Bryan Ferry, best known for his role as lead vocalist and principal songwriter in the seminal glam rock group Roxy Music, rose to prominence in an era of rock music that was stranded between the gritty and flighty psychedelia of the 1960s and the disco music that ruled much of the 1970s. The sound —…
By recently dealing mercurial forward DeMarcus Cousins to New Orleans, the lowly Kings began the Buddy Hield era in Sacramento. A 6-foot-4-inch gunner from the Bahamas, Hield captivated college basketball, winning major individual accolades in his four seasons at Oklahoma. Although his game is still adapting to the speed and physicality of the NBA, Hield’s…
The crowd at Cheer Up Charlies Monday night was mixed with bearded queerdos, club kids and punk rockers dancing in cool outfits in front of the outside stage. This venue is sort of the alt-gay bar to the top-40’s-type-club atmosphere you might find at say, Rain on 4th. Pharmakon, an industrial-noise artist from New York known…
What’s the big surprise of Kong: Skull Island? No, it’s not a secret sequel to Peter Jackson’s 2005 film King Kong; the two movies are not connected in any way. And no, in fact, this Kong is not a sequel to 2014’s Godzilla, either, though the two are both part of a shared universe that’s being called…
When South Texas Congressmen Beto O’Rourke (D) and Will Hurd (R) met in San Antonio Monday to hear from local veterans, they didn’t know it was the kickoff to a 1,600-mile trek across the United States. But Wednesday morning, 24 hours after learning their flights to D.C. were cancelled due to stormy weather, the two lawmakers are…
Fires may have left several San Antonio restaurants out of commission last fall, but for one north side eatery, it was just another obstacle to overcome. King’s Bowl’s origin story goes as far back as 1975 with the arrival of Chung Tim Tam (or Andy as he was more widely known) and later 1981 when…
What was your first CD or, if you care to show your age, cassette tape or record? For some of us, it was an album from the 90s like No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom or Spice World by The Spice Girls, or even The Space Jam Soundtrack which featured R. Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly” and…
San Antonio is bursting at the seams in the live music department lately. For the past several weeks, there’s been a dope artist or band playing a show somewhere in the Alamo City — a trend that continues this week as SXSW trickles down to SA. Add to the list of shows Limelight’s new “South…
After opening in May 2015, Sichuan House is finally extending its business hours to include Tuesday. The shop, owned by Kristina Zhao and her family, has been one of our favorites for their Sichuan flavors, family-style plates and inexpensive prices. The odd day-off was due in part to staffing and according to Zhao those woes…
The coffee gods blessed us with Local Coffee in 2009 and San Antonio hasn’t been the same since. With more then a handful of third-wave coffee shops in the city, Local Coffee is still leading the pack in growth. Exhibit F: The sixth Local Coffee location is opening today. Much like its predecessors off Sonterra,…
Let’s step into the Wayback Machine to check out San Antonio’s mid-1980s music scene. Back then I was a television director for Univision, sound guy at Earfood concerts, and an occasional Current freelancer. The dominant live music genres were Tejano (yes, I worked with Selena) and heavy metal (gee thanks, Joe Anthony and KISS-FM). And,…
“The Current is an idea whose time has come. It is a newsweekly for those who love San Antonio, who care about her past and her future, who want an intelligent digest of the week in review, who want a good time in print – the San Antonio Current.” That was the founding vision for…
30 Years of Politics in the Alamo City In the Current’s first-ever issue, they called it the “Tacodome.” Of course, that raised eyebrows, so in a subsequent story, the paper offered some suggestions for the multi-purpose sports complex city officials, like Mayor Henry Cisneros, were slobbering to throw taxpayer dollars at: Dillodome, Condome, Pooperdome and,…
Forged in the fires of rebellion, the founding of the Blue Star Art Space and Contemporary Art Month ignited the city’s contemporary art scene 30 years ago. At the time, San Antonio artists had a difficult time finding a place to show their work, the city’s museums and other institutions bowed to New York in…
To put it succinctly, Ron Bechtol doesn’t quite remember when his first review for the San Antonio Current was published. He first dabbled as a food critic in 1979 for San Antonio Magazine (no relation to the current iteration of said publication) before it folded in the early ’80s and later wrote for the San…
When the debut issue of the San Antonio Current rolled off the presses in April 1986, it contained the first of more than 500 reviews, features, and columns — on films, books, plays and other subjects — that I would contribute during the next 30 years. Editor Linda Matys O’Connell had invited me to review…
Q: I went to Dark Odyssey Winter Fire, the big kink hotel takeover event in Washington, DC, in February. There was one thing I saw there that is messing with my head, and I hope you can set me straight. There was this lovely little six-person orgy going on with two cute-as-could-be hippie girls and…
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The more unselfish and compassionate you are in the coming weeks, the more likely it is you will get exactly what you need. Here are four ways that can be true: 1. If you’re kind to people, they will want to be kind to you in return. 2. Taking good care…
It’s been eight months since Texas paid a conservative, anti-abortion organization to help connect low-income women to health care providers — and there’s little to show for it. That’s according to a Tuesday Associated Press report, which found the Heidi Group has presented no evidence that it’s following through on its promise to Texas taxpayers.…
San Antonio has earned a reputation for shutting down the city for 10 days to party, our obsession with Big Red and barbacoa tacos, for remembering the Alamo and our immense pride for the Spurs, among a few other things. But apparently SA is known for something else: not being a happy place to live,…
Major League Baseball returns to San Antonio this weekend when a pair of championship-starved franchises prepare for a season-long journey to change their fortunes. Back in October, the Cleveland Indians fell to the Chicago Cubs in a World Series for the ages, giving up a 3-1 game lead to baseball’s former lovable losers. The Texas…
The south Southtown area gained a new neighborhood joint as of late February with the opening of Gold Bar. Owned by Jeff Slaughter of Southtown 101 and Roland Fuentes (the former owner of Nightrocker), Gold Bar will host a grand opening bash in April. The space features black and gold interiors, a full bar, a…
At the Texas Capitol this week, advocates pushing for marijuana reform rallied around House Bill 81, which would effectively decriminalize possession of up to an ounce of marijuana. They point to the sea of change in how states across the country approach cannabis (26 states and the District of Columbia have legalized the plant in…
The N0. 23 bar in the State of Texas to sell the most Lone Star beer is back in action as of Sunday, March 5. Though their TABC license is currently pending renewal according to the state commission’s website, Bottom Bracket Social Club is better known for its Trapped Out Mondays and Turn Up Tuesdays and 60-plus selection…
During a March 11 town hall meeting, Texas Congressman Joe Barton was so perturbed with comments made by a constituent that he ordered him to just “shut up.” “You, sir, shut up,” he said into the mic while pointing to at speaker. Leading up the incident, constituents had been questioning Barton on his failure to…
A third digital library is coming to San Antonio, specifically to the city’s East Side. At a press conference Monday evening, city leaders discussed details of the newest branch, which will be located in the East Meadows neighborhood. The installation will be more than 4,200 square feet, making it the biggest BiblioTech yet. Bexar County…
If timing is everything then the Playhouse is about to make a point with its production of Disgraced, a thorny drama that earned politically inclined Pakistani American actor/author/playwright Ayad Akhtar a Pulitzer Prize in 2013. Widely produced across the nation in 2016, the 90-minute play zooms in on the complicated life of Amir Kapoor, a…
Run for Your Snacks // The Culinaria Wine & Beer Run returns Saturday with a hilly 5K course and plenty of snacks from some of our favorite eateries. Burn some calories and then refuel with bites from La Frite, Kona Grill, Whiskey Cake and more, along with wine and beer (duh) from across the U.S.…
Reposted with permission from The Tacoist. It’s heartbreaking when a taqueria cooks up some tasty taco fillings, but the tortillas are subpar. I wouldn’t say this is common in San Antonio, but it happens more than you’d think. This was the case at El Jaral on Roosevelt Avenue. And it pains me to write this…
Texas has seen more recruitment efforts by hate groups on college campuses than any other state this school year. Since September, 107 recruitment campaigns (usually in the form of stickers, flyers, or posters) have popped up on college campuses across the country — 17 of them in Texas alone. More than half of the national…
Pink Martini, Wednesday, March 15 Pink Martini sounds like the band that’s playing in the background at literally every party James Bond goes to when he’s looking for the girl or the villain…or both. Founded in 1994 by Thomas Lauderdale in Portland, Oregon, Pink Martini blends a mix of pop-jazz, lounge, and Latin music that…
In an interview with New York Magazine’s entertainment website Vulture.com about the changing nature of political humor, former Daily Show writer-producer Rory Albanese said, “Comedy’s role under Trump should be the same as it’s always been: a heady mix of truth to power and fart jokes.” Albanese’s recent multi-hat role on the now-canceled Nightly Show…
The new year brought us a new crop of shows, and 2017 has been no slouch. Is it just us or have an increasing number of amazing shows been popping up as of late? For instance, 2017 definitely marks the largest number of SXSW “spillover” sets our city has seen in a long time (maybe…
San Antonio artist Jesse Amado presents his latest solo show, “Becoming,” smack dab in the middle of Contemporary Art Month. Continuing in the widely celebrated vein of his recent work, this new collection finds the consistently innovative and whimsically confounding artist playing with concepts as divergent as materiality, design, religion, politics and the social construction…
Most years, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see San Antonio atop the NBA standings in mid-March – Spurs fans have come to expect as much after five titles and two decades of deep postseason runs. But this season appeared to be different. With Tim Duncan’s retirement and the departure of six other players, a…
Despite global recognition and an exhibition history dotted with A-list curators and contemporary art stars, the International Artist-in-Residence program late Linda Pace launched with the opening of Artpace back in 1995 retains a certain air of mystery. While the parameters of the program (which annually invites three guest curators to each select a trio of…
With the proliferation of movie/video-game-themed orchestral performances touring the world, Game of Thrones composer Ramin Djawadi has taken the opportunity to proverbially “turn it up to 11.” In addition to the live orchestra and choir, the Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience (try saying that five times fast) weaves in effects more akin to a…
Ok, we know that everybody says “you need this medal” for practically every medal when Fiesta rolls around, but let’s be real — you need this medal. And you can pick one up Tuesday, March 14, at Whataburger’s Fiesta Pop-up Store at 412 E. Commerce Street. Whataburger customers will be able to snag the restaurant’s exclusive…
State Rep. Jessica Farrar has filed a blunt response to the mountain of anti-abortion bills conservative, male legislators have pitched this session: The Man’s Right to Know Act. Farrar borrowed words and tactics of anti-abortion, misogynistic GOP lawmakers to craft a bill that would regulate men’s reproductive systems just as harshly as women’s in Texas.…
What do Vladimir Putin, President of Brazil Michel Temer and San Antonio’s Daytime at Nine co-host Esteban Solis all have in common? They clearly don’t understand what International Women’s Day is about, as pointed out by Last Week Tonight host John Oliver. Put on blast during last night’s episode, Oliver called out the local Fox News…
An armed, off-duty prison guard was arrested Sunday for impersonating a police officer in a traffic stop on the far west side. Driving a white Crown Victoria (a classic cop car model) with flashing blue and red lights, Justin Coats convinced a solo female driver he was a cop — and that she was in…
Wildfire jokes are never funny. But apparently no one told SiriusXM Radio host Ashley Till that. During a Thursday weather report on wildfires in the Texas Panhandle, Till, host of SiriusXM country station The Highway, joked that the fires meant “BBQ for everyone.” The wildfires, which have been declared a disaster by Gov. Greg Abbott…
Two of San Antonio’s six congressional districts have been invalidated by a federal court for being used to invalidate minority votes. On Friday, a panel of federal judges ruled that three Texas districts, including District 23 and District 35, had been illegally redrawn in 2011 to unfairly diminish votes from Texas’ growing minority population. With…
There’s something special about a house-turned-restaurant: it’s cozy, welcoming, and just a tad nostalgic. Scratch Kitchen is no different. The bakery, which just opened its doors for the first time in San Antonio last week, is located in a restored historic home in the Alta Vista neighborhood. Unable to resist the allure of fresh baked…
The San Antonio Current is looking for an editorial intern to join our editorial team to assist with blogging and creating digital content. As an intern at the Current, there’s no getting coffee, filing or making copies. Our interns spend their time doing meaningful work: researching, writing and most impertinently, pitching content ideas. You will be expected…
The sports entertainment show American Ninja Warrior will set up shop in San Antonio and film a two-hour episode for NBC next week, meaning street closures are to be expected and traffic downtown could get a little hairy. The show plans to film in front of the Bexar County Courthouse on Dolorosa Street March 20-29 with…
Remember the days of browsing through the Scholastic Book Fair, when the school gym or library would magically transform into a bookstore and you’d beg your parents for a few extra dollars or spend your lunch money buying books? The folks at K23 Gallery (704 Fredericksburg Road) share those same fond memories. So, they’re putting together…
Marijuana reform in Texas is set to take center stage Monday as lawmakers in Austin discuss a bill that would eliminate the arrest, jail time, and criminal record associated with a small-time pot charge. Advocates say House Bill 81, a bipartisan measure authored by Democrat Joe Moody and Republican Jason Isaac, actually has a decent chance…
At this point, Youth Orchestras of San Antonio’s (YOSA) fantastic, collaborative tribute shows are becoming something of a can’t-miss local tradition. Having wowed audiences over the past few years with Abbey Road Live, OK Computer Live, and Remembering Bowie, YOSA now turns its attention, and its estimable musical prowess, to the one who reigns eternally…
Emergency officials are still searching for a woman who was swept away by floodwaters in Guadalupe County early Friday morning. According to mySA officials say the woman and her husband received a phone call around 1 a.m. from a friend who was stranded on I-10 and was asking for help. The couple’s car was picked up…
There’s an obvious comparison between Cami, Period Bomb’s glitter glue holding the insanity of her project together, and the embodiment of punk spirit himself, GG Allin. They both have a penchant for bodily fluids (in Period Bomb’s case, menstrual blood), don’t care if their music is trashed by non-believers, and put every shred of their…
Fans of Panifico Bake Shop will soon be able to get pan dulce goods without heading to 24th Street to score a concha. Owners Edna and John Miggins will launch 2Sueet with a Puro Pan Dulce Pachanga on March 25 from noon to 2 p.m. at Freetail Brewing Co. (2000 S. Presa St.) The launch…
“Of Country and Culture: The Lam Collection of Contemporary Australian Aboriginal Art” Fri., March 10-Sun., March 12 San Antonio Museum of Art’s latest exhibition brings to light the museum’s collection of over 100 objects created by Aboriginal artists since the mid-1990s. The collection, a gift from May and Victor Lam, which includes many female artists,…
For the second time this week, Kawhi Leonard squared off against a fellow NBA MVP candidate with gaudier numbers. On Monday night, Leonard’s crunch time heroics against James Harden and the Rockets signaled his official arrival in the MVP race, for those that somehow forget he finished second to Stephen Curry for the same honor…
On Thursday night, WOAI’s Randy Beamer tried to host a “town hall” on Texas Senate Bill 6, the anti-trans measure that started to wind its way through the legislature this week. It did not go well. After about 15 minutes of discussion, LGBTQ activists and allies had heard enough, stood up and walked out of…
San Antonio-based filmmakers are putting the South by Southwest Film Festival on notice. Their time is coming. At this year’s fest, a group of local moviemakers will host the inaugural San Antonio Film Showcase on March 12 from 6:30pm – 12am. The showcase is an official SXSW special event organized by the San Antonio Film…
Announced this week by Blue Star Contemporary, four San Antonio-based artists —Fernando Andrade, Andrei Renteria, Ethel Shipton, and Jared Theis — are packing their bags and heading to Germany for the opportunity to live and work in Berlin. As part of Blue Star’s residency program with Künstlerhaus Bethanien, a contemporary visual art venue in Berlin, four…
All four campuses of a local charter school district — San Antonio School of Inquiry and Creativity — have been shuttered by the state after reports of rotting cafeteria meat, nepotism, and administrative neglect were made public in February. SASIC Superintendent Tonja Nelson was alerted Wednesday by the Texas Education Agency to immediately suspend school operations “until…
“It was all a dream…” Thus begins “Juicy,” the 1994 debut single from The Notorious B.I.G. And, with the exception of a few choice features that preceded this smash hit, thus began the man’s short but singularly influential career in hip-hop. Today, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of his murder by a still…
This piece originally appeared in our sister paper, Out in SA. An exhibit of artwork by women of color which commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center is set to open on March 25. Aqui Estamos y No Nos Vamos (We’re Here and Not Leaving) will feature the work of over 40…
An “enraged” Nico LaHood threatened to “destroy” defense attorneys who secured a mistrial in a murder case the Bexar County DA personally helped prosecute, according to a recent court filing. On Tuesday, lawyers Mark Stevens, Joe D. Gonzales and Christian Henricksen filed a motion to dismiss charges against Miguel Martinez, 29, who stands accused of shooting…
By now, a handful of Republican members of Congress have submitted their own Obamacare replacement bills to Congress. While Speaker Paul Ryan has said the official replacement, currently dubbed the “American Health Care Act,” will largely resemble the bill penned by former representative Tom Price (now Secretary of Health and Human Services), U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions from…
