The Heavy Guilt: A Trolley Show

Expansive band brings all their toys on the MTS

If ever there were a McGyver of music, The Heavy Guilt’s Al Howard would be it. Give the guy a box of Rice-A-Roni, a saw blade and some chains and you’ll probably get a song out of it.

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Wednesday, June 5,2013
A Trolley Show

Matt Costa: A Trolley Show

Folk rocker performs psychedelic 'Walls Like Windows' aboard the MTS

By Ryan Bradford

June is never an easy month in San Diego. That weird gloom sets in, and the usually laid-back demeanor of the city becomes downright dour. So, what’s the solution to the June funk? Drive out to the hot desert and get weird, of course, and that’s where Matt Costa comes in.

Wednesday, May 29,2013
A Trolley Show

Jukebox the Ghost: A Trolley Show

Brooklyn pop-rockers get cozy on the MTS

By Ryan Bradford

Sometimes, after so listening to so many beer-soaked blues bands or weirdo art rockers, you just want to listen to a band that you could bring home to your mother.

Wednesday, May 22,2013
A Trolley Show

The New Regime: A Trolley Show

San Diego drum prodigy Ilan Rubin performs "Daydream" on the MTS

By Ryan Bradford

Ilan Rubin has an impressive musical résumé. The San Diego native has played drums for Lostprophets and Angels and Airwaves and is a regular member of Nine Inch Nails. Oh, and he’s not even 25 years old yet.

Wednesday, May 15,2013
A Trolley Show

Gayle Skidmore: A Trolley Show

San Diego multi-instrumentalist performs

By Ryan Bradford

Gayle Skidmore can play over 20 instruments which, by our count, qualifies her as some sort of musical McGyver.

Tuesday, April 16,2013
Arts & Culture Features

Frank Bill’s bare-knuckle writing

The Book Catapult brings Midwest author and his violent, meth-centric ‘Donnybrook’ to San Diego

By Ryan Bradford

When it comes to art—and especially literature—it takes a lot to make me squirm. Yet, Frank Bill's novel Donnybrook made me cringe. Many times.

Tuesday, April 2,2013
Food Issue

Eggs-on-burgers is no yolk

A standing ova-tion for The Lion’s Share and Smashburger

By Ryan Bradford

Back in 2012, when we were talking about what trends we would like to see disappear in 2013, CityBeat editor David Rolland piped up with something along the lines of, "I would love to see restaurants stop putting goddamn eggs on burgers."

Tuesday, February 12,2013
Sex Issue

The missionary position

A latent Mormon’s foray into the world of strange and inexplicable sex toys

By Ryan Bradford

A Mormon walks into a sex shop. It sounds like the set-up to a bawdy comedy, or a joke where the punch line is inevitably "The Missionary Position!" Ha. Ha.

Wednesday, October 17,2012
Best of 2012

After party

The perfect day: the Fellowship of Barber Surgeons, Jen Jansen, car2go, El Zarape, Lucy Evans Lauren Garden and Bar Eleven

By Ryan Bradford

My ideal final day would be spent living as if the world had already ended. Perhaps there’s no escaping the comets, nuclear explosions and Stay Puft marshmallow men, but there’s always that glaring what if.

Wednesday, August 8,2012
Seen Local

‘The Haunting of Whaley House’ haunted by specter of litigation

‘Ridiculous’ film could face legal charges for its depiction of local icon

By Ryan Bradford

You don’t need to go on the educational tour of the historic house to see that the filmmakers took great liberties with the Whaley legacy.