San Diego CityBeat • Jan 29, 2014

The Body Poets are changing the face of breakdancing

by Kinsee Morlan • P.16

Kim P.5 Newtown P.11 Gloria P.19 Le Bon P.21

2 · San Diego CityBeat · January 29, 2014

January 29, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 3

Azano is a symptom If you pay close attention to local news, you know all about Susumo Azano, the Mexican businessman with the getaway home in Coronado who’s alleged to have illegally funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars into the campaigns of two 2012 candidates for mayor of San Diego and one local candidate for Congress. People who are not U.S. citizens or greencard holders aren’t allowed to donate to campaigns in this country.

Azano hasn’t been arrested, but three other players have: Lobbyist Marco Polo Cortes, privatesecurity contractor and former San Diego Police Detective Ernesto Encinas and election-social-media purveyor Ravneet Singh allegedly helped Azano route his money into the elections and hide its true origins. Voice of San Diego (voiceofsandiego.org) has an excellent explainer on how federal authorities believe the scheme went down.

The case is intriguing on a micro level, certainly: To what lengths was a group of people willing to go in order to curry favor with possible office holders? What did they want? What did the candidates themselves know, and when did they know it? Who else was involved? Local reporters are busy peeling back that onion. But let’s not forget to look at the case in a broader context.

The most a person can legally donate directly to a mayoral candidate or a committee controlled by a candidate in San Diego during one election cycle is $1,000. The limit for a congressional campaign is $2,600. But people can get around that by creating or contributing to so-called independent-expenditure committees, also known as super PACs, which work to get a specific candidate elected by buying TV advertising or sending out mailers, but must do so independently of the candidate’s official campaign.

There’s no law against someone telling a candidate how much money he or she donated to a super PAC, which means a winning candidate can know exactly how important a donor was to her or his success.

As CityBeat reported nearly two years ago, Azano created a super PAC to benefit District Attorney and candidate for mayor Bonnie Dumanis and, through a shell company, gave it $100,000. Azano also sent $30,000 through the Democratic Party to benefit a congressional candidate believed to be now-U.S. Rep. Juan Vargas. He also allegedly spent

more than $400,000 to help get Bob Filner elected mayor, and we know, via stories in Voice of San Diego and U-T San Diego, that Azano met with both Dumanis and Filner. He also tried to invest in a candidate, likely Nathan Fletcher, in the 2013 special election. We’re learning things about what Azano, Encinas and Cortes were trying to get for Azano’s money—the ouster of Police Chief Bill Lansdowne and help with permits and alcohol licenses for Downtown nightclubs.

So, we have a wealthy businessman, Azano, spending massive amounts of money to influence elections and meeting privately with candidates to discuss issues that are important to him. We also know that Azano’s associates met with Filner after he was elected. And we have Dumanis failing to investigate Azano, a generous supporter, even after CityBeat raised questions about his super PAC. And guess what: The only legal problem in all of this is that Azano happens not to be a U.S. citizen or green-card holder. If he were American, no one would be talking about this, because no one would be charged with a crime, because it would all be legal.

It shouldn’t be. The Azano case is a symptom of a broken system. A wealthy man who wants to grease the wheels of government so that he can become even wealthier shouldn’t be able to exert such a disproportionate level of influence on a local election— or any election.

The problem is that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that regulating super PACS is unconstitutional, because, in the court’s view, money equals speech. That’s why we need to change the U.S. Constitution to give Congress, the states and local governments the power to enact meaningful campaign-finance regulation. If money equals speech, then those with more money get a louder microphone, and that’s not fair.

Plenty of people say that you’ll never get big money out of politics and that the only thing we can reasonably do is require full public disclosure— in easily searchable and sortable online form—of who’s giving to whom. They may ultimately be right, but we should never stop trying.

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

If this issue of CityBeat is brought to you by people who said on Monday, “Oh no! Pete Seeger died! Wait, Pete Seeger was still alive?” RIP, Pete.

Volume 12 • Issue 25 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 Patrick Samokhvalof

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, Ben Salmon, 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

MultiMedia Advertising Director Paulina Porter-Tapia

Publisher Kevin Hellman

Senior account executive Jason Noble Account Executive Beau Odom

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

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San Diego CityBeat is published and distributed every Wednesday by Southland Publishing Inc., free of charge but limited to one per reader. Reproduction of any material in this or any other issue is prohibited without written permission from the publisher and the author. Contents copyright 2014.

4 · San Diego CityBeat · January 29, 2014

David Rolland

The do-gooder Meet Carol Kim, candidate for San Diego City Council

by David Rolland Carol Kim believes she’s the first Korean-American to run for elected office in San Diego County, and, to a large extent, she owes the opportunity—along with at least some of her guiding philosophy—to her father.

Kim’s parents immigrated to the United States from South Korea in the mid-1970s, after her dad, the son of a low-income single mother from a small fishing village, graduated from college with a degree in chemical engineering and was offered a job in the Midwest. When he and his new bride arrived in Los Angeles with $350 to their names, he learned the job had fallen through. Kim’s mother, who came from a comfortable middle-class family, had been a supervising nurse in Korea, but her license didn’t translate to her new country. Suddenly, they were stuck in L.A. with no prospects.

Kim’s dad started his new life in the U.S. as a day laborer, her mom on the lowest rung at a nursing home. But, in her off time, Kim’s mother made baby pillows and blankets using remnants from a fabric store, which they’d sell at a swap meet. That eventually led to their own clothing retail store, which led to a clothing-manufacturing business and a comfortable life for Kim and her three younger siblings.

Kim graduated from UCLA with an English degree, later earning a master’s in education, and went on to a career in teaching and social services.

“My father, I think because of his origins, his particular life story, he has always been very motivated by trying to give back and do good,” she says. “When we were children, he would tell us, ‘We work hard so that we can help others; you’re successful so that you can help others.’

“I say that he’s my moral compass,” she adds.

The next way Kim, who’s 37, hopes to do good is by representing District 6 on the San Diego City Council. In

Carol Kim, with daughter Kate and son Rowan

pected to get a teaching job, but with the economy in the tank, the school districts weren’t hiring. She ended up loving the work with the AIDS Council, though. Starting as a trainer, she was promoted to prevention-projects manager, overseeing grant-funded programs that targeted high-risk populations—particularly active and recovering drug users, but also communities of color, the LGBT community, high-risk adolescents and foster children.

That was the second career she wasn’t excited to see end.

The first had been as a teacher in Los Angeles at an inner-city elementary school in a high-poverty neighborhood. She’d gotten that job right out of college on an emergency teaching credential, a 22-year-old handed a third-grade class populated by troubled kids that was assembled, she says, with an experienced male teacher in mind. Still, she loved that first year and stayed for three more before having to move to New York.

Kim had long paid attention to national politics, and, in 2012, she packed up her kids—Rowan and Kate, now 4—and headed over to the local Organizing for America headquarters to volunteer in President Obama’s reelection campaign.

She was enlisted for phone-bank duty and so impressed organizers after her first day, they asked her if she wanted a higher role. She offered to help train new volunteers.

“That was kind of the beauty of that particular campaign,” Kim says. “You’d walk in and you’d say, ‘I want to do this,’ and they’d say, ‘Alright, here,’ and they would let you do it.”

After Obama won, Kim, having caught the activism bug, was among a core group of volunteers that would continue to meet and work on community-service projects together. After Organizing for America became the issues-focused Organizing for Action, Kim got a call to help work on matters such as gun-violence prevention, comprehensive immigration reform and environmental issues. She pulled her now-campaign manager, Kathy Stadler, from that experience.

Last year, a friend mentioned that there were no Democrats in the District 6 race. Kim researched the candidates and “started to feel some real qualms.” Another friend suggested she run. Kim dismissed the notion at first but began to worry that no Democrat would run, “so I decided to throw my hat into the ring and see what happened.” That was last April. She won her party’s endorsement in September.

“I’m kind of excited to be able to say that there’s a pathway to these positions for people who are not from the [political] system,” Kim says, “not part of that particular insular group to start with.”

As she’s talked to District 6 residents, she’s learned that they’re angry about potholes, traffic and wayward shopping carts. More importantly, they’re feeling disconnected from local government.

One idea she’d like to steal from San Francisco is participatory budgeting—creating a pocket of money that could be divvied up for district projects based on a democratic vote of district residents, who could be as young as 16. “It’s entirely community-driven,” she says.

She’d also like to help small businesses and entrepreneurs by staffing her office with a small-business liaison to connect people with the resources they need to get started, or help get immigrants over language barriers. Kim wants to help expand after-school programs, too. “Of course, that costs money, but, again, it’s a matter of deciding where our priorities are.”

If elected, Kim says she’d call on her experience in working collaboratively. “All of that stuff is about trust and relationships and being honest and having people realizing that you’re not there to undermine them, but to help build them up,” she says. “I hear that it may be a little idealistic, but I think, at heart, people are people, and that’s what’s important.

“I have a worldview,” she adds. “It’s that I believe we all do better when we work together; I think that we’re all connected. I think that when the least of us do well, the rest of us do really well. I think that we need to… focus on providing services to families and folks and individuals and make things a little bit less hard, if we can.”

June, she’ll be on the ballot for an open seat, which is being vacated because the current representative, Lorie Zapf, is running for the open District 2 seat—when San Diego was redistricted after the 2010 census, Zapf’s residence ended up in District 2. District 6 covers Rancho Penasquitos, Mira Mesa, Miramar, Kearny Mesa and Clairemont Mesa. The district’s voters are fairly evenly divided among Democrats (33.6 percent), Republicans (31.7 percent) and those who decline to state a party affiliation (29.5 percent). Kim’s a Democrat whose most formidable opponent will be Republican Chris Cate, vice president of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association.

This year, the four even-numbered City Council seats are up for election. Zapf, a Republican, will face Democrat Sarah Boot in District 2. Myrtle Cole is up for reelection in District 4. If he wins the mayor’s race, David Alvarez’s District 8 seat will be open; if he loses, he’ll run for reelection.

For her part, Kim thinks it’s important for the council to benefit from the working-mother perspective.

It’s interesting, then, that Kim figured she’d be a stay-athome mom when she relocated to San Diego from upstate New York in 2006 with her husband, who’d been hired by a software company here. The couple’s son, Rowan, now 8, was just a baby then. But housework just didn’t suit her.

“It was actually my mother-in-law,” Kim says. “Se told me I was more useful outside the home than in it and encouraged me to look for work. She meant well. She was trying to be helpful, and she was.”

So, Kim hooked on with WestEd, an education-focused nonprofit. She works in the company’s health-and-humandevelopment program, evaluating grant-funded projects and writing grants for school districts to fund services like school safety, health, violence prevention and drug and alcohol awareness.

Kim had moved from Orange County to New York in 2002 to be with her husband, then a graduate student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. While there, Kim worked for the AIDS Council of Northeastern New York. She’d ex- Write to davidr@sdcitybeat.com.

January 29, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 5

spin cycle

john r.

lamb ‘Miami West’ or busted “Miami Beach is where neon goes to die.”

—Lenny Bruce If you’ve been in San Diego long enough—say, 15 minutes—you’ve likely heard that the eighth-largest city in the country has a bit of an identity crisis. Our civic leaders boldly pronounce this little corner of the world “America’s Finest City,” cleverly using an adjective that can mean anything to anybody. Oh sure, San Diego’s tried on a few other slogans—“City in Motion” and “Silicon Beach” come to mind—to no avail.

But if we’re believing what an assistant U.S. Attorney said in federal court last week, a certain Coronado resident with big dreams and an even bigger bank account seemed to pull back the curtain again on San Diego’s Achilles heel: Who the hell are we?

As San Diego’s latest political scandal continues to unfurl like a deep-fried onion blossom, it seems clear that the city’s insecurities about itself were viewed as the means to an end, that San Diego can be something else, maybe a celebrity playground with waterfronts walled off by egregiously expensive condominium towers and glitzy hotels bathed in neon colors.

How else to describe the alleged vision of Mexican business tycoon José Susumo Azano Matsura? From his swinging bayfront pad in the Coronado Cays, perhaps he felt his distant view of the San Diego skyline was a little too dated, a bit too boring for his well-appointed tastes.

Whatever his motivation— power, ego, money laundering, maybe the ladies—it’s clear that the gentleman at the center of our

6 · San Diego CityBeat · January 29, 2014

latest campaign-finance drama has his head planted far up his ass.

“What it does say is, he doesn’t really understand the city, that he was probably just looking at the water and not the land,” said Mike Stepner, the former city architect (yes, kids, we used to have one) who now teaches at the NewSchool of Architecture + Design in East Village. “It just isn’t the same kind of waterfront as Miami. And I think lining it with huge high-rises is probably not the best solution for us.”

In fact, we can thank the recession for at least one thing, Stepner told Spin Cycle. “It’s held up a lot of these overblown proposals that would have changed the character of San Diego,” he said.

“We keep talking about trying to connect the waterfront to the uplands, and that becomes less likely every time we cut off a view corridor or a street to build walls.”

When the twin-towered Harbor Club condo project rose up across the street from the San Diego Convention Center in the early 1990s, its developer envisioned San Diego becoming a Honolulu

John R. Lamb

first U.S. city to adopt so-called “form-based” zoning codes, intended to improve the relationship between developments and their surroundings.

In 2011, the American Planning Association awarded Miami its National Planning Excellence Award for Best Practice. “At the heart of this ambitious, innovative and comprehensive overhaul of Miami’s zoning code is a desire to improve the long-term quality of life and city livability for Miami today and tomorrow,” the association said in a statement.

That, perhaps, gets to the heart of the matter.

Bob Filner welcomes you to Miami West!

Most developers don’t or Waikiki Beach East. Of course, like form-based zoning because those condos sat unsold for years, it requires them to look beyond and San Diegans’ palate for poi their own property lines. “That’s what we’re all supposed to be has not risen significantly.

Even the notion—as best that doing,” Stepner said, adding that Spin can figure from the scandal he constantly preaches that to stories to date—that former May- his students.

But the comparisons with Mior Bob Filner would buy into this gentleman’s vision of San Diego as ami should stop, he argued.

“It’s a different climate,” he “Miami West” seems far-fetched, unless the only vision Filner had said. “We’re not going to get that was screwing his arch-nemesis, kind of density here. The market developer and publisher Doug isn’t the same. The culture isn’t Manchester, out of his leasehold the same. We even attract a diffor the Navy Broadway Complex. ferent kind of tourist. The ’Zonies The problem with that, as come here in the summer, and Stepner pointed out, is that Man- they want to live near the beach— chester’s agreement is with the Mission Beach or Pacific Beach.

U.S. Navy, so it’s uncertain how People who go to Miami Beach Filner allegedly planned to scut- from further north during the tle that deal. And let’s not forget winter like to stay in luxury conthat Manchester is a notorious dos or hotels.”

Finally, if the moneyed types litigant, which, in part, might explain why the Navy hooked up in San Diego really want us to become Miami West, consider what with him in the first place.

Azano, according to court fil- Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist ings, seemed interested in land- Dave Barry had to say about his ing a mayor who’d do his bidding adopted home of Miami in a PBS for this dream. District Attorney interview last year. “… I mean, first of all, the peoBonnie Dumanis, whose 2012 quest for the mayor’s seat failed ple are weird,” he said. “People miserably, is feverishly trying to come from everywhere. People— distance herself from the per- just weird people are attracted ception of influence peddling in to Miami. And they come there which she seems ensnared, al- not for serious reasons, usually. though she’d prefer that you view They come there to be crimiher—the county’s top prosecutor, nals. That would be our elected no less—as a victim of dastardly officials, for the most part. They come there to party. And then money-givers.

Where San Diego might be the wildlife is weird. The weathrivaling Miami is in the political- er is weird. It’s just this festering skullduggery department. But even stew of weirdness.”

So, other than a lack of humidthat might be a tall order, if you’re ity, alligators and giant invasive familiar with Miami politics.

“We certainly run into issues snakes, what’s there to complain of powerful developers having about, San Diego? As this scandal essentially unchecked power,” shows, we can do “weird” with said Matt Lambert, a Miami- the best of ’em! based urban planner. Miami, known in the past for its hodge- Write to johnl@sdcitybeat.com podge zoning laws, became the and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

aaryn

backwards & in high heels

belfer Small talks, huge moments “Mama, can I ask you a question?” My 8-year-old more rugged terrain than most people’s. This is not was in the back seat of the car, and I was spun to say I deserve an award, but rather to highlight around in the passenger seat, looking into her eyes. that parents with children born to them don’t have Her face and body language were totally open. to answer certain difficult and, at times, unanswerMy husband had gone into a convenience store able questions whose answers beget more questions to pay for gas, an act that’s been a small point of that beget more answers that beget more questions contention in our 16-year relationship. Convinced that tend to be triggering. “Why did she let me go?” that analog is the wave of the future, Sam rejects the is not a one-off. modern convenience of paying at the pump, making Of course, there’s a threshold for any such conthe process of filling the tank five times longer than versation, and because my kid alternately changes it needs to be. the subject when she’s happy, or goes dark when On this day, though, I was happy for the extra she’s hurting, it can be really tough knowing whethtime, and not just because of Xanax. In those exer any of the pebbles (or my grand mal lectures) are tended minutes, my child had presented me with an going in. Word to Ruby’s future life partner: The girl elusive opening, and just before her inquiry, she and isn’t likely to be the we-need-to-talk kind of probI had been talking about her birth mother. lem solver, so much as the I-need-to-be-alone kind.

The conversation was short, but it was deep and— She may actually be the stomp-down-the-hall-andmost notably—initiated by her, a most infrequent ocslam-the-door kind, but we won’t know that until currence. So, when she asked this particular questhe teen years. I’ll get back to you. tion in the middle of our chat, my inner dialogue was So, I just do my best. I listen and talk, sometimes this: Grrrrrr. Because 98 percent of the time, this line getting it right, sometimes not. Mostly, I try to pay of inquiry is usually a diversionary tactic, and I was attention and be patient. And that’s what I was dopretty confident—given the topic of the moment— ing there in the car with Ruby waiting to ask her that this was a diversionary tactic. I anticipated it question, me waiting to hear it. would go something like this: “Do all dogs do the “Of course, my love,” I said. “You may ask me butt scoot across grass?” anything, anytime, ever.”

Inquiring minds want to know.

“How old were you when you She used the Also, self-preservation can take got hair on your vagina?” many forms. Since my goal as a mothShe wasn’t self-conscious or appropriate er is to build connection with my embarrassed or skeeved-out. She terminology and was child, I braced myself for the coming used the appropriate terminology detour and plowed ahead with the and was as relaxed as if we were as relaxed as if we same response I always give. talking about dog-butt-scooting. were talking about “Of course, my love. You may She came to me, just like I’ve ask me anything, anytime, ever.” taught her. Mostly, she was just dog-butt-scooting.

I meant this as I said it and hoped open and comfortable, moving for any kind of question that would with command from one really big let me know that, yes, she trusts me; she knows we topic to another. are in this together, and that I have her back. Throw My internal dialogue was this: Ohmygod. me a sign, child! I thought to myself, knowing this But since my goal as a mother is to build conkind of validation is excruciatingly rare. nection with my child, I didn’t flinch or make a big As parents everywhere know, communication deal, even though my heart was bursting with the with a child about any topic is a tricky proposition. trumpets and fireworks that come during a ParentTheir attention spans are shorter than Prince withing Victory Celebration. Instead, I calmly talked to out his heels, and most of what we adults want to my child. impart takes longer to convey and is drier than Jim “I don’t know exactly—11 or 12, I think. Why do you ask?”

Lehrer’s voice. Just try reminiscing about the glory of “Because my friend [Polly] has hairs and she’s The Go-Go’s as your third grader sings “Vacation.” only nine. When will I get them?”

This leaves us in the tight-ropey position—espeAnd so we had a short, honest conversation about cially when trying to tackle bigger issues—of havgrowing up and the coming changes and how she ing to recognize opportunities to impart wisdom, still has a little time, but that it’s coming and I’ll help and then giving our best age-appropriate elevator her learn along the way. It was a conversation I never pitch before Look, mama! The moon is following us! had with my mother but which completely underAuthor and noted child-attachment expert Holly scores the kind of mother I strive to be.

Van Gulden calls this “dropping pebbles”—giving For all of the moments I’ve second-guessed myself, little tidbits of information that go in and make ripand for all the times failure has felt so devastating and ples—and it turns out to be far more effective than permanent, this moment at the gas station, in the car, the yammer-on-long-after-the-child-has-left-thejust felt like a win. Like a really, really big win. room approach practiced in the past by yours truly.

I would go one step further to say that, as the Write to aaryn@sdcitybeat.com white parent of an adopted black child, my Bigger and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

Issues territory has somewhat greater acreage and

January 29, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 7

by michael a. gardiner Michael A. Gardiner

degrees) stone bowl. The genius of dolsot bibimbap lies in texture. The surface of the stone bowl crisps the bottom layer of the glutinous rice creating a wonderful textural contrast.

At East Village Asian Diner (406 University Ave., eateastvillage.com), the monk’s stone pot is—in name and reality—an Americanized version of dolsot bibimbap. Each monk’s stone pot comes with white or brown rice topped with spinach, fresh julienned zucchini, pickled bamboo shoots and julienned carrots, mushrooms, marinated beansprouts and an over-easy egg, garnished with chopped green onions and a gochujanglike “monk sauce.” You pick your topping from the classic beef bulgogi and kimchi, tofu, pulled pork, chicken, shrimp or salmon. The beef (“Mongolian monk’s) and tofu (“Shaolin monk’s) are excellent.

The bowl announces itself with a A Mongolian monk’s stone pot seething sizzle. Tempting as it may be to dig right in, it’s better to wait, allowing that crispy layer to form at the bottom. When you’ve waited as long as you will, mix the ingredients, pop the egg yolk and enjoy a riotous array of fresh vegetables, protein and rice. The monk sauce (which is billed as house-made) and a ponzu-like “EV Soba” sauce (in tabletop squeeze bottles) proKorean fusion and robots vide hints of heat and acid. But it’s the textural contrasts that are the true pleasure of the dish: At East Village Asian Diner in Hillcrest, it’s all Crispy, smoky charred rice parties in your mouth about the monk’s stone pot—and the robot design with the supple, soft stuff in the middle. theme. I can get my head around the former, a East Village Asian also offers noodle dishes, slightly westernized take on Korean dolsot bibimsalads, burritos and “snacks.” Perhaps the best of bap, but what’s with the robots? Is it just that the latter is the kimchi-chive street-cart pancakes “bibimbap” is a word a robot might utter? made from ground mung-bean powder. Served Bibimbap translates from Korean as “mixed with an acidic dipping sauce that tasted like the rice.” It generally doesn’t arrive at the table EV Soba sauce with a bit of the monk sauce and mixed, though, but rather as a thick layer of rice chopped chives, it’s an excellent starter for two. capped with neat, segregated sections of toppings East Village Asian’s version of dolsot bibimranging from seasoned, steamed vegetables such bap may not be authentic (try Grandma’s Tofu on as carrots and zucchini, light daikon pickles and Convoy Street), but that may not be an altogether kimchi or bulgogi (thinly sliced beef marinated bad thing. Freed from the conventions that come in sweet soy and garlic and quickly grilled). The with the name and the “Korean restaurant” idendish is often garnished with egg and topped with tity, East Village Asian can offer nontraditional gochujang (Korean chile-pepper paste). Like bulrice and toppings and broader menu choices. gogi, bibimbap was listed as one of the world’s 50 But what is with those robots? best foods in a 2011 CNN Reader’s Poll.

Write to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com Dolsot bibimbap is a variation on bibimbap in and editor@sdcitybeat.com. which the dish is served in a superheated (300

the world

fare

8 · San Diego CityBeat · January 29, 2014

by ian cheesman

beer &

chees

Bacon burgers and beer or bust I remember when I first heard about Slater’s 50/50. It was at a time when the Internet was riding the bacon hype-train as only the Internet can. Gone were the days of relegating the cured meat to the periphery of the breakfast plate; bacon was now positioned as both the filler and crust of choice in all culinary walks of life. It made the notion of a hamburger patty that was 50-percent bacon by volume seem more inevitable than revolutionary. It would likely be delicious, as well, but still inevitable. I was positive that Slater’s 50/50 was just a passing fad, as sure as Apple’s imminent demise and America’s enduring embrace of Mel Gibson.

Smash-cut to present, these purveyors of a meat orgy betwixt brioche buns continue to thrive (with plans to add a location in San Marcos in late spring), and I’ve retained my crown as the world’s shittiest futurist. Still, despite my naysaying, they kindly invited me to their Liberty Station location (2750 Dewey Road, Suite 193, in Point Loma, slaters5050.com).

I made my way past the reception desk and headed into the bar. Or rather, I tried to, but

there was a massive, shimmering burger statue in my way. It occurred to me that while many eateries may tout their passion for burgers, Slater’s 50/50 was willing to flout the Second Commandment to drive the point home. I appreciate that kind of gusto.

Side-stepping the gilded burger god, I came upon the altar that mattered most to me: a bar boasting about 100 beer taps. Even across the room, I could see it was awash with options from Avery, Stone, Bear Republic and Hess, illustrating a strong gravity to craft brew from all over creation. Closer inspection revealed a comprehensive selection of styles with solid representatives within each. To me, there are few sweeter feelings than staring at a tap list and feeling honestly conflicted over what I want.

Having an absurd number of taps is a good indicator of how serious Slater’s 50/50 is about its beer, but it’s not the only one. All staff who deal with the taps are Cicerone-certified beer servers, assuring some fluency in beer styles and quality control. They’ve even been certified for delivering the “perfect pint” of Guinness, an elaborate pour specifying the angle of delivery, the optimal settling time, etc. Even if it’s just marketing gloss, I appreciate any bar giving a beer ritual due consideration.

The burgers are a wonderland unto themselves, more varied and grandiose than I expected. Combine that with the catalog of taps and you’ve got yourself a food-pairing playground. ian cheesman For example, the Peanut Butter & Jellousy [sic] burger craves something to cut through the fat without a jarring bitterness, suggesting a smoky porter or a boozy stout of some sort. On the flipside, The Flamin’ Hot burger requires a beer that pairs thoughtfully with magma, so I’d put it up against a hoppy imperial red.

Slater’s 50/50’s eclectic burgers and dizzying list of beers may intimidate, but be bold. Even the shoddiest pairing attempt will still result in the delivery of a beer and a bacon-burger. That can’t ever really go wrong.

The Flamin’ Hot burger and a Hess Brewing Venator

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

January 29, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 9

by Mina Riazi mina riazi

fusion. This translates to a menu dominated by pasta dishes and flatbreads—in other words, a menu rooted in Italian cuisine and loosely influenced by Japanese fare.

Italian classics like carbonara pasta and penne Genovese join pasta dishes prepared with less-familiar ingredients: shishito peppers, baby anchovies, green bell peppers and shiso leaves. As marked on the menu, these are Ristorante Kaz’s “Japanese-style” offerings. The sea urchin pasta—topped with salmon roe and strips of seaweed—also falls under this category.

With its seafood flavor, the pasta’s cream sauce is a polarizing player. The salty sea-urchin gonads—similar to bone marrow with their soft, jiggly texture—appear in silken orange clumps.

Meanwhile, salmon roe and sautéed spinach Sea-urchin pasta with salmon roe and spinach tack on extra layers of color and texture. I enjoyed the Kaz favorite and, unlike my grub buddy, didn’t mind its briny, metallic flavor.

A bite of another friend’s pasta Bolognese confirmed what I already knew: Don’t dine at a fusion place and then order something that’s strictly from one cuisine. Where’s the fun in that?

Plus, much like Kaz’s lackluster meat sauce, it Two parts Italian, one part Japanese will be mediocre compared with what you’d find at an all-Italian joint.

Even as a child, I ate most foods—with gusto.

For a restaurant that exists between two disMuch to my mother’s dismay, however, Brustinct cuisines, Ristorante Kaz can stand to boost sels sprouts did not make the list. Neither did the creativity and variety of its menu. This might turnips or the plump, butter-drenched snails my mean glancing outside of the pasta-and-pizza dad ordered every time we dined at a French resbox and incorporating twists on calzones, katsutaurant. Still, the list of foods I refused to eat was don and tempura. relatively short, and it shrunk over time.

A handful of cake and gelato selections deOf course, my preteen picture of what was fine the dessert menu. The green-tea cheesecake even “edible” left out many things. Among them: evokes green tea in color alone, balancing barely frog legs, fish eyes, chicken feet, cow tongue and there flavor with a rich density. Go for the tirasea urchin. The latter spiky, funny-looking animisu instead—light and luscious, it’ll offset the mals inhabited the tide pools near my house, and heaviness of your meal.

I loved watching them move languidly from one Although I’m skeptical of seafood-and-cheese rock to another. combos, my next visit to Ristorante Kaz might inUnsurprisingly, my 12-year-old self never once volve the uni pizza. I apologize in advance to my wondered how the globular creatures might taste. younger self, who never once thought of yanking So, when the server at the newly opened Risa sea urchin from its rocky perch or squeezing torante Kaz mentioned sea-urchin pasta among one out of morbid curiosity. She’d feel a swirl of the eatery’s most popular dishes, I couldn’t help disappointment and repulsion knowing that I so but recall tiptoeing through tide pools. willingly devoured the creature’s creamy, delicious exquisite gonads.

Unless you’re looking for it, you probably won’t notice the one-room joint (3904 Convoy St. Write to minar@sdcitybeat.com in Kearny Mesa). A sister restaurant to Izakaya and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

Sakura, Ristorante Kaz offers Japanese-Italian

One Lucky

Spoon

10 · San Diego CityBeat · January 29, 2014

the floating

library

by jim ruland

Remembering Sandy Hook a year later Part of me wishes I hadn’t read this book.

My interest in the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012, is deeply personal. One of the victims was 6-year-old Avielle Richman, whose mother and father, Jeremy Richman and Jennifer Hensel, are scientists who lived and worked in San Diego before moving to Newtown, Conn. Our families celebrated birthdays, enjoyed barbecues and went trick-or-treating together. Avielle loved archery and kung fu and had a passion for stories. She possessed an outsized personality, incorrigible and impossibly cute.

You won’t find any of that in Newtown: An American Tragedy by Matthew Lysiak, and that’s the way it should be. Lysiak went to Newtown to cover the story when it broke and then stayed in Connecticut for several months gathering material for the book. He talked to those who wanted to be talked to and respected the privacy of those who didn’t. These are good people who have suffered enough, and Lysiak seems to have respected their wishes.

Unfortunately, it’s one very bad person whose story dominates the narrative.

Adam Lanza is a person who resists knowing. His crime, his horrible actions that day, didn’t make him that way. He was a cipher all his life. Even to his family.

Normally, one says “friends and family” but Lanza didn’t have any friends. Ever.

Lanza was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome and sensory-perception disorder, a condition that left him vulnerable to loud noises and sudden movements. A walk down a school hallway could send him into an anxiety attack. A classmate remembered, “He always looked terrified as he walked down the hall. His shoulders would slump and he would cling to the wall.”

Although Lanza was highly intelligent, with an intuitive understanding of computers, his mother, Nancy, pulled him out of high school after his sophomore year. He enrolled in St. Rose of Lima, but after eight weeks, he came home, this time for good. Nancy didn’t know what to do: “If one more person tells me that he is going to grow out of it, I think I’m going to lose my mind.”

Without school to draw him out, Lanza went deeper into isolation. He hated to be touched and insisted on being left alone, preferably in a darkened room, where he could indulge his passion for violent video games.

Everyone familiar with what happened that

day knows that Nancy, who was Lanza’s first victim, was a gun enthusiast and that her home was stockpiled with weapons and ammunition. Nancy is not entirely unsympathetic. Even when she was married, her husband worked long hours and was seldom home. She was fiercely protective of her son and tirelessly advocated on his behalf, sometimes going so far as to sit in on his classes.

But something changed after Lanza dropped out of school. Instead of taking the next step toward adulthood and independence, he retreated into his shell and could not be coaxed out. His mother, who’d likely burned out as her son’s sole caregiver, started taking trips, leaving Lanza alone. Lanza’s father had started a new family and when Adam’s brother Ryan was brought in for questioning after the tragedy, he told authorities he hadn’t seen his brother in more than a year. So what was Lanza doing?

Plotting, apparently. He combed over articles about mass shooters, leaving a trail of Wikipedia edits on the sites he visited, correcting the information about the type of weapons and ammunition the killers used.

Police found a spreadsheet that was more than 7 feet long. It was a list of mass murderers that detailed their weapons and how many people they’d killed.

Lanza was keeping score.

Lysiak doesn’t presume to know what sent Lanza over the edge. He outlines scenarios and raises questions, but that’s it. This isn’t a book like Columbine by Dave Cullen, a comprehensive investigation with the benefit of 10 years of research, study and analysis. Newtown is a book that takes us inside Sandy Hook Elementary and describes what happened on one terrible day.

Which makes Lysiak’s examination of our burgeoning mental-health crisis, and how poorly equipped our healthcare system is to handle the needs of those who suffer from mental-health issues, something of a welcome surprise.

He also profiles the Avielle Foundation that Jennifer and Jeremy established in their daughter’s name to foster brain-health education and research. Lysiak is even donating a portion of his proceeds to the Avielle Foundation.

Of course, it’s going to take more than wellintentioned donations to erase the pain, but it’s a step toward a safer, saner society.

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

January 29, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 11

the

SHORTlist

ART

COORDINATED BY KINSEE MORLAN

Salek says. “The more comedy clubs and events, the better—it brings more awareness to the product.”

With a focus on building and promoting his own business, as well as the city’s comedy scene overall, Salek and his crew have put together the first-ever San Diego Comedy Festival, happening Tuesday, Jan. 28, through Sunday, Feb. 1. If you’re reading this in print, you’ve already missed the Tuesday kickoff with Kevin Pollak at the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel (8110 Aero Drive in Clairemont), but you’ve got time to see the rest of the headliners and events happening at Comedy Palace.

Salek says they put out a call and got more than 300 requests to perform at the festival. He put Headliner Donnell Rawlings together a panel of industry experts, who then sifted through all the clips and whittled them down to the funniest 75 comedians, all of San Diego’s proximity to Los Angeles whom will perform during the five-day event. impacts the local comedy scene. On one Headliners include Donnell Rawlings (former hand, it’s a short drive, so we get a lot of cast member of Chappelle’s Show) and Jen Kober of good acts coming through. On the other hand, when American Reunion. Other events include Improv VS a local comedian starts getting big, we inevitably lose Standup, a show that mixes stand-up acts with improthem to the allure of the big(ger) city. visers, and a comedy competition that includes cash George Salek, owner of Comedy Palace (8878 prizes. Ticket prices vary. Hit up sandiegocomedy Clairemont Mesa Blvd. in Clairemont), thinks it’s fest.com for details. only a matter of time before San Diego’s comedy scene grows to offer enough opportunities to keep local funnymen and women here.

As the publisher of U-T San Diego, the late “We really want to push comedy in San Diego,” David Copley was a controversial figure, but no one can dispute his patronage of the arts. Copley, who died in 2012, was a trustee of, It’s been more than a decade since the and major donor to, the Museum of Contemporary San Diego Black Film Festival first Art San Diego. To mark what would have been his fired up its projectors. Since then, it’s 62nd birthday, the museum’s La Jolla location (700 grown to be one of the largest black film festivals Prospect St.) is exhibiting pieces from Copley’s colin the country, with winning films going on to com- lection of works by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude. pete nationally. This year, the festival continues its X-TO+J-C: Christo and Jeanne-Claude opens Suntradition from Thursday, Jan. 30, to Sunday, Feb. day, Feb. 2, and includes early pieces by the couple, 2, at the Reading Cinemas Gaslamp (701 Fifth Ave.). who became famous for their colossal, bold installaThis year’s opening-night feature will be a 7:30 p.m. tions, like wrapping the Reichstag in Berlin in fabric screening of the 2013 film Tula: the Revolt, starring and aluminum and placing 7,503 saffron-colored fabDanny Glover, about the leader of a 1795 slave revolt. ric “gates” in New York’s Central Park. The exhibition There’s also a free screening at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. will be on view through April 6. mcasd.org 1, of the documentary Still Bill, about American soul WOLFGANG VOLZ singer Bill Withers (“Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Use Me”).

Find all the details at sdbff.com.

1

2

GROWING LAUGHTER

THE BLACK EXPERIENCE

3

MCASD CELEBRATES DC

An Evening with Frida and Friends at Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens Point Loma, 2816 Historic Decatur Road, No. 116. See The Complete Frida Kahlo, which includes 123 replicas of Kahlo’s paintings. Plus, watch the film Frida on the outdoor patio. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30. $20. 619-269-2100, axs.com/Frida HArt Speaks: The Xactobles at TPG2, 1475 University Ave., Hillcrest. See the gallery’s newest show of stencil art and join in on a discussion with select artists from the exhibition. From 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30. $5 suggested donation. 619-2359876, musesalon.org/events HGood Morning America at Southwestern College Art Gallery, 900 Otay Lakes Road, Building 710, Chula Vista. An audio/ visual exhibition by acclaimed artist Maxx Moses that examines racial taboos that lie smoldering beneath the surface of the American cultural landscape. Opening from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30. swccd.edu Galactic Collision at Disclosed Unlocation Gallery, 1925 30th St., South Park. New work from local painters Andre Power and Laura Katherine. There’ll also be music by one-man electro-rocker, Mystery Cave.

Opening from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30. unlocation.com For the Love of Art at Brokers Building, 42 Market St., Downtown. An exhibition featuring live painting in the lobby and musical art performance in the gallery.

Sculpture, painting, mixed media and assemblage will be on view from artists such as Billie Hamilton, Helena Espinoza, Madeline Sherry and dozens more. Opening at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, and Saturday, Feb. 1. 858-222-9367 (In and Out My Imagination) at San Diego Art Institute-Museum of the Living Artist, Balboa Park. New prints and drawings from Lois Adler Roussell. From 6 to 8 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 31. sandiego-art.org HSoul Sessions at 98 Bottles, 2400 Kettner Blvd. Ste. 110, Little Italy. A charitable art show featuring over 20 artists including Jason Acton, Hill Young and Linda Halsey in honor of Angela Sahyoun, the late founder/director/curator of San Diego art collective, Arte Fresca. Proceeds will be donated to Gerson Institute. From 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday, Jan. 31. 619-255-7885 HIn Our Lifetime... at M. L. King Center at Bayview Baptist Church, 6134 Benson Ave., Encanto. The San Diego African American Museum of Fine Arts, currently a museum without walls, presents this traveling photo exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. Opening from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1. 619262-8384, bayviewbc.org HFunction and Fantasy at Mingei International Museum, Balboa Park. New Yorkers Steven and William Ladd bring their intricate, unusual artwork to San Diego in this exhibition featuring functional objects, prints, videos and more. Opening Saturday, Feb. 1. At 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5, Mingei Director Rob Sidner, curators Christine Knoke and Kathryn Kango and the Ladd brothers will discuss the exhibition. A performance and reception will follow. mingei.org HSmall Image Art Competition at Gallery 21, 1770 Village Place, Balboa Park.

Hundreds of artists in a variety of mediums show off small-scale works at this annual juried exhibition, now in its 39th year.

Opening from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1. 619-233-950, gallery21art.com

Tula the Revolt

12 · San Diego CityBeat · January 29, 2014

“The Umbrellas” by Christo

HPrix Pictet: Power at Museum of Photographic Arts, Balboa Park. This annual juried exhibition uses photography to shed light on important social and envi-

ronmental issues. MOPA will be displaying 56 works from 12 artists who made the prize’s short list, all working around this year’s “Power” theme. On view through May 18. Opening Saturday, Feb. 1. $6$8. 619-238-8777, mopa.org #365 at La Bodega Studios and Gallery, 2196 Logan Ave., Barrio Logan. Photographic works by Israel Castillo, who took a picture a day for a year using his iPhone.

Opening from 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1. labodegastudios.com HCross Currents: Three Visions in Clay at Hyde Art Gallery, 8800 Grossmont College Drive, El Cajon. Work of San Diego ceramists Levi Casias, Lee Puffer and John Oliver Lewis. Opening from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4. 619-6447299, grossmont.edu HOn the Road at Mira Mesa High School, 1510 Reagan Road, Mira Mesa.

Local collective Art on the Move showcase their mobile art show. Participating artists include EZ Rock, Linda Halsey, Optimus Volts and GMONIK. From 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5.

BOOKS HLou Pechi at Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla. The author signs and discusses I Am Lubo, the first-hand account of a young boy struggling to survive and retain some sense of identity amid the chaos of the Holocaust and WWII. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29. $10. 858-457-330, sdcjc.org April Smith at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The Emmy-nominated television writer, producer and author will discuss and sign A Star for Mrs. Blake, about five WWI Gold Star mothers’ amazing journey to France to visit their sons’ graves. At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29.

858-454-347, warwicks.indiebound.com Elizabeth Stone at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The owner and executive chef of The Stone Kitchen Catering & Special Events will be promoting her new book, An Invitation to Entertain: Recipes for Gracious Parties. At 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 30. 858-454-347, warwicks.indiebound.com HGreg Sestero at UCSD Bookstore, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. The author of The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made, will be discussing and signing the book at Perks Cafe as well as screening his new behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of Tommy Wiseau’s infamous cult film, The Room. There will also be an interactive audience reading of the film’s script.

At 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31. 858-534-7323, ucsandiegobookstore.com Susan Union at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 751 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. The author will sign copies of Rode to Death, the first entry in her Randi Sterling mystery novels, set in the wealthy fictional San Diego community of Rancho del Zorro. At 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1.

858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com The Rhythm and the Rhyme and the Spirit Within Me at Malcolm X Branch Library, 5148 Market St., Valencia Park.

A reading of Holy Spirit-inspired poetry and musical lyrics by the authors of the book, The Rhythm and the Rhyme of the Spirit Within Me. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 1. 619-527-345, sandiegolibrary.org Barbara McNally at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. Part of Warwick’s ongoing “Weekend with Locals” program, McNally will sign and discuss her modern feminist self-discovery memoir, Unbridled. A portion of the proceeds from

the sale of books will benefit the La Jolla Soroptimist Club. At noon Sunday, Feb. 2. 858-454-347, warwicks.indiebound.com Dr. Camille F. Forbes at New Central Library, 330 Park Blvd., East Village. Join Forbes as she facilitates discussion on The Girl Who Fell from the Sky, a book exploring how identity is confined or refined by concepts such as beauty, class and race.

From 6:30 to 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 3. 619236-5800, sandiegolibrary.org Chris Kresser at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The integrative medicine practitioner will discuss and sign Your Personal Paleo Code: The 3-Step Plan to Lose Weight, Reverse Disease, and Stay Fit and Healthy for Life. At 7:30 p.m.

Monday, Feb. 3. 858-454-347, warwicks. indiebound.com Susan Meissner at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The acclaimed local author will discuss and sign A Fall of Marigolds, about a scarf passed down through the generations. At 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 4. 858-454-347, warwicks. indiebound.com Bette Pegas at University Community Library, 4155 Governor Drive, La Jolla. The author discusses and signs her book, Chasing a Dream in the Galapagos: A Personal Evolution, which won Best Travel Book in 2010 from the San Diego Book Awards. At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5.

858-552-1655, sandiegolibrary.org HPauline Frommer at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The publisher of frommers.com will be discuss such topics as holiday travel survival, trends and top destinations for 2014 as well as sign copies of her book, Frommer’s EasyGuide to New York City 2014. At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5. 858-454-347, warwicks.indiebound.com

COMEDY HSan Diego Comedy Festival at Comedy Palace, 8878 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. Enjoy a week of laughs at this inaugural event. Comedians from all over the country will be participating, plus headlining shows from big names like Donnell Rawlings, Theo Von and more. See website for schedule. Wednesday, Jan. 29 through Saturday, Feb. 1. $15-$20. 858573-9067, sandiegocomedyfest.com Baron Vaughn at Mad House Comedy Club, 52 Horton Plaza, Downtown. Mad House’s continuing “Comedy Juice” series presents this up-and-coming comic. At 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29. $15. 619-726666, madhousecomedyclub.com Nick Turner at American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., Downtown. The New York-based writer and stand-up comedian has been featured on Late Night with Jimmy

Fallon and will soon be seen on The John Oliver Show. At 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30, and 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, and Saturday, Feb. 1. $20. 619-795-3858, americancomedyco.com North Park Comedy Night Anniversary at Seven Grand, 354 University Ave., North Park. North Park Comedy celebrates their first year with comics like Zoltan, Sam Wiles, Chase Brockett, Mike Ula and Dustin Jackson. At 9 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30.

619-269-8820, sevengrandbars.com/sd Brian Scolaro at Mad House Comedy Club, 52 Horton Plaza, Downtown. The comic has been seen on everything from Conan O’Brien and Comedy Central to TNT’s Men of a Certain Age and Showtime’s Dexter. At 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, and Saturday, Feb. 1. $20.

619-72-6666, madhousecomedyclub.com Brent Morin and Byron Bowers at Comedy Store, 916 Pearl St., La Jolla.

The dual headliner show will feature Bowers, whose credits include Comedy Central appearances and BET Comic View ReBoot and Morin, who’s appeared on Conan, Chelsea Lately and Adam Devine’s House Party. At 8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, and Saturday, Feb. 1. $20. 858454-9176, lajolla.thecomedystore.com

FASHION Vixen Pop-Up Boutique at Bamboo Lounge, 1475 University Ave., Hillcrest. A night of shopping, music, art and cocktails at their monthly “Pop-UP Boutique” and fashion show featuring several local designers from the greater San Diego area.

From 7 to 11 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29.

760-814-0914, vixensd.com HPaper Dolls, Pinup Pageant and Talent Show at Winstons, 1921 Bacon St., Ocean Beach. Temptress Fashion presents this special event featuring a fashion show, competitions and pop-ups from designers like Fables by Barrie, Unique Vintage, Steady Clothing and more. There will also be music from David Patrone, The Corvelles and Stellita Marie. From 4 to 8 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 1. $10. 619-224-2284

HEALTH & WELLNESS Community Conversation on Mental Illness at Congregation Beth Israel, 901 Towne Centre Drive, La Jolla. Jewish Family Service will present a behavioral health panel on living with mental illness featuring a number of nationally recognized experts. From 5:45 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29. 858-453-9600, jfssd.org HCardiff Kook Run at Moonlight Beach, B St., Encinitas. Locals, kids, adults, seri-

ous runners and kooks alike are invited to run this annual 5 or 10K for life, for community or for a really fun time. From 8:30 to 11 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2. $37.50. 619683-372, cardiffkookrun.com

MUSIC 1st Marine Division Band at California Center for the Arts, 340 North Escondido Blvd., Escondido. The Corps’ finest musicians present their free annual patriotic concert. At 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30, and Friday, Jan. 31. 800-988-4253, artcenter.org Danish String Quartet at Conrad Prebys Music Center, UCSD campus, La Jolla.

With their passion for Scandinavian composers juxtaposed with the classics, this group brings a level of freshness, energy and sheer accomplishment to their lively performances. At 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31. $12-$54. 858-534-8497, artpwr.com HMuriel Anderson with Tierra Negra at Museum of Making Music, 5790 Armada Drive, Carlsbad. Award-winning harpguitarist Muriel Anderson teams up with Germany’s famed duo, Tierra Negra (Leo Henrichs and Raughi Ebert) for a unique sound that mixes rumba-flamenco with Americana-bluegrass. At 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31. $30. 760-438-5996, museumofmakingmusic.org Patti LuPone at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Downtown. The two-time Tony Award winner performs the songs of Stephen Sondheim, Cole Porter, Edith Piaf and the Bee Gees. At 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31. $27-$87. 619-570-1100, ljms.org Tribal Baroque at ArtLab Studios, 3536 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. The violin wielding singing and dancing duo will be performing at this CD-release party for their new album, Heaven Scent. At 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31. $25. 619-283-1199, ext.115, artlabca.com Nathan East at Conrad Prebys Music Center, UCSD campus, La Jolla. The Grammy-winning bass guitarist returns to his alma mater to perform a special benefit concert for the Lytle Scholarship Fund, which benefits students who graduated from The Preuss School. From 3 to 5 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 1. $20-$75. 858-534-6406, alumni.ucsd.edu The Lovebirds at Rancho San Diego Library, 11555 Via Rancho San Diego, El Cajon. Performance by the folk/pop duo consisting of award-winning singers/songwriters Lindsay White and Veronica May. At 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4. 619-660-5370, sdcl.org/locations_RD.html HCarlsbad Music Festival Benefit at

CONTINUED ON PAGE 15

January 29, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 13

THEATER

Dark shadows lurk in over-ambitious Maple and Vine As a remedy for her 21st-century ennui and depression, beaten-down New Yorker Katha seeks refuge in another time—the year 1955—and she persuades her reluctant plasticsurgeon spouse, Ryu, to escape with her. But Jordan Harrison’s Maple and Vine, directed by Igor Goldin at Cygnet Theatre’s Old Town space, is not a tale of time travel. Katha (Jo Anne Glover) and Ryu (Greg Watanabe) are instead whisked away to an unspecified gated community where everyone lives and behaves (at least at first) as if it’s the “I Like Ike” middle America of 1955.

This fantasy land is maintained by the so-called Society of Dynamic Obsolescence (DSO), whose bubbly husband-and-wife figureheads, Dean (Jordan Miller) and Ellen (Amanda Sitton), are, though they deny it, like a younger Ward and June Cleaver without the Beaver. It’s a contrived, spotty premise that works if you accept it as illusion.

Maple and Vine’s overarching messages about the nature of authenticity and the irony of pretending are muddled with ongoing, overly busy commentaries on the World War II-era treatment of Japanese-Americans, intolerance of mixed-race couples (like Katha and Ryu) and homosexuality (actually, Dean is definitely not Ward Cleaver). It’s also unclear, given various and seemingly conflicting junctures in the play, whether Katha and Ryu are happier in their new 1955 life. They ultimately appear to be so, though a stagy Katha nightmare near the end casts shadows of doubt.

An excellent five-member cast nevertheless navigates the script’s holes and U-turns. Miller and Sitton make the most out of characters who are not what they seem to be, and they inhabit their “perfect” ’50s couple roles without coming off as robotic. Supporting cast member Mike Nardelli distinguishes himself in two roles, as Katha’s cartoonishly wry gay co-worker Omar and the more complex and tormented Roger, Dean’s illicit lover in ’50s land.

Maple and Vine entertains most when it’s juxtaposing the societal icons of today with those of Ozzie & Harriet’s G-rated epoch of naïveté. In the latter, for example, “Google” is quite literally a

14 · San Diego CityBeat · January 29, 2014

DAREN SCOTT

Jo Anne Glover (left) and Amanda Sitton dirty word. That’s as it should be, but that’s a commentary for another play at another time.

Maple and Vine runs through Feb. 16 at Old Town Theatre. $24-$54. cygnettheatre.com

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

OPENING A Doll House: A woman’s been keeping a secret from her husband, and when he discovers it, he gets angry and she decides to leave him and their children. Presented by UCSD’s Department of Theatre and Dance, it opens Jan. 29 at the Mandell Weiss Forum Theatre at UCSD. theatre.ucsd.edu Circle Mirror Transformation: The San Diego premiere of a comedy about a group of Vermonters who enroll in a summer theater class. In the process, these strangers get to know one another. Opens in previews Jan. 31 at New Village Arts Theatre in Carlsbad. newvillagearts.org Macbeth: A Scottish general’s wife convinces her husband to kill the king so that he can take the throne, and it doesn’t end well for either of them. Presented by Intrepid Shakespeare Company, it opens Jan. 31 at San Dieguito Academy Performing Arts Centre in Encinitas. intrepidshakespeare.com Other Desert Cities: A novelist visits her famous parents in Palm Springs amid her plans to publish a memoir that unearths an unpleasant family secret. Opens Jan. 31 at Patio Playhouse in Escondido. patioplayhouse.com

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

Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort, 3075 Carlsbad Blvd., Carlsbad. Enjoy a catered reception, silent auction and performance by Wu Man, a world-renowned Chinese pipa player, Carlsbad resident and 2013 Musical America Instrumentalist of the Year. At 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4. $75. 760-434-720, carlsbadmusicfestival.org The Sweethearts of Swing at California Center for the Arts, 340 North Escondido Blvd., Escondido. A trio of singers who capture the unique style and harmonies of the ‘30s and ‘40s by way of the Andrews Sisters. At 1, 4 and 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5. 800-988-4253, artcenter.org

PERFORMANCE HShakespeare in the Dark Burlesque at Queen Bee’s, 3925 Ohio St., North Park. Keyhole Cabaret presents a burlesque tribute to the works of William Shakespeare. Special guest stars are burlesque legend Shannon Doah and Bay Area male burlesque performer Jet Noir. At 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31. $25-$65. keyholecabaret.com

of Affordable Housing at Old Globe Theatre, 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park.

The Globe presents a panel discussion that will explore issues raised in its production of Bethany. Panelists include Todd Gloria, Susan Riggs and Debbie Ruane. The event is free, but reservations are required: RSVP@TheOldGlobe.org. At 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 3. 619-231-1941, oldglobe.org

SPECIAL EVENTS Furry Foster Benefit Event at The Wine Lover, 3968 Fifth Ave., Hillcrest. Enjoy wine and beer specials and art by Le Chien and music from Stephen & Zooey and Sister Speak, all to help raise funds Furry Foster, a nonprofit dedicated to ending the euthanasia of adoptable pets. From 6:30 p.m. to

10:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30. 619-2949200, furryfoster.com

TALKS & DISCUSSIONS HCelebrating Equal Protection at California Western School of Law, 225 Cedar St., Downtown. Hear from keynote speaker, Judge Vaughn Walker, who authored the decision to overturn Prop. 8.

The event will feature welcoming remarks from Interim Mayor Todd Gloria. $35.

Reception at 5:30 p.m., talk at 6:15 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 29. acslaw.org Water Resources at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. Part of the Athenaeum’s “Dialogues in Art &

Architecture” guest-speaker series, Phil King, professor of civil engineering at New Mexico State University discusses water and the future of sustainability. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30. 858-4545872, ljathenaeum.org HPechaKucha Night Tijuana Volume 5 at Index Open Studio, Av Revolucion #1650-B Zona Centro, Tijuana. Panelists and artists will discuss the downtown area of Tijuana and how it influences their work.

At 7:20 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, facebook. com/PechaKuchaNightTijuana HArmando de la Torre at Oceanside Museum of Art, 74 Pier View Way, Oceanside. De la Torre and artist collaborators will discuss the successes and challenges of working with the public when they created the “Winter Wonderland” installation at

Westfield Plaza Camino Real in Carlsbad.

From 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4. $10.

760 435-3721, oma-online.org Artful Conversations: Chinese New Year Prints at New Central Library, 330 Park Blvd., East Village. Celebrate the Year of the Horse with education coordinator Alex Stewart of the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum as he discusses essential decorations for the Chinese New Year Festival. From 2 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5. 619-236-5800, sandiegolibrary.org

For full listings,

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

HPagliacci at San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., Downtown. The powerful opera that tells the story of a vengeful clown and his tragic ending. At 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2. $45-$215. sdopera.com The Thief of Bagdad at Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St., Downtown. This silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks, about a burglar who falls in love with the daughter of the Caliph, will have music provided by organist Russ Peck on the mighty Fox Theatre pipe organ. At 8 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 1. $20-$30. 619-235-084, sandiegosymphony.org

POETRY & SPOKEN WORD HAre You Going to Eat That? at Whistle Stop Bar, 2236 Fern St., South Park. So Say We All presents this lively storytelling session, with this month’s theme being about overindulgence and strange eating habits. At 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30. $5 suggested donations. sosayweallonline.com A Word Worth a Thousand Pictures at Art Produce Gallery, 3139 University Ave., North Park. Enjoy poetry and music by San Diego students and a special performance by local band Brothers Gunderson. The music performance will be followed by an open-mic format. At 4:45 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31. 619-584-4448 Journeys to the Past: Jacque Nunez at Barona Cultural Center & Museum, 1095 Barona Road, Lakeside. Nunez has made a successful career out of sharing her Acjachemen ancestors’ stories. Hear tales and songs of Southern California native peoples. There will also be handson activities for children. From 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1. $10. 619443-703, baronamuseum.org Theophilus North at North Coast Repertory Theatre, 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Solana Beach. Matthew Burnett does a reading of Thornton Wilder’s play set in Newport, RI, during the height of the Jazz Age, and following the exploits of the title character as he searches for adventure and his place in the world. At 7:30 p.m.

Monday, Feb. 3. 858-481-155, tickets. northcoastrep.org

POLITICS & COMMUNITY At Home in San Diego? The Question

January 29, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 15

Patrick Samokhvalof

The Body Poets are changing the face of breakdancing

by Kinsee Morlan

b

eing cool is almost a prerequisite for breakdance crews. Even female dancers are pushed to exhibit unflinching machismo as they strut to the stage or the center of a dance circle. But The Body Poets are different, and not just because of the full-body spandex suits they wear under their clothes when they perform.

Despite what the anonymity of their costumes might suggest, the members of the San Diego dance crew aren’t afraid to be themselves. Whether it’s in their live performances at college campuses or the YouTube videos they frequently release at youtube.com/user/thebodypoets, The Body Poets have a style of dance that’s focused more on fun and entertainment than technical skill and attitude.

They incorporate Disney songs when they want, channel entertainment greats like Charlie Chaplin and Frank Sinatra and do a few moves that more traditional breakers might consider too effeminate or playful.

“We are all confident nerds,” says Omeed Simantob, founder of The Body Poets. “We all watch kung-fu movies and try to emulate the moves, but we can’t. I know more about Obi-Wan Kenobi than any one person should, and that’s kind of our angle or take. We’re just a group of friends who, instead of going to sporting events or going out drinking at nightclubs, we just thought we’d put on spandex clothing and dance for people.”

The Body Poets have incorporated lasers and LEDlit costumes into their live performances and videos, putting on the type of high-energy shows fit for the Las Vegas strip. They’ve even been on America’s Got Talent, where their explosive sets got them treated like boy-band stars by adoring fans. And a few of their videos have gone

16 · San Diego CityBeat · January 29, 2014

viral—one, a dance piece set to Canadian cover band Walk Off the Earth’s take on Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know,” has amassed more than 420,000 views.

But then there are the less-viewed videos exhibiting The Body Poets’ more experimental and creative side, like the one featuring a mesmerizing improvised piece by Simantob set to an instrumental song from the French film Amélie. Or their Grocery Store series— the second video in the series was released last week—in which The Body Poets have fun in San Diego food markets after hours. The dancers look gleefully childlike as they run through the grocery aisles while no one else is around.

“It’s similar to the secret sock elves or Toy Story,” Simantob explains. “You know in Toy Story when the kids leave the room and the toys come to life? In my head, that’s sort of The Body Poets’ mythology.”

CityBeat caught up with the group late on a Sunday night in the heart of the Gaslamp Quarter, where the dancers took over Goorin Bros. Hat Shop for a video they’ll release on Jan. 29. They’d put out a last-minute call to female friends and fans a few days before, asking for women of all ages, sizes and professions to simply sit on a stool as the dancers serenaded them with a piece set to a Motown-style cover of One Direction’s “You Don’t Know You’re Beautiful.”

“The song is really cheesy,” Simantob laughs in a phone

Kinsee Morlan

Omeed Simantob (right) looks over videographer Patrick Samokhvalof’s shoulder at a video shoot. interview later, “but it’s a good message…. And it’s funny to see the way a 17-year-old girl reacts to us and the way a 50year-old mother reacts. That’s what I wanted to capture.”

Among the women in the hat store that night was Hannah Burke, a young mom wearing a necklace boasting the words “Navy Wife” hanging from a gold chain.

“My son’s obsessed with The Body Poets,” she explains.

“He dances along with their videos and has a little fedora he calls his ‘Omeed hat.’ He’s autistic and he loves them….

If he’s getting into a mood, I put The Body Poets in front of him, and, usually, it will calm him down. There’s something about their movements or costumes.”

Simantob is really the heart and soul of the crew. A self-described “nice Jewish boy” who went to Torrey Pines High School, he found himself mimicking Michael Jackson moves in the middle of a dance circle at a breakdance event when he was 13 and has been hooked ever since.

He taught himself how to dance by watching other people and took advantage of his proximity to Los Angeles by introducing himself to some of the industry’s biggest names, like Slick Dogg and Dolla Bill, the dancers often credited with inventing the “passing the wave” move. Simantob has since positioned himself as a master in the art of popping and locking.

He established the group in 2005 when he was 18 and eventually dropped out of college to pursue dance. Two close friends, Nathaniel Perez and Eddie Gutierrez (or “Eddie Styles,” one of the original members of the famed breakdance crew Jabbawockeez), are the only other permanent members; the rest of the cast rotates and varies depending on the gig.

The Body Poets have done well enough to become Simantob’s fulltime job. He spends his time making connections and booking shows that include corporate events, college campus entertainment and private parties. He’s also working on

The Body Poets just released their Grocery Store 2 YouTube video, shot at Jimbo’s Natural Foods Grocer in Horton Plaza. getting them on another television show, which is currently in development and can’t be disclosed until spring.

“I’m barely, barely scraping by, though,” he admits. “We have to get really creative with our financing, and sometimes we have to eat Top Ramen for a month, but it’s absolutely worth it.”

17 · San Diego CityBeat · January 29, 2014

The look of The Body Poets has evolved.

They tried wearing just the full-body spandex suits until their first failed audition for America’s Got Talent, where they got buzzed because the judges couldn’t seem to get over the sight of breakers in bodysuits. They started wearing fedoras, suits and ties and sometimes more casual

street clothes over the spandex and made it through the auditions the next time around. One thing Simantob likes about the costumes is that people don’t have to know their ethnicity.

“We don’t have to typecast,” he explains.

“The brother doesn’t have to be doing the brother’s moves, so to speak…. I’m Jewish, but I’m the one doing all the Latino solos.”

He also thinks the spandex suits give him and his dancers the ability to pretend to be completely different people. They can be Motown singers, Michael Jackson or Frank Sinatra. Recently, they channeled the ballerinas in the “Waltz of the Snowflakes” segment in a hip-hop version of The Nutcracker put on by Culture Shock Dance Center.

“With the spandex, we don’t actually have to look like a star as long as we move like them,” he says. “To have an anonymous aesthetic makes the possibilities endless.”

But Simantob’s favorite quality of the spandex costumes is that they seem to give the dancers license to be as dorky or goofy as they want. That’s one of the messages he hopes The Body Poets are communicating to fans.

“We want to be like, look, if you’re a dork, be a comfortable dork,” he explains.

“We’re not the cool breakdancers that you’ve seen in movies before.”

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

January 29, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 17

Seen Local

Catherine Koch

The ‘new American niggas’ Artist Mr. Maxx Moses (who also goes by his graffiti pseudonym, Pose 2) is known for his colorful, large-scale murals of abstract imagery and serene, beautiful compositions. The same recognizable aesthetic is there in Good Morning America, his gorgeous solo show opening from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 30, at Southwestern College Art Gallery (900 Otay Lakes Road in Chula Vista), but there are some shocking messages imbedded in his controversial new work.

The words “Nigga for Sale” in one of the large, mixed-media pieces will certainly catch your attention. A billboard-size portrayal of a black man wearing an iron collar around his neck might give you pause, as well.

“My goal is to make people uncomfortable,” Moses says, pointing out some of the more poignant imagery, like the text pulled from an actual ad offering for-sale an enslaved teenage girl that he found while doing research for the show. “I think it’s healthy to be uncomfortable, because that’s when you’re in the position to learn something.”

Moses started working on the pieces in Good Morning America in 2012. He’d never been interested in political artwork, but he was asked to create a piece for a show themed on Barack Obama’s reelection. It got him thinking about how, especially with the election of a black president, everyone seems to think America is doing well in terms of race relations and equality. He knows it’s not a new idea, but he doesn’t think it gets discussed enough.

“I think we have a lot of concepts in our head in regards to America, like, everything is all good right now and racism is gone,” says Moses, standing by a stunning, three-dimensional piece that incorporates an African mask and a turntable. “I’m, like, Oh, really?

I don’t think so. I think that slavery exists now, but it’s so subversive; it’s so subtle that we’re not even aware of what’s going on anymore. The game has gotten so

Hyper-local radio

Mr. Maxx Moses slick. It has nothing to do with color or sex anymore; it’s a big economic-slave game going on. We’re all in it now. We’re all the new American niggas.”

Moses wants to be sure people get the show’s message, or at least start thinking about economic inequality, so he’s included in-depth descriptions to be displayed next to each piece. He also created a soundtrack to be played while the exhibition remains on view through Feb. 25 (find details about the closing event and parking tips at swccd.edu). On top of that, there’s a short film about Moses that’ll be looped during the exhibition, and during the opening and closing receptions, he’ll activate the space through the use of a makeshift storefront, where he’ll comment on—and take advantage of—capitalism as he sells products he created, including his Act Right drink.

“It’s an anti-nigger tonic,” says Moses, raising his eyebrows in reaction to his own words. “It cures self-hate, inferiority complex, high blood pressure, diabetes—all the things that black Americans are susceptible to.”

—Kinsee Morlan

residence. “It will transmit anything from grandma’s recipe for making nopales to school events.”

Misael Diaz, the lead artist in Logan Heights, says the radio station will likely involve an office space and a mobile component. Diaz, who has experience Andrew Mandinach working in radio-art projects with his binational arts group Cog•nate Collective, says the frequency will probably be low and local enough to bypass the need for Federal Communications Commission approval.

The concept, he says, was a result of the community’s desire to have a truly inclusive and interactive art project.

The next public Open Spaces meeting, at 6:30 p.m. TuesRoberto Salas day, Feb. 4, at Bread & Salt (1955 Julian Ave. in Logan Heights), will focus on how the $30,000 seed money should be spent to move the project forward.

The last time CityBeat covered the San Diego Museum of Art’s Open Spaces program, we told you about the public-art piece proposed for the intersection of Euclid and Imperial avenues in Lincoln Park. Also known as the “four corners of death,” the area will hopefully one day exhibit a light-beam art installation (it’s currently going through the city approval process).

Lincoln Park was the first of four communities to be engaged in creating a public-art piece thanks to a two-year, $530,000 grant from the James Irvine Foundation awarded to SDMA. Next on the list are Logan Heights, National City and Lemon Grove, all low-income neighborhoods considered lacking in public art.

The Logan Heights community has been meeting regularly during the past few months and has zeroed —Kinsee Morlan in on a proposal.

“We are creating a community radio station,” Write to kinseem@sdcitybeat.com says Roberto Salas, current Open Spaces artist-in- and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

18 · San Diego CityBeat · January 29, 2014

Love actually Paulina García is astounding in new Chilean drama

by Glenn Heath Jr. Sebastián Lelio’s Gloria begins and ends on the dance floor. However, the sly tonal differences between the two sequences are indicative of the film’s deceptive power as an evolving character study, one deeply interested in the way emotional patterns and relationships shift over time. If there’s a central theme in Lelio’s lovely drama about a middle-aged woman dealing with the realities of post-divorce life, it’s that decision-making is a very personal process, something often spoiled by too many spoken words.

The opening shot finds divorcée Gloria Paulina García makes subtlety an art form.

(Paulina García) sipping on a drink at the bar in a crowded club. The camera closes in from across potentially convoluted plot points. She is more than the room, watching her watch everyone else. It’s an an archetype of loneliness. evocative moment that almost feels like it could beGarcía’s performance is so subtle that it takes a long in a sexy thriller. Finally, Gloria moves into the long time for the viewer to pick up on all the nuanccrowd and begins to dance, alone at first and then es. Gloria’s body slightly tilts while intoxicated and with an adoring elderly man. They get drunk and ca- her eyes well with sadness and embarrassment evress passionately like horny teenagers. ery time Rodolfo acts selfishly. There’s a vulnerable Age means very little when it comes to passion in openness to her walk and a sense of pride in her posGloria. There are beautifully frank sex scenes and ten- ture while sitting. A true method turn, García disapder confessionals between older characters that most pears into the rhythms and expressions of a woman filmmakers would simply avoid. facing a complex crossroads.

But age also has very little to do It’s hard to separate the superb Gloria with wisdom, as we find out duracting from Lelio’s consistently inDirected by Sebastián Lelio ing Gloria’s topsy-turvy tryst with a spired direction. Each scene flows theme-park owner named Rodolfo into the next and has its own caStarring Paulina García and (Sergio Hernández). He’s a weakdence, depending on the emotional Sergio Hernández willed man still inexplicably linked intensity. Gloria—which opens FriRated R to his needy family even a year afday, Jan. 31, at Hillcrest Cinemas— ter splitting up with his wife. Gloria lives on the border between a hotrecognizes the red flag, but still moves forward, think- house melodrama and art film, inhabiting this space ing Rodolfo might be her second chance at love. with the same kind of unlocked and flawed confidence Gloria has more experience with divorced life, hav- of its lead character. This has everything to do with ing been split from her husband for nearly a decade. Lelio’s attention to character detail.

She lives alone in an apartment situated beneath a That’s what makes the final dance sequence so inparticularly angry man who often screams violently at credibly moving and personal. After yet another catanight. A hairless cat wanders in through her window strophic attempt at romance, Gloria attends the wedeach day, retreating from the negativity and noise that ding party of a friend’s daughter despite feeling weighed resonates through the thin walls. Her grown children down by disappointment and anxiety. For most of the are both dealing with transitional moments in their night, she sits alone, pondering her next move. relationships (single parenting, pregnancy, marriage).

Then, in an instant, Umberto Tozzi’s rousing “GloUncertainty seems to drift through the air. ria” fills the space, prompting a magnificent solo dance These are life’s little complications that influ- that speaks to the character’s resolve and lust for life. ence Gloria during her quiet scenes alone in bed, You can feel her vitality with every crazed move. driving to work or walking home drunk. They obviously haunt her as a mother and a woman, but what’s Write to glennh@sdcitybeat.com amazing is that the film doesn’t define her by these and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

Golden shorts

Just Before Losing Everything

Despite being one of our most important cinematic forms, short films often get relegated to the background. The Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences tries to reverse this trend each year by honoring substantial works in the categories of short animation, live action and documentary. The Oscar-nominated

live-action and animated short films will screen at the Ken Cinema beginning Friday, Jan. 31.

The live-action block is strong overall, but the clear-cut masterpiece of the bunch has to be Xavier Legrand’s Just Before Losing Everything. At first, the audience is left in the dark as to why Miriam is rushing to get her two chil-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 20 January 29, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 19

dren out of their rural hometown in France. Dialogue is sparse, but the tension is thick. When the trio arrives at her place of business, a sprawling grocery store, it quickly becomes clear that she’s evading an abusive patriarch who has finally crossed the line.

As Miriam forces her boss to fire her and fast-track a severance package, the film explores a very difficult moment in which personal trauma becomes uncomfortably public. Things get even more frightening when the film flirts with tragedy in the final moments.

Anders Walter’s tender drama Helium, about a hospital janitor who befriends a terminally ill boy through the power of storytelling,

and The Voorman Problem, a perfectly nasty satire about an inmate who believes he is a god, are both worthy.

The animation category is headlined by Lauren MacMullan’s lovely Get a Horse, still screening in front of the feature film Frozen.

The other standout is Laurent Witz’s mechanically inclined Mr Hublot, which tells the story of a recluse with OCD who adopts an abandoned dog and sees his life turned upside down.

Now you don’t have an excuse for feigning ignorance about the short programs during your Oscar office pool.

Opening

Labor Day: An escaped convict (Josh Brolin) holes up with a single mother (Kate Winslet) and her 13-year-old boy during a long weekend in Jason Reitman’s romantic drama.

At Middleton: Two strangers from very different backgrounds (Andy Garcia and Vera Farmiga) meet on their children’s campus tour at a quiet East Coast college and develop a strong bond in a short time.

Screens at Reading Cinemas Gaslamp.

Gloria: Paulina García plays a divorcée attempting to stay vital despite the rapid changes happening in her children’s lives. When Gloria meets an older man who’s still seriously connected with his ex-wife and family, she’s thrust into a potentially heart-breaking scenario. See our review on Page 19.

—Glenn Heath Jr.

Oscar Nominated Shorts: See the films in the category no one ever guesses right: Live-action and animated short films nominated by the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences. Opens on Friday, Jan. 31 at the Ken Cinema. See our story on Page 19.

San Diego Black Film Festival: A celebration of African-American and African Diaspora cinema takes place at Reading Cinemas Gaslamp from Thursday, Jan.

20 · San Diego CityBeat · January 29, 2014

forced to implicate her compatriots after being arrested by a cynical MI-5 agent (Clive Owen). Screens at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4, at the Hervey Branch Library in Point Loma.

Groundhog Day: Bill Murray repeats a fateful day in February to gain the attention of a woman. Bill Murray repeats a fateful day in February to gain the attention of a woman. Bill Murray repeats….

Screens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma.

That Awkward Moment 30, through Sunday, Feb. 2. Find the schedule at sdbff.com.

That Awkward Moment: When a friend is devastated by a recent breakup, three young men (Zac Efron, Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan) vow to stay single for as long as possible. Of course, since this is a romantic comedy, things don’t go according to plan.

One Time Only Dumb and Dumber: Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels play two nincompoops who embark on a cross-country trip to return a lost briefcase to a beautiful woman in Aspen. Screens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma.

The Attack: When an Israeli surgeon learns of his wife’s secret life as a West Bank terrorist, his life is thrown into existential turmoil and ideological panic.

Screens at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 3, at the new San Diego Public Library in East Village.

Shadow Dancer: A single mother (Andrea Riseborough) working for the IRA is

Now PLaying ¿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. Ends 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.

Ends Jan. 30 at Hillcrest Cinemas.

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 shock-

wave of melodrama through the streets of Victorian England.

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 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.

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.

For a complete listing of movies, please see “F ilm S creenings” at sdcit yb eat.com under the “E vents” tab.

Piper Ferguson

Welsh singer / songwriter Cate Le Bon returns with a raw third album • by Ben Salmon There’s a moment, about 16 minutes into her December interview in KCRW’s Santa Monica studio, when Cate Le Bon seems a bit caught off guard by a question from host Jason Bentley.

The two are talking about Le Bon’s 2013 album Mug Museum, and Bentley asks about the passing of her grandmother and how it inspired the songs. Then he digs deeper.

“Can you tell us a little more about her?” he asks.

Le Bon shifts her gaze downward and half-smiles, as if her mind is suddenly flooded with things she knows she won’t reveal on the radio.

“Um, yeah,” the Welsh singer / songwriter says slowly, her eyes darting around the room. “Um, she was pretty batty, but she was cool.” Then, nervous laughter.

And that’s it. She stops talking and awaits the next question.

According to a press release, Le Bon wrote the songs on Mug Museum after her grandmother’s death and imbued them with the weight of the familial shift that happens when a matriarch moves on and everyone else—the females in the family, in particular—are left behind to assume new roles.

“Whereas once I was the niece and I had my Auntie Rita, I realized that now I am ‘Auntie Rita,’” Le Bon told the Drowned in Sound

website shortly after the album’s release. “It’s just a very palpable sense of, ‘Oh gosh, everything is a step further on now.’”

In an interview last week with CityBeat, Le Bon again evaded a more personal question about her relationship with her grandmother.

“It’s always nice to have something meaningful to write about,” she says, “and after feeling this shift and mulling over it for a while, it felt like these new feelings… were the things to use as a starting point.”

The soft-spoken Le Bon—who’ll play Soda Bar on Saturday, Feb. 1—prefers to let her music do the talking, which makes sense. Growing up in the fertile countryside of the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales, she was raised by parents who were “huge music fans” with “little patience for TV on a weekend,” she said. Dad played guitar around the house and encouraged his daughters to do the same.

“The beauty of living in the country is you can turn the music up loud,” Le Bon said.

A bar gig in nearby Cardiff led her to Super Furry Animals mastermind Gruff Rhys, who took Le Bon under his wing and on tour.

He also asked her to sing on Stainless Style, the first album by Neon Neon, his collaborative project with American electronic musi-

cian Boom Bip. She followed that up with her debut album, 2009’s Me Oh My, and an excellent sophomore effort, 2012’s Cyrk, which drew comparisons to The Velvet Underground, Nico and Stephen Malkmus in The New York Times—neither the first nor last publication to invoke those artists when writing about Le Bon. But her fizzy, unconventional psych-pop comes fully into focus on Mug Museum, a compact and relentlessly catchy tour of Le Bon’s deliciously off-kilter melodic sense. Throughout, she coos in Welsh-accented English as barbed guitars flutter and rhythms shift unexpectedly. The whole thing somehow feels both precisely plotted and proud of its rough, hand-crafted edges.

That was by design. Mug Museum was produced by Noah Georgeson, best known for his work with folk singers Joanna

Newsom and Devendra Banhart.

The two tackled the recording process with what Le Bon has called “casual brutality” as a guiding principle.

“We would waste as little time as possible by making final decisions very quickly and deleting things immediately if they did not deserve their place,” she said. “It was very laid back but decisive.”

And effective at that. “I Can’t Help You” kicks off the album with a steady motorik beat and a roller-coaster guitar lick before settling into its mildly discordant chorus. “Are You With Me Now?” ambles along at an easygoing pace while Le Bon continues to play it close to the vest: “There is a feeling I love/ buried in my brow.”

Later, “Sisters” is a jaunty newwave number that puts Le Bon’s low voice to work on the topic of mortality. “Mirror Me” is a gentle slip of a tune with a faint pulse

and odd (but beautiful) keyboard parts that seem to sprout from the song’s floor and reach for the surface. And the final, pianofocused title track finds Le Bon ensconced in the album’s namesake, her “mug museum,” a warm, contemplative space befitting the song’s ambient creaks.

Le Bon took the recording of Mug Museum as an opportunity to move to Los Angeles, a city she’d been enamored of since rehearsing there with Neon Neon years ago. She says she loves it—its climate and the “new perspective and energy” that came with it.

“It’s a baffling city but extremely beautiful. It feels like 15 different cities placed on top of one another,” she says. “I cannot tell you how it’s [shaped] the album.

“I think that will come from listening back in years to come.”

Write to editor@sdcitybeat.com.

January 29, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 21

Leslie Schulze (left) played her last show with Flaggs on Jan. 24.

notes from the smoking patio length album. Matheson says she’ll most likely play bass on the recordings, though they might also bring Bass player Leslie Schulze is leaving Flaggs. in a “special guest.” The band plans to take a slow apSchulze, who’s played with the power-pop trio since proach to finding Schulze’s replacement.

“You’ll always be able to find a bass player, but early 2013, previously was a member of The New Kinetics and before that served in the Navy. She’ll be the hardest thing is finding someone with the right moving to Oklahoma City in February to train for a chemistry,” Matheson says. “We’re not in a rush right now. We didn’t want to force it. We want things to career in air-traffic control.

Lindsay Matheson, singer and guitarist in the happen organically.”

Flaggs have tentative plans to finish the album by band, tells CityBeat that Flaggs will continue on, and that she’ll miss Schulze, her “best friend.” Matheson spring or early summer, and while they’re optimistic says that she and drummer Matthew Franco knew about being able to play a record-release show when it’s done, Matheson says that their first concern is since the band’s formation that this day was coming.

“Basically, she told us six months ago that she might finishing the record.

“We wanna feel like we’re 100-percent ready for have to leave in a year,” Matheson says. “Unfortunately, it happened really fast. We’re bummed to see her go, it,” Matheson says.

Schulze played her last show with Flaggs on Fribut this is the job that she’s been waiting to do.”

Matheson and Franco plan to start looking for a day, Jan. 24, at Soda Bar. new bass player in the coming months; in the mean—Jeff Terich time, they’ll begin recording the first Flaggs full-

Locals Only

Music review Dum Dum Girls Too True (Sub Pop) In 2012, Dum Dum Girls released a hidden gem, a track called “Lord Knows,” buried between B-sides and covers on their End of Daze EP. Far from a leftover or a placeholder, however, “Lord Knows” arrived as the best song Dee Dee Penny had written to date—a slow-moving, ethereal goth-pop dirge that shrugged off the lo-fi fuzz of the band’s earlier releases in favor of something more spacious and beautiful.

While early tracks like I Will Be’s “Jail La La” and “Bhang Bhang I’m a Burnout” were a blast, Dum Dum Girls have committed to following their gothic muse (a dead ringer for Siouxsie Sioux) on third album Too True, and it’s the strongest the band has ever sounded. Not that Dee Dee & Co. have sacrificed the infectious fun of their early tracks, but with production from Richard Gotteher (Blondie, The Go-Gos) and The Raveonettes’ Sune Rose Wagner, they’ve been fleshed out, cleaned up and given one hell of a stylish makeover.

First track “Cult of Love” sets the tone for the re-

22 · San Diego CityBeat · January 29, 2014

cord, with a driving momentum and a romantic, latenight kind of darkness that’s never bleak or fatalistic, but always seemingly within earshot of danger.

Reverb-laden post-punk guitar riffs lend “Rimbaud Eyes” a slightly more abrasive façade, while the relatively simple juxtaposition of acoustic and electric guitars on “Are You Okay” give the illusion of shoegaze density. And with a slight drop in BPMs, the outstanding “Lost Boys and Girls” hits with an even heavier impact with its squalls of meaty distortion.

Prior to recording Too True, Dee Dee spent some time recovering from having damaged her voice while touring, though you wouldn’t know it by listening to the album. Her pipes sound in top form here, from her hypnotic reading of the title of “Evil Blooms” to her dreamy wordplay treatments on “Too True to Be Good.” Her vocals have arguably never sounded better, which can be said of the band’s performances as a whole.

There were hints all along that Dum Dum Girls were capable of releasing an album as strong as Too True; now, that album is finally here.

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

if i were u

BY Jeff Terich

Wednesday, Jan. 29

Saturday, Feb. 1

PLAN A: Reggie and the Full Effect, Dads, Pentimento, The Frights @ Soda Bar. Emo’s back, people. It arguably never went anywhere, but it definitely sucked for a while. So it’s good to see early-’00s favorites (with a fabricated backstory) Reggie and the Full Effect returning to give us some more heart-on-sleeve, synth-driven pop. PLAN B: The Hollerin, Idyll Wild, Saul Q @ Bar Pink. It’s hard for me to get excited about bluesy garage rock these days, because it’s been done thousands of times, generally without much to distinguish one guitar-slinging band from another. The Hollerin take it a step further simply by playing better songs and putting more muscle into their tunes, which makes their style of rock ’n’ roll just a little more exciting.

PLAN A: Cate LeBon, Kevin Morby, Octa#grape, Flower Animals @ Soda Bar. See Page 21 for our feature on Cate LeBon, a Welsh musician whose grief over the death of a loved one became fuel for her raw new album, Mug Museum. PLAN B: Ash, Deaf Havana @ The Casbah. Irish group Ash have been turning out super-catchy alt-rock anthems like “Goldfinger” and “Jack Names the Planets” since the mid-’90s, when they were just teenagers. Sing along, rock out and tap into some nostalgia vibes. BACKUP PLAN: Futurebirds, Chess Wars, Ed Ghost Tucker @ The Griffin.

Sunday, Feb. 2

PLAN A: Yuck, GRMLN, Tropical Popsicle @ The Casbah. U.K. indie rockers Yuck recently underwent some lineup changes, Thursday, Jan. 30 but what hasn’t changed is their ability to PLAN A: The Burning of Rome, The craft taut, immediate songs in the vein of Long and Short of It, Marsupials @ The Pavement or Dinosaur Jr. There’s been a lot Casbah. Hard-rocking locals of worship at the altar of ’90s Sebastian Mlynarski The Long and Short of It are indie rock lately, but Yuck playing their first show in does it right. PLAN B: Jamore than a year, along with panther, Cheap Time, Self two of this town’s most exploDefense Family, Creative sive live acts, which more or Adult @ Soda Bar. Noiseless means a guaranteed night rock duo Japanther have a of tinnitus and debauchery. reputation for intense live PLAN B: Mayer Hawthorne, performances and conceptQuadron, Gavin Turek @ based albums, but they’re House of Blues. Mayer Hawjust one reason to make it to thorne has released three fullthis show, which also fealength albums stacked with tures power-pop outfit Cheap smooth soul jams, and should Time and hardcore garage you happen to doubt whether punks Creative Adult, and all “smooth” and “soul” are two of it’s worth your time. words that belong together, then make sure to listen to Monday, Feb. 3 his latest, Where Does This PLAN A: Into It. Over It., Door Go?, a fun, ’80s-tinted set of R&B tracks. BACKUP Frankie Rose The World is a Beautiful Place and I am No Longer PLAN: Wild Cub, Hands @ Afraid to Die, A Great Big Pile of Leaves, The Loft at UCSD. Big Bad Buffalo @ The Che Café. Our week in emo continues with a show featurFriday, Jan. 31 ing a lineup that surely breaks a record for PLAN A: Frankie Rose, Dream Boys, the most band-name words. It also boasts Soft Lions, DJ Mario Orduno @ Soda a headliner—Into It. Over It.—that captures Bar. When Frankie Rose moved away from the youthful angst and mesmerizing melodgarage rock and committed herself fully to ic sensibility of Death Cab for Cutie before ethereal, dreamy pop, she took her music to they lost the plot. the next level. Her 2012 album Interstellar is essential for fans of 4AD Records circa 1984 to ’94, and its follow-up, Herein Wild, Tuesday, Feb. 4 isn’t too shabby, either. PLAN B: Ab-Soul PLAN A: Mother Falcon, The Midnight @ Porter’s Pub. A rapper from the Black Pine @ Soda Bar. Seventeen-piece chamHippy crew that also features Schoolboy Q ber-rock group Mother Falcon launches and Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul hasn’t quite a Tuesday residency at Soda Bar with this garnered the volume of press acclaim that show, which should provide some enterthose other two MCs have, but don’t be tainment just from the challenge of being surprised when it eventually happens. Ab- able to fit that many people onstage. The Soul’s got skills. BACKUP PLAN: Sunday human Tetris game is just one reason to Times, Stalins of Sound, Sailing Stones come, but their elaborate arrangements are an even better one. @ Tower Bar.

January 29, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 23

HOT! NEW! FRESH! Brody Dalle (Casbah, 2/17), Purling Hiss (Soda Bar, 3/13), Small Black (Casbah, 3/21), John Legend (Balboa Theatre, 3/23), Fanfarlo (HOB, 3/24), Cheetah Chrome (Soda Bar, 4/3), Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (Casbah, 4/17), Ghost B.C., In Solitude (HOB, 4/26), Tokyo Police Club (BUT, 5/2), Manchester Orchestra (HOB, 5/6), Baths (Casbah, 5/24), Jack Johnson (RIMAC Field, 8/30).

GET YER TICKETS Oneohtrix Point Never (The Irenic, 2/8), Young The Giant (SOMA, 2/9), Los Lobos (BUT, 2/13), New Politics (HOB, 2/17), Lucinda Williams (BUT, 2/24), The Wailers (BUT, 3/2), Childish Gambino (SOMA, 3/3), Gary Numan (BUT, 3/5), The Ataris (HOB, 3/7), St. Vincent (HOB, 3/19), G. Love and Special Sauce (HOB, 3/21), Sharon Jones and The DapKings (HOB, 3/22), Kings of Leon (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 3/22), Xiu Xiu (Soda Bar, 3/25), Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks (Casbah, 3/29), Cut Copy (HOB, 4/2), Willie Nelson (Humphreys Concerts by the Bay, 4/4), Rob Thomas (Humphreys Concerts by the Bay, 4/6), Mogwai (BUT, 4/15), Bryan Ferry (Humphreys Concerts by the Bay, 4/17 ), The Dillinger Escape Plan (Porter’s Pub, 4/26), Lady Gaga (Viejas Arena, 6/2).

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

24 · San Diego CityBeat · January 29, 2014

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.

Thursday, Feb. 13 yMusic at The Loft at UCSD. Los Lobos at Belly Up Tavern. Touche Amore at The Epicentre.

Friday, Feb. 14 Hospitality at Soda Bar.

Saturday, Feb. 15 The Lawrence Arms at The Casbah.

Sunday, Feb. 16 Amon Amarth, Skeletonwitch at House of Blues. Quilt at Soda Bar.

Monday, Feb. 17 New Politics at House of Blues. Brode Dalle at The Casbah.

Tuesday, Feb. 18 Public Service Broadcasting at The Casbah.

Wednesday, Feb. 19 Yuna at The Casbah. Ringo Deathstarr at Soda Bar.

Thursday, Feb. 20 Van She at Soda Bar.

Saturday, Feb. 22 Karmin at House of Blues.

Sunday, Feb. 23 Marissa Nadler at Soda Bar.

Monday, Feb. 24 R. Stevie Moore at Soda Bar. Lucinda Williams at Belly Up Tavern.

Wednesday, Feb. 26 Madball at Soda Bar.

Thursday, Feb. 27 Kevin Seconds at House of Blues.

Friday, Feb. 28 Elvin Bishop at Belly Up Tavern. Deadphones at Soda Bar.

rCLUBSr

710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave, Pacific Beach. 710bc.com. Wed: Open mic, open jam. Thu: The Clamjammers. Fri: Patrick Lanzetta (5 p.m.); St.Cloud Sleepers, Mad Z and The Bones, The New Addiction, Father and Son, Tyler Beach (9 p.m.). Tue: ‘710 Bass Club’.

98 Bottles, 2400 Kettner Blvd. Ste. 110, Little Italy. 98bottlessd.com. Fri: ‘Soul Sessions’. Sat: ‘Tribute to Wayne Shorter’ w/ Robert Dove.

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

com. Wed: ‘Comedy Film Nerds Podcast’. Thu-Sat: Nick Turner.

Art Lab, 3536 Adams Ave, Normal Heights. artlabca.com Fri: Tribal Baroque Bang Bang, 526 Market St, Downtown. facebook.com/BangBangSanDiego. Thu: Teed. Fri: Mossberg Pump, Rifat Ziadeh, Lee K. Sat: Oliver $, Lee K. Bar Pink, 3829 30th St, North Park. barpink.com. Thu: Little Dove. Fri: The Legacy Pack.

Bassmnt, 919 Fourth Ave, Downtown. bassmntsd.com. Thu: Denniz Koyou, Danny Avila. Fri: Stafford Brothers. Sat: Myon and Shane 54, Late Night Alumni.

Beaumont’s, 5662 La Jolla Blvd, La Jolla. brocktonvilla.com/beaumonts.html.

Wed: Kayla Hope. Thu: Allegra. Fri: Dave Booda Band. Sat: Stone Horse.

Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave, Solana Beach. bellyup.com. Wed: North Mississippi All Stars, Lightnin Malcolm.

Thu: The Wood Brothers, Amy Helm and the Handsome Strangers. Fri: DJ Z-Trip, Lyrics Born, Goldenchyld. Sat: Lukas Nelson and POTR, Aloha Radio. Tue: Pepper.

Bluefoot Bar & Lounge, 3404 30th St, North Park. bluefootsd.com. Thu: ‘VJ Bang’ w/ VJ JK. Fri: ‘Friday Night Dance Party’ w/ DJ Iggy.

Boar Cross’n, 390 Grand Ave, Carlsbad. boarcrossn.net. Thu: Shane Hall and The Diabolicals. Fri: ‘Club Musae’. Sat: Sunny Rude.

Bourbon Street, 4612 Park Blvd, University Heights. bourbonstreetsd.com. Wed: ‘Awe Snap! I Love the ‘90s’ w/ VJ K-Swift.

Fri: ‘Go-Go Fridays’ w/ VJ K-Swift. Sun: ‘Soiree’. Tue: Open mic karaoke.

Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave, Bay Park. brickbybrick.com. Thu: Cosmic Wolf. Sat: Guttermouth, Pinata Protest, O.S.S., D.P.I. Cafe Sevilla, 353 Fifth Ave, Downtown. cafesevilla.com. Fri: Joeff and Co. Comedy Palace, 8878 Clairemont Mesa Blvd, Clairemont. thecomedypalace.com.

Wed-Sat: San Diego Comedy Festival.

Thu: San Diego Comedy Festival.

Croce’s Park West, 2760 Fifth Ave. #100, Downtown. croces.com. Wed: Fuzzy. Thu: Dave Scott and Monsoon Jazz. Fri: Lady Dottie and The Diamonds.

Sat: Yavaz. Sun: Tripp Sprague.

Dirk’s Nightclub, 7662 Broadway, Lemon Grove. dirksniteclub.com. Fri-Sat: Serious Guise.

Dizzy’s, 4275 Mission Bay Drive, Mission Bay. dizzyssandiego.com. Thu: Doug Robinson. Fri: Tokeli. Sat: The North.

El Dorado Bar, 1030 Broadway, Downtown. eldoradobar.com. Wed: ‘The Tighten Up’. Thu: Clockwork. Fri: ‘The Beat Kitchen’. Sat: ‘Boys and Girls’.

Epicentre, 8450 Mira Mesa Blvd, Mira Mesa. epicentreconcerts.org. Wed: Like Moths To Flames, The Plot In You, Fit For A King, Milestone, Quorra, Within Ourselves. Fri: Firestarter, Old Again, Cut Your Losses, Scarlett Avenue, Smalls, Fight the Future, Hideaway. Sat: Through the Silence, A Truth Betrayed, Shawshank Redeemed, Peace In Terror, The Sinner Among Us. Fluxx, 500 Fourth Ave, Downtown. fluxxsd.com. Thu: ‘IDGAF’ w/ Brazzabelle.

Fri: DJ Cobra. Sat: DJ Karma.

Gallagher’s, 5040 Newport Ave, Ocean Beach. 619-222-5303. Wed: Mafard, Bakkuda. Thu: 7 Seal Dub, DJ Reefah, TRC

Soundsystem. Fri: The Heavy Guilt, DJ R2.

Hard Rock Hotel, 207 Fifth Ave, Downtown. hardrockhotelsd.com. Fri: Travis Porter. Sat: Flowfly, Mr. Brown.

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

House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave, Downtown. houseofblues.com/sandiego. Thu: Mayer Hawthorne, Quadron, Gavin Turek.

Fri: Parkway Drive.

Kensington Club, 4079 Adams Ave, Kensington. 619-284-2848. Fri: Dan Padilla, Rebels and Traitors, The Postals, Harvey Lee and The Detroit Ruins. Sat: Calabrese, Stellar Corpses, Blackjackits, Zombie Barbie.

Lestat’s Coffee House, 3343 Adams Ave, Normal Heights. lestats.com. Wed: Aaron Cook. Thu: Dusty Brough Group, Rebecca Kleinmann Trio, Therianthorpe.

Fri: Brendan Xu, Josh Damigo, Tolan Shaw. Mon: Open mic. Tue: Comedy night.

Mc P’s Irish Pub, 1107 Orange Ave, Coronado. mcpspub.com. Wed: Jason.

Thu: Jackson and Jesus. Fri: Ron’s Garage.

Numbers, 3811 Park Blvd, Hillcrest. numberssd.com. Thu: ‘Varsity Drag’. Fri: ‘Viernes Calientes’. Tue: Karaoke Latino.

Onyx Room / Thin, 852 Fifth Ave, Downtown. onyxroom.com. Sat: Kyle Flesch.

Tue: ‘Neo Soul’.

Patricks Gaslamp, 428 F St, Downtown. patricksii.com. Wed: The Rayford Brothers. Thu: The Fuzzy Rankins Band. Fri: Johnny Vernazza.

Porter’s Pub, 9500 Gilman Dr., UCSD campus, La Jolla. porterspub.net. Fri: Ab-Soul.

Quality Social , 789 Sixth Ave, Downtown. qualitysocial.com. Thu: DJs ManCat, Ginacat. Fri: DJ Groundfloor.

Queen Bee’s, 3925 Ohio St, North Park. queenbeessd.com. Fri: ‘Keyhole Cabaret presents Shakespeare in the Dark’. Tue: Open mic.

Rich’s, 1051 University Ave, Hillcrest. richssandiego.com. Wed & Sat: DJ John Joseph. Thu: DJ Moody Rudy. Fri: DJs Marcel, Qoolee Kid. Sun: DJs Kiki, CrosOne. Seven Grand, 3054 University Ave, North Park. sevengrandbars.com/sd.

Thu: Comedy night. Fri: The Peripherals, A Mayfield Affair. Sat: Sure Fire Soul Ensemble.

Shakedown Bar, 3048 Midway Drive, Point Loma. theshakedownsd.com. Fri: Tora Tora Tora, Kids In Heat, Western Settings, Maniac.

Side Bar, 536 Market St, Downtown. sidebarsd.com. Thu: ‘Divino Thursday’.

Fri: Kevin Brown, Rico DeLargo.

Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd, City Heights. sodabarmusic.com. Wed: Reggie and The Full Effect, Dads, Pentimento, The Frights. Thu: The Blasters, Nena Anderson and the Mules, Rip Carson. Fri: Frankie Rose, Dream Boys, Soft Lions, DJ Mario Orduno. Sat: Cate Le Bon, Kevin Morby, Octagrape, Flower Animals. Sun: Japanther, Cheap Time, Self-Defense Family, Creative Adult. Mon: The Hounds Below, Grizzly Business, Hocus. Tue: Mother Falcon, The Midnight Pine.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

January 29, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 25

SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd, Midway. somasandiego.com. Fri: Fly By Night, Lightning Starts Fire, Ramona’s Flowers, Riboflavin, Caffeine. Sat: Millionaire Beach Bums, Parkway Avenue, Rockin’ Rangers, The Four Elements.

Spin, 2028 Hancock St, Midtown. spinnightclub.com. Fri: Stanton Warriors.

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

Fri: Disco Pimps, Jetpack Mojo. Sat: Hott Mess (9:30 p.m.); DJ Miss Dust (10:30 p.m.). Sun: ‘Funhouse/Seismic’. Mon: Miles Ahead (7:30 p.m.); ‘Fettish Monday’ (10:30 p.m.). Tue: Marc Delgado.

The Brass Rail, 3796 Fifth Ave, Hillcrest. thebrassrailsd.com. Thu: ‘Boyz Club’.

Fri: ‘Deeply Rooted’. Sat: ‘Sabado en Fu-

ego’ w/ DJs XP, KA. Sun: ‘Noche Romantica’ w/ Daisy Salinas. Mon: DJs Junior the DiscoPunk, XP.

It. Over It., The World Is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid To Die, A Great Big Pile of Leaves, Big Bad Buffalo.

The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd, Midtown. casbahmusic.com. Wed: OFF!, Bumbklaat, Rats Eyes, Widows. Thu: The Burning of Rome, The Long and Short of It, Marsupials. Fri: Rocket From the Crypt, The Styletones, Downs Family (sold out). Sat: Ash, Deaf Havana. Sun: Yuck, GRMLN, Tropical Popsicle. Tue: My Body Sings Electric, St. Cloud Sleepers, Plane Without a Pilot.

The Griffin, 1310 Morena Blvd, Bay Park. thegriffinsd.com. Wed: Robert DeLong, Mystery Skulls. Sat: Futurebirds.

The Che Cafe, UCSD campus, La Jolla. thechecafe.blogspot.com. Thu: The Menzingers, Off With Their Heads, Broadway Calls, Days of Light Gravity. Fri: Ice Hockey, Left Astray, Flowers Taped to Pens, Doofy Schmoofs, Dogs. Mon: Into

26 · San Diego CityBeat · January 29, 2014

The Loft @ UCSD, Price Center East, La Jolla. theloft.ucsd.edu. Thu: Wild Cub, Hands. Tue: Han Bennink, Mary Oliver, Mark Dresser, Michael Dessen.

The Merrow, 1271 University Ave, Hillcrest. rubyroomsd.com. Wed: Open mic.

Fri: PlayFight, Hello Penelope, Treetop Flyer.

The Office, 3936 30th St, North Park. officebarinc.com. Wed: ‘Blunt Club’. Thu: DJs Saul Q, Viejo Lobo. Sun: ‘Uptown Top Ranking’ w/ Tribe of Kings. Mon: ‘Dub

Dynamite’ w/ DJs Rashi, Eddie Turbo.

Til-Two Club, 4746 El Cajon Blvd, City Heights. tiltwoclub.com. Thu: Atomic Ape, Innerds, Trashaxis. Fri: The Magnificent, The Loons, DJ Tony the Tyger. Sat: Glitter Wizard, Astra, Artifact. Sun: Comedy open mic.

Tio Leo’s, 5302 Napa St, Bay Park. tioleos.com. Wed: Kandu Karaoke show.

Thu: Mercedes Moore. Fri: Da’Mac. Sat: The Red Elvises. Tue: Zydeco Greg Benusa.

Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave, City Heights. thetowerbar.com. Wed: The Lumps, DJ Mikey Ratt. Thu: Chango Rey and His Broken Heartbeat, Space Wax, DJ Clinebell Express. Fri: Sunday Times, Stalins of Sound, Sailing Stones. Sat: Hot Mustard.

Ux31, 3112 University Ave, North Park. u31bar.com. Wed: Buddy Banter, Oliver Trolley, Just Like Jenna, Prayers, Johnny and the Squints.

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

Wed: DJ Fish Fonics. Thu: DJ Wil Hernandez. Fri: DJ Slowhand.

Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St, South Park. whistlestopbar.com. Thu: ‘Vamp’.

Winstons, 1921 Bacon St, Ocean Beach. winstonsob.com. Wed: Roots Covenant, DJ Carlos Culture. Thu: ‘SUBDVSN’. Fri: Hi Roots, Piracy Conspiracy and Tommy Dubs, Seismic Leveler. Sat: Fortunate Youth, Hirie, Timothy H. Sun: Karaoke.

Mon: Electric Waste Band. Tue: Indubious, Tarr Steps.

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Across 1. “Just stop right there ...”

5. Jerk-offs 10. Twins share one 14. Lyman gave him to Jon, presumably; it’s never really explained 15. Comic Marc who hosts the podcast “WTF” 16. Certain solo 17. Group of priests dipping fruit in melted chocolate?

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Last week’s answers

64. Citation abbreviation 65. Count in jazz 66. Creamy tone 67. Obama campaign word 68. Cold periods 69. Geology class periods

Down 1.

2.

3.

4.

Remove, as a cap Portable toilet problem Dobrev on “The Vampire Diaries” Senator at the center of the 2013 government shutdown 5. “Just stop right there,” casually 6. Wizard’s instrument 7. Best Picture winner tied with “Gigi” for shortest title 8. Meatless Monday ingredient 9. Hose problems 10. Islamic fundamentalist branch 11. “Milk’s favorite cookie” 12. Picasso contemporary 13. Lie like a lizard 18. Instrument in quirky contemporary bands 19. Believer 23. Focus, as on a cinematic detail 25. Kitchen grabbers 26. A spotted one might be spotted at the zoo 27. Made a fresh hole 29. Revolutionary cabal 30. Festoon 31. Scout’s job 33. Pot user out on a boat?

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January 29, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 27

28 · San Diego CityBeat · January 29, 2014

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