Heartless Bastards and Dance Like Robots Rock San Antonio

Greg M. Schwartz
Gschwartz@sacurrent.com

The Heartless Bastards, a rising alt-garage-rock buzz band from Austin (by way of Ohio) made their first visit to the Alamo City last night, with a rocking performance at Sam’s Burger Joint. The band, fronted by powerhouse vocalist/guitarist Erika Wennerstrom, hit the stage around 9:45 p.m. and delivered a 100-minute crowd-pleasing show.

People were kind of just standing around for the first couple songs, but then “Witchy Poo”, an up-tempo rocker from the band’s new album The Mountain, kicked things into high gear. Wennerstrom has an old soul vibe about her that infuses the band’s sound with a bluesy authenticity and it was oozing out of this tune.

The band members appear to be in transient state of rotation, with none of them being fully identified on the band’s websites. But the drummer rocks with a ferocious abandon that recalls Foo Fighter Taylor Hawkins. Later, the bassist says he has been to San Antonio before and asks if anyone’s been to “a weird place called Taco Land?”

“Has anyone ever hit their head on that tree?” he asks, receiving cheers. The bassist then steps over and sits down at the pedal steel guitar while the second guitarist moves over to the bass. The pedal steel is a key element for the next tune, the epic title track from The Mountain, one of the most compelling tunes to come across the airwaves in 2009 so far. Wennerstrom’s vocals take on an added majestic quality with the ethereal pedal steel behind her.

The band delivered a rocking sound throughout the night, although it was hard not to feel that they could go to an even higher level with a full-time pedal steel and/or keyboard player to help round out their sound. After a 90-minute set, the first two encores are delivered on acoustic guitars, with “Be So Happy” serving as another highlight from The Mountain. The full band comes back for the last song, with Wennerstrom introducing it as the first song she wrote for the band. It’s another winner, with the crowd rocking out right along with the band.

The merch table sells a Heartless Bastards poster with a pair of scissors about to cut a rainbow. Like the band’s name, it seems to play on a certain sense of hipster irony, for the Heartless Bastards are anything but heartless.

Those who were looking for further late night musical entertainment found it at The Farm, one of San Antonio’s most intriguing venues. Run by a native San Antonian who set it up after moving back from San Francisco, the venue is a big house with a New Orleans-style French architecture, a recording studio, and bands playing in the living room.

Last night, Dance Like Robots put on a rocking show that didn’t start until almost 1 a.m, but filled the night with high energy and psychedelic flavor. The group combines an alt-indie-rock guitar sound of bands like Built to Spill, Pavement, Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr., with an electronica-ish psyche jam vibe of bands like Sound Tribe Sector 9 and the Disco Biscuits. The instrumental set was short but sweet, and this group looks like one to watch. Who knew San Antonio had its own jamband?

Oscar bet-a-thon loser karaoke: 'A Whole New World'

1992's Best Original Song "A Whole New World" from Disney's Aladdin as performed by Current contributor Lynn Weingarten and an unseen but nonetheless glorious baritone. There's more humiliation coming, so stay tuned. 

Oscar bet-a-thon loser karaoke: 'Born Free'

And now 1967 winner "Born Free" by John Barry and Don Black, as performed by staff writer Greg Harman.

Oscar bet-a-thon winner victory lap: 'Eye of the Tiger'

Staff writer Greg Schwartz actually won the bet and was not required to sing, but he decided to really rub it in with a rendition of the ultimate winner's anthem, "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor, which was actually nominated in 1982, but tragically lost to "Up Where We Belong." Where's your messiah now?
We'd like to thank the Prestige, which has karaoke night every Wednesday for putting up with our shenanigans. Check back later for more Oscar losers making fools of themselves.

 
 

Oscar bet-a-thon loser karaoke: 'Theme From "Shaft"'

Next up: 1972 winner "Theme from Shaft" by Isaac Hayes, as interpreted by art director Chuck Kerr, with the back-up dance stylings of retail account representative Jenny Herrmann and associate editor Jeremy Martin.

Oscar bet-a-thon loser karaoke: 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight?'

Last week, nine Current writers bet their dignity they'd be able to correctly pick the winners of this year's Oscars. Eight of us lost, of course, and the punishment for bad punditry is (or should be) public humiliation, so we agreed to post videos of ourselves singing past Oscar-winning songs karaoke style on the blog for you to view. We're really sorry to have dragged you into all of this.

Now for your enjoyment and mockery, we present: 1994 Best Song winner "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?", composed by Elton John and Tim Rice for Disney's The Lion King, as interpreted by associate editor Jeremy Martin and his wife Lauren Thomas-Martin.

On the Street: Domestic Correspondence, The Latest Messiah,

“Yes, again…”

A few random events this week, but first to the letters...

Letters (to the 2nd Story Ghetto Mid-Century Modern Efficiency Apartment)




1. She’s a Maniac (I Know)

From Texas photographer Barry, this email comes in...

Howdy,

Mae as a maniac and Ann, Austin, TX, 2.23.2009

can be seen at http://www.barrystone.com/

Cheers,
Barry



2. Lebron James Farts

Yeah, this one came in from an academic professional, odd considering the low level humor.  Get used to it.

Lebron James farts...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6CWVkPhzRw




3. The Teacher

Carlos the Insider shares knowledge...

Interesting use of youtube…

http://www.youtube.com/user/yalecourses

Perhaps if I actually listened to this lecture I might hear mention of former San Antonian Victor Considerant's role in the Commune...




4. Fellow Establishmentarians

OTS West Coast/Domestic Correspondent Steve writes in…

Friend's, family, fellow Establishmentarians and bicycle enthusiasts,

The Bike Happening Documentary has been completed and will premiere at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival.  (Monday March 9th @ 6:00, Downtown Brewery)

Check out the trailer http://bikehappening.org/?p=179

Spread the word

Talking about bicycles is like...dancing about architecture?  I'm not killing the messenger, I'm just saying...however, there's nothing wrong with some solidarity in this endeavor.  In SA, the Downtown Highlife Social Club has been able to thrive amid the boredom and avoid any sort of entanglements with the long arm.





To the Well, One More Time

To say we returned to the Compound one more time again, implies that we somehow left.  To that I say jokingly, "love to visit, but wouldn't want to live there."  The Compound is like a Las Vegas outpost in the middle of the city, though thankfully without the bad buffets, post-modern head scratching, and dry air.

Anyway, one more time...



Sound artist/musician Annette Krebs came to town in what seemed to be a collaboration of many people: the esteemed Ben Judson with heavy denim, John Mata (as part of his month long series of events at Sala Diaz) and Chris Cogburn, of No Idea Music.

It's fascinating how a sound artist can command people to elbow their way to the front to "get a look at something."  In other words, there seemed to be a need to fulfill a visual component to a completely aural performance, which is especially odd considering Kreb's  seemingly benign use of a laptop and a mixing board.   I suppose it's unfair to contrast this manipulation of an instrument/machine to that of a piano or other traditional musical instrument.  Who is to say what is valid and not valid?

However, we see laptops all the time, such as at coffee shops, and they rarely command our attention, unless it's a goofy youtube video (see above.) 

Also, the guy at a mixing board at a musical venue never gets any attention so it is with admiration that I compliment Krebs for being the focus of so much attention.

Having said all that, even though I had perhaps the best spot/place to lean in the whole venue, I had to walk out.  A subtle approach to sound seems like a personal experience for me, or at least one that isn't experienced with someone breathing coor's light on your neck.

It would have been great if Mata had rigged one of the three thousand speakers from the other room so that people could listen while outside, but that was only wishful thinking on my part.

So, I had an interesting conversation outside with someone named Kevin and pretty much missed the whole performance.


The Latest Messiah

While Manu Ginobili's ankle recovers, and now Tim Duncan's tendonosis takes time for him to rest, the Spurs signed to a 10 day contract a player that had captured the imagination of the ardent fans.

Like many players who are young, athletic, and possibly lowly-skilled, Pops Mensah-Bonsu is the latest in line to tantalize the fan base with ridiculous potential.  Only because the Spurs are as "old as dirt" could a player like Pops walk onto the team and immediately mesmorize at least some percentage of the fans.




With Tim Duncan resting, one would think Pops might get some sort of chance.  Though his game seems flashy, he seems to be of the typical atypical foreign-born world traveler sort of player that makes his way to the "cosmopolitan" city of San Antonio.

If I had a little more money in my pocket I might actually buy a jersey with his name on the back.  Years from now, who is to say - will he be an answer to a trivial contest or a legit player who got his chance down here in San Antonio?

He has the top rocking already down, which is cool.



Sneak Preview

A few pics of a Southside dirty nasty karaoke bar.  B-boys, kickers, hipster artists hanging out after the Annette Krebs performance all intermixed.

Rather than being straight karaoke, it's "curated" so to speak, as dirty nasty rap/booty songs are intermixed with the hard rock/soft country karaoke vibe.

It keeps things fresh.

Look for it in Bar Tab coming up...




And so goes another week on the streets of San Antonio.  As always, to be continued...

FILM SAN ANTONIO PLEASE

FILM SAN ANTONIO PLEASE

On the Case: Cosmo Inserra

You may know Cosmo Inserra — San Antonian, producer at Well Rounded Films, actor (notably in the recent indie film Buster), musician, writer, and most recently, citizen investigator of the San Antonio Film Commission (SAFC).

You may be saying to yourself, “The hell? There’s a San Antonio Film Commission?” Yep. The SAFC is a subset of the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau (SACVB), which hired Drew Mayer-Oakes in 2004 to lure film productions to SA, as explained in this story.

But just what are they up to over there, nigh on five years hence? I’m not sure I even would’ve wondered, except that Cosmo bcc’ed me on a pretty feisty e-mail he wrote to Film Commissioner Mayer Oakes, Janet Vasquez (location coordinator for SAFC), Mayor Phil Hardberger, and Dawn Larios (Director of Constituent Services in the Mayor’s Office).

Here’s the e-mail:

Film San Antonio Please!

Dear Drew,
    
     today in the news i read a great story in the chicago tribune here is the link


My question to you and to Janet and to Mayor Hardberger and to Dawn Larios and to the other fifteen people I BCC'd Is..to put it bluntly... What exactly do you do for this city? You have been the "Film Commissioner" for quite a number of years and there has yet to be a major or even a slightly minor motion picture shot in San Antonio for almost a decade. Now don't get the tone of this email confused, this is purely an inquisition into your public service record.  It is not a personal attack, nor is it to be construed as anything more than concerns from a constituent of Mayor Hardberger and a taxpaying hardworking citizen of San Antonio.  Therefore I am formally requesting a full audit of your office for the last ten years.  Performance is paramount to public service and all I'm really asking for is a performance report. I think I and my fellow denizens of this great city are well deserving of such a modest request, considering our tax dollars go into your bank account.  Obviously I will follow the proper channels to obtain such a report or audit. I just thought I would drop you a line to let you know I will be investigating further into this matter. I hope such an investigation does not offend you.

Sincerely      
 
Cosmo Inserra


Wow. So I e-mailed Cosmo, and he told me that  “investigating further” = Cosmo got in touch with Diane Cibrian’s office , where an assistant told Cosmo he’d have to have to “get the record from the city attorney.”

I did a little research about that. Not so, for the record. FYI, any of y’all who wanna conduct a little ad hoc look-see into public records, go here . Fill out the form. Be specific about what you want, but also, inclusive (e.g., “all correspondence pertaining to City of San Antonio permits for on-location filming, including e-mails). They've gotta get back to you within 10 days.

In any case, the Film Commissioner wrote Cosmo back, which is pretty cool. Check it out:


Cosmo,
 
Thanks for sending the Chicago story over.  State financial incentives are a huge factor in attracting feature film and television production to a state.  Texas has a program, but needs to be improved to become competitive.  Our office serves a vital role in the moving image industry, and I would prefer our time be spent meeting with you to bring you up to speed on what all we do.
 
Last fiscal year, for instance, our office assisted over $10M worth of film and video production.  Those projects accounted for more than 400 shoot days, and included films and television programs seen around the world. Janet Vasquez, our location coordinator, personally processed over 160 park film permit requests, resulting in many of the City's most beautiful parks being seen by millions of viewers.
 
And recently, you should review the Express-News' 210SA (February 18-24), which did a cover story on San Antonio independent filmmakers.  All eight of the filmmakers featured have solid working relationships with our office, and utilize our location services, our production liaison services, our film permitting services, and benefit from our marketing efforts.
 
Cosmo, we are all in a fight right now to get film production business.  I've been working diligently over the last few years to provide high quality services to film production in the city, and we are highly regarded by those we serve.  I have also been working very hard on getting a new, competitive film incentive passed at the state level, and we are close to achieving that goal.
 
The moving image industry is an important component of the creative industry in our City, and includes much more than Hollywood motion pictures.
 
Please let me know how I can better communicate with you about what we do, and whom we serve.  I'm available to meet with you regarding this matter.
 
Sincerely,
 

Drew Mayer-Oakes
Film Marketing Manager, City of San Antonio
Director, Film San Antonio / San Antonio Film Commission

San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau
203 S St Mary's, 2nd Floor
San Antonio, Texas 78205
tel 210.207.6730 | 800.447.3372 | cell 210.394.6117
fax 210.207.6843 | tty 210.207.6706
www.sanantonio.gov/film
www.filmsanantonio.com

Film San Antonio is a Member of AFCI - Association of Film Commissions International
Did you know Texas has a new film incentive program? The TEXAS PRODUCTION INCENTIVE PROGRAM has specific benefits for shooting in San Antonio!

Drew's BLOG: filmsa. blogspot .com
P Please consider the environment before printing this email / Learn more about Film San Antonio's Low-Impact policies at filmsanantonio.com

To which Dawn Larios replied (to Drew, not Cosmo, though Cosmo was cc-ed):

Drew,
 
Thank you for your response to Mr. Inserra, and all that you do for the City of San Antonio!
 
Sincerely,
 
Dawn
 

Dawn Ann Larios
Director of Constituent Services
Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women
Office of Mayor Phil Hardberger
PO Box 839966
San Antonio, Texas 78283-3966

210.207.8998 office
210.207.6010 fax
dawn.larios@sanantonio.gov


So…okay. I appreciate Mayer-Oakes’s rattlin’ off some numbers, there. And I love the idea of 400 shooting days, and that they “assisted with $10M worth” of movies …though, wherefore this $10M? Who’s spending it, and who’s getting paid—are we talking full budgets of all the productions that filmed, or partially filmed, here? What did the city get from that, and does any of it go back to promoting local productions? What does that mean, exactly? And the “160 park film permit requests, resulting in many of the City's most beautiful parks being seen by millions of viewers”…neat. Why have I never seen them? Is it all butt porn? Because I’m not so into that, and I can totally see my having missed frame after frame of Brackenridge Park if it served as the backdrop to, like, Culos Conjuntos #14. (Don’t h8! Apparently some underground booty film was discovered being shot on the grounds of the Alamo!)

Sorry, that was a little glib, but my point is this: what should the SAFC be doing for the local scene? All Cosmo wants to know is, what is it actually doing?

I called up Raina James, director of the forthcoming Just Murdered, who I interviewed for a story about her San Antonio shoot some months ago. She’s dealt with the SAFC, she said, and asserts that Drew Mayer-Oaks is a “perfectly groovy guy,” and that he helped her scout locations. She further put into context that his abilities are limited by the fact that Texas is in a rough position since “two states that border us, Louisiana and New Mexico, have some of the most insane film incentives in the whole country.”

A-ha! Maybe this is why Oliver Stone’s “W” was filmed largely in…Shreveport.

Apparently, Mayer-Oaks and others have spearheaded fundraising in order to hire a lobbyist for film interests, who would, at the state level, agitate for better film incentives in Texas. However, James says, “what [film incentives] will really involve is Governor Rick Perry getting off his fat ass…or, rather, his skinny, bony ass. You can quote me on that.”

James went on to say that several factors affect San Antonio’s relative dearth of film projects. Although it’s “an incredible city….I mean, I can’t think of another city with locations like we have, where you can go to one location [to represent] 200 years ago, and not far away, there’s a location [which represents] 200 years from now”. However, she draws a distinction between the city trying to lure major film projects, and the need to nurture local ones. She  laments the lack of business/technical infrastructure compared to Austin, where “every third person you meet is either a musician or a filmmaker…so there are tons of businesses who rent equipment, from a dolly for fifty dollars a day to a bad-ass crane for 50K, to post-production facilities…we just don’t have that here yet.”

Raina James also emailed me some fantastic links which help to paint the entire picture:

She e-mailed me, also, with some terrific links about Texas, film, and the hurdles therein:

Here are some articles and websites that pertain to our conversation earlier today:

an overview
a lobbying event happening next week
(the lobbyists' pricetag) whew!
our New Mexico competition
our Louisiana competition

All that being said - these film programs and incentives as well as the office of the Film Commission are really geared towards bringing large projects from LA, New York, and internationals.  The theory/incentive for locals to support these efforts is to get hired occasionally on a contract basis (moving lights, brewing coffee, ironing costumes, etc.) and to put money into the pockets of regional vendors who have the connections and gear to get hired on as rental providers.

As an indie filmmaker you can only hope for a film commission that returns your calls and helps you out and Drew is very friendly and down-to-earth in that regard.


So it may be that Raina James, Cosmo Inserra, and Drew Mayer-Oaks are all on the same team, all pulling for better filmic opportunity for San Antonians.

Cosmo Inserra would just like to know some of the particulars. Like, you know, any.
We’ll keep you posted.

Oscar Night (sort of) Live Blog

7: 17 PM Jeremy: a/s/l check
7:18 PM Greg:  age sex location? Heee
7:19 PM Jeremy: I was trying to see if Lynn is actually here
7:20 PM Lynn: I am here! I have a bunch of people at my house
  eating pigs and blankets  and standing on my red carpet,  only it's a table cloth.
 Jeremy: You totally just blew my mind
 Lynn: Well then get ready for this:  I am having my own Oscar poll, and the winner gets a package of mustaches.
 Greg: Slam dunk Lebron James! [Note: Greg is watching a basketball game instead.]
  Penelope Cruz is coming old school
7:22 PM Jeremy: "I don't know how much I like her” is the consensus among the ladies in the room.
7:31 PM Greg: Wolverine!
7:32 PM Lynn: I am going to pass my computer to the other people at my apartment.  I am going to take credit for all their jokes though
7:34 PM Jeremy: I will never pretend to be wolverine again
 Greg: Who knew he was so diverse?
7:35 PM Lynn: Hi. This is Shari. I want Jerry Lewis to kick Hugh in the nuts.
 Greg: Brad Pitt still always makes me think of his stoner character w/ the honeybear bong in True Romance. His 2nd greatest roleor performance, i should say
7:37 PM Lynn: hi im mary
  farts!
  onn stage
  oh god, i took the computer back
  hugh jackman is putting on knee pads
  there are some jokes there for sure
7:38 PM Jeremy: that's the funniest thing i've seen all night
7:39 PM Greg: Mickey Rourke is wasted
 Lynn: Dan: Streep's daughter looks awkward. Maybe it's Mickey Rourke's white suit.
7:40 PM Mark: Where are Brad Pitt's 26 adopted children?
 Greg: is Angelina wearing emeralds? i like
7:41 PM Lynn: Kim: Hugh Jackman is not that funny. He's also NOT GAY AT ALL.
7:42 PM Greg: well i should hope not, he is Wolverine after all
7:47 PM Lynn: marisa brought a hooker to oscarS?
 Greg: allright, one for one
 Lynn: my mom guessed that one
7:48 PM Jeremy: Wait. Is comparing Doubt to Sister Act 2 supposed to be a compliment?
 Lynn: MARY SAID THOSE LAST TWO THINGS! I don't know who Marisa is with so I have no idea what her job is
Greg: didn't see that Grease interlude coming
8:55 PM Jeremy: Look. They're singing crappy oscar stuff like you guys will have to
 Greg:aren't i still tied for first?
 Jeremy: For the moment
8:56 PM Greg: the Watchmen will be mine!
What's going on, Oscar-wise, J?
9:02 PM Jeremy: Penelope Cruz for Best Supporting Actress, but more importantly the Scwartz and Gilbert are ahead.
9:03 PM Elaine: I trust Gilbert to make appropriately ironic Oscar-song assignments
9:04 PM Jeremy: I trust Gilbert to use that Harvard degree to calculate the odds and screw us all
 Elaine: He is a math savant
 Elaine: God, they're giving it to Downey ... with an intro from Cuba -- I might have to shut it down for the night. Who's doing the faux bitch about Penn taking work away from the gays?
 Jeremy: If he wanted to curse RDJ, Cuba should've wished Snow Dogs 2 on him.
 Elaine: they didn't fly Ledger's family over from the penal colony to take home memories...
9:08 PM Jeremy: Could they make the people up for Best Actor feel any worse for competing against Heath Ledger?
 Elaine: I think Sean Penn is crying.
 Greg: He's a sensitive guy
 Elaine: Supporting role, my friend. Best Actor is so gender-specific
 Jeremy: Greg S is in the lead
 Greg: woot!
 Elaine: shit
 Greg: Maybe that film degree is finally coming through
9:10 PM Elaine: Brad Pitt also working up some tears. The new Alan Alda generation
9:11 PM Greg: Brad Pitt should have won for 12 Monkeys
 Elaine: what. ever.
 Greg: he was nominated!
 Jeremy: If he hadn't won, they would've shown his daughter crying
 Elaine: Jeremy, is that two categories down? I'm going to work for a bit and then check back in.
9:12 PM Jeremy: four categories
9:13 PM please
 Jeremy: Bill Maher hits below the belt.
9:16 PM Elaine: We should have had the tie-breaker be most unintelligible acceptance speech
 Jeremy: No kidding
9:17 PM Elaine: Poor Herzog.
9:26 PM Greg: this should have been a category in the contest
9:27 PM Jeremy: As of right now
 Elaine: what the hell is the category? I saw Daniel Craig, crash, boom, Will Smith nervous in front of the camera, and then a token for Benjamin Button?
9:28 PM Jeremy: 10 points - Greg S and Gilbert
  7 points - Lynn and Brian
  5 points - Jeremy
  3 points Chuck
  2 points - Sarah
  1 point - Elaine and Greg H
9:30 PM Elaine: Which categories are left?
9:31 PM Jeremy: Best Picture, Actress, Actor, Foreign Film
9:33 PM Do you think they just draw the sound mixing award nominees from a hat?
 Elaine: Rikki Kushner will kick your ass for that
9:34 PM Jeremy: I don't doubt that for a second.
9:36 PM Elaine: they used to make them say, "And the Oscar for TK goes to" so that if you drifted off during the daft intro and the nonsensical clips you'd know where you were when you tuned back in.
9:38 PM Jeremy: There's a tribute to Jerry Lewis, and he's not dead? What is this, France?
9:55 PM Jeremy: Most of the Academy voted a straight Slumdog ballot
Elaine: Is there a straight-ticket vote? Jesus, it's the Easter Bunny scandal all over again. Sorry if that's a spoiler for anyone, btw.
9:59 PM Jeremy: "If the score is the narrative, a song is its punctuation." And its metaphor is a simile.
10:00 PM Elaine: What the fuck is going on on that stage?
 Greg: Just jumped the shark 4 sure
10:01 PM Elaine: But did it make Elton John cry?
 Jeremy: I think High School musical was just outsourced to Bollywood.
 Elaine: I can't wait till Woodlawn Theater rips that version off. I mean, makes a metaphor of that gorgeous multi-culti simile
10:06 PM Jeremy: Clear out all the Slumdog slots next year for the Brothers and Sisters two hour movie event.
10:08 PM Elaine: I had no idea the Most Unintelligible Acceptance Speech category would be so competitive
10:09 PM Greg: hehe
10:11 PM Elaine: the commercials are especially preachy and saccharine this year. I blame Heath Ledger.
10:14 PM Jeremy: Wow. Who knew the foreign language category was so competitive? There weren't even any odds on the winner. Sorry about that.
10:15 PM Someone make a joke during the people who died montage, I dare you.
 Greg: Paul Newman, Shaker Hts represent! Why doesn't Central Markup stock his pretzels dang it? Am I batting 1000?
 Jeremy: Not quite. And you're still tied with Gilbert
Elaine: At least I'm ahead in the tie-breaker category ...
10:26 PM Jeremy: Aren't we all just girls from the trailer park who had a dream?
10:27 PM Elaine: Miss Drag America
10:28 PM Except, Anne. She looks gorgeous.
 Jeremy: I like the individual pep talks from the older actresses.
10:29 PM Elaine: Again, I blame Ledger.
10:31 PM Jeremy: Of course they couldn't find someone to impress Meryl Streep
 Elaine: Maybe next year we'll just acknowledge that they're all winners and everyone will get a statue
 Greg: she is stylin w/ those emeralds
10:32 PM Elaine: she's her own emerald city
 Greg: dang it, i gambled and lost, gilbert's up 1 pt now?
 Elaine: nope. y'all are still tied.
 Jeremy: From the room: It looks like she swiped them from a Pretty Pretty Princess set
10:33 PM Elaine: I wish they'd play an Extras clip now. Ricky Gervais is a genius.
 Jeremy: Brian and Lynn are now tied at first with 13
10:34 PM Lynn has joined
 Elaine: How many points was Kate worth?
  Hi, Lynn.
 Jeremy: 5
10:35 PM Elaine: Nice of you to drop in now that you're tied for the lead. I'm an alto, by the way.
 Jeremy: Hathaway was my dark horse. I am screwed BTW
10:36 PM Elaine: I've got my ukulele backup booked, so I'm sleeping soundly if my dark horse doesn't come thru.
10:39 PM Greg: Deniro looks like he was just hanging out w/ Spiccoli's buds
10:40 PM Elaine: Penn's getting it. How many points is that J?
10:41 PM That was one lame speech Brody gave for Jenkins.
10:44 PM Rourke's still in character. This means Slumdog's getting film.
10:45 PM Jeremy: The Schwartz with 31 followed by Sara with 22
  E called it, I believe
10:46 PM Elaine: I'm going to bed. What's left? Just Picture?
 Jeremy: Yep
10:47 PM Elaine: Did Penn outtalk Boyle? Altho, when he gets Picture he'll really have a lot of people to thank.
10:48 PM Greg: what was Penn worth?
 Elaine: 20, I think.
 Greg: Wasn't he the favorite?
 Elaine: Nope. Rourke.
 Greg: aha
10:49 PM Elaine: If you picked him b/c you thought he was the favorite, and not for the odds, I think we'll have to disqualify that win. Jeremy?
 Jeremy:  True
 Greg: Haha, no. I just didn't remember who was the favorite, it was clear that Penn would win though. Did i just clinch this thing?
10:52 PM Jeremy: Not if Benjamin Button wins best picture.
Greg: It’s totally between Slumdog and Milk. Woo!
 Jeremy: You win. I hope you choke on your smugness
10:54 PM Greg: teehee... i will consider bribes for song selections.
 Jeremy: More like Smug Dog Millionaire
 Greg: Dang it, i knew we shoulda had bigger prizes
 Jeremy: Well shit. Hope you like karaoke.

Live & Local preview: Nothing More

Catch us tonight at Scout Bar, where we'll be checking out Nothing More (pictured in that intense Steven Gilmore shot above), who are celebrating the release of their latest album, The Few Not Fleeting. We've been passing this album around the office the past week, and it's a pretty decent listen. Nothing More stretch that emo-core business you kids dig into spaced-out prog rock with a jam-filled center. Live, these tracks have potential to translate to pure ass kicking. Dig the video below:

Texas Fuel efficiency

By Gilbert Garcia

Even with the shared name and the use of red, white, and blue basketballs, the new-fangled ABA has little in common with the rebel league of the '70s that gave us Julius Erving, Dan Issel, and the original incarnation of the Spurs. But you have to love a professional sports league that has, not one, but two teams from West Virginia.

On Sunday, SA's own Texas Fuel go international when they host Beijing Aoshen Olympian, a privately owned professional Chinese team that, oddly enough, successfully applied to become a member of the ABA (presumably so they could impress the fans back home by whipping up on a bunch of pro teams from the land of James Naismith.

To put things in context, Sun Yue made the jump to the Los Angeles Lakers after playing several years for the Beijing team, so you would expect these guys to have some skills. Perhaps wisely, the members of the Fuel organization are talking less about winning the game than simply giving a boost to Sino-American relations in South Texas.

The Texas Fuel take on Beijing Aoshen Olympian on Sunday, February 22 at Palo Alto College. Game time is 6 p.m.

On the Street: Compound Interest, Scandals, Ankle Breakers and Heart Stoppers, and Other Important Discussions of Our Times

“Panic of 09”

The neurosis of the marketplace has affected the Spurs pocketbooks as well as the art scene.  NBA teams as well as prized possessions of abstract expressionism just don't seem to be as important to millionaires these days.

On to the efficiency, I mean the letters! 

Letters (to the On the Street Ghetto Mid-Century Modern Efficiency Apartment)



(Notice the Prophet Royal Robertson piece in the background, bought from the artist personally, not a gallery, though either option is filled with problems...)

#1 Gone Abroad

Keith the guerilla gardener, infrequent OTS contributor and apparently now, former San Antonian, sends in a message from Argentina.  Perhaps he can do research on what’s going on with Manu Ginobili’s ankle.

Hello everyone, I have been in Argentina now for about 6 weeks, which is half of the time I'll spend here.
 
I have paid the $25 per year to have unlimited uploading capability and I've uploaded a lot of pictures and most have a title that is very descriptive. Maybe you'll find some of them interesting…


image: Keith Henry

#2 A Bearded Child

From the UTSA New Media department…

(Abridged)

…the following 2 events will both be held next week at
the UTSA Downtown Campus: Frio Street Building 1.402

P A N E L : DIY and the Avant-Garde
Thursday February 19, 7-9pm

F I L M S : Best of Bearded Child Film Festival
Friday February 20, 7-9pm

The panel tonight will have a spectrum of various artists discussing do-it-yourself issues, tactics, pratfalls, and anecdotes of the art scene, I think.  Most likely not DIY issues relating to: dry walling your music studio, turning that found object into a lamp, and emergency suture techniques for backpackers.


image: from Bearded Child website

Compound Interest

The month-long Sala Diaz parade of events continues.  On Friday things took to the streets.



It may not be apparent, but Potter Belmar had turned this into a video/sound projection/tailgate party.  Here, is Sala Diaz getting all projected at.



Here, in a wider shot we can see PB projecting an image of Sala Diaz back on to Sala Diaz.  Some serious time traveling and mind jambling going on here.



I swear the PB van used to be white, yet the man with the microphone Jason Jay claims otherwise.  For some reason, another  van of crime fighters seems to come to mind...



I'm not saying it's exactly the same, but neither am I saying it's really all that different either.



Rival blogger  Ben Judson stands in silhouette as the PB crime fighting van projects from the background. 

Inside Sala Diaz the Boyd Brothers put the needle to wax and shook the neighborhood.  There was some serious low end for a few of the tracks but for the most part I was outside trading barbs with the usual suspects, highlifes, and friends.



But then I started talking to a UTSA architecture instructor.  I was throwing around the idea of a series of articles where local architects discuss their favorite buildings in SA.  It was all going well until I realized this person doesn't even live in San Antonio.

I'm not saying an audit of UTSA professors is required but I'm curious how many live in Austin versus San Antonio.  It's bad enough to have a slow drain of talent always escaping to the north, but it's much worse to subsidize this intellectual flight, that is assuming these people have any connection to the city at all other than frequenting Starbucks before their nightly drives back north.  Come to think of it, they probably get their espressos at McDonalds now.  Gotta save that money for gas.

Whereas I can vouch for one UTSA anthropologist in particular as he alone has been responsible for keeping the Mix and Limelight solvent, can I say the same about the others...not sure yet.

On the other hand, in their "defense" SA is at times a bunch of suburbs in search of a city so how would the lines be drawn?  Is living in Bulverde living in San Antonio?

And more to the point, is UTSA even in San Antonio?  This whole discussion is like a Costanza inner-monologue folding in on itself.

Trade Rumors…this too will pass

It’s been a ridiculous week of speculation for the San Antonio Spurs as various seemingly out of reach players keep getting mentioned as trade partners with the Spurs.  On top of that, two whoppers hit the ether yesterday on the day before the trade deadline.

1. Manu Ginobili might be out of the year.
2. George Hill photos taken by spurned lover.

The timing of these two bombshells is ridiculous.  The fever pitch of the trade deadline, especially with the Panic of 09 (the year not the zipcode) causing NBA owners to dump contracts to save money, has ramped up all sorts of speculation and scandal.  Do points #1 and 2 fit into this issue?  Hard to say.  Are they even true?  It's hard to say.

Passage of time...

...ate a cheesburger from Liberty Bar.  Small but dense.  It was substantial and probably about the right size for any more would have been too many potential  bovine growth hormones, yet the quality is still hit or miss.  Years past this would not have been an issue...

Back to the Spurs -

The trade deadline passed at 2pm today and nothing seems to have happened.  There is uncertainty if a press conference or a press release will be made available within the next few hours.

What does this hold for the Spurs future?

So many questions...


And so goes another week on the streets of San Antonio.  As always, to be continued...

S'Nuff Film 2: The Legend of Curly's Gold*

Hey guys,
The print edition of S'Nuff Film was taken up this week by an explanation of the goofy ass Oscar bet we've got going on, but those inconsiderate effers in the film scene still insist on scheduling stuff I need to tell you about, namely:

Thursday night: UTSA’s downtown campus will host a free DIY & The Avant-Garde Panel. Artist and UTSA Lecturer Justin Boyd will moderate a discussion on the staging or displaying non-traditional works in unconventional. Panelists include: Three Walls director Michele Monseau, No Idea Festival director Chris Cogburn, and Bearded Child Film Fest  director Dan Anderson. 7:00pm - 9:00pm, UTSA Downtown Campus, Multipurpose Room FS 1.402

Friday morning: You can view indie flick Must Read After My Death at giganticdigital.com  the same day it opens in New York and L.A. For $2.99, you’ll get a three-day pass good for unlimited viewing in HD (depending on your hardware and internet connection.)

Friday evening: And speaking of hirsute pre-adolescents, UTSA downtown will also be screening a selection of films from the Bearded Child festival, which claims to promote ”bizarre, absurd, and wacky wonders that most festivals wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole … anything that challenges the norm, whatever the genre.” This is also free.
7:00pm - 9:00pm, UTSA Downtown Campus, Frio Street Building, Riklin Auditorium

Monday: If you suffer from chaetophobia or agorophobia but still love free film with local ties, check out PBS affiliate KLRN (local channel 9), which will be broadcasting local documentary A Class Apart  at 9 p.m. The film features an interview with St. Mary’s University Graduate School Dead Henry Flores.

Wednesday: And if you’ve got a film of your own you’re planning on submitting to the Marfa Film Festival, here’s your second-to-last reminder: All entries must be postmarked by Wednesday, February 25. 

(*City Slickers purists will note that the above photo is actually from the original film. The idea that the calf pictured, Norman, would still be that small by the time Billy Crystal’s character found the treasure map directing him to Jack Palance’s late character’s treasure horde would be pretty ridiculous.)

 

Reverend Seymour Perkins Funeral information

The stove at Reverend Seymour Perkin's "New" house, early December.

Viewing
5-8 pm Monday evening 2/16
Carter Taylor Williams Mortuary
601 N. Center St
227-7311

Funeral
11:30 Tuesday morning, 2/17
Bright and Morning Star Baptist Church
547 K St
(210) 333-8614

On the Street: Ice House Woodworking, Marfa Drive-Ins, Eyebrow Merkins, Gutterpunk Economics, The World Travels of Phillip Knight-Sheen, Sunday Sounds with Fear Snakeface, and Other Important Discussions That Define Our Times

"Eyebrow Merkin"

Letters (to the On the Street Ghetto Mid-Century Modern 2nd Story Efficiency Apartment)



Keeping up the "good work".

1. What’s This?  That’s My *#nis

OTS Friend from Austin Michael writes in:

http://failblog.org/2009/02/12/frisk-fail/





2. Marfa Drive-In

OTS Insider Ben (now in Seattle) shares this:


Has everyone seen this? I bet you LFers have, but I just came across it in he magazine. Anyway it seems a bit egregiously monumental for all the other things going on in Marfa, but maybe that's a good thing. Crazy.

http://www.architectmagazine.com/industry-news.asp?sectionID=1006&articleID=848340

Bonus for those who know what an LFer is.  Or actually read any of this.

3. Hairpin Legs


image: Ian Maclean

From the Friend with the 1000 Yard Stare, a brief suggestion for ½ of the ghetto MCM coffee table in the works…

the guy's name is ian mclean

http://www.ianmaclean.com/


4. Gutterpunk Economics

Nice Guy Curtis offers this insight:

Read this article in my hometown alt-weekly and felt it applied to Southtown.
 
Replace their local hang-outs with La Fritte, Beethoven’s, La Tuna, etc….
 
It’s a short read and worth the time.

http://www.metropulse.com/news/2009/jan/21/hipster-economics/


5. Civic Duty and Brewery Bill



From La Vaca Grant (Esq.), a plea for activism and beer drinking…

(Excerpt)

Here's the bill:  http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/BillStages.aspx?LegSess=81R&Bill=HB1062
 
Here's how you find out who your representative is:  http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/
 
The sponsor of the bill, Lon Burnam, is a rep from Fort Worth.  Rahr & Sons Brewing Company is in his home district.
 
Get your legislator on board!  Support your local brewery!


Crawling Backwards Towards Bethlehem (With an Eyebrow Merkin)


Randy Wallace moves slowly, simultaneously going forward and in reverse, and everyone watches while he watches himself.

On Friday at Sala Diaz the John Mata variety show continued.  While some in the crowd tried to bait me into some sort of critique of the art performance I avoided the temptation to throw ideas around loosely, or more loosely than now.

But what facts can we glean from the performance?  A rough summary that could easily be incorrect: Randy Wallace crawled backwards with knee pads, some sort of panty-hose on his face, an eyebrow merkin, looking down into a small mirror.

Was it a repudiation of the John Mata Thesis?  (Note: Not sure what that even means.) Or did the performance exist completely outside the realm of "My Facade Says A Lot About What I'm Not"? 

Were there overt symbol systems at work, or was it completely personalized? 

Questions...little answers at this point.  Perhaps Tops the Lone Reader has thoughts to offer.

For the time being, it is best appreciated as one of life's  transient episodes, like a microcosm of our overall lives -  a brief moment without answers left for others to ponder until something else happens...


Coming at you backwards.

The World Travels of Phillip Knight-Sheen






Just another typical ghetto mid-century modern 2nd story efficiency apartment.  Hey, what's that above the handmade lightbox on the wall?



That's a good question.  It seems to be a map of some sorts, with lots of lines emanating to and from southern England.


Legend and legends.

Evidently, its a map of the travels of some guy named Philip Knight-Sheen.  Oh, that's right, this is the map I bought at Goodwill for $1.99. 

Just another random moment.  But what if one was to google the name "Philip Knight-Sheen"?  What are the chances it actually would pull up someone's name?  He couldn't be found, could he?  Just another world traveler leaving behind his personal possessions at Goodwill.

It's not like a NY Times article was written about him: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990DEED7173FF932A35752C1A96E958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2

Or other loose connections to ponder: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/stories/1999/03/15/smallb1.html

I'm not sure if this adds up to anything but it does complicate simple Goodwill transactions.

Sunday Sounds (And Singer Songwriters)





A foto of a lightbulb or the 2nd act of Sunday Sounds?

Sunday saw a return to the Compound in general and Sunday Sounds in particular.


Or a Terrence Malick approach to photojournalism?

Behind this image were kids, bbq pits, and a table full of amazing salsa without garlic.


Rock lighting.

The night began and the day wound down with Austin's the Golden Boys.  It wasn't country.  It wasn't rock.  Nor was it southern fried.  More like southern steamed - rough but refined.

The Long Arm showed up but a few Jedi Mind Tricks sent them on their way not to return.


Ice House Woodworking



At a table on South Presa, a diligent/indolent whittler carved various homages to important SA icons.



Consider this a preview for an upcoming Bar Tab that may or may not materialize.



Across the street conjunto and heavy metal dancing together like two other one time disparate elements - country and western.

Consider this OTS "intellectual" property - Conjunto and Metal©, the signature sound of San Antonio.  Like in the Blues Brothers film, we play both types...

...all to be explained and further confused at some point soon.

And so goes another week on the streets of San Antonio.  As always, to be continued...

Tesla Rages Packed Scout Bar

Tesla rocked the jam-packed Scout Bar last night with a charged show demonstrating that the band is still going strong some twenty-two years after their sensational debut album dropped at the end of 1986. The band sounded fantastic and it was strange to comprehend that it had been that long since they first hit the scene.

It was only too bad that elbow room was at such a precious premium that fans could barely move. The Scout Bar really ought to think about the concept of keeping an aisle across the backside of the room and in front of the soundboard. The bar also seemed ill-prepared for the hard drinking crowd, as they ran out of Shiner Bock before Tesla even hit the stage! But the crowd admirably rose above the sardine-can atmosphere to provide the type of inspirational feedback that powers a band higher.

Fans reminisced about how Tesla blew bands like Poison and Great White off the stage when serving as an opening act in the late ‘80s, as well as giving Def Leppard a run for their money when the British pop metal kings were at the height of their popularity on the 1987-88 Hysteria tour.

After opening with a couple of rocking newer tunes, the band threw down “Modern Day Cowboy,” their breakthrough song that set the hard rock world on fire when its video debuted on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball. Fists pumped into the air as the band transported the mostly Gen-X crowd back to 1986 for one of the best tunes of the era that still stands strong.

An inspired selection of hard rockers and melodic sing-along hits followed, with the band focusing heavily on their first two albums – Mechanical Resonance and 1988’s The Great Radio Controversy. If the show had a flaw, it was that the band’s vastly underrated third album, 1991’s Psychotic Supper, had only one song played.

The combo of “Hang Tough” > “Heaven’s Trail (No Way Out)” from the second album got the room really going, with guitarist Frank Hannon ripping off smoking hot licks throughout and the energy level threatening to raise the roof. Guitarist Tommy Skeoch, the only original member not still in the band, was missed but Dave Rude filled in admirably.

Vocalist Jeff Keith was in high spirits, and why not, with the way the crowd was feeding back so much positive energy. Keith and his mates must be drinking from some type of elixir of eternal youth, because they sure don’t look like they’ve aged 22 years since hitting the scene.

“The Way it Is” provided the night’s first big sing along and one of the best jams, with the lyrics about leaving a still-loving relationship behind striking a huge chord with the crowd. Hannon’s fills hit a melodic high while drummer Troy Lucketta and bassist Brian Wheat layed down a rock-solid bottom end, with Hannon then ripping off a smokingly sweet lead.

“Love Song” and “What You Give” offered further sing-along action, with Hannon playing his double-necked Gibson SG, just like Jimmy Page’s, to deliver the ringing12-string rhythm parts.

Tesla’s classic cover of The Five Man Electrical Band’s “Signs” was another triumph. Tesla’s acoustic rendition of the song was a huge hit in 1990, but here the fully electrified version brought out perhaps the loudest sing along of the night.

“Cumin’ Atcha Live”, one of the heaviest rockers from the band’s debut, brought an intense conclusion to the set with Hannon delivering yet another face-melting solo. The crowd seemed ready for plenty more though, chanting the band’s name as they briefly left the stage.

The band encored with another melodic sing-along classic from the first album, “Little Suzi,” that got the crowd going one more time before heading out into the refreshingly cool night air. If the reaction was any indication, Tesla could easily visit South Texas again later this year and expect to draw an even larger crowd (hint hint local promoters!)

Mosh Pit Mayhem (of the undesirable sort)

This weekend a mosh pit altercation escalated drastically, resulting in a shooting outside the Rock Bottom Tattoo Bar early Saturday morning. Police said the shooting happened around 1:30 a.m. after a punk rock show by Lower Class Brats and Complete Control. According to the police report, a man drove up to the victim, Eric Scheese, outside the bar to express his displeasure about the Scheese “pushing his girlfriend while they were in the mosh pit.” Witnesses stated that Scheese repeatedly apologized to the woman and walked away, while the boyfriend continued arguing. As the car drove away shots were fired; Scheese was hit in the chest and collapsed in the street. The victim was rushed to Brooke Army Medical Center in critical condition. It’s rumored that his condition has since been upgraded to stable, but the hospital refused to confirm his status. A suspect still has not been named.

While the police report doesn’t describe what happened inside the club preceding the shooting, Rock Bottom promoter Angel Castorena said that the girl involved in the incident was in the pit during the show, seemingly of her own accord, where she got knocked over and began fighting with a male who wasn’t the victim. She was thrown out of the club by security for fighting, and she remained outside until the end of the show. Castorena said the girl’s friends began to get riled up as they waited for the victim to exit the club, when the argument that led to the shooting ensued.

“I’ll be honest. I never expected it,” said Castorena, who has been a promoter within the local music scene for more than eight years. “It was no different from any other incident of me throwing somebody out [for fighting]. I know [the girl’s] face, and have seen her [at shows] off and on for probably about five or six years.” Castorena went on to say that the victim is also a regular at local shows, and that the audience at the club was a typical one. Rock Bottom will host a benefit for Scheese within the next few weeks.

I’m also a regular at local punk, metal, and hardcore shows, and the mosh pit is a predictable (and easy to navigate) aspect of shows involving hard music. The first and only pit rule (duh): if you don’t want to be hit, shoved, or thrown around, get the fuck out of the way! Whether you’re a guy or a girl, pay attention if you’re standing near moshers — you’re gonna end up on the cement if you don’t. These people aren’t out here to hurt you; they’re here to enjoy the music, let off some steam, and pick each other up when the show’s over. I’m sad, San Antonio, sad that we have to tell you, of all cities, how the pit works.

I feel that this was an isolated incident. I frequent the majority of our city’s live music venues, and I’ve never felt threatened or concerned for my safety while enjoying live music in our scene. Rock Bottom doesn’t deserve the rap of being “the place there was a shooting last week”— the rare incident could have happened anywhere, but it shouldn’t have happened at all. And this brings about the larger issue here: someone brought a gun to a live, local show in San Antonio, and didn’t hesitate to use it on another person after a trivial disagreement. Should anyone have to worry about who’s carrying a gun next time they’re in the mosh pit? Does an accidental bump warrant a shooting? Those within San Antonio’s music scene have always considered one another family — it’s time we reverted back to taking care of one another in an effort to unite our scene.

RIP Reverend Perkins. And may you be in heaven an hour before the devil knows you're dead

Artist, social provocateur, and American mystic Reverend Seymour Perkins died yesterday evening about 7 p.m. -- sad news relayed by San Angel Folk Art, which represented Perkins. We'll miss his unannounced office visits, his revelations and instructions -- written in longhand -- about his underground cities and the divine retribution headed this way with his tormentors' names in hand. Our hearts go out to his family, along with the hope that they're comforted by the thought that he's now in a place where his admirers will far outnumber his detractors.

What U Need: Coffee, T-shirts

Just a little quick housekeeping business. The DIY T-shirt movement is in full swing in SA, with a reuse/recycle bent. Which means the best new place to get/inspire a T-shirt is: Fl!ght gallery, at 1906 S. Flores (turnitoff.tv). You can get a "Fuck the Police" screen (rumored to be inspired by a not-so-friendly run-in with the po-po), "We're War," Michael Jackson is so money (pictogram), "i like beuys" (also used by bunnyphonic for a clever belt buckle last year), the item modeled by Justin Parr here ("this show would be cool if it was at taco land") and so on.

Created/designed by local artists, they have a particularly SA philosophy. $12 for new, $6 used. Bring ideas, shirts. Open on Second Saturday (aka Valentine's Day) with a special musical appearance.

One more good reason to frequent the downtown library: the Java Nook, an adorably cozy and sunny java shop that's open very civil hours: 7am-9:30pm Mon-Thu, plus weekend hours.

Outtakes: Taking you behind the curtain

FISCH OUTTAKES, PART I

You know, a lot of times, I can only begin to actually form a coherent story or review out of the chaos of my mind by taking a deep breath, then frantically writing up a whole bunch of stuff that doesn’t even appear in the eventual article. This sometimes makes me sad. Usually not though. But occasionally I hang onto a bit of prose I’ll have fussed over then discarded, like a fallen soufflé.

Other times, Elaine and/or Jeremy will decide that a certain turn of phrase is just too…something, and they’ll excise it. This is virtually always for the best, but occasionally I think, awww, MAN! Por ejemplo, in an essay I wrote  about a  ballroom dancing competition, either Elaine or Jeremy nixed my all-caps outburst, “I’LL MOURN YA ‘TIL I JOIN YA, JULIET PROWSE!”

But so here’s a little intro I squashed, which was originally for this review of the excellent film XXY, part of Guadalupe’s recent Cinefestival. I even added 2 fun jpegs for your delectation.



(Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson on the poster for Douglas Sirk’s Magnificent Obsession, 1954.)


“Queer cinema” has evolved through enough filmic generations and into such diverse and motley forms that the umbrella term has become, at best, ambiguous. LGBT filmmakers Gregg Araki (The Doom Generation), the late Derek Jarman (Edward II), and Jennie Livingston (Paris is Burning) have made films steeped in sex and sexual politics; controversy-inducing,  unapologetic battle cries from an underground queer demi-monde.
Wherefore Douglas Sirk, then, a heterosexual director who made luscious melodramas largely for and about women, but who worked with (then-closeted) Rock Hudson, and whose critical reputation has been resurrected in part due to his influence on gay auteurs Pedro Almodóvar and Todd Haynes? And consider John Waters, an openly gay man who virtually never treats gayness in an (ahem) straightforward narrative way ⎯ think of Polyester, in which Todd Tomorrow (played by Tab Hunter) romances Divine’s Francine Fishpaw; two gay men enact a phantasmagoric satire of heterosexuality. Is this queer cinema? Is there a queer gaze? Does any involvement by an LGBT artist render a film “queer”? (I’m looking at you, Dreamgirls.)



(Tab Hunter and Divine, Polyester poster, 1981)

Oscar-nominated shorts: 'Lavatory Love Story'

Beginning Friday, the Santikos Bijou will begin screening the Oscar-nominated short films — both animated and live action.  Tickets are $9 at night, and the live-action and animated categories are screened separately. For the rest of the week, we'll be profiling the nominees, beginning with "Auf der Strecke (On the Line)."

Today, we're looking at the animated Russian film "Lavatory Lovestory." The simple animation style is reminiscent of Sharpie-drawn New Yorker comics, but the theme is decidedly blue collar. This 10-minute dialogue-less film focuses on a female men's room attendant who sighs her way through the work day pretends to be an ice skater while she's scrubbing the bathroom floor. When an unseen customer(?) leaves flowers in her tip jar, the attendant is at first flattered and excited. After more drudgery, however, she grows angry that she can't discover her admirer. "Cute" is about the highest compliment I can pay Lavatory, and if the other animated shorts are comparable, 2009 must have been a slow year for animated shorts. I'd be shocked if there weren't  more interesting films than this on My Toons.

On the Street: “Monologues, Drugged Youth, the End of Cinema and Copper Wiring, a Return to the St. Hedwig Club, and Other Important Discussions of Our Times”

"Deliverance"

Letters (to the On the Street Penthouse Suite)

#1 “Pat”

More waves lap back to shore from the Cave cover story…

Mark,

I thought you might be interested to know that we took “Pat” into the cave last Thursday evening. He really enjoyed his trip and provided us with some new clues and information we did not have previously about the history and the way they went to the lost parts of the cave. He was checking out a lot of passages and small crawlways and was surprisingly spry for his age!



Down the wormhole...

#2 Is This Real Life?

Friend of OTS Michael sends more youtubery…


http://youtube.com/watch?v=yeozJ8ZELuA

I didn't feel aaaaanything.......




#3 Le Grand Content

Amy, wife of Friend of OTS Michael also writes in with youtubery…

this made me chuckle  -

03:58 of things i could never have articulated:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWWKBY7gx_0





#4 Welcome to the Velodrome



Forwarded by OTS Insider Tops…

Hi Peak Fitness Racing,
My name is Brian Gibbs. I am a former National Team track racer living in San Antonio. It has been a goal of mine to bring a velodrome to San Antonio for several years. I now have an outline on how one might be brought to the area…
If you would, please fill out the "petition" at SA-Velo.org…
Again, we are in a preliminary research phase. I know there has been interest in the past. My goal is to determine if that interest still exists.

All the best,  
Brian

Zombies, Drive-Ins, Copper Wire, and Some Dillweed Named Pony


Some character preaching/ranting from the steps. 

Another Last Friday in front of the Alamo at 9pm, another experiment with benevolent libertarianism experienced through bicycles – also known as Downtown Highlife.  

The Winter months bring out less people so there is an opportunity to go to different locations.  As has become tradition for December or January, we headed down to the Southside to experience the fallen majesty of the Mission Drive In.

It’s odd that in taking a path that’s almost completely straight, people find ways to get lost.  It’s as if people feel the need to turn and find variety.  The route back was even worse.  Even though we were going only north on Roosevelt, everyone was completely separated and disconnected.


More copper!

Perhaps it’s because of the existential void that is felt at the Drive In.  Tumbleweeds and broken glass and wide screen vistas in pitch black.  

But back to the beginning.  It all started innocent…

A collection of goofballs waiting outside the Alamo.  A few wrong turns but it began smoothly enough.  And then finally at the destination, it seemed as if a horde of zombies had torn through the place.


Pony, in gold lettering.  A reference to the Outsiders?

And in particular, some dillweed named Pony had his moniker all over the place.  Was Pony the one who ripped all the copper wiring out from the walls?  And if so, was that even a bad thing?  Theft vs. recycling:  a debate for another time.


Or perhaps Pony is a sad comment on lost youth and a birthday gift that was never given.  And now, he's taken revenge on SA...

Flash forward to a flat tire on Roosevelt and Steves.  Everyone taking over the right hand lane.  An odd spectacle, yet the cars seemed to deal with it.   After that everyone got pulled in different vectors – some on Broadway, some at San Pedro Park, all looking for a party on Howard at a place called the Farm.

Street Scenes



Is this a turning point...for something?



And then turning around 180 degrees, full frontal phallic.  Don't blame me, talk to the zoning commission. 




On the other side by the fountain behind a a sheet of windows is a new coffee shop called the Java Nook.  Like clockwork, another caffeinated wave...

A Return to St. Hedwig Club


Heading east on Houston Street...

I called a friend who actually lives out in St. Hedwig to see if he wanted to join our small group making our way out to the St. Hedwig Club on Saturday night (to claify, by car.)  He seemed to think we would all get our ass kicked by Polish cowboys, or if not that, then cold stares and shoulders.

It was Deliverance all over again, though this time not a parable for the Vietnam War.  Instead, simply, a random road trip.

I brought out a copy of the Current article about SHC for Dutch the owner as a way to smooth things over, which worked well enough.  He even bought us all beer.


And yet, right above the urinal, a Slayer fan leaves a trace, at a Polish cowboy bar of all places.

A revolving door of Polish cowboys came and went while the Spurs game played.  And then, some Candian guy named Aaron came in who said he used to be in some popular rock band called the 9ines, who evidently, had a hit song on an episode of Dawson’s Creek.  We went from fish out of water hipsters to not hip enough, quickly.  Things were cosmopolitan, but with a small “c”.



Dutch had to close the bar in the middle of the 3rd quarter at 9pm so he could get some rest for church the next day.  We ended up at Big Lou’s Pizzeria on S. W.W. White Road to finish the game.  And as we left, we noticed a large gathering of muscle cars outside Chatman’s Chicken, which seemed to be a favorite with the locals.  Even though it was inside SA limits, the area, like most in San Antonio, seems like it’s own distinct universe, divorced from the rest (though there are common binds that connect us all – the Spurs, that stupid song by Alice in Chains about a rooster, diabetes...)




And so goes another week on the streets of San Antonio.  As always, to be continued...

Live & Local preview:Fu—, er, Solid Gold Eagle

Hey guys, tonight we're washing away any trace of sophistication we may have required from reviewing SOLI Chamber Ensemble by going to see the band soon to be formerly known as Fuck City USA, and an band known to drink beer out of a shoe.

Unfortunately for fans of unprintable band names, the dudes in F*ck City USA will be changing their name to Solid Gold Eagle after tonight's performance, perhaps in an effort to avoid being confused with other asterisked names like F**k Buttons, F***ed Up, Holy F***, and F*** ***k****ing Your  Grandmother's ***** with a Rusty ******* Llama *****. (Aren't you glad you're reading a family publication?)

 Solid Gold Eagle "got screwed into playing after Monotonix," Tel-Aviv's infamous Adidas-slurping trash-can dumpers, tonight at Rock Bottom (which is billing the show without FCU's current, objectionable name). They'll be joined by S.A.'s own peace disturbers Sohns and Bisön, as well as Austin's In Beds, who boast songs titled "Go Go Golgatha" and "Anne Frankenstein." We'll see if the local boys can keep up.

All ages admitted. $8 for adults, $10 if you're under 21. Doors open at 8 p.m.
       

 

A word about HIV/AIDS

In my story on Henry Rayburn, I mentioned his HIV+ status, and his lack of health insurance. However, it's important to point out that there ARE care and medical options for all people with HIV/AIDS in San Antonio, regardless of their insurance coverage status.

The San Antonio AIDS Foundation has spent twenty three years raising money (their big party fundraiser, the Webb party, is coming up the First Friday of Fiesta!), maintaining and extending educational resources and most importantly, providing compassionate care for men, women and children with AIDS.

Nobody should lack access to care, and nobody has to.

If you or somebody you love (or, hell, anybody you know)  has an HIV diagnosis, please get in touch with SAAF. They have confidential testing as well,  and will even help you apply for Medicare, Medicaid, SSI and SSDI! They even help out with housing and transportation! Is there anything they can't do, besides endorse bathhouses??

Finally, regardless of your HIV status, sponsoring the Webb party would also be awesome of you. Also: condoms.

Take care of yourselves out there.

Oscar nominated shorts: 'On the Line'

Beginning Friday, the Santikos Bijou will begin screening the Oscar-nominated short films — both animated and live action.  Tickets are $9 at night, and the live-action and animated categories are screened separately. For the rest of the week, we'll be profiling the nominees, beginning with "Auf der Strecke (On the Line)."

The film-centered Oscar categories about which no one even pretends to give a shit — documentaries, shorts, and documentary shorts — are the exception that proves how lame and backwards the Oscars really are. These categories provide the rushed through, bathroom-break awards presentations, usually delivered by a pretty starlet who prefaces the nominee list with a stern speech about why these type of films are even made in the first place, but they're also the only film categories in which non-American works aren't confined to the booby-prize foreign language ghetto. The time when Best Picture meant "best decently budgeted, American-produced, main-stream box office contender starring high profile actors and actresses" is not only long past, it was never really here at all. Excellent case in point: Oscar-nominated Swiss short "(Auf der Strecke) On the Line."

This story of a lonely but good-hearted department store security guard who flirts awkwardly and unsuccessfully with a cashier until a shot a real heroism changes their relationship dynamic, sounds almost exactly like an American film I reviewed a few weeks back — Paul Blart: Mall Cop. But where the  Swiss use the character as a launching pad for a quiet half hour meditation on coping with loss and society's guilt in human suffering, American filmmakers see a fat dude falling off a Segway for 90 minutes. 

The protagonist of "On the Line" gets his chance to be a hero early in the film. After following his crush Sarah(who works in the book section of the store) onto the evening train, he discovers she's meeting another man. Sarah and the man begin fighting, and Sarah storms off, leaving the pissed off dude alone to be ridiculed by a couple of teenage deliquents. When it turns into a fight, the security guard opts to get off at his stop, and leave his beloved's apparent jerk boyfriend alone to deal with three hormonal bullies.

At work the next day, our man is horrified to discover that jerk boyfriend was: a) beat to death by those kids, and b) Sarah's brother. The film thankfully ends before this unwinnable situation comes to a head, but we still have to watch the security guard squirm for about 20 minutes as he painfully attempts to comfort Sarah (who has no idea he'd had the chance to stop the attack) and even woo her while visibly tortured by the guilt he feels for a non-act must of us at our lowest would be more than capable of committing.

Remembering Henry

Remembering Henry


Henry Rayburn    Threads, 2003     8 drawers with silk threads

I got the following e-mail from Kelly O’Connor at the Linda Pace Foundation:

***************
Please join us at CAMPsite space to remember Henry Rayburn and view his work titled, “Threads” on Friday February 6th from 4 – 6pm.  The Linda Pace Foundation is proud to display Henry’s work through May 31, 2009.  If you are not able to make it for the reception you can make an appointment to see the work.  Please call 210.226.6663 X 4 or email koconnor@pacefound.org.

LINDA PACE FOUNDATION
CAMPsite Space 114 Camp,  San Antonio TX 78204

*****************

Also, as y’all may already know, there will be a memorial the following night at 6 pm at Say Sí.

Here’s this week’s Current story on Henry.

A short remembrance at Emvergeoning with a lovely Justin Parr photo.

Henry’s own site.

ARTIFACTS: R. MUTT GITS PUNK'D: Avila at Bihl Haus

Hey dudes, we've got loads of arts coverage in the paper-paper this week, including a eulogy of sorts for Henry Rayburn and an essay by Hills Snyder, so my ARTIFACTS column was, um, LIBERATED for the Intenet.

READ UP!

ARTIFACTS
by Sarah Fisch



Sure, scenesters, you knew that Norman Avila was a founding member of Los #2 Dinners during the band’s first, legendary, garage-punk lineup. Maybe you’re familiar with his  SAMOMA (San Antonio Museum of Modern Art), which ruled the 70s hipster roost from the second floor of a building on South Flores wayyyy pre-Artpace, pre-Blue Star…pre-SAMA, even! But did you know he’s got a show up at Bihl Haus? Avila’s works on paper make playful winks at cubism, Dada, Surrealism, and even Futurism, never losing their accomplished original vision. Go see! Quick!

This week will not be your last chance to see Norman's work, luckily. Norman Avila is also included in the upcoming extravaganza, "On and Off Fredericksburg" studio tour orchestrated by Kellen McIntyre, director of Bihl Haus Arts.


 This is a fabulous way to get to see more of the near West Side/Jefferson area, meet artists, and see great work. I can only imagine what Norman's studio must be like, after seeing his art and meeting him.

I got to have brunch with Norman Avila and our mutual friend Gene Elder recently, and he's like a one-man repository of every cool or garde avant-art movement in San Antonio in the last (humina humina) years. More on him to come.

An ACCD Gallery

A gallery of ACCD artists

Thanks to all of you who’ve given me feedback about the ACCD art story, which you can find here. I intend to follow up on this whole thing, for many reasons. ACCD’s an important institution, and a complex one. I’m hoping to learn more about enrollment, history, past and present instructors, and alumni.

I want to get to know Northwest Vista and Northeast Lakeview better. I had a terrific conversation with Tim Jones, the art chair at NW Vista, about his expanding department, and hope to talk to him some more. He even told me they're looking for a ceramics and a sculpture instructor.

I've been e-mailing with Terry Puckett, the first artist brought in to teach an art class at St. Philip's, who's giving me some context on some fascinating St. Philip's history.

And I'm planning to do an interview with Linda Arredondo, currently at Yale and a terrific painter, about how it was to go from San Anto to New Haven.

Furthermore, I hear chisme that a possible ACCD arts faculty summit is in the works, too, and I look forward to hearing more about that. And I most definitely plan on visiting the VATC on the SAC campus for the Visual Arts Faculty exhibition, which opened yesterday and continues until March 20. I’ll write it up after I go.

So look for all that.

And keep in touch, ACCD students, alums, instructors, about developments there, how the colleges affected you, etc. And send me images and I may post them.

Here’s Installment Uno of:

 An ACCD Gallery

Regis Shephard
Associate Professor and Art Dep’t Chair, St. Philip’s College





I don’t have titles for these, I think they’re from his “Conspiracy and Revolution” Series. Regis, if you see this, help me out.


Eduardo Rodriguez
Associate Professor, Visual Arts, San Antonio College



Flutter
Acrylic/Canvas
2006


Mark Hogensen
Associate Professor of Art, Palo Alto College


Pronkstilleven
2008

Home/Work
Window installation commissioned by Artpace
2008

Kelly O’Connor
Alum, San Antonio College

Far Far Away
Collage on found paper
2007


Kimberly Aubuchon
Alum, San Antonio College


For the Birds
Installation view
2008


Erik Parker
Alum, San Antonio College

Guru
Acrylic and Enamel on canvas
2008-2009
Courtesy of the Artist and Paul Kasmin Gallery

Minneapolis Bureau Super Bowl Review

Did y'all watch the Super Bowl? I did not. I did, however, attend a Super Bowl party at which I drank beers in a backyard and argued about art in the community colleges (some more). A blog post featuring art from ACCD grads and instructors is forthcoming, by the way.

Sometimes I do enjoy watching the Super Bowl, though. But this time 'round, I didn't have a dog in that fight. The Steelers? A'ight, I guess. Whoever that other team was, that wasn't the Cowboys? Eh.

The Current's Minneapolis bureau didn't have a dog in that fight either, but that didn't stop her from watching. So without further ado, here's a Super Bowl review by a lady from Up North.

By the way, has anyone else made a "Michael Phelps also enjoys super bowls" reference yet? Just me? Probably because it isn't that funny. Poor kid.

SUPER BOWL '09 OH WHO CARES?
by Lori Mocha

I rooted for the the Packers to win the Super Bowl last night. I know they weren't in it. It was just wishful thinking, something I really enjoy.

Mostly because it makes my dad real happy when the Pack wins, and then hitting him up for a loan is much easier.

Plus, the Packers are the coolest team. Just seems kinda obvious to me. I shouldn't even have to even explain it.

But of course I am biased because I was born in Wisconsin, even though I grew up in Minnesota.

And not sure if it's home state pride, or my dad's powerful pro-Packer influence, that made me love the Packers even though I don't like football.

I've lived in Minnesota for most of my life, so I've also thought maybe I was supposed to like the Vikings. How is one supposed to decide these things?

So it's actually caused me constant confusion throughout life. Should I try to love the VIkings because I've spent more time in Minnesota than Wisconsin?

Or does birth state trump any number of years? Am I still Wisconsinite at heart?

Just who am I?

And then I lived in Brooklyn for awhile, and I've never felt more at home than I did in New York City, even if NYC did chew me up and spit me out. But I will never stop loving New York.

Does that make me a New Yorker?

But nevertheless, I can't really get into football, no matter how hard I have tried. It's much easier to be a happy citizen in the Midwest if you like sports, because it's everywhere all the time. But I don't really get it:

Now throw that ball! Now catch that ball! Now tackle that guy! Now let a special expert kicker guy kick that ball!

I do however, like the shiny pants.

I also like the commentary and the commercials and the half-time show.

Here were the highlights of the game for me:

1. Introduction to Pepsi Max. Finally. A diet cola for men. Really? Is it shameful for a man to drink a diet beverage? For real? You gotta be kidding me. Are you gonna fall for it guys? They're not giving you alotta credit, I don't think.

2. Two Budweiser commercials involving, what I deem, inappropriate, um horse love. I personally don't want to think about horses doing it, while I'm pounding down Bud Lights.

3. Madden just said one of the players gets "so much penetration." I want Madden to know I get a lot too. Not bragging. Just fact.

4. At half-time the Boss slid on his knees and ended with his crotch pressed right onto the camera lens!

Seeing the crotch o' the Boss was my favorite part, and I thank him for making the Super Bowl worth watching.