San Diego CityBeat • Nov 6, 2013

Poverty P.7 Adoption P.10 Asian P.23 Gloomsday P.25

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November 6, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 3

Leaders with guts We were rough on District 4 City CouncilmemThe way to create affordable housing, they say, is ber Myrtle Cole during and after the election this by reducing the cost of doing business, which spurs past spring. We won’t forgive her for her disgusting growth in high-paying jobs, eliminating the need campaign tactics against opponent Dwayne Crenfor housing subsidies. By their logic, because the fee shaw, but what’s done is done, and there’s no gohas been so low, there should have been rampant ing back. And since she’s been on the council, the high-paying-job growth in San Diego and little need city’s elected Democrats have been a cohesive unit for affordable housing. That’s not the case—a point that hasn’t backed down from its progressive policy Cole made emphatically on Monday, pointing spegoals in the face of considerable pressure. cifically to a lack of economic development in her Recently, they held their ground on a reasonable southeastern district. compromise on an update to the Barrio Logan ComAs Joshua Emerson Smith reports on Page 7, munity Plan, despite a looming referendum from the there’s pretty much universal agreement that the shipbuilding industry, and on Monday, amid threats market hasn’t created the economic conditions from the city’s business and construction lobby, where affordable housing isn’t necessary. Accordthe Democrats finally managed to raise what’s long ing to the Housing Commission, there are 45,000 been known as the “linkage fee” and is now called families in San Diego on a waiting list for partially the “workforce housing offset”—a fee that developsubsidized housing. ers of commercial buildings pay into a Fee-increase opponents in the busiDavid Rolland fund that helps finance affordable housness community say developers shouldn’t ing. The idea is that commercial growth have to bear the whole cost. But when it creates a certain number of low-paying comes to the search for solutions, these jobs, which in turn generates the need folks are nowhere to be found—that is, for affordable housing. until their bottom line is in peril.

Kudos to the ballsy staff at the city’s Since the proposal to increase the Housing Commission for proposing fee gained steam, briefly, two years ago, what Independent Budget Analyst Ansome of them have been suggesting tackdrea Tevlin called an “aggressive” fee ing affordable housing onto a potential, increase. The proposal was to raise the nebulous, omnibus infrastructure bond fee from 1.5 percent of 1990 construcmeasure. We have no problem, in printion costs to 1.5 percent of 2013 conciple, with using general-purpose pubMyrtle Cole lic money to fund affordable housing. struction costs—a defensible goal but a jarring change. The fee was established in 1990 But that bond would have to be paid back, and since and, by law, is supposed to be increased regularly; San Diego has no extra money sitting around gathinstead, it was cut in 1996 and hasn’t been hiked ering dust, taxes would have to be raised. Maybe since. We surmised that the Housing Commission San Diegans are willing to pay more in taxes to fix was going big and bold so that a compromise for a roads and sewers and whatnot—maybe—but you reduced increase would still be significant; when start adding more stuff, like affordable housing for Tevlin suggested a less aggressive increase, we asother people? Yeah, good luck with that. sumed the council Democrats would go along.

The City Council opted for the linkage fee in Not so. Councilmembers Cole, Marti Emerald hand rather than the bond measure in the bush. and Sherri Lightner, Council President and interim Now, opponents are likely to sue, arguing that Mayor Todd Gloria and mayoral candidate David there’s not a strong enough nexus between new Alvarez went for the big hike, compromising only commercial developments and the need for affordon a relaxed phase-in period and exempting projable housing. Gloria said he’s confident it will pass ects that are already in the pipeline. The council’s constitutional muster. We hope he’s right. four Republicans, including mayoral candidate In any case, we’re encouraged lately with the Kevin Faulconer, voted no. council Democrats’ willingness to use their maThe Republicans parroted the rhetoric exjority for the benefit of folks who need their help the most. pressed by opponents of the fee increase—that it’s a job killer. Of course, anything Republicans and What do you think? Write to editor@sdcitybeat.com. the business lobby don’t like is called a job killer.

This issue of CityBeat dedicated to the good people of Toronto, who, apparently, are as bad at electing mayors as we are.

Cover design by Lindsey Voltoline, with art by Avery Lawrence

Volume 12 • Issue 13 Editor David Rolland Associate Editor Kelly Davis Music Editor Jeff Terich Staff Writers Alex Zaragoza, Joshua Emerson Smith Web Editor Ryan Bradford Art director Lindsey Voltoline Columnists Aaryn Belfer, Edwin Decker, John R. Lamb

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

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

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4 · San Diego CityBeat · November 6, 2013

November 6, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 5

Correction In last week’s news story about super PACs in the mayor’s race, Kelly Davis reported that the Environmental Health and Justice Campaign Fund, a committee supporting David Alvarez, is sponsored by the Environmental Health Coalition. That’s incorrect. She also reported that the committee’s received $27,000 in contributions, $25,000 of that from the Akonadi Foundation. It’s only received $8,500, $7,500 of that from the president of the Akonadi Foundation. We apologize for the errors.

Not fair to Faulconer Your Oct. 23 editorial, “David Alvarez for mayor” failed to make a compelling case against Kevin Faulconer and provided poor arguments defending Alvarez’s serious lack of experience.

While I would never expect CityBeat to be impartial and under no circumstance endorse a Republican, your dismissal of Faulconer as a “paint-by-numbers Republican” who would simply be “an advocate for a well-heeled minority of San Diegans” is flawed because it provides no evidence to support these arguments. It’s not credible to conclude that he’s just another heartless Republican insensitive to the needs of average citizens without any proof. If he’s truly this bad and this shallow, it should have been very easy for you to have cited a few examples to defend your position, but you provided none. Please explain to

6 · San Diego CityBeat · November 6, 2013

your readers why Faulconer’s neighborhood fairness plan that focuses on “neighborhoods that have been neglected the longest” is just a gimmick to get votes and could not possibly reflect his true plans for the city.

Further, your argument that Alvarez’s glaring lack of experience can easily be remedied by simply appointing “strong, experienced people in the roles of chief operating officer, chief financial officer and chief of staff” is completely absurd. What we need is a strong and experienced mayor! Most people who objectively assess Alvarez as a mayoral candidate will conclude that he is an impressive person with a bright future ahead of him, but he’s clearly not ready or equipped to run the nation’s eighth largest city with his almost three years of experience as a City Council member.

In classic CityBeat fashion, you simply chose the candidate who’s the farthest to the left on the ideological spectrum and then backed into the reasons why this is the most logical choice while dismissing the Republican candidate by virtue of the fact that he is a Republican, without any analysis.

Richard Walker, La Jolla

Alvarez In it for himself Regarding your Oct. 23 editorial endorsing David Alvarez for mayor of San Diego: I live in Barrio Logan, a homeowner there

for roughly 13 years now. Alvarez does not respond to constituent (my) emails about homeless issues and special-district fees.

The special district was rammed down our throats. He graciously permitted the homeless shelter to be set up permanently in our neighborhood. Trash builds in our alleys; the streets are rarely maintained, except for the high visibility of the new Northgate Market area. It seems the homeless camp at the end of Newton will be there forever; the area around it reeks of urine. Homeless people David Rolland defecate against my car and in our alley.

Our neighborhood is gentrifying not due to the effort of pols but due to low-cost rental housing with artists and creative types moving in.

David Alvarez It was such an odd juxtaposition to see the high art Trolley Dances in our neighborhood in the day and homeless people sleeping in their own urine in the same place only hours later.

Having been in the neighborhood since Juan Vargas, Ralph Inzunza, Ben Hueso and now Alvarez, I see an unbroken chain of pols in it for their own advantage, not for the neighborhood or its residents. David Alvarez is a weak choice for mayor.

Dave Heaney, Barrio Logan

JOSHUA EMERSON SMITH

posing is a good funding source or not.”

While many in the businesses community have continually blasted the fee as a job killer since it was first instituted in 1990, the systemic economic impacts of growing poverty have rarely been part of the debate.

“We really don’t deal with that larger issue,” Monroig said in response to questions about the impact of poverty on city taxpayers.

Advocates like Riggs argue that affordable housing helps families become productive members of society and contribute to the local economy.

“If people are spending 70 percent of their income on rent, they’re not going to the movies or going out to a local restaurant,” she said. “It’s shown time and time again. The most economically prosperous communities are the ones with the most equitable conditions.”

That was the case for the “Jones” family, who asked that we not identify them for fear of professional repercussions.

In 2010, Daniel Jones, his wife and three children were living in a three bedroom home in Lemon Grove. In hopes of advancement, Daniel’s wife went back to school to become a nurse. Daniel, who works as a janitor on a university campus, took a second job to pay the family’s roughly $1,600-a-month rent.

At a rally outside of City Hall on Monday, City Councilmember and With Daniel working 12 hours a day and mayoral candidate David Alvarez calls for investment in affordable housing. bringing in about $35,000 a year, the family of five survived on an income just over PPIC’s poverty threshold. However, while trying to better their economic standing through education, the family was often forced to endure hunger and the threat of homelessness. and in opposition to the proposed hike. In report, called “The California Poverty Mea“It was a lot of struggle trying to feed the the end, the council voted for a gradual fee sure: A New Look at the Social Safety Net.” family and pay the rent at the same time,” said increase over the next three years, potenThe study, which examined the largest Daniel, 53. “The rent was eating deep into our tially bringing in dozens of new units of af- counties in the state, found that, in San Di- pocket. It was hard for us. I have to be honest, fordable housing every year. ego, a family of four making less than $31,307 it was really hard.”

While the debate was heated and conten- a year struggles dramatically to secure basic At one point, the family started using a tious, the idea that San Diego is becoming necessities, with the affordability of housing credit card to help pay the rent, a move they increasingly unaffordable for a sizable per- being the most significant cost. knew was unsustainable. centage of its citizens was taken for granted.

“They were doing the best they could,” In neighboring Imperial County, where Even the most vocal opponents of the fee the cost of housing is much lower, the re- said Julie, Daniel’s 16-year-old daughter. never questioned the basic assumption. port puts the poverty threshold at $23,236 a “But it did make me a little bit scared that “There’s an understanding that we need year—on par with the official federal pover- at some point, we may not be able to afaffordable housing in this city,” City Coun- ty line for a four-person family of $23,550. ford the rent because I overheard some of cilmember Mark Kersey said during the “You can be a working person in San Di- their conversations.” meeting before voting against the fee in- ego and not even be able to meet basic living In such situations, many families lose concrease. “There’s no question about that.” expenses,” said Susan Riggs, executive di- trol of their finances and get buried in debt As home prices and the cost of renting rector of the San Diego Housing Federation. due to unexpected medical bills or a hefty continue to climb, working-class families “The trend is that we car repair, said Joni are struggling to keep pace, and many are have higher poverty Halpern, formerly “The rent was eating deep slipping into poverty. However, the reality than in the past. It’s the executive direcmay be harsher than many people realize. tor of Supportive a combination of a lot into our pocket. It was hard In San Diego County, more than one in of low-wage jobs and Parents Information for us. I have to be honest, five residents, or about 23 percent of the pop- a high cost of living.”

Network. it was really hard.” ulation, lived in poverty in 2011, according to “It’s like they’re The basic idea a first-of-its-kind study released in October behind the linkage on a brittle platform,” —“Daniel Jones” by the Public Policy Institute of California. said the lawyer, who fee is to subsidize afThe report—which factored in a vari- fordable housing dehelps low-income ety of living costs, including filling up the velopment by charging non-residential de- families secure housing. “One little thing gas tank on the way to work, putting food velopment, such as hotels and office space, goes wrong and they crash down through on the table and hospital visits—stands in that create low-wage jobs. that gap in a heck of a hurry. And we see stark contrast to the federal poverty meaThe need for low-income housing is a them again in the food lines or bankruptcy sure, which estimates that only 15 percent “valid issue,” said Felipe Monroig, president court or applying for some sort of aid.” of county residents live in poverty.

However, the Joneses didn’t spiral into of the San Diego County Taxpayers Associa“It’s sobering that when you comprehen- tion, which opposed the linkage-fee increase. debt or poverty. About 18 months ago, they sively measure resources, more Californians “The question is not about affordable were able to get into an affordable-housing are poorer than we thought,” said Sarah housing,” he said; “the question is whether Bohn, PPIC economist and coauthor of the the funding mechanism that they are proHOUSING CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

Is the rent too damn high?

San Diego struggles with how to house working-class families

by Joshua Emerson Smith Minutes before Monday’s City Council meeting, mayoral candidate and Councilmember David Alvarez addressed a crowd of low-income residents and housing advocates outside of City Hall.

“Unfortunately, and just like we’ve seen over the past several years, the usual crowd of Downtown special interests are trying to get in the way of supporting working families,” Alvarez said.

Later that afternoon, the City Council was set to consider increasing a development fee that helps subsidize low-income housing. The city halved the so-called “linkage fee” in 1996 and refused to increase it for more than a decade. Now, a proposal to raise it was drawing vociferous opposition.

At the council hearing, Councilmember Kevin Faulconer, who’s also running for mayor, claimed that the fee that workingclass families were demanding would actually hurt them in the long run.

“The best way that we could connect people to affordable housing opportunities is to create good-quality jobs in the city of San Diego,” he said. “This proposal will have the exact opposite effect.”

For hours, scores of citizens spoke passionately before the council both in favor

Novemer 6, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 7

JOHN R. LAMB

SPIN CYCLE

JOHN R.

LAMB The transparency game “There’s no sense talking about priorities. Priorities reveal themselves. We’re all transparent against the face of the clock.”

—Eric Zorn Let’s get this out of the way first: We’d all love for our government leaders to be open, forthcoming and honest about their sausagemaking skills in the messy world of politics. Unfortunately, you’re more likely to see two shooting stars collide mid-air before the true nature of governance is revealed.

That said, it does strike some as odd that with less than two weeks remaining before the Nov. 19 primary election—most likely Round 1 in determining San Diego’s next mayor—the focus for one candidate seems tied to the whereabouts of another candidate’s college records.

Last week, City Councilmember and mayor-wannabe Kevin Faulconer stood outside City Hall before a bevy of cameras (in this case, two, with possibly one from the campaign) and a pittance of reporters to unveil his five-point “Transparency First” plan, which was heavy on pillowy platitudes and light on how a cash-strapped city gets to the point where San Diegans actually witness, as Faulconer put it, “complete transparency from their elected officials.”

“There should be nothing secret about the people’s business,” the apparent front-runner in the race told the small gathering, interrupted once when a gentleman walked by and shouted, “No booze ban!”

But being transparent is a lot tougher than calling for it, and that’s where this story gets a bit mushy.

Prior to last week’s presser, the Faulconer camp issued a one-page release titled “Kevin Faulconer’s PR Clients.” As readers might recall, Spin recently attempted to dig a bit deeper—with only minor success—into Faulconer’s professional career before he joined the San Diego City Council in January 2006.

Although at the time, a Faul-

coner spokesperson said the council member had nothing to hide, efforts to piece together his pre-council life was, to say the least, a challenge.

The one-page release confirmed the bulk of what Spin could glean from record searches and what little the campaign was providing. Let’s just say that a wisdom-tooth extraction would have been easier.

The release reiterated that Faulconer’s three main clients during his near-10-year employ at Nelson Communications Group (and later NCG Porter Novelli when the big firm purchased Nelson) were Sharp HealthCare when it was expanding Grossmont Hospital, the Associated Students of San Diego State University for expanded sports facilities (the only time Faulconer registered as a lobbyist) and the Convention Center expansion push in the late 1990s, which resulted in a center that nearly doubled in size.

But the release also expanded on those clients. It said Faulconer also “provided PR support” for Porter Novelli clients Francis W. Parker School, SeaWorld and the Port of San Diego.

As far as any additional details, the release said, “Kevin would encourage the company to release any client-related information upon request.”

Spin is still waiting to hear back from Porter Novelli, but what are the odds that a private company would release any information about a former employee, even at that employee’s urging?

Spin’s guess is right around zero.

Meanwhile, Spin attempted to get more details about prior employment from Camp Kevin, but, sadly, the memories of that work seem to be fading fast. As for dates, campaign spokesperson Tony Manolatos said Faulconer recalls working for the Port District “around 1997-99, but he’s not certain.”

Regarding the SeaWorld client, which he said was specifically the Hubbs SeaWorld Research Institute, Manolatos

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Transparent Kevin said Faulconer “doesn’t remember that, either.” Hubbs President and CEO Don Kent also offered no specific recollection of Faulconer’s work product.

In Spin’s way of thinking, this is troubling for a couple of reasons: First, we’re talking the late 1990s and early 2000s here, not some potentially hazy college era.

And, second, these are not relationships that went unquestioned in previous campaigns.

Mailers from Faulconer’s earlier council races noted Porter Novelli’s relationships with large, influential local entities, including SeaWorld and its owner Anheuser-Busch, the port and SDG&E. One San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council mailer from the early 2000s suggested that the firm represented

“the most rapacious special interests in California.”

At the time, Faulconer vehemently denied the insinuation and rejected a contention that he supported breaking the coastal 30-foot height limit for a proposed hotel on the SeaWorld leasehold.

Records are at best shaky from that period. Minutes from Mission Bay Park Committee meetings from the late ’90s have long since been destroyed. Other records, such as port contracts, only hint at vague job descriptions.

Memories of the players back then seem either nonexistent or intentionally forgotten.

But Bob Ottilie, who served with Faulconer on the Mission Bay Park Committee and supports him in the mayor’s race, said he’d never seen a volunteer take on as much responsibility as Faulconer did in the long push to get park revenues dedicated to park improvements.

That was the demand of the California Coastal Commission when it approved the rollercoaster ride for SeaWorld, Ottilie said, and the city simply kept offering no plan, except, he said, “just keep asking the council for money and hope some day the council will give us money.”

So, it seems there’s some good

and some unknown about Faulconer’s past, which gets us back to calls for transparency.

“It reminds me of the primary in 2012,” said Carl Luna, the Mesa College political-science professor and longtime local political-behavior observer. “Calls for all sorts of information, including tax returns. In the end, I think what campaigns are doing is trolling for anything to use against their opponents.”

If a candidate agrees, it likely opens the door for endlessly more requests, which is basically the argument Camp Nathan Fletcher is using to refuse releasing his college transcripts, wondering tongue-incheek if dental records are next.

“What you wind up with is less a vigorous discussion of the issues facing San Diego and more a vanity race,” Luna said.

What candidates might consider in the future is simply releasing this information at the outset. Open up your life. Make it easily accessible. Reporters will dig if you don’t, but if you take that hobby away from them— voila!—they might just have to dwell on actual issues.

Crazy, Spin knows.

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

HOUSING CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 development, which brought the rent down to $1,050.

The extra few hundred dollars a month changed the whole mood of the house, Julie said. “I feel more at ease because I know things are stable. Now we can actually go out and actually buy a few things for the fridge.”

Since then, they’ve been able to pay down a large portion of the credit-card debt, Daniel said, adding that they’re hoping to one day own a home in San Diego. “We’re trying. We’re not where we want to be. But it’s a gradual step.”

Believing the linkage-fee increase will give more people like the Joneses a chance to get ahead, Riggs praised the City Council’s decision.

“I think this marks a turning point where we are making efforts to reverse the inequity in our communities,” she said.

“We’ve seen a trend from 1990s; the vast majority of jobs that are being created are low-wage jobs, and that’s not sustainable without low-wage housing.”

However, most advocates say the fee is by no means a panacea for ending poverty.

“Our development patterns have favored single-family homes,” Riggs said. “We’re starting to trend

back to multifamily a little bit. But we have such a shortage, it’s going to be very difficult to dig ourself out of that hole.”

By the end of the decade, more than 40 percent of all new home construction in the city will need be low- or very-low-income units in order to meet demand, according to a study by the San Diego County Association of Governments (SANDAG). To a large extent, that’s due to the significant role that low-wage workers play in San Diego’s economy. Roughly 125,000 employees in the city earn poverty-level wages, with the largest employment sector, entertainment and hospitality, providing the lowest average wage, at $21,800 a year, according to SANDAG. City Councilmember Sherri Lightner supported the linkage fee and said the city needs to increase its efforts to provide affordable housing or be faced with negative economic impacts.

“We can’t keep doing nothing and hoping the problem suddenly goes away,” she said. “In fact, the gap between wages and housing affordability continues to widen, and this will become a big drag on our economy, which could cause major employers to relocate to cities where workforce housing is abundant and affordable.”

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

Novemer 6, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 9

aaryn

backwards & in high heels

belfer Fundraising adoption fees: Fair or foul?

The photograph that launched a small movement fan, as if an Ethiopian is something to be acquired, is quite pedestrian, really: Duane Watkins is leanlike a BMW or a Bugaboo stroller. ing against a blue-gray cinderblock wall in an alley.

Another pre-adoptive couple, Alex and Brianna His hair is blond and thinning. He’s wearing all blue McCall, tried to ride the coattails of the Watkins’ and is holding a pair of sunglasses in his hands. The good fortune by posting to the HONY feed a link to monochrome image doesn’t evoke much emotion. their adoption donation page. “God has called us to Yet the story that goes with it does. It’s the kind Ethiopia,” this smiling white couple wrote. that tends to immediately resonate with an AmeriThe Christian adoption movement is huge, and can public exhausted by congressional antics and the demand for children from other countries— mass shootings, Robin Thicke and dipshits in especially those with brown kids—has created a blackface. We are wilted flowers perking up at any climate of corruption and child trafficking. This bit of goodness. impacts (and implicates) well-meaning adopters, Duane and his wife Kristen want to adopt a and the generous subsidizers of Duane and Kristen second child from Ethiopia—a brother for their Watkins’ adoption might be contributing to some Ethiopian daughter—but can’t afford the $26,000 unsavory practices. in adoption fees. In exchange for sharing his emoNowhere in all of the joyous donating is any questional story, Duane asks the photographer, “Would tioning of the exorbitant fees attached to adoption, or there be any possibility that you could help us raise the need for family preservation where possible, or the adoption fees to get her a brother? We’ve alwhat kinds of post-placement support is available to ready found him but aren’t financially ready yet.” families like the Watkins. Reuters recently ran a horNot just any photographer rifying series on the process known would have the power to raise as re-homing, when parents give thousands of dollars. But this phoThere’s a sense for adopted children away to strangtographer is Brandon Stanton, the ers they’ve “met” on the Internet me that Stanton brain and—perhaps more signifibecause they weren’t prepared or unintentionally cantly—the heart behind Humans equipped to handle the many issues of New York (HONY). institutionalized children face. crowd-sourced the A wildly popular Facebook feed Instead, this drive was touted as purchase of a child. depicting people Stanton meets on a miraculous success. The Huffingthe streets of New York City, HONY ton Post headline read, “Humans of has more than 1.6 million fans as of New York Project Magically Crowdthis writing and a No. 1 New York Times bestselling funds Ethiopian Boy’s Adoption.” It’s magic! Yes! book based on the feed. (Yes, I helped Stanton knock Meanwhile, there are 23,884 foster children in Bill O’Reilly out of that spot, and it felt good.) the state of New York, and roughly 400,000 in the Stanton’s become something of an accidencountry, the majority of them children of color. Just tal hero for humanity. He’s managed to highlight, two weeks ago, the New York Daily News reported through self-taught street photography and the that a 15-year-old Florida boy named Davion Only ability to elicit stunning honesty from strangers, pleaded for a family before a church full of people. our connectedness to one another. This, even as “I’ll take anyone,” he begged. “Old or young, dad or we stare every day deeper into the mesmerizing mom, black, white, purple. I don’t care. And I would glow of our mobile devices. Sometimes funny, other be really appreciative. The best I could be.” times outlandish, almost always moving, these picHow is it that we Americans go all the way tures remind us to look up now and again because around the world to “save” children but can’t manour planet is made up of a bajillion beautiful, crazy, age to do the same for those that are living in our broken, wondrous and love-hungry people. cities? How must a child like Davion feel when he Some of them, within 30 hours of Mundane sees so many people raising so much money for one Duane going live, helped raise $83,935. kid living oceans away?

That’s all very nice for the Watkins family, who’ll Duane and Kristen Watkins say they plan to set now be able to “get” a brother for their daughter. up college savings accounts for both kids with the And just look at what a small group of people can do additional money raised. A donation to an organization in Ethiopia that supports family preservawhen they feel compelled to action. It’s impressive. tion would be another way to honor their children But—and I say this as a fan of HONY—there’s a while also making an impact beyond their immedisense for me that Stanton unintentionally crowdate family. sourced the purchase of a child.

And just imagine what Stanton could do if he I already have a real problem with people fundturned his camera toward those way-too-many Daraising for their adoption fees (the monetary value vions in New York City? “Human Foster Kids of New becomes a public part of a child’s personal story).

York.” I could like that page. I could put my money But it didn’t help that, as contributions flooded in, on that. I bet many other people could, too. among the understandable deluge of “There’s hope for humanity!” responses, were many that inadverWrite to aaryn@sdcitybeat.com tently commodified children—specifically black and editor@sdcitybeat.com. children. “I have an Ethiopian!” wrote one on-trend

10 · San Diego CityBeat · November 6, 2013

by michael a. gardiner Michael A. Gardiner

have invented the taquito in 1940 (Los Angeles’ Cielito Lindo disputes the point), Las Cuatro Milpas might stake a claim, as well; surely nobody does it better. Made with tortillas crafted in the back of the restaurant, filled with shredded chicken and pork, garnished with oldschool shredded iceberg lettuce and sour cream, ripe for a quick dip in the incendiary crushed chile pepper and lard-based sauce, these taquitos are Southern California Mexican at its best and Las Cuatro Milpas’ chorizo stew most classic. Lard and authenticity be damned.

And then there’s the menudo, available only on Saturdays. Las Cuatro Milpas serves the blanco version of this tripe soup—native to Sinaloa and Sonora—rather than the more familiar, chile-infused brew known as menudo colorado. A legendary hangover cure, this time- and labor-intensive San Diego-style Mexican soul food food of love is all about family and community; its very texture envelops you and soothes. It’s old When Las Cuatro Milpas opened at 9 a.m. on a and it knows better. recent Saturday, the line was out the door. When But perhaps the great glory of Las Cuatro Milwe got to the front a half-hour later, the line was pas is the chorizo stew. This dish of pinto beans past the neighboring building. As we left an hour and chorizo in a thick and spicy broth garnished later, the line—that universal badge of ethnic food with a dollop of rice plays almost like a chili. excellence—was halfway down the block.

Served with brilliantly doughy and fatty flour torAnd yet, as passionate as many are about the tillas, the depth of flavor is astonishing. The proplace (1857 Logan Ave. in Barrio Logan), there’s file—layers of beans, meaty goodness and hints of occasionally a strange undercurrent of “buts” spice—is complex and utterly focused. Ladled at about the restaurant: but its menu is so short; but the cafeteria-style counter from a pot that seems its not real Mexican food; but—as a friend of mine to have been simmering since the Depression-era said when I invited him to join me for lunch— days when the restaurant first opened, the stew “it’s got a shit-ton of lard.” They are all, in their whispers of a passion that ought to end any quesown ways, shorthand for “it’s not authentic” or tions of authenticity. “it’s too old-school.” But that raises the question: If this isn’t authentic, what is? Authentic San What is authentic? Is it a goal in and of itself? Is Diego Mexican food. You know it’s authentic— old-school good or bad? and you know that old-school is good indeed— When it comes to the taquitos—hardly a genuwhen the longest line you’ve seen in months is a ine Mexican classic, and yet one star of the show line you want to stand in. at Las Cuatro Milpas—the but-ers are right. The Write to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com place offers some of the best rolled tacos on the and editor@sdcitybeat.com. planet. While Mission Hills’ El Indio claims to

the world

fare

November 6, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 11

by ian cheesman

beer &

chees An epic tale of epicness

By the time you read this, I may be dead. Or wishing I was, courtesy of a massive hangover.

Either way, it’s good reading.

Waking on the Friday morning that kicks off San Diego Beer Week (sdbw.org) is like standing in the shadow of Goliath. I am faced with a behemoth that, as a professional beer journalist, I’m expected to conquer. In lieu of a sling, I am armed only with a notepad, the camera on my phone and a liver quaking like a Chihuahua during a cold snap. I’m not liking my odds.

My first stop is Karl Strauss to enjoy a Brewmaster’s Brunch, combining my loves of haute breakfast cuisine and socially acceptable imbibing before noon. As I cross the threshold, my wife gently reminds me, “Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint.”

At least I think that’s what she said. I was already bounding over to the “Hefimosa” station (a refreshing combination of Karl Strauss Windansea Wheat and OJ), and didn’t really hear her.

The brunch is less a meal and more a series of revelations. I learn that a slightly sour and tart, aged Mouette à Trois is curiously adept at pairing with smoked salmon. A pillowy chocolate ian cheesman

beignet further reveals that dessert could well be the most important part of breakfast, next to beer, of course. Most importantly, I learn that Karl Strauss frowns upon attempts to suckle its Hefimosa dispenser.

Given the broad expanse of time between the conclusion of brunch and that evening’s San Diego Brewers Guild Fest, I decide to drink some beer before I drink some beer. The Green Line trolley makes Acoustic Ales (acousticales.com) the perfect option for this. I’m not exactly sure where the tasting room is in relation to the trolley stop, so I put my ear to the ground and orient myself toward the nearest source of Van Halen playing on overhead speakers. I honestly wish I could track more things this way.

Acoustic Ales greets me with a casked Wet Hop Citra XPA and the aroma of fried chicken in waffle tacos (courtesy of Friday food vendor Buffalo Souldiers). The combination makes for an unusual potpourri, but it’s an undeniably welcoming one. I shift my remaining sober faculties to the task of calculating what “samples per hour” rate will be needed to complete a circuit of the taps and still make a timely, if stumbling, arrival to the Port Pavilion on the Broadway Pier for the brewfest.

One more quick trolley hop (and one retrospectively unwise stroll across the tracks) later, I arrive at the Brewers Guild Fest. Judging by the volume of bourbon-tinged offerings, I’m beginning to think that the guild must dispense barrels to members in return for paying guild dues in a timely fashion. Not that I’m complaining. The only thing better than a bourbon barrel full of beer is one that’s full of bourbon.

Two hours later (somewhere between the Peppermint Milk Stout by Culture Brewing Company and Port’s Barrel-Aged Night Rider), I realize I am delirious with equal parts bliss and fatigue. The time has come to admit defeat.

Beer Week, you’ve won this round, but I’ll be back.

Hopefully.

Write to ianc@sdcitybeat.com Acoustic Ales plays “Taps.” and editor@sdcitybeat.com.

12 · San Diego CityBeat · November 6, 2013

by Mina Riazi mina riazi

straddle the fence between the two cuisines and reflect the owner’s close ties with both countries: He’s Chinese but from Japan. The menu fits in a sprinkling of Thai dishes, too.

Tempted by photos of various menu offerings taped to the outside glass, I slipped into Red Moon at an awkward, 4 p.m. time—a few hours after the lunch bunch had departed and before the dinner crowd would begin to arrive. Naturally, the place was pretty empty.

This meant our server could spend some extra time elaborating on the restaurant’s top dishes. The Red Moon’s Singapore Style noodles Honey Walnut Shrimp and—rather unsurprisingly—the Singapore Style noodles were the first two she mentioned.

The Singapore Style’s curry-seasoned rice noodles are enveloped in an eggy embrace. It’s a beautiful sight to behold—the chubby, yellowish dome of egg and noodles glistening with oil.

Shrimp and chewy pork driblets also make an apChina and Japan mix and mingle pearance, as do slivers of carrot and onion.

I really wanted to love this dish. Eggs and Few things can come between me and a fried egg. noodles spooning—what could be more splendid, This fixation began during my freshman year at right? But the curry flavor wasn’t strong enough UCSD—unlike everything else in college, eggs and lacked an essential brightness. Plus, the egg are cheap and easy. Plus, they don’t offend vegan blanket was a little on the dry side, as were the friends nearly as much as fish sticks and breaded noodles. Still, though not resplendent, it was a chicken do. More importantly, though, eggs taste reasonably solid meal. delicious with almost anything. In fact, there are The Honey Walnut Shrimp occupied the few foods an egg can’t catapult from “bland” to same close-but-no-cigar level. Minor details “pretty grand.” A heap of stale rice? Yes. Canned needed sharpening in order for the dish to soup? You bet. Burnt toast? Definitely. really shine. For one, the walnuts were a bit Nonetheless, despite the countless ways I’ve too blackened for my taste. And the battered relished eggs throughout the years, I’ve never shrimp—although crisp on the outside—could had them served paper-thin atop a pile of noodles have been firmer and snappier. On the other like a glorious, golden toupée. hand, the mayonnaise sauce was silky and That is, until I visited Red Moon Noodle glossy and delicious.

House (4646 Convoy St. in Kearny Mesa).

Warm, attentive service is Red Moon’s strong Opened last year, the one-room eatery resides in a suit. As for the grub, glimmers of greatness apstrip mall infamous for its always-about-to-burst peared here and there, but neither dish was allparking lot. Successfully navigate a way through around excellent. I later heard from a friend that the vehicular mess and Red Moon’s clean, quiet Red Moon has a secret menu. I’ll definitely be interior will be your reward. And if you’re like back to see if all the strong stuff is being kept under wraps. me—fan-girl fanatical about eggs—then the Singapore Style noodles will be a bonus reward.

Write to minar@sdcitybeat.com Red Moon specializes in Chinese-Japanese and editor@sdcitybeat.com. fare. Menu items like yakisoba and champon

One Lucky

Spoon

November 6, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 13

the floating

library

by jim ruland

Out of the shadows When 6-year-old Susan Beilby sat for her portrait with an Eastern European artist who could barely speak English, she couldn’t have known that more than 50 years later, she’d be telling his story.

That’s just one of many twists that make Into the Light: The Healing Art of Kalman Aron by Susan Beilby Magee so engrossing. The book collects many of Aron’s paintings, sketches and portraits and tells the fascinating story of his journey from a house behind a shoe factory in the outskirts of Riga, Latvia, to sunny Southern California.

When Beilby’s mother, an interior decorator, saw one of Aron’s portraits, she was struck by its resemblance to her first daughter, Nonnie, who didn’t survive infancy. She commissioned the artist to paint her deceased daughter’s portrait from a photograph. She was so pleased with the result that she had Aron paint her daughters Karen and Elena.

Thus began a lifelong friendship that led to the painter entrusting his story to Beilby. And what a story it is.

Aron was born in Latvia in 1924. He was a child prodigy whose family called him “the little Mozart of art.” He had his first gallery show when he was 7 years old. The president of Latvia sat for his portrait when Aron was 13. Through the President’s influence, he was enrolled in what the book refers to as the Fine Arts Academy.

There, he met a dressmaker that he wanted to take to the ball at the end of the school year, but her father had recently died and her family had fallen on hard times. The memory is like a scene out of an O. Henry story: A painter who can’t afford to buy canvases falls for a dressmaker who’s so poor she can’t purchase the fabric to make her own dress.

“Then one day she told me she could go after all. She had taken the drapes down at home and made a smashing long white gown that set off her blue-green eyes, framed by her blondish brown hair. She was the most beautiful girl at the ball.

How proud I was to escort her. After the Germans came, she disappeared. Sixty years later I have nightmares trying to remember her name.”

“After the Germans came” would become a familiar refrain.

The first time the Germans came, they took Aron’s father and uncle away. The second time, Aron was separated from his mother and brother and forced to work at the Luftwaffe clothing depot. He learned that if he made sketches of the guards, they’d give him a little extra food, which he smuggled back to the ghetto. Anyone caught smuggling food into the ghetto was shot on sight.

Aron attributes his survival to learning how to be invisible, to watching without being seen. “To be seen meant death.”

Aron was moved from camp to camp—seven

14 · San Diego CityBeat · November 6, 2013

in all—in Poland, Germany and Czechoslovakia, where the Russians finally liberated him. This was a mixed blessing, as the Russians often imprisoned Jews from the Baltic states and sent them to Siberia. After the war, Aron risked capture by staying in Vienna to resume his fine-arts education. But as soon as he completed his studies, he fled to America and never looked back.

“When asked if I would return to Latvia, I have said I never will. Why would I? They killed my father and my mother.”

Lots of people come to California to reinvent themselves, but for Aron, it was a matter of life and death. He arrived in Los Angeles at 25 “with a wife and four dollars in my pocket.” He worked menial jobs and painted at night. Shortly afterward, he was discovered by the author’s mother.

Painting by painting, sketch by sketch, he worked through the darkness of his past while exploring the exquisite play of light in his new home.

Aron established himself as one California’s finest portraitists and painted a wide range of figures, from author Henry Miller to President Ronald Reagan, while he was the state’s governor.

The book’s author has a story that’s nearly as intriguing as the book’s subject. After a career as a Washington, D.C., insider and international business consultant, Beilby Magee took up the healing arts. She practices meditation and hypnotherapy and is the founder of the Washington Circle of Master Healers.

Her book is the story, in words and pictures, of a man who survived one of the darkest chapters in human history and, instead of being consumed by the past, imagined a future that explodes with color.

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

November 6, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 15

the

SHORTlist

1

COORDINATED BY ALEX ZARAGOZA

WHAT LIES BENEATH

Two art events happening this weekend provide an interesting juxtaposition: While the Art San Diego Contemporary Art Fair’s taking over the 25,000-squarefoot Balboa Park Activity Center (for more on that, see Page 20), artist Kim Niehans is filling tiny Eighteen O Five Gallery (1805 Columbia St. in Little Italy)—all 100 square feet of it—with When Words Fall Away, an installation of 15 of her paintings.

It opens with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, and will be on view through Jan. 10.

Niehans describes her work as “a combination of realism and abstraction.” Indeed, there’s a tension in her paintings between what’s immediately visible—animals are a key subject—and what’s going on just underneath the surface. One of her large-scale paintings of two rabbits, for instance, has a foundation of bold, almost aggressive, brushstrokes of reds and yellows. This sort of primal subtext in her work emerged when Niehans was pregnant with her first child. Bombarded with information and advice, she had to learn to push it aside and trust her instincts in an almost animalistic way.

“And I started thinking about that in the bigger picture of people and how we sort of deal with that primal part of ourselves and how there’s a lot of fear

2

ART

ADVENTURE TIME

Not too long ago, local choreographers Yolande Snaith and Jean Isaacs met up with Martin Wollensen, former director of UCSD’s ArtPower. Together, they chose six San Diego choreographers whom they believe are making innovative and exciting work. Those six (Blythe Barton, Alicia Peterson Baskel, Anya Cloud, Angelica Lopez, Jaime Nixon and Zaquia Mahler Salinas) will perform as New Adventurers at the White Box Theater (2590 Truxton Road, Studio 205, in Point Loma) at 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, through Sunday, Nov. 9. Each choreographer will bring a different edge to contemporary modern dance: Some present athletic action, while others offer more pedestrian or abstract movements. Regardless of your preference, this is a chance to see the emerging stars of the local dance scene. Tickets are $26. artpwr.com

HCulture & Cocktails: Women, War, and Industry at San Diego Museum of Art, Balboa Park. Featuring a photo booth inspired by war posters and an “Anchors Aweigh” signature cocktail, this USOthemed event celebrates the current exhibition Women, War, and Industry. Come dressed in your best true-to-period or military look. At 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7. $20. 619-232-7931, sdmart.org David Fokos at Pulse Gallery, 2825 Dewey Road, Suite 103, Point Loma. Part of Fokos’ “Book Page Project,” a tribute to books, this opening reception will feature his photos of folded and bent book pages which giving them a surreal physicality.

From 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7. facebook.com/events/232189966946618

An untitled piece by Kim Niehans and distrust of that,” she says. “We medicate ourselves and discourage displays of strong emotion…. I feel like we need to remember where we come from and we need more of a balance.”

It’s this balance between intellect and emotion that she tries to convey in her work.

Niehans will be at the reception to chat with folks about her art; the gallery’s small space means you’ll likely find her outside.

“I’m trying to create a moment of people having a primal reaction to the image that they’re seeing,” she says. “I’m hoping that they’ll feel that because that’s the basis of what I’m talking about—and then they’ll come out and we can chat.” eighteenofivesd.com, kimniehansart.com

3

GIVE PIECES A CHANCE

On Monday, Nov. 4, who’s-who of onename urban artists invaded Queen Bee’s Art & Cultural Center in North Park, where empty canvases awaited, and they began to paint. You’re dying to know what bits and pieces they created, so head over to the center (3925 Ohio St. in North Park) at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8, for Bits & Pieces. It’s a benefit street-art show conceived by artist Eyemax 3D, who’s joined by fellow painters Risk, Romali, Persue, Libre, Dytch, Dcypher, Tewsr, Tuesick, Dex, Sharky, Phar, Kopye, Izzy and Hasle.

There’ll be free beer from Hess Brewing until 8:30 p.m., after which a donation will be required, with proceeds benefitting St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center, which supports disabled kids. All canvases will be for sale. The event is 21 and up. Search for “Bits & Pieces Art Show” on Facebook.

A mural by Eyemax 3D

16 · San Diego CityBeat · November 6, 2013

HArt San Diego Contemporary Art Fair at Balboa Park Activity Center, 2145 Park Blvd., Balboa Park. More than 50 national and international galleries will be showing and selling paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, photographs and cutting-edge multimedia work. See website for schedule. Thursday through Sunday, Nov. 7-10. $10-$65. 858-581-7100, artsandiego2013.com

Kim Reasor at Noel Baza Fine Art, 2165 India St., Little Italy. A dozen new paintings from one of the most admired and collected artists working within the genre of urban and industrial landscape painting in America. On view through Dec. 14.

From 6 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8. 619876-4160, noel-bazafineart.com Aleph Creative Showcase at Moniker Warehouse, 705 16th St., East Village. A pop-up event featuring an exhibition and DJs to benefit the Aleph Surfing Organization, that mixes surf coaching, life skills, creativity and mentorship for youth. From 7 p.m. to midnight Friday, Nov. 8. $13. 619623-1161, aleph.brownpapertickets.com HWhen Words Fall Away at Eighteen o Five Gallery, 1805 Columbia St., Downtown. An art installation by Kim Niehans composed of dynamic acrylic paintings of animalistic imagery that explores the raw human condition and the “universal thread of survival through all people” From 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8. 619-8888288, EighteenoFiveSD.com Adventures in Consciousness at Kettner Arts, 1772 Kettner Blvd., Little Italy.

In conjunction with Kettner Nights, this show will feature works by Kettner Arts resident artists as well as Andy Cook and Sascha Eiblmayr and their “Happy Hour” collection of stylized furniture. From 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8. 619-269-6900, kettnerarts.com Shari Roberts at New Village Arts, The Foundry, 2787 State St., Carlsbad. Opening reception for this “Friday at the Foundry” show for Roberts, who’s mastered the craft of taking common furniture and transforming it into works of fine art. From 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8. 760-433-3245, newvillagearts.org HFaiya Fredman: Domestic Collection Suggestions at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla.

Fredman turns her photographic lens toward toys, masks and small sculptures that she’s collected and lived with over many decades. On view through Dec. 28.

From 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8. 858-4545872, ljathenaeum.org Carried Array at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. Artists and recent UCSD grads Emily Grenader, Jessica Sledge and Joe Yorty will exhibit in the Athenaeum’s Rotunda Gallery. Opening from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8.

858-454-5872, ljathenaeum.org

Art Riot at Escondido Municipal Gallery, 262 E. Grand Ave., Escondido. This group exhibition asks how artists represent a movement and start a happening through their visual, tactile and new-media artwork. From 5:30 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9. 760-480-4101, escondidoarts.org/. !SPEAK! at Art Produce Gallery, 3139 University Ave., North Park. The opening of the new show of photos and photomontages by Barbara Sexton, who engages in a conversation centered on power and control, both from unseen, elemental forces and that imposed by the privileged class on the individual. On view through Jan. 5. From 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9. 619-584-4448, artproduce.org HSomething in the Heart is Never Lost at Space 4 Art, 325 15th St., East Village. In honor of Open Arts Collective founder Cara Mia Ciasulli, nearly 40 artists and musicians participated in a “Do Art Daily” challenge from Sept. 21 through Oct. 20 and the public is invited to come see the results. From 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9. $5 suggested donation. 619-269-7230, sdspace4art.org Untitled 2013: A Photographic Exhibition at 3rdSpace, 4610 Park Blvd., University Heights. Photographer Philipp Scholz Rittermann has curated 30 exceptional images to be displayed and sold at a silent auction with proceeds benefiting the Museum of Photographic Arts. From 6:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9. 619255-3609, apasd.org HMagical Realism, Moments of Metal & Riding Shotgun at Craftlab, 821A South Tremont St., Oceanside. Three shows in one space from some great upand-comers. Margaret Chiaro will showcase new paintings in “Magical Realism,” Marta Hotell will show off new sculptural work in “Moments of Metal” and Andrea Gruber Matthies and Melissa Stager will have photography on display in “Riding Shotgun.” From 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9. 760-332-8096, craftlabgallery.com HSplice at Thumbprint Gallery, 920 Kline St., #104, La Jolla. Movie, TV, comic and video game characters come together through art (think Wolverine merged with Hello Kitty). Artists include Toygami, Jack Stricker and Mr Benja. On view through Dec. 8. From 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9. thumbprintgallerysd.com HConversations and Jerusalem, My Love at Protea Gallery, 3780 30th St., North Park. Opening reception for new paintings from Helen Zughaib and Ibrahim Nashashibi. Nashashibi shows the hillside villages and neighborhoods of Jerusalem while Zughaib’s explore the struggles of Middle Eastern women. On view through Dec. 20. From 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9. 619-787-8505, proteagallery.com HPut A Bird On It at ArtHatch, 317 E. Grande Ave., Escondido. No, not the opening of a Portlandia-themed art show.

Thirty artists from around the globe will interpret “Put A Bird on It” in their own style of art. From 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9. 760-781-5779, arthatch.org Extempore at L Street Fine Art, 628 L St., East Village. An exhibit of abstract paintings by Roger Chandler, Victoria Bearden, Sean Keany, Pamela Fox Linton and Sheryl Tempchin. From 6 to 9 p.m Monday, Nov. 11. Free. 760-492-2876, lstreetfineart.com Tin Can Art Benefit at Tin Can Ale House, 1863 Fifth Ave., Bankers Hill. Nine artists show and sell new work to raise funds for the Center for Community Solutions, the only rape crisis center in San Diego. Music performances from California 666 and Artifact. At 9 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12. Suggested donation. 619-955-8525, thetincan1.wordpress.com

BOOKS Anne Willan at UCSD Faculty Club, 9500 Gilman Drive, #0121, La Jolla. Willan, the founder of La Varenne Cooking School, will discuss One Souffle at a Time: A Memoir of Food and France. At 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7. 858-534-0876, libraries.ucsd.edu Literacy Celebration: Seven Local Authors Discuss Their Craft at New Central Library, 330 Park Blvd., East Village.

A panel discussion, book signing, and salon from a who’s who of local writers including Jennifer Coburn, Laurel Corona, Matthew J. Pallamary, Caitlin Rother, Alan Russell, Arthur Salm and Laura Taylor.

From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov.

7. 619-236-5800, sandiegolibrary.org

warwicks.indiebound.com

Margaret Dilloway at Mosaic Wine Bar, 3422 30th St., North Park. Dilloway will discuss The Care and Handling of Roses with Thorns. Evening includes a glass of wine, happy hour appetizers, book discussion and Q&A. At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7. $35. adventuresbythebook.com

Raymond E. Feist at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. The creator of the Riftwar Saga and the Riftwar Cycle will sign and discuss the new accompanying book, Midkemia: The Chronicles of Pug. At 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8. 858-268-4747, mystgalaxy.com

HHarun Mehmedinovic at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla.

The award-winning filmmaker and photographer will discuss and sign Seance, a coffee table book of photographs and stories of people who escaped their daily lives and went on an adventure. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7. 858-454-0347,

LGBT Author Talk at New Central Library, 330 Park Blvd., Downtown. Charles RiceGonzales and Emanuel Xavier, joined by Lambda Literary Foundation’s executive director Tony Valenzuela, will discuss challenges for LGBT writers of color. From 4:30

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

THEATER Wrestling with the truth about the American Dream We already know that professional wrestling is pure theater—of the lowbrow kind. But there’s intelligence in the theatricality of Kristoffer Diaz’s The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, for which the stage is a wrestling ring.

It’s true that metaphor is spelled with a capital “M” in Diaz’s Pulitzer-nominated play, which nottoo-subtly equates winning the championship belt with attaining the American Dream. Nevertheless, Diaz’s commentary about American-style stereotyping, hero worship and media manufacturing is rich with unvarnished truth.

The cast at Ion Theatre Company, which is staging Chad Deity’s San Diego premiere, is also championship-caliber, particularly Steven Lone as “Mace” Guerra, the story’s narrator and the skilled wrestler who takes falls to prop up lesserskilled but more charismatic wrestkers, such as the designated champ, Chad Deity (Vimel Sephus, stalwart in the role). Catalina Maynard and Claudio Raygoza co-direct with aplomb, and with the moments of audience participation elicited, you’ll have fun and be cerebrally stimulated at the same time. Can’t say that about WWF. The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity runs through Nov. 16 at BLKBOX Theatre in Hillcrest.

Rantulas, with Yeager directing at Diversionary Theatre and Johnson, in ’50s flip hairdo, starring as beleaguered housewife Betty. Melinda Gilb, Andy Collins and Fred Harlow contribute dual or, in Gilb’s case, multiple roles, and Diversionary regular Tony Houck is achingly funny as Suzie, Betty’s daughter-slash-She-Rantula. The alien antics are loud and go on a bit longer than need be in this one-act show, but wasn’t that true with those old sci-fi pictures we now so romanticize? Besides, you couldn’t get a 50-foot woman inside a theater.

She-Rantulas from Outer Space in 3D runs through Nov. 17 at Diversionary Theatre in University Heights. $25-$51. diversionary.org.

COURTESY: ION THEATRE

Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde: This is a staged reading of Moisés Kaufman’s play about homosexuality and the court cases that led to the famous British playwright’s descent from stardom. Presented by Looking Glass Theatre, it runs Nov. 8 and 9 at First Unitarian Universalist Church in Hillcrest. lookingglasssd.org

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

OPENING Drums in the Night: Bertolt Brecht’s play was about a German soldier returning from World War I; UCSD’s update is about a POW returning from Iraq, with a bad case of PTSD. Opens Nov. 6 at the Mandell Weiss Forum Theatre at UCSD. theatre.ucsd.edu The Gift Teller: Playwright, director and screenwriter Stephen Metcalfe’s update of A Gift of the Magi gets a world premiere.

Opens Nov. 9 at Scripps Ranch Theatre. scrippsranchtheatre.org

Much Ado About Nothing: This production of Shakespeare’s comedy is jointly presented by The Old Globe Theatre and the University of San Diego. Opens Nov. 9 at The Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park. oldglobe.org

Vimel Sephus (standing) and Steven Lone in The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity

•••

$29-$35. iontheatre.com

The drag-fest that is She-Rantulas from Outer Space in 3D is so over the top, it might as well be in outer space. But the wild-eyed screams, broad sight gags and what-the-hell plot aren’t much different than what you may remember from those beloved bad sci-fi flicks from the 1950s—you know, like The Attack of the 50-Foot Woman and It! The Terror From Beyond Space.

Ruff Yeager and Phil Johnson co-wrote She-

One Journey: A one-woman play, employing theater, poetry, music, dance and multimedia, about a mother and daughter who live on opposite sides of the Texas-Mexico border. It happens Nov. 6 at the Centro Cultural del la Raza in Balboa Park. centroculturaldelaraza.com Potted Potter: A parody that squeezes all seven Harry Potter books into a little more than an hour’s worth of theater, created by and starring British comic actors Daniel Clarkson and Jeff Turner. Presented by Broadway San Diego, it runs Nov. 6 through 10 at the Balboa Theatre, Downtown. broadwaysd.com Tribute: A 51-year-old actor who’s lived a carefree life learns he has leukemia and reconnects with the son that he’s long neglected. Presented by Sullivan Players, it opens Nov. 9 at Swedenborg Hall in University Heights. facebook.com/ sullivan.players Venus in Fur: A writer-director who’s created an adaptation of the novel Venus in Furs gets the tables turned on him by

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

November 6, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 17

to 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9. 619-2365800, sandiego.gov/public-library Robert Lacosta at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. LaCosta will sign Gamaliel’s Advice: Taking Down God, a novel based on true events surrounding the Mt. Soledad. At 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9.

858-454-0347, warwicks.indiebound.com Holli Anderson at Barnes & Noble Mira Mesa, 10775 Westview Pkwy., Mira Mesa. The bestselling novelist will sign Five Out of the Dark, about Seattle teenagers who discover they have magical powers. From 1 to 3 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 10. 858-684-3166, holli-anderson.com HDavid Kinch at Chino Farms, 6123 Calzada del Bosque, Rancho Santa Fe. Kinch, chef at Manresa, named one of the “20 Most Important Restaurants in America” by Bon Appetit, will sign and discuss his new cookbook, Manresa: An Edible Reflection. The event will include small bites and beer pairings. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10. 619-889-2271, goodearthgreatchefs.com Scott Lynch at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Clairemont. Lynch will sign and discuss his new addition to the Locke Lamora and the Gentleman Bastard Sequence, The Republic of Thieves. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13. 858-2684747, mystgalaxy.com

COMEDY HNew Best Thing Presents: Gluttony! at Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St, South Park. The holidays are back and that means time for everyone’s favorite deadly sin. Join So Say We All as they stuff our faces full of funny in sketches and comedy routines. At 9 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6. $5 suggested donation.

619-284-6784, sosayweallonline.com David Koechner at American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., Downtown. The improv comic-turned-actor, SNL, Comedy Central and Late Night With Conan O’Brien vet, may be best-known as the cowboy hatwearing Champ Kind from Anchorman. See website for showtimes. Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 7-9. $20. 619-795-3858, americancomedyco.com Brad Williams at Mad House Comedy Club, 502 Horton Plaza, Downtown. The wee comedian’s been on Mind of Mencia, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel Live and more. At 7:30 and 9:45 p.m.

Friday and Saturday, Nov. 8-9. $15. 619-702-6666, madhousecomedyclub.com

DANCE HNew Adventurers at White Box Theater, 2690 Truxtun Road, Point Loma. New Adventurers is a group of San Diego choreographers who’ll be challenging what’s possible both inside and outside of the White Box Theater. At 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 7-9. $12-$26. 858-534-8497, artpwr.com HBallet on the Edge at Spreckels Theater, 121 Broadway, Downtown. City Ballet’s 21st Anniversary Season opens with this showcase of cutting-edge choreography that highlights the athleticism and physicality. At 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 8-9, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10. $29-$89. 619-235-9500, cityballet.org Thursday Night Thing at Mandeville Auditorium, UCSD, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. Culture Shock Dance Theater celebrates its 10th anniversary with a night of dance and music. At 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9. $15-$20. 858-534-TIXS, cultureshockdancecenter.com House of Panama Independence Dance at World Beat Cultural Center, 2100 Park Blvd., Balboa Park.

Fundraiser for Balboa Park’s new House of Panama featuring Panamanian traditions, music and culture.

At 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9. $15-$20. 6192301190, worldbeatculturalcenter.memberlodge.com

FASHION Fall Fashion & Trunk Show at Bliss 101, 687 S. Coast Hwy. 101, #151, Encinitas. Enjoy eats, beats and drinks on the house at the annual fashion event and trunk show featuring holiday-inspired trends from local designers with the a portion of the evening’s sales going to the Keep A Breast Foundation. From 7 to 10 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 9. 858-481-5107, bliss101.com

18 · San Diego CityBeat · November 6, 2013

“Up for Air” by William Sager is on view in Catch & Release, running through Nov. 24 at Subtext Gallery (2479 Kettner Blvd. in Little Italy).

FOOD & DRINK San Diego Beer Week An entire week of tastings, pairings, workshops, lectures and more all in the name of local beer. See website for complete list of events.

Through Sunday, Nov. 10. sdbw.org HSan Diego Beer Week & Chef Celebration Closing Event at The Lodge at Torrey Pines, 11480 North Torrey Pines Road. A gourmet beer and food-pairing event featuring local beers paired with food by worldfamous chefs. Admission includes a commemorative taster glass and unlimited beer and food. A portion of the proceeds go to Chef Celebration culinary scholarships. From noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10. $75. 619688-9283, facebook.com/events/318534388289551

HOLIDAY EVENTS Holiday Handmade Gift Faire at Tree of Life, 4870 Santa Monica Ave., Ocean Beach. The fourth annual event will feature unique gifts and curios, designed and created locally. From noon to 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9. 619-223-3970, treeoflifestore.com HNutcracker Market at McMillin Event Center, 2875 Dewey Road, Point Loma. More than 50 merchants, artists and crafters selling jewelry, artwork, gourmet goodies, holiday decor and gift items. Characters from the San Diego Ballet’s Nutcracker will be on site for photos. Proceeds support the San Diego Ballet. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday and Sunday, Nov. 9-10. $5. 829-4276, sandiegoballetdancecompany.org HHoliday Shopping Party @ SoLo at SoLo, 309 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. Get a jump on your shopping at one of North County’s best boutiques while enjoying food trucks, complimentary wine, as well as a photo booth and free gift wrapping. From 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12. 858-794-9016, jenniferpricestudio.com/holiday-shopping-party-solo

MUSIC Sean Forbes at Madison High School, 4833 Doliva Drive, Clairemont. The deaf hip-hop artist will be performing and trying to raise awareness for D-PAN (Deaf Professional Arts Network), a non-profit organization with the goal of making music and music culture accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing community. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6. $5. deafandloud.com SDSU Jazz Ensemble with Bill Watrous at Smith Recital Hall, 5500 Campanile Drive, College Area.

The acclaimed SDSU Jazz Ensemble with Bill Yeager conducting and special guest Bill Watrous, one of the preeminent trombonists working in the field of jazz today. At 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7. $10-$15. 619594-6031, music.sdsu.edu San Diego Indie Acoustic Original Artist Showcase at ArtLab Studios, 3536 Adams Ave., Normal Heights. Josh Damigo, Raelee Nikole, Michael Bow-

man, Ross May and Donna Larsen join together on one stage for a night of great acoustic entertainment and creativity. Enjoy food, desserts and drinks. From 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8. $10. 619-750-3355, artlabca.com Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at Sherwood Auditorium, 700 Prospect St, La Jolla.

La Jolla Music Society begins this season’s Revelle Chamber Music Series with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center performing selections from Dvorak, Schumann and Brahms. At 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8. $30-$80. 858-454-3541, ljms.org T-Lou & His Super Hot Zydeco Band at War Memorial Building, 3325 Zoo Drive, Balboa Park. T-Lou performs Americana, Cajun and Zydeco. Show up before 6:20 p.m. for dance lessons. At 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9. $10. icajunzydeco.com San Diego Conscious Music Fest at Birch North Park Theater, 2891 University Ave., North Park. This music fest brings 12 “conscious” music artists to the stage including Joe Rathburn, Janet Hammer, Andy Anderson, Cahill and Delene. From 1 to 3:30 p.m. and 7 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9. $27-$77. 619239-8836. consciousmusicsd.com Mariza at Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St., Downtown. The Grammy-nominated artist brings the romantic and old-world sound of fado music to life with a fresh 21st century pop flavor. At 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9. $20-$85. 619-235-0804, sandiegosymphony.org Kartik Seshadri and Arup Chattopadhyay at Encinitas Library, 540 Cornish Drive, Encinitas. Modern masters of Indian music, sitarist Kartik Seshadri is accompanied by Arup Chattopadhyay on tabla for short performance and Q&A with the audience. At 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9. $10-$15. 760-402-9462, ragarasa.org

suggested donation. 619-269-7230, sdspace4art.org HVermin on the Mount at 3rdSpace, 4610 Park Blvd., University Heights. A night of irreverent readings with featured readers from San Diego, Los Angeles and the Czech Republic, including Louis Armand, Juliet Escoria, Hannah Lee, Manuel Paul Lopez, Damien Ober and your host, Jim Ruland. At 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10. 619255-3609, facebook.com/VerminOnTheMount Ofelia Zepeda at Love Library, SDSU, 5500 Campanile Drive, College Area. Zepeda, a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation and a professor at the University of Arizona, will read from her work as part of the Hugh C. Hyde Living Writers Series. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13. 619-594-4991, library.sdsu.edu

SPECIAL EVENTS Unseen Science at Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, Balboa Park. This new exhibition invites patrons to peek at the big science of nanotechnology, view molecules through augmented reality and look at science in a whole new way. Opens Friday, Nov. 8. $14-$17.

619-238-1233, rhfleet.org Live | Serve: Benefit Event for the Refugees from Burma at Mosaic San Diego, 1402 Commercial St., Logan Heights. A concert and art fair to benefit resettled refugee youth of Burma with art from Jeff Allen, Wes Bruce and Aubrey Perkins and performances from Trevor Davis and Family Wagon. From 6 to 10:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8. $8. 619-230-8710, mosaicsd.org

Vadym Kholodenko at California Center for the Arts, 340 North Escondido Blvd., Escondido. The young pianist from Kiev and winner of the International Schubert Competition will perform a solo concert. At 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10. $20-$30. 800-988-4253, artcenter.org

San Diego Permaculture Convergence at Sky Mountain Institute, 2855 Cordrey Drive, Escondido. Get your hands dirty with interactive workshops, lectures and hands-on demos on everything from rainwater and greywater harvesting, aquaponics, building a chicken coop, organic gardening, urban goat keeping, rocket stoves, and more. From 8:30 am to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 9-10. $10-$75. 760-724-7692, sdpermies.com/2013fallConvergence

Irish Chamber Orchestra at Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St., Downtown. Ireland’s premiere chamber ensemble accompanied by Sir James Galway on the flute, performs music from Mozart and Hammond, as well as “Carolan Variations,” a new work written especially for Sir James and his wife, based on 18th century Irish melodies. At 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10. $20-$96. 619-235-0804, sandiegosymphony.org

HSan Diego Veg Festival at Casa De Luz, 2920 University Ave., Hillcrest. The second-annual festival for all things veggie and vegan includes art, workshops and info booths. Topics include build-your-own succulent jars, an ecowear fashion salon, Meatonomics 101, natural beauty basics and a holistic health a pop-up bookstore. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9. $5-$15. 619-512-2202, sandiegovegfestival.com

San Diego Master Chorale at San Diego Library, 330 Park Blvd., Downtown. The San Diego Master Chorale performs “Lost in the Stars,” a program of European and American opera choruses by Purcell, Handel, Verdi, Mozart, Britten, Ravel, Barber, Weill and Bernstein. At 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10. 619-2365800, sandiegolibrary.org

HLux@Night at Lux Art Institute, 1550 S. El Camino Real, Encinitas. Enjoy beer, wine, light nibbles and shopping with jewelry designer Sophia & Chloe. Proceeds to support exhibition and education programs.

And, of course, check out art from Lux’s artist-in-residence Melora Kuhn. From 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13. $5. 760-436-6611, luxartinstitute.com

Rob Machado Foundation Concert at Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. A benefit concert featuring Jason Mraz, Johnny Rzeznick (of the Goo Goo Dolls) and more to raise funds for environmental education in schools and new trash bins on the beaches. At 8 p.m. Monday, Nov. 11. $80-$200. 858481-8140, bellyup.com

POETRY & SPOKEN WORD Tomaz Salamun & Johannes Goransson at UCSD SME Performance Space Room, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. Considered Slovenia’s greatest living poet, Salamun has been dubbed “Nobelisable” (a candidate who could perfectly well win the Nobel Prize) by several major European newspapers. Goransson is the author of five books and the translator of several books of Swedish poetry. From 4:30 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6. 858-534-2230, literature.ucsd.edu Queer Latinidad: Voices from Nueva York at Centro Cultural de la Raza, 2125 Park Blvd., Balboa Park. A reading by Charles Rice-Gonzalez and Emanuel Xavier, two prolific, gay Puerto Rican writers from New York City. From 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8. Free. 619-2356135, centroculturaldelaraza.com Long Story Short: Brain Farts at Space 4 Art, 325 15th St., East Village. So Say We All’s monthly populist platform for anyone to join and tell a story, without notes, for five minutes or less. This month’s theme is centered those moments when your brain betrayed you. From 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10. $5

TALKS & DISCUSSIONS Education, Colonization, and the Law in Native American History at Thomas Jefferson School of Law East Village, 1155 Island Ave., Downtown. Law Professor Bryan Wildenthal and Kumeyaay historian and author Michael Connolly Miskwish discuss the education regime pushed on Native peoples by European settlers and colonizers. At 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6. Free. tjsl.edu/news-media/2013/10745 Shannon Miller at Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, Balboa Park. Miller’s journey from Olympic gymnast to entrepreneur to cancer survivor aims to inspire and motivate women. At 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12. Free.

619-238-1233, rhfleet.org

WORKSHOPS HBook Binding Workshop at Pigment, 3827 30th St., North Park. Learn how to fold, stitch and bind your own notebooks and journals. Price includes workshop, materials, sweets sips and a goodie bag.

From 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 9. $40. urbancraftcamp.com

For full listings,

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

November 6, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 19

A

rt San Diego Contemporary Art Fair (artsandiego2013.com) is back for its fifth year, and its second at the Balboa Park Activity Center.

From Friday, Nov. 8, through Sunday, Nov. 10, the 38,000-square-foot space will be filled with work by dozens of artists, from as near as here and as far away as Perth, Australia. Tickets (good for all three days) are $15 in advance, $20 online, and below are a bunch of reasons to grab one and go:

Eight cool things to experience at Art San Diego

Avery Lawrence

Marcos Ramirez ERRE

The grass may be greener on the other side, but getting there may prove slightly more difficult—at least in Avery Lawrence’s “Mowing the Lawn,” a multimedia installation that explores the Sisyphean side of yard maintenance. (Is there any other side, really? The grass keeps growing, you keep mowing, lather, rinse, repeat.) Selected as one of Art San Diego’s LaunchPad emerging artists, the New Orleans-based Lawrence will be “mowing the lawn” on an artificial and rather oddly shaped strip of grass, while pausing every so often to sip lemonade. Take what you will from the performance, but Lawrence says the piece isn’t so much a commentary on the tediousness of chores or being angry about doing them.

I asked him if this was a Michael Douglas in Falling Down scenario. “I don’t think of the lawnmower [the character] as disgruntled or necessarily burdened,” he says. “Heck, he has something to do each day, right?” Well, yeah, but like the story of poor Sisyphus, isn’t it tragic when you realize how futile the task really is? “This nonsense activity brings up multiple ideas and meanings. I hope that the viewer can take away different things. For me, it has to do with the Sisyphean elements of existence and how we approach them,” Lawrence says. So, one must imagine the lawnmower happy?

If the name Luis de Jesus is familiar, it’s because he ran Seminal Projects gallery, formerly located in Little Italy, before moving to Los Angeles in 2010 to open his own space. In April, he exhibited Tijuana artist Marcos Ramirez ERRE’s Playing (Series) Serious and is bringing it to Art San Diego, where ERRE—who started showing work in San Diego almost two decades ago, eventually being invited to big-name confabs like the Whitney Biennial and Art Basel—has been selected as a Spotlight Artist. Playing (Series) Serious uses games—labyrinths, Sudoku, crossword puzzles—to explore the subjectivity of language and how problems that might appear to have simple solutions are usually a lot more complex. In an email last week, de Jesus said he was still deciding which pieces he’ll display, but he’s definitely bringing two of ERRE’s labyrinths, etched on full-length mirrors that encourage the viewer to reflect (literally) on the paths from “Right” to “Wrong” and “Yesterday” to “Tomorrow.” “Marcos cares deeply about human values and has a passionate commitment to social justice, which form the roots of all his work,” de Jesus says. “You could call his practice ‘humanist conceptualism’—the perfect balance intellect and soul.”

—Nina Sachdev Hoffmann

—Kelly Davis

Booth 3

Booth 46

20 · San Diego CityBeat · November 6, 2013

jdc Fine Art Booth 17

From gritty reality to socially charged portraiture to stylized narrative to ethnographic still-life, the work of four expert photographers will be showcased at Art San Diego. Curated by jdc Fine Art, the collection brings together local and international artists. Philadelphia-based Nadine Rovner composes photographs that inspire her audience to imagine cinematic narratives. “Creating an atmosphere that the viewer can enter, I come up with a feeling or idea, and then I come up with a scene to portray it.” Featured nationally, including at the San Diego Museum of Art, Jess T. Dugan shoots solemn portraits soaked in tasteful sexuality that deconstruct viewers’ assumptions about gender identity. Focusing on images of rural stores and shrines in Argentina, Guillermo Srodek-Hart’s vibrant photographs have been exhibited at the Venice Biennale, one of the most exclusive international art exhibitions in the world. Lastly, taking his audience on a brutally honest tour along the U.S.-Mexican border, Paul Turounet explores themes of reality and hope, tradition and evolving identity.

—Joshua Emerson Smith

Farrah Emami Booth 63

As part of the San Diego Museum of Art’s Summer Break Festival in August, Farrah Emami created something she called Gift Shop, an installation—inspired by her experience working in museum gift shops—that examined the relationship between fine art and commerce, between displaying art to the masses and selling art to the masses. For Art San Diego, and with the help of SDMA’s manager for public programs, Alexander Jarman, Emami is reinventing Gift Shop, this time casting a critical (and celebratory) eye on art fairs. This Gift Shop will appear as if it’s the official gift shop for the art fair, Emami explains in her artist statement. But there’ll be a tongue-in-cheek element: The items for sale, she says, “will be critiquing the nature and goals of a fair. Looking at the dynamics between artists, dealers, collectors, socialites….” Emami, who graduated from UCSD in 2011, is making many of the items that’ll be for sale at the store, like “I Bought Something” pins, but will also carry some affordable pieces made by some of the artists participating in the fair.

—Kelly Davis

Basile Studios Booth 12

Paul Basile is an artist, sculptor, designer, fabricator, general contractor and soon-to-be Downtown restaurateur. His craftsmanship has earned his Basile Studios commissions in the hippest corners of San Diego: Polite Provisions, Craft & Commerce, Soda & Swine and the San Diego headquarters for Car2Go. Basile’s work looks like he raided an abandoned factory, then welded, refinished and repurposed wood, steel and glass. There are gears, rust and the occasional punch of toolbox red. “We’re not slaving over paint colors,” he explains. “If there are similarities in our projects, it’s in the color tones, because we’re using natural materials.” This is Basile’s first appearance as a contemporary designer at Art San Diego; his contribution is an artistic interpretation of a massive door system with its mechanisms exposed. “It’s a functional prototype, with gears and motion and movement,” he said. “I’m trying to reinvent how a door opens. It’s a really fun idea. I didn’t have a client involved, so I’m designing something just for me.” Basile’s piece will be part of Where Art & Design Collide, one of the fair’s Art Labs, that’ll feature innovative art-meetsdesign-meets-functional objects created by MakerSD (makersd.com) and includes Basile, Dominique Houriet (oo-da-a studio), Marcus Papay (Marcus Papay Design), Robert Nobel (Ecor) and Curtis Micklish (Micklish).

—Jennifer McEntee

Debby and Larry Kline Booths 5, 34, 36

Nodo Galería Booth 73

Noble is a sculptor and sound artist whose work’s been featured at the San Diego Museum of Art (like last year’s 44th and Landis, an aural / visual ode to City Heights, where she grew up) and who’s landed upcoming shows at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh and the Mediations Biennial in Louisville. She’s one of Art San Diego’s five Spotlight Artists, selected to create a site-specific exhibition for the fair. For That Which We Cannot Hold, Noble’s created four mixed-media paper sculptures with sound that’ll be located in cement corridors next to booths 7, 8, 9 and 10. She created a different “score” for each piece, which will be projected from overhead speakers. “The works are a four-part narrative exploring symbols of human interference,” she tells CityBeat.

“The audience will hear abstracted field recordings of nature, the human body, as well as various technological sounds as if they were machine ghosts bringing the sculptures of metal, paper bones and antique objects to life.”

Anyone hoping to see a small bit of the talent emerging from Tijuana should stop

by Nodo Galería’s booth. Nodo is the only Tijuana-based gallery exhibiting at Art San Diego, and it will feature the work of owners César Vazquez and Jonathan Ruiz de la Peña, as well as TJ artist Miguel Cheram Morales. De la Peña will show a series of abstract drawings that explore geometrical shape and color. Vázquez’s pencil-anddye illustrations are done on layers of paper that form a sort of sculpture. Morales takes photographs of Tijuana’s colonias, or neighborhoods, and transfers them in high contrast onto wood. He then paints things like colorful clouds onto the wood to create a juxtaposition of reality and whimsy. For Vázquez, Nodo’s participation in Art San Diego is a chance to introduce people to the innovative art coming out of the youthful Tijuana art scene. “I think the most important thing is that we three are young artists,” he says. “To exhibit our work in this space, where you can interact with a public different from that of Tijuana, is a great opportunity in our careers.”

Pick up the Art San Diego schedule this year and you’ll see the names Debby and Larry Kline so many times, you might think there’s been some sort of mistake. The married couple, who collaborate on their multimedia conceptual- and performance-art projects, will have work featured in two exhibitor booths—Beyond the Border Gallery and the San Diego Art Prize space—they’ll be doing multiple performances, giving a talk and leading tours through the fair as roving docents. The ubiquity of the Klines is a good thing, giving visitors a chance to get a grasp on the depth, diversity and myriad political provocations of their work.

At Beyond the Border Gallery’s space, for instance, they’ll set up “The Candy Store,” an interactive performance piece that’ll turn the booth into a literal shop selling small ceramics and other art pieces made with trace amounts of commercial drugs.

The installation comments on society’s tendency to self-diagnose, over-prescribe and otherwise abuse pharmaceuticals and is a fun-but-challenging conceptual piece perfect for the art-fair setting, where sometimes you’ll find art that was created solely to make money and match your couch.

—Kelly Davis

—Alex Zaragoza

—Kinsee Morlan

Margaret Noble (Near) Booths 7-10

November 6, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 21

22 · San Diego CityBeat · November 6, 2013

A cinephile’s paradise Local celebration of Asian cinema is a mosaic of cultural panoramas

by Glenn Heath Jr. Every fall, San Diego gets treated to a multitude of film festivals—so many, in fact, that it’s easy to get overwhelmed.

But if you’re a movie lover, the San Diego Asian Film Festival’s diverse programming schedule is pure catnip. The festival’s 14th edition (sdaff.org) runs Thursday, Nov. 7, through Saturday, Nov. 16, at various theaters, particularly Digiplex Mission Valley Cinemas.

With more than 140 films spread over five specific sections, the 2013 festival (SDAFF) will represent artistic perspectives from a variety of countries around the world. The opening-night (Finding Mr. Right) and closing-night (Documented) films were highlighted in CityBeat’s Sept. 25 Fall Arts issue, but they represent just the tip of the iceberg.

Most notable is the “Masters” sidebar, featuring the latest work from some of the most wellrespected Asian filmmakers working today. My favorite of this impressive group is Jafar Panahi’s masterpiece, Closed Curtain, a striking and sometimes surreal jaunt between documentary and fiction that follows a persecuted filmmaker attempting to work through his latest project while hiding out in a seaside villa.

This marks the second time the Iranian director has defied his national government and made a film since receiving a 20-year ban from his chosen profession. While Closed Curtain is indeed a direct reflection of Panahi’s own frustration with these crippling artistic limitations (the camera never ventures outside), it’s not a film without hope, best expressed in its final shot, which hints at life beyond the walls of imprisonment.

Also in the Masters section is A Touch of Sin, Chinese maestro Jia Zhang-ke’s savage indictment of the social contradictions plaguing modern China. Split between four loosely connected tales of murder and revenge (all based on actual reported events), Jia’s film explores the economic and cultural shifts that have created a national crisis of institutional failure and violence.

A Touch of Sin is a major departure for Jia, who, in most of his previous narratives and documentaries, has taken a more restrained razor to the artifice of his country’s rampant corruption and collusion.

Two very different Filipino films challenge the

A scene from Jia Zhang-ke’s A Touch of Sin viewer to see the world anew, with all its broken parts visible to the naked eye. The first is Lav Diaz’s four-hour-plus Norte, the End of History, a ravishing look at philosophical posturing and moral rot. The other is Raya Martin’s How to Disappear Completely, a synthesizer-scored supernatural thriller that slows down one girl’s descent into madness to the point of pure abstraction. Both are essential viewing.

Complex films exist elsewhere in SDAFF’s programming, as well. The “Asian American Panorama” showcases strange and beguiling stateside products. The highlight is Jiyoung Lee’s Moral Sleaze, a rare cinema oddity that embraces its amateurish qualities to reveal the heinous pretentiousness of fraudulent art making. You won’t find a more winning (and strangely evocative) performance than Lee’s lead turn as the underappreciated girlfriend of an arrogant filmmaker making a movie shot entirely on an iPhone.

The “Discoveries” section is equally flush with films primed for the more adventurous viewer. My favorite is the tense Iranian drama Trapped, about a young med student who finds herself knee deep in a public dispute after her roommate is arrested. Not only does the film call to mind Asghar Farhadi’s brilliant moral tales About Elly and A Separation, it explores the circular nature of disloyalty and greed that rips a nation’s confidence apart.

Finally, a few more recommendations to circle on your festival schedule: Johnnie To’s rip-roaring slapstick comedy Blind Detective (not to mention a second chance at seeing the Hong Kong director’s Drug War), Dante Lam’s MMA action flick Unbeatable, the coming-of-age tale Ilo Ilo from Singapore and Jason DaSilva’s moving documentary When I Walk.

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

Texas hustle

Dallas Buyers Club

Before we formally meet drunken rodeo cowboy Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey), the central character in Dallas Buyers Club, we see him taking part in a sweaty threesome with two women in one of the closed-off pens that are used for housing bulls. As a fellow rider is thrown from his mount in slow motion

and kicked repeatedly, Ron continues on with his tryst, indifferent to the commotion. It’s a perfectly hedonistic introduction for a man who indulges in every self-destructive impulse.

Unfortunately, Ron’s freewheeling lifestyle has already gotten the best of him. A few scenes into the film, he’s diag-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 24 November 6, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 23

nosed with HIV, and from here, Dallas Buyers Club becomes about borrowed time and what we do with it.

Set in 1985 at the height of the AIDS epidemic, when fear and paranoia were never higher, director Jean-Marc Vallée’s biopic— which opens Friday, Nov. 8, at Hillcrest Cinemas—follows Ron as he begins the titular membership program that caters to those people suffering from the disease who can’t afford or don’t want to take the antibodies that have been made available by prescriptiondrug companies.

It’s an underdog story with a rough-and-tumble anti-hero at its center. Ron verbally abuses his transgender colleague Rayon (Jared Leto) and is initially all about the money. But McConaughey’s engaging method performance gives Ron a sense of responsibility and weight. We see that his homophobic comments and blatant opportunism are just byproducts of his deep masculine insecurity.

Yet its star’s admirable performance doesn’t make Dallas Buyers Club anything profound. After focusing on Ron’s inner conflict early on, the film becomes deathly preachy and an emotional hustle.

As it examines (not very complexly) the social and political ramifications of his controversial actions, it descends into a formulaic redemption tale primed for Oscar voters who hear foul language and see a little sex and think “edgy.”

—Glenn Heath Jr.

Opening Dallas Buyers Club: In 1985, a drunken rodeo clown Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughy) learns he has HIV. Seeing an opportunity to stave off his own death and make some money, he begins smuggling unapproved drugs in from Mexico. See our review on Page 23.

The Motel Life: Two brothers living on the fringe of Reno, Nev., experience a shift in their relationship after they are involved in a fatal accident. Screens through Nov. 14 at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

Mysteries of the Unseen World: This amazing documentary uses high-speed and time-lapse photography to focus on things that are either too fast or two slow for the eye to see. Screens at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park.

San Diego Asian Film Festival: The 14th annual event will screen more than 140 films at different venues around San Diego and feature galas, panel discussions and filmmaker Q&As. See our feature on Page 23.

Spinning Plates: Foodies will undoubtedly fall for this documentary about three very different restaurants and their unique owners. Screens through Nov. 14 at the Ken Cinema.

Thor: The Dark of the World: Thor (Chris Hemsworth) once again brings the hammer down on Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in

24 · San Diego CityBeat · November 6, 2013

Thor: The Dark of the World order to save the human race and sustain the fragile balance of his own kingdom.

One Time Only The Stone Roses: Made of Stone: Music documentary that charts the reunion of the iconic British band The Stone Roses.

Screens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 8, at Arclight La Jolla.

Gimme Shelter: The Maysles Brothers’ classic documentary confronts The Rolling Stones about their involvement with the notorious free concert at Altamont Speedway in 1969 that ended in tragedy.

Screens at 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, at SME Presentation Lab at UCSD. Thor and The Avengers: Before you see Thor: The Dark of the World, revisit the first two Marvel films featuring the Norse god who wields a massive hammer. Begins at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, at various AMC theaters around the county.

Milking It: An entertaining one-hour documentary by Stephanie Cowan about the social psychology behind why so many mothers decide to get breast implants after giving birth. Screens at 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, at La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s: Audrey Hepburn becomes smitten with a new tenant in her apartment building and finds unsuspected love in New York City. Screens at 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 7, through Saturday, Nov. 9, at Cinema Under the Stars in Mission Hills.

The Sting: Robert Redford and Paul Newman are at their most charming in this Oscarwinning film about a 1930s con man out to revenge his partner’s death at the hands of a gangster. Screens at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9, and Tuesday, Nov. 12, and 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10, at Reading Gaslamp Cinemas.

The Room: So bad it’s good, or maybe even great. Screens at midnight on Saturday, Nov. 9, at the Ken Cinema.

A Hijacking: Somali pirates overtake a shipping freighter, forcing the European crew to suffer for months while their captors negotiate with their corporate bosses. Screens at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10, at the Hervey Branch Library in Point Loma.

Frankenstein: James Whale’s classic adaptation of Mary Shelley’s novel helped establish Universal Pictures as a juggernaut for horror films and made Boris Karloff a star. Screens at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10, at Reading Gaslamp Cinemas.

Ingenious: A rags-to-riches tale about two shady inventors who hit rock bottom before inventing a product that causes an international craze. Co-stars Jeremy Renner.

Screens at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12, at the Hervey Branch Library in Point Loma.

Medora: A poignant documentary portrait of small-town America that explores the overlap between the economic downturn and the emotional toll such shifts have on the community at large. Screens at 7 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 12, at Hillcrest Cinemas.

The Ritz: A straight man running from the mob takes refuge in a gay bathhouse in this adaptation of the Tony Award-winning farce set in Manhattan. Screens at 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 13, at the Birch North Park Theatre.

Unfinished Song: Terrence Stamp fans will hardly recognize the intense British actor in this sappy romance about a grumpy retiree who finds happiness singing in a seniors choir. Screens at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13, at the Mission Valley Library.

Now Playing 12 Years a Slave: Abducted and forced to work on a Southern plantation, free man Solomon Northrup (Chiwetel Ejifor) experiences the horrors of slavery in Steve McQueen’s stirring period-piece drama.

About Time: In Richard Curtis’ (Love Actually) charming modern fable co-starring Rachel McAdams, a young man discovers he can travel through time and seeks to use his power to find his soul mate.

Doonby: When a handsome drifter appears out of nowhere, the citizens of a small town are faced with a mysterious character who may or may not be a threat.

Screens at Reading Gaslamp Cinemas.

Ender’s Game: Orson Scott Card’s classic sci-fi novel about a young pilot fending off an alien threat finally gets adapted for the big screen, surely angering fans everywhere. Harrison Ford co-stars as a growling general.

Fame High: A group of high-school freshmen and seniors experience a rush of new emotions in this powerful documentary

by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Scott Hamilton-Kennedy. Screens through Nov. 6 at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

Free Birds: This animated film follows two combative turkeys (voiced by Woody Harrelson and Owen Wilson) as they try to get the gobbler off the holiday menu by traveling back in time.

The Last Elvis: Factory worker by day, singer by night, “Elvis” Gutierrez attempts to make it big by impersonating the King of Rock, slowly becoming more connected with his alter ego than his own family.

Screens through Nov. 7 at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

Last Vegas: A foursome of aging Oscarwinning actors (Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline and Robert De Niro) play seniors who head to Las Vegas for one final hurrah of debauchery and camaraderie.

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

temple of gloom

San Diego’s Gloomsday create a big sound with minimal elements It doesn’t take that much to start a band—just rhythm and melody. You don’t need two guitarists, or a horn section, or a Bez to shake maracas and ensure the drug supply is ample. From The White Stripes to Japandroids, dozens of bands have proven that all you need to rock out is a guitar and a drum set. Hell, Suicide did it with just a keyboard and a microphone.

Making two musicians sound like three or four, though, takes a little extra creativity. Some bands opt to use loops or samples to broaden their sound, but that’s not necessary for Gloomsday. Guitarist Justin Cota and drummer Lori Sokolowski—both of whom sing—simply play the living hell out of their instruments, yielding a fun, rhythmic indie-rock sound that packs a surprising wallop.

It took some time to build up to the fuller, richer sound it has now, however. When Gloomsday began in 2007 under the name Knives, Sokolowski was still new to the drums and the duo’s songs were a little rawer.

“We were more punk-sounding when we started, because that was my skill level,” Sokolowski says over a round of drinks at Bar Pink in North Park. “But as I’ve gotten better at drums, I think our sound has grown a little more complicated.”

“It’s gotten deeper, but not heavy for the sake of being heavy—heavy for the sake of being full,” Cota adds. “And we just kept rolling with it, because it was fun.”

In May, Gloomsday released their second album, Paradise Tossed, which features 12 songs with the duo at their gritty, swagger-dripping best. Cota plays a Fender Jaguar Baritone Custom guitar, which is tuned one octave lower than a standard guitar, giving the band’s sound some extrameaty low end. And Sokolowski is versatile behind her kit, giving a song like “Love Soaked Ritual” a rollicking, danceable momentum and “Where the Mountains Kiss the Sky” a bluesy, Sabbath-style heaviness.

Gloomsday’s music incorporates a lot of different influences—punk, garage, pop, riot-grrrl, doom metal—into a streamlined and accessible form that sometimes recalls a slimmed-down Queens of the Stone Age, or The Sonics with the low-end cranked as far as it’ll go. Cota and Sokolowski say they’ve heard people compare them to a long list of stylistically varied groups that includes The Pixies, Sonic Youth, The Melvins and The White Stripes, though, Cota

says, “I have purposefully written music that would not sound like White Stripes because of that fact.”

In describing their own music, the duo settled on “doom-pop,” but because of the styles they blend, Sokolowski says they’re a “fusion band.”

“When people hear ‘fusion,’ they just cringe,” she says.

Cota and Sokolowski—who’ll play Tin Can Ale House on Friday, Nov. 8—have been playing music together for six years. But the story of the duo goes back to 2004, when they made a 2,100-mile haul from Milwaukee to San Diego. Cota had just ended three years playing in hardcore band Forever is Forgotten and had started dating Sokolowski one year prior.

With nothing in particular keeping them in Wisconsin, the couple pulled up stakes and headed west. And though both were musicians, playing music together wasn’t the first thing they had in mind when arriving in San Diego.

“We had no intention of starting a band when we moved out here,” Cota says. “We just wanted to get good jobs.”

But Gloomsday is just one of a handful of different bands that each musician has played in since relocating.

They both perform in the trio Gateway Hugs—with their instruments swapped—and Cota fronts the much heavier Deep Sea Thunderbeast. At this stage, Gloomsday is pretty well established in San Diego’s music scene, though the name they chose is a lingering, if tongue-incheek reminder of the less-attractive conditions in the city where they met.

“We come from the Midwest, and the city we lived in—Milwaukee—it gets pretty gloomy there,” Cota says. “I might be out of line by saying we come from a place with a lot of people with chips on their shoulders. There’s kind of a mope-ish attitude.”

“Southern California’s not like that,” Sokolowski adds.

“Being [in] San Diego, I thought it’d be kind of ironic to have a band with the word ‘gloom’ in it,” Cota contin-

by Jeff Terich

ues. “But I tell people that it’s not Doomsday—it’s just a shitty day.”

Ironically, it’s pretty hard to feel gloomy when listening to Gloomsday or watching their dynamic, upbeat live shows. And for the band, providing a memorable experience is one of the most important things they can offer.

“I write to engage an audience, entertain the audience,” Cota says. “The music scene is so saturated, not just in San Diego but across the globe. Everyone is in a band.

“I want it to be something fun.”

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

November 6, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 25

notes from the smoking patio Locals Only Buddy Banter’s music has been featured in the trailer for an upcoming short film. Michael Arter, a filmmaker from Athens, Ohio, and director of Just South of North, recently wrapped up an Indiegogo crowd-funding campaign to cover production costs for the film, the trailer for which features the band’s song “High with Me.” The film is not yet finished, though Arter says in an email to CityBeat that he’ll have a rough cut wrapped up by mid-November, at which point he’ll decide if “High with Me” or other songs will be in the finished version of the movie.

“As of right now, I am not sure which song I will be using for the film, but [Buddy Banter’s] Steven [Perez-Oira] and I are continually collaborating together,” Arter says.

Arter also recently directed the video for Buddy Banter’s new song, “Insane.”

You can watch the trailer for Just South of North at vimeo.com/73986763.

•••

January will mark The Casbah’s 25th anniversary, and to celebrate, the venue’s lining up an entire month’s worth of shows with performances by a long list of great bands, most of them local and many of which haven’t performed together in quite a while.

Among the bands playing in January are The Rugburns, The Paladins, No Knife, Three Mile Pilot, Pinback, OFF!, Sweet and Tender Hooligans, Buck O Nine, Creedle and the Orange County group Smile, who broke up in 2003. Casbah owner Tim Mays says that more bands will be announced soon.

Dum Dum Girls have announced the upcoming release of their third album, Too True. It will be out on Jan. 28 via Sub Pop. Barbarian will have a song on a new Duran Duran tribute album, Making Patterns Rhyme: A Tribute to Duran Duran, which will also feature contributions by Liars, Warpaint and Moby. The band covers “Late Bar,” the b-side to Duran Duran’s first single, “Planet Earth.”

Music review Plateaus Wasting Time EP (Mt. St. Mtn.) It seems a bit ironic for Plateaus to title their new EP Wasting Time. If there’s one thing you won’t find much of in the San Diego group’s music, it’s waste. The average duration of the band’s songs is about two minutes, and some don’t even make it that far.

26 · San Diego CityBeat · November 6, 2013

Buddy Banter Plateaus are all about making noise, going straight for the hooks and getting out while the getting’s good.

That’s a recurring theme on Wasting Time, the band’s new 10-inch EP, which runs just shy of seven minutes. Each song is compact and concise but overflowing with melody and earworms—the portions on the EP may be small, but they’re trimmed of fat and gristle, leaving three satisfying psychedelic punk morsels.

At a meaty 2:27, the title track is practically epic

by Plateaus’ standards, pulsing with a fuzzed-out, Krautrock-influenced bass line into acid-fried garage oblivion. Lyrically, the track takes Wavves-style stoner navel-gazing into its own oddly meditative chant: “Wasting our time / And it’s feeling alright / Thinking it’s fine / But I know it’s a crime.” And while it’s gone almost as quickly as it arrives, “Wasting Time” could double in length and still not wear out its welcome.

The EP’s other two tracks aren’t quite so immediately arresting, though they’re certainly strong enough on their own. “Air Head” finds the band taking on more of a straightforward garage-rock sound, albeit loaded with fiery guitar riffs and reverb aplenty. In fact, it grooves almost as hard as “Wasting Time” but with more power-pop influence than motorik pulse.

“Lookout” follows a similar template as “Air Head,” with a much simpler structure. It’s your basic three-chord, verse-chorus-verse rock song, with an added “Hey man!” refrain that recalls David Bowie’s “Suffragette City.”

And, before you know it, Plateaus make their unceremonious exit, allowing their three new songs to say all they need to without much fuss or drama. Not that a little dramatic enhancement would hurt. For some laid-back, garage-rock fun, however, Wasting Time will do just fine.

—Jeff Terich Plateaus

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

November 6, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 27

if i were u

BY Jeff Terich

Wednesday, Nov. 6 PLAN A: Alejandro Escovedo and the Sensitive Boys, Amy Cook @ The Casbah.

Alejandro Escovedo is the uncle of one-time Prince bandmate Sheila E, and brother to veteran San Diego musicians Javier and Mario Escovedo. He’s a fine songwriter, too, so make sure to catch him strumming out some roots-rock classics. PLAN B: Diane Coffee, Thee Rain Cats, Chatlet @ The Void. Bay Area psych-pop group Foxygen have been going through a lot of drama this year, despite having released one of the year’s first great records. While Foxygen cools off, however, band member Shaun Fleming is crafting lush indie pop of his own under the name Diane Coffee, which is strong enough to compete with the best tunes from his other band.

The Stalins of Sound, The Bloodtypes, Alphachannel @ The Void. Local machinepunk trio The Stalins of Sound are releasing a new album. Help celebrate by letting them assault you with sound.

Sunday, Nov. 10

PLAN A: Cults, Sacco, Mood Rings @ The Irenic. Brooklyn’s Cults have roots in San Diego, plus a drummer—Cory Stier— who lives here, so if they’re not technically local, the connection is strong. In any case, their reverb-heavy indie pop is a delight, no matter where you’re listening to it. PLAN B: Clutch, The Sword, American Sharks, The Heathens @ House of Blues. For two decades, Maryland’s Clutch have been imbuing the heavy sounds of Sabbath and Thursday, Nov. 7 Zeppelin with their unique, badass grooves PLAN A: Meat Puppets, The World Takes and sense of humor. And in that 20 years, @ Soda Bar. The Meat Puppets have had an not much has changed—when it rocks this interesting career, from starting out in the hard, it doesn’t have to. punk underground to landing a radio hit with “Backwater.” But it’s the strength of their ample catalog that made the Kirkwood broth- Monday, Nov. 11 ers indie-rock legends. PLAN B: Mortals, PLAN A: “The Roots of Dubstep” feat.

Deep Sea Thunder Beast, Lazy Cobra @ Mad Professor, Rafter with Castor & Kensington Club. The three women in Mor- Pollux, Kill Quanti DJs. By now, dubstep isn’t exactly new, but before tals also play in an all-female kids in asymmetrical hairSlayer cover band called Slaycuts were waiting for the whore. That’s pretty awedrop, Jamaican and Britsome, and so is their dark, ish producers were laying murky metal. BACKUP its foundation through the PLAN: Crocodiles, Wyeffects-laden production of mond Miles, Heavy Hawaii dub reggae. Mad Professor is @ The Casbah. a dub pioneer, and he’s bringing his trippy, graduate-level Friday, Nov. 8 lesson plan to our classroom.

PLAN A: Ilya, Modern PLAN B: Ab-Soul, Joey Rifles, Machines Learning Bada$$ and Pro-Era, The @ Soda Bar. Ilya recently Underachievers, Chevy emerged from a four-year hiWoods @ SOMA. Ab-Soul bernation, and they’ve got a Cults is part of Black Hippy, the new album in the works for same hip-hop collective that 2014. Before that arrives, though, the band features fellow lyrical heavyweights Kendwill offer up a sampling of their dark new rick Lamar and Schoolboy Q, and his skills dream-pop jams, as well as some old favor- are just as finely honed, even if he doesn’t ites at this comeback show. PLAN B: Old have the same name recognition. BACKUP Man Wizard, Boy King, Gloomsday @ Tin PLAN: Negative Approach, MDC, Nerve Can Ale House. See Page 25 for our feature Control @ The Che Café. on Gloomsday, a local duo with a booming rock sound who’ll be joined by a pair of other kickass San Diego bands. BACKUP PLAN: Tuesday, Nov. 12 PLAN A: The Body, Author & Punisher, Smoota, Rare Monk @ Bar Pink.

Diamond Lakes, DJ Slowd @ Soda Bar. Last week, I wrote about Author & PunishSaturday, Nov. 9 er, a local one-man industrial unit whose PLAN A: Blitzen Trapper, Alialujah instruments are homemade and whose Choir @ Porter’s Pub. Blitzen Trapper menacing doom sound is like no other. caught my attention at SXSW in 2008, He’ll be joined by headliners The Body, and since then, their melodies and hooks a Portland duo with an ominous sludge have only gotten better. Find out firsthand, sound so massive, it’ll make your teeth ratjust don’t get lost on your way back to the tle. BACKUP PLAN: Quasi, Blues ConUCSD parking lot. PLAN B: Shiva Trash, trol @ The Casbah.

28 · San Diego CityBeat · November 6, 2013

HOT! NEW! FRESH! Crystal Bowersox (Griffin, 11/29), Cadillac Tramps (Casbah, 12/6), MS MR (Soda Bar, 12/7), The Paladins (Casbah, 1/3), Three Mile Pilot (Casbah, 1/7), No Knife (Casbah, 1/9), The Rugburns (Casbah, 1/10), Sweet and Tender Hooligans (Casbah, 1/11), Pinback (Casbah, 1/13), The Penetrators (Casbah, 1/17), Buck O Nine (Casbah, 1/18), Creedle (Casbah, 1/24), Smile (Casbah, 1/25), Skinny Puppy (HOB, 1/25), OFF! (Casbah, 1/29), Yuck (The Casbah, 2/2), Ramon Alaya (HOB, 2/7), New Politics (HOB, 2/17).

CANCELLED Vanna (HOB, 11/21).

GET YER TICKETS The Locust (Porter’s Pub, 11/23), Deltron 3030 (HOB, 11/26), Sinead O’Connor (BUT, 11/26), Redd Kross (Casbah, 11/30), Black Uhuru (BUT, 12/5), JAY Z (Valley View Casino Center, 12/7), ‘91X Wrex The Halls’ w/ Queens of the Stone Age, Vampire Weekend, Arctic Monkeys, Cage the Elephant, Alt-J (Valley View Casino Center, 12/8), The Mowgli’s (Griffin, 12/12), Slightly Stoopid (SOMA, 12/13), IconaPop (HOB, 12/15), NOFX (HOB, 12/19), Pere Ubu (Casbah, 12/19), The Greyboy Allstars (BUT, 12/21), Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (HOB, 12/22), Candye Kane (BUT, 12/31), Matthew Sweet (BUT, 1/2), Tower of Power (BUT, 1/4), Volcano Choir (HOB, 1/19), Ash (Casbah, 2/1), Karmin (HOB, 2/22), The Wailers (BUT, 3/2), Stephen Marley (BUT, 5/14).

November Wednesday, Nov. 6 Holly Golightly and the Broke-Offs at Soda Bar. Alejandro Escovedo and the Sensitive Boys at The Casbah. Baauer at Fluxx. Janelle Monae at House of Blues.

Thursday, Nov. 7 Gramatik at House of Blues. Meat Puppets at Soda Bar. Crocodiles at The Casbah. Macy Gray at Belly Up Tavern. Lita Ford at Brick by Brick.

Friday, Nov. 8 Rubblebucket at The Casbah. Strange Talk at The Casbah. Ilya at Soda Bar. The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band at The Griffin. Selena Gomez at Valley View Casino Center. Murs at The Epicentre.

Saturday, Nov. 9 Keller Williams at Belly Up Tavern.

Blitzen Trapper at Porter’s Pub.

Sunday, Nov. 10 Clutch, The Sword at House of Blues.

Cults at The Irenic. Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine at The Casbah

Monday, Nov. 11 Ab-Soul, Joey Bada$$ at SOMA. Jason Mraz, John Rzeznik at Belly Up Tavern.

Negative Approach at Che Café. Filter at Brick by Brick.

Tuesday, Nov. 12 Tycho at Belly Up Tavern. Quasi at The Casbah. The Body, Author & Punisher at Soda Bar.

Wednesday, Nov. 13 Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin at Soda Bar. Big Freedia at The Casbah.

Lupe Fiasco at House of Blues.

Thursday, Nov. 14 Melt Banana, Retox at The Casbah.

Minor Alps at Soda Bar. Tera Melos at Che Café. Oliver Trolley at Belly Up Tavern. Beats Antique at House of Blues.

Friday, Nov. 15 Nik Turner’s Hawkwind at The Casbah.

Saturday, Nov. 16 Rusko at House of Blues. Ben Harper at Copley Symphony Hall. Delorean at The Casbah. Caspian at Soda Bar. Common Sense at Belly Up Tavern. Autolux at The Casbah.

Sunday, Nov. 17 The Besnard Lakes at The Casbah.

Josh Berwanger at Soda Bar. The Heavy Guilt at Belly Up Tavern.

Monday, Nov. 18 Dropjoy at The Casbah.

Tuesday, Nov. 19 Chvrches at House of Blues. A$AP Ferg at Epicentre. Barrington Levy at Belly Up Tavern. Night Terrors of 1927 at Soda Bar. Roxy Jones at The Casbah.

Wednesday, Nov. 20 Kate Nash at Porter’s Pub. John Vanderslice at Soda Bar.

Thursday, Nov. 21 Steve Poltz at Belly Up Tavern. Pearl Jam at Viejas Arena.

Friday, Nov. 22 Obits at The Casbah. B-Side Players at House of Blues. English Beat at Belly Up Tavern.

Saturday, Nov. 23 English Beat at Belly Up Tavern. U.S. Girls at The Void. Screaming Females at Soda Bar. The Locust at Porter’s Pub. Cayucas at The Loft.

Sunday, Nov. 24 Drake at Viejas Arena. Night Beats at The Casbah. Church of Misery at Soda Bar.

rCLUBSr

710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave, Pacific Beach. 710bc.com. Wed: Open mic, open jam. Thu: ‘Rock Out Karaoke’. Fri: Casey Turner (5 p.m.); Reeform, Thrive, City Reef (9:30 p.m.). Sat: Eddie Blunt and High Tide, 80 Proof, Irie Alchemy. Sun: Battle of the Bands. Mon: ‘Monday Night Jams’.

Tue: ‘710 Bass Club’.

98 Bottles, 2400 Kettner Blvd. Ste. 110, Little Italy. 98bottlessd.com. Thu: ‘Maricris Paloutzian Fundraiser’ w/ Wayne Braxton. Fri: The Benedetti Trio. Sat: Darryl F. Walker. Sun: Mark Hall.

Air Conditioned Lounge, 4673 30th St, Normal Heights. airconditionedbar.com.

Wed: ‘Breezy Bliss’ w/ DJs Mark Pledger, JoshthebeaR, VOLZ, Frenzy. Thu: DJs

CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

November 6, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 29

Girth, Ledher 10, Bala, Less Then None.

Fri: ‘Unwind’ w/ DJs Zachary Noah, Jaby Bames (6 p.m.); DJ Junior the DiscoPunk (9 p.m.). Sat: ‘Juicy’ w/ Mike Czech.

‘Awe Snap! I Love the 90s’ w/ VJ K-Swift.

Thu: ‘Wet’. Fri: ‘Go-Go Fridays’ w/ VJ KSwift. Sat: ‘Men At Night’. Sun: ‘Soiree’.

Tue: Karaoke.

Fluxx, 500 Fourth Ave, Downtown. fluxxsd.com. Thu: Cash Cash. Fri: DJ Brett Bodley. Sat: DJs Sid Vicious, Rico De Largo.

American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave, Downtown. americancomedyco. com. Wed: ‘Full Throttle Comedy’. ThuSat: David Koechner. Tue: Open mic.

Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave, Bay Park. brickbybrick.com. Wed: Travis Luce, Dana Henry, Morgan Leigh, Jesse Nova, Michael Bowman, William Blake.

Thu: Lita Ford, Get Rockin, Rammoth, Gunner Gunner. Fri: Dante’s Boneyard, Lost Souls, Inside Riot. Sat: Drop Joy, Wait for It, Aim For The Engine. Sun: Ashen Earth, Squirrelly Arts, Archaic Mortuary. Mon: Filter, We as Human, Sinflood, Theois.

Hard Rock Hotel, 207 Fifth Ave, Downtown. hardrockhotelsd.com. Fri: DJ Nueva Kaos, Luke Skyy. Sat: Chris Kennedy, Mr. Brown. Sun: Sid Vicious.

AMSDconcerts, 4650 Mansfield St, Normal Heights. amsdconcerts.com. Fri: Mary Gauthier. Sun: Makana.

Bang Bang, 526 Market St, Downtown. facebook.com/BangBangSanDiego. Fri: DJs Gabe Vega, Saul Q. Bar Pink, 3829 30th St, North Park. barpink.com. Wed: DJ Grandmasta Rats. Thu: Queen Caveat, 321 Stereo.

Fri: Smoota, Rare Monk. Sat: DJs Mikey Face, Angie. Tue: Thee Oh Sees, OBN IIIs, The Blind Shake (sold out).

Bassmnt, 919 Fourth Ave, Downtown. bassmntsd.com. Fri: Matt Zo, Nom De Strip. Sat: Jochen Miller.

Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave, Solana Beach. bellyup.com. Wed: Pacific Mambo Orchestra. Thu: Macy Gray, DJ James Barak. Fri: 40 Oz. To Freedom, HI Roots, Total Distortion. Sat: Keller Williams. Sun: Greensky Bluegrass, Fruition. Mon: Jason Mraz, John Rzeznik, River Runs North (sold out). Mon: Rob Machado Foundation Concert. Tue: Tycho, Beacon.

Blarney Stone Pub, 5617 Balboa Ave, Clairemont. 858-279-2033. Wed: The Barmen. Fri: Adam Jones. Sat: The Fooks.

Boar Cross’n, 390 Grand Ave, Carlsbad. boarcrossn.net. Thu: Red Hand. Fri: ‘Club Musae’. Sat: Me and Dinosaur.

Bourbon Street, 4612 Park Blvd, University Heights. bourbonstreetsd.com. Wed:

Croce’s, 802 Fifth Ave, Downtown. croces.com. Wed: Sue Palmer. Thu: Gilbert Castellanos and The New Latin Jazz Quintet. Fri: Lady Dottie and The Diamonds.

Sat: Daniel Jackson (11:30 a.m.); Eve Selis (8:30 p.m.). Sun: Patrick Barrogain (11 a.m.); The Archtones (7:30 p.m.).

Dirk’s Nightclub, 7662 Broadway, Lemon Grove. dirksniteclub.com. Fri: Sneaker Kings. Sat: TNT. Dizzy’s, 4275 Mission Bay Drive, Mission Bay. dizzyssandiego.com. Fri: Tigran.

Sat: Robin Adler and Mutts of the Planet.

El Dorado Bar, 1030 Broadway, Downtown. eldoradobar.com. Wed: ‘The Tighten Up’. Thu: ‘Happy Little Trees’. Fri: ‘Posse On Broadway’ w/ DJs Cros One, Kidriz. Sat: Eric Duncan, Shige, Bobdazzla.

Epicentre, 8450 Mira Mesa Blvd, Mira Mesa. epicentreconcerts.org. Wed: He Is Legend, This Is The Hospital, Swaylight, Prevailer, Boxdox. Thu: The Chariot, Glass Cloud, Rebuker, Bird In a Row, To The Wind, Jeremiah Johnson. Fri: Murs, The Procussions, Ruslan, John Givez.

Sat: Aim To Kill, Fatal Disease.

30 · San Diego CityBeat · November 6, 2013

Henry’s Pub, 618 Fifth Ave, Downtown. henryspub.com. Wed: Johnny Tarr, DJ Chris London. Thu: Mark Fisher, DJ Yodah. Fri: ‘Good Times’ w/ DJs Rev, Yodah. Sat: DJs E, Yodah. Mon: DJs Yodah, Joey Jimenez. Tue: Rockin’ Aces.

House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave, Downtown. houseofblues.com/sandiego. Wed: Janelle Monae, Gianarthur. Thu: Gramatik, heRobust, Exmag. Fri: Tainted Love, DJ LV. Sat: Twenty one pilots. Sun: Clutch, The Sword, American Sharks, The Heathens. Mon: For The Fallen Dreams, Echoes, The Hallowed, Felonies.

Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd, Midtown. kavalounge.com. Fri: Seria Star.

Sat: ‘Dragon Lounge’. Sun: Destructo Bunny.

Kensington Club, 4079 Adams Ave, Kensington. 619-284-2848. Thu: Mortals, Deep Sea Thunder Beast, Lazy Cobra.

Sat: The Filthy Violets, The Mittens, Parade of Horribles.

Lestat’s Coffee House, 3343 Adams Ave, Normal Heights. lestats.com. Wed: Jillette Johnson, Tony Ferrari. Thu: Justin Carter, Peter Blachley, Tom McBride. Fri: Alice Wallace, Hana Kim, Lakin. Sat: Alaina Blair, Peg, The Walking Faces. Sun: Storm Circus, Josh Clutter, Star Anna.

Mon: Open mic. Tue: Comedy night.

Mc P’s Irish Pub, 1107 Orange Ave, Coronado. mcpspub.com. Wed: JG Duo. Thu: North Star. Fri: Ron’s Garage. Sat:

Manic Bros. Tue: 2 Guys Will Move U.

isher, Diamond Lakes, DJ Slowd.

Patricks II, 428 F St, Downtown. patricksii.com. Wed: Johnny Vernazza. Thu: Bill Magee Blues Band. Fri & Sun: Trey Tosh and The TnT Band. Sat: Mystique Element of Soul. Mon: WG and The G-Men. Tue: Walter’s Chicken Jam.

SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd, Midway. somasandiego.com. Fri: Tonight We Fight, Smarter Than Robots, It All Starts Here, Bloom, The Shallow End, Peace In Terror, Cochino. Sat: Dev, Sourmilk.

Mon: Ab-Soul, Joey Bada$$ and Pro Era, Underachievers, Chevy Woods.

Porter’s Pub, 9500 Gilman Dr., UCSD campus, La Jolla. porterspub.net. Fri: ‘UCSD Persian Club presents All White Affair’ w/ DJs Julius, Mohsen, Al, Neema.

Sat: Blitzen Trapper, Alialujah Choir.

Rich’s, 1051 University Ave, Hillcrest. richssandiego.com. Wed: DJ John Joseph. Thu: ‘Repent’. Fri: DJ Corey Craig.

Sat: DJ Taj. Sun: DJ Kiki.

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

Wed: Kice Simko. Thu: Neighbors To The North. Fri: Sure Fire Soul Ensemble. Sat: Palominos. Tue: Karaoke.

Seven Grand, 3054 University Ave, North Park. sevengrandbars.com/sd. Wed: Gilbert Castellanos jazz jam. Thu: Mimi Zulu.

Fri: Lexington Field. Sat: Stevie and The Hi-Staxx. Tue: ‘Super Karaoke’.

Shakedown Bar, 3048 Midway Drive, Point Loma. theshakedownsd.com. Fri: Se Vende, Downtown Brown, Chiefs, Revenge Club. Sat: Raise The Guns, Unicorn Death, Damcyan. Sun: Great Electric Quest.

Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd, City Heights. sodabarmusic.com.

Wed: Torches, The Lonely Wild, She Keeps Bees. Thu: Meat Puppets, The World Takes. Fri: Ilya, Modern Rifles, Machines Learning. Sat: Reason To Rebel, Amerikan Bear, Red Wizard. Sun: Goldroom, Story of the Running Wolf, Colour Vision.

Mon: The Deer Tracks, Idyll Wild, Nicky Venus. Tue: The Body, Author and Pun-

Stage Bar & Grill, 762 Fifth Ave, Downtown. stagesaloon.com. Wed: Mark Fisher and Gaslamp Guitars. Thu: Van Roth.

Fri: Brianna Thompson (7 p.m.); Friction Monster (8 p.m.); Disco Pimps (10:30 p.m.). Sat: Ben Zinn (6 p.m.); 6 String Samurai (7:45 p.m.); Hott Mess (9:30 p.m.); DJ Miss Dust (10:30 p.m.).

The Brass Rail, 3796 Fifth Ave, Hillcrest. thebrassrailsd.com. Thu: DJs Marcel, John Joseph, Taj, Will Z. Fri: ‘Wired’. Sat: ‘Sabados En Fuego’ w/ DJs XP, KA. Sat: ‘Golden Chicks’. Sun: ‘Noche Romantica’ w/ Daisy Salinas. Mon: DJs XP, Junior the DiscoPunk.

The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd, Midtown. casbahmusic.com. Wed: Alejandro Escovedo and The Sensitive Boys, Amy Cook. Thu: Crocodiles, Wymond Miles, Heavy Hawaii. Fri: Rubblebucket, The Heavy Guilt, Grampa Drew and The Gutstring Girls. Sat: Strange Talk, The Griswolds, Dr. Seahorse. Mon: ‘Roots of Dubstep Tour’ w/ Mad Professor, Rafter, Kill Quanti DJs. Tue: Quasi, Blues Control.

The Che Cafe, UCSD campus, La Jolla. thechecafe.blogspot.com. Mon: Negative Approach, MDC, Nerve Control. Tue: Nah, Joint Chiefs of Math, Nimzo Indians.

The Griffin, 1310 Morena Blvd, Bay Park. thegriffinsd.com. Wed: Into The Flood, Seconds Ago, Deadweight. Thu: Trouble In The Wind, Tucker Jameson, The Red

Fox Tails. Fri: The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, Chris Shiflett and The Dead Peasants. Sat: John Brown’s Body, New Kingston, Alific. Sun: Troup, Sarah’s Promise, Viva Apollo, Evan Bethany, Christine Parker, Big Country Elephant.

Mon: Black Pistol Fire, Chess Wars, The Gods of Science. Tue: Diatribes, Badabing, Dinosaur Ghost.

The Merrow, 1271 University Ave, Hillcrest. rubyroomsd.com. Fri: ‘Pink Boombox presents: Death Becomes Her’. Sat: Everlong, Von Gilda, Journeymen.

The Office, 3936 30th St, North Park. officebarinc.com. Wed: Sonido De La Frontera, DJs Unite, Solrak, Senor Henshaw.

Mon: ‘Dub Dynamite’ w/ DJs Rashi, Eddie Turbo.

The Void, 3519 El Cajon Blvd, North Park. thevoidsd.com. Wed: Diane Coffee. Thu: ‘Hardcore Hip-Hop’ w/ Dimitri Dickinson.

Sat: The Stalins of Sound, Shiva Trash, Alphachannel. Sun: Karaoke.

Til-Two Club, 4746 El Cajon Blvd, City Heights. tiltwoclub.com. Wed: ‘A Brief History of Rhyme’ w/ DJ Heather Hardcore. Fri: The Woggles, The Loons, Shake Before Us. Sat: The Fleshtones, Split Squad, The Rosalyns, Chango Rey and His Broken Heartbeat, DJ Stack-Aly. Sun: Lightning Swords of Death, Necrot, Scolex, Ascended Dead, Pentagoat. Mon: Karaoke. Tue: Stand-Up Comedy.

Tin Can Ale House, 1863 Fifth Ave, Bankers Hill. thetincan1.wordpress.com. Wed: Sweet Jesus, Travis Hayes, Tendrils, Noel Jordan. Thu: Leanna May and The Matadors, The Flowerthief, John Courage and The Great Plains. Fri: Old Man Wizard, Boy King, Gloomsday. Sat: Black Sands, Jonathan Warren and The Billy Goats, Ugly Boogie. Mon: ‘Tin Can Country Club’ w/ Scott Blinn. Tue: Tin Can Art Benefit. Tue: ‘Survi-

vors of Rape Benefit Show’ w/ Artifact.

Tio Leo’s, 5302 Napa St, Bay Park. tioleos.com. Wed: DJ Greg Zydeco. Thu: Rockin’ Aces. Fri: Combo Libertad. Sat: Blues Pursuit.

Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave, City Heights. thetowerbar.com. Wed: The Ratt’s Revenge, Stack-Aly. Thu: Glass Spells, Bruisecaster, Comet Calendar, Voice Actor. Fri: Kids In Heat. Sat: Palmyra Delran, Benny The Jet Rodriguez, Free Machines, International Dipshit.

Turquoise, 873 Turquoise St, Pacific Beach. theturquoise.com/wordpress. Wed: Carlos Velasco (4 p.m.); Tomcat Courtney (7 p.m.).

Thu: Talia (4 p.m.); The Jade Visions Jazz Trio (7 p.m.). Fri: Tomcat Courtney (5 p.m.); Afro Jazziacs (9 p.m.). Sat: Tomcat Courtney (5 p.m.); Santana Pa Ti (9 p.m.). Sun: Sounds Like Four (4 p.m.); Blue 44 (7 p.m.).

Mon: Sean Murphy (4 p.m.); Latin Magic (7 p.m.). Tue: Stefanie Schmitz (5 p.m.); Afro Jazziacs (7 p.m.).

Voyeur, 755 Fifth Ave, Downtown. voyeursd.com. Thu: Willy Joy. Fri: Paul Oakenfold.

West Coast Tavern, 2895 University Ave, North Park. westcoatstavern.com.

Wed: DJ Qenoe. Thu: DJ Clean Cut. Fri: DJ Decon. Sat: DJ Wil Hernandez. Tue: Mike Delgado.

Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St, South Park. whistlestopbar.com. Fri: Champ, Neon Cough, DJ Gary Hankins. Sat: ‘Booty Bassment’ w/ DJs Dimitri, Rob. Winstons, 1921 Bacon St, Ocean Beach. winstonsob.com. Wed: Jam Kwest, DJ Carlos Culture. Thu: The Peacemakers, Three Finger Lid, Stasea. Fri: Naked Funk, Country Rockin Rebels, Sunday Hustle. Sat: Jug Head Mob. Mon: Electric Waste Band.

November 6, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 31

32 · San Diego CityBeat · November 6, 2013

November 6, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 33

Proud sponsor: San Diego Whale Watch

Ink Well Xwords by Ben Tausig

Across 1. Language of many Buddhist texts 5. Soft-shelled food, perhaps 9. Moved inconspicuously 14. Word after breast or testicular 15. Pint that may be weisse 16. Trendy diet modeled after the ostensible habits of cavemen 17. Space opera starring Kanye as Jar Jar and Fergie as C-3PO? 20. Moon with Ewoks 21. Citation abbr.

22. Winter shot targets 23. Starts to attract flies, say 25. Attend 27. Channel with programming such as “The Real Lunch Ladies of Lincoln Middle School”?

33. Into underground stuff 34. Flowery band 35. Perfect places 37. ___ U 38. Not fully soft, as shells 41. Orchestra’s locale 42. Vibe 44. Emulate pigeons 45. Tops 46. VIPs at a printer convention in Prague one week, Paris the next?

50. Polite permission request 51. Obama campaign concept 52. As well 55. Taj Mahal city 57. Cold War weapons 61. Cream that proto-Nissan owners had to apply to their vehicles on summer days?

Last week’s answers

64. One may be snaked 65. Foul-mouthed 1950s heartthrob Paul 66. Bart and Lisa’s driver 67. Pull 68. America, Europe, etc., with “the” 69. “Good thing we locked the door before the monster got in”

Down 1.

2.

3.

4.

Animated skunk Le Pew Nerve cell transmitter “Columbo” law enforcement gp.

Words delivered with a hangdog expression 5. Letters for a gap in the schedule 6. Cuffed 7. Play group?

8. Delightful time?

9. Beach hero’s skill 10. Content of a certain trendy diet 11. Major Middle Eastern airline 12. South American country with a redand-white flag 13. Prepare, as a kind of salad 18. Disney movie about a hacker 19. Scores 24. Poker player’s giveaway 26. Like Wes Anderson movies 27. A total ten, spelled slangily 28. Disney character with no legs 29. Autobiography written with Kurt Loder 30. Cheyenne Woods, to Tiger 31. Cars sold at auction, casually 32. Dog in heat?

36. Editor’s “it’s fine after all” 38. One may be gray 39. “I’m good” 40. WWII leader sentenced to death in 1948 43. Gradual absorption 45. Admitted wrongness 47. Vice presidential runner-up Paul 48. Horror film villain with sadistic puzzles 49. Like some fails 52. Throws in 53. “Tomb Raider” protagonist Croft 54. “Sit!” relative 56. Letter from millennia ago 58. Kiss hit 59. Dole (out) 60. Flakes because it’s cold?

62. ___ Chicago Grill 63. Served, as on a committee

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

34 · San Diego CityBeat · November 6, 2013

November 6, 2013 · San Diego CityBeat · 35