San Diego CityBeat • Jan 22, 2014

Understanding Jan Goldsmith We sit down with San Diego’s city attorney for an unexpected marathon interview

by Joshua Emerson Smith

P. 5

Gloria P.4 Fat P.8 Bloodquenched P.12 Azalea P.16

2 · San Diego CityBeat · January 22, 2014

January 22, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 3

Gloria’s plan for 2014 Every January, the mayor of San Diego delivers a speech to a packed Balboa Theatre, Downtown, that provides an update on how things are going in city government, as well as a roadmap for the coming year. When it came time to give the State of the City address last Wednesday, there was no proper mayor in sight, so the job fell to the guy who’s been squatting in the Mayor’s office since Bob Filner crashed and burned last August: Todd Gloria.

Gloria had a choice: He could’ve delivered a sort of caretaker-type speech—mostly talking about how the budget is looking, how much street repair is in the works and where we are with the conventioncenter expansion and the 2015 Balboa Park centennial celebration—as he prepares to hand the keys to a real mayor after the Feb. 11 election. Or he could go big. He went big. He went progressive-big. It was beautiful.

But what does it mean? After all, he’ll be sitting in the seat of mayoral power for only three more weeks as of this writing. It could mean a lot, actually, no matter who gets elected next month. If the social-justice Democrat David Alvarez wins, Gloria’s speech was a pep talk; Alvarez can take Gloria’s ideas and run with them, hand-inhand with a City Council controlled by Democrats. If the corporate-establishment-friendly Republican Kevin Faulconer wins, the speech was a drawing of battle lines.

You see, Gloria won’t be relinquishing City Hall’s 11th floor and sipping banana daiquiris on a Caribbean beach; he’ll resume his duties as president of the San Diego City Council. If Faulconer wins, the council will be left with five Democrats and three Republicans, until a replacement is appointed in Faulconer’s District 2. The council’s Democrats could conceivably appoint a sixth Democrat to replace Faulconer for his term that ends in December.

If they go the conciliatory route and replace a Republican with a Republican, they’d still have a majority and could pass policies on party-line votes, but Faulconer could veto anything he doesn’t like.

Five votes can’t override a veto, so if they replace him with a Republican, we’d have ourselves a good ol’ fashioned shared governance. Six Democrats, assuming they’re in lockstep on policy, could override mayoral vetoes and have their way with Faulconer.

If Alvarez wins, we’d have a 4-4 partisan split

on the council, but Alvarez’s District 8 is heavily Democrat and there’s no way a Democrat joins the Republicans in appointing a Republican to replace Alvarez. For the rest of 2014, San Diego’s liberal mayor would have a friendly City Council.

In any case, Gloria crafted a guide for progressive action. He started in the middle of road, with plans for an economic-growth strategy, support for the military, happy talk of big projects like the convention-center expansion and a new football stadium (no mention of financing details) and, importantly, a vow to assemble a big bond measure this year that would finance citywide infrastructure and neighborhood improvements, to be put before voters in 2016.

But then Gloria took a sharp left turn that nearly gave the Balboa Theatre crowd whiplash: He proposed asking voters this November to raise the minimum wage in San Diego. He didn’t say by how much, but he said the statewide minimum wage of David Rolland $21,000 per year by 2016 won’t be enough to live on in San Diego; self-sufficiency here requires $30,000, he said. That translates to $14.42 per hour.

That’s incredibly bold from a political perspective, yet very reasonable from a social-justice standpoint.

Gloria then spoke fairly specifically about using local and federal resources more effectively to reduce homelessness, Todd Gloria vaulting San Diego into a leadership position in the battle against climate change (expressing support for a plastic-bag ban in the process) and making San Diego friendlier to public transit and bicycling.

Aside from the quick line about the football stadium, this speech was all about fighting poverty, strengthening the middle class and protecting the environment. It was a call for social, economic and environmental justice. Coupled with his passionate support for raising a fee developers pay to help finance affordable housing, as well as his leadership on protecting the residents of Barrio Logan from polluting industry, Gloria has done much lately to polish his progressive credentials.

No matter what happens on Feb. 11, we like where this is going. All it requires is follow-through.

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

If this issue of CityBeat wants you to know that the Lincoln Club of San Diego County is the worst of the worst dirty players in local politics.

Volume 12 • Issue 24 Editor David Rolland Associate Editor Kelly Davis Music Editor Jeff Terich Arts Editor Kinsee Morlan Staff Writer Joshua Emerson Smith Web Editor Ryan Bradford Art director Lindsey Voltoline Columnists Aaryn Belfer, Edwin Decker, John R. Lamb, Alex Zaragoza

Cover photo by Kelly Davis

Contributors Ian Cheesman, David L. Coddon, Seth Combs, Michael A. Gardiner, Glenn Heath Jr., Nina Sachdev Hoffmann, Peter Holslin, Dave Maass, Scott McDonald, Jennifer McEntee, Jenny Montgomery, Susan Myrland, Mina Riazi, Jim Ruland, Jen Van Tieghem, Quan Vu

Circulation / Office Assistant Giovanna Tricoli

Production Manager Tristan Whitehouse

Vice President of Finance Michael Nagami

Production artist Rees Withrow

Vice President of Operations David Comden

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Accounting Alysia Chavez, Linda Lam, Monica MacCree Human Resources Andrea Baker

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4 · San Diego CityBeat · January 22, 2014

Kelly Davis

Understanding Jan Goldsmith City Attorney maintains that his strongly held political beliefs don’t affect his work

by Joshua Emerson Smith

R

ecently, San Diego City Attorney Jan Goldsmith surprised the CityBeat editorial staff by inviting us for a noquestions-barred interview and blocking off three hours for it. The cordial offer came from Goldsmith’s right-hand man, Assistant City Attorney Paul Cooper, who said via email that question topics could range from “legal” to “policy” to “personal.”

In recent years, news media have regularly featured Goldsmith at or near the center of City Hall drama. Whether cast as the conservative foil to former Mayor Bob Filner’s progressive crusading, the ally of powerful special interests or a level-headed legal mind, the city attorney is one of the region’s most powerful and talked-about political players.

One of our key questions was: How do Goldsmith’s political beliefs affect his professional decisions as the city’s top lawyer?

Less than 10 minutes into the interview, before CityBeat could pose the question, Goldsmith brought it up.

“Let me just open by saying that when I ran in 2008, one of the things I said—and I’ve said over and over again, and I try to follow it—is that we do our legal work based upon the law and not politics,” he said.

Goldsmith, who’ll turn 63 this month, has had a long career, both legal and political. Becoming a lawyer in 1976, he focused on business law until 1990 when he was elected mayor of Poway. Two years into the job, he resigned to become a member of the state Assembly, where he served three twoyear terms. Between 1998 and 2008, he was a San Diego Superior Court Judge.

In 2008, San Diego residents elected Goldsmith over incumbent Mike Aguirre as

their city attorney, a job that straddles the sometimes we really don’t communicate line between politics and law. with each other.

On the Friday of the interview, wearing “I’m getting a little concerned about the faded blue jeans and a Chargers jersey— conspiracy buffs,” he added. “And I’m not which he joked was an office requirement saying you guys.” of “iMayor” Todd Gloria—a chatty and An increasing lack of objectivity in the cheerful Goldsmith was ready to wax phil- media has also added to the situation, Goldosophical on the rewards and challenges of smith said. “There’s a lot of the media that being an elected city attorney. has become the politicized media, like, you “I think there’s an incredible merger of know, the Voice guys,” he said, referring to two systems that are, in some ways, like oil nonprofit news website Voice of San Diand water, and it’s a real challenge to keep ego. “It’s like they see the world through a them separate,” he said. prism, and it’s political.”

“If you’re a good judge, A quiet Cooper, wear“I love the you learn to have your ing a black plaid buttonopinions, and you learn down—which he preprogressive to keep them out of your sciently quipped was decisions, and I thought I movement around worn in mourning of the was pretty good at that.

Chargers’ soon-to-be-over the turn of the “Coming over here, playoff season—also atit’s a little different. You tended and recorded the century, when can still keep it separate, interview. Cooper, who they stuck it to the but you’re in the political checked his iPhone reguenvironment, and you’re larly through stylish hornbig corporations in a fishbowl. So if somerimmed glasses, became through direct body doesn’t like your part of the conversation opinion or what you’ve only briefly when Golddemocracy.” done, and they’re an acsmith was asked if he was tivist or an advocate, im“grooming” his assistant mediately they seize on that and say, ‘See, to be the next City Attorney. that’s political.’”

Cooper looked slightly uncomfortable as That the city of San Diego has become a Goldsmith said, almost inaudibly, “not now.”

Goldsmith said he’s not preparing anyhotbed of partisan bickering and conspiracy theories, Goldsmith said, was the reason one to be the next City Attorney. “This is a tough job,” he said. “To do it right, it’s a he called CityBeat for the interview.

“Well, guys, we haven’t talked in a long tough job. [Former City Attorney] Casey time, and I do think there’s a lack of com- Gwinn just kind of sat back and let things munication in our town,” he said. “Despite happen, and we got into trouble.”

CityBeat asked if former Deputy City Atall the multitude of communication outlets,

torney Andrew Jones’ abrupt resignation this month was due to frustration over not being groomed for the job.

“Can I tell you something?” Goldsmith said, flashing an icy glare that quickly melted into a sunnier disposition. “If Andrew Jones would have run for this office, I would not have run for reelection. I wanted Andrew to run.”

Jones was thrust into the media spotlight last year after former Mayor Bob Filner accused him of leaking information to the press. Filner had Jones removed from a closed-session City Council meeting in June that became very public.

“Andrew Jones would have made a terrific City Attorney,” Goldsmith said. “He just doesn’t want to do it. People are not political. Let me tell you, I tried.”

Goldsmith said he didn’t know why Jones was retiring and quickly changed the topic. “Yeah, it’s his personal decision to retire—just like I retired. Did you know I retired in 1988? I was in a private law practice doing real well.”

Throughout the interview, the city attorney talked freely about his opinions on specific city policies, as well as his broader political beliefs.

“I like the less-government and all that, but not to a total extreme,” he said. “I’m more libertarian from a standpoint of people’s rights.”

Goldsmith said he doesn’t have an official role in the local Republican Party, but he is a member. “[E]very once in a while, I’ll go to their meetings, and I’m a Republican

Goldsmith CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

January 22, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 5

Goldsmith CONTINUED from PAGE 5 by choice. I used to be Democrat.

At one point, way back, I was an objectivist. You know what that is? Libertarian. That was Ayn Rand morphed into libertarian.

“I [don’t] necessarily agree with all what Republicans do,” he added. “I didn’t like George W. Bush. I really like Mitt Romney.

I used to like [New Jersey Gov. Chris] Christie.”

Is it confusing for the public when someone in his position openly expresses political views?

“Do I do that? Have you seen me even endorse a candidate for mayor?” he said. Goldsmith then quickly answered his own question: “I did last time, by the way, at the end—one statement. Yeah. But you don’t see me out there raising money or advocating things.”

In contrast, Goldsmith said he views his predecessor, Mike Aguirre, as having inappropriately used the office for political advocacy.

As the city attorney, “there is a level of some independence,” he said. “Not as far as Mike went. But that’s why I used to say during the 2008 campaign, ‘Sometimes you’re going to say no to a mayor.’

Mike hated this when I said it. By

the way, we’re friends now. We have a lot of fun together.”

Drinking several cups of coffee and sucking on countless cough drops, Goldsmith enthusiastically defended the impartiality of his legal opinions.

“There’s things I do well and things I don’t,” he said. “One of the things I do do well is being able to separate, ‘Here are my views; here’s my law practice.’

And that’s completely separate.

Examples come out the kazoo.”

To illustrate, he pointed to his office’s legal work instituting the strong-mayor form of government, which he said he dislikes.

“We drafted the proposition that would extend it, and we did the impartial analysis and all that, but did I vote for it, to extend it?

No. Should I have spoken out? I don’t know. What do you think?”

Perceived as a way to enhance accountability, a voter-approved initiative in 2004 instituted the so-called “strong mayor” form of government, which made the mayor the city’s chief executive and gave the position sweeping administrative authority. Under this form of governance, the city’s top bureaucrats report directly to the mayor, not the City Council.

“Now, with this strong-mayor form of government, do you even

6 · San Diego CityBeat · January 22, 2014

know who the city manager is?” he added. “The charter’s not clear, but there’s also a chief operating officer. And now we have an assistant chief operating officer. We have four deputy chief operating officers. And all of the instructions are where? In private, behind closed doors.”

CityBeat asked Goldsmith about his legal stance on a lawsuit alleging deception on the part of a referendum campaign to overturn a zoning-plan update in Barrio Logan. He recently wrote an oped in U-T San Diego that lauded “direct democracy” and the referendum process; the commentary came after interim Mayor Gloria asked the City Attorney’s office to join the lawsuit opposing the referendum. The City Council passed the zoning plan but was forced to move forward with the referendum that would repeal it because critics of the plan gathered enough petition signatures.

Because the City Council placed the referendum on the ballot, the city was named as a defendant.

There’s no basis to join the lawsuit other than to find a way to “undermine the referendum process,” Goldsmith said. “The reason I wrote the op-ed is because we were getting a lot of pressures to do exactly that. I mean, people

Kelly Davis

Jan Goldsmith (left) and Assistant City Attorney Paul Cooper were coming from council, letters from the standpoint [of defending] the City Council, join in a lawsuit against the proponents of the referendum and be proactive.”

It’s yet to be determined whether the referendum will be thrown out based on allegations that paid signature gatherers lied to voters in order to convince them to sign petitions. However, Goldsmith pointed to a recent judge’s decision that found there wasn’t enough evidence to grant a temporary restraining order to stop the referendum process while the legal battle plays out.

Goldsmith, whose office is defending the city in the lawsuit filed by opponents of the referendum, said he had no opinion on whether signature gatherers had lied and added that his office may have been able to investigate the claims had the issue been brought to his attention sooner.

“The opponents of the referendum, if they wanted the city’s involvement, rather than use all this political pressure, what they should have done, frankly, is come to us, behind closed doors, and provide the evidence to us and say, ‘What do you think?’” he said.

“We would have had our lawyers research that and see whether the city should be involved.”

Lawyers with Coast Law Group, who represent the referendum opponents, said they brought concerns to the City Attorney’s office weeks before filing the lawsuit.

Goldsmith responded via email to a follow-up question on the topic: “If they did [contact our office], it was not brought to my attention. But that is not surprising since [Deputy City Attorney] Sharon Spivak advises the city clerk and gets complaints / issues from all sides whenever there is an election. Sharon and her team do a good job and do not get the city embroiled in political issues.”

Goldsmith, who’s taught as an adjunct professor at three San Diego law schools, used the conversation to talk about his appreciation for the history of direct democracy,

specifically the initiative process.

“Direct democracy is a big part of my course,” he said. “And we have long discussions about that because it’s different than what direct democracy was around the turn of the century.

“I love the progressive movement around the turn of the century, when they stuck it to the big corporations through direct democracy,” he added.

Specifically, he mentioned his adoration for the 21st governor of California, who was famous for having stood up to the powerful corporate leaders of the Southern Pacific Railroad.

In San Diego, the special interests are “unions” and “business,” he said. “Folks in the neighborhoods feel left out.”

When asked if he thought the referendum process had been hijacked by special interests, Goldsmith said: “I do think that initiatives and referendums have gotten to the point where people can get these things on the ballot through spending for it, and that has strayed from the original purpose of the initiative and referendum. And I do think that we do need to take a look at that. How do you do that, though?”

It’s important to protect citizens’ right to question and oppose its government, Goldsmith said.

As an example, he said he regrets the way his office handled the socalled “Chalk-U-py” case that made national headlines last summer.

“We try to use the discretion because it’s a protest case,” he said.

“It wasn’t treated like a protest case. It was treated like a typical gang-vandalism-graffiti case, and that’s where we went wrong.”

The City Attorney’s office brought 13 misdemeanor vandalism counts against Jeff Olson, who used water-soluble chalk to write anti-Wall Street slogans on public sidewalks outside of corporate banks. A jury found Olson not guilty on all charges. Goldsmith said he didn’t know about the case until went to trial.

“I could [stop it], but how do

you exercise the discretion at that point?” he said. “It was already prosecuted. Protest cases ought to be handled differently from the beginning, but by that point, it was kind of too late.”

The jury’s decision to ignore the law and exercise a process known as jury nullification “was done right,” he said. “We were technically right on the law, but that’s not the way to handle a protest case, and we’re going to do better.”

One of the toughest situations Goldsmith said he’s ever had to deal with was the scandal that led to the resignation of former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner.

“It was about the most uncomfortable position I’ve ever been in in law,” he said.

“You have information that’s coming from the 11th floor that is disturbing.”

While Filner was “tough to deal with,” the former mayor did some “good stuff” during his time in office, Goldsmith said.

However, after allegations of sexual harassment started to surface last summer, the City Attorney’s office had an “obligation to investigate,” Goldsmith said.

“I know a lot of people didn’t like it, and that’s where the conspiracy people said, ‘Oh, from day one, he’s been out to get him.’ I actually like Bob. I met with him last week. I like him. I always have. I don’t like his problem.

He’s got a problem, which he’s dealing with.”

In a November Los Angeles Times story, Tony Perry quoted Goldsmith as saying: “We strategized as lawyers: How were we going to remove the mayor? It was a de

facto impeachment.” Asked to clarify that, Goldsmith said: “I didn’t take down the mayor. Our job had to do with the legal aspects of it, and that’s it.”

Goldsmith reiterated his support for Filner’s personal growth. “Let’s just say, Bob Filner was not just abusive towards women. He was abusive towards a lot of people, including me, and including my lawyers, anybody he viewed as a position of some type of authority. He’s dealing with that, and I hope he gets better, and I think he will, personally.”

Goldsmith said he didn’t request the interview that resulted in Perry’s article.

“No. We were having breakfast. Believe it or not, I get together with people I know in the media.”

After spending more than three hours discussing civic policies and legal opinions with the City Attorney, it wasn’t hard to believe that he regularly hobnobs with folks in the news media.

“You guys are a pleasure to talk with,” he said with a smile. “I appreciate your questions, but I know you’re out to ream me.

Whatever. It is what it is. I don’t really care.”

As we walked out of the office, Goldsmith continued chatting, recounting tales of driving a cab in New York and other such anecdotes. Cooper chuckled and showed us to the door.

Find a longer version of this story at sdcity beat.com. Write to joshuas@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

January 22, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 7

edwin

sordid tales

decker Someone told fat people these lies, so I will tell them the truth If there’s one thing I can’t stand in this godforis embarrassing. That’s why they call it “arm flab.” saken world, it’s all the self-help pandering and Fortunately, I don’t have any arm flab to speak happy-feelings horseshit that permeates it. A good of. My problem is that I’ve got everything-else flab. example is the kind of stuff kids are being taught When I look in the mirror, I focus on my missing today—that everyone is special, there are no losers arm flab to feel better about myself. and you can be anything you want to be—which is “Now, that is one sexy, flab-free arm you got there, the main reason there are so many clueless, entitled Mister!” I often say while flexing in the mirror. douchebags running around out there.

“But what about your neck flab and your face A recent example of this kind of everyone-isflab?” my Inner Fatty Monitor will often respond. special-think is the Huffington Post essay “Things “Shut up, Inner Fatty Monitor and look at those No One Will Tell Fat Girls… So I Will” written by guns! They are beyoootiful!”

Jes Baker, a mental-health professional, plus-sized • “You’re not stunning despite your body. model, fatty advocate and organizer of the annual You’re stunning because of your body…. We are all Body Love Conference. Here are some excerpts and much much more than our bodies, but our bodies my responses: are a beautiful part of us too. Beauty comes from the • “When people say ‘you’re gorgeous,’ believe inside AND the outside. I am of the firm belief that them…. When people genuinely compliment you, every person is beautiful….” it’s because they really see it. Try to not dismiss I’m sorry, Jes, but, no—our pudgy bodies are not their perspective as wrong and assume that you “stunning.” Not unless I was meeting a gal from know better. They see all of you. We see our flaws.

Match.com after I told her I had “an athletic build” Believe them.” would she be “stunned” by my looks. If “every perWell, isn’t that a giant hock of ham she pulled son is beautiful,” then what the heck do we even right out of her ample ass? Evneed the word beautiful for? ery psychologist and two-bit Look, my fellow Jell-Olife coach on the planet will bellies, I know it sounds like “Now, that is one sexy, tell you that it doesn’t matter I’m being mean and uncaring, flab-free arm you got what other people think of but I gotta tell you, Jes Baker you; it matters what you think is full of crap. And I know there, Mister!” I often say of yourself. And as a card-carshe’s full of crap because of while flexing in the mirror. rying fatso, I know this firstthe convention she organizes. hand—people fallaciously tell The Body Love Conferthe obese that they’re “gorence is an annual gala aimed geous” all the time. Because there’s nothing worse at making the porcine feel “good about themselves. than hanging out with someone who’s overweight Its mantra is “Every body is the perfect body”; howand depressed. ever, all the models on bodyloveconference.com “I’m so fat—nobody will ever want to date me.” are the kind of plus-sized models that are big, yes, “Of course they will. You’re beyoootiful.” but “big” as in “voluptuous.” These are all healthy, “I am? That’s great. Pass the bon-bons please.” buxom, young and sexy women. Naturally, there • “Everyone has rolls when they bend over. aren’t any real fat women on the website—with Everyone. … I’ve [asked] 30 women ranging from sagging jowls, stringy hair and guacamole stains rail thin to extra large to hug their knees. You on their sweatpants. These models are fat the way won’t believe this… ALL OF THEM HAD TUMMY Ugly Betty is ugly, proving that their mantra, her ROLLS…. Even my super fabulous professional article, the whole damn thing, is just more brainmodel [friend] had rolls….” dead, feel-good, pandering horseshit.

First of all, telling fat people they needn’t be emThe truth is, there are some people who are pure barrassed about their rolls because everybody has specimens of fitness and beauty, a whole lot of averthem is like telling Shane McGowan not to worry age-looking people and then some ugly, fat people. about his black, rotten teeth because everybody Pretending we are not ugly or fat does not solve the gets a cavity now and then. problem, because the real problem is the unwarOf course everyone has tummy rolls! It’s how ranted value our society places on physical beauty. many and how large they are that matter. I’m sure This is the mindset that should be addressed, not the rolls on Baker’s model-friend are like tiny ripples pretending that obesity doesn’t exist or that the lard from a pebble dropped in a pond, whereas, when I we’ve collected over the years isn’t pissing us off. hug my knees, entire villages get tsunamied.

Jes Baker prefers that the elephantine hide their • “‘Arm flab is embarrassing.’ No it’s not, go heads inside their ample rolls. I prefer they face reality. You tell me which of us cares more. fuck yourself. No, not you. The people who tell us that, silly.”

Write to edwin@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sd This is just dumb. I contend the only people who citybeat.com. Listen to “Sordid Tales: The Podcast!” say, “Arm flab is embarrassing” are the corpulent at sdcitybeat.com. saying that to themselves, because it’s true. Arm flab

8 · San Diego CityBeat · January 22, 2014

by michael a. gardiner Michael A. Gardiner

sum, from the East. The mantu dumplings are filled with ground beef and served with peas and a garlicky yogurt sauce.

The entire affair is laced with paprika and ground mint. Mint and peas?

English. The dumpling?

Chinese (or maybe Italian). Yogurt? Middle Eastern or Indian. The whole dish? Delicious.

The aushak dumplings are filled with Khyber Pass’ quabili palow finely chopped scallions and ladled with a tomato-and-meat sauce (not entirely unlike a Bolognese), then topped with a yogurt-garlic sauce. Aushak is, according to some, the national dish of Afghanistan.

Most commonly, the filling is sautéed leeks rather than the scallions used at Khyber Pass.

Grazing in the graveyard of empires In truth, the pungent sharpness of the scallions slightly unbalanced the dish. But there Alexander the Great was lucky to get out of was something very appealing—at once exotic Afghanistan alive. Genghis Khan regretted goand familiar—about the delicate raviolis, the ing there—as did the Brits and the Soviets—and big and comfortable flavors of the meat sauce the United States can hardly wait to get out. Afand the fresh feeling of the yogurt sauce. The ghanistan, it’s often been said, is “the graveyard whole of these two dishes was greater than the of empires.” sum of the parts.

Perhaps, though, it ought to also be known as If aushak is not the national dish, that honthe cradle of cross-cultural fusion cuisine. A trip to or must fall to quabili palow, featuring stewed Hillcrest’s Khyber Pass Restaurant shows why. chunks of lamb served with long-grain basmati Afghanistan’s unique geography—nestled at rice garnished with ribbons of carrots and raithe juncture of the Middle East, Central Asia, sins. It’s a party of savory and sweet arrayed the Indian subcontinent and the Far East—has against the earthy, grounding basmati rice. It’s a had many effects on its history and fortunes. beautiful dish when served all together in a sinAs a major stop on the old Silk Road—the trade gle pile, and Khyber Pass’ semi-deconstructed routes from Europe to China and back—Afpresentation is particularly attractive. ghanistan necessarily reached its arms both to Many of the greatest states this world has Europe in the West and China in the East. Its ever known have heard the Afghan call but also culture—and, not surprisingly, its food—took felt the pain that its hills, valleys and plains seem some from all but was never permanently asso exceptionally capable of dishing out. Each of similated by any. those states was in such a rush to leave, it seems, These disparate influences are on display in that it left its foodstuffs behind. Thankfully, the every plate at Khyber Pass (523 University Ave., Afghan people melded all of them into a fusion khyberpasssandiego.com). Both of our starter cuisine that’s bold, nuanced and exotically evocdishes, mantu and aushak (which are available ative. Excellent examples of the results can, and should, be sampled at Khyber Pass. in either appetizer or entrée sizes), were good examples. Each is a dumpling dish that can be Write to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com understood as a Middle Eastern version of either and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

Italian ravioli, from the West, or Chinese dim

the world

fare

January 22, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 9

BY KELLY DAVIS

cocktail

Andrews says Coin-Op’s goal is to be accessible to less-experienced cocktail drinkers but also impress veteran imbibers.

“We wanted to introduce these kinds of more abrasive spirits that people techniFrogger and Fernet? cally don’t really go for—the average cocktail drinker’s not going to like Fernet,” he says. “We It’s late on a Thursday afternoon, and most of wanted aggressive cocktails and we wanted to the folks coming into Coin-Op Game Room make sure that we had products and drinks out (3926 30th St., facebook.com/coinopsd) are orthere that are on par with the rest of San Diego dering beer. And that’s OK—the new North Park and that a person who might go to Noble Exbar’s got a really nice beer list. But it’s also got periment and have a cocktail there would come Kelly Davis here and get the same qualsome damn-fine cocktails.

Head bartender Ryan ity and caliber of drinks.”

Andrews left Little Italy’s If you go Thursday Craft & Commerce—where through Saturday, try the he’d worked since moving weekly Farmers Market to San Diego from the Bay cocktail, made with fresh Area in 2011—to help open ingredients from the North Coin-Op three months Park farmers market. On ago. Eric Lockridge, Anthe Thursday I was there, it drews’ friend and partner was a whiskey smash, made in the small-batch bitters with blood oranges, mint, company RX Bitters, had lemon and Henebery, a lobeen hired as the general cally made whiskey. manager.

Coin-Op’s rolling out “When they told me a new menu in a couple about the project, I was, like, weeks (sadly, the Best ‘I want in,’” Andrews says.

Bang for the Buck is being “That sounds like a rad bar, pulled but will be available and the concept’s so cool.” by request).

Coin-Op’s located in the Andrews says they’re space formerly occupied by playing with the idea of diHubcap (and, just before viding the menu into tiers, that, El Take it Easy) and keeping with the game features a big, open front theme: beginning level— facing 30th Street. The Ryan Andrews prepares a easier drinking—up to adconcept is old-school arFarmers Market Special. vanced. It’ll also include cade—there are pinball maseveral beer cocktails. Anchines and ’80-era video games lining the walls drews has been working with Dave Adams, the and a claw game near the entrance that needs its director of beer education at Green Flash Brewlights dimmed just a bit. ing, exploring how to best use a beer’s flavor Order something like the spicy, herbal Best profile, like pairing a Saison with gin, lemon and Bang for the Buck (Averna, Fernet Branca, fresh rosemary syrup. ginger, lime and soda water) and you might exAnd what about the cocktail purists who perience some disconnect: What’s a sophistimight frown on a suds-and-booze alliance? cated drink like that doing in a place like this?

“I like beer cocktails,” he says. “I like beer. I like cocktails—it’s the perfect hybrid.”

Or, to put it another way: Does an elegant take on a gin martini (The Common Ex-Girlfriend, Write to kellyd@sdcitybeat.com with gin, Cocchi Americano, dry vermouth and and editor@sdcitybeat.com. orange bitters) pair well with Galaga?

tales

10 · San Diego CityBeat · January 22, 2014

by jenny montgomery Jenny montgomery

north

fork Skin in the game

In its heyday, El Bizcocho at the Rancho Bernardo Inn was one of the places to eat in San Diego.

It might not have been the flashiest, but the quiet and somewhat out-of-the-way locale was a true gem for those in the know.

Now the R.B. Inn (17550 Bernardo Oaks Drive, ranchobernardoinn.com) and chef Nicolas Bour have given El Biz a much-needed facelift, renaming the dining room Avant and changing the fussy French menu to a more modern and seasonal take on California cuisine.

Avant (ranchobernardoinn.com/avant) feels much more like how San Diego does fancy: no dress code, but still classy and casually elegant. I was looking for a date night away from our 2-year-old, and Avant gave me a great excuse to put on earrings.

And speaking of ears, we started our meal with ones that were fried (because why not) and weren’t disappointed. If you’re still weirded out by the snout-to-tail trend, fried pig ears are a good way to get your little hooves wet. And let’s be honest: These are pork rinds. But they’re fancy pork rinds.

The skin, when deep-fried, becomes so crisp

and puffed that each bite lightly melts on your tongue. The bolder, more dominant flavor of the pickled peppers was mellowed by a gooey, yellow poached egg. This was a savory way to start our meal.

Avant’s menu has plenty of tantalizing options, but go traditional and order the free-range chicken. This bird was exceptional. Not only was the meat steaming hot with each cut—savory juices permeating everything on my plate—but chef Bour, God bless him, is going to get me back into eating chicken skin. (Or maybe I should curse him?)

When done right, there might be nothing better to snack on than chicken skin, and I say that after eating an entire bag of Tostitos Hint of Lime chips last weekend. I totally know high-brow snacks. This isn’t your typical rubbery layer of feather-plucked flab to be forked aside, all the seasoning completely misused and discarded; this skin had the salty, slightly oily crackle and crunch of the lightest chip. The chicken was wonderful but the skin was a revelation.

Avant has a well-curated selection of cheeses and charcuterie, including a duck rillette served with mustard straight out of a special mustard tap.

But if you don’t want to go the cheese-platter route, check out the salumi flatbread. Crispy, chewy dough is topped with salty, black-truffle-laced pecorino and soft, luscious folds of prosciutto and crowned with a heavily dressed tangle of arugula.

From the peppery snap of the greens to the earthy musk of the truffled cheese, this flatbread is decadent in its simplicity. The ingredients are the stars; Avant just puts them together in a luscious pile you can share (or horde) with gusto.

The Rancho Bernardo Inn has an elegant, oldworld (and old-money) feel to it that could lean toward stuffy. Avant is a bright new spot in the hills of R.B., with food that’s refined yet accessible. Even the pork rinds.

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

January 22, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 11

no life

offline

by dave maass

Me, my GF and Capt. Kenway My GF and I have become a mass murderer.

Singular. One throat-stabbing, fort-raiding, cannon-blasting, treasure-hoarding pirate from Swansea. We are Capt. Edward Kenway, and we are not bloodthirsty—we are bloodquenched.

Since we installed the Playstation 4 about two months ago, my GF and I have left a body count of more than 6,000 across the Caribbean, mostly Spanish and English soldiers, a few pirates who betrayed us and one small tribe of indigenous forest guardians. Those 6,000 poor souls don’t include the crews of the 500 vessels our ship, the Jackdaw, sent down in splinters to become homes for moray eels.

I should probably say here that we’re talking about Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, a video game, and the people we’ve killed through Capt.

Kenway are just the same eight or so adversaries who repeat in various costumes within the game.

Also, if it’s not obvious, my GF doesn’t want her name in here. I’m not going to make her incriminate herself as a pirate.

As I explained in an earlier column, I haven’t had a video-game console since the Sega CD in my early teens. My GF’s gap goes back even further.

Her last gaming system was the original Nintendo.

She was reasonably skeptical of bringing the PS4 into the home, but two months later, Kenway has become a member of the family.

Set in the West Indies during the first quarter of the 18th century, Black Flag is hooks-down one of the most exciting works in the history of the age-of-pirates genre, up there with Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island and Pirates of the Caribbean, both the Disneyland ride and the movies. The world of Black Flag is just vast, with detailed models of Havana, Kingston and Nassau and dozens of jungles and desert islands and caves and ruins and shipwrecks and villages on stilts to explore. And a whole lot of sea, with your men singing more than 30 shanties as you sail it.

Within the game, Kenway faces myriad challenges and options, a game for every type of gamer. My GF and I quickly discovered our individual strengths and our shared determination to complete everything that can be completed in the game.

My GF did the bulk of the treasure hunting and managed the massive fleet of ships Kenway captured, sending them on missions back and forth across the Atlantic. She once spent several hours learning an ancient board game, Nine Men’s Morris, through practice and YouTube videos, just to complete one of the side challenges. She’s also an art collector; each time she turns on the PS4, she takes Kenway to his Great Inagua mansion to check out what new artifacts have appeared on his shelves. My GF isn’t afraid of killing, but, in her hands, Kenway’s weapon of choice is a blowgun with non-lethal sleep darts.

I was mostly in charge of stressful, potential

12 · San Diego CityBeat · January 22, 2014

Our murderous Kenway in Havana combat and stealth missions during the principle storyline of the game. I also handled the naval battles, blasting whole schools of ships with mortars, cannon shot and fire barrels, goring them with my ram. I did most of the harpooning (although, despite her vegetarian lifestyle, my GF once harpooned a whale to get the materials to craft Kenway a dart pouch). I also maneuver Kenway during his shipwreck dives—avoiding sharks and struggling to remember which way is up.

I can’t help but wonder what kind of psychopath Kenway—being controlled by two personalities— would look like to the residents of his world. Stories would fly on the wind of the dreaded, personalitysplit Kenway, one minute the benevolent pirate merchant of the Atlantic, the next a moving massacre. He’s a millionaire with a palace of hoarded opulence, and yet, he’ll stand on a rooftop scattering handful after handful of coins over a busy market square until there’s a mob scene.

You see, my GF and I are running out of challenges, and we’re getting bored. We’ve cleaned out all the treasures (and “Animus Fragments,” whatever they are), hunted all the animals and carried out all the assassination contracts. There’s nothing else in the store for us to buy. There are no empty nooks in our gallery.

To complete the game in the completely completist way, we need to finish the “social” challenges, which means connecting and sharing with our “friends” over the Playstation network.

Thing is, we don’t know anyone on the Playstation network, and she and I aren’t all that keen to invite another psychopathic stranger into our lives.

So, since this might be the end of our journey with Kenway, let me give you the rest of our stats.

We’ve sailed 902 nautical miles, swum 31 nautical miles and travelled another 427 kilometers by land. Kenway’s harpooned 28 sea animals, consumed 34 mugs of rum (passing out three times), collected 374 treasures and run away from combat 514 times.

And we’ve spent 141 hours in love with this game.

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

the

SHORTlist

ART

COORDINATED BY KINSEE MORLAN

STACY KECK

1

TALKING THE CASBAH

San Diego’s not great at keeping things around. Longtime residents can rattle off the names of cool bars, clubs and restaurants that’ve been wiped from the map.

Praise Jebus we’ve still got The Casbah. The iconic music venue is celebrating its 25th year this month, making it practically historic by San Diego standards. During the last few weeks, it’s hosted some fab reunion shows, like No Knife and Three Mile Pilot, and, from 8 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, you can hear from Mr. Casbah himself at An Evening with Tim Mays and Friends at the Birch North Park Theatre (2891 University Ave.). Mays, who, along with two business partners, opened The

2

RE-PURPOSEFUL PARTY

The 1:1 Movement is a San Diego-based organization that’s fighting for a more environmentally sustainable community. As a fundraiser for its efforts, it’ll throw its second-annual P(ART) Y—part party, part art—from 6 to 10 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 25, at 3rdSpace (4610 Park Blvd. in University Heights). The group (1to1movement.org) handed over blank, white-vinyl tote bags, made from waste vinyl (sustainability!), to 30 local artists and asked them to adorn them with awesome A bag by Olivia Bernardy designs. The results will be on display and up for auction at the event.

There’s no charge to get in, but a $25 VIP ticket includes two drinks and one chance to outbid the highest bidder for a tote bag. Search for 2nd Annual 1:1 “P(ART)Y”on Facebook.

Casbah in 1989, has more than two decades’ worth of stories to tell (trust us—there are some good ones). The evening will also feature performances by some local-music legends like Pinback’s Rob Crow, Pall Jenkins (The Black Heart Procession, Three Mile Pilot), Joshua and Jeremiah Zimmerman from The Silent Comedy, The Dragons’ Mario Escovedo and Rocket from the Crypt’s John Reis, among several others.

Mays, who recently celebrated his 60th birthday, was a music promoter long before he Tim Mays opened The Casbah— and that raises a question: Does it ever get old?

“I’m still surprised and amazed by so many bands,” he says. “Just seeing The Dragons, The Paladins, No Knife, Three Mile Pilot, The Rugburns play so far this month was amazing. They’re all friends, and they don’t play that often anymore, but they all put on absolutely amazing performances.”

Any new bands that have wowed him? “Schitzophonics and Reignwolf,” he says.

Mays says he has no plans to do any major overhauls to the club—maybe some minor changes to the front of the building, “but other than that, our plans are to just keep booking the best acts we can and making our patrons feel great to be there.”

Tickets are $20 for general admission, $30 if you’d like to attend a pre-show cocktail party. casbah25.com

3

TRIANGLES OF LOVE

Opera is expensive, but the epic tales that unfold often make for some of the best, most dramatic storytelling. You’d have to be dead inside not to be moved by soul-stirring arias being belted out on stage. At 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25; Tuesday Jan. 28; KEN HOWARD and Friday, Jan. 31, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2, San Diego Opera opens its 2014 season with the gutwrenching love saga Pagliacci. A story within a story, the opera follows a traveling troupe of actors whose real-life love triangle is mirrored in one of their performances. When a homely hunchback is rejected by the leading lady, he seeks and finds revenge. Let’s just say things don’t end well for the gal or her true love. $45 and up. sdopera.com

Object Lessons: Gainsborough, Corot, and the Landscape of Nostalgia at Timken Museum of Art, Balboa Park. The Timken hosts a significant loan from the Hammer Museum: “Peasant Smoking at a Cottage Door” by Thomas Gainsborough. Opening Thursday, Jan. 23. On view through Feb. 2. 619-2395548, timkenmuseum.org Send Carrie Anne to Romania at The Office, 3936 30th St., North Park. Artists like Persue, Acamonchi, Matthew Land and many more will have their work for sale to raise money to help send local pop-surrealist Carrie Anne Hudson to Transylvania for four weeks for the Dacia Gallery artist-residency program. There will be a raffle, live bands and DJs. From 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 23. $5 suggested donation. *Dreamlands at A Ship in the Woods, 1660 Lugano Lane, Del Mar. Zoe Williams is interested in the interplay of nature and psychology, and the artists she’s selected for this show demonstrate that: Shaun Beaudry, Cory Benhatzel, Heather Gargon, Sarah Gramelspacher, Caitlin Hackett, Robert Kraiza, Allison Sommers and Nicomi Nix Turner. Opening from 6 to 10 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 24. shipinthewoods.com *Cy Kuckenbaker at Museum of Photographic Arts, Balboa Park. Part of MOPA’s “Art Lab” series, guests can watch Kuckenbaker edit the next video live for his San Diego Studies project. He’ll also share his process and answer questions while he works on site. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24. Free with museum admission. 619-238-7559, mopa.org *Empowering Women: Artisan Cooperatives That Transform Communities at San Diego Museum of Man, Balboa Park. This new exhibition explores the work of 10 female artisans who are forming grassroots cooperatives to reach new markets and raise living standards by creating and selling traditional folk art. Opening Saturday, Jan. 25. On view through Aug. 17. 619-239-2001, museumofman.org *1:1 Repurposed Art Show P(ART)Y at 3rdSpace, 4610 Park Blvd., University Heights. Thirty local artists show off works they painted on white reusable tote bags.

Opening from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25. 858-722-8222, 1to1movement.org *Joe Phillips Comic Art Benefit at Modern Times Lomaland Fermentorium, 3725 Greenwood St., Point Loma. Local artist Joe Phillips had his right foot amputated due to undiagnosed diabetes.

Friends and fans alike are gathering for an evening of sketches, cold libations and cheer. All proceeds from artwork sales go to Phillips. From 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25. $10. 858-278-0371 *Our Lives, Our Stories: America’s Greatest Generation at William D. Cannon Art Gallery, 1775 Dove Lane, Carlsbad. Images and memories of the generation of Americans born in the 1910s and 1920s. Opening from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26. On view through March 16. carls badca.gov Cat House at Basic, 410 10th Ave., Downtown. A celebration of all things feline. Cat lovers and haters alike come together for this group show featuring works by local artists. From 7 p.m. to midnight Tuesday, Jan. 28.

SUBTERRANEA at SME Performance Space Room, UCSD, La Jolla. An exhibition dealing with literal and figurative concepts of the underground and notions of the unknown. Includes video, photography, sculpture and works on paper from Sam Durant, Haris Epaminonda, Christopher Kardambikis, Gordon Matta-Clark

and Dominic Paul Miller. Closing reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29. 858-534-2230, visarts.ucsd.edu Sway Art Anniversary Show at U-31, 3112 University Ave., North Park. This edition of the monthly music and art show will feature works from Arlene Ibarra, Araceli Medina, Jon Doyle and more, plus live music. From 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29. $5. 619-584-4188, u31bar.com

BOOKS Lisa Unger at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. The best-selling author discuss her new physiological thriller, In the Blood, about a woman who’ll do almost anything to solve the mystery of her friend’s disappearance. At 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23.

858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com Jody Sims at Upstart Crow, 835 West Harbor Drive, Seaport Village. The local author will discuss her new book, Soul Provider: Conversations with My Cat... A Survivor’s Journal, which showcases the 20 acrylic paintings she created while struggling to recover from Stage 3 breast cancer and devastating loss. Selected paintings will be on display. From 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23. 619-232-4855, upstartcrowtrading.com *Ruth Ozeki at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The author, filmmaker and Zen Buddhism priest will discuss and sign A Tale for the Time Being, which was recently shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23. 858-454-0347, warwicks. indiebound.com *Noah Isenberg at D.G. Wills Books, 7461 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The film historian and author discusses and signs Edgar G. Ulmer: A Filmmaker at the Margins, about the noir film director. The talk starts at 7 p.m. and will include Ulmer’s daughter, Arianne Ulmer Cipes. Friday, Jan. 24.

858-456-1800, dgwillsbooks.com Dark Duets: All-New Tales of Horror and Dark Fantasy at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. Six of the authors and artists of this new anthology of horror, thriller and dark fantasy tales will be on hand to discuss and sign copies. At 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com Kay Kenady Sanger at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. Part of Warwick’s ongoing “Weekend with Locals” program, Sanger will discuss her book, Write Your Memoir in 10 Steps. At noon Sunday, Jan. 26. 858-454-0347, warwicks.indiebound.com Scott Sigler at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. The author will sign copies of Pandemic, the conclusion to his Infected Trilogy, about alien intelligence that unleashes horrific assaults on humanity. At 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 27. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com *Patrick Ness at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The best-selling British author will sign and discuss The Crane Wife, the story of a man who nurses an injured bird back to health only to find his life transformed shortly after. At 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 27. Call for reserved seating. 858-454-0347, warwicks. indiebound.com *Saru Jayaraman at Queen Bee’s, 3925 Ohio St., North Park. The author will sign and discuss Behind the Kitchen Door, about Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, founded in the aftermath of the

CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

January 22, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 13

9/11 attacks and now a powerful movement of restaurant workers with the goal to raise living standards. From 6 to 8 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 28. 619-584-5744 ext. 26, onlinecpi.org Pierce Brown at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. The L.A.-based writer throws a launch party for his debut fantasy novel, Red Rising. At 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28.

858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com Denise Lee Yohn at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. Brandbuilding expert Yohn will discuss and sign her book, What Great Brands Do: The Seven Brand-Building Principles That Separate the Best from the Rest. At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28. 858-454-0347, warwicks.indiebound.com April Smith at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The Emmynominated television writer, producer and author will be discussing and signing her new novel, A Star for Mrs. Blake, about five World War I Gold Star mothers’ journey to France to visit their son’s graves.

At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29. 858454-0347, warwicks.indiebound.com

COMEDY *Zach Sherwin at Mad House Comedy Club, 502 Horton Plaza, Downtown. The writer and actor is probably best known for the popular YouTube music videos, Epic Rap Battles of History. At 8 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 22. $15. 619-7026666, madhousecomedyclub.com Doug Stanhope at American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., Downtown. The former host of The Man Show started his career in Las Vegas doing jack-off jokes for free drinks. Not much has changed, save for the mullet. At 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22. $25. 619-795-3858, american comedyco.com *Greg Fitzsimmons at American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., Downtown.

Mixing incisive wit with scathing sarcasm, Fitzsimmons has achieved success as a stand-up, Emmy-winning writer and host on radio and TV. At 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, and 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 24-25. $18. 619795-3858, americancomedyco.com *Ty Barnett at Mad House Comedy Club, 502 Horton Plaza, Downtown. A regular on late-night talk shows, Barnett puts a funny and unique spin on topics such as race and politics. At 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 24-25. $20. 619-702-6666, madhouse comedyclub.com *Doug Loves Movies Podcast at American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., Downtown. Join a live recording of Doug Benson’s weekly comedy podcast, where he discusses new film releases (and often makes fun of them). At 4:20 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25. 619-795-3858, $20. *Brandt Tobler at American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., Downtown. Part of American Comedy Co.’s new “Breakout Artist Series,” Tobler is an up-and-coming comic best known for founding the legendary Backyard Comedy Show. At 8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26. $12. 619-7953858, americancomedyco.com San Diego Comedy Festival at Comedy Palace, 8878 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. Kicking off Tuesday, Jan. 28, with Kevin Pollak headlining at the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel and running through Feb. 1, the event features comedians from all over the country, plus headlining shows from big names like Donnell Rawlings, Theo Von and more.

See website for schedule. $15-$200. 858-

THEATER

573-9067, sandiegocomedyfest.com Baron Vaughn at Mad House Comedy Club, 502 Horton Plaza, Downtown. Mad House’s continuing “Comedy Juice” series presents this up-and-coming comic best known as a cast member Fairly Legal as well as appearances on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. At 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29. $15. 619-702-6666, mad housecomedyclub.com

DANCE Reservations O.K. at Wagner Theatre @ UCSD, La Jolla. UCSD MFA Dance Theatre candidate Paul Laurey screens this innovative new dance film followed by a talk with the audience. At 7:30 p.m.

Thursday through Saturday, Jan. 2325. 858-534-3791, theatre.ucsd.edu *Isadora Duncan: The Mother of Modern Dance at Women’s Museum of California, 2730 Historic Decatur Road, Barracks 16, Point Loma. An afternoon of Isadora Duncan’s original choreography narrated by fourth-generation Duncan dancer, Elyssa Dru Rosenberg, and performed by isadoraNOW. From 2 to 4 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 26. $20. 619-233-7963, womensmuseumca.org

FASHION *San Diego Jewelry Trunk Show at Queen Bee’s Arts & Cultural Center, 3925 Ohio St., North Park. Presented by the folks from the San Diego Vintage Flea Market and featuring local jewelry artisans and crafters, from beads to silver to vintage. From 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26. facebook.com/sdvintagefleamarket.

Vixen Pop-Up Boutique at Bamboo Lounge, 1475 University Ave., Hillcrest. A night of shopping, music, art and cocktails at this monthly “pop-up boutique” and fashion show featuring several local designers. From 7 to 11 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29. 760-814-0914, vixensd.com

FOOD & DRINK *San Diego Restaurant Week This culinary tradition features discounted prix-fixe menus from more than 180 San Diego restaurants. A portion of proceeds goes to charity. Lunch and dinner through Friday, Jan. 24. $10-$45. 619-291-8221, sandiegorestaurantweek.com *Homebrew Fundraiser at Local Habit, 3827 Fifth Ave., Hillcrest. Two craft beers will be on special and Chef Tammy Soto will be creating a one-night-only menu to help raise money for Sage Mountain Farm, an organic and sustainable farm that’s experienced a series of unforeseen financial and agricultural setbacks. From 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23. 619-795-4770 The Alchemy of Beer at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, 7445 Mission Valley Rd., Mission Valley. Part of Pacific College’s pop!TALK series, join experts from Cismontane Brewing Company and Waypoint Public as they discuss the brewing process, the history of beer and more.

Samples included. From 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24. $5-$10. 619-5746909, meetup.comPacific-College-popTALK-Series *Caffeine Crawl San Diego at InterAmerican Coffee, 1205 J St., East Village.

Sample beverages from up to 25 different bistros, coffeehouses and cafes during this buzzy crawl around San Diego. All routes begin at InterAmerican Coffee at 10 a.m. and there’s a special after-party at Bird Rock Coffee Roasters at 3 p.m. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25. $30.

619-235-0392, caffeinecrawl.com

14 · San Diego CityBeat · January 22, 2014

Is there an exterminator in the house?

At the very least, you’ll walk out of Ion Theatre’s Bug with the feeling that something’s crawling up your back or underneath your skin. If you’re the sensitive—or the squeamish—type, you may feel the after-effects of Tracy Letts’ lurid paranoid play more profoundly than that.

Claudio Raygoza directs a tense, claustrophobic drama that fills an Oklahoma motel room with fear, blood and hysteria. What begins mainly as “AWOL war vet” Peter’s (Steve Froehlich) hysteria soon spreads to low and lonesome Agnes (Hannah Logan), culminating in a finale that leaves the stage too messy for an actors’ curtain call.

If Letts’ name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s the guy who wrote the Pulitzer-winning play (and now big-name movie) August: Osage County. Bug, too, was filmed in 2006 with Ashley Judd playing Agnes. Then, as with this Ion production, the line between fantasy and reality, and between love and violence, is blurred. Who and what the bugs are will gnaw at your mind if you give these dark goings-on a chance. Bug’s graphic images and the disquieting disintegration of Logan’s Agnes and Froehlich’s Peter turn the setting into Motel Hell.

Check in if you dare.

Bug runs through Feb. 8 at BLKBOX Theatre in Hillcrest. $20-$35. iontheatre.com

•••

Another kind of bug, the love bug, takes center stage at North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach, which is presenting a curious olio of Kurt Vonnegut adaptations called Who Am I This Time? A folksier than folksy James Leaming anchors the three interconnected tales about amour, each of them set at the fictitious North Crawford Mask & Wig Club in North Crawford, Conn.

The most entertaining of the three is the middle offering, the one actually based on the Vonnegut 1961 short story “Who Am I This Time?” In it, shrinking violets Harry Nash (Jason Maddy) and Helene Shaw (Christina Flynn) comically heat up when playing Stanley Kowalski and wife Stella in a community production of A Streetcar Named Desire. *BYOB: A Soup Line Soiree at The Pearl Hotel, 1410 Rosecrans St., Point Loma. Like the name implies, bring your own soup bowl and, for the price of one canned-food item, bring your own bowl and have it filled with your choice of a vegan veggie chowder, a “Baked Potato” soup or butternut squash soup accompanied by Con Pane artisan bread. From 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26. RSVP required: RSVP@thepearlsd.com. thepearlsd.com

MUSIC *Joshua White NYC Quartet at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. The Athenaeum’s winter jazz series opens with this acclaimed quartet, featuring award-winning pianist White with two NYC powerhouses, alto saxophonist David Binney and drummer Mark Ferber, along with top-flight L.A. bassist Hamilton Price. From 7:30 to 10 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 23. $26. 858-454-5872, ljathenaeum.org Celtic Nights: The Emigrants Bridge at Poway Center for the Performing Arts, 15498 Espola Road, Poway. Celtic Nights

COURTESY: ION THEATRE

Steven Froehlich and Hannah Logan in Bug In general, the lessons about love are familiar and homespun—not what one tends to associate with the man who wrote Slaughterhouse Five. But so it goes.

Who Am I This Time? runs through Feb. 2 at North Coast Repertory Theatre. $37-$54. north coastrep.org

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

OPENING Bethany: The West Coast premiere of a drama about a downon-her-luck car saleswoman who squats in a foreclosed home as she tries to reunite with her daughter. Opens Jan. 25 at The Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park. oldglobe.org Crumbs from the Table of Joy: It’s 1950 in Brooklyn, and a grieving black widower has found puritanical religion, uprooted his teenage daughters from Florida and married a white German. Opens Jan. 24 at Moxie Theatre in Rolando. moxietheatre.com The Foreigner: A comedy about a sad Brit, a guest at a Georgia fishing lodge, who pretends to speak no English so he doesn’t have to talk to anyone and ends up having to save the lodge from the Ku Klux Klan. Opens Jan. 24 at Lamb’s Players Theatre in Coronado. lambsplayers.org The Fox on the Fairway: A country-club president bets on a golf tournament but loses his ringer to the other side and replaces him with a young employee who happens to be awesome at golf. Sounds a little like Caddyshack. Opens Jan. 24 at OnStage Playhouse in Chula Vista. onstageplayhouse.org

For full listings, please visit “T heater ” at sdcit ybeat.com

weaves the lilting melodies and plaintive lyrics of the rich Celtic heritage to tell the story of the Celtic people through traditional ballads and vivid choreography. At 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24. $48-$58. 858748-0505, powayarts.org *Clocked Out at Bread & Salt, 1955 Julian Ave., Logan Heights. The first concert of the “Fresh Sounds” concert season, this Australian duo creates playful and evocative “warped grooves” using piano, percussion, found objects and toys. From 7:30 to 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24. $10-$15. henceforthrecords.comfreshsound Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and San Diego Symphony at Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St., Downtown. The world famous Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of conductor Pinchas Zukerman, joins the musicians of the San Diego Symphony to perform selections from Brahms and Tchaikovsky.

At 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24. $30-$100. 619235-0804, sandiegosymphony.org The Irish Rovers at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Downtown. Stopping by for a “Farewell to Rovin’ Tour,” this Canadian-Irish folk group is best known

for the songs “The Unicorn,” “Wasn’t That a Party” and “The Black Velvet Band.” At 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24. $25-$45. 619570-1100, sandiegotheatres.org *Nathan Hubbard Nevertheless Quintet at Taoist Sanctuary of San Diego, 4229 Park Blvd., University Heights. The first in a series of release shows for the Quintet’s new recording, Encinitas and Everything After. The show will feature a full, hour-plus-long performance. At 8 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 26. $5. 619-692-1155, castorandpolluxmusic.comeverythingafter International Guitar Night at Schulman Auditorium, 1775 Dove Lane, Carlsbad.

The Museum of Making Music presents this sixth-annual musical event that brings together the world’s top acoustic guitarists to perform their latest compositions and exchange musical ideas in a public concert setting. At 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28. $25-$30. 760-438-5996, museumof makingmusic.org *National Kazoo Day at Geisel Library, UCSD, La Jolla. Come to the Seuss Room of Geisel Library to sort through fascinating kazoo literature (scholarly articles and musical scores) and listen to some new

chamber music for kazoo composed by alumni of UC San Diego. At noon Tuesday, Jan. 28. libraries.ucsd.edu

PERFORMANCE *Pagliacci at San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., Downtown. One of the most powerful operas, Pagliacci is about a riveting and gut-wrenching love triangle that ends in murder, all before an audience who thinks they are viewing a comedy. At 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, Tuesday, Jan. 28, and Friday, Jan. 31, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2. $45-$215. sdopera.com Moscow Nights and Golden Gates at California Center for the Arts, 340 North Escondido Blvd., Escondido. The Russian musicians (Moscow Nights) and dancers (Golden Gates) are touring together, presenting authentic and traditional Russian folk music, songs, rituals, stories, audience participation and dances. At 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26. $10-$30.

760-839-4190, artcenter.org

With Tim Mays and Friends at Birch North Park Theater, 2891 University Ave., North Park. An intimate conversation with impresario and icon of the San Diego music scene, Tim Mays. Mays and friends will chronicle his extraordinary career and contributions. Musicians like John Reis (Rocket From the Crypt), Rob Crow (Pinback) and more will also perform. From 8 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23. $20-$25.

619-239-8836, casbah25.com Opera Insight Series: Pagliacci at New Central Library, 330 Park Blvd., East Village. Ron Shaheen discusses Pagliacci

by Ruggero Leoncavallo, part of the San Diego Opera’s 2014 repertoire. At 3 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 23. 619-236-5800, san diegolibrary.org

Beat Suter at Woodbury School of Architecture, 2212 Main St., Barrio Logan. The founding member of the game art and media art collective AND-OR, will discuss “Innovative Game Design.” At 6:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 24. 619-235-2900, architec ture.woodbury.edu Susan Shirk at San Diego Foundation, 2508 Historic Decatur Road, Point Loma.

Part of the San Diego Diplomacy Council’s “Talk About Series,” Shirk will discuss China’s new leader, Xi Jinping, and his direction for China including economic reform, ideological campaigns and efforts at managing U.S. and Asian relations.

From 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25. $10$15. 619-291-8105, sddiplomacycouncil talkabout2014.eventbrite.com

*Artists and Designers in Real Time: Guido Van der Werve at Hepner Hall at SDSU, 5500 Campanile Drive, College Area. A new lecture series that hopes to bridge the gap between art and design.

The first speaker is Berlin-based artist van der Werve, who works in everything from industrial design and archaeology to music composition and video performances.

At 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28. 619-5945200, facebook.comArtistsinrealtime Art and Architecture at Oceanside Museum of Art, 704 Pier View Way, Oceanside. Part of the “Distinguished Lecture” series, adult education lecturer Ann Hoehn will give insight into Western Art History from the Renaissance to Modern Times. This lecture will focus on the United States. From 10:30 a.m. to noon

Wednesday, Jan. 29. $10. 760 4353721, oma-online.org Musings on “Good Lives” at Great Hall La Jolla, 4275 Campus Point Court, La Jolla. Part of “The Making of the Modern World: The Good Life” lectures series, UCSD music professor Roger Reynolds will discuss some difficulties with the Greek philosopher Aristotle’s concept of “the good life.” At 6 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 29. roosevelt.ucsd. edu/publicevents

For full listings,

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

POETRY & SPOKEN WORD Romeo and Juliet at New Central Library, 330 Park Blvd., East Village. Join the San Diego Shakespeare Society for an open reading of Shakespeare’s most famous love story. Anyone can join in the reading or just come along to listen. From 12:30 to 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25. 619-236-5800, sandiegoshakespearesociety.org

SPECIAL EVENTS *The Science of Rock: Sounds & Stones at Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, Balboa Park. Explore rocks both musical and metamorphic. Listen to live music and strum the world’s largest playable guitar while sipping on fruit wines and enjoying sinful food and beer samples from local restaurants and breweries. From 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23. $20-$25. 619-238-1233, rhfleet.org Bridal Bazaar at San Diego Convention Center, 111 W Harbor Drive, Downtown.

San Diego’s largest wedding planning expo features everything you need to plan your wedding day. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26. $12. 760-3345500, bridalbazaar.com Battle of the Chef Bands at Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. Bands that include staff from restaurants like Urban Solace, Jaynes Gastropub, Barleymash and more compete in a battle-of-the-bands-type event with celeb judges, hosted by Sam the Cooking Guy. A portion of the proceeds benefit Center for Community Solutions. From 6 to 10 p.m. Monday, Jan. 27. $30. 858481-8140, bellyup.com

SPORTS Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course, 11480 N. Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla. See defending champion Tiger Woods and others including Rickie Fowler, Keegan Bradley, Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson in action at this annual golf tourney. Various times. Thursday through Sunday, Jan. 23-26. $10-$140. farmersinsuranceopen.com

TALKS & DISCUSSIONS *25 Years of the Casbah: An Evening

January 22, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 15

Through sheer will

City Heights’ Azalea Park moves toward carving out a new home for creativity Story and photos by Kinsee Morlan Azalea Park is triangular, with several finger canyons reaching in from all directions. Poplar Street cuts through the small, somewhat secluded City Heights enclave. The wide, tree-lined street— which starts at Fairmount Avenue and ends less than a mile west at Azalea Community Park—serves as the main corridor of the diverse community.

Residents have started envisioning Poplar as a perfect new home for the arts. In fact, the name Azalea Park Arts District has already started making the rounds, even serving as the headline of a recent article in The Parkster, Azalea Park’s neighborhood newsletter.

Azalea Park is nice, albeit a little rough around the edges. Known by many as “Gayzalea Park” or “Gayberry” because of a high LGBT population—the result of a purposeful marketing campaign led by the Azalea Park Neighborhood Association in the early ’90s, which touted the tagline “What a difference a gay makes”—homes in the neighborhood range from ragged to charming. Artistic, carved-wood street signs that reflect the tree and plant-named streets are scattered throughout the area, but the scribbly, spray-painted lines of taggers can still be found on nearly every block. Neighbors also recently worked with city police to chase out an alleged prostitution ring operating in RVs parked in the community, and, in 2012, a 17-year-old was killed in a drive-by shooting on Poplar.

“There are challenges,” says Ricardo Moran, president of the Azalea Park Neighborhood Association. “This is still a low-income area, but we believe that a little elbow grease goes a long way.”

Moran and his partner, Jim Martin, bought a home in Azalea Park a little more than three years ago. The place was rundown, but they’ve since fixed it up, inside

and out. Now they’ve set their sights on the rest of the neighborhood. Martin, who owns a landscape-design firm, started a community group called the Meerkat Patrol that beautifies parkways. Moran has many goals for Azalea Park, but one of his newest pet projects is the emerging Azalea Park Arts District—an idea spearheaded by longtime resident Vicki Leon. Leon is a well-known glass artist who moved her studio from Golden Hill two years ago and has since had visions of the bustling hotbed of creativity Poplar Street can eventually become.

The first stop on a quick tour of Azalea Park is a tiny garden surrounding a painted electrical box and one of the carved-wood street signs. Thanks to the Meerkats, what used to be waist-high weeds, the occasional shopping cart and graffiti is now a handsome, landscaped strip filled with agave and other water-smart plants.

Next is a walk through the water-conservation garden within Azalea Community Park. Several large-scale sculptures by local artists are scattered amid succulents and cacti. Two young boys stand atop a bench in the garden, eyeing a strange fabric art installation hanging from a tree. The piece is by an artist whom the community knows as Catrina. Catrina constantly adds to the installation, which includes a beautiful woven nest on a tree branch. She scatters things like sand dollars and shells throughout the garden and fills the nest with fun items for kids to find. Other community members have started filling the nest with things like poems and trinkets, as well. Nearby the garden are walls filled with colorful murals.

Moran and Martin proudly show off a few other murals, pocket parks, canyonaccess points and landscaped parkways as they cruise through the rest of Azalea Park.

The tour ends with the recently completed Manzanita Gathering Place, a can-

Glass artist Vicki Leon

16 · San Diego CityBeat · January 22, 2014

Jim Martin (left) and Ricardo Moran at the Manzanita Gathering Place yon-side parklet with benches and a shade structure held up by sparkling mosaic columns incorporating tiles made by Azalea Park residents. A product of a partnership between the San Diego Foundation, other community partners and the Pomegranate Center, a nonprofit based in Washington state, the project successfully transformed a blighted piece of land into a nice little public park. Martin says it’s a great place to catch a killer sunset.

“We really believe that if we increase the arts and increase beautification, it really helps increase the safety of our community,” Moran says.

“The idea is that gang members don’t want to hang out where it looks pretty,” Martin adds.

The Azalea Park Arts District has started taking more definite shape in a nondescript commercial building next to a Mexican bakery and a taco shop. Leon’s studio, at 4354 Poplar St., serves as a storefront and a workspace where she makes and displays her jewelry and sculptural glass work (vickileaonartist.com). She shares her space with artist Olivia Denis (oliviadenis.com), who does both sculptural and

An improvised art installation hangs from a tree in Azalea Community Park.

functional woodwork. Next door, at 4352 Poplar St., is aka (galleryaka.com), run by artists Jason Feather and Javi Nunez. The two use the space to make their own art and print their apparel line, Industry Bastards.

They also do high-end screen-printing for clients. On the other side of Leon is Danny Win, the designer behind the clothing line Wolves & Winners. Leon and Feather worked with the community on the creation of the mosaic pillars at the Manzanita Gathering Place. They also recently held a joint open-studio event.

Soon, the dirt median in front of the building that houses the arts studios will be home to an artistic Azalea Park welcome sign designed by Harmon Nelson.

The project’s been in the works since 2005, but it’s getting closer to fruition. With the sign in place, Leon says, the Azalea Park Arts District will be more recognizable as a cultural destination.

“As soon as you say ‘arts district,’ people bring up Barrio Logan because that’s what’s really active right now,” Leon says.

“This is never going to be that. The difference? Diversity. This could be one of the most interesting places…. There’s no telling what could happen.”

Felicia Shaw, who heads the San Diego Foundation’s arts programs, lives in Azalea Park. While she acknowledges that the arts district is in its nascent stage, she says that if any neighborhood can make a dream a reality, Azalea Park can.

“It’s certainly quite feasible,” she says.

“What I like about the neighborhood is that we speak it, and by speaking it, it becomes more of a reality.

“There’s lots of activism here,” she continues. “There’s something authentic about Azalea Park. It’s not perfect. It’s still a little gritty, but people here intend to make this an extraordinary place.”

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

Kinsee Morlan

Seen Local Library arts program evolves Since assuming her position as arts and culture exhibitions manager for the San Diego Public Library system a few months ago, Kara West has heard one thing again and again: “You’ve got big shoes to fill.”

West heads up the library’s Visual Arts Program, which was elegantly spearheaded by Mark ElliottLugo for more than a decade until he retired in 2012.

Lugo, respected in the art world, put together dozens of high-caliber shows at the Pacific Beach Library featuring the city’s best mid- to late-career artists.

“I’m optimistic, and I see it as a huge advantage that it’s such a reputable program and so well-respected,” says West, in her tiny office in the Art Gallery on the ninth floor of the new central library in East Village.

“What Mark Elliot-Lugo did for the arts and what he did for the library is so unique and powerful.”

West, a San Diego native who’s worked at the Balboa Art Conservation Center and has a master’s degree in library science, will play a different role than Lugo. She’s not a curator who’ll put together shows at the new library’s art gallery or any of the 35 branch libraries; she’s overseeing a complicated and expansive arts program, and her goal, she says, is to make it more transparent and accessible.

West has been visiting the branch libraries to see where she can find venues for local visual art, whether it’s a big community room or just a hallway, foyer or glass display case. Once she’s done, she’ll creating a simple online submission form to make the procedures—many of which have been in place for years—easier for artists to access and understand.

Each library is its own ecosystem, she explains, so the people overseeing the visual-arts submissions and programming at each branch will vary. Things are still evolving, but West says specifics will be announced soon.

Kara West The central library’s art gallery will serve as the new flagship gallery for the Visual Arts Program.

The space will be curated separately through a collaborative process. The opening show, for instance, was guest-curated by Kathryn Kanjo of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. Kanjo says she has high hopes for program and the impressive new space, which she thinks can serve as a civic art gallery, showcasing San Diego’s best artists.

West “is doing something very different,” Kanjo says. “This will be a notable change. She is going to corral multiple points of view at multiple sites…. It’s a very complex but very exciting proposition for her.”

—Kinsee Morlan Kinsee Morlan

Planet Rooth is back In 2010, Gustaf Rooth celebrated the opening of his new gallery and home in Bankers Hill. After a long, tumultuous love affair with North Park—where he helped found and grow the monthly Ray at Night art walk— he abandoned his longtime space on Ray Street. Rooth blamed gentrification and his landlord, who raised his rent, for the unwanted and unexpected move.

Planet Rooth Design Haus (3334 Fifth Ave.) opened with a series of big events but has since gone quiet as Rooth focused more on his own furniture and painting endeavors (his line of wine- and bourbon-barrel chairs under the moniker Barrelly Made It has become pretty popular). Rooth’s also joined the growing Baja California wine and food movement, hosting private tastings during the past few years. But the old home will again function as an art gallery when Sweet Spot, an exhibition featuring works by Emily E. Halpern and Andrea Chung, opens from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24.

“It’s exciting to get back into the scene,” Rooth says. “I had no idea it would take me four years to get back on my feet in this house after leaving Ray Street.

That was a bad breakup…. But now I’m finally over it and really excited about the future.”

Rooth will continue to focus on his personal pursuits and has turned the art-gallery reins over to Dia Bassett, an artist and independent curator.

“I’m interested in doing new and different things,”

Dia Bassett says Bassett, a sculptor who earned a master’s degree at San Diego State University and spent a few years after graduate school in the education program at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego.

Bassett says the space will host new shows every six weeks, on average, and her focus will be on local and national artists who investigate sociopolitical questions. She’s open to every medium, including sitespecific installations and more experimental work.

“I’m looking forward to showing a good variety of artists,” Bassett says, “artists whose work isn’t being shown in San Diego.”

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

January 22, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 17

Action cinema Human Rights Watch Film Festival returns to San Diego

by Glenn Heath Jr. Never underestimate the power of a great documentary. While no nonfiction film is going to miraculously remedy our worst injustices overnight, the best ones can prompt the kind of discourse that could make a lasting difference in the long run, weaving together awareness and activism.

The Human Rights Watch Film Festival, which takes place Thursday, Jan. 23, though Sunday, Jan. 26, at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park, has this goal in mind. Six documentaries from around the world screen during the event, each exploring underrepresented perspectives and complex social scenarios using varied techniques. They are deeply personal visions by filmmakers seeking to shine a light on pockets of the world often left in the dark by mainstream media.

Yoruba Richen’s The New Black, the festival’s opening-night selection, is an intensely personal examination of the debate raging in the black community over LGBT rights. The film focuses on the efforts of activists and faith-based conservatives on opposite sides of the debate surrounding Referendum Question 6, the 2012 Maryland ballot measure that asked voters to either uphold or revoke the Civil Marriage Protection Act. Richen gathers an array of subjects with different backgrounds and professions, from a police captain in the well-to-do black community of St. George’s County to a prolific pastor leading the efforts to ban same-sex marriage. But it’s a young political trailblazer named Karess who becomes the film’s lasting voice. Her eagerness to hit the streets and campaign comes from a pure civic ideology, an endless vitality that every political movement needs to succeed.

The New Black considers the way societal judgments and political motivations weigh heavily on everyday life, but, more importantly, it paints the African-American dilemma over gay rights as a dynamic and evolving dialogue between equally driven but contrasting ideologies. As one interviewee says so eloquently, “The black community is not monolithic.”

More procedural than ideological document, Marco Williams’ The Undocumented nevertheless conveys the political implications of its subject matter. Beginning with a funeral procession deep in the Mexican countryside, the film follows a trail of stories up to the Arizona / Sonora border, where hundreds of migrants perish every year trying to cross the barren desert. It’s

The Undocumented an epidemic with binational ripples.

You can almost feel the extreme, dry heat as Williams’ camera follows Border Patrol agents scouring the region for “crossers” left behind by their group.

They find empty bottles of water, ragged pieces of clothing and personal trinkets covered in dirt, a breadcrumb trail that often leads to skeletal remains.

From here, The Undocumented follows the bones to the Pima County Medical Examiner’s office and the Mexican Consulate in Tucson, which work together to identify the remains and notify family members. Chicagoan Marcos Hernández has yet to receive word of his father’s whereabouts years after the man disappeared in the desert. Hernández’s search is both desperate and impassioned, yet one can’t help but recognize the futility in his efforts to find a needle in a haystack.

This isn’t to say that Williams’ film is cynical or enraged; in fact, it’s quite the opposite. The efforts by these different groups, including a local nonprofit that works with the government to help families locate their missing loved ones, are highlighted in a minimalist but respectful way. Professionalism and respect resides at the heart of The Undocumented, for both the dead and the living trying to bring their families solace.

The other documentaries playing in the Human Rights Watch Film Festival are Harry Freeland’s In the Shadow of the Sun, Nagieb Khaja’s My Afghanistan: Life in a Forbidden Zone, Jehane Noujaim and Mona Eldaief’s Rafea: Solar Mama and Jeremy Teicher’s Tall as the Baobab Tree. For details, visit ff.hrw.org/san-diego.

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

Surviving desire

The Invisible Woman

18 · San Diego CityBeat · January 22, 2014

So many films about iconic figures attempt to solve the complex and sometimes irrational feelings of their famous subjects. With The Invisible Woman, director and star Ralph Fiennes does just the opposite, shrouding a period late in the life of Charles Dickens with emotional ambiguity and mystery.

In fact, this graceful and sub-

lime drama isn’t really about Dickens at all; it’s really about a young actor named Nelly (Felicity Jones) with whom he falls in love at the height of his career, despite being married and having multiple children. She’s an intense woman of manners and ideas, but brimming below the surface is an unrequited passion

CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

January 22, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 19

that immediately excites the sexually repressed scribe.

Structured as a flashback, the young woman remembers back to her initial meeting with Dickens during a staged drama of The Frozen Deep, an 1856 production that plays an influential role in fleshing out the tragedy of their love affair.

Their shared glances are quick but pointed, nothing more than a breeze of melodrama that will eventually turn into a gale-force wind.

Traditional formalities dictate the terms of Dickens’ subtle pursuit of Nelly, but, over time, his admiration grows a bit too obvious. This causes ripples not only with his wife and Nelly’s mother

Opening ¿Alguien ha visto a Lupita?: Lupita (Dulce Maria) flees her family after discovering that they plan to banish her to a mental asylum. She journeys to the U.S., setting off a series of events that draw all of Mexico’s attention. Screens through Jan. 30 at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

Caught in the Web: After learning she has a terminal illness, a young woman is caught on camera defying traditional social graces, only to see the video go viral and potentially ruin the lives of her loved ones. From Chinese director Chen Kaige. Screens through Jan. 30 at Hillcrest Cinemas.

(Kristin Scott Thomas), but eventually also high society at large.

Thankfully, The Invisible Woman—which opens Friday, Jan. 24, at La Jolla Village Cinemas—revels not in scandal but in the poetry of repression. Its best compositions convey this idea, like a grand reverse zoom that begins closely on Nelly and Dickens watching a horse race and trying to control their desires, then expands outward to include the entire crowd.

By the end, Jones’ forceful performance stands tallest among her more esteemed peers. She gives Nelly a thriving, beating heart that’s bound to be broken.

—Glenn Heath Jr. G.B.F.: A high-school student is outed by his classmates only to find himself recruited by three popular girls looking for a “gay best friend.” Screens at AMC Mission Valley.

I, Frankenstein: Frankenstein’s monster (Aaron Eckhart) gets turned into an action hero caught up in a centuries-old war between different clans of immortals.

The Invisible Woman: Charles Dickens (Ralph Fiennes) secretly courts a young actor (Felicity Jones), sending a shockwave of melodrama through the streets of Victorian England. See our review on Page 18.

Human Rights Watch Film Festival: Six socially relevant documentaries cel-

20 · San Diego CityBeat · January 22, 2014

ebrating awareness and activism will screen Jan. 23 through 26 at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park. See our feature on Page 18.

Journey to the South Pacific: This lush IMAX adventure is the perfect big-screen experience for underwater enthusiasts, exploring areas in the South Pacific that are home to more than 2,000 species.

Through Saturday, Jan. 25, at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park.

(Adam Scott) life is turned upside down after his younger brother decides to get married, forcing a reunion of their warring parents. Screens at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26, at the Hervey Branch Library in Point Loma.

Dumb and Dumber: The comedic and asinine adventures of Lloyd (Jim Carrey) and Harry (Jeff Daniels) never get old.

Screens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma.

One Time Only

Now Playing

John Adams: This HBO mini-series examines the life of the second president of the United States (Paul Giamatti). Episode 3 screens at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22, Episode 4 on Wednesday, Jan. 29, at the Lemon Grove Library.

Devil’s Due: Newlyweds experience a lost night on their honeymoon thanks to good ol’ Lucifer, resulting in an unplanned pregnancy and a potential Antichrist scenario. Call in Father Merrin!

The Spectacular Now: Miles Teller plays a partying high-school senior who romances a sweet classmate (Shailene Woodley) as he comes to grips with his uncertain future and tainted family history.

Screens at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22, at the Mission Valley Library.

Pretty Woman: Julia Roberts’ prostitute with a heart of gold gives Richard Gere’s snobby corporate viper more than he bargained for, and the rest is romantic-comedy history. Screens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma.

Questione di cuore (Matter of the Heart): Celebrated Italian director Francesca Archibugi’s gentle comedy is about two men with virtually nothing in common who strike up a unique and volatile friendship. Screens at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, at La Paloma Theater in Encinitas.

A.C.O.D.: A successful restaurateur’s

The Great Beauty: A disillusioned novelist traverses modern Rome looking for epiphany in Paolo Sorrentino’s gorgeous and surreal art film, which is a testament to physical surfaces and emotional depth.

Ends Jan. 23 at the Ken Cinema.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit: Tom Clancy’s favorite CIA analyst turned action hero gets his very own origin story, which involves a Russian plot to take down the U.S. economy. Chris Pine assumes the role made famous by Harrison Ford and denigrated by Ben Affleck.

The Nut Job: No nuts, no glory. So goes the tagline for this animated film about an outcast park rodent who must survive the harsh realities of the city after being banished from the park. It was only a matter of time before the squirrel population was properly represented in Hollywood.

Ride Along: Has Kevin Hart fatigue set in yet? The pervasive comedian stars in

this action comedy with Ice Cube playing an angry cop and his future brother-in-law out to test his masculinity.

Valentino’s Ghost: Documentary examining the ways American foreign policy in the Middle East solidifies the mainstream media’s portrayal of Arabs and Muslims. It focuses specifically on the power behind cultural images. Ends Jan. 22 at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

Wajma, an Afghan Love Story: A young couple’s relationship and cultural beliefs are tested when an unplanned pregnancy threatens their happiness. Ends Jan. 23 at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

August: Osage County: A dysfunctional Texas family reunites when its troubled patriarch (Sam Shepard) goes missing, uncovering a barrage of dark secrets and regrets. It’s based on the play by Tracy Letts and stars Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts and Chris Cooper.

Her: A lonely man (Joaquin Phoenix) falls in love with his new operating system (voiced by Scarlet Johansson) in Spike Jonze’s tender and moving sci-fi romance.

The Legend of Hercules: Action director Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2: Die Harder) brings the origin story of Hercules (Kellan Lutz) to the big screen in not-so-glorious post-conversion 3-D. For a complete listing of movies, please see “F ilm S creenings” at sdcit yb eat.com under the “E vents” tab.

Mutual Benefit’s

Whitney Lee

musical pursuit

J

Singer / songwriter Jordan Lee goes where inspiration takes him • by Jeff Terich

ordan Lee, the singer / songwriter behind Brooklyn’s Mutual Benefit, is an artist prone to contradictions. He plays gentle, beautifully arranged indie folk, yet tends to follow more of a DIY punk ethos. He speaks positively about the “innate goodness and generosity of people” but turns highly skeptical when discussing music-industry machinations. He’s not one to make a hasty decision when it comes to his music, but he has a history of being a nomad, quick to pack up his belongings and high-tail it to new surroundings when his own have gone stale.

A native of Columbus, Ohio, Lee moved to Texas after high school, which is where he began making home-recorded music under the name Mutual Benefit. He then launched his own label, Kassette Klub, in 2009, when he relocated to Boston. But it wasn’t until Lee finally settled in Brooklyn and released the group’s first proper full-length album, Love’s Crushing Diamond, that Mutual Benefit gained more widespread attention.

Lee tells CityBeat that moving to a new city is his way of reconnecting with his muse.

“If I’m in a town and I feel really stuck, and I’m just having trouble finding that spark, the easiest way to find it again is to find myself in a totally new situation,” he says.

“In the past, I think that’s been the reason to pack my suitcases, get on the Amtrak and meet up with a highschool friend for a few months.”

Love’s Crushing Diamond, which followed six other cassettes and EPs, sees Lee and a revolving group of collaborators entering the next phase of a career built one homemade release at a time, in three different cities. Though relatively brief at only 32 minutes long,

the album is Mutual Benefit’s most cohesive release, a mesmerizing set of seven chamber-pop songs with instrumentation that in-

cludes acoustic guitar, banjo, violin, piano, harmonium, electronic drums, found sounds and Lee’s own soft vocals. There’s a slow, dreamy, almost-shoegaze effect to “That Light that’s Blinding,” while the sweetly sincere “Advanced Falconry” recalls acclaimed mid-’00s releases by Devendra Banhart and Sufjan Stevens. Pretty much everything on the record is made to sound as mellifluous as possible.

Mutual Benefit—who’ll play Soda Bar on Sunday, Jan. 26—initially self-released their new album in October but soon caught the attention of Other Music, which reissued Love’s Crushing Diamond two months later in a much wider release. Lee says he was contacted by several labels that were interested in releasing the album, but he was careful to choose one that didn’t pigeonhole the project too easily.

“One of the main things that was important to me was not putting it out on a label that had a distinct sound,” Lee says, “especially because when it first came out, there were a lot of comparisons to Sufjan Stevens and Americana music and stuff like that. There were a couple labels that, like, if I signed with them, I’d have to play with banjo bands for the rest of my career.”

Prior to finding a semi-permanent home in Brooklyn, Lee spent several years playing basements, churches and schools on the DIY tour circuit. But with the Other

Music signing came a change in procedure.

He not only has a label, but also a publicist and a booking agent. And, more importantly, he’s making some tangible income from his music—something a lot of musicians can’t say.

And while Lee talks about this upward mobility in a positive light, he admits that he’s still getting used to it all.

“All of a sudden, there’s a lot more certainty with what I’m doing now, where there’s—you know, venues offer a minimum guarantee, so you know you won’t run out of gas,” he says. “But there’s also a strange feeling where every person in that chain wants you to succeed, in part because they get a part of your proceeds. And I’m still getting used to that feeling.

“It is really fascinating to at least be able to talk about it from experience instead of some ideological, hypothetical situation,” he adds. “I think every musician at some point has been posed the question, ‘If Nike gave you a million dollars to use one of your songs, would you do it?’ Not that that’s happened, but, all of a sudden, these questions are real instead of things you ask each other when you’re stoned.”

Lee’s wanderlust and search for inspiration could very well find him pulling up stakes again before long. For now, he seems ready to be comfortable in his current surroundings.

“I really like balance, and it’s hard to maintain balance in New York,” Lee says.

“But it helps that most of the United States between the cities is the opposite of New York, and when you’re touring in a band, you’re mostly looking at cornfields.

“If I’m touring a lot of the year, then New York is a perfect place to come back to.”

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

January 22, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 21

Deadphones

notes from the smoking patio Locals Only It’s official: Cuckoo Chaos is now Deadphones.

The new band, composed of all five members of Cuckoo Chaos—launched a Twitter page and a Facebook page earlier this month and bought the domain name deadphonesmusic.com, although a new website hasn’t yet launched.

More importantly, however, the band has announced its first show as Deadphones: Feb. 28 at Soda Bar, with Inspired and the Sleep.

Guitarist / keyboardist Jackson Milgaten says the show will be a record-release party for their debut three-song EP, which is due out in February via Waaga Records. Initially, the plan was to release a full-length album earlier in 2014, but it was pushed back to fall, when they’ll be available to tour in support of it. Still, Milgaten says, it’s important to release some music as soon as possible.

“We’ve been working on this album so long that I think the time is now,” he says. “It’s cool that we can put some music out right away, so we can let people know what this project sounds like.”

Fans who’ve caught Cuckoo Chaos at any point in the last year—particularly at their farewell show in December—have already heard some of the Deadphones material, though Milgaten says that most of the songs on the new EP and eventual full-length have undergone a long process of evolution since they were first written.

“One song on the album we wrote before our first national tour in 2011,” Milgaten says. “For anyone that saw us play on that tour, it would now be unrecognizable.

“I feel like we put more thought into this music than ever before,” he adds. “It’ll be great to just let ’em go.”

—Jeff Terich

R.I.P. The Void Last month, The Void—the latest in a long series of rock-club casualties at 3519 El Cajon Blvd.—closed after less than a year.

To read the Facebook reactions to the venue’s shuttering, you’d think its demise was inevitable. After all, if Zombie Lounge, Radio Room and Eleven didn’t last, why would The Void—the least commercial and, by all accounts, weirdest bar to occupy the space yet? Not that Facebook reactions are the best way to gauge anything, but almost nobody was surprised to see it end, and that includes me.

Don’t get me wrong—I didn’t want The Void to close. During its brief existence, it started to build a reputation for being the venue for more adventurous, experimental bands, and it presented a bold alternative to the more middle-of-the-road rock clubs in San Diego. It’s atmosphere was stark, like a blackpainted garage with beer taps and a couple of booths, but the dark, simple look fit the styles of the acts on its stage, from noise artists like Boyd Rice and Pharmakon to more buzz-heavy indie-rock bands like Dirty Beaches and metal bands like Deafheaven.

The gamble of booking less commercial acts is that you run the risk of not filling the venue or making a profit, and there were a few times when I was one of 10 to 12 people in the room. It’s not realistic to expect a venue to keep going when the demand isn’t always there, even if the occasional show like Deafheaven sells out.

I’m concerned that fewer clubs will be willing to

22 · San Diego CityBeat · January 22, 2014

Dirty Beaches is one of the strange bands to have played at The Void. take on the noisy, arty weirdoes that made The Void interesting. San Diego has a history of incredible innovations in underground music, so it would be a shame if what we see in the future is a continued effort to err on the side of conservatism. I’m hopeful that people like Art Fag Recordings founder and booking agent Mario Orduno and venues like Soda Bar will continue to bring some eccentricity to San Diego, but with the glut of new Americana and blues-rock bands in town right now, you’ll forgive me if I’m feeling apprehensive.

The Void gave a glimmer of hope about San Diego’s weird future, but it could stand to get a lot weirder.

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

if i were u

BY Jeff Terich

Wednesday, Jan. 22 PLAN A: Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects, Bartender’s Bible, Ilya @ The Casbah. Given how popular a lot of The Casbah’s 25th-anniversary shows have been, almost all of them end up selling out. But there’s still some room for you to catch this lineup featuring dark-dream-pop group Ilya and Southwestern-sci-fi-pop outfit Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects. PLAN B: CJ Boyd, Nothingful, Secret Fun Club, Big Bad @ The Che Café. A bass player with nomadic tendencies, CJ Boyd has built up a catalog of fascinating, avant-garde music that ranges from experimental chamber music to tweaked pop sounds, and even a sprawling medley of grunge covers that sounds entirely alien in his hands. If you like your anarchy a bit highbrow, then dust off your cracked monocle and get yourself some culture. BACKUP PLAN: Kelly McFarling, River City @ Seven Grand.

The White Buffalo

for themselves in the ’80s with some blistering punk before changing their name and then breaking up. But a lost session, newly mixed

by Dave Grohl, coincided with their reunion, and they’re coming here to wreck some shit.

PLAN B: Smile, Uncle Joe’s Big Ol’ Driver, Well Strung to Hang, Saint Shameless @ The Casbah. Another long-disbanded group Thursday, Jan. 23 headlining a Casbah show this month, Smile PLAN A: The White Buffalo, Trouble made a name for themselves in the ’90s with in the Wind @ Belly Up Tavern. Singer / some super-distorted, smart-ass and (above songwriter Jake Smith, aka The White Buf- all) fun indie-rock tunes, such as “Instant falo, gained a fair amount of attention after Brain Damage,” which became a minor hit on his music was featured on FX drama Sons 91X way back when. Drop by and sing along. of Anarchy. And it’s hard not to be won over BACKUP PLAN: Wooden Shjips, Carlton by his gritty, soulful, outlaw-country style. Melton, Tar Halos @ Soda Bar. His music is good ol’-fashioned Americana, with all the blood and sweat that seems to be missing from so many banjo-plucking Sunday, Jan. 26 newcomers. PLAN B: Kisses, Jeffrey Jeru- PLAN A: Mutual Benefit, Jeans Wilder, Disalem, Western Scene @ Soda Bar. Kisses atribes @ Soda Bar. See Page 21 for my feaapplied their moody, hazy indie-pop sound ture on Mutual Benefit, a chamber-pop group to a concept inspired by Bret Easton Ellis’ composed of a revolving cast of musicians Less than Zero on their latest album, Kids with lots of gorgeous, delicate tunes. They’ll in L.A., which adds a little bit of dark com- bring that inspired sound to Soda Bar, where mentary to their otherwise fun music. And it they’ll perform some selections from new suits this married duo well. The hooks, how- album Love’s Crushing Diamond. BACKUP PLAN: Diatribe, xHostagex, Your Enemy, ever, are as big and wonderful as ever.

Age of Collapse @ The Che Café.

Friday, Jan. 24 PLAN A: Gloomsday, Chess Wars, Pheasants, Shovel @ Tower Bar. Gloomsday’s Paradise Tossed was one of my favorite San Diego records of 2013, so they get an easy, early recommendation from me in 2014.

They’re sharing the stage with Chess Wars, another rockin’ two-person band, so take notes on how to kick ass without a bass player. PLAN B: Silver Snakes, Griever, Children of God @ The Che Café. More and even heavier riffs are going down at the Che with this trio of California metal bands throwing down with their beefiest guitar chops. BACKUP PLAN: Pure Bathing Culture, La Luz, Flaggs @ Soda Bar.

Monday, Jan. 27 PLAN A: Hit Dog Hollar, Nancarrow, Shane Hall and The Diabolicals @ The Casbah. Every time I see Hit Dog Hollar’s name, my brain tricks me into thinking it says “Hot Dog Collar.” That might be a better name, dudes—think about it. In any case, these guys have some good, sweaty, bluesy rock tunes, which isn’t a bad way to spend a Monday night.

Tuesday, Jan. 28

PLAN A: The Beautiful View, The Midnight Pine, Manuok @ The Casbah. This show promises three bands with three different sounds, all of them some variation Saturday, Jan. 25 of catchy alt-rock. Make sure to be there in PLAN A: Bl’ast!, Final Conflict, Systematic time to see the dreamily folky Midnight Pine.

Abuse, Evacuate @ Brick by Brick. Santa BACKUP PLAN: The Drabs, Crooked RulCruz hardcore band Bl’ast! first made a name ers, Mauru @ Tin Can Ale House.

January 22, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 23

HOT! NEW! FRESH! Lucinda Williams (BUT, 2/24), Madball (Soda Bar, 2/26), Kevin Seconds (HOB, 2/27), Deadphones (Soda Bar, 2/28), Childish Gambino (SOMA, 3/3), Mirah (The Loft, 3/9), Tacocat (Soda Bar, 3/10), Ana Tijoux (Casbah, 3/23), The Appleseed Cast (Casbah, 3/31), William Tyler (Soda Bar, 3/31), Willie Nelson (Humphreys Concerts by the Bay, 4/4), Rob Thomas (Humphreys Concerts by the Bay, 4/6), Mogwai (BUT, 4/15), City and Colour (Humphreys Concerts by the Bay, 4/15), Bonobo (BUT, 4/16), Bombay Bicycle Club (BUT, 4/17), Bryan Ferry (Humphreys Concerts by the Bay, 4/17), Caravan Palace (BUT, 4/19), The Dillinger Escape Plan (Porter’s Pub, 4/26), Loop (Soda Bar, 5/6)

CANCELLED Sound Tribe Sector 9 (HOB, 1/23).

GET YER TICKETS Ab-Soul (Porter’s Pub, 1/31), Oneohtrix Point Never (The Irenic, 2/8), Young The Giant (SOMA, 2/9), Brandon Boyd and Sons of the Sea (HOB, 2/11), Los Lobos (BUT, 2/13), Touche Amore (Epicentre, 2/13), New Politics (HOB, 2/17), Marissa Nadler (Soda Bar, 2/23), The Wailers (BUT, 3/2), Gary Numan (BUT, 3/5), The Ataris (HOB, 3/7), Perfect Pussy (Che Café, 3/18), St. Vincent (HOB, 3/19), G. Love and Special Sauce (HOB, 3/21), Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings (HOB, 3/22), Kings of Leon (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 3/22), Xiu Xiu (Soda Bar,

24 · San Diego CityBeat · January 22, 2014

3/25), Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks (Casbah, 3/29), Cut Copy (HOB, 4/2), Tiger Army (HOB, 4/16), Journey, Steve Miller Band (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 5/15), Lady Gaga (Viejas Arena, 6/2).

January Wednesday, Jan. 22 Mint Condition at Jacobs Center. Dent May at Soda Bar. Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects at The Casbah.

Thursday, Jan. 23 The White Buffalo at Belly Up Tavern.

Kisses at Soda Bar. Sound Tribe Sector 9 at House of Blues.

Friday, Jan. 24 Creedle at The Casbah. Pure Bathing Culture at Soda Bar.

Saturday, Jan. 25 Smile at The Casbah. Wooden Shjips at Soda Bar. Skinny Puppy at House of Blues. Islands at The Griffin. Bl’ast! at Brick by Brick.

Sunday, Jan. 26 Mutual Benefit at Soda Bar. Hot Tuna at Belly Up Tavern.

Wednesday, Jan. 29 OFF! at The Casbah. Reggie and The Full Effect at The Irenic.

Thursday, Jan. 30 The Blasters at Soda Bar. Mayer Hawthorne at House of Blues. Wild Cub at The Loft. The Menzingers at The Che Café.

Friday, Jan. 31 DJ Z-Trip at Belly Up Tavern. MXPX at The Irenic. Frankie Rose at Soda Bar. Rocket From the Crypt at The Casbah.

Ab-Soul at Porter’s Pub.

February Saturday, Feb. 1 Cate LeBon at Soda Bar. Ash at The Casbah. Futurebirds at The Griffin. Guttermouth at Brick by Brick.

Sunday, Feb. 2 Yuck at The Casbah. Japanther at Soda Bar.

Monday, Feb. 3 Into It. Over It. at The Che Café.

Thursday, Feb. 6 Delorean at The Casbah.

Friday, Feb. 7 A Minor Forest at The Casbah. Ramon Alaya at House of Blues.

Saturday, Feb. 8 Ras Kass at Porter’s Pub. Oneohtrix Point Never at The Irenic.

Sunday, Feb. 9 White Denim at The Casbah. Young the Giant at SOMA.

Monday, Feb. 10 Seasick Steve at Belly Up Tavern.

Tuesday, Feb. 11

Brandon Boyd and Sons of the Sea at House Of Blues. Pontiak at Tower Bar.

Wednesday, Feb. 12 Terraplane Sun at Belly Up Tavern. Secret Chiefs 3 at The Casbah.

rCLUBSr

710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave, Pacific Beach. 710bc.com. Wed: Open mic, open jam. Thu: Tori Roze and the Hot Mess, The Outriders. Fri: Scott Floquet (5 p.m.); Del Sol Project, The Wheeland Brothers, Spaceship (9 p.m.). Sat: The Stircrazies, 80 Proof, City Reef. Tue: ‘710 Bass Club’.

98 Bottles, 2400 Kettner Blvd. Ste. 110, Little Italy. 98bottlessd.com. Thu: Timothy Lin Quintet. Fri: Black Mambo. Sat: Gilbert Castellanos. Sun: Steph Johnson.

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

Wed: ‘Brokenbeat’ w/ DJ Walker Holland.

Thu: ‘Organic Thursday’ w/ DJs Bala, Ledher 10, Impera. Fri: DJ Junior the DiscoPunk. Sat: ‘Juicy’ w/ Mike Czech. Sun: ‘Sunday Sonic Chill’ w/ DJ Shermz.

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

Wed: Doug Stanhope. Thu-Sat: Greg Fitzsimmons. Sun: Brandt Tobler. Tue: Open mic.

Bang Bang, 526 Market St, Downtown. facebook.com/BangBangSanDiego. Fri: Mikey Lion vs. Deep Jesus. Sat: Burn Unit, Bones.

Bar Pink, 3829 30th St, North Park. barpink.com. Wed: ‘H.A.M.’ w/ DJ L. Thu: The Krass Bros., Hong Kong Fuzz. Fri: ‘Bonkers!’. Sat: Gone Baby Gone. Mon: ‘Soultry Monday’. Tue: ‘Tiki Tuesday’ w/

Mr. Craig Pryor.

Bassmnt, 919 Fourth Ave, Downtown. bassmntsd.com. Thu: Designer Drugs.

Fri: Rusko. Sat: Marco V. Beaumont’s, 5662 La Jolla Blvd, La Jolla. brocktonvilla.com/beaumonts.html.

Wed: Kayla Hope. Thu: Doug Benson.

Fri: Stratos. Sat: Gonzology. Sun: Joe Cardillo.

Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave, Solana Beach. bellyup.com. Wed: Randy Rogers Band, Wade Bowen. Thu: The White Buffalo, Trouble In the Wind. Fri: Ozomatli, Jungle Fire. Sat: Ozomatli, Peet-O Perez. Sun: Hot Tuna. Mon: Battle of the Chef Bands. Mon: ‘Battle of the Chef Bands’.

Bluefoot Bar & Lounge, 3404 30th St, North Park. bluefootsd.com. Thu: ‘Jerk Alert’ w/ Mike Face. Fri: DJs Julz, J-Time, Akrite, Kev Mighty. Sat: ‘Pleasures Unknown’ w/ DJs C Wizard, Art Vandelay.

Sun: ‘VJ Bang’ w/ VJ JK. Boar Cross’n, 390 Grand Ave, Carlsbad. boarcrossn.net. Thu: Brothers Gow. Fri: ‘Club Musae’. Sat: So Cal Vibes.

Bourbon Street, 4612 Park Blvd, University Heights. bourbonstreetsd.com. Wed & Fri: VJ K-Swift. Sat: ‘Dinner with the Dream Girls’. Sun: ‘Soiree’. Tue: Open mic karaoke.

Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave, Bay Park. brickbybrick.com. Wed: Fred Barchetta. Thu: Sonic Clouds, Shura of BI-2, Electrik Tank. Sat: Bl’ast!, Final Conflict, Systematic Abuse. Sun: The Ground Beneath, Suicide Chords, Blue Suns. Tue: Jake Orvis and the Broken Band, James Hunnicutt, Wicklow Atwater and The Fallen Flame.

Cafe Sevilla, 353 Fifth Ave, Downtown. cafesevilla.com. Thu & Sat: Malamana.

Fri: Joeff and Co. Sun: Aragon y Royal.

Mon: Sounds of Brazil.

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

Tue: San Diego Comedy Festival.

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

Fri-Sat: Cort McCown.

Croce’s Park West, 2760 Fifth Ave. #100, Downtown. croces.com. Wed: Tripp Sprague. Thu: Gilbert Castellanos and The Park West Ensemble. Fri: Sue Palmer. Sat: Gio Trio 1. Sun: Steph Johnson.

Dirk’s Nightclub, 7662 Broadway, Lemon Grove. dirksniteclub.com. Fri: Street Heart. Sat: The Farmers.

Dizzy’s, 4275 Mission Bay Drive, Mission Bay. dizzyssandiego.com. Fri: Mosaic Quartet. Sat: Daniel Jackson.

El Dorado Bar, 1030 Broadway, Down-

town. eldoradobar.com. Wed: ‘The Tighten Up’. Fri: ‘Soul Flexin’. Sat: ‘Boys and Girls’ w/ Sammy Bananas.

Epicentre, 8450 Mira Mesa Blvd, Mira Mesa. epicentreconcerts.org. Fri: The Indys, Radio Active, The Romeo Complex, The End Return, Chemical Asylum.

Sat: Kidd Swag, Vizion Records, Sean the Don, The League, J Dubz, Dirty Gang, X and KD, HGP. F6ix, 526 F St., Downtown, Downtown. f6ixsd.com. Fri: DJ Fingaz. Sat: DJ Dre Sinatra.

Fluxx, 500 Fourth Ave, Downtown. fluxxsd.com. Thu: Ookay. Fri: DJ Brett Bodley.

Sat: Sid Vicious.

Onyx Room / Thin, 852 Fifth Ave, Downtown. onyxroom.com. Fri: ‘Rumba Lounge Black and White Affair’. Sat: ‘Back 2 School’ w/ DJs Rags, Yogui. Tue: Alyesha Wise.

Patricks Gaslamp, 428 F St, Downtown. patricksii.com. Thu: Myron and The Kyniptionz. Fri: WG and The Groove Squad. Sat: Bill Magee Blues Band. Sun: The TnT Band. Mon: The Groove Squad.

Tue: Paddys Chicken Jam. Porter’s Pub, 9500 Gilman Dr., UCSD campus, La Jolla. porterspub.net. Thu: Boondock Brothers, Brothers at Large.

Quality Social, 789 Sixth Ave, Downtown. qualitysocial.com. Thu: Okapi Sun.

Gallagher’s, 5040 Newport Ave, Ocean Beach. 619-222-5303. Thu: Sunny Rude, DJ Reefah, TRC Soundsystem. Fri: Pool Party, DJ Kilbride. Sat: Whitey Morgan and the 78s, Nick Bone and the Big Scene, DJ Chelu.

Queen Bee’s, 3925 Ohio St, North Park. queenbeessd.com. Fri: Rick Felan, Jerome Cooper, The Incentive, Hemingway and The Band, Jeremy Longfellow and The Talent. Tue: Saru Jayaraman. Tue: Open Mic.

Hard Rock Hotel, 207 Fifth Ave, Downtown. hardrockhotelsd.com. Fri: E-40. Sat: ‘Transport’ w/ Loczi, Ayla Simone. Sun: ‘Sunday School’ w/ Sid Vicious, DJ Kurch.

Rich’s, 1051 University Ave, Hillcrest. richssandiego.com. Wed: DJ John Joseph.

Thu: ‘#LEZ’. Fri: DJs Marcel, Will Z. Sat: DJs John Joseph, Nikno. Sun: DJ Kiki.

Henry’s Pub, 618 Fifth Ave, Downtown. henryspub.com. Wed: Johnny Tarr, DJ Christopher London. Thu: Mark Fisher, DJ Yodah. Fri: ‘Good Times’ w/ DJs Rev, Yodah. Sat: DJs E, Yodah. Mon: ‘Kinetic Soul’ w/ DJs Yodah, Joey Jimenez, Johnny Tarr.

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

Thu: Bob Wade. Fri: Mudgrass. Sat: ‘Mods Vs. Rockers’.

House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave, Downtown. houseofblues.com/sandiego. Fri: Forever Came Calling, Heart to Heart, Stickup Kid, My Iron Lung, Family Thief, Moonshine. Sat: Skinny Puppy, DJMREX. Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd, Midtown. kavalounge.com. Wed: ‘Future Wednesday’. Thu: Donovan, Misty, Sunny D, Joe Pea. Fri: Toombao, Season Opener, Sal Negro. Sat: Why-T, William Hansen, James Curry. Sun: ‘The Nothing’. Mon: Elliot Levin.

Kensington Club, 4079 Adams Ave, Kensington. 619-284-2848. Sat: Grand Tarantula, Atom Age, The Kabbs.

Lestat’s Coffee House, 3343 Adams Ave, Normal Heights. lestats.com. Wed: Maxwell Hughes, Tom Fertsch. Thu: Craig of Suede, Edward Herda. Fri: Lafin Absolute du Monde, Sit Kitty Sit, The Jaxie Mosely Experience. Sun: The Robin Henkel Band. Mon: Open mic.

Mc P’s Irish Pub, 1107 Orange Ave, Coronado. mcpspub.com. Wed: Tone Cookin’. Thu: Harmony Road. Fri: Ron’s Garage. Sat: Mystique. Tue: 2 Guys Will Move U. Numbers, 3811 Park Blvd, Hillcrest. numberssd.com. Thu: ‘Varsity’. Fri: ‘Viernes Calientes’. Sat: ‘Club Sabbat’. Sun: ‘Joe’s Gamenite’. Tue: Karaoke Latino.

Seven Grand, 3054 University Ave, North Park. sevengrandbars.com/sd. Thu: Kelly McFarling, River City. Fri: Soul Ablaze.

Sat: Euphoria Brass Band. Tue: DJ JoeMama.

Shakedown Bar, 3048 Midway Drive, Point Loma. theshakedownsd.com. Fri: Sickstring Outlaws, Morgan Leigh Band, Jessica Lerner and the Country Rockin’ Rebels. Sat: Great Electric Quest, Spades and Blades, Dan Himes.

Side Bar, 536 Market St, Downtown. sidebarsd.com. Fri: DJ Craig Smoove.

Sat: DJ Slowhand.

Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd, City Heights. sodabarmusic.com. Wed: Dent May, Chris Cohen, Jeans Wilder. Thu: Kisses, Jeffrey Jerusalem, Western Scene.

Fri: Pure Bathing Culture, La Luz, Flaggs.

Sat: Wooden Shjips, Carlton Melton, Tar Halos. Sun: Mutual Benefit, Jeans Wilder, Diatribes. Mon: Chill Clinton, The Jergers, Seeking Alpha, Wistappear. Tue: The Lonely Wild, The Whiskey Circle, Adams and Eves.

SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd, Midway. somasandiego.com. Fri: The Frights, Pilgrims, Buddha Trixie, High Noon, The Gravities, They Feed at Night.

Spin, 2028 Hancock St, Midtown. spinnightclub.com. Sat: Over Drive. Sun: ‘Reggae Sunday’.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

January 22, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 25

Stage Bar & Grill, 762 Fifth Ave, Downtown. stagesaloon.com. Wed: Mark Fisher and Gaslamp Guitars. Thu: Van Roth. Fri: Disco Pimps, Redmond Band.

Sat: Hott Mess, Snowdog (7:20 p.m.); DJ Miss Dust (10:30 p.m.). Sun: ‘Funhouse/ Seismic’. Mon: Liberation Posse (8 p.m.); ‘Fettish Monday’ (10 p.m.). Tue: Vincent and Marin.

The Brass Rail, 3796 Fifth Ave, Hillcrest. thebrassrailsd.com. Thu: ‘Boyz Club’. Fri: ‘Brown Sugar’. Sat: ‘Sabado en Fuego’ w/ DJs XP, KA. Sun: ‘Noche Romantica’ w/ Daisy Salinas. Mon: ‘Manic Monday’ w/ DJs XP, Junior the Discopunk.

The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd, Midtown. casbahmusic.com. Wed: Mr. Tube and The Flying Objects, Bartenders Bible, Ilya. Thu: Sprung Monkey, The Gods of Science. Fri: Creedle, Fluf, Chune, Nothingful (sold out). Sat: Smile, Uncle Joe’s Big Ol’ Driver, Well Strung to Hang, Saint Shameless. Sun: Gary Heffern and Friends, Black Tango, Robert Turman, Social Spit (2 p.m.); Old Man Markley, Lexington Field, Rusty Maples (9 p. Mon: Hit Dog Hollar, Nancarrow, Shane Hall and the Diabolicals. Tue: The Beautiful View, The Midnight Pine, Manuok.

The Che Cafe, UCSD campus, La Jolla. thechecafe.blogspot.com. Wed: CJ Boyd, Nothingful, Secret Fun Club, Big Bad Buffalo. Thu: Requiem For the Rockets, Balms, Huh Uh, Leins. Fri: Silver Snakes, Griever, Children of God. Sat: ‘Slow Death 2014’ w/ Steps Spiral Downward, California Bleeding, Xavier Ramirez, Isolde Touch, China Town, Aquapuke, Looming, Ac. Sun: Diatribe, xHostagex, Your Enemy, Age of Collapse.

The Griffin, 1310 Morena Blvd, Bay Park. thegriffinsd.com. Sat: Islands, Haunted Summer, Stewardess.

26 · San Diego CityBeat · January 22, 2014

The Loft @ UCSD, Price Center East, La Jolla. theloft.ucsd.edu. Thu: Miles K and Jesse Elias. Tue: Mary Lambert, Samuel Lin. The Merrow, 1271 University Ave, Hillcrest. rubyroomsd.com. Wed: Open mic. Thu: Lisa Sanders, Lovebirds, Sierra West, Donna Larsen. Fri: Spiral Out, Smack This, The Grind. Sat: ‘SD Union’ w/ Nymfo.

The Office, 3936 30th St, North Park. officebarinc.com. Wed: ‘Tones’. Thu: Send Carrie Anne to Romania Fundraiser. Thu: Prayers, Chrome Wilderness, DJ Mike Delgado. Fri: DJs Adam Salter, Kid Wonder. Sat: DJs EdRoc, Huge Euge. Sun: ‘Uptown Top Ranking’ w/ Tribe Of Kings.

Mon: ‘Dub Dynamite’ w/ DJs Rashi, Eddie Turbo. Tue: ‘Trapped In the Office’ w/ DJ Ramsey.

Til-Two Club, 4746 El Cajon Blvd, City Heights. tiltwoclub.com. Wed: Hard Fall Hearts, The Sewer Rats, The Blackjackits.

Thu: Red City Radio, Elway, Direct Hit, Caskitt. Fri: Ultra Bide, Behind the Wagon, The Steinbacks, Man Vs Man. Sat: ‘Sleepwalking’. Sun: Open mic comedy.

Mon: Karaoke. Tue: Stand-up comedy.

Tin Can Ale House, 1863 Fifth Ave, Bankers Hill. thetincan1.wordpress. com. Wed: Paul Wolfe, Hieronymous Bogs, Laura Gravelle. Thu: Marqay, Light Thieves, Landis. Fri: Privet, Split Screens, Second Cousins. Sat: Grampadrew, 16 Sparrows, Fast Heart Mart. Mon: ‘Tin Can Country Club’. Tue: The Drabs, Crooked Rulers, Mauru.

Tio Leo’s, 5302 Napa St, Bay Park. tioleos.com. Wed: Kandu karaoke. Thu: Bill Magee. Fri: Bayou Bros. Sat: Full Strength Funk Band. Tue: Theo and Zydeco Patrol.

Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave, City Heights. thetowerbar.com. Wed: Cosmonauts, Tomorrow’s Tulips, Amerikan Bear, The Cardielles. Thu: Heartless Breakers, Aim for the Engine, Ash Williams. Fri: Gloomsday, Pheasants, Chess Wars, Shovel. Sat: Bankers Hill, The Lucky Eejits, Shinjoku Riot. Tue: Castoff, Absent Minds, The Nieces, Iamdustinblackwell.

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

Wed: Tomcat Courtney (7 p.m.). Thu: Talia (4 p.m.); The Jade Visions Jazz Trio (7 p.m.). Fri: Tomcat Courtney (5 p.m.); Afro Jazziacs (9 p.m.). Sat: Zak Lipton Trio (4 p.m.); Tomcat Courtney (7 p.m.); Santana Pa Ti (9 p.m.). Sun: Sounds Like Four (4 p.m.); Middle Earth (8 p.m.). Mon: David Hermsen (4 p.m.); Stefanie Schmitz (7 p.m.). Tue: Stefanie Schmitz (4 p.m.); Grupo Globo (7 p.m.).

Ux31, 3112 University Ave, North Park. u31bar.com. Thu: ‘Nyctophilia’ w/ Jimbo James, Blancnoire, Damn Jvlz, Mike Lepiere.

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

Wed: DJ Este. Thu: DJ Qenoe. Fri: DJ Elliot Thomas. Sat: Mr. Deejay. Tue: DJ Mike Delgado.

Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St, South Park. whistlestopbar.com. Fri: Young Creatures, Brothers Weiss. Sat: ‘Booty Bassment’ w/ DJs Dimitri, Rob. Winstons, 1921 Bacon St, Ocean Beach. winstonsob.com. Wed: ‘Club Kingston’ w/ Revival, DJ Carlos Culture. Thu: Alley Cat Street. Fri: Zion I, SOL, Carlo, Parker and the Numberman. Sat: The Devastators, Kush. Mon: Electric Waste Band.

Tue: Meeting of the Meyends.

Proud sponsor: Pacific Nature Tours

Ink Well Xwords by Ben Tausig

Across 1. Hairy sitcom cousin 4. Ammunition for a certain gun 10. Yahoo celebrity gossip page 13. Three-time NHL MVP Bobby 14. Scrap 15. Mario Kart console 16. MRS. HAtty-Cyphert you will amaze at your w*ste line goes invisible with these rev/olutionary ___ 19. Cute Mexican salamander (get on this, Buzzfeed) 20. “Slaves of New York” author Janowitz 21. Dole out 23. Frustrated outburst 26. Ern a ___!! Finally PhD in under 2 weeks at RealHarvardUniversity.edu.ru 32. Source of lake-effect snow in Cleveland 33. Barack’s Education Secretary 34. Comment from Rex 36. Response to a polar vortex 37. Feature of this puzzle, and where the theme clues ought to have ended up 40. Morning ___ 41. “2010: Odyssey Two” computer 42. Powder at the barber 43. Hard-boiled genre 44. Good day sir, I am Joseph Komalo, son of a ___. I wish to transfer 1,594,976 ZAR ($14.9. million USD) direct to you account 49. Place for lions or opium 50. Intel gathering 51. Jan. or Feb. 55. “Word” 59. Bonjour cockzilla, want to ___? Woman scream at this more than luxury present

Last week’s answers

63. Philosophical interest for John Cage 64. Humiliating way to be put 65. Terse explanation, tersely 66. Big lunk 67. Anesthetic gas 68. Portland’s st.

Down 1. Site of Howard Dean’s infamous scream 2. “Bang a Gong (Get It On)” band 3. Yo La Tengo, for one 4. Stop all one’s running around 5. Relate, as a story 6. Letters for enlistees’ letters 7. “This movie’s boring, let’s go” 8. Girl who’s been 8 since 1987 9. Ariel Sharon, e.g., casually 10. Mouse hunter 11. Employer of 12-Down, for short 12. Future vets 14. Indian wild dog 17. Windshield problem 18. Evil “Aladdin” bird 22. Mine transport 24. Seattle’s third-largest company 25. Valiant 26. Eugene who helped start the Industrial Workers of the World 27. One may be run during lunch 28. Sexist address 29. Poetic sphere 30. L-P content?

31. Spell 35. Erotic play opening?

37. Chateau ___ Michelle 38. Course average?

39. His last fight was a loss to Trevor Berbick 43. Closing time at the park?

45. Work, as a bone 46. Either retailing partner of Herbert Marcus 47. Minecraft, e.g.

48. “Monday Night Football” exec Arledge 52. Collection of bits 53. Expel 54. Invite sloppiness, perhaps 56. “Ice Loves ___” 57. Number before : 58. Hatchet cousin 59. Wu-Tang member known as “The Genius” 60. Benching unit 61. Bono’s NGO 62. Letters above 0-0-0, before a baseball game begins

A pair of tickets for a 4.5 or 8 hour Pacific Nature Tour will be awarded weekly. Email a picture of your answers to crossword@sdcitybeat.com or fax it to 619-325-1393. Limit one win per person per 30 days.

January 22, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 27

28 · San Diego CityBeat · January 22, 2014

January 22, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 29

30 · San Diego CityBeat · January 22, 2014

January 22, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 31