San Diego CityBeat • Mar 22, 2017

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FEBRUARY 22, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 1

2 · San Diego CityBeat · March 22, 2017

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UP FRONT | FROM THE EDITOR

The time is now! “

But let’s talk about it later

T

his is the first time we’ve addressed this issue since I’ve been on the City Council and that’s been three and a half years. So it is urgent that we do this now.”

With those remarks, San Diego City Council President Myrtle Cole opened what would be a nearly fivehour council meeting on Monday to discuss “Item 600,” or “Programs, Policies and Efforts to Address Homelessness.”

Let that number sink in for a moment: Three and a half years. Even with every major news outlet in the city beating the drum on what has become a truly dire situation and CityBeat’s own long history of covering homelessness, this is the first time in years that the City Council has thought to directly address the issue.

Better late than never? Not really. Even after the terrifying murders of three homeless men in 2016, it was only recently that the city’s leaders shifted their focus.

What was so distracting that they didn’t notice that San Diego now has the fourth largest homeless population (sixth when it comes to youth homelessness) in the U.S.? County Supervisor Ron Roberts, who now chairs the Regional Task Force on the Homeless, said it best.

“A year ago, the mayor and I were working on something quite different,” Roberts said, addressing the Council. “This is far more important than anything we were doing last year in conjunction with the football team. Far more important.”

Supervisor Roberts received a round of applause from the crowd inside Golden Hall for that statement.

And while we certainly give Roberts credit for his repentant tone, we can’t say the same about other local politicians and bureaucrats. Here are a few of the winners and losers from Monday’s meeting: Winners: Councilmember Chris Ward: Everyone from Roberts to fellow councilmember Mark Kersey commended Ward for his leadership on the issue. Ward doesn’t even have a year on the job, but came to the meeting with a comprehensive memo that included plans for surveys of city land, land trusts, adaptive reuse properties and tiny homes. Like many others who spoke, he also called for an immediate stop to “criminalizing” the homeless population and for the creation of “care zones” in the city. We highly encourage readers to check out the plan on his website or facebook page.

Ismahan Abdullahi: The Director of Civic Engagement and Community Partnerships for the Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans spoke forecefully and authoritatively about the connections between affordable housing and homelessness.

Abdullahi came prepared with actual statistics on affordable housing, as well as a cleverly prepared chart

in the shape of a goblet. “Trickle-down housing economics does not work,” she stressed and deservedly received the loudest applause of the day.

Losers: Scott Sherman: Councilmembers Mark Kersey and Lorie Zapf seemed utterly oblivious to the severity of the problem, asking questions and making statements that were the verbal equivalent of the “meh” emoticon. But it was Councilmember Sherman who proved to be most insensitive with his nonsensical questioning of David Estrella of the county’s Health and Human Services Agency about homeless people who “who would rather be out in the streets.”

“Where’s my free Subway card and my toiletries?” is how Sherman characterized these people, a rightwing fallacy that has been perpetuated since the Reagan era and one that has been consistently disproven.

Stacy “I manage big things” Spector: The mayor’s not-a-homeless-czar advisor was rightly grilled by Councilmember David Alvarez after a fluffy and PRdriven presentation that came complete with buzzy phrases like “compassion drives action” and “that won’t change unless it changes,” not to mention an “Ecosystem” Regional Infrastructure chart that looked like something out of an IKEA catalogue. When she pointed out to Alvarez that no solutions were off the table, including a giant tent structure on vacant land, Alvarez quickly and rightly reminded her that giant tents were not a viable solution and that the council had already decided that issue years before.

San Diego’s homeless population: Council president Cole reiterated throughout the day that there were people on site to help anyone in attendance that was homeless. However, many of those people were turned away at the door because there were no accommodations made for them to store their belongings. What’s more, many of the people who could have used that help were likely too busy clearing out their belongings in hopes of not getting caught up in one of the city’s weekly encampment sweeps (yes, there was one on Monday just before the meeting).

And in the end, despite Roberts’ “please don’t get discouraged” reiteration and Cole’s plea that the city needed “to act with urgency,” the latter adjourned the meeting with the promise to look at the report from the mayor’s office and the proposals from the Housing Commission, as well as to look into the creation of a homeless committee at an April 5 meeting of the Council’s rules committee.

Here’s hoping that the Council will do more than talk at that meeting.

—Seth Combs

Write to seth.combs@sdcitybeat.com

This issue of CityBeat is dedicated to FBI Director James Comey who managed to get the words “I hate the New England Patriots” into the Congressional record.

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MARCH 22, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 3

UP FRONT | LETTERS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ISSA SLOWLY COMING AROUND

Any increase in the cost of health insurance premiums or the resulting loss of coverage will likely be devastating to my own small business, and to the small business clients I serve [“Playing both sides,” March 15]. Insurance coverage is currently our second largest budgetary expense. I’ve seen through my clients how crippling to their company’s bottom line an uninsured person with a pre-existing condition can be, when that business or employee aren’t subsidized. Every independent report shows that the GOP plan will increase the costs for everyone—especially older and lower income folks.

With the anniversary of the ACA right around the corner on the 23rd, I’d rather our local Republicans focus on the promises they made to us, and not to the wealthy folks who will be the only ones benefiting under this new, fake plan.

Rep. Darrell Issa is slowly coming around to understanding this, and I hope his peers will too.

Sam Mazzeo Golden Hill

NO SECOND CHANCES

Nancy Witt disagreed with your decision that Jesus Cecena should stay in jail, and I do agree with you [“Fighting fire with fire,” March 8]. I had a criminal career without committing crimes against people and came out ahead. I was a player but not all players are pimps, but there is a line you do not cross and that is killing someone. In our justice system, if you kill someone, you die.

Lots of 17 year olds have underdeveloped brains, as Nancy Witt stated, but they do not kill people. That would also put an end to the financial burden. The victim, who never did anything wrong, does not get a second chance at life.

The creep who did something wrong should not get a first chance at life let alone a second. Child molesters kill a child every time they molest that child who is forced into adulthood, not ready or understanding why. After a predator is caught, he has already molested many and he should die. He will never get better or stop. If you flat out rape someone, you should be castrated. If you don’t know how to use it, you lose it. I agree with Iranians when they say there are infidels in America… we call them racists, child molesters and murderers. Perhaps we can send them there for sentencing?

Lenny Bruce Jacobs Point Loma

SCHOOL CHOICE IS A BAD CHOICE

For those who believe America’s public schools still serve a greater good, namely to prepare our nation’s youth for participation in a democratic society by educating the local populace, Betsy DeVos’ confirmation as Secretary of Education was gut-wrenching [“Betsy DeVos was an easy target,”

4 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MARCH 22, 2017

Feb. 8]. The historic vote affirming Secretary DeVos could be just as detrimental to the future of San Diego as any of the other incipient controversies plaguing the nascent administration.

In her former life, citizen DeVos was a conservative Republican booster preaching the virtues of school vouchers for Michigan’s public school students. The controversial school choice program allows public dollars to be applied toward the tuition of students attending private academies and/or religiously affiliated schools. This idea of a “free market” approach to public education was first devised by the economist Milton Friedman in 1955. Friedman’s divisive doctrine was proposed just one year after the Brown decision declared separate facilities in education inherently unequal and forced schools to integrate. Secretary DeVos’ recent comments on Historically Black Colleges and Universities being “fine examples of school choice” exemplify her complete lack of understanding of the racist nature of our educational system.

The San Diego Unified School District [SDUSD] is facing a $125 million dollar deficit caused by two divergent forces, rising costs and diminishing funds. The latter is largely the result of the steady decline in student enrollment in traditional public schools. This phenomenon is undoubtedly linked to charter schools’ proliferation. Charters receive their funding directly from the state and are not held accountable to the same government oversights as traditional public schools.

Currently, some 20 percent of SDUSD’s approximately 130,000 students attend charters, and predictions are that this number will rise to almost a third in the next decade.

With about 9 percent of SDUSD’s $1.3 billion annual budget coming from the federal government, Secretary DeVos now has great influence over the $100 million earmarked for the embattled district. Even if only a fraction of these funds are diverted to some reputed choice panacea, the negative impact would further SDUSD’s financial woes and certainly contribute to additional enrollment losses; these effects could seriously impede the district’s ability to serve its neediest students.

The reality of the choice movement is that charter schools and voucher programs have produced very mixed results; the number one indicator of a student’s academic achievement here in the United States remains family socio-economic level. In 2015, the Center for Policy Initiatives found that 38 percent of all children in the City of San Diego live in economic hardship ($48,000/year for a family of four). As American cities like San Diego “rejuvenate” with the return of white affluence and Democrats, as well as, Republicans, promote the privatization of public education by embracing programs like Secretary DeVos’ school choice stratagem, the potential for recidivism to a system that supports separate and unequal access to our nation’s educational facilities becomes very real.

Gerald Vanderpot North Park

UP FRONT From the Editor. . . . . . . . . 3 Letters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Spin Cycle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Sordid Tales. . . . . . . . . . . 6 There She Goz. . . . . . . . . . 7

FOOD & DRINK The World Fare. . . . . . . . 8 Dishing It Out . . . . . . . . . 9 The Beerdist . . . . . . . . . 10

THINGS TO DO The Short List . . . . . . . . . 11 Calendar of Events. . 11-12

ARTS & CULTURE Theater. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Feature: Neil Gaiman. . . 17 Seen Local . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Film. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-21

MUSIC Feature: Wire . . . . . . . . . 22 From The Smoking Patio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 If I Were U . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Concerts & Clubs. . . 26-28

LAST WORDS Advice Goddess . . . . . . 30

ON THE

COVER New York-based photographer Beowulf Sheehan is the photographer behind the startling image of fantasy writer Neil Gaiman on this week’s cover. While the picture was taken last year at Gaiman’s estate, Sheehan first met the author back in 2007, the same year the animated film Beowulf (Gaiman co-wrote the script) was released.

“Of course, when I met him, he said something to the effect of that we must have been destined to meet one another,” recalls Sheehan.

The photographer has worked in the literary community for over 10 years having shot authors such as J.K. Rowling, Salman Rushdie and Junot Díaz, but he says the Gaiman shoot was particularly special.

“I think the best portraits are those that are mirrors to who a person is,” Sheehan says. “He gave me a lot of his strength and his penchant for wonder and mystery in that image.” Check out some of Sheehan’s awesome work at beowulfsheehan.com.

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UP FRONT | OPINION

SPIN

CYCLE

JOHN R. LAMB

Comic-Con’s ticket to Balboa Park Give me a museum and I’ll fill it.

—Pablo Picasso

N

ews last week that the San Diego Hall of Champions will be closing down after a 56-year run in Balboa Park to make way for a pop-culture museum envisioned by Comic-Con International caught some by surprise—including the councilmember whose district includes the beloved park.

“Woah. That’s some news,” District 3 City Councilmember Chris Ward emailed Spin shortly after the San Diego Union-Tribune broke the story last Thursday. “Wonder what happened.”

Apparently the cold, hard reality that a museum focused on local athletic accomplishments could survive in San Diego’s shaky sports environment happened. And while the players involved in this behindthe-scenes scrimmage to remake a

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corner of the park were publicly beaming about the news, it didn’t sit well with everyone.

Spin paid a visit to the Hall of Champions on Saturday and found signs that all is not so rosy at the institution, established in the park in 1961—the same year the Chargers arrived in San Diego from Los Angeles—before settling in its current location, the historic Mayan Revivalist Federal Building, in 1999.

The first clue of discord could be found just beyond the front door— in the museum’s Home Plate Café (yes, with the accent) that features such sandwich fare as the Triple Play (roast beef, turkey, ham and cheddar on sourdough). A note had been pasted to the oversized tin can serving as a tip jar: “EVIL SITH LORD KILLED MY FATHER! NEED MONEY FOR NEW LIGHTSABER!” A café employee confirmed the subtle protest was a reaction to the Comic-Con news, but a sudden

stream of diners requiring attention ended the conversation.

The second clue came when paying the admission fee. While a sign said adults cost $8, the pleasant front-desk employee said the charge was only $5 “because some of the memorabilia has already been removed.”

Sure enough, there were more than a few stripped mannequins— including one that previously displayed a jersey worn by San Diego native and baseball great Ted Williams and another from NBA Hall of Famer Bill Walton.

Drew Moser, executive director of the Hall of Champions, downplayed the inevitable hiccups associated with a shuttering institution. “So the museum will go through a deaccession process where we’ll return items to their rightful owners,” Moser said matter of factly, choosing not to dwell on the speed at which some donors have reclaimed some memorabilia.

The UT story included many laudatory comments about the major deal for Balboa Park that will transform the lightly visited sports museum into what’s being called the Comic-Con Center for Popular Culture, a permanent, year-round hub for one of San Diego’s most notable annual attractions.

“Balboa Park is the perfect home for this new Comic-Con cen-

JOHN R. LAMB

ter to honor the popular arts,” Mayor Kevin Faulconer told the UT. And he made no bones about what he hopes the deal signifies: many more Comic-Cons to come beyond current commitments through 2018. “As we continue to work on retaining Comic-Con in San Diego,” the mayor added, “this will be a great permanent fixture for San Diegans and visitors alike to celebrate pop culture all year long.”

Still, the suddenness of the deal’s announcement—and the lack of public discussion that typically surrounds any shifting of occupants in the park—bothered some folks.

Mayor Kevin Faulconer can’t wait for the Judy Swink, a Hall of Champions to be replaced by a longtime city park Comic-Con pop-culture museum. activist who resigned from the Balboa Park Conservancy allowing for administrative apin 2012 after the group endorsed proval of assignment,” Katie Kethe so-called Jacobs Plan to make ach, director of the city’s Commuover the Plaza de Panama, said nications Department, explained such major shifts in park usage in in an email. “This allows for the the past included lengthy public Real Estate Assets Department to debates and a thorough examina- handle. Others do require council tion by a slew of city committees, approval.”

Even if not legally required, none of which had a say this time.

The idea for a San Diego Au- Swink thinks a public discussion tomotive Museum, for example, would have been beneficial. “Still was first pitched in 1979 but didn’t irked about the $0 rent, and I think open its door until 1988 as the city it’s reasonable to ask why,” she wrote after seeing the lease clause. wrestled with that decision.

As rare as it is for an institution Perhaps, she added, when a highto move out of Balboa Park, Swink visibility, potentially high-value said, it’s important that the city, leasehold opens up “or the use of “whether there’s a formal policy one of the historical buildings may or not,” conduct “an open public have a change of use, the decision review of the possibilities for what should be upgraded to the discreshould go in” to a vacated building. tionary level.”

In a statement, CouncilmemShe was quick to point out her beef is not with Comic-Con Inter- ber Ward said, “By all indications national, but with the administra- this went through the prescribed tive decision to assign a zero-rent process, and my office has received lease to a successful non-profit and overwhelmingly positive feedback the precedent that sets for the park. so far. That said, I hope to incorCity officials, however, pointed porate this experience into my out that the 54-year, 11-month ongoing stakeholder conversalease signed by the Hall of Cham- tions about how best to support pions in 1991 that’s now assigned Balboa Park and foster a stronger to Comic-Con includes a clause relationship with the public going specifically ruling out the need for forward.”

Noting that the Hall of Champublic debate. pion’s mission of community outUnder a heading “City Approval,” the clause states, “The ap- reach will continue and its local proval or consent of City, wherever Hall of Fame will move to better required in this lease, shall mean visibility at Petco Park, the Hall’s the written approval or consent of Moser called it “a win for all parthe City Manager unless otherwise ties involved. For us, the museum specified, without need for further business was not sustainable.” resolution by the City Council.”

“Many leases, including the Spin Cycle appears every week. one in question, have language Write to johnl@sdcitybeat.com

MARCH 22, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 5

UP FRONT | OPINION

EDWIN DECKER

SORDID

TALES

I can’t stand Caitlyn Jenner and her $150,000 ass

S

o Caitlyn Jenner has found a reason to bag on President Donald Trump. It’s about time. For those who don’t know, Jenner—a lifelong Republican and devout Trump supporter—Tweeted a selfie-video in which she was actually critical of our Orangutan-in-Chief.

Jenner didn’t appreciate that Trump repealed President Obama’s federal mandate forcing public schools to allow transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice, thus kicking those decisions back down to the states and ruffling Caitlyn’s feathers in the process.

“This is a disaster,” said Jenner, speaking directly to the President. “You made a promise to protect the LGBTQ community. Call me,” then cutely scrunched her face and put her hand to her ear like she was holding a phone.

I can’t stand Caitlyn Jenner. The former Olympic hero is so delusional about this President that she actually thinks 45 is “very much for women,” which is like saying Milo Yiannopoulos is very much for selfrestraint.

I can’t stand her because on the E! reality series, I Am Cait, she speculated that the reason people are homeless is because they make too much money leeching off social programs—then ridiculed their situation by assuming the persona of a bum on the dole. “‘Why should I work? I got a few bucks! I got my room paid for!’” she mocked, clearly not understanding that being “homeless” means that they do not have a room paid for because, if their room was paid for, well—then they would be living in it ya black-hearted decatha-hag!

I can’t stand Caitlin Jenner because she’s a lousy role model for the trans community. In her Time “Person of the Year” interview, she insulted less passable transgender males by saying, “I try to take [my presentation] seriously… if you look like a man in a dress, it makes people uncomfortable.” Which is easy for Cait to say. She has the time and money to pay for top notch doctors, top notch procedures and top notch tatas.

She’s had her Adam’s apple shaved, jawbone sculpted, nose reconstructed, cheeks lasered, calves carved, Botox up the bazoomba and enough silicone and collagen to feminize the entire Green Bay Packers. Her face alone cost $70,000. Her tits were 25K. And it reportedly costs around $150,000 to procure her plump, reddish ass.

Kidding aside, it is safe to say— especially considering that transgender people are four times more likely to live beneath the poverty level according to a study conducted by the Movement Advancement Project and Center for American Progress—that most transitioning males can’t, or may not even want to, look as feminine as Caitlyn Jenner.

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, Hey Ed! A straight, white, cisgender male cannot have an

opinion about who is or isn’t a transgender role model!

Wrong!

I may have no idea what it’s like to be born with— what I can only imagine must be—a spiritually desolate feeling of gender dysphoria. But I know a good role model when I see one. And Jenner ain’t that! A real transgender role model would say, “It doesn’t matter if you ‘look like a man in a dress!’ It doesn’t matter if you make people ‘uncomfortable.’ It doesn’t matter a good goddamn how you choose to present yourself, and anybody who can’t handle seeing a square chin and stubbly beard hovering over those ten-dollar tatas can go file a complaint with the Bureaucratic Institution of the Transgender Encroachment of Masculine Entitlement (BITEME).”

But for all the reasons to despise this wretched, mumbling ogress, it is the aforementioned video that shaves my Adam’s apple.

Really, Cait? It’s Donald Trump’s stance on bathroom permissions you consider a “disaster” and not, say, his position on climate change? Or freedom of the press? The repeal of The Affordable Care Act, corporate and crony favoritism, an utter disrespect for facts and truth, the facilitation of Islamophobia and the construction of an Orwellian border wall that will one day be used to keep us inside as much as others out?

Look, I don’t begrudge the right of any LGTBQ persons to support the Republican Party—even if it is a little like a lobster working in a rubber band factory. However, if you are someone who is constantly ranting against federal intrusion—but then suddenly is all for it when it empowers your pet issue, well then you’re a hypocrite.

You know, when Cait’s video came out, the press made it sound like she really took it to Trump.

There were headlines like, Cait pulls no punches and Jenner destroys Trump and a Fox News headline that read, “Caitlyn Jenner Slams Trump over Transgender Bathroom Stance.”

Oh, puh-leeze. She complained for all of 10 seconds then scrunched her face and gave the universal hand sign for “Call me, ya big hunk.” That’s not a slam; that’s heavy petting with a firm nipple pinch.

Here’s what a slam looks like: Caitlyn Jenner is a phony, delusional, narcissistic hypocrite of a human being who couldn’t care less about the repression and/or marginalization of anyone beside her own group, shits on those who are less fortunate than her, has no clue what it means to be “for women” and so desperately craves attention she makes The Kardashian household look like Brian Wilson, Syd Barret and Bobby Fisher living off the grid in a Montana bomb shelter. Suh-LAM!

A real transgender role model would say, ‘It doesn’t matter if you look like a man in a dress!’

6 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MARCH 22, 2017

Sordid Tales appears every other week.

Write to edwin@sdcitybeat.com. @SDCITYBEAT

UP FRONT | VOICES

THERE SHE

ALEX ZARAGOZA

GOZ

Don’t mess with a Zaragoza

A

couple weeks ago, a few members of my family decided to do the unthinkable—spend a week together in New York City.

My family is absolutely lovely and always there for each other blah blah blah. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for this band of weirdoes, crazies and high-maintenance divas. That being said, we don’t spend a ton of time together. We are also a ruthlessly honest, shittalking bunch. Nothing gets past anyone, and the take down will often feel like the roasting of your life.

For example, when my eldest nephew was a small child, he responded to my excited greeting with “you have acne.” During my savage middle sister’s baby shower at the Old Spaghetti Factory (classy), she punched me in the stomach in front of everyone. No one was surprised because that’s very her, even if she was pregnant. However, her punch hit some weird inner body button that immediately gave me diarrhea. I had to run to the Old Spaghetti toilet.

We all give it and take it.

If you get your feelings hurt, you’re usually blamed because, you know, that’s how it is with us so quit acting like a little bitch.

So when my mom decided that she wanted her Christmas gift to be a family trip to the Big Apple, I was a bit anxious. The thought of seven days in New York with my family got me hunting for the Klonopin my mom gave me a while back. Oh yeah, we also trade prescription medication. It’s chill.

At the airport, our flight was delayed a couple of hours. My mom was getting restless and when I stood up to grab something for her, my period sludged out of me like lava and stained my travel pants. Off I went to scrub them in the airport bathroom. This felt like a bad omen.

I had the window seat but my mom looked at me in a way that clearly said “uhh I birthed you so no.” I took her middle seat. We quietly chatted in Spanish on the plane when my mom stopped and said the woman in front of her was throwing dirty looks her way.

Now, I am firmly against denying anyone’s claims when they feel threatened, ill or scared. As a woman, I have had way too many people (*cough*men*cough*) downplay what I’m feeling or experiencing. But this is my mom—a woman who could take the gold in Olympic exaggeration and insist it’s platinum that cost her $30,000. So I insisted she was probably imagining something that isn’t there.

And then I looked, and indeed a middle-aged bottle blonde with a thick, striped scarf wrapped around her head was peeking through the space between the seats and death staring my mom. Oh. Hell. No.

“Can I help you with something?” I said with a dose of attitude. The women had a sort of sleepy, pilled-up look to her. “It’s a little loud,” she said in a drowsy, bitchy tone. We were far from loud. This woman was just hating for some inexplicable reason (*cough*racist*cough).

“Then you should put on your headphones,” I responded. She shot me a dirty look and turned back around. Then continued to peek through the seat space to give us dirty looks, and each time she did I peeked right back and had some words for her.

When it was clear that we would be doing that the whole flight, I spoke to a flight attendant, who then offered the lady headphones in a polite shut-down. No one fucks with my family. We fuck with each other, but no one is going to come at my mom while I’m around. She can surely handle herself, but I wasn’t trying to go to airport jail either.

That would not turn out to be our only run-in with people on the trip. A tour operator was telling her co-worker about how her poor, innocent son somehow ended up in a meth den in Tijuana by, naturally, no fault of his own. According to this genius, “Tijuana is where they dump all the criminals and bad people.” Because there are absolutely no drug dealers in New York, as we all know.

Just as no one fucks with my family, no one fucks with my city. I had to chime in and let her know that she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. I told her I’m from Tijuana, what she is saying in incorrect and if her son ended up in a meth den on Avenida Revolución, he was probably looking for it. My mom, unable to say anything because of language barriers, assisted by staring down the operator. Bye bitch.

Apparently my sister and her girls, three of the biggest can’t-be-fucked-with women I know, had their own run-ins as well. It’s just not in our DNA to sit idle when someone is rude to us.

But not once did any of us turn on each other. I mean, we’re still Mexican so we shit-talked behind each other’s backs and threw some eye rolls when one of us was being annoying, but that’s normal! Perhaps we’re getting wiser, more mature. Or perhaps we’ve come to learn over the years, after deaths, fights, feelings and a world that feels like its crumbling, that we’re stronger together. If anything, getting to this point has made the diarrhea-inducing punches worth it. I’ll take a week with these bitches any day.

Her punch hit some weird inner body button that immediately gave me diarrhea. I had to run to the Old Spaghetti toilet.

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There She Goz appears every third week.

Write to alexz@sdcitybeat.com.

MARCH 22, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 7

UP FRONT | FOOD

BY MICHAEL A. GARDINER

THE WORLD

FARE

San Diego tacos suck and we’re to blame

I

t’s a judgment tossed our direction by La La Landers and other unjustifiably snobby sorts: “San Diego food sucks...except for the Mexican food, which is pretty good.”

Damning by faint praise? No, more like backasswards bullshit. It’s our food scene that doesn’t suck and our Mexican food that pretty much does. And much like the San Andreas, it’s all our fault. The Taco Stand (645 B St.) in downtown is Exhibit A. Take The Taco Stand’s al pastor tacos (please). A descendant of shawarma brought to Mexico by Lebanese immigrants, al pastor (called adobado in Baja) is spit-roasted pork marinated in a combination of dried chiles, achiote, spices and pineapple cooked slowly with gas flame on a vertical rotisserie set-up called a trompo (a “spinning top”). Along the journey from the Middle East, lamb and spices were replaced by pork and indigenous Mexican flavors.

But where al pastor tacos should brim with fatty, savory goodness, The Taco Stand’s version is lean, salty and overly sweet. And where trompos are usually topped with a pineapple—its juice running down and seasoning the meat as it cooks—Taco Stand’s is not. Instead, each taco contains chunks of pineapple that tilt the overall flavor profile dangerously out of balance. Nor does it help when they take that al pastor and put it in a California-sized gut bomb burrito torpedo from hell. The best part of the taco was the still-warm corn tortilla. The burrito didn’t have that going for it.

The nopal (cactus paddle) taco—for which The Taco Stand has gained some notoriety—was not much better. Flavorless, if not fatless, it’s the kind of “vegetarian option” that gives vegetarian food a bad name. While they’re described as “flame grilled” there was no sense of the grill’s kiss in

8 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MARCH 22, 2017

the bits of nopal. I didn’t ask, “where’s the meat?”

I asked, “where’s the flavor?” The nopal chunks seemed more designed for novelty value than culinary focus.

The best taco at The Taco Stand was the Baja fish taco. The battered fish was flavorful, both the well-seasoned batter and the fish itself. The creamy chipotle sauce gave the taco a hint of smoke, a suggestion of heat and a creamy coolness that pulled together the fish, on the one hand, and the vegetables on the other. I’d go back for that.

MICHAEL GARDINER

Baja fish tacos The Taco Stand markets itself as “inspired by the taco stands of Tijuana” and the Baja Peninsula.

That inspiration is not clear on the plate. The Taco Stand’s food is a creature of California—alta California, not Baja. That is evident where The Taco Stand’s food works as in the Baja fish taco, which is, in many ways, more San Diego than Tijuana (or San Felipe). And it shows where the food doesn’t work as well, as in fat traded for salt and sweet and that thing called a burrito that could be used by Donald Trump’s INS as artillery shells to keep San Diegans from finding out what real Mexican food tastes like.

Ultimately, there is nothing wrong with The Taco Stand’s food that is not what we in California have asked for. The problem isn’t them, it’s us.

The World Fare appears weekly.

Write to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com.

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UP FRONT | FOOD

BY JAMES VERNETTE

DISHING IT

best wine list of any pizzeria I’ve seen in any city.

Ambrogio15 is run by three Milanese natives who have strong opinions about what good pizza should be. But they also offer other variations on the pie to satisfy customers.

The house style of pizza is thin and crisp—each Made in Milano bite crackles—and the emphasis is on promoting the high-quality ingredients, not hiding them here are few things that can cause an under sauce.

Case in point: the burrata and proscuitto pie, argument quite like pizza.

People will argue over whether thin or thick which uses top-of-the-line cheese and charcuterie. crust is best, or whether pineapple should even be There is a light amount of sauce to add moisture, allowed to be an ingredient. There’s also the age- but the focus is on the saltiness of the proscuitto and the creaminess of the cheese. Each bite pops— old battle between New York and Chicago styles.

Still, pizza is one of those foods that inspires especially with a glass of the Tuscan Sangiovese.

On the other hand, people who want a thicker people to try new things and adapt. San Diego is certainly a city open to adaptations in food (we crust style pie should get the nuvola porchetta and were, after all, the people that put French fries in burrata focaccia. The crust is more like chunks of bread, each served with some very tender pork and a burrito).

JAMES VERNETTE that creamy Burrata cheese. There’s no sauce, and it doesn’t need it. The mild garlic flavor of the pork and the creamy cheese do all the work.

But it sure goes well with a glass of a Cab-Sangiovese blend.

A third variation that should appeal to vegetarians is the scrocchiarella vegetariana. It’s basically a salad of greens, veggies, burrata cheese and shaved reggiano served between two crispy focaccia loaves that have been cut up into pizza-shaped slices. It’s almost like a combination of a stuffed crust pizza and a salad, which made for a refreshing and light meal.

There’s more than pizza and wine at Ambrogio15. Both the house Nuvola porchetta and burrata focaccia green salad and the ahi poke tartare were tasty and fresh, but there’s a That may be why TripAdvisor readers picked reason that the pizza is front and center.

The vibe is casual but classy, the sort of place our humble town as America’s finest city for pizza back in 2013. There are enough places serving where you don’t feel rushed if you’re having a good decent enough pizza in different styles to please conversation. There is one nagging problem: I can’t picky pie eaters, be they from New York, Chicago decide which pizza I liked best. The proscuitto was an all-around classic pizza while the pork on the or even Milan.

Most Americans decide from a young age that nuvola porchetta and burrata was just outstanding. they prefer thin-style New York-style pizza or I also like how every bit of the scrocchiarella the thick-crust Chicago kind. Ambrogio15 (926 vegetariana seemed so fresh.

Darn, looks like I need to do more research and Turquoise St., Pacific Beach) makes a compelling case for the Milano-style of pizza. It also has the have some more wine. The debate rages on.

OUT T

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MARCH 22, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 9

UP FRONT | DRINK

THE

BY ANDREW DYER

BEERDIST Mikkeller SD remains ambitious

M

show what we do in Europe and other parts of the world. There’s so many great (IPAs) in San Diego already, I won’t pretend I’m going to improve the style. But, I’ve got some other ideas. We can do some crazy stuff.”

Bjergsø says he is planning on brewing the popular Beer Geek series of stouts in San Diego.

“Bourbon-barrel aged Beer Geek Vanilla Shake is probably our [Mikkeller Denmark] most popular beer at the moment,” he said. “People will be excited to see them produced in San Diego and sold at a better price.”

ikkeller Brewing San Diego’s plan to release a new and unique beer every week in 2017 was and remains an ambitious one. The first release, a raspberry-and-coffee Berliner weisse, called “Fruitface,” was an unlikely hit.

The Miramar-based, Danish-owned brewery has been cranking out a wide range of interesting beers since, mostly focusing on hazy IPAs and pale ales.

So it was a bit of a shock when head brewer Bill Batten announced his resignation on March 10, ANDREW DYER citing differences in “creative vision” with founder and majority owner Mikkel Borg Bjergsø. From the outside, it appeared things were picking up for Mikkeller SD. After all, the beers were good, and their special releases were popular. West Coaster’s reader poll named it “Best New Brewery” in town. Would Batten’s departure affect the brewery’s ambitious release schedule?

Not according to Bjergsø. In fact, Bjergsø says he’s confident that the team at Mikkeller SD is ready to keep things moving forward, and that he is not looking to replace Batten.

“I honestly don’t think we need a new head guy from outside,” Bjergsø says. “We have excellent brewers who are extremely capable. The beers they’ve done lately have turned out really well.”

Mikkeller’s next special release beer “Bushels of Haze” Bjergsø said the weekly releases are scheduled about four months out, but that If the first quarter of 2017 is any indication, it’s flexible. He is constantly coming up with new there is still a long year of fantastic beer to come ideas and sending them in. out of Mikkeller SD, which will eventually include “At the moment it’s not difficult to come up with barrel-aged sours. a new idea every week—it’s difficult not to come up “Daniel Cady is doing a good job taking care of with more,” he says. “We’ve done double releases those barrels,” says Bjergsø, referring to one of his and will continue to do more.” brewers. Still, he avoids speculating on a release The special release schedule at Mikkeller SD has date. “The first time I met [Cady], I tasted some of featured a lot of hazy, “NE style” IPAs and pale ales, his sour barrel-aged home brews. They were some which have exploded in popularity. This was a no- of the best sour beers I’ve ever tasted.” ticeable change in focus for the Miramar brewery.

Mikkeller San Diego’s special release series go “When we started in 2016, we got into doing on sale at the brewery every Saturday this year. what you do in San Diego,” Bjergsø says, referring to west coast IPAs. “I didn’t buy a brewery in San The Beerdist appears every other week.

Diego to do the same as everybody else, I want to Write to andrewd@sdcitybeat.com

10 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MARCH 22, 2017

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SHORTlist

EVENTS

ART

the

THREE YOU HAVE TO SEE

COORDINATED BY

SETH COMBS

BALBOA PARK

1 FEARLESS FABRICATOR

Who’s to say British artist Richard Dea- span almost his entire career. The exhibition will con wasn’t being ironic or even cheeky when he also include a new piece, titled “Under the Weathbegan referring to himself as a “fabricator” rather er,” which Deacon created specifically for the muthan a sculptor? However the self-identification seum. Still, Plotek says SDMA (1450 El Prado) went was meant at the time, one would be hard-pressed out of its way to display the sculptures in a way to think of an artist who has had more influence on that emphasized the “interesting relationships becontemporary sculpture than Deacon. Known for tween the pieces.”

“We decided early on not to organize this abstract and allusive pieces that incorporate seemingly incompatible materials (wood and aluminum, chronologically even though it covers four decades COURTESY OF THE ARTIST of work,” Plotek says. steel and oak), Deacon “There might be a 10has never been afraid of or 20-year interval in taking chances. the creation of some of “The one thing I rethe pieces, but there are ally appreciate about still interesting formal Richard, and his pracrelationships.

There’s tice, is I would say a dialogue I would say there’s a kind of a fearthat can be created belessness. A willingness tween pieces even with to take on all kinds of very different materials, different media, materials and working some“Dead Leg” by Richard Deacon but then they share some common quality.” times with drastically Deacon himself will be on hand to speak about different scales,” says San Diego Museum of Art Assistant Curator Ariel Plotek, one of the main or- his work at 11 a.m. on March 25. The talk is comganizers behind Richard Deacon: What You See Is plimentary after admission, which ranges from free What You Get, a new career-spanning exhibition to $15. There will also be workshops, lectures and other special events surrounding the exhibition opening at the museum on Saturday, March 25.

What You See has the distinction of being the throughout the coming months. See the full schedfirst major museum survey of Deacon’s work in ule at sdmart.org. the United States, and the 43 works on display will

DOWNTOWN

POINT LOMA

2 FEMME FILM

What better way to appreciate Women’s History Month than to watch films made by women and about women. Hosted by the Women’s Museum of California, this year’s theme for the Women’s Film Festival San Diego focuses on showcasing the diversity of women and the struggles unique to their lives. The festival begins on Friday, March 24 at 5 p.m. with an opening reception followed by the film screening of Different Flowers. Saturday, March 25 and Sunday, March 26 will start off in the morning with short film blocks followed by panel sessions and screenings of I Am Jane Doe and Alive and Kicking. All screenings and events will be held at THE LOT Liberty Station (2620 Truxtun Road). Ticket prices vary depending on the type of pass, but range from $50 to $300. womensmuseumca.org

3 SOMETHING TO TACO BOUT

Sunshine and surfing, movies and popcorn, tacos and tequila. They’re all matches made in heaven, but only the latter will be celebrated on Saturday, March 25 and Sunday, March 26 at the Tequila and Taco Music Festival. Saturday guests will have the chance to participate in tequila tastings, with samples from a variety of top-shelf vendors.

After imbibing, there are a dozen different taco stands to peruse, with music from Adelaide and Sambada. Sunday is all about “Mas Margaritas” to help wash down the tacos, and proceeds from both days benefit the Gen Giammanco Foundation’s financial assistance programs for collegebound athletes. Tickets range from $10 to $60.

The event takes place at the Embarcadero Marina Park South (200 Marina Park Way) and begins at 11 a.m. on Saturday and 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. tequilaandtacomusicfestival.com

HLost at Sea at Teros Gallery, 3888 Swift Ave., City Heights. A solo exhibition showcasing new works from local artist Sarah Jane. There will also be live music. Opening from 6 p.m. to midnight. Thursday, March 23. Free. facebook.com/TerosMagazine-163020453812436 H Women in Light at Luxe Gallery, 1081 16th St. (5th Floor), East Village. Opening of City College’s fourth annual group photography exhibit which focuses on local female photographers such as Cariely Bee, Peggy Peattie and more. Opening from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 23. Free. 619-388-3281, facebook.com/ events/1866205443663494 HIDEAS Performance: The Burden of Selfhood at Calit2 Theater, Atkinson Hall, UC San Diego, La Jolla. A showcase of interdisciplinary work by UCSD grad students that explores feminism, identity and technology. Guest speakers include Stefani Byrd, Sarah Ciston, Amy Fox and more. From 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 23. Free. qi.ucsd.edu HRiver at Oceanside Museum of Art, 704 Pier View Way, Oceanside. Local artist and Creative Catalyst grantee Michelle Montjoy debuts knit and crocheted works that are the result of a series of communal workshops. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 25. Free-$8. 760-435-3720, oma-online.org HPerformance Mythodologies at SDAI Project Space, 141 Horton Plaza, Gaslamp. A showcase of performative works by artists from San Diego, Tijuana and Los Angeles. Names include Maria Mathioudakis, Reanne Estrada, Long Long and The Kellies and more. From 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, March 25. Free. 619236-0011, sandiego-art.org HRichard Deacon: What You See Is What You Get at San Diego Museum of Art, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park. Over 40 pieces from the revered fabricator and sculptor will be on display including one made especially for the exhibition. Includes an artist talk at 11 a.m. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 25. Free$12. 619-232-7931, sdmart.org HMay-ling Martinez at Ice Gallery, 1955 Julian Ave., Logan Heights. New works from the local artist based in the innate need to understand and decipher the unknown and that uses iconography found in “How to” books. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, March 25. Free. icegallerysd.com

BOOKS

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Tequila and Taco Music Festival

HNeil Gaiman at the San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., Gaslamp. The fantasy writer will discuss his career as well as his new book, Norse Mythology. At 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 29. $25. 619570-1100, sandiegotheatres.org

COMEDY Haters Roast at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Downtown. The sharptongued queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race take to the stage with zingers and stingers. At 8 p.m. Thursday, March 23. $2$50. 619-570-1100, sandiegotheatres.org

DANCE Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons & A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Poway Center for the Performing Arts, 5498 Espola Road, Poway. The Southern California Ballet performs the two classics with music by Felix Mendelssohn and choreography by Sylvia Palmer-Zetler. At 1 p.m.

Saturday, March 25. $20-$38. 858-7480505, powaycenter.com

FILM H Women’s Film Festival San Diego at THE LOT Liberty Station, 2620 Truxtun Road, Point Loma. Watch films made by women and about women such as Different Flowers, I Am Jane Doe and Alive and Kicking. Includes opening night party, panel discussions and more. Various times. Friday, March 24 through Sunday, March 26. $50-$300. womensmuseumca.org

FOOD & DRINK HTequila & Taco Festival at Embarcadero Marina Park South, 200 Marina Park Way, Downtown. Sample dozens of tequila brands, margaritas and tacos while enjoying live music from Adelaide, Sambada and more. Benefits the Gen Giammanco Foundation’s financial assistance programs for college-bound athletes. At 11 a.m. Saturday, March 25 and 11:30 a.m. Sunday, March 26. $10$60. tequilaandtacomusicfestival.com

MUSIC

Amy Poeppel at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The writer will discuss her new theatrical novel, Small Admissions, with Lacy Crawford. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 23. Free. 858454-0347, warwicks.com

Waipuna & Patrick Landeza at San Diego Performing Arts Center, 4579 Mission Gorge Place, San Diego. The trio performs its award-winning Hawaiian music with special guests and hula dancers. From 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, March 24. $35-$40. 619-306-9817, facebook.com/ events/1620106478297075/

HTimothy Snyder at D.G. Wills Books, 7461 Girard Avenue, La Jolla. The renowned historian Timothy Snyder will discuss his new book, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. At 7 p.m. Thursday, March 23. Free. 858456-1800, dgwillsbooks.com

Bruckner Symphony No. 8 at Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St., San Diego.

Conductor Jahja Ling and cellist Yao Zhao present the Austrian composer’s 125-year old symphony, plus Haydn’s cello concerto in C Major. At 8 p.m. Saturday, March 25 and 2 p.m. Sunday, March 26. $20-$96.

619-235-0804, sandiegosymphony.org

Melissa Scrivner at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. The novelist will be promoting her debut crime novel, Lola. At 6 p.m.

Thursday, March 23. Free. 858-2684747, mystgalaxy.com Tom Leveen at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. The novelist will sign and discuss his latest young adult book, Hellworld. At 7 p.m. Friday, March 24. Free. 858-2684747, mystgalaxy.com

I Am Jane Doe

HDanielle Mages Amato at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. The local writer, who works at the Old Globe Theatre, will sign and discuss her novel, The Hidden Memory of Objects. At 4 p.m. Saturday, March 25. Free. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com

H = CityBeat picks

PERFORMANCE HBlessed Be: A Night of Occult Performances at San Diego Art Institute, 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park. A night of performances and art that all centers on the occult, mysticism and the unknown.

Includes works and performances from Amanda Yates Garcia, Molly Jo Shea, Blood Ponies and more. From 7 to 10 p.m.

Friday, March 24. $10. sandiego-art.org

EVENTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

MARCH 22, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 11

BOOKS: THE FLOATING LIBRARY

EVENTS COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

Shock of the real

Y

“Walking the Dogs, Rome” by Dana Levine will be on view at Street Photography around the World, a dual show with Arthur Lavine opening from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, March 26, at Gallery 21 in the Spanish Village Art Center (1770 Village Place, Balboa Park).

EVENTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13 The Lady at the Mic at The Abbey, 2825 Fifth Ave., Bankers Hill. Tony Award nominee and drag legend Charles Busch’s eclectic program of contemporary and classic songs for a night of comical cabaret and a chance to meet and greet. At 8 p.m. Friday, March 24. $100-$150. 858550-1010, lajollaplayhouse.org

POETRY & SPOKEN WORD HVAMP: A Seat at the Table at San Diego City College Saville Theatre, 1313 Park Blvd., East Village. Literary group So Say We All teams up with San Diego City College to present readings by students about standing up for one’s rights. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 22. Free. 619388-3617, sosayweallonline.com HMonster, Other, Ugly, Beauty at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. Local writers Hari Alluri, Julia Evans, Ryan Bradford and Greg Van Eekhout will discuss their work and writings. 2 p.m. Saturday, March 25. Free. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com HPoetry & Art Series 2017 at San Diego Art Institute, 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park. Artist Perry Vasquez, local poet Sunny Rey and renowned street artist Mr.

Maxx Moses will read and perform at this interactive event, followed by the People’s Choice Poem Performance Awards.

At 7 p.m. Saturday, March 25. Free-$5.

619-957-3264, poetryandartsd.com HNon-Standard Lit: Donato Mancini, Anahita Jamali Rad & Danielle LaFrance at Gym Standard, 2903 El Cajon Blvd., North Park. The three writers will read from their respective books and poetry collections as part of Non-Standard Lit’s spring reading series. From 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday, March 26. facebook.com/ nonstandardlit The 7 Last Words at The North Chapel, 2881 Roosevelt Road, Point Loma. Literary group So Say We All showcases original stories inspired by Haydn’s “The 7 Last Words of Christ” with music by The Hausmann Quartet. From 1 to 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 26. $15 suggested donation.

619-573-9306, sosayweallonline.com

SPECIAL EVENTS Fishing, Tackle, Boat and Travel Show at Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. An annual expo for boating and fishing enthusiasts, featuring equipment, travel and other information. Various times. Thursday, March 23 through Sunday, March 26. $12-$13.

858-755-1161, fredhall.com

12 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MARCH 22, 2017

ou won’t find Frida Kahlo or Georgia O’Keefe in Broad Strokes: 15 Women Who Made Art and Made History (In That Order) and that’s probably for the best.

Bridget Quinn’s survey, published earlier this month by Chronicle Books, examines the lives of artists who were overlooked or overshadowed by history, but whose impact resonates today.

The book includes examples of the artists’ works and is lavishly illustrated by Lisa Congdon Broad Strokes unfolds like a series of hidden histories, telling the story of Paula Modersohn-Becker, the first woman to paint a nude self-portrait, or Edmonia Lewis, a half-black, halfChippewa sculptor who escaped Civil War era America to Rome, leaving behind a masterpiece (“The Death of Cleopatra”) hiding in plain sight for nearly 100 years.

“Somehow, by 1892 [“Cleopatra”] was on display at a Chicago saloon. Later it became the property of a notorious local gambler, ‘Blind John’ Conlon, who may have won it in a bet.”

Did you know that Virginia Woolf had a sister named Vanessa Bell whose paintings helped shape Modernism? Or that painter Rosa Bonheur was acquainted with Buffalo Bill Cody? Or that the sculptor Ruth Asawa was sent to an internment camp in California when she was 16 years old?

“Why is an artist lost and then found?” Quinn Chamorro Cultural Festival at Cal State San Marcos, 333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Road, San Marcos. The eighth annual festival features food, crafts and live entertainment from dancers, musicians and comedians, all in celebration of the cultures of the Micronesia, Polynesia and Mariana Islands. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Saturday, March 25. Free. 760-7504000, chelusd.org San Diego Beatles Fair at Queen Bee’s, 3925 Ohio St., North Park. The annual celebration of all things Fab Four includes live bands and memorabilia. Appearances and performances from Billy J. Kramer, Plastic Soul, the Baja Bugs, Dave Humphries and more. From noon to 11 p.m. Saturday, March 25. $10-$22. 619255-5147, sandiegobeatlesfair.com HOpen House San Diego at various locations. The San Diego Architectural Foundation invites locals to explore over 40 locations all over San Diego, as well

asks the reader in the course of her investigation.

For women, it’s usually not that mysterious. The duties of marriage and motherhood, imposed by the prevailing patriarchy, typically dictate a choice between a “normal” life and an artistic one. In many cases that choice was, and continues to be, a matter life and death.

“Art is a guaranty of sanity” writes Louis Bourgeois, who lived until she was 98 and made art for seven decades, but not all of the artists collected in Broad Strokes were so fortunate.

In the course of telling the stories of these remarkable women, Quinn describes her own journey in the art world.

“What I discovered as a grad student in New York was the necessary and exhausting emotion of confronting art itself.

The messy, sexy, physically unnerving shock of the real. That paintings can seduce you, sicken you, haunt you.”

Quinn imbues the narrative with sparks of discovery and flashes of insight that one finds in the best art appreciation. But her interest isn’t merely academic. Throughout the book Quinn uses the example of these trailblazing women to chart her own course as a student, writer, wife and mother, making Broad Strokes a tantalizing read for artists and aficionados alike.

Write to jimr@sdcitybeat.com.

as design studios and iconic buildings.

Also includes lectures at the Central Library in Downtown. Various times. Saturday, March 25. Free. 619-232-1385, sdarchitecture.org HRolando Street Fair at Rolando Blvd. and El Cajon Blvd., Rolando. This annual, family-friendly fest features food, vendors, rides and live music from Len Rainey and the Midnight Players, The Routine, Paul Cannon and more. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, March 26.

Free. rolandocc.org The Library at Night at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla.

A literary and musical performance by guitarist Colin McAllister that’s inspired by a series of essays by Alberto Manguel on the idea of a library. At 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 26. $20-$25. 858-454-5872, ljathenaeum

—Jim Ruland

TALKS & DISCUSSIONS HShe Was Warned: Stories of Existence and Persistence at San Diego State University, ENS 280, College Area. A diverse group of San Diego women share their personal stories of existence and persistence. Speakers include Veronica Zerrer, Kawther Muhssn, Ismahan Abdullahi and nearly a dozen more. From 7 to 9 p.m.

Thursday, March 23. Free. facebook. com/events/259455547844796 HArt Connection: Where Music Meets Art at Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St., Downtown. San Diego Art Institute’s Executive Director Ginger Shulick Porcella, Art of Élan Co-Founder Kate Hatmaker and others discuss how the line between music and art increasingly blurs. At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 29. Free. Reservations recommended. 619-235-0804, sandiegosymphony.org

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March 22, 2017 · San Diego CityBeat · 13

THEATER KEN JACQUES

Sean Murray and Eileen Bowman in On the Twentieth Century

All aboard!

I

f train travel came with as many laughs as it does in On the 20th Century, Amtrak wouldn’t have to advertise.

It’s easy to see why this musical-comedy romp written by Cy Coleman with music and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green—all three theater royalty—was such a crowd pleaser and award grabber when it ran on Broadway in the late ‘70s.

Now, Cygnet Theatre in Old Town is staging this charmer in a production worthy of its heritage. Like a locomotive running low on coal, On the 20th Century slows down midway through the second act and relies on silliness to reach its expected destination, but the trip up to then is a delightful spoof of sophistication and showbiz.

With her bodacious hair and trilling voice, Eileen Bowman totally scores as Lily Garland, a Roaring Twenties film star being wooed aboard the 20th Century Limited train to New York by hapless theater producer Oscar Jaffe (Sean Murray, who also directs this Cygnet production).

Jaffe is only wooing Garland in part for love and because he knows she is just the ticket to launching a hit show that will beat off the bill-collecting wolves at his door. The role of Lily was originated on Broadway by the incomparable Madeline Kahn, but Bowman, a force of nature, is no slouch. Elsewhere, Melinda Gilb nearly runs off with the show as a dizzy religious zealot who’s on the train. (Her “Repent” number is a highlight of Act One, and “She’s a Nut,” when the dizziness is discovered, is the highlight of Act Two.) Also part of this ace cast are Melissa Fernandes and Steve Gunderson as Oscar Jaffe’s exasperated “bootlickers,” as Lily calls them; and Michael Cusimano as Lily’s hunky lapdog of a beau.

This is a lush production with an inspired set (by Sean Fanning), screen projections (by Blake McCarty) that give the feel like of being a train passenger, and ‘20s costumes (designed by Jeanne Reith) ��������������������������������� that are both nostalgic and glamorous. David Brannen’s whimsical choreography keeps the energy high.

14 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MARCH 22, 2017

For all its length (over two and a half hours), On the 20th Century chugs right along until that aforementioned lag in Act Two. But by then patrons will be won over by Comden and Green’s witty tunes and Coleman’s cartoonish but lovable characters.

On the 20th Century runs through April 30 at Cygnet Theatre in Old Town. $31$56; cygnettheatre.com

—David L. Coddon

Theater reviews run weekly.

Write to davidc@sdcitybeat.com.

OPENING: Finding the Sun: Edward Albee’s one-act play where four couples explore love and passion on a New England beach. Directed by Meg Stoll and Susie Gallagher, it opens March 23 for four performances at the University of San Diego’s Vassiliadis Family Black Box Theatre in Linda Vista. sandiego.edu Grease: A good girl and a greaser realize they’re the ones that they want. Or something like that. Presented by Star Repertory Theatre, it opens March 23 for six performances at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido. starrepertorytheatre.com The 39 Steps: A comedic adaptation of the classic Alfred Hitchcock thriller about a man with a photographic memory who gets caught up in a murder mystery. Directed by Desha Crownover, it opens March 24 at the Coronado Playhouse. coronadoplayhouse.com Over the Tavern: A spry 12-year-old decides he wants to practice a more “fun” religion much to the chagrin of his Roman Catholic family and a strict nun. Directed by Annette Alliano, it opens March 24 at PowPAC Community Theatre in Poway. powpac.org Red Velvet: When an acclaimed British actor can’t play Othello, a Black American steps in to play the title character in early 1800s London. Written by Lolita Chakrabarti, it opens March 25 at the Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park. theoldglobe.org

For full listings, visit “Theater” under the Culture tab at sdcitybeat.com

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March 22, 2017 · San Diego CityBeat · 15

16 · San Diego CityBeat · March 22, 2017

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KYLE CASSIDY

CULTURE | LITERATURE

Neil Gaiman and scenes from The Sandman hortly before his latest book, Norse Mythology, was released, a fan told Neil Gaiman on Facebook that he would not be reading the new collection because, as he understood it, Gaiman was making fun of Donald Trump. Gaiman wrote back, confused, and the fan then replied he had read in the New York Times that the collection included a story about a wall being built to keep out giants.

Even now, Gaiman is amused by the exchange.

“I told him, a) I wrote the story three years ago and b) it is a retelling of a story told by Snorri 900 years ago, and c) the story itself is probably 1,500 years old,” Gaiman says. “People are finding comparisons. People are looking at this and going a-ha, this is about what’s going on.”

For those unfamiliar, Gaiman is a bit of a giant himself, albeit one in the literary world of speculative fiction with a career spanning more than three decades. Born in Hampshire, England, he has lived in the United States for over 25 years. His body of work is vast and diverse, from his Chu the Panda series of children’s books, to his widely celebrated Sandman comics about a character who rules over the mythological world of Dream. His book Coraline was made into an animated film, and a television series based on his 2001 book, American Gods, is set to premiere next month on STARZ. More recently, Norse Mythology shot to the top of the New York Times bestseller list when it released in February. And while some readers might find contemporary parallels when reading stories of walls to keep

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giants out, Gaiman has had a tendency to avoid the political. When he was first writing The Sandman comic in the ‘90s, friends would criticize him for not being political.

“They would say, look, we have done this thing in which we say Margaret Thatcher eats babies and you are just doing Sandman, this airy fairy stuff,” says Gaiman, who will speak at the San Diego Civic Theatre on Wednesday, March 29.

However, 30 years later, another look at The Sandman comics reveals a writer who was unafraid of introducing various LGBTQ characters and taking on topics that other comic writers wouldn’t have touched.

Gaiman says he become accustomed to people seeing the political relevance of his work after the fact.

“Now people say Ah yes, Sandman was a very political comic, and I say OK,” Gaiman says. “I suppose it was, but it was just me telling a story.”

In recent days, however, Gaiman is using his reach to bring awareness to the plight of refugees.

“I didn’t wake up one morning and go A-ha, I’m going to out and start talking about refugees. But I take the refugees crisis relatively personally because members of my family have been refugees and some were not just because of luck.”

He began making social media posts about the refugee crisis. Soon after, the UN

contacted him in 2014 with an invitation to visit refugee camps in Jordan.

“The days I spent in the refugee camp in Jordan kind of rewired my head,” Gaiman recalls. “I think if you’d asked me to tell you about refugees beforehand, I would have assumed refugee camps were a bunch of tents in a field somewhere and they’d probably bring around lunch. [That] refugees were probably people who had got up one day and said it’s a bit dodgy here, let’s go and go somewhere else and were driven off.”

The camp he visited was more of a city, with people trying to reclaim the lives they left behind in Syria. The reality was jarring.

“I asked then what made them leave, what made them come in,” Gaiman says.

“These were people living their lives. They were locals, and then people started shooting and then the tanks would rumble through the town and the water tanks beneath the town were destroyed. Things were blowing up, and farmers weren’t going into the fields because it’s too dangerous. Now they’re getting permission from their Imam to eat the cats and dogs because there’s no food, and they are looking at their children who have not been to school in years and they have no food for them and they have to get out. They have no alternative.”

The frustration comes through in Gaiman’s voice when he talks about the way

the refugees are discussed.

“Hearing this new narrative, oh refugees are all terrorists. No, they are running away from the terrorists. They want their life back.

They want to raise their children and create art. For me, it became something passionate. I came back from Jordan with a thousand yard stare and thought OK, I’ve got to do something. I’m one person and I’m going to keep doing things.”

He was bemused but honored to discover, in February, that he had been named a goodwill ambassador for the UN. “It is very cool, but it doesn’t give you free parking or anything,” Gaiman jokes.

His work in activism is seeping consciously into his writing. One of his next projects is a long-awaited sequel to his 1996 novel Neverwhere, which took place in an alternative London and focused on the homeless and others who fall through the cracks in our societies. Gaiman says the sequel will center on a group of refugees called The Seven Sisters.

And while Gaiman may still have little interest in becoming an activist and considers himself, above all else, a storyteller, what are storytellers if not the emotional historians of our time? In a place in history when the global politics are inharmonious at best, the keepers and creators of story and art are who we turn to in order to remind ourselves of the eternal truths.

“We definitely are living in interesting times,” says Gaiman. “I think the role of the artist is always twofold. One is reacting to your time and the other is chronicling your time. And sometimes you’re doing it an unaware sort of way.”

MARCH 22, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 17

CULTURE | ART MICHAEL RAINES

SEEN LOCAL WHOSE STREET? OUR STREET!

A

group of women chant this as they pedal down the darkened night streets of Boyle Heights in Los Angeles—an act of reclaiming a space where women often encounter fear and violence. This scene in the new documentary Ovarian Psycos [sic] highlights the mission of the Ovarian Psycos Bicycle Brigade, a cycling crew made up of young women of color (primarily Latinx women), their relationships with each other and their families, and the complexity of their grassroots organizing.

The Ovas, as they often refer to themselves, pose defiantly throwing up the Ovarian Psyco hand sign over their pelvis—each hand making an upside down “okay” sign to create the shape of a uterus and ovaries.

Formed in 2011 by Los Angeles activist, single mother and M.C./poet Xela de la X, the group’s bike rides—often called “Clitoral Mass” —bring awareness and action around issues within their community, such as gentrification, ICE raids and gendered violence.

Producing/directing team Joanna Sokolowski and former local Kate Trumbull-LaValle didn’t set out to make an issue-based film but rather a film “about radical young women.”

“We were enamored by the name, by the information we found online,” says Sokolowski, who began the project with Trumbull-LaValle in 2012. “It was really the type of film I’ve always wanted to see. A film that could connect with young women who were, maybe, a bit before their journey of becoming an activist. They can look at the Psycos and see themselves.”

As feminists, the filmmakers were drawn to the Ovas’ work, but it was really the stories of motherhood within the group that they wanted to tell. But to tell it, they would have to overcome distrust and build rapport with the women by spending as much time with them before even picking up a camera.

Trumbull-LaValle even joined the Ovas on one of their monthly lunar rides.

Ovarian Psycos “They have a no-woman-left-behind policy,” Trumbull-LaValle recalls. “When I went on a ride, a woman got a flat tire and the whole crew stopped to help her. And after, they had a dialogue. That was the core of the organizing—get together and talk about pertinent issues in the community. It seemed so radical and basic.”

For Trumbull-LaValle, the connection to the Ovas also went a bit deeper into her roots. While she is half white and presents white, the San Diego native worked for Media Arts Center San Diego and the San Diego Latino Film Festival, and is half Mexican.

“Being Latina and having Mexican roots, being a feminist and also growing up within the context of the border certainly does inform my interest as a filmmaker and storyteller,” says Trumbull-LaValle,

18 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MARCH 22, 2017

Joanna Sokolowski and Kate Trumbull-LaValle who now lives in Los Angeles. “My interest in storytelling is driven by my own personal story. I shared that with Xela and the other women. I think that’s what set trust and rapport.”

Building that led to an emotional and inspiring exploration into the lives and struggles of the Ovas.

Trumbull-LaValle adds, “They’ve been able to be so honest and raw about their personal histories, and unapologetic and strong. I think they’re great and feel so appreciative. It’s pure resilience.”

The making of Ovarian Psycos was truly a family affair. Sokolowki’s husband, Michael Raines, served as director of photography, often filming the Ovas by following them on 10-mile rides on his rollerblades.

Trumbull-LaValle’s husband, musician Jimmy LaValle of local-grown band The Album Leaf, served as the film’s composer.

And then their families grew. During production, Trumbull-LaValle became pregnant with her son.

She and Sokolowski then both became pregnant with their daughters during the process of editing and hitting the festival circuit. As Trumbull-Lavalle puts it, the hormones were raging. But as an all-woman team telling the story of an all-woman collective and their mother/daughter relationships, the work became even more personal and emotional as they, themselves, became mothers.

“A lot of the [Ovarian Psycos] and the crew are moms as well so I think there was an extra level of solidarity there,” says Sokolowski.

For Trumbull-LaValle, making the film even gave her the chance to get to know her mother “a bit differently,” and realizing that her mother’s feminism instilled her own. She says that seeing her mother and, hopefully, also her Chihuahua, Mexico-born grandmother at the screening of the film at the San Diego Latino Film Festival will be “a little bit of a homecoming.”

As far as the Ovarian Psycos, many of the women featured in the film are no longer active in the collective but still engage in activist work. The collective itself, however, is still going strong with a new crop of women.

Ovarian Psycos premieres on PBS’s Independent Lens at 10 p.m. on Monday, March 27 and will be available for online streaming at pbs.org/independentlens the following day.

—Alex Zaragoza @SDCITYBEAT

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March 22, 2017 · San Diego CityBeat · 19

CULTURE | FILM

Gag reflex

Raw

New French body horror film goes right for the guts

by Glenn Heath Jr.

R

aw turns the old adage “you are what you eat” where the young are left to run amok while older gateinto a bloody millennial nightmare. Destined keepers omnisciently judge from beyond the frame. to be a midnight classic for some, Julia Ducour- Ducournau’s talent lies in creating an oppressive nau’s body horror film takes place at a raucous veteri- mood that parallels this evergreen reality. Much of nary college in France (apparently those exist) where the tone is achieved through the dour set design with unsuspecting freshmen experience ritualistic hazing jaundiced, messy interiors that match the diseased sessions during their first week on campus. The older internal organs of its occupants. One would be hardstudents seem to have free rein of the place, drench- pressed to imagine university life as any less inviting.

Like the standard superhero movie, Raw ultimately ing their younger colleagues with buckets of blood equates profundity and meaning with world building. and forcing them to eat rancid meat.

Despite having alumni parents and an older sib- Justine’s familial connection at the university alludes ling attending the university, strict vegetarian Justine to an entire lineage of menacing past experiences and (Garance Marillier) seems genuinely shocked by the hierarchies that help fuel her chaotic present. As a crazy shenanigans unfolding during her first night result, the film becomes an origin story where every formal gut punch is meant to carry away from home. Young bodies added human dimension. Despite grind against each other with blarMarillier’s extremely committed ing house music and strobe lights RAW performance, the film rarely sucsetting a properly manic mood. At Directed by Julia Ducournau ceeds, shuffling around stock charfirst intoxicated by the adrenalineStarring Garance Marillier, acters that end up verbalizing evfueled energy of it all, Justine’s Ella Rumpf, Laurent Lucas ery thought and emotion. body begins to transform after beThe word cannibalism is never ing shamed into eating raw rabbit and Joana Preiss uttered in Raw, nor does it need to kidney by her domineering sister, Rated R be. Justine’s affliction organically Alexia (Ella Rumpf). blossoms within the confines of Initially, the tainting of Jusher surroundings as if it were pretine’s “pure” innards leads to nasty skin hives, sweaty nightmares and the occasional ordained. Alexia understands this best, which would bloody nose. But eventually it creates an insatiable explain the mix of hostile sibling rivalry and sisterly appetite to consume all things—meat, hair and flesh. bonding that unspools during the film’s final act, culConfusion over this sudden shift in physical chem- minating in a tooth-to-tooth battle royal. “Medicine’s istry begins to alter her psychological mindset too, not an exact science,” one character calmly says, and setting the stage for a carnage-heavy descent within Ducournau believes the same to be true about human a coming-of-age subtext. Identity, gender, sex, addic- nature in general.

Raw ends with an exclamation point that presuption and repression—Raw is like a you-call-it for grad poses we care enough about Justine’s tortured life for it school symbolism.

Obviously influenced by the visceral grotesque- to make an impact. Instead of inspiring goose bumps, ness of David Cronenberg’s work, Ducournau favors this conclusion feels obvious and anticlimactic, bringclose-ups of tearing skin and flayed flesh to develop ing full circle the film’s simplistic goal of subverting its foreboding tone. The camera refuses to cut away genre through shock and awe. Unfortunately, it’s not from these images, forcing the audience into a game about the characters but the grandiose themes they of chicken with their own gag reflexes. Guess who come to represent on the surface. Ducournau plays to flinches first. But what’s most horrific is the setting’s the fanboys by showing off in this regard, leaving only pure lawlessness and lack of adult oversight. Only the traces of ambiguity to digest.

Raw opens Friday, March 24, at Landmark Ken campus nurse shows anything resembling concern for Justine’s plight. Yet her advice is pragmatic rather Cinema. than compassionate: “Find yourself a quiet corner and wait it out.”

Film reviews run weekly.

In turn, a disturbing generational gap develops Write to glennh@sdcitybeat.com

20 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MARCH 22, 2017

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CULTURE | FILM

Wilson

Happily disgruntled

F

rom Lionel Barrymore’s embezzler in It’s a Wonderful Life to Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau’s Grumpy Old Men, the classic curmudgeon has a long and storied place in film history. While Woody Harrelson’s ornery titular character in Wilson isn’t elderly, he certainly acts the part of a disgruntled old coot.

During the opening voiceover sequence, he spews out meandering and sarcastic diatribes against modern technology and life’s inevitable hard knocks. But Wilson is no misanthrope—he actually wants to connect with people so

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badly that he ends up throwing modern social graces to the wind just to have a real conversation.

The character’s life changes forever after discovering that his estranged ex-wife Pippi (Laura Dern) gave up their baby for adoption 16 years previous instead of carrying through with an abortion.

After a bit of coaxing, Wilson convinces his old flame that contacting their now-teenage daughter is a good idea.

The film’s thinly veiled narrative exists merely to showcase Harrelson’s perfect comedic timing and raunchy charisma. Director Craig Johnson gives his leading man the space to become a human

tornado, causing unintended emotional damage wherever he decides to land. Wilson’s propelled forward by an incomparable sense of delusion that convincingly masks wells of deeper pain.

Daniel Clowes adapted the script from his own graphic novel and Wilson often soars when plot gets pushed aside in favor of blissful banter. Johnson adeptly handles the more manic scenes, much in the way he gave Kristin Wiig and Bill Hader space to contemplate trauma through comedy in the underrated The Skeleton Twins.

Lacking in story and stakes, Wilson doesn’t leave much of an impression beyond Harrelson’s charismatic grousing. It’s got plenty of heart but no soul. Check out Alexander Payne’s About Schmidt or Pete Doctor’s Up for the best of both worlds.

Wilson opens Friday, March 17 at various local theaters.

—Glenn Heath Jr.

OPENING CHIPS: Dax Shepard and Michael Pena play loudmouth highway patrolmen who cause havoc on the Los Angeles freeways.

Life: An international space crew discovers life on Mars, but then realizes they’ve made a huge mistake.

Personal Shopper: A young woman (Kristen Stewart) experiences a ghostly encounter while working in the Parisian fashion industry.

Raw: When a college-age vegetarian is forced into eat raw meat her body begins to experience a horrific transformation.

Power Rangers: Based on the popular ‘90s television show, this action film follows a group of high school students who are infused with super powers and are called upon to save the world.

Song to Song: Terrence Malick’s latest opus follows two intersecting love triangles set against the Austin music scene.

T2: Trainspotting: 20 years after taking his last hit of heroin, Mark (Ewan McGregor) returns home to Scotland and reunites with his long lost friends.

Wilson: After discovering he has a teenage daughter, a grumpy middle-aged curmudgeon (Woody Harrelson) decides to make some changes in his life.

2017 Women’s International Film Festival: This annual film event hosted by the Women’s Museum of California in San Diego was created to celebrate women’s stories and experiences through film. Screens from Friday, March 24 through Sunday, March 26, at The Lot Liberty Station.

For a complete listing of movies, visit our F ilm section in C ulture on sdcitybeat.com.

MARCH 22, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 21

MATIAS CORAL

MUSIC

ire isn’t a punk band. At least that’s not how Colin Newman, the London band’s founding member and frontman, sees it.

There’s only one album of the group’s that sounds like punk: 1977’s Pink Flag, a record that’s ascended to legend status for its raw, minimalist approach and widespread influence on punk, hardcore and indie rock. Look beyond that album, however, and Wire appears to be more complicated and eclectic.

They changed their style dramatically on their next two albums, resurrecting themselves as a more atmospheric new wave group in the ‘80s, crafting manic industrialpunk in the early ‘00s and, most recently, honing a layered art-rock sound.

If the band’s new album Silver/Lead, released to coincide with the band’s 40th anniversary, illustrates anything, it’s this: There’s no single way to make a Wire record.

In the London quartet’s 40 years as a band, they’ve changed their approach seemingly as many times as they’ve released albums, and their evolution hasn’t halted.

Reflecting on four decades of music and 15 albums from his London studio, Newman says that the idea of what a Wire album can be is changed every time they start a new project, but the results all have something in common.

“There’s a discovery I made by looking back over the ‘70s and ‘80s, and really during the last decade, I kind of realized that no matter what you do, it ends up sounding like Wire,” Newman says. “And Wire’s embraced a number of different aesthetics. So the idea that there’s a certain set of rules that you’d stick with, is an anathema.”

Silver/Lead is both a new chapter for Wire and a piece of music that feels strongly connected to the band’s history. Newman, bassist Graham Lewis, drummer Robert Grey and guitarist Matt Simms (who joined in 2010) have made a record that’s a far cry from the minute-long bursts of art-punk that defined their debut album. Much as Newman sug-

gested, it sounds like a Wire album. Take for instance “Short Elevated Period,” whose shoegazey, post-punk hooks recall older tracks such as “The 15th” or “Map Ref. 41°N 93°W” from their third album, 154. Yet on the title track, Wire sounds dreamier and more atmospheric than they ever have, offering up something unexpectedly beautiful.

Just as there’s no strict rule about what a Wire album can be, there’s no barrier to trying something radically different. And Newman says that’s been part of their ethos since their founding.

“Everything goes back to the beginnings of Wire,” he says. “Wire does pop. Wire does stuff that’s kind of beautiful and stuff that’s ugly. People claim Wire is a certain aesthetic, but we resist that. There are elements of pop, but there are also elements that are avant garde. We are both extremes, but we aren’t either of them. It’s like water, really, you just release it at the top of the hill and it goes whichever way it goes.”

Though time and a gradually growing influence have granted Wire the status of legends, they’ve undergone at least three major periods of transition. The most recent happened after their 2003 album Send, during which Bruce Gilbert departed over a disagreement in business decisions. The band also took a long break in the ‘90s, during which each of the band’s members released a series of solo and side projects. Yet the most significant break for the band happened in the early ‘80s after the release of their three most acclaimed albums: 1977’s Pink Flag, 1978’s Chairs Missing and 1979’s 154.

When Wire resumed recording and touring in the mid-’80s, the musical landscape had changed. Punk was out, glossy new wave textures were in—at least in the band’s native England. Yet the early punk recordings were all that American audiences had known

22 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MARCH 22, 2017

From left: Matt Simms, Robert Grey, Graham Lewis and Colin Newman about the band, since Chairs Missing wasn’t even released in the U.S. until 1989, and 154 suffered from poor stateside distribution. So when Wire finally made their North American touring debut with synthesizers and a conspicuous absence of distortion, reactions were mixed.

“There was a massive disconnect between the ’70s and ’80s,” Newman says. “We didn’t know much about U.S. hardcore. We never considered ourselves a punk band. By

1979 we were very far from being a punk band. In the ‘80s, it was all about digital processing, and that became difficult when we started playing in America. We were playing this squeaky new stuff to audiences that wanted to hear ‘12XU.’ “That was fun.”

Two more decades down the road, Wire’s well past the point of encountering unpleasant surprises like hostile audiences or labels that won’t release their music. In fact, they

own their own label, Pink Flag, which allows them the freedom to do whatever they want (which, admittedly, is pretty punk). Yet Newman says they don’t by any means disavow or ignore their history.

“Contrary to popular opinion, we don’t avoid playing old material,” he says. “We tend to make choices about what we play, and sometimes it’s not the obvious ones. If you went into the audience and asked 100 people what they wanted to hear, you’d get 100 different answers. But you don’t want to be your own cover band.”

Wire are older and wiser, and for that matter much better at communicating with each other than they used to be, Newman says. However brash and naive a band they were in the late ‘70s, he still thinks those kids—punk rock or not—had the right idea.

“When we were in our twenties, we were so arrogant,” he says. “We thought we were the best band in the world. But if we didn’t, then why would we even want to do it?”

Write to jefft@sdcitybeat.com.

Follow him on Twitter at @1000TimesJeff

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MUSIC

NOTES FROM THE SMOKING PATIO LOCALS ONLY

I

n April, The Hideout is becoming SPACE. After duno says that the hours will stay the same, and that opening in 2014 following a transition from being the bar will continue to have live shows, but not 30 days in a row. He says the idea is to The Void before that, the bar (at retain some of the local dive bar feel 3519 El Cajon Blvd.) was purchased it now has. in December of last year by Joaquin “We really wanted it to be a reDeVelasco with the intention of reflection of our favorite bars in San branding and reopening it. DeVelasDiego,” he says. “The Casbah, Live co brought Hideout talent buyer Wire, Whistle Stop—it’s kind of like Mario Orduno on as co-owner and a combination of those. We want it partner of the project. The two are to have a cool, neighborhood vibe, preparing the bar for a grand remellow DJ nights, good shows. We opening on April 21 and 22 with two also just want to have nights open headlining shows from goth/synthso people can chill and listen to the pop group Cold Cave. jukebox.”

“We never intended to keep it as SPACE does have a new logo deThe Hideout,” Orduno says in an insigned by Jon Blaj, and there might terview at Influx in North Park. “It be sci-fi films showing on TVs when was important that we have a name there isn’t a live show. However, Orthat we came up with, to let people duno says that the thematic presknow that this is our bar, and it’s ence will be subtle. our concept.”

SPACE’s opening party flyer “It’s not a theme bar,” he says.

Some of the changes made to “Like, when you go to the Whistle The Hideout include taking out some of the booths for seating near the stage, as well Stop, you know there’s a train theme, but it’s not too as installation of a new sound booth. There’s also obvious—you don’t really think about it.” a new jukebox that features music from Fela Kuti, Spacemen 3, The Stone Roses and The Germs. Or —Jeff Terich

ALBUM REVIEW Author & Punisher Pressure Mine (Sefl-released)

A

uthor & Punisher has had an eventful 2017 so far, to say the least. In January, the industrial-metal project from Tristan Shone provided the score for a “Satanic mass” ceremony in Los Angeles. Then in March, he announced he had signed to famed heavy music label Relapse, onetime home to iconic bands such as Mastodon, Baroness and Neurosis, as well as the current label of fellow San Diegans The Album Leaf.

And while his debut for Relapse is still on the horizon, Shone capped an already interesting first quarter with the release of a new EP, Pressure Mine.

Pressure Mine immediately marks a dramatic departure from Shone’s previous fulllength, 2015’s Melk en Honing.

Where that album was Author & Punisher at its most intense, Shone’s machines being pushed to their limits, here there’s significantly more restraint and nuance at play. It’s not as if it’s a laid-back and breezy release for Shone; second track “Pressure Lover,” for instance, is bathed in noise and static, suggesting that the punishment this time around is more textural than sheer physical impact.

The five tracks on Pressure Mine are some of the catchiest, if not the weirdly prettiest that Shone

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has ever recorded. “Enter This” is an epic dirge of intricate industrial-goth sounds, pairing layered synth arpeggios with a menacing bassline and slowmoving, hard-hitting beats. Yet the most surprising aspect is Shone’s vocal performance, which is sung melodically rather than barked or screamed. In fact, his vocal talents are on full display throughout the EP, driving the triumphant chorus of “Nazarene” and appearing in their barest, most direct form on the atmospheric closing track “Black Wand.”

The heaviness on Pressure Mine is undeniable, though it’s arguably Shone’s least metal release. He allows in more space than ever before, and focuses more of his efforts on melody and ambience. That being said, it’s still incredibly abrasive, crushing and loud.

Author & Punisher hasn’t gone pop by any traditional definition, though it’s certainly a step in that direction. Author & Punisher has changed direction and approach before, but if this is an indication of where he’ll go with Relapse, then he’s on his way toward something incredible.

—Jeff Terich MARCH 22, 2017· SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 23

MUSIC

JEFF TERICH

IF I WERE U A music insider’s weekly agenda WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22

PLAN A: “Bob Wilson Benefit” w/ The Beat Farmers, The Schizophonics, Voices, Dani Bell and the Tarantist @ Music Box. A group of San Diego bands, including local legends The Beat Farmers, are holding a benefit show for Bob Wilson, former lighting director at The Bacchanal, who had a stroke last year. Good music for a good cause. PLAN B: Modern English, Underpass, DJ Vaughn Avakian @ The Casbah.

Modern English is known best for their hit “I Melt With You,” but the British band has a catalog of post-punk tracks worth exploring. Come discover some of those standouts live. BACKUP PLAN: WAND, San Pedro El Cortez, Sumatraban @ Soda Bar.

THURSDAY, MARCH 23

PLAN A: Cro-Mags, The Last Gang, Heat, Pathetic Society @ Soda Bar. For old school punks and metalheads, Cro-Mags need no introduction. The group helped bridge hardcore and thrash metal with a

style known as crossover thrash in the ‘80s, and they’re still getting circle pits going.

PLAN B: Omni, Teach Me, Sixes @ The Hideout. Omni is a post-punk band from Atlanta that features a former member of Deerhunter. However they share little in common with that group, instead playing danceable and dark tracks that nod to Wire and Gang of Four. BACKUP PLAN: Blockhead, Boostive, Eddie Turbo @ Music Box.

rock with intense metalcore. It probably won’t make any sense if you weren’t going to see live bands in 2005, but it’ll still be super fun. BACKUP PLAN: Potty Mouth, Partybaby, Tennis System, Cat Shapiro @ Che Cafe.

SATURDAY, MARCH 25

PLAN A: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Vita and the Woolf @ The Casbah. I’ll admit that I haven’t listened to Clap Your Hands Say Yeah in a while, but I do have a soft spot

SUNDAY, MARCH 26

PLAN A: Jeremy Enigk, Tomo Nakayama @ Soda Bar. Jeremy Enigk used to be the vocalist in emo legends Sunny Day Real Estate, who are one of my all-time favorite bands. As a solo artist, his output is more laid-back, though he’s released a handful of solid records well worth exploring. PLAN B: Big Business, Death Eyes @ Whistle Stop.

I’ve been told by more than one person that Big Business is the loudest band they’ve ever seen live. That’s a hell of an endorsement, and a challenge worth accepting.

MONDAY, MARCH 27

PLAN A: Oathbreaker, Khemmis, Jaye Jayle @ Soda Bar. Oathbreaker is an amazing metal band from Belgium with an eclectic mix of atmospheric melodies and heavy riffs. But I’m just as excited, if not more so, for Khemmis, a Denver doom metal band that pretty much kicks all kinds of ass. BACKUP PLAN: In The Whale, Hiroshima Mockingbirds, Slowkiss @ The Casbah.

FRIDAY, MARCH 24

PLAN A: Slothrust, Sons of an Illustrious Father @ The Hideout.

Slothrust are a versatile indie rock band that can do snotty, punky rock songs or slower, dreamier ballads. And they do them both quite well. They’ve been around for a few years, but I see them getting bigger soon. PLAN B: Horse the Band, Infinity Shred, Graf Orlock @ Soda Bar. Horse the Band is kind of nutso.

They mix 8-bit-style video game math-

Oathbreaker for some of the tracks on their self-titled debut, as well as “Satan Said Dance” from 2007. So, yeah, I can get behind this indie rock show, even if for nostalgic reasons.

BACKUP PLAN: The Hood Internet @ The Hideout.

TUESDAY, MARCH 28

PLAN A: Eisley, Civilian, Backwards Dancer @ House of Blues. Boy, is this week stacked with bands from the mid-’00s or what? Eisley first caught my attention around, say, 2006?

They were a little too glossy for indie, though not necessarily mainstream, like a janglier Rilo Kiley. Good stuff.

Ghostface Killah 24 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MARCH 22, 2017

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March 22, 2017 · San Diego CityBeat · 25

MUSIC

CONCERTS HOT! NEW! FRESH!

21 Savage (HOB, 4/11), Downtown Boys (Soda Bar, 4/16), PC Worship (Soda Bar, 4/17), Simple Plan (HOB, 4/18), Cold Cave (SPACE, 4/21-22), Dennis Quaid and the Sharks (BUT, 4/28), Lil Peep (HOB, 4/30), Current Swell (Soda Bar, 5/3), Face to Face (Casbah, 5/6), ‘Freedom Concert’ w/ Lifehouse (USS Midway, 5/27), Patti LaBelle (Del Mar Fairgrounds, 6/7), Dustbowl Revival (Casbah, 6/18), Korn (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 6/20), Switchfoot (Del Mar Fairgrounds, 6/21), Tuxedo (Observatory, 6/24), Supersuckers (Casbah, 6/24), Cat Power (Observatory, 7/1), Derv Gordon of the Equals (SPACE, 7/15), Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 (BUT, 7/21), Taking Back Sunday (Observatory, 7/28), Turnpike Troubadours (BUT, 8/5), George Benson, Kenny G (Humphreys, 9/10), Alison Moyet (Music Box, 9/26), Luke Bryan (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 10/27), Mogwai (Observatory, 11/20).

GET YER TICKETS The Damned (HOB, 4/7), Kristin Kontrol (Hideout, 4/10), Mount Eerie (Irenic, 4/10), Cage the Elephant (California Center for the Arts, 4/10), Power Trip (Casbah, 4/10), A Perfect Circle (Open Air Theatre, 4/11), Father John Misty (Humphreys, 4/12), Lupe Fiasco (Observatory, 4/13), Local Natives

(Observatory, 4/17), Steely Dan (Humphreys, 4/17), Toots and the Maytals (BUT, 4/17), Snoop Dogg, Cypress Hill (Open Air Theatre, 4/18), Mitski (Irenic, 4/19), Beach Slang (Casbah 4/20), Lil Wayne (Open Air Theatre, 4/20), Lee Fields and the Expressions (Music Box, 4/20), Ab-Soul (Observatory, 4/21), David Crosby (Humphreys, 4/23), Chance the Rapper (Valley View Casino Center, 4/24), The 1975 (Open Air Theatre, 4/25), Willie Nelson (Humphreys, 4/26), Kings of Leon (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 4/28), Flaming Lips (Observatory, 5/7), At the Drive-In (SOMA, 5/9), Com Truise, Clark (BUT, 5/12), Conor Oberst (Observatory, 5/14), Brother Ali (Observatory, 5/15), Chris Stapleton (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 5/18), Thundercat (Observatory, 5/19), Rodriguez (Humphreys, 5/23), Paul van Dyk (HOB, 5/26), Modest Mouse (Open Air Theatre, 5/30), NKOTB, Paula Abdul, Boyz II Men (Viejas Arena, 6/1), Little Hurricane (BUT, 6/2), Lady Antebellum (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 6/4), Justin Townes Earle (Music Box, 6/4), Valerie June (BUT, 6/8), The Anniversary (Irenic, 6/10), Toby Keith (Del Mar Fairgrounds, 6/10), Earthless (Casbah, 6/10), ‘91X X-Fest’ w/ Phoenix, Empire of the Sun (Qualcomm Stadium, 6/11), Def Leppard (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 6/16), Boston, Joan Jett (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 6/18), Morbid Angel (HOB, 6/18), The Revolution (HOB, 6/22), Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (Civic Theatre, 6/26), Deftones, Rise Against (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 7/7), Natalie Merchant (Copley Symphony Hall, 7/18), Hall & Oates, Tears for Fears (Valley View Casino Center, 7/19), Metallica (Petco Park, 8/6), Diana Krall

26 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MARCH 22, 2017

(Humphreys, 8/8), Incubus, Jimmy Eat World (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 8/11), Steve Martin and Martin Short (Open Air Theatre, 8/12), 311 (Open Air Theatre, 8/20), Sylvan Esso (Observatory, 8/26), Florida Georgia Line (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 9/9), Goo Goo Dolls (Open Air Theatre, 9/12), Green Day (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 9/13), Sublime With Rome, The Offspring (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 9/26), Depeche Mode (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 10/6), Coldplay (Qualcomm Stadium, 10/8).

MARCH WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22 Modern English at The Casbah. WAND at Soda Bar. Inspired and the Sleep at Belly Up Tavern. ‘Bob Wilson Benefit’ w/ Beat Farmers at Music Box.

THURSDAY, MARCH 23 Omni at The Hideout. Electric Guest at The Casbah (sold out). Cro-Mags at Soda Bar. Blockhead at Music Box. Rainbow Kitten Surprise at The Irenic (sold out).

FRIDAY, MARCH 24 Polyphia at The Irenic. Josh Abbott Band at House of Blues. Common at Observatory North Park. Fu Manchu at The Casbah (sold out). Partybaby at The Che Café. Colony House at House of Blues. Slothrust at The Hideout. Super Diamond at Belly Up Tavern. Horse the Band at Soda Bar.

SATURDAY, MARCH 25 The Hood Internet at The Hideout. Clap

Your Hands Say Yeah at The Casbah.

Through the Roots at Music Box. Super Diamond at Belly Up Tavern. The Main Squeeze at Soda Bar.

SUNDAY, MARCH 26 Newsboys at Civic Theatre. Panic! At the Disco at Viejas Arena. Warbringer at Brick by Brick. Omega 3 at The Casbah. Jeremy Enigk at Soda Bar. Dwight Yoakam at Observatory North Park.

MONDAY, MARCH 27 Oathbreaker, Khemmis at Soda Bar. In the Whale at The Casbah.

TUESDAY, MARCH 28 Eisley at House of Blues.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29 Methyl Ethyl at Soda Bar. Crystal Fighters at Belly Up Tavern. The Dollyrots at The Hideout. Wire at The Casbah.

THURSDAY, MARCH 30 Tinariwen, Dengue Fever at Belly Up Tavern (sold out). Why? at The Irenic.

Electric Six at The Casbah. Dead Man Winter at Soda Bar. Mild High Club at The Hideout. Trouble in the Wind at Music Box.

FRIDAY, MARCH 31 Nashville Pussy at Brick by Brick. The Old 97s at Belly Up Tavern. The Orwells at The Irenic. Dog Party at Che Café.

Kane Strang at Soda Bar. Bosswitch at The Casbah.

APRIL SATURDAY, APRIL 1 DJ Quik at Observatory North Park.

Squirrel Nut Zippers at Music Box. Richard Ashcroft at Spreckels Theatre.

Leftover Salmon at Belly Up Tavern.

Agent Orange at Soda Bar.

SUNDAY, APRIL 2 Chronixx at Belly Up Tavern. Delicate Steve at Soda Bar. Passenger at House of Blues.

MONDAY, APRIL 3 Tiffany at Belly Up Tavern. Festival of Dead Deer, Silent at Blonde. Chris Shiflett at The Casbah.

TUESDAY, APRIL 4 Billy Bob Thornton at Belly Up Tavern. gnash at Observatory North Park. Shinedown at House of Blues. Gayle Skidmore at The Casbah.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5 Mac Sabbath, Metalachi at Brick by Brick. William Singe at Observatory North Park. The Slants at Soda Bar.

THURSDAY, APRIL 6 River Whyless at The Casbah. Acid Mothers Temple at Soda Bar. Los Master Plus at Music Box. Jeezy at House of Blues.

FRIDAY, APRIL 7 The Damned at House of Blues, Hirie at Belly Up Tavern. Chris Botti at California Center for the Arts. Clean Bandit at Ob-

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MUSIC servatory. Teenage Bottlerocket, The Mr. T Experience at Soda Bar.

SATURDAY, APRIL 8 Andy McKee at Poway OnStage. The Maine at House of Blues. Green Day at Valley View Casino Center. STS9 at Observatory North Park.

SUNDAY, APRIL 9 Desiigner at Observatory North Park.

Aaron Neville Duo at Belly Up Tavern (sold out). The Head and the Heart at SOMA.

MONDAY, APRIL 10 Power Trip at The Casbah. Cage the Elephant at California Center for the Arts.

Of Montreal at Music Box. Kristin Kontrol at The Hideout. Mount Eerie at The Irenic. Generationals at The Casbah.

Larry and His Flask at Soda Bar.

TUESDAY, APRIL 11 A Perfect Circle at Open Air Theatre.

Subhumans at Observatory North Park.

Katchafire at Belly Up Tavern. 21 Savage at House of Blues.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12 Broods at Music Box. Father John Misty at Humphreys by the Bay. Susto at Soda Bar.

THURSDAY, APRIL 13 Suicide Girls Blackheart Burlesque at Music Box. Banks at Humphreys by the Bay. Banks at Humphreys by the Bay. Lupe Fiasco at Observatory North Park.

Ape Machine at Soda Bar. Preservation Hall Jazz Band at Belly Up Tavern.

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Preoccupations at The Casbah. Dayshell at Brick by Brick.

FRIDAY, APRIL 14 Tiger Army at Observatory North Park.

Vanessa Carlton at The Casbah. The Last Waltz 40 Tour at Harrahs SoCal.

SATURDAY, APRIL 15 Pond at The Casbah. La Escalera Fest 6 at various venues.

rCLUBSr

710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave., Pacific Beach. Fri: Project Out of Bounds, Dubbest, Tape Heads. Sat: Ease Up, Johnny Love, Opskametrists.

American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., Downtown. Thu: Brian Posehn. Fri: Brian Posehn. Sat: Brian Posehn.

The Bancroft, 9143 Campo Road, Spring Valley. Thu: Mothersound. Fri: ‘Boobie Ball Benefit Bash’. Sat: Matthew Frantz, Black Oak Hymnal.

Bar Pink, 3829 30th St., North Park.

Wed: DJ L. Thu: Lord Howler, Hocus, Low and Be Told. Fri: ‘80s v. 90s’. Sun: ‘Rat Sabbath’. Mon: Tori Roze and the Hot Mess. Tue: DJ Marshall Islands.

Bang Bang, 526 Market St., Downtown.

Fri: MSTRKRFT. Sat: Jax Jones.

Beaumont’s, 5665 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla. Thu: Cougar Canyon Duo. Fri: Breadbox. Sat: Slower.

Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. Wed: Inspired and the Sleep, Aviator Stash. Thu: Vaud and the Villains.

Fri: Super Diamond, Mustache Harbor.

Sat: Super Diamond, Graceband. Sun: Revival of the Singer Songwriter.

Black Cat Bar, 4246 University Ave., City Heights. Fri: Fistfights With Wolves, The Blind Suns. Sat: City Heights Hayride.

Blonde, 1808 W. Washington St., Mission Hills. Wed: ‘Dance Klassique’.

Sun: Guantanamo Baywatch, Spooky Cigarette. Mon: Trementina. Tue: Dead Coast, Imagery Machine, Grim Slippers.

Boar Cross’n, 390 Grand Ave., Carlsbad. Fri: Mahogany. Sat: ‘Club Musae’.

Brick 15, 915 Camino del Mar, Del Mar. Fri: Gaelynn Lea. Sat: Michael Tiernan.

Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave., Bay Park. Fri: OFU, Madman, Disciples Of The Watch, Y.Y.Zed. Sat: Punk Rock Karaoke. Sun: Warbringer, Witchaven, Cultural Warfare, Battlefront, Warpath.

The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd., Midtown. Wed: Modern English, Underpass, DJ Vaughn Avakian. Thu: Electric Guest, Chaos Chaos (sold out). Fri: Fu Manchu, 16, The Freeks (sold out). Sat: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Vita and the Woolf.

Mon: In the Whale, Hiroshima Mockingbirds, Slowkiss, Little Dove.

Che Cafe, UCSD campus, La Jolla. Fri: Potty Mouth, Partybaby, Tennis System, Cat Shapiro. Sun: Elle, Lord Snow, Ghost Spirit, Letters to Catalonia.

Dirk’s Nightclub, 7662 Broadway, Lemon Grove. Fri: Josie Day Band. Sat: DJ Super Dre. Dizzy’s, 4275 Mission Bay Drive, Downtown. Fri: Olli Hirvonen & New Helsinki.

Sat: Joshua White.

The Field Irish Pub, 544 Fifth Ave.,

Downtown. Wed: Sam Hosking. Thu: The Triple B. Fri: Lucky Tongue. Sat: Midnight Ride. Sun: Matthew Frantz. Mon: Pat Hilton. Tue: BJ Jezbera.

F6ix, 526 F St., Downtown. Fri: Bozack.

Sat: DJ Beatnick. Sun: ‘Reggae Sunday’.

Fluxx, 500 Fourth Ave., Downtown. Fri: DJ Beatnick. Sat: Reflex.

Henry’s Pub, 618 Fifth Ave., Downtown.

Wed: Ride the Mule. Thu: DJ Yodah.

Tue: ‘50s/60s Dance Party.

The Hideout, 3519 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Thu: Omni, Teach Me. Fri: Slothrust. Sat: The Hood Internet.

The Holding Company, 5046 Newport Ave., Ocean Beach. Wed: Jimmy Lewis Band. Thu: DJ Green T, BLK Chamber Kahlee and Rick Scales of the Fresh State Foul Mouth Cringe (FMC), Roughneck Jihad of Third Sight with DJ Ruthless, Ryan Bowers, DJ Unite Fri: Geezer, DJ Mancat. Sat: Madonnica, DJ Jalil. Sun: Stray Monroe, Twin Fins, Picasso Drive, Showcash, Emma G. Tue: Skunkdub.

Hooley’s, 5500 Grossmont Center Drive, La Mesa. Fri: Flipside Burners. Sat: Sam Bybee.

House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., Downtown. Wed: Bad Pop. Thu: Salma Slims, DJ Bonics, Raven Felix. Fri: Colony House, Knox Hamilton. Tue: Eisley, Civilian, Backwards Dancer.

Humphreys Backstage, 2241 Shelter Island Drive, Shelter Island. Thu: B-3 Four. Fri: Detroit Underground, Blue Largo. Sat: Liquid Blue, Blackwater Blues.

Sun: Wildside, Stellita. Mon: Missy Andersen. Tue: Cadillac Wreckers.

MUSIC CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

MARCH 22, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 27

MUSIC WILL FISHER / FLICKR

CLUBS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27

Numbers, 3811 Park Blvd., Hillcrest. Fri: ‘Uncut’. Sat: ‘Club Sabbat’. Sun: ‘R&B Divas’.

The Irenic, 3090 Polk Ave., North Park.

Thu: Rainbow Kitten Surprise (sold out).

Fri: Polyphia, Jason Richardson, Covet.

The Office, 3936 30th St., North Park.

Thu: ‘No Limits’ w/ DJ Myson King. Sat: ‘Strictly Business’ w/ DJs Kanye Asada, Gabe Vega. Sun: ‘Uptown Top Ranking’.

Mon: ‘Metal Monday’.

Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd., Midtown. Wed: ‘Midnight Wave’. Thu: ‘Psilo’.

Fri: ‘Purps and Turqs’. Sat: ‘Archetype’.

Sun: Adlib, Screwtape.

Lestat’s Coffee House, 3343 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Fri: Twisted Strings.

Sat: The Blondies, Box the Oxford.

SPOTLIGHT There’s a supercut of Panic! (don’t forget to scream that word) At the Disco’s singer Brendon Urie singing the tweemo band’s 2005 hit “I Write Sins Not Tragedies,” specifically the line: “What a shame the poor groom’s bride is a whore.” In most performances, the pretty-boy frontman coaxes the audience to sing the line for him, gleefully pulling the misogyny out his fans. And maybe I’m looking too deep into this, but the clip serves as an apt reminder that we often must transform into our worst selves in order to like this kind of music. Panic! (aaaghhh!) At the Disco plays on Sunday, March 26 at Viejas Arena.

—Ryan Bradford

28 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MARCH 22, 2017

OMNIA Nightclub, 454 Sixth Ave., Downtown. Thu: FOMO. Fri: EC Twins.

Sat: Mick.

Parq, 615 Broadway, Downtown. Fri: Direct. Sat: Stafford Brothers.

Mc P’s Irish Pub, 1107 Orange Ave., Coronado. Wed: Sophisticats. Thu: Jackson and Billy. Fri: Ron’s Garage. Sat: JG Trio. Sun: Ron’s Garage.

Plaza Bar at Westgate Hotel, 1055 2nd Ave., Downtown. Fri: Gilbert Castellanos. Sat: Allison Tucker. Mon: Julio de la Huerta.

Martinis Above Fourth, 3940 Fourth Ave., Hillcrest. Wed: Andy Anderson & Nathan Fry. Thu: ‘Vegas...Shaken & Stirred’ w/ Chadwick Johnson. Fri: Janice & Nathan. Sat: Tori Roze and the Hot Mess. Sun: Ria Carey and Don L.

Proud Mary’s, 5550 Kearny Mesa Road, Kearny Mesa. Wed: Daneen Wilburn.

Thu: Tomcat Courtney. Fri: Black Market III. Sat: Robin Henkel and Whitney Shay.

The Merrow, 1271 University Ave., Hillcrest. Wed: Electric Enzymes, The Elegant Lust, Heir Gloom. Thu: Grim Slippers, Imagery Machine, Noble War. Fri: Chai, Tokyo Chaotic, Walkings. Sun: ‘Back Alley’. Tue: Alive & Well, Tree Machines, No Sympathy.

Mother’s Saloon, 2228 Bacon St., Ocean Beach. Thu: DJ Dub B. Fri: DJ Billie Knight. Sat: DJ K Reed.

Mr. Peabody’s, 136 Encinitas Blvd., Encinitas. Wed: ‘Encinitas Gong Show’ w/ DJ Mancat. Thu: Steelhorse Country. Fri: The Traumatics. Sat: Raising Cain. Sun: Tony Ortega jazz jam.

Music Box, 1337 India St., Little Italy.

Thu: Blockhead. Fri: The Winehouse Experience. Sat: The Rockademy.

Rich’s, 1051 University Ave., Hillcrest.

Wed: DJ Kiki. Thu: DJ Moody Rudy.

Fri: DJs John Joseph, Will Z. Sat: DJs Hektik, Roland Belmares, Nikno. Sun: DJ Hektik.

Riviera Supper Club, 7777 University Ave., La Mesa. Wed: ‘Boss Jazz’ w/ Jason Hanna. Thu: Coastal Eddies. Fri: Three Chord Justice. Sat: Alvino and the Dwells.

Seven Grand, 3054 University Ave., San Diego. Wed: Miss Erika Davies and the Men. Thu: Jimmy Ruelas. Fri: The Deer.

Sat: John Stickley Trio. Mon: ‘Makossa Monday’ w/ DJ Tah Rei. Tue: The Darling Brothers.

Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Wed: WAND. Thu: Cro-Mags, The Last Gang, Pathetic Society, Heat.

Fri: Horse the Band, Infinity Shred, Graf Orlock. Sat: The Main Squeeze. Sun:

Jeremy Enigk, Tomo Nakayama. Mon: Oathbreaker, Khemmis, Jaye Jayle.

SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd., Midway.

Fri: Death Lens, Fake Tides, Effe Emme, Steal Away, The Abstracts, Soap Detergent. Sat: Chelsea Grin, Ice Nine Kills, Gideon, Enterprise Earth, SLNCR. Sycamore Den, 3391 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Thu: Tomboi. Sun: Citrus and Katie.

Til-Two Club, 4746 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Sat: ‘The National Punk Disco’.

Sun: Pants Karaoke.

Tin Roof, 401 G St., Downtown. Wed: The Void Nation. Thu: ‘Paging the 90s’.

Sat: Kenny and Deez, Coriander. Sun: Allegra Duchaine. Mon: Lauren Leigh and Sam. Tue: Kyle Castellani.

Tio Leo’s, 5302 Napa St., Bay Park. Thu: The Mad Hat Hucksters. Fri: Santanaways. Sat: Debora Galan and Silk. Tue: Casey Hensley.

Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave., City Heights. Fri: Build Them to Break. Sat: Slower.

U-31, 3112 University Ave., North Park.

Wed: Afroman. Thu: ‘Thursdaze’. Fri: DJ Freeman. Sat: DJ Junior the Disco Punk.

Sun: Cityside, Unitree, DJ E-Dub. Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St., South Park.

Thu: Bird Bath. Fri: Le Chateau, Body Song, Vakoum. Sat: ‘Booty Bassment’.

Sun: Big Business, Death Eyes.

Winstons, 1921 Bacon St., Ocean Beach. Wed: Mighty Mystic, DJ Carlos Culture. Thu: ‘OB Hip-Hop Social’ w/ Pigeon John, Cookbook, Seancy, Atlantis Rizing. Fri: Royal Jelly Jive, Bomb Squad.

Sat: Roots Covenant, Sometimes Julie.

Mon: Electric Waste Band. Tue: DJ Williams and Shots Fired.

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March 22, 2017 · San Diego CityBeat · 29

LAST WORDS | ADVICE

AMY ALKON

ADVICE

GODDESS A World Of Blurt I’m in love with my married female co-worker.

I’m married and have no intention of leaving my wife, and I doubt she’d leave her husband, even if she shared my feelings. I love how caring and kind my co-worker is—how she understands that you show love through action. I do this by often giving my wife romantic cards and by cleaning the house and doing the dishes every night after I get home from work and school. Feeling my wife wasn’t reciprocating, I started fantasizing about being in a relationship with my co-worker, who also feels unappreciated by her spouse. My feelings for her have become overwhelming, and I feel a pressing need to tell her. I understand that this could make work very awkward. Best-case scenario, she’s flattered. Is it selfish to want to unburden myself?

—Boiling Point

Your desire to tell isn’t noble or wonderful.

In fact, it’s pretty much the psychological cousin of an intense need to pee.

Confessing your crush to your married co-worker is like arranging a transfer to her— of your 26-pound tumor: “His name is Fred. He enjoys fine wine, banned preservatives, and cigarette smoke. I hope you’re very happy together!”

Your desire to tell isn’t noble or wonderful. In fact, it’s pretty much the psychological cousin of an intense need to pee. To get why that is, it helps to understand, as evolutionary psychologists John Tooby and Leda Cosmides explain, that the emotions driving our behavior today motivate us to behave in ways that would have given our ancestors the best shot at surviving, mating and passing on their genes. Unfortunately, solutions for recurring challenges in the ancestral environment aren’t always a perfect fit for the modern office environment.

Consider our basic biological needs—such as food, water and sex. When we feel the urge to satisfy these— like when we’re hungry or hungry for a co-worker—our emotions kick into gear, pushing us into a motivated state, a state of tension. That’s an uncomfortable state to be in, so we look for the quickest, easiest way out— like “To hell with my job and my marriage!”—which conflates a powerful evolved urge with a wise modern course of action.

Understanding this need to reduce emotional tension should help you realize that what’s driving your obsession is more mechanical than magical. But there’s another problem. Our motivational system comes up a little short in the brakes department. We have a “GO!” system to push us to do things, but we lack a comparable “stop, you idiot!” system.

30 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MARCH 22, 2017

This makes inhibiting a feeling (and whatever course of action it’s pushing you toward) terribly hard and uncomfortable work. And as social psychologists Daniel Wegner and James J. Gross have independently pointed out, doing this on a continuing basis can have damaging effects on your physical health. Trying to quash some recurring thought also tends to backfire, making you think the unwanted thought more than if you hadn’t tried to stop. For example, in Wegner’s research, subjects told, “Try not to think of a white bear,” failed every time. Wegner suspects the mind sweeps around to see that we aren’t thinking of the thing—which means we’re thinking of the thing in the process. (Argh, huh?)

Considering all of this, when you’re looking to keep yourself from doing something, it helps to take the approach Aikido practitioners use. When a powerful blow is coming at them, instead of meeting it head on and taking the full force of it, they divert it—push it off in another direction. Following this principle, your goal shouldn’t be stopping yourself from telling your co-worker but redirecting the energy you’ve been putting into your crush into your marriage.

Tell your wife you love her and discuss what might be missing in your marriage—for each of you. However, don’t do this by accusing her of failing to appreciate you (which will lead to defensiveness, not inspiration to change). Instead, lead by example: Explain the ways you show your love for her (helping her connect the clean living room to the loving motivation behind it), and then tell her what would make you feel loved.

In case loving feelings have given way to hard feelings, there’s good news from a relatively new area of psychology called “embodied cognition”— the finding that taking action leads to corresponding feelings. So, it’s possible that acting loving can resuscitate the love you once felt.

Getting back to your co-worker, it doesn’t take much to lose yourself in fantasies about how great it would be with somebody new. However, marriage— to any person—is hard. Still, it has its perks, such as that wonderful ease that comes out of being with your spouse for a while—allowing you to f sinally feel comfortable talking about what you really need in bed: “Are you there yet? Hurry! I gotta wake up early!” (c)2017, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved. Got a problem?

Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405, or e-mail AdviceAmy@aol.com (advicegoddess. com).

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March 22, 2017 · San Diego CityBeat · 31