San Diego CityBeat • Aug 14, 2013

A brighter

shade of

b l ac k Deafheaven carve an i n n o vat i v e n e w p at h f o r b l ac k m e ta l b y J e f f Te r i c h P. 2 7

CICLOSDIAS P.4 DEMOCRATS P.7 BUSKERS P.20 BUTLER P.25

2 · San Diego CityBeat · August 14, 2013

August 14, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 3

Heaven on wheels The sounds a little boy made on Sunday as he sped down 30th Street toward South Park on a miniature bike supported by training wheels could have been screams of terror. But they weren’t. They were shrieks of unfettered joy. OK, maybe a little terror. But he was smiling all the way downhill, his friend or his sister trailing behind, just as happy, if not as noisy.

The boy might have been concerned about flying too fast, pulling the handlebars ever so slightly to one side and eating it at the bottom of the hill. But he wasn’t at all worried about cars, about which he’s surely been admonished over and over again by his parents. He was free, and the excitement seemed almost too much to bear.

The child was part of a steady stream of people cruising up and down the main thoroughfare between Grant Hill and North Park on a perfect summer day. Sunday was CicloSDias: six hours with no cars, hordes of people bicycling, rollerblading, walking, running, pulling wagons occupied by toddlers, pushing strollers and at least one guy riding backwards on a unicycle. Volunteers gave away free water and ice cream. Musicians played on corners. A female police officer patrolling a street crossing playfully greeted a dog who’d stopped to say hello. Folks created their own impromptu block parties. Residents set up chairs on their lawns to watch the parade.

It was a sweet day, with just a touch of bitterness if you stopped to think about how it all came together. If you knew who was responsible for the event, it was, in part, downright tragic.

This magnificent day was brought to you by San Diego Mayor Bob Filner. Bicycling advocates have been trying to make something like it happen for years but couldn’t get anywhere. Samantha Ollinger, executive director of BikeSD, was introduced to Filner during last year’s mayoral campaign and pitched it to him. Filner ran with it. He gave it a name, talked it up during the campaign and set it in motion after he was elected. He put his former campaign manager, Ed Clancy, in charge of bicycle initiatives, and Clancy grabbed the baton and ex-

ecuted the ambitious plan. Filner, Clancy and the city’s cycling advocates got it done.

This is one reason why we’re so angry with Filner. CicloSDias was a glimpse of what could have been if the mayor hadn’t been done in by his uncontrolled lust and his inability to see women as people deserving of respect.

CityBeat was an early caller for his resignation. A month later, he hasn’t resigned. He could be negotiating a resignation deal with the city attorney and Gloria Allred, the lawyer for Irene McCormack, the David Rolland former Filner communications director who’s sued him for sexual harassment. He could be waiting to see if criminal charges are filed. Maybe he won’t resign at all, deciding to take his chances against a difficultto-qualify recall effort that’ll be launched on Aug. 18, when proponents are allowed to officially start collecting signatures. But even if he manages to continue to occupy City Hall’s 11th floor, he’ll still be a pariah among many of the people with whom he’d otherwise work to make cool things happen.

And that’s a shame for those of us who were so excited about Filner’s potential to reshape San Diego from the bottom up and the middle out, rather than from the top down. CicloSDias was a radiant example of Filner’s idea of what community means, and who knows what he could be planning right now if he were in the Mayor’s office and not in hiding at home—or wherever he is— taking “personal time,” his lawyers say, fresh off an unknown amount of behavioral therapy. When he emerges, his energy will be consumed by his mounting legal troubles and his battle against recall.

Fortunately, CicloSDias can become a regular event far into the future, replicated in other parts of town, with or without Filner, and it absolutely should. If we do end up needing to pick a new mayor, we must insist that candidates tell us whether or not they’ll carry the torch for such community-building endeavors and reject those who can’t adequately articulate specifically how they’ll do so.

What do you think? Write to editor@sdcitybeat.com.

This issue of CityBeat is the new black, but it isn’t saying whether or not it’s done time in a women’s prison.

Volume 12 • Issue 1 Editor David Rolland Associate Editor Kelly Davis Music Editor Jeff Terich Staff Writers Alex Zaragoza, Joshua Emerson Smith Web Editor Ryan Bradford Art director Lindsey Voltoline Columnists Edwin Decker, John R. Lamb

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

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

Advertising inquiries Interested in advertising?

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

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

4 · San Diego CityBeat · August 14, 2013

Correction

Filner is my mayor

In last week’s “Art & Culture” story about comic artist Oliver Nome, Susan Myrland reported that all of the employees of WildStorm, Jim Lee’s comics company, were let go. In fact, it was just the in-house artists and some other staff. We’re sorry for the error.

Bob Filner is the mayor we elected. He is the mayor I voted for and the mayor I still support. The witch hunt we have been witnessing, and to which CityBeat has contributed, is clearly boughtand-paid-for by San Diego’s establishment elites. Details on that to come—maybe too late for voters to know who’s financing the recall effort to get rid of an enemy of “civil” business-as-usual.

You never liked Filner, though you grudgingly provided a lukewarm election endorsement, to stay on the safe side. Since then, in the trumped-up furor, you’ve called at least twice for Filner’s resignation. You say, “liberals need to start coalescing around someone else.” I challenge you to name anyone with the bona fides of Mayor Bob Filner as change agent.

Wait, how about changeling Nathan Whatsisname, who just became a Democrat after years of service in the most conservative corridors of the GOP—working for bribester Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, for one?

Nathan lists himself these days on Google as “Leader / Educator / Innovator” and follows with an inflated résumé and glam photo to match. I cannot understand why, but I think he’s always been your kind of guy.

Gay wrongdoers I’d like to comment on your July 10 editorial about gay marriage.

I have a friend from elementary school who is a lesbian and a college friend who’s gay. I’ve visited people suffering from AIDS in the hospital. I know a young lawyer who died from the disease.

If a person expresses that the lifestyle is wrong, then the ad hominems are hurled in their direction as they are accused of being bigoted. What about the First Amendment guaranteeing freedom of speech? Don’t people have a right to their opinions?

Canada has restricted pastors from expressing that it’s wrong.

Christians need to be loving like Jesus. He loved the person but didn’t tolerate the wrongdoing.

It’s like any other sexual wrongdoing, such as adultery, addiction to pornography, sex before marriage, bestiality, etc.

Homosexuality is contrary to physiology, violates the beliefs of monotheistic faiths, is contrary to thousands of years of history and culture, and there’s absolutely no empirical evidence as to predisposition or a gay gene. It usurps the will of the citizens of California, and a minority is forcing its beliefs on the majority.

How this choice is made is a complex issue. My friend was molested while selling L.A. Times subscriptions door to door. He struggled with sexual identity and then was encouraged to pursue the gay lifestyle.

This is one of several factors. Our society is becoming more and more permissive as it embraces postmodernism. TV is attempting to make the LGBT lifestyle more acceptable (Glee, Modern Family). Songs such as “I Kissed a Girl” glorify the choice. There are people in the gay community who are intolerant and religiously bigoted regarding opposing views as they protest with whistles and obscenities at worship service and beat a man carrying a sign that expresses what is his First Amendment right.

Mark Peter, Solana Beach

Frances O’Neill Zimmerman, La Jolla

Is it dementia?

Regarding your editorials about Bob Filner: Has anyone given the thought that he may be suffering from some kind of dementia? His erratic and stubborn behavior seems to show signs of it. Let’s face it, he is getting up in age. In any case, he should resign for his own sake and the city’s.

I never thought I would say this because I supported him and admired his political career before the allegations of sexual misconduct, gift taking, etc.

Frank Bonillo, Poway

Dial it back, boys If anything can be learned from the Filner affair, it’s that what we say, as straight men, matters. A visit to any bar or nightclub is not complete without some guy trying to hit on a female server, bartender or customer using really crude language. The men of San Diego

need to dial it back. Drop those words from your vocabulary.

One guy I know who is a regular on the local bar scene got 86’ed from six bars just for crude language. No amount of heavy tipping could save him. When he got a couple of drinks in him and started talking, customers would leave. It’s time, gentlemen.

Bob Kay, Overlook Heights

Filner’s disgusting As more details of Mayor Filner’s transgressions come to light, what really hits home for me is that he is an embarrassment not only to the city but also to men in general.

This isn’t some drunken guy at a bar chasing women, as bad as that can be; it’s a presumably sober politician who is so narcissistic that he feels that any rules of conduct between men and women do not apply to him.

There are times to flirt and there are times not to. But there is never a time to be disrespectful and behave the way Filner has behaved.

Not only should he resign immediately, but every man who happens to come across him should look at him in disgust because he disgraces us all.

Rob Cohen, Kensington

Avoid the narcissists The issue of Bob Filner goes further than sexual harassment and bully behavior. It brings narcissistic personality disorder out of the shadows. Narcissistic behavior has become pervasive in our country since many gravitate to public office due to their incredible need to micromanage and be in control.

Filner and other narcissists (my opinion) are incapable of viewing their own behavior as wrong. Only a recall will remove him. But, rest assured, he will be campaigning for a seat on a community association a year from now.

I am hopeful that this highlevel meltdown will help educate the public about insidious personality types, who (aside from being employed by them) should be avoided at all costs.

Janet Andrews, La Jolla

August 14, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 5

Lindsey Voltoline

Stuck in the pipe

Prop. A is holding up millions of state dollars for crucial city infrastructure

by Joshua Emerson Smith

No one seems to remember the city of San Diego ever requiring a project-labor agreement on a city construction job. But last year, voters passed a ballot measure, Proposition A, prohibiting the city from doing just that. The new law couldn’t have come soon enough for supporters who suggested that the labor agreements, which often favor unions, could have taken a significant toll on city coffers.

However, city officials say it’s the law that could end up costing taxpayers. At stake is state funding for city infrastructure, including more than $100 million during the next three years in grants and low-interest loans for water and sewer projects.

Because of the ban, millions of dollars in state funding are currently on hold, said Jeanne Cole, program manager with the city’s Public Utilities Department. “It’s significant money. We owe it to our ratepayers to finance a capital program in the most efficient and effective manner.”

A project-labor agreement (PLA) is often used on large construction projects to determine union involvement, as well as the expe-

6 · San Diego CityBeat · August 14, 2013

rience and wage requirements for workers.

Building-industry groups have campaigned all over the country in recent years against the use of PLAs, claiming the agreements unfairly favor union contractors. As of July, as many as 18 states have banned the agreements, according to the trade organization Associated Builders & Contractors.

After watching the cities of Oceanside and Chula Vista, as well as the county of San Diego, ban PLAs, the California Legislature took action. In April 2012, lawmakers signed into law SB 829, which cuts off state funding for cities that restrict the use of PLAs. Despite Sacramento’s aggressive move, San Diego voters in June approved Prop. A, which prohibits the city from requiring a contractor to enter into a PLA as a condition of bidding on a municipal construction project.

On Jan. 1, the state law went into effect, freezing at least $26 million in approved state funding for San Diego infrastructure and putting hundreds of millions of dollars in future funding in question.

“The city was warned by Sacramento what was going to happen if this ballot measure passed,” said former City Councilmember Donna Frye, who campaigned against Prop. A. “This is going to hurt people in San Diego. But the opposition didn’t seem to care.”

Eric Christen, executive director of Coalition for Fair Employment in Con-

While the city has yet to disclose projected losses under the new law, the city’s Independent Budget Analyst’s office found that in fiscal years 2010 and 2011, San Diego received almost $200 million in state funding that would not have been available today.

Going forward, additional bonds may have to be floated within the next four years to pay for miles of sewer-pipeline rehabilitation and other infrastructure needs, Cole said.

This could mean fee hikes for ratepayers, as interest rates on bonds are significantly higher than on the state loans the city was receiving, Cole said. “It’s cheaper for us to issue state loans than go to the bond market.”

Losing state funds as a result of Prop.

A could also affect the city’s bond rating, according to a report last year from Fitch Ratings. The rating company has taken no action. The company is waiting to see what happens if San Diego challenges the constitutionality of the state law in court, said Alan Gibson, director of Fitch’s San Francisco office. “It’s too soon for us to know if this will have an impact on the city’s financial status,” he said.

Critics of Prop. A suggested that industry groups designed the measure to set up a legal battle, hoping to use city resources to challenge the state’s PLA law in court.

City Attorney Jan Goldsmith has expressed willingness to sue the state over the issue but has yet to get permission from the City Council to do so. He argues that there’s an exception in the city’s law, written to protect access to state funding. It reads: “Except as required by state or federal law as a contracting or procurement obligation, or as a condition of the receipt of state or federal funds, the City shall not require a Contractor on a Construction Project to execute or otherwise become a party to a Project Labor Agreement as a condition of bidding, negotiating, awarding or performing of a contract.”

While critics of Prop. A initially read the exception as nullifying the ban when state funds are attached to a project, Goldsmith rejected that interpretation. The city attorney argued that the state can’t legally “require” the city to use a PLA, so the exception could not override the ban. Instead, Goldsmith’s legal argument for why the city should continue to receive state funding— which his office declined to explain—reads as follows: “Thus, under a broader interpretation of the exception clause, the City may meet this condition of the receipt of state funding, imposed by SB 829, by maintaining its discretion to adopt, require or utilize PLAs in City construction contracts, notwithstanding the operative language of Proposition A, which prohibits the City from requiring contractors to enter into PLAs.” Despite the state-funding block, the city has pledged to stay on top of its aging water and sewer infrastructure. Unclogging the fallout from Prop. A might not be as easy.

struction, the group that spearheaded Prop. A, blamed the Legislature for the blocked funding.

“I would hope that the Democrats, having failed to use this hammer to keep the voters from voting a certain way, that they would go and fix this because it’s hurting our constituents,” he said.

In the run-up to the city’s June election, Christen dismissed potential funding cuts as an idle threat, telling KPBS in May that the state law was a “gimmick” that would have “no impact.” At the same time, state Controller John Chiang released a statement saying that if the measure passed, “San Diego will no longer be eligible to receive state grants for local construction projects.”

Now the prediction has come true—at least for the first eight months of this year— and it’s not clear if or how it can be fixed.

At a press conference in December, Mayor Bob Filner said he was “in discussions with Sacramento” in an attempt to “pragmatically” fix the situation. At the same time, he fired the city’s state and federal lobbyists and has yet to replace them. The city has signaled no progress on the issue since.

“There are no discussions on this matter between the city and the administration,” said Jim Evans, a spokesperson for Gov. Jerry Brown.

The city could have done a better job at informing the public of the potential consequences of Prop. A, Frye said. “The city has the obligation to let the public know.

Unfortunately, the city didn’t quantify the Write to joshuas@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcitybeat.com. potential impacts.”

john r.

spin cycle

lamb Life after Bob “I have a different vision of leadership. A leadership is someone who brings people together.”

—George W. Bush It appears that if the local Republican Party has its way, every future political candidate in San Diego will be required to pass the Bob Filner sniff test.

Did Candidate A endorse Filner in the mayor’s race? Is there a photo of Candidate B with Filner?

Are they smiling together?

Much the same way that every Republican who ever stood next to disgraced former U.S. Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham for a photo-op has likely sent those photos to the trash heap, so, too, will every Democrat be required to rummage through her or his files searching for incriminating photos with Mayor Letch.

This will be a handy tactic for the local GOP, seeing that their own prospects for a future mayorship rest in such shaky hands. Poll after poll shows City Councilmember Kevin Faulconer with such little name recognition citywide that it actually has people talking about a Jan Goldsmith run.

That’s not a winning formula in a city where 40 percent of registered voters are Democrats and 27 percent are Republicans.

That’s not to say that the Democratic Party in San Diego hasn’t taken its share of hits in recent weeks as it tries to deal with the daily dribble of stomach-churning news that leaks out about Mayor Hideaway, from the litany of stories about Filner’s perverse, on-the-job dating efforts to his alleged rapid run through behavior therapy to his return home to reclusion.

But leading those hits, certainly on social media, has been none other than former state Assemblymember Lori Saldaña, whose name at one time had been floated as a possible successor to local Dem Party chair Jess Durfee, who departed the position last year to much pomp and circumstance following November’s successful election run. Francine Busby, said to be Durfee’s choice as a replacement, easily won the chairmanship.

Saldaña has made no bones about her public disdain both for Filner—with whom she tussled for years over a border sewage-treatment project—and Durfee, who she believes sold out the party’s progressive values for the almighty campaign bucks that flow more readily to moderate candidates.

Part of the backstory, however, is that when Durfee announced that he would be stepping down as party chair after eight years, rumors began floating that Saldaña might be interested in the volunteer job.

“That was Jess Durfee’s worst nightmare, is what people were telling me,” Saldaña told Spin Cycle this week. “I was never actually interested in it, but a lot of activists were excited about how

spin cycle CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

August 14, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 7

John R. Lamb

Francine “Larry” Busby, Bob “Curly” Filner and Lori “Moe” Saldaña

Spin Cycle CONTINUED from PAGE 7 close my campaign went up against the millions of dollars that went against us.”

That reference is to her close-but-no-cigar race against moderate Scott Peters in last year’s 52nd Congressional District primary contest to challenge incumbent Brian Bilbray, whom Peters went on to defeat in November.

Politics, Saldaña is fond of saying, is “like show business for ugly people. You hit your marks. You have your entourage. You have people watching you. The play’s the thing.” And played she felt, particularly when she said she was pressured to endorse Filner by labor leaders. This despite Filner endorsing Peters for Congress while Peters made no effort to return the favor for Filner.

Durfee, meanwhile, isn’t buying it. While he declined to comment on his successor’s leadership, he added, “My only beef is with Lori Saldaña running around pointing fingers when she very publicly endorsed this guy. It’s just sort of annoying.”

In recent weeks, Saldaña has garnered considerable media attention over her claims that she warned Durfee in 2011 that Filner had a serious problem with mistreating women. She took significant heat for suggesting to Slate magazine that “as a gay man” Durfee failed to understand the power dynamics involved in Filner’s creepy dealings.

“His response was, ‘He’s a single man. He can do what he wants,’” Saldaña said.

“I talked to a lot of gay men who found that offensive,” Durfee countered. “It didn’t make sense to me. Is she suggesting that if I’m straight I’d get it, or would I only get it if I were a woman? Either way, the ‘single man’ comment is not what I ever said. Apparently, she’s saying that only a woman can make the right judgment calls in terms of sexual harassment.”

Durfee even theorizes that Saldaña endorsed

8 · San Diego CityBeat · August 14, 2013

Filner simply to gain “political points” against Peters. “This had nothing to do with party leadership or anyone else putting pressure on her,” he said.

“She basically tried to discredit Peters in front of Democrats. And, apparently, her concerns for Bob Filner all went away at that point in time.”

Saldaña, no shrinking violet, was adamant.

“Jess thought I was talking about Bob’s dating behavior,” she said. “No, Jess, I said these are women he is meeting as part of his job responsibilities.

This is why women who report harassment are ridiculed and demeaned.”

Spin asked Saldaña how she thought Busby, the new party chair, was handling the media storm.

“Let’s just say I have lost faith in party chairmen in general,” she said.

Busby, meanwhile, defended Durfee’s assertion— that he asked to meet with women whom Saldaña said she had spoken to about Filner’s inappropriate behavior, but none came forward. “As a party chair, that’s about all you can do,” Busby said.

As for stepping down from the top post with Run Women Run, a nonprofit organization that boosts female political candidates, Busby said it was a time-management decision, although “some of it could have been possible conflicts of interest” balancing the nonpartisan nature of a nonprofit and the chairmanship of a clearly partisan political body.

“There are some people who disagree with me, but the vast majority of Democrats in San Diego believe I’ve done the right thing,” Busby said. “We have to balance that sense of betrayal

by Filner with the huge disappointment that he wasn’t able to deliver on the mission we elected him to do.

“It’s sort of a no-win situation for us,” she added. “It’s a very difficult situation, but one I’m prepared and seasoned to handle.”

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

by michael a. gardiner Michael A. Gardiner

tions of food served in steamer baskets or plates. Traditionally, the dishes are served from rolling steamer carts from which customers select tableside. Dim sum dishes range from steamed or fried dumplings and buns stuffed with a variety of savories and sweets to noodle dishes, vegetables and desserts.

The main difference between the experience at Jasmine or Emerald, on the one hand, and Imperial Mandarin, on the other, is that the physical spaces of the former are Stuffed bean curd, tripe and chicken feet grand and the dumplings a bit more refined. You might find 12 pleats to the har gow (steamed shrimp dumplings) at Jasmine as opposed to the 11 at Imperial Mandarin. But the flavors at Imperial Mandarin are, if anything, bigger.

The stuffed-bean-curd rolls are one example, offering a deep, savory meatiness and excellent Hiding in plain sight textural contrast between the filling and wrapper with a meaty broth at the bottom of the dish.

San Diegans searching for dim sum tend to flock Also excellent are the xiaolongbao soup dumpto the Convoy Street palaces of Jasmine and lings filled with pork and aspic, which melts in Emerald Seafood Restaurants. Both of these the steaming process, creating the magical effect elegant establishments offer authentic, refined of soup inside the buns. versions of classic Cantonese tea pastries that Perhaps Imperial Mandarin shines brightest appeal to less-worldly western palettes, as well with the offal dishes. The tripe and tendons dish as to those with an Air China flight in their is particularly good with pleasantly toothsome past. Lost in the shuffle between these two dim tripe, tendon that’s tender and an overall brothy sum bastions has been the more modest Imperichness. The standout, though, is the chicken rial Mandarin Restaurant (3904 Convoy St. feet in black been sauce. This dish—which is, inin Kearny Mesa). deed, the feet of chicken steamed, marinated and Dim sum—which translates from Cantonese then stewed in a brew of fermented black beans, as “dot the heart,” or perhaps a bit more poeticaloyster and soy sauces, chiles and rice wine— ly as “point to your heart’s desire”—has its roots is a study in textures as you suck meat and bits in the simple reality that travelers on the ancient of connective tissue from the bones. It sounds Silk Road needed places to rest. While the Chidaunting but is delicious and fun. The depth of nese initially considered it inappropriate to comflavors coaxed from this inglorious cut is nothing bine tea with food, believing it would lead to exshort of spectacular. cessive weight gain, their subsequent recognition It’s easy to lose Imperial Mandarin amongst that tea aids in digestion led teahouse owners to all the other Convoy Asian offerings between Jasoffer snacks. The resulting teahouses became mine and Emerald. The thrifty price tag is reason part of the Cantonese social fabric. enough to find the place, but the big flavors are the ultimate reason to seek it out.

What emerged was a culinary tradition called yum cha, which translates as “drinking tea” but Write to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com refers to the overall dim sum experience. Yum and editor@sdcitybeat.com. cha is typified by a series of small bite-sized por-

the world

fare

August 14, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 9

By Jen Van Tieghem

bottle

Rocket Down the rabbit hole

One unique thing you’ll discover about Vin De Syrah is its location. At the corner of Fifth Avenue and E Street (901 Fifth Ave., syrahwineparlor.com), a sign directs you down a flight of stairs to the subterranean wine bar. The door, covered in (fake) shrubbery, leads you inside, where the scope of the Alice in Wonderland theme takes shape.

Hedge maze partitions, green accents and plush seating make up the whimsical décor, and, luckily, the wine menu has been given as much attention to detail. Seated at the bar, my friend and I were served by an enthusiastic bartender who described the happyhour options (4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 4 p.m. to midnight on Sunday) and offered us sips of anything we may have been interested in. The rest of the menu offered a diverse collection of wines by the glass or bottle divided into domestic and imported selections. Everything

10 · San Diego CityBeat · August 14, 2013

seemed to say, “Drink me.”

At only $5 a glass, we started with a happyhour wine, the 2011 Penfold’s Shiraz Cabernet blend. The familiar Australian brand was a solid choice—a palatable red with a bit of spice and tanginess, not bad for the discounted price.

After asking to sample a few others, we settled on the La Storia Petite Sirah from Trentadue Winery in Alexander Valley. When I spend more than $10 on a glass, I want to be wowed, and this wine complied. The berry accents on the nose were subtle and balanced on the tongue. The finish was delectable and silky smooth with a sweet scent like brown sugar or caramel that developed as the wine breathed.

My wine date summed it up this way: “It’s like velvet in a glass.”

Between the location and the posh décor, Vin De Syrah is ideal for a date night or bachelorette party.

Along with the extensive wine menu, there are some food options, a lengthy list of craft beers, specialty cocktails and all spirits. Cozy for a mellow twosome, it’s clearly got the atmosphere for Downtown weekend revelers, too.

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

August 14, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 11

by jenny montgomery scales and cameras perched on shelves in a way that’s a little bit contrived but manages to be homey instead of pretentious.

PPH feels distinctly Leucadian, a place to hang out and linger.

Noshing options abound, from burgers to salads to mac ’n’ cheese. On a recent lunchtime visit, we pillaged the appetizers, devouring both the tangy, gorgonzola-topped Priority Fries and the lesser-butstill-tasty sweet-potato fries.

The turkey-meatball bites were a salty kick in the pants. The hot pile of lumps comes glazed in soy sauce and lemon grass.

The lemongrass gives the bites a bright, herbal note that tastes ohPriority Public House’s chicken sandwich so-good with the hearty meat. Be advised: These are intensely savory. They left other things tasting a bit under-seasoned, but I would venture to say that it was merely my taste buds on a sodium overload.

Putting a fried or poached egg on top of things is a delicious but messy trend. PPH’s charbroiled chicken-breast sandwich looks gorPublic priorities geous when it arrives at your table, stacked high with arugula, tomatoes and a glorious mass of With all the restaurant-related activity going on Gruyere, mushrooms and caramelized onions. north of Highway 56, it’s a challenge for a food Then there’s that over-easy egg. Two bites into writer with a North County beat to stay on top this sandwich, you’ll have yolk running down of all the new eateries. This is a delightful probyour chin and fingers, along with onion fond lem to have, of course. My calendar is packed and chicken juice, but unless you’re on a first with places to visit, and it’s exciting to see such date or a job interview, embrace the piggery and vibrancy after the last few years of economic enjoy. This is a damn good sandwich. hand-wringing. And regardless of what we’ve all It delights me to no end that the craft-cockheard about the challenges of opening a restautail scene in San Diego is elbowing its way to rant, I’m pleasantly optimistic about Priority prominence just as fiercely as the burly beer Public House’s chances. crowd. Priority Public House does indeed have I’ve written before about the changing eneran exceptional beer menu for those of you who gy in Leucadia. Many residents are content with prefer the less-fussy hocus-pocus of cocktailits funky, sleepy stasis. Others want to see new ery. Lightning, Hess, LaTrappe, Manzanita—it’s development and more change. I think Priority a great beer lineup. But I liked diving into the Public House (576 N. Coast Hwy. 101, prioricocktails from Blind Tiger Cocktail Co., partypublichouse.com) might just be the place to ticularly the delicious combination of bourbon, bring those two camps together. It’s fresh and blueberries and lemon. hip but has the funky, neighborhood feel that Pack your calendar with all that North County defines this northern pocket of Encinitas. has to offer, but make sure you prioritize.

Everything is painted black, from the outside of the building to the interior walls. There’s a Write to jennym@sdcitybeat.com studied-hipster vibe to its styling, with antique and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

Jenny Montgomery

north

fork

12 · San Diego CityBeat · August 14, 2013

the floating

library

by jim ruland

Roberto Bolaño’s book of the dead It’s like a story out of a Stephen King novel.

Stricken with a fatal disease, an obscure novelist races against the clock to finish his final book. Published posthumously, it becomes an international bestseller, securing the author’s fame for the ages.

But this isn’t a thriller. It really happened. In 2003, Chilean author Roberto Bolaño died at his home in Spain shortly after completing his magnum opus: 2666, a sprawling novel with a massive cast of characters and multiple settings in Europe and North America.

The novel was translated into English by Natasha Wimmer and published in the United States by Farrar-Straus & Giroux in 2008. The book was the literary event of the year and was the recipient of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction.

The novel was not exactly primed for breakout success. There are hundreds of characters. Its subject is relentlessly dark. It weighs in at nearly 900 pages. A walk in the park 2666 is not.

The book is divided into five sections. “The Part about the Critics” describes the careers of an incestuous confederation of literary scholars obsessed with the work of a reclusive German author who writes under the pen name Benno von Archimboldi. After receiving a tip that the author was spotted in Mexico, the critics decamp to Santa Teresa, a desolate, industrial city in the Sonora desert in the shadow of the United States border: “red-tailed hawks soared above in the sky, which was purple like the skin of an Indian woman beaten to death.”

In Santa Teresa, the critics meet a Spanish philosophy professor whose collapsing career and tenuous grip on sanity is explored in “The Part about Amalfitano.” Abandoned by his demented wife, Amalfitano begins to hear a disturbing voice and becomes increasingly paranoid.

“At some point during dinner, Amalfitano thought he noticed a rather murky exchange of glances between the rector and his wife. In her eyes he glimpsed something that might have been hatred…. When he recovered and looked at the other dinner guests he realized that no one had noticed the slight shadow, like a hastily dug pit that gives off an alarming stench.”

The only thing holding Amalfitano together is his love for his daughter, Rosa, who attracts the attention of Oscar Fate, a good-natured but naïve American sportswriter from Harlem who’s come to Santa Teresa to cover a boxing match. In the novel’s third section, “The Part about Fate,” Santa

Teresa’s dark side lures Fate into a nightmare that is part pulp fiction, part psychosexual thriller.

“Brother, this city is a shithole,” said Omar Abdul.

“Well, there are some beautiful women here,” said Fate.

“The women here aren’t worth shit,” said Omar Abdul.

“Then you should go back to California,” said Fate.

In “The Part of about the Crimes,” Bolaño pulls no punches and reveals in lurid detail the discovery of scores of murdered women. The prose he uses to describe the crime scene feels like it was lifted from the pages of a true-crime novel, which, in a sense, they were. Santa Teresa is Bolaño’s fictionalized Juarez, where hundreds of young women and girls have been killed and dumped in the desert that surrounds the city in all directions.

“The woman seemed to be about nineteen and the cause of death was various stab wounds to the chest, all or almost all potentially fatal, produced by a double-edged blade. The woman was wearing a pearl-gray vest and black pants. When her pants were removed in the forensic lab, it was discovered that she had on another pair of pants, gray. Human behavior is a mystery, declared the medical examiner.”

“The Part about Archimboldi,” 2666’s final section, comes full circle and deals with the story of how the obscure German author became a cult figure. Death haunts virtually every page of Bolaño’s masterpiece. Whether it was the realization that his own demise was close at hand, or the need to speak out on the horrors of Juarez while he still could, we feel the end at every turn.

Yet there is very little resolution in 2666.

There are no heroes; nor is the reader comforted with the myth of a single villain. Bolaño seems to be suggesting that what makes Santa Teresa so terrifying is that we created this world and we allow it to continue to exist. Our silence makes us culpable.

That’s scarier than any bogeyman we could conjure up. On this score, Stephen King agrees.

In his review of 2666 he wrote, “Bolaño paints a mural of a poverty-stricken society that appears to be eating itself alive. And who cares? Nobody, it seems.”

That was in 2009. Four years later, women are still dying, and we still don’t care.

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

August 14, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 13

the

SHORTlist

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COORDINATED BY ALEX ZARAGOZA

HALLELUJAH

In September, The Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park will open The Last Goodbye, a play that blends Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet with the music of Jeff Buckley, who died in 1997. As the folks at the theater were talking about Buckley’s music, they came up with the idea of holding a tribute show, as well—“the idea of sharing Jeff ’s music in a different way than the play will,” says Dave Henson, the Globe’s director of marketing and communications.

Henson contacted Catherine Beeks, host of KPRIFM’s The Homegrown Hour, and she helped round up some San Diego musicians. The result of those efforts will be the Jeff Buckley Tribute Concert, held on the Globe’s outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre stage at 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 19. Nine local musical acts will perform two songs each that Buckley wrote or covered, plus one song of their own.

Showcasing San Diego entertainers is fitting, Henson says, because “when Jeff toured, he really, really liked, whenever possible, to have [his] opening acts be local musicians. That was something that was important to him.”

Performing in the concert will be Jeff Berkley, Veronica May, Eve Selis, The Sinclairs, Gayle Skidmore, Superunloader, Pete Thurston, The Midnight Pine, Stevie Harris, as well as Israel Maldonado and Fernando Apodaca with Todd Hannigan. Beeks and Chris Cantore will emcee.

“I’m excited and terrified to play this show.

Covering a Jeff Buckley song is no small task,” says Berkley, who once opened for Buckley as a percussionist for Jewel. “Watching his sound check and show was a life-changing event. His songs were so foreign to me in structure but so completely famil-

2

ART

DUDE RAUNCH

If there’s one thing we can’t resist, it’s good-looking men two-stepping in denim cut-offs. It’s a good thing Diversionary Theater (4545 Park Blvd. in University Heights) DAREN SCOTT brings plenty of that in Miss Kitty’s Wild West Revue, a raunchy, gun-slinging musical variety show running Thursday, Aug. 15, through Sunday, Aug. 18. Conceived and directed by choreographer Michael Mizerany, the cabaret centers on the dancing dudes and dirty jokes at Miss Kitty’s (played

by Tony Houck) saloon. It’s sure to bring Cowhand Scottie Tidwell the LOLs. Tickets are $25, but for an extra 10 smackers, you get VIP seating and a complimentary cocktail, because nothing pairs better with semi-nudity like alcohol. Go to diversionary.org for performance times. Needless to say, leave the kids at home for this one.

14 · San Diego CityBeat · August 14, 2013

DAVID GAHR

Oldies But Goodies at Quality Social, 789 Sixth Ave., Downtown. Some of the gallery’s favorite artists dust off some of their past works to display. There will also be pop-up boutiques, a fashion show and half-off wine. From 7 to 11 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 14. thumbprintgallerysd.com Sway Art at The Office, 3936 30th St., North Park. Edgy art from almost a dozen young up-and-comers as well as live music from bands like Bulletproof Tiger and Ugly Boogie. At 9 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 14. 619-450-6632, officebarinc.com Sunset Artwalks at Bernardo Winery, 13330 Paseo del Verano N., Rancho Bernardo. Enjoy local artists, food vendors and music every Friday through Oct. 4.

The winery’s tasting room will be open late. From 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16.

858-487-1866, bernardowinery.com HJohn Van Hamersveld at TFR Gallery, 1026 N. Coast Hwy., Encinitas. From the poster for Endless Summer to iconic portraits of Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon, the renowned graphic artist has created images that stick with us, He’ll be on hand to celebrate this solo exhibition that will showcase his work from 1965 to the present. From 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16.

760-487-1676, tfrgallery.com Drawing Alive Reception at Bonita Museum and Cultural Center, 4355 Bonita Road, Bonita. Meet the artists of the recently opened exhibition of works by the West Coast Drawing collective. From 5:30 to 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16. 619-267-5141, westcoastdrawing.com

Jeff Buckley iar in vibe and lyric.”

The show will close with all the musicians together playing a version of what is probably Buckley’s most beloved recording. “There are some amazing voices involved,” Henson says about the final song.

Tickets, ranging from $20 to $30, can be bought at oldglobe.org or at the Old Globe box office in Balboa Park.

3

SHORT CUTS

Young writers rarely publish novels without tackling some short stories first; similarly, budding filmmakers generally take on the art of the short film before diving into featurelength waters. Chop the length of the film down to a trim 300 seconds, and you’ve got the premise of the 5 Minute Film Fest. (Disclosure: It’s sponsored by CityBeat.) The festival features 21 short films from local filmmakers, slimmed down from more than 100 entries, including Life Iz, Whispers from the Void and Go Karts on Railroad Tracks. The event takes place at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16, at Sunset Temple in North Park (3911 Kansas St.). The ticket price is $12. Beer will be available for purchase. Click on the “5 Minute Film Festival” button at sdcitybeat.com to get tickets.

Monty Montgomery at FeeLit, 909 E St., Downtown. Equal parts pop-art and street art, chances are you’ve seen Montgomery’s work on the side of buildings or hanging in salons. Check out some of his new works at this cool little record and gift shop in downtown. From 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16. montymontgomeryart.com HBang! Bang! at 3rdSpace, 4610 Park Blvd., University Heights. Local pop-surrealist Terri Mitchell will show off some of her newest paintings that are both playful and subversive. At 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16.

619-255-3609, 3rdspace.co

Death Under Life at ArtLab Studios, 3536 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Randy Conner’s art is full of life-and-death themes, but it rarely comes off as morbid. The oil and acrylic paintings he’ll show off at this reception are vibrantly colored almost to the point of being psychedelic. From 6 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17. 619-2831199, ext.115, artlabca.com Concrete Jungle at Visual Shop, 3524 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. “From the streets to the gallery” is the theme of this show, which will feature four local street artists. At 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17. 619501-5585, visualshopsd.com

BOOKS Matthew Specktor at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. The Los Angeles Review of Books editor will be on-hand to sign and discuss his new book, American Dream Machine. At 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16. 858268-4747, mystgalaxy.com Samuel Sattin at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. The modern fantasy novelist stops by to sign his recently released paperback, League of Somebodies. At 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com Danea Horn at 3010 Children’s Way. The author celebrates the release of her new book Chronic Resilience: 10 Sanity-Saving Strategies for Women Coping with the Stress of Illness by hosting a fundraiser for Rady Children’s Hospital. From 2 to 4 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 17. Free. 858-576-1700, mystgalaxy.com Michael Shea at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. The award-winning fantasy and horror novelist will be signing Assault on Sunrise, the second in The Extra trilogy. It has a giant preying mantis on the cover so that’s cool. At 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17.

858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com

100 Years of Coronado Yachting at Coronado Museum of History and Art, 1100 Orange Ave., Coronado. An exhibition on the island’s favorite pastime, it explores the history and passion of yachting through historical photos, artifacts and interactive kiosks. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 16. Free. 619-435-7242, coronadohistory.org

William C. Gordon at Upstart Crow, 835 West Harbor Drive, Seaport Village. The popular mystery author of The Chinese Jars and Fractured Lives will be talking about and signing about his books on two nights, with one in Spanish on Sunday and another in English on Monday. From 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 18, and 5 to 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 19. 619-232-4855, upstartcrowtrading.com

Eclectic Eye at Gallery 21, 1770 Village Place, Balboa Park. A showcase of the surreal and futuristic photography of Jeffrey R. Brosbe. From 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16. 619-233-9050, spanishvillageart. com/gallery21

C.E. Poverman at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The local author stops by to discuss writing and his book, Love By Drowning. At noon Sunday, Aug. 18. 858-454-0347, warwicks.com

HEndless Summer IV at You Are Here, 811 25th St., Golden Hill. A formal art exhibition and summertime house party all in one. Check out art from 13 up-and-coming artists exploring themes like summer jobs, barbecues, summer camp, ceramics and more. There will also be DJs, karaoke, beer from Karl Strauss and food from Golden Hill BBQ Collective. From 3 to 8 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 17. Free. 619-933-5480, facebook.com/events/499243903486502 HTenant Art Series Exhibition #4 at Space 4 Art, 325 15th Ave., East Village.

The last in the series of show by Space 4 Art tenant artists features work by Josh Aaron. From 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17. sdspace4art.org

From the mini-doc San Diego Blind Stokers Club

works by David Gane Feucht, Richard Salcido and Jeffrey Locke? You’re in luck!

There’s a second reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17. thumbprintgallerysd.com

HWhere Words Fail at Thumbprint Gallery, 920 Kline St., #104, La Jolla. Missed last week’s reception for this show of

Susan Lieberman at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The local author will sign her book, Death, Dying, and Dessert: Reflections on Twenty Questions about Dying. At 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 18. 858-454-0347, warwicks.com John “JT the Brick” Tournour at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The sports and radio personality stops by to promote his new book, The Handoff: A Powerful Memoir of Two Guys, Sports, and Friendship. At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 20. 858-454-0347, warwicks.com Lara Parker at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. Like the vampire character on the original ‘60s TV show, Dark Shadows never dies. Parker writes the new series of Shadows books and will be signing the newest one, Wolf Moon Rising. At 7 p.m.

Wednesday, August 21. 858-268-4747,

mystgalaxy.com Schuyler Schultz at San Diego History Center, 1649 El Prado, Balboa Park. The local chef hosts a delectable and educational lecture, exploring the diverse array of flavors found in craft beer and the joys of pairing those flavors with great food.

He’ll also be signing his book, Beer Food and Flavor. From 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Aug. 21. 619-2326203, sandiegohistory.org

COMEDY Tom Papa at Mad House Comedy Club, 502 Horton Plaza, Downtown.

You’ve likely seen this guy on Comedy Central or in movies like The Informant and Analyze That, but Papa lives to make funny on the stand-up stage.

At 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 15, and 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Aug. 16-17. $20. 619-702-6666, madhousecomedyclub.com

“Between Two People” by Greg Holden Regan is part of a solo show opening with a reception from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17, at Alexander Salazar Fine Art (640 Broadway, Downtown).

Jamie Kennedy at American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., Downtown.

We’ll always remember him as Malibu’s Most Wanted, but Kennedy has proved he’s no one trick pony with multiple television shows and comedy specials under his belt. At 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 15, and 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Aug. 16-17. $20.

619-795-3858, americancomedyco.com Julio G at Comedy Palace, 8878 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. He’ll constantly remind you that he’s fat, but the guy’s got big skills in the stand-up department as well. At 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16. $20$25. 858-573-9067, thecomedypalace.com 5th Annual Laugh for Recovery at Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. Multiple comedians will perform at this seated comedy show benefitting Mental Health Systems, which supports treatment, recovery, prevention and employment programs for mentally ill folks. From 2:30 to 6 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 18. $25 in advance. $30 at the door.

858-573-2600, mhsinc.org/laugh

DANCE City Ballet’s Ballet Showcase at Spreckels Theater, 121 Broadway, Downtown. A showcase of local ballet talent and for a pretty swell price. The performance includes “Swan Lake Act II” and the dream scene from “Don Quixote.” Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and there is open seating. At 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16.

Free. 858-272-8663, cityballet.org HRESPACE at 10th Avenue Theatre, 930 10th Ave., Downtown. A Reason To Survive and transcenDANCE team up to present this performance that explores the “concepts of the relationships of spaces.” Performance takes place on the theater’s rooftop. At 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Aug. 16-17. $25. tdarts.org.

Fairy Tales in the Park at Casa Del Prado, Balboa Park. The San Diego City Youth Ballet tells fairy tales through dance in these interactive performances. A narrator will also be on hand to help tell the tales of “Beauty and the Beast,” “Cinderella” and a few more.

At 1, 3 and 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17. $10. 619-2333060, sdcyb.tix.com

FASHION The Vixen Vault at Quality Social, 789 Sixth Ave., Downtown. VIXEN Pop Up Boutique is breaking open their proverbial vault for fashionable downtown scenesters. Score discounts on luxury labels such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and more, or just peep the fashion show while listening to the sounds of DJ Noel 2033. From 7 to 11 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 14. vixensd.com Fashion Whore at U-31, 3112 University Ave., North Park. The monthly fashion party took a little break, but it’s back in a new location and an earlier time. Be sure to get there for indie threads from Jean Kelly and Lady Lane on the runway. From 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17. $7-$10. u31bar.com

FOOD & DRINK HSummerSalt at Hotel Palomar, 1047 Fifth Ave., Downtown. Head to Palomar’s rooftop lounge and watch a friendly competition between chef / bartender duos and then vote on which pair came up with the best drinks and grub. Participants include JSix, Magnolia, Neighborhood and Noble Experiment. From 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 21. $30. brownpapertickets.com/event/429053 Food Swap at Art Produce Gallery, 3139 University Ave., North Park. Exchange your homegrown vegetables, fruits, eggs and honey with fellow growers or keepers. At 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 15. 760-7058888, foodcurrencytrade.com The Heart & Trotter at Alchemy, 1503 30th St., South Park. The Heart & Trotter Butchery is teaming up with Alchemy for a live butchering demo of a beef hind quarter followed by a six-course, tray-passed dinner by Chef Ricardo Heredia. Special guest John de Bruin from Dey Dey’s Ranch will discuss sustainable ranching and the importance of free-range grazing and Societe Brewing will be pairing their beers with each course. From 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 15. $48.

Reservations: 619-255-0616. theheartandtrotter.com Del Mar Grill Fest at Del Mar Racetrack, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. Munch on over two dozen grilled concoctions. Highlights include The Fish Market’s chipotle-rubbed skewered shrimp and Barleymash’s chimichurri-marinated skirt steak torta.

A portion of proceeds go to help Kristie’s Place, which provides care for critically ill children. At 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17. $6-$10. 858-755-1141, dmtc.com Taste of Main Street at Downtown Encinitas, South Coast Hwy 101 and Encinitas Blvd., Encinitas. Over 35 Encinitas restaurants will be handing out samples of their fare. Take a stroll to catch some live music at select locations as well. From 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 20. $25-$35. , encinitas101.com

MUSIC Bach & Beyond II at Sherwood Auditorium, 700 Prospect St, La Jolla. The second concert in the series includes works by Bach, Beethoven and Lutoslawski. At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 14. $50-$75.

858-454-3541, ljms.org/SummerFest-2013 Acoustic Music San Diego 10th Anniversary at AMSDconcerts, 4650 Mansfield St., Normal Heights.

If you’ve never seen a show at AMSD (it used to be a church), this would be the one. Appalachian country-folk five-piece The Honeycutters help the venue celebrate 10 years of intimate performances. At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 14. 619-303-8176, acousticmusicsandiego.com Santee Summer Concert Series at Town Center Community Park, 550 Park Center Drive, Santee.

Grab your blanket or a beach chair and enjoy free live music on the lawn. This week: The Highwayman Show featuring Tony Suraci: A tribute to Johnny Cash,

CONTINUED ON PAGE 17 August 14, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 15

THEATER

DAREN SCOTT

San Diego Rep season launches on a high note For the fourth year in a row, San Diego Repertory Theatre has partnered with the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts on a musical production. In the Heights, which follows Hairspray, The Who’s Tommy and last year’s Zoot Suit, may be the biggest crowd-pleaser in the bunch, and with good reason. Dazzling choreography by Javier Velasco and a robust, streetwise performance by Jai Rodriguez as a Dominican-born bodega owner launch the Rep’s new season with energy and spirit.

Lin-Manuel Miranda conceived and composed the music and lyrics for the Tony Awardwinning (in 2008) musical, with a book by Quiara Alegria Hudes. At the Rep, Sam Woodhouse directs a production that includes more than 30 performers on stage and a 20-piece orchestra (musical direction by the SDSCPA’s Andrew Bearden). SDSCPA students appear in the ensemble and the orchestra, and it all adds up to a celebratory evening that literally has cast members dancing in the aisles.

The dancing and the musical numbers that showcase Rodriguez’s superb rapping skills are the chief reasons to celebrate this production. The story, about the changes in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York and the changes within the hearts and minds of that neighborhood’s extended family of

16 · San Diego CityBeat · August 14, 2013

friends, relatives and lovers, is a busy one.

Moreover, there are some familiar twists and turns: the girl whose parents don’t approve of her boyfriend; the boy who thinks he isn’t good enough for the girl of his dreams; the immigrant son of a farmer pursuing the American Dream of his own business. That we’ve heard some of these stories before doesn’t detract from the likability of In the Heights, which traffics neither in violence nor in moralizing. Besides Rodriguez’s good-hearted Usnavi, we meet and quickly come to care about everyone’s grandma, Abuela Claudia (Susan Denaker); star-crossed lovers Nina (Chelsea DiggsSmith) and Benny (Desmond Newson); and even the neighborhood hawker of piraguas (a Puerto Rican icy treat), played by Victor Chan.

The set by Sean Fanning is a stunner, and when the action spills into the theater aisles, the effect is transformative. You are there, and you’re glad you are.

In the Heights runs through Aug. 25 at the Lyceum Theatre at Horton Plaza, Downtown. $18-$43. sdrep.org

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

Jai Rodriguez

OPENING Miss Kitty’s Wild West Revue: A saucy, raunchy variety show set in an old-West saloon, presented by an LGBT-centric theater. Runs Aug. 15 through 18 at Diversionary Theatre in University Heights. diversionary.org Side by Side by Sondheim: This revue of songs by the legendary Stephen Sondheim serves as a benefit for Cygnet Theatre. Runs Aug. 19 and 20 at The Old Town Theatre. cygnettheatre.com Simply Sci-Fi: An evening of 10-minute plays with a sci-fi tilt, set in a café, served with coffee and dessert. Opens Aug. 15 at The Big Kitchen in South Park. newplaycafe.com

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

Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson. From 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 15. ci.santee.ca.us HAllison Adams Tucker Quartet at Oceanside Museum of Art, 704 Pier View Way, Oceanside. Tucker has a voice as smooth as butter and she’ll be performing music by legends like Edith Piaf, Charles Trenet and more at this open-air concert with cocktails and apps. Reservations are recommended. From 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 15. $20-$30. 760-435-3720, oma-online.org HMark Dresser at San Diego Museum of Art, Balboa Park. Dresser closes out the museum’s Jazz Residency Project. At 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 15. Free after museum admission. sdmart.org HPeninsula Pops! at North Chapel, 2881 Roosevelt Road, Point Loma. San Diego Opera Education Director Nicolas Reveles performs selections from Beethoven and Haydn on piano. At 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 15. $12-$15. thenorthchapel.com HSummergrass at Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum, 2030 N. Santa Fe Ave., Vista. If you think Mumford & Sons are just a bunch of poseurs, then this annual celebration of all things bluegrass and folk is your kind of music festival. Take in dozens of bands over the weekend along with games, workshops and camping with fellow enthusiasts. From 3 to 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 18. $16-$61.

760-941-1791, summergrass.org HSan Diego Indiefest at NTC Promenade in Liberty Station, 2640 Historic Decatur Road, Point Loma. Over a hundred local and international musicians will play this three-day festival. Highlights include rapper Talib Kweli, indie-popsters Best Coast and catchy alt-rockers Cake. There will also be a film festival with dozens of independently produced shorts and docs. Starts at 5 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 16, and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 17-18. $10-$62. 619573-9260, sandiegoindiefest.com HMusical Crossroads at Sherwood Auditorium, 700 Prospect St, La Jolla. If you go to any of this year’s classical concerts from the La Jolla Music Society, this might be the one. There will be three world premieres by three Pulitzer Prize winning composers: Steven Stucky’s “Violin Sonata,” David Del Tredici’s “Bullycide” and John Harbison’s “Crossroads.” At 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16. $45-$65. 858-4543541, ljms.org/SummerFest-2013 San Diego Indie Acoustic Original Artist Showcas at Queen Bee’s, 3925 Ohio St., North Park. Some good local talent unplugged with performers like Donna Larsen, Carlos Olmeda, Brooke Mackintosh, Mason James, Lars Rasmussen, Vicki Morgan, plus surprise guests. At 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16. $15 advance, $20 at the door. queenbeessd.com Django Reinhardt Night at Kearny Mesa Moose Lodge, 3636 Ruffin Road, Kearny Mesa. 3rd Saturday Parlour Party celebrates the music of Django Reinhardt featuring Isela LeClair’s Hot Club Five. Full bar, food, dance floor and more. $15 presale $20 at the door. At 8:30 p.m.-Saturday, Aug. 17. 323-632-1713, facebook. com/parlourparties Alfredo Rolando Ortiz at Museum of Making Music, 5790 Armada Drive, Carlsbad. Who knew the harp had a rich history in South America? Using his Paraguayan harp, Ortiz will play classical and traditional folk. From 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17. $15-$20. 760-438-5996, museumofmakingmusic.org Postcards From Paris at Sherwood Auditorium, 700 Prospect St, La Jolla. The La Jolla Music Society channels the “City of Lights”

in a chamber music performance of masters like Debussy, Saint-Saens, Chausson and Dutilleux. At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17. $45-$65. 858-454-3541, ljms.org Footstep Serenade at 1 Father Junipero Serra Trail. Caprice Strings Trio (Natalka Kytasty, violin, Francesca Savage, viola, Jenny Epler, cello) are joined by rhythm dance artist Veronica Martinelli in a program featuring pieces by Carlos Nakai, Piazzola, Beethoven, Kodaly, Robert Hart, Israel Kamakawiwo`ole and others. At 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 18. Free. 619-6683275, mtrp.org HBoheme to The Ring at Museum of Contemporary Art-La Jolla, 700 Prospect St., La Jolla. The big sound of opera masters like Puccini, Strauss and Wagner stripped down for a chamber music performance. At 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 18. $45-$65. 858-454-3541, ljms.org Pixar In Concert at Embarcadero Marina Park South, 111 W. Harbor Drive, Downtown. San Diego Symphony Pops will be performing selections from your favorite Pixar movies such as Toy Story, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo and more.

At 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 18. $20-$79.

619-686-6200, sandiegosymphony.org HJeff Buckley Tribute Concert at Old Globe Theatre, 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park. Prominent San Diego artists cover the songs of the legendary musician, to coincide with the Globe’s upcoming production of The Last Goodbye, a fusion of Buckley’s music with Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Proceeds benefit the Globe’s student Shakespeare programs. At 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 19. $20. 619-231-1941, oldglobe.org San Diego Symphony String Ensemble at Rancho Bernardo Library, 17110 Bernardo Center Drive, Rancho Bernardo.

Members of the strings section of the S.D. Symphony stop by the library for an intimate performance. From 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, August 21. Free.

OUTDOORS Bay Day at Birch Aquarium, 2300 Expedition Way, La Jolla. Learn about the diverse environments, inhabitants, and scientists working in and around the San Diego Bay, at the second annual Bay Day. Visit with local non-profits and enjoy hands-on activities and scavenger hunts. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17. $14. 858534-FISH, aquarium.ucsd.edu

PERFORMANCE Summer Opera Festival at Crill Performance Hall, Point Loma Nazarene University, Point Loma. See the next generation of opera talent as Opera NEO performs Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, Aug. 1719. $12-$24. 619-849-2325, operaneo.com Cirque Musica at Embarcadero Marina Park South, 111 W. Harbor Drive, Downtown.

The San Diego Summer Pops performs with the aerialists, jugglers and performers of all stripes from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and Cirque du Soleil. At 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Aug. 16-17. $20-$79. 619-686-6200, cirquemusica.com Red Headed Stranger at Welk Resorts, 8860 Lawrence Welk Drive, Escondido. A tribute to the timeless and endearing Willie Nelson in both song and performance. At 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17. $30. 760-7493000, welkresorts.com/san-diego HPaper Theater Festival at Geisel Library, UCSD campus, La Jolla. Popular in

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18 August 14, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 17

the Victorian era, paper theater was used to educate and entertain children. Now, it’s entertaining for the vintage and kitschy feel. View a paper theater performance from 2 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 18, and also check out an accompanying exhibit that opens on Saturday, Aug. 17. Free. libraries.ucsd.edu/events_ new/paper-theatre-festival.html

POETRY & SPOKEN WORD La Paloma Summer Poetry Slam at La Paloma Theater, 471 S. Coast Hwy. 101, Escondido. In it’s 16th year, Full Moon Poets presents San Diego’s largest biannual poetry slam competition. At 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 19. 760-436-7469, fullmoonpoets.org HOpen Mic at Malcolm X Branch Library, 5148 Market St., Valencia Park. The seven-piece ukelele orchestra

Island Rain will be on hand to back up host Jim Moreno and anyone brave enough to share their poems. From 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 20. Free. 619-527-3405, jimpoet.com/id90.html Open Mic Poetry at Upstart Crow, 835 West Harbor Drive #C, Seaport Village. Charles Trumbull presents his new book, A Five Balloon Morning: New Mexico Haiku. Trumbull is the former editor of Modern Haiku Anthology. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 21. 619-2324855, upstartcrowtrading.com

POLITICS & COMMUNITY Did San Diego’s Media Fail to Investigate Filner? at KPBS Studios, 5200 Campanile Drive, College Area.

Is the media partly to blame for the Filner fiasco? Could they have done more to investigate his past transgres-

18 · San Diego CityBeat · August 14, 2013

sions? A crop of veteran reporters and political insiders will discuss these topics and more. At 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Aug. 14. Free. kpbs.org HMedea Benjamin at First Church of the Brethren, 3850 Westgate Place, City Heights. Medea Benjamin, renowned peace activist and author of Drone Warfare, visits to discuss her recent trip to Yemen and the future of drone warfare. At 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16. Free. 619262-1988, prcsd.org Civilized Conversation Club at Coco’s, 10430 Friars Road, Mission Valley. This week’s roundtable discussion topic: Should Americans Enjoy FDR’s “2nd Bill of Rights?” From 7 to 9 p.m. Monday, Aug. 19. 858-2316209, civilizedconversation.wordpress.com

SPECIAL EVENTS HTiki Oasis 13: Hulabilly! at Crowne Plaza Hotel, 2270 Hotel Circle North, Mission Valley. The original tiki

party and the only event of its kind on the West Coast, it’s four days of live music, burlesque, an art show, car show, mixology, food, dance, a marketplace, book signings, and more. Thursday through Sunday, Aug. 15-18. Some events are free. See website for ticket info. tikioasis.com Kickback for Charity at W Hotel, 421 West B St., Downtown. Check out cool new products and charities on the W’s rooftop bar at this showcase of successful local Kickstarter campaigns, including Original Grain Watches and Solo Eyewear, to help raise money for Junior Achievement of San Diego County. From 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16. Free. 858-243-1393, facebook. com/WHotelSD

For full listings,

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

August 14, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 19

busk bust

courtesy: Stephen Sloan

or

San Diego’s street performers want the police and others to respect their rights

by Kinsee Morlan

N

ew York City has the Naked Cowboy, and Toronto has Zanta (a modified Santa Clause). San Francisco has the World Famous Bushman, a homeless man who camouflages himself with branches on Fisherman’s Wharf and, as tourists stroll by, shakes the leaves or jumps up and scares them, eventually earning tips from the people he startles after they stick around to watch and laugh as other unsuspecting tourists wander into his trap.

San Diego has Big Toe, the Balboa Park busker who’s missing both arms yet still plays guitar beautifully with his feet and might be the city’s most notable street performer, and the Living Music Box, who turns heads with her fantastic costume and quiet, graceful performances at Seaport Village and various street fairs and festivals around town.

Street performers set up shop in popular destinations in a city’s urban core. They become an important part of a city’s identity by activating public parks, plazas and promenades, adding to the culture of a place by doing their thing and doing it well—be it magic, music, art or any other burst of creativity or craft.

“We actually bring people to the city,” says William J. Dorsett, a busker who typically performs in front of Anthony’s Fish Grotto at the embarcadero along San Diego’s bay front. He calls himself the San Diego Rose Man because he asks for donations in exchange for roses and other trinkets

made from palm leaves. “The city would be a boring place if all it was were shops, the beaches and bars. When you have a diverse group like a mime on this corner, a guitar player down there, an artist on this corner, a jewelry guy over there—all of these things come together to create a rich culture that people want to come back to.”

And yet, Dorsett says, the city doesn’t seem to appreciate what he and his fellow buskers do. Instead, he claims, San Diego Police officers regularly harass him and his cohorts, treating buskers like criminals and infringing on what Dorsett vehemently asserts is their Frist Amendment right to free speech and expression.

Dorsett has become a vocal buskingrights advocate during the past few years, partly as a result of his own struggles. Last summer, the Port of San Diego rewrote its rules regulating vendors, limiting what port officials call “expressive activities” to 14 specific areas along the San Diego waterfront where vendors or buskers can perform or sell their art without a permit. At first, the port didn’t put Dorsett’s roses into the category of approved “expressive activities,” but after he started an online petition and met with port representatives, he eventually convinced them of his craft’s artistic merit and was allowed to continue.

His actions have earned him mentions in U-T San Diego and Voice of San Diego, thrusting him into the spotlight and casting him as the go-to guy for local buskers

20 · San Diego CityBeat · August 14, 2013

Stephen Sloan, who’s been performing in Balboa Park for more than three decades, doesn’t love the park’s permit system, but he deals with it.

in need of legal advice. Most of the time, he ticket at my house in Chula Vista. They said simply helps other buskers track down the the mayor’s letter covered me.” phone numbers of police sergeants or enBut for the rest of the buskers without courages them to write to the Citizen’s Re- a personal permission slip, each time they view Board on Police Practices. He recently perform on public property, they face the went to court with a fellow busker and was possibility of getting a ticket. Often, police looking forward to challenging the busker’s will cite street performers for unrelated ticket, but, as is almost always the case, the infractions such as violating a noise ordinance, sidewalk encroachment or panhaninfraction was eventually dismissed.

David Millette, a jewelry maker who dling since there’s no citywide ordinance sets up at the seawall at the end of New- addressing buskers directly.

In Balboa Park—the most sought-after port Avenue in Ocean Beach, is another local busker who’s received media atten- location for buskers—performers are retion in recent months. Millette met with quired to get a permit through a lottery system. At 10 a.m.

San Diego Mayor every first SaturBob Filner in April “The city would be a boring day of the month, after receiving a large crowd of ticket and explained place if all it was were shops, abuskers lines up why what he does outside the Balboa should be protected the beaches and bars.”

Park Administraby the First Amend—William J. Dorsett tion Building. A ment. Filner agreed park ranger hands and issued Millette out small wooden a letter stating that he had permission to sell his art in local cubes with numbers scrawled on them and, via random drawing, slowly doles out parks and beaches.

Millette put the mayor’s letter to the 10 permits for musicians, 10 permits for test recently after getting hassled for bus- performers (balloon artists, fortune tellers, etc.) and five for show acts, like magiking again.

“They gave me a ticket for no business cians, jugglers and dancers.

“It’s a tedious process, but, for what I license and no city tax certificate and then made me stop selling,” Millette explained. do, I usually do get a permit,” says Stephen “I immediately called the central police sta- Sloan, or Sleeveless the Magician. “Musition when I got home, and they said it was cians, face painters and fortune tellers— a mistake and actually came to pick up the they usually have a hard time because

there’s more of them.”

Sloan’s been busking in Balboa Park for more than 30 years. He says he remembers a time when performers didn’t have to get permits. It wasn’t a problem, he says, until more and more buskers started entering the scene and space became a commodity worth fighting for. The permitting system helped the overcrowding issue, Sloan says, but he doesn’t necessarily think it’s the ideal approach.

“I don’t think I could go as far as to say it’s fair,” he says. “But, on the other hand, it’s the system, so I’m working within the system rather than having to deal with problems for not being in the system, and it makes my life a little easier.”

A musician clutching the No. 20 blue lottery block wanted to remain anonymous since she depends on performing in Balboa Park to pay her rent. She says the worst part of the lottery system is that many performers let the permits go to waste.

“A lot of the people who get a permit don’t use it, and when I get one, I come almost every day,” she explains. “It bothers me that people who really need it and don’t have another job can’t come and use the park when there’s nobody there who has a permit.”

The different rules in the various hotspots throughout the city make it hard on buskers, Dorsett says. And while some police officers support buskers, he says, others seem to have a vendetta against them. He’s tired of the piecemeal approach to policing San Diego’s buskers.

To help spread awareness and work to make changes, Dorsett and Millett started a

Kinsee Morlan

William J. Dorsett, the “San Diego Rose Man,” says he’s ready to lead the busker revolution.

Facebook group (San Diego Buskers) and, last month, organized a meeting with Filner. The date of the busker meeting, however, happened to fall during the week Filner was first publicly accused of sexual harassment. Lee Burdick, who’s since become Filner’s chief of staff, met with the group of artists instead.

“I think she said she was going to pass it along to [the] City Council and get it on the docket,” a hopeful Dorsett says. “But I haven’t heard anything back.”

With all the troubles in the Mayor’s office, Dorsett and Millett don’t expect to hear back any time soon, but they say they’ll continue

to connect the local busker community to one another through Facebook and, maybe in the future, affect some kind of citywide change in how buskers are treated.

“The whole plan is to try to get the city to write a new code that not only reflects the constitutional protections that we already have, but makes the police aware that buskers are protected and causes them to leave us alone rather than constantly harassing us,” Dorsett says. “We’re just trying to get by and provide a service to the city at the same time.”

Write to editor@sdcitybeat.com.

August 14, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 21

Seen Local

Christian Thomas

MoPA chroma It’s Sunday night, and Cy Kuckenbaker is on San Miguel Mountain, waiting for a meteor shower.

It’s supposed to be the biggest of the year, and he’s there to shoot photos for his project, The San Diego Studies. He doesn’t want to jinx it by assuming that he’s going to capture some great images.

“I’m very superstitious about this stuff,” says Kuckenbaker, a teacher at San Diego City College and former Fulbright grant winner. “It’s a lot of serendipity.

You go for one thing but get another. But, hopefully, the meteor shower will happen without the camera croaking out on me. You never know.”

Despite a thick haze on Sunday night, the images he got were “brill,” as he puts it the next day, and he’ll Cy Kuckenbaker be able to use them for his project.

The San Diego Studies is happening thanks to a to do more involving people, like lifeguards rescuing $20,000 grant from the San Diego Foundation’s folks in distress.

Using chroma key on humans, however, is much Creative Catalyst Fund, which gives artists opportunities to create new work by partnering more time-consuming and has a higher chance of them with nonprofit arts and cultural institutions. error. But that’s a challenge he’s willing to take.

“It’s difficult,” he says, “but it allows for growth.”

The Museum of Photographic Arts (MoPA) chose Kuckenbaker’s project out of more than a dozen proposals, and during the year-long partnership, MoPA will provide him with the resources to Cool summer complete his project. That means using MoPA’s When you think of summer, you think of park picnics, editing room, brainstorming ideas with curators and, popsicles and cannonballing into swimming pools. yes, money. It’s the first time the museum will have The experiences of summer serve as muses for Endless Summer IV, a group exhibition and party an artist-in-residence.

“What he’s doing is really unique, because it happening from 3 p.m. to sundown Saturday, Aug. 17.

This is the fourth incarnation of Endless offers an opportunity for us to expand our presence in video art,” says Chantel Paul, assistant curator at Summer, curated by Angella d’Avignon of MoPA and project leader for the Creative Catalyst Helmuth Projects. Thirteen artists, including J Fellowship. “Not a lot of people are doing what he Noland, Katherine Powers, Matthew Bradley is doing. He developed the technique for his videos, and Regan Russell, will explore the stuff that the warmer months bring. Noland’s performance piece which never existed before.”

That technique is called chroma key, which will apparently involve live snakes—insert Indiana Kuckenbaker compares to creating a green screen, Jones quote here.

It’s happening at You Are Here, a new then removing the background space and replacing it with something else. He uses the process to create residential and commercial development in Golden Hill (811 25th St.). D’Avignon says the space brings 30- to 60-second videos.

“There was just a good energy to the proposal something special because its design incorporates from the beginning,” Paul says. “It just seemed like a its past life as an auto service station. In fact, there are large pieces of metal, ladders and wood left over neat project that we wanted to be part of.”

His first video showed every plane landing at from the demolition in the room that will serve Lindbergh Field from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Black as the gallery. She plans to leave the flotsam and Friday in 2012. He used the blue sky as the green jetsam as-is so attendees have to figure out whether screen to cut out the planes in post-production or not it’s art.

“It’s exciting because it and then sped up the planes’ will truly be an alternative art movement and added an image space,” she says. “By having it of a bridge located in Ocean someplace that isn’t designated Beach. The result is a surreal as a gallery, it will activate the assault of airplanes in the space, and I think people will be sky. That video, and another more curious about what is art Kuckenbaker recently finished, in this space.” can be seen at cysfilm.com.

Because this is a summer “I basically make specialshindig, there will also be effect documentaries,” he says. barbecue, beers, karaoke and “I was trying to experiment in a DJ spinning tunes in a plaza showing something that’s totally apart from the art. D’Avignon real and totally factual. That’s says that’s to keep drunken girls the idea. It’s a very pop style from knocking over sculptures. that is very well-suited for the web. I take a little piece of city —Alex Zaragoza and condense it into this really short-form documentary.”

Write to alexz@sdcitybeat.com Kuckenbaker has a few ideas “Statue 06” by Joe Yorty will be and editor@sdcitybeat.com. for upcoming videos. He wants part of Endless Summer IV.

22 · San Diego CityBeat · August 14, 2013

August 14, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 23

24 · San Diego CityBeat · August 14, 2013

Two faces History is double-sided in Lee Daniels’ biopic

by Glenn Heath Jr. “The room should feel empty when you’re in it. You hear nothing; you see nothing.” White House butler Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker) has lived by such a professional code ever since 1926, when, as a child, he was forced to become a house servant on a Georgia plantation. In the early moments of Lee Daniels’ Winfrey and Whitaker, witnesses to history The Butler, Cecil’s first boss calls this public / private duality the “two faces,” something African-Americans are forced to master in order to survive in the Another essential overlap comes in a short scene white man’s world. where Dr. Martin Luther King (Nelsan Ellis) explains Throughout Lee Daniels’ The Butler, an expansive to Louis how the role of the black domestic can seamand elegant biopic based on real-life White House lessly undermine racial hatred. Only here does he bebutler Eugene Allen (who Cecil stands in for as a gin to recognize how his father’s place in history has fictional representation), we see how professional made an impact, however small it may seem. servitude and emotional invisibility stand in stark Where most biopic films attempt to lionize their contrast to a man’s personal life. It’s a theme of prac- subjects with simplistic sensationalism, Daniels faticed deception that inevitably touches each char- vors restraint when dealing with the many chapters acter and transcends race, from the multiple iconic of Cecil’s life. Very little judgment exists, only the configures that make appearances to Cecil’s own family, sideration of given moments from multiple competincluding his wife Gloria (Oprah ing perspectives. This is surprising Winfrey) and oldest son, Louis considering the director’s track reLee Daniels’ (David Oyelowo). cord, which includes the contrived The Butler Details accumulated by singumelodrama Precious and the amazlar fly-on-the-wall experiences Directed by Lee Daniels ingly sleazy noir, The Paperboy. remain essential to the film’s outLee Daniels’ The Butler (a tiStarring Forest Whitaker, look on American history. A few tle forced upon distributor The Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo standouts include Cecil’s memory Weinstein Company after it lost and John Cusack of Jackie Kennedy (Minka Kelly) an MPAA arbitration ruling filed Rated PG-13 refusing to take off her bloodby Warner Brothers) loses steam stained pink dress after JFK’s asin the final act, depending wholesassination, and Richard Nixon (a perfect John Cu- heartedly on clear-cut versions of redemption and sack) slithering into the pantry to recruit the black defiance in anticipation of the Obama era. But, by vote and steal a cookie. These intimate moments ex- then, Daniels has long since fortified his version as ist outside the classic definition of history as a linear something substantial. Ultimately, it’s a film about record, residing on the fringes of one man’s memory, visualizing one’s place in history, and then being rewitnessed from up close and almost by accident. minded how terrifying that process can be.

This motif expands beyond Cecil’s gaze to include Instead of ridiculing or denying the existence of Louis’ progression from disaffected youth to civil- Cecil’s struggle with the “two faces” mentality, the rights activist and eventual Black Panther member. film—which opens widely around San Diego on FriEssentially a father-and-son story at heart, the film day, Aug. 16—explores what it means to grapple with jumps between Cecil’s privileged view of Washing- such an ideological force over the course of changing ton’s backdoor politics and his son’s tumultuous time periods and viewpoints. Thanks to Whitaker’s journey fighting for black rights in the South. understated and powerful performance, this diDaniels connects the two stories in brilliant ways, lemma is given a human face. Daniels is courageous including a standout montage sequence that cuts be- enough to present this issue on equal terms with the tween Cecil’s meticulous performance serving at a great events that defined America in the 20th censtate dinner and Louis’ horrifying experience during tury. That’s pretty radical. a sit-in protest at a diner. Taken as a whole, this segment both exemplifies and subverts the “two faces” Write to glennh@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcitybeat.com. ideology in a burst of cinematic style.

Karma police

The Act of Killing

Anwar Congo was an executioner for the military dictatorship that took control of the Indonesian government in 1965. He personally killed hundreds of “communists” (union members, intellectuals, landless farmers, ethnic Chinese) during a period of time when nearly 2.5 million people

were murdered.

Joshua Oppenheimer’s staggering documentary The Act of Killing grapples with the magnitude of the genocide by asking men like Congo to re-create stories about the killings in whatever way they wished.

Inspired by a horrific 1960s propaganda video that portrays

CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

August 14, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 25

communists as a barbaric menace that must be vanquished, Congo and his fellow “gangsters” decide to make a film of their own.

Their grotesque cinematic recreations exist within this hyperrealized world influenced by classical Hollywood, including one interrogation scene that seems ripped right out of a Bogart film noir. It’s a blatant attempt to preserve the positive legacy of their horrific deeds in the face of pressure by Indonesian leftist groups seeking to “reverse history.”

While The Act of Killing packs a visceral wallop, it’s equally draining psychologically. Listening to these old men fondly remember stories of mass suffering is almost too difficult, especially considering their paramilitary organization is still one of the strongest in modern Indonesia.

Oppenheimer’s formal ap-

proach stays focused despite the unsettling subject matter. It’s this directorial patience that makes The Act of Killing—which opens Friday, Aug. 16, at the Ken Cinema—such an essential cinematic treatise on the banality of evil.

In the end, the film gracefully proves that, even for the worst of us, the past can become too much to bear. After filming a particularly disturbing murder scene where he finally plays the victim, Congo asks, “Is it all coming back to me now?” His own cinematic revisionism confirms the age-old point that no matter the time and place, karma’s a real bitch.

—Glenn Heath Jr.

Opening The Act of Killing: Joshua Oppenheimer’s provocative documentary asks Indonesian paramilitaries responsible for murdering

2.5 million communists in 1965 to re-create stories about the killings in whatever way they wish. Screens for one week at the Ken Cinema. See our review on Page 25.

Coral Reef of Adventure: This IMAX film takes you through many of the diverse areas where coral reefs are crucial habitats, from Tahiti to the Rangiroa atoll. Screens at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park.

Ghost Graduation: A group of ghosts must rely on a teacher with paranormal abilities to help them graduate high school.

The History of Future Folk: A sci-fi comedy about the origin story of the real-life alien bluegrass band Future Folk and their experiences playing New York venues for more than a decade. Screens through Aug. 22 at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

In a World…: Lake Bell wrote, directed and stars in this film about an underachieving vocal coach who makes a play at becoming a voiceover star, following in her famous father’s footsteps.

Jobs: The life and times of Steve Jobs (Ashton Kutcher), from college dropout to one of the most respected and revered entrepreneurs of his time.

Kick-Ass 2: Costumed heroes KickAss (Aaron Taylor-Johnston) and Hit-Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz) are back fighting crime in this sure-to-be bloody sequel to the popular 2010 film.

Lee Daniels’ The Butler: Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker) serves as a butler in the White House for seven consecutive presidents, witnessing shifts in civil rights and foreign policy from a fascinating vantage point. See our review on Page 25.

Paranoia: Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford play corporate gangsters who square

off against each other using poor Liam Hemsworth as a pawn.

The Spectacular Now: An alcoholic high-school senior (Miles Teller) romances an inexperienced fellow student (Shailene Woodley) and inadvertently falls in love.

Terms and Conditions May Apply: The timely issue of Internet privacy is smartly explored in this documentary by director Cullen Hoback. Screens Aug. 17 through 21 at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

One Time Only Fast Times at Ridgemont High: Mr. Hand and Jeff Spicoli, one of the great student-teacher tandems ever. Screens at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 14, at Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens in Escondido.

Bridesmaids: Never a bride, always a—.

Kristin Wiig is in fine form as a smart woman stumbling her way toward everlasting love. Screens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 14, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma.

Dazed and Confused: The best film about high school ever made. Richard Linklater’s masterpiece chronicles the final day of school in a sleepy Texas town in May 1976. Screens at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 15, at the Arclight La Jolla.

Starship Troopers: Listen to the Rifftrax guys vocally abuse Paul Verhoeven’s brutally fascistic sci-fi satire about a future Earth threatened by alien bugs. Screens at 8 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 15, at various area theaters.

Visit fathomevents.com for details.

Harold and Maude: Is this the strangest love story in film history or one of the most beautiful? Hal Ashby’s timeless dramedy follows a death-obsessed teenager who falls for an elderly woman after they meet at a funeral. Screens at 8:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Aug. 15 and 16, at Cinema Under the Stars in Mission Hills.

San Diego IndieFest: Now in its eighth year, the popular festival returns, showcasing independent film programs in addition to live music. Runs Friday, Aug. 16, through Sunday, Aug. 18, in Liberty Station. Check sandiegoindiefest.com for details.

Day of the Jackal: Fred Zinnemann’s classic thriller follows the preparations of an assassin as he plots to kill President Charles de Gaulle. Presented by Forty Foot Films, it screens at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17, and Tuesday, Aug. 20, and at 1 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 18 at Reading Gaslamp Cinemas.

First Period: Two high-school girls bond over their mutual outcast status, then try to win a talent competition to improve their street cred. Presented by FilmOut San Diego, it screens at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17, at Birch North Park Theatre.

Dial M For Murder: There’s nothing better than an Alfred Hitchcock thriller starring the ravishing Grace Kelly. Screens at 8:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 17 and 18, at Cinema Under the Stars in Mission Hills.

Rocky Horror Picture Show: As nutty as movies come. Screens at midnight on Saturday, Aug. 17, at the Ken Cinema.

Just Like Being There: A look at the evolving presence and artistic importance of the gig poster in the music scene and film industry. Screens at 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 19, at Tiger!Tiger! in North Park.

Off White Lies: A shy 13-year-old girl returns to Israel to live with her estranged father, who turns out to be a homeless, well-intentioned fraud. The two are forced to pose as refugees when war breaks out, bonding in the process. Screens at 6 p.m.

Tuesday, Aug. 20, at the Hervey Branch Library in Point Loma.

Zoolander: Watch Ben Stiller bring his

26 · San Diego CityBeat · August 14, 2013

Elysium wacky Saturday Night Live character to the big screen in this comedy about a fashion model who’s brainwashed in order to kill a public figure. Screens at 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Aug. 21, at Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens in Escondido.

Point Break: Kathryn Bigelow’s deathdefying action film stars Keanu Reeves as an undercover FBI agent tasked with taking down a crew of bank-robbing surfers. Screens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 21, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma.

Now playing Elysium: After being diagnosed with a terminal disease, a factory worker (Matt Damon) attempts to infiltrate a manmade space habitat where the world’s wealthy now live in permanent luxury. Directed by Neill Blomkamp (District 9).

Europa Report: Midway through a privately funded mission to Jupiter’s fourth largest moon, an international crew of astronauts encounter some mysterious phenomena. Ends Aug. 15 at the Ken Cinema.

Everest: Two climbers overcome immeasurable odds while scaling the world’s largest mountain. Ends Aug. 15 at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park.

Fecha de Caducidad: When Ramona’s ungrateful grown son goes missing, her desperate search to find answers leads her down a darkly comedic path that splinters into three separate perspectives of the same story. Starring the great Mexican actor Damián Alcázar. Ends Aug. 15 at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

Lovelace: Amanda Seyfried stars in this biopic about Linda Lovelace, the legendary porn star who overcame her abusive husband to take control of her life outside the industry.

Nicky’s Family: Just before the Nazis invaded Eastern Europe, Englishman Nicholas Winton organized the rescue of nearly 700 Czech and Slovak children. His dramatic story unfolds in this film from director Matej Minac. Ends Aug. 14 at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters: The titular son of Poseidon must embark on a quest to the Sea of Monsters in order to stop a rising tide of ancient evil.

Planes: The kids will probably do flips for this animated Disney film about a cropdusting plane who dreams of competing in a famous aerial race.

Prince Avalanche: Director David Gordon Green returns to more character-driven territory with this drama about two men (Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch) working in the Texas highlands doing highway maintenance after the area is devastated by fire. Ends Aug. 15 at Hillcrest Cinemas.

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

Reid Haithcock

A brighter

shade of

b l ac k Deafheaven carve an innovative new path for metal

by Jeff Terich Black metal was never meant for everyone.

Since its genesis in the 1980s in Europe, the music genre has been synonymous with expressions of pure malevolence and harsh, bleak landscapes. Its pageantry and association with corpse paint, Viking mythology and occult imagery lend it an escapist sensibility, albeit one couched in a sordid history of violence and fascination with Satanism. To the uninitiated, black metal is anything but approachable.

Yet, over time, the harshness of old-school black metal has given way to greater experimentation and exploration, with bands like France’s Alcest and Washington’s Wolves in the Throne Room blending blast-beat rhythms and rawthroated screeches with accessible melodies and dreamy textures. And just as the Age of the Vikings came to an end with the Norman conquest of England, the stereotype of church-burning black metal was finally put to rest sometime during the past decade, leaving an opening for iconoclasts to carve a path forward.

Enter Deafheaven. The San Francisco-based band— who’ll play at The Void on Aug. 22 with Wreck and Reference—put a strongly melodic, even beautiful spin on the genre. Combining elements of post-rock and shoegaze with the intensity of black metal, Deafheaven are taking the sound in interesting new places. Vocalist George Clarke, far more personable and less intimidating than his screaming style would suggest, tells CityBeat in a phone conversation that their recorded efforts sometimes surprise even them.

“We always had a pretty decent vision of what we were trying to do,” Clarke says. “But, at the same time, as you grow as musicians and stuff, you don’t know exactly—you have ideas in your head of whether you should

From Left: Stephen Clark, Kerry McCoy, George Clarke, Daniel Tracy and Shiv Mehra incorporate this sound, or do a little more of this, or less of this, or what have you.

“It’s not until the end when you realize how fully fleshedout everything is, and then that takes you by surprise.”

From the opening chords of “Dream House,” the first song on the band’s new album, Sunbather—released in June on Deathwish Inc.—it’s not immediately apparent that you’re listening to a metal album. It has a dense, major-key structure, sounding perfectly at home alongside anything on My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless. Yet when drummer Daniel Tracy opens up his rush of blast beats and Clarke lets out a mighty scream, the heaviness and intensity of the music comes at the listener with full force.

With Deafheaven’s musical intensity comes an added emotional weight, partly from the band’s juxtaposition of quieter, intricate instrumental textures, and partly from Clarke’s lyrical content. In “Dream House” and the title track, his lyrics deal with ideas of wealth and privilege from an outside perspective. The powerful, graceful closing track, “The Pecan Tree,” finds Clarke exorcising demons of strained familial relations against Kerry McCoy’s massive arrangement. And the spoken-word interlude “Please Remember” even contains a reading of a passage from Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

The band’s approach—not to mention Sunbather’s brightpink cover art—sets them starkly apart from the theatrical blasphemy of early black metal. It’s their intent, Clarke says, to capture a broad range of feelings in their music.

“I think that’s one of our goals,” he says, “not to focus on one emotion but to try to express the intensity that comes along with every kind of emotion, whether it’s your high points or whether it’s your low points.”

The band’s combination of sonic innovation and emotional intensity is resonating with a broad audience. One of the most highly acclaimed albums of 2013 so far, Sunbather is the only metal album to earn a Best New Music designation from indie-centric website Pitchfork this year. And on review aggregator Metacritic, the album has a metascore of 95, denoting universal acclaim.

But perhaps the best measure of the response to Deafheaven’s visceral, draining assault is by watching the audience frenzy that they can stir up in a live setting. A YouTube clip of the band performing at Kings Barcade in Raleigh, N.C., reveals a stirring visual, Clarke hovering over a beyondstoked crowd, gripping his microphone with black leather

gloves and delivering a seemingly superhuman vocal roar.

This kind of fiery display led NPR’s Bob Boilen to call Deafheaven the most intense live band he’s ever seen. And while Clarke says that none of the band’s songs are written expressly to be performed live—“We just eventually figure it out”—when on stage, the group taps into a feeling universal to rock audiences: catharsis.

“It leaves you drained,” he says. “It takes everything you have in you, you release it over the course of an hour and then you’re fully mellowed out.

“Emotionally, spiritually, it’s very exerting.”

Critical acclaim aside, the band’s been on the receiving end of some harsh feedback by listeners either unimpressed by the band’s take on black metal or skeptical of a metal band whose appeal crosses over to the cardigan-andhorn-rimmed-glasses crowd. A Twitter user with the handle @SlayerSwift called the band “Urban outfitters ‘black metal,’” while a Tumblr blog titled “Dead in Drag” accused them of being “hipsters trying to do metal.”

But Deafheaven isn’t interested in purism or maintaining the status quo. Clarke is as much a metal fan now as he was as a teenager. “Heavy music has always been a home base for me,” he says. Yet, he argues that old traditions need no longer apply.

“I think when you know anything about orthodox black metal, that’s a style of music that began in the… mid to late ’80s,” he says. “And that’s cool. That’s what got me interested in the first place. But that time is kind of passing. I don’t think one can expect every band to just continue the sound as-is. You know, it’s 25 years old, or more. It would be ridiculous to think that.”

Criticism is just one of the side effects of doing something that resonates with a large group of people. Deafheaven are creating their music without any expectations.

Whether metalheads like it, or indie kids do, what’s most important is that people are listening.

“We just do what we do, and we were just surprised, as maybe other people were, at the reception it got from the quote-unquote non-metal community,” Clarke says. “I’m just appreciative of everyone that pays attention.

“Even if it’s not your background and you connect to it in some other way, that can only make me happy.”

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

August 14, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 27

notes from the smoking patio Locals Only

Laura Gravelle

Vampire has performed its last blood ritual.

The occult-wave band, known for its dark, gothic pop and theatrical performances, played its final show on Aug. 5 at The Casbah, after making music together for a year. Frontman Rafael Reyes explains that the band split because bass player Daniel Leigh Ross, aka Vikti, lost interest in continuing.

However, Reyes says, Vampire are still planning to finish an album they were working on when Ross announced he wanted to leave the band.

“Our friend and bandmate, Vikti, is no longer in love with the band, but there is love for the music that we, as friends, have created, and out of respect for that friendship, we are going to finish our album,” Reyes says in an email to CityBeat.

“Once it’s done, we will have a record-release party, where we will show, through film, our year’s journey as a San Diego band.”

While Vampire is over, Reyes will continue to perform in other projects, all of which are defined by genres that Reyes coined himself. He says he plans to continue with another “occult wave” project, called Sons of the Moon, which also features Pall Jenkins (The Black Heart Procession). He’s also continuing his solo project, Nite Ritual, as well as “killwave” band Prayers and Ermavip, a “shadowave” band that also features Vampire guitarist Ian Dosland.

•••

Vampire of doom. But it’s not true. Instead, the band embraces an old-school style of classic heavy metal, with melodic vocals and big riffs. Not half bad, even if it’s not as heavy as I was expecting.

In Winter, Laura Gravelle: Laura Gravelle’s In Winter was produced by Dan Harumi, aka downtempo beatmaker Room E, though it bears no resemblance to his electronic pop jams. Rather, Wisconsin transplant Gravelle does all she needs to do with just an acoustic guitar and her lovely vocals, the combination of which is gentle, affecting and enjoyable all around.

Vitamer, Vitamer: A warm set of chill-out IDM, Vitamer’s self-titled set doesn’t crash the same kind of After spending a year in San Diego, dream-popsters boundaries that locally bred beatmaker The Gaslamp Mothlight are relocating to Los Angeles. Frontman Killer has, but it’s nice enough all the same. Imagine Matt Billings, who started Mothlight in 2007 while touches of Luke Vibert and Boards of Canada in a in college in Santa Barbara, says the motivation to gentle, womb-like atmosphere, with vocoder-treated move is unrelated to the band. vocals, and you’re just about there.

“I’ve been doing web design for a while now, and the main opportunities that I’ve found have been up Mysticism of Archaic Lore, Hrungnir: Wikipedia tells there,” Billings says. “Not to mention everyone in the us that Hrungnir is an Old Norse term for “brawler” and band is originally from San Diego, and we just want a figure in Norse mythology. Sounds gnarly and epic, to experience a new city.” right? Not exactly. Hrungnir, the musical project, is omiBillings says the band’s still planning to record a nous and ambient, even a little scary, but not nearly as new album, Calico, in San Diego and will recruit two threatening or thunderous as I had hoped. That said, it’d new members to play alongside him and Grant Ste- be perfect come Halloween. This’ll get those trick-orvens. Billings also assured CityBeat that treaters running scared.

Mothlight will play shows in San Diego in the near future.

Finding Focus, Quinny C: Quinny C’s bio states that he’s been rapping since he was 9 years old, What’s new on Bandcamp? which I’m guessing was during If you search for albums tagged “San Diego” the early-’90s era of jazz rap and on Bandcamp, you’ll find some interesting positivism. He’s got a chill lyrical stuff. In this semi-regular column, we sift style, and the production on his through recent Bandcamp postings and new set doesn’t bang or bump—it report on our findings. just flows. Sure, sometimes he’s a little cornball, but he earns some points for his laid-back vibes.

Unfavorable, Old Man Wizard: A name like Old Man Wizard evokes burly, crusty Write to jefft@sdcitybeat.com dudes, possibly draped in Sunn0)))Laura Gravelle and editor@sdcitybeat.com. style robes and playing a crushing kind

28 · San Diego CityBeat · August 14, 2013

August 14, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 29

if i were u

BY Jeff Terich

Wednesday, Aug. 14

Saturday, Aug. 17

PLAN A: Golden Sun, Polytype @ Soda Bar. There are hundreds of bands with either “Golden” or “Sun” in their name, so don’t feel bad if you confuse this Salt Lake City group for someone else. This particular band specializes in dreamy, upbeat indie rock that’s more satisfying than most of their similarly named peers. PLAN B: Legs, Voice Actor, Two Day Job @ The Void. If the summer heat is getting you down, duck into the black-painted walls of The Void for a dose of post-punk gloom from Chula Vista’s Legs, who inject their reverb-heavy songs with goth appeal. I can feel that weird chill now.

PLAN A: Burning of Rome, Boy King, Hills Like Elephants, Gloomsday @ The Casbah. Boy King are celebrating the release of their new album, Master—which I reviewed in last week’s CityBeat—with a show stacked high with some of the best local bands of the moment. With this lineup, this evening is bound to be a hell of a night. PLAN B: Stalins of Sound, Shiva Trash, Poontang Clam @ Tower Bar. Back in July, CityBeat’s Ryan Bradford profiled Stalins of Sound, a campy, noisy, machine-punk band with a penchant for oddball humor and Soviet propaganda. If that’s not a good time, I don’t know what is.

BACKUP PLAN: Upsilon Acrux, Innerds, Molecules @ The Void.

Thursday, Aug. 15

PLAN A: Souls of Mischief, A-1, The. Sunday, Aug. 18 Black.Opera @ Belly Up Tavern. Souls of PLAN A: Lungs, Deep Sea Thunder Mischief’s classic 1993 single (and album of Beast, Bhorelorde, The Awakeners @ the same name) “93 Til Infinity” turns 20 The Void. Minneapolis’ Lungs play a paryears old this year, but its chill, crackly hip- ticularly slow, churning, unholy style of glacial sludge with a rumhop doesn’t sound dated in ble deep enough to knock the slightest. All the more your glass right off the bar. reason to hear the Oakland Their songs have intricate group revisit their early instrumental passages, as tracks in person. “This is well, but it’s the long, slowhow we chill, from 93 til—.” motion bludgeoning you’ll PLAN B: Creepxotica, remember most. PLAN Kim Tsoy and the New B: Big Sandy and His Sauce, Fisherman and Fly-Rite Boys, El Vez @ Kitty Chow, King KukuCrowne Plaza Grand Halele @ Bali Hai. The exotic, nalei Ballroom. If the Tiki kitschy and booze-flowing Oasis opening party wasn’t Tiki Oasis celebration beretro-kitsch enough for gins tonight with a peryou, stick around for some formance by Creepxotica. rockabilly fun from Big The kitschy-exotica alterSandy and El Vez, who will egos of The Creepy Creeps, do a special tribute to “The Creepxotica don luchador San Pedro El Cortez King.” BACKUP PLAN: masks and sombreros and take the listener on a wave ride from Poly- Big Bad Buffalo, The Entities, Chasing nesia to Mexico. BACKUP PLAN: Terry Norman @ The Che Café.

Malts, Heavy Hawaii, Synthetic ID, Tony Molina @ The Void.

Monday, Aug. 19

PLAN A: Ape Machine, Style Like Revelators, Roxy Jones @ Soda Bar. Portland PLAN A: San Pedro El Cortez, Slipping stoner-rockers Ape Machine play a thick, into Darkness, Kids in Heat @ The Ken resin-caked style of heavy rock that recalls Club. Tijuana’s San Pedro El Cortez stir the halcyon days of Headbanger’s Ball and up psychedelia, surf rock and fuzz in just desert generator parties. In other words, the right ratio to make an otherwise catchy they sound a lot like Kyuss. Bitchin’. BACKtune just a little fucked-up and disorienting. UP PLAN: Marsupials, Lord Howler, The Their kaleidoscopic, hallucinatory approach Night Owl Massacre @ The Casbah. sometimes sounds a bit like Os Mutantes and sometimes like classic garage, but it’s pretty much always something awesome. PLAN Tuesday, Aug. 20 B: Bhorelorde, Midnight Ghost Train, PLAN A: Gayle Skidmore, Tori Roze and White Mule @ Tower Bar. As a name, the Hot Mess, The Smart Brothers @ Belly “Bhorelorde” is pretty metal, all intimidating Up Tavern. The term “multi-instrumentalmajesty and unnecessary extra letters. As a ist” was coined for musicians like Gayle Skidband, Bhorelorde is very metal, sludgy, dark more, who plays most of the instruments on and overflowing with meaty riffs. Horns up! her records. Even better is her gorgeous songBACKUP PLAN: Alex Bleeker and the writing, which splits the difference between folk and chamber pop quite nicely.

Freaks, Ditches, Mothlight @ Soda Bar.

Friday, Aug. 16

30 · San Diego CityBeat · August 14, 2013

HOT! NEW! FRESH! King Dude (The Void, 9/7), New Politics (The Casbah, 9/12), Mykki Blanco (Porter’s Pub, 9/13), Title Fight (Epicentre, 9/24), Blouse (The Void, 9/25), Michael Rose with Sly and Robbie (BUT, 9/26), Toro y Moi (BUT, 10/1), Pure X (Casbah, 10/7), Steve Earle and the Dukes (BUT, 10/9), Chris Cornell (Balboa Theatre, 10/15), Primal Scream (BUT, 10/15) Diamond Head, Raven (Brick

by Brick, 10/18), Keep Shelly in Athens (Casbah, 10/27), The Sadies (Casbah, 11/2), Crocodiles (Casbah, 11/7), Melt Banana, Retox (Casbah, 11/14), John Vanderslice (Soda Bar, 11/20), B-Side Players (HOB, 11/22), Less Than Jake, Anti-Flag (12/1).

CANCELLED Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Del Mar Racetrack, 8/23).

GET YER TICKETS Deafheaven (The Void, 8/22), Rocket From the Crypt (Del Mar Racetrack, 8/30), Neko Case (HOB, 9/11), Rascal Flatts, The Band Perry (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 9/13), OneRepublic, Sara Bareilles (Open Air Theatre, 9/14), Jason Isbell (The Casbah, 9/17), The Orb (Porter’s Pub, 9/20), Islands (The Casbah, 9/27), Vampire Weekend (Open Air Theatre, 9/30), Olafur Arnalds (The Loft, 10/2), Shigeto (Casbah, 10/5), Anberlin, The Maine (SOMA, 10/6), Travis (HOB, 10/6), Red Fang (Brick by Brick, 10/11), Saves the Day (Irenic, 10/13), HAIM (The Casbah, 10/15), Junip (The Loft, 10/19), Su-

persuckers (Soda Bar, 10/20), Passion Pit (Open Air Theatre, 10/22), Paramore (Viejas Arena, 10/23), Father John Misty (House of Blues, 11/1), Deerhoof (The Irenic, 11/3), Graham Nash (BUT, 11/5), Meat Puppets (The Casbah, 11/7), Ben Harper (Copley Symphony Hall, 11/16), Kate Nash (Porter’s Pub, 11/20), English Beat (BUT, 11/22-23), Pearl Jam (Viejas Arena, 11/21), Sinead O’Connor (BUT, 11/26), Chris Isaak (BUT, 11/27), Margaret Cho (Balboa Theatre, 12/5), Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven (BUT, 12/29).

August Wednesday, Aug. 14 Jonas Brothers at Viejas Arena. Lyle Lovett at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay.

Thursday, Aug. 15 Taylor Swift at Valley View Casino Center.

Cold War Kids at House of Blues. Souls of Mischief at Belly Up Tavern. Terry Malts at The Void.

Friday, Aug. 16 Les Claypool’s Duo De Twang at Belly Up Tavern. Steel Pulse at Del Mar Racetrack.

Saturday, Aug. 17 Weezer at Del Mar Racetrack. The Burning of Rome at The Casbah.

Sunday, Aug. 18 Gregory Alan Isakov at Soda Bar. Vienna Teng at the Grand Del Mar.

Wednesday, Aug. 21 Andrew Belle at The Casbah. Steely Dan at Humphreys Concerts By the Bay. The Black Angels at Belly Up Tavern.

Artillery at Brick by Brick.

Thursday, Aug. 22 Air Sex Championships Tour at Soda Bar. Deafheaven at The Void. Queensryche at Belly Up Tavern.

Friday, Aug. 23 Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires at Belly Up Tavern. Lemuria at The Void. George Thorogood and Buddy Guy at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay. The Polyphonic Spree at House of Blues.

Saturday, Aug. 24 Baroness, Royal Thunder at The Casbah. Toad the Wet Sprocket at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay. Unwritten Law, Strung Out at House of Blues. Dick Dale at Belly Up Tavern.

Sunday, Aug. 25 Frampton’s Guitar Circus w/ B.B. King at Civic Theatre. Steve Tyrell at the Grand Del Mar. Courtney Love at Belly Up Tavern. Sonny and the Sunsets at The Casbah.

Monday, Aug. 26 Heart, Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience at SDSU Open Air Theatre.

Andrew Stockdale at Belly Up Tavern.

Melvins at The Casbah.

Tuesday, Aug. 27 Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz, Future, T.I. at Sleep Train Amphitheatre.

Wednesday, Aug. 28 Majical Cloudz at The Casbah. K. Flay at The Griffin. Wintersun at House of Blues.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 33

August 14, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 31

32 · San Diego CityBeat · August 14, 2013

Thursday, Aug. 29 Joe Satriani at Balboa Theatre.

Friday, Aug. 30 Rocket From the Crypt at Del Mar Racetrack. Agent Orange at The Casbah.

Spin Doctors at Sycan Casino.

Saturday, Aug. 31 Pac Div at Porter’s Pub. Scout Niblett at Tin Can Ale House. Ziggy Marley at Del Mar Racetrack. Z-Trip at Belly Up Tavern.

September Sunday, Sept. 1 Patrizio Buanne at the Grand Del Mar.

Monday, Sept. 2 Psychic Mirrors at Soda Bar.

Wednesday, Sept. 4 Tesla Boy at Soda Bar. Café Tacuba at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay.

Thursday, Sept. 5 Barbarian at Soda Bar. Everlast at Belly Up Tavern.

Friday, Sept. 6 Dave Matthews Band at Sleep Train Ampitheatre. Charli XCX at HOB. Russell Brand at Balboa Theatre. Kid Cudi at Valley View Casino Arena.

Saturday, Sept. 7 Don Carlos at Belly Up Tavern. Murder

by Death at The Casbah. Will Ferrell at San Diego Civic Theatre. The Tree Ring at The Irenic. King Dude at The Void.

Sunday, Sept. 8 ZZ Ward at House of Blues. Tobacco at The Casbah. Melissa Etheridge at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay.

Monday, Sept. 9 S at Soda Bar. Mickey Hart Band at House of Blues.

Tuesday, Sept. 10 Turquoise Jeep at Soda Bar.

Wednesday, Sept. 11 Ewert and the Two Dragons at Casbah.

Neko Case at House of Blues. Minus the Bear at Belly Up Tavern.

rCLUBSr

710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave, Pacific Beach. 710bc.com. Wed: Open mic, open jam. Thu: The Routine. Fri: Mike Richardson (5 p.m.); Broken Stems, Rob Bondurant, James Dean (9:30 p.m.). Sat: Sandollar, Brothers Gow, Suspect Ed. Tue: ‘710 Bass Club’.

98 Bottles, 2400 Kettner Blvd. Ste. 110, Little Italy. 98bottlessd.com. Fri: 321 Stereo, Viva Apollo, Elephant King, Madaline Myers, Austin Burns. Sat: Mike Garson.

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

Wed: ‘Glitch’ w/ DJs Squarewave, Kinkyloops, HARSHmellow, MERKtha. Thu: DJs Esemcy, Ledher 10, Less then None, Bala. Fri: DJ Junior the DiscoPunk. Sat: ‘Juicy’ w/ Mike Czech.

American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave,

CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

August 14, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 33

Downtown. americancomedyco.com.

Thu-Sat: Jamie Kennedy. Tue: Open mic.

AMSDconcerts, 4650 Mansfield St, Normal Heights. amsdconcerts.com. Wed: Acoustic Music San Diego 10th Anniversary.

Bar Pink, 3829 30th St, North Park. barpink.com. Wed: DJ Grand Masta Rats.

Thu: The Soul Fires. Fri: The Styletones.

Sun: Nightbox, Okapi Sun. Mon: The Husky Boy All-Stars. Tue: Mr. Adrian Demain.

Bassmnt, 919 Fourth Ave, Downtown. bassmntsd.com. Fri: Scooter and Lavelle.

Sat: Fleming and Lawrence.

Beaumont’s, 5662 La Jolla Blvd, La Jolla. brocktonvilla.com/beaumonts.html. Thu & Sun: Joe Cardillo. Fri: Scratch.

Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave, Solana Beach. bellyup.com. Wed: Trouble In the Wind, DJ Man Cat. Thu: Souls of Mischief, A-1, The Black Opera. Fri: Les Claypool’s Duo de Twang, Reformed Whores (sold out). Sat: Anuhea, Cas Haley. Sun: Reckless Kelly, Micky and the Motorcars, Wade Bowen. Tue: Gayle Skidmore, Tori Roze and the Hot Mess, The Smart Brothers.

Boar Cross’n, 390 Grand Ave, Carlsbad. boarcrossn.net. Thu: Shake Before Us. Fri: ‘Club Musae’.

Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave, Bay Park. brickbybrick.com. Thu: No Name Gang, Renette, Wilson, Swirl. Fri: The Infamous Mob-Big Twins, Smigg Dirtee, Old English, RalpHLow1, Hex Luther, Collarossi, David G, Rage Child, MLK, DJ Rx. Sat: Godhammered, Parade of Horribles, Aghori, Calamitous Intent, Eli Santana and the Beastiality Boys. Sun: The OrangePickers, The Rift, DJ Maggot.

34 · San Diego CityBeat · August 14, 2013

Cafe Sevilla, 353 Fifth Ave, Downtown. cafesevilla.com. Wed: Aro di Santi. Thu: Malamana. Fri: Joeff and Co. Sat-Sun: Aragon y Royal. Mon: Edel Perea.

Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd, Midtown. casbahmusic.com. Wed: Badabing, Llamadors, Late Night Racket, The Pheasants.

Thu: Mystic Braves, The Blank Tapes, Hindu Pirates, Shiva Trash. Fri: Deadly Birds, Get Back Loretta, Stripes and Lines, I Used to Model. Sat: The Burning of Rome, Boy King, Hills Like Elephants, Gloomsday. Sun: Leopold and His Fiction, Grampadrew, The Heart Beat Trail. Mon: Marsupials, Lord Howler, The Night Owl Massacre. Tue: Pool Party, We Are Sirens, Without Papers.

Che Cafe, UCSD campus, La Jolla. thechecafe.blogspot.com. Wed: Backtrack, Soul Search, Criminal Instinct, Halftime.

Thu: Living With Lions, Stickup Kid, Last Call, Save the Swim Team, Carlos the Dwarf. Fri: Ruptures, Struckout, Emily and the Complexes, Qualia. Sun: Big Bad Buffalo, The Entities, Chasing Norman. Mon: Meraki, Crooks, Nostalgic People, Proud Moon, The Yuth.

Croce’s, 802 Fifth Ave, Downtown. croces. com. Wed: Sue Palmer. Thu: Gilbert Castellanos and the New Latin Jazz Quintet.

Fri: Lady Dottie and the Diamonds. Sat: Daniel Jackson (11:30 a.m.); Yavaz (8:30 p.m.). Sun: Irving Flores (11:30 a.m.); The Archtones (7:30 p.m.).

Dirk’s Nightclub, 7662 Broadway, Lemon Grove. dirksniteclub.com. Fri-Sat: FX5.

El Dorado Bar, 1030 Broadway, Downtown. eldoradobar.com. Wed: ‘The Tighten Up’. Thu: Low Volts, Two Wolves, John Wayne Bro, Leanna May and the Matadors. Fri: DJ Saul Q, Don’t Go Jason Waterfalls. Sat: Touch Sensitive, White on Rice, Wine on Ice.

Epicentre, 8450 Mira Mesa Blvd, Mira Mesa. epicentreconcerts.org. Fri: Before The Sun Sets, Reaching for the hour, IWXO, Jessie Eisenbarth, Waking in Sonata, Geneva Pina.

Fluxx, 500 Fourth Ave, Downtown. fluxxsd.com. Thu: Designer Drugs. Fri: DJ Ricky Rocks, Craig Smoove. Sat: DJ Sid Vicious.

Gallagher’s, 5040 Newport Ave, Ocean Beach. 619-222-5303. Wed: Lady Dottie and the Diamonds. Thu: Maka Roots and the I Sight Band, DJ Reefah, TRC Soundsystem. Fri: Danny and the Tramp, DJ Chelu. Sat: Kahilofa, DJ Chelu. Sun: Charlie Morgan Company.

Griffin, 1310 Morena Blvd, Bay Park. thegriffinsd.com. Wed: Jackson Price, Filligar, Torches. Thu: Bobby Long, Michael Bernard Fitzgerald, Jesse Lamonaca. Fri: Spindrift, Kut U Up, Golden Beaches, Amerikan Bear. Sat: Sashamon, Hirie.

Sun: Three Finger Lid, TRC Soundsystem. Mon: Strange Talk, Bulletproof Tiger, Vibes. Tue: Yellow Red Sparks, Hello Penelope, The Ultimate Bearhug, The Llamadors.

Hard Rock Hotel, 207 Fifth Ave, Downtown. hardrockhotelsd.com. Sun: ‘Intervention.’

Henry’s Pub, 618 Fifth Ave, Downtown. henryspub.com. Wed: Johnny Tarr, DJ Chris London. Thu: Fish and the Seaweeds. Fri: ‘Good Times’ w/ DJs Rev, Yodah. Sat: DJs E, Yodah. Mon: DJs Yodah, Joey Jimenez. Tue: Charles Burton.

House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave, Downtown. houseofblues.com/sandiego. Thu: Cold War Kids, Papa. Fri: Dead Man’s Party, Generator. Sat: Damage Inc. Tue:

CONTINUED ON PAGE 36

the hit list Total newbs It’s nice when new stuff pops up in the local bar scene. While I enjoy a glass of wine (or six) while watching one (or four) episodes of [insert TVshow title here], putting on pants and checking out a new nighttime establishment also has its merits. You get to see the outside, which is lovely, and interact with humans, which can be pretty lame if they don’t like talking about [insert TVshow title here].

These three new night happenings don’t require socializing, thankfully. But unless you want to end up like Howard Hughes or Little Edie Beal, you’d better take off those sweatpants and GTFO of your house.

With the opening of Frauds and Swindlers (facebook.com/ FraudsAndSwindlers), located in the Keating Hotel (820 Fifth Ave.), the Gaslamp has a new hot spot with legit craft-cocktail cred (co-owner Aidan Demarest also owns Glendale bar Neat). F&S is still in soft-opening mode, but you can douse your liver with a little something from a list of sexy, fancy cocktails. It’s another one of those old-timey, curly-mustache establishments, but, whatever. Drinking is fun.

Fashion Whore, everyone’s favorite hipsterparty-girl night, has moved again, this time setting up a runway at U-31 (3112 University Ave. in North Park) on Saturday, Aug. 17. DJ Tigh will supply the music as models do their best RuPaul catwalk trot in looks by designers Jean Kelly and Lady Lane.

Don’t show up in some ratchet outfit, because there will be a party photographer snapping shots.

You don’t want to become America’s next goofyhipster meme. It starts at 8 p.m.

Sycamore Den (3391 Adams Ave. in Normal Heights) is giving music nerds an event of their very own with Album Night. Every Monday, the bar plays an album in its entirety while serving cocktails inspired by the music. On Aug. 19, James Brown’s Gold will spin as barkeeps pour The Payback, a delicious concoction of gin, maraschino, lime, grapefruit, absinthe and Peyschaud’s bitters. It’s enough to get you screaming “Hey! I feel good!”

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

August 14, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 35

Tim Connolly, Dixie Maxwell, The Rollers, Wild Older Women, Mohavi Soul.

Kensington Club, 4079 Adams Ave, Kensington. 619-284-2848. Fri: San Pedro El Cortez, Slipping Into Darkness, Kids In Heat. Sun: Bloodshot Bill, Rip Carson, Johnny Deadly.

Lestat’s Coffee House, 3343 Adams Ave, Normal Heights. lestats.com.

Wed: Dannica Lowery, Mississippi Gann Brewer, Susanne Abbott. Thu: Mississippi Gann Brewer. Fri: Goodnight Ravenswood, Talk Like June, The Show Ponies. Sat: Allison Lonsdale, Abner, Ass Pocket Whiskey Fellas, Jamie Hart.

Sun: The Blondies, Mason James. Mon: Open Mic. Mc P’s Irish Pub, 1107 Orange Ave, Coronado. mcpspub.com. Wed: Tone Cookin’. Thu: Odd Fathers. Fri: Ron’s Garage. Sat: Pat Ellis and the Blue Frog.

Sun: Joey Harris (2:30 p.m.); Steve Brewer (6:30 p.m.). Mon: Rick Remender. Tue: Gene Warren.

Numbers, 3811 Park Blvd, Hillcrest. numberssd.com. Thu: ‘Tagged’ w/ DJ Angel X. Fri: ‘Viernes Calientes’ w/ DJs Sebastian La Madrid, Rubin. Sat: ‘Factory’.

Office, 3936 30th St, North Park. officebarinc.com. Wed: Sway + Art. Thu: DJs Ikah Love, Adam Salter, Kanye Asada.

Fri: DJs Gabe Vega, Kid Wonder. Sat: DJs Edroc, Kanye Asada. Sun: ‘Uptown Top Ranking’. Mon: ‘Dub Dynamite’ w/ DJs Rashi, Eddie Turbo.

Onyx Room / Thin, 852 Fifth Ave, Downtown. onyxroom.com. Fri: ‘Rumba Lounge’ w/ DJs Martin Kache, Seize, La Mafia, Muzik Junkies. Sat: ‘Underground’.

Tue: ‘Neo Soul’.

Patricks II, 428 F St, Downtown. patrick-

36 · San Diego CityBeat · August 14, 2013

sii.com. Wed: Mystique Element of Soul.

Thu: 145th Street. Fri: Myron and the Kyniptionz. Sat: Bill Magee. Sun: T and T. Mon: WG and the G-Men. Tue: Walter’s Chicken Jam. Quality Social , 789 Sixth Ave, Downtown. qualitysocial.com. Wed: Oldies But Goodies. Thu: DJ Saul Q. Fri: DJ Frankie M. Sat: DJ Groundfloor. Sun: ‘The Deep End’.

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

Riviera Supper Club, 7777 University Ave, La Mesa. rivierasupperclub.com.

Wed: Kice Simko. Thu: Bob Wade. Sat: Bedbreakers.

Seven Grand, 3054 University Ave, North Park. sevengrandbars.com/sd. Wed: Gilbert Castellanos jazz jam. Thu: Nathan Hubbard Trio. Fri: Grandmasta Rats. Sat: Burnett’s Bliss.

Shakedown Bar, 3048 Midway Drive, Point Loma. theshakedownsd.com. Thu: Black Irish Texas, DJ Blackie. Fri: Archons, Demon Lung, Wounded Giant, The Pilgrim. Sat: Dark Earth, Christ Killer, G.O.D. Tue: Beneath Oblivion, Mortar, Lazy Cobra.

Side Bar, 536 Market St, Downtown. sidebarsd.com. Wed: DJ Scooter. Fri: DJ Kurch. Sat: Epic Twelve.

Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd, City Heights. sodabarmusic.com. Wed: Golden Sun, Polytype. Thu: Kopecky Family Band, Said the Whale, Brothers Weiss.

Fri: Alex Bleeker and the Freaks, Ditches, Mothlight. Sat: Selebrities, Rare Times, Idyll Wild. Sun: Gregory Alan Isakov, Kris Orlowski, Gabriel Douglas (sold out).

Mon: Ape Machine, Style Like Revelators, Roxy Jones. Tue: Tumbleweed Wanderers, Soda Pants, Leanna May and the Matadors.

SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd, Midway. somasandiego.com. Fri: Fatal Disease, Vanguard, Psychophobia, Nautilus, The Shallow End, Fallen Hero. Sat: Scarlett Avenue, Parkview, Cut Your Losses, I Am The Conqueror, Welcome To Know.

Spin, 2028 Hancock St, Midtown. spinnightclub.com. Fri: ‘Rapture’ w/ DJs Von Kiss, Alexander.

Stage Bar & Grill, 762 Fifth Ave, Downtown. stagesaloon.com. Wed: Mark Fisher and Gaslamp Guitars. Thu: Van Roth.

Fri: Miles Ahead (8 p.m.); Disco Pimps (10:30 p.m.). Sat: Fingerbang (9 p.m.); DJ Miss Dust (10:30 p.m.). Sun: ‘Funhouse/Seismic’.

The Void, 3519 El Cajon Blvd, North Park. thevoidsd.com. Wed: Legs, Voice Actor, Two Day Job. Thu: Terry Malts, Heavy Hawaii, Synthetic ID, Tony Molina.

Fri: Goddamn Gallows, Calamity Cubes, The Strikers, Rail Them to Death, Sons of Providence. Sat: Upsilon Acrux, Innerds, Molecules. Sun: Lungs, Deep Sea Thunder Beast, Bhorelorde, The Awakeners.

Tue: Hard Fall Hearts, The Returners, Kitty In a Caskethold.

Tiki House, 1152 Garnet Ave, Pacific Beach. tikipb.com. Wed: Steve Barto.

Fri: Full Circle Band. Sat: Joey Harris and the Mentals. Sun: Open mic. Tue: Sweet Dreams.

Til-Two Club, 4746 El Cajon Blvd, City Heights. tiltwoclub.com. Wed: The Delirians, The Johnny Deadly Trio. Fri: DPI, Sculpins, United Defience, Hocus, Barking Spiders. Sat: Jukebox Boogie, The Sleepwalkers, Tequila Flight.

August 14, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 37

Proud sponsor: Mitch’s Seafood

Ink Well Xwords by Ben Tausig

Across 1. Vocal quality for Tom Waits 5. Newton’s math, briefly 9. Bluth twin 14. One who takes the cake (in order to decorate it) 15. Where to find Canton, Toledo, Lima, Medina, Dublin, and Athens 16. General feeling 17. Sell-off when Hostess went bankrupt?

20. Farmville maker 21. Chooses pieces 22. Slugger’s pickup, quickly 24. “Rumor has it ...”

25. “She lost her voice on ‘Poker Face’ and fell down dancing to ‘Bad Romance’”?

29. Statistical hypothesis trial 33. Person at a reunion 34. Modern navigation letters 35. “Cue the ___” 36. Org. for out athlete Jason Collins 37. Org. that lobbies for looser restrictions on ballerina costume sales?

39. New York-based kitchen gadget maker 40. Afraid to fire 42. Got the hell out of there 43. Lovers’ discussion (it’s not an argument) 44. Dealt some blow?

45. Viral video in which a defendant gets a light sentence?

47. PLO Chairman Mahmoud 49. Sappy, in slang 50. One who brings two sides together 53. Toe problems 57. Nanobot’s hypothetical ability, and the process that’s overtaken this puzzle’s theme answers

Last week’s answers

61. Lightened (up) 62. Fill with stuff 63. Jay Z’s hubristic nickname for himself 64. Has the lead 65. Trees that may be slippery 66. Like sausage fests

Down 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

César of fancy hotels Painfully dull?

Caught, in a way Handout before a show Commonly mislabeled food fish “It all makes sense now ...”

Where the golf ball is Duke men’s basketball head since 1980, familiarly 9. Loud and dramatic, as a voice 10. Cold War-era Indonesian president 11. Cease to bleed 12. AIDS activist Arthur 13. Vintage vehicles 18. Controlled environments 19. Saturn SUV 23. Dude attending to networking emergencies, e.g.

24. Covers, as a car 25. Weed- and turf-obsessed groups?

26. Pitchfork review subject 27. Batshit 28. On the nose 30. Emulate Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green 31. When the night shift ends, often 32. Liberty Bond, e.g., for short 35. Carter’s Secretary of State Cyrus 37. “Psycho” follower 38. It’s good to shoot under it 41. Recipient of a candidate’s sexts, often 43. Irons (out) 45. Agatha Christie character Miss ___ 46. Song with the lyric “Young man, are you listening to me?”

48. Sacramento newspaper 50. Dr. Bronner’s, notably, has a great many of them 51. Anal 52. Cult classic “___, She Wolf of the SS” 54. Sly & the Family Stone’s “There’s a ___ Goin’ On” 55. Cold-smoked salmon 56. Buy before it’s sold out 58. “Funny vid, thx” 59. Conclusion of a Cartesian conclusion 60. Software installation needs, at times

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

38 · San Diego CityBeat · August 14, 2013

August 14, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 39