Cover Stories
Five (perhaps) legit reasons not to vote
1. It’s Not Your Duty. Whether or not you agree that U.S. military policy is about protecting democracies, in the U.S. you have both the right to exercise your vote, and your right not to. A small number of democracies, from tiny Singapore to systems as large as Australia and Brazil, require most or all…
Ten reasons to vote this year … or not
"Is it ignorance or apathy / I forget these lessons taught to me / Some say life isn’t fair / Hey I don’t know and I don’t care." — Jimmy Buffett Of course you can’t vote in the upcoming elections. Halo 4 goes on sale Nov. 6. Besides, why bother? According to the electoral "return…
Feds auction horses tied to Zetas
via wikimedia commons At this weekend’s annual Heritage Place fall action, a handful of horse names took on a darker meaning, given their providence. Like Fiery Cartel, Cartel Mischief, or Big Daddy Cartel. Or consider Breakoutthebullets. All are names of horses bought and paid for by the brutal Zetas drug cartel, and part of a…
Stay Current with the Pick of the Day: PechaKucha Night Vol. 8
Devised in 2003 by Tokyo-based architects Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham as a platform for young designers to network and show their work, PechaKucha Nights (which are named after the Japanese term for the sound of “chit-chat”) follow a “20×20” format (20 images are shown and explained for 20 seconds each). While the idea of…
Stay Current with the Pick of the Day: Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story
Conceived by agent/producer Laurie Mansfield, penned by writer Alan Janes, and given the green light by Sir Paul McCartney (who owns the rights to the entire Buddy Holly catalog) Buddy — The Buddy Holly Story ushered in a new theatrical genre, the jukebox musical. Packed with nearly 30 songs including “That’ll Be the Day,” “Peggy…
Day 2 of Fun Fun Fun Fest: Refused, PiL, Brendan Benson
Lacking a headliner of the Run-DMC caliber, Day 2 of Austin’s Fun Fun Fun Fest may not have packed the punch of its opener. That said, it proved to be a more consistent bill than Friday, with strong early day sets from Brendan Benson (one half of the Raconteurs, now back to doing his solo…
Stay Current with the Pick of the Day: Diwali San Antonio: Festival of Lights
Forget Indian asceticism: “mela” is Sanskrit for “fiesta” and the local Indian community pulls out the stops on November 3 in celebration of Diwali, the annual “Festival of Lights,” one of the most significant, widely celebrated Indian holidays. The event is organized by Anuja SA, the local nonprofit charged with promoting cultural ties with Chennai,…
Fun Fun Fun Fest: Day 1 review
X’s Exene Cervenka (Bloodshot Records) Ah Fun Fun Fun Fest, that oh so awkwardly named assemblage of hipsters, punks, and weirdos who somehow come together every early November to create one of the year’s best festival. Kicking off Day 1 on Friday were undoubtedly two of the Fest’s biggest marquee billings: L.A. hardcore legends X…
Video: Santigold at Fun Fun Fun Fest
The Orange stage ruled on Friday. Santigold, who preceded headliners Run-DMC, started her set 20 minutes late after a production man came rushing to the stage and seemed to either argue or complain to the stage crew. The technical problems were evident during her opening number, “GO!” when her voice was at times barely audible.…
Video: Run-DMC at Fun Fun Fun Fest
DMC said it wouldn’t happen. But it did, and it happened last night at Austin’s Fun Fun Fun Fest. “Do you really want to see me and Run running around without Jay back there?” he told The Boombox in 2010, referring to band DJ Jason “Jam-Master Jay” Mizell, murdered in 2002. “With some other DJ?…
Actor Robert Patrick talks ‘Jayne Mansfield’s Car,’ Vietnam War, making shitty movies
Actor Robert Patrick has starred in such films as “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” “Walk the Line,” and “Safe House.” His new film is “Jayne Mansfield’s Car,” which is directed by Billy Bob Thornton. Best known for playing Arnold Schwarzenegger’s shape-shifty nemesis in the 1991 sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day, actor Robert Patrick has built his…
How To Build A Proper ‘Dia De Los Muertos’ Altar
While most Americans are dealing with the sad, harsh sugar crash that inevitably comes after Halloween every year, we are lucky to be partying on with the Mexican tradition of Dia De Los Muertos. Sure, it’s can be a somewhat solemn celebration that calls for reverence, but this is a celebration nonetheless. So before you…
Stay Current with the Pick of the Day: Andrea Balency
I’ve written a zillion times on L.A.’s beloved La Santa Cecilia (the headliners of this, the third and last Échale series of the year), and Austin’s Charanga Cakewalk is always fun to see live. But really, you have to come early to this one. Andrea Balency is the latest great Mexican female singer-songwriter to appear…
Poetry on the Move
Metropolitan Transit is now accepting poems for the 4th Annual Poetry on the Move Contest, in which the winning poetry will be printed and placed on VIA buses and vans for passengers to enjoy during National Poetry Month, April 2013. The contest is open to poets from South and Central Texas who are at least 18…
Stay Current with the Pick of the Day: Carnaval de los Muertos
Founded in 1974 by a diverse group of 15 artists, URBAN-15 creates educational programs, events, and performances dedicated to music, movement, and media. Annually, the nonprofit puts an Afro-Caribbean spin on Día de los Muertos with Carnaval de los Muertos, a lively drum and dance performance modeled after elaborately costumed festivals including Brazil’s Carnival (six…
Coronation of LeBron James, Spurs starters, and Stak5
The coronation of LeBron James was on full display during the NBA’s opening night as both Madison Avenue and the league itself took turns celebrating the young champion. King James and his Miami Heat teammates delivered on the hardwood, handing Rajon Rondo and the Boston Celtics a bitter 120-107 loss on national television. The Chosen…
Eleven $5,000 Grants will be awarded to local artists
The Artist Foundation of San Antonio (AF) has issued its open call for 2012 award applications. The deadline to apply is Monday, November 19. Up to 11 $5,000 awards will be made in the categories of Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Literary Arts, Media Arts, Classical Singing, Set Design and Costume Design. Interested artists can…
Stay Current with the Pick of the Day: Hemisfear
The HemisFair Park Area Redevelopment Corporation, The Magik Theatre, Gemini Ink, and more than a dozen other area groups join forces for the inaugural Hemisfear Halloween celebration. All five historic homes in the park will welcome trick-or-treaters with different themes including The Wizard of Oz, Ghostbusters, Zombie Nerds, Alice in Wonderland, and Superhero Hideout (courtesy…
San Antonio: the spookiest city in America?
About six years ago I was looking for a change of scenery. At the time I was living in Houston, but I was hoping to intensify my research into all manner of mysterious creatures. I was familiar with accounts of monstrous birds that had been reported sailing over the skies of San Antonio and had…
John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten): The Current Q & A
Public Image Ltd. 2012: Bruce Smith (left), Scott Firth, John Lydon, and Lu Edmons. (photo by Paul Heartfield) My first attempt at talking with John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, started miserably. “Hello, Mr. Lydon This is Enrique Lopetegui with the San Antonio Current. We have a phoner and ” “No, you don’t,” Lydon replied. “Not…
Tony Bennett: 'Viva Duets'
This album is tolerable only because the playing is top notch and the 86-year-old Bennett’s vocals are intact. Too bad the usually infallible Juan Luis Guerra sounds like a second-rate ’60s Italian crooner, Chayanne’s thin voice can’t keep up with the Man, and bachata star Romeo Santos is just not in Bennett’s league. The winners:…
Between the Buried and Me hotter (and better) than ever
After 10 years as one of the hardest-working bands in heavy music, North Carolina’s Between the Buried and Me is finally starting to get its due. The five-piece has followed an exhausting tour schedule of late and taken big risks with its sound: a shuffle (not without difficulty) between metalcore, deathcore, prog, and more traditional…
Cody Critcheloe's SSION needs no Ke$ha
With directing creds for the likes of Santigold, Peaches, and CSS, his own flick (2009’s Boy), and the album artwork for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, it’s a damn miracle that Cody Critcheloe has time to perform with his first artistic endeavor, the inimitable SSION. Back in 1996 — even before his time at the Kansas…
Wurstfest is worth the walk, parking fees, and the yodel
Less is more when it comes to most things in life or on TV, but never when it comes to sausage. Want proof? Think of those sick little tins of pink hash that go by the name of Vienna Sausage and fall out, once clipped, like the innards of a pistol. (Armour is their company’s…
Martial arts way of life leads RZA to 'The Man with the Iron Fists'
Introduced to Hollywood in the late ’90s, RZA — Grammy-winning hip-hop MC/producer and co-founder of the Wu-Tang Clan — thought he would try something different when filmmaker Jim Jarmusch asked him to compose music for his new action-drama Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai. It was not a gig he thought would lead to anything.…
'Malibu Country' has it all: moldy oldies, boobs, and gay mocking
Start-Ups: Silicon Valley (9pm Mon, Bravo) Bravo usually focuses its reality series on good-looking socialites or business people. With Start-Ups: Silicon Valley, the network had the inspired idea of focusing on nerds. They’re programmers and bloggers in the Silicon Valley’s go-go tech industry, and they’re pretty good-looking themselves (especially after an application of spray-on tan…
Bakery Lorraine offerings just the thing for that morning guest
If you need an excuse to start (or enliven) a relationship that involves an overnight, here’s one: buy the breakfast-friendly pain au chocolate at Bakery Lorraine; one is really too much for a single person. At least you can claim that. Your case would be even further strengthened by said pain topped with hazelnuts, a…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Big opportunities are coming up for you. Even if you cash in on them, though, they aren’t likely to make an immediate practical impact. They are subtle and deep, these prospects. They have the potential of catalyzing monumental shifts in your long-term unfolding, but will take a while to transform your…
'Joan, get me a scotch'
Satel’s is channeling the spirit of Don Draper, the lead character on the TV show Mad Men. On Thursday, November 1, the men’s clothing store at 5100 Broadway will host a "Mad Men Classic" with cocktails and appetizers from Bohanan’s Restaurant. Local jazz pianist Anthony Bazzani will be tickling the ivories, and Bohanan’s will be…
John Lydon on the Sex Pistols, Randy's Ballroom, PiL, and Judge Judy
John Lydon’s life could have been a lot easier right now — all he had to do was keep the name "Johnny Rotten" and squeeze every single drop of juice out of the Sex Pistols brand. "Tell me about it!" he said to the Current on the phone from London. "I think I put my…
¡ASK A MEXICAN!
Dear Mexican: After a year in Spain, I speak more-than-decent Spanish, and I want to get a job in the nonprofit field where I can put it to use and pursue social justice and all that. Thing is, my Spanish is pretty peninsular. I maintained my seseo, thank God, but I may let loose an…
Newsmonger: Clinton stumps for Gallego,Pre-K 4 SA debated, Local lawyer vying for Supremes
Clinton stumps for Gallego Former President Bill Clinton spoke to an overflow crowd at South San Antonio High School last week aiming to boost Democratic turnout at a crucial moment for congressional hopeful Pete Gallego (above), who’s locked in a tight race with GOP Congressman Francisco "Quico" Canseco. The Hill, Real Clear Politics, and the…
Best of Flash Fiction: October 2012
The fairy tale is a timeless tale. But we love to update, rearrange, reconfigure the familiar to make it new and more applicable, but the beautiful sometimes horrifying center still quivers, groans, and blushes (albeit what we consider to be the "center" shifts with time). Johanna DeBiase proves this with intelligence, humor, and creative insight…
‘Rebozos’ weaves women's stories from two languages
In an era when books are being banned, hers included, San Antonio’s poet laureate Carmen Tafolla is mindfully doing what she does best: documenting the lives of those whose hard work and fierce spirit offer the preceding generations shoulders upon which we unwaveringly, if not consciously, stand. Hers is a voice of persistence, of righteousness,…
"Champagne taste on a beer budget" blogger Christina Coker reports from the front lines of Fashion Week
Day four of Fashion Week San Antonio featured the 5th annual Avant Garde Going Green fashion show, held at The Educational and Cultural Arts Center of Texas A&M University. Formerly occupied by the Museo Alameda, the space was transformed into a stark runway environment. Designers were tasked with creating a piece from recycled, recyclable, and…
The Rosedale Highs: 'Go Down'
Rosedale Highs sound as if your favorite ’90s pop-punk band and your favorite ’60s garage-pop group had a child who spent far too much time with Elvis Costello. On their emotive debut album Go Down, this self-described "power pop foursome" manages to make music with snarl and sweetness, where yearning croons and world-weary yawps belong…
The complete 'All in the Family' is out on DVD
All you need to know about All in the Family is in its first episode aired by CBS on January 12, 1971. That episode introduced an ultra-conservative Archie Bunker and his takes on sex, religion, and politics, in a lethal satire of bigotry that was unprecedented for U.S. prime time. "I had no million people…
Four SA artists to be selected for Berlin-based residency
Artpace has its celebrated International Artist-in-Residency program. Sala Diaz has its new Casa Chuck Residency Program for critics and curators, while big museums, and even small artist-run spaces, bring talent to town from all over the world. There are opportunities here for local artists to exhibit, but showing abroad is a dream few realize —…
Building a collage of apertifs with Olaf at the Blue Box
The more one delves into drinks, the more one — this one, anyway — realizes that there’s always more to learn. Take apéritifs, for example. Americans in general tend to pay little attention to the traditional roles assigned to certain liquors and liqueurs. A digestif, for example, suggests in its name its purpose in life:…
Bassnectar: 'Freestyle' EP
Following on April’s generally interesting LP Vava Voom, Bassnectar’s scattershot EP of also-rans exemplifies unintelligent dance music. Whatever your disposition, the music known as dubstep is unique and here to stay, and Lorin Ashton — the DJ behind Bassnectar — has admirably collaborated with a wide range of musicians, from rappers to punk rockers, who…
Third-party groups duke it out in Canseco/Gallego race
A third-party pro-GOP super PAC is out with a new ad attacking congressional hopeful Pete Gallego of being supported by third-party groups. In a new attack ad, the Congressional Leadership Fund attacks Gallego for his backing from “radical environmentalists” and their “job killing agenda.” Environmental groups like the League of Conservation Voters, which funded an…
Pick of the Day: Shaolin Warriors: “Voices of the Masters”
Although their fine-tuned martial arts skills are reportedly never put to use in combat, the Shaolin Warriors are the last monks you’d ever want to cross. Disciples of an Indian Buddhist named Bodhi-dharma who founded the Shaolin monastery on a summer day circa 525 A.D., “China’s Mysterious Kung Fu Monks” call their system of fighting…
