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ART
Worth the drive: In last week’s Best of San Diego issue, we dubbed the Oceanside Museum of Art the “Best art scene underdog” for its cutting-edge programming despite its distance from the county’s urban core. So, steel yourself for the drive north to OMA’s Art After Dark, happening from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20. For the $15 admission price ($10 for members), get your palm or tarot cards read and sample food from Harney Sushi and Santino’s Pizza, beer from Lost Abbey and wine from PCP Wine International. Outside, Megan Pogoda will project live video art on the museum’s facade to accompany DJ Chris Brotzman’s beats, and inside you can check out the new exhibition San Diego NOW: Eight UCSD Visual Artists plus three other shows currently on display (including pieces from Les Perhacs’ very cool Chaos series). 704 Pier View Way. www.oma-online.org.
Zippity Do Da: Along with Andrews Gallery and Project X, the Eric Phleger Gallery (828 N. Coast Hwy. 101 Suite G in Encinitas) is bringing much more than paintings of dolphins to the North County art scene. But its new show, Unzipped, might be making the biggest statement of all by exclusively showing artists from the 92024 and 92007 area codes (Leucadia, Encinitas and Cardiff-by-the-Sea). Sometimes ignored by galleries to the south, artists like Kim MacConnel, Julie Goldstein and Jeffrey Laudenslager have been exhibited all over the country, and Unzipped—which opens with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19—is the perfect opportunity to see them and 11 others all in one space. www.ericphlegergellery.com.
MUSIC
Strings attached: Love PCP? Us, too—that is, if the “PCP” you’re thinking of involves the rotating cast of talented cellists that make up the Portland Cello Project, who’ll be stopping at The Casbah (2501 Kettner Blvd. in Middletown) at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19. If that’s not the PCP you’re thinking of, you have bigger problems than having to decide what to do this week. Sixteen (!) cellists will perform everything from hip-hop to 19th-century Russian compositions. Past performances included members of The Decemberists, Horse Feathers, Mirah and Loch Lomond. Douglas Jenkins, the only constant in the collective, pens 20 or so new scores for each performance, so expect all new material for this show. Thao & The Get Down Stay Down and David Shultz also perform. $10 in advance, $12 at the door. www.portlandcelloproject.com.
FASHION
Sartorial San Diego: When it comes to fashion, does San Diego have a distinct style that sets us apart from, say, L.A. or San Francisco? Or are any attempts to be fashion-forward thwarted by too many Juicy velour pants and Affliction T-shirts? In conjunction with the current exhibit, San Diego Style, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, the San Diego Historical Society (1649 El Prado in Balboa Park) presents a panel discussion, Boho vs. Blahnik: Changing the Image of Fashion in San Diego. Panelists include Susan Suarez and Denise Baca, directors of education for Fashion Careers College and Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising’s San Diego campus, respectively, and local designer Jose Maria Ybarra. Tickets are $10 per person; free for students of FCC and FIDM and SDHS members. www.sandiegohistory.org.
SPECIAL EVENTS
One of a kind: It’s not often you see San Diego’s best female artists, crafters and designers all in one spot, but hit up Glashaus (1815 Main St., Suite B, in Barrio Logan) on Sunday, Nov. 22, for the One + One Trunkshow and Fundraiser to catch a good chunk of them. A who’s-who of local ladies will be showing off art, jewelry, accessories and clothing from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Highlights include Sugardale Clothing’s vintage frocks, Dear Cora’s recycled denim and newspaper accessories and Britton Neubacher’s gorgeous garden orbs. There will be other activities, including face painting, a balloon artist and button making, but best of all, proceeds from sales and raffle tickets will go straight to the Museum School, a progressive, tuition-free public charter school. www.museumschool.org.
SPORTS
Let’s go surfin’ now: Surfing is such a well-represented sport on film and video, and yet, it’s hard to find on TV. So, it’s fitting that one of the very few places you can find surf footage on the small screen—Fuel TV network—has partnered with the California Surf Museum in Oceanside to stage the California Surf Festival. Running Thursday, Nov. 19, through Sunday, Nov. 22, the multimedia event features live music and awards, coupled with a rich selection of surfing videos, features and shorts, highlighting the cutting edge in surfing’s ever-evolving influence and athletic artistry. If you can afford it on a beach bum’s pittance, an all-access pass ($200) is the way to go. If you have to choose, there are individual events ($10-$25) that you don’t want to miss: The Drifter, director Taylor Steele’s contemplative, epic bio of local icon Rob Machado; the Surfer magazine 50-year Anniversary Tribute program; and Jake Shimabukuro, who’s been called the “Eddie Van Halen of ukulele.” www.californiasurffestival.com
MULTIMEDIA
Sensory overlord: California Ballet conductor John Stubbs is jealous of the eye and ear candy of pop-music concerts. He so confesses in explaining Luscious Noise, his attempt to lure hip, young audiences with a hybrid performance featuring classical music, dance and old film clips. The supper-club event, modeled after the Classical Club Nights that, apparently, are all the rage in Berlin and London, will include Mozart, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky and Sibelius works interpreted by members of the San Diego Symphony, layered over The Third Man, Tales of Hoffman and Street Scene (the Kurt Weill opera, not the embattled San Diego music fest), plus an excerpt from “The Dying Swan” performed by Prima Ballerina Denise Dabrowski. Tickets are $10-$20 for the Sunday, Nov. 22, event, which starts at 7:30 p.m. at Anthology, 1337 India St. in Little Italy. www.anthologysd.com.
Swept away: The word “adrift” usually means “lost.” Not in the minds of San Diego’s most creative circus troupe, Zirk Ubu. For them, Adrift, the show they’ll perform at Sushi, A Center For the Urban Arts (390 11th St. in East Village) means “freedom”—from restraint. The show, which runs at 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, through Saturday, Nov. 21, and at 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22, is directed by UCSD dance professor Liam Clancy and includes Zirk’s usual array of acrobatics, juggling, puppetry and performance art. Without a doubt, Zirk Ubu comes CityBeat-approved. Pay what you can on Thursday only—otherwise, $20 general, $15 for members and students. www.sushiart.org.
