San Diego CityBeat • Nov 9, 2016

2 · San Diego CityBeat · November 9, 2016

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November 9, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 3

UP FRONT | FROM THE EDITOR

Next up after Measure C

T

HIS PAST SPRING-LIKE SUNDAY a friend for No on C. “It is about public policy, and this meadropped a free ticket to the Chargers-Titans sure is bad public policy.” game in my lap. So I attended an NFL footSo what’s the next play call? Excruciatingly, now ball game at Qualcomm Stadium for the first time that the election’s over the speculation will continue in about three years. It’s possible to enjoy the spec- and the cards will be shuffled for the next hand of tacle of the sport and not be in support of Measure poker.

C, which asked San Diegans on Nov. 8 to vote up or As the game of Hold-Em continues, recall an imdown on hoisting the hotel tax by 4 percent to raise portant “tell” offered from former Chargers General a billion dollars to help pay for a new downtown sta- Manager A.J. Smith. Speaking a couple months ago dium that, wink, also would serve as a convention to San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Kevin Acee center expansion. My visit to Mission Valley was in on 1090 AM, Smith said NFL sources told him: “The no small part a diversion from run-up speculation on Chargers are staying here. They have to do a deal. who’ll soon occupy 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. But The reality is, there is no option. There is an option, it was impossible not to let politics RON DONOHO but it will never be exercised. San creep into this powder-blue day at Diego is coveted by the National the stadium.

Football League and the owners.

All along, nobody thought MeaThe League wants a team here. sure C would sniff the two-thirds They want them to stay.” vote needed to pass. Note: This The “option,” of course, refers Editor’s Letter was written prior to an oft-dangled threat by Charto results being tabulated, but by gers spokesfolk to bolt and move now we should know what perto Los Angeles and play in the centage of voters filled in bubbles mega-stadium being built there by in favor of corporate welfare. (One Rams owner Stan Kroenke. unofficial line set the over/under Does anyone doubt the NFL at 48 percent. I took the under.) is running this show, and that it’s In bygone years I’ve enjoyed The League that will dictate to watching pro football teams mix Spanos where he plays ball? it up at The Q. Yes, the stadium Going off the Smith intel that looks like the “before” option in the NFL wants the Chargers to an episode of Fixer Upper; the stay put, the city of San Diego has P.A. system sounds like it’s run chips to play. Granted, the NFL on tin-can-and-string technology; There were plenty of empty doesn’t want to get into a precseats at the Chargers-Titans edent of ponying up for new stathe food tastes like microwaved game on Sunday. diums all over the country. Heaven packing material. It was dispiriting that just 52,281 of 71,294 seats forbid. Such investment could cut at the stadium were filled, on a day when LaDainian into the $230-million revenue-sharing checks 32 Tomlinson, Dan Fouts and other Chargers Hall-of- team owners received last year.

Famers were honored at halftime.

But there’s no point in wasting time getting to the Attendance aside, there was an appeal to being in bargaining table with Team Spanos. Nobody blink the coliseum with the gladiators. It was fascinating when the Chargers threaten to pack up for L.A. Inwatching Antonio Gates slowed by age yet so adept stead, it’s time to push for an even better deal for local at finding openings in the secondary; seeing Joey taxpayers than the one first presented by the mayor’s Bosa still learning the defensive system; wondering Citizens’ Stadium Advisory Group, which recomif visiting Heisman Trophy-winner Marcus Mariota mended building a new facility in Mission Valley. will ever live up to his number-two draft billing.

In friendly media interviews leading up to the Worth a billion dollars of tax money diverted election, Spanos has said he didn’t have a “Plan B” from San Diego’s general fund, though? Nope, no following the failure of Measure C. Rather, he wantway and hell no. Sports teams can be a point of civic ed to see what percentage of votes it got. Well, now pride, but civic pride starts with upkeep of roads, it’s official—not enough. Make ’em pay to stay. The revolution starts here. services, safety and public welfare.

—Ron Donoho “Measure C is not a test of your love for the Chargers,” according to Tony Manolatos, spokesperson Write to rond@sdcitybeat.com This issue of CityBeat is going to miss Grover Norquist’s election vaping commentary.

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

CONTRIBUTORS Matthew Baldwin, David L. Coddon, Beth Demmon, Andrew Dyer, Tiffany Fox, Michael A. Gardiner, Glenn Heath Jr., Peter Holslin, Lara McCaffrey, Scott McDonald, Sebastian Montes, Jenny Montgomery, Michelle Poveda, Jim Ruland, Ben Salmon, Tom Siebert, Jen Van Tieghem, Amy Wallen

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

EDITORIAL INTERNS Jordan Packer, Sofia Mejias-Pascoe

VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE Kacie Sturek

PRODUCTION MANAGER Tristan Whitehouse

VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS David Comden

MULTIMEDIA ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Paulina Porter-Tapia

PUBLISHER Kevin Hellman

ADVERTISING INQUIRIES Interested in advertising?

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

EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISING OFFICE 3047 University Ave., Suite 202 San Diego, CA 92104 Phone: 619-281-7526 Fax: 619-281-5273 www.sdcitybeat.com

San Diego CityBeat is published and distributed every Wednesday by Southland Publishing Inc., free of charge but limited to one per reader. Reproduction of any material in this or any other issue is prohibited without written permission from the publisher and the author. Contents copyright 2016.

4 · San Diego CityBeat · November 9, 2016

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November 9, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 5

UP FRONT | LETTERS

WORTH PERUSING

Thank you for your excellent and progressive newspaper. I am a long termer in San Diego, born in old Mercy Hospital and raised in East County. San Diego needs your paper. It certainly offers insightful and meaningful articles and news that is so lacking in our current city newspaper. I have recently e-mailed my appreciation to two of your contributors (Ed Decker and Aaryn Belfer) for their bitingly accurate and timely articles—they do a great job.

Good job by Ron Donoho on the California National Guard demanding repayment of bonuses paid out to some of our armed service people [“Epic stupidity: taking money from veterans,” Oct. 25]. It was worse than stupid—it was criminal.

Thankfully, it looks like Congress is going to side with the vets.

Nicholas Kennelly, La Mesa

THANKS ALL AROUND

Thank you, Ron Donoho, for your excellent publication. Thank you, also, for the first-class Progressive Voter Guide [Oct. 19].

Thank you, Aaryn Belfer, for the wonderful job that you do as an informed and effective journalist. Thank you for your insight and courage.

Thank you, Aaron Leaf, for the extraordinary job you’re doing as an activist and artist [“Aaron Leaf pays tribute to police shooting victims,” Oct, 12]. Hopefully, you will reconsider an art show, to profile the memory of these innocents and to educate the public about the racist police brutality within our community.

Thank you all for being a class act. In these ugly days, you shine a light of true inspiration.

Anna Bowen-Davies, University Heights

BLINDED BY SCIENCE

As a man of science, I want to tell you how much I enjoy Amy Alkon’s columns [Advice Goddess].

Using published research to back up your advice is unique and very enlightening. Seems that it often comes down to the idea that, as progressive as we try to be, it’s hard to escape our hard-wired biology. I’m a big proponent of that line of thought!

Keep up the great work and I’ll continue to check it out!

Anthony Hawksworth, San Diego

AWKWARD BRAVERY

Kudos to Ryan Bradford for brave-

6 · San Diego CityBeat · November 9, 2016

ly writing a [Well, That Was Awkward] column that addressed his anxiety disorder [“Understanding anxiety through horror films,” Oct.12]. I have admired his writing since my introduction to CityBeat five or six years ago. His columns never fail to make me laugh. As far as I can remember, this was the first time he mentioned having an anxiety disorder. Thank you for showing such courage in light of the stigma and misunderstanding that surrounds mental health issues. You may never know how many readers were touched or encouraged by what he wrote.

Suzy Perkins, La Mesa

AT THE MOVIES

Two things: Thank you to Glenn Heath for reviewing “Long Way North,” a lovely film. I finally got to the Digital Gym Cinema and it is wonderful, like having your own private screening room, plus they have discounted matinees!

Thank you to the brilliant editor for the Progressive Voter Guide issue, which enabled me to digest the issues and actually understand them. We needed the help. Those dissatisfied readers apparently don’t understand the word progressive. You provide a public service for which I am deeply grateful. Thank you again.

Nancy Drew, Normal Heights

SUGAR FOR HONEY

I just want to say thank you for Minda Honey. Her columns [At The Intersection] are so real and refreshing to read. If anything, I think they should appear more than once a month! Thank you!

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

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

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

Backward And In High Heels. . . .

Well, That Was Awkward. . . . . . .

4 6 7 8 9

FOOD & DRINK The World Fare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Bottle Rocket. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Final Draught. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

THINGS TO DO Short List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Calendar of Events. . . . . . . . . . 13-14

ARTS & CULTURE Theater. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH: La Jolla. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-20 Seen Local . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Films. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-24

MUSIC FEATURE: Neko Case . . . . . . . . . 26 Notes from the Smoking Patio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 If I Were U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Concerts & Clubs. . . . . . . . . . 30-33

LAST WORDS Advice Goddess. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

ON THE

COVER

Tamara Rhodes, Normal Heights

THE OLANGO PAIN

Thank you to Aaryn Belfer for expressing in powerful words the anger in my heart. Alfred Olango definitely did not matter and neither do I to the domestic terrorists hiding in their polyester [“Police had no reason to dismantle Olango memorial,” Oct. 12]. It was truly a perfect summation of the unequal “justice” on full and unapologetic display.

You brought this grown man to tears a few weeks ago with another powerfully sad but so-trueit-hurt article regarding sexism [“Invisible paper cuts of a lifetime of sexism,” Aug. 17].

Thank you for your skill, wisdom and anger.

Peace.

Kevin Bozanich,

Carlsbad

As the fourth-generation owner of Warwick’s, Nancy Warwick has carried on the bookstore’s dog-friendly attitude. On the cover, she and her own pups, Milo and Django, stop in front of Roy McMakin’s Favorite Color mural (7596 Eads Ave.) for a Kodak moment by CityBeat staff writer Torrey Bailey. Learn more about her life growing up with the store and other insider information on La Jolla in this month’s Neighborhood Watch (page 16).

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JOHN R. LAMB

UP FRONT | OPINION

SPIN

CYCLE

JOHN R. LAMB

Election Day musings Voting is simply a way of determin- tempted various contortions for ing which side is the stronger with- optimum lap-top bubble filling. out putting it to the test of fighting. Disappearing pens and a short —H.L. Mencken age of “privacy shields”—those manila-folder-like contraptions to or the first time in Spin Cy- keep your ballot from prying eyes— cle’s memory, there was a were also early-morning topics of line of voters waiting to cast discussion. One voter donated her their ballots at the nearby nurs- own pen to the cause as she picked ing home that serves as a polling up her “I Voted” sticker.

Speaking of early-morning displace. A dozen young and old, to be precise, snaking through the cussions, there was Mayor Tippytoes himself appearing on Elecautumn-decorated lobby.

Familiar faces, some not so tion Day morning sports talk ramuch, but all quietly, patiently dio. The Mighty 1090’s Dan Sileo awaiting their turn to—what the took a brief phone call from Kevin hell?—sit on the floor and color Faulconer, who has been doing in circles on two placemat-sized some light lifting this election seacards. “They only gave us two poll- son. Nothing too strenuous nor ing stations,” a precinct worker told career threatening, mind you, but anyone who’d listen, confirmed lifting up nonetheless.

“Nothing worth doing is easy, by the pair of shielded cardboard right?” the mayor most likely to structures against a back wall.

The benefit of a nursing-home take the easy route was saying. polling place? The accommoda- “We’ve put together a lot of positions. Lining one wall, voters in tive momentum...”

Ostensibly, Faulconer was talkbrightly printed cushy chairs at-

F

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ing about his warm-lukewarmcold-warm-again relationship with the brain trust of the San Diego Chargers, which Spin Cycle will leave to deeper minds in these fine pages to psychoanalyze and parse for future evolvement.

Asked what he’s learned this election season, the mayor defaulted to a favorite bromide, “You solve problems when you work together.”

“When you communicate, when you sit down,” Faulconer continued, “that really just helps set the table.” So we’ve put out the fine china, buffed up the silverware and crystal goblets and folded the cloth napkins into unicorns. What now, oh master of ceremonies? *** Since this edition wraps up before the polls close, don’t look at Spin to tell you what greeted us in our election stockings Wednesday morning. It’s a safe wager, though, that neither San Diego nor the nation will suddenly sprout lollipop trees under cotton-candy clouds while the entire populace holds hands in smiling unity.

“San Diego leaders tend to pretend that—isolated by Camp Pendleton to the north, the desert in the east, ocean to the west and border to the south—we can simply ride out the national storms,” longtime local political observer

Will Mayor Kevin Faulconer (under table) find party dissension with possible job-bailers GOP chairman Tony Krvaric and DA Bonnie Dumanis?

Carl Luna said in an email.

That this year’s national storm was a Category 5 hurricane of innuendo, bickering and in-yourface politicking courtesy of the slugfest between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump perhaps made the local shouting matches seem pedestrian by comparison.

What will be interesting to watch is the fallout from the landmined road to the White House, circa 2016. Will basic civility return? Doubtful, although guys like Faulconer will do their gosh-darn darnedest to make it appear that every day is a Kumbaya moment, one photo-op at a time.

But who will simply give up the fight? Rumors persist that District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis has plans to step down from her prosecutorial post after the election.

She has reportedly waved off such whispers as speculation, which isn’t exactly a denial of the possibility. Efforts seeking clarity from a spokesperson were unsuccessful, so apparently time will tell.

The bailing-Bonnie speculation runs the gamut from “family health issues” to interest in running for a county supervisor seat in 2018 to helping a protégé gain appointment for the remainder of her term and grease the skids for a future run as the sitting DA. *** San Diego Council President Sherri Lightner, her term expiring early next month, will fade into the woodwork and perhaps generate some scrapping among those interested in setting the agenda for the next city council. Councilmember and former mayoral candidate David Alvarez is considered next in line to lead the Democrat-controlled council, but might the sitting Republicans again try to woo another candi-

date—perhaps Myrtle Cole?— more to Faulconer’s liking? *** Meanwhile, it appears unlikely that any change will come to the leadership of the local major political parties. Francine Busby has made no pronouncements of any pending departure from her top-honcho spot with the county Democratic Party, and no hint of any uprising planned. On the Republican side, local chairman Tony Krvaric is said by friends to want out but is lacking a trusted soldier to hand the keys to—his mentor and right-hand man, Ron Nehring, finished 10th in a race for six Central Committee spots in his district in June. *** So what’s it going to be, San Diego? More of the same? Lots of talk, little action? Or will this election be the beacon that leads us out of the fog of political war and into the fresh air of a cooperative new era?

Perhaps the lady who gave up her pen for the cause of democracy was a sign of better days ahead.

Maybe the number of young people standing patiently in line not for a new iPhone but to vote makes it easier to imagine a bright, engaged future. Could it be that the quietude from no incoming robocalls is creating a false sense of tranquility at the moment?

All possibilities. But as the mayor noted to Sileo, “To get 66 percent of people to agree that the sun comes up in the morning is difficult. Not impossible, but difficult.”

In San Diego, the sun indeed comes up every morning—but what it illuminates is definitely up for interpretation. Let’s hope the view from the table is wide and embracing.

November 9, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 7

UP FRONT | OPINION

AARYN BELFER

BACKWARDS & IN

HIGH HEELS

Assuming Hillary Clinton is president-elect…

I

t is, as I type this column, days before what has turned out to be the most traumatizing election campaign I’ve ever experienced. Who knew I’d long for a candidate Romney or even a George W. Bush? When I’m stressed, I pick the skin on my chapped upper lip, often without even realizing it, and let me just say here: What lip? I have no lip left.

Donald Trump, with his vile schoolboy invective, rolled out the red carpet and threw open the door to the Ghost of Assaults Past for so many women, myself included. And that was just one of the 10 million paper cuts that his lies, his bloviating, his imperiousness, his idiocy, his racism, his xenophobia, his ethnocentrism and his mocking of the disabled have wrought. It’s been a physical, psychological, spiritual and emotional bludgeoning that I couldn’t ever have imagined. The GOP built this Frankenstein, but the “media” (whatever that is these days) finished putting the last bolt in its forehead.

If Hillary Rodham Clinton is our president-elect today—and since I viewed the Chicago Cubs’ epic and historic World Series victory as foreshadowing that of Dame Clinton’s, she is—I exhaled a big, if temporary, sigh of relief.

It is my hope as I write this that HRC won in a landslide of proportions not predicted by revered seer Nate Silver because overwhelmingly we, as an evolving society, reject and repudiate all that Donald Trump stands for.

My relief and momentary lip-healing brings only a slight reprieve from the election angst because: A) Hillary Clinton is our first woman president; B) Hillary Clinton is a woman: C) Hillary Clinton is Hillary Clinton; and D) Donald Trump is not going quietly.

Taking each point alone, we can already predict that this happy “ending” with Hillary’s election is actually the beginning of four more years of what this election wrought.

A) There are those who can’t handle the truth: That a woman can be anything she wants to be, including leader of the “free” world (ain’t nobody free until all of us are free. Here’s looking at you, indigenous peoples fighting for our water, your water, your land, your lives. Solidarity, my friends). But it’s raining down glass in the Oval Office and that is going to make some folks—most especially those white ones with testicles—very uncomfortable.

B) The sexism unveiled in this election cycle has been nothing short of stunning and there is no reason to believe it will end because we aren’t in Equalandia. HRC has endured for 50-plus years of misogyny with amazing resilience and she can certainly handle four more. But let’s all be real. This is probably going to be the worst four years of her life.

Or at least it will be on par with whatever the worst

has been. And the bar she will have to meet just to be considered half as good as all the 44 boy prezies before her is way above where that glass used to be.

C) Hillary Clinton. Just the name has some people apoplectic and irrationally so, I might add. Fiftyplus years of smears and lies have become “truth,” and trying to have conversations with the antiHRCers is like arguing with a drunk person. Yes, she’s worth critiquing and is not beyond reproach.

But saying you don’t like her husband or her clothes or her face or what about the emails or, well, there’s just something about her I don’t like (code for: she has a vagina, see item B above), all of that is not valid. But these obtuse assessments will continue with the volume set at 11.

D) The Donald is going to have a temper tantrum, pound his fists on the ground, kick his feet in the dirt and look for every hanging chad he can find.

Even if he doesn’t do this, his impact will be felt for decades.

For he has signed a permission slip with his trademark illiterate scribbles that allows racist troglodytes hiding on the fringes of society to be racist troglodytes right out in the open wherever and whenever they want.

Pandora’s box has been blown apart and the innards and giblets have exploded into our society with ferocity and morphed into what look like normal human beings but are actually deranged freaks with underdeveloped frontal lobes.

These guys (and women, too) have slithered out from the obscurity of Internet chat rooms into the wide-open streets of American cities and towns. They have infiltrated our police departments and other institutions of power.

Trump has unleashed and emboldened a raw evil in our country that is not going to go away. One need only read Luke O’Brien’s investigative piece, “My Journey to the Center of the Alt-Right,” to understand exactly what fetid poison is seeping into modern-day America.

“Thanks to Trump, ethno-nationalism is poised to be a force in American politics for the first time in decades,” O’Brien writes in his disturbing exposé.

According to him, we are witnessing “the biggest uptick in white power activity in American politics since the Ku Klux Klan’s invisible empire in the 1920s.” And that’s the lighthearted information in that essay. Read it and weep. And shudder.

Of course, I could be wrong about all of this. Maybe Trump did win. In which case, I’ll be screaming from the hole in my face where my lips used to be as frogs rain down from the sky.

Pandora’s box has been blown apart and the innards and giblets have exploded into our society.

8 · San Diego CityBeat · November 9, 2016

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

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UP FRONT | VOICES

RYAN BRADFORD

WELL THAT WAS

AWKWARD

Behind the scenes at a dog costume competition Author’s note: This article contains numerous, unintelligible sounds. The following are brief explanations about how they sound.

GWHAAAHA: The extreme of when you can’t even. This is the sound you make you’re so far from even-ing that any less even-ing would mean you’re insane.

SUHUP: The sob-like sound of when you can’t understand how such beauty can exist in the world.

SKOOAWEE: When you squee so hard you piss a little.

PUEHEW: The sound of when cuteness kills you dead. ***

T

here are times when I wish I were a real journalist. During these troubling political times, it seems that solid, hard-hitting reporting is the only thing preserving our collective integrity. More than anything, I want to fix the damage we have done. Even though I cringe whenever the term “The Media” is thrown around by a non-journalist I’ll still say that we, The Media, have fucked up during this election cycle, and that our curiosity with Donald Trump has played a big part in his frightening ascent.

But sometimes I just want to write about a dog costume competition. San Diego Art Institute’s Howl-O-Ween Dog Costume Contest, to be exact. I’ll change the world, like, another day.

Anyone who’s familiar with this column knows I’m a card-carrying Cat Person, but having grown up in a household containing no fewer than four dogs at any given moment, my primordial, lizard-brained love for them emerges whenever they’re around. I always make it a point to visit dog beach whenever my wife and I go to Coronado, despite feeling like a childless pervert who hangs out by the playground.

The fact that I’m going to see some dogs wearing costumes…GWHAAAHA. Plus, one of the judges is CityBeat Arts Editor Seth Combs, a name that instills more dread than perhaps any other San Diego writer. If you’ve been in a shitty band, he’s made fun of it. He’s also pretty much responsible for the acerbic tone that we revel in over here at CBHQ. But he’s a straight shooter with a critical eye, which is crucial in a city that chills on politeness.

Based on his notoriety, inviting Seth to judge an adorable dog costume contest might seem like launching a Simon Cowell bomb into a feel-good parade, but Seth is a big ol’ softy when it comes to animals, and we spend many hours per week showing each other cat memes.

I arrive a few minutes before the contest starts. There’s a large circle of chairs and PA system set up on the gallery floor—a very haute couture arrangement for a dog show, which I sort

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of imagined would be in a barn for some reason. I find Seth walking the perimeter, looking at art. We spend a couple minutes talking before the first dog arrives, and we quickly drop the conversation to pet it.

SKOOAWEE. Its name is Cassius Clay—a massive bulldog that seems to own the two kids accompanying it, rather than the other way around. Cassius wears a dress.

“He’s a big princess,” one of the kids says. She also says that Cassius will wear his tiara once the competition starts. A very progressive costume, I think.

Especially for such a beast of a dog. I hope he wins!

One dog in and I’ve hit a fever pitch dog-wuv mania.

More dogs arrive. They’re wearing sweaters (SUHUP) and little dinosaur costumes (PUEHEW); some refuse to wear their costumes, shaking them off harder than a Taylor Swift song.

A harried couple tries to affix a jet pack and a cap with blond side ponytail to Emmy, a huge Great Dane, who is not having any of it. “She’s a ’70s TSA flight attendant,” Emmy’s owner says. Her husband made the jetpack and cap in his 3D printer.

A woman dressed as a lion-tamer places a platform on the ground and her little lion-dressed pup jumps on it. At her command, the dog stands on its hind legs (SKOOAWEE). Cassius Clay comes over and licks the lion-dog’s genitals.

I ask Seth if he’s going to be the harsh Cowell character in the group. Seth looks at a dog across the room, affects a fake British accent and says, “You are terrible.”

The competition starts. The dogs are being judged on cuteness, originality, personality and energy. Owners take turns bringing their dogs into the middle of the circle while the judges read the dogs’ bios. Cappie, the first contestant up, is dressed as a Chia pet with a matching box! GWHAAAHA. “He looks super excited!” Seth says into his microphone, and yes, Cappie is shaking his leaves for our enjoyment.

The couple sitting next to me has dressed their German Shepherd as Donald Trump, complete with a little wig and I’m like PUEH—wait. The woman wears an orange jumpsuit and holds a Hillary Clinton mask. When it’s their time to present, she puts on the mask and the man unfurls his big Trump flag, I think what RYA N BRAD F O R D is this life?

“It’s taking a lot for me to not say anything about that dog grabbing…” Seth says, trailing off. We laugh, but it’s a reminder of how the insanity of this past year has bled into even the most innocuous events.

Trump dog wins an honorable mention, but it’s Cappie—the excited little Chia pet— who takes home first place. If I was a real journalist, I’d be able to apply some super smart analysis to this, to apply it to the larger world, but right now, I’m too busy SUHUP-ing over Cappie.

November 9, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 9

UP FRONT | FOOD

BY MICHAEL A. GARDINER

THE WORLD

It was pretty much the same story with the Reuben. The classic elements were there: corned beef, cheese, sauerkraut and Thousand Island on rye. But the ratio of the corned beef to cheese and sauerkraut tilted decidedly against the deli meat.

Problem. Tasty? Yes. Classic? No. It just paled in Why the comparison at comparison to the carnivorous glory of yesterday’s archetypal Jewish delicatessen wonderLarry’s Deli? behemoths.

Then there’s the tuna sandwich: bland. The e pretty much suck at deli. There are texture-less, monotonous tuna had me waiting many types of food and restaurants to hit a good part that never came. Larry’s take we do really well in San Diego but on a turkey, bacon and avocado sandwich came deli just isn’t one of them. So when Larry’s Deli with a tarragon pesto that referenced a Canter’s (323 7th Ave.) in East Village introduced itself classic. But where Canter’s pesto complemented as “a tribute to the nostalgic classic deli,” inthe TBA combination, Larry’s tarragon seemed voking the names of New York’s Katz’s and Los to fight with the avoAngeles’ Langer’s MICHAEL A. GARDINER cado. and Canter’s, I was Larry’s greatest hopeful. Perhaps I success came when it shouldn’t have been. dumped the Jewish The better question, deli references. The though, is why they homemade porchetta went there in the sandwich was wonfirst place. derful: meat deeply Having done so, flavored, bacon addLarry’s had to match ing richness and up with D.Z. Akins, texture all on great the class of area JewBread & Cie bread. ish/New York-style It was a sinful, rich, delis. As I’ve obindulgent sandwich served in this space that needed no clasbefore, a Jewish deli sic reference point. It is not about culiwas all the better in nary innovation, but its own right. rather evoking a spePerhaps the single cific cultural milieu.

Turkey, bacon and avocado sandwich best dish was the It’s about a look and pickled deviled eggs. Pickled eggs aren’t unusual, feel—a counter with breads and meats behind nor are deviled eggs. But pickling the eggs in beet it, walls filled with headshots of celebrities and juice gives them a marvelous, nearly fluorescent jars with pickles on the table—a familiar menu color and a touch of acidity to cut the richness. featuring overstuffed sandwiches, smoked fish They’re a bit of genius you won’t find in your avand innumerable other Ashkenazi Jewish favorerage deli. ites. And yeah, Larry’s doesn’t have that.

In the end, though, Larry’s gets perilously Oh, there are items that kind of sound like close to average because of its insistence on refthat on the menu. The pastrami sandwich, for exerences to nostalgia and classic delis. Embrace ample, has pastrami and is on rye bread. Good so the creativity that is the opposite of those referfar. But overstuffed? No. Strike one. And there’s ences—the hallmarks of what Larry’s does best— cheese on it. Strike two. So what in the heck’s and the place could come into its own. “cornichon spread” and why’s it anywhere near my pastrami sandwich? Strike three. In fairness The World Fare appears weekly. it was a good and tasty sandwich but it doesn’t Write to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com. exactly evoke the deli classic.

FARE W

10 · San Diego CityBeat · November 9, 2016

#SDCityBeat

UP FRONT | DRINK

BOTTLE

BY JEN VAN TIEGHEM

ROCKET Pali Wine Co. promises good times

A

#SDCityBeat

JEN VAN TIEGHEM

painting on the exterior of Pali Wine Co.’s Little Italy location (2130 India St.) promises “fine wine and good times.” I stopped in to try out that first part on the tasting room’s third day in business; being the new wine bar on the block, it hopes to deliver on the second part soon enough.

Pali Wine Co.—which also has tasting rooms in Lompoc and Santa Barbara—focuses on small production Chardonnay and Pinot Noir using California grapes. To venture into other varietals, the company started a second label, Tower 15, which offers Bordeaux and Rhone blends. At the moment, wine drinkers can choose a flight of five wines from either label with additional options to come.

I worked my way through the Pali tasting starting with its light and lemony Chardonnay. Following that, four distinctly different Pinot Noirs with increasing complexity showcased flavors reflective of the areas they hailed.

After much delicious deliberation, I settled on

the 2014 Summit from Santa Rita Hills as my favorite. With an earthy quality on the nose, the palate presents ripe red fruits and a tinge of cola.

I also tasted a few selections on the Tower 15 list, the highlight being the reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.

This weighty wine had a rich berry quality begging for a hearty steak or decadent cheese course.

Pali’s tasting room manager, Margeaux Harris, noted a plan to regularly change selections on these lists, so frequent visitors can sample a variety.

Another addition on the near horizon will be eight “fresh” wines on tap. These will be available in flights, glasses, carafes and take-home one-liter growlers. The to-go option is one Harris is eager to introduce.

She described how the barrel-to-keg system saves money for both the winery and consumer—cutting down on bottling and labeling expenses.

Just as growlers have become a mainstay in the beer scene, they’re growing in popularity in local wine bars. Pali’s will cost $25 for a first-time fill and $15 for refills. Taking home a liter of tasty Pinot (or other selection) at that price should tantalize budget-minded winos, like me.

Pali Wine Co. scheduled its grand openings for Saturday, Nov. 5, and Sunday, Nov. 6, with the hope to unveil food options, including charcuterie boards, and if all goes according to plan, those promised good times.

November 9, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 11

UP FRONT | DRINK

FINAL

BY BETH DEMMON

DRAUGHT Craft beer’s female diversity problem

N

early a quarter of the students who are in or have come through the Business of Craft Beer program have been women, says Giana Rodriguez, program director for San Diego State University’s College of Extended Studies. With a 20 percent average at the start of the program, yes, female enrollment has technically increased—but not by much. This minor, but still noteworthy rise in female beer education mirrors the number of women working in the industry.

But when it comes to women of color, growth in the industry—as well as representation both locally and nationally—is practically nonexistent.

Want a quantitative study on that? Good luck finding one.

There are plenty of analyses about gender inequality as well as racial inequality in craft beer, but there are virtually zero conversations happening about the overlap—or lack thereof—between the two. I had to dig through page after page to find even one woman of color at the helm of a U.S. brewery (Celeste Beatty, founder of the now-defunct Harlem Brewing Company) while there are ample lists heralding “Women in Craft Beer That You Should Know,” solely depicting one smiling Caucasian female after the other. Even those who lament the unbearable whiteness of craft are either men or white women.

This lack of attention is a pretty severe oversight of a fairly obvious problem. I think it’s phenomenal that the numbers of women, millennials and Hispanics actively participating in craft beer as either a hobby or profession are rising (albeit slowly), but why are women of color left out of the conversation?

Before I get inundated with examples of women of color in the industry, I’m fully aware that they do exist. They’re just really, really hard to find. (For instance, White Labs is one of the

12 · San Diego CityBeat · November 9, 2016

better outliers of diversity right here at home.)

It’s the overwhelming pale tide that we should be paying attention to, not heralding a few examples as proof that, “We’ve made it!”

This staggering disproportion is not specific to San Diego; rather it’s a reflection on the craft beer community as a whole. Whether it’s due to entry hurdles, lack of role models or that craft beer is still widely regarded as a luxury item that hasn’t COURTESY GIANA RODRIGUEZ/SDSU

SDSU’s Business of Craft Beer program yet crossed socioeconomic barriers, I’m not sure.

(Any enlightenment would be welcomed.) But something has to give.

Both men and women of all colors have rallied against sexist labels and advertising campaigns, and developed female empowerment groups like Pink Boots Society—but are we as a community doing enough to promote diversity and inclusivity for everyone? As a white woman, it’s perhaps not my place to make these observations, and talk is cheap. But it’s what I can do today. As an ally, I don’t want to settle for success for some. We all need to be a part of the conversation to spark greater change for the good of all.

Write to bethd@sdcitybeat.com, check her out on Instagram at @thedelightedbite, or via Twitter at @ iheartcontent.

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SHORTlist

EVENTS

ART

the

THREE YOU HAVE TO SEE

COORDINATED BY

SETH COMBS

DOWNTOWN

1

SONGS OF WAR

The soldier is a fixture in opera.

Whether it’s Bernd Zimmermann’s epic Die Soldaten or better-known productions such as Carmen and Turandot, a military presence is often a larger part of the story, more than just background dressing. Themes of heroism and tragedy are also operatic staples, but what about the cost of that heroism? The aftermath of that tragedy?

It’s what makes composer David T. Little’s Soldier Songs so timely and innovative. Opening on Veterans Day (Friday, Nov. 11) and playing through the weekend at the Balboa Theatre (868 Fourth Ave.), the short opera examines the shifts in one man’s perception of war and combat over the course of 60 years, from youth to old age.

To hear Little tell it, he originally conceived the idea after attending a career day at his high school. A chance meeting with an old friend who served in the military led him to seek out other friends and family members to hear their combat experiences. These stories are what ultimately make up the bulk of Soldier Songs.

SAN DIEGO

EAST VILLAGE

2 GOING UNDERGROUND

San Diego boasts an impressive number of film festivals already, but none of them have the punk cred of the San Diego Underground Film Festival. In its second year, the fest brings together live music and edgy shortand feature-length films at the Tenth Avenue Theatre and Arts Center (930 Tenth Ave.) from Friday, Nov. 11 to Sunday, Nov. 13. Notable films this year include Jai Love’s Dead Hands Dig Deep, about self-mutilating shock rocker Edwin Borsheim, Gary Mairs’ Memory/Lies, an anthology shot over 10 years, and Disambiguation, an experimental film based on the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill. In addition, there will be performances

by Rikk Agnew Band and Gitane DeMone Quartet. Pre-sale passes start at $14, and three-day passes are $40. sdundergroundfilm.com COURTESY SAN DIEGO UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL

Paco

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“I was interested in seeing if I could contract a single narrative through fragments of many stories and seeing if there was something universal that they would convey,” Little recalls. “When you put them together, a narrative emerges that hopefully has universal resonance not just as a story, but something bigger than that.”

Soldier Songs is Little’s first opera (he’s now on his fourth) and the San Diego production is 55 minutes followed by a brief intermission and an COURTESY OF SAN DIEGO OPERA “Act II” that consists of a panel discussion with three veterans.

And while the music is fiercely gorgeous, audiences should expect strong language, simulated violence and startling visual effects.

“It’s not a light piece.

It’ll push you around,” Little says. “These are not topics with easy anSoldier Songs swers. It’s my hope that audiences leave Soldier Songs carrying something that they need to work through, because that’s what the process was like for me.”

Soldier Songs is part of the San Diego Opera’s Shiley Detour Series. Tickets start at $20 at sdopera.org.

3 BAY BITES

For 13 years, the San Diego Wine and Food Festival has proven itself to be much more than just a standard tasting event.

Sure, there are plenty of wine and food events, but the weeklong celebration also includes lectures, workshops and pairing dinners. Starting STEVE GROSCH Friday, Nov. 14, and ending on Sunday, Nov. 20, there are options for bigticket spenders and low-budget buyers alike, with prices ranging from free to $325. Whether it’s sipping on the handcrafted ales of Sierra Nevada or enjoying Italian flavors of Solare, there are more San Diego Wine than 40 food and and Food Festival drink events to choose from. Most of the big events take place at the downtown Embarcadero Marina Park North (400 Kettner Blvd.), but check sandiegowineclassic.com for full schedule and venues. There’s even something called “Pizzapalooza.” Nom.

HAlida Cervantes: 50 Studies Using Unmixed Black at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. The bi-national local artist will present a new series of expressionistic oil paintings on cardboard that employs thick ribbons of paint, saturated color and bold brushstrokes to depict 50 jewel-like portraits of Saints. Opening from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 11. Free. 858-454-5872, ljathenaeum.org HFlora Imagery in Art at La Playa Gallery, 2226 Avenida de la Playa, La Jolla.

San Diego artists Hill & Stump, Kay Kaplan and Erica Putis explore our common human thirst for the natural environment and its imagery. Opening from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11. Free. 858-454-6903, facebook.com/events/1373365602688789 HMark Quint: Give Me a Minute, I’m Thinking at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. An exhibition curated by San Diego collector and art dealer Mark Quint. Features low and high art, design, kitsch, decoration and craft that he has gathered from swap meets, art galleries, flea markets and thrift stores. Opening from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11.

Free. 858-454-5872, ljathenaeum.org HRoy Porello: Artists to Swatch at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. A curated selection of Swatch watches that were designed by professional artists when the watch company commissioned artists to craft original pieces. Opening from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11. Free. 858-4545872, ljathenaeum.org HVisible Vaults at San Diego Museum of Art, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park. This new exhibition will recreate the SDMA vaults where the thousands of works of art in our collection are stored. Includes 300 littleknown masterpieces, including works on paper, sculpture, ceramics, snuff bottles, tiles and paintings. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 11. Free-$15. 619-232-7931, sdmart.org HA Yo Z at Brokers Building, 402 Market St., Downtown. An exhibition of Yomar Augusto’s maps project that uses location and data mixing with laser cutting and other technics. Opening from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12. Free. sandiego. aiga.org HAnimalia at Sparks Gallery, 530 6th Ave., Gaslamp. This group show will feature 32 local artists presenting new works of art depicting animals of reality and of our imagination. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 12. Free. 619-696-1416, sparksgallery.com Art Riot at Escondido Arts Partnership Municipal Gallery, 262 E. Grand Ave., Escondido. A juried group show featuring artists who have created works that represent change, movements and ideas.

Opening from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12. Free. escondidoarts.org HHistorias del Mal Trato/Stories of Abuse and Bad Deals at Art Produce Gallery, 3139 University Ave., North Park.

New works from Marianela de la Hoz, who creates highly detailed realistic paintings and drawings exploring the very core of our shared humanity. Opening from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12. Free. 619-5844448, artproduce.org HKenneth Caps: Wood & Steel 1970’s at Bread & Salt, 1955 Julian Ave., Logan Heights. As the name implies, Caps will showcase vintage works made from wood and steel, as well as a sound installation. Opening from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12. Free. facebook.com/ events/1263542120362812 Low Hanging Fruit at Planet Rooth De-

H = CityBeat picks

sign Haus, 3334 Fifth Ave., Hillcrest. A group show of L.A. artists in a variety of mediums. Artists include Takashi Komiyama, B4Flight, Steve Saiz, Yuri Hasegawa and more. Opening from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12. Free. 619-297-9663, gustafrooth. com HPaper Jams: New Works by Nonie Cruzado and JC Carino at Thumbprint Gallery, 920 Kline St., #104, La Jolla. A dual exhibition featuring painter Nonie Cruzado and mixed-media artist JC Carino. Opening from 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12. Free. thumbprintgallerysd.com HReed Cardwell: All the Presidents (Men) at Athenaeum Art Center, 1955 Julian Ave., Logan Heights. An exhibit the paintings from Cardwell’s series of portraits of the 44 U.S. presidents from George Washington to Barack Obama.

There will also be a hands-on art activity to paint the new President. Opening from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12. Free. 858454-5872, ljathenaeum.org Shelby and Sandy x Chuck Jones at Chuck Jones Gallery, 232 Fifth Ave., Downtown. The artist brothers and collaborators will showcase their latest paintings, along with a collection of rare Chuck Jones oil paintings and fine art prints.

Opening from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12. Free. chuckjones.com HWest Window Jewelry Exhibition at Glashaus, 1815-B Main St., Barrio Logan. Six local artists come together in their debut group exhibition to showcase their work and common interest in jewelry. Items on display will also be available to purchase. Opening from 6 to 10 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 12. Free. facebook.com/ events/1666041353707643 Summer Light, Autumn Color at Gallery 21, 1770 Village Place, Balboa Park.

Two former professors, John Valois and Dana Levine, present new art that uses traditional painting materials and new forms of art created with computer software. Opening from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13. Free. 619-233-9050, spanishvillageart.com/gallery21

BOOKS HAlice Hoffman at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The accomplished author will discuss and sign her new book Faithful, the story about a young woman struggling to redefine herself and the power of love, family and fate.

At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10. Free.

858-454-0347, warwicks.com Dondi Dahlin and Donna Eden at Bookstar, 8650 Genessee Ave., University City. The authors will discuss and sign their new books, The Five Elements and Energies of Love, which explore how to improve your relationships using five ancient elements and energy medicine.

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12. Free. 858-457-7561, bn.com HStates of Terror Vol.3 Opening Show at Verbatim Books, 3795 30th St., North Park. Celebrate the completion of the regional-based terror trilogy with live readings from Justin Hudnall, Jennifer Corley and Janice Lee. From 7 to 10 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 12. Free. 619-501-7466, ayahuascapublishing.com Annette Ross at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. As part of Warwick’s ongoing Weekends with Locals Program, Ross will sign and discuss her new book about love, Where Fairy Tales Go. At noon. Sunday, Nov. 13. Free. 858454-0347, warwicks.com Georgette Todd at Bookstar, 8650 Genessee Ave., University City. The author will sign and discuss her book, Foster Girl: A Memoir which gives an inside look

EVENTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

November 9, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 13

EVENTS ROY PORELLO

EVENTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13 at what happens to kids in America when under the state’s care and how it might be improved. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13. Free. 858-457-7561, bn.com HDaniel Levitin at Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla. The author of the bestselling books This is Your Brain on Music and The World in Six Songs will discuss and sign his new book, A Field Guide to Lies: Critical Thinking in the Information Age. At 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14. Free.

858-454-0347, warwicks.com Ina Garten at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Downtown. The TV host and author of nine New York Times bestselling cookbooks will be promoting her new book, Cooking for Jeffrey: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook with a storytelling performance and an audience Q&A. At 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16. $62. 619570-1100, warwicks.com

DANCE HMalashock Signatures II at Malashock Dance Studio, 2650 Truxton Road, Suite 202, Point Loma. An immersive contemporary dance performance highlighting Emmy Award winner John Malashock’s choreography with fan favorites and experimental styles. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10. $15-$25. malashockdance.org

COMEDY

Memory/Lies. See website for full lineup and info. Various times. From Friday, Nov. 11 to Sunday, Nov. 13. $4-$40.

619-920-8503, sdundergroundfilm.com

FOOD & DRINK HThe Beer Garden at The Lodge at Torrey Pines, 11480 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla. A food and beer pairing event with 28 breweries and 14 chefs featured. Admission includes unlimited tastes of beer and food. This event benefits Chef Celebration Foundation and the San Diego Brewers Guild. From noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13. $50-$85. eventbrite.com/e/the-beer-garden-at-torreypines-tickets-24758505356 HSan Diego Wine & Food Festival at various locations. Eat, drink and be merry at this multi-day festival, which includes tastings, classes, parties and more. See website for times, locations and admission costs. Various times. From Monday, Nov. 14 to Sunday, Nov. 20. Free-$325. sandiegowineclassic.com HSafe Harbor: Sustainable Seafood at United Portuguese Hall, 2818 Avenida De Portugal, This multi-disciplinary panel will address the impact our seafood choices have on our health, the vitality of our community, sea life and the well-being of the oceans. Complimentary food and drinks will be presented. From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16. Free. sandiegowineclassic.com

MUSIC

Mutiny and Ham Radio at Finest City Improv, 4250 Louisiana St., North Park.

Ham Radio is a three-person long form improv group specializes in slow, patient comedy with moments of joyous silliness.

Starring Diona Reasonover, Tilt Tyree and Keiko Agena from Gilmore Girls. From 9:30 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12. $10.

619-306-6047, finestcityimprov.com

Veteran’s Gospel Fundraiser Concert at Market Creek Plaza, 5160 Federal Blvd., Diamond District. Choirs and soloists perform to raise money and care package donations for enlisted men and women. Admission with the donation of one care package item. From 7 to 10 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 11. 619-527-6161, militaryoutreachministries.org

Whose Live Anyway? at California Center for the Arts, 340 North Escondido Blvd., Escondido. Comedians and Whose Line Is It Anyway? favorites Ryan Stiles (The Drew Carey Show), Greg Proops (The Smartest Man in the World), Jeff B. Davis (The Sarah Silverman Program), and Joel Murray (Mad Men) perform improv comedy. At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12. $25-$65. 760-839-4190, artcenter.org

Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals at Del Mar Racetrack, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. The Bing Crosby Season Concert series kicks off with a collaboration of rock artists performing on the Seaside Stage after the last horse race. The concert is free with racetrack admission. At 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12. Free-$20. 858-755-1141, dmtc.com

FILM HSan Diego Underground Film Festival at Tenth Avenue Arts Center, 930 10th Ave., East Village. A unique showcase of experimental video, film, and audio based mediums with screenings of dozens of films including Jai Love’s Dead Hands Dig Deep and Gary Mairs’

Music From the West American Folk Music Concert Series at Kalabash School of Music + the Arts, 5725 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla. Kalabash instructor Clinton Davis and other musicians perform a wide-ranging set of music such as fiddle melodies, Native American dance music and cowboy lullabies. From 6:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12. $10-$12. 858456-2753, kalabasharts.com

14 · San Diego CityBeat · November 9, 2016

San Diego New Music: Noise Spectra at UCSD Conrad Prebys Music Center, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. Noise Spectra presents a new string collaboration with Arizona colleagues featuring selections from Trisan Murail, Malin Bång, Gérard Grisey’s Stèle, and more. From 8 to 10 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15. Free. sandiegonewmusic.com Wednesdays@7 presents Anthony Burr at Conrad Prebys Music Center, 9500 Gilman Drive, UCSD Associate Chair and Associate Professor of Music Anthony Burr and guest composer Thomas Meadowcroft present an evening of musical collaborations. At 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 16. Free-$15.50. 858534-3448, musicweb.ucsd.edu

PERFORMANCE HSam Green and Brent Green: Live Cinema at UCSD Qualcomm Institute, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. The inaugural performance of the Filmatic Series features the two filmmakers, along with a live band, combining performance, cinema, and rock and roll. At 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9. $40. 858-534-8497, artpower.ucsd.edu HSoldier Songs at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Downtown. David T. Little’s acclaimed opera traces the shift in perception of war from the age of 6 to the age of 66 and was adapted from interviews with veterans of five wars. Friday, Nov. 11. $18-$183. 619-570-1100, sdopera.org Richard Lederer Presents Zootopia: A Centennial Celebration at North Coast Repertory Theatre, 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Solana Beach. Language author and columnist Richard Lederer celebrates the zoo centennial will offer a brief history of our zoo. At 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14. $20-$25. 858-481-1055, northcoastrep.org

POETRY & SPOKEN WORD HBook and a Beer at The Irenic, 3090 Polk Ave., North Park. The book release party for poet Sunny Rey’s ROT also features readings from other local poets, art work, burlesque dancing and live music. Proceeds benefit homeless orgs Urban Street Angels and 8West. From 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13. $10 suggested donation. www.facebook.com/ events/347111092290112/

SPECIAL EVENTS Del Mar’s Opening Day Veterans Day Salute at Del Mar Racetrack, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. The race track honors U.S. veterans and kicks off the fall

“Untitled, Saint Series” will be on view at Roy Porello: Artists to Swatch, a new show opening from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11, at the Athenaeum Music and Arts Library (1008 Wall St.) in La Jolla. season with parachute jumpers, a BBQ and a Stars & Stripes Fashion Contest, plus a concert by country artist Coffey Anderson. At 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 11. $10$50. 858-755-1141, delmarracing.com

inated game show will feature a surprise celebrity host and the chance to win prizes and cash. At 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12 and 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13. $25$50. 760-751-3100, harrahssocal.com

HGreen Homes Tour at various locations. This seventh annual self-guided tour takes a look at sustainably designed projects and LEED certified residences around the county, with chances to meet with industry professionals. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12. Free-$15. usgbc-sd.org

HSpelling Bee for Grownups at Central Library, 330 Park Blvd., East Village.

The San Diego Press Club hosts this “word nerd” event. Peter Sokolowski, editor at large with Merriam-Webster, will be moderating and the judges are Grant Barrett (A Way with Words), and Public Library Director Misty Jones. From 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16. Free$10. 619-236-5800

Heroes in Recovery 6K Run/Walk at De Anza Cove Park, 3000 North Mission Bay Dr., Mission Bay. A race that uplifts the sober community to regain healthy, active lives and encourages sharing stories of recovery. Proceeds go toward local recovery homes and nonprofits. At 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 12. $25-$40. heroesinrecovery.com Let’s Make a Deal Live! at The Events Center at Harrah’s Resort Southern California, 777 Harrah’s Rincon Way, Valley Center. The Daytime Emmy Award-nom-

SPORTS HBing Crosby Season Opening Day at Del Mar Racetrack, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. The Del Mar fall season begins with a Vintage Hollywood Fashion Contest and, of course, tons of horse racing. At 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 11. $6-$25.

858-755-1141, dmtc.com

#SDCityBeat

#SDCityBeat

November 9, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 15

THEATER

KEN JACQUES

Robert Smyth (left) and Paul Eggington in Equivocation

Shakespeare or Shagspear?

B

ill Cain’s 2009 play Equivocation is an inspired but exhausting mashup of Shakespeare and 17th-century British history. Its premise, that The Bard himself has been commissioned to write a propaganda play based on King James I’s account of the Gunpowder Plot, raises possibilities for substantive political and historical discourse. But Equivocation, being given its regional premiere at Lamb’s Players Theatre under the direction of Deborah Gilmour Smyth, staggers under the heft of Cain’s lengthy script, jammed as it is with subtext and examinations of truths, parsing of language and a relentlessness to be both clever and deep.

That being said, Equivocation’s comedy and its parodic nods to the body politic of the future play out well. Have the question of compromise or the blurring of truth ever been more relevant than in these inscrutable times we live in? With these sometimes-surprising allusions come occasions for audience laughter, though on opening night in Coronado more than a few in attendance didn’t seem to be “getting it,” as they say. The narrative’s dissection of conscience and betrayal, on the other hand, turns positively academic, deadening what jesting or stage antics preceded it. Equivocation perhaps tries to be two plays in one—always a chancy proposition.

As for the ensemble, Robert Smyth (as “Shagspear”) has all the gravity and mindful elocution to transcend the play’s structural shortcomings. Even when his character’s motivations feel mercurial, Smyth evinces the surefootedness of a desirable literary hero. He is supported in the Lamb’s production by a stalwart cast that includes an equally charismatic Paul Eggington in multiple roles, chiefly that of a martyred cleric-rebel and an ornery member of Shag’s troupe. Francis Gercke admirably handles the role of the pitiable, hunchbacked Robert Cecil, heartlessly called “beagle” by the king.

And as Shag’s daughter, Judith, Catie

16 · San Diego CityBeat · November 9, 2016

Grady makes the most of a part that should’ve been larger.

Figuring Equivocation’s twists and turns may give you a mild headache, but for relief there is a soothing cello played intermittently on stage by Diana Elledge.

Equivocation runs through Nov. 20 at Lamb’s Players Theatre in Coronado. $22-$68; lambsplayers.org

—David L. Coddon

Theater reviews run weekly.

Write to davidc@sdcitybeat.com.

OPENING: The Fantasticks: Two fathers stage a kidnapping in the hope that their two children fall in love in this ’60s musical. Directed by Ted Leib, it opens Nov. 11 at Scripps Ranch Theatre. scrippsranchtheatre. org The Normal Heart: Larry Kramer’s seminal work about the early days of the AIDS crisis in New York City. Presented by ion Theatre Group, it opens in previews Nov. 12 at the BLKBOX Theatre in Hillcrest. iontheatre.com Vieux Carré: Tennessee Williams’ memory play about a young, gay writer living in a boarding house filled with dying souls. Directed by Will Detlefsen, it opens Nov. 12 at the Mandell Weiss Forum at UCSD in La Jolla. theatre.ucsd.edu The Two Gentlemen of Verona: Shakespeare’s comedy about two BFs who fall in love with the same woman. Directed by Richard Seer, it opens Nov. 12 at the Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park. theoldglobe.org Phoebe in Winter: A staged reading of Jen Silverman’s play about three brothers who return home from war only to find their problems are just beginning. Presented by the La Jolla Theatre Ensemble, it happens Nov. 15 at the La Jolla Library. fruitlessmoontheatreworks.org The Sound of Music: The Broadway production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical about Maria and the famous von Trapp family. Directed

by Jack O’Brien, it opens Nov. 15 at the San Diego Civic Theatre in the Gaslamp.

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

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La Jolla hosts the northernmost coastline of the city of San Diego with stereotypes of golden sands, tanned skins and stuffed wallets. From its waters to its mansions, La Jolla lives up to its erroneously spelled Spanish translation meaning “The Jewel.” A stroll in the Village includes ogling Ferrari dealerships, snickering at couture price tags and dodging camera-toting tourists. It’s a town so proud of its reputation a tourist could find “La Jolla” printed on any item of clothing he or she could think up. The town’s esteem skyrocketed from the ’20s until the ’40s when celebrities such as Charlie Chaplin and Mel Ferrer escaped Hollywood for stays at the historic La Valencia Hotel. But wherever sunshine is abundant, shade follows. The community newspaper The La Jolla Light recounts anti-Semitism that was prevalent in the ’60s among realtors who teamed up against the Jewish population under a “gentlemen’s agreement.” Jews and African-Americans were barred from purchasing homes in the area for fear they would negatively influence prices. Housing discrimination came to a sudden halt when community members surrendered their prejudices in exchange for the University of California, San Diego, which would surely attract Jewish professors. Elitist notoriety aside, La Jolla clings to an alter ego rooted in surf, kayak and stand-up paddleboard activity, especially in La Jolla Shores. On this side of town, small mom-and-pop shops are the foreground of a hilly, estate-lined backdrop. With a nude beach, gliderport and collectors’ shops, La Jolla can still vary from its pristine and predictable rep.

The spot where Girard Avenue overlaps Prospect Street is much less a corner than it is a double-decker junction where local drivers zip past crosswalks, miffed by the abundance out-oftowners. In all directions, pricey restaurants, froufrou spas and flashes of the ocean entice visitors and natives alike.

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November 9, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 17

MATTHEW SEGAL

It’s safe to say most people don’t vacation in La Jolla for the architecture. But, this community was the launching pad of Museum of Contemporary Arts designer Irving Gill’s career as a groundbreaking modern architect in the late 1890s. A fan of styling pieces after their surroundings, here are two homes we bet Gill would salute today.

Jonathan Segal’s résumé traces all over San Diego, from Little Italy to North Park to downtown, but his selfmade dream home is in La Jolla. Crafted from leftover neighboring plots, the Segals had considerably less space than their neighbors but capitalized on every inch of the 5,300-square-foot pad. The home appears as a concrete box with large cutouts exposing an exterior space, blurring the barrier between its floor-to-ceiling windows and deck. Below ground, there’s a wine cellar, TV room, bar and pool table. To top it off, a reflection/swimming pool outlines the patio, giving way to views of the Pacific. “You hear the ocean and the birds,” Wendy Segal once told The New York Times. “It’s like a weekend getaway every evening.” Segal also designed Mitt Romney’s house, about a mile away from his own.

Dubbed “The Mushroom House” by on-looking surfers, this architectural feat sprouts out of the sands of Black’s Beach. But its obstacle-filled accessibility would make you think it’s on private property. Don’t expect to plug in

18 · San Diego CityBeat · November 9, 2016

After World War II, beloved author Dr. Seuss moved to La Jolla, where he lived until his death in 1991. In honor of the man’s enduring influence and imagination, we attempted our own Seussian tribute to La Jolla’s more, er, fragrant qualities.

The Cresta the address (9036 La Jolla Shores Lane) and drive right up to this fungi fortress. There are three access points, all requiring distinguishable effort and possibly a tide chart. And that’s just how owner Buzz Woolley likes it.

Secluded. Technically, the structure is illegal by current standards of the California Coastal Commission, which told Woolley “something like this shouldn’t be put on the beach.” But 50 years ago, designer Dale Naegle was playing by the rules, 300-foot tramway down the cliff included. “People say it’s like a elevator Disneyland ride,” Woolley says. “But at 2 miles an hour, they might not think it’s Disneyland.”

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November 9, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 19

TORREY BAILEY

“Hey, did you paint the clouds today?” someone asks Glenn Chase while overlooking Windansea Beach.

“Yup, I airbrushed them for you,” Chase replies, and also points out that he designed the logo on the inquisitor’s shirt. It’s one of five designs he’s sold to the iconic Mitch’s Surf Shop. His art also appears as a mural on the side of the Travelodge in La Jolla, paintings in a Bird Rock gallery called Moonglow and formerly as cartoons and illustrations in Surfer Magazine, despite never taking an art class in his life. But around La Jolla, he’s widely recognized for the small, vibrant marine landscapes he paints while sitting on the rocks at Windansea. “This is one of the nicest, most beautiful beaches in the world,” he says. “In San Diego, I think this is the best.” He’s surfed the world and lived in Hawaii and Puerto Rico, so his claim holds some weight. It’s the reason he returns to La Jolla after he’ll “disappear for a while.” Sans car and phone, he’s a vagabond, relying on his professional and personal residency at Moonglow to be his point of contact. “If you don’t have a phone, nobody ever calls you. If I want to call them, I can use the phone at the gallery, or they can catch me there. But, everybody knows that I hang out here, this very rock.”

TORREY BAILEY

Taking over the oldest, contiguously family-owned bookstore in the country could have just come with the territory of growing up as a Warwick, but Nancy says ownership was never forced on her. She watched her parents operate the store together and was welcomed into their business conversations each night at dinner. “They always made it feel like it was our store too,” she says. When Warwick’s (7812 Girard Ave.) was closed on weekends, she and her sister would play in the store, riding the old fashioned dumb waiter up and down, consuming as much literature as they could, and sneaking out romance novels. Eventually, taking on Warwick’s became an obvious choice, she says. “I can’t really separate the store’s identity from my own. It’s almost as if it’s a member of the family with its own separate identity.” Under her ownership, the bookstore has become a nationally recognized book tour stop, hosting names such as Julia Child, Margaret Thatcher and Hillary Clinton. Aside from an ability to successfully organize such events, she says the staff’s diversity isn’t coincidental. “I’m not looking for the Nordstrom experience. If you shop at Nordstrom, you’ll probably get really good service, but almost anyone you go to at Nordstroms will give you pretty much the same help…I wouldn’t want [the whole staff ] to be in their 20s and wearing the same styles. It would be boring for me.” From stationery, to jewelry, to book genres, Warwick’s diversity lines the shelves.

TORREY BAILEY

Dave Schultz’s dad, John, opened Cheese Shop (2165 Avenida de la Playa) 46 years ago as a specialty store for wine and, of course, cheese. But, if you walk in today, you won’t find rows of either item. “There’s a Monty Python skit where a guy comes into a cheese shop,” Schulz says.

“The guy goes, ‘I’d like some cheddar,’ and the shopkeepers says, ‘We don’t have cheddar,’ and they go back and forth with types of cheese. I kind of live that skit every day.” As La Jolla Shores commercialized in the late ’70s, mainstream markets generated competition, so Cheese Shop compensated by bringing in sandwiches, novelty food products and retro candies. “We’ve discovered over time that people have strong, nostalgic connections to candy. People come in and find candy they haven’t seen since junior high.” While sweets are a big seller, it’s the store’s handmade, family recipe oatmeal cookies that have achieved a cult following. “We should really call it the Oatmeal Cookie Store,” Schultz says. Customer loyalty also stems from his father’s foundation.

“Almost every day people say, ‘I remember your dad when I was a boy and didn’t have enough money to buy a candy, and he said to just pay him next time.” This timelessness factors in. “The store is almost the same as it ever was, especially the vibe of the shop during the summer: people in bikinis, the smell of suntan lotions and the buzz of the place going crazy with a line out the door.”

20 · San Diego CityBeat · November 9, 2016

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JORDAN PACKER

Just last year, UC San Diego was ranked the fourthbest public university in the United States based on research, faculty and success of alumni. Meanwhile, student life and culture have been disproportionately cut to make room for this research and advancement. “It’s very saddening to see spaces shut down because we are over-admitting students just for higher profits,” says Dylan Ponzio, a senior arts and culture activist at UCSD. In the last two years, several significant cultural spaces have been shut down by the UCSD administration. First is The Che Cafe, a collective and community space that emphasizes music and social gatherings. In 2015, the Che Cafe was technically evicted because the building was not structurally sound, but through sit-ins and rallies, the Che Cafe was able to postpone it’s demise. Now the Che continues to occupy the space with no guarantee its safe from the administration.

For anyone with even a smidgen of artistic taste, walking down Prospect Street can be painful. Overpriced nature photography and cheesy dolphin paintings…Who buys this stuff? Still, La Jolla has some great art spaces that aren’t the Museum of Contemporary Art. Madison Gallery (1055 Wall St. #100): This spacious contemporary art gallery can feel a little bourgeois, but showcases notable national and international names. Last month’s Robert Montgomery show was a great example, and the upcoming Jaehyo Lee installation looks promising. madisongalleries.com Joseph Bellows Gallery (7661 Girard Ave.): Arguably the best fine art photography gallery in the city with an unpretentious vibe and a well-curated mix of contemporary and vintage exhibitions. josephbellows.com Thumbprint Gallery (920 Kline St., Suite 104): This quaint space inside a business complex can be hard to find, but a decidedly younger crowd flocks to its solo showcases of up-and-coming locals mostly of the pop-surrealist school. thumbprintgallerysd.com

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Che Cafe The University Art Gallery, a place for student artistic expression, experienced something similar when it was apportioned to become new classroom space last spring. Luckily, the student population retaliated and was also able to revive the Art Gallery through a series of petitions and protests. In fall the Art Gallery was reopened. Unfortunately, Porter’s Pub, a popular student bar, fell victim to reorganization. “[These artistic spaces] take your mind off calamities of the world, it’s sad to see it all just gone one day,” Ponzio says.

Shane Bowden R.B. Stevenson Gallery (7661 Girard Ave. #201): It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but this contemporary art space is a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Most of the work is by painters and sculptors from California, including notable locals such as Richard Allen Morris, Peter Halasz and Vicki Walsh. rbstevensongallery.com Shane Bowden The Gallery (7655 Girard Ave., Suite B): While I’m not a fan of his work, this gallery is likely the most wow-inducing of the bunch and Bowden’s vibrant mix of Pop and street art is a nice respite from the ubiquitous sea-life paintings. shanebowden.com

November 9, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 21

CULTURE | ART

SEEN LOCAL

“I made it a little hard for them because instead of just giving a digital file to the billboard printing company, ours involved marketing and getting people to show up to choose their favorite color,” says McMakin, who wanted to create a “visual document” with help from random people choosing their favorite color from a selection of paint swatches. “It he Murals of La Jolla project (muralsofla- was a giant, difficult thing to realize.”

The UC San Diego graduate is also a furniture jolla.com) includes many Instagram-worthy backdrops. Started by the Athenaeum Music maker and has an architectural design business in & Arts Library and the La Jolla Community Foun- Bankers Hill, but he still self-identifies as a “prodation, the project has grown to more than a dozen fessional artist.” McMakin didn’t immediately have murals scattered throughout the seaside communi- something in mind for the La Jolla wall on 7596 ty, many of which are from prominent local names. Eads St., but when he saw a photograph it made him curious about the There’s Kelsey Brookes’ PHILIPP SCHOLZ RITTERMANN favorite-colors concept; hyper-colored “One Pointthat it could be something ed Attention” which rethat made people happy sembles some kind of psywithout having to get too chedelic tunnel. There’s cerebral. Judging by social also Jean Lowe’s highly media appearances, it does satirical “Tear Stains Be seem that the mural makes Gone,” a faux advertisepeople happy. ment promoting a product “That fact makes me that removes stains caused feel good,” says McMaby incessant weeping. kin, who also has public Of all the pieces that art works in San Diego at have gone up since the the Central Library and at project began in 2010, “Favorite Color” by Roy McMakin Lindbergh Field. “I believe none is more shared and public art work should be accessible and enjoyed. seen in more selfies than Roy McMakin’s “Favorite Color.” Made up of hundreds of multi-colored I have a piece up at the Olympic Sculpture Park in tiles to form a majestic and hypnotizing grid of tints Seattle and it has the same thing where people tell and tones, the piece was one of the first murals to me how much they like it and that it’s their favorite, be completed for the project (it’s on CityBeat’s cover because it’s friendly and accessible. I like doing that this week). It also has the distinction of being one of kind of thing.” the few pieces that’s painted, as opposed to being a

—Seth Combs large, pasted printout of a piece of art.

MURAL WATCH: “FAVORITE COLOR”

T

TO SEE OR NOT TO SEE: NIGHT STAND

lineage (Terrilynn Quick), unrequited love (Kathleen Mitchell) and outdated marketing (Ginger In this semi-regular department, arts editor Seth Rosser). The piece by Litteral, titled “Sentinel: A Combs reviews a notable new art show or exhibition.

Woman’s Guardian,” is particularly poignant and consists of a stand fashioned out of a ceramic bust of sincerely hope that by the time this is read, we’ll a woman with a framed picture of a pistol. The piece have elected the first female U.S. president. And is dedicated to one of Litteral’s childhood friends while I wouldn’t go so far as to use some silly who was murdered by her husband. The accompaphrase like “year of the woman,” when it comes to nying story above the piece is a punch in the gut. the local arts scene, there have certainly been some And while the theme of Litteral’s piece and interesting explorations of femininity and gender is- many others in the show are aesthetically obvious, SETH COMBS it’s the less thematically blatant sues of late.

That’s a year-round mindset pieces like Anna Stump and Daat a place like the Women’s Muvid Ghilarducci’s “Cha Cha Cha” seum of California, the quaint and Kim Niehans’ “The Insomspace tucked inside the now busniac” that make this show worth a tling Liberty Station arts district. visit. The latter explored the futilThe museum’s latest exhibition, ity of sleepless nights via a nightNight Stand: Bedside Imagining stand covered in numerical tallies by the Feminist Image Group, carved into the wood. Inside the forsakes the more abstract constand, grainy black-and-white vidcepts of gender and, instead, seeks eos play on a loop in order to repto explore the more tangible side resent, I assume, an unobtainable of femininity. In this case, the dreamlike state. object used to explore these isOn the way in, I was politely sues is a nightstand. While this asked by the woman at the counobject might seem arbitrary, the ter to sign the guest book. It was nightstand encapsulates many is“Cha Cha Cha” by sad to see that only five people sues surrounding womanhood. It David Ghilarducci and Anna Stump had visited the museum that day. can house a woman’s secrets and With issues of womanhood so manual means of pleasure, or it can represent do- grossly mocked by the Republican candidate this mesticity and even subjection. year, an exhibition like this should be sought out.

Curated by the Feminist Image Group, the rein- What a female president means for this country reterpreted stands range from playful to deadly seri- mains to be seen, but the issues considered in Night ous, with topics representing physical appearance Stand aren’t going away anytime soon.

(Janice Grinsell), domestic abuse (Linda Litteral),

—Seth Combs

I

22 · San Diego CityBeat · November 9, 2016

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CULTURE | FILM

Future present

Arrival

Denis Villeneuve’s alien invasion saga is hopeful, visually stunning

by Glenn Heath Jr.

S

cience fiction has long enabled artists in many Louise and Ian, but also when the disparate nationmediums to explore impenetrable emotions states dealing with an alien presence decide to stop (fear, desire, control) through fantasy and al- sharing information out of fear. Lack of transparlegory. Some filmmakers approach the genre from ency breeds peril. a more realistic angle. Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival is Stylistically, Arrival is a marvel of sublime imagwillfully rooted in the present day, where anxiety ery and overpowering sound design. Louise watches and panic can spread like an airborne virus. The film an epic wave of fog roll through a valley as she witconfronts these tendencies by brandishing medita- nesses the craft for the first time. Booming tones tive qualities, which end up countering the psycho- on the soundtrack give more intimate sequences a logical disruptions (both personal and collective) heightened feeling of pressure. Villeneuve wants to caused by a shocking global event. illuminate the process of immersion, and how learnWhen 12 half-dome-shaped spacecraft’s suddenly ing something new can begin to change the way you appear at locations around the world, modern civiliza- think, dream and ultimately act. tion reacts with 24-hour news coverage, riots and inThe film is overtly optimistic about humanity’s creased militarization. Linguist Dr. Louise Banks (Amy future and possible co-dependency with alien life Adams) watches the monumental forms. Considering Villeneuve’s occasion unfold on television, unusually bleak worldview this deARRIVAL til she gets a visit from high-rankviation remains surprising. But ing Army Colonel Webber (Forest the tonal shift makes sense conDirected by Denis Villeneuve Whitaker) who’s in need of her sidering Louise’s flexibility to unStarring Amy Adams, Jeremy translation services. The aliens derstanding time and space from Renner, Forest Whitaker and want to talk, and the American a new vantage point, and her Michael Stulhbarg government wants answers. willingness to address questions Upon arriving at the massive of mortality and predeterminaRated PG-13 Montana landing sight, Louise tion. Do we embrace life, or fear is partnered up with theoretical the inevitability that it will end? physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner). Almost imWhile Arrival’s ending answers this question mediately, the two academics are whisked into the with swooning sentimentality, one could argue that hull of the alien vessel and begin communications its rosy perspective has only become possible thanks with two massive “Heptapods” (nicknamed Abbot to the Heptapods’ ability to be introspective and forand Costello) that appear every 18 hours behind a ward thinking. It doesn’t suggest humans lack these glass barrier and thick clouds of steam-like vapor. qualities, only that we sometimes choose to insulate During their first gravity-busting ascent into the ourselves out of laziness and habit. Louise and Ian vessel, Louise and Ian are forced to take a physical become symbols for a different kind of thinking that leap of faith that defies logic. Yet once inside the thrives on clarity and faith, but not without some massive ship both characters lean heavily on basic cost to their own future happiness. foundations of their specialties in order to better Arrival, which opens Friday, Nov. 11, will be one communicate with the extraterrestrials. Tone and in- of the first films widely released after what could be tent play an important role in these discussions, leav- a historically contentious Election Day. By that time ing even more room for interpretation. Such ambigu- the film’s anti-isolationist and pro-unity themes will ity ultimately makes many young Army officers and undoubtedly feel timely for many reasons. It could a forceful CIA liaison (Michael Stuhlbarg) nervous. represent a fictitious and naïve future that will nevAs he did in Sicario and Enemy, Villeneuve vi- er be, or an optimistic portrait of what humans can sualizes every conversation like a tense negotiation achieve when they come together. What a strange that could break down at any time. Whatever trust time to be alive. has been solidified between partners is always subFilm reviews run weekly. ject to doubt. This plays out at the human level with Write to glennh@sdcitybeat.com.

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November 9, 2016 • San Diego CityBeat · 23

CULTURE | FILM

The Eagle Huntress

Flying high

S

oaring over the Mongolian steppe, The Eagle Huntress opens with an IMAX-style montage that immediately establishes an organic connection with the natural world. This same sense of wonder fills the eyes of 13-year-old Aisholpan, the determined Kazakh girl who decides to learn the age-old Mongolian tradition of eagle hunting dominated for centuries by men. With the help of her father, Nurgaiv, she catches and trains her own eagle

24 · San Diego CityBeat · November 9, 2016

before competing in the countrywide contest against an all-male pool of contenders.

Like a feature-length segment on Nat Geo, director Otto Bell’s debut documentary is a wellmeaning hodgepodge of sweeping aerial shots and thinly veiled staging about themes that deserve more substantial treatment.

At times, Aisholpan does seem cognizant of her status as a feminist symbol breaking down gender barriers in the face of overwhelming odds. She takes special pride in denouncing the legion of elders who represent conservative values and provide the film’s inadvertent comic relief.

But during some of the most pivotal scenes—like the extended fox-hunt climax—she appears to be a passive subject being pulled along for the ride. The directorial manipulation in The Eagle Huntress is incredibly high, noticeable in the extreme overcutting of action scenes and actor Daisy Ridley’s strategically placed voiceover narration. Aisholpan and Nurgaiv’s individual voices are consumed by the overall trajectory of what ends up being a pedestrian sports film arc.

While cultural and familial conflicts are mentioned briefly,

they always play second fiddle to epic scope of mountain ranges or the impressive wingspan of swooping birds of prey. Such visual majesty may make The Eagle Huntress, which opens Friday Nov. 11, an easy sell to mass audiences. But it also confirms Aisholpan, her family and community, as exotic “others” to be observed from afar. For historical context, check out Robert J. Flaherty’s Nanook of the North.

through Thursday, Nov. 17, at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

The Eagle Huntress: Kazakh teenager Aisholpan becomes the first female to compete in the age-old male-dominated sport of eagle hunting in this visually stunning documentary.

—Glenn Heath Jr.

OPENING Almost Christmas: Gabrielle Union stars in this drama about a dysfunctional family that gathers for the first Thanksgiving since their mother died.

Arrival: Amy Adams is a linguist recruited by the military to communicate with alien life forms that have just landed on Earth.

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk: After a harrowing battle in Iraq a 19-yearold soldier is brought home to conduct a victory tour that conjures up traumatic memories of loss. Directed by Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon).

Do Not Resist: Filmed over two years in 11 states, this film examines the increasingly disturbing realities of the rapid militarization of police forces in the United States. Opens Friday, Nov. 11, and runs

Loving: Set in 1958, Jeff Nichols’ drama follows the trials and tribulations of an interracial couple (Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga) who are sentenced to prison for getting married in Virginia.

Miss Hokusai: Keichi Hara’s animated film is about the life of artist and ukiyoe painter Katsushika Hokusai as seen through the eyes of his daughter. Opens Friday, Nov. 11, at Ken Cinema.

Shut In: A widowed psychologist (Naomi Watts) must find a way to rescue a young boy before he disappears forever during a winter storm.

The Monster: Two women stranded in the woods must fight off a terrifying monster in Bryan Bertino’s horror film. Opens Friday, Nov. 11, and screens through Thursday, Nov. 17, at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

We Are X: This documentary by Stephen Kijak concerns X Japan, one of the most successful unsung bands in the world.

Opens Friday, Nov. 11, and screens through Thursday, Nov. 17, at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.

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

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November 9, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 25

DENNIS KLEIMAN

MUSIC

N

EVER ASK A MUSICIAN about their influences. It’s bad form. A rookie mistake.

To paraphrase that Boromir meme, one does not simply ask a musician about their influences.

I’ve lived long enough in love with Neko Case to know her influences by now. Six albums since 1997, multiple collaborative projects and countless live shows will give you a good sense of who Case has been listening to. She’s covered songs by everyone from Loretta Lynn and Hank Williams to Sarah Vaughn and Tom Waits. When it comes to her vocal style, Dolly Parton and Roseanne Cash are easy references, although Case’s own Virginia-born twang has become less pronounced over the years.

I would never think to ask Case about her influences, current or otherwise. And yet here I am, on the phone with her from her home in Vermont, listening to her tell me about one of her greatest artistic influences.

“One time Pee-Wee Herman put googly eyes on a picture of me and I think that was the greatest moment of my life,” Case says, recalling a recent Twitter interaction she had with the ’80s comedy character played

by Paul Reubens. “Having been so influenced by him my entire life, I felt basically like the queen had just made me a knight. I don’t think I’ve ever been that giddy in my entire life.”

Given her extensive catalogue of heartbreaking ballads (“South Tacoma Way,” “That Teenage Feeling”) and feminist anthems (“People Got a Lotta Nerve,” “Man”), it’s surprising to hear Case describe Herman as a “total living legend innovator,” but it’s just further evidence that her proverbial well runs deep. Another common theme in her music is her love, or more accurately, her kinship with animals. Wild or domesticated, she often equates what are otherwise maudlin musical themes to animal instinctiveness.

“I’m a man-man-man man-man-man eater/But still you’re surprised-prised-prised when I eat ya,” she sings on 2009’s “People Got A Lotta Nerve,” managing to make references to having both the memory of an elephant and the ferocity of a wild orca.

“I think I probably approach it that way, like in an animal way, far more than I think about it in a human way,” says Case, when asked why she takes such an animalistic approach to themes like love and fealty.

The curious case of Neko Case

Fight, the More I Love You. Life on the road has made for some great songs, but she’s had to step up her traveling arrangements for the sake of her health.

“I still like the amount of travel, but physically you can’t get away with that,” Case says. “It’s seriously unhealthy, but you The alt-country singer on know I also learned some things like if you don’t actually start exercising and/or eating Pee-Wee Herman, vans and dog nipples really well to do this job, you’ll die.”

by SETH COMBS Even after her world tour for The Worse Things Get, she immediately jumped back into recording, this time as one-third of a new group with fellow singer-songwriters k.d. lang and Laura Veirs called, naturally, case/lang/veirs. The group’s self-titled album, released earlier this year via Anti-, was well-received by both critics and fans, and while it wasn’t Case’s Nov. 19 first foray into a more collaborative project Poway Center of the (she’s also a member of Performing Arts the long-running indiepop group The New Pornekocase.com nographers), she says it was a novel experience.

“It was a really good learning experience, and I really enjoyed it,” Case says. “I had written with people before, but we decided that we wanted to write brand new songs from the ground up together. It wasn’t easy and there was a lot of compromise which isn’t a problem, but sometimes we get butthurt like, ‘Aw, you don’t like my idea,’ but then you get over it and a week later you’re like, ‘Huh, this turned out really good.’”

Now back out on the road performing her own material, Case says it’s possible she’ll play some new material from an eventual seventh album. Until then, she’s “The human way has been done to death, in 1970 and while nuances of her southern happy to keep on the road. While the lodgand that’s awesome, but I guess I feel like I roots are speckled throughout her music, ings and methods of transportation have don’t want to reinvent the wheel.” most of her songs reflect the life of an avid, changed, her wistful outlook on the past In the middle of her answer, one of the and sometimes insatiable, traveler. She still shines through. After all, it’s hard to escape newest members of her household starts to considers Tacoma, Washington, to be her our influences. feel equally instinctive. hometown even though she’s lived in Mas“I miss my van more than I miss any “As we’re talking about this my little kit- sachusetts, Oregon, Vancouver (Canada) ex-boyfriend I’ve ever had in my life,” Case ten is looking for a nipple on my male dog and, most recently, Vermont. From her forlaughs. “Even the boyfriends that I’m still right now,” Case laughs. “He’s just not over mative years to the present day, her story is friends with and still love with all my heart nursing yet.” often told from the road. This is evident on to this day. I loved my van like a member of She lovingly rebuffs the kitten. songs such as “I Wish I Was the Moon” and my family. I sold it eventually, and I would “Dude, that’s not going to happen for “Calling Cards,” the latter of which is from love that van to be living at my house as you,” she says. her most recent album, 2013’s The Worse a museum but, you know, I can’t be a van Case was born in Alexandria, Virginia, Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I hoarder. That’s not real practical.”

26 · San Diego CityBeat · November 9, 2016

Neko Case

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MUSIC

NOTES FROM THE SMOKING PATIO LOCALS ONLY

N

ew Mexico is calling it quits. The long-running indie rock band, which changed their name from Apes of Wrath in 2010, will play their last show on Wednesday, Nov. 9, at The Casbah. Guitarist Jake Bankhead is moving with his family to Atlanta, and as one of the primary members in the band, that essentially means they’ll no longer be able to perform together. So before the band wraps up, they’re having one last celebration, which has been a little bit stressful to plan while Bankhead has been preparing to leave town.

“He moves out the next day. He’s got the Pods ready to go, and he’s driving out on Thursday with his brother,” says guitarist and vocalist Rob Kent, in an interview at Caffe Calabria in North Park. “The stress level is to the extreme. For this show I’ve got butterflies like crazy, but he’s gotta go move his family out there as soon as we’re done.”

It has been more than a year since New Mexico performed live. All the members of the band have been involved in non-musical things; Kent became an urban farmer, Bankhead was busy with a tech career and drummer Dustin Elliott enrolled in the communications program at San Diego State University. But the time away from music reminded them how much they enjoyed playing.

“It was good to step away from it,” Kent says. “It was a good reminder, ‘Oh this is why we do it! This is fun!’”

New Mexico “It’s been over a year since we’ve been onstage,” adds keyboardist Peter Graves. “At first, getting ready for the show felt kind of rushed, but now it’s coming together. I had to learn how to play piano, again.”

New Mexico still has some new material that hasn’t yet been released, some of which they’ll be playing at their last show. It’ll be released eventually—the group has already recorded about an album’s worth of material. But while they’re not counting out the possibility of doing some more long-distance recordings, New Mexico is effectively closing the book.

“I would regret it so much if we didn’t do it,” says Kent. “I hate it when bands say it’s their last show.

But the realist in me says this is it. It’s a nice bookend. One that it deserves.”

—Jeff Terich

NINE BANDS TO SEE AT SAN DIEGO MUSIC THING

S

an Diego Music Thing returns to San Diego in a slightly more scaled back form this year. Yet there are still lots of great bands to see. Here are nine recommendations for those planning to show-hop: Thor & Friends: Thor Harris is best known as a member of Swans and Shearwater, but his new project embraces atmosphere and exoticainspired sounds that result in a spacey surprise.

(Friday, Nov. 11, at The Merrow) Touche Amore: Touche Amore are already a pretty fiery band, but new album Stage Four is a more emotional kind of catharsis. Rage and/ or weep. It’s all good.

(Friday, Nov. 11, at The Irenic) Kim and the Created: Kim and the Created are known primarily for frontwoman Kim’s zany antics and colorful costumes. Not that they don’t have good songs, of course. (Saturday, Nov. 12, at Bar Pink) Hours: Hours features members of Bleak Skies, Hexa and Nylon Apartments, and definitely leans toward the dark and heavy side of things. Catch them if you like it loud. (Friday, Nov. 11, at The Irenic)

#SDCityBeat

The Bassics: This San Diego Music Award-winning band does mod garage right, and with a live presence that makes their fuzzy songs that much more enjoyable. (Saturday, Nov. 12, at Bar Pink) Car Seat Headrest: One of the biggest bands at the fest this year, Seattle’s Car Seat Headrest made a big splash with their album Teens of Denial, one of the best indie rock albums of the last few years. (Saturday, Nov. 12, at The Irenic) HEALTH: Once an effects-heavy noise rock band, HEALTH has morphed into an industrial-dance powerhouse with lots and lots of jams in their arsenal. (Friday Nov. 11, at The Music Box) King Dude: King Dude is a folk musician, Ho99o9 but it’s an extraordinarily dark kind of folk he plays: He’s collaborated with Chelsea Wolfe and routinely tours with metal bands. (Saturday, Nov. 12, at The Office) Ho99o9: Pronounced “horror,” this duo makes hip-hop that’s noisy and intense but big on speakerrattling beats. They give Death Grips a run for their money. (Friday, Nov. 11, at The Music Box)

—Jeff Terich November 9, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 27

28 · San Diego CityBeat · November 9, 2016

#SDCityBeat

MUSIC

JEFF TERICH

IF I WERE U A music insider’s weekly agenda WEDNESDAY, NOV. 9

PLAN A: Protomartyr, The Gotobeds, Keepers @ Soda Bar. Protomartyr are one of my favorite bands right now, with a postpunk sound that’s dark, noisy and just a little bit bleak. It’s just the catharsis we need after this seemingly never-ending election season finally wraps up. PLAN B: New Mexico, Spooky Cigarette, Sol Orchid, DJ Sorry Shark @ The Casbah. Long running locals New Mexico are finally calling it a day, and here’s your last chance to see them live before they ride off into the sunset. Send them off properly, San Diego.

BACKUP PLAN: Death Grips @ Observatory North Park.

THURSDAY, NOV. 10

PLAN A: STRFKR, Gigamesh, Psychic Twin @ Observatory North Park.

STRFKR (pronounced “starfucker”) plays synth-pop in the vein of Passion Pit, which is to say perfect for summer road trips. Even though summer’s over, it still sounds pretty

defunct Washington art-punk trio Unwound, which is welcome news to my ears. For longtime fans, this is probably already on the calendar, but in case you missed the announcement, get out that red marker. BACKUP PLAN: Diarrhea Planet, Lovely Bad Things, Shades McCool @ Soda Bar.

SATURDAY, NOV. 12

PLAN A: Car Seat Headrest, Naked Giants, Hexa @ The Irenic. Car Seat Headrest’s Teens of Denial is pretty high up on my list of favorite albums this year.

It’s classic indie rock with epic songwriting, and kind of renews my faith in anxious youngsters with guitars. PLAN B: SubRosa, Bleak Skies, Deep Sea Thunderbeast, Beira, Dhatura @ Soda Bar. I recently interviewed SubRosa about their new album For This We Fought the Battle of Ages. It’s a powerful, epic piece of doom metal that’s likely to level the crowd at Soda Bar. Figuratively speaking.

BACKUP PLAN: Kim and the Created, The Dead Ships, Wild Wild Wets, Mission Creeps, Prism Tats, The Bassics @ Bar Pink.

SUNDAY, NOV. 13

PLAN A: Electric Citizen, Horisont, Red Wizard @ Soda Bar. Electric Citizen play psychedelic rock that leans heavy on vintage sounds (and sights, Car Seat Headrest based on their music videos) while infusing great, and new album Being No One, Going that aesthetic with modern songwriting.

Nowhere is full of big pop hooks. PLAN B: It’s a winning combination! BACKUP LITE, Mouse on the Keys, Stage Kids @ PLAN: The Dictators NYC, Motor 66, Soda Bar. For something with fewer hooky The Touchies @ The Casbah. choruses and more instrumental dazzle, check out this showcase of instrumental MONDAY, NOV. 14 math-rock groups, who’ll showcase the PLAN A: Girl Tears, Band Aparte @ The kind of musicianship that makes you wish Hideout. There’s nothing like a good, oldfashioned punk show. Girl Tears play punk you had kept up with guitar lessons. rock with noisy guitars, catchy choruses and rhythms that could get you slam dancFRIDAY, NOV. 11 ing in no time. This is fun stuff, nothing PLAN A: Touche Amore, Meatbodies, fancy, just how I like it.

Hours @ The Irenic. Earlier this year I spoke to Touche Amore about their emo- TUESDAY, NOV. 15 tionally draining new album Stage Four, PLAN A: Causers, Melvus, GLOE @ Tilwhich is well worth a listen. They’re an Two Club. When it’s Tuesday night and intense live band, so don’t miss out on the calendar starts to thin out a little, my their explosive post-hardcore anthems. philosophy is: Go see some local bands!

PLAN B: Nocturnal Habits, Sleeping Causers, who have a sort of shoegazing People, Hours @ Whistle Stop. Noc- take on emo, are a solid pick. turnal Habits features two members of

#SDCityBeat

November 9, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 29

MUSIC

CONCERTS HOT! NEW! FRESH!

Royal Teeth (Soda Bar, 12/15), Unwritten Law (HOB, 12/18), Gucci Mane (Observatory, 12/23), Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings (BUT, 1/1-2), Protoje (Music Box, 1/12), DNCE (HOB, 1/17), Timothy Schmit (BUT, 1/24), Lemuria (Hideout, 1/26), Paul Stanley’s Soul Station (BUT, 2/3), Down by Law (Soda Bar, 2/5), Austra, The Range (Casbah, 2/8), Hot Tuna (BUT, 2/13), Galactic (BUT, 2/16), David Duchovny (Music Box, 2/12), Circa Survive (HOB, 2/21-2/22), Priests (Che Café, 2/22), Japandroids (Music Box, 3/11), Passenger (HOB, 4/2), The Wedding Present (Casbah, 4/30), The Primitives (Hideout, 6/6).

CANCELLED Merchandise (The Hideout, 12/9).

GET YER TICKETS Gogol Bordello (Observatory North Park, 11/19), Neko Case (Poway OnStage, 11/19), Method Man and Redman (Observatory, 11/21), Warpaint (Observatory, 11/22), Red Fang (Casbah, 11/22), Hirie (Music Box, 11/25), Kool Keith (HOB, 11/27), Porter Robinson, Madeon (Valley View Casino Center, 11/29), Peter Murphy (Observatory, 11/29), Lee Fields (BUT, 11/30), Daughter (Observatory, 12/1), Living Legends (Observatory, 12/2), Queen Latifah (Harrah’s, 12/2), Helmet (Cas-

30 · San Diego CityBeat · November 9, 2016

bah, 12/2), Two Door Cinema Club (Harrah’s Resort, 12/3), Amy Schumer (Valley View Casino Center, 12/3), Miike Snow (Observatory, 12/5), The Album Leaf (Irenic, 12/9), Pylon Reenactment Society (Hideout, 12/10), Mr. Carmack (Observatory, 12/10), Pere Ubu (Casbah, 12/10), Jonathan Richman (BUT, 12/12), X (Casbah, 12/15-18), Henry Rollins (Observatory, 12/27), Citizen Cope (Observatory, 12/28),Mannheim Steamroller (Civic Theatre, 12/28), OFF! (Casbah, 12/28), Donovon Frankenreiter (BUT, 12/28-29), Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven (Music Box, 12/29), Brian Setzer Orchestra (BUT, 12/31), The Donkeys (Soda Bar, 12/31), The Devil Makes Three (Observatory, 1/4-5), Pepe Aguilar (Civic Theatre, 1/6), Beat Farmers Hootenanny (BUT, 1/7), Ozomatli (Music Box, 1/13), Lucero (BUT, 1/15), Marching Church (The Hideout, 1/20), Chevelle (HOB, 1/21), Hamilton Leithauser (Casbah, 1/28), Blind Boys of Alabama (BUT, 1/29), Run the Jewels (Observatory, 1/30), Mike Doughty (BUT, 2/1), Alcest (Brick by Brick, 2/8), D.R.A.M. (Music Box, 2/9), Adam Ant (Observatory, 2/18), Tennis (The Irenic, 2/22), Moon Duo (Casbah, 2/25), Steve Poltz (BUT, 2/24-25), Bon Jovi (Viejas Arena, 3/5), Tinariwen, Dengue Fever (BUT, 3/30), The Damned (HOB, 4/7),Green Day (Valley View Casino Center, 4/8), Reverend Horton Heat (BUT, 4/20), Brian Wilson (Civic Theatre, 5/24), Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (Civic Theatre, 6/26), Coldplay (Qualcomm Stadium, 10/8).

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

Protomartyr at Soda Bar. The New

Mastersounds at Belly Up Tavern. Ulcerate at Brick by Brick. Denzel Curry at SOMA. New Mexico at The Casbah.

Amos Lee at Spreckels Theatre.

THURSDAY, NOV. 10 STRFKR at Observatory North Park.

Garrett Klahn at Blonde. John Brown’s Body at Music Box.

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

HEALTH at Music Box. Diarrhea Planet at Soda Bar. Leaether Strip at Brick by Brick. Touche Amore at The Irenic. Thor and Friends at The Merrow. Rob Crow’s Gloomy Place at Bar Pink. Open Mike Eagle at U-31. Johnette Napolitano at The Office.

SATURDAY, NOV. 12 Steel Panther at House of Blues. Car Seat Headrest at The Irenic. OM at The Casbah. Livin’ on a Prayer at Belly Up Tavern. SubRosa at Soda Bar. Kim and the Created at Bar Pink. Slightly Stoopid at Observatory North Park (sold out).

No Parents at The Merrow. Little Hurricane at The Office.

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

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

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

#SDCityBeat

MUSIC TUESDAY, NOV. 15 The Record Company at The Casbah (sold out). ‘Rob Machado Benefit’ w/ Pepper, Tristan Prettyman, Chris Shiflett at Belly Up Tavern. Ms. Lauryn Hill at House of Blues.

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

Nukem at The Casbah. Copeland at The Irenic.

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

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

FRIDAY, NOV. 18 hed p.e. at The Hideout. Trash Talk, Antwon at Soda Bar. William Fitzsimmons at The Casbah. Tombs at The Merrow. Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band at Humphreys by the Bay (sold out).

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

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

Screaming Lord Stax and the Savages at The Casbah.

MONDAY, NOV. 21 Method Man and Redman at Observa-

#SDCityBeat

tory North Park. Zombie Surf Camp at The Casbah.

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

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

FRIDAY, NOV. 25 Chris Isaak at Belly Up. Yelawolf at Observatory North Park. Hirie at Music Box. Mother Hips at The Casbah. Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe at Belly Up Tavern.

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

Mother Hips at The Casbah.

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

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

AJ Froman at The Casbah.

TUESDAY, NOV. 29 Arc Iris at Soda Bar. Peter Murphy at Observatory North Park. The Fink Bombs at The Casbah.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 30 Lee Fields at Belly Up Tavern. Seu Jorge at Balboa Theatre (sold out).

Doyle Bramhall II at The Casbah.

DECEMBER THURSDAY, DEC. 1 The Widows at The Casbah. Besnard Lakes at Soda Bar. Daughter at Observatory North Park.

FRIDAY, DEC. 2 Living Legends at Observatory North Park. Terry Malts at The Hideout. Queen Latifah at Harrah’s Resort. Guttermouth at Soda Bar. Helmet at The Casbah.

SATURDAY, DEC. 3 Home Free at Poway OnStage. Rufus Du Sol at Music Box. Amy Schumer at Valley View Casino Center. Pink Martini at California Center for the Arts. Two Door Cinema Club at Harrah’s Resort.

Agent Orange at The Casbah. Gonn at The Hideout.

SUNDAY, DEC. 4 Haley Bonar at The Casbah.

MONDAY, DEC. 5 Miike Snow at Observatory North Park.

TUESDAY, DEC. 6 The Slackers at The Casbah. Alex Cameron at Soda Bar.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 7 Muuy Biien at Soda Bar. CRX at The Casbah. The Cherries Jubilee at California Center for the Arts.

THURSDAY, DEC. 8 Anthony Raneri at Soda Bar.

FRIDAY, DEC. 9 The Album Leaf at The Irenic. Jackie Greene at Belly Up Tavern. Tijuana Panthers at Soda Bar.

SATURDAY, DEC. 10 Benjamin Francis Leftwich at Soda Bar. Jonny Lang at Belly Up Tavern. Pylon Reenactment Society at The Hideout. Pere Ubu at The Casbah.

SUNDAY, DEC. 11 SIMS at The Casbah. Chasms at The Hideout. Sorority Noise at Che Café.

rCLUBSr

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

American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., San Diego. Downtown. Thu: The Sklar Brothers. Fri: The Sklar Brothers.

Sat: The Sklar Brothers.

The Bancroft, 9143 Campo Rd., Spring Valley. Thu: MICE, Blisses B. Sat: Dead Friends, Fun Abuse, Barking Irons, F-71.

Sun: Electric Mud. Bang Bang, 526 Market St., San Diego.

Downtown. Thu: Anjunadeep. Fri: Kastle.

Sat: Will Clarke, Sage Armstrong.

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

North Park. Wed: Taurus Authority. Thu: The Husky Boy All-Stars. Fri: Rob Crow’s Gloomy Place, Rafter, Birdy Bardot. Sat:

MUSIC CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

November 9, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 31

MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31 Kim and the Created, The Dead Ships, Wild Wild Wets, Mission Creeps, Prism Tats, The Bassics. Sun: ‘Rat Sabbath’.

Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. Solana Beach. Wed: The New Mastersounds, Turkuaz. Thu: Anders Osborne, James McMurtry. Fri: Common Sense. Sat: Livin’ On A Prayer, Paradise City. Sun: Young Dubliners, Brogue Wave. Tue: ‘5th Annual Rob Machado Benefit’ w/ Pepper, Tristan Prettyman, Chris Shiflett.

Black Cat Bar, 4246 University Ave., San Diego. City Heights. Thu: Uptown Rhythm Makers. Fri: The Widows, Wild Honey.

Sat: Bartender’s Bible, Nothingful.

Blonde, 1808 W. Washington Street, San Diego. Wed: ‘Dance Klassique’ w/ Bruno De Mata, Joe Pea, Lil Ryan, Gomez. Thu: Garrett Klahn, Last Days of April, Cutlass Supreme, DJ Steven Oira. Fri: Pleasure Fix, Robin Roth, Terryn S. Sat: ‘Bump’ w/ Bob Dazzla, Shige. Sun: DLA, Ghostgirl.

Mon: Mangchi, Kid Koala.

Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave., San Diego. Bay Park. Wed: Ulcerate, Zhrine, Phobocosm, TEETH. Thu: Shiv:R, God Module, W.A.S.T.E., KANGA, HexRx, Die Sektor, Fractured Transmission, ACID CASUALTY. Fri: Leaether Strip, Kevorkian Death Cycle, CHANT, MR.KITTY, Vore Aurora, Gentleman Junkie, Visions in Black, XIV. Sat: The Iron Maidens, Symbolic, DominatioN CFH, RDG, Time Machine.

Cafe Sevilla, 353 Fifth Ave., San Diego.

Downtown. Sat: Flamenco Dinner Show.

Sun: Buena Vista Sundays.

The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd., San Diego. Midtown. Wed: New Mexico, Spooky Cigarette, Sol Orchid, DJ Sorry

32 · San Diego CityBeat · November 9, 2016

Shark. Thu: Badabing, Parade of Horribles, The Babes, Summer Knowledge.

Fri: Har Mar Superstar, Sweet Spirit.

Sat: OM, M. Geddes Gengras. Sun: The Dictators NYC, Motor 66, The Touchies.

Mon: Branches, The Wild Fires. Tue: The Record Company, The Marcus King Band (sold out).

Dirk’s Nightclub, 7662 Broadway, Lemon Grove. Fri: TNT. Dizzy’s, 4275 Mission Bay Drive, San Diego. Mission Bay. Tue: SDSCPA Jazz Ensemble.

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

Downtown. Fri: DJ Wellman. Sat: Craig Smoove.

The Field, 544 Fifth Ave., San Diego.

Downtown. Thu: Fiore. Fri: Brian Jones Rock & Roll Revival, Jonathan Lee Band, Andrea Vasquez, Max Minardi Band, DJ Green T. Sat: The Get Down Party. Sun: Flower Child. Mon: Fiore. Tue: Pat Hilton.

Fluxx, 500 Fourth Ave., San Diego.

Downtown. Fri: Delachapelle. Sat: Nas. The Hideout, 3519 El Cajon Blvd. (City Heights), San Diego. City Heights. Thu: StarRo, JR Jarris, Semaj, Sasha Marie.

Sat: ‘Boogie Down’ w/ MNDSGN, Funk Freaks, Cookie Crew. Mon: Girl Tears, Band Aparte.

The Holding Company, 5040 Newport Ave., San Diego. Ocean Beach. Wed: The Moves. Thu: Na’an Stop, DJ Reefah. Sat: DJ Mancat. Sun: John January & Linda Barry. Tue: Green Today, DJ Green T. House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., San Diego. Downtown. Thu: Phony PPL. Fri: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead. Sat: Steel Panther, Hillbilly Herald. Mon: Lupe Fiasco, Boy Illinois, RXMN. Tue: Ms. Lauryn Hill.

SPOTLIGHT With the holiday season just over the horizon it seems only appropriate to single out a band called Sleigh Bells. Of course, they don’t play holiday music, unless you celebrate Dance-Pop-WithThrash-Guitars Day. Which you should; their catalog is loaded with super catchy jams, such as “Rill Rill” and “Comeback Kid.” Get giddy with their turned-up-to-11 pop anthems when they play The Observatory North Park on Friday, Nov. 11.

—Jeff Terich

Humphrey’s Backstage Live, 2241 Shelter Island Drive, San Diego. Point Loma. Wed: Walter Gentry. Thu: Debora Galan. Fri: Beta Maxx, Trade Winds. Sat: Johnny A. Sun: Adam Hawley, Missy Andersen. Tue: Mercedes Moore.

The Irenic, 3090 Polk Ave., San Diego.

North Park. Wed: Daniela Andrade, Tim Atlas. Fri: Touche Amore, Meatbodies, Hours. Sat: Car Seat Headrest, Naked Giants, Hexa.

Java Joe’s Normal Heights, 3536 Adams Ave., San Diego. Normal Heights.

Thu: Gregory Page. Fri: The Zicas. Sat: Lindsay White. Sun: Nina Francis, Justin Froese, Sierra West, Tamara Rodriquez.

Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd., San Diego. Midtown. Wed: Perfect Strangers.

Thu: ‘Oddyssy: A Mad Hatter Party’. Fri: BARTEK, Bassmechanic, NastyTrix, Mr. Ruxpen, Diligence. Sat: ‘Divine Species’.

Mon: Auto Pilot, Going Postal, Se Vende.

Kensington Club, 4079 Adams Ave., San Diego. Kensington. Sat: Wild Eyes, Kids in Heat, The Natives, Batlords.

Lestat’s West, 3341 Adams Ave., Nor-

#SDCityBeat

MUSIC mal Heights , San Diego. Normal Heights.

Wed: Amber Ikeman, Hilary Scott. Thu: Todd Lewis Kramer, Cameron Royce, Jesus Gonzalez. Fri: The Clean Cut Hippies, Sunset Kids. Sat: David Choi, Nina Francis. Sun: Chris Trapper.

The Loft @ UCSD, Price Center East, La Jolla. La Jolla. Thu: Sales, Tangerine.

Mc P’s Irish Pub, 1107 Orange Ave., Coronado. Wed: Harmony Road. Thu: North Star. Fri: Ron’s Garage. Sat: Street Heart. Sun: Street Heart.

The Merrow, 1271 University Ave., San Diego. Hillcrest. Wed: Austin North, Roger!, The March Divide, Gbera. Thu: Luneaux, Emily Afton, Jesse Frank, The Peripherals. Fri: Thor & Friends, Adam Torres, Bit Maps, Blood Ponies. Sat: No Parents, White Fang, Spitfire Torpedo, The Touchies, Sculpins. Sun: Pavlov’s Dog. Tue: The Fighting Able, Karina Frost & The Banduvloons, Soul Ablaze, Innocent Bystanders.

Moonshine Flats, 344 7th Ave., San Diego. Gaslamp. Fri: The Matte Gray Band, Jacob Martin Band. Sat: Jacob Martin Band.

Mother’s Saloon, 2228 Bacon Street, San Diego. Thu: DJ Dub B. Fri: Greg Douglass Band. Sat: The Brewhahas.

Mon: Kayla Hope.

Music Box, 1337 India St., San Diego.

Little Italy. Wed: Calibre 50. Thu: John Brown’s Body, Thrive. Fri: HEALTH, Ho99o9. Sat: Minnesota. Sun: Joe Budden, FollowJoJoe, J. Stone.

Numbers, 3811 Park Blvd., San Diego.

Hillcrest. Thu: ‘Tagged’. Fri: ‘Uncut’. Sat: ‘Club Sabbat’.

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

North Park. Wed: Karissa Tranel. Fri: Johnette Napolitano, Sean Hayes, Taken

#SDCityBeat

By Canadians. Sat: Little Hurricane, Geographer, King Dude, Dani Bell and the Tarantist, Jimmy Ruelas. Sun: ‘Uptown Top Ranking’ w/ Tribe of Kings. Tue: ‘Trapped’.

OMNIA Nightclub, 454 6th Ave, San Diego. Thu: Crankdat. Fri: Tritonal. Sat: Eric Dlux.

Parq, 615 Broadway, San Diego. Fri: DJ Direct. Sat: DJ Ross One. Sun: Ice Cube.

Patricks Gaslamp, 428 F St., San Diego. Downtown. Wed: The Upshots.

Rich’s, 1051 University Ave., San Diego.

Hillcrest. Wed: DJ Kiki. Fri: DJs John Joseph, Will Z. Sat: DJs K-Swift, Taj. Sun: DJs Kidd Madonny, Moody Rudy.

Riviera Supper Club, 7777 University Ave., La Mesa. Wed: ‘Boss Jazz’ w/ Jason Hanna. Thu: Chloe Lou and Davies.

Fri: G Burns Jug Band. Sat: Blue Largo.

Rosie O’Grady’s, 3402 Adams Ave., San Diego. Normal Heights. Thu: DJ L. Fri: Puente. Sat: Three Chord Justice.

Seven Grand, 3054 University Ave., San Diego. North Park. Wed: The Waylon Hicks Project. Fri: The Big Decisions.

Sat: The Whiskey Circle. Tue: Miss Erika Davies and the Men. Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego. City Heights. Wed: Protomartyr, The Gotobeds, Keepers. Thu: LITE, Mouse on the Keys, Stage Kids. Fri: Diarrhea Planet, Lovely Bad Things, Shades McCool. Sat: SubRosa, Bleak Skies, Deep Sea Thunder Beast, Beira, Dhatura. Sun: Electric Citizen, Horisont, Red Wizard.

Mon: Crushed Out, Big Bloom, The Neanderthals. Tue: William Control, MXMS. SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd., San Diego. Midway. Wed: Denzel Curry, Boogie, Neek Nexus, Ether Minded People, Nate Fitzbutler, Ash Jetson. Fri: For Today, Nor-

ma Jean, Silent Planet, My Epic, A Hero Within. Sat: Pretty Lights, Chris Karns.

Stage Bar & Grill, 762 Fifth Ave., San Diego. Downtown. Sat: Blown Fuse.

Til-Two Club, 4746 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego. City Heights. Wed: FEA, The Pictographs. Fri: Lord Howler, Ape Machine, Well Well Well, Se Vende. Mon: Fairy Bones, Madus, Paper Foxes. Tue: Causers, Melvus, Gloe.

Tio Leo’s, 5302 Napa St., San Diego.

Bay Park. Thu: The Fremonts. Fri: Billy Watson & The Submarine Band. Sat: Native Alien. Tue: Sue Palmer.

Tower Bar, 4757 University Ave., San Diego. City Heights. Thu: No Knock Raid, Diatribe, Se Vende. Fri: The Decline, Caskitt, New Way On, Castoff, Skipjack.

Sat: Joe McMahon, Divided Heaven, Swingchimney, Todd Allen. Sun: UN, Fister, Garth Algar, Abyssal.

Ux31, 3112 University Ave., San Diego.

North Park. Thu: ‘Thursdaze’. Fri: Open Mike Eagle, Ric Scales, Skinny Venny, DJ Artistic. Sat: Strat and Mouse, Bang Pow, Glass Spells.

Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St, San Diego.

South Park. Wed: ‘Retrograde’. Thu: Warsaw, Hexa, DJs Mike Turi, Andrew McGranahan. Fri: Nocturnal Habits, Sleeping People, Hours. Sat: ‘Booty Bassment’ w/ DJs Dimitri, Rob. Sun: ‘Dorkbot’.

Winstons, 1921 Bacon St., San Diego.

Ocean Beach. Wed: Johnny Love, Crucial Blend, DJ Carlos Culture. Thu: Sighphur One, Ch@n3, The Adepts. Fri: King Schascha, Sister Nancy, DJ Unite. Sat: Bomb Squad, The Gringos. Sun: Full Strength Funk Band. Mon: Electric Waste Band. Tue: Scott Pemberton Band.

November 9, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 33

LAST WORDS | ADVICE

AMY ALKON

ADVICE

GODDESS Tour Of Doody I’m a 42-year-old divorcee, just back in the dating world and using dating apps.

I have two young children, who live with me. I mentioned them in my profile at first, but I didn’t get many replies, so I took them out. Is it okay not to disclose them there? And if I go out with a guy, when do I have to tell him? I’d like to wait till we build a bit of a relationship.

—­More Than A Mom

When men say they “love surprises,” they mean the sort involving an impromptu striptease, not where you wait till the sixth date to tell them that, no, that child seat actually isn’t for your terrier.

Having kids shapes how you live. It isn’t like some weird hobby you occasionally do on weekends, like roadkill taxidermy or yurt bedazzling. And sorry—even if you’re far prettier in person than in your profile photos, being “striking” is just a figure of

speech; it’s unlikely to cause a concussive brain injury in a man, leading to big personality changes that give him a sudden longing to stepdaddy up.

Not disclosing that you have kids until a guy is emotionally attached to you is what evolutionary psychologist David Buss calls “strategic interference”—using tactics (including scammy ones) to try to get another person to go against their evolved interests.

For example, it is not in a man’s genetic interest to invest time, effort and resources into another man’s children, which is why men evolved to prefer women who do not already have children, as opposed to saying, “Well, she’s got 12 kids…I’ll take experience over 20-something hotitude any day!”

Our emotions are our internal police force. They evolved to protect and serve— protecting us from allowing things that don’t serve our interest. Your hiding that you have kids will make guys angry, including those who’d be interested in you, kids and all. The problem goes to character. If

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you’re dishonest about this, what else will you be dishonest about?

The right thing to do in online dating is to give men who will ultimately reject you the info they need to do that right away— keeping them from wasting their time and yours. (Otherwise, it’s like seeking a new accountant by interviewing plumbers.) Being honest will narrow your pool—down to those who are actual possibilities for you, like divorced dads who’d be open to Brady Bunch-ing. There are also a few kid-loving guys out there who never got around to having any and would find it a plus that you have some ready-made. All the better if some other guy’s on the hook for the kids’ private school, Ivy League educations and wintering in rehab on St. Barts.

Bert And Urnie I’ve been dating a widow for two years, and I feel inadequate compared with her dead husband, whom she always describes in glowing terms. He liked to dance; I don’t. He cooked; I don’t. He didn’t drink; I do. I understand that she was very happy with her late husband, but this constant comparison with him is wearing on me.

—Mr. Boyfriend It’s always exciting to see a man rebound after a serious setback—except when you’re the new guy in his widow’s life and the setback is that he was cremated three years ago.

As for why your girlfriend keeps inviting the Ghost of Husband Past into your lives, consider that thoughts—like those glowing ones about him—are driven by emotions. And consider that emotions aren’t just internal states; they also act as signals—a form of person-to-person advertising. For example, research by social psych grad student Bo Winegard and his colleagues finds that grief seems to be, among other things, a kind of broadcasting of a person’s “proclivity to form devoted bonds with others.” (In other words, “Trust me! I love deeply!”)

As for what your girlfriend’s signaling with all this late-husband reflux, maybe she’s telling you to back off—maybe because she fears another big loss. Maybe she wants you to try harder at something— which isn’t helpful if it’s being somebody else entirely. Or maybe she just misses her late hubby (or feels guilty for being happy with you) and this is her way of keeping him around—in some form.

Ask her—in the most non-snarly, loving way—what she’s trying to communicate to you when she waxes on about him. Tell her it hurts your feelings—giving you the message that you’re failing her somehow. Maybe she’ll start appreciating what she has instead of being so focused on what she buried. (Date night shouldn’t involve your waving goodbye to your girlfriend as she goes off with a picnic dinner to the cemetery.)

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November 9, 2016 · San Diego CityBeat · 35