San Diego CityBeat • Aug 31, 2016

2 · San Diego CityBeat · August 31, 2016

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UP FRONT | FROM THE EDITOR

Kaepernick: Free speech swings both ways

L

ET’S SEE, what exactly did Colin Kaepernick do to draw monumental scorn from maddened hordes with molten lava spewing from their ears? The punkish quarterback with the San Francisco 49ers—who’s seen better days on the field—sat out the National Anthem of the United States of America during a preseason professional football game.

When asked why he did it, he said it was in protest of a country that isn’t treating black people fairly and he pointed directly at police officers. He also told reporters he has “great respect” for the military and people who fight for this country, but that didn’t make it into the first paragraph of most early media reports.

The people who justifiably equate respect for the military with standing up and honoring the U.S. flag during the singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” are jerseyburning mad at the 28-year-old.

I’ve never had a reason to like Kaepernick. He was the enemy during the 2013 Super Bowl when the 49ers faced off against my hometown Baltimore Ravens. It was euphoric to watch Baltimore (birthplace of Francis Scott Key’s war ditty that became the National Anthem) hand San Francisco its first-ever Super Bowl loss. After that Kaepernick disappeared from the radar.

Now that he’s literally put himself in the hot seat, my reaction isn’t to loathe him for taking this seemingly out-of-nowhere moral stand. Rather, I want to see what he does next.

That doesn’t just mean watching to see if he sits out the anthem again when the 49ers visit San Diego’s ever-so-humble Qualcomm Stadium Thursday night for the final NFL preseason game against the Chargers. Kaepernick says he will continue to sit during the anthem until he sees “significant change, and I feel like that flag represents what it’s supposed to represent, this country is representing people the way that it’s supposed to…” Asked to be specific about a change he’s concerned about, he said, “police brutality.”

So who’s weighed in since then? The easier question is who with a Twitter handle hasn’t? The San Francisco Police Officers Association wants the 49ers and the National Football League to speak up on Kaepernick’s actions and “denounce

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his foolish statements.” Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump tweeted, “Maybe he should find a country that works better for him. Let him try. It won’t happen.” (Wait, so America is presently great? Ahh, never mind.)

The word from the White House was, “We surely acknowledge and even defend his right to express those views,” said President Obama’s Press Secretary Josh Earnest. “Even as objectionable as we find his perspective, he certainly is entitled to express them.”

Yes, he is. The First Amendment declares the right of free speech for everyone. A professional athlete has the right to state his beliefs on social justice issues.

(On this rare flashpoint moment involving an NFL player, no illegal act has been committed.) Likewise, members of San Diego’s military community are free to express disdain for a professional athlete who disrespects the symbol ESPN TV SHOW / CC BY of the country they’ve committed to defend with their lives.

But the rush to judgment on Twitter, spurred by mob mentality, is getting old. If only knee-jerk troll hysteria could be deemed a fad and be supplanted on social media by a thoughtfulreflection trend. It’s Colin Kaepernick not impossible to take three deep breaths before hurling emojis on Facebook.

So an NFL quarterback—one who played in a Super Bowl—has spoken up on race relations in the United States. I’d be thrilled to witness a movement in which more pro athletes speak their minds, endorsement money be damned. Kaepernick made both a bold and a distasteful statement. Rather than pull the trigger and ask questions later, I suggest we see where this is going. Will he back this up with meaningful action?

Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose, and if Kaepernick is just trying to draw attention to himself before he gets cut and his career fades, then he deserves to be vilified.

For the moment, though, how about paying attention to the message and not just the delivery method? The majority of cops are decent, upstanding, praiseworthy and brave souls—but there’s an obvious disconnect between blue and black worlds.

A kickstart toward serious and thoughtful dialogue on race relations in this country is long overdue. And it is welcome, even if it’s in the form of a wobbly Hail Mary from the sidelines.

—Ron Donoho

Write to rond@sdcitybeat.com

August 31, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 3

UP FRONT | LETTERS

HOMELESS AWARENESS

Congratulations on taking this Homeless Awareness Day 2016 on.

I am so proud of you and the others who are helping to educate people about homelessness and what we together can do. Notice...no one... talks about the county’s role in this issue. Shame on them. They have the funding and programs and it is clear that the elected leadership of San Diego region needs to call upon the county to be partners so we all can help to create a San Diego that we can be proud of.

Laurie Black,

Bankers Hill

HITTING THE HEIGHTS

Your recent piece on University Heights [“Neighborhood Watch,” Aug. 3] and the “Unproductive Couple” cartoon immediately grabbed my attention.

I’ve lived all over the country and in University Heights for several years. Nowhere but here have I met so many trust fund babies; Peter Pans and Panettes whose parents supply them with apartments and advances; “hipsters” who know nothing of the French existentialists or Beats but have memorized the lyrics to every twerpy song from the past 12 years; men who cannot change a light bulb and are proud of it; nominal adults who retain a child’s obsession with dogs and utilize every patch of public lawn as a dug run. The list of self-aggrandizing immaturity goes on and on.

Eventually the trust fund will be exhausted and the parental goody spigots will dry up. the results will not be pretty.

Dan Stewart, University Heights

HOSED AGAIN?

I see in the Spin Cycle column [“Former mayor and Chargers honcho feel the love,” Aug 3] that ol’ Jerry Sanders says a new stadium will create 7,000 permanent

TABLE OF CONTENTS

jobs. Hmmm, does he say where these might come from? What kind of jobs, what wages these jobs may bring? Are a lot of these just the same jobs being transferred to a new facility, or are they 7,000 new jobs? I would certainly like to know. I think the whole thing is bullshit and the city will end up getting hosed financially again. What say you?

Mike Allen,

San Diego

UP FRONT From the Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Letters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Spin Cycle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Backwards And In High Heels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3 4 5 6 7

FOOD & DRINK The World Fare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Dishing It Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Final Draught. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

HE’S A KILLER

THINGS TO DO

Edwin Decker’s column [Sordid Tales] is always jarring, hilarious and intelligent! What a killer writer. I wait for it every [other] week.

Short List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Paul Kaplan, El Cerrito

ARTS & CULTURE

Calendar of Events. . . . . . . . 12-15

Theater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Seen Local . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Well, That Was Awkward . . . . 18 Films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-21

THINK INTERNATIONALLY

You guys do a good job on local news and the homeless, but if you are going to ignore national and international foreign policy then try to avoid low-quality stereotyping we find in so many other publications (including the reverse racism and reverse sexism of [Backwards And In high Heels columnist] Aaryn Belfer). There are important messages being promulgated in some media (but too often not the print media).

MUSIC FEATURE: Floating Points . . . . 22 Notes from the Smoking Patio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 If I Were U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Concerts & Clubs . . . . . . . . 26-29

LAST WORDS Advice Goddess . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Brian Becker, San Diego

WE WANT FEEDBACK

Email letters to editor Ron Donoho at rond@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.

ON THE

COVER

This weeks cover poses a question that’s been debated over the years and now finds its way to the general election ballot. Staff writer Torrey Bailey’s continuing news series on election issues focuses on Proposition 66 (aiming to “fix” the legal process affiliated with the death penalty process) and Prop 62 (which would abolish it). Cover illustration by art director Carolyn Ramos.

This issue of CityBeat would like to welcome Joey Bosa to town with 85 percent of a lovely gift basket.

Volume 15 • Issue 5 EDITOR Ron Donoho MUSIC EDITOR Jeff Terich ARTS EDITOR Seth Combs WEB EDITOR Ryan Bradford ART DIRECTOR Carolyn Ramos STAFF WRITER Torrey Bailey COLUMNISTS Aaryn Belfer, Edwin Decker, Minda Honey, John R. Lamb, Alex Zaragoza

CONTRIBUTORS Matthew Baldwin, David L. Coddon, Beth Demmon, Andrew Dyer, Tiffany Fox, Michael A. Gardiner, Glenn Heath Jr., Peter Holslin, Jessica Johnson, Scott McDonald, Sebastian Montes, Jenny Montgomery, Susan Myrland, Michelle Poveda, Jim Ruland, Ben Salmon, Tom Siebert, Jen Van Tieghem, Amy Wallen EDITORIAL INTERNS Duncan Moore, Chloe Salsameda

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Jason Noble ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Beau Odom Mark Schreiber Jenny Tormey ACCOUNTING Kacie Cobian, Sharon Huie Linda Lam HUMAN RESOURCES Andrea Baker VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE Kacie Sturek

PRODUCTION MANAGER Tristan Whitehouse

VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS David Comden

MULTIMEDIA ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Paulina Porter-Tapia

PUBLISHER Kevin Hellman

ADVERTISING INQUIRIES Interested in advertising?

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

EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISING OFFICE 3047 University Ave., Suite 202 San Diego, CA 92104 Phone: 619-281-7526 Fax: 619-281-5273 www.sdcitybeat.com

San Diego CityBeat is published and distributed every Wednesday by Southland Publishing Inc., free of charge but limited to one per reader. Reproduction of any material in this or any other issue is prohibited without written permission from the publisher and the author. Contents copyright 2016.

4 · San Diego CityBeat · August 31, 2016

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TORREY BAILEY

UP FRONT | NEWS

Will the death penalty be killed or resuscitated?

Prop 62 would end capital punishment; Prop 66 aims to “fix” it

by Torrey Bailey

D

ENNIS POTTS WAKES UP every morning to the same photograph—a picture of his 10-monthold son, wrapped in his mother’s arms, lying on the cushion of a coffin hangs on the wall of his prison cell. This photo has followed Potts through seven years and two cell transfers at the request of Dayna Herroz, mother and grandmother of the victims. In 2006, Potts strangled 22-yearold Tori Vienneau and their son, Dean, in Vienneau’s Southeastern San Diego home.

“The murderer had tried to come to the funeral, but we caught him at the door,” Herroz said. “He wanted to get up close to Tori and Dean to see them, and I’m sure he was quite proud of his handiwork. So I thought, ‘Since you wanted to see them so bad at the funeral, I think you should live with this vision, because I have to.’”

Capital punishment was on the table for Potts, who committed the brutal murders to avoid paying child support, but he was ultimately sentenced life in prison without the possibility of parole.

“I had always thought that I was prodeath penalty until it landed in my lap,” Herroz said. She researched capital punishment extensively before meeting with San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and was surprised at what she found.

“I found that our death penalty system is broken in California,” she said. “I know it’s supposed to be going through an overhaul, but at this time it’s broken. People don’t get executed. They sit on death row, and I’ve seen photos and videos of them with their TVs in their cells, and that’s the last thing I wanted.”

California hasn’t executed a death row inmate in 10 years, and between 1978 and 2006 just 13 prisoners were put to death.

Meanwhile, there are 746 condemned inmates in San Quentin, many who have been there for decades.

There are two propositions regarding the death penalty on the November ballot. Proposition 62 would repeal capital punishment (retroactively, as well), and replace it with life in prison without the possibility of parole.

“It’s a penalty that all of the Western developed world, and most of the rest of the world, has abandoned because it’s too costly in terms of human rights and money,” said John Cotsirilos, a University of San Diego law professor who specializes in the death penalty.

The state Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates that abolishing the death penalty would save the state and counties around $150 million annually within the first few years. Cotsirilos said that this money could be put toward the state’s unsolved rape cases and homicides, or other concrete ways that make communities safer.

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“The death penalty doesn’t actually accomplish anything,” said Yes on 62 spokesperson Jacob Hay. “So by replacing it with life in prison without parole, taxpayers get a better deal, and we have swift and certain justice. We guarantee we never execute an innocent person, and we can give victims’ families certain closure.”

If Californians reject Prop 62 and vote to keep the death penalty, there’s also Prop 66, a multi-faceted initiative that aims to mend the system in four areas that are currently backlogged.

There are big political players on both sides of the issue. The California Democratic Party, the California American Civil Liberties Union, San Diego Center on Policy Initiatives and Criminal Defense Lawyers Club of San Diego will be voting to repeal capital punishment.

San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, the San Diego Police Officers Association, the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association of San Diego and the California District Attorneys Association are all in favor of maintaining and changing the death-penalty process.

“I think everybody agrees that this system is broken,” said Anne Marie Schubert, the Sacramento County District Attorney and head of the No on 62, Yes on 66 campaign.

Prop 66 would increase the number of lawyers eligible to defend death row inmates, who currently wait seven to 10 years to start the appeals process. Schubert said the goal is to reduce that wait time to less than five years by hiring and training additional lawyers.

There is speculation, however, about the quality of lawyers that would be hired.

“You either have to train, very quickly, a huge number of lawyers at a great public expense, or you’d have to permit totally unqualified lawyers to do the cases,” Cotsirilos said. “One is going to be a great public expense with no assurance of concrete improvement in the system and the speed in which it functions, or you’re just going to have a greater margin of error.”

Schubert said she is fully confident in the lawyers who would be chosen, but admits that the transformation would not occur overnight and would not be cheap.

If there were a larger pool of potential defense lawyers, it would reduce the time it takes to start the appeals process, which is the second element Prop 66 tries to streamline. If passed, Prop 66 would limit the number of habeas petitions the defense can file.

“What we see time and time again is appeal after appeal after appeal that are the same appeals, and it just effectuates decades of delays,” Schubert said, adding that inmates will petition for all kinds of reasons, including to transfer cells. Prop 66

Dayna Herroz stands over the rocks dedicated to her daughter and grandson at the River of Fallen Tears in the Cara Knott Memorial Garden. would also require that these petitions be filed in trial courts.

The third proposed change to the system takes aim at the legal process regarding the approval of lethal injection drugs. Prop 66 would eliminate a roadblock to executions that requires the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to respond to all public commentary about lethal injection, which can number in the tens of thousands, within a time frame.

Lastly, Prop 66 would allow the Department of Corrections to house death row inmates outside of San Quentin. Depending on the scope of inmates’ crimes, they could potentially be double celled. Inmates who are less of a threat could be paired up, while career criminals would be kept in isolation. This component was added to Prop 66 to loosen up funds for other facets of the proposition, but again, Cotsirilos has doubts because he said that only 20 percent of the death penalty budget is spent on housing inmates.

“Even if you took them off death row, it would still be very expensive to house many of these people because a lot of them have gang-related crimes,” he said. “They’re very difficult murderers, where they cannot be with the general population, so there would be some savings but not much.”

The Legislative Analyst’s Office confirms that the fiscal impact of the initiative

is uncertain and depends largely on how it is implemented.

Prop 62 and Prop 66 carry both financial and emotional impact. Herroz, who lost her daughter and grandson, wanted Potts to spend his life in prison but said every family should have the freedom to make that choice. In November she’ll vote to keep the death penalty under the assumption it will be fixed.

Families that choose the death sentence are called back into court every couple of years to face the inmate and argue why they shouldn’t be considered for parole. “I don’t get to see Tori and Dean, and I sure as hell don’t want to see [Potts],” she said. “It’s not that [inmates] are going to get paroled. It’s just that they get to play the system. So the families have to buy into that game. There was no way I could do that.”

Instead, Herroz wanted Potts to wake up every morning to the memory of what he did, without the possibility of lethal injection allowing him to escape it.

“I’ve seen people who have gone for the death penalty, and it breaks them all over again,” said Herroz. “He broke everything about me, and I’m just not willing to allow that to happen. I would certainly explain to [victims’ families] that this is for you. This is about what you can live with, and that’s the bottom line. Can you live with it or not?”

August 31, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 5

UP FRONT | OPINION

SPIN

CYCLE

JOHN R. LAMB

Local Dems, taxpayer group dabble in fence-sitting on Measures C & D When in doubt who will win, be neutral.

—Swiss proverb

hen it comes to big-ticket-item decision-making, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer rewrote the book on indecisiveness, decorating the practice with glittery baubles of alleged earnestness, attention to detail and midnight-oil-burning analysis.

The expenditure of political capital on risky pursuits—the garlic necklace for most careerseeking office holders—seems particularly rare here in America’s Sunniest Hamlet under the guidance of our recently re-elected fence-sitter-in-chief.

Local Republicans, save for a kooky few, have twisted themselves into tight pretzels trying to avoid public allegiance to their

W

presidential nominee with the garish dome of hair and impulsive yap.

In these most polarizing of political times, pundits and pollsters obsess over the desires of the undecideds, those who see gray in a world presented to them as black and white.

But in recent weeks, the hemming and hawing has been observed traveling down ticket locally, into the voids particularly crafted by the mayor’s shrieking silence on two major ballot measures facing voters in November.

Spin, of course, is talking about Measures C and D, competing visions for the future of tourism-tax spending in San Diego that share one thing in common: They’re both freaking out the Guardians of the Status Quo. Last week, the influential San Diego County Taxpayers Associa-

6 · San Diego CityBeat · August 31, 2016

tion announced it was opposing both measures.

On Measure C, the association was unequivocal in its disdain for the San Diego Chargers-drafted initiative that would boost the local hotel tax to 16.5 percent from its current 10.5 percent (not including hoteliers’ 2 percent tourism-promotion surcharge) to pay a significant portion of the tab for a $1.8 billion combination stadium/convention annex in downtown’s East Village.

“The Chargers proposal would put the City of San Diego’s general fund at significant risk,” the association argued in a 36-page analysis, which concluded that financing would fall $400 million short.

The Chargers immediately tossed a red flag on the field, calling the conclusion an “inside job” by project foes friendly with the association. But at least the taxpayers group didn’t waver in its opposition. Haney Hong, the group’s president, told reporters the analysis was “more than fair, and in fact gives the Chargers the benefit of the doubt.” He noted that the Chargers refused to meet with the group.

But it was a slightly more circuitous route to the group’s nixing of Measure D, the Citizens’ Plan initiative led by activist attorney

Cory Briggs and former city councilmember Donna Frye.

Spin Cycle obtained a copy of the initial draft of the association’s report on that ballot measure, which would raise the hotel tax to 15.5 percent and, among other things, create pathways for a stadium/convention amalgam downtown if the team and hoteliers (through self-assessment) agree to pay for it, while also prohibiting a bayfront expansion of the San Diego Convention Center.

On the summary sheet, the staff recommendation—“NO POSITION”—is clearly noted in bold letters. “Because SDCTA does not historically weigh in on land use decisions (a significant portion of this proposal), staff recommends no position on the measure,” a paragraph explaining the rationale on the same page concluded.

The association staff clearly saw some positives, including “the potential to bring in a minimum of $17.6 million annually to the City of San Diego” and “valuable restrictions on the amounts of public funding that can be used in the construction of a noncontiguous convention center expansion…and stadium (no public subsidy), making it potentially worthy of support from SDCTA.” The problems as noted in the summary, however, include blocking the waterfront convention center expansion, which the association supports, and creating “significant restrictions on elected officials’ use of relevant land by requiring future changes to return to the voters.”

Hong, who was traveling, was brief in his remarks to Spin about the board’s rejection of neutrality on the measure. “The board voted to oppose, and staff supports the board’s decision. Thanks for the inquiry,” he wrote in an email.

Briggs, however, was not shy about sharing his thoughts about the draft report, which he said “shows the cozy insider relationship between the leadership of an organization that claims to be a ‘taxpayer watchdog’ and the politicians and hoteliers who’ve been fleecing the taxpayers with illegal taxes not put to the voters for approval.”

That reference is to the longfestering legal war Briggs has fought with the city and Tourism Marketing District over the legality of the 2 percent tourismpromotion fee hoteliers voted to impose years ago.

Briggs lambasted the association’s “lingering support for a convention-center tax shot down by the courts two years ago, coupled with the desire to avoid having to get future voter approval.”

JOHN R. LAMB

San Diego County Taxpayers Association President Haney Hong and local Democratic Party Chairwoman Francine Busby share a fence-sitting moment.

While he called the reasoning “alarming,” Briggs labeled the association board’s quick dismissal of the “no-position” recommendation “most revealing.”

“It’ll be hard for the organization’s staff to persuade the public that its office isn’t just an extension of the TMD and/or convention center board rooms,” Briggs scoffed.

But the taxpayers group wasn’t the only one grappling with neutrality last week. The Central Committee of the San Diego County Democratic Party last week also weighed in on recommendations for the two measures.

While a special committee urged party faithful to oppose Measure D, the Citizens’ Plan actually gained the endorsement of Central Committee members, attendees told Spin. And while a similar “no” vote was encouraged for Measure C, party Chairwoman Francine Busby managed to shepherd a “no position” by declining to vote herself when one vote would have pushed the measure into the opposition category. Some observers viewed the move as a nod to the party’s building-trade members, who back the Chargers initiative.

“I don’t comment on our votes,” Busby told Spin, who reminded her she did just that back in the day when the party struggled to push former mayor Bob Filner into resigning.

Perhaps Alex Haley said it best: “Anytime you see a turtle up on top of a fence post, you know he had some help.”

Spin Cycle appears every week.

Write to johnl@sdcitybeat.com.

#SDCityBeat

UP FRONT | OPINION

AARYN BELFER

BACKWARDS & IN

HIGH HEELS

Her hair: the long and now the short of it We begin, I’m sorry to say, with hair. I’m sorry to say it because the amount of maintenance involving hair is genuinely overwhelming. Sometimes I think that not having to worry about your hair anymore is the secret upside of death.

—Nora Ephron

T

hat photo of me up there on this page is a lie.

Not the unintended smirk—that part is just my face and short of reconstructive surgery or shock therapy, there is nothing to be done about that. I often think I’m smiling on the outside only to find out that my mouth and brain have very different ideas of what constitutes smiling. Anyway, it’s the dark, shoulder-length hair that is the lie; I chopped that ish off months ago, my friends. But that is not where the story gets revolutionary.

Last Christmas, my friend Suzanne styled my hair before we headed out to a party.

We were in Los Angeles and Suzanne sat me down on the toilet in her bathroom and expertly waved and expertly tousled me into a dreamy volume I can never achieve.

It was done to look like it hadn’t been done and in a manner I could never do (but to which I’d always aspired).

It should be noted that my friend was—and still is, actually—a professional model.

Not the PetSmart advertorial kind that is slipped into the D section of the Saturday paper. But the kind whose face still gets her recognized in public restrooms when she’s just trying to go about her glitter-and-cotton-candy business. Angels don’t poop, if you know what I’m saying.

So it wasn’t surprising that with a few hot rollers and a can of hairspray, she had my hair looking just like hers when she used to grace the covers and pages of magazines I flipped through in college. How she made ’80s pouf look ’00s fleek in under 10 minutes is a backstage secret.

But lo, the curse of mere mortals. Trust me when I say you do not want your photo taken with someone in that line of business. Not even if she has a pimple on her nose, spinach in her teeth and a case of pink eye. She was still at the front of the Bone Structure and Thick Hair Line. No amount of glowy Snapchat filter with a crown of butterflies is going to save those around her. Neither will a gallon of Aqua Net. My friend’s heaven-sent hair held up as we did the Wobble late into the night beneath an actual disco ball. Mine fell flat just like it did when I was five and the ringlets my best friend’s mom had curled into my stick-straight pigtails for picture day had

quietly un-ringleted. My mother still has the kindergarten shot of smiling-on-the-outside me, so proud of my pigtails, unaware that each was its own sad testament to the second law of thermodynamics.

“You just have to shoosh it,” my friend said trying to cheer me up when she saw my disappointment after I caught my reflection in a mirror. She fluffed and mussed it with her fingers to no avail.

It was during the drive home the next day that I decided it was time for the mop to go. I didn’t want to spend the time on it anymore. I’d quit washing it years ago and regularly resorted to the convenient topknot, the ubiquitous choice of college coeds everywhere. The effort just wasn’t there.

Two days later, I cut my hair to my shoulders.

Three weeks after that, I took it to my chin. One more week and I went full pixie, and I up and quit coloring it, intentionally letting the gray come in. I’ve been feeling progressively better about graying, acceptance coming quite easily. And then: “Women over 40 should definitely go gray and let me tell you why,” said a woman to my face recently at a cocktail party. “There are two reasons for this,” she told me with all the confidence of a gerontologist.

“One, you age yourself.”

She swept an arm under her long, sort of wavy/sort of stringy brown hair and flipped it over her head to the other side. “It’s true! You do! You age. Your. Self. I’m almost 50 and I know this.” She flipped her hair again to the other side. “And two…,” she continued. “You’re sexually undesirable to men.”

Note: As I was writing this, I made the goddamned best hard-boiled egg I’ve had in my entire life and I didn’t even boil it. I steamed it, and this makes me sexually desirable to at least one man. Especially since I made this hard-boiled egg in my underwear.

I was smiling on the outside at my conversation with that woman because, whether I’m sexually desired by men or not, this particular philosophy combined with the hair flip made that conversationalist intellectually undesirable to me, which is a better gauge of worth in my book. I walked away validated by my decision to sever the mane, go natural and embrace aging. With her every word and every flip, I loved my short, greying, flipless, shooshless hair— and my sexually-undesirable self—even more than ever. I’m smiling on the outside about all that.

“

I walked away validated by my decision to sever the mane, go natural and embrace aging.

“

#SDCityBeat

Backwards & In High Heels appears every other week. Write to aaryn@sdcitybeat.com.

August 31, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 7

UP FRONT | FOOD

BY MICHAEL A. GARDINER

THE WORLD

FARE

Passion boils over at Boiling Passion

T

he idea of the boiling communal cauldron as cooking vessel is only as new as humans.

It is also international. From Chinese “hotpot,” to Japanese nabemono dishes and Singapore “steamboat” all the way to Swiss fondue, the idea of cooking meat in a boiling cauldron is ancient and archetypal. There’s no better place to sample Asia’s takes on the theme than at Boiling Passion (3904 Convoy Street).

As the origin of hotpot suggests, the dish often involves multiple diners using the same pot of boiling liquid to cook various meats, vegetaMICHAEL A. GARDINER

bles, noodles and other ingredients. Each would customize the dish to their liking by dipping the desired items into the liquid using a skewer or chopsticks. At Boiling Passion, though, the liquid comes to each diner in an individual pot. Instead of dipping the items over time, the pots come mostly pre-loaded with meats, seafood, vegetables and other goodies.

Boiling Passion offers 10 internationally themed options: Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean, Japanese and a few with less distinctly national flavors (satay, curry, milk and seafood). Additional optional additions to each dish are on the back

8 · San Diego CityBeat · August 31, 2016

of the menu. While the protein portions may be a bit on the shy side, the overall size of the meal is more than adequate for one hungry diner.

My favorite was the House Special Hot Pot, a take on Taiwanese stinky tofu. The tofu, frankly, lacked the distinct funk of fermented tofu that wasn’t altogether a bad thing. The complex broth, mostly savory, featured a suggestion of sweetness and a beguiling hint of pungency from the tofu. As it cooked down, though, the various seafood flavors lent an additional complexity.

Lamb Hot Pot, on the other hand, was defined by the gamey flavors of the meat itself. This, again, wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Less good was the fact the “pickled” napa cabbage tasted, to my palate, a whole lot like un-pickled napa cabbage. A more pronounced pickled flavor would have lent a lot to the dish. But the pork blood rice cake offered a funk to the dish and tofu skins gave it a bit of richness and textural interest.

The Curry Hot Pot was another favorite. Perhaps that is mostly down to the fact there’s not much in the savory world that doesn’t play well in the sandbox with curry. With pork, meatballs, various seafood items and a slew of vegetables, the dish acted almost like a seafood take on an English-style Coronation Curry done as hotpot.

The biggest problem at Boiling Passion is hardware. The gel fuel source is a bit overenthusiastic, hardly user friendly and even difficult for the restaurant staff to control. It has a nasty Lamb hot pot tendency to boil down the broth to the over-saline and boil up the broth over the side of the pot. The choice ends up being between wearing your hotpot and letting it go cold.

That minor problem aside, Boiling Passion is a great local opportunity to survey Asian approaches to the hotpot concept. The dishes are tasty, they’re fun to eat and they’re varied. All, though, show a singular commitment—a passion even—for the boiled culinary arts.

The World Fare appears weekly.

Write to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com.

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UP FRONT | FOOD COURTESY OF SAHARA EXPRESS

BY JAMES VERNETTE

DISHING IT

OUT

Chald-ifornia Cuisine

I

f you’re one of those people who shudders at the thought of driving farther east than San Diego State University, you’re probably missing out on one of San Diego’s most tasty food trends. By that, I mean the rise of Mediterranean food and Middle Eastern food in the East County region.

There are more than 50,000 Chaldeans— Iraqi Christians, predominantly—living in El Cajon, and their presence is making a culinary impact in La Mesa, Rancho San Diego and Jamul.

It’s to be expected. Every time a new immigrant comes into a community, the food always gets better. My taste buds still remember when the Vietnamese and Thais came en masse in the 1970s.

Middle Eastern cuisine has really been on the rise since the early 2000s when many Chaldeans moved to East County.

A lot of Middle Eastern food seems like a cousin to a popular food of the region: Mexican. Pita bread is like the big brother

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of tortillas, and both cuisines place an emphasis on rice and beans (or hummus).

There are lots of good places to try, too many to mention here, but it’s fun just to walk down Main Street in El Cajon to find a place to call your own. The way things are going, I’m going to start calling this part of the region “Feast County.”

Here are a few of my favorites: Mystic Grill (8191 Fletcher Parkway) in La Mesa is a great stop for your standard hummus and baba ghanoush appetizers, as well as kabob sandwiches. But where they really shine is the seafood. Tasty, fresh and succulent. Going for a shawarma sandwich?

I like the beef better than the chicken, but make sure you get lots of the spicy feta cheese sauce—also goes well with fries.

Special note: Mystic Grill shares a building with Vine Ripe, a grocery store full of all sorts of Middle Eastern and Eastern European specialties. I go there to get dolmas (grape leaves in bulk) and well as flat breads made on the premises. The produce prices are some of the cheapest in town, but only if you’re making food that night—they go bad pretty quickly.

Beef Shawarma fries, the lush rush food of the future Sahara Express (2654 Jamacha Road) in Rancho San Diego is the wave of the foodie future to me. Basically, it’s a Middle Eastern version of a taco shop, even staying open late—1 a.m.!

All the Middle Eastern basics are here: falafel, kabobs, hummus, but the pickled beet salad also gets high marks. Sahara Express also has my current favorite “lush rush” food: Shawarma fries. Basically, chopped up beef with fries, with tahini dipping sauce. I’ve driven 15 miles out of the way for this dish. With any luck, holein-the-wall joints like this will be popping

up all over the county within 10 years.

If your idea of Middle Eastern culture comes from watching Aladdin, Ali Baba (421 E Main Street, El Cajon) is going to appeal to your senses. There is even a special booth set up to look like an old caravan, with rugs and canopy. This place is great to go to with a large group. Feast dinners, ranging from three people on up, provide a lot of tasty grilled foods along with rice and other appetizers starting at $55. Despite your best efforts, you will have leftovers.

Dishing It Out appears every other week.

August 31, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 9

UP FRONT | DRINK

FINAL

BY BETH DEMMON

DRAUGHT Kids in breweries is not a civil right

their brood to and been welcomed with open arms, he drops (what he thinks is) The Big One. “Maybe you don’t care about other civil rights?” f asked if bringing kids into breweries is a civil OH NO YOU DID NOT invoke “my civil rights right, I could save us all some time and answer have been violated,” Mr. Middle-Aged White Guy. with the very obvious “no,” but then I’d miss my You don’t have a clue what it feels like to actuchance to call out some seriously entitled bullshit. ally have your rights violated. And nice try linkWhich, let’s face it, is more than a little fun. ing to the Unruh Civil Rights Act. Perhaps if you In the most recent fantasy episode of The had read it before attempting to put your dick World Owes Me Something, a hopeful patron of on the table, you’d know that the language is to Monkey Paw Pub & Brewery took to Facebook to protect patrons against things like a Knocked Up express his extreme displeasure at being turned situation, where “old, away at the door due RUDY LOPEZ pregnant bitches” are to having his underage denied entry (regardchildren in tow. Let’s less of ass-tappability), analyze his one-star reor to make sure busiview of the incident: nesses can’t deny ser“We spent a half hour vice to people of color. getting here to be told no You know, actual civil kids allowed. What a rights. It’s not to ensure bunch of jerks!” snot-nosed miscreFirst off: This clown ants can infiltrate the is obviously a tourist. (A world’s dive bars withquick check reveals this out parental culpability. is true.) I guess everyMaybe it doesn’t thing, including egos, matter that it was a man really is bigger in Texas. who complained. Maybe Secondly, being told it doesn’t matter that your kids aren’t allowed he’s white. And clearly, is, I’m sure, a frustrata guy complaining about ing turn of events for his kids being denied enany n00b, but is it reRules vary on having kids at breweries. try into a drinking estabally so shocking to be lishment isn’t front-page told that minors are news.

But if you think the small incidents like this prohibited after a certain hour when you visit a aren’t worthy of our indignation—or at least attenpub/brewery? Apparently so. tion—remember that they’re the building blocks Finally: “What a bunch of jerks!” Actually, for bigger issues in the future. It’s the everyday ocMonkey Paw not only replied with complete cicurrences just like these that give people a sense vility, they even offered an alternate suggestion to of smug ownership of the world around them and ensure the whole family could still enjoy their time causes such furor when “what they’re owed” is here. They explained their “no minors after 5 p.m.” taken away. Hopefully, this gives him—and us all— policy and went out of their way to investigate if some perspective and an accurate understanding any of their staff had treated the would-be patrons of what civil rights really are. inappropriately. (Spoiler alert: they didn’t.)

I

Not good enough for Gotta Have The Last Word Dad over here. After bragging about how many “gastropubs” across the nation they’ve dragged

10 · San Diego CityBeat · August 31, 2016

Write to bethd@sdcitybeat.com, check her out on Twitter at @iheartcontent.

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UP FRONT | BOOKS

THE FLOATING

BY JIM RULAND

LIBRARY The ephemeral obsessions of Tobias Carroll’s Transitory

I

n Transitory, Tobias Carroll’s stellar debut collection of stories from Civil Coping Mechanisms, art is the dark star around which its satellites of broken artists orbit. The men and women who make the weird films and stark soundtracks that populate Transitory are permitted some degree of detachment. Not so their audience of obsessives.

“Everything about it seemed truncated: there was a ghost of a note in the opening credits that seemed absent; the title itself—A Hoax Cantata— hovered a beat too briefly, the text wavering and elliptical. Maybe that was what first drew us to it: its damage; the unknown names; the fact that it always seemed to exist in a hazy VHS world, a dub of a dub even in its first generation.”

Carroll could easily be talking about the cult of admirers that’s sprung up around Netflix’s nostalgia-fueled series Stranger Things. It’s not the film itself that’s important, but its elusive existence, how it flickers on the edge of memory, impossible to pin down.

For the obsessive protagonist of “Last Screening of A Hoax Cantata,” there is no last screening, only nostalgia for something he’s not even sure exists.

“The right film can colonize you,” the narrator says. This all-invasive possession takes many shapes in Carroll’s inspired collection: film, music, even people.

In the story “An Old Songwriter’s Trick” a filmmaker named Owen uses his obsessive love for a friend as the premise of a film. Although he’s never been able to confess his feelings in real life, to borrow a phrase from the parlance of simulated conversations, he uses his film to make his intentions clear.

While Carroll’s prose is dense and occasionally just shy of baroque, it always moves. “Transit always reminds me of transit,” says the narrator of “Winter Montage, Hoboken Station,” and it’s no accident that the title of Owen’s film is Transit.

Like Transitory’s haunted characters, Carroll’s writing is like a restless camera’s eye taking in everything it surveys. Consider this description of an empty motel swimming pool: “From the second floor, it seemed like a giant’s grave, waiting to be filled.”

Carroll is particularly good at capturing uncertain moods and moments between moments.

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“Yannick made a sound that was equally ecstatic and pained, the action of someone who could deeply emphasize with the idea of almost.”

There’s an especially poignant scene during which Owen, the protagonist of “An Old Songwriter’s Trick,” realizes the object of his obsession is engaged to be married. “Shit, he said, and got a particular sort of smile on his face, the kind of look I imagine prison athletes get on ersatz ballfields after hitting a double.”

These sharply drawn observations serve as a bulwark against the bleakness that suffuses Carroll’s stories in a way that is both relentless and relatable. It’s the palpable sadness of missing a train, falling out of touch with a friend, or walking home in a strange city after having too much to drink.

As the narrator of “Dulcimers Played, Strings Played” suggests: “For now there was nothing left but to walk into the night with no anchor, his walk the only certainty.”

At the end of the book, Carroll chronicles the origins of the stories and how they came into being in a section called “Liner Notes + Credits.” I suspect Carroll included this section as a way of paying homage to the music from which he borrowed a title or that inspired him during the story’s composition. However, in this section, we learn that he “first came to New York to study fall in the fall of 1995.”

Carroll clearly is one of the colonized, but unlike the indie and outsider artists who create the urtexts of Transitory’s stories only to fade from memory almost instantly, Carroll’s passion for writing can be found in virtually every corner of the Internet where literature and books matter.

He is a tireless champion of other people’s work: the very best kind of obsessive.

For Carroll’s fans, the story doesn’t end with the last tale in Transitory, which if the “Liner Notes + Credits” is to believed was written in a Starbucks. Next month, Rare Bird Books will release Carroll’s debut novel, Reel, which begins at a punk show in Seattle and continues Carroll’s fascination with art, music and the call of the road, the desire to transition from station to station.

Perhaps transit reminds us of transit because it’s the call that’s hardest to ignore.

Write to jimr@sdcitybeat.com.

August 31, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 11

SHORTlist

EVENTS

ART

the

THREE YOU HAVE TO SEE

COORDINATED BY

SETH COMBS

BALBOA PARK

1

GREAT OUTDOORS

exhibition features some of the photographer’s Even in the age of Instagram and ubiqbest work from the past 20 years. From a breathuitous sunset photos, great nature photaking shot of two penguins atop an iceberg in tography is still something to COURTESY OF THE ARTIST Antarctica to the desolate red behold. For well over three desert of Namibia, Ordover’s decades, Cardiff-by-the-Seaworks are extremely varied in based shutterbug Abe Ordoboth style and substance. ver has been snapping grand, “In terms of travel, I’ve heart-stopping and even always gravitated toward the haunting portraits of nature extreme. I’ve been to the arcat its finest. An established tic twice and deserts all over,” curator and gallery owner as Ordover says. “There will be a well, Ordover has also been number of shots in this show presenting nature photogthat I’ve never shown before.” raphy exhibitions at the San While The Last Hurrah Diego Natural History Mumight be the last chance to see seum (1788 El Prado) for the Ordover’s work for a while, past nine years, but his latest his retirement already inexhibition, The Last Hurcludes a planned trip to Costa rah: The Photography of Rica in December and a trip to Abe Ordover, is just that: a Madagascar in 2017. last hurrah.

“Obviously, I’ll bring my “I’m going to miss it,” says camera with me,” Ordover Ordover, who is retiring this laughs. “I am almost 80 years year. “It doesn’t mean I’ll stop old so I better start getting to being an artist, but I won’t be places.” curating any more shows.”

“Little Antelope Canyon 2” The Last Hurrah opens While it’s certainly a loss

by Abe Ordover Saturday, Sept. 3 (museum for theNAT and for San Dihours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.), and admission ranges ego at large, The Last Hurrah will certainly be a from $12 to $19. There will also be a free opening grand send-off. Held inside Ordover’s namesake reception for the exhibition on Saturday, Sept. 10, gallery space on the fourth floor of theNAT, the at 11 a.m. sdnhm.org

LITTLE ITALY

SANTEE

2 SHORT AND SWEET

Before the advent of YouTube, short film carried a certain amount of prestige by forcing established and burgeoning filmmakers to tighten up their games and hone their storytelling chops. But try getting someone to watch an online video that’s longer than GIF-length these days, and it’s like you’re asking to borrow $100. CityBeat’s 5 Minute Film Festival, on the other hand, celebrates local short filmmakers and those who favor craft over memes, storytelling over LOLs (well, there will be some LOLs) and innovation over viral fame. Live-action narratives, documentaries and some bonkers animation fill in this year’s line-up. The event goes down at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 7, at The Music Box (1337 India St.). Tickets are $17.50 at sdcitybeat.com or $20 at the door.

ANDREW NORBECK

3 TRACK SUITES

The whole idea behind San Diego Opera’s recent community engagement programs has been to get opera in front of diverse audiences who might not otherwise get to see it. Activities have included community talks and performances in front of the Civic Theatre, but the new Opera on Track series might be the most exciting and ambitious yet. Similar to San Diego Dance Theatre’s Trolley Dances, Opera on Track will feature opera singers performing a free, 30-minute version of Rossini’s Cinderella at various trolley stations (or a venue close by) across the county. The first one happens at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 3, at the Santee Trolley Square Amphitheatre (9844 Mission Gorge Road). There will be performances at other stations nearly every Saturday through Oct. 9. See sdopera.org for full lineup.

COURTESY OF OPERA QUEENSLAND

Coyote’s Flying Saucers

12 · San Diego CityBeat · August 31, 2016

Cinderella

*db Foster: OutSide In at Southwestern College Art Gallery, 900 Otay Lakes Road, Building 710, Chula Vista. A rare solo show from the local artist who specializes in vibrant conceptual pieces that blends reflective materials, acrylic, watercolor and colored pencil. Opening from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1.

Free. swccd.edu *Cast On! Night Owls Members’ Choice at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. Vote for favorite artworks in the exhibition, mingle with local artists and knit giant forms as inspired by Michelle Montjoy’s River project. There will also be drinks, bites and a DJ. From 7:30 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1. Free-$10. 858-454-5872, ljathenaeum.org/the-night-owls *Magic Curry Jungle at Teros Gallery, 3888 Swift Ave., City Heights. Berkeley artists Ghost Ghost Teeth (Simon Tran) and Kari Simonsen present new abstract paintings inspired by memories of their vibrant youth, some of which are collaborations. Opening from 5 to 10 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 1. Free. facebook.com/ events/292731591118831 The Ties That Define at Palomar College Boehm Gallery, 1140 W. Mission Road, San Marcos. Two concurrent solo exhibitions from Veronique D’Entremont (What I Mean When I Say I’m Going Home) and David Willburn (Skaduchi: Dispatches from Make Believe). Opening from 1 to 3 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1.

Free. www2.palomar.edu/boehmgallery Art Deconstructed & Watercolor Exhibition at The San Diego Watercolor Society, 2825 Dewy Road, #105, Point Loma.

An experimental art exhibition juried by award winning artist and Littleton Art School founder Jennifer Littleton. Food and wine will be offered. Opening from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2. Free. 619-8764550, sdws.org Aubree Miller and Katya Gonzalez at Graffiti Beach, 2220 Fern St., South Park.

The two local artists showcase new pop surrealist works. RSVP for a complimentary craft beer taster. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2. Free. 858-4330950, shopgraffitibeach.com Dreams - Romantic Disorientation at La Playa Gallery, 2226 Avenida de la Playa, La Jolla. A show featuring works inspired by the complex images of dreams and our ability to decipher them. Artists include Tiffany Bociek, Igor Koutsenko and David Cuzick. Opening from 5 to 8 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 2. Free. 858-454-6903, laplayagallery.com Friday Night LIberty at NTC at Liberty Station, 2640 Historic Decatur Road, Point Loma. This monthly gallery and studio walk features open artist studios, galleries, live performances, shopping and entertainment throughout NTC’s Arts and Culture District. From 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2. Free. 619-573-9300, libertystation.com/event Galactic Pleasures at The Studio Door, 3750 30th St., North Park. An exhibition themed around the exploration of the future, imagination, science, science fiction, fantasy and steampunk. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2. Free. thestudiodoor.com *Rockin’ The Political Boat at Women’s Museum of California, 2730 Historic Decatur Road, Barracks 16, Point Loma.

The third installation in the Women’s Museum’s “Rocking the Boat” series focuses on ‘60s politics, where issues of sexuality, birth control and abortion were at the forefront. Opening from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2. Free. 619-233-7963, womensmuseumca.org

H = CityBeat picks

September Chill at Brokers Building, 402 Market St., Downtown. A group show of new work from locals Joanne Barrows, Lola Connelly, Peter Keys, Peter Karel Suczek, Dan Camp, Hans Chobolits and many more. Opening from 7 to 11 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 2. Free. facebook.com/ thebrokersbuildinggallery Stories of Hunger at Baron’s Market Point Loma, 4001 W. Point Loma Blvd., Point Loma. Hundreds of paper plates, hand-illustrated by children and families affected by hunger in San Diego County, will be displayed to help bring awareness to the issue. At 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 2.

Free. 619-223-4397, sdhunger.org *Caverna: Infinite Universe at HB Punto Experimental, 2151 Logan Ave. Section B, Barrio Logan. A group exhibition that includes new painting and sculptural work from artists Anna Stump, Daphne Hill, Miya Hannan and Hugo Heredia Barrera. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 3. Free. 909-706-1036, hbpuntoexperimental.com *Jeremy Zierau Residency Opening at 1805 Gallery, 1805 Columbia St., Little Italy. Opening night for Zierau’s residency where he will produce new sculptural works as well as host a podcast taping every Thursday night. Jeremy’s work deals with human communication and the methods people use to process data. Opening from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 3. Free. 619-555-5555, jzierau.com *The Last Hurrah: The Photography of Abe Ordover at San Diego Natural History Museum, 1788 El Prado, Balboa Park. The final exhibition from the acclaimed local nature photographer will feature some of his best work from the past 20 years. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 3. $12-$19. 619-232-3821, sdnhm.org

BOOKS *Amy Lisewski at Hillcrest Brewing Company, 1458 University Ave., Hillcrest.

The founder and artistic director of Finest City Improv will sign and discuss her new self-help book, Relax, We’re All Just Making This Stuff Up!, which works under the premise that confidence and happiness come from planning less. From 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31. Free. hillcrestbrewingcompany.com, finestcityimprov.com/relax Jonathan Maberry at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. The local author will sign and discuss his past and current work including Vault of Shadows, the second installment in the Nightsiders crossgenre supernatural alien invasion middle grade series. At 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept.

4. Free. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com

COMEDY Colin Kane at American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., Downtown. From the Howard Stern Show, it’s the filthy, dirty comedy of Colin Kane. At 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1, and 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2 and Sunday, Sept. 3. $16. 619-795-3858, americancomedyco.com

FILM *5 Minute Film Festival at Music Box, 1337 India St., Little Italy. This fourth annual fest features screenings of dozens of super-short films shot by local filmmakers.

Live-action narratives, documentaries and some animation fill in this year’s line-up.

At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 7. $17.50$20. 619-736-0026, sdcitybeat.com

EVENTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 15 #SDCityBeat

#SDCityBeat

August 31, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 13

THEATER PHOTO COURTESY OF MOONLIGHT STAGE PRODUCTIONS

Titanic the Musical sails through Saturday in Vista

The Titanic sails, and sinks, again

L

ike James Cameron’s Titanic movie, Peter Stone and Maury Yeston’s Titanic the Musical relies on artificial drama—until the legendarily doomed ship hits that iceberg (the real star of the show). But the Broadway musical, which runs through Sept. 3 at the Moonlight Amphitheatre, is a far more durable telling of the 1912 tale. Larry Raben directs a sprawling cast of 37, all of them in authentic period costumes and accompanied in song by a 26-piece orchestra. This is a titanic production, and though the ship and

14 · San Diego CityBeat · August 31, 2016

its sinking are conveyed using screen projections and modest set pieces, you will feel as if you are on board. That in itself may be the most significant accomplishment of this show, which originally won the Tony for Best Musical.

The cast is so large that making a personal connection with any of the characters is dicey, but definite standouts include Bets Malone as a lovable social climber, Robert J. Townsend as the principled ship builder, Eric Michael Parker as the Titanic’s radio operator, and Norman Large as stalwart Captain E.J. Smith.

No Jack? No Rose? No problem. Yeston’s Act 1 songs are primarily expository but

gain poignancy in Act 2, when for most aboard all is lost.

Titanic The Musical runs through Sept.

3 at the Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista. $10-$55. moonlightstage.com *** You know you’re in for a peculiar evening when the lights go up and you see on stage a cap with the word “Feces” printed on it. It’s just one of many caps worn by the two actors, Anthony Methvin and Tom Zohar, in Backyard Renaissance’s production of the 2005 Gutenberg! The Musical! The idea, stretched about as far as it can go, is that Doug (Methvin) and Bud (Zohar) are rehearsing a musical they’ve written about Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press.

In so doing, they prance around and sing songs while donning caps identifying what characters they’re portraying, from Gutenberg himself to his fictitious love interest, Helvetica, to a villainous monk— and many more. A few of the original tunes are clever and this pair tries awfully hard, but the upshot is a tiring exercise in neo-Vaudeville.

Gutenberg! The Musical! runs through Sept. 4 at Diversionary Theatre in University Heights. $14. backyardrenaissance.com

—David L. Coddon

Theater reviews run weekly.

Write to davidc@sdcitybeat.com.

OPENING: Duck Hunter Shoots Angel: A tabloid journalist experiences a catharsis while investigating two Alabama hunters who accidentally shoot an angel.

Written by Mitch Albom, it opens Sept. 2 at Lamplighter’s Community Theatre in La Mesa.

Little Mary Sunshine: Rick Besoyan’s classic parody of old-fashioned operettas and musicals features a variety of characters spoofing musical theatre legends. Presented by the Pickwick Players, it opens Sept. 2 at Off Broadway Live in Santee. pickwickplayers.net Seussical the Musical: A family-friendly musical where all of the characters of Dr. Seuss share the stage at the same time. Directed by Desha Crownover, it opens Sept. 2 at the Coronado Playhouse. coronadoplayhouse.com Sylvia: A couple of empty nesters are forced to confront underlying issues in their relationship after adopting a dog in A.R. Gurney’s comedic romp.

Directed by Samuel Young, it opens Sept. 2 at the Patio Playhouse in Escondido. patioplayhouse.com Tiger Style!: A new comedy about two overachieving siblings who set out to visit China in hopes of becoming better adults. Written by Mike Lew, it opens Sept. 6 at the La Jolla Playhouse. lajollaplayhouse.org The Cocktail Hour: An affluent New England family’s reunion is hilariously shaken up when one of the sons reveals he’s written a script that hits a little too close to home. Directed by Rosina Reynolds, it opens Sept. 7 at the North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach. northcoastrep.org

For full theater listings, visit “Theater”at sdcitybeat.com.

#SDCityBeat

EVENTS COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

Chromeo at Del Mar Racetrack, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. The Canadian electro-funk duo will play after the day’s last race as part of the Del Mar Summer Concert Series. From 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 3. $6-$20. 858755-1141, delmarracing.com *Fall 2016 Concert Series: Magnum Opus at Central Library, 330 Park Blvd., East Village. The fall series commences with a performance by members of the San Diego Symphony in a special performance of Schubert’s “String Quintet in C (D. 956).”

From 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 4.

Free. 619-236-5800, sandiego.gov/publiclibrary/news-events/concertseries First Wednesdays: A Penny A Kiss at California Center for the Arts Escondido, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido.

The female trio specializes in a cappella tributes to the classic music of the ‘40s and ‘50s. From 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 7. Free-$12. artcenter.org

“Head in the Clouds” by Aubree Miller will be on view at an untitled dual show with Katya Gonzalez opening from 6 to 9 p.m. at Graffiti Beach (2220 Fern St.) in South Park.

EVENTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

FOOD & DRINK *Ballast Point 20th Anniversary Festival at Del Mar Racetrack, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. Celebrate the brewery’s anniversary with access to 50-plus Ballast Point beers and live entertainment from The Roots, Lady Dottie and the Diamonds, The Creepy Creeps, Fish and the Seaweeds and House of Scotland Pipers Band. From 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 4. $35-$55. 858-755-1141, ballastpoint.com Wine Tasting for Art Lovers at MonarchArredon Contemporary Art, 7629 Girard Ave., La Jolla. A monthly wine tasting night featuring a selection from Salerno Winery and wineries of Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico. Ticket includes three premium wine tastings, a full glass of wine and gourmet tapas. From 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 7. $25. monarchfineart.com

MUSIC 1812 Tchaikovsky Spectacular at Embarcadero Marina Park South, 206 Marina Park Way, Downtown. San Diego Symphony will perform Tchaikovsky’s inimitable “1812 Overture” and attendees will have a full view of fireworks exploding over the bay. At 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2 and Saturday, Sept. 3. $20-$85. 619686-6200, sandiegosymphony.com Fleet Week Overboard Concert at House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., Downtown. The official Fleet Week kickoff includes music by Fan Halen, GOOSE &

#SDCityBeat

MAVRK and authentic Sailor Jerry tattooing by Adam Harper. Proceeds will benefit San Diego Fleet Week Foundation. At 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2. $5. 619-299-BLUE, houseofblues.com Kenny Loggins at The Events Center at Harrah’s Resort Southern California, 777 Harrah’s Rincon Way, The Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter responsible for “Footloose” will perform and, yes, dancing will be permitted. At 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2. $55. 760-751-3100, harrahssocal.com Musica en la Plaza at California Center for the Arts Escondido, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido. Every Friday night in September, California Center for the Arts Escondido presents free concerts, including performances by Los Montaño, the Manny Cepeda Orchestra Quartet, and Trío 3 Amigos Huapangueros. From 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2. Free. artcenter.org The Wailers at Del Mar Racetrack, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. The iconic reggae band known for backing Bob Marley will perform as part of the Del Mar Summer Concert Series. From 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2. $6-$20. 858-7551141, delmarracing.com *Toy Piano Festival at Geisel Library, 9500 Gilman Drive, UCSD campus, La Jolla. Hear new works for toy piano and be able to peruse the “Toy Piano Collection” at the Geisel Library which consists of actual instruments, audio recordings, extant literature, and commissioned works. At noon Friday, Sept. 2 and 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept.

3. Friday, Sept. 2. Free. library.ucsd.edu

PERFORMANCE *Opera on Track at Santee Trolley Square, Mission Gorge & Riverview Pkwy, Santee. The new series will feature opera singers performing a free, 30-minute version of Rossini’s Cinderella at various trolley stations (or a venue close by) across the county. At 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 3.

Free. sdopera.org

POETRY & SPOKEN WORD Open Shakespeare Reading at Upstart Crow, 835 West Harbor Drive, Seaport Village. San Diego Shakespeare Society’s regular open reading where anyone can join in the reading or just come along to listen. This night’s play: Anthony and Cleopatra. From 6:45 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 6. Free. 619-232-4855, sandiegoshakespearesociety.org

SPECIAL EVENTS Passport to the Pacific: A Tour Around the World’s Largest Ocean at Living Coast Discovery Center, 1000 Gunpowder Point Drive, Chula Vista. The fun, travelinspired exhibit showcases the diverse animals that make their homes in and around the Pacific region. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31. Free-$14.

619-409-5900, thelivingcoast.org/ *Barona Powwow at Barona Indian Reservation, 1000 Wildcat Canyon Road, Lakeside. More than 300 Native Americans from across the country will showcase traditional tribal dancing and spectators will also be able to enjoy Hand Drum contests, singing, music, authentic Native American cuisine and handcrafted jewelry. At 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2 and 1 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 3 and Sunday, Sept. 4.

Free. 619-443-6612 , barona-nsn.gov *U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge at B Street Pier, 1140 North Harbor Drive.

Come watch some of the world’s top sand artists create sculptural masterpieces out of 300 tons of sand. Check out the website for details and past creations.

Proceeds benefit local charities. From 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2 through Monday, Sept. 5. Friday, Sept. 2. $7$31. 415-318-4094, ussandsculpting.com *Alley Art Festival at Historic Downtown Vista, 127 Main St., Vista. This annual fest includes a film festival, live music, a public art installation, interactive murals, a makers market, a beer garden and much more.

From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept.

3. Free. 760-726-1122, alleyartfestival.com Bank of America’s Museums on Us at various locations. Bank of America customers will receive free admission to the Birch Aquarium at Scripps, Museum of Photographic Arts and the San Diego Museum of Art. Various times. Saturday, Sept. 3.

Free. museums.bankofamerica.com *Festival of Sail at Embarcadero Marina Park North, 1 Marine Way, Downtown.

Twenty-plus tall ships and vessels from around the world will park at the bay. Tour the vessels while enjoying live entertainment, a petting zoo, a beer garden and food and drink from dozens of restaurant booths. From 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 3 and Sunday, Sept. 5, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 5. $5-$7. sdmaritime.org TICA Cat Show at Town and Country Convention Center, 500 Hotel Circle North, Mission Valley. An international event of all things feline hosted by America’s Finest Felines and The International Cat Association. Includes 350 cats from all over the world, shopping, cat agility rings and cats for adoption. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 3 and Sunday, Sept. 4. $5-$20. ctc.volant.org

SPORTS Little Italy’s Labor Day Stickball Tournament at Little Italy. Players from all over will indulge in some olde-timey fun and compete to see who will be crowned “King of the Block.” Games will be held on India Street from W. Ash to W. A streets and Columbia Street from W. Beach and W. Cedar streets, From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 3 and Sunday, Sept. 4.

Free. littleitalysd.com

TALKS & DISCUSSIONS Citizen Science Series: The Progress of Stem Cell Research and Therapeutics in California at La Jolla Library,

“Salute (Threefold)” by Jeremy Zierau will be on view at his solo exhibition opening from 6 to 10 p.m. at 1805 Gallery (1805 Columbia St.) in Little Italy.

7555 Draper Ave., La Jolla. UCSD researcher Jacqueline Ward will cover the successes in the stem cell research field and the process of advancing stem cells to viable therapies. From 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Tuesday, Sept. 6. Free. 858-552-1657, lajollalibrary.org

WORKSHOPS Crafts & Culture: Make Your Own Ceviche at ChuckAlek Biergarten, 3139 University Ave., North Park. Enjoy a ChuckAlek beer while learning how to make your own ceviche with Chef Lalo of Tostadas North Park. Vegetarian options available. All supplies provided. From 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31. $45. artproduce.org/crafts-and-culture.html FAB Authority Workshop at FIDM, 350 Tenth Ave., Downtown. This fashion-centric will include the do’s & don’ts of apparel manufacturing taught by Suppli, a local San Diego manufacturing company that has been producing products since 2009. From 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept.

1. Free. fashionweeksd.com Three Water Smart Edibles Class at Water Conservation Garden, 12122 Cuyamaca College Drive West, El Cajon.

Learn best practices to growing a trio of delicious plants that require less water than most food plants from instructor Alan Ridley. At 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept.

3. Free-$10. thegarden.org

August 31, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 15

ANDREW NORBECK

CULTURE

ECTOR VILLEGAS IS THE FIRST to admit that a school setting is a little foreign to him. We’re in a downstairs classroom at King-Chávez Preparatory Academy in Grant Hill, just down the street from Barrio Logan, where Villegas’ grew up and still lives.

When many art programs are being cut in schools, Villegas was just hired as the charter school’s newest visual art teacher. While he’s mainly known for his iconic murals and strident activism for COURTESY OF THE ARTIST Barrio Logan’s Chicano Park, he thinks this might be his biggest project yet.

“I hear the art teacher’s always the Hector Villegas cool one,” he says, laughing as we pass a his lesson plans for the upcoming some people who’ve never heard of it, but for those who mural of the school’s namesakes (Marschool year. It’s also surprising to learn do, even if they’ve never been there, it’s a big deal.” tin Luther King and César Chávez) that that he only recently “got over the fear However, he says he finds it dispiriting that Chicano Park Villegas painted with help from Mario of calling myself an artist.”

While he’s often isn’t afforded the same respect by locals. He serves on Chacon. “I don’t know if that’ll be the long been a muralist, he’s only been four Barrio Logan community boards that are all involved in case, but I do want them to come into doing canvas and gallery-ready visual preservation and activism, but says the “city isn’t offering any the classroom and be happy and able to art for four years. He started in 2012 money for the maintenance of the murals or restoration.” express themselves. They have so much after a restoration “There’s so many tourists down COURTESY OF THE ARTIST stuff going on in their lives. I want it to project in Chicano there, but we’re still neglected by the be therapy for them.”

Park, but says he ofcity,” Villegas says. “Expedia and USA While teaching a bunch of middle ten felt embarrassed Today are naming it one of the ten best school students about art could very by some of the works places to go in Southern California and well be a daunting task, Villegas may “Tatanka Iyotanka” he was producing there’s all this acclaim, but then you find a receptive audience in the stuby Hector Villegas even when friends have the city and the convention people dents that attend King-Chávez Prep. Most of his students and people in the community offered telling folks, ‘don’t go down there.’” will be of Mexican descent and even though some are from In talking with Villegas about these areas near Chicano Park, many don’t know or aren’t aware encouragement.

He kept with it and recently deissues, it’s easy to see the parallels beof the neighborhood’s rich artistic and cultural legacy. tween his own journey and what he “One of the things I started doing is really research- buted the results at To All My Relation: wants to ultimately instill in his stuing what art teachers teach and a lot of it is just teachers A Four-Year Cycle, a new show of Chicano-themed acrylic paintings and giclée dents at King-Chávez Prep. That yes, just telling kids about art,” Villegas says. “Yeah, it’s about they’ll learn about the intricacies and learning a lot about various disciplines of art from all over prints that deals in indigenous, environbasics of creating their own art, but the world, but it’s also learning about who you are as a per- mental and elemental motifs. The show was organized by the Bay Area-based El that they’ll also continue that legacy of son and where you come from. The majority of the kids artistic activism that Barrio Logan has here are Mexicano and Chicano and they’re not learning Comalito Collective and held at its gal“El Tlaloc” by Hector Villegas become renowned for. lery in Vallejo.

While some of the work anything about what that means. Once these kids learn a “Right now, there’s not a lot of young little bit about who they are and they start going home to in the show was seen in Villegas’ 2015 solo show in Logan Heights, A Native Chicano Focus in a Chicanas and Chicanos that are taking the lead in Barrio ask their parents, that’s what I want.”

Villegas wants to incorporate things like “silk screening Pixelated World, it had long been an intention of Villegas Logan. There are some, but in the immediate community, 101,” where he would teach kids the process from sketch to show his work outside of San Diego. What’s more, he it’s much more elders who are involved,” Villegas says. “I’ve to paint. He’ll bring in other artists from the community says that a lot more attention and respect is being paid to taught about art before, but never in this capacity. It’s excitto serve as motivational guest speakers. There will also Chicano Park artists, especially outside of San Diego, than ing. It’s a new adventure. Art is medicine for the heart, mind and spirit. I believe that. It’s helped me out in my own life, be more hands-on activities such as beadwork, crafting, ever before.

“Chicano Park has a lot of clout to it for people who so I know this for a fact. I just want the kids to come in here ceramics and even food. He wants to incorporate lessons about the business side of things, too, because as he says, know about the place,” says Villegas, who also recently and feel like that.” participated in an artist talk at the University of Oregon. “artists aren’t always the best business people.”

Check out filmmaker Andrew Norbeck’s short documentary Villegas’ enthusiasm is infectious when he recounts “For a lot of people, it’s their dream to paint there. There’s on Hector Villegas and Chicano Park at sdcitybeat.com.

16 · San Diego CityBeat · August 31, 2016

#SDCityBeat

CULTURE | ART

SEEN LOCAL ROCK OF AGES

B

ecoming a nationally appreciated and acclaimed artist from San Diego is tough. It isn’t an uncommon occurrence for an artist to make a name for themselves here and then quickly move on to the cultural greener pastures of Los Angeles, San Francisco or New York.

So it’s strange to learn that sculptor Doron Rosenthal had much the opposite experience.

Born in Arcadia and raised primarily in Los Angeles, he became enamored with the deserts of Mexico and, more pressingly, the Anza-Borrego State Park. Rosenthal had already been working in stone when he moved to San Diego in 1980 to be closer to his desert muses. As he writes in his recently released and dutifully complied new book, 36 Years in Stone and San Diego (Anza Borrego Press), “Desert air feeds me and clears me and makes me feel safe. It’s more than an inspiration; it’s a place I go to feel alive.”

Over the course of three decades, Rosenthal has channeled this inspiration into masterfully assembled stone, glass and metal (but mostly stone) sculptures that range in size and scope. Inspired by ruins he saw on a family trip to the Middle East

when he was 10, Rosenthal’s work is chronologically compiled and documented in 36 Years in Stone and the works are accompanied by archival photographs that serve both as a reflection of the times and a window into the artist’s process. Finding his proverbial canvases inside quarries and long abandoned places, Rosenthal rejected modern tools and used old-fashioned chisels and smoothing techniques that resulted in a pristine but no less jagged finished product.

Pithy interludes from the artist are included at the beginning of each of the chapters in the book, detailing the processes that went into his sculptures and the inspiration he drew from the rejection letters he received from places like the Museum of Contemporary Art. Readers might be surprised to learn Rosenthal is the artist responsible for the “Fossils Exposed” series of sidewalk carvings that people walk over every day in Hillcrest.

Rosenthal was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and 36 Years in Stone serves as a subtle reminder of what a treasure we’ve had in our midst. He chose the barren landscapes of the desert over greener pastures, and San Diego is all the better for it. As he states in the second chapter, “Regardless of the raw materials, tools and process, the finished works were something to move on from; I always look to the future and my next project. And continue the process.”

Here’s to another 36 years.

—Seth Combs

TO SEE OR NOT TO SEE: LIGHT AS POETRY

Above the Streets series of billboard installations around Los Angeles. The exhibition at Madison Gallery, cleverly titled Light as Poetry, showcases many In this semi-regular department, arts editor Seth works that were once site-specific, including the Combs reviews a notable new art show or exhibition. haunting “All Palaces” and “Sentinels.” The former was originally installed inside an empty swimming t shouldn’t come as a surprise to hear I’ve al- pool and reads, “ALL PALACES ARE TEMPORARY ways gravitated toward words, but my relation- PALACES.” Whether it was intentional or not, havship with text-based visual art has been strained ing this piece greet patrons as they walk through the over the years. The relationship likely began with door of a gallery located in one of the most affluent my teenage obsession with the works, both literarily neighborhoods in the country is, indeed, ironic.

Much of the LED work (there are also a few and artistically, of William Burroughs. In college, I was enamored with the works of Uruguayan artist wooden poem pieces that use grey paint, a la JasLuis Camnitzer and still carry around a newspaper per Johns) is accompanied with an archival print displaying where the SETH COMBS cutout of his “This is a Mirpiece was originally inror, You are a Written Senstalled. A picture of the tence” piece in my wallet. ethereal “Loegang Poem, Locally, artists such as Australian Alps” which Chris Martino, Stefani Byrd was previously located unand Jaclyn Rose are all efderneath an intimidating fectively using language mountainscape, gives the and letters as a means of viewer a sense of how the conveying their vision. piece was originally meant Still, on an international to be seen. And while I level, I can’t say there have prefer Montgomery at his been too many conceptual most anti-authoritarian artists working primarily in and Dadaist (see the intext that I’ve found particu“All Palaces” by Robert Montgomery creasingly relevant “Poem larly compelling. for the City of Istanbul”) So I found myself genuinely excited upon hearing that Madison Gallery in than his more idyllic work (“The People You Love,” La Jolla (1055 Wall St., madisongalleries.com) would “A Hundred Years”), the fact that Light is Poetry be showcasing works from Scottish artist Robert (which is up through September 11) is here at all is Montgomery. He’s mostly known for his site-spe- a huge coup. It certainly reignited something inside cific installations that incorporate LED lights and me. Pun intended.

I

his original poetry, and locals may have seen his Art

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—Seth Combs August 31, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 17

CULTURE | VOICES

RYAN BRADFORD

WELL THAT WAS

AWKWARD

A brief bicycle ride

F

ive years ago, I was fired from the USPS for an unsanctioned interview with this very paper in which I opined—perhaps unfavorably—about the working conditions for transitional letter carriers. I’m over it, I swear. My life is unequivocally better: no more abusive supervisors, no more six-day work weeks, no more back-breaking labor, no more vicious dogs.

I do, however, miss the body that resulted from all that hard work. I was down to the same weight as when I was a freshman in high school and I’m not gonna lie: It felt good to get compliments. The validation we desire from others is real. During those skinny days, I can’t name a friend who, after drinking a couple beers, wouldn’t ask what my secret was. Then, we’d switch to hard liquor. You know, fewer calories.

It’s stupid that I have that fondness for a body that could only occur by walking 12-15 miles a day, hauling 30-plus pounds of mail up and down the steep hills of Point Loma, yet here we are.

Bodies, man. We’re never satisfied with the one we have, yearning for the one we want, and nostalgic for the one we had.

I will say, however, that since turning 30 the anxiety has diminished significantly; increasing comfort in my own body is a great part of aging and almost enough to counteract the nostalgia I feel for my letter-carrier days. I will keep getting uglier, more overweight and haggard, but my level of giving-a-shit drops at a proportionate rate. I’m hoping that within the next few years, I’ll achieve “reading email on the phone while naked in the men’s locker room”-stage comfortable.

So, I don’t have as much trepidation when I see the event listing for the self-explanatory Undie Bike Ride: Full Moon Edition as I would if I saw it 10 years ago. But there is a little.

The event is a charity ride put on by SoCal Sessions, an advocacy group for “beards, badassery and bikes.” I’m into at least two of those things, I think (whether I’m qualified to appreciate badassery is a up for debate [see: last month’s Pokemon column]).

According to the description, Undie Bike Ride promotes a stronger bike community and positive self-body image, but scrolling through the pics of past rides, it looks like the only people who attend are hard-bodied people who don’t have the same vampiric aversion to walking outside shirtless as I do. No one else has an embarrassing tribal tattoo, either. Basically, all I see are male Adonises (Adoni?).

But fuck it. I haven’t ridden my bike all summer, and the prospect of riding in my skivvies is too good to pass up.

To play it safe, I double down on underwear. I wear briefs underneath novelty Halloween Jack-OLantern boxers (they’re still considered novelty if I wear them year-round, right?). The boxers are loose

enough that, by themselves, they would put me at risk for a flapping wang ticket. Pretty sure that’s the official charge. I also wear a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt, just in case this is some elaborate prank to get me to face the Ghost of Body-Shame Past.

I arrive at Iron Pig Alehouse in Pacific Beach.

A group of bikers has already congregated in front of the building. My friend Katie rolls up, and I’m thankful to have a buddy so I don’t come off as a lone creeper. She introduces me to Ryan Allan, the founder of SoCal Sessions. There are at least four Ryans here tonight—it’s not the first time I’ve been in that situation, but it is the first time that I’ll use the color of their underwear instead of last names in order to discern them. Tonight, Ryan Allan will be Black Boxer Brief Ryan.

The sun dips lower. BBB Ryan stands on a stool in the middle of the sidewalk, gives the cue and riders of all ages and sizes strip down. Honestly, it’s a little anticlimactic. All that low-level dread is for naught. Part of it could be the fact that we’re in PB, where clothing is never very popular, but mostly we’re all just excited to ride our bikes, excited to be bodies hurtling through space, excited to be bodies.

Fifty-ish underwear-clad bikers take over Garnet; Pacific Beach is ours. The night is surprisingly chilly and, without sounding too soft-core erotic—the cool breeze on my nips is quite pleasant. Liberating.

We take a left at the boardwalk and weave through groups lined up to watch the sunset.

I ride next to Katie. We talk about cats, the other bike groups she rides with, body image. She asks what the angle of the article’s going to be.

“I don’t know. Maybe body-image stuff,” I say.

She rolls her eyes. “I just haven’t really been in my underwear in public.” I continue. “This is a new experience for me.”

“Oh, I’m in my underwear all the time,” she says.

Some woman rides up behind us and calls out to Katie: “You in the purple. I think you’re the sexiest person here tonight.”

“I didn’t know it was a competition,” Katie says.

“I didn’t sign up for one.”

“Well—” the other biker begins.

“I’m opting out.” The other biker, embarrassed, falls behind. “See, Ryan. Even the women,” she whispers, implying that body objectification comes from all sexes.

We turn and hit the end of the boardwalk and take in the sight of the super-blood-mega-moon, or whatever the phase is called. Some people howl like wolves.

We get off our bikes to take a group picture. It’s a reminder of how we all looked great that night.

“

I haven’t ridden my bike all summer, and the prospect of riding in my skivvies is too good to pass up.

“

18 · San Diego CityBeat · August 31, 2016

Well That Was Awkward appears every other week.

Write to ryanb@sdcitybeat.com.

#SDCityBeat

#SDCityBeat

August 31, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 19

CULTURE | FILM

Sound and fury

Disorder

Alice Winocour’s French thriller is a lean, fierce throwback

by Glenn Heath Jr.

V

incent (Matthias Schoenaerts) is a killing seems obsessed by the present moment in order to machine who’s starting to malfunction. Dur- avoid grappling with the past or future.

Disorder is so lean and confident it feels alien in ing an exercise with fellow Special Forces soldiers on tour in Afghanistan, his nose begins to comparison to the bloated schlock modern Hollybleed profusely because of intense pounding from wood would categorize as “suspenseful.” Winocour audio frequencies. Since the residual effects of com- refuses to deal in absolutes, pumping newfound bat and PTSD aren’t limited to war zones, similar danger through the veins of a tired genre set-up. sonic booms continue after Vincent is placed on The film eventually bends so tight from anticipation temporary leave back in France. No welcome signs that it must explode, as witnessed during a stunawait his return, only isolation, frustration and a ningly quick assault that occurs inside Jessie’s car.

Winocour’s dazzling film ends with an extended dwindling sense of purpose. Is this what it looks like set piece that unfolds like a jagged-edge game of cat to suffocate under the weight of your own skill set?

Alice Winocour’s Disorder, a muscular and ef- and mouse. Here, the idea of home no longer exists, ficient thriller that sidesteps psychology for stylish or perhaps it never did in the first place, especially impulse, clings to Vincent’s perspective like a wet t- for a character like Vincent who would die the secshirt. Being this close means seeing and hearing the ond he stops moving or suspecting. His true sharklike nature eventually gets an world like a traumatized solider unsuspecting audience. After would. Rooms that appear safe previously commenting that are defined by blind spots, still DISORDER she could imagine Vincent and in need of concise and methodihis hulking physique “hunting cal clearing. Thudding bass lines Directed by Alice Winocour bears” in the wild, Jessie witcreate a concussion-like normalStarring Matthias Schoenaerts, nesses the real thing in the concy of paranoia, aggression and Diane Kruger and Paul Hamy fines of her own living room. overreaction. Fittingly, these Not Rated Opening on Friday, Sept. 2, exact traits aid him after taking at the Digital Gym Cinema, Disa side job protecting a corrupt order strategically dismantles international businessman. patterns of class division ceSet mostly at a lavish mansion estate, the film builds pressure from each pass- menting Vincent as a state-sanctioned assassin and ing frame. During one swanky cocktail party at- Jessie as someone shielded by wealth and entitletended by various political luminaries and socialites, ment. While politics and emotions are kept mostly Vincent watches his employer’s wife Jessie (Diane on the fringes, it understands how both seamlessly Kruger) and young son Ali (Zaïd Errougui-Demon- mold a tormented psyche. Some people are just betsant) like a hawk. It’s never completely clear if his ter than others at hiding it.

Both Schoenaerts and Kruger impart their charintense observation stems from a relentless desire to protect, or if ulterior motives are at play. Winocour acters with the perfect mixture of vulnerability and keeps Vincent a cypher, even when his actions are stubbornness. In times of crisis, they become fused together by compulsion instead of language—somepredicated on something more than instinct.

As tension mounts, seemingly harmless ambi- how they avoid proper introductions until very late. ent sounds carry the threat of intrusion and every Disorder is entirely obsessed with ambiguous (and innocuous character could be a potential kidnap- primal) forms of communication, unspoken gestures per. Vincent captures fragments of confidential and and observations that make for great visceral cineangry conversations regarding possible criminal ma. Reading between the lines hasn’t been this fun activity and he seems ready to interject at any time. in a long time.

Winocour makes the layered sound design a character unto itself, shaping an oppressive mood from de- Film reviews run weekly. viations in tone and volume. Through it all Vincent Write to glennh@sdcitybeat.com.

20 · San Diego CityBeat · August 31, 2016

#SDCityBeat

CULTURE | FILM

Arrival

Why so serious?

C

an you hear it? That’s the sound of studio marketing machines revving up for the annual awards cycle. Around this time art house and multiplexes alike get log jammed with “serious” content. But beware of false prophets, because if history has taught us anything it’s that there will be many of them.

September’s releases don’t look great outside of two potentially interesting biopics: Clint Eastwood’s Sully (Sept. 9) and Oliver Stone’s Snowden (Sept. 16).

Tim Burton’s Miss Peregrine’s School for Peculiar Children (Sept.

#SDCityBeat

30) could be a return to relevance for the director. Other notable releases: Ira Sachs’ Little Men (Sept.

9), a standout rep double feature of The Fallen Idol and Elevator to the Gallows (Sept. 16, Ken Cinema), and the Guatemalan drama Ixcanul (Sept. 30, Digital Gym Cinema). *** October leads off with Nate Parker’s problematic heavy hitter The Birth of A Nation (Oct. 7), currently mired in controversy.

Andrea Arnold’s divisive Cannesaward winner American Honey (Oct. 14) surveys modern America through the eyes of rabble-rousers led by Shia LeBeouf. If you’re

a Tom Cruise fan, then Jack Reacher is back in…Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (Oct. 21). *** Barry Jenkins’ hypnotic LGBTQ drama Moonlight (Nov. 4), Paul Verhoeven’s bruising revenge film Elle (Nov. 11), and Kenneth Lonergan’s devastating tragedy Manchester By the Sea (Late November) make for a fascinating triple bill. Higher profile Oscar contenders such as Denis Villenueve’s sci-fi The Arrival (Nov. 11) and Ang Lee’s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (Nov. 11) will be big screen experiences.

Jeff Nichols’ Loving (Nov. 18) and Robert Zemeckis’ Allied (Nov. 23) look like this years’ period pieces to beat. *** December has a slew of high profile releases, including Star Wars: Rogue One and Damian Chazelle’s musical La La Land (Dec. 16). Justin Kurzel’s adaptation of Assassin’s Creed (Dec. 21), and Denzel Washington’s Fences (Dec. 25) are also of interest. Alas, we are still waiting with bated breath on release dates for Maren Ade’s Toni Erdmann, Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson and Martin Scorsese’s Silence, all must-sees.

—Glenn Heath Jr.

OPENING Argentina: Director Carlos Saura directs this ravishing performance film that weaves a tapestry of Argentine culture through dance and art. Screens through Thursday, Sept. 8, at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

Complete Unknown: Rachel Weisz and Michael Shannon headline this drama about a married man whose life is upended when an old flame re-enters the picture.

Disorder: In this French thriller from Alice Winocour (Augustine), a Special Forces soldier (Matthias Schoenaerts) joins a protective detail to protect the wife and son of a corrupt international businessman. Screens through Thursday, Sept. 8, at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

Morgan: A risk-management consultant for a corporation must decide whether or not to terminate an artificial being created in the laboratory.

The Hollars: Actor John Krasinski makes his directorial debut with this romantic comedy about a man who must confront the past after returning home to be with his ill mother.

The Light Between Oceans: Based on M.L. Stedman’s novel, this sweeping drama follows a lighthouse keeper and his wife who find a baby adrift in the waves and decide to raise it as their own.

For a complete listing of movies, please see “F ilm Screenings” at sdcitybeat.com.

August 31, 2016 • San Diego CityBeat · 21

ADRIÀ SERAROLS LLORENS

MUSIC

Clockwise from top: Leo Taylor, Susumu Mukai, Sam Shepherd, Alex Reeve and Kirkis HEN SAM SHEPHERD picks up the phone, he’s in his London studio, doing some early evening repairs on a vintage synthesizer. It’s an image that seems a little out of step with the music he makes. As Floating Points, he crafts seamless and boundless electronic soundscapes, which in his most ambitious moments swell to something more elaborate and intricate, not to mention complex in arrangement. Even if it’s an illusion—a creation of a professional and skilled studio environment that he finds himself in—Shepherd’s music sounds the farthest thing from D.I.Y. And yet here he is, a self-taught tinkerer pulling apart the nuts and bolts of a piece of analog electronics.

“I’ve got one of these old British synthesizers...and it occasionally doesn’t work, so I’m here with a soldering iron trying to get it to work,” he says in a phone interview.

“Most of my time making music is spent working on gear so I can get it to make music.”

With music as ambitious and transcendent as Floating Points’, it might seem hard to imagine Shepherd and his bandmates as a scrappy bunch, doing last minute tweaks on their instruments just hours before a gig. Yet while their music is more conventionally beautiful than punk or garage rock, Floating Points is still very much a band,

22 · San Diego CityBeat · August 31, 2016

and as such they’ve put in the same elbow grease as any group of rowdy guitar slingers. When Shepherd—who has a Ph.D. in neuroscience—expanded his solo project into a full ensemble with the release of 2015’s Elaenia, it meant adjusting to the realities of touring life, be it lugging around their own gear or replacing parts on the fly, like an old ship in port. The flipside of going from a much simpler and more straightforward electronic dance project to live band, however, is that it allowed Floating Points to expand into something much bigger sounding and more innovative.

On Elaenia, as well as the newly released Kuiper EP, Shepherd and company blur the lines between electronic music and rock, soul and jazz, with all manner of sound in between. And by extension, the sounds they make have stretched out into previously untapped territory. “Silhouettes,” a song that took years to finish, is an 11-minute odyssey through psychedelia and jazz fusion, with traces of Radiohead and Talk Talk, while the 18-minute “Kuiper” gradually builds up from hypnotic ambiance into an astral krautrock exploration.

For Shepherd, moving from a solo project based mostly in house music to a vast and skilled ensemble of players allows his music to do things it couldn’t before, namely have the physical feel of a live band.

“I’d like to imagine that it creates physical space in which it belongs,” he says. “The space to make electronic sounds exists within a set of circuits and goes all the way to the speaker, and...never exists in a space until it hits the speaker. Whereas with a guitar, you record it in a room, and that room has a microphone in it, and the sound of that space is unwittingly caught in the recording. So I think that’s why I like the idea of space...it’s just this idea of endless distance. I really like the idea of creating sonic worlds.”

At full strength, Floating Points has about a dozen players involved, including string players, a pair of drummers and the various synths that Shepherd, himself, has set up around him. Yet the music typically starts with him alone in his studio. Playing with other musicians, such as Floating Points’ drummer Leo Taylor, opens up other possibilities and ideas that simply working alone wouldn’t.

“The way he plays inspires the way I try to play drums,” he says of Taylor’s technique. “Whenever I’m playing drums, I play in the privacy of my own studio and to no one, and I think ‘yeah, I’m killing it, this is wicked.’ And I listen back to the recording and that’s so far from the truth.”

Floating Points has made a significant journey since first being attached to a series of club-ready 12-inch singles in the late ’00s, but Shepherd—who has a record collection with about 10,000 items in it—is too musically curious to ever stick to one style. That sometimes means he’ll confound the expectations of some of early listeners to Floating Points’ music. But that doesn’t mean he’s going to stop exploring.

“I get grief from people who are like ‘why aren’t you making dance music any more?’ Right this minute, I’m not in my studio making dance music.

Ultimately, if I look back on 15 years of the music I make, I hope it wasn’t just dance music. How sad would that be?” he says. “It kind of upsets me a little bit when people get annoyed that I’m not making certain kinds of music.

“I feel it’s a little bit short-sighted, actually,” he adds. “Lots of people make dance music or whatever, they probably have the capacity to make all sorts of music and express themselves in all sorts of ways. As a consumer of music, I don’t just listen to one type of music, I listen to jazz, I listen to soul, I listen to all sorts of music. And it informs the kind of music I make, I suppose.

I don’t want to feel limited to one thing.”

Write to jefft@sdcitybeat.com and follow him on Twitter at @1000TimesJeff

#SDCityBeat

MUSIC

NOTES FROM THE SMOKING PATIO T

he Midnight Pine is releasing a new album this fall. The self-titled album, which follows 2014’s Buried, will officially be released through digital outlets on Oct. 7, but the band will have some early physical copies available at the release party, which is being held Sept. 9 at Moniker Warehouse. The show will feature two sets from the band, one in which they’re playing all of the songs from the new album.

In a phone interview, singer Shelbi Bennett says that the new songs are a little richer and earthier than those on their previous albums, though it wasn’t part of any grand, overarching plan.

“I think when we’re working on songs and working on albums, we kind of let them turn into what they will,” she says. “Buried had...kind of mystical sounding things. We kind of wanted to go in a different direction.”

Past Midnight Pine albums were primarily the result of songwriting collaborations between Bennett and percussionist Al Howard, who writes most of the band’s lyrics. However, this is the first of their albums since the launch of The Redwoods Music label, and having more personnel on hand to help in recording the album led to a few changes in procedure and production.

“I definitely think that it’s different,” Bennett says. “There have been some changes in how things are executed. There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes that I don’t know about.”

The Midnight Pine recently released a stripped-

The Midnight Pine down live video of a particular haunting performance of “Bends and Bows,” which is on the new album. And it’s not too much of an exaggeration to say that their songs are often haunting, regardless of context, but Bennett says that whatever the case, she hopes that people can take some kind of emotional connection from the music.

“I guess I hope that people are able to relate to it in a way that means something to them,” she says.

“That’s what’s great about art in general. It’s a way to say ‘I feel this way,’ whether it’s good or bad. And it can be a cathartic thing for you.”

—Jeff Terich

IN EARS WE TRUST A semi-regular feature in which we ask local musicians about the music they’ve been digging lately.

his career, spanning over 20 years on some of the most influential labels in the genre.”

Lety Beers, The Schizophonics: The Woggles.

“I’m still on a high of music and mayhem from Tiki Oasis so been listening to some of my favorite highlights of that weekend. Got to see one of my favorite bands, The Woggles, so I’ve been playing their high-octane records all week keeping the party going at home. Their music is pure, fun, hip-shaking garage rock. Always have to make sure the curtains are closed so people don’t see my dance moves in the living room”

Rostam Zafar, Hours/Bleak Skies: The Early Years, by Girl Band. “My number one thing right now is Girl Band. They’re a really incredible noise rock band from Dublin that either do these incredible songs that have crazy buildups that get more and more intense as the song goes on, or these short manic bursts of speed and energy. Their cover of [Blawan’s] ‘Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage’ gets played pretty frequently, especially their music video. If you like Arab on Radar, Metz or Boredoms, check them out.”

Katie Howard, Big Bloom/Citrus and Katie: Por Vida, by Kali Uchs. “I’ve been listening to Kali Uchs’ new album, Por Vida, nonstop. Kali has a retro style, and she’s directed the majority of her own music videos. I find that inspiring.

I’ve also become a huge fan of The Coathangers; their sound is raw and hard, with a haunting girl vocal anthem throughout each song.”

Tyler Detweiler, Acid Varsity: Live @ Lords of Techno, by Landstrumm. “Landstrumm’s dark yet fun vibe truly sets him apart musically, and has kept him one of the most relevant artists in techno over

#SDCityBeat

Chad Deal, INUS: xhendrix l by xhendrix. “The Girl Band meanest pick of Tijuana’s weirdcore underground has to be xhendrix. With the hindsight to pluck the rawest of powerviolence, hardcore and psych rock, this young trio is shredding the balls off of TJ house parties and touring across Mexico with like-mindeds.

The opening track gives me the good, old-fashioned chills! Plus they use Tijuana-made Paradox effects pedals, which have been instrumental in the finishing touches on INUS’s soon to be released album, Western Spaghettification.”

—Jeff Terich August 31, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 23

MUSIC

SEPTEMBER 3 JEFF TERICH SATURDAY, PLAN A: MSTRKRFT (DJ set) @ Bang

Bang. I’m selective about what kind of DJ sets I recommend, since this is mostly a live music column, but I’ll make an exception for MSTRKRFT. Their new album features some choice screaming from Converge’s Jacob Bannon, so that tells me I can trust their taste. PLAN B: Gloomsday, Duping the A music insider’s weekly agenda Public @ Tower Bar. I’ve seen Gloomsday more than my fair share in the last PLAN: Huey Lewis and the News, Leroy three years or so, but there’s a good reason WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31 PLAN A: Mild High Club, Heavy Hawaii, Bell @ Humphreys Concerts by the Bay. for that: They’re an incredible live band, The Lulls, DJ Sunburntreynolds @ Soda and have a lot of fun being one. BACKUP Bar. Mild High Club’s name is pretty accu- FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 PLAN: The Memories, The Dream Ride, rate; it’s lightly intoxicating and hallucina- PLAN A: Flamin’ Groovies, The Pando- The Soaks, DJ Ryan Hand @ Blonde. tory, but only a little bit. They have a laid- ras, The Loons, DJs Pat and Lety Beers back guitar-pop sound reminiscent of Mac @ The Casbah. The Flamin’ Groovies beDeMarco and Real Estate, and that’s just came cult power-pop legends in the 1970s, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4 PLAN A: The Creepy Creeps, Schizoalright with me. thanks to some pitch-perfect guitar jams like phonics, Mission Creeps, The Fink “Shake Some Action.” Don your best mod Bombs @ The Casbah. So like I was sayTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 gear and soak in the jangle. PLAN B: LemPLAN A: Wild Wild Wets, Le Chateau, uria, Melted, Deep Sleep, Detached Ob- ing a few Plan A’s back, sometimes you get Minor Gems, DJ Monica Mendoza @ jects, The Stops, Macho Boys, Dude Jams, a lot of excellent local bands together on one Blonde. Sometimes everything lines up just Robot (Re)Pair @ Soda Bar. This week- stage, including recent Tiki Oasis all-stars perfectly where a bunch of great local bands end is the annual Awesome Fest, in which The Creepy Creeps and Schizophonics, who are all playing the same stage. This is one of dozens of punk bands get together to make are always good for a fiery performance. those shows, headlined by noisy psych-rock some glorious noise in our backyard. Lem- PLAN B: The Kills, Autolux @ Observatofavorites Wild Wild Wets. PLAN B: Phobia, uria is one of the best reasons for going, with ry North Park. The Kills first won me over Colombian Necktie, Thanatology, Orphic their melodic punk sound full of big hooks more than a decade ago with a sleazy rock Eye @ Brick by Brick. Want something and stunning male-female vocal harmonies. tune called “Fuck the People,” and since then even louder, and possibly reeking of some BACKUP PLAN: Tiltwheel, The Tim Ver- they’ve continued to make guitars sound inpotent weed? Check out this show, featur- sion, Shallow Cuts, Horror Squad, Dead teresting. Ditto Autolux, who find the pering sludgy Los Angeles metal act Colombian Bars, The Raging Nathans, The Capitalist fect balance of noisy and catchy. BACKUP PLAN: The Slow Death, Stymie, Bastards Necktie, who will kick your ass. BACKUP Kids, The Plurals @ The Hideout.

IF I WERE U

24 · San Diego CityBeat · August 31, 2016

The Flamin’ Groovies of Young, Gentlemen Prefer Blood, Rational Anthem, City Mouse, Stalins of Sound @ The Hideout.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5

PLAN A: Floating Points, Olga Bell @ Belly Up Tavern. Read my feature this week on Floating Points, the continually evolving product of UK producer Sam Shepherd. He’s gone from house music to a more elaborate, full-band post-rock odyssey.

It’s stunning stuff.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6

PLAN A: Wayne Hancock, Fanny and the Atta Boys, The Hotshot Drifters @ Soda Bar. Tuesday’s as good a night as any to put on your Stetson and get to honky-tonkin’.

Wayne Hancock has an old-school country and rockabilly sound that’s rowdy and rockin’, more attuned to the style of Johnny Cash or Carl Perkins than Nashville in 2016, and for that matter, pretty damn fun.

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#SDCityBeat

August 31, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 25

MUSIC

CONCERTS HOT! NEW! FRESH!

Noisem (Brick by Brick, 9/14), Modern Baseball (Irenic, 10/2), SURVIVE (Soda Bar, 10/5), The Helio Sequence (Hideout, 10/14), Screaming Females (Soda Bar, 10/18), Vapors of Morphine (Casbah, 10/20), Niykee Heaton (Observatory, 10/22), Wild Child (BUT, 10/22), Suicide Machines (Irenic, 10/29), Garrett Klahn (Blonde, 11/10), Mangchi, Kid Koala (Blonde, 11/14), Amy Schumer (Valley View Casino Center, 12/3), Mannheim Steamroller (Civic Theatre, 12/28).

GET YER TICKETS Tr/st, Cold Cave (Music Box, 9/8), Zombies (BUT, 9/8), Floating Points (BUT, 9/5), Ray Lamontagne (Open Air Theatre, 9/13), Clams Casino and Lil B (Observatory, 9/13), Local Natives (Observatory, 9/15), Carla Morrison (Observatory, 9/16), Crystal Castles (Observatory, 9/17), YG (Observatory, 9/18), Cold War Kids (Observatory, 9/21), …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead (Soda Bar, 9/22), The Naked and Famous (Observatory, 9/22), Atmosphere (Observatory, 9/23), Alice Bag Band (Casbah, 9/23), Tegan and Sara (Observatory, 9/25), Molotov (Observatory, 9/26), DJ Shadow (HOB, 9/27), Sloan (Casbah, 9/27), Glen Hansard (Observatory, 9/28), Thievery Corporation (BUT, 9/29), Frankie Cosmos (Irenic, 9/29), Okkervil

26 · San Diego CityBeat · August 31, 2016

River (BUT, 10/1), Phantogram (Irenic, 10/1), Pete Yorn (BUT, 10/4), Sia, Miguel (Viejas Arena, 10/5), Failure (Music Box, 10/6), Wynton Marsalis (Balboa Theatre, 10/6), Buena Vista Social Club (Balboa Theatre, 10/7), Kamasi Washington (Humphreys, 10/7), Florida Georgia Line (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 10/9), Colbie Caillat (Humphreys, 10/12), Legendary Pink Dots (Soda Bar, 10/13), Danny Brown (Observatory, 10/14), The 1975 (Open Air Theatre, 10/15), Schoolboy Q (Observatory, 10/15), Prophets of Rage (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 10/16), Yellowcard (HOB, 10/16), The Julie Ruin (Music Box, 10/16), Jethro Tull (Balboa Theatre, 10/17), Quantic (Music Box, 10/18), The Faint, Gang of Four (Observatory, 10/18), Alessia Cara (Copley Symphony Hall, 10/18), Tricky (BUT, 10/21), Ziggy Marley (BUT, 10/24-25), Preoccupations (Irenic, 10/26), Damien Jurado (Irenic, 10/27), Dillinger Escape Plan (Brick by Brick, 10/28), Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Death from Above 1979 (HOB, 10/28), M83 (SOMA, 10/29), Ms. Lauryn Hill (Copley Symphony Hall, 11/1), Andra Day (Humphreys, 11/2), Tory Lanez (Observatory, 11/3), Tony Bennett (Harrahs, 11/4), Diamond Head (Brick by Brick, 11/5), Daughters (Soda Bar, 11/6), Bush (Observatory, 11/8), Protomartyr (Soda Bar, 11/9), Diarrhea Planet (Soda Bar, 11/11), Sleigh Bells (Observatory, 11/11), SubRosa (Soda Bar, 11/12), Rae Sremmurd (Observatory, 11/16), Neko Case (Poway OnStage, 11/19), Warpaint (Observatory, 11/22), Red Fang (Casbah, 11/22), John Mayall (BUT, 11/20), Porter Robinson, Madeon (Valley View Casino Center, 11/29), Daughter (Observatory, 12/1), Besnard Lakes (Soda Bar, 12/1), Two Door Cinema Club (Harrah’s Resort, 12/3), The Album Leaf (Irenic, 12/9), Pere Ubu

(Casbah, 12/10), Henry Rollins (Observatory, 12/27), Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven (Music Box, 12/29), The Devil Makes Three (Observatory, 1/4-5), Blind Boys of Alabama (BUT, 1/29).

AUGUST WEDNESDAY, AUG. 31 Squirrel Nut Zippers at Belly Up Tavern (sold out). Santana at Open Air Theatre (sold out). The Australian Pink Floyd Show at Humphreys by the Bay. Nipsey Hussle at Music Box.

SEPTEMBER THURSDAY, SEPT. 1 Huey Lewis and the News at Humphreys by the Bay. The Game at Observatory North Park. Gap Dream at Blonde.

Black Uhuru at Belly Up Tavern.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 2 The Mavericks at Humphreys by the Bay. Flamin’ Groovies at The Casbah.

No Duh at Music Box. The Wailers at Del Mar Racetrack. ‘Awesome Fest 10’ at Soda Bar. Kenny Loggins at Harrah’s Resort.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 3 ‘Awesome Fest 10’ at Soda Bar. Ja Rule, Ashanti at Observatory North Park. Chromeo at Del Mar Racetrack. Future Standard at House of Blues. Skye and Ross from Morcheeba at Belly Up Tavern. Tedeschi Trucks Band at Copley Symphony Hall (sold out).

SUNDAY, SEPT. 4 ‘Awesome Fest 10’ at Soda Bar. The

#SDCityBeat

MUSIC Kills at Observatory North Park. The Steely Damned II at Music Box. Los Lonely Boys at Belly Up Tavern. Yes at Humphreys by the Bay. The Creepy Creeps at The Casbah.

MONDAY, SEPT. 5 Floating Points at Belly Up Tavern.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 6 Wayne Hancock at Soda Bar.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 7 The Bones of JR Jones at The Casbah.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 8 Zombies at Belly Up Tavern. Tr/st, Cold Cave at Music Box. !!! at Soda Bar. Juliette Lewis at The Casbah (sold out). Bayside at Observatory North Park.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 9 Super Diamond at Belly Up Tavern. 5 Seconds of Summer at Sleep Train Amphitheatre. Mana at Viejas Arena (sold out). Assemblage 23 at The Casbah.

Work Drugs at Soda Bar. Moving Units play Joy Division at Blonde. Brothers Gow at Music Box.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 10 Jake Shimabukuro at Humphreys by the Bay. Blondie at Observatory North Park (sold out). Kathy Griffin at California Center for the Arts. Trouble in the Wind at The Casbah.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 11 Dierks Bentley at Sleep Train Amphitheatre. Ryan Bingham, Brian Fallon and

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the Crowes at Humphreys by the Bay. Spotlights at The Casbah. The Highwayman Show at Belly Up Tavern.

MONDAY, SEPT. 12 Sam Outlaw at The Casbah. Deep Sea Diver at Soda Bar.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 13 Joseph Arthur at Music Box. Ray Lamontagne at Open Air Theatre. Davina and the Vagabonds at Soda Bar. Clams Casino and Lil B at Observatory North Park. Morgan Leigh Band at Belly Up Tavern. Buddha Trixie at The Casbah.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 14 Post Malone at Observatory North Park.

Counting Crows, Rob Thomas at Open Air Theatre. Noisem at Brick by Brick.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 15 Local Natives at Observatory North Park. Julio Iglesias at Harrahs Resort.

Subhumans at Brick by Brick. Saint Motel at House of Blues. Chance the Rapper at Open Air Theatre (sold out).

Stanley Clarke at Music Box. Wove at The Casbah.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 16 Retox at Soda Bar. Nukem at Brick by Brick. Carrie Underwood at Valley View Casino Center (sold out). Kraftwerk at Balboa Theatre (sold out). Carla Morrison at Observatory North Park. Kaaboo Festival w/ Jimmy Buffett, Fall Out Boy at Del Mar Fairgrounds.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 17 Crystal Castles at Observatory North

Park. Luke Bryan at Sleep Train Amphitheatre. Kaaboo Festival w/ Aerosmith, Lenny Kravitz at Del Mar Fairgrounds.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 18 Anthony Green at Quartyard. Six String Society at Belly Up Tavern. YG at Observatory North Park. Kaaboo Festival w/ Jack Johnson, Avett Brothers at Del Mar Fairgrounds.

MONDAY, SEPT. 19 Seratones at The Casbah (sold out).

Butch Walker at House of Blues.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 20 Animal Collective at Observatory North Park. Xenia Rubinos at Soda Bar. IAMX at The Casbah.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 21 Leon Bridges at Humphreys (sold out).

Cold War Kids at Observatory North Park. Lindsey Stirling at Copley Symphony Hall. Still Corners at The Casbah.

Mick Fleetwood Blues Band at Belly Up Tavern.

rCLUBSr

710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave., San Diego. Pacific Beach. Wed: Eminence Ensemble. Fri: The Room Downstairs, Irieality, Robie Rose. Sat: Sika, Melvus.

Tue: Jahmen.

98 Bottles, 2400 Kettner Blvd. Ste. 110, San Diego. Little Italy. Sun: The Matt Smith Neu Jazz Trio.

MUSIC CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

August 31, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 27

MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27 Air Conditioned Lounge, 4673 30th St., San Diego. Normal Heights. Thu: ‘Libertine’ w/ DJs Jon Wesley, 1979. Sat: ‘Juicy’ w/ Mike Czech. Sun: ‘Chvrch’ w/ DJ Karma.

American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., San Diego. Downtown. Thu: Colin Kane. Fri: Colin Kane. Sat: Colin Kane.

The Bancroft, 9143 Campo Rd., Spring Valley. Thu: ‘Darkwave Garden’. Fri: Cave of Swimmers, Beira, Condor. Sat: Nothingful, Son of Radul, Crow Squak, Bantam Feather.

Bang Bang, 526 Market St., San Diego.

Downtown. Fri: Felix da Housecat. Sat: MSTRKRFT (DJ set).

Bar Pink, 3829 30th St., San Diego.

North Park. Wed: Temple Party. Thu: ‘Ceremony Night’. Fri: ‘First Friday’ w/ DJs Artistic, Johaz. Sat: Nena Anderson.

Sun: ‘Rat Sabbath’. Mon: ‘Motown on Monday’, ‘Motown on Monday’ w/ DJs Artistic, Tramlife, L, Cross1, Jam. Beaumont’s, 5662 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla. Thu: Simeon Flick Duo. Fri: Jimmy Lewis Band. Sat: The Voices.

Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. Wed: Squirrel Nut Zippers, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Rumproller Organ Trio. Thu: Black Uhuru, Onesty, DJ Richie.

Fri: Beatles vs. Stones. Sat: Skye and Ross from Morcheeba, Earth Moon Earth. Sun: Los Lonely Boys. Mon: Floating Points, Olga Bell. Tue: Marshall Tucker Band.

Blonde, 1808 W. Washington Street, San Diego. Mission Hills Thu: Wild Wild Wets, Le Chateau, Minor Gems, DJ Monica Mendoza. Fri: ‘Body Heat’ w/ DJs Miso Champ, Heminguey. Sat: The Memories, The Dream Ride, The Soaks, DJ Ryan Hand. Sun: ‘Easy Like Sunday Evening’.

28 · San Diego CityBeat · August 31, 2016

Mon: Sloppy Jane, Kids in Heat, The Natives, Loko Ono. Tue: Free the Robots, Taurus Authority.

Boar Cross’n, 390 Grand Ave., Carlsbad. Thu: Roman Watchdogs. Fri: ‘Club Musae’. Sat: Upfull Rising.

Brass Rail, 3796 Fifth Ave., San Diego.

Hillcrest. Fri: ‘Hip Hop Fridayz’. Sat: ‘Sabado en Fuego’ w/ DJs XP, KA, KSwift. Mon: ‘Manic Monday’ w/ DJ Junior the Disco Punk.

Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave., San Diego. Bay Park. Wed: Glenn Hughes, JoAnne Shaw Taylor. Thu: Phobia, Colombian Necktie, Thanatology, Orphic Eye. Fri: Black Knights Rising, Symbolic, Taz Taylor. Mon: ‘Metal Mondays’.

Cafe Sevilla, 353 Fifth Ave., San Diego.

Downtown. Sat: Flamenco Dinner Show.

Sun: Buena Vista Sundays.

The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd., San Diego. Midtown. Wed: Hotel Books, Dayseeker, Convictions. Thu: Taken by Canadians, The Paragraphs, Hiroshima Mockingbirds, Mrs. Henry. Fri: Flamin’ Groovies, The Pandoras, The Loons, DJs Pat and Lety Beers. Sat: ‘Punk Rock Karaoke’ w/ Cruz Radical, Johnny Madcap and the Distractions.

The Che Cafe, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla.

Thu: Kinda Rad Kinda Sad, Kalm Dog, Dnll, DxZx. Fri: Wolvves, Fake Tides, Bad Kids, Pueblo, Los Shadows. Sat: Fighting Sides, The Dangerfield, Stick Bitz, Headstone. Sun: Government Flu, Drug Control, Meth Breath, Crime Desire, Know Life.

Chico Club, 7366 El Cajon Blvd, La Mesa. Thu: DJ Harvest Karaoke. Fri: DJ Harvest Karaoke. Sat: DJ Harvest Karaoke. Sun: DJ Harvest Karaoke.

Dirk’s Nightclub, 7662 Broadway, Lemon Grove. Fri: Serious Guise. Sat: DJ Alex.

Dizzy’s, 4275 Mission Bay Drive, San Diego. Mission Bay. Fri: Irving Flores Quartet.

The Field, 544 Fifth Ave., San Diego.

Downtown. Wed: Sorrell Park Duo. Thu: Kracker Jax. Fri: Quel Bordel. Sat: Midnight Ride. Mon: Dom Cordello. Tue: Pat Hilton.

Fluxx, 500 Fourth Ave., San Diego.

Downtown. Fri: Tessa Lizz. Sat: Kronic.

Sun: Ty Dolla $ign.

Hard Rock Hotel, 207 Fifth Ave., San Diego. Downtown. Fri: Night Swim.

Henry’s Pub, 618 Fifth Ave., San Diego.

Downtown. Wed: Ride the Mule. Thu: Night Skool. Fri: Good Times. Sat: Rock Star Saturday. Tue: ‘50s/60s Dance Party.

The Hideout, 3519 El Cajon Blvd. (City Heights), San Diego. City Heights. Fri: Tiltwheel, The Tim Version, Shallow Cuts, Horror Squad, Dead Bars, The Raging Nathans, The Capitalist Kids, The Plurals.

Sat: The Arrivals, Toys That Kill, Low Culture, The Fur Coats, The Heartaches, Bad Future, Post Boredom. Sun: The Slow Death, Stymie, Bastards of Young, Gentlemen Prefer Blood, Rational Anthem, City Mouse, Stalins of Sound.

Hillcrest Brewing Company, 1458 University Ave., San Diego. Hillcrest. Wed: Amy Lisewski.

The Holding Company, 5040 Newport Ave., San Diego. Ocean Beach. Wed: Lady Dottie & the Diamonds, Homesick Hitchers, Homesick Hitchers. Thu: SM Familia, DJ Reefah. Fri: DJ Green T, Jonathan Lee Band. Sat: Quel Bordel, DJ Mancat. Sun: Combassa, DJ Artform. Mon: The Big LouWinski. Tue: DJ Green T. House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., San Diego. Downtown. Wed: DJ Mike White.

Thu: Jerry ‘Hot Rod’ DeMink. Fri: Overboard, Fan Halen. Sat: Noodles, Future

#SDCityBeat

MUSIC Standard. Sun: Draco Rosa. Tue: Robin Henkel.

Humphrey’s Backstage Live, 2241 Shelter Island Drive, San Diego. Point Loma. Thu: Wildside. Fri: R:Tyme. Sat: Wildside, Kimberly Jackson. Sun: Labor Day jazz fest. Mon: Missy Andersen. Tue: Backwater Blues Band.

Java Joe’s Normal Heights, 3536 Adams Ave., San Diego. Normal Heights.

Sat: Lindsay White, Noelle Pederson.

Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd., San Diego. Midtown. Fri: Orion Birthday Bash.

Sat: ‘Ascension’. Tue: ‘Tribe Night’.

Kensington Club, 4079 Adams Ave., San Diego. Kensington. Fri: Deep Sea Thunder Beast, Nebula Drag, Fantasy Arcade, Bastardsect, Bleak Skies. Sat: Zombie Barbie, Gone Baby Gone, The Mice, AIDS Cop, Russian Tremors.

Lestat’s West , 3341 Adams Ave., San Diego. Normal Heights. Thu: Joseph Pfeifer.

Fri: Jess Lamb. Sat: Abner, Fuzz Huzzi.

Mc P’s Irish Pub, 1107 Orange Ave., Coronado. Wed: Jackson and Jesus.

The Merrow, 1271 University Ave., San Diego. Hillcrest. Thu: Avoid the Void, For the Likes of You, Voidlines. Sun: Woodhead, Echo Moth, Fistfights With Wolves.

Mr. Peabody’s Encinitas, 136 Encinitas Blvd., Encinitas. Thu: Jim Allen Band.

Fri: Peace Treaty Hall. Sat: Upfunk, The Boundary Birds.

Music Box, 1337 India St., San Diego.

Little Italy. Wed: Nipsey Hussle, Young Lyxx, Tidus. Fri: No Duh, Total Distortion.

Sun: The Steely Damned II. Nate’s Garden Grill, 3120 Euclid Ave., San Diego, San Diego. City Heights. Sat: Tinkersmith.

#SDCityBeat

Numbers, 3811 Park Blvd., San Diego.

Hillcrest. Thu: ‘Tagged’. Fri: ‘Uncut’. Tue: Karaoke Latino.

The Office, 3936 30th St., San Diego.

North Park. Wed: Jimmy Eat World live tribute. Tue: ‘Trapped’.

OMNIA Nightclub, 454 6th Ave, San Diego. Thu: Wearetreo. Fri: Afrojack, Apster. Sat: Faed.

Parq, 615 Broadway, San Diego. Sat: Stafford Brothers.

Patricks Gaslamp, 428 F St., San Diego. Downtown. Wed: The Upshots.

Plaza Bar @ Westgate Hotel, 1055 Second Ave., San Diego. Downtown. Fri: Gilbert Castellanos. Sat: Allison Tucker.

Mon: Julio De La Huerta.

Rich’s, 1051 University Ave., San Diego.

Hillcrest. Wed: DJ John Joseph. Thu: DJs K-Swift, Myxzlplix. Fri: Taito Tikaro, DJ Will Z, Dan Slater. Sat: DJs Taj, KSwift, Nikno.

Riviera Supper Club, 7777 University Ave., La Mesa. La Mesa. Wed: ‘Boss Jazz’ w/ Jason Hanna. Fri: Suspicious Grits. Sat: Baja Bugs.

Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego. City Heights. Wed: Mild High Club, Heavy Hawaii, The Lulls, DJ Sunburntreynolds. Thu: Goldilox and the Bears, Shallow Cuts, Foreign Bodies, Grids, Raging Nathans, Capitalist Kids. Fri: Lemuria, Melted, Deep Sleep, Detached Objects, The Stops, Macho Boys, Dude Jams, Robot (Re)Pair. Sat: Red City Radio, Western Settings, DFMK, Nato Coles, Daydream, The Maxies, Hermanas y Hermanas. Tue: Wayne Hancock, Fanny and the Atta Boys, The Hotshot Drifters.

Til-Two Club, 4746 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego. City Heights. Wed: Wrvth, Oscil-

lation, Wrvth, Oscillation, Pissed Regardless, Sleepless, Under the Earth. Fri: Lecherous Gaze, Hot Lunch, Death Alley, Mirror Queen, Wild Honey, DJ Mario Rubalcaba. Sat: Death Alley, Volcano, Ocelot, Petyr, Mother. Sun: House Rockin’.

The Tin Roof, 401 G Street, San Diego.

Gaslamp. Wed: Diana Ferrer. Thu: J Liberio. Fri: Chad Lada Duo, Cassie B Project.

Sat: Diana Ferrer, Chad Lada Duo. Tue: Chuck Prada and Israel.

Tio Leo’s, 5302 Napa St., San Diego.

Bay Park. Thu: Blue Largo. Fri: The Distractions. Sat: Sabor Caliente. Tue: Sue Palmer.

Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave., San Diego. City Heights. Wed: Matt Woods. Fri: ‘Hip Hop Vs Punk Rock’. Sat: Gloomsday, Duping the Public. Mon: The Fictitious Dishes, Slum Summer, Floor Notes, The Bertos, International Dipshit, Rational Anthem.

Turquoise, 873 Turquoise St., San Diego. Pacific Beach. Thu: Fred Hardy.

Fri: Gabby and Friends. Sat: Doug Trip, Tomcat Courtney. Tue: Gypsy Caravan, Tomcat Courtney.

Ux31, 3112 University Ave., San Diego.

North Park. Fri: DJ Ayla Simone. Sat: DJ Kid Wonder. Sun: ‘Reggae SD’.

Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St, San Diego.

South Park. Wed: ‘Volar Records night’.

Thu: ‘Kiss and Make Up’ w/ DJs Jon Blaj, Kyle Badour. Fri: The Amandas. Sun: ‘Fantasy’ w/ DJ Mario Orduno.

Winstons, 1921 Bacon St., San Diego.

Ocean Beach. Wed: Shocks of Mighty, DJ Carlos Culture. Thu: Hibbity Dibbity, The Gringos. Sat: Best of My Love. Sun: Pete Kronowitt. Mon: Electric Waste Band.

Tue: Emroze Kilbride & Hyphen, Nate Flud, Destructo Bunny.

August 31, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 29

LAST WORDS | ADVICE

AMY ALKON

ADVICE

GODDESS Duck face the nation

Dr. Filler

I’m a woman in my late 20s. Guys don’t have car crashes looking at me, but I am pretty and have a nice boyfriend. I have three drop-dead gorgeous girlfriends who are perpetually single, but not by choice. I realized that they all do two things: complain that things never work out with a guy and constantly post stunning selfies on Facebook. One takes a daily pic in her car, showing how hot she looks. When I mentioned this to my boyfriend, he said guys want a hot girlfriend but they don’t want one who does that. Please explain.

I was a married man for a long time, but about a year ago, after grieving my divorce, I got into friends-with-benefits things with two different women. (Neither knows about the other.) We like each other, but we don’t call or text regularly or discuss whether we’re seeing anybody else. Well, last month, I met this great woman and felt a real romantic connection. We haven’t slept together because I want to end these FWB things first.

My question is: How do I do that? What does a woman who isn’t a girlfriend but has been having semi-regular sex with a man want to hear that will not hurt her?

—Concerned

—Wondering

Sure, getting other people to like you starts with liking yourself—just not to the point where you’re dozing off in front of the mirror.

Selfie posting, not surprisingly, has been associated with narcissism—being a self-absorbed, self-important user with a lack of empathy and a sucking need for admiration. But consider that there are nuances to what sort of person posts selfies and why. There are those who post selfies in keeping with their interests—like “here’s today’s outfit!” (because they’re into fashion) or “here I am about to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel” (because they are into adventure travel and are also kind of an idiot).

Though these “stuff I like!” shots include a picture of the person, they’re ultimately about some hobby or interest they have. And then there’s the person—like these women you mention—who simply posts endless vanity shots, like “it’s Monday, and I’m still alive, and aren’t I pretty? #WeAllHaveOurCrossToBear” Clinical psychologist Christopher T. Barry and his colleagues found that posting a lot of “physical appearance selfies” is associated with a subtype of narcissism, “vulnerable narcissism.” Vulnerable narcissism involves self-worth that’s “highly contingent” on what others think, “hyper-vigilance” about rejection and a tendency to manufacture a facade to protect against rejection. (“Grandiose narcissism” is the louder, more domineering subtype most of us think of as narcissism.)

Yes, like ice cream and medical marijuana, narcissism comes in different flavors. Though you can probably feel for the vulnerable narcissists, they also come up short on empathy. They just do it more quietly. Chances are, guys who want more than a hookup or arm candy see a slew of “Worship me!” selfies as a generic sign of narcissism—and a big flashing danger sign telling them to look elsewhere. As the saying goes, “beauty fades…” but unempathetic is forever.

The really terrible breakups are those where the other party just won’t let go—like when the gym chain or cable company makes you talk with three “retention specialists” and show the lease to your new place 6,343 miles away, with no access to transportation but a rickety footbridge over a 400-foot chasm.

However, most helpfully, Paul Mongeau, who researches communication in relationships, finds that there are three different levels of friends-with-benefits relationships: “true friends,” “network opportunism” and “just sex.” “True friends” mean something to each other. They know and care about each other and also have sex.

“Network opportunists” are a step down from true friends. They’re people in the same social group (or “network”) who aren’t really friends but are friendly enough to go home together if neither meets anybody better at the bar. And lowest on the FWB ladder is what you have—the “just sex” thing. The just sexers don’t hate each other or anything, but, as the researchers explain, for them, the “friend” in FWB “is a misnomer.” They’re in each other’s life for one reason: to be sexual grout.

It bodes well for the woman you want that you care so much about being kind to the women you don’t. But consider that you probably have deeper and more frequent conversations with the guy who makes your burrito at Chipotle. So, for these women, losing their “just sex” man will be inconvenient and annoying but probably not as heartbreaking as needing to find a new plumber. Just politely inform them that you have to end it because you’ve started seeing somebody (and not just for 45 minutes at 1 in the morning).

“

Yes, like ice cream and medical marijuana, narcissism comes in different flavors.

“

30 · San Diego CityBeat · August 31, 2016

(c)2016, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved. Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405, or e-mail AdviceAmy@aol.com (advicegoddess.com). Weekly radio show: blogtalkradio.com/amyalkon. Order Amy Alkon’s book, “Good Manners For Nice People Who Sometimes Say The FWord” (St. Martin’s Press, June 3, 2014).

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August 31, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 31