Academy Awards fashion includes nods to Starship Enterprise, Easter Bunny
Desiree Prieto Well, the results are in and the competition was tough. So tough it’s a three-way tie. The theme of the 83rd Annual Academy Awards Red Carpet Show was Aliens, The Easter Bunny and Table Cloth. On February 27, 2011, Gwyneth Paltrow landed in Los Angeles, California from outer space, in a long silver…
Magic Johnson coming to San Antonio to raise HIV/AIDS awareness
NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson may be retired from the LA Lakers, but he is still a champion for charities. On Saturday, March 5, Johnson will be in San Antonio to advocate for HIV/AIDS prevention and research, and social services for senior citizens — both charitable causes close to my heart. Johnson, who is a…
In ‘Bulletstorm,’ you’re the center of enjoyable, ridiculous shooter
At 11:45 pm Monday Night, at a nearby GameStop at 410 and San Pedro, I was struck with a personal dilemma. I had reserved Killzone 3 and Bulletstorm with the intention of playing both games, but I was surprised when I failed to notice that both were debuting at the same time. With only enough…
INFOGRAPHIC: History of computers, 1940’s to the iPad
Source: TestKing
How ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ Brought Fashion to the Rest of Us
Desiree Prieto In 2006, David Frankel directed The Devil Wears Prada, a film that coincidentally became an overnight success. Based on the 2003 New York Times best-selling book of the same name by Lauren Weisberger—arguably one of the best representations of the Chick-Lit genre—the film became a smash hit for a variety of reasons, but…
Westside Cultural Resource Survey kick-off Saturday Morning
Do you currently live on the Westside of San Antonio? Maybe you grew up in a Westside neighborhood, but have since moved away. Or maybe you’re one of many San Antonio citizens who are concerned that culturally significant Westside neighborhoods and structures are continually overlooked with regards to historic preservation. If you fit any of…
NRG Energy pitching ‘nuclear socialism’ back in San Antonio
On Wednesday we suggested the NRG nuclear “road show” may not be welcome around San Antonio, what with that $32-billion fraud lawsuit so recently behind us. Certainly, it’s not a topic the mayor’s office is keen to step into. Neither is it a favored topic in Austin, where the mayor’s office there failed to return…
“Night’s Truth” by E. Joyce Moore
Introduction People creep in and out of our lives all the time. I had a friend tell me recently that no matter where he moved, the same old acquaintance popped up. Here’s a story about that, though the encounter is not a chance one and the relationship is complex. The main character here has to…
The Grace Card, the new Christian offensive on the big screen
Say what you want about “organized religion.” Clichés like “I’m spiritual, not religious,” or “I’m Christian/Catholic, but I don’t go to church,” or the popular “I have a personal relationship with Jesus, I don’t need no priest, pastor, or book,” miss one key point: for good or bad, the power of organized religion lies not…
Rally For Texas Beer Freedom at Main Plaza tomorrow
Two weeks ago, the Current’s resident beer reviewer Travis E. Poling let you know about the Rally For Texas Beer Freedom happening this Friday, February 25 at Main Plaza (115 N Main Street) in front of San Fernando Cathedral. You can check out Travis’ full Bottle & Tap column from the February 16-22 issue here.…
Groups urge DHS to end new prison contract with GEO
By Michael Barajas mbarajas@sacurrent.com Over a dozen Texas civil and immigrant rights groups this week sent a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano protesting the new privately-run immigration detention center slated for construction in Karnes County, saying the move goes against the department’s promises to reform the immigrant detention system. The…
Last call: Mark Menjivar and Leigh Anne Lester at Southwest School of Art
Scott Andrews sandrews@sacurrent.com If you haven’t been to the Southwest School of Art recently, get a move on. Exhibits by local artists Leigh Anne Lester, Mark Menjivar and visiting artist Jon Eric Riis close at the Navarro Campus’ Russell Hill Rogers Galleries Feb 27. “Beautiful Freaks / Nature’s Bastards” by Leigh Anne Lester presents drawings that…
Required Black History Month reading — stick it to the Texas SBOE
Every February since 1976, Americans have been celebrating Black History Month. Black History Month is an extension of Negro History Week created in 1926 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson and Rev. Jesse E. Moorland to make all of us aware of the significant contributions of black people to our country and the world. Way back…
The Overtime Comedy Hour
Release Date: 2011-02-23 The Denials, “San Antonio’s number three comedy troupe for one year running,” claim the Overtime’s primetime slot for a five-week run of variety shows that change each week. Directed by Scott McDowell and performed in the vein of Saturday Night Live, the Overtime Comedy Hour is scripted with just enough wiggle room…
26th Annual Tower Climb & Run
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-02-23 This 952-step challenge benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Lone Star Chapter can be tackled in a competitive or non-competitive fashion, either solo or as part of a team. While competitors will complete a chip-timed one-mile run around the Institute of Texan Cultures before bolting up the 58-story tower (7:30 a.m.),…
Complexions Contemporary Ballet
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-02-23 Founded in 1994 by Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson (both former members of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater), Complexions Contemporary Ballet is considered America’s first fully multicultural ballet company. Known for a groundbreaking mixture of methods and styles that challenges nearly every preconceived notion about ballet (including costuming, which ranges…
La Hocicona Series: An Original X-X-Xicana Comedic Triptych of Scandalous Proportions
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-02-23 For her critically acclaimed trio of one-woman plays, writer/director/performer Adelina Anthony assumes the roles of “La Angry Chicana?!,” “La Sad Girl…,” and “La Chismosa!!!,” which are also the titles (including the dramatic punctuation) of the three pieces that make up La Hocicona Series: An Original X-X-Xicana Comedic Triptych of Scandalous…
The Angel-headed Hipsters, Deer Vibes, Great 85, White Elefant
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-02-23 Former Strokes and Regina Spektor producer Gordon Raphael has been recording local and not-so-local bands in San Antonio since December 2010, but this show is the first time that he will step into the literal spotlight with his brand new band in SA. Scratch that: he hasn’t played in the…
HERSTORY Mural Unveiling
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-02-23 Important art is not always destined for museums. This Saturday, witness the unveiling of HERSTORY, a mural of note with a different mission. Part community artwork and part work of scholarship by the 25 girls who made the painting at Girls, Inc., the project has been accomplished with the assistance…
Radiohead: The King of Limbs
Radiohead: The King of Limbs Label: TBD Records Release Date: 2011-02-23 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording Radiohead has made a career out of blowing up their previous album’s sound and exploring whatever (usually obscure) genre they’re into at the moment. Their eighth “surprise” full-length, The King of Limbs, doesn’t break from that tradition — which is…
Bright Eyes: The People’s Key
Bright Eyes: The People’s Key Label: Saddle Creek Release Date: 2011-02-23 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording I almost didn’t listen to the new (and supposedly final) Bright Eyes record, The People’s Key. Not because I got distracted by the new Radiohead album, but because the first track, “Firewall,” begins with a truly irritating “sermon” by Texas…
Local review of The Krayolas’ Tipsy Topsy Turvy
Local review of The Krayolas’ Tipsy Topsy Turvy Label: Box Records Release Date: 2011-02-23 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording With Tipsy Topsy Turvy, The Krayolas went from being Americano — the name of their previous album — to being “Your Dirty Mexican,” as they sing in “1070,” the provocative pro-immigrant/anti-Arizona-BS hymn. Paradoxically, you won’t hear any…
Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Live at Nassau Coliseum â??78
Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Live at Nassau Coliseum â??78 Release Date: 2011-02-23 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording ELP was the most commercially successful progressive supergroup of the ’70s, but the legion of fans who bought more than 40 million of their albums are nothing in comparison to their detractors or those who, today, don’t know who…
Nick Flynn & Bittersweet Harvest
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-02-23 Two unrelated events are tempting us to drive 49.1 miles north for a dose of enlightenment courtesy of The Wittliff Collections. On Thursday at 3:30 p.m., playwright/poet/author Nick Flynn, best known for 2004’s Another Bullshit Night in Suck City (based in part on the author meeting his estranged father by…
Alma de Mujer
Release Date: 2011-02-23 The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center’s flamenco-centric “Alma de Mujer” unites dancer Olivia Chacón, singer Chayito Champion, guitarist Isai Chacón, percussionist Edwardo Rios, and choreographers Belinda Menchaca and Jeanette Chavez for “an artistic journey that interprets the soulful expression of women and the relationships that shape their lives.” Inspired by the Guadalupe Dance…
City Guide: San Antonio parks
Brackenridge Park: San Antonio’s “Central Park,” Brackenridge served as a Confederate tannery, stone quarry, and a key part of the city’s waterworks before the heart of it was deeded to the city by George Brackenridge in 1899. The park is home to lofty tree canopies, the San Antonio River’s headwaters, bicycle trails, bits and pieces…
City Guide: San Antonio restaurants for 2011
Mex & Tex-Mex Daniel’s Café The food at Daniel’s defines hearty and homey: Rich refried beans, savory caldos, tasty asada, and addictive papa con chorizo tacos. The milanesa is one of the best in town, and the family-staff are warm and welcoming. 5008 S Presa, (210) 533-6222 El 7 Mares Seafood Restaurant Mariachis, ceviches, cocteles…
Faith and devotion: Love Hate Affair give it away (for now)
If Love Hate Affair has a future as successful asshole rock stars, then they’re hiding the seeds of assholedom really well. For starters, they express love for Saytown rock flavor, giving props to Pop Pistol, Ledaswan, and Girl in A Coma. But the band has also given away an estimated 2,000 copies of their debut…
City Guide: River Walk reaches for Mission Espada
When driving along the southern stretch of the San Antonio River one cannot help but notice the sudden decrease in favorable scenery past Lone Star Boulevard. A fast-moving, nearly empty river rushes past as various hues of brown, bare trees, and dusty roadways provide the bulk of what to look at in the area. From…
City Guide asks the experts: What to watch on the San Antonio food scene in 2011
kate-frost feild Owner of Kate’s Frosting I’m excited about the mobile truck trend coming to San Antonio. There are a lot more vendors now with trucks, and it’s not just taco trucks anymore. It’s cool that they’re bringing good food right to the people. alain dubernard Associate dean at Culinary Institute of America in…
Belgian beers still matter
A stroll through the New Braunfels Farmers Market on a drizzly Saturday morning brought me to Humble House Foods where Luis Morales was handing out samples of his San Antonio-made artisanal bleu and camembert cheeses. As often happens, my typical weekend beer T-shirt attire sparked a conversation. Soon Luis and I were sharing thoughts on…
City Guide: Explore San Antonio’s unique grocery stores
When it comes to filling the pantry — or root cellar, meat freezer, and pickling jars — SA has more going for it than you might suspect. Next time you’re looking for that special enzyme to make your own cheese (or stuffing those sausage sleeves), try exploring some of these unique grocery stores. Ali Baba…
City Guide: Pearl Brewery, in-fill’s crown jewel
While new construction and dramatic rehabilitation of old facades at the former Pearl Brewery have attracted their share of breathless media attention, the trendy mixed-use idea is something new for the city, and it shows in the puzzled faces of mid-week visitors who put the Pearl on their list of stops. The food is what…
Revolution Room: Sometimes a revolution is simply avoiding an anonymous booty bump
Venturing out to a new side of Broadway, a stop at Revolution Room proved an interesting spot to spend a Friday night — and not always for the right reasons. The place boasts four rooms of ranging entertainments, and while it’s hard to imagine an actual revolution starting at a bar — most pointed disagreements…
City Guide: Guide to San Antonio’s farmers markets
You may already know about the gourmet pickings at the Pearl Brewery’s market (with live music and an ATM machine), but there are bunches (yes, a pun) of other markets in all corners and neighborhoods of Saytown offering locally grown produce and locally raised meats. Most of these markets are WIC-approved and are part of…
City Guide: Where to eat in San Antonio when you’re up all night
Evil Olive/Phil’s Texas Diner Located inside new Northside drinkery Evil Olive, Phil’s Texas Diner serves true Texas BBQ, diner fare, and several desserts made from scratch (including fried bananas). The diner stays open until the drinks stop flowing, making Phil’s a prime destination for those in the Thousand Oaks/Jones Maltsberger area. 2950 Thousand Oaks, Ste.…
SAY Sí’s success may be in its innovative teaching style
On a first visit to SAY Sí, you could easily think you had gotten lost and stumbled into a rich, private art school instead of the free after-school program targeting inner-city kids. For public school art teachers — those who are left — the experience must be galling. Getting by typically with $600 a year…
City Guide: Own up, SA!
Judging by recent euthanasia-versus-adoption rates in San Antonio (61 percent killed, 39 percent adopted), we’re a long way from achieving our goal of “no-kill” status by 2012. There has been improvement, however, thanks to the combined efforts of the volunteer community and the city’s Animal Care Services. We’ve taken a more realistic look at what…
City Guide: Essential San Antonio bars & venues for 2011
The Aquifer Although it’s less than a year old, Aquifer has already established itself as Stone Oak’s hip, upscale hotspot. DJ Koma, DJ Silver, and Josh Stone are regulars on the decks, and VIP bottle service caters to those who crave downtown ambience on the Northside. The line for Party Rock Saturdays forms earlier every…
Intimate, visually expanding ‘Works on Paper’ showcased at Shelton Gallery
If you haven’t visited the David Shelton Gallery before, I suggest taking a detour west off 281 on Evans Road to reach the gallery on Stone Oak Parkway. Make sure your brakes work — the twisting road goes up and down hills with inclines that would be extreme in the Rockies. The drive offers great…
Critic’s Pick: Somewhere
In a Chateau Marmont hotel room, two boring, identical blondes pole dance side-by-side like a pair of airborne synchronized swimmers to a bland Foo Fighters track. Their patron is Johnny Marco — also blond and bored. Who is Johnny Marco? He’s a man so blank, despite his many tattoos, that he could only be an…
City Guide: Despite snags along the way, Main Plaza on list of great public spaces
Plans to renovate San Antonio’s Main Plaza, though well intentioned, hit snags at almost every step. Approved in 2006, the city celebrated the multi-million-dollar rebirth of the plaza in April 2008, though months of construction and re-planning soon followed. The project aimed to open up a new, green space downtown, a park with vendors, cafe-style…
City Guide asks the experts: Reasons to tune into San Antonio’s music scene in 2011
marcus rubio Marcus Rubio & the Gospel Choir of Pillows I think whatever The Grasshopper Lies Heavy does next will be awesome. I heard them play a couple of new songs at the 1011 a few months back and I thought they were super, super rad. I’m really excited for Jasper’s Cast’s new record. It’s…
Tulia besieged: ‘Taking our the Trash in Tulia, Texas’
The story of Tulia has propelled the careers of a handful of journalists and documentary filmmakers. And the now-infamous 1999 drug sting in the small Panhandle town that put 16 percent of the town’s black residents in jail on manufactured evidence by a crooked lawman was to be is being produced* as a full-length feature…
Oscar’s hits and misses: Our critic puts the Academy Award nominees in their place
Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais did a masterful job of “having a go” at the Hollywood Foreign Press this year … but who really cares about them, anyway? It’s much more fun to take shots at the Academy. Every year, they nominate some duds and overlook some gems. As you’re making preparations for your Oscar…
City Guide: City Council sets goal of 60-percent recycling rate city-wide by 2020
As part of the City’s declared “Pathway to zero waste,” City Council passed an ordinance in December requiring that those living in the city’s some 140,000 apartment units be given easy access to recycling bins at their complexes. While the city’s solid waste department collects garbage and recycling from homes all over San Antonio, apartment…
City Guide: Still Hogwild after all these years
You may have heard that our favorite indie record store, Hogwild Records (1824 North Main, across from San Antonio College), has thrown a few 30th Anniversary bashes for themselves recently. However, they were missing a very important detail up until now — the actual year the shop opened its doors. Was it ’80 or ’81?…
Best of Flash Fiction, February 2011
Welcome to the second installment of the Best of Flash Fiction. This month’s piece is “8X11” by Jordan Gass-Poore. Check out the introduction and the other February selections on the Current’s Flash Fiction blog (blogs.sacurrent.com). I’m always looking for more submissions and am currently reading for March. I’m looking for short (about 500 words, though…
Loopholes & pre-K, honorary ICE agents, and our Ode to Troglobites
Loopholes & pre-K The now-complete hijacking of the Tea Party by corporate-minded Republicans has legislatures around the country clamping down on social-services spending while casting a blind eye to the doings of our banking and business elite. Thankfully, the U.K.-spawned Uncut movement has begun to inspire actions stateside. On Saturday, U.S. Uncut chapters (including one…
City Guide: Mayor Julián Castro places public health & education on San Antonio’s reform agenda
Wunderkind San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro has taken up his predecessor Phil Hardberger’s visionary leadership (which included beginning the River Walk extension, clean-energy development, and expanding term-limits) in spades. This son of Chicana activist Rosie Castro, with regular “fishing-trip” invitations from the White House, has placed public health and education on the front-burner of Alamo…
City Guide: San Antonio’s comedy movement rejuvenated
For years, experiencing live comedy in San Antonio meant trekking downtown to the tourist-saturated Rivercenter Comedy Club. The comedy scene spawned a more accessible nucleus when Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club opened its doors in the fall of 2009, providing a homebase for professional and aspiring Saytown comics. As the concept of a local comedy movement…
‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ and ‘Network’ come to Netflix
Though film has always been about innovating spectacle and gimmickry, without a good script failure is destined. Here are films with Academy Award-winning scripts by two of the more visionary writers we’ve had: Charles Kaufman and Paddy Chayefsky. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004, by Kaufman) is an unusual romantic comedy about two lovers…
The elephant in the womb: Planned Parenthood attacked
San Antonio Planned Parenthood staffers felt like they were under full-on assault at the end of last week as both state and federal lawmakers targeted the group, trying to restrict any funding to the organization’s clinics. The same day the state Senate passed a controversial pre-abortion sonogram law, something Planned Parenthood has loudly opposed, Texas…
City Guide: List of San Antonio’s indispensible freedom fighters
San Antonio Food Bank and Haven for Hope The bankers and business elite may be trumpeting an end to the recession, but our working families are still scrambling to climb out of the economic valley. And with vicious cuts on the way from Austin, expect the weight of poverty to continue to fall on the…
City Guide: Where you can see Indie film screenings in San Antonio
Multi-plex offerings of commercial fare are a dime a dozen in SA, or anyplace else for that matter. But when you need an indie film fix, only a few places in town will satisfy. San Antonio is luckier than most cities — some of our depots for film fanatics offer serious food and drink, too.…
Altie Awards recognize the butthole sniffers who will be ignored at the Oscars
For the last eight years, our sister publication Baltimore City Paper* has given out the “Altie Awards” (Altie as in “alternative,” get it?) in honor of “the consummate artistry and dubious achievement of the movies that entertained or stole time from our lives” in the previous year. For the first time ever, the Current is…
How a neighborhood association has come to dominate Alamo Heights
Since its key role in defeating a multimillion-dollar bond issue for new city facilities in November 2009, the Alamo Heights Neighborhood Association (AHNA) has grown to be an influential player in local politics in the upper-income municipality. Its influence grew further after the neighborhood association formed a political action committee backing three newcomers swept into…
City Guide: City of San Antonio enforcing new texting-while-driving ban
Firing off witty texts to your friends while you try to eye the road and stay within the lines? “LOL,” you just got pulled over and served with a $200 fine. In January, San Antonio started enforcing its new texting-while-driving ban, falling in line with some other Texas cities like Austin and El Paso. Under…
City Guide: Your 2011 essential handbook for San Antonio living
Editor’s Note The San Antonio we’ve known and cherished as a quintessential small town in a burgeoning big city wrapper is increasingly going public. With a few well-placed strokes — not least among them a resuscitation of our river and creekways as verdant public corridors, a willingness to showcase the talents of our artists and…
Spuriosity: Coach Pop can add yet another accolade to his resume
The 2010-2011 season is far from its finale, but Coach Pop can add another accolade to his expansive resume that already includes: NBA Title holder (X4); NBA Coach of the Year (’02-’03); NBA Coach of the Month Award (NBA-record 12X); Head Coach of the Western Conference All-Stars (X2); Winningest Head Coach in Spurs history; Distinguished…
City Guide: Top-rate hospitals continue to be one of San Antonio’s fastest-growing industries
If you need a city to fall to pieces in, this is the one. Top-rate hospitals continue to be one of San Antonio’s fastest-growing industries The University Health System was presented with several awards and distinctions in 2010, among them a Top 50 national ranking from U.S. News & World Report for the care of…
Culinary Institute’s Bakery Café opening soon at the Pearl Brewery complex
The Culinary Institute’s Bakery Café had its soft opening recently inside the Pearl Brewery complex and will hold its grand opening next Saturday, March 5. The Café is offering sandwiches, salads, and soups daily. Chef Alain Dubernard, who recently moved to San Antonio from the CIA in New York’s Hyde Park, helms the bakery. Not…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): "Newspapers are unable, seemingly, to discriminate between a bicycle accident and the collapse of civilization," said George Bernard Shaw more than six decades ago — and it’s still true. It’s very important that you be more discerning than newspapers in the coming weeks, Aries. You can’t afford to confuse a minor…
City Guide: San Antonio’s Southside about to get a facelift
San Antonio’s historically neglected Southside is about to get a facelift with its first four-year university and an accompanying portion of nearby mixed-use development. Texas A&M University system officials plan to complete a new 700-acre campus south of SW Loop 410 between Zarzamora and Pleasanton roads by the end of 2011 and have 25,000 students…
Cava sparkling wines offer beautiful bubbles for the buck
Back in the Dark Ages of Hearty Burgundy and Pseudo Chablis, there was also a Dark Knight (no, not that one), Spain’s Freixenet Cordon Negro. “Black Bottle Bubbly” put in appearances at celebrations of every sort, completely dominating the non-champagne market. And it still rates high on the bubbles-per-buck scale of lifestyle mags such as…
Editor’s Note: South Texas Project nuclear complex pursues U.S. and Japanese loan guarantees
Though the nuclear discussion in city circles has cooled dramatically since CPS Energy extracted itself from a 50-percent share in the proposed doubling of the South Texas Project nuclear complex down to a mere 7 percent, the project’s key boosters have continued scrambling to make the project as attractive as possible to the U.S. Department…
City Guide: New book turns most of the popular beliefs of the 1836 siege of the Alamo on their head
As some trembling church bells will likely clang out 189 times to mark the 175th anniversary of the deaths of the defenders of the Alamo this March 6, don’t expect to see anyone hawking copies of Exodus from the Alamo: Anatomy of the Last Stand Myth during the speechifying. The new book by former U.S.…
La Huasteca #2: When the belly craves the belly
I first encountered menudo in San Francisco, where it is a staple in the city’s Latin-flavored Mission District. The thought of eating tripe intimidated me at first (I have an aversion to eating fat, or anything that seems similar), and it hadn’t been on the menu along with chicken fried steak in rural Colorado where…
Letterbox: February 23, 2011
Each week, the Current will collect and republish the best commentary we receive through parcel post, email, and our Facebook and Twitter accounts to allow more diverse points of view to see print in our pages. While we may accept user IDs, twitter handles, or stage names, we save a special place in our collective,…
City Guide: San Antonio’s mother-tongue and list of where you can take Spanish classes (or Chinese, or Hindi, for that matter)
Are you making sure that your kids learn Mandarin Chinese, the “language of the future?” Cool! But, first things first. The Pew Research Center estimates that Hispanics will represent 29 percent of America’s population by 2050 (it was 16 percent in 2009). On top of that, Latin American nations have (so far) best survived the…
Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: The perception of Mexico having a defective culture has come up in your column several times. It’s most important to point out the historical differences. The U.S. was invaded by settlers who came to live here permanently. Mexico was conquered by gold-seeking thugs who wanted to return rich to Spain. The U.S. received…
Piñata Protest acoustic set at G.I.G. on the Strip (with video)
Álvaro Del Norte is as charismatic a frontman as you can expect from a band that plays “Tejano Punk y Roll.” But at the Piñata Protest acoustic show at G.I.G. on the Strip on Feb. 19, the accordionist/vocalist was quaking in his charro boots. “This is our first acoustic gig; it may be our last,”…
City Guide: Support a local gallery, fill your social calendar
artpace Artpace is San Antonio’s most contemporary arts institution; a combination art lab and community center where something unusual and creative is almost always going on. Founded by the late artist-philanthropist Linda Pace in 1995, Artpace provides residency fellowships for Texan, out-of-state, and international art stars, exhibits hot contemporary work, and performs community outreach and…
The truth about Sam’s Burger Joint and young, local bands
“Sam’s Burger Joint is closing its doors to local bands,” someone said, and I didn’t believe him. Even though Sam’s is known for hosting mostly touring acts, plenty of local bands have and will — at least in the immediate future — play there. But my informant kept telling me, “Check it out.” So I…
City Guide: San Antonio working to make the city bike friendlier
San Antonio bicycling has been in the news perhaps more than ever. As proof, Mayor Castro was photographed on a bicycle wearing a helmet. One could argue this was just a symbolic gesture, but politics often boil down to symbolic gestures at opportune times. Thankfully, Castro and his predecessors have been doing a lot more…
City Guide asks the experts: Reasons to pay attention to San Antonio arts in 2011
ben judson Writer, web developer Transit: A Cooperative for Artists in Transition: San Antonio’s newest art space offers a residency program for young artists moving from the classroom to the gallery circuit in a beautifully renovated mattress factory off South St. Mary’s. Kelly O’Connor: Fresh off an impressive solo show at the down-home Sala Diaz…
Beyond limits
If you want to oversimplify the super-eclectic world of Latin alternative/rock music, you can divide everything into two camps: the foreign-minded artists who stick to Anglo/American formulas, and the joy-loving pachangueros who excel at organic fusions of rock and local rhythms. La Santa Cecilia (named after the patron saint of musicians) doesn’t belong to either…
Scent Memories: Create a meal to remember a night you’ll never forget
From time to time, we experience the way that smells can evoke memories, even emotions. Perhaps it’s the familiarity of someone’s cologne, laundry detergent or hair product – you catch a whiff as someone passes by, reminding you of another time and place. Or the scent of a long-gone lover clinging to your pillow ……
Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Punk’s illegitimate dads
In the excellent Westway to the World, a Clash documentary directed by Don Letts, bassist Paul Simonon recalls the music his brother would listen to in the ’70s. “He’d listen to stuff like Yes, with birds chirping,” he said, “and I would go, ‘God, what are you listening to?!” He could have been speaking about…
Hunger in Texas, corporate tax loopholes, Villarreal, and Saul Alinsky’s ghost
“Power is the very essence, the dynamo of life. It is the power of the heart pumping blood and sustaining life in the body. It is the power of active citizen participation pulsing upward, providing a unified strength for a common purpose. Power is an essential life force always in operation, either changing the world…
