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Voter Toolkit: Where to vote and what to bring
Early voting is underway for the November 4 election and a last-minute appeals-court ruling means Texas’ controversial voter-identification law will remain in effect for the election, despite a federal judge’s ruling that the legislation is discriminatory and illegal. Just two days before early voting began, the Supreme Court ruled Texas can implement the law, but…
Opera San Antonio Casting Call for Strauss’ ‘Salome’
An epic of literally biblical proportions, Salome is the story of the eponymous seductive princess who dances the dance of the seven veils for her stepfather Herod, king of Judea for the reward of John the Baptist’s newly beheaded cranium on a silver platter. Based on the tragic French play by Oscar Wilde and masterfully…
Run the Jewels’ ‘Meow the Jewels’ Remix Is Now A Reality
Think of most absurd thing that can happen in today’s music scene. Now, imagine acclaimed hip hop duo Run the Jewels remixing their self-titled debut album with nothing but cat sounds. That dream is no longer a figment of our imaginations. Thanks to a hardcore fan, a Kickstarter account was created to raise revenue for…
First Course: Fashion Week SA Kickoff and Halloween Parties
Get your masks and face paint ready, because Fashion Week SA is here and their Fashion Week SA Kickoff Party is happening Saturday, Nov 1 at 8 p.m. in The Tobin Center (100 Auditorium). This red carpet event will be a night of fashionable cocktail attire, beats by DJ Jarvis, and complimentary El Jimador cocktails.…
10 Things You Have to Do This Weekend
Thu 10/30 8th Annual Hallows’ Eve Tribute Show The whole ‘Halloween is a time to be someone else’ notion really takes off in this annual show at The Ten Eleven. Featuring members of all kinds of local acts, the festive event will showcase five tribute bands, taking on the music of Coldplay, The Stooges, Arctic…
10 Awesome Last-Minute Pumpkin Ideas
Can you believe it’s already time for Halloween? Neither can I. I feel like there are too many weird pumpkins (and boring ones, too) out there that people do every year. So here are a few nifty, last-minute ideas that can really set your pumpkin apart from the rest. 1. Melted Crayon 2. Tinker Bell 3. Hungry Pumpkin 4. Chesire…
Former White Rabbit Promoter Sues Venue
A former promoter for the White Rabbit is asking a Bexar County court to file a temporary injunction barring the sale of the music venue in a lawsuit filed on October 18. Jennifer Holt filed the lawsuit against White Rabbit owners Rhonda Moore and Richard Sciaraffa, along with Rhonda Moore-Sciaraffa, LLC. and Venue MGMT LTD…
‘The Daily Show’ in Texas, Day Two: Joaquin Castro and a Song about Texas
The second Texas episode of “The Daily Show: Democalypse 2014: South by South Mess” aired last night, and this time, the show’s resident political satirist Jason Jones hit the streets of Austin to ask Texans what’s most important to them in this election cycle. The answers? The border, guns, women’s health, gay rights, and everything…
Poll: Texans Support Abortion in the Cases of Rape or Incest, Trends in Gay Marriage Support Remain Steady
A new University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll out today shows Texans’ attitudes toward gay marriage and abortion a bit more nuanced than just ‘for’ or ‘against.’ Pollsters conducted an internet survey of 1,200 registered voters between October 10 and 19. Numbers show that more than 60 percent support some kind of union between gay and…
Spurs win opening night 101-100 over Mavericks
The Spurs beat the Dallas Mavericks 101-100, kicking off the season with a slim fourth quarter win. In the waning minutes, the atmosphere in the AT&T Center felt like a continuation of the SA-Dallas first round series from last year, a hard-fought match between the Lone Star rivals. A half hour before the game, the…
Wendy Davis and Tommy Calvert Call on San Antonio to Vote
At the Claude Black Center in east San Antonio, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis made her second stop in the Alamo City in less than 24 hours and appeared alongside Bexar County Commissioner Precinct 4 candidate Tommy Calvert to urge voters to get out and make their voices heard. Davis, who is trailing her Republican opponent…
Texans Swoon for Voter ID Law
Texans love the voter identification law, at least according to a recent poll. The University of Texas at Austin and Texas Tribune published the results Tuesday, which indicate the Lone Star State is deeply enamored with a much criticized Voter ID law by a 3-to-1 margin. While the law was found unconstitutional earlier this year,…
Mixtli, Godai Sushi Team Up for 12-course Dinner
If there’s something I’m a fan of it’s collaboration. The folks at Mixtli, who collab with other chefs to put on Alamo City Provisions dinners, are now teaming up with Goro Pitchford, of Godai Sushi, for a 12-course tasting menu on Monday, December 8, at 6 p.m. inside Godai Sushi (11203 West). It’s a case…
10 Free Events Happening This Week
Wednesday, October 29 – Saturday, Nov 1 Final week: “Either or, Or Both” Ruiz-Healy Art’s “Either or, Or Both,” pairs Nate Cassie and Ethel Shipton in a collaborative exhibition that adds miscommunication to an array of themes the SA-based duo has previously explored via sculpture, painting, drawing, photography and installation. Free, Wednesday-Saturday 11am-4pm, Ruiz-Healy Art,…
Appeals Court Will Hear Texas Same-Sex Marriage Case in January
Update Tuesday, October 28 at 2:52 p.m. This post has been updated with comments from Nicole Dimetman, who is one of four plaintiffs challenging Texas’ same-sex marriage ban. The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has tentatively put Texas’ same-sex marriage case on the calendar for the week of January 5, 2015. Lawyers on both…
‘The Daily Show’ in Texas: Wendy Davis and the ebola freak-out
Last night, “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” launched its first episode in a series of Austin-based installments which have been sardonically dubbed “Democalypse 2014: South by South Mess.” The episode opens with a string of totally necessary jabs at Texans and our collective fear of Ebola. Samantha Bee, Jessica Williams, and Aasif Mandvi report…
16 More Songs to Put on Your Halloween Playlist
Halloween is rapidly approaching. Whether you’re feeling naughty enough to dress up as a sexy Pooh Bear looking for honey, or throwing on a basic white bed sheet, I salute you for trying. And to those going as that obscure costume literally no one will get, you’ll always be welcomed to my Halloween party. Here’s…
7 Ways to Treat Yourself This Halloween
Halloween is a time of the year when everyone wants to get festive, but it’s also a time where that excitement can lead to some Halloween blunders. We have seven places that’ll definitely give you the perfect treat for your friends and family this Halloween. Bird Bakery (5912 Broadway) has delectable little pumpkins that are…
Syrian Rebels, the AUMF and SA’s House Delegation
With Election Day right around the corner, we thought it would be insightful to see how the San Antonio House of Representatives delegation voted in 2014 on war-centric legislation. San Antonio is represented by four Democrats and one Republican in the House of Representatives. Lamar Smith, the sole Republican, represents District 21; Joaquin Castro represents…
Live and Local: Islands & Tigers at Ten Eleven
On Sunday night, one of the Alamo City’s best and most prolific young bands, Islands & Tigers, played a homecoming show at The Ten Eleven, after having been on an 11-date southwestern mini-tour. We went into the affair with the mindset that, after so many dates in a relatively short time, the band would either…
SA Food Pics: 10 pics that are screen-lickin’ good
There are times when you’re just skimming Instagram and wishing you could lick the screen because the food pics look so good. Today was one of those days for me. Lamb from Folc (226 E Olmos), pizza and drinks at Barbaro (2720 McCullough), and the eggplant waffle at Bite (1012 S Presa) were just a…
5 Things You Have to do This Week
Monday, October 27 Lil’ Bits’ Annual Hallowswing Party With Two Tons of Steel Before there was Americana, before there was Texas Country, Two Tons of Steel front man Kevin Geil and his original band Dead Crickets rocked a sound that blended the best of musical worlds and pushed the envelope of “Texas” sound with a…
10 Costumed People You Meet on Halloween
1. Animal Ears We’ve all seen Mean Girls and we know the epidemic that has been caused due to its success. Men and women all around the country will be showing up to their local bars and house parties with some form of animal ears, but with only the finest of underwear on to complement…
Does Google Work for the State Department?
A recently published exchange between Julian Assange of WikiLeaks fame and Eric Schmidt, the mastermind behind Google’s success, confirmed what skeptics of the world’s largest information empire have long suspected; Google has forgone its mission to “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful” in order to pursue its own profit-driven…
Shot of the Week: Smashing Pumpkin
Though we all look forward to copious amounts of candy, a slightly more sinister Halloween tradition, smashing pumpkins, is the inspiration for this shot. Pumpkins can take hours to carve. They’re a time for family bonding and offer as much opportunity for self-expression as the costumes we wear. However, like this shot, they’re often gone…
Downtown Cops Arrest Elderly Homeless Woman We Met While Reporting
San Antonio police officers patrolling downtown by bike arrested Erma Jean Grant Thursday afternoon, an elderly homeless woman Elaine Wolff and I met and referenced in our print story this week, “Records show police issue thousands of tickets for homelessness.” According to open records requests and data we obtained, between January 1, 2013 to early…
4 Ways to Get Your Drink/Grub on This Week
Friday, October 24: A pumpkin beer release in October? A novel idea, indeed! The fine folks at Busted Sandal Brewing Company are doing just that with the release of El Gourdo Pumpkin Porter. Stop in for $3 pints, a randallized brew via chef Nick Fuentes of Locavore and a special menu from the food truck.…
6 Shows to See this Weekend
Jason Aldean, Florida Georgia Line (Friday, October 24)Quick! Go to the store for canned food, gas and water because Jason Aldean and Florida Georgia Line have their pop-country fingers on the big red launch button for cultural apocalypse. While booze and fucking have been at the core of country since day one, these Florida and…
Child Porn Suspect was Armed to the Teeth
FBI agents on Wednesday found five loaded guns and a backpack full of survivor gear in the room of a Kerrville man accused of distributing child pornography, court records show. Agents arrested Samuel E. Baker, who works for a computer repair store, at his mother’s home in Kerrville, according to the criminal complaint. Baker is…
NSA Bringing More Agents to San Antonio
Within three years, the National Security Agency is anticipated to generate approximately 1,000 new jobs in the Alamo City. According to the San Antonio Business Journal, Admiral Michael Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency and commander of U.S. Cyber Command, spoke at a Cybersecurity Summit hosted by the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce…
Just Because: Here’s a Porcupine Eating a Pumpkin
Prepare for an overdose of adorable. For no reason whatsoever other than this is on the internet and it must be seen, here’s a video of the cutest porcupine ever nibbling on a baby pumpkin. Meet Teddy Bear, a delightful North American porcupine who is a bit of a YouTube sensation. You’ll understand why once…
NDO News: AG Rules Against San Antonio
The Texas Attorney General’s Office ruled against San Antonio in an open records request related to the first case brought under the City’s amended non-discrimination ordinance. In response to an open records request by local media for recordings and other documents related to Matthew Hileman, who filed the first complaint under the NDO alleging AT&T discriminated…
Tim Duncan to Appear at Halloween Comic Fest
Tim Duncan fans, if you were already excited about this weekend’s Halloween Comic Fest at Heroes and Fantasies, you’re about to reach a whole new level of stoked. Tim Duncan is making an appearance at the event. He’ll be there to unveil Blackjack Speed Shop’s custom replica of the car featured in the highly anticipated variant…
Artpace’s ‘Remix’ Encourages Teens to Embrace Their Inner Artiste
Listen up, teenagers—take your earbuds out of your ears, and stop listening to Ariana Grande for, like, two seconds. Artpace is holding an event just for you, high school students, and it is going to be way better than going to see the newest dystopian YA novel-turned-film. “Remix: For High School Students Only,” which will…
Van de Putte Kicks Off Campaign Tour at Star-studded Rally
Flanked by actress and political activist Eva Longoria, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio, Henry R. Munoz III of Latino Victory and St. Philip’s College student Tiana Trejo, Sen. Leticia Van de Putte kicked off her two week-long “Vote Leticia” bus tour at San Pedro Park Wednesday night. Van de Putte, a Democrat from…
10 Things You Have to do This Weekend
Thu 10/23 A Flock of Seagulls Maybe it’s that opening on-the-nose Jonathan Livingston ambience or maybe it’s frontman Mike Score’s wail, but AFOS’ lead single “I Ran (So Far Away)” has a bet-the-farm Cinescope grandeur only attempted a couple of other times on their self-titled debut LP and with significantly less success. In hindsight, “I…
It’s the New SACurrent.com!
We’re pleased to unveil the new sacurrent.com, your improved online destination to find out what’s going on around town, plus the latest in local news, arts and culture, music, food and nightlife. Take a look around. You’ll find all of our print and blog stories in their respective sections: news, arts, music, screens, and food…
Heroes and Fantasies to Throw Nerdy Halloween Bash
via Heroes and Fantasies is not just a comic book store. It’s a vibrant nerd hub. Almost every month, they hold events, whether it’s an artist signing, a trading card tournament, or a big nerdy festival. On October 25, Heroes and Fantasies will host its Halloween Comic Fest—an all-ages, comic book bash. During the event, they will…
Carlton Soules Publishes ‘Star Wars’-Themed Campaign Ad
Politics and platforms be damned. If we had to choose between former City Council member Cartlon Soules and incumbent County Judge Nelson Wolff based off of political advertisements, Soules just won the race. In a Youtube video released by the Soules campaign Wednesday, the commander of the Rebel Alliance, Admiral Ackbar, warns that another Wolff…
First Course: New growler station and a Dance with the Dead
Tap at Claude Hopper’s.(via) We love beer (remember San Antonio Beer Festival?) and we’re so excited to introduce you to Claude Hopper’s (19718 Blanco). This new growler station and tap room has more than fifty craft beers on tap, including Saint Arnold Fancy Lawnmower, Deshutes Black Butte Porter and Dogfishhead 90 Minute IPA. San Antonio…
Powerful Voices and Inspiration at Women in the World Texas
Author and feminist activist Gloria Steinem, left, speaks with actress Eva Longoria in the program segment, “The Face of Feminism” during the Women In The World Texas Forum, presented by Tina Brown Live Media, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014, at the Charline McCombs Empire Theatre in San Antonio, Texas. (Robin Jerstad/DA Media for Women in the…
City Forbids Anti-Abortion Protesters From Using Jumbotron Near Alamo
This is a screen capture of the Jumbotron TV from one of Created Equal’s videos posted on its website. After a few hours of back and forth Wednesday between city officials, the San Antonio Police Department, and anti-abortion protesters, the city ultimately barred the protesters from setting up a Jumbotron in Alamo Plaza to display video…
Transgender Inclusion: U.S. Military Ranks 40th
The Old World far outpaces the New World when it comes to transgender inclusion in the armed forces. A new study released by the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies ranked 103 countries based off of policies and treatment of transgendered military personnel. You can read that study at the bottom of this story. The United…
Aural Pleasure: Albums from Foxygen, Iceage and Parallelephants
…And Star Power / Foxygen / Jagjaguwar / ** I caught Foxygen during one of their infamous “meltdown” shows a couple years back and holy shit, what a paisley-clad cocaine nightmare of a set it was. The band purposely avoided all their best-known songs and frontman Sam France manically pushed things further into atonal chaos…
A Tequila-filled Weekend, Plus America’s Test Kitchen Comes to SA
Raise your hand if you love tequila? Now use the other hand to get tickets to Culinaria’s first Experience Agave, a weekend-long celebration of Mexico’s signature spirit with all events taking place at Mana House (1160 E Commerce). Essence of Mexico (Friday, October 24 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.) kicks off the weekend with drinks and discussion…
Step Off: How Kacey Musgraves won Nashville
Though she was born in 1988 and released her first recordings at the age of 14, Texas native Kacey Musgraves has always displayed remarkable wit and wisdom in her songwriting. Since her 2003 release Wanted: One Good Cowboy, Musgraves has, subtly and not so subtly, set herself apart from the formulaic pop-country herds on Music…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The driest place on the planet is the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. It gets about a half-inch of rain per year. And yet in 2011, archaeologists discovered that it’s also home to a site containing the fossilized skeletons of numerous whales and other ancient sea creatures. I’m detecting a metaphorically…
The Infinite Blues of Woodstock Alums Canned Heat
Thirty-two bands played the original Woodstock back in 1969. Of those 32, two are still at it today. And if you discount Santana on the grounds that he’s really more a guy than a band at this point, well, that just leaves Canned Heat. Half a century is a long, long time for any band…
The Otherworldly Appeal of Pure X’s ‘Angel’
Before we treat the music of Pure X’s third LP Angel, let’s take a moment to appreciate the airbrushed brilliance of its album art. On a cream-colored backdrop, a dripping heart containing a deep red and soft purple sunset loses its shape, trickling into a puddle. The band and album name frame the image in…
Bexar County Judge: Nelson Wolff vs. Carlton Soules
Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff and his opponent, former City Councilman Carlton Soules, have faced off in a flurry of debates as Election Day draws closer. During an October 13 debate on Texas Public Radio’s The Source, the candidates went head-to-head on transportation, city-county consolidation and even whether they would perform same-sex marriages. Wolff, who…
A Closer Look: The ins and outs of a few important races
For more than a year now gubernatorial candidates Wendy Davis and Greg Abbott have dominated airwaves and secured way more newspaper column inches than any other race in Texas. And rightly so. The race for lieutenant governor, between Leticia Van de Putte and Dan Patrick, has also received a ton of well-deserved press. However, there…
‘Walking the Camino’ Explores a Treacherous Trek Through Spain
In the Middle Ages, pilgrims walked the 500-mile El Camino de Santiago de Compostela as a pilgrimage to the tomb of Apostle St. James. It was an essential part of Western European spiritual and cultural life in those times. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could ask those Medieval pilgrims why they chose to express…
The Home Vidiot: Monsters lurk in Halloween videos
Hello, movie lovers. It’s a rough job, but I watch one film a day in the search for the offbeat, the arty, the foreign, the alternative, the classic, the cult and the positively tolerable. This monthly column shows the fruit of my labors. Recent video releases have monsters fit for Halloween, not all of them…
Replacing Ivy Taylor: Five candidates seek District 2 seat
When President Barack Obama appointed Julián Castro Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, he set a chain of events in motion that are culminating in an unusual November municipal election. Mayor Ivy Taylor was selected by her peers to fill Castro’s shoes, leaving a District 2 vacancy, which was filled…
Failure Is Not an Option: George Lopez returns to SA
It is evident comedian George Lopez is still a little sensitive about the on-again, off-again relationship he’s had with television. Whatever the issue, the Current pushed some buttons when we talked to him last week in anticipation of this weekend’s tour stop in San Antonio. We managed, however, to draw him back in for the…
Statewide Showdowns: A closer look at the attorney general office
With intense media focus on Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott as he and rival gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis square off on the state’s controversial abortion and voter-identification laws, it’s easy to forget about all the other stuff the AG’s office does. Yes, Abbott’s made his name suing the federal government over EPA, energy and healthcare…
SAPD Issues Thousands of Tickets for Homelessness
Data and records obtained by the Current show that between January 1, 2013, and early October of this year the San Antonio Police Department issued more than 12,000 citations for violations of city laws aimed at discouraging the homeless and poor from hanging out downtown or asking for donations. The crimes include aggressive solicitation—seeking donations…
Happy Hour Hound: Hits and misses at Market on Houston
The redesign of the Sheraton Gunter this past April gave a bit of life to the hotel’s eatery. Now known as the Market on Houston, with an area that includes a deli line and sit-down restaurant, the eatery also includes a padded bar—no, really, there’s leather padding along the bar. Happy hour, served from 4…
Savage Love: Rings and Things
I’m a twentysomething married trans guy in an openish marriage. In the online hunt for a guy to have some aboveboard, under-the-sheets fun with, I run into snags because I’m trans (I disclose on my profile) and because I’m married. I’m baby-stepping my way toward an offline search for guys, going to events hosted by…
Alamo Ice House Brings Hill Country to Downtown
There was a special kind of draw at Alamo Ice House on a recent Tuesday evening. A handful of weeks after opening its doors, Alamo Ice House played host to the release of Robert Earl Keen’s Honey Pils. Yes, THE Robert Earl Keen, was happily taking photos with fans, kissing babies and petting puppies, and…
YAO Food Truck Delivers Asian Goods
There are two things to love about the YAO food truck. The first being the truck’s actual mobility as it hops along from lunch gig to lunch gig without so much as a pattern. You’ll just as easily find them downtown at Travis Park or Weston Centre as you would places off Loop 410 or…
SA Design Maven D’Ette Cole and the Topography of Junk
D’Ette Cole has been an artist, interior designer, antiques dealer and even a pie. Simply put, she notices everything, and has built her career on illuminating objects for others to notice. She spearheaded the antique/junk movement, co-founding both Uncommon Objects in Austin and Clutter in Warrenton. She relocated to San Antonio four years ago and…
Value Vino: Online resources for wine knowledge
For last year’s article celebrating Texas Wine Month, I made reference to an iPhone/Android app called txwinepassport designed to facilitate and encourage Texas wine tourism. Confession: I never got around to installing it myself—in part because I rarely use the apps that are already on my phone, and in part because…well, never mind. So my…
6 Sinfully Good Grilled Cheese Sandwiches in SA
Cheesy Jane’s Multiple locations, cheesyjanes.com If the name is any indicator, this San Antonio staple doesn’t mess around when it comes to cheese. With the wallet-friendly price of $4.99, the Triple Grilled Cheese includes cheddar, Swiss and pepper jack topped with tomato and garnished with pickle slices. It’s the perfect no-frills, comfort food experience worth…
10 Free Events Happening This Week
Tuesday 10/21 Talk: ‘The Artist and the Altered Landscape’ Victor Pagona, SSA Photography Department Chair, gives a lecture about the juncture of real and imagined worlds that these artists explore. Free, 7pm Tuesday, Southwest School of Art Navarro Campus, 300 Augusta, (210) 224-1848, swschool.org Tuesday 10/21 Liberty Bar Residency: Nicolette Good Photo by Greta…
Can You Guess Texas’ Most Iconic Movie?
Courtesy of Business Insider Every state has that one movie about it that is engrained in everyone’s collective memory. Okay, most states have that one movie. Personally, I feel like the crew over at Business Insider was stretching a bit when listing Jumanji as New Hampshire’s iconic movie, but for the most part every other…
‘Fortune’ Profiles Half Price Books
Half Price Books on Broadway (via Half Price Books) There’s been a great deal of false prophets in the world of print media, but one true projection is the decline of brick and mortar stores. In a business where a good quarter is a minimized loss, Dallas’ Half Price Books is thriving, opening an average of…
