San Diego CityBeat • Sept 28, 2016

2 · San Diego CityBeat · September 28, 2016

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UP FRONT | FROM THE EDITOR

Living on a $4.27 daily meal budget

T

HE LAST WEEK OF SEPTEMBER (Hun- ent can’t use CalFresh to buy alcohol, tobacco or ger Action Month) was quickly disappear- hot/prepared meals (although certain restaurants ing, and I’d yet to live up to a commitment to are cleared to serve warm meals to the elderly, the participate in the CalFresh Challenge. The homeless and people with disabilities). Also not alchallenge, run locally by the nonprofit San Diego lowed on CalFresh: vitamins and medicines, paper Hunger Coalition, was simple: Get through as many products or diapers. days as possible by spending a total of $4.27 on your Some Farmer’s Markets around the county do daily meals. have a special clearance that allows vendors to acThat small and seemingly random amount is cept CalFresh. (Even so, it’s a near-impossibility to the average daily entitlement granted per person to eat a healthy diet under current limits.) participants in the CalFresh program, which on the The federal assistance allocated to county resifederal level is now called the Supplemental Nutri- dents is based on family size, income and other faction Assistance Program (SNAP), and what most of tors. That daily per-person average of $4.27 is down us grew up referring to as Food Stamps. from $4.38 in 2015.

It is possible to eat for a day on four bucks and When the national economy teetered on the change, but it takes plenty of foresight. I started brink of the Great Recession of 2009, SNAP benefits with good intent and ate a banana and were increased nationally by $45.2 bildrank an Arizona Ice Tea for breakfast, lion, as part of the passage of the massive totaling $1.50. I’m embarrassed to admit American Recovery and Reinvestment it, but I didn’t plan out any further than Act. When that temporary appropriathat. Nothing had been pre-purchased. I tion for SNAP ran out in November 2013, guess I assumed I’d hit the magic conbenefits fell on average by 5 percent for venience store that sold dollar sandfamilies and for individuals. wiches, sprinkled with unicorn sea salt.

There are some champions on the I was hungry, became frustrated and had federal level who are in favor of reinstatto eat something so I could get back to ing those SNAP benefits, said Schultz, work covering the news stories of the who singled out Rep. Susan Davis. “But day (like the omnipresent presidential there’s more attention right now on debate). What I normally considered to maintaining the existing benefits,” she be an inexpensive lunch—pad-see-ew Amanda Schultz said. “Congress is not focused on putting noodles from the Thai place near my those levels back up, even though we’re office—blew what would have been two full days of still in a depressed economy and people are having to budget. I failed. rely on these funds for a long period of time, and they Far more conscientious about meeting the chal- don’t reflect the current cost of living.” lenge was Amanda Schultz, CalFresh outreach diSchultz said task at hand is to fight the Repubrector for the San Diego Hunger Coalition. Schultz lican-led Congress’ inclination to further reduce told me how she’d been shopping to fill up her home SNAP benefits. closet for a weeklong challenge, and had found a The CalFresh Challenge did offer a fleeting coupon for $5 off a $10 purchase of vegetables at glimpse at a serious disconnect between the task of Target. The coupon turned out to be invalid. Rather holding down a job while trying to feed yourself, or than just buy the veggies she took to the check-out even a family of young children, for $4.27 a person stand, though, she told the Target clerk—in front of a per day. line of customers—to take them off her bill.

During Monday’s presidential debate, I listened “Yes, it was an embarrassing experience, but I had to see if this issue is anywhere close to being part of to live by the challenge,” she said. “It was definitely the national discussion. The term “income inequalia visceral reminder of the work we do, and what the ty” was mentioned one time by Hillary Clinton. That people in this program sometimes go through.” was as close as it got.

—Ron Donoho Consider me humbled.

As of August 2016, there were 291,649 CalFresh To read about others attempts at the CalFresh recipients in San Diego County. Of those, 138,680 Challenge go to: sandiegohungercoalition.org/ were under the age of 18 (47 percent) and 24,290 calfresh-challenge-blog. were seniors over the age of 55 (11 percent).

Many of us are familiar with the rules—a recipi- Write to rond@sdcitybeat.com This issue of CityBeat is a hoax invented by China.

Volume 15 • Issue 9 EDITOR Ron Donoho MUSIC EDITOR Jeff Terich ARTS EDITOR Seth Combs WEB EDITOR Ryan Bradford ART DIRECTOR Carolyn Ramos STAFF WRITER Torrey Bailey COLUMNISTS Aaryn Belfer, Edwin Decker, Minda Honey, John R. Lamb, Alex Zaragoza

CONTRIBUTORS Matthew Baldwin, David L. Coddon, Beth Demmon, Andrew Dyer, Tiffany Fox, Michael A. Gardiner, Glenn Heath Jr., Peter Holslin, Jessica Johnson, Scott McDonald, Sebastian Montes, Jenny Montgomery, Susan Myrland, Michelle Poveda, Jim Ruland, Ben Salmon, Chloe Salsameda, Tom Siebert, Jen Van Tieghem, Amy Wallen PRODUCTION MANAGER Tristan Whitehouse MULTIMEDIA ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Paulina Porter-Tapia

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

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September 28, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 3

UP FRONT | LETTERS

UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH

Thank you, Aaryn Belfer, for your column of Sept. 14, “Keeping Kaepernick in the headlines.” Keep it up, sister. Don’t back down, don’t tone it down, don’t sugarcoat the truth (although that would be so much more comfortable for those who are unwilling to confront their own biases and racism.) The letter writer who recently criticized you and the paper for whatever rationale he concocted to justify his criticism is offended because the truth can be uncomfortable. Someone needs to keep saying it.

Suzy Perkins, La Mesa

BAD SPORT

In response to Aaryn Belfer’s column on Colin Kaepernick’s sitting out the national anthem, I would argue that his act of protest has nothing to do with his stated reasons.

Kaepernick is an obscenely paid washed-up former rising star in the NFL. After coming in for the injured quarterback Alex Smith in 2012 and putting up phenomenal stats for the remainder of that season as well as the next, he lost steam and is now “ridin’ the pine,” as they say (for you hipsters who loathe sports, that means being benched). Kaepernick’s act of defiance is, I believe, a sad and rather transparent attempt to remain relevant. He was the Big New Thing in football at one time, but now the only way he can get ink is through this off-field antic. As I said, sad.

The proper response from the media and public at large should have been simply ignoring him.

However, with all the hollering and attention, he has gotten the coverage he longed for.

Aaron De Groot,

Mission Hills

THE WRITE STUFF

I don’t agree at all with her opinions on these subjects [“Keeping Kapernick in the headlines,” Sept 14], but kudos to Aaryn Belfer because as usual her column is extremely well written.

Fred Harden III, San Diego

BAD RAP SHEETS

Between AB109 (prison realignment) and Prop 47, violent and property crime is up in California by 21 percent. And what this article [“Prop 57 aims to revamp prison sentencing,” Aug. 24], never mentions is, like prison realign-

4 · San Diego CityBeat · September 28, 2016

ment, a criminal is judged “nonviolent” only on the offense he/ she is currently imprisoned for— not the totality of their rap sheet.

There are some pretty horrific examples of violent perps, including sex offenders released under AB109, who then went out and committed more crimes. Look up Jerome DeAvila, for just one awful example.

darleenclick,

via sdcitybeat.com

WHAT’S THE MASTER PLAN?

I often wonder what the point is to have an updated Port Master Plan, at least as applied to the San Diego bayfront [“Split the toxic baby at the elbow!” Sept. 14]. The Port keeps making decisions about major properties like the Seaport Village area and Harbor Island long before even a draft Master Plan is available for public comments.

Jelula, via sdcitybeat.com

FRANKLY SPEAKING

Are you saying only yellow mustard is OK on a New York “dawg” [“Brooklyn Dogs bring Sabrett’s to town,” Sept. 21]? I disagree and will always go with deli mustard when it’s available, which it is at Nathan’s, Gray’s Papaya and many other great spots in the city.

Ketchup is what doesn’t belong on a dog. This does look like a great find, though, and I look forward to trying it next time I’m on jury duty or held against my will downtown near Horton Plaza.

TABLE OF CONTENTS UP FRONT From the Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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

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

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

Backwards & In High Heels. . . .

Well, That Was Awkward . . . . .

3 4 5 6 7 8

FOOD & DRINK The World Fare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Dishing It Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Final Draught. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

THINGS TO DO Short List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Calendar of Events. . . . . . . . 12-14

ARTS & CULTURE FEATURE: Women who ride. . . 18 Theater. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Seen Local . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-21

MUSIC FEATURE: Phantogram. . . . . . . 22 If I Were U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Concerts & Clubs . . . . . . . . 26-29

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

ON THE

COVER

Martin Weinstein, via Facebook

WE WANT FEEDBACK Did you read a story in San Diego CityBeat that made your ears bleed, or caused you to laugh so hard you lost a tooth? If something inspires you to send us your two cents we welcome all letters that respond to news stories, opinion pieces or reviews that have run in these pages.

We don’t accept unsolicited op-ed letters.

Email letters to editor Ron Donoho at rond@sdcitybeat. com, or mail to 3047 University Ave., Suite 202, San Diego, CA 92104. For letters to be considered for publication you must include your first and last name and the part of town where you reside.

The number of women who own motorcycles has risen by 50 percent over the past decade, and San Diego mirrors that national trend. Writer Beth Demmon checks in with local lady riding groups—like Flat Black Collective, the Litas San Diego and SD Moto Girls—and gets in gear with an upcoming art show called Ride to the Warehouse, which celebrates local female riders. The story begins on page 18. Cover photo by Torrey Bailey.

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TORREY BAILEY

UP FRONT | NEWS

Measure G aims to widen police accountability Proponents hope new Citizens’ Review Board policies continue to evolve

by Torrey Bailey

T

HE LATEST ANNUAL REPORT from the San Diego Citizens’ Review Board on Police Practices shows that more complaints were received this year (406) than last year (284) but that the board reviewed fewer investigations in 2016. This year’s report was released on Monday and showed increases in allegations involving force, discrimination and procedural violations. Of the 406 complaints received in 2016, 66 were deemed sustainable by the board.

Public dissatisfaction with the Citizens’ Review Board process led to Measure G being placed on the November 8 ballot.

As the system works now, complaints are filed by citizens and then investigated by the San Diego Police Department’s Internal Affairs, which writes a report on the allegation, including whether the complaint was sustained and if an officer should be disciplined. The report is sent to the Citizens’ Review Board’s 23 volunteers, who may agree or disagree with the findings.

Before 2015, there was a five-year gap during which these reports were not produced, or at least were not shared with the public, contributing to a waning trust in the board.

This wariness deepened when veteran police officer Neal Browder fatally shot 42-year-old Fridoon Nehad in the Midway District in April 2015, but Browder was only partially investigated and returned to work soon afterward. Echoing a nationwide demand for increased police accountability, the public demanded reforms.

In the present format, officerinvolved deaths, like Nehad’s, and deaths that occur in police custody, are reviewed by the Citizens’ Review Board after a complaint is filed. Measure G would make such investigations mandatory, regardless of a complaint.

The measure proposes two other main charter amendments. One would grant the city council oversight authority of the board; the second would change the board’s name to the Community Review Board.

Women Occupy San Diego have led the charge for reform and will hold a forum with the National Action Network on Oct. 12 to discuss police accountability, including Measure G, with the candidates for city attorney and District 9 city council candidates.

Women Occupy became highly motivated after it said the Citizens’ Review Board never received its complaints during the Occupy San Diego movement.

“They apparently decided that these were not serious

Report shows the number of complaints against San Diego Police Department grew since 2015. enough to be reviewed and so nothing happened,” said Women Occupy committee member Kate Yavenditti. “We got pretty upset about that so we started looking at the CRB and discovered that this process is fairly meaningless as far as true accountability and transparency, since the police department is first of all responsible for which complaints are even going to be investigated. And then they are the ones who do all the investigations, talk to the witnesses and write up their report with their recommendations.

The CRB only reviews what the Internal Affairs has done.

So nothing the CRB does is independent.”

Some suggestions from Women Occupy didn’t make it into Measure G. They wanted the Citizens’ Review Board to have independent legal counsel, independent investigators and subpoena power. Instead, councilmember Todd Gloria, who wrote the measure, lobbied to allot $25,000 to the city budget in case the board wanted to hire an independent legal counsel.

It currently receives its legal advice from the city attorney’s office.

This is another area that former Citizens’ Review Board member Jude Litzenberger said is a conflict of interest and should be changed.

“The city attorney should advise them at open meetings and boards like they are trained to do,” she said.

“But the way they have it now, the city attorney’s legal advice is given in closed session when there is a vote on the table, and it’s not given in writing, and it does affect the vote.”

Litzenberger said she was surprised that independent legal counsel didn’t make the cut after it generated a lot of open discussion at a council meeting where councilmembers seemed to agree change was necessary. Both Mara Elliott and Robert Hickey, who are running to replace City Attorney Jan Goldsmith, said they support independent legal counsel for the board. Gloria said other former and current members of the Citizens’ Review Board didn’t see the city attorney’s legal consultation as a problem.

“

This is in some ways a cleanup, but I think it would do a significant amount to allow us to make additional reforms in the future.

“

#SDCityBeat

About 85 percent of the time, Litzenberger said, the process is fine. But, that remaining 15 percent convinced her that reform was necessary. She said she often felt the board was steered toward agreeing with Internal Affairs’ findings.

Litzenberger has faith in the direction the Citizens’ Review Board is headed and wants Measure G to pass, despite what she said are its shortcomings.

Gloria acknowledged that some advocacy groups deem the measure insufficient, but he said the amendments address what former and current board members and city employees found to be the highest priorities, while leaving room for continued improvement.

“This is in some ways a cleanup, but I think it would do a significant amount to allow us to make additional reforms in the future,” he said. “Reforms that ought to be the result of additional hearings and conversations with the community.”

Yavenditti plans to do just that.

“To be very clear, it is not our proposal,” she said.

“While we certainly want this to go through because even the small changes are important, we will continue to work for what we really, really want, which is independent legal counsel, independent investigators and subpoena power.”

If Measure G passes, city councilmembers, including Gloria’s successor Chris Ward, will oversee the board in addition to the mayor, who is now the only one with that authority.

This wasn’t a suggestion made by Women Occupy, but the group supports it.

“It’s easier for me to go to my city councilmember, make a complaint and be listened to,” Yavenditti said. “There’s a range of opinions among the city councilmembers about what they think about police accountability, so having all of the city councilmembers have oversight of the CRB is a good addition.”

While there is no formal opposition to the ballot measure, the San Diego Police Officers Association has not endorsed it either.

“Obviously the Police Officers Association is there to advocate for its members to the extent that they don’t think that [Measure G] is something they should oppose,” Gloria said. “But at the same time, the fact that they don’t fully embrace it shows that we struck the right balance for what it needs to be.”

September 28, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 5

UP FRONT | OPINION

SPIN

CYCLE

JOHN R. LAMB

JOHN R. LAMB

Measure D at death’s door?

The campaign consultant for Measure D, the initiative-savvy

—Mark Twain Tom Shepard, has been let go, Briggs said. “I like Tom, but ran aybe it was the stifling out of $,” he wrote.

Any sign of a campaign operaheat. Perhaps yet another miserable San Diego tion is non-existent. “Haven’t had Chargers performance had mo- one since we turned in the signamentarily sapped his enthusiasm. tures,” Briggs added.

On the plus side for Measure Whatever the reason, activist attorney Cory Briggs on Monday D, there also appears to be no sounded none too confident about formal opposition campaign eithe prospects of his inaugural for- ther—perhaps due to a sense this ay into ballot-measure crafting, initiative has no chance of prevailing in November. the hotel-tax-raising Measure D. According to the most recent “I’m just gonna keep spreadfilings from D backers, the caming the word as much as I can, and keep my fingers crossed,” Briggs paign is nearly $790,000 in debt with less than $20,000 in the said in a brief text exchange.

While a competing hotel-tax- bank. Funding has effectively boosting initiative, the Chargers- dried up, leaving Briggs with little backed Measure C, continues to to do but cross his fingers.

That means little likelihood dominate the conversation, Measure D seems to be limping along of media buys as the November 8 election approaches. Briggs isn’t on a hope and a prayer.

You aim for the palace and get drowned in the sewer.

M

6 · San Diego CityBeat · September 28, 2016

even sure how the measure is faring among voters. “No money, no polling,” he lamented.

In August, The San Diego Union-Tribune released a poll in partnership with 10News that found 29 percent of voters supporting Measure D, 27 percent were opposed, and 44 percent were uncertain—certainly not the kind of numbers anyone would crow about, but leaving enough room to hope that enough voters could be educated about the measure to eke out a majority win.

The county Democratic Party has endorsed Measure D, which would raise the so-called transient occupancy tax to 15.5 percent from 10.5 percent and create pathways for future decisions about expanded convention-center space downtown as well as a new Chargers stadium, should the team agree to pay for it.

Proponents argue that while Measure D protects city coffers from future general-fund grabs to pay for these new toys, the Chargers measure does none of that, putting taxpayers on the hook should revenues not meet expectations.

Despite the endorsement, the Democratic Party won’t be directing any campaign money toward the measure, save for mentions on campaign mailers and door hang-

Measure D proponents Cory Briggs and John Moores, pondering Mission Valley’s future. ers. That would only change, party insiders say, if measure backers—such as former Padres owner John Moores, his development company JMI Realty, or JMI’s Ballpark Village LLC mixed-use development partner Lennar Homes—decided to kick more money the party’s way.

Perhaps wisely, Measure D backers are making their best effort to back out of the downtown conversation presently overwhelming Measure C, which has garnered the disdain of East Village and Barrio Logan residents alike.

As Briggs put it, “It’s all about [San Diego State University] and Mission Valley.”

Indeed, Measure D gained the prized endorsement of former San Diego City Councilmember Donna Frye specifically because of its effort to re-imagine Mission Valley, should the Chargers choose to vacate Qualcomm Stadium for a new home downtown or some other city.

Proponents envision an opportunity to create a new “front door” to the overcrowded campus of SDSU just a few trolley stops to the east while expanding parkland in Mission Valley.

And San Diego State seems to be paying attention. A survey reportedly has been sent to alumni and Aztec football season-ticket holders to determine interest in the construction of a new 40,000seat stadium in Mission Valley.

Some insiders say the response so far has been positive, but SDSU knows it has a problem on its hands. The school, the UnionTribune reported in August, failed to make the cut in its effort to join the Big 12, and it has lost its athletic director, Jim Sterk, who made that push to join the big leagues.

While the report suggested that traveling distance for other Big 12 teams was the biggest factor in eliminating San Diego State from consideration, others have suggested the uncertainty of where

the Aztecs will play in the future also factored into the decision.

Moores, a University of Houston alum, is said to still hold affection for San Diego State—they’re both “working-class” campuses, one insider said—and shows a growing affinity for the game of soccer, despite two failed efforts to purchase a team in England.

Spin Cycle’s guess is that San Diego would embrace a Major League Soccer franchise—hell, the winningest team in San Diego history is neither the pathetic Padres nor the self-destructive Chargers but the San Diego Sockers.

But who knows what San Diego will do, other than likely shoot itself in the foot, again. And with two measures on the November ballot seeking to boost a hotel tax that ranks an embarrassing 110th in the nation—below Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Huntsville, Alabama, for cripe’s sake!—will we talk again about raising the tax within the next decade should both measures go down in flames?

In this town, don’t bet on it.

Perhaps a future ballot measure, should these tank, will simply ask for a straight hotel-tax hike.

Yes, we’ve been down that road before, and the haters will likely hate again. Maybe Moores can revive his image in San Diego by championing a vision bigger than sports.

Heck, voters might even take the advice of former county supervisor Pam Slater-Price, who recently announced on the Times of San Diego website that after actually reading Measure D, she had changed her mind and was now endorsing it.

“After reading everything all the way through—twice—I could not find anything not to like about it,” she wrote. “Measure D is fantastic because it puts the public first on all the big issues we face in our community.”

Spin Cycle appears every week.

Write to johnl@sdcitybeat.com.

#SDCityBeat

UP FRONT | OPINION

AARYN BELFER

BACKWARDS & IN

HIGH HEELS

Fear and trauma on the theater stage “If I get murdered by the police, I don’t want my name to become a hashtag.”

—Keith Wallace, playwright, actor, activist

I

“

’m not okay,” says my friend Keith Wallace when I check in on him. Wallace, with the help of director Deborah Stein, is in the process of re-staging his hit one-man play, The Bitter Game, for the 2017 Without Walls (WoW) Festival.

When he tells me, “I’m not okay,” Wallace isn’t referring to the punishing schedule he keeps as an in-demand actor and playwright. No, this rising star and recipient of the 2016 Princess Grace Award is white-knuckling his way through each day as he revives, revises and rehearses The Bitter Game, a devastating exploration of state-sanctioned violence and the ongoing fear and trauma that is inflicted daily upon black people across this country. In other words, it is a story that he knows intimately as a black American.

“It was the first opportunity,” Keith wrote to me in an email, “where I felt like I could be artistically vulnerable and transparent in a way that is necessary for the kind of art that challenges the status quo and that truly examines the human condition; the things that connect us all.”

And this play connects like Muhammad Ali’s Rumble in The Jungle knockout punch.

With The Bitter Game, Wallace gives his audience intimate access to the universal story of a young black man coming of age in Philadelphia under the protective eye of his mother, who worries for her child’s safety in a world designed for his extermination.

“The issues in the play are deeply urgent to our times,” said Stein via email, “and as artists we need to use our platform to tell the stories that need to be told and to start the conversations that need to be had. Live theatre is an ideal mechanism for creating shared spaces of empathy and conversation.”

The Bitter Game couldn’t be more timely, though it seems inadequate to say this play is timely. Set as it is against the backdrop of the most recent police murders of black people (Terence Crutcher, Keith Scott and 13-year-old Tyre King—for the love of Pete, make this ish stop), the truth is that this production is never not timely. It is, as they say in the opinion-column business, an evergreen: For as long as black men—and women and kids—are being harassed, terrorized and murdered, The Bitter Game is of-the-moment.

“The fact is that this is an American story and,

ultimately, the piece brings people together in a visceral way,” says Wallace when telling me about the evolution of his work over the last year-and-a-half.

“It’s been a cathartic experience for me, artistically, but it’s traumatic to keep performing it.”

If it’s traumatic for him, it’s traumatic for us, too.

They say art imitates life, and just like life, we play a role and audience members are more than just observers. This is interactive theater in the least intimidating sense of the phrase; nobody is called up or called out. But as in life, we are part of the story whether we sit quietly or wallow in our own guilt or are finally moved to action. In bearing witness to the staged drama, we are forced to shoulder some of the pain, and to reckon with and examine our level of complicity in the real drama that is state-sanctioned violence against black people.

This play, Wallace told me, seems to elicit two major reactions. First, it informs a naïve audience, which includes most white people. In what I’ll call the third act, Wallace takes theatergoers into the psyche of a black man as he’s being pulled over by police and we live the experience with him.

As a white anti-racist activist, I had to admit that I hadn’t come close to comprehending (or, if I’m being honest, deeply contemplating) precisely what goes through the mind of—and the primal fear experienced by—a person regularly stopped by police. Wallace brings the terror so vividly, so acutely, that witnesses can’t breathe.

Perhaps more importantly is what the playwright calls “radical recognition,” or as he put it to me, the “Holy shit! That’s me!” moment shared by black (and brown) audience members who see themselves and their world experience reflected in the story.

While the audience is a character, the setting is a character, too: It’s nighttime at San Diego’s Graffiti Park, an urban setting that’s been revitalized by the work of Writerz Blok, an internationally recognized program of the Jacobs Center for Innovation that provides space for urban youth to create art. (Writerz Blok has been commissioned to contribute graffiti for the play).

Ultimately, this is the story that much of America likes to keep at a good distance, if not dismiss and deny altogether. But it’s time to push past that discomfort, as Wallace does each night, breaking it down, and offering an unvarnished, raw and immediately accessible experience, throwing open a window through which to view realities of black life.

“

Live theatre is an ideal mechanism for creating shared spaces of empathy and conversation.

“

#SDCityBeat

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

September 28, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 7

UP FRONT | VOICES

RYAN BRADFORD

WELL THAT WAS

AWKWARD

I can has surgery?

N

“

ow, here’s the morbid question,” says Kathy, the woman we’ve hired to watch our cats while we’re away on vacation for 10 days.

“What’s the cap of how much you are you willing to spend if one of them needs emergency care?”

My wife and I look at each other. We hesitate. It’s not anything we’ve ever really discussed before.

I pick a number randomly: $2,000.

For a cat who’s displayed reasonably good health for the two years since adopting him, this seems like an exorbitant amount—not very realistic for our household income, but enough to give Kathy the impression we’re not deadbeat cat parents.

I look at our two cats, Harvey and our new kitten, Vincent Price. I mentally split the sum between the two. Harvey, you get $1,500 and Vincent you get—he sinks his tiny claws into my foot—you get $250.

Two days later—and three days before we leave— Harvey throws up clear liquid. He’s been a notorious barfer since the day we got him, but this is different. There’s none of the grotesque heaving that often accompanies cat vomit (so recognizable that internet users can mix it to a dubstep beat)—he just opens his mouth and a viscous substance spills out. He does this three times in one day.

Then, we remember the plastic bag. The second night we had Vincent, we accidentally locked Harvey in our guest room with the new kitten. In addition to the already-stressful circumstance of being stuck with this new frenemy, our guest room is also where we store our plastic bags. Harvey, being a connoisseur of plastic bags, got his claws on one and scarfed it down in what I’m sure was a stressinduced feeding frenzy.

Harvey crawls into the enclave on his scratching tower, what we refer to as his “dark place.” He growls at us if we try to touch him. I make the mistake of Googling the symptoms, and the results are as dire as searching any ailment on the internet: Your cat has something stuck in his stomach. Your cat can’t breathe.

Your cat is going to die.

We rush him to the VCA emergency room in Mission Valley. In the car, his meows end in tiny dry coughs that make me curse the invention of plastic.

To her credit, the vet is very patient with us as we simultaneously list Harvey’s symptoms and possible causes: - He’s been puking - It could’ve been the plastic bag - He went in his dark place - It could be the stress of our new kitty - His meow sounds different - He could be eating the new kitty’s food I watch the doctor write down and quietly mouth the words: “Meow. Sounds. Different.” Because I’ve gone full-blown cat-dad hysterical, I don’t realize

that the doctor might be humoring me.

They want to perform X-rays on Harvey—the plastic bag concerns them (not our self-diagnosed stress or different sounding meow). The doctor says that if plastic gets stuck between the stomach and intestine, it could be pulling Harvey’s innards out of whack, playing them like an accordion.

The price tag on X-rays? $900. There goes half your medical budget Harv Harv, I think. I sign it.

The X-rays are inconclusive. There’s definitely some pressure in Harvey’s abdomen, but it’s hard to determine whether it’s plastic (which turns out to be difficult to x-ray) or stress gas. The doc recommends additional follow-up X-rays in the morning.

The receptionists at VCA emergency warn us that if further X-rays reveal plastic, surgery would probably cost between $3,000 and $5,000.

We drive home in silence. Even Harvey, who’s normally vocal in his carrier, seems to feel the gravity of the situation. We could ignore it, pretend there’s nothing wrong, or we could take him in for more expensive X-rays the next day, which could verify that nothing’s wrong or result in an operation that we can’t afford.

I call my mom, who’s had so many pets over the years that she probably has a punch card at her local vet.

“That’s a tricky situation. I’m sorry, kiddo” she says. “I don’t know what I’d do if I were you, but one of the most valuable pieces of advice I ever got from a vet is to set a limit.” $2,000, I think, but now, it’s not so huge. Now, it looks like a puny number. Insufficient. Not enough to save our boy.

That night, Harvey pukes again. It might as well be his death rattle.

We take him to the VCA Angel Hospital in North Park, mentally preparing for the worst. Resident vet Dr. Ball performs more X-rays and, again, there’s a cloudy spot that could be nothing, or could be plastic.

He wants to do surgery.

“I could do it for—” He pauses. It’s the world’s longest dramatic pause. “A thousand dollars.”

Both my wife and I burst out in tears. My wife hugs Dr. Ball; I want to marry him.

He cuts our cat open and finds… nothing. But it doesn’t matter, because within a couple days, Harv Harv is back to his feisty old self, asserting dominance over Lil Vince with sweet wrestling moves and a totally intimidating scar on his belly. My wife thinks Harvey faked the whole thing to protest the new kitty, which could be true, but if I had to do it all again, I probably would.

I look at the cats fighting and think, careful guys.

Play gentle. I’m only spending $2,000 if you get hurt…

Okay, maybe $3,000.

“

His meows end in tiny dry coughs that make me curse the invention of plastic.

“

8 · San Diego CityBeat · September 28, 2016

Well That Was Awkward appears every other week.

Write to ryanb@sdcitybeat.com.

#SDCityBeat

UP FRONT | FOOD

BY MICHAEL A. GARDINER

THE WORLD

FARE

Parallels and contrasts

W

hether you call it “BajaMed,” “Cali-Baja” or something else, the new cuisine of Baja California is a fusion of Baja ingredients, Mexican tradition, European technique and flavors brought to the party by Baja’s Asian immigrants. It is the latter that often comes as the biggest surprise. Perhaps never more so than at Sanvil Baja-Indian Food, half way down a dirt road at the west end of the Valle de Guadalupe in the town of San Antonio de las Minas.

The food at Sanvil reflects the heritage of its executive chef, Surinder Veer Singh Ortega: half Indian, half Mexican. His father left India at 18, working on a cruise ship that ultimately carried him to Ensenada where he met Veer Singh’s mother and proposed to her by pointing to his ring finger. He would ultimately learn Spanish.

Sanvil’s ceviche dorado appetizer is a statement of intent. While raw (or acid-cooked) fish is foreign to Indian cuisine it is an art form in Mexico: ceviche, aguachile, cocteles and the like are ubiquitous wherever Mexico meets the water. With this dish, however, Veer Singh marries the Mexican form with Indian flavors, coconut milk taking the primary supporting role, habanero pro-

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viding the heat and red onions, peppers, pineapple and green apple rounding out the affair. It is a beautiful dish and one that marries his parents’ two culinary cultures.

Indeed, the name of the restaurant says as much. “Sanvil” is the combination of two Hindi words: santulan, meaning “balance” and vilay, meaning “fusion.” The name, too, is a statement of intent: A fusion between two cuisines and finding the balance of flavors such that one ingredient doesn’t stand out and overpower the others. It is about mutual respect in more than one way.

Sanvil’s curry octopus again shows that fusion and balance in practice. Perfectly tender octopus, ever so slightly charred on the grill and suffused with curry, sits atop a garbanzo bean salad, some microgreens offering a bit of freshness. It is spicy, yes, but not in the sense of the word where spice equals heat. It is spice that wakes up the palate rather than blows it away.

And that’s a lot of what Sanvil is about: the parallels and contrasts between Indian and Mexican cuisine. Both use heat—sometimes subtly, sometimes powerfully—and both use spices and peppers, toasting them to release their essential oils and fundamental flavors. Where Mexican cuisine uses acid to brighten dishes, though, Indian often uses sweeter spices.

The fusion Veer Singh strives for may best be shown in the dish with which Sanvil took third place in this

MICHAEL A. GARDINER

Curry octopus year’s Sabor de Baja culinary pairing competition: curried chicken liver curry sopes with potato, verdolaga leaves, mango pickle, cherry tomatoes and cilantro micro-greens. It was a perfect combination of Indian flavors and Mexican form. It will be on Sanvil’s next menu.

Often the problems with fusion arise when like and unlike are paired together, the borders being obvious.

Here, at Sanvil, Veer Singh manages to bring Indian and Mexican cuisines together without visible lines or seams. It is nearly organic fusion and feels natural. The contrasts are there but the parallels make it work.

The World Fare appears weekly.

Write to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com.

September 28, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 9

UP FRONT | FOOD

BY JAMES VERNETTE

DISHING IT

OUT

50 Percent better than the burgers

S

later’s 50/50 (2750 Dewey Road #193) in Liberty Station can be a polarizing place.

On one hand, the often-decadent burgers are designed for people who want to jump on Guy Fieri’s train to flavor town, a place where bigger is always better and subtlety takes a back seat.

Slater’s does this well. As far as living-large meals go, Slater’s Sriracha burger—a spicy, tangy, meaty masterpiece topped with bacon and coleslaw—is sublime despite obviously catering to foodies who consider eating a sporting event.

I like its burgers, but always wished its vaunted 50/50 patty—half bacon, half beef— actually had more of a bacon flavor.

The promotional emphasis on burgers with bold…Bold…

BOLD flavors means menu items that are less designed to be spectacles don’t get the credit they deserve.

That’s not a problem with their newest menu item: A line of frankfurters that are stuffed with bacon, that delicious form of meat candy that I’ve grown to love and my cardiologist has learned to hate.

There are five new frankfurters, and I tried two of them. Both were among the best hot dogs I’ve ever had. The Abe Froman, named after a Chicago sausage maker, is a variation of the classic Chicago-style dog, with green relish, yellow mustard, tomato, sport peppers and celery salt on a poppy seed bun.

The bacon comes out stronger than on the patty but isn’t fighting for attention. Instead, the smoky saltiness supports the classic beefy flavor of the frankfurter. It almost makes me want to root for the Cubs in the upcoming baseball playoffs.

10 · San Diego CityBeat · September 28, 2016

The BBQ Bacon Bomb is more in-your-face with the bacon. Not only is there bacon in the dog, but it’s wrapped around the frank as well. Topped with cole slaw, dill pickle chips, fried onions and BBQ sauce, it’s definitely a satisfying frankfurter.

I didn’t try the chili dog, but I did try the chili.

Yep, it has bacon, but just the right amount: It’s smoky and meaty, but not too salty. I’ll get this again for sure.

Not everything with bacon works: The Bacon Mary cocktail with bacon-infused vodka is a little too salty and with not enough tomato juice for my taste.

ANNA COFER / J PUBLIC RELATIONS

The Abe Froman I’ve always been a big fan of Slater’s fried pickles. Tangy, tart and crunchy, although the honey mustard sauce that comes with it is a little sweet for my tastes.

For people who don’t think any of this sounds like there’s any subtlety, I ask you to try the dish we had for a starter, the Pear and Blue Cheese Salad. It was this that made me appreciate the more bombastic dishes: The greens are fresh, the pears are sweet, the blue cheese was tart and the raspberry vinaigrette was barely clinging to the leaves, not drowning it.

If a burger place can make a salad worthy of a fine dining restaurant, they are obviously taking care of the other stuff.

Dishing It Out appears every other week.

#SDCityBeat

UP FRONT | DRINK

FINAL

BY BETH DEMMON

DRAUGHT Crafted Baked Goods, sausages from Mastiff Sausage Company, beers from Bottlecraft and much more. Still, is it really Oktoberfest without espite the omnipresent and horribly an oompah band? We’ll have to wait and see. kitschy seasonal pumpkin beer trend, auSaturday, Oct. 1 to Sunday, Oct. 9 (hours not tumn is without a doubt the single greatest specified) free, all ages season in which to imbibe craft beer. Summer is El Cajon Oktoberfest (1017 South Mollison wonderful for shandies and stealthy beach drinkAve.) When the German-American Societies of ing, winter is gloriously chock-a-block with stouts San Diego plans Oktoberfest, it doesn’t cut any at holiday bottle shares, but the flavors of fall have corners. Not only is there live German music, yet to be topped when it ASHTON IVEY they actually fly the comes to mouthwatering band in from Germany.

Märzens and outstanding Add that to the plethora Oktoberfest celebrations. of traditional food and The start of the drink, non-stop games original Oktoberfest in and contests and a chance Munich historically kicks to win a round-trip flight off the third weekend in for two to Germany and September (wrapping you have what’s arguably up the first weekend in the greatest Oktoberfest October), and while many in San Diego. Even with local breweries adhere an entry fee (Adults $10 to opening ceremonies on Fridays/Saturdays, schedule, there are still $5 Sundays, under-21 plenty of San Diego and active military free), Oktoberfest festivities it’s well worth it for on tap. Here’s a taste of those who seek a bona what’s to come: The author in a dirndl, traditional fide Bavarian bacchanal.

La Mesa Oktoberfest Oktoberfest garb Friday, Sept. 30 (4 to 10 (​La Mesa Village on La p.m.), Saturday, Oct. 1 Mesa Blvd. between Spring and Fourth streets) (noon to 10 p.m.), and Sunday, Oct. 2 (noon to 9 Despite being billed as “the largest Oktoberfest p.m.); Friday, Oct. 7 (4 to 10 p.m.); Saturday, Oct. west of the Mississippi,” in the past La Mesa has 8 (noon to 10 p.m.), and Sunday, Oct. 9 (noon to 9 been more of a crowded carnival-esque street p.m.) fair with the occasional bratwurst to remind you Neighborhood-centric Oktoberfests in Ocean that you’re actually at Oktoberfest. However, this Beach, Encinitas, Carlsbad and the first one for year it's touting a new approach to authenticity the Gaslamp Quarter are also still to come in early with an official keg tap to kick off the party, along October, so be sure to add a few of these to your with new German beers, more traditional foods, calendar as well. I’ve always found that El Cajon’s German bands and plenty of competitions to celebration is the best in town, but with a new foemulate Munich’s revelry. Friday, Sept. 30 (4 to cus on authenticity in La Mesa and competition 10 p.m.), Saturday, Oct. 1 (10 a.m. to 10 p.m.), and from Liberty Public Market, it’s anyone’s game Sunday, Oct. 2 (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.); free, all ages this year. Prost!

CRAFToberfest at Liberty Public Market (2820 Historic Decatur Road) As San Diego’s only Write to bethd@sdcitybeat.com, check her out extended Oktoberfest festival, CRAFToberfest on Instagram@thedelightedbite and on Twitter promises to provide family fun with plenty of at @iheartcontent. games and savory treats such as pretzels from

Raise a glass to local Oktoberfests

D

#SDCityBeat

September 28, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 11

SHORTlist

EVENTS

ART

the

THREE YOU HAVE TO SEE

COORDINATED BY

SETH COMBS

LA JOLLA

1

PUSHING DAISEY

The polls are looking a little bleak lately. when it comes to Trump, including the fact that Trump’s numbers are rising in key swing he’s fundamentally a performer and so am I. And states, and if you’re a liberal, you’ve probably fundamentally, journalism doesn’t understand Googled “moving to Canada” once or twice over performance.” the last few weeks.

Daisey’s research for the show—which makes Yes, it can feel genuinely shocking, but one a San Diego stop at the La Jolla Playhouse (tickets person who is not shocked at all is Mike Daisey. are $25 to $42 at lajollaplayhouse.org) for six perThe author, actor and acclaimed monologist formances starting Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 7:30 p.m. started working on through Sunday, URSA WAZ his highly praised Oct. 9— included one-man-show, The reading four biograTrump Card, more phies and dozens of than 14 months ago articles on Trump. just when rumors beThe finished prodgan that Trump was uct is ostensibly Dagoing to run for presisey telling the audiident. And while Daence a spirited story isey admits that even of what he found he didn’t anticipate out. He says Trump that Trump would be made for a “perfect on the verge of winsubject,” which is ning the presidency, saying a lot since he says he did see it Daisey already has a coming way before Mike Daisey in The Trump Card strong track record anyone else did. of theatrically ex“I didn’t expect it at first, but I’ll be honest, I ploring what he calls “megalomaniacal people” inexpected it sooner than other people did,” says cluding Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. When asked Daisey. “I spent a tremendous amount of time re- about the parallels between politics and theater, searching why Trump is a unique person in a way Daisey, as is always the case, doesn’t mince words. that is deeper than the analysis in contemporary “There are no parallels. It’s the same thing. journalism. There’s a remarkable lack of analysis Politics is theater.”

SAN DIEGO

2 SEEING STARS

The film industry is heading south for the San Diego International Film Festival. From Wednesday, Sept. 28 to Sunday, Oct. 2, more than 100 indie and international films will screen in the Gaslamp and La Jolla.

Out of the 2,000 submissions, the most buzzworthy picks includ, Garth Davis’ Lion and Otto Bell’s The Eagle Huntress, as well as a preview and panel for Theodore Melfi’s Hidden Figures.

Aside from the film viewings, there is an opening night afterparty, festivities at Horton Plaza Park and a food pairing to complement the showing of Ants on Shrimp, a documentary about world renowned chef René Redzepi’s restaurant Noma.

Plus film critics Jeffrey and Ben Lyons will cohost a red carpet event where Annette Bening, Kate Beckinsale and Simon Helberg will be honored. Times, locations and prices vary per event, but individual screenings are $15. sdfilmfest.com MARK ROGERS © LONG WAY HOME PRODUCTIONS 2015

Dev Patel in Lion

12 · San Diego CityBeat · September 28, 2016

LINDA VISTA

3 SCARY SCORES

Admit it: you felt a little tingle up and down your spine every time the Stranger Things opening credits played. Part of that could be your body’s physiological reaction to spending eight straight hours binge-watching that popular series, but most likely it was the delightfully retro soundtrack that caused those shivers—just proof of how influential those bleak, synth-heavy horror movie soundtracks were (and still are). Fabio Frizzi—who scored Italian filmmaker Lucio Fulci’s City of the Living Dead, The Beyond and Zombi (you’ll never see a more beautifully composed shark vs. zombie scene in a movie FLORIANA AUSILI [seriously])—will make a rare stateside appearance to bring his pioneering music scores to Brick by Brick on Thursday, Sept.

29 at 9 p.m. Only the brain-dead wouldn’t enjoy it.

Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 day of the show. brickbybrick.com Fabio Frizzi

Brad Maxey: New Paintings at Art Produce Gallery, 3139 University Ave., North Park. New works from the local artist who is known for his hyper-realism and for capturing the light and shadow that surrounds us. From 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30. Free. 619-584-4448, artproduce.org HStandard Fantastic Studios Big Closing Show at SDAI Project Space, 141 Horton Plaza, Gaslamp. Standard Fantastic Studios will screen all the work created for the SDAI Artist-in-Residence program. Includes short films by Omar Lopex with collaborations from Don Porcella, Alberto Caro, Matthew Hebert and more. From 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30.

Free. 619-236-0011, sandiego-art.org HThe Art of the Brick at Fleet Science Center, 1875 El Prado, Balboa Park. A critically acclaimed, traveling exhibition of artworks created by Nathan Sawaya and made exclusively from LEGO brick. Works reinterpreted include Van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa,” and more.

From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30. $10-$29.95. 619-238-1233, rhfleet.org

ries of Elizabeth Cady Stanton. At 6 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 29. Free. 619-233-7963, womensmuseumca.org HCindy Jenson-Elliott at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The local author and environmentalist will sign and discuss her new children’s picture book, Antsy Ansel, about famous nature photographer Ansel Adams. At 7 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 30. Free. 858-454-0347, warwicks.com HSan Diego Zine Fest at Centro Cultural de la Raza, 2125 Park Blvd., Balboa Park.

An annual event where you can peruse handmade printed collections of art, poetry, fiction, cultural critiques and even buy a few. There will also be live screen printing and DJs throughout the day. From noon to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1. Free. 619-2356135, sdzinefest.tumblr.com Henry Herz at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. The local author will be promoting his two new picture books, Little Red Cuttlefish and Mabel and the Queen of Dreams. At 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2.

Free. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com

HThis Psychodrama at UCSD SME Gallery, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. A group exhibition curated by Morgan Mandalay that includes work by Tomás Díaz Cedeño, Corey Dunlap, Jessica Frelund, Ellen Schafer and Chanel Von Habsburg-Lothringen. Opening from 3 to 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30. Free. facebook.com/events/1592760457687082

HLocal Author Showcase at Upstart Crow Bookstore and Coffeehouse, 835 West Harbor Drive, Suite C, Downtown.

The Inklings, a collective of authors from San Diego, will be showcasing their diverse works. Authors include Oyuki Aguilar, Sarah Bates, Ozlem Brooke, and many more. From 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 2. Free. 619-232-4855, upstartcrowtrading.com

36th International Watercolor Society Exhibition at The San Diego Watercolor Society, 2825 Dewy Rd., #105, Point Loma. A showcase of the best of all styles of water media art, chosen awardwinning artist, author and instructor Mark Mehaffey as the juror for the show. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1. Free.

619-876-4550, sdws.org

Margaret Dilloway at Japanese Friendship Garden Society, 2215 Pan American Road, Balboa Park. Wander around the garden with the award-winning author, followed by a discussion on her book, Sisters of Heart and Snow. Prince includes copy of the book. From 10 a.m. to noon.

Monday, Oct. 3. $39. 619-232-2721, adventuresbythebook.com

HLead Me Through the Dawn at Quint Projects, 5171 B Santa Fe St., Bay Ho. An exhibition of new works by Los Angelesbased artist Mara De Luca who embarked on a cycle of paintings inspired by Barnett Newman’s “Stations of the Cross.” Opening from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1. Free. 858-454-3409, quintgallery.com

William Kent Krueger and Shannon Baker at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont.

The two authors will be signing and discussing their respective new thrillers, Manitou Canyon (Krueger) and Stripped Bare (Baker). At 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 3. Free. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com

HThe Dead Are Not Quiet: A Group Exhibition of Macabre Art at San Diego Art Institute, 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park.

Scary and spooky art by artists living and working in the Southern California/Baja Norte region. Curated by Marilyn Manson co-founder Scott Mitchell Putesky, includes work from Addison Stonestreet, Clayton Llewellyn, Dan Adams, and more.

Opening from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1. $5. sandiego-art.org

HNemr at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Downtown. Lebanese-American comedian credited with establishing and pioneering the stand up scene throughout the Middle East, and known for his prime time show A Stand Up Comedy Revolution. From 8 to 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30. $17.50-$67.50. 619-570-1100, sandiegotheatres.org

HThe Haunted Art of T. Jefferson Carey at San Diego Art Institute, 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park. Showcases thirty years of Carey’s work including drawings, a black light installation and several animated films. Opening from 6 to 8 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 1. $5. sandiego-art.org

BOOKS HMatt de la Pena at Grossmont College, 8800 Grossmont College Dr., La Mesa. Part of Grossmont’s Fall Reading Series honoring National Banned Books Week, de la Pena will read from his books, Mexican White Boy and We Were Here. At 2 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 29. Free. 619-644-7000, grossmont.edu/academics/programs-departments/english/creative-writing/ Sarah Bates at Women’s Museum of California, 2730 Historic Decatur Rd., Barracks 16, Point Loma. The former advertising executive and journalist will sign and discuss her new novel, The Lost Dia-

H = CityBeat picks

COMEDY

Paula Poundstone at Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay, Shelter Island Drive, Shelter Island. The comedian best known for holding the record number of losses on NPR’s weekly news quiz show, Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me! From 8 to 9:30 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 30. $45-$111. 619-2208497, humphreysbythebay.com HBob Saget at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Downtown. The star of the family-friendly show Full House is actually very family-UNfriendly on stage. This might be a shock to Danny Tanner fans.

From 8 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1. $40.

619-570-1100, sandiegotheatres.org

DANCE HTrolley Dances at San Diego Continuing Education, 1901 Main St., Barrio Logan. This annual site-specific dance project features dancers performing original performances along the MTS Blue Line starting in Barrio Logan and winding through the heart of San Diego. At various

#SDCityBeat

EVENTS times from 10 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1 and Sunday, Oct. 2. $15-$40. 619388-1910, sandiegodancetheater.org

FILM HSan Diego International Film Festival at various locations. The five-day event will feature 100+ independent films, studio premieres, panels with celebrities, red carpet events, parties, all-star tributes and an awards ceremony. Happens Wednesday, Sept. 28 through Sunday, Oct. 2. See website for schedule and locations. Various times. $15-$595. sdfilmfest.com Sea Level TV: Short Film Screenings at Misfit Pictures HQ, 565 Pearl St., Suite 100, La Jolla. Misfit Pictures HQ in La Jolla continues their “Conscious Cinema Series” with screenings of The Jonesea Story, The Josh Hall Story, Waves of Disruption, plus more. From 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29. $10-$13. misfitpictures.com

FOOD & DRINK Oktoberfest at BO-Beau, 8384 La Mesa Blvd., La Mesa. A Munich-inspired event featuring a Bavarian-themed menu, including beer-braised smoked bratwurst, buttermilk fried chicken, and more. From 4:30 to 10:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, and 1:30 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1 and Sunday, Oct. 2. cohnrestaurants.com HCRAFToberfest at Liberty Public Market, 2820 Historic Decatur Road, Traditional beer fest featuring a German beer tap takeover at Bottlecraft, Oktoberfest bites from the market’s tenants, and plenty of games and prizes. BYO lederhosen. From 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1. Free.

619-930-9713, libertypublicmarket.com

#SDCityBeat

MUSIC HBig Head Todd and the Monsters at California Center for the Arts Escondido, 340 N. Escondido Blvd, Escondido. Big Head Todd and the Monsters join forces with Mud Morganfield, Billy Branch, and Ronnie Baker Brooks to pay tribute to blues legend and early rock ‘n’ roll influencer Willie Dixon. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29. $25-50. artcenter.org/ event/big-head-todd-and-the-monsterspresents-the-songs-of-willie-dixon/ HFabio Frizzi at Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave., Bay Park. The composer behind the dark and ethereal music of Italian horror, fantasy and genre cinema will play selections from some of his more iconic scores. At 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29. $25-$30. 619-275-5483, brickbybrick.com HIngrid Laubrock and Tom Rainey at Bread & Salt, 1955 Julian Ave., Logan Heights. Saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and drummer Tom Rainey celebrate the release of their second duo recording, Buoyancy, with a concert of original compositions, free improvisations and even standard songs. At 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30. $10-$15. freshsoundmusic.com HSalk Science and Music Series: Sa Chen at Salk Institute, 10010 N. Torrey Pines Rd., La Jolla. The fourth season of the science series begins with a concert by classical pianist Sa Chen and a presentation by Salk neurobiologist Greg Lemke. From 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2. $55-$275. music.salk.edu HAudio Books IV at Verbatim Books, 3795 30th St., North Park. The fourth show of the new concert series featuring performances from literary musicians. This week, a capella trio The Bechdels and Clinton Davis. At 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4. Free. 619501-7466, facebook.com/verbatimbooks

HAleck Karis at Conrad Prebys Music Center, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla. The pianist begins the Wednesdays@7 concert series with an evening of solo piano pieces by Claude Debussy, Victor Ibarra, Lei Liang and Harrison Birtwistle. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5. Free-$15.50 858-534-3448, musicweb.ucsd.edu HThe Voice Machine at Conrad Prebys Music Center, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla.

The result of a two-year collaboration between composers and performers at UCSD and Stanford University, this four-part performance seeks to address the questions of what opera is and what is required for its creation. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5.

Free. 858-534-3448, musicweb.ucsd.edu

OUTDOORS HPaddle for Clean Water at Ocean Beach Pier, End of Newport Avenue, Ocean Beach. Hundreds of surfers and ocean enthusiasts paddle around the Ocean Beach Pier in an effort to raise awareness about the need for clean water and healthy coastlines. There will be yoga classes, free breakfast for all paddlers, guest speakers, live music and more. From 9 a.m. to noon.

Sunday, Oct. 2. Free. surfridersd.org

PERFORMANCE HLube: A Modern Day Love Story at LGBT Community Center, 3909 Centre St., Hillcrest. A staged reading of Jack Turner’s gay-themed musical comedy that takes a serious look at growing up gay. The reading will help benefit the It Gets Better Project and the Animal Rescue Coalition. At 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1. $10-$75. lubemusical.info

EVENTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

September 28, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 13

EVENTS EVENTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13 HThe Trump Card at La Jolla Playhouse, 2910 La Jolla Village Drive, La Jolla. This critically-acclaimed solo piece from monologist Mike Daisey takes on Donald Trump and explores the millionaire’s early days and self-invented mythology.

Various times Tuesday, Oct. 4 through Monday, Oct. 9. $25-$45. 858-550-1010, lajollaplayhouse.org

POETRY & SPOKEN WORD HThe Color Theory at TheChurch, 2151 Logan Ave., Barrio Logan. Spoken word showcases that aim to give voices to writers of color. Speakers include Manuel Paul Lopez, Hari Aluri, Lizz Huerta and over a dozen more. Takes place at 2186 Logan Ave. in Barrio Logan. From 7 to 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28. Free. thetravelersclubsd.com/ HVAMP: When I’m Sixty-Four at Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St, South Park.

Irreverent showcase where writers tell stories about happens as we get older, the things that happen to those around us as they get older, and the inevitability of the passage of time. At 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 29. $5. 619-284-6784, sosayweallonline.com HNon-Standard Lit Reading Series at Gym Standard, 2903 El Cajon Blvd. #2, North Park. A semi-regular reading series devoted to innovative literature and poetry, featuring authors Andrew S. Nicholson, Olivia Clare, and Michael Davidson From 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2. Free. 619-501-4996, facebook.com/ nonstandardlit

POLITICS & COMMUNITY HWeaving Movements: Love For The Land at Daley Ranch, 3024 La Honda Dr., Escondido. Join The San Diego Foundation and speakers Ryan Hudson, Camila Chavez, Myrian Solis Coronel and more to learn how they are “Opening the Outdoors” and how you can help fulfill the promise of a safe and healthy region for all. At 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5. Free. eventbrite.com/e/weaving-movementslove-for-the-land-tickets-27175852707

SPECIAL EVENTS HLa Mesa Oktoberfest at La Mesa Downtown Village, La Mesa Blvd. and Palm Ave., La Mesa. Dubbed the largest Oktoberfest Celebration West of the Mississippi with more than 100,000 attendees and hundreds of exhibitors spread out over six blocks for German food, dancing, games and beer. From 4 to 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2. Free. thelamesaoktoberfest.com HHistoric North Park Business District Tour at Birch North Park Theater, 2891 University Ave., North Park. As part of ArchtoberFest, North Park Main Street will sponsor a walking tour of the Historic North Park business district. The tour will commence under the North Park Theater marquee. At 9 and 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 1. $15. 619-239-8836, northparkhistory.org HMaker Faire at San Diego Museum of Man, 1350 El Prado, Balboa Park. This family-friendly event features engineers, hobbyists, artists and inventors showcasing their works. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1 and Sunday, Oct. 2. $12-$30. 619-

14 · San Diego CityBeat · September 28, 2016

COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

239-2001, sandiego.makerfaire.com San Diego International Film Festival Filmmakers Award and Party at Westin Gaslamp, 910 Broadway Circle, Downtown. A ceremony to honor the filmmakers who entered competition films into the San Diego International Film Festival. Event includes music, appetizers and cocktails at the no-host bar. From 9 p.m. to midnight.

Saturday, Oct. 1. $25. sdfilmfest.com HVista Fiber Arts Fiesta at Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum, 2030 N. Santa Fe Ave., Vista. Fiber artists offer handmade creations like hand-dyed yarns, tools, and ethnic textiles at the sixth annual event, which will also feature the annual guest appearance of baby llamas.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1 and Sunday, Oct. 2. Free. 760-941-1791, VistaFiberArtsFiesta.com HSurf Dog Surf-a-Thon at Del Mar Dog Beach, 3006 Sandy Lane, Del Mar. Come watch some water-happy dogs catch some waves (along with their owners) at this annual competition. Includes vendors, food, and costume contests. Proceeds benefit Helen Woodward Animal Center. From 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2. Free. 858755-1556, animalcenter.org HDine Out for the Cure at various locations. Eat at a participating restaurant and you’ll help San Diego breast cancer patients become breast cancer survivors. For every dollar you spend, anywhere from 10-25 percent of the restaurant’s profits for the day will go to Komen San Diego. From 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5. $1$99 858-573-2760, komensandiego.org

SPORTS HArtist and Curator Sports Tournament at Silver Strand State Beach, 5000

“Not Tonight Josephine” by Corey Dunlap will be on view at This Psychodrama, a group exhibition opening from 3 to 6 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 30, at the SME Visual Arts Gallery at UCSD (9500 Gilman Dr.) in La Jolla.

Highway 75, Coronado. Watch more than 40 artists and curators in 10 teams square off at beach volleyball. CityBeat’s Seth Combs and art critic Robert Pincus will serve as the announcers.

From noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2.

Free. sandiego-art.org

TALKS & DISCUSSIONS Artist Talk: Physique at Sparks Gallery, 530 6th Ave., Gaslamp. Artists Julia Ra-

sor, Kyle Trudelle, Linda Litteral and Maidy Morhous discuss their creative process and their works currently on view at Sparks Gallery. From 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1. Free. 619-696-1416, sparksgallery.com HSex Ghost Lecture at San Diego Art Institute, 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park. Macabre art historian Dr. Paul Koudounaris will discuss the cultural boundaries that separate the living from the dead, with a special emphasis on the way that border is broached via sexualized ghost stories.

From 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5. $5. sandiego-art.org

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THEATER Old Globe launches October Sky

JIM COX

O

ctober Sky is emblematic of wholesome dreams and can-do spirit. Every turn in the story is one you see coming, as is each allusion to reaching for the stars, but this world-premiere musical is sincere and beautifully mounted. The Old Globe ���� ����������������������� production is inspired by the 1999 movie October Sky and the book Rocket Boys. This show is directed by Rachel Rockwell on a grand scale (and on a spectacular set by Kevin Depinet), with a book by Brian Hill and Aaron Thielen. Michael Mahler’s score is equally prodigious, and while both ballad- and metaphor-heavy, frequently as soaring as the homemade rockets high schooler Homer Hickham (Kyle Selig) and his three pals launch skyward.

The boys (Selig, Patrick Rooney, Austyn Myers and Connor Russell) are the most fun to watch, their combined energy in itself rocket fuel. The adult characters— the emotionally constipated father, the wise mother, the mentoring high school teacher—provide familiar drama, but Selig’s superbly played Homer feeds off each as he strives and grows inside. October Sky’s climactic National Science Fair competition isn’t exactly Rocky vs. Apollo Creed, but with this show’s eye-popping rocket launches, who needs blood and sweat? You may get tears, but of the feel-good variety.

October Sky runs through Oct. 23 at the Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park. $37 and up. oldglobe.org *** et’s assume that San Diego Rep Playwright in Residence Herbert Siguenza set out to make a political statement about immigration wrapped in a wacky comedy. Good, because Siguenza’s Manifest Destinitis,

L

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amusingly ornery). Every moment Siguenza’s Tonia is on stage, even those reduced to slapstick, is a howling delight.

Manifest Destinitis runs through Oct. 9 at the San Diego Repertory Theatre, downtown. $35-$62. sdrep.org

—David L. Coddon

Theater reviews run weekly.

Write to davidc@sdcitybeat.com.

OPENING: ART: Yasmina Reza’s Tony-winning comedy about three pals whose friendship is tested when one buys an expensive piece of modern art.

Presented by Intrepid Theatre Company, it opens Sept. 29 at the Horton Grand Theatre in the Gaslamp. intrepidtheatre.org King Hedley II: A man recently released from prison struggles to reclaim his life, family and community. Written by August Wilson and presented by Cygnet Theatre, it opens Sept. 29 at the Old Town Theatre. cygnettheatre.com

The rocket boys send one skyward in October Sky. directed by Sam Woodhouse and having its world premiere at the Rep, is best when it’s in political mode, even though the commentary can be obvious (The Donald, The Wall, Hillary’s pantsuits, etc.). When Manifest Destinitis relies more on being an adaptation of Moliere’s farcical The Imaginary Invalid, it’s just as broad and inconsequential as its 17th-century inspiration. But there’s no denying this production has a couple of rousing performances, chiefly Siguenza himself, in drag, as maid to the hypochondriacal Don Aragon (Mark Pinter,

The Lion: Benjamin Scheuer’s acclaimed one-man-show rock ‘n’ roll musical about his life. Directed by Sean Daniels, it opens Sept. 29 at the Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park. theoldglobe.org Lizard Boy: A disfigured gay boy, who had always been afraid to be seen in public, sets out on a rock ‘n’ roll musical adventure with help from his new Grindr friend Cary. Written by Justin Huertas, it opens Sept. 29 at the Diversionary Theatre in Hillcrest. diversionary.org Blood at the Root: Racial tensions in a small Louisiana town boil over in Dominique Morisseau’s poetry and hip-hop-infused play. Directed by Randy Reinholtz, it opens Sept. 30 at the SDSU Experimental Theatre in the College Area.

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

September 28, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 15

16 · San Diego CityBeat · September 28, 2016

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September 28, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 17

BETH DEMMON

CULTURE

Meet and Greet pre-show at the Whistle Stop Bar HEN A HORDE OF HARLEYS blasts past traffic crawling along the freeway, it’s easy to assume they’re a bunch of burly bearded guys with their old ladies hanging on the backs of the bikes. But that’s a dated assumption. Nowadays, it may well be a group of badass biker chicks who’ve shrugged off the mantle of passenger and embraced the role of rider.

While Southern California has historically been a hot spot for two-wheeling, this shift in the sexes isn’t isolated to the local riding community. In 2014, the Motorcycle Industry Council announced that the number of motorcycles owned by women in the United States has increased more than 50 percent in the past decade, and that number keeps rising.

One reason women are moving from the backseat to the forefront of motorcycle society may be that feminist-forward movements that strive to equalize men and women are gaining traction, and women are more comfortable than ever challenging the long-held male-dominated stereotypes. Lots of women have also ridden on the backs of their fathers’, brothers’ or partners’ bikes and gotten a taste for speed and adventure. Of course, there’s always the fuel efficiency, ease of parking and just plain fun of it. Whatever the reason, when a new rider catches the bike bug, it’s hard to go back.

It’s a spirit of fierce independence, confidence and search for freedom that Katie Carney hopes to capture with Ride to the Warehouse, an upcoming art show celebrating local women moto riders.

“I’ve been riding for four years, and the idea came to me one morning to get some

women together to do a show,” says CarWhile Moto F.A.M. isn’t an official ney, at a pre-show meet-and-greet at South sponsor of the show, Carney has a personal Park’s Whistle Stop Bar. “The idea for Ride connection with the group. to the Warehouse came from The One Mo“They’ve helped a couple of my friends torcycle Show in Portland. They have a re- who have gone down, so I thought a charally cool, hip bike weekend and that’s kind ity event would be a cool thing to do.” of what my vision is. If this grows…[Ride to Guests will also have the chance to win the Warehouse] could go to San Francisco, some raffle prizes from local businesses, Los Angeles…” she trails off, dreaming of including yoga classes and supplies from the potential.

Akasha Yoga, a 24-hour Harley rental from As the show’s organizer, San Diego Harley DavidCODY LAING Carney has relied on plenty son, art by local tattoo of men and women to help legend Fip Buchanan, a make Ride to the Warehouse shirt from Avalon Tata reality. This collaborative too II, swag from James energy reflects the spirit of Coffee Co., leather goods brotherhood—and now sisfrom Burnout Leather terhood—in the riding world.

Co. and clothing from At“Everybody involved has wyld, a new Los Angelesdonated their time to make based women’s motorcycle clothing company. this happen, and there are a By titling the show lot of moving parts and cool Ride to the Warehouse people involved. I’ve met (translated from the so many new people—like venue La Bodega, which some of the photographers. means “The WareOne of the girls is a rider and house”), Carney hopes photographer, and she’s shot over 20 women for the show.”

“Madison Jane” by to leave it vague enough photographer Cody Laing to put a different spin on The first Ride to the Warethe event each year while house art show will open at La Bodega Gallery (2196 Logan Ave.) for one still remaining a motorcycle show at heart.

“I want to leave it open to whichever night only on Saturday, Oct. 8, from 6 p.m. to midnight. Attendees can expect a pleth- way the wind blows,” Carney says.

Since this year is all about spotlighting loora of photography and other art-lauding local lady riders, as well as live music. Ad- cal women who ride, expect lots of local lady mission is free, but all the proceeds from riding groups to be prominently featured in the show will go to support Moto F.A.M., the show. Members of the big three—Flat a group that offers financial assistance to Black Collective, the Litas San Diego and SD riders and their families following motor- Moto Girls—have supported and participated in the project since its inception. cycle-related accidents.

18 · San Diego CityBeat · September 28, 2016

While Flat Black Collective is not associated with any other cities or groups, the Litas are a worldwide group of women motorcyclists united solely by the love of riding with different chapters on nearly every continent. The SD Moto Girls are also unaffiliated with other riding groups, but recently helped launch a second branch in Las Vegas known as the Sin City Moto Girls.

It’s important to note that none of these are typical one-percenter motorcycle clubs. There are no cuts, prospects or requirements to ride other than don’t be a dick and don’t have a dick—but even the last rule is somewhat flexible, as there’s generally at least one co-ed ride or meetup every few weeks. Plus, with regularly scheduled rides each month (SD Moto Girls’ Last Sabbath rides, Flat Black’s Second Saturday rides and the Litas’ Get Right rides every first Saturday of the month), riders don’t have to pledge allegiance to any one group. It’s really more about what rides happen to fit your schedule than anything else and there’s plenty of overlap and camaraderie between them all.

Jordan Harvey, the founder of the Litas San Diego chapter, agrees there is approachability within the scene. “When I first started the San Diego chapter of the Litas, I knew there were other all-female riding groups in town,” she says. “I wasn’t sure how exclusive those groups were, but I felt comfortable introducing this chapter of the Litas to San Diego because of how inclusive the Litas network is. As the group grew and I met the Flat Black girls and SD Moto Girls, I realized we’re all of the same mindset, which makes riding a motorcycle in San Diego as a female all the more fun.”

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CULTURE | ART

SEEN LOCAL TO SEE OR NOT TO SEE: RUST MAGIC In this semi-regular department, arts editor Seth Combs reviews a notable new art show or exhibition.

T

o be honest, I was beginning to think Rust Magic was never going to happen. In fact, it would have been a cruel twist of irony if local graffiti artist Saratoga Sake had never finished his new show at the Ice Gallery space (1955 Julian Ave.) in Logan Heights. Given the ubiquity of graffiti and so-called “street art” these days, not to mention the rapid speed at which it is made, I was certainly puzzled by the consistent delays especially when the show was originally scheduled to open back in March.

I’m happy to report that the show was worth the wait, but it’s not all that surprising considering neither the artist nor the gallery itself does anything half-assed. On the surface, Rust Magic could simply be seen as a tribute to the graffiti that was prominent in the New York City “bombing” days of the ‘70s and ‘80s. The days when crews with names such as the 3 Yard Boys and Death Squad sneakily crafted big, bold works on the facades of

CRAFT SHOOT: SAGE SISTERS

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nyone who’s ever tried to cut, pick, trim and arrange flowers by themselves knows it takes a certain je ne sais quoi. Eva De Leon knows this better than anyone and while she doesn’t have any formal training as a florist, her new Sage Sisters (shopsagesisters.com) store in North Park is filled with arrangements that are both glamorous and exotic.

“I am an artist so it was important to me that I had a business where I was able to create with my hands,” says De Leon, who also works as a sculptor and site-specific installation artist. “I think of flower arraigning almost as soft, ephemeral sculpture.”

De Leon used to pick flowers in Mexico City with her sister (hence the name of the store), but says she really got her start when she did the flower arranging at her own wedding.

Guests were impressed and started hiring her, and her reputation for creating unique pieces began to spread. She gained enough experience to feel affirmed that she could make it as a florist.

Still, finding a space wasn’t easy. She looked for almost a year before settling inside the Union Cowork building (3060 University Ave.). She also stocked the store with items that could conceivably

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subway trains, likely not realizing at the time that they were giving birth to a movement much larger than themselves.

Just as I imagine it was with those vintage trains, it’s both easy and tempting to lose yourself in the vibrant colors and subtle twists within Sake’s huge mural. It helps that the show also includes a replica of an R17 subway car suspended from the ceiling, as well as a 10-minute audio loop of subway sounds that was originally recorded in 1986. These two additions take what would have otherwise been an enjoyable showcase of Sake getting back to his graffiti roots and turn it into a grand statement: A testament rather than a tribute. With one-half of the gallery SETH COMBS blank and the other half covered in Sake’s art—as well as one-half of the train car covered in graffiti while the other is unmarked—the artist is saying something about both the current omnipresence of graffiti, as well as the fact that, ironically, the art form is almost never found in the subway anymore.

It’s almost hard now to think that there was once a time when graffiti was Rust Magic considered dangerous. I did experience a slight sense of dread while attempting to take in Rust Magic, but not because the work is in any way dangerous. Rather, I fear that no one would look at it and see it as threatening. After all, there’s really no danger in paying tribute to something, however well it’s executed.

—Seth Combs

be paired with flowers, such as chocolate bars, tea and fashionable accessories. When it comes to the flowers, De Leon chose to bypass the typical arrangements for a more nuanced, earthy selection.

She claims to be the only store to carry flowers such as parrot tulips and proteas, which can live for weeks. She accents them with atypical plants like eucalyptus twigs to give the arrangement a more natural look.

Another differentiation that De Leon hopes makes her stand out is her commitment to sustainability. She mentions that one of the taboo topics in the floral industry is that up to 50 percent of the TORREY BAILEY inventory is waste. To prevent this, she’s partnered with the YWCA to donate unused inventory to places like Becky’s House, a shelter for victims of domestic violence. Talking with her, one gets the sense that she’s in the industry for the right reasons.

“It’s akin to being a bartender,” says De Eva De Leon Leon. “People feel like they can share stories with you. You’re often getting the guys who’ve done something wrong and I’m all about helping reestablish that connection. There’s also just being there for someone’s loss or for those happy moments. It’s very special.”

—Seth Combs September 28, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 19

CULTURE | FILM

In the loop Tim Burton returns to form with a spirited, optimistic fable about discovery

by Glenn Heath Jr. Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children

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imitless imagination and droll practicality are day in 1943 over and over again to evade the nefarious permanently at war in much of Tim Burton’s Barron (Samuel L. Jackson) and his cannibalistic eyebest work. The director likes to feature manic sucking “Hollows.” young artists or outsiders willing to believe in the While Miss Peregrine’s layered plotting and dispower of passionate expression over cynical confor- jointed sense of time gets convoluted, Burton never mity. Being surrounded by strong family units helps loses track of the film’s soul. Jake’s varied relationprovide them shelter from fearful members of soci- ships with the peculiar children, including light-as-aety who don’t understand the exceptional. Safety of feather Emma (Ella Purnell), feel deeply sincere and home means everything to a fragile genius, and when worthy of our attention. The film refuses to define it breaks down so does the world itself. these young characters by their special powers, as an If the mid-1990s represented Burton’s creative X-Men installment might. Instead, each child’s “pecupeak (shout out to the singular Mars Attacks!), the liarity” exists in tandem with those of their peers, an last decade or so has seen individual piece that fits into him embrace visual spectaa larger collective puzzle of cle over story and character. community.

MISS PEREGRINE’S Alice in Wonderland, Charlie Jake decides to jump HOME FOR PECULIAR and the Chocolate Factory down this rabbit hole with CHILDREN and Big Eyes are especially the utmost conviction. Buremotionless, hollow and ton follows suit, refreshingly Directed by Tim Burton trite, essentially spent shellthrowing traditional logic Starring Eva Green, Asa Butterfield, casings of far superior work. out the window during the Samuel L. Jackson and Terrence Stamp What’s missing from globetrotting climax. Here, Rated PG-13 these big-budget plastic Miss Peregrine’s visuals supfairy tales is a sense of joy plement the tangible danger and discovery. Thankfully, of Barron and his henchBurton has momentarily reman’s assault. One stellar discovered such genuine feeling with Miss Peregrine’s stop-motion set piece set amid a bustling carnival Home For Peculiar Children, a spirited adaptation of that involves sword-swinging skeletons and tree-like Ransom Riggs’ 2011 novel. For the first time in ages, monsters is a loving homage to Ray Harryhausen and he seems to be having fun with his material.

Clash of the Titans.

Much of Miss Peregrine’s spark stems from its lead Ultimately, Jake and his fellow peculiars seek character, Jake (Asa Butterfield), a resilient and neb- a sense of serenity and togetherness. For Burton, bish teenager from Florida whose life changes perma- sometimes only an extended family can provide true nently when his grandfather, Abe (Terrence Stamp), understanding. Teenagers everywhere can relate to dies suspiciously. After spending years listening to feeling in a constant state of identity crisis, and Miss the older man’s stories about a home for “peculiar” Peregrine, which opens Friday, Sept. 30, illuminates children run by the mysterious Miss Peregrine (Eva the gravity of these stakes without judgment.

Green), Jake decides to investigate his secret family With the exception of Abe, blood relatives become history himself by taking a trip to a small island off non-factors in Jake’s development as a unique indithe coast of Wales. vidual. “Everything’s already been discovered,” his Chaperoned by his doubtful and clueless father skeptical father proclaims early in the film. By the (Chris O’Dowd), Jake wants this to journey to recon- end, after witnessing sunken ships emerge from the cile the seamless overlap between fantasy and reality deep and a devoted young man traverse multiple time that has defined fables from his childhood. Disap- loops to find true love, we feel the sadness and defeat pointment seems inevitable, though, when he discov- of this statement. Jake and his peculiar friends do too, ers the ruins of the eponymous home, left decimated but they’ll be forging full steam ahead nonetheless.

They will never be controlled by disbelief. decades ago by Nazi warplanes.

Except this is merely one version of things; Jake quickly finds himself lured into an alternate time loop Film reviews run weekly. where Miss Peregrine and her disciples live the same Write to glennh@sdcitybeat.com.

20 · San Diego CityBeat · September 28, 2016

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CULTURE | FILM

Crypt keepers

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ewly engaged lovebirds Piotr (Itay Tyran) and Zaneta (Agnieszka Zulewska) haven’t known each other for very long, a fact pointed out by the bride’s judgmental father, Zygmunt (Andrzej Grabowski).

Director Marcin Wrona’s Demon, an acidic and unforgiving horror film, amplifies these suspicions by giving them a historical and moral subtext when the couple’s raindrenched wedding goes from bad to cataclysmic.

The nuptials are doomed even before vows are exchanged. Surveying an old plot of land that Zaneta has inherited from her deceased grandfather, Piotr stumbles upon a collection of buried

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Jewish scholar has the knowledge or the inclination to try and remedy the situation. Each becomes a symbol for community institutions unable to reconcile past traumas.

These failures trickle out to possess individuals as well, like Piotr’s shady in-laws who do everything they can to cover up the embarrassment of a ceremony gone awry. Zygmunt’s vodka infusedspeech is denial incarnate: “We must forget…what we didn’t see.”

Demon Demon, which opens Friday, Sept. 30, at Ken Cinema, evokes human bones. As a result, he slow- the great Luis Bunuel with its ly falls prey to the menacing, wan- skewering dark humor (at one dering spirit from Jewish folklore point the drunken wedding party called “dybbuk,” which produces crosses paths with a somber funosebleeds, paranoia and eventu- neral procession). In a land that’s ally cryptic hallucinations. “built on corpses,” this is where Wrona (who tragically com- fairytales were born to go rotten. mitted suicide in Sept. 2015) bypasses many of the traditional —Glenn Heath Jr. genre directives we might associate with such a setup to focus on something more sinister: the OPENING human ego. Piotr’s unhinged behavior inspires a host of different Deepwater Horizon: Peter Berg and Mark reactions in various guests her- Wahlberg team up to tell the story of those heroic workers who survived the oil rig exalding from the small Polish town plosion off the coast of Louisiana in 2010. where Demon calls home.

Demon: A spirit possesses a young man A local doctor (a closeted on the eve of his wedding day, turning the drunk) tries to diagnose Piotr but ceremony itself into one of embarrassfails miserably. The town priest ment and horror. Opens Friday, Sept. 30, has no interest in an exorcism and at Ken Cinema. just wants to leave. Only a verbose Ixanul: This debut film from Guatemalan

director Jayro Bustamante depicts the daily lives of the Kaqchikel speaking Mayans living on a coffee plantation. Screens through Thursday, Oct. 6, at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

La Belle et La Bête (Beauty and the Beast): French superstars Vincent Cassel and Léa Seydoux star in this visually ravishing adaptation of the classic fairytale.

Screens through Thursday, Oct. 6, at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

Masterminds: Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite) directs this long-delayed comedy about a night watchman who decides to orchestrate one of the biggest bank heists in American history. Stars Jason Sudeikis, Kristin Wiig, Owen Wilson, and Kate McKinnon.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children: Tim Burton returns to form with this adaptation of the popular novel

by Ransom Riggs about a teenage boy who embarks on a fantastic journey with a group of children with special powers.

Queen of Katwe: In this uplifting biopic, a Uganda girl sees her life change after being introduced to the game of chess. Costars David Oyelowo and Lupita Nyong’o.

San Diego Int’l Film Festival: From Wednesday, Sept. 28, through Sunday, Oct. 2, at multiple venues around the county, this annual film event will showcase films from around the world, host multiple parties and conduct panel discussions with critics and industry professionals. For more information visit sdfilmfest.com.

For a complete listing of movies, visit “F ilm” on sdcitybeat.com.

September 28, 2016 • San Diego CityBeat · 21

TIMOTHY SACCENTI

MUSIC

Phantogram URN ON ANY COMMERCIAL alternative rock station in America right now, and there’s a good chance the DJ is going to play “You Don’t Get Me High Anymore,” the new single by synthpop duo Phantogram. It’s hard to miss, actually—the song is essentially all hook, a big buzzing synth bassline and click-clacking dancefloor rhythms juxtaposed against Sarah Barthel’s dizzyingly fast sing-speak chant. It’s the logical contemporary endpoint of a lineage of alt-rock provocateurs that stretch back to Trent Reznor, and with the same potential to cross over into actual capital-p Pop territory.

There’s just one thing that’s a little strange about it: This is a side of Phantogram that’s come to be developed only recently. Back in 2010, I saw the band open for The Antlers at The Casbah, and they were a perfectly enjoyable indie duo in the vein of The Postal Service. Their songs were catchy, their stage presence charming enough, but at no point did they ever give the impression that they were destined to be a household name. Which leads to a fairly important question: How did they get here?

However Phantogram went from lowkey trip-hop rookies to primetime contenders, it was gradual. It took a full five years for Barthel and songwriting partner Josh Carter to release their second album, Voices, which might as well be an eternity in an age when Drake drops two mixtapes a year and every week brings a new version of Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo. They did,

however, issue an EP, Nightlife, in 2011, that suggested bigger and brighter things for the group, particularly the single “Don’t Move,” whose sample-based hooks and bigbudget (or so it looks) video, which blends the surreal and the seductive. But it’s also still somewhat artsy and abstract—still more college radio than Home of the Rock.

To Phantogram’s credit, they have had another hit. In 2014, the band’s single “Fall in Love” went as high as number three on the Billboard altrock chart (though it dropped right off after one week), thanks in part to its hypnotic layers of heady Flaming Lips-style psychedelia, built up from a heavy looping sample of Barbara Mason’s “Yes I’m Ready.” And it’s easy to hear why it was, for a time at least, a radio favorite. The damn thing is catchy, and any song that offers an escape from the general insufferability and ubiquity of Twentyonepilots is a welcome change.

And yet, it still seems subtle in comparison to “You Don’t Get Me High Anymore,” whose groove is downright aggressive in its accessibility. It’s not just an earworm—the damn thing is drilling right into your cerebral cortex.

The video for the song is even more enlightening. For one, it looks expensive,

22 · San Diego CityBeat · September 28, 2016

featuring wide shots of desert landscapes and giant waves. It packs in a notable number of music video cliches of years past: Needless destruction of property, an old person looking melancholy, two inexplicable figures in bondage gear. And Barthel, herself, sports a pop star makeover: Platinum blonde, leather and latex, harnesses... for some reason. She looks more like Lady Gaga than Karen O, and if you’re going to commit to breaking into the mainstream, I suppose it doesn’t hurt to actually look like a pop star.

If it sounds like I’m accusing Phantogram of selling out, well, that’s kind of a crass way to put it, I suppose. But that would imply that Phantogram betrayed any sort of underground ethic that they held in the first place. While they didn’t necessarily have the kind of songs that would make them huge stars when they first began releasing music, that doesn’t mean they weren’t always aiming to get to this point. And in this age of poptimism, really, why wouldn’t everybody want to become as huge as possible? It’s hard enough to make money as a musician; if a few silly video cliches and extras dressed as gimps help you get there, more power to you.

Besides, Phantogram already sold

rights to one of their songs for use in a Gillette commercial, so while adapting to a mainstream audience’s tastes might have taken some time, finding a way to market themselves didn’t. In hindsight, it might have been that commercial that ended up getting them noticed on a wider scale.

Shortly thereafter, Portishead producer Geoff Barrow accused them of using an uncleared sample of his music (which they’ve denied), and the duo made a friend in Outkast emcee Big Boi, who recorded an album with them as Big Grams.

Indeed, Phantogram’s career has been one of ladder climbing and strategic business decisions, the likes of which have resulted in their seeming ubiquity on the radio at the moment. And truth be told, I’m actually pretty OK with that. While “You Don’t Get Me High Anymore” isn’t by any stretch my favorite song this year, it’s really hard not to like. It’s the kind of slick, albeit edgy fun that’s been weirdly elusive on “alternative” formats since the ‘90s, and though it sounds contemporary, I can’t help but think that the band spent as much time listening to the same Garbage and Nine Inch Nails records that I did. It remains to be seen whether Phantogram actually makes the pop crossover their new single suggests, but it seems plausible at this point. There’s something curiously endearing about hearing a band that seems to want to be the biggest in the world.

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

#SDCityBeat

MUSIC

NOTES FROM THE SMOKING PATIO LOCALS ONLY

A

ccess Hip Hop is getting ready to close its doors. The Pacific Beachbased record store, which has been in business since 2001, is staying open for a little over a month before a tentative permanent closure in November, and this week it will have a 10 percent off sale to start selling off its remaining stock. In a phone interview, owner Mark Onstad says that the business has simply run its course, and isn’t doing as well as it used to.

“We’ve had a decline in sales, and it just took up too much of my time. Now’s the time,” he says. “Just to keep things going day to day is requiring too much of my time. I can’t even get done everything that I need to.”

Onstad says that the drop in business isn’t something that happened overnight, but he’s noticed a pattern in recent years, and one that hasn’t been trending toward anything good.

“I guess it’s been gradual, but it’s been normal over the last several years for sales to drop off during the summer,” he says. “But it’s been a progressive decline from year to year.”

The loss of another record store in San Diego is another harsh blow to the retail landscape, particularly one that held such importance in the local

Access Hip Hop hip-hop community. Access specialized in hip-hop records, and frequently stocked new albums by local artists. So while Onstad is getting ready for things to come to an end, he’s thankful for the support he’s gotten from the community.

“We have a very good relationship,” he says of the hip-hop scene. “We get a lot of love from artists near and far. It’s not just local.”

—Jeff Terich

ALBUM REVIEW Big Bad Buffalo s/t (Self-released)

I

t’s hard not to be impressed by Big Bad Buffalo.

The indie rock trio comprises former students of School of Rock San Diego, and the lessons clearly paid off. Rarely does a band fresh out of high school sound so confident and adept at their songwriting.

For that matter, a band this young rarely gets the chance to open for touring bands such as Into It. Over It. or local heroes like Drive Like fucking Jehu. All before they’re even old enough to hang out at The Casbah.

So yeah, Big Bad Buffalo are a pretty damn good band, and their relative youth (compared to most of the local scene) makes them a rare find (though not unheard of—Tan Sister Radio made a name for themselves as a similarly young and excellent bunch of rock ‘n’ rollers a few years back). With the release of their self-titled debut album, recorded at Singing Serpent Studios (count that as another impressive accomplishment), Big Bad Buffalo mark off another box on a checklist that’s already rich with landmark moments.

Here’s what’s interesting about the band’s debut: For a group of musicians born as the ‘90s were reaching their end, their songs have a definite foot in the San Diego scene of that era. To hear the interplay be-

#SDCityBeat

tween Jordan Krimston’s guitar and Silvio Damone’s basslines, it’s hard not to pick up on traces of Inch, No Knife or Heavy Vegetable—bands who haven’t been active in quite some time. So Big Bad Buffalo have done their homework, certainly, but to say they simply borrow from the best denies them their own agency and creativity. And whether there’s familiarity to these songs, they’re fun, well written rock tunes that are easy to like.

Big Bad Buffalo’s debut is pretty much all about hooks, choruses and, above all, guitars. Krimston is a fine enough lyricist (though he lets loose his share of silly lines like “wipe your shoes and take off your feet”), but it’s mostly his riffs that make the album the gem that it is. The other component is the rhythm section, which goes well beyond the safety of a 4/4 rock beat in tracks like “Philosopher’s Toned,” allowing some nimble use of interesting time signatures. It’s easy to say that Big Bad Buffalo are impressive for their age, but to focus on their age would seek to diminish the role of their natural talent.

They’re just an awesome band, full stop.

—Jeff Terich September 28, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 23

MUSIC

JEFF TERICH

IF I WERE U A music insider’s weekly agenda WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28

PLAN A: Cymbals Eat Guitars, Field Mouse, Wildhoney @ Soda Bar. New York’s Cymbals Eat Guitars is technically an indie rock band, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have the chops to be one of the great rock ‘n’ roll bands of our era. They get better with each new album, and their latest Pretty Years is one great anthem after another.

PLAN B: KING, Joey Dosik @ The Casbah. KING combines elements of different eras into one outstanding modern mashup.

There’s bits of funky ’70s soul, some ‘90sera New Jack Swing, and plenty of contemporary electronic sounds for good measure.

Back in 2011, they won the approval of none other than Prince himself. BACKUP PLAN: Fruit Bats, Heavy Hawaii @ The Hideout.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29

PLAN A: Well Well Well, The Foreign Resort, PRGRM, Nite @ Soda Bar. Well Well Well is a new band featuring members of Barbarian, and while that band is

taking a little bit of a break, find out what kind of stripped-down psychedelic sounds a couple of them are up to. Get there early for Denmark post-punks The Foreign Resort, while you’re at it. PLAN B: Fabio Frizzi @ Brick by Brick. In case you skipped over this week’s Short List, I’m throwing my endorsement behind this performance by horror soundtrack composer Fabio Frizzi, who knows a thing or two about giving audiences goosebumps. BACKUP PLAN: Frankie Cosmos, iji @ The Irenic.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

PLAN A: Rocky Votolato, Chris Staples @ The Casbah. Seattle singer/songwriter Rocky Votolato is a reliable purveyor of wonderful indie folk. And while he’s brothers with Cody Votolato of Blood Brothers and Head Wound City, Rocky’s music is more soothing and melodic. A laid-

24 · San Diego CityBeat · September 28, 2016

back, gorgeous end to the week. BACKUP PLAN: Gringo Star, The Relationship, Polish @ Soda Bar.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1

PLAN A: Okkervil River, Landlady @ Belly Up Tavern. Okkervil River probably doesn’t need too much introduction, but if you haven’t dug through their back catalog, I highly recommend 2005’s Black Sheep Boy. Their new album Away is beautiful as well, so it’s hard to go wrong, no matter where you start. PLAN B: Steve Gunn, Nap Eyes, Whiskey Circle @ Soda Bar. Singer/songwriter Steve Gunn has a way with putting together great indie folk melodies, but he’s first and foremost an amazing guitar player. I could listen to this guy pick and pluck all day. BACKUP PLAN: El Ten Eleven, Mylets @ Music Box.

Echo and the Bunnymen are kind of a Plan A for life, seeing as how they’re responsible for some of the greatest post-punk albums of all time. No matter what they play, it’ll be a show to remember. PLAN B: Blind Guardian, Grave Digger @ Observatory North Park. I don’t know if power metal is harder or easier to get into than other subgenres, but if you’re willing to commit to the cheese, Blind Guardian will deliver something truly epic. BACKUP PLAN: Modern Baseball, Chris Farren, Walter Etc. @ The Irenic.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 3

PLAN A: Cosmonauts, Tropical Popsicle, Spooky Cigarette @ The Hideout.

Just because it’s Monday night doesn’t mean you can’t get a little weird. L.A.’s Cosmonauts have a lot of psychedelic grooves to get the party going, and Tropical Popsicle will once again prove why they’re one of San Diego’s best bands.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4

PLAN A: Shonen Knife, The Rosalyns, Bloody Death Skull @ The Casbah. For a band that formed roughly around the time Echo and the Bunnymen I was born, Japan’s Shonen Knife keep going strong. The Osaka SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2 punk group just released a new album tiPLAN A: Echo and the Bunnymen, Es- tled Adventure, but their catalog of quirky ter Drang @ Humphreys by the Bay. pop tunes goes pretty deep.

#SDCityBeat

#SDCityBeat

September 28, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 25

MUSIC

CONCERTS HOT! NEW! FRESH!

Rocket from the Crypt (Lafayette, 10/31), Leaether Strip (Brick by Brick, 11/11), Electric Citizen (Soda Bar, 11/13), Mac Miller (Observatory, 11/14), Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band (Humphreys, 11/18), Chris Isaak (BUT, 11/25), Nik Turner’s Hawkwind (Brick by Brick, 11/26), Peter Murphy (Observatory, 11/29), Lee Fields (BUT, 11/30), Alex Cameron (Soda Bar, 12/6), Muuy Biien (Soda Bar, 12/7), Mr. Carmack (Observatory, 12/10), Donovon Frankenreiter (BUT, 12/28-29), Cherry Glazerr (Irenic, 12/30), Raffi (Balboa Theatre, 1/22), Pato Banton (BUT, 1/27), Adam Ant (Observatory, 2/18), Daya (HOB, 3/12), Panic! At the Disco (Viejas Arena, 3/26), Reverend Horton Heat (BUT, 4/20).

GET YER TICKETS SURVIVE (Soda Bar, 10/5), Failure (Music Box, 10/6), Wynton Marsalis (Balboa Theatre, 10/6), Kamasi Washington (Humphreys, 10/7), Florida Georgia Line (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 10/9), Colbie Caillat (Humphreys, 10/12), Danny Brown (Observatory, 10/14), The 1975 (Open Air Theatre, 10/15), Prophets of Rage (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 10/16), The Julie Ruin (Music Box, 10/16), Jethro Tull (Balboa Theatre, 10/17), Quantic (Music Box, 10/18), The Faint, Gang of Four (Ob-

servatory, 10/18), Alessia Cara (Copley Symphony Hall, 10/18), Wild Nothing (Music Box, 10/21), Tricky (BUT, 10/21), Violent Femmes (Observatory North Park, 10/23), Jackson Browne (Balboa Theatre, 10/24), Ziggy Marley (BUT, 10/24-25), Preoccupations (Irenic, 10/26), Kongos, Joy Formidable (Music Box, 10/26), Damien Jurado (Irenic, 10/27), Dillinger Escape Plan (Brick by Brick, 10/28), Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Death from Above 1979 (HOB, 10/28), M83 (SOMA, 10/29), Suicide Machines (Irenic, 10/29), Psychedelic Furs (BUT, 10/30), Buzzov-en (Brick by Brick, 10/31), Andra Day (Humphreys, 11/2), Tory Lanez (Observatory, 11/3), Tony Bennett (Harrahs, 11/4), Diamond Head (Brick by Brick, 11/5), Bush (Observatory, 11/8), Protomartyr (Soda Bar, 11/9), Death Grips (Observatory North Park, 11/9), Diarrhea Planet (Soda Bar, 11/11), Sleigh Bells (Observatory, 11/11), HEALTH (Music Box, 11/11), Slightly Stoopid (Observatory North Park, 11/12), SubRosa (Soda Bar, 11/12), Car Seat Headrest (Irenic, 11/12), Lupe Fiasco (HOB, 11/14), Rae Sremmurd (Observatory, 11/16), Trash Talk, Antwon (Soda Bar, 11/18), Gogol Bordello (Observatory North Park, 11/19), Neko Case (Poway OnStage, 11/19), Warpaint (Observatory, 11/22), Red Fang (Casbah, 11/22), Hirie (Music Box, 11/25), Kool Keith (HOB, 11/27), Porter Robinson, Madeon (Valley View Casino Center, 11/29), Seu Jorge (Balboa Theatre, 11/30), Daughter (Observatory, 12/1), Besnard Lakes (Soda Bar, 12/1), Helmet (Casbah, 12/2), Two Door Cinema Club (Harrah’s Resort, 12/3), Amy Schumer (Valley View Casino Center, 12/3), The Album Leaf (Irenic,

26 · San Diego CityBeat · September 28, 2016

12/9), Pylon Reenactment Society (Hideout, 12/10), Pere Ubu (Casbah, 12/10), Henry Rollins (Observatory, 12/27), Mannheim Steamroller (Civic Theatre, 12/28), Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven (Music Box, 12/29), Brian Setzer’s Rockabilly Riot (BUT, 12/30), Brian Setzer Orchestra (BUT, 12/31), The Devil Makes Three (Observatory, 1/4-5), Blind Boys of Alabama (BUT, 1/29), Steve Poltz (BUT, 2/24-25).

SEPTEMBER WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 28 Glen Hansard at Observatory North Park. Cymbals Eat Guitars at Soda Bar. Fruit Bats at The Hideout. Mary Chapin Carpenter at Belly Up Tavern (sold out).

King at The Casbah. Aaron Lewis at Humphreys by the Bay. Bear Hands at Music Box.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 29 Thievery Corporation at Belly Up Tavern. Well Well Well at Soda Bar. Frankie Cosmos at The Irenic. The Four Tops, The Temptations at Humphreys by the Bay (sold out).

FRIDAY, SEPT. 30 Soul Rebels Sound System with Talib Kweli at Belly Up Tavern. Paula Poundstone at Humphreys by the Bay. Adam Green at Blonde. Keith Sweat at California Center for the Arts. The Dread Crew of Oddwood at The Merrow.

OCTOBER SATURDAY, OCT. 1 Jim Jefferies at Humphreys by the Bay.

Okkervil River at Belly Up Tavern. El Ten Eleven at Music Box. Phantogram at Observatory North Park (sold out).

Steve Gunn at Soda Bar. CRSSD Festival w/ Miike Snow, Zhu, Cashmere Cat at Waterfront Park.

SUNDAY, OCT. 2 Alice in Chains at Copley Symphony Hall. KT Tunstall at House of Blues. The Quebe Sisters at California Center for the Arts. Echo and the Bunnymen at Humphreys by the Bay. Blind Guardian at Observatory North Park. Ani DiFranco at Belly Up Tavern (sold out). CRSSD Festival w/ Miike Snow, Zhu, Cashmere Cat at Waterfront Park. Modern Baseball at The Irenic.

MONDAY, OCT. 3 Cyndi Lauper at Humphreys by the Bay. Cosmonauts at The Hideout. Clint Westwood at The Casbah.

TUESDAY, OCT. 4 Kris Kristofferson at Balboa Theatre.

Pete Yorn at Belly Up Tavern. ZZ Top at Humphreys by the Bay (sold out). Shonen Knife at The Casbah.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 5 Sia at Viejas Arena. SURVIVE at Soda Bar. Todo Mundo at California Center for the Arts. Cute is What We Aim For at The Casbah.

THURSDAY, OCT. 6 Failure at Music Box. Herman’s Hermits with Peter Noone at Humphreys by the Bay. Wynton Marsalis at Balboa Theatre. Mumford & Sons at Sleep

Train Amphitheatre. Gone Baby Gone at The Casbah.

FRIDAY, OCT. 7 Kamasi Washington at Humphreys by the Bay. Omara Portuondo at Balboa Theatre. Grim Reaper at Brick by Brick. Jesse James Decker at House of Blues. BFSB at The Casbah.

SATURDAY, OCT. 8 La Sera at The Hideout. Bogan Via at House of Blues. Giraffage at Observatory North Park. Mystic Braves at The Casbah.

SUNDAY, OCT. 9 Kula Shaker at Belly Up Tavern. Felice Brothers at The Casbah. Tears for Fears at Humphreys by the Bay (sold out). Clint Black at Poway OnStage.

Florida Georgia Line at Sleep Train Amphitheatre.

MONDAY, OCT. 10 Skeletonwitch at Brick by Brick. Donella Drive at Soda Bar.

TUESDAY, OCT. 11 Steve Vai at House of Blues.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 12 Colbie Caillat at Humphreys by the Bay. Halestorm at House of Blues. Lowlands at Soda Bar.

THURSDAY, OCT. 13 Legendary Pink Dots at Soda Bar. RJD2 at Observatory North Park.

MOTHXR at House of Blues Voodoo

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MUSIC Room. Killswitch Engage at House of Blues.

FRIDAY, OCT. 14 Beartooth at House of Blues. Danny Brown at Observatory North Park. Foreigner at Harrahs Resort (sold out). The Helio Sequence at The Hideout. Ryley Walker at Soda Bar. Goblin Cock at The Casbah.

SATURDAY, OCT. 15 Schoolboy Q at Observatory North Park (sold out). The 1975 at Open Air Theatre.

Stryper at House of Blues. Tobacco at The Casbah.

SUNDAY, OCT. 16 Prophets of Rage at Sleep Train Amphitheatre. Yellowcard at House of Blues.

The Julie Ruin at Music Box. Flock of Dimes at Soda Bar. The Temper Trap at Observatory North Park. Poncho Sanchez at Belly Up Tavern.

MONDAY, OCT. 17 Jethro Tull at Balboa Theatre (sold out).

Yawpers at Soda Bar.

TUESDAY, OCT. 18 The Faint, Gang of Four at Observatory North Park. Quantic at Music Box. Screaming Females at Soda Bar. Alessia Cara at Copley Symphony Hall.

Brujeria at Brick by Brick. Young the Giant at House of Blues. Demilich at The Merrow.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 19 Young the Giant at House of Blues (sold out). Holy White Hounds at The Cas-

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bah. Willie Nelson at Humphreys by the Bay (sold out).

THURSDAY, OCT. 20 Tracy Morgan at Humphreys by the Bay. Vapors of Morphine at The Casbah.

FRIDAY, OCT. 21 Majid Jordan at Observatory North Park.

Kero Kero Bonito at House of Blues.

The Dear Hunter at The Irenic. Felipe Esparza at Humphreys by the Bay. Gorguts at Brick by Brick. Wild Nothing at Music Box.

SATURDAY, OCT. 22 Saint Vitus at Brick by Brick. Niykee Heaton at Observatory North Park. Capitol Steps at Poway OnStage. Wild Child at Belly Up Tavern. Lemaitre at Music Box.

SUNDAY, OCT. 23 D.R.I. at Soda Bar. Violent Femmes at Observatory North Park.

MONDAY, OCT. 24 Yuna at Music Box. Ziggy Marley at Belly Up Tavern. Jackson Browne at Balboa Theatre.

TUESDAY, OCT. 25 Ziggy Marley at Belly Up Tavern. Parkway Drive at House of Blues.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 26 Bon Iver at Copley Symphony Hall (sold out). Preoccupations at The Irenic.

Kongos, Joy Formidable at Music Box. Maceo Parker at Belly Up Tavern.

THURSDAY, OCT. 27 Balance and Composure at Observatory North Park. Damien Jurado at The Irenic.

FRIDAY, OCT. 28 Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Death from Above 1979 at House of Blues.

Ingrid Michaelson at Humphreys by the Bay. Alice Cooper at Harrah’s Resort. Dillinger Escape Plan at Brick by Brick.

SATURDAY, OCT. 29 Blind Pilot at Belly Up Tavern. Martin Lawrence at Harrah’s Resort. Sweater Beats at Soda Bar. Suicide Machines at The Irenic. Jo Koy at Humphreys by the Bay. M83 at SOMA.

SUNDAY, OCT. 30 Run River North at House of Blues. Psychedelic Furs at Belly Up Tavern.

MONDAY, OCT. 31 Buzzov-en at Brick by Brick. BoomBox at Observatory North Park. Rocket from the Crypt at Lafayette Hotel.

NOVEMBER TUESDAY, NOV. 1 Ms. Lauryn Hill at Copley Symphony Hall (sold out). Mexrissey at California Center for the Arts. The Adicts at Observatory North Park.

MUSIC CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

September 28, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 27

MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27

rCLUBSr

710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave., San Diego. Pacific Beach. Fri: Baby Gow, Watcher Moon. Sat: Psydecar, Jam Kwest. Tue: Dubsiders.

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

American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., San Diego. Downtown. Thu: Brandon Wardell. Fri: James Adomian. Sat: James Adomian. Sun: James Adomian.

The Bancroft, 9143 Campo Rd., Spring Valley. Fri: Some Kind of Nightmare.

Sat: The Co-Founder, Common Misconceptions, Minor Gems, Flatlands. Sun: Gimme Gimme Gimme. Tue: Crosby Tyler.

Bang Bang, 526 Market St., San Diego.

Downtown. Fri: Lee Burridge. Sat: MK + Chus, Ceballos. Sun: Thomas Jack.

Bar Pink, 3829 30th North Park. Wed: DJ Delgado. Sun: ‘Rat ‘Motown on Monday’.

Demain.

St., San Diego.

L. Sat: DJ Mike Sabbath’. Mon: Tue: Mr. Adrian

Beaumont’s, 5662 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla. Thu: Pat Dowling. Fri: Modern Day Moonshine. Sun: Blaise Guld.

Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. Wed: Mary Chapin Carpenter (sold out). Thu: Thievery Corporation. Fri: The Soul Rebels Sound Sys-

28 · San Diego CityBeat · September 28, 2016

tem featuring Talib Kweli, Infinite Points, Scarub. Sat: Okkervil River, Landlady.

Sun: Ani DiFranco, Chastity Brown (sold out). Tue: Pete Yorn.

Black Cat Bar, 4246 University Ave., San Diego. City Heights. Fri: Gone Baby Gone, The Etc., The Heart Beat Trail.

Blonde, 1808 W. Washington Street, San Diego. Thu: ‘The Strokes Nite’ w/ Nite Lapse, Velvet Club. Fri: Adam Green.

Boar Cross’n, 390 Grand Ave., Carlsbad. Wed: Steez 76D. Fri: ‘Club Musae’, ‘Club Musae’.

Brass Rail, 3796 Fifth Ave., San Diego.

Hillcrest. Sat: ‘Sabados en Fuego’ w/ DJs XP, KA, K-Swift. Mon: ‘Manic Monday’ w/ DJ Junior the Disco Punk.

Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave., San Diego. Bay Park. Thu: Fabio Frizzi. Mon: ‘Metal Monday’.

Cafe Sevilla, 353 Fifth Ave., San Diego.

Downtown. Sat: Flamenco Dinner Show.

Sun: Buena Vista Sundays.

The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd., San Diego. Midtown. Wed: King, Joey Dosik. Thu: Erika Wennerstrom, Peter Ericson Stakee. Fri: Rocky Votolato, Chris Staples. Sat: Moosh and Twist, Bryce Vine. Sun: Mandolin Orange, Leif Volbeck. Mon: Clint Westwood, Quel Bordel, Coral Bells, Forkroot. Tue: Shonen Knife, The Rosalyns, Bloody Death Skull.

The Che Cafe, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. Sat: Imagery Machine, Retra, Grim Slippers, Abandoned Stereo. Sun: Kurt Travis, Strawberry Girls, Amarionette, Lemix J. Buckley.

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

Wayne and the City Slickers. Sun: DJ Harvest Karaoke.

Dirk’s Nightclub, 7662 Broadway, Lemon Grove. Fri: Zone 4.

Dizzy’s, 4275 Mission Bay Drive, San Diego. Mission Bay. Sat: ‘Westside Story goes Latin Jazz’.

F6ix, 526 F St., Downtown., San Diego.

Thu: ‘Trill Thursday’. Fri: DJ Rags.

The Field, 544 Fifth Ave., San Diego.

Downtown. Wed: Joseph Carroll. Thu: Matt Sando. Fri: Lucky Tongue. Sat: Lucky Tongue. Sun: Tralain. Mon: Fiore.

Tue: Pat Hilton.

Fluxx, 500 Fourth Ave., San Diego.

Downtown. Fri: DJ Dynamiq. Sat: Kungs.

Henry’s Pub, 618 Fifth Ave., San Diego. Downtown. Wed: Ride the Mule.

Thu: ‘Night Skool’. Fri: ‘Good Times’.

Sat: ‘Rockstar Saturday’. Tue: ‘50s/60s Dance Party’.

The Hideout, 3519 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego. City Heights. Wed: Fruit Bats, Heavy Hawaii. Sat: Brendan James, Hannah Gill and the Hours. Sun: Pants Karaoke. Mon: Cosmonauts, Tropical Popsicle, Spooky Cigarette The Holding Company, 5040 Newport Ave., San Diego. Ocean Beach. Thu: Raggabond, DJ Reefah. Fri: The Routine, DJ Green T. House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., San Diego. Downtown. Wed: Cunninlynguists, Vokab Kompany, Psalm One, Sadistik. Thu: Jerry ‘Hot Rod’ Demink. Sat: The Molly Ringwalds. Sun: KT Tunstall, Wilding. Tue: Robin Henkel.

Humphrey’s Backstage Live, 2241 Shelter Island Drive, San Diego. Point Loma. Wed: Bumpasonic. Thu: Fran-

#SDCityBeat

MUSIC cois Sims and Groove Squad. Fri: Rising Star. Sat: Viva Santana. Sun: Jazmin Deborah Ghent, Jason Brown. Tue: Backwater Blues Band.

The Irenic, 3090 Polk Ave., San Diego.

North Park. Wed: Chrome Sparks, Roland Tings. Thu: Frankie Cosmos, IJI. Sun: Modern Baseball, Chris Farren, Walter Etc, Jank.

Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd., San Diego. Midtown. Wed: ‘Skull & Bones’.

Thu: Hidhawk, Gothic Cholo, Mara, Sleeve, Wakuri. Fri: ‘Purps n Turqs’. Sat: ‘Ascension’. Tue: ‘Tribe Night’.

The Kraken, 2531 S. Coast Highway 101, Cardiff-by-the-Sea. Wed: ‘R&B Wednesday’. Thu: West of 5. Fri: Custard Pie. Lestat’s West, 3341 Adams Ave., Normal Heights, San Diego. Normal Heights.

Wed: Nathan & Jessie, Aaron Bowen.

Sat: FEATherWOLF, Sam Luna, Shaun Marie, Lisa Olsen Sun: Robin Henkel Band with Horns.

The Loft @ UCSD, Price Center East, La Jolla. Wed: Hotel Garuda. Sat: ‘Kaleidoscope’.

Mc P’s Irish Pub, 1107 Orange Ave., Coronado. Coronado. Wed: Sophisticats. Thu: Jackson & Jesus. Fri: Ron’s Garage.

The Merrow, 1271 University Ave., San Diego. Hillcrest. Thu: Young Creatures, The Bad Vibes, Taken By Canadians, Electric Mud. Fri: The Dread Crew Of Oddwood, Lexington Field. Sat: The Filthy Violets, Of Ennui, The Paragraphs.

Sun: Burlesque Sunday Tease. Tue: Normandie Wilson & The Joyelles, Citrus & Katie, Julia May & The Penguin Players.

#SDCityBeat

Moonshine Flats, 344 7th Ave., San Diego. Gaslamp. Fri: Lindsay Ell. Sat: Jordan Davis.

Mr. Peabody’s Encinitas, 136 Encinitas Blvd., Encinitas. Wed: American Made. Fri: Easy Wind. Sat: Hazmatt, Ashun.

Music Box, 1337 India St., San Diego.

Little Italy. Wed: Bear Hands. Thu: The Tease: Burlesque. Fri: Red Not Chili Peppers, The Great Pumpkin. Sat: El Ten Eleven, Mylets. Sun: Claptone, Eagles and Butterflies.

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

North Park. Thu: ‘No Limits’ w/ DJ Myson King. Fri: ‘Cool Party Bro’ w/ DJs Heminguey, Ikah Love.

OMNIA Nightclub, 454 6th Ave, San Diego. Sat: Ashley Wallbridge.

Parq, 615 Broadway, San Diego. Sat: DJ Turbulence. Sun: Juelz Santana.

Proud Mary’s @ The Ramada Hotel, 5550 Kearny Mesa Road, San Diego. Kearny Mesa. Sat: Robin Henkel & Whitney Shay.

Riviera Supper Club, 7777 University Ave., La Mesa. La Mesa. Thu: Alvino & the Dwells. Fri: Rip Carson. Sat: Baja Bugs.

Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego. City Heights. Wed: Cymbals Eat Guitars, Field Mouse, Wildhoney. Thu: Well Well Well, The Foreign Resort, PRGRM, Nite. Fri: Gringo Star, The Relationship, Polish. Sat: Steve Gunn, Nap Eyes, Whiskey Circle. Sun: The Dirty Nil, Wing Dam, Beach Goons. Tue: Margaret Glaspy, Nico Yaryan.

Sycamore Den, 3391 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Thu: Natalie Tate, Shelbi Bennett.

Til-Two Club, 4746 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego. City Heights. Thu: Deskarga Subtropical Bass, Viejo Lowbo, Cumbia Machin, Las Sucias. Fri: Desert Suns, Kook, Condor. Sat: ‘80s Night’ w/ DJs Latin Lovers, Viejo Lowbo. Sun: PBR Puppy Party.

The Tin Roof, 401 G Street, San Diego.

Gaslamp. Wed: Stacy Antonel Duo. Thu: J Liberio. Fri: ‘The Pirates Booty Ball’. Sat: Kenny and Deez, Cassie B Project.

Tio Leo’s, 5302 Napa St., San Diego.

Bay Park. Wed: Gino & The Lone Gunmen. Thu: Rockin’ Aces. Fri: The Siers Brothers. Sat: Alan Iglesias & Crossfire.

Tue: Sue Palmer.

Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave., San Diego. City Heights. Wed: Kitty in a Casket, Just Another Monster, Cat Chasers. Fri: Riisteyt, Diatribe, Systematic Abuse, Crime Desire. Sat: The Hotshot Drifters.

Turquoise, 873 Turquoise St., San Diego. Pacific Beach. Wed: Tomcat Courtney. Thu: Fred Hardy. Fri: Gabby and Friends.

Ux31, 3112 University Ave., San Diego.

North Park. Wed: DJs Artistic, Cros1.

Fri: Camron Zibaie, Camron Zibaie. Sat: DJ Havoc. Sun: ‘Reggae SD’.

Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St, San Diego.

South Park. Wed: ‘Open Oscillator’.

Thu: VAMP: When I’m Sixty-Four. Fri: Teach Me, Flat Worms, Keepers. Sat: ‘80s vs. 90s’.

Winstons, 1921 Bacon St., San Diego.

Ocean Beach. Wed: Maiz, Top Shock.

Thu: Chug Boat. Fri: The Steepwater Band. Sat: The Moves Collective, Royal Jelly Jive, Fish out of Water. Sun: OBoke. Mon: Electric Waste Band.

September 28, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 29

LAST WORDS | ADVICE

AMY ALKON

ADVICE

GODDESS Thinking Outside The Boobs I’m a man who likes to girl-watch. I do this from behind very dark glasses, yet I still elicit scowls from women. Recently, I was at a help desk, and I availed myself of the view down the receptionist’s top. She quickly covered up with a scarf. I’m puzzled, because there’s no way she could’ve seen my eyes. What’s going on here?

—Sunglasses

We all appreciate a nice view, but your eyes might be lingering a bit long in the wrong places if you hear stuff like “Sir…are you ready for my areolas to take your order?”

Hiding your boob recon behind pitch-dark shades doesn’t help matters—but not because we have some magical ability to know when someone is staring at us. Sure, people will swear that they can tell—even if the starer is behind them or is behind dark glasses. However, unless they grew up someplace else—like on Planet 34—they have no organ that would detect this. (Here on Earth, “eyes in the back of your head” is just a figure of speech—save for any rare genetic accidents.)

Why might we think we know when we’re being watched—even by someone we can’t see? Well, we may— subconsciously—be picking up on subtle reactions of people around us who can see the watcher. Neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux explains that our amygdala—part of our brain’s threat detection circuitry—reacts beneath conscious awareness, messaging our body to get ready to run or rumble (that “fight-or-flight” thing).

Among our body’s responses, our little hairs stand on end. That’s a creepy feeling—leading us to whirl around to see what gives—and whoa!…there’s some dude angling to cavity-search us with his eyeballs.

We have a term for that “hairs standing on end” feeling, and it’s “being creeped out”—which is what women are experiencing when they can’t see what your eyes are up to behind those dark glasses. Evolutionary social psychologist Frank McAndrew published the first study on the nature of “creepiness.” He explains that the feeling that something is “creepy” is a self-protective response to “ambiguity”—our being unsure of whether we’re facing a threat. We err on the side of assuming that we are—and in rushes the palace guard to barricade the cleavage with a scarf.

This woman you stared at was at the “help” desk, and no, that isn’t short for “Help yourself to a nice long look down my boobage.” Close-range staring at a captive audience like that is particularly creepy—as

in, it’s rude. Again, the sunglasses don’t change that; they make it worse. If you’re going to girl-watch, do it in wide-open spaces, like on the street or in a mall, so you don’t make women feel like sitting ducks in pushup bras. You might also take off those spy glasses and engage with one of these ladies. If you get something going with a woman, gazing admiringly at her will seem like a form of flattery—as opposed to a sign that your mom reset the Net Nanny to block all those “filthy” webcam sites.

The Son Also Plagiarizes I met this woman who’d dated my ex. In talking, we realized that he used the same romantic lines on both of us. Granted, these made me feel good at the time, but I feel angry and stupid for falling for them. How do you know when a guy is sincere?

—Scammed Understandably, you want a man’s lovey-dovey talk to come from the heart, not from a Word doc he saved on his hard drive.

However, a guy whose heartfelt remarks turn out to be a renewable resource isn’t necessarily some sneaky recycler. Consider how personality plays into this. Personality is a pattern over time of thoughts, feelings and desires that shape how you behave. Research by social psychologist Nathan W. Hudson suggests that you may be able to change aspects of your personality through behavioral change—like by repeatedly acting more conscientiously. Still, Hudson—along with about 10 truckloads of other social psychologists— sees a good deal of evidence that personality is “relatively stable.”

In other words, even a sweet, sincere guy is likely to use some of the same romantic wordery with any woman he’s dating. What tells you whether he’s a good guy or he just talks a good game is time—reserving judgment on what you have together until enough time passes for you to hold up the sweet things he says to what he actually does.

Wanting to see any discrepancies is really the best way to protect yourself from serial romancers—or worse. (“I bet you say that to all the girls you put in your freezer!”)

“

Sir... are you ready for my areolas to take your order?

“

30 · San Diego CityBeat · September 28, 2016

(c)2016, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved.

Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405, or e-mail AdviceAmy@aol. com (advicegoddess.com). Weekly radio show: blogtalkradio.com/amyalkon

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September 28, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 31