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Will Sacramento’s coolest neighborhood become the next Roseville?

Or can its indie spirit survive the latest gentrification wave?

Welcome to

IDTOWN

by N I C K M I L L E R

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Sacramento’S newS & entertainment weekly

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Volume 26, iSSue 35

37

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thurSday, december 18, 2014

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December 18, 2014 | vol. 26, issue 35

Midtown warming This week’s cover story is pretty damn fair. Especially considering that I wrote it, and I definitely had to work hard to suppress my complete and total lack of impartiality when it comes to anything Midtown.

Because hell yes I have an opinion!

Midtown is my home. I like it the way it is. I want Midtown to stay Peter Pan and never friggin’ grow up. I embrace Midtown’s small-town-in-abig-city feel. I’ve lived in L.A., Europe, wherever, but Sacto is my speed. It’s like that story with the bears and the porridge. Just. Damn. Right.

And so the D-word—density— and the prospect of another 20,000 people coming to the urban core invoke all sorts of anxiety.

Yet I’m not oblivious to Midtown’s needs. I get that density has to happen. And not just to support local businesses, as most argue in this week’s cover story (page 16), but also because of that whole climatechange thing. We need people to live in central cities and on transit corridors—not in Lincoln or El Dorado Hills—if we’re going to make a meaningful dent in reducing carbon emissions.

But 50,000 people on the grid!

Will we recognize little ol’ Midtown in 10 years?

Two blocks from my apartment will be a new Whole Foods Market.

That company itself doesn’t bother me all that much—either shop there or don’t—but I’ve seen how Whole Foods changed San Francisco’s neighborhoods. I’ve seen what a few new lofts and shops and some streetscape has done to S.F.’s Divisadero ’hood. Is that what we want for Midtown?

Perhaps I’m just too old school.

But I see those “Keep Midtown Janky” bumper stickers and hope that we can get dense and keep a little jank in our hearts, too.

10

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59 Creative Director Priscilla Garcia Art Director Hayley Doshay Junior Art Director Brian Breneman Production Coordinator Skyler Smith Designers Melissa Bernard, Brad Coates, Kyle Shine Contributing Photographers Lisa Baetz, Steven Chea, Wes Davis, Taras Garcia, Bobby Mull, Shoka, Darin Smith

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.

Chief Marketing Officer Rick Brown Advertising Manager Corey Gerhard Senior Advertising Consultants Rosemarie Messina, Joy Webber Advertising Consultants Joseph Barcelon, Meghan Bingen, Lee Craft, Teri Gorman, Dusty Hamilton, Dave Nettles, Matt Richter, Lee Roberts, John Saltnes, Julie Sherry, Kelsi White Senior Inside Sales Consultant Olla Ubay Ad Services Specialist Jovi Radtke Director of Et Cetera Will Niespodzinski Custom Publications Editor Michelle Carl

Co-editors Rachel Leibrock, Nick Miller Staff Writers Janelle Bitker, Raheem F. Hosseini Assistant Editor Anthony Siino Entertainment Editor Jonathan Mendick Editorial Coordinator Becca Costello Contributing Editor Cosmo Garvin Editor-at-large Melinda Welsh Contributors Ngaio Bealum, Daniel Barnes, Rob Brezsny, Jim Carnes, Cody Drabble, Deena Drewis, Joey Garcia, Blake Gillespie, Becky Grunewald, Lovelle Harris, Jeff Hudson, Jim Lane, Garrett McCord, Kel Munger, Kate Paloy, Jessica

—Nick Miller

OPINION + Letters GREENLIGHT SCOREKEEPER + bites NEWS FEATuRE STORy ARTS&CuLTuRE NIGHT&DAy DISH STAGE FILM MuSIC + sound Advice ASK JOEy THE 420 15 MINuTES COVER ILLUSTRATION BY HAYLEY DOSHAY

34 Rine, Patti Roberts, Ann Martin Rolke, Steph Rodriguez, Shoka

nic kam@ ne ws r ev i ew . com

STREETALK

05 06 09 10 13 16 20 22 23 26 34 36 45 47 59

Custom Publications Managing Editor Shannon Springmeyer Custom Publications Writer/Copy Editor Mike Blount Custom Publications Writer Brittany Wesely Executive Coordinator Jessica Takehara Directors of First Impressions Courtney DeShields, Matt Kjar Distribution Director Greg Erwin Distribution Services Assistant Larry Schubert Distribution Drivers Mansour Aghdam, 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, Lolu Sholotan President/CEO Jeff vonKaenel Chief Operations Officer Deborah Redmond Human Resources Manager Tanja Poley Business Manager Grant Rosenquist Accounting Specialist Nicole Jackson Accounts Receivable Specialist Kortnee Angel Sweetdeals Coordinator Alicia Brimhall Nuts & Bolts Ninja Christina Wukmir Lead Technology Synthesist Jonathan Schultz

Senior Support Tech Joe Kakacek Developer John Bisignano System Support Specialist Kalin Jenkins 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.

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“It has no depth to it. It is literally just about jingling bells.”

Asked at the intersection of 65th Street and Folsom Boulevard:

What is your least favorite Christmas carol?

Jennifer Davalos

Amiya Javdekar

Kathryn Jelinek

student

waitress

“Santa Baby.” Probably because my sister used to sing it all the time. It is so annoying, [the singer’s] voice is so high-pitched and nasally. I haven’t heard it in a while thankfully, but I’m not looking forward to hearing it this holiday.

Zach Houseworth

student

“Jingle Bells” because it is so obnoxious and repetitive. It has no depth to it. It is literally just about jingling bells, while other songs are about family, giving and other important aspects of the holiday season.

Catherine Robertson

geologist

I actually like Christmas songs because it introduces me to the culture in the U.S. Normally I’m surrounded

by Indian culture, but until I moved here, I wasn’t really exposed ... so this is my first time seeing this.

The songs get you really into the spirit here.

Liane Phe

student

I actually do like Christmas songs, especially the classics, but when I hear it on the radio I can’t help but change the station. Sometimes it is too much. What I don’t like are all of the Mariah Carey songs. You hear them way too much at the store, at friends’ houses, everywhere.

student

We all had to be a part of a holiday choir [in elementary school] and there was one song in particular that I could not stand called “The Holly and the Ivy.” It was terrible.

You probably haven’t heard of it. Just look it up and you will see what I mean.

Eventually, I would just sing the first line and stop.

I freaking love Christmas music so much there is no song I don’t like! Every song has meaning and it brings my family together.

When a song comes on, even if it is a silly one, we all stop what we’re doing and just belt it out. My favorite song of all time would have to be “Home for Christmas” by ’NSYNC.

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Torture is never patriotic It was worse than we knew.

A number of years ago, we decried the Central Intelligence Agency’s and Department of Justice’s use of waterboarding and other so-called forms of “enhanced interrogation” as sadistic frauds, attempts to extract useful information that had been proven unreliable as long ago as the witchcraft trials of the 17th century, when Jesuit priest Friedrich Spee wrote that he could, with the application of pain, produce confessions of witchcraft from devout priests.

Torture doesn’t work. It’s never worked.

And the practice of torture by its practitioners in CIA “black sites” was even worse than we knew.

The release of a report by the Senate Intelligence Committee last week tells us that everything we feared was true, and more.

Yet we still have those who insist that torture was justified, that American lives were saved by inflicting brutality on others.

We can only suspect that those defenders have a serious case of “Jack Bauer Syndrome,” a dangerous disease of perception caused by the inability to distinguish between fact and fantasy. In their fantasy world life is like the Our current show 24, a place where torturing people produces information that example is one would otherwise be unavailable that ought to and saves us all from a terrorist attack. shame us all.

In fact, torture produces extremely unreliable or completely fabricated information, because the simple reality is that people who are being tortured—no matter who they are—will say anything to make it stop.

This is not the first time that the CIA has been found to be far exceeding the boundaries set by the Constitution and our collective national morality.

Reports from the Church Committee in the mid-1970s resulted in the revelation that the CIA had been involved in attempts to assassinate foreign leaders and subvert foreign governments and led to a number of reforms.

Apparently, those reforms, as well as the establishment of the Senate Intelligence Oversight Committee, have not been enough.

Instead, we have a president who, in the same speech, decries the actions of CIA operatives while at the same time referring to them as “American patriots.”

Let’s be clear: There is nothing patriotic about torture. It is a tactical failure and an ethical nightmare. It has no place in democracy. It makes every situation worse.

President Barack Obama and Congress—following the example set in the speeches last week by Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Sen. John McCain—need to be completely clear that, going forward, torture will not be tolerated. The CIA must be held accountable for actions that have not only damaged America’s standing in the world, but may directly lead to violence against Americans in retaliation for the treatment of prisoners and detainees.

Revealing and punishing torture committed by American officials is not the problem. The problem is allowing it to happen at all. That’s got to stop. We must lead by example, and our current example is one that ought to shame us all. Ω

Email your letters to sactoletters@newsreview.com.

Nice beans

Insane jihad against car traffic

Re “Versatile bastards” by Shoka (SN&R The V Word, December 11): I just wanted to let Shoka know that in my family, we have been eating horse beans for ages. letteR of Super favorite the week snack. You can also find them at the Asian food market on 13th Street and Broadway. We enjoy your column.

John Orrin Gann

s acr am en t o

Crusty issues Re “The pizza issue” by Janelle Bitker and Nick Miller (SN&R Feature Story, December 4): These pizza descriptions all sound really yummy, except for one thing: They are all white-flour bread! Why are they serving that white pasty stuff when they could be serving all those luscious fixings atop a nutty, chewy brown crust?

So close and yet so far ...

Muriel Strand Sacramento

Re “More than one way” by Alastair Bland (SN&R News, November 27): The notion of removing free-flowing, one-way streets in downtown and Midtown and turning them into twoway, permanent gridlock is utter folly.

K Street “works” as a slowed-down street only because the through traffic uses J Street eastbound and L Street westbound instead. If J and L streets were given the same K Street treatment, there would be a hopeless traffic mess in downtown and Midtown.

The changing of formerly one-way streets will be disastrous, and not only because of the reality that downtown is a job center drawing commuters from elsewhere. It will get worse than that. As more residential units are built in the central city, there will be much more traffic coming. Even if the residents of downtown and Midtown entirely walk or ride bicycles (or unicycles?), they will still drive elsewhere often.

And let us mention the environment, which is the most prevalent excuse we have for this insane jihad on vehicle traffic.

Gridlocked, stop-sign-to-stop-sign automobiles create twice the NOx contaminants and six times the carbon contaminants per mile as those operating at peak efficiency. Think about that.

Simply adding more stoplights, metered to a 25 to 30 mph pace in order to punish speeders would be better for air quality than having the cars creep from stop sign to stop sign on J Street and other major streets like it.

Nicholas Byram Antelope

oNliNe buzz

Everyone needs it

On the new Kings hOtel/Office tOwer: Trying to reserve judgement on all this - it is SO much easier to be an architecture critic than an architect Owen T. Jones

v ia fa c e b o o k It looks like someone grabbed the various buildings from different eras Sac State and haphazardly stacked them on each other.

David Olmos

Re “Kids, not criminals” (SN&R Editorial, December 11): We also need better mental-health treatment for all. As the debate over the California voter-approved mentalhealth initiative rages on, we also need to have a discussion on a national mental-health bill to improve our mental-health system overall.

Mark Rodriguez Sacramento

v ia fa c e b o o k I guess they are going to make good use of the packing crates the new arena will arrive in.

Online Buzz contributions are not edited for grammar, spelling or clarity.

Michael Iredale

v ia fa c e b o o k If Sacramento wants to be considered its own unique city, it needs its own STYLE @SacNewsReview and this building has none!

Wel Sed

v ia fa c e b o o k Where else can you get an arena & hotel for $225 million? Bargain Arturo Rodriguez

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BEFORE

C a l i f o r n i a ’ s l a r g e s t o u t d o o r s p o r t i n g & t r a v e l s h o w r e t u r n s t o s a C r a m e n t o

January 8 – 11 at Cal Expo w w w. n e w s r e v i e w. c o m

I like teachers. While many people say they like teachers, I take it a step further. I’m willing to have my taxes raised so that more money can go for teachers’ salaries and for better school programs. I am ashamed that California’s per-student expenditure is around 25 percent less than the national average.

I’m in favor of raising taxes to support teachers.

But I cannot support the Sacramento City Teachers Association filing an unfair-labor-practices claim against the Sacramento City Unified School District for changing their health-insurance carrier.

The union says the school district’s unilateral decil

by Jeff VonKaene sion to switch health-care providers breaches its contract.

The district says it will save between $6 million to j ef f v @ ne wsreview.c om $8 million a year by having employees switch from HealthNet to a comparable plan at either Western Health Advantage or Sutter.

According to Sacramento City Unified School District Chief Communication Officer Gabe Ross, “The renewal rate for a family plan with HealthNet would have been $2,234 per month per employee. The average family plan rate for either Western Health Advantage or Sutter Plus is $1,810 per month per employee. That’s a $500-per-month difference. Employees on the Kaiser Plan would not be impacted by the change.”

The district says these alterThe district says it nate plans would have provided the same coverage. I asked will save between Sacramento City Teachers’ six and eight million Association President Nikki Milevsky how the members dollars a year by having would be impacted. She said employees switch … to a that some people would “have to change their health-care providcomparable plan. ers, get new referrals, things like that. Those who are out of the area or have dependents out of the area are facing situations where [they] will not have coverage except for emergencies.”

Ross says this is not true. He claims that “nobody will lose coverage.” He says that out-of-the-area dependents will continue to be covered as before.

I pointed out to Milevsky that in the private sector, companies change providers all the time to save money without cutting benefits. She did not seem to care. In her mind, this was a contract violation, and it did not matter how much the district could save.

Jeff vonKaenel Frankly, I do not understand this position. If the district is the president, overpays for insurance, then there is less money for wages CEO and and benefits. According to Ross, just under 90 percent of the majority owner of the News & Review district’s unrestricted general fund goes to salary and benefits.

The union should be supportive of the district’s efforts to newspapers in Sacramento, lower health-insurance costs so that more money could go to Chico and Reno. improve wages and benefits or to enhance other programs. I doubt that many individuals would be willing to pay an additional $6,000 a year out of their own pocket to keep HealthNet over Sutter or Western Health. Nor should the district.

The union’s “us against the world” mentality is ridiculous and counterproductive. The union should support the district’s efforts, rather than filing lawsuits.

I support teachers. I want to increase school funding. But I can’t support wasting taxpayers’ money. Ω

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Go home, Malone

Calm the hella down

Sacramento Kings brass dumped Coach  Michel Malone on Sunday night. They  didn’t tell their star center, DeMarcus  Cousins, in person about the firing  (he learned on Twitter). Owner  Vivek Ranadive didn’t make himself  available to the media to discuss why  this happened (since, you know, the  Kings were playing pretty damn well  under Malone, and Ranadive himself  had asked fans to be patient with the  blossoming team). So much for that.  Same. Old. Kings.

Never forget “Hella Storm�— and how local media freaked  the flip out just because some  meteorologist said, “Hey, big  storm, biggest in years,� which  prompted some some producer  to scramble, “All hands on   deck, storm of the millennium!�  And then perfectly good  reporters like Joe KCRA or  whomever had to watch Arcade  Creek for 10 hours. That’s some  breaking news!

-6

- 2,014 Kingly move

Four Shipping Container Seasons?

The Sacramento Kings said that, as part of the  arena deal, they’d build ancillary development,  to the tune of $500 million. Well, so far they’re  not building what downtown needs—new  housing—but last week they released renderings  of a $250 million hotel/office project, which will  go up at J and Fifth streets. Scorekeeper will  admit that we air ball when it comes to modernarchitecture knowledge. But doesn’t the new  building look like shipping containers stacked  atop each other?

even

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Big ups to the  Sacramento Kings  players for sporting   “I Can’t Breathe� T-shirts  during last Thursday’s  home game against the  Houston Rockets (which  just so happened to be  aired on national cable  TV). And, also, huzzahs  to Mayor Kevin Johnson  for taking his picture  with Kings guard Ben  McLemore, while he  was wearing a shirt,  then Tweeting out a  strong statement to his  followers. 

+ 916 Bee serious Anyone else see the  irony in Marcos Breton  writing an anti-bullying  column? That is all.

- 21

Good activism matters Props to the “California Campaign to End Police Terror� protesters in Sacramento  on Saturday, who marched all over downtown, performed a die-in protest  outside The Nutcracker performance, and chalked up 20th Street near the  MARRS building with “I Can’t Breathe� and other sayings. Keep it up!

+ 75

P R A H S look

More to bite Remembering the overlooked when it comes to classrooms, the R Street corridor Sacramento city school-board elections this fall were unusually competitive, basically a contest between a good-old-boy group of incumbents and a field of candidates pushing for more open, democratic governance of city schools.

Mostly, the good old boys won. So it goes. The exception was East Sacramento’s Area 2 school-board seat, where challenger ArvIn G Ellen Cochrane upset incumbent O SM CO by Jeff Cuneo. cosmog@ newsrev iew.c om What was the difference? Both were good candidates. Cochrane enjoyed significant financial support from the teachers union. But union support didn’t help other candidates, and may have hurt, given the steady stream of anti-labor propaganda coming from The Sacramento Bee. It would be more satisfying to think voters in Area 2 decided to dump Cuneo for the terrible policies he supported. But they didn’t.

Certainly the school closures he supported were no factor. The election for Area 7, hardest hit by the closures, had less than half of the voter turnout of other local school-board races.

But we knew that would happen. That’s what made those neighborhoods so easy to target for closures in the first place.

There was little in-depth reporting in the local press on the policy differences between the candidates. And how many voters would have read a story about school-board candidates, anyway?

In reality, it probably doesn’t take a lot of fancy analysis to figure out why Cochrane won.

You could just compare the two candidates’ ballot designations. Cuneo’s said “School Board Member.” For Cochrane, it was “Public School Teacher.”

Not to diminish Cochrane at all; she’s very smart and was the right choice on many policy issues. And her Area 2 district had by far the highest voter turnout—suggesting a more committed and informed voter. But when you get into these down-ballot contests, those short little ballot designations can make the difference. That’s depressing in a way. But it also suggests that for all the teacher-bashing that goes on in this town, people still like teachers and trust that they know something about education. There’s hope in that.

Interesting Bee opinion piece recently on the long-building success of the R Street corridor.

Columnist Marcos Breton rightly praised the city’s foresight in rejecting developers like Angelo Tsakopoulos, who wanted to wall in R Street with high-rise offices in the 1990s.

The column then goes on to laud the courage and vision of a few powerful dudes like Joe Serna, Deputy City Manager John Dangberg, and “cool” developers like Mark Friedman.

Cool. But the Bee is engaging in a little R Street revisionism here, ignoring the role BEFORE

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of neighborhood activists and players like the Sacramento Old City Association. It was engaged citizens who agitated for human-scale development on R Street and pushed the then-radical notion of more downtown housing. The bureaucrats and developers followed.

Of course, those activists are the same people that the Bee worked hard this year to disenfranchise from local decision making— with Measure L and the Kings arena petition fight before that. But that’s hardly worth mentioning, either.

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– through December 24th –

H O L I D A Y S A L E

Just in time for Christmas, new toys for armchair analysts and open-government geeks from California State Controller John Chiang.

The new “By the Numbers” website allows citizens to slice-and-dice data for California’s local governments. The tool lets users quickly explore all sorts of financial info for cities and counties, including a breakdown of tax revenue, expenditures and pension assets and liabilities.

If it’s holiday... it’s here!

Of course, politicians disappoint every time.

It’s just hard-wired.

Chiang also just posted raw data on the 4,800 “special districts” in the state—including fire districts and water districts—and is challenging tech-savvy citizens to come up with new apps and databases to engage the public.

The controller also made some changes this week to the Public Pay database, debuted by the controller in 2010. Earlier this month, the Center for Investigative Reporting published a report critical of Public Pay because it lists compensation for local government officials, but leaves out employee names and “falls short on transparency,” according to CIR. Still no names, but the updated tool includes 2013 payroll data.

Check out the tools at ByTheNumbers.sco.ca.gov and PublicPay.ca.gov.

Framed Prints, Unique Gifts,

Larry Carr and Jeff Harris were sworn in to the Sacramento City Council last week. Bites has high hopes for these two. Each seems to have a healthy reserve of brains and integrity, and they’ll need it to resist the clubbiness and low-grade corruption that’s endemic on the council now.

“We all work for the same boss, the people of Sacramento,” said Carr in his first remarks from the dais. “They expect us to work together and put their interests ahead of our own.”

They do. Of course, politicians disappoint every time. It’s just hard-wired. If and when that happens, more for Bites to bite. Ω

STORY

Ready-Made Frames, Calendars, Cards, Toys, Journals, Sketchbooks Photo Frames

Canvas, Brushes, Oils, Watercolors, Pastels, and much, much more...

Create Your Holiday at UArt!

University Art UArt Sacramento 2601 J Street 916-443-5721 Also in Redwood City and San Jose UniversityArt.com

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No immigrant left behind Five years after Sacramento County board members cut health care for undocumented immigrants, a new coalition of activist groups aims to restore funds and services

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Undocumented immigrants receive health care in most major California cities. Will Sacramento County reverse its policy and bring back medical care for undocumenteds in 2015?

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will, apparently, explore the public health impacts of expanding healthcare for the region’s undocumented, as well as the moral implications of leaving in place the current status quo. There is also talk of a community forum on the topic in April.

“I’m going to listen to the facts, the data,” said Kennedy of these hearings.

“And I’m making it clear that I’m concerned with having people who cannot access healthcare in this county.”

“My hope is everyone in Sacramento County will have access to quality health care.”

Patrick Kennedy Sacramento County Supervisor-elect

oi

Six years ago, Nottoli voted with the majority to end the indigent care program.

Reformers, however, believe that he may now be looking for the middle ground.

“He has a record more sympathetic to the social needs of low-income people, people of color, and so on,” said ACT’s David Ramirez.

Nottoli didn’t respond to an SN&R interview request, but the matter may be resolved soon.

In its last budget hearing the outgoing board of supervisors directed the county executive to organize workshops on the issue for the new board in January.

These hearings

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everyone in Sacramento County will have access to quality health care.”

But it’s no slam-dunk that county-level reform will pass. In Sacramento, as elsewhere in the country, there is no consensus about whether to provide coverage for the undocumented or about how to fund it and how to enroll people.

Kennedy’s fellow board member and incoming chairman Phil Serna is on record as supporting expanded health care access. Fellow board members Susan Peters and Roberta MacGlashan, however, both backed curbing the old program in 2008.

Any vote will likely come down to longtime District 5 board member Don Nottoli.

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In 2009, Sacramento County cut health care for Sacramento’s undocumented immigrant by population as a way to save money during Sasha Abramsky the budget crisis. The move left the area’s tens of thousands undocumented immigrants without access to health care and with few options to get it: Most are too poor to buy private insurance and aren’t eligible for MediCal or, even, coverage via the Affordable Care Act (see “Caution: No health care for all” SN&R Feature Story, June 19).

Now, five years later, a coalition of local activist groups is pushing local politicians to restore funds and services.

Most large Californian cities already provide some medical coverage for the indigent undocumented. Sacramento used to be in this group. But in 2009 the county’s board of supervisors, responding to the burgeoning economic crisis, rolled back a care program that had at least provided basic health-care services—though virtually no access to specialist care—to the undocumented.

This year, groups such as Sacramento Area Congregations Together and the Sacramento Latino Medical Association started highlighting this issue as one of the defining problems facing Sacramento County. As the election neared, they held a number of area community meetings to push candidates to support reform. The challenge, the groups’ members knew, was to change the composition of the five-person board of supervisors enough to secure a majority in favor of a new program—though how basic or how generous that program would be remained unclear.

At a minimum, the reformers wanted it to cover the low-level, nonspecialist services that the old County Medically Indigent Services Program provided, before the Affordable Care Act expanded MediCal and gave the able-bodied poor access to state and federally funded MediCal services instead. More optimistically, they hoped they could convince the board to fund a network of county clinics.

In last month’s elections, the activists got at least part of the way there. In Sacramento’s District 2, voters elected Patrick Kennedy, who had highlighted the issue in starkly moral language during the campaign.

“I don’t know exactly how it will work,” Kennedy said in regards to pushing new funding through. “But my hope is

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Even if Sacramento County doesn’t provide its undocumented residents with affordable health coverage, President Barack Obama’s recent executive action deferring deportation for a large proportion of the country’s undocumented millions will impact access to health care in California. The state already has a policy in place allowing those whose deportation status is now “deferred” to qualify for statefunded medical services. How people will go about accessing these services has not yet been worked out, but at least some of Sacramento’s undocumented population should be eligible in the coming years.

Moreover, ACT and other groups have been pushing state legislators to vote in favor of a bill from State Senator Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) that would create a “shadow” MediCal system for California’s undocumented population and allow them to participate in the state’s health insurance exchange.

An earlier version of that bill died last year; now, with a newly elected legislature, and with Obama’s executive action on immigration, ACT members are hopeful the needle has shifted. Kennedy is, too.

Post-election, the issue has picked up momentum, he said, and is now something to be pushed for “sooner rather than later.” Ω | 12.18.14 | SN&R | 13

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Dying in plain sight

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Sacramento County homeless deaths reach a 12-year high in 2014 Technically speaking, Donna Rae Blacksmith wasn’t homeless when she succumbed by in January to the cancer that ravaged Raheem her body. But the years spent living F. Hosseini on the streets—battling the elements, toiling with illness and tragic luck rahe emh@ newsre view.c om alike—caught up to her well after she clawed her family to stability.

Cancer was simply the official diagnosis. The real cause of death was plain to everyone who knew the 50-year-old mother of two.

roughly one death every week for the past 12 years.

As of December 15, Erlenbusch and his colleagues have counted 90 homeless deaths this year. That represents a 33-percent increase over last year’s toll and more than double the number of homeless deaths in 2012, with still a couple weeks to go.

There’s no one explanation for why more homeless Sacramentans are expiring. But there are some troubling markers through the first six months ILLUSTRATION BY N&R STAFF

shelter and respite-care facilities, as homeless deaths are spread evenly throughout the seasons and hospitals routinely discharge recovering, postoperative homeless patients to the streets.

“Having winter shelter isn’t good enough,” Erlenbusch added, referring to the privately funded program between November 24 and March 31.

“We need year-round shelter to keep people safe.”

For the first year on record, women made up a quarter of the tabulated homeless deaths, up from a previous 12-year average of 13 percent. According to the cumulative data, homeless women also tend to be more vulnerable to internal diseases than their male counterparts.

“The number of homeless deaths has just skyrocketed.”

Bob Erlenbusch executive director, Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness

“Because she was poor and didn’t have any health coverage, she didn’t have much of a voice,” said Women’s Empowerment executive director Lisa Culp, who met Blacksmith through the local nonprofit about a decade ago.

“She was just a beautiful, remarkable woman.”

Tomorrow, December 19, that remarkable woman will be recalled during a solemn new tradition here in Sacramento County. At 7 p.m., people will gather at Trinity Cathedral for the second time in two years to remember all the homeless brothers and sisters who passed on in 2014.

Even before the New Year, there are 90 names to be read.

“The number of homeless deaths has just skyrocketed,” said Bob Erlenbusch, executive director of the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness.

Between January 2002 and June 2014, 604 homeless individuals perished in the county, according to coroner records reviewed by the coalition, Sacramento Steps Forward and county health officials. That’s a rate of

The number of homeless people who have died, according to the second annual Homeless Deaths Report.

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of this year, with significant increases in the rate of homeless people dying outdoors and from substance-related causes and injuries. The interfaith service, scheduled for the Friday closest to the start of winter, was timed to accompany the coalition’s release of this disturbing new data.

Last year’s inaugural Homeless Deaths Report provided Sacramento County officials their first glimpse at the scale of the problem. In June, county supervisors chiseled $260,000 out of their fiscal year budget to dispatch public nurses into homeless encampments to enroll people onto Medi-Cal. Erlenbusch said the county has been “doing a pretty good job” of it, but pointed to an unexpected wrinkle: Some managed-care providers are turning away insured homeless individuals because they’re not used to treating that population, he said.

Like last year, the 102-page report includes recommendations for elected leaders and health officials.

One goal is educating managedcare providers on hunger and homelessness. The report also calls for increased funding for year-round

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Culp said Blacksmith became homeless shortly after quitting her job to home-school her autistic son, on the advice of his kindergarten teacher.

It was through Sacramento Loaves & Fishes that Blacksmith found Women’s Empowerment, where she graduated from a job-training program and went to work as a Paratransit driver for Wheels to Work in 2008.

The position entailed piloting a mobile-employment van and serving as a community-outreach ambassador to those like her. It was the first time Blacksmith had health insurance, but it lapsed by the time she walked into an emergency room the summer of last year with severe aches and pains.

By that point, the aggressive cancer had reached vital organs.

“As a homeless woman only a few years prior, Donna had learned to suffer in silence,” said her longtime social worker, Erie Shockey. “When she finally stood up for herself, it was too late.”

Blacksmith leaves behind her 18-year-old son and a 12-year-old daughter. The son lives semi-independently in a group home. The daughter was taken in by a family that is struggling to make ends meet. In an email, Shockey wrote that “this grief-stricken child will need a community of caring souls … so she, too, will not slip into homelessness.” Ω

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Ethics reform gets a date Foes of the mayor want to take pieces of Measure L’s reforms, give them a twist and land a good-governance measure on the June 2016 ballot.

Eye on Sacramento and the League of Women Voters announced on Monday a plan to put a redistricting and ethicsreform measure on the ballot in less than two years. Specifically, voters would be asked to approve an independent group to draw city-council districts, an ethics commission—one with real teeth—to oversee City Hall behavior and policy, and a “sunshine” clause that would reaffirm Sacramento’s commitment to open government.

Right now, council districts are drawn by council members, and there is no ethics-oversight committee or commission.

The two groups worked to defeat Measure L this November and have long said they would like to see the council adopt redistricting and ethics-reform measures. That isn’t happening—hence their goal to take it to the ballot. (Nick Miller)

Homeless dinner denied Three homeless advocates were detained at a Sacramento City Council meeting on December 9 while protesting what they consider to be anti-homelessness policies.

James Lee Clark (who goes by the street name “Faygo”), Alyssa Pena and Claire J. White were arrested after a dinner outside City Hall. The meal fed nearly 100 homeless Sacramentans, with donated and volunteer-prepared meals, and also protested local ordinances that require permits for food-sharing activities on city property.

Police insisted the dinner be moved to the sidewalk, just 10 feet away. Activists chanted, “What would Jesus do?” and “Hands up. Don’t shoot” as police moved tables and food.

After the dinner, Clark, Pena, White and more than 20 others waited to participate in the public-comment portion of the city-council meeting, from which the three were removed after vocally demonstrating instead of waiting for their allotted two-minute speaking time. After a warning from Councilwoman Angelique Ashby, White replied, “No, I’m not moving, or sitting, or stopping talking.” White was then escorted from the room by the sergeant-at-arms. The trio was released from county jail on Wednesday, according to online records.

California tops the nation in cities with pending or passed restrictions on activities considered necessary to keeping homeless individuals safe and healthy, according to an October report from the National Coalition for the Homeless.

Top of the list: food-sharing. The report indicates that restrictions on food-sharing activities have increased nationwide by 47 percent since 2010. (Brooke Purves)

Cool beans Coffee Review, the go-to guide for coffee nerds, released its annual list of the best of the best last week. Called the Top 30 of 2014, Sacramento was the only city in the country with four coffees on the list. Two of those coffees came from Temple Coffee and two more from Old Soul Coffee Co. Temple’s Panama Los Lajones Bambu Geisha placed highest, fifth. It was released last December and definitely ran on the pricey end at $60 per 8 ounces. Perhaps more interesting to regular consumers will be Old Soul’s Ethiopia Wenago Natural, which came in at No. 12. Not only is it available for purchase right now, but it’s much more affordable at $18 per 12 ounces.

Last year, Temple actually snagged the No. 1 spot on the list. This year that honor went to Klatch Coffee, based in Rancho Cucamonga in San Bernardino County. (Janelle Bitker)

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Welcome to

Will Sacramento’s coolest neighborhood devolve into an urban suburbia? Or is its indie spirit immune to gentrification’s toxic impacts?

MIDTOWN

by NICK MILLER

n i c k a m @ n e w s r e v i e w. c o m

There’s a Time machine in midTown, a portal on the corner of L and 20th streets. It’s one of those Midtown insider things. But, anyway, this secret wormhole transports you a few years into the future. Seriously. Step inside, flash-forward to just 2018, and you’ll be surprised: This very street corner, where a keyboardist usually plays quirky compositions on weekend nights and collects money inside a glowing plastic skull, has been transformed. In the future, this muddy, unlandscaped plot is the flashy new entrance to a Whole Foods Market.

Women in spandex toting yoga mats and men in chic, strategically torn jeans—you know what they look like—they’re definitely there in a few years. Look upward and the new Whole Foods mixed-use building stretches nearly seven stories into the Midtown sky. Some 200 new residents call these tony apartments home, and they pay on average more than $2,000 a month for this urban-living experience.

Two thousand a month!? (That sound you hear is old-school Midtowners spitting out their Pabst Blue Ribbon.)

Yet this scene is no fantasy.

Whole Foods will likely be the future of L and 20th, and while that’s exciting for developers and property owners, it’s concerning for those who fear that big-paycheck residents and national retail brands will change the tenor of Midtown.

It’s the G-word: gentrification.

Ken Turton, who has his hands in perhaps more Midtown property than any other local real-estate mogul, says gentrification is like porn: You know it when you see it.

“Gentrification is a word you see commonly associated with Midtown, and there’s certainly some validity to that. It comes with the territory,” he said.

Whole Foods in the heart of Midtown is about as X-rated as gentrification gets. It’s happening. So the more pressing question now is: Will this latest wave of gentrification be a good or bad thing for Midtown?

These new young professionals and well-off empty nesters, will they price out old-school Midtowners?

As the Sacramento Business Journal recently reported, Midtown rents are up, and in a big way. Two-bedroomapartment prices jumped 32 percent over 2006. “Market rate” spaces at new loft apartments, like those popping up on 16th Street near Fremont Park, start at around $1,600 a month—for a studio. Yet these units are basically sold out. All this has longstanding Midtowners, 90 percent of whom rent, concerned.

National retail brands also are opening, from BevMo! to Domino’s Pizza to Pieology Pizzeria.

“Some of these giant chains that put businesses like mine out, I think that that is worrisome,” said Susan Rabinovitz, owner of a small independent art gallery and jewelry boutique Little Relics on 21st Street.

Tim Foster—longstanding central-city denizen and editor of the now-defunct Midtown Monthly— thinks that gentrification already has run its course in Midtown. But he’s

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Insiders say it’s very (very) unlikely that McDonald’s would sneak into Midtown. But will national brands, and more people, alter Midtown’s indie vibe?

ILLUSTRATION BY HAYLEY DOSHAY

Back in the day Midtown year 2014 has been a metamorphosis nearly 50 years in the making.

Local historian and Midtown resident William Burg, who’s written multiple books about the central city and Midtown’s genesis, says people were concerned about the grid and gentrification as far back as the Carter administration. “It’s a word that they were using in the ’70s, too,” he explained. “And not that it might happen some day, but that it was happening.”

But Burg’s thesis is that Midtown’s long, slow gentrification has in fact been anything but. Tens of thousands of grid dwellers left in the 1950s and ’60s.

People slowly—slooowly—moved back.

“What we’ve seen instead is economic integration,” he said.

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This means that, instead of prices and rents going up and poorer residents getting the boot, Midtown has gently ushered in modernized economic engines without disenfranchising its pioneers.

Fellow Midtowner Julie Murphy, who moved to the community in the late 1980s and now heads the Marshall School/New Era Park neighborhood group, is one of the neighborhood’s early adopters. She says she’s witnessed this slow, crawling economic transformation firsthand. “We have a lot more people down here on the weekends now. It used to be on Saturday afternoon, you saw no one on the sidewalk,” she remembered.

“There was a time when Ernesto’s was the only place” to eat out.

That’s an embellishment, of course.

But one can’t under-emphasize the Midtown doldrums prior to the turn of the century.

And Midtown remained a sleepy grid into the 21st century. Local developer Sotiris Kolokotronis tells a story of a night out in 2002, when the Kings were in the playoffs. After a game one night, he was hanging with stars Vlade Divac and Peja Stojakovic. These guys were on top of the NBA world back then, but all they wanted to do was grab a simple bite and enjoy a drink. It was around 10:30 p.m. They went to Harlow’s. Closed.

They went upstairs to the bar above the club. A waitress came up, said it was last call. This was at 10:45.

“We forget that, 13 years ago, you could hardly find a single place open at 11 o’clock,” Kolokotronis reminded.

Gallery owner Rabinovitz bought her Midtown home in 1998 and can attest to those sleepy, dark Midtown days.

“I’ve lived here for a long time. I bought my house back when Midtown was not so desirable a place to live,” she said. There was crime and not enough residents to support schools and grocery stores.

But people stuck with the neighborhood, she says. “Midtown seemed to wear on them, like a comfortable coat.”

Midtown started to catch on and expand its reach in the 1990s. “It’s the one single area in the entire Sacramento region that best embraces diversity,” said

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Turton. “No matter who you are, you can go and be accepted.”

In a cowtown region, Midtown’s open arms were a beacon of possibility.

Cowboys rubbed elbows with lawyers and hipsters at clubs like Harlow’s.

Gays and straights danced all night in the blossoming Lavender Heights clubs on K Street. Young punk kids and livemusic fans fostered a scene in loft attics and bars.

All the while, developers began taking risks, building new housing, offices and retail destinations. CADA surgically eliminated a lot of the transient motel blight along 15th and 16th streets, a pivotal move, and built the Capitol Area East End Complex of state offices.

Kolokotronis erected the Fremont Mews housing near P Street, and later the 1800 block apartments and lofts.

A gentrification amuse-bouche was served.

hello, gentrification There are a few ways to gentrify a neighborhood, and both have impacted Midtown this century.

“There’s the improvement and modernization of a neighborhood, where you push out the lower demographic, and the organic culture that doesn’t have the money to remain in the area leaves,” Turton explained. This is perhaps a threat to Midtown now, but hasn’t quite taken hold yet.

“But the other way is to homogenize the area through national brand representation,” or chain stores like P.F. Chang’s or Chipotle, which has also started to impact Midtown as well.

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There’s also a third way, according to UC Davis professor Michael Rios, who also lives in Sacramento. “It’s also about shifting cultural values, about taste, about aesthetics, about food,” Rios said.

“It all creates this bundle that is called gentrification.”

The Midtown cultural gentrification has definitely outpaced that of its topography.

Brian Holloway is a land-use and urban-planning consultant and former board president at the Midtown Business Association. He says the unique “artsy, small business and independent businesses that you find in Midtown is important.”

These stores flourished in the past 15 years and are essential to the neighborhood’s identity.

“Midtowners love supporting Midtowners. They love that local vibe.

They love the small family shop,” Rabinovitz explained of the attraction.

“They like that neighborhood feel, and they are buying into that.”

There’s a challenge in keeping this indie vibe alive, though, as land-use attorney and Midtowner John Hodgson pointed out. “One tougher issue is that, as things get desirable, rents go up.”

That’s what’s happened in the past decade: a dramatic, nearly recessionproof surge in housing demand. And so, property owners keep raising the rent.

Hodgson and others insist that old-school Midtowners shouldn’t worry about rising costs, or being priced out.

He plans to release a study soon, and says one piece of data shows that 70 percent of Midtown’s housing offerings are considered affordable or low-income, even though they are not subsidized, Hodgson explained.

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still worried as the community witnesses the “closing the noose on gentrification.”

“Whole Foods is exactly something that’s a concern to me,” Foster said. He gets why people want a healthy supermarket, a place to get food. “I’m just not sure a place like Midtown can support two organic supermarkets,” referring to the nearby locally owned Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op, which is opening a new store near R Street soon.

Gentrification is also cultural. You see this in the Bay Area, where white tech employees boot Hispanic kids off of soccer fields in San Francisco’s Mission District, and hipsters overtake formerly black neighborhoods of downtown Oakland. In Sacramento, gentrification is less about displacing minority groups.

Yet it remains disconcerting.

To that end, the fear here in Sacramento is that the newest gentrification will be some form of suburban, McMansion-inspired entitlement making its urban-core homecoming after decades of white flight. Will Midtown become the new “Roseville West”—complete with sexy-suburban chains like Anthropologie and generously coffered denizens buying $800 toasters?

Is this the end of Midtown as we know it?

Will MidtoWn becoMe the neW “Roseville West”—coMplete With sexy-subuRban chains like anthRopologie and geneRously coffeRed denizens buying $800 toasteRs?

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Midtown” continued from page

Scenes of Midtown’s past and future collide. Think Zelda’s Pizza, Naked Lounge Coffeehouse and Faces up against Legado de Ravel lofts, R Street construction and other market-rate housing developments.

Can Midtown grow up and keep its small-townin-a-big-city feel?

If that’s true, then perhaps the larger threat might be less about gentrification’s impact on one’s wallet, but instead its potential as a cultural virus.

“You can damn well bet that if In N Out Burger could secure a corner in Midtown, they would be here,” Turton said. “But they are not going to get here—I doubt—because I don’t think that corner exists.”

But they want to be here, because Midtown is the cool place. And, as Holloway put it, “Anything that gets too popular usually ends up getting ruined.”

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Midtown goes vanilla?

Midtown is a business district, a place where small-business dreamers want to open shop. “But the challenge to me is we have some of the lowest vacancy rates in Midtown,” explained Midtown Business Association head Emily Baime Michaels. “You can’t get into grid. You need big money and a lot of know-how to get into grid.”

Enter corporate America.

Midtown property owners for years have rebuffed national brands such as 7-Eleven (which is dying to be in Midtown, according to sources).

But, on the heels of a recession that saw tempered growth, some landlords are itching to cash in. They want to raise rents, they want to sign up bluechip and less volatile national brand tenants. And these brands are hunting Midtown now.

Trader Joe’s was one of those big chains in the mix. That is, until Whole Foods submitted plans for a mixed-use market and residential six-story building on L and 20th streets. “Apparently we’ve hit some kind of ‘sweet spot’ with chains,” says neighborhood leader Murphy.

Will Midtown become the next Roseville? “I wouldn’t go that far,”

she answered. “But we certainly could become Fair Oaks Boulevard.”

Burg agrees that things are changing, but he’s not afraid of urban suburbanization. “I think the opposite is happening. I think Roseville is going to become more Midtown in the long term,” he said, explaining that suburbanites are looking for more authentic experiences, such as the new housing and amenities in old Roseville and Historic Folsom, which boast noncorporate, Midtownesque restaurants and bars.

Holloway says avoiding the Roseville-ification of Midtown is about “keeping a smart balance.” But he’s also not that worried. “I’m not seeing

“Oftentimes, the peOple whO are sO against gentrificatiOn are cOmplicit in creating it in the first place.”

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— UC davis Professor MiChael rios

a [Gaslamp Quarter],” he said of the popular downtown San Diego nightlife destination that brims with big national restaurants and bars. “I don’t see that.”

And, as Baime Michaels reminds, occupancy is super high in Midtown, and that’s a major obstacle to corporate businesses getting what they want. “I think that’s a bigger issue than gentrification,” she argued. “We just don’t have space.”

Midtown also has a track record of rejecting corporate insurrection.

A case in point: The now shuttered California Pizza Kitchen on L Street.

“I think some people fear homogenization, but that’s a less of a fear for me, based on how Midtown’s responded to homogenization in the past,” said Clay Nutting, who puts on events in Midtown and co-owns LowBrau.

That’s a relief for locals who don’t want a McDonald’s in their backyard.

But the threat to Midtown’s culture comes not only in corporate form. It can also be human.

UC Davis’ Rios says “gentrification is used as a big banner” to project negativity on something that actually has very little to do with gentrification. For instance, if Midtown hipsters don’t like Roseville bros moving into the grid, they blame gentrification.

“Is it really gentrification people are worried about? Or is it ‘I don’t want to see those type of people anymore’?” Rios asked.

“I think you’ve got a lot of class competition, culturally, here,” Rios said.

The Catch-22 is that most experts say Midtown needs more people living here to sustain its small businesses. That’s right: Despite increasing rents and the potential to disenfranchise old-timers, many agree that the only way to preserve Midtown’s indie vibe is to, conversely, bring in even more of these newer classes of residents.

database Zillow, the average home value in the Midtown/Winn Park neighborhoods south of J Street is $390,000, up $110,000 in the past four years. That’s a lot of money. On top of this, there's the already established uptick in rental prices. And, on top of that, there’s really not that many new housing options.

But developers, business owners and even guys like Rios want more people on the grid. They say the Midtown economy needs more customers, that it’s doing OK, but won’t sustain unless thousands more converge on the central city.

“What we need is to create a little more critical mass,” said Nutting. “We need that pie to grow, we need more people coming into our area. It’s more of a density question.”

That density is a conflicting issue for many Midtowners. They at once rebuff the idea of adding another 25,000 residents on the central city grid, because they embrace Midtown’s quaintness. But they also love the restaurants and local shops.

And business owners need customers—just look at Le Petit Paris, an adored cafe on 19th Street that boasted loyal customers, but not enough; it closed a few years back. Ditto for so many music venues over the years, such as the soon-to-be shuttered Witch Room, also on 19th Street: If there was a denser Midtown, there in theory would be more live-music fans.

So maybe more people—despite the gentrification impacts—isn’t a terrible thing. “I don’t think density is a four-letter word. If it’s done well, it really can enhance a neighborhood,” UC Davis’ Rios argued.

“I personally think you’ve got to have density in the grid,” Foster said.

“But, obviously, I like Midtown the way it was. … I will also be really sad to see the good ol’ $600 apartment leave, if those aren’t gone [already].”

How does Midtown get more people on the grid, people who have money to spend, while also preserving the low-income and indie spirit endemic to the community?

“There’s not a cookbook on how to do it,” said Kolokotronis. “There are different ways.”

One crucial ingredient, he says, is to have a champion for marketrate housing. Someone who puts density on the front burner, like

PeoPle who need PeoPle Sacramentans want to live in Midtown. The trend, according to city planners, is that people want to return from suburbia to the central city.

But, according to online real-estate

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what then-Mayor Jerry Brown did in Oakland, or what Mayor Pete Wilson did in San Diego. “You can’t substitute good political leadership,” Kolokotronis said. “More housing will require someone to champion it in a big way for it to happen. But right now, what we are doing is very, very small-scale.”

Indeed, the hundreds of new housing units in Midtown by no means match what the suburbs have seen in the past 15 years. But recent developments, such as 16 Powerhouse and Legado de Ravel along 16th Street, have nearly sold out all their units.

Rios argued that we don’t need a champion for more housing; we just need smarter urban planning. “We’re still stuck in a development mindset of ‘the developers might go someplace else’” and Midtown will just have to take what we can get, he explained.

But Rios insists that places like Sacramento don’t need to cater to developers any longer. Midtown has what he calls “use value.” It has tangible assets. It’s no longer in competition with Folsom and Elk Grove and the suburban strongholds.

Midtown sells itself.

“And why would we want to compete against Roseville? We don’t want to be those places. And that’s not a critique against Roseville. That’s fine. But let’s just be who we are.”

And, at the end of the day, maybe it’s as simple as believing in ourselves. Not buying coffee at Starbucks. Not ordering holiday gifts at Amazon.com.

“If we want to have our small businesses here, we have to spend money with them and support them,” reminded Baime Michaels. She says this is Midtown’s No. 1 threat, greater than gentrification: “The impact of spending dollars locally is the most important thing that we can do.”

It’s ironic: Midtowners spend so much time blaming outsiders, the other, for how the city is changing.

But perhaps, at the end of the day, it’s on them to save the things they love about Midtown.

“Oftentimes, the people who are so against gentrification are complicit in creating it in the first place,” Rios said. “That’s just a contradiction of urban living.” Ω

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Wild, based on Cheryl Strayed’s memoir, has stirred controversy among expert hikers, but one writer explains how the Pacific Crest Trail helped his bipolar wife

by AARoN CARNeS

I

t’d been over a day since we last saw anybody, which might have not been so strange except that Amy—my hiking partner, and wife—told me Jefferson Park gets busy in the summer. And yet here it was July and there was no one besides us, and it looked like a snowstorm was brewing.

It was 2003 and we were on the fifth day of what was supposed to be a 10-day backpacking trip along the Pacific Crest Trail in Oregon. We weren’t sure we should continue on; Amy’s feet were blistered and we weren’t making the kind of miles we’d planned.

The view was gorgeous here in the park’s expansive meadows with the kind of serene wilderness one rarely gets to see. Up ahead on our trail was Mount Jefferson, the second highest mountain in Oregon. It was covered in snow. We weren’t sure if we should retrace our steps to find a road and a car to hitchhike back to town in, or push on. At least on the other side of the mountain we knew we’d find a resort where there’d be people and cars, but could we make it over the mountain and not get lost?

That trip was not just our first foray into backpacking—it was the first time either of us had set foot on the PCT, a 2,663 mile trail that begins at the Mexican-Californian border and ends in Canada, passing through Oregon and Washington along the way.

Since then, the trail and backpacking have become an important part of Amy’s life. It’s her passion and her hobby, but also it’s turned into a sort of self-prescribed therapy for her bipolar disorder.

20 | SN&R | 12.18.14

It’s also the subject, at least in part, of a followed those until the snow died down, and new Reese Witherspoon film. The actress eventually found people again. stars with Laura Dern in the film adaptation Countless hikers have trekked the PCT of Cheryl Strayed’s 2012 memoir, Wild: From but its popularity has taken a more dramatic Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. The incline in the past decade thanks to myriad trail book chronicles how the author, reeling from blogs, books, documentaries, et al. Arguably, a divorce, her mother’s death and a heroin however, Strayed’s book and the subsequent problem, trekked 1,100 miles from the Mojave movie have given it the biggest boost. Nick Desert to the Oregon-Washington Hornby wrote the screenplay and there’s border in 1995 when she was already Oscar buzz surrounding 26. The film opens in the film. Director Jean-Marc Sacramento on Friday, Vallee already snagged December 19. a Hollywood Film I remember Award for it. All that [Hiking the when Amy first attention, however, Pacific Coast Trail] learned about the has also brought trail in 2002. Her controversy and didn’t take away the reaction was one criticism. of excitement Ned Tibbits, emotional pain I was and disbelief. director of in, but it blunted it. It gave “People actually Mountain do this?”

Education, a it a different conduit. she said. wilderness safety CheRyl StRAyed They do. It school in Reno, author, Wild takes most people says he has reservafour to five months. tions about Wild and Amy and I only what the film may managed 50 miles that teach viewers. trip—we’d planned 150, but “The movie will … hit a seriously underestimated the trail’s chord for all the people in the world difficulty. that are stressed out and have emotional We did eventually make it over Mount issues, and have pain in their lives and can Jefferson. The snow cover made it imposuse a little peace of mind to sort it out,” sible to see the trail. I nearly took us in the Tibbits says. “And [then] they’ll hit the trail wrong direction, but Amy finally found a with no preparation whatsoever.” cairn—a man-made pile of rocks indicating Since Wild’s publication, it’s proven to the trail—pointing in the other direction. We be controversial among backpackers. It’s

the nature of Strayed’s story in particular, that bothers many. She came to the trail a mess, grieving her mother’s death, using heroin and having one-night stands. Strayed says she learned about the trail via a guide book and felt like it could heal her. Months later she was in the Mojave Desert unprepared, inexperienced and saddled with a pack that was way too big and heavy.

Her friends thought she was crazy, but that experience really did change her for the better, Strayed told SN&R. “I did this big thing and I found strength again,” she explained following a recent Wild book-signing event in Berkeley.

“That doesn’t mean things that were paining me weren’t still paining me, but I could accept it. It put me in the physical realm—and I was in pain physically,” Strayed said. “It didn’t take away the emotional pain I was in, but it blunted it. It gave it a different conduit.”

Perhaps, but many in the backpacking community are afraid new hikers will follow Strayed’s example and hop onto the trail similarly unprepared. Hiking the PCT requires extensive prep. There’s volatile weather to consider, as well as snow covered trails, wild animals, creek crossings and other unpredictable elements. Serious injury or death are real concerns.

I get such concerns. My wife, who’s now much more experienced, is planning a 2015 hike of the entire trail. It will be her longest, hardest journey yet.

It’s precisely such difficulty that’s made the trail so appealing to Amy. Much in the way it helped Strayed work out her grief, the

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A view of Mount Jefferson, which often makes for dangerous travel on the Pactific Crest Trail.

Pretty good, actually Mike Birbiglia’s opening lines rang too true. He said Davis was “actually pretty nice,” in that lightly surprised, politely nodding way Davisites know so well.

He backtracked, because when Birbiglia would show people his 100-stop tour schedule for Thank God for Jokes they’d say, “Oh. You’re going to Davis. Oh. It’s actually pretty nice.”

And the comedian said the same thing happens to him all the time: “Oh. You’re actually pretty funny,” he’d hear.

“I sympathize with you, Davis,” he told the packed Mondavi Center on December 10. “We’re diamonds in the rough.”

With the adoring audience, Birbiglia didn’t need to build any trust. But it was a pretty nice touch.

The rest of his show tackled the subject of jokes—inside jokes, why we tell jokes, the importance of context for jokes, the inevitability of offensive jokes.

Though more scattered than his famed shows My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend and Sleepwalk with Me, Birbiglia maintained his style of lengthy, personal storytelling mixed with physical comedy. The road map was clear, studded with graceful callbacks to older moments throughout.

It was also more standup-y than usual, with crowd work included. After telling a hilarious tale of getting arrested as a naive 20something, he asked two audience members about their own arrests. One was a DUI. The other was for “inciting

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women to get out with a backpack, on the Pacific Coast Trail or otherwise, how is that a bad thing?

Those at the Pacific Crest Trail Association, a Sacramento-based nonprofit that maintains the trail, might agree.

The group’s been an active supporter of Wild, capitalizing on the film’s publicity to promote the trail and educate wouldbe backpackers. Its staff even invited members of Congress to a recent screening of the film in Washington, D.C., as a way to encourage federal funding.

The PCTA was also closely involved with the film’s production, helping producers scout locations and reconstruct parts of the trail on private land. The goal, said PCTA executive director Liz Bergeron, was to ensure the movie’s accuracy.

“The film is going to happen with or without us. People need to care about the PCT,” Bergeron said. “The best way to get people to care about the trail is to get them on it.”

Strayed’s coming of age story has prompted some to make the point that Wild isn’t really about hiking: It’s about Strayed’s personal journey.

Strayed says it’s about both.

“It’s about grief. It’s about forgiveness.

It’s about making mistakes and recovering from them. ... It’s a more universal embrace of what backpacking is about, and it takes place on the PCT,” she said.

This isn’t to say that the PCT will be a place for healing for everyone.

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People hike it for a variety of reasons.

For Strayed, it happened to be what she needed at the time. For Amy, it’s become the missing element in her life that she never seems to tire of.

Monty Tam, a trail angel—someone who helps hikers—explained it this way: “Many people will be helped by the PCT. They’ll come back to the world with a whole different attitude,” he said.”

It’s not so much about the trail, but about people helping people—the way you wish the world was.”

Since Amy started backpacking a decade ago, I’ve watched her change a lot. Every time we’ve done a trip, she felt alive, passion, love and even a lot of pain, but mostly she says the trail has taught her what she’s capable of, and how to imagine a goal and make it real. It’s because of that first trip she sought out medication and cognitive therapy. And it’s because of the medication that she’s been able to work and lead a normal, productive life.

“The trail won’t change me,” Amy told me recently. “The trail is just refining in me what’s already there. It’s just built on the change that came before.”

“Although there’s a lot of suffering and uncomfortable-ness and tolerating hellish conditions, I feel like it’s a celebration, the whole trail is like me celebrating me,” she added. “It’s a representation of all my work and effort, a physical culmination.” Ω

PhoTo illusTraTion by PrisCilla garCia

physicality of hiking helps my wife.

Because of her disorder, she often has a difficult time. Hiking helps her get out of the place where emotions and thoughts are overwhelming and gives some distance between her physical and internal world. Doing longer trails, my wife says, has taught skills for planning and executing big goals.

Still, Tibbets, the Mountain Education director, worries that Wild will make some think they can forgo important prep and planning.

“They’ll go, ‘[Strayed] went out in the woods. She had a hard time. She found answers,” he said.

Many in the online hiker forums have echoed Tibbits’ sentiments, levying particularly scathing commentary toward Strayed with comments that often come off as elitist and even sexist. While much criticism seems to imply that Wild will open up the PCT to ‘bored housewives’ looking to find themselves, few have ever questioned the motives behind men who take on similar journeys. Take, for example, Christopher McCandless who died in 1992 at age 24 while hiking the Alaskan back country. His story was also made into a film by way of 2007’s Into the Wild, starring Emile Hirsch.

The reality is, I’ve seen very few women hikers out there on my handful of trips, but Strayed told me that I’d be surprised at how many of her fans have said they’d never heard about the trail before her book. If Wild inspires more

people to riot,” while making kamikazes at a party. How

Birbiglia’s comedy was more standup-y than usual, with crowd work included.

very college of them.

Birbiglia gave some backstory on one of his most famous moments—hosting the 2012 Gotham Awards, wherein he joked about director David O. Russell’s infamous, F-bomb-filled tirade with Russell just a few feet away. It sounded brutal. Russell threatened to leave the building.

But Birbiglia had a serious point: He knew it was dangerous and considered the ramifications well in advance, calling trusted advisers and all.

“I always try to weigh the pros and cons of telling a joke, because someone is always going to get stunned,” he said.

The received advice? If a joke is that funny, you have to tell it.

And really, Birbiglia didn’t shy away from any subject all night. He told some requisite and appreciated cat jokes. He jabbed Bill Cosby. His yoga discussion received howls (“Yoga is trying not to fart while stretching”) as did his story about telling Jesus jokes at a Christian college (“Jesus died so I could tell these jokes”).

One bit that innocently started with eating a sandwich on an airplane somehow became a joke about nuts—both the phallic-related and allergy-giving kinds. And about how that very story has actually received blowback from people with nut allergies.

“Anything can be offensive,” he said. “People are sensitive to new things all the time.”

Some fans can laugh at themselves. He cited a 15-yearold who, after a recent show in San Francisco, asked Birbiglia to sign his EpiPen. “So I wanted to dedicate this show to him,” Birbiglia paused. “He’s dead.”

“I’m joking.”

—Janelle Bitker

To learn more about the Pacific Crest Trail, visit www.pcta.org.

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For the week of December 18

It’s

about a week until both Christmas and Kwanzaa, and there’s about a week left of Hanukkah, too. Perhaps you’ve avoided holiday shopping altogether so far (if so, that’s quite impressive). Or, maybe you’re just a procrastinator. So, what’s the plan, now? People are probably still expecting a present from you and you’re running out of time. Here’s your solution: a few events this week offer both fun and locally made goods on the cheap.

For starters, a good way to get a lay of the land is to take the Downtown Sacramento Partnership-sponsored Boutiques and Bubbly: Bike Bus Tour (www.downtownsac.org/boutiques-bubbly-bike-tour).

Happening at 1 p.m., Saturday, December 20, the tour starts at the Capitol Garage (1500 K Street) with a bite to eat and a mimosa toast. Then, attendees hop on Off the Chain’s 15-passenger “bike bus” and make their way to various shops, including Andy’s Candy Apothecary, Chef’s Olive Mix and Downtown & Vine. Tickets are $35 and it’s a 21-and-over event.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BRIAN BRENEMAN

Elsewhere downtown on Saturday, December 20 (from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.), Beatnik Studios (723 S Street, www.beatnikstudios.com) hosts the Handmade Holidays shopping event.

Combining the vibes of a holiday party and a craft fair, the shindig features 30 vendors selling stuff like hats, clothing, jewelry, art, toys, food and drinks. There’s a $2 entrance fee, but that still sounds like a pretty good deal based on the quality of everything offered at last year’s event.

Another cool craft market-slash-party event is Indie Craft Fair’s Merry Market at Shine (1400 E Street). This one happens from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, December 21, and features 12 vendors selling stuff like clothing, jewelry, candles, soaps and more. Entry is free and the Roaming Spoon will be on hand to sell vegan eats. Head to www.facebook.com/ SacramentoIndieCraftFair for more info.

—Jonathan Mendick

wEEkLY PICkS

Sacramento Santa Run Saturday, december 20

Playing with Programming

Christmas is here and so is a whole lot of delicious, calorie-rich food.

It’s OK: Have that extra slice of pie, but also do this 5K and burn off a few extra calories. Bonus: People will be dressed up as Santa, reindeer, the Grinch, menorahs, dreidels and whatever else you can RUNNING imagine that’s Christmas- or holiday-themed. A Santa suit will be provided to every registered runner who needs one. $25-$35, 9 a.m. at the California State Capitol, 1315 10th Street; www.sacramentosantarun.com.

—Aaron Carnes

22 | SN&R | 12.18.14

Saturday, december 20 It turns out all those Legos we played with as kids weren’t a waste of time—they’re actually a mentally engaging form of play, just like computers apparCHILDREN’S ently are. Kids ACTIVITY now have better access to learn about programming, and building characters with Legos is a great introduction into that world. This demonstration will show the connection, let kids create a simple animation and, of course, it includes playing with Legos. $27-$30, 10 a.m. to noon at the Discovery Museum, 3615 Auburn Boulevard, www.thediscovery.org.

—Aaron Carnes

Sunday Crafternoon

Snowfall

Free Admission Day

Sunday, december 21

monday, december 22

WedneSday, december 24

Candy canes made out of pipe cleaners, Christmas ornaments constructed from Popsicle sticks— get all those nieces, nephews and grandkids in the CRAFTS holiday spirit with DIY last-minute gifts and decorations. It’s an all-around win, because felt-and-glitter-glue stockings never go out of style and a construction-paper garland is exactly what Aunt Millie had on her wish list. $5-$10, at the Crocker Art Museum, 216 O Street; https://crockerartmuseum.org.

What says “holiday cheer” and “I’m not getting anything done at work this week anyway” better than a Monday night of drinking and getting down on the dance floor to Christmas tunes? DJ Shaun Slaughter and the Shady Lady Saloon join forces for the sixth year running for a night of seasonal craft cocktails, snacks PARTY and speakeasy glitz. Free, 8 p.m., at Shady Lady Saloon, 1409 R Street, Ste. 101; http://shadyladybar.com.

Face the facts: Christmas Eve is boring for a kid. They can’t open presents yet, Uncle Jim has been getting on your nerves and you’re looking for a little respite from small talk with relatives you rarely see. As luck CHILDREN’S would have ACTIVITY it, Fairytale Town will be open for four hours to let little ones run rampant. Instead of tearing apart the house and driving you insane, they can play, laugh and run until their little feet give way. Free, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Fairytale Town, 3901 Land Park Drive; www.fairytaletown.org.

—Deena Drewis

—Deena Drewis

—Eddie Jorgensen

shop local and save

Fumbled ’cue Double Nickel Smokehouse

Gift certificates to local merchants for up to 50% off

3443 Laguna Blvd., Ste. 150, in Elk Grove; (916) 226-2900; www. smokehouse55.com I suppose the first warning sign was the fact that the restaurant is connected to a kids’ arcade (think Chuck E. Cheese’s) and bowling by Garrett McCord alley. Then again, I’ve been surprised before and sports bars do have the occasional reputation for excellent bar food and barbeque.

Double Nickel Smokehouse, however, would not be one of those sports bars.

Located deep in the bowels in a part of Elk Grove off of Laguna Boulevard and attached to the Pins N Strikes Bowling Alley, Double Nickel Smokehouse Rating: occupies a huge space and it’s owned by H Lance Briggs, who is also a linebacker for Dinner for one: the Chicago Bears (No. 55, hence, Double $20 - $35 Nickel). An Elk Grove native, Briggs is one more in a line of professional athletes opening restaurants. Some may recall a slight brouhaha in September when Briggs missed training right before the start of the season to attend Double Nickel’s opening.

It seems a shame he had to rush back for the start of the season as perhaps the owner should have stuck around a bit H longer. For such a grand space and such fLawED high expectations of a local hero, the food HH simply doesn’t meet pro standards and haS MoMENtS certainly won’t be going to the playoffs.

HHH Service is spotty and dreadful to say the appEaLING least. On a Tuesday night two servers were HHHH working six tables, but getting either one of authoRItatIvE them to stop at our table was nigh imposHHHHH sible. It was all terribly Parisian, and that’s EpIc never a good thing in table service.

Briggs once said in an interview with another local publication that customers should bring their appetite. Take this to heart, as this is soul food barbecue and portions are huge. An appetizer alone could Still hungry? function as a meal in and of itself. DeepSearch SN&R’s fried pickles tasted delightful. The batter “Dining Directory� was a bit spongy, but a crispy exterior and to find local a balanced remoulade made for an addictrestaurants by name or by type of food. ing snack.

Deep-fried nuggets of catfish, however, Sushi, Mexican, Indian, Italian—discover it were served a mess—devoid of any seasonall in the “Dining� ing, the unnaturally squishy fish molted section at www.news their greasy batter jackets at the merest review.com. touch.

The mac and cheese was, frankly, awful.

Bland and lacking quality cheese, I’m sure it will have its fans but I’m not one of them.

The corn cake arrived dry and turned to powder when picked up—perhaps serving it with butter or honey might have helped but none was provided.

The collard greens were light on the vinegar, but overall successful and quite flavorful.

The dry rub on the ribs made for something mind-boggling: caked on to the

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point that it coated the mouth, yet it didn’t offer even a fading spirit of flavor. The ribs themselves were scant of meat. As for the pulled pork, ours was so dry campers could have mistaken it for kindling.

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Some touchdowns: The brisket was wellmarbled and fatty with a pleasant hickory smokiness. And the biggest play of the night proved to be the hot link: snappy skin, excellent char and fantastic, spicy flavor.

There are a variety of house-made barbecue sauces. The mustard is a dead ringer for French’s Yellow and the diabetes-inducing sweetness of the root beer sauce would best be served on peach pie and not a hot link.

The spicy sauce is fine enough, but it’s nothing that’ll impress.

Barbecue is rarely cheap, but Double Nickel feels like an overcharge of the highest order. Two combo plates and two appetizers run just under $75, so either be prepared to share or come on payday.

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Actually, I made that up. Another thing I also made up with parsnips is a cake. This is a fantastic way to become accustomed to the under-the-radar tuber that looks like a bleached carrot and has a carrotginger flavor, if you’re part of that fictional 79 percent of Americans. The recipe at www.veganbaking.net will yield a sweet and moist dessert that’s kind of like carrot cake with warming spices and shreds of parsnips, but with a welcomed punchiness. And it’s not selfish if you eat half the cake by yourself to get a whole serving of the vegetable—it’s totally responsible, actually. Yeah, OK, I made that up, too.

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Blackbird Kitchen & Beer Gallery Blackbird is back with chefowner Carina Lampkin again at the helm. It’s located in its original space with a similar aesthetic, though with more focus on beer and bar food to better complement the seafoodinspired dinner menu. A burger served with house pickles, seven-day house-cured bacon, cheddar and sweet ’n’ chivey “awesome sauce” make for one of the city’s best burgers, no question. Chowder fries, however, are nifty in theory—fries covered in bay shrimp, bacon and parsley, then doused with chowder. It’s a play on poutine, but a lack of acid and serious sogginess issues mar it from being a landmark dish. Better yet? Fish tacos featuring fried pollock served with pickled cabbage and chipotle crema. These and a beer will remedy any bad day you’re having. American.

1015 Ninth St., (916) 498-9224.

Dinner for one: $10-$30.

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Where to eat?

Here are a few recent reviews and regional recommendations by Janelle Bitker, Ann Martin Rolke, Garrett McCord, Jonathan Mendick and Shoka updated regularly.

Check out www.newsreview.com for more dining advice.

Midtown Block Butcher Bar This place serves the holy trinity of European cuisine: meat, cheese and alcoholic beverages. Most of its boards and plates are balanced using three basic tastes: salty (meats and cheeses), sweet (honey and jam) and sour (pickles and vinegar). The charcuterie boards impress visually and on the tongue. A recent selection included shaved almonds, neat piles of meat,

mustard, pickled cauliflower and beets, served with small slices of bread. The ’nduja sandwich is startlingly spicy and salty, with rich melted cheese and ground meat spread between pressed slices of bread. Or try the pressed serrano ham, manchego cheese, arugula and salsa sandwich—it’s like a cross between a cubano, a breakfast panini and a torta. Elsewhere on the menu there are fine cocktails, an intimidating whiskey list, and a small but diverse selection of beer and wine.

European. 1050 20th St., (916) 476-6306. Dinner for one: $10-$20. HHHH J.M.

Capital Dime Restaurant With a new chef and menu, this Midtown eatery has transformed into a farm-to-forkthemed place for smart bar bites and appealing sandwiches and salads. Try the bacon lollipops, perhaps the tastiest little creations ever put on a stick.

Here, salty rib bacon is slathered with melted brown sugar and whispers of cayenne and cinnamon more hushed than the juiciest of rumors. Sweetpotato pierogis are tasty, puffy packets of potato drizzled with sour cream and shredded-duck confit. A duck burger with fig jam and plenty of crispy onions makes for a gamy change of pace, but the rib bacon whiskey burger—with crunchy lumps of house-made pickle, cheddar and a landslide of crispy fried onions—just might be the best burger in town. American.

1801 L St., Suite 50; (916) 443-1010. Dinner for one: $15-$25. HHHH G.M.

Goldfield Trading Post This new eatery rustles up much nicer chow than your usual cowboy fare with a menu that features dishes with names like Grandma’s Meat Loaf. Grandma knows how to make some meat loaf, that’s for sure: slabs of beef ground with bacon are glazed with a sweet sauce, served atop the cheesiest mashed potatoes this side of Wisconsin. The Gold Panner’s Pork Chop was flat-out fantastic, oozing juicy flavor from its fire-kissed crust. House-made cinnamon applesauce for dunking was a perfect accompaniment. Any good country bar worth its salt pork has chili on the menu, and Goldfield is no exception. It’s made with chunks of tender chicken rather than ground beef, with plenty of nuggets of gold corn and black beans to boot. American. 1630 J St., (916) 476-5076. Dinner for one: $5-$10. HHH1/2 AMR

Harry’s Cafe It can be difficult to decide what to order here— there’s one menu for breakfast, and another with general Chinese and Vietnamese meals.

Oh, and the breakfast menu has a subcategory for “Asian Breakfast,” featuring Hawaiian favorites such as Spam and loco moco (rice topped with hamburger patties, eggs and gravy).

Whatever the option, portions here are huge, especially the heaping plateful of fried rice, which has a playful texture.

Recommended from the Chinese food menu: Stir-fried green beans, hot and sour soup, beef chow fun in black bean sauce and ginger beef that’s piping

hot, tangy, spicy and slightly salty. A nice way to heat up the belly on a cold night. Or, try ginger beef over rice. Asian.

2026 16th St., (916) 448-0088.

Dinner for one: $10-$15.

HHH1/2 J.M.

Izakaya Daikoku Izakayas are to Japan what pubs are to England: a place to grab a cheap drink and some easy grub. The purveyors behind I.D. hope to bring this Eastern swagger to Sacramento with a menu that’s rich in options. Agedashi tofu is the big hit here: deep-fried cubes of delicately soft tofu served with a soy dashi broth form squishy pillows of flavor.

The hamachi collar is also recommended. Served with lemon and ponzu, it’s a boastful dish that exemplifies simplicity. The okonomiyaki is the biggest pull— it’s a traditional Japanese pizza made of cabbage and savory pancake batter. Each is buried under mayo, katsu sauce, and bonito flakes resulting in a rich, greasy mess that leaves you feeling heavy but guarantees you’ll sober up quickly. Japanese.

1900 S St.; (916) 662-7337. Dinner for one: $15-$20. HHH G.M.

East Sacramento Fahrenheit 250 BBQ This barbecue joint ups the ante with attentive table service and high-end ingredients. Chef Jacob Carriker serves Southern staples such as pulled pork, brisket and ribs, plus the very California addition of smoked tri-tip. There’s also chicken and

trout—all smoked in a 7-foot hand-forged steel behemoth.

The pulled-pork sandwich is moist, smoky and falling apart with tenderness. The halfchicken is a bit dry, but benefits from a shot of sauce. The tri-tip is well-smoked, but not as good as the brisket, although it still makes for a very nice addition to the Market salad, with baby greens, grilled zucchini and onions, and cornbread croutons. Barbecue. 7042 Folsom Blvd., (916) 476-4508. Dinner for one: $10-$15. HHHH AMR

Pangaea Bier Cafe Just as European wines are made to be enjoyed with food rather than sipped alone, the current tsunami of European-style microbreweries feature drinks often best quaffed alongside a well-crafted meal. Pangaea Bier Cafe recently stepped up its food game to satisfy that need with a revamped menu that includes an ever-changing rotation of seasonal, slightly upscale pub food. Try the Buffalo wings: They’re deeply flavorful fried morsels with a thick glaze. The mac ’n’ cheese is creamy, with a bit of beer in the sauce and a crunchy topping of herb-flecked breadcrumbs. The sliders are gorgeous little mouthfuls with Tillamook cheddar and housemade pickles. The main-course cheeseburger, one of the best we’ve had in ages, is made from a custom blend of brisket and chuck. This is a juicy patty that holds together, yet bursts with flavor. The locally made brioche bun bears up well, and the house pickles and cheddar simply gild the lily. American.

2743 Franklin Blvd., (916) 454-4942. Dinner for one: $10-$15. HHH1/2 AMR

Land Park/ Curtis Park Boba Cafe For starters, try the scallion pancake; it’s salty, crunchy on the outside and chewy inside. Or, order the pan-fried beef bun, which with its doughy, crunchy wrapping strangely resembled the texture of a Taco Bell Crunchwrap, only smaller, with a much richer flavor. Also worth sampling: pork dumplings served as a firm dough wrapping filled with a rich pork broth and a small ball of meat.

The “Taiwan Style Stewed Pork Over Rice,” a red-braised pork, is a tender, deep-red colored pork marinated in earthy aromatic spices and copious amounts of soy sauce.

Paired with an egg and a heaping pile of rice, it’s one of the most comforting rice plates in Sacramento. Chinese.

5131 Freeport Blvd., (916) 455-1687. Dinner for one: $5-$15. HHHH J.M

South Sac Bodhi Bowl This Vietnamese eatery’s menu is all vegetarian and mostly vegan, with plenty of high notes. The Heavenly Noodle is a can’t-go-wrong salad comprising snow-white vermicelli noodles with cooling mint, cucumber slices, houseroasted peanuts and jagged pieces of faux beef. The “beef”

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Kansai Ramen & Sushi House This place serves its own take on ramen and sushi, with varying degrees of success. The kakuni ramen, which features three thick slices of braised pork belly in lieu of the house ramen’s thin slices of chashu, boasts a nice, sweet marinade; tender consistency; and copious flavor. The sushi rolls here are Western style—aka loaded with toppings. Try the Mufasa roll. With crab and avocado on the inside and salmon and sauce outside, it’s particularly tasty, seasoned in sesame oil and baked—a somewhat unusual technique for sushi.

Japanese. 2992 65th St., Ste. 288; (916) 455-0288. Dinner for one: $10-$20. HHH J.M.

Natomas

the veggies, a light boost of piquant flavor from a “pepper plant sauce,” and won’t leave you feeling overly stuffed after eating it. American.

8928 Sunset Ave. in Fair Oaks, (916) 241-9365. Dinner for one: $10-$20. HHHH J.M.

The Waffle Experience Hold your forks—these aren’t your mom’s buttermilk beauties full of syrup.

They’re traditional Belgian liège waffles, which are closer to bread than pastry. Open for breakfast and lunch, the menu offers choices that include breakfast creations and dishes labeled “Two Hands Required”—i.e., waffle sandwiches. All are packed with flavor. The “Eggcellent” consists of applewood bacon, fontina, egg, arugula, and sun-dried tomato aioli sandwiched between fennel seed waffles. It’s messy, but worth the extra napkins.

American. 4391 Gateway Park Blvd., Suite 650 in Natomas; (916) 285-0562. Dinner for one: $10-$15. HHH AMR

Dad’s Kitchen The cooking at this Guy Fieri-approved joint is consistent and at times technically terrific. Try the Dad’s Burger (lettuce, red onion, tomato, Aleppo chili aioli, and a beef patty encrusted with blue cheese and bacon). With a firm and chewy bun and a sauce with kick, it’s one of Sac’s best burgers. Or get the Hot Blonde. It’s like a subtle, healthier version of a club sandwich, with organic chicken, avocado, spinach, cucumber, roasted onion and Swiss cheese—all set between sourdough bread and grilled on a panini press. It boasts a crunchy texture from all

Field House American Sports Pub Launched by the same team that raised Shady Lady Saloon, this spot brings a bit more culinary hope to an often forgotten part of Sacramento. The whiskey burger is a mighty sammich of perfection with smoked Gouda cheese and bacon that serve as excellent counterpoints to the achingly sweet maple-bourbon glazed red onions. Fries-slashchips arrived pencil-thin and fiercely crispy. If you visit for brunch, don’t miss the signature bloody mary: a 32-ounce bloody mary that doesn’t skimp on the horseradish. It’s served with skewers of beet-pickled

9408 Kiefer Blvd Sacramento, CA (916) 368-7750

2820 Marconi Ave Sacramento, CA (916) 488-8545

Lola’s Lounge The dishes here bring together Latin American favorites with modern presentations.

There are Spanish tapas, for example, including bacalao, a buttery mash of potatoes and salt cod served in a mortar with toast and Spanish olive oil.

Argentinean-styled empanadas are exquisitely flaky and crisp, encasing juicy shredded beef and chopped hard-boiled egg. A garnish of cilantro puree adds the perfect balance of fresh herb. Lola’s Plato de Quesos makes for one of the most interesting cheese plates in the area. It includes Catalan mató, a fresh cheese similar to ricotta, served with honey and a crisp cracker. Blue cabrales and aged castellano sheep’s cheese garnished with spicy mustard, green olives and sweet apple complete the line-up. Elsewhere on the menu, a generous portion of cubed raw tuna is gorgeously presented with fried rice crackers dusted with chile and Szechuan pepper. Eaten with a smear of aioli and a sprinkle of “caviar” from finger limes, it’s a menu standout. Latin American.

9085 Elk Grove Blvd. in Elk Grove; (916) 685-5652. Dinner for one: $10-$15. HHH1⁄2 AMR

Chocolate high

Every once in a while, there comes a business that makes something so well that demand skyrockets and lines start wrapping around the corner. Not surprisingly, this has been happening for a while at popular Sacramento chocolate shop Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates (www.gingerelizabeth.com)—especially around the Valentine’s Day and Christmas holidays. As luck would have it, the shop announced a few weeks ago that for the month of December, they’ll be open on Sundays. In a Facebook post announcing its new hours, the owners explained that they’d simply been “wanting to open on Sundays for two years now and we finally are doing it!” By the way, if you’re still looking to drop off a last-minute holiday gift to SN&R’s offices, our favorites are GE’s salty caramel macarons and Oaxacan Spicy Hot Chocolate. In other chocolate news, the Sacramento Chocolate Salon, an artisanal chocolate show, will return for a second year on January 31, this time at the Embassy Suites-Sacramento Riverfront (100 Capital Mall). Tickets are $25 for adults, $10 for children ages 6-12 and free for kids under 6. More at www.sacchocolatesalon.com.

—Jonathan Mendick

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Elk Grove

which specializes in French and American, serves a ton of breakfast and lunch options (pancakes, waffles, omelets, quiches, crepes, sandwiches) and diners can order them at any time of day. A chocolate crepe is huge and could make for an entire (sugary) meal itself. A Nutella filling option would also be nice.

Savory crepes are a good option; try the Crab and Spinach Crêpe.

With crab meat, spinach, garlic and a cheesy French Mornay sauce, this is rich haute cuisine at a bargain price. French and American. 3535 Fair Oaks Blvd., (916) 972-1911. Dinner for one: $10-$20. HHH1⁄2. J.M.

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1310 Fulton Ave., (916) 487-1045.

Dinner for one: $15-$25.

HHHH G.M.

Danielle’s Crêperie This eatery,

Arden/ Carmichael

IllustratIon by Mark stIvers

actually is slightly sweet, plenty umami and pleasantly inoffensive, as far as fake meat goes.

Nearly everything here has a faux-meat product or tofu element. So, sorry diners with soy allergies—it can’t even be escaped in the papaya salad.

Not an issue? Soldier on with the Hot & Sour soup, a not-too spicy sunset-orange broth that teems with a tomatoey and citrus flavor, chunks of pineapple, semicircles of trumpet mushrooms, cubes of fried tofu and slices of faux crab. Or, try the stir-fried Eight Fold Path.

It features al dente celery, red bell pepper and triangles of the most savory, salty, dense tofu perhaps ever. Vietnamese.

6511 Savings Place, Ste. 100; (916) 428-4160. Dinner for one: $10-$15. HHHH S.

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The Nutcracker There’s an old showbiz dictum that says to never work with kids or animals. Choreographer Ron by Cunningham, whose Nutcracker is now on Jim Carnes stage at the Community Center Theater, has ignored the first part of that warning for more than two decades, casting as many as 500 children per year in the Sacramento Ballet’s annual holiday show.

This year, he’s also gone for the second half of the warning, putting an adoptable animal from the Front Street Animal Shelter into each show, with more available animals in the lobby.

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4The Santaland Diaries PhoTo by KeiTh SuTTer

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A visit to the Land of Sweets yields many pleasures, culminating in the grand pas de deux featuring the Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier (Cunningham and Porter, Winterhalder and Richard Smith, Cunningham and Calka, Kaori Higashiyama and Nachtrab alternate), with all the Sugar Plum Fairies and their Cavaliers dancing in the final performance. Ω

The Nutcracker; 7 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

Sunday; $19-$80.

Community Center Theater, 1301 L Street; (916) 808-5181; www.sacballet.org.

Through December 21.

The good news is that neither of these rule-breakers is just a gimmick. Cunningham gets admirable performances out of kids and dogs alike. And his ballet company is as excellent as ever. Some of the performances also are accompanied by live music from the Sacramento Philharmonic under the direction of Henrik Jul Hansen.

The plot of the story involves a young girl named Clara (Nikole Farina, Ashlyn Bell and Nikki Martin alternate in the role), who dreams of a magical journey in which a toy nutcracker comes to life (Rex Wheeler, John Whisler and Alexander Cain Biber each play the role) and escorts her on an adventure.

While the story is very much for children and features a bunch of them in the prologue and a party scene, it has plenty of real ballet to please adults. The Snowflake Forest (Clara’s first landing place) is ruled by the Snow Queen and King, who dance a delicious pas de deux.

Lauryn Winterhalder and Stefan Calka partner in the first and final performances, with Alexandra Cunningham and Christopher Nachtrab, Maggie Rupp and Mate Szentes, and Winterhalder and Richard Porter dancing in other performances.

Capital Stage tends to prefer hitting the funny bone over the sentimental heart of the holidays.

It does so again with a second production (the first was last year) of humorist David Sedaris’ hilarious The Santaland Diaries, adapted for the stage from his NPR essay of the same name by Joe Mantello.

This year’s show features Aaron Wilton as the would-be soap star who arrives in New York without a job and finds himself making it through the auditioning process to be an elf in Macy’s Santaland seasonal store. Taking the nom de elf “Crumpet,” he then details—in elf garb and with hilarious effect—the rules, regs, practices and pitfalls of elfdom.

Even when he’s deadpan, this guy is funny. But it’s not a show for kids, what with the discussion of bodily functions and backstage shenanigans at the North Pole. In fact, you’ll never look at a mall Santa Claus the same way again.

Of course, it helps that Sedaris always relates his real-life experiences in the funniest manner possible—and Sedaris fans won’t want to miss this show—but The Santaland Diaries really is the antisentimental approach to the holidays, with a bit of heart. There are sections of the show that will confirm every bad thought ever experienced about our fellows, but there are also parts that make us glad that—despite his elfier-than-thou moments—people like this lead our children through their holiday moments.

The full-on holiday fantasy set, designed by Cap Stage’s producing artistic director, Jonathan Williams—and the audience really did gasp when it was revealed—includes a working train set, a luxe Santa throne and all the trimmings from a high-end department store Christmas display. “Helper elves” serve as stagehands, making for a seamless production that moves at a manic pace, thanks to director Peter Mohrmann.

The Santaland Diaries is a great show for those of us who like a bit less sugar and a bit more spice in our holiday fare.

—Kel Munger

The Santaland Diaries; 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday; 7 p.m. Monday; $30-$40. Capital Stage, 2215 J Street; (916) 995-5464; www.capstage.org.

Through December 27.

REEL REVIEWS. It’s a Wonderful Life

In Sacramento Theatre Company’s current musical staging of this dark tale of a desperate man, it’s the very talented Jerry Lee’s portrayal of George Bailey that saves the day, and this production.

This little-known 1998 musical adaptation of the well-known and much-embraced movie isn’t produced too often, mostly because it’s not a particularly strong show—too many songs, and not enough memorable ones. But with good staging and a charismatic lead with an exceptional voice, it’s a nice addition to the local holiday shows this year. W, Th, F 7pm; Sa 2pm & 7pm; Su 2pm. Through 12/28. $20-$40. Sacramento Theatre Company Main Stage, 1419 H St.; (916) 443-6722; www.sactheatre.org. P.R.

3

A New Song for Christmas

4

Snow White and Rose Red

Playwright Dave Pierni takes the lesser known Grimm fairy tale of Snow White and her sister Rose Red and throws back the curtain to reveal sisterly spats and sibling rivalries. Actually, he doesn’t throw back the curtain. Rather, he opens up a traveling theater troupe’s gypsy wagon in this adaptation that is a story-within-a-story, capturing the familial fights of a theater family putting on a production of Snow White and Rose Red. So it’s battling sisters portraying battling sisters—realistic pettiness and meanness splattered between tragic, dramatic and, thankfully, lots of comedic moments. Sa, Su 1pm & 4pm. Through 12/28. $15-20.

B Street Theatre’s Family Series Stage, 2711 B St.; (916) 443-5300; www.bstreettheatre.org. P.R.

3

Spinning Into Light

This interesting new holiday musical, in which choir members of a small church in Central California mutiny when asked to sing the same old Christmas carols again, is earnest and well-intentioned, but a bit uneven. Elaine Douglas’ performance as the music director is a knockout, but the “new” songs (except for one that might be titled “Brand New Day” and a couple of others) are really no better than the old tried and true. Th, F, Sa 8pm; Su 2pm.

Through 12/21. $8-$15.

Celebration Arts Theatre, 4469 D St.; (916) 455-2787, www.celebrationarts.net. J.C.

While it’s not the best of B Street’s original holiday productions, this musical tale of four people in a Southern mill town in the 1950s features Americana- and bluegrass- inflected music from Noah Agruss and book and lyrics by director Buck Busfield. Greg Alexander is outstanding as the millhand quietly in love with a local divorcee.

GOLDEN GLOBE

1

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E

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BEST ACTRESS • REESE WITHERSPOON

2

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BEST ACTRESS • REESE WITHERSPOON

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5 SUBLIME–DON’T MISS

Tu 6:30pm; W 2pm & 6:30pm; Th, F 8pm; Sa 2pm & 9pm; Su 2pm.

Through 1/4. $23-$35. B Street The-

atre, 2711 B St.; (916) 443-5300; www.bstreettheatre.org. K.M.

Short review by Jim Carnes, Kel Munger and Patti Roberts.

PhOTO COURTESy OF PAMELA hAyES CLASSICAL BALLET ThEATRE

Waltzing in a winter wonderland: dancers from Pamela Hayes Classical Ballet Theatre.

BASED ON THE INSPIRATIONAL BEST SELLER BY

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Nutcracker times two The Nutcracker is a December staple in many cities, and the Sacramento region is fortunate to have multiple productions in addition to the one produced by the Sacramento Ballet—including two unique adaptations this weekend. Since 2000, Pamela Hayes Classical Ballet Theatre has presented a classic version, with comedic twists and annual updates for all ages. Dancer Michael Onstad, who reprises his role as Herr Drosselmeyer, will perform alongside many regional dancers. The historic Guild Theater hosts NaTalia Johnson Conservatory and Girls Self-Esteem Program’s second production of Nutcracker in Oak Park. Johnson’s unique take begins in the Evans’ home, not the Silberhaus’. What sets this production apart from all others is the community participation (including a La Quinta Inn general manager, a sheriff’s department employee and a local bodybuilder), the locale and the inclusion of Motown classics, hip-hop and contemporary dance music alongside traditional music and ballet. The Nutcracker; various times, Friday, December 19, through Sunday, December 21; $15-$26; Harris Center for the Arts, 10 College Parkway in Folsom; www.phcb.org. The Nutcracker in Oak Park; various times, Monday, December 22, through Wednesday December 24; $20-$25; Guild Theater, 2828 35th Street; www.girlsselfesteemprogram.com.

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In the 1989 Woody Allen classic Crimes and Misdemeanors, the self-infatuated producer played by Alan Alda is fond of repeating, “If it bends, it’s funny. If it by Daniel Barnes breaks, it isn’t funny.” The line is intended as a sign of the Alda character’s intellectual vulgarity, his tendency to appropriate idiot homilies as artistic wisdom, but there is a droplet of sanity in his flood of inanity. The line between comedy and tragedy has always been a razor-thin one (the classic Buster Keaton sight gag was his undiagnosed neck fracture), which may be one of the reasons that comic actors reach toward the farthest and most morose poles when they turn to drama.

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Steve Carell stars in Bennett Miller’s dark and compelling Foxcatcher as the real-life billionaire John DuPont, the scion to a legendary American family fortune. DuPont was also a paranoid schizophrenic who murdered wrestling champion/coach Dave Schultz in 1996 shortly after a falling out with Dave’s younger brother Mark. At first glance, Carell almost looks like a “stunt” choice for the part of DuPont, but it is inspired casting by Miller (Capote, Moneyball).

With his awkward compulsion to be both father and brother, benefactor and lover, boss and buddy, DuPont has a lot in common with Carell’s heretofore most iconic role—Dunder Mifflin regional manager Michael Scott on TV’s The Office.

This is the darkest and bleakest role that Carell has ever played, yet he uses his comedyhoned physical and vocal chops (as well as generous amounts of makeup) to disappear into the role of the pale and paunchy DuPont. Carell sucks the air out of the room in every scene, but in a manner common to men of unquestionable power and wretched social skills. Miller and cinematographer Greig Fraser (Zero Dark Thirty) abet Carell by giving Foxcatcher the teeming, sweat lodge claustrophobia of a wrestling room, and a slowly mounting sense of dread.

That feeling of borderline absurdist tension and unrest is present from the opening scenes

of the film, as 1984 Olympic gold medal winner Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) delivers an inspirational speech about pursuing dreams to uninterested elementary school children, then cashes in the meager speaking fee (actually intended for his infinitely more affable brother Dave) for a fast-food cheeseburger and another box of ramen. Like the isolated DuPont, Mark is a hornet’s nest of contradictions—he advocates for an American Dream that thoroughly fails him 47 out of every 48 months— and in DuPont he finds a father figure with the same inarticulate, evangelical and vaguely resentful patriotism.

Both Mark and DuPont are men overwhelmed by their family legacies—DuPont by to his old-money name (his imperious mother is played by Vanessa Redgrave) and Mark by his self-assured brother Dave (Mark Ruffalo). When DuPont summons Mark to his Pennsylvania estate, he offers him an opportunity to form a wrestling team and train at the fully equipped on-site wrestling facilities. DuPont is a wrestling naïf, but he’s psychotically wealthy, so it happens. When DuPont fires a gun in the training room, heads barely turn. Only the eternally decent Dave seems incapable of mutating himself before DuPont’s wealth, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be bought.

Foxcatcher is a true dual-male lead piece, but Carell seems to be getting more attention than Tatum, if only by virtue of a prosthetic nose tiebreaker. However, Tatum gives even more of himself physically, making his Mark Schultz a blunt and needy time bomb of rage and self-loathing. This is the “AAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA”-worthy performance that Tatum should have been bragging about to Sony executives, and hopefully an indication that he will continue to accept challenging roles.

Foxcatcher is a true dualmale lead piece, but Carell seems to be getting more attention than Channing Tatum, if only by virtue of a prosthetic nose tiebreaker.

The podium topper here, however, is Ruffalo as the doomed family man Dave Schultz—he delivers the best supporting performance in any film this year. Ruffalo modulates his posture to the hulking hunch of a born wrestler—he walks like a bear that was raised by humans. Early in the film, Ruffalo and Tatum engage in an extended warm-up scene that gradually moves from tenderness to fury.

It is a sequence of tremendous physical acting, and just right for a film that, like Snowpiercer, peers inside the class-system engine and finds only pain and oppression. Ω

3

Big Hero 6

Exodus: Gods and Kings

Director Ridley Scott—abetted by writers Adam Cooper, Bill Collage, Jeffrey Caine and Steven Zaillian—covers ground already harvested twice by Cecil B. DeMille in The Ten Commandments (1923 and 1956), with Moses (a grumbling Christian Bale) and Pharaoh (a sniveling Joel Edgerton) squabbling over the fate of Egypt’s Hebrew slaves.

Where DeMille put the story in terms of divine deliverance from totalitarianism, Scott and company give it a more agnostic cast, couching it all as one huge sibling rivalry. God is presented as a rather smugly precocious little boy (Isaac Andrews), the ten plagues come off as a series of incredibly unlucky coincidences, and Moses never even parts the Red Sea. DeMille’s Ten Commandments was corny but never dull; Scott’s version is 90 minutes shorter but feels 30 minutes longer. J.L.

5

The Homesman

When we think of the “revisionist Western” genre, the implication is usually one of Peckinpah-esque ultraviolence or Dead Man artiness. Tommy Lee Jones’ unexpectedly devastating The Homesman, while hardly lacking for flashes of brutal violence or moments of equally brutal introspection, takes a slightly different approach. It is a film about the western landscape as a psychological nightmare, and in its deepest and darkest moments, The Homesman questions how insanity should be defined in a world as savage and lonely as the one it depicts. However, this is also a full entertainment, filled with rich and moving performances, bawdy humor, powerful visuals and a genuine empathy for the forgotten heroes of history. Jones, who adapted the Glendon Swarthout novel along with screenwriters Kieran Fitzgerald and Wesley A. Oliver and also gives a great performance here, only leads the viewer down comforting alleys in order to ambush them with ugly truths. D.B.

3

INCLUDING

Horrible Bosses 2

Those three dim-bulb heroes (Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day) are back. This time the bane of their lives isn’t their bosses, but an unscrupulous business partner and his son (Christoph Waltz, Chris Pine), who have just aced the trio out of a multimilliondollar invention. Our boys plot revenge with their customary Murphy’s Law ineptitude. Written

by John Morris and director Sean Anders, the movie has the usual sequel pitfall—what was fresh in 2011 has gone a little stale, especially the stars’ three-way motormouth banter—and it huffs and puffs a bit in finding ways to include the original co-stars (Kevin Spacey, Jennifer An-

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REEL

Walk the Oscar line?

Birdman

A washed-up movie star (Michael Keaton), hoping to scramble out from the shadow of the Birdman superhero blockbusters he made 20 years ago, tries to mount his own Broadway adaptation of a story by Raymond Carver, but everything seems to go wrong—starting with the fact that Birdman has infected his own unstable personality.

Director and co-writer Alejandro Gonzáles Iñárritu’s movie invites comparison with the ultimate has-been-nut-cast-movie-star picture, Billy Wilder’s Sunset Blvd.—and amazingly, it holds up under the comparison, thanks to Iñárritu’s brilliantly surrealistic technique, the can’t-look-away messy state of the protagonist’s head, Keaton’s tautly pugnacious performance, and an equally strong supporting cast (Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Zach Galifianakis, Emma Stone, Amy Ryan, etc.). J.L.

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STEVE CARELL CHANNING TATUM MARK RUFFALO

A Marvel comic book reconfigured to look and sound like an animated McDonald’s commercial, Big Hero 6 is still the most tolerable film to be released under the Marvel banner in years, even if the superhero origin story stuff is the least interesting piece. The film takes place in the futuristic, East-West hybrid city of San Fransokyo, and the story follows a 13 year-old computer prodigy named Hiro Hamada, who forms a bond with an inflatable robot after his brother’s death. Despite a chaotic narrative that bloats the running time to nearly two hours, Big Hero 6 is colorful and fast-paced entertainment, easily watchable and easily forgotten, like a shiny new toy that isn’t much fun to play with. It is preceded by the 6-minute Feast, an enchanting Disney short that offers all of the warmth and soul that Big Hero 6 lacks. D.B.

5

3BEST PICTURE

GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS NOMINATIONS DRAMA

by daniel barnes & JiM lane

3

Wild

Director Jean-Marc Vallee follows up last year’s Oscar fave Dallas Buyers Club with another blatant awards grubber in Wild, based on the memoir by Cheryl Strayed. Reese Witherspoon plays Strayed, who in 1995 hiked over 1,000 miles along the Pacific Crest Trail, exorcising the demons that occupied the space left by her mother’s untimely death. Much like Dallas Buyers Club, Wild is a mix of unguarded rawness and mawkish calculation, equal parts honest inspiration and mercenary ambition. Witherspoon is very good, not just deglamorized but immersed, and Laura Dern is every bit her equal as Strayed’s mother (another “dream Mom” role for Dern to match her turn earlier this year in The Fault in Our Stars). The editing, cinematography, sound design, nonlinear Nick Hornby script and PCT scenery are all exquisite, so perhaps the entire project is just a little too Hike, Pray, Love for this particular critic’s taste. D.B. iston, Jamie Foxx). Still, it’s pretty funny (albeit less surprising), and Anders keeps the action prancing along smartly. Pine and Waltz show a nice flair for comedy. J.L.

2

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), rescued from the aborted Quarter Quell Games, winds up in the rebellious District 13, where leader Alma Coin (Julianne Moore) and Plutarch Heavensbee (the late Philip Seymour Hoffman) lobby her to become the face of the revolt. Supposedly based on the first half of the last volume of Suzanne Collins’ wildly popular trilogy, the movie is sluggish, with very little happening. In fact it’s a cheat, a shameless ploy to squeeze another $600 million dollars out of moviegoers. The fans probably won’t complain because, after all, it does have Lawrence and her strong supporting cast (most of them reduced to cameos); still, the smarter ones (if they haven’t already taken the bait) will put this one in their Netflix queues and wait till next year, when the story actually gets rolling. J.L.

4

I Am Eleven

The Michael Apted Up films, a long-running series of documentaries that check in with a group of ordinary British children from various backgrounds every seven years, have always positioned themselves as grand social experiments, taking their cue from the Ignatius Loyola quote, “Give me a child until he is 7 and I will give you the man.” There is no such pretense of experimentation or profundity from Genevieve Bailey’s thoroughly ingratiating I Am Eleven, and no intention of glorifying “ordinary” 11-year-old behavior. Bailey interviews 11-year-old children from around the globe about their worldviews, seeing the age as the last rest stop between the innocent wonder of childhood and the hormonal catastrophe of adolescence. She finds some amazing kids, including volunteers at an elephant sanctuary in Thailand, and their personalities were enough to make me hope for future Up-esque check-ins down the line. D.B.

3

Interstellar

Christopher Nolan has earned enough trust and respect to make the dark, thematically ambitious and potentially difficult films that studios usually avoid like the plague, and on the scale of his choice. Based as much on the success of his rabbit-hole actioner Inception as his money-in-the-bank Batman movies, he even got Paramount to back his moony and assaultive three-hour space epic Interstellar.

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Rather than liberating Nolan, however, the ability to make big-budget movies that aim to do more than sell souvenir soda cups has weighed on him like a divine task, and each film has become more dreadfully self-important than the last.

Interstellar is a nonstop barrage of teachable moments, simultaneously bloated and rushed, and crammed with more topical detritus than a Lee Daniels film. There is no shortage of visual spectacle here, but Interstellar flirts with big ideas and weighty themes only to avoid probing beneath their surfaces. D.B.

2

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Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

3

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“MOVING, ENGAGING AND DEEPLY SINCERE.” - Andrew O'Hehir, SALON.COM

Museum guard Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) and his exhibit pals—Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt, Owen Wilson and Steve Coogan as cowboy and Roman figurines, etc.—fly off to the British Museum to restore the magic Egyptian tablet that gives them life. The 2006 original and its 2009 sequel were amusing trifles; this time the goings-on are still trifling but less amusing. Director Shawn Levy and a new team of writers (David Guion, Michael Handelman and Mark Friedman) fail to find a new hook, falling back on more and bigger visual effects. The movie’s not bad, but three times really is one too many. On the plus side, there’s a clever chase set in an M.C. Escher print and a hilarious cameo from Hugh Jackman (as himself)—plus the bittersweet sight of farewell turns from Robin Williams and Mickey Rooney. J.L.

“BEAUTIFULLY ACTED.” - Manohla Dargis, NEW YORK TIMES

STARTS FRI., 12/19

BiRDMAN HOMESMAN EVERYTHING “A TRIUMPH.” - Peter Debruge, VARIETY

“A GRIPPING DRAMA.”

“ABSORBING.”

- Joe McGovern, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

- Todd McCarthy, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

the THEORY of

THE

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Independent Catholics

The Theory of Everything

Jake Kasdan’s 2007 genre parody Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story so effectively skewered the hoary tropes of movie biopics, any film employing them with a straight face risks looking ridiculous. Cliches are not mandatory for the genre—films as diverse as Todd Haynes’ I’m Not There and Mike Leigh’s upcoming Mr. Turner have tossed aside biopic crutches while still landing emotional and intellectual impacts.

But James Marsh’s straight-faced biopic The Theory of Everything is engineered for maximum awards season appeal, and so it crams in as many those conventions as it possibly can.

The film might be unwatchable if not for the excellent performances from Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne as Jane and Stephen Hawking.

Redmayne especially does bravura work—he becomes Stephen Hawking, body and soul—but The Theory of Everything doesn’t have the imagination or ambition to be anything more than his showpiece. D.B.

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Three for the show Ghostplay’s members explain why it’s not all about that bass Sometimes guitarist-singer Jason Hess will play demo recordings from his indie band Ghostplay for his friends. And each time, he says, he gets a similar by Aaron Carnes response: “I like it, but I can’t understand what you’re singing about.”

That reaction is understandable, actually, considering how low Hess’ vocals are mixed into the music’s bed of lush, dueling guitars and dynamic drum beats.

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but Hess’s guitar is strung with baritone strings, which puts his sound in a lower register. The musician then feeds his signal into a guitar amp and a bass amp.

“We have all this weird stuff going on. I might use some reverb to spread it out. It has this fullness, like multiple frequencies coming through at once,” Hess explains. “We don’t need a bass player. We can just use technology.”

The band started with just Hess and Garcia three years ago.

Back then all the pair knew for sure was that they liked each other’s sounds and wanted to see where it would go.

Hess comes from a singersongwriter background, but also grew up listening to dark, heavy music such as Black Sabbath, the Melvins, and Butthole Surfers.

Garcia, who grew up listening to moody, eclectic stuff such as Radiohead and The Walkmen, spent much time playing guitar alone in her room, building riffs on a looping pedal and jamming over it. The result, she says, was a lot of songs with weird time signatures.

“I have no idea what I’m playing. I was really shy growing up. I didn’t have anyone telling me, ‘no, it’s 4/4.’ I just played whatever came natural to me,” Garcia says.

Initially, Hess and Garcia weren’t sure they wanted a drummer, and considered using a drum machine instead. Eventually, however, they brought in a friend to sit behind the kit.

When that friend left to join another band, they connected with Gonzales.

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“That’s intentional. [The voice] is just another instrument, it’s not the lead singer—it’s not natural for me to be up front and center stage,” Hess says.

Recently the band, rounded out by guitarist Leticia Garcia and drummer Mando Gonzalez, has been working on an EP. The songs, recorded at Ruminator Audio in San Francisco with engineer/producer Monte Vallier, will retain the demo’s lo-fi vocal quality, Hess says.

But while Ghostplay’s lyrics will probably still be difficult to make out, that’s OK—after all, they’re the last piece of the puzzle when the band writes songs, Hess says. Rather, the songwriting process, he says, starts with Gonzalez, who generally builds the foundation for each track with the rest of the band jamming on ideas, often for hours, as Hess sings whatever words pop into his mind. Real lyrics come much later.

“The lyrics are very secondary to mood.

We’ll record jams on our phone, and listen to [them] in our car for a couple months, trying to figure out how we’re going to make those moments happen again,” Hess says. “It’s just about capturing an emotion.”

When a song is complete, each one tends to follow an arc, rising and falling with varying levels of intensity and feelings. Sections build off of each other, like waves of an ocean.

With only three people—and not a bass in the lot—the trio produces a surprisingly thick, layered sound. Garcia plays a standard guitar,

“ We’ll record jams on our phone, and listen to [them] in our car for a couple months, trying to figure out how we’re going to make those moments happen again.”

Jason Hess guitarist-singer, Ghostplay That’s when Ghostplay’s sound really clicked, Hess says. With Gonzales, the band was finally able to explore fluctuating dynamics, atmosphere and a range of emotions.

“There’s a big difference between two people doing a project and three people—that makes it a band,” Hess says. “This works for us. I’m glad we didn’t stick with the drum machine.” Ω

Gender bender: Some weeknights are usually synonymous with bingewatching marathons. After all, it’s

feel generous and rock out at the same time. Cover is $10. Bring a toy and get entered into a sweet raffle for haircuts, tattoos, piercings, concert tickets, clothes, music, restaurant gift cards and more. But really, everyone’s a winner, because your donated toy will make a kid super happy. Make it a cool toy.

Local electronic indie dance rock band Saint Solitaire headlines the evening. Frontman Andrew Barnhart always puts on an energetic show, and he’s promising to unveil a brand new song that night. Rock band Lonely Kings will play for the 10th time while Gene Chowder, Danny Secretion’s alterlounge-ego, hosts the evening.

Follow that with the third annual Non-Drummer Off on Friday, December 19, at Harlow’s Restaurant & Nightclub, 2708 J Street. The event is exactly what it sounds like. A drummer competition between people who don’t play drums. Owee. My ears already hurt.

The real drummers behind Ideateam, ZuhG and Massive Delicious will judge. Indie outfit Joseph in the Well and Jeffry Valerio of reggae band Riotmaker will play real music. Presumably awful drum solos courtesy of 14 musicians and other members of the creative community, including Clay Nutting of LowBrau and TBD Fest, Kenny the Dancing Man and SN&R’s very own Nick Miller.

easy to succumb to a night of Netflix and a bag of cheese puffs. However, knowing that Los Angeles’ Allison Chains, an all-female tribute to the

Sammies time: We had some delays, but SN&R’s annual Sacramento Area Music Awards, a.k.a. the Sammies, is now accepting nominations for the March 2015 celebration. Head to www.newsreview. com/sacramento/sammies and tell us which local musician’s record gets you through work every day; who is creating soundscapes so creative and unusual that you’re left confused; who is shredding so hard that you get headaches; who is spitting such honest rap that you cry; and ... you get the idea. We want to know who you like and stuff.

You’ll have about a month to do so. We’ll announce the official nominations—and you can start campaigning for votes—in February.

—Eddie Jorgensen

Event season: Don’t be tempted to stay indoors this holiday season.

Do not succumb to the Netflix and cheese puffs! There’s too much stuff going on.

The 10th annual Rock for Tots takes place on Thursday, December 18, at the Blue Lamp (1400 Alhambra Boulevard).

Per usual, it’s a great way to BEFORE

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—Janelle Bitker

jan el l eb @ne w s re v i e w . c o m

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YOU’RE WELCOME, NATURE.

all-male Alice In Chains, would be playing a mere fives miles from my house was enough of an elixir to venture out into the cold Sacramento night.

The band’s West Coast jaunt, appropriately dubbed the “Better Hair Than Jerry (Cantrell)” tour, included a stop at the Blue Lamp.

Led by lead singer and blonde bombshell Caroline Heldman, the band tore through “Dam That River” as if it was written for them alone.

Standing atop Blue Lamp’s vocal monitor, it’s safe to say Heldman had seen a few AIC shows in her lifetime. She had the late Layne Staley’s moves down.

On “Them Bones” from 1992’s Dirt, guitarist Felicia Villani and bassist Amelia Gioiello, a.k.a. P-Nut, played so well together, it felt like they were in a large arena rather than a small, 200-capacity room.

There was certainly no shortage of applause and, of course, requests from the largely male crowd, the members of which seemed to know nearly every song.

Unlike the thousands of tribute bands who only play the hits, these four women also brought out deeper cuts during their 45-minute set. Highlights included a rousing rendition of the more obscure “Love/Hate/Love,” “Would?” and a spirited version of “Rooster,” which would’ve probably made Alice In Chains founder Cantrell smile from ear-to-ear.

Drummer Misai held down the groove and even launched into a disco-laden intro reminiscent of Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music,” which then moved into the band’s final song, “Man In The Box.” But, before Allison Chains could exit the stage, the band was coerced to play an encore: fittingly, “We Die Young.”

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18THURS

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Island of Black and White

Pure Acoustic Punk Dads

E-40

Haas Kowert Tice

Torch Club, 9 p.m., $6

Fox & Goose, 9 p.m., $5

It’s the week before Christmas—that time of year when the air is frigid, shopping malls are unbearable and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” won’t leave you alone. Enter Island of Black and White to play some sunshiney tunes as an antidote to all that holiday treacle. The El Dorado Hills natives play tirelessly around town and opportunities to catch them are many, but this particular show happens to be at a bar, ReGGAe RocK which is all the more reason to step away from gift-wrapping and immerse yourself in the notion that if you can’t escape it all via a vacation somewhere tropical, you can at least pretend. 904 15th Street, www.islandofblackandwhite.com.

—Deena Drewis

What better place to hear a bunch of punk-rock dads than a venue known as a state-worker hangout with a homey atmosphere? Yes, a trio of dads from a pUNK bunch of local bands is getting together at Fox & Goose for a show billed “Pure Acoustic Punk Dads.” The three dads in question are Kenny Beasley (Sac Storytellers), Brian Hanover (Hanover Saints) and Dan Reynoso (the Secretions [pictured], Groovie Ghoulies, and the Knockoffs). Why not grab your favorite wool Christmas sweater, have a beer or two and enjoy a relaxing evening listening to some fine musicians stripping down songs to their most bare-bones elements?

That sounded creepy. Sorry. 1001 R Street, www.foxandgoose.com.

Ace of Spades, 7 p.m., $28 There’s plenty more behind the man responsible for the mainstream club banger “Tell Me When To Go.” Vallejo-based rapper and hyphy movement godfather E-40 has released more than 20 albums to date, featuring collaborations with Too Short, Schoolboy Q, Mac Dre and more. His latest two releases, Sharp on All 4 Corners (Corner 1 and Corner 2), hit stores December 9.

Outside his success in the rap game, E-40 is also a man of many investments and Hip-Hop ventures. He’s authored (but didn’t publish) a book, E-40’s Book of Slang, owned a Fatburger chain in Pleasanton, Calif. (now closed), and now has a line of fine wines with flavors like Mangoscato and Function Red Blend.

1417 R Street, www.facebook.com/e40.

Call to Reserve your Celebration Package Today!

(916) 922-2020 or Book Online at www.woodlakehotelandresort.com

w w w. n e w s r e v i e w. c o m

Dance to Live Music by Jam Radio Fireworks Show over the lake at Midnight Sumptuous Prime Rib Dinner Buffet Room Packages starting at $229 per couple Free Parking and Champagne Toast Dinner Starts at 7:00pm Party Doors Open at 8:00pm - 1:00am

swingin’ party new year’s eve

WEDNESDAY 12/17

starting at 9pm no cover champagne toast

BRANDED FUNNY COMEDY PRESENTS: SHAUN LATHAM

—Chris Parker

RESTAURANT •• BAR BAR CLUB •• RESTAURANT COMEDY COMEDY CLUB

VOTED BEST COMEDY CLUB BY THE SACRAMENTO NEWS & REVIEW!

THURSDAY 12/18 - SUNDAY 12/21 FROM E!’S CHELSEA LATELY AND TRUTV’S BARMAGEDDON!

MO MANDEL SANDY STEC, ROBERT BERRY

TUESDAY 12/23

LANCE WOODS FRIDAY 12/26 - SUNDAY 12/28 FROM THE OFFICE AND LOGOTV’S THE STRAIGHT OUT REPORT!

MIKE E. WINFIELD JASON RESLER, CARLOS RODRIGUEZ

TUESDAY 12/30 LIVE PODCAST TAPING!

DOUG LOVES MOVIES DOUG BENSON & SPECIAL GUESTS

NEW YEAR’S EVE!

2014’S LAST LAUGHS

FEATURING AN ALLSTAR LINEUP OF SACRAMENTO’S FAVORITE LOCAL COMICS INCLUDING NGAIO BEALUM, KEITH LOWELL JENSON, JOHNNY TAYLOR, CHERYL ANDERSON AND MANY MORE!

SN&R

Annual New Year’s Eve Extravaganza!

The trio of fiddler Brittany Haas (Crooked Still), bassist Paul Kowert (Punch Brothers), and guitarist Jordan Tice (Tony Trischka) met playing music camps and festivals while in college. Though each went AmeRicANA on to other acts, they stayed in touch and began reconnecting between gigs. That ultimately turned into July’s You Got This, a nine-song collection of instrumental Americana with a touch of classical grace and sophistication. The interplay is at times playful, reflective, rousing, intimate and even haunting, but always lit by the airy ease of their performances. It’s an album of such vibrant intensity and emotion that the vocals are never missed.

2708 J Street, www.haaskowerttice.com.

—Steph Rodriguez

Gift certificates to local merchants for up to 50% off

—Jonathan Mendick

Celebrate 2015

Harlow’s Restaurant & Nightclub, 7 p.m., $20-$25

FRIDAY 1/2 - SUNDAY 1/4 FROM SHOWTIME AND COMEDY CENTRAL!

EDWIN SAN JUAN YOSHI OBAYASHI, CHRIS GORE

THURSDAY 1/8 - SATURDAY 1/10 FROM E!’S CHELSEA LATELY!

JOSH WOLF

WITH SPECIAL GUEST JIFFY WILD

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER! $3 CoCktails

for those who dress to kill!

Big Band Ragtime swing the hideaway BaR & gRill

2565 Franklin Blvd • 916.455.1331

38 | SN&R |

12.18.14

TWITTER.COM/PUNCHLINESAC • FACEBOOK.COM/PLSAC

WWW.PUNCHLINESAC.COM

CALL CLUB FOR SHOWTIMES: (916) 925-5500

2100 ARDEN WAY • 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.

19FRI

20SAT

20SAT

20SAT

Streetlight Fire

Sacramento’s Latin Christmas Jam

One-Eyed Doll

Madison Ave

Naked Lounge, 8:30 p.m., $5 Remember the days of Taking Back Sunday and Brand New? That emo sound branded EMO as alternative rock from the early 2000s has new life, with less screaming. Locally, look no further than young four-piece Streetlight Fire. Just take a listen to “Lost Cause” off its debut album The Sun Stands Still: “I lost a lot of blood breaking things I love over you/Was it worth your time?” There are similarly angsty, genre-appropriate references to scars, pain and failed love throughout the album, sung over crescendo-filled, melodic pop-punk.

Perhaps the Dangerous Summer is a better comparison. Wait, Taking Back Sunday is still touring? 1111 H Street, www.facebook.com/ streetlightfire.

—Janelle Bitker

The Boardwalk, 7 p.m., $12-$15

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

Blue Lamp, 8 p.m., $7

One-Eyed Doll is a punk-rock duo from Austin, Texas, that’s achieved headliner status the old-fashioned way: touring the country supporting countless national acts such as Otep and the late Wayne Static.

It’s also been a viral sensation as well; the duo’s “You’re a Vampire” video has already received close to 400,000 views and the equally catchy “Be My Friend” fast approaches 275,000. The band comprises PUNK vocalist and guitarist Kimberly Freeman and Sacramento native Jason Rufuss Sewell rocking the drums with great effect. If you’re into well-written, short songs and seeing a band that doesn’t stare at its instruments, OED should please.

9426 Greenback Lane in Orangevale, www.oneeyeddoll.com.

In the song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” there are supposed to be “seven geese-alaying” on the seventh day. Why not trade those seven geese for “five bands-a-playing,” and then dance to the sounds of old-school R&B and Latin rhythms? Headliners Midnight Players will bring old-school favorites to get WORLD you moving and grooving. Inner Soul mixes it up with Carole King, War, Culture Club and other dance favorites.

Los Elegantes, 2001 Sammies Hall of Famers, play smooth Latin originals. Sacred Fire Band celebrates the music of Santana and Luv Taxi will drive it home with more Latin beats. Bring your ID and dancing shoes for this 21-and-over show. 1417 R Street, www.aceofspades.com.

—Trina L. Drotar

Madison Ave has been quite active as of late.

The local heavy alt-rock band has been gigging a lot, and received some much-desired airplay on 98 Rock’s Local Licks program.

The group’s appeal is easy to see for fans ROCK of heavy music. It bridges a gap between ’70s power-pop, moody ’90s nu-metal and 2000s emo-punk, mixing in a lot of energy and a big twin-guitar sound.

The tune “Dear Mary” is its most recent song to get play on 98 Rock, and it’s MA’s biggest, heaviest rocker yet. The vocals explode with power and force, while still staying emotive and infectious. 1400 Alhambra Boulevard, www.facebook.com/madisonavemusic916.

—Aaron Carnes

—Eddie Jorgensen

2708 J Street Sacramento, CA 916.441.4693 www.harlows.com DEC 21 · 5:30PM · $15

DEC 18 · 6PM · $15 ADv

rat pack christmas

close to yoU: a carpenters tribUte with holiDay songs DEC 18 · 10PM · $15

STARRiNg FRANK, DEAN AND SAMMY WiTh SPECiAL gUEST MARiLYN MONROE

DEC 25 · 8:30PM · $10

Diego’s Umbrella arDen park roots

DEC 19 · 6PM · $20 ADv

ALL AgES ShOW

haas kowert tice

ZUhg

DEC 26 · 8PM · $10

the fUnky sixteens

DEC 19 · 9:30PM · $10

3rD annUal non DrUmmer DrUm off DEC 20 · 9:30PM · $12

solsa

BEFORE

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NEWS

|

F E AT U R E

STORY

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

CiTY OF TREES BRASS BAND, ThE DivA KiNgS, OUT OF PLACE

nye with lovefool

ThE BAY AREA’S FiNEST PARTY BAND PLAYiNg hiTS FROM ThE 80’S, 90’S AND TODAY. LOvEFOOLLivE.COM FOR viP ACCCOMMODATiONS CALL 916-441-4693. DOORS OPEN AT 9PM

|

AFTER

Coming Soon 12/27 Brodi Nicholas 12/27 Bahamadia 12/28 Anuhea 12/31 NYE w/ Lovefool 1/03 Cream of Clapton 1/03 Karega Bailey 1/05 Brother’s Keeper 1/09 Midge Ure (of Ultravox) 1/09 KRS-One 1/15 Al Kooper 1/16 Joy and Madness 1/17 Whitey Morgan 1/22 Portland Cello Project 1/23 Apple Z 1/24 The Ting Tings 1/28 The New Mastersounds 1/29 Sage Francis 1/30 Will Kimbrough 1/30 Duran Duran Duran 2/03 The Motet

| 12.18.14

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SN&R

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39

NIGHTBEAT

THURSDAY 12/18

FRIDAY 12/19

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

HEART BREAK TIME MACHINE, 9:30pm, no cover

ISLAND OF BLACK AND WHITE, 9:30pm, no cover

BLUE LAMP

1400 Alhambra, (916) 455-3400

SAINT SOLITAIRE, LONELY KINGS, FUDI, THE HARBO; 8pm, $10

Reggae w/ DJ Wokstar and guest deejays, 10pm, $3

MADISON AVE, MISAMORE, THE INSTITUTION, RE-EXISTENCE; 8pm, $7

THE BOARDWALK

YOUNG SAM, THE CRU, DMB LEGENDS,

AMONGST THIEVES, DECIPHER, IN THE SILENCE, WE WENT TO THE MOON; 8pm

ONE-EYED DOLL, WHITE KNUCKLE RIOT, HEAT OF DAMAGE; 8pm, call for cover

CENTER FOR THE ARTS

Nevada City School of the Arts Winter Revels Performance, 3:30pm & 7pm, $5

BADLANDS List your event!

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.

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

9426 Greenback Ln., Orangevale; (916) 988-9247 THEORY; 8pm, call for cover 314 W. Main St., Grass Valley; (530) 274-8384

THE COZMIC CAFÉ

DJ Billy Lane, 10pm, call for cover

DIVE BAR

DOUBLE NICKEL SMOKEHOUSE FACES

Kamikaze Karaoke, 9pm-2am, no cover

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

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

FOX & GOOSE

STEVE MCLANE, 8pm, no cover

DANNY SECRETION, KENNY BEASLEY, BRIAN HANOVER; 9pm, $5

DESARIO, THE ORANGE PEELS; 9pm, $5

THE GOLDEN BEAR

DJ Shaun Slaughter, 10pm, call for cover

DJ Crook One, 10pm, call for cover

DJ Whores, 10pm, no cover

GOLDFIELD TRADING POST

MANZANITA, 9pm, no cover

CHASE BRYANT, JACKIE LEE; 8pm, $20-$40

HALFTIME BAR & GRILL

POSTERCHILD, 9pm-midnight, $5

SKID ROSES, 9pm-midnight, $5

2000 K St., (916) 448-7798 1001 R St., (916) 443-8825 2326 K St., (916) 441-2252 1603 J St., (916) 476-5076

5681 Lonetree Blvd., Rocklin; (916) 626-6366 CLOSE TO YOU, 7pm, $15-$18; DIEGO’S UMBRELLA, 10pm, $15

HAAS KOWERT TICE, 7pm, $20-$25; Non-Drummer Drum Off, 9:30pm, $10

SOLSA, 10pm, $12

LUNA’S CAFÉ & JUICE BAR

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

PEEKABO BLUES, BONEYARD RATTLERS, EMILY O’NEIL; 8pm, $5

BROKEN BOYS CLUB, 8pm, $5

MIDTOWN BARFLY

Panik: deejay dancing w/ Angels of Kaos, That Thing on Friday, EDM, 9pm-2am, $5 10pm-2am, $5

2708 J St., (916) 441-4693 1414 16th St., (916) 441-3931 1119 21st St., (916) 549-2779

We Have

Drink Specials • No Cover Thur: X-Trio 5:30 - 7:30PM

Pailer & Fratis

Fri:

Blues

Chowder

TUES Dec 23 9PM $5

5:30 - 7:30PM

Blues Jam

Sun:

4 - 7PM

Island of Black and White DC Power & Electric

live MuSic Dec 19 heart break time machine

Kyle Rowland

Dec 20 island of black & white

Mr. December

Dec 26 brian rodgers

Jeremy Norris and The Dangerous Mood Patrick Contreras

Sean Lehe and Friends

Quinn Hedges

Tues:

Dec 27 ariel Jean band Dec 31 thunder cover (nye)

Closed Christmas Eve

44 3 - 2797 www.torchclub.net

904 15 St. th

Btwn I & J Downtown Sac

(Across from Memorial Auditorium) |

SN&R

Jan 10 city cats Jan 16 hucklebucks

27 Beers on Draft

5:30 - 7:30PM

Wed:

|

NEW YEAR’S EVE BASH! Champagne Toast & Party Favors at Midnight

12.18.14

J*RAS, RIOTMAKER; 10pm, call for cover ZUHG, 9pm, no cover

TODD MORGAN, 9pm Tu, no cover

Dragalicious, 9pm, $5

Karaoke, 9pm-2am M; Latin night, 9pm Tu, $5; DJ Alazzawi, 9pm W, $3

Jellybread Ideateam 9pm • $25

Open-mic, 7:30pm M; Pub Quiz, 7pm Tu; Northern Soul and Cornhole, 8pm W

trivia mondays @ 6:30pm open mic wednesdays sign-ups @ 7:30pm karaoke thursdays @ 7:30pm

101 Main Street, roSeville 916-774-0505 · lunch/dinner 7 days a week fri & sat 9:30pm - close 21+ facebook.com/bar101roseville

Trivia night, W, call for cover

LARISA BRYSKI, 1pm, $10; The Rat Pack Christmas Show, 7pm, $15

Requiem presents... the Playa Provides, Burning Man event, 5pm, $20-25

KEVIN & ALLYSON SECONDS, DAVID HOUSTON, JONAH MATRANGA; W Requiem presents... the Playa Provides, Burning Man event, 10am, $20-25

ENTERTAINMENT

5:30 - 7:30PM

Sat:

40

SUN Dec 21 8PM $5

Open-mic, 7-11pm Tu, no cover

LIVE

Every Day

SAT Dec 20 9PM $8

Acoustic open mic, 8pm M, no cover

Industry Night, 9pm, call for cover

HARLOW’S

FRI Dec 19 9PM $10

MURDERLICIOUS, BLACK MAJIK ACID; 8pm, call for cover

SAXUAL CHOCOLATE, 9:30pm, $10

3443 Laguna Blvd., Ste. 150, Elk Grove; (916) 226-2900

Happy Hour

DJ Audio1, 10pm, call for cover

Deuling Pianos, 9pm, no cover

1022 K St., (916) 737-5999

THU Dec 18 9PM $6

Trivia Night, 6:30pm M, no cover

THE MARK SEXTON BAND, THE SIERRA DRIFTERS; 8pm, $10

Open-mic, 7:30pm, no cover

594 Main St., Placerville; (530) 642-8481

the

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 12/22-12/24 Mad Mondays, 9pm M, call for cover

UNWOUNDED KICKIN COUNTRY, 9pm1am, call for cover

4007 Taylor Rd., Loomis; (916) 652-4007

1016 K St., (916) 737-5770

Hey local bands!

SUNDAY 12/21 Sin Sunday, 8pm, call for cover

WINDHAM HILL, 7pm, $25-$28

COUNTRY CLUB SALOON

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.

SATURDAY 12/20

EVERY FRI & SAT 9PM

Swing dancing, 7:30pm Tu, $6; Salsa lessons with Nicole Lazo, 7:30pm W, $5

WATCH NFL GAMES 13 TV’S POTLUCK STYLE $1 OFF PINTS • $2 OFF PITCHERS

TUESDAYS

OPEN MIC

DEC 19

POSTERCHILD

CURRENT AND PAST HITS WITH A MODERN KICK / $5

DEC 20

SKID ROSES 80’S COVER BAND / $5

DEC 26

ANT BEE

SIGN UPS 9PM

THURSDAY-SUNDAY

KARAOKE • 9PM-1AM

LIVE MUSIC EVERY FRIDAY • 7-9PM CHRIS TWOMEY

ACOUSTIC / $5

DECEMBER 19

DEC 27

DECEMBER 26

CALIFORNIA GROOVE BLEND OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC / $5

NEW YEAR'S EVE BOWLING PACKAGES AVAILABLE INFO AT STRIKESROCKLIN.COM

NIGHT AT THE DISCO 9PM ~ $25 ADV ~ $35 DOOR

PARTY WITH THE FUNK ROCKERS 70’S HITS

70'S ATTIRE WELCOMED - FREE CHAMPAGNE TOAST @ MIDNIGHT - $1000'S IN DOOR PRIZES

HALFTIME BAR & GRILL INSIDE STRIKES UNLIMITED 5681 Lonetree Blvd • Rocklin 916.626.3600 HALFTIMER OCKLIN.COM

CAPTAIN & SCHLEMIEL

NEW YEARS EVE NO COVER KARAOKE 9PM BALL DROP FESTIVITIES COMPLIMENTARY CHAMPAGNE AT MIDNIGHT

HOLIDAY HOURS:

OPEN CHRISTMAS DAY & NEW YEARS DAY• 6PM-CLOSE

VIP CLUB

TEXT - PINECOVE TO 55678 502 29TH ST (Corner of 29th & E)

SACRAMENTO, CA (916) 446–3624 www.PineCoveTavern.com

THURSDAY 12/18

FRIDAY 12/19

SATURDAY 12/20

1111 H St., (916) 443-1927

ALDEN KNIGHT, JULIET COMPANY, MARTIN PURTILL; 8:30pm, $5

LIAM KYLE CAHILL, STREETLIGHT FIRE, VINNIE GUIDERA; 8:30pm, $5

DAVID HOUSTON, KEVIN SECONDS, ANTON BARBEAU; 8:30pm, $6

Jazz session, 8pm M, no cover

OLD IRONSIDES

Bluegrass open jam, 8:30pm, no cover

THE PHANTOM JETS, INFERNO OF JOY, BLACK SADDLE HOOKERS; 9pm, $6

STONE BERRY, IRON HEARTS, BACK ALLEY BUZZARDS; 9pm, $5

HEATH WILLIAMSON, 5pm M; Karaoke, 9pm Tu; Open-mic, 9pm W, no cover

NAKED LOUNGE DOWNTOWN 1901 10th St., (916) 442-3504

SUNDAY 12/21

ON THE Y

Karaoke, 9pm, no cover

THE PALMS PLAYHOUSE

GOLDEN BOUGH, 7:30pm, $20

670 Fulton Ave., (916) 487-3731 13 Main St., Winters; (530) 795-1825

THE PARK ULTRA LOUNGE

DJ Crooked, DJ Eddie Edul, 9pm-2am, $10

1116 15th St., (916) 442-7222

DJ Eddie Edul, 9pm-2am, $15

Open-mic comedy, 9pm, no cover

POWERHOUSE PUB

GIBSON & GRAY, 10pm, call for cover

NUNCHUCK TAYLOR, 10pm, call for cover

CHEESEBALLS, 10pm, call for cover

THE PRESS CLUB

Heckarap, 9pm, no cover

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

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

SHADY LADY SALOON

HOT CITY, 9pm, no cover

CRESCENT KATZ, 9pm, no cover

ELEMENT BRASS BAND, 8pm, no cover

SHENANIGANS

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

1409 R St., (916) 231-9121 705 J St., (916) 442-1268

Saxual Chocolate 9:30pm Saturday, $10.

Double Nickel Smokehouse R&B and soul

STELLAR: A TRIBUTE TO INCUBUS, REVOLVER; 9pm, $5

5461 Mother Lode, Placerville; (530) 626-0336

2030 P St., (916) 444-7914

Karaoke, 9pm Tu, no cover

DJ Mr. Best, DJ NickNack, 9pm-2am, $15

PJ’S ROADHOUSE

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

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 12/22-12/24

DANIEL CASTRO, 10pm, call for cover Dance party, 9pm M; SETTING SONS, SUBURBAN THREAT; 8pm Tu, $6 ALEX JENKINS, 9pm, no cover

DJ Shaun Slaughter, 9pm Tu, no cover; ARLYN ANDERSON, 9pm W, no cover

REMIX, 9pm, call for cover

SOL COLLECTIVE

ALYSSA BERNAL, TASK1NE; 5pm, $5-$10

2574 21st St., (916) 832-0916

STARLITE LOUNGE

1517 21st St., (916) 706-0052

COMPETING, THE BROTHERHOOD OF ELLIPSIS, LEPROUS DIVINITY; 8pm

SILVER SPOONS, DRIVE-THRU MYSTICS, MINDFLOWERS, GHOSTPLAY; 8pm, $5

STONEY INN/ROCKIN’ RODEO

THE CHRIS GARDNER BAND, 9pm, $5-$7

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

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

TORCH CLUB

X TRIO, 5pm, no cover; ISLAND OF BLACK AND WHITE, 9pm, $6

PAILER AND FRATIS, 5:30-7:30pm, no cover; THE NIBBLERS, 9pm, $10

MR. DECEMBER, 9pm, $8

Blues jam, 4pm, no cover; PATRICK CONTRERAS, JEREMY NORRIS; 8pm, $5

SEAN LEHE, 8pm Tu, no cover; Acoustic open-mic, 5:30pm W, no cover

Sac Holiday Indie Craft Fair, noon-4pm, no cover

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

1320 Del Paso Blvd., (916) 927-6023 904 15th St., (916) 443-2797

WITCH ROOM

Midtown Moxies Burlesque Holiday Spectacular, 7pm, $10

1815 19th St., www.witchroomsac.com

Golden Bough 7:30pm Saturday, $20.

The Palms Playhouse Celtic folk

All ages, all the time ACE OF SPADES

1417 R St., (916) 448-3300

THE GROUCH & ELIGH, CUNNINLYNGUISTS; 7pm, $22

SHINE

E40, 7pm, $28

MIDNIGHT PLAYERS, INNER SOUL, LOS ELEGANTES; 6pm, $20

SALT WIZARD, MERDOG, AN ODE TO BE; KARATE MOUNTAIN, JOSEPH IN THE 8pm, $5 WELL; 8pm, $7

1400 E St., (916) 551-1400

ACE OF SPADES THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18 HOW THE GROUCH STOLE CHRISTMAS

THE GROUCH & ELIGH

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

ALL AGES WELCOME!

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9

TIG NOTARO

CUNNINLYNGUISTS - DJ ABILITIES - DJ FRESH

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19

E40

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20

LATIN CHRISTMAS JAM MIDNIGHT PLAYERS – INNER SOUL – LOS ELEGANTES – SACRED FIRE BAND – LUV TAXI

FRIDAY, JANUARY 2

THE ENGLISH BEAT SATURDAY, JANUARY 3

SAGE THE GEMINI KEAK DA SNEAK

SUNDAY, JANUARY 18

WAKA FLOCKA

TUESDAY, JANUARY 20

SAVING ABEL MAIN EVENT

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21

HED PE/ POWERMAN 5000 KNEE HIGH FOX WHITE MINORITIES SLAVES OF MANHATTAN

FRIDAY, JANUARY 23

G-LOVE & SPECIAL SAUCE MATT COSTA

COMING

SOON

01/25 01/27 01/28 01/30 02/04 02/10 02/11 02/13 02/14 02/17 02/18 02/19 02/27 02/28 03/09 03/10 03/11 03/17 03/21 03/24 04/09 04/15 04/19 04/25

Tyler Farr The Expendables Silverstein Lindsey Stirling Partynextdoor Logic Hozier Stick To Your Guns Motion City Soundtrack Zion I Suicide Silence August Burns Red Black Veil Brides & MMF Spice 1, B-Legit, Richie Rich, Celly Cell, San Quinn & RBL Posse Coal Chamber Motionless In White Flyleaf Walk The Moon Rebel Souljahz Dan & Shay Apocalyptica Reverend Horton Heat Royal Blood Parmalee

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT ALL DIMPLE RECORDS LOCATIONS AND ARMADILLO RECORDS, OR PURCHASE BY PHONE @ 916.443.9202 SN&R BEFORE | NEWS | FEATURE STORY | A RT S & C U LT U R E | AFTER | 12.18.14 | |

41

e m o c l e W Home...

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42

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Lakeshore

1175 Lake Blvd Davis, CA 95616 (530) 757-7926

SN&R | 12.18.14

Eastlake

1420 Lake Blvd Davis, CA 95616 (530) 758-5253

Greystone

2505 5th St Davis, CA 95618 (530) 758-2200

W W W. N E W S R E V I E W. C O M

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Give up the ghost

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.

BEFORE

Please stop trying to convince yourself that this man owes you something. His silence is all the closure you need. The real problem is that you want to see him to convince him that he made a mistake. And that would be a mistake. Yours.

It’s likely he’ll drift back to you when he gets bored of whoever has his attention now. But if you let him in and he continues to limit his availability, or if he selects locations for your dates keyed to being seen and not to being with you, or if your communication remains primarily digital, expect to feel haunted again when he ghosts you.

swedish hot stone deep tissue back walking chinese therapies shower available

are overwhelming. It’s the latter, much of the time, and that’s good news. I can challenge my thoughts, then expand more fully into my capabilities. Or, I can confront my thoughts, realize I need a break and give myself time to recharge. Both choices are in my best interest. But social media comparathons are not.

Social media offers channels for dipping into other people’s lives.

But we’re seeing their curated lives, a catalog of carefully controlled online images. There’s often a mess (emotional, mental, spiritual or financial) in the story behind the screen.

Meditation of the Week “I find that when I put my spiritual life first, the rest of my life is easy.

When I put my career first, that’s when I have problems,” says Ben Haggerty, who raps under the stage name Macklemore. Is there order in your life priorities?

Life is stressful and demanding.

Does it have to be? Sometimes, when I’m on Instagram or Pinterest I get the feeling that everyone else has a better, cooler, more beautiful life than I do.

When I’m overwhelmed I ask myself if I am doing too much or if my thoughts about what I’m doing | N E W S | F E AT U R E

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STORY

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Certified Massage Practitioner Maggie

S p e c i a l

80

I’m burned out. I’ve been working full-time for five years and I feel like I need a break. I would love to travel or pursue a completely different career path. I’m not sure how to decide what to do next, but I know I need something new.

If you’re burned out after five years of full-time work, you may want to re-evaluate how you work.

Some people lack the ability to pull back from a 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. schedule of meetings, to-do lists, emails and quarterly reports. These individuals seem to believe that resting to restore mind, body and soul is for the weak-willed. If that description fits you, work is not the problem. The real issue is the need to identify why you don’t cherish yourself. Retreat and remember who you wanted to be. Think back to when you were 5, 7 or 9 years old and wise enough to believe in your capacity to create a fun and satisfying career. After all, when asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” no child ever says: “Exhausted, unhappy and under-appreciated.” So consult your younger self for advice on work that inspires joy. Ω

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After four amazing dates in three months, my perfect guy disappears. We both have superbusy careers and didn’t have much time to get together but texted daily. Suddenly he stops responding to my texts or phone calls. I went by his office and the receptionist said he was not available. I left a note. No response. I left a note under his windshield a week after I tried to see him. Still nothing.

by Joey ga rcia I need closure and he owes me a reason for his change of a skj oey @ ne wsreview.c om heart. Please help.

Ghosting is on the rise. Dating partners often disappear (or fade away) when most of the relaJoey is recording a piece tionship occurred through a screen for KQED Radio’s (like texting or social media), and Perspectives series not in person. Regardless of how on 89.3 FM in connected you felt, four dates in three Sacramento. months is not much of an investment.

I bet both of you have been to the grocery store or the gym more than four times in the last 90 days. People make time for their priorities.

A1 Feeling

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WHAT’S INSIDE: The 420 47 Quick Hits 56 Capital Cannabis Map 58

5 GRAMS

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Open 10am - 7pm 7 days a week

Find dispensary listings online at newsreview.com/sacramento

Shopping for a green Christmas

Bring in any competitor’s coupon* and we’ll beat it by $5 *That is CA Medical Board Standards Compliant.

Must present competitor’s ad. Some restrictions apply.

As usual I am late on my holiday shopping. Any ideas?

—P. Rocrastinator I find a hug is always an appropriate gift. OK, not always, but don’t worry, friend. There is still plenty of time to find the perfect gift for your cannabis-loving compatriots.

Vaporizers are all the rage these days. I like the PAX (www.ploom.com/pax) for cannabis flowers and the Zen Pen (www.zenpen.org) for oils. Also, there’s a company called cannabox (www.cannabox.com), and BEALUM while they won’t send you any actual cannabis (yet),

by NGAIO they will send you a box filled with all kinds of cool things for the discerning pot smoker. Think of them as a “loot crate” for weed nerds instead of gamers. Or you a s k420@ ne wsreview.c om could just buy people some cannabis-infused products like soap or massage oil. Those are always nice. I hope you have a hempy holiday season.

I keep hearing different things about the Feds and marijuana law reform. What’s the real scoop?

—A. Wareness Yeah. There’s a lot going on and it’s hard to keep up sometimes. As of this writing, the U.S. Omnibus budget contains provisions to keep D.C. from implementing their cannabis law reforms (boooo!) and to stop funding DEA anticannabis operations in states that have There is still plenty of medical cannabis laws time to find the perfect gift (huzzah!). It’s a mixed bag.

We will see what happens. for your cannabis-loving The Feds also released a compatriots. memo last month that allows Native Americans to grow and sell marijuana on their reservations, even in states that don’t allow marijuana.

This is huge. We will see if any tribes start their own cannabis farms. How cool would that be? A little pot, some gambling and a few fireworks sound like a fun weekend.

Yo bro, thanks for the column and for being you! Like your style. So my question is basically this: Do private yet public places, such as Sleep Train or the convention center, have a right to ban you (me) from smoking medical marijuana in their places of business?

—Ryan B. Yo Bruh. Your letter was hella long, so I chopped it down a bit. The bottom line is this: While Prop 215 does allow medical cannabis users the right to medicate in areas where smoking is allowed (except for a moving car), the proprietors of any venue have the right to decide whether or not they will allow cannabis use. So Sleep Train does indeed have the right to tell you not to light up on their premises. It sucks, I know. Because really? Not allowing people to use cannabis during a concert is dang near un-American, in my opinion. This is one of the things we will have to address when we are drafting regulations for California cannabis law reform in 2016. Should there be “Cannabis smoking sections” as a well as sections for tobacco? I don’t know any tobacco users that object to the smell of cannabis. In the future, just walk out to your car. Or bring a vapor pen.

Enjoy the show. Ω

Ngaio Bealum

is a Sacramento comedian, activist and marijuana expert.

Email him questions at ask420@ newsreview.com.

BE EF FO OR RE E B

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FE EA AT TU UR RE E F

ST TO OR RY Y S

VOTED BEST 420 PHYSICIAN IN SAC! ’14

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OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 9am – 9pm

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’14 BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE

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by Rachel leibROck

ARIES (March 21-April 19): “Too much

happiness can make you unhappy,” reported journalist Marta Zaraska in The Washington Post. Citing research by psychologists, she concluded that being super-extra cheerful can make you selfish, gullible and more prone to stereotyped thinking. On the other hand, she said, maintaining merely moderate levels of happiness is pretty damn good for your mental and physical health. So here’s the takeaway, Aries: The astrological omens suggest you’re due for a surge of joy and pleasure. Just be careful it doesn’t spill over into rash, delirious excess. Here’s your watchword: well-grounded delight.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In the 19th

century, the Grimm brothers gathered more than 200 old fairy tales from a variety of sources and published them in an unprecedented collection. Many of their stories are still popular, including “Cinderella,” “Snow White,” “Hansel and Gretel” and “Rapunzel.” Around the same time they did their work, a storyteller named Franz Xaver von Schönwerth assembled his own compendium of fantastic myths, fables and folklore. Unlike the Grimm brothers’ book, his work faded into obscurity. But it was rediscovered in 2011, and 500 lost fairy tales are now finding their way into newly published books. I foresee a comparable phenomenon happening for you in 2015, Taurus. Forgotten stories will return. Raw material from the depths will resurface. Interesting news from the past will come flowing into the present.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Your first

task is to ascertain the half-truth, the whole half-truth and nothing but the whole half-truth. Only then will you be able to find the other half of the truth.

I realize it may be frustrating to use this approach. You’d probably prefer to avoid wrangling with the deceptions and misdirections. But I think it’s the only way to jostle loose the hidden or missing information. For best results, be a cunning and unsentimental detective who’s eager to solve the mystery. Don’t focus on finding fault or assigning blame.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): One of the

ingredients that makes yoga mats so soft and springy is the chemical azodicarbonamide. The same stuff is added to the soles of shoes. There’s a third place where it’s used, too: in the burger buns sold by McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and other fast food joints. I’m not suggesting that you order a big supply of azodicarbonamide and ingest it. But I do hope you will consider the metaphorical equivalent: doing whatever’s necessary to make yourself bouncy and fluffy and pliable and supple and resilient.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “There are two

kinds of light,” said author James Thurber, “the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures.” Lately you have been an abundant source of that first kind of light, Leo. The fire in your heart and the gleam in your eyes have not only brightened the mood wherever you’ve gone. They have also clarified confusing situations, warmed chilly attitudes and healed dispirited allies.

Thank you! In the coming weeks, I’d love to see you continue on your hot streak.

To help ensure that you do, keep your ego under control. Don’t let it pretend that it owns the light you’re emitting. With a little introspection, you will continue to generate illumination, not glare.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Studies

suggest that 57 percent of all people with access to the Internet have engaged in the practice known as ego-surfing. This modern art form consists of searching Google for mentions of one’s own name.

This is a suspiciously low figure unless we factor in the data uncovered by my own research—which is that a disproportionately small amount of Virgos go egosurfing: only 21 percent. If you are one of the 79 percent of your tribe who does not indulge, I invite you to remedy the situation. It’s an excellent time to risk exploring the potential benefits of increased self-interest and self-regard.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): When I

started writing horoscopes many years ago, I was a good astrologer but an unexceptional writer. Eventually, the practice of composing 12 packets of pithy

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bRezsny

prose every week allowed me to improve my authorial skills. The stuff I composed in the early years wasn’t bad, but I wouldn’t want to present it as my work any more.

So should I feel guilty that I got paid and appreciated for those old efforts even though I was less than perfect? Did I get away with something I shouldn’t have gotten away with? I don’t think so. I was doing the best I could at the time. And even my unpolished astrological musings were helpful to many people. Now, Libra, I invite you to apply these meditations to you own unfolding destiny.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You

may already know what I’m about to tell you. It’s a core principle at the root of your Scorpio heritage. But I want to focus your attention on it. In the coming months, you’ll be wise to keep it at the forefront of your conscious awareness. Here it is, courtesy of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche: “You have it in your power to invest everything you have lived through—your experiments, false starts, errors, delusions, passions, your love and your hope—into your goal, with nothing left over.”

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

“A savage desire for strong emotions and sensations burns inside me: a rage against this soft-tinted, shallow, standardized and sterilized life.” So says Harry Haller, the protagonist of Herman Hesse’s novel Steppenwolf. His declaration could serve as an interesting point of reference for you in the coming months, Sagittarius— not as a mood for everyday use, but as a poetic inspiration that you periodically call on to invigorate your lust for life. My invitation has a caveat, however. I advise you not to adopt the rest of Harry Haller’s rant, in which he says that he also has “a mad craving to smash something up, a department store, or a cathedral, or myself.”

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

I have lived near an open space preserve for five years. Up until the last two months, it has been a peaceful, quiet place. But then the coyotes moved in.

Just after dusk every evening, a pack of them start yipping and yowling in the distance. At first I found the racket to be eerie and unsettling. It activated some primal unease in me. And yet the coyotes have never actually been a problem. They don’t roam into my neighborhood and try to bite people or prey on pets. So now I’ve come to relish the situation: The wild things are close and exciting, but not dangerous. I’m guessing this has a metaphorical resemblance to what your life will be like in the next six months, Capricorn.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

Stanstead, Quebec, and Derby Line, Vt., are really a single town that straddles the border between the U.S. and Canada.

Many of the people who live there have dual citizenship, but they’re still supposed to carry their passports with them at all times. I suspect you may experience a metaphorical version of this split in the coming months, Aquarius. You will be in a situation that has a split down the middle or a seemingly unnatural division.

Whether it turns out to be a problem or an opportunity will depend on your adaptability and flexibility.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): When a

dead tree topples over in the woods, its withered branches may get entangled with the branches of a living tree that’s standing nearby. As years go by, the living tree must grow the best it can with the decaying wood trapped in its midst. Has something like that ever happened to you?

Are you still carrying the rot that other people have burdened you with? If so, the coming months will be an excellent time to get disentangled. A tree isn’t capable of freeing itself from the dead weight of the past, but you are—especially in the first half of 2015.

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 December 18, 2014

STORY

Cancel the war on Christmas It’s almost Christmas—the season that’s supposed to be the most wonderful, sparkly time of the year.

Bah, humbug. Frankly, it can also be one of the worst: a touchy, explosive minefield of tangled tree lights, fruitcake disasters, family drama and conflicting beliefs about the Baby Jesus. Leave it to comedian Keith Lowell Jensen, however, to keep spirits light with his new comedy album Atheist Christmas. The jokes, however, aren’t just some diatribe against all things merry, bright or mistle-toed—Jensen says he actually likes the holiday—but rather a smart take on some of society’s more sacred seasonal traditions.

Like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus’ beard and the nativity scene that Jensen’s mother wants to buy for his 5-year-old daughter.

Favorite holiday tradition?

I think probably the Charlie Brown Christmas special, especially now that I’m sharing it with my daughter. I think it’s the most accurate at capturing that magic of Christmas, without denying winter depression and holiday depression.

That’s a surprising answer because it actually acknowledges the holiday’s religion.

It’s maybe less surprising when you consider that Charles Schulz was not very religious. In one interview, I think he said, “I’m a secularist humanist, but I’m not sure what that means.”

I actually don’t find [A Charlie Brown Christmas] superheavy religious, it’s just when they say, “What is Christmas?” Linus gives the most honest answer. That [part] almost didn’t make it into the special, but Schulz was very insistent on it being left in.

What about Hanukkah?

We’ll celebrate anything, we really like playing dreidel. My daughter loves it and not just because of the chocolate coins.

[Some friends] gave us some dreidels and chocolate coins and she thought it was the best thing ever. … Most people, when you want to celebrate with them, they’re excited and welcoming, they’re not, “What about the whole war on Christmas? You’re an atheist liar celebrating Christmas.” Instead, they’re like, “You want to celebrate with us? That’s great.”

You’ve joked about your mother wanting to buy your daughter a nativity scene. What’s the latest on that?

[My daughter is] only 5 so I’m probably pretty close to where I’m fine with it, but there’s a big conversation that has to happen, [where we talk about] how there are different members of our family and extended family |

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who believe different things. I didn’t want to have do that when she was 3—tell her that I think Grandma believes some stuff that’s a little bonkers.

that beard year-round. He said it was in his job description: “Never say no to dessert.”

So much for the war on Christmas.

We go see Santa, we do the Santa thing, she’s allowed to play Santa, I just don’t pretend to believe that it’s real anymore than I pretend when we play fairies or Star Wars.

Now she’s excited to play Santa for someone else: “Let’s get a gift and say it’s from Santa!”

I don’t want a war on Christmas. I celebrated an actual Christmas when I was growing up and I loved it. I’m not trying to make my own holiday. You know how some people say they’re “culturally Jewish”? Well I guess I’m culturally Christian. I was raised by Christians and I enjoy Christian traditions.

That kind of makes it sound like “I was raised by wolves.” …

I had a Christian den.

Moving on to Santa.

You talk about “real beard Santas,” and one guy in particular— Dale Black, who died in 2012. Dale once worked at SN&R, but he was really well-known for playing Santa Claus.

He had so much enthusiasm for it! Dale insisted that he be my daughter’s first Santa, and I was saying, “No, I don’t want you to go to that trouble,” but he made me pin down a date. So my daughter was born on October 22 and was just about a month old when we took those pictures.

Explain the “real beard” part.

If you Google it, you’ll see that the “real beard Santa” is a nationwide, if not international thing. It’s a mark of quality, it’s not just some guy who wore a wig once a year. Dale wore |

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Does your daughter still visit Santa?

You talk a lot about your family onstage, is anything off-limits?

I will never ever say anything bad about my loved ones and that sounds obvious, and maybe easy, but my wife and I aren’t perfect—we do fight. I could vent on stage, I certainly do when I fight with other people, but I won’t do that with my wife and child or even with my mom, which is tough. I do talk about [our differing] views on religion, but I work very hard to make sure the affection comes through because she doesn’t have the opportunity to come on stage and defend herself.

Roseanne Barr is a fan of yours—has she heard the new record?

She hasn’t heard this material, specifically.

She still wants to go over [my 2011 comedy album] Cats Made of Rabbits with me. ...

But I’ll talk to her about anything any time she wants to, even if it’s about the Middle East and I have to bite my tongue because we disagree. Ω

For more information on Keith Lowell Jensen and his new comedy album Atheist Christmas, visit http://keithlowelljensen.blogspot.com.

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