83-year-old B.B. King keeps on going
B.B. King entertained a large crowd at the Majestic Theater on Thursday night with a well-received performance of nearly two-hours. Some may have felt the show was a bit light on actual guitar playing and a bit heavy on King’s joking around while his band vamped out behind him, but at age 83 the blues…
The auditor’s new clothes
The “Ordinance Governing the Role and Oversight of the City Auditor and the City Internal Audit Department” that sailed through Council this week doesn’t fix the problem, says District 2 Councilwoman Sheila McNeil, one of two lonely nay votes. “It just brings more people into the problem.” Citizens, specifically. The new law adds two citizens…
Live and Local preview: Sarah & Octopus
The bad news for people who like female singers: There’s no chick named Sarah to be found here. The even worse news for cepholopod enthusiasts: There isn’t even an actual octopus. The rest of us should be able to enjoy Sarah & Octopus’s show at the Warhol Friday free from bitter disappointment. Percussionist Mason “Octopus”…
Build schools, not prisons
Xavier Perez It does not surprise me to hear of another budget modification to the San Antonio Independent School District to “improve” the quality of education for their 55,000-plus students. SAISD has announced numerous school closures to historical campuses, including the 130-year-old Fox Tech Campus and the 107-year-old Bowie Elementary School. Recently the school district…
On the Street: Sunday Sounds, Off the Street, A Strange Nexus, Stop Motion Tamales (And Inside Jobs?), and Other Important Issues Of The Day That Captivate and Trouble Us
“Leaves Turn Inside You” Letters (to the On the Street Penthouse Suite) #1 Smoke and Mirrors From the fine folks at Unit B Galleryâ?¦ Please join us! November 21, 2008 – January 3, 2009 Smoke and Mirrors Alex Rubio (San Antonio, TX) David Vega (San Antonio, TX) In this collaboration, artists Alex Rubio and David…
Texas Climate News launches
Greg Harman gharman@sacurrent.com New resource for those tracking environmental news in Texas: Check out Texas Climate News, “reporting on climate change and sustainability issues,” a project by Bill Dawson and funded through the Houston Advanced Research Center and the Houston Endowment. Some of you may remember my attempt at something similar after leaving the Houston…
Palmyra
Palmyra Composer: The Bellfuries Conductor: The Bellfuries Label: Moe & Sal Release Date: 2008-11-19 Rated: NONE Genre: Indie Rock The creamy melodies encapsulated in the Bellfuries’ new album Palmyra give the Austin band a fresh new flavor, and signal a bold shift from their 2001 album Just Plain Lonesome. Focusing their attentions on a natural…
Rio
Rio Composer: Aterciopelados Conductor: Aterciopelados Label: Nacional Records Release Date: 2008-11-19 Rated: NONE Genre: Latin Colombian music icons Aterciopelados (which translates as “the velvety ones”) follow up their Latin Grammy winning Oye with a genre-busting disc that finds singer Andrea Echeverri in top form. Recorded in the band’s hometown of Bogotá, the album has an…
Let the Right One In
Let the Right One In Director: Tomas Alfredson Screenwriter: Tomas Alfredson Cast: KÃ¥re Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl, Karin Bergquist Release Date: 2008-11-19 Rated: R Genre: Drama Raw and unstaunched, Swedish film Let the Right One In provides a perfect antithesis for Twilight’s animal-blood-drinking “vegetarian” vampires. The upcoming Hollwood-groomed treatment of Stephenie Meyer’s…
Synecdoche, New York
Critic’s Pick Synecdoche, New York Director: Charlie Kaufman Screenwriter: Charlie Kaufman Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton, Tilda Swinton Release Date: 2008-11-19 Rated: R Genre: Drama A portrait of the artist as a dying man: Synecdoche, word-geek speak for using a part to represent the whole or vice-versa, begins with theater…
Twilight
Twilight Director: Catherine Hardwicke Screenwriter: Catherine Hardwicke Cast: feat. Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke, Peter Facinelli Release Date: 2008-11-19 Rated: PG-13 Genre: Romance After her mom remarries, Bella Swan (Stewart) has to move in with her dad — all the way across country! Worse, relocating means a new high school, and, for a girl…
The Hunger w. Flesh Electric, Oridium, & Goodnight Ether
Release Date: 2008-11-19 The Hunger came together in the early ’90s as a small, Houston-based garage band whose members found heroes in the likes of Ministry, Front 242, and the Cure. They’re now seasoned contenders, sporting a rabid fan base due to their incredible energy and infectious live shows. No stranger to ripping up a…
Otep, Ill Nino, Walls of Jericho, Brotherhood, & Sister Sin
Release Date: 2008-11-19 OTEP storms through San Antonio as the headliner this go-round, after last year’s release of their third full-length, The Ascension, which defied classification with a new landscape of sound and vision. Frontwoman Otep Shamaya was a poet and artist prior to forming the band as an outlet for her dissatisfaction with life,…
Broken Teeth, The Heroine, Top Dead Center, & So Unloved
Release Date: 2008-11-19 Ferocious quintet Broken Teeth headlines the best lineup of fist-pumping, beer-chugging rock we’ve seen in SA for quite awhile. Revered vocalist Jason McMaster of Dangerous Toys and Watchtower fame leads the Austinites. Expect a fiery performance from locals The Heroine, fresh off the Whiskey A Go-Go stage where they performed for Motley…
Las Krudas, La Prima y su Banda, Xemilla, & Kick It!
Release Date: 2008-11-19 This all-female Cuban hip-hop group is best known for its rugged feminist lyrics and Afro-Cuban beats. Their lyrics often criticize the common perception of beauty and the traditional female role in Cuba and the U.S. — lyrical content goes a little something like this: “La Gorda llegó/La Gorda soy yo” (The Fat…
Underoath, SAOSIN, The Devil Wears Prada, & The Famine
Release Date: 2008-11-19 Right hand up, Underoath headlines Sunset Station in promotion of their latest, Lost in the Sound of Separation. The Florida quintet is known for intense punk melodies and explosive stage performances guaranteed to ignite the pit, and they’ve built a career on being both heavy and experimental. Warming up the stage will…
Alyse Black
Release Date: 2008-11-19 Starting off as a singer in the streets of Pike Place Market in Seattle, Alyse Black has quickly become a sultry siren that channels a wide variety of influences — she’s drawn parallels to Regina Spektor and Norah Jones, among others. On the heels of winning 1st place in Billboard’s Annual World…
‘Quantum’ mechanics
Quantum of Solace Director: Marc Forster Screenwriter: Marc Forster Cast: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Giancarlo Giannini, Jesper Christensen, Mathieu Amalric Release Date: 2008-11-19 Studio: Sony Rated: PG-13 Genre: Action For the first time in my life, I have to admit that I’d rather be James Bond than Batman. For all you “normal people” or “women”…
Red Bull Academics & Battle of the Alamo
Release Date: 2008-11-19 Pop, lock, and drop to the beat during the fifth annual Battle of the Alamo break-dance competition sponsored by Red Bull Academics. The program is designed by established members of the B-Boy community to teach their art form to neighborhood kids — the climax is a battle between the classmates, and the…
Wastin’ away again in beerville
Release Date: 2008-11-19 I rarely go up Blanco. Just not something I’ve thought a lot about. But now, not only will I think about it, I’ll shoot on up there whenever I can. The reason is the Texas Ice House, not to mention the sort of otherworldly feel of Blanco just north of Hildebrand. It’s…
The Hunger w. When Words Attack & Nancy Silva Project
Release Date: 2008-11-19 The Hunger came together in the early ’90s as a small, Houston-based garage band whose members found heroes in the likes of Ministry, Front 242, and the Cure. They’re now seasoned contenders, sporting a rabid fan base due to their incredible energy and infectious live shows. No stranger to ripping up a…
Bruno goes to camp
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Director: Mark Herman Screenwriter: Mark Herman Cast: Asa Butterfield, Vera Farmiga, David Thewlis, Jack Scanlon Release Date: 2008-11-19 Rated: PG-13 Genre: Drama As late as 1960, when Adolf Eichmann, the architect of Auschwitz, was placed on trial, 15 years after the fall of the Third Reich, more films had…
B.B. King
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2008-11-19 Blues guitarist B.B. King hasn’t changed his act much over the years, but there’s a reason why fans keep flocking to see him. King’s seminal role in the Mississipi Delta and Memphis music scenes helped bring blues from the margins to the mainstream. Late great slide-guitar maestro Duane Allman may…
Multi Dimensional Warrior
Multi Dimensional Warrior Composer: Santana Conductor: Santana Label: Sony Legacy Release Date: 2008-11-19 Rated: NONE Format: Album Genre: ClassicRock This two-disc retrospective is not another greatest hits re-packaging but rather what Santana calls “a letter to the fans … an invitation to the sacredness inside yourself.” The legendary guitarist handpicked each tune, with the first…
True Stories: Inherited, Salvaged, Embroidered
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2008-11-19 Marilyn Lanfear uses sculpture based on family artifacts, recreations of old images, and oral histories to reconstitute her family’s legends for the next generation. Often ghostly and animated by the handiwork of a bygone era, her installations remind us that in their earliest incarnation, record-keepers were considered artists of the…
4
4 Composer: Dungen Conductor: Dungen Label: Kemado Release Date: 2008-11-19 Rated: NONE Format: Album Genre: Psychedelia/Space Rock The aptly titled fourth album from Dungen expands beyond garage-stoner jamming into full-blown jazz movements washed in waves of intelligent psychedelic rock. Gustav Ejstes, Dungen’s mastermind, takes a small step to the side this time around, supplementing his…
Song and Dance Ensemble of West Africa
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2008-11-19 The Song and Dance Ensemble of West Africa draws from rich musical traditions, incorporating elaborate visual ensembles, colorful and inventive costumes, graceful movement, and varied percussion instruments. The musicians use well-known African instruments such as the kora, djembe, and flute, but the African musical styles are mixed with Moorish and…
Ill Prospekt
An hour before Ill Prospekt’s first official notes, Gig has achieved maximum capacity, and guitarist-microKorg-anist Jacob Stultz is sitting on a bench outside the venue waiting for his set to start. The crowd thins a little before Prospekt takes the stage (aka the corner of the floor) and almost everyone’s found a place to sit.…
“Valentino” — Sellers & Son
The first notes are all traditional Roma dance music — mandolin, tambourine, simple bass drum. But soon a heavy-metal guitar forces its way in, alternately accompanying and riffing on the mandolin line. Rapid, folksy strumming blends with hair-metal finger-tap vamping until the non-existent link between the two seems evident for a sound simultaneously foreign and…
Faking reality
It’s a curious thing, and a bit unnerving, besides, sitting down to interview someone you suspect may be a good deal smarter than you are. You do what you can; you try to reassure yourself. "I’m not the one who has to answer the questions," you say. "I just have to ask ’em." Ah, but…
S’Nuff film
If you get stuck with an aspiring screenwriter in your office’s Secret Santa drawing this year, you might consider registering that poor bastard for Kat Candler’s Script to Screen class (candlerproductions.com), which is signing up students now and will begin meeting in Austin next year. Candler (jumping off bridges) will instruct students on turning that…
Sunday bloody Sunday
True Blood (HBO, Sundays, 8pm) “Don’t you dare get morally superior with me,” says Amy Burley (Lizzy Caplan doing a fair-to-middling Zooey Deschanel impression) to a fat, gay, TV-addicted vampire she holds prisoner. “I am an organic vegan, and my carbon footprint is miniscule.” Later, she drains a thimbleful of his blood and trips in a…
The QueQUe
Block-walk wisdom Sociological curiosity got the best of Queque this weekend. We wondered just what sort of do-righting masochists call a meeting for 8:30 on a Saturday morning — then force-march volunteers block by block, banging on silent doors? We were pretty sure nobody would show as we tiptoed into Guadalupe Park to find one…
Pushing nukes at the NRC
The day before Hurricane Ike roared into Galveston Island and pressed deep into the Houston Ship Channel, a surge in internet search traffic googling “STNP” washed into my humble enviro blog. “So,” a smaller, less-charitable part of myself exhaled as I charted the numbers, “now they’re worried.” Employees at South Texas Nuclear Project, a 2,700-megawatt…
Commie chameleon
Where is McCarthy when you need him? The Reds are coming back and, starting in January 2009, they’ll be at your place taking the furniture and bank account, eating your children alive, and replacing your Bibles with the complete works of Marx and Che Guevara. And I don’t mean Obama. Much has been said about…
Artifacts
Awright! We at the Current hear tell that San Anto has reason to be pleased at the newly announced jury members for the 2009 Hunting Prize. They are: Chiyo Ishikawa, deputy director of art, Seattle Art Museum; Suzanne Folds McCullagh, curator of prints and drawings, the Art Institute of Chicago; and Kate Green, independent curator…
Dear Uncle Mat
Special holiday-blues edition The most common reasons I hear people give for hating the holidays are loneliness and financial troubles. If your family and friends magnify rather than remediate these feelings, there is something wrong. If you feel depressed or alienated by the holiday season, the best thing to do is to address your emotions…
The Measure of a concept
Some things never change. The hypocrisy of powerful figures. The struggle between liberty and authority. And Shakespeare plays set in clever places. Think Romeo and Juliet in Baghdad, Macbeth in the White House, or The Tempest on the moon. The production of Measure for Measure currently on at St Philip’s College sets the play in…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Fifty-five percent of Americans not only believe in guardian angels, but testify that they have been actively aided by the intervention of those divine helpers. Commenting on the results, one religious expert said that “Americans live in an enchanted world.” The 55 percent figure may rise even higher in the coming…
The man behind the mask
Visionary writers like Bradley Denton often remain below the radar of public consciousness. Denton’s masterful 1993 novel Blackburn introduced the concept of the moralistic serial killer, a full decade before Jeff Lindsay parlayed a similar idea into four popular novels and the highly successful Showtime series featuring blood-spatter expert and killer Dexter Morgan. Denton’s book garnered a…
¡Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: I recently received the biography of Rolling Stones bassist Ronnie Woods. While reading about his friendship with Jimi Hendrix, Ronnie described him as part black, Cherokee, and Mexican. I’ve always read about Jimi’s grandmother being Cherokee, but this was the first I read about him being Mexican. I Googled Hendrix’s name with the…
Amuse-BOUCHE
In the spirit of our Shop Here, Shop Now holiday gift guide, Amuse-Bouche compiled a list of Go Texan hostess gifts to bestow on friends and colleagues who entertain you in their homes this season. But not all Tejas eats are portable or nonperishable enough to make good presents, so consider incorporating some of our…
The new Black
Alyse Black’s résumé isn’t too shabby. Instead of slinging lattés while trying to catch her break, she could previously be found working as an intern for the U.S. House of Representatives and then as a consultant for Deloitte. But behind the skirt-suits and 401k, this redheaded siren was miserable playing desk jockey when there was…
THE SOUND & THE FURY
Ever since Snowbyrd drummer Manny Castillo underwent cancer surgery on October 20, various friends in the local music community have talked about organizing a show to benefit him. In response to these offers, Castillo, who began chemotherapy treatments on November 10, suggested that such a show should instead benefit San Anto Cultural Arts, the community…
All Ears
Tell Tale Signs Bob Dylan (Sony) Will Bob Dylan ever run out of non-album material good enough to merit public release? Not as long as he’s living, it seems — a guess backed up by the eighth (yes!) installment of his Bootleg Series, Tell Tale Signs (Sony), a batch of alternate versions, live tracks, and…
N-BAF decision delay
Greg Harman gharman@sacurrent.com Hattiesburg scoops the germ-lab watchers this week with an article about Homeland Security’s push-back on final site selection for the National Agro- & Bio-Defense Facility. Being hotly pursued by area boosters, your own Expressive News (see “viral marketing”), and politico tophats in Kansas (though not so much in New York/Jersey or North…
Julian, Part Deux
By Gilbert Garcia When it comes to Julian Castro’s mayoral ambitions, the question hasn’t been “if” but “when,” as in “When will he make it official?” The former councilman, who lost a hotly contested mayoral contest to Phil Hardberger in 2005, looks to be a clear front-runner in next year’s race to succeed Hardberger. He’ll…
