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VI S I T OR A N G ETH EO RYF ITNESS . CO M TO F IND YO U R NEAR E ST LO C AT I O N sacurrent.com | July 17-30, 2019 | CURRENT

in this issue Issue 19_15 /// July 17-30, 2019

Sharp Objects

Sword of Trust’s whip-smart script dulls in the third act, but snark and heart win out

Silver Linings

San Antonio Film Festival celebrates 25 years as the city’s cinematic sanctuary

33 Food

Grain to Glass

Downtown’s Maverick Distillery serving whiskey and beer steeped in Texas history

IKEA Eats

Pretty plating isn’t a priority at the Swedish retailer’s cafeteria, but the food is good enough to fuel a tortuous shopping experience

Here to Win

Chef Mike Nguyen scores a victory with his ramen-focused Noodle Tree

43 Music

Music Listings

Claire Marie Vogel

38 Feature

48 Etc

Crossword Puzzle

Sheriff Javier Salazar Continues to Look for His Defining Moment

12 Calendar

Our top picks for the week, This Modern World

23 Arts

CURRENT | July 17-30, 2019 | sacurrent.com

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Wildlife Guardian

San Antonio Distribution – The Current is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader.

Conservationist Danté Fenolio fights to protect biodiversity at home and abroad

The Bridge Builder

‘Itinerant curator’ Leslie Moody Castro connects the art worlds of Texas and Mexico

29 Screens Macho Man

The Art of Self-Defense is inconsistent as a deadpan dark comedy about toxic masculinity 4

Food & Nightlife Editor: Lea Thompson Calendar Editor: Kelly Merka Nelson Contributing Arts Editor: Bryan Rindfuss Art Director: Carlos Aguilar Staff Writer: Chris Conde Digital Content Editor: Sarah Martinez Contributors: Ron Bechtol, Daniel Conrad, James Courtney, Jade Esteban Estrada, Dan R. Goddard, Lance Higdon, Steven G. Kellman, Hannah Lorence, Kiko Martinez, M. Solis, Gary Sweeney Editorial Interns: Diana Amaya, Brian Holmes

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BY C H R I S CO N D E

San Antonio public health guru Colleen Bridger moves into larger role with the city

Editorial

San Antonio Current 915 Dallas San Antonio, Texas 78215 sacurrent.com

Meet Lil Booty Call, the San Antonio SoundCloud rapper who scored a major-label deal

Humanizing the Data

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Built to Last?

07 News

San Antonio Current

On The Cover: San Antonio’s Lil Booty Call got his start posting rap songs on SoundCloud. He’s since dropped an album on Warner Records. Photo: Claire Marie Vogel Cover Design: Tracie Louck

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CURRENT | July 17-30, 2019 | sacurrent.com

GLITTER POLITICAL

Sheriff Javier Salazar Continues Looking for His Defining Moment BY JADE ESTEBAN ESTRADA

n a bustling Tuesday morning, I spot Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar in the back dining room of Mi Tierra Café y Panadería. The American Dream mural to my left, which features an artistic interpretation of San Antonio’s most celebrated movers and shakers, serves as an unrehearsed icebreaker as I sit down with the county’s highest-ranking law enforcement official. Salazar, who’s currently working out the kinks of a new cite-and-release program, says he hopes a lifelike image of himself will one day be added to Jesus Diaz Garza’s sprawling art piece. “To me, [being added to the mural] means you’ve made it in a big way,” he says. “That’s how I’ll know that I’ve made it in Bexar County politics.” Salazar, now 48, has always felt certain that he’s meant to achieve something important. He’s often on the lookout for a defining moment when it will become apparent. Life’s challenges came early for Salazar. He was born a few months premature and describes himself as “a sick kid,” having had meningitis twice by the time he was 2. Doctors told his parents that he’d never walk or talk. “For whatever reason, I was saved from that and came out to be a happy, healthy kid,” Salazar says with the buoyant energy that’s become a hallmark of his public persona.

Indeed, Salazar not only recovered from his illnesses but went on to play football and soccer and act in plays. Growing up, his parents often told him that God saved him for a reason. So, at every new stage in his life Salazar has asked himself, “Is this the reason?” After graduating high school, Salazar got a job as a hotel bartender. He needed a way to pay for college, so he took advantage of the hotel chain’s tuition reimbursement program. The caveat was that the classes had to be related to the food and beverage industry. “Not that there’s anything wrong with food service, but to me, it was like watching paint dry,” Salazar recounts with exasperation. “I was dying — studying, you know, at what room temperature does chicken go bad.” He laughs. “I was dy-ing inside a little bit every day!” Salazar always knew he wanted to be in some kind of public service. However, he’d ruled out the military, since that might take him far from home, and starting a family was part of his long-term plan. Instead, he joined the San Antonio Police Department as a patrolman. He got oﬀ his shift at 6:30 a.m. and caught naps in his truck before his ﬁrst class at 7:45 a.m. The schedule made for long days, but it allowed him to attend San Antonio College on his own terms. He fell in love with

news

Jade Esteban Estrada

criminal justice and soon made it his major. Though the hours were rough, he had an instinct that things would eventually pay off. During his 23 years at SAPD, Salazar made a name for himself as a social-media trailblazer and Chief William McManus’ right hand man. Salazar also won attention with his work as the director of the department’s Integrity Unit. “Since the very first police officer put on a uniform, misconduct has been a part of policing,” he says. “Right now, the public demands that we hold ourselves accountable and hold each other accountable.” In early 2016, Salazar ran for Bexar County sheriff while still working full-time at SAPD. During the campaign, he bolstered himself by thinking back on his difficult days at SAC. “I’d go block walk in the afternoons, and I was tired, man. The last thing I wanted to do was put on a campaign shirt and jeans and go knock on doors. But I did, because why? Because it has to pay off at some point.” And by a thin margin, it did. Even though he’d never run for public office before, the campaign messaging about his qualifications helped clench an upset victory over Susan Parmerleau. Salazar hit the ground running with a new leadership approach enhanced by a big-picture view of the office. As part of that, he doubled the required in-service training for deputies to 40 hours a year — twice the amount required by the state. He also found that some deputies were uncomfortable reporting misconduct, such as DWIs, by their peers. Last year, under his watch, nearly two dozen deputies were arrested for crimes including sexual assault, drunken driving and domestic violence. Not all deputies have a drinking issue, Salazar said. “But as an agency? We have a drinking problem. I think you’d be hard-pressed to try and deny that.” The department is now offering Alcoholics Anonymous and Family Violence Prevention Services workshops. Those efforts won’t fix the problems overnight, he acknowledges, but he’s confident they’ll pay off in three to ten years. I ask Salazar what crime and justice have taught him about people. “That there are bad people in the world,” he says. “They will prey upon children. They will victimize the elderly. They will steal your life savings if need be. There are people like that in the world. Do I think that all humanity is bad? No. Monsters are real, but for the most part, people can be fixed. People can fix themselves. They just need the right impetus to make that happen.” I pose another question: What advice does he have for the sheriff of Bexar County in 2069? “I’ll be 99 at that time, so I’m assuming you’re thinking I’m not going to be the sheriff at that time?” Salazar asks with a poker face. “Wow. that’s kind of insulting!” But seriousness sets in and he continues. “My advice to the sheriff in 2069 is just do the right thing, even if it’s not the comfortable thing to do. Just keep doing your job and don’t let the naysayers discourage you.”

Find more newsmore coverage Find news every day at sacurrent.com

news Name: Colleen Bridger Title: Assistant City Manager Age: 51 Birthplace: Kalamazoo, Michigan Big impact: After helming Tobacco 21 and an effort to address childhood trauma as director of Metro Health, Bridger has jumped into an expanded city role with new challenges. Little-known fact: She once hiked up Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak, with her mother, who was 70 at the time. Money quote: “It’s just an incredible opportunity to be able to say we’re bringing this public health perspective into the day-to-day management of the seventh largest city in the United States.”

Sanford Nowlin

Humanizing the Data

San Antonio public health guru Colleen Bridger jumps into a larger role with the city BY SANFORD NOWLIN

hortly after Assistant City Manager Colleen Bridger helped open San Antonio’s Migrant Resource Center, a crew from conspiracy website InfoWars showed up to shoot a video stoking fears that the inﬂux of immigrants would bring Ebola and other infectious diseases into the city. Rather than slam the door in their faces, Bridger met with the crew, calmly explaining the medical reasons why the city faced no risk from an outbreak. She even led them on a tour, holding a migrant girl on camera and stroking the child’s hair as she spoke. It was a defusing moment. Bridger didn’t manage to stop InfoWars from airing its alarmist segment, but her calm, fact-driven approach avoided playing into the website’s hands, according to observers. And by holding the child, she sent a clear and strong signal the public had nothing to fear. It was a moment, Bridger allies say, that displayed the blend of data-driven logic and calm leadership that helped her excel in her previous role as San Antonio’s director of Metro Health. That approach is also likely to come in handy in her new and expanded position, which

CURRENT | July 17-30, 2019 | sacurrent.com

became formal on July 16 after spending four months as interim assistant city manager. City Manager Erik Walsh was originally expected to make the promotion permanent no earlier than September 1. “It’s been a weird four months, right?” Bridger asked rhetorically. “We’ve had the elections, we’ve had the legislature in Austin, we’ve had the runoﬀ elections and now we’ve got some really stark challenges around the budget. I don’t think I’ve gotten to experience what ‘normal’ is like for an assistant city manager.”

Advancing Public Health Bridger, who holds a PhD in health services research, started as head of Metro Health in 2017, relocating from North Carolina, where she served as health department director for Orange County in the Durham-Chapel Hill area. Among her daunting charges were to deal with San Antonio’s teen pregnancy rate and vast health inequities, both exacerbated by decades of poverty and economic segregation. “It took us almost 100 years to get where we

are,” Bridger said, referring to the redlining that divided the city along racial lines in the early 20th century. “It’s going to take some time to repair the damage and move beyond that.” Even so, her bold moves at Metro Health brought immediate changes. After arriving, Bridger launched a data-driven program to address childhood trauma, an early trigger for anything from school dropouts and addiction to chronic illness. Last year, she convinced council to create a new staff position to focus on the problem, and the city recently launched a first-of-its-kind program to certify workers to deal with childhood trauma. Kathleen Fletcher, CEO of the nonprofit Voices for Children, said Bridger’s ability to draw on research and explain its relevance helped her build support. She’s witnessed Bridger use that approach to win over anyone from councilmembers to rank-and-file childcare workers. “She’s able to bring data and research down to the level where it doesn’t sound overly academic or intimidating,” Fletcher said. “She can humanize the data.” Bridger also helmed the city’s Tobacco 21 initiative which last year upped the legal age for purchasing tobacco to 21. San Antonio became the first Texas city to do so, and the legislature followed its lead this session, passing a bill to increase the age limit statewide.

Proactive Steps Although Bridger’s excelled at tackling bigcity issues, she credits her interest in public

health to growing up on a family farm in rural Michigan. Keeping it functioning, she pointed out, involved taking proactive steps to ensure animals and crops stayed healthy. Her first public-health job, which involved working with migrant farm workers, came not because she had specific experience in the arena but because she’d spent time abroad and could speak Spanish. She leveraged that start into a 20-year career, during which she served as health director for three North Carolina counties. While at those posts, she helped reduce teen pregnancy and infant mortality rates while addressing poverty and access to medical care. She and her husband Chuck — a nonprofit director — have two adult children.

‘Nothing Rocks Her’ Bridger’s new position with the City of San Antonio marks her first professional foray outside of public health. She now oversees not just her old department but Parks and Recreation, Human Services and the Office of Equity. So far, Bridger seems to be hitting the mark. She’s drawn praise for opening the Migrant Resource Center and negotiating the terms that allow the city and partners such as the San Antonio Food Bank and Catholic Charities to keep it in operation. “She knows how to pull things off,” said Gavin Rogers, associate pastor at Travis Park Church, another Migrant Resource Center partner. “Nothing rocks her.” Bridger also sees an opportunity to bring the data analysis that was her hallmark at Metro Health to other departments. She aims to coordinate projects between those she oversees, sharing research and avoiding redundant projects. “Even Parks and Rec, at its very heart, is about providing opportunities for people to improve their health,” she said. “It’s just an incredible opportunity to be able to say we’re bringing this public health perspective into the day-to-day management of the seventh largest city in the United States.”

ARTIST PANEL DISCUSSION & CATALOGUE RELEASE

Wednesday • August 7, 2019 • 6:00pm – 9:00pm A panel discussion featuring artists Jose Balli, Anel Flores, Luis Valderas, Mari Hernandez, and Claudia Zapata. Moderated by Sarah Fisch.

sacurrent.com | July 17-30, 2019 | CURRENT

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CURRENT | July 17-30, 2019 | sacurrent.com

sacurrent.com | July 17-30, 2019 | CURRENT 11

WED | 7/17 Courtesy of Aztec Theatre SPECIAL EVENT

THUNDER FROM DOWN UNDER

Feelin’ a bit, shall we say, “thirsty,” but Tinder’s been doing you dirty? Never fear, the Thunder from Down Under is here! Since 1991, Australia’s answer to the wildly successful Chippendales dancers has made audiences swoon with rock hard abs, tightly choreographed dances and — the cherry on top — delightful Aussie accents. And, if the box office earnings of Magic Mike are anything to go by, this bunch won’t be slowing down anytime soon. These, ahem, multifaceted performers have stormed stages across America with high-energy routines that often include audience participation, plus enough shirt-ripping that their tank top budget must be through the roof. If you can’t help but start fanning yourself with your program, it’s not the AC, it’s the Thunder from Down Under bringing the heat. $20-$29.50, 8 p.m., Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 812-4355, theaztectheatre.com. — Kelly Merka Nelson

Twentieth Century Fox

THU | 7/18 FI LM

VIDEO DUNGEON THEATRE: DRIVE AND THE DRIVER DOUBLE FEATURE L

There’s no better way to get out of the house and still beat the heat than a summer evening double feature, and Video Dungeon Theatre’s got you, fam. For its next screening, they’ve got cars on the mind, but this is no celebration of the “Great American Road Trip.” Instead, the Dungeoneers are putting the pedal to the metal with a double whammy of ultraviolent heist flicks. First on the docket is Drive, the Ryan Gosling vehicle that nabbed Nicolas Winding Refn the 2011 Best Director Award at Cannes. Defined by its iconic 12 CURRENT | July 17-30, 2019 | sacurrent.com

FilmDistrict

imagery, most notably Gosling’s scorpion silk jacket, Drive’s brutally violent star-studded story of heist and betrayal foreshadows Refn’s eventual pivot to horror with 2016’s The Neon Demon. Believe it or not, though, Gosling isn’t the first A-list actor to play an unnamed Driver in a thrilling role that plays against his boyish good looks. That honor actually belongs to Ryan O’Neal, whom you may remember from ‘70s hits like Love Story, Paper Moon or Barry Lyndon. O’Neal’s Driver is engaged in a cat and mouse game with a wily Detective, and while the body count of this film rivals Drive, it doesn’t hold a candle to the casual brutality populating the newer film. It’s no wonder, then, that the 1978 classic is closing out the night. Free, 9 p.m., Oak Hills Tavern, 7920 Fredericksburg Rd., (210) 6148855, facebook.com/thevideodungeon. — KMN

THU | 7/18 SPECIAL EVENT

RAW SAN ANTONIO PRESENTS ARISE

An independent arts organization operating in more than 70 cities across the world, RAW seeks to connect artists with each other and their communities. This sprawling showcase spotlights local talents in fashion, visual arts, film, music, crafts and more,

COMEDY

THE TRY GUYS: LEGENDS OF THE INTERNET \

Courtesy of The Try Guys

where you can chat with artists about their paintings and handmade crafts or find a spot to watch a live musical performance or fashion show. This event is perfect for creatives wanting to network with each other as well as San Antonians who are looking to uncover hidden gems of local talent. $25-$35, 7-11 p.m., The Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 812-4355, theaztectheatre.com. — Brittany Wagner

YouTube wunderkinder The Try Guys have parlayed their willingness to bare all (whether it be their buns in Victoria’s Secret underwear or coming out as gay with a gorgeously choreographed dance video) into a behemoth brand that now includes a podcast (the “Trypod”), book (The Hidden Power of F*cking Up) and a brand spanking new live show, for which they’ve pulled out all the stops to create an experience that’ll knock your socks oﬀ. They’re bringing everything you love about the Try Guys to the stage, plus audience participation, costume changes and a liberal dose of both glitter and pyrotechnics. This is no vanity project — the boys have poured their hearts, souls and dough into this show in the hope of connecting with their fans in a brand new, technicolor way. $38.50-$88.50, 7:30 p.m., The Majestic Theatre, 224 E. Houston St., (210) 226-3333, majesticempire.com. — KMN

FRI | 7/19 TH EATER

MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL j

Ah, menopause… the hormonal bogeywoman whose promise of ended periods is marred by her own monstrous symptoms. Menopause the Musical spotlights four characters from different walks of life that collide while lingerie shopping, and they have nothing in common but “the change.” Performed in 16 countries, the story celebrates the universal horror and humor of hot flashes and night sweats. The women — Professional Woman, Earth Mother, Iowa Housewife and Soap Star — each give their takes on popular tunes from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, including “Puﬀ, My God I’m Draggin’” and “Stayin’ Awake.” Grab your gang of lady friends and stuﬀ some extra Kleenex in your purse, because this show may make you cry laughing, whether or not menopause has come knocking on your door. $29.50-$74.50, 8 p.m., H-E-B Performance Hall, Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle, (210) 223-8624, tobincenter.org. — BW

SAT | 7/20

calendar

FRI | 7/19

Courtesy of the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

Gathering card game tournaments, the con includes a pop-up PokéCafé run by the Sweetness Maid Café, in which maids and butlers will serve up sweet treats while you enjoy Pokémonthemed games and a photobooth. If the idea of an American version of the infamous Japanese maid cafés makes you a bit uncomfortable, though, there are plenty of vendors, cosplay and more for you to check out at the day-long event. $15-$47, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Norris Conference Centers San Antonio, 618 N.W. Loop 410 #207, (210) 738-0040, pokefestsa.com. — KMN

SAT | 7/20 COMEDY

CELESTE BARBER L

Christened the funniest woman on Instagram by Vogue, Celeste Barber saturates each of her posts with her own brand of self-awareness. Barber has snagged nearly 6 million followers by staging parodies of celebrity Instagram photos, which have even attracted the attention of the celebrities themselves. In this live show, Barber shares the stories behind some of her funniest posts, such as trying to fold herself into a bathtub like Kim Kardashian or posing half-dressed in the produce section. She’ll also discuss her new friendships with stars such as Miranda Kerr and Hilary Swank, and explain the nuanced responsibility of being an “anti-influencer.” $29.50-$75, 7 p.m., H-E-B Performance Hall, Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle, (210) 223-8624, tobincenter.org. — BW

SPECIAL EVEN T

POKÉFEST SA 5

Courtesy of Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

Once again, it’s time to grab your ‘mons and get your poké on for San Antonio’s homegrown event celebrating one of the most beloved game series and anime this side of Japan. PokéFest SA returns this year with special guest Tara Sands, who voiced Bulbasaur, Phanpy, Oddish and more in almost 200 episodes of the English version of the Pokémon anime. In addition to both Pokémon and Magic: The

Courtesy of Pokefest SA

HEALTHY KIDS NEEDED FOR A STUDY ON BRAIN DEVELOPMENT

We are conducting a study on brain development using MRI to study the structure and function of the brain. There is NO radiation in MRI. To be in the study the child should: • Be 8-17 years old • Have no psychiatric diagnoses • Have parents with no psychiatric diagnoses

Children will be: - Given pictures of their brain - Given a certificate from the University acknowledging their successful time volunteering in research - Given the gratification of knowing their participation may help other kids who are seriously ill - Paid for their participation

If you are interested in participating in this research, Please Call (210) 450-8362 OR BDstudySA@uthscsa.edu

Weekend Appointments Available

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CURRENT | July 17-30, 2019 | sacurrent.com

calendar

and Oscar-nominated director Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation). The film stars Wayans, Rashida Jones, Jenny Slate and Oscar-nominee Bill Murray. Oh, then there’s that upcoming Netflix movie (Sextuplets) where he dresses up like an overweight lady á la Eddie Murphy in Norbit. We were going to say that maybe he’d have better luck with latex, but then we remembered what he looked like in White Chicks. $35-$45, 7:30 p.m. & 9:45 p.m., Friday, 7 p.m. & 9:30 p.m., Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Sunday, Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, 618 NW Loop 410, (210) 541-8805, lolsanantonio. com. — Kiko Martinez

FRI | 7/26 – SUN | 7/28 THEATER

Courtesy of LOL Comedy Club

FRI | 7/26 – SUN | 7/28 COMEDY

MARLON WAYANS L

The LOL Comedy Club should book actor and comedian Marlon Wayans every single weekend from now until eternity — whatever will keep him too busy to make a sequel to his embarrassingly unfunny 2004 comedy White Chicks. Those rumors picked up steam late last month when co-star Terry Crews went on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen and said, “Man, we’re doing it,” when asked about a possible sequel. Wayans quickly jumped on social media to do some cleanup and say the pair “still don’t have a deal in place.” Aside from that awful idea, Wayans has at least one good one in the works. He was cast in a new adventure dramedy (On the Rocks) helmed by Oscar-winning writer

MARY POPPINS JR. p

Lose yourself in one of the most beloved stories of all time as the Tobin Center transforms into turn-of-the-century England, when young and mischievous Jane and Michael Banks meet their match in Mary Poppins. Watch as the siblings and their father learn to become a family again with the help of a whimsical nanny, who uses charm,

Courtesy of Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

wit and a bit of magic to teach timeless life lessons. Practically perfect in every way, this musical will sweep children and adults alike oﬀ their feet. As Mary Poppins says, anything can happen if you let it, so let yourself spend an enchanting evening with the Banks. $17, 7 p.m. Friday & Saturday, 3 p.m. Saturday & Sunday, Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater, Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle, (210) 223-8624, tobincenter.org. — BW

SAT | 7/27 SPECIAL EVEN T

NATIONAL DAY OF THE COWBOY 5

Like it or not, we’re living in a post-Internet reality populated by far-stretching “celebrations” observing everything from Dr. Seuss Day (March 2) and Wear Pajamas to Work Day (April 16) to Lima Bean Respect Day (April 20) and National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day (August 8). Initiated in 2005 and commemorated in Texas a decade later, the National Day of the Cowboy follows a slightly less ironic bent as a nonprofit organization dedicated to uplifting the storied culture surrounding American cowboys and pioneer heritage. Opened in 2013 with a mission to preserve the “art, history and culture of the American West,” the Briscoe Western Art Museum is rightfully at the center of the Alamo City’s kid-friendly iteration. Taking cues from “Into a New West”

COMEDY

JOHN LEGUIZAMO’S LATIN HISTORY FOR MORONS

Maybe college students would actually roll out of bed for those 8 a.m. classes if actor, comedian and all-around Renaissance man John Leguizamo was their history professor. In his one-man Broadway show Latin History for Morons, which earned a Special Tony Award last year, Leguizamo, who stars in the recent Netflix mini-series When They See Us, makes it his mission to squeeze 3,000 years of Latin history into a single, 90-minute lesson — “from conquistadores to cumbia” and “Montezuma to menudo.” Leguizamo was inspired to write the show after he learned his shy 8th grade son was being bullied at school for being brown. “How is it that my son is going through the same racial rites of passage I did?” he asks. “In order to help my son, I realized I was going to have to get to the root of my problem — feeling like a second-class citizen.” While Latin History for Morons can currently be seen on Netflix, we’re sure watching Leguizamo perform in person is an entirely different experience. It’s an important

Courtesy of Briscoe Museum

— a traveling exhibition comprising 50 contemporary works on loan from Georgia’s Booth Western Art Museum — this year’s aﬀair promises “cowboy crafts,” live C&W tunes courtesy of the Barditch Hippies, costumed actors showing oﬀ their branding and roping skills, “cowpoke games” — including corn hole, panning for gold, felt horseshoes and a Nerf shooting gallery — food truck fare and adult beverages for purchase. And don’t miss the tempting opportunity to incarcerate fellow attendees in a “jail cell” until they post bail in the form of a donation to the museum. Free, noon-4 p.m., Briscoe Western Art Museum, 210 W. Market St., (210) 299-4499, briscoemuseum.org. — Bryan Rindfuss

SAT | 7/27 – SUN | 7/28

Courtesy of The Majestic Theatre

message of inclusion, so listen up and take notes. $39.50-$215, 8 p.m. Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, The Majestic Theatre, 224 E. Houston St., (210) 226-3333, majesticempire.com — KM

sacurrent.com | July 17-30, 2019 | CURRENT

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AUGUST 21 MAJESTIC THEATRE Sign up for ExcluSivE prESalES & announcEmEntS! tExt maJESticEmpirE to 22828

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calendar

calendar | art pick

Courtesy of Osip Nikiforov

SAT | 7/27 – SUN | 7/28 MUSIC

MOZART FESTIVAL

San Antonio’s homegrown festival of (mostly) Mozart music celebrates its 10th anniversary with four concerts at the University of the Incarnate Word. While most of the concerts focus on our man Wolfgang Amadeus’ greatest hits — from the Don Giovanni Overture to the Divertimento for Strings in D — works by Johann Sebastian

Bach, Franz Haydn, Claude Debussy and Jaques Ibert will also be featured. This year’s guest performers include Caleb Polachek, Bruce Williams, Megan Meisenbach, Elaine Barber, Toby Blumenthal, Richard Kilmer and Douglas Harvey, with a final concert capped off by a performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto no. 17 in G by 2016 San Antonio International Piano Competition Bronze Medalist Osip Nikiforov. $15-$115, 8 p.m. Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays through August 4, Concert Hall, University of the Incarnate Word, 4301 Broadway St., (210) 829-3852, mozartfestivaltexas.org. — KMN

THIS MODERN WORLD BY TOM TOMORROW

SAT | 7/27 ART PICK

THE CANCIÓN CANNIBAL CABARET In her 2015 TEDxMcAllen Talk titled “Scaling Walls With Words,” acclaimed Tejana actor, writer, activist and spoken-word artist Amalia Ortiz compared her code-switching linguistic style to an unlikely mashup of Selena and the Sex Pistols — “like a dyslexic DJ ready to bidi bidi bomb the suburbs, punk ruca style.” She also referenced a quote from historian Howard Zinn’s book Artists in Times of War, which presents artists as catalysts who should “think outside the boundaries of permissible thought and dare to say things that no one else will say.” Taken together, those two tidbits oﬀer a glimpse into the outspoken, genre-challenging spirit that runs through Ortiz’s diverse work, which encompasses three seasons on the HBO series Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry, the NBC-approved poetry collection Rant. Chant. Chisme and a Tex-Mex remix of Georges Bizet’s iconic opera Carmen dubbed Carmen de la Calle. An evolution of an MFA thesis manuscript Ortiz started writing before Trump’s election, The Canción Cannibal Cabaret & Other Songs functions as a multidimensional, multipurpose endeavor. Although ﬁrstly a collection of socially conscious, political poetry that doubles as a script for a punk musical, the forthcoming Aztlan Libre Press book is also a conceptual commentary on propaganda, a love letter to the DIY aesthetics of rasquachismo, a rebuttal

Courtesy of Aztlan Libre Press

of performance poetry’s questionable reputation within the ranks of academia and a “refugee, people of color, feminist, and LGBTQ+ call to action.” In the book’s introduction, Ortiz explains that The Canción Cannibal Cabaret is “more than a flat manuscript of text, but rather words which claim three-dimensional space.” Set in a post-apocalyptic, “not-sodistant” future just after the establishment of a totalitarian government, The Canción Cannibal Cabaret centers around La Madre Valiente, an anti-colonial, anti-capitalist refugee secretly planning an intersectional feminist revolution with assistance from her roving emissaries, the Black Bards and Red Heralds. Human flesh, however, is not on the menu. Here the term “cannibal” refers to the cannibalization of “knowledge from before the fall of civilization” as well as Ortiz’s “homolinguistic” translations (essentially English to English reconfigurations) of songs and poems by the likes of Bob Dylan and late Chicana icon Gloria Anzaldúa — whose poem “The Cannibal’s Canción” sparked the project’s name. “If you enjoy Anzaldúa or Dylan, you might enjoy this,” Ortiz suggests. In celebration of the book’s national release on July 27, the Guadalupe Theater plays host to a free book launch and a complete performance of The Canción Cannibal Cabaret, which Ortiz describes as a “deliberately theatrical” spectacle involving costumes, makeup, choreography, stage lighting, music and video. Free, 6-9 p.m., Saturday, Guadalupe Theater, 1301 Guadalupe St., (210) 2713151, aztlanlibrepress.com. — Bryan Rindfuss sacurrent.com | July 17-30, 2019 | CURRENT

BITES

210 Fuzed • Cover 3 • Dorrego’s • Grayze • Jamaica Jamaica Kate’s Cakes • Lucy Cooper’s Texas Ice House • Meadow Neighborhood Eatery • Paesanos Lincoln Heights • Savor at The Culinary Institute of America • Shake Shack The Art of Donut • The Dapper Doughnut The Jerk Shack • The Rustic Torchy’s Tacos Lincoln Heights Toro Kitchen + Bar • Truffle Gateau • Walk-On’s Bistreaux and Bar

SIPS

Backyard on Broadway • Bamboo • Bar 414 • Blue Box • Burgerteca Cellar Mixology Grayze • La Botanica • Liberty Bar • Lilly’s Greenville Lucy Cooper’s Texas Ice House • Meadow Neighborhood Eatery • OCHO Sternewirth at Hotel Emma • The Modernist • The Rustic

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BENEFITTING

CURRENT | July 17-30, 2019 | sacurrent.com

calendar FILM

Outdoor Film Series: Pretty In Pink Enjoy a screening of Pretty In Pink along with themed activities, food trucks, vendors, entertainment and more. With plenty of lawn space, visitors are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets and snacks to enjoy during the movie. Free, Thu., July 18, 7-10 p.m.; Mission Marquee Plaza, 3100 Roosevelt. Pink Floyd: The Wall Tear down that wall, shave off your eyebrows and don’t trust the government (Big “Mother” is gonna get ya), Pink Floyd’s epic rock opera-turned 1982 film The Wall is making a big screen return for one night only. Themes of isolation, politics and insanity combined with soaring guitar solos, theatrics and poignant storytelling never sounded – and looked – so good. $14, Fri., July 19, 8 p.m.; Aztec Theatre, 104 N St Mary’s St. All About My Mother A nurse overseeing organ transplants in Madrid, single mother Manuela sees her son Esteban get killed by a passing car as he attempts to obtain an autograph from a famous actress. After donating Esteban’s heart to a patient, Manuela sets off for Barcelona in search of his father, who is living as a trans woman named Lola. Directed by Pedro Almodóvar, this film won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Free, Thu., July 25, 7-9 p.m.; McNay Art Museum, 6000 N. New Braunfels Ave. TPR Cinema Tuesdays: Zodiac In December, 1968, an unknown person shot and killed two victims in Northern California, and would continue to kill, terrorizing the region and confounding authorities well into the 1970s. To this day, the Zodiac case remains open in Napa County and the city of Riverside, CA. Using his meticulous approach to filmmaking, director David Fincher released what may be his masterpiece, Zodiac, in 2007. The film follows San Francisco Chronicle cartoonist Robert Graysmith’s obsessive quest to identify the killer. $10-$15, Tue., July 30, 7:30 p.m.; Santikos Bijou, 4522 Fredericksburg Rd.

THEATER Beauty and the Beast Based on the Academy Award-winning animated feature, the classic story tells of Belle, a young woman in a provincial town, and the Beast, who is really a young prince trapped under the spell of an enchantress. If the Beast can learn to love and be loved, the curse will end and he will be transformed into his former self, but time is running out. If he doesn’t learn his lesson soon, he and his household will be doomed for all eternity. $18$30, Fridays, Saturdays, 7:30 p.m., Sundays, 3 p.m. and Thu., July 25, 7 p.m. (through July 28); Woodlawn Theatre, 1920 Fredericksburg Road. An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe This one-man show will take audiences into the fading mind of the acclaimed dark Romantic poet and author Edgar Allan Poe as he wanders the streets of Bal-

timore in his feverish final week on Earth. Written, produced and starring Derek Berlin, a native San Antonian and lifelong performer, An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe’s “macabre” look into the tortured man’s “purgatorial” musings ought to find a nice home at the Overtime Theater, best known for its penchant for the weird and its willingness to offer the stage to eclectics and their experiments. Let’s see how well Berlin’s latest project can measure up to the granddaddy of Gothic fiction himself. $10-$15, Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m. (through July 27); The Gregg Barrios Theater at the Overtime, 5409 Bandera Road, Suite 205. Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical Most fans of Roald Dahl’s Matilda can agree that the scene in which “Poor Brucey” is forced by Miss Trunchbull to consume an entire, Willy Wonka-sized chocolate cake as punishment for stealing a single piece is one of the most memorable moments from the story. In the novel, the titular heroine defeats such evil with words — and telekinesis, of course — but the musical adaptation offers the chance to experience the magic in song. Born to the Wormwood family in the whirlwind of ballroom dancing with a dip and a little foxtrot, the child genius Matilda erupts from the gloom of her cruel childhood as a miracle with bravado and pizzazz. Believe it or not, Matilda actually shares the record for most Olivier awards won by a musical with Hamilton! Although Mara Wilson certainly won’t be reprising her filmic role, Matilda will spunkily take her adolescent revolution to the Public Theatre stage, played by Taylor Henderson and Audrey Davis. $20-$45, Thursdays-Saturdays, 7:30 p.m. and Sundays, 2 p.m.; The Public Theater of San Antonio, 800 W. Ashby Pl.

SPECIAL EVENTS Cocktail: The Event Celebrate San Antonio’s thriving cocktail culture at this event spotlighting ﬁfteen of the city’s top bars. Each participating drinkery is tasked with serving samples of an inventive cocktail, inspired by this year’s Tiki theme! Guests will experience bites by a dozen of San Antonio’s best restaurants, live music and DJs, a costume contest and much more, all while exploring the stunning San Antonio Botanical Garden grounds. $55-$90, Fri., July 19, 8-11 p.m.; San Antonio Botanical Garden, 555 Funston.

CLASSICAL MUSIC Cactus Pear Music Festival Helmed by guest Artistic Director Scott Cuellar, week two of this year’s Cactus Pear Music Festival will end with a bang. The final concerts, “Goethe Have Music” (July 19) and “Romancing the Notes” (July 20), aren’t the only music on the docket. If you’re looking for a double feature, check out the free, caffeinated matinee before the “Romancing the Notes,” which they’re calling “French Roast: Debussy, Ravel and Duparc” (3 p.m. Saturday, July 20, Summer Moon Coffee Bar, 3233 N. St. Mary’s St.). $5-$28, Fridays, Saturdays, 7-9:30 p.m. (through July 20); Trinity Baptist Church, 319 E. Mulberry. sacurrent.com | July 17-30, 2019 | CURRENT

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sacurrent.com | July 17-30, 2019 | CURRENT 21

Where Nature, Science and Culture Meet

LAST CALL OF THE WILD JULY 25 | 7:00 - 9:00 PM

Take a guided tour through the McLean Family Texas Wild Gallery with our Vice President of Public Programs, Helen Holdsworth, as she guides you and your guests through the Gallery and narrates the life of our collection. Our program presenters will showcase the variety of Witteâ€™s personal collection of pelts and explains their warning signs and calls against their predators in the wild. Enjoy the Last Call of the Wild with delicious food and complimentary drinks. This adventure is for guests 21 and over Beer and cocktails generously provided by Alamo Beer Food truck items available for purchase Tickets are $25 per person and include admission Survival: The Exhibition

Do you have what it takes to Survive? Tickets at WitteMuseum.org

CURRENT | July 17-30, 2019 | sacurrent.com

Title: Vice President of Conservation and Research, San Antonio Zoo Age: 48 Birthplace: Los Gatos, California Big impact: Saving the world — one amphibian at a time Little-known fact: He once removed a botfly larva from his own face with a razor blade. (Don’t google that, and don’t try it at home.) Money quote: “No ego. No projects for personal glorification. Only efforts that give wildlife a better chance.”

Courtesy of San Antonio Zoo

Wildlife Guardian

Conservationist Danté Fenolio fights to protect biodiversity at home and abroad BY KELLY MERKA NELSON

n 2003, Danté Fenolio was a decade and a continent away from San Antonio, suspended above the Madagascar rainforest on an inflatable green raft. Tiptoeing across netting through which leaves poked at odd intervals, he’d climb into a “sled” suspended from a blimp and slowly float above the treetops, collecting various samples for study. Fenolio’s career is one of extremes. From rainforest canopies to remote cave systems, he seeks out species rarely seen by people. Remember that recent viral video of the giant squid in the Gulf of Mexico? He was on that expedition, which also captured footage of deepsea wildlife such as the bioluminescent light show of a live Threadfin Dragonfish. “It’s awe-inspiring to be part of something that goes globally viral like this,” he says. “Humanity cannot afford to lose the wildlife that lives in our oceans without the subsequent collapse of many human populations.” But Fenolio’s toughest work hasn’t always taken him to far-flung places. When he joined the San Antonio Zoo in 2013, the first order on the docket was a major renovation right on premises — the development of a new conservation center. Crews tore down walls and ripped out wiring, replaced insulation and electrical components, installed a “self-starting generator” to protect against power outages and two shipping containers were repurposed as new labs. In short, it was a project that a doomsday-prepper would die for. But why did he need such a fancy facility? Why, to

save the world — one amphibian at a time. Many of the species Fenolio works with are facing apocalypse, so much so that scientists have dubbed this the era of “Anthropocene extinction,” as in a mass extinction caused by humans. Fenolio and his zoo research team have filled their labs to the brim with specimens, from the only captive colony of the Mexican blindcat to the Texan blind salamander and other species native to San Antonio’s Edwards Aquifer. The conservation department is run like an academic lab with data-based projects regularly written up for scientific publications. “We are able to share with the greater conservation community whatever it is that we have been able to develop with our efforts,” Fenolio says. To be sure, Fenolio is all about the team effort. At every turn, he gives credit to his collaborators, from legends like marine biologist Edie Widder to the zoo employees that help him at every level, scientists and facilities managers alike. This level of trust is especially important because his conservation efforts take him out of San Antonio for remote field work much of the year. “Their jobs are complex; I ask much of them,” he admits. “They all handle it with enthusiasm and skill. I’m so proud of all of them and what they accomplish. These are the folks fighting in the trenches for wildlife, day in and day out. Our motto in the department is

arts

Name: Danté Fenolio

that if a project doesn’t put wildlife first, we won’t do it. No ego. No projects for personal glorification. Only efforts that give wildlife a better chance.” Travel to exotic locales isn’t all fun and games, though. Not only can the work be grueling, Fenolio faces myriad dangers in the field. During a 2018 speech at San Antonio’s Argyle club, he calmly recounted a near-death experience that happened while on an excursion to Thailand. Deep in a cave to study the waterfall climbing loach, he and his colleagues began to suffocate. They were inhaling air but had become enveloped in a cloud of carbon dioxide. One researcher even passed out. Suffering from CO2 poisoning and encumbered by their unconscious colleague, the group had to trudge up a neck-deep river to reach fresh air. “It got down to the point where I had to say each one of my kid’s names when I took a step to make sure that I could get out,” Fenolio said. In a less deadly but no less disturbing close encounter, Fenolio once discovered that a parasite had made its home in his face. During some downtime in a hotel in Santiago, Chile, his quiet day turned into a creature feature when he “felt something wiggling below the skin,” then peered into the mirror to find a swollen bump containing the larva of a human botfly under his eyebrow. Rather than scream piteously like a coiffed blonde in a ‘50s B flick, he simply evicted the creature by cutting it out with a razor blade. To Fenolio, such risks are par for the course. In fact, he considers himself fortunate to have avoided many of the serious illnesses he could have contracted in his travels. His mission is worth putting life and limb on the line, because he stands guard against ecological apocalypse. With his team at the zoo, he is taking concrete steps to help species both in Texas and abroad. However, he doesn’t think this interest should only be limited to experts. “Let’s all work to secure a future not just for wildlife, but for future human generations,” he said.

Courtesy of Dante Fenolio

Find more artsmore coverage Find news every day at sacurrent.com

arts

Curator Leslie Moody Castro in one of the gallery spaces at Fundación Marso in Mexico City

Curatorial Bent

Name: Leslie Moody Castro Profession: Curator Age: 37 Bryan Rindfuss

The Bridge Builder

‘Itinerant curator’ Leslie Moody Castro connects the art worlds of Texas and Mexico BY BRYAN RINDFUSS

avigating a city’s art scene can be a complicated and time-consuming affair riddled with big personalities, uncrackable cliques and esoteric ideas. Becoming embedded in a city’s art scene requires patience, perseverance and hard work. Self-described “itinerant curator” Leslie Moody Castro has managed to accomplish all that and more by winning over the trust and respect of artists, galleries and museums in San Antonio, Austin, Mexico City and points in between. Born in the Rio Grande Valley city of Edinburg, Moody Castro moved to Austin with her mother as a child, later landed in a magnet program at Johnson High School and began studying art history as a sophomore. Upon graduation, she moved to Chicago to attend DePaul University as an English major with hopes of becoming a book editor. Art history, however, kept conveniently syncing up with her schedule, and before she knew it, she had a double major on her hands. As she dove deeper into art history, she developed an affinity for both Latin American art — specif-

CURRENT | July 17-30, 2019 | sacurrent.com

ically Colonial work and devotional Christian exvotos — and contemporary art but didn’t find much common ground between the two seemingly disparate genres. However, they began to mesh when she relocated to Mexico City in 2004 with a mission to embed herself in the contemporary culture of a Latin American city. As a fearless 22-year-old, she approached a gallery director and asked for a job. Since she did not yet speak Spanish, they devised an arrangement that involved Moody Castro working in the gallery for six months without pay while she learned the language. After three years in Mexico City, Moody Castro returned to Texas to pursue an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin. Based on her interest in ways galleries can spark communication and incubation while connecting artists with the general public, she opted for a program in museum education and museum studies rather than a traditional course rooted in curatorial art-history. While living in Austin, she also worked as an events coordinator for Mexic-Arte Museum, became familiar with key

Birthplace: Edinburg, Texas Big impact: In addition to curating impactful exhibitions involving cultural exchanges between San Antonio, Austin and Mexico City, Moody Castro creates contemporary art “experiences” tailor-made for visitors to her adopted hometown. Little-known fact: She’s a classically trained vocalist who once dreamed of becoming a book editor and recently recovered from a debilitating case of writer’s block. Money quote: “She is definitely a bridge builder: an optimist who wants to find a way to make it happen, create the dream, bring people together.” — Blue Star Contemporary Executive Director Mary Heathcott players in San Antonio’s art scene — including beloved artist Cruz Ortiz and Contemporary Art Month Executive Director Roberta “Nina” Hassele — and landed a graduate internship at Artpace San Antonio in the summer of 2010. Armed with her master’s, Moody Castro returned to Mexico City in 2011 and has since established herself as a mover and shaker with one foot firmly planted in the Lone Star State. In her artfully decorated apartment in the city’s Roma Norte neighborhood, we quizzed the multitasker about her curatorial practice, her current projects and the differences between the art scenes she moves in.

While some curators become known for visual, stylistic or thematic hallmarks, Moody Castro views every exhibition as a distinct challenge that begins not with artists or their work but the exhibition space itself. “And it’s not just the physical space,” she explained. “It’s also the place that the space is in, who comes to that space, what the programming is … All of these questions come to my mind when I think about curating. Mainly because I don’t want to do exhibitions just to do exhibitions. I want them to be relevant — whether that’s to artists, the art world or whoever comes in off the street.” Her interest in the unpredictable, important conversations and exchanges that exhibitions can inspire extends beyond her role as curator. “There is obviously some agency [in curating], but that’s not to say that because I’m the curator my voice is the be-all and end-all of what should happen and how people should think when they come to the show or the space … Once the exhibition is completely out of my hands, it has its own story and narrative and life. And I like that. Curating is not just about what I’m looking for, because it changes every single time I’m doing something.”

Pivotal Exhibitions At this point in her career, Moody Castro has curated 30 exhibitions informed by hundreds of studio visits. She cited four Texas exhibitions as significant turning points. One of the more memorable highlights of Contemporary Art Month 2011, “MixMasters: This Is Who We Are” united Moody Castro and Nina Hassele for a two-part exchange that took Austin artists to San Antonio and San Antonio artists to Austin. “I have always known Leslie to be organizing and collaborating on projects inclusive of bringing the art scenes from one community to another,” Hassele said. “She is talented and bold with a loud and passionate voice of artistic exchange.” Organized in collaboration with Mary Heathcott — who met Moody Castro in Chicago in the 2000s, formerly served as deputy director of Artpace and is now the executive director of Blue Star Contemporary — 2013’s “Transitios” brought the former Artpace intern back into the fold as co-curator of a group show featuring four Mexico City artists. In preparation, Heathcott traveled to Mexico City to attend the Zona Maco art fair to 27 6

MOSWOW-gettoknow-current-#2-9.75x10.6875-Ad-PRINT.pdf

7/12/19

5:24 PM

GET TO KNOW THE ARTISTS Visit samuseum.org/calendar for details and artists' bios. For lectures, doors open at 6:00 p.m. | Seating is limited.

Dara Birnbaum: A Four-Decade Trajectory of Provocative Video Art C

Tuesday, July 23 | 6:30–7:30 p.m. | Free

Jerri Allyn: Visiting Artist Workshop: Create Your Own Empowerment Placemat Saturday, July 27 | 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

CMY

Enrique Chagoya: The Art of Appropriation from Pop Art to Reverse Anthropology and Reverse Modernism Tuesday, August 6 | 6:30–7:30 p.m. | Free

Michael Ray Charles: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Tuesday, August 20 | 6:30–7:30 p.m. | Free

Robert Pruitt: The Influence of Comics

Tuesday, August 27 | 6:30–7:30 p.m. | Free ABOVE: Robert Pruitt, SUP, 2018, Conte charcoal on coffee-stained paper, 50” x 38” (Unframed), Courtesy of the artist and Koplin Del Rio Gallery Men of Steel, Women of Wonder is organized by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas. The exhibition is generously funded by The Brown Foundation, Inc., The Elizabeth Huth Coates Charitable Foundation of 1992, and The USAA Foundation, Inc. and is supported by the City of San Antonio’s Department of Arts & Culture.

200 West Jones Avenue | samuseum.org

sacurrent.com | July 17-30, 2019 | CURRENT

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“FORWARD! MARCHES THAT MOVE US” An exhibition that focuses on inspiring change by sharing images of activism CALL FOR ENTRIES

Many of us have marched for something —whether it is civil rights, racial equality, an end to war or nuclear weapons, LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, or an end to gun violence. Whether you’ve cheered from the sidewalks, followed along or led the advance, Planned Parenthood South Texas is looking for photos from the marches that have moved you. We are particularly interested in photos of the signs that have expressed your hopes or demands, and photos of you and your sisters (and brothers) in arms.

SUBMIT GUIDELINES

Our goal is to create a digital archive to serve as an online march living beyond a single gallery exhibition. To submit, post your photos to Instagram, tag @MarchesThatMoveUs and @PPSouthTexas and share something about why the march moved you. You can also submit your photos by emailing MarchesThatMoveUs@gmail.com. And if you’d like to drop off a photo, or maybe an actual sign, call 210-572-5279.

DEADLINE

A selection of the images we receive will be featured in a September exhibition at the Blue Star Arts Complex. The exhibition will be curated by Ethel Shipton with support from Casie Lomeli and will also include original artwork from ten of San Antonio’s leading artists. To be considered for this exhibit, please submit your entry by August 31, 2019.

EXHIBIT OPENS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 @ BLUE STAR ARTS COMPLEX, UNIT 134

CURRENT | July 17-30, 2019 | sacurrent.com

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6 24 meet with Moody Castro and local artists. “Spending time with Máximo González, his partner and fellow artist Ivan Buenader and Leslie, I came to understand how she had found her community in Mexico City and how beloved and respected she was by the artists there,” Heathcott recalled. “She comes to her work with a great amount of curiosity, and because she is so engaged, passionate and likable in every way, you want to work with her. She is definitely a bridge builder: an optimist who wants to find a way to make it happen, create the dream, bring people together.” The following year, Moody Castro was invited to curate Contemporary Art Month’s CAM Perennial at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. Following a string of studio visits she chronicled in a guest Current column titled “The Curator Diaries,” she narrowed the selection down to just two local artists — Mark Menjivar and Christie Blizard. Aptly dubbed “Untitled (Public Display),” the unconventional show evolved over time, relied on community participation and featured such diverse programming as a four-leaf clover hunt, a creative trek through the West Side and a community potluck. “Untitled (Public Display)” sparked an ongoing professional relationship between Menjivar and Moody Castro. “I have gotten to work with Leslie in several different capacities over the years, and I have always appreciated the way she is able to seamlessly flow between her various roles and contexts,” Menjivar said. “She is extremely thoughtful about each of her projects and functions from a place of deep generosity.” In arguably her biggest resume notch to date, Moody Castro was chosen as the curator and artistic director of the 2017 Texas Biennial. Taking a fairly exhaustive approach to the selection process for a statewide survey of contemporary art, she set off on a road trip to conduct 200 studio visits in 27 Texas cities. “It was big,” she said. “I was on the road for seven and a half weeks [and] there was so much magic that happened along the way. I made lifelong friendships in Tyler, I fell in love with Lubbock, Laredo was fucking amazing … As exhausting as that experience was, it was also energizing to be in the places I was in, and to be welcomed in the ways that I was.” The resulting exhibition — which included work by San Antonio artists Cruz Ortiz, Ana Fernandez and Jennifer Ling Datchuk — took place in the unexpected confines of a furniture showroom in South Austin. “I wanted that space for a lot of reasons,” she said. “I was really fighting [the idea of] being in a clean white cube. It was immediately [after Trump’s election]. I was traveling around the entire state and I was seeing the anger about the new president, and I was seeing the race issues really bubbling to the surface and people saying, ‘The white cube is not working for us because we do not identify with those things

Mexico City artist Miguel Ángel “Wimpy” Salazar (in back) explains his work to a group of Texas State University students attending a study abroad program facilitated by AtrevesArte. — the things the white cube represents.’” Making what she described as “really strategic choices,” she pushed the unusual space even further from the white-cube aesthetic by designing the temporary walls to hit the floor at odd angles and even painted some of the walls black.

Creating Experiences In 2005, Moody Castro met Mexico Citybased California native Tanya Diaz through mutual friends. In the years that followed, both became versed in the myriad aspects of Mexico City’s cultural landscape and unsurprisingly emerged as go-to contacts for visiting friends and acquaintances seeking recommendations, lists, passes to art fairs and plenty in between. In 2013, the pair put their heads together and launched AtrevesArte as a means to monetize and expand on the services they were already offering. A marriage of the Spanish words for “traverse” and “art,” AtrevesArte is not necessarily a tour company but an outlet for curated excursions and “learning trips” built around the specific interests of tourists, students, collectors and others. “I consider them experiences,” Moody Castro said. “Because that’s really what happens. It’s not like it’s me saying, ‘On your left is the Angel of Independence.’ No, we’re going to go to Tlatelolco, we’re going to talk about the massacre, we’re going to talk about how the city was designed and laid out, and the urban structure. So, it’s a very different way to see the city culturally.” AtrevesArte is at its busiest in February, when the global art world descends upon Mexico City to attend the Zona Maco and Material art fairs as well as gallery openings, museum shows and up-and-coming spinoff events. As a gift to special friends they might not otherwise get a chance to visit with, the duo organizes fast-paced, marathon-like gallery tours aboard the AtrevesArte “Chupebus,” a hired van

equipped with free-flowing mezcal. “Tanya had this brilliant idea: Let’s get everyone drunk on a bus,” Moody Castro said, laughing. “We’ll give them VIP passes for everything, we’ll break down all of the events happening throughout the week, we’ll give them a suggested itinerary and then we’ll highlight which things we’re going to be at, so we get to see each other and hang out a little bit. If we put them on a bus and get them drunk, then everyone becomes insta-friends, and that means they can take care of each other. And it worked!”

Guinea Pig in Residence At the moment, Moody Castro is in residence at Fundación Marso, a multipurpose art space housed in a stately old mansion in Mexico City’s burgeoning Juárez neighborhood. As the inaugural resident of a newly established program, she’s admittedly something of a guinea pig and took a fittingly experimental approach to her endeavors there, which comprise two exhibitions and an unusual series of workshops. Suffering from debilitating writer’s block since November, Moody Castro decided to turn one of the gallery spaces into an office of sorts where she invited friends and collaborators to join her for “therapy” sessions based on famed artist John Baldessari’s Fourteen Disparate Assignments. “They’re really meant for photographers,” she said of the assignments. “So I just modified them to work as writing exercises. You basically come in and you pick a prompt and then you pick a therapy to work with that prompt.” Moody Castro conducted roughly 20 sessions — no two were alike — and filled two notebooks chronicling the therapies. In a third notebook she keeps at her bedside, she started recording the first thing that she sees or thinks each morning.

“It’s just one sentence [and] you can tell I haven’t had any coffee,” she said with a laugh. “It’s really funny because it’s the messiest. I can barely hold a pen, it’s literally the first thing I do when I sit up.” A quick peek at said notebook revealed brief thoughts such as “the most profound, beautiful color of green.” That deep shade of green factored into the first of her two Marso exhibitions, “La Tierra Antes del Diluvio (The Earth Before the Flood),” a two-person show addressing natural history, evolution, paleontology and dinosaurs — both the extinct kind and the outdated Microsoft operating system known as Windows 98 — through the eyes of artists Miguel Ángel “Wimpy” Salazar and Carlos Iván Hernández. “What this show is doing is sort of looking at the parallel lines between science and technology and how science in many ways evolves,” Moody Castro explained. “At one point in time, people thought the Earth was flat. And, at one point, Windows 98 was the height of all technology.” Simultaneously pensive and playful, “La Tierra Antes del Diluvio” came together in an array of “laser drawings” rendered in toner on paper, a video mimicking a retro screensaver of a desert scene, a 200-pound concrete sculpture of two dinosaurs fighting and smaller sculptures inspired by the graphics from the Windows 98era computer games Solitaire and Minesweeper. Moody Castro’s residency at Marso will culminate in November with the opening of her second exhibition there, a pairing of artists Daniela Libertad and Fabiola Menchelli.

All in the Family When asked about the differences between the art scenes in Texas and Mexico, Moody Castro instead pointed out the similarities. “There’s very much a family unit in all of them — Austin, San Antonio, Mexico City, Texas in general — which I love and don’t take for granted by any means. It’s funny because Mexico City is so fucking big, but it’s still a pueblo. And we all know each other … It’s really fantastic.” From her perspective, differences emerge within conceptual practices and the general approach to spaces in which art is shown. “Austin’s moved into a very sort of clean white-cube aesthetic. And so it gets hard for people to kind of push those boundaries a little bit, whereas people [in Mexico City] do it all the time [by showing in] parking garages, buildings slated for demolition,” she said. “San Antonio I think has a lot more tendency to play with alternative spaces, which I think is exciting … One of the things I love about San Antonio is that the institutions work with the grassroots community — everyone plays well with each other for the most part.” sacurrent.com | July 17-30, 2019 | CURRENT

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The Art of Self-Defense is inconsistent as a deadpan dark comedy about toxic masculinity BY KIKO MARTINEZ

n the last 20 years, Oscar-nominated actor Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network) has portrayed a handful of unassuming characters. From a shy college student working at a theme park in Adventureland to a socially awkward office clerk in The Double, Eisenberg has made a nice career out of playing teenage boys and young men who wouldn’t necessarily be the first person someone noticed when stepping into a crowded room. Eisenberg’s also had the opportunity to show off his confidence in movies like Now You See Me and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, so it’s interesting to see him play a sort of hybrid character in his most recent film The Art of Self-Defense — an absurdist satire on toxic masculinity. It’s a cutting dark comedy that uses dry humor effectively in some scenes, but it’s unable to land a final crippling blow to drive its message home. Written and directed by Riley Stearns (Faults), the film follows Casey Davies (Eisenberg), a soft-spoken accountant whose life changes overnight when he is severely beaten by a gang of motorcyclists while walking home from the store. The incident causes Casey to become terrified of leaving his house at night. When

Sharp Objects

IFC Films

he stumbles into a karate dojo run by a testosterone-fueled sensei (Alessandro Nivola), he believes learning martial arts will give him the courage he needs to stand up for himself. Stearns does a good job of defining Casey right from the get-go — a weakling who doesn’t like confrontation. In one early scene, a couple, assuming Casey doesn’t understand them, begins to ridicule him in French at a restaurant. Even though he’s recently mastered the language, he sits there unphased. Highlighting Casey’s vulnerabilities like this is vital to the narrative as Stearns starts to slowly mold him into another character. Urged by his sensei to be as masculine as possible, the most hilariously deadpan moments of The Art of Self-Defense come as we witness Casey transform into a man’s man. “You’re a blade and

Bleecker Street

Sword of Trust’s whip-smart script dulls in the third act, but snark and heart win out

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Macho Man

ndependent filmmaker Lynn Shelton (Your Sister’s Sister) was no stranger to actor, writer, stand-up comedian and podcast host Marc Maron when she cast him in her new film Sword of Trust. She had already directed him in a few projects, including a couple of episodes of his namesake TV series Maron and his 2017 Netflix comedy special Marc Maron: Too Real. She was also a guest on his popular podcast WTF with Marc Maron two months prior from officially getting hired. It turned out to be the perfect choice to say the least.

I’m sharpening you,” the sensei says before instructing Casey to listen to heavy metal music instead of his usual adult contemporary and speak German not French. Casey also decides on his own to stop petting his Dachshund and forego his regular chocolate croissant and orange juice breakfast for black coffee. The Art of Self-Defense jokingly plays out like the Rex Kwon Do scenes in Napoleon Dynamite. The weird tone might placate fans of films like last year’s Sorry to Bother You or 2016’s Swiss Army Man, but Stearns can’t quite assemble his ideas consistently enough to come out victorious. The Art of Self-Defense opens at the Santikos Bijou Cinema Bistro and the Alamo Drafthouse Park North July 19.

Sword of Trust is a heavily improvised and sharply written dark dramedy that comes up short in the homestretch, but not before delivering a handful of funny and memorable moments. Maron stars as Mel, a pawn shop owner in Birmingham, Alabama, who makes a deal with some customers after they offer to sell him a peculiar relic. The “prover item,” as it’s referred to later in the film, is a sword said to be proof that the South won the Civil War. It has been bequeathed by a Confederate soldier to his granddaughter Cynthia (Jillian Bell). Mel and his employee Nathaniel (Jon Bass) think Cynthia and her wife Mary (Michaela Watkins) are a pair of kooks for the yarn they spin — the women don’t buy her grandfather’s story either but need to make the sale. However, a quick internet search reveals a fringe group of conspiracy theorists who would pay top dollar for the weapon. After locating a buyer, Mel and the ladies decide to team up and split the money. But when the potential customer insists that he meets the sellers, Mel, Nathaniel, Cynthia and Mary find themselves riding in the back of a moving truck to an undisclosed location to do business with a probable racist. On its surface, Sword of Trust is a whip-smart comedy that pokes fun of people who believe the Earth is flat and the existence of a shadow U.S. government. While much of the snarky script is ad-libbed, Shelton and co-writer Michael O’Brien (TV’s A.P. Bio) create a structure for the narrative that is deeper and more meaningful than an average satire. The emotional load is lifted by Maron, who expresses some of the most heartfelt and natural dialogue in a movie this year with an anecdote concerning a drug-addicted ex-girlfriend (Shelton) and the life he watched pass him by years ago. Shelton’s film might cover revisionist history, but it’s also about the struggle to believe in something — or someone — when conflicting evidence is too convincing to ignore. Still, in Sword of Trust, Maron shows audiences how a little faith can go a long way. Sword of Trust hits VOD platforms July 19. — Kiko Martinez

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Silver Linings San Antonio Film Festival celebrates 25 years as the city’s cinematic sanctuary

BY KIKO MARTINEZ

ver the past 25 years, the San Antonio Film Festival has grown, transformed and matured into a premiere event for movie lovers across the city. And founder Adam Rocha has been leading the charge for the entire time. In addition to starting and running the festival, commonly known as SAFILM, Rocha is also a cinema teacher at John Marshall High School. Once school lets out for the summer, the festival elevates him. “It’s like a changing of the seasons,” Rocha said. “Celebrating our 25th year, our silver anniversary, means that I still get to do something that I really love to do. I get to work with seasoned vets and students on our team, big stars and notable and up-andcoming filmmakers.” One of those up-and-comers is San Antonio native Danny Ramos. After working as an assistant to Oscar-winning director John G. Avildsen (Rocky) on the set of the 1994 rodeo drama 8 Seconds, he knew he wanted to make his own movies. In his debut feature, The Margarita Man, Ramos tells the story of Miguel Martinez (Anthony Guajardo), an irresponsible college student who’s forced to take a job as the guy who sets up the margar-

Clockwise from top left: The Margarita Man, Ernie & Joe, Teenage Girl: Valerie’s Holiday

Margarita Man Productions

ita machine at parties after his father (Jesse she can become popular. Borrego) financially cuts him off. The movie, Lopez said he’s excited to be part of SAwhich screens at SAFILM on July 31 at 9 p.m., FILM’s celebration of arts in the Alamo City. was shot in San Antonio and also stars Danny “SAFILM is a great festival for indepenTrejo (Machete), Pepe Serna (Scarface) and dent film, because it showcases such great Barry Corbin (No Country for Old Men). independent talent from San Antonio,” he “It was really exciting for me to give back said. “The fact that the festival is in its 25th to San Antonio,” said Ramos, who now calls year and includes such diverse films is a Los Angeles home. “A festival like SAFILM testament to the power of the film festival means a great deal for all filmmakers that and the local film community.” live and work in the But SAFILM’s focus film industry. I knew covers more than nar25th Annual San Antonio that one day I was gorative filmmaking. Film Festival ing to direct a movie Ernie & Joe — a $59 (1-day pass); $99 (weekend and, now, my time documentary that badge); $169 (VIP badge) has come.” won a Special Jury July 30-August 4 Director Aaron Lee award at the SXSW Tobin Center for the Performing Lopez, who co-wrote Film Festival in March Arts and produced The — is screening August 100 Auditorium Circle Margarita Man, is also 4 at 6 p.m. The film (210) 223-8624 premiering a new follows Ernie Stevens tobincenter.org romantic comedy and Joe Smarro, a pair Teenage Girl: Valerie’s of San Antonio Police Holiday. The film, Department officers which screens August 2 at 10 p.m., stars San who are part of a special unit that responds Antonio native Valeria Jauregui as the title to emergency calls involving mentally ill character, a nerdy high school girl who precitizens. Ernie & Joe was recently purchased tends to be her cool albeit fake twin sister so by HBO.

Mutt Productions

“I am delighted for a San Antonio audience to have the opportunity to see Ernie & Joe,” director Jenifer McShane said. “Who better than a local audience to see what is happening in their own backyard? My hope is that the work of the SAPD Mental Health Unit will continue to expand and that people realize its potential. Community awareness and support is needed.” McShane, who’s based in Connecticut, said she enjoys screening her documentary at festivals because filmmakers can engage in meaningful ways with audiences. “Film festivals are a terrific local resource, and I applaud all communities who can put in the extraordinary effort to organize one,” she said. “SAFILM is particularly special because the subjects of the film will be in attendance.”

Celebrity Watch This year, SAFILM will honor three Hollywood veterans, all of whom are scheduled to be on hand — actor and comedian Cheech Marin (Up in Smoke), San Antonio resident and Oscar-nominee Jackie Earl Haley (Little Children) and actress Cybill Shepherd (The Last Picture Show). “What these three honorees all have in common is a massive catalog of amazing work that I grew up watching, appreciating and relating to,” Rocha said. The Cheech, a short documentary on Marin’s lifelong advocacy of Chicano arts, Haley’s 2006 drama Little Children and Shepherd’s 2017 drama Being Rose are all scheduled to screen at the festival. Other stars confirmed for this year include actor Alex Wolff (Hereditary) for his directorial debut The Cat and the Moon; director Adrian Buitenhuis for her documentary I Am Patrick Swayze, about her late husband; and San Antonio native, studio executive and producer Marcia Nasatir (Rocky, Apocalypse Now). A full schedule of SAFILM show times is available at safilm.com.

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sacurrent.com | July 17-30, 2019 | CURRENT

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rotating brews. Maverick is exploring the possibility of limited distribution in the future, but for now, the spirits and brews can be purchased on-site for take-home consumption. The location offers an upstairs tasting room for a view overlooking the distilling and brewing equipment. The bar will serve beer, cocktails made with Maverick’s spirits and a full food menu. A third level will be available to rent for private functions. Texas gin with pecan and lavender notes and Maverick’s kitchen will serve up a high-end plans to eventually develop a peach liqueur and casual lunch or upscale dinner. Its menu will an agave-based spirit for customers. largely focus on South Texas fare infused Armed with a three-barrel production with culinary influences from the Maverick’s brewing system, Maverick is just as serious about providing quality handcrafted beers as family roots in Carolina and Alabama. The restaurant will emphait is spirits, Maverick said. size unique culinary experiHead Brewer Nathan Rice, ences using local products who previously worked at Maverick Whiskey and Texas-sourced ingredients breweries including New maverickwhiskey.com found within 200 miles of San Braunfels Brewing Co., has 115 Broadway St, San Antonio, said Ande McBay, teamed up with head distiller Antonio, Texas 78205 Maverick’s general manager Rikk Munroe, formerly of Ben and event coordinator. Milan Whiskey in Blanco, to (210) 447-7010 As part of that keep-it-lolead operations. cal effort, Maverick keeps a “I’m excited to be here,” Rice hydroponic garden system to said. “I’ve already run three grow fresh fruits and vegetables. The restaubeers through our pilot system.” rant will also keep beehives, allowing access Maverick currently offers Mission City to locally produced honey for the kitchen Blonde, an American blond ale; Distiller’s Pale Ale, an American pale ale using distiller’s and bar. In the weeks leading up to the distillery’s malt that will feature different hops with grand opening, Maverick is giving customers each batch; and Lockwood Porter, a tradia chance to enjoy drinks and bites, speaktional English ale that will rotate in and out easy style. For those who love mystery, it will of the line up along with an Irish Red Ale. continue to host monthly speakeasies that Rice also plans to add more beers on tap, require a special password to enter. offering four year-round varieties and three

Downtown’s Maverick Distillery to begin serving whiskey and beer steeped in Texas history BY JEREMY BANAS

averick Whiskey, the long-awaited distillery from Ken Maverick — a direct descendent of Texas Independence leader Samuel A. Maverick — will open its doors to downtown San Antonio on July 23. Housed inside the historic Lockwood Bank Building at 115 Broadway, the three-story distillery sits on the corner of the prominent family’s original homestead. Maverick purchased the property nearly two years ago with plans to create a place that honored his family, their love of great spirits and San Antonio. “We hope to honor our family name with everything we do and to give patrons a taste of what Texas truly is,” Maverick said. As a grain-to-glass distillery and brewery, Maverick produces and ages its own neutral grain spirit onsite. While straight whiskey requires two years to age, the downtown distillery offers a light whiskey, which is aged in used barrels for a day or two and delivers a product with character and a shorter turnaround time. Maverick will feature a light whiskey that follows Sam Maverick’s original mash bill brought over from the Carolinas. It also will produce a

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IKEA Eats

Pretty plating isn’t a priority at the Swedish retailer’s cafeteria, but the food is good enough to fuel a tortuous shopping experience BY RON BECHTOL

ej! You’re forgiven for not knowing what this means, unless, of course, you’re a frequenter of IKEA — the Swedish, occasionally annoying, assembly-required, furniture giant. “Hej,” a Swedish greeting that translates to “hey” in English, will always welcome you at the new IKEA San Antonio. IKEA shopping veterans are familiar the dazed-and-confused shopping crowds that often stumble through the store’s notorious mazes. They also know that no one is immune to IKEA’s I-didn’t-know-I-needed-that syndrome, which requires serious shopping energy. Though it’s far from a destination dining spot, IKEA’s cafeteria offers food, much of which isn’t all bad, to help you power through any shopping mission.

Early arrivers can fuel-up with a breakfast that even the Muppets’ hilariously inaccurate “Swedish” chef could appreciate as a deal: scrambled eggs, potatoes and two sausage links for $1.49. The breakfast is more than decent, despite the lack of locally obligatory salsa. This is a cooler-than-school cafeteria, but it’s still a cafeteria, and pretty plating is not a concern. It must be admitted that the pork and beef balls are tender and delicately seasoned, the gravy inoffensive, the accompanying mashed potatoes are real and the lingonberry sauce (think cranberry) adds both wanted color and a sweet-tangy contrast. IKEA gets points for attempting a steamed vegetable medley with peas, beans and fancy broccoflower, but the dish was under-seasoned and overcooked.

like cardamom, licorice and almond The cafeteria also offers bröd tunnpaste looming large, and IKEA’s thin bröd, a Swedish thin bread equivalent pancakes, dessert may show up at any to San Antonio’s flour tortilla, that time of day. The traditional äppelkaka, envelopes the house salmon roll, a rosy or apple cake, looked inviting but was a fish marinated and served with muslittle boring, and might have improved tard dill sauce and greens. You would with warming or benefited from the expect the Swedes to know their way vanilla sauce that usually accompanies around salmon, and they do — salmon it in Sweden. The almond cake was fine appears in several other forms, and it’s a great starter for IKEA’s iconic Köttbul- right out of the display case, however. Though the cake was gluten-free, it was lar, or Swedish meatballs. creamy and just sweet enough. Toasted IKEA is reportedly toying with a toalmonds added a nice crunch. tally vegan meatball, but in the meanIf you’re craving more Swedish time, there’s a more than respectable vegetarian option made with chickpeas flavors at home, you’re in luck: IKEA’s frozen and packaged food departand peas and served with a coconut curry sauce that packs more flavor than ment is conveniently located near the checkout lanes. You’ll find almost every any brown gravy. Carnivores might cafeteria item including meatballs, want to start here, or they can go the cured salmon and braised lemon chicklingonberry jam in en leg route. There’s IKEA the store, along with nothing life-changing 1000 IKEA-RBFCU Parkway, pickled herring and about the moist and Live Oak the gummi candies tender chunk o’ chick the Swedes adore. Plus served with brown Mon.-Sat. 9:30 a.m.-8:30 chocolate bars. I was gravy and mashed p.m.; Sunday 10:30 a.m.-7:30 seduced by an organic potatoes, but the $6.99 p.m. dark chocolate model plate is more than satikea.com with “coffee crunch.” It isfying despite, being was spectacularly good light on the lemon. and a fitting reward for Like Americans, the having hiked the whole store. Surely Swedes are down for dessert at almost somebody has calculated that distance. every opportunity. With ingredients sacurrent.com | July 17-30, 2019 | CURRENT

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CURRENT | July 17-30, 2019 | sacurrent.com

food Name: Mike Nguyen Profession: Chef, owner of Noodle Tree Age: 32 Birthplace: Huntington Beach, California Big impact: There are no frills at Noodle Tree, but Nguyen’s training and his dedicated staff aim to deliver food experiences usually reserved for fine dining establishments. Little-known fact: Makes Liquid Rage hot sauce in his house using habanero, jalapeño and ghost peppers. Money quote: “I stayed here because I love San Antonio. I was serious about creating something of my own.”

Here to Win

Chef Mike Nguyen scores a victory with his ramenfocused Noodle Tree BY LEA THOMPSON

hef Mike Nguyen grew up in Huntington Beach, California, playing sports and cooking with his sister, who helped raise him after their mom passed away. But it wasn’t until a football injury in college sidelined his sports ambitions that he seriously considered a culinary career. Nguyen had zero culinary experience when he stepped into chef Wolfgang Puck’s Washington, D.C. restaurant the Source in 2008 looking for a job. But management responded to his enthusiasm and willingness to learn. They offered him a job on the spot. “I learned everything I needed to know, culinary-wise, while I was there,” Nguyen said. “The restaurant pushed me to work with incredible chefs and

adapt to any challenge.” His position at the Source also allowed him to travel and visit food hot-spots like Momofuku in New York, which sparked his love for ramen. Eventually, he left D.C. to work in restaurants throughout the country, always researching and testing his own take on the definitive Japanese noodle dish. In 2016, he relocated to San Antonio to be closer to his family and then girlfriend. “It didn’t work out with the girl, and my family ended up moving back to California,” he said. Additional setbacks followed. One of Nguyen’s nieces passed away, and he left the kitchen to focus on coaching job opportunities before he was diagnosed with lymphoma.

intent of not overwhelming palates. There are no frills at the eatery, but Nguyen’s training and his Lea Thompson dedicated staff aim to deliver food experiences usually reserved for fine dining estabThrough it all, he remained in the lishments. For example, he demands Alamo City. that the restaurant use house-pickled “I stayed here because I love San ginger, fresh produce and high-qualAntonio,” he said. “I was serious about ity meats. Each bite is evidence that creating something of my own.” great ingredients in capable hands Realizing there would never be a lead to great food. “good time” to open a restaurant, Customers, including anyone from Nguyen leapt into action in early 2018, UTSA students to Spurs legend David launching a food truck and successful Robinson, keep coming back for weekly ramen pop-ups at the Stone fresh-made dumplings, pulled pork Oak bar Green Lantern. He was on bao buns and a variety track to open a restauof dishes, including rant late last year Noodle Tree menudo ramen. when the investors got 7114 UTSA Boulevard Unit Since finding his cold feet. Undaunted, 101, San Antonio, TX 78249 stride, Nguyen has he found a space near expanded Noodle Tree UTSA inside a former (210) 233-6371 from 26 seats to 72 and Pita Pit franchise that facebook.com/noodletreetx is mulling a second would allow him to location. test his dining concept “We should have before signing a lease. never been here,” he said, reflecting on He opened the restaurant on January the number of obstacles he had to over11, his mother’s birthday. Fortunately, come to get the restaurant open. “My he quickly found loyal fans. standards are so high, and I hate to fail. At Noodle Tree, Nguyen has manIn the restaurant business, perfection is aged to create a space all his own. The demanded but it’s never obtained. You ramen shop allows customers to select can only chase it. We are always trying their preferred flavor profiles — sweet, to be better.” savory or spicy, all designed with the sacurrent.com | July 17-30, 2019 | CURRENT

Name: Lil Booty Call Profession: Rapper Age: 22 Birthplace: San Antonio Big impact: After his song “Sailor Moon” blew up SoundCloud, Lil Booty Call landed a deal with Warner Records. Little-known fact: Prefers $3 black T-shirts from Walmart over expensive clothing

Claire Marie Vogel

Money quote: “To be honest, real music will last forever … I don’t really copy styles. I copy the way people move, I study people. I saw the way Mac Miller and Wiz Khalifa moved, and they never really went along with the hype. They always stuck to themselves, and I saw how far they got.”

CURRENT | July 17-30, 2019 | sacurrent.com

pitting verses while jumping across the stage like he was playing a game of “the ground is lava,” Lil Booty Call had the crowd at the Paper Tiger feeding off his energy during a performance more than a year ago. Packed tightly around the venue’s secondary stage, audience members thrust phones into the air, eager to capture footage of the San Antonio rapper as he rhymed over a looping saxophone riff and thumping trap beat. In perfect rock star fashion, he jumped into the audience as the packed room continued to chant the chorus of his signature song, “Sailor Moon.” The same song the Paper Tiger audience sang along with now sits at nearly 4.9 million streams on SoundCloud, the music streaming service where Call first released the track. And with a debut album Jesus Said Run It Back released last month through Warner Records — whose roster includes Lil Pump, Deftones and even Cher — it’s easy to think the 22-year-old rapper has made it. But Call’s emergence comes at a time when the music industry is in upheaval and oversaturated with other young rappers who have come up through SoundCloud. It’s hard not to see challenges for the young emcee as he works to carve out a career that lasts longer than the shelf life of a catchy single. Even so, the San Antonio native — born Michael Bocanegra — says he’s looking to play the long game. Specifically, he cites lessons he took from two of his early influences, the late Mac Miller and Wiz Khalifa, a pair of rappers who stayed true to their art, refused to jump trends and were rewarded with career longevity. “Real music will last forever,” Call said. “I saw the way Mac Miller and Wiz Khalifa moved, and they never really went along with the hype. They always stuck to themselves, and I saw how far they got. With me, as long as I don’t jump into this wave where it’s … talking about killing and shooting people … I don’t think I’ll fall off anytime soon.” While Call does engage in some lyrical posturing, most of it seems like a nod to hip-hop culture and its roots. More often, his subject matter runs to introspec-

While Lil Booty Call’s name suggests that the rapper’s content might be sexual in nature, full of odes to partying and promiscuity, there’s actually another meaning behind the catchy moniker. “I’ve never been the popular kid,” the rapper said. “I knew a lot of people in school, but nobody really fucked with me, and I just felt like a booty call — like somebody you hit up randomly, somebody you know that’s not busy because you know they don’t fuck with anybody.” Raised by divorced parents, Call played in his middle-school band but ditched the clarinet soon after he and friends began rapping over instrumental beats at his dad’s house. “I was just freestyling, but if it was fire, I would write it down and think, ‘Damn, I’m gonna use this [in a song] someday,” he recalls. As a sophomore at Earl Warren High

School, from where he graduated in 2014, Call got his chance to put those rhymes to use. He joined Supernova, a hip-hop collective featuring a dozen or so members. “They kicked me out the group. They said I sucked or whatever,” Call said with a laugh. “So, I was like, ‘Alright, bro, I’m gonna show y’all.’” He continued honing his craft as a lyricist, working a day job at H-E-B and freestyling into the early hours with his friends. After a traffic accident landed him in the hospital, he moved back in with his mom and stepdad. After his stepdad gifted him with a MacBook he won in a work raffle, Call got his chance to move beyond rhyming to composing beats. He began producing his own songs, tracking vocals using only the microphone built into his headphones. The homespun approach became the recipe for his breakout song “Sailor Moon,” a song about enduring repeated disses from a girl he likes. He released it as part of an EP on SoundCloud but eventually took it down after a lack of response. “Nobody was really fucking with the songs, so I deleted all of them,” the rapper said. “I do remember this one guy that said, ‘I know you deleted all your shit, but you need to reupload ‘Sailor Moon.’ That’s a hit.’” Heeding the advice, Call posted the song again and worked on new tunes. A year or so later, out of nowhere it seemed, “Sailor Moon” blew up on the streaming site. “In 2017, something happened — I still don’t know what happened,” he said. “I guess I just hit the right algorithm or something like that, and [“Sailor Moon”] was recommended to everybody. And the shit just started popping off like crazy.” In early 2018, a few months after the track went viral, Call got an email from Glow Up Records, a New York-based independent label. After negotiating a deal, he was booked to play the Roxy in Los Angeles. Call’s management team invited other label execs, including one from Warner to attend. After seeing he’d sold out the venue and rocked the crowd with an energetic performance, Warner also extended an offer. “After the show, a couple labels talked

music

tion, sometimes with a bit of melancholy. With his bright colored hair — think a blue raspberry and cherry raspa — and glasses, Call looks like a teenager waiting to get picked up from a show on the St. Mary’s Strip. But beneath that party-ready exterior, it’s clear that Call wants to give his listeners an inside look at his life journey, which sometimes seems a bit lonely. On “Bandaid,” the opening track of his new album, he alludes to buying things to fill a painful emotional void. “I write for the form of expression and to just get things off my head,” he said. Call’s music is also a far cry from many of the repetitive mumble rap and trap tracks that flood SoundCloud. The mood varies across Jesus Said Run It Back, and many of the beats possess a jazzy element. Delicate piano figures and laid-back acoustic guitar progressions figure into some of the tunes. But for all his obvious skill, the up-andcoming rapper still faces the same criticism directed toward his generation of SoundCloud artists. Namely, that they broke out via viral online hits instead of “paying dues” by releasing albums and incessant touring. “The main criticism that comes with being in that [SoundCloud] group is that it’s not real rap,” said Shea Serrano, author of The Rap Year Book: The Most Important Rap Song from Every Year Since 1979, Discussed, Debated. But Serrano said that opinion, most commonly held by the older generation of “gatekeepers” within the hip-hop community, is fast becoming a dominant way for listeners to discover new artists, especially those recommended by friends. “SoundCloud was just an avenue that was not available to people at the time,” he said, explaining why the older generation remains dismissive.

to me and flew me out,” Call said. “But we went with Warner because we feel like they actually gave a fuck about [nurturing] me and caring about my fanbase instead of just [trying to make a] a quick buck.” While grabbing a major-label deal is a feat for an artist in any genre, the bridge from SoundCloud rapper to top-billing emcee is still narrow and new, observers point out. Questions still linger about the career longevity of rappers who started out as Internet phenomena.

But industry veterans say it may be time to start taking SoundCloud rappers like Call seriously. Marco Cervantes, a hip-hop scholar and director of the University of Texas at San Antonio’s Mexican-American studies program, said SoundCloud has emerged as a leading way for fans to discover new songs and artists. “As a professor, I get access to a lot of young people, and I get to talk to them about how they consume music. And for many of them it’s SoundCloud,” said Cervantes who also raps under the moniker Mex-Step in the group Third Root. “They communicate through SoundCloud — some of them don’t have the capital to buy a Spotify account or Apple Music or whatever — but they have their SoundCloud going, and it keeps them in the know.” Virtually anyone can upload their music onto SoundCloud and there’s no quality control, so Cervantes points out that it’s worth noting that Call’s music stood out from the crowd and received so many plays. In other words: “All bets are off in the internet rap era,” said Andrew Sims, cofounder of indie-rap heavyweights Doomtree. During Sims’ two decades in hip-hop, the formula for creating a hit has changed — and become more elusive. Call’s challenge, according to Sims, isn’t going to be figuring out how to apply a special pop formula to his music but keeping outsiders from muscling in on his career and diluting his vision. 41 6

Find more music coverage Find more news every day at sacurrent.com

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PHOTOS.SACURRENT.COM Claire Marie Vogel

6 39 “People are going to be giving him all types of ideas and things that he can do and [telling him] what he should be doing, when he should be listening to himself,” Sims said. “As labels come hollering and different producers come in and out of the picture and different publicists come in and out of the picture, he’s just got to stay true to his vision. If his vision is strong, then he’s going to be really successful.” Hip-hop author Serrano agrees. He points to Tyler, The Creator as a rapper who’s done a good job of staying true to his vision. While the rapper came up before the SoundCloud era, he was able to build a massive online following via the then-new Twitter platform and write-ups in blogs. At the end of the day, Call’s success lies within his own creative vision — one that’s so far taken him further into the music-industry mainstream than any other Alamo City rapper. The key to building that into a lasting career comes down to his ability to focus on his art, Serrano said. “As hard as it is, you have to not concern yourself with becoming everybody’s favorite rapper,” he added. “Stay true to yourself, keep making music and it’ll find who it finds.”

Regardless of the direction Call takes, fans of hip-hop’s myriad subgenres may find something to appreciate about Jesus Said Run It Back. To promote the album, Call is gearing up for his first-ever tour. Although dates haven’t been set in stone, it will kick off later this year and include a San Antonio stop. But the rapper said he’s not mapping out his moves much beyond that. “I don’t really know what’s going to happen in the next couple of years,” he said, adding that he prefers focusing on short-term goals. “I don’t like having expectations, because when you have expectations, you get let down a lot.” Wherever the path takes him, though, he will continue to focus on producing music with a lasting impact. Flavor-of-the-week rappers may blow up quickly, he adds, but they’re forgotten just as fast. “I’m not trying to pop off like crazy,” Call said. “The faster you come up, the faster you come down.”

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music | music Picks Thursday, July 18

MICHAEL J. AND THE FOXES

Michael Carillo is best known for fronting the regionally known and critically lauded indie-rock orchestra Deer Vibes, but he’s also found time show his outlaw country side with a project called Michael J. and the Foxes. If you’ve never seen the Foxes live, you’re missing the joy of seeing a band deliver expertly written songs in a way that’s simple yet impactful. Free, 9 p.m., Lonesome Rose, 2114 N St Mary’s St., (210) 455-0233, thelonesomerose.com. — Chris Conde

COPPER CHIEF

ATX-based alt-country and new school southern rock act Copper Chief puts on performances full of rock fire and country twang. $10-$50, 7:30 p.m., Sam’s Burger Joint, 330 E. Grayson St., (210) 223-2830, samsburgerjoint.com. — James Courtney

Friday, July 19

COLECTIVO FLAMENCO WITH ANDREA HERNANDEZ

Feast your eyes and ears on Colectivo Flamenco as the singers, guitarist and dancers fan the flame of passion within you. In addition to enjoying the romantic beauty of one Spain’s most beloved forms of expression, you can also feast on tapas and house-made sangria as you take in the show. $25, 8:30 p.m., Carmen’s De La Calle Cafe, 320 N. Flores St., (210) 281-4349, carmensdelacalle. com. — Shannon Sweet

SPEEDWAY (SMITHS AND MORRISEY TRIBUTE)

With Morrissey becoming more and more problematic — see his recent support of far-right groups in his native England — fans of the former Smiths singer may feel conflicted about supporting his live shows (when he actually puts in an appearance). Speedway, a live tribute to Morrisey and The

Smiths, might be just the solution to enjoying Moz’s music in a live setting without those guilty feels. 8 p.m., $12, Amp Room, 2407 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 320-2122, theamproom.com. — CC

SQUARE HAMMER: A TRIBUTE TO GHOST, THE MAENSION, DEADLY OMENS

With carbon copies of costumes, mannerisms and songs, Square Hammer’s Resurrection tour honors the band that opened for Iron Maiden in 2017 at the AT&T Center. The rituals are so precise, the real Papa Emeritus may not know whether to be flattered or feel left out. $10 or $15 for two online; $15 at the door, 7:30 p.m., Bonds 007 Rock Bar, 450 Soledad St., (210) 225-0007, bonds007rockbar.com. — Jay Nanda

THE MARCH DIVIDE

The local indie-rock outfit March Divide, helmed by Josh Putnam, draws from a wide array of influences. It also boasts a track record of putting out consistently good recordings. Free, 6 p.m., The Point Park and Eats, 24188 Boerne Stage Road, (210) 251-3380, parkatthepoint.com. — JC

SO FAR GONE (DRAKE NIGHT)

Here’s your night to get Drizzy. Come out to dance and drink and celebrate the Toronto Raptors’ first and last NBA championship with music all night from the Canada’s leading rap export. $5, 9 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — JC

Saturday, July 20

MIDAS + CRYPT TRIP

Detroit’s Midas — a band that rose from the ashes of the equally badass-sounding Bison Machine and Wild Savages — is headed to SA in support of a new self-released cassette called Solid Gold Heavy Metal. The band carries on a classic Detroit hard rock sound distinguished by triumphant and metallic

Lori Michaels

BUBBLE PUPPY

Friday, July 19 A lot of folks don’t realize that Texas’ contribution to ’60s psychedelic rock, while not as storied as California’s, was pretty damned significant. With homegrown bands like Moving Sidewalks and the 13th Floor Elevators priming local ears, Central Texas emerged as a tour hotspot for bands pumping fuzz through big amps. Maybe that explains how San Antonio psych act Bubble Puppy landed an opening slot for the Who back in 1967. Half a century later, Bubble Puppy is still around — and with a newish LP called Certified Badass. Don’t miss these Texas legends as they perform their hit “Hot Smoke and Sassafras” along with other amazing tunes featuring fleet-fingered fretwork. The Damn Torpedoes — a Tribute to Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers — rounds out the bill. $10-$60, 7 p.m., Sam’s Burger Joint, 330 E. Grayson St., (210) 223-2830, samsburgerjoint.com. — Chris Conde

riffage and soaring vocals. Prog/proto-metal rockers Crypt Trip provide able support. Free, 10 p.m., Faust Tavern, 517 E. Woodlawn Ave., facebook.com/sellyoursoulsatx. — CC

variety of electronic grooves courtesy of Genevieve XO. $5 before 11 p.m., $10 after, 8 p.m., Limelight, 2718 N. St. Mary’s, (210) 735-7775, thelimelightsa. com. — Michael McMahan

KOE WETZL, CODY CANADA & THE PICTURESQUE DEPARTED, KODY WEST Vibes Underground hosts Picturesque, Wetzel’s high-energy show in support of his album Harold Saul High will infuse the energy of rock with the good-ol’ feel of country and give fans “Something to Talk About” on the banks of Canyon Lake. This trifecta of twang sounds like a good excuse to go tubing by day and two-stepping at night — though it’s a toss-up as to which will be hotter. $23.10-$881.29, 7:30 p.m., Whitewater Amphitheater, 11860 FM 306, New Braunfels, (830) 9643800, whitewaterrocks.com. — JN

GENEVIEVE XO

Given that the promoter is Vibe With Me “An Evening of House and Techno,” it seems safer to assume that this night will offer a chance to dance to a

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who released their debut LP on Equal Vision in 2017. The band voices a commitment to total honesty in their music, which they describe as mixing “rock, post-hardcore and pop.” $15/adv., 6 p.m., Vibes Underground, 1223 E. Houston St., (210) 255-3833, vibeseventcenter. com. — MM

BILL AYERS BAND

If you saw this listing and thought, “Finally my chance to see a ’60s radical rock the fuck out,” you may be disappointed. The Bill Ayers in question here fronts a New Braunfels-based outfit that aims to fuse country, ’70s rock, Southern rock and Americana. 8:30 p.m., Blue Bonnet Palace, 17630 Lookout Road, (210) 651-6702, bluebonnetpalace.com. — MM

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good indication of the breadth of his appeal. $15-$50, 7 p.m. Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — MM

Friday, July 26

DOJO S.A., SEND HELP, LONESTAR MASSACRE, AMMO FOR MY ARSENAL, HORUS ASCENDING

Courtesy of Built to Spill

BUILT TO SPILL

Saturday, July 20 Even though Built to Spill was in the 2-1-0 just last year, the Boise, Idaho natives’ contribution to modern indie rock may be worth checking out twice in such a short period. This time, the band’s touring to celebrate the 20th anniversary of definitive album Keep it Like a Secret, the more-cohesive and mature followup to its major label debut Perfect from Now On. More psychedelic and musically sweeping than many of its ’90s alt-rock counterparts, Built to Spill has deservedly emerged an icon of that musical era. $25-$28, 7 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 841-3771, papertigersatx.com. — CC

Saturday, July 20

LIGHTNING AND LASERS LIVE WITH ARC ATTACK

Sure, Pink Floyd is the standard for this kind of shindig. But Starbucks has taught us that all things must come in a million flavors, laser shows being no exception. Live music from Arc Attack, a group that performs on high-tech homemade instruments, will accompany a spectacle that pulls from the visions of Nikola Tesla among others. $29-$49, 7:30 p.m., Charline McCombs Empire Theatre, 224 E. Houston St., (210) 226-5700, majesticempire.com. — MM

Monday, July 22

THE SPIDERS EXPERIMENTAL SESSIONS

are teens with something to say. Their infusion of pop-punk energy into the sound of ’60s girl groups proves that the youth are the future but that sometimes they cop a few smart moves from the past. Surf punks Hot Flash Heat Wave hit with all the force of that recent Southern California earthquake. $15-$17, 7 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N Saint Mary’s St, papertigersatx.com. — SS

Wednesday, July 24

MAX FROST

Hailing from LA by way of Austin, Max Frost is bringing his Gold Rush tour to Paper Tiger. The aspiring pop songsmith has toured with Twenty One Pilots, Panic! At the Disco, Fitz and The Tantrums and Gary Clark Jr., which is a

Gather the kiddies, grab “Green Eggs & Ham” … and send the little rats to bed for post-library hours. The “Loudest Bookstore in Texas,” which hosts music nights Fridays and Saturdays, is turning its cozy venue over to four local metal bands normally seen inciting pits at clubs. Openers Horus Ascending aren’t local but hail from Kingsville. If this bill doesn’t tear the walls down, maybe you can resume reading to Junior the following day. With a plate of everyone’s favorite breakfast, of course. $5, all ages, 7 p.m., Imagine Books & Records, 8373 Culebra Road, (210) 239-7380, imaginebookstexas.com. — JN

Saturday, July 27

SLIGHTLY STOOPID

Despite having one of the worst band names of the ’90s — right up there with Hoobastank — Slightly Stoopid’s blue-eyed reggae may be the remedy when you feel the need to get mellow. Discovered by Sublime frontman Bradley Nowell, a fellow SoCal toker and sun-soaker, Slightly Stoopid has consistently released solid albums that fuse reggae with hip-hop, funk, punk and whatever else they’re feeling. $30.02-$1,119.63, 5:30 p.m., Whitewater Amphitheater, 11860 FM 306, (830) 9643800, whitewaterrocks.com. — SS

JUAN LOBO FEST 2019

A lineup of some of the most influential musicians to call the Lone Star State home are playing in a one-night festival under the Texas sky. Expect sets

One of the most talented young forces in San Antonio jazz, Tony Romero leads his outfit the Spiders on a free-form musical journey. The group will also perform Monday, July 29. Free, 9 p.m., Brick at Blue Star, 108 Blue Star, (210) 262-8653, brickatbluestar.com. — JC

ODYSSEY FESTIVAL

Wednesday, July 24 Fans of electronic psychedelia may want to tune in to the Odyssey Festival, now in its fourth year. Presented by local record label — and arts, media and music collective — Timewheel, this year’s installment kicks off with a show at Paper Tiger before continuing the following night at Friends of Sound Records. The festival is focused, like all that Timewheel does, on psychedelic experiences and art as well as general mind-expansion, and the lineup includes Mndsgn, Expansions of Q, Dolphin Dilemma, Sky Loom and other artists, many signed to Timewheel. Also expect live artwork by Jag Wire, Brainwavve, The Art of Waking Up and Kat Kosmos plus vendors such as Mujeres de la Luna selling all manner of cool shit. Those with an open, or opening, third eye will have a hard time finding a better Wednesday night activity. Free, 5 p.m.-midnight, Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — James Courtney

from Jon Wolfe, Siggno, Rick Trevino, Jake Worthington and Los Texmaniacs. Along with catching some of our state’s most revered musicians, Juan Lobo Fest has another motive: the unveiling of Juan Lobo Tequila. $25-$400, 6 p.m., 14492 Old Bandera Rd, (210) 695-8827, liveatfloores.com. — SS

SHAWN MENDES

Tuesday, July 23 Not every Canadian teen singer finds it necessary to be an insufferable dick. While the Beebs desperately clutches for relevance by picking Twitter fights with Tom Cruise, fellow countryman Shawn Mendes keeps winning fans with a soulful pop approach and an unforced aw-shucks vibe. As the youngest artist to ever land a debut single in the Top 25, clearly teens and tweens make up a large share of Mendes’ demo. But they guy’s willingness to focus on songcraft instead of jumping on flavor-of-the-week pop trends has also won him fans among the adult-contemporary crowd. His latest full-length release, last year’s Shawn, continues that approach, serving up an assured, largely low-key — not to mention non-dickish — collection of tunes that’s equally at home on a 14-year-old’s playlist or in the dentist’s waiting room. $29.50-$89.50, 7:30 p.m., AT&T Center, 1 AT&T Center Parkway, (210) 444-5000, www.attcenter.com. — Sanford Nowlin

Tuesday, July 23

THE REGRETTES, HOT FLASH HEAT WAVE

Wise beyond their years, the Regrettes

Courtesy of MNDSGN

Universal Music

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ANUEL AA

Sunday, July 28 If you’re a fan of Latin rap and haven’t heard of Anuel AA yet, it’s time to catch up. The Puerto Rican rapper won the 2019 Billboard Latin Music Award for Best New Artist and is a heavy player in the bonkers Latin trap scene. The multitalented artist — he can sing too — dropped his first and, so far, only album Real Hasta la Muerte in 2018 and has appeared on songs with the likes of Daddy Yankee, 6ix9ine and Bad Bunny. While Anuel AA’s music is easy to bump to, it also deals in a deadpan manner with themes of violence, drugs and sex — you know, the important things in life. For those who haven’t fully grasped the Lat-

Courtesy of Anuel AA

in-charged sea change occurring in hip-hop, an Anuel AA show may be an opportunity to wake up to that cultural shift. $51-$151, 7 p.m., Freeman Coliseum, 3201 E. Houston St., (210) 226-1177, ticketmaster.com. — JC

Saturday, July 27

Monday, July 29

GRUNGE FEST: THE NIRVANA EXPERIENCE, RUSTED CAGE, SOME TEMPLE PILOTS

BIBLE OF THE DEVIL

Dust off your fave flannel and step back into the ’90s again with this trio of tribute acts dedicated to three of the bands that defined the grunge genre. The spirits of Kurt Cobain, Chris Cornell and Scott Weiland are sure to rain down on the Aztec and have it smelling like teen spirit for all ages long before “Black Hole Sun” and “Wicked Garden” blaze your ears. $13$16, 6:30 p.m., Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 812-4355, theaztectheatre.com. — JN

SETH SHAW QUARTET

Don’t let the name fool you. Shaw may show up with three, four or five bandmates. But, hey, the more the merrier, since Shaw and company’s style of jazz and swing simultaneously soothes to the core while getting folks out of their chairs and strutting. Shaw has also been known to play private events. Maybe he’ll even take a few requests. 8 p.m., Bar 301, 23567 W. Interstate 10, (210) 455-9576, bar301. com. — JN

PROJECT ROGUE, CADAVERS, BLUNTSPLITTER AND MORE

A bevy of regional and local talent including DFW’s Project Rogue will take the stage for a night of hot active rock in the Northside suburbs. $5, 9:30 p.m., Zombies Bar, 4202 Thousand Oaks, (210) 281-8306, zombiesliveinsa. com. — JC

Matching anthemic heaviness with a Thin Lizzy-reminiscent twin guitar attack, Chicago’s Bible of the Devil are a blast from rock ’n’ roll’s past that’s well worth experiencing in a live setting. Likeminded locals Thunder Horse and Over the Top round out the bill. Free, 9 p.m., Limelight, 2718 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 735-7775, limelightsa.com. — CC

WE’RE HIRING!

San Antonio Current is hiring ambitious, hard-working Advertising Account E xe c u t i ve s to c re ate a n d s e l l m a r ke t i n g s o l u t i o n s to l o c a l b u s i n e ss e s .

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Tuesday, July 30

PAPA ROACH

Let’s face it, Papa Roach’s “Last Resort” was a nu-metal banger that seemed to come out of nowhere in 2001, and if you dug all things Korn and Limp Bizkit, you probably cranked that track up when it came onto rotation on KISS. If that’s the case, lucky you — the band’s heading back to San Antonio in support of 2019’s Who Do You Trust? $42.50, 5 p.m., Sunken Garden Theater, 3875 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 207-3050, sanantonio.gov. — CC

CHICAGO

Chicago started life opening for rock legends like Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. While its distinctive horn-driven blend of jazz and rock would eventually earn it entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the band’s mutation into a soft-rock hit machine sure moved a lot of records in the ‘80s. When it comes to the recent live show, expect to hear a little from both columns A and B. $49.50$110.00, 8 p.m., Majestic Theatre, 224 E Houston St, (210) 226-5700, majesticempire.com. — CC

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sacurrent.com | July 17-30, 2019 | CURRENT

EGAL 2065 L NOTICES Sprint proposes to remove three (3) RRU’s and replace three (3) 2.5 panel antennas with three (3) MIMO antennas at a centerline height of 165 feet on an existing 174-foot building at the approx. vicinity of 700 E. Hildebrand Avenue, San Antonio, TX 78212. Public comments regarding potential effects from this site on historic properties may be submitted within 30 days from the date of this publication to: Trileaf Corp, Anton Williams, a.williams@trileaf.com, 1051 Winderley Place, Suite 201, Maitland, FL 32751, 407-660-7840.

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AUTO AUCTION The vehicle listed below were impounded by San Antonio Police Department & will be auctioned at a public auction on

AUG. 16, 2019 at 6:00P at SAN ANTONIO VEHICLE IMPOUND FACILITY

Registered owners may pick up vehicles by showing proof of ownership & paying all towing & storage fees prior to Auction.

F E E A R E S U B J EC T TO C H A N G E . ID#

YEAR

MAKE

MODEL

VIN

CHARGES

2970663

1995

FORD

RA N G E R

1FTCR10A1SUB99900

$ 3 , 703 . 9 5

2980170

2011

OTHER

RFBB1A048BB522285

$ 3 , 59 5 . 70

2547053

2000

OTHER

ATV

JY43GG0341C018088

$1 0 , 02 5 . 75

2301239

2005

NISSAN

A LT I M A

1 N 4 B L 1 1 E X 5 C 2 6 74 0 2

$1 9 , 53 4 . 75

2301847

1980

HONDA

MC01-2016359

$1 6 , 0 92 . 35

3021448

2018

OTHER

L2BB9NCC9JB820093

$ 3 , 0 5 4 . 45

3141488

2003

OTHER

M OTO R H O M E

2RTMC07243M072820

$1 , 6 03 . 9 0

3087685

2018

FORD

ECO N O L I N E

1FDEE3FS3JDC41512

$ 2 , 42 8 . 0 5

3074722

2001

YAMAHA

J YA R J 0 4 Y 4 1 A 0 0 1 5 2 1

$ 2 , 426 . 6 0

3120420

2017

TRAILER

T RA I L E R

4YMBU1011JT018452

$1 , 8 63 . 70

3137218

2000

FORD

ECO N O L I N E

1FDSS34S7YHA94502

$1 , 6 47. 2 0

2562036

2008

TRAILER

T RA I L E R

NO VIN

$9 , 765 . 9 5

2943424

2000

OTHER

T RA I L E R

NO VIN

$ 4 , 0 5 0 . 35 $1 8 , 4 0 8 . 9 5

2301215

2010

CHEVROLET

EQ U I N OX

2CNALBEWCA6293734

2696888

1900

TRAILER

T RA I L E R

NO VIN

$7, 3 39 . 35

2631729

2000

OTHER

T RA I L E R

NO VIN

$ 8 , 575 . 2 0

2630737

2000

BOAT

B OAT

NO VIN

$ 8 , 59 6 . 8 5

2303530

2006

TRAILER

T RA I L E R

NO VIN

$ 3 4 , 2 52 . 4 0

2300644

1995

TRAILER

T RA I L E R

NO VIN

$ 87, 2 9 0 .1 1

2408466

2002

TRAILER

T RA I L E R

NO VIN

$1 2 , 472 . 2 0

2539563

1900

OTHER

T RA I L E R

NO VIN

$1 0 ,1 3 4 . 0 0

2439036

2018

OTHER

4 -W H E E L E R

NO VIN

$1 1 , 93 0 . 9 5

2677500

1900

TRAILER

T RA I L E R

NO VIN

$7, 8 1 7. 45

2672572

2011

TRAILER

T RA I L E R

NO VIN

$7, 9 0 4 . 0 5

2707681

1900

TRAILER

T RA I L E R

NO VIN

$7,1 6 6 .1 5

2664909

1900

TRAILER

T RA I L E R

NO VIN

$ 8 , 01 2 . 3 0

2554031

1995

TRAILER

T RA I L E R

NO VIN

$9 , 8 9 5 . 8 5

3625 Growdon Rd. San Antonio, TX. | 210.881.8440 48

CURRENT | July 17-30, 2019 | sacurrent.com

“Unstated”— shows not set in a specific state, for a long time. ACROSS 1 To be, to Brutus 5 “___ Haw” (show with the segment “Gloom, Despair and Agony On Me”) 8 Wound remnant 12 Two-way 13 Root beer brand that “has bite” 15 1991 NHL MVP Brett 16 2004-2007 Nickelodeon show with Emma Roberts set somewhere in the eastern U.S. 18 Penne ___ vodka (pasta dish) 19 Long-running soap where the location of Salem wasn’t revealed until 2013 21 ___ New York (upscale department store chain) 22 Tallahassee-to-Tampa dir. 23 Sinus doc 24 Video game designer Sid who created the “Civilization” series 25 “En ___!” (fencer’s call) 27 Starter starter? 28 It helps connect older computers to newer devices 33 Current CW show set in “Rockland County” 35 Meals in a shell 38 National Coming ___ Day 41 Backgrounds for fireworks 42 Entertain 44 A in a Wagner opera?

45 Albuquerque coll. 48 Had high hopes 50 With 54-Across, 1994-1998 Nickelodeon show set in the town of Paradise Valley 53 Valley that’s the site of the Reagan Presidential Library 54 See 50-Across 56 “And others” 57 “Alas” 58 Mark of “The Full Monty” 59 Okay, but not great 60 Ballot markings 61 The Big Board, for short

DOWN 1 Collegiate URL tag 2 Desserts served in bars 3 African sightseeing trips 4 Boosler of stand-up 5 13.1-mile races, informally 6 Switch ending 7 Peter Shaffer play about a stableboy 8 “If I Ever Fall in Love” R&B group (1992) 9 Conduit under a road 10 “The House of the Spirits” author Isabel 11 Demolition expert 13 Ocean floater with a bell 14 Armenia and Georgia, once 17 Liar, relatively politely

20 Word before tender or guardian 21 ___ Recordings (label co-founded by Lil Jon) 26 Rainforest inhabitant 28 Sch. founded by Thomas Jefferson 29 “La mer” salt 30 Protective auto accessory 31 Put together 32 “___ Boot” (1981 film remade as a Hulu series) 33 Eggs in nigiri sushi 34 Magazine unit 35 Sleeping sickness transmitters 36 Emperor who abdicated on 4/30/2019 37 Movie theaters 38 Title for the Virgin Mary 39 What some music stores sell 40 Danson of “The Good Place” 42 “___ on both your houses!” 43 Comedian Eugene who plays Gene on “Bob’s Burgers” 46 Cpl. and Sgt., e.g. 47 “Fantastic” character in a Roald Dahl book 48 Traveler’s reference 49 Norw. neighbor 51 Agricultural warehouse 52 Nonchalance 55 First openly transgender NCAA Division I athlete ___ Allums ANSWER ON PAGE 15

E M P LOY M E N T Software Developer III - Rackspace US, Inc. – San Antonio, TX. Design & develop software for enterprise services. Req’d: Bach or equiv in tech rel field + 5yrs exp in software dev, eng, testing, or rel field. To apply: qualified applicants please submit resumes to: careers@rackspace.com, Ref. 11511.

NEWS.CULTURE.FREE Issues Drop Wednesdays online: www.sacurrent.com

International Educational Programs Inc. San Antonio, TX. Graphic Designer. Coordinate and design all virtual and interactive media for academic institution; create university image and institutional brochures; research the new trends and innovations on interactive media; unify criteria among virtual, written, & graphic communication. Must be familiar with university or institutional brand managing. Min. Req. Master’s in graphic design. Mail resume to: 110 Gallery Circle, San Antonio, TX 78258.

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