There’s a scattering of early returns, mostly from conservative Central Valley counties, and they should everything bad happening — Prop. 30 failing, Prop. 32 winning, Prop. 34 and 37 losing …. but LA isn’t in, the Bay Area isn’t in, and none of this means much. Except: Prop. 36, the repeal of three-strikes, is going to win overwhelmingly. It looks like Prop. 39, ending a billion-dollar tax loophole, is going to win handily. And the attempt by Mercury Insurance once again to rewrite the state’s car-insurance laws is going down to defeat.
Prop. 30 is about two points behind Prop. 32, and since Prop. 32’s going to get crushed, that’s maybe not a bad place to be.
As expected, Obama is headed for victory. Elizabeth Warren has won in MA, the tea-party rape-nut lost in Indiana, the House will stay (more narrowly) Republican, the Senate Democratic.
It looks like marriage equality is winning in every state where it’s on the ballot.
So now I can start to worry about Prop. 30 and the future of California, and Districts 1and 5 and the future of San Francisco.
According to the SF Department of Elections, the first results — including just the absentees received before Election Day — will be posted here at about 8:45. That will include a preliminary ranked-choice voting run, which won’t be conclusive but will give people a sense of where the races are headed.
We’ll be posting regular updates on this blog through the evening, trying to make sense of the numbers and reporting from the various Election Night events. Join us for the latest news and analysis.
I’d guess by the time the polls close in California it will be pretty clear what’s happening on the national level.
Thomas R. Julin, one of the top First Amendment attorneys in the country, emailed me this afternoon about the election suppression situation in Miami. Julin, an attorney with the firm of Hunton & Williams in Miami, reported that “the election situation here has been just unbelievably awful.”
“I spent three-and-a-half hours on line on Saturday at an early voting office. One of my partners was in line five-and-a-half hours today for regular voting. And I just got a message from my wife that she is still one-and-a-half hours from the voting booth now, having been there most of the day. The outrage at the GOP for orchestrating this vote suppression is everywhere. The three primary tools that have been effective were the reduction in early voting days, the elimination of early voting on the Sunday before the election, and flooding the ballot with extremely lengthy constitutional amendments, none of which had any merit, but that slowed every voting line to a crawl.”
The most expensive, ugliest, longest and most money-dominated election in my memory is finally winding down, and unless something really weird happens, Obama’s going to win another term. It’s likely the Democrats will control the Senate and the GOP will retain a narrow edge in the house, meaning four more years of gridlock (and possibly the end of Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s career).
But the real message will be the role of big money — not just ordinary big money, but billionaire money — in California and San Francisco elections.
The state ballot has become a billionaire playground, with four of the ten initiatives created, written, put on the ballot and funded by stinking rich individuals who have their own personal and political agendas. In San Francisco, billionaires Ron Conway and Thomas Coates are trying to buy the District 5 election. An Arizona group linked to the Koch brothers is trying to shut down Prop. 30 (and leave the state in fiscal disaster).
We know both presidential campaigns are billion-dollar operations, and a lot of the same bad money is going into each of them. But on the local level, it’s a very different situation. There’s a concerted campaign here to drive progressives out of local office and install people more friendly to landlords and developers — at a time when the city’s going to be facing the greatest displacement pressure since the first dot-com boom. You don’t see the Association of Realtors putting hundreds of thousands of dollars into local races very often; there’s an opportunity here and they see it and they want to weaken tenant protections so they can make more money.
One of the best arguments in favor of district elections is that money doesn’t necessarily buy electoral success. In a district with roughly 30,000 voters, it’s possible to practice old-fashioned grassroots retail politics, to win by knocking on doors and going to house parties and meeting people. It’s not all about TV ads. And if that holds up with this election, Sup. Eric Mar — with a far superior field operation — will survive the blistering assault he’s under in District 1. If David Lee — who has taken the Mitt Romney approach and refused to speak to reporters (they might ask him a question or two about his inaccurate campaign dirt) — wins, it will be the greatest blow to democracy in San Francisco that we’ve seen in years.
On the other hand, if the D1 voters reject all that money and sleaze and Mar wins — and if the District 5 voters reject the billionaire money and someone other than London Breed wins — San Francisco will be sending a profound message: We don’t want your dirty money here, and our votes are not for sale.
It was my first time seeing Portland’s AU live Saturday night, and I had some important questions I hoped the show would answer. First of all, how does one pronounce AU? Aww? Awe? Oww? Gold? More importantly, how would the band recreate its sound live? I had theories, but as AU began its set at the Independent with its most recent album’s first (and most prominent song) “Epic,” those quickly proved false. There were no guitars.
Drum kit, choir bells, Kord keyboard, Roland sampler, clarinet, glockenspiel, what I believe to be a shekere, and quite a few effects and looping pedal – but no strings at all, which I felt particularly embarrassing, having previewed the show by mentioning that very song and its nonexistent yet “impossibly high rising GY!BE guitars.” This is partly due to my listening abilities,* but also an indication of the current musical landscape, which let’s be honest, can be fairly confusing.
Going relatively blind into a Washed Out show a while back, I remember being surprised to find a full band rather than a guy with a laptop and some other tools. Flying Lotus on another occasion was the reverse experience. The infusion of electronic music and digital production tools across genres has led to a seemingly endless palette, where minimalists can create maximal sounds and vice versa.
With AU, some things were as expected, particularly the base created by drummer Dana Valatka, who plays with a grind that recalls Zach Hill and a exploding control that’s more Buddy Rich. Valatka had a few tricks – playing handbells, for instance, at one point from the back of the room in the merch booth – but is generally rooted in the band’s most traditional role.
On the other extreme was Holland Andrews. On the occasion of her birthday, Andrews alternated between singing and playing the clarinet, a shekere, and at one point, a small handheld glockenspiel. The wide range of sounds she was able to produce was multiplied by the use of a looping pedal. These tools suddenly seemed to be everywhere a few years back, particularly in indie rock, giving individual musicians like Owen Pallett, Merrill Garbus, and Dustin Wong the ability to create a live sound larger than one person. I thought I’d grown tired of their use, but Andrews used it to good effect.
Performing a solo, Bjork-esque song “about going crazy” from her side project, Like a Villain, the singer created a schizophrenic wall of voices that was one of the night’s best moments, after which bandleader Luke Wyland remarked in slight awe, “She’s only 24.”
There’s more to be said about Wyland, the band’s genial center, but it’s largely beyond me at this point. Moving back and forth between solemn intensity and ecstatic excitement, much of the band’s sound – from the orchestral movements on “Crazy Idol” to electronic plotting of “OJ”– is seemingly due to him, behind the Kord, sampler, and whatever else he had up there.
It still left me with questions and reaching for genres, but he did clear one thing up: the name of the band is pronounced similar to a stranger trying to get your attention.
*As a child I’d spent summers at an education camp, where we were only allowed to listen to music (besides the work songs) in guided, “close listening” sessions, tasked with identifying the individual sources of the composition, and understanding both the material conditions/labor that went into each sound. It was a major reason for my escape.
What’s on the California ballot this year that pot activists should be stoked on? Absolutely nothing! (Unless you’re interested in eliminating the death penalty, labeling Frankenfoods, and saving City College of course — in which case check out our smart phone-viewable SFBG election guide)
But there’s a lot going on in other states. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition has a list of ballot measures across the country that, if passed, will improve access to cannabis. The site will also be offering live coverage of how the propositions are lookin’. And so will we, so check back here and on our Facebook and Twitter pages.
Colorado Amendment 64: Initiative to legalize and regulate marijuana for adults over 21.
Oregon Measure 80: Initiative to legalize and regulate marijuana for adults over 21.
Washington I-502: Initiative to legalize and regulate marijuana for adults over 21.
Arkansas Issue 5: Initiative to allow medical marijuana for certain conditions.
Massachusetts Question 3: Initiative to allow medical marijuana for certain conditions.
Montana Referendum 124: Referendum on Senate Bill 423 that changed medical marijuana law approved by voters in I-148. Yes vote would overturn the democratic law and further restrict medical marijuana.
Detroit, MI Proposal M: Initiative amending city code to remove criminal penalties for possession of less than one ounce of marijuana on private property by adults (21+).
Flint, MI Initiative amending city code to remove criminal penalties for possession of less than one ounce of marijuana on private property by adults (19+).
Ypsilanti, MI An initiative making enforcement of laws against possessing small amounts of marijuana by adults (21+) the city’s lowest law enforcement priority.
Grand Rapids, MI Proposal 2: Would make possession of marijuana a civil offense, punishable by a fine only (like a traffic ticket) rather than jail time.
Kalamazoo, MI Charter Amendment Proposal #7: An initiative that would allow up to three medical marijuana dispensaries in the city.
Burlington, VT Question to measure support for statewide marijuana legalization.
Sure you voted (you voted, right?), but do you know where your election night party is? After as many years as he’s been in the field, City Editor Steven T. Jones has some tips on where to see the most election-cycle hoo-hah. Don’t forget to check out our complete list of tonight’s parties, from the League of Pissed Off Voters always-raucus ruckus at El Rio to historic death penalty referendum Yes on Prop. 34’s get-together at Jillian’s.
And so, thanks to Republican Governor Rick Scott and his Republican allies, the lines of voters were once again impossibly long at Florida voting places and many voters started chanting dramatically on national television, “Let us vote, let us vote, let us vote.” It was a chant that rang throughout many battleground states where Republicans had the power to reduce early voting and implement other policies designed to keep the lines long and to make it as difficult as possible for prospective Democrats to exercise their constitutional right to vote.
Guardian cartoonist Louis Dunn sizes up the situation. And I ask the Impertinent Question: Are Florida and other such places becoming third world countrIes? This kind of voter suppression and repression is an update of the old poll tax policy used in the South for generations to keep blacks from voting–and used eight years ago to put Bush into office over Gore, who won by more than 500,000 votes. It has no place anywhere in the U.S. in 2012. The first thing Obama and the Democrats need to do is to move to investigate, prosecute, and criminalize this behavior.
Obama, let me predict, is going to win and he needs to aggressively assert himself and his presidency at the outset. This is a good place to start. b3
P.S. Thomas R.Julin, a noted Miami First Amendment attorney, told me this afternoon that the election suppression in Miami is “unbelievably awful.” http://www.sfbg.com/bruce/2012/11/06/miami-first-amendment-attorney-election-suppression-unbelievably-awful B3
Happy election day! Yes, the barrage of political propaganda will soon give way to celebrations, concessions, ruminations, and spin, spin, spin. As always, the Guardian will be on the beat delivering live election coverage through this site and our SFBG Twitter feed, so follow along and weigh in with your comments. Or if you want to join us at the election night parties, come on out. Here’s the list we’ve compiled, which we’ll be updating throughout the day:
Mayor Ed Lee/DCCC/No on F/Yes on A, B, C, and E – Democratic Party HQ, 2278 Market
League of Pissed Off Voters/Rafael Mandelman – El Rio, 3158 Mission
David Campos/Matt Haney/Steve Ngo – Brick & Mortar, 1710 Mission
Eric Mar/Sandra Fewer/Amy Bacharach – Steins, 731 Clement St.
David Lee – Campaign HQ, 4050 Geary
David Chiu – 585 Steak Lounge, 244 Jackson St
John Rizzo – Murio’s Trophy Room, 1811 Haight St.
Julian Davis – Club Waziema, 543 Divisadero St.
Christina Olague – Rassela’s Jazz Club, 1534 Fillmore
London Breed – Nickie’s, 466 Haight
Thea Selby — Campaign HQ, 791 Haight
Norman Yee – Cafe D’Melanio, 1314 Ovean Ave.
FX Crowley – Campaign Headquarters, 162 West Portal between Vicente and 14th
Mike Garcia – Philospher’s Club, 824 Ulloa St.
Rodrigo Santos – Food Drinks and Music, 2451 Harrison
Hungry for Obama – The Independent, 628 Divisidero
Ron Conway-funded IEs/sf.citi – Tosca, 242 Columbus
Yes on A (City College parcel tax) – Campaign HQ, 350 Rhode Island
Yes on C (housing trust fund)/SF Rising – Rio Grande, 1108 Market
Yes on F (Hetch Hetchy study) – SoMa Restaurant & Bar, 85 5th St.
Yes on Prop 37 (GMO labeling) – CELLspace, 2050 Bryant St.
Yes on Prop. 34 (death penalty repeal) – Jillians, 175 Fourth St.
The Fair Political Practices Commission released a bit of information about who just dumped $11 million into the No and 30 and Yes on 32 campaigns, and on the surface, the disclosure doesn’t tell much except that secretive PAC money moves around in tight circles. The head of the FPPC, Ann Ravel, called it “money laundering,” which sounds like a fairly accurate description. But all the FPPC records really show is that one nonprofit called Americans for Job Security and another called The Center to Protect Patient Rights moved the cash into the Arizona-based Americans for Responsible Leadership, which sent the money to California.
Who the hell are any of these groups? Technically, nobody knows, since they don’t disclose their donors. The SacBee notes that:
Although it could not be confirmed, the Center to Protect Patient Rights has been connected to Kansas-based Koch Industries, whose owners, David H. Koch and Charles G. Koch, are conservative advocates.
“Conservative advocates” is a kind way of putting it.
When the Bee called Koch HQ, a flak there said her guys weren’t involved:
Asked about reported ties to the Center to Protect Patient Rights, Koch Companies Public Sector spokeswoman Melissa Cohlmia said in an email, “Contrary to some media reports, Koch Industries, Charles Koch, and David Koch have not provided any financial support in favor of Proposition 32 and are not involved in this issue.”
Ah, but that’s a bit of a stretch. The LA Times has actually done some investigative work on this, and it’s pretty clear that the Center to Protect Patient Rights IS the Koch brothers, and that any money that comes through there is part of the brothers right-wing network.
I’m surprised Jerry Brown hasn’t jumped all over this. A big ol’ press conference event with the guv denouncing the (actual) vast right-wing conspiracy to shut down unions and drive California off the fiscal cliff might be the boost Prop. 30 needs in the final day.
Kitty Pryde, Maya Jane Coles, Die Antwoord, Tilly and the Wall, La Sera – it’s like a pop culture IRL explosion on the streets of the Bay this week. It’s the acts that shake up your Youtube trolling, the bands that guest star on teen queen dramas, the darlings of Hipster Runoff, all on the calendar during this first full week of November. Oh, and the irrepressible, Mike Watt. Let the fall sweeps begin.
Here are your must-see Bay Area concerts this week/end:
Mike Watt and the Missingmen What’s new for the post-punk man in the van with the bass in his hand? With his solo career still roaring (third opera Hyphenated Man is on its second US tour with the Missingmen trio), albums from his side project bands (Dos and Spielgusher) released this year, and the book On and Off Bass, it’s easier to ask what isn’t new. That would be the former Minutemen leader’s legendary skills and scruffy persona. He’ll forever jam econo. With Victory and Associates, Jokes for Feelings Wed/7, 9pm, $15 Bottom of the Hill 1233 17th St., SF www.bottomofthehill.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66HCBt9F8vA
The Glowing Stars Local pop chiptune duo the Glowing Stars is powering down. For this, its final show, the Game Boy-led 8-bit Stars will play alongside fellow gamers crashfaster, string metalllers Judgement Day and headlining sci-fi garage-punkers the Phenomenauts. Perhaps the breakup is just a kill screen, and we’ll see Glowing Stars again in another life. Thu/8, 8pm, $15 DNA Lounge 375 11th St., SF www.dnalounge.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbhM45CV0pg
Maya Jane Coles “If London producer and DJ Maya Jane Coles has made a statement in her so far short and rapid ascension in the dance music world, it was with the title of her 2011 EP, Don’t Put Me in Your Box. Whether under her own name, dubstep alias Nocturnal Sunshine, or as part as dub duo She Is Danger, Coles has resisted the contrived hooks and familiar samples that promise EDM success, instead forging a path through deep house, delivering independent productions with her personal stamp on everything from vocals to visual design. Noted in the press for being both a breakthrough artist and still quite young, Coles is worth paying attention to as she prepares her eagerly awaited full-length album. “ Ryan Prendiville With Moniker, Brian Bejarano Thu/8, 9pm, $20 Monarch 101 Sixth St., SF (415) 284-9774 www.monarchsf.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2q7mbbBmSc
Tilly and the Wall You remember Tilly and the Wall – it has a tap dancer instead of a drummer? Yep, it’s back. A bit wilder, a smidgin darker, but as blissfully adorable as ever with Heavy Mood, its first new album in four years. The Omaha five-piece gained fame at the tail-end of the Saddle Creek bubble with hand-clapping, tap-dancing ballads. And the quintet showed up on the first season of the new 90210, performing at a sparkly party that devolved into cat fights, natch. Live, you’re hands will betray your brain and you’ll be patty-caking back to that tap-tap-tap stomp. With Icky Blossoms, Il Gato Thu/8, 8pm, $18 Great American Music Hall 859 O’Farrell, SF www.slimspresents.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7HjBr_QMXI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UyuGj6ta6A
High Places Friday’s going to be a tough choice, my friends. Here’s one of a few shows you should seriously consider: truly original, experimental LA electro duo High Places will be doing a live set. Plus, it’s also the official release party for Shock’s new 12-inch, Heaven. Push The Feeling with YR SKULL, epicsauce DJs Fri/9, 9pm, $5 (free before 10pm with RSVP) Underground SF 424 Haight, SF Facebook: Push the Feeling https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t73J5fIkBg
Kitty Pryde Live meme/Florida rapper/Riff Raff collaborator/“rap game Taylor Swift”/teen dream. It’s Kitty Pryde, y’all, and the “Okay Cupid” web star is making her first Bay Area appearance tonight at #Y3K. Plus, she shares the spotlight with East Bay hip-hop duo Main Attrakionz, which just released a weed-smoker’s paradise of a new album, Bossalinis & Fooliyones. #Y3K with Hottub, Friendzone, Matrixxman, Marco de la Vega Fri/9, 10pm, $13, all ages DNA Lounge 375 11th St., SF www.dnalounge.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SDYus7iKC8
Die Antwoord Oh those freaky South African rappers, will they ever stop messing with our minds? Would we want them to? What seemed like a weirdo wormhole web-discovered flash on the screen has turned into an endearing live art project, full of eye-popping videos and bouncy, aggressive dance beats laced with tongue-rolling hip-hop flow and manic pixie trills, though Die Antwoord would likely spit on such a suggestion. And by the way, have you seen the video for “Fatty Boom Boom” – Die Antwoord’s response to Lady Gaga asking the trio to open for her on tour? With Azari & III, Seth Troxler, Paul Kalkbrenner, Nic Fanciulli Fri/9, 7pm, $49.50 Fox Theater 1807 Telegraph, Oakl. www.thefoxoakland.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIXUgtNC4Kc
La Sera “These jangly, melancholic pop songs might sound a bit familiar to you. Brooklyn singer-songwriter Katy Goodman, the woman behind La Sera, is also “Kickball Katy,” one third of the indie rock band Vivian Girls. This year’s Sees the Light is Goodman’s second solo release under the La Sera moniker. It’s a rollicking break-up album that leaves you, after many powerfully emotional highs and lows, feeling not downtrodden, but empowered. Layers of distorted sound create a dreamy, escapist pop landscape, at times blurring the lines between pop and punk rock. La Sera is one of the first indie artists to perform at the Chapel, the Mission’s brand new music venue.” — Haley Zaremba Sat/10, 9:30pm, $10 Preservation Hall West at the Chapel 777 Valencia, SF www.thechapelsf.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a70zvIOuxR0
The scents of burning sage and copal were thick in the Mission on Friday night for the neighborhood’s annual procession and Dia de los Muertos festival of altars. Crowds in face paint and costumes lined the streets waiting for the march to begin. To our suprise, a group of calaveras-painted faces led by several drummers jumped the gun, marching down 24th Street before the official procession surged from the other direction with its Aztec dancers, live music by percussion champions Loco Bloco, and skeletons made of fabric and paper floating above the crowd.
One audience member remarked that the festival seemed disorganized, but really, the atmosphere of chaos and revelry was perfect.
Dia de Los Muertos honors death through celebration rather than mourning, and the unsystematic nature of the Mission’s festivities framed the atmosphere as a way to reflect on death throught the lens of life (just like those skeletons that jumped above their living and breathing makers’ heads.)
After the procession, the crowds mixed in with the band to dance their way into Garfield Park for the festival of the altars. There was a wide array of tributes in the park, each carefully planned and grounded with a sense of ritual, from traditional homages to Burning Man-esque art experiences.
Some altars were modern. One, a tribute to recently-deceased playwright and Man arsonist Paul Addis had neon lights in addition to candles and Boba Fett helmet to represent a skull. Others were entirely traditional: old photos, food offerings, papel picado, marigolds. Those who hadn’t prepared altars were invited to write to lost loved ones on notecards, which were strung together between the trees. Despite being a space for sober reflection, the energy stayed strong throughout the evening with double-dutch jump rope, flamenco dancers, scattered musicians, and continuous dancing in the street that lasted until bands got tired and marched everyone out.
The mailer uses pictures of Olague and Julian Davis — and that alone is a not-so-subtle attack on Olague. Davis has lost all credibility in the race, thanks to a string of allegations that he groped women.
It then goes after the two for “support [ing] a $20 million taxpayer giveaway to Big Oil.” The utterly misleading line is based on Olague’s vote to support Clean Power SF, a community choice aggregation program that has the support of public power advocates all over California.
Olague’s not supporting Shell Oil; she just realized, as did a supermajority of the board (including both left stalwarts David Campos and John Avalos and the far more conservative Scott Wiener) that the program makes sense for San Francisco and will lead in the long term to much greater energy self-reliance. The only ones putting out the Shell Oil line are PG&E and its house union, IBEW Local 1245.
Oh, and now a group that supposedly advocates for domestic violence victims.
This is a disgrace, an embarassment to the district and the city. Ron Conway and Thomas Coates are attacking Olague because they’re afraid she’ll vote against their development and landlord interests, not because they care about domestic violence.
Walking to the Brick and Mortar Music Hall on Halloween night for the Nobunny show, I was disappointed by how few costumed people were roaming the streets of San Francisco. Doesn’t anyone have time for fun anymore? Turns out I need not have worried. My Halloween-loving peers pulled through, turning the small, darkened venue into a veritable haunted house full of Jedi, devils, skeletons, cats, and so much more.
After dancing and moshing through four punk-and surf-tinged opening bands, the sold-out crowd was dripping with sweat, facepaint was a distant memory, and bruises were already beginning to materialize. Despite long delays between sets and fast-flowing booze, the crowd stayed amazingly positive for a Halloween punk show. When Nobunny still hadn’t come on by one in the morning, instead of growing tired and restless, the crowd seemed only to be getting more excited — and very, very drunk.
Still riding the high from Shannon and the Clams’ awesome, hits-heavy Misfits set — Oakland’s Shannon Shaw makes a better Danzig than Danzig — the crowd was ready and rowdy when Nobunny finally crawled onto the stage on all fours. His tangled hair, creepy, matted mask, and single scissorhand (a la Edward) looked quite at home in the costumed crowd. Barefoot, he hopped around the stage in a frenzy, bouncing, gyrating, howling, and snarling at the audience.
One moment I was watching some girls in the front row spank Nobunny’s cutoff-covered behind, and then after looking away for no more than two seconds, I turned around to see the infamously clothing-optional artist crouching on the stage in nothing but a moth-eaten sweater. Barely acknowledging his state of undress, Nobunny continued his commanding performance and full-body dance spasms.
Charging around the stage, phallus flopping, Nobunny made sure that this would be a Halloween to remember. Even though his was one of the shortest sets of the night, sadly clocking in at only about 30 minutes, Nobunny made every song count. He ripped through Halloween favorites like “Purple People Eater,” “The Monster Mash,” and “Ghostbusters” with lightning-charged energy. His husky, growled vocals lent a welcome grunge tinge to the classic tunes, and the audience responded gratefully, dancing and slamming into each other with renewed vigor.
About six songs in, he rasped, “This is our last song. It’s called, uh…any requests?” After a playful argument with audience members and a lot of name calling, the band charged through one final song before Nobunny shouted “Happy Halloween!” and hopped off the stage and out into Mission Street, leaving his pants behind.
Pack up the leftover Halloween candy and head to the movies this weekend — what better way to escape election-related craziness and/or rest your liver after all that LET’S GO GIANTS damage you just did?
Your options are pretty spectacular, as well: intriguing Israeli doc The Flat, in which a Jewish filmmaker learns his grandparents counted a Nazi couple among their social circle (my interview with director Arnon Goldfinger here); bonkers 1987 rock ‘n’ roll taekwondo spectacular Miami Connection (Dennis Harvey’s take on this newly discovered instant cult classic here)
Plus, RZA’s The Man With The Iron Fists, an homage to chopsocky classics (with, I’m assuming, a much better soundtrack); Denzel Washington playing an airline pilot whose secret drinking problem comes to light only after he prevents a plane from crash landing in Flight; and Deep Dark Canyon, a NorCal-set thriller by former locals Silver Tree and Abe Levy starring Ted Levine.
And that’s not even the end of it! Read on for video game characters run amok, two found-footage horror flicks, a musically-inclined Pacific Film Archive program, tributes to Tony Bennett (speaking of the Giants) and Monty Python’s Graham Chapman, and, I kid you not … even more.
Amber Alert An audition tape for The Amazing Race quickly turns into an epic chase in this low-budget “found footage” drama. Arizona BFFs Nate (Chris Hill) and Sam (Summer Bellessa, wife of director Kerry Bellessa) — and Sam’s teenage brother, shaky-cam operator Caleb (Caleb Thompson) — notice they’re driving behind the very Honda that’s being sought by an Amber Alert. “Following at a safe distance,” as advised when they call the cops, leads to high-decibel arguments about how to handle the situation — and for the next hour-plus, the viewer is trapped in a car with two people communicating only in nails-on-chalkboard tones. Amber Alert‘s nonstop bickerfest is so tiresome that it’s actually a relief when the child molester character starts taking an active role in the story. Not a good sign. (1:20) (Cheryl Eddy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctkkn1qSYKw
The BayTop-quality (i.e., realistically repulsive) special effects highlight this otherwise unremarkable disaster movie that’s yet another “found footage” concoction, albeit maybe the first one from an Oscar-winning director. But it’s been a long time since 1988’s Rain Man, and the Baltimore-adjacent setting is the only Barry Levinson signature you’ll find here. Instead, parasites-gnaw-apart-a-coastal-town drama The Bay — positioned as a collection of suppressed material coming to light on “Govleaks.org” — is a relentlessly familiar affair, further hampered by a narrator (Kether Donohue) with a supremely grating voice. Rising star Christopher Denham (Argo) has a small part as an oceanographer whose warnings about the impending waterborne catastrophe are brushed aside by a mayor who is (spoiler alert!) more concerned with tourist dollars than safety. (1:25) (Cheryl Eddy)
“Don’t Shoot the Player Piano: The Music of Conlon Nancarrow” The late Texarkana-born composer’s birth centenary is celebrated in this two-part (Fri/2 and Sun/4) program of films examining his unique contribution to 20th century music. Frustrated early on by the inability of standard musicians to play his incredibly complicated scores, he turned to composing for player pianos, with their greatly heightened capacity for producing density of notes and rhythms. A member of the American Communist Party, he returned from fighting fascists in the Spanish Civil War to discover the U.S. government had revoked the passports of many citizens with similar political convictions. As a result, in 1940 he moved to Mexico, where he remained until his death 57 years later — his reputation remaining an underground musicologists’ secret until the early 1980s, in large part due to his disinterest in fame and dislike of crowds (he’d always avoided any gathering of over five people). But in his last years he became much more widely known, thanks in large part to fans like fellow composer Gyorgy Ligeti, who in one documentary here calls him “the most important composer of our time,” comparing him to Beethoven and saying “his work is completely, totally different from [his contemporaries].” Among the movies screening are Uli Aumuller and Hanne Kaisik’s 1993 German Music for 1,000 Fingers, in which the reclusive, elderly subject allows us into his studio to explain his (still somewhat inexplicable) methodologies. The brand-new, hour-long Conlon Nancarrow: Virtuoso of the Player Piano offers a posthumous appreciation of his life, music and influence. It’s a first film from James Greeson, a professor of music at the University of Arkansas who knew the man himself. Also featured are several international shorts that provide interpretive visual complements to Nancarrow pieces. His widow and daughter, as well as kinetic sculptor Trimpin and composer-former KPFA music director Charles Amirkhanian will appear at both PFA programs. Pacific Film Archive.(Dennis Harvey)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXFOYmsYCTA
A Late Quartet Philip Seymour Hoffman is fed up playing second fiddle — literally. He stars in this grown-up soap opera about the internal dramas of a world-class string quartet. While the group is preparing for its 25th season, the eldest member (Christopher Walken) is diagnosed with early stage Parkinson’s. As he’s the base note in the quartet, his retirement challenges the group’s future, not just his own. Hoffman’s second violinist sees the transition as an opportunity to challenge the first violin (Mark Ivanir) for an occasional Alpha role. When his wife, the quartet’s viola player (Catherine Keener), disagrees, it’s a slight (“You think I’m not good enough?”) and a betrayal because prior to their marriage, viola and first violin would ”duet” if you get my meaning. This becomes a grody aside when Hoffman and Keener’s violin prodigy daughter (Imogen Poots) falls for her mother’s old beau and Hoffman challenges their marriage with a flamenco dancer. These quiet people finds ways to use some loud instruments (a flamenco dancer, really?) and the music as well as the views of Manhattan create a deeply settled feeling of comfort in the cold —insulation can be a dangerous thing. When we see (real world) cellist Nina Lee play, and her full body interacts with a drama as big as vaudeville, we see what tension was left out of the playing and forced into the incestuous “family” conflicts. In A Late Quartet, pleasures are great and atmosphere, heavy. You couldn’t find a better advertisement for this symphonic season; I wanted to buy tickets immediately. And also vowed to stay away from musicians. (1:45) (Sara Vizcarrondo)
A Liar’s Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python’s Graham Chapman Blessed with recordings made by Monty Python member Graham Chapman (King Arthur in 1975’s Monty Python and the Holy Grail; Brian in 1979’s Life of Brian) before his death in 1989 from cancer, filmmakers Bill Jones, Jeff Simpson, and Ben Timlett recruited 14 different animation studios to piece together Chapman’s darkly humorous (and often just plain dark) life story. He was gay, he was an alcoholic, he co-wrote (with John Cleese) the legendary “Dead Parrot Sketch.” A Liar’s Autobiography starts slowly — even with fellow Monty Python members Cleese, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, and Michael Palin lending their voices, much of the bone-dry humor falls disappointingly flat. “This is not a Monty Python film,” the filmmakers insist, and viewers hoping for such will be disappointed. Stick with it, though, and the film eventually finds its footing as an offbeat biopic, with the pick-a-mix animation gimmick at its most effective when illustrating Chapman’s booze-fueled hallucinations. In addition to opening theatrically, the film also debuts Fri/2 on premium cable channel Epix. (1:22) (Cheryl Eddy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIIMFHcC1Fc
The Loneliest Planet Travel broadens, they say — and has a way of foregrounding anxiety and desire. So the little tells take on a larger, much more loaded significance in The Loneliest Planet when contextualized by the devastatingly beautiful Caucasus Mountains in Georgia. In this film by Russian American director and video artist Julia Loktev, adventuring, engaged Westerners Nica (an ethereal Hani Furstenberg) and Alex (Gael García Bernal) hire a local guide and war veteran (Bidzina Gujabidze) to lead them on a camping trip through the wilderness. They’re globe-trotting blithe spirits, throwing themselves into new languages and new experiences, though the harsh, hazardous, and glorious Georgian peaks and crevasses have a way of making them seem even smaller while magnifying their weaknesses and naiveté. One small, critical stumble on their journey is all it takes for the pair to question their relationship, their roles, and the solid ground of their love. Working with minimal dialogue (and no handlebar subtitles) from a Tom Bissell short story, Loktev shows a deliberate hand and thoughtful eye in her use of the space, as well as her way of allowing the silences to speak louder than dialogue: she turns the outdoor expanses into a quietly awe-inspiring, albeit frightening mirror for the distances between, and emptiness within, her wanderers, uncertain about how to quite find their way home. (1:53) (Kimberly Chun)
The Other SonThe plot of ABC Family’s Switched at Birth gets a politically-minded makeover in Lorraine Lévy’s The Other Son, in which the mixed-up teens represent both sides of the Israel-Palestine conflict. When mop-topped wannabe rocker Joseph (Jules Sitruk) dutifully signs up for Israeli military duty, the required blood test reveals he’s not the biological son of his parents. Understandably freaked out, his French-Israeli mother (Emmanuelle Devos) finds out that a hospital error during a Gulf War-era evacuation meant she and husband Alon (Pascal Elbé) went home with the wrong infant — and their child, aspiring doctor Yacine (Medhi Dehbi), was raised instead by a Palestinian couple (Areen Omari, Khalifia Natour). It’s a highly-charged situation on many levels (“Am I still Jewish?”, a tearful Joseph asks; “Have fun with the occupying forces?”, Yacine’s bitter brother inquires after his family visits Joseph in Tel Aviv), and potential for melodrama is sky-high. Fortunately, director and co-writer Levy handles the subject with admirable sensitivity, and the film is further buoyed by strong performances. (1:53) (Cheryl Eddy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCD00LLZmys
A Simple Life When elderly Ah Tao (Deanie Ip), the housekeeper who’s served his family for decades, has a stroke, producer Roger (Andy Lau) pays for her to enter a nursing home. No longer tasked with caring for Roger, Ah Tao faces life in the cramped, often depressing facility with resigned calm, making friends with other residents (some of whom are played by nonprofessional actors) and enjoying Roger’s frequent visits. Based on Roger Lee’s story (inspired by his own life), Ann Hui’s film is well-served by its performances; Ip picked up multiple Best Actress awards for her role, Lau is reliably solid, and Anthony Wong pops up as the nursing home’s eye patch-wearing owner. Wong’s over-the-top cameo doesn’t quite fit in with the movie’s otherwise low-key vibe, but he’s a welcome distraction in a film that can be too quiet at times — a situation not helped by its washed-out palette of gray, beige, and more gray. (1:58) (Cheryl Eddy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87E6N7ToCxs
Wreck-It RalphWreck-It Ralph cribs directly from the Toy Story series: when the lights go off in the arcade, video game characters gather to eat, drink, and endure existential crises. John C. Reilly is likable and idiosyncratic as Ralph, the hulking, ham-fisted villain of a game called Fix-It-Felix. Fed up with being the bad guy, Ralph sneaks into gritty combat sim Hero’s Duty under the nose of Sergeant Calhoun (Jane Lynch), a blond space marine who mixes Mass Effect‘s Commander Shepard with a PG-rated R. Lee Ermey. Things go quickly awry, and soon Ralph is marooned in cart-racing candyland Sugar Rush, helping Vanellope Von Schweetz (a manic Sarah Silverman), with Calhoun and opposite number Felix (Jack McBrayer) hot on his heels. Though often aggressively childish, the humor will amuse kids, parents, and occasionally gamers, and the Disney-approved message about acceptance is moving without being maudlin. The animation, limber enough to portray 30 years of changing video game graphics, deserves special praise. (1:34) (Ben Richardson)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLxP8snjdGc
The Zen of Bennett Landing somewhere between a glorified album making-of and a more depthed exploration, this documentary about famed crooner Tony of “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” fame shows him recording last year’s all-standards Duets II disc. His vocal collaborators are an eclectic — to say the least — mix of mostly much younger artists including Norah Jones, John Mayer, Carrie Underwood, Willie Nelson, and Andrea Bocelli. Some pairings are clearly a matter of commerce over chemistry, while others surprise — Lady Gaga is better than you might expect, while Aretha Franklin is certainly worse. Most touching as well as disturbing is his session with the late Amy Winehouse, whose nervous, possibly hopped-up appearance occasions his most gentlemanly behavior, as well as genuine admiration for her talent. (Others on the record, including Mariah Carey and k.d. lang, do not appear here.) Unjoo Moon’s rather mannered direction includes little displays of temperament from the octogenarian star, and glimpses of his family life (which extends well into his work life, since they all seem to be on the payroll), but just enough to tease — not enough to provide actual insight. Still, fans will find this less than-definitive portrait quite satisfying enough on its own limited terms. (1:24) (Dennis Harvey)
The attack on Sup. Christina Olague, funded by a couple of right-wing billionaires, is in full swing in District 5, with mailers, robocalls, a social-media buy and even TV ads. It’s a disgraceful effort to buy an election in the final week, a flood of sleaze that’s outrageous even by modern political standards.
On the surface, the PAC called San Francisco Women for Responsibility and an Accountable Supervisor is talking about domestic violence. One mailer features a woman whose daughter was killed by an abuser saying she is “appaled” that Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi still has his job — and that Olague voted not to throw him out. A 60-second TV ad features Ivory Madison, the Mirkarimi neighbor whose video was the centerpiece of the campaign to oust the sheriff.
But the PAC is entirely funded by Ron Conway, his wife Gayle, and Thomas Coates. Conway hasn’t been a leading voice on domestic violence issues, and neither has Coates — they are business people who are primarily interested in making money. In the case of Conway, he’s someone who has publicly announced that he wants to “take San Francisco back” from progressives and install more big-business-friendly politicians at City Hall. Coates is a real-estate investor who has spent a lot of time and money fighting to limit tenant-protection laws.
Why are these two so interested in the D5 race? Well, in an email, Conway told me that “the Committee that my wife Gayle and other women, including longtime anti-domestic violence advocates, have formed and that I and others support exists solely to oppose Christina Olague because she put her own politics ahead of women and the victims and survivors of domestic abuse.”
But it’s eminently clear that there’s a larger agenda here, that the wealthy donors are using the domestic violence issue to get rid of a supervisor who they see as not sufficiently friendly to their economic interests. And there’s probably a bit of payback involved: Olague defied the mayor with her Mirkarimi vote — and while a lot of observers still say this was all a setup to demonstrate her independence in time for the election, Conway, one of the mayor’s closest allies and advisors, clearly didn’t get that message.
Coates lives in Los Angeles. Conway lives in Pacific Heights. Neither of them has any connection the D5 — except for their desire to get rid of Olague. They’ve taken a real, serious issue — domestic violence — and used it to their own political advantage.
We haven’t endorsed Olague, but we know a shady scam when we see one, and that’s exactly what this is. The voters of District 5 should reject this kind of outside-influence politics and not let a couple of billionaires decide the future of their the city.
District 1 supervisorial candidate David Lee and independent expenditure campaigns supporting him have spent nearly $800,000 – shattering previous spending records for a district election – bombarding Richmond District voters with a barrage of mailers and other media pushing a variety of claims and criticisms about incumbent Sup. Eric Mar that sometimes stretch credulity and relevance.
But is it working? Or is the avalanche of arguments – much of it funded by “big money from Realtors, Landlords, and Downtown Special Interests,” as a recent Mar mailer correctly notes – feeding speculation that Lee would do the bidding of these powerful players on the Board of Supervisors?
Mar campaign manager Nicole Derse thinks that’s the case, arguing the Lee campaign would have leaked internal polls to the media if they were favorable, and it wouldn’t be escalating its attacks on so many fronts hoping for traction, such as yesterday’s press conference hitting Mar on the issue of neighborhood schools.
“They’re pretty desperate at this point and throwing anything out there that they can,” Derse told us, later adding, “I feel good, but we really have to keep the fire up.”
Mar and the independent groups supporting him, mostly supported by the San Francisco Labor Council, have together spent about $400,000. Most of the mailers have been positive, but many have highlighted Lee’s political inexperience and his connections to big-money interests, raising questions about his claims to support tenants and rent control.
Lee campaign manager Thomas Li, who has been unwilling to answer our questions throughout the campaign, did take down some Guardian questions this time and said he’d get us answers, but we haven’t heard back. On the issue of why the Realtors and other groups who seek to weaken tenant protections were supporting Lee, Li simply said, “Our position has been steadfast on protecting rent control and strengthening tenant protections.”
The Lee campaign has repeated that on several mailers – possibly indicating it is worried about that issue and the perception that Lee’s election would give landlords another vote on the board, as tenant and other progressive groups have argued – but most of its mailers recently have attacked Mar on a few issues where they must believe he is vulnerable, even when they distort his record.
Several mailers have noted Mar’s support for a city budget that included funding for a third board aide for each of the 11 supervisors – a budget the board unanimously approved – as well as his support for public campaign financing, despite the fact that Lee’s campaign has taken more than $150,000 in public financing in this election, 30 percent more than Mar’s. They have also criticized Mar for supporting the 8 Washington high-end condo project, even though Lee also voted for the project as a member of the Recreation and Parks Commission.
As this Ethics Commission graphic shows, Lee has been by far the biggest recipient of independent expenditures in this election cycle, with hundreds of thousands of dollars coming from the downtown-funded Alliance for Jobs and Sustainable Growth and the Realtor-created Citizens for Responsible Growth.
Mar and his allies have hit back with mailers noting that most of the funding for the Chinese American Voter Education Project, Lee’s main political and communications vehicle in recent years, has simply gone to pay his $90,000-plus annual salary, which he didn’t fully report on financial disclosure forms required of city commissioners. They have also hit Lee for his support for the Recreation and Parks Department’s closure of recreation centers and other cuts while he “consistently supported privatization of our parks.”
At this point, it’s hard to know how this flood of information and back-and-forth attacks will influence District 1 voters, but we’re now days away from finding out.
It was a mix of pre-Incan Moche, Tumblr-ready Pikachu, Satanic Barbie, and Catholic imagery — in other words, the essential Bay Arean celebration of Dia de los Muertos (check our complete listings for a guide to all the altars, drums, and processionals this year.)
Yesterday’s opening reception of “Fluorescent Virgins”at SF State’s Cesar Chavez Student Centerfeatured more traditional trappings of the holiday as well: papel picado flower-making, a wall of memorials written by exhibition attendees, food for days. The show was brought to light by curator and altar-maker Colblos, a.k.a. Pilar Gordillo, a.k.a. a visual arts student at the university. The altars, by Dick Van Dick, Maga Sama (Gabriela Sanchez), Unbear (Hannah Birch Carl), La Pinta (Ivana Pinto), and M.E.Ch.A. (Movimiento Estudiantil Chican@ de Aztlán), will be on view through Nov. 8, which gives you plenty of time to make your way to the M-Ocean View.
I don’t know about you, San Francisco, but after the orange-and-black, champagne-and-candy-corn geyser that the past week has been, I’m ready for a little sobriety, a little quiet reflection, and a lot of community-crafted art (that vagina costume I saw walking down South Van Ness the other day notwithstanding.)
Thank goodness, the next few days are full of lovely Dia de los Muertos moments, and collections of altars honoring those who have passed continue to pop up in more and more places. I’ll even give up on harping on facepainted gringos for a moment. The Bay’s way may not be exactly how the holiday is celebrated in Mexico — but we have created a unique tradition of our own.
“Fluorescent Virgins”
“I realized we don’t talk about death, don’t bring the subject to surface even though we are extremely vulnerable to it,” SF State student Pilar Gordillo told me when I asked her why she was organizing a Dia de los Muertos altar exhibition. The resulting assemblage of shrines by six artists pays homage to passed loved ones, but with a distinctly contemporary patina, bringing the Day of the Dead celebrations all the way out to the Park Merced campus.
Through Nov. 8. Opening reception: Thu/1 5-8pm, free. SF State Cesar Chavez Student Art Center, 1650 Holloway, SF. Facebook: Fluorescent Virgins
Supper of the Souls
Raise money for the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts at a three-course meal in this neo-taqueria. On the menu are chicken with mole colorado, tamales, empanadas, arroz con leche, pan de muertos, and walls bearing art by the man who made La Catarina who she is today, turn-of-the-20th-century Mexican cartoonist Jose Guadalupe Posada.
We love father-son team Rio and Rene Yañez, and the artistic duo’s curatorial powers shine at the yearly SOMArts altar exhibition. The cavernous main gallery of the arts center is turned into an atmospheric labyrinth of multimedia tributes to the dead, with some altars large enough to enter, sit down, and meditate on the fleeting nature of life.
Through Nov. 10. SOMArts Cultural Center, 934 Brannan, SF. (415) 863-1414, www.somarts.org
Los Lupeños de San José
The dancers may not be spinning in full white-and-black face, but this edition of City Hall’s free dance series will teach you more about authentic Mexican culture than many of the other events on this list. This Latino troupe has been twirling its skirts since 1969, benefiting from cheorography and mentorship from dance teachers both here and south of the border.
Fri/2 noon, free. SF City Hall rotunda, 1 Dr. Carlton Goodlett Pl., SF. www.dancersgroup.org
North Berkeley Day of the Dead
Bay Area Day of the Dead: not just for the Mission anymore. This year, you can play La Catrina in the burgeoning restaurant district of North Berkeley — or, if you’re not just looking for an excuse to wear facepaint, view altars and mourn those who have recently passed with a candle and your community in the somber night-time processional.
Fri/2 community altars: 5-7:30pm; candle-lit procession 7:45-9pm, free. Shattuck and Rose, Berk. www.gourmetghetto.org
“Death on Installment/La Muerte En Plan de Pagos”
We love the Mission Cultural Center’s ability to push dialogue forward when it comes to Latino art, and this year’s Day of the Dead exhibition curated by Maurizzio Hector Pineda promises to continue its tradition of excellence deeply rooted in community. Wander the colorful displays, check out Aztec dancers, maybe even make a mask while the Mission roils around you in Muerto fesitivities.
Through Nov. 17. Gala reception: Fri/2 6:30-10pm, $5. Mision Cultural Center for Latino Arts, 2868 Mission, SF. www.missioncultural.org
Pre-procession sugar skull workshop
Galeria de la Raza was the original center of the Mission’s Dia de los Muertos celebrations, so it only makes sense that you would come here before this year’s procession begins to celebrate with the neighbors. The gallery has been holding workshops teaching the finer points of refined sugar artistry all through October — whip up a sugar skull of your own real quick on this day of Catarina and candle.
There’s no denying that the community-led, candle-lit procession and park full of homemade altars can be breathtakingly lovely. Arrive early at Garfield Park to tiptoe around meticulously, sometimes even extravagantly decorated tributes to dead family members and public figures. Add a note of your own to the interactive exhibits, and await the arrival of the costumed procession, whose inevitable approximations of La Catrina are a distinctly San Franciscan way of celebrating the holiday. The all-ages percussion group Loco Bloco will be massing up at 5:30pm in front of Brava Theater (2781 24th St., SF) if you’re looking for the hot spot for skeleton beats, and to get your face painted.
Fri/2 Procession: 6-7pm, free. Starts at Bryant and 22nd St., SF; festival of altars: 6-11pm, free. Garfield Park, Harrison and 26th St., SF. www.dayofthedeadsf.org
SF Symphony Dia de los Muertos community concert
Is a skeleton a xylophone or a marimba? You can bet your sweet sugar skull there’ll be an ocean of chromatic bones, dancing akimbo, at the vibrant annual celebration of the afterlife. The family favorite boasts performances from the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra (playing Aaron Copland’s El Salón México and Jose Pablom Moncayo’s Huapango), dance company Los Lupeños de San José, Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlán, and more, all narrated by the twinkling Luis Valdez, “father of Chicano theater.” Face painting, paper flower-making, tons of colorful art, and a pre-show by the Mixcoatl Anahuac Aztec dancers, the 30th Street Chorus, and the Solera singers boost the fun — but really they had us at cinnamon-infused Mexican hot chocolate and pan de muerto. (Marke B.)
Sat/3 2pm, $17.50–$68. Davies Symphony Hall, 401 Van Ness, SF. (415) 864-1000, www.sfsymphony.org
Returning to my beloved New Orleans, a city I’ve explored extensively via a path laden with jazz, Dixieland, Zydeco, Ramos Gin Fizzes, Sazeracs, Cajun and Creole food, there were ever more finds, both new and classic. The sweltering humid heat of July during Tales of the Cocktail is not ideal weather to fill up on po boys and boudin, but I managed, and in so doing, savored more of the soul of this most soulful of places.
Though I returned to modern day favorites like Cochon (rabbit and dumplings, boudin and fried alligator, thank you) or ordered appetizers and drinks at the bar at brand new Criollo in the Hotel Monteleone, following are restaurants I’d add to my already long, Nola neighborhood lists – and only one real disappointment.
Visiting six new hot openings this trip, Maurepas Foods, open since the beginning of the year, was easily the best. I approached the restaurant in the midst of a warm, sultry downpour of summer rain in the mellow, ruggedly hip Bywater neighborhood. Maurepas offers high value (everything is $3-17) in gourmet, quality food prepared with care – of the caliber I’m used to at home in SF. It’s also more playful and forward-thinking than higher priced restaurants around town. Salvaged chandeliers, reclaimed woods, the rustic look of a former printing house, all fit in the neighborhood, while the space is colorful, bright with windows, peaceful during late afternoon. Cocktails shine, artisan but affordable – more on that next issue when I cover the latest in Nola cocktails.
Chef-owner Michael Doyle (formerly of Uptown’s Dante’s Kitchen), keeps the food as funky and fun as the artwork lining the walls with his already beloved goat tacos ($8) accompanied by pickled green tomatoes and cilantro harissa on housemade tortillas. I get good goat tacos at home in Cali. and these are winners. A special of the day, lightly fried soft shell crab, feels nearly decadent in creamy curry, while Summer is glorified in peaches and peppers ($8) tossed in lemon balm with mint and coriander. A green onion sausage ($8) from Mid-City deli favorite Terranova is grilled, served alongside arancini (fried Italian rice balls) and figs with black pepper mustard.
I left Maurepas aglow from the hospitable service, confident I’d eaten at what is not just the Crescent City’s best new restaurant, but one of Nola’s best overall, downhome as it is refreshingly current.
Like any great regional dish, few agree on who makes it best. Which is why, when it comes to po boy sandwiches in New Orleans, I have to a try a few each visit, checking off the long list of those commonly deemed “best” (past favorites include Domilise’s). This trip, I learned from a local while riding the St. Charles streetcar that longtime Parasol’s owners had moved nearby to Tracey’s Irish Restaurant due to a rent hike, the local said. I rerouted there for a hearty (if a bit dry, despite being “dressed”) beef po boy. Nearby, I also visited the adorable Grocery (not to be confused with legendary Central Grocery in the Quarter) known for their “pressed po boys”, or basically panini. Though I loved the friendly sandwich shop, I couldn’t help but wish for a real Cubano when trying their Cuban sandwich.
But the top po boy thus far – of any of my New Orleans visits – may be obvious: I finally made it to Mid-City’s Parkway Bakery & Tavern. A classic since 1911, po boys have been served here since 1929. Lines are long (and slow) with plenty of menu items. But it’s the Parkway Surf & Turf ($8.10/11.30), slow cooked roast beef and fried shrimp in gravy, that’s a game changer. A local tipped me off to this one, rightly affirming there’s no reason to choose beef or shrimp po boys when you can have both. Adding remoulade and horseradish from the condiments table, I avoided the dryness that seems to plague many a beloved po boy. I could not stop sighing in ecstatic glee with each meaty, shrimp-y bite.
Setting outshines the food, at least at Sunday brunch, but sweet service and friendly locals who chatted with me as I dined solo with a book, a bourbon milk punch and chicory coffee, made my meal at the new Redemption in Mid-City a rewarding excursion via streetcar.
The striking, converted church setting is certainly the main attraction. High ceilings, wood rafters, and a stained glass glow imparted a lasting impression, although alligator sausage on waffles ($9 starter) could be amazing if perfected. Pricier dinner entrees ($22-$33) run the seafood to steak gamut with New Orleans influence.
If you’re hitting up Parkway Tavern or Redemption in Mid-City, classic ice cream parlor, Angelo Brocato, is not a far trek from either.
Though I find flavors more interesting at La Divinia Gelateria, Creole Creamery or Sucre, I love Angelo Brocato’s history as a family-run, Sicilian sweets outpost since 1906. Refreshing mint ice cream soothes on an oppressive Summer day.
Even if the name SoBou (refering to South of Bourbon Street) feels forced, this newcomer (opened in July just a couple weeks before I twice visited) from New Orleans’ restaurant legends (Commander’s Palace Family of Restaurants) shows promise of succeeding on numerous fronts. Though the place can get obnoxiously loud, it’s multi-roomed, casual, festive, whether at individual or communal tables. A friendly bar staff, run by bar chef Abigail Gullo from NYC, beer taps actually at individual tables in the front room (dangerous!), and a menu from executive chef/partner Tory McPhail and Juan Carols Gonzalez are all reasons to go.
I’ll highlight cocktails next issue, but on the food front, playfulness reigns with blessedly local touches, like a Cajun queso ($5), essentially a pimento cheese fondue with pork cracklins’ to dip, and crispy oyster tacos ($7), a delight of fried oysters, compressed pineapple ceviche, mirliton (aka chayote or pear squash, the poster child of Southern vegetables), and Cajun ghost pepper caviar. The best bite of all? Butternut duck “debris” beignets in chicory coffee ganache with foie gras fondue. Ridiculous.
My initial take is SoBou works best as a bar hangout (cocktails or beer) with crowd-pleasing bites and with its convenient locale and all day hours it’s just what the Quarter needed. Sustainable Louisiana Seafood: Borgne
Obviously all of John Besh’s restaurants can’t be August http://www.theperfectspotsf.com/wp02/2010/09/15/wandering-traveler-34/… nor would I want them to be. The great New Orleans’ chef‘s latest is Borgne, with Executive Chef Brian Landry in the kitchen. It’s a bustling, almost cafeteria-like ode to Louisiana seafood, sustainable whenever possible. While the place feels short of greatness and a couple dishes disappointed, it’s a fine lunch outpost for a beer or a solid cocktail and the likes of three deviled blue crabs ($20), hollowed out and stuffed with their own meat, or skewered duck (misleadingly called poppers – $9), wrapped in jalapeno and bacon.
For late night goose fat fries ($6) with satay peanut sauce for dipping, smoked salmon johnny cakes ($13), and flank steak bruschetta ($10), alongside a bar-length chalkboard marked with an array of beer, wine and spirits (Campari-based aperitifs are a good way to go here, like a Negroni or Americano), Delachaise, with its magical, white light-draped front patio, is a couple steps above a dive and an ideal nighttime hangout with friends in the Garden District.
Though I must be honest and say dry, bland crepes were a letdown, the clean, white design of 2011 newcomer Merchant in the CBD (Central Business District) makes for an inviting breakfast hangout. Serving Illy coffee, the space feels half chic Rome cafe, half Bay Area, as the design was, in fact, inspired by Apple in Silicon Valley.
Though Illy would be far from the most respected bean choice where I come from (more classic Italian chain than modern day coffee haven), what makes Merchant special as a coffee stop is that there’s nothing else around like it. Third Wave coffee hasn’t really hit New Orleans and though there is something strong to be said for a New Orleans iced coffee laced with chicory even from chains like PJs and Community Coffee, there’s a massive gap when it comes to sources for hardcore coffee aficionados. At least Merchant is trying to narrow the gap on the Italian side with a custom-build XP1 espresso machine and appropriately robust coffee.
Yesterday’s parade celebrating the Giants’ World Series sweep almost went down without a hitch, no thanks to a handful of inebriated miscreants. Among the estimated one million revelers that attended, the SFPD reports that 22 were arrested, including 13 for public drunkenness.Others were charged for robbery, battery and unlawful possession of a loaded firearm.
Yesterday’s violations, however, paled in comparison to the chaos that ensued after the final game on Sunday night, when even more arrests were made and major damage was done to the city. District Attorney George Gascón is prosecuting nine individuals detained in connection to the shenanigans that occurred around the city last weekend.
“What occurred last Sunday was inexcusable,” Gascón at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. “We want to send a clear message that we will prosecute all the cases presented to us, to the fullest extent of the law.”
The nine charged so far include eight men and one woman, all of them locals. “So far I believe everyone we have are San Francisco residents,” says Gascón.
Seven are charged with assaulting or threatening a peace officer. SFPD Officer Carlos Manfredi says two officers – whose names he could not release – suffered injuries after confrontations with rioters. “One suffered a hand injury and one suffered lacerations to the leg from a glass bottle that was thrown.”
Tomas Lunsford was arrested on charges of robbery after he allegedly stole a phone from a woman who was filming the celebration. He then allegedly punched her female friend while attempting to evade capture. Additional charges include resisting arrest with force, battery and arson of property.
The latest arrest associated with the carnage occurred Tuesday after police identified a man who was photographed shattering a Muni bus window. Gregory Tyler Grannis, 22, of San Francisco was detained on felony charges of vandalism and destroying a passenger transit vehicle. Police were led to him after tips from social media sites. Grannis is scheduled to be arraigned Friday.
The DA’s office has been presented with several other individuals who have yet to be reviewed. Gascón anticipates more violators will be charged in the coming days: “We expect additional cases, including cases involving damage to city vehicles.”
SFPD is currently investigating the torched Muni bus incident. On Wednesday, Police Chief Greg Suhr released cell phone video and photographs of two suspects wanted in connection with the arson of the bus. “We are now asking for public assistance in identifying these two arsonists and bringing them to justice,” Suhr said. Photos and video can be viewed at sf-police.org.
It is unknown what the ultimate cost of the damage from Sunday night’s chaos will be. City Attorney Dennis Herrera said that in addition to being charged criminally, public offenders will receive civil fines commensurate with their offenses. “I’m here to tell folks that you will be hit in your pocket book,” he says. “If you damage the city we will seek retribution and damages.”
Celebrations turned chaotic in North Beach and Downtown, but it was the Mission District that saw the most damage. Along Mission Street, 24th Street and Valencia Street vandals tagged several businesses, damaged public property and set fires. In a statement Monday, Mission District Supervisor David Campos said, “I have been in communication with the Department of Public Works and we are working closely to clean up the streets and help affected businesses.”
Polls aren’t perfect, but a lot of polls that come to the same conclusion are rarely wrong, at least not by much, and all the polling data suggests that in the critical swing states, Mitt Romney is SOL. Sure, the GOP camp is keeping up hope, but everyone knows that the odds are heavily in favor of the re-election of Barack Obama. In the spring of 2010, I bet on the Giants winning the World Series at 20-1 (nice payoff, that one), but I wouldn’t even take those odds on Romney today.
And since Hurricane Sandy has left Ohio and Pennsylvania relatively intact (no massive poll closures for lack of electrict power), and the voter-suppression laws have been put on hold by the courts, there’s really nothing game-changing available to Romney’s gang of crooks — except this.
I’m with the Wonkette folks — I don’t typically buy into the voting-machines-are-rigged-by-secret-Bain-operatives kinds of theories. But we all know the 2000 election was stolen, and I’m pretty sure that Willie Brown and his appointed elections chief, Tammy Haygood, did something fishy (maybe very fishy, judging by ballot boxes floating in the Bay) to prevent a public-power measure from passing in 2001. And we know that the voter ID laws were carefully designed to keep African Americans, Latinos, seniors and students away from the polls this fall. And we know that Romney’s backers are among the most powerful and secretive people in the world; if there really were groups like the Bilderbergs and the Masons running the world, Romney wouldn’t be allowed in the back rooms (too dumb) but his big-money allies would be there.
Could it be possible that somebody in Romneyland is going to try to pull a modern-day version of the hanging-chad caper?
We’d be fools not to think it’s on the agenda. Doesn’t mean they can pull it off (and seriously, if the president of the United States doesn’t have people who can monitor and put a check on this shit, then he doesn’t deserve the title). But if some of those swing states suddenly go all Florida, 2000 on us and start showing up red on the electoral map, it won’t be because of Obama’s college transcripts.
So go ahead, trolls, tell me how nuts I am. You’re probably right; everything’s going to be Just Fine.
Photographer Charles Russo walked 12 miles to snap these shots of our San Francisco Giants celebrating their World Series victory yesterday — on Halloween no less! Could it have been the most orange and black day ever, anywhere? The boys all looked good, but major props to pitcher Sergio Romo for his style sense.
