San Diego CityBeat • May 29, 2019

2 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 29, 2019

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UP FRONT | FROM THE EDITOR

Duncan Hunter and the meaning of honor “And he did one bad thing, OK, that I’m guilty of too: Taking a picture with a body and saying something stupid, and then texting that. So he took a picture with the body, with his knife out, and texted it to some buddies and said, ‘I got this one with my knife.’ I’ve taken pictures just like that when I was overseas. Didn’t text them to anybody, didn’t put them on Facebook or Instagram, but a lot of my peers, a lot of us have done the exact same thing.”

—Rep. Duncan Hunter Jr.

T

here was a time, not so long ago, when a member of Congress admitting to posing for a selfie with the dead body of someone he’d killed in combat would have been a national scandal. Nowadays, it doesn’t even make the front page or even get mentioned on the A-block.

But that’s exactly what disgraced local Rep. Duncan Hunter did this past week while speaking at the American Liberty Forum in Ramona. For context, Hunter was speaking about his defense of Edward Gallagher, a former Navy SEAL who is facing murder charges for killing a wounded, teenage ISIS prisoner in 2017, among other crimes. In the case of the prisoner, he took a picture posing with the body and texted it to another SEAL with the message, “Good story behind this, got him with my hunting knife.”

Let’s put aside the fact that Rep. Hunter has irreparably tainted the chance of Gallagher getting a fair trial. Let’s put aside the fact that he’s cozied up to President Trump so much so that the president is toying with the idea of preemptively pardoning Gallagher. Let’s put aside that Hunter has lost all of his committee appointments in the House because of his own impending legal problems, of which he and his wife are set to stand trial in September.

Instead, let’s simply focus on what Hunter said this past week.

It’s naïve to think that our soldiers are infallible and always conduct themselves with honor and respect. The vast majority of us will luckily never serve in a warzone, and therefore could never comprehend the horrors that come with that service. As progressives, we should all try to remember that when looking at all of these cases, even in

the case of Gallagher.

But when it comes to Hunter, there’s some next-level hypocrisy going on.

First, Hunter has been a vocal proponent in the past of the government staying out of military affairs. That is, unless it’s politically convenient for him.

“It’s time we stop persecuting our warriors who go overseas and do what we ask them to do,” Hunter has said in the past. “Maybe if we persecuted them less, we wouldn’t be in Afghanistan 18 years later, still with no end in sight.”

The issue with this is that no one is persecuting Chief Gallagher. He is being held in a Miramar brig awaiting trial in a military court. What Hunter is doing—and as someone who is no longer active duty—is what columnist, lawyer and former Marine Butch Bracknell calls “prejudicing the government’s case.” That is, the government is supposed to remain neutral and people like Trump and Hunter are using it to score cheap political points.

Secondly, it’s worth examining Hunter’s remarks that he’s “taken pictures just like that” beyond what they mean on the surface. It’s as if he’s suggesting that it’s OK for soldiers to pose and take selfies with a dead human body, as long as they don’t… do what exactly? Send them to friends? Share them on social media?

Think about that for a second: Soldiers are free to defy basic morals and Geneva Convention protocols, as well as our own military’s rules of conduct and combat, just as long as they don’t put themselves in a position to where they could get in trouble for it. In other words: commit a war crime or two, just don’t hashtag it.

If people serving in the federal government, such as Trump and Rep. Hunter, are now OK with these types of interventions into military affairs, then they should also have no problem with the House of Representatives looking into Hunter’s claims that he took pictures with dead combatants.

The Armed Services Committee, headed

by Chairman Adam Smith, has an Oversight and Investigations subcommittee that should do just that.

—Seth Combs

Write to seth.combs@sdcitybeat.com

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MAY 29, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 3

UP FRONT | LETTERS

LOVE FOR AARYN. KINDA.

Re: “Save me from the cat people,” “Let’s Impeach this ______” and “Alabama, God Damn,” Backwards & In High Heels.

OBTW: Kudos to CityBeat for printing all those wacko comments from the right-wing conservatives in “Letters.” Good to hear from that side of the spectrum, from time to time.

Cats: Ms. Belfer, I love your articles! The topics you choose and your style of writing always get my attention and cause me to think. I love cats & dogs. Who among us has not found ourselves trapped in a conversation with someone we don’t know, discussing a topic of little interest, causing us to start calculating the number of seconds left in life? So Aaryn, for my part, you are forgiven.

Impeach: Read the Mueller Report! This should be required reading of all members of Congress, if not the general population. Clearly, Trump has not read the report. (For later deniability, I suspect.) The Mueller Report is “FREE” on-line. Anyone who has an interest has no basis for opinion without first reading the full, redacted report. And yeah, in my opinion, Trump & Co. have got to go.

Abortion: According to the last census (2010) there are 159.41 million men in the United States compared to 165.92 million women. In the United States, women outlive men by an average of 4.8 years.

Ladies! DO THE MATH! Why are you allowing men to do this to you?

You finally got the right to vote in 1920. SO VOTE! Thanks for allowing me to respond. You have a great magazine.

D K Fields

Point Loma

THOUGHTS ON UNCLE JOE

A few weeks ago you wrote an editorial condemning those of us who not only didn’t vote for Hillary Clinton, but won’t vote for Joe Biden if he is the nominee because we must stop Trump at all costs [“The intolerant progressive,” From the Editor, April 24]. I am one of those people who in the last election voted for Jill Stein. It was that or not to vote at all. No, I don’t feel guilty for Trump either. But its the present election I want to discuss.

4 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 29, 2019

I won’t tell anyone who to vote for but here is some information on “Uncle Joe” Biden: I saw two videos of him recently. In one he called young people lazy and lacking in the work ethic, because they can’t get off their couches they are having economic problems. I actually heard him say this. In the second, made about 14 years ago, he sounds a lot like Trump himself. This was a talk in Arizona he made in which he said he would love to build a fence on our border. That the Mexican government is so corrupt that we can’t treat it like a real democracy and Mexicans are rushing across the border bringing drugs.

Joe Biden was Vice President when the 2014 coup occurred in the Ukraine aided by the U.S. government. He sent aid to the opposition.

When they came to power here is what came with them, the Azov brigade. Heard of them? They are neo-Nazis in every sense of the word and whenever the U.S. sent military aid to the Ukraine, they received a lot of it.

This is the Joe Biden who is the probable Democratic candidate for 2020.

Rochelle Glickman

Golden Hill

TABLE OF CONTENTS UP FRONT From the Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Letters to the Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . .4 News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 A Side-Eye of Sanity . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Sordid Tales. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

FOOD & DRINK World Fare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Final Draught. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

THINGS TO DO The Short List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Calendar of Events. . . . . . . . . . . 10-11

ARTS & CULTURE The Floating Library . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Theater. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Feature: San Diego 2049. . . . . . . 17 Seen Local . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-20

MUSIC

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.

Feature: The Mattson 2. . . . . . . . 21 Notes from the Smoking Patio. . . 22 The Spotlight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 If I Were U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Concerts & Clubs. . . . . . . . . . . 24-26

IN THE BACK Astrologically Unsound. . . . . . . . 25 CannaBeat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

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ANDREA LOPEZ-VILLAFAÑA

UP FRONT | NEWS

Finishing the job AB-5 aims to clarify labor laws, but some independent contractors worry they will be left out

By Andrea Lopez-Villafaña

J

ust a year ago, it wasn’t uncommon to walk by La Sirena Nail and Beauty Bar in Barrio Logan and see a nail technician at every workstation while customers sipped on blue mimosas. But two years after first opening the salon on Logan Avenue, owner Jessica Sandoval recently closed her doors as a result of losing more than half of her nail technicians. She says a month after she became compliant with a new employment classification law, the salon was nearly empty.

“I was nervous,” says Sandoval of switching the nail technicians from independent contractors to employees. “You’re working with creative people and creative people don’t want to be put in a box.”

The debate on worker misclassification has been ongoing since the California Supreme Court ruled in 2018 on whether or not certain workers can be paid as independent contractors by their employ-

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ers. The court ruling was the result of a class-action lawsuit (Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles) against same-day delivery company Dynamex, which switched their drivers from employees to independent contractors in 2004. The drivers sued, arguing that they performed the same tasks as employees, but without the same labor protections afforded to company employees.

With the ruling, the court embraced a new standard for employment classification called the “ABC test.” That is, workers can only be classified as an independent contractor if the hiring entity establishes that said workers are compliant with all parts of the test. These stipulations include things such as whether the worker is free to come and go, set their own prices and that they’re not performing work “within the scope” of the business.

Local State Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez introduced a bill

last year that would help clarify the court’s ruling on workplace statuses in what she says is an effort to strengthen protections for workers. The assembly bill (AB-5) aims to clarify what occupations the new rules apply to and which ones are exempted. However, industries that rely on independent contractors or freelancers are closely following the bill in fear that it will upend their business models.

The assemblymember is confident the bill will pass and will prevent employers from misclassifying workers, but it has still sent shockwaves through the ever growing gig-economy as companies like Uber, Lyft and Doordash rely primarily on independent contractors. For workers in these industries, the gig-economy offers the flexibility to work multiple jobs and for many, it is their reality.

“Everyone in San Diego, you have to have two or three jobs to be able to pay the bills,” says rideshare driver Abdul Sami. Although he enjoys the flexible work hours, he sees benefits of being an employee. When he was in a car accident last year, Sami had to choose between losing his vehicle insurance or being permanently blocked from driving for Uber.

As an independent contractor for Uber and Lyft, he would have no claim to unemployment benefits.

Being that rideshare driving is his

Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez only source of income, and how he supports his wife and two kids, that would have been devastating.

When a worker is classified as an employee, the employer is responsible for paying Social Security, payroll taxes, unemployment insurance taxes, and complying with state and federal employment regulations.

“We could allow the Supreme Court decision to stand and allow every case to be litigated up until it slowly falls into every category in every industry,” says Gonzalez regarding the ABC test. “Or we could provide clarity for businesses and client law and that’s what we chose to do.”

In other words, Gonzalez believes that if she hadn’t introduced AB-5, then the court’s decision would’ve been applied to every industry over time. Business owners in several industries have re-classified their independent contractors to employees to avoid potential fees or litigation. Back in February, CityBeat spoke with strippers and strip club managers who felt the jolt of the new law.

Still, business owners and workers in different occupations have raised concerns because having independent contractors is the business model they have followed for years or at least since the last recession. Workers in many cases have embraced the “gig” lifestyle because of the flexibility and diversity in the work they do.

While the law wasn’t intended to directly impact rideshare drivers, strippers, freelance writers and beauty industry workers, it is forcing a change to their business model.

“We are a small mom-and-pop shop—we are not making millions of dollars. We are all in this together trying to be in an industry that we love and appreciate and respect and still provide for our families,” says Jessica Sandoval, who has since moved her nail salon to a less expensive space in Chula Vista. She understands the need to bring change in some industries, but also believes AB-5 is not the answer for every single business or occupation.

Assemblymember Gonzalez, however, says the state requires businesses follow the same rules.

“If you can’t, unfortunately, run a small business without playing by the rules then perhaps your business model isn’t one that should work,” she says, admitting that this sounds harsh.

But Gonzalez says this is the best time to tackle the issue of employment misclassification. Given that unemployment keeps going down, it’s indicative that something is wrong when wages continue to remain stagnant and people are increasingly relying on multiple side jobs to make ends meet.

“The wrongness is not that corporations are struggling or businesses. Quite frankly, the wrong comes in the fact that workers aren’t being compensated correctly and so I think this is the perfect time to do a bill like this,” says Gonzalez.

While the Dynamex decision was not a one-size-fits-all solution, AB-5 aims to specify which occupations will receive exemptions. What occupations receive those exemptions is related to individuals who have the ability to self-negotiate, or workers who make more than twice the minimum wage and therefore are not affected by exploitation.

A business coalition lead by the California Chamber of Commerce submitted a letter last year offering to support the bill if more than a dozen occupations were exempted from the new test. However, only a handful of exemptions have been included in AB-5, including physicians, surgeons, investment advisors and some direct salespersons.

Hair stylists and barbers (but not other salon workers, such as nail technicians) were recently added to the list of exempted contractors, but they must prove they are “free from direction or control” (setting their own rates, hours and booking, etc.).

This leaves occupations such as freelance writers, strippers, rideshare drivers and anyone else working as an independent contractor to wonder what happens next.

MAY 29, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 5

UP FRONT | VOICES

RHONDA “RO” MOORE

A SIDE-EYE OF

SANITY

In San Diego, we’d all rather pay than quit

L

iving in Point Loma often means dealing with rent hikes and property management companies not particularly interested in managing anything. I’ve dealt with worse than my current company, but I want to share what recently went down in the Land of Me. Due to some bank insanity, I now pay my rent by cashier’s check and in-person. One of the first lessons I ever learned growing up was to be clear what you’re paying for, so writing what a check is for in the memo line is practically Pavlovian. It’s also my standard practice to never include any other moneys due on the check written to cover my rent.

So, while I was in the property management office, I tried confirming whether a separate check covering some fees had been received. The fee incurred (due to said bank shenanigans) was owed but I refused to pay for someone else’s mess up. So, I sat my happy self on hold to demand the costs be covered by the bank. I was told someone from the property management office would get back to me.

In hindsight, I could see that should’ve been a red flag. Because what happened next was some flat-out bullshit. Instead of a call or letter about my account status, the property manager issued a 3-Day Notice to Quit or pay for unpaid rent. Needless to say, I was stunned and called to find out what in the fresh hell was going on.

For the unaware, a 3-Day Notice to Quit is a California legal form made available to landlords to be used, under specific circumstances, to prompt a tenant to fall in line with their obligations or vacate. The most common use of a 3-Day Notice is a demand for past due rent. In my opinion, 3-Day Notices are one of the most abused items in a landlord’s arsenal. It often replaces landlords actually addressing tenant disputes. As things go, it’s a powerful scare tactic in a city swiftly pricing the working class out of the city limits. I knew I paid my rent in full and I was still freaked right the fuck out.

Unbeknownst to me, the management company used my rent money to close out a repair invoice I had disputed as well. For those doing math, it means they continuously shorted my rent to balance their books, yet they never informed me of this decision. This, of course, also explains why my bill dispute was never addressed. So, I’d been paying my rent like normal and asking about this dispute to no avail for months.

But here’s where things get fun—turns out there was a staff change and I have a whole new property manager. No one at this company thought, perhaps, tenants should know this either. (This is where I recommend that renters double-check their records, so they don’t end up sleeping in a bed that’s been shortsheeted).

For the record, it’s illegal to use a 3-Day Notice to collect non-rent moneys. Don’t take my word for it; the courts keep a handy list online that specifically states a notice must not include any other moneys the tenant owes (like fees) in order to be valid.

What did this company do to circumvent that pesky caveat? They redefined late fees, etc. as “additional rent” in order to leverage the law to collect money I disputed owing altogether. On a Friday. Yes, for those reading closely, I received the notice on Friday shortly before the end of business hours. (It’s almost like they were trying to put me between a rock and a hard place).

When I called out their maneuvering as poor accounting practices, I was told the company’s legal team told them they were within their rights to “pay the oldest open invoice first from any moneys paid.”

I asked since when was it legal to not apply a clearly identified rent payment to the rent. They repeated the oldest invoice BS. I asked to speak to someone in legal. They refused.

I asked for an unredacted copy of my account ledger to prove that I disputed the invoices. They refused.

I asked for a re-reconciliation of my account so I could prove that no rent payment was ever shorted. They refused.

I asked them to point me to the section in California civil code that says it’s legal to use a 3-Day Notice like this. They ended the conversation demanding that I pay or get out.

Landlord and property managers know if they time it just right, they can force money out of tenants’ hands. They know most tenants can’t afford to risk destabilizing their living situation. People end up paying and chasing to protect their living situation. Property management companies depend on tenant fear of retaliatory eviction attempts and targets them to keep them from fighting too loudly. And in the end, San Diego does very little to protect tenants from shady practices that play in the legal gray areas.

If any reader is wondering if I paid: Yes, I did. Then I filed an unscrupulous business practices complaint with the California Real Estate Board. And I’ll keep reporting the property management company and filing complaints because bullies shouldn’t get to keep their business license.

It’s just shy of the halfway point of 2019 and I’m still felony free… barely. My advice for dealing with landlords and other folks we can’t throat punch for creating extra stress in our lives?

Watch your six, know your rights and never be afraid to get rowdy.

As things go, it’s a powerful scare tactic in a city swiftly pricing the working class out of the city limits. I knew I paid my rent in full and I was still freaked right the fuck out.

6 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 29, 2019

A Side-Eye of Sanity appears every other week.

Follow Ro Moore on Twitter at @BookBlerd.

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UP FRONT | OPINION

EDWIN DECKER

SORDID

TALES

Time for National Barback Appreciation Day

I

was sitting at the bar catching up with some friends, when the discussion turned to the NHL playoffs. Being that I don’t follow hockey, I drifted in and out of the conversation and began to watch the bar staff instead. It’s actually one of my favorite pastimes. Being a former gin-jerk of some 25 years, I love to watch the crew perform their nightly dance against the machine: how they glide to-and-fro, how they economize motion, how they greet customers, take their orders, ice the glasses, wave imaginary magic wands over empty highballs and say, “abracadabra!” to reveal a round of multi-colored cocktails.

When executed properly, it is a thing to behold.

This trio of bartenders were decent enough, but it was the barback who stood out. The guy was in his early 20s, handsome, fit and probably an athlete judging by the ease with which he juked and weaved among the pourers—restocking necessities, cleaning messes, dumping trash—all while staying on top of the dirty glasses which were piling up faster than pho-fusion bistros in an up-and-coming hipster neighborhood.

Barbacking, for those who don’t know, is a relentless, spine-crushing and soul-blistering grind. It’s also a vital position on a busy night. I liken barbacks to the oil in a finely tuned motor: It’s greasy and messy, but without it, the engine seizes. Of course, not everyone is suited for the job. A barback must possess a fierce work ethic, proactive sensibilities and resilience to adversity. They must have a tap dancer’s dexterity, an ability to multitask and, most of all, a barback must care.

This is no small order. Most people get into the bar business thinking it’s going to be an exciting, glamorous and carefree cakewalk. (And as evidenced by every server who just read the previous sentence and rolled their eyes, that fantasy about working at a bar is not true.) Then when they find out what a thankless drudge it is, but are still supposed to bust their asses in the name of customer service, a lot of them disappear.

This shouldn’t surprise anyone. I mean, what is there to care about, right? The job revolves around serving blackouts to barflies, which is hardly a requisite for the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy. But I’m not so sure. This is, after all, the hospitality business.

And the business of bar hospitality is not selling alcoholism. It’s not even selling alcohol. Nay, the bar business is in the business of selling joy.

As the late Bill Winston of Winstons Beach Club fame once told me, “Bartending’s not hard, Ed. Just give ’em a good time. That’s what they’re here for.”

Indeed.

And when the barback cares about the customer— when he or she cares about what the bartender needs to serve the customer—all can have a good time. Because it is quite difficult for tenders—in a busy bar, on a busy night—to maintain a positive attitude when they have to stop every five minutes to find a clean glass. The barbacks make it so the pourers never stop pouring up fun for customers. And they do this by caring; caring to check if the ice is getting low—before it gets low, and caring to check if the fruit tray needs refilling—before it needs refilling, and so on.

The irony is, for all their caring, no one cares about them. They are the Harijan of the bar industry; the untouchable ones. They who toil among the sludge and spills and slivered glass; they whose hands are chafed by nasty dishwater; they whose socks are drenched from the carcinogenic trashcan juice that ran down their leg when the garbage bag broke. They are they who are often subject to the nasty moods of bartenders, many of whom have egos the size of walk-ins and self-delusions of divinity.

Like the old joke goes: What’s the difference between god and a bartender? God doesn’t think he’s a bartender.

Then, at the end of the night, after the doors have been shut and the customers dragged out, the barback is still washing glasses—all of them, every single one. And stocking beer, burning ice, scrubbing wells, racks, counters and taps. All this while the highborn meisters sit with shift-beers counting tips and bitching about how difficult their night was.

This is why I am proposing today, May 29, as National Barback Appreciation Day. After all, we have a Bartender Appreciation Day, why not barbacks? Just one day a year to show these hard-working grunts some overdue love.

So to all the rum-slingers out there, before heading into the bar tonight, why not stop by the local salon and buy the barback a much-deserved mani-pedi certificate? Get them a pair of quality, trash-juice resistant shoes. Chip in with the other bartenders and buy a basket of salves for the bar rot that’s creeping up the barbacks’ arms. And customers, before getting blacked out tonight, go ahead and slip’em an extra $20. Tell them it’s all theirs and not to share it. Most will put it in the tip pool anyway, but at least they’re getting the message: That they are appreciated. That they deserve it.

All hail the mighty barback, we salute you.

And the business of bar hospitality is not selling alcoholism. It’s not even selling alcohol. Nay, the bar business is in the business of selling joy.

@SDCITYBEAT

Sordid Tales appears every other week.

Write to edwin@sdcitybeat.com.

MAY 29, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 7

UP FRONT | FOOD & DRINK

BY MICHAEL A. GARDINER

THE WORLD

FARE

More than tasty noodles

N

ames and labels can reveal, obscure or even do both at the same time. Tasty Noodle House (4646 Convoy St., tastynoodlehousesandiego.com) is something of a case in point. It is both tasty and a relatively typical Chinese “noodle house.” In other words, it pretty much is exactly what its name implies.

Because of this, one might suspect that the thing to order at Tasty Noodle House is the noodle dishes.

Not necessarily. In fact, the best items on the menu of many Chinese noodle houses aren’t the noodles, but rather the dumplings. That’s definitely the case at Tasty Noodle House.

Their standout dish is the Shanghai grilled (actually, pan-fried) pork buns (sheng jian bao). These sesame seed-flecked, yeasty buns—wrapped around a moist pork filling—are pan-fried to the point where the bottoms caramelize. The resulting buns are topped with a sprinkling of chopped scallions.

They’re savory with crispy and soft, doughy elements, and are utter flavor bombs. The key is the perfect caramelization of the buns’ bottoms.

Equally good are Tasty Noodle House’s cilantro fish dumplings. They are, basically, classic Cantonese steamed fish done up in dumpling form. While fish flavors may not be familiar dim sum fare, the mild white fish in these dumplings end up more as a delivery vehicle for the other flavors: the seasonings, cilantro and ginger in particular. The result was a blast of delicious, savory, umami flavors set off by a tangy dipping sauce.

The restaurant’s xiao long bao, on the other hand, were disappointing. In fact, on two separate trips, they were downright sad. Nearly half of the buns in both orders were deflated, their skins pierced. This caused the precious soup that defines these “soup dumplings” to run out of the buns, leaving dry and relatively tasteless little balls of pork filling. This was surprising considering the precision and success of the restaurant’s sheng jian bao.

The Shanghai pork wonton soup was much better. This isn’t the familiar American-Chinese dish of relatively tasteless pork-filled wontons in an inoffensive chicken broth. Instead, the pork fill-

8 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 29, 2019

ing was moist and savory, and the soup was assertive—almost brooding—with soy and black vinegar flavors dominating.

The noodle dishes may not have been the highlights, but they’re certainly worth mentioning.

Shanghai cuisine tends to have a sweeter profile than other regional Chinese cuisines and this was evident in the ginger scallion beef with noodles.

Still, the main focus of the dish was on the marriage of the ginger, scallions and beef—each with natural affinities for the others—along with the warming, comforting noodles.

MICHAEL A. GARDINER

Shanghai grilled pork buns In contrast, another noodle dish is built on a somewhat unlikely combination: pork lo mein, but with preserved vegetables. Pork lo mein is a Cantonese classic, but preserved vegetables are more commonly associated with Sichuan or Hunan dishes than Cantonese or Shanghai cuisines. But the dish works. The slightly sweet flavors of the sauce and the soft noodles play well with the somewhat crunchy, funky preserved vegetables.

At one level Tasty Noodle House is exactly what it says. At another level it’s a surprise. But at the end of the day, it’s totally worth it for the dumplings.

The World Fare appears weekly.

Write to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com.

@SDCITYBEAT

UP FRONT | FOOD & DRINK

BY BETH DEMMON

FINAL DRAUGHT Puddin’ your hop foot forward

P

“

udding-inspired beer” sounds more like a satirical article from The Onion than a reallife beer flavor. But we live in an era where beers are brewed with whale testicles smoked in sheep dung and useable yeast can be grown in beard hair, so I’m willing to at least try a beer that pays homage to a delicious childhood treat.

“We wanted to create a pudding-inspired IPA without using lactose,” explains Jonathan Barbarin, co-founder of Miramar’s Thunderhawk Alements (8675 Miralani Drive, Ste. 100, thunderhawkbeer. com). Last year, Thunderhawk collaborated with Amplified Ale Works (amplifiedales.com) and local funk rock band The Routine to brew a beer in honor of Puddin,’ the band’s debut full-length album. It’s a natural trio; Amplified has a number of beer and band collaborations in their portfolio, and Barbarin’s brother, Bryan, is the lead singer of The Routine.

This year’s release, an 8 percent ABV hazy double India pale ale with coconut and Madagascar vanilla, is available at all Amplified locations as well as on draft at Thunderhawk’s tasting room. Thunderhawk also sells it in four packs of 16-ounce cans, and limited quantities can also be found in Bottlecraft stores and Bine and Vine beginning May 28.

The instant I cracked open a crowler of Hop Puddin,’ the aroma of vanilla and coconut immediately dominated the room. Lactose tends to give beer a sweeter residual flavor and fuller body, but even without it, Hop Puddin’ was still, without a doubt, the sweetest IPA I’d ever tasted. Coconut tends to work well in more malt-forward styles like stouts and porters, so adding it in a highly-hopped base beer is a bold choice. If it had been anything less than a double IPA, I think it would have been undrinkable, but the addition of extra hops keeps it from going full saccharine.

I’m not in the habit of letting hoppy beers warm to room temperature in order to coax out nuanced flavors, but Hop Puddin’ is no ordinary IPA. Letting it rest for a few minutes noticeably tempered the decadently sweet notes and allowed some tropical characteristics from the experimental hops to peek through (although they remained second fiddle to the vanilla).

I have to hand it to the Thunderhawk and Ampli-

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fied brew crews—they call it what it is. Hop Puddin’ is sweet and creamy, exactly like coconut pudding cups of yore. I probably would have opted to brew something funky in honor of The Routine’s groovy sound, or at least leaned toward replicating the classic chocolate pudding flavor. But there’s still an undeniable element of fun drinking something that so strongly recalls the uniquely specific taste of an after-school snack I vividly remember enjoying.

BETH DEMMON

Hop Puddin’ at Amplified Ale Works In the latest issue of Craft Beer & Brewing magazine, writer Randy Mosher refers to pastry stouts as “liquid nostalgia,” explaining that the coolest aspect of the sugary style is its ability to “trigger childhood memories.” Hop Puddin’ is no pastry stout, but definitely triggers the same emotions that leave sweet-toothed pastrybois satisfied and beer purists fearful for the future. It’s not an everyday beer, but it’s definitely one that will have people talking. And drinking.

Write to bethd@sdcitybeat.com or check her out on Instagram at @thedelightedbite.

MAY 29, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 9

EVENTS

SHORTlist

ART

the

THREE YOU HAVE TO SEE

COORDINATED BY

SETH COMBS

DEL MAR

COURTESY OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY FAIR

FAIR WELL

There are just some traditions in San Diego that we can’t help but want to be part of. Such is the case with the San Diego County Fair at the Del Mar Fairgrounds (2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd.). Whether we’re hanging out with the kids or we’re just going on a date with the partner, there’s something about cutting loose and being part of the spectacle that’s as timeless as it is fun.

This year’s Wizard of Oz-inspired “OZ-some” theme certainly leaves plenty of opportunities for fair organizers to get creative. First, let’s talk about what’s new: This year, the fair is launching its firstever “FunPass” and “FastPass.” The FunPass can be bought as a card or used on the fair app as a replacement for ride and game tickets (that is, no more having to visit the ticket kiosks to re-up). The $20 FastPass is similar to those we see at theme parks.

Only available at the fair’s box office, the FastPass grants the holder front-of-line access for all rides, including the new Endeavour ride.

Next, there’s the food. We’ve tasted some ridiculously decadent fair concoctions (anybody remember that deep-fried butter?) over the years, and new additions such as a deep-fried crème brulèe (Chicken Charlie’s) and a Hot Cheetos baked potato (Spud Shack) are on the menu this year. For those old enough to drink, there are several options including the Paddock Tavern and the Wizard of Haze,

SAN DIEGO

AROUND THE BLOCKS It’s a bit sad that San Diego has been so gray lately, but on the bright side (pun intended), clear and sunny skies should finally arrive alongside one of our favorite summer staples: Art Around Adams. Since 2004, the small businesses of Adams Avenue from Normal Heights to Kensington (and a wee bit of North Park) have been transformed into a patchwork of local creative arts, including music, dance, visual arts, poetry, comedy and cuisine. This year’s event features more than 90 live performances across 13 stages, and more than 70 art exhibits. There’s even complementary “comedy trolleys” featuring local comedians and a bicycle valet. It’s free and it’s all going down Saturday, June 1 from noon to 8 p.m. Check artaroundadams.org for full lineup and map.

COURTESY OF ART AROUND ADAMS

HXicana at 1805 Gallery, 1805 Columbia St., Little Italy. Katie Ruiz showcases a series of paintings depicting figurative forms interacting with brightly colored shapes and geometric patterns inspired by the Otomi tribes of Central America. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, May 30. Free.

RSVP required. 1805gallery.com HeXit pARTy: Sites Unseen at Museum of Contemporary Art Downtown, 1001 Kettner Blvd., Downtown. The 21-and-over closing party for Trevor Paglen: Sites Unseen that includes a special performance from the art-pop psychedelic duo Princess, as well as hands-on activities, performance art, cocktails and more. From 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, May 31. Free-$25. 858454-3541, mcasd.org HThe Body is a Home at Art Produce Gallery, 3139 University Ave., North Park.

Local paper artist Bhavna Mehta will showcase new works she made, in collaboration with middle school students from Monarch School, which explore the ideas of bodies, movement and the idea of home. Opening from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, May 31. Free. artproduce.org

San Diego County Fair the latter of which is located in the middle of the fair and named after the Mike Hess IPA that’s being served up. There’s even a tiki-themed speakeasy called the Wicked Wahine located somewhere on the fairgrounds, but patrons will have to ask around to find it.

Finally, there are some pretty great concerts throughout the month. Some of our faves include Smokey Robinson (June 15), Lindsey Stirling (June 27) and local favorite Tulengua (June 13). It all starts Friday, May 31 and runs through Thursday, July 4. Admission ranges from free for kids under five years old to $20 for adults. Times vary, but full schedule and details can be found at sdfair.com.

LA JOLLA

STILL MARCHING Over a year later, the only solace to be found in the wake of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School can be found in the students-turned-activists who survived the shootings. Two of them, Sofie Whitney and Brendan Duff, will be in town this weekend for a discussion entitled “Community Divided/ Humanity United.” They will discuss their activism work, including the organizing of the March For Our Lives and the March For Our Lives Action Fund. They will follow the discussion with a Q & A session and a book signing of their bestseller, Glimmer of Hope. It happens Sunday, June 2 at 5 p.m. at the David and Dorothea Garfield Theatre at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center (4126 Executive Drive). The event is free, but tickets can be reserved at lfjcc.org.

HMosaics 3: Policing Ourselves at Valencia Park/Malcolm X Library, 5148 Market St., Encanto. Mosaics created by many different artists with the theme “Policing Ourselves” in mind will be displayed while exploring the issues relating to being policed, regulated and controlled. From 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 1. Free. facebook. com/artistsbuildingcommunity Dragons: Exploring the Symbolism of China’s Most Revered Creature at San Diego Chinese Historical Museum, Dr. Sun Yat- Sen Memorial Extension, 328 J St., Gaslamp. A family-friendly exhibit, which explores the symbolism of the dragon in Chinese culture through flags, tapestries, clothing, jewelry and more. Opening from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 1. sdchm.org Here/After: Undergraduate Senior Show at UCSD Mandeville Center, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. UCSD Visual Arts presents the work of senior students at the school.

Opening from 3 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 4. visarts.ucsd.edu

BOOKS J. Dianne Dotson at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. The science-fiction writer will sign and discuss Ephemeris, book two of The Questrison Saga. At 3 p.m. Saturday, June 1. Free. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy. com HCommunity Divided/Humanity United: Parkland Survivors Sofie Whitney and Brendan Duff at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla. The Parkland attack survivors will discuss their new book (Glimmer of Hope), gun violence and how to take action. From 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday, June 2. Free. my.lfjcc.org

COMEDY HJim Gaffigan at Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. The Grammy-nominated comedian and author will perform on the Corona Grandstand Stage as part of the San Diego County Fair’s opening day festivities. At 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, June 1. $15-$151. sdfair.com

DANCE HHigh Strung at Lyceum Theatre, 79 Horton Plaza, Downtown. Malashock Dance Company and Art of Élan collaborate to produce a performance fusing

Art Around Adams 10 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 29, 2019

Sophie Whitney and Brendan Duff

H = CityBeat picks

dance and classical music. At 8 p.m. Friday, May 31 and Saturday June 1 and 7 p.m. Sunday, June 2. $15-$45. 619-5441000, artofelan.org 12 Dancing Princesses’ Ballet at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, 7600 Fay Ave., La Jolla. Two-act ballet based partly on the Brothers Grimm tale featuring music by Tchaikovsky and choreography by Egle Spokaite and Z. Baikstyte. At noon and 5 p.m. Sunday, June 2. $25-$30. balletinstitutesd.com

FASHION HRecycled Materials Runway Event at Escondido Arts Partnership Municipal Gallery, 262 E. Grand Ave., Escondido. Artwork and fashion designs with a focus on student and emerging fashion designers using thrifted, reconditioned and trashed materials. Benefits the Escondido Arts Partnership. From 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, June 1. $20. 760-480-4101, escondidoarts.org

FOOD & DRINK Sip the City at The Headquarters at Seaport District, 789 W. Harbor Drive, Downtown. The kickoff festival for the San Diego Urban Wineries Weekend will feature over a dozen local urban wineries pouring award-winning wines alongside light snacks and live music. From 5:30 to 8 p.m.

Friday, May 31. $25-$59. 619-546-7488, sip2019.brownpapertickets.com Pizza Port OB Anniversary Party at Pizza Port Ocean Beach, 1956 Bacon St., Ocean Beach. Pizza Port OB celebrates nine years with parking lot festivities including a beer garden, kids’ area, games and catered food from Fernandez Restaurant. From 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, June 1. Free. pizzaport.com/events HTacos and Terroir at Tuetano Taqueria, 143 W. San Ysidro Blvd., San Ysidro.

Campestre Mag teams up with Tuetano Taqueria owner Priscilla Curiel-Gutierrez to create a three-course meal highlighting the best Mexico has to offer in terms of tacos and wine. From 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, June 1. $30-$45. campestremag.com HMexico Gourmet Festival San Diego at Embarcadero Marina Park South, 200 Marina Park Way, Downtown. Tribute to Mexican gastronomy, traditions and art with cuisine and products from prominent chefs, restaurants, artists and vendors on both sides of the border. From 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, June 1. $39.30-$150. From 5 to 9 p.m.

Saturday, June 1. mexicogourmetfest.com HSip ‘N Savor at Barracks 17, Liberty Station, 2710 Historic Decatur Road, Point Loma. The annual tasting festival will offer attendees the opportunity to sample food from local restaurants, as well as live music and unlimited tasters of beer, cider and Boochcraft. Helps raise awareness and funds for the American Liver Foundation.

From noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 2. $50-$80. alfevents.org

MUSIC Off Beat Music Festival at High Tech High, 2230 Truxtun Road, Liberty Station, Point Loma. High Tech High’s freshman class with be performing alongside other student bands to give back to the community, with profits benefiting the San Diego Music Foundation. From 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, May 30. Free. hightechhigh.org HDerek Paravicini at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, 7600 Fay Ave., La Jolla. The Mainly Mozart Festival’s opening concert will feature the blind and autistic piano virtuoso along with autistic celebrity Temple Grandin. From 8 to 10 p.m. Thursday, May 30. $50. 619-239-0100, mainlymozart.org

EVENTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 11 @SDCITYBEAT

EVENTS EVENTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 Justin Moore at Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. The platinum-selling country singer will perform on the Corona Grandstand Stage as part of the San Diego County Fair’s opening day festivities. At 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 31. $17-$49. sdfair.com Música en la Plaza at California Center for the Arts, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido. Community series aiming to bring people together to celebrate the arts, with live music, dancing and tequila.

From 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, May 31. Free. visitescondido.com The Enchanted Tail: An Opera for Kids at PLNU’s Historic Greek Amphitheatre, Lomaland Drive, Point Loma. Familyfriendly operatic performance featuring the music of Mozart, Verdi, and Rossini to tell the story of a princess and a fox. From 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. Saturday, June 1. Free. facebook.com/events/1205651319595729

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 1.

Free. 619-297-7380, sandiegoriver.org

PERFORMANCE HLa Rara Noche at Space 4 Art, 340 16th St., Gaslamp. It’s sort of like an open mic night but more physical and anyone is welcome to come show what they’ve got.

From 6 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, May 30.

Suggested donation. sdspace4art.org HPaper Cities at City Heights/Weingart Performance Annex, 3795 Fairmount Ave., City Heights. Animal Cracker Conspiracy’s multi-disciplinary performance narrated through puppetry, animated and original film, soundscapes, music and manipulated objects. At 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 31 and Sunday, June 2. $12-$100. 619-8502130, cityofpaper.brownpapertickets.com

POETRY & SPOKEN WORD

La Jolla Renaissance Singers: The Music of the Golden Age at San Diego Museum of Art, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park. The La Jolla Renaissance Singers perform a program inspired by the San Diego Museum of Art exhibition Art and Empire: The Golden Age of Spain. From 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 1. $5. sdmart.org

HVAMP: O! Nostalgia! at Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St., South Park. So Say We All’s monthly curated storytelling showcase featuring nonfiction stories on a theme.

From 8:30 to 10 p.m. Thursday, May 30. $5 suggested donation. sosayweallonline. com

San Diego Bayfest at Embarcadero Marina Park North, 500 Kettner Blvd, Marina.

Local food, drink and arts paired with live performances by Slightly Stoopid, Tribal Seeds, Fortunate Youth, Don Carlos, HIRIE and Band of Gringos. Noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, June 1. $40. sandiegobayfest.com

POLITICS & COMMUNITY

HMusic, Inspiration and Autism at Bread & Salt, 1955 Julian Ave., Logan Heights. Mainly Mozart presents the talents of autistic musicians including ChiLing Wu, Adam Mandela Walden, Alexander Pruetting and others as part of its Bread & Salt concert trilogy. 7 to 9 p.m.

Sunday, June 2. Free. mainlymozart.org Knockin’ on Dylan’s Door at Lyceum Stage, 79 Horton Plaza, Gaslamp. The songs of Bob Dylan will be performed through a Jewish lens by Noah Solomon and C Lanzbom of Jewish jam band Soulfarm, along with special guests Yehuda Solomon of Moshav Band and singer Sam Glaser. Part of the Jewish Arts Festival. At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 4. $20$30. sdrep.org

OUTDOORS HNational Trails Day: Eagle Peak Hike and Wildlife Exploration at Eagle Peak Ranch, 5030 Eagle Peak Road, Julian.

Look for signs of wildlife with the San Diego Tracking Team, explore the headwaters preserve and meet local wildlife experts.

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HCandidate Forum San Diego County Board of Supervisors District 1 at Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center 140 East 12th St., National City. Meet and ask questions of candidates running for the important County Board of Supervisors seat in 2020 including Nora Vargas, Rafael Castellanos and Sophia Rodriguez. From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 29.

Free. www.facebook.com/EHCSanDiego

SPECIAL EVENTS HNat at Night at San Diego Natural History Museum, 1788 El Prado, Balboa Park.

The Nat’s adult-friendly after-hours event that includes food, beer and wine on the rooftop, in addition to half-off admission and access to all of the museum’s exhibitions. From 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday, May 30 and Friday, May 31. $10. sdnhm.org HSan Diego County Fair at Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. It’s time again to ride some rides, play some games and, best of all, stuff your face with a bizarre variety of deepfried food. Various times. Friday, May 31 through Thursday, July 4. Free-$20. 858755-1161, sdfair.com HRock ‘n’ Roll Marathon at Balboa

BOOKS: THE FLOATING LIBRARY Queen of mean

P

atricia Highsmith is probably best known for a series of books about a sociopathic killer. So is it really a surprise that she would write a collection of stories in which awful things happen to their protagonists?

Even though she’d struck gold with her debut, Strangers on a Train (which was made into a film by Alfred Hitchcock) and subsequently wrote The Talented Mr. Ripley and its many sequels, Highsmith was not widely read in the United States.

In fact, Little Tales of Misogyny was originally published in Germany in 1975 and wouldn’t find a publisher in the United States for another decade.

Written in a plain, matter of fact style with very little nuance or atmosphere, Highsmith’s stories are like post-war fairy tales where the families are nuclear, the settings are suburban and appearances matter.

These stories are also strikingly similar in the manner in which they dispose of their protagonists.

The women who take center stage in this slender volume often end up dead or disappeared.

In the story, “The Evangelist,” a lay preacher steps out of a window “convinced that she could fly or at least float,” and then plummets to her death amidst a clutter of patio furniture.

Mildred, the protagonist of “The Mobile BedPark. Run to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, cheer on runners or just check out the bands at this annual marathon, half-marathon and 5K. Sunday features live music all along the course. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 1, and 6:15 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday, June 2. runrocknroll.com/san-diego/ HArt Around Adams at Adams Avenue, University Heights through Kensington. This annual music and art walk extends over two miles and showcases numerous visual, music and performance artists with over 70 businesses changing into impromptu art galleries and/or performance areas for the day. From noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, June 1. Free. artaroundadams.org HKobey’s Sneaker & Vintage Clothing Swap Meet at Kobey’s Swap Meet, 3500 Sports Arena Blvd., Point Loma. Buy, sell, trade and talk with over 50 sneaker and vintage clothing vendors alongside live music and an art installation. From 7 a.m.

Object,” consorts with a parade of men until she ends up with a wealthy suitor named Sam who has run afoul of the law.

“Mildred was bundled by both chauffeur and Sam into a mummy-like casing of stiff, heavy tarpaulin, and then ropes were tied around her. She was dumped into a canal and drowned.”

Many of the stories read like indictments of the kind of lifestyle that Highsmith, who was notoriously mean-spirited and difficult to be around, found dreary if not outright contemptible. In “The Artist,” Bob loses his wife Jane to a series of art classes. Jane’s pursuit of the sublime comes to an end when the School of the Arts she attends is blown to smithereens.

“It seemed to Bob that there was no inspiration in the School of the Arts, only a desire to imitate people who had been inspired, like Chopin, Beethoven, and Bach.”

Highsmith’s scathing rebuke of high-minded hobbyists at a mediocre art school underscores the hostility that permeates her stories.

Highsmith’s Little Tales of Misogyny are far from heartwarming, but there is a method to her meanness.

—Jim Ruland

The Floating Library appears every other week.

to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 1. $2. 619-5232700, kobeyswap.com San Diego Japanese Cultural Bazaar 2019 at Buddhist Temple of San Diego, 2929 Market St., Grant Hill. Celebrate Japanese culture with a day full of food, games, displays, raffle prizes and performances.

From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 2.

Free. buddhisttemplesandiego.org

SPORTS Night at the Padres at Petco Park, 100 Park Blvd., Downtown. Guests will enjoy the Padres game, an all-you-can-eat buffet, soft drinks, beer and Micheladas with proceeds benefiting Kids’ Turn San Diego’s family workshops. From 6 to 10 p.m.

Saturday, June 1. $100. 858-521-0027, kidsturnsd.org/7th-annual-night-at-thepadres/

TALKS & DISCUSSIONS Lunchtime Lecture: Museums by the Yard at San Diego Central Library, 330 Park Blvd., Gaslamp. Leigh Wishner, Museum Coordinator at the Fidm-Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles, will illustrate the promotion of textiles, both commercial and artisanal, in mid-century American museums. From noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, May 30. Free. mingei.org HThe Forum with CA Lawyers for the Arts at Vanguard Culture, 899 Park Blvd., East Village. A three-part workshop series with presentations and Q&A sessions with attorneys on a wide range of topics including branding, trademarks, copyright, intellectual property and much more. From 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 4. Free$15. vanguardculture.org

MAY 29, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 11

THEATER KARLI CADEL PHOTOGRAPHY

A pointed Pride

S

orry, Jane Austen lovers, but Pride and Prejudice is just such a bore.

But thank you to playwright Kate Hamill for putting some much-needed pizazz in the too-oft-told story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. Just as she did previously with Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, and with William Thackeray’s Vanity Fair before that, Hamill has created a contemporary adaptation of Pride and Prejudice that even the cynical at heart can appreciate.

Cygnet Theatre’s staging of Hamill’s Pride is long, but it’s also long on spirit and ingenuity. From a purely subversive standpoint, it could be thought of as “The Pointer Sisters at Pemberley.” The R&B trio’s “Jump (for My Love)” is this production’s de facto theme song, symbolic not only of Lizzy’s empowerment but also of the Hamill adaptation’s abandoning of convention.

The original novel has not been abandoned, however.

This Pride and Prejudice is very much true to what Austen wrote in 1813. The premise, simply put, is that Mrs. Bennet (Shana Wride) is bound and determined to marry off her eligible daughters, Elizabeth (played with pluck and conviction by Jacque Wilke) among them. The narrative takes many a twist and turn from there, with Elizabeth’s maturation leading her to understand both herself and the nature of love itself. But this Pride and Prejudice, played out on an industrial-looking, quick-change set designed by Sean Fanning, goes where no telling of the tale has gone before.

Choreographed by Michael Mizerany and directed by Rob Lutfy, actors Kevin Hafso-Koppman, Jake Millgard and Adrian Alita (beard and all) perform at times in drag. Notably, Hafso-Koppman portrays both Mr. Bingley and the consumptive-sounding Bennet daughter Mary. Pop tunes in-

12 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 29, 2019

What You Are: JC Lee’s world premiere play about an alienated man trying to put his life together after an incident at work. Directed by Patricia McGregor, it opens May 30 at the Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park. theoldglobe.org Move Over, Mrs. Markham: This comedic British farce centers on a series of miscommunications that result in a series of couples and lovers to all gather at the same London flat. Presented by Scripps Ranch Theatre, it opens May 31 at the Legler Benbough Theatre at Alliant International University in Scripps Ranch. scrippsranchtheatre.org The Complete History of America (Abridged): This romp attempts to recount 600 years of history in 90 minutes, with hilarious results. Presetend by Trinity Theatre Company, it opens June 1 at the Tenth Avenue Arts Center in Downtown. trinityttc.org

Pride and Prejudice cluding Madonna’s “Material Girl” and Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” supplant Regency-period harpsichord music.

Comic lines and unpredictable entrances and exits prevail.

Most of this activity is apt to generate grins and chuckles more than gales of laughter. The nature of most spoofs—whether in film, on television or on the stage— is that the results are hit or miss. Devotees of the novel shouldn’t be offended; the play is, in its way a tribute. And imitation is the highest form of flattery, after all.

Pride and Prejudice runs through June 16 at Cygnet Theatre in Old Town. $25-$55; cygnettheatre.com

—David L. Coddon

Theater reviews run weekly.

Write to davidc@sdcitybeat.com.

OPENING: A Walk in the Woods: Lee Blessing’s humorous drama about two arms negotiators—one from the U.S. and one from the Soviet Union— who meet to informally discuss relations between their respective countries. Directed by Richard Baird, it opens May 29 at the North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach. northcoastrep.org

Little Shop of Horrors: The classic comedic musical about a nerdy flower shop employee who develops a bizarre relationship with a talking carnivorous plant. Directed by Alan Menken, it opens June 1 at the New Village Arts Theatre in Carlsbad. newvillagearts.org Native Voices at the Autry’s 25th Festival of New Plays: Three staged readings of new plays by Native American playwrights. It happens June 1 and June 2 at the Theodore and Adele Shank Theatre at the La Jolla Playhouse. lajollaplayhouse.org Significant Other: A gay man in New York City begins to question his capacity to be loved after his friends all begin to get married. Written by Joshua Harmon, it opens June 1 at the Diversionary Theatre in University Heights. diversionary.org Put Your House in Order: Part romantic comedy, part thriller, this world-premiere play centers on a first date that quickly turns into something deadly serious. Directed by Lili-Anne Brown, it opens June 2 at the La Jolla Playhouse. lajollaplayhouse.org Sonnets for an Old Century: Jóse Rivera’s anthology-style play that showcases a series of sonnets presented as if they’re the final testament of the characters. Directed by Kym Pappas, it opens June 5 for four performances at the Arthur Wagner Theatre at UC San Diego in La Jolla. theatre.ucsd.edu

For complete theater listings, visit sdcitybeat.com

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CULTURE | SCIENCE FICTION

local needs to get to their job taking care of a wealthy La Jolla socialite who plans to “go under” for a lengthy stay in virtual reality. But they can’t get to that job because the dedicated scooter lane on Interstate 5 has been compromised due to flooding. To make matters worse, the collective AI who was just elected the U.S. president hasn’t yet announced his (her? its?) infrastructurefunding plan.

Welcome to San Diego in 2049, as imagined by students and affiliates of UC San Diego. The yearlong program, known simply as “San Diego 2049,” is an exercise in “speculative design for policy making,” according to organizers. It is sponsored by the UCSD’s Center for Human Imagination and just wrapped up with its culminating event: A competition between three teams of graduate students tasked “to design a vision for the San Diego border region in 2049 and create an intervention into that future.”

If the submissions to the competition are any indication, the future of the San Diego region is inextricably linked to the future of the rest of the planet. Noted the event’s keynote speaker and best-selling science fiction author, Kim Stanley Robinson, “You can’t talk about the fate of San Diego 30 years from now without talking about the fate of the rest of the planet 30 years from now. It’s a global fate and there’s no such thing as a pocket utopia.”

Robinson, a UC San Diego alumnus, should know. He’s the winner of the trifecta of literary science fiction prizes (the Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards) and an expert at world-building, one of the three criteria for the student competition. The other two criteria are “rhetorical strength of the intervention” and “successful realization of the intervention within its given medium” (it is academia, after all).

The results of this theoretical exercise in world-building could be summed up by what Robinson described as an “attenuated peninsula.”

“We’re going to fall one way or another,” he added. “We can either fall into a mass extinction event caused by human action, or we can rally our resources and our expertise and our community and grow together a quite prosperous and glorious future.”

Somewhere in between lies the student submission known as “Fronteras” (ucsd-fronteras.itch.io), a chooseyour-own-adventure-style game created for the online platform Twine by a team of UCSD graduate students in varying departments. The game imagines the San Diego border region as a technological playground, an amalgam of “the tourism, caregiving and transportation industries changing immigration policy driven in part by climate change,” said Literature Ph.D. student Jeanelle Horcasitas.

In the game, people called “transfronterizas” are able to

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cross the U.S.-Mexico border, but only if they are VR workers who take care of the bodily needs of “patrons” while they’re immersed in idyllic virtual reality worlds. Meanwhile, ContraVR radicals have begun meeting at the putrid beaches of Baja California, wearing Aztec-style masks to protect themselves from toxins. The radicals are planning to infiltrate SeAR, a virtual reality version of Sea World.

Whether there will even be beaches and sea ports in San Diego 30 years from now is still up for debate. Robinson noted that even with a five-centimeter sea-level rise, “the beaches will be in deep trouble, and with a one-meter rise, they’ll be gone.” As research for one of his novels, Robinson said he consulted with geoengineers to determine if excess water could be pumped back onto sea ice using oil industry pumping technology (an irony that tickles him, he admitted).

THE INTELLIGENCE GOVERNANCE NETWORK / INTELGOV.NET

The Artificial Intelligence candidate in “Highlights from the 2048 Presidential Debate” And it can be done, he said. There’s just one catch.

“It would take 10 million windmills and use seven percent of all electricity generated worldwide,” Robinson said.

“This is one way of saying this is a fantasy,” he added.

“It’s not going to happen, and that’s true of many geoengineering ideas.”

One solution, according to Robinson’s geoengineering sources, might be to drill through the remaining ice and pump the water out until the glaciers bottom out on rock and slow down again, preventing their slide into the ocean.

He proposed that the U.S. Navy (a major employer in San Diego) and all the world’s militaries should “shift their wars on nation states to helping people” instead.

But that requires leadership. Intelligent leadership. So what’s more intelligent than artificial intelligence?

That’s the conceit behind “The Intelligent Governance Network” (intelgov.net), a second student project (and the winner of the San Diego 2049 competition). It begins from

the premise that a massively crowd-sourced artificial intelligence becomes President of the United States 30 years from now. Among the website’s elements is an excerpt from a televised debate between human and AI presidential candidates in 2049.

“We are able to use the wisdom of the crowd in the best way imaginable and grow together as one,” claims the fictional IGN candidate (which looks a little like a fire hydrant with a brain). “The idea of strong leaders is an idea that has led to countless wars and an endless amount of suffering…

The time has come for humans to fully trust in the altruistic infrastructure that the Intelligent Governance Network was built on.”

But will San Diegans be motivated to trust in leadership and make the changes necessary to protect the world as we know it? The students behind the third project, Goose and Gander, seem to have their doubts. Inspired by satirical and absurdist approaches to speculative design, students James Bruce and Joaquin Reyna wrote a work of short fiction that imagines a world where people are motivated to address pressing social concerns in order to protect their most cherished belonging: A goose. In their world, waterways are protected to provide habitats for geese, and transportation is improved because it’s better for the planet, and therefore better for the geese.

“We wanted to make a really annoying satire,” admitted student James Bruce, “and the premise is that a lot of policy is based on the stupidest reasons.” Noting the move toward wide-scale implementation of self-driving cars, for example, Bruce pointed out that among the touted benefits of a selfdriving car is that it “lets you not have to worry about driving and talking to the person next to you.”

“Yeah, we have that already,” he pointed out. “It’s called a bus.”

One thing everyone at the San Diego 2049 seemed to agree on was, in Robinson’s words, “we’re in the fight of our lives” when it comes to addressing the challenges of San Diego 30 years from now.

“California is in a good position to lead the way,” he added. “It has the political will to do the right things. I see such an amazing number of skillful creative collaborative people working together, and UC San Diego is one of the greatest intellectual centers on this planet. When I come here, I see this place and I think it could happen.”

And, as Robinson pointed out, it’s important to remember that “at every moment in history what humans were facing was unprecedented.”

“Maybe that doesn’t make us particularly unusual. What I can say is what we’re facing is more unprecedented than ever before.”

MAY 29, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 17

CULTURE | ART COURTESY ANIMAL CRACKER CONSPIRACY

SEEN LOCAL STRINGS ATTACHED

I

n many ways, Paper Cities, has always been a work in progress. Iain Gunn and Bridget Rountree of Animal Cracker Conspiracy (animalcrackerconspiracy.com), a local “contemporary hybrid” puppetry company, first began working on the production over five years ago. It has been performed off and on over the years and at various venues, but Rountree says they’ve always kept tinkering with it.

So when the pair revealed that Animal Cracker was performing what they referred to as a “latest and final version” of Paper Cities on May 31 and June 2 at the City Heights Performance Annex, one would think they’d finally completed the production.

“We have found the basic way to approach the show repeatedly,” says Rountree. “This show for a long time, four years actually, was not set. The order would change, dialogue would change, along with the puppet manipulation and choreography. In this sense, it was initially always a work in progress.”

Paper Cities, which has the subtitle “or how to avert the oncoming megalopolis,” isn’t simply a puppet show.

Directed by Liam Clancy, it’s a 60-minute performance that incorporates puppetry, object manipulation, dance, movement and original film. The story centers on the “logic by which humans have interpreted the idea of the city” and explores heavy topics such as colonialism and the exploitation of natural resources.

Animal Cracker Conspiracy first began working on Paper Cities in 2014 after receiving a Jim Henson Foundation Grant, as well as a Creative Catalyst Grant

MORE THAN A MIC

Paper Cities with the La Jolla Playhouse. Since it was first performed at the Playhouse in 2015, it has been staged in art galleries, outdoor venues and black box theatres.

Rountree explains that having to perform at so many different venues, as well as the audiences themselves, helped shape the final version of the story.

“Through this project we have discovered how we prefer to approach experimental hybrid puppetry,” Rountree says. “It is a dialogue we are having with the place, audience, objects and each other, which means we respond to these elements differently in every show.”

After the local shows, Animal Cracker Conspiracy will take Paper Cities to the National Puppetry Festival in Minneapolois in July before heading back to San Diego to begin development on a new show, The Black Hen Society, which they plan to premier in December.

For now, Rountree says the collective is pleased with how Paper Cities has turned out.

“It has taken us years to trust this process. One cannot hide behind a set structure—you must be awake.”

—Seth Combs

COURTESY OF AUBRHE YRURETAGOYENA AND VIKTOR DE LA FUENTE

I

t’s a full night at Space 4 Art in East Village (340 16th St., sdspace4art.org) where dozens of people are mingling and getting ready to experience La Rara Noche, an experimental performance art show like no other in the city.

At the helm of the show are Viktor De La Fuente and Aubrhe Yruretagoyena, who longed for a space that didn’t require a big production, but rather, provided dancers, choreographers and performance artists from San Diego and Tijuana the freedom to perform.

As dancers, performers and visual artists, Yruretagoyena and De La Fuente say there is rarely an opportunity to work on ideas that aren’t necessarily tied to months-long projects or formal performances.

“I can’t think of, outside of a class, where I can be like, ‘Alright, I just had this idea last night and I want to try it out right now and see how it works.’ It’s so much fun,” says Yruretagoyena.

The idea is to have performance artists sign up on the spot to perform work they are developing or simply want to try out in an intimate space with a small audience.

“It’s like an open mic but more physical,” says De La Fuente. The first La Rara Noche was in March and De La Fuente sees it as filling a void in the performance art community on both sides of the border.

While most artists have the ability to work on their art while attending school, for example, it’s difficult to find spaces that allow artists to explore their individual abilities outside established institutions. De La Fuente says this is something he experienced himself after graduating from UC San Diego where he first became involved in dance.

18 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 29, 2019

Aubrhe Yruretagoyena and Viktor De La Fuente “I had a need for something that was less produced, something that wasn’t intimidating like an institution,” says De La Fuente. “Something that could really welcome work that was honestly not great but at least it was a chance to create something and really help my own impulse to explore different ideas,” At the upcoming La Rara Noche show (on May 30 from 6 to 8:30 p.m.), artists from Tijuana, who don’t have the ability to travel to the United States, will livestream their performances. As they move forward with more events, De La Fuente says they want to support the work of both San Diego and Tijuana artists because there is a need for increasing collaboration between the two artistic communities.

“That is something we really want to continue cultivating,” says De La Fuente.

—Andrea Lopez-Villafaña @SDCITYBEAT

CULTURE | FILM

Never forget

The Silence of Others

Political doc refuses to let Spain’s fascist traumas be erased

by Glenn Heath Jr.

D

uring the nearly four decades between 1939 and tions Galante and his righteous flock against the face1975, Spanish dictator Francisco Franco shaped less government forces trying to quell their growing his country’s political, cultural and ideological momentum. While this approach may seem natural identity through repression and fear. The fascist state considering the circumstances, it feels all too familiar tortured and executed hundreds of thousands of citi- in the grand scheme of historical non-fiction.

The film’s second half is especially susceptible to zens, from liberals to communists to everyday peasants. Many of their bodies were buried in mass graves this David vs. Goliath conceit, which makes for a film festival audience winner-type, but not something enacross the country without any formal markers.

Imagine losing family members under these cir- tirely dynamic. Much of the central ideological crisis cumstances and then being asked to forget it ever (remember or forget?) gets replaced with victorious happened. That’s exactly what the reformist Spanish closure for individuals like Mendieta, who spends government did by passing the 1977 Amnesty Law, or weeks visiting a mass grave waiting for scientists to the “Pact of Forgetting” as historians call it. Under the finally unearth her father’s bones.

But these feel like minor gripes for a worthy film legislation, nobody involved in the aforementioned tackling such a massive historiwar crimes could be held crimical burden, one that remains nally accountable. But national prescient in the time of rightTHE SILENCE traumas cannot be so convewing nationalism spreading niently erased.

OF OTHERS across Europe. But therein lies With their new documenDirected by Robert Bahar the ultimate dilemma for viewtary The Silence of Others, coand Almudena Carracedo ers and filmmakers alike when directors Robert Bahar and AlStarring José M. Galante, it comes to the documentary mudena Carracedo profile mulMaría Martín, Carlos Slepoy genre. How one weighs form tiple plaintiffs in a 2010 lawsuit and Ascensión Mendieta against function will ultimately against the Spanish government Not Rated reveal what matters most. filed in Argentina to circumvent And what matters most to the Amnesty Law. Civil rights The Silence of Others are the lawyer Carlos Slepoy and activist José M. Galante are two of the foremost figures in people; those who are still fighting for justice and recthe case trying to indict multiple Francoist torturers onciliation on their own terms, and those who were who’ve been able to live freely despite their nationally never given the chance in the first place. Speaking of her father in the film’s final moments, Mendieta says recognized infamy.

Other stakeholders such as María Martín and As- he spent “a whole life underground,” and the fluidity censión Mendieta are hoping to locate the remains of of that statement challenges the finality of death.

Dictators like Franco try to preserve their own family members whose bodies were never recovered.

Both elderly women feel the pressure of time run- power by creating rules and regulations that repress ning out due to health concerns, and The Silence of any of the nuances human life brings to the table.

Others does its best to translate that sense of urgency Ironically, the Spanish government did the same with its attempts to legislate collective memory. through cinematic terms.

The Silence of Others (opening Friday, May 31, at Part of what makes this film so interesting is how Bahar and Carracedo use the central lawsuit to survey the Digital Gym Cinema) brings the complexity of hissmaller footnotes of Spanish history and the impact tory and humanity back into the equation. Like Franthese events have had on everyday people. Martín’s cisco Cedenilla’s gripping faceless sculptures looming pinpoint description of the horrific night her mother high atop the Valle del Jerte in Extremadura, it bewas kidnapped and promptly murdered by Franco loy- comes another monument to a past that refuses to be alists gives agency and context to the victims who de- erased. serve to be remembered as more than just statistics.

Still, as The Silence of Others progresses it begins Film reviews run weekly. to embrace a very familiar documentary arc that posi- Write to glennh@sdcitybeat.com

@SDCITYBEAT

MAY 29, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 19

CULTURE | FILM

Sauvage / Wild

Free fall

S

elling one’s body usually doesn’t involve selling your mind as well. But Léo (Félix Maritaud) has trouble compartmentalizing the two while working the streets of Paris as a gay sex worker. Unlike fellow hustler Ahd (Éric Bernard), a former fighter who has taken up the life simply to survive financially, Léo seems to enjoy the sexual encounters with strangers for their emotional spontaneity and capacity to inspire empathy.

Occupying nearly every shot of Camille Vidal-Naquet’s sexually graphic debut Sauvage / Wild, the 22-year-old Léo shows none of the youthful vitality his age would suggest. In the opening scene, he’s assessed by a physician for what appears to be a potentially serious illness. But the diagnosis turns out to be a bit of role-playing.

Ironically, Léo actually is in desperate need of medical attention.

He experiences intense coughing episodes, looks perpetually feverish and is terribly addicted to crack cocaine among other hard drugs.

Whether he recognizes the urgency of these ailments is another matter.

Vidal-Naquet keeps the camera’s gaze close to Léo’s body as it slowly breaks down, as well as to the bodies of the various men who solicit his services. Most of the film’s sex scenes are purposefully unsexy, sometimes even violent.

Quiet moments of reflection, on the other hand, have an undercurrent of intimacy.

Sauvage / Wild presents competing physical juxtapositions in very direct ways, and accentuates their grittiness with shaky handheld visuals. There seems to be only two choices to escape this life.

Ahd shacks up with an older man who ends up providing him all the security he needs, but at what cost to his freedom? Roaming from experience to experience, Léo has all the freedom in the world but nothing in the way of security.

20 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 29, 2019

Vidal-Naquet’s ultimate thesis statement lines up lyrically somewhere in between these two paths, but it ends up feeling like a copout. What’s not is Maritaud’s moving performance as a young man trying to find his place in a world made up of different prisons.

—Glenn Heath Jr.

OPENING Godzilla: King of Monsters: Ancient superspecies like Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah face off in this action epic.

Opens Friday, May 31, in wide release.

Ma: Octavia Spencer plays a lonely middle-aged woman who offers her secluded basement to a group of teenagers looking to party. But her motives are anything but honorable. Opens Friday, May 31, in wide release.

Rocketman: Sir Elton John’s early professional years are brought to the big screen in this musical biopic starring Taron Egerton as the piano-playing icon. Opens Friday, May 31, in wide release.

Sauvage / Wild: A gay prostitute in Paris tries to survive on the streets as his body and mind begin to break down in this sexually graphic drama. Opens Friday, May 31, at Landmark Ken Cinema.

The Silence of Others: Family members and friends of those murdered during the four-decade reign of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco form a class action lawsuit against those government officials.

Opens Friday, May 31, at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

The Souvenir: In Joanna Hogg’s 1980sset drama, a young film student becomes romantically involved with an untrustworthy older man. Opens Friday, May 31, at Landmark Hillcrest Cinemas and Angelika Film Centers Carmel Mountain.

The Tomorrow Man: In this modern romantic comedy, an elderly man (John Lithgow) obsessed with the prospect of global collapse meets a woman (Blythe Danner) torn apart by a painful past. Opens Friday, May 31, at Landmark Hillcrest Cinemas, AMC La Jolla Cinemas, and Angelika Film Centers Carmel Mountain.

For complete movie listings, visit Film at sdcitybeat.com.

@SDCITYBEAT

ANDREW PAYNTER

MUSIC

Locals The Mattson 2 take a less-is-more approach and reinvent their sound

By Ben Salmon

Mattson 2 ared and Jonathan Mattson of the San Diegobased psych-jazz band The Mattson 2 are almost as skilled at talking about their brand new album Paradise—out June 7 on Company Records—as they are at playing guitar and drums, respectively. They’re excited about their work and enthusiastic about their craft, but what’s more, they’re experts at effective promotion.

And yet they can’t resist straying from the Paradise-focused message when given the opportunity to look past its release date.

“We already have another record that we’ve finished writing,” Jonathan says. “We’re calling that one Party Jazz. I’m trying to get that out there before somebody else claims it.”

In a lot of interviews, this could be a throwaway line.

But here, it’s indicative of the creative sweet spot the Mattsons have found themselves in. And don’t misunderstand.

The identical twin brothers, who graduated from La Costa Canyon High School in 2004, did not stumble luckily into that sweet spot. It’s a place they’ve worked toward, through lifelong collaboration, intense study, countless hours of live performance and some well-chosen musical projects

@SDCITYBEAT

that improved their technique and rearranged their perspective.

“Paradise is our gateway to open it up and say, ‘OK, here we go. We’re on to something,’” Jared says. “I really believe it’s a crossroads, where we can see our journey starting, in a way.”

Sitting at a crossroads means part of the journey is in the rearview mirror, of course. The brothers started the band in 2003 and released their debut album, Introducing the Mattson 2, in 2009. That same year, they released a collaborative album with California skateboarder (and musician) Ray Barbee. Since then, their catalog includes a surf-jazz album, a collection of Japanese music covers, a couple more col-

laborations (with Toro y Moi’s Chaz Bundick and vocal duo Chocolat & Akito) and a bold, full-album reimagining of John Coltrane’s jazz touchstone, A Love Supreme.

And while each of these projects influenced where the Mattsons have now landed, the biggest one may have been taking on Coltrane and giving A Love Supreme a refreshingly modern (but respectful) makeover.

“We just really wanted to make a jazz record. We wanted to play someone else’s music and do it in our own way to get to a higher level of musical communication,” Jared says.

“As twins, that’s something we thrive on, is the idea of communication and connection. A Love Supreme was an integral, amazing piece in our building of that communication.”

In addition to strengthening the Mattsons’ musical bond, they say reinterpreting A Love Supreme “created new pathways” in their brains, leading them to a heightened understanding of the concept that less-is-more. You can hear their implementation of that concept all over Paradise, which was written, arranged, recorded and mixed entirely by the Mattsons at Jared’s Rancho Santa Fe cabin.

“Paradise is the truest incarnation of who we are as composers and musicians because (if you) listen to our other releases, there’s so many extra musicians, collaborations and other stuff going on,” Jonathan says. “This album is literally just Jared and I, and I think it’s a true representation of us when we’re in our flow state as improvisers and as twin brothers playing music.”

Indeed, a spin through the decade-old Introducing reveals a band that sounds busy trying to get out all its musical ideas in one virtuosic sound-dump. Paradise, on the other hand, is buoyant and breathable, airbrushed with ’70s vibes, and content to find a groove and float ’til sunrise. Its songs are at once laid back and efficient, and built from bulbous bass lines, dreamy guitars, woozy keyboards and, for the first time in the Mattson catalog, vocals.

Anyone who is familiar with Chaz Bundick’s synth-pop work under the name Toro y Moi will recognize the influence he’s had on the Mattson 2’s mellow new grooves, as well.

Besides recording 2017’s Chaz Bundick Meets the Mattson 2: Star Stuff, Bundick has played and toured extensively with the brothers. (Also, Company Records is Bundick’s label.)

“Music doesn’t have to be something that you overthink, that you don’t have to get super stimulated by. You can just pop it on and enjoy it,” Jared says, sounding wide-eyed at the realization. “I think it’s a more mature statement for us to not feel the need to be super virtuosic, but just to have something that people can relate to and resonate with and contextualize with their own stories and their own existence.”

It all sounds a bit highbrow, and it is. But there’s also a very basic element of the human experience at work here, and that’s getting older and growing up and gaining the kind of perspective that only comes with the passage of time.

“I think [our early stuff] sounds the way it does because I don’t think we were comfortable in our own skin yet. I don’t think we had the self-confidence or the world experience to be a self-sufficient entity,” Jared says. “Now, we’ve found this morsel of creativity that we haven’t heard too many people do, and we’re definitely going to further explore and evolve the sonic palette that we developed on Paradise.”

MAY 29, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 21

MUSIC

THE

SPOTLIGHT

NOTES FROM THE SMOKING PATIO

EMMA TILLMAN

JEFF TERICH

LOCALS ONLY

I

n the bar industry, the only constant is change. So it is with City Height’s Til-Two Club (4746 El Cajon Blvd., tiltwoclub. com), which just changed hands again after coming under new ownership in August 2018.

Husband and wife duo Matthew Koken and Delanie Gomes have entered into a partnership with current owner Julie Darling. Darling’s previous partner, Alex Carballo, exited the business relationship after joining in August. Darling and Carballo had previously bought the bar and music venue from Mick Rossler, the owner of Tower Bar. Koken, Gomes and Darling are the sole operating partners of Til-Two Club and are entrusted with the bar’s daily operations. In addition to being brand-new bar owners and operators, Koken is a criminal defense attorney who owns his own firm. Gomes, commonly known by her nickname of Dottie, is a burlesque performer and producer for the Drop Dead Dames.

“On our first date, my husband told me he had always dreamed of owning a bar and music venue,” Gomes says in an interview.

“I have been in the bar industry for a decade, and he has been in the San Diego music scene forever, and this is something we will both enjoy doing together,” she adds.

Gomes explains there are some imminent changes afoot for Til-Two. “The immediate change is to shift the identity of the bar

ALBUM REVIEW Psychic Graveyard Loud As Laughter

(Skin Graft Records)

L

izzy Goodman’s 2017 book, Meet Me In the Bathroom, is an addictive oral history of the rock renaissance that happened between 2000 and 2011, a decade which gave us bands like The Strokes, Interpol and The White Stripes. But the book also spends a good deal of time with the artists of the era who were able to sneak strange/subversive/weirdo art into the mainstream. It’s kind of mindblowing that acts like Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars and TV on the Radio got as big as they did, given their experimental tendencies.

Even though that sort of musical strangeness has crept back into the underground (at least in rock), Psychic Graveyard’s Loud As Laughter is an awesome throwback to that mid-2000s noise art-punk.

The new band is the result of a collaboration between Eric Paul and Paul Vieira from Rhode Island noise rock band The Chinese Stars, and Nathan Joyner—formerly a member of San

22 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 29, 2019

Father John Misty

Til-Two Club back to what it has been for decades, which is a bar and venue for rock and roll music in many different variations. The venue [will be] supportive of all music, but a focus will be placed on great rock and roll,” says Gomes, who also plans on upping the quality of the liquor served while keeping prices the same.

“The long term vision for the bar is to remain and maintain a historic San Diego landmark,” Gomes says of Til-Two’s future.

“We pride ourselves on providing a quality bar experience as well as improving the venue as a staple in the San Diego music scene, which it was back when Mick, owner of Tower Bar, owned it.”

—Jackie Bryant

Diego hardcore band Some Girls. Together, they bring a rich pedigree of experimentation to the table, and those of us who hunger for provocative music are in for a feast.

Loud as Laughter is a compelling and nightmarish approximation of dance music. It often sounds as if a robot was programmed to create music by given the terms “beats,” “bass” and “sexiness.”

The ingredients are there, but in unnerving quantities. Atonal guitars act as sirens, screeching over throbbing bass lines that hit right in the gut. Petulant, abrasive and violent lyrics push the music further into Lynchian territory. I felt like I needed a bath after listening to “The Night,” wherein Paul sneers, “I’m chewing off your limbs because...” He never gives the listener a reason.

Basically, every song feels demonic invocation, but there’s a pitch-black vein of humor that runs through the album and keeps it from feeling pretentious. “Sleeps With Knives,” for example, begins: “Your kid is a school shooter in the making/ He has that right-wing look in his eye.” All the listener can do is laugh to keep from shuddering.

This sort of darkness is not for everyone, but for those who miss smart, scary bands like Blood Brothers, Kill Me Tomorrow or Beep Beep, this is a nice treat.

I

t seems Josh Tillman (aka Father John Misty) has an uncanny ability to release a new record just as something monumental or cathartic is occurring in my own life. I would never think myself so important that there’s some kind of cosmic rhyme or reason to this, but I do find it to be curious. In the end, his albums have become deeply beloved by me; something like impeccably timed soundtracks to instances of change and catharsis.

In 2012, Tillman—who had previously written eight albums under his birth name—released his debut Misty record, Fear Fun, a devastatingly succinct mix of country-folk and rock that helped me survive the ups-and-downs of an abusive relationship that eventually ended. Misty’s soaring tribute to the experience of falling in love with his wife (2015’s I Love You, Honeybear) served as the score for my own joys in falling in love again. And the ballads of Pure Comedy, released shortly after the devastating 2016 election, provided relief in a time that seem riddled in sorrow and paranoia.

Last year’s God’s Favorite Customer came out at another precarious time for me, but I won’t go into that here. Filled with speculative lyrics about the state of Misty’s sobriety, marital status and overall state of mind, that record taught me that sometimes we don’t need to address all of life’s devastating moments head-on. Despite Misty’s extreme earnestness, his best songs are always the ones that are tied to the times in which we first heard them. And if we are better people now than we were then, wouldn’t that also mean that all of those memories are good memories?

Father John Misty and Jason Isbell play Thursday, June 6 at Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre.

—Seth Combs

—Ryan Bradford

@SDCITYBEAT

MUSIC

IF I WERE U

BY CITYBEAT STAFF

Our picks for the week’s top shows

WEDNESDAY, MAY 29

PLAN A: The Undertones, Mrs. Magician, The Widows @ The Casbah. It’s pretty damn amazing that these first-wave punkers are playing The Casbah since they actually got their start in a club in Derry, Northern Ireland called—wait for it—The Casbah!

Their 1978 single, “Teenage Kicks,” remains one of the best punk songs ever. PLAN B: The Hives, Refused, Bleached @ The Observatory North Park. Hopefully readers caught Ryan Bradford’s loving tribute to Refused’s 1998 masterpiece, The Shape of Punk to Come, in last week’s issue. That record is still ridiculously mind-blowing, as is The Hives’ Veni Vidi Viscous. BACKUP PLAN: Holy Wave, Heavy Hawaii @ Whistle Stop.

THURSDAY, MAY 30

PLAN A: Young M.A @ SOMA. With her visceral lyrics and an effortless flow, Brooklyn’s Young M.A might be one of the best, and most underrated MCs in the game. Plus, she regularly scorches homophobic rappers on social media. Check out tracks such as “EAT” and “OOOUUU” to see what you’ve been missing out on. PLAN B: Helms Alee, Deep Sea Thunder Beast, Ether Feather @ The Casbah. For over 10 years, Seattle rockers Helms Alee have been all about crafting anthemic jams that brilliantly incorporate elements of post-hardcore, math-metal and even psych-rock. Their live shows are monumental. BACKUP PLAN: Sights and Sages, Burlap the Sac, Imagery Machine @ Belly Up Tavern.

BACKUP PLAN: The Creepy Creeps, The Two Tens, Scary Pierre, Mostly Sunny @ The Casbah.

SUNDAY, JUNE 2

PLAN A: J.I.D, SABA, Mereba, Deante Hitchcock @ SOMA. What on earth? Two SOMA Plan As this week? Yep. Atlanta rapper J.I.D made one of our favorite albums of 2017 (The Never Story), with bangers like “Never” and tender tracks like “Hereditary.”

And show up early for the opening acts, particularly Mereba, the L.A.-based R&B singer who deserves way more attention. PLAN B: Slow Caves, Mighty, Bad Kids @ Soda Bar. We love Colorado trio Slow Caves for their perfectly crafted indie-pop songs that should appeal to fans of Matthew Sweet and Sloan. Their new single, “Girlfriend,” should already be a hipster summer anthem. BACKUP PLAN: Full of Hell, Primitive Man, Genocide Pact, OhCult @ Brick by Brick.

ANDREW BOYLE

FRIDAY, MAY 31

PLAN A: Author & Punisher, Xasthur, Wear Your Wounds @ The Casbah. Regular readers already know we love us some Author & Punisher, the one-man/one-machine metal project from local Tristan Shone.

The fact that Wear Your Wounds—the experimental metal side-project of Converge founder Jacob Bannon—is opening the night only adds to the fact that this is a can’t-miss show. BACKUP PLAN: Gnash, Anna Clendening @ The Irenic.

SATURDAY, JUNE 1

PLAN A, PART 1: Art Around Adams @ various venues. The annual fest is packed with a ton of great bands playing in venues all along Adams Avenue. Plus, it’s during the day which leaves plenty of time to get to…

PLAN A, PART 2: Blessed, Exasperation, and Trax Vexler @ San Diego Content Partners. It’d be easy to dismiss Canadian quintet Blessed as just another post-punk band with a snarky frontman. But give their new album, Salt, some time to marinate. After a few listens, there is subtle nuance and impressive experimentation to be found.

@SDCITYBEAT

Young M.A

MONDAY, JUNE 3

PLAN A: Winnetka Bowling League, Feelers @ Soda Bar. San Fernando Valley indiepopsters Winnetka Bowling League’s new single, “On the 5,” just may be the greatest California-centric breakup jam in years. The group’s frontman, Matthew Koma, is already a Grammy winner known for working with EDM artists, so there’s a pedigree here that makes us think these guys will be huge this time next year. BACKUP PLAN: Redbush @ Tower Bar.

TUESDAY, JUNE 4

PLAN A: Sweetie Darling, The Fresh Brunettes @ Soda Bar. The all-women Imperial Valley trio Sweetie Darling make lowkey indie pop that’s infectious and sounds fun even when the subject matter gets serious like on the track “Love/Lies.” BACKUP PLAN: Toad the Wet Sprocket, Peter More @ Belly Up Tavern.

MAY 29, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 23

MUSIC

CONCERTS HOT! NEW! FRESH!

Bayfest Afterparty w/ Don Carlos (Music Box, 6/1), Floodflower (Casbah, 6/2), The Shane Shipley Band (BUT, 6/6), WidowMade (Casbah, 6/12), Larry Dunn (Music Box, 6/21), Jon Walker (Soda Bar, 6/25), Gasolina Party (HOB, 6/29), Secret Fun Club (Casbah, 7/9), Vince DiCola (Brick By Brick, 7/18), Party Nails (Casbah, 7/23), Chrome Waves (Brick By Brick, 8/4), Orville Peck (Casbah, 8/15), Hawthorne Heights (The Irenic, 8/18), Rotting Christ (Brick By Brick, 8/19), Kyle Craft & Showboat Honey (Casbah, 8/22), Leoni Torres (HOB, 8/23), Tessa Violet (HOB, 9/4), Don Broco (The Irenic, 9/27), Disentomb (Brick By Brick, 10/13), Black Flag (HOB, 12/5).

CANCELLED Ozzy Osbourne (North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, 7/23).

GET YER TICKETS FIDLAR (Observatory, 5/30), gnash (The Irenic, 5/31), Bryce Vine (Pechanga Arena, 5/31), Brad Paisley (North Island Credit Union Ampitheatre, 6/1), Jennifer Lopez (Pechanga Arena, 6/10), Toby Keith (Del Mar Fairgrounds, 6/14), Rebelution (North County Credit Union Amphitheatre, 6/15), Rob Thomas (Humphreys, 6/20), Khalid (Pechanga Arena, 6/23), Aly & AJ (Observatory, 6/25), Priests (Soda Bar, 6/26), Pouya (HOB, 7/23), Blink-182, Lil Wayne (North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, 8/7), Carrie Underwood (Pechanga Arena, 9/10), The Who (Viejas Arena, 10/16), Judah & The Lion (Observatory, 10/17), Hozier (Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre, 10/26).

ALL SOLD OUT Dennis Quaid and The Sharks (BUT, 6/1), Connan Mockasin (Casbah, 6/3), Bob Saget (HOB, 6/8), Oh Sees (BUT, 6/14), Local Natives (Observatory, 6/19), Jamestown Revival (BUT, 6/19), John Hiatt (BUT, 6/25), Sticky Fingers (HOB, 6/30), The Struts (Observatory, 7/12), Billie Eilish (Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre, 7/13), The Psychedelic Furs (Observatory, 8/6), Death Cab For Cutie (Observatory, 8/9-10), David Grisman (BUT, 8/29), The Marshall Tucker Band (BUT, 9/12), Jonas Brothers (Pechanga Arena, 10/7), Mike Watt & The Missingmen (Casbah, 11/2), Two Door Cinema Club (Observatory, 11/8).

MAY WEDNESDAY, MAY 29 The Undertones at The Casbah. The Hives at Observatory North Park. Freddie McGregor at Belly Up Tavern. Elle King at House of Blues. THICK at Soda Bar. Radkey at Brick By Brick.

THURSDAY, MAY 30 Sego at Soda Bar. Helms Alee at The Casbah. Field Medic at Ché Café Collective. FIDLAR at Observatory North Park.

Sights and Sages at Belly Up Tavern.

Prong at Brick By Brick. The Specials at House of Blues.

24 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 29, 2019

FRIDAY, MAY 31 Justin Moore at Del Mar Fairgrounds. Impending Doom at Brick By Brick. Wear Your Wounds at The Casbah. BETAMAXX at Music Box. Bryce Vine at Pechanga Arena. Kidz Bop Kids at Cal Coast Credit Union Amphitheatre. Royal Thunder at SPACE. Channel 93.3 Summer Kick Off at Pechanga Arena. Red Not Chili Peppers at Belly Up Tavern. Branches at Soda Bar. George Benson at Humphreys. The Specials at House of Blues.

SATURDAY, JUNE 1 Knuckle Puck at Observatory North Park.

Brad Paisley at North Island Credit Union Ampitheatre. Esham at Brick By Brick.

Snarky Puppy at House of Blues. Dani Bell & The Tarantist at Soda Bar. Nikka Costa at Humphrey’s. The Creepy Creeps at The Casbah. Bayfest Afterparty w/ Don Carlos at Music Box.

SUNDAY, JUNE 2 Young Dubliners at Belly Up Tavern. JID at SOMA. Fonseca at House of Blues.

Full of Hell at Brick By Brick. Slow Caves at Soda Bar. Floodflower at The Casbah.

MONDAY, JUNE 3 Winnetka Bowling League at Soda Bar.

TUESDAY, JUNE 4 Toad the Wet Sprocket at Belly Up Tavern. Jonny Tarr Quartet at The Casbah.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5 Spiral Stairs at Soda Bar. Toad the Wet Sprocket at Belly Up Tavern. Skints at The Casbah. Siddhartha at House Of Blues.

THURSDAY, JUNE 6 The Wild Reeds at The Casbah. Father John Misty at Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre. Jackie Greene at Observatory North Park. Pleasure Fix at Soda Bar. CHALI 2NA & The House of Vibe at Music Box.

FRIDAY, JUNE 7 Sebadoh at The Casbah. Hillsong UNITED at Viejas Arena at SDSU. TTNG at The Irenic. Mac Sabbath at Soda Bar. Inner Wave at Observatory North Park. Random Rab at Music Box. Mykal Rose at Belly Up Tavern. Spirit of the Beehive at Ché Café Collective. Vini Vini at House of Blues.

SATURDAY, JUNE 8 Taken by Canadians at The Casbah.

Dirty Dozen Brass Band at Music Box. Patty Griffin at Belly Up Tavern. together PANGEA at The Irenic. Los Enanitos Verdes at Viejas Arena at SDSU. Death Cab For Karaoke at Soda Bar. Avolution Fest After Party at Music Box.

SUNDAY, JUNE 9 C.J. Ramone at Soda Bar. Black Joe Lewis at The Casbah. Rufus Wainwright at Belly Up Tavern. For King and Country at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre.

Blessthefall at SOMA. Pepe Aguilar at Pechanga Arena. Lecherous Nocturne at SPACE. The Ataris at Brick By Brick.

Bad Religion at Observatory North Park.

Rich The Kid at House of Blues.

TUESDAY, JUNE 11 Babe Rainbow at The Casbah. Sadistik at Soda Bar. Merchants at Brick By Brick.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12 Big Brother and the Holding Company at Del Mar Fairgrounds. John Paul White at Belly Up Tavern. Plague Vendor at Music Box. Jake Owen at Del Mar Fairgrounds. WidowMade at The Casbah.

THURSDAY, JUNE 13 Dizzy Wright at House of Blues.

Creedence Clearwater Revisited at Del Mar Fairgounds. RVG at Soda Bar. The Weight Band at Belly Up Tavern.

FRIDAY, JUNE 14 Operators at The Casbah. Toby Keith at Del Mar Fairgrounds. Parachute at House of Blues. No Vacation at The Irenic. Flotsam & Jetsam at Brick By Brick. Pile at Soda Bar. Train at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre.

SATURDAY, JUNE 15 Rebelution at North County Credit Union Amphitheatre. Smokey Robinson at Del Mar Fairgrounds. Frenship at Music Box. My Life With the Thrill Kill Kut at Brick By Brick. Vincent at Soda Bar. Diane Coffee at The Casbah. Mustache Harbor at Belly Up Tavern. Eric Burdon & The Animals at Humphreys. Chris Webby at House of Blues.

MONDAY, JUNE 10 Kid Congo at The Casbah. Jennifer Lopez at Pechanga Arena. SOURCE at Soda Bar.

MUSIC CONTINUED ON PAGE 25

@SDCITYBEAT

BY CHRISTIN BAILEY

MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 24 SUNDAY, JUNE 16 Blue October at Observatory North Park.

The Felice Brothers at The Casbah. The Holdup at Soda Bar. Greg Douglass at Belly Up Tavern. New Years Day at Brick

By Brick. Anberlin at House of Blues.

MONDAY, JUNE 17 Lucinda Williams & Buick 6 at Belly Up Tavern. Dark Alley Dogs at Soda Bar. Drug Apts at The Casbah.

TUESDAY, JUNE 18 Jamila Woods at The Casbah. Lucinda Williams & Buick 6 at Belly Up Tavern.

Be Mine Phantom Valentine at Soda Bar.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19 Slingshot Dakota at Soda Bar. Alanis Morissette at Humphreys. James Supercave at The Casbah. PUP at Music Box.

THURSDAY, JUNE 20 Rob Thomas at Humphreys. The Mattson 2 at Belly Up Tavern. Katie Toupin at Soda Bar. BAILEN at The Casbah. Eric B. & Rakim at House of Blues.

rCLUBSr

710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave., Pacific Beach. Wed: Open Mic. Thu: ‘Bringing Back Rock ‘N’ Roll’. Fri: For Peace Band, The Elovators, Swells. Sat: ‘Paging The ‘90s’. Sun: Karaoke. Tue: Martyrs for Mayhem, Jam Packed.

@SDCITYBEAT

Air Conditioned Lounge, 4673 30th St., Normal Heights. Wed: ‘#HipHopWeds’.

Thu: Jonathon Lestat. Fri: ‘House Music Fridays’. Sat: ‘JUICY’. Sun: Jamison Yergler. Mon: ‘Organized Grime’. Tue: ‘Deep House Central’.

ASTROLOGICALLY UNSOUND Weekly forecasts from the so-called universe

American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., Downtown. Wed: Industry Comedy Show. Thu: Chris Distefano. Fri: Chris Distefano. Sat: Chris Distefano. Sun: Michael Rapaport. Tue: Open Mic.

ARIES (March 21 - April 19): You can achieve your goals one of two ways: either you incrementally work toward them or you wake up suddenly as an adult-aged person because you made a wish to a sorcerer.

The Bancroft, 9143 Campo Road, Spring Valley. Wed: Karaoke. Thu: OrchidxMantis. Sat: Billyclub, Friends of Cesar Romero, Failing Up, War Fever, Poor. Sun: I-Artifact. Mon: Trivia. Tue: Karaoke.

TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): Imagine, for a moment, that you have never seen nor known about a hedgehog. Then suddenly a hedgehog runs out from the bushes in front of you. That is how this week will feel.

Bang Bang, 526 Market St., Downtown.

Fri: Latmun.

Bar Pink, 3829 30th St., North Park. Wed: DJ Brian Campbell. Thu: DJ Rat. Fri: The Kabbs, Demaisiado.

Beaumont’s, 5665 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla. Thu: Gary Flick. Fri: Born Fighters.

Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. Wed: Freddie McGregor & The Big Ship Band, Judah Eskender Tafari. Thu: Sights and Sages, Burlap the Sac, Imagery Machine. Fri: Red Not Chili Peppers, No Duh, Pearl Jammed.

Sat: Dennis Quaid & The Sharks, Hamish Anderson (sold out). Sun: Young Dubliners, Ryan Hiller Trio. Tue: Toad the Wet Sprocket, Peter More.

Black Cat Bar, 4246 University Ave., City Heights. Fri: The Downs Family, Babydoll Warriors.

MUSIC CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

LIBRA (September 23 - October 22):

You cannot rely on your own instincts.

You must also give equal credence to the warning signs that say, “Turn back, falling rocks!”

SCORPIO (October 23 - November 21): If you do not practice humility then

you are setting yourself up for a lifetime of humiliated overreactions every time you are outsmarted by various sea birds.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 - December 21): Like they say, “practice makes

GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): Being curious is neutral but how you satisfy these curiosities is not necessarily neutral to others. After all, sharks examine the world around them by using their razor sharp teeth.

perfect.” Well not exactly perfect. Never perfect. You’ll be pretty good most of the time or at least better than if you didn’t practice, well… slightly.

CANCER (June 21 - July 22): This week you may be blindsided, challenged and betrayed by those closest to you: your electronic devices.

looking for has been in front of you all along, like looking for your glasses while you can’t see because you’re not wearing your glasses.

LEO (July 23 - August 22): Stop talking about how the things you learned in school turned out to be absolutely useless and start reintegrating the word “hypotenuse” into your vocabulary.

VIRGO (August 23 - September 22): Every day presents the opportunity to become a better version of yourself.

The only barrier is whether you are brave enough to get the Friar Tuck haircut.

CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 19): You will find that what you’ve been

AQUARIUS (January 20 - February 18): Sometimes not getting what you want

can turn out to be a blessing in disguise, although, not usually for the people around you who have to deal with the griping.

PISCES (February 19 - March 20):

The average person spends two weeks of their life trying on sunglasses so you can just get it all out of the way by trying all of them on at once.

Astrologically Unsound appears every week. Follow Christin Bailey on Twitter at @hexprax.

MAY 29, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 25

MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25

Sat: Nikka Costa. Sun: Psydecar. Mon: Michele Lundeen. Tue: Billy Watson.

OMNIA Nightclub, 454 Sixth Ave., Downtown. Fri: Gryffin.

Blonde, 1808 W. Washington St., Mission Hills. Wed: ‘Dance Klassique’. Thu: Mr. Wright & Crew. Fri: ‘WE ARE YR FRIENDS’. Sat: ‘Just Like Heaven ‘80s New Wave Dance Party’. Sun: ‘The Misfits Night’. Mon: ‘The Cure Nite’.

The Irenic, 3090 Polk Ave., North Park.

Fri: Gnash.

Panama 66, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park.

Wed: ‘The Wednesday Jam Session’.

Thu: Shuffle & Bang. Fri: Dave Gleason Trio. Sat: Erika Davies. Sun: Uptown Rhythm Makers.

Boar Cross’n, 390 Grand Ave., Carlsbad.

Sat: Big Dude.

Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave., Bay Park. Wed: Radkey. Thu: Prong. Fri: Impending Doom. Sat: Esham. Sun: Full of Hell.

The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd., Midtown. Wed: The Undertones, Mrs. Magician, The Widows. Thu: Helms Alee, Deep Sea Thunder Beast, Ether Feather.

Fri: Author & Punisher, Xasthur, Wear Your Wounds. Sat: The Creepy Creeps, The Two tens, Scary Pierre, Mostly Sunny.

Sun: Floodflower, Kenseth Thibideau, The Voices. Mon: Connan Mockasin, Molly Lewis (sold out). Tue: Jonny Tarr Quartet, OrchidxMantis, My Mynd.

Che Cafe, 1000 Scholars Drive S, La Jolla. Thu: Field Medic, Walter Etc., Derek Ted. Sat: Frontside, Rejection Pact, Tourist, Gunpowder, Grosero. Sun: Diya Basrai’s Jokes from College.

F6ix, 526 F St., Downtown. Thu: ‘TakeOver Thursdays’. Fri: Birdy Bird.

Fluxx, 500 Fourth Ave., Downtown. Fri: DJ Romeo.

House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., Downtown. Wed: Elle King. Thu: The Specials.

Fri: The Specials. Sat: Snarky Pup. Sun: Fonseca.

Humphreys Backstage, 2241 Shelter Island Drive, Shelter Island. Wed: Clapton Hook. Thu: DJ Chuck. Fri: Viva Santana.

26 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 29, 2019

Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd., Midtown. Thu: ‘Fuego’. Fri: ‘The Fresh & Funky Function’. Sun: Willscape.

Kensington Club, 4079 Adams Ave., Kensington. Sat: Moonsugar, Beberage, Wizard.

Lestat’s Coffee House, 3343 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Mon: Open Mic. Tue: Comedy Night.

Loft @ UCSD, Price Center East, La Jolla.

Sat: PINK $OCK. Mc P’s Irish Pub, 1107 Orange Ave., Coronado. Wed: Sophisticats. Thu: Josie Day Band. Fri: Mystique.

Martinis Above Fourth, 3940 Fourth Ave., Hillcrest. Thu: Sutton Lee Seymour.

The Merrow, 1271 University Ave., Hillcrest. Thu: The Reveliers, Hurricane Kate, Corea Blue. Fri: ‘Best Night Ever’. Sat: ‘Bear Night’. Sun: ‘Burlesque Sunday Tease’. Mon: ‘Playground Monday Night Dance Party’.

Mother’s Saloon, 2228 Bacon St., Ocean Beach. Tue: Trivia.

Mr. Peabody’s, 136 Encinitas Blvd., Encinitas. Thu: Ted Matzen. Fri: Tower 7.

Sat: Rus Ramo Trio. Sun: Tony Ortega Jazz Jam. Mon: Open Mic. Tue: Karaoke.

Music Box, 1337 India St., Little Italy. Fri: BETAMAXX, ‘80s Underground, Mockery.

Sat: Don Carlos, Boostive.

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

Wed: Van Halen Under Cover. Thu: ‘Dig Deeper’. Sat: ‘Strictly Business’. Sun: Tribe of Kings. Mon: ‘Motown on Mondays’. Tue: ‘Night Shift in The Office’.

Parq, 615 Broadway, Downtown. Fri: Direct. Sat: Benzi.

Proud Mary’s, 5550 Kearny Mesa Road, Kearny Mesa. Wed: Whitney Shay. Thu: Tomcat Courtney. Fri: Chet Cannon.

The Rail, 3796 Fifth Ave., Hillcrest. Thu: ‘Country Dance’. Fri: ‘High Freakquency’.

Sat: City Royals Summer Kick Off. Rich’s, 1051 University Ave., Hillcrest.

Wed: Mischief with Bianca’. Thu: ‘#LEZ’.

Fri: ‘Electro-POP!’.

Riviera Supper Club, 7777 University Ave., La Mesa. Wed: ‘Boss Jazz’. Thu: Rebekkah Darling. Fri: Black Market 111.

Sun: Blue Largo.

Rosie O’Gradys, 3402 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Wed: Digital Lizards of Doom. Thu: DJ Dunekat. Fri: Nightbloom.

Sat: Sangre. Mon: ‘Jazz Jam’.

Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Wed: THICK, The Groans, Lunar Hand. Thu: Sego, Systems Officer, Exasperation. Fri: Branches, Rorre, Brolly. Sat: Dani Bell & The Tarantist, Small Culture, Downers. Sun: Slow Caves, Mighty, Bad Kids. Mon: Winnetka Bowling League, Feelers. Tue: Sweetie Darling, The Fresh Brunettes, Chutes, The Fazes.

SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd., Midway.

Thu: Young M.A. Sun: J.I.D. SPACE, 3519 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights.

Fri: Royal Thunder. Mon: Plastic Cactus, BluNites, Chutes. Tue: Karaoke.

Spin, 2028 Hancock St., Midtown. Fri: Sam Binga, Flite. Sat: Solarstone. Sun: ‘Rooftop Roots’.

Sycamore Den, 3391 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Wed: Paul Gregg. Thu: ‘Burlesque Boogie Nights’. Tue: Trivia.

Til-Two Club, 4746 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Sun: ‘PANTS Karaoke!’.

Tin Roof, 401 G St., Downtown. Wed: ‘The Corner’. Thu: Corey Gray & Jake Coco. Fri: DJ Demon. Sat: Boone & Kiel.

Tio Leo’s, 5302 Napa St., Bay Park. Wed: The Jazz Pockets. Thu: Len Rainey & The Midnight Players. Fri: Big Time Operator Orchestra. Sat: Full Strength Funk Band.

Mon: ‘Sexy Salsa & Sensual Bachata’.

Tue: Sue Palmer Quintet.

Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave., City Heights. Wed: Nervous Defects, San Pedro El Cortez, Stalins of Sound. Thu: Fulci, Accidentally Murdered, Visceral Carnage. Fri: Bonecrusher, Gross Polluter, Dead On The Wire, Slaughter Boys. Sat: Midnight Track, Delma, Hellfire Blackout, Cunt Punch. Sun: Francis Roberts, Spacewizardinspace, Vandalorum. Mon: Redbush.

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

Wed: DJ Freeman. Thu: ‘BoomBox Thursdays’. Fri: DJ Dlo. Sat: DJ Freeman. Sun: Kush. Mon: ‘#31 Flavors’.

Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St., South Park.

Wed: Holy Wave, Heavy Hawaii. Thu: VAMP. Fri: ‘Black Friday’. Sat: ‘80s vs ‘90s Dance Party’.

Winstons, 1921 Bacon St., Ocean Beach.

Wed: ‘Club Kingston’. Thu: Stig. Fri: Brothers Gow. Sat: Elektric Voodoo, Here Lies Man. Sun: Karaoke. Mon: Electric Waste Band. Tue: Lucier, Clean Cut Hippes, Samer, Woody & Sunshine.

@SDCITYBEAT

BY LARA MCCAFFREY

IN THE BACK

CannaBeat

Call the nurse

s consumers become increasingly interested in using medicinal cannabis, the medical world is also increasingly more curious about the plants’ benefits. Since cannabis-as-medicine isn’t taught in medical school, some San Diegobased nurses are taking it upon themselves to educate medical professionals on their patients’ cannabis usage.

“Medical professionals are now starting to understand that, with legalization, not only are medical patients using cannabis, but now all adults have access to it,” says Heather Manus, nurse and founding member of the Cannabis Nurses Network (CNN). “It's driven us to understand more about how and why people are using this medicine and how we can assist medically.”

Established in 2015, CNN (cannabisnursesnetwork.com) is a nursing and professional development organization that provides cannabis-related opportunities, education and recognition. They also advocate on behalf of nurses and patients interested in medical cannabis.

Recently, CNN launched its first online continuing education class called “Rooted

@SDCITYBEAT

in Science, Nourished by Knowledge.” Manus says that the class was put together from content, audio and video from the Cannabis Nurses Network’s annual conference in March. The class covers everything from the endocannabinoid system to cannabis industry insights, but Manus says there’s a focus on how cannabis can treat pain, opioid dependency, addiction and its usage in end-of-life care. The 10hour program is $250 for the entire class but individual lessons can be purchased as well.

Since cannabis isn’t taught formally in medical programs, Manus says it often comes down to medical professionals researching the plant on their own.

“There's a lot of research that's out there,” says Manus “There's also medical conferences that are now including cannabis and cannabinoid information in those continued education opportunities. It really comes down to the individual seeking that information. It's not really being imposed or organized quite yet by the doctors in that way.”

Elisabeth Mack, a registered nurse and director of clinical operations at medical cannabis company True Farma, has also put together an educational course for

CANNABIS NURSES NETWORK

Heather Manus in “Rooted in Science, Nourished by Knowledge” medical professional through her nursing organization, Holistic Caring. Unlike CNN’s course, “Cannabis as Medicine 101” is taught live or through webinars. She says she’s working on getting it converted to an online class as well.

Beginning with the history of cannabis as medicine, Mack’s class covers why cannabis works as medicine, and also covers dosing and more. One of the lessons Mack considers most important is the history of how cannabis became prohibited with the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937.

“When we lost access to [cannabis] as a supplement, we lost how to utilize it for almost 100 years because of prohibition,” says Mack. “I want people to understand

that it is not a dangerous substance when used properly.”

With True Farma, she’s working on another program with medical clinic Radicle Health in Walnut Creek, California.

Mack says that the medical community is curious about cannabis but needs that extra push to seek out education.

“They don't know [about medicinal cannabis] because this is not taught in any medical schools,” says Mack. “You have to tell them why it works and, and how it works and the different modes of administration. So it's a long cycle of education that needs to go to these clinicians."

CannaBeat appears every other week.

MAY 29, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 27