Live Music Roundup: Who to See This Weekend
Chicano Batman Friday, October 14 Equal parts James Brown and Chico Che, Chicano Batman is the hero that Alamo City deserves. Although the quartet calls the funky streets of Los Angeles home, the act is entrenched deeply in the band’s pan-Latin roots. Songs such as “Cycles of Existential Rhyme” bounce across the globe on a sonic…
Russian Grand Ballet’s Touring ‘Swan Lake’ Stops at the Majestic on Sunday
The Russian Grand Ballet graces the Majestic as part of its latest national tour. For one night only, the world-renowned troupe will perform Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, one of the quintessential examples of traditional ballet repertoire. Typical of the Romantic era, Swan Lake retells a fairy tale in a medieval setting: The Princess Odette is cursed…
Cosmic New Wavers The B-52s Land at the Tobin on Sunday
Released last year, Live! 8-24-1979 is definitive proof that whichever parallel-reality America The B-52s swooped in from is clearly the superior one. Eisenhower-era cheese — beehive hairdos, tiki and hot-rod culture, etc. — was reappropriated and weaponized by punks who watched at least as many beach-party movies as biker-gang flicks (“Rock Lobster”) and shook their…
Outlaw Country Icon Kris Kristofferson Performs at the Tobin on Saturday
You might say Brownsville-born singer-songwriter-every-other-damn-thing Kris Kristofferson put the “outlaw” in “outlaw country” by portraying both Billy the Kid and Jesse James on screen, but the biographies of those notorious ne’er-do-wells pale in comparison to Kristofferson’s own in every category except body count. Neither gunslinger, for example, ever landed a helicopter in Johnny Cash’s yard.…
Dig ’90s Vibes for a Good Cause at Saturday’s ‘Fresh Prints of SA’
The badass mujeres of Esas for SA, a community organization that looks to improve San Antonio and empower through art, are hosting an art show/party with part of the proceeds set to benefit the Martinez Street Women’s Center. More specifically, the portion of the earnings will benefit the center’s Girl Zone program, which gives girls…
Head for Houston Street on Saturday for Artpace’s Kid-friendly Festival Chalk It Up
The late Linda Pace’s “laboratory of dreams” spills youthful energy and creative vibes into the heart of downtown each October via Artpace Chalk It Up. Curated by Roberta “Nina” Hassele, the 13th annual affair is set to turn five city blocks into a street-level gallery showcasing fleeting masterpieces by featured artists Emily Fleisher, whose sculptural…
Hear SA/ATX Alt-Country Band El Campo’s New Single
It’s no secret that we’re fans of SA/ATX alt-country act El Campo. Fronted by singer/songwriter/guitarist Jerid Morris (long ago of punk/emo group Muldoon), El Campo makes pristine, haunting, emotive, and lyrical country music, situated somewhere between the somber wit of Jason Isbell and the wistful restlessness of Bright Eyes. Complete with multi-part harmonies, steel guitar,…
The Pollo Pibil Tacos at Viva Tacoland Will Take You Across the Border
Surrounded by weathered picnic tables, dilapidated metal chairs, and graffitied concrete slabs, the bohemian vibe of Viva Tacoland (a reincarnation of the legendary punk venue) makes itself immediately apparent. The ground is covered in gravel and the patrons in tattoos, and wherever you look there is something to catch your eye. Where the original “I Love You Tacos” tag once…
5 Tapes to Add to Your Collection on Cassette Store Day 2016
With the success of Record Store Day helping propel vinyl sales to a 28-year high in 2016, it’s no surprise that Cassette Store Day, begun in 2013, is picking up steam. As cassettes get more popular again, Cassette Store Day becomes a bigger deal… or maybe it works the opposite way. The point is, this…
Sandra Cisneros to Give Reading Tonight at Our Lady of the Lake
It’s been a big year for chicana literary icon Sandra Cisneros, with her having receiving the National Medal of Arts by President Obama last month and the PEN Center USA Literary Arts Award for her memoir A House of My Own: Stories from My Life. And now it’s San Antonio’s turn to celebrate with the…
CPS Ignored Thousands of Texas Foster Kids At Risk of Abuse
Close to 1,000 of Texas’ most at-risk children in foster care have been denied crucial daily check-ins by the state’s Child Protective Services, according to internal data made public on Tuesday. This number only represents children at “immediate risk of physical or sexual abuse”— in total, the state has let nearly 5,000 children suspected of…
The Woodlawn Welcomes Halloween Season with Haunting Musical ‘Sweeney Todd’
The Woodlawn Theatre brings Stephen Sondheim’s musical Sweeney Todd to its stage this week, just in time for the Halloween season. A fixture of Victorian penny dreadful novels, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street and his partner in crime’s dubious pies first appeared well over 100 years ago. However, Sweeney Todd didn’t become more than…
Zef to Death: Die Antwoord at the Aztec
In their first ever San Antonio stop, South African hip-hop group Die Antwoord proved that zef is a way of life during a sold-out show at the Aztec Theatre. After a nondescript hip-hop soundtrack stopped and the lights blacked out, a cinematic instrumental of “Never Le Nkemise 1” boomed as a still of deceased South African…
The Spurs Lost Their First Preseason Game, And That’s OK
The preseason is famously a time for coaches of good, veteran-heavy teams to kick the tires on young and fringe-rotation players as they make sense of their squads from the bottom up. It was no different for the Spurs in their 91-86 opening loss to the Suns, as the silver and black sent a group…
The Overtime Premieres Werewolf Musical ‘Locolobo’ This Weekend
A fitting follow-up to the kooky, spooky antics of the gay-themed Ghostbears, The Overtime’s October offering Locolobo: A Punk Prometheus Psycho Wolf Musical Comedy tempts theatergoers with “riffs, wisecracks, lycanthropy” and a face-melting soundtrack. Penned by Arlington transplant Jens Rushing (who made headlines last year with a viral Facebook post about the minimum-wage debate), the…
Plan Would Raze West Side Icon, Replace It With 7-Eleven and West Side-“Branded” Bus Stop
In the latest saga in San Antonio’s ongoing push and pull between redevelopment and historic preservation, the city on Wednesday will consider plans to demolish the Malt House, a west side icon that dates back to the 1940s. In its place, according to plans submitted to the city’s Historic Design and Review Commission, would go…
Actor Jackie Earle Haley Hopes “The Birth of a Nation” Helps Us Heal
Oscar-nominated actor and San Antonio resident Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children) wants his new drama, The Birth of a Nation, to make an emotional impact on audiences and show them how much more healing the United States needs to do as a country. In the film, Haley, 55, plays Raymond Cobb, a member of a…
‘Incorrigible’ and ‘Undateable’ Comic Chris D’Elia Takes the Empire Stage on Friday
If you’ve enjoyed Chris D’Elia’s comedic presence in one or more of its many forms – whether it be stand-up specials White Male. Black Comic and Incorrigible, or his roles as sex offender Topher on Comedy Central’s Workaholics and boyfriend Alex Miller on NBC’s Whitney, or even the joke hip-hop mixtape Such Is Life released…
Latte Art Breeds Community through Monthly Contests
To say that San Antonio is caffeinated is a bit of an understatement. Since last year’s coffee issue in August, our fair metropolis has seen more roasters and more coffee shops pop up in droves. That means more baristas practicing their tulip-making skills. And what better way to nail latte art than with a monthly competition…
Tour de Vino: Touring Wine Road 290 Wineries
“This Texas Wine Region Has Been Dubbed ‘The New Napa,’” proclaimed an article in the Huffington Post. Claims that the Texas Hill Country is “the second-most visited wine tasting region in North America” abound elsewhere as well. October is Texas Wine Month — it’s a good excuse to get out and see for yourself. If…
Texas Artists Elevate Ordinary Materials into High-concept Works
After selecting the current trio of female artists for Artpace’s fall 2016 International Artist-in-Residence program, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) curator Denise Markonish once again lends a curatorial hand in this fall’s Hudson Showroom exhibition. Titled “Objectives,” the exhibition brings together three distinct Texas artists, each with a focus on found objects. While…
Mexican Journalist Who Braved Death Threats and Torture Will Speak at OLLU for Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Lydia Cacho is often called one of Mexico’s bravest journalists. It’s a title she’s earned many times over in her years investigating the global sex trade, organized crime, and human rights abuses both in her home country and abroad. In the late 1990s, not long after she began reporting on violence against women in her…
Paper Tiger and Edible SA Are Hosting the First-Ever San Anto Wine Mixer
Those who braved July’s meat-tastic barbecue event at Paper Tiger, co-hosted by Edible SA, know what’s in store for October 16. You’ll have to set some time aside from your online poker playing to attend the first-ever San Anto Wine Mixer (POW!) from 1-5 p.m. on Sunday, October 16. The event will include samples of…
Get a $6 Bowl of Miso Ramen at Kimura This Thursday
National holidays give us reason to celebrate random foods. We’ve eaten our fill of tacos for the day and now we can look forward to national noodle day on Thursday, October 6. And for one glorious day, Kimura — SA’s first noodle house — will offer $6 miso ramen bowls. Guest can stop by from…
Texas Lawmaker Wants to Teach Ninth-Graders How to Not Get Shot by Police
Shortly into this morning’s Senate hearing on criminal justice, Senator José Menéndez, a San Antonio Democrat, brought up his own experience with law enforcement. “I’ve gotten pulled over a couple times,” he said. “And the first thing the officer asks is, ‘Is this your car?’ And I want to ask, ‘Why, is it because it looked…
10 San Antonio Tacos that Deserve a Shout-out on National Taco Day
Yes, these are only 10 tacos out of the thousands of tacos we could be enjoying today. But here’s how we’re going to celebrate the holiest of Taco Tuesdays on National Taco Day. Brisket tacos at 2M Smokehouse & Catering 2M Smokehouse is quickly becoming a must-hit spot for barbecue in San Antonio. Not only…
San Antonio Is Swimming In ACL Spillover This Year
Last Monday, M83 turned downtown’s Aztec Theatre into a synth-infused, neon-drenched dance party. With a night sky backdrop complete with flickering and shooting stars, the French dream-pop masters took the audience on a trip through each wave of their ’80s-throwback catalog — blasting off with the moody-yet-danceable backbeat of “Wait” before grooving through saxophone-heavy tracks…
What’s in a Name? Don’t Turn Your Nose up at Poondawg’s
There’s a new food trailer in the Broadway News parking lot that also holds Mila Coffee, Rise Up Beverages and Outland Provision Co. As of two weeks ago, you can get a New York-style hot dog from Poondawg’s Gourmet Frankfurters. Now, before you rush off to urbandictionary.com, owner Michael Puno says the truck’s moniker comes…
Al Lover Brings His Shamanic Adventures in Sample-Land to SA
When we think of sample-heavy music, we tend to think in terms of hip-hop or danceable electronic music, though artists of all types have employed sampling over the years. San Francisco-based beatsmith Al Lover, however, makes sample-based music that is decidedly undanceable, trance-inducing, and more like a dose of DMT than Ecstasy. Lover, who plays…
New Centro de Artes Exhibit Explores Cultural Exchange Between SA and Mexico
Just in time for Hispanic Heritage Month, the City of San Antonio’s Department for Culture and Creative Development opens its inaugural art exhibit at Centro de Artes. Featuring the work of 21 contemporary San Antonio artists (both establish and emerging), “SATX/MX: Un Viaje Lleno de Cultura” focuses largely on celebrating “San Antonio’s shared roots and…
Josiah Media Festival Celebrates a Decade of Showcasing Young Filmmakers
The internationally recognized film festival for filmmakers 21 years of age and younger has continued to inspire attendees each year since its inaugural event in 2007. Named after Josiah Miles Neundorf, a 20-year-old media artist from San Antonio who passed away from bone cancer in 2006, the festival was created by Josiah’s parents, Marcus and…
Feds Tell Texas to End Rule That Kept Tens of Thousands of Disabled Kids Out of Special Ed
The feds on Monday told Texas to either end its apparently random target for special ed enrollment or prove the state isn’t blocking tens of thousands of disabled kids from receiving the special classes and services they need. The letter to state officials from Sue Swenson, the U.S. Department of Education’s acting assistant secretary for special…
Amada Claire Miller Unveils Minimalist Abstractions and ‘Wearable Paintings’ at FL!GHT
Justin Parr and Ed Saavedra’s beloved indie art space FL!GHT keeps things neighborly this October by hosting fellow Blue Star gallerist Amada Claire Miller’s new solo show “Motherlode.” Said to be reminiscent of the minimalist work of Ad Reinhardt and Ellsworth Kelly, the two-part exhibition blurs lines between fiber art and painting via hand-dyed and…
Move Over Pumpkin Spice Latte, Rosella Has Your New Fall Favorite
If you want to celebrate fall, but hate the taste of pumpkin, Rosella Coffee has an alternative. As of Saturday, October 1, coffee fiends who need a little extra sweetness in their lives can opt for an apple spice latte. Topped off with a squeeze of apple cinnamon simple syrup created by cook Vanessa Martinez,…
Big Box Chain Brings “Dark Store” Tax Dodge to San Antonio
It’s a busy Saturday at the Lowe’s Home Improvement that hugs the northbound Interstate 35 access road, and do-it-yourselfers jostle for aisle position while wheeling carts stuffed with power tools, mulch, touch-up paint, leaf blowers, bathroom vanities, dimensional lumber and more. Similar scenes play out inside of the Lowe’s on Goliad Road on the southwest…
Gilmore Girl Fans Can Finally Step into Luke’s Diner this Wednesday
With just under two months to go before Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life season 8 debuts on Netflix, the marketing campaign is going into full effect. Fans of Rory (how?) and Lorelai (literally the best TV mom out there) who can’t wait for the November 25 premiere, can get their fix of free coffee…
Get Your Free Macaron at Bakery Lorraine on Tuesday
There’s nothing we love more than a delicious birthday treat, so when Bakery Lorraine said they were giving away free — yes, free —macarons on Tuesday, we knew we had to spread the word. In celebration of the bakery’s five year anniversary of satisfying San Antonio’s sweet tooth, Bakery Lorraine will give out these goodies…
ACL Impressions From a First Timer: Day 3 and the Subsequent Hangover
The only plan for Day 3 was to be relatively front-and-center for LCD Soundsystem. Because I’m always late to the party, I didn’t get into LCD just before they announced their retirement. So when the James Murphy-led band reunited in late 2015, and after learning of the lineup earlier this year, I had a pang…
UTSA’s ‘Beyonce’ Class Creates Safe Space for Students
By now, you’ve probably heard that UTSA is offering a new course this semester called “Black Women, Beyoncé and Popular Culture,” which is being hyped online as a class dedicated to deconstructing Beyonce’s visual album, Lemonade. However, I sat in the class last Friday and it is so, so much more than that. When I stepped into…
Trio Charged with Toddlers’ “Horrific” Abuse Could Now Face Decades In Prison
Three adults charged for leaving a pair of toddlers tied up like dogs in their backyard could now face life in prison, thanks to updated charges from the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office. On Monday, prosecutors bumped the original third degree child abuse charges to a first degree felony after a medical examination confirmed the…
Texas Teen Mutilates, Sets Dog on Fire in Snapchat Video
Police in central Texas are investigating a video posted to social media over the weekend that shows a guy shooting a dog multiple times after shoving firecrackers into its corpse and watching it burn. Police say they first learned of the video after it was shared by someone named Serena Kristiana Teakell on Facebook Friday…
Three Cheers For the Newest Official Spur: ‘Coach Tim’
His playing days may be over, but Tim Duncan isn’t stepping away from basketball or the Spurs just yet. Duncan’s appearance at a team workout last week came with confirmation that he’s officially joined Gregg Popovich’s staff in a role that will evolve as the season moves along. And that’s great news – for the…
MAC Sells Out of Selena Collection Opening Weekend
Released on Friday, Sept. 30 in Corpus Christi, MAC’s Selena Collection has already sold out of products online and is currently working on restocking their online store. A message on maccosmetics.com says that starting Monday, Oct. 3 the collection will be available on Macy’s, Dillard’s, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Belk, Saks and TheBay’s websites. Additionally, the line will be…
ACL Impressions From a First Timer: Day 2
Oof. I was probably correct in guessing I would have a hard time surviving three grueling festival days (especially since going out Friday night was part of our ill-conceived plan). Needless to say, Day 2 was a lot less ambitious than the first. We rolled in around 3:30 p.m., took in a few bands, ate…
ACL Impressions From a First Timer: Day 1
I’m decidedly new to the music festival game. Even with Austin a hop-skip away for the past 13 years that I’ve been living in San Antonio, I stayed away. The reasons were plentiful. Tickets aren’t necessarily cheap (and I’m a writer). Lodging could be an issue. What exactly does someone wear to this? And finally,…
Beer Named After a Deftones Song? Sure, Why Not?
Listen to this shit. You know all those times you were nodding hard (fuck it, maybe even thrashing, but, like, with finesse) to your favorite Deftones’ song, and that metal medicine was so aqueous that you thought you could taste it? Well, now you really can. You can, that is, if your favorite Deftones’ song…
Learn All The Ins and Outs of Coffee During Brown Coffee’s Pourlab
For some folks, coffee is just a necessary aid they must consume before interacting with any other human beings in the morning. For others, it’s a serious hobby, and a way to make a living. For Aaron Blanco, owner of Brown Coffee, what started out as a hobby has developed over the last ten years…
Spring Hails Storms Cost Texans Nearly $6 Billion In Losses
Damage from San Antonio’s April hail storms have pushed state insured losses to a hefty $5.5 billion—and that’s just for the first half of the year. The last time the state saw this level of financial destruction was in 2008, when Hurricane Ike tore through the coastline. San Antonio alone racked up more than $2…
Court Drops Investigation Into Sexually Aggressive Texas Judge, Because He Retired
A federal appeals court has dropped its investigation into a federal district court judge from Texas accused of harassing a court clerk, calling her into his office, shoving his tongue down her throat and pressing his erection into her. In a letter Wednesday telling the lawyer who filed the complaint against former Waco judge Walter…
State Says Anonymous Volunteers Will Take Care Of Abortion Burials
Fetal remains of any abortion or miscarriage in Texas may soon be handed over to volunteers with dubious medical credentials to be buried in an undefined location, according to the state health department. The Department of State Health Services included this questionable ruling in the newest draft of a proposed anti-abortion law—one that would make…
MAC’s Selena Collection is Finally Here
If you were planning to stay home Friday night, you might want to reconsider. The highly anticipated release of MAC’s Selena collection will debut Sept. 30 in Corpus Christi, with a free event at the American Bank Convention Center. For Selena’s fans, MAC’s newest line runs thicker than just the eyeliner they’re selling. This 14-product…
Live Music Round Up: Who to See This Weekend and Where
White Mystery Friday, September 30 at K23 To borrow a line from their official Facebook bio: “If you’re a fan of stripped-down garage rock, loud drums, and/or redheads, meet your perfect match in White Mystery.” Comprised of siblings Miss Alex White (guitar, vocals) and Francis Scott Key White (drums), the Chicago-based duo champions a lo-fi,…
Sheriff’s Department Not On Board With Gated Community’s Armed Patrol Group
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Department is not thrilled that an armed group of San Antonio residents have begun patrolling their gated northwest neighborhood for criminal activity. “We have no problem with neighbors who carry weapons with a license,” department Communications Officer James Keith told the Current. “But we wish they would take action in another…
