Goodbye, Harvey Pekar
Goodbye Harvey Pekar. You made us care about your stopped up toilet, and maybe sometimes the minutiae of our own lives.
Drive-by shooters target SWU intern house, injuring one
James Domingue playing the part of the oilfield worker in a recent SWU clean-energy demonstration in front of San Antonio City Hall. Greg Harman gharman@sacurrent.com A college intern is in stable condition after being shot in a drive-by shooting at the Southwest Workers’ Union intern house in East San Antonio early Sunday morning. Several interns…
Water is sacred: Spirit runners bring message to San Antonio
Spirit runners (l-r): Helen Samuels, Michelle Rerichová, Guadalupe Ortega Moran, Adi Ejekayani Suarez Reyes, and Andres Rodriquez Gutierrez. Greg Harman gharman@sacurrent.com With the Gulf of Mexico’s ecosystem crippled and coastal residents increasingly wary of the vapors spreading from BP’s deepwater well blowout and the burning being used to contain it, four humble runners are carrying…
Micmacs
Micmacs Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet Screenwriter: Jean-Pierre Jeunet Cast: Dany Boon, Andre Dussollier, Nicolas Marie, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Yolande Moreau Release Date: 2010-07-09 Rated: R Genre: Film Our Rating: 3.00 The French, according to director Jean-Pierre Jeunet anyway, don’t serve their vengeance up cold so much as Jerry Lewis-style. After a landmine kills his father and a…
SA should fear frack water demands, says (tree-hugging?) attorney
First water permit filed for SA River water to mine in Karnes, Dewitt. Greg Harman gharman@sacurrent.com Across more than a dozen South Texas counties, a band of mostly open country passing just south of San Antonio, millions of gallons upon millions of water are being shot thousands of feet underground to fracture the hard Eagle…
Hyatt Canvasses Canvas Label Art
Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, in partnership with Folio Fine Wine Partners (run by Michael Mondavi), has announced a contest directed at “qualilfied art students” age 18 and older. Their task will be to design labels for Folio’s Canvas label cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay and merlot, a line of California wines developed with Hyatt and Master Sommelier…
Roll Out the Barrel
Most Americans are used to beer with a brewing date of last week, so it might come as a surprise that there is growing interest in the ancient art of producing barrel-aged brews, beers that have spent time in barrels that may have been previously used for spirits such as bourbon or even wines the…
New ‘Q
There is news that Gonzales Food Market, “sausage since 1959”, is coming to town from its home base in, yes, Gonzales. Local pitmasters beware, as GFM, among other accomplishments, is featured in Robb Walsh’s “Legends of Texas Barbecue Cook Book”. Sausage, brisket and both pork and lamb ribs are among the traditional offerings, and the…
The worst way to get dumped
Last weekend, a couple visiting from Houston got a puro San Anto experience that had nothing to do with Mexican food, accordions or the River Walk. Instead, on Friday, July 2, as they visited an old railroad site, they witnessed a man pull up in a pick-up truck, remove a dog from his truck bed…
Help Wild Animal Orphanage Raise $500,000 at Sunday Benefit Concert
Given our past reporting on the financial and managerial straits at Wild Animal Orphanage, we still have doubts about the organization’s continued viability, but we also want to see the hundreds of animals receive the food and shelter they require. The WAO estimates it needs to raise half-a-million pretty darn quick to keep feeding and…
Get Trashed for Free on Saturday
Finally, getting Bubba to dispose of his truck tire collection in the front yard just got a little easier. The City’s Solid Waste Department and area landfills are having a free landfill disposal day this Saturday, July 10, from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. At one of five local dumps, Bubba can trash tires, brush…
Chemist says air toxics from BP’s Deepwater spill headed for Texas
Federal regulators say toxic levels on wind too low to worry. Greg Harman gharman@sacurrent.com `Dedicated to those who thought my poo-pooing of continent-wide destruction claims was disrespectful to the coastal residents facing real risks.` BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill off the coast of Louisiana â?? and the company-led assault to contain it â?? isn’t limited…
After deadline: More local music this week
Two more local events worth mentioning this week: Friday, July 9: A dual CD-release party for local hip-hop MCs the Midax and Itzli at Pedicab. Doors open at 9 p.m. Proceeds go to help fund Itzi’s upcoming Mexico tour. Monday, July 12: Local 782 music coalition hosts a free Community Radio Workshop at C4 Workspace.…
‘The Alchemy of Color’
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2010-07-07 Thursday presents a unique opportunity to view a collection of works celebrating the Bicentennial of Mexican Independence and the Centennial of the Mexican Revo- lution. The Alchemy of Color is an exhibition created by Italian-Mexican jewelry designer Vic- tor Sabido Basteris. Sabido & Basteris (as the designer’s collection is known)…
Cactus Pear Music Festival: Restless Romantics: An Ambrosia of Anniversaries
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2010-07-07 While the San Antonio Symphony takes a breather until October 2 (when conductor Sebastian Lang-Lessing debuts as music director with a program titled “Meet Your New Maestro”), specialized programs like the Cactus Pear Music Festival are ready to get their chamber on. CPMF promises their 14th season will be a…
Guns 4 Roses
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2010-07-07 People-watching is generally a crappy reason to go to a concert, but, man oh man, if you can swing the $10 admission, Scout Bar is the place to be Friday night. That’s when Guns 4 Roses and Blaze of Glory — G’N’R and Bon Jovi tribute bands, respectively — take…
30th Annual Tejano Music Awards
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2010-07-07 Unlike certain awards ceremonies, you don’t need to be invited to the Tejano Music Awards — you can buy a ticket. Hosted by comedian Paul Rodriguez, the evening’s festivities include tributes to La Mafia, the Latin Breed, the Quintanilla Family, and Laura Canales, live performances by Pee Wee, Texas Tornados,…
Rotel & The Hot Tomatoes
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2010-07-07 According to their website, Austin’s “Rotel & the Hot Tomatoes are beehives for breakfast, leopard-skin for lunch, and satin for supper.” Taking musical and stylistic cues from the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, the trio revives familiar songs with such comedic camp that one might incorrectly assume they’re drag queens.…
San Japan: 3
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2010-07-07 Five-year-old San Japan is dedicated to “bringing Japanese cultural awareness to San Antonio.” Although anime (and vendors of all things manga) is the basis for a lot of what goes on at San Japan, the convention includes panels (the history of kimonos, Asian horror films, and the Steampunk and Neo-Victoriana…
Gallery Talk: David Zamora Casas: Ancient Guardians of the Sky
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2010-07-07 Rita Urquillo-Ruiz, Ph.D. leads this gallery talk with artist David Zamora Casas, who took inspiration from his Catholic upbringing vis-à-vis his bohemian, lifestyle for the exhibition Ancient Guardians of the Sky, on view at Bihl Haus Arts through July 31. Casas’s interactive installation and exhibition asks viewers to reflect upon…
9th Annual Foam Party
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2010-07-07 Don’t get any bright ideas, fellas. As we told you when Bermuda Triangle won Best Lesbian Bar in the Current’s Best of SA 2010 reader’s poll, owner Jill Gapinski can spot a “guy creep” from a mile away. A favorite for women who love women who love to be covered…
Mumblecore for beginners
John C. Reilly talks about diving into the Duplasses’ funny, intimate, excellent Cyrus
Summer Literary Festival
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2010-07-07 Biomimicry is “the science and art of emulating nature’s best biological ideas to solve human problems.” We swear, we’d never heard this term before (don’t laugh at us, nerds), but we sure like it. We further think that Gemini Ink taking this notion as the lodestone (that’s a thing, right?)…
All bite and no bark
War doc Restrepo packs action, not politics
Recovery
Recovery Composer: Eminem Conductor: Eminem Label: Interscope Release Date: 2010-07-07 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording Somewhere inside Recovery is a pretty good album. But you have to dig through the bloat to get to it. Eminem’s seventh record is his relatively speedy reaction to last year’s Relapse, an album even Em wasn’t too pleased with. “Let’s…
Street Songs of Love
Street Songs of Love Composer: Alejandro Escavedo Conductor: Alejandro Escavedo Label: Fantasy Release Date: 2010-07-07 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording Sure, Escovedo’s newest album has a lot of love, but, more importantly, it’s got a lot of sex. Escovedo, 60, and his aptly named backing band the Sensitive Boys don’t need to croon to drop panties.…
Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty Composer: Big Boi Conductor: Big Boi Label: Def Jam Release Date: 2010-07-07 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording You can’t take Antwan Patton’s intros and interludes away from him. Those funny-once skippables have been rapidly disappearing as artists shape their albums for better iTunes sales, but Patton —…
El Existential
El Existential Conductor: Grupo Fantasma Label: Nat Geo Release Date: 2010-07-07 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording There’s not much room for error in El Existential, Grupo Fantasma’s second release since 2006’s Comes Alive, the pivotal album that won the Austin-based Latin-funk orchestra a fairy godfather of sorts — a powerful little guy named Prince — who’s…
I Am Love
Critic’s Pick I Am Love Director: Luca Guadagnino Screenwriter: Luca Guadagnino Cast: Tilda Swinton, Pippo Delbono, Edoardo Gabriellini Release Date: 2010-07-07 Rated: NOT RATED Genre: Film “Romance” may have derived from the vulgar Latin, but the romance in the Italian I Am Love is pure, upper-crust elegance. From the stunning ensembles that everybody wears to…
He’s bad. So bad.
Jeremiah Teutsch has done it again. He’s really done it. I will never again waste my time attending one of his exhibitions. The installation he presents at the Three Walls Gallery is, quite possibly, the absolute worst piece of trash art I’ve ever seen. This fucktard better have balls of either steel or tungsten, because…
Artist on artist action:
Gary Sweeney is a fine artist, experimental filmmaker, humorist, veteran baggage handler, world traveler, and newly-frequent Current contributor. He’s also a great talker who uses text as a material central to his art. His inspired exhibition at Sala Diaz in November, Maybe If Your Metaphors Weren’t So Obvious, and his current one-man show, Humor &…
Here come the Brides
If things don’t work out for Black Veil Brides — though the 12-plus million views their first music video has accumulated on YouTube indicate they probably will — lead singer Andy Six can go into politics. This 19-year-old Alice Cooper fan and soldier in the KISS Army might want to wash the makeup off his…
Live & local
“Who wants to be glittered?” singer Joseph Caceres asks the enthralled and sweat-soaked crowd before applying sparkly eye shadow to the faces of willing recipients. XRY (prounounced “cry”) is San Antonio’s newest and perhaps only addition to the burgeoning indie-electronica scene. Consisting of just two members, the duo of musical savants Caceres and bassist Joe…
The Sound & the Fury
Things start to slow down on Saturday, but there are still more good shows than you could ever possibly go to (most of them free) this week. Just try and prove me wrong. Wednesday: Fix Bayonets!, free, at the Afterburner (6515 W. Military; (210) 673-3700); SuperLiteBike at Limelight (2718 N St Mary’s; myspace.com/limelightsa); or Woods…
Dear Uncle Mat
Dear Uncle Mat, Just looking for a little advice. I feel like I’ve outgrown my social circle. Whenever I’m with my so-called “friends” I feel like I’m surrounded by idiots. … Sorry to be harsh. They only call me when they want something, and the majority of these people are rarely there for me when…
Fast foodie
In Persian, Koh-i-Noor means ”mountain of light,” and it refers most famously to a storied diamond mined in India centuries ago. (To architects, normally more interested in lead than diamonds, it also adorns a line of pencils and other drafting supplies.) Once the world’s largest, it passed through the hands of various emperors, rajahs, and…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Have you added some bulk and stability to your foundation any time recently, Aries? Have you grown your roots deeper and asked for more from your traditional sources and recommitted yourself to your primal vows? I hope so, because this is a perfect time, astrologically speaking, to strengthen your link to…
Chisme y Chicle
It’s surely good news for the denim-and-diamonds set that Austin-Houston stalwart Max’s Wine Dive will open a San Antonio outlet in September. “Fried chicken and Champagne? Why the hell not?” is their professed mantra, and they practice it into the wee hours of the morning. Menu highlights include Nacho Mama’s Oysters with garlic aioli, a…
¡Ask A Mexican!
Dear Mexican, I’m a (poor) white girl myself, but I have to ask: What’s the deal with all the rich white girls playing such a big role in Fiesta? Why is it always rich white girls that get crowned? Don’t you think the majority of them should be Mexican girls since it’s Fiesta? Why has…
Keeping it local at Sam’s Burger Joint Music Hall
Maybe it’s the “Burger” part of the name “Sam’s Burger Joint” that kept me from visiting the place for so long (I am, after all, a vegetarian). Whatever the (unconscious) reason was, I had never set foot in the building until last week. Not when it was Billy Blue’s, not when it was Backstage BBQ,…
In the father land
Can a modern girl reporter survive retroactive parenting? Part 3 in a series The panic had set in by Chicago. I was still on American soil, headed to Warsaw, when people starting addressing me in rapid-fire Polish. Despite my last-minute studying efforts, I still broke into a cold sweat every time I had to disappoint…
Can you hear me now?
Everybody’s said it: “I hate Verizon!” The venue’s bottleneck entrance on Lookout Road caused a massive traffic jam on both 1604 and I-35. Or you baked in the hot sun all day because the crappy lawn seating was all you could afford. Or maybe you tired of paying $10 for a beer and got caught…
The kid stays in the picture
Forget the future, man. The children are our right now. They’re here to replace us, and they’re going to do it way sooner than you think. For filmed evidence catching them in the act, look to the Josiah Youth Media Festival, happening this week at Urban-15 Studio. The four-year-old festival — held in honor of…
On Earth, as it is in Liberty
There’s gotta be a commandment somewhere — something like “Thou shalt not adorn thyself in prideful pink raiments.” True, Liberty Bar has never been a slave to trends or convention, choosing to go its own offbeat way in an equally quirky setting. But it looks like the cautious, even reverential, interior makeover is meant to…
Ladies who launch: an appreciation
My mother took me to the McNay on Friday to see Neither Model nor Muse, which occupies the entire Stieren Center for Exhibitions through September 12. This is a terrific art show to see with your kid, or your mom. Not to brag, but it would be a pretty good show to see with my…
Homegrown cartel
Last month’s “Project Deliverance” federal drug-trafficking sweep netted arrests and drug seizures across the country — but not in the Alamo City. In the Western District, administered from San Antonio, the operation produced arrests in El Paso, Midland, and Alpine, charging defendants with links to Mexican drug-trafficking organizations out of Ciudad Juárez. Following the sweep,…
Smoke screens, Bexar claws, pony rides, and more…
Smoke gets in our eyes… It was odd to see LULAC and NAACP join hands in front of City Hall Monday to oppose … a smoking ban. In April, District 7 Councilman Justin Rodriguez proposed expanding 2003’s smoking ordinance to nix smoking in all restaurants and bars, as well as public areas like Alamo Plaza…
Splitting pairs
On Thursday, July 15, the 14-year-old Cactus Pear Music Festival will premiere composer Timothy Kramer’s Three Pairs Suite, a venturesome, tuneful piece of music that will impress and delight with its balance of exuberance and formality, tradition and novelty. Imagine Bach, his wig somewhat askew, dropping into the halfpipe at the local skate park, and…
British Paper Recommends Visiting Long-Closed SA Bar
Just like us Texans always say, never trust a foreigner. We were pleasantly surprised, then extremely confused, reading the Guardian’s travel ode to San Antonio last Saturday. It wasn’t New Zealand music journalist (and Gypsy authority!) Garth Cartwright’s assertion that “San Antonio is superior to all other Texas cities,” or that Shiner Bock is “indisputably”…
Smoke and Mirrors
Of all the things to fight the good fight against, it was odd to see LULAC and NAACP join hands in front of City Hall and oppose … a smoking ban. In April, District 7 Councilman Justin Rodriguez proposed a new smoking ordinance that would prohibit smoking in most restaurants, bars and public places. A…
