San Diego CityBeat • July 17, 2013

house fanboy

comic-con is

Coming Our annual issue explores the fantasy realm

Internet fantasy fandom: Pg. 13 The music of Game of Thrones: Pg. 19 Magic the Gathering gets competitive: Pg. 20 Five essential fantasy comics: Pg. 22 Botanica Mama Roots: Pg. 24 Comic-Con-esque events, art, music and fun: Pgs. 14, 27, 32 & 37

2 · San Diego CityBeat · July 17, 2013

July 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 3

Bob Filner must resign Last Thursday, in a special post on sdcitybeat.com, that he and his staff would receive sexual-harasswe called on San Diego Mayor Bob Filner to resign ment training, which, frankly, we’d have expected immediately. Our call came hours after former City that they’d already received as a matter of course.

Councilmember Donna Frye and attorneys Marco In the days that followed, Filner grew more defiGonzalez and Cory Briggs held a news conference ant, strengthening his refusal to resign, saying that during which they told Filner that he needed to if his as-yet-unidentified accusers file formal comgracefully step down because of the way he had plaints, he’d be vindicated, and restocking his top mistreated “numerous” women. Frye was extremestaff. The key appointment was retired San Diego ly emotional, particularly when she spoke of the County Chief Administrative Officer Walt Ekard to women she’s heard from. the top (temporary) post of chief operating officer.

The trio wouldn’t describe the kinds of encounEkard immediately told Voice of San Diego that his ters they’d heard about from the women. Gonzalez acceptance of the job was conditioned on several referred to Filner’s behavior as “truly reprehensible things, including that he would truly be in charge circumstances.” Later, he said on KPBS radio that of the day-to-day city operations and that Filner since they went public, more women have come would stop mistreating his staff. “… I basically made forward and told similar stories. it clear that the temper and other stuff stops,” Ekard Thursday afternoon, Filner responded, apolotold Voice’s Lisa Halverstadt.

David Rolland gizing for disrespecting and inRight. About that “other stuff”: timidating women, vowing to seek On Monday morning, Frye, help and promising to change his Gonzalez and Briggs ratcheted up behavior. He asked for time to the pressure, Frye’s emotional state change but didn’t say how long speeding toward rage, and provided he’d need. the detailed accounts of three stillThat’s when we reached our unidentified women—a former conclusion that Filner must go. staffer, a constituent and a camWhen we endorsed Filner bepaign volunteer. They said they’ve fore the primary election in 2012, seen a pattern emerge when Filner we had this to say: “We already meets women: He gets them alone, knew that Filner can be cantanasks about their availability, comkerous and overbearing and has a pliments their appearance, asks Donna Frye is very, very angry. reputation for creating a work enthem out on dates and sometimes vironment that’s not always pleasant. Meanwhile, forces himself on them with uninvited kisses and with Filner—how shall we put this?—the threat level groping. The campaign volunteer alleged that Filner for scandal of varying sorts is at least orange. Color forced his tongue into her mouth and reached under us concerned.” her bra. The staffer alleged that Filner grabbed her Honestly, this is the kind of thing we were worbutt and breast. Frye said pointedly that Filner can’t ried about. But at that point, what we’d heard, and be trusted to be alone with a woman. what we knew, fell far short of evidence of a serious Meanwhile, Bronwyn Ingram, who ended her enproblem. We supported Filner’s policy agenda for gagement with Filner last week before all hell broke San Diego, and that outweighed our concerns about loose, told KPBS that Filner, in her presence, would his possible character flaws. send sexual texts to other women and ask them out Watching Frye become emotional as she talked on dates. She said he’s become increasingly abusive. about the women she’s spoken to, it became obvious We believe Frye and Gonzalez have heard horto us that Filner has a serious problem. Frye also rific stories; they wouldn’t go this far if they hadn’t. endorsed Filner and went to work for him soon afWe believe Gonzalez is right when he says that Filter he was elected. For her to call for his resignation ner knows what Frye and Gonzalez know. That’s because of what she’s heard is no small thing. It’s why Filner’s initial apology was as contrite as it was. huge. Ditto for Gonzalez. If they were political foes, Therefore, we believe Filner was admitting to serious this would be a whole different story. They’re not. behavioral transgressions toward women.

While Filner didn’t apologize directly for sexual harassment, he admitted that he needs help and said CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 This issue of CityBeat’s origin story is heartbreaking and told through flashbacks.

Volume 11 • Issue 50 Editor David Rolland Associate Editor Kelly Davis Music Editor Jeff Terich Staff Writers Alex Zaragoza, Joshua Emerson Smith Events Editor Shea Kopp Web Editor Ryan Bradford Art director Adam Vieyra Columnists Edwin Decker, John R. Lamb

Contributors Ian Cheesman, David L. Coddon, Seth Combs, Jeff “Turbo” Corrigan, Katrina Dodson, Michael A. Gardiner, Glenn Heath Jr., Dave Maass, Jenny Montgomery, Kinsee Morlan, Mina Riazi, Jim Ruland, Marie Tran-McCaslin, Jen Van Tieghem, Quan Vu Interns Elizabeth Shipton, Connie Thai Production Manager Tristan Whitehouse Production artist Rees Withrow Multi-Media Advertising Director Paulina Porter-Tapia Senior account executive Jason Noble

Cover design by Adam Vieyra Advertising Account Executive Beau Odom director of marketing Chad Boyer Circulation / Office Assistant Shea Kopp Vice President of Finance Michael Nagami Human Resources Andrea Baker Accounting Alysia Chavez, Linda Lam, Monica MacCree Vice President of Operations David Comden Publisher Kevin Hellman

Advertising inquiries Interested in advertising?

Call 619-281-7526 or e-mail advertising@sdcitybeat.com. The advertising deadline is 5 p.m. every Friday for the following week’s issue.

Editorial and Advertising Office 3047 University Ave., Suite 202 San Diego, CA 92104 Phone: 619-281-7526 Fax: 619-281-5273 www.sdcitybeat.com

San Diego CityBeat is published and distributed every Wednesday by Southland Publishing Inc., free of charge but limited to one per reader. Reproduction of any material in this or any other issue is prohibited without written permission from the publisher and the author. Contents copyright 2013.

4 · San Diego CityBeat · July 17, 2013

July 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 5

It’s 2013. A pattern of sexual harassment on the part of a mayor is unacceptable. It would have been unacceptable in 2003, and 1993. The point is, Filner shouldn’t have to be told that his behavior is unacceptable. He should know better. And that he didn’t know better demonstrates a serious lack of basic ethical judgment, and that’s a problem that’s easily transferable to other areas of his jurisdiction and responsibility.

Filner has an air of entitlement that can be forgivable in some circumstances—Filner being Filner. But a broader, more troubling pattern is emerging. The Sunroad controversy, which was Briggs’ primary point of contention in his call for the mayor to resign, showed a mayor who thinks it’s OK to solicit or accept payments or donations from developers in exchange for or accompanying favorable administrative actions.

(Although we, like Briggs, contend that the City Council shares the blame in that case. See our story on Page 7.) He also doesn’t seem to think the California Public Records Act applies to him.

Maybe it’s only journalists who see that as a severe problem, but everyone should. There’s absolutely no transparency in his administration, which is a failure of one of his campaign promises.

Some folks will argue that we’re rushing to judgment before Filner gets the benefit of due process. That’s reasonable. Innocent until proven guilty. We wouldn’t begrudge anyone who takes issue with our call for Filner’s resignation on those grounds.

But our job is not to convict Filner based on unambiguous evidence of wrongdoing. Our job is to make recommendations based on what’s best for San Diego and its citizens. We still support Filner’s vision for San Diego, but we’ve lost confidence in his capacity to see it through. It was

6 · San Diego CityBeat · July 17, 2013

fine—desirable, even—when it was only his political opponents with whom he had no credibility.

But his credibility among his own political base is eroding. And, more importantly, he’s admitting that he has a severe problem in how he treats half the population, an entire gender of human beings.

That’s the worst part of this. San Diegans shouldn’t have to wait and see and hope that Filner can figure out how to calibrate his human-decency compass.

After how Frye and Gonzalez characterized the problem, Filner’s initial apology and subsequent downplaying of the issue— he’s hard on people who aren’t doing their jobs to his satisfaction; he’s “a hugger,” and that’s being misinterpreted—are woefully insufficient.

Filner’s defenders act like this is some kind of coup. The decision is Filner’s to make. Frye and Co. wanted him to spare these women the trauma of having to go public. He’s digging in. That’s his prerogative. Now his accusers are compelled to file formal complaints or lawsuits. City Councilmember David Alvarez, up till now a Filner ally, heard a firsthand account of what he called “abhorrent” behavior and says he filed a complaint with the city.

The options now are: an expensive recall election, a conviction-forced resignation or Filner remains mayor until 2016.

For our part, we’ve heard enough. We believe Filner is unable to interact with women with anything resembling decency and is therefore unfit to be the leader of the city. We’re ready to hand the reins over to someone else—preferably someone who’ll pursue Filner’s liberal-populist policy agenda. We renew our call for Filner to resign.

What do you think?

Write to editor@sdcitybeat.com.

Here comes the Sunroad, again Developer began construction of apartments even though aware of code violation

David Rolland

considered as a public way for determining the fire separation distance for both buildings facing the park,” wrote company President James Churchill.

Construction was underway by January— CityBeat hasn’t pinpointed the exact date of the groundbreaking—and Sunroad waited

by Joshua Emerson Smith until February to approach the city with an At some point by January 2013, developer alternative way to resolve the issue: Story’s Sunroad Enterprises had started construc- plan was for the City Council to grant two tion on two apartment buildings in Kearny 9-foot easements on either side of the park, Mesa despite knowing for months that the barring the city from ever building structures projects didn’t comply with state building within the easements. Those easements plus code. Opting to ask for forgiveness rather the 6-foot buffers that already existed got than permission, the developer then lob- Sunroad to the required 15-foot separation. bied the City Council—in February 2013— Story, who hung up on a CityBeat reportfor a workaround to a problem first raised er when contacted for comment, worked by the city more than a year ago. closely on the fix with City Councilmember The development was ground zero in Lorie Zapf, who represents the district that a political firestorm that got San Diego includes Kearny Mesa and chairs the City Mayor Bob Filner in hot water a few weeks Council’s Land Use & Housing Commitago for accepting $100,000 from Sunroad tee, which endorsed Sunroad’s request in on the city’s behalf in an attempt to make March with little discussion, sending it on things right after Filner objected to how the to the full City Council. In April, the counCity Council handled the project. cil unanimously approved the easements— Construction of Sunroad’s apartment complex underway Sunroad designed its Centrum apart- as well as a waiver of a council policy that ments, located between Spectrum Center would have made the easements illegal— “These politicians only give a damn $40 million, but a superior court judge disBoulevard and Lightwave Avenue just east although Councilmember Marti Emerald about the public when it’s convenient for missed the case in 2009, admonishing the of Highway 163, with two 6-foot “fire sepa- raised objections to what she called a give- them,” Briggs said. “They’re Sunroad, the developer for creating a public hazard. ones who built the building that was too For Briggs, Sunroad’s cavalier behavior tall. At what point do you say there’s a cul- is telling. ture of corruption?”

“It’s not just that things are not working “I see this pattern over and over. This is how business gets done.

In 2006, Sunroad built an office tower ad- quite right,” he said. “People get used to it.

This is developers and politicians behind the scenes, dressing jacent to Kearny Mesa’s Montgomery Field People accept that as a norm.” things up to look a certain way.” —Cory Briggs Briggs sued after Filner was harshly critairport, despite knowing the structure’s height violated Federal Aviation Administration icized by some City Council members and safety standards. The developer refused to others for the Mayor’s office’s role in what ration” buffers between the two apartment away of public land without compensation. admit it made a mistake, arguing it only found was either a payment or a donation made by buildings and a public park that was built A spokesperson for Zapf declined to com- out about the federal restriction shortly before Sunroad to the city. Filner had vetoed the council’s vote to grant the easements, arguin the middle. California Building Code re- ment because the project is now the subject construction was scheduled to take place. quires a 15-foot separation. of litigation. Attorney Cory Briggs has sued Story, who’d served as a deputy planning ing that the city was giving away land while The discrepancy was noted in April 2012 the city and Sunroad over the development. director for the city and then chief-of-staff subverting proper administrative process, during a routine city inspection. However, “I see this pattern over and over,” Briggs to former Mayor Dick Murphy until Mur- and checks totaling $100,000 came after Sunroad never addressed the issue. Instead, said. “This is how business gets done. This is phy’s resignation, was the liaison for that Filner signaled to the council that he would not object to an override of his veto. Filner within months, the developer started de- developers and politicians behind the scenes, project, as well. vising a way to bypass the potential code dressing things up to look a certain way.”

Then-Mayor Jerry Sanders initially went wanted to use the money on two of his faviolation. On June 7, consultant Churchill Briggs’ lawsuit alleges a “pay-to-play to bat for Sunroad, but, ultimately, in 2007, vorite projects—an Aug. 11 bicycling event Engineering, Inc. sent a letter to Sunroad scheme” and argues that the mayor and the developer was forced to remove the and a veterans plaza in Ocean Beach.

Vice President of Development Tom Story City Council gave away public property in building’s top two floors, paying roughly $1.1 discussing a possible workaround. violation of city policy and without suffi- million to give the structure a 20-foot hair- Write to joshuas@sdcitybeat.com “Our opinion is that the park should be cient public vetting. cut. Sunroad countered by suing the city for and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

July 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 7

John r. lamb

spin cycle

john r.

lamb A tale of two Bobs “Beware the pine-tree’s withered branch! / Beware the awful avalanche!”

—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Part of Spin Cycle wants to put embattled Mayor Bob Filner in a “Filner Headlock” of appreciation. Another part wants to punch him square in the nuts.

Spin says this because before Monday’s press conference outside City Hall featuring one fistpounding, pissed-off Donna Frye detailing unverifiable accounts of a mayor as sexual predator (she did not use that term, but that’s what she described), Spin spent a twilight hour Sunday soaking in the magic that has become Balboa Park’s Plaza de Panama.

Adorable children played with their Hot Wheels and pedaled their Princess bicycles in circles around

proud parents who now make the revamped pedestrian plaza a frequent part of their lives. There’s something about total strangers gathering and sharing a laugh that seems so alien these days.

But it happens every day in that plaza, to Filner’s credit.

The anonymous descriptions of Filner’s dark side with regards to women, however, has shattered that feeling of accomplishment on the policy side, which also includes a five-year labor deal. If you think Carl DeMaio could have pulled that off by now, you’re smoking something that Bonnie Dumanis wants to confiscate.

This paper’s editorial response last week to the allegations of unwanted sexual advances, despite no publicly available details at the time, was swift and definitive— the mayor should get the help he needs but not while serving simul-

8 · San Diego CityBeat · July 17, 2013

taneously as the city’s top politico.

Conversely, the conservative U-T San Diego—the daily that loves to hate Filner—continues to skewer Filner on its flailing editorial pages while remaining perhaps the only Republican voice not calling for the mayor’s head (perhaps realizing the readership boom this drama has provided).

Meanwhile, social media is exploding with so many holierthan-thou tut-tuts, I-told-you-so’s, tasteless thumb-speak and fake concern for women from local Republican leaders despite that party’s voting record to the contrary that it’s enough to make Spin consider a new calling, like the grueling task of strawberry picking.

Yes, we’re all pillars of exemplary behavior and Filner is just

ally serve its intended purpose? Or do they widen the circle of victimization when media outlets begin calling every female city employee to grill them about whether they’ve ever been on the receiving end of the “Filner Headlock,” the “Filner Dance” or the Filner tongue?

Hate Spin for saying it, fine, but this—according to anonymous sources—is still the land of the innocent until proven guilty, the George Zimmerman trial notwithstanding.

The women holding “due process” signs behind the street-corner kangaroo court Monday have a point. The unnamed women who apparently fear media-hounding, name-calling and charges that they are part of some grand conspiracy to rid the city of an old, boorish mayor and replace him with bright, shiny shape-shifter Nathan Fletcher also have a point.

Attorney Marco Gonzalez told the throng yesterday that the claims he intends to file against the mayor could cost the city “millions.” Spin would suggest—no disrespect to the invisible accusers—that Filner resigning would cost millions, as well, including a pencil-sketch estimate of $3 million to $6 million for a special citywide election to replace Filner, City Clerk Liz Maland told Spin.

Filner has acknowledged his longstanding flaw in dealing respectfully with women, a downside that all agree requires immediate attention. His recent staff changes, including the return of Tony Buckles, Filner’s long-time congressional chief of staff (and a retired Army officer who’s also known as “The Colonel”), who served as Filner’s hand-signaling debate-calmer during last year’s campaign, seems a positive step to gain control of an office that clearly was coming unglued under spotty leadership and piss-poor transparency.

Spin’s guess is that Filner stays and fights till the end, City Councilmember Scott Sherman continues to warn of a city in stopmotion and his staffers prove it by attending he-said / she-said press conferences and opining on social media all day rather than getting the people’s work done.

Like they say, admitting your problem is a huge first step. But separating Good Bob from Bad Bob, Apologetic Bob from Defiant Bob, Allegedly Lecherous Bob from Demonstrative Hugger Bob—who really knows how that will turn out?

The short answer: only Filner knows.

south of Hannibal Lecter. Got it.

But here’s a reality check: Politics is a bawdy, ribald, gallowshumor contact sport not for the faint of heart or thin of skin. The business equally attracts youthful, wide-eyed, life-experience neophytes and foul-mouthed men and women. One female politician’s “Oh, you love me” proclamation to a man elicits a hearty laugh. The other way around, and it’s a trip to sexual-harassment class.

And before you blow your top and call Spin a thoughtless pig, let me return to the original premise.

If these allegations are true, reserve a spot for Spin in the front of the line to deliver a knee to Filner’s privates. But bend it, shape it, anything you like, they are just that—allegations, and no amount of lectern pounding or press conferences held by former allies will change that, in Spin’s opinion.

Many who know Filner practically come to tears laughing at the prospect of this guy leaving City Hall under his own power. This is his dream job, the cherry on the top of a long political career heading toward sunset. Some privately even suggest he’d remove himself from the living before relinquishing the office.

Then again, people—given this atmosphere of speedy trial by public flogging—are saying a lot of things that a civilized society would be hard-pressed to recognize. And some quarters in the local media complex are eating it up like it’s the county fair and someone just handed them some deepfried cotton candy.

Sure, Spin has relied on anonymous sources in the past, but not for something as serious as the quicksand that is sexual harassment, where any questioning of the intent and context of shielded accusers is met with sneers, jeers and assumptions that the questioners believe either 1) that the alleged victims “asked for it” or 2) that seeking the truth will only victimize the victims again.

Well, answer Spin this: Do the nameless, faceless allegations and Got a tip? Send it to the method of their delivery actu- johnl@sdcitybeat.com.

July 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 9

by Mina Riazi Mina Riazi

Lumpia” in shiny red letters.

Indeed, the moment I entered the hole-in-the-wall, a smiling, mustachioed Rocky asked me how many lumpia I wanted. Although the morsels appear to be the eatery’s main attraction, a steam table revealed several other gastronomical delights.

Ginisang mungg, or sautéed mung bean, beefsteak and a noodle dish called pansit are only some of the several non-lumpia options. Order the combo plate and you’re in for a deal: Two sides are joined by a scoop of steamed rice and a heap of noodles for $6.

Olga’s combo plate and four lumpia shanghai Rocky added a drumstick from the chicken adobo tray to my overflowing plate. My friend’s platter was truly a sight to see—piled high with chunky potatoes and strips of chicken and beef picadillo.

You can sit inside or take your food to go. We opted for the small dining area, which is actually a modified living room replete with cushy chairs Load up on lumpia and a few wall decorations. The owners’ friends and family streamed in and out of the eatery durMy college roommate Edriza’s finest contribuing our meal, creating an environment that was tion to our kitchenette was a clunky deep fryer. lively and abuzz with conversation. This unique Doughnut holes, shoestring fries and the occaelement often made us feel like we were two insional failed experiment—beer-battered avocado truders who’d creeped into a random living room wedges, chocolate-stuffed churros—all owed in the hopes of finding dinner. their brief, oily existences to the boxy appliance.

Of course, my visit to Olga’s was much more So did lumpia. The Filipino spring rolls were premeditated than that. A friend’s lumpia-cenour fried food of choice. After three-minute dips tered praise had introduced me to the mom-andin hot, bubbling oil, the pastries—now golden pop joint. But I found the other dishes rich and flabrown and crisp—bobbed to the surface and were vorful, too. The picadillo, for instance, was a standlovingly fished out. Un-fried lumpia are obviously out dish involving ground beef, carrots, potatoes much healthier, but nothing beats the resounding and onions. Eat it over the fluffy steamed rice for crunch and crackle of the deep-fried kind. a nice balance of flavors. Marinated in lemon and At Olga’s Food Place in Linda Vista (2314 soy sauce, the beefsteak is another solid choice, alMorley St.), you can snag four lumpia shanghai though the strips of meat could have been a little for just $1. The slender, freshly fried delights armore tender. The basic Filipino noodle dish pansit rive with a sweet-and-sour sauce. Snap off a stubwas light and tasty, combining rice noodles with a by end to discover the filling: a savory mishmash medley of sautéed vegetables. of pork, minced onions and carrots.

But the crispy lumpia still come out on top, Since 2002, husband-and-wife owners Rocky and I’ll be back again to noisily crunch and and Olga have been preparing Filipino dishes crackle my way through a plateful of the deepfried goodies. like chicken adobo and pinakbet and pritong talong in what appears to be their own home. The Write to minar@sdcitybeat.com squat, white building is saved from anonymity by and editor@sdcitybeat.com. a sky-blue awning and a sign that reads “Filipino

one lucky

spoon

10 · San Diego CityBeat · July 17, 2013

by ian cheesman

beer &

chees Super-beer-oes

After an arduous day of wading in a sea of cosplayers at San Diego Comic-Con, there’s nothing I like better than to escape the crowds and enjoy a frosty Romulan ale at the nearest watering hole. Unfortunately, this is difficult to accomplish, given that we’re still 50 years away from First Contact, let alone the introduction to Romulan intoxicants.

Now, you’re probably thinking, Why not just emit a phased inverse tachyon pulse to cause a temporal rift and jump directly to the alpha quadrant in year 2373 after the Federation has lifted its ban on the substance? Well, sure, that’ll work if you don’t mind being thrust into the heart of the Dominion War just to get a drink! LOL! Just because you’re unwilling to flout a linear approach to spacetime doesn’t mean you should be robbed of delicious neurotoxins when you need them most. Luckily, there are two appropriately geeky brew fests this week to fill that gap.

On Wednesday, July 17, Stone Brewing Co. will open the first ever Hop-Con (stonebrewing.com/hop-con) at the Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens in Liberty Station (2816 Historic Decatur Road, Suite 116).

Based on the event name, I assumed they were going to unveil a gilded hop cone idol and have Stone Brewing CEO and High Priest Greg Koch chastise nonbelievers to pay it homage, but they have something much more conventional planned. The Hop-Con is an evening-long celebration of Stone’s newest collaboration brew.

So, what makes this beer convention-worthy?

Rather than follow standard collaboration protocol by combining efforts with other breweries of note, Koch reached out to two friends / Internet luminaries to design it. Actor and geeky DIY enthusiast Wil Wheaton and Fark.com creator Drew Curtis helped build the Stone Farking Wheaton

w00tstout—a 13-percent-ABV imperial stout made with wheat(on) malt, pecans and some bourbon-barrel aging. The event will feature samples of the undeniably l33t quaff (as well as a to-go bottle), appetizers and live performances from Wheaton and comedy duo Paul & Storm.

If the beer sounds compelling, but you were hoping for a con event that was a tad more Spandexy, the Heroes Brewfest (heroesbrewfest. com) will have you covered. This festival should have everything convention attendees crave: beer from dozens of breweries, live music performances (on a stage powered by the sun’s yellow rays, not unlike certain Kryptonians) and, since costuming is encouraged, it also will likely feature a pleasantly tipsy Batman at some point.

Preparing for the Heroes Brewfest If anyone deserves a day off, it’s that guy.

The Heroes Brewfest will descend on Embarcadero Park North on Saturday, July 20, from 1 to 5 p.m. VIP-ticket holders and sufficiently diabolical super-villains can get into the event one hour earlier. All attendees will be outfitted with two Bracelets of Victory containing a total of 20 taster tickets (whose capacity to deflect bullets is presently unconfirmed), with additional taster tickets available for purchase. There will also be a Costumed Crusader Contest with prizes available for those fortunate individuals who haven’t managed to completely sweat through their convention garb in the previous three days of activity.

Write to ianc@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

July 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 11

by jenny Montgomery Jenny Montgomery

for lunch. Clearly, I’m late to this seafood party, as all the Oceanside locals seem to know that this is the place to get good Baja grub.

Summertime calls for ceviche, and Mariscos Ensenada answers the call with a tasty shrimp ceviche that evokes sunshine and saltwater. A crispy corn tortilla serves as the base for a sweet pile of meaty chunks of shrimp, with just a bit of onion and cilantro. Try to take your time shoveling bites of lime-soaked shrimp into your mouth. Ceviche is a simple dish, and when it’s done well, as it is here, the result is experiencing the best the sea has to offer.

When it comes to fish taMariscos Ensenada’s ceviche cos, I confess I’m not much of a purist. Years ago, I fell under the spell of tacos with grilled fish, eschewing the more traditional crunchy beer batter. What a fool I was. Clearly, I had eaten one too many inferior fried versions, filled with doughy batter hiding anemic pieces of poorly seasoned fish.

My new best friends at M.E. turn out a magiMagical tacos cal taco. The batter must have stiff egg whites in it, as I don’t know what else could give something I’ve driven past Oceanside’s Mariscos Ensenada deep-fried such a light quality. The coating man(1405 S. El Camino Real) dozens of times on my ages to be airy, puffy and delicately crispy, yet still way to Target, wondering if there was anything full of flavor. That flavor continues to the fish inbehind their doors worth exploring (like a tiny side, as the flaky white interior is peppered and Target, for example). There’s not much to encoursalted to perfection. Without a doubt, these are age making the turn into the strip mall—there’s the best fish tacos I’ve had in years. a thrift shop, a nail salon and quite a few vacant If you’re feeling famished after a long mornstorefronts. But step inside and you’ll find a busing paddling in the waves, or just need to refuel tling local favorite serving up fantastic seafood. after a long night playing Candy Crush Saga on Don’t let the quiet parking lot outside fool you. your iPad, loosen your belt and confidently order Inside, Mariscos Ensenada is hopping. On my the lobster and carne asada burrito. It’s massive, visit, a trio of energetic servers were constantly hot as lava and filled with turf, lots of surf and a moving, never resting, circling the dining room to bit more turf for good measure. check on patrons, wipe down tables and deliver Baja, I’m too lazy to come visit you in person, food. I was barely in the door before I was shown so until I put down the iPad and get motivated to a table and given a highchair for my tiny dining cross the border, I think I’ll be spending my summertime at Mariscos Ensenada. companion. I hadn’t even put my bag down before I was brought water, chips and salsa.

Write to jennym@sdcitybeat.com The dining room was crowded with conand editor@sdcitybeat.com. struction workers and surfers and families out

north

fork

12 · San Diego CityBeat · July 17, 2013

no life

offline

by dave maass

Fulfilling the fantasy fandoms The full reach of a fantasy franchise isn’t measured in DVDs sold or tie-in freebies distributed with fast-food meals. A series’ success is a collaboration between the ingenuity of the creators and engagement of the fans. You can only begin to grok the impact of a pop culture property when you set out to map the web of fantasy across the Internet, including official pages and social-media sites, as well as the independent worlds created by geeks through fan sites and fan fiction and inspired hand-knitted goods.

As Comic-Con descends on the Gaslamp, let’s assess three of the most prominent fantasy realms:

HPA plane to Haiti

The Hobbit / The Lord of the Rings By the numbers: 1.8 million Facebook likes, 4,687 Wikia pages, 43,893 stories at FanFiction.net.

TheHobbit.com, the official site of Peter Jackson’s three-part epic, is nothing to scribe into your furry-footed memoirs. But if you were to write a “There and Back Again,” it would read something like this: Loaded URL, automatic YouTube trailer played, watched it, shrugged, went to the rest of the site, got bored, moved on to Facebook.

The Hobbit’s Facebook page (facebook.com/ TheHobbitMovie), on the other hand, is a goblin’s hoard of fan treasures, with regular photo leaks and behind-the-scenes video casts featuring Jackson himself.

In the latest video, however, Jackson apologizes to the fan base for balking at the opportunity to preview footage of Part 2 of the trilogy at ComicCon, leaving it to the fans to entertain themselves.

And the fans are taking up the call with “An Unofficial Sneak Peek of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug with TheOneRing.net,” with writers from the site offering the latest “rumors, spy reports, conjecture, inside info, debunking, and lively debate,” (5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 18, Room 6A). As of this writing, 912 conventioneers have RSVP’d to the panel on Comic-Con’s website.

Bonus sites: TheOneRing.net is the fandom’s primary hang out, but also check out Lordofthe ringsswords.com (obviously, the place to buy film-inspired blades) and LibraryofMoria.com, the 11-year-old archive of LOTR slash fiction.

Harry Potter By the numbers: 63.3 million Facebook likes, 11,066 Wikia pages, 508,000 stories at FanFiction. net, plus another 80,000 stories at HarryPotter FanFiction.com.

Although J.R.R. Tolkien had 60 years on J.K. Rowling, somehow the Harry Potter series has amassed a more colossal active fan base—in part because of the far more robust web presence. Although the film series finished in 2011 with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows—Part 2, the Harry Potter films’ Facebook page (facebook.com/ harrypottermovie) remains extremely active.

More impressively, the website for the full series, harrypotterwizardscollection.com, is controlled not by mouse click, but by wand-gesture that actually takes a bit of practice and skill to master.

Unlike most fandoms, the Potterheads are also socially conscious, with the HP Alliance raising money for Haiti relief, conducting book drives for impoverished areas in Mississippi and Rwanda and petitioning Warner Brothers to ethically source Harry Potter-themed chocolate.

At Comic-Con this year, the fans, including representatives from the HP Alliance and the International Quidditch Association, are running a panel called “Harry Potter: Still Magic!” (4:15 to 5 p.m. Sunday, July 21, Room 6DE). Almost 450 fans have RSVP’d.

Bonus sites: Alivans.com is a great site for picking up wands, Mugglenet.com is a great fan site and Google Maps just added a Street View for Diagon Alley, currently housed at Warner Bros.

Studio in London.

Game of Thrones By the numbers: 6.6 million Facebook likes, 1,812 Wikia pages, 818 stories at FanFiction.net.

HBO has a long way to go to promote its series, based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Fire and Ice series, but it would be well worth its while, considering that it topped TorrentFreak’s list of 10 most downloaded (read: pirated) TV shows. The official site (hbo.com/game-of-thrones) is filled with quality video content, but it’s more boilerplate than innovative. However, it works in the show’s favor that it’s consistently maintained a Comic-Con presence, with this year’s “Game of Thrones Panel and Q&A Session” (2:50 to 3:45 p.m. Friday July 19, Hall H) featuring Peter Dinklage and a bunch of other cast members who aren’t quite as cool as Peter Dinklage. A full 2,800 fans have RSVP’d.

Bonus sites: Winteriscoming.net is the top fan site, and the official licensed seller of blades is valyriansteel.com.

Write to davem@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

July 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 13

the

SHORTlist

From left: Will Larche, Anthony Napoletano, Shannon Amiry and Douglas Goodhart

1

OH, DR. ZAIUS!

From its damn-perfect score by Danny Elfman to songs like “Monorail,” sung to the tune of “Ya Got Trouble” from The Music Man (“Well, sir, there’s nothing on Earth like a genuine, bona fide, electrified, six-car monorail!”), The Simpsons is a cartoon-loving, musical-theater-nerd’s dream.

Enter Will Larche, founder of the quartet We Put the Spring in Springfield: The Music of the Simpsons. Currently based in New York, the four friends— Larche, Anthony Napoletano, Douglas Goodhart and Shannon Amiry—met while attending Boston Conservatory, where they studied musical theater.

2

CON-EDY

A great Comic-Con side effect is the killer comedy shows that roll through town.

Here are three guaranteed laugh riots: The hilarious comedy podcast and TV show, Comedy Bang! Bang! With Scott Aukerman, is doing a live performance at House of Blues (1055 Fifth Ave., Downtown) on Wednesday, July 17. Tickets are $20 to $25 ZACH KLEIN at houseofblues.com. Take in some geek vaudeville at W00tstock 5.0, featuring nerd icons Wil Wheaton, Adam Savage and Paul and Storm, on Thursday, July 18, at Balboa Theater (868 Fourth Ave., Downtown).

Buy tickets through ticketmaster.com. Finally, standup comedian Patton Oswalt will do two shows, 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 20, at SpreckPatton Oswalt els Theater (121 Broadway, Downtown). The shows will be taped for his new live special, so laugh extra loud. spreckels.net

14 · San Diego CityBeat · July 17, 2013

ART

COORDINATED BY ALEX ZARAGOZA Larche says he came up with the idea for a cabaret-style show of Simpsons music a few years ago.

Though the music to most of the songs hadn’t been published, with his musical training, some DVDs and a piano, he could figure them out on his own.

“It was great,” he laughs.

“There was three months of watching The Simpsons.”

The result is a 50-minute show that covers 72 songs—from “Monorail” to “Sending Our Love Down the Well” to “Dr. Zaius.”

“Shannon and I worked together to make the songs go together in a flow—to make a whole evening out of it,” Larche says. “This is the country-western section, this is the politics section.”

There’s even a surprise from a deleted scene

Larche found on a DVD. “We mostly focus on the songs from probably the first decade,” says Larche, whose favorite song is “Testify” from the episode where Bart becomes a faith healer, “because we understand that the audience who’s going to come see our show is really interested in the nostalgia aspect of it.”

The group’s performing as part of the official Simpsons 25-year-anniversary panel at Comic-Con and will also have two performances on Saturday, July 20, at 5:30 and 9 p.m., at the C3 Performing Arts Center, 4579 Mission Gorge Place in Mission Valley.

Tickets are $25 and available at brownpapertickets. com/event/412232.

3

YOU KNOW—FOR KIDS!

Since debuting in 1992, Cartoon Network has become much more than a source of children’s entertainment, thanks to the often-adultthemed, stoner-friendly programming of its Adult Swim shows. Yet, at the New Children’s Museum, Cartoon Network is offering families a more kidfriendly cartoon experience during Comic-Con with The Regular Show Regular Zone. With inspiration taken from the Emmy-winning cartoon Regular Show, the exhibit will feature ’80s-style arcade games, games inspired by Cartoon Network’s Regular Show itself, neon exhibition at NCM lighting and giant inflatable characters Rigby and Mordecai. It happens from Thursday, July 18, to Sunday, July 21, at The New Children’s Museum (200 W. Island Ave., Downtown).

Admission is free. thinkplaycreate.org

HTr!ckst3r at Space 4 Art, 325 15th St., East Village. The design group from Berkeley presents an exhibition work by their cadre of artists. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, July 17-20, sdspace4art.org Open at Caffe Calabria, 3933 30th St., North Park. Nine Southern Californian artists display their contemporary work. At 7 p.m. Thursday, July 18, facebook.com/ events/273227872820025 El Caballo: The Horse in Mexican Folk Art at Joe & Vi Jacobs Center, 404 Euclid Ave., Chollas View. More than 70 artworks on loan from ExhibitsUSA as well as paintings for purchase by Jonathan Saenz.

From 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, July 18, theccca.eventbrite.com Celebrate Change at Cirello Gallery, 3803 Ray St., North Park. The gallery’s changing things up and will be offering artwork at 30 percent off. From 7 to 10 p.m.

Thursday, July 18. cirellogallery.com Folk Art: Innocence and Simplicity at David Alan Collection, 241 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. A collection of artwork gathered throughout Asia over the past six years. On view through Aug. 18. From 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, July 18. 858-481-8044, thedavidalancollection.com Objects in Landscapes at San Diego Art Department, 3830 Ray St., North Park.

Artists Frol Boundin, Lauren Greenwald and Aaron Ishaeik depict landscapes through paintings, photography, video and printmaking. From 4 to 9 p.m. Friday, July 19. 619-299 4278, facebook.com/ events/116891975187771 Steam Worlds Fair at ArtLab Studios, 3536 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Gaslight Gathering invites attendees to a night of entertainment, vendors and steam-punk themed artwork. From 6 to 11 p.m. Friday, July 19. 619 283 1151, artlabca.com HHarsh Park at TFR Gallery, 1026 N. Coast Hwy., Encinitas. A solo-exhibition featuring new ink works from Brooklynbased artist, writer and curator Louis Schmidt. On view through Aug. 11. From 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, July 19. 760-487-1676, tfrgallery.com Art in Bloom at Spanish Village Art Center, 1770 Village Place, Balboa Park. Visit 37 artist studios and see floral arrangements inspired by original art. Live music and refreshments at the reception. On view through July 21. Opening from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, July 19. 619-702-8006, spanishvillageart.com HKimono Ink: The Art of the Tattoo at Exclusive Collections Gallery, 568 Fifth Ave., Downtown. Hisashi Otsuka merges East and West in his art via a new series based on traditional tattoo design. RSVP: 800-204-0062 or pr@ecgallery.com From 6 to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, July 19-20. ecgallery.com HHats Off to Dr. Seuss at Legends Gallery, 1205 Prospect St., Ste. B, La Jolla.

Celebrate the 75th anniversary of Dr. Seuss’ book The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins and view never-before-seen paintings and hats from his personal collection. On view through Aug. 4. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, July 20. 858456-9900, legendsgallerylajolla.com Le Obelisque at Voz Alta, 1754 National Ave., Barrio Logan. A group art exhibition that celebrates the male form. At 6 p.m.

Saturday, July 20. 619-230-1869, facebook.com/events/141169899411102 Life is a Circus at Next Door Gallery, 2963 Beech St., Golden Hill. Using vivid color, collage and found objects, artist Lupita Shahbazi captures her Catholic up-

bringing and dreamlike circus scenes. On display through Sept. 15. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, July 20. 619-2336679, studiomaureen.com Inside/Out Artist Talk at Expressive Arts @ 32nd & Thorn streets, North Park. Hear from artists Michele Molina, Brian Driggers, Kathleen Bergen and others about their artistic inspiration centered on the issues women face behind bars. From 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday, July 20, expressiveartssandiego.com Expressions in Glass at Front Porch Gallery, 2903 Carlsbad Blvd., Carlsbad. The Art Glass Association of Southern California displays select hand-blown bowls, fused glass jewelry and other delicate sculptures.

On view through Sept. 15. Opening from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday, July 21. 760-7956120, frontporchgallery.org HAnarchy in Artistry at Basic, 410 10th Ave., Downtown. A punk-rock-inspired art show with loud energetic music to match.

From 7 p.m. to midnight. Tuesday, July 23. 619-531-8869, barbasic.com

BOOKS Aisha Tyler at Barnes & Noble Mira Mesa, 10775 Westview Pkwy., Mira Mesa.

Meet the actress and comedian as she signs copies of her new book Self-Inflicted Wounds: Heartwarming Tales of Epic Humiliation. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 17.

858-684-3166, store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/80910 Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. The authors discuss their erotic novels Beautiful Bastard, Beautiful Stranger and Beautiful Bitch. At 7 p.m. Thursday, July 18.

858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com Chris Bohjalian at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. New York Times bestselling author discusses and signs his latest novel The Light in the Ruins. Reserved seating is available, call ahead for details. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 18.

858-454-0347, warwicks.indiebound.com Sarah Bates at Upstart Crow, 835 West Harbor Drive, Seaport Village. The military action novelist discusses and signs her latest release Twenty-One Steps of Courage. At 8 p.m. Thursday, July 18. 619232-4855, upstartcrowtrading.com Daisy Prescott, S.L. Scott, J.M. Darhower and Ruth Clampett at Upstart Crow, 835 West Harbor Drive, Seaport Village. Indie women authors share and sign their work. At 5 p.m. Friday, July 19. 619232-4855, upstartcrowtrading.com Write On, Oceanside at Oceanside Public Library, Oceanside. A free book fair celebrating Oceanside authors. From 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 20. 760-435-5560, oceansidepubliclibrary.org HAmy Finley at Georgina Cole Library, 1250 Carlsbad Village Drive, Carlsbad.

The chef and author of How to Eat a Small Country: A Family’s Pursuit of Happiness, One Meal at a Time discusses her book.

From 11 a.m. to noon. Saturday, July 20. facebook.com/howtoeatasmallcountry The Humanism of Doctor Who at Rancho Bernardo Library, 17110 Bernardo Center Drive, Rancho Bernardo. Join professor David Layton in an analysis of his book The Humanism of Doctor Who: A Critical Study in Science Fiction and Philosophy. From 1:30 to 3 p.m. Sunday, July 21. 619 9525353, Meetup.com/HumanistFellowship Weekend with Locals: Matt Coyle at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. Warwick’s hosts the murder novel-

ist as he discusses Yesterday’s Echo. At noon Sunday, July 21. 858-454-0347, warwicks.indiebound.com Bibi Kasrai at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. Founder of Harvard Cookin’ Girl talks about and signs her new food memoir The Spice Whisperer. At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 23. 858-454-0347, warwicks.indiebound.com Meg White Clayton at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The author discusses her novel The Wednesday Daughters, about mothers, daughters and the secrets they share. At 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, July 24. 858-454-0347, warwicks.indiebound.com

COMEDY

The Walking Dead Escape at Petco Park, Park & Imperial, Downtown. Experience the Apocalypse and climb, slide or crawl your way through the Evac Zone.

Clear quarantine or watch from the sidelines. $20-$75. From 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, July 19-20, thewalkingdeadescape.com The Haunted Hotel at Gaslamp Quarter, Downtown. No, it’s not Halloween, it’s Comic-Con. Get scared at one of four locations. (See website.) . At 7 p.m. Friday, July 19. $15-$17. 619-233-5227, hauntedhotel.com Drunkards & Dragons at Moniker Warehouse, 705 16th St., East Village. Role-playing improv show that doubles as a drinking game. Crowd chooses which heroes and villains the players act out for each skit.

From 9 to 11 p.m. Friday, July 19. $10.

619-306-6047, finestcityimprov.com The Record Keeper Trailer Launch Party at Gaijin Noodle and Sake House, 627 Fourth Ave., Downtown. Dress up as your favorite villain, rub elbows with fellow steampunks and pop-culture icons before catching the trailer screening. At 10 p.m.

Friday, July 19. $20. 619-238-0567 , theangels-are-coming.ticketleap.com Geek Rock at The Merrow, 1271 University Ave., Hillcrest. Comic book vixens Nerf Herder, Kirby Krackle and H2Awesome host the party with Jessabelle Thunder dressed as Storm and Olivia Bellafontaine as The Baroness. At 8 p.m. Friday, July 19. $20. 619-299-7372, facebook.com/ events/524529817600674 XX Girls at McFadden’s Restaurant and

Saloon, 731 Fifth Ave., Downtown. Join the popular cosplay icons for a night of drinking and video gaming. At 7 p.m. Friday, July 19. 818-761-6870, mcfaddenssandiego.com Hotline Comic-Con at 1401 E St., Downtown. A party inspired by the indie game “Hotline Miami” with headlining Australian disco group Miami Horror. Stick around and comic creator Hustlehoff might just draw the zombified version of your face At 8:30 p.m. Friday, July 19. $15. 818-7616870, oheyemusing.ticketsocket.com Nerdcore Hip Hop at The Merrow, 1271 University Ave., Hillcrest. Star Girls MegaRan, DualCore, Wordburglar and Danimal Cannon host the party with Olivia Bellafontaine as Princess Leia and Jessabelle Thunder as The Imperial Officer. At 8 p.m.

Saturday, July 20. $20. 619-299-7372, facebook.com/events/194915457340361 HHeroes Brew Festival at Embarcadero Marina Park North, Downtown. A superhero-themed craft-beer fest that features live music and, of course, beer. Proceeds benefit San Diego Coastkeeper.

VIP ($60) gets early admission at noon.

From 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 20. $40, heroesbrewfest.com HWe Put the Spring in Springfield: The Music of The Simpsons at C3 Performing Arts Center, 4579 Mission Gorge, Mission Valley. Hear all your fave Simpsons tunes in this cabaret-style show. At 5:30 and 9 p.m. Saturday, July 20. $25. brownpapertickets.com/event/412232

CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

Ben Gleib at Mad House Comedy Club, 502 Horton Plaza, Downtown. Voice of Marshall the Sloth in Ice Age: Continental Drift and standup regular on the Chelsea Lately Show performs. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 17. $15. 619-702-6666, madhousecomedyclub.com Totally Biased at House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., Downtown. Writers from the FX comedy series and Kamau Bell stop in San Diego as part of their 10-city stand up tour. At 7 p.m. Friday, July 19. 619-299BLUE, houseofblues.com Erik Knowles at Mad House Comedy Club, 502 Horton Plaza, Downtown. See the stand-up comedian who’s opened for the likes of Sarah Silverman, Pauly Shore, Zach Galifianakis and others. At 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. Friday, July 19. $15. 619-7026666, madhousecomedyclub.com Bo Burnham at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Downtown. Comedian, singersongwriter, musician, actor and internet celebrity performs politically incorrect songs.

At 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 19. $30. 619-5701100, sandiegotheatres.org/bo-burnham Key & Peele at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Downtown. Long-time comedy partners and MadTV stars perform stand up. At 7 p.m. Saturday, July 20. $35. 619-570-1100, sandiegotheatres.org

COMIC-CON Hello Kitty Fashion Music Wonderland at Petco Park, Park & Imperial, Downtown.

Sanrio makes its debut at Comic-Con with an interactive zone featuring the whimsical characters of the popular brand and will offer one-of-a-kind items for sale. From 9:30 to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, July 18-21. 310-896-3271 Wyatt Earp’s Gaslamp ‘n Gambling Walking Tour at William Heath Davis House, 410 Island Ave., Downtown. An excursion through the Gaslamp stomping grounds of the original Western super hero who came to San Diego in 1885 to make his fortune. Tours begin at the small park at Fourth and Island avenues. At 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, July 18-20. $20-$25. 619-2334692, gaslampquarter.org Gam3rCon at 10th Avenue Theater, 930 10th Ave., Downtown. Gamers unite to play activities ranging from the earliest tradition of dice to the latest in digital gaming. Also enjoy live concerts and art exhibitions. From 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday through Sunday, July 18-21. $20. 619920-8503, gam3rcon.com Video Game Tournament at McFadden’s Restaurant and Saloon, 731 Fifth Ave., Downtown. GamerLabz provides retro video games like Mario Kart and Donkey Kong to entice Comic-Con attendees to compete for a $500 dollar prize. From 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, July 18. 818-7616870, mcfaddenssandiego.com

July 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 15

Robert Williams Mr. Bitchin’ at Marriott Hotel and Marina, 333 W. Harbor Drive, Downtown. Catch the documentary about the artist who got his start in the underground comic movement with Zap Comix and his Coochy Cooty character. A Q&A with the artist follows the film. At 4:10 p.m.

Saturday, July 20, mrbitchin.com Nerdy but Nice at Claire de Lune, 2906 University Ave., North Park. An after-party with a cabaret performance by Pretty Poison Burlesque and live music from Ghost of the Robot featuring James Marsters from TV’s Buffy and Angel. At 7 p.m. Saturday, July 20. 619-688-9845, brownpapertickets.com/event/418186 Gotham Girls at Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave., Bay Park. Yadi presents a burlesque show with dancers Angie Cakes, Fe-

ver Blister, Holly Go Darkly, Fleur Mystique and Marie Jo. At 8 p.m. Saturday, July 20. $12-$15. 619-275-5483, brickbybrick.com

DANCE Summer Dance Explosion at Mira Costa College Theatre, 1 Barnard Drive, Oceanside. See several premiere works by choreographers Teresa Avina, Aubri Siebert and Sadie Weinberg, including a celebration of the 150th anniversary of Rite of Spring.

At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 18. $8-$12.

760-754-9686, miracosta.edu Danza Mexi’cayotl at Casa Familiar, 212 East Park Ave., San Ysidro. Dancers from Mexico and the U.S. participate in dance ceremonies to honor their elders. At 6 p.m.

Friday, July 19, and 8 p.m. Saturday, July

20. 760-754-9686, aguila-blanca.com/mexicailhuitl.htm Dvayam at Saville Theater @ San Diego City College, 1313 Park Blvd., Downtown.

Divya Devaguptapu performs Indian classical dances that represent the dualities of life. From 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday, July 21.

619-388-3037, divyadevaguptapu.com Danza Mexi’cayotl at Chicano Park, National Avenue and S. Evans Street, Barrio Logan. Dancers from Mexico and the U.S. participate in dance ceremonies to honor their elders. At noon Sunday, July 21.

760-754-9686, aguila-blanca.com/mexicailhuitl.htm

FASHION Strut at Marriott Del Mar, 11966 El Camino

Real, Del Mar. Check out six ready-to-wear collections and a pop-up beauty boutique while enjoying happy hour hors d’oeuvres.

From 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, July 17.

858-369-6032, strutsd.eventbrite.com Champagne & Cupcakes Summer Soiree at Capricorn Boutique, 5544 La Jolla Blvd., Ste. B, La Jolla. Preview new fashions and get 10 percent off your purchase while enjoying Sprinkles Cupcakes. From 3 to 6 p.m. Friday, July 19. 858-382-2442, capricornboutique.com Fashion Whore at Analog, 801 Fifth Ave., Downtown. MayStar hosts a fashion show with designers Monster Kills, Gioia’s Room Boutique, Haus of Flash and Sarra’s Petals. Frmo 8 to 10 p.m. Saturday, July 20, facebook.com/events/142784512593361 Styling Seminar at To Hell in a Handbag,

3302 32nd St., San Diego, North Park. Figure out what looks best on your body type and get advice from store experts. From 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Saturday, July 20. $10.

858-729-4786, tohellinahandbag.co

FOOD & DRINK Taste of Critics Challenge at 57 Degrees Wine Bar, 1735 Hancock St., Middletown. Sample winning wines from the 10th annual Critics Challenge International Wine Competition. From 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, July 21. $40-$50. 619-886.7924, localwineevents.com/events/detail/473144 Making Mozzarella & Ricotta at Venissimo Cheese, 871 G St., Downtown. Chef Jack Fisher of Cucina Urbana demonstrates how to make cheese while you sample treats and wine. From 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 23. $50. 619-3589081, venissimo.com

HEALTH & WELLNESS Ask the Sexologist at Deja Vu Love Boutique, 2130 Industrial Court, Vista. Stop by and ask on-site experts your raunchiest questions. From 8 to 10 p.m. Friday, July 19. 760-598-5889, dejavuloveboutiquevista.com

MUSIC Francesca Amari at Martinis Above Fourth, 3940 Fourth Ave., Hillcrest. A musical tribute to Gilda Radner and her battle with cancer. At 8 p.m. Thursday, July 18. $15-$20. 619-400-4500, martinisabovefourth.com/francescaamari Summer in the Park at Trolley Barn Park, 1998 Adams Ave., University Heights. The free weekly concert series hosts Theo and the Zydeco Patrol. Bring your picnic basket and lawn chairs. From 6 to 8 p.m.

Friday, July 19. 619-274-8010. uhcdc.org Dinner and a Concert at Prescott Promenade, East Main Street, El Cajon. The free weekly concert series hosts swing group, Downbeat Big Band. From 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, July 19. 619-401-8858, downtownec.com Global Spotlight Concert Series at Museum of Making Music, 5790 Armada Drive, Carlsbad. Stella Chiweshe, the Queen of Zimbabwean Mbira Music, recreates popular and traditional songs on her mbira. At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 20. $15-$20. 760-438-5996, museumofmakingmusic.org HAthenaeum Summer Festival at Scripps Ranch Institute, 10640 John Jay Hopkins Drive, La Jolla. Celebrated pianist Gustavo Romero performs works by composers Maurice Ravel and Sergei Rachmaninoff. At 4 p.m. Sunday, July 21. $35$50. 858-459-3728, ljathenaeum.org Adrienne Nims & Spirit Wind at Georgina Cole Library, 1250 Carlsbad Village Drive, Carlsbad. The ensemble performs contemporary jazz and global music. At 2 and 3 p.m. Sunday, July 21. 760-6022020, carlsbadca.gov International Summer Organ Festival at Spreckels Organ Pavilion, Balboa Park.

Civic organist Carol Williams performs as part of the free concert series. At 2 p.m.

Sunday, July 21, sosorgan.org/news.htm Twilight in the Park at Spreckels Organ Pavilion, Balboa Park. International Youth Symphony performs under the direction of Jeff Edmons. At 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 23.

619-233-3232. Free. sdys.org The Low Frequency Ensemble at Space 4 Art, 325 15th St., East Village. An

16 · San Diego CityBeat · July 17, 2013

THEATER When wedding protocol goes out the window Perhaps it’s because weddings are so grounded in decorum that playwrights and screenwriters and dinner-theater producers are compelled to hurl them into chaos. They take a day in which it’s critical that everything goes right and wring laughter from it by having everything go wrong.

What a scream!

So, we have British actor / playwright Robin Hawdon’s Perfect Wedding, on stage at North Coast Repertory Theatre. Matthew Wiener, who directed an uproarious Lend Me a Tenor at the Solana Beach theater two years ago, is at the helm again. But this full-volume farce is nowhere near as appealing. Perfect Wedding has the same scrambling about the stage from room to room, mistaken identities and frozen double takes as Tenor, and the pace is just as appropriately frantic, so why does it all become so exhausting?

The serpentine story line for a start. Groomto-be Bill (Christopher M. Williams, Max in that 2011 Lend Me a Tenor) wakes up on the morning of his wedding day in bed with Judy (Brenda Dodge), whom he doesn’t remember falling into the sack with the night before. Best man Tom (Jason Maddy) arrives and is wheedled by a hyperventilating Bill into pretending, for the sake of about-to-arrive bride-to-be Rachel (Amanda Schaar), that the strange girl belongs to him. Only Tom mistakes the chambermaid (Kerry McCue) for the strange girl, not knowing that the real strange girl is his actual date for the wedding. In spite of all these hapless complications, it basically turns out to be a bug-eyed game of hide and seek: Hide the bad girl from the good girl. Or is it the good girl from the bad girl? Oh, to hell with it.

Kudos to the cast for its nonstop energy throughout. McCue, as the maid drawn into the mess armed only with a toilet brush, is the clear audience favorite, though her eye-rolling is overworked (but less so than Linda Van Zandt’s fingernails-on-chalkboard “Here Comes the Bride” refrain—one time would have been enough from the mom-of-the-bride character).

Perfect Wedding rises above its imperfections based on its sweetness and cuteness, and even with a rumpled bridal-suite bed on stage the whole time, the tale is never very risqué. It beats going to

COURTESY: NORTH COAST REPERTORY THEATRE

Christopher M. Williams and Brenda Dodge a real wedding, unless, of course, it’s your own.

Perfect Wedding runs through Aug. 11 at North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach. $37$54. northcoastrep.org

—David L. Coddon Write to davidc@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

NOW PLAYING A Bench in the Sun: Two elderly men join forces with a former actress to save their retirement home. Through July 21 at Broadway Theatre in Vista. broadwayvista.com Out on a Limb: A performance of three one-act plays by emerging San Diego playwrights: Tim West’s Blackout at Battery Cliff, Emily Sperling’s Mermaids and Steven Oberman’s A Slip from Reality. Through July 21 at Scripps Ranch Theatre. scrippsranchtheatre.org Tribes: A deaf man raised in a hearing family meets a woman who was raised by deaf parents and is going deaf herself.

Through July 21 at La Jolla Playhouse. lajollaplayhouse.com Carnival: An orphan named Lili joins the circus and becomes the object of an unhappy puppeteer’s affection. Through Aug. 4 at Coronado Playhouse. coronadoplayhouse.com It’s Just Sex: Three couples get together for some drinks, and, wouldn’t you know it, the inevitable spouse swapping ensues. Through Aug. 10 at OnStage Playhouse in Chula Vista. onstageplayhouse.org

For full listings, please visit T heater ” at sdcit yb eat.com

acoustic performance by Aubrey Foard, Jory Herman, Nicolee Kuester, Eric Starr and Leyla Zamora. At 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 24. $10-$20. sdspace4art.org

and older prove they’ve still got it through dance numbers, duets, comedy routines and more. At 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, July 18-21. $2040. 619-588-0206, cytsandiego.org

OUTDOORS

West Coast Cabaret at Queen Bee’s, 3925 Ohio St., North Park. Breanna Landers and her Cabarettes perform alongside the Todd A. Davidson Quintet. At 7 p.m. Friday, July 19. $15-$50. westcoastcabaret.com

Tsunami Sweepers Cleanup at Torrey Pines State Park, 12600 North Torrey Pines Road. I Love San Diego hosts a beach cleanup in anticipation of debris from the 2011 Japanese tsunami. From 10 a.m. to noon. Saturday, July 20. 619407-2778, cleansd.org Golden Hill Mini-CicloSDias at Thomas Bike Shop, 1635 Fern St., South Park. Bike Local Sunday hosts a fun ride through Golden Hill Park. At 10:45 a.m. Sunday, July 21. 619-232-0674, bikelocal.org

PERFORMANCE Senior Follies Broadway Babies at Lincoln Performing Arts Center, 4777 Imperial Ave., Lincoln Park. Performers age 55

Wilde Wilde West Speakeasy 1882 at The Hole, 2820 Lytton St., Midway. Audience members are encouraged to come dressed as their favorite Oscar Wilde character as the Chronos Theatre Group performs snippets of his work. From 6 p.m. to midnight. Saturday, July 20. $5. 619356-1492, chronostheatre.com HCircusMania! at Victory Theater, 2558 Imperial St., Logan Heights. Circus arts, acrobatics, beauty and danger. Featuring the talents of Ron Lindley, Surly Gurly, Dr. Techno and the rest of the Technomaniacs. At 8 p.m. Saturday, July 20. $8. 619236-1971, technomaniacircus.com

HParticular Proposition at Space 4 Art, 325 15th St., East Village. A new dance series curated by Katie Lorge includes work

by Eric Geiger and Blair Robert Nelson. At 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, July 20-21, sdspace4art.org

POETRY & SPOKEN WORD Poetry Ruckus at Ducky Waddle’s Emporium, 414 N. Coast Hwy. 101, Encinitas.

Old Hermit Dave performs. Email ruthlesshippies@gmail.com to be added to the performance roster. At 7 p.m. Friday, July 19. 760-632-0488, duckywaddles.com

POLITICS & COMMUNITY San Diego Debate Club at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, 2121 San Diego

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18 July 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 17

From 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, July 19. $8-$15. sdspace4art.org/2013/05/july-19-2013 HBoulevard Nights This block party highlights businesses along El Cajon Boulevard, between 30th and Kansas streets and includes shopping, art and food at local businesses along the way, including Coffee and Tea Collective, The Homebrewer and others. From 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, July 20. 619-239-0003, theboulevard.org

SPORTS

This portrait of Truman Capote by Arnold Newman is part of Arnold Newman: Masterclass, a exhibition of photographs on view through Sept. 8 at the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park.

Ave., Old Town. A four-on-four panel debate with audience participation on the topic: “Should Undocumented Workers Receive ‘Amnesty?’” From 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Friday, July 19. 619-384-4343, meetup. com/The-San-Diego-Debate-Club

SPECIAL EVENTS Cajon Classic Cruise at Prescott Promenade, East Main St., El Cajon. The weekly car show attracts over 200 model and classic vehicles. This week’s theme: Off Road Madness. From 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 17. 619-401-8858, downtownec.com Walter Robotics Expo at Four Point Sheraton, 8110 Aero Drive, Kearny Mesa.

Mad scientists and engineers are invited to

18 · San Diego CityBeat · July 17, 2013

showcase their creations and inventions.

There will be multiple vendors to peruse and live music. At 3 p.m. Thursday, July 18. $25. 858-277-8888, brownpapertickets.com/event/382220 Early Evening at Mingei International Museum, Balboa Park. Celebrate the culture and cuisine of Tijuana and the Guadalupe Valley with food by Chef Julian Plascencia and sounds from Roberto Salomon, wines from the Guadalupe Valley and more.

From 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, July 19. 619239-0003, mingei.org Film Consortium at Space 4 Art, 325 15th St., East Village. Network with visiting filmmakers, animators and artists in an event to promote independent cinema. The Lost Abbey and Epic Eats provide beer and food.

Am Slam Skateboard Series at YMCA Misson Valley, 5505 Friars Road, Mission Valley. An amateur skateboarding contest designed to give local talent an opportunity to compete for cash prizes and trophies. At 10 a.m. Saturday, July 20, sundiego.com

TALKS & DISCUSSIONS Jack McCoy at California Surf Museum, 312 Pier View Way, Oceanside. Hear from the legendary filmmaker before he’s inducted into Huntington Beach’s Surfing Walk of Fame later this month. At 7 p.m.

Wednesday, July 17. $10. californiasurfmuseum.com Elle Brooks at Ink Spot, 710 13th St., Downtown. Hear from one of the six writers chosen for the 2013 PEN Center USA Emerging Voices Fellowship. From 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, July 20, penusa.org/programs/emerging-voices

For full listings,

please visit “E vents” at sdcit yb eat.com

Breaking down the fantasy An inside look at the process of scoring Game of Thrones by

Kelly Davis

In early 2011, David Klotz got a phone call from his friend Ramin Djawadi, a TV and film composer who’d been brought in at the last minute to score a new HBO show called Game of Thrones. It’s not unusual for a composer to be allowed to pick his music editor, and Djawadi hoped Klotz would sign on— the two had worked together in the past, on A&E’s Breakout Kings, Fox’s Prison Break and a short-lived ABC show called FlashFoward.

Djawadi told Klotz the show’s basic premise.

“I was, like, ‘What is this? Dungeons and Dragons?” Klotz recalls, laughing. “The idea of it sounded awful.”

It only took seeing the first episode for Klotz to realize he’d landed a dream gig.

“I was completely blown away,” he says. “It’s the best show I’ve ever worked on, really.”

Heading into its fourth season, Game of Thrones is based on George R. R. Martin’s fantasy-novel series, A Song of Ice and Fire.

The books—and the show—follow several noble families as they struggle for control amid a Lord of the Rings-like medieval landscape.

Despite a complicated story line and Martin’s penchant for killing off his main characters, the show’s become HBO’s mostwatched series aside from The Sopranos.

And, Game of Thrones’ music has won a cult following of its own—from the epic theme song that’s been covered, remixed and even played from bell towers to Djawadi’s use of subtle, recurring musical cues to foreshadow, say, a mass slaughter or follow a character’s evolution; several characters have their own theme music.

“When certain characters cross paths,” Klotz says, “[Djawadi] can find a way to interweave the tunes together.”

Musical themes, then, provide a thread for the series and offer subtext to what’s happening on the screen. But it’s all very organic, never overt.

Klotz happens to be a longtime friend of mine whom I’ve known since he was music supervisor for the late-’90s / early’00s MTV show Undressed, a sex-charged, awkwardly acted soap opera. He went on to land music-editing gigs on shows like Tru Calling and Entourage. Currently, his time’s divided between Glee, American Horror Story and Game of Thrones.

Djawadi and the show’s creators, David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, have been interviewed plenty about Game of Thrones’ music, but I’m a bit of a behind-the-scenes geek: What’s the process that goes into the final product? So, while fans will be lining

David Klotz at work up outside Hall H on Friday afternoon for the show’s official panel, here’s a quick look at what goes into making Game of Thrones so aurally cool.

Scoring a Game of Thrones episode takes three weeks to a month from start to finish— longer than most TV shows. But, Klotz says, the approach to the music has always been more akin to a feature film than a TV show.

“Ramin… kind of wants to create themes in the sense that it’s a film,” he says. “The producers get it; they get how effective a really good underscore works, and they want to use it as best as possible to help tell the story.”

The process begins with a “spotting session,” where Klotz and Djawadi sit down with producers to watch an episode, which, at that point, doesn’t have any visual effects. They decide where the music’s going to go and how long a “cue”—a segment of the score— will last. For Season 3, Klotz and Djawadi watched all 10 episodes in December and January, which helped lay the groundwork for themes that might be expanded on as the season progressed, Klotz says.

“The producers will say, ‘Hey, in Episode 7, this theme needs to kind of come back and be revisited,’ and it’s easy for us to see that right away.”

It takes Djawadi a week or two to come up with an episode’s score. When it’s done,

they’ll sit down with the producers and watch the scored episode. “We’ll decide, ‘The big drums need to come in a beat later’ and that kind of stuff, or with the really dramatic stuff, we’ll want it to be bigger, or more horrifying.”

Once the score’s approved, Djawadi gives Klotz all the elements to mix—“all the drums, all the strings, all the brass, the choir, everything kind of split out,” he says.

“While we’re mixing,” Klotz says, “a lot of other decisions come up with sound-effects needing to cut through more or vice versa.”

In the sixth episode of Season 3, for instance, characters encounter an avalanche while climbing a wall of ice. The score and the sound of the avalanche were competing with each other, so Klotz had to figure out what to pull out of the mix. He does this via “stems,” which are basically the individual audio files—percussion, strings, bass, choir— for each component of the cue. The stems allow a music editor to remove an instrument or push it up or down in the mix. In the case of the avalanche scene, Klotz removed the low percussion sounds that were competing with the sound effects.

While Klotz is editing the music—he uses ProTools—other elements of the episode are being worked on, like visual effects. They might result in a scene being shortened, or

lengthened, or needing more impactful music, which means Klotz has to constantly adjust the cues or pull in something from a past episode that might fit better.

In another Season 3 episode, Gary Lightbody, the singer for indie band Snow Patrol, makes a brief appearance, leading a group of soldiers in a bawdy song, “The Bear and the Maiden Fair,” that recurs throughout the episode, culminating in a rather jarring rock version of the tune by The Hold Steady that accompanies the credits.

But, the song that ended up in the episode wasn’t the original version. By the time the episode got to the production stage, Benioff and Weiss decided it should have a different melody.

“So [Lightbody] had to re-sing it, and we had to cut [the track] to fit his mouth,” Klotz says.

It’s like piecing together a puzzle, only the shapes of the pieces keep changing.

“Even on the last day of the mix, we’ll get a new picture update and have to move everything around,” Klotz says. “It’s frustrating, but at the same time, it’s kind of like job security because someone’s gotta be here doing this.”

Write to kellyd@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

July 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 19

Under

the

Magic spell Isma Monfort / Flickr

A fantasy card game becomes a way of life by

Joshua Emerson Smith

Two straight-faced young men sit silently across from one another at a small table in a packed auditorium. Deftly, they shuffle and lay down cards featuring dark, artfully drawn creatures and complicated text. A crowd looks on as two announcers describe the action for Internet viewers using jargon so thick it’s practically impossible for the uninitiated to comprehend.

“Voice of Resurgence, Cartel Aristocrat, Blood Artist are the drops that he has, and he decides to lead with the Voice of Resurgence,” the play-by-play announcer says.

The color commentator replies, “Yeah, it’s interesting that he wants to lead that way, instead of starting with the Cartel Aristocrat to try to bait out a removal spell because his deck doesn’t play like a bluewhite-red flash deck would.”

The event is a recent Magic the Gathering Grand Prix tournament in Miami. thousands of people and awarding tens of It’s one of several such contests that hap- thousands of dollars in cash prizes. pen every year around the world, drawing Many of the tournament players rememcourtesy: Brian Kibler ber when Magic was brand new, the rules less defined, and the most one could hope to win was an opponent’s card anted up before a match at their mom’s kitchen table.

Today, the now-20-year-old game has spawned a lifestyle. People not only take home sizeable sums of money for doing well in tournaments but also for buying and selling the game’s more than 12,000 different cards. With at least 500 new Magic cards introduced annually, rare cards can fetch upwards of $1,000 each, industry professionals say.

In the run up to this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, rumors swirl of a collector’sedition five-card “Planeswalker” set available at the Hasbro booth. Whatever that means, card mongers have already posted presales of the set on eBay for more than $380.

At the same time, contest announcers Magic Hall of Famer Brian Kibler are paid for providing narrated video con-

20 · San Diego CityBeat · July 17, 2013

A 2011 Magic tournament in Barcelona tent to websites. Magic paraphernalia, such as specialized notebooks, have emerged on the scene. And writing strategy articles about the game also brings in some coin.

“The ability to be a pro Magic player is winning in tournaments and getting recognized enough that I can write for magazines and websites,” said competitive player Brian Kibler of Oceanside. “To this day, what enables someone to be a pro Magic player is the community around the game.”

Available in digital form, Magic the Gathering is played by more than 12 million people in more than 70 countries, according to creator company Wizards of the Coast.

The game’s complicated, ever-evolving rules have drawn a dedicated and brainy fan base. But, similar to high-stakes poker, the recent emergence of celebrity players has propelled Magic’s popularity.

Kibler is one of 33 players who’ve been inducted into the Magic Hall of Fame, which was created by Wizards of the Coast in 2005. He’s also ninth on the company’s

all-time-winnings list, having racked up more than $230,000 in tournament play.

“The Magic community has certainly grown,” he said. “There are far more people competing. The community is altogether more diverse. There’s a lot more female players.”

The 32-year-old started playing Magic in 1994, one year after its inception. Like many enthusiasts, during the next 15 years, he traveled the country, playing in tournaments and honing his skills. After a four-year hiatus, in 2009, Kibler returned to the game, partially lured by the challenge of breaking into the emerging cadre of elite players—but also because he embraces the Magic-player identity.

“I love the sense of community,” he said.

“There’s camaraderie and stories to tell. If people aren’t there to witness it, it gets lost over time.”

As Magic ages, so do its players, and many now share in the pride of passing on the game’s traditions and history to the next generation.

“There’s a specific texture to the com-

munity,” said Patrick Sullivan, 31, who freelances as a Magic announcer. “I started in press coverage getting referred to as oldschool in my late 20s. As the community’s grown and there’s new blood, I do feel a sense of ownership.”

While professionals cast spells at each other in huge tournaments in places such as Japan and Rome, hobbyists and neophytes compete at local comic book stores.

What’s become known as “Friday Night Magic” has provided a business opportunity for people such as Jesse Lopez, who

owns two card and comic-book stores in Riverside and San Marcos.

“I’ve been a seller and reseller of Magic cards since before I had a store,” the 31year-old said. “The growth is extreme. It’s something that has roots.”

Lopez also recently partnered in a company called Signin Blood Life, which sells Magic-themed T-shirts and notebooks.

In the company’s first three months, sales have done “extremely well,” he said.

“People wear our shirts so that when another player sees you, they know you play

Magic, but you’re not wearing a shirt that has a dorky wizard on it,” the merchant and casual Magic player said.

Fueled by the excitement of the Magic community, Kibler has also caught the entrepreneurial spirit. In 2010, he started a company with friends called Stone Blade Entertainment, which makes a fantasy card game called Ascension. His company has recently partnered with Magic creator Richard Garfield to make a digital card game called SolForge. In beta form now, the game is expected to be released this summer.

Innovation is Magic’s hallmark. Not only do players choose from hundreds of cards to assemble a uniquely personal deck, but, also, new cards and rules constantly shift the dynamics of the game. It’s this sense of possibility and imagination that’s kept the game fresh, Kibler said.

“The thing about Magic is that the game is constantly changing and challenging me in new ways.”

Write to joshuas@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

July 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 21

The

fantastic five

graphic novels of otherworldly nature without mentioning Must-read comic books and Gaiman’s brilliant Sandman series. It’s graphic novels for fantasy fans listed among literary classics as one of the by

Alex Zaragoza

The popularity of Game of Thrones sparked a renewed fervor for the fantasy genre that goes beyond LARPers swinging foam swords in the park. Dads, hipsters, nerds and everyone else lost their nuggets after (spoiler alert!) the bloodbath at the Red Wedding. For those who’ve devoured George R.R. Martin’s novels and the TV series they inspired and are thirsty for more fantasy reads, local experts recommend five fantasy comic books. Here they are, in no particular order: 1. Mage by Matt Wagner: Mage follows Kevin Matchstick, an alienated dude who meets a wizard named Mirth and discovers he possesses powers as well as a magical baseball bat that turns out to be Excalibur, the enchanted sword of King Arthur lore.

“I’ve always loved this comic,” says Patrick Yurick, co-creator of the web comic American Boom! and co-owner of Little Fish Comic Book Studio in Ocean Beach.

“I think I read that first when I was a kid.

It has all these old references to King Arthur, only in our world, and all these magical elements creeping into it.”

The series is available in trade paperbacks and in a hardcover book.

2. The Sandman by Neil Gaiman: You can’t talk great

22 · San Diego CityBeat · July 17, 2013

There are 19 trade paperbacks of each volume in the series and eight deluxe editions featuring multiple issues.

4. Grimm Fairy Tales by various writers and artists: Similar to Fables, the Grimm Fairy Tales series takes on classic stories and gives them a dark makeover.

That’s why Comickaze Comics, Books and More owner Robert Scott recommends them to fantasy fans.

“They’re entertaining stories, cool retellings, and the artwork is really dynamic,” he says. “They’re kind of breathing new life into stuff people have heard of but probably wouldn’t be interested in reading again.”

The publisher, Zenescope Entertainment, uses different writers and artists. There are currently 86 in publication with a new issue out every month.

5. Saga by Brian K. Vaughan: Fantasy and sci-fi literally make a baby in this series recommended by Frank Juliano, owner of San Diego Comics in the College Area. Saga revolves around an intergalactic couple who come from different alien races at war with one another. The lovers must flee from the galactic war with their newborn daughter to survive.

“It’s very well-written and very impressively drawn” by Fiona Staples, Juliano says.

“The themes are very much about love and family and what people are willing to do to protect their family. It seems to resonate with people.”

Single issues and collective editions of Saga are available.

best books of all time. That’s why Marilyn Goodman, owner of Hillcrest’s On Comic Ground, gave it a hearty recommendation.

“The writing makes it so good,” she says. “It’s definitely something that I think anybody can check out.”

The Sandman revolves around an anthropomorphic characterization of dreams, aptly named Dream, who’s imprisoned for 70 years and later seeks revenge on his captors. It’s a strange, mythological universe worth delving into.

There are 75 issues of The Sandman, with several collected editions available.

3. Fables by Bill Willingham: Ever wonder what it would be like if the characters from beloved storybooks walked among us? Bill Willingham did, and he shared his imaginings in Fables.

“It’s a really good read because it talks about your favorite fables, but now with them living in our society,” says Chris Mitchell, manager at Villainous Lair Comics in Normal Heights. “You see how they influence our history, and you see how our society has influenced them, so it’s kind of a cross-cultural examination Write to alexz@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcitybeat.com. of modern society.”

July 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 23

Occult medicine Botanica Mama Roots is San Diego’s friendly neighborhood magic shop by

Jeff Terich

A customer’s first visit to Botanica Mama Roots can be a slightly intimidating one. There’s a giant pentagram on the window, demon statuettes behind the counter, voodoo dolls on the wall and a glass case containing ornate daggers and swords.

Yet a closer browse through the shop reveals a more lighthearted tone—underneath the pentagram are tonguein-cheek signs that read “The Witch Is In” and “Neighborhood Witch.” Located in Normal Heights (3512 Adams Ave.), Botanica Mama Roots has established itself as San Diego’s friendly neighborhood magic and occult shop.

Yet when owner I-Star opened the shop in East Village in 1989, before relocating to Normal Heights 10 years later, it didn’t carry much in the way of oils, talismans or forbidden objects from places where men fear to tread.

“It started out as a reggae store,” I-Star says. “I sold music and eventually added items from the Caribbean and Africa, and it started to take on a life of its own.”

Now, 24 years later, Botanica Mama Roots carries a wide array of books, oils, powders and various objects used for ritual and magical purposes. Additionally, I-Star is a Santera—a priestess in the practice of Santeria—and gives

24 · San Diego CityBeat · July 17, 2013

readings in her shop by appointment.

The “botanica” in the shop’s name refers to a large selection of naturally grown items used for rituals, but a witch-in-training can spend an afternoon stocking up on other items, the most popular of which, I-Star says, are candles, incense and good-luck oils, a favorite for those headed to nearby casinos. However, Botanica Mama Roots offers items that appeal to a wide array of spiritual beliefs.

“Mostly people come with a spiritual purpose,” she says. “We cater to a variety of different religious practices—voodoo, Wicca, Santeria. We’re a supermarket for Pagan supplies.”

Keeping a business healthy for 24 years can be tricky in any industry, though with a niche outlet like Botanica Mama Roots, I-Star says, it’s important to embrace both diversity and honesty when it comes to your customers.

“It takes time to build up a clientele, but it helps to be versatile,” she says. “I just try to be as honest as I can. I’m not going to say that everything is going to work. I don’t guarantee anything.

“I tell people, ‘It works if you think it does.’”

Here is a selection of some of the most interesting items available at the shop.

Dragon’s Blood: A resin extracted from a variety of plants and available in powder, oil or incense form, used for power, purification, protection or consecration.

Haitian Dressed Coffin: An inch-long box resembling its namesake—supposedly inspired by a Haitian legend—which is used in spells to remove curses or banish negative energy.

Candice Eley

Botanica Mama Roots owner I-Star Grimoire of the Necronomicon: A book inspired by the fictional tome that appears in the works of H.P. Lovecraft, containing occult rituals for summoning the dead and the like.

Graveyard Dirt: A common ingredient in spells cast by Wicca or Voodoo practitioners, Graveyard Dirt can be applied to protection spells, tricking one’s enemies or in casting love spells.

Black Destroyer Oil: Though it comes in an unassuming vial, Black Destroyer Oil boasts some impressive power, supposedly used to destroy curses, hatred resentments, envy and any evil intentions.

Write to jefft@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

July 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 25

26 · San Diego CityBeat · July 17, 2013

seen local Art of the Con Comic-Con International is not only the perfect opportunity to pick up a special issue of your favorite comic, hear Ryan Reynolds recite the Green Lantern’s oath in a forced effort to prove his nerd cred or check out costumed geekery in its full glory; it also features talented artists from around the world displaying work in the main exhibitors hall and Artists’ Alley at the San Diego Convention Center. That includes many San Diego artists. Stop by these artists’ booths if you’re a Comic-Con badge-holder.

Little Fish Comics Studio (lilfish.us) will be at booth I-3. The small studio, owned by Patrick Yurick and Alonzo Nuñez, creators of the American BOOOM! web comic, will display pages of the comic and copies of Squids and Rainbows, a comic created by 14-year-old High Tech High School student Effren Villanueva. American BOOOM! (american. booom.us) is a location-specific superhero comic set in San Diego and Tijuana, with an interactive website map of locations characters have visited.

“We’re excited to showcase that and get it out there even though it’s still in its infancy,” Yurick says.

Artist Katherine Brannock (katherinebrannock. com) will display and sell copies of her first book, Katherine Brannock: Sketchbook Volume One, a collection of the 28-year-old’s Bic pen illustrations that we wrote about in May. She’ll also have original art, zines and T-shirts available at booth J-06. Stop by if you’re into whimsically dark and twisted art.

Randall Christopher is well-known for his Bear & Fox comic-book series (bearandfox.com), and the online animation series Kleeman and Mike (kleeman andmike.com). Stop by booth F-11 to see a bit of his work. If you’re lucky you might be able to catch Christopher for a chat—he’ll be on the move most of the weekend.

Cruise over to booth FF-01 to see works by Robert Aragon (aragonartstudio.com). He’ll promote a new trading-card set, The Art of Robert Aragon.

“It’s been 20 years as a pro, and thank goodness this new set released by mnscards.com is a beautiful way of celebrating it,” he says.

Aragon will also showcase original paintings (including his piece “In the Light,” seen here) and the cover art he created for a recent issue of Diabolique magazine.

Zombie lover Cindy Rodriguez (cindyrodriguez art.com) will have two display panels at the Comic-Con Art Show at the Convention Center’s Sails Pavilion. See works of zombie art inspired by her favorite show, The Walking Dead. She’s artist #77.

Outsider art Comic-Con isn’t the only place to check out cool comic art in San Diego during Con weekend (Thursday, July 18, through Sunday, July 21).

Numerous galleries will also host art shows that appeal to the geeky masses. Here are a few to check out if you find yourself without a Comic-Con badge or want a cultured break from the sweaty, claustrophobia-inducing exhibitors hall.

Comic-Con: From Mini-Con to

“In the Light” by Robert Aragon Mega-Con at the San Diego History Center (1649 El Prado in Balboa Park): This ongoing exhibition honors the history, growth and huge success of the annual convention, from its early days as a meet-up for devoted comic-book fans to its rise as a cultural phenomenon where Hollywood’s biggest stars pander to dweebs—in a good way, most of the time. See archival materials, ephemera and collectible items from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The exhibition runs through July 28. sandiegohistory.org Color of Comic Books Showcase at Raw Art Design (8650 Miramar Road in Miramar): Artist Rich Walker displays two floor-to-ceiling mosaic wall installations and 120 paintings that use a palette of traditional comic-book colors. The show runs daily from noon to 10 p.m. through July 23. rawartby richwalker.com Wonder Women: On Paper and Off at the Women’s Museum of California (2730 Historic Decatur Road, Barracks 16, in Point Loma’s Liberty Station).

Female comic-book characters are tough-as-nails badasses. Women creating comic books are just as bad-ass.

Celebrate the legacy and history of women in comics at this exhibition, which includes original artwork by Joyce Farmer, Mary Fleener, Carol Lay, Mimi Pond and Andrea Tsurumi. womensmuseumca.org TR!CKST3R at Space 4 Art (325 15th St. in East Village) The comic-arts group from Berkeley will showcase illustrations, art and design by more than 100 awesome artists from Wednesday, July 17, through Saturday, July 20, including Yuko Shimizu, Matt Wagner and Mike Mignola. sdspace4art.org Prism Comics 10th Anniversary Art Reception at Alexander Salazar Fine Art (640 Broadway, Downtown): Prism Comics, a nonprofit that supports LGBT comics, will hold an exhibition of works by San Diego’s Joe Phillips. An opening reception will go from 8 to 10 p.m. Friday, July 19.

Check out sdcitybeat.com/sandiego/canvassed for more ComicCon-related art shows.

“Hero Worship” by Joe Phillips will be on view in the Prism Comics exhibition

—Alex Zaragoza Write to alexz@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

July 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 27

French connections Work by Godard and Melville arrives on glorious 35mm

by Glenn Heath Jr. Each year, Comic-Con invades San Diego with such relentless force that the rest of the local arts community tends to get overshadowed. Don’t let that happen to Jean-Luc Godard’s Le Petit Soldat and Jean-Pierre Melville’s Un Flic, two classic French films opening for one week in glorious 35mm restorations on July Alain Delon in Un Flic 19 at the Ken Cinema. Their arrival is truly super.

Those new to the films of Godard, a key mem- their plans destroyed when one employee gets heroic. ber of the massively influential film movement “La After multiple minutes of near silent movement, the Nouvelle Vague” (The New Wave), will find Le Pe- blast from a machine gun is downright deafening. tit Soldat, his darkly playful and subversive 1963 spy Fate always deals criminals a cruel hand in Melthriller, a perfect introduction. ville’s films—Un Flic is no different. From the beginJournalist Bruno Forestier (Michel Subor) works ning, greater forces are working against ace robber Siall the angles in Geneva, a town bisected by waterways, mon (Richard Crenna) and his tight-knit crew. But this bridges and loyalties. Pinned between shadowy French sense of despair and inevitability also pertains to Alain operatives and Algerian insurgents, Bruno gets tangled Delon’s tormented cop, Edouard, whose methods borin an assassination plot that exposes more than one der on unjust. In Un Flic, the flipsides of the law are raw nerve. His doubts and fears are expressed through basically the same coin. multiple monologues—lengthy political diatribes usuMelville is deeply interested in the way codes of ally aimed at his newfound love, honor and professional relationVeronica (Anna Karina). ships invariably crumble under Le Petit Soldat the pressure of circumstance. EdLe Petit Soldat may be one of Directed by Jean-Luc Godard Godard’s first films in a career that ouard betrays a loyal transvestite spans multiple decades, but it alinformant out of spite for failing Starring Michel Subor, Anna Karina ready expresses his special brand to convey information in a timely and Pail Beauvais of cynicism. “I’m too old to play manner, and each member of Rated NR an active role,” Bruno says, conSimon’s trusted gang becomes a veying a weariness that contracasualty of momentary weakness Un Flic dicts his youth and bravado. For despite their history together.

Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville a man verbalizing poetic bombs Stylistically, Un Flic is nearly Starring Alain Delon, Richard Crenna like “The secret war mixed men drained of all color and emotion, and Catherine Deneuve and ideas at a deadly pace,” Bruno leaving behind only the barren is surprisingly passive. parts of a genre where any hint of Rated PG This is Godard’s main point. vibrancy will get you killed. PeelWhile the camera hardly stops ing wallpaper lines Simon’s hidespinning, zooming and fidgeting, Bruno relentlessly out, while Edouard’s office appears a disinfected miquestions his own decisions. Does he kill? Does he crocosm of a lifelessly modern police station. Melville’s love? The “real tragedy” may be politics, as Bruno so compositions favor dilapidated buildings and empty aptly puts it late in the film, but the real disease of the streets, as if all of France was on the verge of renovation modern world is indifference. unbeknownst to the characters themselves.

With all its verve and rage, Le Petit Soldat makes for In this sense, both Le Petit Soldat and Un Flic are an interesting double feature with Melville’s melan- concerned with the death of social and personal cholic final film, 1972’s Un Flic, a master class in smooth awareness. Control may seem attainable to these hardpacing and precision. The opening scene is so hypnotic boiled characters, but they’re simply careening off one that it depicts a seaside heist as if it were a series of fog- another just long enough to dig their own graves. gy, windswept memories unfolding in real time.

No words are shared as three men in trench coats Write to glennh@sdcitybeat.com and fedoras swiftly take control of a bank, only to have and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

Unspoken dread

The Conjuring

28 · San Diego CityBeat · July 17, 2013

A little silence goes a long way in a horror film. Those disquieting minutes right before terror strikes can provide an agonizing prelude to the awful events that follow. This is director James Wan’s sweet spot.

The man behind the first Saw film and Insidious understands how to amplify moments of unspoken dread until they become nearly unbearable for an audience

afflicted with anticipation. Wan’s latest, The Conjuring, is even more dedicated to the buildup of horror than his previous films. It delivers a haunted-house narrative so immersed in the protracted fear of its characters that each long camera take feels possessed.

Set in Rhode Island circa 1971, the film focuses intensely on the Perron clan, who’ve just plunged their life savings into a lakeside two-story abode with a devilish past. All the creaking floorboards

and ghostly whispers clearly indicate that this particular structure has blood on its hands.

A few genuinely riveting ghost sequences later (including the basement scene to end all basement scenes), Perron matriarch Carolyn (Lily Taylor) tracks down a husband-and-wife team (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) that specializes in expelling ghouls.

The setup may sound familiar, but the execution is harrowing.

Wan favors wide-angle compositions devoid of close-ups, allowing the viewer’s eye to wander from foreground to background, attempting to pinpoint the origin of the next jump-scare. This makes every corner of the frame a threat and the audience a kind of surrogate victim at all times.

From here, The Conjuring only becomes loonier as it dances toward an inevitable tango with the devil.

Part of the film’s sadistic charm stems from merely surviving the onslaught of stress produced by its near-biblical buildup of generational trauma, something that eventually explodes in an earthquake of horror iconography during the finale.

The resulting tremors are nothing short of bone-chilling.

The hairs on the back of my neck are still recovering.

—Glenn Heath Jr.

Opening Broken: An 11-year-old girl is forced to grow up quickly when she discovers a neighbor abusing another child and must face the consequences of telling the truth. Co-starring the great Tim Roth. Runs July 22 through 25 at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

The Conjuring: Ghosts and demons haunt a large suburban family who just moved into a rickety Rhode Island home with a dark past. It’s directed by horror maestro James Wan (Insidious, Saw). See our review on Page 28.

Dolphins: This beautiful, Academy Awardnominated IMAX film, screening at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park, explores the world of dolphins from the Bahamas to the seas of Patagonia.

Focus on San Diego: This collection of features, documentaries and short films made by local filmmakers runs July 19 through 21 at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park. Get details at digitalgym.org.

film about a French journalist who becomes embroiled in an espionage plot in Geneva that threatens both his safety and ideological prowess. Screens for one week at the Ken Cinema. See our review on Page 28.

Reds 2: Bruce Willis and his aged assassins once again try to defend their lawn chairs from shadowy government forces and international terrorists.

R.I.P.D.: Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds play undead police officers protecting Earth from ghouls and goblins attempting to take over the world. Hilarity ensues.

Still Mine: Local authorities stymie an elderly couple’s dream of building their final home, resulting in a David and Goliath story set in rural New Brunswick.

Turbo: A normal garden snail finds that a freak accident has given him some unexpected powers in the speed department, allowing him to compete in the Indy 500.

Un Flic: Jean Pierre-Melville’s final film follows a professional gang of thieves (led by Richard Crenna) as they attempt to outwit a tenacious policeman (Alain Delon) and score one last big job. Screens for one week at the Ken Cinema. See our review on Page 28.

One Time Only Drop Dead Gorgeous: Dark comedy reigns in this devious story of a smalltown beauty who produces deadly results.

Screens at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 17, at Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens in Escondido.

The Empire Strikes Back: Luke, Leia and Han continue their battle against Darth Vader in what most fans think is the best and most complex Stars Wars film.

Screens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 17, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma.

Clerks: Jay and Silent Bob, where it all began. Presented by Forty-Foot Films, it screens at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 20, at Reading Gaslamp Cinemas.

Loose Canons: An aspiring writer returns home to the Italian countryside from Rome to drop a bomb on his family, only to have his thunder stolen by his brother. Presented in conjunction with the San Diego Italian Film Festival at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 20, at La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas.

Petunia: This dramedy delves into the lives of a dysfunctional family defined by repressed feelings and salacious secrets.

Presented with the short film Remember to Breath by FilmOut at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 20, at the Birch North Park Theatre.

The African Queen: Watch Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart ooze chemistry in this adventure story about a riverboat captain who falls in love with a missionary. Screens at 8:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, July 20 and 21, at Cinema Under the Stars in Mission Hills.

Ghostbusters: Beware the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man! Screens at 4:30 p.m.

Sunday, July 21, at Arclight La Jolla.

Springsteen and I: See The Boss like you’ve never seen him before: up close and personal. Screens at 7:30 p.m. Monday, July 22, at various local theatres. Visit fathomevents.com for details.

Shun Li and the Poet: When a Chinese woman meets a Yugoslavian fisherman in Italy they quickly develop a unique friendship. Screens at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 23, at Hervey Branch Library in Point Loma.

We Have a Pope: Italian auteur Nani Moretti satirizes the intricate process of choosing the new pope with this fable about panic, doubt and newfound faith.

Screens at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 17, at Scripps Ranch Library.

Serenity: The cult television show from Joss Whedon spawned this 2005 sci-fi western about a group of intergalactic roughnecks being pursued by assassins. Presented by Forty-Foot Films, it screens at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 18, at Reading Gaslamp Cinemas.

Back to the Future: Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) takes the Delorean back in time to the 1950s in order to ensure his family’s future happiness. Presented by Forty-Foot Films, it screens at 7 p.m. Friday, July 19, at Reading Gaslamp Cinemas.

Indiscreet: Cary Grant woos Ingrid Bergman in this comedy romance from director Stanly Donen (Singin’ in the Rain). Screens at 8:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, July 18 and 19, at Cinema Under the Stars in Mission Hills.

Girl Most Likely: Kristin Wiig brings her patented self-deprecating humor to this story about a failed New York playwright forced to spend time with her overbearing mother (Annette Benning) and start anew.

Brave: Scottish folklore gets the Pixar treatment in this action-packed adventure story about a princess who must save her mother from a wretched curse. Screens at 8 p.m. Friday, July 19, at Oceanside Beach Elementary School.

Drew: The Man Behind the Poster: Documentary about the iconic movieposter artist Drew Struzan, whose work on the Star Wars films, among others, has become legendary.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show: It wouldn’t be midnight on the weekend without some classic Time Warp action.

Join the madness on Saturday, July 20, at the Ken Cinema.

Only God Forgives: Seeped in neon reds and yellows, this psychedelic nightmare from director Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive) follows an American expat (Ryan Gosling) as he attempts to avenge his brother’s murder in Thailand.

The Missing Piece: Mona Lisa, Her Thief, The True Story: A sprawling documentary about Vincent Peruggia, the man who stole the Mona Lisa in 1911, and the consequences of the investigation on his own family. Co-presented by the Timken Museum, it screens at 6 p.m. Saturday,

Le Petit Soldat: An early Jean-Luc Godard

July 20, at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park.

Only God Forgives Chimpanzee: Tim Allen narrates this documentary about a 3-month-old chimpanzee separated from his troop and adopted by a fully grown male. Screens at 10 a.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, July 23 and 24, at Reading Grossmont and Town Square Cinemas.

(500) Days of Summer: Love is hard, so very hard in the case of these two starcrossed millennials (Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel). Screens at 8 p.m.

Wednesday, July 24, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma.

Monty Python and the Hold Grail: The King Arthur legend gets some serious revisionist treatment by John Cleese and company. Screens at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 24, at Stone Brewing World Bistro and Garden in Escondido.

Moonrise Kingdom: Wes Anderson’s divine story of runaway young love has an all-star cast that includes Bruce Willis, Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray and Edward Norton.

Screens at 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 24, at San Diego Public Library in Mission Valley.

For a complete listing

of movies pla ying locally, please see “F ilm S creenings” at sdcit yb eat.com under the “E vents” tab.

July 17 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 29

Photo: ryan bradford; treatment: adam vieyra

Stalins of Sound’s harsh regime San Diego synth-punks balance their abrasive songs with humor

by Ryan Bradford Four clicks: clk-clk-clk-clk.

It’s the sound that begins Stalins of Sound’s “Pool of Piranha,” equivalent to Dee Dee Ramone’s signature “1-2-3-4!” that propelled The Ramones’ already-breakneck tempo in the live arena. For Stalins, however, it’s a prelude to pulverization.

Stalins of Sound don’t have a Dee Dee; they have a machine—a Boss DR-670 drum machine, to be exact. It’s their unofficial fourth member, an automaton that strips the jubilation from a punk-rock countdown and replaces it with four cold clicks before unleashing

the unrelenting rhythms of their harshest songs.

It’s that machine that frontman Hadi Fever believes is simultaneously one of the Stalins’ defining characteristics and their major source of contempt.

“A lot of people don’t like the drum machines. A lot of people like the natural, more free, loose type of band stuff,” says Fever, who, along with keyboardist Jimmy the Worm and bassist Davie Deathmetal (stage names, obviously), is wearing his stage uniform at CityBeat’s request: black shirt and pants with red undershirts. It’s subtle yet ef-

30 · San Diego CityBeat · July 17, 2013

fective, and nestled in the corner of Twiggs’ patio, they have a dominating and vaguely threatening presence amid the regular coffeehouse crowd. “We have plenty of friends who don’t like us as a band but they like us as people.”

“That’s the first time I’ve ever really experienced that,” Worm adds. “People will flat-out go: ‘We don’t like it.’ But you know, fair enough. It’s not personal.”

“Imagine how many of Al Jourgensen’s friends don’t like Ministry. That’s a hard band to be into,” Fever says.

“And, plus, we’re friends with a

lot of assholes,” Worm laughs.

The banter between Fever and Worm—dialogue that alternates between intellectual name-dropping, self-awareness and sophomoric humor—illustrates the opposing forces that make Stalins of Sound so engaging. Their music is intentionally abrasive. One listen to their selfreleased album Tank Tracks and the Ministry comparison seems apt: The DR-670—which Fever chose because of its harshness and snare drums that sound “like a big burst of nasty white noise”—underscores a bulldozing wall of synth-punk.

But at the same time, the Stalins are funny, and any auditory offenses are quelled by the band’s sense of humor. Yes, they have songs titled “Monkeys Attack,” “Meatbag” and “Genocide Erection,” but the real comedy lies in how straightfaced they approach their fascist image and the faux-totalitarian brutality of their songs.

“Most of the stuff that I like is very funny,” Fever says. “Even if it’s sarcastic or self-deprecating.

Even with a song called ‘Genocide Erection.’ What does that mean?

All it is was picturing some dude, watching Fox news in his underwear, eating cheeseburgers and jerking off to it.”

“Quit spying on me,” Worm jokes.

“But that totalitarian image, I guess that’s just a byproduct of my personality because I’m just very neurotic, very uptight,” Fever says.

It would be easy to apply a rudimentary understanding of psychology to the Stalins’ personalities: The easy rapport between the calculated Fever and the brash Worm is classic ego/id, one that comes from nearly a decade of playing music together—dating back to 2004 when they were both in a band called The Dissimilars.

After The Dissimilars broke up in 2008, Fever says he “meandered for a bit” until he met Deathmetal, who acts as the Stalins’ stoic su-

per-ego, tempering the difference between two extremes.

“I met Dave at a friend’s house,” Fever says. “They were sitting around playing, like, slow, doomy metal stuff, and I was, like, ‘No, guys, fuck that. We’re going to play fast, we’re going to play heavy and we’re going to play loud. Dave, no more using your fingers; you’re going to use a pick.’”

If these initial bass-playing demands served as any indication, the finalized version of Stalins of Sound is dictated by Fever, who writes most of the songs by himself.

“Dave and I are more like hired hands,” Worm admits. “It was just Hadi by himself for a long time.”

“Yeah, it was just me playing with a drum machine,” Fever says.

“So, me and Dave are just kind of filling that out a little bit more, and I’m more than happy to do that because I’m lazy,” Worm continues. “In other bands that I like, it seems that someone takes the lead and the other guys fall in.

It’s not like a dictatorship, but it is working toward one vision.”

And that vision is a narrow one.

The drum machines, the uniforms and musical harshness all serve as intentional obstacles that the Stalins have to maneuver to achieve their sound, which makes for a cohesive experience when it works, a difficult one when it doesn’t.

“We have to write stuff for us. If we do a Ramones cover, we have to program it in the drum machine, we have to make up the keyboard part so it comes out sounding unrecognizable to some people—so it sounds more like us,” Worm says. “I think that’s the whole package: We can’t do stuff that other bands can do.”

He pauses. “But they can’t do what we can do.”

“That’s true,” Fever says.

“Which is not get laid,” Worm adds. “Ever.”

Write to ryanb@sdcitybeat.com or editor@sdcitybeat.com.

July 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 31

notes from the smoking patio Locals Only The Shakedown is undergoing another personnel change. Josh Barnes, formerly in charge of booking at the Midway district livemusic venue (3048 Midway Drive), has left the club and launched a new booking partnership with Rob Brouillard called Disconnected.

Barnes says in an email to CityBeat that the change comes as a result of finding “much better opportunities and greener pastures.”

“Nothing major led me to leave,” he says.

“It was an amicable departure.”

Disconnected will focus on booking shows at Brick by Brick and The Void, Barnes says. The next show that Barnes and Brouillard will present is Voodoo Glow Skulls at Brick by Brick on Friday, July 19.

“I’ve worked with Brick by Brick and The Void previously, and they’ve always taken care of the bands, so that’s all I’m really concerned about,” Barnes says.

New Shakedown owner Anilee Griffin says that she and Ross D’Boss Nichols will handle booking after Barnes’ departure.

The Shakedown underwent a “grand reopening” in June after Griffin took over.

•••

After reuniting in May to perform at the All Tomorrow’s Parties’ I’ll Be Your Mirror festival in the U.K., masked noisecore heroes The Locust have announced two more festival dates this summer. The band’s scheduled to play FYF Fest in Los Angeles, which will be held Aug. 24 and 25, and at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, which will be held Nov. 8 through 10.

Local robot-and-professor duo Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra have announced that they’re putting out a new album, Experiments with AutoCroon. No release date’s been set, but song titles will include “God of Cocktail Umbrellas” and “Waffle Putty.” This is the group’s first full-length release since their debut four-CD box set in 2008.

Shakedown Bar Nights During the Con at The Casbah, Thursday, July 18, through Saturday, July 20. Most of these shows are our Plan A picks in this week’s “If I Were U,” so turn to Page 33 for details.

Costumed ska superheroes The Aquabats are well into the second season of their TV show The Aquabats! Super Show! The band will bring its skanking, pop-punk theatrics to House of Blues on Thursday, July 18. Cosplay participation not required.

On Friday, July 19, and Saturday, July 20, newly opened The Merrow, formerly The Ruby Room, will host two nights of nerdy music, each one focusing on a different genre. First up is Geek Rock with Comic Book Vixens, featuring performances by Nerf Herder—who are named for a line from Star Wars and performed the theme song for Buffy the Vampire Slayer— plus Kirby Krackle and H2Awesome. And on Saturday, it’s Nerdcore Hip-Hop with Star Girls, featuring performances by MegaRan, DualCore, Wordburglar and Danimal Cannon, who are sure to drop some mad science (fiction).

Lastly, on Saturday, as one of many comedy-

Comic-Con music roundup Comic-Con International has undergone a major metamorphosis since its debut as a gathering of superhero, manga and RPG aficionados. It’s now host to major players in the film and television industries, and its presence extends well beyond the convention center. In keeping up with tradition, local music venues are getting in on the act, presenting a weekend of performances specially catered to the Comic-Con crowd—or, you know, nerds.

The big news on the music front this year is the appearance of Metallica, who’ll host a panel on Friday, July 19, to promote their upcoming 3-D film, Metallica Through the Never. This marks the band’s first appearance at Comic-Con, and to ring in the occasion properly, the band will play a live show at an intimate venue, the time and place of which are, for the time being, secret. Keep your ear to the ground for the location, or just follow the trail of James Hetfield’s Unnecessary-uh! Extrauh! Syllables-uh!

Just like last year, Impose magazine, Wormwood Films and Art Fag Recordings will present Three

32 · San Diego CityBeat · July 17, 2013

Metallica themed performances this week, Adult Swim and iHEARTCOMIX will host the Eric Andre Show Live! at House of Blues, co-hosted by comedian Hannibal Buress and featuring live performances by electro outfit YACHT. With a lineup like that, every nerd in town should be able to get a music fix this week.

—Jeff Terich Write to jefft@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

if i were u

BY Jeff Terich

Wednesday, July 17 PLAN A: Adam Ant @ Balboa Theatre.

Fun Fact: I was once Adam Ant for Halloween, and I did a convincing enough job that I didn’t have to explain it. That’s how iconic the U.K. new waver’s look is, but his new-romantic hits are even better than his “dandy highwayman” shtick, so this show’s bound to be a memorable one. PLAN B: Vampire, Lawrence Rothman, Nicky Venus @ The Casbah. Local occult-wavers Vampire do their thing with eerie synths, post-punk melodies and a stage setup that looks more like an altar than a rock show. Come for the theatrics; stay for the gothic robo-jams.

BACKUP PLAN: Terminal A @ The Void.

style punk freakouts of Milk Music. PLAN B: Scott H. Biram, Low Volts @ The Void. When done right, blues and outlaw country can sound more badass than the most visceral punk-rock band. Scott H. Biram is just the musician to put that idea into practice, with a catalog full of barnburning, brawl-starting (and occasionally tear-jerking) tunes. BACKUP PLAN: 16, Downspell, Semtex Vest, D.I.S., P.O.O.R. @ Shakedown Bar.

Sunday, July 21

PLAN A: El Vez Punk Rock Revue, Schitzophonics @ Bar Pink. One of the most celebrated and recognizable figures in San Thursday, July 18 Diego’s music scene, El Vez has long been PLAN A: Neil Hamburger, JP Inc., Martin putting a fun, theatrical Latin spin on the Starr and Common Rotation, Greg Geh- music of Elvis Presley (and David Bowie, rens @ The Casbah. Because of the Comic- Bob Dylan, et al.). So why not end a weekCon invasion, there will be no shortage of end of costumes and fantasy by checking comedy events to catch this week, but Neil out the local singer with the greatest wardHamburger should be at the top of the list robe of them all? PLAN B: Rogue Wave, Edward Fielding for living up to his reputaHey Marseilles @ Belly tion as the worst standup coUp. The members of Rogue median of all time. Seriously, Wave have had some unbeit’s high art. PLAN B: Astra, lievable misfortune throughTar Halos @ The Griffin. out the years, from Patrick Comic-Con week can’t really Spurgeon’s bout with kidney be complete without a hefty failure to Zack Rogue sufferdose of heroic prog-rock, ing two slipped discs in 2010. which local wizards Astra do And yet, the band sounds as a mighty fine job of conjurstrong as ever on new album ing. BACKUP PLAN: Caust, Nightingale Floors, a shimNayru, Flowers Taped to mering indie-rock record Pens @ The Che Café. that finds their catchy tunes Adam Ant at full strength. BACKUP PLAN: Des and the CenFriday, July 19 dents, Shark Blood @ Tower Bar. PLAN A: Sonic Boom, Black Marble, Soft Metals, Death Day @ The Casbah. An original member of noise-rock Monday, July 22 pioneers Spacemen 3, Peter Kember, aka PLAN A: Papa, Wardell @ The Casbah.

Sonic Boom, is still a master of spacious, Papa is not an Ernest Hemingway tribdreamy echo, both as a solo artist and as ute act (though someone should start that engineer to performers like Animal Col- band); rather, it’s a high-energy rock duo lective’s Panda Bear. PLAN B: The B-52’s featuring Darren Weiss, formerly of Girls. @ Del Mar Fairgrounds. So it turns out The group runs the spectrum from gritty this is a great week for seeing classic new- guitar tunes to synth-heavy dream pop, all wave bands. If Adam Ant didn’t fulfill your of which sounds utterly massive. BACK’80s jones, then grab your best rock lobster UP PLAN: Los Headaches, Joe Volume, and roam on over to Del Mar to catch The Chango Rey @ The Void.

B-52’s broadcast transmissions from Planet Claire. BACKUP PLAN: Dissimilars, The Wooly Mammoth, Mexico City Rollers, Tuesday, July 23 PLAN A: Tijuana Panthers, GRMLN, The New Rivers @ Tower Bar. Northern Tigers, Golden Beaches @ Soda Bar. Tijuana Panthers have a pretty Saturday, July 20 simple formula: two-minute garage-pop PLAN A: Nobunny, Milk Music, Colleen songs loaded with reverb-heavy surf-guitar Green, Widows @ The Casbah. The third riffs, vocal harmonies, big choruses and and final Impose / Art Fag showcase at The just a touch of Pixies’ hook-heavy sensibilCasbah for Comic-Con weekend is No- ity. Their sound isn’t wholly original, but bunny, a garage-rock artist who performs it’s also good enough for that not to matter. with a scary-as-fuck bunny mask on his BACKUP PLAN: The Uncluded, Hamface. Get there early for the Dinosaur Jr.- mell on Trial @ The Irenic.

July 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 33

HOT! NEW! FRESH! Deafheaven (The Void, 8/22), Lemuria (The Void, 8/23), Unwritten Law, Strung Out (HOB, 8/24), Kid Cudi (Valley View Casino Arena, 9/6), Ra Ra Riot (Birch North Park Theater, 9/13), Rascal Flatts, The Band Perry (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 9/13), Jason Isbell (The Casbah, 9/17), Valient Thorr (The Casbah, 9/18), Tech N9ne (HOB, 9/20), Joan of Arc (Soda Bar, 9/23), Islands (The Casbah, 9/27), Bullet for My Valentine (Soma, 9/29), Adult. (The Void, 10/12), Saves the Day (Irenic, 10/13), Guitar Wolf (Soda Bar, 10/14), Widowspeak (The Void, 10/15), Passion Pit (Open Air Theatre, 10/22), Gramatik (HOB, 11/7),

Obits (The Casbah, 11/22), English Beat (BUT, 11/22-23), Pearl Jam (Viejas Arena, 11/21), Donavon Frankenreiter (BUT, 12/28,30), Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven (BUT, 12/29).

CANCELLED Shannon McNally Band (The Griffin, 7/19)

GET YER TICKETS Neil Hamburger (Casbah, 7/18), Sonic Boom (Casbah, 7/19), Nobunny, Milk Music, Colleen Green (Casbah, 7/20), Foals (HOB, 8/8), Agent Orange (The Casbah, 8/30), Russell Brand (Balboa

34 · San Diego CityBeat · July 17, 2013

Theatre, 9/6), Charli XCX (HOB, 9/6), Neko Case (HOB, 9/11), The Big Pink (Casbah, 9/13), The Album Leaf (The Irenic, 9/14), Dirty Beaches (The Void, 9/21), The Julie Ruin, La Sera (Irenic, 9/22), The Naked and Famous (HOB, 9/25), Vampire Weekend (Open Air Theatre, 9/30), Teenage Bottlerockets, The Queers (Soda Bar, 10/3), Anathema, Alcest (Casbah, 10/4), Conor Oberst (BUT, 10/8), Pet Shop Boys (Copley Symphony Hall, 10/8), Phoenix (RIMAC Arena, 10/10), King Khan and the Shrines (Casbah, 10/11), Disclosure (HOB, 10/16), Father John Misty (House of Blues, 11/1), The 1975 (BUT, 11/3), Chvrches (House of Blues, 11/19), Drake (Viejas Arena, 11/24), Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (Valley View Casino Center,

12/5), John Oliver (Spreckels, 12/27).

July Wednesday, July 17 Eddie Spaghetti, Lauren Mann and The Fairly Odd Folk at Soda Bar. Comedy Bang! Bang! Live w/ Scott Aukerman at House of Blues. Adam Ant at Balboa Theatre.

Friday, July 19 Wiz Khalifa, A$AP Rocky, B.O.B., Trinidad James, Joey Bada$$ & Pro Era, Rockie Fresh, Berner at Sleep Train Amphitheatre. Hollywood Babble-On w/ Ralph Garman, Kevin Smith at House of Blues. Yukmouth at Porter’s Pub.

Saturday, July 20 The Eric André Show Live! at House of Blues. Slightly Stoopid, Atmosphere, Tribal Seeds, The Grouch, Eligh at Sleep Train Amphitheatre. Key & Peele at Balboa Theatre. Scott H. Biram at The Void.

Sunday, July 21 Rogue Wave at Belly Up Tavern. Passenger at House of Blues. The Postal Service, Big Freedia, Baths at SDSU Open Air Theatre. Delta Rae at the Grand Del Mar. D Why at Porter’s Pub.

Monday, July 22 Papa at The Casbah.

rCLUBSr

710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave, Pacific Beach. 710bc.com. Wed: Open mic, open jam. Thu: Tre, Deejay Al. Fri: Jimmy Lewis (5 p.m.); A Will to Wander, Luc and the Lovingtons, Social Club (9 p.m.). Sat: Rian Basilio and the Roosters, Cornerstone. Tue: ‘710 Bass Club’.

98 Bottles, 2400 Kettner Blvd. Ste. 110, Little Italy. 98bottlessd.com. Thu: ‘A Tribute to Bobby McFerrin’ w/ Leonard Patton, Chris Tweedy. Fri: ‘The Music of Gillian Welch’ w/ Jeff Berkley, Gregory Page, Marie Haddad. Sat: ‘Jazz Meets Star Wars’ w/ Gilbert Castellanos.

Air Conditioned Lounge, 4673 30th St, Normal Heights. airconditionedbar.com.

Wed: DJs Daniel Barajas, Johnny Zana, Juliet Star, Innovade, JoshthebeaR. Thu: DJs Kevin Anderson, Impera, Ledher 10.

Fri: DJ Junior the DiscoPunk. Sat: Juicy, Mike Czech.

bahmusic.com. Wed: Vampire, Lawrence Rothman, Nicky Venus, Leanna May and the Matadors. Thu: Neil Hamburger, JP Inc, Martin Starr and Common Rotation, Greg Gehrens. Fri: Sonic Boom, Black Marble, Soft Metals, Death Day. Sat: Nobunny, Milk Music, Colleen Green, Widows. Mon: Papa, Wardell. Tue: The Filthy Violets, Like Shattered Diamonds, Parade of Horribles.

Che Cafe, UCSD campus, La Jolla. thechecafe.blogspot.com. Wed: Mixtapes, You Blew It, Light Years, Last Call, Save the Swim Team. Thu: Caust, Nayru, Flowers Taped to Pens. Sat: Inspired and the Sleep, Hanklin, Har-di-Har, Couches.

Claire de Lune, 2906 University Ave, North Park. clairedelune.com. Sat: Nerdy but Nice.

Croce’s, 802 Fifth Ave, Downtown. cro-

ces.com. Wed: Sue Palmer. Thu: Gilbert Castellanos and the New Latin Jazz Quintet. Fri: Lady Dottie and the Diamonds.

Sat: Daniel Jackson (11:30 a.m.); Eve Selis (8:30 p.m.). Sun: Irving Flores (11:30 a.m.); The Archtones (7:30 p.m.).

Dizzy’s, 4275 Mission Bay Drive, Mission Bay. dizzyssandiego.com. Wed: Jennifer Batten, Jesse Solomon. Fri: ‘The Music of Star Wars’ w/ Gilbert Castellanos.

El Dorado Bar, 1030 Broadway, Downtown. eldoradobar.com. Wed: ‘The Tighten Up’. Thu: Black Lodge, Gone Baby Gone, Neighbors to the North, Flaggs. Fri: DJs Don’t Go Jason Waterfalls, Saul Q. Sat: ‘Boys and Girls’.

Epicentre, 8450 Mira Mesa Blvd, Mira Mesa. epicentreconcerts.org. Thu: Seahaven, Weatherbox, Souvenirs, Last Call Home. Fri:

All in Line, Waking in Sonata, Zip Zap, Minus One Reality. Sat: The Califaction, Convent, Within Ourselves, The Waywards.

Fluxx, 500 Fourth Ave, Downtown. fluxxsd. com. Fri: B.O.B., DJs Reflex, Kyle Flesch.

Sat: ‘Arcade’ w/ DJ Cobra.

Gallagher’s, 5040 Newport Ave, Ocean Beach. 619-222-5303. Thu: Shoreline Rootz, DJ Reefah, TRC Soundsystem. Fri: The Stircrazies, DJ R2. Sat: Jackson Price.

Sun: Charlie Morgan Company. Mon: The Sidekicks.

Griffin, 1310 Morena Blvd, Bay Park. thegriffinsd.com. Wed: The Happy Hollows, Nightmare Air, Bulletins. Thu: Tar Halos, Amerikan Bear. Fri: Animals of Kin, Hills Like Elephants, Goodnight Ravenswood. Sat: Saint and Sinners, Rich Kidd, The Dangerous Types, Dive Bomber,

VacScene. Sat: Rock n Roll Reunion Benefit Concert. Sun: Rub Dub Session, TRC Soundsystem. Tue: Spero, Quel Bordel, Kid Karate, Fighting With Irons.

Henry’s Pub, 618 Fifth Ave, Downtown. henryspub.com. Wed: Johnny Tarr (7:30 p.m.); DJ Chris London (9:30 p.m.). Thu: Fish and the Seaweeds. Fri: DJs Rev, Yodah. Sat: DJs E, Yodah. Mon: DJ Yodah.

Tue: Rip Carson.

House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave, Downtown. houseofblues.com/sandiego. Wed: ‘Comedy Bang! Bang! Live’ w/ Scott Aukerman. Thu: The Aquabats. Fri: Totally Biased. Fri: W. Kamau Bell. Sat: ‘The Eric Andre Show Live’ w/ Hannibal Bur-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 36

American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave, Downtown. americancomedyco.com. WedThu: Eric Andre. Fri: Brian Posehn (7:30 p.m.); Deathsquad (midnight). Sat: Brian Posehn (7:30 p.m.); Deathsquad (midnight).

Sun: Clownvis Presley. Tue: Open mic.

AMSDconcerts, 4650 Mansfield St, Normal Heights. amsdconcerts.com. Sat: Ian McLagan.

Analog, 801 Fifth Ave, Downtown. analogbar.com. Sat: Fashion Whore.

Bar Pink, 3829 30th St, North Park. barpink.com. Wed: Stevie and the Hi-Stax, DJ Barry Thomas. Thu: The Soul Fires.

Fri: The Styletones. Sun: The El Vez Punk Rock Revue, Schitzophonics, DJ Vaughn Avakian. Tue: Mr. Craig Prior.

Bassmnt, 919 Fourth Ave, Downtown. bassmntsd.com. Fri: Whiite. Sat: Roger Shah.

Beaumont’s, 5662 La Jolla Blvd, La Jolla. brocktonvilla.com/beaumonts.html. Wed: Kayla Hope. Thu: Simeon Flick. Fri: Scott Carter and the New Breed. Sat: Gonzology. Sun: Kayla Hope.

Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave, Solana Beach. bellyup.com. Wed: Wag Halen, Los Beautiful Beasts, DJ Man Cat. Thu: J Boog, Aaaradhna, Katchafire, Hot Rain, Siaosi. Fri: J Boog, Aaaradhna, Katchafire, Hot Rain, Siaosi (sold out). Sat: Dust N Bones, Steel Rod. Sun: Rogue Wave, Hey Marseilles. Tue: Henry Kapono, Sister Speak, Polynesian Underground Dancers.

Blarney Stone Pub, 5617 Balboa Ave, Clairemont. 858-279-2033. Wed: The Barmen. Thu: Bill Sterling. Fri: BJ and Todd.

Sat: Quel Bordel. Sun: Open mic.

Bluefoot Bar & Lounge, 3404 30th St, North Park. bluefootsd.com. Wed: DJ C Wizrad. Thu: VJ JK. Fri: DJ Joemama.

Sat: DJs Habitat, L. Sun: DJs Grassy Noll, Iggy. Tue: DJ Girl Friday.

Bourbon Street, 4612 Park Blvd, University Heights. bourbonstreetsd.com. Wed: ‘La Terraza’. Thu: ‘Wet’. Sat: ‘Superhero Night’. Sun: ‘Soiree’.

Brass Rail, 3796 Fifth Ave, Hillcrest. thebrassrailsd.com. Fri: ‘Bubble Party’ w/ DJ Kinky Loops. Sat: ‘Calor’. Sun: ‘Noche Romantica’ w/ Daisy Salinas.

Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave, Bay Park. brickbybrick.com. Wed: Open mic.

Thu: Blistered Earth, Ultimate Sin. Fri: Voodoo Glow Skulls, Vietnam Hardcore. Sat: Gotham Girls Burlesque. Sat: Gotham Girls.

Cafe Sevilla, 353 Fifth Ave, Downtown. cafesevilla.com. Wed: Aro Di Santi. Thu: Malamana. Fri: Joef and Co. Sat: Edel Perea.

Sun: Aragon y Royal. Mon: Edel Perea.

Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd, Midtown. cas-

July 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 35

ress. Sun: Passenger, Stu Larsen. Tue: he Flowerthief, Ian Lipson, Mike Michaels Program, Team of Rivals,The Gaffer.

Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd, Midtown. kavalounge.com. Wed: Sinistarr, Austin Speed, Kombat, Adia Break. Sat: Timmy Tutone, Deep City Culture, Osal8, Squama, Pandagrass. Sun: Pink Cigarettes, Mr. Clit.

Kensington Club, 4079 Adams Ave, Kensington. 619-284-2848. Mon: Jonathan Fraser, Jorge Mata, Mario Mann, Bijan Mostafavi.

Lestat’s Coffee House, 3343 Adams Ave, Normal Heights. lestats.com. Wed: Nina Storey, Sam Vicari, Sarah Donner. Thu: Guggenheim Grotto. Fri: The Gregory Page Show. Sat: Allison Lonsdale (6 p.m.); Josh Damigo, Katy Burgess, Roxie King.

Sun: Aaron Bowen. Mon: Open mic.

Mc P’s Irish Pub, 1107 Orange Ave, Coronado. mcpspub.com. Wed: Ron’s Trio. Thu: Harmony Road. Fri: Pat Ellis and the Blue Frog Band. Sat: Elevators. Sun: Four-Way St. (2:30 p.m.); Velvet Cafe (6:30 p.m.).

Mon: Glen Smith. Tue: 2 Guys Will Move U. McFadden’s Restaurant & Saloon, 731 Fifth Ave., San Diego, Downtown. mcfaddenssandiego.com. Thu: Video Game Tournament. Fri: XX Girls.

Numbers, 3811 Park Blvd, Hillcrest. numberssd.com. Thu: ‘Varsity’. Fri: ‘Viernes Calientes’ w/ DJs Sebastian La Madrid, Rubin. Sat: ‘Eye Candy’.

Office, 3936 30th St, North Park. officebarinc.com. Wed: ‘Club 1979’. Thu: DJs Ikah Love, Adam Salter, Kanye Asada. Fri: ‘After Hours’ w/ DJ Adam Salter. Sat: DJs EdRoc, Kanye Asada. Sun: ‘Uptown Top

36 · San Diego CityBeat · July 17, 2013

Ranking’. Mon: ‘Dub Dynamite’.

Onyx Room / Thin, 852 Fifth Ave, Downtown. onyxroom.com. Fri: ‘Rumba Lounge’ w/ DJs Seize, Yogui, Muzik Junkies, Santarosa. Sat: ‘Bring the Noise’ w/ DJs Rags, Ghost Ryder. Tue: SC Musik Trio.

Patricks II, 428 F St, Downtown. patricksii.com. Wed: Mystique Element of Soul.

Thu: Blue Rockit Band. Fri & Sun: TnT. Sat: Bill Magee Blues Band. Mon: WG and the G-Men. Tue: Walter’s Chicken Jam. Porter’s Pub, 9500 Gilman Dr., UCSD campus, La Jolla. porterspub.net. Sun: D Why. Quality Social , 789 Sixth Ave, Downtown. qualitysocial.com. Thu: ‘Peaches and Cream’ w/ DJ Saul Q. Fri: DJ Frankie M. Sat: DJ Groundfloor. Sun: ‘The Deep End’.

Queen Bee’s, 3925 Ohio St, North Park.

queenbeessd.com. Fri: West Coast Cabaret. Tue: Open mic.

Rich’s, 1051 University Ave, Hillcrest. richssandiego.com. Wed: DJ John Joseph. Thu: ‘Repent’. Fri: DJs Marcel, Will Z. Sat: DJ Taj. Sun: DJs Hektik, Marcel.

Riviera Supper Club, 7777 University Ave, La Mesa. rivierasupperclub.com. Wed: Kice Simko. Thu: Jimbo Trout. Fri: Sure Fire Soul Ensemble. Sat: Bedbreakers.

Seven Grand, 3054 University Ave, North Park. sevengrandbars.com/sd. Wed: Gilbert Castellanos jazz jam. Thu: Ian Tordella Trio. Fri: The Peripherals, Black Sands.

Sat: Burnett’s Bliss.

Shakedown Bar, 3048 Midway Drive, Point Loma. theshakedownsd.com. Wed: Rat City Riot, Slick 46, Rust, The Industry, Unstable

Youth, No Paradigm. Sat: 16, Downspell, Semtex Vest, D.I.S., P.O.O.R. Sun: Hookers Made Out of Cocaine, Bat Lords.

Side Bar, 536 Market St, Downtown. sidebarsd.com. Fri: ‘S-Bar’ w/ DJ Chris Cutz.

Sun: ‘Five/Ten’ w/ DJ Loczi.

Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd, City Heights. sodabarmusic.com. Wed: Eddie Spaghetti, Lauren Mann and the Fairly Odd Folk, Hard Fall Hearts. Thu: Grand Tarantula, Hello Penelope, The Fixtures, Neon Cough. Sat: Futurebirds, Diarrhea Planet. Sun: California Wives, My Gold Mask, The Hero Inside.

Mon: Chamber Band, Marco Polo. Tue: Tijuana Panthers, GRMLN, Northern Tigers, Golden Beaches.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 38

the hit list No badge? No problem Downtown will be popping off during Comic-Con weekend, with bars and clubs filled to the rafters with people in town for the convention. For those visiting, two things: 1) Welcome! San Diego appreciates your hard-earned money; we’ll try our best to use it wisely, and 2) You’re probably a bit lost and wondering where to party. Let us help you: Fans of vinyl toy design can kick off Con weekend at Basic (410 10th Ave. in East Village) for the third annual Munky King Party, starting at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, July 18. Sip on a tasty craft cocktail in the warehouse bar while perusing toy demos and live art. The emcee, designer John Stokes, and DJs R-Rated and Colby will keep the vibe fun.

Enjoy walking into an abandoned warehouse and finding a cool shindig?

Then you’ll love Hotline Comic-Con, happening Friday, July 19, at 1401 E St., Downtown. Australian dance-rock band Miami Horror will DJ the video-gamethemed rager along with Scattle, Colour Vision and Hustlehoff. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at oheyemusing. ticketsocket.com.

Miami Horror If you’re looking for a pre-party drink or maybe just a mellower night, local jazz musicians Gilbert Castellanos, Joshua White, Brian Levy and others will honor the music of Star Wars in jazzy fashion on Saturday, July 20, at 98 Bottles (2400 Kettner Blvd. in Little Italy). There will be two performances, 8 and 10 p.m. Tickets are $15.

—Alex Zaragoza Write to alexz@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

July 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 37

SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd, Midway. somasandiego.com. Fri: For the Win, Destruction of a King, Colossal, Jeremiah Johnson, The Romeo Complex, At the Premier. Sat: Streetcar Rendezvous, Chris Young, Cult Vegas, Brother Nature, James Dean, SinSerious.

Spin, 2028 Hancock St, Midtown. spinnightclub.com. Fri: ‘Heroes of Wrestling’.

Sat: ‘Superheroes vs Supervillains’ w/ The Perry Twins, DJ Marcel Hetu.

Stage Bar & Grill, 762 Fifth Ave, Downtown. stagesaloon.com. Wed: Mark Fisher, Gaslamp Guitars. Thu: Van Roth. Fri: Jason Miller (7 p.m.); Disco Pimps (10:30 p.m.).

Sat: Fingerbang (9 p.m.); DJ Miss Dust (10:30 p.m.). Sun: ‘Funhouse/Seismic’.

The Hole, 2820 Lytton St, Midway. 619226-9019. Sat: Wilde Wilde West Speakeasy 1882.

The Merrow, 1271 University Ave, Hillcrest. rubyroomsd.com. Fri: Geek Rock. Fri: Nerf Herder, Kirby Krackle, H2Awesome. Sat: Nerdcore Hip Hop. Sat: MegaRan, DualCore, Wordburglar, Danimal Cannon.

The Void, 3519 El Cajon Blvd, North Park. thevoidsd.com. Wed: Terminal A. Sat: Scott H. Biram, Low Volts. Mon: Los Headaches, Joe Volume, Chango Rey. Tue: The Seks, Mr. Clit and the Pink Cigarettes, Get Shot!, Sickly Hollow.

Tiki House, 1152 Garnet Ave, Pacific Beach. tikipb.com. Wed: Homesick Hitchers. Sat: Joey Harris and the Mentals.

Sun: Open mic. Mon: Doug Woolsy. Tue: Sweet Dreams.

Til-Two Club, 4746 El Cajon Blvd, City Heights. tiltwoclub.com. Wed: A Brief History of Rhyme, DJ Heather Hardcore. Fri: DJ Sasso. Sat: Vanessa Zamora.

Tin Can Ale House, 1863 Fifth Ave,

38 · San Diego CityBeat · July 17, 2013

Bankers Hill. thetincan1.wordpress.com.

Wed: Blacktop Royalty, We Are/She Is, Cult Vegas. Thu: Todd Day Wait’s Pigpen, Kyle Neal, 22 Kings. Fri: Real Things Are Good, Shadow Walker, Jesus AD. Sat: Brothers Weiss, The Mondegreens, The Lazulis. Mon: Tin Can Country Club. Tue: Rodello’s Machine, Shane Hall, Defero.

Tio Leo’s, 5302 Napa St, Bay Park. tioleos.com. Wed: Bayou Brothers. Thu: The Fremonts. Fri: Drivin’ East. Sat: Colour.

Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave, City Heights. thetowerbar.com. Fri: The Dissimilars, The Wooly Mammoth, Mexico City Rollers, The New Rivers. Sat: Social Spit, Ministry of Truth, Channel 3, Los Headaches, Teenage Burritos. Sun: Des and the Cendents, Shark Blood.

Turquoise, 873 Turquoise St, Pacific Beach. theturquoise.com/wordpress. Wed: Tomcat Courtney (6 p.m.). Thu: Pan Am (7 p.m.). Fri: Tomcat Courtney (5 p.m.); Royal Heart (9 p.m.). Sat: Tomcat Courtney (5 p.m.); Soul Ablaze (9 p.m.). Sun: Sounds Like Four (4 p.m.); Big Boss Bubale (7 p.m.). Mon: Pan Am (6 p.m.). Tue: Carlos Velasco (4 p.m.); Afro Jazziacs (7 p.m.).

Voyeur, 755 Fifth Ave, Downtown. voyeursd.com. Thu: DJ SLiiNK. Fri: Simon Patterson. Sat: Congorock.

Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St, South Park. whistlestopbar.com. Thu: ‘Astrojump’ w/ Kill Quanti DJs. Fri: ‘F#ing in the Bushes’ w/ DJs Daniel Sant, Rob Moran. Sat: ‘80s vs 90s’ w/ DJs Gabe Vega, Saul.

Winstons, 1921 Bacon St, Ocean Beach. winstonsob.com. Wed: Layne Tadesse, 7 Seal Dub Band, Freeborn and TruRoot, Roots High Power. Thu: Atlantis Rizing. Fri: DPI, The Creepy Creeps, Sixth Sense, The Hang Zeros. Sat: Smokey Hoof (5 p.m.); Cubensis (9 p.m.). Mon: Electric Waste Band.

July 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 39

40 · San Diego CityBeat · July 17, 2013

July 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 41

Proud sponsor: Mitch’s Seafood

Ink Well Xwords by Ben Tausig

Across 1. Brownish photo tint 6. See 51-Down 10. Classic British sports cars 14. Omega-3s, e.g.

15. Sin for one who’s gone green?

16. Chakra cousin 17. Bugs’s question 19. One-named singer of “The Wanderer” 20. Sectional, say 21. “The Stand” hero Redman 22. Foul 23. “We’re screwed ...”

27. Popular rave drug, briefly 30. Rapper associated with Queensbridge, Queens 31. Broadcaster 32. Vioxx maker 34. Kenan Thompson’s sketch show 35. “Black Is the Color of My True Love’s Hair” singer Simone 38. 1980 ZZ Top hit 42. Salty bodies 43. Org. with shows in theaters?

44. Creepo 45. Fracking rock 47. Pandemic during World War I 49. Delta in-flight magazine 50. Transformer who leads the Autobots 54. Places for casual conversation 55. “Pacific ___” (2013 summer flick) 56. Device produced by Carl Zeiss 60. Person holding the cards?

61. Exposes oneself?

64. Away from the wind, on the water 65. Recess

Last week’s answers

66. Genre for Weird Al 67. Gp. with a key and a martini glass in its logo 68. “Got it” 69. “Dope”

Down 1. They’ve got teeth 2. Sound return?

3. Subject of the biopic “La Vie en Rose” 4. Pound neckwear 5. Pompous person 6. What one might sink to 7. Provide, as with a quality 8. Bolivian president Morales 9. City where BHO graduated from college 10. Was lucid 11. Axe wielders 12. Cook in the bottom of the oven, say 13. Financial institution of ‘80s-’90s crisis infamy 18. Nutrition.gov org.

22. Controversial coat material 24. Peeling potatoes, stereotypically 25. Helmut of Fashion Week 26. Drug unit 27. Some SUVs 28. Mild chuckle 29. Put your kid in a position to suck 33. Scanned the goods, say 34. ___ Balls (erstwhile Hostess treats) 36. It helps you keep your head up 37. Dry, as skin 39. George Takei character 40. Plays for a sucker 41. Someone who went somewhere 46. Morns 47. Playful 48. Drag one’s feet, say 50. Philosopher known for his “razor” 51. With 6-Across, big name in bad taste, in more ways than one 52. Like some trans people, briefly 53. Push aggressively, as through a crowd 57. Fashion mag with an “Ask E. Jean” column 58. LeBron’s shoe company 59. Skedaddle 61. Purveyor of barely legal dietary supplements, often 62. XXX’s opposite 63. Company “sorted” in this puzzle’s circled squares

Two $20 gift certificates to Mitch’s Seafood will be awarded weekly. Email a picture of your answers to crossword@sdcitybeat.com or fax it to 619-325-1393. Limit one win per person per 30 days.

42 · San Diego CityBeat · July 17, 2013

July 17, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 43