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Sacramento’S newS & entertainment weekly

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EditoR’S NotE

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36 63 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.

Co-editors Rachel Leibrock, Nick Miller Staff Writers Janelle Bitker, Raheem F. Hosseini Assistant Editor Anthony Siino Editorial Coordinator Becca Costello Editor-at-large Melinda Welsh Contributors Daniel Barnes, Ngaio Bealum, Alastair Bland, Rob Brezsny, Jim Carnes, Deena Drewis, Joey Garcia, Cosmo Garvin, Blake Gillespie, Lovelle Harris, Jeff Hudson, Jim Lane, Garrett McCord, Kel Munger, Kate Paloy, Patti Roberts, Ann Martin Rolke, Shoka

Creative Director Priscilla Garcia Art Director Hayley Doshay Associate Art Director Brian Breneman Ad Design Manager Serene Lusano Production Coordinator Skyler Smith Designer Kyle Shine Design Services Manager Anne Lesemann Contributing Photographers Lisa Baetz, Evan Duran, Wes Davis, Luke Fitz, Taras Garcia, Michael Miller, Bobby Mull, Shoka, Darin Smith, Lauran Worthy

Executive Coordinator Jessica Takehara Director of First Impressions David Lindsay Distribution Director Greg Erwin Distribution Services Assistant Larry Schubert Distribution Drivers Mansour Aghdam, Daniel Bowen, Heather Brinkley, Mike Cleary, Jack Clifford, Lydia Comer, John Cunningham, Lob Dunnica, Chris Fong, Ron Forsberg, Garry Foster, Joanna Gonzalez-Brown, Greg Meyers, Kenneth Powell, Gilbert Quilatan, Lloyd Rongley, Lolu Sholotan

Chief Marketing Officer Rick Brown Director of Sales and Advertising Corey Gerhard Senior Advertising Consultants Rosemarie Messina, Olla Swanson, Joy Webber, Kelsi White Advertising Consultants Joseph Barcelon, Meghan Bingen, Angel DeLaO, Teri Gorman, Dusty Hamilton, Stephanie Johnson, Dave Nettles, Lee Roberts, Julie Sherry Sales Assistant Matt Kjar Director of Et Cetera Will Niespodzinski Custom Publications Editor Michelle Carl Custom Publications Managing Editor Shannon Springmeyer Custom Publications Writer Kate Gonzales

President/CEO Jeff vonKaenel Chief Operations Officer Deborah Redmond Human Resources Manager Tanja Poley Business Manager Nicole Jackson Accounts Receivable Specialist Kortnee Angel Sweetdeals Coordinator Courtney DeShields Nuts & Bolts Ninja Christina Wukmir Senior Support Tech Joe Kakacek Developer John Bisignano System Support Specialist Kalin Jenkins

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STREETALK LETTERS NEwS + BEATS FEATuRE SToRy ARTS&CuLTuRE SECoNd SATuRdAy NighT&dAy diSh + off mEnu STAgE FiLm muSiC + Sound AdvicE ASK JoEy ThE 420 15 miNuTES

CoVER dESigN By hAyLEy doShAy CoVER phoTo By SERENE LuSANo CoVER modEL iS ThE pANgAEA BuRgER

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 Bay Area News Group.

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.

Scary lessons Just after 4 p.m. on September 3, I learned via Facebook that gunshots had been fired minutes earlier at Sacramento City College. There was a body on the ground, a gunman at large and the campus was being put into lockdown.

I work at City College as an adjunct journalism professor, and for the next several hours I followed the news, worried, as I texted and called students and colleagues.

In the end, the incident didn’t involve an active shooter. Instead, it was an altercation between several people, including at least two City College students. One student, Roman P. Gonzalez, died at the scene.

As of press time, the gunman still hadn’t been apprehended.

Questions have been raised— fairly—about how long it took campus officials to send out a warning to students and faculty.

Still, I’m proud of how so many responded, in particular those who rushed to ensure student safety.

I’m also proud of the student journalists for The Express, the school newspaper. News Editor Vienna Montague was on campus and reported from the crime scene.

Meanwhile, print Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Taraya and online Editorin-Chief Kristopher Hooks basically haven’t stopped working since, digging for sources, seeking tips and keeping the story updated. One media colleague even told me she used the paper’s Twitter feed as her primary source of information.

It’s not the kind of class lesson I’d ever hoped to participate in, and frankly it’s the students who deserve full credit for covering the story quickly, calmly and professionally. Kudos.

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“It ended up costIng the company about sIx grand.”

AsKed At McKiNley PArK:

Biggest mistake you’ve made on the job?

Keith Nesbit t automotive detailer

I left the keys in a Jaguar.

I left the keys in overnight.

I came back the next morning and couldn’t find the keys. The car was parked in the same spot with the keys still in it, still running. I went to my boss and told him and I apologized. I didn’t get into any trouble because I was honest.

NAthANAel lit willer unemployed

I put one of the carving knives on top of the drying rack when I was working at a sandwich place. Five minutes later, Willie was washing the dishes and it fell off. It landed on his hand. It cut it open. I was brand new there. I felt awful. Willie got stitched up with six stitches.

GiovANNy herNANde z application analyst

It would be something fairly recent in my career.

I tried to implement change too soon as I was entering a new position. It did not go well. Lesson learned. My advice to others is to implement change and make it their idea vs. your idea. Strategic play.

K AtelyN bArry

bryAN cluGstoN iii

teaching student

I was working at a coffee shop and I made someone’s drink. I realized later that I had let the cap to a plastic squeeze bottle fall into their latte. They found it and delivered it back. I don’t know if anybody else really found out.

iPhiGeNiA PicKet t

auto mechanic

member-service rep

At one point I drove a backhoe over a turkey mound septic tank area that wasn’t labeled. It ended up costing the company about six grand to fix. I was trying to keep the dirt off the new driveway … took a shortcut through an empty field. It turned out to be a turkey mound and the pipes underneath were crushed.

I confided in a co-worker and I told her to just keep the message between ourselves. At lunch, I sit down in the break room and I see she is telling someone. I pointed my finger in her face, sternly telling her that I was confiding in her only. She broke down in tears and I felt terrible.

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SN&R denies Bernie, again Re “Vote no evil” by various writers (SN&R Feature Story, September 3): SN&R editorially has repeatedly put itself firmly in the Democratic Party establishment (Clinton) camp. So, I am not surprised at the display of willful or woeful ignorance by SN&R’s writers in the article. Anyone who wants to know about Bernie Sanders’ detailed positions on the issues raised by those writers, including bills he’s already introduced, sponsored, signed onto, voted for or against, need only Google them. They are there, if you care. Apparently, SN&R writers don’t.

Jan Bergeron S acr am e nt o

What about the environment?

Re “Vote no evil” by various writers (SN&R Feature Story, September 3):

I am surprised that “protecting the environment” was not included in the 10 issues that the presidential candidates absolutely need to discuss.

Why are politicians avoiding such an important issue? In order to protect what’s left of

our natural environment, two root causes of environmental destruction need to be addressed: the unsustainability of continued world human population growth and overconsumption of the world’s natural resources. If not addressed, symptoms of these causes, such as pollution, climate change, hunger and malnutrition, human displacements, endangered species extinctions and water shortages, will be exacerbated. Aren’t these important? If allowed to happen, these changes will reduce our quality of life on earth.

Chuck Knutson Sacramento

Sad and common Re “A shot in the park” by Nick Miller (SN&R Feature Story, August 27): Nick Miller’s story pointed out a sad and too-common occurrence. When people with mental-health disabilities

Hiking Valley

Birding Valley

2015

2015

the

September 19-20

interact with law enforcement, it can result in tragedy. Paul Cantarutti’s mother called for help before he was shot by police. The responding officers decided he didn’t meet involuntary hold criteria, so they removed him from the home and dropped him off at an In-N-Out Burger.

There are better ways to handle these situations, starting with effective law-enforcement training. Crisis-intervention training helps officers recognize a mental-health crisis and gives them effective intervention techniques. CIT improves officer safety and helps individuals get appropriate mental-health services. This training works in many other cities and emphasizes collaboration between the police, mental-health providers and the community.

Sacramento County recently launched a co-responder service —unfortunately, too late for Paul.

Pamila Lew Sacramento

ONLINE BUZZ

ON the 41 miNuteS it tOOk fOR campuS SecuRity tO NOtify Sac city cOllege StudeNtS via text Of the ShOOtiNg ON campuS: I was on campus during the shooting today, in the library.

We found out more from the news online and phone calls than from the announcements... They weren’t very on top of it. But they did get us all out safely. For that, I’m thankful. Super scary day.

@SacNewsReview

Facebook.com/ SacNewsReview

@SacNewsReview

Samm Hickey I think the most eye opening thing was seeing students and faculty (at that hour many are adjunct) springing into action to help in any way and Los Rios police seemed all too laissez-faire.

Online Buzz contributions are culled from Facebook and are not edited for grammar, spelling or clarity.

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09.10.15 | SN&R | 7

Low-income workers didn’t quite level up with the city’s minimum-wage plan.

ILLUSTRATION BY BRIAN BRENEMAN

Raise the rage Supporters of upping Sacramento’s minimum wage fall short in fight for $15 an hour

by Raheem F. hosseini

Once the yelling subsided and the police lockdown was lifted, all that was left inside Sacramento City Council chambers was disappointment.

Nine months after Mayor Kevin Johnson pledged to lead the way on income inequality during his State of the City speech, his hand-picked task force presented its opening offer: a modest increase to the city’s minimum wage, culminating at $12.50 an hour by the year 2020, but only for workers who don’t get loop-holed out of the equation under new guidelines.

The September 2 recommendation fell short of what’s been achieved in 10 other California cities—including smaller ones 8 | SN&R | 09.10.15

like Oakland and Richmond—and sets Sacramento on a path that could lead to the state Supreme Court.

Johnson, flanked at a podium by task force members, called the deal a “win-win” for his city. Even for a mayor who favors sports metaphors, it was a premature one to choose.

When the task force convened later, it greeted an angry crowd that had been screened at the doors of City Hall for weapons. Labor interests stormed out in a staged protest. At least one minimum wage worker, a mother with two jobs, cried and screamed. Police locked down the building.

In short, the reviews were negative.

@ r a h e e mfh

“They were very difficult negotiations,” said Joseph Devlin, chief of staff for Councilman Jay Schenirer, who co-chaired the task force. “Not anyone got all of what they wanted.”

Perhaps, but the side that most signified its dissatisfaction was the one calling for a higher wage for the city’s poorest workers.

“It doesn’t value working people at any level,” said Brenda Ruiz, a chef at Biba.

So what happened behind the scenes of Sacramento’s Fight for 15 movement, and what comes next? Forget what you may have heard. This one was never going to be pretty.

$15 an hour was never really on the table.

The labor coalition that included Raise the Wage and Organize Sacramento publicly campaigned a hike to $15 an hour, but its leaders pressed for a smaller wage increase during negotiations.

“We care about Sacramento and wanted to make sure not to hurt the economy,” said Tamie Dramer of Organize Sacramento.

The coalition asked a UC Berkeley researcher to independently propose a tiered wage increase that the city could absorb.

The researcher concluded that Sacramento’s minimum wage could safely reach $13.80 an hour by 2020, when it would then tie itself to the Consumer Price Index and increase nominally with inflation. Not only would it not be bad for Sacramento, the researcher concluded, it would actually be good for the economy.

Or, as Dramer put it, “We did science.”

But that approach may have hurt their negotiating power. Think of it this way: Under the most cliché negotiation principles, two sides open with unrealistic extremes, then meet somewhere in the middle. But when one side starts negotiations with a reasonable estimate, the other side has leverage.

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bacK TO SchOOL “I think 12.50 is pretty close to 13.50,” said Devlin, who staffed the task force.

Asked whether $15 an hour was ever seriously considered, Devlin declined to discuss the talks in detail. “I can tell you it was brought up, as well as doing nothing,” he said.

According to Fabrizio Sasso, who sat on the task force as executive director of the Sacramento Central Labor Council, doing nothing dominated the negotiations.

“If you look at the composition of the task force, $15 was never seriously going to be considered,” he said, “hard as I and a few other task force members tried to have that discussion.”

Ironically, Sasso described income inequality representatives as “completely outnumbered” by business interests on the Task Force on Income Inequality.

Of the 14 people on the roster, two were council members, six represented business or development interests, and the remaining six represented labor, minority and community groups. not everyone would get a raise, but the city could get a lawsuit.

Pressed by the state’s powerful restaurant lobby, the task force agreed to a “total compensation” model that could challenge California labor laws.

Basically, companies that show their employees make $15 or more an hour in taxable income wouldn’t have to pay these workers the city’s increased minimum wage rate. Instead, the companies would pay these employees the state’s minimum fare, which increases to $10 an hour in January.

Under this model, employers can count tips, commissions, even nonpayroll contributions like health insurance costs, toward their workers’ total salaries.

To Ruiz, a single mother who’s spent 20 years in the fine-dining industry, the proposed model amounts to a sneak attack on workers. “The public needs to understand what that is code for,” she said.

“It’s not even only tips anymore. Total compensation is everything. This has the potential to touch everyone’s lives.”

Businesses that adopt this model would have to start paying their nonexempt minimum wage workers $12.50 an hour by 2018, two years ahead of those that don’t.

The idea is the brainchild of the California Restaurant Association, which argues that tipped workers such as servers and bartenders already make too much and shouldn’t benefit from minimum-wage increases.

“Total compensation would help create income equality between these highly

compensated front-of-house workers—who The next step is for the city attorney’s often make more than double the minimum office to draft an ordinance based on wage per hour when combining their wages the task force’s recommendation, and a and tips—and untipped heart-of-house separate legal opinion. The city council workers” like bussers and line cooks, CRA could consider both next month. The spokeswoman Lauren Carpenter wrote in accelerated timeline was politely insisted on an email. by the mayor. “Mayor Johnson wants this But, according to the U.S. Bureau thing done. He wants the council to hear of Labor Statistics, servers, bartenders this,” Devlin said. “So we’re shooting for and other minimum-wage workers in the October.”

Sacramento area make a median hourly wage of less than $10 per hour—including When Johnson announced the formation tips and commissions. of the task force during his State of the The CRA says it doesn’t City speech, he said the goal was believe those figures and ensuring “that working adults cites its own study. can earn enough to support “The restaurant assotheir families.”

In Sacramento, the ciation has been trying That’s not just to create a tip credit folksy politician speak.

California Restaurant system in California According to materials Association finally for a long time,” said from the task force’s found a city to carry Ty Hudson, a Unite meetings in August Here Local 49 research and July, 70 percent of its water. analyst who closely minimum-wage workers observed minimum-wage in the county are over the battles in the East Bay. age of 24 and 61 percent work He’s watched some of those full-time. attempts flounder up close. In Oakland Indeed, this whole effort was unfoldlast year, voters in that city approved raising ing because rising inflation had outpaced their minimum wage to $12.25 starting sluggish increases to the minimum wage, to this past January, and then tying the rate the degree that the current $9 hourly wage to the Consumer Price Index. But before is worth two bucks less, in terms of buying that happened, restaurant and business power, than it was in 1968. interests pressed the Oakland City Council Devlin said the task force doesn’t to sponsor a competing ballot measure pretend it can solve income inequality that was “eerily similar, actually” to the simply by adjusting the minimum wage. one advanced by Sacramento’s task force, “And that’s why this task force wants to Hudson said. continue to work,” he added.

Oakland’s council refused.

While it’s issued its final word on In Sacramento, the CRA finally found a the minimum wage front, the task force city to carry its water. (The mayor’s chief of indicated last week that it wants to press staff, Daniel Conway, is a former director at forward on issues like early childhood the CRA.) education and affordable housing.

“What came out of the Sacramento The announcement was awkwardly process was much worse” than in other timed, as the task force made it only a day California cities, Hudson said. after the Sacramento City Council weakBut will it work? Depends on who ened its affordable housing policy. you ask.

Dramer views the two things as linked.

Sasso and other labor advocates point to “We tried to give them the benefit of the Section 351 of the California Labor Code, doubt, to do the right thing, and they blew which says any gratuity that employees it,” she said. receive belongs to them, and can’t be There’s now talk of circumventing the considered part of their income by their city council and going straight to the voters employer. There’s also a 1988 California in 2016 with a ballot measure. Citing a poll Supreme Court ruling that came down that showed 70 percent of regular voters against two-tiered wage systems. supported an immediate wage increase to at The CRA believes it’s created a hybrid least $13.50 an hour, Dramer believes her model that’s in the legal clear. side has the votes.

Meanwhile, Devlin says anyone who Sasso, who works at the CLC but also pretends to know the answer is full of it. belongs to the broader wage coalition, says “This is potentially uncharted legal terrihe can’t say what’s next. “But I believe that tory,” he added. “There is no case precedent every option is on the table,” he added. Ω on this.”

A stepped-up police presence greeted Sacramento City College students on Monday, as the regular din of college life confronted a pall left over from last week’s deadly campus shooting.

At press time, police were still searching for the man they believe responsible for the September 3 gunfire that ended the life of 25-year-old student Roman P. Gonzalez. The shooting occurred last Thursday afternoon in a parking lot on the south edge of the campus, the Sacramento Police Department said in a release.

Police believe the incident was sparked by a physical altercation between two groups that escalated when a gun and knife were produced by those involved. Police later arrested Rico Ridgeway on suspicion of brandishing the knife.

One other student suffered critical gunshot wounds, and was transported to a hospital, while another was grazed and arrested on an unrelated violation of parole, police announced. Gang activity had not been ruled out.

Witness reports indicate it took two minutes for campus police to respond and 10 minutes for city police to appear, at which point the campus was placed on lockdown as officers scoured the campus and each building for the gunman.

Students weren’t immediately informed about the danger. According to those on the scene, it took 41 minutes for the campus to issue a warning via text and 53 minutes for the same warning to go out via phone call.

In addressing students a day after the shooting, Los Rios Chancellor Brian King struck a somewhat defiant tone, according to a video posted to the Sac City Express’ Twitter page. “You’re in the right place today,” he told those gathered. Describing the shooting as an isolated incident and “the worst nightmare in so many ways,” he added, “I appreciate your courage in coming back.”

College president Kathryn Jeffery downplayed the shooting as something that happened on the campus’ outskirts. “This is not the kind of thing that typically happens at City,” she added.

The student-run newspaper, which provided live updates during the active-shooter situation, reported that 14 officers along with private security were on campus last Friday as classes resumed, with Jeffrey promising an increased law enforcement presence all this week. (Raheem F. Hosseini and Rachel Leibrock)

inSiDe pOLiTicS They bused in from as far north as Del Norte and as far south as San Diego. They wore red T-shirts that read “Native Lives Matter” and black ones that read “We Demand Fair Policing” and “We’re Not Targets.” And, by the time noon rolled around, they had blocked the hallway outside of Gov. Jerry Brown’s office and were demanding an end to racial and identity profiling.

Approximately 200 demonstrators entered the California State Capitol building on September 2 to call for the passage of assembly bill 953, which would expand the prohibition against racial profiling to include a host of other identifiers, including gender, sexual orientation, housing status and immigration status.

No demonstrators were arrested. AB 953 is currently active in the Senate. (RFH)

09.10.15 | SN&R | 9

BUILDING A

HEALTHY S A C R A M E N T O

After-school Program Focuses on the ‘Whole Child’

BY S U S A N W I N LOW

W

hile playing a Scattergories-style game with elementary school students three years ago, Kelsey Neff had a wake-up call. The youngsters had to rattle off as many vegetables as they could think of, and they could name only one: lettuce.

care of their minds and bodies are all interrelated with healthy living. Anything could be a teaching moment — as elementary students playing a schoolyard game might be taught how teamwork and communication are part of the game.

“It was pretty bad,” recalls Neff, program manger of social emotional learning at the Sacramento Chinese Community Center. “Making responsible decisions for food helps make responsible (decisions) for academics and their personal life. It builds upon the other.”

“SELF-AWARENESS, SOCIAL AWARENESS, RESPONSIBLE DECISION-MAKING, SELFMANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS – THESE ARE THINGS A LOT OF THESE STUDENTS LACK.”

Understanding the impact your choices have on health is just one element of new after-school programing being introduced in South Sacramento with the goal of helping students improve their mental, physical and emotion wellness.

It focuses on “the whole child,” which includes social and emotional learning and health and nutritional wellness, says Mario Garcia, the associate director of youth development for the Sacramento Chinese Community Center, which facilitates the program.

“Our main focus is on socially, emotionally challenged students,” Garcia says. “South Sacramento has a number of (students with) PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) from the environment they’re growing up in.”

Lessons include helping middle- and highschoolers develop their “personal brand” and understand that how they dress, eat, and take

Mario Garcia Associate Director of Youth Development, Sacramento Chinese Community Center

It is funded by The California Endowment’s Building Healthy Communities, which aims to improve the health of 14 challenged California communities, including South Sacramento.

Creating a program like this is something they had toyed with for sometime, Garcia says. The Endowment gave the ability to move forward.

A recent six-week summer course that used the same student demographic and curriculum gave Neff and Garcia some good news. A survey indicated that students were learning what the group set out to promote.

“Students are starting to see the connection between physical activity and mental and emotional wellness,” Garcia says.

Want to be part of a community change? Visit sacbbhc.org/join-the-hub.

PAID WITH A GRANT FROM THE CALIFORNIA ENDOWMENT SN&R | 09.10.15

Mario Garcia and Kelsey Neff work with students at Nicholas Elementary School as part of new after-schoool programming that emphasizes social and emotional skills.

Photo by Charles Gunn

The program, which also includes field trips and service learning projects created by students, serves hundreds of students from four South Sacramento schools in the Sacramento City Unified School District — Nicholas Elementary School, Will C. Wood Middle School, Hiram Johnson High School and continuation school American Legion High.

Health Happens in Neighborhoods. Health Happens in Schools.

Health Happens with Prevention.

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In 2010, The California Endowment launched a 10-year, $1 billion plan to improve the health of 14 challenged communities across the state. Over the 10 years, residents, community-based organizations and public institutions will work together to address the socioeconomic and environmental challenges contributing to the poor health of their communities.

“Self-awareness, social awareness, responsible decision-making, self-management and communication skills — these are things a lot of these students lack,” Garcia says. “To be a responsible human being they need to have these skills and they don’t have them yet.”

Your ZIP code shouldn’t predict how long you’ll live – but it does. Staying healthy requires much more than doctors and diets. Every day, our surroundings and activities affect how long – and how well – we’ll live.

10

BUILDING HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

www.SacBHC.org

Minimum effort The mayor’s hand-picked task force announced its much-anticipated minimum-wage plan last week. The take home from last Wednesday’s press conference was that “nobody got everything they wanted.” But the reality was that low-income workers were the losers.

And now, the city of Sacramento gets to play guinea pig, at the behest of restaurant and chamber-of-commerce interests.

How we got here: Activists and union workers banged the $15-an-hour drum, and loudly, for about a year.

Nationally, Democrats got on board for some kind of wage bump, and Mayor Kevin Johnson followed suit, wrapping his arms around the issue. In May, he launched a task force, whose members included all sorts of stakeholders, to investigate the impacts and benefits. The group dropped its proposal last week: incremental pay bumps through 2020, the end rate being $12.50—a wage lower than what was passed in nearby Bay Area burg Richmond.

The proposal is a nice win for business owners of all stripes. But the bigger issue pertains to a “total compensation” clause in the city’s proposed ordinance.

Total compensation basically allows business owners to not bump the minimum wage for workers who receive other financial benefits, such as tips and health care. That means Joe Employee earning $10 an hour won’t get a pay bump to $12.50 if he gets tips or other benefits from his employer that amount to more than $15 an hour.

Unions call this move illegal. City leaders in Los Angeles and elsewhere have shot similar moves down. Yet Sacramento appears poised to be the legal lab rat when it comes to this carve out, pushed hard by the California Restaurant Association.

That’s unfortunate: Why must Sacramento trailblaze on this?

It’s also worth noting that the city’s proposed minimum wage could possibly be outdone by a new state minimum in five years. It’s not a likelihood, but it’s possible.

It’s nice to see any kind of pay bump for workers. But this latest proposal feels like minimum effort. Ω

The city of Sacramento gets to play guinea pig, at the behest of restaurant and chamber-of-commerce interests.

A fundraiser to support sN&r’s First AmeNdmeNt LegAL Aid FuNd

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’S mento SacraerS and winn S—with loSer ry pointS ra arbit

taking Flight

Practice?

Uber locked up a special

Upcoming tBD Fest

agreement with the Sacramento International Airport, granting the ride-hailing company approval to deliver dropoffs to the airport again.

With taxi trips running close to $40 and Uber prices falling closer to $15, this is notable wallet padding. Score another point for deregulation— the good and bad of it.

And another thought: Since when was this not allowed? We must have hopped in the town cars of drivers that just don’t G-A-F.

performer and rapper Post Malone has made a name

+ 15

for himself with the track “White Iverson,” which, if it needs explaining, means he sees himself as the white version of former NBA all-star Allen Iverson, who is black. The biggest no-no of a white rapper is using the N-word, however, and it was revealed that Post Malone recently broke that code. Having been outed via Twitter as a white guy on the wrong side of cultural appropriation, the question now is: Will TBD Fest keep Post Malone on the lineup?

-3

Bro saFari The indignation for the Sacramento Brew Bike inspired a new art movement. A local graffiti artist is stenciling an image on Midtown sidewalks of the bicycle-built-for-rubes with the words “Idiot Mobile” attached. It’s in our nature to champion all local business, but it’s good to know some of that “keep Midtown janky” huff lingers.

+ 2,007 ProFile Protest The gathering outside Gov. Jerry Brown’s offices last week probably could be heard throughout the entire Capitol. More than 200 activists, some of whom arrived on buses from as far away as San Diego, filled the hallway to encourage the passage of Assembly Bill 953. The proposed law would expand the prohibition of racial profiling to include a host of other identifiers, including gender, sexual orientation, housing status and immigration status. A couple hundred strong and zero arrests made.

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09.10.15

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by Janelle Bitker, nick Miller and ann Martin rolke ph

photos by ryan donahue

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t wasn’t even 11 a.m. on the first day of 2015, but the zigzag of cars at the In-N-Out Burger near Arden Way was like the queue for new Jordans or Yeezy Boosts at Foot Locker. What the hell was going on? I kid you not, at least four-dozen cars. Instead of joining them, I perhaps should’ve looked within and asked “What the hell am I doing at In-N-Out before noon on New Year's Day?” True story. It’s the year of the burger.

14 | SN&R | 09.10.15

Even truer: Burgers are out of control in Sacramento.

In seven days, the city will host its fourth annual Sacramento Burger Battle. The event sold out—about 1,000 tickets—months ago.

Founder Rodney Blackwell told SN&R that some 500 people remain on the waiting list. More than 15,000 burger bites will be served on September 17 in Cesar Chavez Plaza. This is really happening. (Read an interview with the self-proclaimed “Burger Junkie” on page 18.)

Anyway, if you’re so over double-digitdollar meat-and-bun monstrosities, or if your tendency is for forks over knives, then avert ye eyes: I just ate a $26 burger for lunch last week. Peak Burger is far from nigh. This is burger genesis. Run. Or join those left behind, including three of us at SN&R—myself and food writers Janelle Bitker and Ann Martin Rolke, who ate 50 burgers this summer. Five-zero. Our

goal was to narrow that “field” down to a handful of favorites, which we did (pat on back, see page 17). But eating all those damn burgers got us fussy, too—as food critics are wont. Burgers upon burgers got issues upon issues.

I called chef Aimal Formoli, of the eponymous bistro, to get some help about Sacramento’s chef-burger situation. And to learn more about what is up with all these Mt. Denali monuments to artery clogging and calorie overkill.

“It’s too much” is how he described the ever-competitive chef-burger oneupsmanship. Or brinkmanship, depending on

!

Burgers

we ate Our writers devoured 50 local ones over the past few months (just sayin’)

Three SN&R writers ate 50 Sacramento burgers this summer. Here are the region’s dozen best. your cholesterol level. “My pet peeves about burgers are giant burgers with a bunch of shit stacked on them,” he explained. Indeed, those burgers—creations a horse couldn’t even fit in its mouth—decorate local plates in spades. Formoli even has one of the city’s most loved chef burgers on his menu. (It’s taut and simple, not dripping with chef-rockstar ego, but did it crack the top 10?)

But, yeah, after 50 local burgers, we here at SN&R find ourselves in the chef’s shoes: We just want meat, bun, cheese and sauce.

Oh, and a couple of neat strips of bacon.

“Everything else is crap,” as Formoli put it.

All right, so we’re not total purists. We don’t mind a little secret something—a kitchen-classified seasoning to the meat, or some of that ubiquitous special sauce. And

lord knows we can be a sucker for amazing fries (talking about you, Adamo’s Kitchen, and your best-in-the-city frites).

But at the end of the burger rainbow, we want to find this: a gently toasted bun that’s still warm to the touch and holds together; a fatty, juicy, medium-rare patty—cooked properly. (You’d be stunned how seldom this happens!) Snooty cheese, showy jams, souped-up mayonnaise, fried microwhatevers, truffled butters and foie fawkin’ gras—if they’re there, they should do one and only one thing: make the burger, the meat, better.

And so go the commandments that lead to our favorite dozen local burgers.

Enjoy! (N.M.)

58 Degrees & Holding Co. Adamo’s Kitchen Bacon & Butter Broderick Midtown Broderick Roadhouse Burgers & Brew Burger Junction Capitol Garage (veggie) Cookie’s Drive In Dad’s Kitchen de Vere’s Irish Pub Ella Dining Room & Bar Empress Tavern Esquire Grill Ettore’s European Bakery and Restaurant Field House American Sports Pub Firehouse Restaurant Five Guys Burgers and Fries Flaming Grill Cafe Formoli’s Bistro Foundation R & B Giant Orange Goldfield Trading Post Grange Restaurant & Bar The Habit Burger Grill Hook & Ladder Manufacturing Co. In-N-Out Burger Juno’s Kitchen & Delicatessen Krush Burger Kupros Craft House LowBrau Lucca Restaurant & Bar Magpie Cafe Mother (veggie) Nationwide Freezer Meats Pangaea Bier Cafe Paragary’s Red Rabbit Kitchen & Bar Scott’s Burger Shack The Shack Skip’s Kitchen South Squeeze Inn Sunflower Drive-In (veggie) Ten22 Tower Cafe (veggie) The Porch Restaurant and Bar The Waterboy Whitey’s Jolly Kone Willie’s Burgers

“Burger, we wrote” continued on page 17

09.10.15 | SN&R | 15

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“burger, we wrote” continued from page 15

Our favOrite burger in SacramentO

1

S

imply listed as The Pangaea Burger ($13), this is consistently the most satisfying burger in town. It has all the elements of a perfect burger down pat: A custom blend of brisket and chuck gives it enough fat to hold together and carry the rich flavor of the beef. The locally made brioche bun isn’t too crunchy or squashy, but doesn’t dissolve in a sog of meat juice, either. Toppings are classic and restrained, with sharp cheddar, bacon, ripe tomato, onions, housemade pickles and sauce, and a leaf of crunchy lettuce.

It’s good to the last bite and doesn’t leave you in a coma of overindulgence.

Sure, eat the fries, too. Pangaea Bier Cafe’s burger even passed the ultimate test: It held up well as takeout. The new chef, Brett Stockdale, inherited the burger from Robb Venditti—and it’s not going to change. “Every ingredient we put on the burger is a good-quality ingredient,” Stockdale explained. “It’s a classic burger and it really satisfies.” 2743 Franklin Boulevard, www.pangaeabiercafe.com. (amr)

Pangaea Bier Cafe in Curtis Park, home to the region’s best burger— thank you, chef Brett Stockdale.

2 The No. 2 burger Squeaking in at a very close second, the Magpie Cafe burger ($15) is only available at lunch, and at the bar on weekdays from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. The Niman ground beef is top quality, paired with a cascade of provolone, Point Reyes blue cheese, thick-cut bacon, a pristine slice of heirloom tomato, lettuce and “special sauce.” It comes speared with a skewer holding zesty house pickles.

Great burgers have something that’s hard to pinpoint that makes them exceptional. Maybe it’s a balance of acid vs. fat. While the Magpie burger is a little heavy on blue cheese, you don’t feel like a bloated hippo after eating it.

The tomato, pickle and sauce neutralize the richness. It’s not too big or overladen with crazy ingredients, and you can assuage your guilt by choosing a salad side instead of fries.

“We wanted to use top ingredients,” lunch and brunch head chef at Magpie Matt Kramer explained. “We are just seasoning with salt and pepper, so we’re letting the meat speak for itself.” The only downside is that, while it’s almost perfect in presentation, the bun tends to fall apart if you do any talking during lunch.

1601 16th Street, www.magpiecafe.com. (amr)

3 The broNze medal The neighborhood soul-food joint South also does a burger. That’s not a secret, as the $13 Chef’s Burger has received more than a chicken wing of hype. But unlike most chefs-gone-wild restaurant burgers, this one delivers simple pleasures amid culinary ambition.

It’s at once unabashedly sloppy—bacon confit, spicy mayo, a spicy slaw and jam with shallots and leeks— but this mess doesn’t detract from the main show: the meat, which is smoky and juicy at first bite. We liked that the burger, despite the dizzying mix of toppings—which also included havarti cheese and housemade pickles—wasn’t a towering, impossibleto-eat chef creation. Its brioche bun can’t hold the energy forever, though, so you’ve been warned. 2005 11th Street, www.weheartfriedchicken.com. (n.m.)

A cook at South prepares the restaurant’s signature burger, a creation at once innovative and simple.

“burger, we wrote” continued on page 18

09.10.15 | SN&R | 17

“BURGER, we wrote” continued from page 17

V

PooR vEGGiE

BURGER Nonmeat options in Sacramento slowly emerge from the kingdom of neglect

by BEcca costEllo beccac@NeWSrevIeW.com

I

t’s a culinary afterthought at most restaurants—a box of Gardenburgers or Boca patties near the back of the walk-in freezer, eventually revived from cryogenic limbo through a quick reheat and copious amounts of ketchup.

Vegans resent packaged veggie burgers—so predictable, so freezerburned—but we also owe them a debt of gratitude. These pucks of protein allow us to share dinner with beloved elderly relatives at Denny’s. They sustain us on road trips through states where veganism is only an urban legend. And sometimes they are the only things keeping us upright after too many beers at pubs that specialize in bangers.

So thank you, veggie burger. We don’t know where we’d be without you, but we know we’d be hungry.

Fortunately for local vegans, Sacramento chefs are recognizing that a vegan burger can be as creative and thoughtfully prepared as its meaty counterparts.

The Winter Nut Burger at Capitol Garage (1500 K Street) is a savory lentil-based patty on a focaccia bun served alongside a deliciously salted stack of shoestring fries. The zingy Carrot Nut Burger at Mother (1023 K Street) can and should be ordered “pro style” with avocado and “chicken-fried” oyster mushrooms that transform the burger into a hearty meal, even without sides.

Still, the best vegan burgers in town predate Sacramento’s rebranding as a foodie city. The East African Veggie Burger at Tower Cafe (1518 Broadway) is a delicately spiced patty of peas, sweet potatoes, garbanzos and corn on a tremendous whole-wheat bun. Abundant toppings include roasted red peppers and a side of cashew sauce. (We recommend slathering half on the burger and using the rest as a dip for the fries. Ketchup has nothing on cashews.)

Of course, the region’s original vegan burger is still king. The Sunflower Drive-In (10344 Fair Oaks Boulevard in Fair Oaks) has been serving nutburgers out of a little walk-up shack since 1978. The basic comes dressed in vegan Thousand Island dressing, onions, lettuce, pickles, shredded carrots and a handful of fresh sprouts for that authentic hippie health-food experience. No fries, because fried food isn’t cool for your health.

You know what is? Eating outside in the sunshine and fresh air, while the Fair Oaks roosters nibble the sprouts you accidentally dropped under your table.

Because that’s the point of vegan burgers: respecting animals enough to refrain from eating them. And sometimes respect means sharing your burger. Ω

We recommend slathering half on the burger and using the rest as a dip for the fries. Ketchup has nothing on cashews.

18 | SN&R | 09.10.15

Rodney Blackwell burgers harder than you.

R

odney Blackwell’s got a death grip on a burger. He more than just really likes burgers, so perhaps that explains his unwillingness to let go. Or maybe it’s because the meal-betweentwo-buns set him back $26. “It’s pretty juicy,” he eventually squeezes in, between bites. Put it down, it may fall apart. There you go.

No joke, the burger Blackwell and I ate at Ella this week was pushing 30 bucks: truffled short rib ragu, bone marrow butter, carmelized onions, heirloom tomatoes, triple cream brie inside a buttermilk brioche bun with a house-ground burger. Fries and maplebacon aioli on the side, too.

“I think $26 is the tops. This might be the record,” he says of the special burger, available only this September.

That’s actually surprising, given that Blackwell is better known by his 16,000 Instagram followers simply as the Burger Junkie. He’s posted hundreds of bun pics, and reviewed even more on his website. The dad and husband travels the world to rub elbows at burger festivals and competitions. And he’s the founder of this week’s fourth-annual Sacramento Burger Battle).

Blackwell’s reputation is such that, when he strolls into the neighborhood butcher shop, “They don’t judge me too much when I order like seven different meats,” which he’ll grind into his special burger patty.

The soft-spoken Blackwell launched his site in 2005 and the Burger Battle in 2012, as a fundraiser for the local Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America. His oldest daughter was diagnosed with Crohn’s at age 5, six years ago. Now, his Battle donation tally is inching toward $100,000.

We met last week to eat the most expensive burger in recent Sacramento memory.

So, you’re like “Hell no, I’m not splitting a burger.”

It would feel like I’m not doing my job, splitting a burger.

I’m excited. What’s the cheapest burger you’ve ever had?

How much is a McDonald’s cheeseburger?

g n i K

of

BURGERS My lunch with Rodney ‘Burger Junkie’ Blackwell, founder of the Sacramento Burger Battle

by NICK MILLER

What’s a fair price for a chef burger?

Someone asked me if the burger at Magpie is worth 15. I said, “They’re making their own buns, it’s got really dope beef. It’s worth 15.” When you’re using all the right ingredients, 15 is a good price point.

If I was going to open my own restaurant, I would try to do a really good burger for 10 or less. … People associate burgers with affordable, easy food, so I’d want to adhere to that, a sort of burger-joint style burger. … But of course I don’t know a lick about food costs.

nickaM@newSReview.coM

I don’t even know. Weren’t we gonna go get a Quarter Pounder?

I think that’s probably the cheapest.

But I haven’t had a cheap, cheap, cheap burger in a while. You have to wonder how they can even make it for 99 cents. Bread costs so much, and meat’s supposed to cost so much.

What’s going on in there?

What’s your burger pet peeve?

Not toasting the buns is one of my pet peeves. Overcooked burgers.

I’m surprised at how many burgers I’ve had this summer that weren’t cooked properly.

Most of the time it’s over. You’ll order medium-rare, but it’s not.

I wish chefs would just cook it how it should be cooked. No asking customers.

There was this burger in L.A. that I had, and the guy just stuck to his guns.

He would not cook it medium-well. Or well done. “I’m not going to cook my wagyu beef to well-done. Yelp reviews be damned.”

What do you crave about a burger?

It has to all go together and make sense, flavor-wise. Sometimes burgers throw a lot of things in there. And I’m OK with experimentation, or the occasional crazy burger. But not just for the sake of being crazy. It has to make sense. Say, if you’re doing a burger with truffles on it, you can’t throw wasabi in there, something that’s totally off base.

What seals the deal?

I still like American cheese. I’ve seen a lot of fancy cheeses and smoked Cheddar. But I like the melt, the salt of an American cheese. It looks good on a burger, contrast-wise. … If I had my druthers, I’d use American cheese pretty much over any cheese.

You’re talking, like, Kraft slices?

Yeah, Kraft deli slices.

That’s sick.

Some nice American cheese from the deli counter, that works, too. … But the one I use at home is called Kraft Deli Deluxe. There’s no plastic between the slices, it’s just a big slab of cheese.

What’s your favorite burger add-on?

Are onions considered an add-on?

They’re definitely essential for me.

Some form of diced, or sliced.

Oh, another burger pet peeve is onion straws. Like, I’ve seen them done so many times. Crispy onion straws, they seem overused now.

If you opened a restaurant, describe your chef burger.

Mine would be something like a blend that I put together from Taylor’s, with probably the bun from Freeport Bakery, American cheese on it, maybe I’d do an In-N-Out, “animal-style” sort of take, fried mustard on one side with shaved onions. You put the fried mustard on top with the onions, so basically when you flip it over, the onions steam into the burger.

So many of these restaurants, they don’t put the burgers on their night menus, out of fear of them taking over the grill. They’ve created a monster.

I think chefs make them because they like them, they eat burgers themselves.

But they didn’t become chefs to make burgers, and most of these are not “burger restaurants.”

Are we at Peak Burger?

When I started my blog, and that was 2011, I thought it would soon hit the peak. … But it’s still going. And I don’t think burgers are going anywhere any time soon.

What’d your family say when you were like, “Hey, I want to do a burger battle.”

They were surprised. Laughs. But they knew I had just come from the one in Denver, so they knew I at least had the idea of what one would look like. … My daughter loved the idea because she knew I was doing it for her.

How many burgers do you eat in a week?

Too many. Probably, on an all-in week, maybe three to five. On a slow week, probably one.

Does your doctor get pissed at you?

Yeah, he’s like, “Maybe cut back.” I try to do a little side salad every now and then.

Ω

“BURGER, we wrote” continued on page 21

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OtheR fAvORites fAvORites OtheR cheese and crunchy shallot rings. You’d think that was enough, but it’s best with the sunny-side egg option. Some eaters might argue there’s too much arugula. Others might want to try the Classic Burger ($13), with the holy trinity of LTO, bacon, cheddar, pickle and black garlic aioli. Get the smashed fries on the side. 5913 Broadway, http://baconandbuttersac.com. (AMR)

no aioli, thanks All these chefs’ burgers, what with their aioli spreads masquerading as goddamned mayo and brioche buns that fall apart at first wetness. Screw that. Sometimes you just want an oldfashioned West Coast-style slider— slammed patty, crunchy iceberg, busted tomato and “Is that even cheese?” melted American.

Willie’s Burgers delivers 100 on this every time. There can be blowback from a 1 a.m. burger run—you know what I’m talking about—but in this city of truffle burgers for an Andrew Jackson, a $3.90 hammer is often home. (I also like how Willie’s has the jankiest website.) 2415 16th Street, http://williesburgers.com. (N.M.)

Chef Mark Helms at Juno’s Kitchen & Deli whips up his burger with a 27-hour leavened sourdough bun.

better than in-n-out?

Plan for a naP It was about 2 p.m. and I had just finished downing Rick’s Deluxe Burger ($14), and I promptly fell asleep. For hours. This food coma was intense, but the culprit was intensely good. The Five Dot Ranch chuck patty was cooked a perfect medium-rare and oozed with juice; the white cheddar, pickles, grilled onions and beautiful heirloom tomato were all quality. The extra $1 for bacon was worth it. In other words, The Waterboy burger is the classic farm-tofork chef’s burger done right. Just plan ahead and book a post-lunch “meeting.”

2000 Capitol Avenue, http://waterboy restaurant.com. (J.B.)

Dat breaD tho Truth is, Juno’s Kitchen and Deli’s burger ($11.25) is more of a sandwich than the other bun-patty situations on this list.

That’s because there’s no bun at all. There’s bread—the same amazing, 27-hour leavened sourdough that Juno’s uses for its other sammies. It’s chewy, crusty and soft all at once, which provides an extra-fun textural contrast to the two toothsome, charred patties that lie within. Rectangles of cheddar are melted on top; a little tomato, lettuce and pickle action mingles with a mild aioli—called “fancy sauce”—underneath.

3675 J Street, www.junoskitchen.com. (J.B.)

lunchish anD Delish True to its location, Bacon & Butter’s burger is full of bacon. It’s ground with Storm Hill beef for the juicy patty and also layered on top. Since they only do breakfast and lunch, the B&B Burger ($14) is on the “lunchish” section of the menu. It comes with lots of arugula, a smoked aioli, Petaluma jack

Nothing makes me feel as patriotic as a trip to Whitey’s Jolly Kone. The old-school vibes.

The menu that includes both burgers and Mexican food. Don’t even get me started on the milkshakes. And the Whitey’s Special ($3.50)? Two thin, flavorful patties topped with unapologetically American cheese, crispy bacon and your usual fixins. It’s so simple and so right—like In-N-Out Burger, but better. 1300 Jefferson Boulevard in West Sacramento, (916) 371-3605. (J.B.)

no tomato necessary Eating in the elegant, chandelier-laden Firehouse Restaurant dining room for just $15 feels like a huge bargain. Granted, you’re getting a burger at lunchtime. Still, the Steakhouse Burger explodes with refined flavor. The beef is as good as it gets, served under melty havarti, with subtle notes of

horseradish, sautéed portobello mushrooms and jammy, caramelized onions—no tomato or lettuce necessary. It almost feels like ordering a fancy Firehouse steak—what with the shrooms and horseradish combo— but it’s only $15! 1112 Second Street, www.firehouseoldsac.com. (J.B.)

nice (Pretzel) buns We tried two burgers at de Vere’s Irish Pub: the Battle Burger ($13.99) and Bacon Cheeseburger ($12.99). Both are noteworthy for the unusual pretzel buns that hold up well and the more reasonably sized patties. These aren’t gargantuan, and that’s great for lighter eaters. The housemade potato chips, sprinkled with fresh parsley, are worth a visit alone. 1521 L Street, www.deverespub.com. (AMR)

salty Pork bits For less than $10, Skip’s Kitchen delivers a killer burger that’s at once unfussy and gourmet. The bacon-cheddar ($9.79) is well thought out and well executed: the portions for each ingredient are ideal; the patty arrives juicy and pink on the inside; and the eggy brioche bun, remarkably, never gets soggy—even after the leftovers take a ride in the car. The kicker? The bacon gets chopped up and mixed into the melted cheddar, which makes a big-deal difference in tasting salty porky bits in every single bite.

4717 El Camino Avenue, www.skips kitchen.com. (J.B.)

Don’t use conDiments Meat, cheese, aioli, bun. That’s it.

Reminiscent of April Bloomfield’s super-famous burger at the Spotted Pig in New York, the LowBrau burger ($13) focuses on glorious, glorious meat. But everything else is on-point, too. The bun?

Pretzel, with a brioche-like quality. The cheese? Your choice of white cheddar or blue—both options bring a nice sharpness without overpowering the beef. The size? Everything perfectly portioned and completely reasonable. And sure, there’s some lettuce, onion and excellent, mustardy pickles on the side if you want them. Pro tip: You don’t. 1050 20th Street, www.lowbrausacramento.com. (J.B.)

09.10.15 | SN&R | 21

THE ARTIST

at rest & IN Motion Matt Brown

take s ov e r t h e c i t y w i t h in s tal l at i on s, v i d e o s an d t e m p o rary enlightenment

22 | SN&R | 09.10.15

by LoveLLe Harris photos by kevin cortopassi

Sacramento, art city See niGHt&Day

29

money burGer See oFF menu

31

Hip-Hop unicornS See muSic

38

brianna Lea pruett, rip See SounD aDVice

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Artist Matt Brown lives the dream and creates aftershocks as he works on a new installation.

Up in the hills of the Gold Country at END Studio in Auburn on a recent afternoon, Brown is hard at work on his latest bit of 916 domination: several art installations for the upcoming TBD Fest, which takes place in West Sacramento, September 18-20.

And while the artist says he can’t yet share details on what he plans to unleash on the legions of attendees set to converge on the festival grounds, Brown hints that last

in 2006 after jumping around between various local high schools. He began his creative journey at 17 after he wrote and sold a movie script and moved to Los Angeles.

Brown’s art is complex.

His work straddles the line between the surreal and the familiar. Previous projects have included eerie projections of fire and animals onto old, dilapidated, sinisterlooking barns and minimalist renderings of one of his

“I want art to Interact wIth people wIthout them knowIng It.” Matt Brown artist

I

t seems like Matt Brown has a hand in just about every creative endeavor in Sacramento these days.

Whether it’s partnering with the supergroup Crosses—members include Deftones singer Chino Moreno, Far guitarist Shaun Lopez and Chuck Doom—on its ethereal video for “The Epilogue,” collaborating

with Carina Lampkin on large-scale outdoor projection pieces at her Blackbird Kitchen & Beer Gallery eatery or creating visual elements for local haunted houses, the Matt Brown aesthetic has permeated nearly every sector of the city’s creative community.

year’s TBD contribution, an illuminated structure forged out of Plexiglas and steel, commonly referred to as “The Cube,” may make another appearance. And if it does, Brown says he’s looking for its latest iteration to be even more engaging than last year’s version.

“I want it to be more interactive, I want art to interact with people without them knowing it,” he explains.

The idea is to encourage passersby to hold up their smartphones to the installation and wait for what comes next.

“I want people to be actually jarred by it almost, and maybe that can be some kind of a vehicle for temporary enlightenment,” he says.

Brown, who calls his particular brand of art “a beautiful mess,” graduated via an independent study program

trademark calling cards: a painting of a small brown boat that boasts a simple white flag on a sea of varying striations of blue hues. One such piece even made it onto the wall of the Solomon Dubnick Gallery where it hung next to works

by Wayne Thiebaud and Gregory Kondos.

As he juggles multiple projects while looking for new mediums such as a robot lab where he tinkers on animatronics, Brown seems to be in constant motion. It makes for a frenetic pace.

Still, Brown’s creative spirit isn’t waning. Instead, the photographer-projectionistpainter says managing several undertakings is just a part of the creative process.

“I like throw myself into the situation and I’m looking around at everything and I’m going, ‘Oh, fuck this is going

to be so shitty,’” Brown says by way of explanation. “But I keep working at it and it gets a little bit better and then a little bit better, and then it turns from me being superdepressed about it, saying, ‘This is totally impossible,’ into ‘Oh, this is cool.’”

Making a name as an artist is one thing, but making a living is an entirely different beast. Brown knows success doesn’t happen overnight but, he says, the work is pouring in. Upcoming projects include creating a performance venue in the basement of the Warehouse Artist Lofts building, as well as making more videos for Crosses and a string of other bands.

For many, working at such a maddening pace would be overwhelming, but the creative multitasker says he manages with support from the likes of Lampkin and TBD art curator Seumas Coutts.

For Coutts, it‘s Brown’s artistic voice and impact that compel him to help the artist reach a bigger audience “Scale, mass, energy, are all of the basic things an artist has to [convey] in some way,” he says, adding that a successful piece is one that resonates “if you walk away … and it leaves an aftershock in you, psychically, mentally, spiritually, [and] if it embodies something even in the physical body.”

Brown’s art, Coutts says, “does all that.”

Coutts adds it was Brown’s imagination and ability that not only secured his place as a part of the creative pool of artists contributing to the festival, but landed him the title of TBD artist-in-residence.

“Every artist has a skill set.

They bring their toolbox or paint palette or whatever it is that they have and you have to know that trajectory,” Coutts says of TBD’s selection

process. “It was very clear to me that he was someone that we could support.”

Brown didn’t grow up in an artistic household, nor did he have any formal training.

Rather, the Sacramento native cites his grandmother, an art teacher at St. Francis High School who died when he was 10, as the inspiration and motivation that was otherwise lacking.

“I didn’t take art seriously, because I didn’t grow up like that. My parents … just didn’t get it,” he says. “They’re really nice people but they never thought it could be a career, and most of the people in Sacramento feel that same way, like, ‘Oh like that’s a cool hobby, but what are you going to do in your real life?’”

Certainly, Brown has been able to cultivate his artistic vision into making a “real” life for himself in the art world: He’s also collaborated with the Sizzling Sirens burlesque troupe, served as the artistic director for the 2012 Sacramento Electronic Music Festival and animated a spot for Santa Cruz Skateboards that premiered on ESPN during the 2012 Street League Skateboarding series.

Now, as Brown strategizes his next move, he says that while the art scene here is very conventional, there are hints that the mainstream and tradition will soon give way to what he sees as the next wave.

Something he foresees as pieces comprising “all of this amazing semidisturbed stuff.”

The prediction fits with his overall creative philosophy.

“I’ve made it here in a lot of ways, [but] I’ve had a lot of help,” he says. “But you’ve got to get rid of the conventional way of doing it.”

Learn more about Matt Brown’s work at www.mattbrownthe.website.

09.10.15 | SN&R | 23

SUMMER by the SEA

DAVID LIGARE California Classicist JUNE 7 – SEPT 20

ARMIN HANSEN The Artful Voyage JUNE 28 – OCT 11

Enjoy a summer filled with art, music, and film. The Crocker brings you special exhibitions and programs inspired by the beauty and power of the sea.

Left: David Ligare, Penelope (detail), 1980. Oil on canvas, 40 x 48 inches. Crocker Art Museum, Promised gift of David Ligare and Gary Smith. Right: Armin Hansen, Salmon Trawlers (detail), 1918. Oil on canvas, 47 x 53 in.

Monterey Museum of Art. Gift of Jane and Justin Dart.

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216 O Street • Downtown Sacramento 916.808.7000 • crockerartmuseum.org

SeptembeR pickS by Shoka

The river overfloweth Californians’ brains have been waterlogged lately, not just because we’re running out of water, but also with the fear that we may actually have too pHotoGrApHy much, with predictions of potential epic flooding with the failure of Sacramento’s levees and prolific El Niño rainstorms this winter. What appropriate timing, then, that Geoff Fricker is showing his black-and-white photographs of previous floods in the region. The photos, which will be on the walls at Viewpoint Photographic Art Center this month, are bound in a book titled Sacrament: Homage to a River. Fingers crossed this winter doesn’t provide him an overflowed landscape for a sequel.

Where: Viewpoint Photographic Art Center, 2015 J Street, Suite 101; (916) 441-2341; www.viewpointgallery.org.

Artist’s reception: Friday, September 11, 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Second Saturday reception: September 12, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Through Saturday, October 3.

Hours: Tuesday through Thursday, noon to 6 p.m.; Friday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m.

“Speed checked by Radar, Ord Bend” by Geoff Fricker, photograph, 1997.

Living in a material world

“Rumors of Emptyness III” by Robert Ortbal; cardboard, resin, plaster, paint and flock; 2014.

It doesn’t matter what the material is; Robert Ortbal will befriend it, whether it’s ordinary, fussy or just plain difficult to work with, and like Alec in The Black Stallion, he will gallop down the beach with it—bareback. Ortbal ran with chrome last year when he coated a massive garbage container for the Art of the Dumpster public art project with the reflective covering, and this month, in Musical Chairs, Ortbal—a professor at Sacramento State— has outfitted the gallery with sculpture and installation work at not only JayJay, but Beatnik Studios, too. Expect to see delicate, ethereal Sculpture textures, like a stack of blushing tulle cut into lotus flower shapes, but also rough and angular objects.

The JayJay reception for Musical Chairs occurs on Second Saturday, but the Beatnik reception is the day before, Friday, September 11, with a reception from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Also showing at JayJay is Wrapped Narratives, featuring mixed-media assemblage work by S.R. Jones.

Where: JayJay, 5520 Elvas Avenue; (916) 453-2999; www.jayjayart.com.

Second Saturday reception: September 12, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Through October 24.

Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and by appointment.

“Mystic Meeting” by Sea Miller, mixed media, 2015.

Gray magic Many people could stand to be more like Mike. Mike Tyson, that is.

That’s because the controversial boxer sees the beauty in pigeons, and so does Sacramento-area artist Sea Miller. Her series of mixed-media work at Atelier20 this month is called Mystic Pigeons and features vignettes of urban landscapes Mixed MediA occupied by the gray winged residents—who happen to have glowing halos. But instead of grime and neglect, the pigeons’ monochromatic habitat is sprinkled with bits of mystery and magic, like curiously placed keyholes and etched compasses.

The scenes feel like illustrations from a storybook that would put a twinkle of wonder in the reader’s eyes.

Where: Atelier20, 915 20th Street; (209) 988-3630; www.kristihughesdesign.com.

Second Saturday reception: September 12, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Through October 3.

Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

09.10.15 | SN&R | 25

Share Your Heart and Home!

Care providers earn $1,000 - $3,800

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monthly working in your home.

24 12

Make a Difference in Someone’s Life!

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22 14 4 25 9 1

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7 ELLIOTT FOUTS GALLERY 1831 P St., (916) 446-1786, www.efgallery.com

8 EN EM ART SPACE 1714 Broadway, (916) 905-4368, www.enemspace.com

9 FLOPPY’S DIGITAL COPIES AND PRINTING 2031 J St., (916) 446-3475, www.floppysdigital.com

10 HARMONY ROGUE INTERIORS 2317 J St., (916) 432-0443, www.harmonyrogue interiors.com

Does not include Custom Framing or Custom Framing LITE

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11 INTEGRATE SACRAMENTO 2220 J St.,

1 ART OF TOYS 1126 18th St., (916) 446-0673,

12 THE IRON MONKEY TATTOO STUDIO AND FINE ART GALLERY 1723 I St.,

www.artoftoys.com

2 ART STUDIOS 1727 I St., behind Easy on I; (916) 444-2233

3 ARTFOX GALLERY 2213 N St., Ste. B; (916) 835-1718; www.artfox.us

UniversityArt.com

4 B. SAKATA GARO 923 20th St., (916) 447-4276, www.bsakatagaro.com

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(916) 541-4294, http://integrateservices sacramento.blogspot.com

(916) 476-5701, www.facebook.com/ theironmonkeytattooandartgallery

13 KENNEDY GALLERY 1931 L St., (916) 716-7050, www.kennedygallerysac.com

14 LITTLE RELICS 908 21st St., (916) 716-2319, www.littlerelics.com

15 MIDTOWN FRAMING & GALLERY 1005 22nd St., (916) 447-7558, www.midtownframing.com

16 MY STUDIO 2325 J St., (916) 476-4121, www.mystudiosacramento.com

17 RED DOT GALLERY 2231 J St., Ste. 101; www.reddotgalleryonj.com

18 SACRAMENTO ART COMPLEX 2110 K St., Ste. 4; (916) 476-5500; www.sacramentoartcomplex.com

19 SACRAMENTO GAY & LESBIAN CENTER 1927 L St., (916) 442-0185, http://saccenter.org

20 SHIMO CENTER FOR THE ARTS 2117 28th St., (916) 706-1162, www.shimogallery.com

21 SPARROW GALLERY 2418 K St., (916) 382-4894, www.sparrowgallery. squarespace.com

22 TIM COLLOM GALLERY 915 20th St., (916) 247-8048, www.timcollomgallery.com

23 UNION HALL GALLERY 2126 K St., (916) 448-2452

24 THE URBAN HIVE 1931 H St., (916) 585-4483, www.theurbanhive.com

25 VIEWPOINT PHOTOGRAPHIC ART CENTER 2015 J St., (916) 441-2341, www.viewpointgallery.org

FREEPORT BLVD.

5 CAPITAL ARTWORKS 1215 21st St.,

6 CUFFS 2523 J St., (916) 443-2881,

916-443-5721

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Sept 10th – Sept. 30th

21ST ST.

50 BROADWAY

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• Do you have experience working with individuals with disablities or have previous caregiving experience?

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Downtown/olD Sac 27 ARTHOUSE ON R 1021 R St., second floor; (916) 455-4988; www.arthouseonr.com

28 ARTISTS’ COLLABORATIVE GALLERY 129 K St., (916) 444-7125, www.artcollab.com

29 AXIS GALLERY 625 S St., (916) 443-9900, www.axisgallery.org

30 CROCKER ART MUSEUM 216 O St., (916) 808-7000, www.crockerartmuseum.org

31 E STREET GALLERY AND STUDIOS 1115 E St., (916) 505-7264

32 LATINO CENTER OF ART AND CULTURE 2700 Front St., (916) 446-5133, www.lrpg.org (916) 446-4444; www.smithgallery.com

34 VERGE CENTER FOR THE ARTS 625 S St., (916) 448-2985, www.vergeart.com

35 WAL PUBLIC MARKET 1108 R Street, (916) 498-9033, www.rstreetwal.com

.

BLVD

(916) 955-6986; www.weskosimages.com

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33 SMITH GALLERY 1020 11th St., Ste. 100;

OA DW AY

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EaSt Sac 36 ARCHIVAL FRAMING 3223 Folsom Blvd., (916) 923-6204, www.archivalframe.com

37 CAPITOL FOLK GALLERY 887 57th St., Ste. 1; (916) 996-8411

38 CAPITAL PUBLIC RADIO 7055 Folsom Blvd., (916) 278-8900, www.capradio.org

39 FE GALLERY & IRON ART STUDIO 1100 65th St., (916) 456-4455, www.fegallery.com

40 GALLERY 14 3960 60th St., (916) 456-1058, www.gallery14.net

41 JAYJAY 5520 Elvas Ave., (916) 453-2999, www.jayjayart.com

42 WHITE BUFFALO GALLERY 3671 J St., (916) 752-3014, www.white-buffalo-gallery.com

III BON VIDA ART GALLERY 4429 Franklin Blvd., (916) 400-3008

IV THE BRICKHOUSE ART GALLERY 2837 36th St., (916) 457-1240, www.thebrickhouseartgallery.com

V CG GALLERY 2900 Franklin Blvd., (916) 912-5058, www.facebook.com/CgGallery

VI DEL PASO WORKS BUILDING GALLERIES 1001 Del Paso Blvd.

VII DELTA WORKSHOP 2598 21st St., (916) 455-1125, www.deltaworkshopsac.com

VIII GALLERY 625 625 Court St. in Woodland, (530) 406-4844, www.yoloarts.org

IX GALLERY 1855 820 Pole Line Rd. in Davis, (530) 756-7807, www.daviscemetery.org

X GALLERY 2110 1023 Del Paso Blvd., (916) 476-5500, www.gallery2110.com

off map

XI PATRIS STUDIO AND ART GALLERY

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XII SACRAMENTO ART GLASS

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II BLUE LINE GALLERY 405 Vernon St., Ste. 100 in Roseville; (916) 783-4117; www.bluelinearts.org

3460 Second Ave., (916) 397-8958, http://artist-patris.com 2500 Sutterville Rd., (916) 743-1446, www.sacramentoartglass.com

XIII SACRAMENTO FINE ARTS CENTER 5330 Gibbons Blvd., Ste. B, in Carmichael; (916) 971-3713; www.sacfinearts.org

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50% off animation festival tiCkets spike & mike’s siCk & twisted festival of animation RetuRning to CRest theatRe! The Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation is the birthplace of ‘Beavis and Butthead’ (Mike Judge, creator of ‘King of the Hill’) - Spike and Mike also produced the first two ‘Beavis and Butthead’ shorts long before the characters debuted on MTV. Spike and Mike also theatrically premiered ‘Spirit of Christmas’, the original uncensored ‘South Park’ short by Matt Stone and Trey Parker and ‘Mutilator’ by Eric Fogel (creator of MTV’s ‘Celebrity Death Match’).

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$15 tickets for $7.50 on Sweetdeals! This is an 18+ event.

Show DateS/timeS: Friday 9/11 @ 7:30PM (doors @ 6:30) Saturday 9/12 @ 7:30 PM & 10 PM (doors @ 6:30 & 9) Sunday 9/13 @ 6PM (doors @ 5) Friday 9/18 @ 7:30 PM (doors @ 6:30) Saturday 9/19 @ 7:30PM & 10PM (doors @ 6:30 & 9) where: Crest Theatre, Sacramento SN&R

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

FOR THE wEEk OF SEPTEMBER 10

Day of Caring FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11

T

he Sacramento art scene is baring itself for all the city to see over the next two weekends in the 10th year of Sac Open Studios, wherein attendees have the opportunity to visit the studio spaces of local artists, mingle with other art appreciators and participate in demos on a sprawling, citywide scale.

There’s a lot to take in, but there’s some method to this madness: The Preview Exhibit at the Verge Center for the Arts (625 S Street), which opened on September 8 and will be open through September 20, is a great place to catch a first glimpse of exhibiting artists’ work and make notes of the collections and studios you would like to explore further. The tour will hit studios west of Interstate 80 and Highway 99 the first weekend, Saturday, September 12, and Sunday, September 13; and studios to the east will take part during the second weekend, Saturday, September 19, and Sunday, September 20, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In addition to self-guided studio tours, there are a bunch of special events too: To kick things off, there’s a reception at the warehouse Artist Lofts (1108 R Street) on Saturday, September 12, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., and later that evening, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., there is the Sac Open Studios Nightcap at Beatnik Studios (723 S Street), which will feature dance performances, live music and booze of the nightcap variety. For those looking for more hands-on instruction, the Delta workshop (2598 21st Street) will be hosting demos on letterpress printing, digital drawing, raku firing, sculptural welding and more.

Special activities for weekend two include the Art Quad at DISPLAY: California, in which artists transform the parking lot at 3433 Broadway into an homage to Sacto’s design scene, and demos on paper making, encaustics and gourd projects. Dust off the ol’ beret and get ready to art to your heart’s content. A studio guide and more information can be found at http://vergeart.com/sac-open-studios-2015.

—DEEnA DREWIS

There is nothing wrong with donating money to a good cause. In fact it’s extremely honorable. Even better though? Donating your time.

CHARITY That’s something people of any economic status can do, and its impact can be immeasurably high. United Way is seeking 1,000 volunteers for 37 good causes during its third annual Day of Caring this Friday. Folks can stop by and pick the cause that they feel the strongest about and sign up.

Free, 8 a.m. at Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Boulevard; www.yourlocalunitedway.org.

—AARon CARnES

Rendezvous with a Comet FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 Wouldn’t it be awesome to send your kids (or yourself) to space camp to enjoy an immersive simulated space experience? Well, if that sounds too long (and too expensive) for you, the Discovery Museum is doing something very similar for just one SCIENCE day, and for relatively cheap. As part of the museum’s Community Mission series, visitors will get the chance to experience what it would be like to work for NASA and support astronauts in space from Mission Control. Be a part of the team of scientists and engineers and overcome all the obstacles associated with space travel. Reservations are required. $18-$20, 5:30 p.m. at Discovery Museum, 3615 Auburn Boulevard; www.thediscovery.org.

—AARon CARnES

Electricity and Science Fair SATuRDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 Want to stimulate your kids’ senses rather than just have them stare at a TV or computer screen all weekend? The fourth annual SCIENCE Electricity and Science Fair is the golden ticket. The event, which will be held at Folsom Powerhouse State Historic Park, will feature loads of things to do including (but not limited to) scavenger hunts, science experiments, solar cooking, crafts and special exhibits. Free, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at 9980 Greenback Lane in Folsom; www.ffpaonline.org.

—EDDIE JoRgEnSEn

Blackheart Burlesque WEDnESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16 SuicideGirls—that soft-core “alternative” pinup site that your craziest, hottest, high-all-thetime BFF once joined—has been around since 2001 which makes it practically retro at this point. Which, in turn, just makes its traveling Blackheart Burlesque show all the more apropos.

The troupe’s upcoming Crest PERFORMANCE Theatre gig promises “geeky” pop culture fun with striptease tributes to Star Wars, Orange Is The New Black, Donnie Darko and A Clockwork Orange. Um, OK—18-and-over only, obviously. VIP tickets include a pre-show meet-and-greet. $25-$105, 8 p.m. at 1013 K Street; http://blackheartburlesque.com.

—RAChEl lEIBRoCk

09.10.15 | SN&R | 29

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Dessert for breakfast nutella briocHe The display cases at Estelle’s Patisserie always send me into agony. The first dilemma: “breakfast” pastry or straight-up dessert? My favorite way to satisfy both needs is the Nutella brioche ($3.50). It looks like a muffin, but it’s infinitely superior. When you tear off the cap of rich, eggy brioche—already a delight—you’ll find a pool of your favorite chocolate-hazelnut spread inside. If you wanted to dip a knife in and spread every morsel of brioche with a little Nutella, you certainly could. Or you could just gobble it all down at once—and chase it with espresso. 901 K Street, www.estellespatisserie.com.

—Janelle bitker

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Spendy bites

by Janelle Bitker

So fancy: It’s easily the most expensive burger in town.

Ella Dining Room & Bar’s regular $17 burger (with the egg add-on) was already among Sacramento’s spendiest. Now, Ella has beat itself. With a $26 burger. Called “The Twenty-Six Dollar Burger.”

It reads like a badge of honor, like Hubert Keller’s $5,000 burger in Las Vegas. Of course, that burger came with a $2,500 bottle of Bordeaux.

That is beside the point.

The point is that Sacramento now has a $26 burger, and I’m not sure how I feel about it.

The burger in question includes truffled short rib ragu, marrow butter and Mt. Tam triple cream brie—and heirloom tomato, caramelized onion and a buttermilk brioche bun, the

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

more pedestrian necessities. It sounds crazy rich. And, OK, amazing. But also like I’d immediately fall asleep for three hours.

If your mouth is salivating right now, note that “The Twenty-Six Dollar Burger” is one of Ella’s September’s nose-to-tail specials. Act fast.

Also fancy: The Firehouse Restaurant has been a fine dining staple in Sacramento since 1960. And in 55 years of business, it never offered a happy hour menu.

Late last month, that changed— and the Firehouse’s happy hour menu is pretty bangin’. From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday, draft beer costs $3, well drinks $4 and martinis and glasses of wine $6. The menu of eight small plates includes a dozen oysters for $1 apiece; smoked

beef tenderloin carpaccio with truffle oil for $6; and the popular $15 fresh fish lunch tacos, but for $8.

Less fancy: Listen up, Antelope sushi-lovers. You no longer have to drive far to quench your nigiri thirst.

Aji Sushi (5239 Elkhorn Boulevard) opened last week, offering the usual long list of elaborate sushi rolls at a pretty reasonable price point. Most are $7-$11. Aji also offers a sure-to-bepopular all-you-can-eat menu ($13.95 at lunch, $19.95 at dinner), with rolls, nigiri, appetizers and desserts.

Everything is made to order.

Another sushi spot opened in Elk Grove last week as well. Sushi Q (8325 Elk Grove Florin Road, Suite 400) feels more contemporary, serving a wider array of Japanese dishes and extra-thick sashimi.

The sushi roll menu is similarly outrageous to Aji—and similarly priced—but goes even further by topping a roll with bacon. I kid you not. The Sacramento ($11) features shrimp tempura and spicy tuna, topped with unagi, avocado, bacon bits and sauces. Ω

Kombucha fans love making declarations about the beverage’s health benefits: It supposedly improves the digestive system, increases blood flow and so on. Regardless of what those probiotics do or don’t do, I will keep coming back to Zeal Kombucha’s fantastic Red Heather. Rooibos tea gets fermented with organic sugar, then hit with floral heather, grains of paradise, chamomile, mint, vanilla and palo santo wood. The result is a nuanced, crisp and refreshing brew, with a sour beer-like funk. The local company distributes kegs to a number of Sacramento cafes and often pours at the Midtown Farmers Market. Expect to pay $4 or $5 for a pint. www.zealkombucha.com.

—Janelle bitker

Truly Sacramento Pears This is prime pear season, and nearly all California pears come from the Sacramento River Delta region. Bartletts and tan-skinned Bosc have been available for a month or so, but little Seckels and extra-sweet Comice are just getting harvested. Pears ripen best at room temperature, so don’t refrigerate. Boscs make beautiful poached pears, while the petite Forelles and Comice are perfectly paired with cheeses. Slice ripe pears in half lengthwise and use a melon baller to scoop out the seeds and stem. Instead of apple pie, try making an aromatic pear-cardamom.

—ann Martin rolke

09.10.15 | SN&R | 31

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32 | SN&R | 09.10.15

Paragary’s

HH 1403 28th Street, (916) 457-5737, www.paragarys.com Dinner for one: $22 - $29 Good for: a swanky night out with fine but unspectacular food Notable dishes: scallops, quail, desserts

Randy Paragary spent $1 million and 15 months remodeling his namesake, 32-year-old restaurant.

In June, Paragary’s Bar & Oven reopened as Paragary’s with a new look and a new menu, both inspired by France.

From the modern light fixtures to the tiled floors, Paragary’s pulls off the elegant look. It’s spacious, bright—and yes, the patio with its waterfall remains one of the most charming places to dine in Sacramento, if you can deal with the flies.

With Scott Ostrander (formerly of another Paragary restaurant, Esquire Grill) leading the kitchen, the dishes also match the interior’s beauty. Though not quite tweezer food, Ostrander’s plates boast dots of sauces, little leaves for color and other flourishes. Yes, the $29 scallops look like they should cost $29.

The $25 chicken ballotine looks like $25. With the atmosphere and excellent, attentive service, a night out at Paragary’s should feel like the ideal special occasion destination.

Too bad the food is generally underwhelming. At times, crushingly so.

Nothing is awful. You won’t walk away from Paragary’s repulsed, but you’ll likely walk away wondering why you didn’t spend the evening somewhere else.

Let’s examine three dinner entrees: the scallops, the chicken ballotine and the bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin ($26). All were perfectly nice and pleasant, if a little boring. The scallops wore an excellent sear; the rounds of chicken and pork were tender.

But they lacked an extra punch—and they all carried eerily similar accompaniments. And for dinner entrees, they were also all quite sweet.

ja ne lle b @ ne wsr e v ie w.c o m

The delicate scallops—the most exceptional of the lot—paired well with sweet corn and a sweet vanilla-corn sauce. The chicken—the most forgettable—came with a medley of sweet corn, sweet onions and farro. The pork briefly surprised with a zingy addition of pickled nectarines and—oh, more corn.

We get it. Corn is in season.

My favorite dish was the mesquite grilled quail appetizer ($14), probably because it tasted like it came from a different restaurant. Yes, there was another sweet corn sauce. But there was also an intense and brilliant smokiness, ramped up by a sweet-salty bourbon and bacon marmalade. I reached a high, and then I tasted the crab beignets ($10).

The little crab—and corn, of course—fritters soaked my mouth with grease. It was sloppy.

Depressing. Especially because on a different night, the beignets were lightly fried and rich with flavor. Another hint at consistency issues: Half of the trout ($22) was excellent during a lunch visit. One filet was perfectly cooked, with crispy skin and the classic French combo of browned butter and almonds. I’d order that filet again. The other filet? Dry, overdone and boney.

Unfortunately, Paragary’s was consistent with its bread.

On three visits, the pain d’epi style of baguette was tough and dry—though, per usual, aesthetically pleasing.

Desserts were more successful. A chocolate cremeux cake ($8) was dense, soft and intense—just as it should be—with tart strawberries to offset the richness. An abstract, deconstructed version of berries and cream ($8) looked exquisite, and tasted quite lovely, but the portion was so, so small.

The dessert menu has since changed, but expect a similar style and attention to detail from pastry chef Taylor Lovelace.

All the while, the lively dining room swirled with plates of hand-cut pappardelle with chicken ($18), sliced mushroom salad ($10) and wood-fired pizza ($15)—the three staples from Paragary’s Bar & Oven that made it onto the new Paragary’s menu. Perhaps the best way to enjoy Paragary’s is to relish in its original treasures. Or, maybe, everything will change when corn goes out of season. Ω

Perhaps the best way to enjoy Paragary’s is to relish in its original treasures.

BOXING PART Y

Holy, foamy grail If you call yourself a beer nerd and aren’t going to the California Craft Beer Summit and Brewers Showcase, then keep reading. This is it. The holy grail of Golden State beer festivals. And it’s in Sacramento! On Friday, September 11, and Saturday, September 12, hear directly from some of the biggest names in beer: Russian River Brewing Co.’s Vinnie Cilurzo, the Bruery’s Patrick Rue, Lagunitas Brewing Co.’s Tony Magee, Stone Brewing Co.’s Greg Koch and more. That summit portion takes place at the Sacramento Convention Center (1400 J Street). At 4 p.m. on Capitol Mall, the brewers showcase begins, featuring more than 150 California breweries. Beachwood BBQ & Brewing, Cellarmaker Brewing Co., Faction Brewing, Societe Brewing Co., Rare Barrel and Woodfour Brewing Co. are among the exciting teams slated to pour their unique and rare offerings. Tickets to the summit start at $69 per day or $119 for both days.

Showcase tickets cost $60. More at www.californiacraftbeer.com.

2 LOCATIONS SHOWING FIGHT 7942 ARCADIA DR. CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA 95610

—Janelle Bitker

Owls and wine slushies

By Shoka A dream is about to come true if the dream is to recline on a picnic blanket, sipping on a wine slushie at a vineyard while watching owls be released by a wildlife rescue organization. Experience it at Heringer Estates Family Winery & Vineyards (37375 S. Netherlands Road in Clarksburg) on Saturday, September 12, at 5 p.m.

RSVP at www.heringerestates.com.

A $5 donation goes to the Wildlife Care Association, the releaser of the evening’s nocturnal birds of prey, who act as pest control on the Heringers’

140-year-old-plus farm, swooping up rodents who nibble on the vines’ fruit.

They’re not vegan, but that’s natural.

But how does one know if a wine is vegan? Some wineries use fining agents to clear the natural haziness of young wines, and albumin (eggs), isinglass (fish bladder), gelatin (animal protein) and casein (milk protein) are common animal-derived ones.

Bentonite (clay) and charcoal are vegan-friendly. Look up your favorite alcoholic beverage on the awesome Barnivore (www.barnivore.com).

SAT. SEPT 12 | 5PM

2019 O ST | 916.442.2682 09.10.15 | SN&R | 33

ReviewS

Ignore logic, have fun

by Patti RobeRts

2 off

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One Adult AdMIssIOn

Saturday 10-6 | Sunday 10-5 12 Adult | $8 Children & Seniors

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12 & under, 55+

For More Information Contact raelynn deBone: Raelynn@twofayreladies.com • 916.223.6725 Proceeds benefit Hands4Hope Buy your tickets online at twofayreladies.com Direction: 3 miles off of Hwy 50 Cambridge exit

“ommm.”

Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play

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Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play; 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, 7 p.m. Wednesday; $25-$35. Capital Stage, 2215 J Street; (916) 995-5464; http://capstage.org. Through october 4.

So, there’s this play about life after a worldwide apocalyptic incident where few survive, and modern conveniences such as electricity and mass communications have been wiped out. A small band of survivors gather together and, for entertainment purposes, try and recreate the popular “Cape Feare” episode of The Simpsons. Over time, first seven years later, and then 75 years later, through collective storytelling and passed-on mythology, The Simpsons, as well as loads of other pop references, evolve and meld into strange legends and deep-meaning lore.

This is an overly simplistic overview of the complex and challenging plotline of playwright Anne Washburn’s Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play, now at Capital Stage. The play, a modern riff on a dystopian society is fun, fascinating, fantastical and often very frustrating. But seldom boring.

Washburn’s take on the staying power and deeper meanings of modern pop culture is multilayered. As is Washburn’s look at what happens when all that collective buzz is shut down and communication is brought back down to small tribe and person-to-person storytelling.

Too often Washburn overloads her ideas with too many obscure cultural and pop references while jumbling WTF plotlines. Since much about Mr. Burns is intriguing, if you go, put logic aside and embrace the overall premise—and watch the The Simpsons “Cape Feare” episode beforehand.

What elevates the Capital Stage version of Mr. Burns is the dedicated and enthusiastic cast 34 | SN&R | 09.10.15

PhoTo CoURTESy oF CaPiTaL STagE

whose talented members obviously revel in both the silliness and complexity of the script. There is both a joy and an allegiance that emanates throughout the production, and helps prop up the often vexing script. Ω

5 Wait Until Dark Frederick Knott’s drama Wait Until Dark is a stage classic that has become a staple of community theater since its 1966 Broadway debut. Given the public’s familiarity with the plot (and ending), it’s hard to keep up the suspense the story requires. And yet, the production now on stage at Carmichael’s Chautauqua Playhouse does the job nicely.

The six-person cast, directed by Dean Shellenberger and working on an impressively effective set designed by Rodger Hoopman, exploits the best elements of Knott’s story about a blind woman who becomes the target of three con men searching for heroin hidden in a doll her husband innocently transported home from a business trip.

Taylor Fleer plays the blind Susan perfectly, still tentative about her newly acquired sightlessness.

Morgan Moynihan is just bratty enough to make Susan’s “helpmate” Gloria believable. As Roat, the originator of the plot, Nick Lunetta begins with a laid-back approach to the character that’s out of kilter with the murderous mastermind he later shows himself to be. John Walck as detective Carlino and Walt Thompson as Mike, a reputed Marine buddy of Sam’s, are convincing co-conspirators.

—Jim Carnes Wait Until Dark; 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 2 p.m. Sunday; $18-$21. Chautauqua Playhouse, 5325 Engle Road, Carmichael (inside La Sierra Community Center); (916) 489-7529; www.cplayhouse.org. Through September 27.

Now playiNg

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Angel in the Night

Angel in the Night, by playwright Joanna H. Kraus, is based on the true accounts of a Polish teenager who risked her life by hiding a Jewish family from Nazi soldiers during World War II. It’s the compelling story of Mary Szul—named Pawlina in the play—who later in life was honored for sheltering Jewish families. Angel in the Night is directed by Michael RJ Campbell, who brings out nice performances from actors including Tara Cartozian, a Sacramento State drama student making her Sacramento theater debut as Pawlina, Daniel Dorofeyev as the Nazi officer and Sabrina Fiora as the Jewish mother. Fr, Sa 8pm;

Su 2pm. Through 9/13.

$15-$20. California Stage Theater, R25 Arts Center, 1723 25th Street; (916) 451-5822; www.calstage.org. P.R.

5

Bars and Measures

Two brothers, one a volatile jazz musician and the other a classical pianist, dance around their significant differences during prison visits by scatsinging jazzy compositions.

1 FOUL

Politics, sibling fealty and the American “injustice” system are themes explored in this daring drama commissioned

by B Street Theatre from playwright Idris Goodwin.

Th 2pm and 7pm; F, Sa 7pm; Su 1pm; Tu, W 7pm. Through 9/27. $23-$35. B Street Theatre, 2711 B St.; (916) 443-5300, www.bstreet theatre.org. J.C.

4

The Glass Menagerie

The Tennessee Williams classic is rich with a beautifully fragile intensity. In Resurrection Theatre’s production of this thinly veiled autobiography of Williams’ early life as the struggling writer, it’s Lee Marie Kelly’s powerfully poignant portrayal of the mother that allows the audience to rediscover this story of a dysfunctional family teetering toward collapse.

Kelly is mesmerizing as the fading Southern Belle who lives on the memories of better days while frantically trying to save herself and her daughter from an increasingly bleak future.

Director Margaret Morneau carefully keeps the action to a minimum so that the characters and language are central to the story,

and pulls out heart-tugging moments from her cast.

F, Sa 8pm; Su 1pm; Tu, W 7pm.

Through 9/12. $15-$20.

Resurrection Theatre, 1723 25th Street; (916) 223-9568; www.resurrection theatre.com. P.R.

4

Three Days of Rain

Siblings Walker (Eric Baldwin) and Nan (Beth Edwards) are the central figures in Richard Greenberg’s engrossing drama, directed by Shaleen Schmutzer-Smith. The play chronicles Walker and Nan’s beliefs about their family history, particularly what goes on in the mind of their emotionally distant, worldfamous architect father. The actors also play their character’s parents, giving the audience answers to some of the story’s questions. The play boasts strong acting and, though the second act seems rushed, it’s nonetheless a compelling drama.

Th, F, Sa 8 pm. Through 9/12.

$10. Big Idea Theatre, 1616 Del Paso Boulevard; (916) 960-3036; www.bigidea theatre.org. B.S.

Short reviews by Jim Carnes, Patti Roberts and Bev Sykes.

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FAIR

GOOD

WELL-DONE

5 SUBLIME– DON’T MISS

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2015 Ride through the scenic Delta Wine Region It’s all about the hair, really.

PhOTO COURTESy OF ThE MONDAvI CENTER

It’s a dry funny Comedian Steven Wright is revered for his deadpan delivery of wryly ironic observations and decidedly non-sequitur one-liners. It’s been described as sort of an “anti-humor” but obviously it’s working out just fine for the 59-year-old.

His multidecade career boasts numerous acting, writing and producing credits, plus he’s an adviser on Louis. Wright, along with co-producer Dean Perisot, won the 1988 Academy Award for the short film The Appointments of Dennis Jennings, which chronicled an introvert’s (Wright) visits with a therapist.

Upon accepting the award, Wright remarked in his trademark dryly lethargic voice, “We’re really glad that we cut out the other 60 minutes.” See, that’s pretty funny, actually.

8 p.m. Thursday, September 17; $20-$40. Mondavi Center, 1 Shields Avenue in Davis, www.stevenwright.com.

—Rachel leibRock

Fun & flat routes start & finish on Capitol Mall with a ferry ride across the Sacramento River for the full century riders.

All levels of routes for individuals, families, beginning & seasoned riders.

Rest stops with nutritious food & drink, SAG vehicles will patrol.

FOUR RIDES: 100 | 65 | 40 | 20 MILES FAMILY RIDE: 8 MILES

Celebrate & relax at our post-ride Oktoberfest with music by Mumbo Gumbo, Playback, The Mock Ups, and City of Trees Brass Band Non-rider Oktoberfest ticket: $10 Great food, local beer & wine & fun for the entire family to benefit Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento & Team Red, White & Blue

www.SacramentoCentury.com 09.10.15 | SN&R | 35

SN&R READERS SAVE ON cONcERt tIcKEtS UPcOMING EVENtS cA craft Beer Summit & Brewers Showcase @ Sac convention center (9/11-9/12): $289 for $144.50 coor’s Light crawfish & catfish Festival @ Yolo county Fairgrounds (09/12-9/13): $15 for $7.50 Renaissance tudor Fayre @ cameron Park Lake: (09/12-09/13): $12 for $6 thunder Vibes Reggae Festival @ thunder Valley casino Resort (09/19): $48.30 for $36.22 Dry Diggings Festival @ El Dorado county Fair Grounds (9/25): $119.12 for 59.56 An Evening w/Hiroshima @ crest theatre (09/26): $40 for $20

check out our website to get great deals on concerts at Ace of Spades, Goldfield trading Post and Harlow’s.

NO SERVICE FEES!

w w w. n e w s r e v i e w.c o m 36 | SN&R | 09.10.15

Maternal leave

Grandma Well, at least there’s no pie scene.

2

by Jim Lane

Elle’s from the long-ago days before she accepted her true sexuality—and finally, reluctantly, the high-powered businesswoman Judy (Marcia Gay American Pie director Paul Weitz’s Grandma opens Harden), Sage’s mother and Elle’s quasi-estranged with a quote from American poet Eileen Myles: “Time daughter. passes. That’s for sure.” Without the attribution it Every scene of Grandma plays like a guest would sound like exactly what it is: a banal, commonspot on an old TV variety show, or those celebrity place statement of the numbingly obvious; it’s Myles’ blackouts on Tomlin’s own Laugh-In from the stature as an icon of feminist literature that gives it a 1960s. (“In this scene, Lily’s special guest—Judy false aura of profundity. The quote fits Grandma better Greer!”) than Weitz probably realizes; with anybody but Lily False notes pop up at every turn of the wheels Tomlin in the title role it would look like the shallow, of Elle’s wheezy old 1955 Dodge. Elle and Judy trivial little thing it is. supposedly haven’t been speaking, yet Judy knows But it does have Tomlin, and is therefore about Elle’s girlfriend of four months. Karl more or less worth watching, more or less and Elle supposedly haven’t seen each in spite of itself. Plus it’s only 79 minutes other in 30 years, yet she knows long, so it doesn’t become the same where he lives, even though his Every scene of kind of patience-trying trudge as other house doesn’t look that old. Elle vehicles for over-the-hill stars, like A Grandma plays gets punched in the eye by the Walk in the Woods or Last Vegas.

10-year-old daughter of a protester like a guest spot on Tomlin plays Elle Reid, an elderly at an abortion clinic. That last an old TV variety poet and former academic, and Weitz scene, so supremely silly, is introduces us to her in the middle of show. where the essential falseness of a breakup with Olivia (Judy Greer), her Grandma becomes unavoidable and lover of four months, who looks almost undeniable. It’s like the equally stupid young enough to be her granddaughter. But scene of Jason Biggs having sex with an Elle has a real granddaughter, and before long oven-warm pastry in Weitz’s American Pie. we meet her: the teenage Sage (Julia Garner), who is You can take the writer-director out of American pregnant and needs $630 to pay for an abortion. The Pie, but you can’t take American Pie out of the movie then follows the two of them as Elle drives Sage writer-director. around town trying to get the cash together.

Weitz hits a litany of hot-button issues: elderly Weitz ushers us proudly through every stage of this lesbian heroine who suffered through a back-alley Via Dolorosa, breaking things up into little chapters abortion 50 years ago, who has a transgender gal with terse lower-case titles—“endings,” “ink,” “apes,” pal and a pregnant granddaughter seeking a safe, “the ogre,” etc.—in a pretentiously literary touch legal abortion. All that’s missing is to have Elle meant to evoke poetic simplicity. We follow the two and Sage lobbying Congress in favor of Obama’s women through a confrontation with a coffeehouse nuclear deal with Iran. Ω barista (John Cho), an unpleasant scene with Sage’s scumball ex-boyfriend (Nat Wolff) and attempts to get the money from a transgender tattoo artist (Laverne Cox); Carla (the late Elizabeth Peña), the proprietor Poor Fair Good Very excellent Good of a feminist cafe; Karl (Sam Elliott), an old flame of

1 2 3 4 5

fiLm CLiPS

3

American Ultra

A strong cast led by Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart and supported

by Connie Britton, Topher Grace and John Leguizamo elevates this lame-brained, fidgety actioner written by Max Landis and directed by Nima Nourizadeh. Eisenberg plays a sweet but psychologically shaky West Virginia stoner who discovers that he’s actually a Jason Bourne-like, deep cover supersoldier, and he gets activated into a one-man killing machine just as CIA hitmen descend on him and his girlfriend (Stewart).

Nourizadeh keeps the story wheels chugging at a pace that’s fast enough to distract you—it almost feels like you’re flipping through comic book pages rather than reading them—and there’s throwaway style and hard-R splatter to burn, but some of the nonsensical second-half twists feel like studio-mandated compromises.

American Ultra is just as unfocused, hazy and nihilistic as its hero, which is a good thing, until it isn’t. D.B.

4

The Diary of a Teenage Girl

In 1970s San Francisco, a 15-year-old aspiring artist (Bel Powley) begins her sexual awakening by launching an affair with the boyfriend (Alexander Skarsgård) of her boozy mother (Kristen Wiig). Actress Marielle Heller makes her writing and directing debut adapting Phoebe Gloeckner’s novel (which Heller previously adapted for the stage). The result is lightfingered and assured (if a trifle overlong), with Heller neither exploiting the situation nor sitting in judgment on the characters. The heroine’s growing artistic talent is illustrated with charmingly naughty animated sequences by Sara Gunnarsdóttir (serving much the same purpose as Gloeckner’s art in the novel). Powley’s commanding performance (she’s seldom off-screen) is nuanced and well-rounded, and the movie’s hopeful ending is honestly earned. J.L.

4

The End of the Tour

Just as Truman Capote spun an evening with Marlon Brando into “The Duke in His Domain,” David Lipsky turned a five-day assignment following Infinite Jest writer David Foster Wallace into his 2010 memoir Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself. Now that memoir has been adapted for the screen, with Jesse Eisenberg playing the subtly hostile hero-worshiper Lipsky and Jason Segel as the self-deprecating literary lion Wallace. Rather than the stuffy or self-infatuated film you might expect, The End of the Tour is an intelligent and infectious two-hander, a My McDonald’s Breakfast with David explosion of conversation, and an insightful look into the insecurities that eat away at writers of all statures. Segel does great work in an atypical role, and Eisenberg is even more impressive, all needy, nervous laughter and simmering resentment. D.B.

2

The Gift

Joel Edgerton stars in (and directs) this intermittently effective but ultimately revolting domestic-horror film as Gordon, a poorly goateed, socially awkward misfit who weasels his way back into the life of an uninterested high school classmate named Simon (Jason Bateman). Now a cutthroat yuppie squeezing the life out of his psychologically shaky wife Robyn (Rebecca Hall), Simon refuses the creepily obsequious attempts to make friends, turning the mild-mannered Gordon malevolent and making Robyn suspicious. Despite an overreliance on ear-splitting jump scares, Edgerton the director makes a competent debut here, but Edgerton the actor is all wrong for the part of Gordon—he’s a cool kid doing his impression of a nerd. Even worse, the final reveal is pretty repellant for the way that it turns the heroine— up to this point, the eyes, ears and conscience of the film—into a pawn for the sake of a gotcha moment. D.B.

3

BY DANIEL BARNES & JIM LANE

Meru The vivid but strangely uninvolving adventure documentary Meru follows skilled

Eyes without a face.

3

Phoenix

Christian Petzold’s quietly mournful post-World War II elegy Phoenix whispers infinite thematic and narrative echoes of Vertigo, but the film’s cold-blooded aloofness fails to fully captivate. As the war comes to a close, a horribly burned concentration camp survivor named Nelly (Nina Hoss) is smuggled across the German border and into a medical clinic, where the doctor offers her a new face—the old ones are “out of fashion.” Nelly insists on keeping as much of her old face as possible, and returns to Berlin to rehab and reconnect with Johnny, the husband who betrayed her to the Nazis. Phoenix is the name of a creepo nightclub in the American sector, but Nelly is also a literal phoenix, rising from her own scorched ashes to live anew. Petzold slowly sketches out a world struck dumb by self-imposed amnesia, and Phoenix ends at a wallop of a destination, but it’s not an especially compelling journey. D.B.

mountain climbers Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk on their years-long journey to conquer the seemingly unconquerable Shark’s Fin of India’s Mount Meru. More dangerous than Everest, the so-called “Meru Wall” requires each member of the team to lug 200 pounds of equipment for over a week, and the immense pack weight forces them to largely forgo food rations along the way. Co-directed by Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Meru features some stunning, flyon-the-mountain-face climbing sequences, most of them captured on the climbers’ helmet-mounted cameras, and the deathbaiting madness of elite life-riskers has never been more real. However, the human element is sorely lacking, even as the team is touched by tragedy and near-death, and the film annoyingly overexplains every detail (Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Jon Krakauer will literally never stop talking) without offering any substantial insight into the climber mind. D.B.

5

Mistress America

After the entertaining mixed bag of While We’re Young, Noah Baumbach gets back to top form with the utterly charming Mistress America, co-written with and starring Greta Gerwig. She gives a towering, all-the-awardsworthy performance as Brooke, an ambitious, pretentious, blindly outgoing and borderline bipolar free spirit who draws her prospective sister-in-law, Tracy, (Lola Kirke, also excellent as this lonely and impressionable college student) into her tractor beam of self-delusion.

As played by Gerwig, Brooke is a hipster Holly Golightly for the Twitter age with the theatrical bluster of Auntie Mame and the fashion sense of Annie Hall—anyone who doesn’t find her absolutely delightful here can go fly a kite.

Mistress America combines the millennial narcissism of Frances Ha with the jaundiced observation of Greenberg and pitches it at the breakneck speed of screwball comedy, resulting in a sharp, funny, endlessly quotable movie about female friendship dynamics. Also: Hot Chocolate! D.B.

3

No Escape

An American contractor and his family (dad Owen Wilson, mom Lake Bell, daughters Sterling Jerins and Claire Geare) arrive in an unnamed Southeast Asian country for his new job, only to find themselves suddenly in the midst of a violent revolution, with the rebels murdering every foreigner they find. Written by brothers Drew and John

Erick Dowdle (and directed by John Erick), the movie is nothing if not brutally effective.

Performances are strong (the two little girls are especially intense) and the tension is relentless, but the suspense is not particularly pleasurable, the action set pieces not particularly exhilarating. The Dowdles get a little sloppy at the climax, when Asian characters suddenly start speaking English for no good reason—but by then we’re so anxious for it to be over we don’t mind. J.L.

3

Straight Outta Compton

2

War Room

FRIDAY - SATURDAY SEPT 11-19

SPIKE & MIKE’S FESTIVAL OF ANIMATION SICK & TWISTED

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THE PRINCESS BRIDE IN 35 MM

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SHOW: 8PM

1013 K STREET DOWNTOWN SACRAMENTO • (916) 476-3356 • CRESTSACRAMENTO.COM

The story of the rise and sort-of fall (but mostly rise) of N.W.A., an L.A. rap supergroup once so despised by law enforcement officials for their “Fuck Tha Police” rallying cry that they wound up on an FBI watch list, gets the lavish Hollywood biopic treatment in F. Gary Gray’s entertaining Straight Outta Compton. All of the N.W.A. members are cast with uncanny lookalikes— Ice Cube is even played by his own son, O’Shea Jackson Jr.—but Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E and Paul Giamatti as his manipulative manager, Jerry Heller, give the only fully realized performances in the film. In many respects, Eazy-E is the only tragic figure in the N.W.A. story, since the rest of the main players are alive, crazy-rich and produced this movie. A few electrifying moments aside, this skillfully made but painfully skin-deep film feels like a winners’ history of the gangsta rap glory days. D.B.

When a couple’s marriage begins to come apart, the husband (T.C. Stallings) contemplates an affair, while his real estate agent wife (Priscilla C. Shirer) comes under the wing of an older, wiser woman (Karen Abercrombie) whose home sale she is handling. Written by brothers Alex and Stephen Kendrick and directed by Alex, this is the latest in their string of Sunday-school movies, ardently preaching to the converted.

That audience will respond to the movie’s sunny, squeaky-clean look (courtesy of cinematographer Bob M. Scott) and the fervent sincerity of the performances. Let others be warned: the sermonizing is nonstop, beginning with the very first lines of dialogue and continuing through the movie’s several endings. J.L.

09.10.15 | SN&R | 37

WE’RE OPENING OUR DOORS!

The Dorothea Puente — HOUSE TOUR —

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 12, 2015 10AM - 2PM Come tour the garden and see inside the house where notorious serial killer Dorothea Puente lived and committed her wicked crimes

Magical mystery tour SpaceWalker takes on hip-hop, self-discovery and fantasy

All Proceeds raised will be donated to the Francis House Center IN AT $ $ ADVANCE THE DOOR Purchase now at: www.thehouseisinnocent.com

10

15

by Janelle Bitker

Your Downtown Service Shop SMOG CHECK

OIL

CHANGE

3175

2699

$

$

(reg $49.75) most cars.

Call for details. Same day.

Fast In/Out

Call for details.

916 554-6471 2000 16th St Sacramento Bring in any competitor’s smog check coupon and we will match it - plus give you an additional $5 OFF

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

For renewal reg. only.

Call for details.

Use your smart phone QR reader for more specials

Photo by evan duran

M-F 7:30 -5:30 Sat 8 -4 sacsmog.com

$60 EMISSIONS DIAGNOSTIC

Because unicorns, obviously.

UPCOMING EVENTS SEPTEMBER 24 CHRIS GARDNER BAND

OCTOBER 13 LACS

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL AT STONEY’S FREE STONEYS BURGERS TO FIRST 25 GUESTS AT 5:30-6 MONDAYS. 50¢ WINGS!

SUNDAY FOOTBALL $5 ALL YOU CAN EAT BLUEBERRY PANCAKES $10 BOTTOMLESS MIMOSAS TILL 2AM 50¢ WINGS THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL $10 RIB EYE DINNER TIL IT RUNS OUT!

FREE DANCE LESSONS NIGHTLY

1320 DEL PASO BLVD

STONEYINN.COM | 916.927.6023 38

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SN&R

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09.10.15

April Walker admits her first stage name “Miss Mars, Queen of Interstellar Beats” was a little silly— and ridiculously long.

But the cosmic sentiment remains with her new title, SpaceWalker. It’s not so much that Walker is obsessed with stars and planets, rather, she’s always felt a little out there.

She grew up in Fairfield, in a religious household that didn’t understand her eccentric creativity and wandering mind as a teenager. Her parents sent her away to a Christian therapeutic boarding school in Utah. And when Walker returned home, she hadn’t changed the way her parents or the school wanted. Instead, she had purchased her first guitar and joined a bubblegum punk band.

“My main goal right now is to be an example for other people—of pushing through adversity to be your true self and finding the people that accept that,” Walker says.

Walker moved to Sacramento three years ago, creating her SpaceWalker persona around the same time. Originally more of a singer-songwriter project, Spacewalker now performs as a one-woman-band via loop pedal. She slowly builds soundscapes with her voice and guitar—she also plays keys, drums

janelleb@newsreview.com

and electric kazoo—while, oftentimes, a dancer with a unicorn mask grooves in the background. Walker might be wearing a Sailor Moon costume. It’s all part of creating an engaging, unusual live show.

Considering her last two bands played nu-metal and rockabilly, Walker’s eclectic style feels remarkably grounded in hip-hop. She often soulfully sings or raps over beats, but she also moves through punk, indie rock, reggae and electronica as well. It works.

“I’ve been searching for my niche but it just dawned on me that being versatile and being able to do a whole bunch of different things might be my niche,” she says.

Her debut EP Subculture Submarine is definitely not of the highest quality, but the songs show serious promise: cool song structures, an affinity for wordplay and an obvious range in abilities. Now, Walker is working on her first full-length album with a paired instrumental EP called The Infinity and Beyond.

“Subculture Submarine was kind of me knocking on the door and introducing myself, and this next one is going to be me kicking the door down,” Walker says.

That means more genre-bending in a “more intricate and wild” manner. While writing, Walker says she’s mostly been influenced by old-school hip-hop, like Del the Funky Homosapien, and experimental rock, like Tame Impala. The instrumental EP, however, will be more synth-driven—a style teetering on video game soundtracks. And like Subculture Submarine, The Infinity and Beyond will be a concept album following the protagonist SpaceWalker on her journey of self-discovery. In this upcoming chapter, she will discover her true power when a unicorn bumps her with its horn.

And like that transformative bump, the unicorn references are no accident.

“It’s become a symbol for me,” Walker says. “It’s about believing in things that people say aren’t real and being able to achieve the unachievable.

It’s just the fact that there’s magic everywhere—even if it’s not the kind that you see on TV, even if it just happens to be some girl in a unicorn mask that you didn’t expect. Ω

The unicorn references are no accident.

Catch SpaceWalker at 8 p.m. Friday, September 11, at blue Lamp, 1400 alhambra boulevard. Moodie black headlines the show. tickets are $6 in advance and $9 at the door. Learn more at www.facebook.com/ interstellarbeats.

Explorations, revivals and a passing Piano prose: Many years in the making, local singer-songwriter Emily Kollars released her debut EP Past 10 last week. As such, it’s a bit of an exploratory record.

Piano stars in the EP’s five songs, while Kollars dabbles in rock, pop, R&B, jazz and funk. Some songs take on a more vintage quality, others more modern—partially due to the varied instrumentation, which includes organ, pedal steel and synthesizers.

Whatever the combo, it usually works. Still, Kollars’ voice sounds strongest when she’s singing R&B, like on the soulful track “Honey.”

I’m also excited by “Sylvia,” the album’s funkiest and, in some ways, most imaginative song. The lyrics are actually taken from John Dryden’s poem “Sylvia the Fair”—written in the 1600s—and it’s hard to imagine these words spoken any other way.

Learn more at www.facebook.com/ emilykollarsmusic.

8:08 p.m.

All genres and levels are welcome, though this open mic definitely tends to skew toward spoken-word poetry and hip-hop. Defeye will co-host with singer-songwriter SpaceWalker (see music feature on page 38). To make the event audience-centric, folks can text in feedback about the performances, which will be live-streamed and projected behind the stage.

Defeye calls it “The Hater Screen.”

—Janelle Bitker jan el le b @ne w s re v i e w . c o m

ON

AN DS

RIP Brianna: News of singer-songwriter Brianna Lea Pruett’s death spread quickly on Facebook last week among her friends, family and members of Sacramento’s tight-knit music community.

Pruett, an artist known for her sweet disposition, love of nature and fresh, modern take on folk, died September 2, according to her sister Keely Dorran. She was 32.

In an email to SN&R, Dorran said Pruett took her own life and “died peacefully in her sleep.”

Online, Dorran commemorated Pruett, writing “[I want] to focus on the fact of her continued existence as a spirit.”

Pruett’s lineage had deep Native American roots, with relatives on her father’s side who were Cherokee, Choctaw and Chickasaw, and her sound was often compared to that of both legacy and modern indie folk artists such as Emmylou Harris and Angel Olsen.

She was also an artist, poet and filmmaker. Earlier this year, Pruett released a five-song EP, We Come in All Colors.

Friends will pay tribute to Pruett at Luna’s Cafe as part of its free weekly Poetry Unplugged series.

The evening starts at 8 p.m. on September 17 at 1414 16th Street.

ST

The good ol’ days: If you’re one to boogie down like it’s 1950, check out Todd Morgan & the Emblem’s third record Sweet Pretender, which dropped in August. Old-school rock ’n’ roll revival bands aren’t exactly lacking on a national level, but locally, Morgan’s sound is confident and refreshing.

The first single to hit the radio, “Tell Me,” is tight and catchy, though there are quiet a few other radiofriendly, upbeat numbers on Sweet Pretender. “You Have No Idea” was a bold and great choice for an opener though, delivering a surprising psychedelic edge. “Willow Tree” continues Morgan’s Beatles-inspired writing style, this time hardcore channeling “Across the Universe.”

Morgan’s band first formed—though its members have changed—as a ’50s cover band, after all.

The next local sock hop—err, performance—takes place at the St. Anthony Parish Fall Festival (660 Florin Road) on Saturday, September 12. Keep up at www.facebook.com/ toddmorganandtheemblems.

Starting Sunday, September 13, find

emcee Andru Defeye and his crew at Sol Collective (2574 21st Street) weekly at

BEST OF SACRAMENTO

SouNd advice

YOU’LL FOR TH COME E BUT ST FOOD, AY THE MU FOR SIC!

SEPT.

1pm3 & 112 6 1am-

Authentic Louisiana Foods and Great American BBQ, Awesome Desserts and Full Bar Live Cajun, Zydeco, Blues and Country Music featuring Zydeco Flames, Kyle Rowland Blues, Mumbo Gumbo and Nickel Slots

$15. Kids 15 & under FREE w adult Get $5 off admission with this ad Foods, Drinks, Parking Extra

No outside food & beverages, no pets

—rachel leiBrock r ach e l l @ne w s re v i e w . c o m

Grab the mic: #TheMostOpenMicInTheCity spent about a year-and a-half popping up around town, but now the freeform open-mic is moving indoors.

09.10.15 | SN&R | 39

11

11

12

12

FRI

FRI

SAT

SAT

Blackalicious

Anton Barbeau

Pets

Oden Sun

The Boardwalk, 7 p.m., $23

luna’s Cafe, 8 p.m., $5

It’s pretty easy to be blown away by Blackalicious. The duo, who met in 1987 at John F. Kennedy High School, have been churning out challenging, political hip-hop for over a decade. It’s not a stretch to say Gift of Gab’s verbal dexterity might be unmatched, entertaining as Daniel Radcliffe covering “Alphabet Aerobics” might’ve been.

In the wake of a number of solo releases and Gab going on dialysis to treat his kidney failure, the duo is releasing the HIP-HOP highly anticipated Imani, Vol. 1 on September 18. This is a pre-release show in their hometown at a small venue. To spell it out: way too good to miss. 9426 Greenback Lane, http://blackalicious.com.

river walk park, 3:30 p.m., no Cover

Those who’ve been around the scene for a while should remember Sacramento expat Anton Barbeau’s early-to-mid-’90s cafe era, playing psychedelia-tinged quirky pop tunes like “Heather Song” and “Dig My Pig,” and selling stacks of homemade POP tapes to fans. These days the Berlin resident retains the quirk (it’s in his DNA, damn it) but his latest release Distortion Schlager also exudes a quieter, moody vibe on songs such as “Baby Baby” and “Bruising My Shin.” Oh, and the album is a cassette-only release. How very earlyto-mid-’90s. The Corner Laughers and The Moore Brothers are also on the bill.

1414 16th Street, www.antonbarbeau.com.

—deena drewis

on The Y, 8 p.m., $5

The reverb and distortion go to 11 with Pets.

Throw in the catchy harmonies of Allison Jones (guitar and vocals) and Derek Fieth (bass and vocals), and the music radiates with a refreshing take on fuzzed-out rock ’n’ roll. Jones and Fieth, who are also married, are the foundation of Pets, who will perform with Lucy Giles of Dog Party on drums at this year’s West Sacramento Cyclocross Grand Prix. The event includes hundreds of cyclists racing an all-terrain track that includes deep grass, pavement, dirt and more. Bike PUNK Dog Brewing Co. will provide the beer and Pets and Dog Party the tunes from the center of the racetrack. 651 Second Street in West Sacramento, www.wscxgp.com.

—raChel leiBroCk

Singer Lance Ozanix fronts Sonoma County’s finest heavy metal band Skitzo and is known more for barfing onstage during the close of his band’s set than being a wholly competent singer. Santa Rosa’s Oden Sun, however, was formed by guitarist Julian Kidd and METAL features a veritable who’s who of musicians from the immediate area including a much more subdued Ozanix on vocals.

The band has already made considerable headway in the metal scene since forming in 2013 and its awesome Immortal Souls EP was largely the impetus. From playing major festivals in California and Nevada to playing smaller clubs, Oden Sun is a force. 670 Fulton Avenue, www.facebook.com/OdenSun33.

—sTeph rodriguez

2708 J Street Sacramento, CA 916.441.4693 www.harlows.com 9/10 8PM $25 COMEDY OF

9/15 5:30PM $18ADV

CARL VERHEYEN BAND (ALL AGES)

REGINALD “BRUH MAN” BALLARD HOSTED BY JOE TORRY 9/16 5:30PM $15ADV CD RELEASE PARTY

9/11 8PM $10

ADRIAN BELLUE IAN ETHAN CASE

DISCO REVOLUTION 9/12 4PM $12 ADV

9/16 10PM $15ADV

2015 URBIE SHOWCASE WITH OVER 20 INDEPENDENT MUSICAL ACTS

NATURAL VIBRATIONS

(ALL AGES)

9/13 5:30PM $12 ADV

MAJICKAT: A TRIBUTE TO CAT STEVENS

9/18 8PM $18

KAMASI WASHINGTON

40 | SN&R | 09.10.15

COMING SOON 9/14 9/19 9/20 9/21 9/22 9/23 9/24 9/25 9/25 9/26 9/26 9/27 9/29 9/30 10/01 10/02 10/02 10/03 10/04 10/09 10/10 10/10

Young Roddy Steelin’ Dan Matt Schofield Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers Mr. Vegas Mike Love Honeyhoney Papa’s Culture (early) Monophonics (late) Cream of Clapton Saved by the 90s 2015 Sac Blues HOF Joe Ely The Oh Hellos Dave Alvin and Phil Alvin Jason Wright & Sara Maria Mustache Harbor Petty Theft George Kahumoku, Jr Civil Twilight Joni Morris: A Tribute to Patsy Cline Duran Duran Duran

LIVE MUSIC VOTED BEST BAR IN ROSEVILLE! 2015 -PRESS TRIBUNE

Sep 11

GLASS HOUSE

Sep 12

DENVER J

Sep 18

IN THE NO

Sep 25

ISLAND OF BLACK & WHITE

oct 03

TWO PEACE (REGGAE)

oct 09

CHRISTIAN DEWILD

oct 10

ONE LEG CHUCK

oct 31

HUMBLEWOLF

27 BEERS ON DRAFT TRIVIA MONDAYS @ 6:30PM OPEN MIC WEDNESDAYS SIGN-UPS @ 7:30PM PINT NIGHT MONDAYS 5-8PM

101 MAIN STREET, ROSEVILLE 916-774-0505 · LUNCH/DINNER 7 DAYS A WEEK FRI & SAT 9:30PM - CLOSE 21+ FACEBOOK.COM/BAR101ROSEVILLE

—eddie Jorgensen

“HOW vERY EARLY-TO-MID-’90 s .”

12

SAT

15

T UE

16 WED

17 T HU

Mother of a Girl

Deceptikon

Adrian Bellue

Cory Branan

Blue lamp, 9 p.m., $8-$10

lowBrau, 9 p.m., No cover

Danny Secretion of the Secretions is also in a Violent Femmes tribute band. You may not have known this. Now you do. But enough of me; let’s hear it from the man himself: “Well … we’re a tribute band that really doesn’t take itself too seriously,” he wrote. “Other tribute bands have either loved us because we’re a bunch of screwups, or they have hated us because we’re a bunch of screw-ups. We don’t try to act like the Violent Femmes, we just screw up their songs.” I like this. Might make the TRIBUTE songs better! See it with a Cars tribute band and an all-female ’80s cover troupe. 1400 Alhambra Boulevard, www.facebook.com/MotherOfAGirl.

Harlow’s restauraNt & NiGHtcluB, 6:30 p.m., $15-$20

Deceptikon is reclusive electronic producer from San Francisco’s Presidio district and he’s making a rare visit to Sacramento in support of a recently released album named after his neighborhood. Expect introspective and mellow beats that will resonate strongly for fans of the intelligent side of electronic music often found on the Ghostly International label. And if Merck Records, the former home of Tycho, rings a bell, then Deceptikon is a chance to get nostalgic for the early 2000s. Melodic BEATS and blissful, Deceptikon will bring a more cerebral experience to the Le Twist Tuesdays atmosphere. 1050 20th Street, www.deceptikon.net.

—Nick miller

He’s Sacramento’s Andy McKee—a fingerstyle guitarist who manages to create a remarkably full and rhythmic sound via plucking the acoustic guitar’s strings and slapping its body. But unlike instrumentalist McKee, Adrian Bellue sings.

And he doesn’t just sing. He Tuvan throat sings, and beatboxes, sometimes. (So you don’t have to whip our your smartphone, Tuva is in Russia, on the border of GUITAR Mongolia.) At Harlow’s, he’ll celebrate the release of his debut full-length Steppes, which he recorded in Montreal with producer and acclaimed fingerstyle guitarist Antoine Dufour. Exciting stuff!

2708 J Street, http://adrianbellue.com.

—Blake Gillespie

FUNK VOLUME 2015 TOUR HOPSIN - DIZZY WRIGHT - JARREN BENTON - DJ HOPPA SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19

ALL AGES WELCOME!

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26

A THOUSAND HORSES CHASIN’ CRAZY

JOE NICHOLS

UNEARTH - WOVENWAR

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

SNARKY PUPPY WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23

AGAINST ME! FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25

CINDERELLA’S TOM KEIFER FORCE OF HABIT

—aaroN carNes

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

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4

ATREYU

In our current music climate, the lines separating punk rock and country are increasingly blurry. In this ALT-COUNTRY world, Cory Branan should be a superstar—but he’s not. Yet. He’s the kind of singer-songwriter that slings a guitar like a battle ax and breathes both twang and punk aggression with ease. And, man, can he write a song! He mixes humor, poetic lyricism and deep ferocity into his tunes, and packs them with dynamics, sliding between genres with little effort. He ties it all together with an emotive voice that is boozy enough to bring an entire bar to tears, an almost punk rock Conner Oberst. 2030 P Street, www.facebook.com/corybranan.

—JaNelle Bitker

ACE OF SPADES THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10

press cluB, 8 p.m., $10-$12

THE AMITY AFFLICTION

CHELSEA GRIN – SECRETS - CRUEL HAND - THE PLOT IN YOU

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10

JON PARDI TYLER RICH

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11

REBEL SOULJAHZ

COMING

SOON

10/13 10/15 10/16 10/17 10/18 10/19 10/21 10/24 10/28 10/31 11/01 11/02 11/10 11/15 11/17 11/18 11/19 11/20 11/21 11/22 11/28 12/09

ZZ Ward Gang Of Four Buckcherry The Airborne Toxic Event Mastodon Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls Common Kings Creative Collab Tour Feat.

Matthew Espinosa For Today Parkway Drive Dave Davies of the Kinks Machine Head The AP Tour Featuring Mayday Parade Mayhem/Watian Yellowcard & New Found Glory The Charlatans Pepper Blind Guardian blessthefall Misfits Public Image Limited (PiL) Reverend Horton Heat

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT ALL DIMPLE RECORDS LOCATIONS AND ARMADILLO RECORDS

09.10.15 | SN&R | 41

BADLANDS

2003 K St., (916) 448-8790

THURSDAY 9/10

FRIDAY 9/11

#TBT and 5 Card Stud with throwback video requests, 8pm, call for cover

Fabulous and Gay Fridays, 9pm, call for cover

Spectacular Saturdays top 40 and high energy dance, 9pm, call for cover

GLASS HOUSE, call for time and cover

DENVER J, 9:30pm, call for cover

MOODIE BLACK, COOLZEY, ECID, MURDERLICIOUS; 8pm, call for cover

MOTHER OF A GIRL Violent Femmes tribute, 8pm, call for cover

BAR 101 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

BLUE LAMP

1400 Alhambra, (916) 455-3400

CALIFORNIA BEAR GANG, 8pm, $15

THE BOARDWALK

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

LEFTOVER CUTIES, 7:30pm, $17-$20

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

THE COZMIC CAFE

Open-mic, 7:30pm, no cover

DISTRICT 30

Fehrplay 10pm, $5

FACES

Everything Happens karaoke, dance and swim; 9pm-2am, no cover

1016 K St., (916) 737-5770 2000 K St., (916) 448-7798

FOX & GOOSE Hey local bands!

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.

1001 R St., (916) 443-8825

5681 Lonetree Blvd., Rocklin; (916) 626-6366

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SN&R

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Paula Poundstone, 8pm, $52-$57

Dancing with Our Stars DVD-release party, 6pm, $5

NXTA KIN, 6:30pm; DJ Sean, 10pm; call for cover

SKIPPY AND THE BOWL JUNKIES, 4pm, no cover

Open-mic, 7:30pm M; Pub quiz, 7pm Tu; All Vinyl Wednesdays, 6pm W, no cover

URBAN OUTLAWS, 9pm, call for cover

Open mic, M, no cover; Tacos and Trivia, 7pm Tu, no cover

SKID ROSES, 9pm, $5

Musicfest 2015, noon-midnight, no cover

Trivia night, 7:30pm Tu; Bingo, 1pm W; Paint Nite, 7pm W, $25

DISCO REVOLUTION, 8pm, $10

Urbie Music Showcase 2015, 5pm, $10-$12

Mythology Cafe, 5pm; KALLY O’MALLY, JENN ROGAR, CAREY SEWARD; 8pm, $5

Trash Rock Thursdays, 9pm, no cover

LUNA’S CAFE & JUICE BAR

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

ANTON BARBEAU, CORNER LAUGHERS, MOORE BROTHERS; 8pm, $5

MIDTOWN BARFLY

Stilldreamin’ , 9pm, $5

That Thing on Friday, EDM, 10pm-2am, $5

09.10.15

FOUR YEAR STRONG, 6pm M, $16; CATTLE DECAPITATION, 6:30pm Tu, $15

CLAST, JINGLE MONKIES, GAVIN CANAAN; 9pm, $5

THE HIDEAWAY BAR & GRILL

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

Moxiecrush Variety Show, 8pm Tu, $10; GREX, PRACTICE; 8pm W, $5-$7

Songwriter Showcase with HARLEQUIN CARLSON, 9pm, $5

Reginald “Bruh Man” Ballard, Andrei Bailey, Regina Givens; 8pm, $25

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

TIPSY HUSTLERS, STUBBORN SON, GHOST COLOR; 4pm, $7-$10

Deejay dancing and Sequin Saturdays drag show, 9pm, $5-$12

HARLOW’S

2708 J St., (916) 441-4693

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

Absolut Fridays dance party, 9pm, $5-$10

1603 J St., (916) 476-5076

HALFTIME BAR & GRILL

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 9/14-9/16 Feel Good Mondays happy hour all night, M; Trapicana, W, call for cover

Second Saturdays with Billy Lane, 10pm, call for cover

GOLDFIELD TRADING POST

2565 Franklin Blvd., (916) 455-1331

42

MARCIA BALL, 8pm, $27-$30

COUNTRY CLUB SALOON

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

SUNDAY 9/13 Sunday Tea Dance and Beer Bust, 4-8pm, call for cover

BLACKALICIOUS, 7pm, $23

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

CENTER FOR THE ARTS

SATURDAY 9/12

Sunday Mass with heated pool, drag show, 2pm, no cover

MAJICKAT Cat Stevens tribute, 7pm, $12-$15

EDM and karaoke, 9pm M, no cover; Latin night, 9pm Tu, $5

YOUNG RODDY, 7pm M; CARL VERHEYEN, 7pm Tu; ADRIAN BELLUE, W

Nebraska Mondays, 7:30pm M; Openmic comedy, 8pm Tu; STAB! podcast, W Salsa Wednesday, 7:30pm W, $5

THURSDAY 9/10

FRIDAY 9/11

SATURDAY 9/12

NAKED LOUNGE DOWNTOWN

CATHERINE DAYTON, SAM SHARP, NATE BEIER; 8:30pm, $5

NYLON LYON, MONOMYTH INCEPTION, HALFWAY NOBLE; 8:30pm, $5

DAVID HOUSTON, KEVIN AND ALLYSON SECONDS; 8:30pm, $5

Jazz session, 7:30pm M; ACID RAINBOW, AUDIOWAVE; 8:30pm W, $5

OLD IRONSIDES

Open-mic showcase, 8pm, $5

NOAH NELSON, CALIFORNIOS, GRUB DOG, THE BRODYS; 8:30pm, $10

50 WATT HEAVY, TOADMORTENS, FLOUNDER; 9pm, $7

Guest chefs serve $5 plates, M; Karaoke, 9pm Tu; Open-mic, 9pm W

ON THE Y

Open-mic comedy and karaoke, 8pm, no cover

LORD OF WAR, WRVTH, KENNEDY VEIL, IMBIBED BY THE QUASAR; 8pm, $8

ODEN SUN, CRIMSON EYE, ASTRAL CULT; 8pm, $5

1111 H St., (916) 443-1927

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

THE PALMS PLAYHOUSE

SUNDAY 9/13

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 9/14-9/16

GOLDEN BOUGH 35th Anniversary Show, 7:30pm, $20

13 Main St., Winters; (530) 795-1825

PISTOL PETE’S

Karaoke, 9pm, no cover

POWERHOUSE PUB

JOSH BUDRO, 10pm, call for cover

THE PRESS CLUB

THE KELPS, ARC IRIS, STEVE TAYLOR; 8pm, $7

SHADY LADY SALOON

TYSON GRAFF TRIO, 9pm, no cover

140 Harrison Ave., Auburn; (530) 885-5093 614 Sutter St., Folsom; (916) 355-8586 2030 P St., (916) 444-7914 1409 R St., (916) 231-9121

CHERYL WHEELER, 7:30pm Tu, $25 Karaoke, 9pm Tu, W, no cover

TAINTED LOVE, 10pm, call for cover

BRANDED, 10pm, call for cover

MICK MARTIN, 3pm, call for cover

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No, all is well with you and the world. You’re just My boyfriend doesn’t want caught between social me to have lunch with Be willing expectations and male friends, but he to risk being spirituality. Society hangs out with a female he calls says it’s important to misunderstood to irritating and be partnered and that reach the higher goal repulsive. We live in romantic relationdifferent cities and of empowering your ships should lead to are in our 40s. I’m lasting commitments. self-confidence. jealous. Please help.

That view is thought to promote marriage and a If you or your man struggles stable society. But from a with codependency or sex spiritual perspective, romantic addiction, establishing different rules relationships are valued, as is any experimakes sense. Otherwise, it doesn’t. So ence, for how we grow in understanding tell him you’re going to lunch with male about others, the world and ourselves. friends. If he balks, you know he’s not a We are alive to love and be loved. That keeper. Yes, it’s that simple. If he loves sounds delicious, but its actually labor. you he will do what is necessary to ensure Sometimes loving or being loved requires you feel cherished and safe. Ω that we assert ourselves. Other times we must retreat. Real love challenges us to accept others but not allow them to languish in harmful attitudes and behaviors. Instead, we should work to call forth MedITaTIoN oF THe Week the best of ourselves, and others. Still, we “Love is never any better sometimes fail to love well. That’s why than the lover,” writes Toni real love also includes the ability to offer Morrison in The Bluest Eye. and receive forgiveness.

How many hours have you You are discovering who you are and devoted to the study of love? that new awareness clarifies who you Have you been tested on what want in your life. So as sweet as your you think you know? relationship may have been at times, it no longer feeds you. If you were married, I would suggest that you see a psychotheraWrite, email or leave a message for pist before uprooting your relationship.

Joey at the News & Review. Give But a dating relationship contains freeyour name, telephone number dom. You are free to decide what is best (for verification purposes only) and question—all correspondence will be kept strictly confidential. for you. (In marriage you must consider what is best for your partner and the Write Joey, 1124 Del Paso Boulevard, Sacramento, CA marriage, unless there is abuse or addic95815; call (916) 498-1234, ext. 3206; or email tion.) Freedom includes the responsibility askjoey@newsreview.com.

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Bring in any competitor’s coupon* and we’ll beat it by $5

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Must present competitor’s ad. Some restrictions apply.

First, a disclaimer: I used to smoke pot back in the ’60’s and ’70s.

During that time, I worked a 40-hour week, drove four hours per night to school, spent three hours a night in class and graduated with my Masters in six years. Like many at the time, I segued into the socially acceptable cigarette-and-alcohol mode. Remarkably, at the time, we all “knew pot would be legal within a few years.” Here we are decades later, and we’re still dealing with the absurdities of deciding what drugs adults can or can’t consume. I was just reading today that by May, Colorado had collected more than $88 million in marijuana taxes in 2015, without any increase in drug-related crime. I also read that our state government is scratching their collective heads trying to figure out how to increase taxes on gas and cars in order to rebuild our disgusting infrastructure, roads, highways and etc. California has more than seven times the population of Colorado. Simple math would indicate that if our state would simply follow Colorado’s lead and policies (thereby relieving the Fed’s attention to our businesses, and relieving the strain on our courts and jails), we should generate a total of $1.5 billion per year in tax revenues. For some reason, the puritans in our government balk at such a simple answer.

—John B. Egan Thank you for reading my column. I agree with you, although I am not sure your numbers are correct. It is incredibly obvious that California could use some weed money, although I suspect the tax revenues might be a little lower than $1.4 billion. (I found a chart here: http://tinyurl.com/statetax revenue.) But even $500 million, the total predicted by the chart, would go a long way to Even helping this great state of ours. $500 million would The question is, who is going to get the money? The cops and law enforcego a long way to ment will want a cut because they stand helping this great to lose a chunk of money if they can no state of ours. longer arrest and jail and fine people for using cannabis. (They will also have to be less racist if they can’t harass minorities for pot, but I digress.) The schools need money, because California has its priorities effed up and we spend more money on prisons than we do on schools. And also, if you say the weed money will go to the schools, people will be more inclined to vote yes (we hope). I’m not sure if there will be any left over for roads. I feel like trucking companies and delivery services and petrochemical corporations should pay for the roads anyway, seeing as they need them the most.

But, whatevs. The Legislature can’t even get it together enough to pass medical cannabis legislation (Assembly Bills 266 and 243 are still in limbo, and getting worse as we go along), so I have no faith in its ability to pass recreational regulations. Thank Jah for the initiative process. Maybe the people can pass a good law in 2016. Ω

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Ngaio Bealum is a Sacramento comedian, activist and marijuana expert.

Email him questions at ask420@newsreview.com.

www.420MD.org 09.10.15 | SN&R | 49

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FRee will aStRology

by John Flynn

by Rob bRezsny

FOR THE WEEk OF SEPTEMBER 10, 2015 ARIES (March 21-April 19): “More and more

I have come to admire resilience,” writes Jane Hirshfield in her poem “Optimism.” “Not the simple resistance of a pillow,” she adds, “whose foam returns over and over to the same shape, but the sinuous tenacity of a tree: finding the light newly blocked on one side, it turns in another.”

You have not often had great access to this capacity in the past, Aries. Your specialty has been the fast and fiery style of adjustment. But for the foreseeable future, I’m betting you will be able to summon a supple staying power—a dogged, determined, incremental kind of resilience.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “The fragrance from

your mango groves makes me wild with joy.”

That’s one of the lyrics in the national anthem of Bangladesh. Here’s another: “Forever your skies … set my heart in tune as if it were a flute.”

Elsewhere, addressing Bangladesh as if it were a goddess, the song proclaims, “Words from your lips are like nectar to my ears.” I suspect you may be awash with comparable feelings in the coming weeks, Taurus—not toward your country, but rather for the creatures and experiences that rouse your delight and exultation. They are likely to provide even more of the sweet mojo than they usually do. It will be an excellent time to improvise your own hymns of praise.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): There have been

times in the past when your potential helpers disappeared just when you wanted more help than usual. In the coming weeks, I believe you will get redress for those sad interludes of yesteryear. A wealth of assistance and guidance will be available. Even people who have previously been less than reliable may offer a tweak or intervention that gives you a boost. Here’s a tip for how to ensure that you take full advantage of the possibilities: Ask clearly and gracefully for exactly what you need.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Why grab the

brain-scrambling moonshine when you may eventually be offered a heart-galvanizing tonic? Why gorge on hors d’oeuvres when a four-course feast will be available sooner than you imagine? According to my analysis of the astrological omens, my fellow Crab, the future will bring unexpected opportunities that are better and brighter than the current choices.

This is one of those rare times when procrastination may be in your interest.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): As I hike up San Pedro

Ridge, I’m mystified by the madrone trees. The leaves on the short, thin saplings are as big and bold as the leaves on the older, thicker, taller trees. I see this curiosity as an apt metaphor for your current situation, Leo. In one sense, you are in the early stages of a new cycle of growth. In another sense, you are strong and ripe and fullfledged. For you, this is a winning combination: a robust balance of innocence and wisdom, of fresh aspiration and seasoned readiness.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I hope it’s not too

late or too early to give you a slew of birthday presents. You deserve to be inundated with treats, dispensations and appreciations. Here’s your first perk: You are hereby granted a license to break a taboo that is no longer useful or necessary. Second blessing: You are authorized to instigate a wildly constructive departure from tradition. Third boost: I predict that in the next six weeks, you will simultaneously claim new freedom and summon more discipline. Fourth delight: During the next three months, you will discover and uncork a new thrill. Fifth goody: Between now and your birthday in 2016, you will develop a more relaxed relationship with perfectionism.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): A “wheady mile” is

an obsolete English term I want to revive for use in this horoscope. It refers to what may happen at the end of a long journey, when that last stretch you’ve got to traverse seems to take forever. You’re so close to home; you’re imagining the comfort and rest that will soon be yours. But as you cross the wheady mile, you must navigate your way through one further plot twist or two. There’s a delay or complication that demands more effort just when you want to be finished with the story. Be strong, Libra. Keep the faith. The wheady mile will not, in fact, take forever. (Thanks to Mark Forsyth and his book Horologicon.)

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Trying improbable

and unprecedented combinations is your specialty right now. You’re willing and able to gamble with blends and juxtapositions that no one else would think of, let alone propose. Bonus: Extra courage is available for you to call on as you proceed. In light of this gift, I suggest you brainstorm about all the unifications that might be possible for you to pull off. What conflicts would you love to defuse? What inequality or lopsidedness do you want to fix? Is there a misunderstanding you can heal or a disjunction you can harmonize?

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Is feeling

good really as fun as everyone seems to think?

Is it really so wonderful to be in a groove, in love with life and in touch with your deeper self? No! Definitely not! And I suspect that as you enter more fully into these altered states, your life will provide evidence of the inconveniences they bring. For example, some people might nag you for extra attention, and others may be jealous of your success. You could be pressured to take on more responsibilities. And you may be haunted by the worry that sooner or later, this grace period will pass. I’m just kidding, Sagittarius! In truth, the minor problems precipitated by your blessings won’t cause any more anguish than a mosquito biting your butt while you’re in the throes of ecstatic lovemaking.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In this

horoscope, we will use the Socratic method to stimulate your excitement about projects that fate will favor in the next nine months. Here’s how it works: I ask the questions, and you brainstorm the answers. (1) Is there any part of your life where you are an amateur but would like to be a professional? (2) Are you hesitant to leave a comfort zone even though remaining there tends to inhibit your imagination? (3) Is your ability to fulfill your ambitions limited by any lack of training or deficiency in your education? (4) Is there any way that you are holding on to blissful ignorance at the expense of future possibilities? (5) What new license, credential, diploma or certification would be most useful to you?

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The story of

my life features more than a few fiascoes. For example, I got fired from my first job after two days. One of my girlfriends dumped me without any explanation and never spoke to me again.

My record label fired me and my band after we made just one album. Years later, these indignities still carry a sting. But I confess that I am also grateful for them. They keep me humble.

They serve as antidotes if I’m ever tempted to deride other people for their failures. They have helped me develop an abundance of compassion.

I mention this personal tale in the hope that you, too, might find redemption and healing in your own memories of frustration. The time is right to capitalize on old losses.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): It’s never fun to be

in a sticky predicament that seems to have no smart resolution. But the coming days could turn out to be an unexpectedly good time to be in such a predicament. Why? Because I expect that your exasperation will precipitate an emotional cleansing, releasing ingenious intuitions that had been buried under repressed anger and sadness. You may then find a key that enables you to reclaim at least some of your lost power. The predicament that once felt sour and intractable will mutate, providing you with an opportunity to deepen your connection with a valuable resource.

Comic relief In his 90s, South Land Park resident Vince Punaro launched a new career.

The good-natured Italian comedian with a Southern drawl unspools classic yarns punctuated by his casually delivered, well-timed punchlines. After retiring at the age of 85, the World War II veteran, former restaurateur and tenured family man has stayed sharp, passing his driving test checkup in June and putting his sizable cache of material onto a CD, Invincible, that he sold to raise money for his church, St. Joseph’s in Clarksburg. With his signature bow tie and fedora, Vince performs his act free of charge anywhere there’s an audience. Plus, he may have been responsible for bringing pizza to Nashville, Tennessee. (Full disclosure: Punaro is the father of SN&R Senior Advertising Consultant Rosemarie Messina.)

How did you figure out comedy was for you?

Ever since I was a kid, I like to make people laugh. I get around a group of people and I say, “Hey, I got a joke for ya.” Then I tell it, then they tell me one. I like to see people laugh because even the doctors will tell you, laughing is good for the body.

So is that the secret to your longevity?

Any memorable performances?

I was the opener at [the former New Helvetia Theatre] for a friend who was a comedian, and I opened the program for about 20 minutes, I told jokes. I had my hat on and my bow tie, and I says, “I’m the only stand-up comic with a walker.”

Well, I got three things. First, peanuts. I used to eat peanuts as a kid—I always had a pocketful. They used to call me “Peanut.”

The next is slow horses and fast women.

Your raunchiest joke?

When was your first performance?

Are you a dirty comedian, then?

Fifteen years ago, me and my wife were on a church committee bus coming back from a trip. It was kind of quiet, everybody had a lot of fun that day. ’Round 5 or 6 o’clock at night, I just opened up with all these jokes, just one after the other, on and on. And everybody on the bus was shocked because they didn’t know I knew one joke to tell.

And now you’re out with an album. 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.

PHOTO by luke fiTz

We made that CD for the church. They had a fair at the church, so we figured we’d make them and people would buy them, and then people would give all the money to the church. I think we sold about a thousand of them. Sold for $10 apiece. All the jokes I tell on that tape I tell from memory.

I can remember pretty good.

Well, I tell a few sexy jokes, like the elderly lady who gave up sex for Lent, and her husband didn’t notice until the Fourth of July.

Oh, I may tell a few off-color, but I don’t go for much of that. You don’t know who’s out in the audience.

week. That’s a lot of sauce. We sold a lot of spaghetti. … We were the first ones in Nashville, Tennessee, to have pizza.

How did people respond to that?

They didn’t know what it was, y’know.

We had to kinda educate them a little bit.

There were several restaurants that used to call me in to help them get their pizza started.

What’s up with the bow tie?

I like to wear bow ties every now and then. As a comedian, I thought it might look nice with a bow tie on. It doesn’t help the jokes any.

How do you feel up in front of an audience?

How’d you end up in World War II? I was in Charleston, South Carolina, building destroyers. When the war broke out, I tried to go, but they wouldn’t give me a release. They said I was essential because they had to put out one destroyer every month. But I got to the point, at 22 years old, I said, “Hell, I’m not married, why don’t I go and let a married man stay home who’s got children?” So I just quit. I just walked out one night and volunteered for the paratroopers.

Tell me about your days running an Italian restaurant.

We used to make 20 gallons of tomato sauce, and 20 gallons of meat sauce every

Oh well, I enjoy that. I used to be kind of timid, but I don’t know lately, I’ll go in front of anybody, whether I know you or not, and tell my jokes.

Anything about younger folks that you don’t really get?

No, there’s an old saying, “The only way to keep from getting old is to go around with young people.”

Is there anything you can do when you’re 90 that you can’t when you’re 20?

Yeah, sleep.

Ω

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