San Diego CityBeat • Apr 17, 2013

Addiction P.6 Donnybrook P.27 Malick P.30 Bananas P.32

2 · San Diego CityBeat · April 17, 2013

April 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 3

Filner’s budget cuts are defensible Yeesh. We could hear them immediately: San Diego City Councilmembers Lorie Zapf and Scott Sherman, incredulous and indignant over Mayor Bob Filner using the budget process to shamelessly wage a partisan, vengeful war against City Attorney Jan Goldsmith.

On Monday, Filner unveiled his proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins on July 1, and it includes a cut of $1.4 million to the City Attorney’s office amid the mayor’s plan to solve a $38.4-million deficit. Howls of protest came immediately from the pro-business Lincoln Club of San Diego County, whose president, T.J. Zane, charged that Filner’s proposal “appears to be nothing more than political retribution.”

Coincidentally, the Lincoln Club was a big-time backer of Prop. B, the pensionoverhaul initiative that voters approved last June. Prop. B resulted in costs of roughly $21 million for the next fiscal year, which accounts for 55 percent of the problem that Filner was tasked with solving. So, frankly, we’re not the slightest bit interested in anything the Lincoln Club has to say about Filner’s ideas.

Now, do we think it’s possible that Filner was wearing his signature ear-to-ear grin while he was approving the proposal to cut Goldsmith’s budget. Yeah.

We think that’s very possible.

Filner’s clearly no fan of the city attorney, and his brand of politics can be hardball. But the cuts are also easily defensible.

Filner’s budget people tell us that since 2009, other City Hall departments have reduced positions by 6.5 percent—a total of 675 fulltime positions. During that same time, the City Attorney’s office has added between seven and eight fulltimeequivalent positions, an increase of nearly 3 percent. If Goldsmith were forced to cut 6.5 percent of his positions, that would be 22 jobs. The $1.4 million that Filner’s proposing to cut from the office equals 13 positions—a 3.7-percent reduction. In terms of overall budget, it would represent a relatively small 3-percent trim—half the size of the compensation cut that city workers took to help the city deal with the Great Recession. If the City Council were to agree to the cut, Goldsmith would still be ahead of

the game compared with other departments.

Filner is already being put on the defensive for suggesting the cut, but we’d argue that the City Council should be required to make the case as to why the City Attorney’s office, which has a recent record in court that’s less than stellar, should have been adding positions when everyone else has had to make cuts. We’re particularly interested in what Councilmember Kevin Faulconer, whose rhetoric is all about fiscal conservatism, and the other council Republicans have to say about increased legal spending in the face of questionable performance.

Where’s the accountability that conservatives are always talking about?

Goldsmith’s defenders shouldn’t fret, though: There’s no way the City Council’s going to go along david rolland with Filner’s idea—Council President Todd Gloria has already hinted as much. If the council restores that $1.4 million, we fear that it might see another line item as an easy offsetting cut: the $1.3 million Filner has proposed to make the emergency winter homeless shelter a year-round facility.

The city of San Diego years ago signed on to the Plan to End Chronic Homelessness (PTECH), which is based on the idea that long-term homeless people are better equipped Bob Filner to tackle their problems if their housing situation is more stable. The shelter tent is a far cry from ideal housing, but it’s a hell of a lot better than the street; the tent is staffed by people who give a damn. San Diego has been increasing its stock of the kind of permanent supportive housing that’s called for in the PTECH, but demand far outweighs the supply. The shelter keeps homeless people safe not only from the elements but also from dangerous characters on the street, and it’s that sort of peace of mind that helps stabilize vulnerable folks and, hopefully, puts them on a path toward recovery.

So, City Council, if you want to maintain the City Attorney’s bloated budget, fine. But you have to find the money somewhere, and you’d better not find it in the homeless shelter.

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

This issue of CityBeat contains a code that reveals the secret location of a ham sandwich.

Volume 11 • Issue 37 Editor David Rolland Associate Editor Kelly Davis Music Editor Peter Holslin Staff Writers David Taube, Alex Zaragoza Events Editor Shea Kopp Film Editor Anders Wright Web Editor Ryan Bradford Art director Adam Vieyra

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4 · San Diego CityBeat · April 17, 2013

Dyer propaganda

District 4’s watershed

I read Joel Dyer’s ruminations and selective interpretation of disenfranchised Americans about to terrorize the homeland [“News,” March 20].

Cleverly weaving dissociative events, statements, belief systems by individuals and fringe groups, he has painted a highly inflammatory and inaccurate picture of present historical events. I would even daresay it’s a propaganda piece written to fan the flames of division and hatred of various Americans in an attempt to glorify federal-government policies and practices.

Mr. Dyer would gladly classify anyone who objects to official government narrative as mentally unstable and potentially violent. That link is not played out in the truth of history the past 20 years. Did the militia kill thousands of Iraqis, Afghanis, Libyans, etc.? Does the militia have space weapons, million-man armies, drones, spy satellites, etc.? Please, the only fear is fear of a powerful state. This is the historically accurate truth of violence: 99 percent is state-sponsored terrorism, 1 percent is rogue terrorist (90 percent are directed by FBI informants).

P.S. Has Mr. Dyer ever accepted money from government organizations or individuals?

John H. Eisenhart, North Park

Regarding the District 4 San Diego City Council special election [“Editorial,” March 20]: The Chollas watershed runs through much of District 4 and is a sensitive natural region that has taken recent interest for some of the locals, organizations and even Tony Young. He made an appearance at two recent cleanup efforts hosted by Groundwork San Diego (groundworksandiego.org) that I participated in, and he expressed his appreciation for the hard work being put into its restoration.

Mr. Young also expressed some lofty aspirations to ultimately remove much of the concrete drainage system that has replaced the natural habitat. Point being, the watershed is something that has etched a special place in my heart and is an area of desperate need and ongoing dedicated TLC. Have any of the council hopefuls expressed that he or she is District 4’s environmental candidate?

Michael Gharet, Encanto Editor’s note: Candidate Dwayne Crenshaw has garnered endorsements from two key local environmental groups: the Environmental Health & Justice Campaign and the League of Conservation Voters—San Diego.

April 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 5

Courtesy: Shaunda Brummette

Part three of a series: 60 Dead Inmates

Daniel Sisson died less than two days after being booked into county jail in 2011.

Fatal addiction

A look at the perils of withdrawing from drugs and alcohol in jail

by Kelly Davis

T

he last time Shaunda Brummette saw her son, Daniel Sisson, it was in a Vista courtroom late in the afternoon of June 23, 2011. Sisson, a sandy-haired 21year-old who’d grown up surfing North County beaches, was there to answer to a drug-possession charge; Brummette went with him to the hearing.

Sisson had been arrested the week before and posted bail, so he and his mom assumed the court appearance would be routine— he’d plead not guilty and wait for his next hearing.

But that’s not what happened.

Because Sisson was on probation from an earlier conviction— also for drug possession—he was taken into custody. As deputies handcuffed him, he turned to look at his mom.

“It’s the saddest look I’ve ever seen,” Brummette says.

Less than two days later, Sisson was dead. His stay in jail was so

on the other hand, is rarely lifethreatening, unless an addict has an underlying medical condition— like asthma.

“Somebody who has some other disease, where the stress of withdrawal could make that disease worse, definitely deserves closer monitoring,” says Marc Stern, a correctional-healthcare consultant and former health services director for the Washington State Department of Corrections. “So, if you know somebody has asthma, and they’re going to go through withdrawal, yes, you have an obligation to monitor them more closely.”

According to the medical examiner’s report, Sisson was last seen alive at 5 p.m. on June 25, roughly 48 hours after he’d been booked into the Vista jail. The report doesn’t say who saw him last.

When Sisson didn’t respond to lcohol withdrawal, experts an 8:10 p.m. welfare check, the resay, can be deadly; cold-tur- port says, deputies entered his cell. key withdrawal from opiates, By that point, rigor mortis had set

short that his autopsy report noted that the ink from his booking fingerprints was still on his fingers. The medical examiner listed the cause of death as asphyxiation from an acute asthma attack, with heroin withdrawal as a contributing factor. A small amount of methamphetamine was also found in his system.

Since March 27, CityBeat’s been taking a closer look at the 60 deaths that occurred in San Diego County jails between 2007 and 2012. Over that period, the county had the highest mortality rate of California’s 10 largest jail systems.

Sisson’s was one of 11 deaths in San Diego County jails in 2011. That year, only Los Angeles County recorded more deaths—19 total— and L.A.’s jail system is triple the size of San Diego’s.

A

6 · San Diego CityBeat · April 17, 2013

in, indicating that he’d been dead for at least three hours. A medical examiner investigator found a letter in the cell written by Sisson’s cellmate, addressed “to America,” describing Sisson’s withdrawal symptoms. The report doesn’t go into further detail on the letter; neither does it say whether the cellmate was still in the cell when deputies found Sisson.

Last year, Brummette and her husband, Greg Sisson, filed a lawsuit against the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. In it, they argue that the jail failed to abide by the California Code of Regulations for correctional facilities, which requires that “health and safety checks” involving “direct visual observation” of each inmate be performed at least hourly.

“They know he has addiction issues, they know he’s detoxed in the past, they know he has asthma and they just throw him in a cell,” says attorney Chris Morris, who’s representing Sisson’s parents.

Lack of close monitoring is a thread that runs through the jail system’s addiction-related deaths.

Ronald Scimeca, a 61-year-old homeless chronic alcoholic who’d been arrested for being drunk in public, was booked into the San Diego Central Jail at 10:25 p.m. on May 26, 2009, and suffered a seizure shortly after. He was placed in the jail’s medical-observation unit, where, a medical examiner’s report says, inmates are to be checked every 20 minutes.

But, according to the report, fourand-a-half hours passed between when Scimeca was last seen alive and when he was found facedown in his bunk. According to the medical examiner’s report, “obvious rigor mortis” had already set in. Across from Scimeca’s cell, the report notes, was a nurse’s station “that is not manned with personnel all the time.”

Ray Mullins, a chronic alcoholic, was vomiting bile in the hours before he died on May 3, 2009. At 3 p.m. that day, he was seen lying facedown on his bed, his arm dangling over the edge, but it was 45 minutes before anyone checked on him. Inmates told a medical-examiner investigator that they’d tried to alert deputies to Mullins’ condition but were ignored.

Calvin Cole’s first cellmate complained about the 41-year-old schizophrenic addict’s excessive vomiting, as did a second cellmate.

Though Cole had been placed in the jail’s medical unit, it was two other inmates who found him unresponsive—after he’d missed breakfast—and attempted CPR. Marion Lopez, a heroin addict, died the day she was booked into jail. She laid down in her bunk at 7 p.m., but it wasn’t until 11:59 p.m. that a deputy wondered why her cell door was ajar and found her dead.

While Richard Diaz’s autopsy report notes that a deputy was checking on him regularly, the 40year-old alcoholic and heroin addict with hepatitis C was repeatedly placed in a top bunk despite suffering from tremors and multiple seizures. He fell out of the bunk twice and was vomiting for three days before succumbing to a stomach obstruction.

B

rummette doesn’t know how long her son had been addicted to heroin. As a teen, he was anti-drug, she says. But a friend’s death when Sisson was 16—from a heroin overdose—threw him into a funk and pushed him toward drugs rather than away from them.

He was first arrested for drug possession in January 2010. His final stint in jail was his seventh in less than a year and a half.

Sisson tried to get help, Brummette says. He enrolled in an outpatient program created under Prop. 36, the state law that gives nonviolent drug offenders the option of treatment instead of jail, but it didn’t seem to click. Not long before his death, he told his mom he was having a hard time staying clean. She called around to treatment facilities, looking for something she could afford. She finally got him seen by a doctor who prescribed Suboxone, an opiate-replacement medication that eases withdrawal and diminishes cravings without a high.

In February, Sisson was jailed in Vista on a probation violation.

Brummette tried to bring him his Suboxone.

“I went out there to let them know that he was asthmatic and he was on Suboxone,” she says. “I brought the doctor’s note. I brought

the medication bottle. They looked at me and said, ‘You know what, we’ll handle it our way.’”

Even though medicationassisted withdrawal from opiate addiction—via drugs like methadone or Suboxone—is considered to be the standard of care by the American Psychiatric Association, the American Society of Addiction Medicine, the National Commission on Correctional Healthcare and the Bureau of Prisons, it’s rarely used in U.S. jails. Less than 10 percent are licensed to provide it. This means that inmates who aren’t currently on opiate-replacement therapy when they’re incarcerated can’t start a program while in jail. Only pregnant inmates can start on methadone because withdrawal could threaten the life of the fetus.

In San Diego, inmates who are enrolled in a methadone program prior to being incarcerated have to arrange with their clinic to have their daily dosage brought to the jail. The same policy applies to other opiate-replacement drugs like Suboxone. But while methadone must be administered in a clinic setting, Suboxone can be prescribed by private-practice doctors, who might not have the

ual use of heroin (despite having been placed in a drug treatment program), he underwent withdrawal,” says a July 25, 2012, motion filed by the county, seeking to dismiss the lawsuit.

“No one in the jail put him in this position; rather, it was a course of action he alone initiated,” it goes on to say.

According to the medical examiner’s report, Sisson initially didn’t tell the intake nurse that he was an addict because he didn’t want to be prescribed Vistaril, a sedative routinely given to inmates going through withdrawal.

However, 14 hours later, the report says, his withdrawal symptoms were severe enough that he sought help, admitting to jail staff that he used heroin daily.

The report describes his withdrawal symptoms as “moderate”— vomiting, diarrhea, tremors and he county’s response to the dilated pupils. He was prescribed Sisson lawsuit places blame Tylenol, the painkiller Naproxen on Sisson for not telling jail and an anti-nausea medication, medical staff during intake that he and he was given a small “rescue” was addicted to heroin—and for inhaler. The autopsy report notes being an addict in the first place. that the inhaler was found on Sis“Sisson lied about the state of son’s bed, though no traces of its his health when he discussed his active ingredient, Albuterol, were medical background with the intake nurse and due to his contin- Addiction CONTINUED ON PAGE 9 ability to deliver jail doses.

Bottom line: Jail access to opiate-replacement drugs can prove tricky, says Gretchen Burns Bergman, executive director for the addiction-recovery organization A New PATH. Addicts might not be in the best position to arrange for their own care and might not have anyone on the outside to do it for them. When Bergman’s son was arrested, she was the one who called the clinic to make sure his methadone was delivered to the jail—but first she had to settle some of his past-due bills.

“It’s very difficult for family members to get any clear understanding of what’s available,” she says. “The sad truth is that people arrested for drug charges are treated like criminals, rather than people with a chronic relapsing disorder.”

T

April 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 7

Bicycle or crime cycle Regional group exploring bike program to reduce recidivism

by David Taube Michael Herron, 31, who’s been busted in the past for peddling drugs, grins like a kid when he hears about a program that would give bikes to people who’ve been released from prison or jail.

Herron was one of roughly 125 people, mostly San Diego State University students, arrested in 2008 in a drug raid. He’s been on probation for about a year, with two years remaining, and he’s been trying to maintain a place in the workforce without a car.

That’s meant taking the bus or relying on others for rides.

For Herron, that’s sometimes meant leaving a bus stop because he thought the bus already arrived— when it was just late—or missing it because it arrived too early.

“If I rode my bike, I would probably beat the bus,” he said.

Like many others, though, he

8 · San Diego CityBeat · April 17, 2013

doesn’t own a bike.

Several ex-cons and people who help former prisoners reenter society tell CityBeat that not having reliable transportation makes it difficult to get to job interviews and workplaces.

Enter Steve Shia, who hatched the idea of providing bicycles to released prisoners as a way of helping reduce recidivism. Shia’s been refining the idea as a member of a housing and transportation committee of the San Diego Reentry Roundtable, a group focused on criminal-justice issues and composed of law-enforcement personnel and community members.

Shia, a retired corrections counselor and teacher, has been working on securing and refurbishing used bicycles. A group of former inmates who had temporary work at the Center for Employment Opportunities in San Diego were surveyed last year, and most of them liked the idea, Shia said. The Rock Church in Point Loma has so far facilitated a handful of donations of used bikes and spare parts like frames, rims and wheels.

Keiara Auzenne, county direc-

David Taube

Michael Herron talks to an officer in North Park. tor of the Center for Employment Opportunities, told CityBeat that the focus group indicated that the bikes would be better than dealing with late trolleys and buses or relying on friends or family members who might not show up at all.

While some surveyed expressed concern that riding a bike around the neighborhood might not seem cool, she said, the idea showed that

ex-offenders can have more control over their schedule and a better ability to meet their own basic needs that others might take for granted, like getting to the grocery store and other mundane errands.

Just the cost of a bus pass is a steep price for some: A monthly pass can cost $72 or more. San Diego Second Chance, a back-towork program that primarily assists ex-offenders, will purchase a bus pass for the first month as part of a comprehensive, long-term assistance, said Executive Director Robert Coleman. The program is free, but enrollees must graduate a four-week course, Coleman said, and only half of them do.

Eddie Pree, a La Mesa resident who’s involved in an alternativeprobation program and transitional work with the Center for Employment Opportunities, said the bike program makes sense for people who are fighting to get their lives back on track.

“Most of us can’t afford no bike,” Pree said.

For his part, Shia became involved in the Connecticut correctional system at a minimumsecurity prison as a job placement counselor, and he believed that if everyone in the corrections business did their job effectively, they could work themselves out of a job altogether. Now he jokes about how naïve he was. Though more jaded these days, he’s still pursued the bike program, despite setbacks.

He came upon the idea when he was working at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, where he taught secondary education and helped young offenders prepare for college courses. Given his own daily commute, though, vehicle repairs sometimes forced him to use public

transportation and ultimately pedal a bike from a border station to the prison. On the job, he also noticed that inmates felt the need to have a car when they got out.

When he retired in 2009, he worked with Community Connection Resource Center to develop a bike program focused on ex-offenders. The agency’s grant writer at the time, Anita Paredes, helped craft a proposal, but the agency’s funding was eventually lost, Shia recalled. Shia also took a crosscountry bike ride in 2011, and so the plan was put on hold.

During a ski trip in Lake Tahoe, though, he drove to Reno to check out a bike shop that participated in a bike-share program and gathered information that he ended up using last April in a presentation to the Reentry Roundtable.

The proposal is still largely in development, but the program could be implemented by the end of the summer, Shia said, adding that the effort could perhaps tie into a holiday program at Donovan prison that’s given bikes to children of inmates.

The Reentry Roundtable’s housing and transportation committee’s been networking with bicycle organizations, and a member of the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition attended a committee meeting last month. The proposed program has been dubbed the PEDAL project: Providing Ex-Offenders Driving Alternatives for Life.

Shia said it’s possible the Reentry Roundtable’s efforts could set the groundwork for other advocacy agencies to branch out with their own bike programs. The group initially could provide bikes to partnering organizations, which could maintain the bikes and oversee their own loan policies.

One of the main focuses in developing the program now is finding a hands-on instructor who might work with inmates at Donovan to repair the bikes. Other volunteers could also end up refurbishing the bikes and providing safety training, Shia said, and a grant could later make the positions paid.

Shia said he began work in corrections only for a job, not a career, but he’s kept questioning whether there are better ways to reduce the number of people who cycle out of prison and back in again.

“Sure, a person can go out on their own and refurbish bikes and give them out,” he said. “How does the saying go? ‘If you want to go fast, go by yourself. But if you want to go far, go together.’”

Addiction CONTINUED from PAGE 7 found in his system.

Brummette says it took months to get her son’s autopsy report. Right now, it’s all the information’s she has, and it’s left a lot of unanswered questions: Even though Sisson didn’t initially tell staff that he used heroin, the medical examiner’s report says that he’d admitted to it during past jail stays; he’d also

suffered an acute asthma attack during an earlier incarceration.

So why wasn’t staff aware of his history? Then there’s the fact that the emergency inhaler appeared to have gone unused. Brummette says her son suffered from asthma all his life; he knew when an attack was coming on. And, he normally called her from jail; this time, she didn’t hear from him.

She wonders if this is evidence of the severity of his withdrawal.

The county’s lawsuit asks “whether a visual safety check

would have made any difference is speculative at best.” But according to the National Commission on Correctional Healthcare, which sets recommended standards for correctional-facility health services, “high risk” inmates experiencing drug or alcohol withdrawal— meaning inmates with prior histories of withdrawal complications or seizures, older inmates and/or inmates with a history of major medical or psychiatric problems— should be monitored around the clock or, if that’s not possible,

transferred to a hospital.

Sisson was booked into jail on a Thursday. Brummette made plans to visit him that Saturday, but she was too tired when she got home from work. She decided to bump the visit to Sunday. Early Sunday morning, she got a phone call, letting her know her son was dead.

“They didn’t say I could come see him; it was just done. It’s like it was nothing.”

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

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

April 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 9

edwin

sordid tales

decker The last bastion of my manhood My wife and I recently threw a going-away party in front of everyone at the going-away party, who for a married couple we know and love. It was while were no doubt wondering if this woman had actusetting up for the party that the last bastion of my ally cleaved off my testicles or simply bound them manhood flew away. up in gauze and wire.

As most married people will agree, men lose in“Yes, dear,” I responded, as I looked around the creasingly more control within their marriage the circle. On one side were the women, sitting upright, longer the couple stays together. I’ve been married chests out, proud, confident smiles across their nearly 10 years now, and, oh, how I long for the earfaces: That’s our girl. On the other side sat the men, ly days—back when I had something that resembled droopy, sullen, empathy swelling in their eyes: We a say in our relationship, when I was permitted to feel your pain, dude. say things like “I really don’t think the picture of “Be careful, honey,” she added. “It’s very hot.”

Gloria Steinem stabbing Andrew Dice Clay in the “Well, gee, thanks for letting me know that, Progroin looks good on that wall, honey” or “If it’s OK metheus,” I snipped, forgetting momentarily that with you, I’d really rather not have dinner with the all it takes is a glimpse from this woman to snap my Von Snoringborgs this weekend.” vertebrae. But the men chuckled at that one, and it Alas, those days of having a say are but porcelain was gratifying to share this brief, historic moment flakes gathering dust at the base of a desiccated snow of victory with my guys, like the crippled USS Ariglobe. No longer do I have input into which toilet pazona shooting down one last Japanese fighter plane per we buy. No longer may I pick a TV show to watch. before sinking to the bottom of Pearl Harbor. It was No longer may I choose my own clothes, for should only a matter of seconds before the women darted I even think to wear something she finds disagreeus The Look and the chuckling abruptly stopped. able, there will appear the severed head of a neighBut aside from the things I’m no longer permitborhood feline mounted on my ted to control, there was one desk the following morning. thing over which I’d still mainAnd she will certainly drag tained authority—one thing I’d It was only a matter of me to Hell and feed me to Dahalways thought could not be seconds before the women mer should I protest where certaken away. And that’s my contain household items be stored. trol over the party playlist. darted us The Look and the For example, the last seven years the party playlist chuckling abruptly stopped. hasMaking or so, the fire-pit lighter was alalways been my job—not ways kept in the left drawer of just because the woman is the living-room credenza. But about as technologically savvy last Friday, I noticed the lighter wasn’t there. as Ann Coulter is a soft-spoken moderate, but be“Honey-sugars,” I asked, “where is the fire-pit cause I happen to make awesome playlists. Do you lighter?” know how I know I’m an awesome-playlist maker?

“It’s in the hallway cabinet,” she replied.

Because every person attending the party will, at “But it doesn’t go in the hallway cabinet.” some point, complain about the music. And the rea“It does now.” son that happens is because my playlists are eclectic.

I go from rock to funk to rap to punk to jazz to soul “But I liked it in the credenza,” I whined, atto folk to country to jug-hop to Celt-metal to gnutempting to return the lighter to its original location. wave to rap-polka to klezmer-core. I do this because But as I reached for the handle on the drawer, a masno one genre will please everyone, but everyone will sive crevasse opened on the floor, from which came be pleased at some point. Of course, people tend to a bright-orange light and the howls of the damned as notice the song they hate, but the song they hate is they twisted in a pit of molten soul-meat. She stared loved by someone else, which is genius! at me contemptuously, the glowering rays of Hell So, don’t even think about taking the playlist away lighting her devil-face from the underside, her blazfrom me, woman! Because the playlist is my thing, ing eyes boring into me as if to say, “Before you open and I draw the line here! Is that underst—. that drawer, husband, remember that the line of deThat’s what I was thinking as I sat at my commons waiting to sodomize your every orifice wraps puter, dragging and dropping songs into an iPod around The Valley of Hinnom a thousand times.” playlist titled “Adios Mofos.” The wife walked by Oh, and get this: Not only do I have no say about and saw what I was doing. It was then that the unwhere the fire-pit lighter goes; I don’t even get to thinkable happened. control the fire pit. Oh, sure, I have to build the fire: “Don’t take this the wrong way, babe,” said she, “but I’m the one who buys and chops the wood. I’m the we need to talk about your crappy party playlists.” one who saves the cardboard and newspapers. I’m And like the last, lagging flock of pre-winter sparthe one who makes the delicate starter teepee out rows crossing the border to Coahuila, the final remof kindling and paper. I’m the one who lights and nant of my manhood had fluttered away. tends the blaze. But then—after the fire is lively and crackling, and enough guests have arrived to witWrite to ed@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcity ness the coming emasculation—she will commence beat.com. Listen to “Sordid Tales: The Podcast” the micromanagement of my fire. at sdcitybeat.com.

“Honey, don’t use that log; it’s too big!” she said

10 · San Diego CityBeat · April 17, 2013

by michael a. gardiner michael a. gardiner

world, as Anthony Bourdain has observed, sees virtue in doing one thing very well.

And that’s where Phở Hòa (4717 El Cajon Blvd. in City Heights) comes in. Phở, for the uninitiated, is Vietnamese beef noodle soup (though chicken versions are not unusual). There are generally four moving parts to a bowl of phở: the broth, the noodles, the meat and the garnishes (bean sprouts, basil, cilantro, lime and chile peppers are common). I order the mixed phở, featuring lean and fatty cuts, tripe, tendons and sometimes balls of ground beef. It often shows up on menus, as it did at Phở Hòa, as phở đặc biệt (“special phở”).

The most important part of phở Phở Hòa’s not-yet-garnished phở đặc biệt is the rice noodles. It can be phở without beef, but it can’t be phở without noodles. And the noodles at Phở Hòa are exceptional. Rich and tender, they take on the essence of the broth but also bring their own flavor.

Where the noodles in some phở are tasteless starch and at the worst have a stale quality, the noodles at Phở Hòa were delicious in their own right.

Nothing but the phở The broth, a dark and mysterious concoction, was also excellent. Where many phở joints use Phở Hòa is the Truth. It does phở and only phở. soup cubes and MSG, there was none of that in If you want spring rolls, you’re out of luck. If you this broth. It had a richness that spoke of beef want bánh mì or bún, you’d best look elsewhere. bones and oxtails, charred onions and roasted Phở Hòa is not one of those places where you can ginger, as well as exotic spices such as cinnamon, bring your xenophobic friends and expect them star anise, cardamom and coriander. to find something that does not involve beef, nooThe meat in the soup was tasty, too. The lean dles and broth. cuts were lean, and the fat in the brisket was not— It’s a problem we have in this country—the as is often the case—boiled to rubber. It’s the ofodd notion that having something for everyone is fal, though, that really shines: The tripe is toothmore important than doing one thing really well. some; the tendon has that buttery consistency of Whereas European wineries rarely offer more perfection. Every cut was flavorful, asking only a than one or two bottlings per vintage, American brief dip in the sriracha sauce. wineries frequently offer numerous products Phở this good should be served in a palace, every year—some red, some white. The chain though, not this drab and tired interior. As dingy restaurants that dominate the American suburas the exterior is, though, at least the laughing ban landscape seem to live in corporate fear that cow on the sign is smiling. Still, at the end of the they’ll lose business if the burger joint doesn’t ofday, the phở is all that matters. Not the décor. fer a rib sandwich and salad, too.

Not the short menu. It’s all about the best phở in San Diego.

On foreign shores, it’s that notion itself that’s foreign. A mariscos stand would never offer Write to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com carne asada. A Japanese ramen house would and editor@sdcitybeat.com. not likely put sushi on the menu. The rest of the

the world

fare

April 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 11

BY KELLY DAVIS

cocktail

tales

Bitters, well-done wells and taco-friendly cocktails The bitters you’ll most often find in liquor stores are brands that have been around forever: Angostura (first marketed as a nausea cure in the early 1800s), Fee Brothers and Peychauds. A few smaller producers have popped up recently, but it’s tough to find their products locally.

Hopefully that won’t be the case with RX Bitters (rxbittersco.com). Founded by Ryan Andrews (Craft & Commerce), Eric Lockridge (Prep Kitchen) and Brett Winfield (Seven Grand), all of whom have been making bitters for their respective bars, RX just wrapped up a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised enough money to start production of its first three flavors—Sarsaparilla, Cherry Apple and “Aromatic #7” (orange peel, gentian root and spices)—as well as a line of smoked bitters (peach, pineapple and apple), for which they’ll experiment with a smoker and different types of wood.

If things go really well, the next step is barrel-aged bitters.

Initial runs are available only to Kickstarter donors, but Winfield says the goal is to start selling the bitters commercially in July.

Check back here for a head’s-up, or keep an eye out for the brown-glass bottles with graphic designer Milena Gavala’s elegant, old-timey labels.

•••

Saltbox bar manager Ali Terrill hit on a gem of an idea with Wells Done Well, a newish cocktail program at the Hotel Palomar bar (1047 Fifth Ave., Downtown, saltboxrestaurant.com). It’s a small menu of classics—Manhattan, Paloma, French 75 among them—made with well liquors and quality

12 · San Diego CityBeat · April 17, 2013

touches like fresh-pressed juices. Best bet: a daily 4-to-7 p.m. happy hour when all WDW are $5.

Saltbox also just rolled out some brand-new cocktails; highlights include the BetaMax, an almost-guilt-free concoction of gin, canton ginger, carrot-apple juice and soda, and Newton’s Law, made with High West’s “Bourye” (a bourbon/rye blend that’s been getting rave reviews), Breckinridge bitters, vanilla/ fig balsamic and orgeat.

•••

Bar West (959 Hornblend St. in Pacific Beach, barwestsd.com) doesn’t come to mind when checking off San Diego’s best cocktail bars—the “specialty” drink menu currently on its website favors flavored vodkas and sweet mixers. To Bar West’s credit, it recently brought in Snake Oil Cocktail Co., a well-respected team of mixologists, to come up with drinks to pair with the bar’s new menu from P.B. fave Oscar’s Mexican Seafood.

There’s the El Burro, a take on the Mule with tequila, lemon juice, ginger beer and mole chocolate bitters, and the Sandia Sour: tequila, watermelon-jalapeño mash, fresh-pressed citrus, mint, agave nectar and The Tijuana Slough sweet-and-sour salt, plus a few others. The Snake Oil guys were kind enough to share the recipe for the Tijuana Slough: 1 1/2 ounces vanilla-infused vodka 1/4 ounce lime juice Mexican Coke Jicama stick dipped in chili powder Add vodka and lime juice to an ice-filled rocks glass. Add Coke and garnish with the jicama slice. To make vanilla-infused vodka, score two vanilla beans lengthwise and place in a bottle of your favorite vodka for two days.

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

by marie tran-McCaslin marie tran-mccaslin

the wandering

appetite The reimagined doughnut

Ah, the doughnut (or donut, if you will). So humble, but so many possible permutations. Every few years, it seems the doughnut undergoes another renaissance. There was a time when a big chain and its conveyor belt of oil with a waterfall of glaze was the hot thing. Mom-and-pop doughnut shops have been celebrated, too, and now we have gourmet doughnuts.

Donut Bar (631 B St., donutbar.tumblr.com) recently opened to much delight and buzz, which isn’t surprising, given that it’s the only doughnut shop Downtown and it’s stepping outside of the box. Owners Santiago Campa and Wendy Bartels hung a shingle for a shop that features everything from a classic old-fashioned doughnut to a whimsical S’mores doughnut. They wanted to create doughnuts that stood out, but they understood that their customers would love to see classic flavors alongside doughnuts topped with bacon.

Given the popularity of West Coast doughnut shops that pile all sorts of interesting stuff on their doughnuts, Donut Bar’s offerings seem almost tame in comparison. There’s the bar topped

with maple glaze and bacon; S’mores is a chocolate-cake doughnut with marshmallow fluff and crumbled graham crackers; and there are interesting glazes such as blood orange, boysenberry and salted caramel.

I enjoyed the S’mores, wished the blueberry-and-Meyer-lemon had more lemon and loved anything Donut Bar filled with custard. The Boston cream pie could’ve been a standard custardfilled, chocolate-glazed doughnut, but it was perfectly yeasty, filled to the hilt with custard and slathered with a ganache-like chocolate glaze. The Julian apple fritter is enormous and filled with enough fruit that we can delude ourselves into thinking it semi-healthy.

Also, don’t just look for doughnuts—cinnamon rolls occasionally pop up on the menu. Traditionalists will find that the old-fashioned doughnuts are available most days.

Donut Bar’s doughnuts are on the pricey side, at $1 to $3; with the average doughnut costing less than a dollar, the question arises: Are they worth it? My answer is yes. It’s all in the details. One bite yields a fluffy doughnut that neither is greasy nor tastes of old frying oil. Campa attributes that to a short frying time and religious cleanings of the fryer. Flavors like crème brulee require more time and skill, while ingredients like Saigon cinnamon and various fruits are used regularly. Even the brewed coffee is above average and a great deal at $1.

The shop opens at 7 a.m. Mondays through Fridays and 8 a.m. on Saturdays. It’s closed on Sundays. It’s better to show up earlier to maximize your options, because it closes once the doughnuts are sold out. Donut Bar produces 1,000 to 2,000 doughnuts on any given day, and whatever they make in the wee hours of the morning is the day’s stock. The menu changes daily and is advertised through Facebook (facebook.com/DonutBar) and Twitter (twitter.com/ DonutBar_SD), along with any deals.

The place will eventually look more like a café, with a lounge area; for now, take your doughnuts to the front of the Comerica building across the street. There’s space to sit and relax with a doughnut while Downtown’s denizens bustle by.

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

April 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 13

urban

scout

by Katrina dodson

Where can I find: Unique, handmade artisan stuff?

Always on the hunt for something new and original, I’d just heard about Sew Loka from a Downtown local and popped in on a Saturday. Sew Loka (1821 Fifth Ave., search for it on Facebook) gives southern Bankers Hill a rare retail treat. Owner Claudia Rodriguez was on hand to guide me through all the details of her hand-picked artist’s selections.

Rodriguez currently displays work by 15 artists—13 of whom are in San Diego or Southern California, the other two from Guatemala. Originally from Los Angeles, with family roots in Guatemala, Rodriguez learned to sew at the feet of her father, who designed and sold clothing out of several garment shops in L.A.’s design district. Her love of sewing and all things handmade are evident throughout the store, as she and her artists pick from a wide variety of colors, fabrics and designs.

Rodriguez herself specializes in totes, purses and pouches in recycled, colorful fabrics with coordinating fabric inside and outside of each bag.

As I took it all in, I noticed that no two items are alike—every item, even those that look similar, has a unique texture, interior, button, zipper or snap. The artisans who sell at Sew Loka offer shoppers customization by selling original designs in everyday items like baby onesies, earrings, purses, aprons, T-shirts, pillows, bibs, soaps and more. Each area of the small boutique is filled with an artist’s creative take on a chosen craft, be it jewelry design, custom journals with inspirational quotes or coin purses with whimsical appliqué, and the selection changes weekly.

I picked up a zippered pouch in teal with a pink typewriter on it and a purple zipper, a pair of handcrafted brass earrings rendered from buttons and glimmering with clear beads and another zippered pouch made from two symmetrical jean pockets with a lace piece added (I Katrina Dodson

Reversable totes and pre-matted original artwork

14 · San Diego CityBeat · April 17, 2013

Katrina Dodson

Zippered pouches and handcrafted earrings got the last one!).

The really interesting thing about the store is that Rodriguez will make anything else you want from whatever fabric, garment or idea you have.

For instance, if you want to turn your wedding dress into a white summer cocktail dress, she can help you redesign it and repurpose it. I thought about bringing in something a friend gave me in a bright pattern that I’d never wear but would love to see as a tote bag or an apron. The shop’s Facebook page and Twitter and Instagram accounts will give you hundreds of other ideas from items that people have brought to Rodriguez to repurpose. With two sewing machines in the shop, you can sit with her and watch her work—or just enjoy the hum of the machine as you consider what you want her to make. Everything in the place has been repurposed to some degree: the coin purses from an old skirt, the tote from a men’s blazer, the button earrings from an ’80s blazer.

Besides the many “upcycled” articles for sale, there are works of art on the wall that started with recycled items. Old vinyl records inspired one artist to paint on them in brightly colored oceanic designs; another artist took old frames and filled the empty spaces with Dia de los Muertos designs in Technicolor. Artist Josue Meerigo, featured at the grand opening last Saturday, was in the store during my visit painting several mariachi musicians high up on the walls. He also has several other works in acrylic and oils available for purchase and has a following in San Diego for his portraiture.

Rodriguez is also offering classes on different types of art—a recent post on the Facebook page had a class in making shea-butter lotion, so maybe she’s trying to get all of us to be her new “artists” so that we have more to choose from and she has more to sell. After much browsing, talking and shopping, I know I’m ready for a sewing class.

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

the

SHORTlist

1

ART

COORDINATED BY ALEX ZARAGOZA

no Park Steering Committee— “entered the park in the National Register, which is a good thing, because now developers can’t come and say they’re going to use this land now to build condominiums and high rises,” says Tommie Camarillo, chairperson of the Chicano Park Steering Committee and head coordinator of Chicano Park Day. “We’re already seeing some of that in the area. But now the park is protected. They can’t touch it. Long after we’re all gone, Chicano Park and its murals will still be here.”

It took 13 years of research and a written proposal by one committee member. In honor of the park’s induction, this year’s Chicano Park Day, happening Saturday, April 20, is themed “Chicano Park: Aztlan’s Jewel and a National Treasure.”

The entertainment at the event will also reflect that theme, with various speakers expounding on the significance of these milestones. There’ll be traditional Aztec dance performances coordinated by Danza Azteca Calpulli Mexihca, ballet folklorico, mariachi and a presentation of low-rider cars from Amigos Car Club.

Live bands with a Latino vibe will also take the stage, including Agua Dulce, Quino & Friends, Cumbia Machin, Kid Frost and many more. It all goes down from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. chicano-park.org

PARTY FOR PRESERVATION

Chicano Park is celebrating two major milestones this year. Not only is the park celebrating its 43rd anniversary; it was also recently added to the National Register of Historic Places.

That means the park, with its long and rich cultural history and significance to the Chicano and Mexican-American community, will be preserved by the National Park Service. It’s a godsend for those who’ve been working to fight gentrification in Barrio Logan and were active in getting the land turned into a park in 1970.

“One of our members”—of the activist Chica-

3 DEVIL’S IN THE DANCE

Picture The Last Supper with Jesus and the apostles in hoodies, sitting crosslegged, moving rapidly in sync to experimental and new-age music, and that’s what you get for one part In this high-tech, plugged-in world, it’s of the dance performance 33. The production, siminice to have a guy like Richard Louv lar to a one-act play, incorporates modern and clasaround. Author of the books Last Child in the Woods sical music and doesn’t have a story line but centers and The Nature Principle, he’s a strong advocate of around visuals of The Last Supper. The show has a the outdoors, arguing theme of betrayal, and it’s the third installment of a that nature, not just tech- trilogy. It’s also part of Live Arts Fest, which is featurnology, plays a crucial ing other dance productions this month. This show’s role in our development. sole performance, however, is at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Louv will share his vi- April 20, at White Box Theatre (2590 Truxtun Road sion at We Are Not Ro- in Point Loma). Tickets: $15 in advance, $20 at the bots: Richard Louv on door. sandiegodancetheater.org Reconnecting with Our Humanity, a lecture and book signing that happens at the Museum of Man (1350 El Prado in Balboa Park) at 6 p.m.

Saturday, April 20. Organized in partnership Richard Louv with local group Write Out Loud for this month’s “The Big Read” events, Louv will start by exploring the themes of Ray Bradbury’s classic dystopian novel, Fahrenheit 451. Get tickets ($15) at museumofman.org “The Last Supper ,” part of 33

2

KEEP IT GREEN

Kindred Spirits II at Mosaic Wine Bar, 3422 30th St., North Park. If you missed part one, here’s your chance to view the group work of Mimi Yoon, RBST, Mofo, Sumo1 and others. From 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, April 18, facebook.com/events/156038477897443

cusses and signs his kids book, Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made. At 7 p.m.

Wednesday, April 17. 858-454-0347, warwicks.indiebound.com

Free Third Thursday at MCASD, 1001 Kettner Blvd., Downtown. Get free admission plus a guide-led tour. Valid at the La Jolla location, too. At 5 p.m. Thursday, April 18. 858-454-3541, mcasd.org

T. Jefferson Parker at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla.

Award-winning mystery author launches his latest book, The Famous and the Dead, which concludes his Charlie Hood series.

At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 18. 858454-0347, warwicks.indiebound.com

Trunk Show at Mingei International Museum, 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park. A new generation of silversmiths continues to design in the style of renowned artist William Spratling. At 10 a.m. Friday and Saturday, April 19 and 20. 619-2390003, mingei.org

William Kent Krueger at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. Author of 12 novels, including Northwest Angle and Trickster’s Point, signs his newest novel about loss and deception. At 7 p.m. Thursday, April 18. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com

Grand Sculpture Show at Spanish Village Art Center, 1770 Village Place, Balboa Park. Grand unveiling of four large-scale sculptures and other works

by Sergey Gornushkin, Yuriy Akopov, Lorenzo Foncerrada and others. Opening from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, April 20. 619702-8006, sandiegosculptorsguild.com

E.K. Prescott at Art Center Lofts, 710 13th St., Studio 210, East Village.

Dressed in the 1920s flapper style, Prescott discusses 1920s history, characters and themes of her first novel, The Ivy League Chronicles. Happening 7 to 8 p.m. Friday, April 19. 678-644-4122, sandiegowriters.org

Possibilities at Biz Center Art, 7317 El Cajon Blvd., La Mesa. Artists display work that focuses on the infinite possibilities of the creative mind. Funds raised support local artists Soroptimist International’s STAT program. On view through July 1.

Opening from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday, April 20. 619-713-2560, bizcenterart.com

Jess Walter at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The author discusses and signs his best seller, Beautiful Ruins. This event’ll fill up, so reserve your seat. At 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 22. 858454-0347, warwicks.indiebound.com

Thick at R.B. Stevenson Gallery, 7661 Girard Ave., La Jolla. A group show with paintings by Jimi Gleason, James Hayward and Michael Reafsnyder. On view through May 25. From 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, April 20. 619-713-2560, rbstevensongallery.com HPerception of Desire at Quint Contemporary Art, 7547 Girard Ave., La Jolla. New resin sculptures and drawings

by Los Angeles artist Peter Alexander will be on view through June 1. There’ll be a Q&A with the artist at the reception.

Opening from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, April 20. 858-454-3409, quintgallery.com Old People’s Google at Expressive Arts @ 32nd & Thorn, 3201 Thorn St., North Park. Twenty artists were given outdated encyclopedias and asked to do anything with them. Come see their sculptures, photography and other works. Opening from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday, April 20, expressiveartssandiego.com Spring Celebration and Gallery Opening at Art N Soul, 644 South Coast Hwy., Encinitas. Share drinks and mingle with artists including Will Barton, Jeremiah Miller, Maria Parenteau and Chrissy Goral.

Live music from Drums of Fire. From 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, April 20, face book.com/events/268260823308061 HGroup Art Show at Voz Alta, 1754 National Ave., Barrio Logan. Celebrate Earth Day after Chicano Park Day with a special show featuring local underground artists. Music by 3 Con Todo. At 7 p.m.

Saturday, April 20. 619-230-1869, face book.com/events/442003632543907 Oceanside Days of Art, at Coast Highway 101 and Pier View Way in Oceanside. More than 120 local artists sell their work. There’ll also be street chalk artists, face painting and live performances.

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, April 20 and 21. 619-232-3821, ocaf.info/oceanside-days-of-art

BOOKS Stephan Pastis at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. Cartoonist and New York Times bestseller dis-

HAnna Quindlen at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. Pulitzer Prizewinning columnist Anna Quindlen discusses and signs her memoir, Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake. At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 23. 858-454-0347, warwicks.indie bound.com

COMEDY Shang Forbes at Mad House Comedy Club, 502 Horton Plaza, Downtown. See the political comedian who’s been seen on Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, Comedy Central, BET. At 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 19 and 20. 619-7026666, madhousecomedyclub.com Finest City Improv at 705 16th St., in East Village. Four comedy improv ensembles—Jet Eveleth and Brett Elam, Red Squared, Silent Majority and The Stage Monkeys—bring the funny in one show.

At 9 p.m. Friday, April 19. $10. 619-3066047, finestcityimprov.com

DANCE Dub Sutra at Eveoke Dance Theatre, 2811-A University Ave., North Park.

DanceJam invites you to a freestyle dance to deep down-tempo music. Explore movement and enjoy snacks provided by Three Treasures Tonic Elixir Bar. At 7:45 p.m.

Friday, April 19. $10-$20. 619-238-1153, facebook.com/events/587338334610635 Juncal Street at DanzArts, 4579 Mission Gorge Place, Del Cerro. Dancers Fanny Ara and Manuel Gutierrez headline a one-nightonly flamenco show with Jason McGuire on guitar. At 7 p.m. Saturday, April 20. 619846-9272, brownpapertickets.com/event/ 338264

FASHION Fashion Redux at San Diego History Center, 1649 El Prado, Balboa Park.

Finalists talk about their design inspiration in the theme of the Roaring ’20s before the final winner is announced by Susan Lazear. Reserve your spot by emailing

CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

April 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 15

THEATER Federal Jazz Project hits a high note The appeal of San Diego Repertory Theatre’s The Federal Jazz Project, a sometimes-thrilling collaboration between Culture Clash co-founder Richard Montoya and the sublime trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos, is its likeness to jazz itself. Bebopping the line between script and improvisation, this new work directed by Rep artistic director Sam Woodhouse thrives on its thoughtful changes in mood and tone and on its anticipation and surprise. The resulting experience is an ambitious cross between theater and jazz cabaret, and other than possibly biting off more storyline than it can chew, The Federal Jazz Project is a stirring success.

In terms of narrative, it tells concurrent tales: the dramas and antics in and around a south-ofBroadway nightclub in San Diego, from the late ’20s to the present, and the intertwined but individually troubled identities of San Diego and Tijuana. The commentary and the comedy come from Montoya, who mixes biting and eloquent poetry with a little shtick. The heartbeat of the show, either aching or pulsating, comes from Castellanos and his stalwart sidemen. The jazz jams carry you away, but not totally from the play, which features dynamic performances from Lorraine Castellanos as “San Diego” and Claudia Gomez as “Tijuana.”

The Rep should be rightfully proud of this exciting production.

The Federal Jazz Project runs through May 5 at San Diego Repertory Theatre, Downtown. $35$58. sdrep.org

•••

What happened after Hedda Gabler shot herself in the head? The answer, according to playwright Jeff Whitty (Avenue Q), is The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler. The 2006 play, which premiered at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, unfolds at Diversionary Theatre like a literaryminded sketch show, with Hedda-in-the-hereafter (Jacque Wilke) meeting other notables victimized by the whims of their authors, including Margaret Mitchell’s Mammy (Yolanda Franklin) gselak@sandiegohistory.org. From 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, April 19. $10. 619-232-6203, sandiegohistory.org Diamond Dust at The Flame, 3780 Park Blvd., Hillcrest. May Star hosts a pop-up fashion show where attendees can buy outfits directly off the models.

Designers include Sew-Cal Designs by Cat Lewis, Gioia’s Boutique, Coco Monet and Kvetch&Prolific by Nazz. At 9 p.m.

Saturday, April 20. 619-795-8578, face book.com/events/281127658687981 Chavez for Charity Bracelet Bar at Mixture, 2210 Kettner Blvd., Downtown.

The bracelet maker is flying out for this special, in-store charity event where she’ll donate 20 percent of the profits. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 20. 619239-4788, chavezforcharity.com

FOOD AND DRINK Strawberry Festival at Carlsbad Village Farmers’ Market, Roosevelt Street & Grand Avenue, Carlsbad. Get the freshest strawberries at the peak of their season and try home-style strawberry shortcake, smoothies, jam and cake. From 1 to 5 p.m.

Wednesday, April 17. 760-931-8400,

16 · San Diego CityBeat · April 17, 2013

DAREN SCOTT

Claudia Gomez in The Federal Jazz Project and Euripedes’ Medea (Shana Wride). Can Hedda break free of Ibsen? Can Mammy trade her apron for a minidress? Can you have too many Jesuses on one stage at the same time? The insights and humor feel rather labored, and you don’t care too much how any of these questions is answered.

The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler runs through April 28 at Diversionary Theatre in University Heights. $25-$51. diversionary.org.

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

OPENING Wagner New Play Festival: Five plays, including two fulllengths, two one-acts performed together and a staged reading, make up this year’s series of plays written and produced by UCSD graduate students. Runs April 17 through 27 at three theaters at UCSD. theatre.ucsd.edu

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

carlsbad-village.com HTower After Hours: Italy at San Diego Museum of Man, 1350 El Prado, Balboa Park. Celebrate the culture of Italy with food, drink, dance and music. Food and wine provided by local restaurants. From 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 18. $12-$25.

619-239-2001, museumofman.org Taste of the Triangle at the Faculty Club at UCSD. More than 20 restaurants will provide samples to raise money for five public schools in University City. From 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, April 19. $75-$85. 858534-0876, uc-educate.org HTaste of Hillcrest. Food lovers rejoice with 30 restaurants in Hillcrest taking part in the 13th annual event. From noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 20. $30-$35. 858534-0876, fabuloushillcrest.com HTijuana Taco Tour at San Ysidro Port of Entry, south of the pedestrian border crossing in Tijuana, Colonia Federal.

Enjoy three taco courses starring the taco de bulgogi, a Korean-Mexican infusion, and your choice from 120 flavors of Mexican ice cream from Tepoznieves.

Tickets include round-trip transport. At 1 p.m. Saturday, April 20, turista-libre. blogspot.com

MUSIC Navy Band Southwest at Central Library, 820 E St., Downtown. The chamber ensemble performs music by Mozart, Telemann, and d’Indy. At 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, April 17. 619-236-5800, sdpl.bwcs-hosting.com HMamak Khadem at The Loft at UCSD, Price Center East, La Jolla. Classically trained singer and poet performs pieces that reflect her Persian-American culture.

At 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 17. $30. 858822-3199, artpwr.com Website Demolition Derby at Museum of Making Music, 5790 Armada Drive, Carlsbad. San Diego Music Foundation and Bandzoogle collaborate with the museum to host a workshop designed to help musicians create a functional website to fit their needs. At 7 p.m. Thursday, April 18. $5. 760-438-5996, museumofmaking music.org Acoustic Evenings at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla.

Jefferson Jay hosts the ongoing series with performances by Wes Davis, Jason Burleson and Matt Rieschling. At 7:30 p.m.

Friday, April 19. $12-$17. 858-454-5872,

ljathenaeum.org Smetana Trio at Conrad Prebys Music Center at UCSD. The three current members are distinguished Czech soloists who’ll perform pieces from Vietezslav Novak, Antonin Dvorak and Johannes Brahms. At 8 p.m. Friday, April 19, ucsd boxoffice.com HThe 5 Browns at Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St., Downtown. With five grand pianos on stage, these sibling will play hits like Star Wars, The Sound of Music and Psycho. At 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 19 and 20. $20-$85. 619-235-0804, sandiegosymphony.org Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Trey McIntyre Project at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Downtown. The dance ensemble teams up with the New Orleans jazz band to present a program called “Ma Maison.” At 8 p.m. Saturday, April 20. $27-$67. 619-570-1100, ljms.org

Friday, April 18 and 19, and 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, April 20. 760-839-4190, artcenter.org Woman in the Mirror, A Dancer’s Journey at White Box Theatre, 2590 Truxtun Road, Point Loma. Winner of a Bravo SD Award, professional dancer and Michael Jackson impersonator Devra Gregory recounts her quest for truth as a woman in a male-dominated world.

At 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 19. sandiego dancetheater.org/whitebox HEbert Ortiz at White Box Theatre, 2590 Truxtun Road, Point Loma. See the third installment of the choreographer’s dance, 33, which was inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” and pop art. At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 20, sandiego

dancetheater.org/whitebox The Vagina Monologues at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 1036 Solana Drive, Solana Beach. A play based on author Eve Ensler’s interviews of women around the world. All proceeds fund projects to prevent violence against women.

At 7 p.m. Saturday, April 20. $10-$15. uufsd.org HWater Lilies / Nymphéas at White Box Theatre, 2590 Truxtun Road, Point Loma.

Jean Isaacs choreographs a program based on the impressionist paintings of Claude Monet, embracing spontaneous creativity over rehearsal. At 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 21, sandiegodancetheater. org/whitebox Dance...

The

Rhythm

of

Life

at

California Center for the Arts, 340 North Escondido Blvd., Escondido. Orange Glen High School students dance modern, jazz, hip-hop, ballet folklorico and more as choreographed by local professionals. At 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 23. 760-839-4190, artcenter.org

POETRY AND SPOKEN WORD Train of Thought Open Mic Tournament at Mosaic San Diego, 1402 Commercial St., East Village. In addition to the tournament, which is open to the public, special guests Brian “SuperB” Oliva and J.R will perform. At 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 17. $5-$10. 619-230-8710, facebook.com/

events/173679469454247 Kerry Shawn Keys in the Literature building, Room 155, at UCSD. American and Lithuanian poet, playwright and scriptwriter talks about how his travels in the Appalachian hill country, India and Brazil have shaped his work. At 4:30 p.m.

Wednesday, April 17. 858-534-3210, literature.ucsd.edu SD Poetry Slam at El Zarape Restaurant, 3201 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. A free poetry reading with music by Karlos Paez.

A chance to read your own stuff. At 9 p.m.

Friday, April 19. 619-578-2600, face book.com/events/371410126309857/ Family Storytelling at Timken Museum

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

Pacific Coast Harmony Singers at Scripps Miramar Ranch Library, 10301 Scripps Lake Drive, Scripps Ranch. The barbershop ensemble performs show tunes, gospel, doo-wop, ballads and contemporary and traditional choral. At 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 21. srfol.org Athenaeum Mini-Concerts at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. The free, afternoon concert series hosts Alison Luedecke on harpsichord and Bill Owen on trumpet. At noon. Monday, April 22. 858-454-5872, ljathenaeum.org Leonard Patton at Malcolm X Branch Library, 5148 Market St., Valencia Park.

Berklee School of Music graduate sings jazz songs from his latest album, Expressions. At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 24. 619-527-3405, sandiego.gov/ public-library

OUTDOORS Zapatista Corn Planting at Centro Cultural de la Raza, 2125 Park Blvd., Balboa Park. Help plant GMO-free corn seeds to join the growing movement against transgenic contamination of corn products. Seeds donated by Mayan farmers in Chiapas, Mexico. At 9 a.m. Sunday, April 21. 619-235-6135, facebook.com/ events/449602575122793 Backcountry Earth Day Celebration at Santa Ysabel General Store, 30275 Highway 78, Santa Ysabel. Take part in Earth Day activities and hear a special presentation by California Wolf Center’s Kevin Schmelzlen on the repopulation of the wolves. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 21. 760-765-1139, sdrvc.org Day at the Docks at America’s Cup Harbor, 2803 Emerson St., Point Loma.

The Port of San Diego’s 34th annual celebration showcases the world’s largest modern sportfishing fleets. The festival includes sportfishing, cooking and canning demos, a casting competition and live entertainment. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sunday, April 21. Free. 619-222-1144, sportfishing.org

PERFORMANCE HSarah Larson & Samara Kaplan at White Box Theatre, 2590 Truxtun Road, Point Loma. The modern dancers present their program, Like Like Slow, part of San Diego Dance Theater’s Live Arts Fest. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 18, sandiego dancetheater.org/whitebox Beauty and the Beast at California Center for the Arts, 340 North Escondido Blvd., Escondido. Classical Academy presents a dance based on the timeless love story. At 6 p.m. Thursday and

April 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 17

FISH, aquarium.ucsd.edu

of Art, 1500 El Prado, Balboa Park.

Professional storyteller Harlynne Geisler shares tales inspired by Bartolome E. Murillo’s Christ on the Christ. At 11 a.m.

Saturday, April 20. 619-239-5548, timken museum.org

HChicano Park Day at Chicano Park, Barrio Logan. Celebrate the park’s status as an internationally recognized art site with traditional dance performances, 12 live bands, keynote speeches and a display of classic low-rider cars. At 10 a.m. Saturday, April 20, facebook.com/ events/369386079823203

Hayyim Nahman Bialik at Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla. Gabriella Auspitz Labson discusses the work of one of Isreal’s greatest poets. Eileen Wingard will play live music. At 7 p.m. Monday, April 22. $8-$10. 858-457-3030, sdcjc.org

HMe & Mary Jane at Canvass for a Cause, 3705 10th Ave., Hillcrest. A celebration of the queer community’s victory in legalizing medical marijuana for HIV/ AIDs patients. Free hookah, non-alcoholic drinks, raffles and a performance by Piracy Conspiracy. At 7 p.m. Saturday, April 20. $15. 619-630-7750, facebook. com/events/353738221402244

UCSD New Writing Series: Pura Lopez Colome & Forrest Gander at the SME Performance Space, Room 149, at UCSD. The writers share some of their past works and discuss their process. At 7 p.m.

Tuesday, April 23. Free. 858-534-3210, literature.ucsd.edu/news-info

POLITICS AND COMMUNITY Fracking California at Joyce Beers Community Center, 3900 Vermont St. in Hillcrest. Learn how hydraulic fracturing (fracking) could affect the availability, cost and cleanliness of our water and the impact of extracting shale oil on climate change. From 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, April 20. Free. 619-335-1265, sandiego350.org

SPECIAL EVENTS HTake Back the Night at Cal State San Marcos, 333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Road, San Marcos. A community-wide protest against sexual assault and violence.

There’ll be spoken-word performances, live music, a keynote speaker and a candlelight vigil before the march around the

Greg Murr’s “Heel” is on view in the ongoing exhibition in White/unseen nature, which runs through May 30 at Susan Street Fine Art (200 North Cedros Ave. in Solana Beach). campus. From 5:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday, April 18. 760-750-4000, csusm.edu HA Day with KCBQ and The Experts at San Diego Hall of Champions, 2131 Pan American Plaza, Balboa Park. Attend seminars with national radio hosts Mark Larson, Douglass Jennings Jr., Robert Baumer and others, with book signings following a live broadcast. From 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 18. 619-2342544, kcbq.com Antique Show at Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar.

18 · San Diego CityBeat · April 17, 2013

HWater Harvesting Bike Tour, starting at 3030 North Park Way, North Park.

Join the San Diego Sustainable Living Institute for a foray around South Park to meet with homeowners who have installed rainwater harvesting or greywater systems in their homes. The tour will culminate with a hands-on workshop. At 9:30 a.m. Saturday, April 20. $5. 619-884-7749, sdsustainable.org

Browse thousands of square feet of antiques and other vintage collectibles. Also, visit the appraisal booth to have your own items identified and priced. From 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 19 and 20, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 21. $8. 858-755-1161, calendar shows.com

HWe Are Not Robots: Richard Louv on Reconnecting with Our Humanity at the San Diego Museum of Man, 1350 El Prado, Balboa Park. The journalist and author will share a vision of the future in which our lives are as immersed in nature as they are in technology. From 6 to 8 p.m.

Saturday, April 20. $10-$15. 619-239-2001, richard-louv.eventbrite.com

Party for the Planet at Birch Aquarium, 2300 Expedition Way, La Jolla. Join Scripps scientists in celebrating the oceans through hands-on activities, scientific exploration and crafts. At 11 a.m.

Saturday, April 20. $9.50-$14. 858-534-

Multi Cultural Earth Day Celebration at World Beat Cultural Center, 2100 Park Blvd., Balboa Park. Celebrate with African and Egyptian dance, Capoeira and performances by Prezident Brown, Earl Zero, Quinto Sol and others. From 11 a.m. to 7

p.m. Sunday, April 21. 619-230-1190, worldbeatculturalcenter.memberlodge.com

TALKS AND DISCUSSIONS Steafán Hanvey in Solomon Hall, USD, Linda Vista. A father and son’s impressions of the divided Catholic and Protestant communities in Northern Ireland as told through a multimedia lecture. From 7:30 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, April 17. 619-2604681, sandiego.edu Romantic Castles of Europe at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. Art historian James W. Grebl leads a virtual tour of the history, architecture and art of these relics from the British Isles, France, Germany and Austria.

At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 18. $12$17. 858-454-5872, ljathenaeum.org HFucking with Philosophers: Kegels for Hegel at UCSD University Art Gallery, Mandeville Center, La Jolla. Live singing of love songs to philosophers, a book exchange, go-go dancers, music videos and a brain-eating contest. You heard us. At 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 19, uag.ucsd.edu Musical Milestones: An Anniversary Series at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. Violinist Victoria Martino performs music from the Renaissance and discusses its historical and cultural context. At 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 22. 858-454-5872, ljathenaeum.org Jacquelyne Silver at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. In this series the renowned pianist discusses the surprising classical origins inherent in many American Broadway musicals. At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 23. 858-4545872, ljathenaeum.org

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ISRAEL BYRD

Frank Bill

Bare-knuckle writing W

The Book Catapult brings Frank Bill and his violent, meth-centric Donnybrook to San Diego •by Ryan Bradford

hen it comes to art—and especially literature—it takes a lot to make me squirm.

What about the torture scenes in American Psycho?

Please.

What about that anal-prolapse story by Chuck Palahniuk? The one that made all those people faint?

Hell yeah, man. I’ll discuss it over dinner. Pass the stroganoff.

Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian—a book whose violence is so overt and numbing that it can only be described as biblical—is in my top three.

Yet, Frank Bill’s novel Donnybrook made me cringe. Many times.

The plot follows Chainsaw Angus and Liz, brother-and-sister meth-heads, both with horrifying potentials for violence. When Liz double-crosses Angus and takes their drugs to sell at Donnybrook—a backwoods free-for-all fighting tournament—it becomes a pursuit that leaves many bodies and busted cartilage in its wake. There’s also the “protagonist,” Jarhead Earl, who sees Donnybrook’s cash prize as a way to escape his own lowly, drugaffected life. Throw in a sociopathic martial artist with a penchant for needle torture, a revenge-seeking cop and a feral woods-dweller and

you get an idea of what may be the bloodiest literary culminations in recent memory.

I tell Bill that his book affected me so much that I felt I needed to angle it away from my wife like a steamy piece of erotica, completely in shock at what was on the page.

“Sure,” he says, as if he’s heard the compliment many times before. “If you’re going to write about real criminals or real crime, people die. It’s not pretty.”

On the phone, Bill’s voice is calm, almost quiet—a little strange for the person responsible for the propulsive carnage of Donnybrook, but not unexpected. He doesn’t mince words, and it’s a quality he’s mastered in his writing: Clipped sentences give his story a strong cinematic feel. In fact, as a product of the age of the VCR, Bill spent his childhood watching violent action and kungfu movies. He cites viewing Fight Club as a watershed moment that motivated him to read the original Chuck Palahniuk book, thereby igniting his interest in literature.

But it’s his urgent sense of place and history that elevate Donnybrook above the standard provocative pulp. His characters speak in the southern Indiana dialect in which

he was raised (he was born and currently resides in Corydon, Ind.), sometimes so thick that it feels like reading a phonetic style similar to Irvine Welsh’s Scottish-heavy Trainspotting. The book’s topics of violence and meth use also provide an unflinching, often unsettling portrait of rural Indiana.

“Some things that people see as violent, I don’t see as so violent,” he says. “I grew up around hunting and fishing and skinning and gutting animals. And my dad being a war vet, and my mom having an abusive childhood—they were just stories you were told. It was just part of the conversation about learning from each other: a person’s history and where they come from.”

Bill’s own history provides a structural backdrop to the events in Donnybrook. He worked at a paintadditives plant for 14 years, but when the economy “went to shit” four years ago, he was bumped from working in the plant to the warehouse. It was about that time that he began writing Donnybrook.

He noticed how the economic downturn affected other aspects of his life, including increasing violence on the news and the desperate actions his neighbors were taking just to get by. The lengths

covering meth-head and cook,” he says. “I interviewed him, and we got to talking back and forth. He learned I wasn’t full of shit. So he gave me a recipe and talked about where he was from, the different hollars where they cooked. Every hollar had a different recipe.”

(Hollar: an old Southern term meaning “down the road a spell” or, more accurately, “down in the valley a ways.”)

Bill will make his first visit to San Diego for a Tuesday, April 23, event at The South Park Abbey (1946 Fern St.). Seth Marko, who runs the literary-criticism site The Book Catapult (thebookcatapult. com) along with Scott Ehrig-Burgess, struck up a friendship with Bill when they reviewed his first story collection, Crimes in Southern Indiana. When Marko learned of Bill’s appearance at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, he lured him south with a reading that fits the no-holds-barred nature of Donnybrook. World-champion arm wrestler Allen Fisher and his posse of “pullers” will perform for the crowd after the literary portion. The event starts at 7:30 p.m.

“We’re trying to expand the borders of literary culture here in San Diego, moving The Book Catapult into the real world by hosting non-traditional events in unusual venues,” Marko says via email.

“I think this can be the new model for literary culture: bringing the author right to your neighborhood so you can interact with them on a casual, friendly level in your local watering hole.”

people go to for money and how the human condition is affected by the prospect of a better life are central themes in Donnybrook.

One example of this is a part in the story where characters siphon gasoline out of parked cars.

“I asked my cop buddy—because that’s when gas prices were going up and people were losing their jobs: I was, like, ‘Is anybody siphoning gas from people’s cars that are parked?’ A couple weeks later, he gave me a call and was, like, ‘Hey man, this stuff is happening all over the damn place.’”

When asked about his relationship with meth and its prevalence in the book—including the physical effects and tolls, as well as a detailed cooking sequence—he concedes that he “ran around with some guys in school that had done it. They actually got it in the mail.

“This was in the early ’90s,” he says. “This was before people were cooking it. What people were getting was actually legit.”

But for Donnybrook’s backwoods-style meth manufacturing, Bill sought the advice of an ex-cook.

“I actually got in contact with some people, and they put me in Write to ryanb@sdcitybeat.com contact with a guy who was a re- and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

April 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 27

working on the miniatures right away, he says.

“They had no idea how cool it was,” Platt says. “Their reactions are funny, because a lot of them have never done anything like that before—not on a miniature. They want to do more. It’s a different medium for them.

It’s really unique, and they look really great on shelves.”

Though the goal is to sell the miniatures, Platt, who’s been storing them at home until the day of the show, acknowledges that it’ll be hard to let them go.

“I’ve fallen in love with them,” he says.

Platt expects Your Name Here to lead to more shows. Starting in June, he’ll hold a weekly art night at Knotty Barrel, the East Village gastropub. Eventually, he hopes to own his own art gallery.

“I came into it knowing that I wouldn’t make money on Your Name Here probably,” Platt says. “But I wanted to see what the reA mini billboard by Renonelab action is to that type of art. It’s almost like a focus test. There’s a trust that I’ve gained with these guys. I think they’re just so appreciative that there’s someone who believes in them and wants to get their art out.”

seen local Mini mediums

Meet our cover artist

Who doesn’t love cute, fluffy kitties? They’re irresistOne of the great things about art is that you don’t ible. But if there’s one thing every cat fancier knows, need to know how to create it to appreciate it. That it’s that, at any given moment, that adorable little fenotion rings especially true for Stuart Platt, owner line can turn on you. of Suicidal Octopuss, a company he created in OcThe dark side of cat behavior, and other things tober to foster, exhibit and broker art. that seem perfectly innocent, is explored in North Platt, who works as a video-game producer for Park artist Carrie Anne Hudson’s “Prey,” which is Sony, has a passion for art that’s palpable when he on the cover of this week’s CityBeat. talks about it. His eyes light up like a kid on Christ“For this piece in particular, I wanted to play mas morning when he describes the pieces he’ll with ‘pure’ versus ‘evil,’” Hudson says, “how someshow at Your Name Here, his first exhibition under thing that’s innocent and soft-looking can be darker Suicidal Octopuss (suicidaloctopuss.com), at 7 p.m. on the inside. It’s something I always found myself Thursday, April 25, at Molotov Gallery (852 16th St. attracted to. I will draw you anything that will look in East Village). terrifying. I hope the dark eyes would stir something “My goal with the company is to evangelize and up in people.” get artists exposure and art shows in places they Though Hudson (facebook.com/carrieanneart) wouldn’t be exposed to,” says Platt, who invested likes her art to be open to interpretation, “Prey” $10,000 of his own money to start the company. “I has been misunderstood. For instance, some have wasn’t sure what response I would get, but the re- thought the painting is symbolic of Satanism, which sponse was phenomenal.

Hudson says is not where she was going with the “Being an independent artist, it’s very hard to get piece. If anything, she says it’s more of a “wholesome your art out there and get people’s attention,” he adds. kitten gone crazy.”

Just like her freaky kitty, Hudson, 24, admits that “For me, I just love art so much. So, if I see something that catches my eye, I’m, like, ‘Hell, I’ll sell your art she has a dark side, despite her bubbly demeanor.

She’s fascinated by anything for you. It’ll be fun.’” creepy, often painting images The show will feature grafthat are slightly disturbing, but fiti and urban street art in a vashe hates horror movies. She’s riety of media by 14 artists, two even known to go off on excited, of them from San Diego. They 20-minute rants about her love include Snak3oil, Chris RWK, of Disneyland.

Epic Uni and locals Jamie “I guess it’s an interpretation Sweetin and Misty Michelle. of me in my artwork,” she says.

The focal point of the show will Next, Hudson will travel by be miniatures Platt commistrain to 13 cities across America sioned from each artist. with three other artists and a He purchased nine-inch mindirector to film a documentary iatures of billboards, recycling titled Art Across America. The cans, dumpsters and other pubgroup will talk to kids about art lic structures that are usually and shed light on the decline of targets for graffiti and gave them arts education. to his artists to use as canvases.

Through these small sculptures, —Alex Zaragoza Platt aims to poke fun at the ilWrite to alexz@sdcitybeat.com legality of graffiti art.

The artists took to the idea of Carrie Anne Hudson and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

28 · San Diego CityBeat · April 17, 2013

April 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 29

Wonder years Terrence Malick’s new film is less accessible than his last one

by Anders Wright Terrence Malick has often been considered a genius, but never a prolific filmmaker. After his 1978 film Days of Heaven, he took two decades off before returning with The Thin Red Line. In fact, including the 2011 Best Picture nominee The Tree of Life, he made only five feature films in 33 years. But his rate of filmmaking is changing starting with To the Wonder, which opens Friday, April 19, at Hillcrest Cinemas, the first of four Malick movies due out in the next couple of years.

Affleck and McAdams are not that important.

Viewers of The Tree of Life generally fell into two camps: There were those who, like me, thought it a up of haves and have-nots, and everything feels sour, grand, ambitious masterpiece, bravely exploring the including Neil and Marina’s relationship, which curbig questions of life, the universe and everything dles over time. through the microcosm of a dysfunctional smallMarina returns to France when her visa expires, town Texas family in the 1950s. And there were and he takes up with an old classmate, Jane (Rachel those who found it painfully dull and obscenely pre- McAdams), who’s damaged goods. The man who tentious. This much is certain: If you hated The Tree watches all this happen is Father Quintana (Javier of Life, To the Wonder is not for you.

Bardem), the local priest whose sermons are sparseThat’s because To the Wonder barely functions ly attended and who’s losing his faith. He’s terribly as a narrative film, though there is a story. Malick melancholy, too incapacitated by his own crisis to uses the medium almost as a blank canvas, painting help his suffering parishioners. emotional portraits of the way It should be said that the humans respond to intangible only way we know any of these things: the emotions we share names is via the credits—their To the Wonder with others, the natural world individuality isn’t all that imWritten and directed around us, our belief—or lack portant to Malick, though

by Terrence Malick thereof—in a higher power. It’s what they’re experiencing cerStarring Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, all about the wonder in life, tainly is. You see, that’s what Rachel McAdams and Javier Bardem and it probably goes without Malick is all about—tackling Rated R saying that, as in all of Malick’s the horrific tragedy that is the films, there are a number of human condition, the artist’s shots of trees. most noble pursuit.

There’s also very little dialogue. The sentiments Teaming up again with cinematographer Emexpressed are often done so in voiceover, with dia- manuel Lubezki, Malick frames his movie in such logue that’s representative of larger themes than the an unusual manner: The characters are almost never specific ones shown on the screen. the true focus of what’s happening on the screen, and The story is almost superfluous to what Malick soft lighting gives the film the feel of being watched is exploring, but here goes: Neil (Ben Affleck), an through gossamer. Initially, I was put off by this American traveling in Paris, meets and falls in love film, but it’s clung to me ever since. The disconnect with Marina (Olga Kurylenko), a whirling dervish of we feel with his characters is, I believe, intentional, a free spirit to his stolid Spartan. Marina and her 10- though it makes for a challenging experience. You year-old daughter Tatiana (Tatiana Chiline) return know, that’s just fine. Malick isn’t interested in trywith him to Oklahoma, where they move into a ge- ing to win us over; he’s just trying to make art that is, neric subdivision that’s, in every way, a long distance at the very least, truthful. from Paris. It’s bland and dull, polluted with corporate filth (Neil’s an environmental inspector) and Write to anders@sdcitybeat.com lacking any solid history. The community is made and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

She flies through the air...

Comrade Kim Goes Flying

30 · San Diego CityBeat · April 17, 2013

A dozen films make up the San Diego Asian Film Festival’s Spring Showcase, which runs for a week starting Thursday, April 18, and happens at the Digiplex Mission Valley. The key get is Linsanity, Evan Jackson Leong’s documentary about Jeremy Lin, who became a breakout star for the New York Knicks last year. That’s

easily the highest-profile film of the series, but I’ll draw your attention to a couple others: First, there’s Jab Tak Hai Jaan (As Long as There is Life), the series’ closing-night movie and the final film from Indian master Yash Chopra. It’s an epic dramatic romance, clocking in at a little less than three hours. It screens just once, at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 25.

And then there’s Comrade

Kim Goes Flying, a North Korean feature film that has to be seen to be believed, especially considering the current political climate.

Like Linsanity, it’s a follow-yourdreams, never-give-up movie. It’s about Kim, a happy coal miner who dreams of becoming a trapeze artist. Co-financed by Western companies, it was shot entirely in Pyongyang with a North Korean crew. It’s not a propaganda piece, or at least not in the traditional sense, though it portrays life in North Korea, even those of the coal miners, as being brilliantly pleasant and easy. It’s sort of like a portrait of a culture that’s ruled by a cult of personality—as seen through that culture, rather than from the outside. That’s what makes it worth seeing, but the plucky old-school story is pleasant, too. Comrade Kim screens at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, April 21, and 6:40 p.m. Monday, April 22.

A list of all the films, the schedule and ticket information can be found at pac-arts.org.

—Anders Wright

Opening Disconnect: Henry Alex Rubin’s new film focuses on people having a hard time communicating despite being wired in.

It stars Jason Bateman, Hope Davis, Mi-

chael Nyqvist and designer Marc Jacobs in his acting debut.

to some and a pretentious bore to others.

See our review on Page 30.

Filly Brown: A young female hip-hop artist has to decide if she wants to water down her music to sign a big record deal.

The We and the I: Director Michel Gondry worked closely with New York teens to create this movie about a group of, um, New York teens, who are heading home on the bus on the last day of school.

Future Weather: After her flighty mother ditches her and moves to California, a teen’s grandmother moves in and the two must learn to get along. Screens at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

One Time Only

Girl Rising: A girl-power documentary about nine young women from nine different countries, narrated by folks like Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Liam Neeson.

The Shining: Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of the Stephen King novel is being presented by FilmOut at Wednesday, April 17, at Birch North Park Theatre.

Home Run: Cinematographer-turneddirector David Boyd’s debut is about a Major League baseball player with a substance-abuse problem who’s reduced to coaching Little League to remember what he loved about the game.

Matrimonio ed Altri Disastri (Weddings and Other Disasters): Romantic comedy about the lonely older sister who plans her younger sibling’s wedding, only to finally meet a swell single guy. Presented by the San Diego Italian Film Festival, it screens at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 18, at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park.

Lords of Salem: The new one from Rob Zombie stars his wife, Sheri Moon, as a DJ who receives a record that triggers visions of her town’s brutal past—and possibly its future.

My Brother the Devil: An England-born Egyptian tries to get away from the tough streets he comes from just as his younger brother tries to get in. Sally El Hosaini’s debut, which won a cinematography award at Sundance, is a very different experience than you expect it to be. Screens for one week at the Ken Cinema.

Oblivion: Tom Cruise plays a spaceman sent back to pull the last few remaining resources out of a depleted Earth.

To the Wonder: Terrence Malick’s new movie is almost more straight-up art than it is a film. This meditation on humanity, faith, nature and our relationship to everything around us will be sweet poetry

Benvenuti al Sud (Welcome to the South): A postman’s wife pushes him to get a transfer to the big city, but things go awry and they end up in the sticks. Presented by the San Diego Italian Film Festival, it screens at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 18, at La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas.

Lost in Translation: Sofia Coppola’s lovely little fable about an aging action star (Bill Murray) and the young woman (Scarlett Johansson) he meets when they’re both stuck in Tokyo and bored with their lives. Screens at 2:30 p.m. Friday, April 19, at the Central Library, Downtown.

Crazy Wisdom: Documentary about the (quote) bad boy of Buddhism (unquote), Chogyam Trungpa. Screens at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, April 19, at the San Diego Sham

bhala Meditation Center in North Park.

Big Daddy: Adam Sandler takes in a little boy. Hilarity ensues. Screens at 7:45 p.m.

Friday, April 19, at Full Moon Drive-In in Pacific Beach.

Ted: Seth MacFarlane wrote and directed this comedy about a guy (Mark Wahlberg) who has to choose between his super-hot girlfriend (Mila Kunis) and the foul-mouthed teddy bear (voiced by MacFarlane) with which he grew up. Screens at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 19 and 20, at Cinema Under the Stars in Mission Hills.

Teddy Bear: A shy 38-year-old Danish body builder heads to Thailand in hopes of finding a wife. Screens at noon, Saturday, April 20, at the Central Library, Downtown.

8 p.m. Wednesday, April 25, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma.

Now Playing Room 237: Bizarrely enjoyable documentary about Stanley Kubrick’s take on The Shining, featuring interviews with people who have incredible theories regarding what the movie’s really about. There are no talking heads, however—everyone’s points are made through film footage.

42: Biopic about the baseball player who wore that number, which has been retired by every single Major League team. Spoiler: It’s Jackie Robinson.

American Psycho: Batman kills people in horrible ways. Leave the kids at home.

Screens at 7:45 p.m. Saturday, April 20, at Full Moon Drive-In in Pacific Beach.

The Company You Keep: Robert Redford directed and starred in this drama, playing a former ’60s radical whose hidden past is uncovered by plucky young journalist Shia LaBeouf.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show: The Doctor will see you at midnight, Saturday, April 21, at the Ken Cinema.

Fists of Legend: Korean film about three high-school rivals given a chance 25 years later to fight for a huge sum of money.

Zero Dark Thirty: Kathryn Bigelow’s epic movie about the decade-long search for Osama bin Laden was seriously snubbed at Oscar time. Jessica Chastain is amazing as the woman who brought him down.

Screens at 7:45 p.m. Sunday, April 21, at Full Moon Drive-In in Pacific Beach.

Gimme the Loot: A pair of New York graffiti artists targets the ultimate tag in this scrappy debut from Adam Leon. Ends April 18 at the Ken Cinema.

Found Memories: A traveling photographer finds himself becoming the bridge between the past and the future of the citizens of a rural Brazilian village. Screens at 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 23, at the Central Library, Downtown.

Avatar: No one takes it seriously anymore, but James Cameron’s 3D sci-fi adventure changed the way people watch movies all around the globe. Screens at

Hunky Dory: Minnie Driver is a ’70s-era drama teacher pushing her apathetic kids to pull together a production of The Tempest. Presumably, the superb David Bowie album of the same name is involved.

For a complete listing

of movies pla ying locally, please see “F ilm S creenings” at sdcit yb eat.com under the “E vents” tab.

April 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 31

Steve Perilloux

From left: Brian McKinley, Jennifer Herrema and Kurt Midness

! d r a o b a All

Bl

I

n his 1977 book Noise: The Political Economy of Music, French scholar Jacques Attali argues that since the dawn of humanity, music has passed through four unique stages, each representing a different economic and cultural role it plays in society.

In the first period, which he calls “Sacrificing,” music is an oral tradition, a way for ancient peoples to make sense of the world. In the second period, “Representing,” it becomes a specialized art with a bourgeois support system, as printed notation and fancy recitals allow visionary composers to flourish.

In the third period, “Repeating,” music turns into a mechanized industry; recording technology fosters the creation of giant record labels that profit off cookie-cutter pop stars. And in the fourth period, “Composing,” further advances in technology ultimately bring us to the kind of dialed-up, plugged-in music free-for-all we see today.

Unlike in the past, modern-day mu-

32 · San Diego CityBeat · April 17, 2013

-for-all

by Peter Holslin

ock ’n’ roll free

e a twisted r ack Bananas ar

sic-makers are free to borrow ideas from whomever they like in the pursuit of making whatever they like for whatever economic goals they may have in mind. And thus, the long march of history inevitably leads us to a wild, crazy rock band called Black Bananas.

Fronted by veteran rocker Jennifer Herrema, Black Bananas thrives on a collagist, anything-goes approach. Their 2012 album, Rad Times Xpress IV, is a runaway choochoo train of butt-rock riffage, electro-funk groove, bruising snarl and bong-hitting humor. The whole aesthetic is glued together with thick, grimy effects, plus the occasional Auto-Tuned vocal part.

“It’s just my philosophy that I’ve always had,” Herrema says about the album’s aesthetic. “Take all the stuff I like, and then just fuck around with it and experiment. And then you kind of hear it when it clicks.”

Even in this age of media overload, Rad Times Xpress (which came out on Drag City) is an overwhelming listen—it’s sometimes hard to figure out what the hell is go-

Some might bristle at metal crossing paths with funk. But Herrema gets a similar feeling from both genres.

“There’s an immediate rush. There’s something so sweet about an anthemic song,” she says. “It just makes you feel the same way, whether it be Zapp or Mötley Crüe. It’s the way it makes you feel, and you kind of know when you hit it.”

Still, Herrema maintains that Black Bananas isn’t some cheap pastiche. Borrowing liberally from a wide array of sounds, styles and disciplines—Herrema has also dabbled in fashion and film and has been surfing for years—they actually create something a bit artsy, an aesthetic that reflects these twisted, post-post-modern times.

That may explain why they’ve attracted the attention of L.A.’s Museum of Contemporary Art, which is having the band play the museum’s upcoming gala.

“I just got an email from Jeffrey Deitch about an hour ago,” Herrema says, referring to MOCA’s director. “He’s a huge fan.”

Lately, Black Bananas have been working on a new album, Electric Brick Wall, which Herrema hopes to have out on Drag City by the fall. In a development that may delight the duo’s fans, she co-wrote two of the album’s tracks with Neil Hagerty, her ex-husband and former Royal Trux bandmate.

Herrema says they worked on the songs via email, and though they haven’t communicated regularly for years, it was an organic collaboration. They even tossed around the idea of writing more songs together, but she doesn’t want to revive Royal Trux to play their old songs again, even though she has fond memories of their 14-year run.

“I look back on it and be like, ‘Yeah, that was great. That was a great time,’” she says.

“But I don’t look back and be like, ‘Oh, I wish it was like that again,’ because I certainly wouldn’t want to do that again. Not because it was bad, but because, like, who wants to do the same thing over and over?”

In the long march of history, as music evolves and new epochs arise, it seems this rock ’n’ roll locomotive will keep on chugging toward the horizon—ready to embrace whatever rad times lay ahead.

ing on. But that hasn’t stopped many fans and critics from climbing aboard: There’s something irresistible about delirious, feelgood funk / rock / hip-hop tracks with titles like “It’s Cool” and “Rad Times.”

Herrema, who used to play in the influential noise-rock duo Royal Trux, started Black Bananas last year as a way to infuse some new life into her band RTX (short for “Rad Times Xpress”). The two entities are pretty much the same, but Black Bananas, which also includes Brian McKinley and Kurt Midness, expands greatly on RTX’s gnarly, self-aware take on hair metal.

When Herrema started playing with RTX after Royal Trux broke up in the early ’00s, she says she and her new bandmates bonded over a love for bands like RATT and Mötley Crüe. As they got to know each other better, they branched out to new sounds.

Switching to Black Bananas, they bought the music software Ableton and brought Black Bananas play with VAMPIRE and in synths and electronics, taking cues from Skrapez at Soda Bar on Tuesday, April 23. blackbananasband.com funk bands like Zapp and Funkadelic.

notes from the smoking patio Locals Only The days are numbered for Croce’s Restaurant & Jazz Bar. U-T San Diego reported last weekend that the famed Downtown restaurant and jazz venue, popular with conventioneers, tourists and local jazz lovers, will close at the end of the year.

Croce’s owner Ingrid Croce told the U-T that she’s leaving because she reached an impasse with the building’s landlord over a lease dispute stemming from noise issues with the nightclub downstairs, Pussycat Dolls Dollhouse.

The run of Croce’s is not over entirely: Croce plans to open a new version of the restaurant in Bankers Hill later this year. But local musicians bemoan the eventual loss of this beloved haunt that sits at the corner of Fifth Avenue and F Street.

“I’ve been working for [Ingrid Croce] for 30 years right on that corner,” says veteran jazz musician Daniel Jackson, 76. “If anybody has brought any kind of class to the Gaslamp, it’s The Archtones at Croce’s her. Now, once she leaves, it’s going to be trashy, and the tourists are not going to like it.” what they can play.

Opened in 1985, Croce’s has long been a key spot “There’s not many rooms where you can play for working jazz musicians, who appreciate that what you want to play,” says Archie Thompson of Croce pays them with a stable check—rather than a cut of door money—and doesn’t put restrictions on CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

April 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 33

peter holslin

The Archtones, who play at Croce’s every Sunday. “She just lets you do your thing.

That’s kind of rare.”

Since the Pussycat Dolls club moved in, though, musicians have had to compete with the electronic dance music pulsating below late at night.

“You can hear the bass lines,” says Holly Hofmann, who plays in a quartet with her husband, Mike Wofford, every other Tuesday. “You can feel it up through your feet. It rattles the piano.”

Croce tells CityBeat that she plans to have music at the new restaurant, which she’s calling Croce’s Park West. But it won’t be the same as the original Croce’s.

“You can’t re-create Croce’s. It was meant to be on that corner,” she says. “That’s where it lives, and that’s where the memories continue to be.”

Rebecca Jade

a wide spectrum of vintage soul and funk. Among their 12 tunes was an Otis Redding-style slow song, a monster P-Funk-esque banger, some smoky psychedelic soul and a groovy jam with a disco beat.

They weren’t as artful as an R&B auteur like Adrian Younge, but they brought a lot more harmony, groove and attitude than the average, workaday local bar band.

View from a Stool In opener “Stranded,” the band’s Alfred Howard doesn’t know sultry, in-the-pocket groove turned when to quit. A prolific songwrit- hot when Martin let out a burst of er and percussionist, he seems to screaming guitar. In the gospelstart a new band every six months. tinged “Coming Home,” Rice and At The Void last Thursday, he per- Felten took off with ecstatic organ formed with a new one—a soul lines, while Howard shook a tamsuper-group called Rebecca Jade bourine with rabid intensity. & The Cold Fact.

Jade’s a fine singer, and she reBut while he’s a pretty lively ally showed her richness and emocharacter, Howard isn’t the type to tional power during the set’s slower hog all the attention. Indeed, his moments. But, at times, her fun, biggest skill might be his ability easygoing style felt a bit too polite— to get topnotch players from dif- she tended to blend in when she ferent bands into the same room. should’ve been taking command.

That’s what happened with this There’s no saying what kind seven-piece, which features some of band Howard might dream up truly soulful musicians—guitarist next. But with The Cold Fact goSean Martin, bassist Jason Lit- ing into the studio this week, and tlefield, keyboardists Josh Rice a new album out by his band The and Tim Felten and drummer Heavy Guilt, he’s best off sticking Jake Najor. with what he’s got for a while.

In their 50-minute set at The —Peter Holslin Void—a show that also saw the live debut of local bands Champ and Write to peterh@sdcitybeat.com Chess Wars—Jade and Co. spanned and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

34 · San Diego CityBeat · April 17, 2013

if i were u

BY peter holslin

Wednesday, April 17 PLAN A: Mamak Khadem @ The Loft at UCSD. Singer Mamak Khadem takes inspiration from a long tradition of Persian poetry. Her latest project, “A Window to Color,” is based on works by the modern verse innovator Sohrab Sepehri. But you don’t need to speak a lick of Farsi to appreciate Khadem’s powerful, soaring voice. PLAN B: Kaleidoscope, The Loons, Brainticket DJs @ Soda Bar. Back in the late ’60s, the boys of U.K. band Kaleidoscope dressed up like Victorian dandies and played jangly, pulsing psychedelic-rock. They eventually changed their band name a couple of times, but their tunes are still trippy and enchanting. BACKUP PLAN: Fool’s Gold, So Many Wizards, Tan Sister Radio @ The Griffin.

Thursday, April 18 PLAN A: Poliça, Night Moves @ The Casbah. Even Auto-Tune’s detractors might have to admit that it works wonders for Poliça singer Channy Leaneagh. As the Minneapolis band lays down ethereal electronic R&B, the vocal effect makes her sound like a heartfelt cyborg that’s aching for love. PLAN B: “Makeout Weird” w/ Maniqui Lazer, Lee Reynolds, Mark E. Quark, Dazzla, Machino, DJ Monsterpussy @ Whistle Stop Bar. After three years, “Makeout Weird” is coming to a close. For one last night of bizarre sounds, hosts Bobby “Freak Sauce” Bray and Heather “Monsterpussy” Brosché are bringing in several DJs and Mexicali spazz-punks Maniqui Lazer. BACKUP PLAN: Binary Star, Dibiase, Artoo & Adamnt, Parker & The Numberman, Zoolay, Futuristic, Sojourn, DJ Charlie Rock @ Boar Cross’n.

day is a scrappy rock ’n’ roll duo with a boy guitarist, a girl drummer and a song called “Cruizin for a Bruizin.” Sounds good to me!

Tonight, they’ll celebrate the release of their new album, Paradise Tossed. PLAN B: Keyshia Cole, Chrisette Michele, Mateo @ Humphreys Concerts by the Bay. If you’ve ever been done wrong by your man, R&B singer Keyshia Cole knows your pain—on her 2012 album, Woman to Woman, she meditates on relationships that get spoiled by liars and cheaters. BACKUP PLAN: Beach Fossils, Mrs. Magician @ The Irenic.

Sunday, April 21 PLAN A: A Tribe Called Red, Cumbia Machin @ The Casbah. Hailing from Ottawa, Ontario, DJ trio A Tribe Called Red mixes dubstep bass and reggae rhythm with beats and chants borrowed from Canada’s First Nation aboriginal communities. The result is an intense, rather awesome brand of electronic dance music they call “powwowCameron Wittig step.” PLAN B: Mexico City Rollers, Rail Them to Death, E.D. Sedgwick @ The Tower Bar. Fronted by D.C. journalist and musician Justin Moyer, dance-punk outfit E.D. Sedgwick bangs out delightful ditties whose funky beats make their snarky, nuanced lyrics go down smooth.

Poliça

Monday, April 22

PLAN A: White Mystery, Heller Keller, The Frights, Barbarian, Wild Wild Wets @ The Ché Café. Step aside, Carrot Top— there’s a new red-headed wonder in town.

With their gritty garage-rock tunes and frizzy red haircuts, Chicago brother-sister duo White Mystery sound as delightful as they Friday, April 19 look. BACKUP PLAN: Mrs. Henry, AmeriPLAN A: Cloud Nothings, Dream Bud- kan Bear, Big Bad Buffalo @ The Casbah. dies, Jeans Wilder @ The Casbah. In a land of sunny indie-pop and surf-punk bands, I sometimes take refuge in the raw, millennial Tuesday, April 23 fury of Cloud Nothings. Their 2012 album, PLAN A: Black Bananas, VAMPIRE, Attack on Memory, was one of the most poi- Skrapez @ Soda Bar. All aboard the choognant slabs of prime-cut rock I’d heard all choo train to rock ’n’ roll town! As I make year. PLAN A: The Zeros, The Neumans, clear in my feature on Page 32, Black BaThe Stalins of Sound @ Soda Bar. Chula nanas are the coolest, heaviest and cerVista-bred punks The Zeros may not be tainly the weirdest metal / funk / hip-hop quite as subversive as they were back in the hybrid I’ve ever heard. PLAN B: Boris, late ’70s, but they’ve certainly honed their Marriages, Bruisecaster @ The Casbah. chops. Don’t miss The Stalins of Sound, the Look up the video for their guitar-shredbest synth-punk band in the city. BACKUP der blowout “Statement” and just try to tell me that Boris isn’t the most ass-kicking PLAN: Slum Village @ House of Blues.

Japanese psychedelic heavy-metal band in all the land. (Disclosure: I play in BruiseSaturday, April 20 caster.) BACKUP PLAN: Black Rebel PLAN A: Gloomsday, Badabing, The Motorcycle Club, Bass Drum of Death Pheasants @ Tin Can Ale House. Glooms- @ House of Blues.

April 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 35

HOT! NEW! FRESH! JJUUJJUU, Blackfeet Braves (The Void, 5/1), C.J. Ramone (Soda Bar, 5/2), Unwritten Law (Casbah, 5/10), Jimmy Eat World, Iamdynamite (HOB, 5/17), A Hawk and a Hacksaw (Loft @ UCSD, 5/31), FIDLAR (Ché Café, 6/1), Scott Weiland (HOB, 6/4), The Beach Boys (SD County Fair, 6/8), Switchfoot (SD County Fair, 6/14), Steve Miller Band (SD County Fair, 6/15), Train (SD County Fair, 6/27), Kendrick Lamar (SD County Fair, 6/28), Damian Marley and Stephen Marley (BUT, 6/25-26), “Weird Al” Yankovic (SD County Fair, 7/1), Ted Nugent (HOB, 7/15), The Eric André Show Live!

(HOB, 7/20), Matchbox Twenty, Goo Goo Dolls (Valley View Casino Center, 7/24), City and Colour (HOB, 10/14),

POSTPONED X-Fest w/ blink-182, The Offspring, 30 Seconds to Mars, Silversun Pickups, Jimmy Eat World, Wavves (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 5/17) moved to 9/20.

GET YER TICKETS AraabMuzik (Voyeur, 4/24), Os Mutantes, Capsula (Casbah, 5/1), Prince (Hard Rock Hotel, 5/3-4), Twin Shadow, Elliphant (BUT, 5/22), Green Day’s American Idiot (Civic Theatre, 5/28), Mumford & Sons (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 6/3), Erykah Badu (Humphreys Concerts by the Bay, 6/27), Fleetwood Mac (Viejas Arena, 7/5), They Might Be Giants (BUT, 6/16), Willie Nelson (Humphreys Concerts by the Bay, 8/7), D’Angelo (Humphreys Con-

certs by the Bay, 8/10), Depeche Mode (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 9/22), Maroon 5 (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 10/5).

April Wednesday, April 10 Kip Moore at House of Blues. Merle Haggard at Belly Up Tavern. The Evens at The Irenic.

Thursday, April 11 Rihanna, A$AP Rocky at Valley View Casino Center. Ben Howard at Belly Up Tavern. Alexander Balanescu + Ada Milea at The Loft @ UCSD. GWAR, Wilson & Warbeast at House of Blues.

Friday, April 12 The Expendables at House of Blues. Kurt Vile and The Violators at The Casbah.

Saturday, April 13 Pep Love, Opio, Equipto at Porter’s Pub. XXYYXX, Mister Lies at Porter’s Pub (2 p.m.).

Sunday, April 14 Lucero at The Casbah.

Monday, April 15 Foals, Neighbourhood at Porter’s Pub. Wild Nothing at The Casbah. Franz Ferdinand at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay. Survival Knife at Soda Bar.

rCLUBSr

710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave, Pacific Beach. 710bc.com. Wed: Open mic, open jam. Fri: The Whiskey Avengers, Dane Scott, The Golden Rule. Sat: Timothy H, DJ Matty Mac, Garrett Lee Robinson, Sando and The Irie Vibrations, Sloat Dixon. Sun: Local Bands Local Brews.

Mon: San Diego Music.TV Showcase.

Tue: 710 Bass Club.

98 Bottles, 2400 Kettner Blvd. Ste. 110, Little Italy. 98bottlessd.com. Wed: ‘Painting and Vino’. Thu: ‘Painting and Vino’.

Fri: The Homegrown Hour. Sat: Kawan DeBose. Tue: ‘Painting and Vino’.

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

Wed: DJ Hevrock. Thu: DJs Less Than None, Lucky J, Lehder 10. Fri: DJ Junior the DiscoPunk. Sat: ‘Juicy’ w/ Mike Czech. Sun: ‘Noise Agents’ w/ DJs Watch .44, Sunday Sauce.

American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave, Downtown. americancomedyco.com. Wed: Sucia Latino Comedy Night. Thu: J. Chris Newberg. Fri: Charlie Murphy. Sat: Charlie

36 · San Diego CityBeat · April 17, 2013

Murphy. Sun: Charlie Murphy. Tue: Open mic.

Bar Pink, 3829 30th St, North Park. barpink.com. Wed: ‘Funk 101’ w/ Stevie and The Hi-Stax. Thu: The Soul Fires. Fri: The Styletones. Sat: ‘Neon Beat: The Best and Worst of the ‘80s’. Sun: ‘Happy Endings’ w/ DJs Joemama, Tramlife. Tue: Mr. Craig Prior.

Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave, Solana Beach. bellyup.com. Wed: Aesop Rock w/ Rob Sonic and DJ Big Wiz, Busdriver. Thu: Tippa Irie, Daniel Bambaata Marley, Roots High Power Sound System, DJ Carlos Culture. Fri: Queensryche w/ Geoff Tate, The Voodoos. Sat: 40 Oz. to Freedom, No Duh, Red Not Chili Peppers.

Sun: Tim McIlrath, Chuck Ragan, Jenny O., Dave Hause. Mon: The Gaslight Anthem, Matt Mays (sold out).

Blarney Stone Pub, 5617 Balboa Ave, Clairemont. 858-279-2033. Wed: The Barmen. Thu: David Dune. Fri: The Fooks.

Sat: The Barmen. Sun: Open mic w/ Men of Leisure. Mon: Trivia. Tue: Irish jam, Bob Tedde.

Block No. 16 Union & Spirits, 344 7th Ave., San Diego, Gaslamp. blockno16. com. Fri: DJ Marc Thrasher. Sat: DJ Marc Thrasher.

Boar Cross’n, 390 Grand Ave, Carlsbad. boarcrossn.net. Thu: Binary Star, Dibiase, ARtoo and Adamnt, Parker and The Numberman, Zoolay, Futuristic. Fri: ‘Club Musae’. Sat: So Cal Vibes.

Brass Rail, 3796 Fifth Ave, Hillcrest. thebrassrailsd.com. Fri: ‘Rivalry’ w/ DJ Kiki.

Sat: ‘Calor’ w/ DJ Sebastian La Madrid; ‘Sabados en Fuego’ w/ DJ Jay Valdez.

Sun: ‘Noche Romantica’ w/ Daisy Salinas.

Mon: DJs Junior the Discopunk, XP. Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave, Bay Park. brickbybrick.com. Wed: SD Music.TV Open Mic. Thu: SD Music.TV Battle of the Bands w/ Soul Ablaze, Reed Street Sessions, Nowhere. Fri: Faster Pussycat, Jesters Fate, As The Crow Flies. Sat: ‘Metal for MS’ w/ Hellbent, Iron Mayhemm, Rattz, Van Roth, Blackout, Busted Knuckles. Sun: Missing Neptune, The Rift, Jagged Lines, Jerod Dulaney and Friends, DJ Maggot, Greedi Boi, Nibble Tibbles, Blacktop Royalty.

Cafe Sevilla, 353 Fifth Ave, Downtown. cafesevilla.com. Wed: Gipsymenco. Thu: Malamana. Fri: Joeff. Sat: Malamana.

Sun: Aragon y Royal. Mon: Aro Di Santi.

Tue: Wine Lounge DJ. Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd, Midtown. casbahmusic.com. Wed: The King Khan and BBQ Show, Feeding People, Crash and The Burns. Thu: Polica, Night Moves. Fri: Cloud Nothings, Dream Buddies, Jeans Wilder. Sat: The Creepy Creeps, Mrs. Magician, Black Hondo, The New Kinetics. Sun: A Tribe Called Red, Cumbia Machin. Mon: Mrs. Henry, Amerikan Bear, Big Bad Buf-

falo. Tue: Boris, Marriages, Bruisecaster.

Che Cafe, UCSD campus, La Jolla. thechecafe.blogspot.com. Fri: Age of Collapse, Fed to the Wolves, Anthrot, Halftime. Sat: Globe And Beast, Alioth, Cart Numbers, Dead Weight. Mon: White Mystery, Heller Keller, The Frights, Barbarian, Wild Wild Wets.

Croce’s, 802 Fifth Ave, Downtown. croces. com. Wed: Fuzzy. Thu: Dave Curtis Quartet. Fri: Lady Dottie and The Diamonds. Sat: Daniel Jackson (11:30 a.m.); Agua Dulce (8:30 p.m.). Sun: Elliott Lawrence (11:30 a.m.); The Archtones (7:30 p.m.).

Dirk’s Nightclub, 7662 Broadway, Lemon Grove. dirksniteclub.com. Wed: Karaoke. Fri: Nemesis. Sat: Nemesis. Sun: Karaoke.

Dizzy’s, 4275 Mission Bay Dr, Downtown. dizzyssandiego.com. Thu: The Joshua White Trio. Fri: The Fishtank Ensemble.

Sat: Danny Janklow, Christopher Hollyday. Sun: LATINIUM. Mon: The New Youth Orchestra Lab Jazz Band and Advanced Jazz Ensembles.

El Dorado Bar, 1030 Broadway, Downtown. eldoradobar.com. Wed: ‘Sweet Cheeks’. Thu: Tropical Popsicle, Buddy Banter, Church Hustlers, Rafael ‘Babyboy’ Reyes, Eric Flynn. Fri: ‘Totally ‘90s Party’ w/ Don’t Go Jason Waterfalls, Saul Q. Sat: ‘Boys and Girls’.

F6ix, 526 F St., Downtown, Downtown. f6ixsd.com. Thu: ‘Throwback Thursdays’ w/ Tati, DJ Al. Fri: DJ Fingaz. Sat: DJ Kaos. Sun: Brett Bodley.

Fluxx, 500 Fourth Ave, Downtown. fluxxsd.com. Wed: The Faint. Thu: Jochen Miller, Victor Dinaire, Murphi Kennedy. Fri: Ricky Rocks, DJs Brett Bodley, XP. Sat: DJs Karma, Craig Smoove.

Griffin, 1310 Morena Blvd, Bay Park. thegriffinsd.com. Wed: Fool’s Gold, So Many Wizard, Tan Sister Radio. Thu: Maoli, Jordan T. Fri: Sara Petite, Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash. Sat: The OrangePickers, Sounddrug, The Young Rapscallions, Color You, C Hopkins. Sun: Bruisecaster, Sound Lupus, Dark Globe, HoodRat. Tue: Dirty Sirens.

Hard Rock Hotel, 207 Fifth Ave, Downtown. hardrockhotelsd.com. Thu: Kevin Brown, Alsius, Tantrum. Fri: Scooter, Craig Smoove (207); Kevin Brown, Static Promenade (Float). Sat: Audio Playhouse, Don Santino, Ayla Simone (Float); DJ Loczi, Joey Jimenez (207). Sun: Chachi.

House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave, Downtown. houseofblues.com/sandiego. Wed: Alex Clare, The Knocks; Jammingout the House of Blues. Thu: Lawrence Thomas, Charlene Mae. Fri: Slum Village; Tyrone WElls, Wakey! Wakey!, Brett Young. Sat: Battle for Van’s Warped Tour. Sun: Paul Kelly, Dan Kelly. Mon: Modern Day Moonshine. Tue: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Bass Drum of Death; Ed Ghost Tucker, Ron Franklin.

Ivy @ Andaz, 600 F St, Downtown. ivyentertainmentsandiego.com.

Thu: Johnny Rayburn, Angle, Wattsup. Fri: Brett Bodley, Boonie Walker, Este, Murphi Kennedy, Ahlex Diego. Sat: Kurch, Frankie M., Shcoeny, Decon.

Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd, Midtown. kavalounge.com. Wed: Noise Agency, XIV, Seeking Alpha. Thu: Jon E Thin, Damon Clark, Steven Wade, Jeff Phillips.

Fri: Project Donate w/ Ras G, Go Yama, Sasquatch, Will Spliff. Sat: ‘Detour’. Sun: SD hip-hop.

Kensington Club, 4079 Adams Ave, Kensington. 619-284-2848. Fri: Roadkill

the hit list It’s all the way live Weekend No. 1 of Coachella has passed, and I, for check out live sets by Tropical Popsicle, Buddy one, had no interest in attending. Two of my all-time Banter, Church Hustlers and others. There’ll favorite bands, Blur and The Stone Roses, are head- also be strange, surrealist art from Jimmy Ovadia liners; and even so, I gave a firm “hell no” to anyone on display. Just leave the LSD-dropping to the who asked if I would attend. I go into a Woody Al- girls in denim coochie cutters crying as The Postal len level of neurosis over the potential for stampede Service play their set in Indio. and the grossness of available port-a-potties. I think But if you’re just dying to trip out on some I’ll just stick around town and strange tunage, go to the catch one of these acts playing final installment of Makehere in San Diego. out Weird at Whistle Stop Fluxx (500 Fourth Ave., Bar (2236 Fern St. in South Downtown) is usually the Park). For three years, the place to be if you want to club night, presented by The catch acts like Lil Kim or dub Locust’s Bobby Bray and step DJs attempting to melt Heather Brosché, has brought your brain with their sick cool, off-kilter experimental beats. However, on Wednesnoisemakers, visual art, live day, April 17, the club’s bookbands and DJs to the people. ing agent stepped up their For their last event, MW will game by putting The Faint, present Mexicali dance punks Maniqui Lazer do matching outfits, the Saddle Creek Records inManiqui Lazer, Lee Reynolds, emo stares and dance punk. die-rockers with a penchant Mark E. Quark, Mnstrpsy for dark, grimy dance riffs, on the bill. Having seen (Brosché’s DJ / artist alter ego) and others. Expand them live, I assure you it’ll be a sweaty good time your mind and say goodbye to this rad night. minus the passing out in a random person’s tent.

—Alex Zaragoza Tickets are $20 and available at fluxxsd.com.

For a cheaper night of cool music, bring a crisp Write to alexz@sdcitybeat.com fiver to El Dorado (1030 Broadway, Downtown) to and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 36

April 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 37

Ghost Choir, Ed Ghost Tucker.

La Gran Tapa, 611 B St, Downtown. lagrantapa.com. Wed: Carlos Velasco (noon); Latin Magic (5:30 p.m.). Thu: Carlos Velasco (noon); Dusty Brough Guitar (6 p.m.). Fri: Carlos Velasco (noon); Juan Moro (6 p.m.); flamenco (8 p.m.). Sat: Latin Magic (5:30 p.m.). Sat: Live Art by Davina (1 p.m.). Sun: Carlos Velasco, Grupo Bohemio. Tue: Carlos Velasco (noon); Tomcat Courtney (6 p.m.).

Lestat’s Coffee House, 3343 Adams Ave, Normal Heights. lestats.com. Wed: Caroline Brooks, Josh Damigo, Tolan Shaw. Thu: Aaron Bowen, Jesus Gonzalez, The Periphials. Fri: Channel w/ Pete Thurston, Isaac Cheong B-Day Show. Sat: Allison Lonsdale, Bosen and Suede, Deno Marquee, Verdell.

Sun: The Robin Henkel Band. Mon: Open mic w/ Chad Taggart. Tue: Comedy.

Loft @ UCSD, Price Center East, La Jolla. theloft.ucsd.edu. Wed: Mamak Khadem.

Wed: Mamak Khadem. Thu: Zbonic w/ Zak Najor, Initial Conditions.

Martinis Above Fourth, 3940 Fourth Ave, Hillcrest. martinisabovefourth.com.

Fri: MA4 LIVE! w/ Carol Curtis. Mon: Musical Mondays.

Mc P’s Irish Pub, 1107 Orange Ave, Coronado. mcpspub.com. Wed: Gene Warren. Thu: Rick and Jason. Fri: Ron’s Garage. Sat: Trunk Monkey.

Mosaic Wine Bar, 3422 30th St, North Park. mosaicwinebar.com/. Thu: Kindred Spirits II. Numbers, 3811 numberssd.com/.

Angel X; ‘Varsity’. w/ DJs Sebastian Eye Candy.

Park Blvd, Hillcrest.

Thu: ‘Tagged’ w/ DJ Fri: ‘Viernes Calientes’ La Madrid, Rubin. Sat:

Office, 3936 30th St, North Park. office-

barinc.com. Wed: Suburban Campers, Love and the Skull, Pawiis, Stanley, J40.

Thu: Ikah Love, Adam Salter, Old Money.

Fri: DJs Mike Czech. Sat: ‘Strictly Business’ w/ DJs EdRoc, Kanye Asada. Sun: ‘Uptown Top Ranking’ w/ Tribe of Kings.

Mon: ‘Dub Dynamite’ w/ DJs Rashi, Eddie Turbo. Tue: ‘The Boardroom’.

Pal Joey’s Cocktail Lounge, 5147 Waring Road, Mission Valley. paljoeysonline. com. Wed: Karaoke w/ Erica. Thu: Karaoke w/ Frank. Fri: Outta Sync. Sat: Zone 4. Sun: Karaoke w/ Frank. Mon: Vicious Phishes. Tue: Karaoke w/ Ben. Patricks II, 428 F St, Downtown. patricksii.com. Wed: DD and The Down Beats.

Thu: Mystique Element of Soul. Fri: Bill Magee Blues Band. Sat: Johnny Vernazza.

Sun: Blue Rockit Band. Mon: WG and The G-Men. Tue: Walter’s Chicken Jam. Porter’s Pub, 9500 Gilman Dr., UCSD campus, La Jolla. porterspub.net. Fri: Chevy Woods.

Quality Social , 789 6th Ave, Downtown. qualitysocial.com. Fri: DJ Frankie M. Sat: DJ Groundfloor.

Queen Bee’s, 3925 Ohio St, North Park. queenbeessd.com. Wed: Firehouse Swing Night. Sun: Salsa. Tue: ‘Lyrical Exchange’.

Rich’s , 1051 University Ave, Hillcrest. richssandiego.com. Wed: ‘Mischief’ w/ Bianca, DJ Taj. Thu: ‘Repent - Ladies Night’.

Fri: ‘Dirty Pop!’ w/ DJs John Joseph, Will Z. Sat: ‘L.L. Bear’ w/ DJ John LePage.

Sun: ‘Pump Flip-Flopped!’ w/ DJs Cros, Marcel.

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

Wed: Kice Simko. Thu: Madford. Fri: Animal Steel. Sat: The Bedbreakers. Tue: Party Planet Karaoke.

38 · San Diego CityBeat · April 17, 2013

Ruby Room, 1271 University Ave, Hillcrest. rubyroomsd.com. Wed: Amigo the Devil, The Cerny Brothers, The Morgan Leigh Band, Ryan Fox. Thu: Chris Young, Rocky rey, Brother Nature, Eponym, Trackwide, Grizzo Zee. Fri: The New Kinetics, Neighbors To The North (CD release), North Beach, The Schitzophonics. Sat: DJ Dara, Garva, Havok Mega w/ MC Dre, ‘URBN:LGND’ w/ Ridda, Subliminal, CSD. Sun: Powered Wig Machine, Deep Sea Thunder Beast, Bhorelorde, Chiefs. Tue: Ruby Tuesday w/ Krimson Blues, Tiffany Jane and The Kicks, Groove Ride.

Searsucker, 611 5th Ave, Downtown.

Wed: DJs Greyboy, Julian Tydelski.

Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd, City Heights. sodabarmusic.com. Wed: Kaleidoscope, The Loons, Brainticket DJs. Thu: East of Sweden, Animal Steel, The NFormals, Machines Learning. Fri: The Zeros, The Neumans, Stalins of Sound.

Sat: The Telescopes, LSD and The Search for God, Sidewalk Scene. Sun: Leftover Cuties, Two Man Gentlemen Band, Adams and Eves. Mon: Wheeler Brothers, Oh Spirit, Golden Beaches. Tue: Black Bananas, VAMPIRE, Skrapez.

SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd, Midway. somasandiego.com. Fri: Senses Fail, Such Gold, Real Friends, Major League.

Sat: A Day to Remember, Of Mice and Men, Issues.

Spin, 2028 Hancock St, Midtown. spinnightclub.com. Sat: Shane Stiel. Sun: Reggae.

Stage Bar & Grill, 762 Fifth Ave, Downtown. stagesaloon.com. Wed: Mark Fisher/Gaslamp Guitars, Bl3ndr. Thu: Dubstep DJs, Van Roth. Fri: The Disco Pimps, Zig Zag Jones. Sat: DJ Miss Dust, Fingerbang.

Mon: Reggae. Tue: DJ Von Kiss.

Stingaree, 454 Sixth Ave, Downtown. stingsandiego.com. Thu: Watch the Duck, DJs Definition, Beatnick. Fri: Pusha T, DJs Kurch, Decon, House Rules. Sun: G-Roy, Theron, Devoy, Brady Spear, Flesch, Chris Liosi. Mon: Industry Mondays.

The Flame, 3780 Park Blvd, Hillcrest. flamesandiego.com. Sat: ‘Diamond Dust’ w/ May Star. Sat: Diamond Dust.

The Irenic, 3090 Polk Ave, North Park.

Sat: Beach Fossils, Mrs. Magician. Mon: He Is We. The Void, 3519 El Cajon Blvd, North Park. tinyurl.com/axnjs56. Fri: The Memories, Street Gnar, Unkle Funkle, Emotional, DJ Mario Orduno. Sat: heavy Hawaii, Plateaus, Dream Boys, DJ Mario Orduno.

Til-Two Club, 4746 El Cajon Blvd, City Heights. tiltwoclub.com. Wed: ‘A Brief History of Rhyme’ w/ DJs Heather Hardcore, Marclar. Fri: DJs Miki Vale, Naomisoulfly.

Sat: Cumbia Machin.

Tin Can Ale House, 1863 Fifth Ave, Bankers Hill. thetincan1.wordpress.com. Wed: Sculpins, Nuclear Tomorrow, The A-Bortz.

Thu: John Meeks, The Easy Leaves, Saba.

Fri: The Ultra Electric Mega Galactic, Blaak Heat Shujaa, The Freeks. Sat: Gloomsday (record release), Badabing, The Pheasants (record release). Mon: Tin Can Country Club w/ David Frances. Tue: G Burns Jug Band, Laura Meyer, Trailduster.

Tio Leo’s, 5302 Napa St, Bay Park. tioleos.com. Wed: Theo and Zydeco Patrol.

Thu: Blue Largo. Fri: The Jones Revival.

Sat: Bobby Sanchez Combo. Sun: Salsa.

Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave, City Heights. thetowerbar.com. Wed: Fucktard, Black Market Prophets, DJ Mikey Ratt. Fri: The Potato Pirates, From Scars, Nutstache. Sat: Blood Stained Reality, Puke N Rally, Abject, Neverland Ranch

Hands. Sun: Mexico City Rollers, Rail Them to Death, E.D. Sedgwick. Tue: Organs.

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

Wed: Tomcat Courtney, Patrick Dowling.

Thu: Pan Am. Fri: Fish Out of Water, Tomcat Courtney. Sat: Pan Am, Tomcat Courtney. Sun: Big Boss Bubale, Sounds Like Four. Mon: Pan Am. Tue: Afro Jazziacs.

U-31, 3112 University Ave, North Park. u31bar.com. Thu: DJ Schoeny. Fri: DJ Kid Wonder. Sat: ‘DanceDance’ w/ DJ Qenoe.

Sun: ‘Sunday Soul’. Mon: ‘Taking Back Monday’.

Voyeur, 755 Fifth Ave, Downtown. voyeursd.com. Wed: Dirtyphonics. Fri: Gina Star. Sat: Digital Lab. Voz Alta, 1754 National Ave, Barrio Logan. vozaltaprojectgallery.com/. Thu: Bill Caballero’s Latin Jazz Jam. Sat: Group Art Show.

Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St, South Park. whistlestopbar.com. Wed: ‘Vinyl Snobs’.

Thu: ‘Makeout Weird’ w/ Maniqui Lazer, Lee Reynolds, Mark E. Quark, Dazzla, Machino, DJ Monsterpussy. Fri: ‘Fckin’ in the Bushes’ w/ DJ Rob. Sat: ‘80s vs. ‘90s’ w/ DJs Gabe Vega, Saul Q. Tue: ‘Friends Chill’.

Winstons, 1921 Bacon St, Ocean Beach. winstonsob.com. Wed: Open mic w/ Jefferson Jay (6 p.m.); Souls of Love, DJ Carlos Culture (9 p.m.). Thu: O.B. Comedy Competition (6 p.m.); Krass Bros., Kng Mkr, 3rd Borough (9 p.m.). Fri: Peter Bandyk, Medicinal Mike (6 p.m.); Todo Mundo (9:30 p.m.). Sat: The Travel Agents (5 p.m.); Sister Nancy, Piracy Conspiracy, King Schascha, Dub Trinity, RHP and TRC (9:30 p.m.). Sun: The Bigfellas, Jokers and Jacks (4 p.m.); ‘O.B.-o-ke’ w/ Jose Sinatra (10 p.m.). Mon: Electric Waste Band.

April 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 39

40 · San Diego CityBeat · April 17, 2013

April 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 41

Proud sponsor:

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Across 1. Briefly, Bay Area force 5. Prefix with “gram,” in medical imaging 10. Point that might help protect a fenced-in area 14. Shallowest of the Great Lakes 15. Mugs for the crowd, perhaps?

16. Burger King drink purchase 17. Break in the rhythm 18. Deal for a new baseball card 19. Style for a certain vocal improviser 20. Org. for one making an album of a cappella 22. Noted composer Charles who, in his lifetime, few even knew 23. “That’s gonna leave a mark ...”

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Last week’s answers

56. Sounds from young Siamese or Burmese, e.g.

57. ___ A (event at which a famous person might say hi) 58. Take out for food, as a team 59. “Mad Men” character Harris periodically involved with Roger Sterling 60. Ruin, as a beaver’s construction 62. Letters on the Allied side in WWII 63. Memo header that looks like an abbrev.

64. Sauce made with garlic and olive oil 65. “Nuthin’ ___ ‘G’ Thang” (Dr. Dre song for which MTV censored the video) 66. Dutch artist Jan van der ___, who painted landscapes 67. Had some nerve 68. Point opposite the nadir

Down 1. Angels sometimes shown around the Madonna 2. Refill, as an item from the menu 3. Joe who in the ‘80s had a comedy special on HBO 4. Coup ___ (government takeover, say) 5. Jenny Holzer or Matthew Barney output 6. Rock common in South Africa 7. Tropical fruit that’s fiber-rich 8. Librarian’s assignment 9. Works by Horace 10. Shaggy plains animal 11. For example, any of the women who claimed to have had sex for money with Sen. Robert Menendez 12. Key device, in the nuclear power biz 13. West Virginia college about an hour north of WVU 21. Old Windows PDA that could be synced to a desktop 26. Drug that’s breathed 29. Beginning for a form filler-outer 31. Moses’s bro 34. ___ out (withdraw) 35. “___ the Walrus” 36. Speaker’s hesitations 38. Nation that borders the Democratic Republic of the Congo 39. Gas station snack with a spicy flavor 40. Mystic 41. Spybot alternative 43. Grows less harsh 44. A lack of refinement 45. Big name in airline ranking 48. Hurry up, in a Speedy Gonzalez cartoon 51. Actor Ed from Missouri 53. Ewoks’ moon 55. CuraÁao neighbor 57. Campus area 61. Neither high nor low

Two $20 gift certificates to Mitch’s Seafood will be awarded weekly. Email a picture of your answers to crossword@sdcitybeat.com or fax it to 619-325-1393. Limit one win per person per 30 days.

42 · San Diego CityBeat · April 17, 2013

April 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 43