Maybe you really wanna get out during the week but stay in because you have no idea what fun could possibly even be happening on a weeknight. Well, now you don’t have that excuse. We rounded up some of the best regular weekly and monthly installments at some local bars and venues. Whether you’re into…
Playing a sold-out show to a diverse crowd of retro junkies and the people who actually lived it, Peter Hook and the Light transformed Paper Tiger into both a new-wave nightclub and a dingy punk basement Monday night. Peter Hook, a founding member of both Joy Division and New Order, even without the rest of…
Q: I’m a 27-year-old straight male and a high-school teacher held to a strict code. I left my fiancée in June and haven’t had sex since. Needless to say, I’m really horny. I’m also in that weird in-between age where I’m not comfortable hanging out at college bars but I’m also a bit younger than…
It seems that when receiving visitors from out of town there are always two things that they want try during their stay. One is Tex-Mex, while the other is Texas-style Barbecue. The Pig Pen turns into a one-stop shop by combining both of these tasty cuisines within their brisket nachos. What makes these nachos so great? My bet is the…
Peter Hook is not exactly a household name, but the bands to which he has contributed his multi-instrumental gifts (chiefly on bass and synth), his vocals, and his songwriting talent certainly are. At least if your household is hip to the good shit that came out of the 1980s. As a founding member of Joy Division and…
For some ungodly reason, there’s not a lick of coffee available after Candlelight closes on the St. Mary’s Strip. How is one to keep up with their necia lifestyle without sweet caffeine (and if your nose is too cute to bother with coke)? The Mix, which went under new ownership last fall, is now serving…
Old 97’s, The Winsome Losers, Garrett T. Capps Friday, September 23 It’s been a minute since San Antonio has seen The Old 97’s. The Dallas alt-country rockers tell stories with their lyrics and puncuate them with ruminations like, “I didn’t understand why everything ran like whiskey off my hands.” The alt-country veterans are joined by…
Evidently one quick way to ruffle feathers at the Texas Department of Public Safety is to start talking about race. Earlier this month, responding to an Austin American-Statesman analysis of DPS traffic stops that showed many state troopers are much more likely to search black and Hispanic drivers over white motorists, a DPS spokesman said…
With lunch specials, a bustling to-go counter, and a good standing with young families and the geriatric crowd, Golden Wok makes no claims at breaking culinary boundaries. The restaurant was started in 1972 by Connie Andrews, who, as you could possibly infer, is not Chinese. As a result, there are a few claims to authenticity…
When it comes to the “funnest” cities in the United States, San Antonio doesn’t make the cut — or so they say. According to WalletHub’s recent article listing 2016’s Most Fun Cities in America, the Alamo City is just not a place you visit for a good time, coming in at No. 114 out of…
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Even if you are a wild-eyed adventure-seeker with extremist views and melodramatic yearnings, you’ll benefit from taking a moderate approach to life in the coming weeks. In fact, you’re most likely to attract the help and inspiration you need if you adopt the strategy used by Goldilocks in the fairy tale…
Multiple courts have ruled that Texas’ strict voter ID law, if allowed to go into effect this year, could keep about 600,000 registered voters away from the polls because they don’t have any of the seven forms of ID required under the 2013 law. Even the most conservative federal appeals court in the country ruled that…
San Antonio has another burger master on the rise, and this one is entirely self-taught. Christian Hawx, the 24-year old owner of Hawx Burger Bar and Electro Lounge on Vance Jackson Road, previously worked four jobs simultaneously to support his self-started, struggling insurance company. The persistence paid off. So much so, that he was…
The Hollars wants to have its cake and decorate it too. The second directorial effort of John Krasinski, best known for playing Jim Halpert in The Office, has the makings of a tasty dramedy about two brothers and their parents, but after adding no less than a dozen often unfunny subplots featuring a wife, an…
San Antonio artist Ethel Shipton is one of our most driven, talented and ubiquitous resources. She has worked at and with almost all of the museums, galleries and architectural firms in the city, and is currently the production manager for Luminaria. Born and raised in Laredo, Ethel graduated from the University of Texas, hung around…
Early one morning last month, Ryan Parsons was driving to his job as a cook at a Boerne restaurant when he saw flashing lights in his rearview mirror. Assuming a police officer was pulling him over, the 37-year-old switched lanes before noticing it was just a guy in a truck tailgating him on the highway.…
Appointed to the Western District of Texas by President Ronald Reagan in 1984, Walter S. Smith Jr. quickly developed a reputation as one of Texas’ harshest federal judges. People who worked with him knew he had a temper. That’s what a former clerk in Smith’s Waco office says she had in mind when he forced himself on…
If you’re near Rittiman and I-35 around the lunch hour, there’s no shortage of amazing, inexpensive Mexican restaurants, though Tapatia seems to be consistently among the most popular. The interior of the restaurant is structured similarly to a Jim’s or Denny’s, with wooden risers separating the seating area like a bookcase into compartments. Most of the clientele are laborers, and…
If you’re not familiar with the Baroque music of 17th-century Spain and Mexico, well, that’s kind of the point of Los Tonos Humanos. For the past decade, the Mexican trio has made it their mission to revive these largely forgotten sounds. This aim extends beyond sheet music; the band utilizes a collection of Renaissance-era flutes,…
They’re out. On Tuesday, six days after Mayor Ivy Taylor balked on plans that could’ve brought a brand new baseball stadium and team to town by 2019, the City of San Antonio finally released two studies related to Taylor’s controversial push for Triple-A minor-league baseball. The first, apparently super-secret, study commissioned by Centro San Antonio…
Two nights remain of the second annual San Antonio Feminist Film Festival, a screening of films “devoted to the awareness and the realization of the educational evolution of feminism.” On Wednesday night, festivalgoers will get a chance to see the compelling, Oscar-nominated 2015 documentary The Hunting Ground, an exposé on the rape culture on college…
State Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has had a strange first year in statewide office. He started out by defending deep-fat fryers in Texas public schools, then moved on to joking about nuking “the Muslim world” before begging the Texas Legislature to restore cuts to his office he himself helped make in the first place back…
Zigzagging down tourist-filled streets and ducking into restaurants that your eyes would otherwise glaze right past is what you can expect from SA Food Tours. The newest food tour in San Antonio focuses on revealing diverse authentic flavors at five locally owned restaurants. But you and your taste buds will have to wait another few…
San Antonio is an artist’s playground. Recognized on a global scale by creatives and institutions alike, the city is a hub for aspiring talent who are flocking to its wide range of opportunity. But when we think of the growing art scene here, for the most part, we think of the Blue Star Arts Complex. We think of First Friday,…
It’s hard to believe that summer officially draws to a close this Thursday. Yet the calendar doesn’t lie: Fall is nigh, and the transition from sweltering heat to cozy sweater weather is inching closer. Just don’t tell any of that to the four garage-rockers in the Austin band called Soaked, who will play Wednesday— the…
As if we needed more reasons to eat Whataburger. The South Texas burger chain is teaming up with the San Antonio Food Bank for the SA Goes Orange for Hunger campaign, which encourages people to eat at participating Whataburgers. Twenty percent of all sales made between 6 and 8 p.m. tonight at all WBs…
For a good time, call 691-1111. Or, better yet, head straight for Ali Baba International Food Market on Wurzbach just off I-10. Like most international markets, there are cheap thrills galore to be had if you just keep your eyes (and nose) open. As the name implies, Ali Baba specializes in Middle Eastern goods (emphasis on…
It appears that thanks in large part to Paper Tiger’s efforts, San Antonio is pulling in some impressive rock acts these days. But with sludge-metal band Baroness, we can consider ourselves doubly lucky. While on tour in England a few years back, the band’s tour bus – its driver blinded by heavy rain – plummeted…
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office says that so much stolen jewelry was seized from Zarzamora Street store La Joyeria International that it took more than 20 deputies about three weeks to sort through and inventory all of it. This week the sheriff’s office wrapped a months-long investigation into a stolen jewelry racket that appears to have targeted houses…
Ok, ok. Perhaps “super-group” is a bit much, considering there are only two people in Baby Bangs (super-duo?), and both of them are, no doubt, too young to have endeared themselves to all of our readers yet. Yet. I insist, however, that this young duo, comprised of singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Elena Lopez and drummer Dane Rousey, has earned…
Even if Greg Abbott thinks that bullet trains in Texas are a complete waste of dough, it might be wise, in the future, to not actually say that out loud. Because when has a large-scale transportation project in Texas ever turned a profit? Last Thursday during a Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce gathering, Governor Abbott,…
The autumnal equinox is Thursday, September 22. Then it’ll be time to bust out the leggings, scarves, pumpkin beers, pumpkin spice lattes, boots, spooky lipstick colors and what-have-yous without feeling like too much of a weirdo. (Sidebar: Yes, it’ll still be 80 degrees, but let me have this). If you’re in the mood to celebrate…
San Anto sound takes over the city on Saturday with this year’s San Antonio Music Showcase, with the best local talent playing shows throughout the night from the Saint Mary’s Strip down to South Flores. With more than 60 bands and DJs performing across a dozen stages, there’s a lot to see. Here’s our rundown…
It’s always special when people in the local music scene reach beyond themselves (and the perpetual grind) to do something good for the community at large. While so many local musical acts, venues, and promoters spend their days focused on what they can get out of San Antonio (and in some cases, when they can get out…
San Antonio is always getting the revival acts of the 1990s (not that we’re complaining). Earlier this year, it was Blink-182, sans Tom DeLonge, who got sucked up by spaceship conspiracies. Now we’ll get another taste of the post-John Frusciante era Red Hot Chili Peppers when they come to the AT&T Center in January. The…
Looks like business is booming for the San Antonio coffee shop that is keeping it local. Local Coffee is taking their business north with the addition of two locations expected to open this year, which means coffee lovers on the city’s North Side can get their cup ‘o joe without making the trek downtown. As…
A lot of the time, as dozens of blind taste tests have revealed, people are unable to distinguish between “good” and “bad” food. Whether it’s snob gourmands unwittingly enjoying a fast food burger or French wine connoisseurs accidentally praising Napa Valley, history has proved the tongue to be highly dupable. Luckily for Kungfu Noodle, handmade pasta has always been…
“I’m so happy to see people here at last,” said Chris Hill. Hill, the owner of downtown cocktail den The Esquire Tavern, was referring to the long-awaited opening of Downstairs, the cave-like new bar beneath The Esquire. Accessible from inside the venerable tavern and up a few steps from the River Walk, Downstairs is identified…
Titus Andronicus, A Giant Dog Tuesday, September 20 For a band named after the Shakespearean violent tragedy of revenge, Titus Andronicus is pretty fun to listen to. Maybe their music is an interpretation of the play itself, or maybe it’s just a bunch of dudes being an indie punk band. Their most recent release, The…
In observation of Mexican Independence Day, the Asociación de Charros de San Antonio hosts an afternoon charreada (often likened to a Mexican rodeo) comprising an array of competitive roping and riding events, including el Paso de la Muerte, “The Pass of Death.” Designed to promote Mexican culture and preserve its history, the charreada is an official event…
September 15 marked the beginning of National Hispanic Heritage Month, a 30-day celebration honoring the cultures, histories and contributions of Hispanic artists, storytellers, musicians and leaders in the United States. In San Antonio, where the city is rich in Hispanic culture and influences, there’s a lot to appreciate. So, in recognition of the cultural celebration,…
When an awesome food truck bites the brick-and-mortar bullet, it’s always an awesome day for its fans, and this is definitely the case with Chela’s. The newest addition to what started as a food trailer catering to the UTSA crowd began operating in Alamo Heights last fall out of a small but functional space on…
While the two have been besties ever since Ted Cruz dropped out of the Republican race for president, on Friday, Donald Trump and Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick made things official. According to statements sent out by both Patrick and Trump, Texas’ lite guv (arguably the most powerful political post in the state) will officially…
A documentary following the dramatic case of four local women who say they were wrongly accused of gang-raping two children in the mid-1990s starts a weeklong run of screenings in San Antonio tonight. Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four, which premiered at the Tribeca film festival earlier this year to rave…
When folks write about Roky Erickson, they love to call him the “high priest” of psych-rock. This is, to be sure, an example of critical myth-making at its finest, but there’s a lot of truth to unpack here too. The double-meaning, for one, is spot on: Erickson certainly has taught generations of headtrippers to get…
It’s not very often that a chicana author, especially one who lived and worked in San Antonio, receives recognition from the president. But next Thursday, Sandra Cisneros will be able to add that to her growing list of accomplishments. For her contributions to American literature in the 20th and 21st centuries, and her exploration of…
While lingering questions about her untimely death in custody gained national headlines, it was the video footage of Sandra Bland’s arrest outside Prairie View A&M that triggered a cascade of public outrage. The video shows Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Brian Encinia pulling over Bland’s Hyundai Azera for changing lanes without a signal. It’s…
Hailing from the drab borough of Glen Rock, New Jersey, Titus Andronicus represents the experimental project of a bipolar genius with a punky penchant for Shakespearean bloodbaths. The band is the brainchild of Patrick Stickles, the group’s bombastic frontman, who first conceptualized his grating ode to discord while living with his parents in their suburban…
This week, the NCAA made good on its threat to pull major events from states that pass laws that discriminate against their LGBTQ citizens. Following North Carolina’s passage of a law earlier this year that quashes any local ordinances that shield lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from discrimination, the organization announced on Monday night that all…
Founded in 2013 by San Antonio native Amanda Bartlett as a means to highlight “the perspective of local artists that identify as female,” Sweet Peach Collective champions a street-smart aesthetic that’s both playfully nostalgic and pointedly irreverent. Inclusive of “every medium imaginable” (ceramics, metalworking, embroidery and painting, to name a few), the collective’s latest brings together…
Referred to as “the Academy Awards of the amusement industry,” the Golden Ticket Awards (what, you’ve never heard of it?) recently named Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort the BEST waterpark in the world. Presented annually to honor the “best of the best,” the New Braunfels waterpark came sliding into the top spot, beating Six Flags, SeaWorld and Disney…
Having captured the attention of San Antonio’s fashion scene with the dark, daring drama of “Salvation” (2014) and the chic Parisian vibe of “Je Suis Une Femme” (2015), self-taught designer Leighton Whittington is readying his third Leighton W. Couture collection for a big reveal at the Mission Control 17 Building (home to San Antonio Sound Garden and…
The San Antonio mattress store that tried to bank off the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks by offering a “Twin Towers Deal” has announced that it will re-open “as soon as possible,” less than a week after the owner said the store would close “indefinitely.” Last week, Miracle Mattress advertised its remarkably tone-deaf sale…
This weekend San Antonio will celebrate the lives and accomplishments of chingonas, powerful women of color, at the city’s first ever Chingona Fest, organized by four chingonas and community artists: Cristina Martinez, Rebel Mariposa, Bonnie I. Cisneros, and Denise Hernandez. Created for women of color to come together, empower each other and network with other…
Holy shit — Jack O’Brien is directing a touring production of The Sound of Music? Really? The artist who mounted the amazing, hellzapoppin’ Broadway production of Tom Stoppard’s nine-hour Coast of Utopia? And the still-fabled production of Henry IV starring Ethan Hawke? And, on top of that, the musical version of John Waters’ Hairspray? Needless…
Lonely Horse Tour Kickoff + EP Release at Sam’s Burger Joint Friday, September 16 Lonely Horse has been resurrected. Last year the duo, made of locals Nick Long and Travis Hild, played a series of farewell shows after a contract dispute with their label. Now they’re back at it again — to the relief of many…
As I was driving to work this morning, there was that all too familiar anxiety, the one that reminds me my fridge is a ghost town and that I can only squeeze so much toothpaste out of that flattened tube…there was no avoiding it any longer, I knew that I had to go grocery shopping. After a…
Well that was quick. In April, Mayor Ivy Taylor stood alongside David Elmore of Elmore Sports Group, which owns the San Antonio Missions, to announce a push for Triple-A baseball in the city by 2019. The deal, she said, hinged on officials finding a way to fund and build a new $75 million ballpark somewhere downtown. That plan…
Even as the rate of teen pregnancy continues to fall in San Antonio, the number of teenagers having babies in the city remains stubbornly high at more than 50 percent above the national average for teen births. That’s according to new data on teen pregnancy released Wednesday by the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District.…
The workers who print your daily newspaper handed out fliers outside the San Antonio Express-News building downtown Wednesday demanding a wage increase to keep up with rising healthcare costs, something they say hasn’t happened for about a decade. Phil Bunker, vice president of Teamsters Local 657, which represents the press workers, says the union took…
Thu 9/15 American Graffiti While writer-director George Lucas’ debut THX 1138 gave viewers an Orwellian nightmare in a distant dystopian future, his follow-up, 1973’s American Graffiti, offered an idealized look at a halcyon past recent enough for most of the audience to misremember right along with the auteur. With a tagline asking “Where were you in…
Q: A woman I follow on Instagram — whose account is open for all to follow — shares highly sexualized images of herself daily, e.g., pictures of her at the beach, pictures of her when she’s just waking up, pictures of her in a towel after a shower. Via direct message, I politely inquired about…
What does it mean to “innovate”? How does it feel to make something new in the world? Radiolab host Jad Abumrad spent three-years investigating the science, philosophy and art of innovation, and he’s visiting San Antonio this Sunday to discuss what he found. Hosted by Trinity University, Abumrad will dive into the meaning behind the…
I hate being the bearer of bad news, but it’s part of the gig. The folks at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church have decided not to host what would have been this year’s 57th annual Greek FUNstival. Insert Greek tragedy joke here. The decision was made some time in August, but the church quietly posted…
Way back in the 20th century — 1999, to be precise — a couple of indie filmmakers called Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez came up with the truly brilliant idea to make a movie on an ultra-low budget by giving cameras to three actors and setting them loose in the Maryland woods to improvise a “documentary”…
For all their wonderful qualities — organic produce, local businesses, adorable dogs — farmer’s markets have always been plagued by one massive logistical deterrent, and that is that they typically occur on Saturday mornings. If you, like many, have always considered environmental stewardship and the preservation of the planet to be important, but not quite sleeping-in-on-Saturday important, then Valeria Hernandez and…
A Google search of “Chicana punk rock” brings up articles of chicano rock, along with several stories about fierce, ballsy chicana punk rocker Alice Bag, member of 1970s punk pioneer band the Bags. Not many other lady-rockers though, much less chicana. Donde están las roqueras? Some of those chicanas are rocking out in San Antonio’s riot grrrl…
ARIES (March 21-April 19): What should you do if your allies get bogged down by excess caution or lazy procrastination? Here’s what I advise: Don’t confront them or berate them. Instead, cheerfully do what must be done without their help. And what action should you take if mediocrity begins to creep into collaborative projects? Try…
In a new video for a super PAC supporting Hillary Clinton, a former official with the consumer protection division of the state attorney general’s office outlined his team’s multimillion dollar fraud case against Trump University, which he alleges was “punted” for political reasons when it reached the highest levels of the Texas Attorney General’s Office under…
Can you crush on a restaurant? If not, you can definitely fangirl over great pizza (see: all of this week’s issue) and that’s totally a thing when it comes to Il Forno. Until marrying pizza is legal, I’ll settle for learning all the secrets to their tasty food. Chef Michael Sohocki and Jason Garcia, head chef…
