San Antonio Current - August 3, 2016

August 3-9, 2016

A LOCAL TRIAL REVEALS HOW GUNS, DRUGS AND CORRUPTION TURNED A MEXICAN BORDER STATE INTO A GRAVEYARD

Narco State

RED LETTER ADVICE

ABOUT PERSONAL SUCCESS. One San Antonio phenomenon, Red McCombs, talks about another: the Alamo Colleges.

“

In the real world, where people work and

workforce preparation. We’re talking high

provide for themselves and their families, there’s

demand career fields — from information

simply no substitute for education. And I don’t

technology areas like cybersecurity and Cloud

think there’s a better value in higher education

architecture to nursing and other health

today than the Alamo Colleges.

programs to robotics, CNC and related

To start with, thanks to the investment by us taxpayers, their tuition is more affordable than any other college in the area. They offer

advanced manufacturing specialties, even auto mechanics and auto body repair.

You can see the proof in dozens of

flexible schedules and online options to meet

prestigious honors they’ve won. These include

real world needs. In addition to convenient local

three Bellwether Awards in the last five years

campuses, they have off-campus technology and

recognizing the country’s best workforce training

specialty centers around Bexar County and even

programs — like their Vision Care Technology

in New Braunfels and Kerrville.

program, a new Heavy Equipment Academy,

But what impresses me most is that they

even tuition-free Manufacturing Training

are ready to do anything to help you succeed.

for veterans. They just won the prestigious Texas

They’ll match you up with a personal advisor to

Award for Performance Excellence, the only

make sure you don’t waste time or money, but

higher education system ever to do so.

take only courses that make sense for your

So no excuses. Get an education wherever

educational or career goals. And they really

you can — but don’t ignore the real gem we have

deliver when it comes to academics and

right here in San Antonio — our Alamo Colleges.

”

Dare to Dream. Prepare to Lead.™

alamo.edu

THIS AD PAID FOR BY RED MCCOMBS.

3

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Alamo Community Colleges

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Beer Goggles, The Leaky Barrel, Helix, Brews Brothers Ice House 42

Editorial

Senior Editors: Bryan Rindfuss, Jessica Elizarraras Interim Art Director: Sarah Flood-Baumann Food & Nightlife Editor: Jessica Elizarraras Staff Writer: Mark Reagan Digital Content Editor: Alejandra Lopez Contributors: Alexis Barnhart, Ron Bechtol, Ainsley Caffrey, Erik Casarez, Murphi Cook, James Courtney, Callie Enlow, Jade Esteban Estrada, Dan R. Goddard, Lance Higdon, Steven G. Kellman, Michelle Lorentzen, Lauren Madrid, Kiko Martínez, Jeremy Martin, Jeff Meyers, Eric Moreno, Lauren Salguero, M. Solis, Gary Sweeney, J.D. Swerzenski Editorial Interns: Sarah Faulk, Karly Johnson, Gabriela Mata, Freddy Rodriguez, Shannon Sweet, Patricia Valdez

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Bok Choy

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Reservoir

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30

Retama Park

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Camilla Crown

28

Rock Box

49

CD Exchange

6

Charlie Brown’s Neighborhood Bar

Rodriguez Home Butcher Supply

40

47

Rusty Spur

30

Chris Mayo Law Firm

7

SA Sports and Social Club

52

Club Sirius

46

Saeb Thai & Noodles

40

Cover 3

48

Sam’s Burger Joint

48

Cowtown Boots

14

Coyote Ugly Saloon

52

San Antonio AIDS Foundation

26

Culinaria

27

San Antonio Beer Festival

5

El Milagrito

36

Element Tattoo

32

San Antonio Grooming Academy

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18

14

24

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Energy X

San Antonio Public Library

Ethos Coffee

30

Sancho’s Cocina

44

Floore’s Country Store

49

Fruit Mix

36

Furniture for a Cause

28

Goose Island

11

Highlander

41

Historic Market Square

3

Hookah Harem

18

Hustler Hollywood

52

Landry’s Restaurants

13

Laredo Energy Arena

24

Local Bar

46

Local Culture Tickets

14

LOL Comedy

24

Lulu’s Bakery and Cafe

36

Luna Rosa Puerto Rican Grill 40 Luthers Café

38

Majestic Theatre

22

Majestic Theatre

23

Mcnay Art Museum

21

Media Luna Bar

47

Mimosa

51

Mr. Tim’s Burgers & More

36

Naara Cafe

30

Secrets Boutique

32

Sheraton Gunter - Bar 414

51

Slackers

46

South Texas Spice Company 36 Southtown Yoga Loft

18

St. Phillip’s College

7

Stonegate Pharmacy

6

Tejanitas

40

Temptations Boutique

53

Texas Pride BBQ

51

Texas Public Radio

52

The Friendly Spot

21

The Junction Antiques

30

The Pearl Brewery

35

The Spencer Law Firm

6

Tobin Center

4 & 60

Tong’s Thai Restaurant

36

Tucker’s Kozy Korner

48

Twin Liquors

13

Uptown Gypsy

18

Whiskey Business

12

Whitewater Amphitheater

59

Whole Earth Provision C 14 & 31 Woodlawn Theater

24

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FIRST WORDS

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• Send your thoughts, comments, kudos or tips to letters@sacurrent.com

Bexar County Commissioner Kevin Wolff Charged with DWI After Late-Night Trip to Whataburger: “He just couldn’t resist that Honey Barbecue Chicken Strip Sandwich.” – Jeff Buettgenbach San Antonio Company Wants to Build Hyperloop That Whisks People to Austin in 15 Minutes:“That’ll add another $100 bucks to the cost of whatever. Just build it over I-35. Call it the Taco Express.” – Ernest Zavala A Wishlist for Hemisfair Park’s Tenants: “How about a public space that educates and engages the community and is a draw to tourists who don’t give a toot about food choices downtown?” – Bryan Naylor UTSA Lets Professors Decide If Offices Will Be Gun-Free Zones: “I don’t think guns should be allowed in colleges, next we well be hearing high school kids can carry guns, all this coming from the NRA lobbyist have some politicians in their pockets.” – Deanna Estrada Could Texas’ Anti-LGBT Politicians Screw San Antonio Out of the NCAA Final Four?: “Gregg Abbott and Dan Patrick are beholden to evangelical extremists and bigoted homophobic big money donors, so when it comes to equal rights for minorities and the LGBTQ community think again, the only way to bring about change is to vote the GOP out of office at the national, state and local level that includes saying adios to Ms Ivy Taylor.” – Ray Ganceres

ON THE

COVER Federal prosecutors in San Antonio have started to outline a larger case that blames a wave of killings, abductions and disappearances that plagued the Mexican border state of Coahuila in recent years on government corruption. The feds claim that bribes paid to top government officials allowed the brutal Zetas cartel to operate with impunity in one of northern Mexico’s most lucrative drug smuggling routes, turning Coahuila into a drug state run by a drug army led by men like Marciano Millan Vasquez, a former cartel enforcer who was arrested at his west side San Antonio home last year. During his trial this July, witnesses accused Millan of perpetrating unspeakable violence as he rose in the Zetas’ ranks.

IN THIS

ISSUE

22

Issue 16_31 /// August 3-9

10

NEWS

“Free of Discrimination” Could Texas’ anti-LGBT politicians screw San Antonio out of hosting the NCAA Final Four?

SLAPPed Can developers sue you for appealing their development to City Hall?

16

FEATURE

CALENDAR

Narco State A local trial reveals how guns, drugs and corruption turned a Mexican border state into a graveyard

Our top picks for the week

33

35

Royal Flush Do your business in downtown’s new $100,000 public loo

28

ARTS + CULTURE

Out of the Ordinary A surreal thread connects ‘Dreamers and Realists’

SCREENS

Good Enough Is Woody Allen’s Café Society worth the $10? Yes

39

NIGHTLIFE

Where to Booze New happy hours to check out this month

FOOD

Good ‘Cue Lots of hits, few misses at Burnt Ends Food Court Burger pop-ups, closings and more

Hot Times in Cuba ‘Two Sisters and a Piano’ is a study on the limits of trust

43

MUSIC

“Feminazi” Ahead of tour, FEA releases a blistering, self-titled Chicana punk rock debut

55

Cover illustration by Alex Nabaum Art direction by Rick Fisher and Sarah Flood-Baumann

Music Calendar What to see and hear this week

ETC.

Savage Love Jonesin’ Crossword Freewill Astrology

This Charming Man Morrissey announces November show at the Tobin Midlife Crisis Why I still want my MTV, even as the network approaches middle age

8 CURRENT • August 3—9 , 2016 • sacurrent.com

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sacurrent.com • August 3—9 , 2016 • CURRENT 9

“ COURTESY

“ NEWS

FREE OF DISCRIMINATION” Could Texas’ anti-LGBT politicians screw San Antonio out of hosting the NCAA Final Four?

MARK REAGAN | @210REAGAN

≥

A few months ago, the NCAA announced that it wouldn’t reward cities and states that passed anti-LGBT laws with revenue-generating championships.

The significant policy change was a response to North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory, who in March signed a bill that repealed an ordinance that offered protections to the transgender community in Charlotte — an ordinance that said people can use whatever bathroom corresponds with their gender identity.

The bill McCrory signed then overturned the policy and also prevented any city or local government in North Carolina from passing any such local nondiscrimination laws.

Here in San Antonio, City Council approved adding gender identity and sexual orientation to its nondiscrimination ordinance three years ago, and has since hired a diversity and inclusion officer and built a dedicated website that’s supposed to be a onestop shop for non-discrimination complaints. Part of the NCAA’s new bidding policy for championships includes a non-discrimination ordinance requirement.

However, the NCAA announced in 2014 that San Antonio will host the NCAA Final Four in 2018 — two years before the association’s policy change.

That doesn’t mean that San Antonio won’t be required to prove to the NCAA that its policies don’t discriminate and provide “an environment that is safe, healthy, and free of discrimination, plus safeguards the dignity of everyone involved in the event.” Last week, the NCAA announced it was sending questionnaires to all cities interested in hosting future NCAA championships but it’s also sending one to San Antonio, along with other currently awarded host sites,

10 CURRENT • August 3—9, 2016 • sacurrent.com

as first reported by the San Antonio Business Journal.

Mayor Ivy Taylor, who actually voted against San Antonio's non-discrimination ordinance, told us last week that the city's NDO will meet the NCAA's demands. In basic terms, the NCAA wants to know whether a community even has a non-discrimination ordinance, whether it regulates bathrooms or locker rooms, and whether it has provisions that allow for the refusal of accommodations or services to any person.

Where it’s going to get hairy for San Antonio is that the questionnaire also wants to know whether state law clashes with the NCAA’s new criteria.

Enter Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who was a vocal opponent of Houston’s non-discrimination ordinance, which anti-LGBT activists succeeded in overturning last year. Patrick thinks North Carolina’s bill is terrific and over the past few months has increasingly attacked efforts to protect transgender people and the LGBT community at-large from discrimination.

In May, Patrick said Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Kent Scribner should resign after the district approved a policy meant to protect transgender students from discrimination. Part of that policy included speaking to a student if a teacher found out they were transgender instead of outing the kids to their possibly nonsupportive parents. Patrick called on Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to rule on whether Fort Worth ISD’s policy violates the law. Not surprisingly, Paxton’s non-binding legal opinion concluded that the policy violates Texas’ education code, prompting the district to amend the policy to involve parents if a child is questioning their gender identity.

Patrick has also joined Paxton in vehemently

opposing the Department of Education and President Barack Obama’s directive to school districts to let transgender students use the restroom or locker room that corresponds with their gender identity.

Under the new directive, school districts that don’t have transgender-affirming policies risk losing federal education funding.

Paxton spearheaded a lawsuit with 12 other states against the Obama administration over the directive, a move Patrick obviously supports. “It will disrupt schools across Texas, creating potentially embarrassing and unsafe situations for girls who would be forced, under his order, to share bathrooms, locker rooms and showers with boys,” Patrick said at the time. The federal directive came after the Department of Justice sued North Carolina over its previously mentioned bathroom law.

So when it comes to the NCAA’s assessment of San Antonio, the question remains: Could conservative lawmakers jeopardize San Antonio’s role in hosting the Final Four if, as promised, they pass laws that discriminate against the trans community and repeal local NDOs, like San Antonio’s, when they head back to the legislature in January?

If so, and if the NCAA stands by its new policy, the Alamo City could run afoul of the NCAA’s requirement that cities provide “an environment that is safe, healthy, and free of discrimination” — not because of local leaders, but due to state politics. Such an outcome would be particularly awkward for a city that’s investing $50 million into renovations at the Alamodome to host the Final Four, which is expected to generate millions of dollars in local revenue.

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PACK TO SCHOOL! CULTURE

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14 CURRENT • August 3—9, 2016 • sacurrent.com

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NEWS

≥

Neighborhood groups and developers often have a hate-hate relationship, but things in Beacon Hill got particularly sour this summer over developers’ plans for a Stripes gas station on the corner of Fredericksburg and Woodlawn.

At issue – at least at first, anyway – was whether the gas station’s design met the community building standards established when the city created the Beacon Hill Neighborhood Conservation District years ago. Residents argued the plans didn’t, so after the development was cleared by the city, the neighborhood group filed a routine appeal with the city’s Board of Adjustment, footing the $600 filing fee with donations from local residents.

That’s when Mark Granados with GFR Development Services, the developer behind the gas station and adjoining properties, threatened to sue the neighborhood association if it didn’t drop its appeal. An email from District 1 Councilmember Robert Treviño’s office to the neighborhood group says Granados even called the council office in late May to say he’d sue the group unless the parties could reach an agreement.

It didn’t take long for the neighborhood association to drop its appeal. As Beacon Hill Area Neighborhood Association President Cynthia Spielman told members at a community meeting in July, the group decided it couldn’t afford to be tied up in litigation and individual members were wary of

SLAPPed

COURTESY MADDEN FABRICATION

ROYAL FLUSH

Can developers sue you for appealing their development to City Hall?

MICHAEL BARAJAS | @MICHAELSBARAJAS

getting roped into a lawsuit with a developer.

“We were kept from the democratic process. We were bullied out of it,” Spielman said at the meeting.

Naturally, Granados has a much different take. “The fact of the matter is I stood up to the neighborhood group and I refused to be bullied and extorted,” he told the Current when reached by phone on Monday.

Granados called the neighborhood association members “a bunch of gutless chickenshits” who he says have blindly fought development that could better the neighborhood.

“A bunch of unemployed know-it-all planners and architects come up with a list of things to make the neighborhood look like Mayberry and it doesn’t work,” he told the Current. Granados insisted he had every legal right to sue the neighborhood group for interference since their appeal brought the project to a grinding stop.

Still, the Beacon Hill Area Neighborhood Association and some local public officials have apparently used the spat as a catalyst for educating neighbors on the state’s strong antiSLAPP law (“strategic lawsuit against public participation”), which is supposed to protect people from being sued simply for participating in or bringing their concerns to government. As one flyer by state Rep. Diego Bernal and state Sen. José Menéndez reads, “Speaking up for your community is a protected act.”

Do your business in downtown’s new $100,000 public toilet MICHAEL BARAJAS | @MICHAELSBARAJAS

≥

In an effort to both crack down on public urination and give downtown tourists a free place to go when nature calls, District 1 Councilman Robert Treviño pushed for and got city approval earlier this year to spend $97,000 on a toilet.

Not just any toilet, but a so-called “Portland Loo,” a standalone 24-hour unisex restroom that, as of last week, is now open and ready to handle your business on the corner of Alamo and Crocket streets.

Currently, there aren’t many (free and legal) options to relieve yourself downtown, a problem Treviño told us earlier this year that he hoped to fix with the new tank-like restroom. “We want more and more people to come Downtown, and we need to make downtown more accessible,” Treviño told us in February. “This is one of the basic services that the city is supposed to be providing.”

While the price tag alone might seem shocking, Treviño and others have maintained that the “Portland Loo” is cheaper option than building a new standard public restroom (like the kind that exist at Main Plaza, the parking garage at St.

Mary’s Street and Travis Street, and at Centro Info on Commerce Street). While the city spent $97,000 on the restroom itself, it’s estimated that installation costs will amount to nearly that much.

On top of that are maintenance costs of about $1,000 a month.

In a press statement last week, Kelly Kapaun, spokeswoman for the Center City Development and Operations Department, said the “innovative design” of the new toilet will help “curb crime and deviant behavior.” The Portland-based company that designed the restroom put openings near the ceiling and floor and a blue overhead LED light that turns on when the toilet’s occupied, which is supposed to make it harder for drug-addicts and prostitutes to do their other business inside.

Last Thursday, the city held a “celebration” to christen the restroom and officially open the toilet to public use. Perhaps they even sent a wad of cash or cocaine down the drain with that inaugural flush to celebrate the price tag or the new toilet’s crimefighting abilities.

sacurrent.com • August 3—9, 2016 • CURRENT 15

FEATURE

Narco State

MICHAEL BARAJAS | @MICHAELSBARAJAS

A LOCAL TRIAL REVEALS HOW GUNS, DRUGS AND CORRUPTION TURNED A MEXICAN BORDER STATE INTO A GRAVEYARD

E. Tavira and his wife were getting ready for bed when they heard the loud banging. It was the middle of the night, and as the noise grew louder and faster, Tavira realized that men were downstairs breaking through the security gate outside his home in Piedras Negras, the Mexican border city across from Eagle Pass.

Tavira’s children woke and came out of their rooms just as the men, wearing bulletproof vests and armed with automatic rifles, stormed the house. Tavira would later recall how one of the gunmen covered his face with a mask made to look like a skull — “like you were looking at death.”

As a drug trafficker for the powerful Zetas cartel, Tavira recognized some of his captors. One was a friend of the family, someone whose kids played with Tavira’s own. The man ordered Tavira’s wife and children into the closet, shut the door, and then directed him down the hallway toward the staircase.

Marciano Millan Vasquez, whom Tavira knew as a cartel hitman who went by the nickname “Chano,” appeared to be one of the men in charge. “It’s time to go,” Chano told Tavira as he shuffled him out of the house and into a car. The man with the skeleton face trained his gun on Tavira and pinned him to the floorboard with his foot.

Tavira couldn’t see much, but what he heard was chaos — a wash of engines revving and frantic radio chatter. Wherever it was the Zetas were taking him, they were racing to get there.

When the car stopped, Millan re-emerged, grabbing Tavira and pulling him out of the vehicle. The captors walked him through an empty, walled-off lot on the western edge of the city. Trucks carrying sicarios, or cartel assassins, and other captives swarmed the place. Tavira says he walked past more than 30 people kneeling in the dirt with their hands bound.

During his testimony in a San Antonio federal courtroom last month, Tavira

16 CURRENT • August 3—9, 2016 • sacurrent.com

said that he was eventually taken to see Miguel Angel Treviño Morales and his brother Omar Treviño Morales, top leaders of the cartel who went by the calls signs “Z-40” and “Z-42,” aliases rooted in the Zetas’ origins as a military-trained hit squad. Tavira had already heard that a top cartel member, a man named Mario Alfonso “Poncho” Cuellar, had disappeared. The Zetas promptly suspected he’d fled to the United States to cut a deal with law enforcement officials. It appears they were right. Years later, Poncho Cuellar’s testimony would surface in a case that led to the conviction of a third Treviño brother for laundering massive amounts of drug money through the Texas quarter horse industry (with horses named “Fiery Cartel,” “Cartel Mischief,” “Big Daddy Cartel,” and “Breakoutthebullets,” among others).

Tavira was unlucky enough to have once worked as a drug runner for the assumed traitor. Miguel “Z-40” Treviño did most of interrogating, demanding that Tavira tell him how to find the defector. U.S. law enforcement officials suspect Tavira was one of hundreds questioned by cartel bosses in the days and weeks ahead. As one former cartel member testified in court, the Zetas were looking for “everything that smelled of Poncho Cuellar.”

Tavira’s abduction, sometime in March 2011, dovetails with what many have called one of the darkest periods in the modern history of northern Mexico, when the Zetas fought for and seized control of many of the region’s most lucrative drug smuggling routes, like Piedras Negras, into Texas. Witnesses who testified in a San Antonio federal courtroom last month said Poncho Cuellar’s defection in 2011 triggered a violent purge in northern Coahuila, including more than 300 dead in and around the city of Allende – a mass killing that only in recent years has become known as the Allende Massacre.

Many of the victims, Tavira and others testified, had nothing to do with narco trafficking—they simply knew someone who had greatly angered the cartel.

In recent years, federal prosecutors in San Antonio have begun to outline a larger case that in many ways ties the wave of killings, abductions and disappearances that paralyzed Coahuila several years ago to an alleged corruption and money laundering scheme that reached the top levels of state government in Mexico. Last year, federal prosecutors here filed to seize a San Antonio house linked to former Coahuila state governor Humberto Moreira that they claim was bought with bribe money. According to the San Antonio Express-News, the feds are currently investigating whether Moreira and his former aide laundered millions more

FEATURE

in kickbacks into the San Antonio area. At trial last month, the feds put forward a former cartel member who testified that he delivered bribes to Moreira’s personal aide while he was governor. (Moreira, who says his own son was killed by the Zetas, has vehemently denied the allegations.)

The resulting arrangement, local prosecutors say, effectively handed control of Coahuila over to what was quickly becoming one of Mexico’s most feared drug cartels with a growing reputation for shocking acts of violence. Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell Leachman told jurors the bribes also made it possible for the Zetas to move “a ridiculous amount of narcotics” through Texas, all while maintaining control of cities like Piedras Negras by creating a steel river of guns that ran south from cities like Houston.

Prosecutors last month argued that such corruption not only allowed for the Allende Massacre but also the rise of people like Marciano Millan “Chano” Vasquez, one of the gunmen who kidnapped Tavira that night in 2011.

During his trial, prosecutors said Chano worked his way up the Zetas’ ranks in Piedras Negras just as the organization’s blood thirst reached its apex.

At his trial this July, witnesses testified to seeing Millan, who was arrested at a West Side San Antonio home last year, covered in blood after he and other sicarios killed a phone company worker accused of listening in on cartel communications. Another former drug trafficker told jurors that he saw more than a dozen people murdered and dismembered with an ax, either at Millan’s own hands or on his orders — including the butchering of a 6-year-old girl in front of her parents and the dismembering of at least four boys who hawked newspapers on street corners in Piedras Negras.

Kidnapped amid a wave of disappearances in 2011, Tavira actually turned out to be one of the lucky ones. After Millan whisked him across the killing field to be interrogated by cartel bosses, another Zetas leader called the Treviño brothers to vouch for Tavira just in time, saying the trafficker worked for him now and not the defector (prosecutors and a judge on the case have asked that media not use the full names of several witnesses who testified at trial out of fear of retribution).

Still, Tavira wasn’t allowed to leave until the killing was over. He saw a friend named Victor Cruz on the ground with his wife, Brenda. The couple was joined by two of their boys and a friend unlucky enough to be hanging out with the Cruz family when the Zetas came calling. Tavira testified that

Brenda was staring at him. He said she was mouthing something to him, pleading for help.

Tavira says he got back into one of the cars before the gunfire started.

The Zetas finally took him away after they’d loaded the bodies into three or four truck beds.

They made sure the place didn’t look like much from the outside, just another plain, unassuming house in the middle of a quiet residential neighborhood somewhere in Coahuila.

Inside, however, the place was a decked-out safe haven for leaders of the Zetas cartel. There was the large room with a Jacuzzi and a bar with every kind of liquor imaginable, and a part of the house where the cartel kept pit bulls and prisoners.

Rodrigo Humberto Uribe Tapia, a former financial advisor to the Zetas, testified in court last month that he helped the cartel build what they called the “VIP.” A top Zetas commander known as “Z-100” insisted the place be Scarface themed. He even asked Uribe to hang a blown-up image of a scene from the movie where Tony Montana buries his face in cocaine mountain. The character, Uribe testified, “was kind of like an idol to him.”

On the stand last month, Uribe claimed he laundered some $50 million in drug proceeds as a frontman for the Zetas between 2007 and 2009, when he fled to the United States and began working with law enforcement as a confidential source. Uribe told jurors about two occasions in which he claims to have bribed a top state official in Coahuila. The first time, Uribe claims he packed about $2 million into briefcases and handed them off to a personal aide of former Coahuila Governor Humberto Moreira at a hotel in the capital city of Saltillo. The second time, Uribe testified, he took another $2 million packed into vacuum sealed bags to a Saltillo gas station, where he claims he gave them to someone with the state attorney general’s office.

Prosecutors seemed to use Uribe as a way to underscore the size and scale of the criminal enterprise the Zetas were able to build once state and local government had been paid off. Uribe claimed that as the bribe money flowed, the cartel began setting up checkpoints across the state. They’d store semi trailer-loads full of dope in warehouses where they stacked bricks of marijuana and cocaine into mounds as big as 25 feet tall and 60 feet deep.

Or the Zetas could keep their drugs in the local prison, known by the Spanish acronym CERESO (or the Center for Social Integration). Uribe testified that after Zetas bought near total control of the Piedras Negras lockup, cartel members there had access to anything they wanted—“liquor, drugs, women, parties.” He claimed that cartel members sometimes used the prison grounds as a shop to build secret compartments into vehicles that would traffic dope across the border.

The bribes, Uribe testified, also allowed the Zetas to get around construction permits and even assume control of a local coal mining company. He said the bribes even bought the cartel access to state vehicles and helicopters to avoid detection from the Mexican military as they moved drugs, cash and weapons throughout the region. Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, a political science professor at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley with a forthcoming book on the Zetas, goes so far as to call the cartel a gang of “criminal entrepreneurs.” In court, federal prosecutor Michael Galdo called the Zetas a “drug army” that had turned Coahuila into a “drug state.”

At Millan’s trial, former Zetas members-turned federal witnesses claimed the cartel bribed not just Moreira, who was Coahuila’s governor from 2005

sacurrent.com • August 3—9, 2016 • CURRENT 17

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FEATURE

to 2011, but also his brother and current governor Rubén Moreira. Both men have strongly denied the allegations; Humberto in particular has scolded law enforcement and the media for connecting him to criminals he blames for murdering of one of his sons in 2012.

Perhaps a sign of the impact the San Antonio prosecutions are having on current politics in the state, last month, as Millan’s trial was still underway, Armando Guadiana, a Mexican businessman who some expect will run for Coahuila governor, filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court in the Hague against the government of Coahuila. In his petition, Guadiana accuses government officials of being complicit in horrific crimes perpetrated by the Zetas—who prosecutors say “brought hell on earth” to parts of Coahuila during their reign.

S. Fernandez was 13 years old the first time he saw bulk marijuana. He'd been looking out the front window of his Eagle Pass home when he saw his mother in the driveway moving large bags of it.

Not long after, Fernandez decided he wanted in. So he surprised his mother one day by walking out of the house while she was moving a load and matterof-factly asking if she needed help.

A number of features in the area make the border region around Eagle Pass a difficult smuggling route to patrol. U.S. Custom and Border Protection agents and other law enforcement officials testified in court that traffickers often try to blend into the crowd coming and going from the Kickapoo’s Lucky Eagle Casino near the river on the southern edge of the city. Cane, brush and mesquite along the banks of the Rio Grande provide cover for smugglers and lookouts, one agent testified. Heading north, by Del Rio and the Amistad Reservoir, sharp bends in the river and treacherous terrain further complicate matters.

Piedras Negras became a critical city for the cartel because of two international bridges into Eagle Pass that made it an obvious main artery for drug smuggling. As the Zetas rose to power there, somewhere along the way they realized how valuable American high school kids like Fernandez could be.

Fernandez testified that at first, all his supplier, who worked for the Zetas, asked was that he sell weed at his high school.

When it became clear Fernandez could quickly offload pounds of the stuff in a short amount of time, the cartel asked that he start recruiting other high school kids who could help the Zetas move drugs through and around the Eagle Pass area. Some of the kids became drivers who moved the dope to safe houses after the bundles crossed the river. Others acted as scouts, either by car or on foot, who kept watch for Border Patrol agents or local law enforcement as smugglers working for the Zetas moved massive amounts of drugs across the Rio Grande.

Among other charges, last month a jury found Marciano “Chano” Millan Vasquez guilty of deliberately hiring minors as part of the Zetas’ drug trafficking conspiracy. One Texas Ranger who helped build the case against Millan testified that the Zetas were known to recruit kids on the cheap, telling them they’d get off easy if caught.

Which was kind of true. The Ranger estimated that between 2009 and 2010, some 75 juveniles were arrested for cartel activity in the Eagle Pass area. Since the feds rarely charge juveniles, those kids became a state and local problem, according to the Ranger. And down on the border, there were apparently few resources for juvenile justice departments. According to the Ranger’s testimony, that meant most kids were released on probation after being detained for at most 10 days.

Fernandez was eventually nabbed in 2009, but he testified that he fled to Piedras Negras the day authorities let him out on probation. In Mexico, the feds say Fernandez remained an important part of the Zetas' drug-running operations, leveraging his contacts in the United States to arrange shipments across the river. Prosecutors called Fernandez a “kid prodigy” who helped smuggle more than 60 tons of dope into Texas.

Soon enough, Fernandez testified, the Zetas bosses had an additional demand for their smugglers—that as they move drugs north, they also smuggle guns south. Fernandez estimated he moved more than 25 crates of automatic rifles or ammunition at Millan’s orders. By the time he was 16, Fernandez said he was moving about three shipments of guns each month for the Zetas.

Some witnesses who testified in court last month said that as the Zetas fought for control of the region in 2012, they went to the prison in Piedras Negras in search of more foot soldiers. Fernandez testified that in September of that year, the Zetas drove buses up to the prison entrance and walked more than 100 inmates out the front door.

Another witness painted an even darker picture of the prison, saying it sometimes served as a killing grounds where the Zetas destroyed human remains by “cooking” them in vats of acid or barrels of diesel fire.

J. Rodriguez accidentally stumbled into a front-row seat to the operation in March 2011, when he drove to Piedras Negras to pay Marciano “Chano” Millan Vasquez some $1 million in drug proceeds he owed him. Rodriguez, a former Zetas member now cooperating with federal law enforcement officials, testified that Chano forced him to come with as they rode around town for more than an hour. Chano’s boss was exchanging frantic texts with Miguel Treviño, then the cartel’s second in command.

The Zetas had recently learned that Mario Alfonso “Poncho” Cuellar was missing.

Rodriguez testified that he was inside the car when Chano and his boss got orders from Treviño to round up anyone related in anyway to Cuellar. They were also supposed to findpeople who worked for Cuellar – and their relatives, too. Chano and his boss asked Rodriguez to point out any houses that he knew belonged to Cuellar.

Only in recent years have journalists, human rights groups, and U.S. law enforcement officials begun to piece together why more than 300 people disappeared from the region in March 2011 and never resurfaced, dead or alive. Critics say Mexican officials still haven’t acknowledged the full scale of the violence.

Last year, in a report to state legislature, Coahuila’s attorney general concluded that

The Zetas looked for "everything that smelled of Poncho Cuellar."

J. Rodriguez

sacurrent.com • August 3—9, 2016 • CURRENT 19

FEATURE

The drug trafficker testified that joining the Zetas wasn’t a choice but rather the only way to survive. His work for the cartel began when sicarios rounded him up with six other men and asked them to start working for the gang. The first man who refused was shot dead; everyone else accepted the offer.

The trafficker testified that he got on the cartel’s bad side in February 2013 when one of his drug shipments failed to reach its final destination in the United States. He was on the hook for money he couldn’t pay. The messages from Marciano Millan Vasquez, or “Chano,” demanding cash were getting angrier. In court, prosecutors recited texts from Chano, one of which read: “I’ll tie you up and I won’t let you go until you pay me fucker.”

Prosecutors say Chano had by that point risen to the rank of plaza boss,

20 CURRENT • August 3—9, 2016 • sacurrent.com

R

or regional commander, inside the Zetas. In some ways, prosecutors presented him at trial as a sort of cautionary tale, yet another cartel enforcer who symbolized the remarkable violence a narco state can breed.

The trafficker claims Chano abducted him and drove him around the outskirts of the city for days, bouncing him from car to car.

Occasionally his captors would remove his blindfold and give him a cell phone to try to scrounge up the money he owed the cartel.

There wasn’t any fear he’d call the cops.

In the past, he said, municipal police had provided him an escort when they found out he was running loads for Chano. Even if he called the police, he testified, he knew ES they wouldn’t do anything about it.

PR OM IC C H P The trafficker got his hands on some $20,000 GR A after his mother sold her house, but the Zetas said he still needed to find more. After a few days, the captors provided some additional incentive.

First, the trafficker said, they drove him to a pink-colored house.

When they dragged him out of the car, he saw someone kneeling on the ground who was blindfolded with his hands bound behind his back. On Chano’s orders, he testified, one of the sicarios produced an ax. The first blow was to the man’s knee, then to his arms. One of the hitmen took a final swing at the neck. The remains were thrown into a barrel of fire. Days later, the sicarios forced him to watch as they did the same thing to two men and a woman.

Jurors inside the San Antonio courtroom were visibly distraught last month when Tavira testified about the third act of violence he witnessed while kidnapped by the Zetas. Chano had driven him to another house. When he removed his blindfold, the trafficker saw a family standing in front of him—a mother, father and their 6-year-old daughter—and a metal barrel with fire nearby. He testified that while other sicarios grabbed the parents by their hair, forcing them to watch, Chano personally began to dismember the girl while she was alive. Chano, he testified, laughed as he began to toss her remains into the fire before ordering the same be done to the parents.

The trafficker testified that on Chano’s orders, he twice saw the same done to boys who sold newspapers on street corners in Piedras Negras, kids the Zetas suspected of being spies for another cartel. He says Chano finally let him go after making him watch sicarios execute three more people he claimed were members of the Mexican military. The trafficker testified that he fled for the United States the day the Zetas let him go.

When federal agents searched the trafficker’s cell phone, they found messages that prosecutors say helped tie Millan to the Zetas. Among those messages was a text the trafficker sent to his wife while he was held captive.

It was about his son. “If I don’t come back, take him far away from this shit.”

SO

the Zetas, with the help of local police, managed to kidnap 28 people around the time of the Allende Massacre. Testimony hitting the federal courts in Texas puts that number much, much higher. As assistant U.S. Attorney Leachman put it during Millan’s trial, “This is not something the government of Mexico has taken on until very recently.”

Federal agents who helped build the case against Millan testified to the difficulty of getting basic information from officials out of Mexico, even as witness statements taken in the United States began to reveal a picture of widespread killing. When one smuggler showed up on the Texas side of the border, claiming he witnessed barbaric acts of violence while held captive by the Zetas, federal agents brought in a laptop and asked him to point out where the killings took place. Authorities started to develop a list of locations as witnesses told them similar stories.

One federal agent testified that he sent the information to his counterpart in Mexico. They’d located some of the killing sites, he testified, “but police were not willing to go into that area.”

Rodriguez testified last month that more than 300 people were rounded up and disappeared after Poncho Cuellar and some of his associates fled the country.

Months later, Rodriguez said he was contacted out of the blue by an old coworker from Eagle Pass. As a teenager, Rodriguez worked with the man at the Eagle Grocery in town. The man said his son had disappeared along with his girlfriend. The response from Mexican law enforcement wasn’t encouraging. “They told me not to go around asking questions,” the father later testified in court.

Rodriguez said he’d already heard rumors that the Zetas suspected the man’s son of colluding with U.S. authorities. He testified that he called Millan to ask about the couple. He claims Millan handed the phone off to his boss.

“Stop asking for him,” the boss told Rodriguez. “We just finished cooking him.”

mbarajas@sacurrent.com

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Visions of an American Dreamland, 1861–2008

On view through September 11, 2016

CELEBRATING THE MOST ICONIC, UNIQUELY AMERICAN AMUSEMENT PARK

This exhibition was organized by the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut. Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland, 1861–2008 has been generously funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Celebrating 50 Years of Excellence, the Henry Luce Foundation, and The Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Foundation for the Arts, Inc. Reginald Marsh, Wooden Horses (detail), 1936, tempera on board, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut, The Dorothy Clark Archibald and Thomas L. Archibald Fund, The Krieble Family Fund for American Art, The American Paintings Purchase Fund, and The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner Collection Fund, 2013.1.1. © 2016 Estate of Reginald Marsh / Art Students League, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

6000 North New Braunfels San Antonio, Texas 78209-0069 mcnayart.org

sacurrent.com • August 3—9, 2016 • CURRENT 21

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COURTESY OF CULTURE CLUB

CALENDAR

WED-THU

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◀ “It’s a Miracle” that a band calling themselves Culture Club and meaning it — a band fronted

by Boy George and featuring a lineup that looks almost as diverse as a genre gumbo like “Karma Chameleon” sounds — even made it to American airwaves in the uptight ’80s (hell, it’d be a miracle in 2016), and forget about releasing three consecutive platinum albums in as many years, including ’83’s Colour by Numbers which went platinum four times by itself. And it’s a miracle that 30 some odd years later, after all the public and personal setbacks, accusations, rumors, threatened lineup changes, delayed albums and medical scares, we can still join the Club (the whole Club, with no holograms or 25-year-old stand-ins) for a live two-night dance party. It’s a miracle, it’s a miracle, it’s a miracle. $46.50-$175, 7:30pm Wed-Thu, Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle, (210) 223-8624, tobincenter.org. – Jeremy Martin

music

‘Broken Lens’ & ‘Splitsplice’

Culture Club

OUR TOP PICKS FOR THE WEEK

THOMAS CUMMINS

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◀ Despite a temporary closure for a facelift that entails a new front staircase, large glass THU-FRI doors and an extended awning, this is turning out to be a big summer for Blue Star Contemporary, which recently received a $100,000 grant from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts to support exhibitions over the next two years. Operating out of a satellite space formerly occupied by Joan Grona Gallery, BSC welcomes August with a pair of shows conceptually art

4-5

grounded in architecture. The culmination of Thomas Cummins’ experience as a Blue Star Contemporary Berlin Resident at Künstlerhaus Bethanien, “Broken Lens” sees the local artist exploring “how individuals begin to define themselves throughout surrounding social structures” via photographs created through a broken camera lens. Marking New Hampshire-based sculptor and printmaker Kirsten Reynolds’ first solo show in Texas, “Splitsplice” throws an odd wrench in the works through a site-specific installation of “remnants from architectural structures of unknown origin.” Free, 6-9pm Thu-Fri, 112 Blue Star, (210) 227-6960, bluestarart.org.— Bryan Rindfuss

COUTESY OF GEBKA FILMS

The Painting FRI

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◀ Visit any artist’s studio and you’ll likely be privy to an unfinished project or two, some of which may never be fully resolved. An artful exploration of that limbo-like state of affairs, French writer/director Jean-François Laguionie’s animated film The Painting (Le Tableau) brings to life a colorful crew of characters in varying stages of completion. Distinguished by a vintage sensibility and an orchestral score by Pascal Le Pennec, the film follows an unlikely trio of friends as they leap from the canvas into a series of other paintings in search of the artist who’s mysteriously abandoned them. On the surface, a simple story surrounding star-crossed lovers Clare and Ramo, The Painting slyly addresses tolerance and classism through the dynamics between the self-righteous Alldunns, uncolored Halfies and roughly rendered Sketchies — a scorned breed some would prefer to erase. SAMA screens the English-language version of the 2011 film as part of its outdoor Family Flicks series. Blankets, lawn chairs and picnics welcome. Free, 8:20pm, San Antonio Museum of Art, West Courtyard, 200 W. Jones Ave., (210) 978-8100, samuseum.org. — Bryan Rindfuss

22 CURRENT • August 3—9 , 2016 • sacurrent.com

event

THU-FRI

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◀ San Antonio artist Megan Solis, who just graduated in May with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from the University of Texas at San Antonio, is the present resident at Hello Studio in the Blue Star Arts Complex. Her current exhibition — which continues in the vein of her recent sugary/grotesque, highly-personal inquiries into the manifold nature of dissatisfaction, fear, and anxiety — is entitled “Christina Is a Coward.” Through a blend of performance, collage and assemblage of objects, Solis explores social anxiety, the transformative possibilities of failed relationships, and the hollow, performative nature of happiness and the pursuit of happiness. To augment the experience of the physical exhibition (on view through August 15), Solis planned an accompanying trio of in-gallery performances, the last of which you can still catch. Solis told the Current that this last performance will “finalize the failure and disconnection of romantic relationships by creating a ritual of them.” If you didn’t catch the first performances, no need to fret. Solis explained that the pieces are only loosely linked and that the sense of “confusion and even revulsion to the performances” is as welcome as empathy for the characters therein. If this all sounds new, but totally badass to you, plan to attend a closing reception/viewing for the show on Thursday and the final performance on Friday night.

Free, 6-9pm Thu, 8:30pm Fri, Hello Studio, 1420 S Alamo St, (210) 291-8640, hellostudiosa.com. — James Courtney

◀ Theseus’ parodox: So this current parts with a hunting knife backstage Mythological king teenage before a show and then … what were we gutter-punk Theseus has a talking about again? Point is, the Cro-Mags legendary ship guitar, one that -- currently touring to celebrate the 30th plays some insanely bitchin’ anniversary of their vicious hardcore classic music heavy-metal and hardcore riffs The Age of Quarrel – have gone through — seminal stuff people make enough lineup changes in the past three careers of copying. The only decades to merit the inclusion of a bandCro-Mags problem is that by now this member timeline on their Wikipedia page that guitar is like 30-something years old, and year looks like it’s trying to explain the plot of the by year, the strings and tuning pegs wear out movie Primer, and there’s some, um, spirited ◀ A staunch supporter of gay or malfunction or whatever and even the neck debate about which is the best version. One marriage, animal rights and and the body are replaced. After a while, thing is for certain: that guitar, replacement atheism, talk-show host, comic some of the older parts are even put back on. parts and all, can still make a hell of a lot of and political commentator Then, for argument’s sake, let’s say one of the racket. $12-$15, 7pm, The Korova, 107 E. Bill Maher has made his replaced parts allegedly slashes two of the Martin St., thekorva.com. — JM career calling out bigots and hypocrites. His public feuds with so-called conservatives have pushed the boundaries of public decency, and he is unapologetic about his scathing critiques of the world’s religions, which he believes are responsible for the country’s anti-gay sentiment. After the cancellation of his longrunning late night talk show “Politically Incorrect” in 2002, Maher returned with a vengeance the following year as host and producer of the HBO series “Real Time with Bill Maher.” With 14 seasons under his belt, Maher brings his comedic stylings and political commentary to the Majestic. $35-$96, 8pm, The Majestic Theatre, 224 E. Houston St., (210) 226-3333, majesticempire.com. — Marco Aquino COURTESY OF CRO-MAGS

Disappointments are Revealed at Samantha and Rebecca’s Slumber Party

SAT

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An Evening with Bill Maher

COURTESY OF BILL MAHER

MEGAN SOLIS

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sacurrent.com • August 3—9 , 2016 • CURRENT 23

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sanantoniocomedyclubs.com 24 CURRENT • August 3—9 , 2016 • sacurrent.com

CALENDAR NIGHTLIFE

COURTESY OF ONE MINDFUL MAVEN

▶ In beautiful and unique pairings of English with Spanish, mysticism with wisdom, and indigenous storytelling with dance, Curanderiando: Tales of Healing, is bound to make for a magical evening.

The night will begin with traditional stories of Native American healers (curander@s), told by Carolina Quiroga-Stultz, a renowned Colombian Social Communicator who graduated in 2013 with a Masters in Storytelling from East Tennessee State University. Blended ingeniously with dance, these stories are adapted from across the pre-Colombian landscape, from the Maya (Guatemala), the Sapalla (Bolivia), and the Mapuches (Argentina). Following the storytelling, there will be an exciting presentation on Curanderismo (traditional healing arts) by local anthroplogist Elizabeth De La Portilla and yerbero (hearbalist) Jacinto Madrigal. Taken as a whole, the evening presents an important chance to celebrate and learn from ancient wisdom by considering it froms multiple angles: the mythical and the anthropological. Free, 7pm, Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, 922 San Pedro Ave., (210) 228-0201, esperanzacenter.org. — JC

SAT

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currently being seen and experienced in the media, the U.S., and the world,” the group’s Mass Meditation for Peace is set to bring together light and energy workers, shamans, healers and peace-lovers for an hour of unified silence in the serene setting of the Jingu House at the Japanese Tea Garden. Led by local artist and graphic designer Danielle Cunningham, the free morning of positive energy and stress relief invites like-minded community members to “be the change you wish to see in the world.” Those unable to attend are encouraged to join the livestream via the Facebook event page. Free, 8-9am, Japanese Tea Garden, Jingu House, 3853 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 735-4648, onemindfulmaven.com. — BR

▲ Created by school counselor and a mindfulness instructor Carrie Edmond as a means to expand her network of educators, students and families, the local organization ONE Mindful Maven champions the benefits of mindfulness through coaching, workshops and retreats. Organized in an effort to “offset the excessive negativity and suffering

SAT

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special event

Lighten Up: A Celebration of Conscious Art and Community

◀ It seems like a new festival pops up in this town every other day. But, who could hate on that if all festivals where as rad and consciousness expanding as the first annual Lighten Up: A Celebration of Conscious Art and Community? This unique one-day festival will provide contemplative opportunities out the wazoo—we’re talking yoga and medidation workshops, healing group meditative experiences, and that type of goodness—but we’re just as excited about the stellar musical line-up, which features local heavies Dance Like Robots, Versimilitude, Aliens WITH Halos, and Krishna Monks, along with a mind-expanding performance from the American Indians in Texas drum group. In addition to the peace vibes, the great location (seriously, have you checked out how the Woodlawn Lake area is looking these days?), and the stellar music, this family-friendly event will also feature various holistic vendors, healthy food, and live art. Free, 4-11pm, Woodlawn Casting Pond and Park, 138 S Josephine Tobin Drive. — JC

TOUCHSTONE PICTURES

6

Mass Meditation for Peace

COURTESY OF NAMASTE DANCE.

CURANDERIANDO_COURTESY ESPERANZA PEACE AND JUSTICE CENTER

Curanderiando: Tales of Healing

Who Framed Roger Rabbit ▲ Maybe it’s the “bad” way Jessica Rabbit’s drawn, or the nightmares you still have about the melting shoe, or just the world’s-collide shock of seeing Daffy and Donald share the screen. Maybe it’s … whatever Baby Herman’s whole deal is.

In any case, 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit is without a doubt one of those pseudo-kidfriendly films that seems designed to loosen screws in young minds and to serve as an early indicator that life is going to be way weirder than the adults let on. Combining animation and live action in an eye-popping, Oscarwinning way, Roger Rabbit

might as well be titled A Children’s Illustrated Chinatown for the way it exposes the rotten foundation of America’s Dream Factory: Corrupt politicians (Christopher Lloyd’s terrifying Judge Doom), segregation (Toontown is a stand-in for any number of ghettos) and a succinct explanation for Los Angeles’ historic public transportation problems somehow figure into a story starring a cartoon rabbit who breaks stuff over his head for fun. See it on the big screen and watch it warp a whole new generation. $15, 7:30pm, Santikos Bijou, 4522 Fredericksburg Rd, (210) 614-8977, tpr.org. — JM

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26 CURRENT • August 3—9 , 2016 • sacurrent.com

CALENDAR

ART Art opening: “The Impermanence of Flowers Makes Them More Beautiful”

Inspired by proverbs, calligraphy and her own poems, artist Mayuko Ono Gray’s latest series of graphite drawings intertwines Japanese characters with images of people, animals and objects. Free, 6-9pm ThursdayFriday, noon-5pm Sunday; Terminal 136, 136 Blue Star, (210) 458-4391.

Alright DrawNite: Graphic Models

Brick hosts a comic book-inspired figure drawing session complete with bodypainted models from Beyond the Canvas, beats by DJ Pakman and a “superhero fight” courtesy of Capoeira Luanda San Antonio. Free, 6:30-10:30pm Thursday; Brick, 108 Blue Star, (440) 321-9619.

“Girl’s Eye View”Presented as an opportunity for Girl Zone summer campers to “get engaged and entwined in the fabric of their community,” the group exhibit “Girl’s Eye View” tasked participants with capturing the essence of San Antonio’s East Side through photography, film and poetry. $6-$8, 9am-5pm Wednesday-Saturday, noon5pm Sunday, 9am-5pm Monday-Tuesday; Institute of Texan Cultures, 801 E. César E. Chávez Blvd., (210) 458-2300.

THEATER One Down Rob Barron directs Mike

Poblete’s quirky new play following a professional dog food taster who begins having strange, exhilarating dreams about a woman who just might be his key to a better life. $12-$15, 8pm Friday-Saturday, 3pm Sunday; The Overtime Theater, 1203 Camden St., (210) 557-7562.

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas After

staying in business for well over 50 years, when La Grange’s Chicken Ranch brothel was finally closed, it wasn’t relegated to be a footnote in local history. Instead, the ramshackle operation that allegedly accepted chickens as payment for “services rendered” became immortalized in the musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Fittingly, The Playhouse has brought the musical back to the stage a mere stone’s throw from the original locale, giving numbers like “The Aggie Song” and “The Bus from Amarillo” a little extra oomph. $12-$30, 8pm FridaySaturday, 3pm Sunday; The Playhouse, 800 W. Ashby Pl., (210) 733-7258.

WORDS Leslie Contreras Schwartz Award-winning Houston-based educator, essayist and editor Leslie Contreras Schwartz visits The Twig to read from Fuego, her first collection of poems. Free, 2-4pm

Saturday; The Twig Book Shop, 306 Pearl Pkwy., Suite 106, (210) 824-2611.

COMEDY Jon Reep In addition to winning the fifth

season of NBC’s Last Comic Standing, L.A.-based Jon Reep has landed his own Comedy Central specials and hosted the Speed TV reality competition series R U Faster than a Redneck? $18.50, 8pm & 10:15pm Friday-Saturday, 7pm Sunday; Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, 618 NW Loop 410, (210) 541-8805.

Los Locos Suárez Mexico’s beloved father-

and-son comedy duo Héctor Suárez and Héctor Suárez Gomís bring their dysfunctional family antics to the Majestic. $39-$79, 8:30pm Thursday; The Majestic Theatre, 224 E. Houston St., (210) 226-3333

SPECIAL EVENTS Bat Loco Bash The San Antonio River

Authority hosts an informative talk and bat-viewing party with a Bat Parade, educational activities, food trucks, music from DJ Michele McKnight and appearances

by Echo the Bat, SA Batman, Robin and Bat Girl. Free, 6-9pm Tuesday; San Antonio River Walk Museum Reach (intersection of Camden and Newell streets), (866) 345-7272.

First in Hope, First in Service The San

Participating restaurants will offer a prix-fixe menu – encompassing a threecourse lunch and dinner – for one of two different tiers.

Tier 1: $15 Lunch/$35 Dinner Tier 2: $10 Lunch/$25 Dinner For more information, visit culinariasa.org.

Restaurant week AUGUST 13-27, 2016

Antonio AIDS Foundation celebrates its 30th anniversary with a special luncheon featuring a buffet brunch, mimosa and bloody mary bar, silent and live auctions, and a keynote address from pioneering AIDS and LGBT activist Cleve Jones. $100, 10:30am-2pm Sunday; The Hyatt Hill Country Resort and Spa, 9800 Hyatt Resort Drive, (210) 225-4715.

Kidcation Kickoff Promising to turn San

Antonio into “a citywide playground for kids of all ages,” the fourth annual Kidcation Week kicks off with a free event combining live music, balloon artistry, face painting, games and a bouncey house. Free, 9am-2pm Saturday; Hemisfair Park, Yanaguana Garden, 434 S. Alamo St., (210) 709-4750

Twitter: @culinariasa Facebook.com/CulinariaSanAntonio Instagram: @culinariasa

sacurrent.com • August 3—9 , 2016 • CURRENT 27

ARTS + CULTURE

OUT OF THE

O R D I N A RY nnecting A surreal thread co lists’ ‘Dreamers and Rea

1

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28 CURRENT • August 3—9 , 2016 • sacurrent.com

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With influences ranging from > Frida Kahlo to Marcel Duchamp, Mexican artist Cisco Jimenez, among the first Artpace resident artists in 1995, says the key to surrealism is to create something “apparently disparate and irrational” that “at the end has more sense than the objective world.”

“Surreal” is now commonly used to describe intense, disorienting experiences from natural disasters to mass shootings. But for artists, the word has more to do with unusual juxtapositions of mundane objects in dreamlike ways to convey deeper meaning, often dredged from the subconscious using Freudian free association techniques such as automatism, tapping into the mythic and archetypal realms of consciousness.

“I like to take ideas and then start a process of dismantling and dislocating them, deconstructing them so what remains replaces and gives new meanings to ordinary things and thoughts,” Jimenez said in an email from his Cuernavaca studio. Responding to

whether he is a “dreamer or a realist” he replied, “I’m a realist camouflaged in the way of a dreamer.”

Jimenez created elaborate collages using candy wrappers, beer labels, advertising and his own droopy drawings, including a boozy tribute to English writer Malcolm Lowry’s Under the Volcano, for “Dreamers and Realists,” on view at Ruiz-Healy Art through September 3. Nationally-known San Antonio artist Jesse Amado put the show together, but rather than “curate,” he prefers to say he “tailored” this set of artists who address reality as dreamers.

“These artists are both dreamers and realists. The globalization of art means artists are being asked to respond to a broader view of the world and to not be so introspective and dreamy,” Amado said. “I’ve always been fascinated by how surrealism can give extraordinary meaning to ordinary things. The works in this show are imbued with meaning that is relative to our existence in contemporary times, but maybe not in the way people usually think.”

ARTS + CULTURE

5

4

3

2

1. Alejandro Augustine Padilla, The New Monsters, The New Myths 2. Works by Kaela Puente 3. Andres Ferrandis, Sulki # 1 4. Cisco Jimenez, Stretch 5. Nicole Franchy, Untitled Scapes II

Amado said seeing exciting new work during the Second Saturday Artwalk in the newly codified Southtown The Arts District (STAD, sastad.com) made him want to put on a curator’s cap. He discovered a self-taught San Antonio artist and a newly minted MFA candidate at the University of Texas at San Antonio that he has invited as “guest artists” to add to the roster represented by gallery director Patricia Ruiz-Healy.

The macabre Flayed Superficial Soft Tissue shows the meticulously realistic painting skills of the self-taught Alejandro Augustine Padilla, but two years ago he began making fantastic three-dimensional works using found objects, paint and spray foam insulation. The yellow-painted foam provides a cloud-like base for the otherworldly The New Monsters, the New Myths, with a pair of porcelain female figures topping peaks over an albino octopus. The robed figure casting a spell with a splash of gold foam in Bye Bye Blackbird has a Darth Vaderish vibe.

“I’ve spent a lot of time studying the surreal objects at the Menil Collection in Houston and decided to make my own,” Padilla said.

“I prefer using ordinary materials like the spray foam. My studio is full of found objects that I mix and match to make unexpected

connections. While I’m influenced by the stylistic techniques of the surrealists and their fascination with the subconscious, I also draw from my own experiences in dealing with mental illness.”

A teacher at the Southwest School of Art, San Antonio native Kaela Puente earned her BFA in ceramics and painting at the University of the Incarnate Word in 2013 and is poised to finish her MFA at UTSA this year.

She uses images of a bear, mountain lion, gorilla and wolves in her colorful ceramic pieces resembling Egyptian canopic jars, which Amado compares to the work of Los Angeles ceramist Ken Price. Bird Talk brings to mind an Edward Gorey raven. “[Surrealism] gives me freedom to recreate my own reality,” Puente said. “I would say I am a dreamer. I perceive the world in the way I wish it to be. Basically, I imagine the change I want to see and overlay it on the actual reality to make a new one. I can’t help but dream when the reality we live in needs more hopeful people to maybe one day change it.”

Amado confronts a horrific reality in his installation, A Mass Disappearance of 43 Students, using cut-out pieces of brown felt to symbolize the victims of the 2014 killings in the Mexican state of Guerrero.

“Brown felt for brown people,” Amado said.

“It’s amazing that such a thing could happen, but it’s important to remember these students who planned to be teachers and to keep their story alive.”

Photo-based collages are among the other works in “Dreamers and Realists,” including Andres Ferrandis’ coolly dotted reflections on the history of analog cameras along with Nicole Franchy’s melancholic juxtapositions of re-imagined landscapes. While rooted in the reality of our times, these artists use surrealistic techniques to provide a realer, more nuanced and layered vision of the human experience.

Dreamers and Realists Free / 11am-4pm Tue-Sat Ruiz-Healy Art 201-A East Olmos Drive (210) 804-2219 ruizhealyart.com Through September 3

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sacurrent.com • August 3—9 , 2016 • CURRENT 29

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> The two sisters are Maria Celia, a covert heretic, and cunning exploiter 36-year-old writer, and Sofia, a 24-yearof others’ aspirations. To magnify his old pianist. The piano is a weathered vehemence in the second act, Trevino old instrument that has been in the is so understated in the first act that it Obispo family for three generations is often difficult to hear him even within and is badly in need of repair. "Two the intimate space of the Cellar Theater.

Sisters and a Piano," a 1999 two-act As Maria Celia, Maria Ibarra chafes play by Nilo Cruz, the Cuban American under her sequestration and pines for who won a Pulitzer Prize for Anna in the husband she has not seen in years. the Tropics, is a study in the limits of He has gone abroad, and her letters trust. Set in Cuba in 1991, when the to him have been confiscated by the Russians are withdrawing and the authorities. Lt. Portuondo holds a pile Castro régime is cracking down on of mail the husband has sent to Maria the kind of dissent that is fracturing Celia, and he promises to read them the Soviet Union, the play places its to her if she in turn reads him her latest characters’ personal tensions within the fiction. The officer also hopes to satisfy context of political repression. his lust for the comely and frustrated Because of something deemed author. Ibarra’s characterization offers an counter-revolutionary that Maria Celia ambiguous mix of defiance, wistfulness, wrote, she and Sofia spent two years and desire. Ibarra and Trevino strike in prison. They are currently under erotic sparks, but also tease us with the house arrest, forbidden company and question of who is outwitting whom. access to anything beyond the four As Sofia, Ailyn Duran - so cramped walls of their domestic dungeon. They by her incarceration in a torrid are regularly visited by Lieutenant residence with a sister she both adores Portuondo, who inventories and resents that she is hot to their possessions and couple with any man, real or Two Sisters and enforces their confinement. imaginary - projects the most a Piano By Nilo Cruz He has other purposes in blatant sexual hunger. “You Directed by Omar Leos mind as well. have canaries inside your $12-$30 8:00 pm Fri., Sat., As Lt. Portuondo, Victor brain,” Maria Celia chides. & Sun., 3:00 p.m. Sun. Trevino exposes several Duran plays an unconvincing The Playhouse often contradictory layers air piano, but she is this – Cellar Theater 800 West Ashby – zealous defender of the intermittently affecting play’s San Antonio, TX 78212 Cuban Revolution, country most insistent champion of 210-733-7258 boy awestruck by urban liberation, a canary in a dim www.ThePlayhouseSA.org Through Aug. 21 sophisticates, smitten swain, Caribbean coal mine.

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SCREENS

EONE

GOOD ENOUGH DAN HUDAK

Is Woody Allen’s Café Society worth the $10?

Yes

Cafe Society Dir. Woody Allen; writ. Woody Allen; feat. Jeannie Berlin, Steve Carell, Jesse Eisenberg, Blake Lively, Parker Posey, Kristen Stewart, Corey Stoll, Ken Stott (PG-13)

HHH

≥

Writer/director Woody Allen takes us back to the 1930s in Café Society, and just as he did in Midnight In Paris, he remembers those bygone times with sun-soaked idyllic opulence and grandeur.

There’s nary a word about the Great Depression or the upcoming world war, save for an offhand comment about Hitler. This is okay because the protagonists inhabit a surreal world that imbues a sense of nostalgia and purity, and the movie is lush and vivid and engaging because of it.

Allen also succeeds in providing a humorous and dramatic story that has some unexpected twists and turns. Jesse Eisenberg stars as Bobby, an ambitious twenty-something who escapes his father’s jewelry business by moving to Hollywood. His plan is to get a job with his Uncle Phil (Steve Carell), a name-dropping agent to the stars. Soon Bobby is doing well at work and falling in love with Phil’s assistant Vonnie (Kristen Stewart), who unfortunately for him has a boyfriend.

The second half of the film follows Bobby back to his hometown in the Bronx as he runs a nightclub with his

gangster brother, Ben (Corey Stoll).

There’s always a neurotic lead in a Woody Allen movie (sometimes played by Allen himself), and Eisenberg handles the responsibilities well. It’s a difficult task because the character has to be funny, flawed and sympathetic, which isn’t an easy trifecta to pull off. Eisenberg will not win an Oscar here the way Cate Blanchett did for Blue Jasmine, but he also isn’t as bad as, say, Kenneth Branagh in Celebrity.

What’s more, Café Society is pretty consistently funny, and the dramatic elements work well enough to keep us interested throughout, though there is a tiresome love triangle that lingers a bit too long. Allen doesn’t appear in the film, but his voice is heard as the narrator. This is not the first time Allen has narrated one of his own films without starring in it (Radio Days, 1987), but it’s certainly the first time he’s done so in such a sluggish and disinterested way. Two reasons to use voiceover narration are to set the stage for the plot and fill in continuity gaps in the story, and both of those reasons are in play here. If only Allen spoke

with more urgency and conviction rather than in an emotionless third-person authorial way.

Thankfully Allen, at the ripe young age of 80, is on top of his game in all other regards. His recurring auteur themes of infidelity, religion, morality and forbidden love are all in play here, and it remains fascinating to watch him evolve in terms of how he views each subject. Repeatedly, he continues to allow logic to win out above all else, succinctly removing the desires of the heart for the sake of practicality.

Love and prurient lust are omnipresent, but they’re tempered with the coda of characters asking, “What’s actually best for me?” and then acting accordingly.

After more than 50 years of filmmaking, Allen isn’t afraid to stray from the standard “happy” ending, and he remains a compelling writer and director (in part) because of it.

Café Society is good Woody Allen, not great, which is fine. In a summer of sequels and adaptations, and at a time when original story ideas are few and far between, “good” is good enough. sacurrent.com • August 3—9, 2016 • CURRENT 33

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34 CURRENT • August 3—9, 2016 • sacurrent.com

FOOD

SARAH FLOOD-BAUMANN

≥

CUE

'

GOOD

Lots of hits, few misses at Burnt Ends

RON BECHTOL

It’s a good bet that most Q-heads have a platonic pit image in their minds that runs something like this: smoke-stained walls, past-their-prime calendars, old beer and/or oil signs, maybe a counter with knives chained to it, certainly a chopping block contoured and cured by years of slicing brisket and portioning ribs … and, somewhere visible, a proud pile of the fuel of choice. If the pit isn’t apparent, there should be at least a pungent whiff of smoke.

With the exception of three beer signs, there is none of this at strip-center Burnt Ends on Blanco. The smoking takes place in a leanto out back where some snooping will reveal a few scattered pieces of wood (oak and some pecan, I’m told). From the dining space, emblazoned with big graphics (including BEER, which is rarely as intense a focus as it is here), nothing of the smoking or slicing is apparent. Does any of this matter?

Not really. Yes, I miss not seeing more of the process, but the brisket that issues forth from behind the BEER wall is as barky as a junkyard dog; the pork ribs are moist, meaty and peppery; the house sausage, though it may lack the snap I prefer, is good, grainy and full of flavor. And even the pulled pork, often a disappointment, has personality. In addition, smoking doesn’t stop with the meats. You can get a smoked spud piled with pulled pork, beef, or sausage, and there are two kinds of smoked corn on the cob.

Let’s start with the sides. The potato salad is creamy and appears house-made, but it’s more like a foil for the meats than a dish with attitude of its own. Of the two corns, one of which is called elote Mexicano, the gringo version is better. It might have been bad luck of the draw, but the elote was far from cooked, and its dusting of chile powder and packaged parmesan was unconvincing; on another day, the simpler smoked corn tasted a tad of smoke, showed signs of actually having been on the grill, and was perfectly

served by butter and pepper. But about those green beans…

At most traditional BBQ joints, if green beans are available, they have been cooked to a fare-thee-well with perhaps a little tomato.

Not here. These still have a toothiness to ‘em.

They’ve been sizzled with onion and maybe some burnt-end bits from chopped brisket sammiches, and they are worth ordering in the large size. Also worth a bigger portion than what comes as a cap to the smoked spud, is the ginger slaw; it’s the perfect, punchy sidekick to an otherwise lonesome brisket, especially in the meat’s fattier form.

You might not be asked, but you can order the brisket either lean or fatty — or in a combination as I did when it was finally available. (Note to the wise: of course it will sell out by late afternoon or evening, but it was also not available at opening time on another occasion, so consider calling ahead.) For what this observation is worth, the fattier slices were barkier, but the leaner had a smokier bite — at least based on my sample. Either is fine without the thin and slightly vinegary sauce (I’m not going to be so foolish as to try to deconstruct it), but neither suffers from a squirt or two. Neither the pork ribs nor the sausage probably wants sauce, at least at first, but I won’t be looking (or judging).

Beneath BEER, by the way, are 15 tapsworth of the craft stuff, ranging in price from $4 to $6, and all are $3 at the generous, daily happy hour from 3-8. (Pork sliders will run you $4 then.) Another wall graphic claims entertainment on Sunday, though there was none during my visit. And there are also said to be Monster Beef Ribs — on weekends only. I got there at about 5:30 on Sunday when there was a butcher-paper sign taped to the door advising the late-to-the-party of their demise, along with the brisket, so they will remain the stuff of legend. Always good to have at least something new to encourage a repeat visit.

Burnt Ends 1725 Blanco Road, (210) 660-7970 burntendssa.com The Skinny: Burnt Ends is urban 'cue without the atmosphere but with all the other virtues of the traditional product.

Best bets: Brisket, pork ribs, sausage, green beans, smoked corn and ginger slaw. Hours: 11am-10pm Tue- Thu, 11am-midnight Fri-Sat, 11am-8pm Sun Price: $3-$17.50

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36 CURRENT • August 3—9, 2016 • sacurrent.com

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FOOD

FOOD COURT

Burger pop-ups, closings and more

JESSICA ELIZARRARAS | @JESSELIZARRARAS

COURTESY OF SAN ANTONIO COCKTAIL CONFERENCE

•

Celebrate Box Street turning one this weekend

BURGERS AT GWENDOLYN

> Remember back when Restaurant Gwendolyn served one of the best lunches in the city? Well chef Michael Sohocki and staff are bringing back lunch for a short time with a burger pop-up only they could throw.

Through August 12, Gwendolyn will host “Flat Top Pop Up” with beef and veggie burgers priced at $10 to $13 with French fries and a drink.

But this being Gwendolyn, these aren’t ordinary burgers. Instead the pop-up will feature patties made with 30-day dry-aged beef, pork fat, caramelized onions and slow-roasted garlic, while the veggie burger options include a black bean patty or a mushroom patty. 152 E. Pecan St., Suite 100, (210) 222-1849.

AUGUST SPECIALS

KATE WATERS

> Speaking of burgers, San Antonio’s first Hopdoddy Burger Bar will celebrate its Southern roots with a new burger throughout August. The Triple B Burger, $12, will feature medium-rare Akaushi beef patty on arugula, with blue jack cheese, warm bourbon onion jam and fresh fried tobacco onions.

Wash it down with the maple bacon waffle cone shake, $6, because why not, or the bootleg KoolAid, $8, which combines moonshine, pomegranate grenadine, raspberry hibiscus tea, lime juice and lemon-lime soda. 17623 La Cantera Pkwy., Suite 101, (210) 434-2337.

THE GAME IS NOT ON

> After 15 years of hosting rowdy weekends and one of the best St. Paddy’s Day block parties in town, Sherlock’s Baker Street Pub has closed its doors as of July 31.

The bar and grill known for their fish ‘n’ chips is owned

by Houston-based Hospitality USA, which operates 16 other locations across Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado.

With the closing comes news via press release of a new concept by HUSA — The Big Texas Ice House & Dance Hall will begin construction in its place. Expect an expanded patio, traditional dance floor, more beers on tap and full lunch and dinner service when Big Texas opens this fall. 16620 Thousand Oaks Drive.

LET’S HAVE ANOTHER ROUND TONIGHT

> Houston Street Charities and the San Antonio Cocktail Conference will host Jason Kosmas, cofounder of Employees Only in New York City, and co-owner of The 86 Co. spirits for a special one-off seminar, “Cocktail Revolución,” on Tuesday, August 9 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Plaza de Armas. Expect to learn about rum and other spirits with this cocktail personality and author. Tickets for the event, $65, are available through sanantoniococktailconference.com.

HAPPY ANNIVERSary

>The Box Street Social will celebrate its first year of business where it all started, parked underneath the Hays Street Bridge at the Alamo Beer Company brewery.

On Sunday, August 7 from 1 to 6 p.m., chef Edward Garcia will fire up paella, roast a lamb and feature other truck favorites while Laura Molinar and Los Nahuatlatos provide the music. 202 Lamar St., (210) 920-1602.

Send food- and nightlife-related events and news to flavor@ sacurrent.com.

sacurrent.com • August 3—9, 2016 • CURRENT 37

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38 CURRENT • August 3—9, 2016 • sacurrent.com

NIGHTLIFE

EAT IT B

WHERE TO BOOZE Two new late night spots and a legit burger happy hour CAROLINE TIMMINS MARK STENBERG RON BECHTOL

BOTIKA ADDS LATE-NIGHT FUN It’s no secret that San Antonio is severely lacking when it comes to our late night food scene. While we all have a special appreciation for “stripper tacos” and Whataburger, we desperately need a new place to embarrass ourselves after 11 p.m. Cue Botika.

The Pearl’s newest darling, Botika, has only been open a few weeks but has stolen the heart of many and filled the Peruvian-Japanese hole in our lives we didn’t know we had. You can chow down on chef Geronimo Lopez’s unique bites late into the night on Fridays and Saturdays until 11 p.m. you can choose from food specials including their epic steamed buns, duck and potato empanadas, pork gyozas and a variety of sushi rolls. Plus until midnight you can grab your sushi to-go.

Major step up from that usual bean and cheese taco if you ask me…

This is late night, and this is the weekend, so you better believe Botika isn’t skimping on the drinks. In addition to $5 beer and $6 wine, enjoy $7 cocktails including the refreshing AF cucumber lemon drop and lychee daiquiri and the über strong overholt yuzu bramble. Whatever your elixir of choice, Botika has something for you.

After some years, improbably, starting with Shake Shack in New York, and then expanding to nouveau chains such as Roy Choi and Daniel Patterson’s Locol, among others, this new philosophy found its way even into the depraved underworld of the burger chain.

In South Texas, Hopdoddy carries the sigil of that new philosophy highest. Founded in Austin in 2010, the upscale burger restaurant has outposts in Arizona, Colorado and Texas, with future plans for expansion into southern California. The chain commits itself to sourcing humanely raised meat for their burgers, as well as cutting their fries daily, baking their buns from scratch and > 303 Pearl Pkwy., Suite 101, (210) 670-7684. collaborating with local businesses.

When you taste their food, the effort shows. When A NEW WORLD OF BURGERS Though quiet, a taking advantage of their 3-6:30 p.m. happy hour and paradigm shift is taking place in the world of hamburgers. ordering the queso fries ($5), a friend remarked that For years a stark dichotomy ruled the restaurant world the fries were so good that the queso — speckled with — high-end restaurants sourced quality ingredients but ground beef and green chili, redolent of barnyard-fresh charged diners a small fortune, while affordable, ethically dairy — seemed superfluous, though it definitely wasn’t. dubious fast food chains churned out feed at lightspeed. And when I bit into my Magic Shroom burger, $6.75 Recently though, with the rise in popularity of the fast after the $2 happy hour discount, the gooey Texas goat casual concept, restaurateurs have begun exploring a middle cheese, fiery basil pesto and cushion of the buttered egg ground: affordable, quickly prepared food that still respected buns made every crumbly ounce of the house-ground local ingredients, products and standards of quality.

Angus beef dematerialize perfectly into the overarching The vibe at Botika is ideal for late night. The space barely resembles that of its former tenant, Arcade. Gone are the stark surfaces and concrete everything. In their place are bright colors, warms fabrics, unique artwork, fun lighting, a shiny motorcycle (don’t touch), and more tassels than you could ever imagine filling the room.

Together they create a restaurant with an energy that is unlike any other space in the Pearl complex, and an environment perfect for late night fun.

Now Botika is only beginning to stretch its late night legs, so keep an eye out for updates and new additions in the next few weeks.

sacurrent.com • August 3—9, 2016 • CURRENT 39

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40 CURRENT • August 3—9, 2016 • sacurrent.com

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MARK STENBERG

NIGHTLIFE

herbaceous, salty gestalt.

In its tradition of nodding to local purveyors, Hopdoddy’s bar offers a score of San Antonio beers, as well as a handful of cocktails that cater to the puro palates of the restaurant’s denizens. During social hour all draft beers are $5, which includes offerings from Austin (Eastcider Dry Cider, 512 Pecan Porter), Dripping Springs (Twisted X Cow Creek Vienna Lager), Blanco (Real Ale Fireman’s 4), Houston (Karbach Staycation IPA) and San Antonio (Ranger Creek OPA, Southerleigh Texas Uncommon Steamer), showcasing a laudable investment in the local brew scene.

Cocktails, such as the classic frozen margarita ($5 during happy hour) and Lil’ Prick ($8), are just familiar enough to be enticing, but exotic enough — lavasalt rimmed glasses, local prickly pear — to be memorable.

Hopdoddy is the rare restaurant that does well by doing good, serving food that pleases eaters from all levels of the food scruples chain; what’s more, it does so cheaply, casually and enjoyably. If its Austin predecessors are any indication, it won’t be long before interminable waits plague the restaurant, so go now — during happy hour — and toast to the future of the burger chain. > 17623 La Cantera Pkwy., Suite 101, (210) 434-2337.

BIGA’S GROWN-UP REVERSE HAPPY HOUR Let’s say that it’s 9 p.m. (and, for grins, that it’s also a Thursday, Friday or Saturday), and you’re looking for something to do to wind down from the day (or rev-up for the evening). Have we got a suggestion for you: reverse happy hour at Biga on the Banks.

Now, it goes without saying, that this is not a $2 longneck and $3 tots kinda option; cutoffs and flip-flops are probably not the preferred attire. But jeans and a cool tee will do just fine.

No rezzy is required — just step up to

the bar. And if you’re willing to let the barkeeps, Kim Romo and Shane Clifford, guide your evening, you don’t even have to think much about drinks or the dishes that may accompany them. They’re all priced at $7 (local draft beers are $4), so let the games begin.

I began with the evening’s special, the Prohibition-era Bee’s Knees, a shaken blend of gin, honey and lemon juice. It was a keeper — and, as it turns out, Kim’s favorite cocktail. A Mexican Martini, a Manhattan and a classic daiquiri were the other options.

As a drinking companion, I snagged the stacked lobster salad capped with the meat from an entire claw, layered with fried capers, roasted golden beets, tomato, cucumber, bibb lettuce and anointed with a zingy remoulade. It needed a pinch of salt, but this was still the loss-leader of the lot. A crumbed orb of goat cheese on a sweet-sour onion jam didn’t disappoint, though, and baconwrapped dates proved themselves to be an ’09 cocktail staple raised to new Heights. The loaded beef tartare with chili oil and a quail egg might have been a great bridge to a glass of red wine, but I never made it that far down the eats menu.

At Shane’s suggestion, I did get to a red wine (all wines on the bythe-glass list are 50 percent off) that I might otherwise never have tried, a blaufränkisch from Washington State. You don’t need to know that blaufränkisch is a red wine grape most normally grown in Austria to appreciate its brisk fruit and pinot-like flexibility. Nor do you necessarily care that Hungary was the source of the white I also sampled, a crisp and citrusy furmint. The wine list is wide-ranging, the glassware is good, the pours generous … just explore and enjoy.

There can

only be

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Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & everything in-between! FULL BAR OPENS AT 7AM!

Sun: 11 am - 2 am | Mon-Sat: 7 am - 2 am | 5562 Fredericksburg Rd. In the Medical Center

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> 203 S. Mary’s St., (210) 225-0722; Reverse happy hour runs 9 p.m. to close at Biga Bar Thursday-Saturday.

513 0 BR O A D WAY • 210 . 437. 2 2 0 0 • E AT B O K C H O Y. C O M S U N D AY-T H U R S D AY: 11 A M - 9 P M • F R ID AY: 11 A M - 8 P M

sacurrent.com • August 3—9, 2016 • CURRENT 41

12702 toepperwein rd suite 101 live oak, tx 42 CURRENT • August 3—9, 2016 • sacurrent.com

MUSIC

“FEMINAZI”

MATT STIEB

Ahead of tour, FEA releases a blistering, self-titled Chicana punk rock debut Two years ago, FEA debuted at Maverick Music Festival as a fast and furious outfit armed with Chicana punk politics and a rhythm section to make the Misfits green with envy. Girl in a Coma alums Phanie Diaz and Jenn Alva enjoyed not only the rarity of being a hometown favorite on the first show, but the freedom to be as bad as they wanted to be outside of their alt-rock band of note. Singer Letty Martinez whipped the crowd into a frenzy, despite 20-odd feet of river between the band and its fans at the Arneson Theatre.

Two years and thousands of road-worn hours later, FEA has released an embattled debut of Chicana punk rock. Not that it’s a contest, but Alva and Diaz beat out fellow Girl in a Coma Nina Diaz to the first, full record in their hiatus.

Produced by Laura Jane Grace of Against Me!, Lori Barbero of Babes in Toyland and Alice Bag of OG, LA punks The Bags, FEA placed themselves in good company. It’s hard to make high fidelity punk sound good — clean it up too much and the energy of the live set evaporates But the album pulls off the feat with a fat bass tone, in-your-face guitar and Letty Martinez careening about on top.

Like producers and past tour mates Against Me! and Babes in Toyland, FEA goes in with an encompassing political approach, working with a clear mission but avoiding a preachy tone. FEA employs a feminism learned on the road, a worldview tested by the brunt and bullshit of day-after-day,

ADVANCE TIX - PAPERTIGERSA.COM

Thur. Aug. 5th / Fri. Aug. 6th & Sat. Aug. 7th

SAN LA MUERTE FEST

CHARLIE LLEWELLIN CREATIVE COMMONS

>

THIS CHARMING MAN Morrissey announces November show at the Tobin MATT STIEB

city-after-city misogyny. Coupled with a deep, unshakeable Chicanismo, the message is one that is gaining a voice in punk in recent years — despite the democracy assumed at a punk show, it’s a place often populated by pushing, shoving, white kids.

On the especially stacked first half of the record, the intensely confident Letty Martinez refuses to be silenced, punching through the mix in Spanish and English. Here, her mic isn’t so much an instrument as a cultural weapon. On “Feminazi,” she casts away that alt-right diatribe and clears up the confusion that occurs when only one side of an argument is being heard —“I don’t want to bring you down man / I just want to meet in the middle!”

Better yet is the hook — “I am a feminist,” repeated in Spanish, French and German. There’s that inclusionary, democratic spirit! If only we could find it outside the punk show.

FEA tour kickoff with Wick and His Tricks, Friday August 5, 10:30pm, Bang Bang Bar, 119 El Mio Dr, (210) 320-1187

> Rejoice Moz fans! Last week, the all-time sadboy and The Smiths legend announced a world tour, including a gig at the Tobin Center on November 17, according to multiple media reports and True to You, a Morrissey fanzine that confirmed the dates early Wednesday (curiously, as of press time the Tobin had yet to officially announce the date).

It’ll be a unique challenge for fans who want to engage in the tradition of bumrushing the stage to hug the 59-year-old Englishman — there’s something a bit weird about trying to climb past security at such a proper venue.

The last time Morrissey visited San Antonio was in 2011, when he played

the Majestic. Before that, the Moz played San Antonio just once, in 1992, at the Municipal Auditorium. Still, the indie rock icon has had an outsized influence on the city — resident stars Girl in a Coma pulled their name from The Smiths’ “Girlfriend in a Coma,” from the 1987 album Strangeways, Here We Come.

A true Morrissey fan should take this news with a grain of salt. In addition to being one of the most significant voices from the 1980s, the mononymic star has a tendency to cancel shows, including major legs of tours in 2013 and 2014.

As insurance, light up a Moz veladora and pray that it never goes out.

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MANATEES W/ GUTTERFLOWERS DOORS 8PM / ALL AGES Tues. Aug. 9th Paper Tiger Presents

BEER FANG’S VHS CINEMA DOUBLE FEATURE ON THE BIG SCREEN 1ST MOVIE STARTS AT SUNDOWN FREE / ALL AGES Wed. Aug. 10th Paper Tiger Presents

‘FREE COUNTRY’

CLASSIS COUNTRY WITH DT BUFFKIN 8P-12A / FREE / ALL AGES Thurs. Aug. 11th Paper Tiger & Mondo Nation Present

BEN WALLERS + SPRAY PAINT W/ FILTHY, PLAX DOORS 8PM / ALL AGES

sacurrent.com • August 3—9, 2016 • CURRENT 43

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Lee Winright | 6-8PM Ruben V | 9-11PM

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Chris Cuevas Project | 7-9PM Smoke N Sixguns | 9-11pm

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Billy Kiesel | 6-8PM Frank Painter Band | 9-11pm

Sun. Aug 7th

El WEstside sound and friends 2-6pm

628 Jackson St | 210-320-1840 44 CURRENT • August 3—9, 2016 • sacurrent.com

MUSIC

Why I still want my MTV, even as the network approaches middle age

SHANNON SWEET

≥

MTV’s not a rebellious teen anymore.

The once revolutionary channel is turning 35-years-old this month, and not without the obligatory midlife crisis (or, naturally, a dance party at Brass Monkey later this month to celebrate the occasion).

Despite MTV’s more recent reliance on reality television rather than the music videos that made it famous, the channel should still be celebrated for what it once was. MTV is a lot like Madonna, one of many pop stars it helped launch, because despite both pandering to young audiences, it doesn’t take away from their groundbreaking influence. “Bitch, I’m Madonna” is about the same as “Bitch, I’m MTV.” Below is a brief timeline outlining the rise and inevitable fall of Music Television.

The “Super Bowl for youth” Still one of MTV’s saving graces, the 1984 Video Music Awards started with controversy, way before the “Imma let you finish” heard around the world, starting the Kanye-Taylor feud. In a conservative America, the image of a wedding gown-clad Madonna singing “Like a Virgin” while provocatively rolling around a stark stage to expose her garters and underwear on national television, was shocking. Less memorial performances from Huey Lewis and the News, Rod Stewart, Tina Turner and ZZ Top finished off the inaugural show. In addition, 1992 saw the premier of the MTV Movie Awards.

“Video Killed the Radio Star” “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll.”

The short sentence set fire to pop culture in 1981. In the minute the screen went black at 12:01 p.m., MTV was born and American culture would be blown to smithereens. After the dust settled, the music biz would never be the same. “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles was the first music video played, and every word of the new wave one-hit wonder came true, like a pop Nostradamus.

And this is the channel that gave us Jersey Shore and Teen Mom.

Intimate, Raw and Unplugged While Nirvana’s appearance in 1994 made headlines and won awards, MTV Unplugged debuted in 1989 with not-Nirvana artist Squeeze, Syd Straw and Elliot Easton.

Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, LL Cool J and Alanis Morissette would later have appearances during the show’s run. Still, nothing can top one of Kurt Cobain’s last taped performances and his chilling cover of “Where Did You Sleep Last Night.” Ever.

“For no mere mortal can resist/ The evil of the thriller” In 1983, Micheal Jackson’s “Thriller” gave birth to cinematic music videos with a 14-minute pop song meets horror movie. Without MJ, pretentious and overwrought “visuals” wouldn’t make the mainstream.

I’m looking at you, Lana Del Rey and Lady Gaga.

Reality killed the video star Some would say that 1992 saw the start to MTV’s fall.

The premiere of "The Real World" and it’s spin-off "Road Rules" brought reality TV into the mainstream, good or bad, and although the still ongoing series documented young people and current issues, it can be to blame for guilty pleasures The Real Housewives series on Bravo and "Keeping Up with the Kardashians."

Beavis and Butt-Head and Daria Semi-endearing but always hysterical assholes Beavis and Butt-Head were introduced to the hearts of the MTV Generation in 1993. The catchphrases were timeless (“I am the Great Cornholio,” “Cool,” “This sucks”), the animation was crude and the humor was sophomoric, but it, in my opinion, was the best cartoon on TV next to the Simpsons. Creator Mike Judge went

The New Millennium The 2000s marks the final stages of music decay to bring forth MTV’s current dictator - reality television.

Although the bulk of new programming is culturally significant, there’s no relation to the musical foundations.

Wildly popular hits such as "Jackass," "MTV Cribs," "The Osbournes," "Pimp My Ride," "Punk’d," "True Life," "The Hills" and it’s spin-offs along with other hit TV shows, sparked a reality Renaissance. It was a golden age that will never happen again, even with newer attempts to recreate the thunder with "Teen Mom," "Jersey Shore" and "Catfished."

Because of an over-saturation of music media, like YouTube, Spotify and iPods, MTV didn’t sellout, they adapted.

Throughout the changes, I still want my MTV.

HELGA ESTEB SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

“I Want My MTV” Shit got real in 1982 when the first crop of famous rock stars, including Pete Townsend, Stevie Nicks, Mick Jagger, Adam Ant, Pat Benatar, The Police and David Bowie made ads exclaiming “I Want My MTV” in front of garish, ‘80s-tastic backgrounds and animated doodles.

Spring Break Forever Even though MTV Spring Break didn’t reach it’s peak until the ‘90s, 1986 saw the start of it all with live coverage from Daytona Beach, Florida. Throughout it’s run over the decades, MTV Spring Break saw stars such as Destiny’s Child, No Doubt and Paris Hilton get wet ‘n’ wild.

on to create King of Hill, but B&BH started it all. Popular MTV spin-off Daria was the anti Beavis and Butt-Head, as the monotone heroine was the voice to a generation of disenchanted and angsty girls.

I Want My MTV Anniversary Party, Friday August 12, Brass Monkey, 2702 N St Mary’s, (210) 480-4722

sacurrent.com • August 3—9, 2016 • CURRENT 45

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Open 7 Days A Week • Mon-Fri: 2p-2A • Sat-Sun 11Am • slackerssa.com 46 CURRENT • August 3—9, 2016 • sacurrent.com

MUSIC

DANIELA RIOJAS

Charlie Brown’s Neighborhood Bar & Grill Join Us for Happy Hour

Mon-Fri 2pm-6pm Specials Daily

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8/6 Box String Duo • 8/13 Right on Red 8/20 Gentleman Joe and Crissy Bliss Show 8/27 Kerosene Drifters

Daily Specials

Thursday

Monday

Friday & Saturday

$2.50 Deep Eddy vodka $2 Sauza Silver Tequila

MUSIC PICKS

$4 You Call It $2 Wells $2 Vegas Bombs

$5 Long Island Ice Tea $5 AMF $1 Tube Shots $3 Vegas bombs

$3 You Call It

$3 You Call It

Tuesday

San La Muerte Fest This all-ages fest is about as dark and heavy as they come, representing goth and punk outfits from Australia, Brazil, Denmark and Spain with an impressive undercard of Texas and U.S. bands. En masse, the aesthetic is brooding and black — as the title suggests, these are bands that worship or fetishize death and afterlife. Highlights include Masses, a bewitching post-punk combo from Melbourne with enough book smarts to make nods to Yeats. Gothic synth-punks Moth split the difference between the rigid motorik of Kraftwerk and the despondent tone of Joy Division. A pro tip from their event page reads: “Don’t wear sandals,” which is a solid piece of fashion advice any weekend. But with three days of inevitable moshing, Docs are always the best punk bet. $15-$38, Thurs. 9pm; Fri. 7pm; Sat; 6:30pm, Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersa.com THU-SUN

4-6

Emily Gimble For the past two years, Austin pianist and singer Emily Gimble has helped the harmonies in Asleep at the Wheel pop with energy. But, in March, she announced she’d be leaving Ray Benson and the country legends to give it a run on her own. Her debut Certain Kinda shows a solid footing upon the departure, with 10 cuts of Southern soul and pop in the Norah Jones mold.

With a drummer embedded in the pocket and a bedding of crackling THU

4

stage organ, Gimble’s voice shines as she considers life and loss in Texas.

Her grandfather, the fidler and Western Swing legend Johnny Gimble, would surely be proud. $7-$30, 8:30pm, Sam’s Burger Joint, (210) 223-2830, samsburgerjoint.com K. Michelle In a postKardashian world, choosing to star on reality TV is still a risky investment — you either rise to pop culture prominence or crash back to the plebian Earth in a pool of tears.

For R&B singer K. Michelle, the bet paid off when she appeared on Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, VH1’s voyeuristic look at the romantic lives of up-andcoming musicians. After the show, she was signed to Atlantic on the strength of her bedroom anthems. In March, Michelle released her third effort (and solid magazine joke) More Issues Than Vogue, an R&B record for Atlanta’s new auto-tune era, featuring production from hitmakers like T-Pain, Jeremih and The Mekanics. $25-$115, 8pm, Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 812-4355, theaztectheatre.com

$3 Wells

Wednesday

Sunday

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▲ Nina Diaz, Scarlet Sails Nina Diaz’s bandmates in Girl in a Coma just dropped a bad motherfucker of a Chicana punk record, but don’t think that the GiaC frontwoman has been slacking — she’s sitting pretty on some solo material recorded at the audiophile’s heaven of Sonic Ranch and her live band is MON

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u p s ca le d i n i n g wi t h a l o v e o f t he g ame 48 CURRENT • August 3—9, 2016 • sacurrent.com

MUSIC

as mean as they come. Scarlet Sails is the husband-and-wife duo of Moscow native and classically trained pianist Olya Fomina and drummer and Dresden Dolls vet Brian Viglione. Together, they make bombastic, honky-tonk piano rock, informed more by the blues and whiskey-drunk rock than the cabaret punk of the Dolls. $10-$13, 8pm, Limelight, 2718 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 735-7775, thelimelightsa.com Riff Raff Everyone applauds the cultural merit and campy, good bad taste of artists like John Waters and Seth Bogart.

But what about bad bad taste, like MON

6

gaudy grandma wallpaper, or Riff Raff? The Houston rapper’s songs usually revolve around one central shtick: on a new song named after the Mexican billionaire, he feels so rich he “might move to Mex-co, Carlos Slim.” Listening to a Riff Raff cut is like walking through a mall. There are so many brand names being thrown at you, like his neck tattoo of the MTV emblem. Despite his gimmicky rapping, there’s a definite car crash appeal to the whole thing. Like a bug to the self-proclaimed Neon Icon, I can’t look away. $24.50, 9pm, Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 812 4355, theaztectheatre.com

AUGUST 5 -DALE WATSON

August 6

Ne Obliviscaris

AUGUST 6 - KEVIN FOWLER + JON WOLFE

MUSIC CALENDAR

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3 Culture Club $46-175 Presale, All Ages, 7:30pm, Tobin Center ESE Free, 21+, 8pm, The Mix Free Country: Classic Country and Honky Tonk Free, All Ages, 8pm, Paper Tiger Funk, Oldies and R&B with DJ Plata Free, 21+, 8pm, Tucker’s Kozy Korner Midtown Jazz Sound Free, 21+, 10:30pm, Soho Wine & Martini Bar Prime Time Jazz Quartet Free, All Ages, 8pm, The Cove Propaganda with DJ Ely Bat Free, 21+, 10pm, The Mix Rockwave Videos with VJ Andreas Free, 21+, 7pm, The Amp Room The Hump-Off Wednesday Nights with DJ Donnie Dee Free, 21+, 10pm, Southtown 101 Wayne’s World Wednesdays Free, 21+, 10pm, Bottom Bracket Social Club

Wednesday Evening Picker Circle with Stephen K. Morris Free, All Ages, 5pm, Luckenbach Dancehall Wet Wednesdays with Midnight Swim (Front Room) and Karaoke (Back Room) Free, 21+, 9pm, Phantom Room XV with DJs Riffle Effect and Isaac_TX Free, 21+, 10pm, Hi-Tones Young Valley 18+, 9pm, Limelight You Spin Me Right Round Wednesdays with DJ Mighty Iris Free, 21+, 9pm, The Bang Bang Bar

THURSDAY, AUGUST 4 #Death2genres: Thursdays with the Space Cadets Free, 21+, 10pm, Web House 210 Blues Band Free, 21+, 10pm, Soho Wine & Martini Bar Culture Club $46-175 Presale, 7:30pm, Tobin Center Deleted Scenes with Sourtown Free, 21+, 9pm, The Mix EDM Thursdays $5 for 21+, $7 for 18+, Free for Ladies, 9pm, Club Rio Emily Gimble $7 Presale, All Ages, 7:30, Sam’s Burger Joint Lesti Huff Band Free, All

Ages, 8:30pm, The Cove Let’s Go Retro Thursdays with DJ Mighty Iris Free, 21+, 8pm, Bonham Exchange Queer Y Que: LGBTQIA Thursdays Free, All Ages, 4pm, La Botánica

August 9

Make America Rock

AUGUST 13 - CODY JINKS & WHITEY MORGAN

Rewind Thursdays with DJ Tech-Neek Free, 21+, 10pm, Groove Lounge San La Muerte Fest III: Texas-Only Dark, Punk Festival $15 Single day $35 for 3 day, 8pm, Paper Tiger Thursday Night Picker Circle with Jimmy Lee Jones Free, All Ages, 5pm, Luckenbach Dancehall Thursday Night Swing Dance $10, Free for Members, All Ages, 7pm, San Antonio Swing Revival Trappin’ on the Strip with DJ Burlo Free, 21+, 10pm, Phantom Room UNDERGROUND SOUND: CHRIS RAMSEY, YOUNG ACE, PIERRE, KARL ANTHONY Free, 21+, 10:30pm, Bottom Bracket Social Cub Viva Las Vegas Free, 21+, 9pm, The Mix

August 13

Even in Death

AUGUST 19 - STEVE WARINER

August 19

Eve 6

AUGUST 26 - WHISKEY MYERS

August 20

Third Eye

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5 Almost Patsy Cline Cover $10-15, 21+, 7pm, Leon Springs Dancehall

14492 Old Bandera Rd 1223 E Houston St. SA, TX 78205 www.therockboxsa.com

Helotes, TX (210)695-8827

For tickets: liveatfloores.com

sacurrent.com • August 3—9, 2016 • CURRENT 49

Beer! Beer! Beer!

and all the places to grab one IN HONOR OF This week’s calendar of events

WE PROUDLY PRESENT A WEEKLY PAGE TO ALL THINGS... YOU GUESSED IT, BEER!

Local picks of the week NATIONAL IPA DAY AUGUST 4th 4-9PM, HOP & VINE Join us at Hop & Vine for a day devoted to all things hoppy. We will be celebrating #IPAday with some killer beers on draft and food specials including deep fried cheese stuffed hops, fresh off the vine!

Tap list is available at www.hopandvinesa.com.

5619 W Loop 1604 N #109, SA, TX 78253 THE BRASS TAP AT THE RIM offers over 300 craft beers from around the world in a neighborhood atmosphere that feels both relaxed and upscale. What’s more, our beer experts can answer just about any question you throw their way. You’ll also find daily specials and unique events each and every week. Whether your party is large or small, you’ll feel right at home watching the game or simply catching up on old times. Hungry? From salty to tangy to sweet, you’re sure to find a flavor to complement your beer and appease your appetite on our food menu.

Check us out at: www.brasstapbeerbar.com/sanantonio 17619 La Cantera Pkwy #2-208, San Antonio, TX 78257

1ST WEDNESDAY BEER PONG TOURNAMENT: AUGUST 3, THE RINGER PUB (2826 THOUSAND OAKS ROAD), 9:30PM-2:00AM The Ringer Pub wants to know if you think you’ve got the skills. Are you the bomb at beer pong? Their 1st Wednesday Beer Pong tournament is the chance for you to show off what you’ve got. Prizes will be awarded for first, second, and third place.

A BEER FLOAT SOCIAL – CRAFT BEER & ARTISAN BATCH ICE CREAM PAIRING: AUGUST 8, THE GRANARY ‘CUE & BREW (602 AVENUE A), 1:00PM-5:00PM The Down Market and Sundown United team up with The Granary ‘Cue & Brew for a one of a kind beer pairing event. Cafe Dijon Pastry Chef Chris Jara and Granary Brew Master Alex Rattray will be creating a unique craft beer and artisan ice cream pairing that will sure to cool down your hot summer day. Beer flights and ice cream are both limited, so get there while the getting is good.

SUMMER BEER TALK SERIES: AUGUST 10, SOUTHERLEIGH FINE FOOD & BREWERY (136 EAST GRAYSON, SUITE 120), 5:30PM-7:00PM Southerleigh’s Brewmaster, Les Locke, will launch their first ever Summer Beer Talk Series this month. The event will take place on the patio at Southerleigh and will feature an informational session about the restaurant’s beer of the month, how it is paired with their food, and a tasting. The talks are free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.

BUSTED SANDAL’S 3-YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY: AUGUST 13, BUSTED SANDAL BREWING CO. (7114 OAKLAWN DRIVE), 3:00PM-8:00PM Come on out to Busted Sandal Brewing Company’s third anniversary party! A special, limited batch Champagne 210 Ale will be unveiled, as well their special Oktoberfest batch. Music by Sonic Dream will set the mood and what kind of party in San Antonio would be complete without some BBQ? Admission for this event is limited (only 200 tickets) will be sold, so get yours before they are all gone!

For more visit SanAntonioBeerFestival.com

50 CURRENT • August 3—9, 2016 • sacurrent.com

MUSIC

Ben Griffith Free, All Ages, 9pm, Taco Garage

SATURDAY, JULY 30

Borgeous with Nick Twist $15 Presale 25 VIP, 18+, 10pm, Club Rio

80s, New Wave, Pop Saturdays Free, 21+, 9:30pm, Jack Rabbit

Cody Johnson $12-30 Presale, 18+, 7pm, Cowboys Dancehall

Curtis Grimes $12 Presale, All Ages, 7pm, Gruene Hall

Cro- Mags, Confused, Concrete Elite, Shadow Of Doubt, Aggravator $12 Presale 15 Door, All Ages, 7pm, The Korova Dale Watson $12 Presale $15 Door, 18+, 7pm, John T. Floore Country Store Friday Nights with Ghostpizza $3, 21+, 9pm, Phantom Room It’s A Groove Thing with DJs Chacho and Donnie Dee Free, 21+, 10pm, Groove Lounge Jack Pledge Free, All Ages, 5pm, Barriba Cantina Jazz Fridays with Peter Rosie Free, All Ages, 7pm, Punta Del Cielo Café Mingo Fishtrap $14+ Presale, All Ages, 9pm, Sam’s Burger Joint Russ: Did It My Way Tour $15 Presale, All Ages, 8pm, Aztec Theatre The Derailers All Ages, 7pm, Luckenbach Dancehall The Hook Up! 1st Fridays with DJ Donnie Dee & Jester the Filipino Fist Free, 21+, 9pm, The Mix The Mystery Lights with The Bolos $4 Presale, 18+, 9pm, Limelight Toobapalooza ft. Josh Abbott Band with Wade Bowen, Carly Pearce $18 Presale, All Ages, 7:30pm, Whitewater Amphitheatre Tracy Byrd $20-45, 18+, 7pm, River Road Icehouse We Were Wolves + Orsinger Free, 21+, 10pm, Bottom Bracket Social Club West Kings Highway Free, All Ages, 9pm, Burleson Yard Beer Garden Zane Williams $12 Presale, All Ages, 7pm, Gruene Hall

DJs El Gato & Casbah AKA “Radio X” & Sean Castillo Trio Free, 21+, 9pm, The Mix Eclipse - A Tribute to JOURNEY $7+ Presale, All Ages, 8pm, Sam’s Burger Joint FOWLER FEST: Kevin Fowler with Jon Wolfe $15 Presale 20 Door +5 for minors, 18+, 7pm, John T. Floore's Country Store

Skyline Swing ft. Jim Cullum Jazz Band Public: $10, SASDS Members/ affiliates: $7, Students: $5, KRTU Members: FREE, All Ages, 7pm, Trinity University Smokehouse Guitar Army Free, 21+, 9pm, Barriba Cantina Soul’d Out Saturday with DJ Gibb Free, 21+, 10pm, Groove Lounge Step Aside Blues Band Free, All Ages, 9pm, Burleson Yard Beer Garden Stevie Tombstone Free, All Ages, 5pm, Barriba Cantina

Gary P. Nunn: Dance Hall Show $20, All Ages, 9pm, Luckenbach Dancehall

Twelve Years Drive, a Vow Unbroken, Mode Dodeca $5, 21+, 9:30pm, Zombies Bar and Live Music

K. Michelle $25-45 Presale, All Ages, 7pm, Aztec Theatre

SUNDAY, AUGUST 7

Live Music & Dance with Chris Salinas Free, All Ages, 9pm, Tejas Rodeo Company

Family Night & Free Dance Free, 18+, 6pm, John T. Floore Country Store

Ne Obliviscaris, Black Crown Initiate, Starkill, Death By Design $12 Presale 15 Door, 7pm, The Rock Box

Manateees All Ages, 8pm, Paper Tiger

Ryan Bingham & Shakey Graves with Shane Smith & the Saints $28, All Ages, 7:30pm, Whitewater Amphitheatre San La Muerte Fest III: Texas-Only Dark, Punk Festival $38 for 3day $15 for 1 day, All Ages, 8pm, Paper Tiger Saturdays with Midnight Swim Free, 21+, 10pm, Bottom Bracket Social Club Saturday’s w/ Dj Malik 10pm, Stone Street Pub Scare Don’t Fear + Kissing Candice $10 Presale, All Ages, 5pm, The Korova Sell Your Soul Saturday’s presents The Stovebolts & Over the Top 10pm, Faust Tavern Sidewinder, Valyrian, Seance, Room 24 $7 Adults $10 Minors, 18+, 7pm, Fitzgerald’s Bar and Live Music

Songwriter Sundays with Walt Wilkins & Friends All Ages, 1pm, Luckenbach Dancehall Sunday Evening Picker All Ages, 5pm, Luckenbach Dancehall Sunday Funday with DJ Shawn Jackson Free, 21+, 8pm, Leaky Barrel

Neighborhood Restaurant & Wine Bar Happy Hour & Dinner Daily

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SUGGESTED DONATION $10 TPR Members $15 Non-members 52 CURRENT • August 3—9, 2016 • sacurrent.com

MUSIC

Nina Diaz & Scarlet Sails (featuring Brian Viglione of Dresden Dolls) $10 Presale 12 Door, 18+, 8pm, Limelight Open Jam Session with Small World Jazz Free, All Ages, 7pm, Olmos Bharmacy Periphery, SikTH, Chon, Toothgrinder $20 Presale 25 Door, All Ages, 6pm, Alamo City Music Hall Riff Raff, Dollabillgates, Trill Sammy, Dice SoHo $25 Presale, All Ages, 8pm, Aztec Theatre Sound Gallery with Deep South Collective Free, 21+, 8pm, Paramour Trapped Out Mondays

with DJ Burlo Free, 21+, 10pm, Bottom Bracket Social Club Tribal Seeds $17+ Presale, All Ages, 7pm, Sam’s Burger Joint Wurd of Mouth Mondays with DJ Gibb Free, 21+, 10pm, Blue Box

TUESDAY, AUGUST 9 Búho Free, 21+, 9pm, The Mix Dirty Heads $25-27, All Ages, 7pm, Aztec Theatre Gen-X Tuesdays: ’80s Night Free, 21+, 8pm, The Amp Room Jim Cullum Jazz Band Free, 21+, 7pm, Bohanan’s

Plebeian Grandstand, Pyrrhon, Absurdist $8 Adults 10 Minors, All Ages, 8pm, The Korova The 2016 International Blues Blowoff $25 Presale, All Ages, 6pm, Sam’s Burger Joint Throwback Tuesdays with DJ Ammunition Free, 21+, 9pm, Retox Bar Tuesday Night Picker Circle with Bo Porter Free, All Ages, 5pm, Luckenbach Dancehall Turn Up Tuesdays with DJs Ferno, Dennis Loy and Rollin Rollin Free, 21+, 10pm, Bottom Bracket Social Club

502 Bar 502 Embassy Oaks, (210) 257-8125, 502bar.com Alamo Street Eat Bar 609 S. Alamo St., (210) 227-2469, alamostreeteatbar.com Aztec Theatre 104 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 812-4355 theaztectheatre.com Barriba Cantina 111 W. Crockett St., Suite 214, (210) 228-9876, barribacantina.com Bonham Exchange 411 Bonham, (210) 271-3811, bonhamexchange.com Bohanan’s 219 E. Houston St., (210) 472-2600, bohanans.com Bottom Bracket Social Club 1609 N. Colorado Street, (210) 267- 9160, facebook.com/ bottombracketsocialclub Blue Box 312 Pearl Pkwy., Suite 2107, (210) 227-2583, blueboxbar.com Brass Monkey 2702 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 480-4722, facebook.com/brassmonkeytx Carmens De La Calle 320 N. Flores St., (210) 281-4349, carmensdelacalle.com Cave Without a Name 325 Kreutzberg Road, (830) 537-4212, cavewithoutaname.com Club Rio 13307 San Pedro Avenue, (210) 403-2582, club-rio.net Esquire Tavern 155 E. Commerce St., (210) 222-2521, esquiretavern-sa.com Faust Tavern 517 E. Woodlawn Ave., (210) 257-0628, facebook.com/thefausttavern Fitzgerald’s 437 McCarty Road, Suite 101, (210) 629-5141 facebook.com/fitzgeraldsbarsa GS 1221 1221 Broadway, Suite 116, (210) 251-3184, gs1221.com Groove Lounge 501 E. Crockett St., (210) 281-8383, facebook.com/groove210 Gruene Hall 1281 Gruene Road, (830) 606-1281, gruenehall.com Hi-Tones 621 E. Dewey Pl., hitonessa.com Imagine Books & Records 8373 Culebra Road, Suite 201B, (210) 236-7668, imaginebookstore.com J&O’s Cantina 1014 S. Presa St., (210) 485-7611 Jack’s Patio Bar 3030 Thousand Oaks, (210) 494-2309, jacksbarsa.com John T. Floore’s Country Store 14492 Old Bandera Road, (210) 695-8827, liveatfloores.com K23 Gallery 704 Fredericksburg Road, (210) 776-5635, facebook.com/k23gallery La Botánica 2911 N. St. Mary’s St., vivalabotanica.com Leaky Barrel 7959 Fredericksburg Road, Suite 131, (210) 577-5470, facebook.com/leakybarrelsa Leon Springs Dance Hall Boerne Stage Road, (210) 226-9881, leonspringsdancehall.com Limelight 2718 N. St. Mary’s St., thelimelightsa.com Luckenbach Dancehall 412 Luckenbach Town Loop, (830) 997-3224 luckenbachtexas.com Moses Rose’s Hideout 516 E. Houston St., (210) 775-1808, mosesroseshideout. com Nite Lite 714 Fredericksburg Road, nitelitesa.com Olmos Bharmacy 3902 McCullough Ave., (210) 822-1188, olmosrx.com Paper Tiger 2410 N. St Mary’s St., papertigersa.com Paramour 102 9th St., (210) 340-9880, paramourbar.com Phantom Room 2106 N. St. Mary’s St. Punta del Cielo Café 115 N Loop 1604, (210) 549-3583, facebook.com/puntadelcielostoneoak Retox Bar 1031 Patricia, (210) 775-2886, retoxbar. net River Road Icehouse 1791 Hueco Springs Loop Road, (830) 626-1335, riverroadicehouse.com Sam’s

TITANIUM 4000, X AGAIN, BLACK PANTHER, MASTER ZONE, EXTEN ZONE, EXTREME DIAMOND, EXTRA ZONE, RHINO V5, RHINO X, MAX LOAD, MAX HARD, MAX STAMINA, RHINO BIG HORN, PURE, RED ZONE 3000, RHINO 7 (5000), RHINO BLACK 3K, POWER ZONE 3000, FUEL UP, FORBIDDEN TIGER, FIFTY SHADES, TRIPLE XXX, EREKT FOR WOMAN: KANGROO, SPARXXX, GEISHA

Burger Joint 330 E. Grayson St., (210) 223-2830, samsburgerjoint.com San Antonio Swing Revival 1717 San Pedro Ave., (210) 504-7812 Soho Wine & Martini Bar 214 W. Crockett St., (210) 444-1000 Southtown 101 101 Pereida St., (210) 263-9880 The Amp Room 2407 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 320-2122, theamproom. com The Bang Bang Bar 119 El Mio Drive, (210) 833-2203, facebook.com/thebangbangbar210 The Cove 606 W. Cypress St., (210) 227-2683, thecove.us The County Line 10101 IH-10 W, (210) 641-1998, countyline. com/countyline10 The Korova 107 E. Martin St., (210) 226-5070, thekorova.com The Mix 2423 N St. Mary’s St., (210) 735-1313, themix-sa.com The Rock Box 1223 E. Houston St., (210) 677-9453, therockboxsa.com The Roundup 531 FM 3351, (830) 428—3231, therounduptx.com Tobin Center for the Performing Arts 100 Auditorium Circle, (210) 223-8624, tobincenter.org Tucker’s Kozy Korner 1338 E. Houston St., (210) 320-2192 Ventura 1011 Avenue B, (210) 802-6940, facebook.com/venturasatx Web House 320 Blanco Road (210) 531-0100, webhousecafe.com Whitewater Amphitheater 11860 FM 306, (830) 964-3800, whitewaterrocks.com Zombies Bar 4202 Thousand Oaks, (210) 281-8306, zombiesliveinsa.com

8373 CULEBRA STE. 103 • 210.521.4555 1639 BABCOCK RD. • 210.474.6005 sacurrent.com • August 3—9, 2016 • CURRENT 53

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POKÉMON NO

I can’t believe this is why I’m finally writing you. My husband is using Pokémon GO as an excuse to stay out until 5 a.m. with another woman.

She is beautiful and about a decade younger than him, and he won’t hear me out on why this is bothersome.

Our work schedules don’t match up, and he always wants me to meet him in the wee hours of the morning after I’ve worked a full day shift and done all the work looking after our pets. I can give him the benefit of the doubt and be totally fine with him wanting to stay out after work for a few drinks with friends, even though I’m too tired to join them, but Pokémon GO until 5 a.m. alone with a twentysomething for four straight weeks?! It’s driving me crazy.

I told him how I feel, and he says it’s my fault for “never wanting to do anything.” (I don’t consider walking around staring at a phone “doing something.”) I told him I feel like he doesn’t even like me anymore, and he didn’t even acknowledge my feelings with a response. With the craze this has become, we can’t be the only couple with this problem. I don’t think me enabling his actions by joining the game is the answer, but I’d be absolutely gutted if this game was the straw that broke up our 10-year relationship. Please help.

Pokémon GO Means No Second Life, SimCity, Quake, Counter-Strike, World of Warcraft, Minecraft — it’s always something.

By which I mean to say, PGMN, Pokémon GO isn’t destroying your marriage now, just as SimCity wasn’t destroying marriages 15 years ago. Your husband is destroying your marriage.

SAVAGE LOVE

by Dan Savage

He’s being selfish and inconsiderate and cruel. He doesn’t care enough about you to prioritize your feelings — or even acknowledge them, it seems.

When a partner’s actions are clearly saying, “I’m choosing this thing — this video game, this bowling league, this whatever — over you,” they’re almost always saying this, as well: “I don’t want to be with you anymore, but I don’t have the courage or the decency to leave so I’m going to neglect you until you get fed up and leave me.”

Let him have his ridiculous obsessions — with this game, with this girl — and when he comes to his senses and abandons Pokémon GO, just like people came to their senses and walked away from Second Life a decade ago, you’ll be in a better position to decide whether you want to leave him.

I am currently separated. A few months after I moved out, my estranged wife found out that I cheated on her before we got married. I was a CPOS. I feel horribly guilty and would like to think I’ll never do it again. The question is: When and what should I disclose to future partners?

No Clever Acronym There’s no need to disclose this to future partners. Everyone makes mistakes — and the mistake you made, while a deeply painful betrayal of your then-girlfriend and presumably a violation of a premarital monogamous commitment, is a thoroughly common one. Human beings aren’t used cars — we aren’t obligated to disclose every ditch we drove ourselves into before we resell ourselves. You didn’t fuck around on your ex habitually, you’re not a serial cheater, and you never violated your marriage vows. So there’s that. Resolve not to make this mistake again — make only new ones — and stuff that incident down Ye Olde Memory Hole.

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1 Like a perfect makeup job 10 Beach resorts, Italian-style 15 Right-click result, often 16 “Vega$ ” actor Robert 17 Words that follow “Damn it, Jim” 18 Cobra Commander’s nemesis 19 Prairie State sch.

20 Texas facility that opened on May 15, 1993 22 Show with Digital Shorts, for short 23 Llama relatives 25 Word after cargo or fish 26 Bovary and Tussaud, for two 28 Like some fails 30 Ear inflammation 31 Ice Bucket Challenge cause 32 Mobile ___ 36 “Smallville” family 37 “Don’t Stop _ _ _ You Get Enough” 38 Madrigal refrain 39 Boundary-pushing 40 Seaver or Selleck 41 Dakota’s language family 42 Torme’s forte 44 Filler phrase from Rodney Dangerfield, perhaps 45 Caps or cone preceder 56 CURRENT • August 3—9 , 2016 • sacurrent.com

48 Her feast day is Jan. 21 50 Internet routing digits (hidden in WASN’T) 51 Cold dish made with diced tomatoes, mint, and lemon juice 53 Crooked course segment 54 Part of a squirrel’s 45-Down 55 Enclosure for a major wrestling match 59 Frank Zappa’s “___ Yerbouti” 60 TV relative from Bel-Air 61 Garden plant that thrives in shade 62 Game where players catch ... ah, whatever, I’m not interested

DOWN

1 Cheech and Chong’s first movie 2 Put on a ticket 3 Captain ___ (Groucho Marx’s “Animal Crackers” role) 4 Puddle gunk 5 Prefix with “nym” 6 “Breaking Bad” network 7 Draws from again, like a maple tree 8 ___ Gay (WWII B-29) 9 CopperTop maker 10 Classic “Dracula” star Bela 11 Crocus or freesia, botanically 12 City known for its mustard

13 “___ All Ye Faithful” 14 Bed-in-a-bag item 21 Weather Channel displays 23 English novelist Kingsley 24 Primus leader Claypool 27 Bar assoc. members 29 Song often sung outdoors 31 Go for a target 33 CNN anchor of the 2000s 34 Is an active jazz musician, perhaps 35 Seat of Tom Green County 37 Sums 38 50-50 situations?

40 Duo with the 2003 hit “All the Things She Said” 41 Office building abbr.

43 Dolphins Hall of Famer Larry 44 Place for “Holidays,” according to a 2011 P.J. O’Rourke title 45 Tuck away 46 ___ cheese 47 Reeded instruments 49 “(I Can’t ___) Satisfaction” 52 “Blimey!” blurter 56 Palindromic 1998 Busta Rhymes album 57 “Solaris” author Stanislaw ___ 58 “___ Sharkey” (Don Rickles sitcom of the ‘70s)

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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY by Rob Brezsny ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19): I apologize in advance for the seemingly excessive abundance of good news I’m about to report. If you find it hard to believe, I won’t hold your skepticism against you. But I do want you to know that every prediction is warranted by the astrological omens. Ready for the onslaught? 1. In the coming weeks, you could fall forever out of love with a wasteful obsession. 2. You might also start falling in love with a healthy obsession. 3. You can halfaccidentally snag a blessing you have been halfafraid to want. 4. You could recall a catalytic truth whose absence has been causing you a problem ever since you forgot it. 5. You could reclaim the mojo that you squandered when you pushed yourself too hard a few months ago.

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): August is Adopt-a-Taurus month. It’s for all of your tribe, not just the orphans and exiles and disowned rebels. Even if you have exemplary parents, the current astrological omens suggest that you require additional support and guidance from wise elders. So I urge you to be audacious in rounding up trustworthy guardians and benefactors. Go in search of mentors and fairy godmothers. Ask for advice from heroes who are further along the path that you’d like to follow. You are ready to receive teachings and direction you weren’t receptive to before.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): When a parasite or other irritant slips inside an oyster’s shell, the mollusk’s immune system besieges the intruder with successive layers of calcium carbonate. Eventually, a pearl may form.

I suspect that this is a useful metaphor for you to contemplate in the coming days as you deal with the salt in your wound or the splinter in your skin. Before you jump to any conclusions, though, let me clarify. This is not a case of the platitude, “Whatever doesn’t kill you will make you stronger.” Keep in mind that the pearl is a symbol of beauty and value, not strength.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): It’s your lucky day! Spiritual counsel comparable to what you’re reading here usually sells for $ 99.95. But because you’re showing signs that you’re primed to outwit bad habits, I’m offering it at no cost. I want to encourage you! Below are my ideas for what you should focus on. (But keep in mind that I don’t expect you to achieve absolute perfection.) 1. Wean yourself from indulging in self-pity and romanticized pessimism. 2. Withdraw from connections with people who harbor negative images of you. 3. Transcend low expectations wherever you see them in play. 4. Don’t give your precious life energy to demoralizing ideas and sour opinions.

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): You’re not doing a baby chick a favor by helping it hatch.

For the sake of its well-being, the bird needs to peck its way out of the egg. It’s got to exert all of its vigor and willpower in starting its new life.

That’s a good metaphor for you to meditate on.

As you escape from your comfortable wombjail and launch yourself toward inspiration, it’s best to rely as much as possible on your own instincts. Friendly people who would like to provide assistance may inadvertently cloud your access to your primal wisdom. Trust yourself deeply and wildly.

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): I hear you’re growing weary of wrestling with ghosts.

Is that true? I hope so. The moment you give up the fruitless struggle, you’ll become eligible for a unique kind of freedom that you have not previously imagined. Here’s another rumor I’ve caught wind of: You’re getting bored with an old source of sadness that you’ve used to motivate yourself for a long time. I hope that’s true, too.

As soon as you shed your allegiance to the sadness, you will awaken to a sparkling font of comfort you’ve been blind to. Here’s one more story I’ve picked up through the grapevine: You’re close to realizing that your attention to a mediocre treasure has diverted you from a more pleasurable treasure. Hallelujah!

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): Could it be true that the way out is the same as the way in? And that the so-called “wrong” answer is almost indistinguishable from the right answer?

And that success, at least the kind of success that really matters, can only happen if you adopt an upside-down, inside-out perspective? In my opinion, the righteous answer to all these questions is “YESSS???!!!” — at least for now.

I suspect that the most helpful approach will never be as simple or as hard as you might be inclined to believe.

eventually come a future when you’d have your loved ones fully “trained”? Did you fantasize that sooner or later you could get them under control, purged of their imperfections and telepathically responsive to your every mood?

If so, now is a good time to face the fact that those longings will never be fulfilled. You finally have the equanimity to accept your loved ones exactly as they are. Uncoincidentally, this adjustment will make you smarter about how to stir up soulful joy in your intimate relationships.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19): You may experience a divine visitation as you clean a toilet in the coming weeks. You might get a glimpse of a solution to a nagging problem while you’re petting a donkey or paying your bills or waiting in a long line at the bank. Catch my drift, Capricorn? I may or may not be speaking metaphorically here. You could meditate up a perfect storm as you devour a doughnut. While flying high over the earth in a dream, you might spy a treasure hidden in a pile of trash down below. If I were going to give your immediate future a mythic title, it might be “Finding the Sacred in the Midst of the Profane.”

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18): I’ve worked hard for many years to dismantle my prejudices. To my credit, I have even

managed to cultivate compassion for people I previously demonized, like evangelical Christians, drunken jocks, arrogant gurus, and career politicians. But I must confess that there’s still one group toward which I’m bigoted: super-rich bankers. I wish I could extend to them at least a modicum of amiable impartiality. How about you, Aquarius? Do you harbor any hidebound biases that shrink your ability to see life as it truly is? Have you so thoroughly rationalized certain narrow-minded perspectives and judgmental preconceptions that your mind is permanently closed? If so, now is a favorable time to dissolve the barriers and stretch your imagination way beyond its previous limits.

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): Are you lingering at the crux of the crossroads, restless to move on but unsure of which direction will lead you to your sweet destiny?

Are there too many theories swimming around in your brain, clogging up your intuition? Have you absorbed the opinions of so many “experts” that you’ve lost contact with your own core values? It’s time to change all that. You’re ready to quietly explode in a calm burst of practical lucidity. First steps: Tune out all the noise. Shed all the rationalizations. Purge all the worries.

Ask yourself, “What is the path with heart?”

THIS MODERN WORLD by Tom Tomorrow

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): Your strength seems to make some people uncomfortable. I don’t want that to become a problem for you. Maybe you could get away with toning down your potency at other times, but not now. It would be sinful to act as if you’re not as competent and committed to excellence as you are. But having said that, I also urge you to monitor your behavior for excess pride. Some of the resistance you face when you express your true glory may be due to the shadows cast by your true glory. You could be tempted to believe that your honorable intentions excuse secretive manipulations. So please work on wielding your clout with maximum compassion and responsibility.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21): Did you honestly imagine that there would

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