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Whatâ€™s Chris Steele Playing At?

The union chief is the latest in a long line to play games with voter resentment

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in this issue San Antonio Current Publisher: Michael Wagner Editor-in-Chief: Greg Jefferson

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Senior Editors: Bryan Rindfuss, Jessica Elizarraras Art Director: Carlos Aguilar Food & Nightlife Editor: Jessica Elizarraras Staff Writers: Chris Conde, Sanford Nowlin Digital Content Editor: Sarah Martinez Contributors: Alexis Alvarez , Ron Bechtol, Erik Casarez, James Courtney, Callie Enlow, Jose Garza, Dan R. Goddard, Alejandra Lopez Gonzalez, Lance Higdon, Steven G. Kellman, Hannah Lorence, Michelle C. Lorentzen, Abby Mangel, Kiko Martínez, Jeremy Martin, Kelly Merka Nelson, M. Solis, Gary Sweeney, J.D. Swerzenski, Kelsey Valadez, Erin Winch Editorial Interns: Clarence Beal, Lori Salazar, Victoria Wilson

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07 News

Study says immigrants in SA boast big economic punch In the Desert and Unaccounted For?

Rep. Castro wants answers about detention of migrant children in tent city

A Monumental Snit

There’s plenty to argue about in the Alamo plan, but the Cenotaph’s relocation is sucking up the oxygen

18 Calendar

Our top picks for the week

25 Arts

Artist on Artist

Gary Sweeney Interviews Chad Dawkins

Operations Manager: Sarah Estrada Business Support Specialist: Samantha Lopez

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First Man is a masterfully directed technical achievement that explores life and loss

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Sanford Nowlin

Union chief Chris Steele is the latest political outsider looking to harness San Antonio voters’ resentment

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Issue 18_41 /// October 10-16, 2018

On The Cover: Fire union President Chris Steele hopes to skewer city hall with three controversial charter amendments on the November ballot. But he’s not the first outsider working to leverage citizen anger into a political power play. Illustration by Gilbert Martinez Art direction by Carlos Aguilar

Grindhouse legend Joe Bob Briggs lands in SA for a screening of the 1982 cult classic Basket Case

Young Man & the Icon

Filmmaker David Lowery on directing legendary actor Robert Redford in his final role

35 Food

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41 Music

San Antonio’s Influential All-female Band Girl in a Coma Has Officially Broken Up Music Top Picks

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Study says immigrants in SA boast big economic punch BY GREG JEFFERSON

or all the bashing they’ve taken from Trumpsters, immigrants pack a big punch in San Antonio’s economy, according to a study by New American Economy, an immigration-policy think tank. In 2016, they paid $1.6 billion in state and local taxes and boasted spending power of $5.1 billion. They were also 55.2 percent more likely to start businesses in San Antonio, with nearly 18,800

immigrant entrepreneurs calling the city home, according to the study. New American Economy is funded by billionaire and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and backed by Democratic and Republican mayors and business leaders. The organization has detailed immigrants’ economic contributions in the 100 largest metro areas in its Map the Impact project.

In the Desert and Unaccounted For? Rep. Castro wants answers about detention of migrant children in tent city BY SANFORD NOWLIN

.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro wants to know why the Trump administration is shipping migrant children to West Texas’ Tornillo tent city. The San Antonio Democrat sent a letter last week to Heath and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar demanding that he explain what’s being done to protect the kids, ensure access to legal representation and how long they’re expected to remain there. He also asked whether the government plans to open more such facilities. “I inspected the Tornillo tent camps in June and can attest that it is no place for a child to live,” Castro wrote of the unregulated site in

the West Texas desert. “At the height of the family separation crisis, reports indicated that the shelter would remain open until August. HHS has renewed the Tornillo contract twice and it is now expected to remain open through the end of the year.” Earlier in the week, the New York Times reported that hundreds of teens were transported by bus to the tent city in the middle of the night and without notice. The children had previously been housed in licensed shelters around the country, which are now reaching capacity.

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CITY CURRENT

A Monumental Snit

There’s plenty to argue about in the Alamo plan, but the Cenotaph’s relocation is sucking up the oxygen BY GREG JEFFERSON

s the adage goes, whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting. But we couldn’t just leave it at that in San Antonio. Here, history too is for fighting. That’s why it’s going to be a rowdy few days between now and October 18, when city council votes on a 50-year lease agreement that will hand control of most of Alamo Plaza to the state of Texas. The remaking of the Alamo grounds is a massive and complicated undertaking, and it will continue to inflame passions for years to come. But next week’s vote will be one of the most decisive steps to date in the effort to make “the cradle of Texas liberty” something it’s never been – a self-consciously contem8

CURRENT | October 10-16, 2018 | sacurrent.com

plative space. In addition to the rent-free lease deal with the state General Land Office (GLO), the basic elements of the Alamo plan are: • Closing portions of Alamo, Houston and Crockett streets to cars and trucks, and restricting them to pedestrians and emergency vehicles • “Assessing the adaptive reuse for the Crockett, Palace and Woolworth buildings” – in other words, scraping off T-shirt shops, the wax museum and other cheesy tourist-related businesses like so many barnacles from the hull of a ship • Creating a point of entry to the plaza • Rerouting parades such as Battle of Flowers that have traditionally passed

in front of the Alamo • Repairing and renovating the Cenotaph There’s obviously a lot to argue about here. The San Antonio Conservation Society, for example, is worried that the GLO will decide to tear down the Crockett, Palace and Woolworth buildings, future sites of a museum and visitor center. Some urban planners and downtown employers think the planned street closures are a bad idea. But if you’ve been paying even a little attention, you know the bitterest fight is over the Cenotaph. This Is Texas Freedom Force, which we assume has a bunch of superheroes hidden among its members, the Alamo Defenders Descendants Association and other irate residents are raising hell about the possibility of moving the monument from its location next to the Long Barrack to space in front of the Menger Hotel. Their anger has been on display at numerous public meetings, most notably the August 30 session of the Alamo Citizens Advisory Committee when police escorted a handful of protesters from council chambers. As an aside, I moved to San Antonio nearly 20 years ago. I had never

visited Alamo Plaza before I became a resident. From what I’ve heard from non-natives over the years, my initial reactions were pretty typical: 1. This is all there is? 2. Raspas are just snow cones, right? 3. I hope they saved the receipt for the Cenotaph. My assessment of the monument – created by Italian-born sculptor Pompeo Coppini – was in line with that of Texas folklorist J. Frank Dobie, who likened the Cenotaph to “a grain elevator or one of those swimming pool slides.” Indeed, it went over as badly as the $1-million, blinking art installation that dominates the lobby of the new Convention Center expansion, derided lamely as the Cheese Grater. City leaders felt so unenthusiastic about the Cenotaph that they put off a dedication ceremony for a year after Coppini completed the monument in the fall of 1939. Even then, they tucked it into a broader Armistice Day celebration, according to an account in the 2004 book Blessed with Tourists: The Borderlands of Religion and Tourism in San Antonio. On the Cenotaph’s east face, the stone-carved Alamo defenders look

like they’re posing for a class photo – in costumes made by designers imagining what the defenders wore. The nearly nude man ascending to Heaven on the monument’s northern face is as over-the-top as Coppini’s belief that his work should be seen as an empty tomb, like Christ’s. If it’s not the monument’s artistic quality, what’s driving the opposition to its planned relocation? Part of it is that Texas tea partiers and social conservatives, for all the power they wield, continue to feel threatened and pushed to the brink by progressives and the political-correctness cops, and they identify with the story of Alamo. In fact, they’ve hijacked it. (Know who has a good collection of Alamo memorabilia in his Capitol office? Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.) Rhetorically, there’s no room for slave owners, drunks or deadbeats among their idealized, glossy heroes of the Alamo. Coppini’s ahistorical, schmaltzy Cenotaph may be bad public art, but it lines up nicely with their political moment – and they want it to remain in the plaza’s foreground. And remember the statue of the Confederate soldier that was whisked out of Travis Park in the dead of night a year ago? A lot of the people upset about the Cenotaph relocation do. Who knows – maybe some of them worry that the Alamo monument will end up in the same undisclosed location as that poor soldier. At 300, San Antonio has probably erased more history than many other U.S. cities have managed to accumulate. Former Trinity University historian Char Miller drives home that point on the first page of his forthcoming book San Antonio: A Tricentennial History. He zeroes in on the fact that there’s no direct mention at Hemisfair Park’s Yanaguana Gardens of the long-vanquished Payaya, who named the river Yanaguana way before it became the San Antonio River. “The Payaya’s absence from this particular recreational landscape… is consistent with their essential erasure from the region’s historical narrative,” Miller wrote. Opponents of the Cenotaph move are hell-bent on insuring their heroes aren’t chewed up by this ruthless process. Two things about that: The greatest heroes are the ones who stand up to honest historical scrutiny, and countless indigenous peoples in this region were either marginalized or wiped from the history books long before their standard-bearers holed up at the Alamo.

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Sanford Nowlin

Fire Starter

Union chief Chris Steele is the latest political outsider looking to harness San Antonio voters’ resentment BY SANFORD NOWLIN

TF, Chris Steele? First, there was the fake firefighter’s uniform, then the last-minute debate cancellation and last week’s chaotic news conference where he tried to abdicate his position as chief spokesman for the union’s three proposed city charter amendments. At this point, it might be hard to tell whether the president of San Antonio’s fire union and the public face of its San Antonio First campaign is a maverick rewriting the political rulebook

or a gadfly taking a personal grudge over stalled contract talks to a bloody knuckle extreme. But drawing that distinction may miss the point, political experts say. Steele, who declined to be interviewed by the Current, is only the latest in a line of brash iconoclasts to leverage resentment for San Antonio’s political elites into a power play. Like C.A. Stubbs, the string tie-wearing crank who tried to force city spending limits in the ‘80s, or Kay Turner, the conspiracy theorist who led the anti-fluoridation fight, Steele

is vying to channel residents’ sense of neglect into ballot victory. “Voters aren’t going to look at this referendum being about the amendments. They’re going to look at this being about the direction of the city,” said Arturo Vega, a political science professor at St. Mary’s University. “Often, it takes someone from outside the political mainstream to force those kinds of conversations.” To be sure, the amendments Steele and his union are putting before voters November 6 will give citizens a chance to determine just where San Antonio is headed. The first measure would make it easier for citizens to force a public vote on a wide array of spending decisions. The other two would push the union’s negotiations into binding arbitration and limit future city managers’ salaries and tenure. Depending on who you believe, the

amendments will usher in a new era of participatory democracy or send the city reeling backwards. As in the city’s previous public referenda, both sides have engaged in their share of wild hyperbole, political observers note. From the beginning, the anti-amendment campaign has painted Steele as a political opportunist who’s using the ballot measures to serve Mayor Ron Nirenberg and City Manager Sheryl Sculley a shit sandwich while sneaking through what he’s really after — arbitration on a new contract. That charge seemed to gain credence last week when the opposing Go Vote No campaign supplied the media with a 49-second audio recording of Steele telling firefighters that the campaign’s primary goal was to win a new contract. A secondary perk, he added, was that “we can put our own guy in the mayor’s office, which would be (Councilman) Greg Brockhouse in the mayor’s office.” sacurrent.com | October 10-16, 2018 | CURRENT

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And that wasn’t the only time in the campaign where Steele gave the public reason to doubt his authenticity. Fire Chief Charles Hood reprimanded the union official for presiding over a September press conference while wearing a fake uniform nearly identical to its real San Antonio Fire Department counterpart. City rules prohibit firefighters from wearing their uniforms while engaging in political activities. “It is clear that (Steele) went to great lengths to mislead the public by creating and wearing a fake uniform virtually indiscernible from the department’s standard issue uniforms during a political endorsement,” Hood wrote in a prepared statement.

Maverick Tradition So far, support for Steele’s San Antonio First campaign doesn’t seem to break down along the tidy class, racial and ethnic lines that mark so much of San Antonio’s politics. Hell, they’re not even breaking along the partisan divide that seems to define so much of the today’s political climate. Along with support from the political fringes, the San Antonio First campaign has pulled an endorsement from the Bexar County Democratic Party. Meanwhile, Go Vote No has reeled in the city’s chambers of commerce, other Democratic groups and the ultra-progressive Texas Organizing Project. But it’s not unusual for such ballot fights to build strange alliances. During the 1990s, a coalition that spanned both far-left and far-right united to take down two separate plans to use the Applewhite Reservoir to supplement San Antonio’s water supply. The aforementioned Turner, who gained her political clout in those fights, relied on that alliance when she went on to win 47 percent of the vote when she ran for mayor against establishment candidate Bill Thornton. Maverick outsiders — from Turner to Steele — count on voter dissatisfaction to fuel their fights, experts said. And there may be plenty of that to go around right now. S.A. residents are watching their property taxes rise, questioning how spending gets divided among neighborhoods and fretting about the city’s apparently unstoppable outward sprawl. Also stoking voter anger is Sculley, whom the union trolled with its amendment to limit future managers’ salary and tenure. It was Sculley, after all, who led the protracted court challenge to the “evergreen clause” in the firefighters’ contract. But even those blissfully ignorant of the fire union’s contract stalemate have found reason to rage at the current city manager. In addition to her $475,000-a-year salary — justified, the city maintains, because of its “strong city manager” structure — Sculley hasn’t been afraid to wield power, often in controversial ways. Among those was her recent decision to overrule the Historic and Design Review Commission and let developer Mitch Meyer build apartments next to the East Side’s historic Hays Street Bridge. “Look at the Hays Street Bridge — did the city listen to what people wanted?” asked Reinette King, an

Sanford Nowlin

anti-streetcar activist who serves as a Steele surrogate in the San Antonio First campaign. “What about the Alamo? What about Highway 90? People are tired of not being listened to.” Of course, those are questions even people outside of the San Antonio First camp are asking. And on their face, none of campaign’s three amendments read as outrageous — after all, who wouldn’t want to rein in runaway salaries or make it easier for citizens to voice their grievances? That’s why state Rep. Diego Bernal, a former city councilman who’s thrown his support to Go Vote No, worries the campaign hasn’t been aggressive enough in taking its message to neighborhoods long neglected by the city establishment. “When I talk to people I ask them, ‘Is the harm that will befall your neighborhood and your neighbors worth the momentary satisfaction of sending a message to city hall?’” said Bernal, a Democrat. “The referenda are pain points. They were bargaining chips the union threw at the city during contract negotiations, hoping they’d balk.” Others with the Go Vote No campaign admit it’s hard to convince voters that city hall’s actions aren’t self-serving, especially when they’re being questioned by a group that usually gives the public warm fuzzies: firefighters. “If the election were held today, we’d lose,” said Christian Archer, the veteran political consultant helming the anti-amendment campaign. “If voters aren’t informed about these positions, they’ll vote for them.”

Finding His Footing The charter fight has served as most voters’ introduction to Steele, but the union chief isn’t new to power brokering — although he’s had varying levels of success. Under his leadership, the union endorsed former state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte’s unsuccessful 2015 mayoral campaign. Two years later, it backed Manuel

Medina’s Trump-inspired populist campaign for the seat, which eked out just 15 percent of the vote. But it was the 2014 fight over the downtown streetcar project where Steele had his best political showing. The fire union became a key player in the petition drive that ultimately shut down the expensive city and county effort. Brockhouse, who consulted with the union on that drive, maintains Steele isn’t a loose cannon but a leader who’s stayed in his position for the past decade by understanding what his constituents are after. “You don’t survive in that role unless you have the pulse of your membership,” said Brockhouse, who has yet to announce a mayoral run despite Steele’s apparent pledge of support. “Nothing happens in that fire union without a vote. As much as the mayor would like you to believe it, this isn’t just Chris Steele throwing stuff out there.” Indeed, labor attorney and Democratic operative David Van Os, another of the recently named San Antonio First surrogates, said he was drawn to the campaign by Steele’s willingness to forge broad support for the cause. “He talked about how he was building a trans-partisan coalition, which is something I wanted to hear,” Van Os said. “I think tribal partisanship is wrecking our country.”

Populist Stripe Even beyond Steele’s murky motives, political observers say the union leader could be his own worst enemy. As with previous anti-city hall crusaders, Steele has adopted a fiery populism. And like failed mayoral candidate Medina, it seems to borrow liberally from the Trump playbook. The union leader’s radio appearances and press conferences have brimmed with scorched-earth rhetoric, and the campaign’s name doesn’t exactly fall far from the Trump tree. That might sit well with some voters, but it’s a likesacurrent.com | October 10-16, 2018 | CURRENT

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ly turnoff for others — especially with the president’s approval rating underwater and resentment building among women voters. “There’s an effort to paint this campaign in a populist stripe,” said David Crockett, a political science professor at Trinity University. “We certainly see that going on in national politics right now, but we’ll have to see whether it translates at the local level.” Also potentially damaging are a felony criminal charge and a civil suit the state of Texas brought against Steele during the 1990s — a time when he was employed as a San Antonio firefighter. The 1994 grand jury indictment for tampering with a Texas ID was ultimately dropped. However, in 1993, Steele settled a civil suit by the Texas Attorney General’s Office by signing an agreement to stop selling “deceptive multi-level marketing materials” and offering financial plans that didn’t perform as advertised. The suit stemmed from a business Steele operated called Financial Independence Consultants. The fire union’s own political affiliations are also providing weaponry to the Go Vote No camp. While the union has largely endorsed Democratic officials at the national level, its state endorsements include arch-conservatives like Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Attorney Ken Paxton. The union also appeared to slide further right by hiring Austin’s Catch Digital Strategy to launch its approvedbycitizens.com website for the charter campaign. Catch’s clients are almost exclusively Republican politicos, including Arkansas’s Bible-thumping Gov. Mike Huckabee and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. “Why would anybody on the West Side — any of the people whose doors we’re knocking on — support (the fire union’s) amendments when they’re endorsing those three people who have made our lives a living Hell?” Democratic activist Verna Blackwell asks, rhetorically.

A Familiar Ring Of course, similar contradictions didn’t slow down Steele’s populist predecessors. During the second Applewhite referendum, Turner couched opposition to the water plan in terms of class warfare, warning the city planned to pump substandard reservoir water into poor neighborhoods. Meanwhile, the

ex-wife of convenience store magnate Tom Turner counted staunch fiscal libertarians and anti-tax advocates in her inner circle. Like Steele, both Turner and Stubbs weren’t afraid to get personal in their attacks on mainstream politicians. Stubbs was fond of calling out city leaders for employing the “vulgar arrogance of power,” for example. The response from city leaders was equally pitched. “Anyone who is for the future, as opposed to San Antonio being rolled back to mediocrity and decline, will be with me and with the city against the spending cap,” Cisneros told the New York Times during his 1987 tangle with Stubbs. Has a familiar ring, no? In those past fights, success or failure often came down to voters’ confidence in city leadership. Cisneros, the city’s first Hispanic mayor, drew a national spotlight to the city and helped launched a period of aspirational growth. Little doubt, those served him well as he put down Stubbs’ ballot insurrection. And when Hardberger rallied support to relax the city’s restrictive term limits in 2008, he’d already amassed plenty of policy wins. Among them, he’d extended the River Walk, managed the influx of thousands of New Orleans hurricane evacuees and minted public-private partnerships to fund the Tobin Center and Haven for Hope. For all of Nirenberg’s talk of managing S.A.’s growth, he’s only been in office a year and hasn’t had much to show for those efforts. Sure, he’s assembled some blue-ribbon panels to address pressing issues like transportation and jobs, but without policy victories, experts said he’ll need to rely heavily on voters’ good faith.

Wild Cards Potentially working in Nirenberg’s favor, San Antonio has changed substantially since Stubbs and Turner made their names flipping off city hall. Talk radio and the city’s bevvy of fiscally conservative retirees helped create a perfect storm for those earlier populist efforts, and to be sure, neither of those things has gone away. But what’s new is an influx of professionals, many from places where there’s not such a stubborn resistance to funding local government projects. Even so, political observers aren’t betting demographics alone will be enough to override a longstanding distrust of city hall.

Sanford Nowlin

Plus, another factor makes predictions tough — the vote’s timing. Typically, ballot initiatives are decided in May, in conjunction with mayoral elections. Those draw a meager 10 percent of so of the city’s population, often people with a strong take on local issues. This go-round, the referenda are paired with a national election expected to draw three times that many voters. And even that prediction may be conservative given the enthusiasm Democrats, and now maybe Republicans, are showing about the midterms. That leaves academics scratching their heads. Are folks drawn by national issues likely to give the amendments the benefit of the doubt after reading them for the first time on the ballot? Or, after voting for Beto or Ted, will they ignore the local stuff at the bottom? To be sure, wild cards abound. “This is a very heated time,” said Heywood Sanders, a professor of public policy at the University of Texas at San Antonio. “It will bring out a very different electorate than we’re used to seeing in city elections, and that makes it highly unpredictable.”

Make or Break While ballot success would elevate Steele into a power player, the opposite could also prove true, political watchers argue. If the union suffers an embarrassing and costly failure, its membership may be unwilling to continue writing a blank check. After all, firefighters haven’t had a raise in four years, which effects not only their take-home pay but their pensions. And under Steele’s guidance, the

Chris Steele presides over the September news conference where he wore a fake San Antonio Fire Department uniform. union has turned down invites under three different mayors to get back to the bargaining table. With only 40 percent of San Antonio’s firefighters living in the city, according to municipal records, it remains to be seen how many are eager to keep playing in city politics. To boot, Steele has spent more than a half-million dollars in member dues to hire the Buda-based company that collected signatures to put the amendments on the ballot. “This is about Steele trying to remain in power,” Go Vote No’s Archer said. “He’s put it all on the line.” Steele’s new effort to shrink from the spotlight may have come too late. He’s already positioned himself as the figurehead for the campaign, something experts say it will be hard to undo. “If this is really about the union, being way out front of the union might hurt or might help,” St. Mary’s Vega said. “Although in this case, I think it might hurt more than it helps.” Still, when ballots are counted on November 6, the tally won’t reflect the popularity of Chris Steele any more than earlier ballot fights were about whether voters wanted to be BFFs with Stubbs or Turner. Make no mistake, political experts say, this is about Nirenberg, Sculley and city council. In the end, the amendments’ fate will come down to how many voters are tempted to hurl a brick through city hall’s front window and risk the rain of falling glass. sacurrent.com | October 10-16, 2018 | CURRENT

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WED | 10/10

FRI | 10/12

ART

‘THE INSPIRATION OF ALBERTO MIJANGOS’ q

In the 1990s and early 2000s, the late abstract painter Alberto Mijangos guided a community of artists at the Southwest School of Art and Salon Mijangos (now the 1906 South Flores arts complex) who benefited from his instruction but saw him as a spiritual guide as well. Born in Mexico City in 1925, Mijangos eventually settled in San Antonio, becoming the first director of the Mexican Cultural Institute and fully committing his time and energy to creating art in the 1980s. In a 2003 interview with Cary Cordova for the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution, Mijangos said, “My feeling is that everybody has creative possibilities. There’s some romanticism about what the artist is all about, but I really believe that every human being has potential creative powers.” On Wednesday, AnArte Gallery is hosting the group exhibition “The Inspiration of Alberto Mijangos,” featuring several of Mijangos’ former students, including Linda Lang, Cindy Palmer, Sandy Whitby and the artist’s daughter Laura Mijangos. Known for her subdued use of color and textural surfaces reminiscent of the industrial landscape of her native Pittsburgh, Whitby pays tribute to Mijangos with her work titled Open Window. The painting honors Mijangos’ “belief in what he called every artist’s unique ‘signature,’ their way of expressing themselves through their

Clamp Light Artist Studios & Gallery ART

‘LOST, FOUND, AND RECONSTRUCTED’

Transformation can take place on a number of planes: cultural, social, personal and physical. In this new collaborative, installation-based exhibit, local artists Ashley Mireles and Jose Villalobos used physical transformation to explore the socio-cultural changes in how masculinity and femininity are viewed and policed – all through the lens of the artists’ own unique cultural experiences and symbolic palettes. Highlighting “the transformative outcome of their artistic practices,” the exhibit is comprised of “150 sheets of handmade paper [that] make up a 200-foot stream reminiscent of papel picado stitched together with men’s and women’s garments.” The handmade paper, because no detail is to be considered unimportant here, is made from “the grinding of nopales and books, including Pink Think: Becoming a Woman in Many Uneasy Lessons, Always by My Side: A Father’s Grace and a Sports Journey Unlike Any Other…, and Webster’s Spanish-English Dictionary.” If you are looking for artists working at the cutting edge, seeing deep into our most important issues and coming up with new artistic processes at the same time, this is a can’t-miss show. Free, 7-10pm, Clamp Light Artist Studios & Gallery, 1704 Blanco Road, Suite 104, (512) 569-8134, clamplightsa.com. — James Courtney

art.” The group show complements the current Mijangos retrospective at Centro De Artes. Free, opening reception 6-8pm Wed, on view noon-5pm Tue-Sat through Oct. 31, AnArte Gallery, 7959 Broadway, (210) 826-5674, anartegalllery09.com. — Marco Aquino

FRI | 10/12

tion to the cherished public space at all – Woodlawn Lake is as much a part of our collective consciousness as any landmark of social/cultural import. All are invited to a special Friday night celebration of the place. The anniversary party will include mariachis, food trucks, fireworks and a 7:30pm screen-

ing of Coco, with Spanish subtitles. Fun for the whole family and a chance to pay respects to a bright spot in our cultural memory? Count us in. Free, 6:30-9pm, Woodlawn Lake Park, 1103 Cincinnati Ave., (210) 207-7275, sanantonio.gov/parksandrec. — JC

SPECIAL EVEN T

WOODLAWN LAKE 100TH ANNIVERSARY 5

Sandy Whitby

18 CURRENT | October 10-16, 2018 | sacurrent.com

One of San Antonio’s most beloved community spots, Woodlawn Lake Park is set to celebrate its Centennial this weekend. That’s right: for 100 years now, generations of San Antonians have made Woodlawn Lake their own, shaping it and being shaped by it. Even if you’ve never played a pick-up basketball game, walked a few laps, sailed the fabled waters, attended a picnic or party or pachanga, even if you’ve never taken your kids to the playground, or hit up a festival, or paid much atten-

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COMEDY

CARLOS MENCIA 5

San Antonio loves stand-up comedian Carlos Mencia. If they didn’t, he wouldn’t perform here like he has done every year since 2010. These days, Mencia seems to be keeping busy, but ﬂying under the radar for the most part. Like every other comedian on the planet, he has his own podcast, The Journey, but hasn’t recorded a new episode in five months. During his last one in May, he went existential and talked about God and spirituality and got annoyed when his wife called him in the middle of recording (he answered). Aside from his inconsistent podcast schedule, Mencia is active on social media where he posts videos plugging his upcoming shows (“Do not come if you’re easily oﬀended,” he says) and teases some of his stand-up (in one video, he jokes about weather forecasters who stood out in the rain during Hurricane Florence). He also has a new series of YouTube videos called Taco Love in America where he absorbs tacos through his mouth hole during his travels across the country. He gets extra Latino points for drowning them in the hottest salsa he can find. $25-$45, 7:30pm Fri, 7pm Sat-Sun, Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, 618 NW Loop 410, (210) 541-8805, lolsanantonio.com. — Kiko Martinez

FRI | 10/12 SUN | 10/14

Courtesy of Carlos Mencia

Woodlawn for their take on the cult smash, puppet-populated satire Avenue Q. But be forewarned, the Tony winner contains “full puppet nudity and other vulgarities.” $18-$30, 7:30pm Fri-Sat, 3pm Sun through Nov. 4, Woodlawn Theatre, 1920 Fredericksburg Road, (210) 267-8388, woodlawntheatre.org. — Kelly Merka Nelson

SAT | 10/13

THEATER

AVENUE Q q

It may be harsh to hear that “everyone’s a little bit racist, sometimes,” but the bitter pill is certainly easy to swallow when it comes wrapped in a catchy tune. If you’re aching to hear hits like “What Do You Do with a B.A. in English” and “Schadenfreude,” head to the

Woodlawn Theater

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FRI | 10/12 SUN | 10/14

TALKS PLUS

SPRINGFIELD CONFIDENTIAL x

While our new “golden age of television” has hopefully made us collectively better at looking beyond highly-paid actors and directors to recognize the behind-the-scenes folks who work tirelessly to make everything tick, TV writers remain largely anonymous — save for maybe those nominated in the four “Outstanding Writing” categories each year at the Emmy Awards. Raised in a Jewish family in Connecticut, four-time Emmy-winning Harvard grad Mike Reiss is in certain ways an exception to this rule. Having worked as a writer and producer on The Simpsons continuously since the first episode in 1989, Reiss had a “lifetime” of experiences to draw from when penning his critically acclaimed memoir Springﬁeld Conﬁdential. Beyond amusing “stories, scandals, and gossip” and interviews with the likes of Judd Apatow, Conan O’Brien, Al Jean, Nancy Cartwright and Dan Castellaneta, the book sheds light on such intriguing tidbits as “why Matt Groening decided to make all of the characters yellow … what it’s

like to be crammed in a room full of funny writers 60 hours a week … and what Reiss learned after traveling to 71 countries where The Simpsons is watched.” Billed by publisher Harper Collins as a “personal highlights reel of his achievements, observations, and favorite stories,” Springﬁeld Conﬁdential comes to light this weekend through a presentation and book signing with Reiss hosted by the Barshop Jewish Community Center in observance of The Simpsons’ 30th anniversary. $10, 7:30pm, Barshop Jewish Community Center, 12500 NW Military Hwy., (210) (210) 302-6820, jccsanantonio.org. — Bryan Rindfuss

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calendar SAT | 10/13 SPECIAL EVENT

RED BULL LAST STAND 5

Fans of bike racing and extreme sports in general will, for the third year in a row, have the opportunity to catch a unique spectacle of a race right in downtown San Antonio – at the Alamo no less. Red Bull Last Stand attendees will witness qualifying and final rounds of competition in what is known as a crit race, “a type of cycling that combines a short track, 40 mile-per-hour speeds, and hairpin turns,” with categories for men and women riding fixed and geared bikes. All this amid a festival-like atmosphere (you know how Red Bull gets down) in a decidedly unconventional setting should make for a heck of a day. For those who follow this sport, it’s worth noting that participants will include such elite riders as onetime national dirt track champion Jake Magee, former baseballer James Grady, teacherturned-pro Eleanore Saraiva and emerging Italian fashion designer Paola Penzeri. Free, qualiﬁers at 1pm, main event from 5-9:15pm, Alamo Plaza, 300 Alamo Plaza, laststand.splashthat.com. — JC Jeff Zielinski

SAT | 10/13 Matt Buikema SPECIAL EVEN T

CHALK IT UP The 15th annual Chalk It Up festival, a community event presented

by Artpace, in which a swath of downtown is turned into a giant, street-level art gallery of chalk works, goes down this weekend. The core events of what is a busy and ever-expanding affair are the Team Works competition, wherein more than 50 students compete to create the best chalk mural; the Corporate Competition, which gets local businesses in on the arty action; and the featured artists element, which brings a bevy of local artists and their talents to the streets. Beyond all that, attendees can expect plenty of opportunities to create and engage with creators and creations, live music (provided by KRTU 91.7 Jazz), food trucks and much more. Multimedia art/activism group Borderland Collective heads up a list of featured artists this year and will offer up an extension of their Artpace exhibition “One to Another.” Other SA-based artists to look for include Jose Balli, Sarah Barcus, Lucas Dooley, Raul Gonzalez, Justin Parr, Katie Pell, Jeremiah Teutsch and Nancy Wood. Scott Williams, Artpace’s director of archives and communications, told the Current that this edition of Chalk It Up, with “over 100 murals planned from professional artists, school groups, the Artpace Teen Council, and community and corporate partners,” will boast “more artwork than ever before.” The redoubled focus on the art itself reflects a return to the core of what Chalk It Up is about: “showcasing San Antonio’s talented artist community.” Of the smaller location this year – which finds the fest occupying space along Houston St. and Main St. rather than Houston St. and elsewhere – Williams said the folks at Artpace are “excited that part of the festival will be right outside [their] doorstep” and that they are even encouraging people to begin their day with a visit to the revered downtown art space. Free, 10am-4pm, downtown Houston St. and along Main Ave., (210) 212-4900, artpace.org. – JC

MON | 10/15 MUSIC

RESIDENTE L

As the lyricist/rapper for Calle 13, Residente (born René Pérez Joglar in Puerto Rico in 1978) has been eating Daddy Yankee (and other insuﬀerable reguetoneros) alive for years, both in terms of award shows and critical acclaim. If you have no clue who he is, here’s your crash course: go to YouTube and check out the Latin Grammy-winning video for “La Perla,” an absolute gem based on Afro-Uruguayan candombe played by Argentine drummers in a Brazilian style, complete with salsa horns and an actual rap written and spit out by none other than salsa god Rubén Blades. Then, look for the video for “Adentro” (the ultimate gangsta rap diss) and, finally, listen to Residente, his first solo album, which he recorded after submitting to a DNA test and traveling around the world to create music with his ancestors. Residente comes to San

Courtesy of Residente

Antonio with a full 12-piece band and potentially the best Latin show of the year. Even if you don’t speak Spanish, this is a thinking person’s idea of great Latin alternative grooves that go beyond hip-hop and, thank God, way beyond reggaetón. $30-$60, 7:30 pm, The Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s, (210) 8124355, theaztectheatre.com. — Enrique Lopetegui

sacurrent.com | October 10-16, 2018 | CURRENT

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CURRENT | October 10-16, 2018 | sacurrent.com

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Sam Sanchez

SAT | 10/13 LGBT

NATIONAL COMING OUT DAY

The San Antonio LGBT Chamber of Commerce has announced the performers for the upcoming National Coming Out Day celebration on October 13 at the Mission Marquee Plaza. The list at press time includes comedian Lex Loro, singer-songwriter Dominico, the Live Oak Singers, singer Anthony Cerda, Los MENtirosos drag king troupe (pictured), the Pride of San Antonio Show Band, the Plastik Collective performance group, dancer Haley Merdecai, and spoken-word performers Jenuine Blu and Amanda Ireta. The presenting sponsor for the event is the Bexar County Small, Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises Program, the technical stage sponsor is VIA Metropolitan Transit, the silver sponsor is San Japan and hosting sponsor is Mission Marquee Plaza. The celebration is an oﬃcial San Antonio Tricentennial event. The location of the celebration, Mission Marquee Plaza, is a park that has been built on the grounds of the former Mission Drive-In Theater. The space includes an open-air theater with a grassy lawn where visitors can bring their own blankets, chairs and coolers to enjoy the show. There will be booths by A Space to Thrive, Spectrum at UTSA, PFLAG San Antonio, Inclusive Surrogacy, Aztec Chevrolet, Alamo Beer, AA Credit Repair, Carter TX Realty, Cravery Health Food, the Pride Center, Tio’s Popsicle & Ice Cream and caricature artist Jeﬀ Pecina. Two food trucks, Maldonado’s Grill and Mr. Fish, will sell food and beverages. National Coming Out Day was started in 1988 by activists Robert Eichberg and Jean O’Leary to observe the one-year anniversary of the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. Eichberg, a psychologist, told the New York Times in 1993, “Most people think they don’t know anyone gay or lesbian, and in fact everybody does. It is imperative that we come out and let people know who we are and disabuse them of their fears and stereotypes.” “Celebrating National Coming Out Day allows us to impart the importance of joining together with our allies to make our community stronger,” the LGBT Chamber said in an announcement. “This message of inclusivity and acceptance inspires our community to come together in new ways, ensuring all LGBTQ individuals and families to feel safe, secure and supported.” Free, 6-10pm, Mission Marquee Plaza, 3100 Roosevelt Ave., (210) 5049429, salgbtchamber.org. — Sam Sanchez

FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY!

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Visual Arts | Performance Dance | Music | Food & Drink

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CURRENT | October 10-16, 2018 | sacurrent.com

arts Chad Dawkins photographed by Gary Sweeney

Artist on Artist Gary Sweeney Interviews Chad Dawkins

t’s amazing how many of San Antonio’s most talented artists began their careers in the Texas panhandle: Ken Little, Hills Snyder, Diana Kersey, Jeremiah Teutsch, Cakky Brawley, Sarah Roberts and Greg Johnson are just some of the transplants who add to our thriving local art scene. Chad Dawkins made his way here from Lubbock, and, in just a short time, received his BA in art history and criticism, worked as the studio tech at Artpace and began writing reviews and essays while curating exhibitions at contemporary art spaces such as Sala Diaz. He has now settled into the job of curator and director of exhibitions at the Southwest School of Art. Oh, and he’s working on his PhD on the Philosophy of Art. Dawkins and his wife, Amy Austin, the director of development at Artpace, now make up one of San Antonio’s true art power couples. What was your first introduction to the world of art? I think my first encounter with contemporary art came in the form of being handed a book of Andy Warhol’s Flowers in the eighth grade.

I wasn’t reading in class during class-reading time and my teacher was generous enough to compromise with me to at least have a book open. My first experience with the art world came about when I was around 17. Jeremiah Teutsch and I had a show in the backroom of a pool-hall bar in Lubbock. How would you explain the role of the curator to someone outside the art world? Simply put, a curator is someone who organizes art exhibitions. The role includes a myriad of duties, but primarily they are the ones who talk to artists, select artwork, make decisions and arrange that work for a given space or situation. But since you asked, the term curator comes from the Latin curare — “to take care of.” Curators in the Roman Empire were “caretakers” of administrative departments. In the 14th century, guardians or “overseers of minors and lunatics” were called curators. Since the 17th century, a curator has been someone in charge of a museum, zoo, library or other exhibits. In many museum contexts, curators are those that oversee the care and preservation of specific parts of a collection. It is only since the end of the 20th century that we understand a curator as someone who acts independently to organize exhibitions. The title is so overused now that it’s almost meaningless in some contexts. But, ironically, curators do still take care of things

— even if it’s shoes or an Instagram post. Did you gradually morph into curating, or was it something you pursued? Gradual morph. I never wanted to pursue curation as a practice and I continue to be reluctant about accepting it as my practice. I seriously pursued art-making for about 15 years. During my years in undergrad, I was encouraged by some smarter, wiser folks around me that I should pursue art criticism and writing. I did, and it turned out to be transformative for me for several reasons. I guess because of my critical stance, a couple of people asked me to curate shows. Of course I accepted, but was honestly very reluctant about it. Art writing pays nothing; I was a picture framer and art handler for over a decade, so my trajectory led me to pursue administration, which for my role at the Southwest School of Art includes curation. I use the term curator as shorthand to give others a sense of what I do in the arts. If you could briefly go back and place yourself in any time and place in art history, where and when would it be? If I could time travel, I wouldn’t make just one stop. But I guess if I only got one chance, I would go to Vienna, March 31, 1913, to attend Arnold Schoenberg’s concert of new music that so offended the audience it ended in riot. 27 6

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Pop América 1965–1975 THROUGH JANUARY 13, 2019 The first exhibition of its kind, Pop América offers a hemispheric vision of Pop art. Featuring nearly 100 artworks that connect Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, and the U.S., this exhibition sparks a fundamental reconsideration and expansion of Pop. Funding for Pop América, 1965–1975 is most generously provided by The Brown Foundation, Inc., Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation, the Elizabeth Huth Coates Charitable Foundation of 1992, the Marcia and Otto Koehler Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Sotheby’s Prize, The USAA Foundation, Inc., the Andy Warhol Foundation, Lori and Joel Dunlap, and Humanities Texas. Additional support is provided by the Director’s Circle and the Exhibition Host Committee, chaired by Lori and Joel Dunlap. Pop América, 1965–1975 is co-organized by the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, and the McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas. The exhibition is guest curated by Esther Gabara, E. Blake Byrne Associate Professor of Romance Studies and Art, Art History & Visual Studies at Duke University. Hugo Rivera-Scott, Pop América (detail), 1968. Collage on cardboard. Courtesy of the artist. © Hugo Rivera-Scott. Photo by Jorge Brantmayer.

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CURRENT | October 10-16, 2018 | sacurrent.com

arts

A student project in Dawkins’ office at Texas State (above) and a recent James Smolleck exhibition Dawkins curated at the Southwest School of Art (right). 6 25 You’re currently working on your doctorate, and I’m very excited about the future prospect of calling you “Doc Dawkins.” Can you talk about the subject of your study? Please don’t. But if you get any sick ideas you can call my office … Yes, I am currently writing my dissertation for a PhD in the philosophy of art and theory. My research focuses on the role of exhibitions as ideological apparatuses and the way that they influence not only the way that we view and perceive artwork, but that their influence extends to the ways art objects are made. A lot of art history and theory is concerned with what art is, but I am more concerned with how it is what is. I am looking at the ideological structures that make something “Art” — that gives objects and situations significance — and I think that exhibitions are at the core of how this all works.

dislike, or find successful or not, whatever it is you are looking at. It probably helps if you like the art and artists you are dealing with, too.

If you could own any work of art, what would it be? That is a hard one. I’ll pick Caravaggio’s “Conversion of Paul on the Road to Damascus.”

What advice would you give to art students today? 1. You must maintain a healthy distrust of your own decisions and practices. 2. Continuously maintain a website and your CV. 3. Take your potential career seriously and act like a professional, but don’t take yourself too seriously. We’re not saving lives with art, we’re not field medics, but the art world isn’t a joke either. 4. Everything is sculpture. Lastly, I always tell students that the most freeing experience I’ve had was the first time someone asked me if I was an artist and I answered no. There are a lot of roles to play in the art world(s) – everyone doesn’t need to be an artist.

What are the qualities that make a successful art curator? I don’t know. I’m sure, like anything else, there is the factor of being in the right place at right time. The qualities I find in professionals that I admire are persistence, focus and staunch devotion to what one cares about. Mental agility and problem-solving skills, especially with resources, are essential. The ability to articulate why you like or

What kind of changes do you notice taking place in the world of art institutions? I’ll only speak for what I know best, which is within the U.S. One good change is the increased diversification of artists represented in exhibitions and at galleries. To be clear, diversity means variety, and that variety leads to an increased awareness of the world we all inhabit. The flipside of this is

hyper-awareness and attempts to be inclusive regardless of the works or ideas being presented. But there is still a lot of work to do to reach gender or cultural parity in this country. A change for the worse is the financial situation. Income inequality is affecting institutions as much as individuals. Historically, everything exciting happens in scrappy alternative spaces and ambitious nonprofits. There are serious financial needs in these spaces, and they are increasingly reliant on the generosity of individual donors and while facing a cultural expectation of boot-strap self-reliance. Corporations and governments need to step up and seriously invest in these organizations. Simon Doonan has said that the art world has become “a vapid hell-hole of investment-crazed pretentiousness.” Are you optimistic about the future of art? Yes and no, but there is nothing pretentious about it. I assume he is referring to the “blue chip” art-stars that make up the auction market fodder and museum blockbuster headliners. No, it’s not pretentious because it’s ubiquitous. Warhol, Picasso and Jeff Koons are like Starbucks. They are everywhere, there is nothing special about it and it’s always the same. Sure, the price points

of those types of works are only for the one percent, and those who buy art to invest are not taking risks on off-brand products. But more importantly, this influences institutions’ decisions. Many major institutions are not taking chances and playing it safe with regard to types of work for the sake of brand recognition. Throughout the 20th century, institutions kept pace with changing tastes and attitudes about art’s potentials, but now it seems that museums in every major city in every country have a rote checklist of modern and contemporary artists included in their rotation, and it’s really boring. We need more pretentiousness, more pride in place, and more opportunity for the artists in those places. This also points to the problem of institutions playing it safe by appealing to the lowest common denominator perceived in their audience. We have returned to a 19th-century idea of art museums as educational institutions for the masses. We have to stop “engaging audiences” with remedial information and juvenile props. Name something that would surprise your friends to know about you. I’ve always loved space and astronomy and wish I could have worked for NASA. sacurrent.com | October 10-16, 2018 | CURRENT

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CURRENT | October 10-16, 2018 | sacurrent.com

First Man is a masterfully directed technical achievement that explores life and loss BY KIKO MARTINEZ

o reach the pinnacle of outer space realism on the big screen these days, a lot rests on the film’s technical capabilities. From the stunning cinematography in 2013’s Gravity, the jaw-dropping special effects of 2014’s Interstellar or the impressive production design in 2015’s The Martian, moviegoers want to be transported from their theater seats to the farthest corners of the galaxy as effortlessly as possible.

Luckily, First Man, the biopic on NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling), who became the first man to ever step foot on the surface of the moon in 1969, is a commendable technical achievement. In the film, the anxiousness felt in the interiors of the aircraft or spaceflight simulator is pushed to the brink of chaos with handheld camerawork. It creates a dizzying sense of dread in the most intense and confined scenes. Leading up to the successful Apollo 11 launch, First Man follows Armstrong as he prepares for

Gentleman Thief

Universal Pictures

whatever space mission he is assigned to next. Not only is it a journey of determination and strength, it’s also an exploration by Oscar-winning screenwriter Josh Singer (Spotlight) of the immeasurable losses that Armstrong experienced. This includes the passing of his two-year-old daughter in 1962 and the deaths of fellow space travelers (the threeman crew of Apollo 1 were killed in a fire during a spacecraft test in 1967). Directed by Damien Chazelle (La La Land), the first project of his young career that he

Fox Searchlight Pictures

The Old Man & the Gun is a Poignant and Bittersweet Tribute to a Classic Hollywood Star BY KIKO MARTINEZ

f legendary actor/director Robert Redford is really hanging it up after 60 years in Hollywood – he announced his retirement in August – his final film, The Old Man & the Gun, is just about as perfect of a swan song as any thespian could hope for. With Old Man,

Redford has come full circle in his career and found his way back to playing the charismatic scoundrel he was known for in classic films like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting. At age 82, Redford hasn’t lost any of that appeal. In Old Man,

screens

Space Odyssey

didn’t actually write himself, the Oscar-winning filmmaker is at the top of his game as he takes viewers deep into the inner-workings of the space program, which at the time was beaten at every turn by the Soviets. Along with the radiant photography by Oscar-winning cinematographer Linus Sandgren (La La Land) and the vintage visual style of Oscar-nominated production designer Nathan Crowley (Dunkirk), it is Chazelle’s work behind the camera that will make the narrative resonate with audiences. Like recent space films Gravity and Moon, First Man relies on intimate and uncomplicated storytelling. On occasion, Singer’s story feels as if it is taking place inside a silo and only breaks from those confines when we get an idea of how people outside of NASA are observing the historic events (Apollo 13 was more effective in this respect). Gosling, maybe in an attempt to balance actress Claire Foy as outspoken first wife Janet, portrays Armstrong with understated confidence. The dynamic works for the most part, although Gosling isn’t given much external range. Still, like the best cinematic space odysseys that have come before, First Man brings with it a message of humanism and mortality that puts life into perspective. What better backdrop to experience an existential awakening than soaring across the cosmos?

writer/director David Lowery (Pete’s Dragon) has crafted a story that underscores Redford’s talents as someone who can command a screen even when portraying restrained characters. Redford has never been a showy actor, but he’s always been a showstopper. He does the same in Old Man as Forrest Tucker, a notorious career criminal who spent his entire life in and out of jail for robbing banks until his death behind bars in 2004. The year before he passed, the New Yorker ran a profile on Tucker – which Lowery used as the basis for his screenplay – in which he said that during his bank-robbing escapades, he was able to successfully escape from prison a whopping 18 times. Old Man introduces audiences to Forrest in the early 1980s doing what he does best – looting a bank and wearing a fashionable blue suit, brown fedora and wry smile. As most bank tellers and managers can attest while being held up, Forrest was polite and gentlemanly – the ideal target for Austin police officer John Hunt (Casey Affleck) to admire, but also track down. While on the run, Forrest charms

his way into the life of Jewel (Sissy Spacek), a widow who is quickly enamored by his nonchalant demeanor and mysterious air. Redford and Spacek, who surprisingly had never starred in a film together before, are wonderful in the few scenes they share. With the film’s old-school cinematic look and feel, Lowery takes moviegoers back in time to witness the noteworthy pairing as if it happened 40 years ago. It’s romantic, nostalgic and awfully adorable. In Lowery’s hands, Old Man becomes more than just a biopic about an aging outlaw. It’s a tribute to Redford and the lasting effect he has left behind on the film industry. In one of the most poignant scenes of the year, Lowery packages all 18 prison escapes Forrest allegedly pulled off. During one of those escapes, viewers get a glimpse of a young Redford’s face, a scene borrowed from 1966’s The Chase, and edited flawlessly into the montage. It’s a bittersweet farewell to Redford and one that Lowery, as he does with the whole film, treats with the highest regard.

Find more news Find more every day at film stories sacurrent.com

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The Guru of Gore

Grindhouse legend Joe Bob Briggs lands in SA for a screening of the 1982 cult classic Basket Case BY LANCE HIGDON

outh Texas in general and San Antonio in particular still love themselves a good gore flick, and the month-long countdown to Halloween invariably multiplies our opportunities to catch them on the big screen. This year, though, we’re particularly lucky, as the recent re-emergence of cable TV’s philosopher-king of trash cinema Joe Bob Briggs is coming to town to screen a true cookie-tossing classic at Alamo Drafthouse Park North. If you weren’t fortunate enough to grow up with Joe Bob on the tube in the ’90s, now would be a good time to get acquainted. Joe Bob Briggs’ alter ego is John Bloom, raised partly in North Texas and partly in Arkansas and, after graduating first in his class as an English major from Vanderbilt, a full-to-part-time Dallas resident thereafter (he currently divides his time between Grapevine and New York). Bloom started writing as Joe Bob in 1982, assuming the persona of a boisterous truck-drivin’ hillbilly to review genre films produced by schlock auteur Roger Corman. It

CURRENT | October 10-16, 2018 | sacurrent.com

also allowed Bloom to sublimate the careful criticism of his arthouse film writing beneath Joe Bob’s enthusiasm for grimy-ass exploitation movies, which he quantifies by gallons of blood, bounty of breasts and taxonomies of insane action stunts he suffixes with the qualifier “fu” (Quicksand Fu, Scalpel Fu, etc.). After five years of columns, Joe Bob started appearing on screens himself, emceeing late-night horror movies on the Movie Channel (he made the move to TNT’s MonsterVision in 1996). Decked out in his finest Western wear and seated in his easy chair, Bloom drawled out analyses of drive-in detritus like Sleepaway Camp and The Legend of Boggy Creek for a generation of devotees collectively known as his “mutants.” When Job Bob signed off for the last time in the summer of 2000, it signaled the end of a special era in genre cinema. As it turns out, the drive-in wasn’t destined to stay buried forever. Earlier this year, the horror streaming site Shudder started hyping a final return to form for

Case screening and Q&A in San Antonio. Bloom is a storehouse of grindhouse lore, particularly as it relates to the Lone Star State (did you know the last drive-in porno theater in the U.S. is in Tyler?), but his relationship to Basket Case is especially close. According to his Shudder intro to the movie, Joe Bob personally persuaded the distributor to restore all the splatter to the movie before its premiere at the Highway 183 Drive-In in Irving in 1982. He’d been won over by the film at the Cannes Film Festival (!) already, where he struck up a friendship with director Frank Henenlotter that endures to this day. In many ways, Basket Case is the ideal Joe Bob Briggs flick. It was shot on and around 42nd Street (home to the grindhouses where many of Joe Bob’s favorites first ran) in the early ’80s, a time when it was totally plausible that you would see a grown man run down the street totally naked (which happens once in the movie) or blood spurting from multiple people (which Shudder happens many times in the movie). A Joe Bob, dubbed The Last Drive-In. Bloom 4K restoration just makes the film’s grunginess more pronounced. was to don his bolo tie and saddle up in It’s about the last place you’d expect the Lay-Z-Boy for one last 24-hour rodeo. a character to read a Thousands of mutants lengthy excerpt from signed up for the ride; Basket Case Hosted by Shakespeare’s The within minutes of Joe Bob Briggs Tempest, even less starting, they crashed that the Bard’s prose the site’s servers. $27.06, 7:30pm Sat, Oct. 13 would foreshadow The streams caught Alamo Drafthouse Park North what happens to up eventually, thank618 NW Loop 410, (210) 677-8500 an anti-hero that fully, and Shudder looks like a squashed immediately put the drafthouse.com octopus. But that is whole thing on deexactly what hapmand. Shortly thereafpens in the saga of ter, it was announced Duane and Bilal Bradley, Henenlotter’s that Joe Bob would return for regularly forcibly-separated Siamese twins, and scheduled programming in 2019. In the it’s the sort of greatness that can get interim, Bloom is taking Joe Bob out to lost in the more visceral pleasures make the rounds, including a series of screenings at Alamo Drafthouses in Tex- exploitation offers. Joe Bob says check as — most notable, this Saturday’s Basket it out.

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Young Man & the Icon

Filmmaker David Lowery on Directing Legendary Actor Robert Redford in His Final Role BY KIKO MARTINEZ

he first time that filmmaker David Lowery (A Ghost Story) read a 2003 profile piece in The New Yorker about an aging bank robber named Forrest Tucker, he wondered why no one had ever made a movie about him before. “I thought, ‘This is too good to be true,’” Lowery, 37, told the Current during a phone interview late last month. “I thought, ‘This has to be a movie already.’” What Lowery didn’t doubt, however, was how serious the person who sent him the magazine article was about making the film and taking on the lead role. That person was Hollywood legend Robert Redford (The Sting), who had worked with Lowery in the 2016 live-action reimagining of Pete’s Dragon. “For me, the appeal was not only to be able to tell this crazy story, but also to get to work with Mr. Redford and collaborate with him in creating a character that is a quintessential Robert Redford character,” Lowery said. “It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.” Together, Lowery and Redford turned a stranger-than-fiction crime story into the independent film The Old Man & the Gun, which Redford said will be the last film of his career now that he is officially retired. The film also stars Sissy Spacek (In the Bedroom) as Jewel, Forrest’s love interest, and Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea) as John Hunt, an Austin police officer trying to track down the experienced thief. During our interview with Lowery, we talked about the old-school approach he chose to make the film, his addiction to moviemaking and why it’s too early for him to comment on what will ultimately be Redford’s lasting legacy. The Old Man & the Gun opens at select San Antonio theaters Oct. 12. Did you go into this project with the conscious idea to make a modern version of a 1970s film? I wanted this movie to feel as if it was made in a different era. I think it is definitely a spiritual successor to many of the films that Redford made his name in – the classic outlaw movies like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Jeremiah Johnson. I didn’t want it to feel like a revisionist version or a modern update. I wanted it to feel like it was cut from the same cloth as those films. I also knew that it needed to reflect where [Redford] is now in his life and career. Forrest passed away in 2004. If you had gotten the chance to meet him, would there have been anything you would’ve liked to have asked him that might’ve affected the script?

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Maybe I wouldn’t have felt comfortable asking him, but in the [New Yorker] article, he talks about how in hindsight he wishes he hadn’t been a bank robber. He says he should’ve taken a different career and learned a trade. I would’ve asked him if he really meant that. Why do you think he just couldn’t resist robbing banks? You could get into the psychology of it and try to unpack it, but at the purest level, I just think there was a love of it. You could call it a love for the adrenaline or the thrill. He was addicted to the archetype. He wanted to be a bank robber with a capital B. There’s something about that that kept him going. He wanted to be the best outlaw there ever was. I can’t help but equate that to making movies. When you really love it, you just can’t stop. I’m addicted to it.

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In the third act of the film, you create this incredible montage of all of Forrest’s bank robberies. Where did that idea come from? There’s a moment in the [New Yorker] article where the journalist, David Grann, talks about when he said his final farewell to Forrest, Forrest gave him a handwritten list of all his prison breaks. There were 18 of them and the 19th one was blank. I wanted that moment to exist in the film. More than that, I wanted to see all those prison breaks. I thought, “How fun would it be to flash through this character’s life in the final act of the film and really open up our perception of him?” If this really is Robert’s last film, what kind of legacy do you feel he’s leaving behind? I don’t have a good answer for that question. I’ve spent so long not thinking about him retiring. Now, it’s starting to weigh on me more. So, while I don’t have a good answer now, it’s something I’ve been reflecting on. At some point in the future, we’ll all look back on this amazing man – this legend – and all of those facets of who he was will be there. At some point, his legacy will be defined. We’re just not there yet. For our full interview with David Lowery, visit sacurrent.com. sacurrent.com | October 10-16, 2018 | CURRENT

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CURRENT | October 10-16, 2018 | sacurrent.com

food

THE BIG SPOON

Crossroads Kitchen, though now closed, will live on in cookbook form BY JESS ELIZARRARAS

t’s a simple enough booklet. A folded tan cardstock holds together five 8.5 by 11-inch pieces of copy paper, bound by three staples. This is the Crossroads zine. It might not look like the glossy cookbooks put out by celeb authors like Joanna Gaines or Chrissy Teigen, but for a pair of San Antonio women, the book holds some of their most popular recipes and captures parts of a culinary moment – Crossroads Southern Kitchen’s three-year tenure at Faust Tavern. Best friends and business partners Drew Morros and Roberta Marques first opened Crossroads inside an 18-by-10-foot nook in Faust Tavern in 2014 after hosting a series of plated pop-up dinners in the area. Crossroads served up freshly made comfort food until the wee hours of the morning, and gained fans for their smoked gouda mac n’ cheese, a velvety and nuanced dish, as well as their hearty fried chicken sandwich. They drew inspiration from their childhoods spent in Florida and South Carolina, and their food backgrounds that included several of San Antonio’s best kitchens. “There was a lot of sitting outside on the tables at Faust with coffee and talking over recipes,” Marques said. The first edition, complete with a singular coffee stain to mirror their recipe moleskines, nearly sold out before the first pop-up this summer at their old stomping grounds. And it’s not hard to see why. The zine gives step-by-step instructions on how to recreate those classic recipes from the loaf of bread used for sandwiches to the mayonnaise that served as a base for Crossroad’s luxurious ranch dressing. Over the course of three days, the co-chefs-turned-historians reworked a

handful of recipes for the home cook. Regulars, friends and former employees all ordered copies, as did local archivists: both UTSA’s Special Collection and the San Antonio Zine Library purchased a copy for their records. Isabel Ann Castro, who collects zines for the SAZL, worked at Faust as Crossroads was about to launch. She recalls Morros’ warmth and prowess in turning a hole in the wall into a functioning kitchen. Even after moving on from Faust, Castro frequented Crossroads and was sad to see it go in July 2017 when Morros and Marques finally called it quits. “It was good eating,” Castro said. As one of the founders of the San Antonio Zine Festival and St. Sucia, Castro notes how rare it is to find recipe zines. As is, prying recipes out of chefs’ hands can be, shall we say, difficult. “It’s not like she’s old and wants to preserve these for other generations. They’re sharing the most beloved recipes,” Castro said. “They’re still chefs and could easily hoard them, but that’s not their attitude. The food was made with love and shared with love.” And there will be more zines to come. Volume 2, which will focus on meatloaf, will debut with another temporary resurrection on October 16 at 6 p.m. at Faust. But there are plans in the works for a pot roast zine, a brunch zine and a charcuterie zine,

all drawing from recipes developed over the previous three years. Marques and Morros now focus on the daily grind of managing Lowcountry in Southtown. Though they don’t miss the hustle of a scratch kitchen, they miss the daily end result — full bellies and happy customers. The Crossroads zine helps them tap those creative juices while securing the tiny restaurant’s legacy, and ultimately, gaining closure. “When all of this is done, it closes the door on this thing that was Crossroads. The food’s been recorded – it’s all been put out into the world,” Morros said.

Contact the author: flavor@sacurrent.com

Find more Findfood more& drink news news every day at sacurrent.com

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And African Village Makes Three New Ethiopian restaurant adds more injera and spice-laden platters BY RON BECHTOL “Is Teff the New Supergrain?’ teased the New York Times a couple of years ago. “New” should likely be in additional quotes as teff, “naturally high in minerals and protein,” was “first domesticated in Ethiopia more than 3,000 years ago” — a distinction that places it firmly in the pantheon of ancient crops (quinoa is another) currently demanding our attention. The naturally gluten-free grain “has long been a dietary staple for Ethiopia’s legendary distance

a donut shop, a bagel outlet, a tamal tienda, a pizza joint and a halal “fashion” store and grocery, among others. I swear that I have reviewed at least two different restaurants in the same location over the years. There is nothing about African Village’s marigold-hued décor that will especially set it apart from any of those; the excitement here is in the food and in the manner of its presentation. Almost everything is served either on or with teff-based injera bread. It’s springy in texture, lacy, slightly sour — and it serves as a kind of spongy spork. Yes, aided by injera, you eat with your fingers. Curry will linger there. Just saying. Beyond this, it will help to read up a little on Eritrean/Ethiopian food before going. With few differences (more tomatoes in once-Italian Eritrea, for example), the foods are essentially identical. Berbere, a chili-laden spice blend, is common to both. There is minimal explanation on the menu, and though service was more than willing, further information was not forthcoming. So here’s what we learned. By all means order the sambuusa. These tiny dough-encased triangles are similar to Indian samosas, the veggie-stuffed version was jalapeño accented, and the serving of six came with a warm lentil salad that was just as good as the flaky packets. At $2.99, this is the deal of the decade — and it is presented with spoons. Save at least one for later. Another must-order is the tibis/tibs in its rendition with awazie/awaze, a spice mix using “false” cardamom. The warmly spiced sauce (we asked for it “spicy”) was anything but imitation, however, and the tender cubes of beef it bathed were excellent. We kept going back to this as the metal platter, lined with a full, flat injera, spun round and round. All other entrées were served atop the injera on that same platter. The lightly curried alicha wot/wat, a beef

stew with onion, ginger and garlic, utilized a slightly different cut of less-tender beef. Problematic at first, the dish grew on us as the subtle curry spicing began to more than make up for the chewy beef. Also of the challengingly chewy genre, the drumsticks forming the core of the traditional doro wot at first created a how-to-eat-it dilemma for diners unused to the subtleties of employing injera as a utensil. Problem solved by using that saved spoon to prize the meat from the bone in pieces. The easy-to-eat boiled egg that shared sauce with the chicken prompted one diner to speculate on which came first … In fact, the robust sauce with red onion, black pepper and more of the cardamom came first; it was different enough from the first two to be its own thing, yet similar enough to be family. Though good, the vegetable dishes we sampled lacked the same excitement. The turmeric-hued gomen alicha with cabbage, potato, onion and carrots was homey but unremarkable; the atar kik wot, yellow split peas with a barrage of spices, was mostly fine as a foil for more aggressive dishes. Speaking of which, if you’re not averse to the idea of finely minced, raw beef, the kitfo that comes liberally seasoned with mitmita, another traditional spice mix, is Pop Rocks explosive in its spicy intensity. Yes, it’s also served with injera. Finally, do order coffee, another Ethiopian first, even if nobody can tolerate evening caffeine. The beans will be roasted for you by the server squatting at the low coffee “shrine,” and the aromas that permeate the room will serve to evoke Africa more than any décor. Try to pour from high above the cup for a traditional flourish, then savor tastes that seem to run the gamut from green to toasty. Those frisky Ethiopian goats that legendarily alerted their goatherd to the presence of caffeine in native coffee bushes will thus be well and truly celebrated.

African Village Ethiopian & Eritrean Restaurant runners,” it is claimed. All of which is good news if you plan to enter a marathon any time soon. Or if you plan to explore San Antonio’s new crop of Ethiopian restaurants. (There are two plus a food truck.) You’ll be up to your eyeballs in teff; there’s no escaping the stuff. African Village is located in a commercially and culturally diverse shopping center at Vance Jackson and Wurzbach. Its neighbors include

10918 Wurzbach Road, Suite 131, (210) 354-7729 Hours: 11:30am-10pm Wed.-Mon, closed Tuesday

Cost: Entrées $7.99-$13.99 Best Bets: sambuusa, tibis, alicha wot, awazie, Ethiopian coffee The Skinny: Injera, a spongy, lightly sour pancake made from teff is foundational to Ethiopian cuisine: you eat it and eat with it. As is typical, highly spiced stews, often featuring beef, are scooped up with and served atop injera at African Village. Same goes for the traditional doro wot with both chicken legs and eggs. The bold should order the zestily spiced raw ground beef called kitfo. Everybody should try the sambuusa packets and the coffee service. sacurrent.com | October 10-16, 2018 | CURRENT

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food | nightlife COCKTAIL OF THE WEEK

Still Golden’s Dr. Robert Ford BY ERIN WINCH

n South Texas, there’s no better time to enjoy a drink outdoors than in early fall. One of the top spots to grab a patio libation is Still Golden Social House. The bar, which opened early this year to replace the beloved Stay Golden that was just a couple blocks away, is now one of many go-to spots around the Pearl area. Whether you are stopping in to grab a quick drink for happy hour, looking for a spot to drink and show off your dog, or simply trying to watch a game on the flat screens, Still Golden is versatile enough for any occasion. Also versatile is the Dr. Robert Ford cocktail. The Dr. Robert Ford, named after Anthony Hopkins character in HBO’s Westworld, is available on Still Golden’s regular menu, and was created by the bar manager Stephan Mendez. A slight variation on the gin basil smash (a traditional

cocktail made with gin, lemon, simple syrup, and basil), Mendez’s version updates the recipe by creating a basil syrup with a sous vide, which aids in creating a bright flavor and speeds up the prep process. To kick it up one more notch, Mendez allows drinkers to “choose their own adventure,” as he puts it, by letting them choose between three spirits. The traditional recipe calls for gin (Golden uses Waterloo). However, customers can sub the gin out for either Cachaça, a Brazilian spirit or Uruapan Charanda, a white rum and my personal favorite, which adds a nice balance to the drink. You can try one out today for $8, or you can try all three variations to see which spirit is your favorite. Erin Winch writes about boozin’ in the Alamo City on her blog Drinking In SA. Follow @drinking.in.SA on Instagram to keep up with the SA drink scene.

Erin Winch

Brew News For all your hoppy endeavors BY JESS ELIZARRARAS TEXAS MEAD FEST RETURNS TO SEGUIN

If you’re over IPAs and porters bore you, you may want to dabble in mead. And you’ll have a chance to do as much at the seventh annual Texas Mead Fest on Saturday, October 27, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Held yearly in Seguin’s Town Square (101 E. Court St.), the Texas Mead Fest celebrates the versatile “alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey with water along with various fruits, hops, spices or grains.” This year’s meaderies will be Blessed Bee Winery, Dancing Bee Winery, Enchanted Manor, Meridian Hive, Mystic Oak, Rohan Meadery and Texas Mead Works. The festival also serves as the host of the Texas Mead Cup, a professional and homemade mead competition, which drew more than 170 entries in 2017 from across 18 states. Tickets can be purchased for $15 in advance and $20 at the door and

include eight tasting tickets as well as a souvenir wine glass. Visit texasmead. org for details.

HAPPY HOURLY AT THE RUSTIC

The Rustic is now offering new specials for happy hour. From 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., you’ll find staggered prices on all beers, house wines and frozé. For instance, your favorite beer will be $3 from 3-4 p.m., $4 from 4-5 p.m. and $5 from 5-6 p.m. The happy hour is offered Monday through Friday. 17619 La Cantera Pkwy., (210) 245-7500.

RECORD BEER HAUL FOR THIS YEAR’S SAN ANTONIO BEER FESTIVAL

We’re not trying to brag, but we like beer. We like it so much we’ve hosted a whole festival for it the past 13 years. This year’s lineup of 446 beers and counting means the San Antonio Beer Festival, presented by H-E-B and benefitting the San Antonio Food Bank, will be the third largest beer festival in the state and second for brewery count. Maybe we are trying to brag after all. More than 131 breweries will be pouring their favorites on Saturday, October

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20, from noon (VIP) and 1:30 (GA) to 6:30 p.m. The VIP area will be sponsored by Real Ale Brewing Co., which brought home gold for their Real Heavy Scotch ale, and will feature 19 beers specific to the area. Presenting sponsor H-E-B will host an H-E-B Experience Tent with predominantly Texan breweries, including Real Ale Brewing, Buffalo

Bayou Brewing Company, Southern Star Brewing, Saint Arnold Brewing Company, Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling, Four Corners Brewing Co. and Freetail Brewing Co. Additional tappings will also go down, so pencil that into your San Antonio Beer Festival plan of attack. For more information on the event and tickets, check out sanantoniobeerfestival.com. sacurrent.com | October 10-16, 2018 | CURRENT

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From left: Phanie Diaz, Nina Diaz and Jenn Alva

San Antonio’s Influential All-female Band Girl in a Coma Has Officially Broken Up BY CHRIS CONDE

ew local bands have made the impact that Girl in a Coma has. And whether folks here realize it or not, dealing with the boys club that is the music industry combined with the still-problematic machismo culture that exists in San Antonio, that impact is even greater thanks

Photos courtesy of Girl in a Coma

to these young women. From touring with the likes of Morrissey, Social Distortion and Tegan and Sara, to building an enormous cult-like following across the U.S. and abroad, Phanie Diaz, Nina Diaz and Jenn Alva broke through the glass ceilings that most local acts run into and kept pushing higher. On Thursday, Phanie released a statement on her Facebook page stating that the band was officially done. With Nina moving to Los Angeles to focus on her solo project and Phanie and Jenn continuing to tour relentlessly with their riot grrrrl act Fea (which got a shout out from Iggy Pop himself in Rolling Stone), the split seemed natural, but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t an emotional break. “Jenn and I kind of wanted to have a last show to kind of give closure to [Girl in a Coma],” Diaz explained. “But Nina’s kind of not ready for it, and she’s doing her thing in LA, so we were like ‘OK, well, if we can’t have that last show, Jenn and I kind of want to have our own closure and not just put out this statement as a group, but how we each individually feel.” Read Phanie’s statement below:

“I know how long we’ve been together, and what we’ve done as a band but posting the statement was all kinds of an emotional ride ‘cause people were telling their stories [and sharing memories they had with the band],” Phanie wrote. “I remember people coming with their two year old daughters and now their daughters have kids and i’m like ‘god damn’ I just didnt’ realize how long it’s been – hearing the stories, and seeing pictures [fans posted on our Facebook] of us younger.” Read Jenn’s statement below: Phanie posted the picture of our last performance together. God damn... if I would have known that was going to be the last show, I would have tried to soak up every second of it ... our last show was TACO Fest? Haha... lord. Phanie posted her statement, take a look at it. People have some amazing stories. I’m so grateful. Nina left for LA last week and couldn’t be reached for a statement, however Phanie hinted that Nina could be releasing a video with her own explanation for the departure from Girl in a Coma.

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music | music Picks social and personal experiences of growing up as queer androgynous women in the south.” SA’s Pink Leche, meanwhile, is no stranger to folks who follow that beat in this town. Making everything from queercore big-bass to intimate bedroom electronica and a whole bunch in between, Pink Leche, the project of Eric Cavazos, is as dynamic as it is mesmerizing. And, in the live setting, Pink Leche’s energy and charisma are truly something to experience. Free, 9pm, The Bang Bang Bar, 119 El Mio Drive, (210) 320-1187, thebangbangbartx.com. — James Courtney

LECRAE + MORE E Friday, October 12

Courtesy of Ferry Corsten

FERRY CORSTEN L Wednesday, October 10

As a Dutch DJ, record producer and remixer from Rotterdam, Ferry Corsten is known for putting out pioneering trance tracks from the ’90s through the aughts. His recent style has been a bit broader, electronically producing everything from progressive house to melodic trance, which he plays at festivals all over the world, including Electric Daisy Carnival and Tomorrowland. Consistently ranked among DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs, getting a chance to see a DJ at this caliber is rare in San Antonio, so, it could be worth getting your club on, boo. $15$20, 10pm, Lush Rooftop, 4553 N. Loop 1604 W., (210) 833-5158, lushrooftop. com. – Chris Conde

catch the “My Name Is Human” singers next week at the Aztec. $25-$45, 7pm, Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 812-4355, theaztectheatre.com. – CC

That hip-hop and Christianity, at least the mainstream versions of each, seem to be incompatible probably has more to do with our preconceived notions of each than anything else. Indeed, humility, forgiveness and compassion seem opposed to the core hip-hop tropes of claiming superiority, glorifying violence and disrespecting enemies (and others). But, as a vehicle for expression, hip-hop is endlessly malleable and empowering,

Andy Mineo

just like any decent practice of Christianity. Whether you’re a Christian looking to expand your musical horizons or a hip-hop head with an open mind – recognizing that flow is flow – this weekend’s Christian hip-hop bill at the Aztec could prove a powerful experience. This special show, boasting some of the brightest of the sub-genre, will feature performances by Lecrae, Andy Mineo, WHATUPRG, nobigdyl and Wordsplayed. $25, 6:30pm, Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 812-4355, theaztectheatre. com. — JC

TOMBOI + PINK LECHE 5 Friday, October 12

For a special treat of a show, local act Pink Leche will join Jacksonville’s TOMBOi on a bill that is all about that (queer) bass. TOMBOi (pictured) is a three-piece act that takes an electrodream-pop foundation and piles on psychedelic, experimental and indie R&B. The outfit’s most recent album, 2017’s Spectrum, was “inspired by the

HIGHLY SUSPECT 5 Thursday, October 11

Walking a tightrope through the spheres of alternative rock ’n’ roll, indie pop and active rock, Highly Suspect has been taking the live-music festival circuit by storm the last couple of years. The Brooklyn trio is playing both weekends at Austin City Limits, arguably one of the largest concerts in the world. But if you wanna stay in town,

Courtesy of Highly Suspect

Courtesy of TOMBOI

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Couresy of (HED) PE

than stoked to announce that they’re headed back to San Antonio with Austin’s own Dallas Acid at Paper Tiger this Saturday. The band recently announced that they’re working on their seventh album but didn’t say whether it’d be released ahead of this tour, which includes post-doom mother of darkness Chelsea Wolfe for the first half of the tour (we’ll miss you, Chelsea, *sobs quietly*). $18, 8pm, Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. – CC

(HED) P.E. L

Sunday, October 14

Courtesy of Bizzy Bone

BIZZY BONE L

Hed Planetary Evolution, better known as (HED) P.E., is headed to San Antonio. Since San Antonians dig most things rap/rock, nu-metal and active-rock, we thought it’d be worth mentioning. The Huntington Beach dudes were in town the same time last year with Dope, another band from the late-’90s-mid-aughts that we share the same affinity for. The band hits San Antonio for a show at The Rock Box on Sunday, October 14. $14, 8pm, The Rock Box, 1223, E. Houston St., (210) 255-3833, therockboxsa.com. – CC

Friday, October 12

Yup! You read that correctly. Lil’ Ripsta himself is headed back to the Alamo City for another show at Fitzgerald’s on Friday, October 12. Still categorized as “gangsta rap” due to the reference of violence in their lyrics, the artists in Bone Thugs-N-Harmony were some of the first rappers to bring rapid-fire, Midwest “chopper” style to mainstream circuits, all while incorporating moments of singing through their verses and hooks. Born Bryon Anthony McCane II, Bizzy Bone’s angelic, tenor voice stood out most in the group, and with the release of his first solo album Heaven’z Movie back in ’98, the rapper began to explore themes in his personal life, which earned mixed reviews (hip-hop wasn’t ready to go there yet). More than 15 solo albums later, and numerous collaborations, Bizzy Bone is a living legend in his own right and with his intricate syllabic patterns, unique voice and lightning-fast delivery, this BTNH member is one of the most original rappers still blessing mics. $25-$30, 9pm, Fitzgerald’s Live Music & Bar, 437 McCarty, (210) 607-7007, facebook.com/fitzrockssa. – CC

RUSSIAN CIRCLES + DALLAS ACID 5 Saturday, October 13

At almost 14 years, Russian Circles has continued to be one of the leaders in the post-rock, alternative-metal, post-metal (or instru-metal if you’re a nerd like me) communities. Punctuated by their sometimes-terrifying crescendos, the three-piece create a magical dark metal that feels like a swirling mist that might surround a witch as she’s preparing to destroy some Eastern European town that’s scorned her. It’s altogether beautiful and spooky, and we’re more

Ryan Russell

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WHERE FANTASIES BECOME REALITY

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14

WIZARD FEST

AI DA CUEVAS

With a DJ spinning aural magic, potions filled with plenty of poison, a costume contest, and Quidditch pong, Wizard Fest is the wildest Harry Potter-themed dance party ever brewed up — no need for a Hogwarts acceptance letter. Even though you might be a muggle outside the door, you’ll be a wizard on the dance floor (especially after a few alcoholic butterbeers). $16, The Rock Box, 7pm

“The Queen of Ranchera Music,” Aida Cuevas is going to serenade the Alamo City with her expansive catalog — four decades in the making. Not only is Cuevas’ career longevity rivaling Madonna, she is also a pop-culture icon as she’s recorded over 39 albums since 1975, has plenty of Grammys to clutter her fireplace mantle, and is a living national treasure in Mexico. $26.50-$89.50, Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 7pm

STEVEN JAMES & THE JADED

You won’t find these Corpus Christi boys shootin’ bullets at the moon as Steven James & the Jaded seem more at home crafting thoughtful heartland rock jams on the beach while telling stories of their dreams, loves and inevitable disenchantments. A lot country, a little bit rock ‘n’ roll, and Texas all the way, Steven James & the Jaded will make you cry, dance and reminisce about the one who got away. $5-$30, Sam’s Burger Joint, 7pm

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11

MONDAY, OCTOBER 15 RESIDENTE

If anyone can claim to have a degree in the art of rapping, Puerto Rican musician Residente can boast that he has a doctorate. Not only has he won more Grammy Awards than any other Latin artist, founded band Calle 13, directed his own music videos, and rivaled Bono in terms of humanitarianism, his lyrics are the subject of college courses and academic analysis — at least according to Wikipedia. $30$60, Aztec Theatre, 7:30pm

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DUEL

A quick Google search labels Duel as a cocktail/lounge band but upon deeper inspection (and a listen to their album Witchbanger), they’d be more at home trashing the lounge and spiking your cocktail with piss and goat’s blood. The sludgy doom-metal band may officially hail from Austin, but word is that they shred in the deepest levels of Hell. With Ladykiller, Great Electric Quest. Free, The Mix, 9pm

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16 TH E HOLYDRUG COUPLE

While Karl Marx once said “religion is the opium of the people,” Chilean psych-rockers The Holydrug Couple would make Marx say, “music and opium is for the people, man.” Their acid dreamscape is the kind of music that makes the most uptight banker shave their head, don some white linen robes, join a cult, and maybe make a trip to Burning Man, man. $7, Paper Tiger, 8pm

10/1/18 11/1/18

TYGA 5

Responsible for 2012 novelty-song-turned-early-internet-meme “Rack City” and being Mr. Kylie Jenner until 2017 (R.I.P. Kyga), Tyga’s personal life has overshadowed his music career. Now that his short-lived reality show is cancelled and TMZ appeal has worn off, Tyga can now be a full-time rapper without the pseudo-drama. $31, Alamo City Music Hall, 7pm

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13 BUXTON

Houston’s Buxton is country for the era of disenchanted former emo kids. After sweeping the Houston music awards and getting a glowing write-up in Texas Monthly, Buxton is proving that country can adapt to the times. And yes, as with other alt-country balladeers, there will be plenty of weeping over wistful steel guitar and lyrics about alienation and lost love. Free, Limelight, 8pm

Courtesy of Tyga

sacurrent.com | October 10-16, 2018 | CURRENT

etc S AVA G E L O V E B Y D A N S AVA G E

Quickies I was involved with a straight man who enjoys cross-dressing and taking explicit photos. The problem is that the props he uses belong to his three children, all under age 12. For example, he dressed up as a slutty schoolgirl and wore his daughter’s backpack. He dressed up as a slutty cowgirl and posed with his son’s stuffed horse. He even had the horse eating his “carrot.” I told him he should not use his children’s things as props. He believes that his children will never see the photos, so no harm will come of it. I’m horrified at the thought of these kids (perhaps as adults) stumbling over these pictures. He posts them on Instagram and Facebook, so they aren’t private and he can’t control where they go. It’s one of the reasons I ended the relationship. Is there anything I can say to him? Canceled Definitely Promising Relationship Over Photo Sessions

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You told him what he’s doing is wrong, you explained the enormous risk he’s running, and you dumped him, CDPROPS. You could take one last run at it and try to explain that his children finding these photos isn’t one of those “low-risk, high-consequence events,” i.e., something that’s unlikely to happen but would be utterly disastrous if it did. (Think of the super volcano that is Yellowstone National Park erupting or a deranged, racist billionaire somehow managing to win a US presidential election.) Nope, if he’s posting these photos online, at least one of his children will stumble over them – or one of their friends will. (“Hey, isn’t this your dad? And your backpack?”) Your ex needs to knock this shit off, and will most likely need the help of a mental-health pro in order to do so.

My parents were married for almost 40 years – and on paper, things seemed fine. They rarely fought and were an example of a strong, monogamous marriage until the day my mother died. Recently, I found writings by my dad revealing he had several casual encounters with men over the course of their marriage. Do I tell him I know? We are close, but sex isn’t something we usually discuss. What should I do with this information, if anything? A Deeply Upsetting Lie That Scalds When you say their relationship seemed fine “on paper,” ADULTS, what you mean is

their relationship was decent and loving. Well, now you know it wasn’t perfect – but no relationship is. Your mother is dead (I’m sorry for your loss), and either she made peace with this fact about her husband long ago or she never knew about it. Either way, no good will come from confronting your father about the handful of dicks he sucked decades ago.

I’m a 47-year-old virgin straight man. What advice can you give me on losing my virginity? Wanting And Hoping There are lots of 40-year-old-and-up women out there who are virgins – they write in, too – so putting “middle-aged virgin seeks same” in your personal ad wouldn’t be a bad idea. Find someone in your same situation, WAH, and treat her with kindness, gentleness, and patience – the same as you would like to be treated.

I’m married and poly, with one partner in addition to my husband. My partner has a friend-with-benefits arrangement with a woman he’s been with since before we met. The FWB is not poly, but she’s always known my partner is. She has always insisted they’re not a couple, but he knows she would be hurt if she found out he was with someone else, so he has avoided telling her he’s now also with me. I don’t like being someone’s secret. My husband knows I’m with someone else and is fine with it. If my partner’s FWB felt the same, I wouldn’t see a problem. But this feels oddly like I’m helping my partner cheat on his FWB, even though they’re “not a couple” (her words). So it’s not cheating… is it? Pretty Obviously Lost, Yeah It’s not cheating – it’s plausible deniability. Your partner’s FWB would rather not know he’s seeing anyone else, so she doesn’t ask him about his other partners and he doesn’t tell. Accommodating his FWB’s desire not to know about other partners – doing the DADT open thing – does mean keeping you a secret, POLY, at least from her. If you’re not comfortable with that, you’ll have to end things with your partner.

mail@savagelove.net @FakeDanSavage on Twitter www.ITMFA.org

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“Gimme One Vowel”– and the rest, consonants. ACROSS 1 Beetle variety 5 Did some community theater, say 10 Ben-Hur novelist Wallace 13 Its state song is the creatively titled “The Song of [that state]” 14 Potato often used for fries 16 Spot in la mer 17 Starting at the beginning 19 Element #50 20 “For rent,” in other, shorter words 21 Want ad palindrome 22 Tater ___ 23 1920s mobster who mainly worked in bootlegging and numbers rackets 28 Aries symbol 31 Tie type 32 Voicemail sound 33 All excited 35 What the “J” in TMJ doesn’t stand for 36 German submarine 39 Find a way to make things happen 43 Doctor’s directive 44 Traveling through 45 Like, making your mind blown 46 Obnoxious kid 48 Full pairing? 50 Some NCAA players

51 With “The,” fantasy video game series including Oblivion and Skyrim 55 Actress Whitman of Parenthood 56 Shepherd’s pie tidbit 57 Topple 61 The O. Henry ___-Off 62 “Yeah, pretty unlikely” 66 Jay Presson Allen play about Capote 67 Will’s concern 68 Ireland, in Ireland 69 Thanksgiving dinner item 70 Industrial city of the Ruhr Valley 71 Kit piece DOWN 1 Prepare flour for baking 2 Bull, in Bilbao 3 Gone wrong? 4 Played in Las Vegas 5 Trajectory influenced by gravity 6 Dog, unkindly 7 Gatekeeping org.? 8 Melrose Place actor Rob 9 Boil down 10 Kiddos 11 Playwright T.S. 12 Fall Out Boy bassist Pete 15 Words after “on” or “by”

18 Ticket remainder 24 Japanese general of WWII 25 Casino delicacy? 26 In any way 27 Without being asked 28 Does 2 Chainz’s job 29 Freebie at a Mexican restaurant 30 Element #42 (which for some reason isn’t in as many puzzles as, say, 19-Across) 34 Fierce look 37 Antiquing material 38 Cocoa amts. 40 Permanent marker brand 41 Grain-storage building 42 Like Boban Marjanovic 47 Blood-sucking African fly 49 Musical ligature 51 Like new vacuum bags 52 Michelle’s predecessor 53 Throws, as dice 54 1994 movie mainly set on a bus 58 Start to awaken 59 Hosiery shade 60 The other side 63 Small batteries 64 Sault ___ Marie, Mich. 65 Bill of Rights count ANSWER ON PAGE 21 sacurrent.com | October 10-16, 2018 | CURRENT

etc FREE WILL ASTROLOGY BY ROB BREZNY ARIES (March 21-April 19): In his book The Snow Leopard, Peter Matthiessen describes his quest to glimpse the elusive and rarely seen creature in the Himalayas. “Its uncompromising yellow eyes, wired into the depths of its unfathomable spirit,” he writes, give it a “terrible beauty” that is “the very stuff of human longing.” He loves the snow leopard so much, he says, that it is the animal he “would most like to be eaten by.” I bring this up, Aries, because now would be a good time, astrologically speaking, for you to identify what animal you would most like to be eaten by. In other words, what creature would you most like to learn from and be inspired by? What beautiful beast has the most to give you? TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Richard Nelson is an anthropologist who has lived for years with the indigenous Koyukon people of Alaska. He lauds their “careful watching of the same events in the same place” over long periods of time, noting how this enables them to cultivate a rich relationship with their surroundings that is incomprehensible to us civilized Westerners. He concludes, “There may be more to learn by climbing the same mountain a hundred times than by climbing a hundred different mountains.” I think that’s excellent counsel for you to employ in the coming weeks. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “It is sad that unless you are born a god, your life, from its very beginning, is a mystery to you,” writes Gemini author Jamaica Kincaid. I disagree with her because she implies that if you’re human, your life is a complete and utter mystery; whereas my observation has been that for most of us, our lives are no more than eighty percent mystery. Some lucky ones have even deciphered as much as sixty-five percent, leaving only thirty-five percent mystery. What’s your percentage? I expect that between now and November 1, you can increase your understanding by at least ten percent. CANCER (June 21-July 22): You Cancerians may not possess the mental dexterity of Virgos or the acute cleverness of Geminis, but you have the most soulful intelligence in the zodiac. Your empathetic intuition is among your greatest treasures. Your capacity to feel deeply gives you the ability to intensely understand the inner workings of life. Sometimes you take this subtle acumen for granted. It may be hard for you to believe that others are stuck at a high-school level of emotional skill when you have the equivalent of a PhD. Everything I just said is a prelude to my advice. In the coming weeks, I doubt you can solve your big riddle through rational analysis. Your best strategy is to deeply experience all the interesting feelings that are rising up in you. 50

CURRENT | October 10-16, 2018 | sacurrent.com

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Do you ever experience stress from having to be so interesting and attractive all the time? It may on occasion feel like an onerous responsibility to be the only artful egomaniac amidst swarms of amateur egomaniacs. I have a suggestion that might help. Twice a year, celebrate a holiday I call Dare to Be Boring Week. During these periods of release and relief, you won’t live up to people’s expectations that you keep them amused and excited. You’ll be free to be solely focused on amusing and exciting yourself, even if that means they’ll think you’re dull. Now is an excellent time to observe Dare to Be Boring Week. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): A Chinese proverb says, “Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.” I’m happy to let you know that you are currently more receptive to this truth than maybe you have ever been. Furthermore, you have more power than usual to change your life in ways that incorporate this truth. To get started, meditate on the hypothesis that you can get more good work done if you’re calm and composed than if you’re agitated and trying too hard. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): My astrological analysis suggests that life is conspiring to render you extra excited and unusually animated and highly motivated. I bet that if you cooperate with the natural rhythms, you will feel stirred, playful, and delighted. So how can you best use this gift? How might you take maximum advantage of the lucky breaks and bursts of grace that will be arriving? Here’s my opinion: be more focused on discovering possibilities than making final decisions. Feed your sense of wonder and awe rather than your drive to figure everything out. Give more power to what you can imagine than to what you already know. Being practical is fine as long as you’re idealistically practical. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): How far is it from the Land of the Lost to the Land of the Lost and Found? What’s the best route to take? Who and what are likely to provide the best help? If you approach those questions with a crisply optimistic attitude, you can gather a wealth of useful information in a relatively short time. The more research you do about the journey, the faster it will go and the more painless it will be. Here’s another fertile question to meditate on: is there a smart and kind way to give up your attachment to a supposedly important thing that is actually quite burdensome? SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In her only novel, Save Me the Waltz, Zelda Fitzgerald described her main character like this: “She quietly expected great things to happen to her, and no doubt that’s one of the reasons why they did.” That’s

a bit too much like fairy-tale wisdom for me to endorse it unconditionally. But I do believe it may sometimes be a valid hypothesis—especially for you Sagittarians in the coming months. Your faith in yourself and your desire to have interesting fun will be even more important than usual in determining what adventures you will have. I suggest you start now to lay the groundwork for this exhilarating challenge. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Russian philosopher George Gurdjieff taught that most people are virtually sleepwalking even during the day. He said we’re permanently stuck on automatic pilot, prone to reacting in mechanical ways to every event that comes our way. Psychology pioneer Sigmund Freud had an equally dim view of us humans. He believed that it’s our normal state to be neurotic; that most of us are chronically out of sync with our surroundings. Now here’s the good news, Capricorn. You’re at least temporarily in a favorable position to refute both men’s theories. In fact, I’ll boldly predict that in the next three weeks you’ll be as authentic and awake and at peace as you’ve been in years. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In the late 19th-century, American botanist George

Washington Carver began to champion the nutritional value of peanuts. His influence led to the plant being grown and used more extensively. Although he accomplished many other innovations, including techniques for enhancing depleted soils, he became famous as the Peanut Man. Later in life, he told the story that while young he had prayed to God to show him the mystery of the universe, but God turned him down, saying, “That’s for me alone.” So George asked God to show him the mystery of the peanut, and God agreed, saying, “that’s more nearly your size.” The coming weeks will be a great time for you to seek a comparable revelation, Aquarius. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Every year, people discard 3.3 million pounds of chewing gum on the streets of Amsterdam. A company named Gumdrop has begun to harvest that waste and use it to make soles for its new brand of sneakers, Gumshoe. A spokesperson said the intention was to “create a product people actually want from something no one cares about.” I’d love it if you were inspired by this visionary act of recycling, Pisces. According to my reading of the cosmic omens, you now have exceptional powers to transform something you don’t want into something you do want.

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