'American Buffalo': AtticRep offers Yuletide sneer
’Tis the season to be jolly, but AtticRep has launched its seventh season with a nasty masterpiece of misanthropy. It is a gutsy move, and, to judge by the sparse audience the evening I attended, San Antonians might prefer sugar plum fairies and Hallelujah choruses to the bracing cynicism of David Mamet. Scheduling American Buffalo,…
Family calls Northside ISD ‘the Antichrist’ over student tracking chips
Andrea Hernandez, with Bible in hand, and her father, Steve Hernandez, outside the federal courthouse Monday. Just fifteen minutes into Monday’s court hearing, U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia let out a sigh, rubbed his temples, and asked, “OK, so what exactly is the Mark of the Beast?” Talk of the Antichrist, the Book of…
‘Sanitarium’ digs own grave with weak script
Steven (David Mazouz) doesn’t like what he sees from inside a burlap bag in the second segment of the psychological thriller “Sanitarium.” Taking a page from filmmaker Roy Ward Baker’s 1972 horror mystery Asylum, in which four separate patients at a mental institution are interviewed by a psychiatrist, the new psychological thriller Sanitarium follows the…
Stay Current with the Pick of the Day: Frankie and Elisabeth Get Their Wings
SAY Sí’s ALAS Youth Theatre Company puts a youthful spin on It’s a Wonderful Life with Frankie and Elisabeth Get Their Wings, a new production incorporating original live rock music. Set in a “typical San Antonio neighborhood,” the play follows Elisabeth, a community-minded high-school senior who volunteers annually at a food and clothing drive. When…
Stay Current with the Pick of the Day: Zombie Apocalypse Christmas
The Rose reanimates for the holiday season with Zombie Apocalypse Christmas, an original new play based loosely on the doomsday hoopla spiraling from the Mayan calendar. Set just after zombies ravage the Earth on December 21, 2012 which marks the completion of the 13th b’ak’tun on the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar), the farce follows Santa…
Stay Current with the Pick of the Day: Los Lonely Boys and Alejandro Escovedo
Am I the only person in the planet who thinks Los Lonely Boys’ terrific Rockpango (2011) is their best album since their smashing 2004 eponymous debut? The album got lukewarm reviews and was largely ignored, perhaps as punishment for the trio’s reliance on skill rather than artistry. LLB are all about chops and synchronicity (the…
Deadbeat by Arnulfo Talamantes
Death is always difficult to deal with, but sometimes only because of the life that went along with it, dragging behind the specter of the dead like the drying slime of a snail. Or sometimes it’s because we don’t know how to sum things up after such a finality. What’s the point? Memory? That’s sometimes…
Charters for the wealthy and white
Over at the Texas Observer today, Patrick Michels highlights how amid local efforts to expand charter schools, SA donors are courting a charter company “with a Record of Serving Wealthy White Students.” The so-called “Choose to Succeed” plan to draw $50 million out of local donors hopes to build some 145 charter schools in the area, projected to…
Police say man murdered mother’s abusive boyfriend
Police are searching for Jonathan Jose Guillen, saying he shot and killed his mother’s abusive ex-boyfriend just after midnight. Guillen caught his mother arguing with the 44-year-old victim just after midnight at an Oak Manor apartment off Austin Highway, according to a police report. The victim grew angry, accusing Guillen’s mother of cheating on him.…
Stay Current with the Pick of the Day: American Buffalo
Years before he won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Glengarry Glen Ross, revered playwright and screenwriter David Mamet earned his reputation as the “profane poet” with the 1975 junk shop tragedy American Buffalo. Set in Don’s Resale Shop, the “tense and funny ride” follows a trio of petty criminals whose plot to steal a…
Actor Sam Jones (AKA Flash Gordon) enjoys spoofing himself in ‘Ted’
Sam Jones, who played Flash Gordon in the 1980 sci-fi movie, has a cameo in the comedy “Ted.” Thirty-two years after saving Earth from the evil Emperor Ming the Merciless, actor Sam Jones, who played Flash Gordon in the 1980 sci-fi movie, is back to show how much his comic action hero character has become…
Greening your holidays
While having lunch with friend and blog writer Andrea Nocito, I mentioned that the holiday season, while spectacular, seems so wasteful. Andrea agreed and quickly, we were off to discussing strategies for a less wasteful way to deck the halls. Here are some strategies for greening your holiday season. Gifting Laura: What can we do…
Unite Here!, downtown service workers fighting ‘tip theft’
If you find yourself wandering the River Walk or downtown streets in the coming days, chances are you’ll run into one of these ballot box-strapped organizers (pictured above). Mostly downtown service workers and organizers with Unite Here!, here’s a very crude breakdown of what they’ll ask: When you get a “service charge” on your bill, don’t…
PETA targets SeaWorld San Antonio
courtesy photo Animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is calling for an investigation into a dolphin injured at SeaWorld San Antonio, filing a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Tuesday. PETA provided photos an anonymous visitor took during a Dec. 9 trip to the park showing a bottlenose dolphin…
Single of the Week: Aly Tadros’ “Sweet on Me”
(photo by Jen Painter) Aly Tadros “Sweet on Me” (from The Fits, out Jan 15) (self-released) ***1/2 “Sweet on Me” has a sophisticated love-drunk train song feel, forlorn and saccharine, punctuated by a willful and almost palpable longing. A veteran of the wanderlust-folk scene and the anguish that attends that life, Tadros sounds as sweet…
Stay Current with the Pick of the Day: “It Shows No Favoritism & Is Always Sincere”
The Northside’s AnArte Gallery & Studio is throwing three days of holiday art parties this week, beginning with Wednesday’s opening of Michael Wayne’s solo show, “It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.” Wayne’s abstract paintings are filled with tumultuous shapes and bright colors that recall fluid dynamics, deep space phenomena, or swimming protozoa from…
The Granary: First looks at the Pearl's new gastropub
Only weeks old, The Granary ‘Cue & Brew has successfully passed their shake-down period and is smokin’ along with two menus. The new gastropub featuring barbecue and beer is housed in an old house on the south edge of the Pearl complex that was once home to Pearl Brewery’s head cooper, and is the first…
Kinky returns to SA
A crazy monster with five heads all beating each other up — in a nutshell, that is what three-time Grammy-nominated Kinky is. "But at the same time growing and growing stronger with the pass of time," vocalist Gilberto Cerezo told the Current from Los Angeles, where the band has lived for seven years. The fusion…
Scott Walker: 'Bisch Bosch'
This enigmatic artist, who shunned the limelight only to create some of the most evocative music in recent memory, returns with a sonic feat of originality in a music scene cluttered by pink-wig demi-rappers and overdone, high-fashion dance pop. Bish Bosch puts Scott Walker’s haunting, bellowing voice on full display as it drones in and…
Taste this: Peppermint and White Chocolate Cookie: $1.50
In the spirit of the holidays, now’s as good a time as any to enjoy a treat. The folks over at W.D. Deli seem to think so, offering their special of the month: an oversized sugar cookie (nearly the size of a pancake) with white chocolate holiday M&M’s. Chewy, pepperminty, sinfully sweet and brimming with…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Can you manage to be both highly alert and deeply relaxed? Could you be wildly curious and yet also serenely reflective? Can you imagine yourself being extra hungry to crack life’s secrets but also at peace with your destiny exactly the way it is? If you can honestly answer yes to…
Emerson, Lake & Palmer: 'Live in California'
ELP’s April 6, 1974 appearance at the Ontario Motor Speedway’s California Jam was a highlight for a band already accustomed to routine arena sell outs. A crowd of a quarter million saw the band (as well as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Earth, Wind & Fire, and others) and, for decades, many of those fans enjoyed…
'Smashed', an almost relapse on "recovery cinema"
Hipsters have problems too. In this low-budget, indie-styled retread of Days of Wine and Roses, we meet Kate (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), an adorably funky second-grade teacher who is just beginning the descent from functional alcoholic to full-blown addict. Most nights she goes out to clubs with her part-time music journalist husband Charlie (Breaking Bad’s Aaron…
BabiO's dance club wants you to be fabulous
When you’re a single gal in the city, sometimes a night of dancing and drinking at the newest gay dance club is all you need to temporarily forget that you’ve got a case of the blues (let’s just say I was the mayor of Broken Heartsville). Anxious to seek refuge from my typical bar circuit…
Sarah McLachlan: Find Your Voice
This free holiday single is meant to raise awareness of the Canadian music school Sarah McLachlan runs for disadvantaged kids, a number of whom sing the chorus on "Find Your Voice." It’s a good cause and a solid Christmas song — light on the treacle, with a shuffling beat, a poppy hook, and plenty of…
¡ASK A MEXICAN!
Dear Readers: Behold your favorite Mexican’s annual Christmas gift guide, where I give shout-outs to some of my favorite books that deserve your money this holiday season! And for once, I won’t recommend my books —¡Ask a Mexican!, Orange County: A Personal History, and Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America — as gifts…oh wait,…
Rez Abassi and Vijay Iyer transform jazz
Last Sunday’s concert at McAllister Auditorium, Invocation, was the brainchild of jazz composer and guitarist Rez Abassi, who brilliantly used the Pakistani Sufi musical form, qawwali, as a palette to color American jazz with subcontinental moods. He was accompanied by Grammy nominated Vijay Iyer on piano, the soulful Dave Binney on saxophone, and the highly…
'Magical Mystery Tour' vindicated
Magical Mystery Tour Revisited (9pm Fri, PBS) The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour is widely regarded as a failure, but this documentary gives it an overdue reconsideration. The film interviews Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Martin Scorsese, Terry Gilliam, and those involved with the 1967 project in which the Beatles filmed themselves on a surreal bus trip…
Holiday books explore holy lands and the devil
It’s officially winter next week. So the days are darker and the nights are longer, and some of us who might otherwise crave warmth and light might just have to settle for those dark nights of the soul, as well. Here are three spirit-centered titles to prod you towards proper Yuletide consolation. JERUSALEM:The Biography /…
'The Hobbit', a less unexpected journey than you might think
If there’s one word that describes The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey it’s "more." More action. More digital effects. More characters. More background exposition. More time in the Shire. More, more, more. And that’s not a good thing. With regard to the job of translating J.R.R. Tolkien to the screen, Peter Jackson appears to be committed…
Lisa Morales heads the 11th annual Toys for Tots benefit
Every year since 2001 (except 2011), Lisa and Roberta Morales (Sisters Morales) organized a benefit concert with the help of the Marines’ Toys For Tots Foundation, which in October-December collects and distributes toys among needy local children. "We usually collect two truckloads of toys," an enthusiastic Lisa Morales told the Current. After the duo —…
Richard and Maria Mogas at REM Gallery
Looking at art made by a couple — in this case Richard and Maria Mogas — can be problematic. Of course, you know there is a hidden conversation. Currently, they are exhibiting together at REM Gallery, and there’s plenty of cross-talk. Richard Mogas is a well-known SA architect whose signature minimalist buildings are pierced by…
Illya Kuryaki & The Valderramas: 'Chances'
IKV’s first full-length since 2001 is a return to form for the Argentine funk/rap/rock duo that reunited in 2009. Meaning: it contains their usual mixed bag of challenging jewels and throw-away pop hits. Dante Spinetta (son of the late Argentine rock legend Luis Alberto Spinetta) and Emmanuel Horvilleur (son of renowned photographer Eduardo "Dylan" Martí)…
Brant Bumpers steals the annual 48 Hour Film Experience. Again
On December 4, the Christmas-lit skyline loomed over the Guadalupe Theater, the neon-buzzing beacon of the Westside. The 8th annual SA48HR Film Experience, for the second year in a row, set its roots inside the theater to showcase the emerging and established San Antonio film community. There were ground rules. Teams had to submit their…
Trollin’ Ain’t Easy
As with most trolls, there are really two John Foddrills. Seated at a dining room table near his wife in their Northwest Side home this month, Foddrill was personable, calm, and at times even dryly funny. But just wait till he gets to his computer. Every public official and journalist in town knows Foddrill’s work…
Krisanne Frost (1951-2012)
San Antonio lost a bright light in the local art scene last week. Krisanne Frost, well-known local artist and gallery liaison at Blue Star Contemporary Art Center, died December 6 from cancer at age 61 after being diagnosed just weeks ago. Born in Houston and raised in the Hill Country, she was an early resident…
Newsmonger: Hays Restoration Group sues city, Retaliation in exoneration case, Review panel recommends withdrawing UT fracking study
Hays Restoration Group sues city A group of local activists and East Side residents continue to fight the city-approved deal to build a microbrewery next to the Hays Street Bridge, filing a lawsuit in Bexar County Court last week. This summer Council unanimously approved Alamo Beer Co.’s plan to build a microbrewery on the east…
Save Money on Holiday Shopping with Bird Bakery
Bird Bakery is teaming up with Elaine Turner, the luxury wares store in the same shopping center on Broadway. This December each store is offering discounts to buyers who bring receipts from the other store. Bird Bakery is giving 10 percent off hot chocolate, cider and espresso with an Elaine Turner receipt, and Elaine Turner…
San Antonio Spurs’ Shooting Stars
The San Antonio Spurs have already played three overtime games this season, but Monday night’s contest against the Rockets in Houston was easily the most entertaining. With H-town shooting guard James Harden watching from the sidelines with a bum ankle, phenom Jeremy Lin reasserted himself on the hardwood scoring a season-high 38 points, conjuring the…
Stay Current with the Pick of the Day: Vacancy 4
Vacancy is a series of single night events occurring every other month using dormant, non-art spaces in San Antonio and beyond. The latest installment takes over 133 Ellis Bean with a night of music showcasing the talents of Guest Towels featuring Paul and Elizabeth Fauerso with Joe Reyes plus The Guided by Voices tribute The…
