except for the sidebar, i try to keep presidential political commentary off this blog since it has little to do with urban san diego. but sarah palin's horrific interview with katie couric has inspired me to write a haiku summarizing her comments about russia. remember, republicans proclaim she has foreign policy experience because you can see russia from the state of alaska (seriously). her quote sounded like it was coming from miss south carolina. anyway, here's my lame haiku:
putin rears his head make sure that an eye is kept because they're right there
what's amazing about palin's candidacy is that nearly half the country actually thinks she'd make a great (vice) president. clearly it's not about intelligence or ability, but the fact that she has an interesting personal story, and is attractive. for example, the mother of one of our friends said she'll be voting mccain/palin because she likes how palin dresses, and didn't like hillary because of her pantsuits. i wonder if poor education causes people to make voting decisions based on irrelevant matters (e.g., "i'd like to have a beer with him") rather than taking the time to research a candidate's position on issues or judge their ability.
witness the interview carnage if you haven't already (and if it hasn't been pulled off youtube):
pizza fusion has been one of our favorite casual dining spots since it opened a few months ago. but it doesn't get much better than tonight when the city beat beer club threw one of their monthly beer giveaways there. as long as you signed up at the above promotion link, you could drink all the various stone brewing company beer that you wanted (tips appreciated of course). there were some other beers on tap too - something about "fruity" and "lemonade" to describe one, the other was fairly watery - but it's hard to beat being handed freshly-drawn stone IPA's as soon as you down one. even though the restaurant/bar was nearly full, there was no waiting for beer, and the personal pizza i ordered came up pretty fast too.
while i was waiting at the bar for jay to arrive, i made a new friend (who also works at SIO and went to university of delaware like me - weird!) who asked, "who makes money off this kind of thing?". indeed - whomever is footing the bill for us to all drink free beer, i thank you, and look forward to your future generosity! meanwhile i hear the reader is giving away free bibles to anyone who votes yes on prop 8 (kidding...).
we hit lotus thai for dinner afterwards since i shared most of my pizza, and it was as dead as pizza fusion was lively. ditto for dolce freddo, which had decent tart yogurt but a bland interior (shown below) with none of the personality of yog-art. we did notice that there's a "jack's on sixth" wine bar going in between dolce and lotus, but it's going to be tough to pull away the consistent big crowd at wine steals on university. still, this is turning into a diverse block of eateries, with ebisu sushi at the north end and yakitori still hanging in there to the south.
it sure was a good feeling to have street scene back downtown, and it was a bonus that it featured independent and electronic acts over its two nights. the smaller size of the festival was convenient in many ways. parking was a breeze, although we did arrive fairly early both days (tip for future years: park early and hit the bars before heading in). lines weren't an issue for the most part - getting in, porta-potties, etc. while the beer lines were pretty outrageous on the first night, you could enjoy the music and watch the video screens as you waited for your $6 10-ounce dos equis. and much like coachella the vibe was remarkably attitude-free, with people focusing on the music and having a good time.
attendance was decent for the first day, with large crowds for the main stage acts. but saturday had to be a disappointment for the promoters, including what seemed to be just a few hundred turning out for x's main stage set. while that could be explained by the young-skewing audience, other main stage acts we caught, such as the national and tegan and sara, couldn't have drawn more than a few thousand. instead, some of the tightest crowds (due to the smallish blocks their stages were on) and hottest sets for day 2 were found on the second-tier act casbah and zarabanda stages.
highlights and lowlights for street scene 2008, highlights first:
- spoon's solid set friday night, including powerful versions of "i turn my camera on", "don't make me a target", and "rhythm and soul", all of which benefited from a clear mix. - does it offend you, yeah?'s "we are rockstars", which closed their saturday set on the casbah stage, had the biggest crowd energy of the festival - not an easy feat given the low-key nature of san diego music-goers. - diplo, also at casbah, meshing everything from ac dc's "thunderstruck" to mia's "paper planes" with some lil' wayne tossed in. the crowd ate this set up too, plenty of folks dancing here. - "wolf like me" made an early appearance in tv on the radio's set, which was a good thing since lead singer tunde adibimpe's voice soon devolved into a ragged howl. - tokyo police club's tight set and creative song structures provided some of the most interesting music of the festival. - beck throwing the crowd off balance by opening with "loser" and delivering a mellowed version of "devil's haircut", unrecognizable to many until the chorus hit. and does this guy look more like tom petty every year or what? - ghostland observatory's tripped-out set - tons of dry ice and not a spotlight to be found, all the better for lead singer aaron behrens to belt out every track like it was his last, showing off an incredible range. - others: vampire weekend was the big hit among the young-un's, and their sunny pop was hard not to like; hot chip's upbeat set; del tha funkee homosapien adding some more hip hop to the mix; and the quiet power of the national's set.
lowlights:
- the aforementioned tiny crowd for x, witnessing whatever medicated state vocalist exene cervenka is in. props to the band for their tight playing however. - conversely, an absolutely ragged set by the hives - how can a drummer be that bad for a major touring act? - that was partially offset by frontman per almqvist's stage presence and banter. - the bad sound mix for devo's set, where it was impossible to hear anything other than mark mothersbaugh's voice within a one mile radius of their stage.
while i was disappointed in the saturday lineup going in, it actually featured a lot of high-quality music and surprisingly good sets by artists i hadn't heard (much) of - including those by del and atmosphere described above, while sts 9 hypnotized a cloudy crowd with their intense set at zarabanda.
there's something to be said for this smaller-scale festival back on the streets of san diego where it belongs. the petco tailgate lot was perfect for the main stage acts (and it's not going anywhere soon since that god-awful marriott hotel is kaput for now), and the side stages, while tight, were intimate and fun, tucked among the warehouses and slow-motion gentrification of the area. while the attendance figures will probably disappoint, so did the first coachella in 1999 - and we all know how successful that festival is today. looking at street scene's lineup, you could even argue it's been reborn as the child of coachella.
pics: tokyo police club:
hot women only for the hand-print tree, please:
new pornographers on the intimate zarabanda stage:
hot chip:
sts9 rolls on:
and the studio version of does it offend you yeah?'s high-energy point of the festival:
navybroadwaycomplex.com has gone live, and it has the upcoming public meeting schedule for feedback on their proposed project - the first one is saturday 9/27 at 10 am, 937 north harbor drive. as city beat points out today, it doesn't need to be all hotels, or maybe it does, unless you get out there and tell them otherwise. this is a defining area of downtown that currently looks like a pile of crap. the input the navy gets from us can impact how future generations of san diegans experience their waterfront. sure it's a big responsibility, but i think we can handle it. they'll probably ignore us anyway.
the fact that the public is only now getting to provide input on the project via a review of newly-released environmental documents is a shame. sure, the navy "owns" this part of san diego, but we, as taxpayers, support the navy and deserve input. and why exactly do naval administrative offices have to sit directly on the harborfront? there's not enough room on north island in coronado? better yet, put them up in kearny mesa where the county sends much of its work force. this is a spot that should have been BRAC'd long ago, but the navy realized the value of the land and is looking to maximize this via an exclusive arrangement with our favorite wall-off-the-harbor developer, papa bigot manchester (psst, dougie - you're sounding really defensive when you say your CFO's negative evaluation of your proposition 8 donation is "offensive to my family"). regardless, there has to be a better solution for this premier location than naval offices and more hotels. that won't happen unless we make our views known.
finally got to sambuca italian bistro in hillcrest tonight, which was taking part in a "no on proposition 8" event - eat drink and the freedom to marry, where a portion of your bill would go toward the cause of keeping equal marriage rights for gays. our meals were solid, including my black linguini with lobster and shrimp, but the place was pretty slammed and service was way slow. it would have been nice to see more restaurants participating in the event - maybe they weren't asked? plenty of clubs were on the list, including bourbon street, where i had canvassed with the no on prop 8 folks the previous saturday, begging people to volunteer and/or give money. not the easiest thing to do in a bar, but i made a personal appeal based on our upcoming marriage and that seemed to help with the donations. if you're interested in defeating prop 8, check out their website at noonprop8.com or drop by their office at 301 university across from urban mo's. remember that the yes on 8 folks are significantly beating the no side on fundraising and would likely permanently take away rights from a group of people - an unprecedented event in california history. see who's giving to either side in your neighborhood on the latimes website - here's the info. for kensington.
after dinner we hit yog-art, where i made the bold proclamation that i was going to cancel my union tribune subscription when they proclaimed their inevitable support for prop 8. imagine my shock when jay pulled out their no on prop 8 editorial in today's paper. if even the conservative editorial board at the UT is against this proposition, maybe we are seeing the social shift on this issue that they refer to. more likely, it's closeted union tribune owner david copley telling them what to write.
i hooked up with the no on prop 8 folks at the obama beach bash in la jolla shores a couple weekends ago, which is where i took that ridiculous poodle pic above. on the obama front, i'm hoping to do some voter registration for the returning students at ucsd next week (monday-thursday, 12-4, price center; contact greg bolian at sdvoter@yahoo.com). and the san diego obama folks are putting together weekend road trips to nevada to do volunteer work there; canvass by day and party in vegas all night. i may try to go on the second weekend of october. contact bob isaacson at obamasdtravel@gmail.com for more info.
check out the video below for why we shouldn't get rid of the san diego mills act, which provides property tax reductions for renovating, rather than demolishing, historic homes. these homes are a big part of what makes san diego's core neighborhoods great and help keep property values high there, even as nearly 90% of houses sell for losses in the newer suburbs. and those increased property values translate into more revenue for the city.
the mills act has been threatened by a san diego grand jury report ("probably the most unprofessional, uninformed grand jury that I have ever seen in my life on historic preservation", according to a state historic preservation officer), a mayor who lives here in historic kensington, and right-wing blowhard roger hedgecock, a wealthy homeowner criticizing other wealthy (and not so wealthy) homeowners. let's not allow the ever-present small town mentality of san diego and its resulting inability to understand complex issues to win out on this one - support the mills act.
the street scene set times were released last week, and they seem to address the noise-bleed potential for bands playing the main stages in the petco tailgate lot: no overlapping sets. this also takes care of most of the dreaded set time conflicts that often occur at music fests. yet there's still a logjam around 7:45 friday, with diplo and the new pornographers wrapping up on side stages as tv on the radio (whose new cd sounds pretty epic on first listen) get underway. fortunately the TVOTR->spoon->justice->beck sequence that night should more than make up for any abbreviated set watching.
as for saturday... anybody need two tickets? just kidding, some quality acts but no one i'm a big fan of. guess it's a day to discover some new music. today the black crowes canceled due to an unspecified illness. i had the misfortune of hearing "she talks to angels" the other day and am grateful to be spared from that experience live. now just book lil wayne and watch those ticket sales blow up! (UPDATE, 09/18/2008: it's devo. hopefully you didn't see their free [with track admission] show a couple weeks back at del mar).
anyway, here's a track from the new TVOTR cd, dear science, out 9/23:
banker's hill has quickly gone from no sushi joints to 2, with a third set to open shortly. mukashi opened this summer at nutmeg and 5th, and azuki just debuted in the old ticasso location several blocks down. now city beat says that the owners of sushi ota on misson bay drive, who arguably serve up the best sushi in the city, will open hane sushi soon, next door to avenue 5, a block north of mukashi. with all this activity it's strange to consider that this prime location hasn't had a single sushi restaurant for at least the past 10 years.
we dropped by azuki a few nights ago and were impressed by the makeover of the front room, which features a large sushi bar, dark furniture and an oversized front door. the rear patio is a secluded spot, walled off with with tasteful woodwork, but it could use a few space heaters. our meal was good but nothing spectacular - decent gyoza and garlic edamame, fairly-priced tuna and california rolls, and a tasty specialty roll, the cardiac "a", consisting of shrimp tempura, avo and more tempura, all fried up for your enjoyment. my mint mojito was excellent, but then our waiter delivered what i had actually ordered, an oolong island tea, which paled in comparison flavor-wise. good potential for this place but nothing that would draw us back from our regular (and cheaper) sushi haunts.
overheard from the next table over was that the other new sushi spot, mukashi, was overpriced. that was the impression i got from reading their menu online a while back, and unfortunately the yelp reviews haven't been too kind either. sometimes it just feels like a new restaurant's owners don't have a whole lot of prior experience, which is a vibe i also got with sea rocket bistro recently. while the food quality was good (especially my shark filet), they were frequently out of menu items and drinks, which had also been noted on yelp.
given the high quality of sushi coming out of sushi ota, hane should be a big hit for the neighborhood... but just be ready for the accompanying high prices. as this corridor of 5th fills in, i have to say again how much this street would benefit from dropping one of its three lanes, and expanding the sidewalks outward. there's no reason 3 lanes are necessary here. throw in the trolley route suggested by the landscape architect students at the university of oklahoma between hillcrest and downtown (in today's union trib, can't find link) and this area could turn into a real highlight of the city. hey, i can dream as well as those students can.
synth/guitar duo ratatat played house of blues downtown last night, whipping the packed club into a frenzy on tracks from their new cd, lp3, and earlier favorites. supported by a tour bass player, keyboardist evan mast rocked his huge afro about as he played (whoops, make that producer/keyboardist evan mast on bass, with tour support from "martin" on keyboard - thanks, commenter) and was matched by guitarist mike stroud, who frequently arched his back completely parallel to the floor as he squealed away. playing over a backing track, it was sometimes difficult to tell how much of that guitar was pre-recorded and how much was live
performing against a video backdrop featuring repetitive, distorted features from various media (see crappy iphone pic above), the high-energy show lasted about an hour and was highlighted by absolutely scorching versions of "mirando", "lex", and "falcon jab", finally closing their encore with a pounding rendition of "seventeen years" as much of the crowd jumped and thrashed about. interestingly, mellower fare such as "lapland" from the classics cd came off as much heavier live, but the energy in the room ebbed during quieter songs such as "shiller" from lp3. still, you have to hand it to the big (white) crowd for being so enthused about a band that doesn't even have vocals. check out the crazy video for "ratatat" below, which was also projected on the screen.
san diego business journal reports that universal in hillcrest is being shopped for a buyer, with owner james brennan struggling to pay more than a half million in construction-related debts. i didn't realize the amount of moolah that went into this place - 4.5 million, or one million over budget according to the article. apparently structural problems with the building contributed to the problem, which explains why it took so damn long for it to open. and with the club only profiting about 30K a month, it's going to take a long time to pay those bills - unless brennan finds a buyer fast. while the abbey owner was rumored to be in the running a while back, you have to wonder if the smart money is just going to wait this one out until they can get a great deal.
there was an article several months back about the slowing economy and its effect on the upper-end clubs. i wondered here about the clientele at clubs like brennan's (part-owned) stingaree - wouldn't the mortgage crisis hit many of the high-debt-flyers that frequent these places? with bar west having been sold in pacific beach, along with the witherby downtown, and universal and side bar (downtown) up for sale (not to mention stingaree being available "at the right price"), it sounds like brennan is feeling the effects. which is too bad, since he's set the bar for high quality clubs in san diego. unfortunately i think closings are bound to hit some of the upper-end places in san diego given the current economic climate.
our friend and neighbor carol hunter is managing the john evans for school board campaign against mitz lee. this is a city-wide election, so it's worth taking the time to understand what these candidates stand for before you vote. carol is a former san diego unified teacher and is a strong advocate for quality education in our community. after hearing john speak at a fundraiser at walter munk's house in la jolla this past weekend, i'm confident that he'd be a great asset to the board, which sets policy for sd unified. john comes off as a very intelligent, thoughtful person who will make effective use of his years of classroom teaching and the PhD in child psychology that he holds.
i've mentioned this before, but walter munk works at the same institute as i do - the institute of geophysics and planetary physics at scripps institution of oceanography - so i've had the chance to enjoy his eclectic residence near la jolla farms before. the fundraiser was held in the leafy front courtyard, which leads into the rectangular-shaped house and then abruptly to the backyard with views across a lush canyon to the ocean. a shakespeare play was about to begin in the hedged amphitheater as the sun lowered itself over the sea. a unique place for a unique candidate.
put on by the san diego county bicycle coalition, 2500 people took part in the bike the bay event today, scaling the coronado bridge on bikes for the first time in nearly 20 years. unfortunately there was no stopping at the top to admire the view, but it was a rush to be up that high without being in a car. half the bridge was set aside for the waves of bicyclists heading from downtown. i liked the camaraderie of the bicyclists, especially given the mix of hardcore street riders and casual cruiser bikes.
the entire route was a lot of fun to bike and cut through coronado, down silver strand, then back up through industrial, bayside national city. a highlight was seeing the various shorebirds hanging out on the bay in the peace of the cloudy morning as we cycled by. it had been years since i'd biked the silver strand and i'll have to drag myself out of my weekend slumber again soon to repeat it. this event and switching to a street bike has definitely hooked me on longer rides.
our visit to cantina mayahuel was such a fun surprise that we're kicking ourselves for not having been yet, since it's been open for two years now. it really feels like a neighborhood hangout (it's on adams in normal heights), from the tequila barroom full of blocky wooden furniture and walls to the casual, secluded patio outside. food-wise, the menu is basic with nightly specials and a whole bunch of tacos to choose from. according to our excellent server, ulysses, the food is made oaxaca style, and the chicken and mahi were spicy and very flavorful. these tacos are huge and fill you up fast at $4 a pop. add some chips and the best guacamole in recent memory and you've got a cheap dinner, with plenty of dough left over to binge on mexican beer and tequila. i can't vouch for the margaritas (yet) but folks seem to love 'em on yelp.
we chatted with the owner for a bit, remarking on the big painted skulls looking down on the bar from a high spot. they help to set the mood in the room along with dark art on the walls. cantina mayahuel is an authentic spot that's sure to become one of our regular, comfort zone spots.
san francisco's treasure island music festival has announced their daily lineups and now i see why street scene is so friday-heavy in terms of quality - all the same acts are going to be at treasure island on saturday. maybe next year street scene can avoid this conflict. here's an idea - have the padres forfeit all their september games, since they'll be out of it again, especially with their slashed payroll next season. that should free up the petco tailgate lot a bit.
one of the few acts not playing both festivals is the new pornographers. out of vancouver, they're tagged with the "indie supergroup" label due to the inclusion of alt-country artist neko case (sometimes) and dan bejar of destroyer. their last cd, challengers, wasn't quite up to the level of their previous releases in my opinion, so i'm posting a fun track, "sing me spanish techno", off their 2005 cd twin cinema. the drag queen in the video is juanita more, a friend of ours from san francisco.
wow is this place sleek. housed in the former mike tristany real estate office (thank you, burst real estate bubble) on the high profile corner of 5th and university in hillcrest, mille feuille just opened and looks nothing like any restaurant/cafe in town. clean, crisp whites and greens, exceptionally comfortable chairs and a dessert case full of intriguing items. we had just stuffed ourselves at crest cafe around the corner - one of the few restaurants open today on labor day - so i can only vouch that the spendy ($2) mini-chocolates are a powerful punch of richness, and that the sample of carrot cake was quite good, as was my iced soy latte. but we'll be back to this very upscale spot soon, which is amazingly the only dessert place within walking distance of the many nearby restaurants in this area (if you want more than frozen yogurt). there's more information on sd backyard, including information about the designer, who absolutely nailed it - from the perfectly trimmed horsetail bamboo out front, to the futuristic look of the dessert case. they must have dumped a bunch of money into this spot. does unsophisticated san diego really deserve a place like this? regardless, karen krasne of extraordinary desserts has got to be eating her heart out.
