San Diego CityBeat • Aug 22, 2018

2 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · AUGUST 22, 2018

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AUGUST 22, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 3

UP FRONT | FROM THE EDITOR

The mayor’s legacy is still being written

W

hen it comes to political leadership and running for office, legislative capital isn’t always everything. But voters still care a lot more when a candidate can point to their record and ostensibly say, you see, I’ve done this, this and that, and that is why I’m the best candidate.

Kevin Faulconer is more than qualified to hold his position, but in the four-plus years that he has been mayor of San Diego, he hasn’t exactly shaken things up at City Hall. He’s a relatively mellow mayor of a city that’s often mellower than Jason Mraz playing ukulele at an Ocean Beach bonfire.

But this is not the time for mellowness.

And while I might be in the minority here, I quite appreciated the mayor’s response when the city council declined to place the mayor’s convention center tax measure on the November ballot. Citing a Registrar of Voters concern about the required amount of signatures to place such an initiative on the ballot, and not enough time to conduct a full verification of the signatures before the deadline to qualify for the ballot, the council rightly rejected the measure.

“Four members of the City Council failed our city by denying the public’s right to vote,” Faulconer said in a statement first posted to Twitter. “They had the chance to do the right thing but put politics over progress. The voices of tens of thousands of citizens and a bipartisan coalaition of civic leaders fell on deaf ears at today’s City Council hearing.”

As with anything in politics, it’s a little more complicated than that. The council had more than enough reasons to reject the measure. But it was nice to see the mayor get angry for once, albeit on social media.

Within his response, there was a measure of passion and genuine concern.

There has always been the sense among some who cover local politics that there was a leader emerging in Faulconer. Perhaps, four years later and after a series of political embarrassments that includes, but is not limited to: the Chargers leaving, an unprecedented homelessness problem, a deadly outbreak (more on that on page 6), another pension crisis looming and one of the worst housing shortages in the nation, that leader is ready to emerge.

Maybe?

While the mayor’s ballot measure was flawed, it was still sad to see it fail and fail so epically. The fact that the measure was crafted at all was a good move for Faulconer, and it showed that he had what it took

to compromise and (bonus!) present that compromise as his vision for the city. He owned the plan. It was his.

And now that it has failed, it is his failure.

There are certainly important lessons to be learned from the convention center measure fiasco, one of which is undoubtedly that the mayor has not always shown effective leadership when it comes to the city’s most pressing concerns. I’ve written on this page before that, should Faulconer decide to run for state or even federal office after his time as mayor, his being able to look back and decisively point to concrete accomplishments can only help him.

But even now, I do not believe the speculation that the convention center debacle will be his legacy. At his State of the City address in January, Faulconer said his pledge for the next three years in office would be the following: -Permanent, affordable housing for thousands of struggling individuals -Number of housing units will be on the rise -The San Diego Police Department would be fully staffed -The “modernation and expansion of the convention center will be underway” With the convention center measure officially off the table, it’s now time to push as hard as he can to address the housing shortage. This is no longer simply a homeless issue. This is about everyday San Diegans—some of them lifelong or multi-generational residents—who not only can’t afford to buy a house here, but also can’t even find an affordable place to rent. To put it more simply: Housing is everything. With almost every economic expert in agreement that another recession is inevitable, the city needs to address this issue now before there are even more people living on the streets.

Mayor Faulconer can help do this. His team can get to work on varying kinds of legislative and executive actions that can ease the financial burdens of everyday San Diegans and offer much-needed assistance to our homeless citizens. He can do this with help from the City Council and the Board of Supervisors. And with more financial assistance coming down the pipe from the state level to deal with both housing and homelessness, Faulconer is in the unique position to claim most of the accomplishments that result from that assistance.

It’s time to get to work.

—Seth Combs

Write to seth.combs@sdcitybeat.com

This issue of CityBeat is wearing board shorts and drinking 30 shots of tequila.

Volume 17 • Issue 1 EDITOR Seth Combs MUSIC EDITOR Jeff Terich WEB EDITOR Ryan Bradford ART DIRECTOR Carolyn Ramos STAFF WRITER Andrea Lopez-Villafaña COLUMNISTS Aaryn Belfer Edwin Decker John R. Lamb Rhonda “Ro” Moore Alex Zaragoza

CONTRIBUTORS Christin Bailey, Torrey Bailey, David L. Coddon, Beth Demmon, Julia Dixon Evans, Michael A. Gardiner, Glenn Heath Jr., Lizz Huerta, Davey Landeros, Lara McCaffrey, Scott McDonald, Jim Ruland, Ben Salmon, Jen Van Tieghem, Amy Wallen, Ian Ward

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4 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · AUGUST 22, 2018

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UP FRONT | LETTERS

KEEP POUNDING THE DRUM Thank you for the courageous work you and your entire staff do. I read the CityBeat weekly and appreciate the journalism that the paper puts out. I support your vendors but especially stand by the entire media pursuing the truth and facts [“The critical masses,” Aug. 15]. We will fight this fake administration and hopefully flip the 49th and more with the blue wave. Let’s do it for Aretha, children and grandchildren. Please keep pounding the drum of getting out to vote in your paper in what appears to be our most important election in my lifetime. (I’m 66 and fired up).

Thanks again for all your hard work.

James B. Doster Carlsbad

KEEP YOUR FAITH Our original glorious leaders, the founding fathers and students of the enlightenment enshrined the sharing of knowledge into our nation’s core being. I’ve noticed for years one side uses their very own inequities to disparage the other. The slap is sharper when it comes from a family member who knows better.

Here’s a belief that helps me: Every generation goes through difficult times. Successful generations do not suffer hardship in vain. By bringing to light the vileness that can be found on both extremes, we can begin to address the pain, the fear, the slights, the feeling of being less and thereby less

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deserving that so many suffer. We will deal and heal now with our own issues so future generations are better off.

Keep your faith in humanity, Seth. We evolve for the better through our trials and tribulations.

Brian Shields Cortez Hill

KEEP PUBLISHING Seth Combs, you rock! Thank you for being here [“The critical masses,” Aug. 15]. Thank you for CityBeat. Thank you for your wonderful team of journalists. Never stop.

Here we go again! Dictator woos the disenfranchised, obliterates the press, imposes punitive measures and grabs absolute military control. Remember Hitler, et al? Are our memories so short? Have we learnt nothing from the patterns of world history?

The Roman Empire paid, Britain paid, as did France, Germany. etc. Time for America to pay up on its karma.

Trump, you may bully America but it won’t work with the rest of the world. If you want the U.S. to end up as an isolated landmass of gun-toting rednecks and bimbos, you might just get your wish and with no allies, only enemies, why would any normal person want to be here?

Here we are, stuck in the ‘50s while the world moves on. Bernie Sanders could have turned this into a free country and brought us into line with Europe, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, etc.

Pity that Hillary didn’t know when to leave the stage. The biggest mistake of all? No country can afford to have a disenfranchised sector. Why wasn’t that fixed?

Meanwhile, the intelligentsia knows that education and international travel are a big part of the solution. America ranks lowest in these.

So, stand your ground! Keep publishing.

Keep bringing the truth!

Anna Bowen-Davies University Heights

TABLE OF CONTENTS UP FRONT From the Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Letters to the Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 NEWS: Hepatitis A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8 A Side-Eye of Sanity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

FOOD & DRINK World Fare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Final Draught. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

THINGS TO DO The Short List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Calendar of Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-12

WE WANT FEEDBACK Email letters to editor Seth Combs at seth.combs@sdcitybeat.com, or mail to 3047 University Ave., Suite 202, San Diego, CA 92104.

For letters to be considered for publication you must include your first and last name and the part of town where you reside.

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

ARTS & CULTURE Theater. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 FEATURE: Underground Film Festival. 16 Film. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-19

MUSIC FEATURE: Smashing Pumpkins . . . . . . 20 Notes From The Smoking Patio . . . . . . 22 The Spotlight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 If I Were U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Concerts & Clubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-26

IN THE BACK Astrologically Unsound . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 CannaBeat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

AUGUST 22, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 5

UP FRONT | NEWS DUNCAN MOORE

A homeless encampment in the East Village

Hepatitis A: One year later Officials and citizens reflect on what went wrong, how it could have been prevented and whether we’re any safer now

By Andrea Lopez-Villafaña

A

fter all was said and done, the hepatitis A outbreak in San Diego County claimed the lives of 20 people, a majority of which were identified as homeless citizens.

Officials declared it an “unprecedented” health crisis, and it became one of the largest hepatitis A outbreaks the county has ever seen, with 592 cases identified countywide.

Hepatitis A is a disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV) that is preventable through vaccination, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although rare, the disease can cause liver failure and death.

In November 2016, county public health officials began tracking elevated hepatitis A levels in San Diego and later determined the disease was being spread through personto-person contact and contaminated environments. Three categories of higher risk populations were identified: homeless, men who have sex with men and drug users.

County public health officials designated the increase in hepatitis A cases an outbreak in March 2017—four months after they began tracking cases. However, it was not declared a public health emergency until Sept. 1, 2017.

During the 10-month gap between November 2016 and September 2017—while San Diego’s county and city leaders were caught up in the bureaucratic process, 16 people died.

The city and the county focused its efforts on providing better access to restrooms and hand-washing stations, sanitizing sidewalks and offering vaccinations to people booked in county jails as well as individuals at high risk of contracting the disease.

City staff and volunteers who worked with high-risk populations were also encouraged to get vaccinated.

Prior to the outbreak there were more than 9,000 homeless citizens countywide and more than 5,000 in the city alone.

As the outbreak became nationwide news and cities like Los Angeles grew concerned the disease would spread, critics began to wonder if there was something the city and county could have done to better address the outbreak.

Lack of public restrooms in downtown creates contaminated streets There were not enough public restrooms in downtown San Diego prior to the hepatitis A outbreak, something that the city was aware of years before the crisis.

The lack of access to public restrooms in an area heavily populated by homeless citizens came under scrutiny as early as 2000 following a report that aimed to address the potential impacts of the displacement of homeless citizens with the construction of Petco Park.

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Known as the East Village Redevelopment Advisory Committee, the group emphasized the need for public restrooms in downtown in the 2000 report.

“Given the size of the downtown homeless population, this has inevitably resulted in urination and defecation in public areas,” the report reads.

The committee recommended that the city and the Centre City Development Corporation (now Civic San Diego) immediately begin working on a program to install “selfcleaning public toilets” in locations where homeless gather in the downtown area.

A 2004-2005 and 2014-2015 San Diego County Grand Jury report agreed with the need for additional public restrooms and recommended that the city establish a budget for restrooms, security and maintenance.

State Assemblymember Todd Gloria, who served on the city council at that time, said the narrative around public restrooms in areas such as parks is that they attract crime.

He said that in the context of a city struggling with financial challenges and community opposition, projects would get built without restrooms.

“I think those Grand Jury reports are kind of a blunt instrument,” Gloria said. “The responses that we can give are limited to certain kinds of jargon. It doesn’t really get the complexity and the full narrative.”

Gloria said the reports do not mention the narratives of the downtown community planning council that did not want the restrooms.

Although the city agreed there was a need for public restrooms, it cited a lack of funding as an obstacle.

However, the city was criticized when in 2014 it provided $2 million to help build the aesthetically pleasing “Birds’ Words” restroom facility near the tourist heavy waterfront in collaboration with the San Diego Unified Port District. The city also installed two Portland Loo public restrooms in January 2015.

Even so, with an already limited number of public restrooms, facilities were also being closed down or removed. In early 2016, because of complaints of increased crime activity and maintenance costs, the city removed the Portland Loo public restroom from 14th and L streets. The second Portland Loo was removed to make way for a redevelopment project.

Another one of the facilities that was closed down was the public restroom next to the Stella Public House restaurant located at Fault Line Park.

Pinnacle Bayside Development, the developer of the residential tower located next to the park, received $1.6 million in public funds in 2014 to maintain the park and restrooms as part of its public-private partnership with the city. Only two months after the park opened in August 2015, the restrooms were locked by restaurant staff because of the homeless population in the park.

After inewsource reported that the public restrooms were closed, the restrooms were opened but the public would have to use a key from the restaurant. However, inewsource found that there was no clear system in place to enforce Pinnacle’s maintenance agreement.

With the lack of public restrooms, urination and defecation was occurring on the streets on a regular basis. Although there was a documented concern for defecation and urination in public right-of-ways, the sidewalks were never sanitized by the city prior to the outbreak.

A 2017-2018 grand jury report on the response to the hepatitis A outbreak highlighted that the lack of proper sanitation in the downtown area provided an environment for the disease.

“In San Diego, the basic lack of sanitation and sanitary conditions among the homeless provided an environment in which hep A could easily spread,” the report reads.

According to Jose Ysea, city supervising public information officer, the city began sanitizing sidewalks in September 2017 in compliance with county sanitation procedures released on Sept. 6, 2017, during the outbreak. Ysea wrote that the city or contractors have provided street sweeping and sidewalk power-washing services prior to September 2017.

“Once the City received direction from its public health agency, the County, regarding methods to combat the Hepatitis A virus, the City immediately began to add sanitizing services to its efforts, which involves using a solution designed to kill the virus,” Ysea told CityBeat in an email.

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UP FRONT | NEWS When asked if the street sanitation procedure should have began sooner, the mayor’s office replied that upon receiving guidelines from the county, the city awarded a no-bid contract worth up to $1.3 million to Massachusetts based contractor, Clean Harbors, to power-wash sidewalks with a bleach and chlorine solution.

Increased homelessness enforcement scatters at-risk population While the grand jury report on the response to the hepatitis A outbreak mentioned the lack of public restrooms and hand washing stations as one of the root causes of the crisis, it also pointed to an increase in homeless enforcement.

“One suggestion is that the outbreak was due to an effort to push the homeless out of downtown and into increasingly congested encampments in order to improve the appliance of the downtown area prior to the July 2016 All-Star baseball game,” the report reads.

Although the report adds that there is little medical evidence to support that claim, the county had to resort to sending teams of nurses to encampments, canyons, back alleys and other locations with backpacks and coolers to offer vaccinations.

According to a public records request submitted by Voice of San Diego, the San Diego Police Department made 270 arrests of homeless citizens in September 2017 for encroachment and illegal logging. That number is triple the number of arrests for similar reasons in September 2016.

However, homeless advocate Michael McConnell said the increased enforcement began long before the hepatitis A outbreak.

In 2016, McConnell began more actively recording interactions between police officers and homeless citizens and sharing it on his Facebook page, Homeless News San Diego.

McConnell believes there was an increase in enforcement prior to the outbreak because the encampments were becoming more entrenched in the streets.

“There’s a huge difference between seeing fewer homeless people and having fewer homeless people,” McConnell said, pointing out that enforcement strategies served only to displace homeless citizens.

He said the hepatitis A outbreak scared the city into realizing it needed to do something about homelessness, and that the crisis gave it the ability to increase enforcing the policy of citing and arresting homeless individuals for crimes such as encroachment and illegal lodging.

“They knew there would be no backlash,” McConnell said. “In fact, they threw a homeless person in the garbage! And there was very little public backlash,” McConnell added, referring to an incident where a homeless person in a tent was nearly crushed to death after being placed in a garbage truck.

McConnell agrees that the homelessness and unsanitary conditions were the biggest contributors to the outbreak, but that spreading people out and into the jails rather than containing them. He says this seemed especially problematic considering the city and county, in his estimation, acted with no sense of urgency.

“By the time (they) acted, it was already on the downhill side.”

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Immunization efforts slow before outbreak According to county documents, vaccination efforts to at-risk individuals began after the outbreak was identified in March 2017 and mass vaccination efforts began a month after the outbreak was declared. To date, more than 194,000 people have received vaccinations.

The hepatitis A vaccination is given in two doses at least six months apart and is considered highly efficient. The first dose is 90 to 95 percent effective and provides protection for approximately two to four weeks. The second dose boosts immunity for 20 to 40 years.

According to a June 18 County News Center press release, over 150,000 first doses and 18,000 second doses were given in San Diego county over the past 16 months.

Based off those numbers, that would mean 132,000 individuals were protected from the virus for two to four weeks only.

Prior to the county identifying the hepa-

titis A outbreak, adult vaccinations were offered at immunization clinics in public health centers. They were offered to individuals who can’t get them routinely and who were in one of those higher-risk categories, said Eric McDonald, medical director of the County Health and Human Services Agency’s Epidemiology and Immunization Branch.

According to McDonald, it is recommended that the childhood hepatitis A vaccination be given routinely but, when it comes to adults, the vaccine is recommended for adults who fit in the high-risk categories.

County Supervisor Ron Roberts who represents the fourth district, which includes the city of San Diego, said that there was concern among the Board of Supervisors on how to get a handle on the outbreak and making sure the “target audience” was vaccinated without causing public panic.

The county began sending “foot teams” of nurses during the outbreak to administer vaccinations to high-risk individuals.

According to Sarah Sweeney, Human Services Agency spokesperson, the use of “foot teams” was not a practice prior to the outbreak.

“Nurses typically conduct vaccinations in a clinical setting to best assure vaccine integrity. However, as a direct result of the outbreak the first foot teams were deployed by the County in early May 2017,” Sweeney wrote in an email.

On May 24, 2017, the County’s Health and Human Services Agency provided information about the hepatitis A outbreak to individuals who work with higher risk populations in most affected areas. Ninety-four cases had been reported by that time.

According to an Aug. 31, 2017 directive

by Wilma Wooten, director of Public Health Services, the city of San Diego needed to take immediate action to prevent the virus from spreading. By then, a total of 7,145 vaccines had been given to at risk population.

Wooten declared a local health emergency the next day. The County Board of Supervisors ratified the declaration of local health emergency nearly a week later.

Councilmember David Alvarez spoke dur-

mately $12.5 million as of the end of April 2018. This includes vaccines, staff, restrooms and hand washing stations and education efforts.

Alvarez, who has been openly critical of the county, said it was frustrating to see the lack of seriousness on behalf of the county.

He said there should have been more public outreach sooner and vaccinations, rather than that county playing a back and forth game with the city.

Where are we now?

According to the most recent point-intime count, there are approximately 8,576 homeless citizens in San Diego County and more than 4,900 in the city of San Diego.

McConnell speculated that homelessness enforcement is as high as he’s ever seen it, and yet there are still encampments in the city. Records show that there have been more arrests for illegal lodging this year than previous years.

According to public records requested by ANDREA LOPEZ- VILLAFAÑA CityBeat, from Jan. 1, 2018 to Aug. 9, 2018 there have been 1,011 arrests for illegal lodging (188 more than all of 2017).

McConnell said the city is not driving progress and instead people are just moving to different areas.

“What it seems like we are seeing is people much more spread out around downtown now, than outside of downtown,” McConnell said.

The San Diego Police Department did not respond to a request for comment.

While McConnell believes there has been too much focus on temporary solutions, the city did implement the “temporary bridge shelter” in November 2017. The $6.5 million plan went toward three bridge shelters with a long-term goal of moving at least 65 percent of the individuals staying in the shelters into permanent housing. However, a recent report found that a total of 29 people left the shelters for permanent housing.

Once the Board of Supervisors voted to The “Birds’ Words” public restroom end the public health emergency on Jan. 23, ing the county’s special meeting on Sept. 6, some hand washing stations were removed.

2017, and thanked Wooten and public health According to a Jan. 23 San Diego Union-Triofficials who were acting with an urgency bune story, “Mayor Kevin Faulconer said in a that many lacked. Alvarez spoke during the statement that the city will make the streetmeeting and said the city took longer to cleaning activities undertaken during the install sanitation stations and raised ques- outbreak ‘the new normal going forward.’”

But when recently asked by CityBeat tions about street sanitation not occurring sooner despite individuals being removed about sanitation procedures, the mayor’s office claims that sanitation continues every from the sidewalks a day before.

When the outbreak was identified, incar- week, but that it is “based on need.”

There are currently 20 public restroom facerated individuals were routinely offered vaccinations when booked because many cilities in downtown San Diego, 11 of which people in the jails are in one of those high- are open 24 hours. There are 78 portable risk categories. According to the San Diego hand-washing stations and eight portable County Sheriff’s medical services, only one restrooms. The mayor’s office also expanded hepatitis A immunization was given during the hours at 14 restrooms in Balboa Park.

McDonald, medical director of the the 2016 calendar year. A total of 9,936 immunizations were administered to inmates County’s Epidemiology and Immunization Branch, said the county will continue giving from May 2017 to Aug. 1, 2018.

During the beginning stages of the out- vaccines to people at a higher-risk because break, the county sought help from the CDC it is a constant changing population and in identifying the outbreak, and Roberts, hepatitis A is an ongoing disease. During who met with staff several times, said they the outbreak vaccinations were routinely offered in jails because those incarcerated are were cooperative.

According to the county’s After Action at higher risk, but now they are given only report, the county’s cost of responding to when requested by the suspect. the hepatitis A outbreak was $9.7 million through January 2018 and will be approxiHEPATITIS A CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

AUGUST 22, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 7

UP FRONT | NEWS HEPATITIS A CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 Last month, the California State Auditor found that should the county face a similar health crisis, the county of San Diego “cannot demonstrate that it employs the appropriate number of public health nurses to effectively serve its residents.”

Critics of the Board of Supervisors claimed that the county could have done something before the outbreak began. However, Roberts said he did not think anybody saw it coming. He added that getting people off the streets is the solution, not public restrooms. Roberts’ communications director later clarified in an email that Roberts is not opposed to public restrooms, but that in the supervisor’s experience and as chair of the Regional Taskforce on Homelessness, he’s become convinced that the housing-first model is the primary solution.

Assemblymember Gloria observed that the finger pointing between the city and the county would not have occurred in the context of a different disaster situation such as wildfires.

Speaking in hindsight from his time on the city council, Gloria added that with regard to the public restrooms, cost and community opposition became the decisive factor of the decision-making process. However, those issues flew out the window during the outbreak.

When asked about the “finger-pointing” during the outbreak, the mayor’s office simply replied that the County of San Diego, through the Health and Human Services Agency, is responsible for the region’s response to public health emergencies.

“It’s important to remember that the city acted quickly once it received direction from county public health officials on sanitation, vaccination and education,” Greg Block, senior press secretary for the mayor’s office, wrote in an email.

Councilmember Alvarez said the outbreak was

8 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · AUGUST 22, 2018

helpful in shining a light in two different ways: That communication between the county and city was an issue, and that there is a lack of care for the poor and vulnerable from county leaders.

Looking back a year later, Alvarez said the county should have ordered the city to get things done more aggressively in the name of public health.

“They had this data, they knew a spike in cases was occuring,” Alvarez said. “So in the name of public health they should have pursued that more aggressively.”

He added they also should have addressed the homeless crisis before the outbreak.

“At the end of the day, the reason why people were being infected is because there was feces on the street. Because people were living on the street and getting contaminated that way,” Alvarez said.

Alvarez said he thinks the public outcry that occurred will help prevent a health crisis from happening again, especially because the board of supervisors has not changed.

“I think we need to keep being vigilant that if anything like this were to happen and we see a trend, the public in general needs to be vocal more quickly, so that we can get them (county) to act in a more responsible manner sooner rather than later,” Alvarez said.

In Sacramento, State Assemblymember Gloria requested a state audit on how the county and city handled the hepatitis A outbreak, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

“It’s hard to understate what a civic embarrassment this outbreak was,” Gloria said. “I’m hopeful that folks are held accountable, because I suspect that, and this is sheer speculation on my part, there were folks who saw something was wrong, noticed that things were not the usual rate of infection and rang an alarm, and it seems that alarm was not responded to. The result was that a lot of people got sick, and folks died.”

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CULTURE | VOICES

RHONDA “RO” MOORE

A SIDE-EYE OF

SANITY

Don’t believe the “woke” hype

T

here’s a subsection of the populace that’s so shocked when confronted with proof that the country doesn’t match their idyllic view.

They’ve joined the “fight” to resist those calling for a reset to a bygone era. They’ve proclaimed themselves “allies” in the struggle or taken up the call for radical political change and put themselves forward as problem-solvers. They’re “awake,” “aware,” “woke” and “motivated.”

OK, maybe not a fun topic, but lately I’ve had one too many run-ins with the above buzzwords.

The first instance lead to me being called “not open to young energy” (and can I send a quick big middle finger to that person for calling me old) in the political arena, because I wasn’t all set to jump on the trendy platform of freshman House candidate, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez out of New York.

The other time was when I was discussing with a friend how I’m not enamored with New Agenda founder and self-proclaimed “resistance leader” Amy Siskind, who’s pushing a book based on her internet project known as “The Weekly List.”

First of all, I’m not looking to ride the socialist train Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is driving precisely because I don’t buy it.

When you poke beneath the nice sound-bites in her impassioned speeches, there’s no substantive plan in the works to execute what will amount to a wholesale shift in federal governance. I’ve been watching (and listening) and almost every single time she’s asked how her agenda becomes actual legislation and successfully implemented new law, Ocasio-Cortez turns the conversation to complaints against how Republicans don’t get asked those questions instead of detailing the strategy for pushing for her bills. I want to yell at her, I already know why I’m not voting for them! Tell me why voting for you is smart!

Given that she graduated cum laude from Boston University with a degree in economics and international relations, her lack of substantive answers is unacceptable. I’m tired of people trying to sell me instead of convincing me they can actually do the job.

Until that changes, she’s just the latest shiny face in a sea of tired politicos hoping voters won’t notice they have no real plan.

Don’t get me wrong. I whole-heartedly believe we need fresh ideas, new voices and truly civic-minded representatives. However, I don’t agree that just anyone deserves a seat at the table when they can’t even identify the place settings. Ocasio-Cortez doesn’t have the luxury of time with such a steep learning curve. If she’s already tap-dancing around the hard questions, then she’s got a bright future as a political operator but it won’t be as the voice of change, because she’ll burn out once the struggle gets real.

As for Amy Siskind, she wasn’t down for the cause before Trump upset her apple cart. I’m never here for those unwilling (read: unable) to stand and explain themselves when their questionable past allegiances and statements are brought to light. Siskind supported Sarah Palin, she’s suborned the vitriol of Steve Bannon and has been all set to high-five Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. There’s nothing intersectional about her feminism, and her distaste for Trump is more rooted in discomfort with his overt anti-female stance than disagreement with his bigoted platform and agenda.

When her original hustle didn’t work, she pivoted into the anti-Trump environment and worked that angle right into a book deal. This doesn’t discount her work but it’ll certainly make me strike her name from my list of allies. May her book earn out in the first year so she can go have several seats somewhere away from me. I don’t have time for long cons and here’s hoping she’ll slither away long before the struggle’s won.

I re-watched the second season of one of my favorite shows, and I had one of those epiphanies that show writers probably have: I’m pretty sure most of these people around are Teddy from Westworld.

For those who don’t look to genre-TV shows for their life lessons, let me explain.

So Teddy is the self-deprecating gunslinger in love with the bright-eyed farm girl Dolores.

Teddy also has a past life (literally) in which he was a brutal, murdering sociopath. After awaking to the fact that he, Dolores and practically everyone he knows are all androids programmed to be playthings for human guests, Teddy—the sweet-natured, love-struck, gun-toting badass with ill-suppressed homicidal tendencies that he is—is all in for the revolt and run for freedom. He naively follows the fearless and viciously driven Dolores.

But Teddy slowly clues into how much will be asked of him and what Dolores really means when she says she’ll free them all. He can’t reconcile how uncomfortable it makes him. When Teddy finally accepts that he doesn’t have it in him (not even after she gives him a brute force personality adjustment) to see the fight through to the end—instead of facing the difficult choices and standing firm to help steer things toward the light—Teddy punks out and eats a bullet in front of his favorite girl Dolores all apologetic-like.

I’m of the opinion that the majority of people claiming to be “woke” are the Teddy of the current sociopolitical “resistance” taking place in the U.S. And when pressed or questioned, they fold just like he did.

That’s right I said it.

I whole-heartedly believe we need fresh ideas, new voices and truly civic-minded representatives.

However, I don’t agree that just anyone deserves a seat at the table when they can’t even identify the place settings.

@SDCITYBEAT

A Side-Eye of Sanity appears every four weeks.

Follow Ro Moore on Twitter at @BookBlerd.

AUGUST 22, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 9

UP FRONT | FOOD & DRINK

BY BETH DEMMON

BY MICHAEL A. GARDINER

FINAL DRAUGHT

THE WORLD

be on the menu at Panda Express, but the version at Szechuan Chef is both different and exciting. The textural contrast offered by the crispy chicken helped and the fierylooking chilies promised real heat, though it delivered somewhat less than it promised.

It may not be all Sichuan The best dishes at Szechuan Chef are but it’s good the ones featuring the less familiar ingredients. Take the stir-fried pork kidneys or years, Chinese food in San Diego with peppers. The precise knifework (and meant different versions of watered- careful cleaning) of the kidneys themdown Cantonese and the sort of selves yielded a great texture. The flavor Americanized “Chinese” one might expect of kidneys may not be to everyone’s taste from a late-night delivery place in New (what is?), but the way they paired with York. Sichuan? Not so much. Hunan? No. the batons of jalapeño highlighted the Shaanxi? Not on your life. best of both.

Today, though, things seem differThere were more interesting textures ent with restaurants tagged with labels in the pig’s blood with soft tofu. The form from each of those regions. Appearances, of the blood cake and tofu mirrored each though, can be deceiving as Szechuan other, and the textures figured to do so as Chef (4344 Convoy St.) demonstrates. well, but didn’t. Where the blood cake was The menu at SzechMICHAEL A. GARDINER firm, the tofu was soft. uan Chef is, frankly A classic Sichuan mala something of a mess, sauce (spicy from the childespite its quotes from ies and numbing from Sithe seminal 18th Cenchuan peppercorns) along tury treatise on Chinese with scallions completed cuisine and philosophy. the picture.

First of all, there’s no disSpicy duck chin with cernible organization cumin is exactly the sort and it includes pictures Stir-fried pork kidneys of dish many Westerners that may or may not with peppers fear: lots of little bones, bear a close relationnot a whole lot of meat ship with the actual dish. What’s more, and a copious amount of spices. But the the dish descriptions are dodgily trans- dish is all the better for it. It might be the lated. Classic Sichuan dishes like dan dan best at Szechuan Chef and it’s work to eat, noodles and spicy boiled fish were right but the payoff comes in the form of the big there with Americanized ones like walnut flavors crashing against each other. shrimp. Familiar dim sum dishes like xiao Not everything’s great at Szechuan long bao are featured next to dishes that Chef or even good. There’s a bit too much include more intimidating ingredients like MSG throughout, and the restaurant pork kidneys and duck tongue. doesn’t seem to know exactly what it is.

My favorite part of any nominally Sich- A place that caters to westerners or one uan restaurant is the cold appetizer bar, and that challenges them? Sichuan or AmeriSzechuan Chef’s delivered. The tripe, ren- canized-Chinese comfort food? But when dered orange from chili oil, was both savory the restaurant sticks to its guns, demands and crispy. It’s the crunchy texture as well diners follow along and doesn’t back as the porky flavor that make the pig’s ear down from the results, the result can be a must, and both the tofu skin (yuba) and both delicious and exciting. cucumbers are personal favorites.

Not all of the gringo-safe dishes were The World Fare appears weekly. uninteresting. The kung pao chicken may Write to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com.

FARE F

10 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · AUGUST 22, 2018

Escondido or bust

COURTESY OF STONE BREWING

I

n neighborhoods like North Park, craft breweries are booming on nearly every block. Add tap rooms and beer bars to the list, and it gets harder to spot businesses that aren’t driven by drinking. But it’s not like that in every city in the county (yet). Encinitas continues to push back against new licenses while places like Escondido are actively seeking to add more of these types of establishments.

“We’re looking to attract any sort of destination business. Breweries are definitely in that category,” says Michelle Geller, Economic Development Manager for the City of Escondido.

Escondido is only home to three craft breweries: Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens, Escondido Brewing Company and Jacked Up Brewery. (Plan 9 Alehouse does some on-site brewing, but is primarily a pub-style restaurant.) That’s less than two percent of all operational breweries in the county. Of course, one could argue Stone counts as more than one standard brewery, as its footprint is nearly 200 times larger than San Diego’s smallest operating brewery, which is, coincidentally, Escondido Brewing Company.

But Escondido needs more than just one destination brewery if it hopes to compete with places like beer-soaked Miramar or the burgeoning South Bay. And while craft beer isn’t the only industry Escondido is courting, it’s a big one.

Geller points out that, over the past few years, the city has updated several policies to make accommodations for breweries. Specifically, the city has offered things like fee waivers and adjusting fees after Stone Brewing’s uncharacteristically large system necessitated a review. Today production output dictates wastewater cost, which makes it easier for smaller breweries to afford.

Escondido also offers lower real estate prices compared with some of the more saturated areas around the county.

Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens Would-be breweries can purchase several thousand square feet in Escondido for the same cost as a few hundred square feet in Mid-City or the East Village—an attractive selling point in the fourth most populous city in San Diego county. Large buildings along Grand Avenue in Escondido rent out at $1.50 per-square-foot, and there are plenty on the market to choose from. Some say the abundant availability is problematic, leading a number of would-be patrons to avoid the downtown thoroughfare. But Geller is adamant about the potential.

“It’s a place that’s poised for growth,” she promises. She estimates that in the next five to ten years, 1,000 more housing units will be within walking distance of Grand Avenue (a timeframe that even she admits might be a hurdle for breweries looking for immediate returns). But she’s hopeful brewery entrepreneurs can clearly see the possibilities. “[Escondido] has a sense of place. You can’t manufacture the vibe of downtown,” Geller says.

Inevitably, any conversation about new breweries is followed by: “Does San Diego really need more beer? Can San Diego really handle more beer?” I asked Geller about the ever-pervasive beer bubble theory. She shrugged it off.

“It’s not an oversaturated market yet by any means—at least not in Escondido.”

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

@SDCITYBEAT

EVENTS

SHORTlist

ART

the

THREE YOU HAVE TO SEE

COORDINATED BY

SETH COMBS

SAN DIEGO

BAY DAY

COURTESY OF SAN DIEGO BIKE COALITION

San Diego has come a long way toward becoming a truly bike-friendly city and over the past year, we’ve seen an influx of bike-sharing options pop up all over town. Still, there are plenty of places we’re not allowed to bike, and there’s much more to be done when it comes to biking accessibility and, more importantly, making sure cyclists are safe on the road.

That’s been the overall mission of the San Diego Bike Coalition, and while they’re certainly a great organization to support year-round, the annual Bike the Bay ride on Sunday, Aug. 26 is a great way to show solidarity while also getting to bike through some neighborhoods most riders don’t normally get to see, including Coronado, National City and Chula Vista.

“We welcome everyone to Bike the Bay, which is why we designed its route to travel through five different neighborhoods, and now a new dirt trail,” says Bike Coalition Executive Director Andy Hanshaw. “It’s our way of saying ‘this ride belongs to your community.’”

Now in its 11th year, the non-competitive Bike the Bay event also has the distinction of being the only ride where cyclists get to cross the Coronado Bridge on two wheels. Starting at Embarcadero Marina Park South (200 Marina Park Way) at 7 a.m. and heading

EAST VILLAGE

HIGH ‘TEC

Bike the Bay to the Coronado Bridge, riders will then head south along the bay to Imperial Beach before doing a U-turn and heading up through Chula Vista and National City. Hanshaw says the Coalition added another fun element this year for mountain bike enthusiasts.

“We added the gravel loop option to Bike the Bay this year to offer a new way for riders to experience the joys of biking in our beautiful region. It also allows our Bike the Bay veterans to add a new challenge to their summer tradition.”

The ride wraps up at the Embarcadero with a festival that goes until 12:30 p.m. and includes entertainment, food trucks and a beer garden. Registration ranges from $65 to $70 at bikethebay.net.

LOGAN HEIGHTS

GHOST STORY

Being ahead of one’s time is not always glamorous; just ask Leonardo da Vinci how much progress he made on his whole “helicopter” idea. Or ask Vincent van Gogh what people thought of his paintings during his lifetime. And while Tijuana’s NORTEC Collective is far from unappreciated, the group’s pioneering fusion of traditional norteño music and modern techno (hence, “nortec”) certainly warrants mainstream support, particularly in a city as enamored with EDM as San Diego. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the group’s Grammy-nominated album Tijuana Sound Machine, NORTEC Collective’s Bostich + Fussible will perform with a full band at IDEA1 (899 Park Blvd.), accompanied by Baja-inspired cuisine from some of the region’s top chefs. The shindig goes from 7 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 25, and tickets are $25 to $60 at extension.ucsd.edu/nortec-collective

This week is certainly a great week to see some excellent avant-garde films (see our feature on the San Diego Underground Film Festival on page 16), but we’d certainly be remiss if we didn’t also mention Ghost Magnet Roach Motel, a highly strange and super-cool documentary from local artist Shinpei Takeda. Regular readers might be familiar with the work of Takeda, as we have featured his installation art in these pages before. His self-directed documentary focuses on his Tijuana-based punk band and their struggles with everything from addiction to the dangers of living in TJ. SPACE TIME will be screening the doc at 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25 at Bread & Salt (1955 Julian Ave.) and will be followed by a performance from Ghost Magnet Roach Motel. Admission is $7. spacetimeart.org LUIS GARCIA

All Things Good at Bluefoot Bar and Lounge, 3404 30th St., North Park. Good Music for Good People presents a pop-up art show, held on the fourth Thursday of every month, which will feature Resident DJ Hevrock and other guests. Ages 21 and up. From 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 23. Free. thumbprintgallery.com HLa Vuelta Photography & Art Show at La Bodega Gallery, 2196 Logan Ave., Barrio Logan. A one-day-only art exhibition celebrating classic car culture, which has inspired generations of artists from Southern California and remains important to the Barrio Logan community. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25. Free.

619-255-7036, labodegagallery.com Gallery Selections 2018 / Chapter 2 at Sparks Gallery, 530 Sixth Ave., East Village.

An evening of artistic creation where live painting will take place and new works from six featured artists will be on display. Artists include Marissa Quinn, Brady Willmott, Monty Montgomery, Tony Philippou and more. RSVP recommended. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25. Free. 619696-1416, sparksgallery.com

BOOKS T. Jefferson Parker at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla.

This author of numerous novels and winner of three Edgar Awards will discuss and sign his new book, Swift Vengeance.

Only books purchased at Warwick’s will be signed. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 23. Free. warwicks.com HMara Altman at The Book Catapult, 3010-B Juniper St., South Park. The journalist and writer will sign and discuss her new essay collection about body image, Gross Anatomy: Dispatches From the Front (and Back). At 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 24. Free. 619-795-3780, thebookcatapult.com HSan Diego Festival of Books at Liberty Station, 2620 Truxtun Road, Point Loma.

Celebrate San Diego’s vibrant reading community and join thousands of local readers, writers and word lovers at this event, which features local booksellers, authors and businesses around their common love of the written word. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25. $3. sdfestivalofbooks.com HAnya Yurchyshyn at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla.

This author, whose writing has appeared in Esquire, Granta, N+1, will be having an open discussion with guests about her new book, My Dead Parents. At 7:30 p.m.

Monday, Aug. 27. Free. warwicks.com

FILM HStar Wars: A New Hope at Embarcadero Marina Park South, 200 Marina Park Way, Downtown. As part of the Bayside Summer Nights concert series, the San Diego Symphony Orchestra will perform John Williams’ entire movie score live-to-picture while the film plays on three giant screens. At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 22. $58-$104. 619-235-0804, sandiegosymphony.org Baja California International Film Festival at Centro Cultural Tijuana, Paseo de los Héroes 9350, Tijuana. The binational festival seeks to strengthen crossborder relationships and celebrate the cinematographic importance of the region through screenings and industry-oriented programming. At various times. From Thursday, Aug. 23 through Sunday, Aug. 26. Free. bajacaliforniafilmfest.com HSan Diego Underground Film Festival at various venues. This event

Bostich + Fussible @SDCITYBEAT

Ghost Magnet Roach Motel

H = CityBeat picks

will feature a diverse and inclusive lineup of experimental, documentary, animated and narrative films, which are complemented by nightly, expanded cinema performances, installations and live music. Times vary. From Thursday, Aug, 23 through Sunday Aug. 24. $20$50. sdundergroundarts.org San Diego International Kids’ Film Festival at Carlsbad City Library, 1775 Dove Lane, Carlsbad. Films from all around the world will be screened while hosting the Maeya Angle Pageant, complete with red carpet, fashion presentations, special speakers, celebrity guests and more.

Times vary. Friday, Aug. 24 through Sunday, Aug 26. $2-$52. sdkidsfilms.org HGhost Magnet Roach Hotel at Bread & Salt, 1955 Julian Ave., Logan Heights. A screening of Shinpei Takeda’s documentary on his Tijuana-based punk band followed by one of their signature “punkformances,” which combines punk music and performance art. From 8 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25. $5-$7. spacetimeart.org

FOOD & DRINK HSan Diego Spirits Festival at Broadway Pier Port Pavillion, 1000 North Harbor Drive, Downtown. This 10th annual two-day event will be filled will inventive cocktails as well as food concocted by mixologists and celebrity chefs. From 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25 and 2 to 5 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 26. $20-$100. 858-5511605, sandiegospiritsfestival.com HFestival of Dankness at Waterfront Park, 1600 Pacific Hwy., Downtown.

Modern Times’ fourth annual festival beer festival features a highly curated selection of limited edition beers as well as food trucks and live performances. From 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25. $50-$80. moderntimesbeer.com Mission Avenue Bar and Grill Fourth Anniversary at Mission Avenue Bar and Grill, 711 Mission Ave., Oceanside.

The neighborhood bar and restaurant will celebrate four years with a portion of proceeds from cocktails on tap, a special menu and a special beer, being donated to The Semper Fi Fund.

At 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 29. missionavebarandgrill.com

MUSIC Erasure at Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St., Downtown. The British synthpop duo and LGBTQ icons, known for hits like “A Little Respect,” stop by on their World Be Gone tour. At 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 22. $32-$96.

619-235-0804, sandiegosymphony.org HLadies Who Jam: Women in Jazz feat. Dee Dee Bridgewater at Embarcadero Marina Park South, 200 Marina Park Way, Downtown. This concert will focus on the history of women in jazz as well as some of the up-and-coming talent jazz music today such as violinist Nora Germain, pianist Helen Sung and more. Part of the Bayside Summer Nights Series. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 23. $21-$69. sandiegosymphony.org Tribal Seeds at the Del Mar Racetrack, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. The Del Mar Summer Concert Series continues with the local reggae band, who will take the stage after the final race of the day.

Racetrack admission includes concert.

From 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 24. $6-$30. 858-755-1141, dmtc.com Danny Green Trio at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido. Improvised jamming with the nationally acclaimed jazz trio, plus food trucks and a bar on site. Those who wish to

EVENTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

AUGUST 22, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 11

EVENTS EVENTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 jam with the band must arrive early in order to register. From 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 24. Free-$12. 760-839-4138, artcenter.org HDavid Zinman at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Downtown. La Jolla Music Society’s month-long SummerFest will conclude with a concert to honor the 18-year tenure of Music Director Cho-Liang “Jimmy” Lin. Featuring the SummerFest Orchestra, the San Diego Master Chorale and several of Lin’s friends. At 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 24. $49-$89. 858-459-3728, ljms.org HCarlsbad Music Festival at various venue, Carlsbad Village. The 15th annual fest will feature dozens of performances in a variety of music over three days with concerts in 12 different venues. From 5 p.m. to midnight. Friday, Aug. 24., noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25 and noon to 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 26. Free-$80.

760-931-8400, carlsbadmusicfestival.org.

The Schizophonics at Broadstone North Park, 4223 Texas St., North Park. To kick off the Sonic San Diego Concert Series at the new Broadstone apartment complex, the local rock band and several DJs will perform. Includes food, drinks, swimming and an after-party. RSVP required. From 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25. Free-$349. dosd.com/sonicsandiego HSounds of Summer Benefit Concert at House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., Downtown. San Diego-based artists HIRIE, Tolan Shaw and Sleepwalkers will put on a show to benefit the Southern Caregiver Resource Center, which helps families in San Diego County care for adults with disabilities. From 7 to 10 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 25. $50-$250. 858-2684432, caregivercenter.org Shaila Dúrcal at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Downtown. The Grammynominated Spanish pop star will perform her own hits, like “Convénceme” and “Tanto Amor,” and also pay tribute to her mother, the great Rocio Dúrcal. At 8 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 25. $25-$45. 619-5701100, sandiegotheatres.org HBostich+Fussible at IDEA1, 899 Park Blvd., Downtown. UC San Diego URBAN Presents an evening with this offshoot of Tijuana based group NORTEC Collective.

Includes Baja-inspired. From 7 to 10 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 25. $40. 858-822-2026, calendar.ucsd.edu HWarren G and DJ Quik at the Del Mar Racetrack, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. The two giants of West Coast hip-hop will team up as part of the Del Mar Summer Concert Series. Racetrack admission includes concert. From 8 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25. $6-$30. 858755-1141, dmtc.com HLeslie Odom, Jr. at Salk Institute, 10010

BOOKS: THE FLOATING LIBRARY N. Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla. This local science research institute is celebrating 23 years with its signature concert gala under the stars with this award-winning lead of the Broadway hit Hamilton accompanied by the San Diego Symphony. From 5:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday. Aug. 25. $450. 858597-0657, salk.edu/symphony HThe Redwoods Revue at Arts District Liberty Station, 2875 Dewey Road., Point Loma. Enjoy music by the local independent record label and music collective, which features genres as varied as hard-hitting soul to swampy psychedelic rock. From 5 to 8 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 26. Free. 619-573-9304, libertystation.com Villa Musica Summer Orchestra at San Diego Central Library, 330 Park Blvd., East Village. The Sorrento Valley-based orchestra will perform a program entitled From Russia With Love featuring works from Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov and theme music from James Bond. At 4 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 26. Free. villamusica.org Kalí Rodríguez-Peña Quintet at Queen Bee’s Art & Cultural Center, 3925 Ohio St., North Park. The Latin jazz maestro and his band will be joined by Rodríguez-Peña’s fiancé, vocalist Gina d’Soto. Dinner and wine will be available for purchase. From 7 to 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 29. $20$100. 619-255-5147, queenbeessd.com

POETRY & SPOKEN WORD HPalabra at La Bodega Gallery, 2196 Logan Ave, Logan Heights. The evening of poetry will include readings from featured writer Sharon Elise and hosted by Ted Washington. From 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 23. Free. 619-255-7036, labodegagallery.com

SPECIAL EVENTS HSummer Secrets at San Diego Museum of Man, 1350 El Prado, Balboa Park. Enjoy the new PostSecret exhibit while discovering rarely seen parts of the museum, venturing into the underground art scene with a local artist and enjoying a speakeasy inspired by San Diego’s past.

From 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 24. $20$80. museumofman.org HLa Vuelta Cultural Summer Festival at Logan Ave. between Evans St. and 26th St., Barrio Logan. A festival with over 70 vendors, live music, art exhibits, two craft beer gardens and, of course, a classic car show to celebrate the neighborhood’s unique culture and heritage. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25. Free. lavueltabarriologan.com San Diego Community Fest at North Park Community Park, 4044 Idaho St.,

12 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · AUGUST 22, 2018

Thereness and otherness

E

ver taken a trip and looked out the window of the car and thought, “Wow, there’s nothing out there”?

It’s a fallacy, of course, because even in the most distant desert, there’s always something there. It’s also a way we assert our own frame of reference onto things. When we say, “there’s nothing there,” we mean “there’s nothing there for me.”

This was the logic behind the United States government’s resettlement of the native population to reservations that were of little or no value to those doing the relocating.

Tommy Orange’s electrifying debut novel, There There, the New York Times bestseller that takes place mostly in Oakland, wrestles with ideas of thereness and otherness with language that is as playful as it is devastating.

Orange excels at defining things in a way so that they mean more than one thing at a time, sometimes opposite things, until they cancel the meaning out and the words are just there, meaning whatever you want them to mean.

Take this riff on what it’s like to be an urban

North Park. This year’s completely free, family-oriented carnival will feature food, live music, games and a petting zoo, along with much more. From noon to 5 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 25. Free. newvisionsd.org East County Fest at Mission Trails Regional Park Visitor Center, 1 Father Junipero Serra Trail, San Carlos. Tastings from 16 local restaurants and wineries, an auction and meet-and-greets with local celebrities like NBA hall-of-famer Bill Walton. Also includes live music, dance and painting. From 6 to 10 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 25. $75-$95. 619-6987617, eastcountymagazine.org HBike the Bay at Embarcadero Marina Park South, 200 Marina Park Way, Downtown.

The annual non-competitive bike ride—and the only time that bicycles are welcome on the Coronado Bridge—loops 25 miles around the bay from Downtown to Imperial Beach and back. Proceeds benefit the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition. From 7 a.m. to noon. Sunday, Aug. 26. $65-$70.

858-487-6063, sdbikecoalition.org HSuffrage Parade and Rally at Spreckels Organ Pavilion, 1549 El Prado, Balboa Park. The Women’s Museum of California hosts this 13th annual parade celebrating the anniversary of women’s suffrage. Includes speeches, historic costumes, music and more. At 4 p.m.

Indian: “We know the smell of gas and freshly wet concrete and burned rubber better than we do the smell of cedar or sage or even fry bread—which isn’t traditional, like reservations aren’t traditional, but nothing is original, everything comes from something that came before, which was once nothing.”

The title comes from a remark Gertrude Stein made when visiting her old neighborhood in Oakland and found it had been transformed. “There is no there there,” she said.

This cuts to the heart of the matter when it comes to Orange’s novel. Most novels about Indians take place on reservations because that’s supposedly where Indians live. Most native people, however, live in cities, just like every other ethnic group in America. But if literature insists that Indians live on reservations, are urban Indians something less than real? Somehow less Indian?

These are the issues Orange tackles with skill and flair in There There. As the reader floats through the minds of the novel’s 12 narrators, all searching for something, it is the city of Oakland that asserts itself.

The place that was right there all along.

—Jim Ruland

Floating Library appears every other week.

Sunday, Aug. 26. Free. 619-702-8138, womensmuseumca.org HSan Diego Sea Chantey Festival at the Maritime Museum of San Diego, 1492 N. Harbor Drive, Downtown. A celebration of traditional sailing music aboard the Star of India, with performances by The Jackstraws, Gemini Junction, Raggle Taggle and more.

From. 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 26. $8-$47. 619-234-9153, sdmaritime.org

SPORTS Epic Fighting 39 at Four Points Sheraton, 8110 Aero Drive, Kearny Mesa. A night of mixed martial arts matches. From 7 p.m. to midnight. Friday, Aug. 24. $30-$90. epicfighting.com

TALKS & DISCUSSIONS Gregory Hinton: Out West with Buffalo Bill at the San Diego History Center, 1649 El Prado, Balboa Park. As part of the History Center’s LGBTQ+ San Diego exhibit, Hinton will discuss William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody and the history of LGBTQ communities in the American West. From 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 23. $10-$15.

619-232-6203, sandiegohistory.org

HSan Diego Music Thing Presents Publishing 101 at ChuckAlek Biergarten, 3139 University Ave., North Park. A panel geared toward musicians about the issues that accompany publishing music, featuring Brian Karscig of local rock band Louis XIV, as well as representatives from law firms and performance rights organizations. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Satuday, Aug. 25. Free. facebook.com/ events/890571014466880 RALSD Studio Visit Conversations at Bread & Salt, 1955 Julian Ave., Logan Heights. For this year’s Arts Advocacy Studio Visit program, Rising Arts Leaders of San Diego will highlight the work of three pairs of artists and arts writers, and discuss how their collaboration can be mutually beneficial. From 2 to 5 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 25. Free. 409-987-5873, facebook.com/events/260384421237766

WORKSHOPS Ekphrastic Poetry with Sarah Sleeper at San Diego Writers, Ink, 2730 Historic Decatur Road, #202, Point Loma. In this workshop, participants will learn methodologies so that they can confidently approach this exciting cross-genre art form. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Sunday Aug. 26. $45-$54. 619-696-0363, sandiegowriters.org

@SDCITYBEAT

THEATER JIM COX

Much to like about Much Ado

solved by that time, and unabashed giddiness will be in the night air.

Much Ado About Nothing runs through Sept. 16 on the Old Globe Theatre’s Lowell Davies Festival Stage in Balboa Park. $30 and up; theoldglobe.org

N

o work of Shakespeare’s has been staged at the Old Globe as many times as Much Ado About Nothing.

As a matter of fact, it’s been there 13 times in the Balboa Park theater’s 83-year history. This should come as no surprise, as either Much Ado or Twelfth Night are almost always regarded as The Bard’s most entertaining comedy.

The Globe’s latest production of Much Ado About Nothing, the capper of the 2018 Summer Shakespeare Festival, is a total audience pleaser from start to curtain. Directed by Kathleen Marshall, who oversaw a well-received Love’s Labor’s Lost at the festival two years ago, this Much Ado starts with an exceptional Beatrice and Benedick, the sniping, reluctant lovers at the heart of the story. Both Sarah Topham and Michael Hayden demonstrate a gift for physical humor as well as snappy repartee, with much of their laughs earned by scampering about a set that’s made to look like a lush Italian estate. They’re doing this, of course, in order to remain unseen by those characters gossiping for their benefit.

While the play’s other pair of lovers, Claudio (Carlos Angel-Barajas) and Hero (Morgan Taylor) are attractive and not much else, the supporting cast includes

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—David L. Coddon

Theater reviews run weekly.

Write to davidc@sdcitybeat.com.

OPENING: Phantom of the Opera: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s lavish musical spectacle about a disfigured composer who kidnaps a woman in order to force the opera to give her the lead role. Presented by Broadway San Diego, it opens Aug. 23 at the San Diego Civic Theatre in the Gaslamp. broadwaysd.com

Much Ado About Nothing Rene Thornton Jr. as a stentorian-voiced Leonato, as well as Fred Applegate as the hapless constable Dogberry. There are also two nomad musicians (guitarist James Michael McHale and violinist Abigail Grace Allwein), who provide atmospheric music compatible with the production’s 1930s, Italian Riviera setting.

So inviting is John Lee Beatty’s scenic design—a sunny two-story villa accented in turquoise, with a view inside downstairs of an elegant dining room, and airy balconies

above overlooking a courtyard of bubbling fountains—that theatergoers will long to be guests at the play’s masked party or weddings. Yes, there’s more than one ceremony here. In Michael Krass’ costumes, everyone who’s supposed to look divine does so while Stephen Strawbridge’s lighting sets the right mood for all of Much Ado’s dalliances, deceptions and flirtations.

If the musicality of this production falls in love with itself by show’s end, this can be forgiven. All misunderstandings are re-

Smokefall: Noah Haidle’s modern fairy tale about a woman named Beauty, vaudevillian twins and a family apple tree. Presented by Backyard Renaissance Theatre Company, it opens Aug. 23 at the Theodore and Adele Shank Theatre at UC San Diego in La Jolla. backyardrenaissance.com Crimes of the Heart: Beth Henley’s Pulitzer-winning play about three troubled sisters who gather in smalltown Mississippi as their father is about to pass away. Directed by O.P. Hadlock, it opens Aug. 24 at Lamplighter’s Community Theatre in La Mesa. lamplighterslamesa.com

For complete theater listings, visit sdcitybeat.com

AUGUST 22, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 13

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AUGUST 22, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 15

CULTURE | FILM

From left: Frontier Wisdom, Glide of Transparency and 100ft y its very definition, avant-garde cinema disputes the notion that storytelling must abide by conventional rules and expectations. Experimental filmmakers are typically not interested in box office returns, mainstream affirmation or public renown. Their work is often exploratory and dense.

So how does a local event like the San Diego Underground Film Festival (sdundergroundarts.org), which specializes in showcasing such challenging and potentially alienating works of art, continue to grow past a niche audience of cinephiles?

The question resonates with Rachel Nakawatse and Ryan Betschart, co-founders and curatorial masterminds behind the San Diego Underground Film Festival [SDUFF], which celebrates its fourth year of existence on Thursday Aug. 23 and runs through Sunday, Aug. 26 at Bread and Salt in Logan Heights and the 10th Avenue Arts Center in Downtown.

“We feel it’s a matter of exposure,” says Nakawatse. “Almost everyone can like and has already liked non-narrative work.” Betschart expands: “Experimental work can still be anti-establishment and not pretentious. Removing pseudointelligent posturing from the art scene and letting work speak for itself does wonders in opening doors to the rightful audience of this stuff, which is everyone.”

SDUFF’s 2018 program goes to great lengths to do just that. Featuring its most expansive selection yet, the festival offers viewers upwards of 130 short films, four features, live concerts, art installations and expanded cinema performances, some of which are from Tijuana-based artists. The collective goal is to explore where experimental film stands today, and where it might go in the future. As national discourse turns increasingly divisive and popular filmmaking becomes less risky and more plastic, the political and aesthetic implications of SDUFF’s mission are more relevant today than ever.

Karissa Hahn’s mind-bending Please Step out of the Frame nicely encapsulates the evocative tonal experience audience members might expect from the festival’s selection of shorts. Positioned center mass, the filmmaker’s Mac laptop opens up a rabbit hole of black-and-white superimpositions, fragmented pixels and mirrored compositions.

Super 8 footage merges with digital renderings, producing what amounts to a roller coaster ride of stacking images that never stops breaking through boundaries.

Equally freeing but more socially relevant, Ana Pérez López’s gorgeous miniature Las del Diente uses magical realist animation to tackle issues surrounding gender and cul-

16 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · AUGUST 22, 2018

tural identity. “The female body is a business,” muses one troubled gay artist. Set in the fringe confines of furry conof the film’s three shape-shifting characters who joyously ventions, grungy house parties, and cheap motels, Rukus discuss the many hypocrisies and injustices commonly used feels fittingly messy, pieced together by instinct and guts.

Hanover uses footage compiled over a decade’s time, into define modern womanhood.

In merely three minutes, director Minjung Kim’s single tercutting reenactments of his own troubled relationships shot 16mm film 100ft watches from afar as two distant and bouts with crippling OCD to fill up space. These scenes anonymous figures walk across a desert landscape. As an pale in comparison to the urgent first hand accounts with exercise in duration and scale, it nicely evokes the work of Rukus, a subject who remains hauntingly enigmatic having filmmaker James Benning who plays with time and space committed suicide years before the film’s completion. like no other modern auteur. While too Deeply immersive and lucid, short to rival that director’s experienBetzy Bromberg’s Glide of Transpartial force, Kim’s piece is a lovely palate ency unspools slowly with soft, colcleanser nevertheless. orful images that merge shapes and Jenna Caravello’s surrealist short textures from nature. They could Frontier Wisdom is an altogether differalso be enhanced fragments of carent type of tumbleweed opera. One of tography from other planets, or perthe many animated efforts in the SDUFF haps microscopic dives into the huprogram, the film jumps liberally from man body, or possibly the inside of a first to third person perspectives, emflower petal. One thing’s for certain: blematic of the out-of-body experience Fluidity is central to the film’s vast Caravello wants to replicate. Malfuncpotential reach. tioning phone booths, apocalyptic Split into three chapters, Bromreckonings and a bible-verse spouting berg’s trance-like feature begins corpse make up Caravello’s holy trinity with very little ambient sound only of motifs leading the anti-technology to build toward a symphonic outcharge. Fittingly, it ends with someone burst in the last act. While often literally cutting the cord. patience testing, the beguiling film Far less interesting on the whole, Ryan Betschart and Rachel Nakawatse remains tirelessly dedicated to inNoah Engel’s Full Time on Video Island tensely tweaking and obscuring conamateurishly uses onscreen text, Instagram posts, and grainy ventional aesthetics used to capture nature’s beauty, sugambient footage in modernizing the riddle that asks why the gesting a watercolor world slowly, poetically melting away. “chicken crossed the road.” While novel in theory, this apFilms like Glide of Transparency, which so thoroughly reproach reveals a filmmaker trying way too hard to be edgy and flect SDUFF’s dedication to exhibiting free-form expression, provocative, always the first red flag of any experimental film. might not be that far off from what audiences already expeIn Ayesha, Yanyu Dong achieves the exact opposite ef- rience every day. fect: over the course of 20 spellbinding minutes, the director “People watch fireworks on the 4th of July,” Nakawatse constructs the fantastic biography of her Chinese mother says. who dreamt of being a Bollywood star. Long takes, dance “They watch parades, fishing shows, and music videos,” sequences and sublime long shots merge together to form adds Betschart. “YouTube personalities sit for hours and a beautifully personal alternate history, one that both re- try on make-up as we watch, people go through Instagram spects and reimagines parental sacrifice. stories when they sit in line for coffee—all those things are Of the SDUFF feature films previewed, Rukus highlights non-narrative. The real challenge is to remove the pretense the potential difficulties facing experimental filmmakers at- from the avant-garde.” tempting to make something more accessible. Director Brett When put in this context, SDUFF and experimental cinHanover’s genre hybrid walks a fine, blurry line between ema in general might just be a lot more accessible than documentary and fiction telling the incomplete story of a people think.

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CULTURE | FILM

Raising the bar

Support The Girls

Andrew Bujalski’s indie comedy confronts bro culture on its own turf

by Glenn Heath Jr.

S

ports bars are constructed to be aggressive spac- reliably honest servers, encourage her to stay comes. Within tackily designed interiors that reek of mitted to a business that’s never returned the favor. dank beer, patrons act foolishly in the name of Bujalski balances these subplots by staying focused competition, consume excessive amounts of alcohol on Lisa’s leadership role in them all. While she gains and ogle the female body. Attractive servers, some- respect and love from her employees by offering them times donning scantily clad uniforms, usually receive protection and guidance, it’s clear all of the responsithe brunt of this obtrusive affection. The typical ra- bility has taken a toll.

Lisa’s exhaustion correlates with the mosaic of tionale in favor of their subjugation goes something like this: Flirting with customers means higher tips, men in her life (both professionally and personally) essentially reversing the power dynamic of modern who are consistently weak. “Sad dudes is my business,” she says to one of her subordinates. But demasculinity for economic reasons.

Insecure and confident men alike can co-exist pressed drunks are the least of her worries; the sexist within this environment because its very purpose is bikers and entitled yuppies that throw tantrums are to flatter all versions of the sensitive male ego. Hol- the real concern. Lisa, Danyelle and Maci all step up to lywood has rarely critiqued the bro culture of sports these bullies at one point. So does Bobo (Lea DeLaria), bars and chain restaurants, choosing instead to frame the kind-hearted regular who steps up to defend the women when all the men fail these antics through the lens to act. of juvenile buffoonery. Films As a gleefully unpretenlike Waiting... or The Slammin’ tious ode to the importance SUPPORT Salmon treat gender inequality of respecting women, Support and misogyny as punch lines.

THE GIRLS the Girls is the spirit animal Well, Support the Girls begs Directed by Andrew Bujalski to Gregory Jacobs’ Magic Mike to differ. Andrew Bujalski’s Starring Regina Hall, XXL. Both are hang-out movies fascinating new indie comedy, Haley Lu Richardson, with very little interest in traset inside an Austin watering Shayna McHayle and James LeGros ditional plot mechanics. They hole called Double Whammies thrive on the genuine feelings (essentially a dressed down Rated R of characters facing uncertain Hooters), focuses entirely on professional futures. One rethe women who run it. Each flects how the male body can verbal harassment, leering look and puffing chest suffered is experienced from selflessly please women with no strings attached, while the female perspective. This strips bad behavior of the other uses the female body to subvert the worst soany amusing qualities, proving that all forms of ma- cietal impulses and expectations men have about sex.

Support the Girls (opening Friday, Aug. 24, at the chismo is just cowardice in disguise.

As bar manager and resident employee whisperer, Landmark Ken Cinema), never references this subtext Lisa (Regina Hall) spends most of her waking hours through dialogue, opting instead to surround Lisa and making sure Double Whammies stays afloat. On this company with images of masculinity run amok. No betparticular day she’s planned a car wash fundraiser to ter example exists than the corporate headquarters of help support the legal fund of a waitress who broke Man Cave, the corporate chain to Double Whammies’ her abusive boyfriend’s leg the night before. Support mom-and-pop outfit. While interviewing for a new job, the Girls follows Lisa throughout one tumultuous day Lisa experiences the slick streamlining of gender bias where she deals with a thief stuck in an air duct, an made profitable. Only screaming into the void makes employee’s childcare issues and an ornery boss (James sense at this point. Lisa, Danyelle and Maci do just that in the film’s empowering final scene, releasing their LeGros) that wants her gone.

Challenges both minor and major begin to overlap, collective anger together as friends. swooping Lisa up into a whirlwind of stress. Danyelle (Shayna McHayle, aka musician Junglepussy) and Film reviews run weekly.

Maci (Haley Lu Richardson), two of the bar’s most Write to glennh@sdcitybeat.com

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AUGUST 22, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 17

18 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · AUGUST 22, 2018

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CULTURE | FILM

About a girl

R

Juliet, Naked

ose Byrne can do it all. She cut her acting teeth on FX’s nasty legal drama Damages going head to head with Glenn Close before graduating to supporting roles in big Hollywood tent poles and horror films. Brave comedic performances in films such as Bridesmaids, Neighbors, and Spy solidified her indelible range.

While those films cast Byrne as dynamic supporting foils, Juliet, Naked, provides her a much-deserved leading role as Annie, a community-minded museum curator who lives on the English coast with her pretentious academic boyfriend Duncan (Chris O’ Dowd). After spending years cultivating her career, she finally wants to have children. All he wants to do is pine over legendary grunge rock musician Tucker Crowe (Ethan Hawke), who mysteriously disappeared from the public limelight decades before.

Duncan’s obsession borders on creepy; he runs a low rent website dedicated to the mu-

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sician’s cult following. After receiving the previously unheard copy of acoustic sessions for Crowe’s iconic album, Juliet, Annie posts a negative review on the fan forum. Tucker takes notice from the digital void, and the two strike up an online transatlantic correspondence.

Taking a page out of You’ve Got Mail’s playbook, Juliet, Naked, which utilizes the charming rapport found in Nick Hornby’s novel, establishes Annie and Tucker’s chemistry through email exchanges. Their flirtations stand in direct contrast to Annie’s crumbling relationship with Duncan, and director Jesse Peretz (Our Idiot Brother) effortlessly balances the competing emotions. It’s only when Tucker decides to visit Annie in the U.K. does the film become messy and overly complicated.

By that point Juliet, Naked (opening in wide release Friday, Aug. 24) has earned plenty of goodwill. It effortlessly weaves witty dialogue exchanges with endearing emotional confessions, all for the purpose of challenging traditional gender roles. Duncan’s obsession with the past reflects a dangerous form of male stagnation, while Annie’s brave decision to embrace a life of emotional instinct empowers her to see the future anew. Having spent years repenting for his sins, Tucker’s just happy to be in the conversation.

—Glenn Heath Jr.

OPENING A.X.L.: The future is in shatters and humanity’s fate lies in the balance. It’s robot dog to the rescue. Opens in wide release Friday, Aug. 24.

Juliet, Naked: A British museum curator (Rose Byrne) strikes up a transatlantic email correspondence with a reclusive American rock musician (Ethan Hawke) in this comedy based on the novel by Nick Hornby. Opens in wide release Friday, Aug. 24.

Records Collecting Dust II: This music documentary about record collecting focuses on the East Coast cities of Boston, New York and Washington DC, and includes in depth interviews with 28 influential people from the ’80s hardcore music scene. Screens Thursday, Aug. 23 through Saturday, Aug. 25, at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

San Diego Underground Film Festival: Over 140 films will screen at this annual showcase of experimental and independent cinema, which will also feature musical performances and panels. Screenings will take place at Bread and Salt in Barrio Logan and the 10th Avenue Arts Center in San Diego from Thursday, Aug. 23 through Sunday, Aug. 26.

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood: This doc tells the deliciously scandalous story of Scotty Bowers, a former Marine who becomes a legendary escort and sexual procurer to closeted gay celebrities in postWWII America. Opens Friday, Aug. 24, at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

Support the Girls: In this indie comedy from Andrew Bujalski, Regina Hall plays an overworked sports bar manager who must deal with a host of employee and patron issues on the job. Opens on Friday, Aug. 24, at the Landmark Ken Cinemas.

The Happytime Murders: Muppets are being murdered all around Los Angeles and a detective played by Melissa McCarthy must try and solve the crimes. Yep, you read that right.

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

AUGUST 22, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 19

MUSIC

mashing Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream is one of the best albums in the history of rock music. Released in 1993 at the peak of grunge’s popularity, amid a growing cynicism for classic rock tropes, the Chicago band’s second album offered a reminder of the kind of magic a huge, ambitious studio album can conjure. From the opening drumroll of leadoff track “Cherub Rock,” it heralds its own importance, ushering in a 13-track odyssey of massive guitar riffs and Gen X angst that never sounds less than towering and immaculate. It’s a perfect album. It’s how I’d like to remember Smashing Pumpkins.

Despite how well Siamese Dream has aged, and how important a record it remains after 25 years, it’s hard to square with the baffling saga of the artist behind it, Billy Corgan. For most of the past decade, he’s grabbed headlines for all the wrong reasons, whether it be about his wrestling league, defending Nickelback, dredging up old grudges with Pavement over a song from 1994, claiming that Smashing Pumpkins were offered the Shrek soundtrack before Smash Mouth and, most irritating of all, appearing on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ Infowars to complain about social justice warriors. And he did so dressed as a cartoon hobo at that.

A lot of this would be forgivable if Smashing Pumpkins had continued to release music as good as they did in the ‘90s.

They didn’t. Instead, the band (which was essentially just Billy Corgan) issued halfbaked mainstream rock sets like Zeitgeist and peculiar psych-rock throwbacks like the Teargarden by Kaleidyscope EPs. Corgan also indulged in strange conceptual stunts like his 24-hour live-streaming jam session inspired by Herman Hesse’s novel Siddhartha. In 2013, during the SXSW festival in Austin that also included secret shows by Prince and Justin Timberlake, my wife and I happened to be in the right place at the right time to see Smashing Pumpkins at an outdoor venue from the street. About two minutes into some uninspired prog-rock jamming, we shrugged our shoulders and moved on.

For their 30th anniversary, Smashing Pumpkins are making an attempt to wipe the slate clean and remind fans of the band that first captured their attention—to temporarily overlook the ongoing parade of WTF-ness that Corgan’s been leading over the past decade. The original lineup of the band is back onstage, save for bassist D’arcy Wretzky, and the setlists are surprisingly light on deep cuts. They’re playing the hits: “Cherub Rock,” “1979,” “Tonight, Tonight,” and even “Eye,” the underrated synth-pop song the band contributed to David Lynch’s Lost Highway.

It’s refreshing to hear that the band is sticking to material from their strongest era,

20 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · AUGUST 22, 2018

but it’s not that simple. Their Shiny and Oh So Bright tour features a cavalcade of guest stars, including Courtney Love, Deftones’ Chino Moreno and New Order’s Peter Hook. They’ve been covering Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” which is the kind of rock cliché that they could probably pull off. They’ve also been covering Joy Division with AFI’s Davey Havok, which feels a little unnecessary. And they’ve been covering Sugar Ray’s “Fly” with Mark McGrath, which... I don’t even know what to do with that information.

I sympathize with the idea of wanting to remember Smashing Pumpkins as an ideal rather than as a flawed enterprise overflowing with drama, but that drama has always been there. Even Siamese Dream—the very reason I still give Corgan even a little bit of the benefit of the doubt—nearly broke the band.

Members would avoid talking to each other for days, even locking themselves in separate rooms, and Corgan made drummer Jimmy Chamberlin play so many takes of “Cherub Rock” that his hands bled. After all was said and done, Corgan still recorded most of the tracks himself. The word “tyrannical” has been thrown around in reference to these

sessions, and it’s hard to hear when the result is so good. But in a way, it’s almost easier to understand Corgan as some kind of tortured genius than an old man yelling at clouds.

Well, back then, at least he wasn’t that.

Then again, he was already a seasoned cringe artisan back when the Smashing Pumpkins were in their prime—though maybe not everybody noticed it. During a guesthosting spot on MTV’s 120 Minutes in 1994 onsite at Lollapalooza that’s now easy to dig up on YouTube, Corgan awkwardly stumbled his way through an interview with Nick Cave.

“Some English bands have trouble breaking into America,” Corgan says after an increasingly irritated Cave complains about his first question. “A, we’re not English,” responds the Australian-born Cave. “To us Americans it all looks like the same country,” Corgan jokes. “Well, it’s not,” responds Cave. Oof. There’s a similarly incredible exchange between Corgan and Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil in an article written that same year for Spin by the late Jonathan Gold. During an argument in which Corgan complains about being shoved in the back of promotional photos because he’s “not the cute one” and repeatedly asks Thayil about his astrological sign, Thayil lays out what is essentially the crux of my problem with Corgan: “People like your music. You have a good band. You sell a lot of records. You don’t need all this… stuff.”

Then again, I’m not so sure. All that stuff is kind of what makes Billy Corgan who he is, for better or for worse—a human being, albeit one with flaws and talent alike. That’s the Billy Corgan that was responsible for one of the greatest rock albums ever written.

That’s the Billy Corgan who reached such a level of fame with loud, angsty music that he managed to appear on both The Simpsons and Live With Regis and Kathy Lee in the same year. And that’s the same Billy Corgan whose music could easily convince me to go see Smashing Pumpkins in 2018, even after all this time and all the cringeworthy absurdity. In spite of everything, hearing “Cherub Rock” again just might be enough to temporarily forget all of that.

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

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AUGUST 22, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 21

MUSIC

BY RYAN BRADFORD

NOTES FROM THE SMOKING PATIO

THE

SPOTLIGHT

LOCALS ONLY

C

he Cafe is hosting a music and arts festival on Saturday, Sept. 1 titled Escorted Trips. The show is an all-day, allages event that pairs music from 13 bands with DJs and artists, including live painting and interactive art exhibits. It’s being headlined by San Diego’s Fashion Jackson and San Bernardino’s Foliage, and will also feature performances by Retra, Sights and Sages, Miss New Buddha, Ingonoir and Snapghost, as well as Tijuna’s Ethics. The event was organized by Reality House West, an events collective run by Chris Gorrie, Joel Carrillo and Martin Sohikish. Their goal in putting on the event was to showcase a diverse selection of music by artists who might not necessarily all be heard in the same place.

“We wanted to get a good snapshot of what was going on in San Diego music,” says Gorrie. “And for that matter, Southern California music, as there are bands from San Bernardino, and also from Tijuana. It’s a panoramic view of what’s going on here.”

Carrillo, who isn’t a San Diego native, says that his own investment in putting on an event like this came about from

ALBUM REVIEW Montalban Quintet Under the River (Self-released)

I

t’s a natural reaction to look at Montalban Quintet’s personnel and think of it as a local indie rock supergroup. The band features Chris Prescott (No Knife, Pinback), Kenseth Thibideau (Sleeping People) and Nathan Hubbard (Translation Has Failed, Parker Meridien), all of whom are musicians that have consistently been keeping San Diego’s music scene flowing with new and interesting ideas.

But Montalban Quintet’s sonic approach has little to do with rock. Rather, it’s a primarily instrumental-based outfit that creates soundscapes influenced by jazz, post-rock and film scores by the likes of Ennio Morricone. Their music is more about crafting a rich atmosphere than rocking out, and as such their long-awaited new LP Under the River finds them delivering a spectacular set of instrumentals with gorgeous arrangements.

The album’s opening title track has a psychedelic streak running through it, with a one-note Farfisa organ drone

22 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · AUGUST 22, 2018

realizing that there’s a lot of talent in this city that doesn’t always get the recognition he feels it deserves.

“I’ve been in San Diego for a while, but I had a negative attitude about things that simply aren’t true,” says Carillo.

“There are so many talented musicians I wasn’t even aware of.

We don’t need to get our music fix in Los Angeles. We can do it right here.”

STEPHANIE PELAYO Escorted Trips isn’t the first event that Reality House West has put on, nor will it be the last. They see this as being the biggest to date of what should prove to be an ongoing series of events highlighting innovative acts in San Diego.

“We’ve done a couple shows at (D.I.Y. space) San Diego Content Partners as well as SPACE,” says Sohikish. “We’re also planning some Retra things around this and we’d like to work with other groups that are doing similar things. We just don’t want to put it in a genre box.

We’re more interested in showcasing bands with diverse and interesting influences.”

—Jeff Terich

pulsing beneath a bright horn section melody and hypnotic textures of vibraphone. There’s a mesmerizing noir sound to “Burn and Boil,” a sort of dark-jazz approach that would sound best played late at night, or perhaps accompanying the works of David Lynch. And on “Dank,” Montalban Quintet even find the funk, hitting a badass groove driven by both horns and guitar, easily one of the coolest sounding tracks on an album that out-cools most things I’ve heard this year.

Still, there are no hard and fast rules about Montalban Quintet’s approach. Though they’re generally an instrumental group, that doesn’t mean there aren’t vocals. Julie Kitterman provides lead vocal on “Kisses,” and there’s a subtle vocal track in the mix of “Tahoe” that features the voice of the late Terrin Durfey, Prescott’s former bandmate in The Jade Shader. It’s a touching tribute to a musician who left his mark on local music, but it also ties back to the idea of how many connections there are to other bands that have come and gone in San Diego. At various points throughout the record, it’s not hard to find sonic similarities to local bands such as Tristeza, Black Heart Procession or The Album Leaf, for instance. But Montalban Quintet are ultimately doing something unique, and on Under the River, it sounds incredible.

LIVIOANDRONICO2013 / WIKI COMMONS

W

Marilyn Manson

hen I was in sixth grade, there were few things more terrifying to me than Marilyn Manson. Imagine growing up in a Mormon household and all of a sudden a malnourished, demon-eyed hellspawn crawls into the mainstream with an album called Antichrist Superstar. And even though my family was moving away from religion at the time, the album still represented the terrifying aspects of hell and the devil that had been ingrained in my little head.

But like any good form of evil, the album also had a dark hold over me. Whenever my family went to CD stores, I’d sneak away to hold the vile thing in my hands and stare at the artwork with simultaneous attraction and repulsion.

When I finally listened to it (sneakily borrowed from a friend like contraband)—it sounded as evil as I thought it would.

But the years have dulled my sensibilities. I’ve embraced evil. And I’ve realized that Antichrist Superstar slaps. As a cohesive object of pop-art— everything from the packaging to the monstrous production by Trent Reznor—it’s nearly flawless.

Additionally, once you get over the shock value, it’s easy to see the genuinely cool influences in it. I mean, hell, it almost sounds like a Big Black album.

Mr. Manson’s latest efforts aren’t anything to sneeze at either. If anything, he’s become more grimy with age. Just listen to 2015’s The Pale Emperor, which has his best song since the ‘90s, “Killing Strangers.”

Also, everyone’s favorite theatrical ghoul, Rob Zombie, is co-headlining. And if you haven’t crashed in the back of his “Dragula” lately, then you’re missing out big time.

Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie play Aug. 24 at Mattress Firm Amphitheatre.

—Jeff Terich

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MUSIC

JEFF TERICH

IF I WERE U A music insider’s weekly agenda WEDNESDAY, AUG. 22

PLAN A: Mystic Braves, The Creation Factory, The Pesos, Thee Allyrgic Reaction @ The Casbah. While Mystic Braves go to unnecessary lengths to create an aesthetic that encapsulates late ’60s psychrock, they’re really good at it. Lots of jangle, lots of reverb and lots of rock ‘n’ roll fun. PLAN B: Mura Masa, Empress Of @ Observatory North Park. If I’m being perfectly honest, most of the reason for this Plan B is Empress Of, who has only released one album of wonderful electronic pop, but that one album is damn good. But Mura Masa has his moments, so might as well keep the vibe going.

THURSDAY, AUG. 23

PLAN A: Rodriguez, Vera Sola @ Humphreys by the Bay. Sixto Rodriguez has one of the best stories in all of rock, as unlikely a success story as it is. And though he’s only released a couple of excellent folk-rock records, they’ve become legendary for a reason. PLAN B: Flynt Flossy and Turquoise Jeep, Parker Meridien, Jumbotron @ Soda Bar. Flynt Flossy and Turquoise Jeep make meme-worthy hip-hop with a good sense of humor. Their song “Lemme Smang It” put them on the map, but there’s more jams where that came from.

out of rotation since I first heard it. PLAN B: The Schizophonics, DJs Mike and Anja Stax @ Broadstone North Park. Here’s the second of a handful of free shows this weekend, this one featuring garage rock badasses The Schizophonics. It’s at a condo complex, so I’m not sure if attendees are required to hear the sales pitch first, but it should be fun regardless.

SUNDAY, AUG. 26

PLAN A: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony @ Observatory North Park. For some reason, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s “Crossroads” is one of those songs where more people than I expected seem to know every single word.

Then again, it’s a damn classic, and what better way to close out the weekend than with some ’90s hip-hop.

MONDAY, AUG. 27

PLAN A: Napalm Death, Cattle Decapitation, Thrown Into Exile, Beekeeper @ Brick by Brick. Napalm Death’s had a lot of different members and released a lot of different records, but whatever shape they take, they’re extreme music legends. The band is as vicious as ever, plus they do a great cover of Dead Kennedys’ “Nazi Punks Fuck Off.” PLAN B: Combo Chimbita,

FRIDAY, AUG. 24

PLAN A: Six Organs of Admittance, Wino, Xasthur @ Brick by Brick. This is an interesting mix of artists all in one show. Six Organs of Admittance are one of the most reliable outlets of hypnotic, psychedelic folk, while Wino and Xasthur are two metal veterans who are each playing acoustic sets. Don’t know what to expect, but I bet it’ll be cool. PLAN B: L.A. Witch, Heavy Hawaii, DJs Andrew McGranahan, Mike Turi @ The Casbah. L.A. Witch are about as goth as surf rock gets, which gives them an immediate edge over a lot of So-Cal Fender wranglers. Plus this show is free, which makes it even harder to pass up. BACKUP PLAN: Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Amo Amo @ Belly Up Tavern.

SATURDAY, AUG. 25

PLAN A: Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever @ Soda Bar. In case you missed it, go back and read my feature on Australian indie rock outfit Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, whose new album, Hope Downs, hasn’t been

@SDCITYBEAT

Rodriguez San Pedro El Cortez @ Soda Bar. Combo Chimbita describe their music as “Tropical futurism,” which in practice sounds like a blend of psychedelia and cumbia, with elements of dub and other styles. And it’s really cool.

TUESDAY, AUG. 28

PLAN A: Corsicana, Free Paintings, Chutes @ Soda Bar. No matter how long I do this, I always discover lots of new bands.

Corsicana is a Denver artist who combines ambient drones with gorgeous dream pop.

It’s a little bit like a mix between Slowdive and The Antlers. That is, it’s gorgeous.

AUGUST 22, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 23

MUSIC

CONCERTS HOT! NEW! FRESH!

The Pharcyde (Observatory, 9/14), Hazel English (Soda Bar, 9/21), Terror (SOMA Sidestage, 9/28), Oddissee, Evidence (Observatory, 9/29), Brant Bjork (SPACE, 10/9), Basement (Che Café, 10/10), Hobo Johnson (HOB, 10/12), Y La Bamba (SPACE, 10/29), Jim James (BUT, 11/1), Suffocation (Brick by Brick, 11/6), Film School (Whistle Stop, 11/8), Goatwhore (Brick by Brick, 11/8), Tacocat (Casbah, 11/12), J Mascis (Soda Bar, 11/15), Municipal Waste (Brick by Brick, 11/25), Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus (Observatory, 11/29), Andre Nickatina (HOB, 11/29), Pale Waves (Irenic, 12/7), Author & Punisher (Casbah, 12/8).

CANCELED Eryn Allen Kane (Soda Bar, 9/13).

GET YER TICKETS Smashing Pumpkins (Viejas Arena, 9/1), The Vandals (Observatory, 9/1), B-Side Players (Music Box, 9/1), Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (Copley Symphony Hall, 9/1), Leon Bridges (Open Air Theatre, 9/5), The Original Wailers (BUT, 9/6), Lee Fields and the Expressions (BUT, 9/8), Ms. Lauryn Hill (Open Air Theatre, 9/9), Murder by Death (BUT, 9/11), YOB (Brick

by Brick, 9/14), Nothing (Soda Bar,

9/22), Grizzly Bear (Observatory, 9/24), First Aid Kit (Observatory, 9/25), Deep Purple, Judas Priest (Mattress Firm, 9/26), Little Hurricane (Casbah, 9/29), Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band (Observatory, 10/1), Courtney Barnett, Waxahatchee (Observatory, 10/3), Chelsea Wolfe, Russian Circles (Music Box, 10/3), Roky Erickson (Casbah, 10/5), Ozzy Osbourne (Mattress Firm, 10/9), Patterson Hood (Music Box, 10/12), Ozomatli (BUT, 10/13), Graham Nash (Humphreys, 10/13), Alkaline Trio (HOB, 10/15), Sting and Shaggy (Harrahs SoCal, 10/16), The Joy Formidable (Casbah, 10/17), St. Lucia (Observatory, 10/17), The Lemon Twigs (Music Box, 10/19), D.R.I. (Brick by Brick, 10/20), Simple Minds (Humphreys, 10/22), Jay Rock (SOMA, 10/25), Dawes (Observatory, 10/29), Cloud Nothings (Casbah, 11/1), Wolfmother (Observatory, 11/1), Maxwell (Humphreys, 11/2), Dia de los Deftones w/ Deftones, Future, Rocket from the Crypt (Petco Park, 11/3), Mac Miller (Open Air Theatre, 11/3), Lucero (Observatory, 11/7), Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin (Irenic, 11/7), Khruangbin (Observatory, 11/10), Ghost (Spreckels Theatre, 11/12), Blitzen Trapper (BUT, 11/12), Billie Eilish (SOMA, 11/17), Joywave, Sir Sly (Observatory, 11/18), Every Time I Die (Observatory, 11/20), Cat Power (Observatory, 11/24), How to Dress Well (Casbah, 11/27), Fucked Up (Soda Bar, 12/5), Squirrel Nut Zippers (BUT, 12/6), Neko Case, Destroyer (Observatory, 12/8), Fleetwood Mac (Viejas Arena, 12/8), Kurt Vile (Observatory, 12/9), Thom Yorke (Observatory, 12/17), Ministry (HOB, 12/18), Jefferson Starship (BUT, 1/9-10), Bananarama (Observatory, 1/27).

24 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · AUGUST 22, 2018

AUGUST WEDNESDAY, AUG. 22 Wish and the Well at Belly Up Tavern.

Mystic Braves at The Casbah. J. Cole at Viejas Arena. Erasure at Copley Symphony Hall. Phillip Phillips at Humphreys by the Bay. Mura Masa at Observatory North Park.

THURSDAY, AUG. 23 Rodriguez at Humphreys by the Bay. The Alarm at Belly Up Tavern (sold out).

Anderson East at Harrah’s SoCal. Attila, Suicide Silence at Observatory North Park. Flynt Flossy and Turquoise Jeep at Soda Bar. Katastro at Music Box.

FRIDAY, AUG. 24 Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe at Belly Up Tavern. Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson at Mattress Firm Amphitheatre. The Frights at Observatory North Park. Six Organs of Admittance at Brick by Brick. Tribal Seeds at Del Mar Racetrack. Cash’d Out at Music Box. Halestorm at Harrah’s SoCal. L.A. Witch at The Casbah.

SATURDAY, AUG. 25 Beach Goons at The Irenic. Pivit at Belly Up Tavern. Punch Brothers at Observatory North Park. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever at Soda Bar. Lady Antebellum, Darius Rucker at Mattress Firm Amphitheatre. Swingin’ Utters at The Casbah. Omar Apollo at House of Blues Voodoo Room. The Iron Maidens at Brick by Brick. Warren G, DJ Quik at Del Mar Racetrack.

SUNDAY, AUG. 26 Israel Vibration at Belly Up Tavern.

TSOL at Brick by Brick. Jared and the

Mill at The Casbah. George Benson at Humphreys by the Bay. Rod Stewart, Cyndi Lauper at Mattress Firm Amphitheatre. Hirie at Harrah’s SoCal.

MONDAY, AUG. 27 Yes at Humphreys by the Bay (sold out).

Napalm Death at Brick by Brick.

TUESDAY, AUG. 28 Rodrigo y Gabriela at Belly Up Tavern (sold out).

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 29 The Exploited at Observatory North Park. Peter Frampton at Harrahs SoCal. Rodrigo y Gabriela at Belly Up Tavern (sold out). Moon Ensemble at Soda Bar. A Killer’s Confession at Brick by Brick.

Tyrone Wells at Music Box. Lucy & La Mer at The Casbah.

THURSDAY, AUG. 30 Inspector at Observatory North Park. The Expendables at Belly Up Tavern. Parkway Drive at SOMA. Mrs. Henry at The Casbah.

FRIDAY, AUG. 31 Koffin Kats at Soda Bar. Black Uhuru at Belly Up Tavern. Collie Buddz at Music Box. Goldfinger at House of Blues. Evanescence at Mattress Firm Amphitheatre.

Café Tacvba at Del Mar Racetrack. Black Friday w/ Quali at The Casbah.

SEPTEMBER SATURDAY, SEPT. 1 The Vandals at Observatory North Park.

B-Side Players at Music Box. Midge

Ure, Paul Young at Belly Up Tavern.

Smashing Pumpkins at Viejas Arena.

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit at Copley Symphony Hall. Slightly Stoopid at Del Mar Racetrack. Slothrust at The Casbah.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 2 One Drop at Belly Up Tavern. The Steely Damned 2 at Music Box. New Kingston at Harrah’s SoCal. Ice Cube at Del Mar Racetrack.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 4 Jeremih at Observatory North Park. The Lagoons at Soda Bar. The Marcus King Band at Belly Up Tavern.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 5 Leon Bridges at Open Air Theatre. Justin Hayward at Belly Up Tavern (sold out).

Samantha Fish at The Casbah (sold out).

Oscar Key Sung at Soda Bar.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 6 Pinback at The Casbah. The Original Wailers at Belly Up Tavern. Ecstatic Union at Soda Bar. Clozee at Music Box.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 7 Aussie Pink Floyd Show at Humphreys by the Bay. JJ Grey & Mofro at Belly Up Tavern. Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys at The Casbah. Sports at Soda Bar. The Red Pears at House of Blues Voodoo Room. Dread Mar I at Music Box.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 8 Rebelution at Mattress Firm Amphitheatre. Jade Bird at The Casbah. Lee

MUSIC CONTINUED ON PAGE 25

@SDCITYBEAT

MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 24 Fields and the Expressions at Belly Up Tavern. 3 Doors Down, Collective Soul at Harrah’s SoCal. Jake Shimabukuro at Humphreys by the Bay. Mom Jeans. At The Irenic. We Are One at SOMA. Protoje at Music Box.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 9 E-40 at House of Blues. Ms. Lauryn Hill at Open Air Theatre. Kenny Wayne Shepherd at Belly Up Tavern (sold out). Kate Bush Dance Party w/ Baby Bushka at The Casbah. Peter Case at Bar Pink. Ceramic Animal at Soda Bar.

MONDAY, SEPT. 10 Kenny Wayne Shepherd at Belly Up Tavern. The Frets at The Casbah.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 11 Kommunity FK at Soda Bar. Murder by Death at Belly Up Tavern. Bad Gyal at Music Box. Lyle Lovett at Humphreys by the Bay. The Score at House of Blues. The Naked I at The Casbah.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 12 Big Head Todd and the Monsters at Humphreys by the Bay. Azealia Banks at Music Box. Lost Dog Street Band at The Casbah. Todd Snider at Belly Up Tavern. Unwed Sailor at Soda Bar.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 13 Rostam at Belly Up Tavern. Dreamers at The Irenic.

Radio Moscow at The Casbah.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 14 Incite at SPACE. Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears at The Casbah. YOB at Brick by Brick. Miniature Tigers at Soda Bar. Rascal Flatts at Mattress Firm Amphitheatre. Rayland Baxter at Belly Up Tavern. Desert Dwellers at Music Box. The Pharcyde at Observatory North Park.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 15 Shoreline Mafia at SOMA. Tainted Love at Belly Up Tavern. Youth Brigade at Soda Bar.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 16 Ghostface Killah, Raekwon at Observatory North Park. Foxing at The Casbah. Whitney Shay at Belly Up Tavern. Oxbow at Soda Bar. Alex Skolnick Trio at Brick by Brick.

MONDAY, SEPT. 17 Miguel at Open Air Theater. Gringo Star at The Casbah.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 18 Bryan John Appleby at Soda Bar. The Distillers at Observatory North Park (sold out). John Cleary at Belly Up Tavern.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 19 The Shift at Belly Up Tavern. The Neighbourhood at Observatory North Park (sold out). Randy Jackson at Brick by Brick.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 20 Thrice at House of Blues. The Spill Canvas at Soda Bar. Yungblud at The Casbah. Dean Ween Group at Belly Up Tavern.

rCLUBSr

710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave., Pacific Beach.

Wed: Open mic. Thu: Karaoke. Fri: Manic Fanatic.

Sat: Marauak. Sun: Karaoke. Tue: Skanks Roots Project, Wakane.

Air Conditioned Lounge, 4673 30th St., Normal Heights. Wed: ‘Hip Hop Wednesday’ w/ Norm Rocwell, Mattlocks. Thu: ‘Subdrip’ w/ DJ Damon Millard. Fri: ‘House Friday’ w/ DJ Matthew Brian. Sat: Spirit Duo, DJ Fingaz. Sun: DJ Josh Taylor.

@SDCITYBEAT

American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., Downtown. Thu: Eric Andre. Fri: Eric Andre. Sat: Jay Larson.

The Bancroft, 9143 Campo Road, Spring Valley.

Wed: Karaoke. Thu: Go Ask Alice. Fri: Murder Pony, Heptagon, Waking Things. Sat: Destruction Made Simple, Informal Society, Captain Viejo, The Malchicks. Tue: Karaoke.

Bang Bang, 526 Market St., Downtown. Fri: Baynk.

Sat: Promnite, Hoodboi.

Bar Pink, 3829 30th St., North Park. Wed: Zamman.

Fri: DJs Israel, Wenzo. Sat: The Heavy Guilt, Husky Boys. Sun: Mochilero All Stars. Mon: Ron and the Reapers. Tue: The Garners.

Beaumont’s, 5665 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla. Thu: Mike Myrdal. Fri: Emotional Rescue. Sat: Andrew Harvey’s Endless Summer Party.

Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach.

Wed: Wish & The Well, The Jankeys, Malachi Henry and the Lights. Thu: The Alarm, Manual Scan, Julia Othmer (sold out). Fri: Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Amo Amo. Sat: Pivit, Buckfast Superbee, Kut U Up, Dark Alley Dogs. Sun: Israel Vibration & Roots Radics, Layne and the New Nation. Tue: Rodrigo y Gabriela, Robert Ellis (sold out).

Black Cat Bar, 4246 University Ave., City Heights.

Fri: Action Andy and the Hi-Tones, The Smokes, Lowland Drifters. Sat: SOLV, Kid Gruesome, Lanasolyluna.

Blonde, 1808 W. Washington St., Mission Hills. Wed: ‘Dance Klassique’. Thu: ‘Atomic Disco’ w/ Omega Squad. Fri: ‘Dance Punk!’. Sat: ‘Through Being Cool’. Tue: ‘T is 4 Techno’.

Boar Cross’n, 390 Grand Ave., Carlsbad. Fri: ‘Club Musae’.

Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave., Bay Park. Thu: Bit Brigade, Kirby’s Dream Band, Extra Lives. Fri: Six Organs of Admittance, Wino, Xasthur. Sat: The Iron Maidens, Stone Horse, Shinebox, Warpath, Malison.

Sun: T.S.O.L., BOSSFIGHT, Razor Nights, Skipjack.

Mon: Napalm Death, Cattle Decapitation, Thrown into Exile, BeeKeeper.

The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd., Middletown. Wed: Mystic Braves, The Creation Factory, The Pesos, Thee Allyrgic Reaction. Thu: Flor de Toloache. Fri: L.A. Witch, Heavy Hawaii, DJs Andrew McGranahan, Mike Turi. Sat: Swingin’ Utters, Kevin Seconds, The Dodges. Sun: Jared and the Mill, Wild Coast, The Anodynes. Mon: DJ Artistic’s Hip Hop Battle Bot. Tue: ‘Emo Nite San Diego’.

Che Cafe, UCSD campus, La Jolla. Thu: Restraining Order, Drug Control, Dare, Absence Of Mine, Spirited. Fri: Harmony Tividad, Andrea Schiavelli, Banny Grove, Neutral Shirt. Sat: Nausea, Pissed Regardless, Orphic Eye, Temple of Dagon. Mon: Bystander, Decline, Tap and Die. Dizzy’s, 1717 Morena Blvd., Bay Park. Fri: Dick McGuane Sextet.

F6ix, 526 F St., Downtown. Thu: ‘Jersey Party’. Fri: DJ Vision. Sat: DJ Moe. Fluxx, 500 Fourth Ave., Downtown. Fri: Murphi Kennedy. Sat: Dave East.

House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., Downtown. Thu: Robert Allen Shepherd. Fri: The Molly Ringwalds.

Sat: Omar Apollo. Sun: Graham Gillot Band. Tue: Robin Henkel.

Humphreys Backstage, 2241 Shelter Island Drive, Shelter Island. Wed: Clapton Hook. Thu: Bumpasonic. Fri: Full Strength Funk Band. Sat: Detroit Underground, Michele Lundeen. Sun: Groove Squad, Stellita. Mon: Lady Dottie and the Diamonds.

Tue: Blue Largo.

The Irenic, 3090 Polk Ave., North Park. Sat: Beach Goons, King Shelter, Super Whatevr, Junkies. Sun: Enjoy, Cowgirl Clue, Pregnant Boy. Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd., Middletown. Wed: ‘Midnight (In a Perfect World)’. Thu: Bugz in the Attic.

Fri: ‘Purps N Turqs’. Sat: ‘Techsposure’.

Kensington Club, 4079 Adams Ave., Kensington.

Sat: Horseneck, Albatross Overdrive, Garbeast, Mortar.

MUSIC CONTINUED ON PAGE 26 AUGUST 22, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 25

MUSIC

BY CHRISTIN BAILEY

ASTROLOGICALLY UNSOUND Weekly forecasts from the so-called universe ARIES (March 21 - April 19): The week ahead promises to be as abundant as a casino buffet. What I mean is that there will be a dazzling veneer of abundance followed by a great amount of personal suffering.

TAURUS (April 20 - May 20):

You will find a $20 bill in a jacket you haven’t worn in, wait… this isn’t your jacket! Just keep walking, don’t look back.

LIBRA (September 23 - October 22): Be wary of anyone who tells you that

the world can be divided into good and bad.

I’m not one of those types of people, I’m the other kind, so you can listen to me.

SCORPIO (October 23 - November 21): Yeah haunted houses are scary, but have you ever thought about the elaborate systems established to move millions of parcels through the mail daily?

GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): Had you known about the week ahead I am not certain that you would have crawled out of the swamp so many billions of years ago.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 -

CANCER (June 21 - July 22): Contorting yourself while attempting to stop from falling over is liable to get you more hurt than if you simply let yourself trip from the start.

CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 19): It is time to stop constantly looking back and start focusing on how to climb over this fence instead of what’s chasing you and how many legs it has.

LEO (July 23 - August 22):

AQUARIUS (January 20 - February

VIRGO (August 23 - September 22): You will find things in balance like

PISCES (February 19 - March 20): I do

Surely you have heard the joke that a broken escalator is just stairs, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t call the escalator repairman.

an aquarium filtration system, working exactly as planned and moments from total collapse and absolute chaos.

December 21): What are you looking for here? A lucky number? The location of a forgotten city made of gold? I have both of those, but I’ll only tell if you catch me.

18): What is the new quirk you will try in vain to develop this week? Writing exclusively with a fountain pen? Wearing only mismatched socks?

not have any guidance to offer you this week that all your friends and family haven’t been telling you to no avail for at least 7 months.

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

MUSIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25 Lestat’s Coffee House, 3343 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Fri: Travis Larson Band. Sat: Chapel, Phili Villalobos.

Mc P’s Irish Pub, 1107 Orange Ave., Coronado. Wed: Fish and JG Trio. Thu: Ron’s Trio. Fri: Stilettos. Sat: Misty and the Moby. Sun: Gonzology. Mon: Steve Brewer.

Martinis Above Fourth, 3940 Fourth Ave., Hillcrest. Wed: Ria and Kevin. Thu: Betty Bryant. Fri: Janice and Nathan. Sat: Sophia Alone. Sun: Don L. Mon: Andy and Nathan. Tue: ‘Stars of the Future’.

The Merrow, 1271 University Ave., Hillcrest. Wed: Micah Schnabel, Drew Smith. Thu: The In-Itself, Hurricane Kate, Slum Summer, Call I For An Eye. Fri: Pat Kelly, Mochilero All Stars, Night Doctors.

Sat: The Anomaly, Krashkarma, Sinflood.

Sun: ‘The Playground’.

Music Box, 1337 India St., Little Italy.

Thu: Katastro, Tyrone’s Jacket, Aloha Radio. Fri: Cash’d Out, Road Noise. Sat: ‘R&B Summer Jam’ w/ DJs Bar1ne, Baby Girl, Cutlos Supreme.

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

Wed: Death Cab for Karaoke. Thu: ‘No Limits’ w/ DJ Myson King. Fri: ‘After Hours’ w/ DJs Adam Salter, Ayla Simone.

Sat: ‘Strictly Business’ w/ DJs Kanye Asada, Gabe Vega. Sun: ‘Uptown Top Ranking’ w/ Tribe of Kings. Mon: ‘Motown on Monday’. Tue: ‘Trapped’.

OMNIA Nightclub, 454 Sixth Ave., Downtown. Fri: MAKJ. Panama 66, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park.

Wed: Gilbert Castellanos. Thu: Gabriel Sundy Trio. Fri: G & The New Orleans Swing Gypsies. Sat: Besos Trio.

Parq, 615 Broadway, Downtown. Fri: Brody Jenner. Sat: 3LAU.

26 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · AUGUST 22, 2018

Proud Mary’s, 5550 Kearny Mesa Road, Kearny Mesa. Wed: Ruby. Thu: Tomcat Courtney. Fri: Chris James and Patrick Ryan. Sat: Missy Anderson.

The Rail, 3796 Fifth Ave., Hillcrest. Fri: ‘Hip Hop Fridayz’. Sat: ‘Sabado En Fuego’. Mon: ‘Manic Monday’ w/ DJ Junior the Disco Punk.

Rich’s, 1051 University Ave., Hillcrest.

Wed: DJs Kiki, Kinky Loops. Thu: ‘LEZ’ w/ DJ Kiki. Fri: ‘Electro-Pop’ w/ DJs John Joseph, Moody Rudy. Sat: ‘Voltage’ w/ DJs Taj, K-Swift.

Riviera Supper Club, 7777 University Ave., La Mesa. Wed: ‘Boss Jazz’ w/ Jason Hanna. Thu: Kick-Stomp Ensemble. Fri: Sickstring Outlaws. Sat: Becca Jay Band.

Rosie O’Gradys, 3402 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Fri: Soul Ablaze. Sat: Joey Harris and the Mentals.

Seven Grand, 3054 University Ave., North Park. Wed: Trio Gadjo. Thu: Jimmy Ruelas. Fri: G & The Swingin’ Three. Sat: Jimmy Ruelas. Mon: ‘Makossa Monday’ w/ DJ Tah Rei. Tue: The Gabriel Sundy Jazz Trio.

Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Wed: Nowhereland, Half Eaten, Daytrip, Deep Yogurt. Thu: Flynt Flossy and Turquoise Jeep, Parker Meridien, Jumbotron. Fri: The Gore Horsemen, The Strikers, Sam Hell. Sat: Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Jo Passed. Sun: Hard to Hit, Alive & Well, Till I Fall. Mon: Combo Chimbita, San Pedro El Cortez. Tue: Corsicana, Free Paintings, Chutes.

SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd., Midway.

Fri: Killing The Messenger, Thousand Below, Seconds Ago, ASCENSIONS, Blackcast, Beyond my Afterlife. Sat: Elisia Savoca, Jara, Air Go, Charlie Powers, Strawberry Army, Alternate Era.

SPACE, 3519 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. Thu: ‘Broken Beat’. Fri: ‘Cholo Goth Night’ w/ DJ Dave Parley. Sat: ‘Glyph’ w/ Sha Sha Kimbo, M.D. James, Nastea, Umenos. Mon: ‘Eloteria’. Tue: Karaoke.

Spin, 2028 Hancock St., Midtown. Fri: By Night. Sat: Lucent, Signum Xposed. Mon: Baile do Victinho.

Sycamore Den, 3391 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Wed: Paul Gregg.

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

Tin Roof, 401 G St., Downtown. Wed: The Corner. Thu: Keep Your Soul. Fri: Lauren Leigh and Sam. Sat: Phoenix Rising, Keep Your Soul. Sun: Keep Your Soul, Chad and Rosie. Mon: Tehila Duo. Tue: Lisa De Novo.

Tio Leo’s, 5302 Napa St., Bay Park. Wed: Theo and Zydeco Patrol. Thu: Blue Largo.

Fri: Gruvmatic. Sat: Dennis Jones Band.

Tue: Coffee Club Sextet.

Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave., City Heights. Fri: Dethsurf, Psyatics, The Natives.

Sat: New Crimes, The Gay Agenda, All Beat Up, Brain Waves. Sun: Concilio Cadaverico, Disslate, Max Power, Heat, Mangled.

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

Thu: ‘Solace’. Fri: Kid Wonder. Sat: DJ Junior the Disco Punk. Mon: ’31 Flavors’.

Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St., South Park.

Fri: The Freeze, Death Eyes. Sat: ‘Booty Bassment’. Mon: ‘Electric Relaxation’.

Winstons, 1921 Bacon St., Ocean Beach.

Wed: Irie G, DJ Carlos Culture. Thu: Yvad, Rastaman Rob, Psydecar, The Proj3ct.

Fri: AJ Froman, Bad Vibes. Sat: Elektric Voodoo, Shakedown String Band. Sun: Karaoke. Mon: Electric Waste Band. Tue: Maturation Sol, House Gone Wild.

@SDCITYBEAT

BY LARA MCCAFFREY

IN THE BACK

CannaBeat Picking up the pieces

T

he July 1 emergency regulations present new challenges to those in the cannabis industry. For some, the changes are for the better. Some businesses in Calfornia have had to toss out non-compliant product, processing waste and industrial CBD, but some cannabis waste management companies say they’ve gotten an increase in business by literally picking up the pieces.

Megumi Reagan, director of policy and marketing at cannabis waste company Gaiaca, says the company has been busier than usual. The Monterey, California-based company provides clients with 55-gallon polyethylene drums to collect waste, then picks it up for processing and diversion from landfills.

“We had a lot of inquiries the week prior to July 1,” says Reagan. “Then the whole month operators were confused—though the cutoff was the end of June—if they had to have [non-compliant product] disposed of by July 1 or was there a grace period.”

Despite the confusion, Gaiaca has done well for itself.

Regan says Gaiaca has destroyed 200,000 pounds of cannabis waste this year, with 50,000 of that picked up in July. Most of its recent inquiries have been for noncompliant products.

Jonathan Lisicki from CleanCan in San Diego has also seen an uptick in inquiries but not as much customer acquisition as he anticipated. Lisicki originally started his business in 2016 cleaning trash cans to mitigate fly issues.

@SDCITYBEAT

Gaiaca containers He started offering cannabis waste management services this year when he was awarded a cannabis waste hauling permit from the city.

The emergency regulations haven’t affected Lisicki’s business too much, but some of the new environmental permits and regulations have.

“For example, six months ago... folks that are transporting, whether it's waste or product, didn't have to have a weighmaster certification,” says Lisicki.

“Now anyone that touches the product, from waste to distribution, has to have a weighmaster certificate.”

Riverside-based Cannabis Waste Recycling SoCal [CWR SoCal] has seen an increase in business, but founder Laura Turner doesn’t only attribute it to emergency regulations.

CWR is a small, family-operated company that started in August of 2017 and services San Diego and other Southern California cities.

“Aside from it just being the July 1 crunch, people are realizing that they actually do need to do something with regards to their cannabis waste management,” says Turner. “They're trying to make sure they get ahead of the curve before [the state] actually starts doing audits and enforcing some of these regulations.”

Most of what CWR has collected is processing waste— items like moldy herb and concentrates that don’t have good sell value—and industrial CBD products. The California Department of Public Health determined in July that CBD cannot be considered an “approved food, food ingredient, food additive, or dietary supplement” if it is derived from hemp.

Turner says most of her customers are pretty well educated on the new regulations and she hasn’t processed much non-compliant products.

Businesses can destroy cannabis on their own as long as the end product is “unrecognizable” according to state law. Reagan of Gaiaca says there’s a lot of confusion about how to destroy non-compliant product and hiring a professional might be easier.

“Some operators, like cultivators, are like, ‘We just shred it up really fine and then we throw it away,’ which is not the definition of ‘unrecognizable,’” says Reagan. “It’s kind of a sticking point in the industry—the [regulations] are a little bit vague.”

AUGUST 22, 2018 · SAN DIEGO CITYBEAT · 27