2 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JUNE 12, 2019
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UP FRONT | FROM THE EDITOR
Shop around
T
he city council’s recent decision to greenlight plans to turn Horton Plaza into a tech-friendly office park got me all in my feelings. But before I get into that, I want to talk about malls. In doing research for our annual drink issue, I had the dreaded task of having to go to a mall. Unlike my colleague, CityBeat web editor Ryan Bradford, I find malls to be abhorrent, cringe-worthy bastions of consumerism. OK, so I’m being a little extra, but not a week goes by where I don’t read some vapid editorial about the death of retail and the ascendency of hassle-free home delivery. It makes sense macroeconomically. The concept of “convenience” has long been the mall’s main appeal, but when they’re competing with the “buy it now” button, what are they left with? And yet there’s part of me that laments the death of the American mall. I don’t want to go to the mall, but like the idea that it’s there in case I need it. Then I visited Westfield UTC. That place is something. Gone are the days of corporate chain stores filled with indifferent, underpaid employees who are just counting the hours until they can leave. Rather, shopping malls are likely to be filled with smaller, regional chains or independent retailers offering one-of-a-kind items and hands-on customer service. The food courts have slowly been overtaken by independent restaurateurs and nightlife industry mavens offering up fine dining and craft cocktails (see page 16 for more on the latter). I’m not alone in this sentiment. In a recent article in Forbes, a retail expert from Cowen and Company, a financial services firm, says that shopping malls need to focus on something he called the “3C’s” in order to survive. That is, convenience, curation and culture. Without getting to into the weeds on each, the larger point comes down to making malls more of a community destination that are customized to reflect the values and desires of the neighborhoods where they are located. This is exactly what’s on display at places such as Westfield UTC, Del Mar Plaza and the One Paseo shopping center, albeit on a much more affluent scale. For years, the death knells rang out for Horton Plaza. Around 2012, rumors began to circulate as to what would be done with the space. Personally, I remained optimistic about the future of the mall, especially considering
it was still, technically, on city-owned land. I thought, perhaps, that Westfield, who took over the lease of the property in the ’90s, would see their experimentation at UTC as an example that the same thing could be replicated in the Gaslamp. Instead, they just pissed off tenants and raised the price to park. In the end, there were many options that could have been explored when it came to Horton Plaza. Instead, the city council decided in May to let an L.A.-based real estate firm turn the mall into a “tech campus” that LORPIC89 / FLICKR COMMONS
Horton Plaza is, as one article put it, “poised to remake the city’s downtown yet again—this time, in an attempt to lure plucky startups and young professionals priced out of California’s troubled boom towns to the north.” Right. Brilliant. Cause we don’t already have enough problems with affordable housing that we need a bunch of tech bros moving down here. To think, we could have envisioned a repurposed arts and culture destination? Or maybe even converting the mall into affordable housing? And bonus: take that gigantic mess of a parking structure, make it paid city parking and finally convert the heart of the Gaslamp into a pedestrian-friendly, vehicle-less public space for all to enjoy? But I’m not here to lament the repugnant idea of having bro-friendly skateparks and break areas among Horton Plaza’s iconic, postmodernist design. Rather, I just want to say that I will miss it. I’ll mix getting literally lost in that mall (where am I? was a common refrain). I’ll even miss forgetting whether I was on the fruit or veggie levels (was it tomato? Corn? Avocado?) in that upside-down wormhole of a parking structure. But the council made their decision. To paraphrase the song, I guess nobody’s mama told them they could shop around.
—Seth Combs
Write to seth.combs@sdcitybeat.com
This issue of CityBeat is drinking a Four Loko in the SDSU 7-11 parking lot.
Volume 17 • Issue 43 EDITOR Seth Combs WEB EDITOR Ryan Bradford ART DIRECTOR Carolyn Ramos STAFF WRITER Andrea Lopez-Villafaña COLUMNISTS Aaryn Belfer Ryan Bradford Edwin Decker Alfred Howard John R. Lamb Rhonda “Ro” Moore
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JUNE 12, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 3
4 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JUNE 12, 2019
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UP FRONT | LETTERS
AB-5 MYSTERIES Looking at AB5 [“Finishing the job,” News, May 29; “Artists pay the price,” From the Editor, June 5], a question I have is why certain licensed trades/professions in the cosmetology industry (e.g. manicurist, esthetician) do not appear eligible to apply for the “Booth Rental Permit” the new law envisions. What distinguishes hair stylists (eligible for the permit) from nail technicians? It’s a mystery to me.
Joseph S. Carmellino Attorney at Law Mission Valley
[Editor’s response: It’s a mystery to all of us.]
BETTER MUSIC APPRECIATION Hello Mr. Combs, I recently came across your great piece “Concert Resolutions to live by in 2019” [Notes from the Smoking Patio, Dec. 19, 2018]. Thank you for writing this! I am a music teacher in the Solana Beach School District. Your article addresses an issue that I have been aware of for quite a while. I notice it when I see live music and I especially notice it in my classroom. My students are often just plain rude when I have them perform for each other. Not listening, distracting, disrupting, not applauding. Over the years it has become a mission of mine to cultivate a better music appreciation culture in my classroom and teach my students how to be a good audience. This is right near the top of my list of priorities. After all, what is music without an audience! I want to help make San Diego a place all the best artists look forward to coming to!
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So thank you for writing this list. I’m sure to refer to it in class, with your permission. Also, have you written anything else on the subject of rude San Diego audiences? Can you refer me to any other articles or writers on our local audience problem? Thank you very much.
Andrew Simpson Solana Beach
FRONTLINE VOICE Dear Aaryn Belfer, Thank you for being such a “Great Frontline Warrior” and “Frontline Responder” for all issues regarding women’s rights and freedoms! Once again, your column in San Diego CityBeat Magazine, upfront/opinion, in the May 22, 2019 issue [“Alabama, god damn”], was spectacular! Your ideas and perspectives on all subjects of this kind, are an exact reflection of my own. Everything that I want to say, you say for me (and for that I am more grateful than you can ever possibly know). I am certain that thousands of women share my sentiments about you but do not write to you. You are a Very Courageous Voice! A Voice that is extremely sensitive, deeply caring, concerned and committed to the upliftment of humankind. While so many others are content to simply sit on the sidelines: passive, complacent, complicit – seemingly totally self-satisfied with the status quo. So, again, thank you for making such a committed effort to stand up on behalf of all the rest of us “fencesitters.” Your Voice, Aaryn Belfer, is that of a truly remarkable and extraordinary woman!!! Respectfully, Sandra C. Coronado
TABLE OF CONTENTS UP FRONT
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 oped letters. Email letters to editor Seth Combs at seth.combs@ sdcitybeat.com, or mail to 3047 University Ave., Suite 202, San Diego, CA 92104. For letters to be considered for publication, you must include your first and last name and the part of town where you reside. Note: All comments left on stories at sdcitybeat.com will also be considered for publication.
From the Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Letters to the Editor. . . . . . . . . . . News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A Side-Eye of Sanity . . . . . . . . . . Sordid Tales. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3 4 6 7 8
FOOD & DRINK World Fare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Final Draught. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
THINGS TO DO The Short List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Calendar of Events. . . . . . . . . 12-13
ARTS & CULTURE Theater. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Feature: The Drink Issue . . 15-24 Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-26
MUSIC Feature: Matthew Logan Vasquez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Notes From The Smoking Patio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 The Spotlight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 If I Were U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Concerts & Clubs . . . . . . . . . 32-34
IN THE BACK Astrologically Unsound . . . . . . 33 CannaBitch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
JUNE 12, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 5
ANDREA LOPEZ-VILLAFAÑA
UP FRONT | NEWS
Storage wars, Episode 3: Return of the Ultimatum Even with a warning from the city council, San Diego seems no closer to opening additional storage facilities for homeless citizens By Andrea Lopez-Villafaña
I
“
feel the fire lit.” This is how Chief of Homelessness Strategies and Housing Liaison Keely Halsey put it three months ago at a San Diego Housing Authority meeting. Her words were followed by laughter from city staff and the public. The issue at hand, however, was anything but funny. And yet, her words prompted laughter from those familiar with the slow-moving search for additional storage facilities for homeless citizens in the city. On March 12, the city council, acting as the Housing Authority, approved the contract renewal of a storage facility located in Logan Heights. The contract, which was originally set to expire on May 13, 2019, was extended to June 30. The extension was necessary so that future funding would fall in line
with the San Diego Housing Commission’s next fiscal year budget, which would run through June 2020. The facility, known as the Storage Connect Center, is operated by the nonprofit Mental Health Systems and offers homeless citizens the ability to store their personal belongings for free while they search for housing or work. It is one of two city-funded transitional storage facilities with the other located in the East Village. The facility in Logan Heights opened despite strong opposition from residents, but city councilmembers reassured the community that it was one of many sites the city planned to open. As a result, by June 2018, councilmembers Barbara Bry, Chris Ward, Chris Cate and Georgette Gomez proposed sites in their
6 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JUNE 12, 2019
districts that could serve as transitional storage centers. Some proposals included places like Golden Hall and city-owned lots, to name a few. Yet, none of those locations were ever opened as storage facilities. During the March 12 meeting, councilmembers recognized that they had failed to open new storage facilities, but admitted it’s not a simple task. “The reality is that nobody wants these in their community, really, if we’re being honest about this nobody actually does. Everybody recognizes the need but nobody actually wants them,” Councilmember Mark Kersey said at the March 12 meeting. In an effort to prompt staff to open additional facilities throughout the city, however, Council President Gomez requested that city staff present a plan by June to open another facility or the contract extension through 2020 would not occur. To speed up the process, she also offered to work with city staff on a location identified in City Heights, but asked that community outreach begin sooner rather than later. “I’m committing myself to work with you and working with the community to make it happen,” Gomez said to city staff during the March meeting. “If that does not happen, then this contract is voided.”
Pita Verdin at the March 12 Housing Authority meeting Essentially, Gomez gave city staff an ultimatum that day: The amendment was added to hold both city staff and the city council “accountable,” said Gomez back in March. Either the council or the Land Use and Housing Committee receive a proposed plan with community feedback or the contract with Mental Health Systems would end on June 30, 2019. If that happens, the city could still be responsible for paying the lease of about $15,182-a-month for an empty building. “Hopefully we’re not waiting three months from now to start having community outreach, that we start community outreach sooner rather than later,” said Gomez at the March meeting. When the Storage Connect Center opened last year, residents in Logan Heights and Sherman Heights expressed opposition because of its proximity to homes, a church and school. They also felt left out of the process, as they only learned about the facility from news reports. Three months since the March 12 meeting, however, outreach in City Heights has not started and a report has yet to be presented to the council or committee. Despite the council president’s amendment, it’s not clear if the council will keep their word and close the Storage Connect Center at the end of this month. While the Housing Authority approved the contract renewal, there seems to be no real incentive to begin the process of securing additional sites for storage facilities. What’s more, the language in the approved extension does not give specific deadlines. After numerous attempts to receive an update on possible locations and what community outreach has been done in the community, little to no information was shared with CityBeat. In a joint statement, Mayor Kevin Falconer and City Council President Gomez said, “We’ve committed to extensive community outreach as we explore a location for a new storage facility to serve unsheltered residents. That means we will be sharing our plans directly with the community before anyone else. We look forward to discussing this further once neighborhood residents hear the
details first.” But members with community groups in City Heights—such as the City Heights Town Council, City Heights Area Planning Committee and the El Cajon Boulevard Business Association—said they have not been approached with any information regarding a storage facility. As this issue was going to press, Gomez shared on Twitter that a “site is being discuss (sic) at the Eastern Area Planning Committee today and will be presented to other groups.” Chair of the Eastern Area Community Planning Committee Linda Godoy shared with CityBeat that the discussion was not on the June 11 meeting agenda because she only received a call from the Council President’s office about it Monday night. Information on what exactly will be discussed at the meeting was not shared with CityBeat. Greater Logan Heights residents, who have been involved in community meetings and dedicated to open dialogue with city staff, expect the council to keep their word and close the facility in District 8 if a plan is not in place. Sherman Heights resident Pita Verdin said the community’s understanding was that if a plan was not presented by June, then the storage facility in Logan Heights would close. “We have to make them accountable for what they said,” Verdin said, “They have to keep whatever promises they made to their constituents that put them in the positions they are [in]. They have our trust then they have to abide by what they said [they] were going to do.” Verdin said it is clear that opening additional facilities is not a priority and it’s disheartening to feel like the community is constantly asking for updates and being told that it’s “being worked on.” She adds that it’s disappointing to hear there’s been no community outreach in City Heights in the three months since the ultimatum. District 8 Councilmember Vivian Moreno said in an email that she hopes the city will conduct community outreach for any future storage facilities. “The residents of Sherman Heights did not receive this same courtesy which led to great distrust within the community.”
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UP FRONT | VOICES
RHONDA “RO” MOORE
A SIDE-EYE OF Not my Ma
I
SANITY
like dark humor and horror movies. I also like campy movies. If it wasn’t already obvious to regular readers of this column, I fully embraced my inner nut-bag long ago. So it’s probably not-at-all surprising that I’m also partial to revenge thrillers. So when I first saw the trailer for Ma, I was excited. It appeared to have all the elements for a low-fi-looking horror movie. When I realized Octavia Spencer was to play the lead, that settled it. I was going to see this movie about a woman who appeared to live in a small, mostly white town and who was about to snap her bolt, giving in to the crazy you could see lurking in her eyes. What I wasn’t expecting was a serous hit of nostalgia. See, I grew up in a small town in North Carolina. I played in the band, babysat on weekends, worked after school and, more than occasionally, found a reason to not go home on time. But I didn’t get in trouble. The wrath of my mom was never worth it (she takes my nuttiness and multiplies it by infinity). I was often with friends and, since I wasn’t stupid enough to let my grades fall and draw unwanted attention, we frequently hung out without parental supervision. I didn’t get up to things that would cause me to lose that privilege, but I knew some people who looked at that as a personal challenge. So, I’ve absolutely been in places and situations I shouldn’t have been, surrounded by people doing things they really should’ve known better than to be doing. For example, trying to drink their body weight in cheap alcohol. In Ma, Octavia Spencer’s character offers up her basement to teenagers for partying. The kids are clearly underage, but Ma is more than happy to supply the booze. I watched major parts of this film with ill-suppressed laughter. There were many reasons for this, but it particularly reminded me of something that happened shortly after I moved to North Carolina. My parents wanted to put me in Catholic school. It wasn’t enough that they wanted to trap me in the South until adulthood that they also got some wild hair up their ass and decided I needed to be in a parochial school. Here’s where I point out that I was not the troublemaker in my family. I don’t care what my brothers say. Now as an adult, I realize they wanted to do this because they weren’t fans of the high school. But as a 10-year-old who liked to find a reason to “lose” her shoes before recess, it sounded like they wanted to throw me in to the pit of despair in a skirt and knee socks. I know that seems to be a non sequitur, but I swear
I’m going somewhere. I escaped parochial school for possibly the most hilarious of reasons (to me anyway). While touring one of the Catholic middle schools my dad asked about the high school it fed into. The priest doing the tour hesitated before launching into this spiel about how many honors classes it had, as well as all the sports and after-school activities available. But he might as well have thrown a huge red flag in their faces. My mom let him finish, and then asked him what his pause was about. The guy danced around the subject for a bit while my parents just stared at him. He eventually stopped pussyfooting around and admitted that a significant number of the parents of students at the high school were on probation for contributing to the delinquency of minors. Yes, I said the parents. Turns out that a few parties occurred where adults supplied the booze for the kids attending. I guess the logic here was that kids are going to drink regardless so better they do it where they would be “safe.” But I still think this is whitepeople-speak for we want to be friends with our kids and therefore fail at setting boundaries. My parents swiftly vetoed the whole send-the-girl-childto-parochial-school idea and instead decided to look for a house in a neighborhood that fed into a whole different school system altogether. I suppose one could assume they didn’t think I’d need any help finding trouble. Plenty of my friends thought my mom was cool. She’s a very welcoming soul. We were always free to hang out at the house even if my parents weren’t home. I always told them her coolness factor was elevated because they didn’t live with her. They always laughed it off. My house was run on simple, but inviolate, rules. The upside was I had far more privileges and freedoms than most of my friends and classmates. The downside was I knew my mom would go all the way off if I pushed the line. After all, I’m the youngest of three and the only girl so that line flashed in neon. So, seeing that part of Octavia Spencer’s lure tripped my memory and set me to cackling. Besides, if some stranger talking folks into their basement isn’t a Hans-Christian-Anderson, breadcrumbs-leading-to-your-death situation waiting to happen then I don’t know what is. All these kids acted like it was the greatest development in their lives, but all I could think was some of them weren’t taught about stranger-danger, and it shows.
I guess the logic here was that kids are going to drink regardless so better they do it where they would be ‘safe.’ But I still think this is white-people-speak for we want to be friends with our kids and therefore fail at setting boundaries.
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A Side-Eye of Sanity appears every other week. Follow Ro Moore on Twitter at @BookBlerd.
JUNE 12, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 7
UP FRONT | OPINION
EDWIN DECKER
SORDID
TALES
Women are harder to 86
I
t happened in a place I’ll call Bar X. She appeared to be in her mid-30s, belligerent and hyperactive. She was more of a social moth than a butterfly, as she bounced off tables, barstools and people while slurring insults and expletives at those with whom she collided. When the doorman told her it was time to leave, she objected. He insisted. She hurled profanities, and then he looped his arm under hers and dragged her toward the door. However, in a surprisingly sober maneuver, the woman broke free and punched him in the chest powerfully enough to knock him backward. After several minutes of fending more blows, the bouncer finally got her in a headlock and flung her outside. Admittedly, it was startling to watch. But I was irritated by the couple sitting beside me who ridiculed the doorman because he had, as the fellow put it, “a hard time tossing out a girl.” “Don’t laugh,” I blurted. “86’ing women is harder than you think.” “How would you know?” he scoffed. “Because,” I replied, “In my 25-plus years of bartending and bouncing, the worst ass-kickings I received almost always came from females.” And yes, that’s including the homicidal meth-head with bleeding teeth. That includes the yoked weightlifter in the throes of roid rage. That includes the time another bouncer and I dispatched an entire bachelor party, one of whom—the groom-to-be—had a bowling ball chained to his ankle. He just picked up that roller and rushed toward us as if we were the twin pins of a four-six split. Yes, it’s true that men tend to be physically stronger and generally more aggressive than women, as evidenced by the seemingly 100-1 ratio of male-to-female bar evictees. But the few, um, ladies, who are violent (the ones who would rather shitkick than skedaddle) present a different set of complications. No, it’s not the fact that even if she’s punching, you can’t punch back. It’s not the ever-lurking anxiety of accidentally grabbing a handful of boob and being brought up on charges. Forget all that. It is their indifference to the code of combat that makes them so treacherous. Typically, when brawling with men, certain unwritten rules apply: no weapons, no projectiles, no gonad-bashing, and no eye gouging, face-scratching or glass-stabbing. But with women? Well I have been struck with a pool cue, stuck with a fork, pelted with a pint glass, caned with a microphone stand, spat upon, scratched, ball-battered and purse-bludgeoned. And then there was the infamous encounter with the women I like to call “Girtha the Gladiator.” It was during a Chris Issak show at The Bacchanal, circa 1989. I was working security, sitting front and center of the stage and facing the audience. It was a mostly mellow performance and, as expected, it was an
older crowd that preferred to stay seated. After about the fifth song, “Girtha” stood up and began dancing in front of her chair. She danced with abandon, invading everyone’s personal space and/or blocking their view with her six feet and some 250 pounds. Don’t get me wrong, this was not cookies-and-cake weight. This was red meat and protein powder pounds; firm and thick, like a lady crane operator. I ignored her at first. I really don’t like being the no-fun-allowed guy. But I could see the desperate stares of the people around her, their eyes begging me to do something, anything, as she danced—not like a butterfly, nor even a moth, but a social tyrannosaur— taking everyone out with her massive tail and talons. I approached and asked her to sit. She complied at first, then stood up to dance again. I asked her to sit again and again she got up. After the third time I said, “If you don’t stay seated I will have to throw you out.” By this point the music had stopped as Isaak, the band members and everybody in the venue, watched the drama. Reluctantly, and with all eyes on me, I went in for the extraction. I grabbed her lightly by the elbow but she yanked it back and shouted toward the stage, “Chris, Chris! This asshole won’t let me dance to your music!” “That asshole is my brother,” said Isaak, who seemed more amused than annoyed by the situation. “Please miss, don’t make me take you out by force,” I begged, cupping her elbow again. “Girtha” wasted no time. She flung her drink—plastic cup and all—in my face, blinding me, and then followed that with an uppercut to the jaw. Though partially blinded, I was acutely aware that the entire room was watching as “Girtha” decisively, ruinously and savagely kicked my ass. If that wasn’t embarrassing enough, the other bouncers were in the back, laughing and pointing as she wailed on me with brick-like fists. Shell-shocked and wobbly, I never saw the blow that broke my nose at the bridge. I sure felt it though. To this day, the fracture is still visible. With blood pouring from my nose, she picked up a chair and dropped me with it. Seeing that I was on the ground now and about to be pummeled, the security crew rushed in. It took four of them to drag her out and trust me, they weren’t laughing anymore as she landed multiple blows to their heads, guts and nuts. Back at Bar X, the couple was unimpressed by my story. They simply would not concede that women are at least as difficult to 86 than men. “Perhaps not,” I said. “But it’s not really the point. The fact is that it’s not easy bouncing anyone who refuses to leave. And until a person has done so, they shouldn’t laugh or act like they can do any better.”
Though partially blinded, I was acutely aware that the entire room was watching as ‘Girtha’ decisively, ruinously and savagely kicked my ass.
8 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JUNE 12, 2019
Sordid Tales appears every other week. Write to edwin@sdcitybeat.com.
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UP FRONT | FOOD & DRINK
BY MICHAEL A. GARDINER
THE WORLD
FARE
Filipino food for the 21st Century
W
hen she arrives at the table, she’s just so sexy: the bronzed skin, the way she looks just sitting there. Eating the crispy pata at Gaya Gaya (7580 Miramar Road, facebook.com/ gayagayasd) is like having sex for the first time. You can’t help but feel a little guilty about it, but it just feels so damn good you don’t really care and it certainly isn’t going to stop you. It’s been a long coming out party for local chef Danilo “DJ” Tangalin; a story of coming full circle and integration. Raised in the Philippines on the family’s fish farm, he cut his teeth working at their turo turo restaurant. Well, actually, it was more of a food stand than a restaurant, but it was still highly impactful. In the U.S., Tangalin worked at the other end of the spectrum. Little places like Le Bernardin, Coi, Locanda Verde and Volt; fine dining all, but with not a lick of Pinoy cooking on the plates. There wasn’t a lot of room for his heritage in those restaurants. Gradually, however, his Filipino touches crept in at places like Bivouac Ciderworks and with a bit more industry cred, he could offer a few dishes and special menus. At Gaya Gaya, however, there’s no pretense as to what’s going on, nor is there any resistance. Take, for example, the adobo-fried chicken with ube waffles, pink guava butter and honey. Ube is a sweet purple yam and is America’s Filipino ingredient of the moment. And it’s delicious. Is this chicken and waffles with Filipino influences or is it chicken adobo with a nod to America’s South? Viewed either way, it works equally well and is equally delicious. Gaya Gaya’s Bicol Express is a liberal riff on a famous dish of the same name that features pork cubes simmered in a coconut milk broth flavored with chilies, shrimp paste, onion and garlic. Tan-
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galin takes that original and reinterprets it in a moules mariniere direction like it’s being seen in a funhouse mirror. It may be the best dish on the menu: soulful, elevated and grounded in a series of ingredients that all work together in a whole-isgreater-than-the-sum-of-the-parts sort of way. There was one dish on the menu I dreaded: the balut (a developing duck embryo boiled that’s eaten from its shell). It’s legendary, albeit not necessarily in a good way. I always wondered whether I’d eat it. I did. I’m glad I did. I don’t think I ever will again. I’m not big on adventure eating. Then there’s that sexy, crispy pata. The double cooking—simmering until tender then deep-frying to crisp the skin—results in a dish that’s both crispy on the outside and soft, succulent and sensual inside. Sure, there’s more to this dish than just those MICHAEL A. GARDINER
Crispy pata elements, but what more does the dish really need? It’s wonderful on its own terms. And that’s Tangalin’s point. Gaya Gaya isn’t Tita’s Kitchenette in National City. It isn’t pure Filipino and trying to understand it that way is a formula for failure. It’s an integration of where Tangalin has been and where he is now. Present Filipino food in a way that’s neither sheepish nor “ethnic.” And Filipino food really is becoming the next big thing on the American food scene, as Tony Bourdain (whose portrait is on Gaya Gaya’s wall) predicted. He was right and so is Tangalin. The World Fare appears weekly. Write to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com.
JUNE 12, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 9
10 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JUNE 12, 2019
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UP FRONT | FOOD & DRINK
BY BETH DEMMON
FINAL DRAUGHT COURTESY OF MELIS
Under the influencer
I
immediately recognize both women when they stroll into Second Chance Beer Company in North Park. They’re hard to miss— @isbeeracarb, with her candy-colored hair and ornate septum ring, rocks tattoos from head to toe. Then there’s @thegirlwithbeer, who sports impeccably manicured eyebrows and thick, chestnutcolored hair. But they aren’t just nameless robots behind popular Instagram handles. They’re Megan and Melis, two of San Diego’s most visible beer “influencers” with over 84,000 followers between them. The rise of social media has shifted mainstream advertising methods away from things like celebrity endorsements and billboards, and toward influencer marketing. “Influencers” are people with large social media followings that often focus on promoting a specific industry. Fashion, makeup and lifestyle influencers have been around for years, some successfully monetizing it into a steady revenue stream. Craft beer is finally catching up. Not everyone’s on board. “This ‘influencer’ word is very new for the beer industry,” says Melis. “It’s so misunderstood.” Men still make up nearly 69 percent of craft beer drinkers, according to the Brewers Association’s latest demographic study. That’s down two percent from 2015, but it does show that the craft beer industry is still male dominated. Couple that with beer’s long history of using exploitative and misogynistic imagery in advertising, and it’s easy to see why confident women taking selfies with beer and posting them on the internet can rub some people the wrong way. Megan and Melis see their accounts as empowering, not exploitative. COURTESY OF MELIS @THEGIRLWITHBEER / COURTESY OF MEGAN @ISBEERACARB
Melis and Megan “I have autonomy over my body and how it’s portrayed,” explains Melis. “I consent to post those photos of myself… but there’s a difference between me choosing to do that versus, say, a male CEO or an owner of a brewery coming up with sexist names and putting naked girls on cans.” Still, both women admit that there’s a fine line between being sexy and promoting sexism, however inadvertent. They’ve opted to take a live-and-let-live approach when it comes to other aspiring beer influencers who post blatantly sexual content. “Women should absolutely be proud of their bodies and do whatever the hell they want with their bodies,” says Megan. “But at the same time, what’s your intention?” Megan says her intention behind @isbeeracarb is to network, share
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Melis and Megan knowledge and normalize being a woman brewer. She’s currently a brewer at Modern Times Beer and has worked at several other breweries in California and Delaware. Melis, who currently works in marketing and PR, originally launched @thegirlswithbeer in order to portray more women drinking craft beer. After seeing higher engagement on the photos she posted of herself, she eventually changed it to simply @thegirlwithbeer to focus on her own beer-inspired travels. Both hope to leverage their accounts into something bigger, whether it be a television show or a career as an independent marketing consultant. But with any intention comes impact. I ask if they feel there’s any residual negative impact in posting the type of content they’re known for: highly-stylized selfies that often amplify their bodies along with the beer. “[That’s] reducing what we’re doing and our entire worth into our looks. That’s already problematic,” says Melis, shaking her head. “How is it that my femininity is an indicator of my knowledge on beer? I don’t get that… women should be happy with ourselves, but if we say we are or if we act like we are comfortable in our own skin, then it’s also taboo.” Melis cites a lack of representative diversity as another catalyst for starting her Instagram account. “I’m Middle Eastern. I don’t see that in traditional media. I’m curvy, I’m athletic… to see that in this new digital media, it makes me feel like I belong on this planet or belong in this country.” Nickie Peña, former San Diego Brewers Guild marketing manager and craft beer marketing veteran, agrees there’s a lack of diversity when it comes to beer marketing. When she reaches out to influential people in the local beer industry, she makes it a point to keep it as varied as possible. “I wouldn’t just leverage female beer influencers,” she explains, naming people like @craftbeeray (over 30,000 followers) as a prominent male personality that helps represent all facets of the community. But compare his Instagram feed with almost any high-profile female beer influencer, and it’s easy to see the difference: he posts virtually no photos of himself, instead choosing to focus on the actual beer. This discrepancy between men and women beer influencers isn’t universal, but it’s striking. That makes women like Megan and Melis targets for people questioning their expertise and role in the industry at all. But even with the criticisms they face as recognizable internet personalities, both say it’s worth it for the opportunities and relationships they’ve built. “I just really do want it to be a positive thing,” says Megan. “The more [women] support each other and help each other, the more room we make for each other.” Write to bethd@sdcitybeat.com or check her out on Instagram and Twitter at @thedelightedbite.
JUNE 12, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 11
EVENTS
SHORTlist
ART
the
THREE YOU HAVE TO SEE
COORDINATED BY
SETH COMBS
SAN DIEGO
TIME TO EAT
We here at CityBeat are known for a lot of things. Sharp wits? Sure. Snarky commentary? Definitely. Glorious, beach-ready summer bods? Eh… not exactly. We blame all the food and drink events we’re going to, and the beginning of summer is chalk full of them. Ready for two week’s worth of cheat days? First up, there are two tasting events happening in San Diego’s premiere dining neighborhoods. The 25th annual Taste of Gaslamp (gaslamp.org) will present culinary offerings from over 35 neighborhood restaurants including CityBeat faves such as Café Sevilla, Havana 1920 and Tocaya Organica. It happens between 1 and 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 15. Tickets range from $35 to $65 for VIP tix, which includes larger tastings and more restaurants. The 11th annual Taste of Little Italy (tasteoflittleitalysd.com) will run from 5 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, June 19, and promises 41 participating restaurants between its north and south routes. Tickets are $45 and include “Taste Passports” that map out the menu offerings. Save room for the back-to-back Wing Fest San Diego and the Scoop San Diego Ice Cream Festival. The first—happening Saturday, June 22 from 1 to 7 p.m. at the Broadway Pier (1000 N. Harbor Drive) in Downtown—will offer chicken wings from nearly a dozen local spots, as well drink and spirit samples. Tickets range from $24.99 to $45 at
DOWNTOWN
A7D CREATIVE GROUP
Scoop San Diego Ice Cream Festival wingfestsandiego.com, and while the wings are $1 each, proceeds benefit Hearts for San Diego. The inaugural Scoop Fest (scoopsandiego.org) will offer samples from nearly two-dozen local ice cream and gelato spots and happens Sunday, June 23 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the heart of North Park (30th Street and North Park Way). There are two ticket options ranging from $20 to $35 and proceeds benefit the Monarch School. And finally, we have to mention that CityBeat Burger Week begins June 19 and features seven days worth of $5 burgers and $8 combos at over a dozen local eateries including Crazee Burger, Sister Ray’s and Fernside. Restaurant hours vary and a full list of participants is on sdcitybeat.com. Happy eating.
Vintage and Contemporary Posters at Meyer Fine Art, Inc., 2400 Kettner Blvd., Ste. 104, Little Italy. A selection of rare, primarily 19th to 20th Century original, first and second printing posters. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, June 15. 619358-9512, meyerfineartinc.com Stieber Summer Gallery Grand Opening Bash at Stieber Summer Gallery, 1943 India St., Little Italy. Multimedia art installation using paintings and video content to celebrate female policy makers, artists, activists and thought-leaders. From 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, June 15. Free. sarahstieber.com HImaginary Mind at Visual SD, 3776 30th St., North Park. A new showcase of illustrations from local artists such as Gloria Muriel, Hanna Gundrum, JC Carino, kurznachzehn and Nick McPherson. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, June 15. Free. visualshopsd.com
BOOKS
GOOD CALLE
Crocheting isn’t only something grandma likes to do anymore. The proof is the colorful, hand-dyed nylon rope that’s been crocheted together to make a large, threedimensional hammock-esque sculpture at the New Children’s Museum (200 W. Isiland Ave., thinkplaycreate.org). It’s part of the museum’s newest art commission, Whammock! by textile artist Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam. MacAdam was inspired to create these structures after she saw children climbing a hanging sculpture she was exhibiting. Instead of feeling annoyed she felt captivated by how the children truly brought her art to life. She has been making textile play-spaces for children ever since. Whammock! is MacAdam’s first large-scale work at an American museum and it’ll be open to the public starting Saturday, June 15. Admission ranges from free to $14. More info on thinkplaycreate.org
HHanging the Bear Cache at Best Practice, 2284 Kearney Ave., Barrio Logan. An exhibition of new work from sculptor and installation artist Audrey Hope. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, June 15. Free. practicebest.org HWhammock! at New Children’s Museum, 200 W. Island Ave., Downtown. Textile artist Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam debuts her new three-dimensional hammock-esque sculpture that’s meant to enjoyed by children and adults alike. From 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 15. Free-$14. thinkplaycreate.org
CITY HEIGHTS
BY A THREAD
Wonderspaces: in common at B Street Pier, 1140 N. Harbor Drive, Downtown. The latest iteration of the immersive and experiential art experience and featuring works from Margaret Noble, Don Ritter, Foo. Skou, Candy Chang and more. Various times. Through Friday, June 21. $15-$24. sandiego.wonderspaces.com
Nothing brings a community together like music does, and celebrating what makes each of us unique and similar never goes out of style. Music en la Calle will return to Fair@44 (4350 El Cajon Blvd.) for the second year, showcasing multicultural music and dance from places such as Burma, Mexico and Kenya. There will also be street food vendors, multiple vendors and games available throughout the day. Performers include Culture Shock San Diego, Opera de Tijuana Youth Orchestra & Chorus and the Irving Flores Latin Jazz Quintet. It’s happening Saturday, June 15 from noon to 8 p.m. at the corner of El Cajon Boulevard and Fairmont Avenue. Admission is free and the event is suitable for allages. More info at bodhitreeconcerts.org. COURTESY OF BODHI TREE CONCERTS
HDan Werb at The Book Catapult, 3010 Juniper St., South Park. The associate professor of Epidemiology at UC San Diego will discuss and sign his new book, City of Omens: A Search for the Missing Women of the Borderlands. At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 12. Free. warwicks.com HJessica Yellin at Warwick’s, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The former CNN Chief White House Correspondent will discuss and sign her new book, Savage News. At 11:45 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 12. Free. warwicks.com Matthew Futterman at Warwick’s, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The Deputy Sports Editor of The New York Times discusses and signs his new book, Running to the Edge: A Band of Misfits and the Guru Who Unlocked the Secrets of Speed. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 13. Free. warwicks.com Richard A. Knaak at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. The bestselling fantasy novelist will sign and discuss his latest book, Black City Dragon. At 7 p.m. Thursday, June 13. Free. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com HCaleb Zigas at Rose Wine Bar, 2219 30th St., South Park. Discussion and book signing with the La Cocina Program Director and the author of We Are La Cocina. He will be joined by chefs Adriana Lahl and Hang Truong. From 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 15. $43. eventbrite.com
COURTESY OF NEW CHILDREN’S MUSEUM
HSarah Gailey at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. The Hugo and Nebula Award finalist will sign her new book, Magic For Lars, and discuss it with Greg Van Eekhout. At 7 p.m. Monday, June 17. Free. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com
Whammock! 12 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JUNE 12, 2019
Music en la Calle
H = CityBeat picks
HJoshua A. Douglas at Warwick’s, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The University of Kentucky College of Law professor will sign and discuss his new book, Vote for Us: How to Take Back Our Elections and Change the Future of Voting. At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 19. Free. warwicks.com
COMEDY Bumping Mics at Harrah’s Resort Southern California, 777 Harrah’s Rincon Way, Valley Center. Comedians Jeff Ross and Dave Attell combine their humor, sharing a stage with their own flare at this unique comedy show. At 8 p.m. Saturday, June 15. $28-$48. harrahssocal.com HSan Diego Humane Society Fundraiser at American Comedy Co. San Diego, 818 Sixth Ave., Gaslamp. Comedian Iann Bagg will perform to raise funds that will go toward the San Diego Humane Society. From 8 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 19. $25. americancomedyco.com
DANCE Sounds of Seville at San Diego Museum of Art, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park. An evening of Flamenco dance with award-winning dancer, choreographer and producer Lakshmi Basile (“La Chimi”) will perform Spanish music and dance. At 7 p.m. Saturday, June 15. $20-$25. sdmart.org Shock in the Park at Horton Plaza Park, 900 Fourth Ave., Downtown. An event to showcase local San Diego hip-hop dance troupes along with an open dance battle. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, June 16. Free. cultureshockdance.org
FILM HWhere in the Hell is the Lavender House? at Whistle Stop Bar, 2236 Fern St., South Park. Premiere local screening of Where in the Hell is the Lavender House?: The Longmont Potion Castle Story, a documentary film about a legendary prank-caller. Also featuring live LPC calls. From 8 to 11 p.m. Sunday, June 16. $10. facebook.com/ events/394802711372769
FOOD & DRINK HBeer & Sake Festival at USS Midway, 910 N. Harbor Drive, Downtown. Charity tasting event with unlimited beer, sake and appetizers from local restaurants, as well as an auction and raffle. From 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday, June 13. $40-$120. japansociety.org HCheers to Five Years at The Patio on Goldfinch, 4020 Goldfinch St., Mission Hills. The cozy Mission Hills eatery celebrates its fifth year anniversary with a party that includes two drinks, hors d’oeuvres, live music, a charcuterie table and dessert table. From 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, June 13. $39. eventbrite.com HTaste of Gaslamp at various venues, Gaslamp. Downtown. Self-guided tasting tour with savory bites from 25 participating restaurants, including both veteran favorites and newly established eateries. Begins at The Gaslamp Museum (410 Island Ave.). From 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 15. $35. 619-233-5008, gaslamp.org San Diego Brew Fest at NTC Park, 2455 Cushing Road, Liberty Station, Point Loma. The ninth annual festival offers dozens of local and international craft beers, unlimited beer tastings, food trucks and live music. From 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, June 15. $45-$55. sandiegobeerfest.com Taste of Vista at various venues, Historic Downtown Vista, Main Street, Vista. The 11th annual event calls all food lovers to
EVENTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 13 @SDCITYBEAT
EVENTS EVENTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 walk along the sidewalks and enjoy different foods and beverages with live music scattered throughout the area. From 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, June 19. $5-$40. vvba.org
HCrossfire at Moniker Warehouse, 705 16th St., Downtown. Special performance fusing electronic and classical music in partnership with a mentorship organization that serves homeless and foster teens. From 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 18. $15. artofelan.org
HTaste of Little Italy at Little Italy, San Diego. Explore the best food and drink at 41 participating restaurants between north and south routes. Includes “Taste Passports” that map out the menu offerings. From 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, June 19. $45. littleitalysd.com
HWild Child at Birch Aquarium at Scripps, 2300 Expedition Way, La Jolla. The Doors tribute band plays a concert as part of the Green Flash Concert Series. Tickets include access to the aquarium. From 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, June 19. $33-$150. aquarium.ucsd.edu
HCityBeat Burger Week at various locations. $5 burgers and $8 combos from San Diego’s best burger joints. From gourmet blends to off-menu specialties, restaurants such as Crazee Burgers, Red Wing, Fernside and more pay tribute to the hamburger. Various times Wednesday, June 19 through Wednesday, June 26. sdcitybeat.com/burgerweek
MUSIC HMainly Mozart Festival Orchestra: Passion and Progression at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Gaslamp. Music Director Michael Francis explores Mozart’s work created at the start of his Vienna years as an independent composer. At 8 p.m. Thursday, June 13. $15-$88. 619239-0100, mainlymozart.org HLudovico Einaudi at Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St., Downtown. The acclaimed pianist and composer is the most-streamed classical artist and stops by on his current “Seven Days Walking” tour. At 8 p.m. Friday, June 14. $26-$122. livenation.com Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra: Sublime Penitent at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Downtown. Music Director Michael Francis will explore Mozart’s work including Mozart’s Symphony No. 36, K. 425, C Major. At 8 p.m. Saturday, June 15. $15-$88. 619-239-0100, mainlymozart.org HMusic en la Calle at Fair@44, 4350 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Bodhi Tree Concerts presents a multicultural music and dance festival that also includes street food vendors, multiple merchants and games available all day. From noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, June 15. Free. bodhitreeconcerts.org HSmokey Robinson at San Diego County Fair, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. The Toyota Summer Concert Series presents soul legend and Motown Records cofounder Smokey Robinson. At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 15. $34-$54. sdfair.com HFabian Almazan Trio at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. Acclaimed pianist Almazan brings his band to town as part of the Jazz at the Athenaeum summer concert series. At 7:30 p.m. Sunday, June 16. $25-$30. ljathenaeum.org
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PERFORMANCE American Voices at Creative Performing and Media Arts School, 5050 Conrad Ave., Clairemont. Encore Vocal Ensemble will examine what “American” means through a range of different perspectives and identities through songs and storytelling. From 7:30 to 10 p.m. Friday, June 14 and Saturday, June 15. $25. encorevocalensemble.org Divine Variety Show at Torque Moto Cafe, 3604 30th St., North Park. Mix of comedy, music and art focusing on and celebrating women performers, musicians and artists. From 7 to 8 p.m. Saturday, June 15. Free. facebook.com/ events/2362173690734399
POETRY & SPOKEN WORD HPoetry & Art: San Diego Poetry Annual 2018-‘19 at San Diego Art Institute, 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park. The author, director and Tony Award-winning playwright Reg E. Gaines and others will read their works published in the 2018-2019 San Diego Poetry Annual. From 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday, June 14. Free-$6. 619957-3264, poetryandartsd.com
POLITICS & COMMUNITY The Future of San Diego Bay: A Community Discussion at La Mesa Community Center, 4975 Memorial Drive, La Mesa. Presentation on the overview of the Port Master Plan Update, followed by a Q&A with the Port’s planning staff. From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 12. Free. portofsandiego.org
SPECIAL EVENTS HSan Diego County Fair at Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. It’s time again to ride some rides, play some games and, best of all, stuff your face with a bizarre variety of deep-fried food. Various times. Through Thursday, July 4. Free-$20. 858-755-1161, sdfair.com
BOOKS: THE FLOATING LIBRARY A ravaged mind
K
aren Stefano’s debut memoir, What a Body Remembers (Rare Bird Books), is a study in contradictions. In 1984, Stefano was a typical student in many ways. She left San Diego to attend college at University of California, Berkeley, but the freshman had trouble fitting in and was rejected by every single sorority during rush week. She found her family in the most unlikely of places: As a cadet with the University of California Police Department. The diminutive freshman, who stood 5’2” and weighed just 110 pounds, was an unlikely candidate for the job. For someone who was considering a career in criminal justice, the university cops and cadets become something like a family to her. It was also where she met her boyfriend, another cadet. Although Stefano wasn’t, in her words, a “real” police officer, she provided a valuable service as part of the escort program to walk students back to their apartments and dorms after a night of studying or socializing. Then the unthinkable happened. She was followed home by a man with a knife who attacked Stefano outside her own apartment. She describes
HNat at Night at San Diego Natural History Museum, 1788 El Prado, Balboa Park. The Nat’s adult-friendly after-hours event that includes food, beer and wine on the rooftop, in addition to half-off admission and access to all of the museum’s exhibitions. From 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday, June 13 and Friday, June 14. $10. sdnhm.org HWild Night Out at San Diego Zoo, 2920 Zoo Drive, Balboa Park. Enjoy talks with keepers and animal ambassadors along with special animal presentations, live music and tasty food. From 6 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, June 13. $40. zoo.sandiegozoo.org HSoCal Etsy Guild Market at Westfield Plaza Bonita, 3030 Plaza Bonita Road, Ste. 2075, National City. Three-day market featuring handmade artisan vendors and designers from southern California. From 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, June 14 and Saturday, June 15 and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, June 16. Free. socaletsyguild.com San Diego Wooden Boat Festival at Koehler Kraft Boatyard, 2302 Shelter Island Drive, Shelter Island. The annual Father’s Day tradition which gives a rare opportunity for the public to view wooden
the night with gripping prose and unsparing detail. “After there is no doctor, no ER. There is no need. There is no blood, no bones that need mending—just a bruise, a puffy soreness at my lips where his hand gripped my mouth. And a ravaged, rattled mind.” The bulk of the memoir is focused on the aftermath of the attack, how it changed her and the steps she took to combat this new terror. This new normal, not only rattled her, but it corrupted her relationships. The second half of the book deals with Stefano’s career as a criminal defense attorney, a job that required her to defend violent men with long, criminal histories. The hours were long and her caseload was brutal. But when she won, the victory gave her no pleasure because no matter how she rationalized it, a “not guilty” verdict wasn’t the same thing as “innocent.” “Innocence. Innocence,” Stefano reflects after she helps a man walk free. “I have been robbed of mine.” Stefano’s memoir is a poignant reflection on the nature of innocence lost, guilt that endures and the struggle to live with an unquiet past.
—Jim Ruland
The Floating Library appears every other week.
boats up close and includes live music, food, and activities for kids. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 15 and Sunday, June 16. Free-$10. koehlerkraft.com International Surfing Day 2019 at La Jolla Shores Park, 8300 Camino Del Oro, La Jolla. A day of activities including beach yoga and beach cleanups with many local companies and organizations in attendance. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 15. Free. surfrider.org HAsian and Pacific Islander Festival at Paddock Stage, San Diego County Fair, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. The fifth annual festival featuring traditional cultural acts including lion dances, kung fu, traditional dance and headliner Tribal Theory. Also featuring traditional cuisine and a cultural exhibition. 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, June 15. Free with fair admission. silkroadproductions.us
TALKS & DISCUSSIONS HThe Current State of the Ocean:
What is It Telling Us About Climate Change? at Vista Library, 700 Eucalyptus Ave., Vista. The professor of physical oceanography at Scripps Institute of Oceanography will discuss planet warming, greenhouse gases, ocean acidification and sea level change. From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 13. Free. 760271-2229, ncccalliance.org The History & Science of Kimchi at San Diego Central Library, 330 Park Blvd., Downtown. Hae Jung Cho will describe the national food of Korea, how it is prepared and served and demonstrate a popular preparation style. From 10:30 a.m. to noon. Saturday, June 15. Free. ediblesandiego.ediblecommunities.com HStonewall @ 50 and the History of LGBT Rights in America at San Diego Central Library, 330 Park Blvd., Downtown. Join leading LGBTQ studies scholar and historian Professor Lillian Faderman for a discussion of the history of the struggle for rights in the U.S. From 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, June 15. Free. 619-236-5817, sandiego.librarymarket.com
JUNE 12, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 13
THEATER Danger looms
JIM COX
Jolla Playhouse’s Mandell Weiss Forum, UC San Diego. $20-$70; lajollaplayhouse.org —David L. Coddon
W
hat You Are was developed last year as part of the Old Globe Theatre’s Powers New Voices Festival and is now getting its world premiere as a full-blown production. Entwined in sociopolitical discourse, JC Lee’s high-anxiety play revolves around Don (Jonathan Walker), an angry, late-middle-age white guy who feels disenfranchised, put upon, picked on and victimized by just about everybody That includes his young employer (Adrian Anchondo) who, loathsome as he is, is justified in firing Don. When not clinging to the vitriol of right-wing radio, Don is trying to justify himself to his very decent Black wife (Omoze Idehenre), as well as to his smart but lecturing daughter (Jasmin Savory Brown). After much polemical exchange, the one-act What You Are, directed by Patricia McGregor, turns more inward and ominous, with Don’s self-destructive insecurity and paranoia at the fore. This fuels the Globe’s theater-in-the round with a palpable and most effective sense of dread about what may come. What You Are runs through June 30 at the Old Globe’s Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre in Balboa Park. $30 and up; theoldglobe.org ••• cross town at the La Jolla Playhouse, the world premiere of Ike Holter’s Put Your House in Order takes a budding, millennial-style romance and morphs it into a predatory horror story. The transformation isn’t completely seamless. Caroline (Shannon Matesky) and Rolan (Behzad Dabu) are getting to know one another at her upscale house (designed for maximum curb appeal by Arnel Sancianco) in the suburbs of Chicago. It’s a tiring exercise in riffing and flirty put-downs, but the mood
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14 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JUNE 12, 2019
Theater reviews run weekly. Write to davidc@sdcitybeat.com.
OPENING: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged): This fast-paced performance will feature three actors performing 37 Bard plays in 97 minutes. Presented by Trinity Theatre Company, it opens June 14 for six performances at the Tenth Avenue Arts Center in Downtown. trinityttc.org James and the Giant Peach: The fantastical musical about a young orphan hanging out with a bunch of bugs inside a big piece of fruit. Based on the Roald Dahl book, it opens June 14 at the STAR Repertory Theatre in Escondido. starrepertorytheatre.com As You Like It: The summertime Shakespeare Festival kicks off with the Bard’s romantic comedy about a cross-dressing woman who stumbles into a magical forest. Directed by Jessica Stone, it opens June 16 at the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre at the Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park. theoldglobe.org
What You Are changes with the arrival of a wild-eyed neighbor, Josephine (Linda Libby), whose brandishing of a gun is only the start of the manic chaos that follows. The sounds of sirens, gunshots and the unintelligible rumblings of a growing mob heighten playwright Holter’s end-of-the-world motif in this production. Caroline and Rolan become survivalists, while Josephine completely whacks out (which has to be a total treat for Libby). Put Your House in Order is frankly more engrossing for its special effects and unseen dangers than in it is for those subject to them. Put Your House in Order runs through June 30 at La
Topdog/Underdog: A staged reading of Suzan-Lori Parks’ modern masterpiece about estranged brothers who are forced to confront their issues in order to move forward. Presented by Carlsbad Playreaders, it happens June 17 at the Carlsbad Dove Library. carlsbadplayreaders.org No Choice: A staged reading of former judge Lee Sarokin’s play about a young couple fighting for their right to have an abortion. It happens June 18 at the North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach. northcoastrep.org Asimov’s Last Chapter: A staged reading of Herbert Siguenza’s fictional play centering on Isaac Asimov and the famous Sci-fi writer’s last days. Part of the Jewish Arts Festival, it happens June 19 at the New Village Arts Theatre in Carlsbad. sdrep.org
For complete theater listings, visit sdcitybeat.com
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CULTURE | DRINKS
P
icking a theme for a special issue can be tricky. In the case of our annual drink issue, there’s no need to get too convoluted. Just write about the bars, clubs, restaurants, cocktails and breweries that make this city great. But is that really enough? We’re a creative bunch. We want to be both informative and fun, relevant and irreverent. Hence, this issue’s theme of “drinking in my backyard,” or DIMBY for short. Surely readers are aware of San Diego’s buzzy political acronyms of NIMBY (not in my backyard) and YIMBY (yes in my backyard), which are most commonly used when it comes to
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building more affordable housing developments. Don’t get us wrong: we’re not satirizing this issue, but rather taking a timely look at the places we choose to drink in the neighborhoods we call home. But which neighborhoods do we cover? How do we ensure that we’re comprehensive as well as selective? In the end, we thought it would be cool to cover both the older places that are long-standing institutions, as well as the newer spots that are indicative of the ever-changing nature of those neighborhoods. Still, to do every single neighborhood
in San Diego would be a daunting task (real talk: we just don’t have the page count or livers for that), so we decided to do it by city council districts. Our logic was that this would be a great way to be broader in the way we covered the topic, but also inform readers as to what district they call home and remember this when the elections are held in 2020. Wherever readers’ allegiances fall on the NIMBY vs. YIMBY debate, we like to think that everyone can agree that DIMBYism can bring us all together.
THE DRINK ISSUE CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
JUNE 12, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 15
THE DRINK ISSUE
ALL IN ONE
The northern area of San Diego is known for boujee spots, but there are some old-school bars to consider By Seth Combs
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t’s still hard to believe that La Jolla is actually, technically, not its own city. Well, it is kinda, but it’s still under the jurisdiction of San Diego proper. And yes, while the burghs of La Jolla, Birdrock, Torrey Pines, Carmel Valley and Del Mar Heights are often considered to be where the rich people stay (that or UC San Diego students), I’m here to say that District 1 is often the place that sets the trends for much of the city. And while it isn’t particularly well known for a bustling nightlife scene, there are some old-school gems to be found if one knows where to look. One of those places to look is the Empress Hotel (7766 Fay Ave.) and specifically, it’s Manhattan restaurant and bar (manhattanoflajolla.com). Oh, how I miss the oldschool elegance of the Whaling Bar inside the La Valencia Hotel, but Manhattan has always been another one of my go-to spots after an art show. The dimly lit environs is perfect for a first-date or a solo martini. Go on one of the nights they have live jazz mu-
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sic to feel even more of that Raymond Chandler-level of coolness. Down the street, The Spot (1005 Prospect St., thespotonline.com) is something like the exact opposite of Manhattan and it’s one of the few joints in the area that’s open until 2 a.m. on the weekends. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a dive bar, as it’s often crowded especially on the all-ages restaurant side of the place, but it definitely has some strong drinks and decent happy hour specials considering the neighborhood. And while it’s not old per se, Level2 is inside George’s at the Cove (1250 Prospect St., georgesatthecove.com), which has been a San Diego institution since 1984. I would argue that the cocktails are as great as the ocean views at the bar. Mixologist Stephen Kurpinsky (read more about his current project in our coverage of District 3) made this a top-tier destination for craft cocktails and current Beverage Director Sam Peters is keeping things that way with a menu in-
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spired and mixed with San Diego-native herbs, citrus and veggies. My favorites are the nopales (cactus) selections and the “Modern Day Hemingway,” a cocktail that’s bold enough to mix scotch and a Giffard banana liqueur. James’ Place Prime Seafood Sushi (2910 La Jolla Village Drive, jamesplacesd. com) next to the La Jolla Playhouse isn’t new, nor is it old, but is still relatively under the radar and seemingly one of the few places to drink on the UC San Diego campus. The food, with an emphasis on sustainable seafood, is decent enough, but the bar is particularly fun what with the tabletop rotating colors like a mood ring. I had a cucumber ginger martini and found it to be an excellent summertime refresher. Don’t let anyone tell you that retail is dead. Westfield UTC is absolutely bustling, but bustling enough to open a $3 million speakeasy? Well, apparently. It’s often hard to secure a weekend reservation at the new Raised by Wolves (4301 La Jolla Village Drive, Ste. 2030, raisedxwolves.com), so I ended up having to tag along with a friend. The speakeasy trend is a little passé but I was absolutely bowled over by the design of the place, as well as the hidden door to get in. The menu is a nice mix of creative craft cocktails and updated takes on old classics. I’m not generally a rum fan, but found the
ZACK BENSON
Raised By Wolves Mr. Famous, which claims to taste like a “spiked Orange Julius,” to be both seasonally satisfying and innovative. Yet another trendsetter in an area that’s been doing it for years.
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D I ST R I C T 2 JACKIE BRYANT
TWO IF BY SEA
Pacific Shores
The beachside burghs of District 2 wrestle with new and old when it comes to places to drink By Jackie Bryant
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istrict 2 is usually the first stop for tourists who visit San Diego. As a result, the city’s beach communities and the people who live there are constantly fighting a battle between old and new. Ocean Beach is triggered by the new Target. Pacific Beach continues to be swarmed by 20-somethings looking for cheap booze and a good time. And Mission Beach is a small stretch of land that has been all but gobbled up by AirBnBs. Changes aside though, the beach is still the beach, and the district also boasts some of the best dive bars alongside some of the newest watering holes in all of San Diego. COURTESY OF WATERBAR
Waterbar My first stop is always going to be OB’s Pacific Shores (4927 Newport Ave.). Lovingly known to locals, including myself, as “Pac Shores,” the dimly lit cocktail bar looks like the inside of a retro fish tank, which can be disorienting at first. The bartenders there can whip up a mean Old Fashioned and I go there almost exclusively to binge on cheap drinks and get lost for a few hours. Looking around during my last visit, it was pretty obvious that everyone else there was in the same boat. Or tank. Whatever. For those who don’t want to fully write off Pacific Beach as solely the domain of drunk bros, the neighbor-
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hood’s crown jewel dive, The Silver Fox Lounge (1833 Garnet Ave., silverfoxlounge.com), is a breath of fresh air. Well, not really. It’s more like a whiff of stale beer and body odor, but that’s exactly what I was looking for when I wandered in one night after braving the teeming masses of troglodytes on Firehouse’s (722 Grand Ave., firehousepb.com) rooftop. Cash only, bottom shelf booze, pool and a crusty crowd provided the antidote I needed to get my night back on track. One day I’ll make it in for the 6 a.m. happy hour, but not this time. Though I live in OB, nearby Mission Beach is not somewhere I visit often. In my mind, I’ve more or less ceded it to the Zonies. But I do love Saska’s (3768 Mission Blvd., saskas.com), an old-school steakhouse that is completely out of place in Mission Beach, what with its leather tufted seats and wood-paneled walls. And that’s the beauty of it. This time, I sat alone at the bar, had a steak and a martini and chatted up a German couple visiting the U.S. for the first time. Though it is one of the dive bar capitals of San Diego, Ocean Beach is similarly besieged by a roster of newer bars that all have two things in common: They’re all bland and completely forgettable. I went to Voltaire Beach House (4934 Voltaire St., voltairebeachhouse.com), which opened a couple of years ago, mainly because they allow dogs. There is also a fire pit, a gimmick I always appreciate, but the food is bad and the tap list predictable. If the press releases piling up in my email are any indication, there is no shortage of new spots to check out in Pacific Beach. I was planning on day drinking, so I settled on the aptly named oceanfront Waterbar (4325 Ocean Blvd., waterbarsd.com). To my surprise, it is a gorgeous space that also happens to carry my favorite well mezcal and a creative cocktail list that is way better than it needs to be. While sipping, I realized that maybe I’m a bit harder on Pacific Beach than I need to be. And then I saw a drunk person throw up in broad daylight right on the boardwalk. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
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THE DRINK ISSUE
THREE’S A CROWD No shortage of options in the central city district, but we have our favorites By Jackie Bryant
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hen it comes to drinking, District 3 is absolutely spoiled for options. Encompassing the downtown and mid-city neighborhoods—which includes Little Italy, North and South Parks, Hillcrest and Golden Hill— this district is the heart and soul of San Diego’s dining and drinking scenes. It’s also the geographic center of San Diego with Balboa Park right in the middle of it all. After an evening stroll through the park one Thursday night, I decided to walk into Bankers Hill and pop into SRO Lounge (1807 Fifth Ave., facebook.com/srolounge). Though rumors are swirling that it’s closing, there’s still a lively crowd, about a quarter of which are trans or dressed in drag. The drinks are not that good, but they are exceptionally strong and cheap. Another District 3 charmer of sorts is Cherry Bomb (2237 1st Ave.), which manages to simultaneously be one of the city’s most loved and feared dive bars. It is also conveniently around the corner from SRO. I wandered in and ordered a shot of tequila (I think it might have been Don Julio) and it arrived in a scarily large shot glass. I left after the second shot as the crowd was getting motorcycle-clubmember-heavy. In all honesty, Cantina Mayahuel (2934 Adams Ave., facebook.com/cantinamayahuel) in North Park is probably my favorite bar in all of San Diego and I make a point of
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stopping in weekly. Considering it has been open 13 years, I’m pretty sure it must be one of the first agave bars in the county. I order the usual: A shot of Ilegal Mezcal and a Negra Modelo with a side of carnitas tacos. Louisiana Purchase (2305 University Ave., louisianapurchasesd.com) is a brand new North Park restaurant that pays homage to The Big Easy and the drinks are as strong and as tasty as anything being served up on Bourbon Street. I went for a boozy brunch one day, where I was served the hangover-busting “Ode to Erin Rose,” which is basically a frozen Irish Coffee. I washed it down with the Cookie Monster Fizz, a deceptively strong concoction that uses Biscoff cookie-infused Bourbon and chicory bitters. Little Italy’s Vino Carta (2161 India St., vinocartasd. com) takes up an unassuming storefront on India Street, sandwiched in between a coworking space and a seriously out-of-place surf shop. I consider the wine shop and bar to be one of the most innovative in town thanks to their selection of wines from smaller growers that use as little intervention in the winemaking process as possible. Sundays are my favorite, as the bar features a themed flight of five wines for just $15. When I first moved to San Diego almost five years ago, the first place I was told to go was Golden Hill’s Turf Supper Club (1116 25th St., turfsupperclub.com). It remains one of my favorites, despite the fact that some of my friends have been 86’d (their faults). After putting Guns ‘n Roses on the jukebox, I squeeze into the corner seat at the far end of the bar and throw back a few Martinis while admiring how good everyone looks in the dim red lighting. Hundred Proof (4130 Park Blvd., hundredproofsd.com) is one of Hillcrest’s newcomers, occupying the old Sausage & Meat space on that no-man’s-land strip of Park Boulevard
JACKIE BRYANT
Hundred Proof just before University Heights. The bar program was recently taken over by George’s at the Cove alum Stephen Kurpinsky, who is one of San Diego’s most creative bartenders. I usually walk in and ask him to serve me whatever he wants. On a recent visit, he made me a Spanish-style gin and tonic served in a goblet with all sorts of pretty garnishes.
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GO FOURTH
Southeast S.D. loves local spots, but is opening its arms to local beer scene By Laura Canepa
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he southeast region of San Diego, which encompasses much of District 4, has an old-school vibe that I found to be unique. I like to see parts of San Diego that don’t flaunt their neighborhood in your face. Neighborhoods like Chollas View, Paradise Hills, Lincoln Park and Oak Park have a great connection between them and a singularity that gives the impression that they feel the district is just fine the way it is. Some of the most interesting neighborhoods of District 4 are the quiet ones. I found that locals go to American Legions throughout this entire area, but the American Legion (456 47th St.) in Chollas View is in the heart of this community. Yes, it’s geared toward a veteran crowd, but they gave me a warm welcome despite the fact that I’d never served in the armed forces. I was probably the youngest patron there, but it didn’t matter. The friendly vibe from the regulars, the stiff drinks and awesome jams on the turntable was all I needed to enjoy myself.
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El Paisa Many places in this neighborhood have been closed-down throughout the years, but establishments like Tacos El Paisa (3096 National Ave., tacoselpaisasd.com) in Lincoln Park give it that true San Diego feeling.
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And not to spill a long-held secret kept under wraps by locals, but Tacos El Paisa has the best damned tacos I’ve ever had. I ordered the carnitas taco and washed it down with a crisp cerveza while enjoying the outdoor seating. As is the case with many neighborhoods across the county, District 4 is beginning to see breweries showing interest in the area thanks to the lack of competition and cheap real estate. Black Market Brewery (4800 Art St., blackmarketbrew.com) in Rolando Hills just had it’s soft opening on May 30 and the assortment of beer was different than what I’m used to. I ended up ordering a Tradecraft cucumber gose and I loved it. And while there were plenty of requisite IPAs on the taplist, Black Market did have a nice selection of fruit-centric selections that made me happy including a sour ale with blackberries and a blonde ale with coconut and lime flavors. Design wise, the brewery doesn’t stand out much on the outside, but the interior is massive and has an industrial mix of wood and steel that still managed to feel homey. I wish I brought my dogs because there was so much space to hang out and have a game of cornhole on the patio. But the real truth is that there simply aren’t that many places to drink in District 4, and I get the sense that the neighbor-
PHOTOS BY LAURA CANEPA
Mike’s Cocktails hood is OK with that. With Barrio Logan and National City to the west and Chula Vista to the south, District 4 is one of those areas that is extremely tentative about change, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see more breweries and maybe even some wine bars pop up in the future. Until then, many locals told me that they often cross just over the border and into Spring Valley to drink at Mike’s Cocktails (629 Sweetwater Road). Mike’s is all about the regulars, carpeted floors, and beers and shots. I am sucker for cheap whiskey, and Mike’s has it. The crew behind the bar made it feel like home. Dives aren’t hard to find in San Diego, but this one may be the only one District 4 needs.
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D I ST R I C T 5 COURTESY OF VERANDA FIRESIDE LOUNGE & RESTAURANT
Veranda Fireside Lounge & Restaurant
TAKE THE FIFTH
Suburban northeast San Diego has a nice mix of practical pubs and intimate inns By Seth Combs
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’ve been spending a lot of time in District 5 getting to know the candidates that will be running for the city council seat that’s up for grabs in 2020. I’ve met a few in local bars and have found that—while there’s a good number of places to drink in neighborhoods such as Scripps Ranch, Rancho Penasquitos, Carmel Mountain and Rancho Bernardo—the district is decidedly spread out which doesn’t exactly make it ideal for bar-hopping. Still, D-5 has a nice selection of dives and fancy stops that make suburban life a little more manageable. Long before my recent visits, the Rancho Bernardo Inn (17550 Bernardo Oaks Drive, ranchobernardoinn. com) has always been one of my favorite spots for a staycation. The property’s Veranda Fireside Lounge & Restaurant might be the most relaxing and chill hotel bar I’ve ever encountered. My recommendation is to go at night, park at one of the many firepit-adjacent lounge chairs, and order one of the “Berry Juniper Mules” or a “Mad Hatter” (bourbon, chamomile tea and a honey stick). There’s even some creative takes on coffee cocktails if it’s cold outside. While it’s certainly not as fancy as Veranda, The Cork and Craft (16990 Via Tazon, thecorkandcraft. com) is just down the road and is the latest comfortfood-with-an-upscale-twist establishment in District 5, joining similar ventures such as The Barrel Room and Urge American Gastropub. What separates Cork and Craft is the interior with its dimly lit library feel and burgundy leather booths. The one downside is it only offers wine and beer, but the selection of both is extensive and well curated. Speaking of beer, District 5 is also starting to see its fair share of breweries and now sports its own cidery in Newtopia Cyder (10045 Carroll Canyon Road, Ste. A, drinknewtopia.com). The Scripps Ranch tasting room has a quaint, industrial-meets-wood vibe to it, but the real story here is the ciders on draught, many of which are made on site. I only tried a few, but there are over a dozen to choose from. I loved the deliciously sweet “Blue Dream” (blueberry, vanilla, orange, amaretto, clove and rested in a cognac barrel) and the more straight-ahead-but-smoky “Goldilocks.” Board & Brew, also in Scripps Ranch (9880 Hibert
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St., Ste. E-3, boardandbrew.com), opened in 2014 and has become a go-to local hangout for those looking to grab a beer and a sandwich just as they’re getting off work. The beer list isn’t extensive, but I found it to be a nice place to grab a pre-dinner beer while waiting for a table at Taste of Hunan or Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ. When it comes to vintage spots, it doesn’t get any better than Carvers Steak & Chops (11940 Bernardo Plaza Drive, carverssteak.com) in Rancho Bernardo. It’s not as divey as city favorites like Red Fox Room, nor is it as boujee as Born & Raised, but Carvers exudes authentic, old-school charm and has been around in its current form since 2003. Make a reservaSETH COMBS
Instant Replay tion on a Friday night, sit in the lounge area and order an open-face prime rib sandwich and a dirty martini while listening to bands with names like Geno & the Lone Gunmen and The Catillacs. Finally, it doesn’t get any divier than Instant Replay (11681 Duenda Road). District 5 has a host of dives with some of the most generic names ever (Mulligan’s, Cheers, Pitchers… the list goes on), but Instant Replay—tucked in the back of a Rancho Bernardo strip mall—is dark, dank and filled with drunk locals who looked at me cross as soon as I walked through the door (was it my sports coat?). They only recently added WiFi and a debit card payments. The drinks are cheap and strong, but it has a locals-only vibe that’s palpable. Who said the suburbs can’t be rough?
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D I ST R I C T 6 COURTESY OF CUTWATER SPIRITS
Cutwater Spirits
DEEP SIX
From hole-in-the-wall sports bars to sprawling brewpubs, District 6 thrives in diversity By Beth Demmon
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he Convoy District is the best place to eat in San Diego. (Don’t @ me.) My love of every type of Asian cuisine under the sun makes me a frequent visitor to District 6, a sprawling inland burgh that includes neighborhoods such as Kearny Mesa, Clairemont, Mira Mesa and Sorrento Valley, among others. Unlike its neighbors, Sorrento Valley is more tech-y than tasty, but Gravity Heights (9920 Pacific Heights Blvd., gravityheights.com) gave a fresh jolt to the corporate-lunch-heavy area when it opened earlier this year. Even with macrame plant holders and a quippy handwritten neon sign, the elevated brewpub never feels too precious. Plus the beers, brewed by AleSmith alum Skip Virgilio, stand above a lot of the San Diego brew scene. Still, I’m not opposed to a little bit of precious when it comes to my cocktails. So-called “hidden” speakeasies toe the line of gimmick, but Realm of the 52 Remedies (4805 Convoy St., 52remedies.com), nestled inside Convoy’s Common Theory Public House went all in with its Chinese-meets-Korean “futuristic apothecary” concept. The opulent fantasyland has drinks like “Cure my AppeThai” with shiitake mushroom and “Tears of the Dragon” with sherry-casked bourbon. Each one stood out as a tiny, digestible work of art. There’s a pleasant buzz from patrons around the room, but after a few of the unique cocktails, the buzz makes its way in my head too. I wonder if one of the remedies in the waiting room works for hangovers. Cutwater Spirits (9750 Distribution Ave., cutwaterspirits.com) is equally futuristic, but definitely not hidden. The giant glass chapel in Miramar is where liquor lovers go to worship and Cutwater’s array of canned cocktails, as well as draft drinks, go down dangerously easily. I hate to give a shoutout to anyone who sold out to Anheuser-Busch InBev, but big money means they can design a really good bar. By contrast, The WineSellar & Brasserie (9550 Waples St., Ste. 115, winesellar.com) is a high-end relic of old-school drinking. Even with GPS, it’s hard to find this tiny slice of France tucked away in a nondescript Sorrento Valley industrial park. The restaurantslash-bottle shop opened in 1989 and I doubt it’s been
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updated since then; it’s all waiters in bow ties and white tablecloth service. Dive in and go full Frenchy with a plate of escargot and a bottle of Chardonnay. It’s cheaper than a flight to Paris and just as legit. But after an hour or two of wine tasting with my pinkie in the air, I yearn for something, well, a little more divey. The Bullpen Bar & Grill (8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., bullpenbar.com) is happy to oblige. I’m tempted to make a pit stop at Cheetah’s next door, but I’m not feeling quite that relaxed yet. The Happy BETH DEMMON
Realm of the 52 Remedies Hour is early (2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays), but even regular prices are pretty low. I knock back a rum and coke, then another, and suddenly a nightcap at the strip club sounds like the most obvious thing in the world to do. Mira Mesa’s Tom Cat Bar & Grill (9388 Mira Mesa Blvd., Ste. B, tomcatbar.com) gives the Bullpen a run for its money when it comes to no-frills sports bars. I personally think hot wings washed down with cold beer is the best way to gauge the quality of a dive bar, and Tom Cat has both in spades. I don’t follow sports, but there’s a digital jukebox, darts and cheap drinks. I could live here for sure. Well, maybe just in the off-season.
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THE DRINK ISSUE
COMING UP SEVEN
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D I ST R I C T 7 PHOTOS BY SETH COMBS
East San Diego is brimming with authentic gems, new distilleries and whiskeyheavy comfort spots. By Seth Combs
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t’s often convenient to ignore the neighborhoods that make up District 7. Mission Valley and Linda Vista are one thing, but the bulk of the district is made up of burghs that many may never think to visit when it comes to a night out. Places like Del Cerro, Allied Gardens and the Lake Murray area. It’s too bad, because the district does have some cool offerings despite a more conservative bent (the district is represented by Scott Sherman, the most conservative member on the city council). Everyone likes to think the dive bar they frequent is “authentic,” but I’d challenge them to hang at a dive in D-7. For example, Pal Joey’s (5147 Waring Road, paljoeysonline.com) in Allied Gardens is like a different world with a mature crowd, most of which appeared to have been there since happy hour. The drinks are stiff at Pal Joey’s, which made up for the pics of random celebrities on the walls. A biker gang played pool in the corner, while septuagenarians cut a rug to a cover band called Serious Guise on the laser-lit dancefloor. The crowd skewed younger as the night went on. There were mullets. Many mullets.
Pal Joey’s To be honest, Pal Joey’s stole my heart in it’s completely unironic, almost-East County-ness, but Camel’s Breath Inn (10330 Friars Road, Ste. 106, camelsbreathinnsd. com) in Grantville was something out of a time warp. Like Pal Joey’s, Camel’s is nestled inside a shopping center, its majestic stain glass doors of a drunk camel the only thing separating it from the rest of the businesses. I went on a karaoke night and the lively crowd sang their hearts out. A guy in a wheelchair sang “Secret Agent Man.” His name was Mike and everyone yelled, “Mike has the mic!” It was awesome. As for the drinks, it was “2-4-
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The Pioneer 1 Whiskey Wednesday” so who was I to not take advantage. What is it about Mission Valley that craves country music? When I was in JT’s Tavern (5821 Mission Gorge Road), there were some country music songs playing while two dudes legit lamented about how much they missed In Cahoots, the countrythemed club that closed last year. There are no specialty cocktails at JT’s, just good happy hour deals ($3.50 Dos Equis on Tuesday? Yes, please), a vinyl plastic banner for a sign and heated arguments about Trump on the back patio. There’s also a magician performing on Mondays, so there’s that. Much like some of the northern areas of San Diego where breweries and tasting rooms are popping up (see the articles on District 5 and 6), D-7 has some new places worth traveling east for. While I’ve never been a huge fan of cider, I did find myself enjoying the offerings at Poochie’s Hooch Urban Cidery & Tasting (7559 Mission Gorge Road, poochieshoochcidery.com). The almost hidden Allied Gardens spot has a minimalist design and offers a range of high ABV ciders including ginger lime, candied apple and (my favorite) butter pecan varieties. I highly recommend the recently opened Del’s Hideout (5351 Adobe Falls Road, cohnrestaurants.com/delshideout) in, eh… Levanto? Del Cerro? No matter, it’s worth seeking out if only for the massive whiskey cocktail selection (including a root beer Manhattan and an Old Fashioned made from bacon fat-washed bourbon). There’s even an electronic tabletop “butler bell” with “another round” option so patrons never go thirsty. There’s also a Knob Creek CRG Single Barrel bourbon option exclusive to Cohn Restaurants that’s mighty tasty. Speaking of American comfort food, The Pioneer (8622 Lake Murray Blvd. Del Cerro) is ’Merica reflected back at me. The music is classic rock, the menu is decidedly meatheavy and the drink list is like Becky decided to get creative with a strainer (on Fridays, there’s specials on rosé wine and vodka slushies). I got their signature namesake cocktail, which is a smoked Old Fashioned served out of a custom flask. My date said it tasted like a waffle. I will not dispute that.
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EIGHT NIGHT
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D I ST R I C T 8 PHOTOS BY ANDREA LOPEZ-VILLAFAÑA
South district offers go-to local hangouts and up-and-coming spots By Andrea Lopez-Villafaña
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t’s easy to assume the best drinking spots in District 8 would be breweries in Barrio Logan, but I’d suggest not ignoring neighborhoods like Logan Heights and Otay Mesa. The district has historically been home to Latinx and working-class families. The influence of that history can be seen and experienced at almost every local bar in the district. Just before opening the door of Chiquibaby’s Bar Inc. (317 Dewey St.) in Logan Heights, I can hear the Mexican rancheras playing from the jukebox inside. The 10-year-old bar is small but full of big personalities both behind and sitting at the bar. Arturo, a regular, is dressed in a vaquero outfit and he buys me a beer and welcomes me to Chiquibaby’s. The regulars tell me the bar is the perfect hiding spot to decompress from a long day at work. Cocktail options are limited, but there is a large selection of Mexican beers and a small wine rack. I share with the Chiquibaby’s bartender that I’m heading over to the Logan Inn (2163 Logan Ave.) in Barrio Logan and as I arrive a smiling older man greets me.
Chiquibaby’s Bar “Are you the girl Vanessa knows?” he inquires. I was confused at first, but once I put it together, I realized that Vanessa was the bartender over at Chiquibaby’s and she had informed the man that I was coming. The Logan Inn has been around for more than 50 years in the community and ownership has been passed down through the generations. The man, Diego, buys me a beer and says he’s been a client of the Logan Inn for years. It’s a beer and cash-only situation at Logan Inn, but no doubt a good time. The bartender keeps track of the various tabs on a yellow notepad and runs backand-forth pulling out cold bottled beers for the regulars. A Vicente Fernández song comes on and everyone inside instantly sings along. While most of the nightlife is in the central neighborhoods, the district shifts and snakes down south into neighborhoods like Otay Mesa. The Landing Strip Cafe and Bar (1424 Continental St.) in Otay offers great views of Brown Field Airport. The building has been around since 1918 and it’s a common hangout spot for pilots and even celebrities who fly into the airport. Although it might come across as what one regular described as an “old man’s bar,” it’s a hidden gem, plus their chicken strips are delicious. It’s definitely a trip to get there but worth every mile.
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Logan Inn New cocktail bars in District 8 are hard to come by so it’s no surprise restaurants are adding creative cocktails, or in some cases, adding full bars to their establishments. Pizzeria Dough Nations (1985 National Ave., doughnationspizza.com) in Barrio Logan is one of them. Compared to the rest of the bars in the district, Dough Nations has the largest selection of spirits and, despite its thoroughly Italian menu, some of their specialty drinks are inspired by spicy Mexican candy. I’d encourage readers to try their Barrio Margarita. Just a few blocks from there is Grind House Logan Avenue (2163 Logan Ave., facebook.com/2163logan). There have been some mixed reactions to the restaurant but after one month of being open, they are picking up a steady clientele. Grind House serves food, beers, cocktails and coffee. I found their Moscow Mule and Paloma particularly refreshing.
Barrio Margarita at Dough Nations Back in Otay Mesa, readers can satisfy their taproom needs at Hoppy Daze Tap House (1280 Picador Blvd., facebook.com/hoppydazesd). Hoppy Daze is the only bar in the southern region of District 8 that offers craft beer. There are no cocktail options here but they have over 24 beers on tap as well as ciders and wine. They host trivia night every Wednesday as well as paint nights.
JUNE 12, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 23
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D I ST R I C T 9 TORREY BAILEY
TO THE NINES
RYAN BRADFORD
Classy upstarts and historic dives make this district great for everyone By Ryan Bradford
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o riff on the words of Walt Whitman, District 9 (which is represented by city councilmember Georgette Gomez) contains multitudes. It does, after all, contain San Diego’s most diverse neighborhood, City Heights, as well as one of the wealthiest (Kensington). This unique district also includes a ton of college students (College Area) and retirees (Mt. Hope, Talmadge and Rolando). I live in City Heights and love it. However, we don’t get a lot of new drinking establishments. Honestly, up until recently I thought City Height’s newest drinkery, Chinatown Bar & Grill (4727 University Ave., chinatownbarandgrill. com), was an actual Chinese restaurant. And even though it’s only been open a little over a year, I regret sleeping on it for so long. Large booths, ornate fixtures and noirish lighting give Chinatown a truly distinct yet classic atmosphere. The drinks are affordable, tasty and strong. I ordered the Old Fashioned (lovingly titled “I Love You No Shit”) and felt a little like a detective from a crime novel (or, say, the film Chinatown). Big ups to Chinatown for also having a rooftop patio, a full kitchen and rad bartenders (Barbara was a gem). This is where I’m hanging out for the rest of summer. And even though the name threw me at first, I dig it now. It’s
Chinatown Bar & Grill
RYAN BRADFORD
The Tower Bar
Tanuki
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subtle and mysterious—characteristics that San Diego bars usually lack. Tanuki (4191 Adams Ave., tanukisakebar.com) is the new kid on the block in Kensington. The atmosphere in Tanuki is intimate but laidback—good for a sake noob like me. My only experience with the Japanese rice wine is drinking whatever cheap sushi joints offer for beer/sake deals, so Tanuki’s massive selection of sakes was a little intimidating. I ordered a flight, and asked the bartender to help me out. She gave me Juemon (refreshing and fruity) Aiyu (dry) and an unfiltered nigori that wasn’t on the menu. All were delightful and made me never want to drink the cheap stuff ever again. District 9 may not have a wealth of new bars, but the district’s older dives are the best in the city. I spend nearly every Sunday singing karaoke at Til-Two Club (4746 El Cajon Blvd., tiltwoclub.com), and its recent change of ownership
ensures that it’ll remain a punk/rock ‘n’ roll-centric club for the foreseeable future. Built in 1932, Tower Bar (4757 University Ave., thetowerbar.com) is one of the oldest bars and any self-respecting San Diegan who hasn’t been to a dingy rock show and drank a bunch of tallboys at this dive hasn’t truly lived. Black Cat Bar (4246 University Ave., facebook. com/blackcatbarsd) is comparatively new, but it’s like that punk philosopher you meet in your first year of college: it’s got an old soul. Also, Black Cat has been killing it in the live music department recently. These three bars are in walking distance from each other, which makes for one long, fun, forgotten night. I will also go out of my way to drink at Kensington Club (4079 Adams Ave.) since it feels like such an F-U to rich people that their neighborhood has one of San Diego’s diviest bars. I love it. However, the award for best/worst dive probably goes to Effin’s (6164 El Cajon Blvd., effingoodtime.com) in the College Area. Upon walking in, my first thought was oh no. It was a weekday afternoon, and the place was mostly empty. There was a table set up for beer pong, but nobody playing. Same situation at the Big Jenga tower. Angsty nu-metal peeled from the speakers at ear-piercing levels. The place smelled like college kid sweat and whatever else secretes from the post-pubescent, alcoholic body. Everything—everything—was sticky. But I decided to lean in. I ordered the “Hurricane Effin’”—basically a cup of vodka with a dash of apple liqueur and orange juice. “This will mess you up,” the bartender said, and he was right. It tasted like Smarties, which is not my preferred taste-profile, but after a few more sips, it was. And for $8, it’s by far the best deal in District 9.
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CULTURE | FILM ABBOT GENSER / FOCUS FEATURES
Out of whack
The Dead Don’t Die
Jim Jarmusch puts his droll, political spin on the zombie film by Glenn Heath Jr.
B
efore the first zombies show up in George overall predicament, fellow deputy Mindy (Chloë Romero’s original Night of the Living Dead, the Sevigny) says, “Maybe it will all go away like a bad soon-to-be-dispatched Johnny (Russell Strein- dream.” Her delusional statement feels in line with er) complains to Barbara (Judith O’Dea) about day- how right wing politicians and climate deniers aplight saving time stealing an hour of his much-needed proach the climate change crisis. Centerville’s collective cluelessness would almost sleep. In keeping with the film’s bitingly morbid sense of irony, he says this while stepping on the graves of be funny if it wasn’t so alarming. Local cinephile and horror film aficionado Bobby Wiggins (Caleb Landry corpses readying to permanently wake up. What seems like an unimportant detail in the Jones) spends hours fending off the zombie horde iconic horror film from 1968 is actually the first sign with Hank Thompson, the town’s hardware store of mankind’s gross obliviousness toward the planet’s owner (Danny Glover), only to realize no one secured natural temporal rhythms, not to mention our own the backdoor. MAGA stand-in Farmer Miller (Steve complicity in disrupting them. Toward the beginning Buscemi) grouses about immigrants but attracts the largest group of ghouls to his of Jim Jarmusch’s The Dead Don’t front door. The karma police, no Die—an unhurried, slyly political doubt. and droll homage to Romero’s THE DEAD Deeply self-aware, The Dead creeping masterpiece—there are DON’T DIE Don’t Die utilizes absurdity to similarly unheeded statements Directed by Jim Jarmusch amplify the lumbering details by local law enforcement that Starring Bill Murray, Adam Driver, of a slow-motion apocalypse. foreshadow the inevitable disDanny Glover and Tilda Swinton Chuckles will be had, especially orienting collapse to come. Rated R if audiences are familiar with After following up on a crimiJarmusch’s patented filmmaknal complaint filed against one ing style. The film’s most probHermit Bob (Tom Waits) (who also serves as essentially the film’s cynical narrator), lematic moments occur when the director pulls the Sheriff Cliff Robertson (Bill Murray) and Deputy Ron- curtain back on his own singular persona, going meta nie Peterson (Adam Driver) both wonder why the sun when he could have gone for the jugular. Myriad references to the film’s theme song, sung hasn’t yet set on their rural town of Centerville. Local news pundits equate the prolonged daylight with by Sturgill Simpson, are initially novel but then turn an imbalance in the Earth’s rotational pull, which has repetitive and annoying. The rationale behind Ronbeen permanently altered by polar fracking despite ad- nie’s premonitions (“This isn’t going to end well”) is amant denials by corporate executives and politicians. also a little too glib. Nevertheless, The Dead Don’t Die (opening Friday, When darkness finally does fall, Jarmusch’s seemingly infinite squad of sluggish, growling, materialist June 14) holds a mirror up to modern America’s love brain eaters ascend from the depths of shallow graves affair with self-destruction only to have it reveal rotto wreak an inert version of mass havoc. Each zombie ting flesh in the reflection. How did it come to this? gravitates toward the sports, addictions and recre- The UPS delivery driver Leon (RZA) advises Bobby to ational experiences they enjoyed while alive, growling “appreciate the details,” words of wisdom that our social media-obsessed culture has twisted into knots. single word utterances in between kills. So who can blame all the wild animals and pets for Instead of conjuring feelings of immediacy and despair, The Dead Don’t Die portrays societal breakdown running away, or Centerville’s one illegal alien (a samand mass carnage as an inevitability made possible urai sword-wielding Tilda Swinton) for giving up hope by our ethical compromises, climate change and our and jumping ship? The answer is no one with half a infatuation with individualism. While it may be the brain, eaten or otherwise. They know better than anyend of the world, Jarmusch’s working-class characters one that humanity is collectively asleep at the wheel, don’t rush to enact contingency plans or mass evacu- and a nasty course correction is long overdue. ation procedures. Mostly, everyone seems stuck. Cliff and Ronnie are in pure shock that any of this Film reviews run weekly. is happening in the first place. Overwhelmed by the Write to glennh@sdcitybeat.com
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JUNE 12, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 25
CULTURE | FILM EMILY ARAGONES, COURTESY OF AMAZON STUDIOS
Late Night
Funny or die
A
merican stand-up and latenight comedy shows are cultural institutions notorious for largely showcasing the talents of straight white men. American writer, playwright and television star Mindy Kaling, a woman of Indian descent, has witnessed the realities of this situation firsthand. Before becoming a bona fide auteur working on The Office, she interned at Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Those experiences directly inform Kaling’s script for Late Night, Nisha Ganatra’s fizzy film about Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson), a famous talk show host whose seen her standing in the industry steadily decline. After an inexplicably vengeful network executive (Amy Ryan) talks about replacing her with a fresh face, Katherine decides to mix up the all-male writer’s room and hire a woman. With zero stand-up experience aside from cracking jokes over the loudspeaker as the quality control specialist of a chemical plant, Molly Patel (Kaling) would seem like the least logical choice to fill this particular void. But scoring a job interview that coincides with Katherine’s request makes Molly the perfect diversity hire in the eyes of corporate. Considering the current political and social climate, Late Night should be the perfect mainstream product to challenge racist, sexist and xenophobic traditions that embolden practices of economic inequality. Positive word out of Sundance (almost never to be trusted) seemed to confirm it. Instead, the film languorously paints Molly as a charming disruptor who occasionally scolds her obnoxious and vindictive dude-bro colleagues. This allows the more worthy members of this vulgar, apathetic tribe to realize their inner lefty. Even more problematic is how Kaling’s character plays second fiddle to the agency and urgency of Thompson’s powerful ice queen, whose mere existence on late-night television has been a battle for survival decades in the making. Late Night (opening Friday, June 14) concludes with a victori-
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ous stroll through a workplace no longer mindlessly dominated by pale-skinned cronies. What a false vision of equality, and Kaling and Ganatra’s hapless film takes too many critical narrative short cuts to get there. Progress, like history, is never this easily reconciled.
—Glenn Heath Jr.
OPENING American Woman: Sienna Miller plays a distraught mother searching for her missing daughter in rural Pennsylvania. Opens Friday, June 14, at Angelika Film Centers Carmel Mountain. Halston: A documentary portrait about legendary designer Roy Halston Frowick, who famously stated that he wanted to “dress all of America.” Opens Friday, June 14, at the Landmark Ken Cinema. Late Night: Mindy Kaling stars as a writer hired to inject more diversity in the content of a stale late-night talk show hosted by Emma Thompson. Opens Friday, June 14, in wide release. Men In Black: International: The Hollywood machine resurrects the fabled franchise about the secret government institution policing aliens living on Earth in secret. This time, Chis Hemsworth and Tessa Thomspon star as the laser guntoting agents. Opens Friday, June 14, in wide release. Pavarotti: Ron Howard directs this music documentary that covers the life and career of opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti. Opens Friday, June 14, in wide release. Shaft: This time it’s a family affair, with the smooth-talking detective John Shaft (Samuel L. Jackson) teaming up with his computer genius son to solve the murder of a friend. Opens Friday, June 14, in wide release. Tarde Para Morir Joven (Too Late to Die Young): During the summer of 1990 in Chile, a small group of families living in an isolated community build a new world away from the country’s post–dictatorship urban excesses. Opens Friday, June 14, at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park. The Dead Don’t Die: Jim Jarmusch’s droll zombie film deconstruction follows a group of working class folks trying to combat the slow moving apocalypse. Opens Friday, June 14, at Angelika Film Centers Carmel Mountain and Landmark Hillcrest Cinemas.
For complete movie listings, visit Film at sdcitybeat.com.
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SEAN MATHIS
MUSIC
enerally speaking, Matthew Logan Vasquez is a happy guy with a positive outlook on life. He spills over with love when talking about his marriage to a Norwegian woman and their 3-year-old son. They live in Oslo, Norway right now, but are moving back to Texas later this year, where Vasquez grew up and owns a home. He’s 15 years into a fruitful music career that has produced a handful of successful and critically acclaimed projects. There’s Americana supergroups Middle Brother and Glorietta, and he’s released three solo albums over the past four years. Then there’s his San Diego-rooted rock band Delta Spirit, which formed when Vasquez met local musicians Brandon Young and Jon Jameson while busking in the Gaslamp Quarter. As a result, he has a loyal following that provides him “a decent living” when he hits the road. This allows him to be a “fully present super-dad” when he’s home. “I love it,” he says in a phone interview from Oslo. “I love being like, ‘I have three months at home to do nothing but hang out.’ And I’ll write some songs while the kid is at daycare, and I’ll hang out with my friends, go on dates with my wife and do fun stuff.” All of these good things in his life stand in sharp contrast to Light’n Up, the solo album Vasquez released in February. Sonically, it’s not a huge departure from his previous work, with rollicking roots-rockers sitting alongside tender folk songs, all threaded with a strong pop sensibility and old-soul charm. Thematically, though, Light’n Up finds Vasquez in a relatively dark and reflective place. “Character Assassination” seethes
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Matthew Logan Vasquez over what sounds like a bad breakup. “Ghostwriters” takes a decidedly unromantic look at the life of a working musician. “Trailer Park” is a raucous love letter to a small Texas town. But mainly, Light’n Up finds Vasquez starkly singing about loneliness and exploring topics like wealth, class and financial stability. There’s a reason for that. In 2017, his father-in-law was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Vasquez and his wife made the decision to move quickly to Norway to soak up whatever quality time they could with him. His wife and son left first, leaving Vasquez back in Texas to take care of logistical needs and
also to record an album while he still had easy access to a studio. For a guy who had grown up a self-described “child of bankruptcy and divorce”— and who had just finished buying and remodeling a home—the timing of the move wasn’t great. “I was sitting in a bitter place, you know? Feeling sorry for myself,” Vasquez says. “Because I felt in a lot of ways that we’d worked really hard to get to a certain place and now we’re going in a different trajectory… because of a tragedy and loyalty. So I was just dealing with the bitterness of that and trying to lean on better angels to get through it.”
Vasquez spent nearly the entire month of January 2018 alone, recording what would become the bulk of Light’n Up. His worries about his family’s stability led him to a stunner of a song called “Poor Kids,” an autobiographical tale of being forced to grow up too fast by circumstances outside his control. The listener can close their eyes and practically see a teenaged Vasquez trying to navigate some seriously tough stuff for a teenager. “Too proud to learn their rules /Misfits at a rich-kid school / Not sure what I needed but I found it in the church / I liked the music but I didn’t like the word.” Looking back, Vasquez can see that his lonely month in Texas provided him a portal into his past, and thus an opportunity to work through some lingering issues. “In psychology you name your fears and your pain and your anxieties to take the power away. And that’s the power of a sad song is you break past that, or just listening to a sad song you find empathy with another character so you’re not alone,” he says. “For me, [Light’n Up] is like holding a mirror up to myself and just being like, ‘Yup. That’s where I am. And I’m not going to stay here.’ That’s what it was.” For the record, he didn’t stay there. Even after a dark and chilly winter in Oslo, Vasquez says he’s in a much better place now than he was then. And he can trace that happiness to two human beings. “I equate security not to being wealthy but just to being stable, and I know my occupation traditionally runs the opposite direction from stability, so I chase it where I can,” Vasquez says. “I definitely faced those fears, but I also came to some cool conclusions that it doesn’t matter where I am on this planet so long as the two most important people in my life remain at the center. Then I’m home.”
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JUNE 12, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 29
MUSIC
THE
SPOTLIGHT
NOTES FROM THE SMOKING PATIO LOCALS ONLY
A
fter the demise of the Street Scene music festival in 2009, after a 25-year run, the San Diego area was without a destination music festival similar to those found in other major cities. Slowly but surely, investors began to see the potential in staging multi-day festivals in San Diego. Genre-specific events like CRSSD Fest, which began in 2015, did well enough that organizers expanded it to twice a year. Later that same year, the inaugural KAABOO festival at the Del Mar Fairgrounds further solidified the idea that locals, as well as tourists, will come out for a San Diego festival. Of course, this is in addition to all the street-fair style music fests that San Diego hosts, such as Adams Avenue Unplugged, CityFest and North Park Festival of the Arts. Now, San Diego is set to host another large-tier fest. The lineup for the inaugural Wonderfront Music & Arts Festival (wonderfrontfestival.com) was announced last week and includes dozens of big-name acts. The
ALBUM REVIEW Talia Ceravolo Dirty Seeds (Self-released)
S
ometimes an album doesn’t hold up over repeated listens. That initial feeling of being bowled over and blown away gives way to more critical analysis, as flaws and fatigues begin to reveal themselves. Every music critic has a story about an album they initially loved, but then found it simply didn’t hold up over time. I’ve been listening to Talia Ceravolo’s (taliaceravolo.bandcamp.com) debut album, Dirty Seeds, for a few months now and I’m here to say it’s as beautiful, nuanced and dulcet as it was when I first heard it. I was familiar with Ceravolo’s work, albeit in a different medium, as she is also a highly talented visual artist. If I’m to believe the very little amount of notes on her album, Dirty Seeds was a decade in the making. And while I won’t speculate beyond the lyrical hints she drops what prompted her to finally record 10 years worth of songs, I will say that I’m so happy she has done so. Dirty Seeds begins simply enough with “Covered in Honey,”
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DAVID MCCLISTER
three-day, seven stage festival—happening the weekend of Nov. 22 and spread out over various venues, parks and piers along the Port of San Diego—will feature acts such as Slightly Stoopid, Ben Harper, MGMT and Miguel, as well as local acts like Earthless, Schizophonics and The Routine. The fest also has some notable local investors and partners including former Padres star Trevor Hoffman, pro-skateboarder Tony Hawk and surfer/singer-songwriter Rob Machado, who will also be CAMILLA SAUFLEY playing at the festival. “I played Street Scene back in the day and I thought it was so cool to have a festival in downtown S.D.,” said Machado in a statement. “And now it’s back! Such an amazing group of people have come together to make this happen and it’s going to be epic.” Tickets for the Wonderfront Music & Arts Festival start at $209 Earthless ($199 for military) for a three-day pass, and go as high as $1,200 for VIP passes that include preferred viewing areas, private lounges and after-party passes.
—Seth Combs
a seductive ballad about longing for a lover’s touch. Ceravolo’s voice, lyrical precision and acoustic strumming on the album’s 10 folk-centric songs is impressive, as she tackles topics such as love, loss and starting over. The album’s most impressive showcase happens toward the middle on “Summer” and “What Am I Doing Here,” two violin-accented tracks about heartbreak and isolation. “As you walk alone now / Nothing’s wrong now / Nothing’s wrong / As you stand alone now / Nothing’s wrong now / Nothing’s wrong / One day, you’ll be strong” she sings on the former, sounding equal parts defeated and empowered. Is she telling this to someone? To herself? There’s beauty in that the listener is left to guess the answer. A native of San Diego, Ceravolo must know the music she’s producing is light years beyond anything currently being produced in the local folk scene. Personally, I’ve been covering the music scene long enough to know that if she lived in a major market, record companies and marketing agencies would be beating down her door to represent her. Much like forbears such as Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez, or contemporaries like Angel Olsen and Laura Marling, Ceravolo is making music that’s both refreshing and familiar. The kind that will hold up for months, years, decades to come.
—Seth Combs
G
Lucinda Williams
etting to speak with Lucinda Williams back in 2016 was one of those bucket listtype interviews I’ll never forget. It’s right up there with Merle Haggard, Jason Isbell and Neko Case. Her music remains particularly close to my heart, but unlike most Lucinda die-hards, my obsession did not begin with Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, her 1998 breakthrough. Rather, it began on Williams’ real masterpiece. Before I continue, I just want to say that Car Wheels is undeniably and unequivocally one of the best country albums released in the past 25 years. In fact, it’s so beloved that Williams is performing the album in its entirety on her current tour. But I’d like to make the argument for the follow-up to Car Wheels, 2001’s Essence. Not only was it the album that introduced me to her majesty, but it set the template for her music moving forward. Filled with songs of longing and heartbreak, it saw her moving away from country music trappings and toward rock and eventually blues. It contains two of her most covered songs (“Essence” and the exquisite “I Envy the Wind”) and whether most critics choose to acknowledge it or not, the record stands as a declarative statement that Williams was not going to play it safe and simply give fans Car Wheels II. Plus, the album is just sad as hell. So yes, while I’m excited as any fan to see Lucinda Williams play Car Wheels when she comes to San Diego, I’m hoping for the same kind of tour for Essence when 2021 rolls around. Lucinda Williams plays with her band Buick 6 on Monday, June 17 and Tuesday, June 18 at the Belly Up Tavern.
—Seth Combs
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MUSIC
IF I WERE U
BY CITYBEAT STAFF
Our picks for the week’s top shows
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12
PLAN A: Plague Vendor, Demasiado @ Music Box. We saw Plague Vendor open up for White Lung back in 2016 and they nearly stole the show. They make pissy, sinister and energetic garage-punk that’s as scary as it is invigorating. Check out the burner “Ox Blood” or their new single “Let Me Get High / Low” for a nice taste. PLAN B: John Paul White, The Prescriptions @ Belly Up.
THURSDAY, JUNE 13
PLAN A: RVG @ Soda Bar. These Melbourne, Australia indie-rockers are one of those rare bands whose music transcends genres and can appeal to just about anyone. The Fall, The Smiths and even early R.E.M. are easy references, but these guys have a glorious sound that has deservedly made them the buzz band of the year. PLAN B: TiRon & Ayomari, Nonchalant Savant, J.R. Jarris, Abjo @ SPACE. L.A. duo TiRon & Ayomari specialize in laid back grooves, managing to strike a great balance between earnest R&B and boastful hip-hop. BACKUP PLAN: Worriers, Le Saboteur, Squarecrow, Matt Caskitt, The Breaks @ Tower Bar. BRADLEY MURRAY
is an electro-tinged dance-pop party and the latest project from Dan Boekner (Wolf Parade, Divine Fits, Handsome Furs, etc.). It all has a cool, Gary Neuman at-a-Berlindance-club vibe to it, which we’re totally cool with. BACKUP PLAN: Gary Wilson, Bryson Cone, Lunar hand, Ritual Talk @ Che Cafe Collective.
SATURDAY, JUNE 15
PLAN A: Diane Coffee, Claire George @ The Casbah. Readers hopefully caught our feature last week on Shaun Fleming, the one-man force behind the androgynous electro-pop act Diane Coffee. His music is highly danceable, but also tackles big issues such as technology’s influence on our humanity. PLAN B: Machine Girl, Deli Girls, Solv @ SPACE. Machine Girl is a New York City industrial music project that should appeal to fans of Ministry and Atari Teenage Riot. They have an album called ...Because I’m Young Arrogant and Hate Everything You Stand For, and it pretty much lives up to its name. BACKUP PLAN: Smokey Robinson @ San Diego County Fair.
SUNDAY, JUNE 16
PLAN A: The Felice Brothers, Johnathan Rice @ The Casbah. The Felice Brothers’ self-titled 2008 album remains an underappreciated masterpiece of Dylan-esque rootsy folk. They probably would be a lot bigger if corporate suspender-rock bands such as The Lumineers and Mumford & Sons hadn’t ruined everything. BACKUP PLAN: New Year’s Day, Diamante, Savage After Midnight @ Brick By Brick.
MONDAY, JUNE 17
PLAN A: Lucinda Williams & Buick 6 @ Belly Up Tavern. Lucinda Williams is country and singer/songwriter royalty and has never made a bad album. Check out the Spotlight section this week for more accolades. BACKUP PLAN: Drug Apts, ExasJamila Woods peration @ The Casbah.
FRIDAY, JUNE 14
PLAN A: Pile, State Champion, Miss New Buddha @ Soda Bar. Boston noise-rockers Pile have been called “one of the strangest bands in rock music,” and we won’t dispute that proclamation. Their sound is kinda all over the place but manages to still sound truly transcendent. Plus, their excellent new album, Green and Gray, features a song called “The Soft Hands of Stephen Miller,” one of the more clever rebukes of the Trump administration we’ve ever heard. Oh, and definitely show up early for local math-rockers Miss New Buddha. PLAN B: Operators, DOOMSQUAD @ The Casbah. Operators
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TUESDAY, JUNE 18
PLAN A: Jamila Woods, duendita @ The Casbah. Not all R&B artists can pull off poetic political commentary and still have it sound as smooth as silk, but Chicago’s Jamila Woods does just that. Like Nina Simone and Erykah Badu before her, Woods crafts empowering and beautiful jams that speak truth to power. Her new album, LEGACY! LEGACY!, is bound to be on every critic’s year-end best albums lists. PLAN B: Lucinda Williams & Buick 6 @ Belly Up Tavern. A second chance to see the incomparable Williams. BACKUP PLAN: Sweet Knives @ Whistle Stop.
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MUSIC
CONCERTS HOT! NEW! FRESH!
Faun Fables (Soda Bar, 7/1), Glitterer (Ché Café Collective, 7/10), XYLØ (Casbah, 7/11), Mistresses of All Evil (Brick By Brick, 7/12), Atomic Groove (BUT, 7/17), Betamaxx (BUT, 7/20), Jagwar Twin (Casbah, 7/21), Ringo Deathstarr (Whistle Stop, 7/22), The Highwayman Show (BUT, 7/26), ‘80s Metal Jam Night (Brick By Brick, 7/27), William Clark Green (Casbah, 8/1), Billy Bio (Brick By Brick, 8/2), The Quakes (Soda Bar, 8/10), The Sleepwalkers (Soda Bar, 8/17), Kyle Kinane (Casbah, 8/18), Free Throw (Ché Café Collective, 8/28), Ryley Walker (Soda Bar, 8/29), The Bird and the Bee (Casbah, 8/29), Red Not Chili Peppers (Music Box, 8/30), Throwing Muses (Soda Bar, 8/30), The Steely Damned 2 (Music Box, 9/1), Bleached (Casbah, 9/5), Kataklysm (Brick By Brick, 9/14), Oliver Tree (Observatory, 9/28), Revocation (Brick By Brick, 9/29), Fruit Bats (Casbah, 10/3), Grandmaster Flash (California Center for the Arts, 10/5), The Rocket Summer (Soda Bar, 10/18), Dinosaur Jr. (Observatory, 11/1), John Waters (Observatory, 12/7), Defeater (Ché Café Collective, 12/11).
ALL SOLD OUT Oh Sees (BUT, 6/14), Local Natives (Observatory, 6/19), Jamestown Revival (BUT, 6/19), Scott Russo (Casbah, 6/22), John Hiatt (BUT, 6/25), Sticky Fingers (HOB, 6/30), The Struts (Observatory, 7/12), Billie Eilish (Cal Coast
Credit Union Open Air Theatre, 7/13), The Psychedelic Furs (Observatory, 8/6), Death Cab For Cutie (Observatory, 8/910), Touché Amoré (Ché Café Collective, 8/13), David Grisman (BUT, 8/29), Queen Nation (BUT, 8/30), The Marshall Tucker Band (BUT, 9/12), Jonas Brothers (Pechanga Arena, 10/7), Morcheeba (BUT, 10/13), Tyler Childers (Observatory, 10/15), Mike Watt & The Missingmen (Casbah, 11/2), Two Door Cinema Club (Observatory, 11/8).
CANCELLED Ozzy Osbourne (North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, 7/23).
GET YER TICKETS Toby Keith (Del Mar Fairgrounds, 6/14), Rebelution (North County Credit Union Amphitheatre, 6/15), Rob Thomas (Humphreys, 6/20), Khalid (Pechanga Arena, 6/23), Aly & AJ (Observatory, 6/25), Priests (Soda Bar, 6/26), Pouya (HOB, 7/23), Blink-182, Lil Wayne (North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, 8/7), Carrie Underwood (Pechanga Arena, 9/10), The Who (Viejas Arena, 10/16), Judah & The Lion (Observatory, 10/17), Hozier (Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre, 10/26).
JUNE WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12 Big Brother and the Holding Company at Del Mar Fairgrounds. John Paul White at Belly Up Tavern. Plague Vendor at Music Box. Jake Owen at Del Mar Fairgrounds. WidowMade at The Casbah.
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THURSDAY, JUNE 13 Dizzy Wright at House of Blues. Creedence Clearwater Revisited at Del Mar Fairgounds. RVG at Soda Bar. The Weight Band at Belly Up Tavern. Fences at The Casbah.
FRIDAY, JUNE 14 Operators at The Casbah. Toby Keith at Del Mar Fairgrounds. Parachute at House of Blues. No Vacation at The Irenic. Flotsam & Jetsam at Brick By Brick. Pile at Soda Bar. Train at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre. Ludovico Einaudi at Copley Symphony Hall. Gary Wilson at Ché Café Collective. Jody Wisternoff at Music Box.
SATURDAY, JUNE 15 Rebelution at North County Credit Union Amphitheatre. Smokey Robinson at Del Mar Fairgrounds. Frenship at Music Box. My Life With the Thrill Kill Kut at Brick By Brick. Vincent at Soda Bar. Diane Coffee at The Casbah. Mustache Harbor at Belly Up Tavern. Eric Burdon & The Animals at Humphreys. Chris Webby at House of Blues. Smarter Than Robots at Ché Café Collective.
SUNDAY, JUNE 16 Blue October at Observatory North Park. The Felice Brothers at The Casbah. The Holdup at Soda Bar. Greg Douglass at Belly Up Tavern. New Years Day at Brick By Brick. Anberlin at House of Blues.
MONDAY, JUNE 17 Lucinda Williams & Buick 6 at Belly Up Tavern. Dark Alley Dogs at Soda Bar. Drug Apts at The Casbah.
TUESDAY, JUNE 18 Jamila Woods at The Casbah. Lucinda Williams & Buick 6 at Belly Up Tavern. Be Mine Phantom Valentine at Soda Bar.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19 Slingshot Dakota at Soda Bar. James Supercave at The Casbah. PUP at Music Box. Simple Plan at Del Mar Fairgrounds.
THURSDAY, JUNE 20 Rob Thomas at Humphreys. The Mattson 2 at Belly Up Tavern. Katie Toupin at Soda Bar. BAILEN at The Casbah. Eric B. & Rakim at House of Blues.
FRIDAY, JUNE 21 Matthew Logan Vasquez at Soda Bar. Jenny and the Mexicats at Music Box. Antibals at Belly Up Tavern. Hootie & the Blowfish at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre. Alanis Morissette at Humphreys. Xavier Wulf at SOMA. Long Beach Dub Allstars at House of Blues. Emo Night at The Casbah. Larry Dunn at Music Box. Alanis Morissette at Humphreys.
SATURDAY, JUNE 22 As Cities Burn at Brick By Brick. Tom Gun at Music Box. Paul McCartney at Petco Park. America at Humphreys. Emo Night Brooklyn at House of Blues. Desperado at Belly Up Tavern. BAT! at Soda Bar. Phil Weeks at Music Box. Saving the State at SOMA. Village Park at Ché Café Collective.
SUNDAY, JUNE 23 Tacocat at The Casbah. Remo Drive at The Irenic. Khalid at Pechanga Arena. Santana at North Island Credit Union Am-
phitheatre. Clairo at Pechanga Arena. Nathan Lee at California Center for the Arts. Intocable at Del Mar Fairgounds. Spacewizardinspace at Soda Bar.
MONDAY, JUNE 24 Heart Attack Man at House of Blues. No Exits at Soda Bar. DJ Artistic’s Hip Hop Battle Bot at The Casbah.
TUESDAY, JUNE 25 Aly & AJ at Observatory North Park. Jon Walker at Soda Bar. Silent at The Casbah. Miss Rayon at Ché Café Collective.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26 Priests at Soda Bar. Mini Mansions at The Casbah. Indigo Girls at Humphreys. Anderson .Paak at Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre.
THURSDAY, JUNE 27 Rooney at Soda Bar. Okkervil River at The Casbah. Half*Alive at Music Box. Warish at Belly Up Tavern.
FRIDAY, JUNE 28 Led Zepagain at House of Blues. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy at Humphreys. The Lost Monarchs at Del Mar Fairgrounds. Yachtley Crew at Music Box. The Bones of J.R. Jones at Soda Bar. Burritos - A Tribute to Sublime at Belly Up Tavern. The Schizophonics at The Casbah.
SATURDAY, JUNE 29 The Winehouse Experience at Music Box. Charly Bliss at The Casbah.
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@SDCITYBEAT
BY CHRISTIN BAILEY
MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 32
man. Mon: ‘Organized Grime’. Tue: Deep & Progressive.
Smokey Robinson at Del Mar Fairgrounds. Through The Roots at Observatory North Park. Ginger Root at Soda Bar. Gasolina Party at House Of Blues.
American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., Downtown. Wed: ‘The Come-Up’. Thu: Ryan Hamilton. Fri: Ryan Hamilton. Sat: Ryan Hamilton. Tue: Open Mic.
SUNDAY, JUNE 30 David Gray at Copley Symphony Hall. Los Tigres del Norte at Del Mar Fairgrounds.
JULY MONDAY, JULY 1 The Spits at The Casbah. Faun Fables at Soda Bar.
TUESDAY, JULY 2 Trace Adkins at Del Mar Fairgrounds.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 3 80’s Heat at Belly Up Tavern. Ceremony at The Irenic. New Found Glory at House of Blues. Slum Village at Music Box. Futurebirds at Soda Bar.
rCLUBSr
710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave., Pacific Beach. Wed: Open Mic. Thu: ‘Bringing Back Rock ‘N’ Roll’. Fri: Freeze Frame, Groove Factory. Sat: CaliSamba. Sun: Karaoke. Tue: The Tones, The Resinators. Air Conditioned Lounge, 4673 30th St., Normal Heights. Wed: ‘#HipHopWeds’. Thu: ‘CoolLikeDat’. Fri: ‘House Music Fridays’. Sat: ‘JUICY’. Sun: Bernie Fish-
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The Bancroft, 9143 Campo Road, Spring Valley. Wed: Karaoke. Thu: Skerfunk, Soap, Baba Neck, The Loose Grooves. Fri: Heretic A.D., Legions, Archenaut, Alpha Apex. Sat: Your Friendly Bartender. Sun: INDIGINIS. Mon: Trivia. Tue: Karaoke. Bang Bang, 526 Market St., Downtown. Fri: Low Steppa. Sat: Krystal Klear. Bar Pink, 3829 30th St., North Park. Sun: ‘Rat Sabbath’. Beaumont’s, 5665 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla. Fri: Fish and The Seaweeds. Sat: The Voices. Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. Wed: John Paul White, The Prescriptions. Thu: The Weight Band. Fri: Oh Sees, Bronze Fuckwolf (sold out). Sat: Mustache Harbor, The Abba Show. Sun: Greg Douglass Band. Mon: Lucinda Williams & Buick 6. Tue: Lucinda Williams & Buick 6.
ASTROLOGICALLY UNSOUND Weekly forecasts from the so-called universe ARIES (March 21 - April 19): It is only considered a feat of integrity to be true to yourself if yourself doesn’t totally and completely suck; in which case, it shows more integrity to pretend to be cooler. TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): In the beginning, you can squeeze the toothpaste tube from the middle with absolutely no issue. The problems that come from developing that habit only arise later. GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): This week, remember to not talk unless you can back it up, or unless you can outrun anyone who might try to—let’s say— compel you to prove that you can. CANCER (June 21 - July 22): If a terrible smell seems to be following you around then in all likelihood it is emanating from you; this may be metaphorical or literal depending on your other astrological placements.
Black Cat Bar, 4246 University Ave., City Heights. Fri: William Driskill’s 40th Super Friends All Star Jam. Sat: Belladonna Grave, Harsh R., Sashcloth, Axes.
LEO (July 23 - August 22): There’s more to life than being beautiful. There is also being a world-renowned violinist and musical virtuoso by the age of 23.
Blonde, 1808 W. Washington St., Mission Hills. Wed: ‘Dance Klassique’. Thu: DJ Three. Sat: ‘Just Like Heaven’. Tue: ‘Techit EASY’.
VIRGO (August 23 - September 22): This week will feel like those times where you stand behind someone as they watch a “funny” video you made them watch. It is a cruelty that is punished by how stupid you feel three seconds into the ordeal.
Boar Cross’n, 390 Grand Ave., Carlsbad. Sat: Big Dude.
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LIBRA (September 23 - October 22):
Get back to your childhood self this week. Well, maybe not the childhood self who wanted to eat McDonalds every single day and for every single meal. SCORPIO (October 23 - November 21): You can only rely on yourself, right? I
mean, it’s not like we live in a society and have fundamentally connected existences. No, it’s probably just you doing it all by yourself. SAGITTARIUS (November 22 - December 21): Now that the year is halfway over
it’s a great time to check-in and assess how far along you are on your personal goals for 2019. Sorry. I just wanted to make you feel bad. CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 19): Sometimes you cannot tell the differ-
ence between a nap that will make you feel better and a nap that will make you feel worse until it is far too late. AQUARIUS (January 20 - February 18): If you try to rescue a lethargic, injured
raccoon from the side of the road, you will find within minutes that you have a very enraged raccoon trapped inside your car. PISCES (February 19 - March 20):
There is a difference between self-protection and completely emotionally shutting down because the hypnotist at the fair is looking at you when he asks for audience participation.
Astrologically Unsound appears every week. Follow Christin Bailey on Twitter at @hexprax.
JUNE 12, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 33
MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33 Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave., Bay Park. Fri: Flotsam & Jetsam. Sat: My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult. Sun: New Years Day. The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd., Midtown. Wed: Widowmade, The Dirty Diamond, The Orphanics. Thu: Fences, Photo Ops. Fri: Operators, Doomsquad. Sat: Diana Coffee, Claire George. Sun: The Felice Brothers, Johnathan Rice. Mon: Drug Apts, Exasperation. Tue: Jamila Woods, Duendita. Che Cafe, 1000 Scholars Drive S, La Jolla. Fri: Gary Wilson, Bryson Cone, Lunar Hand, Ritual Talk. Sat: Smarter than Robots, Grenelane, Differences, Reliance. Dizzy’s, 4275 Mission Bay Drive, Bay Park. Fri: Julian Roel 4tet. F6ix, 526 F St., Downtown. Fri: Isaac B. Sat: Bar1ne. Sun: ‘Reggae Sundays’. Fluxx, 500 Fourth Ave., Downtown. Fri: Shabazz. Sat: Shaffy. House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., Downtown. Wed: Bloxx, Hembree, Warbly Jets. Thu: Dizzy Wright. Fri: Parachute. Sat: Draco Rosa. Sun: Anberlin. Humphreys Backstage, 2241 Shelter Island Drive, Shelter Island. Wed: Puro Feeling. Thu: DJ Chuck. Fri: Funk’s Most Wanted. Sat: Rising Star. Sun: Jason Brown. Mon: January Berry Band. Tue: Mercedes Moore. The Irenic, 3090 Polk Ave., North Park. Fri: No Vacation, Okey Dokey. Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd., Midtown. Fri: ‘Tech Support’. Sat: ‘Umbrella Nights’. Sun: ‘Deep Tech’.
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Kensington Club, 4079 Adams Ave., Kensington. Thu: ‘Metal Yoga’. Fri: The ABortz, Beta 7, The Midnight Block, Late For Life. Sat: Moden Love, Kids N Propane, Hyper Active Slackers, Oak Palace. Lestat’s Coffee House, 3343 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Thu: Fashion Jackson, The Lefties, PVKE. Fri: Michael Chapdelaine, John Law. Sat: Leon Canoe, Ignant Benches, Sola Luna, The Rhinds. Mon: Open Mic. Tue: Comedy Night. Mc P’s Irish Pub, 1107 Orange Ave., Coronado. Wed: Harmony Road. Thu: North Star. Fri: Pat Ellis & Blue Frog Band. Sat: Street-Heart. Sun: Jackson & Billy. Tue: 3 Guys Will Move U!.
town. Thu: ‘Undone on Thursday’. Fri: Borgeous. Sat: DJ Flight.
vant, J.R. Jarris. Sat: ‘Whips n Furs’. Sun: ‘Hip-Hop Collective’. Tue: Karaoke.
Panama 66, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park. Wed: ‘The Wednesday Jam Session’. Fri: Calling Rio. Sat: Mad Hat Hucksters. Sun: Crew D’Tat Brass Band.
Spin, 2028 Hancock St., Midtown. Fri: Christian Smith, Fatima Hajji, Shelley Johannson. Sun: ‘Percomaniacs Takeover’.
Parq, 615 Broadway, Downtown. Fri: Nelly. Sat: Markus Schulz. Proud Mary’s, 5550 Kearny Mesa Road, Kearny Mesa. Wed: Benji Davis. Thu: Tomcat Courtney. Fri: Gino and the Lone Gunmen. Sat: Robin Henkel. The Rail, 3796 Fifth Ave., Hillcrest. Thu: ‘Country Dance’. Sat: ‘Sabados en Fuego’. Mon: Trivia.
Martinis Above Fourth, 3940 Fourth Ave., Hillcrest. Thu: Jason Stuart. Sat: Pam Ann.
Rich’s, 1051 University Ave., Hillcrest. Wed: ‘Mischief with Bianca’. Thu: ‘#LEZ’. Fri: Diva’s Drag Show.
The Merrow, 1271 University Ave., Hillcrest. Wed: Night Bloomers, The Deep Blue. Thu: D. Wrex, Moans, OrchidxMantis. Fri: The Rockets, Dead at Midnite, Hard Fall Hearts. Mon: ‘Playground Monday Night Dance Party’. Tue: Colour Monday, The Danger Field, Hurricane Kate.
Riviera Supper Club, 7777 University Ave., La Mesa. Wed: ‘Boss Jazz’. Thu: Chloe Lou & Davies. Fri: Whole Milk. Sat: Flipside Burners.
Mother’s Saloon, 2228 Bacon St., Ocean Beach. Tue: Trivia Tuesdays. Mr. Peabody’s, 136 Encinitas Blvd., Encinitas. Fri: The Traumatics. Sat: Sonic Tonic. Sun: Tony Ortega Jazz Jam. Mon: Open Mic. Tue: Karaoke. Music Box, 1337 India St., Little Italy. Wed: Plague Vendor, Demasiado. Fri: Jody Wisternoff. Sat: Frenship, Glades. The Office, 3936 30th St., North Park. Thu: ‘Dig Deeper’. Fri: ‘Factory’. Sat: ‘Strictly Business’. Mon: ‘Motown on Mondays’. Tue: ‘Night Shift in The Office’. OMNIA Nightclub, 454 Sixth Ave., Down-
Rosie O’Gradys, 3402 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Wed: Kick Stomp Ensemble. Thu: DJ Dougie Frosh. Fri: Taryn Donath Duo. Sat: Frankie T & the Triple B. Mon: ‘Jazz Jam’. Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Thu: RVG. Fri: Pile, State Champion, Miss New Buddha. Sat: VINCENT, Jaron. Sun: The Holdup, Unsteady. Mon: Dark Alley Dogs, The Thieves About. Tue: Be Mine Phantom Valentine, Magical Animals, Grand Curator. SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd., Midway. Fri: The Model Youth, Air Go, Every Other Year, Fear/Converge, The Abstracts, Ending Left. SPACE, 3519 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Thu: TiRon & Ayomari, Nonchalant Sa-
Sycamore Den, 3391 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Wed: Paul Gregg. Tue: Trivia. Til-Two Club, 4746 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Sun: ‘PANTS Karaoke!’. Tin Roof, 401 G St., Downtown. Wed: Hull & Deez. Thu: Corey Gray & Jake Coco. Fri: DJ Jwin. Sat: Cassie B. Project. Sun: . Tio Leo’s, 5302 Napa St., Bay Park. Wed: Sue Palmer Jazz Trio. Thu: Gino and the Lone Gunmen. Fri: The Sea Monks. Sat: Crown City Bombers. Mon: ‘Sexy Salsa & Sensual Bachata’. Tue: The Tourmaliners. Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave., City Heights. Thu: Worriers, Le Saboteur, Squarecrow, Matt Caskitt, The Breaks. Fri: Allweather, Midnight Eagle, Ash Williams, EDGES. Sat: The Jasons, Rebel Rebel, The Writhers, The Touchies. U-31, 3112 University Ave., North Park. Thu: ‘BoomBox Thursdays’. Fri: DJ Kidwonder. Sat: DJ Fishfonics. Sun: Schwanda Roots. Mon: ‘#31 Flavors’. Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St., South Park. Wed: Sea, Swallow Me. Thu: ‘Disco Goth Nite’. Fri: ‘80s vs ‘90s Dance Party’. Sat: ‘Electric Relaxation’. Winstons, 1921 Bacon St., Ocean Beach. Wed: ‘Club Kingston’. Thu: American Idiots, Jetpack Mojo, FuseBox. Fri: TV Broekn 3rd Eye Open, Afrolicious. Sat: More Fatter, Mango Habanero. Sun: Karaoke. Mon: Electric Waste Band. Tue: Erick Tyler & the Vibe.
@SDCITYBEAT
BY JACKIE BRYANT
IN THE BACK
CANNABITCH This pen is mightier
A
s I discussed in my last column, I’m quite new to dabbing, the method of consuming cannabis concentrates which often requires a blowtorch. Still, it didn’t take me long to grow tired of the whole ritual around it. Fire up a blowtorch (as one does), find a nail and a rig, rinse and repeat. The tools and processes required to successfully ingest cannabis concentrates meant that I needed to be stationary to do so. And though the resulting high is worth it, dabbing is inconvenient to say the least. A nice way around this is to invest in a portable vaporizer, otherwise known as a dab pen. There are several on the market with varying degrees of intensity and convenience, but I had my sights set on one to try out: the Puffco Plus (puffco.com). In particular, I wanted to test out Puffco’s latest version of a dab pen because their previous iteration (the Puffco Pro) had a small coil in the atomizer so the user had to manually place their concentrate of choice on the coil to heat up in order for it to be vaporized. This new version of the Plus levels up, thanks to feedback from the company’s customers, and
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it features a coil-less ceramic chamber. The user need only use the embedded ceramic loading dart to scoop concentrates and deposit them directly in the ceramic cup. After this step, all that is left to do is screw on the mouthpiece, click one of the desired three heating settings, inhale and enjoy. It’s a truly impressive piece of technology, especially when considering it makes one of the most intense cannabis ingestion methods easy to do in almost any scenario. An added bonus to the ceramic chamber technology is the taste. Dabbing is ideal for those looking to drill down into the concentrate’s terpenes and get as much flavor as possible. My favorite is when I take a particularly hard hit and my sinuses tingle from the surge of terpenes, sometimes resulting in a hearty sneeze. There’s no better way to know it’s working than that. Another favorite feature of the brassplated dab pen is the charge—the lithiumion battery will last for a few days with regular use and just takes about 45 minutes to fully charge. To me, that’s impressive considering this pen-sized device can heat up to 720 degrees Fahrenheit on its highest temperature setting. Using the Puffco Plus is easy. The user
COURTESY OF PUFFCO
Puffco Plus simply presses the button and inhales, ideally slowly and deeply as the user manual suggests. The most efficient way to use it, though, is with a unique feature called
“Sesh Mode,” which requires a double tap of the button and means the pen keeps the unit heated for 12 seconds straight without needing to press the button. This ensures a consistent and controlled heat without the waste of starting and stopping. It’s like using cruise control on a car instead of manually controlling the gas. I’ve been using my Puffco pen with sauce, which, per its name, is a more liquid and viscous concentrate. I’ve also used it with shatter, which is more solid and sticky in both appearance and touch. I’ve noticed that it takes a few rounds to get the chamber appropriately heated, though it is possible to get a solid hit with a low and slow inhale after the first time turning it on. I love this pen. I’ve been trying to drink less when I’m out and knowing I can get a solid cannabis high on-the-go has been a huge help in that process. That is, I can skip the beer and take a puff of my pen instead. At $89.99, the Puffco Plus is definitely an investment but it’s well worth the money for dabbing enthusiasts or frequent smokers looking for an efficient, punchy high. CannaBitch appears every week. Follow Jackie Bryant on Twitter at @jacqbryant.
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