San Diego CityBeat • Mar 12, 2014

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throne St. Vincent explores a powerful new dynamic

by Jeff Terich •

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Kasparian P.7 King P.13 Nomads P.18 Budapest P.24

2 · San Diego CityBeat · March 12, 2014

March 12, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 3

Take us home, Kevin San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and his allies His plan also envisions lowering construction in the business community last week defeated an costs for affordable housing by convincing the state attempt by the majority of the City Council and to streamline its process for allocating tax credits affordable-housing advocates to raise a fee that (we’ll see) and encouraging construction in areas developers pay to help finance construction of lowother than Downtown where land is pricy (fine, as rent housing. The council, faced with a ballot referlong as there’s nearby transit), facilitating more priendum on its decision, obviously believed it was a vate investment through the Community Reinvestlosing proposition and repealed its own ordinance. ment Act (another Civic San Diego production) and CityBeat supported increasing the fee, formerpulling in more federal dollars through the New ly known as the “linkage” fee and now called the Market Tax Credit Program (great if successful). workforce-housing offset because it helps offset the Faulconer, during his media briefing, added that demand that commercial development creates for he plans to work closely with incoming state Assemlow-wage-worker housing. Under city law, the fee bly Speaker Toni Atkins, a former San Diego City is supposed to increase over time to keep pace with Council member and passionate housing advocate. construction costs, but it’s currently the same as it He should also make sure Susan Riggs is on speed was in 1990. Faulconer and Co. were able to whip up dial—she recently left her post as executive director fear and opposition to the fee hike by David Rolland of the San Diego Housing Federation deceptively calling it a “jobs tax.” to become deputy secretary of housWell, it’s dead—for now—and the ing policy for Gov. Jerry Brown. And pressure’s on Faulconer and his pals to if he really wants to help, he’ll try to come up with an alternative. The good convince Republican lawmakers in news is that the new mayor claims to Sacramento to support statewide afwant more subsidized housing. fordable-housing legislation. Prob“I’m a huge supporter of affordlem is, the business lobby statewide, able housing,” he said last week at just like in San Diego, doesn’t want his first media briefing as mayor. to chip in more money. Someone has “The need is great.” to foot the bill.

OK. So far so good. He likes the So, sure, let’s pursue all of these idea but doesn’t want commercialideas, which we should be doing building developers to pay for it. And anyway. Dramatically increasing Kevin Faulconer even some advocates for affordable the supply of housing that’s attainhousing who were disappointed with the loss of able for San Diego’s low-wage workers will require the fee increase and angered by the flawed rhetoric a piecemeal, multipronged approach. Raising the used to defeat it were impressed with at least the workforce-housing offset was intended to simply thought that went into the Faulconer campaign’s beef up the city of San Diego’s contribution to the housing plan—which, considering the extent to effort, and, in Riggs’ opinion, the extra cost was which it involves Civic San Diego, the successor enlikely to have been absorbed within the developtity to the dearly departed Redevelopment Agency, ment process without really affecting the compawas likely written by Civic San Diego officials. nies that lease space.

In addition to the conventional conservative CityBeat asked Faulconer if he’d commit to comgoal of reducing market-rate housing prices by ining up with an alternative that would at least match creasing supply through lowered regulatory barrithe revenue or housing units that the offset fee would ers (potentially scary), Faulconer’s plan envisions have generated, but even though the fee would have updating community plans (expensive but critibuilt only an estimated 100 to 150 more units per cally important), working with Civic San Diego to year (in addition to units built through other funding create incentives for private investment in housing sources), he didn’t want to commit to numbers. construction near transit corridors (good if the supYet numbers are really all that matters, and if Faulporting infrastructure is adequate) and reducing coner genuinely supports affordable housing, 150 parking requirements on developers in exchange for units as a replacement for the offset fee should be an absolute minimum. We eagerly await the plan. public-transit-oriented concessions (rage-inducing for people in cars but good for reducing the city’s What do you think? Write to editor@sdcitybeat.com. carbon footprint and fighting climate change).

This issue of CityBeat went to a key party and is still chained to a radiator. Please help.

Volume 12 • Issue 31 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 Renata Raksha

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 Executives F. Scott Berman, Beau Odom

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

Advertising inquiries Interested in advertising?

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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 · March 12, 2014

Trucks benefit all No, Councilmember Lorie Zapf, the San Diego City Council cannot enact laws to protect restaurants from the competition of food trucks [“News,” Feb. 19].

All of San Diego’s entrepreneurs have the constitutional right to earn an honest living, free from anti-competitive laws. Plus, state law clearly allows cities to regulate food trucks only to protect the public’s health and safety— not to protect restaurants from competition. The proposed ban on operation within the Gaslamp District will be struck down because trucks there pose no demonstrable threat to the public’s health and safety.

In fact, food trucks promote safety—they serve as eyes on the street, helping keep the streets safe. They also increase foot traffic—for restaurants, too!—and provide a new way for restaurants to market and expand, activate underused spaces, create jobs and contribute to city coffers— and the local culinary scene.

A vibrant food-truck scene benefits everyone, including restaurants. We want San Diego to enjoy all of these benefits. City Council, your job is to serve all

of San Diego’s residents—not just a few vocal, politically connected restaurateurs. Let these food trucks do what they’re best at: serving San Diego’s residents, one “lobster-grilled-cheese sandwich or chipotle-eggplant taco” at a time.

Christina Walsh, Institute for Justice Arlington, Va.

The left in disarray The local political left is in disarray, in need of someone to lead it from the darkness to the light.

It’s not foolish to worry that San Diego might soon have a rightist City Council to match its mayor; to notice that disarray is the cause for that glum projection.

Your brave vision in the May 30, 2012, edition has come to naught. Your sub-headline that San Diego’s progressive movement planned to regain stature and influence was a failed prediction. Colin Parent’s remark that “the demographics and momentum means we’re going to have a progressive San Diego in the near future” couldn’t have been farther wrong. On Feb. 11, we didn’t elect a clean, upright,

honest progressive as mayor.

You’ve been a voice for progressivism and its goals. Now there’s an opportunity to do something good for them both, a chance to bring unifying leadership to the chaos that is progressivism in San Diego. We don’t have a lot of time to waste. I urge you to recognize that no one else will take the job and that you have move smartly.

Jim Varnadore, City Heights

Oh, you were serious!

Passing through San Diego recently, I saw your review of local band demos [Feb. 26]. I first thought, Oh, right, hipster irony.

Ten pages later, I realized you were serious. Granted, every music critic’s dream is to review something that’s so new, so hip, that only they know about it. But doesn’t the dream lose its luster when you beg some band, any band, to send you stuff that’s not actually available? And do real critics worry about the production quality of a bar band’s demo?

Eric Jensen, St. Paul, Minn.

March 12, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 5

6 · San Diego CityBeat · March 12, 2014

Joshua Emerson Smith

Mickey Kasparian, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 135, in his Mission Valley office

Who’s the boss?

Meet the labor honcho who doubled down on grassroots politics

by Joshua Emerson Smith In a special election for mayor during which less than half of registered voters cast a ballot, few were particularly surprised that Kevin Faulconer, a 47-year-old business-friendly Republican, won by more than five percentage points.

What perhaps was surprising was that Democrat David Alvarez, a little-known, 33-year-old, first-term City Council member with an unapologetically populist platform, made it out of a tough primary race and posed a serious challenge in the Feb. 11 general election.

Most analysts chalked up Alvarez’s showing to union dough, which consisted of roughly $4.2 million of the $5.2 million that his campaign raised. That’s about $1 million more than Faulconer scraped together.

But maybe, more subtly, the answer was Mickey Kasparian, the decade-long president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 135. Roughly 80 percent of Alvarez’s campaign funds came from outside of San Diego, contributions that Kasparian largely helped secure.

The union leader—who’s also president of the executive board of the powerful San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, of which UFCW is the largest member—backed the young progressive, to the chagrin of many Democrats.

“I’m just going to be honest with you,” the 55-year-old said in his thick New York accent. “I’m a competitive person, and I want to win, but I don’t pick the safe guy, or the safe lady for that matter. I’m going to pick the person who’s going to share values.”

Despite losing the election, Alvarez’s campaign helped awaken a grassroots movement that will benefit local Democrats and labor organizations going forward, Kasparian argues.

“We galvanized an entire community,” he said. “There

was a rallying cry. I’ve been doing this 18 years. I never saw walks and phone banks as there were for David. It was just overwhelming, and I think it’s a lot to build on.”

The only other Democrat who had a chance to win was Nathan Fletcher, a former Republican member of the state Assembly who turned independent in 2012 and then joined the Democrats in 2013. Fletcher’s record hadn’t been laborfriendly, but he had name recognition, stern promises and marketable good looks.

The abrupt special election—triggered by the resignation last fall of Mayor Bob Filner—caught many folks on their heels. But Fletcher was ready, announcing his intent to run just days before Filner agreed to step down.

The Municipal Employees Association, which represents white-collar city workers, and the city firefighters’ union lined up behind Fletcher. He also secured the endorsement of recently elected state Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, who had for the last five years been CEO of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council.

“While Nathan Fletcher is not as progressive as I am, I was confident he would help us move our city forward and not backward,” Gonzalez said in an email. “I thought he’d make a good mayor and, most importantly, I thought he could win against a Republican.”

A long list of union officials and Democrats declined to speak on the record for this story but had strong opinions on Kasparian and the labor council’s decision to back Alvarez.

To sum it up, many believed Fletcher was the smart money in a special election expected to draw low voter turnout.

If you ask Kasparian, he doesn’t disagree with the premise, just the conclusion.

“We could have played it safe,” he said. “We could have went with Nathan, and I just think we would have woken up every morning not knowing what he was going to do.

“Sometimes, we get out and we endorse the candidate who we think is more electable, and I’m tired of those days,” he added. “I would sooner lose a race than back a candidate up who is going to let our members down.”

G

rowing up in the Bronx in the ’60s and ’70s, Kasparian worked his way through high school at Key Food, a unionized grocery-store chain. Making well above minimum wage at $3.35 an hour with benefits, the teenager came to appreciate his situation.

“I knew people who were working in grocery stores making half what I was making, with no healthcare, and I thought, Man, they probably don’t know what a difference it is,” he said.

A few years after graduating from Mercy College in Westchester, N.Y., he and his wife moved to San Diego in the early ’80s and started working at a Safeway as a meat cutter. He quickly became a union shop steward, and in 1996, he started working full time as an organizer for UFCW before moving up to political director.

“I became immediately thrust into not only organizing but politics,” he said. “I got to get a good glimpse, a good look-see, at how important a role we played.”

In 2003, he became president of UFCW Local 135, months before the union’s Southern Californian chapters entered into a five-month-long labor dispute, which cost local grocery chains such as Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons roughly $2 billion. The union agreed to wage concessions for new hires but avoided significant healthcare cuts for roughly 70,000 workers. In 2007, the union was able to reverse the wage concessions, which had created a secondtier pay scale for workers hired after 2003.

“I always thought that that grocery strike changed the playing field for how labor was viewed,” Kasparian said.

“People sacrificed a lot, but they fought to protect their healthcare and union jobs. That began to put us in the conversation. That strike put us on the map.”

In 2011, UFCW chapters in Southern California threatened to picket again after grocery-store employers repeated demands that workers agree to significant healthcare cuts. After eight months of negotiations, and with a proven willingness to strike, the union reached what it considered to be a favorable compromise with the employers.

Organized labor, in 2012, played a significant part in electing San Diego’s first Democratic mayor in more than 20 years. Unfortunately for liberals, veteran Congressmember Filner turned out to be a disaster. The labor council never called for Filner’s resignation amid mounting sexual-harassment allegations, and when Lorena Gonzalez became the first elected official to do so, it frustrated Kasparian and other labor leaders, who wanted proof of sexual harassment.

“Because, at that time, Lorena had just recently months before left the labor council, we just kind of felt at that time, if anyone understood due process it was her,” Kasparian said.

After numerous women came forward with unsettling stories about the mayor’s behavior, Gonzalez, Kasparian and others began looking for potential replacements. At first, several left-leaning politicians that Kasparian said he would’ve supported toyed with the idea of running, including state Assemblymember Tony Atkins and City Council President Todd Gloria.

It also looked as though former City Councilmember Carl DeMaio might run. With his reputation among liberals as a right-wing zealot, Democrats anxiously looked around for anyone who would match up well, and Fletcher seemed like a good fit.

If DeMaio had run, it would have been a “tougher choice,” Kasparian said. “There might have been more of that electability conversation as opposed to the values and principles.”

In early September, after Filner finally resigned, Gonzalez endorsed Fletcher on the same day that Alvarez announced his intention to run. The follow day, the labor council endorsed Alvarez.

“From the moment that he [Kasparian] got out of step with Lorena Gonzalez for endorsing Nathan, it was evident that it was going to split Democrats,” said Democratic political strategist Chris Crotty. “I don’t know whether or not

Kasparian CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

March 12, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 7

Lindsey Voltoline

Kasparian CONTINUED from PAGE 7 Democrats would have split anyway, but it got a lot more fractious after Mickey took Lorena to task.”

All of a sudden, folks started playing hardball.

A labor council interview with Fletcher was leaked to local Republican Party Chair Tony Krvaric, who used the document to slam the former Republican for his new-found support of unions.

Gonzalez was furious. Kasparian wouldn’t say if he knew who leaked the document.

“Our process should be a very private process,” he said. “That absolutely should not have happened.”

Members of the local Democratic Party central committee started receiving anonymous packets blasting Fletcher, which included, among other things, pictures of him with notable Republican characters, such as longtime George W. Bush crony Carl Rove.

“Whoever it was, it was clearly someone who was organized and understood that it would be very hard to ignore those mailings,” said San Diego County Democrat Party Chair Francine Busby. “It was a very intense lobbying effort.”

Dems divided in race for mayor: a timeline

?

Former state Assemblymember Nathan Fletcher announces his intention to run for mayor of San Diego.

Then-City Councilmember Kevin Faulconer declares his candidacy for mayor.

San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council endorses Alvarez.

Alvarez edges out Fletcher for second place in the primary election.

Primary elections will be held for City Council Districts 2 and 6.

Aug. 20, 2013

Sept. 4, 2013

Sept. 6, 2013

Nov. 9, 2013

June 3, 2014

Aug. 23, 2013

Sept. 5, 2013

Sept. 24, 2013

Feb. 11, 2014

Mayor Bob Filner agrees to resign, triggering a special election to replace him.

City Councilmember David Alvarez announces his candidacy for Mayor.

State Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez endorses Fletcher.

The local Democratic Party central committee narrowly endorses Alvarez.

Kevin Faulconer is elected mayor.

By the end of September, the party had narrowly voted to endorse Alvarez during a meeting in which Kasparian and dozens of other officials spoke.

“We had a very lively conversation between people who made the argument that Nathan was more electable and those who made the argument that David was the one to carry the Demo-

cratic, progressive banner,” Busby said. “It was a difficult decision.”

In November, Alvarez edged out Fletcher in the primary. But instead of tacking to the political center like the Faulconer campaign, Democrats and labor stuck to their progressive messaging and focused on lowincome neighborhoods south of Interstate 8.

“We got criticized a little for not moving over to the middle,” Kasparian said. “Kevin did a better job of moving over to the middle.

But here’s what David didn’t do: He didn’t change who he was; he didn’t say something to get votes.”

Alvarez’s honest campaign helped build a new grassroots progressive coalition that will significantly benefit Democrats going forward, Busby said. “What occurred here is huge,” she said.

“We’re going to be organizing in areas that were very energized by the Alvarez campaign. We had new leaders coming forward, and they are on fire.”

T

he first test for that claim will be the San Diego City Council primary elections on June 3.

The labor council and the Democratic Party have endorsed both Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Boot, who is challenging Republican City Councilmember Lorie Zapf in District 2, and education consultant Carol Kim, who’s facing off with San Diego County Taxpayers Association Vice President Chris Cate, a Republican, and independent former San Diego Unified School District board member Mitz Lee in District 6. Democratic Partyendorsed Councilmembers Alvarez and Myrtle Cole are also up for reelection.

Despite losing a costly mayoral campaign, the labor council’s credibility and ability to raise money for these races remains intact, Kasparian argued.

“A lot of it was spent on Filner,” he said. “We still raised the money. A lot of it was spent with David, obviously. We’ll still raise

8 · San Diego CityBeat · March 12, 2014

the money. Does it mean if we had 20 races now, we could do all 20?

No, we couldn’t.

“We gained more respect than we ever had before because we didn’t change our principles,” he added. “Quite frankly, I was getting messages from New York City, from Florida, from Ohio, from Wisconsin, of people saying, ‘This has been some fight. You guys did amazing. You set an example for all of us. Now, we all need to do the same thing as you.’”

In November, there will be two mayoral races that could also be important to the labor council and Democrats. In Chula Vista, Mayor Cheryl Cox will term out, leaving open what many predict with be a hotly contested seat, and progressive Escondido City Councilmember Olga Diaz will challenge conservative incumbent Sam Abed for mayor.

Recently, Diaz voted to allow a 99 Cents Only store in Escondido, which would compete with nearby unionized grocery stores. When Kasparian found out about the vote, he blasted the liberal on Twitter: “Escondido councilmember Olga Diaz betrays union grocery workers and overturns a Planning Commission ruling to allow a 99 Cents store downtown.”

The labor council has said it has yet to make a decision on whether to endorse Diaz, but Kasparian isn’t too excited about the race as of now.

“I don’t have a lot of interest in it,” he said. “It’s about candidates who support workers.”

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

aaryn

backwards & in high heels

belfer Survey says: More screen time, please “A new PBS survey of American families with chilaverage of six hours a day in front of a screen, acdren under 6,” said Deb Welsh of KPBS during cording to kidshealth.org) while simultaneously my drive home from work last Wednesday, “finds worrying about their children’s ability to have hualmost half are worried that their child lacks the man interactions and say “please” and “thank you.” skills to start elementary school.”

Correlation, anyone? Perhaps someone can develop “Well, duh,” I said to Welsh from the cabin of my an app to teach kids how to be in society. Oh, wait. car. It’s pretty hard to prepare an active preschoolThat’s what Minecraft is for, right? er—versed as many are in the ways of imaginative It’s important to stay involved with your chilplay, wonder, creativity and naps—for the grueling dren, Welsh pointed out in her story, and Rotenberg seven hours a day, five days a week of sitting quiagreed. “Any time that a parent spends with a child— etly and doing worksheets that’s forced on them by whatever that child is doing—they’re going to learn kindergarten. To get a kid ready for that, you’d have more just because the parent is there by their side.” to ditch Montessori or Head Start (what’s left of it) So true! My kid rarely gleans the take-home lessons in favor of crate training. Which is actually called from watching My Little Pony on her iPad as thorchild abuse. oughly as when I’m sitting next to her analyzing ceAs it happens, the radio story was sort of gelebrity attire with the Fug Girls on my laptop. neric. It left out any mention of the small sample Late last year, while having breakfast with a girlsize (roughly 1,000 parents) and the fact that parfriend at The Mission in North Park, a young couticipants’ answers coincidentally validated PBS’s ple with three phones between them brought their programing. The results reinforced “PBS KIDS’ baby and his iPad to dine at the table right next to long-standing position as the number one providus. While hipster Mom and Dad tapped away on er of engaging and educational content for young their three phones, Baby played on his device with children.” That’s what the threethe volume loud enough so we page, not-mentioned-on-radio could all enjoy the Mickey Mouse I’m pretty sure humans press release said, anyway.

Clubhouse Game that was teachAnd, hey, I’m not one to dising him how to be social. On vivid are in the process of agree: As educational television display was how valuable their evolving into a tribe of goes, PBS has it going on. Word family time was.

Girl rules. So does Martha Speaks.

On Christmas Eve, I saw Baby inarticulate, L-shaped A certain 56-pound member of as a teenager when I strolled Sissy Hankshaws. this household was practically passed a little family at the Hotel sitting shiva when Fetch! With Del. They were sitting silently on a Ruff Ruffman got cancelled, but we can still catch bench—the boy in between his parents—their heads episodes via Roku. And generations of children bent at the neck, their faces lit up by the glow of their still have the timeless badassery of Sesame Street— individual screens. Parallel play in glorious action. though my child never got into the show the way And just one week ago, I was out to dinner and I did, and this has been one of my biggest parentwitnessed Baby 25 years from now. He was with five ing disappointments to date. Ruby stuck the knife friends at the next table, all but one of them on their in deeper the other night when she said, “You know smart phones (I’m guessing the sixth dude forgot to that one monster? The one that lives in a trash can— charge his). They were doing the Quasimodo, their what’s his name?” eyes bulging, their backs kyphosis-ing, each poking But back to the cannibalized radio story: their fat greasy thumbs at what has to be the most bacteria-infested surface in the industrialized age.

Welsh conducted a phone interview with PBS’s They took photos of their milkshakes and burgers, general manager of children’s programming, Lesli presumably posting them to whatever social media Rotenberg, and even though she sounded like she is cool right now; they had text conversations prewas in a backwoods outhouse using twine and a tin sumably with more interesting people than their can, I was riveted. physical companions.

Rotenberg said that half of the parents surveyed I’m pretty sure humans are in the process of worry about their child’s social and emotional evolving into a tribe of inarticulate, L-shaped Sissy readiness for school. At the same time, 89 percent Hankshaws. And not the pretty Uma Thurman versaid they value media exposure for their kids, with sion, either. television being the most common choice, followed The American Academy of Pediatrics recomby “things like computer games, activities, websites mends less than two hours of screen time every and apps.” day for children older than 2, and this includes the I slammed my brakes and came to a literal exceptional programming of PBS. But to keep up screeching halt on Interstate 8 as I heard this. Yes, with progress, I think it’s clear: The best way to adthe contradiction was startling enough to bring me equately prepare kids for school—and the future—is to a stop. But mostly it was the driver in front of me to stick a tablet in the dog crate with them. who stopped short, as she’d been caught off guard while texting.

Write to aaryn@sdcitybeat.com It’s curious, I think, that parents so overwhelmand editor@sdcitybeat.com. ingly value screen time (grade-schoolers spend an

March 12, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 9

BY MICHAEL A. GARDINER MICHAEL A. GARDINER

er. But it was the McDonald brothers’ “Speedee Service System” that birthed the fast-food era. After the chain was sold to Ray Kroc, McDonalds took over more than America; it took over the world.

Nor have hamburgers survived the foodie-era unscathed. Innumerable celebrity chefs have sought to put their stamp on the dish. Daniel Boulud may have taken the cake with his $99 Burger Royale at DB Bistro Moderne, a sirloin burger stuffed with braised short ribs, foie gras and black truffles.

While McDonalds may be responsible for the world’s perception of the hamburger as the national dish and Boulud may have taken it over the top, the burger’s true domain is the backyard. And that’s exactly what Halphen Red (1550 E. H St., halphenredburgers.

Halphen Red’s cheeseburger com) is all about. It grew from a sauce that the Lapid family developed for their own barbecues. From backyards to Tupperware distribution to bottling and farmers markets, it was only a matter of time before Halphen Red sauce begat Halphen Red Burgers.

The sauce is good, but the burger is betWhy the hamburger is ter. The cheeseburger is perfectly cooked with our national dish a nicely caramelized crust and juicy interior.

Offered with lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, Inveterate foodies may not like to admit it, but cheese (American, cheddar or pepperjack)—and the hamburger really is our national dish. Corthe Halphen Red sauce—Halphen Red’s burger is porate America may not want to admit it, but it handmade and loosely consolidated. The sauce, wasn’t McDonalds that made it so. McDonalds which, ironically, is not red (the name references may have spread that gospel but did not write a rare diamond), sits somewhere between ketchthat gospel. The hamburger is our national dish up, mayonnaise and Thousand Island dressing on because of backyard barbecues, neighborhood performance-enhancing drugs. diners and family-run burger joints—places like Halphen Red Burgers also offers turkey, salmHalphen Red Burgers in Chula Vista. on and a chipotle black-bean burger. While the The origin of the hamburger is shrouded in latter is particularly tasty, none of these are handmyth, conflations and conflicting commercial made products and basically serve as delivery claims. There are at least six separate claims to systems for the sauce and an excuse to eat some the invention of the hamburger, the best of which very good french fries. are those of Louis Lassen (Louis’ Lunch) in New At the end of the day, though, the real reason Haven, Conn., in 1900 and the Menches Brothers to go to Halphen Red Burgers is the cheeseburger in Akron, Ohio, about a decade earlier. Lassen’s itself. It’s the very embodiment of the backyardclaim has been validated by the Library of Conbarbecue burger served in a neighborhood joint. gress, though the Menches Brothers’, intriguingIt’s the kind of hamburger that reminds us why burgers are our national dish. ly, explains that the “hamburg” in “hamburger” refers to Hamburg, N.Y., not Germany.

Write to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com The commercialization story is clearer. White and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

Castle was the first chain to popularize the burg-

THE WORLD

FARE

10 · San Diego CityBeat · March 12, 2014

BY IAN CHEESMAN

BEER &

IAN CHEESMAN

CHEES

Brews, bias and brotherhood

A reviewer must always remain vigilant for potential sources of bias. Something as simple as the rumor of a shoddy beer or a delayed payoff check can taint an entire experience if I’m not careful. Worse, when you enjoy hating things as much as I do, you’re often just spoiling for a fight.

And, man, do I hate the name Booze Brothers Brewery.

As the craft-brew phenomenon grows and brewers are increasingly recognized for the sophisticated work they do, leading with a name that crudely touts its alcohol content just smacks of immaturity.

I may be in no position to chastise immaturity given my column’s consummate embrace of it, but must I also forgive bastardizing Aykroyd and Belushi’s seminal work? Is nothing sacred?

It would have been all too easy to hate these guys. I can’t tell you how much it pains me to feel completely the opposite. Stupid openmindedness.

(It helped to learn that the name was not born of frat-boy bravado, but from a nickname bestowed on Dave and Donnie Firth during a period when they established a multi-tap brewery out of their garage for friends and family. That sort of passion for brewing deserves humanitarian awards, let alone an alliterative nickname.)

Their uniquely rustic, yet polished, tasting room (2545 Progress St., Suite D, in Vista, boozebrothersbrewery.com) possesses 15 taps, though generally only about 10 of them are actively supplied by the 10-barrel brewhouse and 20-barrel fermenters. In fact, the entire brewery seems built with a one-to-grow-on sentiment. The tasting room is already massive and due to get even roomier as brewing operations migrate into the newly acquired neighboring suite. That alone is an ambitious consumption of space for a brewery open only since last October, and it doesn’t even include the massive outdoor patio that’s rivaled only by those at Stone Company Store in Oceanside or Karl Strauss’

Was “Brews Brothers” already taken? tasting room. It’s an audacious strategy for absorbing growth, but it may be prudent given the space crunch that so many emerging breweries seem to inevitably encounter.

Booze Brothers Brewing hasn’t established a predictable set of core beers just yet, but I’m notoriously A.D.D. with my drinking, so that suits me fine (especially at only $3 for a full pour).

What’s important is that they’re fully exercising this creative latitude to produce a full complement of styles (including braggots, a brew that’s as much ale as it is mead), and the quality was solid overall. I do hope the Qué Onda Güero? eventually makes another appearance in the tasting room, as I thought it was arguably a better pale ale than the pale du jour, at least by San Diego standards. It was strongly grassy and a bit dank, with a satisfying resin-y finish and a gentle 4.4-percent-ABV payload.

It’s a cliché to say Booze Brothers Brewing has something for everybody, but it’s uniquely positioned to provide exactly that. If your preference is a strong ale and a quiet corner, lurk away. If you’re craving a chatty bar while belting sessionable IPAs, you’re covered. Any brewery that can defuse my hate is worth checking out.

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

March 12, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 11

BY MINA RIAZI MINA RIAZI

The tiraditos reflect an intersection of Latin American and Asian cuisines, sashimi-style Peruvian dishes influenced by the country’s large Japanese population. At Hake, the paper-thin slices of raw fish are dressed in a light marinade, then garnished with everything from house-cured pickles to garlic chips.

But it’s the tuna chicharrón that you’ll be most excited about. Chef Lionel del Leon breathes new life into a classic Latin American dish, swapping out pork cracklings for fried tuna. Spoon meaty bits of the flash-fried fish into a steaming-hot corn tortilla, and then add a dollop of guacamole. Onion, cilantro and lime cut the richness and complete the flavor-packed appetizer-for-two. Just in case it needed reviving, your faith in the transformative power The tuna chicharrón of deep-frying will be quickly restored.

Refreshingly light, the Niçoise salad is a fine complement to the heavy chicharrónes.

Rosy slabs of seared tuna, crunchy green beans, hard-boiled egg and olives are drizzled with a house vinaigrette. It’s simple and unassuming, an iconic salad done without frills. I wish I could say the same about Hake’s Greek sandwich, which Beyond your average brasserie feels like a humdrum re-imagining of the gyro.

Hake’s version uses toasted brioche instead of For folks whose pockets run deep, downtown La pita, and although the roasted lamb is delicious, Jolla provides a wealth of dining options. Whiteit arrived a little cold—just a little, really, but tablecloth restaurants like Nine-Ten and George’s enough for me to notice. The fries almost make at the Cove prevail in the posh seaside neighborup for the sandwich’s slip-ups, but not quite. hood, where designer handbags often carry pintBecause I hadn’t devoured enough deep-fried sized dogs, à la Paris Hilton. Depending on my foods, I ordered the crispy broccoli with Serrano mood, La Jolla’s bougie undercurrents either leave ham. For anyone who’s struggled through a plateme feeling slightly amused or flat-out irked. ful of the green veggies, I suggest flash-frying Thankfully, eateries like the newly opened them. The end result is fantastic—the broccoli’s Hake Kitchen & Bar offer breaks from the fussitops adopt a delicate crispiness, like biting into a ness. The subterranean space (1250 Prospect St., transparently thin potato chip. The veggie’s flavor thehake.com) is polished and unpretentious— evolves, too, and tastes similar to roasted Brussels marble, dark-wood accents and studded leather sprouts with its toasted, almost meaty, undertones. create an inviting atmosphere.

Sure, the broccoli now has less nutritional value Hake’s toned-down opulence pairs well with than a Twinkie, but I’m somehow OK with that. its menu, which, despite citing Asian, Latin I popped the last greasy floret into my mouth American and Mediterranean influences, is coand experienced a profound revelation: Hake hesive and uncluttered. The one-page lunch and may not flaunt glittery ocean views like its neighdinner menus are split into five sections: appetizbors do, but it does serve up delectable, innovative fare, and really, that’s enough. ers, snacks, tiraditos, main courses and sides. You won’t find the restaurant’s namesake on either Write to minar@sdcitybeat.com one, though—our server notified us that hake live and editor@sdcitybeat.com. far away in the Mediterranean.

ONE LUCKY

SPOON

12 · San Diego CityBeat · March 12, 2014

the floating

library

by jim ruland

Reading the detectives One of the biggest surprises to come from the first seven episodes of HBO’s True Detective doesn’t occur onscreen; it comes with the revelation that the wildly popular show references Robert W. Chambers’ obscure short-story collection The King in Yellow.

While investigating the ritual murder of a young woman in rural Louisiana, the show’s detectives keep uncovering allusions to an entity called The Yellow King that presides over a place called Carcosa, where black stars shine. At first blush, it seems like the usual creepazoid blather that cop dramas use to convince the audience that this isn’t your garden-variety homicidal maniac, but incarnate evil with a capital “E.” After Episode 4, Michael Hughes, on the blog iO9, revealed True Detective’s link to The King in Yellow and declared, “Knowing this book is key to understanding the dark mystery at the heart of this series.”

Maybe, maybe not, but in Episode 5, when the monstrous Reggie Ledoux came stumbling out of the gates of meth wrapped in a My Little Pony towel and covered with jailhouse ink, muttering, “Black stars” and “You’re in Carcosa now,” a million viewers went scuttling to their search engines to look up Chambers’ The King in Yellow to find out what the hell he was talking about. And I was one of them.

Originally published in 1895, the book is in the public domain, and I was able to download it via the Kindle app for free.

I didn’t have to wait long to visit Carcosa. The book opens with a poem that references its “twin suns” and “black stars” and “strange moons.”

This was familiar territory for me. When I was a kid, I was a huge fan of pulp-fantasy writers like Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan, and H.P. Lovecraft, who was heavily influenced by Chambers. (Carcosa originated with the American author Ambrose Bierce.) In the idiom of the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game, where I got my first exposure to Lovecraft, I had plenty of experience points, but The King in Yellow surpassed my expectations.

In Chambers’ “The Repairer of Reputations,” a man injured after a fall from a horse addresses a grievance with a doctor whom the man believes misdiagnosed him. After a clunky multi-page accounting of historical events that establishes how this world differs from the one Chambers’ readers live in, the story takes off. The prose is

direct, the dialog sharp. The lugubrious scene setting that marks Lovecraft’s work is nowhere to be found.

While recuperating, the narrator reads a book called “The King in Yellow,” a book so disturbing that it “spread like an infectious disease from city to city, from continent to continent, barred out here, confiscated there, denounced by press and pulpit, censured even by the most advanced literary anarchists.”

Apparently, those who read “The King in Yellow” went stark raving mad. I won’t spoil the ending, but as the story progresses, the narrator’s actions become increasingly erratic, and it ends in violence, bloodshed and madness.

“The King in Yellow” is referenced in several other stories. In “The Mask,” the narrator reads only the first few pages but is haunted by visions of Carcosa. “In the Court of the Dragon,” a man seeks the solace of church after “three nights of physical suffering and mental trouble” brought on by reading the book and suffers a nervous breakdown. A similar fate awaits Tessie, an artist’s model in “The Yellow Sign,” who stumbles upon “The King in Yellow” in the apartment of a painter.

An element of the supernatural hangs over the stories like black stars over Carcosa. These elements do a marvelous job of distracting the reader from the fact that none of the narrators can be believed. It matters less that their sanity has been compromised than the fact that their accounting of events is highly suspect. If you’ve been paying attention to True Detective, you know that the detectives’ unreliability is crucial to the how the story-withinthe-story unfolds.

The King in Yellow is a symbol for knowledge so terrible that it cannot be unlearned. What I found most interesting about “The Yellow Sign” is that the artist didn’t realize he owned a copy of the dreadful book. It sat on his shelf in his own house, ticking like a time bomb.

Could this be the key to understanding True Detective? Will the revelation of secrets lurking in the detectives’ disordered houses be the catalyst that propels them over the edge of reason?

Maybe, maybe not—but thanks to Chambers’ weird little book, we’re all in Carcosa now.

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

March 12, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 13

the

SHORTlist

ART

COORDINATED BY KINSEE MORLAN

RAFAEL CARDENAS

Para la Familiar, for example—that allow audiences to more easily sort through and digest the many movies packed into this year’s festival. One of the showcases, HBO U.S. / Latino Cinema, features some of the best and brightest established and emerging Latino filmmakers working in the industry today. As a whole, the films strive to more honestly reflect the Latino experience.

“My film is really looking at Los Angeles from the Eastside out and not the Westside in,” says filmmaker Richard Montoya, whose feature-length movie, Water & Power, is screening twice at this year’s festival. “I think a lot of films don’t get that right.”

Montoya is a first-time filmWater & Power maker and a member of the famed Chicano performance troupe, Culture Clash. Based on a play, Water & Power is a poetic, noir film about The San Diego Latino Film Festi- twin brothers on opposite sides of the law. Shot in val is back from Thursday, March 12 days in 2012, the film is set during one harrowing 13, through March 23 with dozens of night and intimately examines the dark side of ambiscreenings, parties, star appearances and speakers tion and power. at UltraStar Mission Valley Cinemas Hazard Center Known mostly for his more lighthearted and hu(7510 Hazard Center Drive) and Digital Gym Cinema morous work with Culture Clash, Montoya says he (2921 El Cajon Blvd. in North Park). put on his “big-boy pants” for his film.

Curated by the Media Arts Center, the films have “It’s a big-boy movie with a driving soundtrack been nicely categorized into various showcases— and an honest story,” he says. “And I say that unapolCine Gay, Comedy Showcase, Cuban Film Showcase, ogetically. I’m not trying to make a cute kiddie film.”

Montoya’s film might be heavy, but there’s plenty of lighter stuff showing at the film fest, too. Hit up sdlatinofilm.com for all the details.

Dig out your passport or land card, because from 1 p.m. to midnight, Saturday, March 15, you’d be silly to skip one of the Apparently, we can thank the Spaniards coolest cultural gatherings south of the border. For for what we know as mariachi music— the third year, Arts and Trees brings its art, music, they introduced violins, guitars, horns clothing and crafts bazaar back to Tijuana, this time at Foodgarden (corner of Blvd. Sanchez Taboada and and woodwinds to Indian and mestizo musicians in Mision de Santo Tomas), a hip sort-of outdoor food Mexico after they colonized the place. The Mexicans court that opened last year with outposts for cult took it from there and developed the time-honored faves like Tacos Kokopelli or Los Chilaquiles, which folk-music style we enjoy in so many Mexican restauserves more than a dozen varieties of the traditional rants today. You can get a whole day full of the stuff at Mexican dish. There’s a long list of independent ven- the second annual Mariachi Festival and Competidors selling everything from jewelry and one-of-a- tion, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, March 15, at kind clothing to artwork and gourmet food. There’ll Pepper Park in National City. In addition to lots and also be some great live music, and admission is free lots of mariachi, there’ll be traditional ballet folklorico and Aztec dances, plus carnival games, pony rides, to all ages. Search for “Art and Trees” on Facebook. a children’s area, a food pavilion and a beer garden.

Admission is free. Check mariachifest.com for details, including shuttle and parking information.

1

2

FROM HEAVY TO LIGHT

TIJUANA-TASTIC

3

MUCHO MARIACHI

Sergei Rusakoff at Low Gallery, 3778 30th St., North Park. View new works by the abstract painter. From 6 to 10 p.m. Wednesday, March 12. lowgallerysd.com Artists’ Talk: Personal Narratives at SDSU Downtown Gallery, 725 West Broadway, Downtown. Artists Craig Carlson, David Hewitt and Susan Merritt discuss the current exhibition featuring the faculty of the School of Art and Design at SDSU. From 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 13.

619-501-6370, downtowngallery.sdsu.edu My Strangest Stranger at UCSD Art Gallery, Mandeville Center, La Jolla. New York-based artist Mary Walling Blackburn’s exhibition engages the psychic and performative aspects of extraterrestrial encounters. Opening from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 13. uag.ucsd. edu/upcoming-exhibition

14 · San Diego CityBeat · March 12, 2014

Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano

Women in Light at Luxe Gallery, 1081 16th St. (5th Floor), Downtown. The San Diego City College Photography Department presents its first exhibition celebrating Women’s History Month. This inaugural exhibition features the work of women faculty and staff. Opening from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, March 17. 619-388-3281

BOOKS

The Wall That Heals at Tuna Harbor Park, Tuna Lane, Little Italy. A half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial icomes to San Diego for a special four-day event that kicks off at 3 p.m. Thursday, March 13.

619-686-6200, vvmf.org

Kurt Koontz at Rancho San Diego Library, 11555 Via Rancho San Diego, El Cajon. The author reads A Million Steps, an account of his journey following the Spanish pilgrimage route, El Camino de Santiago. At 6 p.m. Thursday, March 13. 619-660-5370, sdcl.org

HLabor-Migrant-Gulf at Southwestern College Art Gallery, 900 Otay Lakes Road, Building 710, Chula Vista. Dozens of local and international artists made work to bring awareness to the struggles of the world’s poorest laborers. Opening receptions 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m.

Thursday, March 13. swccd.edu

Shannon Messenger at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. The author discusses and signs her new book, Let the Storm Break, a young-adult novel about teenagers with special powers. At 7 p.m.

Thursday, March 13. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com

HCommon Thread: That’s What I Thought You Said at Planet Rooth Design Haus, 3334 Fifth Ave., Hillcrest. Featured local artists are DJ Brelje and Alexis Archibald of the partnership Pityfab, and Sheena Dowling. The unlikely pairing of Pityfab’s mechanical devices versus Dowling’s ethereal fiber installations creates a fascinating relationship. Opening from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, March 14. 619-297-9663

Patricia Briggs at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. The bestselling author discusses and signs her newest in the supernatural heroine Mercy Thompson series, Night Broken. At 1 p.m. Saturday, March 15. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com

HRevising History at jdc Fine Art, 2400 Kettner Blvd. Suite 208, Little Italy. Chicagobased artist Jennifer Greenburg debuts her new series of manufactured images. Greenburg inserts herself into found negatives from the 1950s to take control of the depicted moment and effectively highjack the memory. Opening from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, March 14. 619-985-2322, jdcfineart.com 100 x 100: Artists for Healing at Hyde Art Gallery, 8800 Grossmont College Drive, El Cajon. Preview the 100 donated artworks and make a donation of $100 to the American Cancer Society to take the piece home. Opening from 7 to 9 p.m.

Friday, March 14. 619-644-7299, gross mont.edu/artgallery HThe Gates of Heck at Canvas Gallery, 1150 Seventh Ave., Downtown. A second showing of artist Perry Vasquez’s multimedia performance piece inspired

by Dante’s Inferno and Rodin’s “Gates of Hell.” At 8 p.m. Saturday, March 15. $10 canvasgallerysd.brownpaperticket.com HArt Above San Diego at Porto Vista Hotel, 1835 Columbia St., Little Italy. Eighteen o Five presents this open-air contemporary art fair that features collective works from emerging artists and art galleries. Participating artists include Sean Brannan, Bret Barrett and Hill&Stump.

From 2 to 8 p.m. Saturday, March 15.

619-544-0164, eighteenofivesd.com HSouth Of You No.3 at La Bodega Studios and Gallery, 2196 Logan Ave., Barrio Logan. A surf, skate and life group photo and art show featuring work from Orange and Park, Kevin Ferris, Rich Cook, Thomas Maher and many others. Opening from 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday, March 15, and Sunday, March 16. labodegagallery.com

“Untitled” by Colectivo 221

Gallery, 2117 Logan Ave. #1, Logan Heights. This event marks the launch of Con Design House. Artists such as Fotophunk, Ugo Villegas, Eddy Lizarragato and over a dozen more think about the home/ environment they live in and artistically render it into being. There will be music from Real J. Wallace and Dunga, as well as beer from Bear None Brewing. From 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, March 15. 619-792-2815

HNo Place Like Home at Chicano Art

Alyscia Cunningham at Women’s Museum of California, 2730 Historic Decatur Road, Barracks 16, Point Loma. The Washington D.C.-based photographer will discuss and sign her new book, Feminine Transitions: A Photographic Celebration of Natural Beauty. At 3 p.m. Saturday, March 15. Free with museum admission. 619-2337963, womensmuseumca.org HSummer Felix at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. As part of Warwick’s ongoing Weekend with Locals program, Felix will discuss and sign her novel, Lost and Profound, about a 30-something trying to piece her life together. At noon Sunday, March 16. 858-454-0347, warwicks.indiebound.com C.R. Downing at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. The local author and science teacher signs and discusses his debut sci-fi novel, Traveler’s Hot L, which offers accounts of time travel. At 2 p.m. Sunday, March 16. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com Kirsten Steno at BoConcept, 1550 Front St., Little Italy. The home and life coach will share her distinctive design philosophy, Empathetic Interior Design, and sign her new book, House-Coach.com. At 2 p.m. Sunday, March 16. 619-398-0745, boconcept.com HChris Pavone at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The Edgar Award-winning author will discuss his latest thriller, The Accident, about a manuscript that endangers anyone who possesses it. At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 18. 858454-0347, warwicks.indiebound.com Dan and Robison Wells at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. The authors (and brothers) will be on hand to discuss and sign books from their catalog, including Dan’s newest dystopian thriller, Ruins. At 7 p.m.

Wednesday, March 19. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com

COMEDY HMichael Che at American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., Downtown. The N.Y.based writer and standup comedian has been named one of Rolling Stone’s “ Funniest People” Buzzfeed’s “50 Hottest Men in Comedy” and Variety’s “Top 10 Comics To Watch” At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 13, and 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 14-15. $20. 619-7953858, americancomedyco.com HErik Myers at Comedy Palace, 8878 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. He has a machine-gun delivery as he tells his crazy stories of rehab, bad jobs and bad relationships. At 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 14-15. $20.

858-573-9067, thecomedypalace.com Jay Phillips at Mad House Comedy Club, 502 Horton Plaza, Downtown. He’s a regular on Chelsea Lately, Comedy Central and Jimmy Kimmel. At 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 14-15. $20. 619-702-6666, madhousec omedyclub.com HAnjelah Johnson at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Downtown. She may have started out as an NFL cheerleader, but this comedian and actress has made a pretty smooth transition. At 7 p.m. Friday, March 14. $29-$35. 619-570-1100, sandiegotheatres.org HCaitlin Doughty at Scottish Rite Center, 1895 Camino Del Rio South, Mission Valley. The Hemlock Society of San Diego presents the Los Angeles-based mortician and comedian, who will share her irreverent observations about Americans’ attitudes toward death, stories from the mortuary and more. From 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, March 16. 619-233-4418, hemlocksocietysandiego.org Kabir Singh at American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., Downtown. Kabir has been called “The Next Big Indian Comedian” and just appeared on Comedy Central and Starz. This show also features special guests Mario Montes and Jonny Eller. At 8 p.m. Sunday, March 16. $16.

619-795-3858, americancomedyco.com HFor The People Comedy Tour at American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., Downtown. Founded in 2009 by San Francisco comedian Frankie Quinones, this tour has since become one of standup comedy’s most high-energy and diverse shows featuring comedians from different ethnic backgrounds. At 8 p.m.

Wednesday, March 19. $12. 619-7953858, americancomedyco.com

DANCE HGala Flamenca at Spreckels Theater, 121 Broadway, Downtown. Directed by Angel Rojas, this performance brings to-

gether four of the world’s most celebrated flamenco artists direct from Spain. At 8 p.m. Thursday, March 13. $20-$75.

619-235-9500, lajollamusicsociety.org HSan Diego Dances at You Are Here, 811 25th St., Golden Hill. The PGK Dance Project and guest dancers team up for this fifth bi-annual show. Includes a performance inspired by Jean Paul Sartre and a special appearance by the San Diego Women’s Chorus. At 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 14-15. $15-$20.

6198867924, thepgkdanceproject.org

FOOD & DRINK The Eyes of Southern Cuisine at New Central Library, 330 Park Blvd., East Village. Culinary Historians of San Diego present Philip Dobard from the Southern Food and Beverage Institute who will discuss celebrating world food, drink and culture through Southern cuisine. From 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, March 15.

858-349-8211, chsandiego.com

HOLIDAY EVENTS Irish 4 a Day at Gaslamp Quarter, Downtown. A St. Patrick’s Day party hop at 18 pubs, nightclubs and bars in the Gaslamp with no cover, 10 welcome shots and a fun route guided by Irish fairies. From 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday, March 15. $49.

6199448900, Irish4ADay.com HSt. Patrick’s Day Parade & Festival at Sixth Avenue and Juniper Street, Bankers Hill. View more than 120 parade entries beginning at 10:30 a.m. followed by the festival inside Balboa Park with live entertainment on two stages, food, craft booths and two beer gardens. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 15, stpatsparade.org

Day, bands like Raggle Taggle and Jackstraws will perform along with Irish step dancers and more to be announced. Proceeds benefit the Maritime Museum. At 6 p.m. Monday, March 17. $25-$30. 619234-9153, celtic-con.com

HAshu at California Center for the Arts, 340 North Escondido Blvd., Escondido.

The saxophonist performs as part of the Intimate Classics series. At 7 p.m. Saturday, March 15. $20-$40. 800-988-4253, artcenter.org

and music to create an imaginative act where malfunctioning joke-spewing metal people play a collection of original Vaudeville inspired tunes fused with modern flare. At 7 p.m. Friday, March 14. $25.

619-255-5147, steampoweredgiraffe.com

HOpen Reading of Irish Poetry and Prose at D.G. Wills Books, 7461 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The annual event, now in its 35th year, invites the public to read Shaw, Yeats, Wilde, Joyce and other Irish greats with some help from Guinness and Harp. At 7 p.m. Monday, March 17. dgwillsbooks.com

Maria Guinand at Mandeville Auditorium, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. The famed Venezuelan choral conductor joins The La Jolla Symphony & Chorus for a concert of Latin American music. At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 15, and 2 p.m.

Sunday, March 16. $15-$29. 858-534TIXS, lajollasymphony.com

Meals4Hunger Benefit at Queen Bee’s, 3925 Ohio St., North Park. Enjoy a night of Big Band music and burlesque dancing from The American Fly Boys Big Band and Hell on Heels Burlesque Revue with proceeds benefitting Meals4Hunger. At 8 p.m.

Friday, March 14. $20. 619-203-5651

MUSIC Zzymzzy Quartet at Taylor Branch Library, 4275 Cass St., Pacific Beach.

PB Friends of the Library’s 2013-2014 Concert Series continues with this spirited group that plays gypsy swing music.

From 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 12. 858-581-9934, pblibraryfriends.org Beethoven’s Choice: Beauty and the Search for Meaning at Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St., Downtown. Join host Nuvi Mehta as he shares fascinating concepts about Beethoven’s extraordinarily creative life including a complete performance by Ken-David Masur and the San Diego Symphony of the first movement of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 13. $20.

619-235-0804, sandiegosymphony.org HShanna Carlson at La Jolla Community Center, 6811 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla.

Part of the Jazz in Your Neighborhood series, the San Francisco-based vocalist and pianist performs. At 7 p.m. Friday, March 14. $20. 858-459-0831, ljcommu nitycenter.org

HJazz at The Scripps Research Institute at TSRI, 10640 John J. Hopkins Drive, La Jolla. The music series continues with a performance featuring trumpeter Randy Brecker, drummer Peter Erskine, pianist Alan Pasqua and bassist Darek Oles. At 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 16. $35. ljathenaeum.org/jazz.html Mainly Mozart Youth Orchestra at New Children’s Museum, 200 W. Island Ave., Downtown. Enjoy a St. Patrick’s Day Celtic concert featuring traditional and classical Irish-centric music. At 6 p.m. Sunday, March 16. Free with museum admission.

619-233-8792, thinkplaycreate.org Family Festival Day at Spreckels Organ Pavilion, Balboa Park. Enjoy a family-friendly concert by organist Jared Jacobsen and special guests the San Diego Children’s Choir and young organist Sam Rudenberg. From 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, March 16. 619-702-8138, sosorgan.org

PERFORMANCE Steam Powered Giraffe at Four Point Sheraton, 8110 Aero Drive, Kearny Mesa.

Steampunk and futurism mesh with mime

HThe Growth of a Nation Through Four Decades of Unforgettable Music at Ruby G. Schulman Auditorium, 1775 Dove Lane, Carlsbad. In conjunction with Our Lives, Our Stories: America’s Greatest Generation exhibition at the William D. Cannon Art Gallery, this revue is an original musical theatre work. At 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 14-15, and 2 p.m.

Sunday, March 16. carlsbadca.gov HCirque Mechanics: Birdhouse Factory at Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St., Downtown. Created and directed

by Chris Lashua, the originator of the German Wheel act in Cirque du Soleil’s Quidam, watch acrobats, contortionists, jugglers and trapeze artists. At 8 p.m.

Saturday, March 15. $20-$85. 619-2350804, sandiegosymphony.org

POETRY & SPOKEN WORD Long Story Short: E-Problems at ArtLab Studios, 3536 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. So Say We All’s monthly improv storytelling show with pros and novices

CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

shamROCK Gaslamp Block Party at Gaslamp Quarter, Downtown. Now in its 19th year, this annual music fest along Fifth Avenue will feature dozens of bands and artists as well as the requisite beer gardens. See website for full details and lineup. From 4 p.m. to midnight. Saturday, March 15. $30-$65. 619-233-5227, sandiegoshamrock.com St. Patrick’s Day Half Marathon and 5K at Downtown El Cajon. This annual race through El Cajon features live entertainment on stages throughout the course, a kid-friendly Green Mile and an all-day beer and wine festival. Proceeds benefit local nonprofits. From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, March 16. $39-$59. stpat ricksdayhalf.com Celtic Music Festival at Maritime Museum of San Diego, 1492 N. Harbor Drive, Downtown. Just in time for St. Patrick’s

March 12, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 15

THEATER Ion’s double-header ramps up the fear An inscrutable sense of dread ties together Ion Theater’s two one-act plays now on stage in Hillcrest: Sam Holcroft’s Edgar & Annabel and Caryl Churchill’s Far Away.

While the opener, Edgar & Annabel, a spy story with karaoke (am not making that up), survives its inscrutability and even morphs into a suspenseful curiosity piece, the second work, Far Away, which is making its local premiere, never rises above enigmatic.

In the first play, characters who call themselves “Edgar” and “Annabel” are building a high-powered explosive in an English flat that’s been bugged. To mute the sound of bombmaking, they and their friends even engage in karaoke singing, making for a show that has its playful moments. Far Away’s creep-show theatrics, on the other hand, overwhelm whatever comment about war and survival is being forwarded.

Survival is the thread between the two plays, which, in total, run about an hour and 45 minutes with intermission. In Edgar & Annabel, the survival of “the organization” and its agents is at stake, as well as some unspecified revolt. In Far Away, survival is a grim, apocalyptic prospect for characters who remain mostly undefined. While we care about the occupants of the London flat in Edgar & Annabel, it’s fruitless to care about anyone in Far Away. They all might as well be ghosts.

Linda Libby, part of Ion’s company, directs both one-acts with ingenuity. She moves the actors in Edgar & Annabel around the little theater space, sometimes to within inches of the audience, in a way that ratchets up the tension. A slow, haunting parade of doomed hat-wearers is Far Away’s money moment. You sit there and hope none of them gets within inches of you.

All cast members other than 10-year-old Abby DeSpain appear in both plays, with Robin Christ alike sharing stories of their computer mishaps. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 12. $5 suggested donation. 619-2831151, sosayweallonline.com Jean Portante and Jerome Rothenberg at UCSD SME Performance Space Room, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla. Part of UCSD’s New Writing Series, this double reading will feature Paris-based poet and writer Portante and translator and anthologist Rothenberg, who is known for his work in ethnopoetics and performance poetry.

From 4:30 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 12. 858-534-2230, literature.ucsd.edu Kiik A.K. at Tiger! Tiger!, 3025 El Cajon Blvd., North Park. The Washington D.C.based poet performs new poems. His next book of poems, Heteronomy, will be out from Edge books later this year. From 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, March 16. tigertiger tavern.blogspot.com HSan Diego Writers, Ink. Reading at San Diego Writers Ink, 710 13th St., Downtown. National and local authors will read from published and new works.

Includes storyteller Kyle Minor (Praying Drunk), noir writer/musician Zack Wentz (The Garbageman and The Prostitute), poet Adam Deutsch (publisher of Cooper Dillon Books) and more. At 7 p.m. Sunday, March 16. sandiegowriters.org Renee Swindle at SDSU Library, 5500 Campanile Drive, College Area, College Area. The author of Please, Please,

16 · San Diego CityBeat · March 12, 2014

COURTESY: ION THEATRE

Zack Bonin and Abby Fields in Edgar & Annabel (as the secret agents’ boss and then the sinister matriarch Harper) looming large over each. Zack Bonin and Abby Fields give credence to the young couple’s raw nerves and heightening feelings for each other in Edgar & Annabel, while Hanz Enyeart and Christ actually elicit laughs in their paranoid discourse that leads up to Far Away’s “huh?” finale.

Too bad karaoke wasn’t employed in the second play on the bill—Nine Inch Nails would’ve been perfect.

Edgar & Annabel and Far Away run through March 29 at BLKBOX Theatre in Hillcrest. $20$35. iontheatre.com

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

OPENING I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change: A musical series of vignettes about love and relationships. Opens March 14 at Patio Playhouse in Escondido. patioplayhouse.com

For full listings,

please visit “T heater ” at sdcit ybeat.com

Please and Shake Down will do a special reading and will be the featured artist at the Laurie Okuma Memorial. At 7 p.m.

Wednesday, March 19. 619-594-4991, library.sdsu.edu

Heartland Masonic Lodge, 695 Ballantyne St., El Cajon. A new fair in El Cajon featuring handcrafted items and artisans from around San Diego County. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 15.

444-4197, ecacf.net

POLITICS & COMMUNITY

Paper Airplane Festival & STEAM Family Day at San Diego Air & Space Museum, Balboa Park. An annual event where visitors can learn to make paper airplanes, meet a giant electric giraffe, play with and assemble quadcopters and participate in a mass paper airplane launch at 2 p.m. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Sunday, March 16. Free-$18. 619-2348291, sandiegoairandspace.org

Global Social Hour at San Diego Diplomacy Council, 3604 30th St., North Park.

An opportunity for globally-minded San Diegans to converse with international visitors in a casual setting. Meet 17 U.S. Department of State-sponsored visitors from Angola, Armenia, Croatia, Denmark, Iceland and other countries. From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 12. $15.

619-291-8105, sandiegodiplomacy.org

SPECIAL EVENTS HSan Diego Festival of Science & Engineering at various locations. The sixth annual festival features a week of interactive demonstrations, hands-on activities and speakers to engage kids and families in science, technology, engineering and math. See website for details and schedule. Saturday, March 15 through March 27. 858-455-0300 x131, sdsciencefestival.com East County Arts and Crafts Fair at

Steve White Music & Art Festival at Seaside Bazaar, 459 S. Coast Hwy 101, Encinitas. The first of what’s planned to be an annual festival honoring the late blues musician. There’ll be live music, art booths and a Steve White documentary film screening at the La Paloma Theater at 7 p.m. From 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, March 16. 760753-1611, stevewhiteblues.com

SPORTS Golf Fest San Diego at Oaks North Golf Course, 12602 Oaks N Drive, Rancho Bernardo. Now in its 17th year, golfers can check out the latest golf technology and products. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 14-15. $10.

858-487-3021, golffestshow.com

TALKS & DISCUSSIONS HListening Anew: The Music of John Cage at New Central Library, 330 Park Blvd., East Village. Through lecture and live performance, artist Matthew Taylor introduces the work and ideas of 20th century artist/composer John Cage. From 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 12. 619-236-5800, sandiegolibrary.org HRedefining Beauty within the Context of Sustainability at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. For the second installment in the “Dialogues in Art & Architecture” series,

Robert Pincus moderates a discussion with Pittsburgh-based environmental artist and activist, Ann T. Rosenthal. At 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 13. ljathenaeum.org Emily Abruzzo at Woodbury School of Architecture, 2212 Main St., Barrio Logan.

Part of Woodbury’s lecture series, the writer, publisher, architect and partner in Abruzzo Bodziak Architects in New York will be giving a talk entitled “Time Files.”

From 6:30 to 8 p.m. Friday, March 14.

619-235-2900, architecture.woodbury.edu Achieving Sustainable Seafood in San Diego: Challenges and Native Solutions at Tijuana Estuary Visitor Center, 301 Caspian Way, Imperial Beach. Part of the Tijuana Estuary Speaker Series, Theresa Sinicrope Talley of UCSD will take a look at the sustainable seafood movement in

San Diego. From 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, March 15. 619-575-3613, trnerr.org From the Medieval to the Mannered, Superstitious to the Scientific at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. Art historian Victoria Martino will illuminate the complex interrelationships between the arts of the Renaissance in Europe from 1400 to 1600 in this weekly, five-part music and lecture series. She will be accompanied by Musica Pro Arte Ensemble. At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 18. $25-$90. 858-454-5872, ljathenaeum.org HBells and Whistles Design Group at Hepner Hall at SDSU, 5500 Campanile Drive, College Area. Part of SDSU’s Artists Designers in Real Time lecture series, the local design trio will discuss their work, which folks may know from places Starlite,

The Loft @ UCSD and Sycamore Den. At 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 18. 619-5945200, facebook.com/artistsinrealtime Georgia O’Keefe and Camille Claudel at Oceanside Museum of Art, 704 Pier View Way, Oceanside. Ann Hoehn will compare and contrast two artists: the legendary American artist Georgia O’Keeffe and the lesser-known, yet equally talented French artist Camille Claudel. From 10:30 a.m. to noon. Wednesday, March 19. $10. 760 435-3721, oma-online.org HMeeting of the Minds at Liberty Station, Roosevelt & Cushing, Point Loma.

Voice of San Diego arts reporter Kelly Bennett hosts an eclectic line-up of pechukucha-style presenters with a compelling theme: how some interesting things are made in San Diego. At 7 p.m. Wednes-

day, March 19. $20. voiceofsandiego.org

WORKSHOPS All Things Urban Garden & Fruit Trees at Art Produce Gallery, 3139 University Ave., North Park. Bring some gloves and pruning shears for a workshop with Nicole Schott (horticulturist, landscape designer) on urban gardening. At 4:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 13. $15 suggested donation. 619-584-4448, artproduce.org

For full listings,

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

March 12, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 17

Stacy Keck

vOiCe the VoicE CarrieS On Even without a home for the first time in six years, Voz Alta will not be silenced

by Seth Combs

Voz Alta Project Gallery’s “The Last Show on Earth” party marked the end of the roving art collective’s time in Barrio Logan.

a

week before, folks likely thought it was going to be just another Thursday-night jam session at Voz Alta Project Gallery. That’s not to imply that the music that sometimes emanated from 1754 National Ave. and into the Barrio Logan night was ever ordinary. Whether it was the rhythmic séances of Bill Caballero’s Latin Jazz jam sessions or the dub-style electro and timbale drumming of Cumbia Machin, locals were used to hearing exotic sounds coming from the space. If this were another neighborhood, the cops may have been called.

But here, most neighbors would just walk in, grab a can of Tecate and join the party.

On this Thursday, however, the crowd at Voz Alta was thick. Earlier in the week, the night had been rechristened as “The Last Show on Earth.” The show flyer and word of the space’s imminent closing had spread fast. And while patrons perhaps seemed more focused on the photography on the walls, the clear center of attention was Carlos Beltrán, Voz Alta’s curator, co-creator and mastermind since opening the space in 2008.

Wearing a Voz Alta T-shirt with the project’s cartoon logo of a house with arms and legs carrying a handkerchief on a stick, Beltrán was continuously hailed to take smartphone pictures with the mix of friends, poets and artists who showed up. If there was any sense of remorse, it was impossible to detect amid the tequila toasts and dancing in the gallery.

Catching up with Beltrán a few nights later, he was still reflecting on the evening and trying to articulate the mix of emotions after so many well-wishers had shown up for what they thought would be a more solemn occasion.

“I’m feeling good, and this isn’t a sad thing,” says Beltrán. “I just had to let people know we’re still doing shows.

It’s an art space, but this is Voz Alta Project, and that’s where we’re at: We’re moving on to the next project.”

Beltrán is quick to remind people that Voz Alta was never meant to end. Nor was it meant to be stationary. It started as a poetry space at 917 E St. until the construction

18 · San Diego CityBeat · March 12, 2014

of Petco Park all but forced it to move to another location in East Village. After three years of art, spoken word and music, San Diego City College bought the property and Voz moved yet again, this time to the Barrio Logan space. Beltrán sees the most recent closing as a way to get back to the movement’s transitory roots—the closing of one chapter, the beginning of another.

“What can I say? I was just getting cozy!” quips Bill Caballero, who’s now moving his Latin Jam night to the Mexican eatery El Zarape in Normal Heights after more than three years at Voz Alta. “I’ll miss it being in the Barrio. It’s as if that’s where I belong, whether I want to or not, and I feel most comfortable there.”

“The space was never meant to move so many times,” says Stephanie de la Torre, one of the founders of Voz Alta and its program director until it moved to Barrio Logan. “For most of us directly involved, the fact that it lasted this long, I don’t think we ever thought about it.”

But she adds that, much like what happened with the East Village spaces, “gentrification and redevelopment” ultimately made it too difficult to stay. It’s not exactly a new story: Artists move into a neighborhood, neighborhood becomes trendy, redevelopment starts, rents go up, artists move out. In Voz’s case, it seems they’ve always been the harbinger for other arts spaces moving in later. For Barrio Logan, before there was The Glashaus, The Roots Factory and the recently opened La Bodega warehouse space, there was Voz Alta.

“I think Voz Alta did what it had to do in this neighborhood. It created something and inspired a movement,” Beltrán says.

At the time this story was written, artist and curator Mario Chacon was considering renting the space and turning it into a live / work gallery and small gift store featuring the works of local Latino and Chicano artists. Chacon also wants to offer donation-based indigenous-music and -art classes for students and seniors. That deal fell through (Chacon is currently working to find a different venue in Barrio Logan), but hopes remain high that the building will again be a home for the arts. Chacon says the landlords would prefer leasing to an cultural organization.

“Whoever does move in, hopefully they’ll keep something like Voz going,” says Cesar Castaneda, who grew up down the street from the space and is in the process of opening Chicano Art Gallery, a new gallery at 2117 Logan Ave. “Voz Alta definitely inspired me personally.”

As for Voz Alta’s immediate plans, it seems the “Last Show on Earth” was not, in fact, the last. Beltrán believes that not having a physical space will be beneficial—it’ll free Kinsee Morlan up more time to focus on pop-up shows and new ideas as opposed to scrambling every month to make rent.

Voz Alta does have a space in Tijuana, or, as Beltrán lovingly describes it, a “compound with a big wall,” where they’ll host future shows, but with more of a focus on murals and street art, since it’s located in an alley. There’ll also be a Vozcurated show at Flying Panther Tattoo in Golden Hill in April with Ricardo Islas and Frankie Agostino, as well as a potential motorcycle-themed show at La Bodega down the road. Beltrán has also been talking to The Roots Factory about doing a photography exhibition.

“You know what?” Beltrán says. “We’ve been through this before. Our logo is a house moving.

That’s us. We’ve been withCarlos Beltran out a house before, and we’ll work on having another space when the time is right. But a space is just a space. You’ll see us around. We’re not going anywhere.”

Write to editor@sdcitybeat.com.

Produced by the CityBeat Advertising Department

21st Annual Latino Film Festival • 2014

21st Annual Latino Film Festival • 2014

Seen Local

Kinsee Morlan

Collaborative creations Barrio Logan is bustling. It’s not easy to score a parking spot in front of Daphne Hill and Anna Stump’s new space on Main Street, but extra effort is ultimately rewarded. Inside the large studio, the painters have claimed their territory: Stump’s large-scale nudes occupy one side, and Hill’s paintings—featuring domestic materials like wallpaper and placemats painted over with black silhouettes of figures and the microorganisms responsible for venereal diseases—on the other.

The pair has shared studio space for a while, but in the last few years, they’ve been collaborating under the pseudonym Hill&Stump (hillandstump. com). With two distinct bodies of work already emerging, the reception to their combined work has been positive. They’ve sold several pieces, and, this week, they’re featured in three exhibitions: LABOR MIGRANT GULF, opening at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Thursday, March 13, at Southwestern College Art Gallery in Chula Vista; Artists for Healing, opening at 7 p.m. Friday, March 14, at Grossmont College Hyde Art Gallery in El Cajon; and Art Above San Diego, opening from 2 to 8 p.m. Saturday, March 15, on the roof deck at Porto Vista Hotel (1835 Columbia St. in Little Italy).

The logistics behind the collaboration are straightforward: One or the other starts a piece, then pours a layer of epoxy resin. After it dries, the other artist adds another layer of paint and resin. That process continues until they’re both comfortable calling a composition complete.

“We don’t even know which side is right-side-up in the beginning,” Stump says. “And we try not to interrupt each other; we don’t hang over each other’s

Anna Stump (left) and Daphne Hill shoulders.”

They have few ground rules governing what they paint, and they allow themselves the freedom to change one another’s work dramatically. As a result, both of the artists’ recognizable styles show up—different painting techniques, color palettes and preferred subject matters find their way into the final pieces.

One body of work in Hill&Stump’s collection is unapologetically accessible—it’s simply about color, composition and beauty and mostly features flora from Southern California. Their newest collaborations, though, are focused on environmental trauma and are more challenging (and missing the layers of resin).

The artists work well together partly because they’ve been putting out their accessory line, Naughty Blonde Redux, for years, but the new collaboration has been eye-opening and inspiring to them both.

“I like to be thrown off because I’m very controlled,” Stump says.

“And I really like getting out of the formula,” Hill adds. “Collaborating is a great way to not fall into something that’s comfortable.”

—Kinsee Morlan

Border broadcast Together, Amy Sanchez and Misael Diaz are the the persistent roving vendors with the blankets, pigCog•nate Collective. Sitting in the official Cog•nate gybanks and other tchotchkes sold at the border.

Cruiser—an ’80s-era Chevy station wagon covered The market is familiar ground for Sanchez and Diaz, with imagery painted during a performance-art piece who maintained an experimental art space there for alby artists including Eric Wixon and Peru Dyer as the most two years and hosted children’s workshops, lancar was driven through traffic at the San Ysidro Port guage exchanges and artist residencies as they engaged of Entry—they explain their latest border interven- with the shop owners, many whose families have been tion, Dialogue in Transit: Evolution of a Line. there for generations. The artists’ work in the dynamic Kinsee Morlan “We’ve got quite a caravan space has resulted in productgoing,” Sanchez says of the development ideas for the mer“mobile conference” that’ll be chants and, overall, increased broadcast live on 87.9-FM at awareness of the market’s oftennoon on Saturday, March 15, ignored workforce. as a line of participating cars “You don’t talk to the venslowly moves amid the traffic dors,” explains Diaz, who grew at the border. The show invites up crossing the border. “It’s like people to join an open dialog you put up blinders…. I feel like about the 20-year anniversary I was told, ‘Don’t look too hard; of the North American Free don’t look them in the eye.’”

Misael Diaz (left) and Amy Sanchez Trade Agreement (NAFTA), With the conference and human rights, redevelopment of the San Ysidro Port other Cog•nate Collective projects, the artists hope of Entry and anything else that comes to mind. to increase awareness about border politics by putting Anyone can tune in or join by registering at real faces and places to the complicated policies. dialogintransit.com by March 13. Featured speakers “We’re interested in how the micro meets the include human-rights advocate Victor Clark-Alfa- macro,” Sanchez says. ro, artist Omar Pimienta and others. The Tijuana —Kinsee Morlan band Sonidero Travesura will perform as participants take a break to explore the Mercado de Arte- Write to kinseem@sdcitybeat.com sanías de la Línea, the marketplace that supplies and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

March 12, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 23

Stories we tell Wes Anderson’s new fable within a fable within a fable

by Glenn Heath Jr. Look at any Wes Anderson film and you’ll find a war story. In Rushmore, Max Fisher (Jason Schwartzman) brutally competes with Mr. Bloom (Bill Murray) for the affections a certain female teacher. In Fantastic Mr. Fox, Mr. Fox (George Clooney) and his tribe of sly pickpockets fight one battle after another against an evil farmer. Even Ralph Fiennes (left) and Tony Revolori Moonrise Kingdom shows how surprising consequences can emerge during the ongoing struggle be- and there. The only other Anderson film that comes tween adolescence and adulthood. While not gush- close to this kind of velocity is Fantastic Mr. Fox, ing with buckets of blood, each spills a few droplets which has the advantage of being in stop-motion to remind the viewer how fragile life can be. animation. Perhaps this makes The Grand Budapest It’s hard to fully consider Anderson’s darker incli- Hotel an even nervier experiment. Anderson shoots nations because he buries them under such colorful each storyline in different aspect ratios, uses elaboand textural Easter eggs. But the violence has always rate models and figurines for sets and marks key mobeen there; consider the long list of deceased pets that ments of the story with surprising bloodshed. litter his canon. So, what do we make of The Grand BuFrom all this chaos, both joyous and nefarious, Andapest Hotel, which may be Anderson’s first outright derson seems to be finally grappling with the self-dewar film? Set in a fictional Eastern European country structive nature of creativity. Anyone who’s sat down to on the precipice of combat, this wonderfully manic write a novel or a script knows how quickly you can lose fable pushes the nature of conflict to the forefront, sight of the narrative skeleton, wandering from one stoalmost uncomfortably so within a rowdy triptych of ry to the next until the starting point is obscured. While storylines that fold over each other like an evolving never sloppy, The Grand Budapest Hotel constructs its piece of cinematic origami. multiple plots to reveal the poetry of It all begins with a young womsuch stream-of-consciousness, the The Grand an marching through the snow in a endless possibility of story. That’s Budapest public park, paying homage to the not to say reality doesn’t come bust of a writer before sitting down crashing down eventually, an imHotel to read his novel that shares the portant thing to remember in a film Directed by Wes Anderson film’s title. From there, Anderson that alludes to a burgeoning fascist Starring Ralph Fiennes, Tony flashes back to 1985, when the enstate and the inevitability of death.

Revolori, Saoirse Ronan and shrined Author (Tom Wilkinson) The crazed adventures of Zero F. Murray Abraham discusses the labyrinthine nature and Gustave M., which occur in loRated R of the story, only to be interrupted cations as diverse as the serpentine by his son, who nearly decapitates hallways of The Grand Budapest our narrator with a pellet gun. It won’t be the last and the snowy Alps above, are always kept in check by time bullets whiz by a character’s head. the deep melancholy found in each narrator’s voice.

Once back on track, the older scribe recounts his This film—which opens Friday, March 14, at Hillcrest 1968 journey to a downtrodden hotel in the country of Cinemas—may look, feel and sometimes sound like Zubrowka. A grand palace of decadence long ago, The a powdery screwball fantasy, but, more so than even Grand Budapest is now in disarray. The younger au- The Royal Tenenbaums, it’s a requiem for many things: thor (played by Jude Law) meets the hotel’s mysterious friendship, family and fortitude, just to name a few. proprietor, Zero Mustafa (F. Murray Abraham), who As the credits roll, Zero’s esteemed description of then proceeds to confess his complicated origins over the aged hotel lingers most of all: “It’s an enchantdinner. Set in 1932, this final narrative layer centers on ing old ruin.” Anderson shares the same affection for the legendary hotel concierge M. Gustave (Ralph Fi- the volatile nature of memory, which always seems ennes), a slick and posh dandy who lords over young defined by one kind of war or another.

Zero’s (Tony Revolori) training as a lobby boy.

All of this unfolds at such an alarming rate that Write to glennh@sdcitybeat.com one would not be faulted for missing a detail here and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

Possession

Stranger by the Lake

24 · San Diego CityBeat · March 12, 2014

It’s a quiet lake, the kind of unassuming Eden you might happen upon by accident while out on a hike. Beams of sunlight rest softly on the glassy surface, as if finally finding a welcome pillow after a long journey through space. Serenity stretches from the endless blue sky all the way to the woods that surround the water.

Naked men mark the beach like disorganized chess pieces on a massive earthly board. Some sleep and some swim. Others disappear into the green thicket beyond to find a companion.

This is the pristine and slyly subversive locale of Alain Guiraudie’s Stranger by the Lake, a brilliant thriller about the disorientation of mind, body and soul.

We see this place through the eyes of Franck (Pierre Deladonchamps), a handsome young man who develops a connection with two very different individuals while spending time at the lake. There’s Henri (Patrick d’Assumçao), a pudgy mentor who sits beyond the boundaries of the cruising zone, an outsider even in this community of men pushed to the fringes of society. Michel (Christophe Paou) is a completely different beast, a handsome shark with dubious moral character who casts a spell over Franck the second he glides out of the water When Franck witnesses a murder, the codes and boundaries of the secluded place begin to break down, engulfing all three men in a tense series of interactions framed by the sublime façade of their surroundings. “The woods aren’t so big,” says a local police investigator, illuminating the dangerous overlap between what is public and private in a haven for individuals pushed to the fringes of society.

Stranger by the Lake—which opens Friday, March 14, and screens for one week only at Hillcrest Cinemas—may echo the suspenseful craft of Hitchcock and Chabrol, but it stands alone as a singularly haunting study of possession run afoul.

—Glenn Heath Jr.

Opening Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me: This documentary follows the legendary Broadway stage actress as she tries to launch another one-woman show at age 87.

Generation War: Big-budget World War II film tells the story of five young German friends who must make compromises and sacrifices as Berlin turns into an overtly fascist state. Screens through March 20 at the Ken Cinema.

The Face of Love: Ed Harris and Annette Bening star in a drama about a woman who falls in love with a man who bears a striking resemblance to her late husband.

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Ralph Fiennes leads an all-star cast in director Wes Anderson’s latest film, which takes place inside an elaborate European hotel populated by eccentric characters. See our review on Page 24.

The Lunchbox: In Mumbai, thousands of lunchboxes are delivered every day, thanks to a famously efficient service run by couriers. When one of these orders is delivered to the wrong address, the mistake inadvertently connects an aging businessman and an unhappy housewife.

Need for Speed: Based on the popular video game, this action film follows an ex-convict (Aaron Paul) street racer who vows to catch the man who set him up years before.

One Chance: Paul Potts (James Corden) is a shy, bullied shop assistant by day and burgeoning opera singer by night. Following his dream of being a professional singer, Paul decides to defy the odds and

The Face of Love enter the ultimate music competition, Britain’s Got Talent.

San Diego Latino Film Festival: Parties, workshops and more than 150 films only begin to scratch the surface of this 11-day event that will run March 13 through 23 at UltraStar Mission Valley Cinemas at Hazard Center and Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

Shirin in Love: This Iranian-American romantic comedy follows an absentminded young woman who, despite her arranged engagement to a successful Los Angeles plastic surgeon, falls in love with a stranger who lives in a lighthouse in Northern California.

Stranger by the Lake: Set at a pristine lake that doubles as a cruising spot, a young French man begins a torrid and potentially dangerous love affair with a handsome stranger. See our review on Page 24.

Tyler Perry’s Single Moms Club: The title really does say it all. uwantme2killhim?: A British teenager promises his online girlfriend that he’ll doing anything for her, not knowing this statement will get him embroiled in an elaborate crime that draws the attention of MI5.

One Time Only Animal House: Go back to the glory days of college with this raunchy classic that inspired many a fraternity brother to act like a fool. Screens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 12, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma.

Cesare Deve Morire: Inmates serving life sentences are given the opportunity to put on a theatrical rendition of Julius Caesar. Screens at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 13, at La Paloma Theater in Encinitas.

The Princess Bride: Rob Reiner’s classic fairy tale about a princess named Buttercup (Robin Wright) and the brave knight (Carey Elwes) who rescues her from imminent danger. Screens at 8 p.m.

Thursday, March 13, at Arclight La Jolla.

The Forgotten Space: Based on Allan Sekula’s 1995 book Fish Story, this documentary explores the impacts of globalization on farmers, maritime cargo workers and low-wage laborers. Screens at 6:30 p.m. Friday, March 14, at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego’s La Jolla location.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire: The saga of Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) continues in this sequel to the 2012 mega-hit based on the novel by Suzanne Collins. Screens at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 14 and 15, at Cinema Under the Stars in Mission Hills.

The Squid and the Whale: A couple’s bitter divorce pushes their two sons into a

battle of loyalty and trust in Noah Baumbach’s biting dark comedy. Screens at noon on Sunday, March 16, at the San Diego Public Library in East Village.

The Terminator: This lighting-speed action film made Arnold Schwarzenegger a star and launched a sci-fi series that’s resonated with audiences for nearly three decades. Screens at 5 p.m. Sunday, March 16, at Arclight La Jolla.

My Tiny Universe: Hollywood gets skewered once again in this dark comedy about a big-time producer who lets his personal life destroy his professional successes. Screens at 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 17, at the San Diego Public Library in East Village.

Nebraska: Alexander Payne’s black-andwhite drama finds an elderly man (Oscar nominee Bruce Dern) embarking on a journey to redeem what he believes to be a winning sweepstakes letter. Screens at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 18, at the Hervey Branch Library in Point Loma.

Pearl Peep’s Movie Choice: It’s Pearl’s choice, so don’t worry and just show up. Whatever it is will screen at 8 p.m.

Wednesday, March 19, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma.

Black Pond: When a stranger dies at their dinner table, an ordinary British family scrambles to bury the dead body.

Screens at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 19, at the Scripps Ranch Public Library.

Now Playing 300: Rise of an Empire: More Spartan chest thumping and skewering, this time in retaliation for the fallen soldiers featured in Zach Snyder’s 2006 gore-fest.

Bethlehem: An Israeli secret-service agent attempts to get a Palestinian informant to incriminate a high-ranking terrorist who’s about to carry out an attack.

If You Build It: Two designers and a group of students embark on a radical woodshop project in a Midwest town desperately in need of rebuilding. Ends March 13 at the Ken Cinema.

Visitors: Godfrey Reggio’s (Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi) experimental black-andwhite documentary explores humanity’s growing alienation from the physical world.

Ends March 13 at Hillcrest Cinemas.

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

March 12, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 25

alex

there she goz

zaragoza Floating in heartbreak Heartbreak is real and inescapable. It doesn’t matter thing out quite literally, which led me to floating how girl-powered you are, how smart you are, how naked in a sensory-deprivation tank. intolerant of bullshit you are or how wise you have I went to Float Spa in Miramar, accompanied by become after making shitty life choices in the past. my close friend Shawna. When we arrived, the reYou will get your heart crushed. Your heart will be a ceptionist showed us to our individual rooms that bucket of grapes being trampled on like the grapewere outfitted with soft blue mood lighting, newstomp lady of Internet fame, and you’ll most likely age flute music, ear plugs, a neck pillow and a giant fall flat on your face with a resounding “Ow, ow, pod filled with warm water and Epsom salt. I was to ow” just like she did. Because another thing about strip down naked and get in the pod, closing a hatch heartbreak: It usually comes with a large helping of door behind me. Once in there, I was instructed embarrassment. to lie down. The salt in the water would make my Almost five years ago, I ended my marriage after body completely buoyant and I would just float in my husband became a serious drug addict and the total darkness and silence. situation became abusive. It took years to get over, Fans of floatation therapy do it for a number of and every day I’m reminded of that massive bumreasons. Some go for stress relief and to achieve mer when I look at my driver’s license or debit card, total relaxation, others do it to help with pain. I which still bear his last name. was there for the third reason floatation therapy Still, that wasn’t even my first true heartbreak. has become popular: to allow your brain to be That honor belongs to my dad, who was a supportcompletely clear and focus on something with ive father, just not the greatest husband. When planzero distractions. ning his memorial service, my siblings and I joked I stripped down and got in the pod, immediabout how a bunch of weeping women might show ately rolling over because of the water’s buoyanup in sexy, black-lace dresses with kids who had his cy. My skin became itchy and slimy from the salt. crooked nose or buggy eyes. I miss my dad every I closed the hatch door behind me and lay back single day, but one of the hardest lessons I’ve had into the nothingness. to learn was that he was far from During my one-hour sesperfect. I would try to find better. sion, I seemed to slip in and out Even with that promise made of complete consciousness. I I’ve never felt so to myself and some tough-love was never quite awake or really weightless yet aware lessons the universe has sent me, I dreaming, and I lost sense of how still recently ended up once again of the mass and long I was in there. I just floated balled up in bed with Moonstruck and drifted in space and time. heaviness of my body. on TV and tear-soaked tissues Thoughts and memories would It was warm and weird. scattered all around me. There’s pop into my head: my boyfriend’s no defense against heartbreak, apologetic face; picturing myself but if there were, I would take it, in the same position, only in a because this sucks. coffin; sentences I would include in this column; a Without getting into too many details, I was joke about Jim Morrison’s ghost popping up in the brought to a crossroads in my current relationship pod and offering me a joint. There wasn’t a lot of and I have no clue what to do. It’s been my best relarhyme or reason to these mental snapchats. tionship so far, and he was happy, too. We were hapEventually, I stopped feeling the water and I py. But relationships aren’t black-and-white, and felt like I was in outer space—not that I know what neither is heartbreak or the idea of forgiveness. that’s like (NASA still hasn’t responded to my letIn these situations, everyone has an opinion ters). Here and there, I was reminded of my surabout what you should do or what they would do if roundings, but then I’d drift back into the black they were in your shoes. It becomes overwhelming. again and the pictures and thoughts would resume.

There was noise everywhere, and it was no longer The air was thick, and all I could hear was the sound helping. It’s been a struggle trying to find a balance of my heart beating in my chest. I’ve never felt so between what I want to do and what I think is right weightless yet aware of the mass and heaviness of to do. As my friend Richie told me, it’s hard for my body. It was warm and weird. writers to be fully in any situation because we are Shawna would later tell me she experienced the same thing. When my floatation time was up, I always floating above it, examining, analyzing and stepped into a shower. I stood there, letting the water writing the story of it in our head. rinse the salt out of my burning eyes. I wasn’t much I lay in bed at night wishing for a time-travel macloser to a solution to my heartbreak, but I probably chine that would allow me to see the outcome of shouldn’t have expected it. Still, that hour of silence every choice I could make. Unfortunately, science and darkness and solitude were a godsend. I’ll evenhasn’t gotten its shit together yet to make that haptually figure it out. For now, I’ll just stay tough and pen. Way to blow it, science. try to continue cancelling out the noise.

The only thing I could think to do was cancel out the noise. Maybe if I turned everything off, I would Write to alexz@sdcitybeat.com have an epiphany. A flash would come and I would and editor@sdcitybeat.com. just know what to do. But I wanted to cancel every-

26 · San Diego CityBeat · March 12, 2014

Watch

the

throne

St. Vincent explores a powerful new dynamic • by Jeff Terich

“N

early all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”

This quote, attributed (possibly erroneously) to Abraham Lincoln, came up toward the end of a 30-minute phone conversation with Annie Clark, the guitarist and singer / songwriter behind St. Vincent. Well, partially, anyway— Clark stopped herself before finishing the quote, on the off chance she might potentially misquote Lincoln.

“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool,” to bring up another specious Lincoln quote.

In context, she was in the middle of an explanation about the image that adorns her new, self-titled fourth album, which was released Feb. 25 on Loma Vista Records. The image—a silver-haired Clark, clad in a reflective purple and blue gown, perched upon a pink throne and looking dead-eyed at the camera—is indeed a powerful one. And power, it turns out, was the primary motivation behind this presentation of the next phase of her career.

“I was wanting to communicate a sense of power, and that led me down the rabbit hole of what power is and what power looks like,” Clark says from a tour stop in North Carolina. “Different people wield power in different ways. And power to me seemed like symmetry and order and intention.”

Musically, St. Vincent is nothing if not powerful. Since 2007, with the release of her debut album, Marry Me, Clark has been continually building on her bold, shape-shifting art-pop sound, taking greater risks and putting new twists on conventional pop songs with each permutation. On 2009’s Actor, she juxtaposed abrasive, deftly performed guitar riffs against lush string arrangements, and on 2011’s Strange Mercy, Clark stripped away some of the excess, revealing some of her most stark arrangements to date, as well as some of her best.

Clark—who’ll perform at House of Blues on March 19—takes another stylistic turn on her latest record, feeding live performances through a heavy filter of processing and effects, yielding what she refers to as “the feel of human beings but the sound of machines.” The album’s Renata Raksha

CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

March 12, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 27

rebecca wilson / flickr

first track, “Rattlesnake,” begins with a skipping electronic beat before ramping up into a hyperactive video-game arrangement, while “Digital Witness,” which lyrically examines ideas of surveillance and documenting a life online, transitions between exclamatory horn-section hooks and a big, distorted chorus. There are few moments throughout the album’s 11 tracks that don’t hit with maximum impact, whether it’s the opening couplet of “Oh what an ordinary day / Take out the garbage, masturbate” on “Birth in Reverse” or the noisy, climactic finish to “Huey Newton.”

St. Vincent is very much a rock album, just one that—by design—doesn’t much sound like a conventional rock album.

“I wanted to make it groove,” Clark says.

“And when I think about what’s interesting to me, sonically, now, especially from a rhythm section standpoint, hip-hop is where it’s at. And I think people take a lot of risks in hip-hop from a sonic perspective.

“I’m not interested in preserving, like, the canon of the past in terms of rock,” she con-

tinues. “All music is cool music, and I’m interested in all of it. But from a rhythm perspective, what happens in hip-hop is way more interesting than what happens in rock.”

Before getting to work on St. Vincent, however, Clark in 2012 released Love This Giant, an album recorded with David Byrne that—in a situation that happens so rarely in pop-music collaborations—fits in comfortably in both artists’ catalogs. In the year that followed, Clark and Byrne maintained a heavy tour schedule, playing stages around the world, from North America to Europe, Iceland to Australia.

And maintaining a busy schedule isn’t necessarily new to Clark—tour-date aggregator Songkick lists 503 shows under her belt so far, not counting her performances as a musician in Polyphonic Spree or Sufjan Stevens’ band.

But when Clark reached a break after a long trek with Byrne, she didn’t seize the opportunity to relax for a month or two.

In fact, as she told NPR’s “All Songs Considered” in January, she started writing

28 · San Diego CityBeat · March 12, 2014

her new record just 36 hours after the tour ended. And while she says that inspiration is something that comes to her as she works, rather than spontaneously (“Songs will tell you what they want to be,” she says), there’s a simple reason for what led her to pick up her guitar so quickly after logging so many miles: It’s her job.

“When I sit down to write a record, I think about it like [I’m] a person putting on a suit and tie and going to a day job,” Clark says. “If you call yourself a songwriter, you better spend a lot of time songwriting. But inspiration is the kind of thing that happens sometimes four hours in, when you’ve been working on a Rubik’s cube for a while, and then suddenly you’re like, ‘Oh, I get it!’”

For Clark, that job entails a lot more than simply writing songs. You don’t catalog as many live shows as she has without being, above all, an entertainer—which is perhaps the best title to print up on her business cards. She has a dynamic live presence, pulling off the tricky task of being both a charismatic frontwoman and a skilled guitarist.

Put more succinctly: She shreds.

With this new phase of St. Vincent, that stage presence means the addition of new elements: couture wardrobe, elaborate lighting, choreography and her unmistakable crown of argent curls. As jobs go, Clark acknowledges that hers is peculiar, though she’s just as quick to express her gratitude for being in the position to which she’s ascended.

“It’s a strange job,” she says. “Here, construct a castle out of the ether and then hope that people want to live in it for 40 minutes, every once in a while. It’s a really strange conceit, and it’s an amazing one that I feel so lucky to be involved with, and to get to give back to music some tiny sliver of what music has given to me over my entire life.”

St. Vincent is certainly an enchanting castle—and Annie Clark is its benevolent ruler, commanding her surreal empire from a glossy pink throne.

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

Amanda De Simone

Notes from the Smoking Patio

Little Hurricane will fit in well in Texas.

San Diego at SXSW Touching down in Austin this week for South by Southwest?

Hoping to catch a few of San Diego’s finest this year? I’ve assembled a roundup of local acts that are performing at the festival.

So, if you’re reading CityBeat on your phone between bites of ribs in Texas, here’s your guide to San Diego musicians at SXSW: The Burning of Rome: Locals are pretty familiar with how dynamic a live band The Burning of Rome is, but I’m pretty confident that they’ll win over newcomers—even while having to compete with the buzz bands sucking up all the air in the other rooms on Sixth and Red River. (8 p.m. Saturday, March 15, at The Iron Bear) A.J. Croce: Singer / songwriter A.J. Croce is essentially a household name in San Diego, and his career has found him working with legends like Leon Russell and Allen Toussaint. But he enters SXSW with the best kind of hype: an endorsement from Texas legend Willie Nelson. (9:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 15, at St. David’s Bethel Hall) The Donkeys: This wouldn’t be the first time that eclectic indiepop outfit The Donkeys perform at SXSW, and, this year, they’ve got a pretty full schedule, including two sets at Cheers Shot Bar. (Thursday and Friday, March 13 and 14) Little Hurricane: This small band has a big sound, and they bring it to a powerful climax in their new single “Sheep in Wolves Clothes.”

The duo will perform their bluesy pop while sandwiched between

other buzz bands like The Darcys and Sylvan Esso at the Paradigm Management showcase.

(9 p.m. Wednesday, March 12, at Holy Mountain) OFF!: OK, technically, OFF! isn’t a San Diego band, but the group of hardcore punk veterans includes drummer Mario Rubalcaba of Earthless and Rocket from the Crypt. I saw them at Emo’s in 2011, and they absolutely rocked the now-shuttered venue—which they play again this year, under its new name: The Main. (Midnight, Thursday, March 13) Okapi Sun: This electro-pop duo is a little bit silly for my tastes, but I won’t deny how catchy their tunes are. In fact, 91X has them in regular rotation, which bodes well for their marketability outside of the region. They’re playing the showcase put on by Requiemme, which is run by another notable San Diegan (and brother to a famous Austinite): former Dragons frontman Mario Escovedo. (10 p.m. Friday, March 14, at Javelina) The Silent Comedy: The Silent Comedy have always seemed like they’d eventually be big outside of their home city, and a headlining slot at the JamBase showcase is one piece of evidence that it’s coming true. Their earthy folk-rock should help them fit in comfortably in Austin. (1 a.m. Thursday, March 13, at Tap Room at the Market)

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

March 12, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 29

if i were u

BY Jeff Terich

Wednesday, March 12 PLAN A: Fax, Machino, Vampire Slayer, Al-B, Schem, Rancho Shampoo @ The Casbah. Tijuana-based Indian Gold Records is hosting a showcase of its artists at The Casbah (a little bit like a certain Austin festival, happening at the same time), mostly focused on dark, synth-based sounds. If you’re a post-punk junkie, or just looking to see what cool sounds are happening south of the border, don’t miss this one.

Thursday, March 13 PLAN A: Purling Hiss, Tar Halos, Marqay @ Soda Bar. I once saw Philadelphia’s Purling Hiss open for The War on Drugs, and though both bands were plenty loud, Purling Hiss was the one that made me fear for the future of my hearing. They’ve got plenty of squealing, Dinosaur Jr.-style jams in their bag of tricks, so protect your ears and rock out along with ’em. PLAN B: This Will Destroy You, Silent Land Time Machine @ The Casbah. A name like This Will Destroy You evokes a certain menace, but this postrock group is a lot more graceful and glacial than that might imply. Not that they don’t hit some big crescendos, but if they destroy anything, it’ll probably be that stoic front you put on. Sniff. BACKUP PLAN: Light Thieves, Smoke Season @ Bar Pink.

Flam Review, Gary Hankins, Matt Strachota, Matt Molarius @ The Casbah.

Sunday, March 16 PLAN A: Yellow Ostrich, Pattern is Movement @ The Casbah. On some level, Yellow Ostrich play the kind of indie rock that populates a hefty chunk of our record collections. But they incorporate the occasional samples, vocal experiments and arena-rock choruses to stand out on their own.

And when every Schmoe and his second cousin have an indie-rock band, putting even a slightly unusual twist on a familiar sound can make a big difference. PLAN B: Far Out Fangtooth, Hong Kong Fuzz, Flash Hits, Sleeping Ghost @ Soda Bar. How can you not like a band called Far Out Fangtooth?

OK, it’s probably easier than I think it is, but this group—which combines goth and psychedelic rock in one dark, massive sonic assault—will win you over, regardless.

Monday, March 17

PLAN A: Jamuel Saxon, Lorna Dune, Mirror Pop, The Spark Three, Office Twins DJs @ Soda Bar. Keith Milgaten is returning to San Diego to bring Jamuel Saxon back together for one night only. If you’re feeling nostalgic, or you just want to hear some good indie pop, this is a much Friday, March 14 better way to spend St. Patrick’s Day than PLAN A: Larry and His Flask, Scott H. watching frat boys puke green vomit.

Biram, Whiskey Shivers @ The Casbah. CityBeat writer Joshua Emerson Smith would probably have words with me if I left out Larry and His Flask, but I’m a little more interested in Scott H. Biram, a singer / songwriter who falls heavily on the outlaw side of outlaw country.

PLAN B: Shake Before Us, Stalins of Sound @ Whistle Stop Bar. A free show at the Whistle Stop? With two great punk bands—one of which (machine-punk destroyers Stalins of Sound) just got the EXPerfect Pussy TRASPECIALGOOD seal of approval in our Tuesday, March 18 recent Local Music Issue? Count me in.

PLAN A: Perfect Pussy, Kids, Lube @ The Che Café. You shouldn’t Google “Perfect Saturday, March 15 Pussy” if you’re at work, but you can take my PLAN A: Iron Chic, Dan Padilla, Bastards word for it that this innovative, noise-addictof Young, Western Settings, Caskitt @ ed Syracuse punk band will blow your mind.

Til-Two Club. First of all, Iron Chic is a See ’em without having to deal with the long great pun. Second, the band has a fantastic lines, congested streets and buzz-chasers of melodic post-hardcore / emo sound that’ll SXSW. PLAN B: Lost in the Trees, Icy Demake you feel like the late ’90s never ended. mons @ The Casbah. Lost in the Trees have But in a good way! PLAN B: Tommy Cas- a name that might sound like beard-folk, but tro and the Painkillers, The Tilt, Tasha they seem to have actually spent more time Taylor @ Belly Up Tavern. Blues rock gets listening to Radiohead and Shearwater than a lot of flak (often from me) for good rea- Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Their new alson—it’s been done to death, usually with- bum, Past Life, is both elegant and catchy, out being distinguishable from any existing which isn’t something you get to say too blues rock. Tommy Castro’s got some chops, often. BACKUP PLAN: Heavenly Beat, though, so consider this an exception. Dancing Strangers, Chrome Wilderness, BACKUP PLAN: Grampadrew’s Flim DJ Nübody @ Soda Bar.

30 · San Diego CityBeat · March 12, 2014

March 12, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 31

HOT! NEW! FRESH! Lo-Fang (Casbah, 4/3), Adolescents (Casbah, 4/4), The Cult (Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay, 4/5), The Dodos (The Loft, 4/11), John Scofield (The Loft, 4/13), Deadphones (The Loft, 4/21), Big Mountain (BUT, 4/23), David J (Soda Bar, 4/28), DIIV (Casbah, 4/28), Howler (Soda Bar, 4/30), Visage (Casbah, 5/7), Yoni Wolf (Che Café, 5/8), Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger (Casbah, 5/16), Iggy Azalea (HOB, 5/17), Katchafire (BUT, 5/20-21), Howlin’ Rain (5/20, Casbah), Blood Red Shoes (Casbah, 5/26), Eagulls (Casbah, 5/28), The Green (BUT, 5/29), Merle Haggard (BUT, 5/30), Nashville Pussy (Soda Bar, 6/6), Electric Six (Casbah, 6/15), Josh Rouse (Griffin, 6/22), Sly and Robbie (BUT, 6/26).

GET YER TICKETS Tool (Valley View Casino Center, 3/16), St. Vincent (HOB, 3/19), Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings (HOB, 3/22), Too $hort (Porter’s Pub, 3/28), Rome (BUT, 4/6), Mogwai (BUT, 4/15), Cypress Hill (HOB, 4/17), Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (Casbah, 4/17), JGhost B.C. (HOB, 4/26), Danny Brown (Porter’s Pub, 5/2), Goblin (HOB, 5/2), Tokyo Police Club (BUT, 5/2), The Bad Plus (The Loft at UCSD, 5/4), Manchester Orchestra (HOB, 5/6), Old 97s (BUT, 5/8), Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs (Casbah, 5/17), Suzanne Vega (BUT, 5/25), Lady Gaga (Viejas Arena, 6/2), Wanda Jackson (Casbah, 6/7), Lionel Richie (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 6/7), Little Hurricane (HOB, 6/7), EMA (Casbah,

32 · San Diego CityBeat · March 12, 2014

6/29), World Party (BUT, 6/29), Dierks Bentley (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 7/27).

March Thursday, March 13 El Ten Eleven at Belly Up Tavern. Purling Hiss at Soda Bar.

Friday, March 14 Umphrey’s McGee at House of Blues.

Saturday, March 15 The Mary Onettes at Soda Bar.

Sunday, March 16 Tool at Valley View Casino Center.

Monday, March 17 Jamuel Saxon at Soda Bar.

Tuesday, March 18 Perfect Pussy at The Che Café.

Wednesday, March 19 St. Vincent at House of Blues. Wakey!

Wakey! At The Casbah. Galactic at Belly Up Tavern.

Thursday, March 20 Weekend at The Casbah. Bayside at House of Blues. The Toadies at Belly Up Tavern

Friday, March 21 Small Black at The Casbah. The Orwells at The Casbah. G. Love and Special Sauce at House of Blues. Total Chaos at

Soda Bar. Nobunny at The Casbah.

Saturday, March 22 Kings of Leon at Sleep Train Amphitheatre. Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings at House of Blues. Jeremy Messersmith at House of Blues.

Sunday, March 23 London Grammar at House of Blues.

John Legend at Balboa Theatre. Ana Tijoux at The Casbah. Lady Antebellum at Sleep Train Amphitheatre.

Monday, March 24 Kool Keith at The Casbah. Fanfarlo at House of Blues. The Sounds at House of Blues.

Tuesday, March 25 The Reverend Horton Heat at The Casbah. Delta Rae at Belly Up Tavern. The Sounds at House of Blues.

Wednesday, March 26 The Reverend Horton Heat at The Casbah.

Thursday, March 27 The Reverend Horton Heat at The Casbah.

Friday, March 28 Too $hort at Porter’s Pub.

Saturday, March 29 Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks at The Casbah. San Diego Experimental Guitar Show 2014 at Soda Bar.

Monday, March 31 The Appleseed Cast at The Casbah.

William Tyler at Soda Bar. Celtic Woman at Copley Symphony Hall. Cut Copy at House of Blues.

rCLUBSr

710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave, Pacific Beach. 710bc.com. Wed: Open mic, open jam. Fri: Ryan Hiller (5 p.m.); Black Salt Tone, Sono Vero, City Reef (9 p.m.).

Sat: Thrive, The Stir Crazies, The Wiley Ones. Mon: Casey Turner, DJ Artistic.

98 Bottles, 2400 Kettner Blvd. Ste. 110, Little Italy. 98bottlessd.com. Fri: ‘Tribute to Joe Henderson’ w/ Ian Tordella. Sat: Black Mambo. Sun: Steph Johnson.

‘Neon Beat’. Mon: Husky Boy All Stars.

Aragon y Royal.

Bassmnt, 919 Fourth Ave, Downtown. bassmntsd.com. Thu: CaliParis, Arturo Sierra. Fri: Brillz. Sat: Candyland, Kill Paris.

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

Fri-Sat: Erik Myers.

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

Thu: Phil Carillo. Fri: Dave Booda Band.

Sat: Slower. Sun: Joe Cardillo.

Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave, Solana Beach. bellyup.com. Wed: Paul Cannon Band, Lee Coulter, Luke Williams. Thu: El Ten Eleven, DWNTWN. Fri: Common Sense, Stripes and Lines.

Sat: Tommy Castro and the Painkillers, The Tilt. Sun: Lake Street Drive, The Congress (sold out). Tue: John Nˆ’meth with The Bo-Keys, Nathan James.

Bluefoot Bar & Lounge, 3404 30th St, North Park. bluefootsd.com. Wed: DJs Francy Pants, P Star. Thu: DJ Capitol.

Fri: DJs Ele, Andre Power. Sat: DJ Virusss. Sun: DJs Grassy Noll, Iggy. Tue: DJs Sorry Shark, Bruin Jams.

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

Wed: ‘Discoisfordancing’ w/ DJs Organic Method, Darkloard Gob, Ethereal. Thu: ‘Dive’ w/ DJs ALA, Mikeytown. Fri: DJ Junior the DiscoPunk. Sat: ‘Juicy’ w/ Mike Czech. Sun: ‘Sunday Sonic Chill’ w/ DJ Shermz.

Boar Cross’n, 390 Grand Ave, Carlsbad. boarcrossn.net. Thu: Chris Hahn. Fri: ‘Club Musae’. Sat: Hazmatt, Zig Jones.

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

Wed: Maria Bamford. Thu-Sat: Michael Che. Sun: Kabir Singh. Tue: Open mic.

Bourbon Street, 4612 Park Blvd, University Heights. bourbonstreetsd.com. Wed: VJ K Swift. Thu: ‘Wet’. Sun: ‘Soiree’. Tue: Karaoke.

AMSDconcerts, 1370 Euclid Ave, City Heights. amsdconcerts.com. Sat: David Bromberg.

Bang Bang, 526 Market St, Downtown. facebook.com/BangBangSanDiego. Thu: GTA. Fri: Shadow Child, Lee K.

Brass Rail, 3796 Fifth Ave, Hillcrest. thebrassrailsd.com. Thu: DJ Simon Taylor.

Fri: ‘Wired’. Sat: ‘Sabado en Fuego’ w/ DJs XP, KA. Sun: ‘Noche Romantica’ w/ Daisy Salinas. Mon: DJ Junior the DiscoPunk, XP.

Bar Pink, 3829 30th St, North Park. barpink.com. Thu: Light Thieves, Smoke Season. Fri: Euphoria Brass Band. Sat:

Cafe Sevilla, 353 Fifth Ave, Downtown. cafesevilla.com. Wed: Aro di Santi. Thu: Malamana. Fri: Joeff and Co. Sat-Sun:

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

Fri-Sat: Dean Delray.

Croce’s Park West, 2760 Fifth Ave., #100, Bankers Hill. croces.com. Wed: The Matt Smith Neu Jazz Trio. Thu: Dave Scott. Fri: Lorraine Castellanos Quartet.

Sat: Berkley Heart Selis Twang. Sun: Patrick Berrogain.

Dirk’s Nightclub, 7662 Broadway, Lemon Grove. dirksniteclub.com. Fri-Sat: FX5.

Dizzy’s, 4275 Mission Bay Drive, Mission Bay. dizzyssandiego.com. Fri: Keneally Bendian Lunn. Sat: Chuck Perrin. Sun: ‘Women In Jazz’ w/ Allison Adams Tucker.

Mon: Celtic Groove.

El Dorado Bar, 1030 Broadway, Downtown. eldoradobar.com. Wed: ‘The Tighten Up!’ Thu: ‘Smiths Night’. Fri: ‘Posse On Broadway’. Sat: ‘Boys and Girls’.

Epicentre, 8450 Mira Mesa Blvd, Mira Mesa. epicentreconcerts.org. Fri: Goliath, So This Is Suffering, Impale Thy Neighbor, Beneath The Veil, Palace In Ruins, Help Me Sleep, Illuminate. Sat: Valiant, Just my Luck, Ramonaí Ûs Flowers, Radio Active, Shayna Ziegen, Katie Salmons, Laurel Zarcilla.

F6ix, 526 F St., Downtown, Downtown. f6ixsd.com. Fri: DJ Rags. Sat: DJ Bamboozle.

Fluxx, 500 Fourth Ave, Downtown. fluxxsd.com. Fri: DJ Scooter, Ricky Rocks.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

March 12, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 33

Sat: Sid Vicious.

Gallagher’s, 5040 Newport Ave, Ocean Beach. 619-222-5303. Wed: Mud Grass, Chi Club. Thu: Sunny Rude, DJ Reefah, TRC Soundsystem. Fri: Pool Party, DJ RM. Sat: Dannicus, Ass Pocket Whiskey, Wise Fellas, DJ R2. Mon: The Barmen, Lexington Field, The Fooks.

Hard Rock Hotel, 207 Fifth Ave, Downtown. hardrockhotelsd.com. Thu: Badabing, Gloomsday. Fri: Neva and Johnny, Rayburn. Sat: DJs Fingaz, Steve Smooth.

Sun: Sid Vicious, DJ Kurch.

Henry’s Pub, 618 Fifth Ave, Downtown. henryspub.com. Wed: Johnny Tarr, DJ Christopher London. Thu: Mark Fisher, DJ Yodah. Fri: ‘Good Times’. Sat: DJs E, Yodah. Mon: DJs Yodah, Joey Jimenez, Johnny Tarr. Tue: Big City Dawgs.

Mc P’s Irish Pub, 1107 Orange Ave, Coronado. mcpspub.com. Wed: Jackson and Jesus. Thu: Tone Cookin’. Fri: Pat Ellis and Blue Frog Band. Sat: Trunk Monkey.

Onyx Room / Thin, 852 Fifth Ave, Downtown. onyxroom.com. Fri: ‘Rumba Lounge’. Sat: ‘Play Saturday’. Tue: ‘Neo Soul’.

Patricks Gaslamp, 428 F St, Downtown. patricksii.com. Wed: The Rayford Brothers. Thu: Mystique Element of Soul. Fri: Myron and the Kyniptionz. Sat: Len Rainey’s Midnight Players. Sun: Trey Tosh.

Mon: WG and the G-Men. Tue: Walter’s Chicken Jam. Porter’s Pub, 9500 Gilman Dr., UCSD campus, La Jolla. porterspub.net. Fri: Andre Nickatina.

House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave, Downtown. houseofblues.com/sandiego. Fri: Umphrey’s McGee, California Honeydrops. Sat: Tainted Love, DJ LV. Mon: Joshua Tree, The Distractions.

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

Thu: DJ Kinky Loops. Fri: DJs Drew G, Will Z. Sat: DJ Corey Craig. Sun: DJ Hektik.

Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd, Midtown. kavalounge.com. Wed: ‘Future Wednesday’. Thu: ‘Noise Pollution’. Fri: ‘S.H.A.F.T.’. Sat: ‘Boogie Invasion of the Naughty Elves’. Sun: DJ Brother Darkness, A Boy Named Art.

Shakedown Bar, 3048 Midway Drive, Point Loma. theshakedownsd.com. Fri: The Fooks. Sat: Iron Maidens.

Kensington Club, 4079 Adams Ave, Kensington. 619-284-2848. Sat: Bedlams Edge, Red Wizard, The Nite Crawlers, The Great Electric Quest.

Kona Kai Resort & Spa, 1551 Shelter Island Drive, Shelter Island. resortkonakai.com. Wed: Sue Palmer. Fri: Arnie and Friends. Sat: Joey Caren and Paul.

Sun: Danielle and Vince Cooper. Mon: Karaoke w/ J Dean.

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

Sat: Epic Twelve.

Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd, City Heights. sodabarmusic.com. Wed: Mohavisoul, Christine Sako, Stacy Cole, Township Rebellion. Thu: Purling Hiss, Tar Halos, Marqay. Fri: The Gods of Science, The Beautiful View, Dead Satellites. Sat: Soda Pants, New California Sun. Sun: Far Out Fangtooth, Hong Kong Fuzz, Flash Hits, Sleeping Ghost.

Mon: Jamuel Saxon, Lorna Dune, Mirror Pop, The Spark Three, Office Twins DJs.

34 · San Diego CityBeat · March 12, 2014

Tue: Heavenly Beat, Dancing Strangers, Chrome Wilderness, DJ Nubody.

SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd, Midway. somasandiego.com. Fri: Moonshine, Trouble in The Jungle, King Shlelter, Requiem For The Rockets, Elephant Project. Sat: We Are The In Crowd, William Beckett, Set It Off, State Champs, Candy Hearts.

Spin, 2028 Hancock St, Midtown. spinnightclub.com. Fri: Stefano Noferini. Sat: ‘War Is In Di Air’. Sun: ‘Reggae Sunday’.

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

Fri: Disco Pimps. Sat: Hott Mess, Snowdog (7:20 p.m.); DJ Miss Dust (10:30 p.m.). Sun: ‘Funhouse/Seismic’. Tue: Marc Delgado.

Sycamore Den, 3391 Adams Ave., San Diego, Normal Heights. sycamoreden. com. Thu: Swingchimney, Dustin Blackwell, Todd Allen. Sun: Erik Canzona.

The Bancroft, 9143 Campo Rd, Spring Valley. 619-469-2337. Wed: Karaoke. Thu: ‘Stratus Soundwave’ w/ DJ Dharma Dolly.

Fri: Lose Control, Humble Punks. Sat: LOCJAW, Brain Fragment, Subject to Citation. Mon: ACTN, Zombie Barbie, Prayers.

Tue: Serial Hawk, Cryptic Languages.

The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd, Midtown. casbahmusic.com. Wed: Fax, Machino, Vampire Slayer, Al-B, Schem, Rancho Shampoo. Thu: This Will Destroy You, Silent Land Time Machine. Fri: Larry and His Flask, Scott H. Biram, Whiskey Shivers. Sat: Grampadrew’s Flim Flam Review, Gary Hankins, Matt Strachota, Matt Molarius. Sun: Yellow Ostrich, Pattern is Movement. Mon: Sam Roberts Band, Kris Orlowski. Tue: Lost In The Trees, Icy Demons.

The Che Cafe, UCSD campus, La Jolla. thechecafe.blogspot.com. Tue: Perfect Pussy, Kids, Lube.

The Griffin, 1310 Morena Blvd, Bay Park. thegriffinsd.com. Fri: The MacAnanys, Sister Juanita.

The Loft @ UCSD, Price Center East, La Jolla. theloft.ucsd.edu. Thu: The Joshua White and Peter Sprague Group, Daniel Rosenboom. Thu: The Joshua White & Peter Sprague Group.

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

Fri: Kitten with a Whip, Uncle Jesse. Sun: Karaoke.

The Office, 3936 30th St, North Park. officebarinc.com. Sun: ‘Uptown Top Ranking’ w/ Tribe of Kings. Mon: ‘Dub Dynamite’ w/ DJs Rashi, Eddie Turbo.

Thrusters Lounge, 4633 Mission Blvd, Pacific Beach. thrusterslounge.com. Wed & Mon: DJ FishFonics. Thu: DJ Dymamiq. Fri: DJ Engage. Sat: DJ Who. Sun: DJ Schoeny. Tue: DJ Craig Smoove.

Til-Two Club, 4746 El Cajon Blvd, City Heights. tiltwoclub.com. Fri: Scarlett and the Fever, Mochilero All Stars, Sugar Brown, Erny Earthquake, King Dutty, Lord Aggro. Sat: Iron Chic, Dan Padilla, Bastards of Young, Western Settings, Caskitt.

Sun: Comedy open mic.

Tin Can Ale House, 1863 Fifth Ave, Bankers Hill. thetincan1.wordpress.com.

Wed: Fantino, Homesick Hitchers, The Summer Januaries. Thu: Love and the Skull, lutherans, The Young Wants. Fri: Goodnight Ravenswood, Forkroot, Old Man Wizard. Sat: The Focke Wolves, Tarah Who?, The Fisks. Mon: ‘The Tin Can Country Club’ w/ Jon Kruger. Tue: The Llamadors, Autumn Electric, The

Heavy Reins.

Tio Leo’s, 5302 Napa St, Bay Park. tioleos.com. Thu: Charles Burton Band.

Fri: Big Daddy Orchestra. Sat: Wild Nite.

Tue: Bayou Brothers.

Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave, City Heights. thetowerbar.com. Mon: Saint Shameless. Tue: Rebels and Traitors, Canadian Rifle, Squarecrow.

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

Wed: Tomcat Courtney (7 p.m.). Thu: The Jade Visions Jazz Trio (7 p.m.). Fri: Tomcat Courtney (7 p.m.). Sat: Zak Lipton Trio (4 p.m.); Tomcat Courtney (6:30 p.m.). Sun: Sounds Like Four (4 p.m.); Big Boss Bubalˆ’ (7 p.m.). Mon: Brazil Jam with Stefanie Schmitz (7 p.m.). Tue: Grupo Globo (7 p.m.).

Ux31, 3112 University Ave, North Park. u31bar.com. Wed: Brothers Weiss, Deadly Birds, Chess Wars. Thu: Luci6er, D-V3KZ, STRMTROOPR, DJ Mr. German, Mike Clarke. Fri: Lee Churchill, DJ 1979.

West Coast Tavern, 2895 University Ave, North Park. westcoatstavern.com. Wed: DJ Este. Thu: DJ Clean Cut. Fri: Billy the Kid. Sat & Tue: DJ Wil Hernandez.

Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St, South Park. whistlestopbar.com. Wed: ‘Wu-Tang Wednesday’ w/ DJ Cros One. Fri: Shake Before Us, Stalins of Sound. Sat: ‘80s vs.

90s’ w/ DJs Gabe Vega, Saul.

Winstons, 1921 Bacon St, Ocean Beach. winstonsob.com. Wed: Piracy Conspiracy, DJ Carlos Culture. Thu: Atlantis Rizing, Red Lotus, KLAN, Steez 76d, 18 Sense. Fri: Natural Vibrations, Sandollar, Krooked Treez. Sat: Natural Vibrations, Simmer Down, Dirty Rice. Mon: Electric Waste Band.

Proud sponsor: Pacific Nature Tours

Ink Well Xwords by Ben Tausig

Across 1. Bit of ironic facial hair, slangily 7. ___ de vivre 11. “I could keep going” 14. “You expect me to swallow that?”

15. Lack of hurdles 16. Sliding-into-the-bath sound 17. Gangsters with a Red Delicious monopoly?

19. Residency option for the homeless: Abbr.

20. Sticks in a tree, say 21. Lush 22. Ado 23. Villain once played by Kenneth Branagh 25. Exalt 27. House of ill repute catering to roosters?

31. ___-com 32. Tool for shaping wood 33. Fan’s sounds?

35. Mischievous toddlers 37. Dealer’s measures: Abbr.

39. Potpourri 40. Chill 43. Cut metal, in a way 46. Amin who was called, quite fairly, “a murderer, a liar, and a savage” 47. Model train company that REFUSES to face accusations that their faulty tracks endanger millions of imaginary tiny conductors?

50. Option for soap or ice cream 51. It might give you exactly the right card 52. ___ rage (certain bodybuilder’s feeling) 53. Where “Ice Ice Baby” appeared on the “Play That Funky Music” single 55. It gets played

Last week’s answers

59. Signs off on 60. Diamond cut in a significantly new way?

62. Formerly, matrimonially 63. Sculpting and singing, e.g.

64. Weather phenomenon played by Chris Farley 65. Will Shortz and others: Abbr.

66. “Hey, kid, check this out ...”

67. Smother, perhaps

Down 1. Digitize, as a document 2. Drink up 3. Basses go through them 4. Bird, notably 5. Weed control need 6. Trapped, in a way 7. Jack-off 8. More appealing to horses, perhaps 9. “Got it, got it” 10. Stunner underwater 11. One side of a bygone wall 12. Its most exciting feature may be a hill 13. Sweeping, e.g.

18. Mourning who won an NBA championship after receiving a kidney transplant 22. Former gas company with headquarters in Cleveland 24. Otherwise called 26. Mathematically high degree 27. Sportscaster Collinsworth 28. Like some soul-quenching meals 29. Riffs 30. Ring setting 34. Sovereign territory, synecdochically 36. Worked on a pillow case, say 38. Electric Vidal Sassoon product 41. Catch 42. No. 2 features 44. International resort brand 45. Kool-Aid rival 48. Goes from town to town 49. Author and former New York Times public editor Daniel 50. Unmanned, unsettling military flier 54. Verb with thou 56. “I’ve got a boo-boo ...”

57. TV host who retired in 2014 58. PayPal founder Musk (whose name is an anagram of 57-Down) 60. One of hip-hop’s “four elements” 61. Handle of the twelfth most followed person on Twitter

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

March 12, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 35

36 · San Diego CityBeat · March 12, 2014

March 12, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 37

38 · San Diego CityBeat · March 12, 2014

March 12, 2014 · San Diego CityBeat · 39