Caught in the act
With summer officially over, it’s a good time to reflect on the strangest live show to hit the San Antonio club scene over the last three months. That title easily goes to David Allan Coe’s unlikely July 11 stop at rock mecca White Rabbit. “Country DJs know that I’m an outlaw/ they’d never come to…
Caught in the act
The recent release of “Little Fox,” Augie Meyers’s Tex-Mex collaboration with the Krayolas, sent us back to Augie’s original recording to do a little compare and contrast. The new version of “Little Fox” has a syncopated swing, and Augie’s archetypal eighth-note organ stabs, but its overall sound falls very much into the Krayolas’ power-pop realm.…
Caught in the act
With summer officially over, it’s a good time to reflect on the strangest live show to hit the San Antonio club scene over the last three months. That title easily goes to David Allan Coe’s unlikely July 11 stop at rock mecca White Rabbit. “Country DJs know that I’m an outlaw/ they’d never…
Caught in the act
The recent release of “Little Fox,” Augie Meyers’s Tex-Mex collaboration with the Krayolas, sent us back to Augie’s original recording to do a little compare and contrast. The new version of “Little Fox” has a syncopated swing, and Augie’s archetypal eighth-note organ stabs, but its overall sound falls very much into the Krayolas’ power-pop…
On the Street
On Friday night at Galleria Ortiz in Olmos Park (on the border with Almost Park) new photographic work was on display by Rolando Briseno and Beto Gonzales. First, Briseno. Full Frontal Disclosure: I met Rolando while researching an article about the Old Spanish Trail. From that I learned he would be in this show. The…
On the Street
On Friday night at Galleria Ortiz in Olmos Park (on the border with Almost Park) new photographic work was on display by Rolando Briseno and Beto Gonzales. First, Briseno. Full Frontal Disclosure: I met Rolando while researching an article about the Old Spanish Trail. From that I learned he would be in this show. The…
Marathoner Tim Borland
Release Date: 2007-09-19 Super-athlete Tim Borland takes on a seemingly impossible feat: 63 marathons in 63 days. Borland’s lengthy journey (26.2 miles a day!) is being run for the A-T Children’s Project, an organization that funds research concerning ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T), a fatal genetic disease found in children. New Braunfuls will mark Borland’s 20th stop where…
Lyle Lovett and his Large Band
Release Date: 2007-09-19 Grammy-nominated Staind frontman Aaron Lewis resumes his solo-acoustic tour, providing a unique setting for fans. Armed solely with guitar, Lewis performs classic Staind hits, favorite obscure cover tunes and even takes audience requests. He customizes his set on-the-spot, making every show an intimate, free-form experience that brings music back to its core.…
Tori Amos: American Girl Posse World Tour
Release Date: 2007-09-19 Grammy-nominated Staind frontman Aaron Lewis resumes his solo-acoustic tour, providing a unique setting for fans. Armed solely with guitar, Lewis performs classic Staind hits, favorite obscure cover tunes and even takes audience requests. He customizes his set on-the-spot, making every show an intimate, free-form experience that brings music back to its core.…
Sound + Vision
Release Date: 2007-09-19 Nighttime is equal to the daytime as DJ Hans 242 invades Atomix with another of his Gothic-themed dance nights, this time in the vein of fall equinox. The extravagant show includes gothic belly dancers, European underground dance music, and rare ’80s retro and industrial. Daring club-goers can also pose for suggestive photographs…
Fall Equinox Fest
Release Date: 2007-09-19 Nighttime is equal to the daytime as DJ Hans 242 invades Atomix with another of his Gothic-themed dance nights, this time in the vein of fall equinox. The extravagant show includes gothic belly dancers, European underground dance music, and rare ’80s retro and industrial. Daring club-goers can also pose for suggestive photographs…
Buttercup, Mechanical Walking Robot Boy, Marcus Rubio, & Megan Hamilton
Release Date: 2007-09-19 Toronto folk artist Megan Hamilton opens for Marcus Rubio and San Antonio favorite Buttercup for their joint CD release party at Limelight. Hamilton is a contributing founder of Familiar Music, a music label owned and operated by working musicians. Intriguing lyrics and original sounds complement her strong stage presence, making for a…
Aaron Lewis: Have Guitar, Will Travel Tour
Release Date: 2007-09-19 Grammy-nominated Staind frontman Aaron Lewis resumes his solo-acoustic tour, providing a unique setting for fans. Armed solely with guitar, Lewis performs classic Staind hits, favorite obscure cover tunes and even takes audience requests. He customizes his set on-the-spot, making every show an intimate, free-form experience that brings music back to its core.…
Jazz’SAlive
Release Date: 2007-09-19 The city’s annual Jazz’SAlive festival features Latin, straight-ahead, fusion, and smooth jazz. Festival-goers will be entertained by Grammy winner Arturo Sandoval, vocalist Jane Monheit, Chuck Mangione, jazz-fusion group and The Rippingtons. The family-friendly event offers a Kid’s Corner, as well as food native to New Orleans and San Antonio. Free, Noon-11pm Sat,…
The Theory of Everything
Release Date: 2007-09-19 The Drafthouse screens the short film The Theory of Everything — a detective drama, romance, and murder mystery about a troubled inventor and his existential search for truth. The San Antonio-produced neo-noir short film features the talents of numerous locals and is the first production of writer Kimberly Suta. Local artist Eric…
The Flaming Lips
Release Date: 2007-09-19 The Flaming Lips are throwing a party, and everyone’s invited! If you were fortunate enough to snag your tix through Camel’s promotional giveaway, more power to you; if not, head to the box office NOW. The Lips and their troupe of traveling revelry grace Sunset Station’s pavilion with a stop that promises…
It’s cheatin’ time
Frank Mumme’s The Other Woman, located on the edge of the historical Southeast neighborhood Highland Park, might have the best name of any bar in town — in part because of the intrigue of the “other woman” but also because of the pronunciation of Frank’s last name: “Mum-ee.” As in Egyptian. As for the story…
MEX IN MANHATTAN
“Ay, mira que chulo. Que cute,” says the waitress at the Mexican food restaurant as she admires the cell-phone photo of her customer’s infant nephew. “Gracias. ¿Parece Gavacho, verdad?, responds the proud aunt. Everyone at the table agrees the baby looks Anglo and resumes the enjoyment of their enchiladas. As I dive back into my…
Going to school with Nabokov
This is that time of year when the glimpse of a yellow bus, summoning the faint redolence of chalk dust, arouses academic longings in even the most ancient graduate. But lectures now seem as antiquated as typewriter ribbons. Armed with laptops, iPods, and absolute confidence in their own convictions and their right to be amused,…
¡Ask a Mexican!
Dear Readers: I asked half-breeds a couple of weeks ago to write in with nicknames that describe their mixed Mexican heritage. Many, muchos responses continue to trickle in — gracias for the submissions. Following is a handy glossary that ustedes wrote, with the occasional Mexican commentary — enjoy! If you’re half-Mexican and: Half-African: Afrijoles Half-Black:…
ARTIFACTS
Right, you’ve got SouthFlores.com tagged on your browser, and you’ve been all over Southtown, but NoFlo’s hopping, too. Part of the neighborhood’s art orbit swings through full-service creative studio The Box and its adjacent gallery, which is featuring the infamous Lubberings (sweepers of the 2006 Current Best of San Antonio arts categories) in visual and…
clothes-minded
New York’s insiders call it “masstige” — mass market plus prestige — and it’s not always a compliment. But the recent deluge of high-end designers turning out low-cost lines through big-box partnerships makes for clothing that’s accessible and relevant. Target launched GO International in January 2006, bringing celebrated designers to the masses with 90-day limited-edition…
Space: the final frontera
The third edition of the MASA exhibition will leave you feeling weightless, giddy, and yes, slightly disoriented upon re-entry. MASA (the acronym, which seems to mean different things to different people, officially stands for “MeChicano Alliance of Space Artists) brings together nearly 40 artists, some of whom have taken the theme to heart and others…
Of fundamentals and fundamentalists
John Dean, former counsel to President Nixon turned Watergate prosecution witness, has produced a third volume in his campaign against the modern Republican party, which he argues has strayed so far from its principles that it has undermined democracy and fundamentally corrupted the three branches of government — themes he’ll expound on early next week…
The life dramatic
At 28 years old, filmmaker Dora Peña already has a Ph.D. in life experience. That’s what she relied on when she jumped back into the director’s chair to film her first feature, The Dreamhealer, the story of a young girl with a metaphysical power to heal insomniacs. Ironic, since it doesn’t seem like Peña sleeps…
LastWords
LAST WORDS
CRITICAL Darling
There’s still time to surrender yourself to a 48-hour deluge of Heroes, season one, before season two premieres on Monday, September 24. I commenced my own personal recap a few weeks ago — and Lord knows I love the show — but even at that gingerly pace, if I hear “Save the cheerleader, save the…
Home on the Range
This is what happens right after you have a baby: You are (accurately) presumed starving and incapable of cooking so nice people bring you cold-cut platters, pound cakes, casseroles, hams, and if you’re really lucky, bottles of wine, which you resentfully watch your husband drink because you couldn’t possibly, wouldn’t dream of, spiking your breast…
The Hawke-est State
“Everything’s for a while. For a while is the stuff that dreams are made of, Baby.” As The Hottest State’s protagonist repeats Kilroy’s line from Tennessee Williams’s Camino Real, it’s evident he’s only memorizing sentences — acquainting his lips and tongue and teeth with the shapes and sounds of the words — not actually contemplating…
Dear Uncle Mat
Three months ago I invited a friend and former coworker to be my roommate. I had the space, wanted the rent break, and he needed a home. His share of the rent and bills is only $350. This is about one week’s pay for him. He was late last month and still hasn’t paid this…
The second cut
Finally, a movie about an endangered infant whose destiny doesn’t lie in Clive Owen’s reluctant hands. But I’m getting ahead of myself … David Cronenberg’s movies aren’t guaranteed to be great films — just films unlike any you’ve ever seen before. His latest, Eastern Promises, in which he re-teams with Viggo Mortensen, has both qualities…
Paul Haggis gets political, biblical
In biblical times, armies settled conflicts through solo combat: one nation’s champion against the other’s. How much death and suffering might have been averted if only Osama bin Laden had agreed to go mano a mano with, say, Pat Tillman? Goliath, the hulking jock from whom we get the word galoot, presented himself as champion…
Armchair Cinephile
PICK OF THE WEEK: This chestnut’s arrival on high-def gave me an excuse to see it for the first time, and it holds up mighty well as a deeply ambiguous civilization-vs-nature yarn. Imagine the Shaun of the Dead crew tackling The Office, subtract a bit (but not all) of the charm, and you’d get this…
¡Ya basta!
He was 11 when he went to work at the coffee plantation. At 14 he became a machinist and began to organize workers. Four years later, Gerardo Cajamarca Alarcon was thrown out of his first factory for trying to form a metal-worker’s union. An inaugural round of death threats followed. Though Cajamarca had already seen…
Breaking the chains
Following up on my discussion of the auction of the wireless spectrum: Google had asked the Federal Communications Commission to impose four requirements on whoever won the use of the 700Mhz bandwidth: open applications, open devices, open services, and open networks. Of those, the FCC accepted open devices (e.g. unlocked phones) and open applications (such…
The QueQue
Goose me Ah, the QueQue loves the French. And the QueQue admits, a bit sheepishly, to also loving that velvety delicacy foie gras. Weak QueQue used to indulge in foie gras before becoming visually acquainted with the production methods: harried looking geese force-fed corn and fat till their little livers are the size of a…
Space cowboys
Keith Richards once described the impact rock ’n’ roll had on him as a teenager by saying that hearing it transformed life from black-and-white to Technicolor. You could make a similar case for the liberating effect Steven Drozd had on the Flaming Lips when he joined the Oklahoma City band in 1992. Prior to that…
THE SAY-TOWN LOWDOWN
Empowerment Zone. Sounds good. And San Antonio’s got one. It’s one of the federal government’s latest approaches to aiding distressed neighborhoods and creating local “economic development,” by “giving local businesses in distressed neighborhoods an economic boost to help drive revitalization, provide jobs, and ultimately build a foundation for stronger communities.” San Antonio just has an…
THE SOUND AND THE FURY
Like Joe Namath before Super Bowl III, Buttercup began this year by making a seemingly impossible guarantee. The band committed itself to releasing four CDs this year: three EPs and one full-length album. This weekend, they’ll celebrate the release of Living Again, the second of those promised EPs (the first, Captains of Industry, was released…
Revealing Briefs
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Attorneys for Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number 1 were in Washington, D.C. on Monday arguing before a federal three-judge panel that the preclearance requirements in the Voting Rights Act of 1965 are unconstitutional. Taking a page from several GOP Texas Congressmen who were on the forefront of the battle last summer…
Moons over my Grammy
Lady Binx is not the first artist to raise the issue. But, speaking in general terms, to accuse the Latin Grammy of being a “discriminatory” award (you know, if Latino artists are good enough, we should sweep the “Grammy Grammys” instead of having a separate ceremony) is so passé. Ever since the Latin Grammys debuted…
Thai me up
If we can have pitched battles in the popular press over the most popular pizzeria, imagine the fodder for impassioned oratory over a much more nuanced category. Thai cuisine is nothing if not nuanced, as charismatic chef Chai Ngamsomjan would not be shy to suggest. It’s not for nothing that he named his restaurant Thai…
aural pleasure
The biggest problem with being part of a “scene” is that eventually the outside air no longer gets through. You either begin believing your own hype or your weirdest idiosyncrasies get far too much encouragement. Devendra Banhart, the Texas-to-Venezuela-to-San Francisco pied piper troubadour of the “freaky folk” scene of the 2000s, was already an eclectic…
Amuse-Bouche
Congratulations to the San Antonio AIDS Foundation, which last week received one of a handful of federal Victory Against Hunger Awards, given to service agencies that provide food to people living with life-threatening illnesses. The award includes a $1,000 grant, too, but please don’t let the bunting and confetti obscure the ongoing need. SAAF’s hot-meals…
CDs Nuts
Instead of sticking with what works, West is exploring strange new territory here, mostly dumping his trademark style and sampling Daft Punk, Steely Dan, and even Can, and for the most part wasting them. The beats are still sweet, but West’s apparently run out of things to say over them and has more or less…
N-BAF on parade
I hope you didn’t have anything to ask of the manager of the $450-million National Bio- & Agro-Defense Facility. Because, for shame, you weren’t there to ask it. If you hadabeen, you likely would have fallen over massaging a madly inflamed indignation. The sales event Sept. 11 was intended to be an informative session about…
N-BAF on parade
I hope you didn’t have anything to ask of the manager of the $450-million National Bio- & Agro-Defense Facility. Because, for shame, you weren’t there to ask it. If you hadabeen, you likely would have fallen over massaging a madly inflamed indignation. The sales event Sept. 11 was intended to be an informative session about…
