Worth the mess
Release Date: 2002-12-05 Piccolo’s has long seemed like the quintessential red-sauce palace æ dark, dependable, but hardly inspiring. Though the gallon jugs of Carlo Rossi that greeted us upon entry hardly promised a new gastronomic experience on this occasion, the actual wine list was not the only surprise to come; one of us has lightened…
FREE TRADE OR SLAVE TRADE
A towering, hefty man with a salt-and-pepper mustache as thick as a bear pelt, Fernández bellowed into a microphone while a fellow demonstrator, a Quaker from the American Friends Service Committee, pointed a small amplifier toward a crowd of protesters assembled in a parking lot. “We’re not putting up with the injustices and violations of…
SWINDLERS AND SHITKICKERS
More than waking me up to the strange idea that people take what I write seriously, the episode reinforced my belief in the Swindles’ incredibly loyal following among San Antonio music fans. Truth is, I fucking love the Swindles (please don’t kick my ass!) and I think they are the greatest band around (I’ll buy…
MUCH ADO ABOUT SOMETHING
In front of the H-E-B headquarters, a small group of concerned citizens gathered to protest H-E-B’s use of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) in their house brands (“Hill Country Fare” and products carrying the H-E-B label). Erica Gray, an organic farmer from Boerne, was decked out in a pilgrim costume with a baby in tow, holding a…
STONED AT SBC
Part of the Current’s agenda in seeing this show was to evaluate a new live venue’s acoustics, and the verdict isn’t going to shock anyone: It sounds like a basketball stadium. Some lonely acoustic engineer out there may object to the following statement, and if s/he’s right, the rock world will someday rejoice: There is…
MAQ ATTACK
Further east on the border in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico’s second maquiladora hub, 5,000 workers were laid off during the first two weeks in July as a dozen assembly plants canceled shifts or shut their doors for good; one U.S.-owned assembly plant, Scientific Atlanta, fired 1,300 workers and moved production across the ocean to China. The…
COWPUNK TRIFECTA
Using a slacker-approved, anti-buzz method of marketing, Eyes Adrift has faked out the corporate rock competition and stealthily rocketed into the rosy position of “best touring super group you never even heard of.” The nagging question, of course, is: Who is Eyes Adrift, anyway? Well, remember that year punk broke the Nirvana mania? Following the…
DOUBLE-DIPPING
The second-graders sent an e-mail to Flores’ office requesting the measure; however, since none of them had donated their weekly allowances to Flores’ political campaign, it was questionable whether the representative would sponsor the legislation. But Flores, a Democrat from Mission, was impressed by the students’ chutzpah. “What a motivated young group of Texans that…
BLUESMAN BACK IN TOWN
Besides the physicality of his music – including some Olympic fingerpicking – Smither’s songs are poetry in motion: “I been sick in my time, this ain’t nothing new. It’s just worst than the first and it lasts just as long as I do,” he sings on “Shake These Blues,” from 1995’s Up on the Lowdown.…
MUSIC OF THE TEMPLE AND THE HEART
SAVAE shared its work-in-progress last December during a concert of early Jewish, Christian, and proto-Islamic materials that it performed at the Southwest School of Art & Craft. The vocal septet returns there Sunday, December 8 for a live performance of Ancient Echoes, a new CD that offers a more complete immersion into the sounds of…
GET OFF THE COUCH, ALREADY
In the 20 minutes before the lights dimmed for this week’s preview screening of Analyze That, a woman near the front of the theater astonished the crowd with her incessant laugh. She and her boyfriend were sharing something funny, and the pitch, volume, and frequency of her giggles were impossible to ignore. That woman didn’t…
NEW REVIEWS
ADAM SANDLER’S 8 CRAZY NIGHTS “Crass, crude, and witless” Dir. Seth Kearsley; writ. Brooks Arthur, Allen Covert, Brad Isaacs, Adam Sandler; feat. Sandler, Jackie Titone, Austin Stout, Kevin Nealon, Rob Schneider, Norm Crosby (PG-13) Davey Stone gets stuck with the bill at a Chinese restaurant in Adam Sandler’s 8 Crazy Nights. Movies about Christmas…
STILL PLAYING
BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE “Angry, witty essay on American mania” Writ. & dir. Michael Moore; feat. Moore, Charlton Heston, Marilyn Manson, Dick Clark, John Nichols, Matt Stone (R) What’s unique about the United States? Gun violence. Moore, a working-class Socrates who poses unsettling questions, ponders that problem in this cinematic essay, with a zany style that’s…
Armchair Cinephile
Back when DVDs first started popping up in stores, film buffs were understandably perplexed by the rationale behind what got issued right away and what didn’t. “Let’s get this straight,” we said. “There’s this great new format that will last a billion years, and while they don’t have The Godfather out yet, I can buy…
WORTH THE MESS
Piccolo’s has long seemed like the quintessential red-sauce palace æ dark, dependable, but hardly inspiring. Though the gallon jugs of Carlo Rossi that greeted us upon entry hardly promised a new gastronomic experience on this occasion, the actual wine list was not the only surprise to come; one of us has lightened up over the…
BETO’S BYE-BYE
The abrupt move was brought about by unresolved issues with the landlord of the space near Basse and Broadway, which Beto’s has called home since its move from the South Side less than three years ago. Will Beto’s be reborn? Mijangos says yes: The restaurant’s concept has proven itself, and attracted a following. Where is…
