San Diego CityBeat • June 7, 2017

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june 7, 2017 · San Diego CityBeat · 3

UP FRONT | FROM THE EDITOR

The will of the voters

W

ow, that city council session sure did escalate quickly.

Anchorman paraphrasing aside, Monday’s special budget meeting provided plenty of sparks and jabs including, but not limited to: *Councilmember David Alvarez calling for a full restoration of arts funding to the budget (the mayor’s initial budget called for a $4.7 million cut, which was eventually amended to a $2.3 million cut). He got the majority of it. *There’s apparently, according to councilmember Lorie Zapf, a huge fly problem in Mission Beach that she needs funding to address. Um, OK. *Councilmember Scott Sherman threatening to resign if the council didn’t agree to budget $5 million for a special election in November and, at one point, calling SDSU SoccerCity naysayers a “rudderless ship” and even going so far as to call out the other councilmembers for “disenfranchising” voters.

You know what else is the will of the people, Scott?

To name our MLS team Footy McFooty Face. Yeah, that’s right, according to a recent Union-Tribune poll, the great people of San Diego overwhelmingly voted to name the team just that. If and when the time comes, surely you will insist that those voters have their say, right? Right?

Kidding aside, the big news coming out of this session was the council overwhelmingly voting against the mayor’s $5 million-plus proposal for a special election for a soccer stadium and convention center expansion. For weeks, news outlets in town speculated as to which councilmembers might end up supporting the election, but it wasn’t even close (8-1, actually).

Done deal, right? Not exactly (check out Spin Cycle on the next page for more). The mayor has the power to line item veto the changes made by the council (including the arts and, eh, Mission Beach-fly funding), as well as add back in the millions needed for the special election. What’s more, because of San Diego’s strong-mayor system of government (passed in 2010), the council will need an unlikely six votes to override the veto.

“The City Council majority wants to make San Diegans wait for more road repairs, wait to address the homeless crisis, wait to bring back tourism jobs and jeopardize a chance to get a major league sports franchise,” the mayor said in a statement.

While there is some truth in his statement, it is, at its core, a rather disturbing shift in strategy. For months, the mayor has touted the financial benefits of the convention center expansion and SoccerCity development. The boom to business and tourism was

always touted first. On the former, the additional benefits that would address the emergency-level state of infrastructure and the homeless situation were often mentioned, but always seemed to be incidental; a bonus perk that would address issues that should have been already addressed long ago.

To put it more plainly, it seems the mayor is now using homelessness and road repairs to guilt the city council into giving him what he wants. The murmurs and subtle threats that the city may miss its window to get a Major League Soccer team didn’t seem to resonate. While this logic may work on some of the public, the members of the city council are seasoned enough to see through the shift in strategy.

Still, it’s worth pointing out that I personally would love to see a Major League soccer team here (especially if the team is named Footy McFooty Face. I would buy all the merch available and wear it proudly). One could make the argument that the city council drew first blood in this budget fight, but the mayor and his staff are doing themselves no favors in their defiant responses. “‘The mayor can change whatever he wants’ . [sic] Yep.” tweeted Faulconer’s Chief of Staff Stephen Puetz, quoting City Attorney Mara Elliott’s statement from the budget hearing.

This tweet speaks volumes (Puetz later pinned this tweet to his profile). Rather than issue a statement expressing disappointment or try to reach some kind of compromise with the council, the mayor and his staff have now decided it’s time to play hardball (or should I say, head it in? I don’t know).

That’s OK. They may yet get their special election, and it’s easy to assume that the mayor is banking on a majority of SoccerCity enthusiasts to show up for such an election while more ambivalent voters will choose to stay home. They know that the initiative is much more likely to pass in 2017 than during the November 2018 general election.

But guess what else was the will of the voters: The recent and overwhelming passage of Measure L, which ensures that any critical civic decisions should only be voted on during general elections (when most people vote) and actually prohibits votes on initiatives during special and primary elections.

Yes, the council can make exceptions, but I’m pretty sure they just said that they wouldn’t for SoccerCity. And continued defiance or threats of resignation will not prove otherwise.

—Seth Combs

Write to seth.combs@sdcitybeat.com

This issue of CityBeat once killed a man in New Orleans.

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4 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JUNE 7, 2017

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june 7, 2017 · San Diego CityBeat · 5

UP FRONT | LETTERS

DAVID DUKE WAS ACCURATE(!?)

Arsewipe! I read your rant in the May 24 edition [“Not Here”] of your throw-away. There were many conservative responses to the Manchester bombing incident besides David Duke. Even so, Duke’s comments were accurate. Grande did express hatred for America and Americans. Where does the hate come from again?

When do the liberal chicken-squawkers get concerned about the threat to the US and other western countries? What will it take? Paul McCartney getting blown up when crossing the street in London? Miley Cyrus getting kidnapped and decapitated by ISIS? Just what will it take for you “let ‘em all come in” liberals to take notice? Since the vision of young girls getting blown up at a concert doesn’t do it for you, is there anything that can turn a male liberal into a man?

I suggest you not play the numbers game regarding victims of terrorist attacks. The Oklahoma City and Atlanta Olympic bombings took 201 lives, and both perpetrators received appropriate penalties. The terrorist attacks since 2001, including the WTC and several since have taken about 3000.

You quoted a Manchester man who cried, making you cry as well. It must come easy to a weak liberal like you. I’m guessing you also have the backbone of a jellyfish. Actually the Manchester guy had a good comment about the need to do something. Since the San Bernardino attack, I have done something. I bought a rifle and a pistol. I advise terrorists or their liberal enablers to not start anything around my neighborhood.

Phillip E. Sprague Laguna Niguel

[Editor’s response: We here at CityBeat admire and respect all races, religions and members of the animal kingdom. This includes the majestic jellyfish which, despite being an invertebrate, does pack a wicked sting.]

UP FRONT From the Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . 6 Spin Cycle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Backwards & In High Heels. . . . 8 Well, That Was Awkward. . . . . 9

FOOD & DRINK The World Fare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Dishing It Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Final Draught . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

THINGS TO DO The Short List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Calendar of Events . . . . . . . . 13-15

ARTS & CULTURE Theater. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 FEATURE: Old Town . . . . . . . 17-20 Seen Local. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-25

MUSIC OF THE WEEK

A weekly column devoted to our favorite holes in the road.

This week’s pothole comes from Granny Goodwitch (not her real name, but she does have a very entertaining Twitter profile), who wrote us about a ridic stretch of asphalt on 35th Street between Madison and Monroe in Normal Heights. “‘Tis a wee bit scary to drive in this area as the streets are very narrow,” says Goodwitch, adding that because cars park on both sides of the street, it’s already a tight squeeze. “There is an Elementary School very near so the swerving cars are worrisome.

Our friends take the long way around just to avoid the area.”

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

FEATURE: A Giant Dog . . . . . . 26 Notes from the Smoking Patio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 If I Were U. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Concerts & Clubs. . . . . . . . . 31-33

LAST WORDS Advice Goddess. . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

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

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6 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JUNE 7, 2017

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UP FRONT | OPINION

SPIN

CYCLE

JOHN R. LAMB

Running with the bull Men are so simple and so much inclined to obey immediate needs that a deceiver will never lack victims for his deceptions.

—Niccolo Machiavelli

D

ays after downtown was besieged with a literal cattle drive to promote the San Diego County Fair, Mayor Kevin Faulconer was doing some wrangling of his own. He opened Monday’s San Diego City Council meeting with characteristic smiles and visions of camaraderie.

“Over the past few years,” he read from a statement, “I’ve worked collaboratively with past and present city councilmembers to move forward and in fact unanimously approve our past budgets.

We don’t always agree on every detail of the decision, but we’re al-

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most always able to find common ground and work together.”

More than five hours of emotional testimony and budget horse-trading later, the mayor was declaring budgetary war. With a veto vow, Faulconer’s cattle drive toward green legacy pastures had saddled up.

What happened during those hours was best summed up in a tweet from newbie Councilmember Georgette Gomez: “This is what Shaking Up City Hall looks like, budget time shake up it is!”

In a resounding 8-1 council vote, out was Faulconer’s $5 million for a special November election to determine the fate of a soccer-pitched redevelopment plan for the Qualcomm Stadium site in Mission Valley and a hoteltax hike of up to 3 percent to pay for an expanded downtown convention center, road repairs and

unspecified homeless assistance.

Instead, councilmembers—save for an irritated Scott Sherman, whose hint of resigning was later deemed a joke by a spokesperson— voted to spend that money on what they deemed were more pressing needs, including police retention, arts funding, climate goals, Qualcomm stadium debt reduction, various council pet projects and a promising homeless-diversion program.

Immediately after the meeting, Mayor Faulconer dropped the pleasantries and unsheathed his veto sword.

“A City Council majority is supporting the unprecedented step of blocking a public election by stripping funding from the budget,” his statement said. “This short-sighted move results in denying the public a vote and getting nothing accomplished for our city.

The City Council majority wants to make San Diegans wait for more road repairs, wait to address the homeless crisis, wait to bring back tourism jobs, and jeopardize a chance to get a major league sports franchise.

“I intend to use my veto authority to restore the special election funding, while still retaining the added funding for our police, so the City Council can take an

up-or-down vote on these urgent ballot measures.”

Faulconer could well get what he and his political benefactors in the development and tourism fields wish for, since it will take six council votes to override the mayor’s veto. Only the five Democrats on the council appeared united, while the three other council Republicans who approved the fiscal 2018 budget seemed prepared to flip.

Perhaps it will all come down to a summertime fly problem in Mission Beach.

In a shrewd display of public bartering, Councilmember Barbara Bry agreed to a request from Councilmember Lorie Zapf to set aside funds for additional trash pickup in an area of Zapf’s district besieged by the buzzing pests.

An additional $3 million to help retain police officers put Republicans in an awkward position of choosing between the mayor’s alleged “urgent” needs and those of their district constituencies.

With the mayor vowing to keep that funding, the decision becomes less thorny. Voting against law enforcement is the third rail of politics.

Reached Tuesday, Councilmember Chris Ward was reluctant to read the political tealeaves.

“I can’t predict what a majority of my colleagues may or may not do on upcoming votes,” he wrote Spin. “However, I’m reading between the lines of their comments yesterday just like anyone else.”

Extensive testimony Monday— more than 200 people signed up to speak—ranged from hopeful to accusatory. Enthusiasts for the socalled SoccerCity proposal for the Qualcomm site mixed redemptive tales of civic pride with threats of repercussions for denying them the right to vote this November.

Convention-center expansionists warned of doom and gloom in the tourist sector without a contiguous third phase, sidestepping the inconvenient question of bayside land control. Special-election opponents, meanwhile, reminded councilmembers that voters had overwhelmingly passed Measure L last year, which established that ballot initiatives should be voted on during November general elections unless the council determined the need urgent.

In essence, the debate centered on political priorities and moral imperatives. Do the often-unfulfilled promises of municipal riches endemic in megaproject ballotbox-planning initiatives outweigh the more immediate needs and wishes of the masses?

“I heard you say keep us safe

JOHN R. LAMB

Mayor Kevin Faulconer will need his best wrangling abilities to rope the November special election he covets. and keep the arts. I heard you ask for more than what you got,” Bry told the packed chamber audience. “I adhere to the law and the will of the voters, and I endeavor to save the city $5 million.”

Council President Myrtle Cole, walking a fine tightrope not to enrage a mayor who helped her ascend to her position with a Republican boost, insisted from the outset that the day was simply about passing a budget, not Measure L or a soccer stadium super project or expanding the convention center.

Those decisions, she said, would come in the weeks ahead.

By the end of the evening, however, Cole shifted to a more assertive tone. “It’s simple,” she tweeted along with a photo of the lengthy budget motion. “The Council was asked to fund a Special Election in the budget. I voted no to funding it. I will not change my vote.”

Sherman, the lone no vote, seemed the most angered by events, asking at one point what the process would be for resigning, ostensibly to force a special election. But he also inquired whether an outside entity could pay for the election, which added fuel to earlier speculation that the hedge-fund backers of SoccerCity would be willing to pick up the $5 million tab.

Ward framed the coming episodes of this drama best, suggesting that budgeting for needs the mayor himself professes to care about—like solving homelessness, boosting police morale and climate change—was much more certain than betting $5 million that two-thirds of local voters will agree on anything.

Saddle up indeed, Mr. Mayor.

Your legacy may depend on it.

Spin Cycle appears every week.

Write to johnl@sdcitybeat.com.

JUNE 7, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 7

UP FRONT | OPINION

AARYN BELFER

BACKWARDS & IN

HIGH HEELS

Finding comfort in Instagram art

T

he other morning, my tweenager was perusing our commemorative copy of Ebony’s “Hail to the Chief” issue that lives on our coffee table.

The issue is dedicated entirely to Barack Obama and as she turned the pages with her innocent commentary, I had to put my head down on the table and cry three different times. Oh, the tears I’ve shed since Coronation Day. The spread about all the art and culture Obama brought into the White House about wiped me out.

From day one of this new national nightmare, there have been two theories to which I have clung: 1.) That this horrible state of things is waking up those who’ve been blind to the truth of Amerikkka, which is necessarily important and; 2.) that even as everything implodes and we move toward—what? A civil war?— art would be doing the opposite. Artists, across every medium, will create and be prolific.

Evidence of this in a minute.

Back in April, I wept my way through an appointment with a health care provider. It was Day 79 of the new U.S. regime—when Tiny Hands dropped “the mother of all bombs” on a Syrian air strip because “[n]o child of God should suffer such horror,” as he put it, referring to the chemical attack that precipitated his temper tantrum. That, but he’s fine with blocking their asylum here and fine with deporting them from here, and thus he’s fine with them dying by other violent methods there. And so on, and so on.

Not 10 minutes into the visit, my caregiver gave me a simple prescription for short-term survival: A two week total news blackout. I was also told to take long, daily walks on the beach (my happy place) with no stop time at the other end. Just walk, she said.

Put your feet in the sand, she said. And so I began twoand three-hour crywalks, as I call them, from the roller coaster in Mission Beach to Tourmaline Surf Beach and back.

These immediate treatments for my meltdown— among more complicated, painful and long-term ones—seemed to be helping a bit.

And so I stretched those 14 non-news days into six weeks before I reclined back into Instagram, the safest social media space left for me. It is on IG that I have followed various artists as a reprieve from the news but also, as it turns out, for interpretation of it.

Newish follows include a cartoonist out of Chicago, @krissstress, who is doing a daily recap in the style of a graphic novel. He peppers his daily coverage with autobiographical drawings about anxiety and, boy howdy, do I ever relate to those. Another, more editorially traditional cartoonist, Tom Garrahan, is also nailing it on the daily.

But zee pièce de résistance, the genius that is keeping my soul from disintegrating into a zillion flecks of dust to be blown away by the hot winds of climate change, goes by the name of Robert Morris (@project1460orless). Friends: Follow him today.

An ad-man by day, writer by night, the quiet and introverted Morris has picked up some acrylics and brushes and is making a painting every day to document our collective tumble from the Moon Door.

Paintings are complete with satirical commentary and angry hashtags that will make progressives as happy(ish) as is possible in these ugly times.

Morris is a friend of a friend, who arranged for the two of us to meet for brunch recently.

“I was never political before,” Morris told me while sipping a beer before noon on a recent Sunday (this is what it has come to for many of us). “I mean, I was a voter...”

See the aforementioned first theory above.

Feeling like he had to do something other than cry, Morris set out on what he hopes isn’t a four-year commitment of having to look at images of the power players every night before bed. The handle of his feed, @project1460orless, is a reference to how many days we will endure the brutality of the demented Covfefe fuckface. The “or less” part of the handle is something to cling to though, as it always possible that the sociopathic narcissist in office won’t make it all the way to 1460 days. But barring a late night choking incident involving a Quarter Pounder with Cheese, that seems unlikely. I would definitely like to see that painting, tho.

The material is endless, to a fault.

“Everyday, something horrible happens. And then there are nine other horrible things that happen, making the first horrible thing utterly irrelevant,” Morris said when I asked how he chooses what to paint. “There’s just so much and the bar for normalcy just keeps changing.”

Of course, Morris feels like maybe his efforts are quaint, but I encouraged him because I need his daily posts. They are meaningful.

Each of Morris’ creations manages to lift me up and leave in anticipation of the next day’s post. The growing collection is something to behold, and my favorites keep changing. Current standouts include Jeff Sessions as a Russian nesting doll, the outer shell of which is a white-hooded outfit (Day 42); accused phone-tapper Barack Obama suspended above a telephone à la Mission Impossible (Day 44); Lady Liberty with many bloody lashings across her back (Day 100); and Sally Yates as an American Superhero (Day 109).

Morris plans to auction all the paintings for charity at some point down the line (can’t wait for that opportunity), but maybe a gallery show would first be in order. After all, it is a visceral timeline and relatable testament of just how absurd and how absurdly fucked we are.

It is on IG that I have followed various artists as a reprieve from the news but also, as it turns out, for interpretation of it.

8 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JUNE 7, 2017

Backwards & In High Heels appears every other week.

Write to aarynb@sdcitybeat.com.

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UP FRONT | OPINION VOICES

RYAN BRADFORD

WELL THAT WAS

AWKWARD

Sorry men, but your shorts suck (unless they’re jorts)

N

ow that summer’s here, we need to reassess men’s fashion. Women, you’re doing just great, but bros, c’mon. You look silly. You look like a bunch of grown-up toddlers. Have a little respect for yourself.

It’s your shorts.

And it’s going to get worse unless we do something about it. The sheer number of shitty shorts that emerges when the weather rises from 70 to 75 degrees is staggering. Don’t even @ me about this, because I’ve conducted highly scientific research and logged at least a couple hours of observing men in shorts. I wear shorts. I’m a shorts expert, capeesh?

First, let’s identify the worst offenders: cargo shorts. There’s nothing as repellent as tactically pragmatic clothing worn in everyday life. Are you bushwhacking through a South American jungle and need the extra pockets to store your antivenom? No, you’re in line at the Starbucks with your phone ready for the barista to scan your linked account. You’re on a golf course. You’re at a craft beer festival drunkenly complaining about corporate beer.

And then there’s the dreaded cargo, flip-flop and polo combo, or what I call “the San Diego outfit.” Some guys will complete the ensemble by throwing on a backwards baseball hat. I mean, if you’re going for the absolute garbage-heap look, then this outfit is [chef kiss]. I’ve seen bros out on dates dressed like this and wonder if they’re wearing their regular cargos, or if they’ve at least donned some special occasion cargos. Their nice pair of cargos, if you will. If such a thing can exist.

There are exceptions, of course. Dads have free rein to wear cargo shorts because 1.) my dad wears cargo shorts; 2.) dads probably need an endless supply of toys, snacks and other diversions to keep children happy, which is an appropriate use of cargo storage, and; 3.) the social contract dictates that after having kids, you no longer have to impress anybody, which is probably the main advantage of having kids.

Children may also wear cargo shorts, because they’re children and not fully functional adults with a developed sense of self-worth.

Other offenders include the baggy boardshorts. I mean, I get it: I’m still struggling with the fact that ska ended 20 years ago, too, but we all have to move on sometime, and that includes shedding the accompanying fashion.

Those super-short Urban Outfitter/yacht-rock shorts are not as bad, but still not ideal. Yes, they provide an optimal comfort level in warm weather, and they’re somewhat fashionable, but they also make

you look like a dude who uses a trust fund to pay for Coachella tickets. There’s a certain sociopathy, wealth and desperation possessed by the people who wear these kind of shorts. Pretty sure if Ted Bundy was alive, he’d wear these.

That only leaves one acceptable option: jorts.

There are few things that I love more than a quality pair of jean shorts. I’m not one to make conversation with strangers, but if I see anybody wearing a pair of quality jorts, you better believe they’re getting a compliment. I’ve given eulogies for jorts that I’ve had to throw away because they’ve been worn out to a state of indecency.

However, not all jorts are created equal. Storebought, hemmed jean shorts should raise a major red flag. Nobody wears these unless they’re an ex-juggalo who’s headed toward rehabilitation but not quite there yet, or they’re trying distract you from noticing the freshly dug graves in their yard. And don’t even get me started on the store-bought cut-offs. Selling destroyed clothing at an inflated price is one of the most egregious evils of capitalism, and if I can find any common ground with the Bernie Bros, it’s storebought cut-off jorts.

A good pair of jorts must be earned—an evolution that takes, on average, about two years.

This may sound like an insane amount of time, but think of it more like a beautiful metamorphosis. They start out as pants, wear out in the knees (from all the rough-and-tumble that happens in adult life, obvs), they get cut into shorts, they fray, they fade, and then the transformation is complete. Circle of life, or something.

And the great thing about jorts is they’re like a fine wine— they just get better with age.

Plus, they’re by far the most versatile piece of clothing in your arsenal. You can wear them rolled, or you can let those frays grow. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of a warm breeze gently blowing those loose strings of fabric against your leg hair. Savor this moment, boys.

Now, there will undoubtedly be times when wearing a pair of shitty shorts is unavoidable (hungover Sunday morning grocery shopping, for example). Hell, I have several pairs that I’m not proud of, and there will be a moment when you’ll probably see me wearing a pair. In those cases, I expect you to call me out— it’s the only way I’ll learn. But if you dare speak ill toward my jorts, you better be stepping up with knives out, because someone’s frays are going to get cut, and they won’t be mine.

I’m still struggling with the fact that ska ended 20 years ago, too, but we all have to move on sometime, and that includes shedding the accompanying fashion.

@SDCITYBEAT

Well, That Was Awkward appears every other week.

Write to ryanb@sdcitybeat.com

JUNE 7, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 9

UP FRONT | FOOD

BY MICHAEL A. GARDINER

THE WORLD

FARE Eating Nemo

I

t’s well settled fish tacos neither originated in San Diego nor emerged from Ralph Rubio’s head like Athena from Zeus’. Nor is it likely they originated in San Felipe where Rubio found them on a 1974 Spring Break trip. The truth of their origin is somewhat South of San Diego and West of San Felipe: Ensenada, where I found Tacos Nemo (Avenida Gastelum at Sixth).

The origins of today’s fish taco likely lie in the Port of Ensenada where Japanese fishing boats tied up and Mexican food vendors tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to sell to those fishermen. One eventually got the idea of selling the fishermen fish fried in the kind of batter they were using for their tempura. That, and a tortilla, and those Japanese fishermen were handed pretty much the same stuff that’s now handed to every Ensenada fish taco customer.

Likely the most famous fish taco vendor in Ensenada—one to whom the invention of the fish taco is (occasionally) apocryphally attributed— is Tacos El Fénix. Others have surpassed it, though, with one called “Fish Tacos Ensenada” (“Los Originales Tacos de Pescado” en Español) getting attention lately. When I went to check it out, though, what I got was slightly soggy fish and less-thanfresh shrimp. A bit flummoxed, I looked down the street and saw a familiar fishy face: Nemo.

Tacos Nemo is nothing more than a street cart with a cute (and likely copyright-violating) mascot, some salsas, vegetables and a mother-and-son team working a deep fry rig. The fish and shrimp emerging from that fryer is perfectly executed, well-seasoned and utterly delicious. Unlike on the north side of the border a Mexican fish taco is handed to you simply: one to two pieces of fried

10 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JUNE 7, 2017

fish (depending on fish and cut) on a single corn tortilla. Each diner dresses the fish to his or her taste: one of several salsas, white sauce, fresh cabbage, pickled onions, hot sauces and more.

The fish at Nemo is mako shark (itself an upgrade from the angelito down the street). It comes freshly fried with a crispy batter that is distinctly crunchier than its tempura origin would suggest.

But that doesn’t make it worse. The weight and crunch of the fried batter are the perfect frame for the moist fish. Mako shark is about as meaty and savory as fish gets, but that seasoned batter brings out its inherent sweetness too.

MICHAEL GARDINER

Making tacos at Nemo Tacos Nemo may not have the best condiment bar among Ensenada fish taco stands, but it does have one that should be required. Just as shark brings out the best in the batter and the batter brings out the best in the shark, the pickled red onions complete that triangle. The acidity of the pickle cuts through the fat of the fried fish, and the sweetness of the pickled onion highlights that aspect of the fish.

The fish taco didn’t originate in San Diego or San Felipe, nor did it start at Tacos Nemo. And while Ralph Rubio certainly made more money off his than Nemo, I would be surprised if Rubio’s ever made a fish taco better than Tacos Nemo.

The World Fare appears weekly.

Write to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com.

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UP FRONT | DRINK

ANATOMY OF A

BY IAN WARD

COCKTAIL SCENE #7: 21st century living in Mira Mesa

T

hey say that great leaders can inspire people to follow them into the bowels of hell. For years Christian Siglin has been a heralded member of the San Diego hospitality industry and a respected bar consultant.

However, to have so many talented bartenders follow him to hell, or in this case, Mira Mesa, it’s easy to assume that he must be a great leader. What else could it be?

After many years of looking in the mirror and counting my many flaws (I eventually ran out of fingers to count with), I found that being a poor leader ranks somewhere among them. I am erratic, a poor communicator and a space cadet with a short fuse. I also possess an inherited Irish stubbornness that is unshakeable against all common sense and rational thought. I couldn’t inspire people to follow me into the desert to escape a Pharaoh’s wrath, let alone to simply make cocktails.

However, somehow, Mr. Siglin convinced many other talented souls to come work alongside him at the recently opened Cutwater Spirits Distillery (9750 Distribution Ave.). Even in spite of the fact that they will, mostly, only be working with one singular distillery, so many still went to learn under the tutelage of what they considered to be a mentor.

It might sound a bit hokey, but I still find it to be true that you can taste a person’s personality in their libations. Some extension of who they are. For example, when I was a bar consultant, and a poor manager, if you sat at one of my bars and ordered the same cocktail on separate occasions, it’s likely that it always tasted slightly different. Sometimes it was bigger and spicier than usual. Sometimes it was muted and subdued. Sometimes it had a garnish. It would all depend on the mood I was in when I was prepping or crafting the cocktail. Again, I am an erratic person, and it showed in my creation.

Having sat at a few bars where Mr. Siglin had

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been at the helm, I can honestly say that he is one of those individuals in town whose personality comes across in his cocktails. On most of the drinks that I’ve tasted across his many menus, there always seems to be a sense of easygoing thoughtfulness. Refined relaxation.

Often times citrus and tropical fruit can be found hand in hand with complex, and sometimes seemIAN WARD ingly juxtaposing spirits that come together to create something serious yet playful. Case in point: the “21st Century” at Cutwater Spirits. It’s an incredibly refreshing and easy drinking gin, cacao and lemon cocktail with, eh, Lillet Rouge and mole bitters?

Does that work?

The answer is yes. It all comes together, although it seems like it shouldn’t, or at least not as well as it does. In the hands of less 21st century skilled individuals this cocktail could very easily come out too muddy, or sour, or gin heavy, but it didn’t. Nor did I expect it to be, having known Mr. Siglin’s work and reputation. Which is why, like Moses, I had come all the way out to the desert to drink it.

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

21ST CENTURY

as found at Cutwater Spirits Distillery 3/4 oz. Barrel Rested Old Grove Gin 3/4 oz. Lillet Rouge 3/4 oz. Giffard Crème De Caco 3/4 oz. lemon juice 2 dashes of mole bitters Combine all ingredients in a mixing tin, over ice.

Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass (Coupe or Martini would do). Serve straight up, and garnish with a lemon twist.

JUNE 7, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 11

UP FRONT | DRINK

FINAL

BY BETH DEMMON

DRAUGHT

Collaboration in craft

A

brewery owner, video producer, beer podcaster, brewery sales director, two beer journalists and a baby walk into a bar. There’s no punchline. I just couldn’t get a babysitter in time.

The agenda at said bar—Pariah Brewing Company (3052 El Cajon Blvd, Suite B)—on the evening of May 24th was putting together a universal manifesto to elaborate on the recent GoFundMe campaign to fly a banner above The-AB InBev-BreweryThat-Shall-Not-Be-Named’s block party over Memorial Day weekend. Now, before flipping past this article in disgust over the (admittedly excessive) coverage of “fake” craft beer, rest assured that I’ll try to focus on the positive aspects of our mission.

Tom Keliinoi, executive producer of the video series What’s on Draft, purchased the domain fakecraftbeer.com in order to educate the masses who may, unknowingly or not, support a “craft” brand that piggybacks off of the hard-earned reputation of authentic San Diego breweries. He put out a call for collaborators and quickly assembled a crack team of crafty connoisseurs from every corner of the industry, each bringing a unique point of view regarding why people should care about AB InBev and their ilk seeping into the local economy.

The backlash against Big Beer’s deceptive entry into the local marketplace may very well be the last gasp of a dying—or at the very least, stifled—chapter of American capitalism. I’m not being dramatic. It’s happened before. It’s happening today. The fear of complete craft annihilation is based on very real events. Distribution strangleholds, wholesaler incentives and ingredient monopolization are serious threats to craft independence.

Still, the fact that an arguably petty idea to fly a protest banner over a brewery opening raised over five times the amount requested speaks volumes about the craft beer community’s desire to protect their well-earned success by any means necessary.

San Diego craft beer lovers didn’t just enthusiastically open their wallets for the banner either—they

12 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JUNE 7, 2017

also flocked to Monkey Paw Pub & Brewery (805 16th Street), Resident Brewing Company (1065 4th Avenue) and Half Door Brewing Company (903 Island Avenue) over the holiday weekend to guzzle kegs of 11 Barrel IPA, a collaboration between the three downtown breweries and the first of potentially many more pro-indie beer ventures.

The argument “it’s only beer” and “there are more important things to worry about” is legitimate.

It just doesn’t resonate quite as loudly to people for whom it matters very deeply (i.e. small brewery and craft beer-centric bar owners and employees).

To those whose livelihood depends on this humble beverage of the masses: we see you. We hear you. We support you. And we won’t go down without a fight.

This spirit of community and collaboration has always been a cornerstone of craft beer in America.

COURTESY OF WHAT’S ON DRAFT

Jill Davidson, Tom Keliinoi and Aaron Mayer at Monkey Paw Brewing Company I encourage the masses of beer drinkers across the city and country to continue to educate themselves about the implications that strategically camouflaged Big Beer has on independent breweries. If the facts fail to sway hearts and minds, then I’ll shut up about macro beer buyouts and their tactics designed to squash the spirit of indie brewers.

Probably.

Final Draught appears every other week. Write to bethd@sdcitybeat.com, check her out on Instagram at @thedelightedbite, or via Twitter at @iheartcontent.

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SHORTlist

EVENTS

ART

the

THREE YOU HAVE TO SEE

COORDINATED BY

SETH COMBS

NORTH PARK

1 KEEPING IT REEL

There are acclaimed films that deal in films” which includes the opening night movie, A LGBTQ themes that break through to the Very Sordid Wedding, which is the sequel to the almainstream, but for every Moonlight, Boys Don’t Cry ready beloved cult classic Sordid Loves. What’s betand Brokeback Mountain, there are dozens, if not ter, writer/director Del Shores and the majority of hundreds, of fantastic films that never get the at- the cast will be attending for a post-screening Q&A. There’s also short film screenings as well as docutention they deserve.

For nearly 20 years, FilmOut San Diego has mentaries including The Untold Tales of Armistead been devoted to exposing San Diego audiences to Maupin, which highlights the career of writer Arnew and vintage films that movie lovers may have mistead Maupin and includes interviews with Ian otherwise missed. And while they have screenings McKellen, Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis.

“We are usually the first throughout the year, it’s LGBTQ film festival on the the annual San Diego West Coast to premiere LGBT Film Festival most of these films,” says that provides cinephiles McQuiggan, who adds that the best opportunity to the fest sometimes even has see these flicks. To hear world and U.S. premieres.

FilmOut’s Program DiThe San Diego LGBT rector Michael McQuigFilm Festival starts Friday, gan tell it, our city’s June 9 at 7 p.m. at the ObLGBT Film Festival has servatory North Park (2891 the distinction of being all killer and no filler.

A Very Sordid Wedding University Ave.) with an opening night screening of “We initially were a seven-day, then a five-day and now a three-day fes- A Very Sordid Wedding followed by an afterparty at tival. Streamlining the festival down to three days Sunset Temple (3911 Kansas St.). The fest continmakes the festival more accessible for most people ues on Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight and Sunto attend over a single weekend,” McQuiggan says. day from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tickets start at $125 “So you basically get the best of the best at our fes- for all-access passes (including parties) and $10 for individual screenings. See filmoutsandiego.com for tival.”

This year’s highlights include six “spotlight full lineup and deets.

DOWNTOWN

2 SHUCK ‘EM!

To some readers, the practice of consuming oysters remains an enigma, but for those who love ‘em, we just can’t get enough. In fact, there are entire festivals, like San Diego Oysterfest, devoted to celebrating to the pearl-bearing molluscs. Happening from Friday, June 9 and Saturday June 10 at the Embarcadero Marina Park North (400 Kettner Blvd.), Oysterfest will bring together music, beer and oysters from shores all around the country. The two-day festival features big name musicians as well as local bands, from The Schizophonics and The Verigolds on Friday to Rocket From The Crypt and Magic! on Saturday. There will also be plenty of fun offstage with events such as the “Shuck and Suck Contest” and live art performances. General admission tickets start at $30. For more information visit www.oysterfest.me.

BALBOA PARK

3 PARK LIFE

The San Diego/Tijuana border is only a 15-minute drive and, yet, only one in four San Diegans have visited Mexico. Some of that might have to do with gas money, lack of directional skills or the border lines moving at snail speed. Luckily, Parkeology has provided a way for San Diegans to travel in style on a public tour learning experience about our friendly neighbor. In case you missed last week’s feature, Border Trolley Tours will take guests from Plaza de Panama (1450 El Prado) to Friendship Park. Along the way, there will be live storytelling and audio recordings what will tell the tales of animals, humans and materials that have migrated through the region. The first tour will leave the station at noon, Saturday June 10 and will return at 8 p.m.

It’s free but RSVP at parkeology.org MATTHEW BALDWIN

COURTESY OF OYSTERFEST

HFemme Forme at Lafayette Hotel, 2223 El Cajon Blvd., North Park. A music and art show that encourages creative women to come out and network. There will be art, live music and Q&A sessions with Denisse Wolf, Ana Brown, Alex Zaragoza and more. From 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, June 8. Free. tini-ebla.com HMadeline Sherry at Symbologist Gallery, 2060 Logan Ave. Unit C, Logan Heights. New works by the artist, who is best known for her 1940s genre paintings comparing past and present cultural climates. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, June 9. Free. 619-634-9419, symbologist. net HSD Zine Fest x TJ Zine Fest Fundraiser at Centro Cultural de la Raza, 2004 Park Blvd., Balboa Park. A day of music, art, food and drinks from both sides of the border with performances by Hexa, Open Oscillator, Machina and more. Plus, a silent art auction and raffle. From noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, June 10. $7-$10. sandiegozinefest.com HSD Art Prize: New Contemporaries 2017 at basileIE + CM Curatorial, 2070 Logan Ave., Barrio Logan. A showcase of all the 2017 Art Prize nominees including CityBeat faves such as Carrie Anne Hudson, Michelle Montjoy and Brittany Segal.

Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, June 10. sdvisualarts.net HSurge at thChrch, 2185 Logan Ave., Barrio Logan. A film and photo exhibition by local photographer Isiah Jones. See this week’s Seen Local for more details.

Opening from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, June 10. thchrch.com HWeather on Steroids at San Diego Central Library, 330 Park Blvd., Downtown.

Artists and scientists create a visual dialogue about climate change, the effect on local communities and Southern California’s vulnerability. Opening from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, June 10. Free. 619236-5800, sandiego.gov/public-library/ central-library Bring Flowers & Great Stuff at 1022 Marina Way, National City. An exhibit directed by Omar Lopex and created with items, such as flowers and other great stuff, that participants bring. From 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, June 10. Free. facebook. com/events/253935501748894 From the Studio at R.B. Stevenson Gallery, 7661 Girard Avenue Suite 201, La Jolla. Contemporary artists Mieko Hara, Molly McCracken-Kumar, Natasha Shoro and Maggie Tennesen present paintings and artwork from their studios. Opening from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, June 10. Free.

858-459-3917, rbstevensongallery.com Furs, Tails, Feathers & Scales at ArtHatch, 317 E Grand Avenue, Escondido.

This exhibit highlights the ArtHatch studio artists who will be showcasing paintings, photography and other mixed media art work. Opening from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, June 10. Free. 760-781-5779, arthatch.org Illumination at Thumbprint Gallery, 920 Kline St., La Jolla. New works by local figurative artists Richard Salcido and Armando Gonzalez, who both feature subjects centered in juxtaposition of light and partial abstraction. Opening from 5 to 10 p.m.

Saturday, June 10. Free. 858-354-6294, thumbprintgallerysd.com

BOOKS Robert Kittle at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The local historian will discuss and sign his new book, Franciscan Frontiersman: How Three Adventurers Charted the West. At 7:30

San Diego Oysterfest

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Parkeology Trolley Tour

H = CityBeat picks

p.m. Thursday, June 8. Free. 858-4540347, warwicks.com Kevin Kwan at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The bestselling author will discuss and sign his new novel, Rich People Problems. At 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 9. Free. 858-454-0347, warwicks.com HRobinne Lee at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The actor, writer and producer will be promoting her debut novel, The Idea of You. At 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, June 13. Free. 858-454-0347, warwicks.com

COMEDY The Comedians at #1 Fifth Avenue, 3845 5th Ave., Hillcrest. This local collective of comics celebrate their two-year anniversary with a show featuring sets from Brandon Potter, Russell Brock, Jaime Gamblin and more. At 9 p.m. Thursday, June 8. facebook.com/events/436395590054714

DANCE Grace Note at City Heights Performance Annex, 379 Fairmount Avenue, City Heights. Visionary Dance Theater presents the kick-off of their spring dance tour with exclusive first-looks at upcoming shows. Art directors and choreographers will present excerpts of larger dance productions still to come. At 8 p.m. Friday, June 9 and Saturday, June 10. $14-$19.

619-723-9460, visionarydancetheater.org HFeast on This! at Art Produce, 3139 University Ave., North Park. Eight local dance artists will turn the dining experience into a visual feast of movement performance. At 7, 8 and 9 p.m. Friday, June 9 and Saturday, June 10 and 7 and 8 p.m. Sunday, June 11. $10. 619-5844448, artproduce.org

FILM HSan Diego LGBT Film Festival at Observatory North Park, 2891 University Ave., North Park. A weekend-long fest showcasing dozens of films dealing in LGBTQ themes. At 7 p.m. Friday, June 9, 11 a.m. to midnight Saturday, June 10 and 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sunday, June 11. $10$125. filmoutsandiego.com

FOOD & DRINK Taste of Little Italy at various restaurants, Little Italy. Dozens of restaurants in the area will open their doors to those passing by on the sidewalks to try samples of their food and enjoy live music.

From 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, June 14. $40-45. 619-233-3898, littleitalysd.com

MUSIC Spring Showcase & Inspiration Concerts at Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St., Downtown. Two concerts by San Diego Youth Symphony’s intermediate orchestras and wind ensembles, including overture winds, concert winds and the ensemble wind symphony in the first, and overture strings, symphonic strings and ensemble sinfonia in the second. At 1 and 7 p.m., Saturday, June 10. $10-$35. 619235-0804, sdys.org Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra at The Balboa Theater, 868 Fourth Avenue, Downtown. In celebration of Genius Weekend, Maestro Michael Francis conducts the opening night program of Mozart, Beethoven and Stravinsky. At 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, June 10. $15-$88. 619-2390100, mainlymozart.org

EVENTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 JUNE 7, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 13

AFTER DARK: ABOUT LAST NIGHT

EVENTS EVENTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13 HVinyl Junkies Record Swap at The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd., Midtown.

Vendors selling thousands of collectible and vintage records in all genres, plus DJs spinning throughout the day. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 10. $3. 619-232-HELL, facebook.com/VinylJunkiesRecordSwap Gypsyfest at Deanza Springs Resort, 1951 Carrizo Gorge Road, Jacumba. The second annual music festival features dozens of bands, as well as street musicians, live artists and more will also be there for independent entertainment. At 11 a.m. Saturday, June 10 to 11 a.m.

Sunday, June 11. $35. sdgypsyfest.com San Marcos Summer Music Fest at Walnut Grove Park, 1950 Sycamore Drive, San Marcos. Live bands including Peace Frog, Calphonics, Craig’s Band and more will perform tributes to rock. Food and beverages will be sold on site. From noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, June 10. $12-$20.

760-744-9000, san-marcos.net US Air Guitar Championships at The Merrow, 1271 University Avenue, University Heights. Southern Californians compete to win over judges and audiences with their style and supremacy of air guitar skills. The top three will qualify for the national finals in Washington DC. At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 10. $15. usairguitar.com David Chase at Mandeville Auditorium, UCSD, 2500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. With the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus, the conductor presents a classical concert season finale. The musical works are in-

EVENTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 15

Sofar, so good?

S

ofar Sounds is huge. The self-described “global movement” arranges concerts in living rooms, recording studios and other unconventional venues where small audiences, ranging from 50 to 100, sit on the floor and refrain from talking during the performance. When attendees RSVP, only the neighborhood is disclosed and the lineup isn’t known until the show begins.

Sofar Sounds is international, and three years ago, the San Diego branch began. Local musician Rutger Rosenborg played at the first San Diego show, where he was offered $50 or a video of the live performance as compensation.

When Nathan Walker, owner of Portland public relations firm Riot Act Media, posted last month on Facebook that a band he represents was offered this protocol, his comments section exploded with cries of foul play.

“You just have to go into it knowing that you aren’t going to get compensated very much,” Rosenborg says. “It is sort of like a barter thing where it’s like you’re getting a free video, and they’re getting a free performance.”

At first, attendees donated however much they wanted. But as of June 1, Sofar Sounds altered their ticketing so that concertgoers pay a $15 flat fee, and artists can choose $100 or the video. “[Compensation] is an ongoing conversation for us because we recognize that previously, given the changes we made and in terms of ticketing, we could be better honestly in terms of how we pay artists” says Sofar Sounds Artist Community Manager Ed Burgon. “$100 is really a fart in a hurricane,” says Rosenborg. “The things that make Sofar cool are are experience, the intimacy, the networking and the semi-DIY feel. Instituting a ticket price kind of strips it of its novelty and its underground vibe, in my opinion. It kind of takes away the democracy of it—which is not to say that artists shouldn’t be compensated.”

When it comes to the critics on Facebook denouncing Sofar Sounds’ ticket sale distribution, Michelle Smith, Lead Ambassador of Sofar

14 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JUNE 7, 2017

COURTESY OF SOFAR SOUNDS

Sofar Sounds Sounds San Diego, says that compensation can be tricky because critics don’t factor in other expenses. Things such as event insurance, sales tax or the 10 percent of ticket sales that goes to Sofar’s global staff.

There’s also marketing, videography and photography costs.

Rosenborg, however, sill sees this system as something that could be improved.

“It seems rather petty to try to squeeze every penny from a network of people who are trying to bring a really cool experience to as many people as possible,” Rosenborg says. “Could it be improved? Of course, but probably not in the way that it looks like they’re going about it.”

—Torrey Bailey

@SDCITYBEAT

EVENTS COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

“La Vida Ciencia” by Orlando Agudelo-Botero will be on view at La Vida, a solo show opening from 6 to 9 p.m.

Saturday, June 10, at Contemporary Fine Arts Gallery (7946 Ivanhoe Ave., La Jolla).

EVENTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14 spired by love and its many faces. At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 10 and at 2 p.m.

Sunday, June 11. $15-$29. 858-5344637, lajollasymphony.com Klezmer Summit at San Diego Repertory Theater, 79 Horton Plaza, Downtown.

As part of the Jewish Arts Festival, band Yale Strom & Hot Pstromi welcome special guests and for the 16th annual concert. At 7:30 p.m. Monday, June 12. $18.

619-544-1000, sdrep.org

chef Gordon Ramsey also included. From 2 to 10 p.m. Friday, June 9 and Saturday, June 10. $35-$69. oysterfest.me HBorder Trolley Tours at Plaza de Panama, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park.

Learn about San Diego’s relationship with the Mexican border with local art group Parkeology, who will provide a trolley ride to Friendship Park, telling stories along the way. At noon Saturday June 10.

Free. parkeology.org

PERFORMANCE

SPORTS

HAn Evening With Groucho at North Coast Repertory Theatre, 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Unit D, Solana Beach. Actor and director Frank Ferrante re-creates his oneman comedy show to bring Groucho Marx back to life with routines of song, dance and storytelling. At 7:30 p.m. Monday, June 12 and Tuesday, June 13. $35. 858-4811055, eveningwithgroucho.com

San Diego Surf Polo Club Opening Day at San Diego Surf Polo Club, 14555 El Camino Real, Rancho Santa Fe. SDPC kicks off its 30th season with divot stomps, fashion shows and a Chukker After Party. Oh, and there’s some polo matches as well. From 12:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sunday, June 11. $30$125. 858-481-9217, sandiegopolo.com

POETRY & SPOKEN WORD HThe Foundry #5 at Public Square Coffee House, 8278 La Mesa Blvd., La Mesa.

So Say We All’s literary reading series, featuring Matt Young, Hari Alluri, Steph Cha, Elizabeth Marro and Kali Wallace. At 7 p.m. Saturday, June 10. $5 suggested donation. sosayweallonline.com

SPECIAL EVENTS H San Diego Oysterfest at Embarcadero Marina Park North, 400 Kettner Boulevard, Downtown. The eighth annual festival devoted to all things mollusc will feature live performances by Matisyahu, Ghostland Observatory, Magic!, Rocket From the Crypt and many others. Fresh oysters, beer and special appearance by

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TALKS & DISCUSSIONS Music & The Mind at La Jolla Marriott, 4240 La Jolla Village Drive, University City.

International experts in neuroscience and neurotechnology explore music’s ability to enhance quality of life by exploring the impact it has on the brain. From 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday, June 9, Saturday, June 10 and Sunday, June 11. $100$390. 619-239-0100, mainlymozart.org HConference on Prisoners & Colonialism at Bread & Salt, 1955 Julian Ave., Sherman Heights. For the 19th annual conference, the Chicano Mexicano Prison Project, as part of Unión Del Barrio, covers the theme of “Building Raza Resistance to Mass Incarceration in the Trump Era.” From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 10. Free. 619-851-4083, facebook. com/events/1264943096956640

JUNE 7, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 15

THEATER DAREN SCOTT

Jo Anne Glover (left) and Lisel Gorell-Getz in The Revolutionists

A revolutionary premise

L

auren Gunderson’s meta-theatrical, contemporary-voiced Revolutionists imagines a 1790s France awash in violence and blood in which activist playwright Olympe de Gouges (Jo Anne Glover) is struggling to articulate the turmoil in her homeland and stand up for her gender. In the process, she encounters the deposed Marie Antoinette (Lisel Gorell-Getz) and a political assassin (Samantha Ginn), both of whom want their stories told as the guillotine looms. Olympe’s best friend, Marianne Anelle (Cashae Monya), is a composite character based on Gunderson’s research into the concurrent Haitian Revolution. Perhaps not coincidentally, this character’s conviction throughout the play resounds loudest.

Directed at Moxie Theatre by Jennifer Eve Thorn, The Revolutionists, in spite of its historical setting, is a hip and relevant comedy replete with self-conscious quips about writing, theater and even audiences. Yet it’s the play’s sober side—that devoted to justice, personal liberty and women standing up for themselves—that is charged and insightful. What might be awkward exposition succeeds on the basis of a resourceful cast unafraid of operating in both worlds. Further enhancing this production are scenic and projection design by Emily Small, Jennifer Brawn Gittings’ period costumes and, of course, Gunderson’s incisive script.

The Revolutionists runs through June 25 at Moxie Theatre in Rolando. $15-$30; moxietheatre.com ••• he aftermath of a fifth-grader’s suicide, realized in a visceral confrontation between the boy’s grieved but hostile mother (Jyl Kaneshiro) and his stricken teacher (Carla Nell), consumes the 75 tense minutes of Johnna Adams’ Gidion’s Knot, running through Saturday at Diversionary Theatre’s Black Box space. You’ll be consumed, too, by this brutal, claustrophobic play’s disturbing and violent imagery. The propped-up debate about creative freedom in the classroom (and of childhood) is never really a debate at all, as the mother resorts to cruelty while the teacher sobs and submits. InnerMission Productions’ Gidion’s Knot spares none of Adams’ ferocity. It makes for a

T

16 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JUNE 7, 2017

discomfiting after-school experience, even without the presence of the principal.

Gidion’s Knot runs through June 10 at Diversionary Theatre’s Black Box in University Heights. $25; innermissionproductions.org

—David L. Coddon

Theater reviews run weekly.

Write to davidc@sdcitybeat.com.

OPENING: Gruesome Playground Injuries: Rajiv Joseph’s stirring dramedy that follows the intersecting lives of two friends over the span of 30 years. Directed by Carla Harting, it opens June 7 at the UCSD Arthur Wagner Theatre in La Jolla. theatre.ucsd. edu Big Fish: A musical about a southern salesman who spins tall tales to his son throughout his life. Based on the novel by Daniel Wallace and the motion picture by Tim Burton, it opens June 9 at the Lamb’s Players Theatre in Coronado. lambsplayers.org James and the Giant Peach: The family-friendly musical about a young orphan hanging out with a bunch of bugs inside a big piece of fruit. Based on the Roald Dahl book and presented by the Pickwick Players, it opens June 9 at the Coronado Playhouse. pickwickplayers.net Beauty and the Beast: The musical production based on the Disney movie about a grumpy hairball and the belle who loves him. Presented by Star Repertory Theatre, it opens June 10 at the Lyceum Theatre in Downtown. patioplayhouse.com King Richard II: Robert Sean Leonard returns to the local stage as the title character of this Shakespeare play about a reckless king. The first play in the Summer Shakespeare Festival, it opens June 11 at the Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park. theoldglobe.org Withering Heights: A comical retelling of Emily Bronte’s classic romance where the entire play is performed by only two actors. Presented by the Roustabouts Theatre Company, it opens in previews June 11 at the Diversionary Theatre in Hillcrest. theroustabouts.org The Bodyguard: In this Broadway musical, a singer has to hire a bodyguard to protect her from an unknown assailant, but then things get romantic. Based on the iconic Whitney Houston film, it opens June 13 at the San Diego Civic Theatre in Downtown. broadwaysd.com

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

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TORREY BAILEY

hen Father Junipero Serra established California’s first Spanish mission, Mission San Diego de Alcalá, in 1769 on Presidio Hill, he couldn’t have foreseen the tourist-friendly neighborhood that would unfold below. Surrounded by Interstates 8, 5 and Mission Hills, Old Town grew organically at the hill’s base and preceded downtown as San Diego’s epicenter until Alonzo Horton entered the scene in the late 19th century. In 1968, the state created Old Town State Historic Park which opened the floodgates for field trips to fawn over period-accurate sites. Staples of the era are found among Victorian-style homes, Mexican restaurants selling fresh tortillas and gift shops filled with gemstones and pottery. While tour groups parade past the park’s kiosks, museums and the birthplace of the San Diego Union newspaper, they also cross paths with, supposedly, the most haunted house in America and a hidden pentagram. A cemetery honoring some of the area’s earliest settlers also wiggles its way in between the copper shops and soap stores. Considering all the sombrero wearing and margarita drinking that takes place in Old Town, it might be the closest thing to a year-round, American-style Cinco de Mayo celebration.

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San Diego Avenue’s collision with Twigg Street marks the entryway of the state historic park. Westward, there is no vehicular entry and employees of wellness stores and leather shops are outfitted for the bygone era. Facing East, Hungry’s Kitchen & Tap stands out among a line of Mexican food establishments that better reflect the present.

JUNE 7, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 17

TORREY BAILEY

If we really want to get a sense of just how bad our grandparents and great-grandparents had it, just head to Cousin’s Candy Shop (2711 San Diego Ave.) inside Heritage Park where I tried some vintage candies that are, somehow, still made. Don’t get me wrong, some are pretty good and the store does sell some yummy homemade items, but most of the vintage candy for sale is, well, just see below.

Cigarette candy: Really?! This still exists? These have been around since the early 20th century. They were marketed to kids who wanted to look cool like mommy and daddy. They’re made of a hardened corn syrup fashioned to look like a smoke.

I haven’t eaten one in years. They still taste like disgustingly sweet chalk.

Rating: Zagnut: Not sure I’ve ever had one of these before. They’re made up of crunchy “peanut butter” (not actually one of the ingredients) and toasted coconut, and while they’re pretty yummy, they have the look of a granola bar that’s been in a Cold War fallout shelter for 70 years.

Rating: Kits: Individually wrapped flavored taffy candy that’s texturally somewhere in between a Now and Later and a Hi-Chew. It’s when you eat one that you realize that artificial flavoring technology has come a long way. I had strawberry. Tasted more like a dingleberry.

Rating: Fudge: Who even eats fudge anymore?

That’s like something you get from your old-ass aunt in a decorative Christmas tin, and it just sits around all year until someone finally decides to return it to its rightful home (i.e. the garbage). That being said, Cousin’s housemade fudge, while a little on the soft side, tastes like that river

of chocolate in Willy Wonka. Pretty damn good.

Rating: Rock Candy: Not the crystal-shaped lollipop, but rather, the jellybeans that look like actual rocks. They taste like jellybeans so why can’t they just look like jellybeans?

Why do they have to look like rocks? Was there a huge contingent of young children who wanted to eat rocks back in the ‘50s?

Greatest generation, my ass.

Rating: Walnettos: A caramel and walnut softchew candy. According to Wikipedia, “one of America’s most popular candies in the 1920s and 1930s.” Why? Who? Generational proof that our candy palates have evolved, because, ew, walnuts? They don’t even put those in trail mix anymore, cause walnuts taste like dirt poop.

Rating:

18 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JUNE 7, 2017

—Seth Combs

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TORREY BAILEY

CANDICE ELEY

Entering Old Town’s Whaley House, I think of the boastful claim (according to touristy souvenirs) that this is “the most haunted house in America.”

How do you even qualify that? I think. Can one place be more haunted than another?

Do the amount of ghosts earn that distinction, or is it the severity/frequency of ghostly encounters?

Then, while I’m standing in the entrance and ruminating on semantics, the wind blows a framed photo against my shoulder, and I almost jump out of my fucking skin.

And that’s the power of the Whaley House—even the most skeptical can fall under its spell. The history of Thomas Whaley and his troubled family life (including the suicide of his daughter Violet) is juicy enough to fill a modern day reality show, but throw in Whaley’s association with local law enforcement and their penchant for hanging criminals on his property, and it’s easy to see how the house can beguile non-believers.

Besides the dreadful wind incident, I don’t see any ghosts. But then again, it’s 10 a.m.— not really the ghosting hour. I talk to one of the volunteers, who says she’s often had to lock the house up after everyone has gone home.

“I’ve often felt someone right next to me,” she says. ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� I may not believe in ghosts, but after hearing that, it’s a safe bet that I won’t be volunteering to work at the Whaley House anytime soon.

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Old Town is about as touristand family-friendly as San Diego gets, with old-timey buildings, souvenir photos, candy shops, foot-long margaritas and, of course, Rockin’ Baja Lobster. And yet, most San Diegans probably aren’t aware of the sinister landmark lurking just up the road. At the adjacent Presidio Park, there’s a fairly unassuming one-story tower with a rooftop overlook, known as the Pattie Memorial, named for Sylvester Pattie who was a War of 1812 veteran and the first soldier to die on San Diego soil. But those in the underground have a much more ominous name for it: Witches Tower. There’s a good reason for that. The roof of the tower is covered with a giant pentagram. Nobody really knows who put it there, or what the significance is, but as is often the case, the imagined reason is probably more interesting than the truth. Personally, I believe it’s there for me to summon the power of the dark lord, as I did one warm Sunday afternoon. Just below there was a guy practicing some jazz and funk drums while I channeled the spirits; not the dark ambient or black metal soundtrack I’d hoped for, but it’s fine. If Satan needs to groove, then it will have been a suitable offering.

—Ryan Bradford

—Jeff Terich

JUNE 7, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 19

PHOTOS BY TORREY BAILEY

Christina Blessing is a rolling stone. From moving cross-country during her childhood to traveling the world for old beads, most of her life has been spent on the road. Eighteen years ago, she decided to settle in Old Town where she opened Lost Cities Beads (2802 Juan St.), a jewelry-making supply shop. Her interest in stones began while living near a river in Illinois where she often found arrowheads made of chert (a silicabased opaque rock) after it rained. Moving west, she opened various stores and held bead collection shows across the Southwest before finally coming to San Diego in the ‘90s. Since then, Lost Cities brings in both new customers and devoted regulars into the shop. “I have people from all over the country that’ll come here once or twice a year because they’re in town and they know I’m here,” says Blessing.

She has even started a now longstanding tradition of baking six-dozen cookies every week, providing something sweet for the families of customers who are brought along to outings to the store. “Kids and husbands are often times a little happier if they’ve got something in their mouth, and it [makes it] hard to complain.”

—Sofia Mejias-Pascoe

At the 1850s-style Blackhawk Livery Stable (4002 Wallace St.), Pat Downing only uses the basics—hammers and fire—to create candelabras, gun barrels and other items for the Historic Park. He’s dressed in period-correct attire, including a pink-hued shirt, dyed with the extract of cochineal bugs plucked from surrounding cacti. For visitors, the blacksmith shop is educational. “You talk to a kid, and you tell him that the sword we have in Old Town took about 62 hours [to make],” Downing says. “And they say, ‘Well I saw it done on YouTube in 13 minutes.’”

But, Downing says the kids’ attitudes change when he lifts a 150-pound anvil with a metal rod, then heats up the same rod and bends it using one finger. “At that point the kids quit talking and pay attention,” says Downing. When he’s not in Old Town, Downing specializes in modern techniques such as foldforming, often referred to as the origami of metal work. His pieces can be seen throughout San Diego, including a wave-inspired sculpture and a birdbath at Westfield University Town Center. “I love the modern techniques of power tools. But without the knowledge that I’ve gained over the years from traditional blacksmithing like we do in Old Town, I couldn’t do what I do.”

—Victoria Davis

Elida Guadarrama came to San Diego in 1984 with plans to stay only a year. She’s still here after 33 years and 26 of those years have been spent making tortillas at Cafe Coyote (2461 San Diego Ave.). But when Guadarrama moved here, she had never made flour tortillas, much less knew that they existed. “Where I come from [Guererro], Mexico, we only had corn,” she says. “The flour was for bread and for other food items, so coming here was very different.”

She apprenticed under another woman at Cafe Coyote, learning visually. “I caught on real quick that I eventually beat her doing the tortillas.”

Tourists and locals can watch and order to-go tortillas from her at the griddle that faces the street, where she makes classic flour tortillas, as well as strawberry, chocolate, cilantro, cinnamon and other flavors depending on the ingredients available. Guadarrama guesses she has made more than 6 million tortillas by now and she was recently featured in a Buzzfeed video showing her in action. “Because of this job, I’m able to give my children what they want. That makes me really grateful and very honored to be here for everyone to see what I do.”

20 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JUNE 7, 2017

—Torrey Bailey

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june 7, 2017 · San Diego CityBeat · 21

22 · San Diego CityBeat · June 7, 2017

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CULTURE | ART

SEEN LOCAL A LONG JOURNEY

L

istening to Isiah Jones tell his story, it seems miraculous that he’s even speaking to me right now. The 29-year-old photographer, filmmaker and owner of London Lane Productions (londonlanepros.com) has had a whirlwind journey to get to this point, one that includes growing up around drug addiction and the gang culture of Southeast San Diego.

“I got caught up in the gangs and stuff, running around in the streets, having jobs for six months and quitting,” says Jones. “Just dabbling in that lifestyle.”

Throughout it all, however, Jones says photography and filmmaking was a constant. Inspired from his days as a student at the School of Creative and Performing Arts, he picked up video production in the 10th grade. He started London Lane in 2012, picking up small jobs shooting weddings and music videos, but still struggled. He even had to sell his equipment at one point to make rent.

He landed a job at Gompers Preparatory Academy, this time in the athletic department until, one day, he mentioned to staff that he also had video production experience. He shot a couple videos for the school’s

graduation, which reignited his love for the craft. But, again, life had other plans for him. He moved to Philadelphia in 2014, but had to move back after only a few months when his father became sick. His father eventually passed away a day before Isiah’s birthday.

Back in San Diego, Jones, again, began to work toward becoming a professional photographer. Working in sporting goods, he saved enough to buy himself a new camera for Christmas. This time, he says, nothing’s going to stop him.

“I have to chase this dream,” Jones says. “And I’ve been doing this ever since.”

ADAM HAHN In a way, Jones’ first solo photography and video show is both culmination and commencement.

Opening Saturday, June 10 at the Barrio Logan art space ThChrch (2185 Logan Ave.), Surge: A Cinema + Photo Exhibition by Isiah Jones will feature photography, as well as footage he’s shot for a documentary series about young artists growing up in Southeast San Diego. The series is a result of an “Art Saves Lives” grant he received from the Jacobs Center. Jones has also picked up another job teaching photography to youth at the AjA Project, a local non-profit.

“My greatest achievement from Isiah Jones that was I inspired one of the girls to become a photographer. She had her parents go out and buy her a camera and a laptop. She told me face-to-face, ‘You inspired me to do this,’” Jones says, getting visibly excited. “Being my own artist is cool, but I find more joy in inspiring other people to become artists.”

—Seth Combs

A LONG JOURNEY

A

ccording to the late great New York City bags to the Women’s Museum. We were very thankful street photographer Bill Cunningham, “Fash- for this collection and amazed by the beauty and the ion is the armor to survive the reality of ev- depth of it.” eryday life.”

The well-curated treasure trove of bags includes If fashion is the armor, for most women the hand- pieces with intricate beading and embroidery, as well bag is the sword. as ones with interesting materials such as bamboo Derived from the amalgamation of the words hand and bakelite. There are also reproductions of works and baggage, the handbag came of art and scenes from plays and COURTESY OF THE WOMEN’S about during the industrial revobooks. Besides the aesthetic marMUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA lution when women were suddenly vels, the exhibit is also a prism for thrust into modernity by fast movaudiences to explore the ways in ing cars, trains, and boats. While which women employed various men were using pants with pockmaterials for both utility and selfets and small-concealed wallets, expression and how that ties to women kept their most necessary their positions in history. possessions hanging from their “We immediately saw that arms or clutched in their hands we had a great exhibit,” says on view for the entire world to Smith. “These purses really tell a see. And as woman’s roles evolved story about the women who owned in this fast changing society, so did them. They were a statement. They Hand-tooled leather purse said something about who that the handbags. from Justin Leather Goods (1918) woman was, what her class was, Now the Women’s Museum of California (2730 Historic Decatur even what her social and political Road, womensmuseumca.org) is getting a rare chance positions were. Flappers had different style purses to display this fascinating and historically relevant re- than other women of that area.” lationship between women and their most cherished In addition to the flapper’s bag, museum attendees accessory with their exhibit One Hundred Years of One will also get to view purses which formerly belonged Hundred Handbags, on view through July 2. to pioneer women and Victorian socialites, stories all “It was one of those kismet things. Everything researched thoroughly by museum intern Kim Matsuo. came together perfectly,” states the museum’s event The collection’s generous donor, Ms. Nemer, puts director, anthropologist Virginia Smith. “At the end of it even more succinctly. last year/beginning of this year, a community member “They’re works of art owned and carried by women named Jean Nemer, who had been collecting purses with interesting lives.” for over 40 years, donated her collection of 100 hand —Rachel Michelle Fernandes

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JUNE 7, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 23

CULTURE | FILM

It Comes at Night

Off the grid Bad decisions are contagious in new woodland horror film

by Glenn Heath Jr.

S

pending time in the woods can be terrifying. The vously scans the pitch-black surroundings.

It Comes at Night becomes much less fulfilling eerie quiet and compromised sight lines allow one’s imagination to run wild. Horror films such when it decides to force feed questions of moralas The Blair Witch Project and Evil Dead capitalize on ity and sacrifice. The tenuous relationship between this tension in different ways, using endless forest ho- new acquaintances reaches critical mass after a brief rizons to elicit feelings of total fear and vulnerability. honeymoon period, and Shults jumps at the chance Cut off from civilization and all sense of direction, to burn down this fleeting utopia. Travis experiences frazzled characters experience stressful scenarios that the prolonged psychological siege while battling raging hormones and lucid nightmares. Both passive test their humanity.

Initially, Trey Edward Shults’ It Comes at Night ap- observer and the film’s virtuous center, he remains pears headed down a similar narrative path. Paul (Joel a confounding and often irritating character trapped Edgerton) and his wife Sarah (Carmen Ejogo) live off between identities.

Paul and Will eventually the grid in a massive cabin with cordon off their families from their teenage son Travis (Kelvin each other, the first domino to Harrison Jr.). Some unknown drop that undermines any hope virus has ravaged the world, IT COMES for mutual trust. It becomes inforcing them to create a makeAT NIGHT creasingly evident that the film shift homestead in isolation.

Directed by Trey Edward Shults is more character study than There’s no explanation about horror, ditching jump scares and the deadly pathogen’s origin or Starring Christopher Abbott, gore for slow burn melodrama. how it’s transmitted. But Shults Joel Edgerton, Carmen Ejogo On paper this sounds like a fresh highlights the plague-like sympand Riley Keough exploration of the thriller genre, toms during a brutal cold open Rated R but It Comes at Night wears its in which the family’s maternal tragedy far too proudly. Shults grandfather, riddled with boils only seems to know the lanand vomiting tar-colored blood, spends his final waking moments in a dark cloud of guage of oppressive force, foreshadowing violence with handy cutaways to pictures of happier days and madness.

Despite their best efforts to retain some sense of suffocating the score with moody drumbeats.

Anyone familiar with Krisha’s intolerable theatrics routine, the family is immediately rustled again when an intruder breaks in at the dead of night. Scaveng- and visual grandstanding shouldn’t be surprised that ing to feed his own family, Will (Christopher Abbott) It Comes at Night devolves into heavy-handed moralbegs Paul for his life being interrogated. The two men ism. In one close-up after another, the film keeps fixdecide to join forces and bring both families together ating on guilt-ridden eyes, hammering home a motif under the same roof, safety in numbers and such. But that is both redundant and superfluous. We get it: this decision complicates matters even more, since People are bad and the road to hell is paved with good it’s never clear whether Will and his wife Kim (Riley intentions. The woods themselves remain an intoxicating force throughout but are glossed over for the Keough) are being truthful about their past.

Set deep inside a matrix of massive trees and thick simplistic internal strife of the characters. In doing so brush, the film effectively captures a foreboding sense Shults makes an egregious directorial mistake, comof seclusion. Many early scenes contain long stretches pletly wasting the atmospheric landscape that speaks of quiet, which makes any jolt of noise seem all the volumes about terror with but a gust of wind. more jarring. Similarly to his previous film Krisha, Shults employs smooth long takes that promote ex- Film reviews run weekly. treme anxiety. These shots are even more unsettling Write to glennh@sdcitybeat.com at night, when the solid flood of Paul’s flashlight ner-

24 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JUNE 7, 2017

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CULTURE | FILM

Always auditioning

B

ritish director Roger Michell works within a number of different genres and time periods, but his interest in societal or personal repression connects each film. Changing Lanes is a slick road rage thriller where racial tensions help cement the anger shared between two frustrated strangers.

The Mother and Le-Weekend both address the way older characters struggle to express themselves sexually without guilt.

My Cousin Rachel, Michell’s economical adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier’s novel, further examines the psychological consequences of living in denial. Adopted by his wealthy cousin after being orphaned at a young age, Philip (Sam

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My Cousin Rachel Claflin) grows up in an all-male household where women are viewed with suspicious eyes. Upon growing deathly ill, the benefactor travels to Italy hoping the warmer climate will produce a speedy recovery.

Philip begins to worry after receiving multiple letters mentioning a mysterious new woman named Rachel (Rachel Weisz), whose shady actions all fit the gold-digger standard. When the cousin dies mysteriously days later, Philip becomes hell bent on exacting revenge.

Unlike many costume period pieces, My Cousin Rachel is often fleet of foot: Michell directs the first hour as if each image was crafted to sprint. There’s genuine

electricity to these short sequences that precede Philip’s investigative jaunt to Italy. Yet when he finally confronts the titular kin-by-marriage, the film becomes expectedly wooden and melodramatic.

Philip ends up falling under Rachel’s spell, replacing all those vengeful emotions with thoughts of happily ever after. Michell keeps Rachel’s social climbing motivations slightly ambiguous, even though her actions suggest more nefarious desires.

My Cousin Rachel stomps toward an inevitable conclusion, but muddies expectations in the final moments. “Did she? Didn’t she?

Who’s to blame?” Phillip’s naïve uncertainty about his own culpability in this tragedy remains obnoxious, but Michell’s sharp criticism of male delusion still leaves a mark. Some men will always be petulant children.

—Glenn Heath Jr.

OPENING I, Daniel Blake: Ken Loach’s drama follows the frustrating efforts of a working class carpenter attempting to receive government benefits after suffering a heart attack on the job.

It Comes at Night: Deep in the woods, a family has established tenuous order de-

spite the threat of an unnatural force that’s engulfed the world. This all changes when more survivors show up asking for refuge.

La Granja: The lives of a midwife, a young boxer, a mute kid and a young couple collide unexpectedly in a story about the desperate pursuit of happiness, and its brutal consequences, on the streets of Puerto Rico. Opens Friday, June 9, at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

Meagan Leavey: Kate Mara stars as a Marine corporal whose K-9 companion helps save countless soldiers while on deployment in Iraq. Based on a true story.

My Cousin Rachel: Based on Daphne Du Maurier’s classic novel, Roger Michell’s melodrama is about a petulant young man who believes his cousin was murdered by a gold-digging woman and sets out to exact revenge.

Radio Dreams: Set over the course of a day at a Farsi-language radio station in San Francisco, this indie comedy follows the station program manager as he prepares for an important broadcast. Opens Friday, June 9, at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

Sacred: Shot by more than 40 filmmaking teams around the world, this documentary immerses viewers in the daily use of faith and spiritual practice. Opens Friday, June 9, at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

The Mummy: Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe star in this big budget reboot of the classic horror tale centered on… wait, WTF?

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

JUNE 7, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 25

MUSIC

T

here’s an expression in Austin, Texas that can be found on countless bumper stickers throughout the city: Keep Austin Weird. For that to make sense, it’s important to understand Austin in the context of the Lone Star State itself. It’s a cultural hub, with countless live music venues, just about all of which participate in the city’s annual South by Southwest music festival. It’s also one of the most liberal cities in the otherwise conservative state, making it something of a blue island in a vast sea of red.

In Austin, there are a lot of hippies and punks and artists. But does that make it weird? Andrew Cashen, guitarist in Austin garage rock outfit A Giant Dog, doesn’t think so. Compared to the music scene in Houston, where Cashen originally hails from, Austin seems downright normal.

“It’s not that weird,” he says. “Austin’s kind of fake weird. Like somebody wears a tie-dye shirt and think they’re being weird.

But that’s not that weird. In Houston there’s genuine psychopaths playing music. There used to be this band called Homo Police that would do homosexual acts onstage dressed like cops.”

A Giant Dog, for that matter, are not all that weird either. Cashen, vocalist Sabrina Ellis, guitarist Andy Bauer, bassist Graham Low and drummer Orville Neeley play loud, fast and with an infectious energy. But at their core, they’re a pop band. No matter how uproarious or explosive their songs are,

26 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JUNE 7, 2017

just below the surface there’s a melody that transcends punk, indie or whatever other arbitrary genre distinction is thrown their way.

The band’s 2016 album Pile, released via Merge Records, is their most immediate batch of songs to date. On a track like “Sleep When Dead,” they channel classic power pop bands such as Cheap Trick or The Cars while nodding to late-’70s punk rock. Elsewhere, they strip down and turn off the distortion pedals for something more folky and restrained on “Get With You and Get High,” which features a guest vocal from Spoon’s Britt Daniel. Yet while there are specific influences that might come to mind when listening to Pile, they’re not necessarily the artists that the band had in mind.

“I kept on telling everyone if Warren Zevon or Randy Newman made a punk album, that’s the idea going into it. I don’t think it ended up sounding like that, but that’s what I was kind of trying to channel,” he says. “We kind of wanted it to be bigger than the last record. We definitely took more time recording it and adding strings and horns to some stuff.

Bigger background vocals.”

On August 25, A Giant Dog will release their fourth album, Toy, and based on the first single, “Photograph,” the band’s knack for fashioning pop hooks has only sharpened. Yet A Giant Dog has no illusions of

scoring a major mainstream hit. Because of that, they’re not hesitant to take on new sounds or approaches, and Cashen says that, in spite of how catchy “Photograph” is, he doesn’t think the new album sounds that much like its predecessor. Still, he can’t help but notice a trend in their music over the years, and one that finds them leaning more toward pop, whether intentionally or not.

“I think we de-evolved,” he says. “When we started as a band, we started writing complex arrangements, but no real hooks. I listened back to our first album and there’s no super catchy choruses or anything. And through the songwriting process, each time we’ve gotten dumber and dumber.

Intentionally—to be catchier.

But we just kind of got to the point where we realized the songs that are hookier are more fun to play live. The audience goes more apeshit for them. All we’re trying to do is get people to have a good time when we play.”

The band’s live show is where they pour most of their effort, both because it’s the most lucrative part of being in a band and the most fun. Starting in June, A Giant Dog

A Giant Dog

will be bringing that well-oiled live music machine back on the road for what’s likely to be just one of up to nine months of playing live music in front of audiences. The band are road warriors and at their best when putting in a little elbow grease and delivering a raw, rowdy product that no recording device could properly capture.

And when it comes to rock ‘n’ roll, there’s nothing weird about that at all.

“We don’t sell records, to be honest,” Cashen says. “We’re a live band. That’s how we’re going to make money.

I’m on the road for eight months out of the year.

Ninety percent of what we do is based on our live performance. Typically when we release an album, we’ll do a show where we play it front to back. And from there, based on which songs went over well, we’ll pick and choose what goes into the set. We try to do a wall of sound the entire set. We write slower songs but we never play them live. We just try to hit people in the face—loud and fast.”

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

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june 7, 2017 · San Diego CityBeat · 27

28 · San Diego CityBeat · June 7, 2017

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MUSIC

NOTES FROM THE SMOKING PATIO LOCALS ONLY

S

am Lopez, founder and curator of Stay Strange, is retiring his shape-shifting noise project, Zsa Zsa Gabor. Before it comes to an end, however, he’s releasing one final cassette and giving one last performance. The final Zsa Zsa Gabor show will take place on Saturday, July 29, at Helmuth Projects. That will also be the day that Lopez releases Left Skull Bank, the final release under the Zsa Zsa Gabor name.

“I decided this band or project had run its course,” he says in a phone interview.

“It’s time to move on.”

Left Skull Bank started off as a single composition, but as it evolved Lopez broke it up into four different parts, each of which features a different vocalist: Esteban Flores, Michael Zimmerman, Xavier Ramirez and Ariel Iribe. In between those tracks will be MANDY GALARZA

Sam Lopez of Zsa Zsa Gabor other instrumentals that Lopez says might hint at where he plans to go with future musical projects.

“I’ve only recorded three releases,” he says. “It just kind of goes back to the idea of not wanting to spread myself too thin.

Other artists tend to have a lot of releases, so I was starting to wonder, well, maybe I just haven’t had anything important to say. So, with this particular release, I wanted to figure out what I could do that was special.”

In its existence, Zsa Zsa Gabor took on many different styles. Lopez says that the project “was everything, and it was nothing,” meaning that it had no fixed concept.

In addition to noise, Lopez incorporated a variety of other styles, including sludge metal, free jazz, no wave and even mariachi. Yet now he’s ready for a new challenge with a different vision, whatever shape that takes.

“I feel like maybe that era is over,” he says. “Now you hear that kind of stuff in a Honda commercial. Whatever I do next, it’ll be weird. That’s the bottom line. It’ll be dark, and it’ll be very physical.”

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I

n May, Shades McCool released a new track titled “The San Diegan National Anthem,” which became something of a viral hit. The song is a two-minute medley of bits and pieces of jingles for local car dealerships, including the Bob Baker Auto Group (“where it’s so nice to be nice”) and Mossy Nissan, whose own commercial jingle has become nearly legendary in San Diego.

Tony Gidlund, frontman of Shades McCool, said he’s had the idea to do it for a long time, and it’s become a live staple for the band.

“I had this idea in the back of my head to put together a treatment of car commercial jingles,” he says. “We don’t actually have any other studio recordings, so this is the first one. And when we play it live, people lose their minds.”

In the couple of weeks since it was released, “The San Diegan National Anthem” ended up getting played on 91X and 94.9, which led to some widespread social media sharing. The sheer amount of interest and immediate popularity of the song ended up surprising the band—which comprises Gidlund, drummer Brian Garbark, bassist Daryl Thompson and keyboardist Taylor Semingson. In fact, Gidlund, who also is a member of Rob Crow’s Gloomy Place, says that none of his previous recordings have taken off like this.

“It’s interesting to see what resonates with people,” Gidlund says. “It’s pretty gnarly. I’ve been playing music for over 10 years and never had anything close to this popular.”

The artwork for the single also ended up causing a bit of controversy. The title of the song is written in Sharpie on a burrito, to which a few social media commenters took offense at the idea of wasting a perfectly good burrito.

“That I did not anticipate,” he says. “I would like to state, for the record, that I just wrote on the flap of the burrito, and it was easy to just rip it off. I did eat a small bit of ink tortilla, though.”

Shades McCool plays at The Casbah on Monday, June 19.

—Jeff Terich

JUNE 7, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 29

MUSIC

JEFF TERICH

IF I WERE U A music insider’s weekly agenda WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7

PLAN A: Adult., Sextile, Pod Blotz @ The Casbah. Detroit synth-pop duo Adult. have been making dark, sleazy, industrial-tinged dance music for nearly two decades and aren’t slowing down anytime soon. Their new album Detroit House Guests features some goth/industrial royalty, who probably won’t be at the show, but you never know.

PLAN B: Radio Moscow, JJUUJJUU, Petyr @ Belly Up Tavern. Radio Moscow is probably the only band I know off the top of my head that comes from Iowa, and they’re a pretty rockin’ one. Their sound is big and swirling, with lots of vintage ‘70s-era psychedelic aesthetics thrown in. BACKUP PLAN: Vader, Internal Bleeding, Sacrificial Slaughter, Voices of Ruin, Micawber, Warpath @ Brick by Brick.

THURSDAY, JUNE 8

PLAN A: Kevin Devine, Chris Farren, Bad and the Ugly @ Soda Bar. Kevin Devine is a nice enough singer/songwriter, but

30 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JUNE 7, 2017

I’m mostly recommending this for Chris Farren, who has a great knack for writing catchy power-pop jams. PLAN B: Valerie June, Lynn Cardona @ Belly Up Tavern.

Valerie June has a bluesy, twangy style that sometimes rocks, but she’s at her best when performing a stripped-down folk/bluegrass tune: That’s where her songwriting and vocal talents really shine.

outfit He Whose Ox Is Gored, which blends sludge with post-hardcore melodies. BACKUP PLAN: DJ Premier and the Badder Band, The LIE Show, Brady Watt @ Belly Up Tavern.

SATURDAY, JUNE 10

PLAN A: The Anniversary, Dude York, Fullbloods @ The Irenic. Kansas’ The Anniversary were one of my favorite bands of the early ‘00s emo era, with a sound that blended contemporary indie textures with new wave synthesizers and great vocal harmonies. Their song “All Things Ordinary” is a damn classic, as are most of the tracks on their two albums. PLAN B: Earthless, Monarch, Flying Hair @ The Casbah. San Diego’s become a hotbed for heavy psychedelic sounds, and Earthless is largely responsible

FRIDAY, JUNE 9

PLAN A: Merchandise, B Boys, Exasperation @ SPACE. Florida indie rock outfit Merchandise are making their way back to San Diego after having to cancel a 2016 date due to injury. Their new album A Corpse Wired for Sound is an excellent mix of dark post-punk and big pop choruses, so it’s bound to be a fun one. PLAN B: Samothrace, He Whose Ox Is Gored, Void Omina, Cryptic Languages @ Soda Bar. A heavier option is this showcase of metal miscreants, including epic doom slingers Samothrace and progressive Seattle-based

for that. Their music is massive, trippy and intense, as the best psych often is.

SUNDAY, JUNE 11

PLAN A: Unwed Sailor, The Calefaction, Yellr @ Soda Bar. Unwed Sailor might be playing small clubs, but their mostly instrumental music is heroic enough to fill stadiums. It’s powerful post-rock in the vein of Explosions in the Sky: loud, melodic and climactic. BACKUP PLAN: The Builders and the Butchers, Bit Maps, Ike Fonseca @ The Casbah.

MONDAY, JUNE 12

PLAN A: VHS Collection, Le Chateau, Tigertown @ Soda Bar. No, I’m not recommending an actual collection of video tapes, though that could be fun. Rather this is synth-heavy disco that’ll make your Monday into a dance party.

TUESDAY, JUNE 13

Robyn Hitchcock

PLAN A: Robyn Hitchcock, Pall Jenkins @ The Casbah. Robyn Hitchcock is a living legend, and his catalog has numerous gems full of quirky, catchy, and often touching songs. “I Often Dream of Trains” gets me every time. PLAN B: Young and In the Way, Gatecreeper, Age of Collapse, Plagues @ Brick by Brick. Gatecreeper just played in San Diego a couple weeks ago and they destroyed. This time they’re joining hardcore heshers Young and In the Way. Get in the pit!

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MUSIC

CONCERTS HOT! NEW! FRESH!

Rosie Flores (Soda Bar, 7/5), Playboi Carti (Observatory, 7/18), La Luz (Soda Bar, 7/22), Rodrigo y Gabriela (Humphreys, 7/31), TOPS (Casbah, 9/7), Zola Jesus (Casbah, 9/21), Swervedriver (Casbah, 9/22), Benjamin Booker (BUT, 9/29), Josh Abbott Band (HOB, 9/29), Sheer Mag, Tony Molina (Soda Bar, 10/2), Torres (Casbah, 10/17), Arcade Fire (Viejas Arena, 10/18), Black Heart Procession (Casbah, 11/4), Tedeschi Trucks Band (Civic Theatre, 11/9).

GET YER TICKETS (Sandy) Alex G, Japanese Breakfast (Irenic, 6/17), King Crimson (Humphreys, 6/19), The Revolution (HOB, 6/22), Maxwell (Valley View Casino Center, 6/23), Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (Civic Theatre, 6/26), Future (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 6/27), LeAnn Rimes (Del Mar Fairgrounds, 6/29), Melvins (Casbah, 7/5), Deftones, Rise Against (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 7/7), The Roots (Observatory, 7/11), Pharmakon (SPACE, 7/11), Mutoid Man (Casbah, 7/12), Cymbals Eat Guitars (Casbah, 7/16), Hall & Oates, Tears for Fears (Valley View Casino Center, 7/19), Beach Fossils (Casbah, 7/20), BadBadNotGood (Observatory, 7/20), Dead Kennedys (Brick by Brick, 7/21), Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 (BUT, 7/21), Steve Gunn (SPACE, 7/30), Huey Lewis and the News (Humphreys, 8/1), Unsane (Casbah, 8/1), AFI, Circa Survive (Open Air Theatre, 8/1), Metallica (Petco

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Park, 8/6), Steve Earle and the Dukes (BUT, 8/10), Incubus, Jimmy Eat World (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 8/11), Hans Zimmer (Viejas Arena, 8/12), Royal Blood (Observatory, 8/15), YOB, SubRosa (Brick

by Brick, 8/16), Matthew Sweet (Casbah, 8/16), X (BUT, 8/17), Dead Cross (Observatory, 8/19), 311 (Open Air Theatre, 8/20), Atmosphere (Observatory, 8/20), Bryan Ferry (Humphreys, 8/23), Mew (Observatory, 8/24), Dierks Bentley (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 8/25), B-Side Players (Music Box, 8/26), Pelican, Inter Arma (Brick by Brick, 8/26), Pink Martini (Humphreys, 8/26), Ira Glass (Balboa Theatre, 8/27), George Benson, Kenny G (Humphreys, 9/10), Goo Goo Dolls (Open Air Theatre, 9/12), Green Day (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 9/13), Kaaboo Festival w/ Tom Petty, Muse, Red Hot Chili Peppers (Del Mar Fairgrounds, 9/15-17), Against Me! (Observatory, 9/16), Future Islands (Open Air Theatre, 9/17), The Beach Boys (Humphreys, 9/23), Sublime With Rome, The Offspring (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 9/26), Bleachers (Observatory, 9/27), Imagine Dragons (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 9/28), Jay Som (Soda Bar, 9/30), The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (Loft, 9/30), The Shins, Spoon (Open Air Theatre, 10/1), Ms. Lauryn Hill, Nas (OAT, 10/3), Father John Misty (Observatory 10/5-6), Depeche Mode (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 10/6), Coldplay (Qualcomm Stadium, 10/8), The Afghan Whigs (BUT, 10/12), The National (Open Air Theatre, 10/12), The Black Angels (HOB, 10/17), Café Tacuba (Observatory, 10/17-18), City of Caterpillar, Thou (Soda Bar, 10/19), Linkin Park (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 10/20), The Kooks (Observatory, 10/20), KMFDM (HOB, 10/20), Jimmy Buffett (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 10/21), Carla Morrison (Humphreys, 10/22), Luke Bryan (Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 10/27),

Halsey (Viejas Arena, 11/5), Hamilton Leithauser (BUT, 11/9), D.R.I. (Brick by Brick, 11/10), Fall Out Boy (Viejas Arena, 11/15), Blues Traveler (HOB, 11/19), Mogwai (Observatory, 11/20), New Found Glory (HOB, 11/25).

JUNE WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7 XXXTentacion at Observatory North Park.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TUESDAY, JUNE 13

TUESDAY, JUNE 20

North Mississippi Allstars at Belly Up Tavern. Robyn Hitchcock at The Casbah.

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

Korn at Mattress Firm Amphitheatre. My Jerusalem at SPACE. Peewee Moore at The Casbah.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14 Los Cafres at Observatory North Park.

Collective Soul at Del Mar Fairgrounds.

Circa Waves at The Casbah.

THURSDAY, JUNE 15

Switchfoot at Del Mar Fairgrounds. Mad Caddies at Brick by Brick. !!! at The Casbah. Girlpool at The Irenic. Black Lips at Belly Up Tavern.

THURSDAY, JUNE 22

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

FRIDAY, JUNE 16 Darius Rucker at Del Mar Fairgrounds.

Guitar Wolf at The Casbah. Def Leppard at Mattress Firm Amphitheatre. Conflict at Soda Bar. Drab Majesty at SPACE. (Sandy) Alex G, Japanese Breakfast at The Irenic. Big D and the Kids Table at Soda Bar.

SATURDAY, JUNE 17

Tuxedo at Observatory North Park. Nick Waterhouse at Belly Up Tavern. Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons at Del Mar Fairgrounds. Chron Gen at The Casbah.

The Revolution at House of Blues.

FRIDAY, JUNE 23 The Mowgli’s at Music Box. The Family Stone at Belly Up Tavern. Birdy Bardot at The Casbah. Maxwell at Valley View Casino Center. Gordon Lightfoot at Humphreys by the Bay. The Game at Observatory North Park.

SATURDAY, JUNE 24

Bad Suns at Observatory North Park. The Body at SPACE. Buckfast Superbee at Soda Bar. Evan Dando at The Casbah.

Supersuckers at The Casbah. Tengger Cavalry at Soda Bar.

SUNDAY, JUNE 25

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

Teenage Burritos at Soda Bar. Causers at SPACE.

MONDAY, JUNE 19 King Crimson at Humphreys by the Bay. First Blood at Soda Bar.

Blind Pilot at Humphreys by the Bay. Kevin Nealon at Belly Up Tavern. Golden Animals at Soda Bar.

MONDAY, JUNE 26 Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds at Civic Theatre. Ron Gallo, White Reaper at Soda Bar.

MUSIC CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

JUNE 7, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 31

MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31 TUESDAY, JUNE 27 Day Wave at The Casbah. Quintron and Miss Pussycat at Soda Bar. Future at Mattress Firm Amphitheatre.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28 M.O.D. at Belly Up Tavern.

THURSDAY, JUNE 29 LeAnn Rimes at Del Mar Fairgrounds. She Keeps Bees at SPACE. Iliza Shlesinger at Observatory North Park. Jessie James Decker at House of Blues. Jacuzzi Boys at Soda Bar. Silent at The Casbah.

FRIDAY, JUNE 30 Tijuana Panthers at Belly Up Tavern. The Vandals at Observatory North Park. ‘Blink Fest’ at The Casbah.

JULY SATURDAY, JULY 1 The Aggrolites at Music Box. Cat Power at Observatory North Park. The Pynnacles at The Casbah.

SUNDAY, JULY 2 DIANA at Soda Bar.

MONDAY, JULY 3 Santoros at Soda Bar.

rCLUBSr

710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave., Pacific Beach. Thu: Thirty House. Fri: Mario Este-

ban and the Blessed Hellhounds, The Heroine, Little Dove. Tue: KL Noise Makerz.

Air Conditioned Lounge, 4673 30th St., Normal Heights. Wed: ‘Breezy Bliss’ w/ DJs Synfonic, Josh Taylor, Jus Sven, Gianna & Viking. Thu: ‘Libertine’ w/ DJ Jon Wesley. Sat: ‘Juicy’ w/ Mike Czech. Sun: ‘Chvrch’ w/ DJs Karma, Alice.

American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., Downtown. Thu: Joe DeRosa. Fri: Joe DeRosa. Sat: Joe DeRosa. Sun: Sara Schaefer.

The Bancroft, 9143 Campo Road, Spring Valley. Thu: HAYDEVIL, The Range, Same as Yesterday. Sat: Mission G, Approaching Fiction. Sun: Mopar Bentley, Hyperactive Slackers, Sideshow, Children of Eden.

Bar Pink, 3829 30th St., North Park. Wed: DJ Grandmasta Rats. Thu: The Husky Boy All Stars. Fri: The Joyelles. Sat: DJ Mike Delgado. Sun: ‘Rat Sabbath’. Mon: DJ Thug Wave. Tue: ‘Tiki Tuesday’ w/ Fink Bombs.

Bang Bang, 526 Market St., Downtown.

Fri: Bad Boy Bill & Richard Vission. Sat: Jonas Rathsman.

Beaumont’s, 5665 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla.

Thu: John Bennet Duo. Sat: Part Time Model. Sun: Ariel Levine.

cke Wolves, Symbol Six, Big Dictator.

Blonde, 1808 W. Washington St., Mission Hills. Wed: ‘Dance Klassique’ w/ Eric Medina. Thu: ‘Rock en Espanol Night’. Fri: Jex Opolis. Tue: Mijas, Fake Tides, Low Points, Spooky Cigarette.

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

Thu: Strange Crew, Road Dog. Fri: ‘Club Musae’.

Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave., Bay Park. Wed: Vader, Internal Bleeding, Sacrificial Slaughter, Voices of Ruin, Micawber, Warpath. Fri: Only Theatre of Pain, Gitane Demone Quartet, Karl J. Paloucek, 13 Wolves. Sat: L.A. Guns, Murder of Five, State Line Syndicate, Rattz, Taz Taylor.

Sun: (hed) p.e., One Inch Punch, Albert the Cannibal, DVT, Van Brando. Tue: Young and In the Way, Gatecreeper, Age of Collapse, Plagues.

The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd., Midtown.

Wed: Adult., Sextile, Pod Blotz. Thu: Overcoats, Yoke Lore. Fri: JMSN, Alcordo. Sat: Earthless, Monarch, Flying Hair. Sun: The Builders and the Butchers, Bit Maps, Ike Fonseca. Mon: Theo Katzman and Joey Dosik. Tue: Robyn Hitchcock, Pall Jenkins.

Dirk’s Nightclub, 7662 Broadway, Lemon Grove. Fri: Serious Guise. Sat: Rosetta Stone.

Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. Wed: Radio Moscow, JJUUJJUU, Petyr. Thu: Valerie June, Lynn Cardona. Fri: DJ Premier and the Badder Band, The LIE Show, Brady Watt. Sat: 40 Oz. to Freedom, Red Not Chili Peppers.

Sun: ZZ Ward, Earl St. Clair. Tue: North Mississippi Allstars.

The Field Irish Pub, 544 Fifth Ave., Downtown. Wed: Fiore. Thu: Sam Hosking. Fri: The Upshots. Sat: Chrome Domes. Sun: Roma Ransom. Mon: Joseph Carroll. Tue: Todd & Jesse.

Black Cat Bar, 4246 University Ave., City Heights. Thu: Uptown Rhythm Makers.

Fri: Levi Dean and the Americats, Karina Frost and the Banduvloons. Sat: The Fo-

Fluxx, 500 Fourth Ave., Downtown. Fri: DJ Bad. Sat: Loczi.

32 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JUNE 7, 2017

F6ix, 526 F St., Downtown. Fri: DJ Scooter. Sat: Jae Murphy.

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

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

Tue: ‘50s/60s Dance Party.

The Holding Company, 5046 Newport Ave., Ocean Beach. Wed: Puente. Thu: Slower. Fri: Keep Your Soul, DJ OMZ. Sat: DJ OREN, A Perfect Tool. Sun: Second Cousins, Nothing Special, WonderDogs, Stained Glass Windows, Tweed Deluxe, Hibbity Dibbity. Tue: Strictly Skunk.

Hooley’s, 5500 Grossmont Center Drive, La Mesa. Fri: Pete Johnson Show Band.

Sat: The Heart Band.

House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., Downtown. Wed: SoMo, Sophia Alone. Thu: Jerry ‘Hot Rod’ Demink. Fri: ‘More Life More Everything: A Drake Tribute’. Sat: ‘Decades Collide: 80s vs 90s’ w/ Biz Markie. Sun: The Minimalists. Tue: Robin Henkel.

Humphreys Backstage, 2241 Shelter Island Drive, Shelter Island. Wed: Trade Winds. Thu: B-3 Four. Fri: Detroit Underground, Reflectors. Sat: Wildside. Sun: Bumpasonic. Mon: Missy Andersen. Tue: Mercedes Moore.

The Irenic, 3090 Polk Ave., North Park.

Sat: The Anniversary, Dude York, Fullbloods.

Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd., Midtown. Wed: Secret Sidewalks, Skrapez, Subgenre Apparel, Corbo + Sudan Moon.

Thu: Digital Cocoon. Fri: Minimal Sessions. Sat: ‘SHAFT’. Sun: Triloc.

Lestat’s Coffee House, 3343 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Fri: Young Mister, Lee Coulter. Sat: Joe Morales, Nick Shattuck, Savannah Philyaw. Sun: Talking Trees.

The Merrow, 1271 University Ave., Hill-

crest. Wed: Captain Viejo, Gregleplex.

Thu: Bosswitch, ANA, Birth Waters, Polish. Sat: U.S. Air Guitar Championships.

Tue: The Wind Playing Tricks, The Anomaly.

Mother’s Saloon, 2228 Bacon St., Ocean Beach. Fri: Jon Campos and the Incurables. Sun: Lacy Younger and Marklyn Retzer.

Mr. Peabody’s, 136 Encinitas Blvd., Encinitas. Wed: Society Beat Big Band.

Thu: Jim Allen Band. Fri: Custard Pie. Sat: Roadog, Jerome Dawson. Sun: Tony Ortega Jazz Jam. Music Box, 1337 India St., Little Italy.

Thu: The Winehouse Experience, Nirvanish, Janis Lives, Purple Haze. Fri: ‘Dance Yourself Clean’. Sun: Corinne Bailey Rae, Jamila Woods.

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

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

Wed: ‘The Reflex’. Thu: ‘No Limits’ w/ DJ Myson King. Fri: ‘After Hours’ w/ DJs Kid Wonder, Saul Q. Sat: ‘Strictly Business’ w/ DJs Kanye Asada, Gabe Vega. Sun: ‘Uptown Top Ranking’. Tue: ‘True Bass’ w/ DJ Ramsey.

OMNIA Nightclub, 454 Sixth Ave., Downtown. Thu: Quintino. Fri: Deorro. Sat: Party Favor.

Panama 66, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park.

Wed: Gilbert Castellanos. Thu: Tommy Guerrero, Pall Jenkins. Fri: Euphoria Brass Band. Sat: Besos De Coco. Sun: Gabriel Sundy Trio.

Parq, 615 Broadway, Downtown. Fri: Karma. Sat: Big Boi.

MUSIC CONTINUED ON PAGE 33

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MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 32 Plaza Bar at Westgate Hotel, 1055 2nd Ave., Downtown. Fri: Gilbert Castellanos. Sat: Allison Tucker. Mon: Julio de la Huerta.

Rich›s, 1051 University Ave., Hillcrest.

Wed: DJs John Joseph, Kinky Loops.

Thu: DJ K-Swift. Fri: DJs Dida, Dirty Kurty, K-Swift. Sat: Djs K-Swift, Myxzlplix, Taj. Sun: DJs Cros, Brynn Taylor.

Riviera Supper Club, 7777 University Ave., La Mesa. Wed: ‘Boss Jazz’ w/ Jason Hanna. Thu: Chlose & Davies. Fri: Three Chord Justice. Sat: Elements.

Rosie O’gradys, 3402 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Fri: Devil’s Due. Seven Grand, 3054 University Ave., San Diego. Wed: Red Fox Tails. Thu: Jimmy Ruelas. Fri: Dark Thirty. Sat: Spindrift.

Mon: ‘Makossa Monday’ w/ DJ Tah Rei. Tue: Second Cousins.

Empire Of The Sun

SPOTLIGHT Radio-sponsored music festivals are always a grab bag of wildly divergent acts—partly because stations have to work with bands who are already touring, but also because casual radio listeners aren’t really discerning about what they like (unless it comes to Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sublime or Nirvana). This year’s 91X-produced X-Fest includes an appearance by Phoenix—who will undoubtedly be great—and then a roster of increasingly disappointing bands: Empire of the Sun, Bob Moses, Skip Marley, Missio…

You get the idea. X-Fest goes down on Sunday, June 11 at Qualcomm Stadium.

—Ryan Bradford

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Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Wed: Boogarins, Los Shadows, Minor Gems. Thu: Kevin Devine, Chris Farren, Bad and the Ugly. Fri: Samothrace, He Whose Ox Is Gored, Void Omina, Cryptic Languages. Sat: Kuinka, Cardinal Moon, Nena Anderson. Sun: Unwed Sailor, The Calefaction, Yellr. Mon: VHS Collection, Le Chateau, Tigertown. Tue: Andrew St. James, Semisweet.

SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd., Midway. Fri: Owleye, Titans In Time, Sight Unscene, Malison, Somewhat Ace. Sat: Our Second Home, Amaya Lights, Shawshank Redeemed, All Clear Kid, Smarter Than Robots, ASCENSIONS., Mandala, Stick Bitz, Regent, Beyond My Afterlife.

SPACE, 3519 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights.

Wed: Ella Vos, Dreams Made Flesh, Imagery Machine. Thu: Sensations Fix, Spooky Cigarette. Fri: Merchandise, B Boys, Exasperation. Sun: The Deslondes.

Mon: ‘Left Hand Path’ w/ DJ Handsome Skeleton. Tue: Spaceface, OX. Spin, 2028 Hancock St., Midtown. Fri: Rene La Vice, DARA. Sat: ‘Boogie Nights’ w/ Amtrac, Funk Hunters. Sun: ‘One Diego’ w/ Adrian Hour.

Sycamore Den, 3391 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Thu: The Liquorsmiths. Sun: The Big Decisions.

Til-Two Club, 4746 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Fri: King Flamingo, The Twinfins.

Sun: Pants Karaoke. Mon: The Authorities, Slaughter Boys.

Tin Roof, 401 G St., Downtown. Wed: Kenny and Deez. Thu: Keep Your Soul.

Fri: Coriander, Allegra Duchaine. Sat: Calphonics, Chad and Rosie. Sun: Amy and the Unknown, Allegra Duchaine.

Mon: The Redlands. Tue: Kenny and Deez.

Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave., City Heights. Thu: The Picturebooks, Mike Vallely and the New Arms. Fri: Dream Burglar, The Brankas, Los Pinche Pinches.

Sat: Nebula Drag, Wizzerd, Ritual Potion.

Sun: Bastardsect, Connoisseur, Abrams, Bleak Skies.

Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St., South Park.

Fri: Saint Pe, Recommended Dosage DJs. Sat: ‘Booty Bassment’. Mon: ‘Electric Relaxation’.

Winstons, 1921 Bacon St., Ocean Beach.

Wed: Psydecar, DJ Carlos Culture. Thu: Gene Evaro Jr., Full Revolution. Fri: Inna Vision, Skank Roots Project. Sat: Band of Gringos. Mon: Electric Waste Band. Tue: DJ Williams and Shots Fired.

JUNE 7, 2017 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 33

LAST WORDS | ADVICE

AMY ALKON

ADVICE

Silicone Valley

GODDESS

I’m a guy who hates fake boobs. I’ve dumped women I really liked upon discovering they have them. Total dealbreaker for me. However, I obviously can’t just ask whether a woman has them.

What should I do? I don’t want to waste my time or hers.

—Real Deal Your aversion to countertitties doesn’t come out of nowhere. Breast implants are a form of “strategic interference,” evolutionary psychologist David Buss’ term for when the mating strategies of one sex are derailed by the other. Women, for example, evolved to seek “providers”—men with high status and access to resources. A guy engages in strategic interference by impressing the ladies with his snazzy new Audi.

A woman doesn’t need an Audi (or even a bus pass) to attract men. She just needs the features that men evolved to go all oglypants for—like youth, an hourglass bod, big eyes, full lips and big bra puppies. Men aren’t attracted to these features just because. Biological anthropologist Grazyna Jasienska finds that women with big (natural!) boobs have higher levels of the hormone estradiol, a form of estrogen that increases a woman’s likelihood of conception. Women with both big boobs and a small waist have about 30 percent higher levels—which could mean they’d be about three times as likely to get pregnant as other women. So, big fake boobs are a form of mating forgery—like a box supposedly containing a high-def TV that actually contains a bunch of no-def bricks.

There are some telltale signs of Frankenboobs, like immunity from gravity. Women with big real boobs have bra straps that could double as seat belts and bra backs like those lumbar support belts worn by warehouse workers. However, an increasing number of women have more subtle implants (all the better to strategically interfere with you, my dear!).

Though you might get the truth by teasing the subject of plastic surgery into conversation, you should accept the reality: You may not know till you get a woman horizontal—and the sweater Alps remain so

34 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JUNE 7, 2017

high and proud you’re pretty sure you see Heidi running across them, waving to the Ricola guy playing the alpenhorn.

My Fawny Valentine I went out with this guy twice. He was really effusive about how much he liked me and how we had the beginnings of something awesome. He seemed sincere, so I ended up sleeping with him, and then, boom. He vanished. Was he just telling me he was into me to get me in the sack? I can’t imagine ever doing that to somebody.

—Integrity A guy’s “I really care about you” makes a woman feel that he’s got a real reason for being there with her.

Men evolved to be the worker bees of sex—the wooers of the species who try to sell women on their level of love and commitment with mushy talk and bunches of carats. Women generally don’t need to work to get sex; they just need to let men know they’re willing.

This difference aligns with what evolutionary psychologist David Buss calls men’s and women’s conflicting “sexual strategies”—in keeping with how getting it on can leave a woman “with child” and a man with a little less semen. Accordingly, Buss finds that women are more likely to be “sexual deceivers”—to dangle the possibility of sex to get a favor or special treatment from a man. Men, on the other hand, are more likely to be “commitment deceivers.” In Buss’ lab, when the researchers asked 112 college dudes about whether they’d “exaggerated the depth of their feelings for a woman in order to have sex with her, 71 percent admitted to having done so, compared with only 39 percent of the women.”

Knowing the different ways men and women deceive and are prone to be deceived is the best way to avoid being a victim of that deception. Wait to have sex until you’ve been around a guy enough to see that he’s got something behind those flowery words—beyond how getting you into bed is preferable to staying home, dressing his penis in a tiny cape, and playing video games.

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june 7, 2017 · San Diego CityBeat · 35