San Diego CityBeat • Apr 5, 2017

2 · San Diego CityBeat · April 5, 2017

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UP FRONT | FROM THE EDITOR JAMIE BALLARD

If he builds it, will they come? “

T

here were just so many homeless people down there. It’s really sad.”

So said a cousin of mine, unprompted, when she recently visited with her husband from Pennsylvania. She was referring, as readers could probably guess, to the homeless tents that have become an ongoing and increasingly saddening sight in the East Village. This was not the first comment I’d heard that echoed a similar sentiment. I’ve had friends and family visit over the past few years, and most were equally dismayed by the state of the homelessness crisis in our city.

As baseball season begins and summer approaches, it’s more than fair to assume that more tourists are on their way. And while we likely will always be able to depend on seeing the ubiquitous, slow-driving “zonies” (Arizona folks, who often summer here) or the rowdy L.A. bros who flood into Petco whenever the Padres play the Dodgers, I can’t help but wonder how many first-time tourists would ever choose to return after wandering into the East Village.

This thought weighed heavily on me on Monday as I watched clips of Mayor Faulconer formally roll out his ballot measure to raise the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) by up to three percent in order to fund a $700 million expansion of the convention center.

Speaking in front of the convention center itself, Faulconer used much of the same language and politi-speak he employed when trying to convince voters that Measure C (aka the Chargers stadium measure) was a good idea. He also made it sound as if the state of the convention center was in shambles.

“Our convention center must be modernized and expanded to keep up with other cities that are taking away from our tourism business,” said Faulconer.

Let’s just put aside the fact that, just as with Measure C, the initiative will need a two-thirds majority to pass when it shows up on a special election ballot, likely in November. And let’s also put aside the fact that the city doesn’t, in fact, control any of the land where the expansion is proposed to happen. Oh, and let’s also put aside the fact that the company that does control the land, Fifth Avenue Landing, wants to build a fourstar hotel on the property and, no kidding, is suing the city-owned convention center for interfering with their permitting process.

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It seems that Faulconer just wants voters to forget all that and focus solely on the fact that they’re not the ones being taxed. Right, ’cause that logic worked so well in selling the Chargers stadium. What’s more, he’s also touting that the TOT measure will help fund much-needed infrastructure repairs and homeless programs. However, an easy peek behind the curtain reveals a plan where these two important issues receive a pittance compared to the convention center. While the nearly billion dollar expansion will be funded using bonds (the tax revenue would be used annually to pay off these bonds), make no mistake, the expansion will receive more money than both homelessness and infrastructure combined.

Look, I’m not saying the convention center isn’t important. It generates over a billion dollars a year for the city. And if the finer details in the mayor’s plan are true—that it would create thousands of new and permanent jobs—it’s really hard to hate on that.

However, San Diegans really need to examine what, for them, are the more pressing issues. That is, is the convention center expansion, just like the Chargers stadium before it, something that should be our top priority? Should we prioritize that or the fact that when driving down a pothole-ridden 16th Avenue in the East Village, it looks like something we might see in a warzone and not America’s Finest City.

There are bold plans on the table when it comes to homelessness. Councilmember Chris Ward’s plan and Father Joe’s Villages’ recent proposal to turn vacant hotels into homeless housing (more on that on page five) should serve as a kick-in-the-butt to city officials when it comes to the seriousness of the homelessness crisis.

The mayor needs to look at the long-term effects that infrastructure and especially the homelessness issue are having on tourism.

That of the over 35 million people who visit here a year, some might choose never to return after they see so many people suffering on the streets. What’s more, they might tell their friends or family about the suffering they saw while they were here. That might come across as shallow, but given what my own cousin said to me while she was here, it’s not that far-fetched of a scenario.

—Seth Combs

Write to seth.combs@sdcitybeat.com

APRIL 5, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 3

UP FRONT | LETTERS

CRAFTY COMIC-CON

The ad for WonderCon, billed as a “pop culture event” clues me about ComicCon International’s (CCI) plans [“Comic-Con’s ticket to Balboa Park,” March 22]. They like the fact that their flagship event is tied to our city, even though it has outgrown its home.

Comic-Con itself may be in a quandary about whether to stay or go, but CCI isn’t tied to just that one event. They recognize that what began as a comic-centric event has morphed over the years to include other segments of popular culture. Finally, they know that Comic-Con eventually must end.

So, they are starting with WonderCon up

in the Anaheim convention center, which, eventually, will replace Comic-Con and when that ends San Diego will have a nice little museum to cement what was. Brilliant, really.

But a museum devoted to popular arts can really be located any almost retail or commercial area. The Comic-Con Museum does not need to be in Balboa Park. How Mayor Kev can say it’s a “perfect home” escapes me. And look, he even uses the phrase the popular arts. Certainly, as Judy Swink aptly notes, it should be a public and transparent process. Even Councilmember Ward didn’t know!! Something stinks.

Michael Leonard

Via sdcitybeat.com

ON THE RIGHT FOOT

The new exhibitor lessee for the Federal Building in Balboa Park is an opportunity to start relationships on the right footing [“Comic-Con’s ticket to Balboa Park,” March 22]. The Comic-Con lease is going to be very profitable and popular.

This new lease should be correctly written to charge a fair market rate for this exhibit space and it should require no city taxpayer subsidy. Comic-Con should pay for all sewer, water and utility costs; all maintenance and upkeep of the leased premises; and contribute a reasonable proportional share of the common exhibition section of the Park. This exhibitor should not get a Qualcomm Stadium Chargers Ticket

Guarantee subsidy to locate in this space.

The City has real expenses for maintenance of Balboa Park and those that profit from the use of the park must contribute to its upkeep. Let’s get this new relationship off to on the right business footing.

John Stump

Via sdcitybeat.com

GIRL DETECTIVE?

Your editorial, [“Don’t feel bad for the Dunc,” March 29] was a masterpiece of sarcasm and honest reporting. You covered it all, graphically illustrating Hunter’s hypocrisy. Still chuckling over the Combsisms and your clever turns of phrase. More!!

This issue of CityBeat is dedicated to Rep. Darrell Issa, who introduced a car insurance bill by tweeting it out with a pic of teenagers driving without seat belts.

MUSIC EDITOR Jeff Terich WEB EDITOR Ryan Bradford ART DIRECTOR Carolyn Ramos ASSOCIATE EDITOR Torrey Bailey COLUMNISTS Aaryn Belfer Edwin Decker Minda Honey John R. Lamb Alex Zaragoza

CONTRIBUTORS Matthew Baldwin, David L. Coddon, Beth Demmon, Andrew Dyer, Tiffany Fox, Michael A. Gardiner, Glenn Heath Jr., Lizz Huerta, Lara McCaffrey, Scott McDonald, Sebastian Montes, Jenny Montgomery, Kinsee Morlan, Jim Ruland, Ben Salmon, Jen Van Tieghem, Amy Wallen, Ian Ward

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Beau Odom, Mark Schreiber Jenny Tormey

EDITORIAL INTERNS Jamie Ballard, Sofia Mejias-Pascoe Nicole Sazegar

ACCOUNTING Sharon Huie, Alysia Chavez Linda Lam

PRODUCTION MANAGER Tristan Whitehouse

HUMAN RESOURCES Andrea Baker

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CONTROLLER Kacie Cobian

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San Diego CityBeat is published and distributed every Wednesday by Southland Publishing Inc., free of charge but limited to one per reader. Reproduction of any material in this or any other issue is prohibited without written permission from the publisher and the author. Contents copyright 2017.

4 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · APRIL 5, 2017

Nancy Drew Normal Heights

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Volume 15 • Issue 36 EDITOR Seth Combs

UP FRONT

ARTS & CULTURE

From the Editor....................................... 3 Letters ..................................................... 4 Spin Cycle ............................................... 5 Sordid Tales ............................................ 6 At The Intersection................................ 7

Theater.................................................. 14 FEATURE: Barrio Logan................... 15-18 Seen Local.............................................20 Film................................................... 21-22

FOOD & DRINK The World Fare....................................... 8 Dishing It Out ......................................... 9 Bottle Rocket...........................................10 The Beerdist........................................... 11

THINGS TO DO The Short List.........................................12 Calendar of Events...........................12-13

MUSIC FEATURE: Mount Eerie ........................24 Notes from the Smoking Patio............. 26 If I Were U............................................. 27 Concerts & Clubs............................ 28-29

LAST WORDS Advice Goddess....................................30 COVER PHOTO OF RIGOBERTO “RIGO” REYES BY TORREY BAILEY

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JOHN R. LAMB

UP FRONT | OPINION

SPIN

CYCLE

JOHN R. LAMB

Father Joe’s shoots for the moon HOSPITALITY, n. The virtue which induces us to feed and lodge certain persons who are not in need of food and lodging.

—Ambrose Bierce

I

n a city where the word “bold” rarely materializes except for during spectacular sunsets, the folks at Father Joe’s Villages went for the gusto last week when they announced an initiative to boost its permanent housing for the homeless by 2,000 units in just five years.

The declaration, after a year of planning, drew immediate praise from city leaders. “Father Joe’s Villages has a long history of providing much-needed housing and services to homeless men and women,” Mayor Kevin Faulconer gushed in a statement Thursday, “and it continues to bring new ideas to the table with today’s bold announcement.”

The price tag for the plan is a doozy—$531 million—and by most measures would be the largest frontal attack on the region’s

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mushrooming homeless crisis in local history if successful.

Deacon Jim Vargas, president and CEO of Father Joe’s, said the decision to go big came during a board retreat last year. “We decided on that day that we are at crisis proportions here,” Vargas said in an interview last week. “When the numbers are 8,700 men, women and children on the street [countywide], we said we need to have a plan that’s commensurate with the gravity of the situation.”

When it was decided to set a goal of creating 2,000 new housing units for the homeless in five years, Vargas acknowledged there was “no meat” to the plan. “You have to have a vision,” he said, “and we all looked at one another and said, ‘OK, now let’s see how we can make this happen.’”

According to accounts from people who were given a preview of the proposal, it initially was a downtown-focused initiative— hundreds of new permanent-hous-

Deacon Jim Vargas, CEO of Father Joe’s Villages, has audacious plans for local motels.

But will owners be willing to sell? ing units built on property owned

by Father Joe’s Villages. When the downtown community, already flush with homeless services, pushed back, the plan—known as “Turning the Key, Unlocking a Brighter San Diego”—was broadened beyond downtown’s borders.

Vargas would only say that his organization heard “the feeling of frustration in the community as it relates to the numbers getting higher and the feeling that there’s so much downtown that we can’t just focus downtown.”

Then a light bulb switched on.

“That’s when we started looking at motels and thinking about how we could refurbish them and put them online,” Vargas said.

With the help of low-incomehousing developer Chelsea Invest-

ment Corp. of Carlsbad, a financing plan was created that proposed building 760 new supportive housing units on property downtown and purchasing and converting 1,240 motel rooms countywide to permanent housing.

A San Diego Union-Tribune story on the plan made reference to the “17 hotels and motels” that Father Joe’s would like to own and convert, but Vargas said, “We’re not focused on hotels. It’s motels.”

Other cities, including Los Angeles, are attempting similar reuse initiatives, turning motels, abandoned schools and hospitals into homeless living quarters. So the idea is not new, and as Vargas noted, “It’s not rocket science. It’s just a matter of saying at the end of the day we need affordable housing.

It’s not that we’re saying let’s move away from transitional housing or emergency shelters. But if we don’t have the front doors, these individuals will ultimately wind up on the street again.”

Vargas said his hope is that Father Joe’s can acquire two motels this year “so that in the first half of next year we can start having people move in to them.” A generous benefactor, he said, has stepped up for the purchase of the first motel.

Just where that is, Vargas won’t say. It’s not that the Bronx native is being cagey, he explained, but rather it seems he’s aware of realestate speculators and the problems that could arise in a bidding war. “We have a couple of sites we’re focusing on for the first motel, but now is not the time to say because it hasn’t been finalized,” he explained.

Vargas did describe what his organization is looking for when it comes to motels: access to public transportation, a complex of anywhere from 50 to 75 rooms and additional space for supportive services. Ideally, it would be a troubled motel that neighbors would support converting.

“I’d be foolish to ignore the NIMBYism and pooh pooh it away,” Vargas said. “I may be crazy, but would they rather have these

individuals housed, or do they want them to continue to be on the streets?”

But the biggest challenge may be finding motel owners willing to sell. David Latham, general manager of Hitching Post Motels Inc., a family-owned string of seven motels in San Diego including several along El Cajon Boulevard, might be instructive.

Latham said the plan “sounds like a reasonable thing if someone else wants to do it—that’s not me.

I’m happy doing what we’re doing.”

He said the proposal might have had a better chance 20 or 30 years ago when many motels focused on daily rates and some ran into trouble with police over drug dealing and prostitution. “But times have kind of changed,” he said.

Latham said motels have become, in many instances, the last refuge for people who can’t afford San Diego’s exploding apartment rents and the additional expenses they require, including large security deposits and utility costs.

“The people who live at our properties are there relatively long-term. We got out of the overnight business 30 years ago,” Latham said. “When you get out of the short-term business, you get away from the legal problems.

That’s a benefit.”

If motels are converted, Latham wondered what would happen to those long-term renters. “If you kick out one set of homeless people to make room for another,” he said, “that might work out in the long run, but in the short run you might have a transitional problem.”

Deacon Vargas didn’t have a direct response to that issue, but an official with the San Diego Housing Commission, which last month approved a plan to convert a Motel 6 in Grantville to permanent homeless veterans housing, suggested tenants there contact a service provider “such as Father Joe’s Villages…”

Spin Cycle appears every week.

Write to johnl@sdcitybeat.com

APRIL 5, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 5

UP FRONT | OPINION

EDWIN DECKER

SORDID

TALES

Scientists leap at the chance to nerd-splain Round Earth Theory

E

ven after Shaquille O’Neal claimed he was joking, the former NBA center got a lot of grief for saying the Earth is flat.

“I drive from Florida to California all the time and it’s flat to me,” he said on The Big Podcast with Shaq.

Some people don’t believe he was joking, but I have no doubt it was a prank. For one reason, if you listen to the entire comment, he’s clearly being snarky.

Another reason is because of how poised he was in the whirlwind-like aftermath. For example, take his follow-up remarks on the Art of the Charm podcast.

“The Earth is flat,” Shaq said. “Would you like to hear my theory? The first part of the theory is, I’m joking, you idiots…”

Finally, the reason I think he was playing is because, well, Shaquille O’Neal is a grown man in the 21st century; one with a mostly-intact frontal lobe and who was not raised in the wild by warthogs. If a dude like that says he believes in Round Earth Theory—also known as globularism—well I can’t help but believe him.

Yeah, it is my belief that O’Neal was trolling to prove a point. The point being that the current “gotcha” culture in America is out of control. That the public too often overreacts to comments they perceive as asinine or offensive without pausing to establish the context. The beauty is that Shaq said what he said and then, as if on cue, the public freaked out.

And you know what, I expect knee-jerk responses from your average joe-balurists, but not from the science community, a portion of which also lurched into attack mode without—as you would expect of scientists—being skeptical about the situation.

They were so quick to respond it was as if they were anxiously waiting in the wings to show off their science creds.

And when the opportunity arose to nerd-splain Round Earth theory, they pounced.

There were tons of examples, such as an article in LiveScience.com called, “Why Shaquille O’Neal’s FlatEarth Ideas Are Out of Bounds.” In the piece, Senior Writer Laura Gegget embarked on a detailed nerdsplanation about how you “can’t see the curvature of the Earth from the ground,” and that the “Earth’s circumference is 24,873 miles,” and that gravity creates spheres, and the angle of a shadow during Summer solstice determines yada yada yada, and the tilt of the blah blah blah and the distance between—OK, Nerd!

We got it! The world is round. Are you ever going to stop gloating about it?

Watching science geeks crawling over each other to impress us with Round Earth Theory was bad enough, but when it was discovered that Shaq was trolling, many continued razzing him for joking about it at all.

In a BleacherReport.com post called, “Shaq’s Flat Earth Jokes Are No Laughing Matter for Scientists,”

Sam Bentley, professor of geology and geophysics at Louisiana State University, told BR that Shaq should “act responsibly in respect to this sort of transmission of information,” which is geek-speak for “don’t make jokes”—if you pardon the lay-splanation.

Derek Muller—who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Sydney—said a person of O’Neal’s celebrity shouldn’t use sarcasm like that because “it leads their fan bases to consider ridiculous ideas to be true.”

Really Dr. Muller? You’re worried that people might take flat Earth jokes seriously? Yeah, like five maybe—right before slipping on their Nikes and boarding the Hale-Bopp spaceship to Planet Bananas.

I mean, what’s the fear here? That Donald Trump might get wind of Flat Planet Theory and build a wall around the edges to keep the sea monsters out? Oh Science—I truly am grateful for how you figure shit out for us, like lightning and gravity and psychoactive mushrooms, but you really need to figure how to get a sense of humor.

The effort to stop folks from engaging in this kind of “reality” sarcasm, the kind that holds a mirror to our culture, is lame. Might as well say goodbye to The Onion then. Goodbye Daily Show and Colbert Report reruns. So long Phil Hendrie Show.

See ya later Documentary Now (with Fred Armisen). Buzz off Curb Your Enthusiasm, “Weekend Update,” nearly every movie directed by Christopher Guest, Fernwood Tonight, Spinal Tap, Zelig, and every comic who ever said, “A funny thing happened to me on the way to the . . . “ because people might take them seriously.

“If someone thinks the Earth is flat,” said Dr. Muller, “they go and search ‘is the Earth really flat?’ [and] they come across all of this stuff that says that the Earth is flat instead of looking for the debunks.”

Hmm. Have you been huffing those lab beakers again, doc? Circumlocutive rambling aside, if an adult human being, who hasn’t been raised by warthogs, is earnestly googling the question, “Is the earth really flat?” then let’s be honest; they are already a lost cause. But more to the point, when you do Google that phrase (as I just have) you don’t need to look for debunks. You will see maybe five links to pro-Flat Earth content and a bazillion that link to items with headlines like, “No, The Earth is Not Flat, Dumbass, Were you Raised by Warthogs?”

Oh Science, I love how you make my car go zoom and my computer go whir but do you honestly believe Shaq’s little prank will cause Flat Planet Theory to creep into the mainstream? Or are you miffed because he trolled your asses? And make no mistake about it.

He trolled your asses, but good!

OK, Nerd!

We got it!

The world is round. Are you ever going to stop gloating about it?

6 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · APRIL 5, 2017

Sordid Tales appears every other week.

Write to edwin@sdcitybeat.com. @SDCITYBEAT

CULTURE | VOICES

MINDA HONEY

AT THE

INTERSECTION

Maxine Waters, April Ryan and why Black women at work would rather you didn’t

L

ast week, Fox News host Bill O’Reilly had the nerve to fix his mouth to say that he couldn’t hear a word Rep. Maxine Waters was saying because he was distracted by her wig. Incidentally, I can’t hear a word Bill O’Reilly says over the sound of my skin crawling at the sight of his face. Auntie Maxine was unbothered and used the opportunity to remind all us women to keep doing what we do. In the same news cycle, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer (who, however inadvertently, accomplished the impossible feat of making SNL funny again) told reporter and grown-ass woman April Ryan to stop shaking her head while he was speaking. And as Hillary Clinton noted while rocking a leather jacket (welcome back, Hillz), April Ryan and Maxine Waters are both women, both Black and were both simply trying to do their damn jobs.

Then, #blackwomenatwork began trending on Twitter.

I have spoken a number of times in this column about the injustices and slights I’ve experienced on the clock, such as earning less than my white men and white women counterparts. When I read those Tweets, I wondered how Black women haven’t collectively just given up on society and forged our own brand new world elsewhere. The type of place where the only thing we fight over is which Knowles sister album we want to listen to. Where we spend our days complimenting each other’s melanin and try to forget every last memory we have of our former lives where we went largely unappreciated as a demographic. That hasn’t happened yet, but when it does, I do believe I will not hesitate to leave all of this misogynoir behind.

In January, I decided to go full-time as a freelance writer. I got tired of the place I was working at taking up all my time and being funny about my raise. Luckily, I didn’t have to create a GoFundMe or anything.

Various outlets decided they were cool with paying me to write things for them #blessed #ThankSDCityBeat #MamaIMadeIt. I basically hang out in threadbare Forever 21 dresses all day and make up excuses to leave the house so all my selfies don’t have the same background. This has greatly reduced the work-related nonsense I deal with, but has not completely eliminated it because, apparently, there are tons of white dudes on the Internet who have even less reason to be away from their laptops than I do. Their number one calling in life is to track down Black women enjoying

the fruits of their labor and trample all over them.

I took a 4,000-mile road trip, visited four national parks, spent more than six months writing a nearly 3,000-word personal essay about the casual racism I endured along the way and went through the process of pitching it and having it accepted by a noteworthy publication. I put in work. But did that stop some rando who probably still uses dial-up from barely reading more than the lede on my piece and tweeting at me that when he went to Uganda—which he oh-so-helpfully informed me is one percent white—he didn’t feel oppressed, but rather, he felt unique. Well, Chet, maybe it’s hard to simply feel “unique” when the reason I feel unsafe in this country is because of its long history of violence against Black people.

I know on some level, that’s just how Twitter works.

People feel entitled to throw their two cents at you 140 characters at a time. But it was symbolic of the Black women at work experience. There’s just this constant diminishing of our perspective and our accomplishments. Here’s the thing about Chet: He somehow thought that I had lived this entire experience and wrote this well-thought out piece about it without possibly once considering any other perspective. He believed that because of his whiteness and his maleness, he had the de facto authority to speak on something that could not be further removed from his life.

And so many Black women writers far better than I—such as Roxane Gay, Toni Morrison and Feminista Jones—have spoken on what a time-consuming and creative drain it can be having to push back against these men.

I’m not really sure there’s anything I can do to change this reality. I just have to listen to Auntie Maxine and keep doing what I do.

What does help though is when other men see this sort of thing go down, they actually speak up. So, shout out to my new Twitter follower from Idaho who saw something and said something and the various men in my work life who have made sure I got credit where credit was due. But most importantly, thank you to the men who have been on the verge of wrecking a Black woman’s workday, then took a moment to consider if what they were going to say really needed to be said. Those dudes are silent heroes and more men should join them in their heroics.

Their number one calling in life is to track down Black women enjoying the fruits of their labor and trample all over them.

@SDCITYBEAT

At The Intersection appears monthly.

APRIL 5, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 7

UP FRONT | FOOD

BY MICHAEL A. GARDINER

THE WORLD

FARE

A Lebanese take on drinking food

N

spectacular. The garnish of pomegranate seeds on the baba ghanoush is a particularly nice touch. Add some chicken shawarma to the hummus by ordering the hummus bi lahmeh and you pretty much have a complete meal.

Stuffed grape leaves are often served cold. La Miche’s version, warak inab, come warm: cold ingredients inhibit flavor where warmth enhances it. And while the grape leaves are good on their own, a dip in lebna khiar, a strained yogurt with bits of Persian cucumbers and mint, elevates the dish.

La Miche’s take on falafel was intriguingly herbforward, though the texture was a bit harder, even gritty, than I would have liked. Makanek are little Lebanese/Armenian sausages with lamb, beef and sweet spices and peppers. They’re sautéed in olive oil with lemon juice and a touch of pomegranate molasses. And they’re addictive.

o one truly knows whether Russia’s Tsar Nicholas I, in fact, referred to the Ottoman Empire as the “Sick Man of Europe.” But three things are certain: (1) that sick man liked to drink; (2) he liked to eat, and; (3) when that sick man died, he left behind the meze (or “mezze”) he liked to eat while drinking. And it is those meze that are the real star of the show at La Miche Kabobgee (9350 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.) in Kearny Mesa.

Lebanese food is another one of those cuisines people tend to lump together with MICHAEL GARDINER “Middle Eastern” food. Incorrect as that may be, it’s not without reason. That reason is the Ottoman Empire. It is those mezes—the array of small dishes accompanying alcoholic beverages throughout Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent’s empire (and surrounding countries)—that really seems to unite Middle Eastern cuisine.

While you may not know meze by name you’re likely familiar with some of them: e.g., hummus, baba ghanoush and stuffed grape leaves (dolma). Meze vary from region to region. You won’t find Greece’s taramosalata in Iraq or a kibbe in Stuffed grape leaves, hummus with chicken shwarma the Balkans. It is the phenomenon and muhamarah of a table of small dishes that is the constant.

It may seem strange that the cuisine of a majorLa Miche offers Lebanon’s take on the theme. ity Muslim region—ruled for many centuries by a Their most extraordinary meze is the muhamarah.

It’s a purée of walnuts, red bell pepper, pomegranate Muslim empire dictated by a Caliph (with consolisauce, olive oil, cayenne pepper and cumin thickened dated secular and religious control)—could be dewith toasted bread. Muhamarah hits all the notes: fined as food to drink by. Of course, if one should tangy, a bit of sweetness, a hint of spice and a warm question the notion of Muslims drinking, then perearthiness. Spread it on the exceptional breads com- haps they should look into Süleyman’s son, Sultan ing out of the enormous oven in the back of the res- Selim II, known to history as “Selim the Drunkard.”

I’ll raise a toast and a meze to his memory. taurant and, frankly, you’re good to go.

That bread is also a perfect delivery device for La Miche’s hummus and baba ghanoush. Both are The World Fare appears weekly. good examples of familiar dishes, competent if not Write to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com.

8 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · APRIL 5, 2017

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UP FRONT | FOOD

BY JAMES VERNETTE

DISHING IT

OUT

Getting ghosted

T

he food truck trend that started in the aftermath of the Great Recession allowed a lot of entrepreneurs a chance to test new food concepts in a manner that was much more affordable than actually opening a restaurant.

While food trucks still have their place, often outside our favorite microbreweries, the future of the food scene may be in restaurants that don’t exist in any physical form. It’s called the “ghost restaurant,” and it’s a trend that has popped up in recent months in cities with dense populations such as New York and San Francisco, and is just starting to make waves locally.

A “ghost restaurant” is not a place where the food is served by apparitions (though that would certainly cut down on the payroll), but rather an eatery with no storefront that exists solely for food delivery services such as UberEats, Eat24, DoorDash or Amazon Delivery. Since the food is made in a professional kitchen like the kind used by caterers, there is no need to rent a storefront, hire servers or spend money on marketing the business. After all, everyone is equal on an Uber app, right?

Kristopher Schlesser, who runs Lucky Bolt (luckybolt.com), a ghost restaurant based in Sorrento Mesa, sees lots of benefits to this business model, which he says makes it easier to get in the restaurant business than food trucks.

“The food truck is a gateway to a bigger restaurant,” Schlesser says. “But ghost restaurants are even more affordable because you’re sharing an existing kitchen and not paying car insurance or those costs.”

Schlesser started Lucky Bolt in San Francisco in 2011 as a delivery service for various restaurants.

Schlesser would order, say, 20 salads or sandwiches from different restaurants and let customers

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purchase them before 10:30 a.m. Then he would drop them off around lunchtime. When Schlesser moved back to San Diego a couple years ago, he realized the business model might work for all the industrial parks in Sorrento Mesa, where it’s a long walk to the car in order to drive to local lunch places.

Lucky Bolt specializes in salads, bowls and meals for people who want to eat vegan, paleo or anything but fast food.

“When you’re chained to a desk, it’s hard to maintain a healthy diet,” he says, adding that while Lucky Bolt still works with established restaurants such as Rubicon Deli, half of the business is from food he makes himself in professional kitchens.

Schlesser says this business model allows for flexibility. That is, he and other ghost restaurants can test different concepts with investing too much in them. That means if sushi isn’t selling, they can try doing poke or fish tacos instead.

Edward Isarevich, the co-owner of Single Fin (singlefin.kitchen), said COURTESY OF SINGLE FIN that flexibility has been an advantage since he opened up the business last month.

“We saved about $200,000 in capital we would have needed for a storefront,” he said.

Single Fin specializes in handcrafted, Asianinspired seafood bowls that sell for around $15, not Single Fin counting delivery charge.

Currently on UberEats and DoorDash, the business is open during lunch hours and uses a professional kitchen. It will expand to North Park in April and Isarevich thinks the area is especially conducive to the ghost restaurant concept since it’s densely populated and has more nighttime business than the industrial parks of Sorrento Mesa.

Plus, the North Park crowd is more willing to spend $20, including delivery charges for a good seafood bowl than a guy stuck at a desk in Sorrento Valley.

If Single Fin really catches on, Isarevich and his partner, chef Antonio Quindere, could “unghost” the business.

“I’m not opposed to opening a storefront some day,” he says. “But this is low risk.”

Dishing It Out appears every other week.

APRIL 5, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 9

UP FRONT | DRINK

BOTTLE

BY JEN VAN TIEGHEM clude lengthy descriptions that blur the line between poetry and prose. There were lessons to be learned from these in-depth narratives about various wines, producers, regions and other tidbits.

Being naturally impatient, I signed up without expecting to make any purchases. But then I saw the prices, which mostly range from $10 to $50 with a few selections over $100. I decided to buy a bottle each month and, after a year, I had reached a full case. Serendipitously my delivery arrived the week of my birthday.

My order included mostly French wines along with a few from Italy and one from Oregon—all under $30. The three I’ve opened have all been impressive. A Tuscan red was an ideal match for a meatball dish and half the price I’ve seen elsewhere, while the French rosé made for a fine Friday refreshment.

But my latest sampling, the 2015 Domaine de Cognettes Muscadet Sevre et Maine, has been my favorite. It had a subtle salinity with crisp acidity.

Part education, part practice in patience, my experience with Garagiste has been thoroughly enjoyable. Keeping in mind that I ended up with an abundance of French wines in my first case, I’ve begun my next with two German Rieslings, which I can’t wait to try but have to.

ROCKET

Good wines come to those who wait

P

urchasing wine through Garagiste.com takes time to get used to, and more time to actually receive. The process starts by signing up for daily email offers that describe wines in great detail.

If interested, you request a number of bottles and on a first-come, first-served basis, buyer’s requests are confirmed. The wines come from small, lesserknown producers and prices are typically lower than found elsewhere; if they can be found at all.

However, the wines aren’t simply sent out at the speed one buys them. The company keeps the wine in a temperature-controlled warehouse, only shipping when you’ve reached a whole case (or multiple cases) and when shipping conditions are ideal.

I was introduced to this unique system by an instructor in SDSU’s Business of Wine program. The late John Alonge was a well-known wine expert with an incredible wealth of knowledge—anything he took interest in was worth noting. Alonge told us about Garagiste first because of the company emails, which in-

Bottle Rocket appears in the first issue of the month.

JEN VAN TIEGHEM

10 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · APRIL 5, 2017

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UP FRONT | DRINK

THE

BY ANDREW DYER

BEERDIST Barrio brews with a view at Iron Fist Brewing

W

hen Iron Fist Brewing co-owner Eve Siemenski told me the Barrio Logan tasting room was approaching its second anniversary this July, I was taken aback. It doesn’t seem that long ago that the Barrio, along with many majority-minority San Diego County neighborhoods, was completely devoid of local beer. With brewery openings and expansions coming to both Barrio Logan and Chula Vista, the landscape of the beer scene and those very neighborhoods is in flux.

I can’t recall a single conversation I’ve had about Barrio Logan— and I’ve had many—that did not eventually get to concerns over “gentrification,” or its alternative, Latinx-focused variation “gentefication.”

My conversation with Siemenski was no different. In fact, it was one of her concerns when the brewery opened its tasting room there in 2015.

“We didn’t want to be perceived as being part of that,” she says. “We didn’t want to change the neighborhood—we wanted to be a part of it.”

The neighborhood can expect two more brewing operations with Alta Brewing in the works and a large project well under way with North Park’s Thorn Street Brewing. They will be the first breweries to brew on-site in the neighborhood since the original Aztec Brewing ceased operation in 1953—the beer at Iron Fist and nearby Border X is brewed elsewhere.

The Iron Fist tasting room faces west from the $80 million Mercado del Barrio. The development, constructed in 2013, toes the line in the community. It is sleek and modern but community-centric when it comes to choosing tenants. The view of the Coronado Bridge from the tasting room is nothing short of breathtaking. When I visited, the Young

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Democrats was having a meeting on the patio while eyewear company Spy Optics was holding one inside. Tasting room manager Chris Martinez says they welcome groups.

“It’s no problem,” he says. “It’s only when I have to shut down half the tasting room that we’d have to get into numbers.”

The Barrio Logan location has Iron Fist’s core and specialty beers available on tap, in bottles or to-go in growlers. There are even a few that are brewed especially with the neighborhood in mind.

“Logan Lager we brewed as an ode to the neighborhood,” Siemenski says. “It’s popular at both (Barrio Logan and Vista) locations, actually.”

The tasting room ANDREW DYER does not serve food but there are several dining options just steps away, and customers are welcome to bring food into the tasting room. Mish Mash, which is next door, will even deliver.

Like Border X Brewing, Iron Fist has held fundraisers and hosts frequent art shows.

“We don’t charge (the artists) anything,” says Martinez. “They A view of Coronado Bridge get to sell their art and from Iron Fist Brewing Co. we get to sell our beer.

It’s a win-win.”

With the largest Barrio event on the way—Chicano Park Day on April 22—Martinez says the tasting room will be fully staffed and ready to serve. And while parking is usually a breeze, it can be difficult to find a spot on Chicano Park Day. However, Barrio Logan is also just one trolley stop from Petco Park.

“People should come and take a look,” Siemenski says. “[Barrio Logan] is just a wonderful, welcoming place. Parking is easy and prices are great compared to downtown. The neighborhood is just so very different from anything else in San Diego.”

The Beerdist appears every other week.

Write to andrewd@sdcitybeat.com

APRIL 5, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 11

SHORTlist

EVENTS

ART

the

THREE YOU HAVE TO SEE

COORDINATED BY

SETH COMBS

SAN DIEGO

1

FULL BLOOM

The term “experimental music” can mean is followed by a 7 p.m. performance from pianist/ a lot of things to a lot of different people. singer Kirsten Ashley Wiest at the Conrad Prebys For some, it could have a compelling connotation, Concert Hall. One of Springfest’s more popular but for others it could be dissuasive; a term they events, “Immersion,” will be held on Sunday, April hear and immediately associate with strange noises 9 at the Birch Aquarium (2300 Expedition Way) in La Jolla. The aquarium will be transformed to inand discordant sounds.

But do not be afraid, dear reader, especially clude art installations, performances and music when it comes to UC San Diego’s annual Spring- from a variety of UCSD grad students.

Borden also says he was keen on keeping other fest. The nine-day, multi-venue showcase started neighborhoods involved. as a way to showcase COURTESY OF THE UCSD DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC This includes an all-day UCSD’s Department of arts festival called “EnMusic programs, but has cuentro” at the Bread since expanded to in& Salt space in Logan clude experimental muHeights (1955 Julian sicians. Grad student T.J. Ave.) from 3 to 10 p.m.

Borden coordinated this on Sunday, April 16. year’s lineup.

Borden also expanded “There’s such a dithis year’s programming versity of practices,” to include outdoor consays Borden. “It’s such certs including one from a wide variety of perforRobert Morris at the mances happening, and I think that all the musi- Springfest’s “Immersion” at the Birch Aquarium Geisel Library Courtyard cians involved approach their practice with such on Monday, April 10 at 4 p.m. There will also be astounding openness that if the listener comes a more adventurous performance at 8:30 p.m. on with a similar spirit, they’ll definitely be thinking Friday, April 14 at the Che Café that is centered on about something different about music when they audiovisual installations that deal in the theme of “resistance in an age of authoritarianism.” leave.”

Most of the performances are free, but check out It all kicks off on Saturday, April 8 with a 5 p.m. performance from the California Electronic Music ucsdmusic.blogspot.com for full schedule, prices Exchange at the UCSD Experimental Theatre. This and times.

EAST VILLAGE

ME OUT 2 TAKE TO THE TAILGATE Baseball is back, and it’s time to root, root, root for the home team (the one that didn’t leave the city, anyway) at the seventh annual East Village Opening Day Block Party. Food, craft beer and cocktails will be available from a variety of vendors including Carnitas Snack Shack, Rita’s Italian Ice, COURTESY OF THE and CityBeat fave EAST VILLAGE ASSOCIATION Eat Your Heart Out, just to name a few. Once patrons are full, check out the many family-friendly games and activities, suitable for Padres fans of all ages. The tailgating event kicks off at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 7 and again at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 8, East Village Opening Day right next to Petco Block Party Park at J Street between 6th and 10th Avenues. Admission to the party itself is free, but ballgame tickets are sold separately. eastvillagesandiego.com

12 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · APRIL 5, 2017

MIDDLETOWN

3 WALK ON THE DARK SIDE

Sunshine all the time can get a little monotonous so it’s nice to see arts orgs like Art Unites host an event that encourages patrons to embrace their dark sides. Gloom, goth and even seedy elegance is the pervading theme at Art Night Casbah and will take place at, naturally, The Casbah (2501 Kettner Blvd.) on Saturday, April 8 at 8:30 p.m. Spooky post punk bands such as COURTESY OF THE ARTIST Blood Ponies (full disclosure: music editor Jeff Terich is in this band), Trip Advisor and L1ght Ra1l will set the musical tone for the night, accompanied by the chilling works of visual artists such as Nicola Wilson, David Cuzick and Patrick Seibt. The night will also in“Christa In Red” clude dark-inspired

by Karli Janell fashion from Damion Ryura and belly dancing from Sabrina Fox. The cover for the night is $8 and all artwork displayed will be on sale. casbahmusic.com

HFOBIA at Mesa College Art Galery, 7250 Mesa College Drive, Clairemont. A reception for the new participatory project from artist Shinpei Takeda where he wove a safe space structure inside the gallery and invited attendees to meet with him and divulge their deepest fears. Opening from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 6. Free. 619388-2829, sdmesa.edu/art-gallery HAbstracted & Bemused at Visual SD, 3776 30th St, North Park. Recent paintings by Jason Gould who is known for merging minimalism and expressionism. Opening from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, April 7. Free. visualshopsd.com Modern Japan: Prints from the Taisho Era (1912–1926) and Beyond at San Diego Museum of Art, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park. A new exhibition featuring several important Japanese artists from two major movements: Shin Hanga (New Prints) and Sosaku Hanga (Creative Prints). From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, April 7. Free-$15.

619-232-7931, sdmart.org HNi Solo Mujeres: Intersecting Chicana Identities at Southwestern College Art, 900 Otay Lakes Road, Chula Vista.

Last chance to see 10 prominent Chicana artists and one Mexican photographer including Alessandra Moctezuma, Carolyn Castaño, PANCA and more. Closing from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, April 7. Free. facebook.com/events/195201317635893 HTo Observe and Wonder at Women’s Museum of California, 2730 Historic Decatur Road, Suite 103, Point Loma. A new exhibition dedicated to the “far-reaching minds of women in science” that features art, artifacts and historical documents. Opening from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, April 7. Free. 619-2337963, womensmuseumca.org Training Your Replacement and The Naked Circus at basileIE + CM Curatorial, 2070 Logan Ave., Barrio Logan. Two new shows featuring multimedia explorations from Justin Manor, as well as sculpture, batik and paintings from Guillermo Valenzuela. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m.

Saturday, April 8. Free. facebook.com/ events/791824897631632/ Second Time Around: The Hubcap as Art at The Museum at California Center for the Arts, N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido. A new exhibition that features 35 unique selections from Landfillart Inc, a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit that solicits artists from around the world to transform reclaimed hubcaps into fine art. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 8. Free-$8.

800-988-4253, artcenter.org H¿Por qué no eres una niña normal? at Bread & Salt, 1955 Julian Ave., Logan Heights. New works from illustrator/ painter/muralist PANCA, who is known for her pop-surrealist work inspired by her life in Tijuana, Mexico. Opening from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, April 8. Free. breadandsaltsandiego.com HFrom the Second World at Bread & Salt, 1955 Julian Ave., Logan Heights. New 35mm photographic works from Saulo Cisneros, who is known for his highly detailed images of Tijuana street life. Opening from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, April 8. Free. breadandsaltsandiego.com Nightmares at Thumbprint Gallery, 920 Kline St., La Jolla. New works by the Strange Dreams Surreal Art Collective, which includes dozens of artists such as Cori Bartz, Jen Lightfoot, Kyra Wilson and more. Opening from 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday, April 8.

858-354-6294, thumbprintgallerysd.com HNatural Systems at Athenaeum Art Center, 1955 Julian Ave., Logan Heights. A multidisciplinary selection of collage, painting and sculpture from Tijuana artists Fernanda Uski, Juan Villavicencio and Vero Glezqui.

H = CityBeat picks

Opening from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, April 8. Free. 858-454-5872, ljathenaeum.org HArt Night Casbah at The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd., Middletown. Art Unites presents a night of dark and moody art, music and fashion. Artists include Nicola Wilson, Lourdes Araiza, David Cuzick and more.

From 8:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Saturday, April 8. Free. casbahmusic.com HArtFest at San Diego Botanic Gardens, 230 Quail Gardens Drive, Encinitas. More than 20 sculptors, painters, potters and other artists display and sell their work inside the gardens. Includes live art performances and an exhibit celebrating Asian horticulture. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday, April 8 and Sunday, April 9.

Free-$14. 760-436-3036, sdbgarden.org

BOOKS Marissa Hermer at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The restaurant owner and star of Bravo’s Ladies of London will discuss and sign her new cookbook, An American Girl in London. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 6. Free. 858454-0347, warwicks.com Mishell Baker at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. The fantasy writer will sign and discuss Phantom Pains, the latest in her Arcadia Project series of novels. At 2 p.m. Saturday, April 8. Free. 858-2684747, mystgalaxy.com HAlexander P. Butterfield at D.G.Wills Books, 7461 Girard Ave., La Jolla. Butterfield, the aide who disclosed evidence of Nixon’s Watergate crimes, discusses investigative journalist Bob Woodward’s book The Last of the President’s Men, which tells Butterfield’s story. At 2 p.m.

Sunday, April 9. Free. 858-456-1800, www.dgwillsbooks.com.

HJesse Edward Johnson at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. The Washingtonbased writer and artist will sign and discuss his new book of portraits and writing, Yearbook. At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 11. Free. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com

DANCE HBlack Grace at Spreckels Theatre, 121 Broadway, Gaslamp. New Zealand’s foremost contemporary dance company brings a performance of five short works drawing from Maori and Pacific Islander indigenous dance, as well as modern dance. At 8 p.m. Saturday, April 8. $20$75. 619-570-1100, ljms.org HLive Arts Fest at San Diego Dance Theater, 2650 Truxtun Road Suite 108, Point Loma. Ten nights of dance performances spanning modern and postmodern to installation art, including three international artists/groups. Various times.

Wednesday, April 12 through Sunday, April 23. $20-$120. 619-225-1803, sandiegodancetheater.org

FASHION HHermosas & Mimosas Fashion Show at Lafayette Hotel, 2223 El Cajon Blvd., North Park. The Lafayette pool will be taken over to include three fashion shows from Hunt & Gather, Trendy & Tipsy and Sauvage Swimwear. Includes music and dozens of vendors. From noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 9. $10-$15. facebook.com/events/1439173966134760/

FOOD & DRINK HTaste of Leucadia at Hwy 101 from Encinitas Boulevard to La Costa Boulevard, Leucadia. Try the culinary flavors and local libations of downtown Leucadia. There will also be music, poetry and performances. From 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, April 6. $20-$40. leucadia101.com

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BOOKS: THE FLOATING LIBRARY

EVENTS COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

Leaves of grass

T

“Untitled (Tijuana, Mexico 2016)” by Saulo Cisneros will be on view at From the Second World, a solo show opening from 5 to 9 p.m.

Saturday, April 8, at Bread & Salt (1955 Julian Ave., Logan Heights).

VinDiego Food & Wine Fest at Liberty Station, 2455 Cushing Road, Point Loma.

The fifth annual fest will feature over 300 wines to sample along with 25 local chefs sharing signature dishes. From 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, April 8. $115-$150. vindiego.com

HEALTH & WELLNESS Healthy Living Festival at Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. Attendees can choose from more than 30 lectures and workshops, as well as cooking demonstrations, medical testing, yoga, Zumba or Qigong classes, and much more.

From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 8 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 9. $10.

858-755-1161, healthylivingfestival.com

MUSIC HSpringfest at various locations. The annual showcase of UCSD Department of Music’s graduate program includes an array of diverse musical performances at the Birch Aquarium, The Loft, Bread & Salt, the Che Café and more. See website for schedule and details. From Saturday, April 8 through Sunday, April 16. Free$12. ucsdmusic.blogspot.com HChris Botti at California Center for the Arts, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido.

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The top-selling trumpeter and composer will perform a concert that begins in jazz and expands into other genres. At 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 7. $40-$75. 760-8394138, artcenter.org Joe Lovano Classic Quartet at The Auditorium at TSRI, 10620 John J Hopkins Drive, La Jolla. The Grammy-winning saxophonist and composer will perform with a small band that includes Leo Genovese on piano, Peter Slavov on bass and Lamy Istrefi on drums. At 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 7. $30-$35. 858-454-5872, ljathenaeum.org Sounds of Japan at San Diego Museum of Art, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park. Celebrate the opening of the exhibition Modern Japan: Prints from the Taisho Era (1912–1966) and Beyond with a concert

by Japanese harpsichordist Takae Ohnishi. At 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 7. Free$15. 619-232-7931, sdmart.org Ching-Ming Cheng at California Center for the Arts, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido. The classically trained, award-winning pianist and California State University, San Marcos music professor plays a solo concert. At 3 p.m.

Sunday, April 9. $25-$35. 760-8394138, artcenter.org

PERFORMANCE HBrain Candy Live at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave, Downtown. Celebrate the

he US Grant Hotel is a study in contradictions. The luxury hotel sits in the heart of San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter and contains a $6.5 million art collection. The hotel is named after President Ulysses S. Grant and is owned by the Kumeyaay Indians.

One would think the first order of business would be to change the name of the hotel. After all, Grant was president during the Great Sioux War of 1876, including the Battle of Little Bighorn. However, the Kumeyaay remember Grant “as a rare soul among politicians—forthright and generous” whose efforts led to California tribes being granted sovereign status.

It’s all about the context. Context is also a requirement for unpacking the contradictions that abound in Layli Long Soldier’s new collection of poems, WHEREAS, released last month by Graywolf Press. The book is divided into two sections: “THESE BEING THE CONCERNS” and “WHEREAS.” There is a great deal of wordplay, especially in the first half, but the poems become more stark and somber. “Left” deals with the loss of an unborn child and the strange dreams that followed.

Long Soldier’s poems resist excerpting on the page. They are marked with spaces and broken lines that insist on their own shape because “it’s the rise and fall of the voice we must capture to mean a thing in writing.”

opening of the exhibition Modern Japan: Prints from the Taisho Era (1912–1966) and Beyond with a concert by Japanese harpsichordist Takae Ohnishi. At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 5. $39-$77. 619570-1100, sandiegotheatres.org HGearheads: Ashley Capachione at SDAI Project Space, 141 Horton Plaza, Gaslamp. Ashley will discuss the history of sound and technology used in seance, and perform a piece inspired by San Diego’s enchanted seance house, The Villa Montezuma. From 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, April 6. Free. 619-236-0011, sandiego-art.org

POLITICS & COMMUNITY HCity Council District 9 Coffee & Conversation at City Heights Performance Annex, 3795 Fairmount Ave., City Heights. District 9 City Councilmember Georgette Gómez and City Attorney Mara Elliott discuss and answer questions about their municipal

Long Soldier’s evocative lines summon the past as easily as the present. In her searing poem “38,” Long Soldier—an Oglala Lakota Native American herself—lays out the story of “the largest ‘legal’ hanging in US history” of “thirty-eight Dakota men who were executed by hanging, under orders from President Abraham Lincoln” as a direct result of the Sioux Uprising.

The horror of the situation (and beauty of the poem) unfurls as the context is revealed.

A trader who taunted the starving Dakota by saying, “If they are hungry, let them eat grass” was found murdered with his mouth stuffed with grass.

“I am inclined to call this act by the Dakota warriors a poem,” Long Soldier says in “38.”

With the poem’s haunting conclusion, the book pivots to the second half, which is a response to President Barack Obama’s signing of the Congressional Resolution of Apology to Native Americans.

Ironically, Obama did not read the resolution aloud nor were Native Americans present when it was signed.

In a series of what she calls “Whereas statements,” Long Soldier grapples with the contradictions inherent in an unvoiced apology issued to no one: “how do I language a collision arrived at through separation?”

—Jim Ruland

Write to jimr@sdcitybeat.com.

duties and plans. At 6 p.m. Monday, April 10. Free. 619-236-6699, sandiego.gov

SPECIAL EVENTS HFirst Thursday at Lafayette Hotel, 2223 El Cajon Blvd., North Park. San Diego Made celebrates the first anniversary of its monthly music night and pop-up shop that features local makers, live music and drink specials.

From 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, April 7.

Free. 619-296-2101, sandiegomade.org HOpening Day Block Party at 1041 Market Street, East Village. Celebrate opening day of baseball at this family-friendly annual event that includes fun activities, a microbrew beer garden, food trucks and more.

From 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 8 and 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 8.

Free. eastvillagesandiego.com Lao New Year Festival at Market Creek Plaza, 404 Euclid Ave., Diamond District.

This annual fest showcases authentic foods and displays of Lao handcrafts and

art works, plus folk dances, costumes, traditional alms offerings and a ceremonial procession. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 8 and Sunday, April 9. $3. 619-527-6161, laocommunity.org HBikes and Beers at The Point, 1010 Santa Clara Place, Mission Bay. Choose from two bicycle circuits, either 15 miles long in Mission Bay or 30 miles long in Downtown, to ride before drinking at the Mike Hess Brewing after party with live music and food trucks. Tickets include two free beers. Various times. Saturday, April 8. $45-$50. bikesandbeers.com

SPORTS Wheelchair Over-the-Line Tournament at 851 W. Harbor Island Drive, Harbor Island. Top-level wheelchair athletes from the Southwest compete in this 39th annual event, where three-player teams compete in a variation of traditional OTL. At 7:30 a.m. Saturday, April, 8. Free. facebook. com/events/1700081986956615

APRIL 5, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 13

THEATER JIM COX

Seeing red

P

laywright Lolita Chakrabarti’s Red Velvet illuminates Ira Aldridge, an underappreciated—and to many outside of theater circles, unknown—African-American actor in the early 1800s.

Aldridge struggled not only for acceptance in a theatrical world that didn’t yet have racism out of its system, but to bring a visceral interpretation to his and his fellow actors’ performances. In Red Velvet, now at the Old Globe Theatre under the direction of Stafford Arima, the play within the play is Othello and the year is ��� 1833. ������ Al��� dridge, replacing the ailing Edmund Kean, became the first black actor to portray the Moor in a London theater licensed for “legitimate drama.” Racist outrage, which included that of some theater critics, ended Aldridge’s Covent Garden engagement scarcely after it began.

At the Globe, Albert Jones is an imposing presence as Aldridge, deftly conveying the man’s profoundly felt convictions about the theater and his place in it, while also showing us the reverse, unsettling side of a man possessed of such intense emotion.

This dichotomy characterizes the arc of the play, much of it dialectical, including the Othello rehearsals and performance scenes between Aldridge and his Desdemona, Ellen Tree (Allison Mack).

Red Velvet unfolds slowly and at

14 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · APRIL 5, 2017

Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park. $29 and up. oldglobe.org

—David L. Coddon

Theater reviews run weekly.

Write to davidc@sdcitybeat.com.

OPENING: The Man Who Came to Dinner: The classic Kaufmann and Hart comedy about an arrogant radio personality who gets stuck in a small town following an injury. Presented by Premier Productions, it opens April 7 at the Welk Resort Theatre in Escondido. broadwayvista.biz Skeleton Crew: An autoworker finds herself torn between doing what’s best for her family and her fellow employees in this new play that takes place in Detroit during the Great Recession. Written by Dominique Morisseau, it opens April 8 at the Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park. theoldglobe.org

Albert Jones (left) and Sean Dugan in Red Velvet times wavers in tone. It opens with a methodically paced encounter between a grim, aging Aldridge and a sincere but irritating Polish reporter (Halina Wozniak). The pace picks up when the narrative flashback begins, starting with a behind-the-scenes debate about company manager Pierre Laporte’s (Sean Dugan) choice of Aldridge to substitute for Kean. Here, the sputtering protestations of Othello cast member (and Kean’s son)

Charles (John Lavelle) feel like distracting tan������������������������������������� trums. The intensity ramps up, however, as Aldridge prepares for his debut and the furor that follows precipitates a defining confrontation between Aldridge and Laporte. The latter is memorably played

by Jones and Dugan in a scene that is both tense and physical. Where Aldridge goes from there is revealed by play’s end, and it is devastating.

Red Velvet runs through April 30 at the

To Be Dali: A staged reading of a new play about the life of the famous Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí. Written by Eric Yost and Salvador Benavides, it happens April 10 at the Lyceum Space Theatre in the Gaslamp. sdrep.org Travels With My Aunt: Four actors play 20 different roles in this offbeat comedy about an eccentric aunt who changes the life of her stuffy nephew.

Written by Graham Greene, it opens April 12 at the North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach. northcoastrep.org

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

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TORREY BAILEY

or the families who have roots in the south San Diego borough of Barrio Logan, this isn’t the same community they homesteaded. Over time, the city’s interests have bulldozed this neighborhood, both literally and figuratively, but residents have tirelessly celebrated and safeguarded their culture.

Mexican immigrants first settled here in 1910, picking up blue-collar jobs, and by the ‘40s, it became one of the largest Mexican-American communities in California, according to the 2009 documentary Remembering Our Past: History of Barrio Logan. Those who have been here since the start don’t call the neighborhood Barrio Logan, but rather Logan Heights, as the greater area was referred to before the I-5 freeway divided it up in 1963. Families were displaced then and again several years later to make way for the Coronado Bridge. For years, the city promised to designate a park under the bridge’s pillars, but when construction started there on a California Highway Patrol station, the community took its most famous stand. Resentment toward city officials boiled over into protest, leading to 12 days of residents forming human chains, planting greenery and protecting the land. On April 22, 1970, the locals succeeded in taking over the plot of land that would soon become Chicano Park.

Since then, Chicano Park has acted as a gathering ground, where murals document the accomplishments and struggles of Mexican-Americans since before California’s lines were drawn. Today, Barrio Logan holds tight to its foundations and wards off gentrification by prioritizing small, independently owned businesses that cater to the residents. Craft breweries, art galleries and restaurants have multiplied over the past half decade, inadvertently attracting the attention of bigger name artists and investors. But time continues to prove Barrio Logan’s resiliency with working class people who value an authentic sense of community and standing up for what’s rightfully theirs.

Until recently, Logan Avenue and Sampson Street was the inarguable hangout. But with Mercado del Barrio constructed, Cesar E. Chavez Parkway and Main Street became a mainstay, sealed by a landmark arch. Here, Iron Fist Brewing, Mish Mash and other restaurants, as well as a grocery store and affordable housing can support community needs closer to the bay.

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APRIL 5, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 15

COURTESY OF NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS

Ramon “Chunky” Sanchez at Chicano Park, 2013

If you want to hear Barrio Logan, listen to Los Alacranes, the band founded by mustachioed local troubadour Ramon “Chunky” Sanchez in 1975 with his brother Ricardo. Their music, a mixture of traditional folk and contemporary activist music, blended Chicano and American pop culture into something that became not only musically influential, but socially as well.

“It was very much an era of social activism,” says Mario Aguilar, a friend of Sanchez’s and a former member of his band. “There was something in the air that you could feel. There was a lot of energy that everybody tapped into.”

Aguilar describes three different types of music that Sanchez and Los Alacranes would play: traditional romantic trio ballads, socially conscious activist music, and a third style of Chicano blues that was more improvisational, with a poetic sing-speak approach Aguilar describes as being similar to hip-hop.

Los Alacranes’ best-known song is “Chicano Park,” a soulful document of the community’s reclamation of the now nationally recognized park in Barrio Logan.

Yet Sanchez had a larger repertoire of standards, in-

16 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · APRIL 5, 2017

cluding “El Correo del Campesino” and “Sabor a Mi.” “I have fond memories of playing those songs with Chunky,” he says. “It was traditional music, but it was also keeping alive a communication method in a way that people would appreciate. All of those songs had meaning because of the places that they took you.”

Sanchez died last October at the age of 64, but his music and the messages in his songs remain relevant today. Part of what made Sanchez a beloved figure was his personality and his sense of humor, Aguilar says, but he also notes that his message and his humanitarianism is what makes his music ageless.

“Look at the artifacts of the era—Trump’s wall, all the racism going on, threats to Jewish community centers... all of these things are being revived and brought forward,” he says. “But this music is also one way to tell young people about what we’ve seen and did in the past, and what can be done in the future.

“Chunky always made people know that they were worth something,” he continues. “He really made people feel comfortable with themselves.”

—Jeff Terich

@SDCITYBEAT

COURTESY OF THE BARRIO LOGAN STEERING COMMITTEE

COURTESY OF DAVID ALVAREZ

Rendering of the Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center

For Josephine Talamantez, the Chicano Park Museum & Cultural Center has been nearly 50 years in the making. That is, for as long as the iconic park has been around (since 1970, to be exact), there has been the need for an adjacent space where visitors and locals alike could learn about the social and artistic importance of the park.

“The effort to try to preserve the history of our community and what the Latino community contributed to the economic, social, political and cultural development of San Diego is extremely important,” says Talamantez, who, as a student activist in the ‘70s, helped fight for the park.

Talamantez is now a member of the Barrio Logan Steering Committee and has been in negotiations with the city for a plot of land on 1901 Main Street where the now vacant Cesar Chavez Continuing Education Center now stands. Talamantez is getting the committee prepared for a bidding process when it comes to the property, but is hoping that Chicano

Park’s recent designation as a National Landmark will help them bypass a bidding war.

“I found a council policy that says that the city council and the mayor can identify a site for a non-profit organization to lease a building,” Talamantez says.

Talamantez and the committee estimates that it will take around $8 million dollars to get the building up to standard and local architectural firm RJC Architects recently developed schematics for the museum/ center. Most of that money will have to come from fundraising and Talamantez says that actually having the building would help them raise funds. Once completed, she says the museum would go a long way in preserving the cultural integrity of a community that’s increasingly threatened with gentrification.

“We want to instill a level of pride in the next generation,” Talamantez says. “It’s extremely important to validate the elders who are still alive and take the next generation through the process of the historical development of Chicano Park.”

—Seth Combs

On March 2, City Councilmember David Alvarez, whose district encompasses Barrio Logan, tweeted out, “Grabbed lunch at a Barrio Logan spot you’ve probably never heard off. Best flour tortillas, after the homemade ones. #childhoodmemories” Bonus: there was a selfie attached of Alvarez and, with a good squint, followDavid Alvarez ers could make out the name of the restaurant, La Popular Tortilleria (2194 National Ave.), from the sign’s faded, red lettering behind him. “The plates are simple but the flavors are

robust,” Alvarez told CityBeat in an email, adding that the carne asada burrito is his go-to.

When in the neighborhood, Alvarez makes it a point to stop by the local eateries, including one of Barrio Logan’s most esteemed, Salud! (2196 Logan Ave.). This isn’t a no-frills establishment like La Popular Tortilleria; the restaurant salutes the neighborhood’s creative core with walls decked with artistic tributes to the Chicanx culture. “When I order here, I indulge in birria tacos,” says Alvarez, referring to flash-fried tortillas filled with Mole-coated shredded pork, veggies and cotija cheese. We’d be lying if we didn’t also want him to indulge in Salud!’s infamous, tamarindo and Tajin-rimmed Vampiro Micheladas.

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—Torrey Bailey

APRIL 5, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 17

—Torrey Bailey

On a warm Thursday afternoon, Rainbow Party Supplies (2076 Logan Ave.) owner Ignacio “Nacho” Delacerda restocks rented merchandise while talking to a lady on speakerphone.

It’s a feat of multitasking, but Delacerda makes it look easy.

The woman wants a piñata made to look like Ninjago—which I guess is some sort of Lego ninja. “You did such a good job last time,” the lady says. Delacerda says he can do it, and there’s a slight pause on the woman’s end.

“I heard you guys are closing” the lady says.

“That’s such a bummer.”

Yes, it is. Rainbow Party Supplies has been bringing joy to the community—specializing

18 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · APRIL 5, 2017

Although not native to the community, Bucky Montero shares a deep-rooted connection to Barrio Logan’s history.

“There’s a huge sense of pride here,” she says. “A lot of pride.

And I mean that in different ways, like Chicano pride, but also in just a pride for the neighborhood and taking care of it.” Originally from South Bay, Bucky’s involvement started with The Spot art gallery where she met other community activists. From there, she found herself at the forefront of current undertakings such as La Bodega Art Gallery, Radio Pulso del Barrio, Barrio Logan Flea Market and Por Vida cafe and gallery (2146 Logan Ave.). Montero also manages La Vecindad, the building that houses Por Vida and other small businesses, which she says are examples for the direction she hopes to see the community grow. “I would love to see more Brown businesses. I feel like that is really empowering to the community of Barrio because let’s face it, it’s primarily Hispanic so… this is how [the residents] are going to feel comfortable with supporting businesses that are coming into the block,” says Montero. While she acknowledges that development is somewhat inevitable, she hopes the future of Barrio will be in hands of those who know the community best. “Maybe that’s wishful thinking. I don’t know.

We’ll see.”

—Sofia Mejias-Pascoe

in custom piñatas—for 26 years. However, by the time this story is published, Rainbow will be closed. Given Barrio Logan’s rapidly changing identity, the closure is not surprising, but no less heartbreaking. However, Delacerda’s father—Rainbow’s original owner (and also named Nacho)—feels good about the impact they’ve left on the community.

“Customers have been coming here since they were this big,” Nacho Sr. says, holding a hand to his knee. And if there’s a bright side to Rainbow’s closure, it’s entirely on the Delacerdas’ terms, not gentrification.

“I’m just looking to retire,” Nacho Sr. says. “I want to travel.”

“I remember listening to Cesar Chavez, not knowing who Cesar Chavez was, and playing marbles in between the rallies. I grew up in that atmosphere so something stuck,” says Rigoberto “Rigo” Reyes, founder of Amigos Car Club’s San Diego chapter. He was first introduced to activism during the Chicano Park takeover when he was 12 years old, riding his bike from San Ysidro to participate in the rally.

Around the same age, he spotted his first hydraulicequipped lowrider, a 1957 Chevy. Years later, he bought one as his first car and lifted it. And even now, Reyes says the model is his favorite, dreaming of painting one a candy green and lowering it to the floor. “It’s kind of like a canvas on wheels.” Over the years, he’s been a part of Casinos Car Club, which collapsed in the mid-seventies, but out of its demise came Amigos Car Club, which will be celebrating its 40th anniversary this April. “It’s a way of life… There’s even sayings that we have more hydraulic blood than we have blood going through our veins, and there’s some truth to that because it’s something that grew from the neighborhood… Just as much as I’m going to be buried with my [hydraulic] switches, I’m going to be buried with a Chicano flag.”

—Torrey Bailey

After Delacerda hangs up with the Ninjago lady, I give him an image of what I want made into a piñata: me, mouth agape like an idiot, pulling a dumb-ass stance. “Uh, kind of like that,” I say, pointing to one of their popular Donald Trump piñatas, slightly dismayed at my resemblance to Trump piñatas.

When the piñata is done, it’s Trump but with dark hair and a beard. And, yeah, it’s me. I name it Yung Ryan. I instantly love Yung Ryan (as long as it doesn’t come alive and kill me)—just one of the countless people who’ve received joy courtesy of Rainbow Party Supplies.

—Ryan Bradford

Ryan and Yung Ryan

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PHOTOS BY TORREY BAILEY

“This is a community that’s rarely had a little bit extra,” says Brent Beltrán, the vice chair of the Barrio Logan Community Planning Group.

“Almost everything in this community had to be fought for.”

While he’s been a long-time community advocate, Beltrán moved to the barrio six years ago and acknowledges that he’s a relative outsider compared to the families who arrived here generations ago. “I’m not afraid to use [my] voice, but at the same time, I understand that I wasn’t born here.” He’s wary of local government, particularly the mayor, who he says “hasn’t done shit” for Barrio Logan since being elected, but also of new businesses inching in. Property pirates, as he calls them, are pushing rent up and residents out. “What’s going to happen when there’s no more Chicanos living near Chicano Park?” he asks. “In five years, this is going to be a different community. Ten years, it’s going to be scary. Ten years, this is going to be Little Italy.” He says the best way to prolong this gentrification is if entrepreneurs within Barrio Logan open businesses that hire and serve the residents here specifically. “If you’re coming in here, you’ve got to respect the historic, cultural nature of this community.”

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april 5, 2017 · San Diego CityBeat · 19

CULTURE | ART

SEEN LOCAL

beyond that. This current wave of shows is highly opportunistic and this isn’t the first time that artists in Tijuana have experienced these booms, but a large portion of them, important artists, are being left out.”

In response to a recent exhibition at UCSD (Making Communities: Art and the Border), Solaimani has organized a conjunctive roundtable discussion titled “Afterthought: The Boom and Art Exhibition/Documenara Solaimani is annoyed. The local curator, tation Across the Tijuana-San Diego Border.” The lineborder art historian and Ph.D. candidate at UC up of the discussion—which takes place at the UCSD San Diego says she’s beginning to see some disVisual Arts Presentation Lab, SME 149 on Thursday, turbing trends in the local arts community and, howApril 6 at 6 p.m.—is a who’s who of the regional borever well intentioned, thinks that many local galleries der arts scene and includes artists and curators such and curators are taking advantage of the ALEX KERSHAW as Adriana Trujillo, Omar Pimienta, current political climate to showcase Cog•nate Collective, Daniel Ruanova, what they classify as “border,” “Latin” Aldo Guerra, Leticia Gomez Franco, or “Chicano” art.

Norma Iglesias Prieto and more. So“It’s annoying me more and more laimani says the purpose of the discuseach day,” Solaimani says. “As someone sion, which is open to the public, will be who is now included in that community to discuss these reactionary “booms” of cultural producers and historians, and and how to sustain a transborder scene because I’ve dedicated my life to studying in the future. this, it comes across as very convenient.”

“Right now, I feel like we’re goWhether it’s a matter of trendiness or ing backward,” says Solaimani. “For simply to show solidarity, Solaimani bepeople who are really invested in this lieves it’s cultural capitalization either space—the curators, cultural producers way. She says that some of these shows and cultural anthropologists—it comes are happening right now and while she across as parachuting in and taking addoes appreciate the better-late-thanSara Solaimani vantage of the situation because it’s a never nature of showcasing border art, sexy theme just because Donald Trump got elected. she maintains that other curators and gallery ownWe lose history and accuracy when that happens. ers should be consulting people who are already enThere’s this historical amnesia when we act like we’re trenched in the community. This way, she says, they reinventing the wheel when it comes to border arts or can make sure that they do the scene justice.

Chicano and Chicana arts. So when people who aren’t “If you want to do a show that responds to the curinvested in it co-opt it, it just comes across as a reacrent political dynamic, so be it, that’s fine,” says Sotionary statement.” laimani. “But there has to be an ongoing commitment

—Seth Combs

REACTIONARY STATEMENT

S

20 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · APRIL 5, 2017

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CULTURE | FILM

See through you

Your Name

New Japanese anime takes a sledgehammer to the romantic comedy

by Glenn Heath Jr.

M

eteor fragments descend from the heavens Despite this shift, Shinkai remains dedicated to a reand race toward Earth. Citizens look up in lentless cinematic style that favors shortened scenes, wonder, enthralled by the grand spectacle vibrant primary colors and jarring plot twists. Lost in of gravity at work. The sky may be falling, but there’s the shuffle are the characters themselves. Both Mitvery little concern for the threat of impact. So be- suha and Taki are never fully fleshed out. Instead, they gins Your Name, a delirious and insane anime fantasy come across as symbolic vessels created simply to written and directed by Makoto Shinkai that takes a convey an overarching sense of interconnectedness.

Eventually the film splinters even more, giving sledgehammer to the romantic comedy formula.

Nature’s fireworks display ignites the imagination Inception a run for its money in the illogic departof Mitsuha (Mone Kamishiraishi), a teenage girl from ment. After the two characters realize they are sepathe country who begins to remember details from rated by far more than distance, Taki drops through a another life in Tokyo. Taki (Ryûnosuke Kamiki), who wormhole of memory and perspective in order to save goes to high school in the Japanese megalopolis, ex- Mitsuha’s town from the ascending meteor. By this point any coherent notion of time periences similar mental flashes of becomes moot, and the film’s sucthe rural town where Mitsuha lives. cess or failure depends on whether Without much explanation other one fully believes in the magic of than the intergalactic phenomena, YOUR NAME its messy, happenstance-heavy alboth characters realize they are Directed by Makoto Shinkai ternate universe. swapping bodies for short periods Starring Mone Kamishiraishi, Your Name is mixed bag of braof time.

Ryûnosuke Kamiki vura style and exhausting storyEmbracing the raging hortelling that ultimately cascades mones and manic tendencies of its and Ryô Narita toward a familiar conclusion. It pubescent protagonists, Your Name Rated PG features too many possible narrapropels forward at an intimidating tive directions that dangle freely rate. To where exactly is debatable without connective tissue, hoping since the film immediately commits to an experimental view of space-time logic. that the spectacle of it all will suffice. Shinkai pivots Scenes overlap onto each other without much regard from quietly nuanced scenes to those overwhelmed by for common sense. It’s often difficult to tell where brash outbursts of emotion, which inevitably distracts Mitsuha’s experience ends and Taki’s begins. As a re- and distorts from the human details that matter most.

Despite these reservations, it’s clear that Shinkai sult, the film unfolds like a series of aimless vignettes that examine the blurred lines between gender iden- has created a singularly manic vision that dares to challenge what it means to remember. The struggle tity and class.

Still, these bursts of cinematic energy play an im- of retaining memories seems like a real one this day portant role in establishing the duality between the and age as technology does a lot of the heavy lifting restless Mitsuha and mercurial Taki. By getting under for us. Your Name clumsily plunges its characters back each other’s skin (quite literally) they begin to shape into the organic abyss of tangible sensory experitheir relationships with friends, family and potential ence, where seeing and believing can be two separate love interests. Messages and warnings are saved on things. For that reason alone it deserves our respect smart phones, sometimes even transcribed on arms and attention.

Your Name opens on Friday, April 7, at Angelika with ink. The entire construct becomes an intriguing twist on conniving tactics employed by odd couples Carmel Mountain Cinemas and Hillcrest Landmark walking the line between desire and jealousy.

Cinemas.

Your Name eventually abandons its original concept for weightier themes regarding the push-pull re- Film reviews run weekly. lationship between family tradition and individuality. Write to glennh@sdcitybeat.com

@SDCITYBEAT

APRIL 5, 2017· SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 21

CULTURE | FILM Mine opens Friday, April 7, at AMC Mission Valley Cinemas.

—Glenn Heath Jr.

OPENING Frantz: A German woman whose fiancé was killed in WWI meets a mysterious Frenchman who has a connection to her former lover’s past. Directed by François Ozon.

Going in Style: Three senior citizens played by Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Alan Arkin begin robbing banks after they become desperate for money in post-recession America.

Mine: Armie Hammer plays a Marine sniper who becomes stranded in the North African desert after stepping on a land mine. Opens Friday, April 7, at AMC Mission Valley Cinemas.

Mine

Step by step

A

fraid of romantic commitment and harboring some serious daddy issues, neurotic Marine sniper Mike Stevens (Armie Hammer) has effectively repressed multitudes of emotions by delving into dangerous combat missions. In the opening sequence of Mine, a gimmicky war film from first time co-directors Fabio Guaglione and Fabio Resinaro, the young marksman is all business waiting for North African terrorists to come into range while bluecollar spotter Tommy (Tom Cullen) cracks wise.

Ironically, it’s Mike who can’t pull the trigger once he realizes the desert rendezvous between high value targets is doubling as a wedding ceremony. Things go south quickly and the two American soldiers find themselves escaping through a sea of sand dunes and landmines. One false move later and Mike’s foot becomes permanently planted on a decades-old ordnance.

Similar to one-location potboilers such as Buried and Open Water,

22 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · APRIL 5, 2017

the film forces its lead character into problem solving mode facing the extreme pressure of a ticking clock. Some of the scenarios infuse surrealist flourishes and are fittingly crackerjack, like the moment Mike’s frazzled psyche plants him an oppressive dream state despite several wolves gnawing on his flesh.

Mine eventually gets overtly political, connecting Mike’s mental instability and ideological fatigue with the philosophical ramblings of a traumatized local. This burdensome attempt at duality and substance falls painfully flat, with the dual directors hammering home themes of trauma and guilt as if they were surveying brand new psychological territory.

At times laughably gabby, Mine never recovers from a derelict script that’s awash in cliché. Hammer seems genuinely flummoxed by the more simplistic lines of dialogue, as if midway through the shoot he started to have visions of his own career being blown to shreds. And after being engulfed in this kind of shit sandstorm of a film, it’s hard not to see why.

Queen of the Desert: In this period piece, Nicole Kidman stars as an intrepid trailblazer who travels to Tehran and falls into a passionate affair with a British officer played by James Franco. Directed by Werner Herzog.

Smurfs: The Lost Village: Smurfette and her merry band of blue cronies set off into a mysterious forest to uncover a big secret.

The Ticket: Dan Stevens stars as a man who spontaneously recovers his sight, and becomes overwhelmed by the possibilities now open to him. But reevaluating his present circumstances tempts him to betray his loved ones. Opens Friday, April 7, at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

The Void: When police officer Carter (Aaron Poole) discovers a blood-soaked man limping down a deserted road, he rushes him to a local hospital with a barebones, night shift staff. As cloaked, cult-like figures surround the building, the patients and staff inside start to turn ravenously insane. Opens Friday, April 7, at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

Your Name: A Japanese girl from the countryside begins swapping bodies with a mercurial Tokyo high school boy after meteor showers rain down from the sky.

Opens Friday, April 7, at Angelika Carmel Mountain Cinemas and Landmark Hillcrest Cinemas.

For a complete listing of movies, visit F ilm on sdcitybeat.com.

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ALLYSON FOSTER

bass part would have to be enough. Almost no thought was put into production or atmosphere. It was just about getting these ideas out as quickly and economically as possible.”

There’s no getting around the fact that A Crow Looked at Me is a sad and deeply personal album. But for how much the album is about traumatic loss, it also harbors intricate details that speak to something more mysterious and profound. The title of the album, as depicted on “Crow,” came from a moment that took place last November when Elverum and his daughter were walking in the woods.

In that moment of quiet and tranquility, a crow actually did look at him. It’s an encounter that stuck with Elverum.

“Everything on the album actually happened to me,” he says. “It’s kind of... me sort of wrestling with significance and meaning and supernatural omens, just general spirituality at all on one hand. And on the other

MUSIC hil Elverum is worried about the future. He’s certainly concerned about the current state of the world, but he’s also worried about what lies ahead for his daughter. The planet seems to be in a state of chaos right now and Elverum is the sole caretaker of a twoyear-old whose generation will inherit the problems that every generation before it has piled up. It’s that thought which consumes him on “Crow,” the final track on Mount Eerie’s new album, A Crow Looked at Me, and which was also included in an ACLU benefit compilation following the November presidential election.

“Sweet kid, what is this world we’re giving you,” Elverum sings on the track, “Smoldering and fascist, with no mother.”

Elverum can’t help but think about his daughter’s future: It’s the one thing on which he bases most of his decisions.

“That’s what is behind all of these songs and all of everything I do,” he says from his Anacortes, Washington home. “That’s why I’m releasing this record and talking to you and trying to sell copies of it, honestly, to be crass about it. I’m artistically proud of the record, but I’m also concerned for my daughter’s future, both in a financial provider sense and also just in a more existential geopolitical sense. Having a kid changes all of that for sure.”

Elverum isn’t the same artist he was a year ago. In July of 2016, his wife Geneviève Castrée died after a brief but intense battle with stage-four pancreatic cancer. Two months later, he entered his home studio to record A Crow Looked at Me, a new album’s worth of songs about grief and loss, and the difficult new reality facing his family. It’s simultaneously beautiful and hard to listen to at times, its plain-spoken lyrics unflinching in their honesty about Castrée’s death and the aftermath.

A Crow is also entirely autobiographical, opening with a song titled “Real Death” that finds Elverum literally being delivered a cruel reminder of his wife’s death: “A week after you died a package with your name on it came/Inside was a gift for our daughter you had ordered in secret/And collapsed, there on the front steps I wailed...you were thinking ahead to a future you must have known deep down would not include you.”

The record is considerably different than Elverum’s past albums as Mount Eerie or

24 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · APRIL 5, 2017

Phil Elverum and his daughter with his previous band The Microphones.

It’s free of metaphor or large-scale symbolism or concept-driven narratives. Elverum now says he feels bewildered by those songs.

“When Geneviève died, there was a shift in me... or when she was diagnosed and when the carpet was pulled out from underneath us,” he says. “I looked back on my previous work and my previous values and techniques and felt like I couldn’t identify with it anymore. Tackling these big questions and making these big conceptual statements… I felt like I had been overconfident in presuming that I could know anything or make any of these big statements. I felt like the only possible way for music to make any sense to me is to not make any assumptions. All I could talk about is my immediate experi-

ence. I feel like I’ve been beaten back down by the universe into this humble and direct stance.”

A Crow Looked at Me is also somewhat different in sound than Elverum’s past records, free of effects and distortion, instead focusing mostly on the sound of his acoustic guitar and vocals with occasional piano, bass and light percussion. It’s as much stylistic choice as necessity, he says, considering his responsibilities as a father are his first priority.

“I just don’t have the freedom to make big albums and spend a lot of time in the studio,” he says. “I had to record this record in very small windows of time when my daughter was being taken care of by someone else, or asleep. So one time through playing the

hand, real death and the finality of we’re just meat and then we die and we don’t exist. The crow thing kind of became this little character, I guess, of some sort of magic that still exists in the world. Something that is not purely mechanical and cold and dead.

Most of the time I’m saying on the album, ‘death is real and you’re gone.’ But there are these little moments where a crow looked at me. Like, wait... what’s this little glimmer of magic that I still feel?

“There’s still beauty and love in the world,” he adds. “An open door into an unknown future.”

Write to jefft@sdcitybeat.com.

Follow him on Twitter at @1000TimesJeff

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april 5, 2017 · San Diego CityBeat · 23

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april 5, 2017 · San Diego CityBeat · 25

MUSIC

NOTES FROM THE SMOKING PATIO LOCALS ONLY

P

erry Vasquez has announced a new concept album inspired by Dante Aligheri’s 14th century epic poem, Inferno. It’s titled The Gates of Heck, and it’s being released on Good Friday, April 14. The Gates of Heck has been an ongoing nine-year project that began as a visual art statement, involving collage, painting and an eventual live performance of his conceptual work.

Now it’s been turned into a studio album that translates those ideas into song.

“I envisioned a group of songs that would sort of play off of the structure Dante’s Inferno,” Vasquez says in a phone interview.

“He introduces these characters and tells their stories as he goes through the various circles of hell. They’re each guilty of various sins: lust, anger, treachery. I wanted to write a group of songs that echo the voices you hear in his poem.”

The Gates of Heck, musically, started out with a fairly straightforward approach before Vasquez ended up enlisting The Album Leaf’s Matt Resovich as an engineer and guitarist and John Meeks as drummer. As a result, the project ended up becoming more musically ambitious to match the bigger themes behind it, with a variety of different styles ranging from simpler singer/songwriter material to bigger rock sounds and abstract spoken-word pieces that Vasquez compares to early Patti Smith.

“I was just going to do some very basic guitar and vocals,” he says. “But I started working with Matt Resovich, and he showed me how to use the studio as an instrument.

So there’s more of a rich palette of sounds than I was originally planning on. It’s much more ambitious than I thought it would

26 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · APRIL 5, 2017

be. I wanted to avoid any heavy metal cliches though, so I had to stay within my own means of how I could make the album.”

Vasquez says he’s been fascinated by Inferno and Auguste Rodin’s Dante-inspired sculpture “The Gates of Hell” since he was in college. Yet the project began much later on for Vasquez when he became motivated to create a sort of abstract protest work in opposition to the policies of the previous Republican presidential administration—a work that he now says applies to the current administration as well.

Perry Vasquez “When I first started the project it was in 2008, right at the end of the Bush administration,” he says. “ I was angry about Bush’s foreign policy, so I was kind of responding to the immediate situation. Now that we’re in the Trump administration, these themes are more relevant than ever. Dante’s themes of justice and moral accountability are apt, so I’m glad that this is coming out now. This is my commentary on the situation as it stands.

“All of the people that Dante describes in Inferno have been unjust,” he continues.

“That’s why they’re in hell. He was issuing a warning.”

—Jeff Terich

@SDCITYBEAT

MUSIC

JEFF TERICH

IF I WERE U A music insider’s weekly agenda WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5

PLAN A: Small Culture, Headphone, The Heart Beat Trail @ The Casbah. Start your weekly live itinerary with a local band!

Small Culture makes upbeat, emotional synth-driven indie pop in the vein of The Postal Service (as recently reviewed in our Great Demo Review). Dance and feel some feelings.

THURSDAY, APRIL 6

PLAN A: Acid Mothers Temple, Babylon @ Soda Bar. Acid Mothers Temple make regular trips to our fair city from their native Japan, and they’re always worth checking out simply for the far-out psychedelic weirdness they conjure up. It’s cosmic, hallucinatory stuff that’ll take you somewhere unfamiliar and strange. PLAN B: Tele Novella, Taken

by Canadians, Summer Knowledge, Ezekiel @ Blonde. Austin, Texas’ Tele Novella has a charmingly vintage rock sound that involves soulful vocals, spooky organs and a sense of atmosphere that most indie rock

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bands could learn something from. It’s simultaneously catchy and haunting.

FRIDAY, APRIL 7

PLAN A: The Damned, Bleached, Leaving Austin @ House of Blues. The Damned released their debut album, Damned Damned Damned, 40 years ago, which was just reissued for the notable anniversary. But after all this time, they’re still punk as fuck, and with a catalog of songs that ranks among the best in punk’s history. PLAN B: Teenage Bottlerocket, The Mr. T Experience, Nobodys @ Soda Bar. There’s pop-punk, and then there’s pop-punk. Teenage Bottlerocket and The Mr. T Experience are the kind of pop-punk that I can get behind, with great vocal harmonies, super catchy choruses and still plenty of attitude. BACKUP PLAN: Desert Suns, Chiefs, Dead Canyon @ Til-Two Club.

SATURDAY, APRIL 8

PLAN A: Age of Collapse, Polish, Crime

Desire @ Whistle Stop. Local crust-punk bruisers Age of Collapse are holding a record release party that’s sure to be full of hardcore mayhem.

Also make sure to get there a little early for Polish, whose Pixies-like indie rock kicks comparable ass. PLAN B: Ian Sweet, Post Life, Media Jeweler @ Che Cafe. I just discovered Ian Sweet, but I’m already a fan. Their tuneful, noisy pop music is a bit like Deerhoof meets Slowdive, which is to say it’s very pretty and layered in effects, but they’re unafraid of getting a little weird. BACKUP PLAN: Svetlanas, Authentic Sellout, Bossfight, The MandoShanks @ Soda Bar.

super cathartic in these times of rightwing chicanery. Get in the pit! PLAN AA: Mount Eerie @ The Irenic.

OK, so I’m a little torn here, and decided to make a second Plan A because Mount Eerie’s new album is beautiful and devastating and definitely a must-hear. Read my feature this week on the story behind it. PLAN B: Kristin Kontrol, Hexa @ The Hideout. Last year, forThe Damned mer local Kristin (Dee Dee) of Dum Dum Girls launched a new phase of her career with an album of upbeat synth-pop under the name Kristin Kontrol. It’s fun and danceable, and this show’s sure to be a party.

SUNDAY, APRIL 9

TUESDAY, APRIL 11

PLAN A: POW!, HTTP, Subtropics @ Soda Bar. POW! released their new album Crack an Egg last month and it’s a danceable, sleazy, noisy slice of garagey new wave. It’s kind of somewhere between Gary Numan and Thee Oh Sees, which is the kind of weird, fun combination I can get behind.

MONDAY, APRIL 10

PLAN A: Power Trip, Destruction Unit, Mizery @ The Casbah. Power Trip’s Nightmare Logic is, to date, my favorite album of 2017. It’s easily the best hybrid of hardcore and thrash metal you’ll hear all year and

PLAN A: Gary Wilson and the Blind Dates, Crooked Rulers, My Revenge @ The Casbah. I’ve always appreciated the fact that Gary Wilson is a dude who basically makes pop music (love songs even!), but presents it in the most twisted way possible, from outlandish costumes to excessive use of duct tape. He’s a local treasure. PLAN B: Subhumans, The Love Songs, Raukous, Crime Desire @ Observatory North Park. If fucked-up love songs aren’t your thing, catch an evening of raucous anarcho-punk with UK legends Subhumans. Their patches are sewn onto thousands of denim vests for a reason.

APRIL 5, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 27

MUSIC

CONCERTS HOT! NEW! FRESH!

The Drabs (BUT, 5/3), Joe Goddard (Casbah, 5/15), Woods (Casbah, 5/19), Foster the People (Observatory, 5/26), Taake (Brick by Brick, 5/26), The Adicts (Observatory, 5/27), Mount Kimbie (Music Box, 5/31), Elvis Costello and the Imposters (Balboa Theatre, 6/5), Graves at Sea (Brick by Brick, 6/6), Kevin Devine (Soda Bar, 6/8), Guitar Wolf (Casbah, 6/16), (Sandy) Alex G, Japanese Breakfast (Irenic, 6/17), Iliza Shlesinger (Observatory, 6/29), Colin Hay (BUT, 7/20), Rooney (Irenic, 8/3), Betty Who (Observatory, 8/11), Hans Zimmer (Viejas Arena, 8/12), Fleet Foxes (Observatory, 9/21), Jason Aldean (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 10/7), Brian Regan (Balboa Theatre, 11/17).

GET YER TICKETS Lupe Fiasco (Observatory, 4/13), Local Natives (Observatory, 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), Cold Cave (SPACE, 4/21-22), David Crosby (Humphreys, 4/23), Chance the Rapper (Valley View Casino Center, 4/24), The 1975 (Open Air Theatre, 4/25), Kings of Leon (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 4/28), Face to Face (Casbah, 5/6), 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), Pallbearer (Casbah, 5/16), Chris Stapleton (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 5/18), DIIV (Casbah, 5/18), Thundercat (Observatory, 5/19), Rodriguez (Humphreys, 5/23), Melissa Etheridge (Humphreys, 5/24), Modest Mouse (Open Air Theatre, 5/30), Little Hurricane (BUT, 6/2), Dana Carvey (Humphreys, 6/2), In-Ko-Pah 4 w/ Mattson 2, Zig Zags, Mrs. Magician, Birdy Bardot (Desert View Tower, 6/3), Justin Townes Earle (Music Box, 6/4), Sheryl Crow (Humphreys, 6/6), Brian Setzer’s Rockabilly Riot (Humphreys, 6/7), Valerie June (BUT, 6/8), The Anniversary (Irenic, 6/10), Toby Keith (Del Mar Fairgrounds, 6/10), ‘91X X-Fest’ w/ Phoenix, Empire of the Sun (Qualcomm Stadium, 6/11), TajMo (Humphreys, 6/11), Ziggy Marley (Humphreys, 6/12), Def Leppard (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 6/16), King Crimson (Humphreys, 6/19), The Revolution (HOB, 6/22), Maxwell (Valley View Casino Center, 6/23), Supersuckers (Casbah, 6/24), Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (Civic Theatre, 6/26), Cat Power (Observatory, 7/1), Deftones, Rise Against (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 7/7), The Temptations, Four Tops (Humphreys, 7/13), Natalie Merchant (Copley Symphony Hall, 7/18), Hall & Oates, Tears for Fears (Valley View Casino Center, 7/19), Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 (BUT, 7/21), Taking Back Sunday (Observatory, 7/28), Maxi Priest (BUT, 7/30), Huey Lewis and the News (Humphreys, 8/1), Metallica (Petco Park, 8/6), Diana Krall (Humphreys, 8/8), Rag’n’Bone Man (Observatory, 8/9), Incubus, Jimmy Eat World (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 8/11), 311 (Open Air Theatre, 8/20), Bryan Ferry (Humphreys, 8/23), Sylvan Esso (Observatory, 8/26), Pink Martini (Humphreys, 8/26), The Gipsy Kings (Humphreys, 8/27),George Benson, Kenny G (Humphreys, 9/10), Goo Goo Dolls (Open Air Theatre, 9/12), Green Day (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 9/13), Indigo Girls (Humphreys, 9/13), Steve Winwood (Humphreys, 9/14), The Beach Boys (Humphreys, 9/23), Sublime With Rome, The Offspring (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre,

28 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · APRIL 5, 2017

9/26), Alison Moyet (Music Box, 9/26), Depeche Mode (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 10/6), Coldplay (Qualcomm Stadium, 10/8), Carla Morrison (Humphreys, 10/22), Luke Bryan (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 10/27), Mogwai (Observatory, 11/20).

APRIL WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5 Mac Sabbath, Metalachi at Brick by Brick.

William Singe at Observatory North Park.

The Slants at Soda Bar. Arlo Guthrie at Belly Up Tavern (sold out). Small Culture at The Casbah.

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. Yonder Mountain String Band at Belly Up Tavern.

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 Observatory North Park. Teenage Bottlerocket, The Mr. T Experience at Soda Bar. The Wind and The Wave at The Casbah.

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. Dreams Made Flesh at The Casbah. Don Carlos at Belly Up Tavern.

SUNDAY, APRIL 9 Desiigner at Observatory North Park. Aaron Neville Duo at Belly Up Tavern (sold out). The Head and the Heart at SOMA. Good Graeff at The Casbah.

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. Gary Wilson at The Casbah.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12 Broods at Music Box. Father John Misty at Humphreys by the Bay (sold out). Susto at Soda Bar. Grace Mitchell at The Casbah.

THURSDAY, APRIL 13 Suicide Girls Blackheart Burlesque at Music Box. 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.

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. HONNE at Belly Up Tavern. Shaed at Soda Bar. Good Riddance at Brick by Brick.

rCLUBSr

710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave., Pacific Beach. Fri: Mimi Zulu, The Brothers Burns, DJ Black Belt Jonez. Tue: Rosetta Stone.

Air Conditioned Lounge, 4673 30th St.,

Normal Heights. Wed: ‘Breezy Bliss’ w/ DJs N8-Track, Josh Taylor, Jus Sven. Thu: ‘Libertine’ w/ DJs Jon Wesley, 1979. Sat: ‘Juicy’ w/ Mike Czech. Sun: ‘Chvrch’ w/ DJs Karma, Alice.

American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., Downtown. Thu: Brian Simpson.

Fri: David Koechner. Sat: David Koechner.

Sun: David Koechner.

The Bancroft, 9143 Campo Road, Spring Valley. Thu: Hemingway Hero, Sorry No Sympathy, Busted Coffins, Lady Violet. Fri: The Fever. Sat: Vandella, Jeremy Lyon.

Bar Pink, 3829 30th St., North Park. Wed: DJ Grandmasta Rats. Thu: DJ Chris Freeman. Fri: ‘First Friday’ w/ DJ Artistic. Sat: The Milkcrates DJs. Bang Bang, 526 Market St., Downtown.

Fri: Cyril Hahn. Sat: Goldfish.

Beaumont’s, 5665 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla. Thu: Sam Bybee. Fri: Scratch. Sat: The Voices.

Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. Wed: Arlo Guthrie (sold out).

Thu: Yonder Mountain String Band, The Lil Smokies. Fri: HIRIE, The Late Ones. Sat: Don Carlos, Lakina King, Ginger Roots and the Protectors. Sun: Aaron Neville Duo (sold out). Tue: Katchafire, Inna Vision.

Black Cat Bar, 4246 University Ave., City Heights. Thu: Rude Dog DJs. Fri: Bosswitch, Doc Hammer, Joan and the Rivers.

Sat: ‘Black Cat Wax’ w/ Black Cat DJs. Blonde, 1808 W. Washington St., Mission Hills. Wed: ‘Dance Klassique’ w/ Kalil.

Thu: Tele Novella, Taken By Canadians, Summer Knowledge, Ezekiel. Tue: ‘Ultimate ‘80s/TRON Dance Party’.

Brick 15, 915 Camino del Mar, Del Mar. Thu: Webb Wilder. Fri: Danielle Miraglia.

Sat: Plainsong.

Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave., Bay Park. Wed: Mac Sabbath, Metalachi, Great Electric Quest.

The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd., Midtown. Wed: Small Culture, Headphone, The Heart Beat Trail. Thu: River Whyless, Y La Bamba. Fri: The Wind and the Wave, Allison Pierce, Haley Johnsen. Sat: Dreams Made Flesh, Blood Ponies, Trip Advisor, L1ght Ra1l. Sun: Good Graeff, Veronica May and the To-Do List. Mon: Power Trip, Destruction Unit, Mizery. Tue: Gary Wilson and the Blind Dates, Crooked Rulers, My Revenge.

The Che Cafe, UCSD campus, La Jolla.

Sat: Ian Sweet, Post Life, Media Jeweler.

Dirk’s Nightclub, 7662 Broadway, Lemon Grove. Fri: FX5. Sat: Harley and the Pirates.

Dizzy’s, 4275 Mission Bay Drive, Downtown. Fri: Christopher Hollyday Quintet.

Sat: Joe Garrison and Night People.

The Field Irish Pub, 544 Fifth Ave., Downtown. Wed: Fiore. Thu: Nate Hancock and the Declaration. Fri: Clint Westwood. Sun: Gary Flick. Mon: Stacy Antonel. Tue: Andy Mauser.

F6ix, 526 F St., Downtown. Fri: DJ Rags.

Sat: DJ Peso.

Fluxx, 500 Fourth Ave., Downtown. Fri: Dre Sinatra. Sat: DJ Bad. The Hideout, 3519 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Wed: ‘80s Night’ w/ Latin Lovers.

Thu: Nature Kid listening party. Fri: Homeshake, Spooky Cigarette, Los Shadows.

Sun: Casey Chisholm, Stella Perish. Mon: Kristin Kontrol, Hexa. Tue: The Holding Company, 5046 Newport Ave., Ocean Beach. Wed: Bleeskiez, LIVN. Thu: DJ Green T. Fri: Slower, DJ Green T. Sat: Nirvana Mania, DJ OREN. Sun: Everything Turned To Color, Alex Culbreath, Lion Heights. Tue: So*Cal Vibes, Ben Palmer.

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MUSIC KRYSTALÁN

House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., Downtown. Wed: Red, Gate. Thu: Jeezy, Lil Durk, Yfn Lucci. Fri: The Damned, Bleached. Sat: The Maine, The Mowgli’s, Beach Weather.

Sun: Yuridia. Tue: 21 Savage.

Humphreys Backstage, 2241 Shelter Island Drive, Shelter Island. Wed: Tradewinds. Thu: Kimberly Jackson. Fri: Rising Star, The Reflections. Sat: Liquid Blue, Backwater Blues Band. Sun: Mercedes Moore, Cerissa McQueen. Mon: Cadillac Wreckers.

The Irenic, 3090 Polk Ave., North Park.

Fri: Dave Asprey. Mon: Mount Eerie.

Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd., Midtown. Thu: Stoner Jordan. Fri: ‘Reflections’. Sat: ‘Stabilize’. Tue: ‘Symphonic Frequencies’.

Lestat’s Coffee House, 3343 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Fri: Coven HOVen, Judy Mulgrew. Sat: Andrew Barrack, Catie + Kevin. Sun: Brian Dolman, Jasmine Bailey, Malachi.

Loft @ UCSD, Price Center East, La Jolla.

Fri: Michl. Mon: Gavin Turek, Trishes.

SPOTLIGHT

I saw Yanni perform last year, and it was (said in sing-songy voice) uh-maz-ing! Sure, the world-famous New Age maestro is a reliable punchline for hipper-than-thou music nerds, but watching that little, smiling man bounce around on stage and command an orchestra like a sex slave was a delight. His show Thursday, April 6 at Balboa Theater is advertised as “In conversation with Yanni,” so concertgoers should expect something a little more intimate and sensual. But don’t worry—he’s still going to run his fingers up those sexy little piano keys.

—Ryan Bradford

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Mc P’s Irish Pub, 1107 Orange Ave., Coronado. Wed: Goodall Boys. Thu: North Star. Fri: Mystique. Sat: Ron’s Garage.

Sun: Ron’s Garage. Tue: Glen Smith.

The Merrow, 1271 University Ave., Hillcrest. Wed: Mindray, Emby Alexander, The Satellite Sons. Thu: ‘All That’. Fri: Chugboat, No Kings, The Mochilero Allstars.

Sat: No Small Children, Hard Fall Hearts, The Last Minutes. Sun: ‘Back Alley’. Tue: Oak Palace, Auburntown, Kid Wilderness.

Music Box, 1337 India St., Little Italy. Fri: Andre Nickatina, iLL Nicky, Main Flow, Young Gizmo, Full Strength Funk Band.

Sat: Rebel Souljaz, Eli Mac, Marujah.

Sun: Young Guns. Mon: Of Montreal,

Christina Schneider’s Jepeto Solutions.

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

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

Sat: ‘Strictly Business’ w/ DJs Kanye Asada, Gabe Vega. Sun: ‘Uptown Top Ranking’.

OMNIA Nightclub, 454 Sixth Ave., Downtown. Thu: Crankdat. Fri: Above & Beyond. Sat: Politik.

Panama 66, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park.

Wed: Gilbert Castellanos jazz jam. Fri: Chris Murray Combo. Sun: Trio Gadjo.

Parq, 615 Broadway, Downtown. Fri: Crespo. Sat: IKON. Sun: Trey Songz.

Rich’s, 1051 University Ave., Hillcrest.

Wed: DJ John Joseph. Thu: DJ Kiki. Fri: DJ Dida. Sat: DJs Taj, K-Swift, Moody Rudy. Sun: DJs Hektik, Kitty Glitter.

Riviera Supper Club, 7777 University Ave., La Mesa. Wed: ‘Boss Jazz’ w/ Jason Hanna. Thu: Swing Thing. Fri: Flipside Burners. Sat: Blue Largo.

Rosie O’gradys, 3402 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Fri: Puente! Sat: Clint Westwood.

Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Wed: The Slants, Bang Pow, Plane Without a Pilot. Thu: Acid Mothers Temple, Babylon. Fri: Teenage Bottlerocket, The Mr. T Experience, Nobodys. Sat: Svetlanas, Authentic Sellout, Bossfight, Mandoshanks. Sun: POW!, HTTP, Subtropics. Mon: Larry and His Flask, Flatfoot 56, Hard Fall Hearts. Tue: Mayflower Madame.

SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd., Midway. Fri: Rosedale, Alive & Well, Color Til Monday, Little Heroine, Cardboard Boxer, Stick Bitz. Sun: The Head and the Heart, Dreamers.

Spin, 2028 Hancock St., Midtown. Fri: Trap Beckham. Sat: Noah Neiman. Sun: Monolink. Mon: ‘Baile do Victinho’.

Til-Two Club, 4746 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Fri: Desert Suns, Chiefs, Dead Canyon, The Hand of Gavrilo. Sat: The Scutches, Batlords, Wasteaways, Punchcard. Sun: Pants Karaoke.

Tin Roof, 401 G St., Downtown. Wed: Shane Hall Trio. Thu: Freeze Frame. Fri: Dianna Ferrer Band, Kenny and Deez.

Sat: Cassie B Project. Sun: Allegra Duchaine. Tue: Lauren Leigh and Sam. Tio Leo’s, 5302 Napa St., Bay Park. Thu: Blue Largo. Fri: Graceland with Marlon von Ratibor. Sun: Mike Eldred Trio. Tue: Sue Palmer.

Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave., City Heights. Fri: ‘Hip Hop Vs. Punk Rock’ w/ Malleable Mary, Remain in Vain, Mr. Vacation and the Torta Sharks, Emphasize and Kaus. Sat: Christ Killer, Cochinas Locas, Dead Clintons.

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

Wed: ‘Midweek Retreat’. Thu: ‘Thursdaze’. Fri: DJ XP. Sat: DJ Freeman. Sun: Melapelus. Tue: The Smiths vs. The Cure.

Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St., South Park.

Wed: ‘Soul Time’ w/ DJs Cochemea Gastelum, Claire. Thu: ‘Kiss and Make Up’ w/ DJs Jon Blaj, Kyle Badour. Fri: ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ w/ DJ Lazer Lizeth. Sat: ‘Booty Bassment’ w/ DJs Dimitri, Rob. Sun: Age of Collapse, Crime Desire, Polish.

Winstons, 1921 Bacon St., Ocean Beach.

Wed: NoNeed, DJ Carlos Culture. Thu: ‘OB Hip-Hop Social’ w/ Space Bus, Nick Gray, Ganjh. Fri: Revival, Abide, DJ Carlos Culture. Sat: The Werks, Brothers Gow. Mon: Electric Waste Band. Tue: Scott Pemberton Band.

APRIL 5, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 29

LAST WORDS | ADVICE

AMY ALKON

ADVICE

GODDESS Rebooty And The Beast I’m a woman in my 30s. I was married for five years, but now, thank God, I’m divorced and about two years into a wonderful new relationship. Disturbingly, I occasionally call my boyfriend by my awful ex-husband’s name. He laughs it off, but it really freaks me out. Should I see a neurologist? Is my memory going? Or—gulp—do I miss my ex on some subconscious level?

—Disturbed

Right about now, you’ve got to be recognizing the unexpected benefits of those gas station attendant shirts with the guy’s name sewn onto them.

As with dead bodies carelessly submerged after mob hits, it’s unsettling to have your ex’s name bobbing up when you love somebody new. Naturally, you suspect the worst—that you’re subconsciously pining for the ex. But—good news!—the likely reason for your name swapperoos is something you should find comfortingly boring.

30 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · APRIL 5, 2017

According to research by cognitive scientists Samantha Deffler and David C. Rubin, we’re prone to grab the wrong name out of memory when both names are in the same category—for example, men you’ve been seriously involved with or, in the pet domain, gerbils you’ve dressed in tiny sexy outfits.

You might also keep in mind that your ex’s name was the default for “man in my life” for more than twice as long as the new guy’s. Other memory research suggests that especially when you’re tired, stressed, or multitasky, it’s easy to go a little, uh, cognitively imprecise. You send your mindslave off into your brain—back to the “My Guy” category—and the lazy little peasant just grabs the name he spent five years grabbing.

So, you might think of this as a mental workforce issue. The Department of Emotions isn’t even involved.

However, research by cognitive psychologist Robert Bjork suggests that you can train your memory to do better through “spaced retrieval”—correcting yourself just post-flub by

asking and answering “Who is the man in my life?” and then letting a few minutes pass and doing it again. But considering that you have a partner who just laughs at your errors, your time would probably be better spent appreciating what you have: an easygoing sweetheart of a guy and no readily apparent need for a neurologist. Bottom line: Your calling the guy by the wrong name probably points to a need for a nap, not unwanted company— as in, a tumor named Fred squatting in the crawlspace behind your frontal lobe.

Insecurity Blanket I’m extremely insecure about my looks, though objectively, I know I’m pretty. I constantly ask my boyfriend for reassurance. He gives it to me but feels bad that I feel this way. Now I’m worrying that I’m making such a good case for what’s wrong with me that he’ll start believing me. Possible?

—Bag Over Head

One oft-overlooked beauty secret is to avoid constantly giving a guy the idea that you might actually be ugly.

People will sneer that it’s “shallow” to care about how you look, and they’re probably right—if it’s all you care about. However, research confirms what most of us recognize about the especially eye-pleasing among us: They get all sorts of benefits—everything from social perks to job opportunities to discounts when they act like dirtbags (with

judges assigning them lesser fines and a lower rate of bail for misdemeanors).

As a woman, being babe-alicious is a pretty vital tool for landing and maintaining a relationship, because the features that men— across cultures—evolved to consider beautiful are actually health and fertility indicators.

So, for example, full lips and an hourglass bod are basically evolution’s bumper sticker: “Your genes passed on here!”

Not surprisingly, psychologist Tracy Vaillaincourt, who researches competition among women, explains that women attack other women “principally on appearance and sexual fidelity” because men prioritize these qualities in their partners. One way women chip away at rivals is by trash-talking another woman’s looks to a man—suggesting he really could do better. That’s what you’re doing—but to yourself. It’s the relationship version of “Ewww, you’re not really gonna eat that, are you?” (And you’re the fricasseed crickets.)

Beyond that, constantly begging a romantic partner for reassurance—while being kind of a black hole for it—can be toxic to a relationship. Also, the fact that your need for reassurance seems bottomless suggests it’s not your exterior but your interior that’s in need of work. Get cracking on that, and try to remember that your boyfriend is with you for a reason—and it probably isn’t that your mom and grandma are crouched behind your sofa, holding him at gunpoint. (c)2017, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved.

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april 5, 2017 · San Diego CityBeat · 31