San Diego CityBeat • May 24, 2017

UP FRONT | FROM THE EDITOR

Not here

A

But then my mom came out of her room to tell me s I’m writing this, it’s nearly midnight in Barcelona, Spain where I’ve been vacationing with something else.

“Hey, remember the bombing in Atlanta during the my mother for the last few days. It was around this time last night that my mother came running out Olympics?” she asked.

Of course I did. We lived there at the time and my of her room in the apartment we rented to tell me that there had been a terrorist attack at a concert in friends and I had been goofing around and hanging out right at the location where the Centennial Park Manchster.

“Manchester,” I thought, “Wow, I was just there bomb went off. I mean, we were right on top of it. If we had stayed just an hour longer, well, who knows. the other day.”

When I got home that night in ‘96, my mom ran Sure, I had only been there for a five-hour layover in the airport, but it seemed eerie nonetheless. Keep over and hugged me. I didn’t even know yet what had in mind I didn’t yet know just where the attack had happened, and she had no way to get in touch with me to find out if I was OK happened or just how grue(for you youngsters out there, some it was. Flashbacks of the this was pre-cell phones). We terrorist attack at the Bataclan watched the news coverage of in Paris was my most immethe bombing for the rest of the diate reference. When you’re night as she clutched my hand conceptualizing adults, it’s just in relief. somehow easier to manage the And just as with the Oklashock of it all. homa City bomber a year beBut children. Children are fore that, the Olympic bomber another matter. Twenty-two wasn’t some evil foreigner victims in all and one confirmed who somehow evaded our imas young as 8 years old. It’s not migration system. It was just unreasonable to speculate that two crazy, homegrown fundafor some of the victims, the mentalists with delusions of Ariana Grande concert on Mongrandeur and a warped sense day night was the first concert of religion. Oh, and in both they’d attended. For some, it cases, they were white, Amerimay have been the first concan and Christian. Collectivecert they’d ever been to without ly, they were responsible for their parents. the deaths of more than 200 It didn’t take long before innocent people. conservatives on both sides of As I poked around Twitthe Atlantic started screaming ter while writing this, I found like a bunch of I-told-you-so Far-right Conservatives react to the a video posted by the BBC of Chicken Littles, with social Manchester bombings on Twitter. a Manchester man crying in media responses ranging from front of a blood donation clinvile to downright reprehensible (see pic above). Even our own President couldn’t ic. What he said made me cry as well.

“We can react in a lot of ways. We can react in ando better than to lump the bomber, Salman Abedi, ger or we can react by doing,” he said. “This city is into a group of “evil losers.”

Sure, Abedi might be an evil loser, but guess what a community. I don’t care who you believe in, where else he was: He was British. Born and raised in the you’re from, this city is for everybody and we all need very city he decided to terrorize. The fact that he has to rally around today to show support, because they a Libyan last name made it all the more convenient for want to divide us, don’t they? They want us to turn the media to jump to conclusions about his affiliations. on our neighbors and it will never happen. Not here.”

I went into my mom’s room to show her the video.

The rest of the world carried on as usual and rather than go out and enjoy the rest of my vacation in Bar- She smiled and clutched my hand as she watched it. celona, I spent most of the day writing and research —Seth Combs ing a piece for this space on what a fiasco the SoccerWrite to seth.combs@sdcitybeat.com City development project is turning into.

This issue of CityBeat is dedicated to any woman who’s ever swatted her man’s hand away. Especially if those hands were small.

Volume 15 • Issue 43 EDITOR Seth Combs

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Jason Noble

ART DIRECTOR Carolyn Ramos

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

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Torrey Bailey

EDITORIAL INTERNS Sofia Mejias-Pascoe

ACCOUNTING Sharon Huie, Alysia Chavez Linda Lam

PRODUCTION MANAGER Tristan Whitehouse

HUMAN RESOURCES Andrea Baker

DISPLAY ADVERTISING MANAGER Massey Pitts

VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE Kacie Sturek

MULTIMEDIA ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Paulina Porter-Tapia

VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS David Comden

MUSIC EDITOR Jeff Terich WEB EDITOR Ryan Bradford

COLUMNISTS Aaryn Belfer Edwin Decker Minda Honey John R. Lamb Alex Zaragoza

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Beau Odom, Mark Schreiber Jenny Tormey CONTROLLER Kacie Cobian

PUBLISHER Kevin Hellman

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MAY 24, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 3

UP FRONT | LETTERS

DANGER! RADIOACTIVE! Bob Filner is more than “radioactive right now” [“‘I’m like radioactive right now, right?,’” May 3]. He is toxic to the extreme! Talk about needing public accolades. This ne’er-do-well was coddled by the Democratic Party for decades even though they knew his history of philandering. He and the Party should ‘man up’ and reimburse the city treasury the millions of dollars his crude behavior stole from said treasury to remove him and stop the embarrassment of our city on the national stage. His opinions are worthless. He and Anthony Weiner have a common bond—they both have the Forest Hills neighborhood in Queens, NY in their backgrounds.

Lou Cumming La Jolla

LET THE RACE ISSUE ALONE Seth, I sure wish you would speak to yourself [“Wake up,” May 3]. We live in a world that is full of hate, and that is sad. We also live in a world that is full of love, and that is good. It would be nice if someday the color of skin did not matter and we looked at this for what it

was: a murder of innocent people. Your type cannot let the RACE issue alone. What if it were all white people that were shot? You would more than likely not mention race, and that is OK because everyday all over this country it happens. Look at crime statistics. People of all color are shooting each other. I am a 65-yearold white man who lived most of my life to this date on the East Coast. I worked a blue color [sic] job for 43 years and a lot of the people I worked with were many colors. We never had race issues and there were no shootings and I am sure that in the vastness of our country and world that is how things are. I enjoy reading CityBeat and its articles but most editorials are left of me. I understand how upset you all are over the election of Trump being our new president, but trying to fuel the fire with race hatred is not good. Anyway, just my thoughts on this one and honestly I am not a big fan of the new administration either.

Greg Budd Carlsbad

IF IT QUACKS LIKE A DUCK… Dear Seth, I just read your piece on the recent shooting that happened in La Jolla [“Wake up,” May 3]. I happen to know a little more about

OF THE WEEK In honor of San Diego roads recently scoring a 60 on the Pavement Condition Index (the grading equivalent of a ¯\_(ツ)_/¯), we present a new weekly column devoted to our favorite holes in the road.

With last week’s inaugural column focusing on a downtown pothole, we thought surely we’d get more letters from that area or the East Village. Nope. In fact, one of our first letters came from Dave in Chula Vista, who laments every time he sees this crater-like beaut of a hole near Walnut Avenue and Palomar Street. “I have actually been waiting for over six months to see this get repaired,” says David. “I can literally stand in it.” Judging by the pic, he’s not exaggerating.

Have a pothole in your neighborhood or on your commute that has you fuming? Tell us about it. Send location and pics (but really, only if it’s safe to do so) to seth.combs@sdcitybeat.com.

4 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 24, 2017

what the motives of the shooting was and why Chief Zimmerman said what she did. Maybe you should have done a little more investigation into this before publishing your piece on this, but I guess that is why it is called “Opinions,” because this is clearly and simply your opinion on what had happened and what you speculate the cause was. I just felt after reading it, that it could be dangerously taken as fact, and possibly cause even more unnecessary friction between the SDPD and the residents of San Diego. Just because it may sound like a duck, maybe take a better look at what you hear before you verify that it in fact is a duck. Just saying... Thank you for allowing me to respond.

Zach Crawford Valencia Park

TABLE OF CONTENTS UP FRONT From the Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Spin Cycle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Backwards & In High Heels. . . . 7 Well, That Was Awkward. . . . . 8

FOOD & DRINK The World Fare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

WE WANT FEEDBACK Did you read a story in San Diego CityBeat that made your blood boil, or caused you to laugh so hard you pulled a stomach muscle? If something inspires you to send us your two cents we welcome all letters that respond to news stories, opinion pieces or reviews that have run in these pages. We don’t accept unsolicited op-ed letters.

Email letters to editor Seth Combs at seth.combs@sdcitybeat.com, or mail to 3047 University Ave., Suite 202, San Diego, CA 92104. For letters to be considered for publication you must include your first and last name and the part of town where you reside.

Note: All comments left on stories at sdcitybeat.com will also be considered for publication.

Anatomy of A Cocktail Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Final Draught . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

THINGS TO DO The Short List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Calendar of Events . . . . . . . . 12-14

ARTS & CULTURE Theater. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 FEATURE: Andrea Chung. . . . . 18 Seen Local. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-21

MUSIC FEATURE: Death Eyes . . . . . . . 22 Notes from the Smoking Patio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 If I Were U. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Concerts & Clubs. . . . . . . . . 26-29

LAST WORDS The Advice Goddess. . . . . . . . . 30

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UP FRONT | NEWS PHOTOS BY JAMIE BALLARD

Most Vulnerable

Park Blvd.

While L.A. and San Bernardino work to help homeless women, San Diego lags behind

By Jamie Ballard

H

eather Stiles has been homeless in San Diego for six years. Before moving here, she lived in Arizona, where she worked as a prostitute before “finding Jesus Christ,” as she tells it.

“It was wonderful, I mean, now I know what there is to live for,” she said. “I gave up prostitution and moved here.”

These days, Stiles spends most of her time in San Diego’s East Village near the Central Library, where she sits with her cap slung low over her face.

Homeless women are often more vulnerable than homeless men. Stiles said that although she’s staying in a shelter right now, when she was living on the street, she didn’t sleep unless there was someone she trusted nearby.

“If you’re alone and a woman, you’re more likely to have things stolen from you, or get attacked,” she said.

Women make up about one-third of the homeless population in San Diego. Of the 5,619 homeless individuals counted as part of the Point-In-Time survey this year, 1,630 were women, an increase of nearly 300 people compared to last year.

Los Angeles reported a similar proportion of women in their homeless population, about one-third. In response, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority called for more shelter space for women, and the city decided to provide women-only housing vouchers.

To the east, San Bernardino County has also developed more targeted efforts and became the first county in the nation to treat unaccompanied homeless women as a special population, meaning more research is being done on the specialized needs of this population.

The city of San Diego has not developed or announced plans for any similar efforts.

According to Erica Snyder, the director of homeless housing innovations for the San Diego Housing Commission, the city partners with the YWCA and Salvation Army for three women-specific transitional housing programs.

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Another program designed to aid homeless women is Rachel’s Women’s Center, a women-only shelter and resource area overseen by the Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego. Rachel’s Women’s Center offers drop-in day services including mental health screenings, drug and alcohol recovery referrals, health and wellness resources, lunch, laundry, shower facilities and more.

Executive director Robert Moser said there are a number of significant challenges that homeless women, in particular, face.

He echoed Stiles’ thoughts on women being more likely to be assaulted on the street, saying, “Homeless women often are targets for re-victimization.”

“Many have been victimized and vulnerable over the years,” he said. “Many have experienced some kind of trauma, abuse, things of that nature, in addition to issues that affect many members of the homeless population related to mental health, drugs and alcohol.”

One notable but often overlooked challenge he mentioned was the fact that many homeless shelters are male-dominated, which may make women who have suffered abuse or trauma at the hands of men feel unsafe staying there.

“It’s important to provide women with a safe environment, where they can come off the street, feel safe, take a shower and perhaps find other women who they can be with through the transitional housing process,” he said.

Another organization focused on homeless women’s needs is the YWCA, which focuses on the relationship between domestic violence and homelessness through a number of initiatives. One program, Passages, serves low-income, single homeless women by providing housing and support services including mental health counseling, financial advising and health resources. The program is one of the three women-specific programs that the city allocates funding to and, according to the San Diego Housing Commission, the program served 58 women last year.

Gavon Morris, director of marketing and development for the YWCA said what surprised him most about the Point-In-Time survey results wasn’t the increased number of homeless women, but that six percent of homeless people attributed the dominant cause of their homelessness to domestic violence.

“That number seems low to me,” said Morris, pointing out that there likely are people who may have experienced domestic violence or abuse, but who do not identify with the term. “I think for a lot of people it may not be the dominant cause, but it could be a factor.”

Another need of homeless women that is often overlooked is monthly menstrual hygiene products. Though some shelters, including the YWCA, provide women with tampons and pads, others do not, meaning that many women are forced to choose between purchasing food or sanitary products for several days each month.

One group working to address this need is #HappyPeriod, a national organization that packages menstrual hygiene products and distributes them to women. Channing Moreland is the organizer for the San Diego chapter of #HappyPeriod.

“The needs of women are sometimes left out in the conversations around homelessness,” she said. “People tend to neglect the fact that menstruation is a big part of being a woman, and these products are something you really need.” #HappyPeriod is largely based in Los Angeles, but Moreland said she wanted to bring the efforts to San Diego.

She and other volunteers collect donated items and package them before distributing them to women on the street.

“Most of the time, they’re really grateful,” she said.

It is still unclear whether the city itself has any plans to expand women-specific homeless services or resources. In 2016, it allocated $448,351 of the Affordable Housing Fund to the YWCA and Salvation Army transitional housing programs.

Mayor Kevin Faulconer recently proposed a ballot measure that would expand the Convention Center and create a revenue stream to address homelessness in San Diego.

But as Moser says, it’s not just about the numbers.

“There needs to be awareness in the general public that people who make Heather Stiles up the homeless population represent a range of reasons and conditions. It’s not just about the numbers, because each one’s a person and each one has a story and life experiences. Each one has a name,” he said.

“We need to be willing to build a relationship and see someone as a person—not a problem.”

Back in the East Village, Heather Stiles isn’t sure the city sees her as anything but a problem.

“I don’t think the city handles the homeless population very well,” said Stiles. “You have safety ambassadors who come along and tell you that you have to move all the time, there are hardly any bathrooms available, and the cops like to harass homeless people just for being homeless.”

MAY 24, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 5

UP FRONT | OPINION

SPIN

CYCLE

JOHN R. LAMB

Full Nelson Democracy is a form of government that substitutes election by the incompetent many for appointment by the corrupt few.

I

“

—George Bernard Shaw

need liver and onions.”

Just a few days after dropping his bombshell resignation from the San Diego Port Commission, Bob Nelson had his personal trainer in mind while pondering breakfast options at Hob Nob Hill in Bankers Hill.

“I find it somewhat amusing that the place you choose is probably the biggest symbol of The Establishment that I could imagine,” Nelson told Spin about the restaurant selection. “I love it.”

Nelson decided to go with two pork chops “cooked to the minimum level law allows,” two eggs over easy, wheat toast and a fruit cup. “I need all the protein I can

get,” he explained. “But as I think about it, my trainer probably won’t like it.”

No doubt about it, the Port Commission has lost perhaps its most articulate, most outspoken member, particularly on the subject of expanding the San Diego Convention Center, which he wholeheartedly endorses.

In his resignation letter to San Diego City Council President Myrtle Cole, Nelson lamented leaving his council-appointed post more than a year early.

“While I intended to complete my entire second term,” then Commissioner Nelson wrote, “the press of business and personal affairs requires that I step aside so that you can appoint a replacement to give this job the focus and time it deserves.”

Nelson recently joined forces with Tony Manolatos, a former

6 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 24, 2017

aide to Kevin Faulconer, and Kelly Murphy Lamkin, daughter of former Mayor Dick Murphy, to create an advertising and public relations firm that they hope to be, among other things, in the thick of a future convention-center-expansion ballot measure.

However, port rules prevent Nelson himself from delving into port issues he had a hand in for a year, a so-called cooling-off period.

“I’m not going to be working on campaigns,” he said. “I’ll be volunteering. I’ll go out and use the information I have and some skills I have regarding public speaking. I won’t have any position of leadership. I don’t want one.”

His role at the port, however, did hamper his business partners.

“They were silently sucking it up,” he said. “We’ve actually had to turn down more business than we have taken because of, in most cases, legal conflicts—and then in some cases just concern about the appearance of conflict.”

Nelson said he never realized until he joined the Port Commission in 2011 just how far the port’s tentacles reach into the region’s economy. In addition to some 800 port tenants and sub-tenants that were off limits to his firm, “what I also didn’t count on is that the port is a rather large consumer of goods and services, and with rare

JOHN R. LAMB

exception I couldn’t do business for any of those.

“I didn’t realize how pervasive it would be and how it would just take Tony off the boards in so many things.”

What he did realize, though, was that his resignation—which he kept pretty much under wraps until last week’s board meeting—would trigger a “feeding frenzy” among prospective replacements.

The ink was still drying on his resignation letter when It’s a mad dash to replace Bob Nelson, who former port commissioner Steve Cushman, resigned from the Port Commission last week whom he replaced, called to express his spend 50 hours a month on port interest. Mayor Faulconer’s chief business. Be prepared for lengthy adviser on the convention center closed-door sessions dealing with expansion, Cushman declined to major litigation at the federal discuss his interest in the post level. Get educated on port issues. when Spin contacted him. But sev- And be someone who can make eral council offices—and Nelson— high-risk decisions. confirmed his interest.

Perhaps most importantly, he “He’s rarin’ to go,” Nelson said. said, “You have to understand how The Port District is in the midst the public process works so you’re of a rebranding campaign, com- not making stupid decisions out of plete with a new five-sided logo ignorance. There’s no buck to pass.” representing the five cities withWhen pressed, Nelson, a Demin the district and a style guide ocrat, said he would prefer “a prosimilar to one Mayor Faulconer gressive who’s in a mode to invest unveiled last year with a new in the future, in new technologies “swoosh” logo. and in the environment” with a While Nelson gushed about “solid relationship both with busiCushman’s influence, he said he nesses and with labor.” would prefer to see a “woman of As for the convention-center color” take his spot, one of three expansion, Nelson said he’s not that sit on the seven-member board convinced voters will get a crack at representing the city of San Diego. it this year but insisted it would be It appears the City Council good for San Diego’s economy. He will have a host of smart folks called discussion of a non-contigto choose from, based on names uous alternative “nonsense.” mentioned this past week to Spin.

Nelson considers Faulconer They include San Diego Regional a friend and called it “unusually Chamber of Commerce executive bold” that the mayor backed the Paola Avila, former city council- SoccerCity proposal for the Qualmember Sherri Lightner, local comm Stadium site, yet another labor leader and former council- possible ballot measure for a pomember Michael Zucchet, former tential November special election. port commissioner Laurie Black, “I feel like sometimes he’s sayformer state Sen. Marty Block, for- ing, ‘I have friends on both sides of mer council candidate and plan- the issue, and I always stand with ner Joe LaCava and San Diego my friends,’” Nelson said of the Community College Chancellor risk-averse mayor. “The fact he’s Constance Carroll. taking sides against people who Nelson wouldn’t show his have been long-time friends and cards on his preference, although financial supporters, it’s a fairly he referred to Avila as “very im- gutsy decision.” pressive” and Zucchet as a “rock He insisted on paying for breakstar.” Councilmembers have un- fast, despite Spin’s protests. “I’m til June 2 to submit one nominee not a government official anyeach before a decision is made more,” he said. “I can do whatever on Nelson’s replacement June 13, the fuck I want. Buy me a drink next Cole said in a memo. time.”

He did, however, offer some advice to prospective Port Com- Spin Cycle appears every week. mission wannabes: Be ready to Write to johnl@sdcitybeat.com.

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UP FRONT | OPINION

AARYN BELFER

BACKWARDS & IN

When hate wins

HIGH HEELS

W

hat does a woman in the deep down depths staff work with the Council for American-Islamic Reof a first-ever and totally crushing depres- lations (CAIR) to address Islamophobia and bullying sion do on a particularly bad day? I mean, of Muslim students, 55 percent of whom, according to CAIR, have reported being bullied as a result of their aside from head to therapy?

Well, if that woman is me, she leaves her shrink’s religion. This is “twice as high as the national statistic office—puffy eyes and crumpled snot rags in hand— of students reporting being bullied at school,” according to the Union Tribune. The district, in partnership and heads directly to a school board meeting. with CAIR and in one of its finer moments, came up I’m the valedictorian of self-flagellation.

Last time around in this space, I wrote about the with a comprehensive curriculum to ensure all chilSan Diego Unified School District’s (SDUSD) she- dren are safe in San Diego’s schools.

However. nanigans to break apart my child’s very successful K-8 This + ignorance = a slew of “patriots” who forgot school. But the gangster-esque, authoritarian tactics employed by SDUSD Superintendent Cindy Marten to wear their white hoods to the school board meeting. and Company aren’t reserved just for breaking up the And as fate would have it, these racists troglodytes just Language Academy; they are the hallmark of how the happened to be immediately followed by the sweetest SDUSD operates in general, particularly as it pertains group of children of varying races from Hickman Elementary School who shared with the board their guidto schools located south of Interstate 8.

Lincoln High School, for instance, has been in the ing principles, The Seven Habits of Happy Kids. The cross hairs for years. A large contingent of Lincoln sixth habit resonated with me the most: Seek First to High parents, teachers and community members at- Understand, Then to Be Understood.

But the sixth habit was utterly lost on Mary Baker tended the May 16 school board meeting, and even held a(nother) press conference before the meeting from Citizens for a Quality Education who requested, to publicly demand engagement from district leaders “that the district rescind the discriminatory antiwho continue to lock them out. Like with the deci- bullying policy, specifically crafted for Muslim stusion to break up Language Academy, the SDUSD has dents.” This sixth habit was also utterly lost on one made unilateral decisions that have left Lincoln with Roger, who claimed Muhammed “engaged in sex slavery” and “had sex with children” and “married a sixdeclining enrollment and no principal for two years. year old.” I couldn’t help but wonder Imagine that happening at La Jolla whether his mic would have been cut High or Scripps Ranch. Go ahead, I’ll This + ignorance wait while we all conjure up the im= a slew of “patriots” had he dared to say that Jesus raped babies. age of angry, wealthy white folks dewho forgot to wear And this sixth habit was utmanding action and getting the cold terly lost on Chris Wyrick, a newlyshoulder. their white hoods minted, self-proclaimed white naCan’t picture it, right? Because to the school board tionalist “hero”—who was forcibly that would never happen, but I digress. meeting. removed from the April 25 school There are some very real and very serious issues to be addressed during public com- board meeting by police—who claimed this antiments at these meetings, and the anger was raw last bullying policy would impede kids from becoming week. While this isn’t unusual, this particular meet- future “Beethoven, Mozart, Einstein or even Stephen ing was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Sev- Hawkings [sic].” The sixth habit was utterly lost on eral groups showed up to thank the board for the new Wyrick’s wife, Kristy, who claimed CAIR had “proven and inclusive sex ed curriculum. So far, so good. But ties to Hammas.” when Planned Parenthood was merely mentioned Public comment is public comment, and so anyone as a supporter, a young woman behind me shouted, can make public comment. As such, all of this went “Baby killers!” and then promptly hid her face behind on to a background of cheers. There were boos, too, her copy of the night’s agenda. (You know I called her but there was no small amount of wild affirmations coward ass out. “If you’re gonna say that here, then of the proud, open and condescending hate. This new at least hold your head up and own it,” I told her. I’m infiltration of our school board meetings by white sudepressed, remember, so I have nothing to lose.) premacists should startle everyone.

This ugly little outburst turned out to be a foreHate, it seems, is winning in every corner and is shadowing of what was the most despicable, vile, going to require more bravery of not just our board hateful and racist open-comment session I’ve ever at- members, but of the diverse community that gathers tended at a school board meeting. And trust me, I’ve in that room every other week to hash out real and attended a lot of these things. immediate problems. I’m worried, though. What hapIt was Breitbart live. It was Richard Spencer. It was pened at the school board last week is not normal.

David Duke.

None of this is normal.

A few fundamentalists clutched their pearls about I left the meeting that night before the anti-gay words (like “transgender”) they deemed inappropri- slurs began to fly. I came home at 6:30 and went diate for sixth graders; and after one self-identified rectly to bed. I’m trying to work out a balance between mom-teacher quoted Dave Chappelle to make some self-preservation and fighting against this horrible puritanical point (oh, the irony), it was time to attack side of America.

Muslims, of whom there were many in the room.

Backwards & In High Heels appears every other week.

Why this attack?

In July 2016, the school board mandated district Write to aarynb@sdcitybeat.com.

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MAY 24, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 7

UP FRONT | OPINION VOICES

RYAN BRADFORD

WELL THAT WAS

AWKWARD The thing that finally broke my brain: steampunk burlesque

I

pass a man in a corset and his bodiced partner walking to their car when I pull into the Handlery Hotel’s parking lot. I’m here for the Gaslight Gathering, a three-day, steampunk-themed event. No question I’m in the right place.

I watch the couple for a moment before heading to the hotel’s entrance. It’s always great to see cosplayers just removed from their fantasy. For me, the real magic of events like this is imagining when they drop the act: in the parking lot? In their car? While they’re paying their parking fee? If someone cuts them off on the highway, do they swear in steampunk? Do they keep up the charade all the way home until one of them just goes, “OK, that’s enough”?

These questions are a few of many I have regarding steampunk. I know that it’s an offshoot of sci-fi that mixes a Victorian aesthetic with futuristic technology, but that’s about it. This foray is an attempt to gain a richer understanding.

8 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 24, 2017

In the lobby of the hotel, I pass men fully decked out in frocks, piqué hats, top hats, twirly mustaches, safari boots; ladies wear frilly dresses, corsets and tiny hats precariously balancing on their heads. And then there are goggles. Oh lord, are there goggles.

I receive my pass and step into the first room I see, innocuously called the “California Room.” Little do I know that I’m stepping through a portal that, for the next hour, will alter me forever.

The California Room is a conference room, rectanglular. Smallish. The walls are tan, and the carpet is designed to look like a viney, leafy forest floor. And up at the front of the room— striking a sharp contrast to this stale, corporate decor—is Lady Shadow.

Standing over six feet tall, wearing a platinum wig, Marilyn Manson-style white-out contacts and fangs, Lady Shadow treats cosplay not so much as an outfit to wear, but the sustaining life force from which she drinks.

Lady Shadow is going to give a lecture on burlesque. Because of course she is. Fuck if I know how burlesque ties into steampunk, but if there’s one person to teach a lecture on it, it’s Lady Shadow.

“Come in,” she says, preying upon my hesitation. “You’re in the right place.” A room of 20 or so people watch as I shuffle to the front.

I sit next to a greasy, long-haired man who looks like he has just gotten out of prison and the first thing he wanted to do with his newfound freedom is—no, not take a shower—but attend a San Diego steampunk convention.

“Mumm...muuh muum,” the greasy man mumbles. I realize he’s completely shitfaced, balancing a pale, greenish-blue drink on his knee. “Best show of the night,” he whispers.

“Burlesque is all about the tease,” Lady Shadow says. “It’s not a strip show. Nothing against strippers—I paid my way through college by stripping,” she says. She demonstrates some moves with her feather boas, which are shedding all over the room. “Oh my!” she says. “Feathers everywhere!”

Lady Shadow drops the boa between her legs. “Feathers go down,” she says, and then pulls the feathers up, seductively. “Feathers come up,” she whispers.

“Oooh mama,” greasy man says. Then he belches loud enough to stop Lady Shadow in her train of thought. She looks at me. Not me!

I think, and jerk a thumb in the greasy man’s direction.

“I’m going to keep my eye on you,” she says to both of us. The greasy man just stares into the middle distance. Lady Shadow

turns to her boombox and cues up the Shaft soundtrack.

Soon, the greasy man starts burping and wheezing. Lady Shadow can’t hear him because she’s doing R-rated things with her boa, but I’m certain this dude is going to either kick the bucket or vomit. Right in front of me. “[Guttural, choking, dying sounds]” greasy man says.

Then, the man clears whatever was lodged inside, accidentally tips the rest of his drink into the carpet and stands up. He does that stilted thing that drunk people do to gain balance—which looks like someone running into an invisible wall— and leaves. I feel a tightness in my chest loosen.

After the lecture, I leave the California Room in a daze. I try to wrap my head around what I’ve just witnessed: steampunk, burlesque, greasy man, feathers. It’s all too much. I wander into a room that I think is part of the steampunk convention, but it’s actually a private wedding reception. A group of women getting their picture taken pauses to stare at me, the lost soul.

I get in my car. When I pull up to pay the parking fee, I had the attendant my debit card.

“Sorry, we can only take cash.”

I sit there, holding my card out. Maybe it’s the desperation in my eyes. Maybe, somehow, she can look into my soul and see what I just witnessed. Or, maybe it’s because the fee is only $4 that she raises the arm and allows me to exit. But I’ll never leave. Part of me will be damned to the California Room at the Handlery Hotel forever.

@SDCITYBEAT

UP FRONT | FOOD

BY MICHAEL A. GARDINER

THE WORLD

hints of both sweetness and heat, it’s not all that different from Buffalo chicken (breast instead of wings) seen through a lens of curry.

The chicken tikka masala is exactly what you’d expect. It’s the most popular dish from the subcontinent when served off the sub-continent. It’s In the right place like a rock band from your youth playing its biggest hit: pleasing in a comfortable sort of way, but it has place for everything and everything in its long since lost the power to surprise. place.” It’s an aphorism that reflects a difHimalayan Dine Inn’s saag aloo, a classic Indian ferent time and place and a peculiarly dish, is inconsistent. At its best it is rich, creamy compartmentalized view of the world. And yet it’s (mostly from the potato) and satisfying with a warm somehow applicable to the dining scene in San Di- undercurrent of heat. But on two visits, the heat-levego: fancy, pricey restaurants in Rancho Santa Fe, el quite literally varied from one side of the bowl to Filipino spots in National City, Asian places in Con- the other. It was the same story with the goat curry. voy and Mexican antijitos in Chula Vista. So, what Braised on the bone in a savory sauce, at its best this is the explanation for the presence of Himalayan dish was glorious: deeply savory with just enough Dine Inn (1010 Broadway) in downtown San Diego? funk. But, twice, the fat was inadequately trimmed, MICHAEL GARDINER resulting in an unappetizing dish that unfortunately featured inedible and disturbingly large fat globules.

Perhaps the most interesting dishes—not just at the restaurant but in Himalayan cuisine altogether— were the momo. An artifact of the Silk Road’s southern route traversing the Himalayas from China to India—and looking a lot like Chinese bao or Korean mandu—they feature subcontintental, rather than Far Eastern, flavors. My favorite was the richly spiced vegetable version—minced onions, cabbage, spinach, cashews, cheese and spices—accompanied by a turmeric-laden chutney.

Comfort food, we often think, is the food of our childhood, the flavors to which we keep returning for reasons sometimes we cannot fully unGoat curry derstand. Sometimes, though, they’re The restaurant’s location is certainly counterin- just big flavors, warm flavors, the flavors that tuitive. What is a Nepalese restaurant doing down- somehow bring us to a happy spot. Wherever those town, much less in the seediest of its stretches? flavors come from they give us a warm embrace, loThird-tier fast food, maybe; pizza-by-the-slice, cation and childhood be damned. perhaps; but Nepalese cuisine? Gentrification That’s Himalayan Dine Inn. Wherever its flavors hasn’t reached the 1000 block of Broadway, and it may be from, wherever the restaurant may be loisn’t obvious this area ever actually had a heyday. cated and no matter how odd that location might The homeless outnumber the boarded-up build- seem, it is one restaurant that is, surprisingly, preings, though not by much. cisely “in its place.”

But if the location of the restaurant is counter- intuitive, its flavors are easy to appreciate. Take, The World Fare appears weekly. for example, the chicken chili. Brightly acidic with Write to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com.

FARE A

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@SDCITYBEAT

MAY 24, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 9

UP FRONT | DRINK

ANATOMY OF A

BY IAN WARD

COCKTAIL SCENE #6: Modern takes on homey classics at the Grant Grill

The color had started off a clear ruby, but after a minute or so it had changed into a brownish tawny.

Alberto has always been a man of big ideas but seems to have always worked in places with ’ll never go back,” said the U.S. Grant’s Chef de small roofs. He was excited and animated as he Bar Cory Alberto of the northeast.

He was standing tall behind his bar in a three- explained his imaginative take on the classic Nepiece suit with a wide purple tie, the color associated groni cocktail. It was in that moment that I could as much with dignity and royalty as it is with quirki- see all of the years he had been working hard had finally paid off. The Boston transness and creativity.

IAN WARD plant had found a place with big I was seated in a high bar enough ceilings to allow him to chair in front of him drinking a explore his talents.

Modernist Negroni, one of AlI would have thought the berto’s recently released cocktail Grant Grill would have been a bit creations at the Grant Grill (326 of an odd setting for such out-ofBroadway). The cocktail started the-box cocktail mechanics. The off relatively hot after he poured classical setting would have put it out of a smoking chamber of me at odds with such a whimsical some glass contraption that was cocktail presentation. But, much placed on the bar atop a burning like the purple tie, dignity and flame (something inspired by his quirkiness seem to cohabitate in recent trip to The Aviary in Chithe big, beautiful bar room. cago). The whole device seemed The cocktail had cooled from to bubble and smoke as he began hot to room temperature, and a to explain the cocktail to me. fragrance of old wood still lin“Each sip is different from gered. Fanciful presentation The Modernist Negroni the next,” he said. “Each step aside, it was still one of evolves.” the best Negronis I’ve The evolution, as ever had, herbaceous, THE MODERNIST it was, began when he balanced and familiar in had ignited the flame NEGRONI the ways that matter. and the Genever began as found at The Grant Grill I’ve often heard the to boil. Eventually it proverb, “Home is where rose through the glass 13 oz. Sous Vide Genevere (sous vide to 160°F) the heart is.” As much as menagerie it was in Crystallized Campari (done through a three-day that may be true, most and combined with the people often fail to acslow evaporation) rest of the ingredients knowledge that home is 1 tablespoon dehydrated sage (reformatted Campari, also at times a very hard citrus rind, sage and 3 inches of fresh rosemary place to find. I am glad rosemary) in the chamDehydrated cara cara orange peel that Alberto seems to ber of the miniature Fresh grapefruit peel have found his. still. They all boiled

I

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up until they eventually collided and threw aromatics of freshly cut earth around the old hotel bar room.

10 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 24, 2017

Heat the sous vide genever with a simple heating element. Pour (after it’s evaporated and married to the Campari crystals) over sweet vermouth sorbet spheres and serve in a martini glass.

Anatomy of a Cocktail Scene appears every other week. Write to ianw@sdcitybeat.com

@SDCITYBEAT

UP FRONT | DRINK

FINAL

BY BETH DEMMON

DRAUGHT

Getting wild

solely barrel-aged wild ales.

“We thought even with all the breweries in San espite significant delays resulting in late Diego, there was room for much more barrel-aged entry into an already crowded craft beer wild ales,” remarks Brager.

By collaborating with breweries who will scene, California Wild Ales (4202 Sorrento Valley Blvd.) hopes to soon launch a surprisingly provide the wort (unfermented beer), California original concept in Sorrento Valley: San Diego’s Wild Ales will be able to ferment and age it in different barrels to eventually blend the everfirst all-wild-ale blendery.

“We will dive into all facets of wild ales, [which funkifying fluid into unique wild offerings. Less are] what we love first and foremost,” confirms Zack time in the barrels will result in milder styles such Brager, one of California Wild Ales’ co-founders. as Berlinerweisses and fruity wheat beers, while “[We’re] focusing mostly on a couple different sour lambics and other longer-aged brews will come bases for now and branching out as opportunity later (in some cases, years from now).

The three founders—Cameron Pryor (head presents itself. We would love to do some coolship brewing (a fermentation process that uses open, of brewing operations), Bill DeWitt (design), shallow vessels to cool wort) as well someday, but and Brager (business management)—plan to use more traditional fermenting equipment have no idea when that might happen.” such as puncheons and foeders (wooden BETH DEMMON fermentation vessels typically used to ferment or inoculate sour, farmhouse and wild ales) in lieu of kettle souring. California Wild Ales’ 1,700-square-foot barrel house and forthcoming tasting room may be open by this summer after nearly two-and-a-half years of planning and permitting, but that’s a hopeful estimate.

“We are going to have our first member party and bottle release soon and hopefully a public sale shortly after,” says Brager.

“The tasting room will come when we feel we have enough beer to keep it stocked.

Until then, it will be all retail bottle sales with a few scattered kegs in the wild (see what I did there?). We may go the route of California Wild Ales’ Funky Bunch membership glass The Rare Barrel and have a small tasting Wild ales are brews that use “wild” yeast (like room only open a few days a week with plans to Brettanomyces) and/or bacteria (like Lactobacillus open a full time off-site location in the next few and Pediococcus). Due to the unpredictable nature years. With Cam’s chef background, we may be of their fermentation, consistency is difficult to moving towards a brewpub down the road.”

In spite of the opening day delays, the team’s attain, but they often result in funky and sour flavors. Basically, wild ales can be sour ales, but attitude remains optimistic.“We are still on the not all sour ales are wild. Terroir (the unique flavor path to becoming San Diego’s first 100-percent of the surrounding environment) is crucial, so it’ll wild ale blendery,” confirms Brager. “No clean be interesting to see how Sorrento Valley’s terrain beers in sight.”

Final Draught appears every other week. Write to affects the final products.

Other breweries like Toolbox Brewing Company bethd@sdcitybeat.com, check her out on Instagram at committed themselves to completely wild brews @thedelightedbite, or via Twitter at @iheartcontent. long ago, but California Wild Ales aims to focus on

D

@SDCITYBEAT

MAY 24, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 11

SHORTlist

EVENTS

ART

the

THREE YOU HAVE TO SEE

COORDINATED BY

SETH COMBS

PACIFIC BEACH

1

VOICES CARRY

What he did, along with the help of eight comWith what seems like a never-ending barrage of political missteps and gaffes, it can be hard to posers from all over the U.S., was orchestrate new keep focused on the issues that matter. Take gun con- music that tackled the issue of gun violence. Once it trol, for example. It seems like the only time it’s ever is finished, the completed album will feature these really an issue for the suits in Washington is when new compositions, which are categorized in what Walders calls the “human emotional responses while something really tragic occurs.

The fact that Disarm Hate: A Musical Re- processing acts of gun violence”: Shock and Anger, sponse to Gun Violence isn’t coming immedi- Grief and Sorrow, and lastly, Hope and Healing.

“Music and poetry can help bring healing to the ately on the heels of a tragic shooting incident is soul,” says Walders. precisely what makes GARY PAYNE PHOTOGRAPHY “This commissioning it so important. Rathand recording project er, San Diego Pro Arte has the ability to reach Voices—a local chamber people around the world choir—is holding a spewho seek hope, healing, cial concert on Moninspiration, empathy, day, May 29 (Memorial sympathy, company and Day, naturally) in order a common thread withto help fund an ongoing in humanity.” recording project cenThe Disarm Hate contered on gun violence. cert, which will be held at “After countless 4 p.m. at the St. Andrew’s mass shootings over by the Sea Episcopal the past years—Virginia San Diego Pro Arte Voices Church (1050 Thomas Tech, Newtown, Aurora, San Bernardino, Orlando… there are too many to Ave.), will include some of these compositions as well list—I found myself searching for how to feel and as guest speakers from the Brady Campaign in behow to make sense of it all,” says Pro Arte Voices tween the music. The concert is free, but donations Artistic Director Patrick Walders. “The overarching for the ongoing recording project will be welcomed.

See sdproartevoices.org for more info. feeling was helplessness. What could I do?”

LA JOLLA AND POINT LOMA

GASLAMP

2 HAPPY FEET

3 ALLIED FORCES

While someone might bust out a running man or cabbage patch once in awhile, there’s nothing like seeing professionals dance. This week is particularly great. First, there’s Play and Play: An Evening of Movement and Dance on Thursday, May 25 at 8 p.m. at the Mandeville Auditorium at UC San Diego (9500 Gilman Drive).

It features the inventive choreography of Bill T. Jones applied to the greatest of Western musical works. Tickets range from $14 to $46 at artpower. ucsd.edu. Next on Friday, May 26 at 7:30 p.m., dance partners Monica Bill Barnes and Anna Bash will perform at White Box Live Arts (2590 Truxtun Road #205) for One Night Only, a dance performance that tells of their race against time to do as much as possible in only one night. Tickets for the show go for $20 at sandiegodancetheater.org.

PAUL B. GOODE

Play and Play: An Evening of Movement and Dance 12 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 24, 2017

For more than 70 years, the Allied Craftsmen of San Diego organization have been known for members who have dedicated their lives to crafting beautiful and awe-inspiring pieces out of wood, metal, glass, textiles and more.

Still, while the group itself defines its membership requisite as “any serious craft,” these members aren’t dabblers. Many are lifelong crafters, who have perfected their techniques over the decades.

Their annual juried exhibition, Allied Craftsmen: Material Obsessions, is a great way to become familiar with the group. It will include dozens of pieces from COURTESY OF THE ARTIST the Craftsmen’s 75 current artistmembers including Warren Bakley, Erik Gronborg, YC Kim and more. The public opening reception is from 6 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, May 27, and will be held at Sparks Gallery (530 Sixth Ave.). The event is free but requires RSVP at sparksgal“ Evolution” lery.com.

by Polly Jacobs Giacchina

Trappings: Homage to the Horse and Other Steeds at Mingei International Museum, 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park. An exhibit of harnesses, figurines and other objects honoring horses, bullocks, camels and other animals of speed and power from around the world. Opening at 10 a.m. Friday, May 26. Free-$10. 619-239-0003, mingei.org

HJahja Ling’s Finale at Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St, Downtown. The San Diego Symphony’s music director conducts his Symphony No. 2 for the final shows of his 13-year career with the symphony. Plus, Yefim Bronfman joins him for Piano Concerto No. 2. At 8 p.m. Friday, May 26 and Saturday, May 27 and 2 p.m.

Sunday, May 28. $20-$62. 619-235-0804 sandiegosymphony.com

Robert Deyber at Martin Lawrence Galleries, 1111 Prospect St., La Jolla. Meet the contemporary artist and view his never before seen original paintings with themes caught between fantasy and reality. Opening from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, May 26. Free.

858-551-1122. martinlawrence.com

HThe Koreatown Oddity, Zeroh and Ultragash at Helmuth Projects, 1827 Fifth Ave., Little Italy. Contemporary artist Robert Andrade presents this trio of hip hop performers, who fuse together rap and electronic music styles. At 8 p.m. Saturday, May 27. $10. sayingtheleastandsayingitloud.com

HI Appreciate Your Feelings at Little Dame Shop, 2942 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. A solo pop-up show from Regan Russell, who specializes in portraiture and contemporary pop culture. Opening from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, May 26. Free. littledameshop.com

HOrgan for the Senses at Spreckels Organ Pavilion, 2125 Pan American Road West, Balboa Park. Seven composers from the U.S., Sweden, Australia and Mexico perform exploratory and contemporary works to push the limits of the world’s largest outdoor organ. From 8 to 10 p.m.

Saturday, May 27. Free. 619-236-0011, sandiego-art.org

Stella Parish, Angel Food and Kan-Kan at SPACE, 3519 El Cajon Blvd., Normal Heights. A Teros Gallery-curated art show featuring work from their local artists working in a variety of mediums. Includes music from DJs Matt Bahamas and Alex Miranda. From 9 p.m. to midnight. Friday, May 26. thehideoutsd.com HAllied Craftsman 2017: Material Obsessions at Sparks Gallery, 530 Sixth Ave., Downtown. Allied Craftsmen celebrates its 70th anniversary with an exhibition featuring gallery members’ works of ceramics, glass jewelry, metals and more. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, May 27. Free.

619-696-1416. sparksgallery.com

DANCE HPlay and Play : An Evening of Movement and Dance at UC San Diego Mandeville Auditorium, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. Jones and Zane Dance Company performs this inventive show that highlights movement and dance with signature Western musical numbers. At 8 p.m.

Thursday, May 25. $28-$46. 858-5348497, artpower.ucsd.edu HMonica Bill Barnes at San Diego Dance Theater, 2650 Truxtun Road, Suite 108, Point Loma. Barnes and Company perform their comedic new show One Night Only, which follows two women as they race to do as much as possible in one night. At 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 26. $20.

619-225-1803, sandiegodancetheater.org

FOOD & DRINK 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 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Friday, May 26, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, May 27 and Sunday, May 28. $2. 619337-1350, lebanesefestivalsandiego.com HLSU Alumni of San Diego Crawfish Boil at Qualcomm Stadium, 9449 Friars Road, Mission Valley. The 29th annual Cajun food fest features all-you-can-eat crawfish, as well as live music, beer and dancing. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 28. $14-$71. lsusandiego.org

MUSIC Celtic Woman at Civic Theater, 1100 Third Ave., Downtown. The multi-platinum, all-female group tours their latest album, Voices of Angels. Accented by musicians, dancers and costumes, the concert blends traditional and contemporary Irish styles. At 7 p.m. Thursday, May 25. $39$99. 619-570-1100, sdcivic.org

H = CityBeat picks

HDisarm Hate: A Musical Response to Gun Violence at St. Andrew’s by the Sea Episcopal Church, 1050 Thomas Ave., Pacific Beach. Local chamber choir San Diego Pro Arte Voices will perform selections from an ongoing musical project intended to address gun violence. There will be speakers in between the songs. At 4 p.m. Monday, May 29. Free. sdproartevoices.org

POETRY & SPOKEN WORD HVAMP: Almost Famous at Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St, South Park. So Say We All’s monthly storytelling night features stories about the times where we almost “made it” or just dreamed that we were. Readers include Jennifer Coburn, Adam Gimbel, Vanessa Wilde and more. From 8:30 to 10 p.m.

Thursday, May 25. $5 suggested donation.

619-284-6784, sosayweallonline.com

SPECIAL EVENTS Fiesta Botanica at Plaza de Panama, Balboa Park. The family-friendly festival celebrates Balboa Park’s plants and gardens with a wagon parade, a plant sale, lectures, live music and special events inside various park institutions. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Saturday, May 27. Free. 619-331-1920, balboaparkconservancy.org

TALKS & DISCUSSIONS HMusic Industry Ladies’ Night at Tiger! Tiger!, 3025 El Cajon Blvd., North Park. Women in the music industry will discuss the business and personal side of things. Speakers include Shelbi Bennett (The Midnight Pine), June Owatari (Grrl on Grrl podcast) and CityBeat’s own Alex Zaragoza. From 5 to 10 p.m.

Thursday, May 25. Free. facebook.com/ events/1392967550822241 HBeyond Borders and Walls at Centro Cultural de la Raza, 2004 Park Blvd., Balboa Park. A public symposium exploring the impact of border walls and mobility restrictions on communities, societies and the environment around the world.

From 3 to 9 p.m. Saturday, May 27. Free. beyond_borders.eventbrite.com HArtist Talk: May-Ling Martinez at ICE Gallery, 1955 Julian Ave., Logan Heights.

In conjunction with her new show, the local installation artist and sculptor will discuss her practice with Anna O’Cain. At 1 p.m.

Saturday, May 27. Free. icegallerysd.com

EVENTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 @SDCITYBEAT

@SDCityBeat

may 24, 2017 · San Diego CityBeat · 13

AFTER DARK: ABOUT LAST NIGHT

EVENTS EVENTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

The state of play

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“Swings” by Lee Materazzi is now on view at PLaY, a solo show that will be on view through July 8 at Quint Gallery (5171 H Santa Fe St.) in Bay Ho.

14 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 24, 2017

f you grew up in San Diego and went to Roberto’s back in the day, there would be an arcade game in there and gumball machines. You’d often find Donkey Kong in a taco shop,” says Casey Jones, the general manager of Kimpton Hotel Palomar (1047 Fifth Ave.).

This was an inspirational note for the hotel’s new Mexican-inspired Arriba Room, a banquet/ lounge space with a taco window, several head-to-head Pac-Man tables, a foosball table and shuffleboard. The Arriba Room is yet another example of the explosive trend of barcades, or bar-arcade combination, San Diego has seen over the past few years.

“In the ’80s, for those of us who are old enough to know it, those games were also in the bar,” Jones says. “You could play Asteroids or Galaga or Pac-Man, so it’s just that whole retro loop that comes back around.”

But, it also crosses generational lines in the way that it appeals to tech-centric ’90s babies.

“Kids today and all the video games they play on their phones and all the virtual reality systems that they have, well this is where it started,” he says, adding that the success of barcades is also driven by gamers’ coming of age. “We’re three, almost four,

generations removed from the ’80s, so it’s new to people again.”

While San Diego’s original barcade, Coin-Op, headed north to San Francisco and Sacramento recently, it’s returning to launch in the Gaslamp Quarter at the corner of 6th and F Streets. This location makes for its fourth installment, and at double the size of the North Park space, Coin-Op reinforcTORREY BAILEY es that what’s old is new again.

“The decades are recycling faster than they ever have,” says CoinOp Corporate Executive Chef Mark Bolton. “I know when I was younger, there was the look back to the ’60s or ’70s, but nowadays decades are barely even over before someone is sort of getting back into it.”

At the downtown location, which is set to open in August, Coin-Op will house a game that heads all the way back to 1908— skee-ball. This is a first for CoinOp, as is the addition of Dance Dance Revolution, which was first released 90 years after skee-ball.

Bolton says, “Instead of everyone staring down at their phones, Arriba Room it’s a different kind of screen to look at and a different way of getting to know people rather than your regular bar.”

Write to torreyb@sdcitybeat.com.

—Torrey Bailey

@SDCITYBEAT

@SDCityBeat

may 24, 2017 · San Diego CityBeat · 15

THEATER RICH SOUBLET

Sister act

ing of instruments, of which there should be much more.

The Old Man and the Old Moon runs through June 18 at the Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park. $29 and up. oldglobe.org

S

ylvia M’Lafi Thompson and Milena (Sellers) Phillips captivate as centenarian siblings in New Village Arts’ production of Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years. In this 1995 play by Emily Mann about Bessie and Sadie Delany adapted from their own book, the two sisters tell stories about their long lives together that revealingly parallel the black experience in America. As Bessie (Thompson) and Sadie (Phillips) prepare a grand feast on stage in memory of their beloved father who was born a slave, they share with the audience their joys, their sorrows, their struggles for dignity and justice and, most of all, their abiding love for each other.

As the feistier Bessie, the commanding Thompson makes the more impassioned commentaries, but Phillips’ sweeter and softer Sadie is just as wise. The onstage chemistry between the two is irresistible.

Melissa Coleman-Reed directs a show that is lengthy and expository, but given the two actresses’ magnetism, Melanie Chen’s sound and projections design, and Christopher Scott Murillo’s cozy set, Having Our Say feels very much like a friendly sit-down with two remarkable women.

Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years runs through June 11 at New Village Arts Theatre in Carlsbad. $33$36. newvillagearts.org

16 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 24, 2017

—David L. Coddon

Theater reviews run weekly.

Write to davidc@sdcitybeat.com.

OPENING: The Revolutionists: Four women, including former queen Marie Antoinette, plot against extremists during the French Revolotion in Lauren Gundersen’s irreverent comedy. Directed by Jennifer Eve Thorn, it opens in previews May 25 at the MOXIE Theatre in Rolando. moxietheatre.com

Milena (Sellers) Phillips (left) and Sylvia M’Lafi Thompson in Having Our Say

A

charming trifle called The Old Man and the Old Moon winds up the 2016-17 season on the Old Globe’s main stage. This “new musical folktale” about how the moon came to be was created and is performed by the versatile PigPen Theatre Co. Using song, stage antics and puppetry, the seven troupe members bring a childlike quality to the proceedings that thankfully never becomes childish.

The play follows the titular old man (Ryan Melia), whose job it is to regularly replenish the light of the moon above, on a journey to find his wife, who has sailed off by herself in search of the adventure he has promised them without delivering.

This journey takes the old man from the high seas to the innards of a great fish to a hot air balloon, all playfully suggested and enacted by the PigPen players. But the storytelling pales beside the singing and play-

The Imaginary Invalid: Molière’s funny masterpiece about a hypochondriac who wants his daughter to marry a doctor, but, naturally, she’s in love with another man. Presented by Fiasco Theatre, it opens May 27 at the Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park. theoldglobe.org The Spitfire Grill: A woman with a mysterious past attempts to redeem herself in small-town America in James Valcq’s acclaimed musical drama. Directed by Jeffrey B. Moss, it opens May 31 at the North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach. northcoastrep. org

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

@SDCITYBEAT

@SDCityBeat

may 24, 2017 · San Diego CityBeat · 17

CULTURE | ART TORREY BAILEY

Andrea Chung with her cyanotypes at You Broke the Ocean In Half To Be Here ndrea Chung is tired, and with good reason. The American-born, Jamaican-Trinidadian artist just finished installing her solo show at the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, and it was no easy task. “Each piece is 11 feet tall,” she says. “It’s been a long process, and I’m glad I’m done.” She lets out a sigh of joy-filled relief. This is her first solo show at a museum, and the MCASD’s first solo exhibit of work by a black woman. It’s been a long time coming.

Titled You Broke the Ocean in Half to Be Here (on view at MCASD downtown through August 20), the installation portion of the exhibit features immense cyanotype prints of lionfish, a non-native species that has been wreaking havoc on the ecosystem of the Caribbean. Not only are the pieces large, many of them were made literally in her backyard.

“I try to teach myself something new every time I make new work, just to challenge myself and have another tool in the toolbox,” says Chung. “The stuff that’s in the show at the museum was me learning how to use cyanotypes… I had to make a darkroom in my half bathroom. I printed everything on my porch and washed it out

18 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 24, 2017

talk about the exporting and importing of goods and materials and human beings.”

That was the beginning of her sculptural practice and also the start of an impressive series of awards, residencies and scholarships, including a Fulbright Fellowship in Mauritius. During her year-long stay in the island nation and former sugarcane colony, Chung began making subtle and complex work using sugar as the main material. She cast a series of boats that would dissolve slowly in the water they floated in, symbolizing the fishing trade that was started after the abolition of slavery and the threat that trade now faces due to overfishing.

“All of the materials I use have a history to them. Sugar is a very loaded material,” says Chung. “Slaves were brought from all over the world to harvest cane for people’s sugar addiction. I think we take it for granted now, and we don’t really think about how many people’s lives have been affected by the most mundane things like sugar and salt and dyes.”

With these humble materials, Chung’s beautiful and gentle, yet rigorously executed gestures point to a deep historical context and ultimately come back to a sense of the personal.

It’s this combination that caught the attention of MCASD Curator Jill Dawsey.

“So much of her work is about what has come before, how that underpins the present, and how the present is informed by the past,” Dawsey says. “And then at the same time, she’s incredibly inventive with her materials.”

Chung’s work on paper, which the MCASD show focuses on rather than her sculptures, is no exception when it comes to demonstrating her inventiveness.

“My exploration into cyanotypes comes from my interest in photography and its relationship with the Caribbean,” Chung states. “The development of early photogCOURTESY OF THE ARTIST

in the backyard in a kiddie pool.”

For Chung, this hands-on, laborious work and the intimate relationship with her materials is nothing new. It’s the backbone of her practice. Her early mixed-media work in graduate school used shipping pallets for pieces that touched on migration, specifiCOURTESY OF THE ARTIST

“Wan Wan Coco Full Baaskit”from the “May Day” series by Andrea Chung

“Oonu Can Cum Wid Mi”from the “May Day” series by Andrea Chung cally in regards to the Caribbean where her parents are from.

“My last name is Chung so obviously my grandfather was Chinese,” she says. “I was thinking about the circumstances that brought him to Jamaica to meet my grandmother, using shipping pallets as a way to

raphy came after the end of slavery in the Caribbean, and the only pre-emancipation images that exist are paintings and drawings commissioned by the colonial regimes for propaganda purposes.”

She goes on to describe how these regime-controlled images have shaped fantastical ideas of the Caribbean for generations, and how this imagery is not easily understood without a lot of unpacking. This is not the case for the artifacts Chung discovered, which give a much clearer picture of colonization—ship logs and ledgers that show the “meticulous planning” that went

COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

“Crowning II” by Andrea Chung into the oppression of her ancestors.

Also featured in the exhibit is a collage series that Chung titled “May Day.” It’s a haunting collection of images that she has manipulated by removing the servile figures of black laborers in tourism ads and brochures for the Caribbean.

“A lot of images you see in textbooks or archives that are depicting slaves really aren’t images of slaves, they are images of laborers, and they are generally posed.

They’re usually in subservient positions, lying down or bending over or sitting, and they’re meant to seem docile,” explains Chung. “Once the sugarcane industry fell because of the lack of free labor, they moved to tourism. So a lot of those images were used so that white people would not be scared to come to Jamaica. Like, ‘It’s safe to come, they’re not going to hurt you.’’’

So, she wanted to find a way to honor them.

“I can’t take them away from the labor they’re in, so I wanted to sort of give them a day off.”

With such approaches, Chung confronts audiences with complex stories often ignored by the art world and mainstream institutions.

“I feel like, as Black women, we’re at the bottom of the totem pole,” Chung says. “We get it pretty bad.”

“The straight white guys have had the microphone, they’ve had their platform, and it’s time for us to listen to other voices,” says Dawsey in regards to curating shows like Chung’s. Dawsey notes that she speaks from the heart, not as the face of the museum, which she does admit has a problem with under-representation. “(In Grad school) I had a great director who knew it would be hard for me as a woman and as a Black woman,” Chung says. “She knew it would be doubly hard for me, so she really prepared me for what to expect. She really gave me the right tools to have a good practice. She focused on that a lot. Always work, and have a sense of community. I’ve just kind of stuck to that, and it’s worked out okay.”

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CULTURE | ART

SEEN LOCAL DRAWN THIS WAY

COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

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MATT FURMAN

A

rtist Regan Russell loves to play with the absurd. The first image that appears on his website is a detailed pencil drawing of a stallion staring down a shirtless bodybuilder wearing Ray Bans. The fine lines and detailed shading emphasize the contours of these muscular creatures and both appear rather majestic.

It’s an evocative image, one that demonstrates Russell’s skill both as an illustrator and as a fine artist, capable of generating conversation through juxtaposition and context.

“I’m always trying to strike a balance between making a nice, good-looking drawing and having content that lifts up the work,” Russell reflects. “I think generally I want to be humorous or tonguein-cheek in some respect.”

Other images that exemplify Russell’s playfulness are a dreamy portrait of Ryan Gosling’s head surrounded by colorful puffy stickers (the kind little girls put on school binders), a large, “pin-up” style portrait of Jean-Claude Van Damme and a digital painting of ‘60s it-girl Twiggy consuming a giant hamburger.

A trip down the rabbit hole of Russell’s Instagram page (@drawntothis)

reveals illustration after illustration of pop icons, politicians, family members and famous artists like John Baldessari, all given the same lovingly detailed treatment. It’s an impressive display that shows just how busy he’s been.

“I’ve probably been my most prolific in my whole entire life, as far as making art work goes,” he says, explaining how this burst of productivity came following an unplanned hiatus after graduating from UCSD. “Every once in a while I’d hop in a group show, but it was so inconsistent. I’d make maybe a couple of pieces a year… Now I’m in a flow, and I’m trying to stick with it.”

Russell is getting the chance to show off the fruits of this prolific period with a pop-up show on Friday, May 26 at Normal Heights boutique Little Dame Shop (2942 Adams Ave.) from 6 to 10 p.m.

When asked if the show is his first solo exhibition, Russell seems surprised Regan Russell and delighted by his own answer: “I guess it is! I didn’t really think about it before, but I’m going to go ahead and say it’s my first solo show.”

The exhibition features a few of Russell’s highly rendered graphite drawings and digital paintings as well as the pieces he calls his “quick ’n’ nasties,” more impulsively generated, grittier work.

“I’m still figuring out what my work is really about and what I’m making,” Russell says. “For some reason I just want people to feel a little uncomfortable. I think that’s kind of important to me.”

“Boyfriend Material”

by Regan Russell

—Rachel Michelle Fernandes

MAY 24, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 19

CULTURE | FILM

Fool’s errand

Slack Bay

Bruno Dumont’s confounding new comedy skewers the revelry of buffoons by the sea

by Glenn Heath Jr.

T

he Nord region of France is flushed up against count for the consistent madness on display. Stunning the English Channel and pockmarked with riv- wide-angle compositions of the rocky seaside and ers and bogs. Remote and majestic, this rustic endless sky dwarf human figures moving through the area feels like the anti-Paris. Communities are spread frame. Dumont contrasts images of sprawling nature out, seemingly defined by codes of tradition and fam- with brutish close-ups of Machin’s bloated body and ily more so than the laws of society. People have their Ma Loute’s grimacing face. Heightened audio effects own sense of justice and sacrifice, which often stands call attention to exaggerated sounds of warped bodies in contrast to the cosmopolitan views of those out- trying to make it through the day.

By juxtaposing extreme natural beauty with grosiders who visit the rocky coastlines. Bruno Dumont’s tesque human figures, Dumont achieves a strange bewildering films call this place home.

Dumont has embraced a punishing view of human- harmony of colliding tones. At one point, André ity for much of his career. Defined by oppressive real- describes the current state of things as “a farce that ism and moral abstraction, films like Humanité and goes,” vigorously quoting Victor Hugo. Slack Bay proHors Satan are particularly jarring examples of the duces a similar momentum, relying less on traditional narrative than an endless daisy director’s bleak worldview. But chain of wonderful outbursts.

2014’s Li’l Quinquin, a sprawling With such audacity come the and hilarious four-part mini-seSLACK BAY inevitable pitfalls. Certain gags ries made for French television, grow more tiresome as religious managed to brighten Dumont’s Directed by Bruno Dumont symbolism and dogma become mood without diminishing the Starring Juliette Binoche, guiding forces. Yet Dumont unmystery and rogue power of his Brandon Lavielle, Didier Després apologetically stays the course, best works. and Fabrice Luchini skewering social institutions Dumont’s latest oddity, Slack Not Rated through relentless repetition and Bay, continues this darkly comic deadpan brazenness. He makes trend. Set during the summer of 1910, the film takes place in and around the titular each memorable character part of this overall mosaic body of water where multiple tourists have disap- to reveal how physical spaces (specifically waterways) peared without a trace. Inspector Machin (Didier De- force people from different classes to interact (the sprés) and his partner Malfoy (Cyril Rigaux) peruse the beach scene where Ma Loute and Billy introduce each sand dunes looking for answers but find nary a clue. other to their parents is a devilish example).

Slack Bay’s batshit, levitation-heavy ending proTheir only lead involves a family of boatmen named the Bruforts, whose oldest son Ma Loute (Brandon La- duces a faux-sense of culmination that easily splinters the plot across family lines. But its thematic sting vielle) resents his blue-collar upbringing.

Providing a social counterpoint to Ma Loute are remains potent. Dumont’s cinematic revelry and rethe wealthy Van Peteghems, a cadre of elitists vaca- volt is a carnival-like deep dive into “the nature of tioning at their hillside, Egyptian-style villa. André things,” to paraphrase Aude. Trying to reconcile the (Fabrice Luchini) and his wife Isabelle (Valeria Bruni seemingly incongruous parts feels like an exercise in Tedeschi) are wrapped in a bubble of delusion—they futility—every frame is fueled by contradiction. Apdescribe one ragamuffin fisherman as “an incarna- propriately, Dumont’s patriarchal buffoon André is tion of absolute beauty.” Even more grotesque is able to make sense of it all best: “We know what to André’s peacock socialite of a sister, Aude (Juliette do, but we do not do.” This is life itself, presented as a Binoche), who communicates purely through screams fool’s errand. and pouts. No wonder her teenage child Billie (Raph) continuously changes gender in order to escape this Film reviews run weekly.

Write to glennh@sdcitybeat.com cavalcade of absurdity.

The sun never sets in Slack Bay, which might ac-

20 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 24, 2017

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CULTURE | FILM

Elián

The exile

E

lián González could have easily been just another body floating off the coast of Florida, the latest casualty in the United States’ failing foreign policy toward Cuba. But on November 21, 1999, the fiveyear-old refugee was miraculously found alive clinging to an innertube. Shortly thereafter he was placed in the custody of relatives in Miami.

What began as a feel-good local news story quickly developed into an international incident with deep political and ideological ramifications. Elián’s father Juan Miguel launched a campaign to retrieve his son from the United States that became a rallying cry for Fidel Castro’s Communist propaganda machine. The impending media frenzy captivated the world for nearly six months.

Tim Golden and Ross McDonnell’s documentary Elián captures the simmering tension of this historical moment. It meticulously weaves together talking head interviews and archival footage to provide contextual groundwork for a larger conversation about the complicated nature of Cuban/American relations.

The film subtly carries deep resentment for those who used Elián to further their own agendas. Golden and McDonnell don’t overtly critique people such as Donato Dalrymple, the fisherman responsible for saving the boy’s life, who became a camera-ready surrogate for his Miami relatives; they simply let these opportunists sink themselves with incriminating rhetoric.

Unlike many issue-based documentaries, Elián respects the economy of narration: Raul Esparza’s voice only fills in the gaps when necessary. In a film with multiple flashpoints involving the U.S. government, Catholic Church, powerful non-profits and Castro himself, this delicate use of style is a welcome shift from the norm.

Now in his early twenties, Elián González is finally given the chance to speak for himself. Elián listens carefully even when what he has to say directly indicts American foreign policy and praises Cuba’s Communist state. Still, the film achieves its broader goal of proving that all parties involved committed the same sin: treating Elián as a political symbol first and a child second.

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—Glenn Heath Jr.

OPENING A Dark Song: In this pulse-pounding horror film, a young woman and a damaged occultist risk their souls to perform a ritual. Opens Friday, May 26, at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

Baywatch: Dwyane “The Rock” Johnson and Zac Efron star in this R-rated reboot of the infamous 1990s television show about hunky lifeguards who save lives and run in slow motion.

Elián: This documentary goes behind-the-scenes of the Elián González case that turned one child into a symbol of America and Cuba’s decades-long ideological battle.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales: The fifth installment in this popular franchise follows Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) as he battles an evil nemesis (Javier Bardem) with supernatural powers.

Slack Bay: In Bruno Dumont’s latest oddity, a cast of buffoons and killers inhabit the surrounding coastal area of the Nord in France. Opens Friday, May 26, at the Ken Cinema.

The Wedding Plan: After her fiancé calls off their wedding a month before the ceremony, a woman decides to keep the reservation trusting that God will provide her with a husband.

ONE TIME ONLY The Graduate: In Mike Nichols’ classic, a young college graduate (Dustin Hoffman) gets seduced by an older woman, which creates havoc in his parents’ social circle. Screens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 24, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma.

Roman Holiday: Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck star in this timeless romance about an AWOL princess who falls in love with an American. Screens at 8 p.m.

Thursday through Sunday, May 25 to 26, at Cinema Under the Stars in Mission Hills.

The Thing and The Thing From Another World: An unknown alien life form threatens the occupants of a remote research facility. Both Howard Hawks’ original and John Carpenter’s remake are classics in the sci-fi genre. This double feature begins at 1 p.m.

Sunday, May 28, at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

You’ve Seen This Before, We Know: This selfaware/absurdist short film series created by indie band The Young Wild depicts frontman Bryan B. William and fellow members Gareth and Brandon as they plunge into an identity crisis. Screens at 6 p.m., Tuesday, May 30, at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

Sixteen Candles: Molly Ringwald stars as a teenager who suffers multiple embarrassments leading up to her 16th birthday. Screens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 31, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma.

For a complete movie listings, visit F ilm on sdcitybeat.com.

MAY 24, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 21

REBECCA DIGIGLIO

MUSIC

unk rock is generally understood as being a young person’s game. Something about hearing that first three-chord, minute-long blast of angst and energy has the power to turn your world upside down, safety-pin patches on your vest and put Elmer’s glue in your hair. You don’t have to be a teenager to enjoy, play or appreciate punk. But, the moment of discovery when a kid hears their first Minor Threat or Bikini Kill song is a volatile chemical reaction that’s almost impossible to replicate 20 or 30 years later, when we’re older, more experienced and thus more cynical.

Alberto Jurado, vocalist in San Diego hardcore punk quartet Death Eyes, looks back fondly on his early days in the local scene, and the kind of enthusiasm that could drive a bright-eyed, music-hungry kid to put extra effort into seeking out new music.

“I remember, back in the day, I’d get eight people into my little Datsun and say ‘let’s go to Soma! Let’s go to the Che! Let’s go to some house party in Kearny Mesa!’” he says over a round of beers at Bar Pink in North Park. “I don’t know if… we worked harder to go to shows. Four dudes in the back, someone in the front seat, someone sitting on the floor. The floor of the car was always touching the ground.”

Jurado, guitarist Jason Blackmore, drummer John Cota and bassist Jimmy Armbrust are well past those days of earnest discovery and hearing that first life-changing punk 7-inch. For a group of scene vets with decades of experience playing punk rock and seeing turnover in local bands, however, the four members of Death Eyes are still, as Jurado puts it, “giving it 110 percent.”

Death Eyes formed in 2014 after Jurado’s group Death Crisis disbanded and Rats Eyes vocalist Gabe Serbian quit to focus on other projects. Jurado joined the group shortly

22 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 24, 2017

From left: John Cota, Jimmy Armbrust, Alberto Jurado and Jason Blackmore thereafter, and the group took on a new name, Death Eyes, as a nod to the combination of the two fractured groups. In 2015, they released their blistering self-titled debut album, which found the band lining up nine under-two-minute punk rock explosions against a handful of more epic, written-in-the-studio post-hardcore tracks.

Two years later, they’re following that up with new EP Si La Revancha Fuera Una Opcion, which is sequenced similarly: four tracks on one side of a 7-inch single and one longer track on the other.

The band says that they were planning on

recording another full-length, but with time constraints due to Cota doing sound for Author & Punisher’s recent European tour, they chose to release this short set of bruisers, which includes the manic, 34-second “Life.” It’s part of what Cota jokes is a pattern of releasing 10 minutes of music a year.

“We were working with a bigger batch of songs, but with John touring in Europe that shifted gears a bit, so we just thought, let’s do an EP,” Blackmore says. “We had some stuff lying around that we had to fuck with again. And it was just like, these are tight.

These are ready to go, let’s put ‘em out.”

Though their records are short, Death Eyes leave their greatest impact when they’re onstage. They summon an intense energy when their amps are turned up, with Jurado—often shirtless, wide-eyed and looking like he’s in a trance—proving to be their focal point. The live show, even more than their concise, incendiary recordings, is the essence of Death Eyes.

“Seeing a band live, if they can’t play live, sucks balls—the disappointment of hearing someone’s record, and you’re super fucking into it and then...finding out they’re not good live,” Blackmore says. “That’s why our recordings are just raw. No effects, it’s just us. It’s not like we spend hours and hours making a pothead headphone record. We’re just a rock band. Plug in your instruments and go.”

While Death Eyes are relatively new, they’ve each played in their share of bands, including Sirhan Sirhan, Louis XIV and Ghetto Blaster to name a few. As a result of having seen so many changes in San Diego music over the years, Death Eyes don’t have any particular aspirations of attracting a lot of attention or anything more than simply making music that they enjoy. Blackmore says that they’ve been really appreciative of any support they’ve received so far, though they agree that the fertility in the scene of the early ‘90s is something that probably can’t be replicated.

“There’s been so many peaks and valleys,” Cota says. “There’s always been some kind of music scene, but what people are into changes so much. People’s attention spans are zero these days, so that’s a massive problem for people who want to play music. The early ‘90s and stuff, was really the heyday for San Diego’s music. There was a very loyal fanbase, and there was really great bands.”

Acclaim and recognition aren’t what Death Eyes are after. The love of the music, they say, is enough. But if their music inspires someone else, Jurado says, then they’ll be happy.

“If kids listen to us, I hope they want to start a band,” he says. “That’s what happened to me after hearing the Circle Jerks and GBH. ‘Damn, I want to be in a band!’”

Write to jefft@sdcitybeat.com.

Follow him on Twitter at @1000TimesJeff

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MUSIC

NOTES FROM THE SMOKING PATIO LOCALS ONLY

T

he Heavy Guilt are returning to the stage. After a three-year hiatus, the band will be performing at The Casbah on Friday, June 23. The core songwriting duo of Al Howard and Erik Canzona never stopped working together and collaborated on Canzona’s solo record The Narrows, but their band of eight years slowed down when other projects came up in 2014.

“We had been the same six-piece for a pretty long time,” says Howard during an interview conducted while being tattooed at Allegory in City Heights. “When we were recording our third record, our guitar player up and moved.

We did it as, like, a fivepiece, and we worked pretty hard on that last album and did a pretty big push. So then we kind of slowed down and got busy with other projects.”

Because Canzona and Howard continued to work together, they ended up writing material for a new Heavy Guilt record in the meantime.

Titled Spectral Hearts, the new album will be released in August, and Canzona says working on material in the meantime also gave the duo a new appreciation for their old songs.

“I just kind of missed being in a full band,” Canzona says. “Al and I never really stopped writing stuff,

so we had this group of songs where we weren’t really sure what it was going to be. It felt right. Enough time had passed where revisiting some of those songs we were playing constantly, we could see doing that again.”

The new live incarnation of the Heavy Guilt includes Canzona, Howard, bassist Willis Farnsworth, guitarist Austin Burns and Pete Williams. However, past members Josh Rice, Jenny Merullo and Jason Littlefield also contributed to the record, which Howard says is their most political to date, citing influences such as Bob Dylan’s Bringing It All Back Home and, more unexpectedly, Run the Jewels.

“We had been writing a lot more political and social songs than we had in the past,” Howard says.

“We were working on these songs, and we wanted to get this album out soon. But Erik The Heavy Guilt said, ‘nah, don’t worry about it.’ These songs are going to be topical for a while.”

“Certain things...we both felt strongly about a lot of stuff that’s been going on,” Canzona adds. “It would have almost felt dishonest if we were singing love songs right now.”

—Jeff Terich

A TRIPLE TROUBADOUR RELEASE SHOW

S

an Diego singer/songwriters Jeff Berkley, Veronica May and Shawn Rohlf are all about to release new albums, but they’re going about it in an unconventional way. Rather than dedicate a release show for each individual record, they’re all performing at a combined release show on Saturday, May 27 at The Casbah.

Jeff Berkley “I recorded my album, and then I produced Veronica’s record,” Berkley says in a phone interview. “We all ended up backstage together at a gig, and someone said, ‘We should release our albums at the same time.’

But then we realized, ‘Wow! Nobody does that!’”

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This won’t be the first time that these musicians have worked together. Berkley (who’s also half of the acoustic duo Berkley Hart) and Rohlf play together in Tim Flannery and The Lunatic Fringe, and Berkley also produced Veronica May’s new album, Awakened.

Yet Berkley, who has an astonishingly long list of album credits, is just now releasing his own solo record, Whore House, Hot Sauce & Souvenirs. He says that it offered him an opportunity to try new things outside of his other long-term band, including working with a long list of collaborators (which are listed at jeffberkley.com).

“I make records for a living, so I know this whole world of musicians and wanted to pursue artistic expressions that just don’t fit an acoustic duo,” he says. “There are some funk songs, some Americana, cowpunk kind of stuff. I have all these songs, so I just thought let’s go for it!”

At the release show, the three musicians are likely to perform some collaborative material, but most of all they want to be able to introduce their music to new audiences.

“We’re all just really great friends,” Berkley says.

“We just thought we would be able to get our CDs in the hands of people who might not otherwise hear them.”

—Jeff Terich MAY 24, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 23

MUSIC

JEFF TERICH SATURDAY, MAY 27

IF I WERE U A music insider’s weekly agenda WEDNESDAY, MAY 24

PLAN A: Brian Wilson, Al Jardine, Blondie Chaplin @ Balboa Theatre. Confession time: I’m not really a publicly emotional guy, but last summer when Brian Wilson performed “God Only Knows” during the first leg of his Pet Sounds tour, I could barely hold back the waterworks. This will be his last San Diego Pet Sounds show so don’t miss it unless you’re dead inside.

THURSDAY, MAY 25

PLAN A: Mono/Poly, Huxley Anne @ SPACE. Somehow San Diego is lucky enough to get two live performances by producers in the Brainfeeder family (the label founded by Flying Lotus). Mono/Poly is simultaneously wonky and dreamy, balancing trippy rhythms with ethereal atmospherics. PLAN B: Giuda, ToyGuitar, Slaughter Boys @ Soda Bar. Italy’s Giuda are a campy yet modern take on glam rock with supercatchy pop songs that borrow liberally from the likes of Sweet and Slade. It’s super fun.

24 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 24, 2017

BACKUP PLAN: L.A. Takedown, Spooky Cigarette, DJ Max Betta, Los Shadows @ The Casbah.

FRIDAY, MAY 26

PLAN A: Dream Joints, Vakoum, Hexa, Body Song, Fivepaw, DJs Andrew McGranahan, Camilla Robina @ The Casbah. Dream Joints, aka Mike Turi from Wild Wild Wets, is releasing his debut album Just Like Medicine. And in doing so, he’s lined up a bunch of synth-heavy groups in town for a stellar all-around showcase of great local talent. PLAN B: Teros Gallery Art Show w/ Stella Perish, Angel Food, Kan-Kan @ SPACE. I enjoy a live show that combines visual art with music, and it’s become kind of a staple in San Diego. Teros Gallery is putting on a show at SPACE with just that theme in mind, featuring a headlining set by moody atmospheric electronic act Stella Perish. BACKUP PLAN: Cassandra Jenkins @ Seven Grand.

PLAN A: The Adicts, The Sonics @ Observatory North Park. I’m admittedly not a big Adicts fan, though I do love a good punk show and, better yet, one that features garage rock legends The Sonics. Punk rock would not exist without the influence of bands like them, so come see a couple generations make a ruckus in the same venue. PLAN B: CRX, Starcrawler, Pinky Pinky @ Soda Bar. A side project of Nick Valensi of The Strokes, CRX takes a page from the power pop bands of the ‘70s, but with more modern production. It basically sounds like The Cars, which is cool with me.

SUNDAY, MAY 28

PLAN A: Yngwie Malmsteen @ House of Blues.

Yeah, dude. Yngwie Malmsteen. Sometimes you just don’t need actual songwriting to be part of the equation, and you just want to watch a dude shred for 90 minutes.

And if you’re going to watch someone shred, it better be someone as over the top as Yngwie.

MONDAY, MAY 29

PLAN A: Navvi, Modern Me, Tiger and the Teller @ Soda Bar. Seattle electronic duo Navvi have a moody yet danceable sound in the vein of Grimes, Purity Ring or Chvrches. If you prefer your synth-pop to have a bit of a sensual mystique, then this’ll make your Monday.

TUESDAY, MAY 30

PLAN A: Teebs, Free the Robots, LeFtO @ SPACE. Brainfeeder artist number two this week is Teebs, who has a knack for mesmerizing ambient soundscapes. It’s not always music that’s easy to dance to, but it’s sublime to listen to. Grab a drink, and let it wash over you.

PLAN B: BarTeebs rows, Deep Sea Thunder Beast, Bleak Skies @ The Casbah. Barrows are a heavy instrumental band, which sort of makes them “post-rock” by default, but they’re as kickass as they are cerebral and complex, combining the best of art-rock and metal in one intricate package. BACKUP PLAN B: Peach Kelli Pop, Soft Lions, Los Shadows, Bearcats @ Blonde.

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may 24, 2017 · San Diego CityBeat · 25

MUSIC

CONCERTS HOT! NEW! FRESH!

Gravespell (Soda Bar, 6/4), Teenage Burritos (Soda Bar, 6/18), The Mowgli’s (Music Box, 6/23), M.O.D. (BUT, 6/28), Jacuzzi Boys (Soda Bar, 6/29), Tijuana Panthers (BUT, 6/30), The Aggrolites (Music Box, 7/1), Rozes (SPACE, 7/6), Pharmakon (SPACE, 7/11), Maggie Koerner (Soda Bar, 7/23), Unsane (Casbah, 8/1), James Vincent McMorrow (BUT, 8/8), Mt. Joy (SPACE, 8/16), YOB, SubRosa (Brick by Brick, 8/16), Dead Cross (Observatory, 8/19), B-Side Players (Music Box, 8/26), The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (Loft, 9/30), Penny & Sparrow (Music Box, 10/20).

GET YER TICKETS In-Ko-Pah 4 w/ Mattson 2, Zig Zags, Mrs. Magician, Birdy Bardot (Desert View Tower, 6/3), Elvis Costello and the Imposters (Balboa Theatre, 6/5), The Anniversary (Irenic, 6/10), ‘91X XFest’ w/ Phoenix, Empire of the Sun (Qualcomm Stadium, 6/11), Raekwon (Observatory, 6/15), The Body (SPACE, 6/17), (Sandy) Alex G, Japanese Breakfast (Irenic, 6/17), King Crimson (Humphreys, 6/19), The Revolution (HOB, 6/22), Maxwell (Valley View Casino Center, 6/23), Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (Civic Theatre, 6/26), Future (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 6/27), LeAnn Rimes (Del Mar Fairgrounds, 6/29), Melvins (Casbah, 7/5), Deftones, Rise Against (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 7/7), The

Roots (Observatory, 7/11), Mutoid Man (Casbah, 7/12), Cymbals Eat Guitars (Casbah, 7/16), Hall & Oates, Tears for Fears (Valley View Casino Center, 7/19), Beach Fossils (Casbah, 7/20), BadBadNotGood (Observatory, 7/20), Dead Kennedys (Brick by Brick, 7/21), Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 (BUT, 7/21), Steve Gunn (SPACE, 7/30), Huey Lewis and the News (Humphreys, 8/1), AFI, Circa Survive (Open Air Theatre, 8/1), Metallica (Petco Park, 8/6), Steve Earle and the Dukes (BUT, 8/10), Incubus, Jimmy Eat World (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 8/11), Hans Zimmer (Viejas Arena, 8/12), Royal Blood (Observatory, 8/15), X (BUT, 8/17), 311 (Open Air Theatre, 8/20), Atmosphere (Observatory, 8/20), Bryan Ferry (Humphreys, 8/23), Mew (Observatory, 8/24), Dierks Bentley (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 8/25), Pelican, Inter Arma (Brick by Brick, 8/26), Pink Martini (Humphreys, 8/26), Ira Glass (Balboa Theatre, 8/27), George Benson, Kenny G (Humphreys, 9/10), Goo Goo Dolls (Open Air Theatre, 9/12), Green Day (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 9/13), Against Me! (Observatory, 9/16), Future Islands (Open Air Theatre, 9/17), The Beach Boys (Humphreys, 9/23), Sublime With Rome, The Offspring (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 9/26), Imagine Dragons (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 9/28), Jay Som (Soda Bar, 9/30), The Shins, Spoon (Open Air Theatre, 10/1), Father John Misty (Observatory 10/56), Depeche Mode (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 10/6), Coldplay (Qualcomm Stadium, 10/8), The Afghan Whigs (BUT, 10/12), The National (Open Air Theatre, 10/12), The Black Angels (HOB, 10/17), Café Tacuba (Observatory, 10/17-18), Linkin Park (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 10/20), The Kooks (Observatory, 10/20), KMFDM (HOB, 10/20), Jimmy

26 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 24, 2017

Buffett (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 10/21), Carla Morrison (Humphreys, 10/22), Luke Bryan (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 10/27), Halsey (Viejas Arena, 11/5), Hamilton Leithauser (BUT, 11/9), D.R.I. (Brick by Brick, 11/10), Fall Out Boy (Viejas Arena, 11/15), Blues Traveler (HOB, 11/19), Mogwai (Observatory, 11/20).

MAY WEDNESDAY, MAY 24 Brian Wilson at Civic Theatre. Melissa Etheridge at Humphreys by the Bay. Fakear at The Casbah.

THURSDAY, MAY 25 Mono/Poly at SPACE. Giuda at Soda Bar. L.A. Takedown at The Casbah. Jefferson Starship at Belly Up Tavern. Celtic Woman at Civic Theatre.

FRIDAY, MAY 26 John Brown’s Body at Music Box. Foster the People at Observatory North Park (sold out). Paul van Dyk at House of Blues. Los Lonely Boys at Belly Up Tavern. Taake at Brick by Brick. ‘San Diego Freak Out’ w/ Dream Joints at The Casbah.

SATURDAY, MAY 27 CRX at Soda Bar. The Adicts at Observatory North Park. ‘Freedom Concert’ w/ Lifehouse at USS Midway. Shawn P. Rohlf at The Casbah.

SUNDAY, MAY 28 Yngwie Malmsteen at House of Blues.

MONDAY, MAY 29 DLD at Observatory North Park.

TUESDAY, MAY 30 Modest Mouse at Open Air Theatre. Barrows at The Casbah.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 31 Mount Kimbie at Music Box. Sam Outlaw at The Casbah. Durand Jones and the Indications at SPACE.

JUNE THURSDAY, JUNE 1 NKOTB, Paula Abdul, Boyz II Men at Viejas Arena. The Young Wild at The Casbah.

FRIDAY, JUNE 2 Little Hurricane at Belly Up Tavern. The Creepy Creeps, The Loons at The Casbah. Dana Carvey at Humphreys by the Bay. Bag Raiders at Observatory North Park.

SATURDAY, JUNE 3 Lewis Del Mar at Belly Up Tavern. InKo-Pah 4 w/ Mattson 2, Zig Zags, Mrs. Magician, Birdy Bardot at Desert View Tower. Animals as Leaders at Observatory North Park.

SUNDAY, JUNE 4 Lady Antebellum at Mattress Firm Amphitheatre. Voodoo Glow Skulls at SPACE. Michael Franti and Spearhead at Belly Up Tavern. Rob Crow’s Gloomy Place at The Casbah. Gravespell at Soda Bar.

MONDAY, JUNE 5 Elvis Costello and the Imposters at Balboa Theatre. Michael Franti and Spearhead at Belly Up Tavern. Contact at The Casbah.

TUESDAY, JUNE 6 The Primitives at SPACE. The Wailing Souls at Belly Up Tavern. Whores at Soda Bar. Sheryl Crow at Humphreys by the Bay. Graves at Sea at Brick by Brick.

Skating Polly at The Casbah.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7 XXXTentacion at Observatory North Park.

Brian Setzer’s Rockabilly Riot at Humphreys by the Bay. Adult. at The Casbah.

Radio Moscow at Belly Up Tavern. Boogarins at Soda Bar. Patti LaBelle at Del Mar Fairgrounds.

THURSDAY, JUNE 8 Valerie June at Belly Up Tavern. Overcoats at The Casbah. Kevin Devine at Soda Bar.

FRIDAY, JUNE 9 Merchandise at SPACE. DJ Premier at Belly Up Tavern. Samothrace at Soda Bar.

SATURDAY, JUNE 10 Earthless at The Casbah. The Anniversary at The Irenic. Toby Keith at Del Mar Fairgrounds.

SUNDAY, JUNE 11 hed (p.e.) at Brick by Brick. The Deslondes at SPACE. Unwed Sailor at Soda Bar. ‘91X X-Fest’ w/ Phoenix, Empire of the Sun at Qualcomm Stadium. TajMo at Humphreys by the Bay.

MUSIC CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

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may 24, 2017 · San Diego CityBeat · 27

MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 26

age Burritos at Soda Bar.

MONDAY, JUNE 19 MONDAY, JUNE 12 Theo Katzman at The Casbah. Ziggy Marley at Humphreys by the Bay.

TUESDAY, JUNE 13 North Mississippi Allstars at Belly Up Tavern. Robyn Hitchcock at The Casbah.

Andrew St. James at Soda Bar. Stephen Lynch at Observatory North Park.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14 Los Cafres at Observatory North Park.

Collective Soul at Del Mar Fairgrounds.

Circa Waves at The Casbah.

THURSDAY, JUNE 15 Raekwon at Observatory North Park. Horace Andy at Belly Up Tavern. A Giant Dog at Soda Bar. Grand Funk Railroad at Del Mar Fairgrounds.

FRIDAY, JUNE 16 Darius Rucker at Del Mar Fairgrounds.

Guitar Wolf at The Casbah. Def Leppard at Mattress Firm Amphitheatre. Conflict at Soda Bar. Drab Majesty at SPACE.

SATURDAY, JUNE 17 Bad Suns at Observatory North Park.

(Sandy) Alex G, Japanese Breakfast at The Irenic. The Body at SPACE.

SUNDAY, JUNE 18 Dustbowl Revival at The Casbah. Morbid Angel at House of Blues. Boston, Joan Jett at Mattress Firm Amphitheatre. Teen-

King Crimson at Humphreys by the Bay.

TUESDAY, JUNE 20 Korn at Mattress Firm Amphitheatre.

rCLUBSr

710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave., Pacific Beach. Fri: Cityside, Pali Roots. Sat: Random Article, MRKTS. Mon: Bumpin Uglies, Tunnel Vision, Crucial Blend.

Tue: Electric Elms.

Air Conditioned Lounge, 4673 30th St., Normal Heights. Wed: ‘Interconnected’ w/ DJs Impera,Yaser Aly (Bala), Brian Scanell. Thu: ‘Libertine’ w/ DJ Jon Wesley. Sat: ‘Juicy’ w/ Mike Czech. Sun: ‘Chvrch’ w/ DJs Karma, Alice.

American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., Downtown. Thu: Brooks Whelan.

Fri: Brooks Whelan. Sat: Brooks Whelan.

The Bancroft, 9143 Campo Road, Spring Valley. Fri: Flames of Durga. Sat: Blues Kitchen.

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

Wed: ‘Midweek Boogie’ w/ DJ L. Thu: ‘Enlightened Intentions’. Fri: ‘80s vs.

90s’. Sat: Brawley. Sun: ‘Rat Sabbath’.

Mon: Doug Sanchez.

Bang Bang, 526 Market St., Downtown.

Thu: ‘Hickies and Dryhumps’. Sun: Kenny Glasgow.

Beaumont’s, 5665 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla. Thu: Sam Bybee. Fri: Gusto. Sat: Rolling Heartbreakers.

28 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 24, 2017

Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. Wed: Elephant Revival, Steve Poltz. Thu: Jefferson Starship.

Fri: Los Lonely Boys, Lisa Morales. Sat: Mustache Harbor, Graceband. Sun: The Abba Show, Betamaxx.

Black Cat Bar, 4246 University Ave., City Heights. Fri: Andrew McKeag Band, Finnegan Blue Trio. Sat: Mad Hat Hucksters.

Blonde, 1808 W. Washington St., Mission Hills. Wed: ‘Dance Klassique’. Thu: The Planters, Name The Band, Kiki Diago, DJ Wyatt Blair. Fri: ‘Through Being Cool’. Sun: Scott Yoder, Amerikan Bear, AJ Froman. Mon: Frontier Ruckus, Jesse LaMonaca, Mike Pope. Tue: Peach Kelli Pop, Soft Lions, Los Shadows, Bearcats.

Boar Cross’n, 390 Grand Ave., Carlsbad. Thu: Monolith, Cage, Stonecutters.

Fri: ‘Club Musae’.

Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave., Bay Park. Fri: Taake, Infinitum Obscure, Empyrean Throne, Sicarius. Sat: Xandria, Kobra and the Lotus, Once Human, Alchemy.

The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd., Midtown. Wed: Fakear. Thu: L.A. Takedown, Spooky Cigarette, Los Shadows, DJ MaxBetta. Fri: Dream Joints, Hexa, Vakoum, Fivewpaw, DJs Andrew McGranahan, Camilla Robina. Sat: Jeff Berkley, Shawn Rohlf, Veronica May, Grampadrew’s Flim Flam Revue. Sun: ‘Booty Bassment’. Tue: Barrows, Deep Sea Thunder Beast, Bleak Skies.

Dirk’s Nightclub, 7662 Broadway, Lemon Grove. Fri: FX5. Sat: Lady Luck.

Dizzy’s, 4275 Mission Bay Drive, Downtown. Fri: ‘Joe Marillo Tribute’. Sat: Joshua White.

The Field Irish Pub, 544 Fifth Ave., Downtown. Wed: Chris Del Priore. Thu: Smoky Hoof. Fri: The Fooks. Sat: Clint Westwood. Sun: The Broker’s Band.

Mon: Gary Flick. Tue: Fiore.

F6ix, 526 F St., Downtown. Fri: IsaacB. Sat: DJ Dynamiq.

Fluxx, 500 Fourth Ave., Downtown. Fri: Bamboozle. Sat: Chachi.

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

Wed: Ride the Mule. Thu: DJ Yodah. Fri: ‘Good Times’. Sat: ‘Rock Star Saturday’.

Tue: ‘50s/60s Dance Party.

The Holding Company, 5046 Newport Ave., Ocean Beach. Wed: Lady Dottie and the Diamonds. Thu: The Real McKenzies, QUEL BORDEL!, Clint Westwood, Wolfpack. Fri: The Screaming Yeehaws, DJ Green T. Sat: Down by Law, Skipjack, DJ Man Cat. Sun: QUEL BORDEL!, Half Tracks, DJ Ofier. Tue: Irie G. Hooley’s, 5500 Grossmont Center Drive, La Mesa. Fri: Evans and Raney. Sat: The Upshots.

House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., Downtown. Wed: DJ Mike White. Thu: Mon Laferte, La Misa Negra. Fri: Paul Van Dyk, Solarstone. Sat: Marsha Ambrosius, Eric Benet. Sun: Yngwie Malmsteen.

Tue: Robin Henkel.

Humphreys Backstage, 2241 Shelter Island Drive, Shelter Island. Wed: Cadillac Wreckers. Thu: BB and Company. Fri: Detroit Underground. Sat: Rising Star.

Sun: Arnessa Rickets. Mon: Missy Andersen. Tue: Mercedes Moore.

Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd., Midtown. Thu: ‘Hypogeum’. Fri: ‘Stereo’.

Sat: ‘Purps and Turqs’.

Lestat’s Coffee House, 3343 Adams

Ave., Normal Heights. Fri: Abner, The Paragraphs. Sat: Sahara Grim, Isaac Cheong. Sun: Matthew Frantz.

The Merrow, 1271 University Ave., Hillcrest. Wed: Séance. Thu: Bryan Torch, The Aviator Experience. Fri: ‘DLOD House Party’. Tue: The Gorgeous Boyscouts, Analog Saint, Corre Diablo.

Mother’s Saloon, 2228 Bacon St., Ocean Beach. Thu: DJ Dub B. Sun: Kayla Hope.

Music Box, 1337 India St., Little Italy.

Fri: John Brown’s Body, Stranger. Sat: The Cured, Still Ill. Sun: ‘Vibe’ w/ VJ La Rock. Tue: Mellow Mood, Jah 9, Sound System.

Numbers, 3811 Park Blvd., Hillcrest. Fri: ‘Uncut’. Sat: ‘Club Sabbat’.

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

Wed: New Found Glory Tribute. Sun: ‘Uptown Top Ranking’ w/ Tribe of Kings.

Tue: ‘True Bass’ w/ DJ Ramsey.

OMNIA Nightclub, 454 Sixth Ave., Downtown.

Thu: Wearetreo.

Fri: Hardwell. Sat: Vice.

Panama 66, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park.

Fri: Lorraine Castellanos. Sat: Steph Johnson.

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

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

Rich’s, 1051 University Ave., Hillcrest.

Wed: DJs Kiki, Kinky Loops. Thu: DJ K Swift. Fri: DJs John Joseph, Will Z. Sat:

MUSIC CONTINUED ON PAGE 29

@SDCITYBEAT

MUSIC DENISE BORDERS

MUSIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 28 DJs K Swift, Nikno, Nytrix. Sun: DJs Hektik, Kitty Glitter.

Riviera Supper Club, 7777 University Ave., La Mesa. Wed: ‘Boss Jazz’ w/ Jason Hanna. Thu: Coastal Eddies. Fri: Elements. Sat: Flipside Burners.

Rosie O’gradys, 3402 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Fri: Core: An STP Tribute.

Sat: Reina Mystique and the Dynasty.

Seven Grand, 3054 University Ave., North Park. Wed: Miss Erika Davies and the Men. Thu: Jimmy Ruelas. Fri: Cassandra Jenkins. Sat: Jimmy Ruelas.

Mon: ‘Makossa Monday’ w/ DJ Tah Rei. Tue: The Gabriel Sundy Jazz Trio.

Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Wed: Booze and Glory, Pissed Regardless, American Blood. Thu: Giuda, ToyGuitar, Slaughter Boys. Fri: Ten Foot Pole, Surface Report, Fallen Monuments. Sat: CRX, Starcrawler, Pinky Pinky. Sun: Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas, Splavender. Mon: Navvi, Modern Me, Tiger and the Teller. Tue: Animal Flag, Watashi Wa Dance Party, No Sympathy.

SPOTLIGHT During a recent visit to my mom’s house, I found a stack of old tickets to punk concerts I went to while in high school. Among the pile was a ticket for Ten Foot Pole from the year 2000—a show that still holds a special place in my heart as the first time I was ever in a mosh pit. TFP’s sound is typical SoCal punk with the rapid-fire doot-dat-dootdoot-dat drumbeat that became a signature of Epitaph/Fat Wreck Chords bands, but the nostalgic joy that comes from seeing them again will far outweigh their lack of originality. Ten Foot Pole plays Soda Bar on Friday, May 26.

—Ryan Bradford

@SDCITYBEAT

SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd., Midway. Fri: Always The Understudy, A Hero Within, Upon The Water, Wolfwaker. Sat: Peace In Terror, Colossal, Seconds Ago, Pissed Regardless, Refuse.

SPACE, 3519 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Wed: ‘See Art Booty Edition’.

Thu: Mono/Poly, Huxley Anne. Fri: ‘Teros Gallery Art Show’ w/ Stella Perish, Angel Food, Kan-Kan. Sat: Jennifer Knapp. Sun: JR Jarris. Tue: Teebs, Free the Robots, LeFtO.

Spin, 2028 Hancock St., Midtown. Fri: ‘Spin Off’ w/ Crowd Control, Stay Bad. Sat: Tim Baresko vs. Clyde P. Sun: Tchami.

Sycamore Den, 3391 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Thu: Lex and the Jewel.

Sun: Hassle and Hound.

Til-Two Club, 4746 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Thu: Reno Divorce, Hard Fall Hearts. Sat: Impossible BW, Thieves Like Us, Jon E Bender. Sun: Pants Karaoke.

Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave., City Heights. Thu: Hip Priests, DPI, The Fink Bombs. Fri: One the Cinder, Punchcard, Making Incredible Time, Dangerfield.

Sun: WolvesX4, Spanish Love Songs, Caskitt, Ash Williams.

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

Wed: DJ Freeman. Thu: ‘Thursdaze’.

Fri: DJ Chris Freeman. Sat: DJ Junior the Disco Punk. Sun: Revival, Maka Roots, DJ Red. Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St., South Park. Wed: ‘Modern Appliances Party’.

Thu: ‘Vamp’. Sat: DJ Claire. Sun: ‘Fantasy’ w/ DJ Mario Orduno. Mon: ‘Electric Relaxation’.

Winstons, 1921 Bacon St., Ocean Beach. Wed: Heritage, DJ Carlos Culture. Thu: ‘OB Hip Hop Social’ w/ Eligh, Amp Live, Scarub, Atlantis Rising, Openoptics & ID the Poet, Seancy, DJ Product. Fri: Sandollar, Wise Monkey Orchestra. Sat: Dazed and Confused.

Mon: Electric Waste Band.

MAY 24,2017· SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 29

LAST WORDS | ADVICE

AMY ALKON

ADVICE

GODDESS Wedding His Appetite I have this disturbing pattern. I’ve dated three different guys, each of whom said he didn’t want to get married, wasn’t ready, whatever. But then, the next girl they met… BAM! Walking down the aisle.

Why am I marriage boot camp but never the one the guy marries?

—Aisle Seat It’s depressing when the only place you’re ever “registered” is at the DMV. There’s a reason you suspect your experience is a meaningful pattern, and it’s the same reason people think they see the Virgin Mary in their toast. Our minds are meaning-making machines. We evolved to be deeply uncomfortable with uncertainty—probably because an uncertain world is a more dangerous world. Say a man hands you some blue liquid in a glass.

You’re all, “Hmmm… should I drink that or take it home in case I ever need to dissolve a dead body in the bathtub?”

We figure out what things are by looking for patterns— ways that the things match up to things we’ve encountered before. So, regarding that blue liquid, yes, Drano is blue, but it isn’t sold in a martini glass and garnished with a tiny paper umbrella. Also, bartenders keep their job by having you pay your tab, not having you carried out in convulsions by a couple of EMS dudes.

Although our mind’s tendency to recognize patterns helps us quickly identify threats and opportunities, it often does this too quickly and on too little evidence. Neuroscientist Michael Gazzaniga and psychologist Daniel Kahneman each caution that our mind is so intent on having things be concrete that when we’re faced with ambiguous or incomplete information, it will invent a tidy explanation to fill in the blanks. Your mind may be doing that now in seeing a meaningful pattern in guys sweeping you off your feet and then, like that annoying shopper who’s just reached the register, then going: “Ooops… don’t want this one. Gonna run and grab the other one. Sorrryyyyyy!”

However, epidemiologist and stats ninja Sander Greenland reminded me that just because we’re prone to see a pattern where there is none doesn’t mean a particular pattern isn’t meaningful (as opposed to occurring randomly—by coincidence, like if you tossed a coin and got heads three times in a row).

One way you figure out whether something is due to coincidence or is a real effect is by having lots of examples of it. If you’d dated 10 men who’d left you to

marry somebody else, it might say something. Might.

But three? Greenland points out that in looking at what seems to be a pattern, “we tend to forget the times it didn’t happen (like before we started noticing the claimed pattern).” Also, if you believe there’s a pattern—that you’re a sort of fruit bin where men go to ripen—maybe you start acting differently because of it, coloring your results. (Self-fulfilling prophecy kinda thing: “Why try? He’ll be outta here anyway.”)

In short, maybe this is a meaningful pattern, or maybe it is not. What you can explore is whether there are patterns in your behavior that could be tripping you up. There are three biggies that research suggests can be relationship killers.

Blatant Boy-Chasing: Men often claim they like it when women ask them out. However, research suggests that this may permanently lower a woman’s worth in a man’s eyes. Men value women who are hard to get, not those who eagerly pursue them—sometimes with all the subtlety of a golden retriever chasing a hot dog down a hill.

Being Hard To Be Around: A review of research on personality by psychologist John M. Malouff finds three characteristics that are likely to eat away at a relationship: neuroticism (a psych term for being nervous, chronically distressed and volatile), a lack of conscientiousness (being disorganized, unreliable and lacking in self-control), and disagreeableness (being an unpleasant, egotistical, hostile and argumentative mofo).

The Undercooked Man: Behavioral science research supports the evolutionary theory that women—even today—prioritize male partners who can “invest” (a preference that men coevolved to expect). For example, marriage researchers Barbara Dafoe Whitehead and David Popenoe find that “men want to be financially ‘set’ before they marry.” Career attainment and stability are likely a major part of this. So, unfortunately, a relationship with a man in transition can end up being a sort of FEMA tent on the road to permanent housing.

Ultimately, instead of deeming yourself death row for “happily ever after,” try to choose wisely and be a valuable (rather than costly) partner. That’s really your best bet for eventually walking down the aisle— and not just to hear, “Do you take this woman … till the last of your nine little lives do you part?”

There’s a reason you suspect your experience is a meaningful pattern, and it’s the same reason people think they see the Virgin Mary in their toast.

30 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 24, 2017

(c)2017, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved. Got a problem?

Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405, or e-mail AdviceAmy@aol.com(advicegoddess. com). (c)2017, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved.

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may 24, 2017 · San Diego CityBeat · 31