Cover Story
Finding The Elusive Bob Dylan In The Heritage Of SA Music
A young man with an imagined name in an ill-advised corduroy hat. A Freewheelin’ iconoclast making impeccable art with a jaw and wit like a razor. A recluse. A Born Again. An old man on an endless tour, posing as a wizened cowboy figure. Since his debut in 1962, Bob Dylan has been a man…
8 Free Events Happening This Week
Thursday, May 14 All The President’s Men This week’s Wonderland of the America’s free movie night movie is All the President’s Men, the classic 70s political thriller based on Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward’s Watergate investigation. Free, 7pm, Bijou Cinema Bistro, 4522 Fredericksburg Rd., (210) 734-4552, santikos.com. Thursday, May 14 – Sunday, 17 International Music Festival…
Down But Not Out: Mike Villarreal Weighs Next Move
He’s not saying yet what’s next, but former mayoral candidate Mike Villarreal made it clear that he’s not simply going to fade away from the political spotlight. Villarreal came in a disappointing third in Saturday’s election, leaving him out of the race.Top vote-getter Leticia Van de Putte and current interim Mayor Ivy Taylor will duke…
4 Events You Must Attend During Culinaria Festival Week 2015
Culinaria Food Festival kicks off tomorrow, Wednesday, May 13, There are tons of events all week long, but we have four we couldn’t miss for the world. First up we have the Food Truck Event on Thursday, May 14 down at H-E-B Alon Market (8503 NW. Military Hwy). There will be 12 food trucks participating,…
5 of the Greatest Fights of Troubled San Antonio Boxer Tony Ayala, Jr.
San Antonio boxer Tony Ayala, Jr. was found dead this morning on the floor of Zarzamora Street Gym, his family’s training center on the West Side. In the late 1970s, the 5’7″ light middleweight had a promising career lined up, winning the Golden Gloves title in 1979 and donning the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1981.…
Pro-Pot Decriminalization Commercial To Air In Texas Markets
As Lone Star State legislators talk pot in Austin this week, a 30-second television commercial that supports decriminalization of marijuana in Texas will air in the state’s four largest media markets. The advertisement features Russell Jones, a Texas Hill country resident who was a California police officer and narcotics detective for a decade. “I know…
SA Food Pics: Tacos, Burgers And More
This week in SA Food Pics we’ve got mostly tacos from the Twisted Taco Truck Throwdown and burgers from a variety of places. To start things off, lets go with this crazy stuffed jalapeno taco from The Grilled Jalapeno food truck (they are very mobile, look out for those guys). Next up we got some…
Gaucho Gourmet Will Suspend Retail Operations This Summer
Sorry fans of all things imported and delicious. The food-lover’s paradise known as Gaucho Gourmet (935 Isom Road) will take a breather this summer from their public retail operation starting Sunday, May 17. Wholesale and internet distribution will remain open, so you can still order imported products from gauchogourmet.com. “We’re taking a pause so we can…
Liberty Bar Hosts Noah Harris for May Music Residency
The Liberty Bar continues its excellent music residency with May performances by Noah Harris. A recent arrival from Chicago, the songwriter wields a crisp vocal tone and dime-turn compositions. On his 2014 EP Bad Debts, Harris has a impeccable understand of human emotion, capturing the gut-tugging experiences of a life coming “one moment at a…
Texas May Create Separate ‘Abortion Insurance’ Today
Yes, abortion insurance. A Central Texas legislator named Marsha Farney authored a bill being debated today that would require Texans to purchase separate “abortion insurance” in advance of a procedure. Her plan is to ban abortion coverage from health insurance plans, including abortion procedures for victims of rape or incest, or because of fetal anomalies.…
The Time I Judged 36 Tacos At Twisted Taco Truck Throwdown
Or how I let a judge badge go to my head. Technically this wasn’t my first judging rodeo, but when I was asked to judge the fifth annual Twisted Taco Truck Throwdown I was a bit apprehensive. It’s chingos of tacos. Still, I’ve enjoyed the event in previous years and it’s quite possibly the most…
Alamo City Film Festival Hosting Film Slam On Friday
Film/Entertainment industry types and movie lovers are called to San Antonio Film Slam at the Brick Bar at Blue Star Arts Complex (108 Blue Star) on Friday, May 15. The San Antonio Film Slam will begin at 7 p.m. and is hosted by the Alamo City Film Festival, which will occur for the first time…
Coors Light Free Concert Series Kicks Off May 19 With Carlton Zeus
Beginning May 19 and every third Tuesday of the month through October, the Coors Light Free Concert Series will be the monthly event to attend this summer. The free live music series will take place at La Villita’s Arneson River Theatre from 7 p.m.-10 p.m. Hosted by the San Antonio Current and the self-proclaimed “World’s…
Notes From Friday And Saturday At Austin Psych Fest’s Levitation
After settling in at a friend’s house in ATX, we took the Levitation shuttle from 5th street and had a mercifully convenient time of it, as we did all weekend. It must be said that festival organizers scored a huge win with this shuttle system, preventing hundreds of festival-goers from attempting ill-advised nighttime drives out…
5 Shows To See This Week
Monday, May 11 Kinky Founded in 1998, Monterrey Latin-rockers Kinky are trailblazers of the un-Googleable band name. With Daniela Spalla. $22, 8pm, The Korova, 107 E Martin St., (210) 226-5070. Tuesday, May 12 …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead After a decade spent slowly lipping into prog-rock absurdity (for reference, their 2011 album…
Courtney Love Has No Love For ‘San Antonio Current’ Writer: ‘I Want To Slap Her’
I had previously written about Courtney Love last week in preparation for her Friday show at the Paper Tiger, and the response has been divided between two camps: Courtney haters and Courtney devotees. I was sandwiched between sweaty fans in the front row of the humid venue, dolled up in my black baby doll dress…
Free Ice Cream Alert: Cone Day At Häagen-Dazs Is This Tuesday
There’s only one Häagen-Dazs shop in town at 214 Alamo Plaza South, but if you happen to be in the downtown area or want to make the trek, a free kiddie cone (in a cup, cake or sugar cone) will be waiting for you. The free cone promotion will be held at all participating U.S.…
Sexual Athlete: Ariel Pink at Paper Tiger
Halfway into his Sunday night set at Paper Tiger, Ariel Pink busted into “Black Ballerina,” one of the less politically correct tunes in his Library of Congress-sized collection of politically incorrect tunes. The pom pom cut follows a boy named Shotgun Billy as he and his creepy uncle (or genital metaphor) One-Eyed Willie hit up “the…
Metallica To Headline 2015 X Games In Austin On June 6
The biggest name in metal will join the X Games this year in the state capitol. For their first show in Austin in six years, Metallica will headline the extreme sports competition, performing on Saturday, June 6. Earlier today, Rolling Stone debuted a video of the band’s announcement and an interview with Tony Hawk. “It…
San Antonio Library Gives Teens Ground-Breaking Technology
Free Wi-Fi, free 3D printer demonstration, free recording studio, and free green screen demonstration: San Antonio Central Library offers one of the most innovative learning opportunities of the decade. Tuesday, May 12 at 10:30 am on the third floor of the San Antonio Central Library (600 Soledad St.), Councilman Roberto Treviño and Ramiro Salazar, director…
Did You Vote In Saturday’s Municipal Election? Probably Not
Last Saturday — election day — just 37,456 people showed up to vote and 60,230 voted early for a total of 97,686 ballots cast. Bexar County has 821,615 registered voters, according to May 2015 unofficial results from the Elections Department. Here’s a breakdown of vote totals from the weekend: In the mayoral race, which ended…
‘San Antonio Current’ Staff Writer Mark Reagan To Appear On TPR’s ‘The Source’
Tune into Texas Public Radio’s The Source this afternoon from 3 to 4 p.m. to hear San Antonio Current reporter Mark Reagan, San Antonio Express-News columnist Gilbert Garcia and TPR News Director Shelley Kofler join host David Martin Davies to discuss Saturday’s elections. The show will focus on what’s next, including a mayoral runoff between Ivy…
5 Things You Have To Do This Week
Monday, May 11 Dazed and Confused Quote-Along As part of their monthly series at Alamo Drafthouse, cinesnob.net is celebrating the impending summer with a quote-along screening of the 1993 classic Dazed and Confused. $5, 7 p.m. Monday, Alamo Drafthouse Park North, 618 N.W. Loop 410, (210) 677-8500, drafthouse.com. Tuesday, May 12 A Streetcar Named Desire Few…
SA Mayoral Runoff: Ivy Taylor Vs. Leticia Van De Putte
Mayor Ivy Taylor will face former state Senator Leticia Van de Putte in a runoff election. Former state Representative Mike Villarreal — the first to announce intentions to run for mayor — is out. The race was tight. Taylor got 28.4 percent of the votes followed by Villarreal who received 26 percent of votes. Van…
9 Out Of 10 City Council Members Re-Elected, Runoff In District 7
San Antonio City Council will largely remain the same. Nine of ten incumbents were re-elected. The only hotly debated race was District 7. Incumbent Cris Medina will face Mari Aguirre-Rodriguez, who briefly replaced him last year while he took a leave of absence for military training, in a runoff election. That leave of absence came…
Voters Approve Conservation Funding, City Charter Amendments
San Antonio voters overwhelmingly approved two conservation propositions today. The Edwards Aquifer Protection Program, which uses a one-eighth cent sales tax to purchase conservation easements over the aquifer’s recharge zone, was approved by 78 percent of voters. And the Parks Development and Expansion plan, also funded through an eighth-cent sales tax, was approved by nearly…
9 San Antonio National Bike Month Events You Don’t Want to Miss
Sunday, May 10, 10 a.m. Cyclofemme Earn-A-Bike Co-Op’s Women’s Wrench Night San Antonio hosts their first ever Cyclofemme ride. Ladies are encouraged to bring their partners, friends, children, parents and anything else you can think of to this event aimed at empowering women and providing a supportive community for women who cycle, or want to…
Hot Joy’s Quealy Watson Joins ‘Spamerican’ Food Truck This Saturday
I’m kind of a slut for Spam, and thankfully so is Hot Joy’s (1014 S. Alamo) executive chef and co-owner Quealy Watson. The chef will join the Spamerican food truck from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday, May 9 outside Six Flags Fiesta Texas (17000 IH-10 W.) to demo his Spam Katsu sandwich. The truck will…
B-cycle at UTSA Numbers Are Out … And They Suck
B-cycle premiered its pilot program at UTSA this January and the numbers so far do not bode well for the bike-sharing program. As of April 2015, there have only been 65 total checkouts at their UTSA main-campus location. According to Daniel Treviño, Operations Manager at B-cycle, the university had been interested in working with the…
Urban-15 Looking For Submissions From Young Filmmmakers
Urban-15 is looking for young filmmakers to submit entries for the annual Josiah Media Festival. Deadline for entries is June 1. The nonprofit will be handing out a total of $2000 in cash prizes. Entrants must be 21 and under and can submit in four categories: Narrative, Documentary, Animation and Experimental. Here’s their submission form where…
6 Places To Treat Mom On Mother’s Day
Stumped on where to take your mom out this Mother’s Day? We’ve got a few suggestions for you. Take your mom down to Citrus at Hotel Valencia (150 E. Houston, 210-230-8412). They will be hosting a brunch with chilled, hot and sweet selections including charcuterie, oysters, brioche French toast and more from 10 a.m. to 2:30…
Lawmakers To Vote On Unconstitutional Gay Marriage Bill On Tuesday
A bill that blocks the use of state and local funds to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples will be debated and put to a floor vote in the state House on Tuesday. The legislation, one of over 20 anti-gay bills introduced during the 2015 session, is in reaction to a presumed Supreme Court strike-down…
You’ll Soon Have The Texas Emojis You Need In Your Life
The Whataburger emoji is coming. A new app featuring 200 Lone Star-themed emoji will soon be released on Apple’s App Store. TexMoji is the brainchild of country singer Rich O’Toole and Texas native Sean Compton, who runs the Sorry I’m a Texan Twitter account. The app, developed Austin-based Rocksauce Studios, will feature a truly Texas emoji keyboard…
Ben & Jerry’s To Embark On Ice Cream Truck Tour To Pick A New Texas Flavor
As Blue Bell Ice Cream sadly remains out of commission, Ben & Jerry’s has stepped it up for all ice cream lovers in Texas. Ben & Jerry’s announced a Texas Churned”Truck Tour launching this summer. Visiting four large cities in Texas, Ben & Jerry’s will be giving away free samples of ice cream in San…
CDC: Blue Bell Has Known About Its Listeria Contamination For Years
Blue Bell’s troubles continue after news broke that it knew about contamination in its plants five years ago. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in a case update, expresses concern that Blue Bell has only recently recalled its products, although the company had found evidence of the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria as far back as 2010.…
Academic Coup For UTSA In Landing Latino Leader’s Collection
What a coup for the University of Texas at San Antonio, which has been pushing hard to reach top-tier research status to stand beside top players such as UT up the road in Austin. San Antonio was picked to house the archives of longtime Latino civil rights activist and leader Willie Velásquez, who grew up…
Live and Local: Chicago at the Majestic
Classically known in the music canon as a softer side to rock in its unhinged, full throttle glory days, Chicago’s emphasized on the music itself, a focused and calculated fusion of jazz, rock and pop, rather than larger than life attitudes. There were enough moments to keep fans and newcomers on their toes, like dueling…
Is Dorcol Distilling Looking For A New Bartender On Craigslist Personal Section?
Chris Mobley and Boyan Kalusevic of Dorcol Distilling Company are looking for a new bartender to helm their rakia-based program after former bar manager Nick Kenna hopped on over to Blue Box. The guys have a sense of humor about it, though, posting up this goofy casual encounters image to their Facebook page (no, it’s…
Back From The Dead: OLLU Relaunches Mexican American Studies Program
It seemed for years that it was bound for extinction. Put on its death bed, it was all but gone. Then a surprising move saved it, though basically it was left on life support. Now supporters are keeping their fingers crossed for a full-fledged revival. That’s precisely Aimee Villarreal’s goal. The anthropologist has been tasked…
10 Things You Have to Do This Weekend
Thu 4/7 – Sun 4/10 Children’s International Puppet Festival An ambitious endeavor launched by Children’s Fine Arts Series, the Children’s International Puppet Festival brings professional companies from the U.S, Europe and Asia to SA for a packed week of shows. Encompassing 59 performances by seven troupes, the fest explores everything from mythology and folklore to…
5 Ways To Get Your Drink Grub On This Week
Thursday, May 7: Go socialize with Dignowity neighbors at their first Thirsty Thursday at Big Hops Growler Station. Join them for a great time at one of Dignowity Hill’s great drinking spots. It starts at 5:30 p.m. and ends at 7:30 p.m., so be sure to get there if you want to have some fun…
San Antonio Artist Announced State Poet Laureate
Today the Texas State Legislature announced the appointments to the positions of state poet laureate, state musician, state two-dimensional artist and state three-dimensional artist. Most notably, Carmen Tafolla, 2012 Poet Laureate of San Antonio, and professor of bicultural and bilingual studies at UTSA, was announced Texas Poet Laureate of 2015. Laurie Ann Guererro, the current…
210 Kapone’s Security Allegedly Pepper Sprays Concertgoer In Packed Crowd
210 Kapone’s issued an apology on Facebook following an alleged incident at Tuesday night’s Mastodon concert. Attendees reported security guards pepper-sprayed a member of the crowd in order to diffuse the formation of a mosh pit. But things turned sour before the show began with reports of disorganization, long waits, poor ventilation and a failure…
8 Non-Headliners To Catch At Levitation In ATX This Weekend
This weekend, the groovy folks of Austin Psych Fest and The Reverberation Appreciation Society host the eighth annual Levitation psychedelic music festival. Held at the ruggedly beautiful Carson Creek Ranch in southeast Austin — one of the oldest existing ranches in Texas, established in 1851 — the three-day festival has become an important yearly destination…
Savage Love: Teaching Moment
Last summer, I reconnected with a high-school teacher I hadn’t seen for a year. We first met when I was 15, and I had nothing but respect for him and his intelligence. I also had a crush on him for the next four years. Fast-forward a year. He is sexting me and sending dick pics…
Molto Bene: Rio de Gelato’s Saccharine Charm
Their hours of operation are what initially kept me away from Rio de Gelato. The small gelateria and pizzeria reopened in December at a new location at the corner of Nueva and Navarro. Their bright pink signage and proximity to three parking lots was appealing, but my timing seemed to be off during most of…
At Home At My Friend’s Backyard
It was on a particularly sticky San Anto evening about two years ago when I witnessed a patron run into the middle of a small and sweaty crowd and “make it rain” on the dance floor. Fresh-pressed dollar bills, maybe 20 or 30 of them, flurried down to the floor as wildly manicured hands grabbed…
SA Voters Face A Slew Of Crucial Decisions Beyond Mayoral Race
The upcoming mayoral race has garnered most of the local political headlines this election season — rightly so, given voters will choose the next CEO of the country’s 7th-largest city. It’s also particularly appealing since it’s the first time the city will have a permanent new leader since the defection of former mayor and Democratic…
Advocates Don’t Buy It, But SA Maintains It Has No Pay Disparities
As far as one local leader sees it, if people are confident the Alamo City has shattered its glass ceiling, they need to think again. In early April, just weeks before municipal elections, District 7 Councilman Cris Medina, who is up for re-election, created an online petition calling on the city to revisit pay disparities…
Bottle & Tap: Tasting Hop Teas (So You Don’t Have To)
No doubt about it, artisanal American brewing is defined by its hop lust. From Dogfish Head’s patented dry-hopping contraption to the proliferation of West Coast IPAs, those little green cones have provided both a national beer identity and approximately 56 percent of all punny beer names. Despite the centrality of this ingredient, though, the varieties…
Jack Black And James Marsden Get Caught In A Sad Bromance
In Richard Linklater’s 2011 film Bernie, Jack Black proved that with the right material (and, one assumes, direction) he could dial back the self-deluded man-child shtick and create a character that was simultaneously bigger than life and believably authentic. His portrayal of the real-life Bernie Tiede was both sweet and funny, carefully walking the line…
Vincent D’Onofrio Shines In Netflix’s Slow-Burning ‘Daredevil’
Not everyone is going to like Daredevil, Marvel and Netflix’s first collaborative entry into the ever-popular Marvel Cinematic Universe. Parents are going to be frustrated that there’s a show based on a classic comic-book character that has visceral depictions of violence — bones poking through flesh, strangulation, skulls crushed to literal pulp — peppered throughout the season.…
Too Sweet To Eat: Polymer Clay Bling From Sweet Craft Jewelry
When Nicole Gonzalez set out to find her way in life after graduating from Taft High School, the San Antonio native decided to try her luck at baking. But the fan of sweet desserts and generally cute treats had a hard time actually enjoying the work. “I kept going back to painting and sculpting here…
Tasty Changes To Culinaria’s Festival Week
The foodie bacchanal known as Culinaria’s Festival Week (May 13-May 17) is around the corner and I know two things for certain: You need a game plan and you’ve got to be ready for the unexpected. For starters, all the favorites are back albeit with some interesting tweaks. Paired wine dinners will be held Wednesday,…
Twisted Taco Truck Throwdown Returns, Mother’s Day Brunch Options And More
Mother’s Day weekend kicks off with the fifth annual Twisted Taco Truck Throwdown on Saturday, May 9, from 4 p.m. to midnight. Held at VFW Post 76 at 10th Street, the event hosts some of the city’s best taco trucks, all competing for the title of either Grand Champion, People’s Choice or Freestyle winner. From…
Free Will Astrology, Week of May 4
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Benedictine monks observe the Latin motto Laborare est Orare. The 19th-century abbot Maurus Wolter interpreted these words to mean “work is worship” or “work is prayer.” He was trying to impress upon his fellow monks that the work they did was not a grudging distraction from their service to God, but…
Marcus Valdespino Comes Clean In The White Boy Confessions
The White Boy Confessions: The Explosive Story of Marcus Valdespino and San Antonio’s Hood Marcus Valdespino| Strategic Media Books | 290 pp. With only a few bucks to his name, just enough to “buy some chips and soda at the store,” Marcus Valdespino remembers being a teenager in the late ’80s when one of his…
Understanding Pop Weirdo Ariel Pink
What the hell can we make of Ariel Pink? He’s a cracked pop-savant, assembling scraps of half-forgotten Billboard hits around pyscho-babble lyrics in inexplicably alluring ways. A troll of the first order, as likely to throw shade at Madonna as to defend the rights of the Westboro Baptist Church; an unabashed creep, who can make…
Chekhov Checklist: The Topsy-Turvy ‘Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike’
After his sister Sonia echoes a line from The Seagull (“I’m in mourning for my life”), Vanya replies: I hope you don’t make Chekhov references all day.” Later, Sonia argues with Vanya over whether their nine or 10 cherry trees constitute an orchard. Sampling The Seagull again, she also proclaims: “Our lives are over.” Throughout…
