San Diego CityBeat • Oct 26, 2016

2 · San Diego CityBeat · October 26, 2016

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October 26, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 3

UP FRONT | FROM THE EDITOR

Epic stupidity: taking money from veterans

D

umb decisions and poor choices are timeless.

The Hindenburg was filled with hydrogen.

There was New Coke. The whisper of hidden weapons of mass destruction led to the Iraq War. The Chargers drafted Ryan Leaf. Twelve publishers turned down JK Rowling. Now joining the pantheon of boneheaded stupidity of epic proportion: the Pentagon’s decision to claw back enlistment bonuses from United States veterans.

The California National Guard has unconscionably been asking troops to repay enlistment bonuses they received for re-upping in 2006 to 2008 to serve and fight in Iraq or Afghanistan. Seems those bonuses— most of which were paid upfront in amounts in the ballpark of $15,000—were later deemed wrongful and/or excessive by the Pentagon.

Deciding not to exercise common sense or decency and just ask to be allowed to forgive the debt, the Pentagon committed a felony stupid act and began garnishing wages from some veterans, sometimes charging processing fees or threatening to assess interest fees. Men and women who risked their lives to defend our country were in some cases harassed into paying back money they’d been promised for their service.

To be crystal clear, the service members did nothing wrong—all they did was accept the incentives they were offered. It later came to light that thousands of vets were not eligible for these bonuses. Only soldiers with specific skills—civil affairs, intelligence, etc.—were supposed to be targeted for re-enlistment bonuses.

What happened? Investigators discovered widespread fraud within the California Guard. An incentive manager, Master Sgt. Toni Jaffee, pleaded guilty to filing false claims totaling $15.2 million, according to the Department of Justice. Jaffee was sentenced to serve 30 months in federal prison.

So what’s to happen now to the National Guard members who unwittingly took the money and fulfilled their six-year commitments?

If sanity prevails, recollection of the bonuses will cease and the “debt” will be forgiven.

However, the California National Guard said it can’t ignore the debt. “The bonus audit and recoupment process is a federal program governed and adjudicated by the National Guard Bureau and the Department of the Army,” it said in a statement.

“The California National Guard does not have the authority to unilaterally waive these debts…

However, the California National Guard welcomes any law passed by Congress to waive these debts.”

On Monday, this issue became something of a

hot button in the political race between Rep. Darrell Issa, the Republican incumbent Congressman representing North County’s 49th District, and Democratic challenger Col. Doug Applegate, who served in combat in Ramadi, Baghdad and Fallujah.

“This is what happens when politicians spend more time fighting with each other than solving problems,” Applegate said in a statement released Monday. “Instead of picking partisan fights, Darrell Issa should have been fighting for our veterans.”

Applegate said the California National Guard and Department of Defense should halt collections and Congress should immediately vote on legislation to correct the situation.

“As a retired Marine Colonel, I understand the struggles our veterans face upon return to civilian life,” he said. “These men and women put their lives on the line to serve our country, and they earned and deserved these payments. It’s outrageous that veterans are the ones who are suffering because of clerical errors made by others.”

State lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle, including Issa, have jumped on the Pentagon to rescind orders to collect the bonuses from as many as 10,000 former National Guardsmen.

“This is a debt that veterans who enlisted and went to war in the service of our country simply do not deserve,” wrote Issa, in an Oct. 24 letter to Department of Defense Secretary Ash Carter.

“Although California Guard officials have pledged to work with veterans that wish to file appeals to the National Guard Bureau and the Army Board for Correction of Military Records to clear these debts, this is insufficient.”

Issa and others have said when Congress returns in November they will introduce language in the National Defense Authorization Act that halts retrieval of these debts.

ABC News reported that the California National Guard did send Congress a letter about this mess two years ago, but that there was no follow up. Seriously, did nobody in the decision-making chain see this public relations nightmare in the making?

In comparison, it’s pretty dumb to receive classified emails on a private server, or get into a locker room chat with Billy Bush while wearing a hot mic. But reaching into the bank accounts of soldiers who stood in harm’s way for this country? We’re trying to get homeless veterans off the streets, not put them there. Get out the gold-plated dunce cap.

It’s time to crown the king of stupid.

—Ron Donoho Write to rond@sdcitybeat.com

This issue of CityBeat thinks candy corn turned upside down looks just like tiny Donald Trump heads. Happy Halloween.

Volume 15 • Issue 13 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

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4 · San Diego CityBeat · October 26, 2016

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October 26, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 5

TABLE OF CONTENTS UP FRONT From the Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Spin Cycle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Backward And In High Heels. . . . . . . 8 Well, That Was Awkward. . . . . . . . . . 9

UP FRONT | NEWS

Kreep’s Comeuppance Justice Comes for San Diego County’s Birther Judge

by Dave Maass

Abnormal Beer Co. Pairings (page 12)

FOOD & DRINK The World Fare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Dishing It Up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Final Draught. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

THINGS TO DO Short List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Calendar of Events. . . . . . . . . . . . 16-17

ARTS & CULTURE BEST OF SAN DIEGO: People. . . . 19-29 Theater. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Seen Local . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Films. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-33

MUSIC FEATURE: SubRosa . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Notes from the Smoking Patio . . . . 35 If I Were U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Concerts & Clubs. . . . . . . . . . . . . 38-41

LAST WORDS Advice Goddess. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

ON THE

COVER The collection of 20 photographs on the cover represent CityBeat’s inaugural “Best of San Diego: People” issue. A few folks you may recognize, many others you will not. We cast our net in the realms of music, visual arts and literary arts, as well as politics, environment and all sorts of community service and activism.

We’re celebrating individuals who strive to achieve gender equality, transgender acceptance, fair wages, community building and all sorts of notable efforts. Meet people who help make up the fabric of our community, beginning on page 19.

titution such as, “Are you going to try to get a job at the Bunny Ranch in Nevada?”

That wasn’t all: he’s alleged to have made inappropriate remarks to a Taiwanese-American attorney and Spanish defendants. He also is accused of using violent language such as a telling a female deputy city attorney he would “kick her in the butt” and telling the mother of a defendant to “slap [her son] up the head a few times.”

Does this causal misogyny, rac• CityBeat’s investigation re- ism and violent rhetoric sound vealed a money-shuffling net- familiar? Well, there’s yet another work of political committees that behavior that Trump and Kreep Kreep was involved in, including share in common: attacking rehis own campaign, which were porters when presented with later cited for campaign finance legitimate questions about how violations by the California Fair their behavior is reflected by the Political Practices Commission. public record.

The Commission has charged Since the 2016 election has fohim with violating judicial canons cused so much on emails, I have by sending out mailers attacking President Obama, by inaccurately listing himself as chairman of the Beat Obama PAC on official forms and for financial inconsistencies in payments made to his friend James Lacy’s company Landslide Communications.

• CityBeat sat in on one of Kreep’s early stints in the courtroom and documented the judge inappropriately questioning a defense attorney about her accent and whether she was a Mexican immigrant. He then joked about not deporting her, which was described by the Commission as one of many examples that showed “a lack of proper courtroom decorum or was otherwise improper.”

• CityBeat reported on how Kreep had been found by an arbitration committee to have overbilled a client and how Kreep had delayed repayment with a series of questionable checks that indicated he was still operating a private practice law firm, another violation of judicial canons.

But those weren’t by far the worst of the charges.

Kreep is accused of referring to one female intern as “Bunhead” because of the way she wore her hair, another female in- decided to release a series of cortern as “Dimples,” and an African respondence [on sdcitybeat.com] American deputy city of attorney between Kreep and myself during as “Star,” a reference to conserva- the campaign in an effort to protive activist Star Parker, who he vide context to the allegations he described as a “beautiful African now faces. The Commission has American woman.” He allegedly also requested at least one email made regular comments on public to determine whether Kreep had defenders’ appearances, such as been honest about his involve“We got all sorts of very attractive, ment in political committees. young PD’s around here,” and told In many cases, Kreep refused one woman that she’s “a pretty to answer direct questions, ingirl, you know you can smile.” The stead making remarks like “You Commission also charged Kreep give muckrakers a bad name” and with making denigrating remarks “You REALLY must hate me, or about an attorney’s pregnancy and you’re REALLY being paid a lot making inappropriate remarks to to go after me by the downtown a defendant charged with pros-

P

OP QUIZ. Can you name someone who has run for public office who is a leader of the Birther movement; who has espoused extreme anti-immigrant sentiments; who has promoted Islamophobia; who stands accused of misogynistic behavior in the workplace; who has operated a complex network of organizations that ultimately benefited him personally; who really, really hates Hillary Clinton; and who has a single syllable surname that seems to sum up exactly who he is?

You might say it’s the Republican nominee for president. But the answer is Gary Kreep, the right-wing lawyer who was elected judge of the Superior Court of San Diego County four years ago.

In many ways, Kreep was the proto-Trump. During the 2012 election, San Diego CityBeat was the first to ring the alarm on Kreep, who had long been a key figure in filing legal challenges around President Barack Obama’s birth certificate and providing legal service to the nativist Minutemen.

Few expected Kreep to beat his opponent, the well-regarded senior prosecutor Garland Peed, but with the help of his team of Roger Stone-like political dirty tricksters and shady slate mailers and robocalls, Kreep eked out a win. Suddenly, San Diego was faced with a judge that most in the legal community believed should never be let anywhere near the bench.

Now—a whole presidential term later—justice is finally catching up with him. As first reported

by The San Diego Union Tribune, the Commission on Judicial Performance has leveled 11 violations of the Code of Judicial Ethics against Kreep, each one comprising a variety of individual allegations related to his time on the campaign trail and his service on the bench. If the Commission finds against him, Kreep could face admonishment, censure or even removal from the bench.

Several of the alleged offenses follow on investigative reporting conducted by San Diego CityBeat during, and in the wake of, his election:

6 · San Diego CityBeat · October 26, 2016

crowd. I hope that your bootlicking is getting you the crumbs from the table of the ‘powers that be’ that you are seeking, as your journalistic integrity, and accuracy, certainly is lacking.”

Those attacks were directly in response to reporting on his political activities as well as allegations made by his ex-wife during divorce proceedings that Kreep had been “physically and emotionally abusive,” throwing bottles at her and punching holes in walls.

Kreep flat-out denied the charges, much in the same way that Trump denied violent allegations by his ex-wife, Ivana Trump.

Kreep also attacked his ex-wife as an addict and noted that she was “6-foot tall in stocking feet, and not exactly petite,” as if a woman’s physical appearance meant that she could not be a victim of domestic abuse.

SAN DIEGO SUPERIOR COURT

Judge Gary Kreep Perhaps most relevant to the judicial charges is Kreep’s claim to me that he had resigned his role in several political committees upon filing for office—a requirement for all candidates for judge. It has since emerged that Kreep did not withdraw from those committees until more than a week later, leading to yet another potential violation of judicial ethics.

Kreep must file his response to the charges with the Commission on Oct. 27. Maybe he’ll finally provide answers. Maybe they’ll show our characterizations were unfair.

We’ll let you be the judge.

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JOHN R. LAMB

UP FRONT | OPINION

SPIN

CYCLE

JOHN R. LAMB

Measure A pitch demeans Chicano Park tragedy Underneath this stone doth lie/ As much beauty as could die.

O

—Ben Jonson

ne thing is apparent now when visiting the growing memorial in the heart of Barrio Logan’s historic Chicano Park—it’s hard not to look up.

Late afternoon Monday, as the skies darkened and threatened rain, every revved engine from above, every tire squeal, every clank from rush-hour traffic drew the same reaction from parkgoers: craned necks leading skyward and wincing expressions. Would another car come careening down?

In many ways, this meandering park of solidarity owes its very existence to the hulking concrete ribbons that hover ominously overhead—if not for the seemingly endless array of columns holding

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up the links between Interstate 5 and the San Diego-Coronado Bridge, one could argue, there would be no iconic, colorful murals that tell the tale of this bifurcated, underserved community of phenomenal people.

A museum and cultural center honoring Chicano Park is envisioned for a former school site literally leaping distance from a freeway off-ramp next to the park.

It’s so close that the school erected a chain-link fence on its roof in an attempt to guard against flying debris and freeway hoppers. A few years ago, park regulars recall, a Jeep tire came hurtling from an overpass, bounced over a park tree and came to rest a block away at a laundromat. Another time, a truck fender fell close to a woman giving a park tour.

“Stuff falling off the bridge is

nothing new,” said Brent Beltrán, a vocal Barrio Logan activist and community planner. “The only thing new is the deaths.”

Spend any time in this place of history, and in between the goose bumps try to imagine how the tragedy that occurred here two Saturdays ago—four lives lost, multiple injuries when an airborne pickup truck sailed over a performance stage and crashed sickeningly into a popular motorcycle festival— hasn’t happened more often.

But what sickened some Barrio Logan activists even more was the politicking from California state Sen. Ben Hueso three days after the horrifying incident that ended the lives of four people— Annamarie and Cruz Contreras of Chandler, Arizona, and Andre Banks and Francine Jimenez from Hacienda Heights—and likely destroyed the life of Richard Sepolio, the 24-year-old Coronado-based Navy petty officer who has pleaded not guilty to felony vehicular manslaughter and DUI charges stemming from the crash.

Hueso, who’s held state office since 2010, attended a press conference of community activists and grieving family members where he promised to make safety improvements on the bridge a top priority, although activists who attended the event said Hueso

State Sen. Ben Hueso turned the Chicano Park tragedy into a political sales pitch. seemed more focused on preventing suicides, for which the bridge ranks third nationwide in frequency. Some activists suggested Hueso, still on probation for his own DUI, preferred underplaying the most recent tragedy.

“We have to make sure the bridge is safe for the people above and the people below,” TV station Fox5 quoted him as saying.

For the most part, Beltrán said, Hueso said many of the right things. But shortly afterwards, Hueso launched a Facebook post that had folks wincing once again.

“I need your help!!!!!” Hueso wrote in the post. “Immediately upon hearing the terrible news about the tragedy in Barrio Logan, I began working to insure [sic] this never happens again on the Coronado Bridge. We will need funds to make the improvements to the bridge.”

And then the kicker: “Some research we did today uncovered some interesting facts. Measure A, on the ballot this November, would help us fund those improvements right away. I verified this with the proponents of Measure A. Please join me in improving safety on the Coronado Bridge.

Please vote yes on Measure A!!!”

Hueso didn’t mention these “interesting facts” at the press conference he had just attended.

Beltrán, who referred to Hueso as an “opportunistic turd,” figures the senator knew what the reaction would be if he promoted the $18 billion SANDAG-initiated sales-tax-hike ballot measure that promises to “repair San Diego.”

“He knew we would get pissed if he was politicking in Chicano Park on the deaths of these four people,” Beltrán said. “So he waited until later to post it on social media. It’s just insulting. The families were mad. The Chicano Park Steering Committee was mad.”

Reaction to Hueso’s post, which he later deleted, was swift.

Local environmental activist Sara Kent replied that “it is so completely immoral of you to use this tragedy—this loss of life—to stump for SANDAG.”

She noted that no language in Measure A assures that safety features like guard rails on the bridge will be forthcoming, a notion she described as “ludicrous.”

Many activists noted that Councilmember David Alvarez, whose district includes Chicano Park, was not invited to the press conference. Both are rumored to be interested in running for the same county supervisor seat in the future, and it is an open secret that neither enjoys each other’s company.

Even Hueso pal, state Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, couldn’t swallow what he was selling. “Oh, Ben, I love him, but I think [Measure] A is terrible,” she told Spin Cycle.

Gonzalez said she spoke to Laurie Berman, the district director of CalTrans, the state agency responsible for the bridge and freeway connections. She was assured, she wrote on Twitter, that CalTrans will “thoroughly investigate” the Chicano Park crash and “past issues.”

Sadly, Gonzalez said Berman told her that the director was “unaware” of previous mishaps in or near the park. Efforts to reach CalTrans for comment were unsuccessful.

Those “past issues” include a 1992 incident when a Navy enlisted man, pursued by police, plummeted 150 feet off the bridge in a sports car, hit a tree, then landed on the park grass. Or the 2003 rescue by transients of a 19-yearold sailor whose car burst into flames after falling 50 feet from the bridge into Chicano Park. Or the pickup truck a few months later that landed nearby, just 50 feet from a rail tanker, carrying 56,000 gallons of ethanol.

In a statement Tuesday, Hueso ignored the critics and stuck to his sales pitch: “I am committed to finding a solution to improve the safety on the Coronado Bridge.

Measure A is one of those possible solutions so I support it and urge others to support it as well.”

Beltrán had another suggestion: “Do your job, Ben.”

October 26, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 7

UP FRONT | OPINION

AARYN BELFER

BACKWARDS & IN

HIGH HEELS

An open letter to my 11-year-old daughter

D

ear Child,

As Daddy drove us home from dinner the other night, when I sat next to you in the back seat, a miracle occurred. You scooted close to me, laid your head in my lap and wrapped your arms tight around my legs. And I was all, what in the H-E-doubletoothpicks is this? (See? I can communicate without swearing.) Who are you and what have you done with my daughter?

You see, it had been a really long time since you gave me unsolicited affection in such an open and vulnerable way, and I admit: I need(ed) that. You obviously needed it, too, but my need was desperate. I think you can sense my desperation and it pushes you away, which makes complete sense because desperation is terribly off-putting. I didn’t (and don’t) want to be desperate, so in the car that night, I made a conscious choice.

Instead of resorting to my usual MO of making a big verbal deal about how unusual and lovely the moment was— effectively ruining the unusual and lovely moment—I remained silent. Instead of yakking it up and causing you to recoil and roll your crackling brown eyes, I simply set my hand on your shoulder and did an inner end zone dance. I had all the love feelings, every last one of them.

When you were younger, I used to describe parenting as a perpetual state of falling in love. Falling in love is something you have yet to experience, but trust me when I say that the early days of falling in love are brilliant. Falling in love brings all kinds of feelings and elation and jitters and excitement. When you’re falling in love, you can’t wait to be with that person, to sit near them, to look in their eyes, to be mesmerized by the totality of their amazingness. And that, my love, is how it felt to be around you. Times a jillion.

I still feel that way about you, but like any relationship that grows across time, things aren’t so simple now. Those amazing feelings are punctuated by some friction, and by the realities of you growing up and leaving me. Which is your job, by the way.

It’s my job to let go—which hasn’t been super easy for me, mostly because parenting an older child isn’t what I expected it to be. I mean, I don’t know what in the H-E-double-toothpicks I expected it to be, but wowzers, kid. I’m frequently leveled by the challenges. Hello, parenting.

Baby girl, I don’t need to tell you how fraught things have felt between us lately. You don’t want me being the boss of you, and I have to sort of be the boss of you.

I nag. I know I nag. I’m naggarific. Nagtastic. I’m the Valedictorian of Nagging. And I’m trying super duper hard to pick my Nag Battles. Let’s be honest,

sometimes I pick the wrong ones just because, it turns out, I’m a control freak. I’m working on it. I realize that you gotta do you, and you are not me, so you’re going to do things your way which more often than not turns out to be just as right as my way. Who knew an 11-year-old could be so smart?

Eleven is no joke. You have a lot of big changes going on in your brain and in your body, and that means I’m frequently given a stiff arm and side eye, along with unasked-for, searingly accurate critiques of pretty much every inch of my existence. This is super joyful for me. (That’s sarcasm, in case you’re wondering.)

My breathing is too loud. I repeat myself. I slurp when I drink my coffee. I apparently make funny movements with my mouth when I type. I wear a black bra with my white t-shirt. I say “vagina”—and, these days, “pussy”—with abandon. I can’t figure out how to turn the alarm off on my phone or change the hair color on my Bitmoji. (“Oh my God, Mama! Seriously?”)

Oh, and my germs. They get on you when I kiss and hug you so no more of that. Anyway, I could keep going but I think we both KWIM. Of course, I know all this is really just a warm up for what’s ahead. But I would be lying if I said I haven’t been knocked sideways by the (albeit 100 percent normal) shifts in your demeanor over the last six months. What I’ve learned is that some of this stuff leaves me feeling pretty rejected, and has brought up a lot of old issues around the way my parents raised me. And Jesus Lord who I don’t believe in, I thought I’d worked through all that.

But here is what I know about feeling rejected: That is my deal, not yours. It is absolutely not your job to make me feel good about myself. It’s not your job to validate me as a mother, as a woman or as a person. Your job is to do you. I, my sweet little kumquat, can take care of my own stuff and then stick to my work of nurturing who you are without putting my crap on your shoulders.

To that end, my love, I will welcome your snuggles whenever they come, no matter how infrequently, and I will revel in them. I will take your anger and your need for distance, and I will respect that and will love you no matter what. I’m still probably going to nag a bit, because yes, I’m the boss of you for now. And germs be damned, I’ll still try to kiss up on you when I see an opening.

You, my child, are Everything. I love the H-Edouble toothpicks out of you.

I’m frequently leveled by the challenges.

Hello, parenting.

8 · San Diego CityBeat · October 26, 2016

Love, Mama

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

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UP FRONT | VOICES

RYAN BRADFORD

WELL THAT WAS Netflix and kill

F

AWKWARD

or Halloween, I’ve curated your scary-movie marathon using streaming films from around the Web: 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.: Bone Tomahawk (2015, Amazon Prime) Your journey begins even before the sun goes down. This will convince your friends—Sara, Katie, Jim, and that rascally scamp, Ashton—that everything is fine. Everybody’s mental state is A-OK. You reach out to grab Jim’s beers. “Let me just throw these in the fridge for you!” You smile. They smile.

Bone Tomahawk is a genre-bending flick that basically retells the John Wayne classic The Searchers, but does away with the racist “cowboys vs. Indians trope” by pitting the heroes against monstrous troglodytes. It’s also disarmingly funny and gruesome (you’ll never forget one scene near the end).

6 p.m. - 8 p.m.: The Witches (1990, Amazon Prime) Don’t laugh: Even though it’s a kids’ movie, The Witches is fucking terrifying. Based off the Roald Dahl book of the same name, the film shares the author’s giddy penchant for playing rough. And Anjelica Huston is amazing in this movie, evidenced by the eager, pseudo-sexual writhing she does right before she turns Bruno into a mouse.

8 p.m. - 10 p.m.: The Invitation (2015, Netflix) “Hey, why don’t we open those brewskies,” you suggest. You grab Jim’s beers from the fridge—cold now! “Sorry if that movie was a little too young for a horror marathon,” you call out from the kitchen, popping tops off the bottles. Your friends don’t respond. Probably cuddling up, you think. You have no one to snuggle. God, get a room or something.

In the low-budget but super smart The Invitation, main character Will attends a dinner party hosted by his ex-wife—their divorce is the result of their son’s accidental death years prior—and it turns out she has ulterior motives for inviting him. To say any more would be giving away some great twists.

10 p.m. - 12 a.m.: They Look Like People (2015, Netflix) Another smart, low-budge horror flick that came out last year is They Look Like People. It’s kind of like a mumblecore version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, except with demons and mental illness instead of aliens. Solid performances and a couple very creepy images make this a standout.

12 a.m. - 1 a.m.: X-Files: “Home” (1996, Netflix) All the fancy beers are gone, and you’ve busted out the cheap stuff. Jim and Sara scoff, but Ashton is always down to party. Good old Ashton. Where the hell did Katie go? You want to watch something to remind you of when you weren’t so alone. You put on the X-Files.

This is the episode that Fox originally wouldn’t air due to its graphic content and it’s still really good. I still say “damn” every time I watch it.

1 a.m. - 3 a.m.: Black Christmas (1974, YouTube) It’s this point of the night where the delirium manifests in watching entire movies on YouTube, and there are few better than Black Christmas. This

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proto-slasher about a killer who stalks a sorority house on Christmas predates all Halloween and Friday the 13th movies, and it’s incredibly nasty and nihilistic.

3 a.m. - 4 a.m.: Begotten (1990, YouTube) Katie’s suddenly back, and you wonder if she was actually ever really gone because you realize you’ve all been doing hard drugs for the past hour and, now, Begotten is on. There might also be someone at the door. You check, but there’s only darkness.

Begotten is a black-and-white experimental horror film that retells the tale of Genesis and makes Eraserhead look commercial by comparison. The hellish film starts with a bloody ghost-like God disemboweling Himself to give birth to Mother Earth, and the fun continues from there.

4 a.m. – 6 a.m.: Tourist Trap (1979, YouTube) This schlocky and nearly incomprehensible film about a man with psychokinetic powers and a legion of creepy-ass mannequins fits into the so-bad-it’sgood category. Mannequins are always great sources of terror, and the ending is surprisingly surreal and effective.

6 a.m. – 8 a.m.: Spider Baby (1964, YouTube) The original grindhouse, hillbilly horror about an incestuous family affected with a disease that makes them regress mentally and physically. Pretty sure Rob Zombie has spent an entire career trying to match this film’s greatness.

8 a.m. – 10 a.m.: Honeymoon (2014, Netflix) Your bloodshot eyes make cracking sounds as they move in their sockets. You look at the morning sun; it’s blinding. In another part of the house, you hear Sara, Katie and Jim (Jim, you dawg) all laughing. Ashton sits in the corner, his back facing you. You don’t need them. You can watch movies forever.

Honeymoon is another great indie horror flick that addresses the anxiety of committing yourself to someone forever. It includes one of the most tense and grossest, er…extraction scenes in recent memory.

10 a.m.- 12 p.m.: Creep (2014, Netflix) A found-footage film, so…yeah. But Creep proves Mark Duplass—essentially the only actor in this— can be simultaneously scary and lovable.

12 p.m.- 2 p.m.: Street Trash (1987, YouTube) A film about tainted wine that makes homeless people, well, explode. There’s also a scene where the characters play a game of catch with someone’s severed penis. Everything about this movie is offensive, but at this point in the marathon, you probably don’t even know what’s real anymore.

2 p.m. – 4 p.m.: Hellraiser (1987, Netflix) End the night on a high note with this innovative and inventive classic. You did it—24 hours of streaming horror! Doesn’t matter that you’re eating a squirrel that wandered in during the night and are covered in blood. Is it yours or your friends’ blood?

Doesn’t matter. You can always get new friends for next year’s marathon.

Well That Was Awkward appears every other week.

Write to ryanb@sdcitybeat.com.

October 26, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 9

UP FRONT | FOOD

BY MICHAEL A. GARDINER panang curry, maitake mushrooms, fingerling potatoes and both broccolini and mustard greens.

One of his signature dishes, it sounds heavy and big. But while it isn’t light, it is subtle. Yes, the curry and short ribs are rich but the vegetables brighten the affair and the maitake underlines the A young gun fires at 608 Restaurant meatiness of the dish.

Make a point to be at the restaurant 28 days ccording to Gordon Ramsay, “Cooking to- after Eick starts dry-aging steaks. Some chefs day is a young man’s game.” But is cheff- treat dry-aging like a competitive endurance ing? Ordinarily it takes over a decade to event, pushing right up to the point the funk climb the back-of-the-house ladder. At the front takes it over the edge. Eick adopts a subtler apof a pack of young gun local chefs, though, stands proach, aging the meat for depth z flavor and sen26-year-old Willie Eick of 608 Restaurant (608 sual pleasure rather than adrenalin. The steaks sit on charred and MICHAEL A. GARDINER Mission Ave.) in “creamed” corn, Oceanside. At the paired with a housecore of Eick’s game made caramelized are creativity, passion onion whipped and courage, but also cream. a mature respect for But perhaps the his ingredients. dishes that say the Take Eick’s dish most about Eick of sea scallops with are vegetarian. His ricotta whey butter salad featuring variand mustard greens. ous types of beets, At one level, it is so strawberry, almond, simple: just three goat cheese and a things on the plate. sorrel vinaigrette is But within that lie simple and simply both parallels and delicious, a gorgeous contrasts. The richarc of riotous color ness of the whey buton a white plate. ter echoes that of the An ever-changing scallops. But the bitterness of the musSoy-braised, prime short ribs in panang curry dish called “Cyclops Farms Vegetables” tard greens makes the shows the respect he pays the produce plucked contrasting sweetness of those scallops pop. The luscious, sexy texture of those soft, sliced scallops from his friend Luke Girling’s farm. And it’s not plays with the snap of the raw greens, yes, but also just glory vegetables but often stems and other bits that would likely otherwise be ploughed unthe enveloping whey butter.

Or there’s a soft egg with potato done two der or trash.

Eick’s training with Trey Foshee at George’s ways—as house-made chips and as an espuma with seaweed showing up in both noodle and powdered at the Cove shows, as does the fact that at 26 he form. Where the espuma stops and the egg begins already has experience running a restaurant is wonderfully ambiguous, an experience that is kitchen (Real Bar + Bistro). But it is the evidence heightened when the yolk is pierced and its rich- on the plate that speaks loudest. Willy Eick is a ness sauces the potato chips and seaweed. It is real talent and he is at the fore—at the top—of this both exciting and innovative, yet that soft-boiled “young man’s game.” egg brings in an undeniable feeling of comfort.

Eick is a master with meat. He slow braises The World Fare appears weekly. prime short ribs in soy and serves them with a Write to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com.

THE WORLD

FARE A

10 · San Diego CityBeat · October 26, 2016

#SDCityBeat

UP FRONT | FOOD

BY JAMES VERNETTE

DISHING IT

OUT

Say cheese, please

T

here’s a cheese bar in San Diego and you didn’t tell me?” my daughter said indignantly.

Jeez, call Child Protective Services on me.

But I can’t say I blame her for getting mad. She loves cheese and likes to have it in her lunch. Good cheese, not pre-sliced American cheese and certainly not that Kraft grated Parmesan cheese that tastes like pencil shavings.

So to find out that Bice in the Gaslamp (425 Island Ave.) has a sushi bar-like set-up for cheese must have been eyeopening for her.

No wonder she was angry for not knowing about it earlier. She must wonder what other wondrous things I’m keeping from her. Let her wonder about those— we’re on a cheese adventure now.

Bice is an upscale Italian place with a New York feel. Besides the white-cloth covered tables, there is a cheese bar in

#SDCityBeat

the middle of the dining room where a cheese sommelier discusses your cheese preferences and creates a plate to your liking.

Our guy was Kevin, who was helped

by Michael, in preparing our cheese plates just right, cutting just the rightsized slabs.

The cheese plates contain three, five or seven cheeses for $18, $21 and $24, including fig bread. Additional accoutrements such as imported olives, jams or honeys are available at an extra charge.

We went for it all since I had a lot to make up for, seeing as how I had denied my daughter for so long. We added a plate of prosciutto as well. This was a good idea— the saltiness was a good palate cleanser.

It came with a big dollop of locally made burrata cheese that was smooth and creamy.

I usually don’t like super strong red wines because they can compete with the food I’m eating. But I was happy with the Super Tuscan recommended by the bartender.

“You’ll need a strong wine to stand up to the blue cheese at the end,” she said.

My daughter isn’t of drinking age nor, sadly, of driving age so I stuck to one glass and she had a virgin mojito.

JAMES VERNETTE

Bice cheese plate While we were waiting for the cheese, I soaked in the vibe of Bice. It’s smooth and classy, and I really enjoyed hearing John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk playing in the background. Very relaxing. Felt cooler than my daughter thinks I am.

All of these cheeses were imported from Italy. Kevin had us eat them in an order starting with lighter cheese and ending with the strongest gorgonzola.

Although he explained the nuances of each of the cheeses, I didn’t catch them all because I was too busy nom-nomming.

I was impressed with the pecorinos he chose at our request because they accentuated the inherent nuttiness while downplaying the tart, puckery quality associated with it.

The lagrein, a “drunken cheese” (meaning it’s soaked in wine) was delicious, and had almost a meaty flavor and a pleasant purplish rind.

My daughter and I were knocked out by the Dolce Gorgonzola at the end: It had the blue flavor without any of the ammonia essence. It was a perfect dessert cheese.

Seeing our reaction, Kevin then asked if we wanted a sample of the Verde Capra, their strongest blue cheese.

“Yes, please,” said my daughter.

It was strong and full of rich cheesy flavor. So good, we just wanted to keep it in our mouths as long as possible.

“This is what happiness probably tastes like,” she said. “We’re coming back.”

Whatever you say, dear.

Dishing It Out appears every other week.

October 26, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 11

UP FRONT | DRINK

FINAL

BY BETH DEMMON

DRAUGHT Haute cuisine meets craft beer

that), which paired beautifully with the second course of Ancho pork belly with carrots and a habanero gelée. he sheer volume and variety of beer din“We try to see how we can create a night ners taking place nearly every night across of experiences by a progression of different San Diego can be a frustrating First World pairings overall,” says Gallanosa. The guestproblem for broke beer lovers who can’t afford to beer-and-chef approach screams logistical hit every single one. Whoever wholly subscribes nightmare to me, but after 20 dinners, they seem to #craftbeernotcrapbeer obviously has deeper to be doing just fine. pockets (and more free time) than I do.

Some of the pairings were a smidge mismatched At $99 a pop, tickets aren’t cheap to the (Alpine’s 100-percent barrel-aged Rye’der in the monthly Abnormal Dinner Series at The Cork Storm is exquisite in its own right, but was a bit & Craft (16990 Via Tazon) in Rancho Bernardo, heavy and sweet for the middle of the meal and but based on feedback from the throngs of didn’t quite complement Double Standard’s take enthusiastic repeat attendees (plus the fact they on sausage, peppers and onion), but overall the always sell out in advance) they’re well worth service and high quality of both the food MATT DE LA CRUZ and brews more than made up for the occasional clash of (always delicious) flavors. I’ll even forgive them for nearly skipping my end of the table during the fourth course, because they quickly made up for it with big helpings of Iberico Secreto, described by chef Gentile as “the Kobe of pork.” My loyalty is easily bought with extra helpings of pig.

Future iterations of the six-course monthly series will feature Beachwood Brewing Co. and Fieldwork Brewing Co. with various guest chefs, all at The Cork & Craft. Follow #abnormaldinnerseries for ticket information.

Abnormal Dinner Series However, starting in November these events will feature Scott Cannon at the it. Not only is there a rotating guest chef and helm as The Cork & Craft’s new executive chef brewery, but head brewer Derek Gallanosa of due to Phillip Esteban’s amicable departure to Abnormal Beer Company—the in-house brewery join CH Projects. His last hurrah was heartfelt at The Cork & Craft—also brews a collaboration and capped with a standing ovation. beer with the guest brewery to serve at each Cannon’s vision will continue the elevated, yet dinner. approachable style of flavors that the Abnormal Past brewery collabs include The Lost Abbey, group is known for. “Most of the people that come Firestone Walker and Pizza Port Brewing Co., into your dining room on a regular basis aren’t along with food from Juniper & Ivy and Ironside foodies — they’re average Joes,” explains Cannon.

Fish & Oyster Bar. This month, chef Chris Gentile “Building that bridge of making fine dining apfrom downtown’s Double Standard Kitchenetta proachable for regular people is my goal.” shared guest honors with Alpine Beer Company,

T

and the resulting Abnormal beer collaboration was the Alpha Voyager IIIPA (Gallanosa’s first triple IPA and a surprisingly balanced one at

12 · San Diego CityBeat · October 26, 2016

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

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October 26, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 13

14 · San Diego CityBeat · October 26, 2016

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October 26, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 15

SHORTlist

EVENTS

ART

the

THREE YOU HAVE TO SEE

COORDINATED BY

SETH COMBS

SAN DIEGO

1

ALL HALLOWS’ EVES

Maybe it’s our puritanical past, or just an 9 p.m. includes experimental music performances, innate desire to turn any random holi- as well as “Build A Beast” arts and crafts activities. day into an excuse to dress up and get blitzed, but A few blocks away, there’s the mother of all monno country does Halloween like America. Sorting ster mashes, the Monster Bash (sandiegomonsterCOURTESY OF SAN DIEGO BLOCK PARTIES through the myriad bash.com), happening events and parties along eight city blocks of can be overwhelming, downtown from 6 p.m. but lucky for readers, to midnight. The annual we’ve compiled a few fest features five stages of our favorites for the of music, costume conweekend and beyond. tests and booze galore.

Things kick off on Tickets range from $45 Friday, Oct. 28, at 5:30 to $105. p.m. at the 10th anIf you’re in the mood nual Trick-or-Treat for cuteness, hit up the on India Street (litHowl-O-Ween Dog tleitalysd.com). The Costume Contest on family-friendly event Sunday, Oct. 30, from 2 will feature Little Italy to 5 p.m. at the San Dibusinesses handing ego Art Institute (1439 out candy and offering Monster Bash El Prado). The contest specials on goods. is open to all of the K-9 You can start Saturday, Oct. 29 off at the an- persuasion and winners will receive cool prizes. nual Boulevard BOO! Parade at 10 a.m. at the The $10 admission benefits the Four Paws Rescue College Area Business District (on El Cajon Blvd. in El Cajon. between Rolando Blvd. and 60th St.). The annual Finally, on Tuesday, Nov. 1, it’s totally worth parade is free and features elaborate floats, cos- checking out the California Center for the Arts, tumed characters and live music (collegeareabid. Escondido’s Dia De Los Muertos Festival at 6 com). Afterward, head to the Central Library (330 p.m. (340 N. Escondido Blvd., artcenter.org). The Park Blvd.) downtown for the Checked Out 2016 free, 21st annual fest includes music, art, ballet show presented by local music/art weirdos Stay folklorico and a concert from Morrissey cover Strange (staystrange.com). The free show from 4 to band, Mexrrissey at 7:30 p.m. (the concert is $35).

BALBOA PARK

2 STORY TIME

San Diego City Works Press has been releasing stellar compilations of promising literary voices for more than a decade. From the Sunshine/Noir series to the excellent poetry compilations, City Works is what you want when it comes to indie publishing. Its latest release, Reclaiming Our Stories: Narratives of Identity, Resilience and Empowerment, is a great example. The 19 stories deal in a host of issues including race, class, gender and identity. Highlights include Tariq Ali’s touching tribute to his abuelita, Gabrielle Hines’ reflections on her troubled family, and Monique Sandoval’s engrossing take on growing up in Logan Heights.

Readers can pick up a copy for themselves and hear from some of the writers at the book release event at the WorldBeat Center (2100 Park Blvd.) on Friday, Oct. 28, from 7 to 9 p.m. cityworkspress.org

LA JOLLA

3 GET LIT

For 22 years the San Diego Jewish Book Fair has been a great way for book lovers to meet acclaimed authors. Don’t be fooled by the religious name, the book fair is mostly secular with topics ranging from cyber wars to female empowerment. It all kicks off on Saturday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m., when Rich Cohen will present his new book, The Sun & The Moon & The Rolling Stones, which gives an insider’s look at the iconic band. This kick-off event marks the beginning of a week full of literary events (through Sunday, Nov. 6) with more than 30 author appearances. From familyfriendly book readings to political topics from Pulitzer Prize winners, there’s something for everyone. Most events are at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center (4126 Executive Drive). Tickets range from $11 to $35 per event. sdcjc.org

HUn-Quiet Body Caving (in) Waxing at UCSD, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. New installation work from Shana Demassi, who derives her figurative work from moments of the human experience of touch. Takes place in the Visual Arts Graduate Main Gallery on Russell Lane. Opening from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27. Free. 858-5342230, visarts.ucsd.edu HBeauties Beasts at Oceanside Museum of Art, 704 Pier View Way, Oceanside.

The Bob Self-curated exhibition features creature art from iconic monster creator Jordu Schell and pinup paintings by Olivia De Berardinis. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 28. Free-$8. 760-435-3720, oma-online.org HScenes from our Neighborhood and Beyond at Dutch, 1925 30th St., South Park. Local photographers Stacy Keck and Evan McGinnis show off new pictures of San Diego, as well as some from their travels abroad. Opening from 5 to 9 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 28. Free. facebook.com/ events/680020658814558/ HAnimals: Machines in Motion at San Diego Natural History Museum, 1788 El Prado, Balboa Park. Investigate the marvels of natural engineering in the animal kingdom. This interactive exhibition features digital media, scientific models, and real specimens. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 29. Free-$28. 619-2323821, sdnhm.org Haunt I at 1805 Gallery, 1805 Columbia St., Little Italy. An installation by Jeremy Zierau that explores the nostalgia of DIY Halloween attractions from the late 20th century. From 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29. Free. 619-555-5555, 1805gallery.com HLayers Of Brilliance: The Journey of Japanese Lacquer Tools at Mingei International Museum, 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park. A display of Japanese lacquer tools such as boards, bowls, buckets, shelves and drawers that became aesthetic objects throughout the creative process. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29. Free-$10.

619-239-0003, mingei.org Tools & Utensils: The Beauty of Objects from the World’s Kitchens and Workshops at Mingei International Museum, 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park. A collection of artful yet functional devices from the world’s kitchens and workshops that have eased daily tasks. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 29. Free-$10. 619-2390003, mingei.org HDia de los Muertos Skull Art Show at La Bodega Studios and Gallery, 2196 Logan Ave., Barrio Logan. The fourth annual show devoted to the traditional icons includes skulls from over 50 regional artists including Hector Villegas, Chikle, Camilla Robina and more. Opening from 5 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29. Free. facebook. com/events/1818892511679361/ HStories Within at Sparks Gallery, 530 6th Ave., Gaslamp. Russian-born artist Alexander Arshansky debuts new paintings that he describes as “Biomorphic Cubism.”

Wine sales from the reception benefit the California Veterans Legal Task Force. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30. Free.

619-696-1416, sparksgallery.com HKill Bitches Vol 1 at Bar Basic, 410 10th Ave., Downtown. New works from local artist Optimus Volts who recycles empty, used spray paint cans to make unique standing sculptures and wall sculptures.

Opening from 6 to 11 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1. Free. 619-531-8869, facebook.com/ events/1253056804752301/

BOOKS HReclaiming Our Stories Book Release at WorldBeat Center, 2100 Park

H = CityBeat picks

16 · San Diego CityBeat · October 26, 2016

Blvd., Balboa Park. San Diego City Works Press will release their latest literary compilation featuring 19 stories dealing in issues of race, class, gender and identity.

Some of the authors will read. From 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28. Free. 619-230-1190, cityworkspress.org HJewish Book Fair at Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla. The internationally recognized fair celebrates its 22nd year with more than 30 authors including Jennifer Weiner, Rich Cohen, Shep Gordon and more. See website for complete list of events. Various times. Saturday, Oct. 29 through Sunday, Nov. 6. $11-$35. 858-457-3030, sdjbf.org Rich Cohen at David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla. As part of the Jewish Book Fair, Cohen will discuss his newest work The Sun & The Moon & The Rolling Stones about traveling with the legendary band as a journalist in the ‘90s. At 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29. $22.

858-362-1348, sdjbf.org Jack Viertel at David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla.

The author will discuss his new book, The Secret Life of the American Musical: How Broadway Shows Are Built. At 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30. $22. 858-362-1348, sdjbf.org Todd Buchholz at David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla.

The author will present his book, The Price of Prosperity: Why Rich Nations Fail and How to Renew Them. At 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1. $22. 858-362-1348, sdjbf.org

FILM HSan Diego Arab Film Festival at Museum of Photographic Arts, 1649 El Prado, Balboa Park. Festival will include political satire (Very Big Shot), dramas (3000 Nights and As I Open My Eyes) and a glimpse at rising young artists and musicians from across the region. Various times. Thursday, Oct. 27 through Sunday, Oct. 30. $5$50. 619-238-8777, sandiegoaff.org HThe Artist Odyssey: PANCA at San Diego Art Institute, 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park. The debut of a new short film by Saulo Cisneros focusing on Tijuana-based street artist PANCA. At 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2. $5. sandiego-art.org

HALLOWEEN Halloween Storytime and Trick-or-Treat at La Jolla Library, 7555 Draper Ave., La Jolla. Join others for a slightly spooky storytime session to celebrate Halloween and then trick-or-treat around the library after.

Costumes are encouraged. From 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 27. Free. 858552-1657, lajollalibrary.org HArt After Dark at Oceanside Museum of Art, 704 Pier View Way, Oceanside. Inspired by the Beauties Beasts pop-up exhibition, this Halloween party will feature music, libations and art activities. From 7 to 10 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 28. $25-$60. 760-435-3720, oma-online.org HDead Man’s Party at San Diego Art Institute, 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park. A Halloween costume party featuring the best horror and monster themed dance music, horror themed cocktails and a performance from cover band GEEZER. From 7 p.m. to midnight. Friday, Oct. 28. $10. sandiego-art.org HFleet Night of Science: Fright Night at Fleet Science Center, 1875 El Prado, Balboa Park. The 21-and-up Halloween edition of the popular science night features themed science experiments, an escape room, Halloween makeovers, costume contests, and more. From 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28. $17.95-$27.95. 619-238-1233, rhfleet.org HTrick-or-Treat on India Street at Little Italy, Little Italy. Businesses along historic India

EVENTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 17 #SDCityBeat

EVENTS COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

Drive at Balboa Park. Join others to walk through Balboa Park as zombies. Bring at least two pairs of new, unworn socks to donate to homeless charities and get a treat. At 5:45 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30. Free. sdzombiewalk.com HHowl-O-Ween Dog Costume Contest at San Diego Art Institute, 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park. Patrons can bring their costumed canines to compete for prizes in the categories of “Scariest Dog,” “Cutest Dog,” “Most Creative,” and an “Honorable Mention.” From 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30. $10. sandiego-art.org

MUSIC The Jones Family Singers at The Loft @ UCSD, Price Center East, La Jolla. Praised

by Rolling Stone and NPR, this band delivers high-energy performances that showcase the connection between gospel, rock and soul. From 8 to 10 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26. $23-$35. artpower.ucsd.edu

“Pennsylvania Ave.” by Stacy Keck will be on view at Scenes from our Neighborhood and Beyond, a dual exhibition with Evan McGinnis opening from 5 to 9 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 28, at Dutch (1925 30th St.) in South Park.

Street open their doors to pass out Halloween treats for little ones dress in their favorite Halloween costumes. From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28. Free. littleitalysd.com Black Pearl: The Haunted Mansion on the Water at The California Spirit Yacht, 990 N. Harbor Drive, Downtown. A spooky party onboard the California Spirit, a threestory yacht that cruises around the San Diego Bay. There’s an open bar, complimentary appetizers and two DJs. From 10 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 29. $59-$975. sdhalloween.com Boulevard BOO! Parade at College Area Business District, College Area. The free, family event is San Diego’s only Halloween Parade and includes floats, zombies, music and more surprises. Held on El Cajon Blvd. between Rolando Blvd. and 60th St. From 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29.

Free. 619-582-1093, booparade.com Halloween and Dia de los Muertos Family Day at Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, 1875 El Prado, Balboa Park. A Dia de los Muertos celebration and multi-museum collaborative project with sugar skull decorating at Fleet Science Center’s Tinkering Studio and paper flower making at Mingei International Museum. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29. Free-$29.95. rhfleet.org Heaven and Hell at Town & Country Hotel, 500 Hotel Circle N., Mission Valley. A costumed concert featuring W&W, Borgeous, Wiz Khalifa and special guest Apashe. VIP passes include side stage access, private bars and express entry. From 9 p.m. to 2

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a.m. Saturday, Oct. 29. $60-$80. 619-2917131, nightout.com HMonster Bash at Gaslamp Quarter, Downtown. The Gaslamp converts into a huge block party with three massive clubs built into the eight-block festival area with DJs, costume contests, haunted areas and more. From 6 p.m. to midnight Saturday, Oct. 29. $25-$220. 619-233-5227, sandiegomonsterbash.com Scare Away Hunger at Feeding San Diego, 9455 Waples St., Suite 135, Sorrento Valley. A volunteer shift of sorting, bagging and boxing food for those in need in the community. There will be a costume contest and donations of healthy, nonperishable food are encouraged. From 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 29. Free. 858452-3663, feedingsandiego.org Titanic Masquerade at The Inspiration Yacht, 1800 N Harbor Drive, Downtown.

The fifth annual yacht party takes place on a three-decker ship that will be decorated with more than a thousand “Titanic spirits” and two floors of music by six DJs. From 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 29. $25-$975. sdhalloween.com HDaytime Halloween Party at Comickaze at Liberty Station, 2750 Historic Decatur Rdd, Ste 101, Point Loma. Liberty Station’s second annual event includes free comics, a Hollywood car show, live music, and an all-ages costume contest with prizes. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30. Free.

619-336-0004, libertystation.com HHalloween Zombiewalk and Sock

HCubanismo! at Price Center West Ballroom, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. Jesus Alemany’s band performs dance tunes that recall the vintage big-band sound developed by Cuban jazz players of the ‘40s.

From 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27. $30. artpower.ucsd.edu Alice Cooper at The Events Center at Harrah’s Resort Southern California, 777 Harrah’s Rincon Way, Valley Center. The Godfather of Shock Rock himself returns for a special Halloween performance. At 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28. $45. 760-751-3100, harrahssocal.com Emmanuel at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Downtown. The Mexican singer/songwriter will play hits from his 40-year career on what he says will be his final tour. At 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28. $49-$459. 619-5701100, sandiegotheatres.org HDanny Elfman’s Music from the Films of Tim Burton at Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St., Downtown. The San Diego Symphony will play scores from famous Burton films while choral group SACRA/PROFANA sings. Images of Burton’s original film sketches, drawings and story boards will be shown onscreen. At 8 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 29. $20-$80. 619-2350804, sandiegosymphony.org La Jolla Symphony and Chorus at Mandeville Auditorium, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. Music Director Steven Schick will conduct selections from Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Alexander Scriabin, Bryce Dessner, and Ludwig van Beethoven. At 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29 and 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 30. $65-$180.

858-534-TIXS, lajollasymphony.com Raphaël Sévère at The Auditorium at TSRI, 10640 John Jay Hopkins Drive, La Jolla. The French clarinetist will be joined on stage by pianist Paul Montag for a recital

that includes Poulenc’s stylish and refined “Sonata for Clarinet and Piano” alongside other works by Devienne, Berg and Weber.

At 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30. $30. 858-7842666, ljms.org HMexrrissey at California Center for the Arts, 340 North Escondido Blvd., Escondido. The band led by DJ Camilo Lara translates Morrissey’s music into Spanish and weaves in Latin beats. At 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 1. $35-$45. 760-839-4190, artcenter.org HEnsemble Pamplemousse at Conrad Prebys Music Center, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. The composer-performer collective has co-authored a work combining each members’ talents and specialties for a classical mashup. From 7 to 10 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 2. Free-$15.50. 858534-3448, musicweb.ucsd.edu

PERFORMANCE HCinderella at San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., Downtown. The San Diego Opera’s season opener is Gioachino Rossini’s classic take on the popular fairy tale of fairy godmothers and glass slippers. At 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28 and 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30. $24-$297. sdopera.org HCHECKED OUT 2016 at Central Library, 330 Park Blvd., East Village. Presented by local music/art weirdos Stay Strange, this show includes experimental music performances, as well as “Build A Beast” arts and crafts activities. From 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29. Free. 619-236-5800, https://staystrange.com/ Dia de los Muertos at Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St., Downtown. Celebrate the lives of passed loved ones with mariachi performers and hand-crafted alters.

Includes singers, dancers and a special appearance by “Queen of Ranchera Music” Aida Cuevas. At 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30. $20-$65. 619-235-0804, sandiegosymphony.org

POETRY & SPOKEN WORD HVAMP: Skeletons in the Closet at Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St, South Park. So Say We All’s monthly storytelling showcase will feature tales about the things we tuck away and the things we only think about in the thick of night. Readers include Amanda Fletcher, Dick Cummins, Eilene Zimmerman and more. From 8:30 to 10 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 27. $5 suggested donation. 619-284-6784, sosayweallonline.com

SPECIAL EVENTS HDogFest Walk ‘n Roll at NTC Park at Liberty Station, 2455 Cushing Road, Point Loma. Take a walk and enjoy live music and activities while supporting Canine

Companions. From 7 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 29. Free. 619-573-9260, cci. org/DogFestSanDiego HFamily Fall Festival at San Diego Botanic Garden, 230 Quail Gardens Drive, Encinitas. Celebrate the season with kid-friendly live entertainment and fall-themed activities like hay-wagon rides, pumpkin carving, Halloween crafts, a petting zoo and more.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29. $8-$14. 760-436-3036, sdbgarden.org HCicloSDias at various locations. City streets throughout Normal Heights, North Park and City Heights will be open to families, pedestrians, cyclists, joggers, skateboarders, rollerbladers and anyone not in a motorized vehicle. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 30. Free. ciclosdias.com HDia de los Muertos at Mission San Luis Rey, 4050 Mission Ave., Oceanside. The 16th annual Mexican fiesta features music, traditional dancing, cultural eateries, Por Siempre Car Club, Las Ofrendas, chalk cemetery, arts and crafts for kids, shopping and more. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30. Free. mslrdiadelosmuertos.com/ HDia de Muertos Tijuana Tour at Turista Libre Meeting Spot, 727 E. San Ysidro Blvd, Tijuana. Tour Tijuana’s oldest cemeteries and church followed by sugar skull shopping, a visit to the largest Dia de Muertos altar and lunch and drinks in celebration of the day of the dead. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30. $65. 858-754-9406, turistalibre.com HDia de los Muertos Festival at California Center for the Arts, 340 North Escondido Blvd., Escondido. The 21st annual fest will feature live entertainment and traditional Mexican fare. Guests can decorate their own sugar skull and explore the Center’s museum exhibitions. From 6 to 9 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 1. Free. 760-839-4190, artcenter.org Day of the Dead Candlelight Procession at Sherman Heights Community Center, 2258 Island Ave., Sherman Heights.

Guests are encouraged to bring a candle and pictures of departed loved ones to this annual procession. Dia de los Muertos face painting and costumes are encouraged.

From 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2. Free. facebook.com/events/672106219610385

TALKS & DISCUSSIONS HSan Diego Symphony Art Connection at Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St., Downtown. A new lecture series featuring experts in all fields discussing how art and music, space and location, creativity and commerce, influence our personal experience and collective identity. At 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28. Free. 619-235-0804, sandiegosymphony.org

October 26, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 17

THEATER

SHAUN HAGEN

which not even the luminous Kate Winslet in the 2011 film adaptation could prevent from turning your stomach, is rather mild in this production. It still gets horrified laughs, though, as does the hapless “cleanup.” Now that’s entertainment.

God of Carnage runs through Nov. 13 at New Village Arts Theatre in Carlsbad. $33-$36; newvillagearts.org *** atching writers write just isn’t exciting, which is why the writers in Neil Simon’s Laughter on the 23rd Floor don’t spend much time doing so on stage. Instead, their brainstorming for “The Max Prince Show” is diverted by put-downs, clashes of ego, mutual confrontations with personal and mutual insecurities, and unapologetic slapstick.

Much of the latter comes from their boss, played at North Coast Rep by its artistic director, David Ellenstein. Simon’s thinly veiled reminiscence of his salad days working on Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows is sweet and silly, as is this production directed by Tom Markus. Everyone overplays his or her hand to an extent, though both Phil Johnson and Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper, as two of the writers, succeed with restraint and reaction, too. Laughter isn’t as cutesy as some of Simon’s better-known plays, and that’s also for the best.

Laughter on the 23rd Floor runs through Nov. 20 at North Coast Reper-

W

Kristianne Kurner (left) and Melissa Fernandes in God of Carnage

Dark comedy thrives on nastiness

A

lan, Veronica, Michael and Annette are definitely not nice people, and that’s what makes Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage a perennial theater favorite. New Village Arts’ production directed

by Jessica Bird features a delightfully feisty cast. Manny Fernandes and Kristianne Kurner are Alan and Annette Raleigh, whose son hit with a stick (thereby paving the way for all the “carnage” to come) the son of Michael and Veronica Novak, exquisitely portrayed by Jeffrey

Keith Jones and Melissa Fernandes.

The pace at NVA drags a little in the first 15 minutes or so of this 75-minute black comedy, but once all civility is forsaken and sheer hell is unleashed, God of Carnage, as it always does, finds its nasty-spirited stride. Melissa Fernandes’ lecturing but ignitable Veronica is ever at the forefront of the fracases, whether they’re between the two couples or between the husbands and wives. Carnage’s infamous projectile vomiting moment,

18 · San Diego CityBeat · October 26, 2016

tory Theatre in Solana Beach. $43-$50. northcoastrep.org

—David L. Coddon

Theater reviews run weekly.

Write to davidc@sdcitybeat.com.

OPENING: The Cocktail Hour: An affluent New England family’s reunion is hilariously shaken up when one of the sons reveals he’s written a script that hits a little too close to home. Directed by Randall Hickman, it opens Oct. 27 at the Broadway Theatre in Vista. broadwayvista.biz Baby with the Bathwater: Playwright Christopher Durang explores the pitfalls and hilarity of first-time parenthood in this relatable comedy. Presented by Oceanside Theater Company, it opens Oct. 28 at the Brooks Theatre in Oceanside. oceansidetheatre.org Bad Seed: Maxwell Anderson’s thriller about a little girl who may have a dark side. Directed by Kristen Fogle, it opens Oct. 28 Lamplighter’s Community Theatre in La Mesa. lamplighterslamesa.com Blue: Blue is a clown who is picked on in the circus in this children’s touring show written and directed

by Jerry Hager. It opens Oct. 28 for three performances at the Grossmont College Theatre in El Cajon. grossmont.edu

For full theater listings, visit “Theater”at sdcitybeat.com under the “Culture” tab.

#SDCityBeat

MYRIAM SANTOS

RUTH BE TOLD, we struggled with what to call this inaugural attempt to recognize a list of people we deem notable.

These are CityBeat’s people you ought to know; people who are doing good things; everyday heroes or interesting contributors to the fabric of the community.

We cast our net into the realms of music, visual arts and literary arts, as well as politics, environmentalism and all sorts of community service and activism. Some of our 20 honorees are fairly well known, while others toil in relative anonymity.

We realize there are hundreds more people out there who deserve a piece of the spotlight, and we wish we could introduce them all in our pages. For now, please get to know, and help us celebrate, these individuals who strive to achieve gender equality, transgender acceptance, fair wages, community building and other notable efforts.

#SDCityBeat

October 26, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 19

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PEOPLE

MYRIAM SANTOS

Even after Spike Lee directed her music video “Forever Mine” and even after she was nominated for two Grammys, Paradise Hills local Andra Day still manages to keep a humble attitude. She’s living proof that local musicians can make it big without having to move to Los Angeles.

“I’m proud to be from San Diego,” says Day, who never misses an opportunity to claim San Diego when she’s doing interviews. “I feel like more people need to know about it.”

Day (born Cassandra Batie) had to work hard to get where she’s at now.

When she wasn’t dutifully studying her craft at the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts or playing in church or at local coffeehouses, she was posting YouTube covers of Muse and Eminem. From early on she says her voice didn’t really fit the mold of contemporary R&B singers, and that she wanted to incorporate elements of musical theater and jazz legends such as Nina Simone and Billie Holiday. Her big break came when Stevie Wonder saw a clip of her performing at a shopping center and recommended she work with producer Adrian Gurvitz, which led to a deal with Warner Bros. Records.

Her debut album (Cheers to the Fall) went gold and, on the strength of the viral single “Rise Up,” she was tapped to play at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Still, Day says her music transcends politics. “I want people to feel inspired and feel encouraged.

To be inspired to go for it all the time.”

–Seth Combs

20 · San Diego CityBeat · October 26, 2016

COURTESY OF STEPH JOHNSON

She’s a soul-jazz singer/songwriter with a big voice, an even bigger smile and one of the biggest hearts in the local music scene.

In her 30s, Steph Johnson gave up a career in banking and made the leap into making music fulltime. Her second CD (Mysterious Feminine) won a San Diego Music Award for “Best Jazz Record,” and her fourth and latest album of original compositions, Music Is Art, was produced by Grammy-winner Kamau Kenyatta. She stays busy with local gigs and also tours with bassist/partner Rob Thorsen.

Along with keeping up with a music career, Johnson stays active in social issues, and has performed on behalf of causes such as disability rights and homelessness. Just check out her Facebook page to see how motivated she is about the plight of San Diegans who sleep out on the street. She laments encampment sweeps by the police and poor treatment for the mentally ill and veterans, among other issues.

One beautiful effort Johnson put forth was the creation of a Voices of Our City Community Choir. It’s for people experiencing homelessness, as well as those who care about that community. The choir practices on the first and third Monday of every month at the Living Water Church in East Village.

Johnson envisions this choir someday onstage “playing a great performance that could give this issue a face and a human quality.”

–Ron Donoho

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PEOPLE

COURTESY OF JAKE NAJOR

This beloved veteran drummer is a longtime staple of the San Diego music scene. From his first gig opening for P.O.D. as part of a Christian hardcore band, to his ongoing role behind the kit for a multitude of local projects, Najor lets his sticks do the talking.

Over the years, they’ve done enough talking to write their own autobiography. The hard-hitting percussionist is currently laying the beat down for a handful of San Diego bands, including Rebecca Jade & The Cold Fact, Birdy Bardot, The Midnight Pine and NST (Natural Sounds Trio).

Previous tenures working with The Styletones, Bad Credit, The Incredible Moses Leroy, Taurus Authority, Jason Mraz, Lord Howler, Robert Walter’s 20th Congress and many others have only helped to cement his local legacy.

His talents aren’t exclusively appreciated in San Diego, either. Najor has routinely answered Tinseltown’s call, whether playing with funk ensemble Breakestra, appearing with TV on The Radio for a live KCRW performance, or touring and recording with Big Daddy Kane. You can also hear him all over Kelis’ 2014 LP, Food, and on Empire of The Sun’s upcoming album, Two Vines.

More than anything, Najor is excited about the long-time-coming release of his own album. Inspired by the solo records of his favorite drummers, Bernard “Pretty” Purdie, Idris Muhammad and Billy Cobham, Najor is close to finishing the project that is already more than a year in the making. Look for it soon.

–Scott McDonald

COURTESY OF XAVIER VASQUEZ

If you see a lot of live music in San Diego, there’s a good chance you’ve seen Xavier Vasquez’s work, possibly without even realizing it. The videographer and visual artist has made music videos for a long list of bands, and does live visuals at performances for many of those same bands. Yet his hypnotic, experimental and abstract visual style isn’t the result of years of studying film or visual art.

Vasquez began his journey into filmmaking and projection after leaving a long-term position at KPBS, where his observation of others led to a spark of inspiration.

“That’s where I got the bug to do video,” he says. “I was watching all these guys with cameras, and when it came time to leave KPBS...I bought

myself a camera and started teaching myself.”

Initially, Vasquez sought to make documentaries, but realized it was more complicated than he was prepared for. But after being hired by Justin Pearson of The Locust and Three One G Records to digitize a decade of analog video material, he took on a new role in film, later making videos for Pearson’s band Retox, and later others for Monochromacy, Hexa and Soft Lions. He also began doing live projections for bands and joined Die Mißbildungen Des Menschen as their full-time visual contributor.

“That’s what got me started,” he says of joining up with DMDM. “The whole experience of working with people who I don’t know, which has led to so many other things, it’s pretty amazing. I feel pretty fortunate to be working with those guys.”

–Jeff Terich

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Eric Howarth started his M-Theory record label in San Francisco after taking a selfimposed hiatus from band life. Following a tech job to San Diego, he re-appropriated his label’s name and opened the Mission Hills (previously in South Park) record shop that’s still slinging LPs today. For eight years, Howarth COURTESY OF ERIC HOWARTH manned the helm of the local music retailer, and to this day is “really proud of the fact that it’s continued to crank along.”

His second act had multiple story lines—producing live shows at FLUXX, playing music with locals Caution Children, managing bands like Black Heart Procession and getting back into the label game.

With Hi-Speed Soul, Howarth oversaw re-issues from bands such as Nada Surf, The Afghan Whigs, Swervedriver and Three Mile Pilot, while also cranking out new releases from Film School, Lady Dottie and the Diamonds and others.

He spent a year in Los Angeles running the label, but returned after the relentless grind of the DIY project became too much. In L.A., the seed was planted for the Renaissance man’s third act—film and television.

While also running the popular Vinyl Junkies Record Swap, Howarth and longtime friend Grant Reinero (along with a host of other San Diego musicians) moved into filmmaking. With a pair of short films under their belt, Howarth and the team are currently working on the Ben Johnson-penned full-length feature, Fanboy.

Howarth is also currently working on the second Records Collecting Dust film with Jason Blackmore and is excited about a sizzle reel he just cut for a new TV show in the works.

–Scott McDonald

24 · San Diego CityBeat · October 26, 2016

PEOPLE COURTESY OF ANN BERCHTOLD

Ann Berchtold supports San Diego art. She’s the producer of several local art shows and the founder of Art San Diego, the city’s first and only annual contemporary art fair.

Berchtold’s curation has never gotten political. However, with racial violence, immigration and deportation as hot news topics, and with an upcoming presidential election, she felt Art San Diego had to address them. Berchtold organized two collaborative art projects called “Art Lab projects” that discuss these issues.

“I would say there was intent this year,” says Berchtold of her curation. “Typically, my procedure in the past is finding an artist or institution I wanted to work with.”

The first piece, Open Walls Project, invites artists to create art on billboards across San Diego.

For the third year of Open Walls, Berchtold asked internationally renowned artist Marcos Ramírez to assemble artists known for their political work to create 10 pieces. The billboards will be revealed this month.

The second, Heroic Procession, is a performance piece exploring migration and movement showing at Art San Diego on Nov. 5.

Although Berchtold’s curation takes a different approach this year, it always takes San Diego into consideration. She is compelled to create opportunities for local talent and feature art that touches on regional issues—just like this year’s Art Lab projects do.

“I think it’s a nice extension of what we’re doing,” says Berchtold. “It brings awareness to immigration. I think San Diego is a major player in this conversation.”

–Lara McCaffrey

#SDCityBeat

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Melinda Chiment traveled the world doing development work but yearned to come home to San Diego and work at AjA Project. She was interested in using creativity to give disenfranchised communities COURTESY OF MELINDA CHIMENT more agency—something AjA does daily.

“I was just really interested in organizations—whether they’re abroad or in San Diego—that are using creative intervention to address complex social issues,” Chiment says. “I came across the AjA Project and was really fascinated in the way in which the team was using the arts as a platform to engage some of these issues.”

After she earned her Ph.D., Chiment was hired at AjA; two years ago she became executive director. She organizes programs to help AjA Project encourage self-sufficiency in refugee and vulnerable San Diego communities through photography classes and exhibition opportunities.

AjA’s newest exhibition that Chiment is overseeing is a mural in Hillcrest featuring conversations regarding homelessness. The mural’s participants will include people Chiment thinks are usually voiceless in this discussion: direct service providers and the homeless.

After working with various vulnerable populations—drug addicts, teen mothers, refugees—Chiment has come to the conclusion that disadvantaged people must have tools for self-expression in order to achieve their goals. AjA can help them do this, she says.

“I believe strongly that the arts can provide a platform for self-expression,” Chiment says.

“There’s so much harmful rhetoric being spread about certain people, certain communities, and I think by providing young people a way to reclaim their narrative that’s especially important right now.”

–Lara McCaffrey

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PEOPLE

TORREY BAILEY

“I think it’s important an artist doesn’t wait to be discovered,” says Anna Stump, whose proactive attitude shows in each medium she’s tackled. Stump is one half of the painting-and-print team Hill&Stump, founder of the women-only Feminist Image Group, an art teacher at San Diego City and Grossmont colleges, an art instructor at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility and a New York Times-reviewed blogger.

In each channel, Stump skirts the norm. As an adjunct professor, she has reformed the colleges’ curriculums to include the art world’s business side, preparing students for the honest realities of professionalism.

“That stuff wasn’t talked about when I was in college,” she says. “At that time, you’d never talk about getting your hands dirty like, ‘How do you file your taxes? How do you price your work?’”

In her personal art, Stump is fascinated by the human physique, which she says can garner discomfort from some audiences. “Because I was a dancer, I feel really comfortable with bodies,” she says. “I like all bodies, and I think the more bodies we see, the better.”

When she wrote a self-reflecting blog in Turkey, she used a Bratz doll to personify herself in photos, loving how politically incorrect the toy was. In every aspect of her work, sexuality, feminism, environmentalism and identity overlap.

Although San Diego and Los Angeles are Stump’s mainstays, she’s headed across the pond next year. In fall, the Feminist Image Group’s work will appear in a Swedish gallery, and in summer, she’ll pursue a two-week residency in Ireland.

–Torrey Bailey

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BRAINA LAVIENA

Adept at VHS videography, modeling, music and more, San Diego artist Julian Klincewicz is usually on the road for work. In the past 10 months he’s traveled to Los Angeles, New York, Italy, Cuba, Iceland, Paris, Moscow and Tokyo.

“Between January and October I haven’t been in San Diego for more than three weeks at a time at most,” says 21-year-old Klincewicz.

Klincewicz’s resume makes him an in-demand artist, hence all the traveling. He’s shot video for fashion institutions such as Vans and Acne, held art shows and performed music in Tokyo, designed for trendy lines like Retrosuperfuture and filmed the YEEZY Season 3 presentation for Kanye West in Madison Square Garden.

Klincewicz likes creating at home in San Diego but wishes there were more art opportunities. He thinks individuals with money and real estate should invest in the art community.

“My general feeling towards San Diego is that there’s a lot of younger people 30 and under who want to do visual arts...and don’t necessarily have a place to grow that’s within San Diego,” Klincewicz says.

Most recently, he put together a local fashion show. Part of his ongoing project, “Hey I Like You,” the show was held last month at San Diego Art Institute. Klincewicz says he designed 30 looks, packed the venue and got press coverage.

“If I can do that, there’s no reason that all the people who actually have money and resources can’t make that happen in a much cooler and better and relevant way,” he says.

–Lara McCaffrey

26 · San Diego CityBeat · October 26, 2016

PEOPLE

Justin Hudnall found his motivation to enrich the local literary scene in an unlikely place: ignorant hipsters. Annoyed by others’ perception of San Diego as a “cultural wasteland,” Hudnall’s college days in New York motivated him to come back and start a San Diego organization devoted to the exploration of dangerous subjects through art and humor.

COURTESY OF JUSTIN HUDNALL “We can’t just make people feel bad with some Sarah McLachlan and dogs,” says Hudnall, adding that he believes when people normalize their shortcomings, they often feel empowered. “Everybody knows somebody with depression or anxiety or borderline personality disorder if we all just talked about it.”

These days, not only is Hudnall a respected local writer, but he empowers other artists through his literary and performing arts nonprofit, So Say We All. Started in 2009, the organization has grown to include various different literary nights and specialized programs.

There’s VAMP (visual/audio monologue performance) and Long Story Short, popular oncea-month readings from both established and aspiring writers.

Hudnall admits he didn’t expect the readings to take off the way they did. He held the organization’s first literary reading in a small multipurpose room usually reserved for AA meetings. He thought only close friends would show up, but the room was packed. The organization now has a KPBS radio show (Incoming), in addition to its publishing and education programs, which target LGBTQ, veterans and other marginalized groups. Hudnall hopes that these programs help others break out of their literary shells. “We have to follow Harvey Milk’s formula of just coming out,” he says.

–Jordan Packer

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COURTESY OF NATE HOWARD

Passion, poetry and pride emanate from Nate Howard, a young and ambitious social entrepreneur who set out to redefine the way people share their stories. From his bungalow in Mission Beach, he envisions a future in which youth are encouraged to celebrate their originalities and find unity in each other’s personal experiences.

What started as weekly tutoring sessions where students were encouraged to voice themselves via poetry, music and selfexpression soon evolved into a mobile app called Movement BE. The app is dedicated to, as Howard puts it, “inspiring people to really just get on and share their work, their poetry, their stories.” From poetic rants to reflective rhymes, the app welcomes characters of all kinds to share, post and celebrate in communicating with other cultures.

Similar to other social media apps, it allows users to view posts made by people in the surrounding community as well as create their own stories to share.

Howard’s speeches have captivated audiences on campuses nationwide, and his evocative lyrics are featured in music by artists such as Kendrick Lamar and Casey Veggies. He hopes that Movement BE will encourage people not only to find strength and solidarity in their personal tales, but also to use those stories to create positive change in their communities. Above all, Howard stresses the liberation that exists in the honest act of telling your true, authentic and completely original story. “The whole goal to life is to create,” Howard says. “If you’re not creating, then what are you doing, seriously?”

RON DONOHO

–Sofia Mejias-Pascoe

No pressure on Chris Ward. He only has to step into his new District 3 seat on the San Diego City Council and replace one of the most popular Democrats—termed-out councilmember Todd Gloria—in local government.

The 30-something Ward, who looks young enough to still be attending class at Johns Hopkins (undergrad) or Harvard (master’s), was elected in the June primary by getting 59 percent of the vote. He’s a progressive Dem who was an environmental planner before most recently serving as chief of staff to state Sen. Marty Block.

Ward and his partner live in University Heights with their daughter.

Like Gloria, Ward is well spoken and quick on his feet. As the new political overseer of downtown and surrounding environs, Ward inherits the problems of homelessness. He ran for city council with a proactive plan for working to lower the number of people living on the streets—by expanding the city’s Homeless Outreach Team, pushing the mayor to create a position of Homeless Czar and declaring a Homeless State of Emergency in San Diego.

One of those three things has already happened—Mayor Kevin Fauconer hired Stacie Spector as the city’s new senior advisor for housing solutions. “I applaud the mayor for making the important decision to hire a senior level staff member to serve in this role,” Ward says, adding that he intends to hit the ground running after he’s sworn in to work on solutions for homelessness and other big concerns like the proposed downtown Chargers stadium (which he opposes).

–Ron Donoho

#SDCityBeat

PEOPLE

Imperial Beach faces plenty of unique challenges: rising sea levels, crumbling infrastructure and pollution from the nearby border. Not that Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina is fazed by his city’s obstacles.

“We need to make sure that everyone can live a high quality of life regardless of where they live or their income levels,” says Dedina, an IB native, author, surfer and first generation American. “That is totally doable and possiCOURTESY OF SERGE DEDINA ble, but we have to spend way more time on those issues rather than addressing the needs of billionaire sports franchise owners. I will continue to work with partner agencies and institutions to make sure that, at least in Imperial Beach, we can make low-income and historically underserved communities places where everyone has access to a healthy and thriving life.”

As a passionate conservationist and co-founder of WiLDCOAST, he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty to cut through bureaucratic red tape to get results, especially when it comes to longterm sustainability and economic goals.

“I have an incredible love for Imperial Beach and a fierce desire to give back to the people and community that provided me with great opportunities,” he says. “[I want] to make sure that everyone and every neighborhood has access to… beautiful open spaces, is treated equitably, fairly, and that we always put our kids and families first. Access to our natural open spaces should not be an afterthought, but a vital part of a healthy and happy future.”

–Beth Demmon

He says it got to the point where he wasn’t going to be able to look at himself in the mirror every morning if he didn’t throw his hat into the ring. Once a relative unknown in the 49th Congressional District (much of North County and part of Orange County), Col. Doug Applegate came out of nowhere to become the guy who nearly topped incumbent Darrell Issa in the June primary and is COURTESY OF APPLEGATE FOR CONGRESS looking like he could beat the veteran GOP lapdog in the November general election.

“I couldn’t just stay on the sidelines,” says the former Marine infantry officer and Judge Advocate who was stationed at Camp Pendleton. He says his experience has allowed him to see the impact of American foreign policy as well as the country’s judicial system.

Early in the election cycle, Applegate’s opponent supported Donald Trump in the presidential race. Well before recent allegations regarding Trump’s predatory actions and sexual harassment of women, Applegate’s campaign linked Issa with Trump, and has run a series of ads noting that one scratches the back of the other.

That prompted Issa’s handlers to line up former New York mayor and Trump strategist Rudy Giuliani to do attack TV ads on Applegate.

But don’t expect this Marine to buckle under pressure. Applegate wants to see the United States regain pride—within the military ranks, as well as up and down the socioeconomic ladder.

“People are looking for a different form of representation,” he says. “Somebody who will listen with fairness, equality and rule of law for everyone and in a transparent manner.”

–Ron Donoho

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COURTESY OF CLIMATE ACTION CAMPAIGN

In the eternal words of Kermit the Frog: It’s not easy being green.

These words ring especially true in San Diego.

Our uniquely Southern Californian love of car culture, paired with a conservative mayor—whose party has yet to recognize the severity of climate change—puts a serious damper on anyone trying to pass environmentally conscious legislation.

And this is why we’re lucky to have Nicole Capretz, founder of the Climate Action Campaign, a San Diego nonprofit with the singular goal of stopping climate change.

A 20-year resident of San Diego, Capretz sees our city as the perfect vanguard for grassroots environmental innovation.

“We’re a living lab where we can do this major political, economical and environment shift,” she says. “We have the talent and resources to be a world-class city.”

From anyone else, that may sound like idealistic lip service, but Capretz has the drive to make it succeed (she’s a self-described “bull in a china shop”), citing cross-sector participation and working from the bottom up (i.e. within local government) as the keys to her success. Seriously, anyone who can muster support from both Mayor Kevin Faulconer and SANDAG for progressive legislation is doing something right.

Although we have a long way to go before we’re a walkable/bikeable city, Capretz has seen “huge progress” in the two years of the nonprofit’s existence, especially when it comes to her work in surrounding cities.

“Del Mar just passed a 100 percent clean energy climate plan,” she says. “Solana Beach, La Mesa, Oceanside and Encinitas are right behind.”

–Ryan Bradford

COURTESY OF OMAR PASSONS

Chat with Omar Passons about craft beer or bikes, and you’ll be impressed with his knowledge. Get him talking about youth in San Diego, however, and you’ll be blown away by his passion.

“There are 53,000 people between the ages of 16 and 24 in San Diego County who are out of work and school,” Passons says. “We don’t have the sense of urgency collectively we need to make fixing that a priority.”

He points to cities such as San Francisco and Boston as beacons for how city governments can do more to invest in youth, specifically from prenatal development to early adulthood.

“Investing in our young people is the best way to protect San Diego’s economic competitiveness,” he says. “If you’re not wowed by an economic argument, I feel morally obligated to create a space where every young person has the opportunity to do and go as far as their aptitudes and interests can carry them.”

As vice president of community development and policy at the Jacobs Center, Passons left his law firm to follow his desire to “make our community better and improve the lives of people.” And while he considers one of San Diego’s biggest issues to be housing affordability, he admits it’s inextricably tied to unbalanced opportunities and remains adamant about giving it attention.

“I firmly believe that we need a universal approach for all kids in San Diego County, across all income levels, that says as a region, ‘We’re choosing to care about this. We’re going to do that at the ballot and with our pocketbooks.’”

–Beth Demmon

28 · San Diego CityBeat · October 26, 2016

PEOPLE COURTESY OF MONICA SCHROEDER

Monica Schroeder is barely in her 30s, but she has already found her “life project.” As founder of the border nonprofit organization Tijuana Te Quiero, she’s dedicating her time and efforts to dignifying the border and showing a city it matters.

In 2010, Schroeder collapsed on the floor of a Tijuana hospital. The hospital staff was wonderful to her and nursed her back to health. Yet, the first reaction she got from many people when she told them about her stay was that Schroeder better have her blood checked, coming from that “dirty city.”

“But how can you judge a whole city like that?” Schroeder thought.

She saw Tijuana as an inspirational city, full of people who deserve to be loved. She took a concept from her father, Roberto, who is working to improve border infrastructure, and started Tijuana Te Quiero (TJTQ) which means, “Tijuana, I love you.”

“It’s really about a message—hey, I love you,” Schroeder says.

Schroeder and her team “create space for human interaction” at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. The average wait in line is 1.5-3 hours, out in the hot sun with no amenities. She started asking people—what do you want? She took complaints and turned thoughts into actions. Now there are shade structures and water coolers. There is community artwork and places for kids. The TJTQ team is working with governments (a lot of agencies have their hand in the border) to place trashcans and bathrooms. Schroeder is also developing a fashion line for TJTQ to become a social entrepreneur.

–Joyell Nevins

BETH DEMMON

Modern Times has become a globally known name for its beer as much as its hip aesthetic, but it’s the brewery’s cultural ethos that resonates with craft beer fans and employees alike.

“Probably the most direct thing [that sets us apart] is the $15 minimum wage that we voluntarily adopted,” says Modern Times Founder Jacob McKean. “I’ve continued to view that as the most important benchmark for operating an ethical business.”

It’s not simply a living wage that McKean emphasizes. Employee benefits include unlimited paid time off, cutting-edge healthcare, monthly allotments of beer, team building events like Padres games and encouragement to travel to collaborate with breweries anywhere. From the start, McKean felt a “moral obligation” to make prioritizing perks standard practice.

“One of the [first] benefits that I offered was a two-month paid sabbatical after five years. That was something that…managed to communicate to people what type of company they were going to work for.”

McKean hopes to expand benefits to include equity for long-term employees and more partnerships with groups like BikeSD. And for small business owners who squirm at the thought of higher costs, McKean dismisses that fear.

“I believe in doing all this stuff because it is the ethically appropriate thing to do, but I also think it happens to be a good business decision,” he says. “By having people who are deeply qualified, who don’t leave and who are satisfied with their work, I think we save a lot of money.”

–Beth Demmon

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B EST of SAN D I EGO 2 0 16:

COURTESY OF SARAH GAYDOS

Women are more than plot device characters for the story arc of men, they’re more than visually appealing caricatures, and in the real world deserve equal treatment and respect, not harassment or patronization, according to Saray Gaydos.

“I see myself as ‘what happens when things go right,’ because I was, thankfully, lucky enough to be shielded from all of that in my career,” says Sarah Gaydos, group editor at comic book publisher IDW. “But it shouldn’t be luck.”

Gaydos has been a comic lover since her days at Clairemont High School when she discovered indie comics Love and Rockets and Action Girl. After college, the “deeply obsessed” Trekkie went to work at WildStorm, a DC Comics imprint in La Jolla that was established by comic artist Jim Lee. She was working in editorial in Los Angeles when the IDW position opened. Gaydos jumped at the chance to come back to San Diego.

She has seen shadiness and stereotypes behind the scenes, but she’s also seen a rise of women both in the industry and in readership.

“It’s been wonderful to see. But really, what it is, is a realization of many companies that there’s been women all along. If you just reach out to them and don’t actively insult their intelligence or womanhood, women as readers multiply exponentially,” Gaydos says.

Gaydos actively hires men and women who are eclectic and bring diverse stories to the page.

“Not just because it is right, and I want a cookie for it, but because diverse stories make for the best, most compelling, most inviting stories,” she says.

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–Joyell Nevins

PEOPLE

COURTESY OF KATHIE MOEHLIG

As the executive director of TransFamily Support Services and parent of a transgender son, Kathie Moehlig knows a thing or two about the challenges families with gender nonconforming members face. Her mission as an active trans advocate is to help others navigate that journey with education and support, ranging from training for schools and health professionals to mentoring programs and working with insurance companies to draft trans youth care policies.

Even with huge wins like a 100-percent success rate on insurance approvals, Moehlig prefers to talk about the human connection in her work. “I think the biggest success…is the amount of families that have become accepting [through family coaching services] and the level of love and compassion within those families now. It’s important to know that there are people out there that are willing to help, come alongside them and partner with them so that they’re not alone in this struggle.”

Moehlig has some advice if you’re personally connected to the trans community, are a policy maker or wish to know more about what you can do to become an ally.

“If you have encountered someone in your day-to-day that is trans or is gender nonconforming, sit down and have a conversation with them,” she says. “Ask if they’re willing to share, and educate yourself that way, by actual individuals—not the rhetoric that we hear in the media. A little bit of knowledge goes a really long way.”

–Beth Demmon

October 26, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 29

CULTURE | ART

SEEN LOCAL

and installation artist returned recently to revisit that 2011 show, and the results were moving and unnerving.

With help from other Helmuth artists, Eisenberg created two giant audio speakers, complete with RCA jacks in the back, to encase collage, sculpture and audio works. In one of the speakers the result is primarily psychedelic in nature, without coming across as too deferential or nostalgic. The other speaker encases a small-scale recreation of Eisenberg’s original 2011 exhibition, complete with In this semi-regular department, arts editor Seth smaller sculptural works and droning soundscapes Combs reviews a notable blaring out of actual audio SETH COMBS new art show or exhibition. speakers.

Guests were invited to ost art patrons go inside both speakers. can be a little naEisenberg later that eveïve to just how ning mentioned wanting much work goes into stagto explore the “secret life ing seemingly simple exof speakers,” as well as the hibitions. Most take years occult and the paranoid, of planning, months to cudistorted proclamations rate and days, if not weeks, that people used to listen to properly stage. to on AM talk radio.

You could say the new Barring some change show at Helmuth Projects, in plans, the show will be Revelations of the Chatterup through the end of the ing Ether…Revealed, was Revelations of the Chattering Ether...Revealed year. Helmuth itself is in more than five years in the a bit of transition phase, making. That’s a bit misleading, though. Revelations with owner and resident Josh Pavlick saying that attempts to encapsulate the fantastic and revelatory he’s not sure what the future holds for the space. work that the gallery has done since it opened half a However incidental it was, Revelations managed to decade ago. be an amazing fifth anniversary show for Helmuth One of the first artists to show at Helmuth was and I left hoping for five more years…and beyond.

Jefferson Eisenberg. The Bay Area-based sculptor

—Seth Combs

TO SEE OR NOT TO SEE: REVELATIONS OF THE CHATTERING ETHER…REVEALED

M

TELL-TALE ARTS

H

alloween-themed art shows are starting to pop up this time of year, and while most of the artists in those shows are just dabbling in spooky scenes for that show, the artists below keep us scared all year round.

lit using only candlelight, and he recently started a Bauhaus-inspired band called Floodflower. And yeah, they’re goth as hell. peterhalasz.com

Optimus Volts (IG: @optimusvolts): Issac Coronado (aka Optimus Volts) describes his work as a “mashed-up root pulp extract of ’80s cartoons,” among other things, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST Carrie Anne Hudbut his spray paint and son (IG: @carriehudsculpture work looks to son): None of the other me more influenced by artists on this list once the Grim Reaper than had a residency in Sibiu, anything else. Skulls Transylvania, in Romaand spray cans abound nia, but catch a glimpse in his pieces, with jagof Carrie Anne Hudged and sharp edges son’s work and hanging becoming something of out in Dracula’s castle a staple. He just landed seems natural. This a solo show called Kill should be indicative Bitches Volume 1, which enough of the dark leanopens, naturally, the day ings of her work. Workafter Halloween at Bar ing primarily in acrylics Basic in East Village. and ink, Hudson deals optimusvolts.com primarily in original “You Want To Sink (So I’m Gonna Let You)”

by Carrie Anne Hudson takes on classic creaDavid Van Gough tures, as well as putting (IG: @davidvangough): We previously covered the occult and death-metal spins on everything from British-born, Barrio Logan-based “necrosurrealist” Wayne’s World to kittens. carrieannehudson.com in a roundup for our “4/20” issue, based on the idea that we’d like to get high and stare at his paintings all Peter Halasz (IG: @peter_halasz): Halasz’s day long. And stare we have. Drawing influences from acrylic work is often of oceanside views and waves Hieronymus Bosch and the occult, Van Gough delivcrashing onto the shore, but make no mistake: This ers highly detailed paintings of fantastical scenes of isn’t the type of work you’d see in some cheesy La the dark side of religion and fanaticism. His work was Jolla gallery. It’s decidedly dark and dangerous, and recently spotlighted in a Vegas show titled Dark MatHalasz uses shadows and light (or lack thereof ) to ters, but locals can check out his space inside the La reveal the sea’s dangerous and mercurial nature. His Bodega Gallery at any time. davidgoughart.com most recent solo show at Quint Projects, Séance, was

—Seth Combs

30 · San Diego CityBeat · October 26, 2016

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October 26, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 31

CULTURE | FILM

Aquarius

Termite art Sônia Braga takes the path of most resistance in new Brazilian drama

by Glenn Heath Jr.

S

omething’s rotten in Recife. One wouldn’t ing footsteps of men with pens. Egregious interrupknow it from the series of gorgeous black-and- tion and intimidation ensue, tactics that represent white photographs that open Kleber Mendon- the various tentacles of corruption and collusion in ça Filho’s Aquarius. Birds-eye-view perspectives of modern day Brazil. the Brazilian coastal city capture a collision of archiClara recognizes the spreading rot of corruption tecture and nature, selling nostalgic comfort as an even when her children and colleagues do not. She attainable commodity. But the social reality for this stubbornly stands her ground, and in turn becomes community (and Brazil as a nation) is far more con- one of the great modern symbols of human resistradictory and nuanced, defined by the inevitable tance against political apathy. Braga gives the charebbs and flows of history repeating. acter an indestructible sense of self, showcasing a Clara (Sônia Braga), a retired music critic and range of emotions that defy easy categorization. breast cancer survivor, has lived in the same apartFilho’s interest in the dichotomy between abment for more than four decades, building an in- sence and presence is palpable. This is best on distimate family legacy. She knows every inch of this play in the offhanded way one arrogant young conplace by heart, including the emotional terrain it struction executive (Humberto Carrão) speaks to represents. During a brief but powerful prologue set Clara about her “ghost building” in the past tense. in 1980, we sense her resilience, discerning taste and Just a few perfectly placed words threaten to erase deep heritage as a young woman. an entire life’s worth of collected After a drive on the beach that memories, heartaches and smiles. features Queen’s “Another One She responds with a stirring inAQUARIUS Bites the Dust,” Clara returns dictment of what he represents Directed by home to a flood of relatives celfor Brazil’s future: “Your characKleber Mendonça Filho ebrating the 70th birthday party ter is money.”

Starring Sônia Braga, of matriarch Aunt Lucia (Thaia The slow infestation of greed Humberto Carrão Perez). Memorable speeches inhas been spreading for decades, and Zoraide Coleto vite forgotten memories to come and Aquarius isn’t naïve to this crashing home. In this place that fact. But it views Clara’s indimeans something different to vidual struggle as a tipping point many people, Filho’s sweeping camera curiously— capable of inspiring a collective stand. Escalations even drunkenly—maneuvers through corridors and perpetrated by the construction company might be rooms hoping to discover new details. aimed at her, but the impending impact reverberates While the apartment complex feels like a bee- outward, transcending boundaries of class and comhive of activity at this point, much has changed once munity. Once others begin to realize this fact, their Aquarius jumps to the present day. A construction fear of retribution begins to evaporate. firm with ambitious renovation plans has bought Aquarius opens Friday, Oct. 28, at Angelika Carout every other resident, leaving Clara surrounded mel Mountain Cinemas, and it deserves to be seen by empty units. Life somehow still makes sense here, on the biggest screen possible. Like Fehlo’s equally even if loneliness has replaced laughter in the air. brilliant Neighboring Sounds, it is a film of densely Corporate lackeys visit her often trying to finalize a layered spaces (that Barry Lyndon poster!) and sale, but she defiantly refuses. This stalemate leads rhythmic audio patterns. Yet the style would be to a series of passive aggressive standoffs that grow nothing without Clara, an indestructible woman deincreasingly destructive and disturbing. termined to keep the past from being eroded by upAquarius uncovers the ways in which our person- right parasites. If subtle subversions go unnoticed, al lives can become necessarily political in the face then only the path of most resistance becomes apof change. One drifting long take encapsulates this propriate. Her final act of protest gives new meaning theme beautifully: As ocean waves crash in the dis- to the Manny Farber-coined “termite art.” tance and street activity bustles below, Clara sleeps Film reviews run weekly. quietly in her hammock only to hear the approach- Write to glennh@sdcitybeat.com.

32 · San Diego CityBeat · October 26, 2016

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CULTURE | FILM

Nerve-endings

P

ark Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden has the look of an elegant period piece.

Elaborate mansion interiors frame stoic characters dressed to the nines in suave suits and bright-hued dresses. But don’t be fooled; underneath all that silk and manners is a sweaty film noir that has no problem getting nasty.

Set during the early 20th century when Japan annexed Korea,

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ances as often as they change outfits. Sexual urges lie quietly in the shadows until they are expressed in melodramatic fashion. Insanity and arousal are often confused for one another.

As a game of seductive subterfuge, the film is constantly upping the ante. Despite how things might seem, characters thrive in pockets of moral and sexual quicksand. For them solid ground doesn’t exist, and no matter how alone you feel someone is always watching. Those who understand this best end up stealing the prized social standing and physical “release” so thoroughly desired by everyone The Handmaiden involved.

Park co-opts sensual soft-core Park’s latest involves a young thief lore of old to enact revenge on named Sookhee (Kim Tae-ri) re- power hungry men (the audience cruited by her corrupt overlord included) who would get off feelCount Fujiwara (Ha Jung-woo) ing dominant over the fairer sex. to help con fragile Lady Hideko The Handmaiden, which opens (Min-hee Kim) out of her vast Friday, Oct. 28, ultimately provides a safe space for women to fortune.

With films such as Old Boy and reclaim imagery associated with Stoker, Park has shown a previous kinky male fantasies and turn fondness for subverting time and them into something intimate, all perspective. The Handmaiden’s on their own terms. Park’s film serpentine narrative, which of- may be silly and slight, but it often ten folds onto itself to reveal plot strikes the right nerve. twists from new angles, is similarly elastic. Characters shift alli- —Glenn Heath Jr.

OPENING Aquarius: Sônia Braga stars as a retired music critic who faces intimidation from an aggressive construction company attempting to purchase her apartment in an old building primed for demolition. Opens Friday, Oct. 28, at Angelika Film Center Carmel Mountain.

Arab Film Festival: The 5th annual event presents feature narratives, documentaries, and short films that focus on promoting the understanding of issues involving the Arab and Islamic world. Runs Thursday, Oct. 27, to Sunday, Oct. 30, at Museum of Photographic Arts.

Girl Asleep: In Rosemary Myers’ comedy, a 15-year-old girl struggles to hang on to her childhood memories as she ventures closer to adulthood. Opens Friday, Oct. 28, at the Ken Cinema. Accompanied by the short film Pickle.

Inferno: Tom Hanks reprises his role as Da Vinci Code hero Robert Langdon, the adventure-prone academic who can’t help but uncover many of the world’s vast conspiracies. Co-starring Felicity Jones.

The Free World: An ex-con gets involved with a married woman in this drama starring Elisabeth Moss and Octavia Spencer.

Screens through Thursday, Nov. 3, at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

The Handmaiden: Park Chan-wook’s sultry tale of revenge and sexual urges involves a coy handmaiden who is hired to con a wealthy woman out of her fortune.

For a complete listing of movies, visit “Film”

on sdcitybeat.com.

October 26, 2016 • San Diego CityBeat · 33

CHRIS MARTINDALE

MUSIC

From left: Kim Pack, Andy Patterson, Sarah Pendleton, Levi Hanna and Rebecca Vernon N 2016, the world is getting a closer glimpse at what it might look like to live in a dystopian society. The planet as a whole isn’t there yet, but the tipping point is within sight. Civil war in Syria, populist isolationism in the United Kingdom, increasing global temperatures and a U.S. presidential candidate using dictatorial language (and boasting of sexual assault) all serve to remind us that it can get worse—much worse. And it might not be that far off.

That ominous feeling of global dread has been fueling the flames of inspiration for songwriters for decades, but that darkness seems particularly overt now. For metal, darkness is a nearly constant motif, but Salt Lake City doom quintet SubRosa have channeled a more literary, allegorical form of dystopia into their new album For This We Fought the Battle of Ages. Singer/guitarist Rebecca Vernon was inspired by We, a 1924 novel by Russian author Yevgeny Zamyatin, when she began to write the songs on the album. It was the first time that the band took a top-down approach to writing an album, beginning with the concept and then finding ways to translate that into their songs. As such, themes of oppression and freedom are intertwined throughout the album, from a line like “Choice is too precious to be wasted on vermin” on “Wound of the Warden,” to the bleak description of “A city laid waste, where everything’s been

decided for us,” in “Killing Rapture.”

It’s easy to draw parallels to contemporary society, where corporations are all powerful and surveillance is ubiquitous.

Yet Vernon, in a phone interview from her Salt Lake City home, says it wasn’t so much the political commentary on We that was important to her, but rather the idea of personal freedom.

“It captured so many philosophies I’ve had my whole life about freedom and happiness, and just really broad sort of themes like that. So yeah, it just really resonated with me,” she says. “The book inspired George Orwell’s 1984...but I connect to We more. I feel like 1984 explores more of the political side of freedom and control, but We explores the spiritual side of freedom and control. Like how it benefits man as an individual.”

For This We Fought the Battle of Ages is as ambitious musically as it is thematically.

Spanning a staggering 65 minutes and featuring six tracks, it’s a work of great sprawl.

Each song—two of which are longer than 15 minutes apiece—is as much a crushing work of modern doom metal as it is a constantly shifting symphonic piece with various movements. That the group features two violinists, Kim Pack and Sarah Pendleton,

34 · San Diego CityBeat · October 26, 2016

makes the musical comparison to a symphony all the more apt.

Putting together an album that intricate and carefully composed, however, presents some serious challenges. Several songs had to be reworked in the process of making the album. And Vernon says that SubRosa is, first and foremost, a live band, so if something doesn’t work on the stage, it probably won’t make it onto the album.

“We kind of create the songs to play live,” she says.

“There are lots of organic transitions from one part to the next that we all feel together. It was so hard to capture in a recorded sense. Especially with tempos, trying to get parts going into other parts. We sometimes would think we had a tempo on a click track, and then realize we were going too slow or too fast. We had to tear the whole thing apart and start over. It was just tedious work trying to get these parts to flow into each other and sound natural.”

The last song on the album, “Troubled Cells,” partially breaks with the theme of the album. At seven minutes long, it’s relatively brief by SubRosa’s standards. And where much of the album ties in to the themes in We, this song was a response to an increase in suicides by LGBTQ youth in the Mormon community after the an-

nouncement of discriminatory directives by the Church of Latter Day Saints (which has a huge presence in the band’s home city).

The band also recently finished a video for the song aimed at drawing attention to the crisis, and held a crowdfunding campaign in which all non-production costs would be donated to outreach groups.

“This song, I wrote it feeling like it was very important to me personally. And I would hope that it has some kind of impact,” Vernon says. “We always hope our music reaches people and helps them through tough times. That’s one of our main objectives. And we hope this song will do the same thing, but maybe will be even more concentrated in its deliberateness.”

Yet “Troubled Cells” is part of a broader motivation behind SubRosa’s music. Vernon says that, despite the heaviness and the darkness in their music, they’re always working toward something more positive.

“The music should inspire a feeling of power and strength,” she says. “We want people to feel this inner strength listening to it. Overcoming this world and the vicissitudes of life—that you can do it. At the same time, there’s a lot of darkness in the music, too, so the music is acknowledging that it can be a living hell sometimes. So there’s this dark and light kind of play in the music, acknowledging the reality of suffering and how hopeless it can be, but offering this ray of hope. Offering some encouragement.”

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MUSIC

NOTES FROM THE SMOKING PATIO LOCALS ONLY

Q

ueen Bee’s Arts and Cultural Center has released a video critical of Donald Trump. “La Rata Blanca” (“The White Rat”) features a salsa song that takes Trump to task for his derogatory remarks about the Latino community. The video highlights various people who work in North Park, as a way to highlight the fact that Trump is insulting his fellow Americans.

“I have to express myself politically,” says Queen Bee’s owner Alma Rodriguez, who co-wrote the song along with Fernando del Rio and Yorly Quintero of salsa band Zaraguey. “I express how I feel in the arts. We’re better than that.”

The song was written in 24 hours, Rodriguez says.

Cut with scenes of local Latino artists and people are scenes of Trump, as well as Trump piñatas and other Trump-inspired (and enraged) art. Rodriguez says that she wanted the song to be more than just angry.

“It has to be positive,” she says. “We did it in a way that people can dance to it. We have the power to decide. So why don’t we exercise that right.”

“La Rata Blanca” is a political video and song, but

“La Rata Blanca” it also is a statement of empowerment. Rodriguez says that when people ask where she’s from, she says “Planet Earth,” meaning that we’re all from the same place and as such deserve the same rights and respect.

“We’re not alone in saying these things,” she says.

“This country is based on immigrants. I feel these attacks are going to divide us more. We need to make a statement about how we feel.”

Zaraguey will play the Salsa Sunday costume party at Queen Bee’s on Sunday, Oct. 30, where they will most likely perform “La Rata Blanca.”

—Jeff Terich

A LIVE MUSIC GUIDE TO HALLOWEEN 2016

H

alloween is on a Monday this year, which is not the ideal day to get dressed up, go out and paint the town blood red. Whether or not you’re the party-on-Monday type, there are plenty of options for live music and mischief on All Hallows’ Eve. The biggest ticket in town is Rocket from the Crypt at The Lafayette, with Mrs. Magician, Beehive and the Barracudas and The Creepy Creeps. However, that show is now sold out. So you might have to rely on the barter system to get into that one.

Fear not, however, because there are lots of other opportunities to rock out on Halloween night, as well as the weekend leading up to it. Rafter and Gary Wilson are performing at Seven Grand, and they promise some “spooky treats.” Gary Wilson is in costume year-round, though, so he’ll be in his element. The Soda Bar is hosting its annual Halloween Spooktacular, which will feature four clever sets of covers, including Foxine Jay (Lex Pratt, formerly of Soft Lions) covering the raunchy pop of Peaches with Spooky Cigarette, and Wild Wild Wets ambitiously tackling Pink Floyd. For more Halloween-appropriate covers, make your way to The Office where a rotating cast of local musicians pay tribute to Oingo Boingo.

If you prefer something a little different than the

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costumed camp and revelry, Cumbia Machin will be performing his beat-heavy cumbia sounds at TilTwo Club, rapper Andre Nickatina is headlining the Music Box and jam band Boombox will be playing at The Observatory North Park.

The fun starts a little bit early on the weekend leading up to Halloween. On Friday, Oct. 28, Alice Cooper will perform at Harrah’s Resort, kicking off the weekend with some old-school rock ‘n’ roll mayhem. On the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 29, Stay Strange’s experimental music showcase “Checked Out” will take place at the downtown Central Library, with performances by Author & Punisher and Skrapez, as well as a performance that entails making music by using the building itself as multiple instruments by Steve Flato and Scott Nielsen.

And if you absolutely can’t help but feel compelled to move yourself to electronic beats all night, the night of Oct. 29 will see the House of Blues HalGary Wilson loween Block Party spill out onto downtown’s streets.

Whether you’re looking to hear some covers, take in some weird experimentation or simply dance the night away, the spirits will guide you to whichever haunt beckons.

—Jeff Terich

October 26, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 35

MUSIC

JEFF TERICH

IF I WERE U A music insider’s weekly agenda WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26

PLAN A: Preoccupations, Methyl Ethyl @ The Irenic. Preoccupations, formerly known as Viet Cong, released one of my favorite records this year, so I definitely wouldn’t miss this one. They’ve got some dark, post-punk chops and some great pop hooks swirled in. Gloom never sounded so fun. PLAN B: Maceo Parker @ Belly Up Tavern. Maceo Parker is a legend of jazz, funk and soul. He’s played with James Brown, Ray Charles, George Clinton—the list goes on. The man has a way with groove.

BACKUP PLAN: Pleasure Fix, Flames of Durga, Big Bloom @ The Casbah.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27

PLAN A: Damien Jurado @ The Irenic.

Damien Jurado has been writing and recording stunning indie folk songs since the ’90s. His melodies are as haunting as ever, and he continues to evolve in interesting ways every time he releases something new. PLAN B: Mondo Drag, Ocelot, Monarch @ Soda Bar. There’s a kind of vintage ’70s appeal to Mondo Drag, who mix psych rock with prog explorations. They sometimes freak out, sometimes hit a motorik groove, but always have an interesting spin on heavy art rock. BACKUP PLAN: From Indian Lakes, Made Violent, Wild Wild Horses @ House of Blues Voodoo Room.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28

PLAN A: Alice Cooper @ Harrah’s Resort. On Halloween week, I can think of no better artist to see than Alice Cooper. The legendary artist made villainy a staple in rock ‘n’ roll, and it’s hard to imagine most hard rock or metal bands being what they are today without him. All hail Alice. PLAN B: The Dillinger Escape Plan, O’Brother, Cult Leader, Entheos @ Brick by Brick.

The Dillinger Escape Plan pre-announced their impending break-up, so if you haven’t seen their technical metal wizardry yet, stop messing around and go seem them at their (possible) last stop in town. BACKUP PLAN: Jacuzzi Boys, Feels, Mint Field, Sixes @ Soda Bar.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29

PLAN A: M83, Tennyson @ SOMA. There are few shows more feelgood and life-af-

36 · San Diego CityBeat · October 26, 2016

firming than an M83 show. Their catalog is loaded with catchy, earnest and aboveall danceable songs, like their massive 2011 hit “Midnight City,” and it’s hard not to leave with a smile on your face. PLAN B: ‘Checked Out’ w/ Author & Punisher, Planet B, Skrapez, MF Redeemer @ Central Library. Here’s a noise show for the whole family. Stay Strange is putting on an all-ages Halloween show with some local heavyweights, as well as some experimental performances and a build-a-monster workshop. It’s fun for freaks of all ages.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30

PLAN A: Death Angel, Nukem, Thrown Into Exile, Monarch @ Brick by Brick.

Whenever you see an ’80s-era metal band (or any ’80s era band) there’s always a chance the lineup will have changed a bit. With Death Angel, however, what hasn’t changed are their thrash metal chops.

They’ve made some updates, but they still have riffs like crazy.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 31

PLAN A: Halloween Spooktacular w/ Alice Cooper Foxine Jay, Stalins of Sound, WIld Wild Wets @ Soda Bar. One of my favorite local music traditions is the Soda Bar Halloween show. Every band covers another band, and this time around Foxine Jay (with Spooky Cigarette) is Peaches, Stalins of Sound are The Damned and Wild Wild Wets are (early) Pink Floyd. Something for every kind of freak. PLAN B: Buzzov-en, Bongzilla, Wizard Rifle, Garth Algar @ Brick by Brick. Need something heavier on Halloween? Check out noisy, gnarly sludgemongers Buzzov-en, who know a thing or two about depravity and heavy-as-fuck riffs. BACKUP PLAN: Deskarga Halloween w/ Cumbia Machin, DJ Viejo Lowbo @ Til-Two Club.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1

PLAN A: Sergio Mendes @ Belly Up Tavern. Sergio Mendes is probably known as much for having a high level of camp value as he is for making some fun ’60s pop songs. Indeed, with Brasil 66 or any of his other bands, Mendes blends a cheeky lounge style with hooks that won’t leave for days. Sounds like a good time. BACKUP PLAN: Fictionist, Step Rockets @ Soda Bar.

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MUSIC

CONCERTS HOT! NEW! FRESH!

Touche Amore (Irenic, 11/11), Kim and the Created (Bar Pink, 11/12), Hot Chip DJ set (Casbah, 11/27), Doyle Bramhall II (Casbah, 11/30), Benjamin Francis Leftwich (Soda Bar, 12/10), Sorority Noise (Che Café, 12/11), Anuhea (BUT, 12/19), Big Sandy and His Flyrite Boys (Casbah, 12/30), Pepe Aguilar (Civic Theatre, 1/6), Ozomatli (Music Box, 1/13), Entombed A.D. (Brick by Brick, 1/16), The Toasters (Casbah, 1/22), Mike Doughty (BUT, 2/1), The Staves (Casbah, 2/24), Tinariwen, Dengue Fever (BUT, 3/30), The Damned (HOB, 4/7), Green Day (Valley View Casino Center, 4/8).

GET YER TICKETS 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), ‘Rob Machado Benefit’ w/ Pepper, Tristan Prettyman, Chris Shiflett (BUT, 11/15), 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), Method Man and Redman (Observatory, 11/21), Warpaint (Observatory, 11/22), Red Fang (Casbah, 11/22), Hirie (Music Box, 11/25), Kool Keith (HOB, 11/27), Porter Robinson, Madeon (Val-

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ley View Casino Center, 11/29), Peter Murphy (Observatory, 11/29), Seu Jorge (Balboa Theatre, 11/30), Lee Fields (BUT, 11/30), Daughter (Observatory, 12/1), Living Legends (Observatory, 12/2), Queen Latifah (Harrah’s, 12/2), Helmet (Casbah, 12/2), Two Door Cinema Club (Harrah’s Resort, 12/3), Amy Schumer (Valley View Casino Center, 12/3), Miike Snow (Observatory, 12/5), The Album Leaf (Irenic, 12/9), Pylon Reenactment Society (Hideout, 12/10), Mr. Carmack (Observatory, 12/10), Pere Ubu (Casbah, 12/10), Jonathan Richman (BUT, 12/12), X (Casbah, 12/15-18), Henry Rollins (Observatory, 12/27), Citizen Cope (Observatory, 12/28), Mannheim Steamroller (Civic Theatre, 12/28), Donovon Frankenreiter (BUT, 12/28-29), Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven (Music Box, 12/29), Brian Setzer Orchestra (BUT, 12/31), The Devil Makes Three (Observatory, 1/4-5), Marching Church (The Hideout, 1/20), Chevelle (HOB, 1/21), Hamilton Leithauser (Casbah, 1/28), Blind Boys of Alabama (BUT, 1/29), D.R.A.M. (Music Box, 2/9), Adam Ant (Observatory, 2/18), Steve Poltz (BUT, 2/24-25), Bon Jovi (Viejas Arena, 3/5), Reverend Horton Heat (BUT, 4/20), Brian Wilson (Civic Theatre, 5/24), Coldplay (Qualcomm Stadium, 10/8).

OCTOBER 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 (sold out). Ingrid Michaelson at Humphreys by the Bay. Alice Cooper at Harrah’s Resort. Dillinger Escape Plan at Brick by Brick. Dead Feather Moon at Music Box.

SATURDAY, OCT. 29 Blind Pilot at Belly Up Tavern (sold out).

Martin Lawrence at Harrah’s Resort.

Sweater Beats at Soda Bar. Suicide Machines at The Irenic. Jo Koy at Humphreys by the Bay (sold out). M83 at SOMA. Soulection at Observatory North Park. Full Strength Funk Band at Music Box. ‘Checked Out’ w/ Author & Punisher, Planet B at Central Library.

SUNDAY, OCT. 30 Run River North at House of Blues. Psychedelic Furs at Belly Up Tavern (sold out). Ali Azida and the Need at Music Box.

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

‘Halloween Spooktacular’ w/ Stalins of Sound, Wild Wild Wets at Soda Bar. Andre Nickatina at Music Box.

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

MUSIC CONTINUED ON PAGE 38

October 26, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 37

MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 37 WEDNESDAY, NOV. 2 Elephant Stone at The Hideout. Andra Day at Humphreys by the Bay. G Burns Jug Band at California Center for the Arts.

THURSDAY, NOV. 3 Tory Lanez at Observatory North Park.

Three Dog Night at Belly Up Tavern.

Bob Moses at Music Box.

FRIDAY, NOV. 4 Pansy Division at Soda Bar. Tony Bennett at Harrahs Resort. Nobunny at The Hideout.

SATURDAY, NOV. 5 Cave Singers at Soda Bar. Sum 41 at House of Blues (sold out). Diamond Head at Brick by Brick. Katt Williams at Viejas Arena. The Wonder Years at SOMA. ‘Fall Brewing Anniversary Party’ w/ Creepy Creeps at The Casbah.

SUNDAY, NOV. 6 Daughters at Soda Bar. Montgomery Gentry at California Center for the Arts.

Steven Wilson at Belly Up Tavern (sold out). Lewis Del Mar at The Casbah. Ty Segall at The Hideout (sold out).

MONDAY, NOV. 7 Southern Culture on the Skids at The Casbah.

TUESDAY, NOV. 8 Peter Hook and the Light at House of

38 · San Diego CityBeat · October 26, 2016

Blues. Bush at Observatory North Park.

The Ocean at Brick by Brick.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 9 Death Grips at Observatory North Park.

Protomartyr at Soda Bar. The New Mastersounds at Belly Up Tavern. Ulcerate at Brick by Brick.

THURSDAY, NOV. 10 STRFKR at Observatory North Park. Garrett Klahn at Blonde.

FRIDAY, NOV. 11 Sleigh Bells at Observatory North Park.

HEALTH at Music Box. Diarrhea Planet at Soda Bar. Leaether Strip at Brick by Brick. Touche Amore at The Irenic.

SATURDAY, NOV. 12 Steel Panther at House of Blues. Car Seat Headrest at The Irenic. OM at The Casbah. Livin’ on a Prayer at Belly Up Tavern. SubRosa at Soda Bar. Kim and the Created at Bar Pink.

SUNDAY, NOV. 13 Young Dubliners at Belly Up Tavern.

Electric Citizen at Soda Bar. Dictators NYC at The Casbah. Joe Budden at Music Box.

MONDAY, NOV. 14 Lupe Fiasco at House of Blues. Mangchi, Kid Koala at Blonde. Mac Miller at Observatory North Park. Branches at The Casbah.

TUESDAY, NOV. 15 The Record Company at The Casbah (sold out). ‘Rob Machado Benefit’ w/

Pepper, Tristan Prettyman, Chris Shiflett at Belly Up Tavern.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 16 July Talk at The Casbah. Rae Sremmurd at Observatory North Park.

THURSDAY, NOV. 17 Pennywise at House of Blues (sold out).

Vektor at The Merrow. Kinnie Dye and Mango Melody at Belly Up Tavern.

FRIDAY, NOV. 18 hed p.e. at The Hideout. Trash Talk, Antwon at Soda Bar. William Fitzsimmons at The Casbah. Tombs at The Merrow.

Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band at Humphreys by the Bay (sold out).

SATURDAY, NOV. 19 Neko Case at Poway OnStage. Lucius at Belly Up Tavern. Lukas Graham at House of Blues. Gogol Bordello at Observatory North Park.

SUNDAY, NOV. 20 John Mayall at Belly Up Tavern.

Screaming Lord Stax and the Savages at The Casbah.

MONDAY, NOV. 21 Method Man and Redman at Observatory North Park.

TUESDAY, NOV. 22 Red Fang at The Casbah. Warpaint at Observatory North Park.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 23 Cash’d Out at Belly Up.

FRIDAY, NOV. 25 Chris Isaak at Belly Up. Yelawolf at Observatory North Park. Hirie at Music Box. Mother Hips at The Casbah.

SATURDAY, NOV. 26 The Interrupters at The Irenic. Nik Turner’s Hawkwind at Brick by Brick.

Mother Hips at The Casbah.

SUNDAY, NOV. 27 Kool Keith at House of Blues. Taylor Williamson at Belly Up Tavern. Hot Chip DJ set at The Casbah.

MONDAY, NOV. 28 Young Thug at Observatory North Park.

TUESDAY, NOV. 29 Arc Iris at Soda Bar. Peter Murphy at Observatory North Park.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 30 Lee Fields at Belly Up Tavern. Seu Jorge at Balboa Theatre. Doyle Bramhall II at The Casbah.

rCLUBSr

710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave., San Diego. Pacific Beach. Fri: Kid Wilderness, Pointdexter. Sat: The Devastators, KL Noise Makerz. Tue: Cyan Rising.

Air Conditioned Lounge, 4673 30th St., San Diego. Normal Heights. Wed: ‘Interconnected’ w/ DJ Alex Mattery. Thu: ‘Libertine’ w/ DJs Jon Wesley, 1979. Sat:

MUSIC CONTINUED ON PAGE 40

#SDCityBeat

#SDCityBeat

October 26, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 39

MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 38 ‘Juicy’ w/ Mike Czech. Sun: ‘Chvrch’ w/ DJ Karma.

American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., San Diego. Downtown. Thu: Kurt Metzger. Fri: Kurt Metzger. Sat: Kurt Metzger. Sun: Comic Strip.

The Bancroft, 9143 Campo Rd., Spring Valley. Thu: Voice Of Addiction, Ash Williams, Que Oso. Fri: Levi Shakes.

Bang Bang, 526 Market St., San Diego.

Downtown. Fri: Pete Tong. Sat: Damian Lazarus. Sun: Disclosure.

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

North Park. Wed: DJ L. Fri: ‘80s vs. 90s’.

Sat: DJs Grimm, Old Man Johnson. Sun: ‘Rat Sabbath’.

Beaumont’s, 5662 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla. Thu: Adam Block Duo. Fri: Mojo Jackson. Sat: Emotional Rescue.

‘The National Punk Disco - Smiths Night’ w/ DJs Saul Q, Ikah Love, Rob Moran.

Sun: Dinosaur Ghost, DJ Amnesia. Mon: ‘Ramones Halloween Party’.

Boar Cross’n, 390 Grand Ave., Carlsbad. Thu: Dapper Bandits. Fri: ‘Club Musae’. Sat: ‘Sabado en Fuego’ w/ DJs XP, KA, K-Swift.

Brass Rail, 3796 Fifth Ave., San Diego.

Hillcrest. Mon: ‘Manic Monday’ w/ DJ Junior the Disco Punk.

Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave., San Diego. Bay Park. Thu: Dope, Flaw, Motorgrater, The Thrill Killers, Killing the Messenger. Fri: Dillinger Escape Plan, O’Brother, Cult Leader, Entheos. Sat: Aghori, Contortion, Vanguard, Big Goat.

Sun: Death Angel, Nukem, Thrown into Exile, Monarch. Mon: Buzzov-en, Bongzilla, Wizard Rifle, Garth Algar.

Cafe Sevilla, 353 Fifth Ave., San Diego.

Downtown. Sat: Flamenco Dinner Show.

Sun: Buena Vista Sundays.

Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. Wed: Maceo Parker. Thu: The Human Experience, Kaminanda, Wolfgang Von Cope, Kompozart. Fri: Dead Man’s Party, Manganista, DJ Richie.

Sat: Blind Pilot, The River Whyles (sold out). Sun: The Psychedelic Furs, Pom Poms (sold out). Mon: Halloween Heat, DJ Chris Cote, Velours Rogue Burlesque.

Tue: Sergio Mendes.

The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd., San Diego. Midtown. Wed: Pleasure Fix, Flames of Durga, Big Bloom. Thu: The Reverend Payton’s Big Damn Band, The Supersuckers, Jesse Dayton. Fri: DJ Artistic’s Hip Hop Battle Bot. Sat: ‘Michael vs. Prince Halloween Dance Party’ w/ DJs Vaughn Avakian, Tramlife, Cros One.

Black Cat Bar, 4246 University Ave., San Diego. City Heights. Fri: Kenseth Thibideau, Pall Jenkins, Please the Trees, Rafter.

Sat: Gone Baby Gone. Mon: Bone Scott & Big Balls, DJ Milky Wayne.

The Che Cafe, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. Thu: Cruel Hand, Eternal Sleep, Will to Die. Sat: Variants, Headstone.

Blonde, 1808 W. Washington Street, San Diego. Mission Hills. Wed: ‘Dance Klassique’ w/ Chris Liosi. Thu: ‘The Redwoods Social’. Fri: ‘Through Being Cool’ w/ DJs Derek Hubbard, Steven Oira. Sat:

Cat Eye Club, 370 7th Ave, SAN DIEGO. Downtown. Thu: Miss Tiki Oasis.

Chico Club, 7366 El Cajon Blvd, La Mesa. Fri: Halloween Scary-oke. Sat: Kasey Coe & The Cohorts.

MUSIC CONTINUED ON PAGE 41

40 · San Diego CityBeat · October 26, 2016

SPOTLIGHT If it’s not Halloween, then it’s Mexrrissey that’ll bring us together. The Mexico City-based Morrissey/ Smiths cover band, known for translating Moz’s catalog into Latin sounds such as cumbia or Norteno, is playing a special Dia De Los Muertos show at California Center for the Arts in Escondido (340 N. Escondido Blvd.) on Tuesday, Nov. 1. Just remember, they sing all the songs in Spanish, so do some brushing up if you plan to sing along: Hay una luz que nunca se apaga.

—Jeff Terich

#SDCityBeat

MUSIC Dizzy’s, 4275 Mission Bay Drive, San Diego. Mission Bay. Wed: Terry Bozzio. Fri: The Joshua White Trio.

ams Ave., San Diego. Normal Heights.

Wed: Veronica May. Thu: Zero to Billy.

Fri: Gregory Page. Sat: Barbara Nesbitt.

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

Downtown. Fri: DJ Beatnick. Sat: ‘Blood In Blood Out’. Mon: ‘Halloween Horror Night’.

Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd., San Diego. Midtown. Wed: ‘Family Beatdown’. Thu: ‘Stylus Fixx’. Fri: Snail Cage.

Sat: ‘Vaporwave Halloween Party’.

The Field, 544 Fifth Ave., San Diego.

Downtown. Wed: Fiore. Thu: Pushin’ Rope. Fri: Feel Good Band. Sat: Quel Bordel. Sun: Joseph Carroll. Mon: Pat Hilton. Tue: Pat Hilton.

Fluxx, 500 Fourth Ave., San Diego.

Downtown. Fri: DJ Bamboozle. Sat: Too Short. Sun: ‘Morning of the Dead’.

Hennessey’s of La Jolla, 7811 Herschel Ave., La Jolla. Thu: Night of Dark Tales.

The Hideout, 3519 El Cajon Blvd. (City Heights), San Diego. City Heights. Wed: Vanladylove. Fri: ‘Blam Blam Fever’ w/ DJs Jeff Graves, Skarina, Ikah Love. Sat: Papa. Mon: ‘Freak Da Funk Out’ w/ DJs Hotthobo, Inform, Xica Soul, Tec. The Holding Company, 5040 Newport Ave., San Diego. Ocean Beach. Wed: Skyler Lutes, R3X. Thu: DJ Reefah, No King. Fri: Nicky Sapanaro, AHEE Saber, Loud n Killer, Nick Gray. Sat: Sunny Rude, DJ OMZ. Sun: J.A.M. K West.

Mon: Kerry-Oke. Tue: DJ Green T. House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., San Diego. Downtown. Wed: Rasputina, Vita and the Woolf. Thu: From Indian Lakes, Made Violent, Wild Wild Horses. Fri: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Death from Above 1979 (sold out). Sat: Halloween Block Party. Sun: Run River North.

Kensington Club, 4079 Adams Ave., San Diego. Kensington. Fri: Grizzly Business, Super Buffet. Sat: The Amalgamated, Bearwulf, The Lowland Drifters.

Lestat’s West, 3341 Adams Ave., San Diego. Normal Heights. Thu: Dressy Bessy, Luke Fallon, Madison. Fri: Jara, DWNTWN, Kid Cadaver. Sat: The Fire Brothers, Chris Carpenter. Sun: Strictly Skunk.

OMNIA Nightclub, 454 6th Ave, San Diego. Thu: SNBRN. Fri: Matoma. Sat: Vice.

Panama 66, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park.

Wed: Gilbert Castellanos. Fri: Ypsitucky.

Sat: Euphoria Brass Band. Sun: Kelp Giant.

Parq, 615 Broadway, San Diego. Fri: DJ Shift. Sat: Stafford Brothers. Mon: Chris Brown.

The Loft @ UCSD, Price Center East, La Jolla. Wed: The Jones Family Singers, The Jones Family Singers. Fri: ‘Boo Bash’. Sat: DP. Tue: Azizi Gibson.

Riviera Supper Club, 7777 University Ave., La Mesa. Wed: ‘Boss Jazz’ w/ Jason Hanna. Thu: Alvino and the Dwells. Fri: Imagery Machine. Sat: Three Chord Justice.

Mc P’s Irish Pub, 1107 Orange Ave., Coronado. Wed: Goodal Boys. Thu: Ron’s Trio. Sat: Ron’s Garage.

Seven Grand, 3054 University Ave., San Diego. North Park. Wed: G Burns Jug Band. Fri: DJ Tah Rei. Sat: Jimmy Ruelas. Mon: Rafter, Gary Wilson.

The Merrow, 1271 University Ave., San Diego. Hillcrest. Wed: Mindsail, Swamp Ritual, Mario Esteban and the Blessed Hellhounds. Thu: The Montell Jordans, Bossfight, Alive & Well. Fri: Piss Poor, Godspeed McQueen, Punkture. Sat: Digital Lizards of Doom, Shell Shock, Bang Pow, DJ Man Cat. Sun: L1ght Ra1l, Surly Bonds, Anzio Moonshine Flats, 344 7th Ave., San Diego. Gaslamp. Fri: Honky Tonk Boombox. Sat: Filmore.

The Irenic, 3090 Polk Ave., San Diego.

North Park. Wed: Preoccupations, Methyl Ethyl. Thu: Damien Jurado.

Mother’s Saloon, 2228 Bacon Street, San Diego. Thu: DJ Dub B. Sat: Feathers & Lead, Hoedown on the Hill, The Homesick Hitchers. Mon: Kayla Hope.

Java Joe’s Normal Heights, 3536 Ad-

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

#SDCityBeat

North Park. Wed: Paramore tribute. Thu: ‘No Limits’ w/ DJ Myson King. Fri: ‘After Hours’ w/ DJs Adam Salter, Kid Wonder.

Sun: ‘Uptown Top Ranking’. Mon: ‘Dead Man’s Party’ w/ Oingo Boingo Under Cover. Tue: ‘Trapped’.

Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego. City Heights. Wed: Abrasive Wheels, Revolt-Chix, Sculpins, Slaughter Boys.

Thu: Mondo Drag, Ocelot, Monarch. Fri: Jacuzzi Boys, Feels, Mint Field, Sixes.

Sat: Sweater Beats, Different Sleep. Mon: ‘Halloween Spooktacular’ w/ Foxine Jay, Wild Wild Wets, Stalins of Sound, Sol Orchid. Tue: Fictionist, Step Rockets, Imagery Machine.

SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd., San Diego. Midway. Fri: RX Bandits, And So I Watch You From Afar. Sat: M83, Tennyson. Tue: The Devil Wears Prada, Memphis May Fire, Silverstein, Like Moths to Flames.

Sycamore Den, 3391 Adams Ave., San

Diego. Normal Heights. Thu: Second Cousins, The American West. Sun: Heidi and the Almightys, Levi and the Americats.

Til-Two Club, 4746 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego. City Heights. Thu: ‘80s Night’ w/ DJs Saul Q, Viejo Lowbo. Fri: The Kegels, Second Hand, Punchcard, Let’s Face It. Sun: The Montell Jordans, Stick Bitz, Letdown. Mon: ‘Deskarga Halloween’ w/ Cumbia Machin, DJ Viejo Lowbo.

The Tin Roof, 401 G Street, San Diego.

Gaslamp. Wed: Kenny and Deez. Thu: The Gold Standard. Fri: Groove International. Sat: Keep Your Soul, Chad Lada Duo. Sun: Shell Shock.

Tio Leo’s, 5302 Napa St., San Diego.

Bay Park. Wed: Gino & The Lone Gunmen. Thu: Rockin’ Aces. Fri: Santana Ways. Sat: Gary Roach Stones Revue.

Sun: Colour.

Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave., San Diego. City Heights. Wed: Lydia Wilts, Scarlet Checkers, The Clowntortionist.

Fri: The Soaks, The Herms, Vietrahm.

Sat: Masteria, Megan’s Law Enforcement, Se Vende.

Ux31, 3112 University Ave., San Diego.

North Park. Wed: DJs Artistic, Tramlife, Moniq. Fri: DJ Ayla Simone. Sat: DJ Bacon.

Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St, San Diego.

South Park. Wed: ‘Retrograde’. Thu: ‘Vamp: Skeletons in the Closet’. Fri: ‘St. Vitus Dance Party’ w/ DJs Handsome Skeleton, Heather Hardcore. Sat: ‘Booty Bassment’ w/ DJs Dimitri, Rob. Mon: ‘Lost Boys 80s Halloween Party’.

Winstons, 1921 Bacon St., San Diego.

Ocean Beach. Wed: Psydecar, DJ Carlos Culture. Thu: Lit One, Nick Gray, LXMB. Fri: Orgone, ‘Ocean Boogie’. Mon: Electric Waste Band.

October 26, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 41

LAST WORDS | ADVICE

AMY ALKON

ADVICE

GODDESS Eat Should And Die Your response to “Torn” really missed the mark.

She is the 35-year-old woman whose friends and family think her 43-year-old boyfriend is lazy and not good enough for her and will end up living off her. She has a full-time job with benefits, while he works part time and saves up when he wants to buy something. She says he supports her emotionally: “He…has my back to an unreasonable degree.” Yet, you contend that his lack of ambition may lead her to resent him. My advice to her: “If the relationship works for both of you, enjoy it. Nurture it. Keep the outside influences outside. And for crying out loud, woman, pull up your big-girl Underoos and tell your friends and family to take a deep breath and say a prayer to Saint Eff You.”

—Better Idea Your advice—that “Torn” should just flip the bird at all of her boyfriend’s detractors—is the perfect solution for any woman who has a number of smelly, unsightly friends and family members cluttering up her life. I offer a similar redo of decluttering queen Marie “KonMari” Kondo’s advice that we should go through all our stuff and see what brings joy. Yawn. The AlkonMari method: “Strike a match and run.”

But, wait, you say. He supports her emotionally. That, you insist, should be enough.

Should be. And though it’s reasonable to prefer that it would be, the late Albert Ellis, co-founder of cognitivebehavioral therapy, explained that “should” involves the irrational demand that the world manifest itself in an idealized way—the way it SHOULD be. This keeps us from dealing with it as it is. For example, I should be writing this response to you in a villa in the south of France with servants, a helipad and a moat. But here in the real world, unless I start moonlighting as a drug lord, I will continue writing from the cute shack in Los Angeles that I share with my dog and several million termites.

Likewise, in that magical land where children’s dentists send glitter instead of a bill, the perfect husband could be a sweet man who splits his time between a low-stress part-time job and chillaxing on the couch with a doob. But women evolved to have emotional mechanisms pushing them to seek men who are willing and able “providers,” and a man’s ambition is a cue for that. Women can’t just yell at their genes, “Hey, it’s 2016, and I’m the VP of a successful startup!” As anthropologist Donald Symons explains, changing any “complex adaptation,” like those driving mating psychology, takes “hundreds

or thousands of generations.” This is why—as I explained to “Torn”—research finds that women married to a Mr. Mom often end up resenting him, making those marriages more likely to end in divorce.

Should “Torn” stay or go? That actually isn’t for you or me to say, because our values aren’t her values and what works for us may not work for her.

That’s why I suggested she mull over the potential issues—over time—and make an informed decision about whether to go all in with her Laid-Back Larry.

Yeah, I know—love should “conquer all.” And yes, in a perfect world, we could respond to utility company disconnect notices with a sweet note: “Please don’t shut my lights off! XOXO!”

Invasion Of The Biography Snatchers I’m a 32-year-old lesbian and an aspiring fiction writer. I use my life in my work, but my girlfriend gets mad when she shows up in it. I think she’s being unfair. Isn’t anything I experience fair game?

—Storyteller

Women married to a Mr. Mom often end up resenting him.

42 · San Diego CityBeat · October 26, 2016

There she is crying, and you’re rubbing her back, all “Baby, that’s terrible.” And then you duck out of the room and dictate everything you can remember into your phone.

Um, no. Think of the details of your girlfriend’s life like some stranger’s lunch.

The fact that their cheeseburger is within your reach doesn’t mean you get to grab it and be all “Mine! Yummeee!”

As Louis Brandeis and Samuel Warren explained in an 1890 Harvard Law Review article on privacy, unless somebody is a public figure, they have a right to privacy, meaning the right to control who gets to know what about their persona and private life.

You cross the line from fiction writer to privacy invader when a character is recognizable as a particular person. It isn’t that you can’t use anything at all from another person’s life. Publishing expert Jane Friedman says you can create a composite character “with traits and characteristics culled from several people.” In other words, steal from the many instead of “the one.” Remember, it’s called an “intimate relationship” because it’s supposed to be between two people—no two people and the 8,423 others one of them gave their novel away to on Goodreads. (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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#SDCityBeat

October 26, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 43