San Diego Unseen: An Urban Portrait
Summertime by Pamela jaeger on view in Release the Kraken at Subtext
Art
Artsy beasties
Opening with a reception from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 13, Subtext Gallery’s Release the Kraken (a reference to the awesomely kitschy 1981 version of Clash of the Titans) asked 30 artists to paint over vintage aquatic-themed works—those idyllic scenes of lakes, rivers and oceans that are ubiquitous at garage and estate sales—adding all manner of monsters and mythical sea-creatures. (“Krakenizing” the paintings is what the Subtext folks call it.) The show marks Subtext’s five-year anniversary, so stop by at 2479 Kettner Blvd. in Little Italy, enjoy the artwork and take in some tunes by The Makeup Sex, who’ll be playing live in the store’s back parking lot at 9 p.m. The exhibition runs through Sept. 11. subtextgallery.com
What lies beneath: Touching the Surface, the title of Vicki Walsh’s show hanging at the Oceanside Museum of Art (704 Pier View Way) through Oct. 23, is instructive and ironic. The former forensic medical illustrator and later-in-life graduate student puts a lot of thought into her contemporary, large-scale portraiture, so while some viewers might take the paintings at face value and appreciate them as aesthetically interesting and edgy works so masterfully done that you can reach out and literally touch the surface without feeling a single brushstroke, others might dig deeper and notice the artist’s subtle nod to sacred geometry. Walsh’s series takes an intimate look at the faces of spiritual healers; she’ll tell you more about them at a Meet the Artist talk at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13. Free with museum admission. oma-online.org
Music
Rock off my lawn: Adam Gimbel, the world’s greatest cover artist (yes, we said it), has invited us to what may be the world’s greatest educational fundraiser ever and we hereby invite you: At ABC’s of Rock, Gimbel’s band Geezer will play 26 cover songs with its “grandkids,” the San Diego School of Rock House Band. That’s one for each letter of the alphabet (starting, perhaps, with Motorhead’s “Ace of Spades”) and all to benefit the Rock School Foundation Fund, which provides rock-music scholarships to kids. The frosting on walls: alphabetically assigned art works from 26 local artists, including Scrojo, Rick Rodriguez and Brittni Cute. The event is all-ages (with alcohol for those 21 or older) at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, at Space 4 Art (325 15th St. in East Village). Suggested donation is $10. rockschoolfund.org
Hold the line!: “S.O.B.” doesn’t mean what you think it means—at least not at the S.O.B. Fest!, happening from 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, at the Women’s Civic League, 2972 Clay St. in Logan Heights. In this case, it stands for “Save Our Barrios” and is brought to you by (natch) the Save Our Barrios Coalition, which is holding this all-ages evening of music to raise awareness of the group’s mission to fight gentrification of the racially diverse communities east and southeast of Downtown. As Downtown redevelopment has marched eastward during the past decade, property values are starting to rise in neighborhoods that have been affordable for lower-income folks. Providing the sounds will be Brian Cangrejo & The Handsome Five, Cozy corners, Daniel Jackson, Tio Trip and more. $2. saveourbarrios.wordpress.com
Community
Fresh Produce: North Park may be a neighborhood that embraces the locally grown, organic-cool, hippie-farmer scene, but some believe the hipster enclave can still take going green up another notch. Sustainable North Park Main Street is a project of volunteer professional designers and architects doing just that—figuring out how the neighborhood can become more sustainable. From 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, SNPMS will hold an interactive gallery show at North Park Art Produce (3139 University Ave.) and present their plans for a brighter, more efficient North Park. Among those plans are increasing conservation and implementing a green economy. artproduce.org
Empowerment party: The 6th Annual Fiesta del Sol is a free, two-day festival that celebrates San Diego’s Latino communities and their rich culture and history in a completely alcohol- and tobacco-free environment. Each day is packed with live music sets from Latino-centric bands like Agua Dulce and Los Hollywood, among many others. There will also be an art walk with local artisans, live art and a community-mural project, as well as other activities for kids and adults. Importantly, six pavilions will focus on health, education, children, community action, young adults and arts and culture. The event happens from 11 to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 13 and 14 at Cesar Chavez Park, where Cesar E. Chavez Parkway meets San Diego Bay. fiestadelsolsandiego.org
Nightlife
WoWsers!: Torchwood is on Fridays, Doctor Who on Saturdays and it’s a SyFy triple-header on Mondays, but the rest of the week belongs World of Warcraft. So when’s a geek lady going to find time to party? Quick answer: The second Thursday of the month. TheGamerGirls.com, an 8,000-member-strong social networking site for female gamers, is starting a regular Nerdcore Night: A Night of Live Music, Video Games and Geek Culture at The Ruby Room (1271 University Ave. in Hillcrest). Thursday, Aug. 11, will feature a video-game booth and hip-hop sets from Zealous1 (aka The Sleeping Dragon of Nerdcore), Dr. Awkward, Shammers and Nikki & The Mongoloid. The cover is $5. If you stay at home, you’ll just end up watching an Underworld marathon. thegamergirls.com
Special Events
It’s astounding: Ah, CityFest. Year after year, the annual ginormous Hillcrest street festival never really changes. Hey, now? What’s this? A CityFest flash mob? Psst—guys, flash mobs aren’t supposed to be announced to the media. Eh, whatevs. They’re still fun to watch. At 2:30 and 3:25 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 14, at Fifth and Robinson avenues, a bunch of Frank-N-Furters, Janets, Brads and Riff Raffs will do the Time Warp. In addition to the Rocky Horror homage, CityFest (which runs from noon to 9 p.m.) includes live music (Endoxi, A Scribe Amidst the Lions, The Tighten Ups and more), tons of vendors, food, beer for those of age and, at 9 p.m., a big ol’ celebratory re-lighting of the Hillcrest sign. Free. fabuloushillcrest.com
