingly stable situation. Not the most flattering portraits of women in duress. A Perfect Day, which opens Friday, Jan. 22, at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park, means well much like its squad of activists. But more often than not the real issues of local politics, identity and trauma are glossed over for a rock music cue or strategically placed one-liner. Contradictions that should sting with rage end up evaporating into the deep blue sky.
—Glenn Heath Jr.
Opening A Perfect Day: Embattled aid workers played by Benicio del Toro and Tim Robbins attempt to make a difference in the war torn Balkans. Screens through Thursday, Jan. 28, at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park. Dirty Grandpa: Zac Efron plays an uptight guy who gets schooled on how to party by his horny old grandpa (Robert De Niro). Monster Hunt: In a fantastical version of medieval China, those in power threaten
a baby monster trying to survive in a hostile world. Opens Friday, Jan. 22, at the AMC La Jolla Cinemas. Prescription Thugs: This hard-hitting documentary looks at the shady marketing practices of Big Pharmaceutical and the staggering level of addiction it’s caused in 21st century America. Screens through Thursday, Jan. 28, at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park. The 5th Wave: Aliens have attacked Earth in four deadly waves. Now, a young woman must try to survive the 5th wave and save her brother in the process. Starring Chloe Grace Moretz. The Boy: After taking a job as a nanny in the U.K., an American woman discovers that she has been tasked with taking care of a doll that may actually be alive. The Lady in the Van: A young man forms a special friendship with a transient woman (Maggie Smith) living in her van. Opens Friday, Jan. 22, at the Angelika Film Center in Carmel Mountain. The Treasure: A Romanian man decides to help his desperate neighbor look for buried treasure that had been hidden right before the communists took power. Screens through Thursday, Jan. 28, at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.
For a complete
listing of movies, please see
“F ilm Screenings” at sdcitybeat.com under “E vents.”
January 20, 2016· San Diego CityBeat · 25
Robby Staebler
Music
All Them Witches conjure up trippy rock jams
From left: Allan Van Cleave, Ben McLeod, Robby Staebler and Michael Parks Jr.
by Jeff Terich
he opening track on Dying Surfer Meets His Maker, the third album by All Them Witches, could sound like it was a carefully planned product of focused writing and collaboration. In four minutes, “Call Me Star” builds up from a gentle, atmospheric and psychedelic folk introduction into an increasingly layered and harder hitting stoner rock anthem. Each piece locks into place with fluid grace, the music taking shape with direction and intention. It’s casual and spacious in its sound, but as the writing goes, it’s not an exaggeration to say it’s a tightly written song. The sound of “Call Me Star” is representative of All Them Witches’ stylistic approach—at least in part. But the cohesion doesn’t necessarily come from intense focus or organization. When the band plays their songs live, bassist and vocalist Michael Parks Jr. says in a phone interview, composition and cohesion become secondary to letting their songs loosen up and get lost in the moment. “I’d say half of it or more than half of it is just made up on the spot,” he says. That looseness can be heard throughout the entirety of Dying Surfer Meets His Maker, released in October via New West Records. On a very basic level, all the music on the album can be vaguely described as “psychedelic rock,” but they cover a ridiculous amount of ground within that general framework. Where “Call Me Star” is a concise and catchy folk-rock tune, “This Is Where It Falls Apart” is an extended blues jam in the vein of early Led Zeppelin. And where “Mellowing” is a gentle acoustic instrumental song, “El Centro” is a crushing heavy-psych dirge that bridges the cosmic excursions of Hawkwind with the proto-metal thunder of Black Sabbath. Dying Surfer Meets His Maker, on paper, might even
26 · San Diego CityBeat · January 20, 2016
seem like an overload of ideas all crammed into one space. But somehow it works, and Parks enjoys the diversity and sprawl that All Them Witches display on their records. “If you start just putting out the same thing over and over, people start to expect that. And that gets pretty boring for us,” he says. “We listen to such a huge variety of music and really love and look for those surprises in all forms of music. We collaborate, and that’s just how it is. Nobody ever really takes a lead on anything for too long.” The band’s commitment to letting their music go wherever it needs to has allowed them a lot of flexibility in the kinds of bands they book shows with. And indeed, they’ve shared stages with metal bands such as Windhand and Red Fang, as they did at the Day of the Shred festival in 2014, as well as playing with a number of contemporary and classic psych-rock bands at Levitation Festival in Vancouver last year. It’s both a blessing and a curse, Parks says, though they’re not necessarily changing their approach for marketing purposes. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out right now, how to maintain a steady fan base that you’ve built without getting way outside your market,” he says. “It’s always an interesting thing. We’ve played with everyone. We’ve played with country bands, Americana stuff, and heavy, heavy metal, stoner guys, jam band festivals. And it’s cool to see all those crowds, they’re all very different from each other. It’s fun. I think we’ll keep jumping around, I don’t want to stick to just one thing.” All Them Witches is, ostensibly, a Nashville band. But they don’t all live there. Parks and guitarist Ben McLeod live in Music City, while drummer Robby Staebler lives in Ohio and keyboardist Allan Van Cleave lives in New Mexico. For
All Them Witches January 23 / The Casbah allthemwitches.org
most bands this would present a pretty major obstacle to being able to write, record and practice together. That’s not so much an issue for All Them Witches. For starters, they communicate regularly, and they’re still good friends despite the distance between them. But more importantly, they’re a band whose essence is in unpredictability and practicing extremely infrequently. So while another band might fall apart under the weight of the logistical complications, Parks says it’s never held them back in any way. “The first couple years…we lived together and practiced every day, as much as we could,” he says. “And I think at the two-year mark, we kinda split up, location wise. But it’s never been a problem. We don’t really practice anyway, except for occasionally, maybe once a month. And it just always works. We like what we do and we like each other, so we just make it work.” The way Parks talks about working with the band feels very zen, as if the songs All Them Witches write just come to them. Indeed, it’s hard not to hear a spiritual component to their bigger, more ambitious psych guitar freakouts. But most of all, it’s hard not to get the sense their music is just something fun shared by four laid-back dudes with a unique chemistry. “It’s all very natural,” he says. “You just have to give it space to do its own thing.” Write to jefft@sdcitybeat.com or follow him on Twitter at @1000TimesJeff
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Music
notes from the smoking patio locals only
M
atthew Binder, former member of Hotel St. George, has announced the upcoming release of his debut novel. The book is titled High in the Streets, and it’s being released on April 29 via Roundfire Books. Binder describes the book as a story that takes place in the span of one week, with an overarching theme of “poking holes in the traditional American dream.” However, while it’s his first book to be published, it’s actually the second he’s written. The first one was “written in a fever,” he says in a phone interview, though it didn’t draw much interest from publishers. “Eventually the rejections started coming in. I thought I had a pretty great book,” he says. “I needed something to stay active. And I was not playing music at the time.” He started writing High in the Streets in June 2013, and spent two years on the novel. And while he says he knows very little about the publishing world, he got a much stronger response on the second try, and immediately at that.
“I sent out about 10 queries,” he says. “One publisher offered to release it and I went with them. I didn’t really think too much about it. I was just really happy that someone wanted to publish my book.” Binder is planning some release events for the book, though nothing is concrete right now. However, while it’s been a few years since he performed with Hotel St. George, he is still working on music. Last year he released a record under the name Bang Bang Jet Away, and there are plans to continue that project in the future. “I finished the book in the spring of 2015, so after that I wrote a Matthew Binder bunch of songs,” he says. “I called up a couple friends who I’ve played music with in the past to record a project last summer called Bang Bang Jet Away. Probably next summer we’ll record another set of songs and put together some shows.”
—Jeff Terich
tag it and bag it If you search for albums tagged “San Diego” on Bandcamp, you’ll find some interesting stuff. In this semiregular report, we sift through recent postings and relay the findings.
certainly has a pleasing, gentle electronic approach. These are boutique hotel lobby jams that provide a cool atmosphere, if not necessarily something more memorable.
Los Platanos, Los Platanos: The cover art for See? Nobody Cares, Deep Nudes: Deep Nudes’ Los Platanos’ self-titled EP depicts a bunch of ba- biography states that they’re “two brothers...creatnanas, Andy Warhol-style, in homage to the cover ing soundscapes from deep within the nude scene.” I don’t know what the of The Velvet Underground & “nude scene” is (the guy Nico. And that’s a fairly clever on the cover art is wearing move—“platanos” does mean clothes), but their music “bananas” in Spanish, after all. ranges from atmospheric The music also carries a ’60s trip-hop to buzzing indusvibe, but it’s more of a Tropicatrial goth to dreamy alterlia style in the vein of Os Munative rock. It’s kind of all tantes or Caetano Veloso. Gorover the place, and most of geously laid back and lightly their songs are short, but trippy stuff. there’s enough here to keep me interested in where Fun for Family and Friends, they’re going. Paper Days: Paper Days’ aesthetic is an upbeat dream-pop Bing Bing Bong, The sound with a touch of hookSnacks: So, The Snacks laden ’90s-style alt-rock. Paraare tagged with “illumidoxically, their throwback natiwave,” which definitely sound is very much of the presLos Platanos caught my attention. And ent. I’m not sure that their vobasically, their shtick goes calist’s yelps and screeches work that well with their like this: Layer some audio tracks of celebrity rants pretty guitar melodies, but it’s not a bad start. over nebulous ambient compositions, give them tinatsu o matteimasu, Polygon Boy: Every time I tles like “Kim,” “Kanye,” “Shia” or “Tronald Dump.” do one of these Bandcamp exercises, I come across Voila, that’s Bing Bing Bong. It kinda works. an inordinate amount of downtempo bedroom producer stuff that ranges from excellent to unremark- able. It’s almost never bad though, and Polygon Boy
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—Jeff Terich January 20, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 27
28 · San Diego CityBeat · January 20, 2016
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Music
Jeff Terich
If I were u A music insider’s weekly agenda Wednesday, January 20 PLAN A: The Bright Light Social Hour, James Supercave @ Soda Bar. Austin’s Bright Light Social Hour have a lot of hair and even more grooves. The band combines soul, blues, psychedelic rock and a variety of other genres into a danceable and fun blend. PLAN B: The Wood Brothers, Liz Vice @ Belly Up Tavern. The Wood Brothers have built up a pretty big following on the strength of their fun, unique take on Americana. Their style of blues and bluegrass isn’t super traditional, but it’ll win you over in no time.
Thursday, January 21 PLAN A: Chuck Ragan and Todd Beene, Pall Jenkins, Mike Pope @ The Casbah. Chuck Ragan is best known as the frontman for punk band Hot Water Music, but lately he’s been playing an earthier, earnest rock ‘n’ roll sound reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen. He’s accompanied
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at this show by pedal steel player Todd Beene, which should make it a rootsy and intimate evening. PLAN B: The Kickback, Quiet Company, Velvet Club @ Soda Bar. The Kickback have a song called “Sting’s Teacher Years,” which is amazing in a music-geek factoid kind of way. They also play great, catchy power pop songs that hit the spot. BACKUP PLAN: Some Kind of Lizard, Garden Echo, Grenda, Chill Pill, Lady Indigo @ The Merrow.
Friday, January 22 PLAN A: Reflection Eternal—Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek @ Music Box. Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek teamed up in 2000 under the name Reflection Eternal, and released a classic hip-hop record titled Train of Thought. If you haven’t heard it, please listen to the whole thing right now, and then experience their sublime sounds in person. PLAN B: AJ Froman, Glasmus, Flatlands @ Soda Bar. Tijuana’s Glasmus has a dark and mysterious sensibility.
They mix vintage post-punk sounds with dreamy atmosphere, and it kind of sounds like it was made for my ears. BACKUP PLAN: Sugar Candy Mountain, Muscle Beech, Wild Wild Wets DJs @ The Hideout.
Saturday, January 23 PLAN A: All Them Witches, L.A. Witch, Dani Bell and the Tarantist @ The Casbah. Read my feature this week on Nashville psychedelic rock outfit All Them Witches, who color outside the lines of genre and rarely overthink their spiritual, intense sound. Be prepared for something huge. PLAN B: Shigeto, Groundislava, Dream Repeat @ Soda Bar. For an entirely different sound but a similarly immersive experience, seek out Shigeto, whose electronic soundscapes are sublime and wonderful to get lost in. BACKUP PLAN: Venom Inc., Necrophagia, Seraphic Disgust, Mythraeum, Festering Grave @ Brick by Brick.
Sunday, January 24 PLAN A: Europe, Gabbie Rae @ The Music Box. It’s the final countdown! Dee-dee-deedee. Dee-dee-deet-deet-dee…
Monday, January 25 PLAN A: 1349, Tombs, Full of Hell, Cave Bastard @ Brick by Brick. New York metal outfit Tombs’ logo looks a lot like it says “Combs,” but I assure you our arts and culture editor won’t be performing here. Not that I know of, anyway. Tombs, however, are ass-kicking in all the right ways. PLAN B: The Gloomies, Scruffles, Garden Echo, DJ Nik Chewing @ Soda Bar. Last chance to see The Gloomies for free this month. Read my feature from last week to find out why. Don’t blow it. BACKUP PLAN: Little Heroine, The Natives, Bad Kids @ The Casbah.
Tuesday, January 26 PLAN A: The Soft Moon, Sextile, Hexa @ The Casbah. The Soft Moon have made an impressive evolution from minimal darkwave sounds to a bigger, more elaborate industrial approach. Their album Deeper was one of my favorites last year, and still gets a lot of spins in my house. Dress in black. BACKUP PLAN: Echo Park Social Club, Angels Dust, Odakota @ The Merrow.
Chuck Ragan
January 20, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 29
Music
Concerts HOT! NEW! FRESH!
Jhene Aiko (Observatory, 2/5), DJ Quik (Observatory, 2/6), Mono/Poly (Hideout, 2/26), Waxahatchee (The Irenic, 3/3), Atreyu (Observatory, 3/5), Pearl Charles (Hideout, 3/10), Culture Abuse (Til-Two Club, 3/13), KATA (Hideout, 3/17), Quilt (Hideout, 3/19), Yuck (Soda Bar, 3/23), Prince Rama (Soda Bar, 3/25), Foxing (The Irenic, 3/29), Into It. Over It., The World Is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die (The Irenic, 4/3), Tortoise (BUT, 5/3), Kid Congo Powers and the Pink Monkey Birds (Soda Bar, 5/3), Moderat (Observatory, 5/27), Weezer, Panic! At the Disco (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 8/3), Ben Harper (Humphreys, 8/23).
GET YER TICKETS Supersuckers (Casbah, 2/10), Aaron Neville (Balboa Theatre, 2/11), Tiger Army (Observatory, 2/11), STRFKR (Observatory North Park, 2/12), Thee Oh Sees (BUT, 2/12), Meat Wave (Soda Bar, 2/13), Logic (SOMA, 2/14), The Growlers, Jonathan Richman (Observatory, 2/16-17), At the Gates (HOB, 2/19), Dr. Dog (Observatory, 2/20), Steve Poltz (BUT, 2/20), Big Business (Casbah, 2/21), Lee Ann Womack (BUT, 2/22), Anti-Flag (Observatory, 2/25), Metric (HOB, 2/25), Rihanna (Viejas Arena, 2/26), Julien Baker (The Irenic, 2/27), Joe Satriani
30 · San Diego CityBeat · January 20, 2016
(Balboa Theatre, 3/1), Protomartyr (Soda Bar, 3/2), Lewis Black (Balboa Theatre, 3/3), Galactic (BUT, 3/3), Wavves, Best Coast (Observatory, 3/4), John Hiatt (BUT, 3/7-8), Eleanor Friedberger (Hideout, 3/11), Wolf Eyes (Casbah, 3/12), Magma (Brick by Brick, 3/15), The String Cheese Incident (Observatory, 3/15-16), Intronaut (Brick by Brick, 3/16), Junior Boys (Casbah, 3/18), Dwarves, Queers (Soda Bar, 3/20), Reverend Horton Heat (BUT, 3/23), Glassjaw (Observatory, 3/24), Black Tusk, Holy Grail (Brick by Brick, 3/25), Abbath, High on Fire, Skeletonwitch, Tribulation (Observatory, 3/26), Rob Crow’s Gloomy Place (Casbah, 3/27), Alex G (Che Café, 4/1), Absu (Brick by Brick, 4/2), White Denim (BUT, 4/2), Operators (Soda Bar, 4/10), Steve Miller Band (Humphreys, 4/14), Prong (Brick by Brick, 4/22), Thao & the Get Down Stay Down (BUT, 4/28), Modern English (The Hideout, 5/17), The Cure (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 5/30), Leon Russell (BUT, 5/31), Twentyonepilots (Viejas Arena, 7/24), Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 8/14), Journey, The Doobie Brothers (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 8/30), 5 Seconds of Summer (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 9/9).
January Thursday, Jan. 21 Big Head Todd and the Monsters at Belly Up Tavern.
Friday, Jan. 22 Never Shout Never at House of Blues. Big Head Todd and the Monsters at Belly Up Tavern. Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek at Music Box. Kottonmouth Kings at SOMA.
Saturday, Jan. 23 Shigeto at Soda Bar. All Them Witches at The Casbah. JD McPherson at Belly Up Tavern. Steel Panther at House of Blues.
Sunday, Jan. 24 Europe at Music Box.
Tuesday, Jan. 26 The Soft Moon at The Casbah. David Cross at Observatory North Park.
Wednesday, Jan. 27 Tony Lucca at Soda Bar.
Thursday, Jan. 28 Wanda Jackson at The Casbah. Julia Holter at The Irenic. PWR BTTM at The Hideout.
Friday, Jan. 29 Richard Cheese at House of Blues. G. Love and Special Sauce at Belly Up Tavern (sold out). The Hood Internet at The Casbah.
Saturday, Jan. 30 Pato Banton at Belly Up Tavern. The Silent Comedy at The Casbah. Mike Gordon at Observatory North Park.
February Monday, Feb. 1 Childbirth at Soda Bar.
music CONTINUED ON PAGE 32
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January 20, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 31
Music Tuesday, Feb. 2 Steel Pulse at Belly Up Tavern. Bullet for My Valentine at House of Blues.
Thursday, Feb. 4 Enforcer, Warbringer at Brick by Brick.
Friday, Feb. 5 The English Beat at Belly Up Tavern. Jhene Aiko at Observatory North Park.
Saturday, Feb. 6 The English Beat at Belly Up Tavern. DJ Quik at Observatory North Park.
Wednesday, Feb. 10 Ottmar Liebert and Luna Negra at Belly Up Tavern. Supersuckers at The Casbah. Jess Glynne at House of Blues.
Thursday, Feb. 11 Tiger Army at Observatory North Park. The Donkeys at Soda Bar. Aaron Neville at Balboa Theatre.
Friday, Feb. 12 STRFKR at Observatory North Park. Thee Oh Sees at Belly Up Tavern.
Saturday, Feb. 13 Meat Wave at Soda Bar.
Sunday, Feb. 14 Beats Antique at Observatory North Park. Built to Spill at The Casbah.
Monday, Feb. 15 Built to Spill at The Casbah.
32 · San Diego CityBeat · January 20, 2016
Tuesday, Feb. 16 The Growlers, Jonathan Richman at Observatory North Park.
Wednesday, Feb. 17 The Growlers, Jonathan Richman at Observatory North Park.
Thursday, Feb. 18 The Toasters at The Casbah. Cradle of Filth at House of Blues.
Friday, Feb. 19 At the Gates at House of Blues. Radiation City at The Casbah.
Saturday, Feb. 20 Dr. Dog at Observatory North Park. Steve Poltz at Belly Up Tavern.
Sunday, Feb. 21 Big Business at The Casbah.
Monday, Feb. 22 Lee Ann Womack at Belly Up Tavern.
Wednesday, Feb. 24 Lake Street Drive at Observatory North Park. Reagan Youth at Brick by Brick.
Thursday, Feb. 25 Ani DiFranco at Belly Up Tavern (sold out). Anti-Flag at Observatory North Park. Metric at House of Blues.
Friday, Feb. 26 Rihanna at Viejas Arena. The Infamous Stringduster at Belly Up Tavern. Mono/ Poly at The Hideout.
Saturday, Feb. 27 Diane Coffee at The Hideout. Julien Baker at The Irenic.
Monday, Feb. 29 Fetty Wap at House of Blues (sold out). Vance Joy at Balboa Theatre. Coeur de Pirate at Belly Up Tavern.
rCLUBSr
710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave., San Diego. Pacific Beach. Wed: Pat Dowling. Thu: Karaoke. Fri: Kid Wilderness, Of Course Not. Sat: Inhale, Shocks of Mighty, Kng Mkr. Sun: Karaoke. Tue: 5nSlime, Brandon Baker. 98 Bottles, 2400 Kettner Blvd. Ste. 110, San Diego. Little Italy. Fri: Jamie Shadowlight, Electric Ladyland. Sat: Darryl Walker, Keith Andrew. Sun: The Matt Smith Neu Jazz Trio. Air Conditioned Lounge, 4673 30th St., San Diego. Normal Heights. Wed: ‘Wild & Free’ w/ DJs Memo + Rex. Thu: ‘My 80s Vice’ w/ DJ Girth. Sat: ‘JUICY’ w/ DJ Mike Czech. Sun: ‘Chvrch’ w/ DJ Karma. American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., San Diego. Downtown. Thu: Adam Conover. Fri: Adam Conover. Sat: Adam Conover. Sun: Kyle Ayers. Bang Bang, 526 Market St., San Diego. Downtown. Fri: &ME. Bar Pink, 3829 30th St., San Diego. North Park. Thu: DJ Ikah Love. Fri: ‘80s vs. 90s’ w/ DJs Junior, Vaughn. Sun: ‘Rat Sabbath’. Tue: DJ Marshall Islands. Beaumont’s, 5662 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla. La Jolla. Thu: James Ian. Fri: Dave
Gleason Trio. Sat: Slower. Sun: Dave Booda. Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. Solana Beach. Wed: The Wood Brothers, Liz Vice, The Wood Brothers, Liz Vice. Thu: Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Mike Doughty (sold out). Fri: Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Mike Doughty (sold out). Sat: JD McPherson, HONEYHONEY. Sun: Kelley James. Mon: Granger Smith. Black Cat Bar, 4246 University Ave., San Diego. City Heights. Fri: Cumbia Machin, Downs Family, Sssnake. Sat: Nite Lapse, Minor Gems, Boychick. Bluefoot Bar & Lounge, 3404 30th St., San Diego. North Park. Thu: Cuffin’ - All Thangs R&B Party. Boar Cross’n, 390 Grand Ave., Carlsbad. Carlsbad. Thu: The Cold Threat, Death Surf. Fri: ‘Club Musae’. Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave., San Diego. Bay Park. Fri: Vision of Disorder, Pissing Razors, Critic, Nerve Control, Impulse. Sat: Venom Inc., Necrophagia, Seraphic Disgust, Mythraeum, Festering Grave. Mon: 1349, Tombs, Full of Hell, Cave Bastard. Tue: Conveyer, Motives, Dependence, A New Challenger Approaches. Cafe Sevilla, 353 Fifth Ave., San Diego. Downtown. Wed: Aro Di Santi. Thu: Malamana. Fri: Joef and Co. Sat: Malamana. Sun: Aire. Tue: Gio Trio. Croce’s Park West, 2760 Fifth Ave., #100, San Diego. Bankers Hill. Wed: Clay Colton Duo. Thu: Gio & Diamond. Fri: Louis Valenzuela Quartet. Sat: Eve Selis. Sun: Danny Green Trio. Mon: Pat Dowling. Tue: Nina Francis and Leonard Patton. Dizzy’s, 4275 Mission Bay Drive, San
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Music Diego. Mission Bay. Fri: Daniel Jackson Week Celebration. Sat: Daniel Jackson Tribute. F6ix, 526 F St., Downtown., San Diego. Downtown. Fri: DJ Tantrum. Sat: DJ Kurch. Sun: DJ Dome. Fluxx, 500 Fourth Ave., San Diego. Downtown. Fri: Lumberjvck. Sat: Stafford Brothers. Gallagher’s, 5040 Newport Ave., San Diego. Ocean Beach. Thu: Psydecar. Fri: The Fooks. Sat: The Smash Ups. Mon: ‘Mic Check Monday’. House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., San Diego. Downtown. Wed: San Diego RAW: FUTURES. Thu: Grizfolk, Max Frost. Fri: Never Shout Never. Sat: Steel Panther. Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd., San Diego. Midtown. Thu: Bass Tribe. Fri: ‘SUBDVSN’. Sat: ‘Dusty Poon Saloon’. Sun: D Monkey Slap, Cloudmaster. Tue: ‘High Tech Tuesday’. Mc P’s Irish Pub, 1107 Orange Ave., Coronado. Wed: Sophisticats. Thu: Ron’s Trio. Fri: Mystique. Sat: Ron’s Garage. Sun: Gonzology. Moonshine Flats, 344 7th Ave., Gaslamp. Fri: The Matte Gray Band. Sat: The Matte Gray Band. Music Box, 1337 India St., San Diego. Little Italy. Fri: Reflection Eternal: Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek. Sat: BoomBox, Ryan Bauer . Sun: Europe. Numbers, 3811 Park Blvd., San Diego. Hillcrest. Thu: ‘Wet’. Fri: ‘Uncut’. Sat: ‘Club Sabbat’. Tue: Karaoke Latino. Onyx Room / Thin, 852 Fifth Ave., San Diego. Downtown. Thu: ‘Tea Party Thursday’. Fri: ‘Rumba Lounge’. Sat: ‘Onyx Saturday’. Tue: ‘Neo Soul’.
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Patricks Gaslamp, 428 F St., San Diego. Downtown. Wed: The Upshots. Thu: The Bill Magee Blues Band. Sat: RedWave. Sun: Johnny Vernazza. Tue: Paddy’s Chicken Jam Rich’s, 1051 University Ave., San Diego. Hillcrest. Wed: DJ Kiki. Fri: DJs Dirty Kurty, Moody Rudy. Sat: DJs K-Swift, Taj, Nikno. Sun: DJ Cros Riviera Supper Club, 7777 University Ave., La Mesa. La Mesa. Wed: ‘Boss Jazz’ w/ Jason Hanna. Thu: Israel Maldonado. Fri: Black Market III. Sat: Sickstring Outlaws. Tue: Karaoke. Side Bar, 536 Market St., San Diego. Downtown. Wed: DJ Scooter. Thu: ‘Divino Thursday’ w/ Vince Delano. Fri: Deejay Al. Sat: DJ Dynamiq. Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego. City Heights. Wed: The Bright Light Social Hour, James Supercave. Thu: The Kickback, Quiet Company, Velvet Club. Fri: Glasmus, AJ Froman, Flatlands. Sat: Shigeto, Groundislava, Dream Repeat. Mon: The Gloomies, Scruffles, Garden Echo, DJ Nik Chewing. SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd., San Diego. Midway. Fri: Kottonmouth Kings, Marlon Asher, Chucky Chuck, DJ PRODUCT 1969. Sat: Paper Days. Spin, 2028 Hancock St., San Diego. Midtown. Fri: Baile do Victinho. Sat: Justin James. Sycamore Den, 3391 Adams Ave., San Diego. Normal Heights. Thu: Doncat, Nate Hess. Sun: Rosewood & Rye, Howl & Moon. The Bancroft, 9143 Campo Rd., Spring Valley. Sat: Darlington, Name The Band, and The Night Of The Gun.
The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd., San Diego. Midtown. Wed: Half Moon Run, Emilie and Ogden. Thu: Chuck Ragan and Todd Beene. Fri: Botanica Chango, The Palace Ballroom, Jesse Lamonaca, Mayfield. Sat: All Them Witches, L.A. Witch, Dani Bell and the Tarantist. Sun: Vanessa Carlton, Skye Steel. Mon: Little Heroine, The Natives, Bad Kids. Tue: The Soft Moon, Sextile, Hexa. The Hideout, 3519 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego. City Heights. Fri: Sugar Candy Mountain, Muscle Beech, Wild Wild Wets DJs. Sat: ‘Death by Dancing’. Tue: ‘Through Being Cool’. The Loft @ UCSD, Price Center East, La Jolla. Wed: ‘Tribute to Stevie Wonder’ w/ Casey Hensley Band. Mon: Abbey Rader Quartet, Kyle Motl-Tommy Babin Duo. Tue: The Dark Matter Turtles, The Moves Collective. The Merrow, 1271 University Ave., San Diego. Hillcrest. Wed: Yotam Ben Horin, Mercy Music, Brian Wahlstrom, Walt Hamburger, Dead Frets, Karina Toriz. Thu: Some Kind of Lizard, Garden Echo, Grenda, Chill Pill, Lady Indigo. Fri: Gridlok, Cause 4 Concern. Sat: Empyrean Throne, Morbid Eclipse, Sergulath, Misanthrophi. Tue: Echo Park Social Club, Angels Dust, Odakota. The Office, 3936 30th St., San Diego. North Park. Wed: ‘Grand Ole Office’. Thu: ‘No Limits’ w/ DJ Myson King. Fri: ‘After Hours’ w/ Adam Salter, Saul Q. Sat: ‘Strictly Business’ w/ DJs Kanye Asada, Gabe Vega. Sun: ‘Uptown Top Ranking’ w/ Tribe of Kings. Mon: AC/DC Under Cover. Tue: ‘Trapped’. The T Lounge, 1475 University Ave., San Diego. Hillcrest. Thu: Stanza. The Tin Roof, 401 G Street, San Diego. Gaslamp. Wed: Corey Gray, Jake Coco,
Tay Watts Trio. Fri: Coriander, From the Cold. Sat: Coriander. Sun: Pat Dowling. Mon: The Visitours. Tue: From the Cold. Til-Two Club, 4746 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego. City Heights. Fri: Rik Agnew Band, Chango’s Psychotic Garage, Roman Watchdogs, Sculpins. Sat: ‘Sleepwalking’. Tio Leo’s, 5302 Napa St., San Diego. Bay Park. Wed: Johnny Deadly Trio. Thu: Nathan James. Fri: Funk’s Most Wanted. Sat: Candye Kane. Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave., San Diego. City Heights. Thu: The Bertos, Detached Objects. Fri: The Slowdraw the Hungry Eskimo Music Show, Slowdraw the Hungry Eskimo, Beevil, Western Midwest. Sat: Rayner, Parade of Horribles, Ash Williams, Let’s Face It. Sun: Oddball, The Lucky Eejits, Skipjack, Strike Twelve. Ux31, 3112 University Ave., San Diego. North Park. Thu: ‘Throwback Thursday’. Fri: DJ Bodyrawk. Sat: DJ Kid Wonder. Sun: Cas Haley, Ethan Tucker, Brightside, Queendom Tribe. Tue: Karaoke. Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St, San Diego. South Park. Wed: Tabled Presents: Terminator 2. Thu: ‘Astro Jump’ w/ Kill Quanti DJs. Fri: Oh Spirit, Don Cat. Sat: ‘Booty Bassment’ w/ DJs Dimitri, Rob. Tue: ‘Videodrome’. Winstons, 1921 Bacon St., San Diego. Ocean Beach. Wed: Jahkobeats, Kroo Tone Classics, DJ Carlos Culture. Thu: Squa, Madd Joker, Oscar Goldman, Micah. Fri: The Main Squeeze. Sat: Kung Fu, Z3, The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble. Sun: Karaoke. Mon: Electric Waste Band.
January 20, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 33
34 · San Diego CityBeat · January 20, 2016
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Last Words
Brendan Emmett Quigley
Snow drifts Across 1. Directing word 4. Two-way 8. Triangular roof sections 14. Bus. letters 15. Haircut that’s tough wear to hat with 16. Stick in deeply 17. “Made for Moments” electronics company 18. Berry Gordy Jr. pioneered it 20. Beach Boys song off “Pet Sounds” 22. Emphatic confirmation 23. Significant other 24. Spray in the kitchen 27. No. 2 stuff 28. “___ minute?” 31. Like a Bostonian’s accent 33. Veep between Hubert and Gerald 35. Bunny’s trail? 36. Food providers for the homebound 39. City near the Lebanon Mountains 40. Calls at sea 41. Like the verbs “buy” and “sell”: Abbr. 42. Singer ___ Blacc 43. Women driver’s org. 47. Zit head? 48. Plane that burned 2885 gallons of fuel an hour: Abbr. 50. Non-natives, to Hawaiians 52. Comedian who is the narrator on TV’s “The Goldbergs” 55. Has a beneficial effect Last week’s answers
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58. Lemon in a lot 59. Country singer Ronnie 60. Bird that lives on cliffs 61. Landing no. 62. Polish change 63. Biblical verb with thou 64. Vegetarian bean
Down 1. “The Aeneid” author 2. Difficult to read 3. Maine national park 4. Curses 5. One who knows his saucers 6. Affected and then some 7. “Over there” 8. Kind of salami 9. Grading assistant 10. Super Smash ___ 11. Bodybuilder Ferrigno 12. Long stretch 13. A busy person might pick one up: Abbr. 19. Minnesota Lynx league 21. “It’s probable...” 24. Scripting language 25. Big name in laptops 26. Website with Outlook and Bing 29. Conquistador’s loot 30. Of sound quality 32. Waits for one’s time 34. Toils at it 35. Forces into an inadequate space 36. French mother 37. Erse land 38. “Name not ringing a bell” 39. Profession, casually 42. Forwarding letters 44. Comes in second 45. Trattoria dessert 46. Off the beaten path 49. Calls it quits 51. Strong point 52. “Look here” 53. Took in too much snow 54. His uncle was Caligula 55. War perimeter, briefly 56. Target of some divesting protesters 57. Chess rating system
January 20, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 35
36 · San Diego CityBeat · January 20, 2016
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January 20, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 37
38 · San Diego CityBeat · January 20, 2016
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January 20, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 39