2 · San Diego CityBeat · May 20, 2015
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May 20, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 3
Up Front | From the editor
Now up the ante with Chargers The mayor’s stadium task force should have upped for the city and the county of San Diego to each pay the ante in the proposal it released on Monday. The $121 million ($7 million per year for 30 years) for Citizens’ Stadium Advisory Group recommended a stadium. It’s being argued the city already pays the San Diego Chargers organization contribute that much per year in maintenance, so it’s not a $300 million to the bottom line of a $1.1 billion new new tax. But local history shows that legal minds stadium construction plan. That’s an increase from are already poised to go to court to point out that what the team said it would pay a decade ago, but either the rollover city fund or the new county fund way low for 2015. is, indeed, a tax. The CSAG also incorrectly assessed that a viable Here’s the thing about the Chargers threatening deal could be reached between the city and the San to leave San Diego: For the team it’s strictly business. But to local fans, it’s personal. In The GodfaDiego Chargers without two-thirds voter approval ther, Michael Corleone espoused that never the from the public. For the team to continue playing here in a new facility with any public subsidy, a twain shall meet. The Spanos family shows no sign public vote is inevitable, and would likely come in of wanting to negotiate on a personal level, so let’s June 2016, after the 2015-16 NFL season. (There’s talk business. no time to schedule a special election before the pro The CSAG proposal is a hybrid that points to season starts in September, and it’d be madness to funding sources from at least a dozen sources. It calls hold one in-season.) for the Chargers to invest $300 million and to start In fairness to the CSAG, it was saddled with a paying rent ($10 million per season). However, the can’t-win/can’t-win situation. It’s team would reap the benefit of namron donoho easy to read between the lines that ing rights (around $150 million) and the high-profile members of the task half the profit from the sale of perforce had grown tired of being a piñasonal seat licenses (a projected $60 ta for the jabs of Chargers spokespermillion take for the team). son Mark Fabiani. CSAG chairman All these numbers are hypothetiAdam Day appeared relieved when cal at this point, so it’s inane to exhe stated at the recent press conferactly compare revenue streams to ence: “Our work is done.” When Day expenditures. But just a glance shows quipped, “I’m sure the whole comthat the Chargers’ rewards, under the mittee would love to continue workCSAG model, come close to equaling ing on this,” his remark was met with their risk. universal laughter from the group. A sweetheart deal is not going to Now it’s time for real negotiations pass public muster in San Diego. A to begin. Fabiani’s terse response to third of the population here bleeds the CSAG report was that the team Chargers blue and would forgo all CSAG financing plan neighborhood services to build a would have financing, legal and landuse experts review the proposal. house of worship for the team. AnMayor Kevin Faulconer says his negotiating team, other third chant “not one dime” and would only which will include City Attorney Jan Goldsmith and ever finance a bus that would drive the team out of representatives from the County of San Diego, is town. The middle third likes having an NFL team, ready to sit down at the table as early as June 1. but also recognizes civic responsibility includes Faulconer also reiterated that a stadium agreepaying for essential services. ment would not move forward without a public If a stadium proposal can be dished up that’s divote. That’s a foregone conclusion. A mayor up for gestible to the middle third, and a majority vote is re-election can’t back away from that big a promdeemed legal (and that’s questionable), then that’s ise. As this situation moves forward, if the Chargers the path to the Chargers being allowed to stay in don’t pull up stakes and flee to glittery promises of San Diego (note role reversal). a new stadium in Los Angeles, the only question The diehard football fans are apoplectic about about a public vote here will hinge on whether it every detail that arises regarding the $1.8 billion can legally be whittled down from passage by twoCarson stadium proposal, purportedly to be built thirds to a majority of voters. chargers CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 The CSAG proposal, as a reference point, calls This issue of CityBeat is dedicated to the memory of Stupid Pet Tricks, Top 10 lists and good ol’ Dave.
Volume 13 • Issue 41 Editor Ron Donoho Music Editor Jeff Terich Arts Editor Kinsee Morlan Staff Writer Joshua Emerson Smith Web Editor Ryan Bradford Art director Carolyn Ramos Columnists Aaryn Belfer, Edwin Decker, John R. Lamb, Alex Zaragoza
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4 · San Diego CityBeat · May 20, 2015
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May 20, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 5
Up Front | Letters
chargers CONTINUED from PAGE 4 up north on a landfill that hasn’t been paid for yet but will be shared by the Chargers and the Oakland Raiders. That both teams have jointly hired Carmen Policy to head the push for Carson should not lead to a knee-jerk reaction here that kicks open city coffers to sweeten a San Diego deal. That would be wrong in a civic sense, and would be political suicide for Mayor Faulconer. No, he doesn’t want to have the team depart during his watch. But while some of the die-hards will hold it against him if the Chargers head north, that in and of itself won’t cost him a re-election bid in 2016. Offering a weak deal to the team (whether the Chargers stay or go) would, however, create an opening for a San Diego-Now/Corporate-Welfare-Never mayoral opponent. Mayor Faulconer needs to enter negotiations with the “not one dime” approach, and then forge a deal that’s better than the one proposed by the task force. Standing up to the Chargers will eliminate the only roadblock along his path to re-election. And it’s the most prudent plan for all the people of San Diego. —Ron Donoho Write to rond@sdcitybeat.com.
6 · San Diego CityBeat · May 20, 2015
NEW VOICES
THE NUTS GOT TO HER
CityBeat welcomes two new writers this week. Chad Peace has written an opinion piece under the column header “Divided States of America.” Peace is the managing editor of the San Diego-based news website, the Independent Voter Network (IVN.us), and attorney for the Independent Voter Project. He makes the point that a growing number of individuals who Chad Peace choose not to affiliate with one of the two major political parties are too often squeezed out of the voting process. Jessica Johnson is contributing a story about Galleta Meadows, an artinspired, off-thebeaten track find in a department called “Hidden San Diego.” Johnson runs Jessica Johnson a popular adventure website under the same name (hiddensandiego.net), where she regularly chronicles hidden, haunted and uncharted spots in the San Diego area.
I really enjoyed your piece called “Everybody out of the water” [“From the Editor,” April 15]. Fun and funny writing about a painfully serious topic. I giggled over my Thai wrap at the line about almond farmers growing the difference between an Almond Joy and a Mounds. (Fortunately, I didn’t laugh so hard that peanut sauce sprang from my nose!) Nice job on that column! Clearly, you are digging your new job.
On the
Cover
Karyl Carmignani, University Heights
SEND US YOUR THOUGHTS Read a story in San Diego CityBeat that inspired you to add your two cents? We welcome letters to the editor that respond to, or follow up on, news stories, columns or opinion pieces that have run in these pages. Send an email to editor Ron Donoho at rond@sdcitybeat.com. For your letters to be considered, you must include your first and last name, and the part of town where you reside.
New CityBeat art director Carolyn Ramos created this week’s whimsical cover illustration. “The paper is both fun and informative, and for the Summer Guide I wanted to focus on the fun,” she says. Like most of the illustrating she’s done, Ramos first drew a sketch in pencil, then inked it, scanned it and colored it in Photoshop. She’s been a designer in San Diego for nine years, and has been showing her work locally for the past three years. “But I love publishing, and there’s no place else I’d rather work,” she says, noting that she’s absorbing tips from the Summer Guide on where to go for tacos and whiskey. To see more of her illustrations, go to somaramos.com.
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May 20, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 7
UP FRONT | NEWS
Todd Gloria
David Alvarez
The hard line on freeway expansion State Route 94 becomes battle ground over “managed lanes” by Joshua Emerson Smith Tensions recently swelled over a planned freeway expansion in the heart of the city. A key transportation artery that pumps vehicles in and out of Downtown is slated for major surgery. While planners have said the construction is necessary to boost the city’s bus system, environmentalists have called that explanation “green washing.” With a cost of $600 million, the project would expand State Route 94 by building another level on top of the existing highway between 22nd Street and Interstate 805. The two miles of new “managed lanes” would service carpooling and buses, linking up to “bus rapid transit” networks along Interstate 15 to the north and a similar project planned along I-805 to the south. While regional officials marketed the expansion as transit-friendly, activists have taken a firm stand. In a city where about 75 percent of commuters are solo drivers and only 4 percent use mass transit, critics argued that, to incentivize transit and carpooling, “managed lanes” should simply replace existing lanes. “What if we were to do paint before pavement and then use the existing funds to have other transit benefits?” said Monique Lopez, policy advocate with the Environmental Health Coalition. “When you widen freeways it doesn’t relieve conges-
8 · San Diego CityBeat · May 20, 2015
tion. “What happens is, usually within a four-to-five-year time period, you’re back up to the same level of congestion.” Project planners with the California Department of Transportation and the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) said they analyzed such an alternative and found painting managed lanes on the existing highway would significantly slow down the buses and increase traffic. “It doesn’t work very well with the concept of bus rapid transit,” said Gustavo Dallarda, Caltrans corridor director. “The concept is to have a dedicated guide-way where the bus can basically travel at freeway speeds.” Recently, the project grabbed the attention of progressive City Councilmember David Alvarez. Route 94 divides his District 8 to the south from Councilmember Todd Gloria’s District 3 to the north. Docketing the issue for the City Council’s Environment Committee on Wednesday, May 20, Alvarez has called for a public discussion on the project. “How will we use this opportunity and funding to provide real transit solutions that extend to the adjacent neighborhoods?” he said. “From the current alternatives, I don’t see the community benefit.” While the project is expected to knock out more than a dozen residential properties and could potentially lead to increased air pollution over time, residents have also voiced frustration that it doesn’t include a bus stop for any of the directly impacted communities. “I’m concerned about the lack of a [bus rapid transit] stop serving Golden Hill and
approved by voters in 2004—which among other projects, specifically calls for the addition of two high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) lanes along Route 94 between I-5 and Interstate 8. “If you go to the Transnet measure it talks about new HOV lanes,” Dallarda said. “It doesn’t talk about converting. It goes as far as describing how many lanes you have in addition to the HOV lanes.” While specific language in the text can be amended by a two-thirds vote of the SANDAG board or a vote of the people, it’s unclear whether the agency would entertain such an idea. What’s clear is that many local professionals want to maintain their ability to drive to work in San Diego’s relatively traffic-free environment. “Our employees need to have transportation options in order to efficiently get back and forth to work,” said Melanie Nally, associate director of Local Government & Regulatory Affairs BIOCOM, a trade organization for San Diego’s life sciences industry. “In the real world, people get back and forth in their vehicles.” Environmentalists argue that such an approach won’t adequately incentivize the use of public transit. SANDAG’s everevolving, multi-billion-dollar regional transportation plan—which encompasses projects such as the expansion of Route 94—has been found by several courts to not properly address state-mandated standards for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, largely caused by pollution from vehicles. In review now by the state Supreme Court, the plan has come under significant scrutiny for pushing highway expansion to the front of the queue while putting off mass transit projects for decades. Even less hard-line transportation groups have started pushing the planning agency to explore an alternative lineup of projects. Earlier this year, with the support of the American Lung Association, Circulate San Diego asked SANDAG to at least explore a transit-first approach. “The Transnet says you got to build all these things before 2048, but nothing in Transnet says you have to build them today,” said Colin Parent, policy counsel for Circulate San Diego. “And if you build a lot of these things in the near term, it’s going to gobble up a lot of resources.” With the environmental impact report on the Route 94 expansion due out in June, critics vow to continue to push planning agencies to analyze more transit-focused approaches. Claiming to be shut out by agency staff, these groups have turned to city leaders to force a public debate, and at least for the moment, they seem to have succeeded. “It’s important for everyone, Caltrans, SANDAG, the community, my colleagues, to understand what this project does and doesn’t do and what the costs and benefits are, both to our region and to the immediate neighborhoods,” Alvarez said. “We’re providing a forum so that conversation can take place.”
Sherman Heights, and I will be advocating for its inclusion,” said Gloria, who also sits on the Environment Committee. However, environmentalists have been clear that they’re looking for more than a bus stop. They have argued the expansion project is an example of widespread regional transportation planning that fails to aggressively adopt long-term climate change and air-pollution-reduction strategies. “The local communities who are battling [the expansion of Route] 94 are actually doing a favor for everyone in our region,” said Jack Shu, president of the Cleveland National Forest Foundation’s Board of Directors. “What they could win is a win for looking at transportation differently in our region.” Along the same lines, the Cleveland National Forest Foundation has sued SANDAG on its plan to expand a 27-mile stretch of Interstate 5 by four “managed lanes” for buses and carpooling. The project is part of a $6.5-billion package that includes enhancing the trolley system and adding bike lanes. “Somewhere along the line we have to change the thinking process and priorities of our elected officials,” Shu said. “We have one of the best freeway systems in the country if not the world, but we have a transit system that’s quite deficient.” Project funding comes with restrictions that often dictate what can be built, said Gloria, who also sits on the SANDAG Board of Directors and chairs the agency’s transportation committee. “As much as I will always support the investment into alternative transportation options, most transportation funding is not flexible on its use,” he said. “Federal and state highway funds simply cannot be used for transit projects.” When it comes to several highway expansions, Caltrans has argued that it’s Write to joshuas@sdcitybeat.com. bound by Transnet—a half-cent sales tax
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May 20, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 9
UP FRONT | OPINION
DIVIDED STATE
CHAD PEACE
OF AMERICA Right to vote is under attack We do not get our right to vote because we are white, black, gay, straight, male, female, conservative, liberal, a member of a private organization or any other criteria other than what makes us American: citizenship. Often, when talking to my conservative friends about “democracy,” they are quick to point out that the United States is a “constitutional republic,” and to “stop saying that America is a democracy!” And so I stop and read the first three words of the preamble of the Constitution. “We the People.” See, the problem with our conservative friends isn’t that they’re ignorant. It’s just that they know so much that isn’t so well thought out. How, for example, can we have a system of representation for “We the People” if our constitutional republic is not grounded
10 · San Diego CityBeat · May 20, 2015
in a democratic vote whereby all the people get to participate? Affording the right to vote to any less than every citizen would create a constitutional republic for “We the Minority in Control of the Government at any Given Time.” So there, at its core, is the key to our constitutional republic: the right of the people to vote for those who are elected to represent each and every one of us. In the early-1900s, under the Democratic Presidency of Woodrow Wilson, we finally pushed through the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to participate in the voting franchise. Only then did women finally become part of “We the People,” with full rights to equal representation. And while the Democratic Party had embraced the expansion of the voting franchise to women, African Americans were
largely left out of our representative system despite having the constitutional right to vote for half a century. Until the mid-1940s, for example, the Democratic Party in many southern states did not allow African Americans to participate in “their” primary elections. Primaries, they argued, were private affairs and, therefore, the 15th Amendment did not apply. But in 1944, the Supreme Court told the Democratic Party of Texas that it could no longer prevent African Americans from voting in their all-important primary election (see Smith v. Alwright), because of the important impact the primary had on the public election process. Despite the ruling, for the next two decades southern states implemented a series of other voting obstacles to keep blacks out of the voting franchise. From
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Because the more important voting rights issue is larger than voter identification. Today, 90 percent of elections are ‘decided’ during the primary stage of the election. This is, in part, because the majority party in any given state simply draws the districts to concentrate opposition voters. Worse, both parties have designed the rules so that if you are one of the 40 percent of voters who don’t identify with either party, your vote never matters during the primary election. All you need to do is look at
the red and blue maps on the news station to see how political parties have “claimed” districts across the country. The Republicans do it in Arizona. The Democrats do it in New Jersey. Contrary to popular belief, partisan primary elections are private elections. Sure, taxpayers pay for them, but their purpose is to elect representatives who are loyal to the party, not the general electorate. Don’t believe me? Just read either party’s bylaws. Or, the state’s election code. So is it any surprise that our
elections have become less about ideas, and more about gamesmanship? Is it any surprise that representatives on both sides seem to pander to narrow interests? One only needs to look at the Republican presidential primary to see the effect that a privatized election system has had on our public political discourse. And the effect of the party pandering is far-reaching. Even in San Diego’s “nonpartisan” local elections, it’s not hard to tell which party any given official represents. So this year, the Independent Voter Project asked a simple
question of the court in New Jersey, where 47 percent of their voters are not allowed to vote in the all-important primary because they have chosen not to join either private political party: Do you have to join a political party to vote at an integral stage of the public election process? On appeal, the Third Circuit Court said: Yes you do. So much for “We the People.” Chad Peace is managing editor of the San Diego-based news website Independent Voter Network (IVN.us).
literacy tests to poll taxes, those who controlled the laws did everything they could to rationalize racism under the guise of good governance. It wasn’t until 1965, supported by a growing civil rights movement, that the Democratic President, ironically, had enough popular support to push through the ever-important Voting Rights Act. Only then did blacks finally become part of “We the People,” with full rights to equal representation. Today, when we think of the battle over the right to vote, we think of voter ID laws designed to disenfranchise the most vulnerable among us under the guise of good governance, again. Generally, this Voter ID battle is fought between Republicans who stand to benefit from low voter turnout and Democrats who stand to benefit from having more lowincome voters at the polls. And whoever wins this battle will win a few more elections than they otherwise would. But what happens when neither party benefits from more equal voting rights? In the 1960s, for example, the majority party in any given state would use malapportionment to protect their incumbency. The strategy was easy: simply draw some districts bigger than others by population, and load all the opposition voters into those large districts to dilute their voting power. Both parties used this tactic for a long time, until the courts intervened. It was a court’s ruling that finally ended malapportionment and gave us the now seminal phrase: One Person, One Vote. So how is this relevant today?
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May 20, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 11
Up Front | Opinion
Sordid
Edwin Decker
Tales
To asterisk, or not to asterisk? Thanks to recent controversies surrounding Tom Brady and Alex Rodriguez, the age-old argument involving the asterisk has re-emerged. Most of you know what Brady did. And Alex Rodriguez is in the news for surpassing Willie Mays on the all-time home run list (4th), which likely would not have happened without the help of steroids. Sports fans have long pondered how the record books should regard cheating and other disparities, and time and again the asterisk seems to be the viable answer. The only problem? It’s not all that viable. Implementing asterisks opens a can of worms: How could we know all the cheaters who cheated and to what extent? Is it fair to give the same asterisk to an insignificant, small-time swindle and a big-league one? What about non-cheating disparities? Would we need to asterisk-ize every football stat that occurred after the season was extended to 16 games? There’s no end to the inequalities in sports record keeping and no perfect answer to this problem. That said, I favor asterisks—providing, we use a variable, multi-tier system. After all, the advantage gained by deflating footballs for one game is not the same as consuming performanceenhancing drugs for a decade. We need different types of asterisks for different disparities. Here’s what my system would look like. First, we will continue to employ the standard five-point asterisk. Under my design it will be used to denote statistics affected by rule changes, like the aforementioned season extension or a modification of the playing field. A good example of the latter is when the maximum height of the pitcher’s mound was raised by five inches in 1968, giving pitchers a ridiculous advantage for one season. Next, we need to assign an asterisk-type symbol to the statistics of athletes who used steroids, such as Barry Bonds, Lance Armstrong and Sammy Sosa. This symbol will be called asteroids, the image for which will be a tiny, floating space rock being injected with a needle. Also on the cheating tip, we will need a symbol to denote stats that benefit from the manipulation of equipment, such as deflating footballs, scuffing baseballs or putting itching powder in your opponents’ jock straps. This will be called a tamperisk and the symbol will be an image of Sammy Sosa stuffing cork into the top of a bat. Speaking of Sosa, if a player has cheated by both tampering and ’roiding, his or her stats shall be accompanied by a Sammy-Sosarisk, which will be an image of Sosa stuffing his bat with cork while the conditioning coach sticks a needle into his bare ass. There should also be symbol to denote cheap-
shotters and thugs—the kind of players who aim to injure their opponents. We’ll call it the nasterisk, in honor of these nasty players who inflated their stats with vicious—if not felonious—attacks on other players. Take Ty Cobb, who intentionally slid, spikes-high, into the ankles of opposing infielders; Roger Clemens, whose affection for throwing baseballs at batters’ heads rivaled Henry VIII’s penchant for removing them; and boxer Antonio Margarito, who earns a nasterisk and a tamperisk for filling his gloves with plaster of Paris. The icon for the nasterisk will be Ty Cobb in the dugout sharpening his spikes to cause maximum damage (for which he was known). And while this is not an exhaustive list, there is another type of -erisk which must be included. It’s for a rule disparity, not a cheat, but it greatly affected the statistics of the MLB players of the time. I am talking about a blacksterisk—for all the stats that were put up during the years of the Negro Leagues, before African-Americans were permitted to play in the majors. After all, who knows how many infield hits Willie “The Devil” Wells would have gobbled up or how many ERAs Norman “Turkey” Stearnes would have lain to waste were they permitted in the cracka league? For the blacksterisk symbol, I’m going with an image of Ty Cobb in Hell being gang-raped on a bed of sharpened cleats by the disembodied phalluses of every black man he called “darkie.” Finally, my asterisk system will also denote general, assholeish behavior, even if said behavior gave no advantage on the field. For these we will need a class of symbols called ass-sterisks which, admittedly, are only included because I needed a reason to say “ass-terisk.” Types of ass-terisks include the waah-sterisk which is for incessant whiners who make a scene when a call doesn’t go their way. The icon for the waah-sterisk shall be a silhouette of John McEnroe stomping on a splintered tennis racquet. There will also be a racisterisk, for competitors like John Rocker, Fuzzy Zoeller and Ty Cobb—who by my count now has a tamperisk, nasterisk, blacksterisk and racisterisk beside his name. Naturally we’ll need a sexisterisk, the symbol for which will be a female reporter lurching in disgust as she opens a dick-pic text from Brett Favre. The pederast-erisk will denote male athletes who gained advantage by having sex with young boys the night before the big game. Of course, there is no record of this ever happening, but I couldn’t resist including the term “pederast-erisk.”
“
We need different types of asterisks for different disparities.
“
12 · San Diego CityBeat · May 20, 2015
Sordid Tales appears every other week. Write to edwin@sdcitybeat.com.
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May 20, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 13
Up Front | Food
by michael a. gardiner Michael A. Gardiner
The origin stories range from a sandwich accidentally falling into a pan of meat drippings, a thrifty customer (or cook) finding a use for otherwise un-used drippings, to a chef softening bread in the juice for a customer with sore gums. While the truth may never be known, my money’s on a chef-owner covering up stale bread. Ironically, the Dapper Dipper may be Rubicon’s least creative offering. The spicy tuna sandwich, like most of Rubicon’s offerings, Rubicon Deli’s Spicy Tuna sandwich is a creative play on a classic. This, however, wasn’t your ex-girlfriend’s fool-yourself-into-thinking-you’re-dieting tuna sandwich. How could it be with habañero mustard and a jalapeño jack loaf? These kicked-up ingredients provide the fireworks. But what really makes it work, as with the Dapper Dipper, is A Dapper Dipper how those ingredients work hand-in-hand with more traditional ingredients: good quality albacore tuna, onion, pickle and pepperoncinis. I’m The “French Dip” is Southern California’s entry not one who goes for goopy sandwiches, but I’m in the Best Sandwich on the Planet derby. Never definitely one who goes for this. In the Dapper mind that the original was neither French, nor Dipper’s absence, the spicy tuna might be a Best dipped by the diner (it was doused back in the Sandwich on the Planet candidate. kitchen), this hot sandwich of thinly sliced roast Less adequate was the Rubicon special. Usubeef on a baguette served au jus (with beef juices, ally, the namesake dish is a highlight. This broth or consommé) became a staple of diners, turkey, smoked gouda and roasted red pepper dining halls and mid-century school cafeterias. sandwich fell flat. Somehow the red pepper The version at Rubicon Deli (3715 India ended up sucking the life out of the smoked Street, Mission Hills), the Dapper Dipper, may be gouda, and the top quality of the turkey meat the best I’ve tasted. All of Rubicon’s sandwiches couldn’t shine through. The Dom Pastram was start with a choice of six house-baked breads. much better, a wonderfully fresh cabbage coleThe best for the Dapper Dipper is the Dutch slaw elevating the sandwich beyond the classic Crunch, the exterior of which holds up well to on which it riffed. the dipping. The beef in the sandwich is a halfOne word on volume: Rubicon’s sandwiches pound of slow-roasted tri-tip, another Southern are huge. There’s a reason for that take-home California original. But what makes the dish is wrapping station at the exit. A half sandwich is how the creamy horseradish, Swiss cheese, beef more than enough. And when it comes to the and the au jus marry. Each of the parts is qualDapper Dipper, size creates another irony—just ity; the whole is greater than that. It is the French try not to get some of that delicious au jus-horseDip taken to its logical extreme. radish ooze on your threads. You just can’t look The French Dip’s origin is sharply disputed. too dapper after dipping that behemoth. Two Los Angeles restaurants claim the invention:
the world
fare
Cole’s Pacific Electric Buffet and Philippe The Original, the latter including the words “Home Of The Original French Dip Sandwich” in its logo.
14 · San Diego CityBeat · May 20, 2015
The World Fare appears weekly. Write to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com.
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Up Front | Drink
beer &
chees
by ian cheesman
Though Duck Foot Brewing may enjoy a bit of whimsy, their beer is no joke. Co-owner Matt DelVecchio described their brews as “loose interpretations of classic styles,” which is best exemplified by their unusually bracing Cali Blonde. It’s a little Fresh tastes from Green Flash, too hop-forward to qualify as lawnmower beer, Duck Foot Brewing and certainly the sort of departure from style guidelines that would make purists wince. But it’s undeniably tasty. My favorite among them As part of San Diego’s ongoing initiative to was West Coast IPA, which delivered tropical forge an ethanol-based economy, the bloom of fruit aromas and grassy/pine flavors with spring has produced a fresh harvest of new beer notable clarity. drinking options. With so little time remaining Of course, these days a tasting room need to get your liver in shape for summer, there’s no not be affixed to a brewery. It can just as easily time like the present to check them out. be a remote storefront or even a value-add at Duck Foot Brewing (8920 Kenamar Drive Stone Farms. I anticipate that soon, tasting#210) is the latest addition to the beer hive room parking lots will be outfitted with draught better known as Miramar. It’s unique among its offerings, so even stowing your car is an essential peers in a unilateral embrace of gluten-reduced part of the brewery experience. Until that brewing. If you’ve ever wondered where all the wondrous day arrives, Green Flash’s Cellar 3 hot people with celiac disease are partying, look (12260 Crosthwaite Circle) in Poway is bringing no further. beer flights into the barrel room. The Duck Foot tasting room has all the The 12,000-square-foot facility is an essential essentials: beer, and murals featuring android component to Green Flash’s newest creative fisticuffs. You’d be astonished how many breweries outlet. Not only will Cellar 3 significantly carelessly overlook the latter. The decor may favor enhance their ability to do national barrel-aged the eight shades of slate that so many tasting releases (as recently manifested with their rooms of late have embraced, but it undeniably award-winning Silva Stout), it will also provide feels modern, clean and occasionally whimsical. capacity to experiment with their Natura duffpoint Morta ales, notable for being re-fermented with fruit in the barrel. More importantly, the new real estate gives Pat Korn, Green Flash barrel master and brewery man-at-arms, the freedom to play with yeasts that are prone to wanderlust. “Before Poway the biggest challenge was making funk/sour beers in an environment where you absolutely should not,“ he says. “Contaminating a 250BBL tank of West Coast is not an option.” Cellar 3’s tasting room will feature up to 30 beers, including both Green Flash and Alpine Beer Company offerings. The facility will further offer exclusive experimental brews, savA flight at Duck Foot Brewing ing consumers the hassle of aging their white IPAs on chardonnay barrels themselves. With Duck Foot’s brewing philosophy emphasizes barrel options as varied as the beers, expect Cellar variety. Even in the context of a soft opening. 3 to keep your tongue guessing. At press time, they offered five beers capable of painting a reasonable beer rainbow, with plans Beer & Chees appears every third week. to offer far more after a grand opening in June. Write to ianc@sdcitybeat.com.
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May 20, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 15
Up Front | Food
by Ron Donoho Ron Donoho
As the name suggests, this is an alehouse, with 28 active taps. The beer list focuses on the local craft offerings, which will change on a regular basis. The most recent cask list includes everything from Belching Beaver Great Lei IPA to Ballast Point Calico Amber Ale; from Hess Jucundus Orange Honey Wheat to Monkey Paw Patas Pale Ale. There’s also a full bar with wine and spirits. Crafty bartenders will mix you up one of their own specialty drinks, or something off the menu like the Tennessee Mule (Jack Daniel’s, pomegranate and lime juice, fresh mint and ginThe taps at Quad AleHouse. ger beer) or an Upperclass Irishman (Jameson Irish whiskey, St. Germain, sweet & sour mix and a splash of soda). The food offerings center around slowcooked, house-smoked meats: garlic-and-herb roasted chicken; ancho chili-braised beef brisket; hickory-smoked pulled pork; applewood-smoked No shushing in beer study hall turkey breast; and my favorite, Moroccan-spiced lamb shoulder. You can order any meat as a sandwich, in a This place doesn’t feel like it’s on the oft-raucous salad or as a plate that comes with two sides. The main drag in the Gaslamp Quarter. The address is lamb sandwich wasn’t heavy or overwrought, 868 Fifth Avenue, but Quad AleHouse is on the even though it came with pickled cucumber, third floor, literally and figuratively above it all. marinated olives, roasted tomato (I always pull At street level just below is the Gaslamp out the tomato), baby greens and goat cheese. Tavern, which had been closed since well back My non-meat-eating companion opted for into 2014. Turns out the owners were freshenjust a side of smoked mac ’n’ cheese. It’s hearty ing up the Tavern while completely reinventing and filling, gooey-not-crunchy and comes piping the Quad space. Both occupy a historic building hot in a mini skillet. at the corner of Fifth and E Street that used to One of the coolest design elements in The house Navy lockers for traveling servicemen. Quad is a geographic, annotated wall map of Management has given the new, 5,000San Diego’s breweries. I’m told, as the list swells square-foot alehouse a nickname: Beer Study above a hundred, it’ll be easy enough to add anHall. Indeed, the main dining area holds long, other dot on the map and list the brewery. sturdy, dark wooden benches, laid out like a Studying history and current events couldn’t room you might find on a college campus. But be more intoxicating. this is no frat house. There’s a refined feeling
Urban
Eats
in the air. And, well, lots of air, streaming in through large open windows that face out onto the colorful downtown streets.
16 · San Diego CityBeat · May 20, 2015
Urban Eats appears every other week. Write to rond@sdcitybeat.com.
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May 20, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 17
Up Front | places
hidden
by jessica johnson
san diego
Discover desert dinosaurs
Many fans of outdoor art have never heard about Galleta Meadows. You don’t even have to be all that into the art to be stunned by this collection of sculptures that’s scattered around Borrego Springs. These gigantic installations of prehistoric dinosaurs--about 150 of them--are all over the place, lurking silently across a span of 3,000 acres in the desert. Each piece is the combined product of sculptor Ricardo Breceda’s artistic genius and Dennis Avery’s generosity toward his beloved San Diego. Avery was heir to the Avery-Dennison label-making fortune, but he blazed a distinct path of his own in San Diego. He was a Cal Western Law School graduate who for a time worked in the San Diego City Attorney’s office, and later served as an associate dean for the law school. But much of his attention was devoted to Borrego Springs. He purchased the land with the intention of preventing it from ever being developed. At some point, while traveling back and forth visiting his children at college in Riverside, Avery happened on the Perris studio of Breceda, a Mexican-born and self-taught sculptor. The studio was called Perris Jurassic Park, and the men quickly discovered a mutual love of dinosaurs. Breceda drew inspiration from watching the movie Jurassic Park with his young daughter. When she asked for a T-Rex for Christmas, Breceda endeavored to please her, and a major era in his artistry began. In 2008, Avery commissioned Breceda to create iron sculptures of a variety of prehistoric beasts for Galleta Meadows, an appropriate site, since Borrego is home to one of the richest troves of fossils in North America. When Avery died in 2012, there were approximately 150 pieces in the collection. There’s no funding to create more. However, he did leave behind an endowment to pay Breceda for repairing weather-related damage to his pieces. A tip to photographers: The real magic
18 · San Diego CityBeat · May 20, 2015
A Galleta Meadows dino. happens here at night, with a backdrop of a million stars. To see more off-the-beaten-path places in San Diego, go to hiddensandiego.net. Galleta Meadows 786 Palm Canyon Dr. Borrego Springs, CA 92004 galletameadows.com
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EVENTS
SHORTlist
ART
the
Three you have to see
DIVE IN!
A three-day weekend is like a gift from the Gods. When it comes to Memorial Day weekend, it usually signifies summer is officially here and everybody and their mama will be having some kind of backyard BBQ or pool party. On the latter, we have a few pool party suggestions to make this particular holiday weekend one to remember. Kick things off on Friday, May 22, with CityBeat’s TikiBeat party from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. at the Lafayette Hotel (2223 El Cajon Blvd.). The annual, Polynesian-themed fête will feature DJs spinning tiki tunes, Polynesian dancers, a fashion show, burlesque performances and more. There’s even a spanking booth, if you’re into that sorta thing. And yes, there will be Shellback rum drinks aplenty. Tix are $12.50 at sdcitybeat.com. You’ll want to save room for Rum Fest on Saturday, May 23, at the poolside Hiatus Lounge at the Hotel La Jolla (7955 La Jolla Shores Dr., sdrumfest. bpt.me). For $10, guests can sample rums from names like Malahat, Owney’s and Zaya, while also enjoying slow-grilled food items from 2 to 5 p.m. Shenanigans continue on Sunday, May 24, when Rooftop600 at the Andaz San Diego Hotel (600 F St.) holds its annual Memorial Day Pool Party ($15 at rooftop600.com) from 1 to 7 p.m. The rooftop view can’t be beat, and we particularly like the fact that CityBeat faves DJ Adam Salter and Kimbo are spinning tunes. The BYOI (Bring Your Own Inflatables) theme also has us wondering if they make water wings for adults. Time to find out. Hopefully, you’ve paced yourself, but if not, the Swingin’ Sixties Pool Party on Monday, May 25, at The Pearl Hotel (1410 Rosecrans St., thepearlsd.com) should
Rosarito Art Fest
BAJA BOUND
Grey Hope at UCSD Visual Arts Facility Performance Space, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla. Last chance to see UCSD MFA candidate Audrey Hope’s solo exhibition of collage-style sculptures that deal with her experiences in the desert. Closing reception from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, May 22. Free. 858-534-2230, visarts.ucsd.edu
Swingin’ Sixties Pool Party at The Pearl Hotel be just mellow enough to unwind. Mad Men may be over, but guests can still get in the spirit of the show with DJs spinning ’60s classics throughout the day. Bottomless mimosas will certainly help with said spirit. It’s 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., but as with the rest of these pool parties, arrive early to snag those coveted lounge chairs by the water. Cannonball!
SHOP ‘TIL YOU HOP
North Park is a different neighborhood at night—more people fill the streets, as well as the barstools, and it’s a lot harder to find a parking space. But once you find that plum spot, you’ll have a busy night ahead of you. From galleries to restaurants, the quarterly North Park After Dark event sees more than 30 local businesses open late, offering complimentary drinks and other goodies. Additionally, for the first time the event will feature the North Park Shop Hop, where boutiques like Geographie, Hunt & Gather, Mimi & Red and dozens more will be offering special discounts and promotions. There’s also a progressive raffle, where, if you visit 10 or more businesses, you can win up to $850 in prizes. All of this takes place on Thursday, May 21, from 5 to 9 p.m. facebook.com/ northparkafterdark
STEPHANIE FONG / MALU PHOTOGRAPHY
Heading to the beach on Memorial Day weekend may sound about as fun as a root canal. Luckily, Mexico doesn’t celebrate Memorial Day. It’s just a regular ol’ Lunes. Why not get your beach fix and more in Baja during the sixth annual Rosarito Art Fest on Saturday, May 23, and Sunday, May 24, on Blvd. Benito Juárez in the tourist area of Rosarito? Over 100 regional artists will have their work on display. There will also be food presentations from local purveyors, as well as live music and dance performances. Bonus: You don’t have to work on Monday so feel free to spend the night and enjoy a decidedly lesscrowded beach. facebook.com/rosaritoartfest
HPlayful Interactions at SDSU Downtown Gallery, 725 West Broadway, Downtown. Three San Diego artists, Dave Ghilarducci, Rizzhel Mae Javier and Margaret Noble, share new works that deal in ideas of self-reflection, identity, memory and an individual’s place in society. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, May 21. Free. 619-501-6370, downtowngallery. sdsu.edu Speak…Memory at Brokers Building, 402 Market St., Downtown. A solo exhibition of paintings and narrative by Madeline Sherry that recalls certain periods in her life. Opening from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, May 22. Free. 858-222-9367, madelinesherrypaintings.com
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SETH COMBS
COURTESY OF THE PEARL HOTEL
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COORDINATED BY
Extended School Partnership Showcase: Hoover High School at MCASD, 1001 Kettner Blvd., Downtown. Join Hoover High School students in the Berglund Room and Woods Terrace to check out the original works they created in MCASD’s Extended School Partnership program. From 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 21. Free. 858-454-3541, mcasd.org
Geographie Shop
Ikebana///Anemone at UCSD Visual Arts Facility Gallery, Russell Dr. and Lyman Ave., La Jolla. A new solo show inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphosis by UCSD MFA candidate Morgan Mandalay that features sculptural work and video pieces. Opening from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, May 22. Free. visarts.ucsd.edu Support Local Artists, Part 2 at Dolphin and Hawk Fine Art Gallery, 7742 Herschel Ave., La Jolla. The second of two shows showcasing new works from United Artists of San Diego. Featured artists include Dennis Dizon, Gibran Barrack, Cat Chiu Philips and almost a dozen more. Opening from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, May 23. Free. 858401-9549, dolphinandhawk.com HMEGABLOCK at Space 4 Art, 325 15th St., East Village. A new exhibition that examines “reverse sprawl and the uneven (re)development of metropolitan San Diego.” Participants include Shane Anderson, James Enos, Elizabeth Hensley C., Periscope Project and more. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, May 23. Free. sdspace4art.org Wild Graces at Mission Trails Regional Park Visitor’s Center, One Father Junipero Serra Tr., Mission Trails. An exhibition featuring two award winning photographers, Jodie Hulden and Robert Treat, who specialize in evocative landscapes. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 23. Free. 619-668-3281, mtrp.org Murals of La Jolla Walking Tour at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. The Athenaeum will host this walking tour led by project curator Lynda Forsha. View murals by Kim MacConnel, Ryan McGinness, Kelsey Brookes and Mel Bochner’s newest addition, “Blah, Blah, Blah.” At 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 27. Free. 858-4545872, muralsoflajolla.com
BOOKS Scott McEwen at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The co-author of American Sniper will present the latest installment of his fictional Sniper Elite Series, The Sniper and the Wolf. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 20. Free. 858454-0347, warwicks.indiebound.com
Lyndsay Faye at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. The bestselling author will sign and discuss the final Timothy Wilde mystery, The Fatal Flame. At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 20. Free. 858-2684747, mystgalaxy.com Scott Barnett at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The CEO of the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company restaurants will sign and discuss his book, Gumption: Taking Bubba Gump from Movie to Restaurant. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 21. Free. 858-454-0347, warwicks. indiebound.com Nancy Holder at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. The fantasy novelist signs and discusses the latest in her young adult Beauty & the Beast series, Some Gave All. At 2 p.m. Saturday, May 23. Free. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com Abbie Bernstein at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. The author will sign and discuss The Art of Mad Max: Fury Road, the official companion to the blockbuster movie. At 2 p.m. Saturday, May 23. Free. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com John Blair at D.G. Wills Books, 7461 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The noted surf historian will sign and discuss his new book, Southern California Surf Music, 19601966. Surf band Soul Critter will also perform. At 2 p.m. Sunday, May 24. Free. 858-456-1800, dgwillsbooks.com George Galdorisi at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. Part of Warwick’s ongoing Weekend with Locals series, the San Diego author will sign and discuss the military thriller, Tom Clancy’s Op-Center: Into the Fire. At noon. Sunday, May 24. Free. 858-454-0347, warwicks.indiebound.com HMichael Perry at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The radio host, songwriter, and bestselling author will sign and discuss The Jesus Cow, a comical novel about a cow whose fur has a pattern that resembles Jesus, well, you know who. At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 27. Free. 858-454-0347, warwicks.indiebound.com Elizabeth George at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. The bestselling author stops by to promote the third book in her Becca King paranormal series, The Edge of the Shadows. At 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 27. Free. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com HBonnie ZoBell at Del Mar Library, 1309 Camino Del Mar, Del Mar, Del Mar. The local author reads from her new collection of stories, What Happened Here, about the wildly different people living in a single block in San Diego’s North Park neighborhood. At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 27. Free. sdcl.org
COMEDY Jason Stuart at Martinis Above Fourth, 3940 Fourth Ave., Hillcrest. The veteran character actor and comic performs with up-and-coming lesbian comic Jennie McNulty to benefit the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus. Includes a warm-up musical comedy show by the SDGMC. At 8 p.m. Thursday, May 21. $25-$50. 619-4004500, sdgmc.org HBianca Del Rio at House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., Downtown. The actor, insult comedian and drag queen stops by on her “Rolodex of Hate” tour. At 8 and 11 p.m. Friday, May 22. $30-$55. 619-299BLUE, houseofblues.com/sandiego/ Brewschool’d with Groundswell Brewing Company at Finest City Improv, 4250 Louisiana St., North Park. Beer tasting and comedy combined. Patrons will
H = CityBeat picks
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May 20, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 19
be treated to a flight of beer samples from Groundswell and an evening of comedy from Finest City Improv. At 8 p.m. Saturday, May 23. $20. 619-3066047, finestcityimprov.com Lights Out Comedy at Kensington Club, 4079 Adams Ave., Kensington. Presented by Pat Puccini, Austin Train and Rachael Dana, this night features sketches and stand-up by local writers and comedians. At 9 p.m. Monday, May 25. Free. 619512-2129, facebook.com/pages/LightsOut-Comedy/512741202121361 HWill Joke For Food Tour at Mad House Comedy Club, 502 Horton Plaza, Downtown. Some of San Diego’s most progressive comedians kick off their journey to the country’s most conservative states to raise money for Feeding America San Diego. Comics include Danielle Arce, Richie Estrada, Jaleesa Johnson and more. At 7 p.m. Monday, May 25. Free. 619-2791673, facebook.com/joke4food
DANCE HNew Skins at Visionary Dance Theatre, 8803 1/2 La Mesa Blvd., La Mesa. Visionary Dance closes their fifth anniversary season with a concert featuring the choreographic works of New Mexico native and Assistant Artistic Director Martin Anthony Dorado. At 8 p.m. Friday, May 22 and Saturday, May 23. $13-$17. 619758-8112, visionarydancetheatre.org Staycation 2015 at San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., Downtown. The Chula Vista-based Neisha’s Dance and Music Academy will present their annual recital featuring ballet, modern dance and more. At 2 p.m. Sunday, May 24. $17$25. sandiegotheatres.org
20 · San Diego CityBeat · May 20, 2015
FASHION Viva La V Series: B.JASH.I and Responsive Textiles at La Valencia Hotel, 1132 Prospect St., La Jolla. Enjoy cocktails and a lunch by Chef James Montejano while enjoying informal modeling from Fashion Week San Diego designers B.JASH.I and Responsive Textiles. At noon. Thursday, May 21. 858-270-9466, fashionweeksd.com Flights of Fancy Fashion Show Luncheon at Sea & Smoke, 2690 Via De La Valle Suite D-210, Del Mar. Models will showcase chic new accessory trends from Fairen Del Boutique while guests indulge in specialty food and cocktails. A portion of the proceeds benefit Make-A-Wish Foundation. At noon. Thursday, May 21. $10. 858-259-1120, flowerhill.com Summer Style Soiree at Studio NN, 2454 3rd Ave., Bankers Hill. Join Studio NN and Sherry Lou Studio for some popup shop fun. Includes unique fashion, jewelry, makeup, hair products, handmade goods and more. From noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 24. Free. 619-237-8802, facebook.com/events/810682435694604/
FOOD & DRINK North Coast Brewing Dinner at Kitchen 4140, 4140 Morena Blvd., Clairemont. Michelin-starred chef Drew Deckman of Baja California and North Coast Brewing Company join forces for a five-course dinner and beer pairing. From 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, May 21. $79. 8584834140, kitchen4140.com HLebanese Food Festival at St. Ephrem Maronite Catholic Church, 750 Medford St., El Cajon. Authentic Lebanese bites, as well as live music, dancing, folkloric performances, Hookah bars, carnival rides and more. From 6 to 10 p.m.
Friday, May 22 and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, May 23 and Sunday, May 24. $2. 619-337-1350, lebanesefestivalsandiego.com HRum Fest at Hiatus Lounge, 7955 La Jolla Shores Dr., La Jolla. Guests can sample rums from names like Malahat, Owney’s and Zaya at the third annual festival while also enjoying some slow-grilled food items on the patio. From 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 23. $10. 858-551-3620, sdrumfest.bpt.me Meat Men Sausage and Beer Pairing at Blackthorn Irish Pub & Grub, 3010 Clairemont Dr., Clairemont. Four of The Meat Men’s artisan sausages will be paired with four pours of Thorn Street Brewery’s beers. At 12:30 p.m. Saturday, May 23. $20. 619-276-3462, thornstreetbrew.com Summer Kick Off Craft Beer Fest at NTC at Liberty Station, 2640 Historic Decatur Road, Point Loma. Enjoy live music, food trucks and a human hamster wheel while sampling dozens of options from local craft breweries. From 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 23. $50. 619-573-9300, sandiegocraftbeerfest.com
MUSIC WEDS@7: KaiBorg and Kronomorfic at Conrad Prebys Music Center, UCSD campus, La Jolla. David Borgo of the UCSD Department of Music Faculty performs with two of his brass ensembles. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 20. $10.50$15.50. 858-534-3448, music.ucsd.edu/ concerts Celtic Woman at San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., Downtown. The multi-platinum, all-female music ensemble performs their takes on traditional Irish standards, classical favorites and contem-
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porary pop songs. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 20. $51-$82. , sandiegotheatres.org JJ Grey & Mofro and Beth Hart at Birch Aquarium, 2300 Expedition Way, La Jolla. Part of the Green Flash Concert Series, enjoy live music, drinks and snacks while taking in the sights of the Birch Aquarium. From 5:30 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, May 20. $34.95-$38.95. 858-534FISH, aquarium.ucsd.edu Hershey Felder’s Great American Song Book Singalong at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Downtown. Known for his musical character creations from Gershwin to Chopin and Beethoven to Bernstein, Hershey Felder will perform classics from famous Jewish artists. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 21. $44-$55. 619-570-1100, sandiegotheatres.org HRock in the Park: Steve Poltz at Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, 1875 El Prado, Balboa Park. Award-winning local singer-songwriter Steve Poltz will be the fifth and final headliner for the Rock in the Park concert series. At 7 p.m. Friday, May 22. $27-$32. 619-238-1233, rhfleet.org
young artists from the San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory’s most advanced orchestras performing music by Dvorák, Mozart and others. At 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 26. Free-$10. 619-2333232, sdys.org
PERFORMANCE Hans Christian Andersen at Tenth Avenue Arts Center, 930 10th Ave., East Village. Performer Randall McGee portrays the beloved storyteller and shares some of Andersen’s stories using paper cut art to produce fascinating pictures and designs. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 21. $10. 619-920-8503, brownpapertickets. com/event/1447229 Ache! The Afro-Cuban Orixa Archetypes at Winston School of San Diego,
215 9th St., Del Mar. The Cuban choreographer, dancer, drummer, singer and storyteller presents this production featuring songs, stories and dances of the major universal archetypes of Afro-Cuban tradition. From 7 to 9:30 p.m. Friday, May 22. $10-$20. 858-259-8155, jungsandiego. com/Lectures.html
POETRY & SPOKEN-WORD First Year MFA Readings at UCSD SME Building, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla. First year MFA writers like Marco Antonio Huerta, Sarah Ciston, Ken Saragosa and more will be reading for the New Writing Series in the Visual Arts Performance Facility (SME 149). From 4:30 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 20. Free. literature.ucsd.edu
POLITICS & COMMUNITY March Against Monsanto at Balboa Park, Balboa Park. Global march with over 50 countries participating. Rally and march takes place at the Balboa Park fountain by R.H. Fleet Science Center. At 11 a.m. Saturday, May 23. Free. 858-248-3307, facebook.com/ events/663412457137614/
SPECIAL EVENTS HNorth Park After Dark at University Ave. and 30th St. Over 25 businesses in the heart of North Park, from galleries to boutiques, will remain open until 9 p.m. and offer specials, refreshments and en-
tertainment. From 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, May 21. Free. northparkmainstreet.com RAW: Sensory at House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., Downtown. There will be artistic talent in film, fashion, music, visual art, hair, makeup artistry and performance art, all coming together for a one-night circus of creativity. From 6 to 10 p.m. Thursday, May 21. $15-$20. 619-299-2583, rawartists.org Encinitas Classic Car Cruise Nights at Downtown Encinitas, South Coast Hwy 101 and Encinitas Blvd., Encinitas. Every third Thursday throughout the summer, hot rods, Woodies and other classic and vintage cars will line S. Coast Highway 101 from D Street to J Street. From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 21. Free. encinitas101.com
San Diego Jazz Festival at La Costa Resort and Spa, 2100 Costa Del Mar Road, La Costa. A plethora of notable jazz and R&B talent performs at this third annual music fest including Maxwell, Erykah Badu, R. Kelly and more. See website for full lineup and details. Various times Friday, May 22, Saturday, May 23, and Sunday, May 24. $65-$1575. sandiegojazzfest.com Stephen Hough Plays Beethoven at Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St., Downtown. The Jacobs Masterworks Season Finale concert features master pianist Stephen Hough playing Beethoven while Jahja Ling closes with the Second Symphony of Johannes Brahms. At 8 p.m. Friday, May 22, Saturday, May 23, and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 24. $20-$96. 619-235-0804, sandiegosymphony.com Temple of Roots Reggae Dance at World Beat Cultural Center, 2100 Park Blvd., Balboa Park. The first edition of the San Diego roots and culture showcase features performances from Sista Miko, B-Jah, Ami Judah and more. At 9 p.m. Friday, May 22. $7. 619-230-1190, facebook.com/events/899557770106531/ Danny Green Trio at La Jolla Community Center, 6811 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla. Pianist Danny Green performs with guitarist Peter Sprague and saxophonist Tripp Sprague. The music will include brand new original compositions as well as jazz and Brazilian standards. At 8 p.m. Friday, May 22. $18-$25. 858-459-0831, ljcommunitycenter.org American Freedom Festival at USS Midway Museum, 910 N. Harbor Dr., Downtown. Country star Wynonna performs a concert in honor of our veterans and those in the armed forces. The annual event benefits local veteran charities. At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 23. $59.50$79.50. 619-544-9600, midway.org/freedom Souleil 5 Year Anniversary and Season Opener at World Beat Cultural Center, 2100 Park Blvd., Balboa Park. A deephouse concert featuring DJ ALA, Cris Herrera, Mikeytown, Omar Paraiso and special guests. From 4 p.m. to midnight. Sunday, May 24. $10. 619-230-1190, worldbeatcenter.org New City Sinfonia at First Unitarian Universalist Church, 4190 Front St., Hillcrest. The community chamber orchestra led by Daniel Ratelle presents “A Romantic Flair,” a concert of 19th Century music featuring the works of Dvorák, Berwald and more. At 7 p.m. Sunday, May 24. Free. 619-2989978, newcitysinfonia.com Artist Series Recital at Mingei International Museum, 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park. This chamber music recital features
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May 20, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 21
EVENTS In the Company of Women at Hilton Bayfront, One Park Blvd., Downtown. The 17th annual benefit luncheon raises critical funds for YWCA of San Diego County and features a keynote address from actress and social activist, Camryn Manheim. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, May 21. $125. ywcasandiego.org International Day at House of Pacific Relations International, 2191 West Pan American Road, Balboa Park. Enjoy tours of Balboa Park, art exhibits, photo booths, live music, international small bites and more at this annual event. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, May 21. Free. 619234-0739, balboapark.org HTikiBeat at Lafayette Hotel, 2223 El Cajon Blvd., North Park. CityBeat’s annual start of summer kick-off party features DJs, Polynesian dancers, a fashion show, burlesque performances from Roots Covenants plus Desi Realtor and Old Man Johnson. From 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. Friday, May 22. $12.50-$15. 619-296-2101, eventbrite.com/e/san-diego-citybeatpresents-tikibeat-summer-kickoff-poolparty-tickets-16686227957 HRosarito Art Fest at Rosarito Beach, Mexico. Art, handcrafts, performance artists, eclectic happenings and tasty examples of Mexican cuisine will be the main attractions at this sixth annual arts fest south of the border. Happens at Benito Juarez Hotel Festival Plaza. From noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, May 23 and Sunday, May 24. Free. 011521664-123-7139, rosaritoartfest.com Santee Street Fair & Craft Beer Festival More than 300 various food and vendor booths, live entertainment, a familyfriendly fun zone and more than a dozen carnival rides. Takes place at Riverview Parkway and Town Center Parkway. From 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, May 23.
Free. 619-546-5390, santeestreetfair.com American Heritage Car Show at Grape Day Park, 321 N. Broadway, Escondido. Several hundred classic vehicles will be parked in the park for your viewing pleasure. Includes a pancake breakfast, vendors and museum tours. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 23. Free. 760-8394691, escondidohistory.org/events.html Rooftop600 Memorial Day Pool Party at Andaz Hotel, 600 F St., Downtown. A BYOI (bring your own inflatable) rooftop pool party with DJs Bit Funk, Tuff Tuff, Rambo V, Adam Salter and Kimbo. From 1 to 7 p.m. Sunday, May 24. $15. 619849-1234, rooftop600.com Tijuana Market Hop at San Ysidro Port of Entry. Tour the city’s longest-running flea market and Mercado Miguel Hidalgo, the city’s oldest open-air farmers market in Zona Rio. Tickets include roundtrip border transport and complimentary pan dulce and coffee. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 24. $25. turistalibre.com
San Diego Bay with free-flowing Champagne and beer, full brunch buffet, private tables, DJs, and scenic views. From 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, May 25. $62.95. 619-725-8813, hornblower.com EOD Warrior 5K at NTC Park at Liberty Station, 2455 Cushing Road, Point Loma. Run along a waterfront course and help Southern California Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians and their families overcome the challenges they face after an injury or loss. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, May 25. $10-$40. 619-5739260, eodwarrior5k.org
SPORTS The Usual Skatespects Roller Derby at Skate San Diego, 700 East 24th St., National City. The Renegade Rollergirls team takes on the Tucson team in full-contact roller derby. At 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 23. $13. 619-474-1000, facebook.com/ events/1426713257637672/
HVista Strawberry Festival at Downtown Vista, 122 S. Indiana St. between Main St. and E. Broadway, Vista. The onetime “Strawberry Capital of the World” brings in vendors, carnival rides, music, food and, of course, pie. From 6:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, May 24. Free. 760726-1122, vistastrawberryfest.com
San Diego Growlers at Balboa Stadium, 1405 Park Blvd., Downtown. The professional Ultimate Disc team will play the San Francisco FlameThrowers for their fourth home game of their inaugural season. From 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, May 23. Free-$15. 619-817-7458, sdgrowlers.com
HSwingin Sixties Pool Party at The Pearl Hotel, 1410 Rosecrans St., Point Loma. The annual Memorial Day pool party features bottomless mimosas and DJs spinning ‘60s classics throughout the day. From 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, May 24. Free. 619-226-6100, thepearlsd.com
TALKS & DISCUSSIONS
Memorial Day BBQ Brunch Cruise at Hornblower Cruises, 1066 N. Harbor Drive, Downtown. A two-hour yacht cruise on the
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HAnthony Shore at Atkinson Hall Auditorium, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. The branding expert will give a presentation entitled, “Naming the New: How to Name Your Innovation,” as part of the Design@ Large Lecture Series. From 4 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 20. Free. designlab. ucsd.edu
“The Hand” by Rizzhel Mae Javier on view in Playful Interactions, opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, May 21, at SDSU Downtown Gallery (725 W. Broadway). Musical Insights: Back to the Beat at Museum Of Making Music, 5790 Armada Drive, Carlsbad. The second in a threepart lecture series where musician and teacher Peter Gach explores the hidden aspects of the musical experience. At 7 p.m. Thursday, May 21. $10. 760-4385996, museumofmakingmusic.org Ines Schaber at UCSD SME Building, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla. The Berlinbased artist and writer will speak on her research-based practice and examine the notion of “artistic research” more generally, challenging the term in relation to artistic production. At 7 p.m. Thursday, May 21. Free. visarts.ucsd.edu
On With The Show: Fun & Frivolity at the Expo at San Diego History Center, 1649 El Prado, Balboa Park. Two of San Diego’s leading historians on Balboa Park—Dr. Iris Engstrand, Professor Emeritus at USD, and David Marshall from Heritage Architecture—will discuss what it was like to be at the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. From 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 21. $10. 619-232-6203, sandiegohistory.org
WORKSHOPS Calzone Making 101 at The New Yorker, 535 4th Ave., Gaslamp. The New Yorker
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EVENTS
THEATER
JIM COX
pizzeria celebrates its second anniversary with a Calzone making class. Price includes a specialty cocktail, selected appetizers, drink specials and a chance to win a $50 gift card. From 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, May 20. $20. thenewyorkersd.com, djheretickets.com/event/CalzoneMaking101
A class designed to bring parents and children together in the kitchen. Each child and adult pair will create seasonal dishes with the assistance of our experienced teaching chefs. From 10 a.m. to noon. Saturday, May 23. $40-$45. 6192338792, thinkplaycreate.org
Japanese Moss Garden Kokedama Making Class at City Farmers Nursery, 4832 Home Ave., City Heights. In this hands-on workshop, you will learn the skills behind Kokedama, a traditional Japanese art form where moss is used as a container for a plant. From 1:30 to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 23. $23. 619-284-6358, cityfarmersnursery.com
HDare to Reuse: Plarn Party with Cat Chiu Phillips at San Diego Art Institute, 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park. Phillips uses plarn (yarn made from discarded plastic bags) to crochet abstract patterns to draw attention to plastic pollution. Help assist Cat in making a largescale installation for an upcoming exhibition. From noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 23. Free. sandiego-art.org
Eat Better Art Cooking Series: Picnic Party at New Children’s Museum, 200 W. Island Ave., Downtown.
Canning 101 at City Farmers Nursery, 4832 Home Ave., City Heights. This class will cover the basics of canning acidic
foods that need sterilizing in a pressure cooker. From 1:30 to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 24. $15. 619-284-6358, cityfarmersnursery.com Banfield Future Vet Program at New Children’s Museum, 200 W. Island Ave., Downtown. This one-hour interactive presentation provides a unique opportunity for kids and families to experience the exciting world of veterinary medicine. At 1:30 p.m. Sunday, May 24. Free-$12. 6192338792, ww.thinkplaycreate.org Spring Pies at Bake Sale, 815 F St., Downtown. Learn the basics of scaling, mixing and rolling out simple pie dough, as well as baking single and double crust pies, the lattice top pie, cream pies and hand pies. From 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, May 27. $75. 619-515-2224, bakesalesd.com
Enver Gjokaj and Wrenn Schmidt in “Arms and the Man.”
Arms and the Man skewers love and war
miliar pros Marsha Mason and Conrad John Schuck as Raina’s parents. Enver Gjokaj is given license to go all out as the vainglorious Sergius, and does so. The Monty Pythons would be proud. There’s even a likable fiddler (Ernest Sauceda) who engages theatergoers in crowd participation. At times the silliness smothers the play’s underlying discourses—apparently Shaw himself was surprised audiences laughed so much. But there are illuminations in Bluntschli’s hapless swordplay and Sergius’ cluelessness, and in fanciful Raina’s superficiality, illuminations that are not confined to the 19th century. Arms and the Man runs through June 14 at the Old Globe Theatre. $29 and up. oldglobe.org
With its sumptuous 19th-century costumes (designed by David Israel Reynoso) and applauseeliciting sets (scenic design by Ralph Funicello), the Old Globe’s production of George Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man has pizzazz to spare. More important, it is true to Shaw’s intended de-glamorization of both war and swooning love. Neither the “glory” of battle nor the rapture of romance emerges unscathed at the end of three swiftly moving acts of dramatic satire couched as broad comedy. Shaw subtitled his play first produced in 1894 An Anti-Romantic Comedy in Three Acts, and the tale of a beautiful aristocrat, Raina Petkoff, engaged to a —David L. Coddon fop of a war hero, Sergius, who finds true love with the arrival Theater reviews run weekly. of an enemy soldier, is more Write to davidc@sdcitybeat.com. romp than romance. Its physicality is not spent on embraces so much as on posing, posturOPENING ing and gestures both noble and A New Brain: A musical about a ignoble. As for the nobility of young composer rushing to create his battle, if there is such a thing, masterpiece after learning he has a Shaw’s narrative wrapped fatal brain disease. It opens in previews May 21 at Diversionary Theatre in around the four-month-long Hillcrest. diversionary.org Serbo-Bulgarian War in 1885 is Singin’ in the Rain: The musical unromantic as can be about all production of the beloved movie about things military. The preposter- the early days of sound film. Yes, it will ous Sergius and Raina’s bluster- rain onstage. Presented by San Diego ing father, Major Petkoff, are Musical Theatre, it opens on May 22 at Spreckels Theatre in Downtown. sdmt.org played purely for laughs. Capt. Bluntschli, Raina’s “chocolate- Everybody’s Talkin’: The Music of Harry Nilsson: A world premiere cream soldier,” has a head on musical about the highly influential, his shoulders but is not in love but still relatively obscure singersongwriter. Presented by San Diego with military bearing or valor. All this clear and deliberate Repertory Theatre, it opens May 23 at the Lyceum Stage in the Gaslamp. commentary aside, this staging sdrep.org of Arms and the Man, directed by Jessica Stone, is sheer entertainment. Besides the lush For full listings, set and costumes, the producplease visit “T heater ” tion enjoys light-comedy turns at sdcit ybeat.com by Wrenn Schmidt and Zach Appelman as Raina and Bluntschli, respectively, and by fa-
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May 20, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 23
24 · San Diego CityBeat · May 20, 2015
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SUMMER GUIDE
W
hat’s an accidental tourist? You might have to be one, actually, when your friends and family come to visit San Diego and haven’t prepared their own agenda.
You’re not usually the type who squires groups—large or small— around town. You don’t like pointing out landmarks and you would never hold up your hand at an intersection and exclaim: “We’re walking, we’re walking!” There are certain situations, however, when it’s all on you to show out-of-towners a good time. To that end, we’re lending a hand, as well as some good ideas on what to do when your friends, parents, grandparents, friends with kids and friends with pets show up on your doorstep and ask you to entertain them.
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May 20, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 27
SUMMER GUIDE LEAH STRAUB
HOW TO BE AN EXCELLENT ACCIDENTAL TOURIST WITH YOUR
Shore Thing
HIP FRIENDS by SETH COMBS
Skip the tourist traps and treat them to tacos, TNT and Turista Libre tours
I
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that I’m confident will impress my friends, and (bonus!) we’ll be able to knock out the requisite beach visit at the same time. Pacific Beach on the weekdays is tolerable and Barrel Republic (1261 Garnet Ave.), despite having a name that conjures up images of overpriced yuppy boutiques, has the cool distinction of being a pour-yourown-pint, sample-friendly beer bar with dozens of local brews to choose from. OK, we’ve gotten beer and beaches out of the way. Now I need to make sure my friend leaves knowing that, outside of Mexico, we have the best Mexican food in the world. Just as it could be argued that the British often do Indian food better than India, I could argue that Puesto (789 W Harbor Dr. in Downtown and 1026 Wall St. in La Jolla) and City Tacos (3028 University Ave., North Park) are both serving up inventive and delicious takes on traditional Mexi favorites. Tacos El Gordo (689 H St.) in Chula Vista is still an absolute must for more traditional street tacos (I have fever dreams about the adobada tacos). For fish tacos, Brigantine Sea-
STACY KECK
’M LUCKY IN THAT I HAVE friends spread throughout the world. I suppose I’m also lucky that said friends, for the most part, remain single and spawnless. So when they come to visit, I do feel it’s my duty to show them the real San Diego. The stuff that has nothing to do with Shamu, surfing or queuing up to see a stupid panda roll around on the ground like a fat drunken mime. If an old friend or, say, a younger cousin comes to visit me, I want them to leave being able to say either, “Wow, San Diego is a pretty cool place” or “I was drunk a lot, but from what I remember, San Diego rules!” And yeah, maybe I’ll take them to the beach, but it will almost certainly be incidental. One common misconception that a lot of out-of-town friends come in with is that we’re all out here just bumming around on the beach and drinking beer from one of our umpteen million craft breweries. I can’t stand the beach, and I think the local beer scene is completely oversaturated. However, I realize these are also things I take for granted, so it’s understandable that one of my friends from, say, Toronto, might really want to drink a beer on the beach. I have a soft spot in my sandless heart for Ocean Beach. It has character (not a corporate chain in sight) and is filled with characters. Culture Brewing Co. (4845 Newport Ave.) and Pizza Port Ocean Beach (1956 Bacon St.) both offer up solid pints
food (multiple locations) and the Mariscos German taco truck (3030 Grape St.) in South Park will please beginners. And I can’t let any friend leave without them (preferably drunk) trying a California Burrito from Saguaro’s drive-thru (3753 30th St.) in North Park. Another common fallacy when it comes to San Diego is that we have no culture. Summer in San Diego is filled with cool cultural events, openings and parties, and I would hope that my friend would be visiting at a time when one of them is taking place. Museum of Contemporary Art SD (1100 Kettner Blvd.) will be having one of their must-go Thursday Night Thing (TNT) parties in July, but their La Jolla location (700 Prospect St.) is also offering their Shore Thing event series every Thursday from May 28 through Aug. 27, which includes a bar, DJs and tours of the exhibits. Monthly art events like the Barrio Art Crawl in Barrio Logan (held the fourth Thursday of the month), as well
When it comes to bars and nightlife, I have a very tidy system of go-to spots. The Casbah (2501 Kettner Blvd.) in Middletown and Soda Bar (3615 El Cajon Blvd.) in City Heights for live music; in North Park there’s Bluefoot Bar (3404 30th St.) for sports, Coin-Op (3926 30th St.) for video game fun, and Seven Grand (3054 University Ave.) for douche-free craft cocktails; SRO Lounge (1807 5th Ave.) in Bankers Hill for shitfaced weirdness; and South Park’s Whistle Stop (2236 Fern St.) for dancing on a weekend. If my friend simply must go to a big club, I’d grit my teeth and take them to AD Nightclub (905 4th Ave.) in the Gaslamp Quarter, simply for the awesome sound and dark design. However, I’d try to persuade them to go to Kettner Exchange (2001 Kettner Blvd.) in Little Italy instead. The new Little Italy spot’s upstairs balcony has a club-like atmosphere without the oonce-oonce pretense. If I know my friends, we’re going to be entirely too hungover for things like hiking or other outdoor activities that people seem to do. I’m sure my friend would rather lounge poolside at the Lafayette Hotel (2223 El Cajon Blvd.) in North Park, with a Bloody Mary in hand. The iconic hotel will be offering cool pool parties throughout the summer. A Padres game is always fun, but more often than not, I’d try to talk them into a daytrip to Tijuana for a Turista Libre (turistalibre. com) trip to either a Lucha Libre wrestling match or a TiCoin-Op Game Room juana Toros baseball game (tours are offered throughout the summer). The beer isn’t as crafty, but you can’t beat the price ($25-$50) and there’s nary a stupid panda in sight.
as North Park After Dark (see “Short List,” page 19) and Ray at Night (every second Saturday) remain a great way to show off the local gallery scene.
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SUMMER GUIDE HOW TO BE AN EXCELLENT ACCIDENTAL TOURIST WITH YOUR
PARENTS by RON DONOHO
Restaurants with big portions, unpretentious golf courses and the cowboy way suits these characters
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I
T’S LIKE HAVING LUCY AND Ricky Ricardo and Ethel Mertz (sans high-waisted Fred) over for an extended stay. My parents from back East regularly travel around the country with my mom’s childhood friend. They don’t dance and sing like the I Love Lucy stars of yore. But when they make the annual trek to San Diego, somebody always has some ’splainin’ to do. Usually, me. Ethel (I’ll use everybody’s sitcom name) belongs to a timeshare club that has two properties in Del Mar. Wave Crest (1400 Ocean Ave.) is right on the water; Winner’s Circle (550 Via De La Valle) is near the racetrack. Usually I pick up the gang at the airport and drive them to one or the other. But first we make a stop at Ralphs grocery store to fill up their rental’s fridge. Lucy is big on making her own meals while on vacation. But they have a couple restaurants they like going to, especially for the big portions. The downtown Broken Yolk (355 Sixth Ave.) is a breakfast fave. Lucy, Ricky and Ethel have a system where they order different menu items and split everything. Another place where this works well is The Old Spaghetti Factory (275 Fifth Avenue). For dinner, one will order a big salad, one will order a pasta dish and the other will go wildcard. When the waiter brings them the main courses, and three extra plates, the go to work immedi-
ately, knifing things into thirds and passing them around. To introduce the not-too-intrepid trio to some other dining options, I’m planning to take them on a food tour run by So Diego (SoDiegoTours.com). Full disclosure: I moonlight as a guide on the company’s downtown Brothels, Bites & Booze tour. This’ll be my chance to show them Meze, JSix, The Field, Ciro’s Pizzeria and Heavenly Cupcakes, and, to talk history about San Diego’s most famous prostitutes, Ida Bailey and Madame Cora, with Lucy. ¡Ay-ay-ay! So, when Ricky retired, he took up golf. I believe in the old adage: Golf is a good walk, spoiled. But once a year, we hit the links. A few summers ago, a connection got us on the course at The Grand Del Mar (5300 Grand Del Mar Ct.). We arrived underdressed. Ricky is just as happy to play at the Coronado Municipal Golf Course (2000 Visalia Row). Since I’m so bad at the game, I sometimes take the ol’ bandleader to the Del Mar Golf Center (15555 Jimmy Durante Blvd.) to whack a bucket of balls on the driving range. If Ricky and I go off to inflict pain on golf balls, Lucy and Ethel will ask to be dropped off at the historic Hotel del Coronado (1500 Orange Ave.) They like to window shop at the Hotel Del. The gals usually hide their credit cards, but enjoy poking around in the Babcock & Story Emporium
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May 20, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 33
SUMMER GUIDE Diego Symphony plays outdoors on the park behind the downtown Convention Center. I know the Ricardos would enjoy “Broadway: A Rodgers & Hammerstein Celebration.” Ben Folds, not so much. But I’d go sit on plastic lawn furniture and sip champagne out of a plastic flute and listen to “Bugs Bunny at the Symphony II.” This summer, the big advance excitement is that Ethel discovered that she’s eligible to stay at a timeshare in Ramona. There was confusion at first, since Lucy kept sending me emails asking me what it was like in Pomona. Horrible, I replied. Don’t go to Los Angeles. We finally realized Ethel’s hotel was in San Diego’s East County. It’s a quaint, rural, cowboy town nicknamed “Valley of the Sun.” It’s got an Old Spaghetti Factory antique-lined Main Street, and there are plenty of homemade apple pies nearby. while snacking on a cup of something Sounds peachy. sweet from MooTime Creamery (1025 Those guys can check out Western art Orange Avenue). galleries or see what’s shaping up at the Lucy used to be an art teacher, and yarn store. I’m pretty sure I’ll be busy when she still raves about the time we visited they plan that leg of the trip. Somebody Spanish Village Art Center (1770 Village has to stay behind and make a reservation Pl.) at Balboa Park. It’s a colorful, sort-of- for brunch at Hash House A Go Go (3628 secret spot for art lovers, with more than Fifth Avenue). This Hillcrest eatery serves 200 artisans showing their work in and portions so big that one entrée can feed a around nearly 40 working studios and family of four. Spread that three ways, and galleries. with the help of doggie bags, that’s several If timing permits, we may check out more meals that can be stored in the fridge the bayside Summer Pops concerts (Em- back at the timeshare. barcadero Marina Park South). The San Babaloo!
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Spanish Village Art Center
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May 20, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 35
SUMMER GUIDE HOW TO BE AN EXCELLENT ACCIDENTAL TOURIST WITH YOUR
Anthony’s Fish Grotto, Urban Safaris and Mission Bay are destinations the elder folks will enjoy
grandparents by RYAN BRADFORD
I
’VE BEEN TOLD MORE THAN once that I’m a secret old person. This is not the same as being called an “old soul”—believe me, I could only be so lucky if anyone regarded me with the same esteem as a college-aged hippie regards anyone who can stumble through a Dylan cover on guitar. No, the reasons are more practical: I prefer my couch to crowds, loud places annoy me, I enjoy
Wheel of Fortune, and planning to stay out past 10 p.m. usually requires a midday nap. I also spend a lot of time with older folks—specifically, my wife’s mom, Lee (age 67) and her grandpa, Burton (age 90). Now, I’m sure the thought of spend-
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ing ample amounts of time with their in-laws would send most people into a state of sitcom malaise, but fun stuff usually happens when I roll with Burt and Lee, which I think is due to their general impatience with most things “craft.” Perhaps there was a time when I appreciated whimsy, but it seems like you can’t go to any new bar or restaurant in this town without feeling like you’re being swindled by Wes Anderson. I don’t know at what age a person loses patience with frivolity, but here are a couple summer recommendations for those who prefer practical over precious. One of Burt’s favorite eating establishments is Anthony’s Fish Grotto (gofishanthonys. com), which has two locations— one downtown and another in La Mesa. Yes, the downtown location is right in the heart of Touristville, and parking is hell, but given its location on San Diego harbor, you can’t ask for a better view while you eat. Plus, I have a short list of foods that I would like to drown in, and the garlic-sundried tomato butter they serve with the bread is pretty high on that list. (The downtown Anthony’s may lose Chicken Pie Shop its lease, and that would be heartbreaking.) However, I prefer the La Mesa location. Besides having plenty of parking, the ’60s-era interior rockwork and semi-racy wall murals give the establishment a surreal feeling, kind of like The Flintstones meets David Lynch. It’s also quieter; there are no
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SUMMER GUIDE downtown yahoos at this location. For the ultimate experience in non-pretentious eating, I also recommend The San Diego Chicken Pie Shop (2633 El Cajon Blvd). I can’t really tell you what I like about this place besides my unabashed love for pale, sloppy food and lots of it. The interior feels like a cafeteria, and servers deliver food on rollout carts, and lunches (chicken pie, two sides, dessert and drink for under $10) are a helluva deal. For discerning foodies, it’s probably a nightmare. But I’ll take hot, gravy-covered nostalgia over “locally-sourced/organic” anything. Also, your chances of being called “hon” increase about 85 percent when you eat here. San Diego is full of amazing opportunities for biking, hiking and running enthusiasts, but that’s not very helpful for people who get tired easily (i.e. me) or don’t like to be in the sun for too long (yo!). For an easy outing, I suggest Urban Safaris (walkingtoursofsandiego.com) historic neighborhood walks, led by Patty Fares, who is just a peach. Fares is extremely knowledgeable about every area and neighborhood of San Diego, and she’s never stingy on dishing out the scandalous information that you won’t find on many historic tours. And given that the average age of the participants is around 50, the walks are substantial enough to feel like exercise, but not overbearing. For my birthday last year, Lee took my wife and me on the tour of Mount Hope cemetery, which contains the graves of the famous San Diegan Kate Sessions and the little, unassuming headstone of author Raymond Chandler. The boardwalk on Mission Bay is also great to enjoy an easy walk while getting an ocean view. As everyone knows, the place gets cray-cray in the summer, but if you wake up early enough—even during the most populated months— you can still beat the Pacific Beach crowds. Praise Red Bull-and-vodkas for this serenity. For company who won’t want to be outside for any amount of time—yet still want to take advantage of San Diego’s natural and urban spectacles—you can’t go wrong with an adventure on public transportation (sdmts.com). Seriously. Yes, you will see some characters, but given my own hatred of driving (I fear leaving the mile radius around my house), I’d much rather have an odd run-in than spend any time in Southern California traffic. There’s something freeing about being chauffeured around, especially if you
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have nowhere to be. In that vein, Burt loves riding trains, and there are few better rides than taking an Amtrak (amtrak.com) up the coast, even if it’s only for a quick getaway. The comfortable, bathroom-accessible ride to San Clemente is about two hours worth of some of the most spectacular coastal views you’ll see. Plus, there’s wifi, and they serve beer on those things, so, uh, chug-a-chug choo choo! (Sorry).
Speaking of libations, Imperial House (505 Kalmia St, Bankers Hill) is probably the best place to tie one on with your grandparents. It’s quiet, the drinks are decent, and you’re not competing with the craft-bro scene. Believe me, I’ve tried to get Burt to drink an IPA before. His response? “Budweiser was a beer before you were even born.” Fair enough. Get chauffeured on the trolley.
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SUMMER GUIDE HOW TO BE AN EXCELLENT ACCIDENTAL TOURIST WITH YOUR
friends with kids by JOSHUA EMERSON SMITH
Baby on board? Visit Mother Earth Brewing, Balboa Park Sculpture Garden and the New Children’s Museum
N
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their kids run around on the grass. On the weekend, the enclosed court usually teems with young’uns and hip parents. This spot is perfect for afternoon picnics—but don’t get started too late. It can get chilly once the sun goes down. As long as you’re in the park, also check out the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center (1875 El Prado), which feaREUBEN H. FLEET
OW THAT I’M IN MY (shudder) mid-thirties, many of my friends have children. My partner is due to have our second child any moment. As a result, more and more of my experiences are kid-friendly. The ideas of hitting the club for shots and late-night dancing, or even just going to the movies on a whim, simply don’t enter my head, anymore. Thankfully, San Diego’s a fantastically friendly place to tote around toddlers. When my friends with kids come into town there’s no shortage of places to entertain them. An almost obligatory first stop on the local tour is any one of myriad baby-tolerant taprooms, which have helped define the region as a craft beer Mecca. Accessible beaches also make the top of the list. Unlike other parts of Southern California, a trip to the ocean is usually a quick, 15-minute drive. There’s also Balboa Park, which among many other things, has a fantastic garden where parents can entertain their little ones while sipping cocktails. One of the city’s greatest amenities is how many activities parents can do without having to shell out for a babysitter. Featuring abstract metallic masterpieces, the San Diego Museum of Art’s Sculpture Garden in Balboa Park (1450 El Prado) is tucked behind the recently opened restaurant Panama 66. With a full bar, a dozen beers on tap and gourmet-style bar food, parents can get service in the garden while
Circus High Wire at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center
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SUMMER GUIDE
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that make for great urban exploring, including Manzanita Canyon, which runs into the funky Azalea Community Park and recreation center (2596 Violet St.). It’s not really a trip to San Diego without visiting a craft-beer tasting room. A 50-minute drive north to Mother Earth Brewing in Vista (203 Main St.) is well worth the day trip. The small town abounds with young hip families, and everyone’s welcome at the brewery. URBN Coal Fired Pizza (203 Main St.) across the street can make a perfect treat for the kids while the adults sip suds. I recommend the classic Kismet IPA. Nothing says San Diego to me more than Ocean Beach. Filled with weirdoes of all stripes, this is one of the city’s most interesting neighborhoods, and the oceanfront is no exception. One of my favorite things to do is take the kids to the dog beach. This might seem obvious, but nothing is more entertaining for kids than canines of every color and size prancing around the sand. The waves are usually pretty calm and there’s never a shortage of interesting types frolicking about. After working up an appetite in the water, within walking distance you’ve got Hodad’s (5010 Newport Ave.), a classic local joint that makes delicious hamburgers the density of dark matter. The line can be painfully long, so time a visit with your pups to off-peak hours.
THE NEW CHILDREN’S MUSEUM ™
tures dozens of hands-on exhibits and the world’s first IMAX Dome Theater. Sometimes friends roll into town during the week looking to explore while I’m at work. If they want to avoid the big-ticket items, such as Legoland, I often steer them toward the New Children’s Museum (200 West Island Ave.) located downtown. This contemporary, interactive art museum for kids provides play areas for toddlers to 12year-olds. The installations are so creative, just watching the rug rats crawl on, climb up and play with the exhibits is an art experience in itself. However, parking can be annoying. If the lot attached to the museum isn’t full, just pay the $10 and be done with it. It’s $12 for adults and children over one year old. When the kiddos start bouncing off the walls and breaking stuff in the house, a quick trip to the Copley-Price YMCA City Heights (4300 El Cajon Blvd.) can help them burn off some energy. It’s a real gem for locals, but out-of-towners can take advantage of the facility, too, which includes multiple basketball courts, two pools and a small water park. If the parents want to hit the weight room or take a yoga class, the facility also has a childcare area for kids 6 weeks to 12 years old. A two-floor parking structure makes the trip a breeze, and at if you’re a member, you can bring a guest for free. If the kids still aren’t tired, City Heights boasts a network of canyons
The New Children’s Museum
May 20, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 39
40 · San Diego CityBeat · May 20, 2015
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SUMMER GUIDE HOW TO BE AN EXCELLENT ACCIDENTAL TOURIST WITH YOUR
friends with pets by JEFF TERICH
Take four-legged friends to many restaurants, breweries and paddleboarding out on the bay
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T
RAVELING WITH PETS isn’t easy. Sure, there are some benefits you don’t get when traveling with children—you don’t have to buy your travel companion a seat on an airplane, and 21-and-up rules don’t apply. That being said, it’s going to require a little more homework to figure out where that precious Boston terrier or handsome Italian greyhound are welcome to join you. However, out-of-town chums planning a trip to San Diego are likely to discover they can bring their beloved pets just about anywhere. Well, maybe not anywhere—it’s doubtful upscale Bertrand at Mr. A’s will give a free pass to paws on the table. But chances are your compatriots with canines aren’t necessarily in the market for a white-tablecloth, fancy-pants experience. But casual, outdoor, beer-and-a-bone fun? There are more than enough options. If summer vacation plans do involve a visit from friends with pets, you’ll want to spend as much time outdoors as possible. (I’m assuming we’re talking about dogs. Cats don’t take direction well. Goldfish aren’t good on the road. And even if you’ve got a well-trained Bengal tiger, check first with the airline.) Summer’s not much fun if you’re cooped up indoors, anyhow, so I’ll go ahead and throw you a few bones. If you’ve got people flying into San Diego, there’s a good chance they’re going to want to spend some quality time on
the beach—swimming, surfing, or simply meeting their Instagram sunset quota. But their furry friends? They’re going to want some activity that’s a little more stimulating than tapping on a screen. One option is to take them on a SUP Pups stand-up paddleboard tour. The SUP Connection (2592 Laning Road, Point Loma) gives hour-long tours, and they’re open to both two- and four-legged paddlers. The pups get to socialize and go for a ride around the harbor, hang 20 on the nose, and even see some dolphins while they’re at it. San Diego has more than its share of dog-friendly bars and breweries, so Fido’s got options when it comes to refilling the water bowl (Note: don’t give your pets beer, please). But for a refreshing treat that’ll satisfy both canines and their caretaker companions, take a cruise up the coast to La Jolla Brewing Company (7536 Fay St.), which provides a little extra hospitality for everyone. It features a special dog menu, so your furry wingman can dine on some chicken pops or an oatmeal bowl (with peanut butter), while you and your guests sip on a Sunny Jim’s IPA. If I’ve learned anything from cartoons— and I’ll freely admit to learning too many life lessons from cartoons—it’s that a surefire way to distract a dog is to give him a link sausage. Then again, it’s also a pretty solid way to keep a human occupied for a little while, too. So if you’re looking for some
May 20, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 41
SUMMER GUIDE might not be able to bring your dog in for a matinee at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, he’s more than welcome at Nate’s Point Dog Park (Balboa Drive) which occupies more than two acres, just south of Laurel on the park’s west end. Dogs can go off leash, run wild, meet some new friends, play a game of catch or just get some fresh air. Plus, you and your visiting friends could probably use some exercise after the hot beef injection. After an afternoon in the park, Panama 66 there’s no better way to close out good eats for both you and your friends’ pup, Sausage & Meat (4130 Park Blvd.) the evening than to camp out a little longer in University Heights has just the protein and have some dinner in an outdoor enviboost you’re looking for after an invigorat- ronment like Panama 66 (1450 El Prado) ing game of Frisbee. Chow on one of more in Balboa Park. It’s right next to the San Dithan a dozen different types of sausage, ego Museum of Art’s sculpture garden. You meaty sandwiches or a braised pork belly know where this is going: Yes, your pets are plate, and your dog gets to nosh on his own welcome! Well, maybe not your alligator link. Oh, and Rover’s eats are on the house. (keep that one on a leash), but your dog is absolutely fine to join you while you sip on Sure beats ordering off the kids’ menu. OK, so you’ve taken your comrades— a cocktail and dine on a damn fine burger both quadruped and upright-walker—to and Tiger Fries, or a Blind Lady Caesar the harbor for some recreation, munched salad. There’s usually some live music on on some meat and even had a wee nip at the weekend to serenade you and your a brewery. So what’s next? Balboa Park, pup, and before you head back home to naturally—no visit to San Diego is really retire for the evening, have one last chase complete without at least one trip, whether in the garden to make sure everyone’s had it’s with pets or without. And though you enough stimulation for the weekend. SUP Pups
42 · San Diego CityBeat · May 20, 2015
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May 20, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 43
Culture | Art
Seen Local
options at this point, but yes, funding has been tabled until we pick up with talks again in the fall.” Others, like professor Rubén Ortiz-Torres, aren’t as hopeful. “She’s closing the gallery. There’s no funding,” says Ortiz-Torres. “The dean expects us to come ucsd art gallery future uncertain up with the funding for the gallery, but if I have Merete Kjaer received her notice on April 15. The to get the funding for a space, why would I fund assistant director at the UC San Diego University UCSD? I would make the Ruben Ortiz Gallery. So Art Gallery is being let go, because, as she tells it, I mean, the university has to support this. It’s not the visual arts faculty and the new dean of Arts the responsibility of the faculty or students to fund a gallery.” and Humanities couldn’t agree on a way to keep funding for the gallery. This means when UCSD opens for the 2015-2016 school year, no budget funds will be allocated to the gallery, and according to Kjaer and other faculty members, there will be no arts exhibitions in the gallery at least for the foreseeable future. The next school year would mark the 50th anniversary of the gallery. “It’s a really big and sad decision, and not only from a personal standpoint,” says Kjaer, who has performed all management roles for the gallery since 2011. “What they’re doing is just wrong for a university of this size and prominence.” The decision didn’t come as a complete surprise. Throughout the 2014-2015 school year, Kjaer and the UCSD Visual Arts faculty had been seeking solutions to keep funding. They had multiple meetings and made budget proposals to Dean of Arts and Humanities Cristina Della Coletta, who was appointed in August of last year. “Right away, she was questioning the validity or the merit of the programming we were doing,” says Kjaer. Along with art history professor Grant Kester, Kjaer started to put together proposals and budgets for Della Coletta’s consideration. “They weren’t satisfied with what we were producing, so they asked for a committee to be formed of faculty members to oversee the process.” This committee was made up of various university chairs, faculty members and an assistant dean. Kjaer was not on the committee, but visual arts professor Jordan Crandall was. He confirmed they’ve been trying to reach a solution all year. He’s hopeful that the dean will want to continue to try to find a compromise. “I think that she’ll likely want to continue with it being a gallery,” Crandall says. “She’s just weighing
44 · San Diego CityBeat · May 20, 2015
sarah frontiera
UCSD’s University Art Gallery Kjaer, who is the gallery’s only full-time employee, says there are also part-time installers and student employees who would be let go. This week’s Undergraduate Exhibition and June’s MFA Exhibition are the last planned shows before school breaks for summer. Della Coletta says she does think a solution can still be found. “I think a democratic process, and full faculty involvement of the kind we like to see in action at UC San Diego, is often time-consuming, always complex, and often messy,” she says. “But this is the foundation of collaborative action and I am always optimistic and confident that eventually a solution will be reached.” Della Coletta is also confident there will be exhibitions in the gallery next year. “The planning process will likely take longer and much will depend on the power of the vision that is put forward,” she says.
—Seth Combs
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Culture
ryan bradford
well that was
awkward
Karaoke: Singing the sorrow
The karaoke DJ tries to dissuade me from “Need You Tonight” by offering another INXS song. “Maybe you should try ‘New Sensation,’” he says. “I like that song.” He is being diplomatic about it, but I sense pity in his voice, underscored with vague dread. The song is arguably the sexiest song in existence, but it’s the kind of sweaty, cheesy sexiness that could only exist in the ’80s. It’s the product of an era when drummers who played hexagonal, electronic drums could be considered sexy; or an era when shivering and shaking from a coke-binge comedown could be mistaken for lust. The Ken Club, on the other hand, is decidedly not sexy. I mean, God bless that little dive in the heart of one of San Diego’s more affluent neighborhoods, but I wonder if anyone or anything has ever been sexy within its walls. The karaoke DJ’s trepidation, perhaps, comes from imagining the outcome of playing the song. Will the patrons, realizing their own dormant desires, turn the divey bar into an orgy of blood mixed with flat Bud Lights? Or, more realistically, the DJ thinks it’s going to suck. And with good reason, because…c’mon. Look at me. The intro to the song pulses out of The Ken’s speaker system. The beat is the equivalent to a musical deconstruction of a dry hump—which is, regretfully, the only move with which I know how to dance to INXS. I hold the microphone to my mouth. “It’s about to get real sexy in here,” I say. That is an actual thing that comes out of my mouth. The next three minutes is a display of je ne sais quois—the opposite of panty-dropping? I fight to avoid singing the guitar riff; I don’t succeed. My sultry whisper sounds more like the satisfaction I get after eating an excellent burrito than seduction. For some reason, my voice takes on a nasally falsetto at the line, “there’s something about you girl that makes me sweat,” with “sweat” becoming a grotesque, two-syllable word: swe-yat. Once the song ends, two friends tell me, independently of each other—that that was the first time they had heard David Byrne sing an INXS song. Overall, this is one of my more successful karaoke performances. The thing is, I love karaoke. I spend ample amounts of time listening to songs that could be potential material, often while playing out theoretical scenarios in my head in which I whip a crowd into the same kind of Eminem-in-8 Mile exhalation. But the ratio of the time I spend listening to potential jams versus actually performing them would depress a statistician. I think a couple minor reasons for this imbalance may be my inability to carry a tune, harmonize, know lyrics, choose good songs, or appear like a relatively stable person onstage. Add the irrational fear of speaking into a microphone and my obsession seems quixotic in its futility. After the relative success at The Ken, I thought
back to all the times I’ve sung karaoke since moving to San Diego. Turns out I’ve sung exactly four times in the past five years, counting this recent performance. Here they are, ranked from worst to best by the amount of shame I felt at the time of performance. Location: Chorus Karaoke Date: November 8, 2011 Song performed: “Rosanna” by Toto Shame level: Very high Chorus Karaoke on Convoy Street is one of those private-room joints, and the occasion was a friend’s birthday. At the time, these were new friends, so it was during that strange honeymoon phase where I wanted to appear like someone who’s worthy of friendship. This was also two months after my wedding, so there was also pressure of not convincing my wife that she had made a life-long mistake. Experiencing honeymoon phases on two fronts made me extra eager to prove my worth, and nothing good happens when I get too eager. I can only hope that one day, perhaps on my deathbed, some divine clarity presents me with the reason why I chose “Rosanna.” It’s not a song that will win friends. Apart from a terrible ‘80s sitcom-opening-credits vibe to the thing, it’s got the longest instrumental sections where all you can do is bounce along with them and pretend that your marriage is not falling through your fingers. Location: Pants Karaoke at Eleven (currently The Hideout) Date: November 13, 2011 Song performed: “99 Problems” by Jay Z Shame level: High After the weak-ass Toto performance, I was determined to redeem myself. I spent the following week practicing Jay Z’s ode to sensitivity and if you’ve never practiced a karaoke song then, well, congrats on not being desperate for approval. However, no amount of practicing could’ve prepared me for the breathlessness caused by anxiety. I wasn’t even through the first verse before I was gasping for air like late-career Axl Rose. I did nail the white cop’s voice in the second verse (natch), and when I got off stage, someone complimented my jacket. Location: Joann’s Restaurant (Idyllwild, CA) Date: Jan 2, 2015 Song Performed: “Rebel Yell” by Billy Idol Shame level: Surprisingly low It took me four years before I found the confidence to get on stage again. In this case, the stage was a sparsely populated diner in Idyllwild on the day after the New Year. It was cold outside, and I was fighting off an illness, but screaming Idol’s signature “YOW!” into the mic, undoubtedly ruining at least one family’s dinner, made it all worth it.
“
The DJ thinks it’s going to suck.
“
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Well That Was Awkward appears every other week. Write to ryanb@sdcitybeat.com.
May 20, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 45
Culture | Film
Fire down below Ethan Hawke stars as a drone operator who grows a conscience by Glenn Heath Jr.
Good Kill A flagrant attempt to cash in on the political discus- inner conflict of one man consumed by the profession over drone use in foreign wars, Andrew Nic- sion. But it does so with a broad sword instead of a col’s Good Kill patronizes the audience with grand- scalpel. Every word out of the characters’ mouths standing sensationalism and rhetoric. Not quite a seems like it could have been ripped from a politithriller and hardly a substantive anti-war statement, cian’s speech. The character nuances compromised the film resides somewhere inside a purgatory of by such a situation are ignored. Niccol and Hawke muddled theatrics. Its purposefully melodramatic have worked together before on the superior sci-fi story revolves around conflicted Air Force officer drama romance Gattaca, but with Good Kill neither Tom Egan (Ethan Hawke), a stalwart military man seems to be on the same page. “I miss the fear,” Tom says late in the film to a who used to fly combat jets but has now been relegated to operating UAVs on patrol in Afghanistan new recruit named Vera (Zoë Kravitz), who’s the from an air-conditioned tin can on a military base in closest he has to a friend. He’s speaking about the risk involved from putting your life on the line the Nevada desert. During the film’s opening salvo, Tom executes or- for one’s country, as opposed to the safe distance ders swiftly and with resolve. His job is to rain down drone operators work from in the war on terror. It’s ordinance on enemies of the United States without an interesting statement that suggests Niccol has reproach. But innocent lives sometimes get caught made a far more conservative film than the premise in the crossfire. After one instance where two young might suggest. Convoluted ideologies aside, Good Kill simply boys perish at Tom’s hands, his faith in the mission becomes jaded. Much of this downward slide is fails as a character study. It spells out each tumultuous plot point with wretched brought on by rampant alcohol dialogue spoken by disinterestabuse, untreated PTSD and a ed actors. As Tom falls deeper Good Kill brutal series of CIA-orchesdown the rabbit hole of his trated attacks that force Tom Directed by Andrew Niccol own making, Niccol asks the to become uncomfortably selfStarring Ethan Hawke, audience to care about his selfreflective. Things at home are Zoë Kravitz, January Jones, destruction simply because also crumbling around him, too; and Bruce Greenwood he’s having a crisis of purpose. his wife Molly (January Jones) Rated R Even more egregious, there’s a may be having an affair with subplot involving a recurring a neighbor, leaving their two rape onscreen, witnessed by one of the omniscient young children in a precarious spot. Niccol makes it apparent that he’s fascinated by drones. It’s offensive where this thread ends up, the tension between military warfare tactics and primarily because it affirms the role of America as the men who practice them. A veteran of six tours both a witness and a savior to those savages of the in the Middle East, Tom sways toward the old- third world. It’s more than a little scary that the only charschool camp; he’d rather be in country fighting the Taliban than operating some first-person shooter acter that seems right at home is the faceless CIA system from 7,000 miles away. Two younger air- operative known only as Langley (voiced by Peter men in his unit represent the millennial generation Coyote). This evil bastard knows exactly what he ready to kill with the press of a button. Niccol al- wants, leveraging the weak-willed to do its dirty lows both sides ample time to preach, with a supe- work. At least Good Kill understands what true evil rior officer played by Bruce Greenwood caught in sounds like. the middle. Good Kill wants to reveal the moral and social Film reviews run weekly. contradictions of UAVs by focusing intensely on the Write to glennh@sdcitybeat.com.
Sculpting horror The opening crane shot in Dark Star: H.R. Giger’s World descends from the sky toward a quaint home covered in foliage. This small patch of green in the otherwise pristinely urban city of Zurich belongs to painter, sculptor and visual-effects legend H.R. Giger, who lives peacefully with his wife, Carmen Maria, and his various assistants and friends. Inside, every inch of space is cluttered with artwork, memorabilia, and sculptures from his career. There’s hardly room for the camera to move freely. Belinda Sallin’s documen-
46 · San Diego CityBeat · May 20, 2015
tary paints a portrait of Giger by listening to interviews with those who know him best, mining the archive of past work hidden inside his house, and traveling to exhibitions that honor his status as one of the most important artists of the 20th century. His most notable contribution remains his collection of images published in 1977 entitled Necronomicon, which inspired his effects work on Ridley Scott’s seminal Alien. The resulting film has a flac-
Dark Star: H.R. Giger’s World cid sensibility and style, especially considering the dark aesthetics by the artist it’s documenting. Giger’s creative process is often referenced, but very rarely do we hear about it from the man himself. Part of this has
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to do with the fact that Giger is in poor health throughout (he actually died shortly after filming finished). Still, the film fails to move past the generic territory of a television special. For those new to Giger’s work, the film could act as a nice introduction, but anyone looking for an in-depth and contemplative examination will be sorely disappointed. Dark Star: H.R. Giger’s World, which opens Friday, May 22, at the Ken Cinema, remains content to simply sit back and listen rather than engage with the subject and his legendary canon of controversial work.
—Glenn Heath, Jr.
Opening In the Name of My Daughter: André Téchiné’s melodrama is set in the South of France and follows the sordid relationships of a casino owner (Catherine Deneuve) and her daughter. Poltergeist: In this remake, the youngest daughter of a suburban family is captured by ghosts, leaving her family scrambling for ways to rescue her. The Hand that Feeds: This documentary follows deli employee Mahoma López and his co-workers as they rally together to fight for fair wages and improved working conditions against their ruthless employer. Screens through Thursday, May 28, at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park. Tomorrowland: George Clooney and Britt Robertson star in Brad Bird’s space adventure about a young girl who finds a ring that opens up an alternate universe.
One Time Only The Two Faces of January: An American couple traveling in Greece meets an ex-pat with a shady past. Screens at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 20, at the Scripps Ranch Public Library. There’s Something About Mary: Ben Stiller tries to figure out why Cameron Diaz has all that hair gel. Screens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 20, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma. The 4th Annual San Diego Surf Film Festival: This multi-venue film festival includes 25 international surf films, a VIP party, and will welcome dozens of filmmakers and producers participating in Q&A’s. Runs from Wednesday, May 20 through Saturday, May 23. La Prima Neve (The First Snow): A relationship drama set in snowy Pergine, a small village in the mountains of Trentino, at the foot of the Mocheni Valley. Screens at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 21, at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park. The Big Lebowski: Don’t mess with the Jesus. Screens at 8 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, May 21 through 24 at Cinema Under the Stars in Mission Hills. Clandestine Childhood: A young boy arrives back in Argentina under a false identity due to his parents’ involvement in a subversive activist group. Screens at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 26, at the Point Loma / Hervey Branch Public Library Fading Gigolo: John Turturro stars and directs this romantic comedy about a 50something who decides to make some side money by becoming a gigolo for old-
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er women. Screens at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 27 at Mission Valley Public Library. Pray the Devil Back to Hell: This documentary covers a group of women that rise up to bring peace to Liberia and help bring to power the country’s first female head of state. Screens at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 27, at the Women’s Museum in Liberty Station. The Heat: Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy star in this buddy cop movie with a feminist spin. Screens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 27, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma.
now playing The 100-Year-Old Man Who Jumped Out the Window and Disappeared: An elderly man escapes his nursing home immediately before his 100th birthday hoping to rekindle his sense of adventure. Opens on Friday, May 15, at the Reading Gaslamp Cinemas. Every Secret Thing: Elizabeth Banks and Dakota Fanning star in this gripping psychological thriller about a detective who is destroyed after failing to save a missing child. Screens through Thursday, May 21, at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park. Felix and Meira: Two lost souls attempt to find a romantic connection despite the obstacles presented by the neighborhood they inhabit. I Am Big Bird: Caroll Spinney has been the man behind Sesame Street’s Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch since 1969. This documentary tells his story. Screens through Thursday, May 21, at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park. Iris: Documentary about style maven Iris Apfel, whose interior decorating company launched her career in fashion that has spanned over six decades. Screens through Thursday, May 21, at the Ken Cinema. Mad Max: Fury Road: George Miller’s infamous policeman-turned-road-warrior returns to the big screen in what looks like one long bonkers chase through a dystopic desert. Tom Hardy reprises the role made famous by Mel Gibson. Saint Laurent: A strange and beguiling biopic about the famous French fashion designer, Yves Saint Laurent, portrayed with unflinching vulnerability by Gaspard Ulliel. Bertrand Bonello directs. About Elly: While on a picnic in the north of Iran, a kindergarten teacher disappears, leaving her friends distraught with panic. From director Asghar Farhadi (A Separation). Black Souls: Based on Gioacchini Criaco’s novel of the same name, this gripping mafia tale explores the tension and conflict between three brothers fighting for control of an Italian crime family. Far From the Madding Crowd: Carey Mulligan and Matthias Schoenaerts star in Thomas Vinterberg’s adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s sweeping romance about a fiercely independent woman who struggles to choose between three suitors. Hot Pursuit: An uptight cop played by Reese Witherspoon tries to protect the vivacious widow of a Mexican drug boss while being pursued through Texas by a collective of bad guys. Misery Loves Comedy: Featuring interviews with Jimmy Fallon, Tom Hanks and Jim Gaffigan, this documentary looks at the profession of stand-up comedians from the inside out. Screens through Thursday, May 14, at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park. Noble: A feature film based on the true story of Christina Noble, an Irish children’s rights campaigner who traveled
to Vietnam to make a difference. Reality: Another surreal oddity from director Quentin Dupiex (Rubber) about a cameraman who dreams of making his own horror film. Screens through Thursday, May 14, at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park. The D Train: Jack Black and James Marsden are quite a pair in this dark comedy about the head of a high school reunion committee who travels to Los Angeles, hoping to convince the most popular guy from his graduating class to attend the event. Welcome to Me: A psychotic woman (Kristen Wiig) wins the lottery and decides to stop taking her meds and creates her own talk show. Opens Friday, May 8, at the Reading Gaslamp Cinemas. Any Day: Sean Bean plays an ex-fighter who attempts to find redemption from his troubled past. Co-starring Eva Longoria and Kate Walsh. Screens through Thursday, May 7, at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park. Avengers: Age of Ultron: The brood of Marvel superheroes are back to battle the nefarious Ultron, who has plans to take over the world. Tangerines: A citrus farmer attempts to save soldiers from the opposite sides of an ongoing civil war in the Caucasus Mountains. Screens through Thursday, May 7, at the Ken Cinema. Adult Beginners: When his new business crashes and burns on the eve of its launch, a young entrepreneur is forced to move in with his estranged pregnant sister and his brother-in-law. Runs through Thursday, April 30, at the Reading Cinemas Gaslamp. Clouds of Sils Maria: A middle-aged actress decides to star in a reboot of the play that made her famous 20 years before. Starring Juliette Binoche, Kristin Stewart and Chloë Grace-Moretz. Dior and I: Documentary that takes you behind the scenes of the storied world of the Christian Dior fashion house. Ex Machina: Set in the near future, Alex Garland’s sci-fi film tells the story of an Internet mogul who convinces one of his employees to conduct a Turing test on his newest A.I. creation. Little Boy: With his father away in WW II, a young boy goes to great lengths to restore stability to his family. Man From Reno: A Japanese novelist known for a series of crime novels gets wrapped up in a mystery of her own while visiting San Francisco. Runs through Thursday, April 30, at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park. Spring: A young American on a backpacking trip in Italy meets a beautiful woman at an idyllic village and instantly falls in love. Runs through Thursday, April 30, at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park. The Age of Adaline: Rendered ageless after a fateful accident, a young woman born at the turn of the 20th century lives a lonely life of immortality until she finally meets a stranger who may be worth dying for. The Road to Juarez: An ex-con recruits his friends to pull off a daring heist against a powerful Mexican drug cartel. Opens Friday, April 24, at AMC Mission Valley 20 and AMC Palm Promenade 24.
For a complete listing of movies, please see “Film Screenings” at sdcitybeat.com under the “Events” tab.
May 20, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 47
Music
Kevin Griggs
SHEDDING THEIR SKIN Royal Thunder’s path of personal growth by JEFF TERICH
G
From left: Mlny Parsonz, Josh Weaver, Will Fiore and Evan Diprima.
rowing up and playing rock music growth and uncertainty as a catalyst for creating someare almost antithetical concepts. To commit to thing positive on Crooked Doors. “I feel like, obviously I’m not the only person going a career of playing live music often means forgothrough, ‘What the fuck should I do with my life?’” Paring an ordinary work schedule—and sleep schedule—and spending a lot less time at home. And it’s unlikely sonz says in a phone interview. “I felt like everything I was anyone’s parents will ever praise their children’s choice to going through was the same thing all the time. I wasn’t living. Being stagnant has never agreed with my spirit. Crejoin a band as a wise and secure financial decision. Whatever stereotypes continue to peratively and mentally…it’s no good for me. I need this moment to process everything sist, the truth of the matter is that musicians do grow up. And that period, and process of I’ve been through and to talk about it—this growth, very frequently becomes a part of kind of soul vomit. And hopefully someone June 3 will hear it…it’ll be an encouragement to their music. Before writing and recording The Hideout someone to move on and do what they gotta new album Crooked Doors, Mlny Parsonz, frontwoman of Atlanta-based hard rock do with life and find happiness.” facebook.com/ outfit Royal Thunder, went through a pretty Given how intense and personal ParRoyalThunderMusic intense period of life change. She and her sonz’s lyrics are on Crooked Doors, it’s a bandmate, guitarist Josh Weaver, got a divorce. Prior to remarkably accessible—even pretty—album. The group’s that, she left a religious cult that she described in a recent debut, 2012’s CVI, was more deeply rooted in doom metal Rolling Stone interview as “completely out of control.” and prog rock, more often than not invoking the power And as Parsonz revealed to Stereogum last month, she’s and majesty of metal gods Black Sabbath with traces of the also newly sober. occult just around the fringes. With Crooked Doors, however, Royal Thunder pivots away from that metal sound These combined experiences became a creative impetus for Parsonz, who used her own personal period of in favor of a melodic rock approach that can alternately
ROYAL THUNDER
48 · San Diego CityBeat · May 20, 2015
recall ’70s rock ‘n’ roll titans Led Zeppelin and Heart, or contemporary performers like PJ Harvey. The album’s leadoff track, “Time Machine,” reflects both personal and musical change, with Parsonz singing “I’m looking for a way to feel/ ‘cause I don’t feel a thing,” against a restrained, psychedelic rock pulse. And the more straightforward rock stomp of “Floor” more directly addresses Parsonz’s experience in a religious sect: “Dirty pictures/ Holy water/ and a hole in my eye.” But as much passion and fury as there is in each song—a whole lot of which comes straight from her own powerful vocal abilities—Royal Thunder never strays far from a melodic approach on Crooked Doors. “I was thinking, ‘What can I do to continue to grow?’” Parsonz says about writing the new album. “I just want to push and write a better melody. I was very careful and very thoughtful and wanted to do something really special, so when I sit back and listen to it, I felt like I gave that song the best melody it could possibly have. “I was in my late 20s then, early 30s,” she adds, reflecting on their debut album. “Now I’m 35. And I feel the music is growing up as we’re growing up.” Royal Thunder is in its 11th year as a band, and while its individual members have experienced a lot of transition and growth since it began, the band itself scarcely resembles what it was in 2004. Royal Thunder started off as an instrumental metal trio, but changed direction when Parsonz joined as vocalist. Several members have come and gone, and over time they’ve distanced themselves from showcasing some of their more explicit metal influences, though Parsonz says that those roots will always be a part of who they are. “I think you’re always going to hopefully feel the metal…but I don’t think you necessarily hear it,” she says. As Royal Thunder pushes on into the future, however, Parsonz, Weaver, drummer Evan Diprima and guitarist Will Fiore are focused on letting go of some of the cryptic darkness that once defined them, and—ultimately—are growing up. “A lot has changed,” Parsonz says. “I feel like we were more cloaked when we started out. We were coming out of so many things in life, and things were changing. And it’s not that we didn’t know who we were. We were who we were at the time, but we were still figuring out how to get out of being those people. There was this brooding and darkness and mystery. That’s always how we have been—we love dark shit, and grew up on that stuff when we were teenagers. “But as we move on and get older and make music, we’re shedding a lot of skin,” she adds. “And now, everything feels lighter and brighter.” Write to jefft@sdcitybeat.com. To hear a track, go to sdcitybeat.com and search for “Royal Thunder”
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May 20, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 49
Music
notes from the smoking patio Sam Lopez, proprietor of cassette label and curated concert series Stay Strange, has announced a new matinee series for the summer. Titled “Strange Sundays,” the new concert series launches Sunday, May 24, at Kava Lounge, at 3 p.m. The first show will feature performances by Yours Truly Jane Palmer, Alan Jones and Steve Flato, and Xavier Ramirez. Each show will feature underground, noisebased artists (Lopez says that the word “experimental” has been banned from his events due to overuse), as well as Tarot readings from a psychic. Yet within that framework, Lopez says that the events will remain pretty free-form. “There’s not going to be a specific sort of theme,” he says in a phone interview. “It’s going to be all abstract, outsider music. It’s an opportunity for a lot of new, up-and-coming noise artists to play shows.” This series is similar in idea to Stay Strange’s 2013 series at The Void (now The Hideout), which focused more on noise-based hip-hop artist performances. And though dark, dissonant music might seem more like a night-time kind of thing, Lopez has his reasons for making Strange Sundays a daytime affair. “I dig the matinee style,” he says. “I’m a parent and a husband. I don’t need to be staying out until the wee hours. I’ve been getting a really good response about it, too.” Lopez has ambitions that extend beyond simply
Xavier Vasquez
locals only
Sam Lopez putting on a good show. He sees Stay Strange events as something like a Bohemian salon. “I’d like to make these events a place where people can talk about abstract, outsider music,” he says. Following the first Strange Sunday, Stay Strange is also putting on “June Gloom” at The Hideout, featuring Innerds, Tron and Zsa Zsa Gabor, on Thursday, June 4. —Jeff Terich
On May 24, the Rolling Stones will perform at Petco Park. This will no doubt be one of the biggest concerts of the year in San Diego, but it also raises the question of whether a band that’s been performing for more than 50 years still has what it takes. I asked several local musicians if they’d see the show, and whether or not Mick and Keef—and the rest—still got that Jumpin’ Jack Flash. Josh Damigo: “I’d definitely go if I could afford tickets. They’re legends, man...and we’re losing our legends, daily. This is as close as my generation gets to see the artists/bands who influenced the bands who influenced us. I’m in.” Mishey Touchie, The Touchies: “Mick Jagger is the bomb. He makes me feel old, and he is 40 years older than me. I saw the Rolling Stones a few years back. I was amazed. During the whole concert, Mick Jagger ran around the stadium non-stop, putting on the best show. And Keith and the rest of the band—come on, you can’t get much cooler than that. And cool is always relevant.” Sasha Syeed, Nothingful: “I never quite got into them, just liked certain songs here and there. I came across a few copies of their ’70s albums, some of it I think is mediocre (like the much-lauded Exile on Main Street), but I loved Beggar’s Banquet. I don’t know their legacy all that much—or care, so whether they’re 85 or 15 matters little to me.” Jake Najor, Taurus Authority/The Cold Fact: “I think the Stones are great. I would go check them out.” Sam Lopez, Zsa Zsa Gabor/Stay Strange: “The mighty, evil Stones. Sold their souls to the devil and
50 · San Diego CityBeat · May 20, 2015
SolarScott
San Diego Musicians discuss The Stones
The Rolling Stones all the devil could take was poor Brian Jones. I’ve been a fan since I was a kid. I would totally go see them. The Rolling Stones are definitely the temple of rock. The (un)holy mountain. Despite the slick polish of the show and the magnificent back-up singers, I believe they still hold the rusty key to our sick and perverted rock and roll salvation. That’s how powerful I think their older music was. Sure, the majority of the band are in their 70s, but that gives me hope that maybe I’ll be rocking out in my golden years, too.”
—Jeff Terich Write to jefft@sdcitybeat.com.
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Music
Jeff Terich
If I were u A music insider’s weekly agenda Wednesday, May 20
Observatory North Park. That’s right, time they’re playing all of Under the Big PLAN A: Quintron and Miss Pussycat, Black Sun and More Fun in the New World, Nots, Ultragash @ Soda Bar. New Orleans’ from front to back. If the first night wasn’t most peculiar garage duo, Quintron and enough, the second night will be a deeper Miss Pussycat, incorporate puppet shows dive into the catalog. BACKUP PLAN: Sixand all-around weirdness into their show. ties Guns, Emerald Rats @ The Balboa. Whether or not you’re even into the music, this will be one of the most entertaining things you’ll see all week. PLAN B: Flaggs, Sunday, May 24 Barbarian, The Two Tens, Gloomsday @ PLAN A: Negative Approach, Bishops The Casbah. Flaggs are releasing a new EP Green, Rat City Riot, Rail Them to Death this month, and they happen to be one of @ Soda Bar. It’s a hell of a week for legends the city’s better live bands. They’re playing in San Diego. Detroit’s Negative Approach with three more great acts, too, so get there have been around as long as hardcore itearly. BACKUP PLAN: The Wooden Sky, self, and they’re one of the genre’s most angry and intense bands. Bring extra padThe Peripherals @ Seven Grand. ding if you intend to get in the pit. PLAN B: G.B.H., Authentic Sellout, Revolut-chix, Records with Roger @ The Casbah. Hey, Thursday, May 21 PLAN A: The Rezillos, Kid Congo and look at that—another legendary hardcore the Pink Monkey Birds, Shady Francos band! G.B.H. started around the same time @ The Casbah. Edinburgh’s Rezillos are as Negative Approach, but over in the UK, new-wave legends. Their album Can’t Stand where they were one of the first bands to the Rezillos is an irresistibly fun punk and combine punk rock with a metal edge. It power-pop record that belongs in every- might be tough to cram two hardcore icons one’s collection. Hoist your pints for “Flying into one night, but it’s hard to go wrong eiSaucer Attack”. BACKUP PLAN: Gothic ther way. Tropic, Life Size Maps @ The Merrow.
Friday, May 22 PLAN A: X @ The Observatory North Park. X plays in San Diego at least once a year, but this show is special. The punk legends will be playing their debut album, Los Angeles, and follow-up, Wild Gift, in entirety. That’s a bucket-list show right there. PLAN B: The Frights, Sledding With Tigers @ The Balboa. I’m not sure if The Frights are of legal drinking age yet (my gut tells me just barely), but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a few cocktails while listening to their surfy punk and, for that matter, Sledding With Tigers’ excellent folk-punk. Fingers crossed that SLT will play a song about Space Jam. BACKUP PLAN: Buddy Banter, Ditches, Witness 9 @ Soda Bar.
Saturday, May 23 PLAN A: Sleeping People, Kata, Roland @ The Hideout. Sleeping People don’t play that often, partly because they don’t all live in the same country. When they end up in the same room, the results can be stunning. The group’s intricate post-rock sound is always worth hearing. PLAN B: X @ The
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Monday, May 25 PLAN A: Lo-Fang @ Soda Bar. Lo-Fang performs dreamy, soulful pop that’s somewhere between Beach House and How to Dress Well, which always sounds much better during the nighttime. Bring your sweetheart and swoon to these ethereal grooves. BACKUP PLAN: LA Witch, G. Green, Pree, Has A Shadow @ The Hideout.
Tuesday, May 26 PLAN A: Gary Wilson, Vats, Sakasal!, Sleeping Ghost @ The Hideout. Gary Wilson is a living legend, and a homegrown weirdo that San Diegans should be proud to call their own. He recently appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live with rapper Earl Sweatshirt, so after 30plus years, Wilson’s still got it. PLAN B: Main Attrakionz, Parker and Gary Wilson the Numberman, These Hands Create, Day-Go Produce @ Soda Bar. Main Attrakionz initially garnered attention a few years back for making “cloud rap,” which is like the hip-hop equivalent of “chillwave.” But their trippy, electronics-laden jams are much cooler than that sounds. Vibe out.
May 20, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 51
Music
Concerts HOT! NEW! FRESH!
Zella Day (Casbah, 6/8), Lupe Fiasco (Observatory, 6/15), Death Valley Girls (Hideout, 6/18), Gang Green (Soda Bar, 6/22), Cherry Glazerr (The Irenic, 7/11), Needtobreathe (Humphreys, 7/11), Barrington Levy (Observatory, 7/14), Ky-Mani Marley (BUT, 7/27), Langhorne Slim and the Law (BUT, 8/10), Raekwon and Ghostface Killah (HOB, 8/16), Inner Circle (BUT, 8/17), The Psychedelic Furs, The Church (Observatory, 9/9), ZZ Ward (HOB, 10/18), Gerard Way (HOB, 10/24).
GET YER TICKETS The Rentals (Irenic, 6/4), Unwritten Law (HOB, 6/6), ‘X-Fest’ w/ Pennywise, Cold War Kids, Public Enemy (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 6/7), Joey Bada$$ (Observatory, 6/11), King Sunny Ade (BUT, 6/12), Jonathan Richman (BUT, 6/16), Jungle (Observatory, 6/22), Slayer, King Diamond (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 6/26), Best Coast (Observatory North Park, 6/26), Mac Sabbath (Brick by Brick, 7/3), The Appleseed Cast (Soda Bar, 7/3), Jurassic Five (Humphreys, 7/8), Brian Posehn (HOB, 7/8), The Aquabats (HOB, 7/9), Built to Spill (BUT, 7/17), The Helio Sequence (Casbah, 7/17), Charli XCX, Bleachers (Observatory North Park, 7/21), Between the Buried and Me (Observatory, 7/22), Soul
52 · San Diego CityBeat · May 20, 2015
Asylum, Meat Puppets (HOB, 7/23), The Adolescents (BUT, 7/23), Melt Banana, Torche (Casbah, 7/28-29), Say Anything (HOB, 7/29), Spank Rock (Soda Bar, 7/31), Stephen Stills (BUT, 8/1-2), Bill Maher (Humphreys, 8/2), Milky Chance (Soma, 8/3), Hurray For the Riff Raff (BUT, 8/5), Echo and the Bunnymen (Humphreys, 8/6), The Alabama Shakes (Open Air Theatre, 8/12), Buddy Guy (BUT, 8/12), Nicki Minaj (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 8/13), Toadies, Fuel (HOB, 8/14), The B-52s (Humphreys, 8/15), Jill Scott (Humphreys, 8/25), Lee “Scratch” Perry (BUT, 9/1), Ariana Grande (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 9/9), ZZ Top (Humphreys, 9/13), The Who (Valley View Casino Center, 9/14), Future Islands (Observatory, 9/22-23), Foo Fighters (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 9/24), Death Cab for Cutie (Open Air Theatre, 9/25), Florida Georgia Line (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 10/3), alt-j (Open Air Theatre, 10/13), Luke Bryan (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 10/16), My Morning Jacket (Open Air Theatre, 10/19), Mudhoney (Casbah, 10/24), Tobias Jesso Jr. (BUT, 10/28), John Waters (Observatory, 11/30).
May Wednesday, May 20 Quintron and Ms. Pussycat at Soda Bar. Bryan Adams at Open Air Theatre.
Thursday, May 21 The Rezillos at The Casbah.
Friday, May 22 Hiatus Kaiyote at House of Blues (sold out). Pinback at Belly Up Tavern. Little River Band at Casino Pauma. Paramore at Open Air Theatre (sold out). X at Observatory North Park.
Saturday, May 23
zachary grounds / wiki commons
X at Observatory North Park. KATA at The Hideout. Sleeping People at The Hideout.
Sunday, May 24 Negative Approach at Soda Bar. Train at Sleep Train Amphitheatre. Slick Rick at Porter’s Pub. The Rolling Stones at Petco Park.
Monday, May 25 Lo-Fang at Soda Bar. L.A. Witch at The Hideout.
Tuesday, May 26 Main Attrakionz at Soda Bar. Jeremy Loops at Belly Up Tavern. The New Regime at The Casbah. Gary Wilson at The Hideout.
Wednesday, May 27 Mae at The Irenic. Ciara at House of Blues. Xavier Rudd at Belly Up Tavern. Dead Heavens at Soda Bar.
Thursday, May 28 Xavier Rudd at Belly Up Tavern. Saxon at Brick by Brick. Neutral Milk Hotel at Observatory North Park (sold out). Transfer at The Casbah.
Friday, May 29 Chris Robinson Brotherhood at Observatory North Park. Pinata Protest at The Hideout. Bubba Sparxxx at Brick by Brick.
Saturday, May 30 Strung Out at House of Blues. PigPen Theatre Company at Soda Bar. Everlast at Belly Up Tavern.
Spoon’s Britt Daniel
june Monday, June 1 Spoon at Observatory North Park (sold out).
Tuesday, June 2 Todd Rundgren at Belly Up Tavern (sold out). Superheaven at House of Blues. Spoon at Observatory North Park. Sufjan Stevens at Copley Symphony Hall (sold out).
Wednesday, June 3 Walk Off the Earth at Observatory North
CONTINUED ON PAGE 53
#SDCityBeat
Music Park. Ghoul at Soda Bar. Kids in the Hall at Balboa Theatre. Awolnation at House of Blues. Ron Sexsmith at The Casbah. Stranger at Belly Up Tavern.
Thursday, June 4 Miami Horror at Soda Bar. Crowbar at Til-Two Club. Eddie Izzard at Civic Theatre. The Rentals at The Irenic. ‘June Gloom’ w/ Innerds, Tron, Zsa Zsa Gabor at The Hideout.
Friday, June 5 Mrs. Magician, Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects at Soda Bar. July Talk at The Hideout. Dustin Kensrue at The Irenic.
Friday, June 6 Brad Paisley at Sleep Train Amphitheatre. Unwritten Law at House of Blues. Common Sense at Belly Up Tavern.
Sunday, June 7 ‘X-Fest’ w/ Pennywise, Cold War Kids, Public Enemy at Sleep Train Amphitheatre.
Monday, June 8 Zella Day at The Casbah.
Wednesday, June 10 The Weepies at Belly Up Tavern.
Thursday, June 11 Joey Bada$$ at Observatory North Park. The Warlocks at The Hideout.
Friday, June 12 Steel Panther at House of Blues. Anuhea and Etana at Observatory North Park. King Sunny Ade at Belly Up Tavern. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at The Casbah. Goatwhore, Ringworm, Black Breath at Soda Bar.
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Saturday, June 13 1349 at Brick by Brick. Jedi Mind Tricks at Observatory North Park. Preservation Hall Jazz Band at Belly Up Tavern. Zero Boys at Til-Two Club. Ceremony at Legend Records.
Sunday, June 14 Robin Trower at House of Blues. UK Subs at Soda Bar.
Monday, June 15 Motopony at The Casbah. Lupe Fiasco at Observatory North Park.
Tuesday, June 16 Jonathan Richman at Belly Up Tavern. Brit Floyd at Civic Theatre.
Wednesday, June 17 The Original Wailers at House of Blues. James McMurtry at Belly Up Tavern.
Thursday, June 18 Dead Feather Moon at Belly Up Tavern. Jen Kirkman at The Casbah. The Slackers at Observatory North Park. Death Valley Girls at The Hideout.
Friday, June 19 J Boog at Observatory North Park.
Saturday, June 20 Surfer Blood at The Casbah.
Monday, June 22 Gang Green at Soda Bar. Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox at Belly Up Tavern. Jungle at Observatory North Park.
Tuesday, June 23 Ed Sheeran at Valley View Casino Center.
Wednesday, June 24 Joseph Arthur at The Casbah. Leo Kottke at Belly Up Tavern.
rCLUBSr
710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave, Pacific Beach. www.710bc.com. Wed: Open mic. Thu: Live band karaoke. Fri: Tatanka, Fear Nuttin, Rakastep. Sat: Dazed and Confused. Sun: Karaoke. Mon: DJ Royale. 98 Bottles, 2400 Kettner Blvd. Ste. 110, Little Italy. www.98bottlessd.com. Fri: Triple Deez Band. Sat: The Burt Brion Band. Air Conditioned Lounge, 4673 30th St, Normal Heights. www.airconditionedbar.com. Wed: ‘Culture’ w/ DJ Ele. Thu: ‘DIVE’ w/ DJs Joe Pea, Andy Gomez. Fri: Digital Lizards of Doom. Sat: ‘Juicy’ w/ Mike Czech. Sun: ‘Church’ w/ DJs John Reynolds, Karma. American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave, Downtown. www.americancomedyco.com. Wed: John Leguizamo. Thu: John Leguizamo. Fri: Harland Williams. Sat: Harland Williams. Sun: Harland Williams. Bang Bang, 526 Market St, Downtown. www.facebook.com/BangBangSanDiego. Fri: Nicole Moudaber, Lee K.
Bar Pink, 3829 30th St, North Park. www. barpink.com. Wed: DJ Claire. Thu: DJ Ikah Love. Fri: ‘80s v 90s’ w/ DJs Vaughn Avakian, Heather Hardcore. Sat: The Bedbreakers. Sun: ‘Rat Sabbath’. Mon: Tori Roze and the Hot Mess.
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May 20, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 53
Music Bassmnt, 919 Fourth Ave, Downtown. bassmntsd.com. Thu: Feenixpawl. Fri: Etc!Etc!. Sat: Mercer. Sun: Mat Zo. Beaumont’s, 5662 La Jolla Blvd, La Jolla. http://www.brocktonvilla.com/beaumonts.html. Thu: Adam Block Duo. Fri: December’s Children. Sat: Jones Revival. Sun: The Rhythm Authority. Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave, Solana Beach. www.bellyup.com. Wed: Sara Petite, The Freightshakers, Brawley. Thu: John Brown’s Body, Mike Love. Fri: Pinback, Sleeping People. Sat: ‘Beatles vs. Stones - A Musical Shootout’. Sun: Trevor Hall, Dustin Thomas, Tubby Love. Tue: Jeremy Loops, Ethan Tucker. Boar Cross’n, 390 Grand Ave, Carlsbad. boarcrossn.net. Thu: Taken by Canadians. Fri: ‘Club Musae’. Sat: Loose Nut. Brass Rail, 3796 Fifth Ave, Hillcrest. thebrassrailsd.com. Fri: ‘Hip Hop Fridayz’. Sat: ‘Sabado en Fuego’ w/ DJs XP, KA. Sun: ‘Soiree’. Mon: ‘Manic Monday’ w/ DJs Junior the Disco Punk, XP. Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave, Bay Park. brickbybrick.com. Fri: Jenna Syde and the Watchers, Falling Doves, Blue Halas. Sat: Contortion, Godhammered, Aghori, A Hero Within, 1001. Mon: ‘Metal Monday’. Tue: Bay Park Blues. Cafe Sevilla, 353 Fifth Ave, Downtown. http://www.cafesevilla.com. Fri: Joef and Co. Sun: Aire. Croce’s Park West, 2760 Fifth Ave., #100, Bankers Hill. www.crocesparkwest. com. Wed: International Academy of Jazz. Thu: Trio de Janeiro. Fri: Sue Palmer. Sat: Coast Bop. Sun: Besos de Coco. Mon: Charlie Imes. Tue: The Gaslamp Quarter Jazz Orchestra. Dirk’s Nightclub, 7662 Broadway, Lemon Grove. www.dirksniteclub.com. Fri: Granite Hills. Sat: DJ Kool T. Dizzy’s, 4275 Mission Bay Drive, Mission Bay. dizzyssandiego.com. Fri: Joshua White Trio. Sat: Nathan Hubbard’s A Thousand Butterflies. Sun: Joe Marillo. Epicentre, 8450 Mira Mesa Blvd, Mira Mesa. epicentreconcerts.org. Thu: Emery, Sleeping Giant, Wolves At The Gate, Forevermore, Eye The Realist. F6ix, 526 F St., Downtown, Downtown. f6ixsd.com. Fri: Deejay Al. Sat: Dre Sinatra. Sun: DJ Kaos. Fluxx, 500 Fourth Ave, Downtown. fluxxsd.com. Thu: Brooke Evers. Fri: Grandtheft. Sat: GTA. Sun: Taylorgang. Gallagher’s, 5040 Newport Ave, Ocean Beach. 619-222-5303. Wed: Andy Mauser. Thu: Shoreline Rootz. Fri: The Guilt. Sat: Destructo Bunny, DJ Chelu. Mon: ‘Strictly Hip Hop’. Henry’s Pub, 618 Fifth Ave, Downtown. www.henryspub.com. Wed: AOK Musik. Thu: DJ Junior the Disco Punk. Fri: ‘Good Times’. Sat: DJs E, Yodah. Mon: DJ Antonio Aguilera, Keokoa. Tue: Big City Dawgs. Hiatus Lounge, 7955 La Jolla Shores Dr, La Jolla. http://www.hotellajolla.com/lajolla-pool/hiatus-lounge/index.html. Sat: Rum Fest. House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave, Downtown. houseofblues.com/sandiego. Wed: JammingOut. Thu: RAW: Sensory. Fri: Bianca Del Rio. Fri: Hiatus Kaiyote, Low Leaf. Sat: Common Kings. Sun: Streetlight Manifesto. Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd, Midtown. kavalounge.com. Wed: ‘This n That’. Thu: ‘Acid Varsity’. Fri: ‘For the Love of Hip Hop’. Sat: ‘SHAFT’. Sun: ‘Strange Sunday’. Tue: ‘High Tech Tuesday’. Kensington Club, 4079 Adams Ave, Kensington. 619-284-2848. Sat: PWP, Ash
54 · San Diego CityBeat · May 20, 2015
Williams, Future Age. Mon: Lights Out Comedy. Mon: ‘Lights Out Comedy’. Kilowatt Brewing, 7576 Clairemont Mesa Blvd, Kearny Mesa. www.kilowatt. beer. Fri: Dr. Rudi’s Hoptastic Voyage Release. Mc P’s Irish Pub, 1107 Orange Ave, Coronado. www.mcpspub.com. Wed: Tone Cookin’. Thu: Ron’s Trio. Fri: The Manic Bros. Sat: Flipside Burners. Sun: Joey Harris.
The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd, Midtown. casbahmusic.com. Wed: Flaggs, Barbarian, The Two Tens, Gloomsday. Thu: The Rezillos, Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds, Shady Francos. Fri: Sage Francis, Real J Wallace, DJ Artistic. Sat: Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Krass Brothers, DJ Brian Waters. Sun: G.B.H., Authentic Sellout, Revolut-Chix, Records with Roger. Mon: Kopecky, Armors, Spero. Tue: The New Regime, Pumphouse, Jara.
Numbers, 3811 Park Blvd, Hillcrest. http://www.numberssd.com/. Thu: ‘Throwback Thursday’. Fri: ‘Uncut’. Sat: ‘Club Sabbat’. Sun: ‘RnB Divas’. Tue: Karaoke Latino.
The Hideout, 3519 El Cajon Blvd, City Heights. http://www.thehideoutsd.com. Sat: Sleeping People, KATA, Roland. Mon: LA Witch, Pree, G. Green, Has a Shadow. Tue: Gary Wilson, Vats, Sakasal, Sleeping Ghost.
Onyx Room / Thin, 852 Fifth Ave, Downtown. www.onyxroom.com. Fri: ‘Rumba Lounge’. Sat: ‘Onyx Saturday’. Sun: ‘Rumba Lounge’.
The Loft @ UCSD, Price Center East, La Jolla. http://theloft.ucsd.edu. Wed: Akiko Tsuruga, Graham Dechter, Jeff Hamilton Trio. Tue: Becca Stevens Band.
Patricks Gaslamp, 428 F St, Downtown. www.patricksii.com. Wed: The Upshots. Thu: The Fuzzy Rankins Band. Fri: The Bill Magee Blues Band. Sat: WG and the G-Men. Sun: Rosy Dawn. Mon: The Groove Squad. Tue: Paddy’s Chicken Jam.
The Merrow, 1271 University Ave, Hillcrest. theMerrow.com. Wed: Quinn McCarron, CLAMR, Karina Toriz. Thu: Gothic Tropic, Life Size Maps. Fri: Luke Wade, Pawnshop Kings. Sat: The Brewhahas, Riotmaker, LAW. Tue: Wicked Tongues, The SeKs, Pharmacy.
Porter’s Pub, 9500 Gilman Dr., UCSD campus, La Jolla. porterspub.net. Sat: Baby Bash. Sun: Slick Rick.
The Office, 3936 30th St, North Park. www.officebarinc.com. Wed: ‘Friends Chill’. Sun: ‘Uptown Top Ranking’ w/ Tribe of Kings. Mon: ‘The Smiths Under Cover’.
Rich’s, 1051 University Ave, Hillcrest. www.richssandiego.com. Wed: DJ Kiki. Thu: DJ Moody Rudy. Fri: DJs John Joseph, Moody Rudy. Sat: DJs K-Swift, Luke Allen, Nikno. Sun: DJ Qoolee Kid. Riviera Supper Club, 7777 University Ave, La Mesa. rivierasupperclub.com. Wed: Westside Inflection. Thu: Second Cousins. Fri: Sickstring Outlaws. Sat: Chickenbone Slim. Tue: Karaoke. Seven Grand, 3054 University Ave, North Park. sevengrandbars.com/sd. Wed: Gilbert Castellanos jazz jam. Fri: Soul Organization. Sat: Bomb Squad. Side Bar, 536 Market St, Downtown. www.sidebarsd.com. Wed: DJ Scooter. Thu: DJ Byrd. Fri: DJ Kurch. Sat: Kyle Flesch. Sun: ‘Five/Ten’. Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd, City Heights. www.sodabarmusic.com. Wed: Quintron and Miss Pussycat, Nots, Ultragash. Thu: The Sinclairs, Foreign Suns, Taken by Tomorrow, Setback City. Fri: Buddy Banter, Ditches, Witness 9. Sat: Fartbarf, Hills Like Elephants, Glass Spells, Batwings Catwings, Prgrm. Sun: Negative Approach, Bishops Green, Rat City Riot, Rail Them to Death. Mon: LoFang. Tue: Main Attrakionz, Parker and the Numberman, These Hands Create, Day-go Produce. SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd, Midway. www.somasandiego.com. Fri: Killing The Messenger, A New Challenger Approaches, Hundred Caliber, Seconds Ago, Hannibal, I Survive. Spin, 2028 Hancock St, Midtown. www. spinnightclub.com. Sun: ‘Reggae Sunday’. Stage Bar & Grill, 762 Fifth Ave, Downtown. www.stagesaloon.com. Thu: Superbad. Fri: Disco Pimps, DJ Slynkee. Sat: Hott Mess, DJ Miss Dust. Sycamore Den, 3391 Adams Ave, Normal Heights. www.sycamoreden.com. Thu: 22 Kings, Mike Montoya. Sun: Tim Mudd, Drew Thams. The Balboa, 1863 Fifth Ave, Bankers Hill. 619-955-8525. Fri: The Frights, Sledding With Tigers. Sat: Sixties Guns, Emerald Rats. The Bancroft, 9143 Campo Rd, Spring Valley. 619-469-2337. Wed: Karaoke. Thu: ‘Club 80s’. Fri: Infidelz, Night Owl Massacre, Big Goat. Sat: Niantic, Lightning Starts Fire. Sun: Hexa. Tue: Sound Lupus, Darlington, Causers, Eskimo Brothers DJs.
The Tin Roof, 401 G Street, Gaslamp. http://www.tinroofbars.com/Home/SanDiego. Wed: Pat Hilton and The Mann. Thu: Cassie B. Band. Fri: DJ Kam, The Jonathan Lee Band. Sat: The Jonathan Lee Band. Sun: Ilya Shatov, Hey! Ho! Let’s Go!. Mon: Lifelike. Tue: Raggabond. Til-Two Club, 4746 El Cajon Blvd, City Heights. www.tiltwoclub.com. Thu: Alexei Martov, Sound Lupus, Marqay. Fri: Shark Blood, Chango Rey, Cochinas Locas. Sat: ‘Sleepwalking’. Sun: Lexicons, Midnight Track, Real Big Tits. Tio Leo’s, 5302 Napa St, Bay Park. www. tioleos.com. Thu: Patrick Rynne and Chris James. Fri: Funk’s Most Wanted. Sat: Colour. Tue: Zydeco Patrol. Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave, City Heights. www.thetowerbar.com. Wed: ‘The Ratt’s Revenge’ w/ DJs Mikey Ratt, Tiki Thomas. Fri: Aragentivas, Man vs. Man, Beekeeper, Discarded Youth. Sat: Jason Lee and the RIP Tides, The Fink Bombs, The Mission Creeps. Sun: Los Hell Gamblers, Dead at Midnight, Johnny Deadly Trio. Tue: Trashkannon, Vampirates, Night Owl Massacre. Turquoise, 873 Turquoise St, Pacific Beach. theturquoise.com/wordpress. Wed: Talia Ceravolo (5 p.m.); Tomcat Courtney (7 p.m.). Thu: The Doug Hartley Trio (5 p.m.); Jade Visions Jazz Trio (7 p.m.). Fri: Gabriela and La Buena Onda (5 p.m.); Afro Jazziacs (9 p.m.). Sat: Son Pa Ti. Sun: Sounds Like Four (5 p.m.); Big Boss Bubale (8 p.m.). Mon: Patrick Dowling. Tue: Grupo Global. Ux31, 3112 University Ave, North Park. u31bar.com. Wed: DJ Mo Lyon. Thu: ‘Throwback Thursday’. Fri: DJ Bodyrawk. Sat: DJ Junior the Disco Punk. Sun: Synyrgy, No Kings, Kng Mkr, Burning Up. Mon: Kid Wonder. Tue: Karaoke. Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St, South Park. whistlestopbar.com. Wed: ‘Not Happy’ w/ DJ Jon Blaj. Thu: ‘Astro Jump’ w/ Kill Quanti DJs. Fri: Jesse Marchant, The Midnight Pine. Sat: Holydrug Couple, Witness 9. Winstons, 1921 Bacon St, Ocean Beach. www.winstonsob.com. Wed: Soul Majestic, DJ Carlos Culture. Thu: ‘Battle for Vans Warped Tour.’. Fri: Hey, Ho! Let’s Go!, Generator, Godspeed McQueen. Sun: Karaoke. Mon: Electric Waste Band. Tue: The Moves, Pacific Haze.
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May 20, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 55
Last Words
Brendan Emmett Quigley
Across
Singers
1. Spicy applications 5. Texter’s totes closest pal 10. Onetime “S.N.L.”-type show 14. Thin pliable stems of a palm used to make furniture 15. Codiscoverer of radium 16. “The Time Machine” race 17. Sticky icky 18. Prepare, as for a slow pour 19. Basement problem 20. John Kerry was one in 2004 23. Texter’s “conversely” 24. Spoon’s drummer Jim 25. One of the Greek muses 26. Soft-serve selection 28. Somewhat rundown 30. Math class figures 32. Spectacular failure 33. Thanksgiving dessert 34. Brave judge? 35. Air force? 42. Revolutionary on many a t-shirt 43. Waves home? 44. “You’re the ___!” 45. Wipe out 48. Bank freebie 49. Do a DJ’s job 51. Mal de ___ 52. It’s home to roughly 15% of the world’s population: Abbr. 54. Move to a new house 55. Room service provider? 61. Baby shower gift 62. Put in a box 63. Mixer choice Last week’s answers
56 · San Diego CityBeat · May 20, 2015
64. “A few author names should do it”: Abbr. 65. 2002 hit for Cam’ron 66. Country singer Church 67. Breaks down 68. College application part 69. Assign places to
Down 1. Like “American Sniper” or “Fifty Shades of Grey” 2. Magazine of alternative media 3. Period pieces? 4. Highfalutin’ 5. Sugar Ray lead singer Mark 6. Astronaut Gagarin 7. ___-a-brac 8. British actor Albert 9. Was nourished by 10. Penultimate contest 11. Made an exact copy of 12. Put up with 13. YouTube selections 21. Lovebird’s sound 22. Cry from a crib 26. Prohibition repealer, briefly 27. Have second thoughts about 28. 9:30, e.g. 29. To the point 31. “Call of Duty: Black ___” 33. Talk foolishly about something 34. World Basketball powerhouse 36. Some notebooks 37. “People tell me ...” 38. Urge 39. 1970 movie about World War II 40. Check in the mail: Abbr. 41. “I’ve heard better” 45. “Fly ___” (Arsenal’s sponsorship message) 46. Provide an apartment for 47. Drawer’s location 48. Distributes 49. Quick instance 50. Saver? 53. Piece of microfilm 54. Settle a debt 56. Sushi ingredients 57. Both “Curious George” authors 58. Russian parliament 59. Ruler of Valhalla 60. Medieval torture device
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May 20, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 57
58 · San Diego CityBeat · May 20, 2015
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May 20, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 59