San Diego CityBeat • Dec 16, 2015 by San Diego CityBeat

2 · San Diego CityBeat · December 16, 2015

#SDCityBeat

December 16, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 3

Up Front | From the editor

Baby, it’s cold outside

new West Coast Alliance of Does Mayor Faulconer share that commitment? Mayors was announced Dec. 11 with an He has not shown strong political will on the issue, agenda of uniting cities in addressing unlike the effort he puts into the Chargers stadium the growing crisis of homelessness. The crusade. However, multiple sources say the mayor group is committed to data collection and sharing is now interested in creating a position in his office of best practices, and includes mayors from Los Anequivalent to that of a Homeless Czar. geles, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland and Eugene. Faulconer’s communications team did not respond Noticeably absent from the list: San Diego Mayor to a recent question about bringing a Homeless Czar Kevin Faulconer. onboard. I asked mayoral chief of communications Three of the top 10 cities in the country with Matt Awbrey about a czar back in September and at the highest populations of homeless individuals the time his reply was an indefinite no. “Solving homeare represented in the alliance: 2. L.A. (with 41,174 lessness is a regional issue that requires significant homeless); 3. Seattle (10,122); and 9. San Francisco coordination that spans between many regional lead(6,775). San Diego’s homeless population (8,742) ers, across many agencies, and includes federal, state, ranks fourth in the country. ron donoho county and city funds,” he said. The West Coast Alliance is Some in the local service probilled as a bipartisan group, though vider sphere are cautiously optithe five founding member mayors mistic about the possibility of a are Democrats—L.A.’s Eric Garcperson in the mayor’s office being etti, San Francisco’s Ed Lee, Seatdirectly tasked to tackle homelesstle’s Ed Murray, Portland’s Charlie ness. But they’d like to know what Hales and Eugene’s Kitty Piercy. sort of power that person would San Diego’s mayor is a Repubwield. “If we got a Homeless Czar it lican. Faulconer’s office did not would have to come with meanrespond to questions from Cityingful leadership,” said Michael Beat about why the mayor is not a member of the new alliance, or McConnell, a team leader for 25 if he plans to join or participate in Outside the Neil Good Day Center Cities San Diego, a local arm of a national, postmodern initiative making strides at the sharing of best practices on homelessness. Faulconer was invited to the West Coast Mayors ending veteran and chronic homelessness by inteSummit in Portland on Dec. 10 to 11 but was unable grating support services. to attend, according to Sara Hottman, communica“We need somebody who can coalesce the staketions director for Portland’s mayor. holders and point everybody in the right direction,” he said. “What we don’t need is somebody who’s just “By creating the alliance, mayors who weren’t at going to hold a title. This person will need to have the summit—including Mayor Faulconer—will be able influence, and I’m open to see what that might be.” to join in sharing of new strategies to tackle homeMcConnell adds that there’s a lot that can be lessness and other critical issues,” Hottman said. That a geography-based collection of mayors learned by participating with others in groups like would take the step to create an alliance shows that the West Coast Alliance of Mayors. “Just in L.A., it’s great to see how the city and the the problem is one that can no longer be swept under the carpet. The homeless situation is at its heart county work together up there,” he saida. “For them about human suffering—but it also affects business it’s not like pulling teeth. And the alliance of mayors was pretty big. That meeting had high-level particiowners and a public citizenry whose standard of livpation from the national level, with HUD and the U.S. ing is affected, whether they are homeless or not. “As mayors of West Coast cities we share a Interagency Council of Homelessness attending. It’s commitment to do everything within our power never bad to have mayors sharing best practices.” If San Diego’s mayor isn’t going to personally to address the growing crisis of homelessness and housing affordability in our communities,” said San champion a movement to eradicate homelessness Francisco Mayor Lee. “All of us are called upon to then a czar with muscle is the next best shot at do more, and we look forward to overcoming the jumpstarting the effort. growing challenge of homelessness together with —Ron Donoho compassion and care.” Write to rond@sdcitybeat.com This issue of CityBeat is dedicated to this week’s movie premiere that’s gonna reawaken the force within us...Sisters.

Volume 14 • Issue 19 Editor Ron Donoho Music Editor Jeff Terich Arts Editor Seth Combs Web Editor Ryan Bradford Art director Carolyn Ramos editorial assistant Torrey Bailey Columnists Aaryn Belfer, Edwin Decker John R. Lamb, Alex Zaragoza

Contributors David L. Coddon, Beth Demmon, Andrew Dyer, Tiffany Fox, Michael A. Gardiner, Glenn Heath Jr., Peter Holslin, Jessica Johnson, Scott McDonald, Jenny Montgomery, Susan Myrland, Chad Peace, Jim Ruland, Ben Salmon, Tom Siebert, Jen Van Tieghem, Amy Wallen

Senior account executive Jason Noble Account Executives Beau Odom, Kimberly Wallace, Isaac Aycox Accounting Kacie Cobian, Sharon Huie, Linda Lam Human Resources Andrea Baker

editorial Intern Nancy Kirk

Vice President of Finance Michael Nagami

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 2015.

4 · San Diego CityBeat · December 16, 2015

#SDCityBeat

December 16, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 5

Up Front | Letters

THE HOMELESS CYCLE I just read [“Homeless stats get worse,” Dec. 2] about the issue of homelessness in San Diego. I, too, have personally seen the overwhelming amount of homeless individuals scattered throughout the city, continuously walked over, walked around and ignored by our more fortunate members of the community. Over the past year or so, I’ve grown more uneasy about these conditions, especially when seeing the long string of houses made up solely of cardboard and dirty blankets. We as a society are looking at an epidemic that has gone consistently overlooked by city officials and public figures. And let’s not forget about the police, who are more than willing to drive out anybody homeless if they so much as even sneeze near a public facility, much less take a nap. I recall you mentioning an organization, whose name I could recall if only I had a copy of the most recent CityBeat next to me. But, nevertheless, I appreciate that there is at least one community council making a genuine effort to decrease the severity of those who are underprivileged and out of options. I hear all the time that if the homeless want to eat, there are plenty of shelters out there that are able to provide them food and a place to sleep if needed. But does that really help solve the problem? Or does it just tide them over until the next day, where they will resume being harassed by

law enforcement, judged by onlookers and once again dismissed by modern society? Quintin Cummins, Clairemont

MCMANSION REBUTTAL Regarding Avalee Cohen’s letter in the Nov. 25 issue: On one hand your poly-sci professor would probably have been proud of you taking the time to write your extend screed on Airbnb-like rentals but your J-school prof would have been horrified (I hope) at your lack of factual references and avowals. First off, no one at the “city” would have told you the zoning is R-lA. That designation died out before most of the current staff finished high school, and the “old-timers” know better. It is RS-l-7. That means that on your typical Bird Rock lot of either five- or six-thousand square feet, that the built area limit of living area is 0.6 times the lot area or smaller. So, we get somewhere between 3,000 and 3,600 square feet as a limit on how big a house could be on those very typical-sized lots. Not the “five, six, seven or up to 10,000 square feet” as claimed. So two salient “facts” are actually not factual. True, the zoning designation error is not a deal killer regarding the letter’s concluding premise of a take-over of the area by over-large, new houses that operators will use solely as vacation rentals, but the gross exaggeration of the potential size of houses certainly does skew the argu-

6 · San Diego CityBeat · December 16, 2015

ment and its potential to create misinformation regarding the issue. As a further note, who would pay upwards of $2.5 million for a four- or five-bedroom house to then rent out as a vacation rental? My guess is that virtually none of the “McMansions” were bought with that intent. Dan Linn, La Jolla

On the

Cover

MORE ON GUN CHECKS This letter is in response to your “Gun checks, please” editorial of Oct 21. I agree that “background checks” should be implemented on a national level. However, I would like to take this opportunity to address a more general problem related to decision making in the U.S. We need to collect accurate data and objectively analyze and disseminate it when it comes to addressing such issues. Instead of examining facts, our representatives seem to focus on their opinions and/or use questionable statistics that back their opinions. The U.S. cannot move forward if we cannot make decisions based upon accurate data. We cannot implement meaningful legislation and policies. Lastly, one of the most outrageous decisions that I can recall was the legislation proposed and implemented by Rep. Jay Dickey (R-Ark.) in 1996 to suppress the gathering of data related to shootings. This, in my opinion, is the same as suppressing free speech. A lot has been said about the Second Amendment (the right

Our cover star this week is 22-yearold Long Beach emcee Vince Staples, whose debut album Summertime ’06 was released earlier this year. The album, a double-disc document of violence and survival in the Southern California city where he grew up, has earned him nearly universal critical acclaim. The album has also been on many of 2015’s year-end lists, including AV Club and Spin’s Top 10 albums of the year. to bear arms)—how about the First Amendment (the right to free speech)?

Ronald Harris, Scripps Ranch

#SDCityBeat

Up Front | opinion

spin

John R. Lamb

john r. lamb

cycle Are lifeguards simply desk jockeys? Let every eye negotiate for itself and trust no agent. —William Shakespeare

etired Daily Show host Jon Stewart’s recent return to the limelight in hopes of shaming Congress into extending healthcare benefits for 9/11 first responders hit home with former San Diego City Councilmember Ed Harris. (Recall that Harris was appointed to finish the City Council term of now Mayor Kevin Faulconer after a special mayoral election in 2014.) Now president of the lifeguard union Teamsters Local 911, Harris finds himself waist deep in the churning tides of labor negotiations that have stretched to two years with the city of San Diego. And he can’t help but wonder if his past clashes with council Republicans and Mayor Faulconer over Belmont Park, and a scotched Tommy Bahama clothing deal, are muddying the waters further. “Everyone pretty much knows that they’re pissed at me because of Belmont Park,” Harris told Spin Cycle this week, noting that a lengthy lease extension with operators of the Mission Beach attraction— approved by the council with much Republican swooning in April—now sits snarled up in court, courtesy of Cory Briggs, the activist attorney City Hall loves to hate. Then in July, Harris kicked sand into the gears of a corporate sponsorship deal between the city and Tommy Bahama that resulted in more Republican hand wringing. Harris boldy told The San Diego Union-Tribune then that it was payback for the city’s stalled negotiations with its 100 fulltime lifeguards over medical coverage. “If you don’t have enough time to deal with our health and safety issues,” Harris told the U-T, “then you shouldn’t have enough time to deal with Tommy Bahama.” Since then, negotiations have been, to say the least, strained, Harris said. The latest twist in the battle over whether lifeguards, like police officers and firefighters, should be entitled to so-called “presumptive coverage” for illnesses and

injuries incurred in the line of duty is an odd contention Harris claims the city made about how lifeguards are categorized. “The whole thing can be broken down to an interpretation of state law,” Harris said. “State law says that members of a fire department are covered under presumptive coverage.” As a division of the city’s Fire-Rescue Department, Lifeguard Services should be included in that interpretation, Harris argued. Instead, he said, “our city attorney and mayor are refusing the coverage because they’re saying we’re an administrative part of the fire department. “Yeah, 7,200 rescues this year, and we’re desk jockeys.” In recent negotiating sessions, Harris said the city is now denying it made such an interpretation, and Harris acknowledged he has no written proof of the claim. But he told Spin Cycle, “It was one of those things that was so shocking that you remember where you were when they said it.” He recalled pulling over on Ingraham Street to take the call from city negotiator Tim Davis. “I asked how the city attorney justified not covering us under state law,” Harris said. “His response was that no one disputes that lifeguards are members of a fire department. But he said that California considers us administrative, and therefore we don’t qualify under state law.” Spin Cycle reached out to City Attorney Jan Goldsmith’s office for a response, but none was forthcoming. The irony for Harris is twofold. One, he’s well aware of the numerous photo ops the mayor and his Republican soldiers, like District 2 City Councilmember Lorie Zapf, have posed for with lifeguards, “standing with statues, dressing up like lifeguards, jumping off the Ocean Beach pier” with lifeguard trainees. These are easy, smile-for-the-camera moments that could be interpreted by an unknowing public to mean that certain politicians have lifeguards’ backs. Back in May of last year when the pols hit the beach to celebrate Toyota’s continued city partnership, Mayor Faulconer took a moment to observe: “San Diego’s lifeguards perform

“

State law says

that members of

a fire department

are covered under presumptive

“

coverage.

#SDCityBeat

Lifeguarding, imagined as a desk job. vital services to San Diego residents and visitors every day.” And it’s not all glamorous Baywatch shit. Sometimes it’s dealing with real shit, like during rescues in the polluted Tijuana River Valley. Or plucking some numbskull off a beach cliff (more than 60 of those so far this year, Harris said). Or wading into floodwaters harboring unknown pathogens and pollutants. No, friends, this job ain’t no slow-motion jog in the sand. Harris said a video produced for the city by lifeguards, as well as testimony about “the blood and gore and the exposure to chemicals and gas and fumes,” made the case for what lifeguards must endure. The five Democrats on the City Council, he said, are in complete agreement on the matter, but Harris noted that it takes six votes to tango, and none of the four Republicans on the council are budging. The second bit of irony, Harris said, comes from a decision he has yet to make: Whether to challenge Faulconer for mayor next year. For Faulconer’s devotees, if you’re not on Team Kevin, you might as well sign up for Team Satan. “What I can tell you is what I’ve told labor and the Democrats, which is I haven’t ruled it out,” Harris said of a possible run. “But I’m not any closer to making a decision than I was two months ago.” He joked that he’d love another appointment to the City Council, of which there is zero chance. But it goes to the bane of many a potential candidate: the noxious notion of campaign-money trolling. When he was appointed to serve out Faulconer’s remaining council term, “I didn’t have to make promises to people or collect the dirty money. I very much enjoyed my time on the council, but I didn’t have to go through the election portion.” Harris also is the father of two young children. Part of him knows that’s an important focus, as noted by Gretchen Newsom’s recent decision to cancel her mayoral

run because of an impending divorce and concern about her son. “When I got out of office, I took my 12 year old backpacking in Nicaragua,” Harris said, “and that’s what I really should be doing right now.” But it’s also easy to diagnose his affliction with the political bug. Family time “doesn’t scratch the itch that I have, unfortunately, that I wish I didn’t have to scratch,” he said. “And things are pretty messed up in the city. I just don’t know if they’re messed up enough for the general public to want to see a change.” He’s also smart enough to know Faulconer’s campaign coffers, already sizable, will only grow. “He has a war chest that could make an angel look like a devil, you know?” Harris added. “And I’m no angel.” Not one to hold his tongue, Harris also suggested that the presumptive leaders of the local Democratic Party—termedout state Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins and City Councilmember Todd Gloria, both of whom picked other state campaign battles over one with Faulconer— might be less than thrilled with Harris in the race. Some political oddsmakers believe these two might be eyeing a return to city politics in 2020 when Faulconer is termed out. “My guess is they’re more than happy to wait four years when they have a better shot at it rather than putting somebody in there that could tie up the job for eight years,” Harris said. But just like he’s pitched for war to get his lifeguards the health coverage they deserve, he does toss out this teaser for a 2016 mayoral scrum with Faulconer. “No need to ruin the holidays by making that decision now,” he laughed. “Maybe just get in for four months and kick him in the teeth!” Spin Cycle appears every week. Write to johnl@sdcitybeat.com.

December 16, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 7

Up Front | opinion

divided state of

america

chad peace

The two-party system leads to voter apathy

asier access to the voting booth, Voter ID and racebased voter discrimination are all very important issues. It’s highly unlikely, however, that you’ll hear incumbent politicians discussing root causes of the voter apathy sweeping the nation. These days voter turnout is at an all-time low, according to the United States Elections Project. In primary elections, for example, the national average is down to just 15.9 percent of registered voters. In general elections, the national average is just 36 percent. Put those percentages in terms of eligible voters (those who could register to vote if they wanted to) and the state of our participatory democracy becomes even more concerning. California hasn’t been im-

mune from the national trend. In 2014, we had record low primary and general election turnout numbers—just 25 percent and 42 percent of registered voters, respectively. On its surface, the fact that California’s primary election turnout is 157 percent higher than the national average, and that our general election turnout is 12 percent higher, should be a point of pride. But when we look inside the Golden State, these record low turnout numbers are a terrible testament to the state of our democracy. In this country, we have a constitutional democracy—a system of government that represents all eligible voters through the election of representatives. When our found-

ers wrote the Constitution, they never mentioned political parties. In Federalist Paper 68, for example, Alexander Hamilton wrote that the Electoral College should depend on, “[a] small number of persons, selected by their fellowcitizens from the general mass,” so that the election of the President not be made “to depend on any preexisting bodies of men, who might be tampered with beforehand to prostitute their votes; but they have referred it in the first instance to an immediate act of the people of America, to be exerted in the choice of persons for the temporary and sole purpose of making the appointment.” George Washington even spent a good portion of his farewell speech on the issue of political parties. “However combinations

or associations of [organized factions] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion,” he warned. But what do we have today? California, a blue state, will send electors to the Electoral College who have a personal and legal loyalty to the Democratic Party and ask them to vote for the next President. Texas, a red state, will do the same thing, but for a different team.

“

These record low turnout numbers are a terrible testament to the state of our democracy.

“

This is because we have a partisan-based election system. And so we allow a private Commission on Presidential Debates, composed of major party members, to determine the presidential debate rules. We allow our tax dollars all over the country to fund partisan primary elections that serve the private benefit of the major

8 · San Diego CityBeat · December 16, 2015

political parties. And as a result, we have political maps that are painted red and blue as if one of the two private political parties is entitled to ownership of the district. When you presuppose that every election is a battle between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party—and this “two-party system” is the best way to protect democracy—our system is working. The two major parties, after all, still hold almost every single statewide and federal elected seat in this country. At the end of the day, every policy decision is in their hands. But if you think that our representatives should be accountable to all voters then we should consider the partisan composition of the public. Independent voters are the fastest growing section of the electorate. In fact, by selfidentification, independent voters outnumber Republicans and Democrats by a wide margin. In San Diego, by registration, more voters are now registered as “no party preference” than are registered Republican. And the number of independent voters in California is actually growing slower that in other states across the country. In Colorado, for example, 67 percent of new voters are registering as “unaffiliated.” And in New Jersey, 47 percent of current registered voters refuse to join a party. Notably, both of these states hold “closed” primaries, so you can’t even vote unless you join a party. So, shouldn’t the fact that voters are taking the time to register to vote, but would rather skip a primary than join a party, tell us something about the state of our two-party system? Write to chadp@sdcitybeat.com. He is the managing editor of San Diego-based website Independent Voter Network (IVN.us).

#SDCityBeat

Up Front | Opinion

Sordid

Edwin Decker

Tales

The Deckers tackle Christmas Reform

eing single and childless has advantages but there is certainly a tradeoff. One of those times when it sucks to be a middle-aged man with no wife or kids is, of course, Christmas. Not just because of the constant reminder that this is a season for family, or the fact that all your favorite Christmas variety show hosts are dead or in diapers, but because of how we damn near go bankrupt buying gifts for all our married-with-children friends and family. You know how it goes. For every clan you need a present for Child A, a present for Child B, a present for Child C, a present for each of the parents and, depending on their level of Christmas insanity, a present for the family pet. Meanwhile, from them you receive a plastic trinket and greeting card with a picture of the lot of them (including the dog) wearing snowflake sweaters and a caption that reads, “Happy Holidays from the “WeBurnedYouButGood Family.” However this ain’t about that. This is about the family I do have—my father, mother, two siblings (and their respective families)—and a little concept we call Christmas Reform. See, the typical Decker Christmas takes place at my parents’ house in New York, where pretty much all the presents are stowed and, ultimately, opened. It is also where the stockings are hung and maintained by The Parents. The Christmas Reform theory arose around five years ago when we noticed the exorbitant amount of time, money and energy everyone was spending on gifts. Being that we all had a mutual, unspoken desire to wake up to as large of a pile of goodies beneath the tree as possible, the pile kept growing and growing until it became so unwieldy and massive, it was as if the tree itself had—after a seven-course feast prepared by Santa and his elves—deposited a glittering, Technicolor ordure for our pleasure and amazement. Still, try as we might, Christmas reform didn’t fly. Probably because we all still secretly felt—for all our desire to shun materialism—that the best part of Christmas is waking up to a shimmering load of Christmas tree booty. Unless you are one of these Give-Up-Your-Career-to-Dig-Irrigation-Ditchesin-Haiti types, I bet you feel the same. This year, The Mother took a new, reduced approach. In an email to the family she wrote, “Here is a little bit of Christmas Reform to consider: Each of us must buy two items for everyone’s stockings. It is time to share the surprises and joy! With love, The Mother.” Obviously this was a terrible idea. But due to the fact that as kids we were routinely beaten with items from the kitchen drawer, I was the only one who objected. “Dear Mother, despite that my siblings are too terrified to defy you lest they reawaken the wrath

of the wooden spoon, I must respectfully reject Christmas Stocking Reform. For one reason, it is clear that your idea of reform is to reduce the amount of effort expended by you while at the same time increasing ours. “Secondly, it is the law. According to the Department of Homeland Holiday Security, ‘Pursuant to Chapter 12, Section 505(p) of the Code of Christmas Conduct, it is the responsibility of all parental units to fill the stockings of their children regardless [and this is important] of the age, distance, or how much of an ungrateful bastard he or she continues to be.’ “Lastly, it is tradition. Just as your parents filled your stockings, and their parents filled theirs, you must continue to fill ours. Therefore I respectfully decline your request for Christmas Stocking Reform—wooden spoon be damned.” Her response was predictable. “Dear Son, You might have a point if you were a parent, but you aren’t, so it is time for you to pay it back!” “Dear Mommy Dearest: See, you are not considering the sacrifices one must make to not have children. Not having children means we never get to experience those soul-swelling moments of parenthood—like the first time you cradle the child in your arms, or when it finally calls you daddy, or, best of all, having someone to take care of us when we are old. Being childless means we are going to die miserable and alone whereas your kids and grandkids will lovingly surround you at the hospital bed waving incense and singing ‘Fire and Rain’ as they hold your hands and gently guide you toward the soft light.” Moreover, not having kids at Christmastime means we will never hear them squeal when The Grinch first appears on the screen, or watch them frolic on the jungle gym for which they’ve been begging, or see their faces alight as Dad prances around in a Santa suit. However, being childless at Christmas also means we won’t have to prance around in a Santa suit, we won’t have to assemble a jungle gym, and we won’t have to stuff any stockings with meaningless trinkets they will probably swallow, causing me to take them to the emergency room and spend the money I was saving for billiards table. Pay it back? Oh please. I have done the world a favor by not having children. Not only because somebody has to counteract all those baby-making factories out there—like the Duggars, the Gosselins and The Catholic Church—but because that’s three or four gifts my friends and family don’t have to buy my offspring at Christmastime. You’re welcome.

“

I have done the world a favor by not having children.

“

#SDCityBeat

Sordid Tales appears every other week. Write to edwin@sdcitybeat.com.

December 16, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 9

Up Front | Food

by michael a. gardiner Michael A. Gardiner

the world

fare

Lao cuisine hides in plain sight

didn’t think I knew Lao cuisine. I was wrong. I just thought it was Thai. Larb, som tom and many stir-fried noodle dishes may all be served in Thai restaurants but their origin is Lao. Through waves of migration, the epicenter of Lao cuisine moved south to Thailand (there are more ethnic Lao in Bangkok than Laos’ capital, Vientiane). This, combined with a governmentforced policy of Thaification, served to obscure the Lao roots of dishes we think of as Thai. A trip to Sang Deuan (3904 Convoy St., Suite 112) brings the Lao heritage of familiar “Thai” dishes back into focus. Take, for example, larb—a classic dish of minced meat, ground toasted rice, lime, chilies, scallions, lemongrass and herbs. Lao people refer to themselves as “descendants of sticky rice.” They use the ubiquitous sticky rice as a utensil to eat the larb. It’s tasty and fun. Michael A. Gardiner

Larb The key to larb is the balance of salty, sweet, spicy and bitter flavors. I love the dish at Thai restaurants, but there’s a key difference to the Lao version at Sang Deuan: padaek. It’s is a fermented fish sauce that is both stronger and funkier than its Thai counterpart. One whiff of the pungent stuff and you’d wonder why anyone would cook

10 · San Diego CityBeat · December 16, 2015

Khao poon num pla with it. But, used judiciously, it gives a dish a slight funk and ineffable depth. It was used judiciously here and was particularly evident in a chicken version. That was, similarly, the key to the spicy green papaya salad (som tom). Phad lao seems immediately familiar, a Lao take on something between the more familiar pad thai and pad see euw (versions of both appear on the Sang Deuan menu). One difference is the addition of a chopped omelet. But it’s the addition of dark soy sauce and the padaek that bring this dish to another, deeper level. Perhaps the most interesting dishes at Sang Deuan are the soups. Khao peak sen is a milky broth featuring house-made rice noodles and cubes of pork blood, highlighting the Lao enthusiasm for using every part of a creature. The dish read as a Lao version of pho with lightness and subtlety replacing the muscular depth of the Vietnamese soup. If khao peak sen is Lao pho, khao poon num pla is Lao laksa. While curries don’t feature in Lao cuisine as much as Thai, this spicy coconut curry fish soup with rice vermicelli is the exception. A long-simmered dish featuring kaffir lime, galangal, chicken and pork as well as the curry and fish broth, it is a deeply comforting dish. And that is part of the real mystery of Lao cuisine. Built on ingredients as unfamiliar and offputting as padaek, it somehow manages to feel a lot more comforting than you’d figure. The World Fare appears weekly. Write to michaelg@sdcitybeat.com.

#SDCityBeat

Up Front | Food

by ron donoho

urban

eats The Nolen warms up the night

ooftop bars are like urban tree houses. When I was a kid I used to go up into the branches of trees in the woods near my house and build little forts. Some were rudimentary—just old boards nailed to tree limbs. Others were a little more architecturally complex; one had a door, walls with windows and some smelly old remnant carpeting. When the W Hotel opened downtown San Diego’s first real rooftop bar (remember when the floor was sand-covered?) I was one of the first in line. They’re much more commonplace today, though I still enjoy going to the 22nd floor of the Gaslamp Marriott to enjoy a look down into Petco Park from the bar area at Altitude. And I got excited and immediately reported on Rustic Root when it opened the first rooftop eatery on Fifth Avenue. The latest—and most unexpectedly cool— rooftop hangout in the 92101 is The Nolen (456 Sixth Ave.). You wouldn’t normally look for a destination bar/eatery in a Courtyard by Marriott. But it’s worth the effort to find the hotel’s street-level dedicated entrance and take the elevator up to this 14th floor gem. I’ve made two visits—one when the hotel first opened and the rooftop was not quite finished, and again for an opening party. The 2,500square-foot space is like an upscale clubroom or den. There are dining tables and booths and fire pits and a fireplace. The design is by Bluemotif, which also did Kettner Exchange, Juniper & Ivy and Crack Shack. The place is named in honor of John Nolen, a landscape architect and San Diego urban planner from more than a century ago. Noteworthy: It’s warm up on this rooftop, even after the sun goes down in the winter. Atop

#SDCityBeat

Altitude it gets so shivery they give out blankets. Here at The Nolen the fire pits are warming, tall glass partitions all the way around the patio keep the wind out and there is some roofing (with resplendent circular lighting fixtures). The Nolen isn’t a place you’ll come to have a full meal. The kitchen has light fare that includes jerk chicken quesadillas, a truffled tuna melt, flatbreads, a kale Caesar salad and good ol’ tater tots. The craft cocktail menu is expected to be the big draw. Overseeing the bar is Robert Yumul, who, like Johnny Cash sang, has been everywhere, man (Brooklyn Girl, Urban Solace, The Lion’s Share, Bankers Hill Bar + Restaurant). The ron donoho

The Nolen Nolen will make use of small batch spirits from San Diego companies such as Ballast Point, Old Harbor Distilling Company and Malahat Sprits. I sampled a shaken and refreshing “Vintage” Bee’s Knees cocktail, with gin, lemon and honey. A smooth and sweet 1920s-era take on a gin drink. Quirky named cocktails are always fun, too. The Nolen severs a Wrong Island Iced Tea (with everything from the rail) and a Shirley Temple of Doom (loaded with mescal, tequila, absinthe, grenadine, lemon and soda). With or without one of these cocktails in hand, the city views here are captivating. You can see the Coronado Bridge and the Convention Center, and you can also look upon lower Sixth Avenue in a way that was unique to me—a guy who can’t stop climbing up stuff to find new horizons. Urban Eats appears every other week. Write to rond@sdcitybeat.com.

December 16, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 11

Up Front | Drink

the

by andrew dyer

beerdist Hoppy holiday IPAs

n Black Friday Goose Island released Bourbon County Brand Stout, an anticipated annual ritual from the AB/Inbevowned brewery. Accompanied by relentless marketing, the beer is so “rare” that almost immediately a flood of nearly identical photos from innumerable attention-starved beer geeks began clogging social media. After all, what good is overpaying for one of the most over-hyped beers of the year if you do not have your purchase validated by strangers online? While San Diego also produces some great barrelaged stouts, the city made its name in craft with copious helpings of hops, and this month has seen a deluge of special release IPAs. Despite El Niño threatening to dampen December any day now, conditions have been ideal for sipping on the sunny flavors of these hoppy holiday brews. Green Flash Jolly Folly IPA. This “hoppy accident” came about due to an operator error with equipment installed to produce Alpine Pure Hoppiness. Jolly Folly is hop-forward, with more bitter, piney flavors than Green Flash’s more established brews. This beer is a gift to hop heads this holiday season, and hopefully a sign of things to come from Green Flash. Modern Times Mega Fortunate Islands. Modern Times kicked off 2015 with a plan to feature different special-release bombers every month. Some have been better received than others, but this month’s release is not to be taken lightly. Forget about Modern Times’ production version of Fortunate Islands. This double IPA is nothing like the sessionable, hoppy wheat that inspired it. Instead, it is an aggressive hop bomb, and a bit of a departure from what I have come to

12 · San Diego CityBeat · December 16, 2015

expect from Modern Times IPAs. A great way to close out what has been a banner second year for the Lomaland brewery. Alesmith Double Red IPA. A San Diego holiday tradition, the beer formerly known as Yulesmith returns and is as robust and hoppy as ever. With shelf space becoming more crowded, Alesmith re-branded its winter seasonal to eliminate any doubt regarding what bubbles under the cap. Stone/Sierra Nevada andrew dyer NXS IPA. Another double IPA, NXS is the result of collaboration between two California craft pioneers, and belongs at the top of any beer geek’s wish list. The beer was partially aged in gin-infused whisky barrels and rye bourbon barrels, and then blended with a freshly brewed batch of the same recipe. The unique brew is a perfect representation of the innovation both collaborators built their reputations on. Stone Xocoveza. A wild card rounds out this list, Holiday IPAs though it is not an IPA nor is it particularly hoppy. This Mexican-chocolate-and-spice stout’s highly anticipated return is the result of customer demand, and will sell out fast, so stock up. Any holiday beer list neglecting it should be dismissed out-of-hand. The holidays are associated with dark, roasty stouts and porters, be they locally brewed or well-marketed macros. There are enough out this season that no thirst for them will go unquenched. But with so many tasty hop bombs hitting shelves, it is also a great time to indulge in some of the best releases of the year from some of the best breweries in town. The Beerdist appears every other week. Write to andrewd@sdcitybeat.com

#SDCityBeat

Up Front | places

hidden

by jessica johnson

san diego jessica johnson

Candy Cane Lane

Lights, Camera, Lights

animated displays, music and candy cane giveaways. ots of people go all out with their lights and Through Jan. 1, dusk to 10 p.m. decorations for Christmas. They put them up, in part, so you can go see ‘em. Here’s a listing of Jingle Bell Hill (El Cajon): Solomon Avenue and Pageen Place. Jingle Bell Hill attracts thousands of visithe highlights from all over the area: tors each year. Through Jan. 1, 6 to 9 p.m. weekdays, Christmas Card Lane (Rancho Peñasquitos): Ovie- 6 to 10 p.m. weekends do Street, just off of Black Mountain Road. Over the years, Christmas Card Lane has grown to include Christmas Circle (Chula Vista): Whitney and Mankato street. A scaled-down version of the grand “Candy some 200 families. Through Dec. 31, dusk-10 p.m. Cane Lane” of past years. Through Dec. 26, 5 to 10 pm. Candy Cane Lane (Poway): Hickory Court, Hickory Street, off Twin Peaks Road and Silverset Street. Also Clairemont Christmas Park (Clairemont): Lana includes Butterwood Court and Rockrose Court. The Dr. and Jamar, off Mt. Abernathy Avenue. More than entire cul-de-sac is lit up. Through Dec. 24, 6 to 9 p.m. 40 homes decorated on this circular street. Through Dec. 27. Starlight Circle (Santee): Take Tomel Court off of North Magnolia Avenue to West Glendon Circle. Tinsel Town (Lakeside): 10248 Paseo Palmas Dr. 20Bright lights, colorful displays, Nativity scenes and plus houses included. Through Dec. 25, 5:30 to 9 p.m. Santa’s reindeer are just part of the elaborate decora- Fairway Village (Carmel Mountain Ranch): West tions. Through Dec. 26, 6 to 10 p.m. side of Stoney Gate Place. More than 80 homes decorated. Through Jan.1, 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Holiday Hill (La Mesa): 8065 Stadler St. Several

homes on Stadler participate in the annual Holiday Garrison Street Lights (Point Loma): Wildwood Hill display featuring lights, decorations, icicles, Lane. Through Dec. 31, 5 to 10 p.m.

#SDCityBeat

December 16, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 13

EVENTS

SHORTlist

ART

the

THREE YOU HAVE TO SEE

COORDINATED BY

SETH COMBS

SOLANA BEACH

1 SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED

Singer-songwriter Alex Woodard says a well (there have been three since 2012). Woodard few years ago his life had become “like characterizes them as a way to “give something a bad country song.” His dog had died and he’d lost back to the people who sent me these letters.” The recently released third collection is called his record deal, but luckily for Woodard, inspiration returned in the form of a letter written to him For the Sender: Love Letters from Vietnam and from a fan. Actually, the letter wasn’t to Woodard, centers on the real life story of Air Force mechanic TERESA FAE NENA ANDERSON Sgt. John K. Fuller and but rather to the womthe letters he sent to his an’s boyfriend who had wife from the Vietnam died a few years before. War. Fuller’s daughter She had been writing letdiscovered these letters ters to the boyfriend in after her father’s death order to cope and would and began penning her leave them in places or, own letters. in this case, send them to “They are stories that someone else. show that there can be Woodard ended up something other than showing the letter to his disorder after a trauma,” friend Sean Watkins, the Alex Woodard and Woodard says. “It took guitarist in Nickel Creek. For the Sender: Love Letters from Vietnam me a while to realize it, The two ended up writing a song about it called “For the Sender” and but that’s what this project is all about: The beauwere soon collaborating on more letter-themed tiful things people create in order to deal with songs with musicians like Sara Watkins (Sean’s loss.” Woodard and the aforementioned musicians sister and bandmate), Jon Foreman of Switchfoot, Jordan Pundik of New Found Glory and veteran will all be performing at the For the Sender holiday concert at the Belly Up Tavern (143 S. Cedros Ave.) singer-songwriter Jack Tempchin. Thus, the For the Sender Holiday Show was on Sunday, Dec. 20, at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $18 born. Well, not just the show, but the For the Send- and benefit Team Red, White & Blue’s surf camps er series of albums and accompanying books as for military veterans. forthesender.com LINCOLN PARK

VOICES CARRY

At the risk of sounding like a scrooge, the holiday song bombardment is starting to get to us. We need some real spirit; not the same generic jams over and over ad nauseam. Luckily, the Soweto Gospel Choir will be in town for two performances at the Jacobs Center’s Celebration Hall (404 Euclid Ave.) on Sunday, Dec. 20, at 4 and 7:30 p.m. The acclaimed chorus features dozens of distinct voices and is known for its angelic mix of African gospel, spirituals, pop and reggae. Yes, they’ll even perform some Christmas songs. And just as the choir might inspire concertgoers to spread a little joy on the way home, a portion of the ticket prices will go toward supporting the arts in Southeastern San Diego’s Diamond neighborhoods. Tickets start at $25. jacobspresents.com COURTESY OF SOWETO GOSPEL CHOIR

Soweto Gospel Choir

14 · San Diego CityBeat · December 16, 2015

NORTH PARK

MOONSHINE ON

The days of Prohibition may be long gone, but the value of booze around the holidays sure isn’t. That’s why the third annual Sacha’s Supper Club Christmas Speakeasy is such a welcome relief from the holiday grind. Held in the Mississippi Ballroom of the Lafayette Hotel (2223 El Cajon Blvd.) on Thursday, Dec. 17, the night features Grammy-nominated jazz singer Sacha Boutros performing alongside the Moonshine Men Orchestra. Other live acts include Rebecca Jade and Whitney Shay, while the Hang 10 Hoppers cut a rug on the original 1946 dance floor. Standing room and table prices vary from $20 to $45 and a three-course meal by Lafayette Chef Ryan Gilbert can be pre-ordered for $50. Excluding ticket price, a $20 food and beverage minimum is required per person. Doors open at 6 p.m. simplysacha. com Sacha Boutros

Free Third Thursday at Museum of Contemporary Art-La Jolla, 700 Prospect St., La Jolla. Visitors receive free admission to both Museum locations, plus free themed Gallery Guide-led tours beginning at 5:30 p.m. From 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17. Free. 858-454-3541, mcasd.org/ events/free-third-thursday-35 Pages: Artist’s Books | Publications | Related Works at jdc Fine Art, 2400 Kettner Blvd. Suite 208, Little Italy. A group show that features artists’ books and publications alongside a selection of photographic prints they contain. Artists include Jennifer Greenburg, Guillermo SrodekHart, Paul Turounet and Ian van Coller. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17. Free. 619-985-2322, jdcfineart.com HPANCA and Celeste Byers Murals Unveiling at Little Dame Shop, 2942 Adams Avenue, University Heights. The two local artists will unveil new murals at the Normal Heights boutique. Includes performances from Natasha Kozaily and JM Noble. From 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17. Free. 925-457-1020, littledameshop.com Crazy Christmas Sweater Party at Artbeat on Mainstreet, 330 Main St., Vista. This artist reception, holiday party and fundraiser for Ubiquitous Arts features live music, a Christmas sweater contest, and the opening of a life drawing and painting exhibition. From 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19. $2 suggested donation. 760-295-3118, https://facebook.com/ events/545697282253813 Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle: Juggernaut at MCASD - Downtown, 1001 Kettner Blvd., Downtown. The new video installation was filmed in El Vizcano Biosphere Reserve in Baja California and focuses on the industrial influence on a protected area in Mexico best known as the mating site for gray whales. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19. Free-$10. 858454-3541, mcasd.org HDeck the Walls at Basic, 410 10th Ave., Downtown. Thumbprint Gallery presents its annual art show featuring the work of local artists on skateboard decks. Artists include Jorge Gutierrez, Pamela Sanchez, Carrie Anne Hudson and more. From 7 p.m. to midnight. Tuesday, Dec. 22. 619-531-8869, ww.facebook.com/ ThumbprintGallery

BOOKS James Rollins at Mysterious Galaxy Book Store, 5943 Balboa Ave., Ste. 100, Clairemont. The adventure-thriller author will sign and discuss the latest Sigma Force novel, The Bone Labyrinth. At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 16. Free. 858268-4747, mystgalaxy.com Rob Greenfield at Ocean Beach Green Center, 4843 B Voltaire Street, Ocean Beach. The local adventurer and environmental activist will be presenting and signing his new book, Dude Making a Difference: Bamboo Bikes, Dumpster Dives and Other Extreme Adventures Across America. At 11 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 20. Free. 619-225-1083, greenstore1.weebly.com

COMEDY Dinner Detective Interactive Murder Mystery Show at Courtyard by Marriott, 530 Broadway, Downtown. Solve a comedic murder case while you feast on a fourcourse plated dinner, but beware, because the killer is hiding somewhere in the room and you may find yourself as a prime suspect. From 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19. $59.95-$64.95. thedinnerdetective.com HWally Bunting’s Christmas Show at

H = CityBeat picks

American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., Downtown. Bunting performs along with local comics Dallas McLaughlin, Ryan Hicks, Dr. AJ Knox, Nick Crosby, and and more to benefit ARTS: A Reason To Survive’s after school arts program for youths at risk. From 8 to 9:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20. $10. 619795-3858, americancomedyco.com

DANCE The Nutcracker at Spreckels Theater, 121 Broadway, Downtown. City Ballet of San Diego’s award winning production of Tchaikovsky’s classic accompanied by the City Ballet Orchestra and Chorus. At 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18, Saturday, Dec. 19, Monday, Dec. 21, Tuesday, Dec. 22, Wednesday, Dec. 23, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20. Friday, Dec. 18. $29-$79. 619-235-9500, cityballet.org HThe Engagement Ring: Into The Fox Den at Malashock Dance Studio, 2650 Truxton Rd. Suite 202, Point Loma. The Engagement Ring is a series of innovative, fun and accessible dance events that encourage attendees to participate, contribute and engage with the art of dance. From 7 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19. $10$15. malashockdance.org The Nutcracker at David H. Thompson Performing Arts Center, 1 Maverick Way, Carlsbad. The Encinitas Ballet Academy performs the holiday classic directed and choreographed by Artistic Directors Sayat Asatryan and Olga Tchekachova. At 2 and 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19. $20-$25. 760436-6136, encinitasballet.com

HOLIDAY EVENTS An American Christmas at U.S. Grant Hotel, 326 Broadway, Downtown. Lamb’s Players Theatre’s annual holiday production features music, dance, story, and song, all woven throughout a four-course holiday meal. At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17 through Saturday, Dec. 26. $112-$168. 619-232-3121, lambsplayers.org An Evening of Readings & Carols at St. Andrews by the Sea, 1050 Thomas Ave., Pacific Beach. The San Diego Pro Arte Voices presents their annual December concert, modeled after the famous Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols service at King’s College Cambridge every Christmas Eve since 1918. At 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18 and Saturday, Dec. 19. $5-$20 suggested donation. sdproartevoices.com Irish Christmas In America at Sweetwater High School, 2900 Highland Ave., National City. This family-friendly performance features evocatively-sung Irish seasonal ballads, lively instrumental tunes and Irish dancing. At 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18. $18-$33. amsdconcerts.com Holiday Craft Fair at Ocean Beach Green Center, 4843 B Voltaire Street, Shop local crafters and artists while enjoying a bake sale fundraiser, hot apple cider and baked goods and live music. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20. Free. 619-225-1083, greenstore1. weebly.com HSan Diego Bay Parade of Lights at San Diego Bay, Downtown. The 44th annual event held on San Diego Bay features boats of all types and sizes decorated in Christmas themes and parading around the bay. From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20. Free. sdparadeoflights.org

MUSIC HSacha’s Supper Club Speakeasy Christmas at Lafayette Hotel, 2223 El Cajon Blvd., North Park. The third annual

#SDCityBeat

EVENTS ‘20s-inspired Prohibition party features performances from the Moonshine Men Orchestra, Rebecca Jade, Whitney Shay, and more. Seating and dinner options available. At 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17. $20-$45. 619-296-2101, simplysacha.com

performs and connects works by Misha Mengelberg, György Sándor Ligeti, Knut Heddi, Herbie Nichols and herself via improvisation. Part of the Fresh Sound Concert Series. At 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17. $10-$15. freshsoundmusic.com

HHoliday Pops: Cirque Musica at Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St., Downtown. Cirque Musica performs familiar classical and Christmas tunes accompanied by feats of strength, balance, daring and sheer beauty. Also includes performances from the San Diego Master Chorale and Children?s Choir. At 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19, and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20. $20-$80. 619-235-0804, sandiegosymphony.org

HFor The Sender Holiday Show at Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. Alex Woodard’s book and album release for For The Sender: Love Letters from Vietnam features performances from Jon Foreman (Switchfoot), Jordan Pundik (New Found Glory), Jack Tempchin and more. Benefits the veteran charity Team Red, White and Blue. At 8 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20. $18-$20. 858481-8140, forthesender.com

HHoliDAZE Concert at Star Theatre, 402 N Coast Hwy., Oceanside. Day Old Johnson, Bushwalla and more play this festive concert benefiting the Feeding the Soul Foundation’s charitable giving. At 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20. $45-$150. 760721-9983, feedingthesoulfoundation.org

HSoweto Gospel Choir at Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation, 404 Euclid Ave., Lincoln Park. The acclaimed 20-strong African gospel choir will perform traditional hymns and lively contemporary pop. At 4 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20. $25-$50. 619-527-6161, jacobspresents.com

HThe Dave Koz and Friends Christmas at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., Downtown. The Grammy nominated sax man and special guests perform jazzy takes on holiday classics, along with some of their own most popular songs. At 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 23. $32.50-$105. 619570-1100, sandiegotheatres.org HThe Blind Boys of Alabama Christmas Show at Sherwood Auditorium, 700 Prospect St, La Jolla. Recognized worldwide as living legends of the gospel genre, the Blind Boys will perform gospel music with an emphasis on the holiday season. At 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19. $30-$80. 858-454-3541, ljms.org HMary Oliver at San Diego Art Institute, 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park. The violin, viola, and hardanger fiddle player

#SDCityBeat

Bob Boss Quartet at North Coast Repertory Theatre, 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Solana Beach. The jazz guitarist has performed with jazz greats both nationally and internationally, including Marshall Hawkins, Hollis Gentry, AJ Croce and Arlo Guthrie. At 7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 21. $17-$22. 858-481-1055, northcoastrep.org HPoinsettia Bowl Gaslamp March at Gaslamp Quarter, Downtown. Marching bands and spirit squads from the participating universities (Boise State and Northern Illinois) will parade from each end of 5th Ave. performing holiday classics, and meeting up at Market Street for a Battle of the Bands. At 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 21. Free. 619-233-5227, sandiegobowlgames.com

OUTDOORS Whale Watching Adventures at Harbor Excursion, 1050 N. Harbor Drive, Downtown. Join Scripps naturalists for the 14th season of whale watching. Also search for seals, sea lions, dolphins, migrating birds, and more. Naturalists will showcase gray whale biofacts and will answer all of your marine animal questions. At 9:45 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19 through Sunday, April 17. $20-$45. 619-234-4111, aquarium.ucsd.edu

PERFORMANCE Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin at La Jolla Playhouse, 2910 La Jolla Village Drive, La Jolla. Felder plays the role of America’s most iconic composer in a story spanning one hundred years and featuring America’s greatest songs, from “God Bless America,” “White Christmas,” “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” and many more. Opens Wednesday, Dec. 16 and plays at various times through Sunday, Jan. 3. Wednesday, Dec. 16. $75-$85. 858550-1010, lajollaplayhouse.org A Hole in Your Stocking 2 at Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater, 2130 Pan American Road, Balboa Park. This holiday-themed Adult Puppet Cabaret performance includes free puppet making, audience participation, heckling, cheering and even dancing. From 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18. $10-$15. 619-544-9203, adultpuppetcabaret.com An American Christmas at U.S. Grant Hotel, 326 Broadway, Downtown. Lamb’s Players Theatre’s annual holiday production features music, dance, story and song, all woven throughout a four-course holiday meal. At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec.

17 through Saturday, Dec. 26. Thursday, Dec. 17. $112-$168. 619-232-3121, lambsplayers.org Mistletoe, Music and Mayhem at Point Loma Actors Theatre, 3035 Talbot St., Point Loma. A fast-paced musical sketch comedy that skewers the crazy side of the holidays. Includes live music, harmonies and theatrics. At 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17, Friday, Dec. 18, Saturday, Dec. 19, and 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20. $18-$22. 619-225-0044, pointlomaplayhouse.com

POETRY & SPOKEN WORD HVAMP: Seasonal Affective Disorder at Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St, South Park. So Say We All’s monthly live storytelling show will feature local writers sharing tales about the less-than-festive side of the holiday season. At 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17. $5 suggested donation. 619-284-6784, sosayweallonline.com Long Story Short: Holidays Schmolidays at The Ink Spot, 2730 Historic Decatur Rd., Barracks 16, Suite 202, So Say We All’s monthly improv storytelling night features five minute stories about what people really think of the holiday season. From 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19. Free. 619-696-0363, sosayweallonline.com

SPECIAL EVENTS Holiday BINGO at The Pearl Hotel, 1410 Rosecrans St., Point Loma. Come on in, grab a drink and get ready to play some good ol’ fashion BINGO. RSVP to rsvp@ thepearlsd.com At 9 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17. Free. thepearlsd.com

The BLVD Market at Boulevard Arts District, 4326 Alabama St, North Park. The monthly event highlights the enclave of shops, services and eateries on El Cajon Blvd., between Utah and 28th streets. Participating businesses include Garden Grill, Flavors of East Africa and more. From 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18. Free. 925-586-0990, theboulevard.org

SPORTS HSan Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium, 9449 Friars Road, Mission Valley. The Northern Illinois Huskies will play the Boise State Broncos in the 11th annual bowl game. At 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 23. $20-$80. poinsettiabowl.com

TALKS & DISCUSSIONS Passion and Color: Portraits by El Greco, Goya and Bonnard at The Old Globe, 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park. Art historian John Paul Thornton discusses the three masters of Western art and how they employed color to convey messages of spirituality, power and modernity. Part of SDMA’s Friday Morning Lecture & Tour Series. At 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 18. $8-$16. 619-231-1941, sdmart.org

WORKSHOPS Shibori Workshop at Lux Art Institute, 1550 S. El Camino Real, Encinitas. Create your own beautiful, indigo dyed fabric. Make a beautiful, one-of-a-kind scarf and share it with someone you love. From 9 a.m. to noon. Saturday, Dec. 19. $65.

December 16, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 15

SHAUN HAGEN

THEATER There’s no place like theater for the holidays

ment by Tom Abruzzo, are clever, snarky and in one excusably sentimental case, even quite touching. A five-person ensemble performs Mistletoe, Music & Mayhem, which flits back and forth between holiday spoof and holiday tribute. The irresistible Bethany Hamrick shines brightest among them, but BJ Lawrence makes a jolly Santa and Jarrod Weintraub stands out in one off-the-wall number as a crouton. That’s not a misprint. Don’t arrive late, because the opening Christmasaround-the-world number is a treat. Point Loma Playhouse will be back in February with its production of Annie Baker’s Circle Mirror Transformation. Mistletoe, Music & Mayhem runs through Dec. 20 at the Point Loma Playhouse. $20-$22. pointlomaplayhouse.com

ne takeaway from New Village Arts’ production of Walton Jones’ The 1940s Radio Hour; once you hear radio ensemble player Ginger Brooks’ (Marlene Montes) orgasmic commercial, you’ll never think of Eskimo Pies in the same way again. Actually, the between-show commercials are the choice bits in NVA’s 90-minute representation of a New York City radio station’s holiday show, “recorded” in front of a studio audience, during the WWII era. A game cast sings and dances to a lot of period standards, and yes, there are the inevitable Christmas numbers, too. A prebroadcast segment that sort of introduces the characters —David L. Coddon seems pointless. The show-within-a-show itself, with the very funny Daren Scott as the harried emcee, would be Theater reviews run weekly. enough on its own. Besides Scott and the aforementioned Write to davidc@sdcitybeat.com. Montes, The 1940s Radio Hour benefits from the crooning and hoofing of Zackary Scot Wolfe and an impossiOPENING: bly perky Danielle Levas. The always entertaining Tony La Pastorela de Plata: Teatro Máscara Mágica’s take on the biblical Houck, on piano, is a jaunty one-man band. story of the shepherds’ journey to Bethlehem. Presented in partnership The 1940s Radio Hour runs through Dec. 31 at New with San Diego Black Ensemble Theatre, it plays through Dec. 20 at the Village Arts Theatre in Carlsbad. $25-$47. newvil- Lyceum Theatre in the Gaslamp. teatromascaramagica.org lagearts.org Mr. Scrooge & Mr. Dickens: The North County Players’ annual holi*** day production is a faithful adaptation of A Christmas Carol, but with the he music portion of Point Loma Playhouse’s Mis- character of Charles Dickens also reading selections from the work. It for five performances Dec. 17 at the San Marcos Civic Center. tletoe, Music & Mayhem is the highlight of this de- opens northcountyplayers.org but production from a brand-new company led by estimable local Matt Thompson. Thompson and another estimable local, Phil Johnson, wrote this mostly delightFor full theater listings, ful little holiday show, a rapid-fire combination of skits please visit “T heater ” and songs. Those songs, with music and lyrics by Johnat sdcitybeat.com son and Rayme Sciaroni and onstage piano accompani-

Danielle Levas, Marlene Montes and Kelly Derouin in The 1940s Radio Hour

16 · San Diego CityBeat · December 16, 2015

#SDCityBeat

December 16, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 17

18 · San Diego CityBeat · December 16, 2015

#SDCityBeat

New Year’s Eve Guide 2016 A dozen ways to celebrate in San Diego

Feeney and Bryant Photography

There will be blowouts galore on Dec. 31 as San Diego bids farewell to the year that was 2015. No two people want to spend New Year’s Eve the same way, so we’ve panned for gold and mined a dozen ways you can celebrate. Check out opportunities to listen to good music, sit down to a hearty meal, freak out in a big way with thousands of revelers or chill in smaller venues— and maybe even camp out in the mountains. CONTRIBUTORS:

Seth Combs, Ron Donoho, Michael Gardiner and Jeff Terich

DINNERS

Bellamy’s Restaurant (417 W. Grand Ave.) in Escondido is one of our region’s below-the-radar gems. Helmed by Chef Patrick Ponsaty—who trained at Restaurante Martín Berasategui in San Sebastian (the world’s greatest little food city) and is one of San Diego’s two Master French Chefs—Bellamy’s will greet the New Year with Gallic flair and two seatings. There’s an eight-course tasting menu at 5 p.m. featuring smoked wild salmon, foie gras torchon, coquille Saint Jacques, filet mignon and truffle puree, cheese, chocolate and blood orange macarons. A 7:15 p.m. seat-

#SDCityBeat

ing will add a course: butter-roasted dover sole. bellamysdining.com —H— But not everyone’s New Year’s Eve dining desires are focused on the food foremost. Indeed, for many atmosphere is more important. Coasterra (880 Harbor Island Drive) on Harbor Island might be the answer. It is hard to argue there is a better view than that of Coasterra with its full-frontal view on downtown San Diego’s skyline. For New Year’s, the Cohn Restaurant Group’s highest profile chef, Deborah Scott, is offering a three-course tasting menu built around a fresh-shucked white corn soup with roasted poblano crema and crispy leeks or a beef

The Wellington short rib, lobster-risotto cake topped with Oaxaca mole and grilled asparagus. The real highlight may be the glass of bubbly and front-row seat for San Diego’s various New Year’s firework shows. dinecrg.com —H— Perhaps, though, the best bet is to go Old School: The Wellington (729 W. Washinton St.). It is, every inch, a steak-and-martini lounge. You can almost imagine still smelling the Rat Pack’s cigars even if they were

never actually there and even if there is, in reality, not a whiff of cigar smoke. But the food—from the Red Door team—is top level. The Wellington’s three-course tasting menu plus a smoked duck prosciutto amuse bouche features Asian bay scallops, Beef Wellington (or a Catalina Offshore fresh fish version thereof or duck breast), and dessert. thewellingtonsd.com

nye 2016 CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

December 16, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 19

20 · San Diego CityBeat · December 16, 2015

#SDCityBeat

December 16, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 21

new year’s eve guide 2016 nye 2016 CONTINUED from PAGE 19

MUSIC SHOWS

Any good New Year’s Eve party better have some ’90s R&B on the playlist. But why not take that idea to the logical extreme—a New Year’s Eve exclusively comprising the soulful sounds of the ’90s. NYE on the Bay at Port Pavilion (1000 N. Harbor Drive) features a lineup of New Jack Swing and R&B superstars, including Tony Toni Toné, SWV and Dru Hill, plus local outfit Funk’s Most Wanted, as well as DJs DRock and Legend. Be prepared to dance until the ball drops, but come hungry, as the show also features food trucks, in addition to a cigar lounge and free champagne toast. Doors open at 7 p.m. and tick-

ets start at $85. nyeonthebayuptownsd. splashthat.com —H— Sometimes the best way to say goodbye to one year and hello to another is to bask in the sounds of a group of rock legends. Los Lobos have been playing music since 1973, and over the course of those 42 years they’ve incorporated elements of Tex-Mex, roots rock, Latin folk, Americana, blues and other eclectic styles into the mix. Hear the full scope of it when they perform at Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach (143 S. Cedros Ave.). They’ll be joined by opener Hamish Anderson, and the whole thing kicks off at 8:30 p.m. Tickets begin at $78. bellyup.com —H— Everybody loves a reunion. At least the less cynical among us do, and it’s even better energy and fury that made them so exciting when a band is able to reconnect with the in the first place. The Sess broke up seven years ago, but at the time they were one of the most exciting punk bands in San Diego. They’re playing their first show since that abrupt end in 2008, and it’s happening at Soda Bar in City Heights (3615 El Cajon Blvd.). Drug Wars, Keepers and Vyper Skwad open, and the incendiary, rock ‘n’ roll madness can be experienced for the low price of $15. Doors open at 8:30 p.m. sodabarmusic.com

REALLY BIG PARTIES Los Lobos

22 · San Diego CityBeat · December 16, 2015

Big Night San Diego is everything some of you may love to hate about over-thetop downtown celebrations. The event

jeff corrigan

New Year’s Eve at Hard Rock San Diego takes over the Hilton San Diego Bayfront (1 Park Blvd.) and offers no less than 10 party areas. Yes, you can carry your adult beverages (all drinks included in the ticket price) from one depraved scene to another. There will be five dance floors, party bands and DJs. Main Event tickets are $114.99; VIP tickets are $179.99 and get you into five private party rooms with upgraded foodstuffs and booze; Velvet Rope tix are $279.99 and allows for an extra hour (8 to 9 p.m.) of open bar and private entertainment, plus the better munchies and beverage brands. Stay off the roads: Room discounts ($230) at the Hilton are available. bignightsandiego.com

NYE 2016 CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

#SDCityBeat

December 16, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 23

new year’s eve guide 2016 NYE 2016 CONTINUED from PAGE 22 —H— The nightlife gurus at RMD Group are powering up New Year’s Eve at Hard Rock San Diego (207 Fifth Ave.) in the Gaslamp Quarter. The party is so big it can barely be contained on three floors, with five venues (including the rooftop Float and ground-floor 207), multitudinous bars and 20 DJs. Those spinners include Filipino-Dutch DJ/ producer Laidback Luke and Seattle rising star Diamond Pistols. There’ll also be a live performance by rapper E-40. General admission tickets are $100, plus service fee. The overnight package goes for $489 and includes the hotel room, two party tickets and a delivered bottle of bubbly. rmdnye16.com —H— Nope, holding just one shindig under one roof is not enough. The House of Blues Block Party (1055 Fifth Ave.) is three parties spread throughout 30,000 square feet of space, with 10 DJs on tap. This year, the landmark music hall has themed its event on vintage Hollywood, and will aim to channel that glamour and so-called style. Tickets are currently $30 but that bumps up to $35 on Dec. 24; $45 on Dec. 28. Be a big shot and reserve space for eight party people in the VIP balcony area for $300, plus the cost of one bottle of liquor; or be a bigger shot and reserve a VIP area in the Main Room, also for three Benjamins, but now you’re ponying up for two bottles. hobblockparty.com

smaller eventS

If you’re not in the mood for EDM and hip-hop, then the Noche Cubana event at 98 Bottles (2400 Kettner Blvd. #110) in Little Italy will feature live Latin jazz from the

24 · San Diego CityBeat · December 16, 2015

West Coast Mambo All-Stars, a band that includes the likes of Tommy Aros, Gabriel Garcia and trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos. Along with 98 Bottles’ extensive wine and beer selection, the night includes free champagne at midnight and party favors for all. There will also be a raffle and guests are encouraged to dress in their swankiest, Cuban-inspired threads. Tickets are $50 in advance and $60 at the door. 98bottlessd.com —H— Who needs a glass of cheap champagne when a pint of a limited edition Stone stout will do just fine? Beer lovers should be out en masse at Stone Brewing Co.’s New Year’s Eve at the brewery’s Liberty Station Bistro & Gardens location (2816 Historic Decatur Road) in Point Loma. The evening sports dance floors, live music and food stations with a wide variety of high-end bar grub (pork meatball sliders, honey Sriracha deviled eggs and more). The $99 ticket price also includes three free local craft beers (more than two dozen to choose from) and a midnight toast with a special, limited-release Stone beer at midnight. stonebrewing.com —H— If you’re looking for the exact opposite of a Gaslamp-style blowout, it doesn’t get any more different than Party With the Stars. The “Stars” in the title doesn’t refer to B-list celebrity DJs, but the literal stars you’ll see as you camp out at the Harrison Serenity Ranch on the western slope of Palomar Mountain east of Temecula. Hosted by the performance troupe Technomania Circus, the evening includes musical acts, a bar, bonfires, DJs and a killer view. Guests should bring requisite camping gear (it will be chilly) and breakfast is included. Tickets are $35 ($55 for bunkhouse camping) before Dec. 24 and $5 more after that. partywiththestars.weebly.com

Ryan Benoit / flickr

Gilbert Castellanos

#SDCityBeat

Culture | Art begin with,” says Quigley. “It’s important to point out that these things are found. For us, it’s all about bringing the outside in.” “A lot of people aren’t from San Diego so we have a lot of people who are excited because it reminds them of home,” Fan adds. The two met while at college and quickly found into the wild they had a shared love of the outdoors. A studyLeading up to the holidays, we’ll use this space to abroad trip to Antarctica was particularly inspiring profile local crafters whose wares we think would and the duo soon found themselves crafting items make excellent gifts. out of the things that they had collected during their travels: bones, tree bark pink el bon anielle Quigley and Sue and myriad eye-pleasing rocks Fan’s business plan for they’ve compiled from trips their handcrafted home back east to places such as New wares and jewelry company is Hampshire and Maryland. simple: “We pick up what we “We started to have all these like and then we see what we sticks and antlers piling up in can make out of it,” says Quigley, our homes,” says Quigley, who one half of the local duo behind says she and Fan soon started Wild Habit. taking their collections and Wild Habit’s designs (wildcrafting them into items to give habit.com) range from intricate to friends. chandeliers crafted from the Their work can be found in birch tree bark to jewelry made local boutiques such as Geogout of porcupine quills and raphie in North Park and The slices of antler. The pieces are Den in Carlsbad and Encinitas. painstakingly detailed, yet are The two work on their invensimple and accessible enough tory from a studio in Encinitas to appeal to just about anyone and pieces like the “Woodstock with an appreciation for the Chandelier” can take up to two great outdoors. Quigley admits weeks to construct. Even with that some of their stuff, like the their passion now being a proper sun-bleached deer skulls with business, Quigley confesses that Danielle Quigley and Sue Fan hand-carved designs whittled some things haven’t changed. into them, are “a little out there “My backyard is covered in birch bark from New for some people,” but says all of Wild Habit’s prodHampshire,” she says. “It’s weird to see it piling up ucts are found in nature and nothing, be it plant or out their with the cactuses and stuff.” animal, was harmed in the process of making them. “We think these things are already beautiful to —Seth Combs

Seen LocaL

Juan Pazos; Courtesy of New Americans Museum

to see or not to see In this semi-regular department, arts editor Seth Combs reviews a notable new art show or exhibition.

n a way, the work of Shinpei Takeda has always come back to the theme of “home,” even if the artist finds it much more convenient to bounce around as a self-described “post Americanized, culturally displaced border dweller.” While he’s originally from Osaka, Japan, he studied at Duke University, proved his chops in New York City and now splits time between Tijuana and Germany. He’s had photographic and site-specific installations throughout the U.S. and Japan and, more locally, co-founded the AjA Project, a nonprofit dedicated to teaching photography to refugee children. Who’s to say if he’ll stick around Tijuana for long, but after seeing Inscription: A Monumental Installation (at the New Americans Museum in Point Loma through Jan. 29), I certainly hope he stays forever. The result of a yearlong artist residency at NAM, the main piece of Inscription consists of a 50-foot installation that uses backlights to illuminate a massive, meticulously constructed thread piece. Throughout the horizontal threads, colored threads snake vertically through the piece like fibrous veins. It all looks very abstract when one attempts to take it all in, but there’s a method to Takeda’s madness. Each vertical thread represents a poem, from 113 different people writing about the concept of “arrival.” Takeda then took the poems and, using an alphabetical coding system, made a linear representation of that poem using thread. That is, each vertical line represents a

#SDCityBeat

Inscription: A Monumental Installation poem. A neighboring room houses an equally large installation of all of the written poems as well as a documentary-style video of the year-long process. The New Americans Museum isn’t on a lot of people’s radar, but immigration and refugees are hotbutton issues at the moment, and that can only serve to bring attention to this, well, monumental work. However, anyone who gets bogged down in the political minutiae of the moment will ultimately miss Inscription’s larger message. Through this piece, Takeda has attempted and succeeded in finding the threads that bind us together as a people; that the concepts of home and belonging and safety aren’t all that different across racial, religious and ethnic lines. That might not be a topical or popular sound bite for political aspirers, but it’s a concept worth dwelling on for a while.

—Seth Combs December 16, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 25

Culture | Voices

There she

alex zaragoza

Goz

Top 10 Ways I’ve Been Disappointed in 2015

n a classic episode titled “The Strike” on the seminal sitcom Seinfeld, which aired from July 1989 to May of 1998 (Thanks, Internet!) on NBC, a holiday known as “Festivus” became part of popular culture. As you ought to know, along with an aluminum pole replacing Christmas trees and a wrestling match called the Feats of Strength, a practice that’s part of the Festivus celebration is the “Airing of Grievances.” For this special tradition, individuals inform the gathered of how they’ve disappointed them this year. The end of any year always comes with a mega onslaught of Best, Worst, Most Memorable, Best Goats, etc., listicles. I’ve decided to marry the tradition of listicles and the airing of grievances into one, because there’s been about 500,000 things that grinded my gears in 2015 and as Frank says in that amazing episode, “I got a lot of problems with you people, and now you’re gonna hear about it!” Here’s my Top 10 list of Things That Have Disappointed Me in 2015: 10. Concert phone videographers. Seriously, you’re going to Blair Witch Project-style record this entire concert on your phone? The blood is rushing out of your arm but you just have to catch this entire set and block my view. You’re not going to watch that later. You know you aren’t. 9. Hoverboards. Why is walking not cool anymore? 8. Dudes. Because of the patriarchy, you’re all at least diet terrible in some way. Yes, all of you. Some more than others and some of you deserve your own category (see below). Some of you aren’t all the way the worst. That’s why I continue letting you take me on dates, though believe me when I say that won’t detract me from calling you out on your bullshit. 7. White dudes. Seriously, white dudes, why are you the worst? Stop mansplaining my own experiences as a woman to me. Stop calling me a “spicy Latina.” I’m not a carrot you get with your California burrito. Stop making more money than me for the same amount of work, and not raising your voice in opposition to that inequity. Stop thinking you deserve any ownership of my body. Stop making excuses for your shitty friends being shitty humans and challenge them to be better people. Stop being so entitled. Stop requesting Red Hot Chili Peppers and Sublime on the radio. Stop trying to downplay your white dude privilege. You are privileged and you should be fighting it. And all the shitty comments you’re likely going to leave online about this column further proves why you are on this list.

6. Racists. You’re everywhere. Especially on the Internet, where you feel safe and brave to be garbage humans. You don’t want to help refugees. You attack Muslims (more on that later). You don’t think black lives matter. I have no idea how to change you, and maybe you can’t be changed. But I hope one day you grow a heart and learn about compassion and tolerance, or at the very least ask why your views are offensive and truly listen. 5. Donald Trump. Saying I’m disappointed in him implies I had any hope in this shitdick at any point. Still, can we tie him and his hateful, offensive rhetoric to a rock and send him into the ocean? 4. Police brutality. This is unacceptable. The police shouldn’t be people we fear. They shouldn’t get a free pass for their actions just because they have a badge. Serious institutional changes need to happen to ensure that police officers know not to fucking shoot all the black people and abuse their power over and over again. 3. Attacks on reproductive rights and Planned Parenthood. You cannot and should not tell me or any other woman what they can do with their body. My life and how I live it is my choice. Don’t bring God into this, you ignorant assholes. This is a matter of basic human rights, and you’re trying to take mine away. Attacking a health organization that helps mostly women with their all-around health as well as reproductive health is attacking women as a whole. You should be ashamed. 2. Terrorism. This has been a pretty horrific year in terrorism all over the world, and it seems that America has gotten a much bigger taste of it in the last couple of years—with the Charleston church shooting, San Bernadino shooting, Planned Parenthood shooting and 350 other mass shootings that occurred in the U.S this year. What’s even more aggravating/enraging is people still, after all those deaths and more surely to come, refusing to bring about gun control in this country. There are not enough lifeless bodies of innocent men, women and children to make these gun nuts listen to reason. What’s it gonna take, guys? 1.Islamophobes. Attacking Muslim people because a small radical sector of Muslims uses their religion to inflict terror is not okay. Guess which other religion regularly and historically has used their God to inflict terror on others? Christianity! Throwing coffee at praying Muslims makes you a waste of human space. Leaving a pig’s head at a mosque makes you a terrorist. There She Goz appears every third week. Write to alexz@sdcitybeat.com.

“

I got a lot of

problems with you people, and now

you’re gonna hear

“

about it!

26 · San Diego CityBeat · December 16, 2015

#SDCityBeat

Culture | Film

Mad Max: Fury Road

Too many films, too little time Going on record about some gems from 2015 by Glenn Heath Jr.

ritics not working at a daily outlets inevitably miss out on reviewing a lot of interesting films throughout the year. But rarely do we give ourselves the chance to look back and make amends and go on record. What follows is my own attempt to ease the feeling of regret, giving some of these omissions the recognition they deserve in this here fine paper of ours. Mea culpa, commence. Jonathan Demme’s Ricki and the Flash, the inspiration for this piece, looked like a soft lob aimed directly at the sensibilities of casual movie-going baby-boomers. So I naturally skipped it, thinking it wouldn’t be to my taste. This ended up being a major mistake. Starring Meryl Streep as a middle-aged rocker still trying to make a creative mark on the world, the film bristles with energy from the rousing opening musical performance. The story grows increasingly thorny when Ricki heads home after receiving a distressing call from her ex-husband about their daughter (played by Streep’s own, Mamie Gummer) who’s tip-toeing on the precipice of a nervous breakdown. Anchored by poignant performances and Demme’s brilliantly efficient direction, Ricki and the Flash breezily explores the unspoken traumas of a family in denial yet never sees their predicament through pessimistic eyes. Both performing and experiencing music offers these characters the chance to communicate, apologize and redefine their relationships. You’ve probably already heard of this next one. Mad Max: Fury Road, which I couldn’t write about due to travel plans, is the action movie of the year, probably the decade. We have become so accustomed to computer-generated special effects that director George Miller and his crew’s use of practical stunts feel avant garde by comparison. See it big if you can. While the visceral story about a violent loner whisked up in a post-apocalyptic chase narrative progresses in a straight line before backtracking in equally linear fashion, Fury Road’s visuals explode with color, movement and sound. More importantly, the feminist themes at its heart are neither browbeating nor militant, defined by the challenges of maintaining ideological and physical resolve under threat. Charlize Theron’s incendiary turn as the warrior Furiosa ends up overshadowing the silent bravado of

#SDCityBeat

Mad Max (Tom Hardy) himself, who inevitably can’t help but watch from the sidelines in silent awe as she and her compatriots supplant one evil conqueror after the next. Long live the queens of the desert. Speaking of badass women, Melissa McCarthy owns every moment of Paul Feig’s exceptional comedy Spy as a government employee who drop kicks the glass ceiling and becomes a world-saving secret agent. There are more than a few bumps along the way, including a bloody fistfight with an Eastern European lug that ends in skewering fashion. While Feig’s sharp writing and lucid action direction make Spy a constantly entertaining revisionist genre film, it’s McCarthy’s dynamic central performance that elevates it beyond pastiche. The spy film plot twists, usually fodder for special effects-driven set pieces and slimy one-liners, instead help to explore the contradictions inherent in traditional gender roles and hierarchies of power. In the end, it’s the men that are shaken and stirred by McCarthy’s heroine, who gets the last laugh and then some. John Magary’s singular debut film The Mend premiered at SXSW in 2014, but finally made it to San Diego this summer thanks to the programmers at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park. Here’s a story about brothers making peace with the fact that they will never make peace. Starring Josh Lucas and Stephen Plunkett as siblings who can’t stop colliding with each other, Magary’s fascinating deconstruction of male insecurity is as funny as it is enraged. The theme of familial angst as hand-me-down has rarely been addressed with such bruising sincerity. Lucas and Plunkett lay themselves bare, never resisting the urge to laugh maniacally at the absurdity that has come to define their lives and relationships. The Mend is one of the most impressive first films in years. A few Sundance award-winners of note opened as quickly as they closed. Marielle Heller’s endearing and honest The Diary of a Teenager Girl tells the story of Minnie (played by the astoundingly good Bel Powley) who begins an illicit affair with her mother’s (Kristin Wiig) boyfriend (Alexander Skarsgård)

Film CONTINUED ON PAGE 28 December 16, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 27

Culture | Film Opening Alvin and the Chipmunks: Road Chip: The squeakquel none of you have been waiting for. Everything Will Be Fine: James Franco stars as a struggling novelist whose life is turned upside down in the latest drama from Wim Wenders. Screens through Thursday, Dec. 24, at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park. Orion: The Man Who Would Be King: Jimmy Ellis, an unknown singer plucked from obscurity, was thrust into the spotlight while participating in a crazy scheme revolving around the reincarnation of Elvis. Screens through Thursday, Dec. 24, at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park. Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The sequel you’ve all been waiting for.

Spy

film CONTINUED from PAGE 27 in 1970s San Francisco. While a bit too cutesy at times, the film stays true to the messiness that occurs when young people try to carve out an identity in the adult world. Rick Famuyima’s Dope also deals with teenagers making bad decisions, but does so through a far more schizophrenic and volatile framework. Self-described “nerd” Malcolm (Shameik Moore) and his two friends get caught up in a drug buy gone bad, forcing them to inhabit a dark corner of

gangsta capitalism. Often funny and breakneck, Dope nevertheless feels like an at-times incoherent and heightened work, the diary of a teenager perhaps. Finally, the surprise of 2015 was Paddington, Paul King’s tender, colorful and quietly subversive adaptation of the popular children’s story by Michael Bond. The eponymous bear, voiced to perfection by Ben Whishaw, must start a new life in London after his rainforest dwelling family is killed. Refugee narratives come in all shapes and sizes, and this charmingly polite one dou-

bles as a fantastical and stylistically kinetic attack on the double-edged sword of colonialism. Aside from Mad Max, Paddington also sports some of the finest chase sequences of the year, mixing live action with animation to defy gravity and camera perspective. King’s film tackles an increasingly important topic by exploring empathy and community solidarity against domestic threats lingering and plotting in the musty halls of old guard institutions. What a progressive feat. In two weeks, look for my list of the 20 Best Films of 2015. Too many good films, so little space. Film reviews run weekly. Write to glennh@sdcitybeat.com.

28 · San Diego CityBeat · December 16, 2015

Sisters: Amy Poehler and Tina Fey star as adult siblings whose must clean out their old room over the course of one weekend after their parents decide to sell the family home. Submerged: After their limousine runs off the road and becomes submerged under water, a group of wealthy teens and their bodyguard must fight for their life in this pulse-pounding thriller. Screens through Wednesday, Dec. 23, at the Digital Gym Cinema. Youth: Paolo Sorrentino’s ravishingly vapid look at aging and memory stars Michael Caine as an aging conductor coming to terms with his life while staying at a lodge in the Swiss Alps with his director friend (Harvey Keitel).

For a complete

listing of movies, please see

“Film Screenings” at sdcitybeat.com under “E vents.”

#SDCityBeat

Music

ince Staples is more candid than most people. The 22-year-old Long Beach rapper doesn’t mince words. He doesn’t bullshit or talk in euphemisms. “I’m just trying to be honest,” he says. As a result, he comes across as grounded and earnest, as he did in an NPR interview, explaining that real-life concerns are more important than his artistry: “Life is the important part. That’s the priority, and then music comes second.” Sometimes, he can be hilariously blunt, as when he swatted down a Meet the Musician interviewer’s attempt to draw a connection to DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince and his own album Summertime ’06, saying, “Nobody my age is thinking about a Fresh Prince song, at all...you old, though.” Staples tells it like it is, and that commitment to the truth is a crucial aspect to who he is as an artist. As a songwriter, he pours his energy into making music that’s as honest a representation of who he is and where he’s from as possible. Staples doesn’t consider that much of a challenge. Honesty is his default setting. “It’s not that hard,” Staples says in a phone call ahead of his winter Circa ’06 tour. “It’s probably harder to lie than it is to tell the truth.” Vince Staples’ new album Summertime ’06, released in June via Def Jam Recordings, is as upfront and unvarnished as hip-hop albums get. It’s nowhere near the neighborhood of pop-rap’s hedonism, nor wrapped up in complex mythologies or personas. Instead it’s a clear-eyed and often bleak survey of his upbringing as a teenager (he was 13 in the summer of 2006) in Long Beach. The portrait he paints of his home city on Summertime ‘06 is a dark one. As he remarks on the album’s first proper song, “Lift Me Up,” “This shit ain’t Gryffindor, we really killin’, kickin’ doors.” Crime, death and survival are recurrent themes on the album, and Staples presents them matter-of-factly, whether witnessing “another dead body in the alley” on “Birds & Bees,” or delivering the surprisingly catchy hook, “We ain’t never run from nothing but the police” on the single “Norf Norf,” named for the Northside Long Beach neighborhood where he lived. Not that Staples is completely pessimistic. He says he had plenty of good times during the summer of 2006. But he’s not necessarily a nostalgic person. He’s also not the kind of person to dwell on the negatives of the past. “I feel like everyone has difficult times, and everyone also has fond memories of other times. I don’t think too much about things like that,” he says. “It’s nothing I really want to think about either, to be honest. You just gotta move on. I don’t live in the past.” The atmosphere on Summertime ‘06 is just as eerie and grimy as its subject matter. Most of the production work on the album was done by No I.D., who has also worked with Kanye West, Jay Z and Nas. A few songs were also produced by Clams Casino, though the ambiance of the album is consistently claustrophobic and abrasive, each beat a haunting backdrop to the dimly lit walking tours of Long Beach that Staples guides. Even the

#SDCityBeat

album’s artwork has a gothic sensibility, its minimal design a subtle reference to Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures, which is one of Staples’ less overt influences. There are few songs here that could pass for an actual summertime club banger. Yet when asked what draws him to a darker aesthetic or a harsher narrative, Staples grows more philosophical about his intentions and how people hear the album. “Is it really that dark?” he asks. “Or is that just a perception? It’s not something that I really thought about at the time. When you’re a kid, things that are wrong might not seem as wrong.” Summertime ‘06 is an ambitious album, and not only because of how it captures a particular time and place in vivid, sometimes heartbreaking detail. It’s Staples’ debut full-length album, but it’s also a double album, spreading out the young rapper’s narratives over the course of 20 songs on two separate, distinct halves. And yet, it’s not actually that long of an album. At 57 minutes, it could have fit on just one CD, thanks to the concise nature of the mostly twoand three-minute tracks (“More than two verses, more than three is ridiculous,” Staples says, justifying the relative brevity of his songs). It’s also a good 20 minutes shorter than Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, released just a few months beforehand. Some hip-hop artists such as Future—who released two mixtapes, an album and a full-length collaboration with Drake— go the hyper-prolific route, issuing a seemingly endless stream of music in a short span of time. For Staples, however, it just made more sense to offer listeners a grand statement in one self-contained package. “We live in a time period where, you know, a lot of… people put out five mixtapes in six months,” he says. “You know what I mean? So why not? They can get it for free if they wanted to. What am I going to do with these songs? They’re just going to sit around while I wait to put them out? Why not just give people more music. No reason to just hold on to them. I thought it’d be better to put them all out, you know, from a listener’s perspective.” Not all of Summertime ’06 is an easy listen, but it’s presented in an accessible way. Each song is as concise and melodic as it is paranoid and chilling. Staples delivers his message though brutally honest methods, but it’s in an attempt to draw listeners closer rather than turn them away. It helps that he’s a good storyteller, but more than that, he’s sharing his experience, not as an entertainer but as a human being. Summertime ’06 is his way of translating that experience into something that others can relate to, or even learn from. “I mean, the point of life is to live it. And teach each other the lessons that we learn while we’re in that process,” he says. “I just wanted to tell where I come from and who I am. We’re all very different, but we’re all very much the same.” Write to jefft@sdcitybeat.com or follow him on Twitter at @1000TimesJeff

December 16, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 29

Music

notes from the smoking patio T

he Shady Francos frontThe Shady Francos, but Creepman Joshua Kmak has just seed will be the beginning of announced a new project something new and different. called Creepseed. Kmak, who also “I played everything—guitar, plays guitar in The New Kinetics, bass, drums,” he says. “With so launched a Facebook page for the many people shifting around in new musical venture on Sunday the Shady Francos, it solidified my night, with the message that it’s decision. It was really liberating. his “Mr. Hyde...Creepseed is who I I didn’t have to worry about anyhave grown up to be.” one’s schedule. I was really attractIn an interview over coffee at ed to the freedom it gives me” Rudford’s in North Park, Kmak So far, Creepseed doesn’t says that the new outlet came have any shows lined up, but about after a kind of brief period the first album has already been of inspiration in which a bunch of recorded and will be released songs, very different than those he on vinyl in 2016 via End of Imhad written before, just came out pressed Records, which is run of him. by Ana Yenrick, formerly of The “I wrote 12 songs kind of rapid Makeup Sex. As far as the name fire,” he says. “I just started writing Creepseed goes, it’s just a way songs that have a completely differof branding the project without Joshua Kmak Kmak having to fall back on his ent feel. They’re not as fast. They have more of a groove to them.” real name. Unlike Kmak’s other bands, Creepseed is an en“I don’t think my name is very catchy,” he says. tirely solo project. In the past year, a few members “And I don’t want people to get the impression that left and were replaced in The Shady Francos, and he it’s just me and an acoustic guitar, sitting on a stool.” admits it’s been frustrating to have to find new play —Jeff Terich ers to round out the lineup. He’s still playing with

Strung Out

a citybeat guide to holiday shows There’s a good chance you’re already beyond tired of hearing Christmas music. It’s pretty much everywhere right now—in stores, restaurants, bars and in commercials (with key lyrics changed to be about smartphones or discounts at Big Lots). But you can still celebrate holiday music without the risk of it turning lame. There are plenty of cool holiday happenings in local venues this month, in a variety of styles and genres. The Casbah (2501 Kettner Blvd.) is hosting a couple of holiday standards, first with the El Vez and his annual Merry Mexmas show on Friday, Dec. 18, which also features Creepxotica. Just a few days later, the annual Exile on Kettner Blvd. event, featuring local musicians covering the Rolling Stones, will take place on Thursday, Dec. 24. Prefer a little more titillation? Try the Kensington Club Xmas Party featuring veteran local surf-garage rockers Deadbolt, and some bawdy entertainment from Hell on Heels Burlesque at Kens-

30 · San Diego CityBeat · December 16, 2015

ington Club (4079 Adams Ave.) on Saturday, Dec. 19. Or maybe a punk rock Christmas is the way to go, in which case you’ll want to hit up the Slabby Holidaze show, with Strung Out performing their album Exile in Oblivion, on Saturday, Dec. 19, at Brick by Brick (1130 Buenos Ave.). The Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach (143 S. Cedros Ave.) is hosting A Beatles Christmas featuring Abbey Road on Tuesday, Dec. 22, followed the next night by Country Christmas headlined by Nancarrow on Wednesday, Dec. 23. And if you prefer your Christmas jams on the wheels of steel, the Whistle Stop in South Park (2236 Fern St.) is holding The War on Xmas Ends Here on Dec. 20, featuring DJ Mario Orduno, and a Cozy Xmas Party on Dec. 24 with DJ Shoeshine and hot toddys, in case you want to have a more mellow evening before Santa invades your chimney.

—Jeff Terich #SDCityBeat

#SDCityBeat

December 16, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 31

Music

Jeff Terich

If I were u A music insider’s weekly agenda Wednesday, December 16 PLAN A: Poison Idea, Channel 3, Vyper Skwad, Nerve Control @ Soda Bar. Cruisin’ for a bruisin’ on a Wednesday night? Then look no further than this show, headlined by hardcore legends Poison Idea. They’ve been wrecking stages since you were knee high to a grasshopper, and are still ready to throw down.

Thursday, December 17 PLAN A: Ghostface Killah, Dre Trav, The Bermuda @ Observatory North Park. Last week I sought wisdom from Ghostface Killah’s surrealist lyrics on the music feature page (go back and read it if you missed it). The Wu-Tang MVP is a master wordsmith and one of the best emcees in the game. PLAN B: Crocodiles, Girl Tears, Keepers @ The Hideout. It’s been a little while since former San Diegan post-punk duo Crocodiles graced us with their wonderfully noisy sounds, so it’ll probably feel a little like a holiday family reunion when they turn those amps up.

Friday, December 18 PLAN A: El Vez, Creepxotica, Baja Bugs, DJ Claire @ The Casbah. It isn’t Christmastime in San Diego until El Vez puts on his annual holiday showcase. This time he’ll be joined by masked local exotica/surf dudes Creepxotica, so make sure to get a stiff rum drink from the bar to get good and merry. PLAN B: Wayne Hancock, Ypsitucky, Fanny and the Atta Boys @ Soda Bar. I’m not a snob about country music, but I tend to like it more when it actually, y’know, sounds like country. Wayne Hancock plays country, honky-tonk and rockabilly like your grandpappy used to listen to, and it’s a rowdy, classic good time. BACKUP PLAN: Bone Thugs N Harmony @ Observatory North Park.

Saturday, December 19 PLAN A: Vince Staples @ Observatory North

Ghostface Killah Park. Read my cover story this week on Long Beach emcee Vince Staples, whose Summertime ‘06 is one of the best hip-hop records of the year. He gives it to you straight, in uncompromising, dark but still accessible jams. PLAN B: Dam-Funk (DJ set), Ikah Love, DJ Brougham @ The Hideout. Dam-Funk came to San Diego earlier in the fall to perform a full-band set of synth-funk, and it was extra groovy. He’s coming back with a “DJ set,” and when he’s behind the decks, they tend to turn into solo performances more than just a dude spinning records. Be prepared to dance.

Sunday, December 20 PLAN A: Littler, Holling @ Soda Bar. All the great indie rock bands are coming from Philadelphia these days: Waxahatchee, Swearin’, Hop Along and now Littler. This band’s new album is produced by Swearin’s Kyle Gilbride, and has a little bit of that band’s youthfully upbeat sound. It’s jangly, it’s catchy, it’s fantastic.

Monday, December 21 PLAN A: Creepers, Naytronix, Exrays @ Soda Bar. San Francisco’s Creepers feature members of Deafheaven, but they’re not a metal band. The group plays a muscular style of shoegaze that’s somewhere between Failure and Ride. It’s big, anthemic and dense. BACKUP PLAN: The Freightshakers, Doug C. and the Blacklisted, Stephen Rey @ The Casbah.

Tuesday, December 22 PLAN A: The Bad Vibes, Bad and the Ugly, Mint Field @ The Merrow. This week I’ve already covered hip-hop, country and punk. But how about a great rock ‘n’ roll show? Local outfit The Bad Vibes do sludgy, swampy rock with a touch of psychedelia, and it sure hits the spot. BACKUP PLAN: Bulletproof Stockings @ The Casbah.

32 · San Diego CityBeat · December 16, 2015

#SDCityBeat

Music

Concerts HOT! NEW! FRESH!

Big Sandy and His Flyrite Boys (Casbah, 1/2), Kottonmouth Kings (SOMA, 1/22), David Cross (Observatory, 1/26), Wanda Jackson (Casbah, 1/28), Steel Pulse (BUT, 2/2), Meat Wave (Soda Bar, 2/13), The Growlers, Jonathan Richman (Observatory, 2/16-17), Lee Ann Womack (BUT, 2/22), Julien Baker (The Irenic, 2/27), Fetty Wap (HOB, 2/29), Wavves, Best Coast (Observatory, 3/4), Astronauts Etc. (Merrow, 3/11), Electric Six (Casbah, 3/16), Dwarves, Queers (Soda Bar, 3/20), Brian Fallon and the Crowes (HOB, 3/26).

GET YER TICKETS Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven (BUT, 12/27), OFF! (Casbah, 12/28), Chet Faker (Observatory, 12/29), Luna (Casbah, 12/29), Donavon Frankenreiter (BUT, 12/29-30), The Academy Is… (Observatory, 12/30), Los Lobos (BUT, 12/31), Tim Heidecker (Casbah, 1/7), Ty Segall (But, 1/13), Christian Death (Soda Bar, 1/17), Devotchka (BUT, 1/17), Josh Ritter (Observatory, 1/18), Ladysmith Black Mambazo (BUT, 1/19), Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek (Observatory North Park, 1/22), Steel Panther (HOB, 1/23), Shigeto (Soda Bar, 1/23), Killing Joke, The Soft Moon (BUT, 1/26), Julia Holter (The Irenic, 1/28), Richard Cheese (HOB, 1/29), The Hood Internet (Casbah, 1/29), G. Love and Special Sauce (BUT, 1/29),

#SDCityBeat

Childbirth (Soda Bar, 2/1), The English Beat (BUT, 2/5-6), Aaron Neville (Balboa Theatre, 2/11), STRFKR (Observatory North Park, 2/12), Thee Oh Sees (BUT, 2/12), Logic (SOMA, 2/14), Cradle of Filth (HOB, 2/18), At the Gates (HOB, 2/19), Dr. Dog (Observatory, 2/20), Steve Poltz (BUT, 2/20), Anti-Flag (Observatory, 2/25), Ani DiFranco (BUT, 2/25), Rihanna (Viejas Arena, 2/26), Joe Satriani (Balboa Theatre, 3/1), Protomartyr (Soda Bar, 3/2), Lewis Black (Balboa Theatre, 3/3), Galactic (BUT, 3/3), Eleanor Friedberger (Hideout, 3/11), Junior Boys (Casbah, 3/18), Wolfmother (HOB, 3/23), High on Fire, Skeletonwitch, Tribulation (Observatory, 3/26), Rob Crow’s Gloomy Place (Casbah, 3/27), Alex G (Che Café, 4/1), Elvis Costello (Balboa Theatre, 4/7), Steve Miller Band (Humphreys, 4/14), Prong (Brick by Brick, 4/22), Thao & the Get Down Stay Down (BUT, 4/28), Modern English (The Hideout, 5/17), Twentyonepilots (Viejas Arena, 7/24), Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 8/14), Journey, The Doobie Brothers (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 8/30), 5 Seconds of Summer (Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 9/9).

Springfield at House of Blues. Bone Thugs N Harmony at Observatory North Park. El Vez at The Casbah.

December

Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven at Belly Up Tavern.

Wednesday, Dec. 16 Poison Idea at Soda Bar.

Thursday, Dec. 17 Ghostface Killah at Observatory North Park. Macy Gray at Belly Up Tavern (sold out). Flotsam and Jetsam at Brick by Brick. Crocodiles at The Hideout.

Friday, Dec. 18 Wayne Hancock at Soda Bar. Rick

Saturday, Dec. 19 Strung Out at Brick by Brick. Vince Staples at Observatory North Park.

Sunday, Dec. 20 Littler at Soda Bar. Slow Magic at Observatory North Park.

Monday, Dec. 21 Anuhea at Belly Up Tavern. Creepers at Soda Bar.

Wednesday, Dec. 23 ‘Country Christmas’ w/ Nancarrow at Belly Up Tavern. Dave Koz at Balboa Theatre.

Saturday, Dec. 26 Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects at Soda Bar. The Blasters at The Casbah.

Sunday, Dec. 27

Monday, Dec. 28 Ozomatli at Belly Up Tavern. Duke Dumont at Observatory North Park. OFF! at The Casbah.

Tuesday, Dec. 29 Chet Faker at Observatory North Park. Donavon Frankenreiter at Belly Up Tavern. Luna at The Casbah. Crazy Town at Soda Bar.

Andy Rourke (DJ set) at The Hideout.

Wednesday, Dec. 30 The Academy Is… at Observatory North Park. Donavon Frankenreiter at Belly Up Tavern.

Thursday, Dec. 31 The Sess at Soda Bar. Los Lobos at Belly Up Tavern. Ziggy Shuffledust and the Spiders from Mars at The Casbah.

January Saturday, Jan. 2 Big Sandy and His Flyrite Boys at The Casbah.

Sunday, Jan. 17 Devotchka at Belly Up Tavern. Christian Death at Soda Bar.

Monday, Jan. 18 Josh Ritter at Observatory North Park.

Tuesday, Jan. 19 Martin Courtney at The Casbah. Ladysmith Black Mambazo at Belly Up Tavern.

Thursday, Jan. 21 Big Head Todd and the Monsters at Belly Up Tavern.

Thursday, Jan. 7 Tim Heidecker at The Casbah.

Friday, Jan. 22

Saturday, Jan. 9 Tommy Castro and the Painkillers at Belly Up Tavern. Tool, Primus at Viejas Arena (sold out).

Sunday, Jan. 10 Tool, Primus at Viejas Arena (sold out).

Wednesday, Jan. 13 Ty Segall at Belly Up Tavern. Dave Mason at Music Box.

Thursday, Jan. 14 Paula Cole at Belly Up Tavern.

Friday, Jan. 15 Jerry Seinfeld at Civic Theatre (sold out).

Never Shout Never at House of Blues. Big Head Todd and the Monsters at Belly Up Tavern. Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek at Observatory North Park. Kottonmouth Kings at SOMA.

Saturday, Jan. 23 Shigeto at Soda Bar. All Them Witches at The Casbah. JD McPherson at Belly Up Tavern. Steel Panther at House of Blues.

rCLUBSr

710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave., San Diego. Pacific Beach. Wed: Nothing Special. Thu: Karaoke. Fri: Coastal Frequency, Slower. Sat: Superunloader. Sun: Karaoke.

Saturday, Jan. 16 Tower of Power at Belly Up Tavern.

music CONTINUED ON page 34

December 16, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 33

Music music CONTINUED from PAGE 33

mana. Fri: Joef & Co. Sat: Aire. Sun: Aire. Mon: Malamana. Tue: Gio Trio.

American Comedy Co., 818 B Sixth Ave., San Diego. Downtown. Wed: Paul Reiser. Thu: Joey Diaz. Fri: Michael McDonald, Joey Diaz. Sat: Michael McDonald, Joey Diaz. Sun: Joey Diaz.

Croce’s Park West, 2760 Fifth Ave., #100, San Diego. Bankers Hill. Wed: Liz Grace Duo. Thu: Clay Colton Duo. Fri: Teagan Taylor. Sat: Gilbert Castellanos and the Park West Ensemble. Sun: Danny Green Trio. Mon: Pat Dowling.

Bang Bang, 526 Market St., San Diego. Downtown. Thu: Felix da Housecat. Fri: Shaun Frank. Sat: Beatanger. Bar Pink, 3829 30th St., San Diego. North Park. Thu: DJ Ikah Love. Fri: Martine and the Big Nativity Scene. Sat: ‘Neon Beat’. Sun: ‘Rat Sabbath’. Mon: ‘Motown on Monday’. Tue: DJ Marshall Islands. Beaumont’s, 5662 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla. Thu: Mark Fisher. Fri: Modern Day Moonshine. Sat: Neveready. Sun: Matt Bolton. Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. Wed: Paul Cannon and Friends, Lee Koch, Tyson Motsenbocker, Hummingbird Hotel. Thu: Macy Gray (sold out). Fri: Betamaxx, Graceband. Sat: ‘Ugly Turtleneck & Sweater Party’ w/ Young Guns, DJ Hugh Janus. Sun: For the Sender. Mon: Anuhea, Paula Fuga. Tue: Abbey Road.

Dirk’s Nightclub, 7662 Broadway, Lemon Grove. Fri: Serious Guise. Sat: DJ Alex. Dizzy’s, 4275 Mission Bay Drive, San Diego. Mission Bay. Fri: Geoffrey Keezer & Gillian Margot’s Holiday Groove. Sat: Mikan Zlatkovich & his Quintet. F6ix, 526 F St., Downtown., San Diego. Downtown. Fri: Aleks Exact, DJ Rell. Sat: DJ Vision. Fluxx, 500 Fourth Ave., San Diego. Downtown. Fri: Styles and Complete. Sat: ‘Star Wars Party’ w/ Kyle Flesch. Gallagher’s, 5040 Newport Ave., San Diego. Ocean Beach. Thu: Maka Roots. Fri: Village Squares. Sat: Piracy Conspiracy. Mon: ‘Mic Check Monday’.

Boar Cross’n, 390 Grand Ave., Carlsbad. Fri: ‘Club Musae’.

Henry’s Pub, 618 Fifth Ave., San Diego. Downtown. Wed: AOK Musik. Fri: Jimmy Boy, DJ Antonio Aguilera. Sat: DJs E, Antonio Aguilera. Sun: Karaoke. Mon: DJ Antonio Aguilera. Tue: Big City Dawgs.

Brass Rail, 3796 Fifth Ave., San Diego. Hillcrest. Wed: Karaoke. Sat: ‘Sabado en Fuego’ w/ DJs XP, KA. Mon: ‘Manic Monday’ w/ DJs Junior the Disco Punk, XP.

House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., San Diego. Downtown. Thu: Crystal Lewis. Fri: Rick Springfield. Tue: Future of Forestry, Atlas Rhoads, The Eagle and Child.

Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave., San Diego. Bay Park. Thu: Flotsam and Jetsam, Holy Grail, Night Demon, Symbolic, Alchemy. Sat: Strung Out, Counterpunch, Skipjack, Oddball.

Kava Lounge, 2812 Kettner Blvd., San Diego. Midtown. Thu: ‘Acid Varsity’. Fri: Seria Star. Sun: Open Mike Eagle, Serengeti. Tue: ‘High Tech Tuesday’.

Cafe Sevilla, 353 Fifth Ave., San Diego. Downtown. Wed: Aro Di Santi. Thu: Mala-

Kensington Club, 4079 Adams Ave., San Diego. Kensington. Sat: Deadbolt, The Blackjackits, Hell on Heels Burlesque.

34 · San Diego CityBeat · December 16, 2015

Mc P’s Irish Pub, 1107 Orange Ave., Coronado. Wed: Goodall Boys. Thu: North Star. Fri: Trunk Monkey. Sat: 4-Way Street. Tue: 3 Guys Will Move U. Music Box, 1337 India St., San Diego. Little Italy. Fri: Through the Roots, Maoli, Bad Neighborz. Sat: Afrotruko. Numbers, 3811 Park Blvd., San Diego. Hillcrest. Thu: ‘Wet’. Fri: ‘Vogue Decadence’. Sun: R&B Divas. Onyx Room / Thin, 852 Fifth Ave., San Diego. Downtown. Thu: ‘Tea Party Thursday’. Fri: ‘Rumba Lounge’. Sat: ‘Winter Wonderland’. Tue: ‘Neo Soul’. Patricks Gaslamp, 428 F St., San Diego. Downtown. Wed: The Upshots. Thu: The Bill Magee Blues Band. Fri: Len Rainey. Sat: WG and the G-Men. Sun: Rosy Dawn. Mon: The Groove Squad. Tue: Paddy’s Chicken Jam. Rich’s, 1051 University Ave., San Diego. Hillcrest. Wed: DJ John Joseph. Fri: DJs Drew G, Will Z. Sat: DJs Tristan Jaxx, Brett Henrichsen, Hektik. Sun: DJ Cros. Riviera Supper Club, 7777 University Ave., La Mesa. La Mesa. Wed: ‘Boss Jazz’ w/ Jason Hanna. Fri: Rip Carson. Tue: Karaoke. Side Bar, 536 Market St., San Diego. Downtown. Thu: ‘Divino Thursday’ w/ Vince Delano. Fri: Deejay Al. Sat: DJ Kurch. Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego. City Heights. Wed: Poison Idea, Channel 3, Vyper Skwad, Nerve Control. Thu: Sam Outlaw, Graham Nancarrow, Sara Petite. Fri: Wayne Hancock, Ypsitucky, Fanna and the Atta Boys. Sat: Reason to Rebel, Loom, Omega Three, The Lie Show. Sun: Littler, Holling. Mon: Creepers, Naytronix, Exrays. Tue: Juice Box, The Struggle, Kid Wilderness.

SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd., San Diego. Midway. Thu: Volumes, Northlane, Cane Hill, Coldrain, Seconds Ago. Fri: The Snykes, The Bash Dogs, False Puppet, Essex Class, Pumphouse, Opt Out. Sat: Bucket Of Fish, The Skank Agents, Grim Luck, The Chili Banditos, Mayors Of Sexytown, Temper Tangents. Spin, 2028 Hancock St., San Diego. Midtown. Fri: Matrixxman. Sat: Solarstone. Sycamore Den, 3391 Adams Ave., San Diego. Normal Heights. Thu: Trailduster, Cygne. Sun: Hot Damn Sextet, The Heart Beat Trail Trio. Tango Del Rey, 3567 Del Rey St., San Diego. Mission Bay. Sun: San Diego Swing Dance Community Meeting, The Mad Hat Hucksters. The Balboa, 1863 Fifth Ave., San Diego. Bankers Hill. Fri: Saba, Evan Bethany. Sat: AJ Froman, The Wind Playing Tricks. The Bancroft, 9143 Campo Rd., Spring Valley. Spring Valley. Thu: ‘Darkwave Garden’. Sat: PunchCard, Just In Case, Roman Watchdogs, Midnight Track. The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd., San Diego. Midtown. Wed: Mariachi El Bronx, Very Be Careful, Pounded by the Surf (sold out). Thu: The Bronx, Retox, The Drips (sold out). Fri: El Vez, Creepxotica, Baja Bugs, DJ Claire. Sat: The Raveonettes (sold out). Sun: Jared and the Mill, Brumby, Jimmy Ruelas. Mon: The Freightshakers, Doug C. and the Blacklisted, Stephen Rey. Tue: Bulletproof Stockings. The Che Cafe, UCSD campus, San Diego. La Jolla. Thu: Pity Sex, Colleen Green, Eskimeaux. The Hideout, 3519 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego. City Heights. Thu: Crocodiles, Girl Tears. Sat: Dam-Funk (DJ set).

The Merrow, 1271 University Ave., San Diego. Hillcrest. Thu: Monarch, Monolith, Great Electric Quest, Condor. Fri: Accept That You Have Suffered, Parade of Horribles, Big Goat, Snail Fight. Tue: The Bad Vibes, Bad and the Ugly, Mint Field. The Office, 3936 30th St., San Diego. North Park. Wed: ‘Grand Ole Office’. Sun: ‘Uptown Top Ranking’ w/ Tribe of Kings. Mon: Nite Lapse, Almost Young, DJ Mike Delgado. Tue: ‘Trapped’ w/ DJ Ramsey, Nina Francis and Leonard Patton. The T Lounge, 1475 University Ave., San Diego. Hillcrest. Thu: Stanza. The Tin Roof, 401 G Street, San Diego. Gaslamp. Wed: Pat Hilton and the Mann. Thu: K Emeline Duo, Charlie Rae Band. Fri: Cassie B Band, Chad Lada Duo. Sat: Cassie B Band, Chad and Rose. Sun: Pat Dowling. Mon: Mark Steuer, Rosy Dawn, Aqua-Fi. Tue: Chuck Prada. Tio Leo’s, 5302 Napa St., San Diego. Bay Park. Wed: Jive Bombers. Thu: The Fremonts. Fri: Funk’s Most Wanted. Sat: Joey Harris and Friends. Ux31, 3112 University Ave., San Diego. North Park. Thu: ‘Throwback Thursday’. Fri: DJ Lee Churchill. Sat: DJ Qenoe. Sun: Synrgy, Pali Roots, DJ Daddy. Tue: Karaoke. Whistle Stop, 2236 Fern St, San Diego. South Park. Wed: ‘Astro Jump’ w/ Kill Quanti DJs. Fri: ‘F#ing in the Bushes’. Sat: ‘80s v. 90s’ w/ DJs Gabe Vega, Saul. Sun: ‘Xmas Party’ w/ DJ Mario Orduno. Winstons, 1921 Bacon St., San Diego. Ocean Beach. Wed: Jam Kwest, DJ Carlos Culture. Thu: ‘Holiday Butterfly Ball’. Fri: Electric Waste Band. Sun: Martin and the Big Nativity Scene, Richie and his Flying Guitar, Breaker, SANTA, Karaoke. Tue: Calphonics, Lizzie and the Village Squares.

#SDCityBeat

Last Words

Brendan Emmett Quigley

Christmas Island Across

71. War hero 72. Ran through the wringer

1. Key’s partner in comedy 6. Long way to go in NYC 9. Mr. T cult comedy 14. Guitar god, in slang 15. Mustard’s rank: Abbr. 16. Letter after 60-Across 17. Dress with a high-waist cut 19. Light lunch 20. Likely Cy Young candidate 21. “Like THAT’s going to happen!” 23. “Time Out Of Mind” star 24. Electrical devices that regulate voltage 28. Rapper Fetty ___ 29. Small cut 30. V.I.P. 36. Leatherman tool 39. IVF supplies 40. Dusting necessity 42. First word of “California Dreamin’” 43. Kvetching phrase 46. FTC target 49. Doctor’s visit, maybe 51. Super PAC ammo 52. Sonic rival 58. “Matilda” author 59. Ease up 60. Letter before 16-Across 62. “See you later” 64. Nixon’s pet 67. Place to call home 68. How-___ (some wiki pages) 69. Pad Thai or chocolate chip cookies, e.g. 70. Glove material Last week’s answers

#SDCityBeat

Down 1. Bygone sunscreen ingredient 2. Right on target 3. Burning remnant 4. Oft-misused verb 5. When the murderer is revealed, often 6. Roman-___ 7. XC70 maker 8. “I’m a wed-hot sportsman after wild game” speaker 9. Rehab afflictions 10. Embarrassed feeling after failing 11. Heavenly 12. Company that Pete Rose and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did commercials for 13. Wished, as a farewell 18. Like some contract work 22. Hotel units: Abbr. 25. “Too cute” 26. “Not for me” 27. Bugling grazer 30. Halloween word 31. Brown, e.g. 32. Cared deeply 33. Sapsucker’s home 34. Where to go in Manchester 35. Boarding area: Abbr. 37. Reach new heights? 38. Santa’s Village employee 41. Shop alternative 44. Leave out 45. Talk, talk, talk 47. Pint point 48. “___ you know the muffin man” 50. AFC East team 52. ___ Juice 53. “The Blacklist” home 54. California lake 55. Mushroom creator, for short 56. Perfect copy 57. Identifying words 58. Henkel AG soap brand 61. Somewhat 63. Ranch handle 65. Actress Dennings 66. Obama ___

December 16, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 35

36 · San Diego CityBeat · December 16, 2015

#SDCityBeat

December 16, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 37

38 · San Diego CityBeat · December 16, 2015

#SDCityBeat

December 16, 2015 · San Diego CityBeat · 39