The Cult’s Alive in the Hidden City Tour Lands at the Aztec Tuesday
British rockers The Cult have built a reputation on transcending the metal genre. Since their 1983 debut, original members/songwriters Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy have delved into a crucible of influences combining post-punk themes and hard rock arrangements into a sound that managed to stay relevant as rock music progressed from the ’80s to the ’90s. They perfected this on…
Musical Nomads k.d. lang, Neko Case and Laura Veirs Team Up at the Tobin
Now an elder stateswoman of post-country with both Juno and Grammy awards to her credit, gender-bending Canadian chanteuse k.d. lang teams up with like-minded musical nomads Neko Case and Laura Veirs. Since first reaching indie airwaves as a vocalist with the Canadian alt-pop-rock outfit New Pornographers, Case has proven herself as a powerful singer-songwriter with a distinct voice…
French New Wave Through a Modern Mexican Lens in ‘Güeros’
This film won Mexico’s Ariel Award for Best Picture in 2015 and takes place during the 1999 student strikes in Mexico City, yet it feels like a lost product of the 1960s French New Wave, as admitted by director Alonso Ruizpalacios. Shot in black and white, it’s a “day in the life” road trip full of…
Culture Up with University of the Incarnate Word’s Mozart Festival
If you’re only familiar with Mozart’s “Requiem in D Minor,” culture up and attend at least one of these five concerts where some of the 18th-century composer’s most beloved work will be performed by musicians from across Texas. Hosted by the University of the Incarnate Word, the first of two weekends showcases the talents of cellist Douglas…
The Playhouse Ventures to Castro’s Cuba for ‘Two Sisters and a Piano’
The Playhouse San Antonio brings a lesser-known play penned by Pulitzer Prize winner Nilo Cruz to its Cellar Theater this month. Cruz’s Two Sisters and a Piano is set in his native Cuba in 1991, under Castro’s regime just after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Unlike blockbusters such as Les Misérables, political turmoil is not at the forefront of…
Creative Teens Offer a ‘Girl’s Eye View’ of San Antonio’s East Side
In addition to providing preventative health services and serving as a “one-stop shop for individuals with immediate basic needs,” the nonprofit Martinez Street Women’s Center makes a positive impact through Girl Zone — a free empowerment program geared for elementary and middle school students who lack opportunities “simply because of the zip code that they…
Get Ready to Geek Out at Texas Comicon This Weekend
Celebrity appearances and photo ops, panel discussions and a host of other special events take center stage at Texas Comicon, a three-day celebration of sci-fi/horror, comic books, gaming, exhibitors and artists. The motley crew of actors scheduled to attend include Michael Dorn (Lt. Commander Worf from the Star Trek franchise), Tony Todd (the title character…
SAMA Serves Up a Summer Date Night Complete with Sangria, Tacos and a Movie
If the $10 surcharge has deterred you from taking in all religious splendor and gilded extravagance of the San Antonio Museum of Art’s “Highest Heaven: Spanish and Portuguese Colonial Art of the Roberta and Richard Huber Collection,” take a look at the bells and whistles of this summer date night. Besides two-for-one admission and enlightening…
Savage Love: Interbang
Q: I’m 28 years old and live in the Midwest. I’m intersex, but I identify as female. I am not out about being born intersex. Due to surgeries and hormones, I look like a fairly attractive female. I have been hanging out with a chill hetero guy, and things are getting very flirty. Is it…
10 Things You Have to Do This Weekend
Thu 7/28 – Sun 7/31 Reformed Whores Country-western music is about love and loss,” says Reformed Whores guitarist Katy Frame to the audience at Gotham City Comedy Club in New York. Ukelele player Marie Cecile Anderson adds “Folks we know this is a comedy show, but … we’re gonna play y’all the saddest country love…
Child Porn Convict Stole Nudie Pics from Guests at a Downtown Hotel
A San Antonio man who stole video recordings and photos of patrons at the former Crown Plaza hotel having sex pleaded guilty Tuesday to having approximately 700 images and 270 videos of children engaged in sexually sadistic or masochistic conduct, according to a news release and a media report. Luis Armando Ontiveros, 34, of San…
Happy Hour Hound: Hopdoddy Burger Bar
Though quiet, a paradigm shift is taking place in the world of hamburgers. For years a stark dichotomy ruled the restaurant world — high-end restaurants sourced quality ingredients but charged diners a small fortune, while affordable, ethically dubious fast food chains churned out feed at lightspeed. Recently though, with the rise in popularity of the fast casual concept, restaurateurs have…
Aural Pleasure: Gucci Mane’s ‘Everybody Looking’
Out of jail after a three year federal stint, Gucci Mane knows that every marquee name and SoundCloud bench warmer is truly looking at him. Though he’s been riding the past few years of this international wave of Atlanta dominance by proxy, it was Gucci’s ad libs and team-building that paved a path for Waka…
Free Will Astrology (7/27/16-8/2/16)
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Free your body. Don’t ruminate and agonize about it. FREE YOUR BODY! Be brave and forceful. Do it simply and easily. Free your gorgeously imperfect, wildly intelligent body. Allow it to be itself in all of its glory. Tell it you’re ready to learn more of its secrets and adore its…
Food Court: Hop + Vine Opens, Where to Celebrate National Wing Day and More
Local in Alamo Ranch After announcing their opening this March, Hop & Vine has finally opened in the Alamo Ranch area. The shop specializes in craft beer, wine and modern comfort food as designed by owners Angelo and Kelly Cavazos. Open 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 4 to 11 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.…
Jayme Lynn Blaschke Ventures Inside the Texas Chicken Ranch
Ahead of its August 1 publication date, author Jayme Lynn Blaschke’s Inside the Texas Chicken Ranch comes hailed (by former Texas Lieutenant Governor William P. “Bill” Hobby Jr.) as “the best account of the Best Little Whorehouse in Texas ever written.” Preceded by a 1978 Broadway musical and a 1982 film (both titled The Best…
Night Drive’s Dusky ‘Future Wave’ Descends on Ventura This Friday
If you’re still sad about the 1011 closing and were looking for an occasion to christen the new Ventura, look no further than the nocturnal stylings of Austin’s own Night Drive in their coming performance this Friday. Self-described as ‘future wave,’ a pop genre at the intersection of dance beats and the dark side of…
Joaquin Castro Hints That He May Challenge Ted Cruz For U.S. Senate Seat
For the first time in a few years, Congressman Joaquin Castro is the subject of political speculation instead of his twin brother, Julián. A comment Joaquin made to CBS’s Charlie Rose during a Tuesday morning interview with the brothers echoed across the Texas political landscape when Joaquin wouldn’t rule out a challenge to Senator Ted Cruz…
Playing it Cool with Multitasking Muralist David “Shek” Vega
David “Shek” Vega is a man possessed of a perpetually molten creative core. At 35 years old, Vega, who got his real start and earned his deepest lessons as a graffiti artist on San Antonio’s South Side, is a sought-after muralist, a successful contemporary artist who has adroitly carried his San Anto street art style…
10 Free Events Happening This Week
Wed 7/27 Drone Demonstration It’s a bird … It’s a plane … It’s a drone! Attendees of all ages can learn the ins and outs of flying drones at this live demonstration faciliated by Mission Library. Free, 5pm Wed, Mission Library, 3134 Roosevelt Ave., (210) 207- 2704, mysapl.org. Wed 7/27 Miss Representation Through stories from teenage girls…
6 Freetail Beers You Should Be Drinking Right Now
In a collaborative dinner hostedby Antlers Lodge and Freetail Brewery last week, the San Antonio beer maker showed off six of their best summer draughts, alongside dishes created exclusively for the event by Antlers’ chef de cuisine Armando Diaz. After explaining his desire to reflect classical preparations from the 1970-80s, Diaz made good on his promise to honor Old World traditions with offerings like a…
Happy Hour Hound: Biga on the Banks Adds Inexpensive Bites and Excellent Cocktails
Let’s say that it’s 9 p.m. (and, for grins, that it’s also a Thursday, Friday or Saturday), and you’re looking for something to do to wind down from the day (or rev-up for the evening). Have we got a suggestion for you: reverse happy hour at Biga on the Banks. Now, it goes without saying,…
Texas Delegation Boos Sanders Backer Offstage at Democratic National Convention
Instead of unity, Bernie Sanders’ supporters faced enmity from Hillary Clinton backers at the Texas delegation’s daily breakfast at the Democratic National Convention. Video published by the Texas Tribune shows the morning devolved into a shouting match after Russell Lytle, a Sanders delegate from Denton, veered into sharp criticism against Clinton. The Sanders delegates were…
Prosecutors Drop Charges Against Anti-Abortion Activists Who Lied Their Way Into a Texas Planned Parenthood Clinic
When the Center for Medical Progress, a group of activists tied to the radical fringe of the anti-abortion movement, dropped a series of heavily-edited YouTube videos last summer showing Planned Parenthood doctors speaking frankly about fetal tissue donation, they ignited a firestorm. There were widespread calls from conservative leaders to defund the organization, an uptick…
FEA Releases Self-titled Chicana Punk Rock Debut
Two years ago, FEA debuted at Maverick Music Festival as a fast and furious outfit armed with Chicana punk politics and a rhythm section to make the Misfits green with envy. Girl in a Coma alums Phanie Diaz and Jenn Alva enjoyed not only the rarity of being a hometown favorite on the first show,…
Jury Sentences Man to Life for Shooting His Childhood Friend to Death
Jose Gutierrez couldn’t escape judgment during his second murder trial for killing his childhood friend. A Bexar County jury took just 20 minutes last Thursday to convict Gutierrez, 34, and sentence him to life in prison for shooting Raul Garcia three times in 2013. When Gutierrez was scheduled for trial last August, he cut his…
Why I Still Want My MTV
MTV’s not a rebellious teen anymore. The once revolutionary channel is turning 35-years-old next month, and not without the obligatory midlife crisis. The never-ending television supply marked a radical change from the baby-boomers to the new era, generation X. For all of us now hooked on the modern luxury of 24-hour entertainment, the thought of…
Brews on the Go with San Antonio Brewery Tours
Have you ever thought to yourself, I really like visiting breweries and sampling really good beer right on site there. But, how do I go to more than one brewery and forgo not being able to drive after drinking at multiple beer-making establishments? Well, this is America and not only have we addressed those concerns,…
Can Developers Sue You Because You Don’t Like Their Development?
Neighborhood groups and developers often have a hate-hate relationship, but things in Beacon Hill got particularly sour this summer over developers’ plans for a Stripes gas station on the corner of Fredericksburg and Woodlawn. At issue – at least at first, anyway – was whether the gas station’s design met the community building standards established…
Walk the Tightrope with Atlanta Post-punks Omni
If you read enough music writing, inevitably you’re going to encounter the same set of cliches. Like running into an ex in a small town, they always seem to be there. Buoyant, dreamlike, effortless, jangle, slacker, stalwart — there’s a niche nerd market out there for an ABC Book of Bad Music Writing. Taut is…
South Texas Cemetery Association Ends “Whites Only” Policy
A shocking decades-long chapter of race-based segregation after death perpetrated by a South Texas cemetery association that had a long-held “whites only” policy has finally come to an end — courtesy of a federal court order. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, or MALDEF, announced Monday that the Normanna Cemetery Association agreed to…
Trans Actress and Model Carmen Carrera Performs Wednesday at Heat
While many have used the reality competition series RuPaul’s Drag Race as a career launchpad, few have done so as memorably as Carmen Carrera, a Jersey girl who first reached the masses via stints on season three and RuPaul’s Drag U (a spinoff hosted by the “Supermodel of the World” alongside an array of “drag…
Stay Safe this Summer When it Comes to Water Activities
Recreational water fun is a big attraction here in southern Texas. Our gorgeous coastline, lakes, wonderful rivers and thousands of public and private pools offer plenty of ways to enjoy summertime water activities. Unfortunately, enjoying water resources is not without risk. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports drowning is the fifth leading cause…
Settlement Forces Texas to Make it Easier for American-Born Kids of Immigrants to Get Birth Certificates
Texas has finally agreed to stop making it insanely difficult for immigrants who have U.S. born kids to get those children birth certificates. But it wasn’t easy. It took a lawsuit filed in 2015 by the Texas Civil Rights Project on behalf of two dozen immigrants to reform a series of rules created by the…
Archeologists Discover Part of a Wall During Alamo Excavations
A team of archeologists who began digging at the Alamo last week have already announced a discovery, having found part of an adobe wall that was less than two feet underground. Dr. Nesta Anderson, the lead archeologist on the first systematic archeological study of the site, said it’s too soon to say whether the discovery…
Texas Democrats Want One of the Castro Twins to Chair the Democratic National Committee
Texas Democrats didn’t waste any time Sunday in calling for one of the Castro brothers to replace Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who resigned following an embarrassing leak of emails that showed she was biased against Bernie Sanders’ campaign. Wasserman Schultz stepped down Sunday, a day before the Democratic National Convention kicked off…
How Old is Too Old For Punk?
You were young and angry – quickly got that bar fight backbone beat into you way before the whiskey took hold. The years compounded and brought with them complimentary blue hair, a septum ring and assault charges. You made mountains of mosh pits and found sanctuary in the dingiest, darkest, loudest places. But you grew…
Falling in Love with Whitney, Indie Rock’s New Romantics
Whitney’s Light Upon the Lake is the most earnestly and desperately romantic record to grace indie rock in recent years — at least since Japandroids went into hiding in 2012, doing whatever Canadian, patriotic, summery things they’ve chosen to do since releasing the dopest pop-punk noise rock known to man. The duo of guitarist Max…
Reports: San Antonio Woman Dies Trying to Protect Her Friend From Domestic Violence
Police say a San Antonio woman was shot and killed while trying to shield her friend from domestic abuse early Friday. The woman, identified by the Express-News Friday as 28-year-old Margarita Natividad, had reportedly just driven home from work with her friend when the fight started. Police say that when the two women arrived at the…
WikiLeaks and Ariana Grande: How a Donut Cost Her a White House Performance
Last week, WikiLeaks dropped 20,000 pages of emails from the Democratic National Committee, stirring controversy on the eve of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Among the bizarre, more anodyne stories from the leak was the revelation that post-Nickelodeon pop star Ariana Grande was denied an opportunity to perform at the White House in September…
5 Shows to See This Week
Spokenest, City Mouse, Bill Jr. Jr. Monday, July 25 LA punks duo Spokeneset toe the line between Jay Reatard’s no-prisoners approach and Dinosaur Jr.’s stoned, stadium licks. It’s a place filled with crunchy guitar tone, a lot of backbeat and a lot more denim. Bill Jr Jr provides a different approach, with lush, brushstoke folk from…
Garth Brooks’ Stop in San Antonio Gets “Stupid Crazy”
Alongside his long-running Brooks Family Band, legendary country artist Garth Brooks kicked off the first of four weekend shows in San Antonio on Friday to a rearing, ready, and raucous crowd packed tightly into the floor of the AT&T Center up into every imaginable nook, cranny, and seat of the stadium’s lofty championship-banner-adorned rafters. It’s…
Julián Castro Passed Over for VP Pick
It hasn’t exactly been a great week for Julián Castro. On Monday, the former San Antonio mayor got a slap on the wrist for stumping for Hillary Clinton when, as a White House cabinet official conducting an interview about cabinet-official stuff in front of a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development backdrop, he shouldn’t…
Federal Judge Lays Out Framework to Fix Texas’ Discriminatory Voter ID Law
The Corpus Christi federal judge who ruled that Texas’ voter ID law discriminated against black and brown voters says the law will stay in place for November elections, but with a few caveats. U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos issued an order to the state Thursday, one day after the federal Fifth Circuit appeals court…
A Wishlist for Hemisfair Park’s Tenants
Last week, the Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corporation announced it is seeking proposals for two properties within the urban park district after Revolucion Coffee + Juice and San Antonio Brewing Company both amicably ended agreements with the HPARC due to timing and brewery strategy, respectively. As of right now, Paleteria San Antonio, which opened in…
Friends of Sound, the Latest Addition to San Anto’s Vinyl Renaissance
In the past few years, it has become exponentially easier to buy a record in San Antonio. Hogwild, that purple citadel of punk and metal on North Main, continues to thrive as the city’s capitol for shit-talking glitzy metal and bad pop. Lerma’s, on the West Side, is the tejano store of note this side…
Austin Cop Tells Woman That Black People Look Intimidating and Are Prone to Violence
A white Austin police officer told a 26-year-old black woman that African Americans have “violent tendencies” and look “intimidating” while he drove her to jail on a charge of resisting arrest. The troubling conversation from June 2015 was revealed after the Austin American-Statesman and KVUE obtained dash cam video this week showing Officer Bryan Richter body…
Four Suicides in Four Weeks at the Bexar County Jail
In all of 2015, the Bexar County jail saw three inmates use bedsheets to hang themselves inside their cells. Until late June this year, however, the lockup hadn’t seen any suicides in 2016. Then, over the course of just three weeks, the county managed to match last year’s grisly tally. And then on Friday morning, yet…
Texas Forensic Science Commission Asks For AG Opinion on Bite-Mark Evidence
A state commission is asking Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to weigh in on their finding that bite-mark testimony used to convict people of crimes constitutes junk science. The Texas Forensic Science Commission in February recommended a moratorium on the use of the controversial method. That’s because a six-month study of forensic dentists who were…
“726”: San Antonio’s New, Second Area Code Starting in 2018
By early 2018, new numbers in San Antonio probably won’t be the iconic 210. Because of regional growth, an abundance of cellphones and more business landlines being installed, the North American Numbering Plan Association (NANPA) petitioned the Public Utility Commission to let it assign Bexar County a new area code. NANPA announced Thursday that the…
Were Lawmakers Intentionally or Unintentionally Racist When They Passed Texas’ Voter ID Law?
If this week’s news that the federal Fifth Circuit appeals court struck down Texas’ Voter ID law felt like deja vu, there’s a pretty good reason for that. Ever since the Republican majority rammed the law through the legislature in 2011, what’s been widely considered the strictest voter ID law in the nation has made…
10 Shows to See This Weekend
Nori Thursday, July 21 Nori is what happens when musicians with varying musical backgrounds put their styles in a blender. Austin-based Nori, whose members describes themselves as “one part jazz, one part folk and one park world,” are currently gearing up for the release of their debut album, which is set to drop the day…
Hearing Loss May Be Reversible, According to Dutch Scientists
If you’re like me, you can remember the specific shows that wreaked havoc upon your hearing. Japandroids in 2012 had me ringing for days; Fucked Up in 2014 left my head in an impenetrable fog, not unlike a hangover; Anytime I plan on attending a Ghost Police or Blithe show, I chalk up some hearing…
Celebrate Tim Duncan Day With This Awesome Poster
Update 2:30 p.m.: If you’re just now reading this, you missed it. We’ve run through all 50 posters. But that doesn’t mean you still can’t grab one. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to find out when and where the SA Current promo team will be handing out more posters in the future. —- After…
Alan Vega, One of Punk’s Greatest Anti-Heroes
As frontman of the proto-punk band Suicide, Alan Vega had a bloody, energetic and inspiring career in music. Vega, known for antagonizing fans at his shows with both his ominous lyrics and unpredictable stage performance, laid the groundwork for both punk and electronic acts that followed him. Which would explain the range of bands and musicians who have paid homage…
Someone Hacked the Friendly Spot’s Facebook Page
Anyone looking at the Friendly Spot’s Facebook page this week probably noticed a strange, abrupt shift from posts about drink specials and events to links to stories about oral sex and ass hair. Which is unfortunately what happens when your social media gets hacked. Jodi Newman, who owns and runs the Southtown icehouse (along with…
Game Modifier Makes Coach Popovich Dunk in NBA 2K16
Chicago-based photographer, filmmaker and self-described “video game modifier” Mohtashim Khan, 24, might be a die-hard Chicago Bulls fan, but when it comes to NBA head coaches, he thinks the San Antonio Spurs’ own Gregg Popovich is the best in the business. It’s the reason Khan, who moved to the U.S. from Pakistan 12 years ago,…
HDRC Commissioner: Shouldn’t the New Frost Bank Skyscraper Be Taller?
San Antonio’s newest skyscraper just isn’t tall enough, at least according to city Historic and Design Review Commission Vice Chair Michael Connor. The criticism came as the design team for Weston Urban, a developer the city has handed some $1 million in fee waivers for the project, gave commission members their first look at the…
Ted Cruz Snubs Trump in GOP Convention Speech, Gets Booed Off Stage
Only time will tell whether Ted Cruz’s Wednesday night speech at the Republican National Convention was one of the best or worst moments of his political career. Not only was Cruz booed off the stage in Cleveland, but his wife was whisked away by security as Donald Trump supporters began to heckle her before the…
San Antonio Beats Austin in Search Engine War
It feels so good to be wanted. Especially by our neighbors to the north in Austin. While they’re busy pretending they invented the breakfast taco and sitting in bottleneck traffic on the way back to their much-too-expensive apartments, we’re winning the Internet. A new web report by Trivago exposed Austinites worse than Kim K. ended Taylor…
Filmmaker Garry Marshall Passes Away at 81
Comedian and filmmaker Garry Marshall passed away yesterday at the age of 81. During a phone interview with the Current in early May to talk about his most recent film, Mother’s Day, the Happy Days creator and Pretty Woman director remembered his last visit to the Alamo City in 2008 with fondness. He came to…
10 Things You Have to Do This Weekend
Thu 7/21 – Sun 7/24 Gemini Ink Writers Conference Gemini Ink, grown into a dynamic and important literary organization from a small volunteer reading series for local writers, has been a key player in the San Antonio literary milieu since its founding in 1997. Steadfast in its mission to “help people create and share the human…
Dan Patrick Calls For Federal Investigation Into Black Lives Matter Movement
Citing the tragedy in Dallas this month where five police officers were killed by a sniper during a Black Lives Matter protest, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Tuesday that the attorney general should open an investigation into the activists. Patrick made the comments Tuesday afternoon during a CNN interview at the Republican National Convention…
Watch Ghostbusters’ Leslie Jones Sing Selena’s “Como La Flor”
In an interview with Telemundo promoting the new Ghostbusters movie, Leslie Jones gets a little spooked when host Alberto Romero asks the first question in Spanish. And like any career comedian, she diffuses her nervousness with a joke. “I was so scared he was going to do it in Spanish,” says Jones. “I only know…
‘Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie’ Gives Fans Exactly What They’ve Been Craving, Sweetie Darling
Thanks to syndication on Comedy Central in the mid-’90s, Absolutely Fabulous developed nearly as much of a fan base on this side of the pond as in its home in the U.K. The series follows the misadventures of the boozy, druggy, self-centered Edina (Jennifer Saunders) and Patsy (Joanna Lumley), two women working in the world…
