San Diego CityBeat • July 24, 2019

2 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JULY 24, 2019

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UP FRONT | FROM THE EDITOR

Speculative contemplations post-Comic-Con

T

here were a lot of big reveals and momentous, buzz-worthy stories that came out of Comic-Con this year.

Did the mayor really walk out of an Amazon Prime panel after it was revealed that the show being discussed had to do with issues of immigration? #OMG #ProbablyNot #WhoCares I had a few geek-worthy moments myself.

The Steven Universe movie looks amazing (seriously, if readers and/or their kids and/or their grandkids aren’t watching that show, they’re seriously missing out), and I lamented not being able to get into the appearance from creator Rebecca Sugar down the street from the convention center.

Another moment was the revelation of the plans for Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which includes (#Shooketh) a woman Thor and (#Gasp) a lesbian king of Asgard. Yes, I found this to be incredibly exciting even while sexist fanboys took to Twitter to reveal themselves as fragile incels.

Another particularly exciting aspect of the MCU is a new animated series called What If…? The name wasn’t particularly exciting for non-geeks, but for an early Modern Age (think the mid ’80s through the ’90s) comic-book fan such as myself, this was huge. For those unfamiliar with Marvel’s What If…?, it was a series of monthly books beginning in the late ’70s that explored what would have happened if certain monumental events within the Marvel Universe had unfolded a different way.

I poured over these books when I was kid.

I’m still not sure what it was that I found so appealing; this idea of rewriting history even if it was purely speculative and just for one issue. I ate up stories on topics that ranged from what things would have been like if the radioactive spider had bitten someone other than Peter Parker, or if the X-Men had died on their first mission. I like to feel like it laid the groundwork for my now insatiable appetite for speculative fiction, and why I now count The Handmaid’s Tale, The Man in the High Castle and The Plot Against America as a few of my favorite books.

This got me in an overall speculative mood as I walked around the absolute shitstorm that was the Gaslamp area on Sunday

morning. I began to think about all the monumental events, elections and political happenings that took place in San Diego over the last few years.

What if… voters had never passed the pension-reforming Prop. B? What if… Bob Filner had never resigned?

What if… Todd Gloria had decided to run as mayor in the 2014 election?

What if… the County Board of Supervisors had taken the Hepatitis A crisis more seriously?

What if… District 50 voters had actually shaped up and voted Duncan Hunter out in 2018?

What if… Carl DeMaio had won a seat in Congress?

That last one still makes me shudder.

And this was just a few of the rather bizarre scenarios that ran through my head and I weaved in and out of throngs of people that had invaded downtown. But the one thought that really got to me was inspired by a tweet sent out by homeless advocate Michael McConnell just before the beginning of Comic-Con. “If attending #SDCC2019, please be mindful of the hundreds of San Diegans who call the downtown sidewalks home. #SDCC #SDCC19,” read the tweet and was accompanied by a picture of homeless citizen sleeping at a bus stop.

And as I crossed the street, dodging what was probably the hundredth e-scooter of the day, I got to thinking: What if… San Diegans got just as upset about seeing homelessness as they did about scooters littering the sidewalks?

What if the San Diego Police Department was directed to cease issuing tickets to homeless residents and focus primarily on ticketing scooter riders who continue to skirt traffic laws?

What if… instead of trying to pass a large initiative to expand the convention center, in hopes that Comic-Con will stick around past 2024, voters were allowed to weigh in on a farreaching and bold initiative that would solely attempt to solve the homeless and housing crises once and for all?

What if?

—Seth Combs

Write to seth.combs@sdcitybeat.com

This issue of CityBeat is still waiting in line for Hall H.

Volume 17 • Issue 49 EDITOR Seth Combs WEB EDITOR Ryan Bradford ART DIRECTOR Carolyn Ramos STAFF WRITER Andrea Lopez-Villafaña COLUMNISTS Aaryn Belfer Ryan Bradford Edwin Decker Alfred Howard John R. Lamb Rhonda “Ro” Moore

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JULY 24, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 3

UP FRONT | LETTERS

BLACK GOLD IS GOLD

I have enjoyed Al Howard’s Black Gold column in the past, and I found his recent column from July 17 [“Instant karma and the art of the steal”] to be, once again, very entertaining. I once had a fair-sized collection of vinyl albums, 700 or so, and his descriptions of his search for the good stuff is fascinating to me.

Of course, he touches on much more than just buying and selling old records; the social commentary he imparts as part of the story is enlightening and very meaningful. Kudos to Al.

Joe Vissers Spring Valley/Rancho San Diego

MORE GOLD LOVE

Thanks to Alfred Howard for his Black Gold column. It brings sanity and humor (even evidence of economic justice) to our world that has gone totally off home-base these days. I’m impressed how Howard optimistically pursues and stays on-point in his search for those treasured, historical LP’s from bygone days—definitely a unique hobby that yields some swap meet gems amidst the dust and grime of others’ forgotten, throwaways. His LP pursuits remind me of Antiques Roadshow for the uncommon man… carry on, Alfred!

Donna Shanske

Bankers Hill

SISTER VOICE

Since “money” is the common denominator and the very foundation for individual inde-

4 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JULY 24, 2019

pendence and personal empowerment–spelled “freedom,” you simply cannot survive (or prosper) without it–unless you know how to live by “magic.”

Forty acres and a mule will not take you very far if you do not have the purchasing power, when planting season begins, “to even afford a basic seed-crop.” Notwithstanding, the need for the mule to be fed, watered and protected from marauders.

For this reason, Rhonda “Ro” Moore, from the first time I became acquainted with “A Side-Eye of Sanity” (your always insightful and invaluable contribution as a regular columnist to “Up Front | Voices”) in San Diego CityBeat magazine–recognizing a “Sister Voice” of reason and a pragmatic seeker and preacher of truth, I immediately became “a great admirer of yours!”

Consequently, I must take this opportunity to say “thank you” for your recent column of June 26, 2019, titled “Reparations Fixations.” It is a masterful, one-page “tour de force,” and it really “packs a punch.” An award-winner!

No amount of monetary reparations can ever repair the “social injustice” perpetuated by our founding fathers and perpetuated in “lockstep” by their offspring throughout the history of this country. Which in some respects seems even more insidious today, since we entered the 21st century. By now, we should not only “know better,” but “do better.”

Nonetheless, an attempt to at least begin to address such a priority-need “immediately,” at this particularly critical and crucial juncture in American history, would certainly be a “start”

in the right direction. A “first step” that could affect all of us for the better!

Respectfully,

Sandra C. Coronado

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

FOOD & DRINK

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

Email letters to editor Seth Combs at seth.combs@sdcitybeat.com, or mail to 3047 University Ave., Suite 202, San Diego, CA 92104. For letters to be considered for publication, you must include your first and last name and the part of town where you reside.

Note: All comments left on stories at sdcitybeat.com will also be considered for publication.

World Fare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Final Draught. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

THINGS TO DO The Short List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Calendar of Events. . . . . . . . . . 10-12

ARTS & CULTURE Theater. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Feature: Straight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Seen Local . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-18

MUSIC Feature: Alison Sudol. . . . . . . . . . 19 The Spotlight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Notes From The Smoking Patio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 If I Were U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Concerts & Clubs. . . . . . . . . . . 23-25

IN THE BACK Astrologically Unsound. . . . . . . . 24 CannaBitch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

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ANDREA LOPEZ-VILLAFAÑA

UP FRONT | NEWS

Living in legal limbo A year after her arrest went viral, a National City mother awaits decision on whether she can remain in the U.S.

By Andrea Lopez-Villafaña

T

he topic of the all-women’s church group is “finding strength during difficult times.” One woman at the end of the table talks about experiencing setbacks in her life.

“I’m sure one of you have felt this way as well,” the woman says inquisitively.

Perla Morales-Luna raises her hand, both in understanding and solidarity.

Every two weeks, if she’s not working, Morales-Luna meets with this group of women. They gather in a peach-colored room behind the Iglesia Metodista Libre Emmanuel church in National City.

Morales-Luna makes herself a coffee, reads bible verses from her phone, prays and cries.

“Me vuelve a dar fuerza,” says Morales-Luna, wiping away tears.

The group, she says, renews her strength.

It’s been more than a year since Morales-Luna was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection

@SDCITYBEAT

(CBP) officers in front of her three daughters on a street corner in National City. These days, she lives in limbo, wondering what will be her fate in the U.S. Last month, an immigration judge denied her deportation cancellation request and ordered her removal. The case is currently on appeal with the Board of Immigration Appeals, according to her attorney William Baker, who added that the appeal process could take up to a year.

“It’s like living in the air,” says Morales-Luna, “I try not to think about it but sometimes it gets to me.”

Back on March 3, 2018, Morales-Luna woke up early, as usual, and planned for the day ahead.

She’d clean the house, water the plants and get a money order from 7-Eleven. She also had plans to pay the rent and, afterward, treat her three daughters to soup from the nearby Vietnamese restaurant.

For the three teenage daughers,

their mother’s plans seemed more like chores than a fun way to spend the day. Still, Morales-Luna insisted they all spend time together on her day off and, eventually, they agreed.

All four walked out of their National City home and onto 24th Street. Less than a block from their house, two plainclothes CBP officers approached them and asked the single mother if she was Perla Morales-Luna.

The minutes following that initial contact were captured in a heart-wrenching video that was shared thousands of times on Facebook. In the video, one of MoralesLuna’s daughters holds onto her mother’s hand until the officer yanks Morales-Luna away. Ear piercing screams from MoralesLuna’s daughters are heard as the then 36-year-old mother is put into the back of a Border Patrol SUV. “My life completely changed the moment they took me,” Morales-Luna says.

Days after the arrest, and after the video was shared on multiple platforms, media outlets picked up on the story, sparking outrage from social justice and immigration advocates. Unlike the millions of people who watched the video from their smartphones, however, Morales-Luna was sitting in detention with other immigrant women when the clip came on TV. “I watched on the news how

Perla Morales-Luna agents were pulling hard on a woman and I thought, ‘that’s horrible,’” Morales remembers saying before realizing that the woman she was watching was herself. “It was me.”

In response to the backlash from the arrest, CBP released a statement on March 9, 2018, stating that Morales-Luna was suspected of being involved in human smuggling. According to the agency, she was, “identified as a human smuggling facilitator” and was “part of a larger transnational criminal organization.”

An individual charged in a 2018 smuggling case had named Morales-Luna as being involved in the smuggling operation. MoralesLuna denies the allegations. She spent more than two weeks in detention until an immigration judge ordered her release.

Last year, Voice of San Diego reported that Morales-Luna was not the first individual whose “highprofile” arrest was tied to human smuggling by CBP but ultimately never prosecuted.

Still, human smuggling is a broad charge and can include paying for a family member to cross into the U.S. illegally. Because of this, immigration advocates and attorneys are seeing it used to justify arrests of undocumented residents. In Morales-Luna’s case, she was not prosecuted for the alleged crime, but was still placed in deportation proceedings.

“I feel that they could care less about saying people are smugglers without evidence,” says MoralesLuna.

Sitting in her National City home, just a few steps from where she was apprehended, MoralesLuna still gets choked up talking about the arrest. The fear of not being with her children, of leaving them unprotected, scared her more than anything. Her youngest daughter is 13 years old and the oldest is 18.

She’s slowly trying to bring their lives back to normal, though it’s proven difficult because it feels as if she’s still in legal limbo. It’s also difficult to move on from the

frustration she feels over the allegations the CBP made against her.

“They kept saying, ‘why are you scared,’” Morales-Luna remembers that it was almost like the officers who detained her were implying her fear proved she was guilty of something. “I was scared because I am undocumented.”

Morales-Luna came to the U.S. when she was 16 years old. She traveled with strangers, crossing the border illegally through the mountains to get to the U.S. She was too young to understand what living in the U.S. would offer but she was sure of one thing: It would offer safety.

Morales-Luna grew up in Acaponeta, Nayarit. The decision to leave Acaponeta for Tijuana, and eventually come to the U.S., came after she was raped at the age of 13. She believed farmworkers were responsible but told no one, and instead internalized the pain.

“I would see a sombrero and I would get scared,” she says.

When she arrived in the U.S., however, she knew she’d be safe here despite her immigration status.

Still, knowing she was undocumented hung over her head every single day. She felt it when she volunteered at her daughters’ schools, and when she would have to call the police when her second husband would become violent.

Still, she says she never expected something like this to happen to her.

Now Morales-Luna relies on the emotional support of her church, family and three daughters to keep a positive attitude about her situation.

Thinking back to that Saturday, Morales-Luna says she wishes her daughters had stayed home. She says no mother wants their children to witness what her daughters saw that day. She knows the emotional impact the arrest had on them, and yet, she finds solace in the fact they will never have to worry about the same fate.

“Good thing they are citizens and they won’t have to suffer what I’ve suffered. They don’t have to fear that they will be deported.”

JULY 24, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 5

UP FRONT | VOICES

RHONDA “RO” MOORE

A SIDE-EYE OF Living in fear

SANITY

I

’ve been thinking about fear a lot lately. Fear isn’t right to police everything about me; from my presalways a bad thing. A healthy dose of fear can keep ence, to my tone, to my body.

I’m not supposed to bring up how often rideshare you from taking too many of the wrong kinds of risks. Being afraid is sometimes the only thing stand- drivers refuse to pick me up after seeing me. People expect me to write it off as not being related to my race. ing between you and danger.

I’m not supposed to point out that anti-abortion But fear can also paralyze. Being afraid can make a person hesitate at the wrong moment. Fear is the laws are poorly disguised religious edicts with no real relation to health and safety. As a woman, I’m supmind-killer. (Yes, I really did just quote Dune.)

Being successful at just about anything is a risky posed to accept being condescended to. Otherwise I proposition. We have to be willing to fail. So, for me, the may upset the delicate social dance; a dance I’m never most interesting thing about the fear response is how expected to lead.

If I push for a discussion to include talking about often people pretend it doesn’t impact their decisions.

People rarely admit that prejudice and bias come things like race or misogyny, then I’m being divisive from a place of fear. Working-class whites fear being because somehow, those factors aren’t “real” until I cut off from success by immigrants and non-white make them so. My fears are never important enough people. This isn’t new, by any means; these kinds of to warrant endangering someone else’s comfort.

And right now, it’s that last bit fear are how things such as the that keeps sticking my throat like Chinese Exclusion Act became law a bone. This idea that confronting and how redline neighborhoods If I push for a racism and calling it out is somecame into existence. discussion to include how the problem is 100 percent Some people will go to great built on fear. I’m afraid that fear lengths to keep buffer zones betalking about things will result in everything rolling tween themselves and anything like race or misogyny, backward in ways that hurt evthat might cause them to feel uneasy. It feels natural to block out then I’m being divisive eryone. Because people are really jumping through hoops to give a things that can throw a person offbecause somehow, blatant racist a pass. And no, I kilter. We all do it. “Out of sight, those factors aren’t don’t believe it’s just because he’s out of mind” isn’t a catchphrase president. for no reason. ‘real’ until I make them theI’ve spent the last week thinkIt’s probably fair to say most so. My fears are never ing about the various reactions people think preserving their and attempts to reframe the sitpeace of mind is reason enough to important enough to ting president telling four Conpush back against all things that warrant endangering gresspeople—all women of color, may discomfort them. This often all American citizens—to essenmeans that uncomfortable conversomeone else’s tially go back where they come sations get cut short or swiftly recomfort. directed. People are afraid of what from. The implication being that they may be forced to confront or they aren’t real Americans and acknowledge. they have no right to play a part in determining how Fear makes people feel vulnerable. Because of this, the U.S. treats the people who live here. no one wants to get real about how we, as a nation, I get it. If even coded hate speech becomes unacreached this odd tipping point. Fear of losing control ceptable, a lot of people will have to think before they over the political (and therefore economic) landscape speak. It would be far more difficult to sell racism as has a certain sect of American society ready to eat its an issue to which “both sides” contribute. I mean, if own. They’re going all out to preserve their sense of you can’t play the “go back where you came from” self and their perceived dominance in the social hi- game without being required to admit what’s really erarchy. People are constantly revising history and being said (“no faction other than mine matters unless I shifting conversational goal posts. It’s almost impos- say it does”), then what’s the point, right? sible to have a frank discussion without it descending I got a handle on the bubbling rage threatening to into chaos. Everyone wants narrative control. short circuit my brain just in time to witness a room Poor people, especially the newly poor, are done full of people chant “send her back” at a campaign bearing the brunt of an unstable economy where rally; the realization that, on a fundamental level, a companies treat their workers like the enemy. Women lot of people firmly believe non-whites should never are tired of being the victim of predatory laws aris- consider the U.S. their homeland regardless of their ing from patriarchal notions of proper comportment. citizenship.

People of color are tired of being told how grateful we Nuance is dead and context has stopped mattering. should be that we’re allowed to live here.

Or least that’s what the news would have us believe.

Some people are afraid that if we acknowledge rac- If it’s out of bounds to call what happened a racist ism-in-action, those buffer zones will collapse forever. encounter, then when exactly will we be ready to talk As a Black person, there are incidents in my day- about the things that make us uncomfortable? to-day interactions with people that are making it increasingly difficult to ignore the fact I’m expected to A Side-Eye of Sanity appears every other week. live my life among people who believe they have the Follow Ro Moore on Twitter at @BookBlerd.

6 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JULY 24, 2019

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UP FRONT | OPINION

EDWIN DECKER

SORDID

TALES

An open letter to Christians from an Establishment Clause-coveting infidel

W

hen it comes to the Bladensburg Peace Cross, I was surprised by how fast that controversy wrapped up. I’m referring to the recent 7-2 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allowed a 40-foot Latin cross to remain on a traffic median near the capital. Being that the median is public property, it was a rather disappointing decision for us Establishment Clause-coveting heretics.

What was even more astonishing was how it only took about seven years for the case to flush through the court system. Compare that to San Diego’s own cross controversy—the Mt. Soledad Easter Memorial dealy-o—which was a swirling toilet-bowl of lawsuits, appeals, counter-appeals, countersuits and countercountersuits that spanned four decades and even outlived its plaintiff. The issue was finally resolved in 2015 when the land beneath the cross was purchased by a private group.

OK, sure, the Soledad cross is still towering atop that mountain, its outstretched limbs like Pink Floyd’s domineering mother trying to wrap us up in her arms and protect us from other religions.

Selling the land to a private group was yet another brick in the great wall of separation between church and state.

I’m not saying I had anything to do with that decision, but I spilled a lot of newspaper ink over the last 20-plus years expressing my support for its separation. And I did it with enough sarcasm to inspire many to call me a religious bigot.

Naturally, I rejected that characterization. As I’ve said before, bigotry is a feeling of contempt or superiority toward a group of people for their immutable characteristics.

Religion is not an immutable characteristic. Religion is just another set of ideas. And I don’t give a good goddamn if they came from an invisible bearded guy in the sky, there are no ideas immune to criticism. Especially the kind that worm their way into our legislation, living rooms, medians and mountaintops.

That said, I’m grateful for the Bladensburg Cross controversy. The label of religious bigot never sat well with me and I have long felt as though my naysayers were misinterpreting my intentions so I would like to take this opportunity to clear that up with the following open letter.

support your right to display them on private property.

As much as I find the Ten Commandments to be a cockamamie Decalogue (aka Cockalogue), I swear to the Flying Spaghetti Monster that I would rush up a fortified hill and bayonet anyone in the face those who would deny your right to espouse them.

I know that seems like an empty sentiment given that you can currently worship whenever you want. But if and when a day comes when Christians are not the majority, and the government of that time tries to erect a statue representing some other cockamamie religion, I’ll still be howling to the high heavens (or in my case, the eternal black void) to take it down. Why, you ask? Well, for one, I sincerely do not want you to have to walk around in the shadow of any massive, state-issued, mountaintop monuments to a belief system you find ricockulous.

But also, and most importantly, if we let our government indiscriminately erect and endorse religious symbols on public property, it’ll only be a matter of time until they start toppling over the unendorsed symbols on private property.

In his majority opinion briefing on the Bladensburg Peace Cross decision, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the cross’s removal would be “seen by many not as a neutral act but as the manifestation of a hostility toward religion.”

Well I do believe Justice Alito has bolstered my point. “Hostility toward religion?” Is he saying this lawsuit is an attack on Christianity? That there’s a war on Christmas and all that? Perhaps. But if that were true then wouldn’t it make sense to fortify the wall of separation? Just in case, you know, Christianity loses that war?

Look, I know I have been sarcastic over the years, but that’s how I talk to people I care about. Hell, if my friends and family stopped insulting me, I’d think that meant they didn’t care anymore. So please, take no offense when I call your god the “invisible bearded guy in the sky.” It just means that I love and care about you.

And it is in the spirit of caring that I offer this advice: As a loyal ally, I beg of you, help me help you! Join forces with us Establishment Clause-coveting heathens and help reinforce it. Help erase “In God we Trust” from our currency. Help expel “Under God” from The Pledge of Allegiance. Endeavour to remove the Virgin Mary from our grilled cheese sandwiches. Assist in the repair and fortification of the wall of separation to the degree that it becomes so impenetrable, no other faith can tear it down.

Do this and know, no matter what religion becomes the majority, you will always be able to mount a crucifix on your roof, a Christmas Tree in your living room, a church in your neighborhood and a Cockalogue on your front yard.

Can I get an amen?

As I’ve said before, bigotry is a feeling of contempt or superiority toward a group of people for their immutable characteristics.

Religion is not an immutable characteristic.

Dearest Christians, I know you will find this hard to believe but I am not your enemy. In fact, for all the arrows I have shot over the bow of the USS Jesus, I’m actually your most persistent and loyal ally. For it is I, the avowed Establishment Clause-coveting infidel who consistently and most ferociously defends your right to worship.

Make no mistake, the amount and intensity with which I object to Christian crosses on public property is exactly the amount and intensity with which I would

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Sordid Tales appears every other week.

Write to edwin@sdcitybeat.com.

JULY 24, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 7

UP FRONT | FOOD & DRINK

BY MICHAEL A. GARDINER

THE WORLD

FARE On a roll

M

not very good. If the sausage pork was “mild,” the shrimp paste in the sugarcane spring rolls was downright bland.

The grilled pork banh mi was just sad. The surface of the rather ordinary bread was greasy, the proportion of vegetable matter to grilled pork was way off and the characteristic daikon and carrot pickles were AWOL. The grilled pork, once I got to it, was tasty—deeply savory with a hint of sweetness—but it wasn’t enough to save the sandwich.

The “pho rolls” are much better. They are, essentially, the flavors of pho done up as rice flour crepes instead of a noodle soup. They’re a bit of a practical challenge as finger food but worth it. Plus, they’re a great contrast to the spring rolls.

But Goi Cuon is really all about those spring rolls. One not to miss is the grilled chicken version.

ention “spring rolls” and most locals will immediately think of the familiar shrimp and pork varieties served as appetizers at pho restaurants all over town. But gỏi cuốn—“spring rolls” in Vietnamese—isn’t so much a single dish as they are a whole class of dishes. And Goi Cuon (420 Robinson Ave., goicuon.us), a new strip mall eatery in Hillcrest, is all about that.

All 15 of the fresh spring roll offerings at Goi Cuon come wrapped in rice paMICHAEL A. GARDINER per with rice noodles, lettuce, mint and cilantro. Where the items differ are the featured proteins that share the inside of those rice paper wrappers. All come with two dipping sauces on the side: one a peanut sauce and the other a coconut sauce.

And each also comes with a dollop of chili sauce and some garlic chips. All of Goi Cuon’s offerings are expertly rolled tight, but not excessively so, and all are structurally sound with perfect proportions of the different internal ingredients.

One of the best of the fresh spring rolls is the Vietnamese Sausage Pork (aka nem nuong cuốn) option. While the sausage Chicken, pork and Vietnamese sausage spring rolls itself is on the mild side, what makes it special is the inclusion Often chicken in fresh spring rolls falls flat. This of a tight cylinder of fried eggroll wrapper in the roll, on the other hand, popped with deep savory flacenter of the spring roll. It provides a wonderful vor. Other good options are the bean curd skin (with crunchy texture that contrasts with everything else that same cylinder of fried eggroll wrapper) and the in the dish. crispy tofu.

Sugarcane spring rolls are an auto-order for Goi Cuon has a great concept. Their menu shows me. If it’s on a menu, it’ll end up in my belly. At the range of the Vietnamese fresh spring roll and reGoi Cuon, however, it’s on the menu but nearly al- lated dishes. They have some consistency and service ways sold out. I visited five times and it was only issues, no doubt, but when they execute their menu available once. I had hopes this was because they well, what they have to offer is very good indeed. were excellent. It turns out it’s because “they’re not very popular here,” according to one of the employ- The World Fare appears weekly. ees. That’s also likely due to the fact that they’re Write to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com.

8 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JULY 24, 2019

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UP FRONT | FOOD & DRINK

BY BETH DEMMON

FINAL DRAUGHT Flagship favorites: Red Trolley

BETH DEMMON

I

n 1989, the average price of a house in California was less than $200,000, Petco Park didn’t yet exist, and there wasn’t a single brewery in San Diego.

Karl Strauss Brewing Company opened in February of that year. For many people, it was the first time they’d ever heard of this new phenomenon called “craft” beer. Within a few years, the first wave of San Diego breweries—led by AleSmith, Pizza Port and Stone—launched what would soon become the modern local beer scene.

These breweries’ beer portfolios looked wildly different than what’s on draft today. But there’s one beer at Karl Strauss that’s been there since that first year: Red Trolley, an Irish-style red ale.

Marty Johnson, the brewer at the time, came up with the iconic recipe that uses a half-ton of caramelized malts in every batch.

Paul Segura, Karl Strauss’ current brewmaster of research and development, says the flagship style was popular from the start.

“It’s still our number one seller,” he explains.

“But we have Aurora Hoppyalis IPA and Boat Shoes Hazy IPA catching up pretty quick.”

I vividly remember picking up a six-pack of Red Trolley shortly after moving to San Diego in 2008.

At the time, my beer drinking expertise was mostly limited to Pabst Blue Ribbon, Budweiser and D.B. Hobbs, a now-defunct brand of watery lager that was $5-or-less for a 12-pack (the ideal product for broke college students).

My first impression of Red Trolley was mostly confusion. I was unfamiliar with more malt-forward styles of beer, although Red Trolley is relatively balanced with lightly fruity, herbal hops. I remember it went well with pretty much everything. Segura seconds this characteristic, saying, “Irish red ales are super versatile for pairing with food,” and mentions he personally likes it with burgers and barbecue. But without the motivation of limited quantities, my purchasing impulses, along with many other beer drinkers, centered around fresher styles and more eye-catching brands.

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Karl Strauss Red Trolley Ale In the decade after its release, Red Trolley kept racking up awards. In 2016, Karl Strauss won MidSized Brewery of the Year at the Great American Beer Festival. Somehow, among all the buzz San Diego beer was creating, the old guard of early breweries managed to rise above with a slow and steady persistence. My reintroduction to Red Trolley was overdue.

After checking the date code (it was within acceptable freshness limits), I recently picked up a new six-pack of Red Trolley from a local grocery store. The first bottle I popped open emitted a clean, spicy aroma that was more enticing than what I’d expected. The flavor leaned more towards toffee with a supportive, but secondary hop balance and drier finish than what I recalled.

Every sip transformed the beer. More dark fruit notes emerged with time while the carbonic, cola-like bite lingered throughout. I was surprised when my bottle was empty; I’d been swept away by its dynamic personality. I realized I’d done myself a disservice by allowing my decades-old misconceptions to dominate my current awareness.

If anything, that’s the value of revisiting “old” beers—they might just taste new again.

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

JULY 24, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 9

EVENTS

SHORTlist

the

THREE YOU HAVE TO SEE

COORDINATED BY

SETH COMBS

GASLAMP

COURTESY OF ROCK N’ ROLL CAMP FOR GIRLS SAN DIEGO

GIRL POWER

For young musicians, that first performance can make or break their desire to continue writing music. A good, supportive crowd is sometimes the difference between a kid continuing to be creative or giving up altogether.

This is why we love the idea behind Rock n’ Roll Camp for Girls San Diego. Every summer, girls between the ages of 8 and 17 attend Rock n’ Roll Camp’s weeklong conference where they attend workshops and engage in activities led by inspirational female mentors. Sure, they learn valuable music skills, but the lessons learned go well beyond studying notes and chords.

“Our impactful program is all about empowering young girls through the power of music and self-expression. Not only do we aim to inspire the campers, we create a safe outlet for girls to embrace their uniqueness, build strong friendships and lift each other up,” says Melissa Grove, founder and president of Rock n’ Roll Camp for Girls San Diego.

“Our camp goes beyond music education; we shape the future leaders of our community through creative youth development and skill building activities.”

The culmination of the girls’ hard work at the camp is on full display at Rock n’ Roll Camp’s

MISSION VALLEY

Rock n’ Roll Camp for Girls fourth annual Camper Showcase, which features the bands the girls formed over the course of the camp. The public is invited to check out the bands and cheer loudly, while also supporting Rock n’ Roll Camp’s ongoing programs, on Saturday, July 27 at noon at the House of Blues (1055 Fifth Ave.).

“It’s such an amazing journey to witness their confidence and self-esteem skyrocket from the first day of camp to their final performance at the House of Blues,” says Grove.

Tickets to the Camper Showcase are $10 and more information can be found at rockcampforgirlssd.org.

GOING TO CHURCH

The very first San Diego Night Market took place in 2013 in the Zion Market parking lot in Clairemont. Over the past six years, the summertime event—which is inspired by the night markets found in large cities throughout Asia—attracted more vendors and attendees. This year, the outdoor market will be held at SDCCU Stadium and will feature more Asian-inspired cuisine, entertainment and merchandise from dozens of vendors. Throughout the night, there will be interactive guest experiences and dance performances, and the Convoy District Parnership even created an exclusive “I Love Convoy” lanyard-andpin set for the event. The Night Market will be held from 4 p.m. to midnight Saturday, July 27, and 4 to 9 p.m. on Sunday, July 28 at SDCCU Stadium Southeast Quadrant (9449 Friars Road). Tickets are $5 for general admission and $25 for admission and a pin/lanyard set. sdnightmarket.com KEVIN RAQUIDON

San Diego Night Market 10 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JULY 24, 2019

FOOD & DRINK Central San Diego Culinary Tour at Old Town Transit Center, 4005 Taylor St., Old Town. Enjoy behind-the-scenes tours, tastings, lunch and artisan food pairings at Cafe Virtuoso, Nate’s Garden Grill, City Farmers Nursery and Societe Brewing Company. From 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, July 27. $115. 619-289-9802, julycentral-san-diego.eventbrite.com

HFamiliar Spirit at Best Practice, 2284 Kearney Ave., Barrio Logan. An exhibition featuring work by drawer and sculptor Angie Jennings. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m.

Saturday, July 27. Free. practicebest.org Not Me. Us: A Bernie Sanders Art Show Fundraiser at Breakthrough Healing Arts, 4856 Cass St., Pacific Beach. A group show with dozens of local artists where proceeds will go toward the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m.

Saturday, July 27. Free. facebook.com/ events/breakthrough-healing-arts

CLAIREMONT

GOOD NIGHT

ART HPAOLAVIOLA at Weird Hues, 3025 Beyer Blvd., Ste. E-104, Chula Vista. New works from Paola Viola, who challenges her depression and fights against social expectations through her biographic paintings. Opening from 7 to 11 p.m. Friday, July 26. Free. facebook.com/Weirdhues

Patrick Coleman is many things: a poet, a father, a Berkshire Prize winner and the assistant director of the Arthur C. Clarke Center of Human Imagination at UC San Diego. And come July 30, he’ll be a novelist. On Wednesday, July 31 at 7 p.m., Coleman will be at the Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore to sign his debut novel, The Churchgoer, a mystery-thrillersuspense hybrid that follows Mark Haines, a former youth pastor living in Southern California.

When his co-worker is murdered and an acquaintance disappears on the same day, Mark quickly becomes entangled in the missing-person investigation. The leads he chases force him to revisit his past, and ultimately Mark embarks on a more personal journey. The event is free, but to get The Churchgoer signed at the event, a copy must be purchased through the bookstore. More info can be found at mystgalaxy.com.

VERNON NG

Patrick Coleman

We Run This Mother at Subterranean Coffee Boutique, 3764 30th St., North Park. The group art exhibit, guest-curated

by Jennifer Cooksey, showcases female superheroes and villains. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, July 27. Free. facebook.com/events Borrowing from the Past at San Diego Watercolor Society Gallery, 2825 Dewey Road, Liberty Station. Helen Hayes juries an art exhibition with around 100 original watercolor paintings for sale depicting women from the 1920s. Opening from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, July 28. Free.

619-876-4550, sdws.org

BOOKS Thomas Larson at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The writer and essayist will sign and discuss his new book, Spirituality and the Writer: A Personal Inquiry. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 25.

Free. 858-454-0347, warwicks.com Tony Harris at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. As part of Warwick’s ongoing Weekends with Locals series, Harris will discuss and sign his book, Fads Marketing: Food, Alcohol, Drugs, Sex, and the New Marketing World Order.

At noon Sunday, July 28. Free. 858-4540347, warwicks.com Carl Vonderau at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. The local author will sign and discuss his new mystery novel, Murderabilia. At 2 p.m. Sunday, July 28. Free. mystgalaxy.com George Geary at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The certified culinary professional and bestselling author of 11 cookbooks will discuss and sign his new book, The Cheesecake Bible. From 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 30. Free.

858-454-0347, warwicks.com

HSip of Julian at Julian Town Hall, 2129 Main St., Julian. Julian’s growers and producers of wine, beer, mead, cocktails and hard cider will offer tastings of their handcrafted specialties. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday, June 27. $35. 760-765-1857, sipofjulian.com Societe 7 at Societe Brewing Company, 8262 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Kearny Mesa. The seventh anniversary celebration for the local brewery will include unlimited beer pours of lagers, ales, new brews and specialties. From noon to 4 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, July 27. $60. societebrewing.com HUncorked Wine Fest at Del Mar Racetrack, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. Enjoy unlimited tastings from over 150 wines as well as gourmet food and watch the horse races live from the infield. From 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, July 27. $25-$75.

858-755-1141, dmtc.com

FILM La Jolla International Fashion Film Festival at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts center, 7600 Fay Ave., La Jolla.

The annual festival screens films from the fashion world and bestows the International Fashion Film Awards. Various times.

Friday, July 26 and Saturday, July 27. $75-$500. ljfff.com

MUSIC Appreciation Benefit for the San Diego Troubadour at Tio Leo’s, 5302 Napa St., Morena DIstrict. Fundraising event to celebrate and provide support to the monthly local music newspaper, with performances from artists who all have been featured on the frontpage. From 7 to 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 24. $15. 619-3007978, tioleos.com HSteph Johnson Band at The Westgate Hotel, 1055 Second Ave., Downtown. The award-winning, original soul-jazz vocalist, guitarist, and composer will perform with her band as part of the weekly Sunset Poolside Jazz Series curated by Gilbert Castellanos. From 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Thursday, July 25. $25. 619-238-1818, westgatehotel.com

Pierce Brown at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. The bestselling author of the Red Rising Saga will sign and discuss his new book in the series, Dark Age. At 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 30. Free. mystgalaxy.com

Congas and Bongos: Celebrating “Mongo” Santamaría and Jack “Mr. Bongo” Costanzo at Embarcadero Marina Park South, 200 Marina Park Way, Downtown. Musical salute to the Latin pioneers with performances by Mongorama and the Jack Costanzo Tribute Band performing hits like “Watermelon Man.” From 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, July 25. $20-$100. 619235-0804, sandiegosymphony.org

HJanet Fitch at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The bestselling author of White Oleander will sign and discuss her new novel, Chimes of a Lost Catheral. At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 31. Free. 858-454-0347, warwicks.com

J Boog at Del Mar Racetrack, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. Part of the Del Mar Summer Concert Series, J Boog and his band combine island music, reggae and elements of hip-hop. Takes place after the last race. Friday, July 26. $6-30. dmtc.com

HPatrick Coleman at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. The poet, writer and Assistant Director of the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination at UC San Diego will sign and discuss his debut novel, The Churchgoer. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 31. Free. mystgalaxy.com

HSan Diego Pro Arte Voices Season Opener Concert at Torrey Pines Church, 8320 La Jolla Scenic Drive, La Jolla. The professional chamber choir begins their seventh season with music by living composers such as Thomas Regelski, James Ballard and Z. Randall Stroope. At 8 p.m. Friday, July 26. Free-$30. sdproartevoices.org

H = CityBeat picks

EVENTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 @SDCITYBEAT

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JULY 24, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 11

EVENTS EVENTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 HAlicia Olatuja at the Museum of Making Music, 5790 Armada Drive, Carlsbad. The singer performs a selection of songs from her most recent album, which focuses on music by female composers like Sade and Kate Bush. At 7 p.m. Friday, July 26. $30$35. museumofmakingmusic.org

The Peter Sprague Trio at North Coast Repertory Theatre, 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Solana Beach. The jazz group will explore songs from the baby boomers’ repertoire including The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix and more. From 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Monday, July 29. $24-$27. 858-481-1055, northcoastrep.org

HArts and Amps at Karl Strauss Brewing Company, 5985 Santa Fe St., Bay Ho. The live music showcase will feature performances from Creature Canyon and Taken

by Canadians, along with local artwork, handcrafted beer and a DJ set by OMZ. From 4:30 to 8 p.m. Saturday, July 27.

Free. karlstrauss.com

2019 San Diego International Organ Festival at Spreckels Organ Pavilion, 2125 Pan American Road E., Balboa Park. The Argentine Maestro Hector Olivera, named “A Musical Giant of the 20th Century” by Interlude, will perform works on the organ.

From 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Monday, July 29.

Free. 619-702-8188, spreckelsorgan.org

Midland at Del Mar Racetrack,, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. The Grammynominated trio will perform country hits after the last race. Saturday, July 27. $6$30. dmtc.com Hooray for Hollywood: A Night at the Oscar at Embarcadero Marina Park South, 200 Marina Park Way, Downtown.

Ted Sperling will conduct the orchestra in performing famous scores from Hollywood classics alongside accompanying film clips. From 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Friday, July 26 and Saturday, July 27. $20-$100. 619235-0804, sandiegosymphony.org HRock n’ Roll Camp for Girls San Diego Annual Camper Showcase at House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., Downtown. Campers from the nonprofit dedicated to empowering girls through music will perform their original songs in their bands formed in the camp. From 11:30 to 1 p.m. Saturday, July 27. $10. houseofblues.com HThe Music of Cher at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Downtown. 250 singers from the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus will perform the legendary diva’s most popular hits alongside dancers and musicians. At 8 p.m. Saturday, July 27 and 3 p.m. Sunday, July 28. $25-$75. sandiegotheatres.org Funk & Soul in the Barrio at La Bodega Studios and Gallery, 2196 Logan Ave., Barrio Logan. The local big horn funk and soul band, Bump City Brass, will perform ‘70s hits from Earth, Wind & Fire, Tower of Power, WAR and more alongside Comic Con-inspired art. From 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, July 27. $12-$14. 619-838-0177, labodegagallery.com HCommon with the San Diego Symphony at Embarcadero Marina Park South, 200 Marina Park Way, Downtown.

The award-winning hip-hop artist, actor, film producer and poet will join the Symphony for a performance of selections from his latest album, Black America Again. From 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Sunday, July 28. $20-$100. 619-235-0804, sandiegosymphony.org

PERFORMANCE HCabaret at Encinitas Library Community Hall, 540 Cornish Drive, Encinitas.

Young artists perform scenes from opera, musical theater, and cabaret; proceeds benefit Opera NEO, a nonprofit that mentors the next generation of operatic talent.

From 7:30-10:30 p.m. Friday, July 26 and Saturday, July 27. $25-$300. 619356-1848. operaneo.com

POETRY & SPOKEN WORD HCheck, Please! An Open Mic Experiment at You Belong Here, 3619 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. This open mic, hosted

by Kelsey Olivia, is all about experimentation and inclusivity. Observe or sign up at the door to participate. From 7 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, July 25. $5. facebook. com/youbelongheresd HLast Exit: A Reading Series at You Belong Here, 3619 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. The July reading series will feature readings from the authors of Mostly Dead Things (Kristen Arnett), The Book of X (Sarah Rose Etter), Dealing in Dreams (Lilliam Rivera) and Feed (Tommy Pico).

From 8 to 10 p.m. Saturday, July 27.

Free. lastexit.org

SPECIAL EVENTS National Carousel Day at Balboa Park Carousel, 2920 Zoo Drive, Balboa Park.

Event to commemorate the purchase of the historic carousel with musical entertainment, face painting, food vendors, kids’ activities and more. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, July 25. Free. 619-2322282, friendsofbalboapark.org HCulture & Cocktails: Angels and Saints at San Diego Museum of Art, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park. In celebration of SDMA’s The Golden Age of Spain exhibition, guests can enjoy signature cocktails,

12 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JULY 24, 2019

BOOKS: THE FLOATING LIBRARY Knot of this world

I

went to grad school in Arizona with a poet who once summed up Franz Kafka’s short story, “The Metamorphosis,” in the following manner: “If you think you’re a bug, you’re a bug.”

Sarah Rose Etter’s debut novel, The Book of X (Two Dollar Radio), takes this idea a step forward.

Cassie, the novel’s protagonist, was born with an unusual defect: The flesh of her stomach is twisted into a disfiguring knot. Although this abnormality was passed down from her mother, whose own mother also suffered from this affliction, she is of little help to Cassie.

“My mother is like the weather in that she changes daily. Each day, I make a report of her.”

Cassie is stuck in the house all day with her mother, who is obsessed with cleaning the walls with lemons, while her father and brother work all day in the quarry harvesting meat.

Despite these strange activities and Cassie’s deformity, the novel unfolds in a fairly conventional manner. Cassie knows she is different than other girls but it’s not until she reaches adolescence that she feels the pain of this difference. Boys torment her. Girls betray her. Her knotted stomach literally comes between her and her desire.

custom brewed beer, choral performances, themed crafts, Spanish cuisine and music by DJ Giancarlo. From 6 to 10 p.m.

Thursday, July 25. $10-$35. sdmart.org HOn the Steps at SDMA: The Golden Age of Spain at San Diego Museum of Art, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park. At this Spanish arts and culture celebration, there will be flamenco performances, artwork and art activities led by museum educators. From 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, July 26.

Free. sdmart.org Donuts Day at Del Mar Racetrack, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. Enjoy coffee, orange juice and donuts while listening to a Q&A session with world-class jockeys led by track announcer Trevor Denman. From 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, July 27. Free. 858-755-1141, dmtc. com HEl Callejón Swap Meet at Bread & Salt, 1955 Julian Ave., Logan Heights. The seasonal community swap meet will feature vendors, collectors, and live performances from Somos Uno, DJ Rory Morison and

The Book of X is punctuated with visions, glimpses of an alternate life that Cassie imagines for herself.

“I slide off my dress. There is nothing sexual to it—he does not stare at me and I do not look at him. In the flickering candlelight, my body is a deeper puzzle: the shadows make my curved abdomen stranger, more menacing, the neck of a dark swan curled in on itself.”

This isn’t a scene between Cassie and a new lover, but a faith healer who promises to cure Cassie’s problems. The irony of Cassie’s condition is that, despite her attention-grabbing difference, no one really sees her.

Etter—who will be participating in the Last Exit reading series on Saturday, July 27 at 8 p.m. at You Belong Here—has crafted a strange and surreal novel that serves as a reminder that while we might carry our afflictions with us wherever we go, it’s up to us whether we let our burdens define us. The Book of X looks like an experimental novel, but feels like a classic.

—Jim Ruland

The Floating Library appears every other week.

others. From noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, July 27. Free. elcallejonproject.com San Diego Fruit Festival at World Beat Center, 2100 Park Blvd., Balboa Park. Lectures from fruit experts and shopping vendors, as well as a fruit carving ceremony at sunset and fashion shows. There will also be DJs, live artists and more into the night.

From 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday, July 27. $15-$40. sandiegofruitfestival.com HSan Diego Night Market at SDCCU Stadium, 9449 Friars Road, Mission Valley.

The annual market celebrates San Diego’s pan-Asian community with a full lineup of live entertainment and food vendors from Convoy Street and beyond. From 4 p.m. to midnight Saturday, July 27 and 4 to 9 p.m.

Sunday, July 28. $5. sdnightmarket.com

SPORTS HSuper Girl Surf Pro at Oceanside Pier, 300 N. The Strand, Oceanside. World’s largest female surfing event with more than 100 professional surfers competing

alongside concerts, a skating competition, DJs and more. From 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, July 26 and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Saturday July 27 and Sunday, July 28.

Free. 321-722-9300, supergirlpro.com

WORKSHOPS HMend with Mirrors at Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, 110 & 1011 Kettner Blvd., Downtown. Learn about shisha embroidery (otherwise known as “mirror work”) from artist Bhavna Mehta. Part of To Do – A Mending Project, an exhibition created in response to our country’s current polarizing climate. From 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, July 27. Free with RSVP. mcasd.org HStory Pots at Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, 110 & 1011 Kettner Blvd., Downtown. A collaborative art exercise led by artists Sasha K. Reibstein and Jones von Jonestein where patrons can build and illustrate coiled clay planters. From 2 to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, July 28.

Free with RSVP. mcasd.org

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THEATER AARON RUMLEY

Mugs, molls and Matilda

whose gender-bending turn as the awful Miss Trunchbull is a frightening delight.

Matilda The Musical runs through July 28 at Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista. $17-$57; moonlightstage.com

T

he classic musical Guys and Dolls was based on “Blood Pressure” and “The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown,” two of Damon Runyon’s cartoonish short stories about mugs and molls in 1930s New York. Now, decades later, three other Runyon stories have been turned into a new musical titled Another Roll of the Dice. Like Guys and Dolls, this world premiere at the North Coast Repertory Theatre features music and lyrics by the estimable Frank Loesser. The book is by playwright Mark Saltzman, who has crafted a show that treats its three stories separately but uses a six-member ensemble playing different characters throughout.

Another Roll of the Dice is no Guys and Dolls, especially in the script department and “Breach of Promise” is the tightest of the three rambling tales. And while there isn’t a song as iconic as Guys and Dolls’ “Luck Be A Lady” or “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat,” Dice does have some musical nuggets. All numbers feature lyrics by Loesser, but included in the score are collaborations with Hoagy Carmichael (“Heart and Soul”), Friedrich Hollander (“The Boys in the Backroom”) and Jimmy McHugh (“Let’s Get Lost,”), among others. Allison Spratt Pearce’s lovely vocals and Sarah Errington’s comic chops are cast standouts, and Elisa Benzoni’s bold, bright

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—David L. Coddon

Theater reviews run weekly.

Write to davidc@sdcitybeat.com.

OPENING: Straight: A young man must grapple with questions of his sexuality as his girlfriend looks on. Presented by Loud Fringe Theatre Group, it opens July 25 at the Tenth Avenue Arts Center in Downtown. loudfridgetheatre.com

Another Roll of the Dice costumes are Runyon-worthy.

Another Roll of the Dice runs through Aug. 11 at North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach. $40-$52; northcoastrep. org ••• he dark cleverness of Roald Dahl’s books may not fully translate to the musical stage, but that hasn’t stopped producers from attempting to adapt them (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr. Fox, James and the Giant Peach and Matilda the Musical). What’s

T

more, all but Mr. Fox have been wildly successful.

Matilda the Musical, now playing at Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista, succeeds there too, even if there’s way more talking than music in its two and a half hours. What enlivens the production are some first-rate performances, including that of Charity Rose, a budding star, as Matilda, the genius girl with special powers whose parents shun her. In fact, all the child actors in Matilda impress. On the grown-up side, there’s Randall Hickman,

Dogfight: Benj Pasek and Justin Paul’s musical about three Marines learning the power of compassion on the eve of their deployment to the Vietnam War. Directed by Teri Brown, it opens July 26 at the Coronado Playhouse. coronadoplayhouse.com The Underpants: In Steve Martin’s comedy, the wife of a bureaucrat accidentally flashes the king to hilarious and unexpected results. Directed by Walter Bobbie, it opens July 27 at the Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park. theoldglobe.org Shorts by Simon and Chekhov: The La Jolla Theatre Ensemble presents a series of short plays and one-acts from Anton Chekhov and Neil Simon. It happens July 28 at the La Jolla Community Center. ljcommunitycenter.org

For complete theater listings, visit sdcitybeat.com

JULY 24, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 13

14 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JULY 24, 2019

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CULTURE | THEATER EDDIE MARTINEZ

Bryce Gerson and John Wells III in Straight

he passion to produce a particular play can spark any number of artistic endeavors. And ������������������������� while it doesn’t hap� pen often, it can sometimes even fa� cilitate the formation of a new theater company.

Such is the case with John Wells III’s Loud Fridge Theatre Group (loudfridge� theatre.com), a collective of San Diegobased actors and designers, and the play Straight by New Yorkers Drew Fornarola and Scott Elmegreen. Wells, along with the two actors (Kate Rose Reynolds and Andréa Agosto), would become the co-founders of Loud Fridge.

“I had the privilege of meeting [Fornaro� ��������� la] and talking to him about the show and asking him when he was going to bring it to San Diego,” Wells recalls. “I told him I had experience producing. That’s where we (he and his co-founders) started. We sat down and talked about what our goals were for a theater company.”

Those goals are “to reflect the human condition, to tell stories about a lot of different walks of life,” says Wells, who came to San Diego from Murrieta three years ago to work on a production at Diversionary Theatre in University Heights and never left.

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“We want to have a platform where we can discuss different opinions, present dif� ferent points of view, different ideas, differ� ent possibilities.”

That makes Straight—which opens Thursday, July 25, and runs through Aug. 4 at the Tenth Avenue Performing Arts Center— SYMPATIKA

Loud Fridge founders Kate Rose Reynolds, John Wells III and Andréa Agosto an ideal play to launch the company. To hear Wells explain it, the play follows a 26-yearold investment banker (Ben) who is strug� gling with his sexuality, specifically when it comes to his long-term girlfriend (Emily) and his attraction to Chris, a 26-year-old male college student.

“It’s a very real show about the struggle to find yourself and about traversing sexual orientations,” says Wells, who also serves as Loud Fridge’s artistic director.

“There are always implications that come with sexual orientation. However, I think we don’t spend a lot of time looking at the com� plexity of understanding what orientation is and what that means not just to society, but to a person. That really struck me watching the main character, Ben, struggle with this idea of sexuality and combatting the stereo� types that come along with implications of being straight or gay or bisexual.”

Co-founders Reynolds and Agosta, along with actor/singer Leigh Ellen Akin, will di� rect the Loud Fridge production of Straight.

Wells himself will portray Ben, with Arielle Siler as girlfriend Emily and Bryce Gerson as Chris.

“I describe the play as ����������������� tragically truth� ful,” Wells says. “I don’t expect everyone to love the play, but I do expect everyone to be smacked by the reality of it. I hope that it causes people to really think about choices that we make, whether that’s for our own lives or about boxes that we put other people in.”

Loud Fridge’s inaugural production

is also the rare theatrical project that is directed by a collective of women.

“It’s been a fascinating process,” says Kate Rose Reynolds. “Because all three of us (herself, Agosto and Akin) are actors who have experience directing, it’s a little easier for us to be open and receptive to a collab� orative environment. We’re all happy to be doing this process together.

“All three of us have similar attitudes toward theater, to what kind of story we’re trying to tell, what kind of experience we’re trying to create for actors.”

The rarity, if not unprecedented rarity, of three women collaborating to direct a play just sort of fell together.

“To quote Bob Ross, ‘it was a happy ac� cident,’” Reynolds says.

Reynolds and Wells first worked together in 2017 on Diversionary Theatre’s production of Hansol Jung’s Cardboard Piano. Reynolds says Wells originally approached her to be� come an assistant director on Straight, but that the two quickly realized it was going to be a lot for Wells to take on. That, she says, is when they began discussing the possibility of creating a sort of collective of directors.

They eventually brought in Andréa (Agosto), and that was the seed of what would become Loud Fridge Theatre Group.

“I have very quickly built a lot of relationships in the theater community here in San Diego,” says Wells, “and connections who are willing to come on board for this production. Kate and Andréa, also being es� tablished actors in this region, are able to use their connections as well to make this happen.”

Wells says this production is “very lowmaintenance.” They don’t need a big crew and each wore multiple hats in staging the show. Reynolds designed the lights for it and the stage manager (Kellen Gold) designed the sound for it. Wells designed the sets and props with help from others. They even have a well-known actress, Joy Jones, who is do� ing the costumes.

“A lot of people are doing double duty,” Wells says.

The question remains whether Loud Fridge Theatre Group will establish itself as a company after the run of Straight. It may depend, as it does for so many fledgling pro� ducers in San Diego, on whether it can se� cure a regular performance venue. The com� pany is renting the Tenth Avenue Perform� ing Arts Center space on a one-time basis.

“There are all of these smaller theater companies that are fighting for space, and there’s support for them,” said Reynolds, who has appeared onstage at theaters in� cluding the San Diego Rep, Diversionary, and Scripps Ranch Theatre. “There’s so much ex� citing work and smaller voices coming out and fighting to be heard. John intends to keep [Loud Fridge] going, and I hope that he does.”

Wells says he’s “not closing the door on the theater company (after Straight), by any means, but I’d like to see where it goes.”

“Anything is possible with a great support team. I believe I have one. I believe I have very capable and competent people on my side.

Should we agree to go forward as a company I have no doubt that we will be successful, even with all the challenges involved.”

JULY 24, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 15

CULTURE | ART ADRIANA VELAZQUEZ

SEEN LOCAL FROM A BORDER, FAR FAR AWAY

T

he term “Mexican aliens” is often used with hateful intentions. Filmmakers Benjamin Huerta and Itamar Lilienthal are seeking to change that.

Enter the science-fiction drama Chicana Stardust.

The independent film is a production of Casa Tamarindo, written and directed by Huerta and Lilienthal, and is expected to be released in fall 2019.

“We wanted to create a movie that really spoke about the pressing problems of today, being environmental, immigration, just basic disparities but presented in a way that doesn’t point fingers at anyone,” Lilienthal says.

Chicana Stardust follows Akyra (Margaret Abud) and a band of warriors from Planet Jaba as they travel to a distant planet called California in hopes of recovering an artifact stolen by Fela (aka Chicana Stardust, played

by Linda Abud). But things get complicated when it is revealed that Fela has stolen this artifact, known as “the Amulet,” in order to preserve what is left of the Jaba culture on the new planet she now calls home.

When Huerta and Lilienthal began working on the project, they originally only planned on creating a commercial for Lilienthal’s Casa Tamarindo, a binational design house that focuses on sustainable art and furniture. But the more they explored the significance of a ’70s sci-fi B-movie approach to their culture, they realized the project was bigger than just a five-minute video.

“You see Mexican aliens in a completely different context on the news every other day,” Huerta says. “To see a science-fiction take on our culture, it’s been very

Lidia Marin, Margaret Abud and Victoria Martinez cool to see how people react.”

As they were coming up with ideas for the set, they drew inspiration from Latino/Chicano psychedelia and films like El Topo and The Holy Mountain by Chilelian-French filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky. They were also drawn to the idea of creating a record of the history and culture of the Baja region, similar to the idea of Wakanda in Black Panther.

Filming for Chicana Stardust took place in both San Diego and Tijuana to bring greater attention to the bi-national life of the border region without solely focusing on the negative news in the media. Last year, Huerta and Lilienthal saw how the film could shine a positive light on the community after an article was published about the film the day after hundreds of asylum-seeking migrants were met with teargas from U.S. border patrol agents. Both seemed to realize the significance of Chicana Stardust, but in a different way.

“Even now, all the things about Tijuana are so negative or they’re so pigeonholed on violence, cartels, stuff like that. There’s a lot of magic in TJ,” Lilienthal says. “Tijuana is a weird place. Just capturing that, it’s fun.”

—Andrea Lopez-Villafaña

TO SEE OR NOT TO SEE: “OF ALL THINGS” other she’s attempted before, both in size and scale.

The piece is made up of thousands of paper pyramids, tetrahedrons and what Walter calls “weird geometric here’s something to be said for the value of sim- shapes,” each of them cut and assembled by hand. ply staring at a piece of art and getting lost. So- It feels almost like a disservice to reveal this. I can’t imagine the wonderment one might cial media has fundamentally SETH COMBS feel when simply stumbling into Ice changed the way we view and expeGallery and marveling at the floorrience art, with the actual viewing to-ceiling installation. often playing second fiddle to the Knowing what the piece consists experience. I don’t want to sound of, as well as the effort it took to astoo much like an old man yelling semble it, does not take away from at a/the cloud here, but I have this its overall majesty. Nor is it crucial lingering fear that we’re raising an to fully grasp the scientific theory entire generation who won’t be of the multiverse, which Walter’s able to appreciate any sort of art piece is meant to explore. It took me that isn’t immediately IG-worthy a good five minutes to get over my or FOMO-inducing to others. initial bewilderment to really begin I’ve written about local artist to study what, exactly, was sustainMelissa Walter’s work in these paging the rows of tetrahedrons on the es before, and there’s never been floor. any doubt that her work is as inBut this wasn’t meant to be exspiring as it is selfie-worthy. A for“Of All Things” mer graphic designer at NASA and

by Melissa Walter periential art, where the viewer is ultimately supposed to be awed but at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Walter (melissawalterart.com) has also come out knowing exactly what they witnessed. always taken a more scientific approach to her sculp- Walter herself rebuffed me for attempting to inspect tural, painted and illustrated pieces. They are pleas- the proverbial hat she’d used to pull out an omniveringly precise and posses a meticulous symmetry that sal rabbit. Sometimes it’s best to just catch ourselves, put the phone away, suspend disbelief and get lost in appeals to both the left and right sides of the brain.

Walter’s months-in-the-making “Of All Things,” the moment. currently on view at Ice Gallery inside Bread & Salt —Seth Combs (1955 Julian Ave.), is an installation piece unlike any

In this semi-regular column, we review a notable new art show or exhibition.

T

16 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JULY 24, 2019

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CULTURE | FILM COURTESY OF IFC FILMS

History for sale

Sword of Trust

Lynn Shelton delivers a sly rebuke to those who peddle in misinformation

by Glenn Heath Jr.

T

he right wing conspiracy theorists in Sword of this makeshift outfit. Nathaniel and Cynthia’s converTrust are so ridiculous that their mere existence sations provide hilarious tangential asides that conwould be questioned in any other time period. firm each character’s tenuous feelings toward trust.

It’s completely natural to be wary of strangers, But in the Trump era, the Civil War “truthers” in this film—whose aim is to prove that the Confederacy was especially in a time where divisiveness feels like the actually victorious—could probably pop up as com- only social currency. Sword of Trust understands this sentiment, but then challenges it by placing characmentators on any current Fox News segment.

Lynn Shelton’s new comedy is very aware of our ters like Mel and Mary in tense situations where their increasingly idiotic political climate, but never suc- gut instincts have to take over. While en route to sell cumbs to its inferred absurdity. Instead, the film takes the sword, the two share a moment of realization that a more nuanced approach by representing compet- confirms they have more in common than originally ing ideologies in a rural Alabama setting. Most of the thought.

Sword of Trust always lives in the moment, only characters are reasonable and tolerant people dealing with tangible social problems like drug addiction or rarely referencing a backstory to deepen Mel’s guilt over disavowing his addict ex-girlfriend (played by financial hardship.

Regional experiences have always been of inter- Shelton). The immediacy gives each burgeoning est to Shelton, whose low-fi early works were some friendship an exciting quality even if they are destined to be temporary. of the first to skewer the Pacific Each actor beautifully emNorthwest’s obnoxious hipster braces the adventure. Shelton’s culture. Films like Humpday and breezy direction gives them Your Sister’s Sister construct SWORD OF space to work through how anxawkward social encounters to TRUST iousness and empathy might help mine the depths of male Directed by Lynn Shelton coexist from various different insecurity.

Starring Marc Maron, perspectives. Maron’s surly perSword of Trust feels wiser and Michaela Watkins, Jillian Bell formance especially stands out more exhaustive than the direcand Jon Bass because Mel is so thoroughly tor’s previous efforts, mirroring torn between competing impulsthe demeanor of its main charRated R es. Terrible life experiences have acter, a weathered pawnshop programmed him to play things owner named Mel (Marc Maron). safe, a cycle just as addictive as His daily routine involves hustling walk-in customers, griping at his hapless assis- his former cocaine and heroin habits.

Shelton has fun monetizing misinformation and tant Nathaniel (Jon Bass) and swapping stories with turning the whole scheme around on the film’s MAGA Jimmy (Al Elliott) who runs a diner across the street.

Mary (Michaela Watkins) and Cynthia (Jillian Bell) stand-ins. Trump’s hate-filled administration is never look like easy marks when they enter Mel’s store mentioned, but the policies and tactics can be felt in trying to hawk a Civil War-era saber. It was recently the desperate, emboldened actions of two racist thugs.

Sword of Trust (opening Friday, July 26, at the handed down to them by Cynthia’s deceased grandfather along with a rambling letter and pseudo-doc- Landmark Ken Cinema) could have easily embraced umentation purporting the sword’s symbolic impor- a darker tone considering the subject matter. Yet, tance to the South’s secret victory over those pesky Shelton’s film and TV work has consistently done less with more when it comes to life’s cruelties. She’s more northern aggressors.

Online offers made by white supremacists willing enamored with oddball friendships and salvaging huto buy such memorabilia come pouring in, and Shel- man connections that can get so easily lost within the ton’s foursome of lead characters team up to make the swirling onslaught of today’s latest misery. best sale possible. The ensuing negotiations produce some ramshackle bickering of the highest order, with Film reviews run weekly.

Mel and Mary tussling over who should be the leader of Write to glennh@sdcitybeat.com

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JULY 24,2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 17

CULTURE | FILM COURTESY OF ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS

Together forever

L

Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love

eonard Cohen’s iconic deep voice cemented him as the masculine musical poet of the early 1970s. It was around the same time that his tumultuous romance with longtime girlfriend and muse Marianne Ihlen began to dissolve. The couple had famously met on the Greek island of Hydra in the early 1960s, which had become an enclave for reclusive artists to escape the pressures of reality.

Filmmaker Nick Broomfield met both Marianne and Leonard during

this time, and he looks back on their complicated relationship with fondness and much melancholy in the new documentary, Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love.

While Cohen’s professional career and notorious private life have been well documented, the emotional and psychological consequences of these historical circumstances on Ihlen’s life have largely gone ignored. Broomfield’s hazy, meandering film seeks to remedy that by exploring how commercial success inevitably reveals uncomfortable demons more easily hid-

den with artistic failure.

Most of the subjects interviewed for the film, including Cohen’s silver-tongued band mate Ron Cornelius, rationalize his philandering and bad behavior by referencing the social constructs and norms of free love. Marianne herself even admits that Cohen was an artist who could never be tied down, something confirmed

by Aviva Layton, one of the couple’s longtime friends: “Did you ever know a poet or an artist that’s made a splendid husband?”

While Broomfield allows this sense of historical revisionism to go mostly unquestioned, his film does give Marianne a platform to complicate the comfy linearity of nostalgia. The memories she remembers are ones mired by depression, anxiety and heartbreak, which would ripple outward to her young son who saw Cohen as a father figure.

Truthfully, Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love (opening Friday, July 26) is less about tragic love or failed romance than an unglamorous emotional fracturing that took years to culminate, the stuff history books and popular culture usually care to omit.

—Glenn Heath Jr.

OPENING Darlin’: A feral teenager is whisked away

by Catholic church officials who want to turn her into an example of their religious power to tame wild desires. Opens Friday, July 26, at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

La Jolla International Fashion Film Festival: The two-day fest includes screenings of new docs and films centerining on the fashion industry. Screens Friday, July 26 and Saturday, July 27, at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center in La Jolla.

Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love: A look at the tumultuous love affair between musician Leonard Cohen and his longtime muse Marianne Ihlen. Opens Friday, July 26, at Landmark Hillcrest Cinemas and Angelika Film Centers Carmel Mountain.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: Quentin Tarantino’s latest opus takes place in Hollywood circa 1969 during the summer when Charles Manson and his followers committed heinous murders that shocked the world. Opens Friday, July 26, in wide release.

Sword of Trust: A pawn shop owner (Marc Maron) in Alabama gets caught up in a hackneyed scheme with two customers hoping to sell a Civil War-era saber to racist conspiracy theorists. Opens Friday, July 26, at the Landmark Ken Cinema.

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

18 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JULY 24, 2019

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BRANTLEY GUTIERREZ

MUSIC

Alison Sudol iming really is everything. And for better or worse, singer/actress Alison Sudol has always been someone on the early side of things.

After graduating high school at 16, the daughter of two drama teachers decided to forgo college in pursuit of her true passion: music. By the time she was 21, the Seattleborn artist had already signed to a major label and was performing under the moniker A Fine Frenzy.

Her debut album, 2007’s One Cell in the Sea, reached number one on Billboard’s Top Heatseekers chart and led to opening slots with a variety of headlining acts including Sean Lennon, Rufus Wainwright and Brandi Carlile.

Two more albums of heartbroken pop followed, 2009’s Bomb in a Birdcage and Pines in 2012. Although the latter marked the beginning of Sudol finding her creative footings as a singer, as well as affording her a co-headlining tour with Joshua Radin, the then-27-year-old was anything but happy.

“It was musical heartbreak,” Sudol tells CityBeat from her current home in New

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York City. “I was deeply depressed and I didn’t know how to take care of myself back then. I’m not a hearty rock and roll artist. I was in a world that required me to push it really hard, and I just burned out. I couldn’t find that spark in myself anymore; the resilience to get up on stage and be that vulnerable.”

Ironically, Sudol sought solace in the equally vulnerable world of acting. After landing a recurring gig on the first season of Amazon’s Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning series Transparent, she was cast in the sole season of USA Network’s FBI drama Dig. A year later, in 2016, the creative polymath landed her breakout role as Queenie Goldstein in J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The film was a considerable hit and Sudol reprised her role in last year’s sequel, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

Although she never really stopped, it was during the filming of the first movie that Sudol decided to start making music seriously again. This time, she did it on her own terms, without restrictions, and without any outside help save for her writing partner and

producer Ali Chant (PJ Harvey, Perfume Genius, Aldous Harding).

Chant’s Bristol studio made it a quick train ride from the set of Fantastic Beasts, but even with a fresh start, Sudol found putting herself back in a musical headspace didn’t come easy.

“I felt myself disappearing again,” she recalls. “And Ali and I were all the way to where we were mixing it. I told him I was sorry, but we had to go back to where we started with these songs. So we stripped them back to the studs and rebuilt them again. It just had to be what I loved and believed in this time.”

The result of those re-worked sessions

was a pair of new EPs—last November’s five-track Moon and the forthcoming Moonlite.

When put side-by-side with the music of A Fine Frenzy, the differences are stark. Long gone are the sterilely produced, straightahead pop structures and saccharine-sweet soliloquies. They’ve been replaced by far denser tunes, rife with darkness and drama, and canvassed by enough atmospheric texture that the songs sound like they came from two different artists.

Sudol’s voice is still the star of all her work, but it’s obvious that the new songs come from an artist pushing her musical boundaries.

“I guess it really comes down to confidence,” she says. “Music is my main form of expression and of processing emotion. It’s such a weird, intense, wonderful, soul filling and frustrating experience. But I finally feel like I’m doing what I want to be doing.

There’s ownership in it. And that’s something so different and refreshing.”

While Sudol admits her initial plan was to make music again but skip the live performance part, her innate call for that interaction was just too great to ignore.

“Not exchanging that energy on stage, not living my music, was making me ill.”

So on Aug. 1, the singer and actress will kick off her first tour in seven(!) years with an intimate club show in San Diego.

And while she has plenty of experience when it comes to performing onstage, her long hiatus from performing has resulted in some anxiety resurfacing. But at this point, she’s determined not to let anything like that get in her way.

“It’s crazy,” says Sudol. “I’m both incredibly nervous and super excited. But I think of it like a cold lake. You just have to run off the dock and jump in.”

Sudol is set to star in two more Fantastic Beasts films, but she says more music—both with Chant and an old project that will finally see the light of day—is in the pipeline.

Given that Sudol is willing to trade craft service and air-conditioned trailers for shitty greenrooms and convenience store snacks should tell music fans all they need to know about her return to the artform most dear to her heart.

“I have so much compassion for the girl that I was when I quit music,” she says. “But now, as a woman of 34, I’ve had success in my life and I’ve had failure. I know who I am.

I’m still learning, but at least I have the gist of it now. And everything is mine.”

JULY 24, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 19

20 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JULY 24, 2019

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BY RYAN BRADFORD

MUSIC

NOTES FROM THE SMOKING PATIO

THE

SPOTLIGHT JIMI GIANNATTI

LOCALS ONLY

T

he San Diego club scene isn’t exactly known for being those who attend hip-hop nights and the rest of the local music particularly keen on booking local hip-hop acts. A few scene.

“I hope that, someday, I’ll see more friends from other one-off shows and opening gigs are bound to pop up, but showcases at local neighborhood venues are still few and far genres at these shows,” Bergman says.

For Records & Rhymes, Art Unites is collaborating with felbetween despite hip-hop being the most popular genre of mulow organizations such as The Holyfield, San Diego Urban Beats sic (and it’s not even close). and San Diego PubCrawlers to curate a night A few nights have done well in showcasing of music and visual art. The inaugural event— local artists, including DJ Artistic’s Hip Hop which happens at 7 p.m. Sunday, July 28 at Battle Bot and the all-ages Lyrical Exchange The Casbah—will include performers Lew at Queen Bee’s Art and Cultural Center. Now, Houston, Ric Scales, Fade Green and more, local arts organization Art Unites has teamed while hip-hop-inspired visual artists such up with three other organizations, along with as Attiba Royster, Annie Lou and Wesley the local acts and promoters, to host Records & Creator will feature their work. There will also Rhymes, a new hip-hop showcase that they be a pop-up shop of local merchants, and an hope will become a regular event. open mic with guest speaking slots from Jack “Events showcasing both established and Jack King of Parker Edison King (of Parker Meridien fame), Diez Nueve emerging hip-hop artists, plus other art forms and Fade Green. and artist resources, are valuable and scarce “We hope our guests feel welcomed and inspired by what from what I can tell,” says Art Unites founder Blanca Lucia they see and hear at Records & Rhymes,” says Bergman. “We Bergman.

Bergman goes on to say that there are many great hip-hop also hope they network and leverage the open mic segment and music events happening in San Diego “every night of the week,” other opportunities presented.” but wonders whether there’s much cross-pollination between

—Seth Combs

ALBUM REVIEW Warsaw Magick (Self-released)

A

nyone who’s seen Warsaw perform live already knows they can cast a spell. Sure, there’s a dark-wave moodiness to their overall sound, but there’s also a level of intimacy in their music that most local bands lack. This is especially true of the bands that play moodier, synth-heavy music, as there always seems to be a level of sadder-than-thou pretension hanging over the proceedings. Best not act as if they feel the music too much, lest they be shunned to the Island of Misfit Goths where The Cure’s “Mint Car” plays on a loop.

Yes, Warsaw plays dark music, but the quartet often surmounts those all-black-everything trappings thanks in no small part to the shared vocal duties of the married couple that fronts the group (Demetrius and Rebecca Antuña). Their best songs have always been marked by the two coming together in what I can only describe as the type of call-and-response that results when someone is performing with their musical soulmate.

Channeling that level of performative intimacy into recorded music can sometimes be tricky. Warsaw’s previous releases—2016’s Warsaw and last year’s Wires—were enjoyable affairs, but seemed uneven at times. The band’s strongest tracks have always been the ones that build from dark, minimalist soundscape and into a shared climactic crescendo (Wires’ “Distant” is a great example of this).

On Magick, Warsaw’s third EP, this dynamic is most clearly displayed on “Creation,” a slow-building, synth-heavy track that also sees the band move in a more dance-friendly, almost poppy direction. It’s also evidence of a more tender side to the band that’s only been hinted at in previous releases. When the Antuñas come together to coo on the chorus, it’s downright pleasant, and Rebecca’s synthesizer solo is straight out of a John Hughes film.

Much of Magick plays out similarly and the Robert Smith inflections (post-Disintegration) are evident on songs such as “Cycles” and “Failure (A.S.S.).” At no point could the listener ever mistake the fact that this is a decidedly moody affair, but the EP is evidence that Warsaw is growing as a band and expanding their sound. What’s more, they seem to be finally finding that perfect balance between the shared vocals, coming together at the most opportune times just as they do during their performances.

—Seth Combs

I

Jimmy Eat World

t’s tempting to call Third Eye Blind and Jimmy Eat World has-beens, so on the surface, it makes sense that they’d be touring together.

It was impossible to turn on modern rock radio in the late ‘90s and early 2000s without hearing “Semi-Charmed Life” or “The Middle,” respectively. And while both are essentially great songs, oversaturation and failure to repeat that success doomed both bands to something of novelty status.

But the designation is a little unfair, and these two bands have more thematically in common than previous stardom: They’re both among some of the most emotionally honest bands to ever make it big. I’ll always stan for earnestness in rock music.

At the risk of losing friends, Third Eye Blind’s debut album is actually one of my favorite albums of the ’90s. Nearly every song tackles heavy topics like suicide and drug addiciton, and it does so with wit and a subversive pop sensibility. “SemiCharmed Life,” for instance, is the most upbeat song in history about doing crystal meth. Apart from the doo-doo-doos, the lyrics are pretty horrifying, and it blows my mind that a song with such graphic subject matter got so big.

Jimmy Eat World’s Bleed American was one of those quintessential high school albums for me, as it probably was for all my fellow emo friends.

That album, too, is filled with pop gems about sad subjects. “Hear You Me” from that album was one of the first to ever make me cry, and I’m only a little ashamed to say it. Teenage hormones are weird, man.

Jimmy Eat World and Third Eye Blind play Thursday, Aug. 1 at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre.

JULY 24, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 21

MUSIC

BY CITYBEAT STAFF

IF I WERE U Our picks for the week’s top shows

WEDNESDAY, JULY 24

PLAN A: Drab Majesty, Body of Light, Hide @ Music Box. We’re not entirely sure why Drab Majesty mastermind Deb Demure (aka Andrew Clinco) dresses up like a retro version of the guy from Powder, but we love his brooding synth-pop. Sometimes it sounds like Echo & the Bunnymen, sometimes is sounds like moodier Peter Gabriel, but either way, it’s gothy gold. PLAN B: B Boys, Bodega, Miss New Buddha @ Whistle Stop. Brooklyn trio B Boys probably can’t ball like Kobe or breakdance on cardboard, but they do play a sick brand of postpunk that recalls Wire and Parquet Courts.

BACKUP PLAN: The Mailboxes, Tennessee Brushed, Death of an Astronaut @ Lestat’s West.

THURSDAY, JULY 25

PLAN A: Golden Vessel, Instupendo, The Nicholas @ Soda Bar. Australian producer Golden Vessel (real name: Max Byrne) crafts sexy, lo-fi electro that is downright infectious. He’s already wildly popular so this is the type of show that’ll earn you bragging rights in a few years.

BACKUP PLAN: Bob Log III, Deadbolt, Gloomsday, Low Volts @ The Casbah.

frontman. PLAN B: X, Dead Rock West @ Belly Up Tavern. The legendary L.A. punk band is still one of the best live acts and we just love it when they play “White Girl.”

BACKUP PLAN: Creature Canyon, Taken

by Canadians @ Karl Strauss Brewing Company.

SUNDAY, JULY 28

PLAN A: Chris Cohen, Dear Nora, Nancy Sin @ Soda Bar. Most music fans probably know Cohen from his work in Deerhoof and The Curtains, but his solo work is just as impressive. His new self-titled album is filled with his signature smooth-sailing folk that’s peppered with pop, yacht-rock and even psychedelic elements. PLAN B: X, The Aquadolls @ Belly Up Tavern. Yet another chance to see the L.A. legends. BACKUP PLAN: The Raconteurs, Melvins @ Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre at SDSU. JULIEN KELLY GROSS

FRIDAY, JULY 26

PLAN A: Yves Tumor, Hirakish @ Music Box. Former local Sean Bowie, who performs under the name Yves Tumor, is something of an enigma; a beautiful, gender-blurring force that creates experimental electronic music that is often accompanied by disorienting visual elements. This is going to be an amazing show. PLAN B: Stef Chura, French Vanilla, Lunch Lady @ Soda Bar. We’re pretty wild about Stef Chura’s Saddle Creek Records debut, Midnight—12 empowering indierock kiss-offs that fans of Liz Phair and Courtney Barnett should seek out immediately. BACKUP PLAN: Drug Hunt, Cumbia Machin, Creep Seed @ Whistle Stop.

SATURDAY, JULY 27

PLAN A: ‘A Tribute to Roky Erickson’ w/ The Loons, Wet Drugs, Razzmatazz House Band @ The Casbah. It’s not an exaggeration to state that modern psychedelic rock wouldn’t exist without the music of Roky Erickson. We can think of a no better way to spend an evening than watching some of San Diego’s best psych-rock bands pay tribute to the 13th Floor Elevators

22 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JULY 24, 2019

CHAI

MONDAY, JULY 29

PLAN A: Ninet Tayeb, The Oxen, Matt Mcjunkins @ Soda Bar. Israeli rocker Ninet Tayeb is a huge star in her home country, but is yet to break out in the U.S. This is too bad, because the L.A. transplant crafts some anthemic rock jams and has a voice that is not of this earth. BACKUP PLAN: Le Saboteur, NO WIN, The Petty Saints @ The Casbah.

TUESDAY, JULY 30

PLAN A: The Drums, CHAI @ The Observatory North Park. The Drums’ 2010 single, “Let’s Go Surfing,” is the greatest song ever written about young love and catching a wave. Change our mind. Also, show up early for the all-woman pop force that is Japan’s CHAI. BACKUP PLAN: City Windows, Jonny Tarr Quintet, The Miles @ The Merrow.

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MUSIC

CONCERTS HOT! NEW! FRESH!

Les Enfants (Casbah, 8/5), No Strings Attached (Music Box, 8/7), The Stalins of Sound (Soda Bar, 8/7), Doom Bloom (Soda Bar, 8/15), Electric Mud (Music Box, 8/16), Flynt Flossy (Soda Bar, 8/18), Gypsy Temple (Soda Bar, 8/20), Jack Symes (Soda Bar, 8/21), Evan Konrad (Casbah, 8/26), Secret Fun Club (Soda Bar, 9/13), Sean James Murphy (Soda Bar, 9/29), Reignwolf (Casbah, 10/1), Big Mountain (Music Box, 10/6), Vivian Girls (Observatory, 10/6), Black Lips (Casbah, 10/8), The Hu (Observatory, 10/10), El Ten Eleven (Casbah, 10/12), Brick + Mortar (Soda Bar, 10/13), EyeHateGod (Casbah, 10/27), Saintseneca (Soda Bar, 10/28), Through the Roots (Music Box, 11/2), The Midnight Hour (Soda Bar, 11/17), Hirie (Observatory, 11/23), Moon Hooch (Casbah, 12/4), From Indian Lakes (Soda Bar, 12/4), With Confidence (The Irenic, 12/7), King Princess (Observatory, 1/28).

ALL SOLD OUT She Past Away (Brick by Brick, 7/26), X (BUT, 7/27), Jeff Bridges (BUT, 8/6), The Psychedelic Furs (Observatory, 8/6), Death Cab For Cutie (Observatory, 8/9-10), Touché Amoré (Ché Café Collective, 8/13), Orville Peck (Casbah, 8/15), David Grisman (BUT, 8/29), Queen Nation (BUT, 8/30), Still Woozy (Music Box, 9/30), The Marshall Tucker Band (BUT, 9/12), Oliver Tree (Observatory, 9/18), Girl in Red (HOB, 9/27), MXMTOON (HOB, 10/2), Marc Broussard

@SDCITYBEAT

(BUT, 10/5), Jonas Brothers (Pechanga Arena, 10/7), Morcheeba (BUT, 10/13), Tyler Childers (Observatory, 10/15), Two Door Cinema Club (Observatory, 11/8), Built To Spill (Casbah, 11/14).

CANCELLED Jagwar Twin (Casbah, 7/21), Ozzy Osbourne (North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, 7/23).

GET YER TICKETS Porter Robinson (OMNIA, 7/19), Pouya (HOB, 7/23), Lil Jon (OMNIA, 7/26), Blink-182, Lil Wayne (North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, 8/7), Kacey Musgraves (Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre, 8/27), Andy Grammer (HOB, 9/2), Carrie Underwood (Pechanga Arena, 9/10), Tony Bennett (San Diego Civic Theatre, 9/14), Yungblud (Observatory, 9/19), Cigarettes After Sex (Observatory, 10/5), The Japanese House (Observatory, 10/11), The Who (Viejas Arena, 10/16), Judah & The Lion (Observatory, 10/17), Senses Fail (HOB, 10/19), Hozier (Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre, 10/26), Helmet (BUT, 11/7), King Princess (Observatory, 1/28).

JULY WEDNESDAY, JULY 24 Jonathon McReynolds at House of Blues. Cracker at Belly Up Tavern. Drab Majesty at Music Box.

THURSDAY, JULY 25 Bob Log III at The Casbah. Andy McKee’s Guitar Masters at Music Box.

Golden Vessel at Soda Bar. The Alarm at House of Blues.

FRIDAY, JULY 26 Stef Chura at Soda Bar. Thrice at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre. Reel Big Fish at House of Blues. The Highwayman Show at Belly Up Tavern. AJ Froman at The Casbah. Lil Jon at OMNIA. Disco Under the Sea at Music Box. Yves Tumor at Music Box.

SATURDAY, JULY 27 $UICIDEBOY$ at SOMA. Wayward Sons at Music Box. Black Sabbitch at Soda Bar. A Midsummer Masquerade Ball: French Follies at Observatory North Park. ‘80s Metal Jam Night at Brick by Brick. The Loons at The Casbah.

SUNDAY, JULY 28 The Raconteurs at Cal Coast Credit Union Air Theatre at SDSU. Matt Costa at Music Box. Decrepit Birth at Brick by Brick.

Wayward Sons at Music Box. X at Belly Up Tavern. Ric Scales at The Casbah.

MONDAY, JULY 29 Ninet Tayeb at Soda Bar. Le Saboteur at The Casbah.

TUESDAY, JULY 30 The Drums at Observatory North Park.

Full Blast Fun Boy at Soda Bar. DJ Artistic’s Hip Hop Battle Bot at The Casbah.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 31 Everything Is Terrible! at The Casbah.

Stranger at Belly Up Tavern. Psychic Graveyard at Soda Bar.

THURSDAY, AUG. 1

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 7

Easy Wind at Belly Up Tavern. Alison Sudol at Soda Bar. Born of Osiris at House Of Blues. Talib Kweli at Music Box. William Clark Green at The Casbah. Pete Case at Whistle Stop,

FRIDAY, AUG. 2 Rascal Flatts at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre. Mystic Braves at The Casbah. These Handsome Devils at Music Box. Lil Duval at House Of Blues. Bad Cop/Bad Cop at Soda Bar. Billy Bio at Brick by Brick. The Head & the Heart at Observatory North Park.

SATURDAY, AUG. 3 Dead Horses at Soda Bar. A.A. Bondy at The Casbah. Holy Grail at Brick by Brick. The Molly Ringwalds at House Of Blues. The PettyBreakers at Belly Up Tavern. Vinyl Junkies Record Swap at The Casbah. Leilani Wolfgramm at Music Box.

SUNDAY, AUG. 4 Bars of Gold at Soda Bar. Chrome Waves at Brick by Brick. Border Angels Benefit at The Casbah. Island Vibe Music Festival at Music Box.

MONDAY, AUG. 5 The Bacon Brothers at Belly Up Tavern.

Lord Huron at Humphrey’s. Les Enfants at The Casbah.

TUESDAY, AUG. 6 The Slow Kill at Soda Bar. Doc Hammer at The Casbah.

The Original Wailers at Belly Up Tavern. Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin Stones at The Casbah. Blink-182, Lil Wayne at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre. Frank Iero & The Future Violents at House of Blue. Weyes Blood at The Irenic. No Strings Attached ay Music Box. The Stalins of Sound at Soda Bar.

THURSDAY, AUG. 8 The Surfrajettes at The Casbah. Leonid & Friends at Belly Up Tavern. Beach Bums at Soda Bar. 3rd Ear Experience at Brick by Brick.

FRIDAY, AUG. 9 Chris Young at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre. Master at Brick by Brick.

Sidney Gish at Ché Café Collective. The Paladins at Belly Up Tavern. Ruby Haunt at Soda Bar. The Soft White Sixties at The Merrow.

rCLUBSr

710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave., Pacific Beach. Fri: 40 oz. to Freedom, Nirvana Mania. Sat: Alice Insane, Oceans. Tue: About Face, Phunky Matters.

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

Thu: ‘SUBdrip’. Fri: ‘House Music Fridays’. Sat: DJ Fingaz. Sun: ‘Sunday Feels’. Mon: ‘Organized Grime’. Tue: DJ 2On, Devin the DJ 2lit.

MUSIC CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

JULY 24, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 23

BY CHRISTIN BAILEY

MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23

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

Sun: Big Dude.

American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., Downtown. Thu: Kelsey Cook. Fri: Kelsey Cook. Sat: Kelsey Cook. Tue: Open Mic.

Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave., Bay Park. Fri: She Past Away (sold out). Sat: ‘80s Metal Night’. Sun: Decrepit Birth.

Bang Bang, 526 Market St., Downtown.

Fri: Chris Malinchak. Sat: Tim Baresko, Sly Turner.

The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd., Midtown.

Wed: The Dropscience, Systems Officer, Dr3mbr0s. Thu: Bob Log III, Deadbolt, Gloomsday, Low Volts. Fri: AJ Froman, Demasiado, Aunt Cynthia’s Cabin, Strat & Mouse. Sat: The Loons, Wet Drugs, Razzmatazz House Band, DJ Tony the Tyger. Sun: Lew Houston, Real J X Dnykay, Ric Scales, Fade Green, Devv Lov. Mon: Le Saboteur, No Win, The Petty Saints.

Tue: DJ Artistic’s Hip Hop Battle Bot.

Bar Pink, 3829 30th St., North Park.

Wed: Squarecrow, All Weather. Thu: Trip Carson, Johnny Deadly Trio, Los Muertos, Shayna Zeigan. Fri: DJs Grimm & Lavelle.

Sat: Buckfast Superbee, Micelves. Sun: ‘Rat Sabbath’. Mon: Jason Hanna Trio.

Tue: DJ GirlGroupGirl.

Che Cafe, 1000 Scholars Drive S, La Jolla. Thu: Poor, Alien Boy, Cool Original.

Fri: Shawshank Reedeemed. Sat: No/ Mas, Feeble Fetus, Speculum, Vertigoat, Funeral Dirge, Genestealer. Sun: Harry and the Potters, Sands, Mold, Car Thief Heart. Tue: The War Toys, DZR, Presser.

Beaumont’s, 5665 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla. Fri: The Nineteen 90s. Sat: Fish & the Seaweeds.

Dizzy’s, 4275 Mission Bay Drive, Bay Park. Thu: David Borgo’s 4tet. Fri: Sean Hicke Group. Sat: Jamie Baum, Lori Bell.

Sun: Liam Keefe.

The Bancroft, 9143 Campo Road, Spring Valley. Wed: Karaoke. Thu: The Lousekateers. Fri: Farewell Winters, Done Talking.

Sat: PsyLow, The Lords of Dust, Condor.

Sun: Tanglers, Roadside Coyotes, Bad Kids. Mon: Trivia. Tue: Karaoke.

Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. Wed: Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven. Thu: 2nd Annual Realtor Battle of the Bands. Fri: The Highwayman Show, Kimmi Bitter. Sat: X, Dead Rock West (sold out). Sun: X, The Aquadolls.

Black Cat Bar, 4246 University Ave., City Heights. Fri: King Whisker, Vaginals, Larrikin. Sat: Hell’er Highwaters.

Blonde, 1808 W. Washington St., Mission Hills. Wed: ‘Dance Klassique’. Thu: ‘More than Friends’. Fri: ‘We Are Yr Friends’.

Sat: ‘Through Being Cool’. Sun: ‘Pleasure Chest’. Mon: ‘Blue Monday’. Tue: ‘Techit Easy’.

F6ix, 526 F St., Downtown. Thu: ‘TakeOver Thursdays’. Fri: Tony Tone. Sat: DJ Moe. Sun: ‘Reggae Sundays’.

Fluxx, 500 Fourth Ave., Downtown. Fri: Shaffy. Sat: Shabazz.

The Holding Company, 5046 Newport Ave. Wed: Holdout, Chris Wilcox, Sonic Tonic. Thu: Well Well Well, Cardinal Moon. Fri: La Diabla, Jonny Wagon, The Tennessee Sons, Sweet Tooth. Sat: Jonathan Lee, DJ Mancat. Sun: ‘Psychadelic Sundays’. Tue: ‘Reggae Tuesdaze’.

MUSIC CONTINUED ON PAGE 25

24 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JULY 24, 2019

ASTROLOGICALLY UNSOUND Weekly forecasts from the so-called universe ARIES (March 21 - April 19): The vast, limitless possibilities that stretch out before you aren’t what you think they are. They’re actually just your imagination helping you put off choosing between the three things you might actually do.

TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): This week will feel like when you pull into your driveway and the headlights catch four pairs of beaming orbs staring at you while digging in your trashcan.

GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): Everyone needs a little help sometimes. All you need to do is reach out to the bank teller and say, “I need everything in the register!”

CANCER (June 21 - July 22): Don’t let fear stop you from having the life you want to live. Actually, this only applies if your fear is public speaking and not a primal fear.

Please don’t go into the alligator-infested waters.

LEO (July 23 - August 22): Wisdom comes with age and babe, you’re an old hot dog that’s been rotating on the gas station warmer for three weeks.

VIRGO (August 23 - September 22): People tend to learn to tolerate lies so long as you are telling a good story, but that’s the problem isn’t it? The story you are telling really sucks.

LIBRA (September 23 - October 22): This week will have the emotional arc of a yo-yo. However, you could be really good with a yo-yo. But you’re probably not so this week will just be down.

SCORPIO (October 23 - November 21): Both can be true: It’s not the tick’s fault that he wants to drink your blood and it’s also not your fault for walking through tall grass with exposed legs SAGITTARIUS (November 22 December 21): You probably would have been able to invent cotton candy if you had been born before it was invented, but it’ll ruin your life to think about this too much.

CAPRICORN (December 22 January 19): The safest place to be during an earthquake is on Deception Island in Antarctica. But then, obviously, you’d have to deal with a volcano.

AQUARIUS (January 20 - February 18): When it feels like everything is out of your control, just remember that it is, in fact, out of control, so what is the use of worrying about it?

PISCES (February 19 - March 20): A broken clock is right twice a day but a clock you set a few clicks ahead is not at all right and, what’s worse, you believe it!

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

@SDCITYBEAT

MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 24 House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., Downtown. Wed: Jonathan McReynolds. Thu: The Alarm. Fri: Reel Big Fish, Bowling for Soup. Sat: One Drop Redemption. Tue: Robin Henkel.

Humphreys Backstage, 2241 Shelter Island Drive, Shelter Island. Wed: Whiskey Ridge. Thu: Blue Largo. Fri: Viva Santana.

Sat: Rising Star. Sun: Jason Brown Band.

Mon: Sue Palmer. Tue: The Bayou Brothers.

The Irenic, 3090 Polk Ave., North Park.

Thu: Jump/Cuts, Blowfish Remixed, Year of the Ox, DAN aka DAN. Sat: ‘End Alz with a Song’.

Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd., Midtown. Fri: ‘Tech Support’. Sat: Agent Orange, James Hopkins.

crest. Wed: Karaoke. Thu: Burlap the Sac, For the Record, Triton Eye. Fri: Magical Animals, Runs Deep, Grand Curator. Sat: Sticky Doll. Mon: ‘Playground Monday Night Dance Party’. Tue: City Windows, The Miles, Jonny Tarr Quintet.

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

Mr. Peabody’s, 136 Encinitas Blvd., Encinitas. Thu: The Sickstring Outlaws. Fri: Bonneville 7. Sat: 8 East Band. Sun: Tony Ortega Jazz Jam. Mon: Open Mic. Tue: Karaoke.

Music Box, 1337 India St., Little Italy.

Wed: Drab Majesty, HIDE, Body of Light.

Thu: Andy McKee’s Guitar Masters, Trevor Gordon Hall, Calum Graham. Fri: Cris Herrera, Bob Dazzla, Shige, Uri Leshner.

Sat: Wayward Sons, Radio Thieves, Way Cool Jr. Sun: Matt Costa, JD & the Straight Shot, Matt Hartke.

Kensington Club, 4079 Adams Ave., Kensington. Fri: The Calvins, Eruption, The Waste Aways. Sat: Shindigs, Kid Gruesome, LoveHandle.

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

Wed: ‘Drip Top’. Fri: ‘Factory’. Sun: Tribe of Kings. Mon: ‘Motown on Mondays’.

Tue: ‘Night Shift’.

Lestat’s Coffee House, 3343 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Wed: The Mailboxes, Death of an Astronaut, Brushed. Fri: Ignant Benches, The Frets, Leon Canoe, The Beachstones. Mon: Open Mic. Tue: Comedy Night.

OMNIA Nightclub, 454 Sixth Ave., Downtown. Thu: ‘Undone on Thursday’. Fri: Lil Jon. Sat: Crankdat.

Mc P’s Irish Pub, 1107 Orange Ave., Coronado. Wed: Jackson & Billy. Thu: Fish & JG. Fri: Josie Day Band. Sat: Miss Demeanor. Sun: Jackson & Billy. Mon: Jackson. Tue: Sophisticats.

Panama 66, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park.

Wed: ‘The Wednesday Jam Session’.

Thu: G and the Swinging Gypsies. Sun: Funk Jam. Parq, 615 Broadway, Downtown. Fri: Direct. Sat: Tritonal.

Martinis Above Fourth, 3940 Fourth Ave., Hillcrest. Wed: Ben Vereen. Thu: ‘Sinatra Night’. Tue: The Breakthrough Revue.

Pour House, 1903 S. Coast Highway, Oceanside. Wed: Open Mic. Thu: Inspired & the Sleep. Fri: That’s Right. Sat: ‘80s Night’. Sun: Shane Shipley. Mon: Trivia. Tue: DJ Lexicon Devil.

The Merrow, 1271 University Ave., Hill-

Proud Mary’s, 5550 Kearny Mesa Road,

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Kearny Mesa. Wed: Scott Mathias. Thu: Tomcat Courtney. Fri: Fuzzy Rankins. Sat: Chris Fast Band.

The Rail, 3796 Fifth Ave., Hillcrest. Thu: ‘Country Dance’. Sun: ‘Noche Romantica’.

Rich’s, 1051 University Ave., Hillcrest.

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

Fri: ‘Electro-POP!’. Sat: ‘SD PIX Anniversary’. Sun: ‘Discoteka’.

Riviera Supper Club, 7777 University Ave., La Mesa. Wed: ‘Boss Jazz’. Thu: Gabriel Valentin. Fri: Taryn Donath Duo. Sat: Chloe Lou & the Liddells, The Shanghai’s. Tue: The Works Jam. Rosie O’Gradys, 3402 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Wed: Digital Lizards of Doom. Thu: DJ Dougie Frosh. Fri: Stand Back Blues Band. Sat: Echoes. Mon: Jazz Jam. Tue: ‘Gone Funky’.

Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Wed: Nanami Ozone, Bad Kids, JINX. Thu: Golden Vessel, Instupendo, The Nicholas. Fri: Stef Chura, French Vanilla, Lunch Lady. Sat: Black Sabbitch, Nebula Drag, Space Force. Sun: Chris Cohen, Dear Nora, Nancy Sin. Mon: Ninet Tayeb, The Oxen, Matt Mcjunkins. Tue: Full Blast Fun Boy, Slay Dean, Rich Boy Junkie, Underground Lounge.

SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd., Midway.

Thu: Cuco, Umi. Sat: $uicideboy$, Denzel Curry, City Morgue, Germ, Night Lovell, Trash Talk.

SPACE, 3519 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights.

Wed: ‘Out in the Dark’. Thu: ‘Post-punk’.

Fri: ‘Fast Food Junkies’. Sat: ‘Transmission’. Tue: Karaoke.

Spin, 2028 Hancock St., Midtown. Fri: Waff. Sat: Mr. Carmack. Sun: ‘The Festival Market’.

Sycamore Den, 3391 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Wed: Paul Gregg. Thu: ‘Burlesque Boogie Night’. Sun: Coral Bells.

Tue: Trivia.

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

Tin Roof, 401 G St., Downtown. Wed: Megan Katarina. Thu: Corey Gray & Jake Coco. Fri: Chad & Rosie. Sat: L.A. Party Band. Sun: Karaoke. Mon: Tony P. Tue: John Hull.

Tio Leo’s, 5302 Napa St., Bay Park. Wed: Plow, The Baja Bugs, Leonard Patton.

Thu: Liz Grace & the Swing Things. Fri: The Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash, The Sleepwalkers. Sat: Rhythmatics. Sun: Blusd Blues Summer Camp Fundraiser.

Mon: ‘Sexy Salsa & Sensual Bachata’.

Tue: The Sea Monks.

Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave., City Heights. Fri: Stalins of Sound, Barrio Tiger, Kids N Propane. Sat: The Widows, Killing California, The Pegs, Thing with Heads. Sun: The Heroine.

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

Thu: ‘BoomBox Thursdays’. Fri: DJ KidWonder. Sat: DJ Junior the Disco Punk.

Sun: Synrgy, Dread Daze, Lexy Love.

Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St., South Park.

Wed: B Boys, Bodega. Thu: ‘Vamp- Local Storytelling Showcase’. Fri: Drug Hunt, Cumbia Machin, Creepseed, DJ Dot, DJ Rob. Sat: ‘Booty Bassment’.

Winstons, 1921 Bacon St., Ocean Beach.

Wed: ‘Club Kingston’. Thu: Wave 11.

Fri: Grateful Bluegrass Boys, Shakedown String Band. Sat: Casual Yak, Chugboat, Apollo V. Sun: Karaoke. Mon: Electric Waste Band. Tue: Ron Blair, The Chris Torres Band.

JULY 24, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 25

26 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · JULY 24, 2019

@SDCITYBEAT

BY JACKIE BRYANT

IN THE BACK

CANNABITCH The great 8

COURTESY OF LEVEL

O

ne of the great benefits of the legalization of recreational cannabis has been the explosion of access to information about the plant itself. As someone who came to use cannabis through recreational means (that is, sneaking bowls out my childhood bedroom window after my parents fell asleep), it’s amazing to now be able to learn about individual cannabinoids and their various uses.

What is a cannabinoid, anyway? It’s a chemical compound secreted by cannabis flowers and, once ingested, interacts with receptors in the body to alter neurotransmitter release in the brain. They regulate communication between cells and act to provide relief for a variety of physical and mental symptoms, including nausea, pain and anxiety. Cannabinoids bind to receptors in our bodies, producing different effects depending on which part of the body they prefer. At this point, it’s impossible to say how many cannabinoids naturally exist in the cannabis plant, but suffice it to say, there are dozens.

The two most well known of these cannabinoids are, obviously, Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the stuff that makes us feel high, and CBD, the stuff that doesn’t make us feel high, but can serve to chill us out. (It can also reduce inflammation, among other things.)

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine returned from a road trip with a small box of Delta-8 Protab pills, which are produced by LEVEL (levelblends.com), a San Franciscobased company that specializes in products made from

@SDCITYBEAT

Delta-8 Protab pills rare cannabinoids. This friend gave up THC years ago due to undesired effects.

“I can’t smoke pot anymore because it doesn’t make me feel good—I get social anxiety and paranoia,” he told me. “I also feel pain. I don’t know if THC causes pain or allows me to feel parts of my body that are not right, but it enhances sensitivity.”

Others suggested he look into Delta-8-THC, which is considered the most similar to Delta-9 THC (aka regular THC). Delta-8 is supposed to have fewer hard-hitting ef-

fects than its close chemical cousin.

Chemically, Delta-8 is different from THC by only a few atomic bonds. It can produce a serious high of its own, but it exists in the cannabis plant at far lower levels, so companies like LEVEL are finding value in extracting and concentrating it. The company’s Delta-8 Protab pills contain 25 milligrams of Delta-8 and no amount of regular THC (Delta-9) and CBD. The packaging indicates it’s ideal for consumers seeking a “moderate” high.

Lately, my friend has been having a hard time sleeping, so he started taking half a pill about an hour or two before bedtime. Though he’s sleeping much better after a few weeks of use, he admits that it’s harder for him to wake up. He also once took a whole pill at work and felt pretty stoned, so he has settled on half as his ideal dose.

Not wanting to feel left out, I picked up a pack of LEVEL’s Hangover Protab pills, which have THC-A, CBG, CBD and Delta-8. These are not supposed to get people as high, but after ingesting a full pill after days of taking only half, I found that it still packed quite a punch. As advertised, they are also highly effective in melting away a hangover, which I realized after a week of near-daily use nursing hangovers while on vacation. I love them, but I also have a higher tolerance for cannabis than the average bear. And while the Protabs are pricey ($52 at Urbn Leaf), splitting them makes for a better high for me and therefore makes them more cost-effective.

CannaBitch appears every week. Follow Jackie Bryant on Twitter at @jacqbryant.

JULY 24, 2019 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 27