This Rampage Trick Shot Will Surprise You
The Rampage took on the Charlotte Checkers last week, and can you believe what new kid Tyler Barnes decided pull out on the ice!? Rampage won 2-0. via YouTube For 100% less trick shots, follow @marshnaylor
5 Things You Have to Do This Week
Mon 4/7 Sleigh Bells Noisy, bombastic power pop duo Sleigh Bells has been setting the world on fire with their highlighter-green flame of hot rock for the past half-decade or so. The band is currently on the second leg of its tour supporting Bitter Rivals, their third full-length, which dropped late last year. To learn more about the…
Marfa’s El Cosmico Announces Pre-Sale for Trans-Pecos Festival of Music + Love
The fabulous bunkhouse hotel El Cosmico has announced the dates for its 9th annual Trans-Pecos Festival of Music + Love. Occurring September 25-28, the Trans-Pecos fest offers an “alchemystical blend of music, art, baseball, friends and more under the big sky,” according to El Cosmico’s website. Though its has been a literal hotbed of artistic…
“Easter Bunny” Survives Attack
Rabbits may be the luckiest animals on earth because they have four lucky rabbit’s feet, but sometimes being lucky for them just means escaping death and living to see another day. Earlier this month, a male, brown-haired rabbit was brought to pet rescue and animal shelter San Antonio Pets Alive! (SAPA) with a broken hind…
Bar America Reopens Friday, April 11
Bar America in its heyday. (Mike Barajas) Voted Best Dive Bar, Best Jukebox and No. 3 Best Old Man Bar in our previous Best Of lists, Bar America (723 S Alamo) is reopening its doors April 11 at 7 p.m. Now owned by Brian Correa, grandson and nephew of original owners Joe, Martin and Angie…
Aural Pleasures: Advance Cassette, ‘Plain View’ EP
Advance Cassette, Plain View EP (Self-Released) Plain View, the debut EP from local alt-rockers Advance Cassette, is full of feedback and fuzz, ferocity and feeling. Capturing perfectly the punk-addled and emotive feel of some of your favorite 1990’s bands—from Weezer to Nirvana to Smashing Pumpkins—the four tracks on this EP are also, importantly, impossible to…
Soul Tren Latino: Henry Brun & The Latin Players Release Party
For his newest release, Soul Tren Latino, SA mainstay and Grammy winner Henry Brun takes to the streets, translating some of his favorite soul and pop classics into the language of Latin Jazz. With the Latin Playerz, Brun reimagines the music of Marvin Gaye, The Miracles, and Ashford & Simpson. Like his playing style on…
What I Ate: San Francisco edition
I was lucky enough to go away on a long weekend trip to the Golden State, specifically San Francisco. My beau had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit Skywalker Ranch, and I tagged along to hang with my bestie and, well, eat and drink all the things. Here’s a quick recap. Follow me on Instagram for…
Sunday Night Sound Bite: Kelis: “Rumble”
Duck confit sliders, anyone? Kelis promoted her LP Food (set for an April 18 release) by giving away gourmet grub at SXSW. If you subscribe to as many dance music podcasts as I do, you’ll know it’s not uncommon to hear a remixed version of a song before the original version even surfaces. This recently…
IceJJFish & Dhananjay: The Merits of Terrible Hip-Hop Videos
Like most human beings with a pulse and an internet connection, I’m a sucker for bad rap videos. In February, when IceJJFish released a high-res, low-talent video filmed on the Hays, of course I watched it more than the recommended serving size of never. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq_d8VSM0nw Like reality TV, earnestly bad music videos bring out the worst…
Sprouts Farmer’s Market Recalls Organic Black Peppercorns
Recalled Check your spice rack, and if you have either of the two jars of peppercorns pictured, toss them. If you’re the frugal type, take them back to Sprouts for a refund. Or, take your chances with a game of Salmonella roulette; serve up a tainted fettuccine alfredo to you cheating lover. In all seriousness,…
Bonehead Quote of the Week: U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert on LGBT ‘Intolerance’
Following the passage of a Mississippi bill that gay rights activists say may usher in state-sanctioned LGBT discrimination, Texas’ U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert praised the new law on religious-right outlet Washington Watch, hosted by Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins (who stood alongside the governor as he signed the measure into law). Gohmert also took the…
Robert Gonzales’ West of Downtown captures Barrio Life
For the Department for Culture & Creative Development’s 2013 Neighborhood Film Contest, graphic and visual artist Robert Gonzales submitted West of Downtown, a vibrant look at some of his favorite art on the West Side. Like Toy Story for the West Side’s commercial art, Gonzales brings colorful ice houses, auto shops and barrio murals to life…
Fiesta Extended: a Yeah or Bleh Survey
The countdown to Fiesta is on, with events sprawling across 18 days from April 10 to 27. Discord runs amok on whether Fiesta Extended will be worth it for the city and the people who live here (not all drunks, by the way). We’re hedging bets and want to see what you think. So…
A Chat With Teeny Lamothe, ‘Teeny’s Tour of Pies’
If you’re a fan of flaky crusts and insanely creative fillings, then make sure to stop by the Central Market Cooking School tent during Saturday’s SA Book Festival. Author and pie maker Teeny Lamothe will hold a demonstration on pies starting at 2:30 p.m. We talked to the pie queen about her book and why…
San Antonio Tops Forbes’ List of America’s New Brainpower Cities
Forbes Magazine just posted their ranking of America’s New Brainpower Cities and, lo and behold, San Antonio has tied for #1, sharing the gold with New Orleans. Ranked according to the “change in the number of holders of bachelor’s degrees and above between 2007 and 2012,” SA tied NOLA with a percentage gain of 20.3%, almost…
5 Sinful Recipes for National Caramel Day
Saturday, April 5 is National Caramel Day so to commemorate such a day, we’ve compiled a few caramel recipes worthy of a try this weekend. 1. Brown Butter Salted Caramel Snicker Doodles: Snicker doodles are already amazing on their own, but salted caramel added in makes this classic cookie exceptional. Recipe via The Recipe Critic…
5 Concerts to Catch this Weekend
Fri 3/4 Brown Sabbath If last year’s beautifully bizarre pairing of the Smiths/Morrissey tribute Sweet and Tender Hooligans and the Beatles-interpreting Mariachi Mystery Tour didn’t convince you of the Pearl’s ability to book killer cover bands, the two remaining installments of Échale! Latino Music Estyles’ spring series just might. An “alter-ego” of Austin-based “hardcore Latin…
A Chat With Adán Medrano, ‘Truly Texas Mexican’
(Courtesy) Chef-food writer Adán Medrano’s latest book, Truly Texas Mexican: A Native Culinary Heritage in Recipes features a look at the history of well, truly Texas Mexican food. He follows cuisine made and enjoyed by Mexican-American families in South Texas who’s ancestors were Native Indians. Medrano talked to the Current about the food he’ll present…
A Chat With Chef/Author David Sterling, ‘Yucatan’
Chef-author David Sterling is presenting at Saturday’s second SA Book Festival with a few dishes from Yucatan, Merida. The Current talked to the chef, owner of Los Dos Cooking School, about writing this first book and his beloved Yucatan cuisine. Was there any extra pressure when Diana Kennedy said you should write a book? I’m…
10 Free Events Happening This Week
Music: John Wiese with Felix Et Fur, SSBT and Blacknail 8pm, Friday, April 4 At the top of the bill, sound artist and former member of Bastard Noise and Sunn O))) John Wiese will haunt the Dorcol Distilling Co. with his studies in feedback and digital manipulation. As Sissy Spacek, Wiese released multiple and madly varying…
Shot of the Week: The Haiku
It’s time to pound some sake. (Dustin Dooling) In honor of April being National Poetry Month, I’ll be doing some poetry-inspired shots. This week’s shot, the “Haiku” is a sake-based shot inspired by the Japanese short poem style. Smooth and subtle as, Rice and ginger served to calm— Let the games begin 2 ounces sake…
Watch Spurs Coach Popovich Dance Like the Wolf of Wall Street
The Spurs are scoring more points than they know what to do with. After after 19 consecutive wins, here’s coach Gregg Popovich and cast dancing like the ballers from Wolf of Wall Street. And don’t miss Sean Elliott supporting from the stage. This gif on Imgur just might be the most personality the press will get…
10 Things You Have to Do This Weekend
Thu 4/3 – Sun 4/6 Clogged Caps 9 While local hip-hop entities like Power 106 and the Prhymemates have faded into distant memory, San Antonio’s original aerosol art festival, Clogged Caps, soldiers on. For its ninth edition the mural fest promises more than 70 artists (including familiar names like Supher, Duo and Soupé) covering 14,000-plus…
SA Makes Thrillist List of Most Underrated Food Cities
On Monday, Thrillist (so called Digital Lifestyle for Men) posted a list of the nation’s seven most underrated food cities. While I agree that we are indeed underrated, the list is a bit caddywompus. Houston? Underrated? They’ve been featured in Bon Appetit ad nauseum for the last several years. Elizabeth Fauerso, chief marketing officer for…
Mid-Point Grill Hosts Soft Opening
The space that once housed Green Vegetarian Cuisine’s original location is now the home to Mid-Point Grill (1017 N Flores). Opened by industry vet David Vidal and chef Tony Torres, the restaurant “will focus on using higher quality food products to include: all natural angus beef, organic, non-GMO produce, free range poultry, grass fed beef…
Second Lawsuit Against Texas Abortion Law To Be Filed
Update: On a conference call earlier today, plaintiffs of the second lawsuit challenging parts of Texas’ abortion restrictive law expressed their deep concern for women of the state suffering as a result of the law and the strain the legislation has—and will—place on the providers. Amy Hagstrom Miller, founder of Whole Woman’s Health, a network…
Earth Burger Hopes to Raise 40K Using Kickstarter
San Antonians eager for the opening of Earth Burger (722 NW Loop 410) can start putting their money where their mouth is. The fast-food burger place was finally approved for a Kickstarter campaign. The goal is to raise $40,000 by April 29. Earth Burger is brought to you by the team behind Green Vegetarian…
First Course: Gaucho Cheese Tasting, Market on Houston and Jet’s free pizza
First Course brings in exciting food news to you in tiny, digestible bits. Market on Houston’s braised short rib. Midtown veteran Josephine Street Cafe (400 E Josephine) is turning 35 this April. Josephine St. is celebrating 35 years of steak and whiskey and chicken fried steak and onion rings. Market on Houston, the newest concept…
Full Coverage of the San Antonio Book Festival
The 2014 San Antonio Book Festival takes place Saturday, April 5. Find the complete lineup at saplf.org/festival. San Antonio Book Festival Aims to Ignite Literary Culture, Bryan Rindfuss Q&A with San Antonio Book Festival Director Katy Flato, Bryan Rindfuss Q&A with Daniel Vaughn, The Prophets of Smoked Meats, Jessica Elizarraras Flavor File’s Top Picks at the Central Market Cooking…
Happy Hour Hound: Umai Mi
It’s not often we head back to a restaurant a month after its food review, but Umai Mi’s “super delicious and really ridiculous” happy hour drew me in with its bold claim. Spoiler alert–they’re not bluffing. Badass Curries, and Then Some, at Jason Dady’s Umai Mi Here’s a crash course for those unfamiliar with the…
Lackluster DJ Aside, Aztec Lounge Has Plenty of Potential
Great music, affordable drinks, classy décor, non-dangerous people, Mesoamerican religious icons: a short resume of the things I hope for at night clubs. The Aztec Lounge, just opened at the beginning of this year in the historic Aztec Theatre, doesn’t quite hit all those marks, but it makes a fair attempt. Until now, the Aztec…
5 Ways to Get Your Drink/Grub on this Week
Friday, April 4: Busted Sandal Brewing Company will celebrate Fiesta just a bit early with the release of its Fire Pit Wit, a Belgian-style witbier made with fresh ginger, coriander, grapefruit and orange peel. Any excuse to wear Fiesta gear, amirite? Free admission, $3 pints, 5-10pm, 7114 Oaklawn, (210) 872-1486, facebook.com/BustedSandalBrewing. Friday, April 4:…
Dough’s Roomier Locale Still Delivers
Us: “So is the wait any shorter now that the expansion is complete?” Waiter: “No, the lines are as long as ever.” Us: “Kinda like opening new lanes on an expressway…” Waiter (distracted by a nearby table): “I’ll be right with you…” Dough, in its long-awaited expanded form, is open for business, and it’s more…
Q&A with San Antonio Book Festival Director Katy Flato
Armed with practical expertise from founding partner the Texas Book Festival, valuable resources from the San Antonio Public Library Foundation, 300 dedicated volunteers, partnerships with the Southwest School of Art, the Las Casas Foundation and others, the San Antonio Book Festival is upping the ante of its inaugural run last year. Boasting 90 authors, a…
Day in the Life: Christine Arredondo of San Antonio’s Gourmet Olive Oils
Tucked away on the near-Southside, just across South Hackberry from the illustrious Little Red Barn, a specialty foods store opened its doors some three months ago: San Antonio’s Gourmet Olive Oils. Open from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends, SA’s Gourmet presents a tiny, beautiful island…
Glitter Political: Debra Guerrero’s seven-year itch
Former City Councilwoman Debra Guerrero doesn’t wear a ton of jewelry, but the gold James Avery charm bracelet wrapped around her wrist is connected to a mini cancer awareness ribbon and a memory. Seven years ago, on her 41st birthday, she received a breast cancer diagnosis and, after time, a realization: “That people are brought into…
Flavor File: Hot Joy opens, Cured reopens after fire and Boardwalk on Bulverde on hiatus
After three and a half years as the grandfather of all food truck parks, Boardwalk on Bulverde (14732 Bulverde, (210) 402-2829) is shutting down temporarily to comply with San Antonio Health Department concerns. The complete list of upgrades will take longer to address than the 14-day compliance window the City is allowing BOB, and owner…
Savage Love: Disclosing
My boyfriend of three months, “Marcus,” told me last week that he is a trans man. He has performed oral sex on me and fingered me, but he never let me reciprocate and told me he didn’t want to have penis-in-vagina sex yet because to him that was a large commitment. We go to college…
Q&A with Cesar Chavez Biographer Miriam Pawel
In her second book on the farm workers movement, author and journalist Miriam Pawel this time focuses squarely on César Chávez, in a critical and detailed biography of the labor leader. We tend to romanticize social justice activists, but you deliver a critical examination of César Chávez as a complex character with several flaws. What…
Game On: HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’ returns for Season Four
Three weeks, two days and 18 hours. This is the approximate amount of time it took me to watch the first 30 episodes of HBO’s Game of Thrones. I mention this because it would be a disservice to the experience that is Game of Thrones for anybody to jump into Season 4 without watching all…
Beautiful Noise: John Wiese’s sound art will freak you out
In the late ’80s, powerviolence emerged as a distinct subcategory of punk, condensing heavy metal with hardcore in songs as short as 20 seconds. Like the name suggests, bands of the ilk, including Spazz, Insect Warfare and Bastard Noise, violently dismantled the assumptions of the genres that influenced powerviolence, sprinkling their heavy works with noise…
San Antonio Book Festival: More notable picks
Sandra Cisneros, moderated by Ramiro Salazar 1pm, West Terrace, Central Library You know you love La Sandra even more now that she’s left her 20-plus year home in SA, and she’ll be performing new and old works. Mainly we’re just interested to see Public Library Director Ramiro Salazar try to “moderate” the inspiring Latina author.…
San Antonio Book Festival Aims to Ignite Literary Culture
Armed with practical expertise from founding partner the Texas Book Festival, valuable resources from the San Antonio Public Library Foundation, 300 dedicated volunteers and partnerships with the Southwest School of Art, the Las Casas Foundation and others, the San Antonio Book Festival is upping the ante of its inaugural run last year. Boasting 90 authors,…
Flavor File’s Top Picks at the Central Market Cooking Tent
Several hot cookbook authors will give recipe demonstrations and sign their books at the Central Market Cooking Tent, in the Southwest School of Arts Ursuline Campus parking lot. Here’s food and nightlife editor Jessica Elizarraras’ top choices: Teeny Lamothe 2:30pm Ever feel like packing up all your belongings and ditching your 9-to-5 desk job for…
Sleigh Bells’ Alexis Krauss on Bloodshed, R&B and Sensory Overload
Noisy, bombastic power pop duo Sleigh Bells has been setting the world on fire with their highlighter-green flame of hot rock for the past half-decade or so. The band is currently on the second leg of its tour supporting Bitter Rivals, their third full-length, which dropped late last year. Over the phone, I got a chance to speak with…
Which SA Reps Support the Equal Pay Act?
In an impassioned speech last Monday morning, gubernatorial candidate state Sen. Wendy Davis (D-Forth Worth) played offense by bashing her campaign challenger, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, for not backing the state version of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, a law that would grant more flexibility to women when fighting for equal pay in…
Review: ‘Midnight in Mexico: A Reporter’s Journey Through a Country’s Descent into Darkness’
Midnight in Mexico: A Reporter’s Journey Through a Country’s Descent into Darkness Alfredo Corchado in conversation with former US Ambassador to Mexico Antonio Garza 10am, West Terrace, Central Library A thrilling mix of memoir and Mexican history, Alfredo Corchado’s Midnight in Mexico begins in 2007 with the threat of a cartel hit from northern Mexico’s…
Sound the Alarm: The return of the legendary Booker T.
An architect of Memphis soul when he was still a teenager, Booker T. Jones has been churning out Hammond M-3 and B-3 hits for over a half a century. Signed to the influential Memphis label Stax Records at 17, Booker T. landed his first Billboard appearance with the M-3 organ jive of “Green Onions,” a…
Jerry Jeff Walker for the Uninitiated
Probably the best and worst job I ever had was as a bellhop at the Driskill Hotel in Austin: smeared shit all over the suite walls, leftover blow on the nightstand, frequently being asked where the good pussy was at (while the inquirer inconspicuously had their shoes shined) and being tipped nothing for hard work…
Surfing the Texas Coast with Photographer Kenny Braun
The photo book Surf Texas literally began as a dream. Living in Austin in the mid-1990s, Kenny Braun had just started his photography business. He was getting a taste of client-dictated assignments when memories from his childhood would float to him in dreams—particularly, his grandparents farm and the surf along the Texas coastline. Braun grew…
Q&A with Former Houston Mayor Bill White
The former mayor of Houston and 2010 Democratic candidate for Texas governor, Bill White talks to the Current about his new book, a critique of America’s recent and growing reliance on borrowing. What inspired you to write this book? I love history and the story of traditional limits on federal debt had not been…
Artist on Artist: Gary Sweeney Interviews Cruz Ortiz
Cruz Ortiz is known by many as the art teacher at Lee High School, a job he has held for the past 10 years. To the San Antonio art scene, however, he’s a wild and outrageous presence whose intercultural word pieces (Soy un Boring Lover) have entertained us since his breakout Artpace residency in 2005.…
Latest ‘Captain America’ Goes Deep for Popcorn Flick
Wow. The Avengers movies just keep getting bigger and better and smarter and more relevant with each flick. I might have to start calling this the best genre franchise ever. The Avengers series has gone a long way toward dismantling the stereotype that “comic book” automatically equals “stupid and juvenile.” But even none of the previous Avengers movies has stunned me the…
Miguel Zenón Excels as Cultural Ambassador
Just last month, Grammy-nominated jazz musician and composer Miguel Zenón brought the music of Louis Armstrong to the small mountain village of Aibonito in his native Puerto Rico. The free concert was part of Zenón’s Caravana Cultural and packed the band room of La Escuela Rafael Pont Flores with first-time jazz listeners. Zenón created the…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In his novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera says that the brain has “a special area which we might call poetic memory and which records everything that charms or touches us, that makes our lives beautiful.” In the coming days, it will be especially important for you to tap…
Review: ‘Maximilian and Carlota: Europe’s Last Empire in Mexico’
Maximilian and Carlota: Europe’s Last Empire in Mexico M. M. McAllen, moderated by David Martin Davies 10am, Story Room, Central Library Local historian M. M. McAllen brings to life a little-known pocket of French influence on Mexican history in Maximilian and Carlota. Despite Spain’s almost unilateral impact on Mexico, it was not the only…
Q&A with Daniel Vaughn, ‘Texas Monthly’ BBQ Editor
When Texas Monthly announced the addition of Daniel Vaughn, former architect, as its first-ever Barbecue Editor, most meat-eating Texans were green with envy. A year later, Vaughn reflects on what he’s learned and any barbecue beef that’s come up along the way. What have you learned since starting? I certainly know now how little I…
San Antonio Book Festival: More notable picks
Sandra Cisneros, moderated by Ramiro Salazar 1pm, Saturday, April 5 West Terrace, Central Library You know you love La Sandra even more now that she’s left her 20-plus year home in SA, and she’ll be performing new and old works. Mainly we’re just interested to see Public Library Director Ramiro Salazar try to “moderate” the…
Booze News: Poker Run, New Tequila at La Fogata and Friendly Fiesta
Booze News slings up the latest gulp downs around town every Tuesday. Thyme in the shine cocktail from Cured. (Courtesy) It’s a poker run with the King and Queen Anchovy on Saturday, April 5 starting at 1 p.m. The run begins at The Monterrey (1127 S St. Mary’s) with stops at Bite (1012 S Presa),…
Turntable Tuesday: Paul McCartney’s ‘RAM’
As April 19 and Record Store Day draws near, we’re proud to announce Turntable Tuesday, a new weekly column taking a look at an album in our collective staff library. Though we spend most of our time in the music section writing about new material, Turntable Tuesday allows us to look back, and look closely at…
Chief McManus Threatens to Arrest Fiesta Revelers
Citing concerns over public safety, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus announced additional measures his department would take during Fiesta, including mandatory breathalyzer tests for attendees. Police will set up sobriety stations at the exits of a number of Fiesta events, from NIOSA to the Pooch Parade. All attendees will be required to submit to…
