S 2014 01 02

A smoke-free midtown? see News, page 5

DowNtowN, sprawl, aND saviNg sacrameNto’s suburbs see bites, page 8

nudie cuties! see arts&culture, page 14

FOR 2014

SN&R’S pickS foR the top SacRameNtaNS to watch thiS yeaR

PAGE 10

the big, bAd, Awful wolf of wAll street see Film, page 22

Sacramento’S newS & entertainment weekly

|

Volume 25, iSSue 38

|

thurSday, january 2, 2014

January 2, 2014 | Vol. 25, Issue 38

Think forward In December 2013, Phoenix’s Mayor Greg Stanton said his city had effectively ended chronic homelessness for its war veterans.

How? The mayor, along with the city council, prioritized affordable housing, aided by $1.8 million in local general funds and another $6.5 million in federal grants and, as a result, found placement for 222 of the city’s homeless vets, according to the City of Phoenix’s official Web page.

Impressive.

Can something similar happen in Sacramento?

Shamus Roller thinks so.

Roller, interim director for Sacramento Steps Forward, an organization that aids the homeless by distributing federal housing grants to local service providers, says he believes the city can end homelessness for anyone without safe and permanent shelter.

Roller, who is also the executive director for Housing California, has tasked himself to find grant dollars for local affordable housing developments. It’s “cheaper” to end homelessness, Roller explains, than it is to simply “manage” it.

In other words, it’s smarter to fix the system wholesale than it is to slap another bandage on an ever-growing problem.

That’s the kind of forward thinking this city needs, and just one reason we included Roller in our cover package profiling 14 Sacramentans who have the vision (not to mention skills, talents and resources) needed to accomplish their goals (see page 10).

In addition to Roller, there are advocates for the needy and developers who imagine Sacramento as a thriving metropolis. There’s an inventive chef and a critically acclaimed actress, a crime reformer and a neighborhood builder.

What do the next 12 months hold for Sacramento? If these 14 people have any say, 2014 could be the city’s best, most exciting and innovative year yet.

—Rachel Leibrock

07 21

03 04 05 09 10 14 16 17 20 21 22 25 31 39

STREETALK LETTERS NEWS + BITES OPINION FEATURE STORY ARTS&CULTURE NIGHT&DAY DISH ASK JOEY STAGE FILM MUSIC THE 420 15 MINUTES COVER DESIGN BY BRIAN BRENEMAN

14

39 Kate Paloy, Jessica Rine, Patti Roberts, Ann Martin Rolke, Steph Rodriguez Creative Director Priscilla Garcia Art Director Hayley Doshay Junior Art Director Brian Breneman Designers Vivian Liu, Serene Lusano, Marianne Mancina, Skyler Smith Contributing Photographers Lisa Baetz, Steven Chea, Wes Davis, Ryan Donahue, Taras Garcia, Lovelle Harris, Shoka

Our Mission To publish great newspapers that are successful and enduring. To create a quality work environment that encourages employees to grow professionally while respecting personal welfare. To have a positive impact on our communities and make them better places to live.

Director of Advertising and Sales Rick Brown Senior Advertising Consultants Rosemarie Messina, Joy Webber Advertising Consultants Meghan Bingen, Teri Gorman, Dusty Hamilton, Dave Nettles, Lee Roberts, Julie Sherry, Stephen Swanson, Mark vanHudson, Kelsi White Senior Inside Sales Consultant Olla Ubay Ad Services Specialist Melissa Bernard Director of Et Cetera Will Niespodzinski Client Publications Editor Michelle Carl Client Publications Managing Editor Shannon Springmeyer Client Publications Writer/Copy Editor Mike Blount

Co-editors Rachel Leibrock, Nick Miller Staff Writer Raheem F. Hosseini Copy Editor Shoka Shafiee Entertainment Editor Jonathan Mendick Editorial Coordinator Becca Costello Contributing Editor Cosmo Garvin Editor-at-large Melinda Welsh Contributors Ngaio Bealum, Daniel Barnes, Rob Brezsny, Joey Garcia, Blake Gillespie, Becky Grunewald, Mark Halverson, Jeff Hudson, Jim Lane, Greg Lucas, Garrett McCord, Kel Munger,

rac he ll@ n ews r ev i ew . com

Client Publications Staff Writer Meredith Graham Executive Coordinator Jessica Takehara Director of First Impressions Alicia Brimhall, Matt Kjar Distribution Director Greg Erwin Distribution Services Assistant Larry Schubert Distribution Drivers Mansour Aghdam, Walt Best, Daniel Bowen, Russell Brown, Nina Castro, Jack Clifford, Lydia Comer, John Cunningham, Lob Dunnica, Chris Fong, Ron Forsberg, Joanna Gonzalez-Brown, Aaron Harvey, Wayne Hopkins, Brenda Hundley, Greg Meyers, Kenneth Powell, Wendell Powell, Lloyd Rongley, Duane Secco, Lolu Sholotan, Jack Thorne President/CEO Jeff vonKaenel Chief Operations Officer Deborah Redmond Human Resources Manager Tanja Poley Nuts & Bolts Ninja Kalin Jenkins Human Resources Intern Aleasha Yates Business Manager Grant Rosenquist Accounting Specialists Renee Briscoe, Tami Sandoval Accounts Receivable Specialist Nicole Jackson Business Intern Allison Hill Systems Manager Jonathan Schultz Systems Support Specialist Joe Kakacek Web Developer/Support Specialist John Bisignano

1124 Del Paso Boulevard, Sacramento, CA 95815 Phone (916) 498-1234 Sales Fax (916) 498-7910 Editorial Fax (916) 498-7920 Website www.newsreview.com SN&R is printed by The Paradise Post using recycled newsprint whenever available.

Editorial Policies Opinions expressed in SN&R are those of the authors and not of Chico Community Publishing, Inc. Contact the editor for permission to reprint articles, cartoons or other portions of the paper. SN&R is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts. All letters received become the property of the publisher. We reserve the right to print letters in condensed form and to edit them for libel.

Advertising Policies All advertising is subject to the newspaper’s Standards of Acceptance. The advertiser and not the newspaper assumes full responsibility for the truthful content of their advertising message.

NOW BUYING FOR WINTER 2101 L Street Sacramento 916.441.3733

6412 Tupelo Drive Citrus Heights 916.725.3733

850 E Bidwell, Folsom (next to Trader Joes) 916.985.3733

1107 Roseville Square Roseville 916.773.3733

CASH FOR YOUR CLOTHES!

BUY / SELL / TRADE MEN’S & WOMEN’S FASHION

2

|

SN&R

|

01.02.14

•

FREESTYLECLOTHING.COM

•

FACEBOOK.COM/FREESTYLECLOTHING

“I just gave in. I missed the meat!”

Asked in downtown Davis:

Have you ever kept a New Year’s resolution?

Kayla Dunlap

Adele Sonora

Apurva Behal

grassroots campaigner

student

I have kept one in this past year. I made the resolution to straighten my life out and to have it done by the time the next holidays came around.

That way, I could actually be part of my family again.

I was able to keep it.

artist

No, I’ve never kept one.

Usually I say I’ll go to the gym every single day and have a workout routine, and then school gets in the way, or an after-school job.

Something always messes it up. For 2014, I’ve got the same resolution.

One resolution was that I was going to make more money, and I do have more now. I said I was going to stay at my ideal weight. That did happen, actually. In 2014, I want the enlarged lymph nodes in my chest to get smaller.

I have cancer. I’m going to get a lot of help.

Michelle Hayes

Irma Reyes

student

Why make myself feel bad? If I keep it, I keep it. If I don’t, I don’t. One time, I said I would read a book series, and I did that.

It was the Anne Rice [The Vampire Chronicles] series, and I read all eight of them.

They were pretty good.

Get More Specs For Your Flex Spend your Flex Dollars now on great Site for Sore Eyes deals – eyeglasses, sunglasses, contacts and more!

photographer

Two years ago, [I made] a resolution to eat healthy and become vegetarian.

I think it lasted, like, maybe a month or two. I just gave in. I missed the meat!

I’m still thinking of one for 2014. I’m probably going to make one to eat healthier, but not vegetarian, just more fruits and vegetables and more water.

I forget my New Year’s resolution come February or March, so it’s more like a January resolution. Maybe I do keep some resolutions, but I don’t consciously do it.

If I want to change, I don’t do them because they’re a New Year’s resolution, but because I decided to do them.

Happy H olidays d r i n k .

THE EYECARE STORE NEXT DOOR.

Ben Tuason

kitchen manager

s e a s o n a l Snowtini

$

d i n e .

d r i n k

6 | hot toddy

$

r e l a x .

s p e c i a l s :

5 | chriStmaS mint

$

5

50% OFF FRAMES

SiteForSoreEyes.com eEyes.com

Plus, 2nd Pair FREE!*

daily Happy Hour 3pm – 7pm

*With purchase of lenses. Free ee second pair of prescription eyeglasses can be chosen from our large larrge special frame selection with clusions may apply. Not combinable with insurance. At participating locations. lo ocations. See store for details. single-vision clear lenses. Exclusions Some restrictions may apply. Offer expires 1/31/14.

12124 New Airport ort Road, Road Auburn A b rn (Next (Ne t to Walgreens) • (530) (53 530) 0) 889-9985 889 998 85 2563 Fair Oaks Boulevard, Sacramento (Loehmann’s Plaza) • (916) 480-9985

Comprehensive Eye Exam Only $59 - Book An Appointment Online Today.

1501 L S t r e e t Sacramento, ca ( 916) 267-6823

Eye examination enrollment available by Sterling VisionCare, a California-licensed Vision Health Care Service Plan.

BEFORE

|

NEWS

|

F E AT U R E

STORY

SSEYE-006374 • Sac News & Review • 4.9” x 5.67” • EGC Group 516-935-4944

| A R T S & C U L T U R E

|

AFTER

| 01.02.14

|

SN&R

|

3

Email your letters to sactoletters@newsreview.com.

Modernize mental-health care

Shame, shame

Re “Heavy mental” by Jeff vonKaenel (SN&R News; December 26, 2013): We need to move these biological brain diseases (a.k.a. “mental illness”) out of a “behavioral” health-care delivery system of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which is functioning way out of its scope of practice to manage letter of complex biological the week brain disease and illness. We need the services, but we don’t need the expensive administrative system.

These biological brain diseases, disorders and conditions need to be under physical health care and the National Institutes of Health. Not only would this be a fiscally responsible move, it would bring health-care delivery for brain disease and brain health out of an old-fashioned judgmental belief system and properly align it with modern brain research [and] neuroscience.

Mary Palafox

S an t a An a

Re “What’s up, grinches?!” by Cosmo Garvin and Raheem F. Hosseini (SN&R Feature Story; December 26, 2013): I want to nominate the [Sacramento] City Council and the mayor for directing meter maids to work on Christmas to write parking tickets. I went for a walk on Christmas Day, and I was stunned to see a meter maid with his evil computer writing parking tickets on 26th Street. Shame on Sacramento’s grinchy leaders!

Ben Bannister Sacramento

High-speed fantasy Re “Back on track” (SN&R Editorial; December 12, 2013): The problems with the current effort to build high-speed rail in California have very little to do with the naysayers but are inherent to the poorly thought-out plan associated with Proposition 1A, approved in 2008. The financial plan is pure fantasy, based on an unnecessarily expensive alignment, and promising high-speed rail for everyone within 20 years. In fact, high-speed rail anywhere in California makes little sense in advance of a modern passenger rail link across the Tehachapi Mountains, and that should go directly

across Tejon Pass (Interstate 5), rather than the long detour via Palmdale, adopted by the California High-Speed Rail Authority.

Moreover, the $10 billion backlog in improvements to the existing passenger-rail system should be given much higher priority than high-speed rail, and it is difficult to see how the state could possibly finance both simultaneously. High-speed rail should be shelved until these precursor projects are completed.

John Deeter Sacramento

Solutions, 24-seven Re “More housing” (SN&R Editorial; December 5, 2013): The idea that we need jobs in downtown and Midtown is not something that most who want more housing in our city disagree with. More housing does mean more jobs, [and] more higher-paying, regular, scheduled, long-term jobs than an arena provides.

Having people move to downtown and Midtown full-time means that there would be a full-time demand for food, clothing, household goods, etc. Unlike an arena, which would bring spurts of increases in demand during basketball season, people who actually live in a city 24-seven need their services 24-seven. New construction means

eMotorsWest.com

construction jobs, residents means mouths to feed, etc.

There are also tens of thousands of people who already have jobs in the downtown and Midtown area who do not live there because of the lack of appropriate housing. They work for the government. ...

If we all took field trips to thriving cities that are humming with action even when it’s not game day, we would see that the key is to get people to live there. People actually living in a city is what brings it life.

Michelle Lowe Fair Oaks

There’s no ‘i’ in ‘team’ Re “Above the rim” by Blake Gillespie (SN&R Arts&Culture; December 5, 2013): Love this man, but [Sacramento State University men’s basketball coach Brian Katz] is also surrounded by a team of wonderful assistants who care just as much for the players on this team. They have established a “family” who care deeply for each other and pick each other up when one is down. There are no “superstars” or egos on this team: It’s all about the team and what’s best for the team. Well-written article. Kudos to the author for capturing the essence of this coach and his team.

Kim Garrity Huntington Beach

@SacNewsReview

Facebook.com/ SacNewsReview

@SacNewsReview

a fa m i ly o w n e d d e a l e r s h i p ov e r 1 4 0 + v e h i c l e s i n s to c k

nicer vehicles...period! every car, every time

2000 Toyota

2004 Toyota

2008 Honda

2007 Lexus

2004 Toyota

2008 Toyota

2006 Jeep

2010 Jeep

Mention this ad when purchasing your vehicle for a free tank of gas or an oil change!

.com 4

|

SN&r

|

01.02.14

1733 Fulton Avenue | Sacramento, CA 95825 | 916.266.6250 | www.eMotorsWest.com

A homeless death, remembered See NEWS

6

The downtown problem See BITES

8

Protecting transgender students See OPINION

9

Where there’s smoke, there’s controversy Sacramento City Councilman Steve Hansen proposes outdoor-smoking ban at secret meeting Last month, a coterie of Sacramento’s most influential restaurant and bar magnates sat down with story and photo Councilman Steve Hansen and other local by business leaders to sip coffee and debate Lovelle Harris cigarettes. The closed-to-the-press meeting at a Midtown cafe centered around one divisive question: Should the city outlaw smoking on restaurant patios and outdoor areas that extend into the public space?

Hansen is in favor of an ordinance banning the practice, and although details of such an ordinance are still being worked out and have yet to be presented to the city council’s Law and Legislation Committee, a proposal could potentially target all outdoor public smoking areas at restaurants and bars.

“Everything is on the table,” said Hansen.

But many restaurateurs, who generate a hefty chunk of tax revenue in the councilman’s district, think the proposal is full of hot air.

“I can only speak for myself, [but] I am definitely not in favor of a ban,” said Matt Nurge, co-owner of The Red Rabbit Kitchen & Bar. “And I say that as person who smoked for 20 years and quit six years ago, and as a nonsmoker who can’t stand the smell of smoke anymore.”

Nurge is not alone in that sentiment.

Some of the wining-and-dining scene’s brightest names—think Randy Paragary of the Paragary Restaurant Group, Patrick Mulvaney of Mulvaney’s Building & Loan, Clay Nutting of LowBrau, and Jason Boggs of Shady Lady Saloon—have joined in the campaign to keep their outdoor real estate free from such prohibitions.

“I think it is very hard to craft something that would make sense any better than what we are already doing as experienced restauranteurs,” said Paragary, whose restaurant group operates more than a dozen area eateries. “We are weeding our way through what is appropriate and what isn’t.”

Nurge added that the responsibility of ensuring the comfort of guests ultimately rests with each owner.

BEFORE

|

NEWS

|

F E AT U R E

Is this ashtray-free patio table the future of Midtown restaurants?

Sacramento City Councilman Steve Hansen is in favor of an ordinance to ban outdoor public smoking at restaurants and bars.

“As an owner and manager of a private business, it’s our job already to get a good feel for what our guests’ needs are,” he said. “If I felt that smoking was an issue for my guests, I would make a choice to manage my own smoking times or sections, or what have you.”

Restaurant owners told SN&R they’ve already mitigated smoking concerns at their establishments and say there’s no need for an outdoor ban. They also contend the city is trying to dictate to them how to run their operations.

“I am definitely not in favor of a ban.”

Matt Nurge co-owner, The Red Rabbit Kitchen & Bar Despite concerns from a big-money segment of the business community, the topic remains on the table.

Midtown Business Association executive director Emily Baime Michaels told SN&R the December 10 meeting at Paragary’s own Cafe Bernardo Midtown was simply a chance to “talk through potential nuances” of a smoking ban and discuss “what is the best fit for our businesses in order to do business.”

Hansen, who represents Sacramento’s downtown and Midtown neighborhoods, is working with the American Cancer Society and the American Lung Association on the proposed ban. He promised an inclusive process with opportunities for public comment at future city council meetings. He said the goal of any ordinance is in the interest STORY

of public health and to reduce smokingrelated deaths and illnesses.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, exposure to particulate matter 2.5, an airborne pollutant produced by cigarettes, wood-burning stoves, diesel engines and other forms of combustion, can lead to serious health problems, including asthma attacks, chronic bronchitis, irregular heartbeat, nonfatal heart attacks, and even premature death in people with heart or lung disease.

While there are hundreds of studies linking indoor secondhand smoke to health problems like heart disease, there’s been little study of the potential dangers of inhaling secondhand smoke in open-air spaces. The first in-depth exploration of its impact on air quality at sidewalk cafes was published in 2007 by a team from Stanford University in the Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association. The study found that a nonsmoker sitting a few feet downwind from cigarette smoke is likely to be exposed to significant levels of polluted air.

The lack of scholarly data hasn’t stopped outdoor bans from taking off.

In California, the rules can apply to sidewalks, parks, bus stops, street fairs and festivals, in addition to outdoor dining patios. Just this year, the city of San Rafael enacted an ordinance prohibiting smoking in residences with shared walls—possibly the strictest anti-smoking law in the United States.

Despite opposing views on whether such an ordinance is needed, Hansen and Baime Michaels said the initial meeting went well.

| A R T S & C U L T U R E

|

AFTER

“It it was productive,” Baime Michaels said. “I think that both groups feel very strongly that they’d like to collaborate.”

“The restaurateurs and other folks who were there had questions about the process, what other cities had done [and] what the options were,” Hansen recounted. “We had a really good dialogue.”

In California, more than six dozen have banned smoking on restaurant patios, among them Davis, Oakland, Berkeley and San Francisco. And while advocates from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network say there’s no evidence that businesses in these jurisdictions have experienced negative economic ramifications as a result of the ban, many restaurateurs are not convinced. They favor a model that would include self-policing in lieu of what they view as a one-size-fits-all ordinance.

Nurge expressed concern about a possible “overall ban at bars and restaurants,” especially since different establishments have different business goals. “[The] patio at LowBrau is essentially built for social smoking and hanging out, whereas our restaurant is more built toward an elegant, casual cocktail experience,” he said. “We’re not the same; it’s not the same concept.

“So, to kind of have a blanket rule just seems shortsighted in the end.”

Sacramento’s biggest restaurant maven, meanwhile, suggested he was open to selfimposed regulations that might be working elsewhere, if not a new law.

“Rather than us trying to invent something, we’re hopeful that there are some successful models in other communities that we can take a look at and emulate,” Paragary said. Ω

| 01.02.14

|

SN&R

|

5

20% OFF With this ad on any cupcake. Excludes custom or large orders. Exp 01/16/14.

Esther’s handcrafted cupcakes are baked fresh everyday with the finest ingredients! Perfect for weddings, showers, birthdays, & corporate events nOw Open in e ROSevill

Roseville Galleria Mall Mon-Sat 10am-9pm • Sun 11am-7pm (916)791-5200 • estherscupcakes.com

Get in. Get out. Get Clean.

Snr CarwaSh SpeCial

1901 l Street

(on the corner of 19th and l)

916.446.0129

www.harvscarwash.com

17.99 8.00 4.00 5.00 1.00 5.00

Full Service Wash Triple Foam Wax Underbody Rust Inhibitor Shield Renew Clear Coat Air Freshener Sealant

$40.99 va lue

only $19.99

$40.99 value Expires 01/30/14 • Coupon Code 158 We ARe gReen CeRTIFIed

Save-On Cleaners Standard Shirts Laundered PREPAID CASH DISCOUNT

WHY PAY MORE?

Any Garment Cleaned & Pressed Excluding jumpsuits, leather, gowns and downs.

ur w Clean yeofore storing! b

PREPAID CASH DISCOUNT WITH THIS COUPON All other forms of payment $2.95

2310 FAIR OAKS BLVD.

(just behind McDonald’s)

(916) 649-2333

Mon–Fri 7am-7pm • Sat 7am-6pm *Same day service at this location only

exp 1/15/14

www.save-oncleaners.com

ALL DRY CLEANING

ate EliminHoles Moth inter clothes

1

60

$

275

$

IN NATOMAS!

2820 DEL PASO RD. (916) 419-8616

Mon–Fri 7am-6pm • Sat 9am-5pm

CASH PRICE exp 1/15/14

Reg. Price

295

$

Asthma Research Study Do you, or does your child, have asthma?

Individuals may qualify if they: • Are 12 years of age or older • Have had asthma for at least one year • Are receiving asthma treatment • Have had asthma bad enough to see a doctor in the last 12 months There are other study requirements that will determine whether individuals may participate in this clinical research study • There is no placebo (sugar pill) in this clinical research study • There will be no blood draws (no needles) during this clinical research study • Qualified study participants will receive asthma medication and medical care to treat their asthma at no charge • Health insurance is not needed to participate • Study participants may receive compensation for time and travel

To see if you qualify, call:

ALLIED CLINICAL RESEARCH: 916.380.8252 6

|

SN&R

|

01.02.14

Death be not housed Ceremony recalls local homeless lives cut short When city officials, advocates and those without housing met in Friendship Park one late morning in December 2013 to commemorate recent homeless deaths, few expected a story by Dave Kempa as heartbreaking as that of Janet Steinbach. and On May 31, 2011, Steinbach’s homeless 29-year-old son, Raheem Adam, was stabbed to death while sleeping in his vehicle F. Hosseini near Highway 160 and Northgate Boulevard in Sacramento. ra h e emh @ Devastated, Steinbach began spending time at the scene ne w s re v ie w.c o m of her son’s murder—planting, watering and trimming flowers around the small cross that Adam’s friends had placed for him. She maintained this spot for 20 months. The homeless community who spent time under the bridge at Highway 160 came to befriend Steinbach, even helping to dig and water her small garden.

“What changed me forever was the love and compassion from the homeless community who stood by me almost every day I planted,” she said.

Those in attendance for Steinbach’s speech at Sacramento Loaves & Fishes’ Friendship Park on December 20 learned just minutes before that Adam’s story is far from unique.

A new study released by the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness showed that in the past 11 years, the county was home to 501 deaths in the homeless community.

In actuality, the study’s authors say the true number of homeless deaths is almost certainly higher than reported in the study, which culled data from the county coroner’s office.

The coroner has yet to issue a final report on Vincent McKinney, a homeless man who was reportedly beaten to death in a park across from the Crocker Art Museum on November 27, 2013.

An eyewitness called 911 to report a fight between two men at the park. By the time the first officers arrived, a pummeled McKinney already lay unconscious on the ground. Officers knelt beside McKinney and administered CPR for several minutes until paramedics arrived and took over, but it was too late. The 51-year-old was dead.

“It was a sad set of circumstances,” recalled Sacramento Police Sgt. Matt Young.

Young said officers located Arthur Allen Bird II in the “immediate vicinity” of the crime scene. Before the fight ensued, McKinney and Bird were seen sitting at a picnic table together. Young said they were “at minimum acquaintances.”

Officers were able to determine that the suspect “consumed some alcohol at some point during the day,” and Bird was arraigned on one count of felony murder and appointed a public defender on December 3, 2013, according to Sacramento Superior Court records.

The transitory nature of the victims can make it difficult to track down witnesses and evidence, Young explained.

“Obviously, every case is different.”

For her part, Steinbach, like many advocates, wants the county to address the unsettling pattern of untimely and preventable deaths in the homeless community. For now, she donates three hours of her time each week working with Sacramento Self Help Housing to assist the people she has come to love in acquiring homes of their own. Ω

Stranded in the ‘food desert’

BEATS

Efforts to expand low-income families’ access to produce and fresh fruits have long way to go At one point, Helen Meza was a stay-at-home mom struggling to cobble together enough food money after her husband by Steph Rodriguez was done paying the rest of their bills.

Fresh fruits, veggies and proteins often didn’t make it to the dinner table, she admits, while cheaper—and less healthy—canned or boxed alternatives did.

“I’ve lived places where we had to travel really far, and sometimes, it’s easier to walk up to the convenience store where the most healthiest thing

Program locally—according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service database.

Of those, Sacramento County accounts for 133,136 participants, or roughly 3.2 percent, according to a 2010 report from California Food Policy Advocates, a statewide public policy advocacy group. But congressional negotiations to re-up the nation’s farm bill could come with staggering cuts to those benefits and deny enrollment to millions beginning in 2014. SNAP is

Jailhouse bruise

ILLUSTRATION BY HAYLEY DOSHAY

in order to make $32 an hour to feed the entire household, she said.

Besides River City Food Bank, the Alchemist Community Development Corporation and other nonprofit organizations aim to broaden access to nutritional foods through their services.

Alchemist executive director Davida Douglas worked to get CalFresh benefits accepted at six farmers market locales, including ones downtown, in Rancho Cordova and Elk Grove. Alchemist also partners with convenience markets in the Oak Park and south Sacramento areas to

“I was in tears thinking, ‘How am I going to feed this kid?’”

Helen Meza single mother and food-bank customer

you will find is a string cheese and a meat stick,” said Meza, who relies entirely on public transportation. “But I’ve lived off of that before.”

Many in Sacramento do.

Food access boils down this: How readily available are fresh fruits and vegetables? What’s more, are grocery stores and farmers markets within an easily traveled distance for all individuals?

Food-equality experts who attended a December 4, 2013, forum on the subject that was organized by the Boards & Commissions Leadership Institute say the answer is a firm “no” for those residing in Sacramento’s low-income neighborhoods. Advocates at the River City Food Bank and the Alchemist Community Development Corporation say they hope to change this by expanding their programs in 2014, but those will be two small pennies in a gigantic wishing well.

This past September, 4.2 million Californians received benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—dubbed the CalFresh

Crossing the food desert: According to a 2011 Food Research and Action Center study, low-income families are 30 percent more likely to be overweight or obese due to lack of access to quality fruits and vegetables.

BEFORE

|

NEWS

|

already estimated to lose $5 billion in other cuts this year.

Which helps explain why “food deserts” persist in the first place.

For approximately every five convenience stores and fast-food restaurants in Sacramento County, there is but one grocery store, according to the California Center for Public Health Advocacy in Davis.

River City Food Bank executive director Eileen Thomas said mere access to supermarkets and produce vendors remain an ongoing challenge for low-income families. She also maintained that living expenses like rent, utility bills and transportation costs starve an already slim grocery budget for a majority of households.

“In our community, when people spend over 50 percent of their income on housing, they can’t meet all of their other expenses,” Thomas said. “One of the easiest things they scrimp on is food.”

In Sacramento, for instance, a family of four would need to work four full-time, minimum-wage jobs

F E AT U R E

STORY

increase the amount of healthy food options offered on the shelves.

“You are providing someone with the resources to incorporate fresh produce into their diet,” Douglas said. “As we have added more farmers markets to the list that accept CalFresh benefits, we see sales increase dramatically each year. It’s a very effective and positive way to get people interested and motivated to shop and eat healthier.”

Which is important, because low-income families and their children are 30 percent more likely to be overweight or obese due to lack of access to quality fruits and vegetables, according to a 2011 Food Research and Action Center study.

Families like Meza’s.

Now divorced, the single mother to 9-year-old son Bryce, recently overcame a three-month bout with homelessness and found employment as an in-home care provider.

Through her trials, she’s learned one valuable lesson: Never be afraid to seek help.

“I was in tears thinking, ‘How am I going to feed this kid?’ A lot of people don’t know that there are ways out there to get support and what you need,” Meza said.

Meza turned to the River City Food Bank to dig herself out of Sacramento’s food desert. But it could be a long walk for others. Ω

| A R T S & C U L T U R E

|

AFTER

Two large brawls between dozens of gang-affiliated inmates sent the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center into a facilitywide lockdown last month, SN&R has confirmed. And it all started over stolen milk.

According to Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department sources, trouble sparked during morning chow time on December 22, 2013, when a Norteño gang member reportedly nicked an 8-ounce carton of milk from a fellow inmate affiliated with a white street gang. Department spokesperson Sgt. Lisa R. Bowman said security videotape showed more than a dozen Latino inmates attacking the white inmates, resulting in minor injuries for two. The melee quickly broke up when deputies responded.

But some 90 minutes later, around 9 a.m. in a separate dormitory, a loud noise alerted jail staff that a second fight had broken out among the squabbling factions. The combatants stopped upon deputies’ arrival. “Deputies believe the fight escalated because one was an associate of a Hispanic street gang and the other was an associate of a white street gang,” Bowman said.

The involved parties were rehoused within the branch, Bowman said. Medical staff treated three inmates for facial lacerations and a bloody nose. The rest of the inmates declined medical care, and no one pressed charges.

The jail, which houses north of 2,000 inmates at its complex of buildings in Elk Grove, was locked down that Sunday, and social visits were canceled. While the lockdown was lifted later that evening, movement of inmates between pods remained restricted.

Sgt. Burk Stearns, who commands the jail’s investigativeservices unit, said it was one of the largest physical altercations he’s seen in his tenure, but added that fights among inmates are common. (Raheem F. Hosseini)

Wind shifts Following a tumultuous end to 2013, Wind Youth Services, which battled cash-flow issues and possible closure at its popular drop-in center for homeless youth, is now in transition mode.

Sher Barber officially resigned as executive director the week before Christmas, citing health reasons. But the challenges of keeping the area’s only hub of services for homeless youth afloat also likely took their toll.

That responsibility now falls to Suzi Dotson, who takes over on January 6, after spending four-and-a-half years as the program manager of the Sacramento Children’s Home’s crisis nursery. Before that, she served as coordinator of its Valley Hi Florin Family Resource Center in south Sacramento.

That pedigree made Dotson a “great candidate under any circumstances,” said Chris Russell, vice chair of Wind’s board of directors. “She has the perfect experience for us,” Russell added. “We feel she knows the industry and the people who work in this field.”

Dotson takes over an assortment of youth homeless programs facing numerous uncertainties. While a flurry of late-quarter donations and community pleas kept Wind’s youth center open beyond a feared November 15 shutdown last year, the organization lost out on a $540,000 federal grant it had received for several years that would have secured the center’s existence until 2017. The Sacramento Employment and Training Agency also recommended denying a $30,625 funding request, meaning Dotson will have to scramble to find other funding sources.

When Barber last spoke to SN&R in November, she said any lost funding sources were significant. “Every bit of money that comes in or goes out is huge,” she added.

Despite resigning, Barber appeared last week at the dropin center to help serve Christmas dinner. (RFH)

| 01.02.14

|

SN&R

|

7

Where Tradition meets Today.

Traditionally Modern Experience the unique, dynamic music of violinist/composer Daniel Bernard Roumain, the new media sensation who accents astonishing classical performances with an unforgettable contemporary flair.

Featuring works by Mozart, Brahms, Roumain and Stravinsky’s brilliant Firebird Suite.

Saturday Jan. 11 @ 8:00 PM Community Center Theater 1301 L Street, Sacramento

Making beautiful music together.

Visit 2inTUNE.org or call 916.808.5181 for tickets 8

|

SN&R

|

01.02.14

Downtown is important But is it not as important as we think?

A few weeks ago, Bites wrote about the 58,000 people who used to live in Sacramento’s central city in 1950.

The population of the grid is about half that today.

The main idea of that column was that for all the attention we give to downtown, for all the collective worry we have about revitalizing the core, we mostly haven’t done the one thing that would effectively add life. Which ARvIn is to literally add life; to get more people

by CoSMo G living downtown. c os m og @new srev i ew. c o m The other problem with our downtown policy: We are way too focused on it. A lot more people live in south Sacramento than live in downtown and Midtown. But we don’t have nearly the same urgency (or money available) to build out the vacant lots there, improve transit, promote economic development and keep the streets safe.

Most Sacramentans live in what researchers call “first suburbs” or inner-ring suburbs. Some older first suburbs—like Oak Park—are also called the “streetcar suburbs,” which hints at their history and also some of the possibility for their renewal.

Other neighborhoods are post-war sprawl; beachheads for white flight which, in turn, got a lot more diverse as more affluent (and whiter) families moved on to the outer rings. But these neighborhoods are not just secondhand suburbs.

Because of immigration, these communities are important places in the cultural landscape and economic development of a city.

One of the most interesting pieces of Sacramento history that Bites has read in a long time is Sacramento State University geography professor Robin Datel’s “Immigrant Space and Place in Suburban Sacramento.” It’s one chapter in a book put out by the Brookings Institution called Twenty-First-Century Gateways, but you can Google the chapter. Datel and her co-author Dennis Dingemans detail why immigrant groups live where they do in Sacramento’s suburbs. For example, she writes how the Mexicans living in the West End left—for North Sacramento, Broderick and the south-side area around the Campbell Soup Company plant—after their original neighborhood was bulldozed for urban renewal. Also fascinating is the history of Eastern European immigration into the area after the end of the Cold War, and the emergence of the Little Saigon district along Stockton Boulevard.

Researchers at the Brookings Institution and elsewhere note that first-ring suburbs are in something of a “policy blind spot,” not benefiting from the investment on the sprawling fringe, not benefiting from the back-to-downtown trend, either.

So, you end up with a doughnut of mistletoe suburbs. Rings of neighborhood decline, closing schools, empty lots, crime and increasing blight.

Which is a shame really, since these neighborhoods are near downtown, close to transit and other infrastructure.

It is very, very expensive to turn around a declining downtown—at least the way Sacramento does it. A convention center here, a shopping mall makeover there, a mermaid bar or two, an NBA arena—pretty soon, you are into serious money.

Aging suburbs and commercial corridors may be renewable on a more reasonable budget. That seemed to be the message from “urban strategist” Michele E. Reeves, who recently gave a guest presentation at the Sacramento Area Council of Governments titled “Suburban Placemaking.”

A couple of tidbits: “Economically underperforming places are almost uniformly beige.”

Also, “National tenants are not going to bail you out. They just aren’t.”

For all the attention we give to downtown, we haven’t done the one thing that would effectively add life, which is to get more people living there.

Reeves explained that big-name retail follows income and educational attainment. “You keep moving that further and further out. So they are going to follow and leave you with all this underinvested stuff in between.”

Reeves, who has worked on neighborhoodrevitalization projects around the country— including Portland, Oregon’s Mississippi Avenue—spent about an hour-and-a-half at SACOG discussing “adaptive reuse” and strategies for retrofitting strip malls and garages and warehouse buildings, “one small ugly box at a time.” But most striking was her emphasis on local small business. “There are people out there doing amazing things in these communities.

Those are the people you are going to have to look to.”

Anyway, Reeves presentation is Googleable, as is Datel’s paper and the Brookings Institution’s “One Fifth of America, A Comprehensive Guide to America’s First Suburbs,” an in-depth look at these sort of first suburbs. Downtowns are important. But so are the neighborhoods where most of us live.

So, Bites thought about doing some sort of New Year’s or year-in-review thing this week.

You know, looking back, looking ahead, whatever. But it just seemed too lame.

Still, Bites would like to say a heartfelt thanks to the folks who read every week. This has always been a fun, if slightly weird, column to write. But Bites has been blown away by the support this year—in emails, social media and in person. This column doesn’t have the reach of the daily-media bigwigs, but it does have some awfully smart and compassionate, and slightly subversive, readers. You guys are awesome. Ω

This Modern World

by tom tomorrow

Safety over comfort It’s good to see that the Sacramento City Unified School District is moving forward with a new policy to integrate and protect transgender students. Assembly Bill 1266, passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor in the last session, went into effect January 1, even as some groups attempted to overturn the law.

We’re pleased that no matter what the ultimate outcome of various suits and a potential referendum, SCUSD moved promptly to ensure student safety at school.

It is, however, disheartening to see continued prejudice and misunderstanding about trans people making its way into the discussion.

Opponents of trans-inclusive policies always make a point of expressing their fears of loss of privacy in the bathroom and locker room. It even came up in a Sacramento City Council discussion in October 2013, when Councilman Allen Warren expressed his concerns about who could use what bathroom if the city updated its codes to include protection of genderidentity expression.

We don’t want to minimize the discomfort or concerns of any “cisgender” people—that means those who are comfortable in the gender (usually male or female) that they were assigned at birth, based on anatomy—with these changes. Nonetheless, it’s also worth pointing out that ensuring the rights and safety of transgender people should take priority over the comfort of others.

In general, transgender and gendervariant people are more likely to be the While some of victims of crimes, assaults and bullying than cisgender people in precisely the us argue about same circumstances. Sometimes those restrooms, “uncomfortable” cisgender people are the ones who inflict violence. For transgender youth evidence, we need only remember the endure physical, “agender” youth who was set on fire mental and on Bay Area public transport for wearing a skirt in November 2013. Sasha emotional abuse.

Fleischman wasn’t safe on the bus.

What’s more, all students could benefit from attention to safety and privacy in restrooms and locker rooms. There’s more than a small amount of bullying and body shaming that goes on in those spaces, and ignoring it because “it’s always been that way” only guarantees that it will stay that way.

While some of us argue about restrooms, transgender youth endure physical, mental and emotional abuse.

Gender identity difference isn’t new: Trans and other gender-variant people have been with us all along. The difference is that in days gone by, we could feel comfortable in our majority and ignore the suffering of those different from us. Just as lesbian, gay and bi students have been historically victimized—and still are despite recent civil-rights gains and anti-bullying protections—so too have trans students suffered.

We are long past the time in which it was all right to ignore—or worse, bully—those who differed from the majority.

Stop obsessing over restrooms and locker rooms. If they’re not safe for one student, they’re not safe for any students. Instead, let’s make sure that all these spaces are safe, private and accessible.

And, instead of obsessing about whether transgender and gender-variant people deserve to be treated with dignity, respect and compassion, we should remember that basic expressions of humanity ought not be optional. Ω

XONR8 the California 12 Serving a life sentence is like walking through a The CIP has already secured the release never-ending nightmare. I would know. of 11 exonerees. Six of them attended last by As a “three-striker,” I served 15 years of a month’s rally and were juxtaposed by the Eugene life sentence for a drug conviction. When family members of the 12 yet to be exonerAlexander Dey California voters approved Proposition 36 in ated. All who spoke painted an unfortunate 2012, my sentence was commuted, and I was portrait of injustice—tainted prosecutions, free to begin a new life as a prison-reform decades of confinement and too many missed advocate. I’m one of the lucky ones. holidays to count. One such victim was Uriah But imagine being forced to endure Courtney, who was released on June 24, 2013, lifelong imprisonment when you’re totally after serving eight years of a life sentence for innocent. rape and kidnapping. New The California Innocence DNA technology in 2004 Those who are cleared Courtney and enabled Project has illuminated 12 such cases of unjust incarthe CIP to find the actual wrongfully ceration, cases the courts culprit. convicted can’t have, so far, failed to correct.

The CIP stakes its reputaeugene Alexander dey tion on finding the truth, not was a three-striker To call attention to these be forgotten. serving a life sentence cases, the California Western technicalities. In reviewing when Proposition 36 School of Law in San 2,000 cases a year, the CIP passed in 2012. he now Diego—home base for the CIP—organized looks for proof of innocence, often through advocates for evidencetechnology. According to the CIP, when based solutions to a 700-mile walk across the state. Arriving in treatable criminogenic Sacramento on June 2013, a large crowd of DNA plays a primary role in an exoneration, maladies and marchers hand-delivered clemency petitions to it is usually accompanied by eyewitness can be reached at Gov. Jerry Brown’s legal team. misidentification. outsidesolutions.ed@ Six months later, on December 20, 2013, The work of the CIP continues as the state gmail.com. marchers returned to follow up on the status endures an era of penal reformation. As the of the petitions. Being among the 50-plus criminal-justice system undergoes a paradigm An online version of this demonstrators who walked from Raley Field shift, it’s not outside the realm of possibilessay can be found at to the Capitol that Friday was an unlikely ity that the families of a dozen wrongfully www.newsreview.com/ imprisoned individuals could receive a belated sacramento/ way to spend a nice fall day. But those who holiday gift: justice at last. Ω pageburner/blogs. are wrongfully convicted can’t be forgotten.

Justice must prevail.

BEFORE

|

NEWS

|

F E AT U R E

STORY

| A R T S & C U L T U R E

|

AFTER

| 01.02.14

|

SN&R

|

9

PHOTO BY STEVEN CHEA

Josh ua Wood The areNa cheerle ader

J

FOR 2014 SN & r’S pickS for The Top SacrameNTaNS To waTch ThiS ye ar

W

hether it’s about finding the best ways to care for poor and underser ved communities or building a better ar ts scene, 2014 could prove to be a real game changer in the histor y of all things Sacramento. in the spirit of anticipation, SN&r writers identified 14 people to watch

in the months ahead. There’s a bigshot developer poised to bring new life to the river front district between Sacramento and west Sacramento, and a lawyer who wants to close the gap between the haves and the have-nots.

There’s a chef who, upon returning home from a prestigious stint in San francisco, is now opening not one, but two high-profile restaurants. There’s an a-list actress, a craft brewer, an

BY Cody Drabble, Lovelle Harris, Raheem F. Hosseini, Rachel Leibrock, Joe Martin, Jonathan Mendick, Nick Miller and Jef f vonKaenel

advocate for the homeless and a former college professor who works to ensure the poor have access to muchneeded health-care ser vices. it’s a diverse group comprising some of the city’s most interesting movers, shakers and big-league dream makers, and all—regardless of the size or scope of their contribution—are primed to make Sacramento an even better place to live.

oshua Wood had one hell of a 2013. The 31-year-old executive director of Region Builders Inc. turned his once little-known industry group into a wrecking-ball power player on development issues, and is now the voice of a pro-Sacramento Kings arena group that counts Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and his West Sacramento counterpart Mayor Christopher Cabaldon, as well as Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Republican Sen. Ted Gaines as members. The4000 replaces DowntownArena.org, a smaller outfit with more distance between the business interests and the politicians who support major public investment in a new arena.

“It’s much, much bigger, which I think will make it more impactful,” Wood says of the lobbying organization.

Bigger is how Wood envisions this new year, too, with efforts to push through a self-regulated, one-day building-permit process and fee reductions for green-building developments.

His No. 1 priority remains cheerleading a new Kings arena.

“We’re going to see if we can top what we did before,” Wood says.

“We’re going to go hard at it.” rFh

PHOTO BY LOVELLE HARRIS

Glenda CorCoran The leg al proTecTor

S

ince childhood, Glenda Corcoran knew she wanted to be an attorney.

“I always looked for ways to make things right,” Corcoran says.

The Ferndale, Calif., native has now made good on her childhood ambition. A board member for both the St. John’s Shelter Program for Women & Children, and the Sacramento LGBT Community Center, Corcoran also worked with the state Assembly for more than a decade, focusing on issues of local government policy, public safety and election law.

In spring 2013, she was appointed to the State Bar of California’s Board of Trustees—a three-year term during which she aims to work and advocate for those in need.

10 | SN&R | 01.02.14

“My main goal is to protect the public and help attorneys become better attorneys in certain situations,” she says of her 2014 plans.

“We need to find a solution to the justice gap for low- and moderate-income people.”

The “justice gap,” Corcoran explains, is an all-too harsh reality for those without adequate financial means—one that puts some at great legal risk or disadvantage.

Corcoran, who also volunteers time to the Voluntary Legal Services Program, says her experiences providing legal aid to low-income clients have greatly influenced her goals.

“The clients may have seemingly small legal issues, but without access to legal aid, their legal issues can become significant hurdles,” she says.

The lawyer, who is married with a 6-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old son, says her own childhood experiences helped forge her path.

“I grew up in a really low-income family, but my family always pulled it together,” she says. “We still gave back, and that was always really a priority, [and] that’s something I’ve been able to do [as an adult].”

Now, with her work on the board, Corcoran says she’s ready to enact tangible change.

“This is a great segue into everything I’ve worked on before,” she says. “My goals [are to] expand legal services [and] encourage pro bono work to assure low and moderate individuals that their issues matter, [and] encourage more women, LGBT and minority communities to be leaders in the legal community.” r.l.

Jonathan Porteus The service provider

B

eing sick without health-care insurance or money sucks. Being sick and having Medi-Cal benefits, but not finding a doctor or medical clinic that will accept your insurance, also sucks. With the federal Affordable Care Act adding an additional 100,000 Sacramento area residents to the MediCal rolls, that is a lot of potential sucking.

While many health-care organizations took a wait-and-see posture on the ACA, the Jonathan Porteus-led The Effort, now called WellSpace Health, seized the moment. Since 2009, when it was only a single medical clinic in Midtown with five exam rooms and 3,500 patient visits per year, it has grown to eight facilities with 75 exam rooms and 130,000 patient visits a year.

In 2014, WellSpace will be adding two more health clinics and is anticipating more than 175,000 annual patient visits. This

dramatic growth over the last several years put WellSpace in a position to provide services for those who will be receiving health-care coverage for the first time. Being the only fully federally qualified health center in the Sacramento region, WellSpace receives higher Medi-Cal reimbursement compensation than other medical providers. With this extra oxygen fueling its balance sheet, WellSpace is in a much better position to provide Medi-Cal services.

Citing the vision of the ACA, Porteus, a former Sacramento State University associate professor in counselor education, says he believes the city can move away from just having a safety net focused on people in emergency situations and move toward having a safety blanket which includes routine health care. Health care that is provided in

professional clinics will prevent more acute problems showing up in emergency rooms. “It will take a year or two for the dust to settle,” Porteus forecasts.

“People will need to figure out their new roles,” he says.

But Porteus also believes the ACA is on the right track.

Whereas services for the needy previously only provided emergency safety-net services, now the ACA allows a move to an all-encompassing, permanent “safety blanket” system, he explains.

“It was wrong [before the ACA] to treat people as second-class citizens, only providing health care in expensive emergency rooms.” J.V.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JONATHAN PORTEUS

Michael Malone The hoops dre amer

T

here are probably more important things in life than winning basketball games—unless you’re Michael Malone.

This season’s won-loss record will be the most important yardstick by which the Sacramento Kings’ new coach is measured, and it just might have a major impact on the future of downtown Sacramento.

A longtime NBA assistant (his last gig was with Oakland’s Golden State Warriors franchise), Malone needs to show he has the leadership skills to handle the head coaching role and improve a Kings defense that has

been among the NBA’s worst. The team’s new owners have markedly improved the roster, bringing in prime-time talents Rudy Gay and Derrick Williams. But can Malone get them to jell in time to make a run for the playoffs, or at least post a winning record?

With a possible public vote on the downtown arena plan looming, that’s the $258 million question. For better or worse, the bandwagon effect of a winning season could make the difference in a close ballot come June. J. Mar tin

BEFORE

|

NEWS

|

PHOTO BY LOVELLE HARRIS

A

fter cooking in various kitchens in Sacramento (Mason’s, Ella Dining Room & Bar), San Francisco, Hawaii and New Zealand, chef Michael Thiemann is finally ready to call Sactown his home again. His two upcoming restaurant ventures, Mother and Empress Tavern, both aim to open on K Street this year.

Mother is due this month; Empress is scheduled for the spring or summer.

They could both be game changers.

Mother, a vegetarian restaurant that focuses on Southern-styled comfort food, impressed many people at pop-up dinners at Old Ironsides, Chocolate Fish Coffee and The Golden Bear in the past few months. Then, word on the street is that Empress—which will take the place of the former downstairs theater spaces of the Crest Theatre—will be a rotisserie joint, also with an emphasis on comfort food as well as craft brews. Anyone else drooling already? J. Mendick

PHOTO BY LOVELLE HARRIS

PHOTO BY RYAN DONAHUE

Michael thieMann The culinary g ame changer

aMy aswell The design masTer

chris Miller The bre w bos s

Y

oung boys raised with pogs and slap bracelets are now grown men—but they still apparently need a hobby to obsess over. Enter craft beer: It’s the new waiting-in-line-for-a-Pearl Jam-recordat-midnight-at-Tower Records. Which isn’t necessarily a good thing. Yet breweries command allegiance, and beer nerds line up for releases of special bottles, Disneyland style. On Black Friday, hundreds of brew enthusiasts camped out overnight in San Francisco’s chill for the chance to buy a single bottle of stout. For $50. Damn.

All this raises a question: Who in Sacramento’s beer scene is poised to become one of the state’s premier craft brewers? Track 7 Brewing Co. and Knee Deep Brewing Co. have separated themselves from the pack, but Chris Miller at

F E AT U R E

STORY

Berryessa Brewing Co. in Winters is boss.

“Chris is a hoot, and his beer is top-notch,” says Dan Scott, founder of Sacramento Beer Week.

Indeed, Miller is a master of hopped styles, such as the still-popular pale ales.

“I love that Berryessa is putting out a huge variety of beer; there’s constantly new ones to try,” Scott says. “He’s probably brewed at least a dozen IPAs since he opened.”

Miller’s brewery recently took over all the taps at popular S.F. bottle shop City Beer Store—a big deal—and his prowess continues to turn hop-heads throughout California.

Not bad for a small-town brewer off the beaten Yolo County trail.

Best part: No lines. Yet. n.M.

| A R T S & C U L T U R E

|

AFTER

A

my Aswell, one part of the design duo at Beta Form Industries, is looking to help transform Sacramento into a world-class city, one interior space at a time. With projects that include the interior design of Hock Farm Craft & Provisions, Cafe Bernardo at Pavilions and the Hanford House Inn in Sutter Creek, BFI is embarking on a lofty new project: the Warehouse Artist Lofts project, which aims to revitalize a century-old space at 1108 R Street. Aswell’s vision for the mixed-use building is to create interior spaces that pull from historical references, while injecting a modern aesthetic into its dilapidated innards—a mix of old-world charm with a decidedly fresh approach. l.h.

FOR 2014

| 01.02.14

|

more on page 12 SN&R

|

11

FOR 2014

dR. Julie FReiSchl ag The paTienTs’ voice

T

continued from page 11

PHOTO BY LOVELLE HARRIS

ShamuS RolleR The homeles s advocaTe

S

hamus Roller’s shotgun promotion at Sacramento Steps Forward happened just as the organization was taking several steps back.

The flagship homelessness enterprise, which distributes federal housing grants to local service providers, nearly went off the rails this past fall. Federal reimbursements stopped flowing because of the government shutdown, forcing the cash-poor nonprofit to fall behind on a number of its community contracts. Steps Forward laid off six critical staff positions in the process, and its executive director jumped ship, resigning over a swell of rumors regarding the use of categorical funds, among other things. There have also been complaints of fundraising-money mismanagement.

And so Roller, a Steps Forward board member and executive director of Housing California, a legislative advocacy coalition, stepped into the breach. While the 36-yearold hasn’t spun the ship around just yet, it’s stopped taking on water.

“We just needed to restructure,” Roller says. “The organization is [still] very viable in my mind.”

Equal parts crisis handler and emergency caretaker, Roller sees his role as Steps Forward’s interim director as, well, interim.

He says the board is hoping to introduce a new director in early March.

Still, Roller’s fingerprints will remain all over Sacramento Steps Forward.

“It’s such an exciting place to be, despite the challenges that we have,” he says.

In the meantime, Roller has much spread across his several plates. Steps Forward is implementing information systems to document where homeless individuals access services and provide them with more tailored referrals, while Housing California is sponsoring an affordable-housing initiative at the legislative level. Roller is also searching out grants that can replace lost redevelopment cash, which was responsible for the city’s last mixed-use affordable-housing development through Mercy Housing California, the 7th & H Street Housing Community.

Roller calls affordable housing “very critical” to ending homelessness.

“What the research is showing us is it’s much cheaper to end homelessness than manage it,” he says. RFh

he recent narrative in the prestigious world of UC Davis medicine was supposed to be about how the school, as one of the four big health-care provider players in the region, was poised to lead in the implementation of President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. The time was an opportunity for real change. To revolutionize how hospitals deliver care to patients.

And to focus on outcomes, not procedures.

Important, complicated stuff—and so the dialogue in the media should have zeroed in on the issues.

But it didn’t. A scandal involving two top UC Davis School of Medicine surgeons and their infecting patients’ brains with bowel bacteria overtook headlines instead. This, not to mention the November 2012 resignation of former UC Davis School of Medicine dean Dr. Claire Pomeroy, who was criticized for

wearing too many hats during the scandal’s investigation.

Now, this February, Dr. Julie Freischlag will take over wearing said hats—as dean of the UC Davis School of Medicine, and also as head boss of the entire UCD Health System, which includes the Medical Center, the regional physicians group and the nursing school. The hope is that, with a new voice in charge, the needle will swing back to talking about health-care-reform issues.

Freischlag, who arrives in Sacramento after more than a decade as surgeonin-chief at John Hopkins University, certainly can impact the debate. She will instantly become one of the most powerful voices in local health care. And, in this “Obamacare” world, that’s a voice that matters more than ever. n.m.

Wendy SaundeRS The neighborhood Transformer

S

ince 1978, the Capitol Area Development Authority has served as joint property manager on behalf of California and Sacramento with aims to develop sustainable, mixed-income neighborhoods in Midtown and downtown using publicly owned real estate.

In March 2013, the CADA board appointed Wendy Saunders as its newest executive director after stints in the private and public sector, including economic development director for the city of Stockton from 2011 to 2013.

CADA board chair Ann Bailey praised Saunders’ collaborative communication style and ability to foster cooperation between private developers and public agencies to launch and complete complex projects.

“One of the things she brought to the job was a real enthusiasm for CADA’s mission

and a real joy to be doing this,” Bailey told SN&R. “She was very much ready to hit the ground running, and I think that’s a function of the breadth of her experience.”

Saunders oversees urban infill and revitalization projects along the R Street Corridor and 16th Street, transforming state property into commercial and residential units.

“The return on investment should not only be about dollars, but about achievements,” Saunders said at a CADA board meeting last summer.

In 2014, Saunders will steer the small agency through several projects, ranging from finding artists to decorate transformer boxes to completing the Warehouse Artists Lofts project at 11th and R streets, which will bring 86 units of affordable housing. c.d.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ROBERT TANNENBAUM

RobeRt tannenbaum The arTs connecTor

T

he Sacramento Opera and the Sacramento Philharmonic had already merged into a single group called the Sacramento Region Performing Arts Alliance before hiring Robert Tannenbaum as its general director.

But the two organizations are already “so much stronger together,” Tannenbaum says now. “And I actually can see opportunities for the alliance even growing to include other art forms. I’m going to leave that up to the community to decide.”

Tannenbaum started his two-year contract as the director of the SRPAA in the summer of 2013. He was born in New York City and earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Columbia University before working for arts organizations in Los Angeles, Germany and Austria. And through his time spent in Europe, 12 | SN&R | 01.02.14

he was already familiar with arts groups that collaborate and function as one entity.

“When you run a theater in central Europe, the opera and the ballet are in the same organization,” says Tannenbaum. “So that put me in a unique place to take this job.”

Still, the SRPAA is the first group in the United States to combine the audiences of the city’s opera and the philharmonic. He says his job is to steer the organization toward two goals: to focus on finances, and also the artistic strategy.

“My goal is for people to say, ‘You know, we go to the opera in San Francisco, or we go to a symphony concert at [the Mondavi Center], but it’s just as good, if not better, here.”

Financially, he also wants to connect donors to specific projects that have a personal

impact. For example, a recent donor paid for school-bus rides for 1,000 local children to attend Sacramento Philharmonic and Sacramento Opera dress rehearsals.

Artistically, he says he’d like to build audience attendance with interesting and, at times, edgy repertoire. The Philharmonic Satellite Series has already sold out its March show Old World/New World—which features the music of Bach, Bartok, Led Zeppelin and Metallica played by Rachel Barton Pine and Mike Block—at Assembly Music Hall.

“Sometimes it takes tough circumstances to bring people together; I think that the hard times the performing arts have had in Sacramento can be a really great catalyst for people to do things different,” Tannenbaum says. J. mendick

STILL FROM FRANCES HA COURTESY OF IFC FILMS

G reta G erwiG The home Town loyalisT

S

acramento native Greta Gerwig, 30, no longer calls the River City home, but she still manages to keep it near and dear. Witness her critically acclaimed film Frances Ha, featuring scenes shot in Sacramento, not to mention cameos from her real-life parents. And Gerwig just received a Golden Globe nomination for best performance by an actress in a musical or comedy for her role in the film as an adrift womanon-the-verge. The actress, a trained dancer who abandoned initial plans to study musical theater and instead majored in philosophy

at Barnard College, first made a name for herself as part of the so-called “mumblecore” movement in flicks such as LOL (2006) and Greenberg (2010).

Gerwig, who now lives in Manhattan, co-wrote the Frances Ha script with her boyfriend (and the film’s director) Noah Baumbach. Next up, a lead in Eden, from director Mia Hansen-Løve (Father of My Children) and another go-round with Baumbach on a comedy currently known only as Untitled Public School Project.

Sounds intriguing—just like Gerwig. r.L.

NOW IS THE TIME TO FINISH YOUR DEGREE

— earn your bachelor’s in just 16 months

Lee SeaLe The sincere reformer

F

reshman chief probation officer Lee Seale knows his department has an unflattering reputation. For years, the Sacramento County Probation Department cultivated a rap for putting its own needs over those of the ex-convicts it’s responsible for supervising and steering away from future crime. The department used state realignment funds to hire back ill-equipped probation officers for the department’s adult day reporting centers, which are supposed to be about rehabilitation, and froze out community organizations with better rehab records. Seale, 41, knows what you may have heard. But he has an answer to all that: “Come check us out now.”

Seale was appointed to the beleaguered and underfunded department this past summer after building a career at the

GET IT DONE ONLINE OR ON CAMPUS. CLASSES START JAN. 7.

APPLY TODAY

simpsonu.edu/16

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The agency outsider began by visiting both top officials and frontline staff and taking notes. Then, he threw open the doors.

Now, probation is making allies of onetime critics like Ascend, an offenderrehabilitation program, and linking probationers to actual employment and health resources. Along with newly promoted deputy chief of corrections, Milo Fitch, Seale serves as co-captain of a panel that decides how local realignment money is spent. Tens of millions of dollars that, until recently, were funding more jail beds and probation badges, are being invested in programming.

“We couldn’t keep doing things the way we were doing them,” Seale says. rFH

School of Continuing Studies

2211 College View Drive Redding, California

1.888.9. SIMPSON

NEW YEAR, NEW YOU! Lose up to ONE POUND of REAL FAT per day

100 OFF

$

ANY LOSS PRWEIGHT OGRAM A

Mark FriedMan The bridge builder

D

eveloper Mark Friedman has a chance to be the ultimate Sacramento bridge builder—and without even spanning a body of water.

Here’s the deal: In Sacramento, lots of people know that Friedman—the guy who brought the region the Arden Fair mall—is in charge of the proposed new Kings arena.

He’s also the guy who’s going to build all the retail, restaurants, housing and hotels around the arena. Or so the promise goes.

What most people don’t know is that Friedman also will have a big hand in the infill development of West Sacramento’s riverfront. The first face of this transformation includes a 450-unit housing project a home-run’s distance from Raley Field.

BEFORE

|

NEWS

|

s seen on

The entire project is referred to as The Bridge District.

West Sac Mayor Cabaldon has called Friedman’s plan a “fundamental transformation of our waterfront.” For the first time, folks will live and play along the Sacramento River. And—if those pesky, expensive streetcars do come to fruition in the next decade—life on the west side will organically connect to the new downtown and K Street across the river.

Between the two projects, an estimated $3 billion in development could occur on the waterfront.

If it all happens, no one will say Sacramento could’ve been a contender: It will be one. n.M.

F E AT U R E

STORY

DAY 1

Dr. Oz!

99%

DAY 45

SUCCESS RATE

Medically Supervised

MELT STUBBORN FAT • EXTREMELY AFFORDABLE • NO SURGERY OVER 25 YEARS PROVEN SAFE BY DOCTORS

| A R T S & C U L T U R E

ReNew Me Medical Group 1411 Secret Ravine Parkway Ste 180 • Roseville, CA 95661 916-774-0484 • www.2renewme.com Se Habla Español |

AFTER

| 01.02.14

|

SN&R

|

13

nAked a m b i t i o n

by AAron CArnes

With his latest flick, Sacramento filmmaker Jason Rudy revives the nudie-cutie subgenre

T

here were two things that local indie filmmaker Jason Rudy knew he wanted for his eighth and latest film: something that would be easy to shoot and lots of nudity.

The resulting film, The Desires of Dawn, premieres on Saturday, January 11, at the Crest Theatre, and, in fact, does feature much naked flesh. It was, he said, also relatively easy to make—the entire production only took a few days and nights.

That said, its subject ended up being a little more nuanced than the erotic B-movie Rudy originally intended to make.

Like the other films Rudy has made with his Desperate Visions Productions company, The Desires of Dawn is based on a particular campy, drive-in subgenre.

Previously, he’s made a “pinky violence” movie, which is a type of Japanese-girl action film (Sukeban: Octopus Pot); a gross-out horror comedy (Chump Change); and a silent horror film (Lady M.).

The Desires of Dawn was inspired by the nudie-cutie films of the ’60s that were popular in adult theaters prior to the pornography boom that showcased more explicit films in the ’70s. Herschell Gordon Lewis and Russ Meyer were prominent filmmakers in this genre, and although nudie-cuties are tame by today’s standards, the films seemed to exist solely as a means of parading naked women on the screen.

Because of censorship standards of the time, however, filmmakers were forced to be more creative.

The genre proved a bit challenging for Rudy.

“With Desperate Visions, every film I make I have to explain what the theory is.

Most movies just come out. People know what they are. With this, I had to explain what a nudie-cutie film is. I like and want to educate people,” Rudy said.

One reason Rudy wanted to make an “easier” film this time around was

14 | SN&R | 01.02.14

because of the two movies he finished beforehand, Mondo Sacramento and Mondo Sacramento 2. In the’70s, films in the “mondo” genre were exploitation-styled documentaries.

For his own films, rather than shooting documentary footage, Rudy staged recreations, though he based them on several true, bizarre and quite macabre Sacramento-specific crime stories, including bits on Richard Chase, the 1970s-era “Vampire of Sacramento” known for drinking his victims’ blood; and Karen Greenlee, a necrophiliac who, in 1979, was arrested for stealing a dead body from a morgue.

Rudy said he grew up on these gruesome stories.

“I was born in 1973, and I’ve [lived] in Sacramento my whole life. As a kid, I heard about the Vampire Killer, and when I was in high school, I heard about [serial killer] Dorothea Puente,” he said.

Those stories, he added, inspired his work as a filmmaker.

But the making of the Mondo films was an extremely arduous task, with Rudy spending months in the library researching true crime stories. So, for The Desires of Dawn, Rudy said he wanted to do something that required less extensive research.

The Mondo films influenced Rudy’s current flick in other ways, too. While the recreations in those films were fact-based, Rudy also shot them in a salacious, ’70s drive-in-worthy style with lots of gratuitous blood and nudity.

As it turned out, the nudity was a hit with audiences.

Later, as he researched flicks from the nudie-cutie subgenre, Rudy came across one that really stood out, the 1965 film Orgy of the Dead. Written by Ed Wood (though not directed by the legendary filmmaker), it’s the story of a couple who survive a car crash, only to land in a mysterious

cemetery-styled purgatory, where they are tied up and forced to watch spirits of the dead dance for them. The “spirits” are, not surprisingly, topless women.

And so Rudy decided to make The Desires of Dawn as a reimagining of Orgy of the Dead.

“I figured I could make my interpretation of it,” Rudy said. “It basically serves the same function as the original, to see beautiful, naked women onscreen.”

“I wAnTed To mAke A fIlm ThAT wAs All sTyle And nudITy, buT ... ended up mAkIng A fIlm ThAT Is lAyered, deAlIng wITh fAnTAsIes, soCIAl AnxIeTy And feAr.” JAson rudy director, on his new film, The Desires of Dawn In Rudy’s film, the main character, a shy college student with repressed sexual fantasies about women, falls asleep and wakes up in a mysterious outdoor setting similar to that from Orgy of the Dead. Here, she finds the purgatory has two queens who run things. The queens are aided by eight different girls who strip for Dawn.

“I wanted to make a film that was all style and nudity, but in the process, ended up still making a film that is layered, dealing with fantasies, social anxiety and fear,” Rudy said. “It looks at different ways women seduce. It’s very psychological.”

The film will certainly appeal to camp aficionados. Rudy even throws in some lines directly from Orgy of the Dead as a reference for hard-core fans.

The film’s footage, like that from all of Rudy’s movies, is deliberately given an aged look in post-production. Rudy said this touch is key.

“[All] artists should have a style, like David Lynch has a style, and [Quentin] Tarantino has a style. You always know you’re seeing their type of movie. I try to have my stamp on it,” Rudy said.

Rudy’s peers believe he’s succeeded in this goal.

“Jason is definitely the most prolific, and one of the best indie filmmakers working in Sacramento,” says Christy Savage, a filmmaker and producer with the Trash Film Orgy and TFO Productions. “I have a lot of respect for his ability to constantly create new and exciting films in a variety of genres.”

While Rudy’s films clearly pay homage to their predecessors, they also stand on their own, artistically speaking. “[My films] are recreations … but different because there’s nothing like [the old films],” he said.

As many films as he’s made, Rudy said he’s still learning. He made his first movie in 2007, and has done at least one movie a year since then.

Rudy recuperates costs through screenings, using the profits to produce a corresponding DVD, which he then sells on his website and at conventions. A Desires DVD release is planned for later this year.

Money aside, filmmaking is about entertainment, he said.

“When I was a kid and my parents were getting divorced, you’d go to the movies and just forget about all the crap that was going on,” said Rudy.

“You’d get out of there and still have to deal with your shit, but you’d feel a little better. That’s really what movies are about— escaping.” Ω

Lolita tea parties See NIGHT&DAY

See THE V WORD

17

See FILM

Sacramento filmmaker Jason Rudy’s latest film reimagines the 1965 flick Orgy of the Dead.

|

NEWS

|

F E AT U R E

STORY

|

31

Weed 2014 See THE 420

SCENE& HEARD Do unto others A few months ago, I was offered my dream job: working to help end human trafficking by utilizing my skills as a writer, builder of Web “platforms” and social networker.

This was after a long stint of being a comments moderator for a large news site, where my job entailed making sure everyone played nice in the sandbox. I’m here to tell you that they didn’t. I toiled from home for a pittance, clicking “publish” or “delete” on repulsive comments about the first family, marriage equality and—yes—remarks from atheists ridiculing anyone who prescribed to any spiritual or religious path as mentally incompetent at best, and a scourge on humanity and child abusers at worst.

I tried hard to be fair. As an out “nontheist” (neither “atheist” nor “agnostic” seemed to fit; one seemed too aggressive and certain, and the other seemed too nambypamby), I simply didn’t believe in a personification of a godhead any more than I believed in Santa Claus, Zeus or that the moon is made of green cheese. But my work goal was always to add to civil discourse and disallow abuse or generalizations from either side.

And then: this new job. The pleasure I took in working for a truly righteous cause kept me up many late nights.

It was the hardest and happiest I’d ever worked. I spoke about it excitedly to the kindhearted Christian friends I knew. I felt a connection building between us.

And then?

That job defrauded me. Right after Thanksgiving, they left my family high and dry, unpaid for my month of hard work. We were left without my crucial half of our meager income, and to add to the pathetic Charlie Bucket quality, my 7-year-old son has a bone disorder that requires surgery in this month.

I cried bitter, angry tears of the betrayed. Then, I awakened one day, and I felt a little better. And then, a little better again. What I was realizing was that I liked to be of service. I took that gratification I’d gained from that job and translated it into my overriding, passionate love for humanity and desire to serve the downtrodden, or the simply struggling and overburdened.

And I started close to home.

I’m still learning how to best identify how to be of service to my community. Right now, it feels intimate and effective to be a good friend to those whose needs I’ve overlooked. And it’s been my Christian friends who’ve been among the most pragmatically supportive, though wagons have circled us from all sides. I started raking people’s lawns—I fear sometimes against their will—hauling ass when I’d see them come home. But I’m learning to better recognize true needs and how I address those directly. Every day I try to earn my keep: whether it’s steam cleaning a harried mom’s carpet whose dog had a diarrhea attack, or folding an Everest of laundry with an overwhelmed neighbor.

I have wonderfully charitable, giving friends in my community of nonbelievers. But I will say this: I’ve grown much closer to the Christians I used to keep at arms-length. They don’t proselytize or invite me to church. Nor do I challenge them on their faith or their path. The ones I know are Christlike.

Feet-washers. “Come as you are” types. Not Biblethumping bigots.

And now, I know to hold a space. We’re not so far apart, after all.

—Corbyn Hightower

Catch a screening of the Desires of Dawn on Saturday, January 11, at the Crest theatre, 1013 K Street; 8 p.m.; $10.

For more information, visit www.desperatevisions.com.

BEFORE

22

Unleash the wolf hounds Photo by Steven Chea

16

Pop-up veggies

Read more at www.corbynhightower.com.

A RT S & C U LT U R E

|

AFTER

|

01.02.14

|

SN&R

|

15

For the week of January 2

wEEklY PICkS

Emancipating the Past: Kara Walker’s Tales of Slavery and Power The 12th annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival’s tag line is “Where activism gets inspired.”

It’s a fitting motto. From Thursday, January 9, through Sunday, January 12, the film festival—presented by the South Yuba River Citizens League in Nevada City and Grass Valley—will feature stories about such amazing people as: a 14-year-old girl from the Netherlands who circumnavigated the Earth in a sailboat alone (Maidentrip); a handful of guitar makers trying to prevent deforestation of the largest forest in the United States ( Musicwood ); and 200 farmers who save a pristine piece of Bay Area farmland from development, including a proposed Whole Foods Market store (Occupy the Farm).

In other words, the more than 100 films at the festival not only tell interesting stories about people who care for the environment, they also show us why we should care. This is a festival not just for environmentalists, but also for activists and fans of

indie film. There are movies, both long and short, about other naturerelated things: adventurous, mountaineering snowboarders; subterranean rivers in large metropolitan cities; and Mongolian archers.

And there will be things that aren’t film-related at all: a block party, music, art, dancing, yoga, food, wine, a gala event, special guests, an awards ceremony, lectures and an activist center to learn how to get involved with various causes.

For the kids, there will be several kidfriendly film screenings (Thursday, January 9, and Saturday, January 11), three-dimensional chalk artist Mark Lewis Wagner and puppet shows. Plus, a number of directors will be on hand to talk about their films. Basically, it’s the largest environmental-film festival in the nation—according to organizers—and it’s right in Sacramento’s backyard.

All-festival passes cost $60-$120; passes are also available for single events.

For more information, visit www.wildandscenicfilmfestival.org.

—JONATHAN MENDICK

Through Sunday, January 5 Kara Walker utilizes her art to explore modern-

ART day race paradoxes. She creates scenes, relationships and stories of slavery in a Victorian-era silhouette style, toying with the constant struggle of power. $10, Crocker Art Museum, 216 O Street; (916) 808-7000; www.crockerartmuseum.org.

—Jessica Rine

International Sportsmen’s Exhibition ThurSday, January 9, Through Sunday, January 12 Do you miss Christmas shopping already? If you’re a hunter, angler or just like looking for stuff in the woods, then here’s another chance to do it.

OUTDOORS This weekend’s International Sportsmen’s Exhibition is all about shopping for fishing, hunting and outdoor goods. $15, Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Boulevard; www.sportsexpos.com.

—Jonathan Mendick

Nico Santos and Reggie Steele ThurSday, January 2, Through Sunday, January 5 Originally from the Philippines, Nico Santos has made his rounds in the Bay Area comedy circuit and is taking on the rest of the country.

COMEDY Partnered with comedy vet and Punch Line Comedy Club regular Reggie Steele, it’s going to be a riotous way to start the new year. $13-$19, at Punch Line Comedy Club Sacramento, 2100 Arden Way, Suite 225; (916) 925-5500; www.punchlinesac.com.

—Jessica Rine

SacAnime Friday, January 3, Through Sunday, January 5 This year’s SacAnime promises to be the biggest yet. Activities include dance parties, musicvideo contests, speed-dating sessions and Lolita tea parties. And so much Adventure Time. $10-$40, Friday, 11 a.m. to CONVENTION 1 a.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Sacramento Convention Center, 1400 J Street; and at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel, 1230 J Street; www.sacconventions.com.

—Deena Drewis

Flat Fusion Five Monday, January 6, Through Friday, February 7 Flat Fusion Five, the first one-person exhibition of Matan Shelomi, blends the worlds of crafts and biology. Shelomi studied painting and silk screening at Harvard University, but is now in a Ph.D. ART program for entomology and nematology at UC Davis. Beware entomophobiacs: There will probably be some beautiful bugs on display. Free, UC Davis Craft Center Gallery in the South Silo Building, 1 Shields Avenue in Davis; (530) 752-1475.

16

—Jonathan Mendick |

SN&R

|

01.02.14

50% 0FF

Come for the wine

Buy Buy 1 1 adult adult BuFFet BuFFet and and 2 2 drinks drinks get get 2nd 2nd 50% 50% oFF oFF

58 Degrees & Holding Co. 1217 18th Street, (916) 442-5858, www.58degrees.com Occasionally, as a reviewer, I find a place that I want to like more than I can justify. We all have spots that we frequent despite underwhelming by Ann Martin Rolke quality or ambience. They have other qualities that make them worthwhile, nonetheless. For me, 58 Degrees & Holding Co. is such a place.

Located in the highly trafficked “Handle District,” on 18th Street near Capitol Avenue, 58 Degrees has been around for seven-and-ahalf years.

It’s benefited greatly by its locale—despite keeping a low profile on social media—and by being an ideal location for buying wine by the rating: bottle: There isn’t a lot of Midtown competiHH 1/2 tion in that area.

The staff is very knowledgeable and dinner for one: helpful to customers looking for a special $10 - $15 bottle or glass, and customers can even store their personal stashes in the restaurant’s climate-controlled lockers. The ambience is lovely—all wood and rough-hewn brick, with dim lighting and comfy sofas or tall tables for chatting.

The food, however, is not a strong suit.

Admittedly, most people frequenting a wine bar are not usually looking for a big H meal. So, logically, the menus at 58 Degrees flawed tend toward snacks and small plates, with HH a few larger dishes for heartier appetites. haS momentS Unfortunately, they also tend toward saltiness.

HHH While this is somewhat common in appealing restaurants, and also cleverly encourages more drinking (hence more ordering), it left HHHH authoritative us with salt-cured palates. That’s not the best situation for enjoying the nuanced flavors of HHHHH epic wine or food.

However, there are a few standouts. The bruschetta options are among them. The menu lists six flavor combinations, and diners can choose three for $9. The butternut squash with pistachio and blue cheese was a fall-flavor knockout, while the sweet-onion jam with soppresatta and manchego rocked that saltyStill hungry? sweet combo that works so well.

Search Sn&r’s We tentatively ordered the bruschetta “dining directory” to find local of warm burrata with sea salt and truffle oil restaurants by name because I love that oozy, fresh-mozzarella type or by type of food. of cheese. Many chefs overuse truffle flavors, Sushi, mexican, indian, though, thinking more is better. In my book, italian—discover it all in the “dining” less is more with that pungent aroma. This section at combo was so lightly anointed with the oil www.news that it pleasantly teased your nose instead of review.com. assaulting it.

Another hit is the Truffled Four Cheese Macaroni. It has a lot of competition in town, what with The Rind located nearby (1801 L Street, Suite 40), but this version holds its own. The silky sauce is flavorful and goes nicely with the little orecchiette pasta. Some crumbs on top add a welcome crunch. Unless you’re really hungry, though, get the half order for only $5.

BEFORE

|

NEWS

|

F E AT U R E

original coupon only • no copies

1 coupon per table. cannot be combined with any other offer. expires 1/16/14

SACRAMENTO

Less appealing is the freshness of some ingredients here. A cheese plate, otherwise lovely with a fig-raisin compote and plenty of bread, sported wilted arugula under the compote dish. Similarly, the organic baby-greens salad had tired and rusty leaves that should have been eighty-sixed a day earlier.

1402 Broadway 916.930.0888

China Buffet

CITRUS HEIGHTS 5623 Sunrise Blvd.

916.961.6888

Sun-Thurs 11am-10pm • Fri & Sat 11am-10:30pm

chinabuffetrestaurant.com

PARTY ROOMS AVAILABLE • NOW SERVING BEER & WINE

let it snow!

The sweet-onion jam with soppresatta and manchego rocked that salty-sweet combo that works so well.

unique shaved snow desserts of all flavors

Mouthwatering fluffy snowballs infused with flavor & topped with fresh fruits, jellies & candy

now vegan ! friendly

The Spice-Crusted Ahi comes with avocado, tomato relish, burrata and chili dressing for a gorgeous array of colors. The ahi was just barely seared and fresh. The avocado, though, was brown, which really marred the effect.

If you order carefully, the menu serves well for snacks with a taste of wine—a perfect place to meet a friend. Don’t miss the 3-ounce pours to taste a few varietals without overimbibing. For a nice lunch or dinner, though, you might be better served at one of the neighboring addresses. Ω

6821 stockton Blvd #110

Follow Vampire Penguin’s story at Facebook.com/VampirePenguin916

Adventures in pop-up dining

Going out to dinner can be a predictable, order-the-usual affair, or it can be an adventure into the unknown. Sylvanna Mislang—or just Syl—is fostering the latter experience with her burgeoning venture, The Roaming Spoon. It’s a vegan four-course pop-up dinner at a location that’s kept a mystery until the day of the event. The project debuted in November 2013 after Mislang was inspired by attending a Tree House pop-up meal in October.

Mislang, who has previously worked at Blackbird Kitchen & Bar, harvests the ingredients for the Spoon’s meals at Fair Oaks’ Rocking TH farm. She has a knack for beautifully plating the food she prepares, satiating a diner’s visual sense before one even has a chance to taste it. Glean info on upcoming dinners on the Spoon’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ theroamingspoon916); the next two are on Saturday, January 4, and Saturday, January 25.

STORY

s p e c i a l

$

5

OFF

00

’13

Offer expires 1/31/14. Please present coupon. Not valid with any other offer or variety platter. ’13

08

09

’10

’10

’13

’10

08

5644 J Street

07

A RT S & C U LT U R E

’10

07

’10

—Shoka

|

your purchase of $20.00 or more

|

AFTER

|

01.02.14

916. 451.4000

Sun-Wed 10:30am - 9:00pm Thurs - Sat 10:30am -9:30pm

|

SN&R

|

17

’10

’13

Downtown Darna This Palestinian restaurant

Where to eat?

serves an excellent baba ghanoush that, instead of being blended into a smooth paste, is served chunky and studded with eggplant seeds. Its smoky, deep flavor is balanced out by a lemony brightness, and it’s good on the somewhat flabby pita bread with which it’s served, but it’s even better on the house-made za’atar bread. Chicken-breast kebabs are not particularly flavorful but have some char from the grill, while the falafel and chicken shawarma are underwhelming. Do order a side of tabbouleh salad, however. It’s pretty to look at—bright-green chopped parsley studded with white grains of bulgur—and tastes refreshing. Palestinian.

925 K St., (916) 447-7500. Dinner for one: $15-$25. HHH B.G.

Here are a few recent reviews and regional recommendations by Becky Grunewald, Ann Martin Rolke, Garrett McCord and Jonathan Mendick, Downtown & Vine This tasting room and wine bar spotlights the local updated regularly. farm-to-glass movement. Here, Check out diners can order 2-ounce tastwww.newsreview.com ing flights of wine. Choose three for more dining advice. from the same vintner to com-

pare styles, or mix and match to contrast similar wines from regional wineries. Wines are also available in larger pours and by the bottle. Wine is meant to be enjoyed with food, of course: The menu offers a wide selection of tidbits and hearty dishes.

Worth sampling: the goatcheese stuffed peppers, chilled Spanish-spiced shrimp, and a cheddar-and-apple melt. Or try the ambrosial Wine Country sandwich, with salty prosciutto, sweet fig jam, oozy mozzarella and peppery arugula on grilled

bread. There are also a variety of flatbreads loaded with topping combos like capicola, three cheeses, piquillo peppers and green onions. The bread for these is nicely crunchy but not too chewy and comes across as more than a pizza trying to be fancy. American. 1200 K St., Ste. 8; (916) 228-4518. Dinner for one: $10-$15. HHHH AMR

Zia’s Delicatessen Zia’s Delicatessen isn’t really about trying every sandwich: It’s about finding your sandwich. In addition to a large selection of salumi, there’s the worthy eponymous offering, served with a wedge of zucchini frittata, a slice of provolone, romaine lettuce, grainy tomato, and a simple dash of vinegar and oil that adds tang. Order it hot, so that the provolone melts into the bread. Also tasty: the hot meatball sub with small-grained, tender meatballs bathed in a thin, oregano-flecked tomato sauce that soaks into the bread.

A tuna sandwich is sturdy, if not exciting. It is just mayonnaisey enough, with tiny, diced bits of celery. A rosemary panino cotto with mozzarella could benefit from a more flavorful cheese. For a meatier option, try the Milano: mortadella, salami, Muenster; all three flavors in balance. The turkey Viareggio has a thin spread of pesto mayo, and the smoked mozzarella accents rather than overpowers. American. 1401 O St., Ste. A; (916) 441-3354. Meal for one: $5-$10. HHHH B.G.

FEATURING DISHES FROM: BAJA • JALISCO • TIJUANA • YUCATAN • CHIHUAHUA • MEXICO CITY

Mexico City Sacramento T H E

F L AV O R S

O F

Midtown

You’ll leave perfumed in whiteoak and almond-wood smoke; a good thing if your date digs the smell of meat and wood, bad if you have a meeting after lunch.

Recommendations include the ribs, which are astounding in texture. The meat falls off the bone with confidence that your mouth will catch it. A lack of salt or spice on the ribs, however, robs them of the chance of being truly astonishing. (An easy fix.) The brisket is also fantastic—as tender as the first time you held hands with a high-school crush, with a sweet, smoky flavor that’s just as memorable. Loaded onto the sandwich and served with white American cheese, it makes for an epic meal. Barbecue.

1925 J St., (916) 431-7199. Dinner for one: $10-$20. HHH G.M.

Hook & Ladder Manufacturing Co. The restaurant, by the same owners as Midtown’s The Golden Bear, sports a firefighting theme (a ladder on the ceiling duct work, shiny silver wallpaper with a rat-and-hydrant motif, et al) and a bar setup that encourages patrons to talk to each other. An interesting wine list includes entries from Spain and Israel; there are also draft cocktails and numerous beers on tap. The brunch menu is heavy on the eggs, prepared in lots of ways. One option is the Croque Madame, a hamand-Gruyere sandwich usually battered with egg. This one had a fried egg and béchamel, with a generous smear of mustard inside. The mountain of potato hash alongside tasted flavorful and not too greasy. The menu also features pizzas and housemade pastas, but one of its highlights includes an excellent smoked-eggplant baba ganoush, which is smoky and garlicky and served with warm flatbread wedges and oil-cured olives. The bananas foster bread pudding is equally transcendent, accompanied by very salty caramel gelato, pecans and slivers of brûléed bananas. American.

1630 S St., (916) 442-4885. Dinner for one: $20-$40. HHH1/2 AMR

Thai Basil SN&R readers consistently vote this place among the city’s top Thai restaurants for this paper’s annual Best of Sacramento issue. And for good reason. The restaurant’s tom yum soup may be one of the best foods served in the City of Trees. It features an incredibly savory broth with layers of flavor. Likewise, the tom kha gai—a coconut-broth soup—is a veritable panacea against Delta winds and the morose rains that follow them.

Salads make up a large part of Thai cuisine and should not be overlooked. Larb gai consists of simple shredded chicken over mixed greens, cucumber and tomatoes. Fresh mint and a chili-laden dressing heavy with fish sauce and vigorous squeezes of lime juice pull it all

Tank House BBQ and Bar The décor here is “suspenders and suede oxfords”—both homey and eclectic with old wood, new wood and wallpaper that is to die for. A large patio is welcoming and allows diners to bathe in the haze from the drum smoker.

together for an addictive and satisfying lunch. One of Thai Basil’s true highlights is its homemade curry pastes. These carefully balanced constructions of basil, lemongrass, shallots, chilies, kaffir lime leaves and other ingredients come together to form truly authentic pastes that, when roasted, have been known to drive hungry Sacramentans into a berserk craze. Service here is impeccable. Thai Basil has earned its reputation and will likely continue to keep it for years to come. Thai. 2431 J St., (916) 442-7690. Dinner for one: $10-$20. HHHH G.M.

Free appetizer with the purchase an entree.

Must present counpon.

Offer expires January 8th, 2014.

Bozkurt and brother Ekrem co-own this paean to their homeland, with Ekrem usually at the front of the house, infusing the space with cheer. Turkish cuisine features aspects of Greek, Moroccan and Middle Eastern flavors. The appetizer combo plate offers an impressive sampling. Acili ezme is a chopped, slightly spicy mixture of tomatoes, cucumber and walnuts that’s delicious paired with accompanying flatbread wedges. For entrees, try the borani, a lamb stew with garbanzos, carrots, potatoes and currants. The meat is very tender, while the veggies arrived nicely al dente. Also good is the chicken shish plate (souvlaki), which features two skewers of marinated grilled chicken that’s moist and succulent. There are also quite a few choices for

• Authentic • Fresh • No MSG

Little Saigon eatery boasts such an extensive menu of Chinese and Vietnamese dishes that it’s hard to pinpoint its crown jewel. Notable options include a salty fish and chicken-fried rice entree with stir-fried vegetables. The fried rice offers copious pieces of the diced salty fish. This may seem a bit weird to the uninitiated, but the reward is a unique, jolting pungent flavor that spruces up an otherwise boring chicken-fried rice. Elsewhere on the menu, the Vietnamese pork-chop rice plate, served with a small bowl of fish sauce, surprisingly stacks up to similar dishes from other strictly Vietnamese restaurants in the area. The pork is thinly sliced and tender, easily cut with a simple butter knife. Chinese and Vietnamese.

6601 Florin Rd., (916) 379-0309.

Dinner for one: $10-$20.

HHH1/2 J.M.

Yang’s Noodles Chinese food is endlessly complex and diverse with “Eight Schools,” or regional styles, including Taiwanese cuisine, which is served at Yang’s Noodles. Except this isn’t really traditional Taiwanese food (you won’t find dishes such as glutinous pancakes served with oysters and egg, or mushrooms

buy 1 meal, get the 2N*d half off!

hhhh–SN&R 1830 J St • Midtown Sacramento 916.329.8678 • www.sawasdeesac.com

4717 Whitney Ave | Carmichael, CA 916.485.4446 Open Mon–Sat 11am to 8pm *Must present ad. Exclusions apply.

Midtown

French Enchilada s Suizas

A&A Tasty Restaurant and Bar This

Istanbul Bistro Turkish chef Murat

FREE

APPETIZER!

South Sac

East Sac

Vegan Friendly

BROUGHT TO THE HEART OF

vegetarians, including flatbread topped like pizza, with spinach and feta or mozzarella and egg. Turkish. 3260-B J St., (916) 449-8810. Dinner for one: $15-$20. HHH1/2 AMR

at

Bistro

14th & O Street

Paris at your doorstep...

Cassoulet / Escargot • Largest selection of rare cheeses • Authentic French preparation •

Bistro Michel Gastronomia Mexicana con sabor a Memoria 3672 J Street • Downtown Sacramento • 916.736.2506 • cielitolindomexicangastronomy.com

18 | SN&R | 01.02.14

bistromichel.com • 1501 14th Street 916.346.4012

West Sacramento Wicked West Pizza & BBQ This popular destination for kids’ sports teams and birthday parties also caters to adult diners with good food and healthy options, such as organic whole-wheat crusts.

Gluten-free and vegan choices are also available. With a texture closer to Chicago style than New York style, the pizzas are tasty but quite filling. Choose from house-made sauces and fresh toppings, or pick from one of the inventively named presets. The Old Lady is especially good, with pesto, potatoes, spinach, lots of veggies and a zingy balsamic drizzle. The biggest secret here, though, is the barbecue. Wicked West delivers with shredded, tender meat that’s lightly smoky

and tossed with a vinegar-based sauce. The pork ribs are dryrubbed and toothsome, while the tri-tip is well cooked but leans toward a dry texture. A bit of sauce on the side would fix that right up. The chicken is rubbed with olive oil and herbs and rotisserie-smoked to produce a moist and juicy result. Pizza/ Barbecue. 3160 Jefferson Blvd. in West Sacramento, (916) 5720572. Dinner for one: $5-$10.

HHH AMR

the hangover-curing Super Breakfast burrito, with bacon, chorizo, ham, fries, eggs and cheese—all wrapped in a tortilla. It’s incredibly rich and hearty. Mexican.

5116 Fair Oaks Blvd. in Carmichael, (916) 488-1416.

Dinner for one: $5-$10.

HHH1/2 J.M.

Ramen & Rice At Ramen & Rice, a ramen restaurant that also makes Korean dishes, it’s best to stick to the latter. Order the bibimbap with the brown rice—it imparts a delightful nutty flavor.

The sliced mushrooms add to the umami of this dish, and the shoyu, mustard and spicy sauces that come on the side should all be used liberally. Meat is very easily avoided here: The restaurant emphasizes the healthful aspect of its dishes, and tofu can be substituted for any meat, as can vegetarian broth in most of the soups. On the Japanese side of the menu, the ramen broth lacked a much-needed, salinated quality, the chashu lacked succulence and the hardboiled egg was served overcooked with an ugly green yolk. A steaming bowl of Japanese curry, however, boasted a comforting flavor, and, unusually, a bit of spice. Japanese and Korean.

807 Howe Ave., (916) 922-6227.

Dinner for one: $10-$15.

HHH1/2 B.G.

Arden/ Carmichael El Forastero Mexican Food Despite being an eatery founded by three brothers from Mexico, the menu here resembles the type of Mexican food found in Southern California: a blend of American fast food, Tex-Mex and traditional Mexican dishes.

There’s menudo on weekends, but also french fries hiding inside burritos and buried underneath steaming piles of carne asada.

For a taco or torta filling, try the adobada, a pork marinated in a red chili sauce. Or, try two of the most famous San Diego-style Mexican dishes, both delicious but full of calories: the California burrito and carne asada fries.

The latter consists of a plate of fries topped with carne asada, cheese, sour cream and guacamole. A California burrito is basically an order of carne asada fries wrapped in a tortilla—which, surprisingly, isn’t even the fattiest-sounding dish on the menu. That distinction most likely belongs to

Stirling Bridges Restaurant and Pub This British- and Scottishthemed gastropub offers an adequate beer selection and an extensive menu that goes beyond standard deep-fried pub fare.

Try the Irish onion soup, a French

IllustratIon by Mark stIvers

steamed in hollow bamboo stalks, for example). This is, however, perhaps the only place in town that serves niu rou jian bing (sliced beef rolls)—a specialty of northern China—and the ones at Yang’s hit the spot.

This is basically the Chinese version of a burrito: meat (thinly sliced beef marinated in soy sauce) plus veggies (diced green onion, cucumber and cilantro) wrapped in a large, flat and circular carbohydrate crepe (a thin Chinese pancake made out of flour, water and green onion). Elsewhere on the menu, Yang’s eponymous noodles, featured in various dishes, are homemade, alkaline and chewy.

Chinese. 5860 Stockton Blvd., (916) 392-9988. Dinner for one: $10-$15. HHHH J.M.

onion-styled soup kicked up with Irish whiskey and Guinness beer.

Or order the house-made veggie burger—it’s one of the tastiest black-bean patties around. The most unusual dish on the menu is the Scottish Mafia Pizza. Topped with turkey pastrami, potatoes, cabbage and Swiss cheese, it falls short with its too many flat flavors to actually benefit from their unusual pairing. Thankfully, there’s Tabasco sauce on the table. Pub. 5220 Manzanita Ave. in Carmichael, (916) 331-2337.

Dinner for one: $10-$20.

HHH1/2 J.M.

Auburn Carpe Vino This quaint wine shop and restaurant boasts excellent service and food. Try the musque de Provence pumpkin soup—it’s lighter than your wallet will be when you leave, but one bite and wallet be damned.

The flavor is exquisite with whispers of vanilla and pops of pumpkin seed. A cider-brined pork chop, bejeweled in bacon and prune and sitting atop a bed of savoy cabbage, defies expectations. A quartet of lamb meatballs corseted in harissa, mint sauce and yogurt is surely the dish to convert anyone who (confusedly) refuses lamb. The restaurant—being primarily a wine bar—does not serve anyone under the age of 21. Those of a legal drinking age, rejoice, for there will be no parent cooing to a child to settle down. American.

1568 Lincoln Way in Auburn, (530) 823-0320. Dinner for one: $50-$75. HHHHH G.M.

Lecture: attainable

Celebrity chef, television personality and current star of Restaurant: Impossible, Robert Irvine will bring his Robert Irvine Live show to the Crest Theatre this month. I’ve watched Irvine berate various people on Food Network programs such as Worst Cooks in America and Restaurant Express, and quickly get booted from The Next Iron Chef. So, why would I want to see Robert Irvine Live?

Well, it turns out this is not just him angrily lecturing the audience.

Instead, it’s a live, unscripted performance incorporating cooking, comedy, music, dancing and audience participation, according to Irvine’s website (www.chefirvine.com). Basically, there’s a set of challenges (both physical and culinary) that the audience picks by spinning a wheel, and it’s up to Irvine and the audience to complete them. It all sounds strangely fun. As long as he doesn’t tell everyone how disgusting their food is. It happens at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 14, at the Crest Theatre, on 1013 K Street. Tickets cost $40-$60. Visit www.sblentertainment.com for more information.

—Jonathan Mendick

signature pl ates sl ow cook ed ca rnitas

*BEER AFICIONADOS* 10 BEER - LOCAL TAP TAKEOVER STARTING FRIDAY JANUARY 3RD – 5TH REWARD: BUY 1 PINT, GET 2ND FOR 40¢

NFL WILDCARD PLAYOFFS WITH RUSTLER'S BBQ

a rne ca asa da

SATURDAY JANUARY 4TH

SUNDAY JANUARY 5TH

CHIEFS @ COLTS 1:35PM SAINTS @ EAGLES 5:10PM

CHARGERS @ BENGALS 10:05AM 49ERS @ PACKERS 1:40PM

chille relleno

40 BEERS ON TAP

SIERRA COLLEGE EXIT OFF 80 – 4007 TAYLOR RD www.COUNTRYCLUBSALOON.net BEFORE

|

NEWS

|

F E AT U R E

STORY

|

dinner for

$ 4.95 !

entree, get the 2nd Buy 1 reg. price dinner e for $4.95. 5pm of equal or less er valu ires 01/31/14. to clos e with this ad. Exp

Authentic Mexican Cuisine & Tequilla bar Since 1983

1900 4th Street • 916.443.8488 • 1100 O ST • 916.498.1744

A RT S & C U LT U R E

|

AFTER

|

01.02.14

|

SN&R

|

19

SN&R ReadeRS Get Up to 50% off X2M0%as2013 last chance to Use PRoMo coD e

FoR an aDDItIo

nal

tICKetS

oFF

YoUR entIRe PU R eXP JanUaRY 3R

Jan 03 - Jan 26 Davis Musical Theatre presents “Cabaret”: $18 tix for $9 Jan 09 - Jan 12 Wild & Scenic Film Festival in Nevada City, CA: $125 weekend pass for $62.50 Jan 17 - Feb 15 Arden Playhouse presents “Sibling Schemes: $18 tix for $9 Jan 09 Chop Tops at Harlow’s: $10 tix for $5 Jan 14 Chef Robert Irvine at The Crest Theatre: $40 tix for $20 Feb 10 Secret Chiefs 3 at Harlow’s: $15 tix for $7.50

chase

D, 2014

The secret underworld My husband posted a profile on an onlinedating site and identified himself as “separated.” One of my co-workers, a single woman, saw it and joked that there was a man online who was my husband’s twin.

When I confronted my husband, he denied it. I started screaming because the photo he posted was from our vacation; he just cut me out of the picture. Finally, he admitted he’s thinking

by Joey ga about a divorce and wanted rcia to test the waters. He’s been on three coffee dates. a s k j o e y @ne w s re v i e w . c o m I’m floored. Everything has been normal. We talk, parent together, vacation and have a good sex life. My head is spinning. I can’t Joey sleep, I’ve lost 15 pounds and my tweets for you @ AskJoeyGarcia. hair is falling out. What should I do?

Take care of yourself. You need to marshal every internal resource available so you can transit this crisis. Your idyllic suburban life has suddenly collapsed to reveal a secret underworld that was in control all along. It’s a familiar plot: The National Security Agency and Edward Snowden. The U.S. Army and Pvt. Chelsea E. Manning.

Weeds. The Wizard of Oz exposed

Hey, we all lose it sometimes. Forgive yourself and focus on handling this situation with grace.

New shows added weekly for ace of Spades & assembly, be sure to check the sweetdeals website for show dates!

Got a problem?

Write, email or leave a message for Joey at the News & Review.

Give your name, telephone number (for verification purposes only) and question—all correspondence will be kept strictly confidential.

Write Joey, 1124 Del Paso Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95815; call (916) 498-1234, ext. 3206; or email askjoey@ newsreview.com.

www.newsreview.com 20

|

SN&R

|

01.02.14

as a small man behind an elaborate curtain. Awareness of the reality and regularity of betrayal, whether social or personal, doesn’t make it any less painful or shocking when it actually happens.

Secure the counsel of one or two reliable friends, plus a good psychotherapist and an excellent divorce attorney, in that order.

Every time you feel the world crashing down on you because your husband posted a profile, stay grateful that the profile came to your attention. When you sink into grief at his betrayal, lift yourself up with gratitude for your ability to carry integrity into, through and out of this experience. Yes, I know that you screamed at him and probably wish now that you didn’t.

Hey, we all lose it sometimes.

Forgive yourself and focus on handling this situation with grace.

If your husband refuses to join you for marriage counseling, exit the

marriage immediately. You don’t want to end up on the wrong side of his secret life a second time.

My 5-year-old grandson cries and hits his mother when he does not get his way. My daughter always gives in. She feels guilty because the child’s father abandoned them and refuses contact. My grandson has one friend at school, a girl.

No one wants to be around him because of his whining and crying.

I’m a retired school employee and have seen the overbearing-mother issue from the other side. How can I get my daughter to understand she is harming my grandson in the long run?

Your daughter’s struggle stems from her inability to separate her grief over a failed relationship from her insecurity about being a single parent. She needs reassurance that relationships don’t always work out as expected. Her gift from that lost connection is a beautiful child. Her responsibility now is to grow into a woman who can parent a child, guide him through the thickets of adolescence and let go when he matures into a young adult. Talk to her about what you witnessed as a school employee. Offer advice that is on-point, like this: “I would like (the boy’s name here) to be able to play with other children. Let’s consciously model for him how to cooperate and be kind.” Then, get on the floor and play with him. When he acts out, reduce his access to things he enjoys.

The most important thing, as I’m sure you can attest, is a parent’s follow-through with appropriate discipline. If your grandson misbehaves, and your daughter says he can’t play with his lightsaber (or whatever), she needs to hold firm.

Otherwise, he learns quickly that there are no real adults at home. Ω

Meditation of the Week “[F]ame and wealth can buy everything—except class, grace, and sophistication,” said protocol expert Lisa Gache. And that’s why athletes, musicians, actors and others in the spotlight are not your children’s role models. Are you willing to be someone others can look up to and emulate?

Thank you for voTing us among The Top Two resTauranTs serving

BEST THAI

Straight outta Karnataka It was in college that I first met the Tibetan Buddhist monks from the Gaden Shartse Monastery.

After escaping persecution from the Chinese by Jonathan Mendick occupation of Tibet, the leaders of the religious school settled in Karnataka in Southern India in j o nathan m@ 1970. They now travel the world to raise funds news review.c om and awareness for their religious school.

When they came to UC Irvine, visited my Asian-history class and performed in the school’s event center, what impressed me the most were the monks’ sand mandalas. These colorful temporary works of art, created over the period of a week or more, took their form a few grains of sand at a time. Yet, over time, they became intricate geometric art pieces, shaded in precise color. These paintings seemed to represent the monks’ philosophy that even quantum particles have importance, and when the mandalas were destroyed afterward, it seemed to be a statement on the impermanence of material objects.

bring in This his ad

Ring in the new musicals

for $500 off

any order of $25 00 or more

Now that the holiday hoopla has come to a close, it’s time to enjoy the beginning of the new year, and three theater companies are pulling out the stops, ready to entertain and enthrall with musical-theater productions: First, Runaway Stage Productions brings the laughs with Young Frankenstein, opening on Friday, January 3. After Mel Brooks met soaring success with his musical The Producers, a stage adaptation of the film of the same name, Brooks decided to take a chance on adapting his 1974 film Young Frankenstein into a stage musical as well. Silly and witty, the stage musical enacts the journey of Dr. Frankenstein as he first denies his grandfather’s legacy and then follows in his footsteps, actually succeeding in reanimating a corpse. It should be a fun “roll in ze hay.”

Davis Musical Theatre Company’s Cabaret lures the audience in at the top of the show with the seductive song, “Willkommen.”

Follow the ghoulish Emcee into the Kit Kat Klub, a seedy nightclub in 1931 Berlin, just as the Nazis are beginning their rise to power. The show follows Kit Kat Klub headliner Sally Bowles as she falls for American writer Clifford Bradshaw.

As the cabaret falls, Germany falls to the power of the Nazis.

Leave the kids at home for this one. It also opens on Friday, January 3.

Finally, the Sacramento Theatre Company keeps it real with Closer Than Ever, a musical revue by Richard Maltby Jr. and David Shire.

The show contains no spoken dialogue, but “self-contained songs” about aging, security, midlife crises, friendship and unrequited love.

It opens on Wednesday, January 8.

BEFORE

|

NEWS

|

F E AT U R E

DAILY HAPPY HOUR 3-6

THAI RESTAURANT

900 12TH ST | SACRAMENTO, CA 95814 443-5588 | BANGKOK12RESTAURANT.COM

Tickets on sale now at

SUNDAY SERVICES: 7:30am Classical Language 9:00am Contemporary Organ & Piano 11:15am Classical Music for more information about Cary farley and the

TRINITY EPISCOPAL CATHEDRAL

mustard seed sChool visit Caryfarley.Com

SponSored by

2620 Capitol Ave. tvrbaker@trinitycathedral.org trinitycathedral.org

Reverend Dr. Brian Baker

ϐ Peace Corps Service.

Story Slam

Tuesday, January 7 6 to 7 p.m.

The Coffee Garden 2904 Franklin Boulevard Sacramento, California

Learn about the challenging, rewarding and inspirational moments of service overseas through the personal stories of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers.

Cabaret, 8:15 p.m. Friday, Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday; $16-$18.

Davis Musical Theatre, 607 Pena Drive, Suite 10 in Davis; (530) 756-3682; www.dmtc.org. Through January 26.

Life is calling. How far will you go?

Closer Than Ever, 12:30 and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday; 6:30 p.m. Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday; $12-$31. Sacramento Theatre Company at the Wells Fargo Pavilion, 1419 H Street; (916) 443-6722; www.sactheatre.org. Through February 16.

A RT S & C U LT U R E

916-608-6888

SATURDAY SERVICE: 5:10pm Casual Yet Sacred

Young Frankenstein, 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday; $18-$25. Runaway Stage Productions at the 24th Street Theatre, 2791 24th Street; (916) 207-1226; www.runaway stage.com. Through January 26.

|

harriscenter.net

Encounter God & Come Alive Spiritually

—Jessica Rine

STORY

exp 01/16/14

BANGKOK@12

PHOTO BY JAMES PORTO

Anyway, by some sort of cosmic coincidence (or maybe not), a group of monks from the same monastery will be near Sacramento next week, at Placerville’s Cozmic Café & Pub. From Thursday, January 2, through Wednesday, January 15, seven monks will bring the Sacred Earth and Healing Arts of Tibet tour to the venue, with two-weeks worth of cultural events and presentations. Some of the highlights include a butter-sculpture workshop, a Tibetan dinner, classes and open dialogue sessions.

It all culminates in the Tibetan Cultural Night Performance on Saturday, January 11, at the Cameron Park Community Center (2502 Country Club Lane in Cameron Park).

This event (tickets are available at http://tibetplacerville.brownpapertickets.com) will showcase folk dances, Tibetan chanting and a “Tibetan monastic ‘debate’”—a ritualized dialectic that often involves vigorous physical gesturing.

The Cozmic Café is located at 594 Main Street in Placerville. For more information, including a full schedule of events, visit www.facebook.com/pvilletibet.

Monks with instruments used in Tibetan Buddhist sacred music.

Saturday, January 18th, 2014 7:00pm Harris Center - Three Stages Folsom, California

’13

(ExClUdES TA TTAx) Ax) Ax)

855.855.1961 | www.peacecorps.gov/apply |

AFTER

|

01.02.14

|

SN&R

|

21

D NE DOWNTOWN SACRAMENTO PARTNERSHIP

DOWNTOWN Restaurant Week January 8 - 17, 2014 PRESENTED BY SPONSORED BY SACRAMENTO MAGAZINE

10 days of dining at Downtown’s top restaurants 3 course prix-fixe menus for $31 JVSQ IZIV] (MRI (S[RXS[R QIEP FIRIJMXW XLI 'EPMJSVRME *SSH 0MXIVEG] 'IRXIV

Sheep’s clothing The Wolf of Wall Street This season has been marked with some disappointment.

First, there was Black Nativity, which wasn’t quite as good as I hoped it would be. Now by Jim Lane comes Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, which turns out not to be very good at all.

The subject of The Wolf of Wall Street, and the author of the book on which it’s based, is Jordan Belfort, formerly of the firm Stratton Oakmont, which he co-founded with his partner Danny Porush. As portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie—and evidently as described by the man himself in his own book—Belfort is a fast-talking huckster who rose to wealth beyond the dreams of an Arab oil sheik by peddling cheap “penny stocks” to naive investors, hyping the stocks to artificially inflate the price, then selling them off and skimming the profits and commissions from the sales for himself, leaving his supposed clients to take the losses.

2

Capitalism and cocaine? It’d be un-American not to drink to that, right?

1 POOR

2 FAIR

3 GOOD

4 VERY GOOD

5 EXCELLENT

22

|

SN&R

|

01.02.14

Or something like that. To tell the truth, the movie’s Belfort has such a slick line of patter as he narrates his rise from ambitious nobody to master of the universe, even directly addressing the camera in long, caffeinated soliloquies, that it isn’t always easy to follow the exact nuts and bolts of precisely what he did to get there. But we get the point: He was out for No. 1 and up to no good. Apparently, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, then the FBI, got the point as well: Belfort’s ostentatious lifestyle of conspicuous consumption, with plenty of sex and drugs, caught their attention early on, and FBI agent Gregory Coleman spent six years gathering evidence against him. Eventually, Belfort was taken down in 2003, forced to cooperate in prosecuting his former cohorts, sentenced to 22 months in federal prison, and ordered to pay more than $100 million in restitution (most of which, apparently, he still owes). The movie ends with Belfort plying his post-prison trade as a motivational speaker—the same line of snappy patter, but fine-tuned and refocused.

As I said, we get the point. And that’s the problem: We get the point very early on, but director Scorsese and writer Terence Winter

keep bringing it home to us over and over again, for a seemingly endless three hours.

Individual scenes and performances work beautifully in The Wolf of Wall Street. Scorsese’s model is his 1990 masterpiece Goodfellas, in which Ray Liotta’s Henry Hill shared his excitement at embracing the life of the gangsters he admired. Wolf has the same breathless pace, the same rat-a-tat narration, the same superlong takes and dizzy tracking shots with cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto’s camera careening around among the desks and cubicles of Belfort’s ritzy offices while DiCaprio’s Belfort rattles off his story to us.

But it doesn’t have the same narrative drive of Goodfellas, and that’s the movie’s undoing.

Part of it is the difference in subject matter, of course. The dangerous unpredictability of gang life, knowing that any moment can result in a spasm of psychotic violence, carries a charge that we just can’t get from a gang of stockbrokers, no matter how crooked and drug-addled they are. You can watch cocaine being snorted off the bodies of only so many faceless hookers before your eyes glaze over and you start wondering what else these guys do to pass the time.

Still, coming out of The Wolf of Wall Street, I couldn’t help wondering what Scorsese and Winter told the audience in three hours that they couldn’t have done in two-and-a-half, or even two. The energy of the early scenes dissipates as the movie begins spinning its wheels and seems no longer to be going anywhere.

You can watch cocaine being snorted off the bodies of only so many faceless hookers before your eyes glaze over and you start wondering what else these guys do to pass the time.

Still, before the surfeit sets in, there are nice touches. Jonah Hill, sporting a mouthful of oversize teeth, is slimy fun as Belfort’s partner, his name changed to Donnie Azoff.

(Many of the real characters in Belfort’s story, even both his wives, have had their names changed in Winter’s script.) And DiCaprio has a hilarious (albeit harrowing) scene late in the movie, when Belfort suffers a delayed reaction to an overdose of unstable Quaaludes.

The Wolf of Wall Street is a movie of bits and pieces, not a whole. In the end, it huffs and it puffs, but it doesn’t blow the house down. Ω

by DANIEL BARNES & JIM LANE

5

12 Years a Slave

•

2508 LAND PARK DRIVE LAND PARK & BROADWAY FREE PARKING ADJACENT TO THEATRE

Director Steve McQueen and writer John Ridley tell the true story of Solomon Northrup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free man of color in 1841 New York who was kidnapped into slavery, finally freed in 1853, and wrote a book about his years of bondage. Ridley and McQueen take only minor dramatic license with Northrup’s extraordinary narrative—such abductions were all too common in pre-Civil War America; what’s extraordinary is that Northrup got free again— and the movie is searing and indelible. Even the most despicable characters are given their full dimension with no trace of 21st-century hindsight. The movie’s centerpiece is Ejiofor’s remarkable performance, giving it a core of unquenchable humanity. Newcomer Lupita Nyong’o shines as a tormented slave woman, as does Alfre Woodard in a striking cameo. J.L.

1

INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS “YOU’LL LAUGH TILL IT HURTS.” - Peter Travers,Rolling Stone

“ELOQUENT, POWERFUL AND PERFECT.” - Rex Reed, NEW YORK OBSERVER

PHILOMENA

WED-TUES: 10:40AM, 12:45, 3:00, 5:20, 7:40, 9:50PM NO SUN 3:00, 5:20PM NO TUES 5:20, 7:40PM

“MASTERPIECE!” - Richard Roeper, RICHARD ROEPER.COM

FOR ADVANCE TICKETS CALL FANDANGO @ 1-800-FANDANGO #2721

3

American Hustle

|

NEWS

Parking in back

3

4

For more information please see www.SacVRG.org

5

2

After years of lucratively reimagining old properties like The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast as live theatrical spectacles, Frozen is a blatant attempt by Disney to reverse engineer its own Broadway-bound cash cows.

Everything in the film feels constructed with an eye toward the inevitable splashy stage adaptation, right down to the big opening number, a sweeping ode to the awesome power of large blocks of ice (no, seriously). Frozen empties a promising box of mismatched characters, tones and plot strings on to the screen, including a genetic “curse,” magical trolls, a plethora of scheming royals and a wisecracking snowman, but never quite figures out how to fit them together. Much like recent Disney princess adventures Tangled and Brave, the limber visuals and appealing heroines can’t hide the smear of

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Inside Llewyn Davis

Justin Bieber’s Believe

Director Jon M. Chu follows the teenage pop phenomenon on his 2012 Believe tour, and that’s about all there is to say for this by-the-numbers concert documentary.

There’s a writer credited—one Sarah Landman—and that sort of thing is always fishy in a movie supposedly made up entirely of performance footage and interviews, but really, who cares? Bieber’s zillions of tweenybopper fans will get what they want—i.e., plenty of scenes of their idol strutting his scrawny stuff and pretending to believe he’s just an ordinary guy. Those wondering what all the fuss is about will find less to chew on.

Bieber seems to be nice enough—modestly talented, if a bit full of himself (and who can blame him under the circumstances?), writing

|

Sacramento Yoga Center @ Sierra 2 Community Center, Room 6 2791 24th Street, Sacramento

and singing his generic pop ballads in a voice as thin as his moustache. J.L.

Joel and Ethan Coen have made bleaker films than Inside Llewyn Davis, but never anything this melancholy. Set in a slightly fablelike version of the 1961 Greenwich Village folk scene, Inside Llewyn Davis is inspired by early Bob Dylan, yet exudes the Coens’ usual oddball comedic sensibility and stylistic verve. Llewyn is played by Oscar Isaac, who naturally inhabits the role in a way actors rarely do in the Coens’ films. More than anything, this gorgeous movie shows the Coens’ unique ability to visualize a particular time and place without resorting to cheap nostalgia. Given the abundance of T-Bone Burnett songs, many will compare this to O Brother, Where Art Thou?, but the real ancestor in the Coen catalog is their excellent 1991 film Barton Fink. That film showed us “the life of the mind”, while Inside Llewyn Davis presents us the lifelessness of a defeated heart. D.B.

Frozen

Every Friday 7:00 - 8:30 pm · Free admission

on-the-fly rewrites, as the film frequently loses track of its own moving pieces. D.B.

Good news—there are more beheadings and fewer half-hour-long dinner parties in this second installment of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy. However, while it offers some technically impressive set pieces, the cartoonish visuals and watery characters don’t improve from last year’s An Unexpected Journey. Here Jackson pads the running time by tying this prequel’s storyline into his own Lord of the Rings films. He even gets Gandalf to play Middle Earth detective, the same tactic George Lucas used to occupy Obi-Wan Kenobi in Episode II of the Star Wars prequels. Most of The Desolation of Smaug is unembarrassing entertainment, but unlike with The Lord of the Rings, we never fully identify with the magical critters skittering through the special effects. D.B.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

BEFORE

Sacramento Vedanta Reading Group

Grudge Match

Two boxers from the 1980s (Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone), long retired, miles out of shape, and befuddled by the age of YouTube, are lured into a publicity-stunt rematch, hoping to settle once and for all the rivalry that’s been unresolved for 30 years. Despite its cursory script (Tim Kelleher, Rodney Rothman) and direction (Peter Segal), this latest geriatric-stars-onthe-loose comedy is more fun than it has any right to be. Much credit goes to the supporting cast: Kevin Hart as the promoter putting together the fight, Kim Basinger as a woman with a complicated history with both men, Jon Bernthal as her grown son by De Niro, Alan Arkin as Stallone’s cranky old trainer, LL Cool J as a gym proprietor. In that company (not to mention De Niro), even Stallone, so help me, rises to the occasion. J.L.

Anchorman Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) strides into the 1980s, with the wind still rattling through his empty blow-dried head, his trusted (and equally dimwitted) news team at his side (Steve Carell, David Koechner, Paul Rudd), all intent on making their mark on a new 24-hour cable news channel. Fans of the 2004 hit won’t be disappointed—but then, if they liked the first movie, their bar wasn’t all that high in the first place. Truth is, Ferrell and co-writer and director Adam McKay squeezed all the laughs there were out of their tissue-thin premise the first time around; there’s nothing here but a handful of limp chuckles. Once again, there are multiple star cameos (Tina Fey, Jim Carrey, Vince Vaughn—oh, just about everybody), and once again the movie is about an hour and 45 minutes too long. J.L.

3

WED-MON: 11:00AM, 1:40, 4:20, 7:00, 9:40PM SUN-TUES: 10:30AM, 1:40, 4:20, 7:00, 9:40PM NO SUN 10:30AM • NO TUES 9:40PM

LA TRAVIATA @ LA SCALA SUN 1/5 @ 2PM • TUES 1/7 @ 7PM

47 Ronin

David O. Russell’s ecstatically cinematic American Hustle tells a hypergroovy version of the late 1970s Abscam operation, in which the FBI enlisted con artists to help them catch corrupt politicians. Right from the opening shots of Christian Bale pasting and swirling an elaborate comb-over onto his bald forehead, this is a film all about false fronts and reinvention, the latter a subject Russell knows very well. Everyone in the overwigged ensemble is good, but Bradley Cooper is a revelation as a nakedly ambitious FBI agent. Buried under a dirtbag beard and a hideous nest of curls, Cooper is deprettied enough to let us fully see what an honest and forceful actor he has become. American Hustle might have even been great had Russell not tried to pull a hustle of his own, reaching a facile conclusion that hinges on emotional relationships we never knew existed. D.B.

2

NEBRASKA

Really grumpy old men.

For an action fantasy featuring ogre fights, mass seppuku, ghost spiders and a dragon-witch attack, 47 Ronin is remarkably dull and uneventful. Some blame belongs to first-time director Carl Rinsch, a veteran of commercials and music videos who seems ignorant of how spatial logic and pace apply to narrative filmmaking. Another culprit is the garbled screenplay from Hossein Amini and Chris Morgan, which reinvents the Japanese legend of fallen samurais avenging their master’s death as a 300-lite green-screen epic.

And, of course, there is Keanu Reeves as Kai, a “half-breed” orphan who may possess magical powers, but most definitely does not possess the power to convey emotions with his face or voice.

That’s a problem, since the story’s emotional tug is rooted in Kai’s lifelong love for the master’s daughter, and Reeves delivers heart-bearing dialogue with the bland formality of a foreign dignitary. D.B.

4

WED-TUES: 10:30AM, 12:40, 3:05, 5:30, 7:55, 10:15PM

F E AT U R E

STORY

Nebraska

When a booze-addled old man (Bruce Dern) gets the idea in his head that he’s won one of those million-dollar publisher’s sweepstakes, his estranged son (Will Forte) humors him, hoping they can reconnect on a road trip to Lincoln, Nebraska, to claim the old boy’s prize. Bob Nelson’s script is a mine of mordant humor and wry insight, and director Alexander Payne carefully brings out the best in the script and his actors, including Bob Odenkirk as Forte’s brother, Stacy Keach as Dern’s lifelong frenemy, Angela McEwan as a long-ago sweetheart Dern barely remembers, and (most especially) June Squibb as Dern’s cantankerous wife (Oscar, are you watching?). The movie’s only drawback is Phedon Papamichael’s black-and-white cinematography, a pretentious artsy-fartsy touch that is flat, textureless and distracting. J.L.

3

Need Assistance with Applying for or Appealing Veterans Disability Benefits & Compensation?

Saving Mr. Banks

Contact: (916) 480-9200 Law Office of Steven H. Berniker, APC Veteran Advisor – Sgt Major (Ret) Daniel J. Morales Location: 2424 Arden Way, Suite 360 Sacramento, CA 95825

In 1961, author P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) reluctantly agrees to let Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) film her Mary Poppins books, and the script conferences prompt memories of her childhood in Australia and her loving but feckless father (Colin Farrell). Written by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith and directed by John Lee Hancock, the movie is as heartwarming in its way as Mary Poppins—and one senses, almost as much of a fantasy. Marcel and Smith include so many dubious touches in their script that it’s hard to take their word for anything. Travers’ lifelong loathing for Disney is entirely glossed over, and Hancock can’t quite mesh the grim tone of the flashbacks with the seriocomic scenes set in 1961. The movie works best as a showcase for Thompson’s tart performance as Travers and Hanks’ folksy turn as Disney. J.L.

2

The whole world is your own.

— Sri Sarada Devi

Veterans Assistance is our #1 Priority

“On the batterfield, the military pledges to leave no soldier behind. As a Nation, let it be our pledge that when they return home, we leave no Veteran behind.”

– Dan Lipinski

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

James Thurber’s 1939 tale of the daydreaming milquetoast (Ben Stiller, also directing) comes again to the screen, with even less regard for its source than the 1947 Danny Kaye version. Steve Conrad’s script gives short shrift to Mitty’s fantasies before dispatching him on real adventures—and you needn’t wait for those to turn out to be simply more fantasy: Conrad hasn’t the wit for that. The movie hits mostly false notes, beginning with making Mitty an employee of the defunct Life magazine. Worse, his real adventures are no more credible or interesting than his daydreams, and the character himself remains a dim cipher. Director Stiller leans heavily on stale CGI, and wastes a talented supporting cast: Shirley MacLaine, Kathryn Hahn, Sean Penn and (most wasted of all) Kristen Wiig as Mitty’s office crush. J.L.

|

A RT S & C U LT U R E

|

AFTER

|

01.02.14

|

SN&R

|

23

is your new year’s resolution to

get in shape?

laST CHaNCe To USe PRoMo CoD e

XMaS2013 20% oFF FoR aN aDDITIo

Nal

YoUR eNTIRe PU R eXP JaNUaRY 3R

CHaSe

D, 2014

stay motivated by saving up to 75% off with sweetdeals!

Body Foundry: $120 value for $30

Results: The 24 Hour Gym: $100 value for $25

Fitsom Studios: $150 value for $75

Sacramento Pipeworks: $100 value for $40

Game-Fit: $120 value for $60

The Yoga Seed Collective: $108 value for $54

www.newsreview.com

Gen-Nin Yoga: $108 value for $54

1000 K Street, Sacramento, CA 95814

for tickets to all shoWs Visit assemblysacramento.com

For Rentals or Private Parties please contact AssemblyMusicHall@gmail.com

sat jan 4

karega bailey maRk noxx, RasaR, dj supe 8:30pm

thu jan 9

nipsey hussle 7pm

fri jan 10

sat jan 11

fair struggle

anthony b

vanishing affair, overwatch, once an empire, grey dagger 7pm

8pm

Upcoming ShowS

fri jan 24

fri jan 17 @ 6:30pm 24 | SN&R | 01.02.14

sat jan 18 @ 9pm

!!! (chk chk chk) 8pm

Jan 25 Jan 26 Jan 30 Jan 31 feb 07 feb 09 feb 15 feb 20 feb 22 feb 26 feb 28 mar 01 mar 02 mar 05 mar 11 mar 13 mar 15 mar 23 apr 05 Jun 15

Los Rabanes emeRy zion i abbey Road band st Lucia this oR the apocaLypse the siRen show Rehab some FeaR none paRadise FeaRs incRedibLe’ me baeza we butteR the bRead with butteR sunny LedFuRd we aRe the in cRowd inFected mushRoom the siRen show aLesana headbang FoR the hwy aveRage white band

❆

A cure for loneliness Charles Albright talks about lo-fi punk, recording, and Charles Albright the band Local garage rocker Charles Albright didn’t have high expectations when, in 2009, he pressed 100 copies of his debut 7-inch, I’m on Drugs. He by Aaron Carnes figured he would hand out a couple to friends for free, and maybe if he was lucky, some might even give it a couple spins before shelving it.

One of the people he gave a record to was Scott Soriano, owner and operator of local indie record label S.S. Records. Soriano liked the record and offered to sell Albright’s remaining inventory.

FREE GIFT CARD!

depicted with several arms, playing drums and two guitars at once.

The image is apt, as Albright, as with his first 7-inch, recorded most of his singles records alone, overdubbing each instrument himself.

While the sound is consistently lo-fi, it wasn’t assembled haphazardly. Albright labored over each track for hours, days, months, even.

“People don’t realize some of those feedback sounds, [they] took hours of sculpting, [saying things like] ‘I think the peak of the feedback should happen here,’” Albright says.

“I would play with it forever.”

There were, actually, a few songs on the LP that featured other musicians besides Albright. A couple of the previously unreleased tracks were recorded live at the Davis Bike Collective by Gabe Torres. For these, Albright used a full band that he’d first assembled in 2010 to play the S.S. Records 10-year anniversary show. That band, featuring Chris Sabatoni (guitar), Patrick Shelley (drums) and Hans White (bass), still plays with him now under the name “Charles Albright.”

“It’s almost like we’re a band called ‘Charles Albright.’ That’s very absurd and funny to me,” Albright says. “[Glenn] Danzig and [Henry] Rollins didn’t change the names of their bands, did they?”

Still, he adds, despite the singular moniker, the spotlight is focused on everyone.

As a group, the band’s written several new songs.

“Maybe I’m the creative director, but we all have ideas that have yet to be released,” he says.

While their music retains the psychedelic punk sound from Albright’s early 7-inch recordings, the band’s chemistry and tight musicianship alters the sound somewhat to a more offbeat late’70s post-punk band.

You can “Mellow Out” all your loved ones with the purchase of 3 Gift Cards of any dollar amount & get 1 Gift Card FREE. (Of equal or lesser value. Offer expires 01/15/14.)

❄Massage Waxing ❄

PHOTO BY LISA BAETZ

It takes four: Charles Albright the band features (left to right) Patrick Shelley, Albright, Hans White and Chris Sabatoni.

Catch Charles Albright on Thursday, January 9, at 8 p.m. at The Press Club, located at 2030 P Street. The cover is $5, and Nacho Business and Kittens Having Kittens are also on the bill.

Visit www.face book.com/charles albrightcharlesalbright for more info.

BEFORE

Albright was more than happy to take him up on the offer.

“He said it was his favorite record of the year,” Albright says now. “This is a guy that I looked up to for years. I always wanted him to like what I do.”

The 7-inch contained three songs, with the record’s entire running time clocking in at less than five minutes. Albright recorded every instrument on every song, lo-fi, blown-out, psychedelic punk tracks, by himself on his laptop.

Soriano wasn’t the only fan. The label sold Albright’s remaining records, pressed another 400 and sold out of those as well.

“I can’t believe people liked that record. I wasn’t even going to put it out. I [just] put it out on a whim,” Albright says.

Over the next several years, Albright released a couple more singles on different indie labels, and in 2012, he compiled the tracks, along with a few unreleased songs and put out a cassette compilation on the Pleasant Screams label, titled The First Four Years.

In October 2013, Mapled Records released the comp on vinyl. Albright, an avid vinyl collector, says he considers this to be the optimal platform for releasing his music.

The album’s cover, borrowed from I’m on Drugs, features a cartoon image of Albright |

NEWS

|

F E AT U R E

❅

❄

Facials

Body Wraps

Spray Tanning

❆

Nails

Hair (Arden Only)

❆ ❄❆ 3421 Arden Way

(Corner of Watt & Arden behind Burger King)

NEW

PACKAGES

NEW MENU

555 Capitol Mall, Suite 276 (2nd Floor, in BofA bldg on corner of 5th & Capitol)

Open 7 days 9am–9pm

916-482-2SPA

www.MELLOWMEOUT.com

Purchase

GIFT CARDS Online

“Maybe I’m the creative director, but we all have ideas.”

Charles Albright on his eponymous band

Charles Albright the musician says he likes the musical direction that Charles Albright the group has taken him.

“I’m always going to make recordings, but now I’m going to focus on the band,” Albright says. “The compilation kind of marks the end of me doing this myself. [It’s] kind of closure, in a sense, of being a loner.” Ω

STORY

|

A RT S & C U LT U R E

|

AFTER

|

01.02.14

|

SN&R

|

25

03FRI

04SAT

04SAT

07TUES

Kevin Seconds

Karega Bailey

Mark Curry

Jeannette Faith Steed and Crystal Pascucci

Shine, 8 p.m., $5

Assembly Music Hall, 8:30 p.m., $10-$12

Let’s play a little game, shall we? It’s called Here Are Some Random Facts About Kevin Seconds: “Skeeno” is a nickname he coined FOLK-PUNK for Reno. He digs The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Seconds performed at a pig farm once and also inside Folsom State Prison. He lists Joe Strummer, Billy Bragg and Johnny Cash as favorite musicians. Elliott Smith, the Bouncing Souls and Bad Brains are some artists he’s performed with. It’s estimated that Seconds and Kepi Ghoulie have performed together acoustically a million times.

Although the last fact is very much hyperbole, it’s true the two will perform at yet another downtown coffee shop this weekend.

1400 E Street, www.kevinseconds.com.

—Steph Rodriguez

Harlow’s Restaurant & Nightclub, 9 p.m., $12-$14

Music has many a purpose, and none more important than motivating the soul toward a deeper understanding of oneself and the realization of higher goals. Sacramentoborn Karega Bailey uses music to spark a fire in youth and to fight mediocrity with encouragement and hope. Bailey calls his music performances “oratory presentations,” collaborations of music, dance and other mediums with other artists to create positive energy and a hope for something more in the hearts of young people. Bailey HIP-HOP utilizes driving rhythms, catchy hooks and thoughtprovoking lyrics (often about his experiences as an inner-city school teacher), as well as a genuine enjoyment for his music.

1000 K Street, www.karegabailey.com.

There have been a lot of great musicians who have fallen by the wayside. In 1992, Mark Curry, one such singer-songwriter, released his solo debut album, It’s Only Time. He carried on the legacy of John Hiatt with songs that fused folk, roots rock, soul ROCK and blues, with the grittiness of Paul Westerberg and the raw directness of John Mellencamp. Before going solo, the Sacramento musician played in a band called Crystal Sphere with Aaron “El Hefe” Abeyta, who went on to play guitar in NOFX. Curry carried that punk-rock energy into three great solo records in the ’90s that should have received a lot more love. 2708 J Street, www.markcurry.us.

—Aaron Carnes

Bows & Arrows, 8 p.m., $6-$10 Bows & Arrows kicks off the new year with its Ma Series, featuring women composers, educators, performance and improv artists in collaboration, as well as performing solo, on the first Tuesday of every month. On the bill for January is experimental cellist and composer Crystal Pascucci (pictured) and veteran Sacramento musician Jeannette Faith Steed of Hearts + Horses. On their own, the two women’s music evokes a slightly creepy fairy tale (in the best way) and a soundtrack to a glitchy, avant-garde video game, respectively—what they will create EXPERIMENTAL together and on the spot is anybody’s guess. 1815 19th Street, www.bowscollective.com.

—Deena Drewis

—Jessica Rine

Ace of SpAdeS Wednesday, January 8

ReeL BIG fISH Suburban LegendS - Mighty Mongo - the MaxieS

1417 R Street, Sacramento, 95814 www.aceofspadessac.com

All Ages Welcome!

tuesday, January 21

HopSIN dizzy wright

thursday, January 30

Wednesday, January 15

TRIBAL SeedS

foR TodAy

LiKe MothS to fLaMeS - Stray froM the path the pLot in you - fit for a King KingdoM of giantS

through the rootS - KayaSun

saturday, february 1

BeRNeR

aMerican aquariuM

THe devIL mAkeS THRee

peppeR Lionize

the brotherS coMatoSe

Monday, January 20

pHILLIp H. ANSeLmo & THe ILLeGALS author & puniSher - hyMnS

02/12 Breathe Carolina 02/13 Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe 02/15 The English Beat 02/16 Escape The Fate 02/27 J Boog 03/01 Tierra 03/13 Umphrey’s McGee 03/15 The Expendables

friday, february 7

sunday, January 19

SOON

02/17 Attila

friday, January 17

cody cANAdA ANd THe depARTed

COMING

03/20 The Wailers 03/21 Memphis May Fire 03/26 Moonshine Bandits & The Lacs 03/30 Reverend Horton Heat 04/04 Yonder Mountain String Band

saturday, february 8

Too $HoRT

04/21 The 1975 04/27 Julieta Venegas 05/21 Christina Perri

Tickets available at all Dimple Records Locations, The Beat Records, and Armadillo Records, or purchase by phone @ 916.443.9202

26 | SN&R |

01.02.14

08WED

08WED

08WED

09THURS

Blues Harmonica Blowout

Elysium Live

Reel Big Fish

A Lot Like Birds

Harris Center for the Arts, 7:30 p.m., $12-$39 Grab your suede jackets, two-tone shoes, sunglasses and hair grease. It’s time for an old-school blues harmonica blowout—specifically, Mark Hummel’s (pictured) Blues Harmonica Blowout. The concert series, which debuted in 1991, features an ever-changing lineup of harmonica players. In the past, the series has included guests like Charlie Musselwhite, James Cotton and Huey Lewis.

This Wednesday-evening concert at the Harris Center for the Arts features John Mayall, Rick Estrin, Little Charlie Baty and Curtis Salgado— BLUES all backed by Hummel’s band. The show is a tribute to harmonica player and blues-rock pioneer Sonny Boy Williamson II. 10 College Parkway in Folsom, www.markhummel.com.

—Jonathan Mendick

District 30, 7 p.m., $5

Ace of Spades, 6:30 p.m., $20

Sacramentans have been mixing music, art and fashion for many years, often in multiday festivals. Kicking off 2014 is another MULTIMEDIA one: Elysium Live, an event featuring artist Brandon Alexander, a new fashion collection by local designer Faatui Toele (2Wee) and live painting by Aman Wyzdom Smith. Music includes the electro hip-hop sounds of the Bell Boys and 2013 Sammie Artist of the Year winner, James Cavern (pictured)—whose The Pilot EP features a contemporary yet old-school soul sound. This singer-songwriter draws from the greats of Motown, rock and folk, with a voice and sound that’ll make you want to turn down the lights just a bit and get cozy. 1022 K Street, www.district 30sacramento.com.

Luigi’s Fun Garden, 7 p.m., call for cover

Convention will have it that the new year is for looking forward, but when the opportunity to steep oneself in the good-old days of the ’90s presents itself, where’s the fun in turning that down? While the ska of Reel Big Fish may only be surviving among an aging cult following (yeah, I said it: aging), looking back at a band with songs like “Sell Out,” “Your Girlfriend Sucks” and “Everyone Else Is an Asshole” will make SKA one wonder where all the outward angst went. Perhaps it’s the case that Reel Big Fish had enough to compensate for generations ahead. Either way, indulging in a little nostalgia never hurts.

1417 R Street, www.reel-big-fish.com.

—Deena Drewis

A Lot Like Birds blends the filigreed intricacies of progressive rock, screamo’s screeched and sung dynamics, hardcore breakdowns, and the diaphanous, atmospheric sheen of dream pop. It’s an approach rich in complexity and POST-HARDCORE contrasts, but like anything with this many corners and angles, it’s not always the easiest thing to pick up. It may feel ADHDafflicted, but it’s definitely keenly crafted. The Sacramento sextet formed four years ago and in October 2013 released its third album, No Place, an operatic meditation on identity and self-acceptance. It’s ALLB’s most fully realized and polished effort—though the sheer volume of activity and dynamics can still be wearying at points. 1050 20th Street, (916) 552-0317, www.facebook.com/alotlikebirds.

—Trina L. Drotar

FREE

So much more than a bunch of paintings hanging on the walls...

LIVE MUSIC

monday

trivia @ 6:30pm

EVERY FRI & SAT 9PM

JAN 3

tuesday

HIRED GUNS

taco tues

COUNTRY

$1 tacos, $2 coronas, 2–8pm

JAN 4

PARTY RUMOR

wednesday

open mic

DANCE HITS FROM THE 70’S, 80’S AND 90’S

sign-ups at 7:30pm

JAN 10/11

TBA

thursday

EVERY TUESDAY

KaraoKe @ 7:30pm

TACOS - 2 FOR $2

open for lunch & dinner 7 days a weeK

LIVE TRIVIA AT 7:30PM EVERY WEDNESDAY

KARAOKE 8PM – 12AM

doors open at 11:30

COLLEGE NIGHT 9:30PM-1AM

jan 03 mac ruff

UNLIMITED BOWLING & SHOES ONLY $10 - FEATURING DJ KOOL KUTS

jan 04 constellations

HALFTIME BAR & GRILL

jan 10 old screen door

INSIDE STRIKES UNLIMITED

jan 11 total recall

5681 Lonetree Blvd • Rocklin 916.626.3600 HALFTIMER OCKLIN.COM

|

NEWS

facebook.com/bar101roseville 101 main street, roseville • 916-774-0505

|

F E AT U R E

fri 1/3 ~ 9pm ~ no covEr

dJ dancE partY

ARTMIX

Come dance to all the hottest music!!! tHE place to enjoy the night!

Neon Nite

sat 1/4 ~ 8:30pm ~ $25 adv

CONCERTS

THURSDAY, JANUARY 9

aLEXandEr o’niEL & v101

David Rubenstein, Piano

SUNDAY, JANUARY 12, 3 PM

Myra Melford THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 7 PM

american r&B singer. He is best known for the songs “if You Were Here tonight”, “criticize” and “fake” and the duets with cherrelle, “saturday Love” and “never knew Love Like this”. Welcome the new Year weekend with some smooth r&B! contact sales @ 916.226.2907 for tickets!

STORY

ZhuG performs at Art Mix: Neon Nite

TOURS New on View

THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 6:30 PM SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 4 PM THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 6:30 PM

fri 1/10 ~ 9pm ~ no covEr

dJ dancE partY

Highlight Tours

Come dance to all the hottest music!!! tHE place to enjoy the night!

live music

EVERY THURSDAY

BEFORE

—Chris Parker

SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS, 11 AM & 1 PM

LECTURES

sat 1/11 ~ 9pm ~ $10

cLEan sLatE old school r & B review

Crystal Bridges: Making the Case for Art, Field Trips, and Sudden Impact

WatcH aLL nfL gamEs

Kingsley Art Club: Jack Alvarez

SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 3 PM

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 1:15 PM

11 Hd flat screen tv’s and our HugE projector screens!

3443 Laguna BLvd • ELk grovE facEBook.com/pinsnstrikEs pinsnstrikEs.com • 916.226.2695

| A R T S & C U L T U R E

crockerartmuseum.org |

AFTER

| 01.02.14

|

SN&R

|

27

NIGHTBEAT

THURSDAY 1/2

FRIDAY 1/3

ASSEMBLY MUSIC HALL Post your free online listing (up to 15 months early), and our editors will consider your submission for the printed calendar as well. Print listings are also free, but subject to space limitations. Online, you can include a full description of your event, a photo, and a link to your website. Go to www.newsreview.com/calendar and start posting events. Deadline for print listings is 10 days prior to the issue in which you wish the listing to appear.

BADLANDS

2003 K St., (916) 448-8790

Tipsy Thursdays, Top 40 deejay dancing, 9pm, call for cover

Fabulous and Gay Fridays, 9pm, call for cover

Saturday Boom, 9pm, call for cover

BAR 101

Karaoke, 7:30pm, no cover

MAC RUSS, 9:30pm, $5

Indie Rock, 9:30pm

KENNY REGO, SNAKES N CIDER; 8pm, call for cover

BASTARD MAKERS, LAST GANG; 8pm, call for cover

101 Main St., Roseville; (916) 774-0505

BLUE LAMP

1400 Alhambra, (916) 455-3400

THE BOARDWALK

BOWS & ARROWS

CENTER FOR THE ARTS

2000 K St., (916) 448-7798

FOX & GOOSE

Trivia, 6:30pm M, no cover; Open-mic, 7:30pm W, no cover

JAMES CAVERN, THE BELL BOYS, JASMINE NICHOL, GLENICE; 7pm W, $5

DJ Billy Lane, 9pm, call for cover

DJ Elements, 9pm, call for cover

Hip-hop and Top 40 Deejay dancing, 9pm, $5-$10

Hip-hop and Top 40 Deejay dancing, 9pm, $5-$10

MARTIN PURTILL, BRANDON TYLER, JUSTIN PURTILL; 8pm, no cover

BIG STICKY MESS, MISS MADDY’S F STREET STOMPERS; 9pm, $5

DELTA CITY RAMBLERS, THE GOLDEN CADILLACS; 9pm, $5

THE GOLDEN BEAR

DJ Shaun Slaughter, 10pm, call for cover

DJ Crook One, 10pm, call for cover

DJ Whores, 10pm, no cover

HALFTIME BAR & GRILL

HIRED GUNZ, 9pm-midnight, no cover

PARTY RUMOR, 9pm-midnight, no cover

Karaoke, 8pm W, no cover

HARLOW’S

HANS! AND THE HOT MESS, 7pm, $8

MARK CURRY, 58 FURY, LEO BOOTES; 9pm, $12-$14

ANDY MCKEE, 7pm W, $25

2326 K St., (916) 441-2252 5681 Lonetree Blvd., Rocklin; (916) 626-6366 2708 J St., (916) 441-4693

LEVEL UP FOOD & LOUNGE

The Lick: A Different Kind of Ladies Night, 5pm; Karaoke, 9pm, no cover

Open-mic, 7:30pm M; Pub Quiz, 7pm Tu; Northern Soul, 8pm W, no cover Industry Night, 9pm, call for cover

DJ Rock Bottom and The Mookie DJ, 9pm, no cover

LUNA’S CAFÉ & JUICE BAR

Joe Montoya’s Poetry Unplugged, 8pm, $2

LP SESSIONS, 8pm, call for cover

BACK ALLEY BUZZARDS, KARL?, JAY SHANER; 8pm, $5

MARILYN’S ON K

Thirsty Thursday: mix of DJ and band, 9pm, $5

Live band karaoke, 9pm, no cover

THE BUMPTET, LOVE MISCHIEF, NORTH BOUND TRAIN; 9pm, $8

908 K St., (916) 446-4361

MIDTOWN BARFLY

2708 J Street Sacramento, CA 916.441.4693 www.harlows.com

HANS!

tHe CHOp tOpS

ANd tHe HOt MeSS

tHe deAdlieS tHe iNfAMOuS SwANkS

$8 • 5:30pm Dinner Show - January 3 -

$10 • 7pm

- January 11 -

CArrie HeNNeSSey preSeNtS:

$10 • 10pm - January 4 -

MArk Curry

Coming Soon

-January 9 -

- January 3 -

live BANd kArAOke

yOu MuSt Believe $25adv • 5:30pm

58 fury, leO BOOteS

- January 12 -

$12adv • 9pm

JAzz NigHt witH

tHe reggie grAHAM triO

Jan 17 Jan 22 Jan 23 Jan 24 Jan 25 Jan 25 Jan 29 Jan 31 Feb 01 Feb 07 Feb 08 Feb 09 Feb 10 Feb 12 Feb 14 Feb 16 Feb 23 Feb 28 Mar 01 Mar 02 Mar 04 Mar 10 Mar 16 Mar 18 Mar 19 Mar 23

Tea Leaf Green/Moon Taxi Nappy Roots Dustbowl Revival Stick Men Wild Cub (early) The Nibblers (late) Royal Southern Brotherhood Moonshiner Collective Tempest Johnny Cash Tribute Steelin’ Dan Duncan Sheik Secret Chiefs 3 Bettye LaVette ALO The Duhks Man Man Diego’s Umbrella Zepparella/Mario The Wild Feathers Typhoon Larry & His Flask/Scott H. Biram Majickat Galactic The Sword/Big Business Weekend

follow us

-January 16 -

weedeAter BlACk COBrA

$25adv • 6pm

$12.50adv • 7pm

01.02.14

Nebraska Mondays, 7:30pm M, $5-$20; Comedy night, 8pm W, $6 STEFF AND THE ARTICLES, THE ALT/RECLUSE, THE DENVER J BAND; 9pm W, $5

Open mic, 7pm, no cover

RESTAURANT ss BAR BAR CLUB ss RESTAURANT COMEDY COMEDY CLUB

VOTED BEST COMEDY CLUB BY THE SACRAMENTO NEWS & REVIEW!

THURSDAY 1/2 - SUNDAY 1/5

NICO SANTOS & REGGIE STEELE WEDNESDAY 1/8

2 FOR 1 SACRAMENTO TIX WITH COMEDY THIS AD! SHOWCASE THURSDAY 1/9 - SUNDAY 1/12 FROM LOUIE AND CHELSEA LATELY!

GODFREY

KRIS TINKLE, JULIAN VANCE THURSDAY 1/16 - SUNDAY 1/19 FROM SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE!

CHRIS KATTAN KELLY PRYCE, DAVID STUDEBAKER

FRIDAY 1/24 - SATURDAY 1/25 FROM NBC’S WHITNEY!

WHITNEY CUMMINGS

THURSDAY 2/6 - SUNDAY 2/9 FROM TEEN WOLF! ALL AGES!

ORNY ADAMS

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER! ;>0;;,9 *64 7<5*/305,:(* -(*,)662 *64 73:(*

$10adv

ANdy MCkee

Roger Carpio spinning vinyl, 5pm W, no cover

Get Down to the Champion Sound, reggae and dancehall deejays, 10pm, $5

1119 21st St., (916) 549-2779

rOCk ON!

Trivia night, W, call for cover

Hip-hop and R&B deejay dancing, 9:16pm Tu, no cover Wunderbar Day Party w/ Adam J., Shaun Slaughter, noon, no cover

1414 16th St., (916) 441-3931

|

Queer Idol, 9pm M, no cover; Latin night, 9pm Tu, $5; DJ Alazzawi, 9pm W, $3

Dragalicious, 9pm, $5

1050 20th St., (916) 706-2636

SN&R

ROBERT DEEBLE, CHRISTOPHER FAIRMAN; 8pm W, call for cover

JEANNETTE FAITH STEED, CRYSTAL PASCUCCI; 8pm Tu, $10; AUDACITY, 8pm W, $5

LOWBRAU

|

Get Down to the Champion Sound, reggae and dancehall, 9pm, $3

1001 R St., (916) 443-8825

2431 J St., (916) 448-8768

28

Mad Mondays, 9pm M; Latin videos and Wii bowling, 7pm Tu

THE CHILLBILLIES, LORRAINE GERVAIS, KATE HAIGHT, PETER WILSON; 8pm, $15

314 W. Main St., Grass Valley; (530) 274-8384

FACES

- January 8 -

Sin Sunday, 8pm, call for cover

MILLBURRAY, MISS MADDY’S F STREET KARATE MOUNTAIN, ILA CANTOR, STOMPERS, APRICOT; 8pm, call for cover CAVE WOMEN; 8pm, $8

1815 19th St., (916) 822-5668

1016 K St., (916) 737-5770

Hey local bands!

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 1/6-1/8

MECHANIZM, MOTORIZE, RED ROVER, PSEUDOSILENCE; 8pm, call for cover

9426 Greenback Ln., Orangevale; (916) 988-9247

DISTRICT 30

Want to be a hot show?

Mail photos to Calendar Editor, SN&R, 1124 Del Paso Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95815 or email it to sactocalendar@ newsreview.com. Be sure to include date, time, location and cost of upcoming shows.

SUNDAY 1/5

KAREGA BAILEY, MARK NOXX, RASAR, DJ Supe; 9pm, $10-$12

1000 K St., (916) 832-4751

List your event!

SATURDAY 1/4

HARLOWSNiTeCLUB HARLOWSNiGHTCLUB HARLOWSNiGHTCLUB

THURS 01/02

T PUB NIGH 4PM–CLOSE HAPPY HOUR FRI 01/03

YOU FRONT THE BAND LIVE KARAOKE 9PM // FREE SAT 01/04

THE BUMPTET // BRIAN CURTIN’S LOVE MISCHIEF // THE NORTHBOUND TRAIN ALL STARS 8PM // $8 SUN 01/05

OPEN MIC TALENT SHOWCASE 7PM//FREE MON 01/06

KARAOKE 8PM // FREE TUES 01/07

THE GREATEST R TOLD STORIES EVE GARCIA GRATEFUL DEAD // JERRY BOB DYLAN REVUE // 8PM WED 01/08 AND

STEFF THE ARTICLES THE ALT/RECLUSE DENVER J BAND FOLK // JAZZ // POP // 9PM // $5

WWW.PUNCHLINESAC.COM

UPCOMING SHOWS:

CALL CLUB FOR SHOWTIMES: (916) 925-5500

908 K STREET • SAC 916.446.4361 wwwMarilynsOnK.com

2100 ARDEN WAY s IN THE HOWE ‘BOUT ARDEN SHOPPING CENTER

2 DRINK MINIMUM. 18 & OVER. I.D. REQUIRED.

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THE CLUB BOX OFFICE WITH NO SERVICE CHARGE.

01/09 TRIKOME, TAO JIRIKI, INSTAGON

THURSDAY 1/2

FRIDAY 1/3

NAKED LOUNGE DOWNTOWN 1111 H St., (916) 443-1927

WILL MOREBECK, BILLY BUCKMAN, MIKE JAMES’ HIPPIEFOLK; 8:30pm, $5

KATIE KNIPP, THE DIRT FEELIN’, THE ARIELLE DEEM BAND; 8:30pm, $5

Jazz session, 8pm M, no cover; VICTOR SAN PEDRO TRIO, JON HATAMIYA; W, $5

OLD IRONSIDES

Karaoke, 9pm, no cover

WILLIAM MYLAR, 5pm, no cover

Karaoke w/ Sac City Entertainment, 9pm Tu; Open-mic, 9pm W, no cover

ON THE Y

Karaoke, 9pm, no cover

1901 10th St., (916) 442-3504 670 Fulton Ave., (916) 487-3731

SATURDAY 1/4

THE PARK ULTRA LOUNGE 1116 15th St., (916) 442-7222

PARLARE EURO LOUNGE

Top 40, 9pm, no cover

1009 10th St., (916) 448-8960

Top 40, Mashups, 9pm, no cover

SUNDAY 1/5

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 1/6-1/8

Karaoke, 9pm, no cover

Open-mic comedy, 9pm, no cover

DJ Peeti V, 9pm-2am, $15

Asylum Downtown: Gothic, industrial, EBM dancing, 9pm, call for cover

Karaoke, 9pm Tu, no cover

DLRN with Wisechild, J. Good, Keno, Chuuwee, Soosh*E, Stevie Nader, Jasmine Nichol, Arami and Yae 6pm Friday, $3-$5.

Sol Collective Hip-hop

DJ Club mixes, 10pm, no cover

PINE COVE TAVERN

Battle of the Musicians, 9:30pm-1am Tu, no cover

502 29th St., (916) 446-3624

PINS N STRIKES

Deejay dancing, 9pm, no cover

ALEXANDER O’NIEL, 8:30pm, call for cover

PJ’S ROADHOUSE

DJ Old Griff, 9pm, no cover

DOG PARK, 9pm, $5

SPAZMATICS, 10pm, call for cover

DISCO REVOLUTION, 10pm, call for cover

CHRIS CAIN, 3pm, call for cover

Country Karaoke, 9pm M, call for cover; DJ Alazzawi, DJ Rigatony, 10pm Tu, $3

Top 40 w/ DJ Rue, 9pm, $5

Top 40 Night w/ DJ Larry Rodriguez, 9pm, $5

Sunday Night Soul Party, 9pm, $5

MENTORS, KNIFETHRUHEAD; M; KENNY REGO & LAW OF ONE BAND, 9pm W, $8

3443 Laguna Blvd., Elk Grove; (916) 226-2625 5461 Mother Lode, Placerville; (530) 626-0336

POWERHOUSE PUB

TWO STEPS DOWN, 10pm, call for cover

614 Sutter St., Folsom; (916) 355-8586

THE PRESS CLUB

2030 P St., (916) 444-7914

SHENANIGANS

Comedy Night and DJ Selekta Lou, 9pm, $5

705 J St., (916) 442-1268

SOL COLLECTIVE

WISECHILD, J. GOOD, KENO, CHUUWEE, SO0SH*E, STEVIE NADER, DLRN; 6pm

STONEY INN/ROCKIN’ RODEO

Country dancing, 7:30pm, no cover; $5 after 8pm

2574 21st St., (916) 832-0916 1320 Del Paso Blvd., (916) 927-6023

THE STATION

Salsa w/ Mike Del Campo and Mr. DJ Omar, 8:30pm, no cover; $5 after 9:30pm

TORCH CLUB

X TRIO, 5pm, no cover; JERAMY NORRIS, 9pm, $5

1100 Orlando Ave., Roseville; (916) 728-1166 904 15th St., (916) 443-2797

Microphone Mondays, 6pm M, $1-$2; Liberation Permaculture, 6pm Tu

PAILER AND FRATIS, 5:30-7:30pm, no cover; DIPPIN’ SAUCE, 9pm, $7

Country dancing, 7:30pm, no cover; $5 after 8pm

Country dance party, 8pm, no cover

Comedy open-mic, 8pm M; Bluebird Lounge open-mic, 5pm Tu, no cover

Salsa with Mike Del Campo, 8:30pm, no cover; $5 after 9:30pm

Domingos Latinos with Mr. DJ Omar, 9pm, $5-$10

Blues jam session, 8:30pm Tu, no cover

JOHNNY KNOX, 5pm, no cover; BIG EARL AND THE CRYIN’ SHAME, 9pm, $7

Blues jam, 4pm, no cover; TESS MARIE & THE POOR MAN BAND, 8pm, $4

LEW FRATIS, 9pm Tu, $5; Acoustic open-mic, 5:30pm W, no cover

Steff and the Articles with the Alt/Recluse and the Denver J Band 9pm Wednesday, $5.

Marilyn’s on K Progressive pop

All ages, all the time ACE OF SPADES

REEL BIG FISH, SUBURBAN LEGENDS, MIGHTY MONGO; 6:30pm W, $20

1417 R St., (916) 448-3300

SHINE

THE URBAN SHERPAS, THE 916 QUARTET; 8pm, $5

1400 E St., (916) 551-1400

n

o t

j

u

s t

a

KEVIN SECONDS, KEPI GHOULIE, TOM HUTCHISON; 8pm, $5

s

p

o

r t

s

b

HANS! & THE HOT MESS, MATT SERTICH, MAC RUSS; 8pm, $5

a

Open jazz jam, 8pm Tu; Poetry With Legs with Bill Gainer, 7pm W, call for cover

r

nfl wildcard playoffs saturday january 4th

chiefs @ colts 1:35pm | saints @ eagles 5:10pm

sunday january 5th chargers @ bengals 10:05am 49ers @ packers 1:40pm

DONATE 3 CANNED FOOD ITEMS AND GET A FREE GIFT! N OW ACC E P TI N G N E W PATI E NTS!

MEDICAL CANNABIS COLLECTIVE $ $ THS $ & WIDE VARIETY OF EDIBLES

35 CAP ON 1/8 | 5 10 GRAMS | CBD PRODUCTS AVAILABLE

916.441.4151 | 2110 l street | sacramento, ca | skyboxgrillsac.com BEFORE

|

NEWS

|

FEATURE STORY

|

5711 FLORIN PERKINS RD | SACRAMENTO, 95828 | 916.387.8605 | OPEN 10AM – 8PM 7 DAYS A WEEK A RT S & C U LT U R E

|

AFTER

|

01.02.14

|

SN&R

|

29

WHAT’S ON YOUR

HORIZON? Join Horizon Non-Profit today for safe access to a wide variety of high quality medical cannabis.

Whether you prefer flowers, extracts, edibles or topicals, indica or sativa, we have the right medicine for you.

Whatever your medical condition or employment situation, you can come to Horizon knowing that we respect and hold your

HEALTH, WELL–BEING & PRIVACY AS OUR HIGHEST PRIORITY. OPEN TO ANYONE 18 OR OLDER WITH VALID CA I.D. AND DR’S RECOMMENDATION FOR MEDICAL CANNABIS

NEW PRICES: HIGH GRADE 4 GRAM 1/8THS – $50 | 8 GRAM QUARTER – $95 LOW GRADE 4 GRAM 1/8THS – $25 | 8 GRAM QUARTER – $50 SPECIAL: 5 GRAMS FOR $20! | SINGLE GRAM STARTING AT $5!

HALF 1/8THS AVAILABLE ON ALL PRODUCTS *ALL PRICES REFLECT STARTING PRICES, SOME STRAINS MAY COST MORE. CITY & STATE TAX EXTRA. WHILE SUPPLIES LAST.

14 NEW KINDS OF WAX!

DONATE 3 CANNED FOOD ITEMS, GET A FREE GIFT Now through January 15

Mon-Thur 10am - 7pm | Fri-Sat 10am - 9pm | Sun 12pm - 7pm 30 | SN&R | 01.02.14

HORIZON NON-PROFIT COLLECTIVE 3600 Power Inn Rd Suite 1A Sacramento, CA 95826 916.455.1931

All aboard the weed wagon

Bring in any competitor’s coupon and we’ll beat it by $5 Must present competitor’s ad. Some restrictions apply.

VOted 3rd best ’13 420 physician in sac!

Happy New Year! What was your favorite weed news from 2013?

—Sammy Softball Happy New Year to you, too! 2013 has been a great year for weed. In December 2012, I listed three good things, three bad things and three just OK things in the cannabis community that year. This year, I am just going to list the good things. And away we go: Science and weed had a great year. There were studies showing that grass can help with Crohn’s BEALUM disease, HIV, skin cancer, post-traumatic’13 stress disorby NGAIO der, heart attacks, epilepsy and strokes. And a new study was just released showing that marijuana strains high in cannabidiol, a nonpsychotropic cannabinoid, a s k420 @ ne wsreview.c om can help with the symptoms of psychosis, according to a review published in the November issue of the Neuropsychopharmacology journal.

Just think what we could learn if the federal government wasn’t trying to stop us.

The legalization battle is also doing very well, thank you. The feds decided not to go after Colorado and Washington for legalizing pot, and now I am planning my Colorado jay-cation. Right after I get back, I’m going to start saving up for a visit to An October Gallup poll Uruguay, since weed is also legal there. Besides the fact that adults shows that 58 percent in Colorado and Washington can of Americans support buy weed, they can no longer be arrested for weed there. That is legalizing marijuana. a big, huge, giant step forward.

Thousands of people weren’t arrested this year. Not only that, but Washington actually dropped marijuana charges against a bunch of people since weed is no longer a crime. Oregon is headed toward legalization, and California has several different groups trying to get an initiative on the ballot for 2014. Meanwhile, activists in Alaska claim they have enough signatures to get a marijuana-legalization initiative on the ballot, and in New York, lawmakers have introduced legalization legislation (say that three times fast after taking a fat dab).

Marijuana is also turning opponents into proponents.

Former Drug Enforcement Administration agents have started working in the cannabis industry, according to a December 20 story in the The Oregonian newspaper.

Imagine that.

Meanwhile, New York state Assemblyman Steve Katz, a Republican who once voted against a medical-marijuana Ngaio Bealum bill before getting busted for marijuana possession, is now is a Sacramento looking to raise $10 million for marijuana businesses. In an comedian, activist interview about his newfound vocation, Katz said, “For me, and marijuana expert.

Email him questions entering this industry at this time is a dream come true from at ask420@ a child of the ’60s all grown up.” newsreview.com.

If being a grown-up means you can stop being a hypocrite and get on board the weed wagon, I say, “Welcome aboard, Mr. Katz.”

Marijuana is also doing well in the polls. An October Gallup poll shows that 58 percent of Americans support legalizing marijuana.

I have said it before, and I will say it again: Weed. Is. Winning. Like Mohandas Gandhi said: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

Here’s to more weed, more medical studies and more winning in 2014. May you all have a great New Year. Ω BEFORE

|

NEWS

|

F E AT U R E

STORY

’13

’13

’13

’13

’13

Sacramento

420 Doc MeDiCAL MArijuAnA evALuAtiOnS

winter COMPASSiOn SPeCiAL

34 44

$

$

renewALS

new PAtientS

Must bring ad. Limit one per patient.

Some restrictions apply.

Must bring ad. Limit one per patient.

Some restrictions apply.

916.480.9000 2 COnvenient LOCAtiOnS tO Serve YOu

2100 Watt Ave, Unit 190 | Sacramento, CA 95825 | Mon–Sat 11am–7pm 2633 Telegraph Ave. 109 | Oakland, CA 94612 | 510-832-5000 | Mon–Sat 10am–5pm recommendations are valid for 1 year for qualifying patients Walk-ins Welcome all day everyday

Your information is 100% private and confidential Visit our website to book your appointment online 24/7 at

www.Sac420Doc.com | A R T S & C U L T U R E

|

AFTER

| 01.02.14

|

SN&R

|

31

WInTER SpEcIal

N E W PA T I E N T S W E L C O M E

50

$

TOp ShElf EIghTh paTIEnT REfERRal bOnuSES nEW paTIEnT gIfTS

THINK FREE.

(tax included)

IC N A G R O 100% Text RHOUSE to 71441 to receive a coupon for a house warming gift!

Donate a can and we’ll match it!

/TWORIVERSSac @TWORIVERSSac

HOUSE OF ORGANICS

dOnaTE 3 cannEd fOOd ITEmS, gET a fREE gIfT

916.804.8975

8848 Fruitridge Rd. Sacramento Open 7 days a week 9am-7p 916-381-3769

315 nORTh 10Th STREET

hOuRS: 9:00am – 9:00pm daIly WWW.TWORIVERSSac.cOm

TWO RIVERS

WEllnESS

SIMPLY THE BEST Get Your Recommendation!

Winner 3 years in a row! ’13

’13

Best Medical Marijuana clinic

’13

North Of Hwy 50 @ Bradshaw & Folsom Blvd

RENEWALS

- Sacramento News and Review Readers’ Poll -

’13

40 $50 $ 40 ’13

’13

’13

Photo ID Available for $15

$

Thank you for voting for us again!

W/ COUPON EXP. 1/15/14 SNR

NEW PATIENT

RENEWALS

NEW PATIENTS

50

Sun 11am-5pm

with copy of ad.

with copy of ad.

W/ COUPON EXP. 1/15/14 SNR Blvd om Fols

GET APPROVED OR NO CHARGE! 24/7 Verifications! HIPAA Compliant 100% Doctor/Patient Confidentiality

DOWNTOWN SACRAMENTO

2015 Q Street, 95811 • (916) 476-6142 OPEN Monday through Saturday 11am to 6pm • CLOSED SUNDAY valid through 01/31/14

32 | SN&R | 01.02.14

Bradshaw

WILL PRICE MATCH ANY LOCAL CLINIC THAT IS CA MEDICAL BOARD STANDARDS COMPLIANT

- Physician Evaluations

50

- 24/7 Online Verification - Walk-Ins / Appts

Routier

$

- Mon-Sat 10am-6pm

’13

CANN-MEDICAL

- Cultivators Welcome 9719A Folsom Blvd. Sacramento, CA 916-822-5690 • www.cannmedical.org

W E L C O M E

B A C K

T O

T H E

H O M E

O F

T H E

OG KUSH

Northern California’s finest cannabis collective, carrying only the highest quality, tested flowers.

Huge selection of fall harvest greenhouse, outdoor varieties, edibles, and concentrates.

Daily deals, knowledgeable staff, and rated #1 customer service by SNR

new patient deals

BEFORE

|

NEWS

|

Now accepting new patients 21+

FEATURE

STORY

| A R T S & C U L T U R E | A F T E R

| 01.02.14

|

SN&R

|

33

10 OFF

$

MUST PRESENT COUPON. EXPIRES 01.16.14

ANY TOP SHELF 1/8TH* *1/8TH STARTING AT $20 g. STARTING AT $7

NEED ATTENTION?

DONATE 3 CANNED FOOD ITEMS,GET A

FREE JOINT!

LET’S NOT GO TO EXTREMES.

916.231.9934

ADVERTISE WITH

2418 17TH ST SACRAMENTO, CA 95818 | 9AM-9PM DAILY

(916) 498-1234

WINTER SPECIAL

35 TOP SHELF 1/8THS

$

10 TOP SHELF GRAMS

$

Orange Shandy is here.

Donate a item & w canned food e’ll matc h it!

NEW PATIENTS RECEIVE A FREE HALF GRAM OF HASH OR PRE–ROLL WITH MIN DONATION

SUNDAY SPECIAL: 4G 1/8THS (ONE PER PATIENT) NEW PREMIUM TOP SHELF EDIBLES OF ALL KINDS 25 1/8THS SELECT STRAINS | MEDS FOR EVERY BUDGET

$

TINCTURES, HASH, CAPSULES, KIEF, EDIBLES MENTION THIS AD & RECEIVE $5 OFF ANY OF OUR WAX CONCENTRATES

Donate 3 canned food items, get a FREE GIFT

NoW AccePTiNG

neW patients

free gift f o r n e W pa t i e n t s

oUr mediciNe is lAb TesTed for cannaBinoid levels & contaminants like mol d, m i l de W, & p e s t ic i de s f or you r s a f e t y

educated, experienced, kNoWledGeAble sTAff her Bs | concen t r at es topicals | ediBles | clones free services for members: accupressure, yoga, reiki, massage, sound therapy

3015 H street sacramento, cA 916.822.4717

916.646.6340

*Doctor’s recommendation & CA I.D. required

1030 Joellis Way, Sac

34 | SN&R | 01.02.14

Arden Mall

Dr me nfe ld

Joellis Way 160

Blu

Monday–Saturday 10am–7pm Sunday 10am–6pm

Arden Way

80

NeW HoUrs:

9am–9pm everyday

g st Bus-80

GOLDEN HEALTH & WELLNESS

h st

alhambra

veteran, senior, activist, a.d.a. patient discounts

Join us out here Please drink responsibly.

Your Downtown Service Shop

OIL

$60

CHANGE

3175

EMISSIONS DIAGNOSTIC

2699

$

$

(reg $49.75) most cars.

Call for details. Same day.

Fast In/Out

Call for details.

39

39

99

THESE ARE MODELS

916.967.8887 | 4408 San Juan Ave. Suite 2 (Same plaza as round Table)

10am-10pm DAILY | Fair Oaks, 95628

Holiday Special

10AM -10PM DAILY

(916) 726–1166

Bali SPA

F $5STOVIFSIT GRAND OPENING ASIAN MASSAGE 1 Morse Ave

BESgTe!

Showers Available Walk-ins Welcome Gift Certificates Available

BEFORE

|

916.429.7270

1355 Florin Rd, Ste.13 Sacramento, CA 95822

NEWS

|

10% off {with this ad}

free table shower

deep tissue swedish gentle massage reflexology pain treatment

May Spa

3210 Fulton Ave

916.487.8241 / oPen 9AM-10PM Full body massage • Deep tissue • Swedish • Hot stone • Hot oil • Back walking 9am-10pm 7 days a week

30

/30min

Massage Therapy Combination Massage Open Daily 10am - 10:30pm Walk-Ins & Couples Welcome

/60min

11275 Folsom Blvd. #201 • Rancho Cordova

916-851-1118 STORY

This is a model

3110 Arden Way • Sacramento, 95825 (on the side of Office Max, facing Morse Ave) 916.333.4463 • 10am–10pm daily

40

$

you’ll find what you need here! fashion Massage

FEATURE

gr a n d open ing

These are models

massa

These are m odels

Thai • Swedish

13405 Folsom Blvd #140 | Folsom, CA 916.985.9888 | 9:30am – 10pm Daily

Accepting all Credit Cards

exp 1/15/14

This is a model

Arden Way Office Max

the

$

M-F 9am-9pm Sat/Sun 11am-9pm Closed Wednesdays

This is a model

Certified Massage Practitioner Maggie Actual CMT Not a model

PROFESSIONAL & ATTENTIVE

1 HOUR

916-331-6188 ♦ 5412 MADISON AVE, SACRAMENTO

35 30 min 50 1 hour

481-1192 OPEN MON-SAT 8-6 • SUN 9-4

40

7530 Auburn Blvd Ste D • Citrus Heights

$

Call for details Good at Fulton location only

$

Free Table Shower Asian Massage Foot Massage

Chinese Style Massage 7 days a week • 10 am to 9 pm

$

3000 OFF

M AS S AG E FOLSOM

1 hour

FREE

May Blossom Spa

MASSAGE

GRAND OPENING

Table Shower

Asian Spa

ANNA

99

for 1hr

Grand OpeninG

$

www.ardeneconolube.com

$

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN ADVERTISING WITH US, PLEASE CONTACT CLASSIFIEDS AT 916-498-1234 EXT. 1338.

1598

1700 Fulton at Arden Way, Sacramento

Massage

All massage advertisers are required to provide News & Review a current valid business license or somatic establishment permit issued by either the city or county in which they are operating in in order to run a printed advertisement.

Brake Special

$3 addition for multi-grade oil Good at Fulton location only Most vehicles savings of $7

BH SPA

MASSAGE THERAPISTS

1ST VISIT

$

Use your smart phone QR reader for more specials

M-F 7:30 -5:30 Sat 8 -4 sacsmog.com Bring in any competitor’s smog check coupon and we will match it - plus give you an additional $5 OFF

5 OFF

Lube, Oil & Filter

w/repairs at time of service. (reg $120) most cars.

For renewal reg. only.

Call for details.

916 554-6471 2000 16th St Sacramento

$

We offer complete automotive service & repairs

Watt Ave

SMOG CHECK

New Massage Therapist $ OFF w/ ad 5

Flamingo Massage 2264 Fair Oaks Blvd #102 Sacramento 95825 (916) 646-1888

| A R T S & C U L T U R E | A F T E R

A1 Feeling • Swedish Massage • Deep Tissue Massage • Pain Relief • Backwalking • Chinese Therapies • Shower Available • Walk-ins Welcome

• Additional Parking in Rear

Open 7 days a week 10AM-11PM

Coupleses 916.448.5315 & eLlcaodmie!

We accept:

This is a model

Violet Massage 3260 J St #A Sacramento 95816 (916) 442-1888

H e av e n ly m a s s ag e

1730 Santa Clara Dr #3 | Roseville 95661 10am – 10pm Daily | 916.781.2828

w

1116 24th St

Midtown Sacramento, 95816 Between K St. & L St.

| 01.02.14

|

This is a model

SN&R

|

35

full body oil massage private room

SWEDISH • DEEP TISSUE REFLEXOLOGY • SHOWERS STEAM ROOM • GIFT CERTIFICATES WALK-INS WELCOME

showers

All massage advertisers are required to provide News & Review a current valid business license or somatic establishment permit issued by either the city or county in which they are operating in in order to run a printed advertisement.

OPEN MON–SAT 10-9 • SUN 1-8

8075 GREENBACK LANE 916.726.0451

WWW.MASSAGEALWAYSPERFECT.COM

This is a model

Always Perfect Massage

916.393.2268

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN ADVERTISING WITH US, PLEASE CONTACT CLASSIFIEDS AT 916-498-1234 EXT. 1338.

6910 65th St #103 Sacramento 95823 10:30am - 10pm daily

Print ads start at $6/wk. www.newsreview.com or (916) 498-1234 ext. 5 Online Phone hours: M-F 9am-5pm.

All ads post online same day.

Deadlines for print: Line ad deadline: Monday 4pm Adult line ad deadline: Monday 4pm Display ad deadline: Friday 2pm

ads are

STILL

FREE!*

*Nominal fee for adult entertainment.

All advertising is subject to the newspaper’s Standards of Acceptance. Further, the News & Review specifically reserves the right to edit, decline or properly classify any ad. Errors will be rectified by re-publication upon notification. The N&R is not responsible for error after the first publication. The N&R assumes no financial liability for errors or omission of copy. In any event, liability shall not exceed the cost of the space occupied by such an error or omission. The advertiser and not the newspaper assumes full responsibility for the truthful content of their advertising message.

the BeSt MaSSaGe you can Get

new Staff!

Vibrational

5 OFF

$

T a n T r i c

M a s s a g e

• 7 Days a Week 10am–10pm • Sauna & Shower Available • Free Chinese therapies • Reflexology • Deep Tissue • Swedish

Antelope

9aM-9pM Daily $80+

*this is a model

Ann, CMt

Good day Spa 916.395.7712

Sacramento 95823

916.722.7777

7271 55th St. #D

Spa & Body Shampoo private jetted Spa

All Credit Cards Accepted

Good Massage Grand Opening

GRAND G OPENIN

Free

Table Shower

5 OFF

$

w/ad

NOW HIRING

This is a model

This is a model

Swedish Deep Tissue • Healing Integrated Herbal Oil for Pain Relief • Feet Reflexology

NEW YORK MASSAGE

9am - 9pm 7 days/week 1601 Fulton Ave #11, Sacramento, CA 95825 916-475-0096

916.688.9626 • 8876 Vintage Park Dr #103, Sacramento 7 days a week 10am -10pm Access • Mastercard • Visa • American Express • Discover

39

$

99

/hr

This is a model

New Massage Therapist

Free Table Shower Combination Massage Couples Room Avail.

Chinese Cupping

Rainbow Massage Therapy

3000 Arden Way #3, Sacramento (Near Morse Ave) 916-979-1188 • 10am-10pm daily

36 | SN&R | 01.02.14

GREEN JADE MASSAGE THERAPY

holiDAy spEciAl 35 30 miN $ 50 1 houR $

Exp 1/15/14

Accupressure Deep Tissue sweDish

2860 Florin road Sacramento 95822 daily 9am-9pm 916.231.9498

EARN $500 A DAY Airbrush & Media Makeup Artists For: Ads - TV - Fashion.

Train & Build Portfolio in 1 week. Lower Tuition for 2013. www.AwardMakeupSchool.com (AAN CAN) $1,000 WEEKLY!!

MAILING BROCHURES From Home. Helping home workers since 2001.

Genuine Opportunity.

No Experience required.

Start Immediately www.mailingmembers.com (AAN CAN) Activists wanted ACTORS, MUSICIANS, ARTISTS, STUDENTS. Circulating petitions is a wellpaid way to have freedom to choose where and when you work, enjoy frequent pay and be involved in the important issues that affect California.

Flexible hours, part time, full time, paid twice weekly. For details call 916-768-4723 Help Wanted! make extra money in our free ever popular homemailer program, includes valuable guidebook! Start immediately! Genuine!

1-888-292-1120 www.easywork-from home.com (AAN CAN) Real Stocks www.realstocks.net Invest in stocks. A real business opportunity where you can increase income and get paid weekly.

SPECIAL 1/1 2/2 Nice, CH&A, patios, pool & laundry. 4735 College Oak www.Sacramento-Rentals.com 916-692-0246 $45-$795 ALL AREAS ROOMMATES.COM Browse hundreds of online listings with photos and maps.

Find your roommate with a click of the mouse! Visit: http://www.Roommates.com.

(AAN CAN)

Oriental Magic Hands

Jason Shimomura CMT 601-1292 (9am-9pm daily)

HOLIDAY MASSAGE

Enjoy the holidays.

Bring in the season with a warm sauna & a relaxing massage. $25/hr 10-10 by appt only

916-372-7334 916-599-9588

The Cabin

Get a Great Massage!

Sauna & Spa Citrus Heights

916-729-0103 $40 1-hour

Chinese full body massage. Natomas area (916-706-4890) appt only.

Vibrational Massage Private 29-Jet Spa Ann 916-722-7777 CMT Smooth Jazz Band seeks comedian to join act. Be professional & bring your funny.

Upright bass, the door is still open. 916-362-1983 Learn Sax or Clairnet from experienced professional player and CA credential teacher.

Positive no-pressure method.

Any age, any level. Horn rental avail. 530-889-2310.

more music online

www.newsreview.com

Men’s Lifestyle Medications FDA Approved USA Pharmacies. Remote TeleMedicine Physician. Safe.

Secure. Discreet. Calls Taken 7 days per week. Call ViaMedic: 888-786-0945 Trusted Since 1998 (AAN CAN) VIAGRA 100MG 40 pills+/4 free, only $99.00.

Save Big Now, Discreet shipping. Call 1-800-374-2619 Today! (AAN CAN)

Notice of caution to our Readers!

Whenever doing business by telephone or email proceed with caution when cash or credit is required in advance of services.

Vernon’s Computers Sales & Service. Repairs, upgrades, virus removal, etc. 24/7, low prices. 916-339-3738

MEET GAY & BI LOCALS Browse Ads & Reply FREE! 916-340-1414, CODE 2626, 18+ FREE PARTYLINE! 1-712-432-7968 18+ Normal LD Applies FIND LOVE LOCALLY ON LAVALIFE! Instant live phone connections with local women and men!

Try it FREE! 18+ 916-374-8333 www.lavalifevoice.com Meet hot women or men.

Meet singles in your local area.

Join the hottest dateline. Get a Free Trial Membership.

Call now RedHot Dateline 1-888-927-2504 (AAN CAN)

Cash for Cars Same day free pick up. Cash on the spot. 916-992-5447 CASH FOR CARS: Any Car/Truck.

Running or Not! Top Dollar Paid. We Come To You! Call For Instant Offer: 1-888-420-3808 www.cash4car.com (AAN CAN)

adult ESCORTS *Champagne Entertainment* Escorts, Exotic Dancers, Massage, Bachelor Parties.

Now Hiring. Call Champagne 916-764-4374

SENSUAL TOUCH FULL BODY MASSAGE Come spend some time with a petite sensual blonde in my serene discreet home.

Convenient location.

Ask for Specials 916-812-5330 *IN THE MOOD* Hot Oil Desires Pleasurable & Irresistible Massage. Softest hands ever.

Strawberry blonde 33 yr old, 5’6” 135 lbs, slender, caucasian, very pretty CMT. 4pm-10pm Incall/Outcall Bailey 916-910-8907 by appt. Mon-Fri Be touched!

She puts the Mmm in Sensual Massage. Upper thigh massage included. Daily/Nightly appts until 3am 916-256-7093 New 2014 Licensed CMT aLet me make yours come true. come enjoy a therapeutic / sensual massage in an upscale location. 4-hand massage avail. Loc Natomas. Ask for Chyna 916-678-9926 Absolute Deluxe Massage Red Crystal Red Lace Massage. $70 for 2 hours, Incall also, outcalls always. Great hands with a great girl.

Marvelous lemon or plain oils.

In call special $38. Call til late 916-256-7093

PHONE ENTERTAINMENT Private Connections Try it free!

1-708-613-2101 Normal LD Applies 18+

YOU’RE WELCOME, NATURE.

MASSAGE THERAPISTS

with a nice massuese

CALL QUEST & MEET SOMEONE TONIGHT! Connect with more than 5,000 local men and women. FREE trial! 18+ 916-282-2300 530-760-1010 1-888-257-5757

RECYCLE THIS PAPER.

$10 OFF

lily massage Enjoy your relaxing massage

Real hook ups, real fast.

GET ON TO GET OFF Try For Free

www.newsreview.com

916-480-6210

TRY FOR More local numbers: 1.800.777.8000 Ahora en Español /18+ The #1 social network for men who like men

Free

916.480.6227 Local Numbers: 1.800.926.6000 Ahora en Español 18+

www.livelinks.com

$5 off admission with coupon

valid after 6pm. not valid with other discounts or specials.

Sunday: check in on facebook for free admission Monday: military monday - $5 admission with military id Tuesday: naughty couple tuesday - 2 for 1 admission for couples Wednesday: totally naked retro party 5809 auburn Blvd 916.344.8118

www.cityLimitsonline.com facebook.com/citylimitsshowgirls

pure gold showgirls jessa rhodes

AppEARS jan 10th & 11th call for showtimes

STORE OPEN 10am Club OPEN 5Pm

Totally NUDE

NOW HIRING DANCERS

LONGEST

TABLE DANCE SONGS

IN TOWN!

sun nfl 135" hdtv

2014 mega sale

in store savings!

W/AD

dvds as

GROUP RATES

low as

Coco

Massage

Elk Grove & South Sacramento 916.681.5573 BEFORE

|

NEWS

|

FEATURE

STORY

$5 OFF DAILY

2

$

69

5 pack GLASS dvds pIpES $ 69

9.69 6

$

w/coupon Reg. $12.69 AD EXps 01-31-14. 1 pEr customEr

EXp 01-31-14

3000 SUNRISE BLVD. #2 RANCHO CORDOVA, CA

916.631.3520

CALL IN ADVANCE FOR BACHELOR B-DAY, WEDDINGS, DIVORCE, GRAD PARTIES

NEW DANCERS

N0 STAGE FEES 1 MONTH!!

Must present ad to receive discounts. Discounts may be discontinued without prior notice.

851 Richards Blvd, Downtown Sac // 916.447.4475 Open 365 days per yr // Sun-Thu 3pm-3am // Fri-Sat 3pm-4am Convenient location: 5 mins from SLEEP TRAIN ARENA, SACRAMENTO 10 mins from sac international airport, facebook.com/clubfantasysac // www.gentlemensclubfantasy.com 5–10 mins from all major downtown hotels

| A R T S & C U L T U R E | A F T E R

| 01.02.14

|

SN&R

|

37

WARNING HOT GUYS! Sacramento

916.340.1414 Davis

www.Goldclubcenterfolds.com

lunch specials wed Jan 1st – Sat Jan 4th

great food

RECYCLE

THIS PAPER.

riley evans over 280 xxx Movies

(530 530 53 30) 760.1011 760 76 60.1011 0..10 0 1011 011 1

MEET HOT LOCAL MEN!

916.480.6200

USE FREE

CODE

2579

FREE to listen & reply to ads!

FREE CODE :

mbers: More Local Nu 666 1.800.700.6

ww

ine.com 18+ w.redhotdatel

Sacramento News & Review For other local numbers call:

1-888-MegaMates

TM

24/7 Customer Care 1(888) 634.2628 18+ ©2013 PC LLC 2579

Young, Hot & Beautiful Active since 2006 wed10pM, 12:30aM frinoon, 9:30, 11:30, 1:30am thurs 10pM 12:30aM sat 9:30, 11:30,1:30am

store signing fri & sat 6-8pM aMateur contest/auditions every monday

9:30 pM - $450.00 CaSh prize

friendly attractive dancers hired daily call 858-0444 for sign up info

free adMit w/ad $5.00 value

valid anytime with drink purchase

free lunch fridays

anythinG on the menu.

11:30am – 2:30pm. with paid cover.

birthdays:

free admission, drinks & vip + – 5 dayS oF Birthday

we Buy uSed adult dvdS Bachelor / divorce partieS 916.484.4774 Full Service reStaurant open 7 dayS a weeK

SportS action on our Giant Screen tv

11363 Folsom Blvd, rancho cordova (Between Sunrise & hazel)

858-0444

M-Th 11:30-3 • Fri 11:30-4 • Sat 12-4 • Sun 3-3 Gold club centerfolds is a non-alcohol nightclub featuring all-nude entertainment. adults over 18 only.

38 | SN&R | 01.02.14

GAY & Bi LOCALS

Sacramento

(916) 340.1414 For other numbers call:

1-888MegaMates

TM

www.MegaMatesMen.com

FREE

USE FREE

CODE

2579

GAY & Bi LOCALS

Sacramento

(916) 340.1414 For other numbers call:

1-888MegaMates

TM

24/7 Friendly Customer Care 1(888) 634-2628 18+ ©2013 PC LLC

TRY FOR

www.MegaMatesMen.com

YOU’RE WELCOME, NATURE.

24/7 Friendly Customer Care 1(888) 634-2628 18+ ©2013 PC LLC

Give in to yours! wildest fantasie

SACRAMENTO’s HOT CHAT The easy way FREE IAL to meet sexy TR singles in your LOCAL area!

1-916-253-2788 Bi Curious?

All Male Action

1-916-253-2789

www.LocalHotChat.com 18+ Only

by Raheem F. hOsseini

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Deep

bronzes and smoky cinnamons and dark chocolates will be your lucky colors in 2014. Mellow mahoganies and resonant russets will work well for you, too. They will all be part of life’s conspiracy to get you to slow down, deepen your perspective and slip into the sweetest groove ever. In this spirit, I urge you to nestle and cuddle and caress more than usual in the coming months. If you aren’t totally clear on where home is, either in the external world or inside your heart, devote yourself to finding it. Hone your emotional intelligence. Explore your roots. On a regular basis, remember your reasons for loving life. Stay in close touch with the sources that feed your wild soul.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): For years,

French painter Édouard Manet and French poet Stéphane Mallarmé hung out with each other every day. Mallarmé referred to their relationship as “the most complete friendship.” They influenced each other to become better artists and human beings. I’m guessing that in the coming months, Taurus, you’ll thrive on that kind of stimulating companionship. Having such regular contact with a like-minded ally might even be an important factor in ripening your intelligence. At the very least, I predict that soulful friendship will be a crucial theme in 2014. You will attract blessings and generate luck for yourself by deepening your ability to cultivate synergistic bonds.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): St. Peter’s

Basilica is a very old church in Vatican City. It contains a life-size bronze statue of St. Peter that is at least 700 years old.

Over the centuries, countless visitors have paid their respects by kissing and touching the feet of the idol. The metal composing the right foot has been so thoroughly worn down by these gestures that the individual toes have disappeared, leaving a smooth surface. You will have a similar kind of power in 2014, Gemini. Little by little, with your steady affection and relentless devotion, you can transform what’s rigid and hard.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Big rivers

don’t travel in straight lines. Their paths are curvy and complicated, with periodic turns and bends. In some places, they flow faster, and in others, they’re slower. Their depth and width may vary along the way, too. Your own destiny is like one of those big rivers, Cancerian. In some years, it meanders for long stretches, slowing down as it wanders along a crooked course. It may even get shallower and narrower for a while. But I expect that in 2014, you will be moving more rapidly than usual. You will be traveling a more direct route, and you will be both wide and deep.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “In games there

are rules,” writes science-fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson, “but in life the rules keep changing.” This is always true, of course, but I think it will be an especially poignant truth for you between now and your next birthday. During the coming months, you may sometimes feel as if every last law and formula and corollary is mutating. In some cases, the new rules coming into play will be so different from the old rules you’ve been used to, they may at first be hard to figure out.

But now here’s the happy ending: It may take a while, but you will eventually see that these new rules have an unexpected logic and beauty that will serve your future well.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I predict that you will commit no major acts of selfsabotage in 2014. Congrats! I also foresee that you will be exceptionally careful not to hurt or damage yourself. Hooray!

More good news: You won’t be as critical of yourself as you have sometimes been in the past. The judgmental little voice in the back of your head won’t be nearly as active. Yay! Even your negative emotions will diminish in frequency and intensity.

Hallelujah! Whoopee! Abracadabra!

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): The citizens of Iceland love literature, but many are not content to simply read. One out of every 10 Icelanders writes and publishes a book at sometime in his or her life. I know it’s unrealistic, but I would love to see at least

BEFORE

|

NEWS

bRezsny

one in 10 of all my Libra readers do the same in 2014. I think you’re ready to make a big statement—to express yourself in a more complete and dramatic way than ever before. If you’re not ready to write a book, I hope you will attempt an equivalent accomplishment.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): I’m hoping

you will find a new teacher or two in 2014, maybe even a mentor. Not a guru who tells you what to do. Not an exploitative “expert” who claims to know what’s right for you or a charismatic narcissist who collects adoration. What I wish for you, Scorpio, is that you will connect with wise and humble sources of inspiration, with lifelong learners who listen well and stimulate you to ask good questions, with curious guides who open your eyes to resources you don’t realize you need. In the coming months, you are primed to launch a quest that will keep you busy and excited for years; I’d love to see you get excellent help in framing that quest.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

In 2014, it’s possible you will be given a cabbage farm or a petting zoo or some bequest that’s not exactly in close alignment with your life’s purpose. But it’s more likely that the legacies and dispensations you receive will be quite useful.

The general trend is that allies will make available to you a steady flow of useful things. Your ability to attract what you need will be high. In the coming months, I may even have good reason to name you an honorary Scorpio. You might match those Great Manipulators’ proficiency at extracting the essence of what you want from every situation.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

Would you be interested in a motto that will help set the tone for you in 2014? I’ve got a suggestion that’s in alignment with the astrological omens. It’s from a poem

by Margaret Atwood. Try saying this and see if it works for you: “Last year I abstained / this year I devour / without guilt / which is also an art.” If you choose to make this affirmation your own, be sure you don’t forget about the fact that devouring without guilt is an art—a skill that requires craft and sensitivity. You can’t afford to get blindly instinctual and greedy in 2014; you shouldn’t compulsively overcompensate for 2013’s deprivations.

Be cagey and discerning as you satisfy your voracious hunger.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The

coming months will be a good time to meditate on the concepts of happy accidents and benevolent trouble. Go ahead and throw constructive mischief into the mix, too, and maybe even a dose of graceful chaos. Are you game for playing around with so much paradox? Are you willing to entertain the possibility that fate has generous plans for you that are too unexpected to anticipate? There’s only one requirement that you have to meet in order to receive your odd gifts in the spirit in which they’ll be offered: You’ve got to be open-minded, eager to learn and flexible.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): I think we

humans need some new emotions. It’s true that old standards like sadness, anger, jealousy and fear are as popular as ever. But I would personally love to be able to choose from a greater variety, especially if at least 51 percent of the new crop of emotions were positive or inspiring. Now it so happens that in 2014 you Pisceans will be primed to be pioneers.

Your emotional intelligence should be operating at peak levels. Your imagination will be even more fertile than usual. So how about it? Are you ready to generate revolutionary innovations in the art of feeling unique and interesting feelings?

To get started, consider these: 1. amused reverence, 2. poignant excitement, 3. tricky sincerity, 4. boisterous empathy.

you can call Rob brezsny for your expanded Weekly horoscope: (900) 950-7700. $1.99 per minute. Must be 18+. touchtone phone required. customer service (612) 373-9785. and don’t forget to check out Rob’s website at www.realastrology.com.

|

F E AT U R E

Photo by steven chea

by ROb

For the week of January 2, 2014

STORY

Occupy niche awesomeness Disability-rights activist, karaoke enthusiast, budding improv performer—Russell Rawlings spends his days in Sacramento flying by the seat of his pants. That may sound insensitive for a wheelchair-bound man who’s lived with cerebral palsy his entire life, but the disarmingly friendly Rawlings isn’t easily wounded. The 36-yearold Texas native is the president of

Disability Organizing Group For Initiating Total Equality—or DOGFITE—a selfdescribed “consumer-run advocacy group” that confronts systemic disability issues across the greater Sacramento Valley. Rawlings also juggles a crazy-busy social calendar and wears his passions on his sleeve, sometimes literally. Encasing his forearm, for instance, is a tattooed illustration of the “green guy” from the cover of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. “I do suppose I’ve just given away that I am a sci-fi nerd and a sucker for literary tattoos,” he said.

“Whoops.” Rawlings paused just long enough to share his thoughts on Occupy Wall Street, improv comedy and Sacramento’s bike lanes.

Can you talk a bit about your disability?

I have cerebral palsy—the sexiest of the palsies, as per comedian Josh Blue—so, I guess you could say that I have brain damage. Cerebral-cortex damage, to be specific. When I was born, one of my lungs failed to inflate, so birth trauma is likely the culprit. In 1977, these types of things were much harder to detect. Nothing was discernibly wrong until I reached the age of ambulation and didn’t quite get the hang of it.

How easy is it for you to navigate downtown?

Are there shortcuts and passageways only you know about?

The grid is amazingly accessible, honestly.

It’s funny, but when I lived in Midtown, I never gave thought to shortcuts and passageways, but now that I’m living in Oak Park, I discovered a whole new world: bike lanes. Sidewalks can be unpredictably uneven, but ever since bike lanes started popping up everywhere, I’ve found it makes trips faster and smoother.

Your friends say you’re quite the man about town. Do you consider yourself a social butterfly?

I blame my wildly varied interests for this one. Karaoke and a preclusion for spending far too much time in coffee shops are the primary activities to blame, but I do simply enjoy trying to find niche awesomeness anywhere it is to be found. Truthfully, I’m probably more akin to a social caterpillar—one of the extremely funky-colored ones that everyone remembers seeing. |

A RT S & C U LT U R E

What’s your go-to karaoke song?

Last time you got arrested?

The Dead Milkmen’s “Punk Rock Girl” because … it’s something I can belt over crowd noise and manage to pull off at various levels of intoxication. It’s both obscure and identifiable, something I enjoy.

My last arrest was December 8, 2011, for violating Sacramento City Code 12.72.090: “Remaining or loitering in parks during certain hours prohibited.” All of these charges were dismissed in June 2012.

You also dabble in comedy. How’d that start?

What’s the best way to be taken into police custody?

As of last summer, this is true. I’ve been taking improv classes at the [Sacramento] Comedy Spot, and I’ve enjoyed the hell out of it. It’s a terrific community, and [owner] Brian Crall has designed the most wheelchairaccessible stage I have ever seen.

What do you talk about onstage?

Well, it’s improv, so anything and everything is fair game—in other words, dick and fart jokes. I’m beginning to spend a fair amount of time thinking of ways to be more physical with the chair on a stage that’s just a few feet deep.

You’re also a pretty visible activist who’s been arrested a few times. Just what are you rebelling against?

I was, like many, quite taken with the energy of the Occupy Wall Street movement. While I’ve certainly toned down my visible activism, I’m still looking for ways to challenge and push at the capitalistic status quo. I really wouldn’t consider myself rebellious, but rather a conscious agitator.

I do believe in incremental change through education.

|

AFTER

|

I wouldn’t know! But I can tell you that the best way to avoid being taken into custody is to require [the use of] a large mobility device. I can’t advise testing this theory extensively, but it seems to work quite well when violating silly ordinances that prevent the public from using public space.

You’re also a member of the Boards and Commissions Leadership Institute, which aims for more diversity in politics. Do you have political aspirations?

More specifically, the BCLI promotes diversity in boards and commissions. I personally don’t think of the average board member or commissioner as a politician, but I suppose there are definitely some that are. I don’t believe that I have political aspirations per se, but I do have a very strong desire to help steer and direct public policy toward healthy, smart decisions that give an equitable voice to all members of the community. ... If a political career is the result, it will only be in pursuit of that goal. Ω For more information on Disability organizing Group For Initiating total equality, or DoGFIte for short, visit www.ril-sacramento.org.

01.02.14

|

SN&R

|

39