San Diego CityBeat • Sept 25, 2013

FALL ARTS

2 · San Diego CityBeat · September 25, 2013

September 25, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 3

Marijuana and the munchies When interim mayor Todd Gloria sat down on Sept. its feet on bringing one back.

3 for his first meeting with Walt Ekard and Scott So, that’s where we are—waiting for the interim Chadwick, the top two holdovers from former MayMayor’s office now to submit an ordinance to the or Bob Filner’s administration, one of the topics of City Council that’ll meet the council’s requirements. discussion was what to do about laws that weren’t That’s expected to happen in January, which seems being enforced under Filner’s reign. Mainly on the awfully far down the road for people who won’t men’s minds was the thorny issue of medicinal marhave access to marijuana now that city will truly be ijuana, but, according to the way Gloria’s office tells enforcing zoning law. it, the less-thorny issue of food-truck regulation got Meanwhile, that enforcement will occur based swept up in the net. on complaints. Keach says the city doesn’t know The decision made that day, Gloria spokesperson how many dispensaries are currently open, but Katie Keach says, was by-the-book enforcement of she says 43 neighborhood code compliance cases the city’s zoning laws, and for better or are either open or have been investiDavid Rolland worse, it’s been decided that there’s no gated and closed. So, in the world of legal way to distribute medicinal marimedicinal marijuana, complaints are juana in San Diego. That’s simply berelatively frequent. cause medicinal-marijuana distribuBy comparison, complaints against tion isn’t an expressly permitted land food trucks are infrequent, but they use. Through Keach, Gloria reminds happen. Keach says that since GloCityBeat that Filner himself, back in ria took over, the city’s received two January, having previously vowed to complaints against a single food truck look the other way as marijuana disparked on El Cajon Blvd. in North Park pensaries did their business, reversed and one complaint against a food truck course after a closed-door meeting parked near City Hall, Downtown. with city attorneys and the City CounIt sounds like food trucks got entancil and declared, along with Gloria and gled in the effort to contain marijuana City Attorney Jan Goldsmith, that zonTodd Gloria dispensaries, because they’re operating laws would be enforced. The thing ing illegally in same way—they’re not is, Filner didn’t follow through. expressly permitted on private property, even if by That was fine with us, of course. There are permission from the property owner. You’ll need to enough people who need marijuana for legitimate pardon the food-truck industry for suspecting that medicinal purposes that we have no problem with Gloria was acting at the behest of the San Diego that particular policy of looking the other way. chapter of the powerful California Restaurant AssoThat’s why weren’t thrilled when Gloria announced ciation—after all, local restaurants have complained right after he took over the Mayor’s office that the about mobile food vendors eating into their profits. city would start enforcing its enforcement policy.

Like with pot distribution, Gloria wants to put Gloria says he’s eager to bring a marijuana-disforth an ordinance regulating food trucks on pritribution ordinance to the City Council that would vate property, but unlike with pot distribution, establish a framework for people to get the medithere’s no time frame for that to happen. cine safely and legally, and he has some degree of As long as they’re safe, the food-truck business is credibility on the issue—he’s advocated for a more great for San Diego—we’ve seen firsthand at event liberal ordinance regulating distribution than his after event how much people love them. Disallowing colleagues on the City Council. Keach is quick to trucks because there’s nothing in writing that specifpoint out that Gloria supported an admittedly reically allows them seems awfully frivolous to us—just strictive dispensary ordinance in 2011 that was as it does with medicinal marijuana—and we’re worpassed by the council but repealed under threat of a ried that Gloria has publicly swung opened the gates ballot measure sponsored by medicinal-marijuana for complaints and, consequently, enforcement. advocates. In April, the council rejected a more libIn any case, both of these issues must be fixed as soon as possible. eral proposal from Filner and asked for a new proposal that would be even more restrictive than the What do you think? Write to editor@sdcitybeat.com.

2011 ordinance. Keach says Filner’s office dragged This issue of CityBeat is the Heisenberg of alt-weeklies.

Volume 12 • Issue 7 Editor David Rolland Associate Editor Kelly Davis Music Editor Jeff Terich Staff Writers Alex Zaragoza, Joshua Emerson Smith Web Editor Ryan Bradford Art director Lindsey Voltoline Columnists Edwin Decker, John R. Lamb

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

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

Advertising inquiries Interested in advertising?

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

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

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

4 · San Diego CityBeat · September 25, 2013

September 25, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 5

A free country Dear Mr. Peter [“Letters,” Aug. 14]: You seem to have no idea that you are living in a secular democratic republic where your unalienable rights are assumed at birth (not conferred by law). These rights are (supposedly) protected by our government against the tyranny of the mob (or “majority”). The mob should not, for example, be able to take away someone else’s freedom to enter a contract (which is what marriage actually is) or to live as they see fit (although California’s awful proposition system makes a mockery of this sacred principle and promotes mob rule). Neither your discomfort nor the absurd beliefs of ancient desert tribes have anything to do with the matter—period.

If you don’t like living in a free country with a secular government set up to ensure that everyone gets treated equally (at least in principle), regardless of what minority they may be in, then you might find Iran or one of those other desert regimes more to your liking—you know, the kind that still continues in your old “historical” tradition of crazy, fear-based control.

Our founders had already experienced the nightmare of a religion-based government (which you seem to want back) and decided to try something better. Check it out.

And let me just mention that homosexuality is not unnatural, as animal species express sexuality in a spectrum of be-

haviors; nor is it a “lifestyle” that you can change like a hairdo. Its emotional content is inseparable from its sexual content. We also sometimes raise good kids (who are usually heterosexual!).

What people do with their own lives, bodies and minds (as long as they don’t cause provable harm to others) is up to them—you know, like real adults, real Americans—instead of relying on an inhuman nanny-state of the worst kind: your kind.

Timothy Brittain, Chula Vista

Join us in the now Wow, there is so many things wrong with Mark Peter’s letter in the Aug. 14 issue that it’s hard to know where to start.

Alright, let’s start with the “gay people are some of my best friends” comment. I’m sorry, Mr. Peter, they may be your friends but you are certainly not theirs. If you were, you would not be describing who they are as deviant and wrong. As for the freespeech argument, just because someone has the right to free speech does not mean that they are immune from criticism.

Contrary to your argument, there has been homosexuality historically and in nature. As for usurping the will of the citizens of California, how about all of the out-of-state money that was behind Prop.

8? Additionally, we should not be voting

6 · San Diego CityBeat · September 25, 2013

on any citizen’s civil rights. As for your friend who was molested, I would hope someone suggested counseling; molestation does not make you gay, any more than it makes someone straight.

Our society is becoming more accepting and, hopefully, less bigoted. I suggest you join us in the 21st century.

It’s not a win-lose proposition! Even Toni Atkins (at Voice of San Diego’s Politifest event) noted that we have to take care of the “economic engine” (I believe those were her exact words) that generates the revenues we need to take care of the disadvantaged. If she can keep a level head on her shoulders, so can you!

Lenora Dody, Hillcrest

Amy Roth, Cortez Hill

Keep the engine running

Defending Decker

There’s no point in supporting neighborhood-oriented action if you kill the goose that lays the gold that you need to pay for it!

JFK knew that, which is why the agenda he left behind emphasized two big initiatives—one to strengthen civil rights, the other to cut taxes. He knew that unless the country was made strong for business, the revenue wouldn’t come in to pay for all the programs he wanted to start. LBJ got Congress to pass both bills; the tax cut ushered in one of the biggest economic booms in all American history, and that enabled LBJ to do the Great Society (for good or ill—but that’s another story).

So, for heaven’s sake, CityBeat, don’t do a number on Todd Gloria or Nathan Fletcher if they try to keep business strong in San Diego [“Editorial,” Aug. 28].

I feel compelled to respond to Jean Loring’s Aug. 28 letter about Edwin Decker: Despite Mr. Decker’s genesis from the local bar scene, he possesses keen powers of observation and a talent for turning a memorable phrase or putting together a forceful, cogent argument, not an easy feat to pull off. Whether he formally studied writing or this is a natural talent, his columns are always logical and well thought out, generally thought-provoking and not focused on piss, puke and poop, unlike some writers.

J. Frank Webster, El Cajon read our beer blog

at SDcitybeat.com

September 25, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 7

Courtesy: AFSCME Local 127

The fleet maintenance yard, where staffing levels have compromised the city’s ability to repair reserve fire engines.

Managed comp under fire Why the city might not be ready for the next big blaze

by Joshua Emerson Smith San Diego’s no stranger to raging fires. One of the largest in California history, the Cedar fire, ripped through the county in 2003. During the 2007 wildfires, hundreds of homes and tens of thousands of acres in the region burned.

While this year’s record-dry conditions have left thousands of acres covered in brittle vegetation, San Diego fire officials say the city could be significantly handicapped in the event of a large emergency. A recent inability to keep up with basic repairs has dangerously limited the number of vehicles available to the fire department, fire officials say.

“For approximately the past year, it has been a challenge to maintain the required number of frontline trucks or reserve engines in service due to many factors, including the loss of several mechanics,” says San Diego Fire Chief Javier Mainer.

The department, which “normally” has 32 reserve engines at its disposal, has been operating during the last six months with an average of less than three, Mainer says.

“We have been able to keep the city’s front-line fleet operational,” he says. “We have, at times, limited our contribution to mutual-aid requests outside our region and, to some degree, have also constrained our ability to contribute to mutual aid within the region.”

Recently, the fire department provided three fire engines to help fight the 250-acre Lyons Fire in East County.

However, in doing so, the department had no reserve engines available, leaving the city at risk.

At the same time, if the blaze had been larger, the city would not have been able to provide more assistance, says Brian Fennessy, assistant chief of operations with the San Diego Fire Department.

8 · San Diego CityBeat · September 25, 2013

Interim mayor Todd Gloria’s office declined multiple requests for interviews with city staff on the topic. An email with one-sentence answers was provided in response to submitted questions.

The city declined to say whether fleet services was functioning adequately but maintained that once the restructuring was final, the department would meet its contract obligations.

Under managed competition, city leaders can allow private companies to bid on public-service contracts held by city employees. In an effort to keep their jobs, city management and employees submit their own proposal. While the Mayor’s office has the final say on who wins the contract, a private-sector bid must cost at least 10 percent less than the public proposal to qualify.

According to the report, employees with fleet services were so dissatisfied with management’s bid on their behalf that they submitted an alternate proposal. The report reads: “In preparing the first proposal, management had brought in a subject matter expert consultant to assist with proposal efforts and did not adequately include employees in the development process.”

While the employees’ alternate proposal beat out the lowest private-sector bid, the report says, the city selected management’s original harsher bid.

Union leaders representing the employees continue to maintain the cuts are unsustainable and were forced on workers by management.

“What happened here is, a gun was put to my peoples’ head, and they were told either some of us lose our jobs or all of us will,” says Carlos Mejia, the union representative for American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 127.

According to a CityBeat analysis of city budget documents and data from the report, fleet services didn’t need to make any cuts to win the contract. The employees could have bid 20 percent (roughly $10 million) higher and still won the competition.

“I feel that management came in with the idea that they had to make a cut and they had to basically put a good amount of money on the table in order to satisfy public officials,” Mejia says. “I truly do feel we could have put together a bid that would have been reflective of the true needs and been successful.”

A spokesperson for Gloria writes in an email that all cuts were necessary and reflected “best management practices.”

However, the Filner report shows a trend of deep public-sector cuts unnecessary to prevail in the managed competition process: • Employees with publishing services agreed to a budget cut of roughly $1.08 million, underbidding the private sector by 57 percent.

• Employees with landfill operations agreed to a cut of roughly $2.7 million, underbidding the private sector by 28 percent.

• Employees with street and sidewalk maintenance slashed their budget by about $870,000, underbidding the private sector by 194 percent.

“When those bids came in, and every time there were significant cuts, we scratched our heads and thought, ‘Is this sustainable?’ says city Independent Budget Analyst Andrea Tevlin. “But there’s no way for them to know what the private sector is going to do.”

It’s still not clear how managed competition will ultimately affect fleet services’ ability to maintain crucial city vehicles, such as fire engines. But the bidding process’ ability to safely and effectively deliver city services is under scrutiny.

“What managed comp doesn’t allow you to do is have a conversation about what is the desirable service level,” Tevlin says. “But there is a very high incentive for management and employees to retain their jobs.”

“We have dodged a bullet multiple times this fire season in terms of our having to decline participation in a striketeam assignment, due to the limitations in having reserve apparatus available,” he says.

Stop-gap measures have been taken by the city to increase the number of backup vehicles, fire officials say. As of the last point-in-time count, the city had five reserve engines operational.

So, why is this happening?

Keeping up with repairs on the city’s fire engines is the job of Fleet Maintenance Services, which is responsible for about 4,000 city vehicles, including police and trash collection. During the past year, the division of fleet services that maintains fire vehicles lost five of 17 employees due to attrition. The city didn’t replace those employees, and it’s not clear when or if it ever will.

Two years ago, fleet services agreed to eliminate 92 of the department’s 249 positions, under a process called “managed competition.” The restructuring, which still requires laying off roughly 26 people, is expected to be complete by next July, city officials say. Under the fleet-services managed-competition bid, the city is expected to save roughly $4 million annually, bringing the department’s total cost this year to about $51.7 million.

Then-Mayor Jerry Sanders hailed the deal as a win for fiscal responsibility.

However, according to a draft city document that was never released to the public but was obtained recently by CityBeat, under managed competition, city employees felt pressured by management to accept cuts that workers said were unsustainable and that eventually proved unnecessary to win the contract.

The report, which was compiled under former Mayor Bob Filner, states that city workers repeatedly expressed concern that “the proposal was developed unilaterally by management, does not adequately reflect employee input and represents a solution that employees view as not viable Write to joshuas@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcitybeat.com. to implement.”

john r.

David Rolland

spin cycle

lamb Insider wading “A liberal is a man too broadminded to take his own side in a quarrel.”

—Robert Frost It’s still early in the electoral sprint to replace departed Mayor Bob Filner, but elbows are already flying—and Democrats seem to be sustaining the bloodiest noses.

While San Diego’s dwindling Republican faithful have lined up in lockstep behind the Blonde (“Newly Rebranded Gentler”) Bomber, City Councilmember Kevin Faulconer, as their allegedly centrist model, local Democrats spent the last week pummeling each other over their smorgasbord of mayoral candidates.

It was like a rush hour of dieticians at the Souplantation salad

bar. Minus the sneeze guard.

The fun started when, unbeknownst to the candidate, a questionnaire submitted by newly minted Democrat Nathan Fletcher to the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council—the Walmart of local labor organizations (that is, by size and influence)—mysteriously landed in the hands of labor’s most vocal hater, San Diego County GOP Chairman Tony Krvaric.

The questionnaire, which contained views that seemed 180 degrees from the Fletcher of his not-too-distant Republican days, became instant political fodder for social-media wonks and the mainstream media.

As an editorial in the all-in-forFaulconer U-T San Diego growled Saturday, Fletcher is “a politician with the gall to sell spasms of ex-

Nathan Fletcher, object of controversy pedience as principled personal growth.” Ouch, coming from the paper owned by Doug “My Way or the Highway” Manchester.

The Fletcher camp immediately began spinning the leak as an inside job intended to boost the chances for the labor council’s chosen mayoral son, City Councilmember David Alvarez, who seems to be gaining significant political steam heading into the Nov. 19 special election.

Fletcher folks wondered how

a questionnaire that’s distributed and collected in the same room where it’s reviewed could have managed to walk itself out of said room. Fingers began pointing at Mickey Kasparian, an influential labor-council member who’s not been shy about sharing his distrust of Fletcher’s political shifts in the sand.

Kasparian, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 135, called such a suggestion

“a blatant lie” unworthy of print. “I have no idea where these ridiculous stories come from,” he told Spin Cycle via email. He also branded as “garbage” the suggestion that he had teamed up with nemesis Krvaric for a Fletcher beat-down in exchange for some Republican money rolling in the direction of Alvarez’s campaign coffers.

“We are doing our own work to get Alvarez elected. That’s the

Spin CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

September 25, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 9

spin CONTINUED from PAGE 9 way labor works. Period,” the union president scoffed.

As far as hunting down the leaker, Kasparian said the labor council has “a process going on and will deal with that internally.”

Leaks seem to be the communications choice du jour for this stunted election cycle.

While Krvaric was no doubt enjoying the internal battles among Democrats, he was emailing his followers with perky news about Faulconer.

“Did you see Kevin’s fantastic segment on KUSI’s San Diego People over the weekend?” he gushed last week. “Kevin’s enthusiasm and sincerity comes across so well. Mrs. Krvaric is hard to impress and she was impressed when we watched it together….”

The email also included mention that “David Alvarez is getting some REAL traction in Democratic circles” and that the labor council would be conducting its first walk for him later that week.

Krvaric ended the email with a final Fletcher dig: “This man is an empty suit, selling himself to the highest bidder.”

In another email Friday, Krvaric noted that a “friend” had sent the Fletcher questionnaire to him, which he then gleefully distributed publicly with his own comments “to highlight exactly how severely his positions have changed in just 18 months. It’s incredible. Pathetic, really.

“NO Republican or business person should be supporting this man. Ever. For anything,” Krvaric concluded.

Back at Democrat Junction, three former party leaders emerged from the shadows Tuesday to put their chips on the Alvarez line heading into that evening’s much-anticipated (and ill-timed for CityBeat’s deadline!) endorsement vote among local Democratic delegates.

The glowing remarks from former party chairs Kennan Kaeder, Bob Jellison and Maureen Steiner about Alvarez’s progressive chops seemed a conveniently timed counterstrike to the support Fletcher has received from most-recent past party chairman Jess Durfee, who only last year played up Fletcher’s links to odiferous Republicans like Karl Rove.

“As you all know my goal, as chair of the party at that time, was

10 · San Diego CityBeat · September 25, 2013

to get our endorsed candidate into the run-off,” Durfee wrote in a letter to party members Thursday, referring to Filner. “My comments were made without having ever met or talked with Nathan Fletcher. That was then.”

After “many conversations” subsequently, Durfee said he’s convinced that in order to prevent San Diego from receding into “the dark past through the election of Kevin Faulconer,” that “Nathan Fletcher will be our strongest candidate in a head-to-head race” with the two-term Republican council member.

Durfee also noted in the letter that he’s convinced that packets of information about Fletcher that were mailed anonymously to Democratic Central Committee members emanated from local Republicans, since the post office used was nearby local GOP headquarters in Rancho Bernardo.

“Is that a coincidence?” Durfee wrote. “I doubt it. These letters attack Nathan specifically.

To be honest, I’m more than a little concerned as to how the updated Central Committee list got into the hands of those behind this.”

Added Durfee, who signed

the letter “Chair Emeritus”: “There is nothing the Republican Party wants more than to create a chaotic atmosphere within the Democratic Party and to influence who [sic] we support.”

It appears the first opportunity to see all the major Democratic candidates in one room will be Thursday evening in Hillcrest as San Diego Democrats for

Equality hold a mayoral forum.

Not that Spin Cycle doesn’t enjoy the political infighting (builds character—and columns), but let’s get to some specifics on how San Diego can keep moving down the progressive path. OK with you, candidates? Good!

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

September 25, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 11

by michael a. gardiner Michael A. Gardiner

they incorporated those same street vendors in a stunning display of creative economic democracy. A good vendor has long lines; a bad vendor does not last long.

These are lessons on display at the Zion Market food court. There’s a Korean-Chinese place, a couple of traditional Korean spots, a Chinese restaurant, a Vietnamese The spicy barbecued pork combo at CCD Tofu & Grill pho joint on the way, a bakery and a boba stand.

Some are terrific. Others, like Off the Wok, with its Chinese-American top-40 menu and underwhelming and flavorless food, were less so. A sign at the cash register said “No MSG.” Perhaps they should have added some.

On the other hand, there is a reason KoreanAn Asian hawker centre Chinese-style Noodles J-1 (ironically, a chain) in San Diego has such long lines: The food is great. One example is jajangmyeon, the Korean-ized version of What’s more all-American than the shoppinga Chinese noodle dish topped with a thick sauce mall food court, that bastion of brand loyalty, of a salty black soybean paste, diced pork and predictability and mediocrity in what passes vegetables. Sticky, salty and surprisingly sweet, for a marketplace in modern America’s suburit has the potential to be addicting. Another is bia? All Sbarro, Chick-Fil-A and Cinnabon, they jjamppong, a spicy noodle-soup dish featuring a may be food courts, but they’re hardly foodie rich seafood broth, pork and a variety of seafood, courts. There is, however, another model: the vegetables and Korean chile paste.

Asian hawker centres of Southeast Asia. That apCDD Tofu & Grill offers excellent takes on pears, at least in part, to be what Zion Market traditional Korean fare, both barbecue and (7655 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. in Kearny Mesa, tofu stews. The banchan are tasty, the stews are zionmarket.com) had in mind for the food court spicy and rich and the barbeque is perfectly in its newly built store. done. About the only downside at CDD is the Nearly the only thing that the classic American cost; $13.95 to $15.95 is rather pricey for a foodfood court has in common with an Asian hawker court lunch. centre is that they each deal in their respective The promising options will soon expand with culture’s versions of fast food: chain fast food in The Spotted Cow, a build-your-own pho concept America, street food in Asia. The hawker courts under common ownership with Pho La Jolla. of Singapore grew up as a way of addressing an The restaurant will be run by Jimmy Trinh and out-of-control street-food culture while simultaBoram Kim, both of whom trained at Culinary neously embracing it. By bringing street vendors Institute of America and worked at restaurants into centralized locations with modern facilities, like Le Bernardin and Café Boulud.

Singapore was able to fix the problems of unliZion Market’s hawker court is, like its model, censed vendors and unhygienic conditions. a work-in-progress. If all goes well, it will always be so.

But instead of leading to the mediocrity of American mall food, these centers became the Write to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com face and the focus of Singaporean cuisine. The and editor@sdcitybeat.com. genius of the hawker centres lies in the fact that

the world

fare

12 · San Diego CityBeat · September 25, 2013

Jen Van Tieghem

bottle

Rocket A closer-to-home Malbec

You can typically find Malbec listed in the “interesting” or “other” category of reds on wine lists. But this lesser-known varietal has been making more frequent appearances on shelves and in restaurants—and with good reason: It’s often delicious.

When I get hooked on a certain grape, I try to explore it as much as possible—different regions, different styles—to see which I like best. After trying a few Malbecs that fell short of my expectations, I found a well-priced favorite in a California version—Red Rock Winery’s 2009 Reserve Malbec, which is full of fruit flavors and balanced by a light acidity. Made from grapes from multiple California appellations and coming in under $10 a bottle, it’s worth stocking up on.

Historically used in French Bordeaux, Malbec can stand on its own quite nicely when done right. Many of the Argentinian versions I’ve tried lately

are a bit heavy on spice and tang. Red Rock’s offering is mellower, starting with hints of cherry on the nose but opening into more intricate, lush berries on the palate. The flavors develop, especially when given time to breathe, adding subtle molasses tinges and a touch of cocoa while finishing smooth. I noted a good amount of sediment left after having a glass (or four), which some folks find off-putting.

For me, this wine was tasty enough to try to lick these final remnants.

A wine with a lot of character is great on its own, which is how I served this bottle to friends. But I plan to try the additional bottles with hearty meals—maybe something smoky off the barbecue or a spicy pasta dish. Something with complexity and herbs and spices would complement the fruit-forward wine.

Another signature of Malbec is its deep purple hue, and this one is no different; make sure you check for red-wine lips after you enjoy it.

And even if you finish with violet teeth, it’s worth enjoying the layers of this decadent wine at an affordable price.

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

September 25, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 13

by jenny montgomery Jenny montgomery

north

fork Summer simplicity

Like it or not, greater San Diego is a community defined by the ocean. Surfing and everything beach-related is what keeps the tourists coming and the locals reasonably happy and mellow. And with a rich history of fishing for both commerce and sport, it’s no wonder we love our seafood. All this mulling over the sea brought me to the conclusion that Pelly’s Fish Market & Café in Carlsbad (7110 Avenida Encinas, Suite 101, pellysfishmarket.com) is a quintessential San Diego dining experience.

If an alien landed here (or a friend from Canada, for example) and wanted to experience, through food, just what San Diego was all about, this would be one of the first stops.

The friendly staff greet you between the beautiful fish case and a small but brightly colored dining room, which is covered with photos of fishermen and their prizes. Before ordering lunch at the counter, ponder picking up a piece of fresh ono, ahi or halibut to take home.

Yes, there are fish tacos on the menu, but I say go for the hearty sandwiches. Get anything

14 · San Diego CityBeat · September 25, 2013

you want grilled and plopped between two pieces of sourdough. Or, if you’re impatient like me, just get a cold sandwich that tastes so fresh, it’s like the little fishies jumped out of the ocean and onto your plate.

I opted for the bay shrimp and stone crab sandwich, and this bad boy was filled to bursting with sweet, juststopped-crawling flavors.

Bay shrimp are the cutest little pink nubs of tastiness; sometimes I’m not sure why I bother with other types of shrimp. They’re perfect, tender and fruity in flavor. Piled with soft, shredded chunks of rock crab, this sandwich had texture and a mild, meaty flavor that didn’t overpower. Pelly’s doesn’t get uppity with its sandwich toppings: You’ve got your shredded lettuce, a bit of tomato and a thick wipe of their “secret” sauce. As far as I could tell, it was mayo and pickle relish—tartar sauce—and though there’s nothing particularly secret about it, that doesn’t diminish the fact that it’s a perfect condiment to bind the sandwich together.

Regardless of how much I’ve been sweating lately (sweet Lord, can I get a cold front, already?), I had to go for a cup of chowder. I was not disappointed by the goofily named “Loco Moco” chowder. I chose white (red’s also an option) and loved its creamy simplicity and tender bits of clam. What makes it “loco” is the big pile of Spanish rice and scallions scooped on top. It’s hardly wacky, but the topping is a clever addition and offers nice chewy bits as it mixes with the chowder.

Do yourself a solid and finish your meal with a piece of Pelly’s fresh key lime pie. The filling is tart and incredibly creamy, and that pale, yellow shade comes not from food coloring but from real key lime juice.

September is when summer begins for locals.

But the best of our ocean is on display year round at Pelly’s.

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

the floating

library

by jim ruland

What happens when writers put their characters to work?

What images come to mind when you think of the word “writer”? Do you see a reporter scribbling in his notebook? A novelist typing away on her laptop? For me, “writer” connotes industry, someone who makes something out of nothing.

But what happens to that image if we make our writer a poet?

In Leaving the Atocha Station (Coffee House Press, 2011), Ben Lerner gives Adam Gordon, the protagonist of his short novel, the best gig a young poet can hope for: a fellowship abroad.

Each of the book’s five sections denotes a new phase in Gordon’s project, which moves from waking up and getting high to the publication of a small book of poems. He is particularly skilled at self-deception through ironic detachment, which he cultivates by avoiding others and experimenting with his meds.

“The closest I’d come to having a profound experience of art was probably the experience of this distance, a profound experience of the absence of profundity.”

Gordon congratulates himself “on making contact with authentic Spain, which I defined negatively as an American-free space.” However, when history arrives on his doorstep with the bombing at Atocha Station on March 11, 2004, Gordon admits that even “my fraudulence was fraudulent.”

Leaving the Atocha Station is the kind of book that feels lived rather than composed—a post-MFA The Catcher in the Rye for professional adolescents. When I finished reading the novel, I wanted to know what Gordon was up to and had to resist the urge to look for him on Facebook and Twitter, which is a shame.

I could have given his résumé a boost with an endorsement on LinkedIn.

•••

Stacey Levine’s novel Dra— was originally published in 1998 by Sun & Moon Press and reissued last year

by Verse Chorus Press. In many ways it’s more timely now than it was then.

Dra— is looking for a job. She heads to the employment agency, a Kafkaesque labyrinth of Byzantine bureaucracies, and is swiftly overcome by its complexities. There are plenty of jobs, she is assured, but nabbing one that suits her delicate sensibilities proves to be challenging. “[I]f she delayed employment now and instead asked the Nurse to open her chest, back, and

abdomen in surgery this very night, the Nurse would find something terrible inside her, Dra— knew, quite possibly a sly disease that worked slowly over time to clot and stifle its victims’ organs with a kind of gristle.”

This scene is typical of the novel. Even though it’s entirely sensible for someone who “often ate the wrong things” to worry about her health, it’s the context that makes her fear so strange. Dra— is afraid her many ailments will make her unsuitable for employment, but it’s her lack of a job that’s causing her health to fail. It’s a vicious cycle that reflects the way we live now.

The world Dra— inhabits, however, is, thankfully, nothing like ours.

The employment agency is housed inside a massive factory with endless halls, elevators, offices—even an indoor airport.

While it’s a cliché to label strange stories as “surreal,” Dra— is the closest thing to dreaming I’ve found between the covers of a book. Her encounters with potential coworkers are oddly sexual in a dreamlike way in that boundaries are more fluid and permissive than they are in real life.

In other words, the exact opposite of the 21st-century workplace.

•••

The work that goes on in Matt Bell’s debut novel In the House Upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods is old-fashioned. A new husband clears the land and builds a house so that his new family can survive. But when a giant bear shows up, things get weird in a hurry.

The husband eats a baby and battles the bear. The wife summons a second moon and retreats into a second house that she’s sung into being deep beneath the soil. Clearly, we’re in the realm of the fantastic. Or are we?

“To open the first rooms and find the deep house made now a palace of memory, a series of rooms in which what I had forgotten had been curated, collected together with what I had tried to forget….”

What if Bell’s story is about art?

Perhaps Bell is saying that art—like marriage—requires intense effort, engagement and compromise.

To create something new, we must leave our old ways of being in the world behind and allow ourselves to be completely and utterly transformed— and not just once, but over and over again.

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

September 25, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 15

the

SHORTlist

ART

COORDINATED BY ALEX ZARAGOZA

So, the volunteers who run Convoy District decided to hold the first-ever San Diego Night Market there, and that makes perfect sense, because night markets are an Asian cultural tradition.

“Night markets are all over urban centers in Asia, so anyone who’s been to Asia has probably, at some point, been to a night market,” Lee says. “And in the last few years, there have been a series of night markets that have kind of sprung up in urban centers on the West Coast, from Vancouver to the Bay Area, and, most recently, a little over a year ago, the 626 Market hit the Los Angeles area”—in Santa Anita Park—“and had great success.”

From 5 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Sept.

28, more than 30 vendors—selling clothing and other products and lots Three Treasured Kung Fu Lion Dance will perform and lots of food—will set up shop at the San Diego Night Market. outdoors in the giant Zion Market parking lot (7655 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.). Sorry, but there won’t be any craft beer—no, just kidding! Of course there’ll be a craft-beer garden, stocked by Helm’s Brewery Co., Mission Brewery and Societe Brewing Co. You can’t get much more “central San Diego” than Entertainment of both the traditional and nonKearny Mesa, and the heart of Kearny Mesa is an traditional sorts will be performed on a big stage all inverted triangle bounded by the 805, 163 and 52 night long, and Drive-By Cinema, a milk truck that highways called the Convoy District, named for the cruises San Diego and blasts films wherever it can street that bisects the triangle. Convoy is a main hub find a good projection spot, will be doing its unique, of Asian cuisine, but Joseph Lee, spokesperson of the somewhat subversive thing.

Convoy District business association, doesn’t think The event is free. sdnightmarket.com everyone knows that.

“We really believe that Convoy is one of San Diego’s best-kept secrets,” Lee says.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. The Anarchist Cookbook. What do these books Great works of literature and classical have in common? They’ve all, at one point or anothmusic go together like smoking jackets er, been banned by governments. On Friday, Sept. and snifters of brandy, so it makes per- 27, WriteOutLoud, fect sense that the new San Diego Central Library, a group of actors which opens to the public on Sept. 28, is presenting who perform short its first classical music performance. Ella Quartet, stories, will delve comprising four musicians from the San Diego Sym- into these once-forphony, will give a performance at the library that will bidden tomes durinclude Joseph Haydn’s “String Quartet in G Major, ing Banned Book Opp. 77, No. 1,” and “Sergey Prokofiev’s String Quar- Night. They’ll take tet No. 2 in F Major, Op. 92.” Tux and tails are not excerpts from litrequired, just an ear for culture. Ella Quartet will erary classics that perform at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29, in the li- rubbed conservabrary’s auditorium (330 Park Blvd. in East Village). tives the wrong sandiego.gov/public-library way and share them from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Attendees can join in on the Judy Blume’s Are You There, outlawed readings God? It’s Me, Margaret by bringing a copy was once banned. of a banned book— a quick Google search shows you which have been blacklisted. It all goes down at The New Ink Spot (2730 Historic Decatur Road, Barracks 16, Suite 202, in Point Loma’s Liberty Station). sandiegowriters.

Ella Quartet org/banned-book-night

1

2

GET THIS CONVOY ROLLING

WORDS AND MUSIC

16 · San Diego CityBeat · September 25, 2013

3

FORBIDDEN FRUITS

Sept. 26. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com

HComplicated at Mosaic Wine Bar, 3422 30th St., North Park. Arte Fresca presents up-and-coming artists Wick Bennett and Junk & Po. DJ Rob DeSisto will spin, and there will be live music by Drew Smith in the upstairs gallery. From 7 p.m. to midnight Friday, Sept. 27. $5 suggested donation. 619-850-7096, artefrescaevents.com

T. Greenwood at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The local author discusses and signs her newest book, Bodies of Water, about a young housewife living in a sleepy Massachusetts suburb in the ’60s dealing with the suspicion that life was supposed to hold something different. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26.

858-454-0347, warwicks.com

A Day in the Life at O’Dunn Fine Art, 8325 La Mesa Blvd., La Mesa. Opening reception and West Coast debut of Joe Bonomo’s steampunk interpretations of the characters of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Guitarist Jose Molina Serrano will play. Steampunk dress is encouraged. From 5 to 9 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 27. 619-337-8342, odunn fineart.com/index.php

Kirby Wright at Upstart Crow, 835 W. Harbor Drive, Seaport Village. The local author will sign and discuss his dystopic novel The End, My Friend: Prelude to the Apocalypse. At 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27.

619-232-4855, upstartcrowtrading.com

Mark Lewis at Artistic Lifestyles, 2100 Fourth Ave., Bankers Hill. Lewis will be present for a meet-and-greet at this opening showcasing his colorful portraiture.

Complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served, and there will be a free drawing for a Mark Lewis giclee. From 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28. 619-2287642, artisticlifestyles.com Sasha Koozel Reibstein at Mingei International Museum, Balboa Park. Experience the multimedia process used by Allied Craftsmen Today artist Reibstein at an in-gallery demo that offers a firsthand look at how she uses layered imagery to bridge the gap between sculpture and drawing. From 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28. Free with museum admission.

619-239-0003, mingei.org HArt Show in the Barrio at Bread & Salt, 1955 Julian Ave., Barrio Logan.

Browse works from local and Southern California photographers and painters.

Donations welcome; all proceeds will go to the Monarch School for homeless and at-risk youth. From 3 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28. 619-887-1402, facebook.com/ celebratinglifethroughart Mary Ellen Long: Roots Trunk Show at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. The renowned multimedia artist will be on hand for a trunk show and sale of her collages. From 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28. 858-4545872, ljathenaeum.org HAfterFuture at Canvas Gallery, 1150 Seventh Ave., Downtown. The new gallery’s first public show will feature sitespecific work by Chris Warr, Dan Allen, JARMEN and Jason Gould and generative audio design by Blair Robert Nelson.

From 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, facebook.com/pages/Canvas-GallerySan-Diego/138219136378066 Robert Hagan at Quest Fine Art, 1501 India St., #120, Little Italy. The Australian artist and star of Discovery’s Splash of Color performs a live-painting demo.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept.

28. 619-702-7695, questfineart.com

BOOKS Melody Moezzi at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The blogger for The Huffington Post and Ms. magazine will discuss and sign Haldol and Hyacinths: A Bipolar Life, her memoir about being a manic-depressive Iranian-American Muslim woman. At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25. 858-454-0347, warwicks.com Lyndsay Faye at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. The fantasy author discusses and signs Seven for a Secret, the sequel to The Gods of Gotham, which explores the world of late-19th-century New York and the newly formed NYPD. At 7 p.m. Thursday,

Richard Lederer at Chinese Community Church, 4998 Via Valarta, Tierrasanta.

The language and history columnist will discuss and sign his new book. At 7 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 28. $20-$25. 858-8747888, facebook.com/RichardLederer William Gladstone at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. Gladstone discusses his new novel, The Power of Twelve, a rollercoaster adventure that illuminates the real meaning of the upcoming 26,000year Mayan cycle. At 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com Lee Fullbright at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The author signs and discusses his novel, The Angry Woman Suite. At noon Sunday, Sept.

29. 858-454-0347, warwicks.com Etgar Keret at Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center, SDSU. The bestselling Israeli author and filmmaker will read from his new book, Suddenly a Knock on the Door. Please register in advance: jewishstudiesprogram@mail.sdsu.edu. At 11 a.m. Monday, Sept. 30. 619-594-2585, newscenter.sdsu.edu Ben Hellwarth at Birch Aquarium, 2300 Expedition Way, La Jolla. The author will share archival visuals and rare audio clips in a presentation based on his new book, SEALAB: America’s Forgotten Quest to Live and Work on the Ocean Floor. From 7 to 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30. $5. 858534-FISH, aquarium.ucsd.edu HCity College Book Fair at San Diego City College, 1313 Park Blvd., Downtown.

The three-day event will include readings, film screenings and performances from local, national and international names, including Pulitzer Prize winner and former Wall Street Journal reporter Geraldine Brooks. There’ll also be events at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, D.G. Wills Books and Space 4 Art. See website for details.

Monday, Sept. 30, through Thursday, Oct. 3. 619-388-3596, sdcity.edu/bookfair HGeraldine Brooks at Encinitas Library, 540 Cornish Drive, Encinitas. The author of Caleb’s Crossing will discuss and sign her 2013 One Book One San Diego selection. At 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, myst galaxy.com/event Lissa Price at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. Price discusses her new fantasy novel Starters, about a 16-year-old girl who hires out her body to seniors who want to experience being young again. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2. 858-2684747, mystgalaxy.com/event Barbara McNally at The Grove, 3010 Juniper St., South Park. McNally will discuss and sign her new memoir, Unbridled, a candid look at her journey to regain passion and purpose in her life. At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2. 619-2847684, thegrovesandiego.com HMel Freilicher at D.G. Wills Books, 7461 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The UCSD Literature professor discusses his new

book, The Encyclopedia of Rebels, which continues his lifelong engagement with the intersections between history, fantasy and memoir. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2. 858-456-1800, dgwillsbooks.com

COMEDY Kristin Key at Comedy Palace, 8878 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. Best known as a season favorite on NBC’s Last Comic Standing, the daughter of a Christian minister has a self-deprecating, physical and improvisational style. At 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 27-28. $20. 858-573-9067, thecomedypalace.com Owen Benjamin at Mad House Comedy Club, 502 Horton Plaza, Downtown. From the hit show Sullivan and Son, Chelsea Lately and Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham. At 7:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 27-28. $20. 619702-6666, madhousecomedyclub.com Bret Ernst at Comedy Store, 916 Pearl St., La Jolla. Bret had a recurring role on the hit Showtime series Weeds, was seen on CSI: NY and appeared in the film Beer League. At 8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 27 and 28. $20. 858454-9176, lajolla.thecomedystore.com

DANCE HCompagnie Nacera Belaza at White Box Theater, 2690 Truxtun Road, Point Loma. A dance experience with Amy Winehouse samples, electronic drumbeats and traditional Arabic chanting by Algerian-French choreographer Nacera Belaza and her dance company. At 8 p.m.

Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 2628. $26. 858-534-8497, artpower.ucsd.edu Culture Shock Dance Center Anniversary at 2110 Hancock St., Bay Park.

Culture Shock is celebrating its 10th anniversary with free classes and discounts on class packages if you find you like it.

From 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28. 619299-2110, cultureshockdancecenter.com Aspen Santa Fe Ballet at California Center for the Arts, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido. The contemporary dance company’s twinkling toes take center stage as this season-opening performance, comprising 11 classically trained dancers and composed by choreographers from around the globe. At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28. $30-$55. 800988-4253, artcenter.org Oktoberfest Dance Festival at Balboa Park Club, 2150 Pan American Road West. A two-day dance festival hosted by five international folk dance clubs. It features free dance lessons, performances, a craft show and food for sale. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Sept.

28 and 29. Free. sites.google.com/site/ oktoberfestdancefestival/about-us HTrolley Dances Hop aboard and visit six stop along the MTS trolley line to see site-specific dance. This year’s Trolley Dances celebrates iconic buildings Downtown and the revitalization of East Village and Barrio Logan. Patrons travel with tour guides to the new Central Library and the newly opened Monarch School. Begin at the Barrio Logan station on 1950 Main St. From 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29. $15-$35. 619225-1803, sandiegodancetheater.org

FASHION Fashion Week San Diego at Port Pavilion on the Broadway Pier, 1000 N. Harbor

THEATER

KEN JACQUES

Tommy’s time has passed “Tommy,” can you hear me? You’ve worn out your welcome.

What was groundbreaking as a rock opera in 1969 and mildly interesting as a worldpremiere stage musical at La Jolla Playhouse in 1992 (never mind the trashy Ken Russelldirected film in 1975) is now as creaky as an old pinball machine. Whatever daring The Who’s mythical story of the deaf, dumb and blind boy flashed at the end of the ’60s faded decades ago. And the narrative changes made when the album was initially transformed for the stage—changes that softened and mainstreamed the story—resulted in a bore.

This is no direct reflection on Moonlight Stage Company’s well-intentioned, season-closing production of The Who’s Tommy, which rings all the buzzers and bells. But try as the able cast directed by John Vaughan does, it can’t resurrect an excitement and energy that existed more than a generation ago.

There’s such a joyous, fresh-scrubbed look to this production that it feels like “The Cast of Glee Does Tommy.” While the bullying of Cousin Kevin (Mark Bartlett) and predatory abuse of Uncle Ernie (Paul Morgavo) have the requisite repellence, this ensemble’s Acid Queen (Anise Ritchie) isn’t very menacing. Eddie Egan is all sincerity as Tommy, but he never seems much like a rebel or false God. Like all of Moonlight’s summer-of-2013 musicals, The Who’s Tommy’s choreography is crackerjack. Musicians

Drive, Downtown. The weeklong collaborative fashion event celebrates with five days of runway shows, shopping, afterparties, fashion and beauty panels and more. Begins Wednesday, Oct. 2. $100$175. fashionweeksd.com

FOOD & DRINK Taste of Downtown. Take a self-guided walking tour of Downtown or use the free shuttle service to sample cuisine from more than 50 eateries. Early purchase is suggested, as tickets are expected to sell out. From 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26. $30 in advance, $35 day-of. 619-233-5227, downtownsandiego.org/tasteofdowntown Chef Showdown at NTC Promenade in Liberty Station, 2640 Historic Decatur Road, Point Loma. San Diego’s top chefs take a stand against domestic violence at this ninth annual culinary event. In an Iron Chef-inspired competition, two teams incorporate one secret ingredient into eight original dishes to be judged by a panel of well-known San Diego chefs and restaurateurs. From 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26. $125. 858-272-5777, ccssd.org HA Taste of the IRC at Hilton Del Mar, 15575 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. Support the International Rescue Committee in San Diego while enjoying delicious food from refugee-owned restaurants, local wine and a special beer. All dishes will include ingredients grown by refugee farmers (including the beer, which will be made using beets). From 6:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26. $50.

619-641-7510, Rescue.org/taste HTequila Fest at Hotel La Jolla, 7955 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla. The inaugural Tequila Fest will feature premium

conducted by Dr. Terry O’Donnell are faithful to Pete Townshend’s score, which, after 44 years, is, regrettably, uninvolving. The music of The Who in general smacks of another time long past, today as canned as classic-rock radio.

Does it seem possible that Townshend, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle and Keith Moon were once considered proto-punks by a discerning intelligentsia?

It’s a shame that The Who’s Tommy is the closer of what has been an otherwise delightful summer at Moonlight, highlighted by a rollicking production of Young Frankenstein.

Better to remember this summer under the stars by a mad scientist and a monster singing “Puttin’ on the Ritz” than by a rock-culture relic that—let’s face it—should have been left alone as one of the great albums of all time.

The Who’s Tommy runs through Oct. 5 at the Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista. $15$50. moonlightstage.com

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

OPENING Agamemnon: Chronos Theatre Group does a staged reading of Aeschylus’ tragedy, first performed in 458 B.C., about a king who returns from the Trojan War to find marital turmoil. It happens at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept.

29 at the Encinitas Library. chronostheatre.com

Eddie Egan ents this tribute to jazz pianist, singer and composer Fats Waller, essentially a revue of 1920s and ’30s swing music.

Opens Sept. 27 at the Birch North Park Theatre. sdmt.org The Amish Project: A one-woman play inspired by the killing of five girls at a Pennsylvania school seven years ago. Presented by Mo’olelo Performing Arts Company it opens Sept. 26 at 10th Avenue Theatre in East Village. moolelo.net The Few: This is a world premiere of a comedy about a small-town Idaho newspaper publisher who returns after four years to find that things have changed. Opens Sept.

28 at The Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park. oldglobe.org Travesties: Aging Henry Carr recalls WWI-era Zurich, where he was acquainted with James Joyce, Vladimir Lenin and Tristan Tzara, the founder of Dadaism—and he does so by way of Oscar Wilde. Kooky? Well, that’s Tom Stoppard for ya. Presented by Cygnet Theatre, it opened Sept. 19, but we neglected to include it in last week’s listings. cygnettheatre.com

Ain’t Misbehavin’: San Diego Musical Theatre pres-

and unique brands, as well as bites from Cusp’s chef, Donald Lockhart. In addition, guests can enjoy music, cocktails

by Nate Howell and prizes. 6 to 9 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 26. 858-459-0261, cusprestaurant.com Oktoberfest in El Cajon at German American Societies of San Diego, 1017 S. Mollison Ave, El Cajon. The county’s most authentic German fest features German foods, German beers, German liqueurs, oom-pah music, a kids zone and more.

From 4 to 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27; noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28; and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29. $5. 619-4426637, oktoberfestelcajon.com San Diego Asian and Pacific Islander Culinary Fusion Festival at Festival Park, 310 Euclid Ave., Lincoln Park. A festival celebrating healthful Asian and Pacific Islander cuisine. Sample items selected by local restaurants specializing in Asian and Pacific Island fare while enjoying live music. From 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28. Free. operation samahan.org HGreen Flash Oktoberfest at Green Flash Brewing Co., 6550 Mira Mesa Blvd., Mira Mesa. The Biergarten will be home to an Oktoberfest food village featuring local treats. Swieners will cook up their famous brats along with desserts, and Raving Polka will entertain all afternoon.

There’ll be traditional games, a costume contest, mask-making and face painting for the young’uns. From noon to 5 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 29. Free. 858-622-0085, greenflashbrew.com

HALLOWEEN The Scream Zone at Del Mar Racetrack,

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

2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. One of San Diego’s largest Halloween attractions features a huge House of Horror with rooms filled with terrifying scenes and scares, a Haunted Hayride through barns on the Del Mar Race Track. New this year is the Zombie Paintball Safari.

From 7 p.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays, 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. on other days.

Opens Friday, Sept. 27. $15-$30. 858755-1141, thescreamzone.com The Haunted Hotel at 424 Market St., Downtown. See where the “Hellevator” takes you, or ride with the zombie clowns on the moving subway. Go camping with Jason at Camp Crystal Lake and experience the basement of The Evil Dead.

Advance purchase recommended. From 7 to 11 p.m. Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday; 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Opens Friday, Sept. 27. $15-$17.

619-231-0131, hauntedhotel.com

MUSIC HLarry Goldings / Peter Bernstein / Bill Stewart at The Auditorium at TSRI, 10640 John Jay Hopkins Drive, La Jolla.

San Diego debut of this longstanding trio featuring Goldings on Hammond B3 organ, Bernstein on guitar and Stewart on drums. At 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25. $30-$35. 858-784-2666, scripps.edu Bach Collegium Concert The Collegium’s 2013-14 season begins with George Frideric Handel’s “Dixit Dominus HWV 232” and Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Christ lag in Todesbanden BWV 4.” The Friday, Sept. 27, concert will be at the St. James by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, while the Saturday, Sept. 28, concert will be at the San Diego History Center in

Balboa Park. At 7:30 p.m. $20-$40. 619232-6203, bachcollegiumsd.org Cultures in Harmony and Motion International Music and Dance Festival at Casa Del Prado, Balboa Park. Spice up your swagger with a little Spanish samba and add some Far East flavor to your twerk during a journey through global music and dance performed by San Diego artists. At 1 and 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28. $16. worldviewproject.org HAdams Avenue Street Fair at Adams Avenue in Normal Heights. The free, twoday music festival celebrates its 32nd anniversary with more than 90 bands spread out over multiple stages and venues. In addition to the music, there’ll be three beer gardens, carnival rides and more than 300 food, arts and craft vendors.

See website for lineup. From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept 28 and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29. Free. 619708-3543, adamsavenuebusiness.com HThe Jeff Hamilton Trio at Saville Theater @ San Diego City College, 1313 Park Blvd., Downtown. The trio performs some of the most popular jazz hits of the 20th century. All proceeds benefit Jazz 88.3.

From 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29. $25.

619-388-3037, jazz88.org HElla Quartet at New Central Library, 330 Park Blvd., East Village. The 2013 Fall Concert Series in the new library opens with a recital of string quartets

by Haydn and Prokofiev. At 2:30 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 29. Free. 619-236-5800, sandiego.gov/public-library/news-events/ concertseries.shtml Parloir Musique at Mingei International

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

September 25, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 17

Museum, 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park. Camarada inaugurates the “Mingle at Mingei” music night, performing French chamber music. At 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29. $25-$30. 619-2390003, mingei.org

to 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept.

28. Free. 619-235-1138, endlesssummernights.net HTour de Fat at Balboa Park. New Belgium Brewing is back for the 14th annual event, which kicks off at 10 a.m. with a massive bicycle parade through city streets.

For the rest of the afternoon, check out performances by Reggie Watts and He’s My Brother She’s My Sister.

Everyone 21 and older can sample new and classic favorites from New Belgium, and all proceeds go toward making San Diego a better place to ride bicycles. See website for schedule and parade route. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept.

28. Free. newbelgium.com/ events/tour-de-fat

HJoshua White & Friends at Lyceum Theatre, 79 Horton Plaza, Downtown. Jazz legend Herbie Hancock once said of local jazz pianist Joshua White that he was “impressed by his daring and courageous approach to improvisation on the cutting edge of innovation.” White performs as part of the Athenaeum Music & Art Library’s MiniConcerts series. At noon Monday, Sept. 30. Free.

619-544-1000, ljathenaeum. org

New Central Library CelRobin Henkel Band with ebration at 330 Park Blvd., “Through the Looking Glass (after the Giant Magellan East Village. The public is Whitney Shay at ArtLab Studios, 3536 Adams Ave., Telescope)” by Adam Belt is on view in Longview, a solo invited to this free festival Normal Heights. The Robin celebrating the new library. exhibition of Belt’s work running through Oct. 26 at Henkel Band will perform Quint Contemporary Art (7547 Girard Ave. in La Jolla). Join library donors, supportlive blues with horns, acers and dignitaries at 11 a.m. companied by guest singer for a dedication featuring Whitney Shay at an all-ages the Navy Band, San Diego tion. 619-284-6784, sosayweallonline.com show. From 8 to 10 p.m. Wednesday, Children’s Choir and the San Diego Gay Oct. 2. Donation suggested. 619-283Men’s Chorus. This will be followed with 1199, ext.115, artlabca.com a family-friendly street festival with food, a sneak peek inside the new library before HOllafur Arnalds at The Loft @ UCSD, it officially opens on Monday and perforPrice Center East. The Icelandic composmances by Hullabaloo, The Heroes, The er creates shadowy, wistful chamber mu- Where Does the Green Sector Go From Paul Cannon Band, Clint Perry, the Boo sic layered with delicate pop harmonies Here: San Diego Civic Crisis at Cricket Hoo Crew, Eric Runningpath and more. and ambient effects—all inspired by his Communications, 5887 Copley Drive, KeFrom 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. homeland’s expansive, glacial imagery. At arny Mesa. As San Diego transitions to 28. Free. 619-236-5800, sandiego.gov 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2. $18-28. 858- another mayoral administration, what becomes of the green vision for the city of Carlsbad ArtSplash Festival at Ar534-8497, artpwr.com San Diego and the region at large? Join mada Drive, between the Grand Pacific a panel of experts who’ll discuss green Palisades Resort & Gemological Institute jobs, clean-tech-sector development, re- of America. The festival, known for street newable energy and climate mitigation. chalk art, returns with an array of street San Diego Native Gardening Sympo- From 6 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. performances, live music, dancers, a 5k sium at Girl Scout Headquarters, 1231 26. $23. 858-361-3297, sdgreensector. walk, hands-on creation stations and food Upas St., Balboa Park. Learn how to plant eventbrite.com vendors. From 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturand maintain native San Diego plants and day, Sept. 28, and 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. help the Earth in the process at this familySunday, Sept. 29. Free. 760-436-2828, friendly series of classes and workshops. carlsbadartsplash.org From 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28. $35-$20. Free for children under 12. 619- Martinis & Makeovers at The Univer- HSan Diego Night Market at Zion Marsity Club, Symphony Towers, 750 B St., ket, 7655 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Claire298-8391, learnnativegardening.org Suite 3400, Downtown. Enjoy martinis, mont. This new outdoor evening market hors d’oeuvres, live jazz from the Zzymzzy will feature Asian food, entertainment and Quartet, dancing and silent auctions, with culture in the Convoy District. A beer garall proceeds going to the Got Your Back den will feature local craft beer and spirits, HInvisible People (A Radio Opera) at Network, which supports the families of and there’ll be cultural dances, live DJs and Space 4 Art, 325 15th St., East Village. fallen soldiers. From 6 to 9 p.m. Thurs- Drive-By Cinema. From 5 to 11 p.m. SatGlottalopticon invites you to experience day, Sept. 26. $40-$50. gotyourback urday, Sept. 28. Free. sdnightmarket.com the staged premiere of this opera by network.org HHandmade Revolution Trunk Show Yvette Janine Jackson that weaves myriad sonic impressions to form an essay on HLemon Grove Main Street Prom- at The Yellow House, 3054 Juniper St., homophobia from an African-American enade Opening at Main Street Prom- South Park. The artsy and crafty folks at perspective. At 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27. enade, between Broadway and North Handmade Revolution are throwing their Avenue, Lemon Grove. View art installa- fall trunk show in the yellow house across $10-$15. 619-269-7230, sdspace4art.org tions like the wind spire, tractor slide and from Rebecca’s Cafe. Shop for handcraftwindmill, plus large-scale public art pieces ed art, jewelry, clothing and other unique in Pioneer Modernism Park by Wick Al- items. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, exander and Robin Brailsford that evoke Sept. 29. thehandmaderevolution.com Lemon Grove’s history. From 4 to 6:30 Museum Mash-Up at Jacobs Center p.m. Friday, Sept. 27. Free. 619-825HPoetry & Art Series 2013 at San Diego Main Assembly Hall, 404 Euclid Ave., Dia3811, ci.lemon-grove.ca.us Art Institute—Museum of the Living Artist, mond District. To celebrate the launch of 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park. This reading History Happy Hour at San Diego His- “Kids Free in October,” more than a dozen and open-mic features poet and translator tory Center, Balboa Park. Don’t miss your museums, local schools and nonprofits Nikola Madzirov with special guests from chance to tap into the local craft-brew cul- will come together to bring hands-on fun Poetry International, SDSU’s literary jour- ture and check out Bottled & Kegged: San and performances. More than a dozen nal. DJ Gill Sotu will provide music. From Diego’s Craft Brew Culture, the exhibition museums will participate, including the 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26. $5. dedicated to the history and intricacies of San Diego Model Railroad Museum, San facebook.com/events/229094010577828 the craft brewing culture and industry. From Diego History Center and the Barona Mu5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27. $20- seum. From 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept.

HVAMP Showcase: Trouble in Para$25. 619-232-6203, sandiegohistory.org 29. sandiegomuseumcouncil.org dise at Whistle Stop Bar, 2236 Fern St,

POLITICS & COMMUNITY

OUTDOORS

SPECIAL EVENTS

PERFORMANCE

POETRY & SPOKEN WORD

South Park. You think you have it all, until it turns out you don’t. This VAMP will talk about the times when everything seemed perfect but there was a problem lurking under the surface. From 8:30 to 11 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 26. $5 suggested dona-

18 · San Diego CityBeat · September 25, 2013

Water for Children at Golden Hill Rec Center, 2600 Golf Course Drive, Golden Hill.

Eco fair and music festival games, art and crafts, recycling programs, laser tag, vendors, eco-art galleries, food and an e-waste recycling community project. From 9 a.m.

For full listings,

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

Seen Local New-gallery alert “I like it when it’s not so much about paintings, paintings, paintings, paintings,” says Dan Allen, owner of the new Canvas Gallery. “And then it becomes about the party, and then the work kind of gets forgotten. I want to do large installation because it gets in the way—you can’t help but deal with it.”

Canvas is located in the space once occupied by Zepf Alt Gallery (1150 Seventh Ave., Downtown). Allen wants to create a venue that will focus on experimental installation, performance and visual art. He’ll kick off what’ll hopefully be a longstanding legacy of cool art shows with the opening of Canvas’ first exhibition, Afterfuture, from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28. The art will be on view through Oct. 12.

The group exhibition will feature large-scale installations by Allen, Chris Warr, Visual gallery owner Jason Gould, Blair Robert Nelson and JARMEN, the name adopted by brother-and-sister art makers Alexander and Savannah Jarman. Alexander is public-programs manager at the San Diego Museum of Art, and Savannah pulls duties at the Museum of Photographic Arts.

Allen asked the artists to take the exhibition’s title and interpret it however they wanted. Allen himself will exhibit “The Hundred,” a series of 100 10-inch square wood-panel paintings featuring binary code and Japanese-style illustrations. Warr will show monolithic bust-like sculptures, haphazardly perched on a foundation, that seem as if they were discovered thousands of years after they were built.

Gould’s piece, “System Failure,” addresses information overload and human reliance on technology, with layers of vibrantly colored paint, text and wood blocks emerging from the wall. Nelson will create a soundscape installation, and, with “Your Better Self,” JARMEN looks at coping, self-improvement and personal memories by creating a hydroponic system of water jugs that are set in what looks a normal household bathroom.

“It was exciting,” says Alexander Jarman of the opportunity to create a large, experimental work. “It was a chance to take some of these works that are a bit more theatrical. It’s almost as though it were a stage set or theater set.”

“Caught,” by Dan Allen, is one of 100 pieces forming his installation “The Hundred.”

Since taking over the space in June, Allen decided that he wanted to do something different.

“When Andrew [Estrada, former owner of Zepf Alt] couldn’t hang onto it anymore, I just didn’t want to see it go away,” says Allen, who also uses Canvas as his studio. “There are so few spaces for artists in San Diego to show and that are willing to take chances, and I felt that if I can take the space, then I can keep a space where more experiment could happen. It’s just really important for me that that be possible in San Diego, because if we don’t make a space for it, we just won’t see it. There are so many galleries struggling just to pay their bills and everything that it’s hard to take chances.”

Allen says he looks forward to the risks he’ll be able to take now, as both a gallery owner and an artist. It won’t be easy, but he’s already seeing himself grow thanks to Canvas.

“Everyone has told me, ‘You can kind of forget about doing art on your own for a while,’ and I really do see that,” he says. “All the ideas I’ve been having are just ideas for the gallery. So a lot of the work that I would like to do, all of the ideas that I have are really based on this space that I have. So, I guess my work is turning more into installation-type things and thinking about space instead of just image. My work now is about how I want to create a space where I can make that connection with a patron.”

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

September 25, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 19

20 · San Diego CityBeat · September 25, 2013

art

p.

Dance p.

23

28

Music p.

22

FALL ARTS Literature p.

31

30

film

p.

Theater p.

26

W

e think we do a damn fine job of supporting the arts in San Diego throughout the year, but each September, we like to give the town’s cultural events a little extra push.

This year, our Fall Arts issue features Glottalopticon, a unique take on opera at Space 4 Art; The Myth Project: Altar, a provocative dance concert at USCD’s equally provocative Che Café; The Old Globe’s Romeo and Juliet, which will be staged with the help of the music of cult hero Jeff Buckley; Outside, 57 pieces from the art collection of Doug Simay, on view at the Oceanside Museum of Art; two first-rate movies that open and close the San Diego Asian Film Festival; and poet Manuel Paul Lopez, who’ll read his work at the upcoming International Book Fair at San Diego City College.

As always, we follow each of those stories with a few more ways for you to both enrich yourself through culture and support the organizations that work really, really hard to make San Diego a more enlightened and interesting place to live.

September 25, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 21

FALL ARTS Courtesy: Space 4 Art

Voices carry Glottalopticon puts a new spin on opera • by Jeff Terich The mere mention of opera tends to come with some weighty, even clichéd expectations. It evokes images of robust tenors in powdered wigs, broadcasting verses in Italian or French to an audience of aristocrats and society-page all-stars. Opera, as pop culture has absorbed it, more or less amounts to a Bugs Bunny cartoon.

Opera doesn’t have to cater specifically to the button-down, highbrow crowd, however. That’s the gist behind Glottalopticon, an experimental opera series at Space 4 Art in East Village (325 15th St., sdspace4art.org). The works performed in the series fall well outside the traditional opera sphere of Puccini and Verdi; instead, attendees will get to see lesser-known works presented in an unconventional fashion.

When curator Meghann Welsh began booking the series, she’d already been involved with a few events at Space 4 Art and was primarily looking for a novel way to

use the outdoor space.

“And so I thought opera,” she says. “The idea of opera and bringing art and music together was a good way to make a lot of things happen in that space.”

Some of the past Glottalopticon performances have included Automatic, a trio of micro-operas that focused on the intersection of technology and the human voice, complete with sci-fi themes, and “Long Deep Absence,” which explored the overlap between doom metal and doo-wop. Each one presents a unique alternative to a traditional opera performance, sometimes with visual installations and other unconventional additions.

And for that matter, audiences aren’t required to stay in their seats through the duration of the show.

There’s no specific template to how one of the operas in the series should operate, and, Welsh says, that’s exactly how it’s supposed to be.

“It should be somewhat dif-

22 · San Diego CityBeat · September 25, 2013

on Friday, Sept. 27, and Sextuor: L’origin des Especes, an adaptation of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, on Nov. 1. For Welsh, the diversity of the series is important to attracting an entirely different kind of audience to opera.

“I want to attract both,” she says. “I want people who have a certain idea of opera, who love music and theatrics. And I want them to come and kind of have their mind open to another way of approaching that. But I definitely want to get people who like noise music, and concerts and theatrics and metal shows.

“This is kind of a way to unite the two audiences.”

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

Bonnie Lander in the Glottalopticon performance of “Long Deep Absence” ferent each time it happens,” she says, “something that’s going to present music—or a dramatic performance—to the audience in a new way. So, for example, in our last production that coincided with the open studios at Space 4 Art, the audience could walk around from piece to piece and

experience at all.

“The audience has a little more freedom to engage with it however they want.”

The next two operas on the Glottalopticon calendar are Invisible People, which focuses on the theme of homophobia in the African-American community,

More Music Classic chill: You wouldn’t think the drummer in a band called Fighting Shit would become a renowned chambermusic composer, but Ólafur Arnalds is a different sort of musician. When he was 18 years old, Icelandic musician Arnalds was asked by German metal band Heaven Shall Burn to contribute piano and strings to one of their albums, which launched a long career of stark neo-classical music.

He’s toured with Sigur Rós, and has con-

music CONTINUED ON PAGE 27

At the altar The Patricia Rincon Dance Company choreographs The Che Café’s history • by Alex Zaragoza Anyone who’s spent time at The Che Café, UCSD’s radical, volunteer-driven, underground art-andperformance space, knows that highbrow dance isn’t the kind of thing you see there—that is, unless you consider vegan-lentil-fueled moshing to 14 hardcore bands to be highbrow dancing.

Patricia Rincon Dance Company has undertaken the task of transforming the Che into a space filled with movement, color and San Diego history with The Myth Project: Altar, an original dance piece performed as part of La Jolla Playhouse’s inaugural WOW (WithOut Walls) Festival, which brings site-specific theater and dance to locations around the city.

For the dance piece, Rincon teamed up with the Che Café Collective and muralist Mario Acevedo Torero—who created the murals at the Che in 1993 as a gift to political activist Angela Davis, as well as some of the murals in Chicano

Park—to create a dance that tells the lively history of the scrappy venue.

“I’ve been going to UCSD a long time as a student and as a teacher,” says Rincon, who’s currently the head of UCSD’s Dance Department. “The Che Café has always been in my life. It’s the only radical, youth-driven collective that is independent from the university, which is very, very rare.”

For Rincon, the Che provides a great deal of inspiration. She says that by simply walking around and looking at the literature left out for visitors, she feels the energy of the space.

“I’ve been going to Che Collective meetings, and meeting the collective themselves, and telling them I was interested in the spirit of the history, in terms of what the Che has been,” she adds. “They are really a hotbed of asking questions about activism. It can be gay rights, animal rights; it can be security, government. The activism

is very strong. So, I told them I would like to embody this work— ‘I’d like to do a dance theatre work about what you believe in’—and they were really excited by it.”

Fifteen dancers, both students and professionals from the Rincon company, will tell the tale of the Che by taking over the entire space, both indoors and outdoors, with the audience following along on foot. Projected text taken from pamphlets found at the Che and sections of spoken word from Torero will drive the story. Torero will also refurbish and update his murals as a “rebirth” throughout the concert’s run.

They’ll honor the space’s political ethos with music from Rage Against the Machine, Radiohead, Fat Freddy’s Drop, an original soundscape score and live violin.

There’ll also be sideshows happening throughout the event, with musicians playing live music, altar building and other surprises.

The audience, Rincon says, “is going to be taken on a little ride, an adventure.”

The concert will be filmed for a documentary about The Che Café that Rincon is currently working on. Performances will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Oct. 3 and 4, and Sunday, Oct.

Jim Carmody

Patricia Rincon Dance Company member Sarah Norwood performs in front of a Che Café mural.

6, and at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5.

Tickets ($25) can be purchased at lajollaplayhouse.org.

Write to alexz@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcitrybeat.com.

More Dance Next stop, dance: Trolley Dances are back, bringing six debut pieces to stops along the MTS trolley line. Each site-spe-

cific piece is performed by members of Jean Isaacs San Diego Dance Theatre, starting at 1950 Main St. in Barrio Logan, so bring some walking shoes. Two tours will leave every hour from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sundays, on Sept. 28 and 29 and Oct. 5 and 6. $15-$35. That’s six tours daily. sandiegodancetheater.org Move locally, think globally: San Diego Dances is back with new works by

dance CONTINUED ON PAGE 27

September 25, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 23

24 · San Diego CityBeat · September 25, 2013

September 25, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 25

FALL ARTS Matthew Murphy

R&J&J Buckley’s music provides poignant soundtrack to Shakespeare classic • by David L. Coddon Romeo and Juliet and Jeff. Not what you expected, was it? But Michael Kimmel, creator of a production that brings together Shakespeare’s most famous starcrossed lovers and the heart-rending music of the late Jeff Buckley, is convinced the three were made for each other.

The Last Goodbye, opening Oct. 6 at The Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park (oldglobe.org), not only has Buckley and The Bard going for it, but also Tony-nominated director (for Peter and the Starcatcher) Alex Timbers, choreographer Sonya Tayeh and orchestrations and musical arrangements by Kris Kukul. And, of course, the highly accomplished Kimmel, who has previously adapted works by Chekhov and Henry James.

More than a dozen Jeff Buckley songs—some in full, others in part—are interwoven into the otherwise faithfully told Romeo and

Juliet. Buckley, who drowned at the age of 31 in 1997, recorded only one album: 1994’s Grace. A couple of other albums were cobbled together and released posthumously, along with several live recordings.

“It’s a relatively small canon, but a canon with some depth,” says Kimmel, who conceived and adapted The Last Goodbye. “We pulled songs from [Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk], we pulled songs from Grace, as well as two songs that aren’t Jeff’s, per se, but ones, like Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah,’ that he put his indelible stamp on.”

It was Buckley’s song “Forget Her,” recorded during the Grace sessions but released later on a re-mastered version of the album, that first inspired The Last Goodbye. “There’s something in the yearning, the raw nature of how Jeff performed it that feels very much in the middle of a break-

26 · San Diego CityBeat · September 25, 2013

Jay Armstrong Johnson and Talisa Friedman are Romeo and Juliet. up,” Kimmel says. “I went back to Romeo and Juliet and the line [spoken by Benvolio to Romeo] ‘Be ruled by me, forget to think of her.’” The fit was a natural.

“If you just take the play, we all know that first-love feeling of loss and how it feels like you’re never going to get beyond it,” he says. “I think Jeff gives voice to that feeling.”

The more Kimmel explored the potential relationship between Buckley’s music and the play, the

Courtesy: The Old Globe

about how many of these songs really fit into the theme of the play so well.”

The Last Goodbye was first staged three years ago at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts, with “a more modern feel,” Kimmel notes. The Globe production, which runs through Nov. 3, will get a more classic look, while emphasizing the thematic connection through time. “It really grabs on to this idea of these two things hundreds of years apart coming together,” he says. “The goal is that you’re not really sure where Shakespeare ends and Buckley begins.”

Jeff Buckley Write to davidc@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcitybeat.com. more he was convinced of their synergy. “What was scary was More Theater how well his songs worked within Another school shooting: The Amish the play,” he recalls. “Not neces- Project, by Jessica Dickey, is a work of sarily always in a story-driven fiction inspired by the killing of five girls at moment, but in the writing. These a Pennsylvania Amish school seven years two writers [Shakespeare and ago. Dickey herself has performed the one-women play, but Mo’olelo Performing Buckley] echo each other in their Arts Company’s production will star Iliana use of metaphor. While their ver- Carter as the show’s seven different charnaculars are different, there are a acters, including the gunman. It’s directed lot of similarities: life and death, by Moxie Theatre’s Delicia Turner Sonnenberg. It will open in previews on Thursday, darkness and light.

Sept. 26, and then run Oct. 4 through “I just remember having this distinct moment of having chills theater CONTINUED ON PAGE 27

music CONTINUED from PAGE 22 tributed to the soundtracks of Looper and The Hunger Games, among other career highlights. His compositions are sparse and delicate, spacious and wintry, and he’ll be performing them at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2, at The Loft at UCSD. $12-$28. theloft.ucsd.edu

cians, in addition to composing and performing music for Balinese gamelans. Yet solo, Ziporyn creates otherworldly, minimal sounds with his instrument, sometimes so dissonant and eerie they don’t initially register as the sound of a clarinet. He’ll perform his concerto Big Grenadillo, as well as new arrangements of works by Lennie Tristano, Shuggie Otis and The B-52’s on Nov. 1 at Bread and Salt in Logan Heights as part of the Fresh Sound series. $10-$15. freshsoundmusic.com

Highbrow groove: In contemporary jazz circles, trumpeter Dave Douglas has built a reputation as one of the most daring modern-jazz musicians. He’s worked with experimental legends like Anthony Braxton and John Zorn and has toured with Horace Silver. His style is bold and avantgarde but soulful, owing as much to the fringes of free jazz as the more accessible sounds of ’60s hard-bop. Douglas will lead his new quintet in what will be only his second San Diego performance, on Oct. 9 at the La Jolla Athenaeum. $30-$35. ljathenaeum.org/jazz.html

the PGK Project, run by choreographer Peter G. Kalivas. This year, Kalivas, along with Faith Jensen-Ismay, Viviana Alcazar, Michael Nickerson-Rossi and Heather DaleWentworth, will produce original pieces.

Performances happen on Oct. 4 and 5, at Spanish Village in Balboa Park (1770 Village Place). Tickets are $10-$20, with $5 added if you purchase at the door. thepgkdanceproject.org How’s the weather?: Australian dance company Lucy Guerin Inc. will come to UCSD’s Mandeville Auditorium on Wednesday, Oct. 9. Guerin and Co. will perform her latest show, Weather, which explores, via seven dancers moving in different forms of weather, the Earth’s changing climate and its effect on humans. $28$46. artpower.ucsd.edu Crikey! More Aussies!: ArtPower will welcome another Aussie dance company on Oct. 19 with a performance from the Sydney Dance Company. The company’s known for mixing movement with exuberant sound and lighting design.

They’ll perform artistic director Rafael Bonachela’s “2 One Another,” an energetic piece featuring 16 dancers exploring human relationships, backed by a baroque, electronic soundtrack. $28-$46. artpower. ucsd.edu

Brutal youth: The overarching theme to the Art of Elan’s concert series for its fall / winter season is “Reflections,” with the chamber-music group building its performances on concepts such as hope, loss and humanity. The first in the series, which takes place on Oct. 15 at the San Diego Museum of Art, is “Youth.” The group will perform Mendelssohn’s “String Quartet No. 2,” which he wrote when he was 18, and Elvis Costello’s “The Juliet Letters,” based on a series of imaginary letters written to Juliet Capulet. $10-$25. artofelan.org Inspiration interpretation: Clarinetist Evan Ziporyn has performed with a variety of notable new-music ensembles, including Bang on a Can and Steve Reich and Musi-

dance CONTINUED from PAGE 23

Evan Ziporyn

Shock value: Malashock Dance Company will bring another raw performance with Malashock / RAW 4. Expect all-new, boundary-pushing dance pieces from John Malashock, Michael Mizerany and guest choreographer Andy Noble. Performances run Nov. 14 through 18. $25.

theater CONTINUED from PAGE 26 20 at 10th Avenue Theatre in East Village. $15-$30. moolelo.net Together forever: Based on a true story, Side Show is a musical set in the 1930s about conjoined twins Violet and Daisy Hilton, who, at the beginning of the play, are performers in a circus freak show and go on to fame and fortune as a vaudeville act.

That satisfies one sister, but the other one longs for love. The Broadway version ran for just three months but was nominated for four Tony Awards. Directed by Bill Condon, La Jolla Playhouse takes it for a reimagined spin Nov. 5 through Dec. 15. Tickets start at $15. lajollapalyhouse.org Masochistic-tastic: In David Ives’ Venus in Fur, a sort-of play within a play, which premiered Off-Broadway in 2010, a writerdirector who’s created an adaptation of the novel Venus in Furs—which sparked the term “masochism”—gets the dominancesubmissiveness tables turned on him by an actress who insists on reading for the lead role. A production presented by San Diego Repertory Theatre will run Nov. 9 through Dec. 8 at the Lyceum Theatre at Horton Plaza, Downtown. $18-$58. sdrep. org Slap me no skin: The opening play of Moxie Theatre’s ninth season is Skinless,

by Johnna Adams. In it, a student named Emmi, who’s getting her graduate degree in women’s studies, bases her dissertation on Zinnia Wells, an obscure horror and sci-fi writer. As is often the case in art, the protagonist gets more than she bargained for. The Moxie folks say the show is “hauntingly beautiful” and “wicked.” Previews will begin Nov. 1, and the show runs for reals Nov. 9 through Dec. 8 at Moxie Theatre

September 25, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 27

FALL ARTS

Our region’s history in his head Doug Simay’s collection captures more than 30 years of art in Southern California • by Kinsee Morlan Doug Simay was called “one of [San Diego’s] youngest and most ambitious art collectors” in a story that appeared in the Los Angeles Times in 1987. He was 36 at the time and already addicted to buying art. Simay has since filled his modest La Jolla condo with contemporary art (not to mention dozens of works in storage).

A huge Manny Farber piece takes up the majority of one wall in his living room and other works by mostly San Diego and Los Angeles artists, including Pat Patterson, Ernest Silva, Martha Alf, Raul Guerrero, Mellissa Walker and Philipp Scholz Rittermann, are everywhere else.

Every piece in Simay’s collection has a story behind it, one he’s more than happy to share if you ask. His memory is sharp, made Dave Fobes’ “Five Views of sharper still by his practice of BLDNG #2” keeping files on every artist he’s

28 · San Diego CityBeat · September 25, 2013

collected. If he sees Silva’s name on a show announcement or in the news, for example, he prints or clips it and puts the snippet in the folder while mentally storing away the information.

Simay’s been meaning to jot down the story behind every piece of art he’s ever bought— maybe compiling them in a book. But it wasn’t until he was approached by a curator at the Oceanside Museum of Art (OMA) that he found the motivation he needed to get started.

Outside, an exhibition featuring 57 works from Simay’s collection, is on view at OMA through Jan. 5. The show is loosely landscape-themed and includes both a print and online (simayspace. typepad.com/photos/outside/) catalog comprising short paragraphs about every piece in the show. The writing is succinct and,

when read in one sitting, paints a clear picture of the vibrant art scene in San Diego and Los Angeles from 1978 to 2010.

As Simay prepared for the show, he pulled out paintings from storage that he hasn’t seen for more than 20 years.

“Unwrapping them, I felt as if I saw them just yesterday—they’re so indelible here,” he says, pointing to his head.

A few of the pieces, like Dave Fobes’ “Five Views of BLDNG #2,” help tell the story of Simay’s own involvement in the local arts community, not only as an avid collector, but as a curator, gallery owner and longtime arts advocate and friend to too many San Diego artists to name.

Do yourself a favor and read the catalog for this show, or, better yet, join Simay for his lecture on the art of collecting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, or for his walk and talk through the show at 7 p.m. on Nov. 19. Simay’s enthusiasm for art collecting and his unique knowledge of local art history is invaluable and infectious.

“One of the reasons I was happy to do the exhibition is because I have knowledge of the art world that perhaps no one else has,”

Simay says. “Collecting art was never a matter of trophy acquisition for me. Collecting art was a way of participating in a community I enjoy.”

Write to editor@sdcitybeat.com.

more art Masking for it: The Lucha Libre-themed group exhibition The Heart of Lucha returns for a second year, this time taking over the Centro Cultural de la Raza (2004 Park Blvd. in Balboa Park) from 5 p.m. to midnight on Oct. 19. Like last time, you can expect dozens of original art pieces inspired by Mexico’s famed wrestling league. To add to the fun, there will be live Lucha Libre matches, a performance from the B-Side Players, a screening of the Lucha doc Tales of Masked Men (followed by a Q&A with director Carlos Avila) and music from DJs Beto Perez, Rudy Roots and Peet-O Perez. Adults: $10, kids: $5. facebook. com/heartoflucha Who run the world? Girls!: Tough women take center stage in San Diego Museum of Art’s (1450 El Prado in Balboa Park) Women, War, and Industry, opening Oct. 19 and running through Feb. 18. The exhibition is composed of pieces in the museum’s permanent collection and focuses on the ways women have been represented in war and industry throughout U.S. history. You’ll see wartime propaganda, posters and

art CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

September 25, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 29

FALL ARTS

Programming with purpose San Diego Asian Film Festival expertly bookends its upcoming series • by Glenn Heath Jr. What makes a smart and dynamic film-festival program? Is it simply the quality of the movies? How does audience experience become a factor? The truth is, film programming is not a pure science; it’s actually a complex balancing act with multiple moving parts and influences. If you’re not careful, the process can drive you mad with frustration. I know from firsthand experience.

But in going through the gauntlet myself, it’s become far easier to spot a festival program compiled by someone with a thematic and social vision. Purpose is the key, respect for your audience paramount.

It’s exciting to report that the 14th annual San Diego Asian Film Festival, which runs Nov. 7 through 15 at multiple theaters around the county, is an ace practitioner of this insightful methodology. Led by Executive Director Lee Ann Kim, Artistic Director Brian Hu and Managing Director Phillip Lorenzo, this year’s SDAFF plans to open and close its event with two very

different films that grapple with similar social issues.

It’s smart to begin your festival with a rousing crowd-pleaser, and SDAFF will achieve that by leading with Xiao Lu Xue’s Finding Mr. Right. Starring Wei Tang (Lust, Caution) as JiaJia, a pregnant young Chinese woman forced to have her baby illegally in the United States thanks to its “illegitimate” status, the film ridicules the limitations of tradition and institutional law while celebrating the jovial ways of the romantic comedy.

Despite its colorful and fluffy façade, Finding Mr. Right examines how exiled people must adapt to their surroundings, realizing new definitions of family as a result.

It also explores the hurtful international ripples of China’s recent economic boom through JiaJia’s purely digital relationship with her wealthy, married and faceless benefactor boyfriend.

If SDAFF opens on an enjoyable slice of genre revisionism, it

30 · San Diego CityBeat · September 25, 2013

ends with an emotionally resonant gut punch. José Antonio Vargas and Rafaela Lupo’s stirring documentary Documented examines the personal torment and uncertainty caused by living in the shadows of legality.

Like Finding Mr. Right, themes of identity and citizenship are central to Documented, which focuses intensely on Vargas, a celebrated American journalist who outs himself in 2011 as undocumented in order to impact the ongoing conversation surrounding the Dream Act. One of the most disturbing truths Vargas discovers is that despite a very public confession (he writes a long piece detailing his journey from the Philippines to the U.S. for The New York Times Magazine), the government ignores his situation primarily because of his high-profile status. Contradictions of policy and practice like these are integral to Documented’s success as a social exposé.

Even more harrowing are the

personal revelations Vargas makes throughout the film, specifically in relation to his birth mother still living in the Philippines. A powerful Skype call between the two expresses the range of emotions that have been simmering below the surface for so long.

In a way, both Finding Mr. Right and Documented are about every person’s right to feel safe, welcome and sheltered by larger institutions that see them as people, not statistics. SDAFF has gone a long way to

A scene from Documented communicate these issues simply by pairing them together. The audience will do the rest.

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

More Film Contemporary classics: Ever since it opened its first theater in San Diego back in March, Arclight Cinemas has been screening classic films on the big screen. But this

film CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

Mandie Goudie-Lopez

Over the borderline

Years of yearning pay off for poet Manuel Paul Lopez • by Jim Ruland The University of Notre Dame is a long way from San Diego, but for poet Manuel Paul Lopez, the distance just got a little closer.

Earlier this year, Lopez was awarded the 2013 Ernest Sandeen Prize in poetry. This year’s competition was judged by poets Orlando Menes and Joyelle McSweeney. Lopez’s manuscript, The Yearning Feed, was published by the University of Notre Dame Press earlier this month.

Getting the news was a lifechanging experience for Lopez.

“It was a Friday night, and my wife and I were headed to my sister and brother-in-law’s house, where my whole family was gathering for dinner,” he told CityBeat via email.

“When we ended the call, I felt like one part of me was dancing on the roof of the car, another part of me was breaking it down on the hood, another was checking my pulse and two more of me were icing some beverages.”

Lopez’s reaction reflects the

spirit of his poetry: spontaneous, whimsical and lyrical.

His poem “1984,” which he performs in a charmingly offkilter YouTube video, begins, “In 1984, I didn’t read 1984 because I was really young and couldn’t read that well. And even if I could have, who wants to read a big fat boring book about a miserable year anyway?” Lopez introduces each anecdote from that “miserable year” with “In 1984” until it no longer belongs to George Orwell.

He makes it completely his own.

The Yearning Feed has a vaster scope. Lopez describes the book as “a collection of poetry and hybrid that explores physical and metaphorical borders.”

“One section of the book includes a long poem called ‘The Xoco Letters’ that attempts to engage the immigration debate by probing the actions / inactions of a general public, myself included.”

Lopez was born in El Centro, attended UCSD in the late 1990s, and

at 11:20 a.m. as part of the Eighth Annual San Diego City College International Book Fair, which also includes readings by Geraldine Brooks, Zohreh Ghahremani and Reyna Grande, as well as performances from So Say We All contributors to The Far East.

“I’m just straight-up grateful for this opportunity,” Lopez said.

“Straight-up.”

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

More Literature

has been living and teaching in San Diego for the last seven years. He’s currently a humanities teacher at High Tech High in Point Loma.

“I’ve lived most of my life along Southern California’s U.S./Mexico border, first having been born and raised in the Imperial Valley—a place that I love very much—and now having lived a number of years in San Diego.”

Manuel Paul Lopez Lopez’s first book, Death of a Mexican and other Poems, was published by Bear Star Press in 2006. He was able to develop the manuscript for The Yearning Feed with support from the San Diego Foundation’s Creative Catalyst Fund and Mo’olelo Performing Arts Company.

Lopez will read from The Yearning Feed on Thursday, Oct. 3,

Itinerant confab: The City College International Book Fair’s back for its eighth year, and organizers are switching things up by holding a handful of off-campus events: From 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 1, at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in East Village, the PEN Center, which defends persecuted authors, will host a panel discussion called “Freedom to Write.” On Oct. 2, at D.G. Wills in La Jolla, San Diego author Mel Freilicher will discuss his latest book Encyclopedia of Rebels. The fair will close with a special VAMP (video art, music, performance) multimedia showcase of City College literary works at Space 4 Art in East Village from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3. Find the full schedule at sdcity.edu/bookfair.

Ghost stories: Write Out Loud resurrects Danse Macabre this year, a holiday-ap-

lit CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

September 25, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 31

FALL ARTS

art CONTINUED from PAGE 28

film CONTINUED from PAGE 30

photography from the likes of Margaret Bourke-White, Esther Bubley, Alfred Eisenstaedt and more. On Nov. 2, SDMA will also open Noah Doley: By the Light, an exhibition of the photographer’s blackand-white images. It runs through Feb. 25. sdmart.org

fall, the chain’s Arclight Presents series is shifting its programming to reflect great works from relatively recent years. In the next two months alone, audiences will have the privilege of watching such modern classics as Children of Men (7:30 p.m. Oct. 3), Ghostbusters (5 p.m. Oct. 13), The Exorcist (8 p.m. Oct. 27) and The Shining (8 p.m.

Oct. 30). arclightcinemas.com

Stay Cooley: Los Angeles photographer Kevin Cooley will display two video-installation pieces in Kevin Cooley: Elements, opening Oct. 18 at the Museum of Photographic Arts (1649 El Prado in Balboa Park). In “Skyward,” viewers will see the sky from the point of view of a passenger in a car. “Tow” was created while on an expedition in the Arctic Circle and shows the icy landscape of the area. Both are on view through Feb. 2. mopa.org

Kino-eyes: It’s an exciting time in German cinema, with filmmakers like Christian Petzold making a name for themselves on the international festival circuit.

German Currents, now in its third year

Total catch: Subtext Gallery (2479 Kettner Blvd. in Little Italy) continues to bring cool contemporary art with Catch & Release, opening on Oct. 25. The exhibition, running through Nov. 24, features William Sager’s layered artwork, which mixes vintage photography, illustration and painting. subtextgallery.com When art collides: The Art San Diego Contemporary Art Fair will return to the Balboa Park Activity Center (2145 Park Blvd.) from Nov. 7 through 10. Through this year’s theme, “Collide,” the fest aims to bring a large cross-section of styles and mediums to the event. There will be four districts for the different disciplines: contemporary art, contemporary product and furniture design, mid-century and modern art and solo-artist-curated booths. artsandiego2013.com

32 · San Diego CityBeat · September 25, 2013

at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park, will further expose San Diego to the wonders of German cinema.

Opening with the 19th-century period piece Die Vermessung Der Welt (Measuring the World), German Currents will screen a host of films during its Oct. 5 and 6 series showcasing the country’s dynamic cinematic perspective. germancurrentssd.org Food and film, African-style: San Diegans get plenty of opportunities to sample food from around the world, but rarely do they get the chance to pair it with some great international cinema. San Diego African Restaurant Week will offer this unique combination from Oct. 18 through 26, opening with a rousing kickoff party at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

It’s alive!: Addicted to spine-tingling imagery? Mad about demons and devils? Well, the Horrible Imaginings Film Festival is for you. Now in its fourth year, San Diego’s premiere showcase for genre cinema will present a mosaic of fright-filled movies from Oct. 24 through 28 at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park. Expect filmmaker Q&A’s, lively discussions and plenty of menacing atmosphere as film fans and professionals celebrate their favorite bloody art form. hifilmfest.com

lit CONTINUED from PAGE 31

graphs and stories that resulted from what he called the “Bloodhoney Project” at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 7 at Warwick’s Bookstore in La Jolla. warwicks.indiebound.com

propriate event where trained actors will read creepy tales (think: storytelling for adults). The event will be at 7 p.m. on Oct. 28 at the Old Town Theatre (4040 Twiggs St.), a mere five-minute walk from the El Campo Santo cemetery.

Emily Bazelon

Throughout the week, five African restaurants from North Park and City Heights will offer cooking classes, live music and dance performances, and Digital Gym will screen a collection of renowned African films. africanfoodsd.com

Carpe diem: When photographer Harun Mehmedinovic started hearing too many friends complain about being stuck in the 9-to-5 grind, he proposed they set aside a day for absolute spontaneity—and allow him to photograph it. In one instance, a female friend donned a full-length black dress and climbed an installation at the L.A. County Museum of Art. In another, a woman opted to run through a Civil War battlefield—naked. Mehmedinovic will discuss Séance, the collection of photo-

From Dershowitz to Bazelon: The San Diego Jewish Book Fair’s got a stellar lineup this year. Some highlights: On opening night, Nov. 2, Alan Dershowitz will discuss Taking the Stand: My Life in Law. On Nov. 4, David Harris-Gershon talks about his provocatively titled memoir, What Do You Buy the Children of the Terrorist Who Tried to Kill Your Wife? Closing the event is Emily Bazelon, a senior editor at Slate and frequent NPR contributor, who’ll discuss Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy. The book fair takes place Nov. 2 through 5 at the Center for Jewish Culture in La Jolla and Nov. 7 through 10 at Temple Solel in Cardiff by the Sea. Find the full schedule at sdcjc.org/sdjbf

Chasing their tales Men compete, women retreat in Ron Howard’s tiresome racecar drama

by Glenn Heath Jr. In the expository-heavy early moments of Rush, arrogant racecar driver James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) explains why he’s so good in bed: “The closer you are to death, the closer you are to life. Women can smell it on you.”

It’s the sort of clichéd masculine nonsense one might expect from a young lad high on his own ego.

Manly men Chris Hemsworth (left) and Daniel Brühl Strangely, the film never proves him wrong: Hunt sleeps with countless women and never their lives every time on the track. Multiple frames blinks an eye; the cost of his philandering is hinted at contain equal parts gloss and grain, haloed lighting only vaguely. Even worse, his one “long-term” rela- and striking shadows. This style elevates the artifitionship with a posh British model (Olivia Wilde) is ciality of the story, always reinforcing the fact that treated like an inconvenient narrative afterthought. the audience is watching a heightened and staged Problematic characterizations plague Ron How- vision of history. ard’s bland 1970s-set Formula 1 biopic about the BritTo his credit, Howard shoots the action scenes ish bad boy and his rivalry with Austrian wunderkind consistently from a ground-level vantage point, forcNiki Lauda (Daniel Brühl). Not only do the women in ing the audience into the cramped cockpit of each car. both men’s lives seem more like background drapes Some of these sequences are genuinely harrowing, than characters; honest relationships of any kind are as in the final showdown between Lauda and Hunt sacrificed in the name of sport. at the foot of Mt. Fuji in Japan.

Maybe Hunt’s narcissism The rain is so thick that one can makes confronting his own selfbarely make out the cars from Rush destructive nature impossible. a birds-eye-view, save for the Directed by Ron Howard Or perhaps Lauda’s meticusmoke billowing upward.

Starring Chris Hemsworth, lousness is too fortified, leaving Still, for a film about one of Daniel Brühl, Olivia Wilde and no room for his complexity to the most visually kinetic sports, Alexandra Maria Lara breath. Either way, the film creRush doesn’t feel entirely danRated R ates very little feeling beyond gerous. Howard imposes graph-

the surface of booming engines, blasting cylinders and screeching tires. All that matters is competition, the kind of masculine posturing that undoubtedly leads to selfdestruction and collateral damage.

Despite its horrendous views on gender, Rush deftly balances the madness and respect the two leads inspire in each other. Brühl’s surgeon-like exactness plays well against Hunt’s brazen flair. As they face off against each other in races around the world, there’s a sense of instinctual chest thumping that grows from the gas fumes almost organically.

Both men create increased risk by engaging in this rivalry, knowing that, in a way, the sport wouldn’t be as thrilling without their shared melodrama.

As written by British scribe Peter Morgan (known for his infatuation with historical simplicity), Rush attempts to reconstruct a lively era where Formula 1 drivers were akin to superheroes, risking

ics and text over the race scenes in order to cover more historical ground through montage, which consistently stunts the film’s momentum. Not only is the technique distracting from the story’s inherent emotional intensity; it also blatantly reveals the most wooden parts of the biopic genre.

Thinking about these unfortunate stylistic decisions made my mind wander a bit (surprisingly, since the sound design is deafening). I thought about what the late Tony Scott would have done with this material. In his hands, each scene (on and off the track) might have felt like a thrilling, life-ordeath race of some kind, breathless in ways Howard would never have conceived. But I guess we’ll always have Days of Thunder.

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

Lust, caution Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s pornaddiction comedy Don Jon suffers from an extreme bout of aesthetic repetition. Bits of smarmy dialogue, suggestive sound cues and off-kilter compositions repeat throughout. This gives the earnest story of a New Jersey meathead named Jon (GordonDon Jon Levitt) coming to grips with his

obsessive tendencies a benign perspective on key themes like love and desire.

Making his feature-writing and directing debut, GordonLevitt is attempting to explore the emotional consequences of believing fantasy can trump reality. Jon doesn’t simply watch porn religiously—he loses him-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

September 25, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 33

self in it. After embarking on a precipitous relationship with Barbara (Scarlett Johansson), a blonde bombshell who attempts to mold him into a new man, Jon realizes that the thin red line between lust and caution is more complex than he originally thought.

If Gordon-Levitt shoots for emotional complexity, his film only cuts skin deep. Each rise and fall in this rollercoaster Jon experiences is telegraphed, even his foray into a new kind of relationship with Esther, a fellow night student played by the winsome Julianne Moore. What isn’t expected is how sublime the film’s final chapter feels, almost as if the narrative itself splinters off into a new direction—with Jon’s flowering maturity.

Such strange inconsistencies point to Don Jon’s most glaring flaw. It’s a poorly paced film, one as cinematically insecure as its lead character. But the beauty and honesty found in the ending suggests a filmmaker seeking a rhythm. Maybe Gordon-Levitt needed to get this story out of his system before graduating to a more substantial style. One can only hope, because his Don Jon is equally tiresome and appealing, the epitome of a young man lost in his own self-importance.

—Glenn Heath Jr.

Opening Don Jon: Joseph Gordon-Levitt wrote, directed and stars in this coming-of-age story about a young New Jersey lothario addicted to the fantasy world of pornography. See our review on Page 33.

Enough Said: The latest slice of modern melodrama from director Nicole Holofcener (Please Give) features a mosaic of confused couples. Stars James Gandolfini in his last screen role.

The Facility: Seven strangers take part in a clinical trial for a new experimental drug, only to become inspired with uncontrollable murderous intentions. Screens at Reading Gaslamp Cinemas.

Haute Cuisine: A fictional take on the story of Danièle Delpeuch, who was appointed as the private chef for François Mitterrand, the former president of France.

Screens through Oct. 3 at the Ken Cinema.

I am Divine: The definitive biographical portrait of Divine, aka Harris Glenn Milstead, who became a cinema icon in the controversial schlock films of John Waters.

Screens Sept. 28 through Oct. 2 at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

Inequality for All: Former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich uses the documentary as platform to raise awareness of the country’s widening economic gap.

On the Job: Corrupt officials in the Philippines use convicted prisoners to carry out public assassinations in order to cover their tracks in this high-octane thriller from director Erik Matti. Screens at AMC Plaza Bonita Cinemas in Chula Vista.

Out in the Dark: A Palestinian student falls in love with an Israeli lawyer in this

34 · San Diego CityBeat · September 25, 2013

Out in the Dark topical gay drama from director Michael Mayer. Screens through Oct. 3 at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

Rush: Ron Howard’s biopic about the bitter rivalry between Formula 1 drivers James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl), who battled for track supremacy throughout the 1970s. See our review on Page 33.

Wadjda: In this first film shot completely in Saudi Arabia, an enterprising Saudi girl competes in her school’s Koran-recitation contest to raise the remaining funds she needs for a green bicycle that has captured her interest.

Sept. 26, through Saturday, Sept. 28, at Cinema Under the Stars in Mission Hills.

The Neverending Story: Children of the 1980s, let Falcor take you on a wild ride back to your childhood. Screens at 5 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 29, at Arclight La Jolla.

Chicken with Plums: A bitter musician must come to grips with his demons after breaking his prized violin. Screens at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, at the Hervey Branch Library in Point Loma.

One Time Only

We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks: Documentary about the creation of Julian Assange’s controversial website that went on to reveal previously hidden information about the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

Screens at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2, at the new Central Library, Downtown.

The Goonies: Me Chunk, you Sloth!

Screens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma.

Now Playing

Ginger and Rosa: Two teenagers living in 1960s London attempt to transcend the looming menace of the Cuban Missile Crisis and retain some of their youth. Screens at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, at the Mission Valley Public Library.

The Girl: Abbie Cornish stars as a single mother who begins trafficking immigrants across the Texas / Mexico border in order to stave off economic ruin. Presented by San Diego Latino Film Festival’s Que Viva! Cine Latino, it screens at 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 25, at Otay Ranch Town Center. It’ll also screen as part of Cine en el Parque at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, at California Center for the Arts, Escondido.

The Invisible War: Kirby Dick’s scathing and devastating documentary uncovers the epidemic of rape that has long traumatized women in the military. Screens at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, at the Women’s Museum of California in Point Loma’s Liberty Station.

A Place at the Table: A documentary that seeks to find solutions for the hunger epidemic in America. Screens at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, at Scripps Mercy Hospital.

Showley Bros. Candy: A rare opportunity to see this industrial film from 1929 about the titular candy company. San Diego Culinary Institute and local candy makers will offer sweet treats to sample. Screens at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, at the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park.

Batteries Not Included: On the precipice of being forced out of their apartment, elderly tenants look to mechanical beings to stave off eviction. Screens at 8 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 26, at The Lafayette Hotel in North Park.

The Matrix: Whoa! Screens at 8 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 26, at Arclight La Jolla.

The Maltese Falcon: Dashiell Hammet’s classic pulp novel comes to life thanks to Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre and John Huston. Screens at 8:30 p.m. Thursday,

A Single Shot: An experienced hunter (Sam Rockwell) accidentally kills a woman while poaching deer in the forest, setting off a string of events that will get him embroiled in a seedy criminal plot.

Los Amorosos: Daniel Martinez and Marimar Vega star as estranged lovers who reunite during a lyrical visit through the Chiapas region of Mexico. Screens through Sept. 26 at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

Battle of the Year: Get your groove on with a bunch of fit young people competing for bragging rights in the ultimate dance competition.

Museum Hours: The Kunsthistorisches Art Museum in Vienna becomes the backdrop of a burgeoning friendship between a museum guard and Canadian woman visiting an estranged relative.

Prisoners: A desperate father (Hugh Jackman) takes the law into his own hands after his daughter disappears, despite the ongoing investigation by a dedicated police officer (Jake Gyllenhaal).

Salinger: An expansive and controversial look into the life of the reclusive author of The Catcher in the Rye. Thanks for Sharing: Romantic comedy about three friends who meet in a 12-step program for sex addicts. Awkwardness ensues. Stars Mark Ruffalo, Tim Robbins and Gwyneth Paltrow.

You Will Be My Son: A father and son clash over the future of their prestigious vineyard in France.

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

alex

there she goz

zaragoza Recharging my toughness with a female fighter “In the field I work in, I get tested every day, beabout the women they encounter on a day-to-day cause I’m a girl.” basis who they do not want to cross.

Ain’t that the damn truth. I heard that little nugThe list I got was varied and quite amazing: recepget of commiseration while hanging out with Sheltionists at medical offices, roller-derby girls, bartendby Belfast Jones, a strength and conditioning coach ers, DMV employees, postal workers, mothers of spefor pro athletes who also does some professional cial-needs children, women working the late shift at fighting in the ring. taco shops, cholas, midwives, Kathleen Hanna. These It’s not just at work that women get tested are no-nonsense women that have zero seconds in the though, is it? We have to deal with shit everywhere, day for your shit and will let you know it. and we’re very much aware of it. Why? Because Taking a cue from this list, I spent a few hours at sometimes it’s just easier that way. the DMV and at a doctor’s office observing. I looked This has been coming up a lot lately among my like a real weirdo, observing the female employees girlfriends and me. We women generally see our and taking notes. In both locations these women have male co-workers make more money for the same perfected their resting bitch face, which serves as an level of work. We’re reduced to tears when some armor for the bullshit they must deal with every day. dude targets our vulnerability and decides to give I pass the North Park Und1sputed training gym it a roundhouse kick to its emotional nut sack just every day on my way to work. I see a lot of swoll-ass because they can get away with it. dudes hanging outside, but, every so often, there’s a I’m not just talking boyfriends here. This isn’t woman in the boxing ring laying punch after punch some Sex and the City shit. It’s our bosses, our dads, into a dude’s face. I’m in awe of those women. our brothers and some asshole who called us a fat That’s what brought me to meet up with Shelby. bitch for not crossing the street fast enough. It’s Walking into the gym and seeing her sitting on a other women who are determined to Regina George picnic table, you just sense her zero-bullshit aura. us. My sister, for instance, asked if my ex-boyIt surrounds her like a mist. This is a woman who friend’s current girlfriend has reduced NFL players is skinnier than I am. Why to tears during workouts, We ladies have to hit someone is that a point of contena woman who’s seen her tion? It’s completely stupid share of fist fights, both inover the head with a chair so and perpetuates girl-on-girl side the ring and out. I think that everyone else knows not cattiness that sets women that’s something you carry back. Plus, I’m a broke, 29with you. When you know to fuck with us. year-old writer with a failed you can survive a punch to marriage under her belt the face and can, in turn, dewho scoops up spilled salsa from her jeans with liver a devastating blow, you stand a little bit taller. a tortilla chip and eats it. I’m not competing with It’s not just physical strength, though. As one of the anyone here. very few women in the field, she deals with sexism, Most times, I speak up, but, to be honest, I ofunfairness and general gross dude stuff on the regular. ten just take the punch and walk away because I’m She has to fight with words as much as her fists. tired of fighting. When I cry or spit out word venom “To work in this business I had to make a lot of at someone who’s hurt my feelings, I don’t get upset universal decisions about what I’m OK with and what at the person who got it out of me. I’m disappointed I’m not OK with,” Shelby told me. “I turn around and in myself for allowing them to affect me. say something sharp back. You have to.”

What pisses me and my lady friends off the You have to. Ain’t that the damn truth. We have most is realizing that if we were men, we probably to, because, if we don’t, we’re perceived as weak wouldn’t have these issues. Men, for the most part, and become a target. Shelby says that the men she don’t worry about seeming ungrateful or rocking works with often bank on her folding. She learned the boat or expressing empathy. Women see their at a young age that she can’t curl up when threatcompassion used against them regularly. ened. The world is our prison, and we ladies have And, listen, a lack of mouthiness isn’t my probto hit someone over the head with a chair so that lem; this isn’t a column touting 69 ways to please everyone else knows not to fuck with us. your man, with No. 1 being “shut the fuck up alThe thing that most struck me about Shelby ways.” Going to high school in southern San Diego, wasn’t her heavily tattooed arms, bright-red waistI learned the importance of bitch face as a survival length hair or the toughness she exudes. It’s that she’s smart, articulate and understands how crappy tool. I’ve never thrown a punch, but I’ve won fights defined gender roles are, but she doesn’t allow them by simply looking someone in the eye, raising an to defeat her. She fights them every day. As hard as index finger and saying these nine magical words: it can be, I can’t stop fighting. If taking a punch to “Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to?” the face will recharge my fighter spirit, I want to Even so, the fight in me, and many women I know, take that hit. gets drained. That’s when the vultures fly in to peck at our tired bodies.

Write to alexz@sdcitybeat.com That got me thinking about tough women. I and editor@sdcitybeat.com. asked a few friends, both male and female, to think

September 25, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 35

arena

th e

Step into

Vampire Weekend graduate to stadium status • by Jeff Terich Every generation has its iconic arena-rock band. In the early ’80s, Van Halen brought spandex, guitar wizardry and the hammy theatrics of Diamond Dave to stadium stages. In the ’90s, Bono donned his Mr. MacPhisto costume and sang while surrounded by giant screens on U2’s massive ZOO TV tour.

Yet in 2013, when the biggest touring “rock” band of the moment is, perplexingly, Mumford and Sons, there’s another, more unconventional candidate for taking over coliseum stages: Vampire Weekend.

The sartorially gifted New York City indie rockers are unlikely to line their stage with pyrotechnics or offer a groupie finder’s fee to stage hands. And the band’s music— which ranges from African highlife-inspired indie rock to string-laden chamber pop—tends not to pair well with explosive guitar solos or elaborate cable suspension à la Bon Jovi. But after releasing their debut single, “Mansard Roof,” in 2007, the band’s made a gradual ascent toward mainstream success. Their new album, Modern Vampires of the City, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart in May, having sold 134,000 copies in its first week. And this fall, Vampire Weekend—who’ll play the SDSU Open Air Theatre with Sky Ferreira on Monday, Sept. 30—will embark on their first headlining arena tour.

From the outside, this move upward might seem intimidating for a group that got its start in underground clubs, but bass player Chris Baio is eager to make the transition.

“I guess you could view that as a daunting thing,” Baio

says. “I think it’s very exciting. I think we’re going to try to maybe do a song or two in a sort of bigger interpretation. We were talking in the U.K. of bringing out some kind of special musicians, not just a standard extra player, but maybe doing something different. I can’t say it’s something that affects the album-making process. Maybe once we start playing bigger venues, we’ll feel that, but I kind of doubt that.”

As Vampire Weekend’s audience has expanded, their music has grown more lush and sophisticated. In contrast to the spunky, youthful sounds of their debut, or the more prominent electronics of their second album, Contra, Modern Vampires of the City finds the band exploring deeper layers and a more nuanced approach. On “Obvious Bicycle,” singer Ezra Koenig gives a dynamic vocal performance against a spare backdrop of piano and Chris Thomson’s minimal drums, while “Step” has the band taking on a harpsichord-driven baroque-pop sound.

The album has its moments of high-energy mischief, such as brief, upbeat single “Diane Young,” but that track is less characteristic of the album’s sound than a track like “Hannah Hunt,” which builds slowly from a sparse arrangement into a dynamic burst of dreamy pop with an added dose of sonic Easter eggs.

“Every time we make a record, we don’t want to repeat ourselves too much,” Baio says. “We want to feel like each record is kind of its own fresh world that we’ve created. In terms of certain sounds that we wanted to explore more fully or differently than on Contra, we found piano to feel

very fresh and exciting to us, and [we] definitely have a lot less guitar on this record. And when there was guitar, we wanted it to sound pretty differently than it did on our previous two records.”

In order to create a different-sounding album, Vampire Weekend changed their recording approach. Koenig and keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij wrote and did some early tracking for the album in a guest house in Martha’s Vineyard, and when it came time to flesh out the songs, the band recorded to a vintage analog Ampex machine in a studio in Los Angeles.

The band also incorporated techniques like using a varispeed tape deck to record at slower speeds, so that playback would have a higher pitch.

Baio says that recording to tape “gave a definite warmth to the rhythm section.”

“Anything that we work on, I think we like the idea of there being an immediacy to it, but also that it rewards repeated listening and, I guess deeper listening,” he says.

“We want it to sound good on tinny ear buds but also sound good on a good system. And with this record, I think it’s definitely our warmest-sounding.”

As far as Vampire Weekend has traveled, and as big as they’ve become in such a short time, it seemed only a remote possibility that they’d be where they are now. As Baio says, just headlining one of the bigger clubs in New York City was an aspirational goal.

“When we first started playing, we thought it would be cool to sell out Bowery Ballroom,” Baio says. “And I thought it would be really ambitious if we ever sold 100,000 copies of a record. That was the far limit of what I could imagine.

“The rest was just a cherry on top.”

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

Alex John Beck

From left: Chris Thomson, Chris Baio, Rostam Batmanglij and Ezra Koenig

36 · San Diego CityBeat · September 25, 2013

September 25, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 37

notes from the smoking patio Locals Only The Palace Ballroom are gearing up for a productive season of new releases.

Last December, the local rockers—who began as the solo project of singer / songwriter Timothy Joseph—released their debut album, This is the Plan.

But rather than follow that album with another full-length set right away, the band is planning to release around a half-dozen singles—one at a time—in order to maintain a steady drip of new music. The first single in the series is “Descender,” which will be available Oct. 1 in digital format.

Joseph says in an email that part of the idea behind doing a series of singles instead of immediately leaping right into recording an entire album in one sitting is to ensure that each song meets their satisfaction before they’re ready for people to hear it.

“The one-song-at-a-time approach really allows us to focus on being able to put our best material forward and record it as it progresses,” he says. “This process also allows people to listen to what the band is doing and how we are evolving in a very real-time format.”

Joseph also says that part of the motivation is to offer music in a more affordable format.

“The idea is that if a person likes it enough, they usually won’t hesitate to go to iTunes and spend 99 cents to download it into their device,” he says.

The next single hasn’t yet been scheduled, though the band plans to issue five or six in an eight-month span. After that, Joseph says, they’ll most likely record a few extra tracks to eventually compile and release as an album on vinyl.

“Hopefully, if the singles have built us a big enough audience, we might actually be able to sell some records,” he says. “Wouldn’t that be something?”

The Palace Ballroom will play at the Adams Avenue Street Fair on Saturday, Sept. 28.

In Ears We Trust A semi-regular feature in which we ask local musicians about the music they’ve been digging lately.

Ed Ghost Tucker: “All of us listen to a variety of artists, both dated and contemporary, so we’ll try to capture that breadth with a few names. Lately, we’ve begun to unravel Roy Orbison and Harry Nilsson, and Paul Simon and David Byrne are always on our minds. Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela are some of our favorites, as well, as is Joni Mitchell. Of the newer artists, Mew, Björk, Dirty Projectors, Mary

38 · San Diego CityBeat · September 25, 2013

The Palace Ballroom Halvorson, Grizzly Bear, Foals and Feist seem to get a lot of plays on our respective music-playing gadgets.”

Joshua Kmak, The Nformals: “I’m really into garage rock and lo-fi stuff. Les Sexareenos, Harlem, early Ty Segall, Box Elders and stuff like that.”

Steven Perez Oira, Buddy Banter / Mrs. Magician: “I’ve actually been listening to Let it Be by The Replacements. It’s been in my stereo ever since I found out they did a reunion show at Riot Fest. It’s been, like, a million years since they have done a show. I’m bummed I missed it because I heard Josh Freese was now playing drums for them. My favorite song off the record is ‘Favorite Thing.’”

Leslie Schulze, The Flaggs: “Chelsea Wolfe— Unknown Rooms: A Collection of Acoustic Songs.

Her voice is not only beautiful, it is completely chilling, and the arrangements are surprising, yet catchy in a dark and brooding way. It’s the kind of record that you put on and your girlfriend tells you to ‘just shut up’ because she is trying to hear every word and you excitedly can’t stop talking about how good it is (true story). Chelsea also just put out a new album called Pain is Beauty, which is seriously so, so good.”

Normandie Wilson: “Koop featuring Yukimi Nagano— ‘Summer Sun’ (from 2001’s Waltz for Koop). Not a new recording but new to me. I instantly recognize Yukimi’s voice anytime I hear it, and it’s really touching me this week.

Earth, Wind, and Fire—‘That’s the Way of the World / Reasons’ (from 1975’s That’s the Way of the World). Sometimes you just need a little Philip Bailey and Maurice White to ease the pain of everyday life, you know what I mean?”

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

if i were u

BY Jeff Terich

Wednesday, Sept. 25 PLAN A: Tropical Popsicle, Jeans Wilder, DJ Junior Hernandez @ Soda Bar. The misleadingly named Tropical Popsicle is one of this city’s most reliably awesome noise-pop bands, and they headline a free night of rocking that also features fellow local guitar slingers Jeans Wilder. Hard to pass that up. PLAN B: Blouse, Feathers, Hand of the Hills @ The Void. Blouse began as a synth-based group, but on their second album Imperium, they swapped out their Moogs for guitars, and the result is some darkly gorgeous postpunk. BACKUP PLAN: Jail Weddings, The Hollerin, Badabing @ The Casbah.

Thursday, Sept. 26 PLAN A: Woods, The Fresh & Onlys, Jessica Pratt @ The Casbah. Brooklyn’s Woods are possibly even more famous for launching the Woodsist label—which has released records by the likes of Kurt Vile and Real Estate—than they are for their own records. Those records, however, are chock full of jangly, psychedelic goodness, with

catchy melodies to boot. BACKUP PLAN: land-by-way-of-Portland psych-pop group Joanie Mendenhall, Tide Pools, The Unknown Mortal Orchestra does acid-laced freakouts on a compact, warm and fuzzy Midnight Pine @ Tin Can Ale House. scale. It’s a kind of weird that feels nice and comfortable. PLAN B: The Styletones, Friday, Sept. 27 Creepy Creeps, Blackout Party, Barbarian PLAN A: Youth Code, Night Sins, Innerds, @ Adams Avenue Street Fair. The Adams Sunwheel @ The Void. In the 1980s, before Avenue Street Fair kicks off this weekend Trent Reznor made the genre a household with 11 hours of music on seven different name, industrial music was synonymous stages, and with that much talent in your with nightmarish intensity and minimalist backyard for free, there’s no reason not to Andrew Paynter synthesizer arrangements. stop by for at least a few Los Angeles duo Youth hours, especially with bands Code are young, but they like The Styletones, Barbarrecapture the sound of early ian and Ed Ghost Tucker on Wax Trax! bands via gothic the stage. BACKUP PLAN: atmosphere and menacJungle Fire, DJs Question, ing beats. PLAN B: Blue Charlie Rock, Marsellus Sky Black Death, Sister Wallace @ Seven Grand.

Crayon, East of Sweden @ Soda Bar. Their name Sunday, Sept. 29 evokes something much PLAN A: Lapalux, Natasha more ominous and sinister, Kmetko, Illuminauts @ but Blue Sky Black Death The Void. Affiliated with have made a career out Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder of hazy, textured hip-hop Toro y Moi record label, Lapalux speproduction, both for some big-name emcees and as instrumentals. End cializes in glitchy, warped electronics that your week with some solid but hallucinatory shed light on the soulful side of IDM. Apparbeatscapes. BACKUP PLAN: Islands, Bear ently, it exists! PLAN B: The Donkeys, Big Mountain, Red Pony Clock @ The Casbah. Black Delta, Low Volts, Wild Wild Wets @ Adams Avenue Street Fair. The second day of Adams Avenue Street Fair wraps up a little Saturday, Sept. 28 bit early, so there’s plenty of time to catch PLAN A: Unknown Mortal Orchestra, either Plan A or the Backup Plan on SunJackson Scott @ The Casbah. New Zea- day. Still, the lineup is pretty killer, so grab a

falafel and catch some local jams before you go out for the night. BACKUP PLAN: Sirhan Sirhan, Archons, Batwings @ The Casbah.

Monday, Sept. 30 PLAN A: Vampire Weekend, Sky Ferreira @ Open Air Theatre. See Page 36 for our feature on New York indie-pop heroes Vampire Weekend, who are headlining some pretty massive venues. In the course of six years, they’ve undergone an impressive maturation into a sophisticated, excellent group of songwriters. PLAN B: Man Man, Xenia Rubinos @ The Casbah. Man Man recently ended up on a segment of Anderson Cooper 360, to talk about their new song “End Boss,” which is about a wolf that eats babies and drinks vodka. Here’s the punch line: The wolf character was inspired by Wolf Blitzer.

Now, you can’t tell me you don’t want to go hear Tom Waits-style bark-along tunes and songs about a very literal Wolf Blitzer.

Tuesday, Oct. 1 PLAN A: Toro y Moi, Vinyl Williams @ Belly Up Tavern. Remember “chillwave”?

Of course you do—three years later, we’re still laughing about how ridiculous it is. Yet, despite initially being lumped in with the ’wavers, Toro y Moi has progressed impressively as a songwriter, and his new album, Anything in Return, is full of upbeat R&B jams. BACKUP PLAN: Allah-Las, Jacco Gardner, Barbarian @ The Casbah.

September 25, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 39

HOT! NEW! FRESH! Yo Gotti (Porter’s Pub, 10/15), Dave Chappelle (Spreckels Theatre, 10/18-19), Earthless (Casbah, 10/26), Federico Aubele (Casbah, 10/30), MellowHigh (Porter’s Pub, 11/1), Strange Talk (Casbah, 11/8), Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine (Casbah, 11/10), Tera Melos (Che Café, 11/14), Nik Turner’s Hawkwind (Casbah, 11/15), X (BUT, 12/8), Third Eye Blind (HOB, 12/10), Jonny Lang (BUT, 1/10).

GET YER TICKETS Vampire Weekend (Open Air Theatre, 9/30), Toro y Moi (BUT, 10/1), Steve Earle and the Dukes (BUT, 10/9), Kylesa (Brick by Brick, 10/13), Primal Scream (BUT, 10/15), Sleigh Bells, Doldrums (Moonshine Flats, 10/19), Passion Pit (Open Air Theatre, 10/22), Buddy Guy (BUT, 10/28), Rocket From the Crypt (HOB, 10/31), Janelle Monae (HOB, 11/6), Macy Gray (BUT, 11/7), Blitzen Trapper (Porter’s Pub, 11/9), Cults (The Irenic, 11/10), Ab-Soul, Joey Bada$$ (SOMA, 11/11), Ben Harper (Copley Symphony Hall, 11/16), Pearl Jam (Viejas Arena, 11/21), Sinead O’Connor (BUT, 11/26), JAY Z (Valley View Casino Center, 12/7), Lee Ranaldo and the Dust (The Casbah, 12/14), NOFX (HOB, 12/19).

September Wednesday, Sept. 25 The Naked and Famous at House of Blues. Jail Weddings at The Casbah.

Blouse at The Void.

Thursday, Sept. 26 Woods, The Fresh & Onlys at The Casbah. Moving Units at Soda Bar. Michael Rose with Sly and Robbie at Belly Up Tavern.

Friday, Sept. 27 Islands at The Casbah. Blue Sky Black Death at Soda Bar. Air Supply at Humphreys Concerts By the Bay. Youth Code at The Void.

Saturday, Sept. 28 Keith Urban at Sleep Train Amphitheatre. Unknown Mortal Orchestra at The Casbah. Between the Buried and Me at House of Blues. Sol at The Loft.

Sunday, Sept. 29 Bullet for My Valentine at Soma. Matt Nathanson, Joshua Radin at House of Blues. Vaud and the Villains at Belly Up Tavern.

Monday, Sept. 30 Vampire Weekend at Open Air Theatre.

Man Man at The Casbah.

October Tuesday, Oct. 1 Allah-Las, Jacco Gardner at The Casbah. Toro y Moi at Belly Up Tavern.

Wednesday, Oct. 2 Jake Bugg at House of Blues. Bob Schneider at Belly Up Tavern. Olafur Arnalds at The Loft.

40 · San Diego CityBeat · September 25, 2013

Thursday, Oct. 3 Teenage Bottlerockets, The Queers at Soda Bar.

Friday, Oct. 4 John Mayer, Phillip Philips at Sleep Train Amphitheatre. Anathema, Alcest at The Casbah. Subhumans at The Casbah.

Saturday, Oct. 5 Maroon 5 at Sleep Train Amphitheatre.

Hugh Cornwell at Soda Bar. Shigeto at The Casbah.

Sunday, Oct. 6 Travis at House of Blues. Orange Goblin at Soda Bar. Anberlin, The Maine at SOMA. New Mexico at The Casbah.

Monday, Oct. 7 Taj Mahal Trio, Vusi Mahlasela and Fredericks Brown at Belly Up Tavern.

Pure X at The Casbah. Coliseum at Soda Bar.

Tuesday, Oct. 8 Pet Shop Boys at Copley Symphony Hall. Conor Oberst at Belly Up Tavern.

Wednesday, Oct. 9 Steve Earle and the Dukes at Belly Up Tavern.

Thursday, Oct. 10 The Legendary Pink Dots at The Casbah.

Friday, Oct. 11 Sean Hayes at The Griffin. Easton

Corbin at House of Blues. King Khan and the Shrines at The Casbah. Spitalfield at Soda Bar. Red Fang at Brick by Brick.

Saturday, Oct. 12 Adult. at The Void.

Sunday, Oct. 13 Saves the Day at The Irenic. Kylesa at Brick by Brick. Drag The River at Bar Pink.

Monday, Oct. 14 Guitar Wolf at Soda Bar. City and Colour at House of Blues. The Dodos at The Casbah. Louie Bello at Belly Up Tavern.

Tuesday, Oct. 15 Primal Scream at Belly Up Tavern. Widowspeak at The Void. HAIM at The Casbah. Yo Gotti at Porter’s Pub.

Wednesday, Oct. 16 Leon Russell at Belly Up Tavern. Braids at The Casbah. Crystal Antlers at Soda Bar. Saviours at The Void.

Thursday, Oct. 17 Helado Negro at Soda Bar.

Friday, Oct. 18 Jason Aldean at Sleep Train Amphitheatre. Langhorne Slim & The Law at The Casbah. Jack Johnson at Balboa Theatre. Chali 2na & House of Vibe at Belly Up Tavern. Diamond Head, Raven at Brick by Brick. The Icarus Line at The Void. Dave Chappelle at Spreckels Theatre.

Saturday, Oct. 19 Hepcat at House of Blues. MS MR at Soda Bar. Junip at The Loft. Sleigh Bells, Doldrums at Moonshine Flats.

Dave Chappelle at Spreckels Theatre.

Sunday, Oct. 20 Supersuckers at Soda Bar. Three Dog Night at Belly Up Tavern.

Monday, Oct. 21 Inc. at Porter’s Pub.

Tuesday, Oct. 22 Passion Pit at Open Air Theatre. Phantogram at House of Blues.

Wednesday, Oct. 23 Paramore at Viejas Arena. A.F.I. at House of Blues.

Thursday, Oct. 24 James Blake at House of Blues. Har Mar Superstar at The Casbah.

Friday, Oct. 25 Hunx and His Punx at The Irenic. Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe at Belly Up Tavern. The Righteous Brothers with Bill Medley at Casino Pauma. Castle at The Void.

Saturday, Oct. 26 Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe at Belly Up Tavern. Emilie Autumn at Porter’s Pub. Earthless at The Casbah.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 42

September 25, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 41

Sunday, Oct. 27 Zac Brown Band at Sleep Train Amphitheatre. Keep Shelly in Athens at The Casbah.

Monday, Oct. 28 The Neighbourhood at House of Blues.

Buddy Guy at Belly Up Tavern.

Tuesday, Oct. 29 The Blow at The Casbah.

rCLUBSr

710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave, Pacific Beach. 710bc.com. Wed: Open mic, open jam. Thu: The Routine. Fri: Smokin Joe Kelly (5 p.m.); Robert Ffrench (9:30 p.m.).

Sat: Garret Lee Robinson, Capitol Eye, The Lucky Lonely. Tue: ‘710 Bass Club’.

98 Bottles, 2400 Kettner Blvd. Ste. 110, Little Italy. 98bottlessd.com. Sat: The Weis Guys Jazztet. Sun: Kenny Eng. Air Conditioned Lounge, 4673 30th St, Normal Heights. airconditionedbar.com.

Wed: DJs Midgett, Blancniore, jAy jOy, Lestat. Thu: DJs Red Sonya, Bala, Impera, Ledher10. Fri: DJ Junior the DiscoPunk.

Sat: ‘Juicy’ w/ Mike Czech. Sun: DJs JoeMamma, Tramlife.

AMSDconcerts, 4650 Mansfield St, Normal Heights. amsdconcerts.com. Fri: Butch Hancock.

Bar Pink, 3829 30th St, North Park. barpink.com. Wed: ‘H.A.M.’ w/ DJ L. Fri: ‘Bonkers! Dance Party’.

Bassmnt, 919 Fourth Ave, Downtown. bassmntsd.com. Fri: PeaceTreaty. Sat: TyDi. Beaumont’s, 5662 La Jolla Blvd, La Jolla. brocktonvilla.com/beaumonts.html. Fri: Dave Booda Band. Sat: Jones Revival.

Sun: Spanky.

Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave, Solana Beach. bellyup.com. Wed: Boombox, Ramona. Thu: Michael Rose w/ Sly and Robbie, Hirie, DJ Carlos Culture. Fri: The Mother Hips. Sat: Wild Child, Neil Deal.

Sun: Vaud and the Villains. Tue: Toro y Moi, Vinyl Williams.

Blarney Stone Pub, 5617 Balboa Ave, Clairemont. 858-279-2033. Fri: Random Radio.

Boar Cross’n, 390 Grand Ave, Carlsbad. boarcrossn.net. Thu: Lyrical Skoolyard.

Fri: ‘Club Musae’. Sat: Product.

Bourbon Street, 4612 Park Blvd, University Heights. bourbonstreetsd.com. Wed: ‘Awe Snap! I Love the ‘90s’ w/ VJ K-Swift.

Thu: ‘W.E.T.’. Fri: ‘Go-Go Fridays’ w/ VJ K-Swift. Sun: ‘Soiree’.

42 · San Diego CityBeat · September 25, 2013

The Brass Rail, 3796 Fifth Ave, Hillcrest. thebrassrailsd.com. Thu: Beyond Burlesque Pink Boombox Revue. Fri: ‘Brown Sugar Remix’. Sat: ‘Sabados en Fuego’ w/ DJs KA, XP. Sun: ‘Noche Romantica’ w/ Daisy Salinas. Mon: ‘Manic Monday’ w/ DJs XP, Junior the DiscoPunk.

Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave, Bay Park. brickbybrick.com. Wed: Township Rebellion, Deadly Birds, Social Animal.

Fri: Processor, Narcissist Radio, Kodiak, Chasing Norman. Sat: Lady Zep, Black Sabbitch, Jester’s Fate. Sun: Whiskytickle, Beejay Baclawski, Doggy Daddy and the Fry Katz, Ever J, B.L.E.S.S. The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd, Midtown. casbahmusic.com. Wed: Jail Weddings, The Hollerin, Badabing. Thu: Woods, The Fresh and Onlys, Jessica Pratt. Fri: Islands, Bear Mountain, Red Pony Clock.

Sat: Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Jackson Scott. Sun: Sirhan Sirhan, Archons, Batwings. Mon: Man Man, Xenia Rubinos.

Tue: Allah-Las, Jacco Gardner, Barbarian.

The Che Cafe, UCSD campus, La Jolla. thechecafe.blogspot.com. Wed: Sledding With Tigers, Plastic City Pariah, Carlos The Dwarf, Jonathan Barefoot, Isiah and Meg. Wed: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Benefit show. Fri: A New Challenger Approaches, Convent, The Hallowed, Mayfair. Sat: Butt Hurt, burnt, Advocators of Fun, Ride the Wave.

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

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

Dizzy’s, 4275 Mission Bay Drive, Mission Bay. dizzyssandiego.com. Thu: Kornel Fekete-Kovacs.

El Dorado Bar, 1030 Broadway, Downtown. eldoradobar.com. Wed: ‘The Tighten Up’. Thu: ‘The Dark Side’ w/ Buddy Banter, Dirty Sirens, Idyll Wild. Fri: ‘Friday Soul Flexin’. Sat: ‘Good and Plenty’ w/ Beatknockers, Marso Brothers. Sun: ‘The Deep End’ w/ Waze and Odyssey, Paul Najera, Third Twin, Kid Wonder. Tue: The Mattson 2.

Epicentre, 8450 Mira Mesa Blvd, Mira Mesa. epicentreconcerts.org. Fri: School of Rock. Sat: Scarlett Avenue, The Rebound, Anchor’s Away!, Last Call Home, I Am The Conqueror, Ramona’s Flowers, Fight The Future.

Fluxx, 500 Fourth Ave, Downtown. fluxxsd.com. Thu: Firebeatz. Fri: Ricky Rocks, Kyle Flesch. Sat: Sid Vicious.

Gallagher’s, 5040 Newport Ave, Ocean Beach. 619-222-5303. Wed: Lady Dottie and the Diamonds. Thu: J.A.M., K-West, TRC Soundsystem, DJ Reefah. Fri: The Drinking Cowboy Band. Sat: Blackout Party.

The Griffin, 1310 Morena Blvd, Bay Park. thegriffinsd.com. Wed: Blackout Party, Low Volts, Creepxotica. Thu: The Nervous Wreckords, Saint Diego. Fri: Warner Drive, Psychothermia, Baton Rouge Morgue, Dante’s Boneyard. Sat: The Chain Gang of 1974, Dear Boy, Orange Anima, Island Boy. Sun: Jahkobeats, TRC Soundsystem. Mon: AM and Shawn Lee, Caught a Ghost. Tue: Brothers Weiss, The Sinclairs, Rival Tides, Nicely.

House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave, Downtown. houseofblues.com/sandiego.

Wed: The Naked and Famous, NO. Fri: Gary Clark Jr., Max Frost. Sat: Between the Buried and Me, The Faceless, The Contortionist, The Safety Fire. Sat: Anderson Hall. Sun: Matt Nathanson, Joshua Radin.

Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd, Midtown. kavalounge.com. Wed: ‘Dead// Technology’ w/ DJs Rashi, Eddie Turbo, P Man. Thu: Dakini Star, Aima the Dreamer.

Sat: ‘Boogie’.

Lestat’s Coffee House, 3343 Adams Ave, Normal Heights. lestats.com. Wed: Brooke Mackintosh, Faye Blais. Thu: A Boy and His Guitar, Chris Avetta, Gaby Aparicio. Fri: Bobby Jo Valentine, Jessica Lerner. Mon: Open mic.

The Loft @ UCSD, Price Center East, La Jolla. theloft.ucsd.edu. Wed: Finish Ticket, Holychild, Natasha Kozaily. Thu: ‘Dark Nights and Bright Lights’ w/ DJ TKS. Sat: Sol, Sam Lachow, BFA. The Merrow, 1271 University Ave, Hillcrest. rubyroomsd.com. Sat: Photek.

The Office, 3936 30th St, North Park. officebarinc.com. Wed: Her Crimson Love, Red Matter, Bar Elements, Upscale Casual, Craig Furnivall. Thu: ‘For Your Pleasure’. Sat: DJs EdRoc, Kanye Asada.

Sun: ‘Uptown Top Ranking’. Mon: ‘Dub Dynamite’ w/ DJs Rashi, Eddie Turbo.

Onyx Room / Thin, 852 Fifth Ave, Downtown. onyxroom.com. Fri: ‘Rumba Lounge’ w/ DJ Santarosa. Sat: ‘Underground Saturdays’ w/ DJ Sachamo. Tue: ‘Neo Soul’.

Patricks II, 428 F St, Downtown. patricksii.com. Wed: Bill Magee Blues Band.

Thu: Myron and the Kyniptionz. Fri: Len Rainey’s Midnight Players. Sat: Mystique Element of Soul. Sun: TnT. Mon: WG and the G-Men. Quality Social , 789 Sixth Ave, Down-

town. qualitysocial.com. Thu: DJ Saul Q. Rich’s, 1051 University Ave, Hillcrest. richssandiego.com. Wed: DJ John Joseph. Thu: ‘Repent’. Fri: DJs Dirty Kurty, Will Z. Sat: DJ Taj. Sun: DJ Marcel.

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

Wed: Kice Simko. Thu: Cool Soul Trio.

Fri: Chess Wars. Sat: Three Chord Justice. Tue: Karaoke.

Seven Grand, 3054 University Ave, North Park. sevengrandbars.com/sd. Wed: Gilbert Castellanos jazz jam. Thu: Comedy night. Fri: John Reynolds Band. Sat: Jungle Fire, DJs Question, Charlie Rock, Marsellus Wallace. Tue: Lady Dottie and the Diamonds.

Shakedown Bar, 3048 Midway Drive,

Point Loma. theshakedownsd.com.

Thu: Records With Roger, Heroes at Gunpoint, The Lucky Eejits. Fri: Vomit Assault, None of the Living Remains, Rebellion Urbana, Massakro. Sat: Luicidal, Cholos on Acid, Break the Cycle. Tue: Heather Hardcore.

Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd, City Heights. sodabarmusic.com. Wed: Tropical Popsicle, Jeans Wilder, DJ Junior Hernandez. Thu: Moving Units, Some Ember, Slipping Into Darkness, DJ Mario Orduno. Fri: Blue Sky Black Death, Sister Crayon, East of Sweden.

Sat: Takahashi, Mittens, The Filthy Violets. Sun: The Routine, Death by Snoo Snoo. Mon: Double Duchess, Magic

CONTINUED ON PAGE 44

September 25, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 43

Mouth, Glitterbang, DJ Jeff Graves. Tue: Fighting With Irons, The Nformals.

SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd, Midway. somasandiego.com. Fri: Hemlock, Sacred Cow, Ashen Earth, Idol’s Plague.

Sat: Dance Gavin Dance, Abandon All Ships, Reverend Crow, Stolas, Incredible Me. Sun: Bullet For My Valentine, Black Veil Brides, Stars In Stereo, Throw The Fight.

Spin, 2028 Hancock St, Midtown. spinnightclub.com. Wed: Afroman, Beach Bum Alcoholics.

Stage Bar & Grill, 762 Fifth Ave, Downtown. stagesaloon.com. Wed: Mark Fisher and Gaslamp Guitars. Thu: Van Roth. Fri: Disco Pimps. Sat: Fingerbang (9 p.m.); DJ Miss Dust (10:30 p.m.). Sun: ‘Funhouse/Seismic’.

The Void, 3519 El Cajon Blvd, North Park. thevoidsd.com. Wed: Blouse, Feathers, Hand of the Hills. Thu: Azar Swan, Delphic Oracle. Fri: Youth Code, Night Sins, Innerds, Sunwheel. Sun: Lapalux, Natasha Kmetko, Illuminauts.

Mon: The Babies, Alex Bleeker and the Freaks.

Tiki House, 1152 Garnet Ave, Pacific Beach. tikipb.com. Thu: Flower and Corey. Fri: Jet Pack Mojo. Tue: Sweet Dreams.

Til-Two Club, 4746 El Cajon Blvd, City Heights. tiltwoclub.com. Wed: ‘Shitty Kisses Comedy Tour’ w/ Josh Androsky, Claire O’Kane, David Gborie, Miles K. Thu: The Mice, Wolfhammer 3, Kids In Heat, Young Gents. Fri: Squarecrow, The Mighty Fine, Making Incredible Time, Caskitt. Sat: ‘Sleepwalker’.

Tin Can Ale House, 1863 Fifth Ave, Bankers Hill. thetincan1.wordpress.com.

Wed: Secret Fun Club, Slut River, Hot

44 · San Diego CityBeat · September 25, 2013

Nerds. Thu: Joanie Mendenhall, Tide Pools, The Midnight Pine. Fri: Blood Dancer, Dark Watchers, Amigo. Sat: Grizzly Business, Translation Audio, Love and the Skull. Mon: ‘Tin Can Country Club’.

Tio Leo’s, 5302 Napa St, Bay Park. tioleos.com. Wed: Theo and Zydeco Patrol.

Thu: Blue Largo. Fri: Blue Frog Band.

Sat: Full Strength Funk Band.

Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave, City Heights. thetowerbar.com. Sat: Ssssnake, Tora! Tora! Tora!, The Bandits.

Tue: ‘Cholo Punks Audio Visual Club Night’.

Turquoise, 873 Turquoise St, Pacific Beach. theturquoise.com/wordpress.

Wed: Tomcat Courtney (7 p.m.). Thu & Mon: Pan Am (7 p.m.). Fri: Tomcat Courtney (5 p.m.); Afro Jazziacs (9 p.m.). Sat: Tomcat Courtney (5 p.m.); High Luxe (9 p.m.). Sun: Sounds Like Four (4 p.m.); Dromia (7 p.m.). Tue: Gabriela Aparicio (5 p.m.); Afro Jazziacs (7 p.m.).

U-31, 3112 University Ave, North Park. u31bar.com. Wed: Remedy by Request.

Thu: DJ Schoeny. Fri: DJ Chris Cutz.

Sat: Maine1, Hevrock.

Voyeur, 755 Fifth Ave, Downtown. voyeursd.com. Thu: Fake Blood. Fri: Brodinski and Louisahhh. Sat: Brazzabelle.

Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St, South Park. whistlestopbar.com. Wed: ‘New Day Rising’. Thu: ‘Vamp’. Fri: Drew Andrews, Yovee. Sat: ‘Booty Bassment’.

Winstons, 1921 Bacon St, Ocean Beach. winstonsob.com. Wed: Sol Seed, DJ Carlos Culture. Thu: Delta Nove. Fri: Pink Froyd. Sat: C-Money and the Players Inc. Sun: ‘Oktoberfest Band Slam’.

Mon: Electric Waste Band. Tue: Brothers Gow, Eminence Ensemble.

September 25, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 45

Proud sponsor: San Diego Whale Watch

Ink Well Xwords by Ben Tausig

Across 1. Like content from the @Horse_ebooks account on Twitter 5. Nigerian currency 10. Twisted the truth 14. Guthrie at Woodstock 15. Image transmitter 17. Battery unit?

18. Second U.S. astronaut in space, after Alan Shepard 19. Old New York socialite name 21. Big name in synthesizers 22. Jazzy composer of the early 20th century 28. Skeleton opening?

29. Wall climber 30. Certain social networking update 32. Korean subcompact since 2000 35. Big ball 36. Gangster who coined a term on September 26, 1933, when he yelled, “Don’t shoot, [67-Across]!”

41. Butt-related 42. Echolocating devices on submarines 43. Minority Leader Nancy 46. Navy noncom 47. Pirate’s body?

50. Journalist who published info leaked by Edward Snowden 54. Anthony’s partner in talk radio 55. Mail, e.g.

56. Pioneering black sportscaster 62. IV alternative 63. One’s home, often 64. It recently confirmed that Voyager 1 has left the solar system 65. Got everything right on 66. Two-time loser to Graf at the U.S. Open

Last week’s answers

67. See 36-Across

Down 1. Columnist Dan who coined the noun “santorum” 2. What some third-wave feminists identify as 3. Very 4. Car driver?

5. It might be spiked during the holidays 6. “Much ___ About Nothing” (“Simpsons” episode) 7. Announcement from an invisible friend?

8. Scrupulousness 9. Perpendicular to this answer 10. Claypool of Primus 11. Recent Tea Party targeter 12. Socialist Bolivian president Morales 13. One to the left on the Hill 16. When horror movie scenes are generally set 20. Washington football team QB, to fans 23. “___ Almighty” 24. Eddies’ cousins 25. They may be garnished 26. Emphatic type: Abbr.

27. Invalid 31. “Hey, I’ve been wanting to bring this up ...”

32. One of the lesser Kardashians 33. Billy Joel’s “___ to Extremes” 34. Dope quantity 36. Chart (out) 37. Rare blood type: Abbr.

38. Give a ring 39. Kitten’s scruff 40. Stockholm currency 44. Frenches, in England 45. Enters, as data 47. Hype man for the titular dish in “Green Eggs and Ham” 48. Kid’s book character whose portrait hangs in the Plaza Hotel 49. Mrs. Rocky Balboa 51. Easy putt 52. Skywalker, e.g.

53. Squeeze the juice from, with “out” 56. Model Carangi played by Angelina Jolie in a biopic 57. “___ Builds Levee Out Of Poor People To Protect Convention Site”—The Onion 58. First lady?

59. H.S. equivalency exam 60. South Africa-to-Egypt dir.

61. Some capts.-to-be

A pair of tickets for a three-hour San Diego Whale Watch tour will be awarded weekly. Email a picture of your answers to crossword@sdcitybeat.com or fax it to 619-325-1393. Limit one win per person per 30 days.

46 · San Diego CityBeat · September 25, 2013

September 25, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 47