Danny Green Quartet
Flavor Flav won’t be at 4th & B next week. - Photo by Kelly Davis
What’s going on with 4th & B? On Tuesday, arts group RAW: San Diego announced on Facebook that its “Holiday Rawk” show—slated to be held at the Downtown club on Thursday, Dec. 13—has been canceled “due to the sudden closure of 4th & B.”
4th & B co-owner Judy Puma confirms that three shows booked for next week have been canceled—Public Enemy on Dec. 12, “Holiday Rawk” and Barrington Levy on Dec. 14—and says all tickets will be refunded automatically. Also, Ramon Ayala’s concert, originally scheduled for 4th & B on Feb. 22, has been moved to House of Blues, Ayala’s manager says. Puma and her husband and club co-owner, Vincent Puma, declined to explain the reasons for the cancellations; Vincent insists that the club isn’t shutting down.
“We’re not closed,” he tells CityBeat. “We have a few shows that are cancelled right now. That’s really the best way to say that.”
The San Diego Reader reported last year that the Pumas have been in a legal battle with 4th & B’s previous owner, Ali Nilforushan. They’ve also been in litigation with George Salameh, who’s listed on 4th & B’s liquor license as chief financial officer.
Vincent declined to discuss the legal battle. “We are working to solve this,” he says.
Correction: In the original version of this article, we misspelled Ali Nilforushan's name as Nilforshan. We apologize for the error.
If you’ve been to Kava Lounge, you’re probably familiar with the club’s famous goat. Painted in decorative colors and sometimes seen wearing a party hat, the statue’s been a fixture at the Middletown nightclub for nearly seven years, ever since an artist presented it to the club as a gift.
Hanging out onstage, the goat’s been part of comedy routines, shown up in rappers’ freestyles and even appeared on record sleeves. Of course, it’s also been used as a prop by drunken club-goers.
“People were used to the goat being there,” says Mateo Silva, Kava Lounge’s manager. “It was just part of the space.”
Last Friday, the Kava Lounge community went into a panic when Silva announced that the goat had been stolen. Dozens of people responded to the notice, posting photos on Facebook and calling for the goat’s return. One patron said she saw someone swipe the goat during a Nov. 23 show, but she didn’t say anything at the time because she assumed it was an authorized removal. (Silva was out of town Thanksgiving week.)
“I’m sick right now,” Silva wrote on Facebook. “I can’t believe someone stole the goat.”
It seems the thief took notice, though: On Saturday morning, the goat reappeared outside Kava, missing one leg.
It’s unclear who stole the goat, and Silva doesn’t seem too bummed about the missing leg—due to years of wear and tear, the fragile beast has also lost its horns, tail and goatee. But Silva does think there’s something ironic about the episode.
“The night that it was stolen was a fundraiser for an artist who got his shit stolen,” he says.
Crocodiles have teamed up with Dum Dum Girls to record a catchy Christmas tune, “Merry Christmas, Baby (Please Don’t Die).” The song will be released as a cassette single via Dream, but you can listen to it at dreamlabel.tumblr.com. Dee Dee of Dum Dum Girls and her hubby, Crocodiles’ Brandon Welchez, will play an acoustic set together at Soda Bar on Wednesday, Dec. 12.
Rockers A Scribe Amidst the Lions will celebrate the release of a new album, Last Sting Trilogy Volumes II & III, at The Casbah on Tuesday, Dec. 11. Future You, Pal&Drome and Gary Hankins will also play.
Email peterh@sdcitybeat.com or follow him on Twitter at @peterholslin.
