Energy efficiency could get greased with Speaker Straus
A house divided? A call for unified energy action headed to Austin. Greg Harman gharman@sacurrent.com As you might expect with the steady drumbeat of climate change woes, roller-coastering energy prices, and anxiety rippling out of our hemorrhaging economy, there is a lot of interest being expressed in what direction the Texas Legislature will be taking…
Your hometown zoo (still) does wrong by Lucky
Don Elroy, former advocacy director for Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation (and his reprehensivly long hair) explains concerns about Lucky’s health at a recent dinner. Greg Harman Okay, we’ve told you all about Lucky the Asian elephant at the San Antonio Zoo, the effort to Free Lucky and release her to the Tennessee sanctuary, the fact…
On the Street: I See a Darkness
“Books, rest, and wheatgrass” Letters (to the On the Street Penthouse Suite) It’s been a “huge” week, and by that I mean, there was at least one legitimate letter that came in the Penthouse Suite. And what was the topic of this letter? Of course it was a congratulations for the recent cover story on…
Locals Hacienda included on partial SXSW list
The South by Southwest music festival announced a partial list of their acts today, including local power-poppers Hacienda. The list is quite obviously incomplete and is mostly absent of the A-list acts that will most definitely be announced later. Other than Hacienda, probably the coolest piece of news here is that reunited garage-rock pioneers the…
Welcome home, Rafael!
Expecting a lot more of these smiles, now that Rafael is home again. Greg Harman After a month and a half bed-bound at Methodist Children’s, Rafael Garcia and his mother and sister are home. At last. You may remember Rafael, who suffers from the degenerative disorder known as spinal muscular atrophy, was admitted after a…
How to buy a City park, Part II
HOW TO BUY A CITY PARK, PART II As we warned prospective land barons a few weeks ago, a city park isn’t the sort of purchase you make on a whim: It takes time, connections, lawyers, and, of course, cash. There is also the pesky matter of citizen input. The state allows municipalities of our…
Pee Tests not only worry for Probation Dept
Greg Harman No wonder we couldn’t get the records we were seeking from the Bexar County Probation Department, no one could f’ing understand them! Over the past few months, we’ve written a bit about problems in the department’s contract with its pee-testers at Treatment Associates (under investigation by the state Attorney General for dumping client…
Auditing the auditor
By Gilbert Garcia When Mayor Phil Hardberger unveiled SA’s new City Auditor Committee at City Hall this morning, there was no denying how problematic the auditor position has been for local leaders. Hardberger cited the brief but thorny history of SA City Auditors, blaming past confusion on the fact that “we didn’t have a history…
San Antonio’s Canary in the Coal Mine
The recent environmental disaster in Tennessee where a coal-ash dump ruptured and sent a billion gallons of toxic sludge across 300 acres of the Volunteer State brought new national attention to the variety of environmental health dangers that coal ash presents, putting to rest the myth of “clean coal.” The New York Times reports this…
Remembering Manny
This is video footage from a recent hospital vigil for Manny Castillo, executive director of San Anto Cultural Arts and drummer for Snowbyrd. Castillo passed away yesterday at the age of 40.
Gretchen Goes to London
Gretchen Goes to London Composer: King’s X Conductor: King’s X Label: Molken Music Release Date: 2009-01-07 Rated: NONE Genre: Rock/Pop Local King’s X fans who were disappointed when the band’s scheduled December 21 show at Jack’s Patio was canceled (by the venue), can get a fix of the band’s electrifying live power with a new…
Rusty Martin
Release Date: 2009-01-07 Rusty Martin is a San Antonio blues icon who has shared the stage with people like John Hammond, Leo Kottke, Delbert McClinton, Marcia Ball and “Steady Rollin'” Bob Margolin.
Balance
Balance Composer: Ty Tabor Conductor: Ty Tabor Label: Molken Music Release Date: 2009-01-07 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording Tabor’s Balance is filled with the guitar-driven sound that powers King’s X; if it weren’t for the lack of bassist Dug Pinnick’s vocals and drummer Jerry Gaskill’s harmonies, it could easily pass for a King’s X album. “Money…
Tom Russell
Release Date: 2009-01-07 Rusty Martin is a San Antonio blues icon who has shared the stage with people like John Hammond, Leo Kottke, Delbert McClinton, Marcia Ball and “Steady Rollin'” Bob Margolin.
Justice: best served old
Gran Torino Director: Clint Eastwood Screenwriter: Clint Eastwood Cast: Clint Eastwood, Cory Hardrict, Bee Vang, Ahney Her, Brian Haley Release Date: 2009-01-07 Rated: R Genre: Film When asked if he would make a Dirty Harry 6, Clint Eastwood used to joke that he could imagine Harry Callahan, long retired, fly fishing with his .44 Magnum.…
Marley & Me
Marley & Me Director: David Frankel Screenwriter: David Frankel Cast: Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, Alan Arkin, Eric Dane, Kathleen Turner, Nathan Gamble Release Date: 2009-01-07 Rated: PG Genre: Film You’d have to have a heart made of rawhide not to feel a tad gushy while watching Marley & Me, especially if the man-dog relationship reminds…
The Gourds CD Release
Release Date: 2009-01-07 Last year’s Noble Creatures moved the Gourds into beautiful and unfamiliar territory with an unprecedented number of ballads and the inclusion of horns — two Gourds rarities — but the kaleidoscopic country sound the Austin quintet is known for rages on. Continuing the band’s round trip through the outer reaches of the…
Stompy Jones & the Jumpin’ Punkins
Release Date: 2009-01-07 Saxophonist Richard “Filthy Rich” Oppenheim and singer Katchie “Katchmo” Cartwright front Stompy Jones & the Jumpin’ Punkins, a collective named after a couple of Duke Ellington tunes. The cookin’ little jazz band has dancing on the brain, serving up swinging classics with the all-star rhythm section of Ed “Fast Eddie” Torres at…
New Orleans Beat
Release Date: 2009-01-07 PlayFest 2009 presents seven 10-minute scripts written by San Antonio Theater Playwright members, directed by guest directors, and performed by area actors. Playwright members submitted scripts for the festival that had to include three of the five following elements: the theme or phrase “second chances;” a Fat Tuesday setting; a character who…
Frank Caliendo
Release Date: 2009-01-07 Known for his dead-on impressions of iconic figures such as Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Robert DeNiro, and John Madden, Frank Caliendo is a stand-up master who recognizes that impressions need content to make them funny. The seven-year sketch comedy veteran now boasts his own show, “Frank TV”, and his high-energy stage act…
Leather & Lace Party
Release Date: 2009-01-07 A regular performer at Wax Lounge and Atomix, DJ Hans 242 takes his show to the Northside for a leather ’n’ lace themed party. Expect live mixing of retro ’80s, EBM, and industrial tracks on three decks, in addition to sexy drink specials all night log. Naughty attire is encouraged, and there…
BOUND: A Fetish Night at Venom
Release Date: 2009-01-07 Mistress Kayla brings her BDSM tactics and kinky abilities to the North St. Mary’s strip for a monthly 21-plus fetish night. A lifestyle and professional Domina, Kayla will be providing play sessions for a small tribute, and a dress code will be enforced. DJ Mr. Scandal of Dallas will be spinning hot…
Stephen Bennett
Release Date: 2009-01-07 World-renowned harp guitarist Stephen Bennett returns to the Alamo City after two previous successful house concerts. In addition to a harp guitar, inherited from his great-grandfather, Bennett plays a standard six-string and a 1930 National Steel. He’s performed across the world, earning critical and peer praise throughout Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and…
Elvis Birthday Celebration
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2009-01-07 It’s two days too late for his actual b-day (January 8), but considering the King (allegedly) toppled off his throne for good more than 30 years ago, you’re probably safe waiting until Jesse Aron’s Elvis Birthday Bash to celebrate the anniversary of the most momentous day in galactic history (sorry,…
Scrape the surface
Don’t judge appearances at Big Bob’s Burgers
Britto Tours America
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2009-01-07 It’s not every day that “Monumental Sculpture” graces the Great White North(side), but from January 8 through February 1, 12 ginormous Pop confections by famed Brazilian-cum-Floridian artist Romero Britto will hold court at the Village at Stone Oak shopping complex. Britto, whose work has been hailed by the New York…
Taco Garage
Release Date: 2009-01-07 Although this old Texaco is mostly a restaurant, it feels like a quiet, studious tavern. There is a bar at the front — small and comfortable and bathed in orange light from a neon Pearl (and smaller Pacifico) sign, giving it a slightly other-worldy feel. I like a bar that takes you…
My Body, My House
Release Date: 2009-01-07 In collaboration with Catherine Cisneros and the Urban-15 Group, Jump-Start presents “My Body, My House,” a new dance performance by choreographer, dancer, and teacher Leonard Cruz. Born in Pampanga, the Philippines, Cruz grew up in San Antonio and started dancing at the age of 4 — he has since performed with Robert…
Merriweather Post Pavilion
Merriweather Post Pavilion Composer: Animal Collective Conductor: Animal Collective Label: Domino Release Date: 2009-01-07 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording That creepy-crawly optical-illusion cover art is a perfect match for the disorienting music — computer-generated textures topple beneath two guys harmonizing open-mic blank verse ( “I don’t mean/ To seem like I care about material things ……
My Body, My House
Release Date: 2009-01-07 In collaboration with Catherine Cisneros and the Urban-15 Group, Jump-Start presents “My Body, My House,” a new dance performance by choreographer, dancer, and teacher Leonard Cruz. Born in Pampanga, the Philippines, Cruz grew up in San Antonio and started dancing at the age of 4 — he has since performed with Robert…
Alone 2: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo
Alone 2: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo Composer: Rivers Cuomo Conductor: Rivers Cuomo Label: Geffen Release Date: 2009-01-07 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording Like last year’s Alone, this second collection of solo demos by the Weezer frontman works best when Cuomo stays on familiar ground. So the glistening power-pop of “I Was Scared” and “My…
Britto Tours America
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2009-01-07 It’s not every day that “Monumental Sculpture” graces the Great White North(side), but from January 8 through February 1, 12 ginormous Pop confections by famed Brazilian-cum-Floridian artist Romero Britto will hold court at the Village at Stone Oak shopping complex. Britto, whose work has been hailed by the New York…
The $47-million question
Whenever anyone raises concerns about the lavish scale of City Manager Sheryl Sculley’s contract, rushed through a compliant City Council just ahead of the holiday break, her supporters always insist that her salary is chump change compared to the money she’s saved this city since arriving from Phoenix in 2005. `See “Year in review: Keep…
Hardberger’s ‘Mission Verde’ not impossible
Term limits were supposed to be the defining legacy of Mayor Phil Hardberger’s four-year tenure. At least that’s what the headlines last November kept insisting as news broke that the second-term mayor had successfully rallied the popular support needed to extend Council term limits from two, two-year terms to four, two-year terms. But if the…
Amuse-BOUCHE
After what has seemed an elephantine gestation period, Brasserie Pavil, the brass-accented, mahogany-trimmed offspring of hotelier Patrick Kennedy and Chef Scott Cohen, has finally seen the light of day at Loop 1604 and Huebner — within spittin’ distance of powerhouse duo Wildfish and Roaring Fork. Cohen has been working on the menu, perfecting recipes at…
PrÊt À Courtenay
I love my wardrobe. Not because it is vast, because it is not. Not because I own enough wigs to bedeck a transgendered beauty three times over, because I do. Not because my shoes alone have their own fuchsia shrine in a separate closet lit from within by an electric votive, as there it is…
Fletcher Memorial Home
I’m at the Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular looking for some stoned teenagers to interview. Just like all those cops out front, I’m searching for red eyes, listening for giggles, “whoa”s — if I’m lucky maybe even a “far out” — the typical signifiers of chemical youth rebellion soundtracked by some of the darkest, most mind-expanding…
Girls on film
I missed the New Year’s Day opening reception for the “All Ladies Video Review” at UTSA Satellite Space, but after I spent time with this deep, disquieting show, I suspect that was likely for the best. For one thing, the level and type of ambient noise in the gallery, as well as the subject matter…
THE SOUND & THE FURY
Band names don’t get much better than the In & Outlaws, and it’s nice to know that this SA band can back up the cheekiness of its moniker. Its brand of hillbilly swing gravitates to the thin, white lines separating serious-as-a-bullet-wound melancholy from all-out parody, as evidenced by live highlights such as “Cowboy Hat” (a…
ARTIFACTS
¡Obamanos y Bailamos!Everybody’s favorite samba- reggae-cumbia-corps, URBAN-15, is headed to D.C. to present “Carnaval de San Anto,” its signature brand of celebration dances, at the 56th Inaugural Parade January 20. Forty-nine drummers and dancers will perform in “liberty costume” — comprising, in part, a 6-foot star made of silver material and embedded with lights, affixed…
The Hawks (of Holy Rosary)
A few songs into the Hawks’ first-ever acoustic show, bassist Chuck Hernandez begins worrying the content might offend G.I.G.’s all-ages sensibility. “We’re about to perform an onstage abortion,” Hernandez says, standing mic-less behind an upright bass. Whether he’s tossing off a nonsensical non sequitur or this is just one more example of the band’s self-effacing…
The voice isn’t enough
Known for his dead-on impressions of celebrities, politicians, and sports figures including George W. Bush and Al Pacino, comedian Frank Caliendo got his break in the entertainment industry when he landed a recurring role as a sketch performer on MADtv in 2001. Eight years later, Caliendo, 34, is the host of his own sketch-comedy show,…
“After the Blues” — Dead Season
The pervasive down-tempo clarinet loop gives the track a false chilled-out vibe, for all of about 10 seconds. Dead Season MCs Progeny and Max Seilhamer disregard a steady beat in favor of a frantic delivery, spitting every line as if it’s a key direction to a plummeting airplane pilot. “Don’t fear the seer even if…
The Art of Sitting Alone
“There’s an art to sitting alone.” She spoke leaning forward in the booth. Peeled edges of the Formica table scraped against her elbows as she put out the butt of her half-smoked cigarette. “And what is that?” he asked, undoing his heavy coat and digging for a light of his own. He had recognized her…
Beyond the cape
In Hollywood, a land where the sequel to a film not yet released (The Hobbit) already has a release date (December 2012), there’s no such thing as looking too far ahead. We investigated a dozen or so films coming to theaters this year that seem fascinating and, most importantly, do not involve robots, spaceships, or…
Grail-hunters
Chris Roberson wisely dedicated his 14th novel to Michael Moorcock, Alan Moore, and Kim Newman, three authors who pioneered the difficult to execute non-linear, historical, time-travel adventure. Following in their perennially successful footsteps, Roberson’s End of the Century recounts three unique interrelated tales from three distinct time periods. In 498 Anno Domini, the timid Galaad journeys…
Alamo depths
In the beginning it seemed easy. From a small bridge I looked beneath me at a terraced walkway twisting down into a massive crater in the ground. The enormity of the sinkhole suggested something grand beneath the surface, and more importantly, easy passage. As we strolled down the terrace, the sound of cars from the…
Cinema Obscura
Thanks to its awesomely lengthy title, the viewer knows two things going into Attack Girls Swim Team Versus the Undead. First: The plot most likely involves a girls’ swim team battling a zombie horde (it does). And second: This film absolutely has to be Japanese (and, boy, is it ever). Amazingly, what the movie’s title,…
Dear Uncle Mat
Hi. Since you are the advice guru, I need your advice about my girlfriend. I love her more than anything but I hardly ever hear from her. We will talk/text for a few weeks, and then for the next few weeks I hear NOTHING from her. I have told her it bothers me, and she…
Axl of evil
With Axl Rose finally delivering his long awaited Chinese Democracy album to the public in November, interest in Guns N’ Roses is at its highest level in more than a decade. Author Stephen Davis, who gave us the definitive Led Zeppelin biography in Hammer of the Gods, now opportunistically delivers Watch You Bleed: The Saga…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): During his time in the Senate, former U.S. presidential candidate John McCain has been a strong advocate for Native Americans. As chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, he sponsored or co-sponsored seven bills in support of Indian rights. And yet Native Americans voted overwhelmingly for McCain’s opponent, Barack Obama, who has…
¡Ask a Mexican!
SPECIAL FOUR-PREGUNTA EDITION Dear Mexican: I’m a Spanish teacher, and I’ve been hearing my students say a phrase that I am unsure what it means (if it truly means anything, which they swear it does). They say it’s a Mexican saying: Tiki tu madre. I don’t know what “tiki” means. So, I was wondering if…
Prospect park
Healy-Murphy Park, little more than an acre of asphalt and dirt squeezed between Highway 37 and the Salvation Army’s Dave Coy residential facility on the city’s near East Side, is no urban paradise. It looks shabby and neglected, and much of the time it’s occupied by our city’s less-fortunate residents, who are accused of anti-social…
The QueQue
In like a lyin’ The QueQue was at HemisFair in person and is delighted to report that 2008, unmasker of greed, corruption, and enough presidential hubris to make Napoleon blush, slipped gently into the history books, accompanied appropriately by sparkly mushroom clouds over the Tower of the Americas. No recession in the city’s firecracker budget;…
Longhorns and Buckeyes Treat Nation to Fiesta Bowl Thriller
The No. 3 Texas Longhorns edged the No.10 Ohio State Buckeyes 24-21 in the 38th Annual Tostitos Fiesta Bowl last night in Glendale, Ariz., in a thrilling contest that provided one of the most exciting bowl game endings of the decade. Collegefootballnews.com had ranked the game as the second most intriguing match-up of the 2008-09…
The latest news on Manny Castillo
By Gilbert Garcia The news is grim concerning Manny Castillo, executive director of San Anto Cultural Arts and drummer for Snowbyrd. Castillo, a tireless West Side community activist, champion of the local arts scene, catalyst for San Anto’s mural program, and dynamic musician known as “the Chicano Keith Moon,” was placed in a hospice facility…
Fisch’s Texas Biennial Index (apologies to Harper’s)
I’m gonna spare you the whole press release, but let’s just say there’s a Texas Biennial this year. Which, for the uninitiated, refers to a happens-once-every-two-years art show. Venice has one. As does the Whitney. And now, we have one too, which is, in fact, pretty cool in my opinion. Scuttlebutt is that the first…
Nukes move north: Fireworks slated for Glen Rose Expo
Greg Harman CPS Energy has decided to forgo its own little nuclear renaissance (until at least, say, the fall, if that’s still good with you), but that hasn’t stopped the greater world from ambling along into the void. A scoping meeting today will take stock of public attitudes in North Texas regarding plans by Luminant,…
