San Diego CityBeat • May 30, 2018

2 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 30, 2018

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UP FRONT | FROM THE EDITOR

A challenge to readers from a formerly ignorant voter

B

y the time our next issue hits stands, voters will have already made their voices heard in the first major election since November 2016. I don’t think I need to point out the significance of that particular election, or what it had meant to progressive voters at the time, but as I write this I can’t help but feel the same uneasiness that I did in the early morning hours of Nov. 8.

I was one of the few people who wasn’t surprised when Trump was elected, but since that election, I’ve been buoyed and inspired by the emergence of movements like Indivisible. However, regular readers of this space will remember that I’ve also been skeptical about the staying power of such movements.

Anyone remember Occupy Wall Street? Heard about a Tea Party rally lately?

I don’t want to downplay the important work of the Indivisible movement.

There are literally thousands of people who are now much more engaged and educated thanks to the group’s efforts.

But even with the emergence of these grassroots organizations, the emphasis is still primarily focused on national and state elections. The constant bombardment of social media posts about the shitshow in the White House mostly only serve to vindicate and validate our opinions. Meanwhile, important local elections have taken a backseat to national races that, while important, will likely not have as big of a daily impact as, say, who voters elect as their next city councilmember or who the superintendent of their child’s school district will be.

I get it. We’re just spread too thin to care about every single candidate and every single issue. Primary elections can be particularly overwhelming considering the sheer amount of candidates on the ballot. Middle and lowermiddle-class voters are often too busy just trying to survive or provide for their families to research every single candidate and ballot measure. It’s much easier to simply check the name of the incumbent or vote for the person whose name we recognize.

I’ve been guilty of doing this myself. I’ve let life get in the way of doing my due diligence when it came to the candidates and just checked the name of the Democrat. In the past, I’ve likely helped elect people or reelect incumbents who didn’t deserve my vote.

I do not feel good about this, but it is what it is and I will not make that mistake again.

My point is that while I’d like to think that CityBeat readers are a woke and politically active bunch, the above description of myself could very well be describing the average voter. A recent University of Virginia study found that 30 percent of voters failed to complete their ballots in 2016, and most of those blank bubbles were for down-ballot races for local offices and seats.

And while we have made our own recommendations and endorsements in the last issue, I’d like to issue the following challenge to voters: If you know someone who seems a little too hyper-focused on national politics, slide into their DMs or reply to their tweets this week and ask them how they’re feeling about a candidate down the ballot. Better yet, do it in person. Whether it’s the County Board of Supervisors race or the judge of the Superior Court, it’s likely we all know someone who could stand to have a conversation about one of the lesser-known races. If they don’t know about it, then engage with them. Send them a couple links you found to be useful.

Local races aren’t glamorous, but they are crucial. The world is filled with enough social media trolls and political disinformation (often served up on cable TV that has no vested interest in the day-to-day issues affecting San Diego County). Actually having a discussion with a friend about local politics can serve as something that makes all the difference. Even if that conversation turns into a heated debate, your friendship will be better for it. And so will democracy.

—Seth Combs Write to seth.combs@sdcitybeat.com

This issue of CityBeat is taking a knee. Go ahead and fine it.

Volume 15 • Issue 41 EDITOR Seth Combs MUSIC EDITOR Jeff Terich WEB EDITOR Ryan Bradford ART DIRECTOR Carolyn Ramos ASSOCIATE EDITOR Torrey Bailey COLUMNISTS Aaryn Belfer, Edwin Decker John R. Lamb, Rhonda “Ro” Moore, Alex Zaragoza

CONTRIBUTORS Christin Bailey, David L. Coddon, Beth Demmon, Rachel Michelle Fernandes, Michael A. Gardiner, Glenn Heath Jr., Lizz Huerta, Davey Landeros, Lara McCaffrey Scott McDonald, Jim Ruland, Ben Salmon, Jen Van Tieghem, Amy Wallen, Ian Ward EDITORIAL INTERNS Tigist Layne PRODUCTION MANAGER Tristan Whitehouse MULTIMEDIA ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Paulina Porter-Tapia

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Jason Noble ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES RIchard Diaz, Beau Odom CONTROLLER Kacie Cobian ACCOUNTING Perla Castillo, David Garcia Linda Lam, Yiyang Wang HUMAN RESOURCES Andrea Baker VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS David Comden PUBLISHER Kevin Hellman

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MAY 30, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 3

UP FRONT | LETTERS

THE RIGHT TO VOTE AND THE SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT Aaryn Belfer’s May 21, 2018, article titled “The right to vote” included statements from Laila Aziz about her meeting and in� teractions with San Diego Sheriff’s Depart� ment staff that were inaccurate. Rather than refute Ms. Aziz’s claims one by one, I would prefer to share the truth about what the Sheriff’s Department has been doing to ensure the voting rights of inmates are not infringed upon. For the last several months we have been diligently working to engage inmates and provide them an opportunity to register to vote. Due to the high visibility of this project, we have made every effort to engage the inmates in person. In addition, an Inmate Orientation video containing voter registration information is played on a daily basis, and individual flyers with eligi� bility information have been made available to all inmates. As of the May 21st deadline, hundreds of inmates completed voter regis� tration cards and were delivered to the Reg� istrar of Voters. Any inmate who expressed interest had an opportunity to complete a voter registration card. The Sheriff’s Depart� ment will continue to work with the Regis� trar of Voters office to ensure all those who are eligible to vote have the opportunity to do so while in our custody.

John Ingrassia, Assistant Sheriff San Diego County Sheriff’s Department Kearny Mesa

[Edit note: We responded to this email to ask Ingrassia about the “inaccurate” statements, specifically mentioning that, if true, we would need to run a correction. He emailed back to say that Ms. Aziz’s recollection of the conversation was inaccurate, but didn’t offer specifics. He went on to add that “the bottom line is I did say I am not willing to have her group come into the secured portions of the jails for the purpose of voter registration at this time,” but that they do allow every inmate requesting to register to vote to do so. He also added, “staffing resources would have to be allocated to provide security for the volunteers while they performed their duties.” We reached out to columnist Aaryn Belfer and Ms. Aziz as well. The latter sent this response, which has been edited for space]

4 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 30, 2018

During the meeting on May 2, Mr. Ingras� sia’s staff did not have a firm understanding of voter eligibility and expressed that the secretary of state’s website detailing eligi� bility was confusing. I advised his staff that we are trained in voter eligibility, including eligible voters with criminal convictions and/or housed in county jails. Their biggest area of confusion seemed to be regarding the “currently serving a state prison felony sen� tence in a county jail or other correctional facility.” If the sheriff’s department is con� fused with the law how can they outreach to eligible voters? Mr. Ingrassia and his staff gave numerous reasons on why we could not register voters including: · They did not want 4,000 votes all of a sudden coming out of nowhere · They did not have the staffing required to ensure an impartial registration ·����������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������� They would not be able to clear individ� uals for at least two months · Trained individuals who were already cleared could not register eligible voters.

The reasoning was, they do not let their edu� cational teachers teach yoga.

This is why the election code provides for individuals and organizations to regis� ter voters anywhere in the county. Pillars and other organizations are specialist and actively educate and register voters from historically disadvantaged communities. We are trained to ensure accessibility, a funda� mental requirement to voting; what are the sheriff’s policies to ensure eligible voters with disabilities have accessibility?

The sheriff’s policy in itself is dismal at best and is constructed to limit voter reg� istration.

Mr. Ingrassia is stating that staffing would prohibit him from allowing volun� teers to educate and register eligible voters.

What steps did his office take to ensure every single voter was educated? I advised Mr. In� grassia during our meeting that a PSA was a good practice, but would still leave hundreds if not thousands of eligible voters confused on the requirements. The PSA enhances the eligibility information needed but does not overcome the best practice for voter regis� tration, face-to-face education.

I would encourage Mr. Ingrassia to look at the dates of the voter registrations and compare them to when volunteers diligently sent emails to every single inmate who may have been eligible. We are receiving feed�

back from families and letters from inmates regarding the emails stating the following: “We were not offered voter registration cards” (Vista County Jail) “I got your email, now how do I vote? Do I have to write someone to get an applica� tion?” (Vista County Jail) “We were offered assistance with voter registration right after they called yard, so we had to choose which one to attend.” (Fa� cility 8) “We were suddenly encouraged to vote and given materials, we suspect this oc� curred due to the emails.” (George Bailey Detention Facility) “We were not offered any voter regis� tration cards, are you sure we can vote?”

(George Bailey Detention Facility) We also inquired about the sheriff offer� ing voter registration to citizens who have previously been detained in county jail. The men who were wrongfully detained in coun� ty jail due to penal code 182.5 all stated they had not been offered any voter registration or voter information while in custody.

No one has to vote, but it is a constitu� tional right that eligible voters if they desire are able to register and vote. Felony voter disenfranchisement is confusing; the Sheriff does not have a firm understanding. This in itself leads to unintentional voter suppres� sion. This confusion has led to numerous state bills. The suppression of in custody voting is not limited to San Diego. This issue has reached a pinnacle and we have learned through speaking with other organizers that Assemblymember Gipson has introduced AB 3115 to ensure county sheriffs allow at least one organization into the jails to conduct voter education and voter registration.

The reason for disallowing voter educa� tion and registration in itself seems to be an attempt at voter suppression. It also unfairly disenfranchises entire communities who have higher rates of incarceration. County jail inmates represent groups that have a history of being systematically disenfran� chised.

The sheriff allows volunteers and other outside agencies permission to facilitate groups, activities and religious services.

Voting is a fundamental right and should be given the same access.

This year the sheriff was able to engage more voters due in part to volunteers work� ing diligently to ensure every inmate knew

their right to vote. Imagine if the sheriff would have openly partnered with these volunteers? We as a county knew better and still purposely disenfranchised a significant number of voters. We are asking that the sheriff at least give the inmates the oppor� tunity to say no. It stings knowing we missed hundreds if not thousands of people who would have liked to exercise their 15th and 19thamendment.

Sincerely,

Laila Aziz

ON THE

COVER

This week’s cover features local sound artist Dr. Chris Warren and his sonic installation, the Parabolic Shimmer Engine. Local photographer Paul W. Koester, who has been neighbors with Warren at Space 4 Art for three years, snapped this shot in Balboa Park this past January. “Chris just comes by and knocks on my door, ‘Yo, you wanna do a photo shoot?’” says Koester. “It was a fun shoot of course,” he adds. “Anyone who knows Chris would know he likes to have fun and joke around.” Koester specializes in urban and natural land� scape photography, but also experi� ments with sculpting, painting and il� lustration. His portfolio can be found online at artist-perspective.com or on Instagram at @paulwkoester.

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MAY 30, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 5

NEWS | OPINION

By Torrey Bailey and Seth Combs

THE ISSUE: On May 23, the San Diego American Civil Liberties Union and International Hu-

man Rights Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School published a report detailing alleged cases of physical, sexual and mental abuse committed by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection authorities on migrant children in their custody. The dates of the allegations range from 2009 to 2014, and include complaints of authorities denying medical care, threatening rape and more.

The report was based on 30,000 pages of government documents in response to the ACLU’s FOIA requests and lawsuit.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING: “All human beings deserve to be treated with dignity and respect regardless of their immigration status—and children, in particular, deserve special protection. The misconduct demonstrated in these records is breathtaking, as is the government’s complete failure to hold officials who abuse their power accountable.”

—Mitra Ebadolahi, ACLU Border Litigation Project staff attorney and co-author of the ACLU report, via Newsweek “The false accusations made by the ACLU against the previous administration are unfounded and baseless. The ‘report’ equates allegations with fact, flatly ignores a number of improvements made by CBP as well as oversight conducted by outside, independent agencies, including the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties over the last decade.”

—U.S. Customs and Border Protections spokesperson Dan Hetlage in a statement “This @ACLU report on alleged physical and sexual abuse of migrant children by government agents is disturbing. How we treat children is not a partisan issue.

Congress needs to hold hearings.”

—Rep. Ted Lieu, 33rd District, via Twitter

NEWSY BITS 5/23

5/24

OUR TAKE: This is yet another disturbing story related to government agencies’ abuse of power and lack of oversight, in which already-vulnerable children become victims. Earlier this month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions spouted racist scare tactics during a speech in San Diego, including policies to separate immigrant children from their families at the border. This reignited interest in the case of approximately 1,500 immigrant children who crossed into the U.S. independently and were assigned to sponsors (typically family members). It has since been revealed that Health and Human Services has reportedly “lost track of” the children since releasing them from government custody. And now, there are these deeply unsettling allegations. Our immigration system is in need of a complete overhaul, but unfortunately we have an administration that’s fixated on a useless border wall and draconian immigration policies that do little to fix the real problems.

All the seriousness, silliness and stupidity of the past week 5/25

5/26

5/27

5/28

BEST DAY EVER!

Head of national Border Patrol union Brandon Judd calls Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to border “a colossal waste of resources.”

WWII bomber built in San Diego (ironically named “Heaven Can Wait”) found on the seafloor of Papua New Guinea, 73 years after being shot down by Japanese.

…most surveyed would support spending more tax dollars in order to address the issue.

Mylar balloons from a party in Chula Vista cause power line explosion and eventually a flooded street from a water line failure.

Poway veteran, oldest living survivor of Pearl Harbor attack at 106 years old, visits White House.

San Diego Community College Police Officer caught on video pointing gun at local photographer near Mesa College.

FML

6 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 30, 2018

Millennials breathe collective sigh of relief as U-T story reveals no danger of avocado shortage this year.

U-T columnist seconds reader suggestion to name Alliance of American Football team the San Diego Coryells (named after legendary local coach Don Coryell). We’re holding out for Footy McFootballFace.

Another county jail inmate dies, this time a 61-year-old man.

Survey USA poll finds San Diegans think homelessness is getting worse, but…

Dozens of racists and MAGA Kool-Aid drinkers gather in a field near the border to hear a neonazi candidate for Governor.

5/29 Lifeguards and firefighters rescue man stranded overnight in a bluff by Black’s Beach. Sadly, man was not naked.

Area Starbucks close for a few hours for anti-bias training sessions. In possibly related news, workplace productivity on Tuesday reportedly way down.

San Diego police officers shoot and kill a man with a knife near the Tijuana River Valley.

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CULTURE | VOICES

RHONDA “RO” MOORE

A SIDE-EYE OF

SANITY

Resistence is never futile

A

fter a month of incidents exposing (finally) just how frequently living-while-being-Black means dealing with white folks intent on depriving us of the right to breathe without permission, I’m past tired of white people acting a damn fool.

Within this, I ran across something from writer Maria Popova while scrolling through the Brain Pickings Twitter timeline. It really resonated with me and ended up influencing this column.

“To name a thing is to acknowledge its existence as separate from everything else that has a name; to confer upon it the dignity of autonomy while at the same time affirming its belonging with the rest of the nameable world.”

Those few lines threw what’s been happening all of May (namely, white folks acting out in public) into an entirely different light for me. So, if my intro pissed any readers off, then buckle up because the rest is likely to make you even more mad.

It’s time for white people to stop acting like you don’t know why some of y’all knee-jerk to calling the police on Black people. You’re conditioned to expect compliance and have no problem threatening Black people to get it.

You can take that “not all ______” mess and kick rocks too; no one’s making time for your equivocating either. Back in the day, white folks didn’t need to call the cops because the Klan would ride. Nowadays, white people use the police force as their personal billy club for beating Black people into submission (sometimes literally).

Y’all are so dedicated to viewing Black people as your subordinates and existing only within the spaces you’ve designated for us (whether conscious of doing it or not). It’s incomprehensible to you that a Black person might expect you to mind your own damn business.

Many of y’all are struggling with the shifting economy and the (slightly) more equitable playing field that you’re willing to go all out to (re)establish white supremacy no matter how distasteful the behavior. Far too many of you long for the days when the law required Black people to step off the sidewalk to allow a white person to pass. But Jim Crow is dead, and we don’t owe any of you obedience.

Black people don’t exist for your convenience. We don’t need a hall pass to shop, eat, get coffee, golf or take a knee on a sideline. We don’t owe you a smile, a wave, or an invitation to our cookout. Just because you feel a disturbance in the white force when you see Black people living their lives doesn’t mean you have the right to call the cops to put a stop to it. The days when the law mandated Black people submit or

cater to white sensibilities in order to breathe freely aren’t coming back.

And contrary to the current political rhetoric poisoning the country, white people’s feelings (or white women’s tears) don’t define Black people’s place in society. You can’t invite yourself into Black spaces just because you’re mad we built a vibrant culture despite being barred access to white spaces. Now that large aspects of black culture openly influence the mainstream without first filtering through a white lens, y’all can’t handle it. But we still don’t have to make room for you at our table. No one owes you a place.

Author Paula Carter piggy backed on the quote from Brain Pickings to add, “When you realize you are outside of what has been deemed normal, what has been named and defined, these are the things you feel you lack: Dignity, autonomy, belonging. And a shared understanding of the role you play.”

Her words hit home for me in a different context. The standard of “normal” is shifting to decenter whiteness. Marginalized people are vocal about being named and having space to freely exist with dignity.

It behooves everyone, however, to remember that before we called it “identity politics,” b\ Black folks were marching, fighting and dying for civil rights. The struggle is still real, and we’re not planning on just praying for god to, as the gospel song goes, “make a way.” We are named, we belong (whether you like it or not) and we will not surrender our dignity or autonomy to anyone. Calling out racism, bias, bigotry and prejudice isn’t, as some might put it, “playing the victim.” It’s being vigilant. Identifying racial/ ethnic issues and their impact on societal structures and encounters isn’t, as white people like to say, “pulling the race card,” because we aren’t things and this isn’t a game. No one’s got time for reductive perspectives. These conversations will continue to be had whether white people are ready to fully participate in them or not.

So, get used to Black folks pushing back against every attempt to erode our autonomy and freedoms.

And don’t expect us to apologize for your discomfort.

White folks, y’all have some entitlement and control issues you should seek help for immediately. Don’t let listening to “free thinking” Kanye cause you to catch these hands.

Annoyed I lumped all white people together for the entire article? Good, now you now how we feel when you do that shit.

Identifying racial/ethnic issues and their impact on societal structures and encounters isn’t, as white people like to say, ‘pulling the race card,’ because we aren’t things and this isn’t a game.

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A Side-Eye of Sanity appears every four weeks.

Follow Ro Moore on Twitter at @BookBlerd.

MAY 30, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 7

UP FRONT | OPINION

EDWIN DECKER

SORDID

TALES

John McCain doesn’t need others to demand an apology for him

I

told myself I wasn’t going to write about this whole Kelly-Sadler-Must-Apologize-to-John-McCain hubbub, but that was before reading something that made commenting unavoidable.

For those who don’t know, there was a closed-door meeting recently with several White House communications staffers, during which they discussed Sen. McCain’s opposition to Gina Haspel, the president’s nominee for CIA director.

According to two anonymous leakers present at the meeting, Sadler—the special assistant to the president—made an awful joke saying, “It doesn’t matter, he’ll be dead soon,” referring to the senator’s losing battle with brain cancer.

Naturally, there was an uproar, with the usual demands for her termination and a public apology (even though she had already privately apologized to the McCains). There’s nothing surprising about any of that, of course. And given that I often bemoan the new national disposition of reactionary outrage and interminable apology-demanding, I decided to leave this one alone.

That is, until I learned, that Congress got involved.

Yup, for reals. There is now a measure before Congress formally demanding an apology. It is called, House Resolution 901 and “calls upon the White House to issue a public apology to Senator John McCain and his family for insensitive comments made by a staffer during this difficult time for the McCain family.”

I do believe the world has gone bonkers.

For starters, who gives a flying seagull turd about an apology that is coerced? Apologies that don’t come from the heart are as meaningless as the “ir” in irregardless.

Secondly, why does the apology need to be “public”? Sadler already apologized to the family in private. How is this the public’s business?

Third, this is a non-binding resolution, which means it is unenforceable. Non-binding resolutions are meant to be motivational, or supportive or critical, as if to say, “We, The United States government, speaking on behalf of the people, believe this one thing is good, or that one thing is bad, or this person, or that group, should do this or say that.” Non-binding house resolutions can be serious—such as House Concurrent Resolution 63, which expressed disapproval of President Bush’s 2007 troop buildup in Iraq. And they can be ridiculous, such as the 2009 resolution to recognize Confucius’ 2560th birthday. Serious or silly, they are still unenforceable and therefore as meaningless as a mouse trap in a python cage.

More to the point, why the H-E-double-hockeysticks is our government involving itself in the business of hurt feelings? What is this now, an apologarchy? While we’re at it, let’s make a house resolution

that says people can’t bitch about their co-workers. Or a bill against booing athletes? How about a measure that says that seagulls can’t laugh when they crap on our heads! It’ll be as effective as all the other nonbinding house resolutions, so why not?

Finally, let’s not forget who it was that had apparently been offended in the first place. On Oct. 26, 1967 Lieutenant Commander John McCain’s A-4E Skyhawk bomber was shot down over Hanoi. The subsequent crash shattered his arms and legs. With busted limbs he was dragged to a POW camp, denied medical treatment and tortured. They kept him there for five years, two of which were in solitary confinement. Now he’s fighting against a kind of brain cancer so aggressive, it makes his Viet Cong captors look like mildly crabby Boy Scout leaders with a penchant for issuing demerits. So I seriously doubt John McCain cares about anything Kelly Sadler has to say.

It is at this point in the article where I’m supposed to write, “Kelly Sadler’s attempt at humor was despicable but…” but I will not. Because it wasn’t despicable. It was merely a failed joke that was never intended to leave the room, and anyone who says they have never made a cruel remark behind closed doors is straight up lying (or doesn’t yet know they are a cyborg).

What I do find despicable is the fact that Sadler’s comment was leaked to the press. You would think a couple of White House communications staffers would know how communication works. If an aspersion is not heard by the subject, then it cannot hurt him. If a joke about an American war hero dying of brain cancer is too distressing, then don’t tell it to him.

Lastly, HR 901 calls on the “White House” to issue the apology. What the F-U-Louis C.K. is that about?

The Trump administration did not make the joke. It did not sanction it, or even know about it. Calling on the White House to apologize is a violation of the U.S. Federal Code of Apologetics which clearly states in Article 3a, Chapter 27: “No person or group shall be compelled to apologize for some stupid shit somebody else said.”

If it were me, and Congress tried to force my hand like that, I would say, “OK, OK, I’m sorry! I am sorry my government has nothing better to do than audit the country’s apology infrastructure. I am sorry that my private atonement to the McCains wasn’t enough for the apology-demanding public who were the real victims. I’m sorry the two snitches in our meeting don’t know the difference between whistleblowing and backstabbing. And I’m sorry the senator is dying.

I truly, truly am. Dude is a hero, served our country well and is only moderately to blame for Sarah Palin (Too soon?). Get well Sir, we’re all behind you.”

For starters, who gives a flying seagull turd about an apology that is coerced?

Apologies that don’t come from the heart are as meaningless as the ‘ir’ in irregardless.

8 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 30, 2018

Sordid Tales appears every other week.

Write to edwin@sdcitybeat.com.

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UP FRONT | FOOD & DRINK

BY BETH DEMMON

BY MICHAEL A. GARDINER

THE WORLD

FARE Nine shades of hot

C

hinese hot pot in San Diego used to mean a trip to Little Sheep Mongolian. Today we have multiple Taiwanese places, a Chonqing spot, ones with personal pots and many with communal pots. With ShuDao Hotpot (4690 Convoy St.), we have an authentic Sichuan place (and it’s not even the only hot pot restaurant in the business park where it’s located).

At the core of everything ShuDao does are its broths, two of which are a “bone soup” (think stock or bouillon) and a mild tomato broth. Neither of those are the real show, as that would be the Sichuan broth: a roiling, boiling, incendiary blend of flavor and heat featuring the classic mala numbing and spicy flavors that are the signature of Sichuan province.

Diners can opt for a single large bowl of any of the three broths or choose a half-and-half divided cauldron with two of them. One interesting option is the Nine Boxes Spicy Pot. It arrives at the table looking like a single large cauldron subdivided into nine separate compartments with nine different versions of the spicy broth.

The broth in each compartment actually starts out the same. The idea is for each individual ingredient to be dipped and cooked in a different compartment so that the ingredients don’t take on each other’s flavor—as if anything could truly survive the broth’s mala onslaught.

The remarkable thing, though, is that by the end of the meal not only has the broth reduced and concentrated, but also each compartment has begun to take on a subtly different flavor based on what was cooked in it.

@SDCITYBEAT

But “spicy” at ShuDao really does mean spicy! Select the mild option. I like spice and yet each time I left ShuDao I did so in a sweat. In fact, the best way to enjoy a meal there is to go for the halfand-half option with the (mild) spicy broth on one side and a bone soup on the other. Use one to heat up and the other to cool down.

The dipping ingredients at ShuDao are good quality, though they’re not particularly generous with protein quantities. The beef and lamb combo serve thin, delicious cuts of both. They serve excellent offal offerings with the pork kidney slices a particular treat that paired extremely well with the spicy broth. The vegetable combination is a must and good value.

MICHAEL A. GARDINER

Half and half hot pot But price can be a concern: It’s $12.99 minimum for the broth plus a charge for each and every other ingredient. It adds up quickly (easily $30 per person). The best value is the unlimited sauce and dessert bar at $1.50. The biggest downside to ShuDao other than the price is the MSG, and I’m no MSG-hater. On the contrary, I firmly believe that, when used wisely, it is an excellent culinary tool. But the broths here do seem to be at the upper level of my MSG tolerance.

ShuDao offers a lot of fun and flavor.

Price (and MSG) aside, it is still an excellent addition to San Diego’s growing array of hot pot options.

The World Fare appears weekly.

Write to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com.

FINAL DRAUGHT Sake rising

T

here’s a staleness permeating the San Diego craft beer scene. Over the past few months, I’ve noticed more squabbling about styles, trash talking tap lists and bickering about beer economics than I ever have in years past. Add the (inevitable) slowdown of the meteoric rise of local craft beer over the past decade and things just seem… off.

Maybe it’s just me. But the increasingly melodramatic vibe has caused me to swerve away from my norm toward alcoholic alternatives. Namely, sake.

“We see sake as a natural progression of the craft beer movement,” says Josh Hembree, president and co-founder of Setting Sun Sake Brewing Company (8680 Miralani Drive). I agree. Several reports, including one by Business Insider, reveal a drop of at least 10 percent in the beer segment lost to wine and hard liquor nationwide. There’s still plenty to buzz about in beer, but it doesn’t seem to be the dominant presence it once was. Sake’s unique flavor and ancient roots mixed with Millennials’ predisposition toward the exotically uncommon has it poised to be the next big thing.

Still, sake hasn’t yet garnered a major foothold in the local drinking industry. San Diego’s first craft sake brewery, Kuracali Saké and Beer Brewery, abruptly closed last December, which left Setting Sun as the sole sake company in the county. But its dry-hopped offerings create a fairly easy bridge from the craft beer world into sake.

Despite a shortage of local artisanal sake makers, there are plenty of restaurants and beverage programs with impressive sake lists. (OB Noodle House, BeShock Ramen and Saiko Sushi to name a few.) Plus, the 16th annual Beer and Sake Festival on Saturday, June 1 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Harrah’s Resort Southern California will feature international sake brands as well as beer from local brewer-

ies like Wild Barrel and SR 76 Beerworks.

However, Setting Sun is noticeably absent from the roster.

“Being the only craft sake brewery in Southern California, we [currently] only have the capacity to service our bottle club members and local accounts,” explains Hembree. This small output is poised to change soon. Tasting room expansion plans are already in the works— its second such expansion in the two years it has been open.

COURTESY OF SETTING SUN SAKE

Sake flight at Setting Sun One market research firm predicts sake consumption in the U.S. will increase by 12 percent by 2021. This is on top of a 16-percent sake boom between 2011 and 2016. Setting Sun is setting itself up to ride this wave of new interest. It already offers bottle club memberships as well as a barrel adoption program, where buyers can select from a variety of barrel sizes and “adopt” the contents with different options on how to collect once the sake has aged. On June 11, San Diego’s Ayaka Ito, owner of Beshock Ramen and certified sake master, will host a “Sake 101” class at Setting Sun. Sake newbies are encouraged to attend.

I’m not breaking up with beer anytime soon, but sake is damn tasty and relatively drama-free (for now). With it on the rise in San Diego, my fingers are crossed that it’ll stay that way.

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

MAY 30, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 9

EVENTS

SHORTlist

ART

the

THREE YOU HAVE TO SEE

COORDINATED BY

SETH COMBS

NORMAL HEIGHTS AND KENSINGTON

Performing Vulnerability at UC San Diego Commons Gallery, Visual Arts Facility, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. Installations and a performance work entitled “A Generative Cutting: Some Poetics of Illegibility” by artist D S Chapman. Opening from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, June 1. facebook. com/events/1885482101515216

ECLECTIC AVENUE

For us, there are two events that mark the beginning of summer: There’s the San Diego County Fair (more on that below) and there’s the annual Art Around Adams. Now in its 15th year, it’s an event that truly encompasses all of the arts, with music, performances, visual art, dance and even poetry.

But just like any homegrown, independent festival, Art Around Adams had humble beginnings.

“The event started out in just a couple coffee shops back in 2004 with limited attendance,” says Exodus Studio’s Executive Producer and Art Around Adams organizer Adam Rosen. “Jump to 2018 and we have 18 stages, 138 performances, three beer gardens, over 75 impromptu art pop-ups and over 25,000 attendees throughout the day.”

When it comes to the art, over 70 local businesses all along Adams Avenue—from Hamilton Street in Normal Heights to Vista Street in Kensington— will turn into impromptu galleries with showcases of local artists. There will be live music performances, including professional wrestling from Super Awesome Showdown and live music from artists such as Jumbotron, Ariel Levine and My Revenge.

Rosen points out several new stages added to this year’s fest including two new stages at the Adams Avenue Recreation Center Park (3491 Adams Ave.).

And walking the long stretch of Adams won’t be an issue, as there will be a complimentary com-

DEL MAR

GRIN AND FAIR IT Those with a predilection for all things sugary will love this year’s San Diego County Fair theme of “How Sweet It Is.” And while there are certainly plenty of sweet concoctions at the fair’s (in)famous food court, the main idea is that everyone, young and old, will feel like a kid again. After all, there are carnival rides, games and a huge variety of desserts and deep-fried fare.

If readers can’t make it on opening day, there’s also a ton of fair events throughout Independence Day. As always, there’s a solid concert lineup, a beer pairing dinner (June 14) and festival (June 1517), a cocktail festival (June 23) and even a cool art exhibit that features art masterpieces made out of candy. The sweeeeeet festivities begin Friday, June 1 at 4 p.m. and run through July 4 with tickets ranging from $12 to $19 for general admission, to $28 for a season pass. Kids ages five and younger are free. sdfair.com

HGaps in the Record at San Diego History Center, 1649 El Prado Ste 3, Balboa Park. The opening reception of a new exhibit that explores the convergence of visual art and the written word in mid-century San Diego. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m.

Friday, June 1. Free. RSVP recommended. 619-232-6203, sandiegohistory.org

Friday Night Liberty at NTC at Liberty Station, 2640 Historic Decatur Road, Point Loma. This monthly gallery and studio walk features open artist studios, galleries, live performances, shopping and entertainment throughout NTC’s Arts and Culture District. From 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 1.

Free. 619-573-9300, ntclibertystation.com

Art Around Adams edy trolley with stand-up comedians performing throughout the day (Emily Hope, Craig Sutton and Jordan Coburn are just a few of the performers).

There will also be the addition of a bike valet this year.

“I think trying to pique the interest of as many people as possible is very important,” says Rosen. “We present an event that is diverse, eclectic, rich with culture and fun. Though we are always trying to hone and improve on what we have, I feel that through this year’s diverse offerings, there is something intriguing for most everyone to latch onto.”

It all happens Saturday, June 2 from noon to 8 p.m. The entire event is free and all info can be found at artaroundadams.org.

TIJUANA

RENAISSANCE CITY Which city has become a hub for art, architecture, design and the culinary arts? Well, it’s not exactly San Diego, but our sister city, Tijuana, is emerging as an international creative nexus. On Friday, June 1, the San Diego Architectural Foundation will host Context Volume 5: The Tijuana Renaissance, an event that explores all that Tijuana has to offer. It features a variety of professionals in design, architecture and gastronomy who will speak about the booming city. It will also include a VIP bus architecture tour from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., a culinary fair with eight of Tijuana’s premier chefs from 5 to 6:45 p.m. and a forum from 7 to 9 p.m. Most of the action takes place at the Casa de la Cultura de Tijuana (Avenida Paris 5, Colonia Altamira) and prices range from $20 to $195 at sdarchitecture.org.

HMoto Moto at Bread & Salt, 1955 Julian Ave., Logan Heights. The third annual show is a celebration of motorcycles of all different genres, from Cafe racers to Baja racers and everything in between. Live music curated by San Diego musicians Tino Gonzalez and Danny Blas. From 5 to 11 p.m. Saturday, June 2. Free. facebook.com/events/1647104865565911 HBarry Bell: Framings 1990-2018 at Quint Gallery, 5171 Santa Fe St. Suite H, Bay Ho. A solo exhibition of Barry Bell’s works, including sculpture, paintings, photographs, collages and assemblages. He’s known for mixing vintage finds into his own paintings, as well as unusual framing techniques.

Opening from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, June 2. Free. 858-454-3409, quintgallery.com HCarrie Minikel at Art Produce Gallery, 3139 University Ave., North Park. New sculptural works that are meant to be tools for investigating one’s current moment and location. Opening from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, June 2. Free. 619-500-2787, artproduce.org

BOOKS J. Dianne Dotson at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. As part of Warwick’s ongoing Weekend with Locals program, Dotson will be signing and discussing the new sci-fi novel, Heliopause (Questrison Saga: Book One). At noon. Sunday, June 3. Free. 858-454-0347, warwicks.com HPoe Ballantine at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The Nebraska-based author will discuss and sign his new novel, Whirlaway. At 7:30 p.m.

Monday, June 4. Free. 858-454-0347, warwicks.com HAja Gabel at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The acclaimed writer will discuss and sign her new novel, The Ensemble. At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 6. Free. 858-454-0347, warwicks.com

COMEDY HThe San Diego Comedy Festival at The Comedy Palace, 8878 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Kearny Mesa. The fifth annual festival will feature national touring headliners and comedians from all over the world both showcasing their talent and competing for cash prizes. At various times. Through Sunday, June 3. $10-$75.

858-492-9000, sandiegocomedyfest.com

DANCE HThe Empire Strips Back: A Burlesque Parody at Spreckels Theatre,

San Diego County Fair 10 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 30, 2018

Chef Daniela de la Puente

H = CityBeat picks

121 Broadway, Downtown. The Australian burlesque show features all of the classic Star Wars characters along with song and dance, troupe routines and comedy for its first U.S. tour. At 8 p.m.

Saturday, June 2. $45-$75. 619-2359500, empirestripsback.com

FILM HFilmOut San Diego LGBT Film Festival at the Observatory North Park, 2891 University Ave., North Park. The 20th annual, four-day festival will showcase 45 films with LGBTQ themes, including world premieres, Sundance selections and more. Many of the films will be followed by discussions with the filmmakers and cast. Various times. From Thursday, June 7 through Sunday, June 10. $10-$50. filmoutsandiego.com

FOOD & DRINK HBeer & Sake Festival at Harrah’s Rincon Casino, 777 Harrah’s Rincon Way, Valley Center. Local restaurants and breweries serve up tasty appetizers and a wide selection of beer and sake. The 16th annual event also includes art booths, a silent auction and raffles. Must be 21 or older.

From 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, June 1. $50.

858-467-1727, japan-society.org

MUSIC HTinashe at Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. The multiplatinum R&B singer-songwriter, who released her debut album Aquarius in 2014, 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, June 1. Free-$42. 858-755-1161, sdfair.com McDermott/Kerr/Olson/Neubauer/ Costanza at various venues. The kickoff concert for the annual Mainly Mozart festival features chamber music selections from Mozart, Haydn and Brahms. See website for venues. At 7 p.m. Friday, June 1, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, June 2 and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, June 2. $28-$78. mainlymozart.org HAn American Tapestry: A Musical History of Our Nation at Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St., Downtown. The San Diego Children’s Choir and jazz trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos will perform a concert that showcases the musical history of our nation and includes genres such as Americana, spirituals and jazz. At 2 p.m. Saturday, June 2. $10-$30. 858-587-1087, sdcchoir.org From Russia with Love at the San Dieguito United Methodist Church, 170 Calle Magdalena, Encinitas. The concert is presented by the North Coast Symphony Orchestra, directed by Daniel Swem and will feature Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2, performed by Elan McMahan, Tchaikovsky’s March Slav and more. At 2:30 p.m. Saturday, June 2. $10-$25. northcoastsymphony.com Mainly Mozart Youth Orchestra at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Downtown. The orchestra, composed of musicians between three and 18 years old, will perform a program led by Music Director Hernan Constantino and Associate Director Jane Frey. At 5 p.m. Saturday, June 3. $15-$35. 619-570-1100, sandiegotheatres.org Banda el Recodo at Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. This band was started in 1938 and carried on by the bandleader’s family members. Their lineup consists of clarinets, trombones, trumpets and more to cover jazz, classical and other genres. At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 3. Free-$42.

858-755-1161, sdfair.com

EVENTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 11 @SDCITYBEAT

EVENTS EVENTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

POETRY & SPOKEN WORD HShort Tales from the Mothership at Geisel Library, UC San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. The fourth meeting of the library’s micro-fiction project, readers will read sci-fi stories that easily fit onto a postcard. From 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, May 31. Free. libraries.ucsd.edu/ blogs/events/short-tales HThe Whole Alphabet: Kith & Kin at White Box Live Arts, 2590 Truxton Road #205, Point Loma. So Say We All’s LGBTQ+ collaborative project presents a storytelling production about the way our biological families and the families we create shape our personal growth. From 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, June 1. $5-$15. sosayweallonline.com

SPECIAL EVENTS HContext Vol. 5 (CV5) The Tijuana Renaissance at Casa de la Cultura de Tijuana, Avenida Paris 5, Colonia Altamira, Tijuana. The San Diego Architectural Foundation’s annual event includes a bus tour of Tijuana architecture, an art exhibit, a culinary fair and more. Architecture tour pickup is in Balboa Park. From 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Free-$195. sdarchitecture.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. Through July 4. Various times.

Friday, June 1. Free-$19. 858-755-1161, sdfair.com

@SDCITYBEAT

BOOKS: THE FLOATING LIBRARY HBalboa Park Summer at various venues, Balboa Park. The new event kicks off with food, festivities, evening hours at popular attractions, and a free concert by San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservancy Orchestra in the Plaza de Panama. Continues every Friday evening through Aug. 31. From 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, June 1. Various prices. www.balboaparksummer.org HAfroFuturism: Dream Tank 2018 at Brokers Building, 402 Market St., Downtown. An immersive think tank experience that includes original artwork, live performances, short presentations and interactive workshops. Various times. Friday, June 1 through Sunday, June 3. firyali.com HCabrillo Under the Stars at Cabrillo National Monument,1800 Cabrillo Memorial Drive, Point Loma. An elegant evening event featuring gourmet food, craft beer, local wine, a silent auction and music from The Jack Straws. Proceeds benefit Cabrillo National Monument’s educational programs. From 6:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday, June 2. $60-$75. cnmf.org Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon at Balboa Park, Balboa Park. 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 2, and 6:15 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday, June 3. 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 arenas for the day. From noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, June 2. Free. artaroundadams.org

Dead zone

G

eorge Saunders has done the impossible: He’s written a supernatural novel populated by dead people that’s entirely original and deeply moving.

But Lincoln in the Bardo isn’t a zombie novel or a ghost story. Rather, it defies description.

The story takes place on a single night in 1862 when a heartbroken President Abraham Lincoln comes to visit his dead son, Willie, in the crypt after the boy has succumbed to typhoid fever.

The “bardo” referred to in the title is a realm occupied by those who are neither alive nor dead. The story is told mainly from the point of view of the bardo’s inhabitants: people who are no longer alive but are stuck for some indeterminate time for some ineffable purpose. (“Bardo” is a Tibetan term that Saunders chose to discourage the Judeo-Christian assumptions that many readers would bring to the work.)

Suffice to say, it’s likely readers have never been to a place quite like this before.

Willie’s arrival in the bardo causes a stir among its denizens who aren’t accustomed to seeing someone so young there. Then, when Lincoln comes to visit his deceased son, the people of the bardo, such as they are, strive to foster some kind of communication between the two.

That’s the plot in the nutshell. But like most of Saunders’ fiction, what’s most arresting is the mar-

velous way he brings this strange world to life.

“Then a blinding flash of light came from near the obelisk, and the familiar, yet always bonechilling firesound associated with the matterlightblooming phenomenon.”

(This phenomenon is what occurs whenever one of the bardo’s inhabitants yields to the immense pressure to leave this no-place behind and give up their corporeal form, or what’s left of it anyway, for good.)

Despite receiving the Man Booker Prize in 2017, Lincoln in the Bardo is a difficult read made all the more challenging by its 166 distinct narrators.

Personally, I recommend listening to the audiobook, as I did, which features an immense cast that includes Nick Offerman, David Sedaris, Carrie Brownstein, Miranda July, Lena Dunham, Ben Stiller, Julianne Moore, Susan Sarandon, Jeffrey Tambor, Don Cheadle and many, many others. (If you have a favorite voice actor, chances are they’re part of the cast.)

Someday I’ll go back and actually read the book—it’s that good—but my appreciation of the story was helped along by the immense talent of the actors who transformed this profoundly strange story into something strangely profound.

—Jim Ruland

The Floating Library appears every other week.

MAY 30, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 11

THEATER DAREN SCOTT

The Madres

Oh, mothers

T

he simmering tension of The Madres takes awhile to boil, but when it does, Stephanie Alison Walker’s play overflows the theater with passion and anguish. Moxie Theatre is one of four U.S. companies rolling out the world premiere of Walker’s work. The play is based on the true story of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina, the courageous women under that nation’s dictatorship between 1976 and 1983 and whose sons or daughters were kidnapped and even killed by the regime. Moxie’s production, co-directed by Jennifer Eve Thorn and Maria Patrice Amon, is profoundly affecting, in large part owing to the committed performances of Maria Gonzalez as Josefina and Sandra Ruiz as Carolina, a mother and daughter in search of Carolina’s own missing child.

The entire story unfolds in Josefina’s Buenos Aires apartment in 1979. Establishing the dangerous circumstances and contextualizing them in terms of Josefina and Carolina results in a slow-paced but nonetheless suspenseful beginning to The Madres.

The events that follow intermission, however, personify all the human drama that makes these women’s longing and agony so gripping. For a piece rooted in history, The Madres connects in contemporary terms to the plight of women today, who are still mobilizing for justice.

The Madres runs through June 10 at Moxie Theatre in Rolando. $36; moxietheatre.com ••• ow 15 years old, Avenue Q The Musical and its naughty puppets don’t rock the same OMG factor that they once did, but this is still a very funny and audience-pleasing show. With a crackerjack band and a cast to match, New Village Arts’ production of Avenue Q manages to make the deconstructed puppet “behavior” seem fresh, even as its shock value has been exceeded by the likes of Robert Askins’ play Hand to God. An upcoming Melissa McCarthy film, “Happytime Murders,” is said to even further explode the sweet playfulness of the Sesame Street ethos.

But back to NVA’s Avenue Q. This staging directed by AJ Knox relies on the snarky charm of Jeff Marx’s and Robert Lopez’s original music and

N

12 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 30, 2018

lyrics. Ace performances by Gerilyn Brault, Zackary Scot Wolfe, Melissa Fernandes and Cashae Monya, among others, ensures a rollicking evening.

Avenue Q The Musical runs through July 1 at New Village Arts Theatre in Carlsbad. $25-$36; newvillagearts.org

—David L. Coddon

Theater reviews run weekly.

Write to davidc@sdcitybeat.com.

OPENING: The Father: The West Coast premiere of Florian Zeller’s moving play about a father who may or may not be in the early stages of dementia. Directed by David Ellenstein, it opens May 30 at the North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach. northcoastrep.org The Front Porch: Two Baltimore women—one Black, one white—form an unlikely bond despite high racial tensions in the wake of Martin Luther King’s assassination. Written and directed by George Bailey, it opens June 1 at Lamplighters Community Theatre in La Mesa. lamplighterslamesa.com Once: A guitarist and pianist form a musical connection on the streets of Dublin in this Tony-winning musical based on the hit indie film. Directed by Kerry Meads, it opens June 1 at the Lamb’s Players Theatre in Coronado. lambsplayers.org The Squirrels: The world premiere of Robert Askins’ new comedy about two warring factions of squirrels. Directed by Christopher Ashley, it opens June 5 at the La Jolla Playhouse. lajollaplayhouse.org Peer Gynt: Henrik Ibsen’s Modernist classic about a young man who leaves home and travels the world in order to find himself. Directed by Charlie Oates, it opens June 6 at the Theodore and Adele Shank Theatre at UC San Diego in La Jolla.

NOW PLAYING: Les Misérables: The Broadway production of the beloved musical about an ex-convict trying to outrun his past against the backdrop of 19th century France. Presented by Broadway San Diego, it runs through June 3 at the San Diego Civic Theatre in the Gaslamp. broadwaysd.com The Little Mermaid: The musical based on the Disney film about who, for whatever reason, just wants to be part of our world. Presented by Pickwick Players, it runs through June 3 at Off Broadway Live in Santee. pickwickplayers.net

For complete theater listings, visit sdcitybeat.com

@SDCITYBEAT

PAUL W. KOESTER

CULTURE | ART

Ariana Warren eep in the bedrock below Washington’s Fort Worden Historical State Park is the Dan Harpole Cistern. The park itself, a decommissioned fort used during World Wars I and II to protect the Puget Sound, is open to the public. The two-million-gallon concrete cistern, however, is not, and a 4,000-pound boulder obstructs a single manhole entryway.

“It’s the scariest fucking place I’ve ever been,” says experimental sound artist Chris Warren, who visited the cistern several years ago, despite it being off-limits. “You climb down a wire ladder in the darkness. There’s no illumination down there because there’s no electricity. You can only be down there for 20 minutes until you run out of oxygen because there’s no ventilation.”

What drew Warren to the Dan Harpole Cistern is that it’s a sonic marvel with a 45-second reverberation. It has been attracting experimental musicians since the 1980s. For context: “None of us have ever been in a place that’s had longer [reverb] than five or six seconds,” says Warren. Being a sound artist, Warren and his wife, woodwinds specialist Ariana, thought to bring her flute down into the cistern.

“One little flute, and it sounded like there were 100 people playing flute because you play a note, and it lasts for 45 seconds. When you conceptually say it, it doesn’t sound like a long time. When you actually hear a 45-second note, it sounds like eternity.”

After this trip, Warren was compelled to mimic the reverberation in the couple’s acoustically-flat residence at Space4Art. And for the next 10 years, Warren committed himself and his doctoral research at UC San Diego to developing software that could do that. The result was Echo Thief, a software and online reverb library. To capture a reverb, Warren goes to an acoustically desirable location, sends out white noise and uses a recorder to capture its echo. Back in his studio, he applies the software to create a downloadable reverb. When a sound—such as a clap, guitar riff or human voice—is filtered through a microphone that’s hooked up to the software, it echoes as if it were played in the specified location.

“Let’s say, hypothetically, you do a lot of recording in your living room, and your living room is a metal ceiling, a wood ceiling and not terribly huge or acoustically bal-

@SDCITYBEAT

anced, but you want to make it sound like it’s in a cave,” says Warren. “You take an impulse response in a cave, you put a sound through that impulse response, and now you’ve recorded in a cave.”

Before his technology, Warren says this was virtually impossible because other methods are unable to record outdoor impulse responses since they would be ruined by background noise. This meant that locations such as chapels, concert halls and other acoustically adept locations were the only options. This has sent Warren all over North America to lasso outdoor reverbs of fortresses in Havana, a glacial cave in Alaska, the Golden Gate Tunnel in San Francisco and more, all of which are available to download on the Echo Thief website (echothief.com).

“My goal with Echo Thief was to capture all the amazing acoustic spaces of the world and make them available for free to musicians worldwide.”

Ableton has featured Echo Thief on its blog, and the Echo Thief website itself has seen more than 10,000 downloads. He’s also licensed the technology to multiple video game companies including Sony for the PlayStation4 open-world game, Days Gone, which is set for release in 2019.

The past decade that Warren has spent manipulating the software and building the reverb library is culminating into an installation called “The Omni Echo,” which will be featured at A Ship in the Woods Music and Art Festival at Felicita Park on June 16 and 17.

“The Omni Echo” will be constructed onsite inside a gazebo, which will be concealed in darkness and outfitted with speakers to further distort the sounds’ directionality. The Echo Thief technology will be hooked up and controlled by Warren as hired musicians and passersby experiment with it inside. Their voices and audible actions will be echoed back in a mixture of reverb elements from the Golden Gate Tunnel, Fort Worden State Park, Alaska’s Byron Glacier and others, and will drone and layer on top of each other for around 75 seconds per sound.

“We had to move a two-ton boulder and risk asphyxiation to experience that cistern and also it didn’t smell great, as you might imagine,” says Warren. “But we wanted to see if we could take the good parts of that experience and make it into something that people could just wander into by accident… This is black magic fuckery, not actual acoustics. But for all of the people coming to the Ship Fest, they’re going to experience what it’s like to be in a place... even more reverberant than Integratron, Inchindown and the cistern all put together.”

Among the professionals who will be experimenting within “The Omni Echo” are his wife, as well as their threeperson band called BASSER. Musicians from the San Diego Opera, City Ballet Orchestra and more will also participate in it. A smaller version of “The Omni Echo” was previewed briefly at the Fleet Science Center’s TORREY BAILEY Augmented and Virtual Reality festival in October. Warren was pleasantly surprised by how visitors interacted with it, and that some experimented in the space for as long as 45 minutes.

“Some people would come in and howl and make it the scariest spookiest thing, and then, moments later, someone will come in and hum and make it this very tranquil thing,” he says. “It’s a mirror. What you show to it, it will show back to you.”

Throughout his career, Warren Chris Warren has created various sonic art installations for the Museum of Making Music, as well as teaching electronic music, audio programming and sound design at SDSU. But Echo Thief and now “The Omni Echo” have been his coveted brainchild, and it’s clear he’s ready for the fullbodied debut at A Ship in the Woods Fest.

“I’m going to make every motherfucker who walks into this place sing,” Warren says. “Even if singing isn’t your thing, you’re not into making noise with your face, you can still make beautiful things happen, and it’s my hope that people will wander through ‘The Omni Echo’ and leave it with a different appreciation of sound and take that back with them to the rest of the festival.”

MAY 30, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 17

CULTURE | VOICES

RACHEL MICHELLE FERNANDES

THANK YOU FOR

STARING

Single White Feminism, part 3: Fear and loathing in Encinitas

I

n an 1887 letter to an Archbishop of the Church of England, writer and historian Lord Acton penned the now famous quote: “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Now, with the seemingly endlessly growing list of accused power-abusers in the #MeToo movement, these words are just as relevant as ever.

But while #MeToo has focused on sexual harassment/abuse perpetrated by men, abuse of power can take many shapes. In any hierarchical system—be it a private company, a government agency or an arts non-profit—there needs to be checks and balances to prevent an authority figure from growing too powerful and putting those in supporting positions in a vulnerable state. Female leaders, especially white upper class ones, are not impervious to corruption by power.

A look into the recent history of Lux Art Institute in Encinitas serves as a cautionary tale.

The million-dollar-budget arts organization and residency (whose vision statement was to redefine “the museum experience to make art more accessible and personally meaningful”) would prefer not to talk about the troubling reputation of recently departed executive director and founder Reesey Shaw. However, it is my strong opinion that if past mistakes go unaddressed, then they are likely to be repeated. This is a moment for Lux to let the proverbial skeletons out of its closet and finally bury them, forging fertile ground for the thriving community organization it can be.

“I described it as an abusive relationship,” says former Deputy Director of Lux Dan Buryj in reference to working with Shaw.

“I think every single person who worked there cried at least once in front of her. But at the same time you loved the mission, and you loved the people you were working with.

I think that’s what kept a lot of people there.

You felt camaraderie with your coworkers.”

Speaking to Buryj was the first time I was able to get anyone to openly talk about what I’ve heard among many peers in the art scene—stories of verbal abuse, high staff turnover and more. As I’ve talked about in the previous columns in this series, arts and non-profit professionals often fear for their careers if they speak about unfair working conditions and toxic leadership.

But if Shaw was making people cry, why was she allowed to lead for so long?

Buryj and another anonymous source spoke of her relationship to the artists and a high turnover in the board of directors.

“It was totally The Devil Wears Prada,” says Buryj. “She made it very known that she was well connected in the art scene. She used that to her advantage.”

A little digging however, led me to two

18 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 30, 2018

former artists—who worked and lived at the institute as part of its ongoing artist in residency program—that were less than thrilled with their experience at Lux. “I just think that she didn’t respect artists,” says Squeak Carnwath, painter and professor emerita at the University of California, Berkeley. “The way that they selected artists was [Shaw] brought the names of the artists to the board and they approved it. I was so irritated, saying that they should have nominators and a jury deciding on who to invite and not have one person in charge like they own the artists.”

Ebony G. Patterson, a Jamaican mixed media artist and assistant professor of painting at the University of Kentucky, also took issue with how artists were treated at Lux. “My colleagues and I are not an aquarium,” says Patterson, who was displeased at the way in which resident artists were expected to not only hold an open studio four days a week, but also to have their practices regularly interrupted by visitors (not students) with whom they were supposed to engage.

“I just think that there was a lack of understanding about what it means to be an artist,” reflects Patterson. “That’s what’s worrying, when somebody is in a position where they’re engaging with artists. The work always comes first and if the artist is in a condition that doesn’t allow them to generate new thoughts or new ideas, the circumstance becomes about everything else but that.”

Patterson also noted that while the Lux staff seemed sensitive to her needs, leadership fell short.

“I felt like the clarity about what this experience was or should be was far better understood by the staff than was coming from the top,” she says.

I reached out to Lux in hopes of speaking with Shaw or the institute’s board, but was only sent a press release on Shaw’s departure. However, Lux’s Marketing and Events Director Ernesto Gonzalez assured me that the senior staff have been working much more collaboratively at present and that the organization is “not trying to rush anything” when it comes to finding a new executive director.

“They should pick somebody who is community oriented,” says Buryj, who now runs a nonprofit that helps people with disabilities in Pensacola, Florida. “Who’s not going to say, ‘oh, that’s just local art. That doesn’t belong here,’ which we heard often. Someone who really, truly wants to make an impact in the community. They need to truly be dedicated to the entire county, and in order to do that, they need to have representation not just from Rancho Santa Fe and from La Jolla.”

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CULTURE | FILM

Hallowed ground

First Reformed

Paul Schrader’s religious drama features a bruising Ethan Hawke performance

by Glenn Heath Jr.

C

onventional wisdom suggests that journaling lar and Affliction. All feature enraged men pushed to has positive psychological effects on the writer. the brink by societal change, forced to confront their Not so for Rev. Ernest Toller (Ethan Hawke), the own crumbling identity in a world where delusion has hollowed soul on hallowed ground, who recounts his long kept them safe from reality. daily experiences in longhand in Paul Schrader’s comToller is a different beast altogether. Madness will bustible drama, First Reformed. Beginning as a “form never save him, nor will he compromise. What’s left of prayer,” these intense writing sessions (always is penance, and Hawke explores this thorny ideologipaired with gallons of whiskey) quickly descend into cal territory with a bold and vulnerable performance unfiltered confession. that seems to be simultaneously destroyed and reNot simply physically alone in his spare living built with each scene. The same cannot be said of the quarters, Toller has potentially lost all connection film’s icy imagery, pristinely captured and symmetriwith God. Written prose unspools wells of doubt and cally frozen in Academy ratio. Schrader’s combinaregret that have up to this point tion of the two aesthetics gives entangled his soul with the unreFirst Reformed (opening Friday, lenting sharpness of barbed wire.

June 1, at Landmark’s Hillcrest FIRST Emotionally marred by the tragic Cinemas) both a measure of death of his son in Iraq, he’s been control and unpredictability.

REFORMED exiled to lead a historically imIn an example of tortured Directed by Paul Schrader portant Dutch Colonial chapel in self-awareness, the characters Starring Ethan Hawke, rural New York. all seem to recognize that modAmanda Seyfried, Cedric Kyles Most community members ern civilization is failing on a attend the Church of Abundant global level. Capitalist greed, and Philip Ettinger Life, the town’s religious megaracial division, toxic waste, reliRated R lopolis that is shepherded by gious uncertainty, Jihadism and Pastor Jeffers (Cedric Kyles aka eco-terror are each confronted Cedric the Entertainer). Toller on some point in the film’s plot, has his own dedicated flock, and interactions with which valiantly weaves together multitudes of comthem suggest he’s still got some skin in the idea peting tonal shifts. that faith can be used to defuse destructive internal Toller remains the eye of Schrader’s hurricane, exstruggles. Why else would he make such an effort hibiting a frayed calm while threatening to burst with to connect with Michael (Philip Ettinger), the trou- destructive potential, especially in the bonkers final bled young environmental activist whose wife Mary moments. Unpacking the banger of an ending would (Amanda Seyfried) has solicited the church’s help? inevitably take much more space than provided in Their heated conversation covers topics ranging these pages and shouldn’t be spoiled in the least. from global warming to suicide before coming back What can be said is First Reformed manages to subto rest squarely on the collective erosion of hope. Mi- limely inspire great conviction out of impenetrable chael, an eerily sad black hole of defeat, speaks an- darkness. The world may be turning into an empty grily about modern humanity’s unfettered effort to void of nihilism, depravity and death, but what we can destroy the planet. His wrath slowly but surely seeps control is our own fate. That is, we can choose a perinto Toller himself, whose body and mind become sus- spective refracted through the lens of love rather than ceptible to extremism. Here, First Reformed walks up hate. Drowning one’s self in misery (and Drano) is the to the precipice of all-consuming despair, and it won’t easy way out. Experiencing the curative powers of exbe the last time. ercise and spinning in 360-degree ecstasy are entirely Schrader’s no stranger to incessant anguish. This more dangerous leaps of faith. is, after all, the man who penned Taxi Driver and Raging Bull for Martin Scorsese, not to mention directed Film reviews run weekly. portraits of American deterioration such as Blue Col- Write to glennh@sdcitybeat.com

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MAY 30, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 19

CULTURE | FILM

Audio slave

I

magine the nefarious self-aware computer system HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey decided to make films instead of tormenting space men. Odds are he would have created Upgrade. Set in a not-so distant future Los Angeles, this lean and mean genre throwback utilizes classic revenge tropes to cleverly question whether mankind will ever reconcile its extreme dependence on technology.

Director Leigh Whannell, who co-wrote the maiden sagas of the Saw and Insidious franchises, infuses Upgrade with the reckless verve of a bloody ’80s action film. Audio credits spoken by an eerie voice generator give way to the inside of a grungy garage where technophobe Grey Trace (Logan MarshallGreen) restores classic cars. His flashy and successful media mogul wife brings home a corporate paycheck. Both characters come to respectively embody an organic clash between analog and digital.

Very little set-up precedes the violent act that leaves Grey paralyzed from the neck down, or the surgical implantation of an experimental software called STEM, which reconnects communication between his brain and crippled limbs. Whannell

20 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 30, 2018

doesn’t waste much time before fixating entirely on the symbiotic relationship between Grey and the talky digital soul that turns his body into a killing machine.

Upgrade (opening Friday, June 1) seamlessly sprints between kinetic fight scenes in which Grey willfully hands over control to STEM. In order to ensure survival, he’s willing to give up free will under the cold operating system’s ruthless management. One would be willfully ignorant not to see the metaphorical parallels with Facebook’s current privacy scandal and potential Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

But Whannell’s savage B movie doesn’t aspire to political allegory.

The dystopia it presents is not collective, but the personal kind where technological immersion is used to justify rampant self-delusion. Near the end of Upgrade, Grey screams to STEM, “I can’t keep up!”

One day in the near future we’ll all probably be saying the same thing.

—Glenn Heath Jr.

OPENING 1945: Set just after the end of WWII, an Orthodox Jewsish man and his adult son visit a village in Hungary while the villag-

ers prepare for a wedding. Opens Friday, June 1, at the Angelika Film Centers—Carmel Mountain.

2001: A Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick’s daring, ambitious Sci-fi masterpiece—which charts man’s destructive impact on the world in the past, present and future—gets a re-release.

Action Point: Johnny Knoxville headlines this outrageous comedy about a daredevil who decides to open his own thrilling theme park with friends.

Adrift: Caught out at sea during one of the worst hurricanes in modern history, two young lovers must confront nature’s wrath in order to survive.

First Reformed: Ethan Hawke gives a mesmerizing performance as a conflicted priest trying to serve his flock of upstate New Yorkers in Paul Schrader’s bruising critique of humanity’s destructive impulses.

Mountain: In this documentary narrated

by Willem Dafoe, filmmakers look at man’s modern obsession with mountain exploration from locations around the world.

Opens Friday, June 1, at the Ken Cinema.

On Chesil Beach: Based on Ian McEwan’s novel, this romance follows a young couple that finds their idyllic relationship challenged by sexual freedom and societal pressure. Opens Friday, June 1, at the Angelika Film Centers—Carmel Mountain.

Sollers Point: A low-level drug dealer under house arrest experiences the plague of unemployment that has hit his hometown community hard. Opens Friday, June 1, at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

Upgrade: In the near future, a distraught man who is afraid of all things technology must come to rely on new organic computer software as he plots his revenge.

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STEVE GULLICK

MUSIC

From left: Elias Bender Rønnenflet, Jakob Tvilling Pless, Dan Kjær Nielsen and Johan Wieth hree years isn’t that long, relatively speaking, but in rock ‘n’ roll, it can feel like eons. This is especially true for a band like Iceage, who released three albums between 2011 and 2014, all before the four members of the Copenhagen-based band had turned 25 years old. Having been moving at a breakneck pace since they were all teenagers, the group collectively decided to give themselves a little bit of breathing room after touring behind their third album, 2014’s Plowing Into the Field of Love. That break extended for a little over three years, which is a pretty significant chunk of time.

Each of the four musicians in the band stayed busy. Drummer Dan Kjær Nielsen now has a child. Vocalist Elias Bender Rønnenfelt released two albums with his other band Marching Church. And everyone kept playing music in some way or another. But bassist Jakob Tvilling Pless says that before they could go forward as a band, they needed some time apart.

“A lot of stuff happened,” says Pless.

“Dan, our drummer, he’s a father now. And we’ve all been doing different projects.

We’ve all just been living our lives. We needed a break from touring, and we needed to

get away from playing for a little while, because we’ve basically been touring constantly since we were kids.”

The band that reconvened after that three-year break doesn’t sound much like they did back in 2011. With their debut album New Brigade, Pless, Rønnenfelt, Nielsen and guitarist Johan Wieth crammed 12 tracks of intense, nihilistic punk into 24 minutes, seemingly hell bent on destruction right out of the gates. The band we hear on Iceage’s fourth album, Beyondless (released earlier this month via Matador), is a more mature group—literally, now in their late-twenties as opposed to being around 19 when their debut was released—as well as one that showcases a more diverse range of stylistic approaches.

Beyondless bridges the gap between the gothic punk-blues of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and the art-glam swagger of early Roxy Music. “The Day The Music Dies” has a rugged strut, backed by a lush horn section. Meanwhile the album’s lead single “Catch It” is slower and brooding, with a sexy swagger that seems miles apart from the jackhammering sounds of early singles like “Broken Bone.” In some respects, the album shares some commonalities with Rønnenfelt’s Marching Church project, but with

sharper edges and darker tones. He says he sees songwriting as a kind of continuum, and that spending time with that project inevitably led him toward some of the sounds they explore here.

“Songwriting is an ongoing venture that gets more and more interesting over time,” Rønnenfelt says. “I think Iceage was just ripe at the time to take another step into our linear progression.”

“I think we always have to challenge ourselves,” Pless adds. “We’ve never been interested in redoing anything we’ve done before. I think we always try to push ourselves into new avenues and make music that’s challenging to us and to the listeners as well.”

Beyondless is, likewise, a more lyrically sophisticated record for Iceage. With “Pain Killer,” Rønnenfelt juxtaposes sex and addiction against one of the album’s catchiest melodies. And the album’s leadoff track “Hurrah” is a critique of the violent nature of humanity, culminating in a chorus of “We can’t stop killing and we’ll never stop killing, and we shouldn’t stop killing, hurrah.”

Rønnenfelt has a lot to say on this album, though he says he didn’t have any specific agenda while writing the lyrics, other than that he wanted to leave his comfort zone.

“I try to get away from home when I write.

And I try to pick out an expanse of a couple weeks that I dedicate to writing all of the lyrics,” he says. “You just look into a blank sheet of paper until there’s something on it.

There’s a wide palette of stuff going on there.

What spills out is just how my brain is wired.”

When Iceage first embarked on tour behind Beyondless, they played a few residencies in Los Angeles, New York City and Tokyo, which included some collaborations with visual artists. The band was even awarded a grant from the Danish Arts Council to help to fund these collaborations, including one with Makoto Azuma, a Japanese artist who blanketed their stage with flowers.

While those kinds of collaborations were one-of-a-kind, their live presentation has evolved in other ways. On this tour, they’re bringing with them a violinist and a saxophonist, which gives Iceage the opportunity to present their older songs in a new light.

“With the addition of the violinist and saxophone player it’s become more interesting to revisit some old songs,” Rønnenfelt says. “With the added instrumentation they get a new life. Some songs we just don’t revisit, because they’ve just been overplayed or whatever. But some songs have a kind of longevity where we can keep playing them and expressing them in a new way.”

This year marks 10 years since Iceage founded, and they’re arguably a much different band. And considering their youth at the time they started playing together, that was probably inevitable. More importantly, they never pass up the opportunity to let themselves grow as artists, and to ensure that the current version of Iceage is always going to be the best one.

“When we started touring and we came to the states, I was 17. A lot of stuff happens in that time,” says Pless. “I think naturally you grow as a person, and you think had we just stayed the same and kept making the same music and played the same kind of shows, that would have been boring to us. We’re not interested in being the same band we were seven years ago.”

Write to jefft@sdcitybeat.com. Follow him on Twitter @1000TimesJeff

MAY 30, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 21

MUSIC

NOTES FROM THE SMOKING PATIO

BY RYAN BRADFORD THE

SPOTLIGHT

LOCALS ONLY

T

he Che Cafe reopened this month after being closed for a year to have some repairs and renovations done. And as a celebration of the long-running, D.I.Y. all-ages venue’s return, a dozen bands will convene there for the upcoming Revenge of the Che Cafe festival. The show takes place on Saturday, June 2 and features performances from Chutes, Nimzo, Therapy, Spirited Away and Contrastes, among others. It starts at 3 p.m. and will run all day long and into the evening.

“Once we were back in action, and when I knew we were going to start putting on shows again, I thought ‘let’s do a day-long fest,’” says Cameron Royce, a Che Cafe volunteer who organized the festival. “We’ve done shows like this before. I just thought, let’s make it fun. Make it special.”

The lineup for the Revenge of the Che Cafe fest is pretty diverse, with artists ranging from Imperial Beach indie rock outfit Chutes to local hardcore bruisers Therapy. Also featured are Contrastes, a Latin-American folk group who will be performing songs about the venue’s namesake, Che Gue-

ALBUM REVIEW Monochromacy Living Posture (Stay Strange)

A

good live show isn’t everything. There are plenty of bands who, for all their great recordings, just somehow can’t pull it together to make their live show just as strong. More often than not though, the reverse is true: A great live band simply can’t recapture that energy in the studio, and that’s fairly easy to understand. It’s even more rare that an artist can not only pull off a great live show and studio recording, but make them two entirely different experiences altogether.

Esteban Flores, aka Monochromacy, is one artist that’s able to do just that. In a live setting, Flores is often a stoic and solitary figure, able to create supernatural sounds from the gentlest touch of his guitar. The experience is less about how animated he is and more about the sheer magnitude of the sound he creates; hearing his powerful drones in a church remains one of my favorite recent live experiences.

22 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 30, 2018

vara. And though the Che has been known to feature a lot of punk shows, Royce says he wanted to mix it up.

“I didn’t want to have the same bills that I always see,” he says. “Contraste is a low-key folk band. We have a couple of hardcore bands. We have a couple of indie rock bands. I ALEJANDRO MALLEA always get kind of annoyed when I see the same bands over and over again.”

The Che Cafe closed in spring of 2017 as part of a new lease agreement with UC San Diego that allowed the nonprofit venue to be able to make necessary upgrades to avoid code violations. During that time a new bathroom was installed, as well as a sprinkler system, while the riser next to the stage was removed and the venue was given The Che Cafe a new coat of paint. Now that it’s reopened and back up to code, people are stoked for its return.

“There have been some really chill shows, and some packed shows,” Royce says. “The first show back was sold out. It was packed. People were really excited for the Che to be open again.”

—Jeff Terich

His albums are certainly connected to his performances, but the experience is often much different. Living Posture, his latest full-length, runs the gamut from gentle ambient textures to horrific, distorted screeches. It’s as much a meditative piece of music as it is a terrifying one.

Picking up where 2016’s Live Isolated left off, Living Posture finds Flores becoming more eclectic with his soundscapes, as well as trimming down their running time. On previous recordings, he’d often stretch a composition out for the length of an entire side of vinyl. Here, however, he lets ideas run their course in a more concise fashion. The chilling “Ultima Voz” comprises only a few slow vocal loops and some percussion, and runs just a bit under three minutes long. And “Transmigration” is among his gentlest recordings, not to mention one of his spookiest.

When Monochromacy does extend toward the 10-minute mark, like on “Animus,” Flores takes the opportunity to encompass a broader spectrum of sound, from dense ambient waves to blood-curdling screams. On record, it’s a powerful listen, but to experience it live no doubt would be to confront sheer terror.

—Jeff Terich

GIULIA MCGAURAN

I

Alex Lahey

t took me a long time to admit that I was a poppunk fan. Nobody wants to cop to liking pop-(insert name of otherwise enjoyable music genre here), but enjoying a more fun version of a genre founded on counter-culture, anti-authority and ugliness almost seems like the antithesis of punk. I used to wonder what self-respecting punk could blast Enema of the State and still think they’re rebelling against anything.

But then I grew up and learned a couple things about nuance. I discovered bands that could produce poppier melodies while delivering subversive messages—which felt more effective than a gruff goon yelling in my ear.

Bands such as The Menzingers, The Thermals and Aye Nako—all decidedly pop-punk—could sound like Blink or Green Day, but not dumbed-down.

Australian Alex Lahey continues the trend of smart pop-punk. Last year’s I Love You Like A Brother turned out to be one of my favorite albums of 2017 not only because it was catchy as hell, but it also displayed an emotional honesty that young artists rarely show.

Songs like “I Haven’t Been Taking Care of Myself” are so dancy that if you’re not paying attention, you’ll miss the rawness with which Lahey tackles co-dependence and depression. Even a song like “Every Day’s the Weekend” and its cheerleader beat is laced with the sadness of yearning to be a part of someone else’s life.

For Lahey, the personal is political, and it’s more punk than most bands coming out these days.

Alex Lahey plays Soda Bar on Saturday, June 2.

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MUSIC

JEFF TERICH

IF I WERE U A music insider’s weekly agenda

JOE DILWORTH

WEDNESDAY, MAY 30

PLAN A: Cloud Catcher, Crypt Trip, Featherstone, Mezzoa @ Brick by Brick.

Cloud Catcher is a heavy, spacey psychedelic rock band in the vein of Blue Cheer or Hawkwind. So pre-game with whatever, uh, provisions you need to before watching the riffs fly. PLAN B: Holiday Music, Exasperation @ Che Cafe. Boston-based Holiday Music plays guitar-based indie rock that’s a little sleepy, a little dreamy, but big on melodies. It’s a perfectly breezy Wednesday night kind of sound. BACKUP PLAN: Heir Gloom, New Speak, Dragon Dragon @ Soda Bar.

THURSDAY, MAY 31

PLAN A: WAND, C57Black6, Sumatraban @ The Casbah. WAND have evolved a bit since their early introduction as a fuzzheavy garage-psych band. They’ve become more prone to experimenting with arrangements and songwriting, and while they still get a bit trippy, their songs seem to keep getting better. PLAN B: The Dead Milkmen, The Bombpops @ Belly Up Tavern.

Yeah, I was a little surprised The Dead Milkmen are still around, but I still have some affection for their ’80s-era songs like “Punk Rock Girl.” BACKUP PLAN: Lead Pony, Spencer Yenson and the Squatters, The Oxen @ Soda Bar.

FRIDAY, JUNE 1

PLAN A: Tinashe @ Del Mar Fairgrounds.

Anybody who’s a fan of contemporary R&B and hasn’t heard Tinashe’s Aquarius should rectify that ASAP. She’s released some good stuff since then, of course, but that 2014 album of atmospheric, sexy future-soul made me a believer. PLAN B: Anvil, Shadowside, Sunlord, Alchemy @ Brick by Brick. Canadian heavy metal outfit Anvil got a second life of sorts not that long ago when they were the subject of a documentary, but they’ve been at it for decades. Anyone with an affection for old-school metal sounds should have a blast at this show. BACKUP PLAN: Beekeeper, Monarch, Malison, Sergulath @ The Merrow.

SATURDAY, JUNE 2

PLAN A: Curtis Harding, Algiers @ The Casbah. Curtis Harding plays a psychedelic, garagey style of soul that recalls Sly and the Family Stone, and it’s very cool. But I’m even more enthusiastic about Algiers, whose The Underside of Power was my fa-

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Algiers vorite album of 2017. PLAN B: Revenge of the Che Cafe w/ Chutes, Nimzo, Spirited Away, Gay Agenda, Therapy @ Che Cafe.

The Che Cafe is back, and to celebrate the all-ages D.I.Y. venue’s return, a bunch of punk and hardcore bands are playing an allday fest there. BACKUP PLAN: Alex Lahey, Whiskey Circle, Mittens @ Soda Bar.

SUNDAY, JUNE 3

PLAN A: Power Trip, Sheer Mag, Fury, Red Death @ SOMA. Power Trip’s Nightmare Logic got me through the first few months of the Trump administration. The album is a solid half-hour of ferocious, anti-authority thrash metal that’s a hell of a lot of fun.

They’re joined at this show by Sheer Mag, whose riff-heavy rock ‘n’ roll is considerably different, but just as infectious. PLAN B: Josh Rouse @ The Casbah. I haven’t listened to Josh Rouse in a few years, but albums such as 1972 and Nashville are so warmly catchy, they’re just as endearing and accessible as I remember. BACKUP PLAN: U.S. Bombs, Slaughter Boys, Chango’s Psychotic Garage, Embalmers @ Soda Bar.

MONDAY, JUNE 4

PLAN A: Fistfights With Wolves, Adeumazel @ Soda Bar. Fistfights With Wolves is probably a bit of an acquired taste, since they’re a jazzy prog-rock band of sorts with two drummers and multiple vocalists. Still, they’re an impressive band to watch, so it’s a taste worth acquiring.

TUESDAY, JUNE 5

PLAN A: Iceage, Mary Lattimore @ The Casbah. Read my feature this week on Iceage, whose Beyondless is my album of the year so far (that makes two album-of-the-year bands in one week!). It’s a more mature, yet still darkly brooding version of the band. With saxophone. PLAN B: GZA @ Observatory North Park. Alternately, $5 gets you in to see Wu-Tang alum GZA, which is a steal to hear the man responsible for Liquid Swords.

MAY 30, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 23

MUSIC

CONCERTS HOT! NEW! FRESH!

Covet (HOB, 7/21), Weirdos (Casbah, 7/27), Wimps (Soda Bar, 8/2), Trinidad Cardona (HOB, 8/4), Miniature Tigers (Soda Bar, 9/14), The Real McKenzies (Soda Bar, 9/27), Clan of Xymox (Casbah, 11/3).

CANCELED John Mayall (Music Box, 5/30).

GET YER TICKETS ‘A Ship In the Woods Fest’ w/ Built to Spill, Shabazz Palaces, Bill Callahan, No Age (Felicita Park, 6/16-17), Donavon Frankenreiter (BUT, 6/20), Janelle Monae (Open Air Theater, 6/20), Warped Tour (SDCCU Stadium, 6/22), Seu Jorge (BUT, 6/24), Fear (Observatory, 6/28), Quiet Slang (Soda Bar, 6/29), Kina Grannis (Music Box, 7/10), Goodnight, Texas (Casbah, 7/11), Neurosis, Converge (Observatory, 7/14), Chris Isaak (Humphreys, 7/17), Toad the Wet Sprocket (BUT, 7/17-18), Paramore (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 7/19), Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks (Casbah, 7/20), Wye Oak (Soda Bar, 7/20), Car Seat Headrest (SOMA, 7/21), Logic (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 7/24), The Decemberists (Humphreys, 7/30), American Football, Phoebe Bridgers (Observatory, 8/3), Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Dwight Yoakam (Open

Air Theatre, 8/3), Hop Along (Irenic, 8/5), Shooter Jennings (BUT, 8/8), Willie Nelson (Humphreys, 8/10), ‘X-Fest’ w/ Beck, Death Cab for Cutie (SDCCU Stadium, 8/11), Chris Stapleton (Mattress Firm, 8/16), Deafheaven (Brick by Brick, 8/17), Red Fang, Elder (Brick by Brick, 8/20), J. Cole (Viejas Arena, 8/22), Phillip Phillips (Humphreys, 8/22), The Alarm (BUT, 8/23), Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 8/24), Smashing Pumpkins (Viejas Arena, 9/1), Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (Copley Symphony Hall, 9/1), Leon Bridges (Open Air Theatre, 9/5), The Original Wailers (BUT, 9/6), Ms. Lauryn Hill (Open Air Theatre, 9/9), Murder by Death (BUT, 9/11), YOB (Brick by Brick, 9/14), The Distillers (Observatory, 9/18), Jason Aldean (Mattress Firm, 9/20), The Eagles (Petco Park, 9/22), Grizzly Bear (Observatory, 9/24), First Aid Kit (Observatory, 9/25), Deep Purple, Judas Priest (Mattress Firm, 9/26), Loudon Wainwright III (BUT, 9/27), Ringo Starr and His AllStarr Band (Humphreys, 9/27), Natalie Prass (Casbah, 9/30), Courtney Barnett, Waxahatchee (Observatory, 10/3), Roky Erickson (Casbah, 10/5), The B-52’s (Humphreys, 10/6), Ozzy Osbourne (Mattress Firm, 10/9), Mew (Observatory, 10/9), Shannon and the Clams (BUT, 10/10), The Joy Formidable (Casbah, 10/17), D.R.I. (Brick

by Brick, 10/20), Simple Minds (Humphreys, 10/22), The Selecter, The English Beat (Casbah, 11/2), Fleetwood Mac (Viejas Arena, 12/8).

MAY WEDNESDAY, MAY 30 Xavier Rudd at Belly Up Tavern (sold

24 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 30, 2018

out). Cloud Catcher at Brick by Brick.

Heir Gloom at Soda Bar.

THURSDAY, MAY 31 Lord Huron at House of Blues. D.O.A. at Brick by Brick. Dead Milkmen at Belly Up Tavern. WAND at The Casbah. Lead Pony at Soda Bar. Eli Young Band at Harrah’s SoCal. Company of Thieves at House of Blues.

JUNE FRIDAY, JUNE 1 Anvil at Brick by Brick. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard at Observatory North Park (sold out). Mark Farina at Music Box. Greg Laswell at Belly Up Tavern. The Paladins at The Casbah.

Noah Cyrus at Del Mar Fairgrounds.

Lord Huron at House of Blues (sold out). Beekeeper at The Merrow. WYO at Soda Bar.

SATURDAY, JUNE 2 Ray Lamontagne, Neko Case at Open Air Theatre. Curtis Harding, Algiers at The Casbah. Dr. Dog at Observatory North Park (sold out). Betamaxx at Music Box. Alex Lahey at Soda Bar. Sugarland at Del Mar Fairgrounds.

SUNDAY, JUNE 3 Calexico at Belly Up Tavern (sold out).

U.S. Bombs at Soda Bar. Josh Rouse at The Casbah. Power Trip, Sheer Mag at SOMA. Tomorrows Bad Seeds at Music Box. Authority Zero at Brick by Brick.

The Monkees present The Mike and Mickey Show at Humphreys by the Bay. Kabaka Pyramid at Harrah’s SoCal.

MONDAY, JUNE 4 Stephen Stills and Judy Collins at Humphreys by the Bay. Fistfights With Wolves at Soda Bar.

TUESDAY, JUNE 5 Rodrigo Amarante at Soda Bar. Iceage at The Casbah. Nicki Bluhm at Belly Up Tavern. GZA at Observatory North Park.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6 Speedy Ortiz at Soda Bar. The Kooks at Observatory North Park (sold out). The Yardbirds at Belly Up Tavern. Emery at Brick by Brick. Howlin Rain at The Casbah. Capital Cities at Del Mar Fairgrounds.

THURSDAY, JUNE 7 Insomnium at Brick by Brick. Sick of It All at Soda Bar. Blackbird Blackbird at SPACE. Michael Franti and Spearhead at Humphreys by the Bay. James Supercave at Blonde. Kansas at Del Mar Fairgrounds.

FRIDAY, JUNE 8 B-Side Players at Belly Up Tavern. She Wants Revenge at Music Box. Minus the Bear at House of Blues. Uli John Roth at Belly Up Tavern. Maps & Atlases at The Casbah. Cozz at SOMA. Yanni at Civic Theatre.

SATURDAY, JUNE 9 The Sword at Belly Up Tavern. Aterciopelados at Music Box. Behold the Arctopus at Brick by Brick. ‘Kate Bush Dance Party’ w/ Baby Bushka at The Casbah. The Hillbilly Moon Explosion at Soda Bar.

SUNDAY, JUNE 10 Jeremy Enigk at Soda Bar. Justin Townes Earle at The Casbah. Turnpike Troubadours at Belly Up Tavern (sold out). Blue October at House of Blues.

Yeek at Che Café. Lorena Isabell at Music Box.

TUESDAY, JUNE 12 JD McPherson at Belly Up Tavern. Shy Boys at Whistle Stop. Kesha, Macklemore at Mattress Firm Amphitheatre.

Reuben and the Dark at Soda Bar.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13 Black Milk at Soda Bar. Sunflower Bean at Che Café. Flatbush Zombies at SOMA. Reptaliens at The Casbah. The Calling at Belly Up Tavern. The Cult at Del Mar Fairgrounds.

THURSDAY, JUNE 14 Har Mar Superstar at The Casbah. Chad Valley at Soda Bar. Barenaked Ladies at Del Mar Fairgrounds.

FRIDAY, JUNE 15 Brownout at The Casbah. The Highwayman at Belly Up Tavern. The Skull at Soda Bar. Eric Burdon and the Animals at Humphreys by the Bay.

SATURDAY, JUNE 16 Veronica May at The Casbah. The Viceroys at Music Box. The Wild Fires at Soda Bar. ‘A Ship In the Woods Fest’ w/ Built to Spill, Shabazz Palaces, Bill Callahan, No Age at Felicita Park. John Butler Trio at House of Blues.

MUSIC CONTINUED ON PAGE 25

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MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 24 SUNDAY, JUNE 17 Post Animal at Soda Bar. Burna Boy at The Casbah. Day26 at Music Box. ‘A Ship In the Woods Fest’ w/ Built to Spill, Shabazz Palaces, Bill Callahan, No Age at Felicita Park. The Slackers at Harrah’s SoCal.

MONDAY, JUNE 18 This Will Destroy You at Belly Up Tavern.

Demerit at Soda Bar.

TUESDAY, JUNE 19 Get Up Kids at The Casbah (sold out).

Stars at Belly Up Tavern.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20 Janelle Monae at Open Air Theater. Men I Trust at The Casbah. Shelter at Soda Bar. Donavon Frankenreiter at Belly Up Tavern. Eric Paslay at Observatory North Park.

THURSDAY, JUNE 21 Bent Knee at Soda Bar. Kenny Chesney at Mattress Firm Amphitheatre.

FRIDAY, JUNE 22 Belle and Sebastian at Observatory North Park (sold out). Dirty Sweet at The Casbah. Dark Star Orchestra at Humphreys by the Bay. Slenderbodies at Soda Bar. Los Beautiful Beast at Belly Up Tavern. Super Diamond at Music Box.

SATURDAY, JUNE 23 Trampled by Turtles at Humphreys by the Bay. Jungle Fire at Soda Bar. Gary

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Hoey at Brick by Brick. Long Beach Dub All Stars at Observatory North Park. The Creepy Creeps at The Casbah. Armors at SPACE.

SUNDAY, JUNE 24 Shakey Graves at Observatory North Park (sold out). Seu Jorge at Belly Up Tavern. The Bridge City Sinners at The Casbah. Quel Bordel at The Casbah.

MONDAY, JUNE 25 Featherstone at The Casbah. Violent Femmes at Humphreys by the Bay.

TUESDAY, JUNE 26 Flotsam and Jetsam at Brick by Brick.

Beres Hammond at Belly Up Tavern.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27 Aaron Neville Duo at Belly Up Tavern.

Slum Village at Music Box. Willie Nile at The Casbah.

THURSDAY, JUNE 28 Dave Hillyard and the Rock Steady 7 at The Casbah. Fear at Observatory North Park. Shwayze & Cisco Adler at Music Box. Quintron and Miss Pussycat at Soda Bar.

FRIDAY, JUNE 29 Quiet Slang at Soda Bar. The Go-Go’s at Humphreys by the Bay (sold out). Milk Carton Kids at Belly Up Tavern. Cold Cave at Music Box. Farruko at Observatory North Park. Chuck Ragan at The Casbah.

SATURDAY, JUNE 30 Magic Giant at Belly Up Tavern. The Regrettes at Che Café (sold out). SIR at

Observatory North Park. Dread Mar I at Music Box. Schizophonics at The Casbah. Negative Gemini at Soda Bar.

JULY SUNDAY, JULY 1 The Young Dubliners at Belly Up Tavern.

Transviolet at The Casbah. Katchafire at Music Box. Passafire at Harrah’s SoCal.

MONDAY, JULY 2 Reyno at Soda Bar. Jon Snodgrass and Buddies at The Casbah. The O’Jays at Del Mar Fairgrounds.

TUESDAY, JULY 3 New Madrid at Soda Bar. WAR at Del Mar Fairgrounds.

rCLUBSr

710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave., Pacific Beach. Wed: Open mic. Thu: Karaoke. Fri: Shay and the Hustle, Triton Eye. Sat: Irieality, Sandollar, The Shakes. Sun: Karaoke.

Air Conditioned Lounge, 4673 30th St., Normal Heights. Wed: ‘De La Flow’ w/ Karlo, Chester, Beto Perez, DeCalifornia.

Thu: ‘Retrobox’ w/ DJ 1979. Fri: ‘House Music’ w/ DJ Matthew Bryan. Sat: ‘Juicy’ w/ Mike Czech. Sun: ‘Chvrch’ w/ DJs 2Bit, Alice, Will Lavin.

American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., Downtown. Thu: Ryan Hamilton. Fri: Ryan Hamilton. Sat: Ryan Hamilton. Sun: Ryan Hamilton.

The Bancroft, 9143 Campo Road, Spring

Valley. Wed: Karaoke. Thu: Lovatraxx, Zombie Barbie. Fri: Tzimani, Space Vacation. Sun: Eye the Realist, The Great Heights, Lost Dakota. Tue: Karaoke.

Bang Bang, 526 Market St., Downtown.

Fri: Ardalan. Sat: Gaiser.

Bar Pink, 3829 30th St., North Park. Wed: ‘Funk Manifesto’ w/ DJ Stoykavich. Thu: Low Volts, Stephen El Rey Sextet. Sat: Super Buffet, Aviator Stash. Sun: ‘Rat Sabbath’.

Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. Wed: Xavier Rudd, Beth Preston (sold out). Thu: The Dead Milkmen, The Bombpops. Fri: Greg Laswell, Tolan Shaw. Sun: Calexico, Julia Jacklin (sold out). Tue: Nicki Bluhm, Mapache.

Blonde, 1808 W. Washington St., Mission Hills. Wed: ‘Dance Klassique’. Thu: Las Rosas, Sol Orchid, Of Ennui. Fri: ‘Dance Punk’. Sat: ‘TRON ‘80s New Wave Party’.

Sun: Jimmy Whispers, The Memories, Secret Lynx, Daybreakers. Mon: Wire live tribute. Tue: ‘T is 4 Techno’.

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

Fri: ‘Club Musae’.

Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave., Bay Park. Wed: Cloud Catcher, Crypt Trip, Featherstone, Mezzoa. Thu: D.O.A., MDC, Systematic Abuse, Modern Enemy, FLAUNT. Fri: Anvil, Shadowside, Sunlord, Alchemy. Sat: Jonah Matranga, The Pauses, Private Lives, No Sympathy. Sun: Authority Zero, Bunch of Heathens, Skipjack.

The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd., Middletown. Wed: DJ Artistic’s Hip-Hop Battle Bot. Thu: WAND, C57Black6, Sumatraban. Fri: The Paladins, The Bedbreakers, The Tighten Ups. Sat: Curtis Harding, Algiers. Sun: Josh Rouse. Mon: The Lexicons, Nothing Special, Krook Tone Classics. Tue: Iceage, Mary Lattimore.

Che Cafe, UCSD campus, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. Wed: Holiday Music, Exasperation. Thu: Geniferus, Wolfgang Strutz, Gift Machine. Sat: ‘Revenge of the Che Cafe’ w/ Chutes, Nimzo, Spirited Away, Deep Yogurt, Gay Agenda, Therapy, 4th n Cedar, Miles Bandit, Saturdays on Saturn, Project Anakin, Son de San Diego, Contrastes. Sun: Dream Haze, County Fair, Poor Timing, No Better, Lost Dakota.

Dizzy’s, 4275 Mission Bay Drive, Bay Park.

Fri: Jeff Denson. Sun: Peter Sprague.

House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., Downtown. Thu: Lord Huron, Misty Boyce (sold out). Fri: Lord Huron, Misty Boyce.

Humphreys Backstage, 2241 Shelter Island Drive, Shelter Island. Wed: It’s Never 2L8. Thu: The Groove Squad. Fri: Gruvmatic, Sue Palmer. Sat: Pop Vinyl. Sun: Cerisssa McQueen, Jason Brown. Mon: Chet Cannon. Tue: Backwater Blues Band.

Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd., Middletown. Thu: ‘Fuego’. Sat: ‘Ascension’ w/ DJs Robin Roth, Ladynoir, Severin.

Lestat’s Coffee House, 3343 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Fri: Amanda Brown, Savannah Philyaw. Sun: 4th N Cedar, The Rinds, Natural Disaster, Deep Yogurt. Mon: Open mic.

Mc P’s Irish Pub, 1107 Orange Ave., Coronado. Wed: Jackson and Billy. Thu: Ron’s Trio.

Martinis Above Fourth, 3940 Fourth Ave., Hillcrest. Wed: Carol Curtis. Thu: ‘Loose Lips’ w/ Jai Rodriguez. Fri: Janice and Nathan. Sat: Tori Roze and the Hot Mess. Sun: Ria Carey and Don L. Mon: Andy Anderson and Nathan Fry.

MUSIC CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

MAY 30, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 25

BY CHRISTIN BAILEY

ASTROLOGICALLY UNSOUND Weekly forecasts from the so-called universe ARIES (March 21 - April 19): Chekhov’s Gun is a dramatic principle that says if there’s a gun in the beginning, then you better use it in the end. Let me be clear: There is NO gun in the beginning here.

LIBRA (September 23 - October 22):

TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): Astronauts don’t need to really follow any rules. In reality, you could write whatever you want on the sand of the moon. Think about it. Who is gonna stop you?

SCORPIO (October 23 - November 21): Not everything that troubles or inconveniences you is a government PSYOP against you. In fact, most things aren’t. But this week, one thing really is….

GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): Be like the noble termite: working hard everyday in spite of never being recognized for your good efforts because they’re all extremely destructive and mindlessly selfish.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 December 21): Nobody wants to break your heart and tell you that the hot girl on the side of the road trying to get your attention is just a mannequin advertising a car wash.

CANCER (June 21 - July 22): Trends are cyclical. And if you don’t start recycling more, then the trend where the world is a barren wasteland populated only by amoebas is gonna be back sooner than you’d like.

CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 19): Thousands upon thousands of people died throughout history so you could know which things you shouldn’t have… this applies to both mushrooms and ideas.

LEO (July 23 - August 22): The universe does not revolve around you since, as it were, the actual center of the universe happens to be The Haunted Hamburger in Jerome, Arizona.

AQUARIUS (January 20 - February 18): This week, life is like a song. You can’t stop hearing it everywhere you go; you’re completely inundated, and, quite frankly, you’re pretty sick of it.

VIRGO (August 23 - September 22):

PISCES (February 19 - March 20): The millisecond after you accidentally called your schoolteacher “mom” stretched into infinity, but this week will be the opposite of that.

I tried starting a rumor that your favorite ride at Disney World is the Hall of Presidents, but it didn’t really take off because everyone already assumed that about you.

Sometimes beautiful things can result from difficult situations; though, that is of little solace to the silkworm that is boiled in order to get fibers for a scarf.

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

MUSIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25 The Merrow, 1271 University Ave., Hillcrest. Thu: Ascensions, Mandala, Lost Dakota. Fri: Beekeeper, Monarch, Malison, Sergulath. Sat: ‘Bear Night’. Sun: ‘The Playground’ w/ DJ Heather Hardcore. Tue: Future Human, The Gorgeous Boyscouts, Blacks Beach Boys.

Mother’s Saloon, 2228 Bacon St., Ocean Beach. Fri: Evan Diamond.

Mr. Peabody’s, 136 Encinitas Blvd., Encinitas. Thu: Ted Matzen. Fri: Grey Illusion. Sat: The Boatrockers, The Traumatics. Sun: Tony Ortega jazz jam.

Music Box, 1337 India St., Little Italy.

Fri: Mark Farina, Cris Herrera, Arielle Z b2b Eric Medina. Sat: Betamaxx, High Tide Society. Sun: Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds, Sun Dried Vibes, Thicker Than Thieves.

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

Wed: ‘1,2,3’ w/ DJ EdRoc. Thu: ‘No Limits’ w/ DJ Myson King. Sat: ‘Strictly Business’ w/ DJs Kanye Asada, EdRoc. Tue: ‘Trapped’ w/ DJ Ramsey.

OMNIA Nightclub, 454 Sixth Ave., Downtown. Fri: Party Favor.

Panama 66, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park.

Wed: Gilbert Castellanos. Fri: The Midnight Pine. Sat: Besos Trio.

Parq, 615 Broadway, Downtown. Fri: Nelly. Sat: ‘Bash on Broadway’.

Proud Mary’s, 5550 Kearny Mesa Road, Kearny Mesa. Wed: Tony Davis.

The Rail, 3796 Fifth Ave., Hillcrest. Fri:

26 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · MAY 30, 2018

‘Hip Hop Fridayz’. Sat: ‘Sabados en Fuego’. Mon: ‘Manic Monday’ w/ DJ Junior the Disco Punk.

Rich’s, 1051 University Ave., Hillcrest.

Wed: DJs John Joseph, Kinky Loops.

Thu: ‘LEZ’ w/ DJ Moniq. Fri: ‘Electro-Pop’ w/ DJs Kiki, Moody Rudy. Sat: ‘Voltage’ w/ Tristan Jaxx, K-Swift. Sun: ‘Stripper Circus’.

Riviera Supper Club, 7777 University Ave., La Mesa. Wed: ‘Boss Jazz’ w/ Jason Hanna. Thu: Wild Heart. Fri: Joyelles.

Sat: Baja Bugs.

Rosie O’Gradys, 3402 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Wed: Karaoke. Fri: Tacos Deluxe. Sat: Rosa’s Cantina. Mon: Jazz jam.

Seven Grand, 3054 University Ave., North Park. Wed: Chee Koo Trio. Thu: Jimmy Ruelas. Mon: ‘Makossa Monday’ w/ DJ Tah Rei. Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Wed: Heir Gloom, New Speak, Dragon Dragon. Thu: Lead Pony, Spencer Yenson and the Squatters, The Oxen. Fri: WYO, Duuns, Half Eaten, Hail Hail. Sat: Alex Lahey, Whiskey Circle, Mittens. Sun: U.S. Bombs, Slaughter Boys, Chango’s Psychotic Garage, Embalmers. Mon: Fistfights With Wolves, Adeumazel, Phantom Twins. Tue: Rodrigo Amarante, Hand Habits.

SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd., Midway.

Thu: Eric Bellinger, Michael Brandxn, Xavier Toscano. Fri: Alternate Era, Eric Towers, KG Smokey, Sir Karri, Pumpkin VVS, Joey Wild. Sun: Power Trip, Sheer Mag, Fury, Red Death.

SPACE, 3519 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights.

Wed: ‘The Game Show’. Tue: Karaoke.

Spin, 2028 Hancock St., Middletown. Fri: Waze & Odyssey.

Sycamore Den, 3391 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Wed: Paul Gregg.

Til-Two Club, 4746 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Fri: Warboy, Reckless Disregard, CFA, Curbside Funeral. Sat: ‘Out and About Society’. Sun: Pants Karaoke.

Tin Roof, 401 G St., Downtown. Wed: Kenny and Deez. Thu: Jake and Corey.

Fri: You’re Your Soul, Chad and Rosie.

Sat: Keep Your Soul, Kenny and Deez.

Sun: Lauren Leigh. Tue: Jake and Corey.

Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave., City Heights. Fri: ‘Hip Hop vs. Punk Rock’ w/ Kaus and Emphasize, Batlords, Pengineer, The Gay Agenda. Sat: Sick Sick Sinners, Neglected Few, Syndicate, Terminacks.

Sun: R.I.P., Space Wax. U-31, 3112 University Ave., North Park.

Thu: ‘Boom Boxx Thursday’. Fri: DJ Kid Wonder. Sat: DJ Freeman. Mon: ’31 Flavors’.

Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St., South Park.

Wed: ‘Stand Up Comedy’. Thu: ‘Vamp’.

Sat: ‘80s vs 90s’ w/ DJs Gabe Vega, Saul Q. Tue: ‘Videodrome’.

Winstons, 1921 Bacon St., Ocean Beach.

Wed: Boostive, DJ Carlos Culture. Thu: Elektric Voodoo. Fri: Electric Waste Band.

Sat: The Devastators, Iron Sage Wood, DJ Israel Maldonado. Sun: Karaoke. Mon: Electric Waste Band. Tue: Eminence Ensemble.

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IN THE BACK

LARA MCCAFFREY

CannaBeat Cannabis industry spends big in Supervisors’ race

T

he San Diego County Board of Supervisors have an anti-cannabis reputation. With two current supervisors termed out and seats in Districts 4 and 5 up for election, the San Diego cannabis industry might be able to catch a break.

Dispensary and cultivator Outliers Collective (OutCo) is one of the San Diego County businesses invested in the June 5 primary election. It chose to back Nathan Fletcher for District 4 and Jerry Kern for District 5.

“Nathan is prepared to be a champion on the issue,” said OutCo CEO Lincoln Fish. “As a combat veteran, he understands the issues for veterans with opioid use and PTSD and all of these incredibly important challenges that are solved many times through cannabis.”

Kimberly Simms, a San Diego lawyer specializing in cannabis law, said companies like OutCo supporting proCannabis candidates is one way to ensure a regulated market succeeds in California.

“Right now, the unregulated market is thriving and greatly undermining the success of the regulated market,” Simms said in an email. “Without the cost of taxes and compliance, the unregulated market undercuts the prices of licensed shops such as Outliers Collective.”

OutCo’s support is inspired by the Board’s aversion to cannabis. The Board voted to ban dispensaries in unincorporated parts of San Diego in 2017. OutCo, based

in El Cajon, received its license in 2014 before the ban.

Fish said OutCo and four other license holders were grandfathered in to recoup their investment, but need to close by 2022. Fish is hopeful the ban will be overturned by then. If not, the multiple locations OutCo is opening outside of San Diego will be part of its backup plan.

Still, the ban is affecting OutCo’s ability to expand. It wanted to move into the rest of its building at 8157 Wing St. after another tenant left, but the county’s moratorium prevents OutCo from getting further building permits.

“Even though the entire building is approved for cannabis use, [the county is] not allowing us to expand into the rest of the building,” said Virginia Falces, OutCo’s communications director. “The five years that we've been granted to recoup our investment is going to be very difficult to do without expanding into that space.”

OutCo appreciates the pro-cannabis stances of Fletcher and Kern, as well as their challengers Lori Saldaña, Omar Passons and Michelle Gomez. However, it feels that Fletcher and Kern have better chances of moving onto the general election in November. Fletcher’s longstanding support of cannabis is also appealing to OutCo executives.

They held a fundraiser for Fletcher in November of last year and several of its executives have donated to his campaign. Fish said he personally donated the maximum, $800, to Fletcher. OutCo hasn’t done much for Kern yet.

“We expect that race to go to the general election and then we'll be supporting [Kern] in his efforts in the general election,” said Falces.

Lincoln Fish and Virginia Falces Fish and Falces said other cannabis companies are invested in the primary election as well. In an email statement, Ramona Cannabis Company said its owners are also supporting Fletcher and Kern for Supervisors.

Located at 736 Montecito Way, this is another San Diego company affected by the county-wide ban.

“Our hope moving into the future is new Supervisors are voted into power who are [open-minded] to the work cannabis is doing in [improving] people's lives,” the statement read.

Fish said that he thinks his choices for Supervisor reflect not only the views of the cannabis industry but that of San Diego County. He cites the County Supervisors’ stance against sanctuary state laws as an example of a viewpoint unpopular with San Diegans.

“We're not just supporting a cannabis agenda, we're supporting a 21st century agenda. From a cannabis standpoint, it's like [the County Board of Supervisors] just watched Reefer Madness last night,” said Fish. “They are not reflecting the views of the people of their county and they need to be replaced.”

—Lara McCaffrey

MAY 30, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 27