Goat: it’s what’s for theater
My little sister would call us brag-a-docious, but whatever, we totally predicted the AtticRep’s kick-ass ’08/ ’09 season. Seer and Current contributor (and Trinity prof) Tom Jenkins can say what he wants about AR mulling over Edward Albee’s The Goat long before he ever pitched it in last year’s Fall Arts Guide feature “Produce This!”,…
Goat: it’s what’s for theater
My little sister would call us brag-a-docious, but whatever, we totally predicted the AtticRep’s kick-ass ’08/ ’09 season. Seer and Current contributor (and Trinity prof) Tom Jenkins can say what he wants about AR mulling over Edward Albee’s The Goat long before he ever pitched it in last year’s Fall Arts Guide feature “Produce This!”,…
Quick CAM notes
I’ll be back at Blue Star tomorrow afternoon, taking a more detailed look at Blue Star 23: Playing With Time, the annual CAM show, this year curated by SAMA’s David Rubin. Rubin, the curator of contemporary and modern art at SAMA, has put together an ambitiously conceived, and densely populated, group show. Known for attending…
Quick CAM notes
I’ll be back at Blue Star tomorrow afternoon, taking a more detailed look at Blue Star 23: Playing With Time, the annual CAM show, this year curated by SAMA’s David Rubin. Rubin, the curator of contemporary and modern art at SAMA, has put together an ambitiously conceived, and densely populated, group show. Known for attending…
On the Street
“Death is Mother Nature’s way of telling you you’re in the wrong gear…” Letters (to the On the Street Penthouse Suite) #1 Virus Been out of town a few days – have y’all seen this? Freakin’ ballgirl in minor-league game….Absolutely incredible. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SqJz0NgnnE And then, the follow up email… After further reading, seems to…
AT&T bails for DFW; Scott Ritter calls foul on media nuke darling
Two noteworthy items worth your limited attention span this afternoon: Express-News loses excuse for treating AT&T with kid gloves! Telecom implicated in President’s warrantless wiretapping program announces it’s moving headquarters (700 of 6,000 employees, and all the golf clubs) to DFW … because they have a bigger airport. (That’s right, but in SA you’ll never…
On the Street
“Death is Mother Nature’s way of telling you you’re in the wrong gear…” Letters (to the On the Street Penthouse Suite) #1 Virus Been out of town a few days – have y’all seen this? Freakin’ ballgirl in minor-league game….Absolutely incredible. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SqJz0NgnnE And then, the follow up email… After further reading, seems to be a…
AT&T bails for DFW; Scott Ritter calls foul on media nuke darling
Two noteworthy items worth your limited attention span this afternoon: Express-News loses excuse for treating AT&T with kid gloves! Telecom implicated in President’s warrantless wiretapping program announces it’s moving headquarters (700 of 6,000 employees, and all the golf clubs) to DFW … because they have a bigger airport. (That’s right, but in SA you’ll never…
Remember the ‘Phantom’
Remembering the Alamo doesn’t necessarily cue “musical.” But I suppose the brain of Magik Theatre Executive Director Richard Rosen is wired a bit different than most. Rosen has managed to pull off the difficult task of staging and writing the original musical the Phantom of the Alamo for the past four summers, and each year…
Rollback on CPS
Five thousand box fans and expensive advertisements reminding you to turn off the television, that’s the price for forgiveness. Angry? Is somebody angry? Consider the last six months of inputs: Repeated scoldings leveled from the public realm at every significant public meeting CPS Energy has held thanks to plans to expand its nuclear holdings; a…
Biohazard Bully
As we mention in this week’s Queque, the proposed federal National Bio- & Agro-Defense Facility germ lab for the latest in foot-and-mouth fun has cleared another hurdle. And San Antonio is still in the running. Que2 wrote (with haunting bullet-replacing-question-mark furry: Speaking of reasonable routes, how about tracing possible pathways for foot-and-mouth disease to reach…
Rollback on CPS
Five thousand box fans and expensive advertisements reminding you to turn off the television, that’s the price for forgiveness. Angry? Is somebody angry? Consider the last six months of inputs: Repeated scoldings leveled from the public realm at every significant public meeting CPS Energy has held thanks to plans to expand its nuclear holdings; a…
Biohazard Bully
As we mention in this week’s Queque, the proposed federal National Bio- & Agro-Defense Facility germ lab for the latest in foot-and-mouth fun has cleared another hurdle. And San Antonio is still in the running. Que2 wrote (with haunting bullet-replacing-question-mark furry: Speaking of reasonable routes, how about tracing possible pathways for foot-and-mouth disease to reach…
Hyper Crush
Release Date: 2008-06-25 Straight out of L.A. via time travel, this electro-rap trio is armed with fresh rhymes, funky beats, and enough neon to make you wear shades. Their style plays off the internet-driven electronica trend, and the band has taken over the hearts of ex-emo kids with high-energy shows, shamefully addicting songs, and the…
Fastball, Phoenix Saga, Pasenger, & Fatback Circus
Release Date: 2008-06-25 Austin power-pop trio Fastball headlines this Friday-night lineup, but they’re sharing the stage with San Antonio indie-rock fave Pasenger and Austin experimental rock quartet Fatback Circus. Pasenger has been making some waves after last year’s debut release, You Are Here, while Fatback Circus’s fresh interpretation of jazz, funk, and rock makes for…
Urban-15 Concert
Release Date: 2008-06-25 Performance troupe Urban-15 brings their celebration dances to Jump-Start, touching on the culture, exciting colors, and sounds of the Caribbean, Bahia, and the Gulf Coast through the rhythms of samba, cumbia, son, and reggae. The evening also includes a performance of scenes from “The Toy Dance Collection,” new choreography by Artistic Director…
Summer Khaos: Lokey, Sixxer, Innervoid, Until We Erase, Remember This, & Hollowed Down
Release Date: 2008-06-25 Dead End Productions of San Antonio presents Summer Khaos! Metal maniacs Lokey never disappoint, still going strong after the release of their new album, Reconstruction, earlier this year. Though they’re still relative newcomers to the scene, Sixxer has played some impressive shows, featuring former members of Medicine Tongue, Down Satellite, Kari, and…
Shinedown w. 12 Stones & Rev Theory
Release Date: 2008-06-25 Say this for Rev Theory: The New York – by way of Massachusetts – hard-rock quartet has a genius for cross-promotion. They don’t merely make music, they release multi-media advertisements for their own career longevity, with a bottom-line stance so brazen it feels silly to even suggest that they’re selling out. How…
Glenn Harper Texas Uprising Sculpture Symposium
Release Date: 2008-06-25 Leaders in the sculpture world come together to discuss the current state of international contemporary sculpture in a free public symposium. Sculpture Magazine editor Glenn Harper is a featured speaker, joined on the podium by art patron and curator Dr. Angelika Jansen-Brown and sculptor Bill FitzGibbons, who is also the executive director…
One Eyed Doll
Release Date: 2008-06-25 This Austin-based power-rock duo is led by singing, songwriting, guitar-wielding punk doll Kimberly Freeman, a super heroine whose wild stage antics and quirky humor is winning over scores of fans. Alternately fierce, outrageous, and sweet, Freeman knows when to flip the switch and is known for manic stage rampages, her captivating voice,…
Houston Street Fair & Market
Release Date: 2008-06-25 This city-sponsored monthly street fair is a place to enjoy live music, arts and crafts, kids activities, a pet adoption center, and more. Western events are featured this month, so dust off your cowboy hat, boots, and jeans as 45 bucking bulls make their way to the Alamo. Bull riding, roping lessons,…
Houston Street Fair & Market
Release Date: 2008-06-25 This city-sponsored monthly street fair is a place to enjoy live music, arts and crafts, kids activities, a pet adoption center, and more. Western events are featured this month, so dust off your cowboy hat, boots, and jeans as 45 bucking bulls make their way to the Alamo. Bull riding, roping lessons,…
War, Inc.
War, Inc. Director: Joshua Seftel Screenwriter: Joshua Seftel Cast: John Cusack, Marisa Tomei, Joan Cusack Release Date: 2008-06-25 Website: http://www.firstlookstudios.com/films/warinc/ Rated: NONE Genre: Action Much ink has been spilled over the American public’s apathy toward movies inspired by the Iraq War. Last year, the Weinstein Company paid several million dollars for Grace Is Gone, which…
I Know You’re Married, But I’ve Got Feelings Too
I Know You’re Married, But I’ve Got Feelings Too Composer: Martha Wainwright Conductor: Martha Wainwright Label: Zoe Records Release Date: 2008-06-25 Rated: NONE Media: CD Length: LP Format: Album Genre: Singer/Songwriter (Rock/Pop) It’s been three years since Martha Wainwright released her eponymous debut, a near-perfect album that featured her now infamous attack on her dad,…
Diamond Hoo Ha
Diamond Hoo Ha Composer: Supergrass Conductor: Supergrass Label: Astralwerks Release Date: 2008-06-25 Rated: NONE Media: CD Length: LP Format: Album Genre: Power pop Brash, playful rock ’n’ roll never gets old, but the people who make it do. It’s a challenge for any band to maintain the same passion, energy, and creative spark on their…
Wanted
Wanted Director: Timur Bekmambetov Screenwriter: Timur Bekmambetov Cast: Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman, James McAvoy Release Date: 2008-06-25 Website: http://www.wantedmovie.com/ Rated: R Genre: Action Curving bullets. A man jumps from one skyscraper to another. Someone flips a car and fires through the open sunroof. The wings are shot off buzzing flies. A car jumps into a…
Roman de Gare
Roman de Gare Director: Claude Lelouche Screenwriter: Claude Lelouche Cast: Dominique Pinon, Fany Ardant Release Date: 2008-06-25 Website: http://samuelgoldwynfilms.com/ Rated: R Genre: Foreign It’s not the first time I’ve used this quotation, and it certainly won’t be the last: In literature — as in life — characters lie, and they don’t always come clean about…
Stone Temple Pilots w. Frank Black
Release Date: 2008-06-25 The return of Stone Temple Pilots is highly anticipated, although it might have been a no-brainer to figure out they wouldn’t be gone forever. STP was on my personal list of “Bands You Wish Would Reunite,” and the resurgence of reunion shows and tours — Rage is co-headlining Lollapalooza! — made a…
The Drexler diaries
When it comes to making music available, record labels — especially the majors — are obsolete, and that’s hardly news. The suits who didn’t see — or just plainly dismissed— the internet are now desperately trying to catch up, but iTunes and a zillion others are still beating them to the punch, digitally releasing some…
A Guide to Downtown Living
Downloadable PDF
CDs Nuts
Tha Carter III Lil Wayne (Cash Money) With the exception of the gloriously overproduced “Mr. Carter,” the best tracks — “A Milli,” “La La,” “Let the Beat Build” — feature Weezy's syzzurpy stream-of- consciousness rasp over minimalist bizzaro beats. The album falls short of classic status though, when Wayne leaves his comfort zone and forces…
CAM Wiki History
June 1986 Contemporary Art Month is officially born via proclamation at the hands of then-Mayor Henry Cisneros in honor of three major exhibitions of contemporary art. The first to open, the Blue Star Exhibition, on the site of today’s Blue Star Arts Complex, was curated by Steve Bradley, fired earlier that year from the San…
CAM o’ war
Click for complete CAM Calendar In the relentless heat and sun of a textbook San Antonio summer, a mirage appears, the shimmering image of a four-year-old debate reflected in pools of sweat: Maybe it’s time to move Contemporary Art Month to another month — any month that, following the old wives’ tale about oysters, has…
Luther’s Cafe gets new life
Luther’s Cafe, a decades-old eatery that offers an extensive fare ranging from hamburgers and chili-topped Irish to steak and specialty salads, was transformed this past year into a part of San Antonio nightlife. Behind this transformation is Randy Cunniff, the owner of Luther’s since July 2007. Since that time, Cunniff has renovated the site, adding…
ARTIFACTS
Contemporary Art Month isn’t the only art fest in the state trying to go all-pro. The Texas Biennial, founded in 2005 in Austin by a loose collective of independent galleries and artists, announced earlier this year that it is significantly changing its focus and selection criteria for next year’s show. Most dramatically, the Biennial is…
Sheer ‘Genius’
Leonardo da Vinci is something of a pop-culture icon. To some, he is the guy that painted the “Mona Lisa.” To others, he’s the guy from whence the book The Da Vinci Code drew its name and machinations (though it’s best to simply forget the cinematic version). And to children of the 1980s and ’90s,…
Dear Uncle Mat
Could a person get chlamydia in the eye? My best friend recently contracted it from her ex-girlfriend. She apparently didn’t wash her hands after they slept together and then on the way to breakfast accidentally poked me in the eye. My eye still hurts and now I think I have chlamydia. She said I am…
Juggling act
Chris Bliss has been a juggler for nearly 40 years, and during that time, he’s also become skilled at juggling various aspects of his career. He’s a sharp-tongued comic with a knack for biting social commentary, yet he also knows how to tone down his anger for corporate audiences. He’s a Tonight Show fixture who…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Welcome to Part Two of your outlook for the second half of 2008, Aries. We’re checking up on how you’re progressing with the challenges you were given near the end of last year. I’m hoping that by now you’re well on your way toward leaving your amateur or rookie status behind…
Mexico’s ghost towns
Cerrito del Agua, population 3,000, has no paved roads — either leading to it or within it. No restaurants, no movie theaters, no shopping malls. In fact, the small town located in the central Mexican state of Zacatecas has no middle schools, high schools, or colleges; no cell-phone service, no hospital. Its surrounding fields are…
Forward pass
The first weekend of October 2006 was a big one in Dallas. Texas and Oklahoma partisans gathered for the annual Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl against the traditional backdrop of Big Tex and the Texas State Fair. Armchair quarterbacks also had another, less- publicized football extravaganza in the Metroplex that weekend. Gay Bowl…
Jurassic Park
Till death do us part So, remember that little prediction we made not so long ago, something about the Supremes coming to rescue residents of La Frontera from the wall builders of U.S. Homeland Security and its contractors? That was an optimistic week for us at the Current. Court-watchers had us all bright and deluded.…
¡Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: What do you think would happen if U.S. citizens could as easily buy land and set up businesses in Mexico as Mexicans can do in the U.S.? Might that be a big boost to the Mexican economy? I know there are provisions in the Mexican Constitution that prevent this, but what is the…
Scorched earth meets the songbird
Should the endangered golden-cheeked warbler die off, our own big-headed young wouldn’t know the difference. Few of us would miss the male songs of “tweah tweah twee-sy” ejected from shady Hill Country ravines or their dark nests of carefully woven juniper bark. The sunny-headed Central American migrant isn’t going to resolve our battle against breast…
Clothes-minded
I’ve never liked the term “fashionista.” It’s a bit pretentious and cloying, and while I love clothes, I’ve never been the kind who has the time — or the budget — to stay on top of the “it” bag of the moment. So imagine my smirk when I read style.com’s giddy coining of the term…
Saving land, rediscovering community
The Bexar Land Trust has saved tens of thousands of acres of agricultural and park land to help protect San Antonio’s water supply, the Edwards Aquifer. This year, the Trust increased its drive to green the urban core of San Antonio with a potentially self-replicating program of community gardens in and around the heart of…
CAM Wiki History
June 1986 Contemporary Art Month is officially born via proclamation at the hands of then-Mayor Henry Cisneros in honor of three major exhibitions of contemporary art. The first to open, the Blue Star Exhibition, on the site of today’s Blue Star Arts Complex, was curated by Steve Bradley, fired earlier that year from the San…
Burger wines
It’s summer. Has been for what seems like months now. But if you can bear the heat it is also time to get out into the backyard and do some grilling. Burgers, maybe. At the very least, burgers — homemade or from your favorite patty purveyor — should be more on your mind than they…
Loves me like a Rock
Can you smell what Dwayne Johnson is cookin’? The famous wrestling catchphrase may not have the same ring to it when you replace Johnson’s birth name with his nickname, “The Rock,” which he acquired while grappling in the World Wrestling Entertainment for eight years, but now the former WWE champion is a different man in…
Luther’s Cafe gets new life
Luther’s Cafe, a decades-old eatery that offers an extensive fare ranging from hamburgers and chili-topped Irish to steak and specialty salads, was transformed this past year into a part of San Antonio nightlife. Behind this transformation is Randy Cunniff, the owner of Luther’s since July 2007. Since that time, Cunniff has renovated the site, adding…
Amuse-BOUCHE
Contemporary Art Month kicks off in all its homegrown glory this week (calendar, page 24; coverage, page 21), and if artist Gene Elder has anything to say about it, these hot summer days devoted to local visual culture will also rehabilitate that recently maligned fruit, the tomato. Salsa is our official condiment (or, when it’s…
CRITICAL Darling
I’d say it’s a fine week for vagaries, wouldn’t you? A life of certainties is no life at all. With that outlook in mind, Critical Darling invites you to submit your short mockumentary or verite-style films to her by the end of July. If I told you why, I’d have to kill you. No, seriously.…
The Heights is set to take off
First things first: If a business is located off-Broadway and it’s named The Heights, you’d naturally think it’s located in Alamo Heights, correct? Well, when my best friend and I decided to have one last San Antonio hurrah before he packs up for ATX, we found ourselves a bit lost cruisin’ down Broadway. A few…
Go Team Venture!
The Venture Brothers (Adult Swim, Sundays, 11:30 pm) Last week on Venture Brothers, Dr. Rusty Venture found himself in an Egyptian temple, beset on all sides by mummies. As is often the case. Unable to move, Dr. Venture — father of the titular leads Dean and Hank Venture, son of the legendary super-scientist Dr. Jonas…
An open letter to Farmers-Market True Believers, people with hangovers on Sunday morning, and Vikings
Evidently, San Antonio has a downtown farmers’ market. At least that’s what I’ve been told. I’ve never known anyone to actually go to one of these markets, and that’s one of the problems. No one seems to know about it. Various past locations have been mentioned: a field off McCullough by the roller rink, a…
Love to Hate
 
Raider of the lost archives
Ailing in a hospital bed in 1999 after his second heart attack and the quadruple bypass that followed, Tejano singer Sunny Ozuna was certain his time in this world was up. Best known for his 1963 hit “Talk to Me,” which he recorded with his band the Sunglows (later the Sunliners), and for being the…
Big easy
Ninja Gaiden II, (Tecmo) Xbox 360 $59.99 I think it hit me somewhere around the fiery end of the second chapter, when I was busily twirling my lunar staff like a maniac and trying to knock Genshin on his smug, Spider-clan ass. Hey, I haven’t died yet. Not even once. Whoa. Now if this were…
THE SOUND & THE FURY
One of the stories rarely told by rock historians involves the way Chicano culture in the 1950s and ’60s intersected with early rock ’n’ roll and R&B to create a classic hybrid. Los Angeles historian Ruben Molina documented this movement last year with his book, Chicano Soul: Recordings & History of an American Culture, acknowledging…
Butterflies on a budget
Just in time to prep for migrating Monarchs and hatching Black Swallowtails, here are the top 10 must-haves for a butterfly garden on a budget. Even for urban gardening, all you need is the right shopping list to kick off season-long sightings. Invite both larvae and adults into your garden with a few strategic plant…
