2 · San Diego CityBeat · September 7, 2016
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September 7, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 3
UP FRONT | FROM THE EDITOR
The shell game that is Measure C
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POPULAR ARGUMENT from those who tourism authorities and convention planners from back Measure C is that raising San Diego’s around the country, including those from Comichotel tax by four percentage points will Con, which annually brings more than 130,000 atget the city a billion dollars to spend on a tendees who spend tens of millions of dollars here. new downtown stadium paid for on the backs of visi- Opponents of Measure C also talk about the other tors. Boosters, sports columnists, paid mouthpieces, things that money from an increased hotel tax could Rep. Scott Peters and Chargers owner Dean Spanos be spent on—street repairs, increased safety meahave all offered some spin on this twisted logic. sures (police and fire) and other local services. But don’t be fooled by the shell game. There are But to see the real shell game in progress, you no free football stadiums, despite the straight-faced have to look at the larger playing field of the Nationpleas otherwise. al Football League. “If you remember just one point, please rememIn Las Vegas, billionaire Sheldon Adelson—who ber this: If you are a resident of the city of San Diego, owns The Venetian and The Palazzo and casinos all and you don’t ever stay in a hotel room in the city, you over the world—wants to build a 65,000-seat domed will not pay one cent for football stadium to lure the development or opthe Oakland Raiders to eration of this facility.” the desert. But not with That’s from an opinion financing from his repiece in The San Diego ported $30 billion emUnion-Tribune titled pire. Adelson is calling “Chargers Stadium Pros for a $750 million suband Cons,” with the pro sidy from taxpayers. And half of the article carrywhere would that subsidy ing the byline of team come from? An increase owner Dean Spanos. in Las Vegas’ hotel tax. That sentiment is Sin City is a popular Dan Fouts (left) utters the line “Shut up, Brent!” in The Waterboy. getaway destination for echoed in a “sizzle reel” video called San Diegans who like “The Heart of San Diego” that promotes Measure to hit The Strip and try their luck at casino tables, C and is narrated by the great former Chargers watch elaborate Cirque du Soleil shows or eat at the quarterback and CBS-TV commentator Dan Fouts. latest restaurant owned by a celebrity chef. AccordIn the video, Fouts talks about his history of ing to data from the Las Vegas Convention & Visiplaying for the best fans in the NFL and how a new tors Authority, nearly 100 flights arrive weekly at downtown stadium would benefit the residents of McCarran International Airport from San Diego’s the region. Then he broaches the financing plan. Lindbergh Field. A 2013 Scarborough USA survey “This project would not impose any new taxes on found that 22 percent of San Diego’s adult populaSan Diego citizens,” he intones, as the video sweeps tion had visited Las Vegas in the previous year. across renderings of what a stadium could look like The next question then for San Diegans: How if it was erected in East Village. “Instead, it would would you feel about helping finance a new stadium be paid for by tourists, convention-goers and out- for the Raiders every time you pay a hotel bill in Vegas? of-town business people staying in local hotels. And The practice isn’t so “sweet” when the shoe is on what could be sweeter than Raiders, Broncos and the other foot. A hefty percentage of San Diegans don’t Patriot fans all helping pay for the project when they want to sacrifice locally collected tax revenue for a pay their hotel bill?” stadium. And it’s doubtful Chargers boosters and loThe other memorable time Fouts read from cal stadium backers have any desire to subsidize a staa script that played loose with reality? When he dium for the Las Vegas Raiders. Where does it end? A portrayed himself as a frustrated college football look at the big picture shows that raising the hotel tax announcer in Adam Sandler’s 1998 spoof The Wa- in San Diego to pay for a downtown stadium would terboy, in which he turned to booth partner Brent be a sleight of hand that benefits the local billionaire member, and eventually the entirety, of the NFL cabal. Musburger and exclaimed, “Shut up, Brent!” It’s been well documented that raising the San —Ron Donoho Diego hotel tax to pay for a mixed-use stadium and convention center annex is not supported by Write to rond@sdcitybeat.com This issue of CityBeat has the back-to-school jitters. Who put caffeine in our Go-Gurt?
Volume 15 • Issue 6 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
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4 · San Diego CityBeat · September 7, 2016
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September 7, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 5
UP FRONT | LETTERS
BARS ARE FOR ADULTS
I bartended for years in everything from nightclubs to hotels to fine-dining restaurants. There are so many things at a drinking establishment a child just does not need to see [“Kids in breweries is not a civil right,” Aug. 29]. People, in general, just want to sit down and relax with a drink, perhaps catch up with some friends, take some time alone, or just check out from life for a while and let loose. Kids do not need to be around any of that. In the past, I have also had guests ask me to admonish other guests. “Can you ask him to stop swearing? My kid is here.” My response was always the same. “No. I will not ask them to stop swearing in private conversations. This is a bar. Bars are for adults. I am not responsible for anything your child hears or sees at the bar.” There are different licenses, different types of establishments, different town laws and codes. And I realize breweries can be more laid back and casual. But still, people are there for a pint or six. I can also tell you that me, personally, when I sit down for a pint, I feel self-conscious drinking around children, and I don’t have children. Jared Zigray, via Facebook
THERE ARE KID-FRIENDLY BARS
I’ve been to a lot of breweries in San Diego and they are completely different from a typical bar [“Kids in breweries is not a civil right,” Aug. 29]. I have not seen a fight. I have not heard any yelling. Everyone is pretty chill. I read that people are complaining about smoking in a bar. You can’t even smoke indoors in San Diego so that complaint is not really valid. Breweries also tend to close at 10 p.m. or so. If you are going to a North Park brewery then it might
6 · San Diego CityBeat · September 7, 2016
ON THE
get a little busy to bring kids. However, there is one bar/restaurant, Waypoint Public, that has a playground! There are other breweries that are very laid-back like the ones in Mira Mesa. Drinking is now a family event. People like to associate drinking with violence and health issues, but the reality is many of these breweries are safe and some even family oriented. In the future I imagine different types of breweries for different types of people. If people want to get wasted you go to a bar with a full liquor license. If you just want to socialize and chit/chat with friends then you go to a brewery. Look at Stone Gardens. How can kids not go there? Go to Green Flash. They are busy but everyone is having a good time. There is an outdoor patio for a more secluded experience. I am thinking the people who are complaining are actually going to bars and not breweries, or are so out of touch with the new generation they associate alcohol with ill effects to society.
Jim Nguyen, via Facebook
PLAYING BY THE RULES
I bring my (well-behaved) kids to tasting rooms and breweries frequently [“Kids in breweries is not a civil right,” Aug. 29]. When going somewhere new, I make a point to call first and ask about their rules— because I’m visiting their house. If they say no kids, fine. If it’s no kids after 5 p.m., fine. If the place is packed and a little rowdy then we go home. Throwing a fit because you aren’t accommodated in someone else’s livelihood is beyond entitled.
Chelsea Reh Shelton, via Facebook
COVER
The ninth edition of our Neighborhood Watch series zeroes in on Normal Heights. Staff writer Torrey Bailey found that some locals lovingly refer to their ’hood as Abnormal Heights. That nickname is exemplified in Bailey’s cover photo of “mannequin house,” featuring inanimate love inside a front-lawn gazebo at the corner of 36th Street and E. Mountain View. Hit the Heights with coverage starting on page 17.
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.
TABLE OF CONTENTS UP FRONT From the Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Letters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spin Cycle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sordid Tales. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4 6 7 8
FOOD & DRINK The World Fare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Bottle Rocket. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 The Beerdist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
THINGS TO DO Short List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Calendar of Events. . . . . . . . 13-14
ARTS & CULTURE Theater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Seen Local . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 There She Goz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-25
MUSIC FEATURE: YG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Notes from the Smoking Patio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 If I Were U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Concerts & Clubs . . . . . . . . 30-33
LAST WORDS Advice Goddess . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
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JOHN R. LAMB
UP FRONT | OPINION
SPIN
CYCLE
JOHN R. LAMB
Decision time for Mayor Frozen Wolves have howled at the moon for centuries, yet it is still there.
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—Italian proverb
elcome to the 1,114th installment of “How Immobilized Is This Mayor?” In this episode, politically close friends of Kevin Faulconer make a play for his heart with love letters, flowers and a big box of chocolates. OK, Spin Cycle just threw in the flowers and candy for effect, but the sentiment remains true: Everybody thinks it’s way past time for this mayor to get off the crapper and finally weigh in on The Monumental Measures of the Millienium that, if approved by voters in November, will cure San Diego of all its ills, finance a giant Zika-virus-fighting dome over the county and bring all
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residents together for a massive group hug. OK, again, Measures C and D will do none of that, but Spin is guessing Mayor Faulconer would have zipped right out to the nearest mobile lectern to declare his wholehearted backing of such a plan. Instead, Faulconer—as we go to press—remains on the outside looking in on the mosh-pit collisions among the his re-election campaign allies. His fondest organizational pal, the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, has cut a TV commercial featuring Faulconer’s alleged mayoral mentor, Jerry Sanders, overusing the word “excited” to express support for Measure C, the Chargers hotel-tax-hike initiative to build an East Village “convadium.” Meanwhile, a former Faulconer spokesperson and his campaign
treasurer have mounted a spirited “No Downtown Stadium” campaign in opposition to Measure C, including most recently a letter signed by a Who’s Who of Faulconer Friendlies urging the mayor to join them. While the letter hits on the usual arguments against—plan lacks specifics, financing is risky, this will screw up East Village’s tech-boom future, etc.—the paragraph that likely sent Faulconer under the couch cushions is the following: “Along with hurting San Diego, your support of Measure C would hurt you politically. Taxpayers across the country are growing increasingly resistant to raising taxes to pay for a stadium and polls have shown there’s strong opposition to Measure C. If you support this tax measure you would be handing future opponents on both sides of the political aisle a gift.” Presumably, that gift would include campaign contributions from the 27 signatories—including heavyweights Irwin Jacobs of Qualcomm fame and hotelempire matriarch Anne Evans— heading to the coffers of someone other than Faulconer, not a pleasant notion for a man mentioned in some quarters as California’s rare Republican hopeful for future
Will Mayor Kevin Faulconer heed the wooing of Chargers Chairman Dean Spanos? political ascension at the state or federal level. Talk to typically smart political handicappers, and some predict that Faulconer eventually will side with his chamber pals and back Measure C. His campaign war chest, undoubtedly, would swell as a result, but what about his credibility—or even Jacobs’ vow to lead fundraising for a reprise of his makeover plan for Balboa Park? Faulconer’s record on tax hikes in general is a GOP campaign strategist’s wet dream, save for a brief moment of haziness when he thought a hoteltax hike approved by hoteliers for an expanded San Diego Convention Center along the waterfront would be awesome—until a court ruling found the financing scheme illegal. Ever since, Faulconer has been as “excited” about raising taxes as one would be about a root canal/ proctology exam combo. When Spin asked one local political hound how Faulconer would explain this about face on tax hikes, a valid point was made. “What ‘about face’?” the observer noted. “He hasn’t taken a position.” If Measure C and the competing Measure D—the Citizens’ Plan initiative that would also raise the hotel tax but, its proponents argue, protect taxpayers first— were polling in the high 60s, then Faulconer likely would be a most amenable frontman. That both, however, are reportedly registering support in the 20s and 30s is not an atmosphere in which Faulconer generally has performed well or willingly. So, what if the mayor decides to side with the letter writers and oppose Measure C? As Councilmember Chris Cate discovered when he voiced his opposition, the Chargers campaign brain trust—power level set to “scorched earth”—will have no problem aiming its political guns at the mayor with the same emotionally driven rhetoric. But instead of a social-media blitz, Spin can envision similar
blasts during Chargers broadcasts, asking already-stoked fans, “Why does Kevin Faulconer want the Chargers to leave San Diego?” with the mayor’s office number emblazoned on the screen, encouraging the choir to “Call the mayor and ask him.” Would that encourage the folks at the chamber to call? It’s anyone’s guess, but that would be one awkward conversation. Who knows what expletive Sanders would come up with for that occasion? Not pretty. Faulconer, naturally, could dust off the fence-sitting costume that suits him so well and declare that these types of decisions are best made by the voters themselves, a classic political cop-out that at first seems the most logical until your opponents call it “spineless,” a poison pill for any aspiring pol. KUSI reported last week that Faulconer plans to take a position on Measure C “in the coming weeks, well before the election.” A Faulconer nod, and we’ll get to see just how much political capital this re-elected mayor is willing to expend for an underdog cause. A mayoral thumbs down, and a war between former allies awaits. Sanders had his tearful marriage-equality epiphany. Perhaps Faulconer will approach the lectern—no doubt positioned perfectly at a location pinpointed by campaign gurus—in the same manner, surrounded by loved ones (of the campaign kind). With his trademark grin, he will either boldly go or meekly stay. The Faulconer legacy will come into greater focus. It’s understandable that a mayor with a public relations background might have fretted this day, when words spoken from prepared scripts now must be direct, backed by genuine commitment and leadership. There will be political blood spilled. But here we are. The eyes of residents, voters, and fans are on you, mayor. Step up to the mic. Spin Cycle appears every week. Write to johnl@sdcitybeat.com.
September 7, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 7
UP FRONT | OPINION
SORDID
EDWIN DECKER
TALES
One more take on free speech and quarterbacks
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hen Steve Wyche of NFL Media asked San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick why he is boycotting the National Anthem, he said, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color...” This, of course, elicited outrage from the hyperpatriotic, ultranationalist types who prefer to remain shuttered about race issues, followed by more outrage from the First Amendment sycophants who believe that free speech means you can say whatever you want and never have to take shit for it. Well, until the U.S. government forces Kaepernick to stand up for the National Anthem, this is not a First Amendment issue. However, I can’t help but notice the irony. I mean, consider the lyrics: “Rockets’ red glare / Bursting in air”? This is a poem about dissent and a war against tyranny. Colin Kaepernick is in a similar war. He fired a shot across the bow of the privileged majority and now the glaring red rockets of reactionary defensiveness are bursting around him. This is especially true on the social media pages where the patrio-maniacs post excessively punctuated arguments in all-caps, italics and/or boldface. For instance you have the, “HOW-DARE -YOU-INSULTTHE-COUNTRY-THAT-MADEYOU-RICH????” reasoning—as if Kaepernick didn’t earn his money, America gifted it to him. There is also the, “IF-YOUD O N ’ T- L O V E - A M E R I C A THEN-YOU-SHOULD-LEAVE IT!!” idiocy—as if the suggestion that America is imperfect means you don’t love it. Then you have the, “THAT-IS-AN-UNACCEPTABLE-WAY-FOR-OUR-CHILDREN’S-ROLE-MODELS-TO-BEHAVE!!!” gasbaggery—as if the conviction of standing for your beliefs is something to shield the children from. And my favorite, the, “YOU’RE-INSULTINGT H E - S O L D I E R S -W H O - D I E D - F O R-T H ATFLAG!!!!!!!!!!!” fatuity—as if the way to honor the sacrifices of veterans is through silence. As if Old Glory is the reason they fought, not the ideals it represents. As if any soldier in his right mind would rush into crossfire to save a bleeding, bullet-riddled flag. As if to say, “Just shut up and tap dance, black man!” “Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave...”I understand why Francis Scott Key got teary when he saw it flying over Fort McHenry after that long and ugly battle. It meant his countrymen were victorious. But what if the flag had been destroyed, yet the fort remained intact and the battle won? Would Key have been less exhilarated? Conversely, what if the flag remained but the battle lost? Would there be reason to rejoice, “That our flag was still there?” The question is, which is more important, the symbol of victory or an actual victory? Symbols are not worth dying for. And isn’t it hilarious that the people who
are so outraged by Kaepernick’s symbolic insult to a symbolic song about a symbolic piece of fabric are the same ones running their mouths about how we need to “Make America Great Again” (MAGA). Well guess what? That word “America” you just used in a negative light? It’s a symbol, too. The word “America” is a symbol for the actual America, so when someone goes around talking that MAGA crap, they’re saying that there’s something wrong with the country, that it needs some fixin’. Yet I can’t think of one, single instance when anyone ever told one of these MAGA-crites to move if they don’t like America. “O’er the land of the free / and the home of the brave.” Agree or not, what Kaepernick did was an act of bravery. His decisions have been financially, professionally and socially expensive and will likely become more so in the near future. As for “land of the free,” it should be noted that freedom was not really something that the author of the Star Spangled Banner gave a fuck-much about. Key was a pro-slavery U.S. Attorney who used his position to undermine abolitionists. This was a man who believed that blacks were “an inferior race of people” and had the audacity to pen the words “O’er land of the free” while at the same time lording over his own stable of yoked Africans. Admittedly, “freedom” has come a long way since then. Indeed, freedom is the primary rallying call of those who have come to Kaepernick’s defense. Former Jets’ lineman Damien Woody said, “[This] is what comes with a free society.” Dolphins’ running back Arian Foster wrote, “You’re free to have any religious/political views you feel.” Well no duh. As I wrote earlier, this is not a question of whether he has the “right” to do it. The question is, why do you care if he does? What does it matter that some guy you don’t know doesn’t love America as much as you? Even if Kaepernick didn’t have a pretty darn good point about the state of minority relations in this country, even if he said the reason he won’t stand for “The Star Spangled Banner” is so he doesn’t lose his sponsorship deal with ISIS—even if it’s true that he hates America’s government, people and culture; even if he hates its lakes and dirt and trees; even if Kaepernick hates the Statue of Motherluvin’ Liberty—Who. The Fuck. Cares? “Home of the brave” my ass. Not when you have so many people getting all butt-hurt because someone was rude to our favorite song. Makes you wonder if the lyrics shouldn’t be changed to, “...and the home, of the—overly-sensitive-ultranationalist-typeswho-hysterically-overreact-to-criticism—and a few, like Kaepernick, who are [long pause] braaave.”
“
Agree or not, what Kaepernick did was an act of bravery.
“
8 · San Diego CityBeat · September 7, 2016
Sordid Tales appears every other week. Write to edwin@sdcitybeat.com.
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September 7, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 9
UP FRONT | FOOD
BY MICHAEL A. GARDINER
THE WORLD
FARE
Great tortas and tacos but no hot dogs
A
bout the only thing you can’t get at North Rosarito Beach’s Sunday Mercado Sobre Ruedas “Los Panchos” is the thing for which they appear to be named: hot dogs. You can get backpacks, jeans, toilet seats, cast-iron pans, MacBook Pro power cords and more at Los Panchos (I’ve purchased all save one of those here), but you can’t get hot dogs. There is, however, no shortage of great food at the market: barbacoa, birria, fish tacos, carne asada, among the offerings. But you won’t find any food better than the menu items at Carnitas Becar at the corner of Diego Esquivel and the frontage road off the Carretera Libre TijuanaRosarito every Sunday. One of the fixtures of life in Mexico is the mercados sobre ruedas, markets on wheels. They’re street markets that are much like American swap meets, except they’re conducted on city streets shut down for the purposes of the market. They are, however, more of a feature of every day life in Mexico than swap meets are north of the border. In Rosarito, there’s at least one everyday of the week and on many days more than one. The largest of these is North Rosarito’s Los Panchos market running up the hill eastward on Diego Esquivel from the free road to Tijuana. At the very base of the market at the Southeast corner sits Carnitas Becar, its great vats of carnitas simmering and meats for its carne asada caramelizing right in front of you. It takes an exercise of will to ignore the wafting, savory aromas and walk past up the hill to all the rest the Los Panchos has to offer. So don’t. There’s nothing better to get at Becar than the carnitas for which the place is named. Whether
10 · San Diego CityBeat · September 7, 2016
served as torta or taco, the carnitas are crispy, caramelized on the outside and tender on the inside. All things considered I preferred the torta, the tasty fat from the carnitas soaking into the telera bread. All that’s left is to customize the sandwich with diced onions, cilantro, avocado puree and the choice of red or green salsas. But there’s a lot more than carnitas at Becar. Perhaps my favorite torta was a combination of buche (stomach meat simmered until tender) and adobado (sweet spiced pork cooked on a vertical spit, gyros-style). The combination of the savory and slightly minerally flavor of the buche and the savory-sweetness of the adobado lent the dish a delicious, beguiling complexity.
MICHAEL A. GARDINER
Torta de carne asada As good as the tortas were, there was plenty to be said for the tacos. Again, the carnitas were good, but combining carne asada and tripe created one of the best tacos I’ve ever tasted. It was the textural contrast—between the tender tripe and caramelized and crispy carne asada–that took it over the top. Becar’s complexity—both in flavors and in textures—is what you look for in the best food of any style. But perhaps what makes it most special is that it isn’t a high-end restaurant. In fact, it isn’t exactly a restaurant at all. It is a stall in a Sunday street market where it seems you can find absolutely anything. Except hot dogs. The World Fare appears weekly. Write to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com.
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UP FRONT | DRINK
BOTTLE
BY JEN VAN TIEGHEM
ROCKET
cussing wine, food and personal preferences. Majors made good use of the long table and bar seating, walking around and getting feedback from individuals and small groups; he’d then get the drinkers’ attention (not always Students of sipping an easy feat) and share some of the thoughts he collected, giving everyone a range of perspectives f you’ve been to Liberty Public Market (2820 to consider and a chance to revisit the wine and Historic Decatur Road) at Liberty Station, food with different ideas in mind. you’ve no doubt felt the communal atmosphere I particularly enjoyed Majors’ laid-back style. that the collection of venues offers. Eateries and In many ways, he served as an observer, reporting specialty shops find a home here alongside pop- the outcome of his conversations without impartup vendors and a mess hall where JEN VAN TIEGHEM ing his own opinion and didn’t visitors can convene. seem put off by anyone’s criticisms My first stop at the market of certain wines or food items. came with an invite to its wine Attendees received five wine shop—Grape Smuggler—and its samples with four food samples first Wine School session. These for $40. And while I enjoyed the pairing events showcase wines tapas from Cecelia’s, the portions and appetizer-style servings of were small and I was still in need matching cuisine typically fallof dinner after the event, making Grape Smuggler ing into a certain theme. Grape the ticket price seem a little steep. Smuggler’s location means that each pairing class In the end I had two favorites—one out of my works in conjunction with another merchant at budget—a Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon blend the Liberty Public Market. called Gabriel by Adobe de Guadalupe. The other The class I attended focused on wines from Valle was a Chardonnay by Monte Xanic, which worked de Guadalupe, Mexico, and pairings by nearby Cece- best with the spicy flavors of our cuisine as it had a lia’s Tacos. Beverage director Greg Majors provided rich mouthfeel and peachy sweetness. an introductory talk on the region and a packet of The next wine class is on Sept. 21, and will feainformation about the Valle with space to take notes. ture wines from around the world paired with imAs the wine flowed, the feeling of community ported and domestic cheeses from Venissimo (I’m grew inside Grape Smuggler. Groups began dis- drooling).
I
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September 7, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 11
UP FRONT | DRINK
THE
BY ANDREW DYER
BEERDIST Beer rankings are worthless
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hen an attention-grabbing newsfeed headline promises a definitive list of the top 10, 20 or 100 craft beers in the country, who can resist a click? But before the page loads I am already thinking of all the ways it will be wrong. A writer’s regional bias, lazy cutand-paste from Untappd check-ins and legacy beers well past their prime dominate the beer list industrial complex. The one thing that all these beer lists and rankings have in common is they are, without exception, complete bullshit. The worst and most obvious offenders are from the dozens of new-media lifestyle sites that have metastasized online in the post-Facebook clickmedia economy. These easily dismissed listicles are identified by their bad writing and Flickr photos. It is always the same greatest hits craft beers of the last 10 years. The most one can hope for is that the site is compassionate enough to put them all on one page instead of a slideshow. Even when striving for legitimacy these rankings fail. Websites Beer Advocate and Ratebeer, as well as the mobile app Untappd, rank beers based on aggregate user reviews. This method has a couple of problems. The rankings on Beer Advocate and Untappd are dominated by East Coast beers, particularly those from New England. Only three West Coast beers even crack the top 20 on Beer Advocate, and two of them are named Pliny. Ratebeer has a similar problem but at least Alesmith Speedway Stout merits a spot. Relying on aggregate user reviews is never going to result in an honest ranking. Every one of their reviewers are biased. I am more generous on my own Untappd check-ins with beers I know I am supposed to like and more critical of beers from less prestigious breweries. If I am doing it, I am sure ev-
12 · San Diego CityBeat · September 7, 2016
eryone else is, too. One effect is that people new to beer are more likely to use these lists as a guide to what they too are supposed to like, and so the cycle continues. Ask anyone at a local taproom or bottle shop about the people who will come in, ask for Pliny, then leave if told it is not available. This is the Beer Advocate/Ratebeer effect, and anyone using those rankings as a roadmap for beer are missing out on a lot of great, if less-renowned beer. Beyond these issue of practicality, ranking beer is an asinine pursuit to begin with. Taste is subjective, and beer availability varies widely coast to coast. Today, when a publication posts a beer list to their social media accounts, it is little more than a click-grab on a slow news day, a subtle ANDREW DYER
trolling of their audience for engagement. They are counting on outraged beer geeks to share and comment, which, in today’s media landscape, is entirely the point. So, please, stop sharing these atrocious lists. Do not give online rankings another thought. Maybe if we all stop clicking, commenting and sharing, they will all go away. Like and share if you agree, and let us know in the comments what I got wrong. The Beerdist appears every other week. Write to andrewd@sdcitybeat.com
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SHORTlist
EVENTS
ART
the
THREE YOU HAVE TO SEE
COORDINATED BY
SETH COMBS
LINDA VISTA
1
BEHIND THE MOVEMENT
We’d like to think our readers took the “Carlos doesn’t look at himself nor do I think he time this past Labor Day to honor the he- wants to be seen as a professional photographer,” roes that stood up for workers’ rights throughout says Alberto López Pulido, Professor of Ethnic the years. Folks like César Chavez, Eugene Debs, Studies at USD, who conceived and co-curated Mother Jones and Joe Hill. That somewhere in the exhibition. “The way he sees the story was é�� sthe midst of the backyard and ©CARLOS LEGERRETTE that he was an assistant to C��� ar [Chavez] and just happened beach barbecues, there were to have a camera. He just sees some moments of reflection on himself as an organizer. He just why we had the day off in the saw his work in a very different first place. Ya’ll did that, right? way. For him, the photography Right? was about the history.” OK, well, we understand, The exhibition will also but that’s why exhibitions like include memorabilia from The Farmworkers’ Movement the era as well as the camera Through the Lens of Carlos LeGerrette used. The opening LeGerrette are so important. reception will feature a keynote To remind us that the rights speech from Richard Ybarra, we have as workers weren’t CEO of Community Associasimply given to us, but rather tions Institute San Diego and were earned and fought for by a Chavez assistant. Can’t make some brave people. San Diego the reception? The exhibition resident LeGerrette dutifully is open from noon to 5 p.m. documented César Chavez everyday through Nov. 18. and the United Farm Workers “The finished exhibition is movement in the early ’70s. The breathtaking,” says López Puliexhibition of approximately 65 “Picket Line, Coachella 1973“ do. “This exhibit is about more images—which opens Thursday, Sept. 8, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the University of San than just a man. It’s about the movement and Diego’s Joan Kroc Institute of Peace and Justice— about people who decided they wanted to bring captures both the movement and the more intimate, about change.” sandiego.edu/galleries behind-the-scenes interactions.
DOWNTOWN
CHULA VISTA
2 FEELING BLUE
As festival season winds down, ears are probably ringing from electronic beats and need something soulful. The sixth annual San Diego Blues Festival has got it covered. On Saturday, Sept. 10, Grammy award-winning Los Lobos will headline, with preceding performances by Bobby Rush, Nikki Hill and more. In typical San Diego fashion, there will be craft beer and food, as well as specialty cocktails, wine and arts vendors. Attendees are asked to bring two cans of food to donate to The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank. It happens at Embarcadero Marina Park North (400 Kettner Blvd.) from noon to 8 p.m. General admission is $25, VIP is $150 and Super VIP is $250, which includes a private concert at the House of Blues the night before. sdbluesfest.com
JEFF BEELER
San Diego Blues Festival
#SDCityBeat
3 SOUTH BAY STRONG
San Diego Pride came and went for 2016, but in South Bay the party isn’t over yet. Be ready to don your most fabulous rainbow attire for the South Bay Pride Art & Music Festival, which gives our southerly neighbors a chance to celebrate the LGBTQ community. The fest will feature live music on multiple stages, with acts ranging from punk rockers Nerve Control to soulful blues outfit The Tighten Ups, as well as a tribute to late local blues icon Candye Kane. It’s a family-friendly event, however, so there will be activities for all ages, including arts, crafts, water COURTESY STEVE WOOD 2015 sports and other things to keep your inner or actual child entertained. South Bay Pride takes place at Bayside Park in Chula Vista from noon to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10. Donations encouraged at southbaypride. org. Sister Ida
HInter+FACE at San Diego Museum of Man, 1350 El Prado, Balboa Park. This special addition to the MoM’s Race exhibit features a series of self-portraits created through AjA Project workshops with teens from neighborhoods throughout San Diego. Includes a panel moderated by CityBeat writer Alex Zaragoza. Opening from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8. Free. 619-239-2001, museumofman.org HMesa College Faculty Exhibition 2016 at San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery, 7250 Mesa College Drive, Room D101, Serra Mesa. View artworks by the studio arts faculty in a variety of media: sculpture, painting, digital, photography, printmaking and installation. There will be a lecture from Wendell Kling and Cindy Zimmerman at 6:30 p.m. Opening from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8. Free. sdmesa.edu/art-gallery HThe Farmworkers Movement Through the Lens of Carlos LeGerrette at Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice, 5998 Alcala Park, USD, Linda Vista. This exhibition looks at the powerful photographic work that was produced by Carlos LeGerrette, who was Cesar Chavez’s assistant in the early 1970s. Opening from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8. Free. 619260-7509, sandiego.edu/galleries HFive Years: Anniversary Exhibition at Sergott Contemporary Art Alliance, Rancho Santa Fe. The fifth anniversary exhibition features a selection of new works by sixteen artists who have exhibited at SCAA including Dia Bassett, the De La Torre Brothers, Beliz Iristay and more. To receive directions to the event, please RSVP to info@sergottart.com. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9. Free. 858-756-2377, sergottart.com HBarrio Art Crawl at Barrio Logan Arts District, 1878 Main St., Barrio Logan. A self guided tour consisting of the open studios, galleries and local businesses of the Barrio Logan Arts District. Spaces include Bread & Salt, Chicana Art Gallery and over a dozen more. From 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. Free. 619-366-9006, facebook.com/barrioartcrawl HCamilo Restrepo at Lux Art Institute, 1550 S. El Camino Real, Encinitas. See work from Lux’s first artist in residence of their 10th anniversary season. Restrepo is a Colombian artist who specializes in paintings and drawings punctuated by bright colors and cartoonish characters. From 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. $5. 760-436-6611, luxartinstitute.org Galaxy Of Glass at Fallbrook Art Center, 103 South Main St., Fallbrook. This 19th annual exhibition showcases a broad spectrum of fine art glass sculptures, vessels, functional ware and more by 16 regional glass artists using a myriad of processes including blown, torched, slumped, cast and fused. Opening from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. Free. fallbrookartcenter.org HGeorge Tice: Urban Landscapes at Joseph Bellows Gallery, 7661 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The accomplished photographer will showcase a selection of forty exceptionally rare gelatin silver contact prints from the early period (1973-74) in New Jersey, as well as more recent works. Opening from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. Free. 858-456-5620, josephbellows.com HMicrocosm at Visual, 3776 30th St., North Park. A group exhibition of small pieces with works from Bakula, Brisk One, David Pena, Melissa Walter and more. All pieces are under $100. Opening from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. Free. 619-501-5585, facebook.com/ events/1839004942995939/ HNew Works: Thomas DeMello at Bread & Salt, 1955 Julian Ave., Logan
H = CityBeat picks
Heights. Bread & Salt’s first artist in residence, Thomas DeMello, has completed his residency and shows off the results in the main gallery. Opening from 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. Free. facebook.com/events/300434893661270/ HRoss Jaylo: Transition at ArtHatch, 317 E. Grande Ave., Escondido. The debut U.S. solo exhibition of the NYC-based artist, who specializes in multi-media works that attempt to render onto canvas his conception of an ideal love. From 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. Free. 760-781-5779, ww.distinctionart.com HRust Magic at Ice Gallery, 1955 Julian Ave., Barrio Logan. A new installation by San Diego graffiti veteran Saratoga Sake, who bombed the interior with graffiti from top to bottom. Also includes a display of vintage spray cans, an outdoor mural, and a 1/4 scale replica of an R17 New York subway car. Opening from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. Free. facebook.com/events/583775521833508 Trying, Failing, Waiting, Building at Low Gallery, 1878 Main St., Barrio Logan. New paintings by Philip Petrie, who is presenting recent oil paintings which focus on the movement of the self and society toward real wholeness, both physical and spiritual. Opening from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. Free. 619-348-5517, lowgallerysd.com HTwofold: An Exhibition of Duality at Thumbprint Gallery, 920 Kline St. #104, La Jolla. A new groups show that plays off the theme of “duality” and featuring the work of Arni Tecson, Kristen Reichert, and the supremely talented Somaramos. Opening from 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. Free. thumbprintgallerysd.com HWork Won’t Kill You at Art Produce Gallery, 3139 University Ave., North Park. The closing reception for the third in an ongoing series of installation/performance art pieces by Patty Ortiz, who hired workers to create an immersive public photomural. From 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. Free. 619-584-4448, artproduce.org HSketchparty San Diego Anniversary at Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St, South Park. The bi-weekly art party celebrates one year with giveaways of art supplies, free treats and, of course, drawing all night. From 8 p.m. to midnight. Tuesday, Sept. 13. Free. 619-284-6784, facebook.com/ events/868431143291483 Carry Me Ohio at jdc Fine Art, 2400 Kettner Blvd. Suite 208, Little Italy. Virginia based photographer Matt Eich’s nuanced portrayal of a handful of small Ohio towns over the course of ten years. From 12 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14. Free. 619985-2322, jdcfineart.com HSea Walls: Murals for Oceans at La Bodega Studios and Gallery, 2196 Logan Ave., Barrio Logan. A reception to celebrate the completion of over a dozen new murals that are meant to bring attention to the PangeaSeed Foundation. There will be live painting, prizes and musical performances by The Verigolds. From 6 to 11 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14. Free. cohortcollective.com
BOOKS HScott Stambach at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The local professor will discuss and sign his novel, The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko, about a 17-year-old who lives in a hospital and is forced to interact with the world through the vivid prism of his mind. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8. Free. 858-454-0347, warwicks.com Star Trek 50th Anniversary Celebration at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. IDW Comics Publishing Editor Sarah Gaydos and writer Mike Johnson will take a look at past iterations of the Enterprise
EVENTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 14
September 7, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 13
EVENTS EVENTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13 crews’ comic book adventures. Copies of IDW’s Star Trek 50th Anniversary Cover Celebration will be made available for this special event. At 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9. Free. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com
7955 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla. Join Fashion Week San Diego for an afternoon of specialty cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and the latest clothing from Fashion Week designers B.JASH.I and Albert Ray Collection. From 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8. Free. 858-459-0261, fashionweeksd.com
Maggie Espinosa at Women’s Museum of California, 2730 Historic Decatur Road, Barracks 16, Point Loma. The Women’s Museum’s monthly “Women’s Voices, Women’s Stories” series welcomes Espinosa, who will sign and discuss her book, On a Mission: An 800 Mile Walk to Discover California’s El Camino Real. At 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11. $5. 619233-7963, womensmuseumca.org
H5 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
HTershia d’Elgin at The Chino Farm, 6123 Calzada del Bosque, Rancho Santa Fe. The San Diego author and environmental activist will be promoting her new book The Man Who Thought He Owned Water: On the Brink with American Farms, Cities, and Food, an impassioned call to rebalance our relationship with water. At 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 11. 619-889-2271
HHorrible Imaginings Film Festival at Museum of Photographic Arts, 1649 El Prado, Balboa Park. The dead will rise again when this festival celebrating horror, science fiction and the grotesque arrives for its seventh annual edition. Various times. Wednesday, Sept. 7 through Sunday, Sept. 11. $25-$200. 619-2388777, hifilmfest.com
HBenjamin Bergen at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The UCSD prof will discuss and sign his new book What the F: What Swearing Reveals About Our Language, Our Brains, and Our Brains. At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13. Free. 858-454-0347, warwicks.com
HStandard Fantastic Studios: For the Love of God Watch These Movies at Westfield Horton Plaza, 324 Horton Plaza, Downtown. A project by Omar Lopex for the SDAI Project Space in Horton Plaza (next to Victoria’s Secret). The space will be transformed into a video viewing area where audiences can watch films entirely shown in analog film formats. Opening from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9. Free. 619-239-8180, sandiego-art.org
Carl Hiaasen at Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace, 5998 Alcala Park, USD, Linda Vista. The New York Times bestselling and award-winning author will sign and discuss his latest mystery-thriller, Razor Girl. Ticket price includes a copy of the book. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14. $28.05$38.05. 619-260-7509, warwicks.com
COMEDY HKathy Griffin at California Center for the Arts, 340 North Escondido Blvd., Escondido. The two-time Emmy and Grammy Award-winning comedian shares her witty musings on pop culture and celebrity anecdotes. At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. $45-$85. 760-839-4190, artcenter.org
DANCE Psalms at City Heights Performance Annex, 2745 Fairmount Ave., City Heights. Visionary Dance Theatre’s fall dance concert features artistic director Spencer John Powell premiering a new piece about hope and looking toward a new and bright existence. At 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8, Friday, Sept. 9 and Saturday, Sept. 10. $14-$19. 619-641-6123, visionarydancetheatre.org
FASHION Poolside ‘n’ Pumps at Hotel La Jolla,
FILM
Best of the Best Film Fest at SDSU Don Powell Theatre, 5500 Campanile Drive, College Area. This two-evening program features a variety of fiction and documentary short films by the students of SDSU’s Television, Film, and New Media Production program. At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14 and Thursday, Sept. 15. $10. 619-594-6365, ttf.sdsu.edu
FOOD & DRINK Carlsbad Brewfest at Holiday Park, Chestnut Ave. & Pio Pico Dr., Carlsbad. One of San Diego’s longest running and most successful Oktoberfests will feature more than 30 craft brewers, as well as live music, games, and local restaurants offering up pair-worthy dishes. From noon to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. $10-$50. 760-602-7513, carlsbadbrewfest.org HLocal Brews Local Grooves at House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., Downtown. House Of Blues’ beer and music festival featuring dozens of San Diego’s best breweries, hottest bands and tastiest food. Ticket price includes samples of beers and food items. At 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. $10-$50. 619-299-BLUE, houseofblues.com
14 · San Diego CityBeat · September 7, 2016
COURTESY OF THE ARTIST
HEALTH & WELLNESS OPS22 Workout to Fight Suicide at F3 Athletics Home of Imperial Beach CrossFit, 645 Silver Strand Blvd., Imperial Beach. Join others on World Suicide Prevention Day for a workout to honor the loss of military and veterans to suicide. All funds raised will support the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. $15-$45. afsp.donordrive.com
MUSIC HSan Diego Blues Festival at Embarcadero Marina Park North, 1 Marine Way, Downtown. The annual blues fest features performances by Los Lobos, Bobby Rush, Nikki Hill and more. Includes craft beer and food and attendees are asked to bring two cans of food to donate to The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank. From noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. $25-$250. sdbluesfest.com HSilo Series: Kenseth Thibideau at Bread & Salt, 1955 Julian Ave., Logan Heights. The second installment of the music happenings curated by Jason Lane and held in the tall building next to the church, features Kenseth Thibideau, who will perform a piece entitled, “Music For Silos.” From 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. Free. facebook.com/ events/300434893661270
PERFORMANCE Star Girls at Horton Grand Theatre, 444 Fourth Ave., Downtown. Devils Playground Burlesque performs a Star Warsthemed strip show. At 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. $30-$120. 619-437-6000, devilsplaygroundla.com
POETRY & SPOKEN WORD HRichard Martin at D.G. Wills Books, 7461 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The Boston poet will read from his new books, Techniques in the Neighborhood of Sleep and Buffoons in the Gene Pool. At 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. Free. 858-456-1800, dgwillsbooks.com
SPECIAL EVENTS HOrchids & Onions “People’s Choice” Voting Events at various locations. The San Diego Architectural Foundation’s Orchids & Onions Awards Program will have booths at various locations through Sept. 15 to vote for your favorite (and least favorite) architectural designs. See website for locations. Various times from Wednesday, Sept. 7 through Thursday, Sept. 15. Free. orchidsandonions.org
“Palace Funhouse, Asbury Park, NJ. 1995” by George Tice will be on view at George Tice: Urban Landscapes, a solo show opening from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, at Joseph Bellows Gallery (7661 Girard Ave.) in La Jolla. HBorder X Chunky Film Fundraiser at Border X Brewing Tasting Room, 2196 Logan Ave., Barrio Logan. This KIckstarter kickoff benefit for the forthcoming documentary about local Chicano musician Ramon “Chunky” Sanchez will feature live music and clips from the film from filmmaker Paul Espinosa. From 6 to 11 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9. Free. 619-787-6176, chunkyfilm.com Fleet Week Launch Party at the Pier at B Street Pier, 1140 North Harbor Drive, Downtown. The official launch party for Fleet Week will feature live music and entertainment, food trucks and a beer garden From 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9. Free. 415-318-4094, fleetweeksandiego.org Fleet Week Sea and Air Parade Cruises at Flagship Cruises, 990 North Harbor Dr., Downtown. Brunch and spectator cruises with views of Fleet Week, where U.S. military destroyers, submarines and more will be on display. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. $17.50-$64.50. 619-234-4111, flagshipsd.com North Park Car Show at Balboa Tennis Club, 2221 Morley Field Drive, Balboa Park. North Park Historical Society’s annual classic car show will feature hundreds of automobiles in a variety of makes and models. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. Free. northparkhistory.org HSouth Bay Pride Art and Music Festival at Bayside Park, Plover Way, Chula Vista. The ninth annual LGBT community event features live entertainment, dancing, art pieces, tasty eats, a wine and beer garden, children’s area and much more.
From noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. Free. 619-686-6200, southbaypride.org HSurf Dog Surf-a-Thon at Del Mar Dog Beach, 3006 Sandy Ln., Del Mar. Come watch some water-happy dogs catch some waves (along with their owners) at this annual competition. Includes vendors, food, and costume contests. Proceeds benefit Helen Woodward Animal Center. From 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11. Free. 858-755-1556, animalcenter.org
TALKS & DISCUSSIONS Future Domestic Robots: Design Fiction and the Home of the Future at UCSD, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. Bruce Sterling (cyberpunk visionary, futurist, and design theorist) and Jasmina Tesanovic (writer, activist, and filmmaker) will discuss two recent projects of speculative design. Takes place at the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination. At 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9. Free. 858-5342230, imagination.ucsd.edu
WORKSHOPS Painting on Tap: The Art of the 20th Century at James S. Copley Auditorium, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park. A hands-on painting workshop that mixes creativity with craft beer. All painting supplies are included in the ticket price and each event features an exclusive after-hours museum tour. At 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8. $40$50. 619-232-7931, sdmart.org
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THEATER DAREN SCOTT
Alexandra Slade and Zackary Scot Wolfe in Oklahoma!
Cowhands and farmers unite
W
holesome. In a word that’s Oklahoma!, the Broadway musical warhorse that was Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first collaboration 73(!) years ago. To this day, audiences apparently can’t get enough of it. Or should we say, to borrow from the show’s most memorable character, Ado Annie, they “cain’t say no”? Anyway, the old girl (Oklahoma!, not Ado Annie) is the first production in
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New Village Arts Theatre’s 16th season in Carlsbad. There’s nothing particularly fresh about this iteration of Oklahoma!, but you’d have to be a total grump not to have a good time, anyway. Jack French boasts a rich baritone as cowhand Curly, complemented by silken-voiced Charlene Koepf as his true love, Laurey, an underwritten character whose most dramatic turn in the show comes during the dialogue-less, 15-minute-long balletic dream sequence at the end of Act 1, a conception of the great Agnes de Mille’s. As with most productions of Oklaho-
ma!, the predictable courtship posturing between Curly and Laurey is relieved and enlivened by the presence of precocious Ado Annie, at NVA played with comic exuberance and sheer joyful electricity by Alexandra Slade. Neither Zackary Scot Wolfe, as beau Will Parker, nor Jonathan Sangster, as faux-beau Ali Hakim, can keep up with her. She’s a kick. And on the subject of kicks, the choreography by Julie Catano is splendid, not only in light of NVA’s relatively compact stage but on its own merits. That famous dream ballet, while overlong, gives the large cast a chance to flash its flexibility in both senses of the word. The prodigious Tony Houck is music director of the production’s three-person band (Houck, Nobuko Kemmotsu and Morgan Carberry), which except for fiddler Carberry is hidden from view throughout, and it gives a rousing account of itself. No one can deny that Oklahoma! delivers hummable tunes, or have you forgotten “People Will Say We’re in Love,” “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning!” and “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top”? Didn’t think so. Having undergone extensive improvements to its theater, NVA can offer a more comfortable audience experience. In that vein, you can’t get much more comfortable than Oklahoma! Oklahoma! runs through Sept. 25 at
New Village Arts Theatre in Carlsbad. $45-$48. newvillagearts.org
—David L. Coddon
Theater reviews run weekly. Write to davidc@sdcitybeat.com.
OPENING: The Lion King: Hakuna matata…Need we say more? Presented by Broadway San Diego, it opens Sept. 7 at the San Diego Civic Theatre in the Gaslamp. broadwaysd.com Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike: This Tony Award-winner for “Best Play” tells the tale of two small-town siblings whose world is thrown into upheaval when they get a visit from their movie star sister and her much younger boyfriend. Written by Christopher Durang, it opens Sept. 9 at the Scripps Ranch Theatre. scrippsranchtheatre.org October Sky: Adapted from the popular 1999 film, this new musical set in ‘50s West Virginia tells the story of a high schooler who’s hell bent on building his own space rocket. Featuring music by Michael Mahler, it opens Sept. 10 at the Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park. theoldglobe.org The Addams Family: A new musical comedy based on the creepy, kooky, mysterious, spooky but otherwise beloved family. Directed by James Vásquez, it opens Sept. 14 at the Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista. moonlightstage.com
For full theater listings, visit “Theater”at sdcitybeat.com.
September 7 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 15
16 · San Diego CityBeat · September 7, 2016
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TORREY BAILEY
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September 7, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 17
SHUTTERSTOCK
As pleasant, friendly residential neighborhoods go, Normal Heights is full of peculiar curiosities. Take a walk along Adams Avenue, west of Interstate 15, and some of its side streets, and you’ll find some. Rock House: If you’re driving west along Adams from Kensington, one of the first things you notice after crossing the neighborhood border is a Mission revival style house whose exterior is covered entirely in rocks. You can’t miss it. Just this year it got a historic designation from the City of San Diego, 90 years after it was built. The house is a private residence so you can’t just mosey on in without permission, but you certainly wouldn’t be the first to marvel at its architectural curiosity from the sidewalk. (3920 Adams Ave.) Subud House: Among a row of businesses on Adams Avenue is a curious, windowless building that reads “Subud” on the outside. And if it looks like a place of worship of some sort (if not a 1984-style Ministry of Somethingorother), that’s because it is—sort of. Subud is a spiritual movement, though according to the Subud San Diego website, it’s not actually a religion. Started in Indonesia almost 100 years ago, it boasts 10,000 members worldwide. They don’t advertise or market, and the lack of windows might have to do with separating worship ceremonies from onlookers or non-believers. So, for now, what’s inside remains a mystery. Sort of. (3521 Adams Ave.) Botanica Mama Roots: Normal Heights is also, incidentally, Botanica Mama Roots the place to go for all your witchcraft needs, if clandestine Eastern spiritualism isn’t your thing. The “botanica” in Botanica Mama Roots comes from the large supply of herbs it carries, often used in spells or rituals, but the friendly neigh- changed to a heart and a happy face), but only one boasts a mannequin couple inside borhood witchcraft emporium also has a large supply of candles, pentagrams, tinctures, a makeshift gazebo. Logic would lead me to believe that the mannequins—dressed in a beads, skulls, incense, voodoo dolls, tarot cards and books on spells and Aleister Crowley. wedding dress and a sailor suit—represent the owners, but there’s something unsettling They also have readings inside the store, in case you need some guidance from the spirits. about them. The bride in particular has that Norma Desmond/Miss Havisham feel, but Just look for the giant pentagram—you can’t miss it. (3512 Adams Ave.) plastic, and it’s an eerie sight, to say the least, when the sun goes down. (corner of 36th Mannequin House: Plenty of houses in Normal Heights have lawn ornaments or and E. Mountain View) sculptures (including a garden of rocks once shaped like genitals—now disappointingly —Jeff Terich
18 · San Diego CityBeat · September 7, 2016
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TORREY BAILEY
After several alleged bobcat sightings in the Normal Heights area made news a couple months ago, we decided to investigate. Our intrepid web editor ventured deep into the neighborhood, armed with only his catlady-like intuition and “safari jorts” (his words). The following are entries from his journal: 12:11 p.m.: There’s an undercurrent of savagery to this neighborhood. Despite the “Clean Up After Your Pet” signs and manicured lawns, you can practically taste the tension of a neighborhood racked by fear. Sweat drips down my brow as I search for the untamed beast. 12:21 p.m.: A “Lost Cat” poster hangs on a telephone pole—undoubtedly another victim of the bobcat. 12:31 p.m.: I approach an elderly gentleman watering his lawn, seemingly in full defiance of the threat of bobcat. The native’s bravery is truly remarkable. His name is Bob—coincidence? I ask about bobcats. He hasn’t seen any, but does lay out his grievances with this street’s rainwater drainage system, which apparently “empties into Dr. Kellogg’s pool.” These Normal Heightsians are a curious people, indeed. 12:45 p.m.: The danger’s too great, so I retreat to The Rabbit Hole, where I order a mule. These are the animals I can handle. —Ryan Bradford RON DONOHO
The office for Mars Investigations was here at 3339 Adams Ave.
Before Kristen Bell landed the titular role in the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and starred in strings of national TV commercials with her robotic actor/husband Dax Shepard, she spent three seasons playing the lead role in cult-fave series Veronica Mars (200407). Fans know the series, filmed by Stu Segall Productions, was produced here in San Diego and featured location shots from all over town. Normal Heights, though, was home to Bell’s character’s office, and the exterior sign for Mars Investigations frequently appeared onscreen. Veronica Mars was set in the fictional town of Neptune, but the real-life site of Mars Investigations was the wrought-iron-gated, second-floor Cabrillo Academy of the Sword (3339 Adams Avenue). The iconic Lestat’s Coffee House is next door; the Normal Heights neighborhood sign is half a block away. The excitement of being on TV has faded, but shop owners on the block still get the occasional query from fans. Diehard alert: Season One flashback scenes featuring Veronica Mars’ murdered best friend, Lilly Kane (Amanda Seyfried), were shot across the street from the Cabrillo Academy at the Adams Avenue Car Wash. —Ron Donoho
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September 7, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 19
TORREY BAILEY
is that we’re all part of this community.” Swieca wears many hats (or, eh, helmets?) in the store, handling everything from the marketing and PR to regulating the sometimes heated exchanges that occur in the store’s giant game room in the back. “We try to make sure this is a safe place where everyone is welcome,” says Swieca, who points out that it can sometimes be hard for new customers to immediately feel welcome, especially women and LGBTQ people. “We want anyone who comes in to know that it doesn’t matter how you got here, you’re here now.” And while the store’s employees could be seen as Swieca’s proverbial Justice League teammates, the Robin to her Batman is undoubtedly Tiamat, the rather large Red Iguana who has a terrarium in the store. “She’s my baby and everyone loves her,” she says. —Torrey Bailey
Brandi Munoz
“It’s that happy medium. It’s not super busy and commercialized. It’s a good community with good community involvement, and it’s just a mix.” These are the aspects that draw Brandi Munoz back to Normal Heights, or Abnormal Heights as she lovingly calls it, over the past 20 years. She lives in the neighborhood with her husband/business partner, and together they recently celebrated the second anniversary of La Loupe Vintage’s second location (3337 Adams Ave.). Their boutique, which mostly holds pieces from or inspired by the ’60s and ’70s, was named after a French pulp fiction book titled La Loupe (“the magnifying glass”). “It actually has so many deeper meanings,” she says. “We love that you have to look a little bit closer to see what’s actually inside the store. You have to dig a little bit. It’s part of the hunt, a little bit of detective work on our end and the customers’ end.” Munoz not only hunts and gathers her vintage pieces, but also does consignment with local online vendors. She got her start as an Etsy vendor before taking on La Loupe full time and eventually quitting her corporate job. Over time, she’s watched the store’s development and the neighborhood’s changing landscape. “We love seeing it grow, and it’s growing at just the right pace. Not too fast, not too crazy.” —Torrey Bailey
On mundane Monday nights it’s uncommon to find a bumping bar with lively music and livelier owners. Cut to Tommy Quinn, co-owner of The Ould Sod. Since 1989, he and Mick Ward have not only been serving up drafts behind the bar, but also the feel of an authentic Irish pub. After relocating to San Diego from Ireland, it was only natural that CHLOE SALSAMEDA Quinn and Ward spread their Irish roots to locals. “Mick and I met at an Irish bar here in San Diego,” Quinn says. “After becoming friends, we bought a house together. Then when this place went up for sale, it was only natural to buy it.” The Ould Sod is the third-oldest licensed establishment in San Diego. “I think we have been around for so long because of the experience of the Tommy Quinn people we’ve hired. They like what they do, they’re good at what they do, and they attract a good base of people,” he says. Over the years, Quinn and Ward have remained involved in the Normal Heights community. “We sponsor a lot of sports teams, charities and the local school, St. Didacus. Our kids went to school there, and we think it’s important to give back any way we can.” Their philanthropic efforts also include donations, concerts and auctions that benefit everything from wounded vets to breast cancer survivors. —Seth Combs TORREY BAILEY
While book, music and other physical media stores are going out of business, Villainous Lair is a rare success story. In the five years it’s been open, the comic book, game and accessories store has become a goto neighborhood spot thanks in no small part to comanager Sara Swieca. She prides herself on being on a first-name basis with everyone who walks through the door. “Some people thought we’d only be open for a few months and look at us now,” says the Michigan native who says she learned to read on X-Men comics. “The biggest difference between us and other stores Sara Swieca
20 · San Diego CityBeat · September 7, 2016
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September 7, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 21
CULTURE | ART
SEEN LOCAL
marketing, as well as to Francesca’s public relations firm, ICR, but neither responded to our requests for comment as of press time. Ghahremani has hired a lawyer who has sent three cease-and-desist letters since Aug. 8. In an Aug. 15 letter, Ghahremani’s attorney gave the company an Aug. 19 deadline to respond “in order to ocal artist Susie Ghahremani has done well avoid legal proceedings.” Ghahremani and her attorwith her Boygirlparty brand of merchandise. ney have not heard back from the company, though She’s developed a base of loyal customers who she says she knows they’ve received the letters and seemingly can’t get enough of cutesy animal char- her time-stamped emails. She’s considering filing a ©JASMINE FITZWILLIAM lawsuit, but that the cost could run in the acters that adorn everything LET’S FROLIC TOGETHER thousands of dollars. from baby clothes to stationary. She speculates that the company Still, while she appreciates the probably knows this and just hopes that attention, she claims that some she’ll go away. might have liked her work a “Usually when you lawyer up, they little too much. respond very quickly, but it “I asked my supporters seems like they’re blowing around the country to see if off the letters and phone they could find this pin and calls,” says Ghahremani. send me photos,” says Ghahre“I feel like their silence is mani, referring to her “Bowtie just saying they know they Cat” enamel pin, which she screwed up.” claims was illegally copied and Ghahremani has also reproduced by the Francesca’s been blocked by the comchain of fashion stores. “We’re Susie Ghahremani and her “Bowtie Cat” pin pany’s various social media talking about a store that’s in pages and says that when her almost every mall. The more photos I received, the more I recognized other art- friends and followers attempt to comment on Francesca’s pages about the copying, the comments are ists and I immediately got in touch with them.” Ghahremani claims that Francesca’s “ripped off” quickly deleted and the person is blocked. “Every time an artist takes a stand to protect their more than 20 independent artist designs. She posted copyright, no matter how public it is, they’re taking a photo-grid-type, side-by-side compilation of the original designs and the Francesca’s version and the a stand for all artists,” says Ghahremani, who points similarities are, indeed, striking both in design, scale to similar cases in which companies such as Zara and Target have also been accused of lifting artist and color. “Once you see those side-by-side comparisons designs. “Anytime you see your work misappropriyou realize the scale of the infringement,” says ated and you stand up for it, you’re protecting future Ghahremani, who copyrights all her designs. “It artists because that company will realize they can’t pick off other artists so easily.” shows it’s been a chronic issue with this company.” CityBeat attempted to contact Erik Lautier, Fran —Seth Combs cesca’s senior vice president direct-to-consumer &
COPIED CATS
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MURAL WATCH: “THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE”
in public, because they don’t understand that those dogs are there for a purpose.” Completed in June after a month of work, the or Normal Heights native Chris Tomlin, the mural, which is on the side of the Adams Avenue opportunity to do a mural in the neighbor- Car Wash (3302 Adams Ave.), features a sitting fighood he grew up in was already exciting. The ure with a service dog and surrounded by words repretired Marine Corps veteran says the real excite- resenting some of the issues that might warrant the ment, though, came in relaying an important mes- need for a dog. The words surrounding the veteran sage to the public. Working with Combat Arts came from a brainstorming session with active-duty servicemen and Tomlin, a self-proclaimed “huge San Diego’s Veteran Mural TORREY BAILEY fan of typography,” who Project (combatartssd.org), sketched out the words and Tomlin says the aim of the added subtle representations murals has been to “always of every branch of the militry to focus on one particular tary within the letters. veterans’ issue.” In the case Tomlin and Combat Arts of “Thank You for Your SerExecutive Director Elizavice,” the second mural in the beth Washburn are already series, Tomlin and Combat working with the Wounded Arts chose an issue that was Warriors Battalion at Camp decidedly under the radar. Pendleton in planning the “One of the more consis“Thank You for Your Service” third mural in the series, tent problems has been with which will debut somewhere service dogs,” says Tomlin, in Clairemont in 2017. For Washburn, the Veteran referring to the trained dogs that accompany many veterans to help them deal with a range of post- Mural Project is part of Combat Arts San Diego’s oncombat issues. “The dogs are trained to deal with going mission to educate and advocate for veterans’ the anxiety that comes with crowds and post-trau- issues via the arts. “We’re really hoping it serves as a public service matic stress disorder. So what we’re seeing is a lot announcement,” says Washburn. “That’s the way we of people coming up and asking to pet the dogs. The vets would try to explain that the dog was working want to do it all over town.”
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and people would get angry. They’d chastise the vet
22 · San Diego CityBeat · September 7, 2016
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UP FRONT | OPINION
THERE SHE
ALEX ZARAGOZA
GOZ
What Frida Kahlo taught me about womanhood
W
e stood in line outside the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City, eating fresh mango with Tajin and chamoy, cackling at the world’s stupidest jokes like a coven of drunk witches and taking photos against the bright, cobalt blue walls of the once-home and now final resting place of the iconic Mexican artist. I was fighting what felt like the world’s worst hangover, remnants of a late night/early morning of drinking absinthe cocktails and mezcal (which is disgusting and I don’t care what anyone says). Even in my state of nausea and concern for the shoes of all those waiting in the long, winding museum line/possible barf splash zone, it was impossible not to feel affected by the space and the woman who created some of the most important pieces of art in history. So it was especially fitting to be there with some of my closest friends, each of our hearts weighing with our own preoccupations, wandering through the home of someone who opened herself with such intense rawness. Who lived her life honestly, and was true to her heartaches, pains, beliefs, sexuality and love. Frida Kahlo has always been an inspirational figure for me because of this. Reading about her life and seeing her artwork throughout my formative years set a standard for how I wanted to live my own life. Frida set for me the example to speak truthfully about pain and vulnerability, and expose parts of myself that I instinctually hide behind an awkward joke. This column has become the vehicle for that. Decades after her death, Frida still reflects parts that live within each of us women. And perhaps because of her I am able to articulate those things. She taught me the language to do it through her artwork. Even so I maintain a pretty tough exterior, because when you go full Frida it exposes you to all kinds of shit. My psychic therapist says I should work on this. As it also goes with women, the larger myth of Frida Kahlo involves her passionate and tumultuous marriage to famed artist Diego Rivera. Her love for him was so deep, in fact, that she requested that her ashes be placed in a frog-shaped urn as an homage to her toad frog (her nickname for Diego) and be within him for all eternity. I, on the other hand, have strongly considered requesting that my ashes be left at a Marshall’s because that is a place I can spend forever in. I had been warned through countless movies, TV shows, books, articles and friends that the pressures of “settling down” would bump up a notch after 30, but I thought my strong will and talent for shutting
people down would see me through. That the expectations of how others believed my life should be led would not weigh on me, or my decisions. However, two years into my thirties and, goddamn, is it relentless. Fucking hell, guys. Can I live? This trip turned into some real Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants shit. Not just because it turns out that all eight of us, with our varied sizes and shapes, fit into the same size small stretch black dress from Zara. How that was possible is, well, likely because of the magic of stretch fabrics, but I suspect there may also have been some kind of otherworldly feminist voodoo happening there. Maybe also the brute force employed to get that thing past our tits. But no, the true Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants moments happened when we all talked candidly and often emotionally about the strains of womanhood, relationships, career and all the pressures and complexities that come with those things. How those who are wholly unaffected by our procreation find a way of guilting us for not having children or sacrificing things because you do. And for those of us who are parents, how tough it is to not feel drained or like you have to wave the white flag at your dreams. How as fiercely independent women we often find ourselves in relationships that call for us to give up parts of ourselves we may not want to let go of. How at our age we have to actually say shit like “You’re not my dad.” Like, really? And for those of us who refuse to give up those parts, what does that mean in the whole not-wanting-to-die-alone department? I mean, I already got a back up plan thanks to my niece who said she’d take care of me when I’m decrepit so I think I’m set. But still. In being in Frida’s home, I learned that I don’t want her life or her love, or anyone else’s for that matter. I want mine, and whatever that looks like. As Frida once wrote in a letter, “I don’t give a shit what the world thinks. I was born a bitch, I was born a painter, I was born fucked. But I was happy in my way...I am love. I am pleasure. I am essence. I am an idiot. I am an alcoholic. I am tenacious. I am simply, I am. You are a shit.” I want to stop counting years, days, failures and mistakes. I want to stop counting completely. It is what it is, and I am what I am, and I will be what I will be. I’m not entirely sure what that is sometimes, but that’s my adventure to explore. And I will do it as I see fit, and with the confidence I’ve gained through my hard work and resistance.
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Frida set for me the example to speak truthfully about pain and vulnerability.
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There She Goz appears every third week. Write to alexz@sdcitybeat.com.
September 7, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 23
CULTURE | FILM
Sully
Second guessing
Clint Eastwood and Tom Hanks explore the “Miracle on the Hudson” by Glenn Heath Jr.
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lint Eastwood’s most recent films—Jersey and perspective to convey the visceral horror of Boys and American Sniper—are history les- that day. Those 208 tense seconds between liftoff sons gone rogue. Neither plays by traditional and forced water landing are meticulously repeated biopic rules in presenting the past as non-linear, from different vantage points. Each variation draws fragmented bursts of subjectivity that tell us less us farther away from the truth—which is unattainabout what happened and more about why. Their able—and closer to understanding the split-second “real-life” subjects are contradictory icons engulfed magnitude of decisions made by Sully and co-pilot by celebrity and doomed by selfish decisions, left to Jeff Skiles (Aaron Eckhart). All the while, government officials continue to claim that multiple simulinger on as enigmas when the credits role. The same level of emotional ambiguity and rigor lations prove the plane could have made it back to La cannot be found in Sully, which is a far more ear- Guardia unharmed. Incessant questioning by these bureaucrats nest and symbolic depiction of unforeseen heroism. Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, a career pilot stands in contrast to the universal praise heaped with more than 40 years of experience in the air, on Sully from random strangers on the street. successfully landed a jetliner on the Hudson River Eastwood paints the feds as humorless and opporafter both engines failed due to bird impact on Janu- tunistic while the adoring fans seem like genuine ary 15, 2009. Even though no major casualties oc- people in desperate need of good news. Through this prism Sully illuminates the curred, Eastwood sees the mere complicated human element possibility of aviation disaster hiding behind modern lore, as a way to grapple with the viSULLY and the battle between instinct sual ghosts of 9/11, and in turn and indecision that resonates champion the collective gut inDirected by Clint Eastwood from traumatic chapters in hisstinct of everyday Americans. Starring Tom Hanks, tory. Tom Hanks imbues the musAaron Eckhart, Anna Gunn For all its impressive IMAX tachioed pilot with a traumaand Laura Linney photography and booming tized humility. We meet Sully Rated PG-13 sound design, the film conpost-crash after he wakes up from a disturbing crash nightmare where he and the 155 souls on board meet a more tragic fate in downtown Manhattan. A crippling sense of self-doubt is already starting to creep in even before his first scheduled meeting with suspicious NTSB officials, who have a bone to pick even though Sully has been deemed a hero in the court of public opinion. Only later do we get glimpses of Sully’s life before the “Miracle on the Hudson.” Brief aerial flashbacks reinforce Eastwood’s desire to focus on his character’s acumen under pressure, and his ability to learn from a growing collection of lessons and mistakes experienced over the years. The film’s perforated narrative directly correlates with Sully’s growing fear that he made the wrong decision despite correctly “eye-balling” his best options. Brief phone conversations with worried wife Lorraine (Laura Linney in a throwaway role) do little to quell his anxiety. Eastwood employs experimental jumps in time
24 · San Diego CityBeat · September 7, 2016
cludes inside with a government hearing where Sully and Skiles are forced to defend themselves before a distrusting tribunal. The tonal shift makes sense, though, mostly as a rallying cry mirroring Sully’s own defense of the human factor in times of stress. Eastwood has a thing for old-fashioned endings and quaint exclamation marks. Wearing hokum so proudly will inevitably turn some people off. Sully, opening Friday, Sept. 9, ends on a joke and collective laughter. This is a far cry from the mesmerizing image of isolation found early in the film of Sully shrouded in a blanket of steam. Such a transition reinforces Eastwood’s calm, brilliant dismantling of the Great Man Theory using the great man himself. History doesn’t happen in vacuum, and Sully understands that best: “We all did it. We all survived.” Film reviews run weekly. Write to glennh@sdcitybeat.com.
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CULTURE | FILM Little Men is no different. We get the sense that Jake and Tony’s genuine fondness for each other will weather the storm, defy gravity and refuse to be pulled into the orbit of a complex adult world. Experience teaches us otherwise. Little Men, which opens on Friday, Sept. 9, is a far more soLittle Men bering affair compared to Sachs’ previous feature, the joyous and Untenable hopeful Love is Strange. But this friendships story exists in a colder version of he title of Ira Sachs’ Little New York City, where life experiMen carries an important ence can forever numb the heart. double meaning. Taken lit- Barbieri’s raging bull of a perforerally it refers to a pair of teen- mance is a permanent reminder agers whose friendship becomes that it doesn’t have to be this way. strained when their parents clash —Glenn Heath Jr. over a deteriorating business relationship. But considering the film’s subtle subtext, it also alOPENING ludes to a more universal stubbornness and pride that affect Before I Wake: Kate Bosworth and those adults who’ve come to ex- Thomas Jane play a couple that adopts a young boy whose dreams and nightpect disappointment in life. mares manifest physically as he sleeps. Unlike many a youthful proHorrible Imaginings Film Festival: tagonist, Jake’s (Theo Taplitz) life Come experience the best horror, thriller isn’t destroyed upon moving from and action films the world has to offer with familiar confines (Manhattan) to this genre-bending film festival that will a new wild frontier (Brooklyn). also feature panel discussions. Screens from Wednesday, Sept. 7 to Sunday, Sept. The foreign abode belonged to his 11, at the Museum of Photographic Arts in recently deceased grandfather, Balboa Park. whose sudden passing has given Little Men: In Ira Sachs’ tender drama, parents Kathy (Jennifer Ehle) and young Jake (Theo Taplitz) learns many Brian (Greg Kinnear) the chance lessons about life, death, and friendship to reside in a quickly gentrifying neighborhood. Lost in the shuffle is another tenant named Leonor (Paulina Garcia), who runs a flailing boutique clothing shop out of the bottom floor to support her son, Tony (Michael Barbieri). The two boys quickly become best friends even as polite interactions between their parents gradually reveal tense undercurrents. Egged on by his opportunistic sister, Brian eventually approaches Leonor about raising the rent. She resolutely resists for myriad personal reasons, and a nasty stalemate ensues. Untenable situations in Ira Sachs’ films grow slowly over time, and the debilitating one in
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after his family relocates to Brooklyn after the passing of his grandfather. Mia Madre: A director experiencing an existential mid-life crisis must come to grips with the death of her mother in Nanni Moretti’s comedy. Opens on Friday, Sept. 9, at Angelika Carmel Mountain Cinemas and Digital Gym Cinema in North Park. My King: While recuperating from a terrible skiing accident, a woman (Emmanuel Bercot) remembers a tumultuous relationship with a past lover (Vincent Cassel). Opens Friday, Sept. 9, at Angelika Carmel Mountain Cinemas. Sully: Clint Eastwood directs this biopic about pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger (Tom Hanks), who miraculously landed a damaged jet liner on the Hudson River in 2009 after its engines were struck by flying birds. The Wild Life: The amazing story of Robinson Crusoe is told through the eyes of an outgoing parrot in this animated children’s film. When the Bough Breaks: A surrogate mom for a couple becomes obsessed with the father-to be in this thriller from director Jon Cassar. Zoom: In this surrealist comedy starring Alison Pill and Gael Garcia Bernal, three different artists from separate realities write stories about one another. Screens through Thursday, Sept. 8, at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.
For a complete listing of movies, please see “F ilm Screenings” at sdcitybeat.com.
September 7, 2016 • San Diego CityBeat · 25
MUSIC
YG IS A PILLAR OF WEST COAST HIP-HOP
RORY MCELROY
Bullets don’t just go where the wind blows So I’m looking under my nose Hate always comes from up close One of My Krazy Life’s strengths was YG’s attention to minute detail, whether he was describing gangbanger friends (“they dry their clothes on hangers”) or delivering step-by-step instructions for breaking and entering. Lamar is widely praised for his storytelling ability, but Still Brazy shows YG’s feel for the craft is just as nuanced. Lamar’s 2015 album To Pimp A Butterfly also established him as a sonic visionary, as he built his instant classic atop a bed of funk, soul and jazz with the help of an all-star cast that included Thundercat, George Clinton, Robert Glasper, Flying Lotus, Ronald Isley, Ambrose Akinmusire and more. Never mind Lamar’s own considerable vocal talents, To Pimp A Butterfly sounded like nothing else. Similarly, Still Brazy stands as a testament to YG’s sharp ear for a great beat, thanks largely to a man who was not involved in its creation: DJ Mustard, the producer behind the sound of My Krazy Life, which revived the classic gfunk pioneered by Dr. Dre in the early 1990s. Longtime friends YG and Mustard had a falling out in 2015, which left the rapper looking for new musical sources. Still Brazy delivers big-time on that front. It digs even deeper into the gritty grooves that drove Krazy, thanks to flawless production from synth-funk wizards Terrace Martin, Ty Dolla Sign, DJ Swish and Hit-Boy, among others. YG and Mustard have since reconciled, but if Still Brazy is any indication, YG can handle executive production BY BEN SALMON just fine on his own. This is, after all, a man who seems to know who he is and what he values, and Still Brazy’s final three tracks suggest also isn’t getting enough credit for his skills, his vision and he’s not done growing. First up is “F.D.T.” (which stands his valor. If the guy still only had My Krazy Life on his (of- for Fuck Donald Trump), a collaboration with Nipsey ficial) discography, you could conceivably write him off as Hussle that relentlessly skewers Donald Trump and genthe beneficiary of beginner’s luck and a dynamic DJ (more erated a few calls to YG’s camp from the Secret Service. on that in a bit). The album ends with a plainly spoken song about police YG’s sophomore effort, Still Brazy, erases brutality called “Police Get Away Wit Murder.” those concerns and establishes the rapper as In between is “Blacks & Browns,” which finds more than the yin to Lamar’s yang. Thematicalthe emcee addressing black-on-black violence, ly, the new album is different from Krazy. Gone the education and prison systems, government is the “day in the life” construct, and in its place housing and—generally speaking—the endless is a 17-track meditation on the troubles that cycle of power and oppression that YG believes come when success collides with a life in the is a massive obstacle to African-American prosSEPTEMBER 18 streets, with healthy doses of politics, partying perity. (He does more than just rap about it; read and paranoia provoked by a 2015 shooting that up on his new nonprofit at 4hundredwaze.org.) OBSERVATORY left YG with three bullet wounds. (The shooter Last year, Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” beNORTH PARK has not been publicly identified or caught.) came an anthem for Black Lives Matter protestThe uncertainty around that shooting drives ers. Hearing that chant rise from the streets was 4HUNNID.COM one of Still Brazy’s centerpiece songs, “Who Shot one of the truly spine-tingling musical moments Me?,” a pitch-perfect portrayal of post-trauma in recent memory, and it lined up perfect with terror and delusion. With a clipped, angry flow, K-Dot’s image as the thoughtful observer with an incredYG recalls seeing the barrel of the pistol that night, wor- ible rhetorical gift—a reputation he fully deserves. ries about the effect of the incident on his family, acknowlBut it’s time to stop positioning YG as the anti-Kendedges his emotional distress and considers possible assail- rick. With a fresh set of vivid stories, a bunch of killer beats ants. But he keeps coming back to his inner circle, noting from producers not named Mustard, and a new path of sothat whoever shot him knew the security code for his gate. cial and political interests to explore, Still Brazy proves YG The bridge goes like this: can stand on his own as an equal pillar of L.A. hip-hop in I don’t know who did it, but I know this the 21st century.
THE COMPTON EMCEE HOLDS HIS OWN IN A KENDRICK LAMAR-CENTRIC WORLD
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EFORE YG RELEASED HIS DEBUT ALBUM My Krazy Life in March of 2014—even before the Compton rapper had settled on a title—comparisons to another young, talented emcee from a nearby neighborhood had begun. “YG to chronicle life as bad ‘kid’ in Kendrick Lamar’s M.A.A.D City,” declared the headline of an MTV.com article published a full year before My Krazy Life’s release, when it was expected to be called I’m 4rm Bompton. By the time Krazy hit the market, the narrative was established: YG had recorded the gangster version of Lamar’s 2012 breakthrough, good kid, m.A.A.d city. Kendrick was a softhearted documentarian, speedily spinning tales about the rough streets of Compton, while YG was the guy actually doing the bad stuff Kendrick rapped about. None of which is meant to imply that YG deflected comparisons to Lamar. Quite the opposite. He structured My Krazy Life as a day in his life in Compton—just like good kid. He included a (killer) Kendrick verse on the album, and let Lamar pick his track. According to fuse.tv, he spoke on the two rappers’ mirrored perspectives during a listening party for a room full of journalists. YG embraced the opportunity to be mentioned in the same breath with Lamar. As he should’ve. And he has benefitted from the association, no doubt. But Lamar’s shadow looms large over rap from coast to coast these days, and the 26-year-old YG, born Keenon Daequan Ray Jackson,
26 · San Diego CityBeat · September 7, 2016
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September 7, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 27
MUSIC
NOTES FROM THE SMOKING PATIO T
wo members of Barbarian have started a new band called Well Well Well. The group features guitarist Seton Edgerton and drummer Dan Nichols, who started jamming together while playing in Barbarian. And while that band is just taking a break right now, it affords them the opportunity to put time and effort toward the new project, which finds them applying their talents in different creative ways. “Once Barbarian was on hiatus, we wanted to keep a feverish pace for making music happen,” Edgerton says in an interview at Young Hickory in North Park. “[Nichols is] able to play bass on keyboard with one hand and play drums with the other hand.” Well Well Well’s music isn’t as heavy as that of the members’ other band, instead blending folk, psychedelia and synth-pop into an eclectic mixture that Edgerton says is mostly reflective of the kind of music they listen to. Yet he says that there wasn’t much of a particular agenda when he and Nichols began writing songs together. “Whenever we practice, we dedicate half the time to songs we’ve written, and then the other half to just kind of free-flowing jam sessions,” he says. The band made their debut back in May at the Lightning in a Bottle festival in Bradley, California, and has since quietly released their first album, What Do We Have Here? via Bandcamp (wellwellwelltheband.com). The duo’s next show is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 29, at Soda Bar, with The Foreign Resort, PRGRM and Nite. And though they haven’t
Well Well Well done much promotion nor played live all that much yet, they’ve already written enough material for their next album. “With two people, everything happens pretty quickly,” he says. “We’re ready to get back into the studio.”
—Jeff Terich
ALBUM REVIEW Natural Sounds Trio s/t (Self-released)
N
atural Sounds Trio have the funk. Formed after splintering off from funk-soul group Taurus Authority, the ensemble of drummer Jake Najor, bassist Christian Schinelli and saxophonist/ flautist Harold Todd charted a deeply grooving path of their own. Previously named NST to reflect their last initials (and pronounced “nasty”), Natural Sounds Trio is what happens when three musicians with combined decades of experience come together and let the funk flow. The trio’s self-titled EP features four songs that showcase four different flavors of groove. No track features any additional overdubs beyond the performances of the three musicians in the group, and none of them need it—the “natural sounds” aren’t just a clever acronym, but an accurate reflection of the band’s actual playing style. Their chemistry and creativity is ultimately what makes these four songs interesting and endlessly listenable. Leadoff track “Breakin’ Through” is the longest and most complex of the four tracks, featuring a hypnotic minor-key bassline from Schinelli, which creates a backdrop for Todd to provide a blend of soul-
28 · San Diego CityBeat · September 7, 2016
ful and avant garde flute leads that find the centerpoint of the venn diagram where Bobbi Humphrey and Eric Dolphy overlap. By comparison, “Gettin’ Ready” is all pocket all the time, Najor laying down a harder hitting rhythm that drives a funk vamp worthy of James Brown. “Roll Call” is simultaneously a bit more laid back and more badass than the two tracks that precede it, employing an infectious strut reminiscent of Bill Withers’ “Use Me.” Meanwhile, “Memphis Two-Step” closes out the EP with a 12-bar blues pattern that’s both energetic and a lot of fun. There’s a good balance of familiarity and freshness in the four tracks that Natural Sounds Trio collect here, none of them a radical reinvention of funk, soul or jazz, but an appealing combination of the three nonetheless. And that has a lot to do with the combined talents of the three musicians involved. When you put a trio of well-traveled veteran musicians together in the same room, with a palpable musical chemistry, then—as is the case with Natural Sounds Trio—you’re not going to get anything less than a stellar result.
—Jeff Terich #SDCityBeat
MUSIC
JEFF TERICH SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10
PLAN A: Somos, Free Throw, High Waisted, King Bloom @ Che Cafe. I didn’t know much about Somos until this week, but you can go ahead and consider me a fan. Their brand of punk is somewhere between Joyce Manor and Built to Spill, and that’s a winning combination. PLAN B: Mursic, Dirge for November, A music insider’s weekly agenda Lumivore, Ultima Circo @ The Merrow. Feel like getting a bit more dramatic Thursday night is in need of a goth dance WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 PLAN A: Y La Bamba, The Blues and party, then this is the best bet this week. on Saturday night? Soak in the symphonic Greys, Hilo @ Soda Bar. There aren’t Cold Cave never fail to bring some darkly synth-laden prog metal of Mursic. It’s an many bands quite like Y La Bamba. The compulsive grooves. BACKUP PLAN: !!!, acquired taste, but get there early enough and there will be a wider Portland-based group combines Latin pop DJ Velvet Touch @ Soda Bar. spectrum of heavy music for with contemporary indie rock, and just a good measure. There’s someslight touch of something much weirder. thing for every creature of the Vocalist Luz Elena Mendoza is the real FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9 night. PLAN A: Work Drugs, Satchmode, focus, with a voice that’s not just powerful, but a versatile instrument unto itself. Slares @ Soda Bar. Damn, Work Drugs BACKUP PLAN: The Bones of JR Jones, are smooth. The Philadelphia band plays SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 Creature and the Woods, Whiskey Cir- dreamy indie pop that feels like a gin and PLAN A: Spotlights, Death tonic in a comfortably air-conditioned Eyes, Deep Sea Thunder cle @ The Casbah. room. It’s aural comfort. PLAN B: Low and Beast @ The Casbah. Be Told, Obligerant, Cabuloan @ Tower Spotlights’ new album THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 Bar. Low and Be Told features ex-members Tidals features some PLAN A: The Zombies, Bruce Sudano @ of Marsupials and Uncle Joe’s Big Ol’ Driv- guitar from ex-San DiBelly Up Tavern. If you haven’t listened to er, and they rock pretty hard. Friday night egan Mike Hayden of The Zombies’ Odessey and Oracle, you’re is for getting out all of your frustration and Sleep Lady, so you can missing out on one of the greatest albums aggression, so see some punk rock done imagine it’s pretty of the ’60s. It’s 30 minutes of ornately ar- by some San Diego vets. BACKUP PLAN: big, heavy stuff. The ranged and perfect psych-pop, and it Asesino, Bio Crisis, Temblad, Gravespell band rocks pretty doesn’t sound like it’s aged a day. PLAN @ Brick by Brick. damn hard, with lots B: Tr/st, Cold Cave @ Music Box. If your of dense layers of
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guitar. Bring earplugs. PLAN B: Bakkuda, Mystery Cave, DJ Andrew McGranahan @ Blonde. For something dancier, come to this showcase of local beatmakers and laptoppers, who’ll get your butt moving pronto. BACKUP PLAN: Draemings, Psychic Love, Le Ra @ Soda Bar.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12
PLAN A: Deep Sea Diver, Oh Spirit, Imagery Machine @ Soda Bar. Deep Sea Diver is a catchy bunch, with some gorgeous layers of guitars and dreamy effects that just sound heavenly. Make it a little early for rising local talent Oh Spirit, while you’re at it.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
PLAN A: Clams Casino, Lil B @ Observatory North Park. Clams Casino and Lil B have collaborated many times before, Clams’ psychedelic cloudrap production creating a sublime atmosphere for Lil B’s absurdist delivery. They’re sharing the stage together at last, and it’ll be a surreal party. Cold Cave
September 7, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 29
MUSIC
CONCERTS HOT! NEW! FRESH!
Metal Church (Brick by Brick, 9/25), The Clean (The Hideout, 10/5), Holy White Hounds (Casbah, 10/19), Kongos, Joy Formidable (Music Box, 10/26), Martin Lawrence (Harrah’s Resort, 10/29), Psychedelic Furs (BUT, 10/30), Katt Williams (Viejas Arena, 11/5), The Ocean (Brick by Brick, 11/8), Lupe Fiasco (HOB, 11/14), Trash Talk, Antwon (Soda Bar, 11/18), Yelawolf (Observatory, 11/25), Arc Iris (Soda Bar, 11/29), Jackie Greene (BUT, 12/9), Tijuana Panthers (Soda Bar, 12/9), SIMS (Casbah, 12/11), Brian Setzer’s Rockabilly Riot (BUT, 12/30), Brian Setzer Orchestra (BUT, 12/31), Asphyx (Brick by Brick, 4/25).
GET YER TICKETS Local Natives (Observatory, 9/15), Carla Morrison (Observatory, 9/16), Crystal Castles (Observatory, 9/17), 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), 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 River (BUT, 10/1), Phantogram (Irenic, 10/1), Mod-
30 · San Diego CityBeat · September 7, 2016
ern Baseball (Irenic, 10/2), Pete Yorn (BUT, 10/4), Sia, Miguel (Viejas Arena, 10/5), SURVIVE (Soda Bar, 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), 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), Screaming Females (Soda Bar, 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), Suicide Machines (Irenic, 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), Amy Schumer (Valley View Casino Center, 12/3), The Album Leaf (Irenic, 12/9), Pere Ubu (Casbah, 12/10), Henry Rollins (Observatory, 12/27), Mannheim Steamroller (Civic Theatre, 12/28), Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven (Music Box, 12/29), The Devil Makes Three (Observatory, 1/45), Blind Boys of Alabama (BUT, 1/29).
SEPTEMBER 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
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.
MUSIC CONTINUED ON PAGE 32
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September 7, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 31
MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 30 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 (sold out). 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.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 22 …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead at Soda Bar. Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue at Humphreys by the Bay. The Naked and Famous at Observatory North Park. Squeeze at Belly Up Tavern (sold out). Grupo Fantasma at Music Box. Thirdstory at House of Blues (sold out). Oni at Brick by Brick.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 23 Alice Bag Band at The Casbah. Sigur Ros at Copley Symphony Hall (sold out). Goatwhore at The Merrow. Atmosphere at Observatory North Park (sold out). Air Supply at Humphreys by the Bay. WAR at Belly Up Tavern. Twin Peaks at The Irenic. Ash at Soda Bar. Audiotopsy at Brick by Brick.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 24 Crystal Bowersox at Poway OnStage. Piebald at Soda Bar. A Tribe Called Red at The Hideout. Band of Skulls at Belly Up Tavern. Skatalites at The Casbah.
SUNDAY, SEPT. 25 Tegan and Sara at Observatory North Park. Delta Rae at Music Box. O.A.R. at Humphreys by the Bay. Metal Church at Brick by Brick.
MONDAY, SEPT. 26 Molotov at Observatory North Park. The Specials at House of Blues (sold out).
TUESDAY, SEPT. 27 DJ Shadow at House of Blues. Sloan at The Casbah. Dolly Parton at Valley View Casino Center.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 28 Glen Hansard at Observatory North Park. Cymbals Eat Guitars at Soda Bar. Fruit Bats at The Hideout. Mary Chapin Carpenter at Belly Up Tavern (sold out). King at The Casbah. Aaron Lewis at Humphreys by the Bay. Bear Hands at Music Box.
32 · San Diego CityBeat · September 7, 2016
THURSDAY, SEPT. 29 Thievery Corporation at Belly Up Tavern, Well Well Well at Soda Bar, Frankie Cosmos at The Irenic, The Four Tops, The Temptations at Humphreys (sold out).
FRIDAY, SEPT. 30 Soul Rebels Sound System with Talib Kweli at Belly Up Tavern. Paula Poundstone at Humphreys by the By. Adam Green at Blonde. Keith Sweat at California Center for the Arts.
OCTOBER SATURDAY, OCT. 1 Jim Jefferies at Humphreys by the Bay. Okkervil River at Belly Up Tavern. El Ten Eleven at Music Box. Phantogram at The Irenic. Steve Gunn at Soda Bar. CRSSD Festival w/ Miike Snow, Zhu, Cashmere Cat at Waterfront Park.
SUNDAY, OCT. 2 Alice in Chains at Copley Symphony Hall. KT Tunstall at House of Blues. The Quebe Sisters at California Center for the Arts. Echo and the Bunnymen at Humphreys by the Bay. Blind Guardian at Observatory North Park. Ani DiFranco at Belly Up Tavern (sold out). CRSSD Festival w/ Miike Snow, Zhu, Cashmere Cat at Waterfront Park. Modern Baseball at The Irenic.
MONDAY, OCT. 3 Cyndi Lauper at Humphreys by the Bay. Cosmonauts at The Hideout.
TUESDAY, OCT. 4 Kris Kristofferson at Balboa Theatre.
Pete Yorn at Belly Up Tavern. ZZ Top at Humphreys by the Bay (sold out).
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 5 Sia at Viejas Arena. SURVIVE at Soda Bar. Todo Mundo at California Center for the Arts. The Clean at The Hideout.
THURSDAY, OCT. 6 Failure at Music Box. Herman’s Hermits with Peter Noone at Humphreys by the Bay. Wynton Marsalis at Balboa Theatre.
rCLUBSr
710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave., San Diego. Pacific Beach. Fri: Roxy Roca, The Soulside Players. Sat: Elektric Voodoo, No Kings. Tue: Ocean Natives. 98 Bottles, 2400 Kettner Blvd. Ste. 110, San Diego. Little Italy. Fri: Mark Allen Felton. Sun: The Matt Smith Neu Jazz Trio. Air Conditioned Lounge, 4673 30th St., San Diego. Normal Heights. Wed: ‘Breezy Bliss’ w/ DJs Viking, Josh Taylor, Jus Sven, Giana. 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: Pablo Francisco. Fri: Pablo Francisco. Sat: Pablo Francisco. Sun: Pablo Francisco. The Bancroft, 9143 Campo Rd., Spring Valley. Sat: Screaming Yeehaws, Masteria, Sculpins. Bar Pink, 3829 30th St., San Diego. North Park. Wed: DJ Grandmasta Rats. Thu: The Husky Boy All-Stars. Sat: The Milkcrates DJs. Sun: ‘Rat Sabbath’. Mon:
‘Wreckordmania’ w/ DJ @Large. Tue: The Fink Bombs. Beaumont’s, 5662 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla. Thu: Adam Block Duo. Fri: Moonage Daydreamers. Sat: Emotional Rescue. Sun: Kenny Eng. Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. Wed: Derren Raser, Nate Donnis Trio, Big Boss Bubeleh. Thu: The Zombies, Bruce Sudano. Fri: Super Diamond, A Certain Groove. Sun: The Highwayman Show, Daring Greatly. Tue: Morgan Leigh Band, Emily Drew, Jay Tighe. Black Cat Bar, 4246 University Ave., San Diego. City Heights. Thu: Uptown Rhythm Makers. Fri: The Candlelights, Slum Summer. Blonde, 1808 W. Washington Street, San Diego. Thu: Dead Kids Get Up. Fri: Moving Units plays Joy Division. Sat: ‘Soul Work’ w/ Malcolm Brown. Sun: Mystery Cave, Bakkuda. Mon: ‘Three One G/ Planet B Night’. Tue: ‘GRRRL - Independent Ladies Night’. Boar Cross’n, 390 Grand Ave., Carlsbad. Carlsbad. Thu: Mind Sail. Fri: ‘Club Musae’. Border X Brewing Tasting Room, 2196 Logan Ave., San Diego. Barrio Logan. Fri: Border X Chunky Film Fundraiser. Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave., San Diego. Bay Park. Thu: Begrime Exemious, Seraphic Disgust, Xantam. Fri: Asesino, Bio Crisis, Temblad, Gravespell. Sat: ‘Never Forget’ w/ 1001, A Hero Within, Big Goat, Hand of Fire. 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: The Bones of JR
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MUSIC Jones, Creature and the Woods, Whiskey Circle. Thu: Juliette Lewis, Andy Clockwise (sold out). Fri: Assemblage 23, DJ Robin Roth, Lance Liquidgrey. Sat: Trouble in the Wind, Red Fox Tails, Sick Balloons, Born Gypsy. Sun: Spotlights, Death Eyes, Deep Sea Thunderbeast. Mon: Sam Outlaw, Cale Tyson, Reverend Baron. Tue: Buddha Trixie, Cerulean Veins, The Wild Fires. The Che Cafe, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla. Fri: Casual Friday, Deep Yogurt, Atocene, Meows. Sat: Somos, Free Throw, High Waisted, King Bloom. Chico Club, 7366 El Cajon Blvd, La Mesa. Sat: The Village of KORE. Dirk’s Nightclub, 7662 Broadway, Lemon Grove. Lemon Grove. Fri: TNT. Sat: The Fabulous Hips. Dizzy’s, 4275 Mission Bay Drive, San Diego. Mission Bay. Fri: Paul Viani Quartet. Sat: Judy Wexler with the Danny Green Trio.
Demink. Fri: Tomorrows Bad Seed, Sammy Johnson. Sat: Local Brews Local Grooves. Sun: Lynch Mob. Mon: Airbourne. Tue: Robin Henkel. Java Joe’s Normal Heights, 3536 Adams Ave., San Diego. Normal Heights. Wed: Matt the Electrician. Fri: Gregory Page. Sat: Jessica Bell. Sun: Nina Francis, Hans and Denise, Sophia Alone, Gaby Aparicio. Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd., San Diego. Midtown. Thu: ‘Verbal Activities’. Fri: ‘Little Warrior: A Benefit’. Lestat’s West , 3341 Adams Ave., Normal Heights, San Diego. Normal Heights. Thu: Eliza Vera. Fri: Big Bad Buffalo, The Bassics. Sat: Alan Parry. Sun: Amanda and the Keepers, Owen Plant. The Merrow, 1271 University Ave., San Diego. Hillcrest. Fri: Class of 99, Epic, Strange Crew. Tue: Young Wants, Melt, Beach Goons.
F6ix, 526 F St., Downtown., San Diego. Downtown. Thu: ‘Trill Thursday’. Fri: DJ Dynamiq.
Music Box, 1337 India St., San Diego. Little Italy. Wed: 5 Minute Film Festival. Thu: TR/ST, COLD CAVE. Tue: Joseph Arthur, Lee Harvey Osmond, Reuben Hollebon.
The Field, 544 Fifth Ave., San Diego. Downtown. Wed: Island of Black & White. Thu: J-Mann Duo. Fri: Feel Good Band. Sat: Clint Westwood Band. Sun: Joseph Carroll. Mon: Dan Porter. Tue: Chris del Priore.
The Office, 3936 30th St., San Diego. North Park. Wed: ‘Grand Ole Office: Tribute to Merle Haggard’. Thu: ‘No Limits’ w/ DJ Myson King. Fri: ‘After Hours’ w/ DJs Kid Wonder, Saul Q. Mon: ‘Metal Monday’ w/ DJs Randy Elskamp, Jordan Slocum.
Fluxx, 500 Fourth Ave. , San Diego. Downtown. Fri: DJ Kaos. Sat: Brett Bodley.’
OMNIA Nightclub, 454 6th Ave, San Diego. Thu: Sick Individuals. Fri: EC Twins. Sat: DJ Politik.
The Holding Company, 5040 Newport Ave., San Diego. Ocean Beach. Thu: DJ Reefah, Rockaway Kings. Fri: DJ Green T, Psydecar. Sat: DJ Artform, Funk’s Most Wanted. Sun: DJ Artform. Tue: DJ Green T. House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., San Diego. Downtown. Thu: Jerry ‘Hot Rod’
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Panama 66, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park. Wed: Gilbert Castellanos. Fri: Mokoto. Sat: Cedrice and the Addictions. Parq, 615 Broadway, San Diego. Fri: DJ Karma. Sat: Tony Martinez. Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd., San Di-
ego. City Heights. Wed: Y La Bamba, The Blues and Greys, Hilo. Thu: !!!. Fri: Work Drugs, Satchmode, Slares. Sat: Anger Flares, Aggroculture U.S., The Touchies, The Pope Virgins. Sun: Draemings, Psychic Love, Le Ra. Mon: Deep Sea Diver, Oh Spirit, Imagery Machine. Tue: Davina and the Vagabonds. SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd., San Diego. Midway. Sat: Wolfwaker, SLNCR, Short Stories, Transpire. Sycamore Den, 3391 Adams Ave., San Diego. Normal Heights. Thu: Kenseth Thibideau, Joileah Concepcion. Sun: The Big Decisions. Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave., San Diego. City Heights. Fri: Low and Be Told, Obligerant, Cabuloan. Sat: The Lucky Eejits, Punchcard, Midnight Track. Turquoise, 873 Turquoise St., San Diego. Pacific Beach. Wed: Tomcat Courtney. Thu: Fred Hardy. Fri: Gabby and Friends. Sat: Doug Trip, Tomcat Courtney, Salsa With Nicole. Sun: Sounds Like 4. Tue: Gypsy Caravan, Tomcat Courtney. Ux31, 3112 University Ave., San Diego. North Park. Fri: DJ Junior. Sat: DJ Bodyrawk. Sun: ‘Reggae SD’. Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St, San Diego. South Park. Wed: ‘Is This It?’ w/ DJ Rees Withrow. Thu: ‘Recommended Dosage’ w/ Gargoyles, DJs Mike Turi, Andrew McGranahan. Fri: ‘Death by Dancing’ w/ DJ Jon Blaj. Sat: ‘Booty Bassment’. Sun: DJ Lazer Lizeth. Tue: Sketchparty San Diego Anniversary, ‘Videodrome’. Winstons, 1921 Bacon St., San Diego. Ocean Beach. Wed: Shaggamon, DJ Carlos Culture. Thu: EOTO. Fri: Josh Heinrichs, Skillinjah, Cityside. Sun: Wise Monkey Orchestra. Mon: Electric Waste Band. Tue: CalPhonics.
September 7, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 33
LAST WORDS | ADVICE
AMY ALKON
ADVICE
GODDESS Aisle Always Love You
permarket—organic Broccolini…grape kombucha… precancerous polyp in the girlfriend’s throat.
My boyfriend and I have been together for a year and a half, and we really love each other. His parents adore me and are thrilled that he might not die alone. After his mom saw us being all cuddly in the supermarket, she warned him that we may be getting in people’s way or annoying them by “hanging all over each other.” (We aren’t doing anything dirty or gross—just hand-holding, play wrestling, quick kisses.) She wondered whether we do this because one of us is insecure. I felt sort of offended. We’re just affectionate. Most people who see us smile. —Lovey-Dovey
Florist Gump
There’s being cuddly at the supermarket, and then there’s being cuddly in a way that says, “We usually do this with whipped cream.” Even if what you’re publicly displaying is affection, not foreplay, there are a number of reasons it may make onlookers uncomfortable: It’s them. (They were raised to think PDA is not okay.) It’s their relationship. (The more warm, cuddly and adorbs you two are the more you remind them that their relationship temperature is about 3 degrees above “bitter divorce.”) It’s the wrong time and place. (They’re watching you do huggy headlocks at Granny’s funeral.) You’re actually onto something by being so physically demonstrative. Charles Darwin observed that expressing the physical side of an emotion—that is, “the outward signs,” like the yelling that goes with rage—amps up the emotion. Modern research finds that he was right. For example, clinical psychologist Joan Kellerman and her colleagues had total strangers do something lovers do—gaze deeply into each other’s eyes. Subjects who did this for just two minutes “reported significantly more feelings of attraction, interest, warmth, etc. for each other” than subjects in the “control” condition (who spent the two minutes looking down at each other’s hands). Research on touch has found similar effects. The upshot? Act cuddly-wuddly and cuddly-wuddly feelings should follow. Maybe you can science his mom into feeling better by explaining this. Consider that she may just be worried that you two are going to burn yourselves out. If you think that’s part of it, you might clue her in on what the greeting cards don’t tell you: Love is also a biochemical process, and a year and a half in, you’re surely out of the hormonal hurricane stage. You also might dial it down a little around her (not because you’re doing anything wrong but because it’s nice to avoid worrying Mumsy if you can). The reality is, we all sometimes get in other people’s way when we’re trying to find something at the su-
I love my girlfriend, but the other night on the phone, I said something that really hurt her feelings. I was out with my guy friends, and one said, “Get her flowers. Girls love that stuff.” I ran around in the middle of the night looking for them. Obviously, there were no florists open. I had to hit a slew of 7-Elevens. I came home with a rose and told her about my treasure hunt to find it. She loved it, and all was forgiven. For a flower? I don’t get it. —Temporary Jerk It is a little crazy that when you love a woman, you’re supposed to express it with a handful of useless weeds—that is, “Say it with flowers” and not something nice and practical, a la “Say it with a repeating stapler.” “A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose,” wrote Gertrude Stein. Sorry, Gertie. It’s actually not. A rose can also be a form of information—one that anthropologists call a “costly signal.” A costly signal is a message that’s more than just words—meaning it involves an investment of time, effort, risk and/or money, which tells the recipient that it’s more likely to be sincere. So, the pointless extravagance of buying a woman flowers is exactly the point. To be willing to burn money on something so intrinsically useless suggests you’re either a natural-born idiot or so in love that it makes you droolingly dim. But—as you might argue—you only spent a few bucks on that rose. Well, context counts. Research by evolutionary social psychologist Yohsuke Ohtsubo and his colleagues points out that buying just one flower will make you look cheap—but only when “a more costly option (is) available” (like if you’re at a florist). Otherwise, effort counts. In other words, if you only bring your woman a single rose, casually mention that you got it by crawling over broken glass to 7-Eleven while dodging gunfire from the Albanian mob. (Or that you at least tried Rite Aid, CVS and 12 other 7-Elevens first.)
“
You’re actually
onto something by being so physically
“
demonstrative.
34 · San Diego CityBeat · September 7, 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 F-Word” (St. Martin’s Press, June 3, 2014).
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September 7, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 35