Nuke Bile
Barreling oil prices… Loss of market confidence… A turbulent Middle East… If folks in the late ’70s didn’t know the energy crash was coming, well, go figure. We, however, have the pleasure of a longliner’s vision, sans the easy-out of surprise factoring. Not to say, we know all, we just have enough of the gloom…
Part 1: A Guide to Recognizing your Street Art
Spring has finally arrived and my fellow co-workers and myself rejoice in weeks of sneezing and watery eyes. But with the downside of spring (allergies, of course) comes a rise of street art, which for pedestrians is always a nice change of scene (for business owners, not so much — unless they’re fans of the art,…
Nuke Bile
Barreling oil prices… Loss of market confidence… A turbulent Middle East… If folks in the late ’70s didn’t know the energy crash was coming, well, go figure. We, however, have the pleasure of a longliner’s vision, sans the easy-out of surprise factoring. Not to say, we know all, we just have enough of the gloom…
Part 1: A Guide to Recognizing your Street Art
Spring has finally arrived and my fellow co-workers and myself rejoice in weeks of sneezing and watery eyes. But with the downside of spring (allergies, of course) comes a rise of street art, which for pedestrians is always a nice change of scene (for business owners, not so much — unless they’re fans of the…
On the Street
High Culture, Low Culture All Co-Existing Uneasily In Another Installment of On the Street. As always, read at your own risk… ***** Letters (to the OTS Penthouse Suite) #1 (The Green Fairy) Evidently, absinthe is legal in U.S. now that distillers do not use thujone, which is a banned substance. New chemical research has discovered…
On the Street
High Culture, Low Culture All Co-Existing Uneasily In Another Installment of On the Street. As always, read at your own risk… ***** Letters (to the OTS Penthouse Suite) #1 (The Green Fairy) Evidently, absinthe is legal in U.S. now that distillers do not use thujone, which is a banned substance. New chemical research has discovered…
Arts orgs in City-owned facilities are peerless
Hello, dear noontime surfers (yes, we look at our traffic stats and we know your web habits. Thanks for squeezing us in between adultfriendfinder.com and YouTube). Bet you’re wondering what’s going on at Council today, besides progress toward a synchronized citywide stoplight system (which probably ruins the Current’s plans to lobby for short art films to…
Hip-hop at SXSW
The many sonic facets of hip-hop were on prominent display last weekend at SXSW. Early on Saturday at Austin’s George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center, Texas emcee Bavu Blakes traded positive verses with Element 7D as part of his impressive new project World Trade. Blakes helped transition the event into an engaging panel titled…
Hello, neighbor!
OMG, how did I nearly miss the news? Today, March 20, is Sweater Day, in honor of our friendliest neighbor and master puppeteer Mr. Fred Rogers. The folks over at Entertainment Weekly didn’t miss the boat; they’ve provided a great list of the 20 Great Pop Culture sweaters. Personal favorite, anything that Rivers Cuomo awkwardly…
Arts orgs in City-owned facilities are peerless
Hello, dear noontime surfers (yes, we look at our traffic stats and we know your web habits. Thanks for squeezing us in between adultfriendfinder.com and YouTube). Bet you’re wondering what’s going on at Council today, besides progress toward a synchronized citywide stoplight system (which probably ruins the Current’s plans to lobby for short art films…
Hip-hop at SXSW
The many sonic facets of hip-hop were on prominent display last weekend at SXSW. Early on Saturday at Austin’s George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center, Texas emcee Bavu Blakes traded positive verses with Element 7D as part of his impressive new project World Trade. Blakes helped transition the event into an engaging panel titled…
Hello, neighbor!
OMG, how did I nearly miss the news? Today, March 20, is Sweater Day, in honor of our friendliest neighbor and master puppeteer Mr. Fred Rogers. The folks over at Entertainment Weekly didn’t miss the boat; they’ve provided a great list of the 20 Great Pop Culture sweaters. Personal favorite, anything that Rivers Cuomo awkwardly…
War of Movement Hip-Hop and Funk Concert
Release Date: 2008-03-19 War of Movement features hip-hop and funk musicians, performers, rappers and activists from Texas, California, Mexico and Cuba, uniting to voice the need for social change through musical expression. Artists include Boca Floja of Mexico City, DJs Ethos, Fade, & Reverence from LA, and San Antonio locals Astex, Itzli and Mexican Stepgrandfather.…
SA Unplugged w. John (Big Soy), Sarah (Robo Trumble), Richard (Silent Minority), & more
Release Date: 2008-03-19 San Antonio pulls the plug for this collaboration of talented Say-town artists playing old favorites with an acoustic twist or spicing it up with new tunes. Taking the stage are Sarah Reynolds of Robo Trumble, singer/guitarist Richard Horn of Silent Minority, Aly Tadros, Richard Morgan, and Ben Drezek of The Y Equals…
Scream Club, Analog Love, DJ JustAngel, & DJ Electro:Sexual
Release Date: 2008-03-19 Cindy Wonderful and Sarah Adorable are two blinged-out and intelligent queer rockers with lo-fi beats and racy raps. The lesbian superheroes rap about heartbreak, politics, drunk dialing, girl gangs, and more, all with tight lyrics and killer hooks. Their DIY politics take avant-garde glam rock to a new level, and it’s refreshing…
Vallejo, Nancy Silva Project, The Rafiki Project, Under Fire, Avenue A.M., Valletta, & The Conflict
Release Date: 2008-03-19 Austin’s Vallejo melds rock grooves, Latin percussion, and soulful vocals. They’ve been awarded their own “Vallejo Day” by Austin’s mayor, nominated for Univision’s “Best Latin Rock Band,” and had their songs featured on MTV’s Road Rules and UPN’s America’s Next Top Model. These six guys, including three brothers, make for one rocking…
Exotic Easter Fetish Ball
Release Date: 2008-03-19 Temple of Flesh hosts their annual Exotic Easter Fetish Ball, a betty-doll themed event where the crowd is just itching to get their sin on. Fetish model Angela Ryan is just one of the onstage acts, while the Fantasy Playground doubles as paradise and romper room for the curious, hosting free liquid…
Eligible Traffic
Release Date: 2008-03-19 Immigration has been a hot issue for decades, now it finds itself the subject of a local art exhibition. Trinity University is currently hosting Eligible Traffic, which refers to the regulation of the flow of individuals across the border designated by the Department of Defense. The exhibit addresses issues dealing with undocumented…
Fotos of Summer
Release Date: 2008-03-19 The Farm welcomes the unique vocal range and styling of Shawn Phillips, a singer-songwriter from the ’60s who has collaborated with Donovan, Steve Winwood, and Eric Clapton. The Farm is San Antonio’s only public example of permaculture – a design practice that focuses on zero waste, living economic systems, and sustainable agriculture.…
The Sun Heads South
Release Date: 2008-03-19 The Farm welcomes the unique vocal range and styling of Shawn Phillips, a singer-songwriter from the ’60s who has collaborated with Donovan, Steve Winwood, and Eric Clapton. The Farm is San Antonio’s only public example of permaculture – a design practice that focuses on zero waste, living economic systems, and sustainable agriculture.…
A pearl in the rough
Release Date: 2008-03-19 I found myself at a crossroads recently — either follow my assignment and review South Presa’s newest business, Bubblehead, or visit Taco Haven and order Ralphie’s Special. I did my job and was quite pleased with my findings. Bubblehead is only two months old but is quickly gaining the attention of Asian-…
Fire in the Dark
Release Date: 2008-03-19 The Farm welcomes the unique vocal range and styling of Shawn Phillips, a singer-songwriter from the ’60s who has collaborated with Donovan, Steve Winwood, and Eric Clapton. The Farm is San Antonio’s only public example of permaculture – a design practice that focuses on zero waste, living economic systems, and sustainable agriculture.…
Unconscious objector
Sleepwalking Director: William Maher Screenwriter: William Maher Cast: Charlize Theron, Nick Stahl, AnnaSophia Robb Release Date: 2008-03-19 Website: http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808743801/info Rated: R Genre: Drama When a movie starts with a shot of the open road, like the one that begins William Maher’s debut, Sleepwalking, it usually means that it’s going to be an adventure story where…
War/Dance
War/Dance Director: Andrea Nix Fine, Sean Fine Screenwriter: Andrea Nix Fine, Sean Fine Release Date: 2008-03-19 Website: http://www.wardancethemovie.com/ Rated: PG-13 Genre: Documentary So, on a scale of one to 10, rate your awareness of the turmoil in Uganda pre-The Last King of Scotland. (One being you had no idea, and 10 being you wrote The…
Under the Same Moon (La misma luna)
Under the Same Moon (La misma luna) Director: Patricia Riggen Screenwriter: Patricia Riggen Cast: Kate del Castillo, Adrian Alonso Release Date: 2008-03-19 Website: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/underthesamemoon/ Rated: PG-13 Genre: Foreign The realities of immigration and cash flow feed the undercurrent of this sweet, subtitled tale told with just a touch of camera trickery and rich-lady stereotypes. Carlitos…
Cinnamon Girl: Women Artists Cover Neil Young for Charity
Cinnamon Girl: Women Artists Cover Neil Young for Charity Composer: various Conductor: Various Label: American Laundromat Release Date: 2008-03-19 Rated: NONE Media: CD Length: LP Format: Album Genre: Cover/Tribute This two-CD collection of Neil Young covers benefits Casting for Recovery, a national nonprofit, support and education program for women who’ve had breast cancer. The covered…
What Doesn’t Kill Us
What Doesn’t Kill Us Composer: What Made Milwaukee Famous Conductor: What Made Milwaukee Famous Label: Barsuk Records Release Date: 2008-03-19 Rated: NONE Media: CD Length: LP Format: Album Genre: Indie Rock The second album by Austin’s What Made Milwaukee Famous marks a firm advance, as the quintet branches out from the rather tentative feel of…
Lokey CD Release Party w. Before the Bloodshed, Remember This, & KriticKill
Release Date: 2008-03-19 One of the local scene’s most loved and respected bands, Lokey heralds the release of their fifth full-length, Reconstruction, with two shows that promise to raise the bar and the decibel level yet again. Now celebrating 10 years onstage, their blistering, energetic live performances have always ensured a steady throng of rabid…
Shawn Phillips
Release Date: 2008-03-19 The Farm welcomes the unique vocal range and styling of Shawn Phillips, a singer-songwriter from the ’60s who has collaborated with Donovan, Steve Winwood, and Eric Clapton. The Farm is San Antonio’s only public example of permaculture – a design practice that focuses on zero waste, living economic systems, and sustainable agriculture.…
Dear Uncle Mat
I have been with my boyfriend for a little over four years, including a separation for a few months that began almost a year ago. He is kind and sweet and always very complimentary and supportive of me verbally. The problem being that his actions fall short of his words. He used to be a…
The economics of exploitation
The outrage over former NY governor Eliot Spitzer hiring an A-list hooker makes me feel like throwing a gigantic, crippling pile of super-heavy biology and economics books at everyone in the United States and possibly the world. Are we still so Victorian in our thinking that we think it’s bad for somebody to pay large…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The Bible says you should kill adulterers, homosexuals, and brides who aren’t virgins (Leviticus 20:13 and Deuteronomy 22:21). But I beg you not to do any such thing. The good book also asserts that it’s OK to beat your servants as long as you don’t go too far and murder them…
Foul Play’d
Been watching and wondering when this challenge would come. The provision in the Real ID Act that allows Homeland Secretary Chertoff to waive off a swarm of pesky federal laws like the Endangered Species Act to get on with the business of building a fence in the Arizona desert (and soon, Texas riverlands?) is the…
Outdoor oven envy
More research needs to be done. Surely the stereotype of women in the kitchen and men at the grill has faded into prehistory, along with many other gender-based distinctions. Surely, too, the saber-tooth-slaying male has more on his mind these days than building a fire to sear the bounty of the hunt. But all of…
Amuse-BOUCHE
This week’s column, like a good dual-identity superhero, takes the form of dish and disclosure. Shane Bruns, late of Oro at the Emily Morgan hotel, has left that downtown landmark to work with Dan Ward of Piatti — and soon Luca and Tresca — fame. Bruns will serve as Piatti’s executive chef, says Ward, with…
How to make a Rammy
When we began planning our 2nd Annual Music Issue, we thought about how it could best represent the spirit of San Antonio music. We knew it would contain our reader-selected music awards, and rather than simply calling them the Current Music Awards, we wanted them to honor someone who single-handedly captured the irreverent, earthy, unpretentious,…
Changing hats
Charlie Sexton has worn so many hats, he could start a haberdashery. “In the beginning I was a blues guitar player,” says the 39-year old Texan, offering a quick retrospective of his recording career. “Then I was a pop sellout, then rocker, then a folk singer and then on the last record, strangely enough, they…
Looking forward to Luminaria ’09
On March 15, I attended the first “Luminaria: Arts Night in San Antonio” with my family. The “citywide celebration” featured performances and art displays at the Magik Theatre, Artpace, and AnArte Gallery among a total of 55 participating locations. We attended the evening festival downtown. I’m not an art expert or a member of the…
THE SOUND & THE FURY
For one night, it felt like San Antonio packed its collective belongings in a van and relocated about 70 miles up I-35. By any measurement, the all-San Anto SXSW showcase at Jovita’s was a rousing success. While no lineup of six bands could capture the diversity of SA music, the bands handpicked by Saustex Media’s…
Fresh femme perspectives
As a woman it’s only right for me to honor Women’s History Month, and, luckily, I don’t have to burn a bra to do it. (It’s not like my job provides an unlimited new-bra budget.) Over at the San Antonio Central Library a unique group exhibition showcases the works of nine female artists ranging in…
Mild night
With a starting time advertised as “7 p.m. sharp,” a ticket price high enough (up to $250 per seat) to keep the rabble out, and signs at the bar advising patrons that, per the artist’s request, staff would stop pouring drinks once the show began, it was clear from the outset that no wild night…
ARTIFACTS
Local quad artist Robert Rehm (“LOVE & indepenDANCE reigns,” February 20) is back at it again with his annual neighborhood Easter parade (Can you believe that Easter is days away? Days!). When we last spoke with Rehm and his sister, Gayle Jones, they were raising money to hit their goal of $1,500 to put on…
CDs Nuts
Real Emotional Trash Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks (Matador) Malkmus, the former Pavement frontman, pulls a late-career psych-out with this album full of jamming and songs topping five — and in one case 10 — minutes. Unfortuntely, many of the longer tracks (“Dragonfly Pie,” “Hopscotch Willy,” “Elmo Delmo”) suffer not only from godawful names but…
The book of Siku
“Okay, let’s do this again” are the first words printed in the Manga Bible, an adaptation of the Holy Bible in Japanese graphic-novel form. The simple phrase stands alone, as if to tell readers that although they may have sat through hundreds of agonizing hours of Sunday school memorizing stories and verses they might not…
Five years down
New Haven Advocate freelancer Daniel Smith is in Iraq as an unembedded photojournalist, his seventh trip since the start of the war. He filed this dispatch from Baghdad last week. Violence is down in Baghdad. It’s true. It is much different than it was six months ago. Of course, the starting point was a city…
Sacred superheroes
Remember the Bible story of David and Goliath where the young Israelite kills the Philistine giant with a single stone from his makeshift slingshot? Now imagine that slingshot was a laser gun and Goliath a futuristic super-robot. So is the Valley of Elah in co-writer/co-creator Thomas Hall’s adaptation of the text in his new Mecha…
Fungible qualities and consumption woes
Five years in Iraq That’s 1,825 sundrenched prime nation-building days. Sure, naysayers talk about as many as a million Iraqi dead, 60,000 wounded U.S. troops, and going on 4,000 American service members killed. But if the Bush presidency has taught us anything, it is that the world is as we believe it is — until…
Foul Play’d
Been watching and wondering when this challenge would come. The provision in the Real ID Act that allows Homeland Secretary Chertoff to waive off a swarm of pesky federal laws like the Endangered Species Act to get on with the business of building a fence in the Arizona desert (and soon, Texas riverlands?) is the…
A latecomer paints her own path
Annie Gomez, 61, hasn’t quite grasped the concept that she’s finally an artist. Gomez’s debut art show, Alter of Anguish, which opened on Second Saturday at Gallista Gallery, is a 20-work collection of pieces that are bright in color and dark in content. Although she still hasn’t learned what composition or balance is, you’d never…
Patient, persistent, peaceful
John Stanford was among a core group of protestors that first gathered outside San Antonio City Hall two weeks after the attacks of 9/11 to urge a nonviolent response to the assault. The world wept in candle-lit vigils over the loss of life in New York, Washington, D.C., and a Pennsylvania field. And the world…
Bright, bloody little things
Annie Gomez’s debut art show Alter of Anguish isn’t short on depth, nor do her works lack mystery — so it comes as a surprise that Gomez can’t explain why her works border on being gory. Well, “gory” may be a bit too harsh, but a handful of her paintings contain teddy bears with limbs…
Define ‘Suckcess’
Main entry: Suckcess Pronunciation: sek-’ses Definition: A SXSW-featured musical short created by SA high-school student filmmakers Jessica Torres, 16, and Yvonne Hernandez, 17, for Piñata Protest that tells the tale of musical redemption from mundane life. As the film opens at Ruta Maya River Walk, an average worker Joe arrives and mechanically performs his customary…
Good vibrations
You hear that buzzing? No, it’s not a swarm of approaching bees, it’s a group of vibrator users rejoicing in the mid-February Texas Court of Criminal Appeals decision to overturn a ban on “obscene devices.” If you weren’t too familiar with the ban, you weren’t alone. A few staff members at the Current found the…
CRITICAL Darling
Anthony, Anthony, Anthony. Um, Lane. Do you mind if I call you Anthony? Forget it: Tony, your review of Funny Games in the New Yorker left me with some questions, sir. Particularly, can you explain to me why Michael Haneke needs leading men in order to “export his brand of panic to the United States”?…
¡Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: Since moving to Aztlán from Boston, I’ve spent so much time with my next-door neighbor from Mexico City that I’ve taken to using the word manito as a term of endearment with my buddies, regardless of who and where they are. It’s been my observation that most Anglos think mano a mano means…
Reality bytes
If you’re like most non-gamers, chances are you’ve stereotyped those cyber-athletes obsessed with online games like World of Warcraft and Second Life as socially awkward virgins locked away in their parents’ basement surfacing only to heat up a Hot Pocket or attend a local gaming convention dressed as their favorite blood elf or hybrid warrior-cleric.…
Clothes-minded
A bit of fashion history: The shift (also known as the chemise) debuted in the late 1950s as a sleeveless, slim-fitting dress that barely reached the knee — a scandalously short hemline at the time. The shift is cut straight down from the shoulders, flows slightly away from the body at the hips and lacks…
Rara avis
Good customer service, that rare beast, is endangered enought to warrant an official-sighting bulletin. So it is with great excitement that I present two consumer equivalents of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, one native to San Antonio, the other a welcome migrant. First, the invasive species: My husband gifted me with a purse I’d been coveting on…
Rara avis
Good customer service, that rare beast, is endangered enought to warrant an official-sighting bulletin. So it is with great excitement that I present two consumer equivalents of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, one native to San Antonio, the other a welcome migrant. First, the invasive species: My husband gifted me with a purse I’d been coveting on…
